2009
NOW, MY DISTASTE for the Halo franchise is well known, but I think from my two previous reviews (Halo 2 being fairly positive) that I have proven my objectivity. Reviews are based on opinion however, and I feel no compunction to be diplomatic about my views on any matter. I mean, the whole purpose behind this website is to avoid the usual, finance based bias we have become so familiar with. But at the same time, I strive to balance out my personal fondness or distaste for the games I review to offer a more informed and structured dissection of whichever piece of digital goodness/foulness my brain is munching upon at the time.
And this brings us to the latest installment in the core Halo storyline. There are now, of course, at least two derivatives which have been produced to expand upon the setting (Halo ODST actually takes place between chapters 2 and 3 and, I believe covers the search for the Chief whilst he does whatever it is he did aboard that Covenant warship we see burning through the sky in Halo 3’s opening cinematic. Or was that the chief…or both of them, I think it was the ship and he came shooting off from it partway down, but I’ve been to sleep since then, and this parenthesis rant is growing stupidly large so, y’know, it takes place between them and leave it at that) with a third, Halo Reach, which we don’t know a great deal about as yet.
My initial impression of Halo 3 is that it was a highly polished, slick and extremely stylised game. A feeling that stuck with me the entire time. Unfortunately, I found almost nothing in the way of real substance to expand on this feeling as I progressed through the nine, decidedly short and, even on Legendary, primarily extremely unchallenging, levels. I know some people are pleased by a game that you can run through in only a few hours (about ten in total for the whole game on Legendary, no more than six on Normal), I, on the other hand, decidedly do not. There’s a line between a short and intense experience, and too short which Halo 3 leaped over at intense velocity.
The various cinematics and scripting events that unfolded offered little but an annoyance that they were dragging on so long. And the so-called plot twists just seemed pointless and rather daft. It seems to me that either they had a new writing department for this game considering how much they ran roughshod over the plot developments from Halo 2, or they were all on crack and thought that having a turtle eat beans for half an hour was a good idea. Either way, those things which actually made the second game work for me in a way I hadn’t anticipated, just vanished and were replaced with some random crap that left me with a serious…
..feeling.
Whilst I felt that the first game was generic and borrowed, or even out and out stole, from other games and films that had come before. And the second, whilst still pretty standard in gameplay, had some decent scripting. The third was pretty much just a bunch of fan appeasement as far as I could tell. Massive, intense battles, hoardes of enemies that you have to murder to a man to progress. I suppose I can see the appeal in some senses, driving through a cannon with a small fleet of Scorpions and Warthogs was fun, but a few well aimed shots and there was no opposition to speak of. And taking down to Scarab at a time single handed was kind of cool. But, dude, I did it single-handed. On Legendary! If the rest of the Human armed forces really is that sodding useless, and really couldn’t do anything at all without the Chief there, then they should have been wiped out in a matter of days.
But, of course, it’s not the single player that sold the game to seventeen million people. It’s the online experience which has brought people in their droves. And, for once, I actually spent some time trying this out. Mostly at the request of a very good friend of mine who spent several hours trouncing me repeatedly. Again, though, there is little for me to recommend with the online either. The ability to customise your avatar, either a Spartan or an Elite (the Arbiter) with extra items unlockable as you progress adds a little to raise it above a generic online shooter. But not by much. And certainly nothing that hasn’t been done before, and better. Rainbow Six Vegas had a great customisation to it. Halo 3 doesn’t.
Basically, Halo 3 is an enigma to me. I can’t understand how something that screwed up in so many ways can be so damned popular. I suspect it may have a great deal to do with the billion pound advertising campaign and the populace at large being so easily lead.
Graphics: 8.5/10
Gameplay: 6/10
Audio/Music: 6/10
Plot/Scripting: 5/10
Overall: 5/10
Halo 3 also earns a Special Award for being such a successful bluff.
