Category Archives: Game Review

Arcade Review: Skulls of the Shogun

Posted on by Semtex Skittle

titlescreen

I went diving through the XBox Live Arcade’s new releases the other day. And you all know what that means! Yes, I’ve played Skulls of the Shogun, a new release by new developer 17-BIT (their only release to date, as far as I’ve determined), and available for 1200 Microsoft Points which (I think) is something like $15. The game draws inspiration from the classic GBA title “Advance Wars” in its game play, while its visual style reminds me of the classic XBox Live Arcade release “Castle Crashers”.

In its single player mode, the game follows the story of the tactically brilliant General Akamoto… after his death. He arrives in the afterlife prepared to claim all of the glory that his countless victories in life earned him, and is instead consigned to a bleak shore outside of the afterlife proper with only a few skeletons to keep him company. Obviously unsatisfied, Akamoto (you, the player!) begins gathering undead soldiers for an assault on the gates of the afterlife, to claim what is rightfully his. You soon learn the truth; Akamoto was stabbed in the back in life by his right hand man, Kurokawa, a noted coward. Immediately after stabbing you, Kurokawa fell on a spear, and was able to arrive in the afterlife first. There, he assumed your identity (and one of your daisho swords) and generally left everyone pretty torqued off in his wake.

Each mission (or multiplayer level) begins with each side commanding units drawn from a small pool. At first, you have access to only the slow-moving but defensively powerful Infantry and the faster but more vulnerable Cavalry. Soon after, you gain access to Archers, who are vulnerable in close combat, but very powerful at range. Archers are lethal to Infantry, whom they can outrun, but are outpaced by Cavalry and can’t fire when the enemy has closed in, while Cavalry can’t win a stand-up fight with Infantry, you see? Of course, your units can power-up in battle by consuming the skulls of the fallen. Each skull increases the maximum hitpoints of the unit, heals it somewhat, and if you eat three skulls you enter a Demon form, which gains a second action on each of your turns. The game also adds another twist in the form of Monks, spellcasting allies that you gain through capturing their shrines on the battlefield. Monks gain new spells from eating skulls, and can turn the course of a battle.

Your other main unit of concern is the General, a powerful unit (with an Infantry’s defense, the highest attack of all, and reasonable speed), however, the loss of the General means the loss of the mission. For this reason, it’s often wise to simply let the General hang around (in fact, each turn you go without ‘activating’ your General to give him orders, he heals a hitpoint and gains a maximum hitpoint, this is called ‘Meditating’, and is unique to the General) behind his men and direct the battle. Your units can also group together in tight formation to prevent the enemy from speeding past – an invaluable tactic that can help to protect your Archers, Monks, and General.

Although the unit list is limited and the game’s rules are not difficult to learn, there’s definitely some strategic depth to the game. In addition, the dialogue of the game is tight and fairly humourous, and the game itself is fun to play. You can’t ask for much more than that.

First Impression: Telltale Games’ The Walking Dead: Episode 3 “Long Road Ahead”

Posted on by Arleigh

What is there to say about Telltale Games’ work on the adventure game The Walking Dead other than they seem to have gotten exactly what has made the comic book series so popular with both readers and critics. The show has slowly gotten to the same level, but not until Telltale Games has a spin-off of Robert Kirkman’s title gotten it all right. The first two episodes has been a great exercise in showing the panic, strain and utter despair that falls on the remaining living survivors of a zombie apocalypse that has descended on the world.

Episode 3, “Long Road Ahead”, continues where the previous episode left off with Lee, Clementine and the rest of the group back at their walled off motel compound outside of Macon, Georgia. It’s only been a couple weeks or so since the events at the dairy farm and we see the added strain of dwindling supplies has brought on. We also see the decisions made by certain characters at the farm affecting the group and creating even bigger divisions between Lily and Kenny. Stuck in between these two strong personalities is Lee (the player) and this episode does an even greater job of making his decisions that much harder to pick when situations (usually stressful ones) come up.

This episode has been seen by fans of the games as the turning point which has cemented this title as one of the best games of 2012. The writing continued to improve under the pen of Gary Whitta who seem to be channeling his inner Kirkman as some heartwrenching moments and deaths occur throughout Episode 3. One such death has become one of the biggest WTF moments in gaming for 2012 that  I would be surprised if it doesn’t make many top 10 lists for the year when it comes to gaming’s biggest moments. I know that the sequence surprised me which led to lots of stunned silence, followed up by screaming at my TV then admiration for actually pulling off something that could turn off many players, but instead hooked those still on the fence about whether they should continue playing this episodic title.

