Nov 12
2008
2008
Gears of War 2, them Locusts eh?
By: Hupples Category: Games, Gears of War 2, xBox360
I loved the first game, and this game only improved on everything that i loved in the original. The guns all track better than in the first making it easier to hit enemies, they are more balanced and some arent ridiculously overpowered anymore as well as adding a few more guns into the mix. The cover system still works great but is improved and more refined over the original. The story mode reminds me of a good action movie with lots of explosions and big monsters.
The old and new multiplayer modes are fun and will keep you going for a long time after the story if you are into the game play. My favorite part of this game has to be the new Horde mode where you just fight wave after wave of Locust enemies that progressively get more powerful testing to see how long you can survive.
The graphics are better than in the first adding more color and life into the game over the original drab brown and grey color pallete and over all more detail. the swarming effects that the unreal engine added were cool to see as well because it put around 100 or so enemies on screen at once in certain parts.
Anyways to cap it off this game is a must have for shooter fans or action fans, if you’re only into games for the story or level ups i’d stay far away though, but i will be playing this game for a long time into the future just because the gameplay is so fun and the awesome new horde mode.
Oct 27
2008
2008
Call of Duty 4 : Jedireaper at arms
By: Jedireaper Category: Call of Duty, Games, PS3
If there was ever such a game as to get your heart pounding through intense shoot-outs and gun play, it’s COD(fish) 4. And apart from GoldenEye on the revered Nintendo 64, you will not find a finer example of the genre. And a fine outlook of things to come. Firstly I’d like to point out a fact that most gamers do not know about the game, Treyarch, the main developer of the previous Call of Duty games is not at the helm of this title, however a company that is at the helm now, Infinity Ward; has done a fine job of bringing both series up to the times and spec of the current generation of home visuals. From the very outset of the game you are presented with some of the most amazing graphics as yet seen on a home console and begs to question the moves of such other games such as Battlefield that lacks that vital sheen of completion that this game so surprisingly offers.
You play from two different perspectives in this, the British SAS who are up near the Northern part of Russia and northern Europe, then there is your U.S.M.C. counterpart, who is charged with a take on the second Gulf War (the Iraq war) to get to the leader of the terrorists armed market down in the deserts of a fictional country in the Gulf. The game eludes most of those casual gamers as something more Hard-Core from an online stand point, as you will find most competition on that part of the game rather unforgiving and sometimes ever ruffianed by the users to ruin your enjoyment of something that is in most cases a joy to play, definitely worth a few hours gaming online. Mean-while the single player is very well done, a compelling plot drives the player through the thick and thin of this fictional conflict through various scenarios and inventive enemy AI (though the odd, “character running into a wall” still exists). Smooth gameplay augments the player’s choices and although you must follow a linear path through the game, you still feel you play a vital role in the story itself.
However the game does let itself down on the replayability side, offering little in the way of unlockables to compel you to play the game over again, though honestly, the story itself should do that. Also the promise of extra missions in an, as yet unconfirmed, download from the PSN (and X-Box Live) will certainly keep this game in your disk drives far longer than even I expected.
A shout out also goes out to the sound effects and general audio quirks, rounding off this review. -The Verdict- A joyous update to a glorious series, with some of the best gameplay (and ‘gunplay’) yet seen in a First Person Shooter. Truly a masterpiece from start to finish both technically and in almost every other way. A brilliant game deserving of its score below.
Before we get down to the numbers, I’ll point out that the game also features a rather good split-screen multiplayer… And on we go… (wheres my calculator?) -
The Score-
Graphics: 9/10
Gameplay: 10/10
Audio/Music: 8/10
Plot/Storyline: 8/10
Replayability: 7.5/10
Final Score: 8.5/10
-Final Words- This game comes highly recommended. Though if your PS3 (or X-Box 360) does not have an internet connection (broadband), the you will only be getting half the package.
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Sep 24
2008
2008
The Darkness, it’s coming for you
By: The Almighty Bobfish Category: Games, PS3, The Darkness
ON THE NIGHT of his twenty-first birthday, something happened to Jackie Estacado. In just a few short hours he went from being a small time Mafia enforcer to being…something else. Bearer of a dark legacy passed from Father to son at the moment of conception. A fate which leads to the Father dying within only a few minutes of the act itself, as the Darkness passes down to the next male in the line.
But what is the Darkness?
Well, according to the comics, it’s one of three ancient powers that have existed since before time itself. Carrying on a never ending cold war for reasons that none of the three (the Darkness, the Witchblade and the Angelus) seem to neither remember, nor care about. According to the game…well, it’s never really explained. Likely because Starbreeze (the same team which brought us Escape from Butcher Bay) are planning to into more detail with their planned, but as yet, unconfirmed, sequel.