WTF?!?ness : 9.5/10
2009
Dead Space Final
By: The Inimitable Jedireaper Category: Dead Space, PS3
The USG Ishimura floats listlessly in the ever-reaching vacuum of space, sunlight glinting off of it's dark hull. Looking from afar your un-named character watches as the repair shuttle closes in and then you see the huge chunk of planet beyond, ripped from the ground upon which it had been joined, the Planetcracker class mining vessel immediatly inspires awe. But this the only moment of peacefull tranquility you are likely going to get as a repair mission soon turns into the nightmare that only kids could have after playing Doom back in the mid-ninties. Welcome to Dead Space. The opening scenes for Dead Space were filled with intense and hostillic atmosphere reaching fevel pitched as your ship crash lands in the hanger bay due to a guidance error. You play Isacc, an Engineer wearing a full body RIG (some kind of amour suit, with holo interfaces) who has volenteered for the mission, he has a girlfriend onboard the Ishimura hence the reason he joined the repair team. Upon arrival, they soon find that the ship is apparently desserted, and Isacc is soon cut off from the others when they are attacked by a... thing... a thing that was once a living breathing human being. It's mangled face all the humanity that remains. Soon you find yourself armed with a Plasma Cutter, which fires a straight horizontal or vertical waves of energy to slice through the limbs of the "Necromorphs" as we learn what they are called later. Creeping through the dark tight confines of the ship, the sound ambiance is excellently chilling as you hear Isacc's metallic breathing, his heart thumping with increasing vigour when he is freightened, the sounds of clanging and reverbrating metal as the creatures move about the air-filtration system; the occasional scream. And the gruesome sound of squishing, blistering and tearing flesh is captured wonderfully. Just pump up the volume, turn off the in-game music and close your eyes and listen. An amazing experiance alone. The story in total comprises of many twists you don't expect. And the end is shocking. The gameplay is some of the best I've played in years, having to shoot off the Creatures limbs to take them down is a great mechanic and forces you to be more tactfull in your approach. While the Obsidian Suit I downloaded made me look a lot cooler while Necro-smashing having all black armour, purple eye sensors, meleeing the Necro's is satisfyingly hefty and pleasent. I soon found myself checking every corner and shadow as I proceeded along the corridors. It is a good puzzler, presenting you with obstacles to rival Tomb Raider. I had, unlike Bobfish's controller speed issue, no problems with the controls, finding they bore simularities to Resident Evil 5 and Call of Duty in the shooting department, though while aiming, turning is much slower than the PC version according to Bobfish, I can say; with my outing of the game on PS3 that whilst aiming, your character turns at a realistic pace for a man in a heavy Hazard suit and holding a hefty Line Gun (indeed one of the most devestating in the game) though my favorite was always being able to fall back onto the Pulse Rifle which is baically a machine gun. Whilst not aiming I found Isacc to be quite responsive having been swarmed by many of the creatures having often to fend off my own body with a tap of R1 to swing my fists about untill I could select another weapon. The pause screen, and general in-game interfaces are all 3D holograms that are emitted by your RIG. So much innovation in one game, and the zero-g battles, and vacuum runs are chilling and tense. And the collecting of funds to spend on your weapons and finding power nodes to upgrade your equipment is a joy. I know I must play the game again on one of the higher difficulty settings and I'm sure the fight through the Ishimura will go from challenging to damn near impossible. All in all a must play. And top form for EA. Score: Graphics: 8.5 Gameplay: 9 Sound Design: 10 Plot/Story: 9 Replayability: 8 (its chillingly addictive) Overall Score: 8.9 Personal Score: 9 (Silver Award) Verdict: If you haven't played Dead Space yet, then you had better have a good bloody excuse for letting this little gem slip by. One of the best games in years from EA. Great game.