The other deaths in this episode were more of a slow burn where we already know the fate of one of the characters and the reaction of another to this situation was unbearably sad, but understandable considering the situation which led up to it. All througout these situations the player as Lee was forefront in how things developed and the choices one gets to choose from doesn’t telegraph how things would unfold. It didn’t help that the timer on making each decision still added a level of stress that most games never fully grasp despite higher budgets and better graphics.

If there was one thing that kept this episode from becoming truly great it’s the controls when something interactive actually occurs where players have to do more than choose what to say. It’s still clunky and awkward on both the Xbox 360 and the PS3, but not as much on the PC which tells me that Telltale Games have been porting the title from a PC base rather than the other way around. For some gamers this keeps the game from becoming immersive despite the great writing, but for me it was a minor inconvenience that never took away from the narrative and the visuals.

The episode ends with a bit of hope as Lee and his group picks up three new faces, but also ends in an ominous cliffhanger as we find out that Clementine may have been keeping things from Lee that could endanger (this being the world of The Walking Dead its a good bet it’ll be dangerous) not just her, but the rest of the group. The fourth episode has now been released for all systems and with the new season of the tv show set to premiere it looks like now is a good time to get back to the Walking Dead state-of-mind.

Episode 1: A New Day

Episode 2: Starved For Help

Video Game Review: Borderlands 2 (by Gearbox Software / 2K Games)

Posted on by Leonard Wilson

2K Games and Gearbox Software have finally unleashed the sequel to it’s successful IP, Borderlands on game consoles, and wow, it’s wonderful to return to this universe. Some of my friends on Xbox Live introduced me to the original game and we had quite a bit of fun making our way through it. It was easy to have the sequel on our must play lists.

Here’s what you need to know about Borderlands. The game exists within a barren wasteland known as Pandora. In this place, we have The Vault. If found and opened, it will yield an unimaginable treasure, and as a result, Vault Hunters come from far and wide to seek it out. Along the way, you end meeting some strange characters and fighting against weirder ones. What set Borderlands apart was that it was something of a shooter / Role Playing Game and that it also contained a massive amount of weaponry. Working off of an XP system, you can upgrade your character by killing any enemies you find on the landscape, which is normal for any RPG, but the amount of different weapons in the game was massive.

It was rare to run into the same gun twice.

Borderlands 2 basically picks up where the last game left off in terms of development. Gearbox has introduced four new types of characters to work with, new landscapes and guns. Since the graphics engine is more akin to games like XIII and maybe even The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker, the game moves very fast and there’s little lag online when playing with 3 other players in a Co-Op battle.

The guns in the game all have attributes of their own, such a reload factors, damage strength and scope strength (if they have them). Some guns can be used as grenades when they use up a clip. Others have Elemental qualities (which I love), in that they can set enemies on fire, shock them with lightning or shoot corrosive acid. As you level up in the game, so the available weapons, so you’ll find yourself selling or discarding the ones you’ve carried along for more powerful upgrades – unless of course you happen to own one revolver or two that you just can’t part with. Trust me, that happens.

The four characters in Borderlands 2 are the Siren (my personal favorite), who has a focus on Elemental Ability and healing factors on the battlefield. The Gunzerker is pure brute force, can duel wield weapons and can beat an animal senseless with his melee tactics. The Commando can send out a sentry turret as a backup in battle. The Assassin, new to Borderlands, has tactics similar to Ghost Recon: Future Soldier, where he can blend in with the background and send out a decoy to confuse the enemy. His sword allows for massive melee damage when he’s out of ammo.

The skill tree system in Borderlands 2 has been upgraded from the first game as well. There are upgrade paths for every character with a limited amount of points to use, which help ensure that once you fully fill a skill tree – say one that allows you to cause elemental damage to everyone in the environment when using a Siren’s Phaselock ability – you’ll want to play the game over again to work on another path. It helps to shape just how you want your character to go, and is really fun when working in a team environment. One character can focus on healing the team, while another can be pure attack. If you have communication between your players, there’s no limit to how well you can do in a battle.

If Borderlands has any limitations, it’s that you can’t benefit from having your Single Player character work in a Co-Op environment. For example, if you have a level 20 Gunzerker, he can jump into a friend’s game who is only at the start and be a major effect on the battlefield, but it gives that high level character next to nothing in XP as they’re only fighting characters that are far weaker than them. Additionally, the high level character won’t benefit from any of the missions in the game (after all, they’ve already gone through them in their own game) In a way, it’s very smart, because it helps newer players level up, but the best way to go through a Co-Op game is to start from the very beginning together. This way, you all can level up around the same time and move forward as a group.