The game itself is a pretty straightforward first person shooter. Or, at least it seems so at first glance. However, as events progress, and the Darkness itself is added as a weapon in you Jackie’s not insignificant arsenal, the game starts to show a number of interesting, and inspired, personal touches. For example, if you move close enough to an opponent (or even a civilian if you so choose) a tap of either fire button (one for left weapon and one for the right) will instigate a random execution move. Something which, unlike in many games, can be performed whether the enemy is aware of your presence or not.
Also, the Darkness itself offers a few nice little innovations. Such as the Demon Arm which you can use to skewer opponents, break lights (your power is the Darkness after all) and even lift and throw objects such as dustbins and cars. The Creeping Dark, which can scout ahead for you and pick up otherwise unreachable items, open doors, and dispatch enemies without you even needing to come physically within sight of them. And a shield which replenishes when in dark areas (hence the Demon Arm being so useful for breaking lights) that will protect you from harm. This is not an exhaustive list of what the Darkness can do, but should at least give you an idea of just how useful it is.
To begin with, all you have is Creeping Dark and the shield. The rest of your abilities being earned over the rest of the game. Including four types of Darklings (little demon chappies) which can help you out both directly by fighting along side you, and indirectly by clearing debris (Kamikaze Darkling) and opening locked doors (Berserker), as well as offering some light relief by their idle chatter as they go about their demony business. Considering that the game as a whole is extremely dark and oppressive in tone, they can really help lighten the mood when it gets it bit too overpowering.
As well as offering in engrossing single player experience, the Darkness also has the usual array of multi-player modes like Capture the Flag and Deathmatch which seem to have borrowed somewhat from the AvP series in that you can choose to play as a Human, or Darkling, with the option of automatically changing back and forth between the two at each death. Unfortunately, I can’t comment on how well the game works online as no-one ever seems to make use of it. Which, I suppose, speaks volumes in itself.
However, don’t let this put you off. The strength of the plot (putting aside the extreme differences between the game and the original comics) will keep you hooked from the opening cinematic of a real time car chase, to the climactic showdown with Uncle Paulie Franchetti. Like the Half-Life series, and to an extent Butcher Bay, the Darkness is entirely devoid of fully rendered cinematics. The entire game rather taking place in real time, and allowing the option of looking, and often moving around whilst key events are playing out.
This could lead to some people missing certain things, but if you are the type to be too impatient to sit still for a couple of minutes then you would probably be mashing the X button to skip through the cinematics anyway. And I would strongly advise you not to do so in this case. The voice acting is top notch, and the scripting is excellent. The scene in the Church, when Jackie is at the mercy of Captain Shrote (NYPD) is chilling, and not something to be missed.
Given that this is now a relatively old game, being one of the earliest additions to the Playstation 3 and X-Box 360 library, the quality of the visuals are a testament to the skill of the staff at Starbreeze (before this pretty much a PC exclusive company) though it does show some degree of being overly polished and shiney because of the current, idiotic craze for High Definition in favour of photo realism. But the quality of the actual animation, in so far as the way things move when you interact with them, more than compensate for the irritating glare.
To but it simply. The Darkness has elevated itself from a bog standard first person action adventure to a masterpiece of the current gaming generation. The various environments are dark and melancholy, and in the case of the demon world trenches of World War One just plain disturbing. You will find yourself beginning to wonder how Jackie manages to remain such a relatively nice guy surrounded by all the crap he has to deal with in his daily life. Then you will think back to Jenny and it all seems to make sense.
Graphics 8.5/10
Gameplay 9/10
Audio/music 9/10
Plot/Scripting 9.5/10
Overall 9.5/10
Sep 21
2008
2008
Order Up! for Wii
By: Charlie Jones Category: Games, Order Up!, Wii
When a buddy showed up with this game, I wasn’t really interested. Cooking is not my thing - and virtual food isn’t even edible. But I thought I’d give it a try anyway, and the results were surprisingly not bad. It’s not game of the year by any means, but does provide for some entertaining game-play in the faux restauranteer world.
The scenario: you’re an unproven new chef in the small town of “Port Abello” (yuk, yuk), with high hopes of rising up the culinary ranks to become a real somebody. You purchase a local diner, and ready to unleash your blossoming talent onto the palettes of the local town-folk.
As you may have gathered, the main game-play component of Order Up! involves food preparation - you’ll need to slice, dice, fry, grill, and more all with accuracy to receive a good score. It’s not overly difficult, but does take some getting used to, and is satisfying to conquer. You’ll also need to keep your patrons happy, and can use the points earned doing so to upgrade your restaurant, hire new help, buy additional recipes and purchase spices.