2009
360 degrees of Dead Space
By: The Almighty Bobomorphish Category: Dead Space, xBox360
HAVING ALREADY PLAYED through Dead Space on the PC, and thoroughly enjoyed it (see my previous review for a more in depth opinion) I was curious how well it would stand up as a console title. I won’t deny that I was extremely sceptical, which is why I wasn’t in any particular rush to pick it up. In fact, it was only because my beautiful wife (Lissa, also now writing reviews here) wanted to try it out that we bought it at all. Hence it being X-Box rather than Playstation 3, since the X-Box is hers. First impressions did little to appease my misgivings and, after only about thirty minutes I saved the game and didn’t play it again for three months.
Not exactly an inspiring start to a review.
However, a couple of days ago (well, four actually) I found myself at a bit of a loose end (I was playing Project Origin, but wasn’t in the mood for it after spending so much time on the first game for my previous reviews) and plugged it back in. The control scheme didn’t leave me with an overly positive impression once again, especially the sensitivity. After so much time on the PC, analogue sticks feel like wading through treacle toffee when you’ve gotten used to a mouse turned all the way up to ELEVEN! Seriously, it takes about three seconds just to turn one-eighty, and when a bunch of necromorphs are swarming all over you a HELL of a lot can happen in those three seconds. And don’t forget that both sticks have a bloody massive dead zone (appropriate eh?)
Still, I persevered, and made a few purchases on X-Box Live to throw a little variety into the mix. Plus, y’know, the new skins look really cool. Though I didn’t realise at first just how nails the Tank suit really is. Believe me, 60% damage resistance has a massive impact on the difficulty of the game. Especially since downloaded weapons and armour are available for free (in game) once you reach your first store at the end of Chapter 1. So, for those like myself, who have qualms about what should effectively be classed as cheating, probably better to avoid the download section all together until you’ve finished the game once. Which I did on the PC, but I still felt a little guilty after I realised how much difference it all made. Silly I know, but that’s how I am.
Anyway, enough waffling. Fourth paragraph already and I’ve said bugger all about the game apart from how dubious I was. So, well, were my misgivings well place? The question of hour. And, I’m very happy to say, they were not at all. The sensitivity of the analogue sticks still bugs me a fair bit, but not so much so that it spoiled my enjoyment of the game. Caused me several incidences of extreme frustration when I was shooting past a necromorphs waist instead of cutting him off at the thigh, but I think it actually made me better at the game. I thought more about how to approach each enemy and shifted my weapons around a lot more. Initially I only really made use of the Plasma Cutter and the Pulse Rifle, this time I gave them all a whirl and give a major, major recommendation for the Line Gun. That thing is a beast. Especially with the Scorpion pack which more than doubles it’s rate of fire. Though the yellow scorpion motif is a little silly. It would have looked much better in black or a deep red.
Long story short, the differences between the PC and console release of the game are simple cosmetics. The layout of the controls is a little odd, but works well, though it would have been nice to have a customisation option. The turning speed, whilst a point I keep coming back to, isn’t really a major concern after you’ve had a little time to adjust to it. And the downloadable weapons and armour packs add some really cool new skins to what is already an extremely solid and very atmospheric game. I still can’t over how good it actually is after the sheer amount of crap Electronic Arts have shoved down our throats in the past.
I’m eagerly looking forward to both Dead Space 2, and Extinction on the Wii. If you take the time to watch the six animated comics which cover the events of the mining operation leading up to the demise of the USG Ishimura’s crew, and the Downfall Anime which covers events aboard the Ishimura herself, you can see that there’s a lot more to the story. And they are telling it very, very well. If EA keep this up again, they could well become the respected gaming powerhouse they were back in the days of Desert Strike and Buck Rogers : Countdown to Doomsday.
Graphics: 9/10
Gameplay: 8.5/10
Audio/Music: 9/10
Plot/Scripting: 9/10
Overall: 8.5/10
P.S : If my sources are correct, Isaac will return for Dead Space 2.
Altman be praised
2009
From the creator of games such as The Sims and SimCity Brings you Spore, a game where you start off as a single cell and evolve all the way up until you get to space, and then from there it’s endless open play.