Overall, Borderlands 2 is a fantastic game to play if you have a team to work with, moves very quick and has no shortage of ammo or enemies to blast away to your heart’s content.

Faster Than Light

Posted on by Semtex Skittle

 

Entirely by accident, I discovered a game called Faster Than Light (FTL) while I was making my weekly perusal through the library over at Great Old Games. Because I like spaceships and bright shiny stars, I was instantly intrigued. Without really taking the time to learn a whole lot about the game, I went ahead and made the purchase. At $9, I didn’t feel like I had to get much return on my investment. After having sunk roughly a billion hours into FTL since that purchase, I’ve subsequently learned that FTL was funded by Kickstarter (another rousing success story! Go Kickstarter!), is actually new, despite having been on Great Old Games, and there was some buzz before it came out that I literally can’t believe that I didn’t hear even a single whisper about. I guess I haven’t been reading enough blogs after all.

My embarrassment over this game being news to me is a side issue, however. I have played Faster Than Light. Extensively. Allow me to tell you how it is, so you can decide whether that daunting $9 price point is worth it for you.

It’s great! Go buy it!

Well, alright. Let’s start with the premise. FTL is a Roguelike that stars you as the commander of a lone Federation starship with vital intelligence on the Rebel armada which you need to hustle across seemingly the entire galaxy to return to the last Federation fleet before they’re stomped by the aforementioned Rebels. Going against space type, we’re not rooting for the Rebels this time, as they are brutal, corrupt, jerks. On your journey, your ship will pick up space scrap which is used as currency. You need as much of this currency as possible in order to upgrade your single cruiser’s capabilities (the possibilities for this are extensive, including eight main ship systems, three subsystems, up to four weapon slots and three drone slots, three ‘augmentation’ slots for special systems, and your crew itself which starts small but can be expanded and include powerful alien species. So yeah.) You will need to upgrade your systems if you want to survive the long trek to the Federation fleet, and even more so if you intend to successfully defeat the final boss located there.

Your advance across the galaxy is star by star across multiple ‘sectors’ of space, with the Rebel armada in pursuit all the while, seeking to bring you down before you can bring your vital information to the Federation. Each star contains a random event, which can range from absolutely nothing, to running laser gun battles in asteroid fields, nebulae, or near stars that are experiencing solar flares. Suffice to say, given the random generation and the large range of customization options, no trek across the stars is ever exactly the same. Add in the fact that the game ultimately features about twenty unique ships each with its own unique interior layout and a unique starting loadout (some of which are much stronger than others) and you have a game that you can sink a great deal of time into.

The primary things that you, as a player, will need to do include managing your crew (crew members can be assigned to ‘man’ your ship systems. They can also be moved around to repair damaged systems, fight shipboard fires, repair hull breaches, board enemy craft, or repel boarders against your own), battling enemy ships with your craft’s weapons, drones, and boarding parties, and purchasing new upgrades and equipment to create a load-out that you feel like can go the distance. Finding combinations of weapons and special systems that work well for you is a big part of the game, and the only way that you will ultimately be able to experience any success against the final boss – an extremely difficult encounter, particularly if you are not prepared for it.

The downside for some players will be the difficulty. Faster Than Light is not an easy game. Not by a long shot. For those unfamiliar with Roguelikes, runs of horrific luck leading to catastrophe and death are incorporated by design. It is not a “problem” with the game that you might encounter a series of random events with no way out that lead to your ship exploding in the very first sector, or right before your confrontation with the boss. Death is deadly. There aren’t save points, folks, you’re back to the start if you go down in flames. This is, again, by design. It is not a “problem”, but it could be a reason why you would prefer not to play the game. So if the difficulty thing doesn’t appeal to you – and I didn’t even mention a learning curve that’s somewhat difficult to quantify – Faster Than Light may not be entirely to your liking. Of course, you may end up addicted anyway, and end up on a spiral of increasing frustration. I don’t personally recommend that path, but it’s your mouse to break, as they say.

The graphics “look like a flash game” as I’ve been told, which I suppose is true enough, but the game has spot-on sound effects and an excellent environmental music score that provides exactly the right touch of ambiance while you play. I found the graphics adequate, if nothing to rave about, and there’s something charming about the presentation, which is reminiscent of older video games and tugs at my nostalgia strings in a way that I find appealing. I definitely find myself recommending the game, even freely acknowledging that it may not be for everyone. After all, what game is?

For those who are interested, you can acquire FTL off of its official website or on Steam. You can also purchase the DRM-free version on GOG, but this version is only available for Windows platforms. Regardless, of where you get it, the game will be $9 until the sale price ends, after which it will price out at a whopping $10. So, act now, or whatever.