As you do this successfully, you’ll earn a higher rating and have the opportunity to purchase a more advanced eatery. Rising all the way from a little greasy spoon to a fine dining establishment.
I found myself getting into a comfortable and enjoyable rhythm. And in true form you’ll notice, as with most Nintendo Wii Games, that their amusing characters and fun cartoonish visuals make the game-play all the more appealing. However, take note that Order Up! is a rather short offering, as we sat down in the late afternoon and had it finished before midnight. Besides that point, even if you’re not the cook in the family, you might be as surprised by this one as I was.
Sep 09
2008
2008
Shedding Some Light On “Alone In The Dark”
By: Elof Coulsen Category: Alone In The Dark, Games, Wii
A little over fifteen years ago (in 1992 to be precise) an as then mostly unknown video-game company by the name of Infogrames invented what we would later come to know as the Survival-Horror games genre. Yes, that;s right, contrary to popular belief, Capcom were not the first to keep us on the edge of our seats and fighting for our lives against the worst that the realm on the supernatural has to offer us. To be honest, neither was Inforgrames. Games like Nightmare Circus had been around a lot longer. But in so far as the modern form of Survival-Horror is concerned, Infogrames are undeniably the largest influence.
According to even Capcom themselves, a lot of their inspirations for the Resident Evil series even came from those early Alone in the dark installments. Nine years later, when Alone in the dark resurfaced across the most current generation of games consoles (at the time) the favour was returned with Infogrames taking some inspiration back. Most notably in the form of the way we would control our erstwhile protagonist, Mister Edward Carnby.
Unfortunately, Alone in the dark : The new nightmare was far from the resounding success that was hoped for. Though, it obviously did well enough for the most recent offering, this time under the license of the parent company, Atari. And it could not have come at a better time. Atari have had a troubled history. Disappearing from the video-game world almost completely for a number of years, only finally returning with the, again disappointing, Enter the Matrix.
Common consensus seems to be that Atari are, once again, on the verge of collapse. At least, until Alone in the dark (2008) was released across all of the major platforms and the PC in the early stages of the year. I can’t speak for the “next gen” or PC release of the game as the Wii version has some differences in gameplay to reflect both the unique control system and simple logistics of the console. Much like most of the cross platform games in recent times. However, the Wii version of the game is in now way diminished by this.
It’s a solidly built, and thoroughly enjoyable game. Graphically it wouldn’t be put up as the poster child for Nintendo, it’s far from being a game that pushes the Wii’s capabilities to their limit, but it’s still a very pretty game in a lot of ways. The animation of some of the characters, most notably Carnby himself, are a little clumsy, but the overall impression is nothing to be scoffed at. The breadth of expression on the various people you come across along the way is truly a marvel to behold. You can almost forget that they’re animations, even given the waxy look of their skin. Their faces move like you would really expect of a real person.
The control system is simple and responsive, allowing you both a first and third person perspective to play through in most areas apart from some narrow sections of the game (limited to first person) and the climbing sections (limited to third). Even whilst in the driving sections of the game you have the choice between the two. Which is most decidedly a good thing as this is the one area where the game falls decidedly short. Some of the physics involved in the car sections would cause even Rockstar to have a few giggles, and we all know how silly some of their collision physics can be.
Fortunately, the strength of the rest of the game is enough that we can put up with the aggravation and persevere. Well, that and the fact that, with the game being split split into a series of ten, each split into three or four specific sections, chapters that are available to select right from the beginning, you can skip forward past any sections that you may be struggling with. Quite an interesting idea, though not one I chose to make use of myself. At least, not during the first play through. But it certainly has it’s uses for when you want to nip back to a certain stage of the game that you liked, or to show your friends or suchlike.
I feel I should warn you however, the game is a little short. Not likely to keep you entertained for much longer than four or five days on the first play through. But it’s entertaining enough that it wouldn’t take much convincing to go back and play through again. Though, unfortunately, there are no trailers or alternate costumes and suchlike to unlock so replay value comes solely in the strength of the game itself. But the game is not a significantly difficult one to play, with the primary challenge being reserved for the puzzle sections rather than a focus on intense action.
An all around good game. Suitable for both casual and hard core gamers alike, Alone in the dark is a good game to keep you happy for a while, and since it finishes on perhaps the most dramatic cliffhanger I’ve yet seen, you will certainly be waiting with baited breath for the next chapter. Also, from what I understand, you could check out the “next gen” version for a more intense gaming experience. Or purely for the pleasure of comparing the differences between the two.
Graphics : 8
Gameplay : 8
Audio/music : 8
Plot/scripting : 9
Overall : 8.5
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