Once you start the game you have a galaxy infront of you with a few planets for you to choose from. You can name the planet and the creatures which you will play as. Once you start the cell stage you will have to pick what type of creature you would like to be, carnivore, herbivore or an omnivore. Then to evolve you have to eat the corresponding food which then gives you DNA cells to help you evolve. You also gain different parts to help you swim faster, defend yourself against other cells and several other categories.
After you have evolved onto land (Creature stage), you then go around and either make friends or attack and kill other creatures. Again to evolve its the same as the cell where you go and find different parts to upgrade your creatures and advance them onto the next stage. The way you find the parts is slightly different than the cell stage as you will find bits of skeletons lying around near the nests of the other creatures.
The Tribe stage is where you need to dominate the other tribes by killing them out right or by making friends with them. Unlike the other two stages you don’t need to find parts as you modify your tribe by the city planner located when you move the cursor over the main hut. Also when you hover over the hut you can also make another tribe member for when you expand or one dies.
The second to last stage is the Civilisation stage where you need to take out the opposing teams cities by either befriending them, converting them to your religion or by destroying them.
The space stage is the last stage and offers open ended game play. You will encounter other creatures and help them by doing jobs and trading with them for things you need to help you in your quests. You can also terraform other planets to colonise them.
So as you can tell there are 30+ hours of game play. The online content is a function where you can share your creations with other Spore users and use theirs as well.
I really do like this game and it is really addictive so be warned.
2009
You got the F.E.A.R…
By: The Almighty Bobfish Category: F.E.A.R, First Encounter Assault Recon, PC
NOW, STOP ME if I’m wrong. But as I recall, F.E.A.R was released with very little initial fanfare. I can remember reading about it in a few gaming magazines, the odd mention here and there on the internet, but nothing to make it stand out as one of those “one to watch” type games. Something which rapidly changed once people started playing it. An interesting, and probably long overdue, rethink of the survival/horror genre, and able to balance the combat versus sheer ZOMGWTF factor surprisingly well. No mean feat for the inherently action oriented FPS style. After all, the S for Shooter is there for a reason.
F.E.A.R does, indeed, and expectedly, have a strong run and gun element. A fast paced and extremely visceral experience that goes much further to show the sheer brutality of firing a gun than any other I am aware of. Watching a Replicant soldier twitch on the floor for a few seconds after blasting him in the chest at point blank range is a rather chilling experience, really heightening the sense of danger, especially when utilising the games slow-mo function. But also uncomfortably satisfying when taken into account of how persistent and intelligent the enemy can be. Jumping through windows, running for cover, even overturning tables and vending machines. In some ways this makes F.E.A.R both far more difficult, and predictably easier. The Replicant forces react in logical and very Human ways, making use of the terrain in much the same way as the player. A little forethought and you can set traps for them just as they try to do for you.
What really sets F.E.A.R apart though, is the extended periods without action. Leaving you nervously waiting for the next patrol to appear out of nowhere. There are a number of times you will be moving through an area, on edge, just waiting for the obvious trap to be sprung. Passing through the perfect place for an ambush, only to be left completely unaccosted. Then just as you let your guard down you’ll find yourself confronted with some eerie vision caused by the psychic emanations left behind by the elusive Alma’s passing. Or, perhaps by your target Fettel, it’s never definitively explained exactly which.
With the recent release of F.E.A.R 2 : Project Origins across all major platforms except the Wii, now would be a very good time for those who have yet to experience the F.E.A.R to put the time aside. And F.E.A.R not, unlike many of it’s ilk, the single-player campaign will not leave you complaining about a few wasted hours. The game is extremely large and will keep you going for a good couple of days at least, even on the lowest difficulty. And if the slow motion effects like bullet trails and slurred speech don’t hook you in, nothing will.
Graphics: 9.5/10
Gameplay: 9/10
Audio/Music: 8/10
Plot/Scripting: 9/10
Overall: 9/10
Note : F.E.A.R is a notoriously system intensive game. Make sure you rig exceeds the minimum listed requirements by a good margin to ensure you can run it smoothly
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