What I Played Today: Mass Effect 3: Leviathan!

Posted on by Semtex Skittle

Technically, I played it yesterday.

So, remember how everyone hated the ending to that highly anticipated, trilogy-culminating, pre-order bonanza of a FPS RPG called Mass Effect 3? I do. Later, when Bioware got around to releasing an expanded and updated ending, it seems like only about half of the original ME3 crowd came back to see it. Part of it might have just been exhaustion over the whole ME3 ending saga – it was mostly fatigue that kept me from running to my XBox to plunge into the depths of the new ending. I suspect others are sticking to their guns; they heard that the “new” ending isn’t really new at all, just an expansion on existing events and themes. So they’re not interested. The Indoctrination crowd didn’t find much to love in the new ending, so diehards of that theory or whatever… probably didn’t need to rush back to see things unfold.

Others I suspect are in a third camp. They want an excuse to play the game again, but they don’t really feel like doing Chronos Station and Earth. At least, not as a standalone. It’s not like those missions were some glowing paragon of what ME3 could be. All of the heavy stuff happens earlier, and Earth doesn’t have the fun factor that the final assault on the Collector Base did. It’s kind of a long slog, when you get right down to it. In fact, the whole game is pretty heavy, and I’m not sure it bears back-to-back play-throughs with as much grace as the previous installments did. I, at least, noted Mass Effect lover and apologist, have completed Mass Effect and Mass Effect 2 probably a dozen times each. I have completed Mass Effect 3 once. Just once. I continued to play the multiplayer occasionally, keep that readiness nice and blue, and waited patiently for a time when I would feel the urge to play the game once again.

It turns out that the urge returned when BioWare finally dropped their first single player content DLC: Leviathan.

Leviathan starts with the story of a man named Dr. Bryson, a scientist on the Citadel who is investigating celestial phenomenae. Specifically, he is rooting around through old monster legends and other such seeming nonsense for any kind of clues that might have survived from a previous cycle about the Reapers. In the course of this research he discovered something that is – potentially – even more interesting… an artifact that is linked to a space monster they’ve dubbed ‘Leviathan’. A creature so powerful that it was capable of downing a Reaper in single combat. Something that seems impossible. But, Bryson does have this weird glowy artifact, and he seems pretty sure… and, since we’re completely desperate for even the tiniest possible edges at this point in our seemingly unwinnable battle against extermination… I eventually acceded that it was probably worth tracking down Bryson’s assistant, who went to an asteroid mining facility in order to follow up on a possible second artifact. Needless to say, hilarity ensues, and Shepard embarks on several missions, broken up by return visits to the lab for analysis, before the climactic scene on an eerie ocean planet about which the less I say, the better.

In terms of DLC, Leviathan is no Lair of the Shadow Broker. While it does appreciably expand on some story elements of Mass Effect 3 (specifically, you gain some fun information about the Reapers. This DLC answered one of my most irritatingly nagging questions about the background of the Reapers. Fun!) and it provides a handful of fun missions – the ocean planet, it’s worth stating, is a gorgeous backdrop for the mission that takes place there – it lacks the character driven tension of Lair. I would put it more on par with the “Arrival” DLC for ME2. You don’t have much reason to get invested in the new characters you meet, and so they feel disposable in a way the core cast never would have. That having been said, I don’t know how many of you returned to ME2 to complete Arrival, but I felt it was a well-spent $10, and I feel the same way about Leviathan. It has a good atmosphere, a couple of cool weapons and new modifications for your gun toting pleasure, and a very impactful revelation at the end.

Incidentally, if you have any interest in ME3 single player DLC at all, there’s extra incentive to acquire Leviathan. Fan interest has seemed much less driven for ME3 DLC than in previous titles… presumably because the ending to the game is as final as it is. Shepard’s story can’t continue, it can only expand.

First Impression: Telltale Games’ The Walking Dead: Episode 2 “Starved For Help”

Posted on by Arleigh

Telltale Games released the first episode in their adventure game The Walking Dead months ago. Due to some of their past titles not panning out despite hype from the studio this time around it seems like Telltale may have finally found their groove with this game set in the zombie apocalypse world created by critically-acclaimed comic book author Robert Kirkman. With the first episode, A New Day, the company was able to capture the chaos and danger of the early days that was only hinted at in the comic book and in the AMC tv series.

That first episode introduced gamers to the two main characters that would be the focus of this horror-adventure title. Lee Everett and Clementine were characters rare in licensed video games in that they’re original to the title and also one of the better written and realized fictional characters in gaming. The first episode did a great job in setting up these two characters and the world that some thought the problems that has plagued Telltale Games with their episodic titles would pop up once more: great beginnings that would fizzle out with each new episode.

I’m happy to say that episode 2, Starved For Help, doesn’t fall in Telltale Games’ past pattern. In fact, this latest episode in the game actually builds on the strength of the first episode and improves upon what made it fun and very good while minimizing some of the flaws with that initial episode. We find Lee, Clementine and the survivors of the first episode (how a player made their decisions on who lives or dies in the first episode will determine the roster for episode 2) still at the motel complex from the first episode. They’ve been largely kept safe at their makeshift haven but the prospect of dwindling supplies has forced Lee and the group to venture out into the surrounding forest to forage for food. It’s during one such foraging mission that the group comes across another group that would kick-off the story for Starved For Help.

Telltale Games doesn’t try to recap too much of the first episode in this follow-up, but does let the dialogue between Lee and others remind gamers about their decisions in the first episode and how it has affected the situation Lee and his group has itself in. The addition of some new members to the group doesn’t feel forced but actually feel quite welcome as it helps keep the growing rift between two factions in the group from becoming too static. In fact, this episode actually makes some of the decisions made by characters we initially found to be on our side to be counter-productive and dangerous while those who came off as too rigid and confrontational end up being more sympathetic.

It’s during these dialogue sequences where players once again have a timed-limit to make their dialogue choices and decisions that The Waling Deadcontinue to impress. Once again players must make their dialogue-choices from four choices that doesn’t really come off as evil, good, indifferent, etc. It’s up to the player to determine just exactly which dialogue answer best fit the sort of game they’re playing. I’ve played through both episodes trying out myriad of choices available to me and with each and every different choices the game plays out much differently, but still continues to straddle the grey area. There’s no good or bad decision and it’s what makes this game’s dialogue-mechanic so much better than most games that use something similar.

The action part of the episode has some tweaks to QTE (quick time event) combat mechanic that makes targeting a tad better than what was available in the first episode, but this part of the game still remains the weakest link in what has so far been a stellar game. After just two episode I wouldn’t be surprised if most fans of the title just wish for the QTE’s to go away and let actions in future episode be determined by dialogue choices. It would definitely help keep the gamer’s from being pulled out of the narrative immersion they find themselves in.

Starved For Help is a great example of how a studio can learn from it’s past mistakes and improve on the template they’ve decided on from the beginning. Even the story that unfolds in episode 2 is a huge improvement from the first episode that was very good to begin with. We see Telltale Games handle the themes of survival vs living, moral grey areas in an apocalyptic world and survival at the cost of others with deft hands that best exemplifies what has been great about the comic book series. There’s been times when the narrative in the game actually comes off as more subtle and less exposition-heay than Kirkman’s own writing which for some is an improvement in itself.

With two episode now released it’s going to be interesting if Telltale Games can continue their new found groove of keeping things consistently good to great which their past games didn’t seem to have. Now three episodes remain and from the ending of episode 2 the group has found a new reprieve from their dire problem of low supplies, but at a cost that may come back to haunt Lee, Clementine and others.

Episode 1: A New Day

On the Rain-Slick Precipice of Gaming!

Posted on by Semtex Skittle

Unfortunately, this particular editorial can’t pass without some background information being passed around first. The story is a sad one at times, but I think you’ll find the resolution as satisfying as I have! Do let me know!

Some of you may have heard of the popular webcomic Penny Arcade. A much smaller chunk of you are probably familiar with the two games that Penny Arcade released in the year 2008, parts one and two of On the Rain-Slick Precipice of Darkness… a story which blended Penny Arcade’s unique style of humour and its unique visual style with a modern RPG engine to create a new gaming experience. Most of you who bought the first two games are further familiar with the catastrophic announcement in 2010 that Hothead Games was going to proceed with the Deathspank franchise over producing the third title in the Penny Arcade series… and that… the Penny Arcade series was cancelled.

Ouch.

Double ouch to people who really enjoyed the first two titles, and were looking forward to the conclusion of the story of Tycho Brahe and Jonathan Gabriel.

But then in 2011, a ray of hope emerged. Zeboyd Games, producers of such titles as Breath of Death VII: The Beginning and Cthulu Saves the World, had signed on to the project. In development? Rain-Slick 3. Only now, instead of using Penny Arcade’s comic book visual style and a more modern RPG engine, we were going to experience a fully pixelated 16-bit treatment of the story and the world, and it was to be released in a more Indie fashion.

Fine by me!

Now, in mid-2012… the new game is here. I have played it. And I would like to tell you all about it.

Rain-Slick 3 continues the story immediately after it left off at the end of Rain-Slick 2. Our heroes Tycho Brahe and Jonathan Gabriel, of the Startling Developments Detective Agency, have slain two Gods, and by a prophecy spoken by Tycho’s own father, this has brought the world to the brink of oblivion. Unfortunately, it seems, we must balance that against the fact that the ongoing presence of these ancient Gods has infused a great amount of evil into the world, from wicked hobos and rampaging mimes to the occurrence of ghosts, ghouls, and other supernatural critters. Railing against this destiny, Tycho and Gabe enlist the help of a head in a jar and a mysterious woman detective who shares a past connection with Tycho, in an effort to halt the ongoing conflict before it spirals out of control.

The gameplay is pure 16-bit RPG. Characters use a job system which is not unlike a pared-down version of that used in any Final Fantasy game, with jobs having certain special abilities gained as they level up. However, Rain-Slick wants to be fun for the player, and actually doesn’t allow you to grind (enemy groups disappear when defeated, and do not return!), so un-used jobs level up concurrently with those currently equipped, albeit at a slower rate, and your characters can equip multiple jobs with no penalty. Combining a useful suite of skills can create truly devastating fighters, so there is definitely a strategic aspect to how you equip your jobs, and how you choose equipment which can either cover weaknesses or heavily accent strengths. It gives a decent feel of customisation to the player, which is otherwise somewhat lacking as the player’s own avatar is absent from the game’s cast of characters (although referenced several times as having participated in previous events) and the game plays like a traditional RPG – there are no Mass Effect style conversation wheels to be found here.

The game’s charm is in its simplicity, and its storytelling. Although the story is predictably broken up by long chunks of combat-heavy dungeon, it remains infused with the humour and ability of the guys from Penny Arcade – not insubstantial! – and hints of that artwork style, used for character portraits and enemy models. Of particular amusement value are the names of enemies, always accompanied by a short description, which really rekindle the feel of the first two games. Zeboyd has done a marvelous job in continuing the saga, even though the game plays absolutely differently from the original two titles.

If you still have any interest in this series, I highly encourage a purchase! Rain-Slick 3 is available on Xbox Live Marketplace or Steam, or through the Penny Arcade store. The official site also notes that it should become available for iOS and Android in the future, and Penny Arcade notes the possibility of free updates to expand upon the core game. For a pittance of $5, this game is likely to do nothing but impress you from start to finish.

Video Game Quick Review: The Amazing Spider Man

Posted on by Leonard Wilson

Rocksteady changed things with 2009’s Batman: Arkham Asylum. As a brand new IP, it’s starting to become the template for a few popular games. Beenox has noted that the game was an influence on their “The Amazing Spider Man” game, and it really shows. Eidos’ Hitman:Absolution will also be working off the same engine (if not a similar one).

Before playing Activision and Beenox’s “The Amazing Spider-Man”, you should first know that it takes place after the events of the Marc Webb’s film that opened recently. Playing the game will give away major plot points from the film, but visually, it’s quite a treat. Unlike the other Spider-Man related tie in’s, this game doesn’t feature the voices of the movie cast. I was kind of hoping that it would, really.

Activision, along with Treyarch, created all of the movie related Spider-Man games (which I’ve owned), and by far, I’ve always thought of Spider-Man 2 as the best game in the franchise. The control in that game, which allowed you to shoot separate weblines from each hand, was amazing. It allowed you to pull off some incredible turns mid-swing and if timed just right, you could pull off sideways swinging. Beenox decided to change the style of the game, focusing on more of a Parkour-style swinging dynamic. This adds two great touches:

The “Web-Rush” system allows you to pick predesignated places for Spider-Man to go at any time. Once chosen, the game will take the quickest route to that target, even if it means Spider-Man has to bounce from Building A, hop off the fire escape of Building B and flip over some cars to get there. The Web Rush system also works similar to Batman’s Detective Mode in the Arkham games, allowing you to lock onto targets of attack, object to grab and use against your enemies. In flight (or fall, however you choose to look at it), it slows down time to allow you to select your destination. It makes it all look very beautiful and stylish, but also manages to take away the effort required to make it happen. It’s not a terrible thing at all, but I suppose it could be compared to Assassin’s Creed vs. Mirror’s Edge. Both games have you climb a building. Assassin’s Creed uses one button to get you to the top. Mirror’s Edge requires a number of calculated button presses to do the same thing. The reward is different, and I tend to prefer the latter. Still, it’s very fun to use, especially in close quarter interior battles. You can leap backwards to the ceiling and then advance right back to the enemy with a button press.

The controls are incredibly easy to access. Climbing a wall is as simple as pushing against it, and you can alternate between climbing and “perching” against any sideways wall. This turns the camera back to it’s original state to give you an idea of where you are as you move.

The camera is closer to Spider-Man overall, so you get a better sense of vertigo during swinging. You aren’t able to do any acrobatics while swinging, but that free fall experience is still there. It’s definitely beautiful. You can literally spend your time swinging all across the city all day. Note that the map is condensed, compared to Spider Man 2, which also contained part of Queens. Considering all of the graphical data that had to be generated, I can understand shrinking the map.

Collector Fiends will love that there are almost 700 comic book pages floating around the city, similar to the feathers in the Assassin’s Creed games. Collecting enough of these will unlock actual viewable versions of classic Spider-Man comics. XP gained from collecting these, along with taking out bad guys via the main storyline or the random crimes that occur in Manhattan will allow to unlock new moves and stealth actions for the old webhead. At one point, you’ll also obtain a camera that will allow you to take pictures around the city. It would have been nice if there was a way to capture screenshots of yourself swinging, but I’ll take it.

Stealth is a new factor in this game, a carryover from the Batman games. Spider-Man has the ability to now climb above and behind bad guys to web them up and get them out-of-the-way. It works to some degree, though some bad guys move in such tight nit groups that it’s hard to get them away from each other to take them out. You’ll be able to stealth eliminate two at a time (with an upgrade), but the rest of the group sees this, you’ll be under attack. Bad guys range from normal thugs to some monsters to even giant robots, which are pretty fun.

The problem with The Amazing Spider-Man is the same problem that plagued all of the other free roaming versions of the game. The mini crimes are so predictable and monotonous that you’ll probably end up getting bored doing them. They literally are all the same ones from the original Spider-Man game, though cleaned up a bit.The web swinging and comic page collecting will make up for it, but I’m not sure if any game developer can find a better way to make the city defending elements better than what they are.

Overall, The Amazing Spider-Man is a fun game to try out, and the reply value is okay in the sense that you can just pick it up and go, but like every other game in the series, it still requires a few tweaks. The game is available for all the console systems.

The Magic of Duels of the Planeswalkers

Posted on by Semtex Skittle

 

A couple of years back I was bored one afternoon and browsing the XBox Live Marketplace. I didn’t have any real expectation of finding a game that would get me through the afternoon, let alone something that would have real staying power for me, and I would revisit time and again. When I saw that there was a Magic the Gathering game, it was suspicions that became aroused, not interest. Out of a kind of morbid curiosity I selected the game and read a little more into it, saw that a couple of my friends had played it, and that it seemed to be a self-contained engine of a game, and not simply another attempt to sell me Magic the Gathering Online in a repackaged form (don’t get me wrong, I don’t have anything against MTG:O. In fact, it’s a clever idea to reach people who either don’t have an active local Magic scene, or hate their local Magic scene, but if I had money to waste on Magic, I personally would do it at my local comic store).

But, oddly, the complaint that I keep hearing from people about Duels of the Planeswalkers (aside from some more quantitative complaints, which I’ll get into) is that it’s a self-contained thing, not a beautifully rendered amalgamation of all Magic ever.

…Well, duh.

You may bring whatever expectations you wish into your gaming experiences, but I find it’s better to try and keep things a little bit in perspective. For a $10 XBox Live Arcade title – a game that by definition is not a full retail game – you are expecting a full pool of Type II cards, a fully operational deck builder, and carte blanche to build as many decks as you like and play them against other humans? How much money does that privilege cost in real life? If some quickly-researched netdecking can be believed, a couple hundred bucks will buy you a top end deck in the current meta (and someone bought those cards at $4 for each randomized pack or whatever at retail, let’s not forget). Let’s say each ranked DCI event costs another $7 as an entry fee. So for one singular deck, you must expend hundreds of dollars, and much of that income reaches Wizards of the Coast. Then, if you wish to change decks, you’re likely to need more cards. Wizards will release new expansions, and you will need still more cards. All of this generates revenue for the company that is printing the game (and all of the creative people behind its design, etc.) and you honestly approach Duels of the Planeswalkers with the expectation that it’s going to just replace the CCG model forever?

Come on.

So now that that soap box moment is out of the way, let’s talk about the game. 2013 is the latest upgrade to the now-yearly franchise. Much like regular Magic’s Type II environment, DotP can be seen as a sealed ‘block’ of decks of cards, and it evolves year by year. The game-play improvements in 2013, then, are very slight, since the game of Magic hasn’t changed much. The most meaningful one is the long-awaited ability to manually select your own lands to tap for Mana instead of letting the CPU select them for you (the CPU attempts to do this intelligently, but unfortunately, the CPU has no idea what it’s doing). The main difference is, therefore, the entirely new pool of decks that players can customize and compete with. The game launched with 10 available decks which come with a basic pool of 35 cards (plus the necessary land to make the deck function of course) and an additional 30 unlockable cards. The cards are unlocked – unfortunately – one by one, by winning duels, or if you’re lucky enough to be playing the console versions, by the purchase of Deck Keys (those cost about $1 of your real money each) which completely unlock the deck in question. This represents a large increase in possible customization over the selection offered by 2012.

The decks themselves are primarily monochrome, which is a shame. I understand that Wizards probably sees DotP as a tool to draw people into the world of Magic: The Gathering either on or off line, hoping to gain more lifetime players who are eager to experience the full game. However, many players do want to enjoy DotP as a game in its own right, and while monochrome decks are easier to play and make a decent introduction, the truth is that the Magic decks you’re going to see even at a local Friday Night Magic tournament are going to include a lot of paired colours for a simple reason – each colour is deliberately designed with shortcomings. Black has access to many easy fire-and-forget creature destruction spells and no enchantment removal at all. White has only a tiny splash of creature removal (and each of their ‘removal’ cards has a drawback printed on the card!) but many good cards for destroying enchantments or artifacts. If you combine the two, you can have both of those strengths, and cover for the weaknesses, at the expense of a deck that can be less reliable (since you must now possess two different colour resources) and harder to play. The trade-off is almost always worth it.

Hopefully DLC (it’s already in the works, of course!) will expand a little bit on this, and throw in some more two-colour decks (and a few fewer absolutely atrocious 3-colour decks. Please?).

As for the Planechase mode, I haven’t got much to say. I’ve never liked Planechase because it can really take a long time to play a single game of it, so I’ve avoided testing it extensively. I can say that it works just like I remember it working in real life, and it can definitely be fun if you have the patience to stick with it. The unpredictable and powerful effects of the different twisting Planes can really throw a traditional match-up on its head. Combined with the inevitable chaos of FFA multiplayer, and you definitely have a format with legs – no two games of Planechase will ever be exactly the same.

I suggest that you think of Duels as a Magic format much like Captains or, frankly, Type II… and enjoy it for what it is; a closed Magic experience that doesn’t cost you a lot of cash out of pocket to play. The added levels of customization (regrettably, still not the ability to pick how many lands your deck has in it. Grrr!) make the environment more varied than ever (mind you, I did not suggest the environment was balanced. It’s much too early to speak on that) so it’s definitely a game that’s got some depth if you’re willing to take the time to learn the format and delve into its own quirks and strategies.

The game reportedly suffers from numerous bugs. I have not encountered any that are more severe than the ‘mild annoyance’ variety, but I suspect there are uglier ones to be found in those innumerable lines of code somewhere. I wish I could say this was uncommon for releases in 2012, but I try to remain honest when I write these columns.

So there it is. I find Duels to be a fantastic addition to my summer, and I’m more excited than ever to waste countless hours trying to determine the best combination of 60 cards in the fixed pool that makes up my blue deck that will best let me control the decks I’ve seen people playing this week. Oh, and if you pick it up, do try it out with a friend in Two-Headed Giant at least once. It’s riotously fun.

Mass Effect 3

Posted on by Semtex Skittle

I finished Mass Effect 3! The first video game I’ve ever finished! … Or, at least, for a long time.

Shall we talk about it?

Mass Effect 3 is (ostensibly, we know how sequels work these days) the conclusion to the story of one Commander Shepard, a human of exceptional skill, whose whole history is determined by the player. Shepard has journeyed long and hard to make people aware of the threat posed by the Reapers, synthetics bent on annihilating all organic life. From what I’ve seen, Mass Effect 3 is receiving decidedly mixed reviews. I think most of the negativity is oriented toward the ending, and we’ll talk about that later, but I’m going to start with a list of things that are ‘to like’ about this game. Even though if you have even the slightest interest in the franchise, you’ve already bought it.

Mass Effect 3 improves on the gameplay of Mass Effect 2.

Let that statement hang in the air for a moment. Why? Because I already thought Mass Effect 2’s gameplay was incredible; the game’s best feature, aside from its variety of characters and character interactions.

It still pads its play time by giving you lots of relatively minor quests, and forcing you to scan systems for ‘War Assets’ which involve running from Reaper forces and wasting a bunch of time. This is nothing new. After all, we drove the Mako around identically featureless planets in ME1, and we scanned for resources in ME2. The difference to me is that while we’re running around the Citadel recovering missions in ME3, we’re also subjected to background conversations between the inhabitants of that great space station. Their lives are affected by the war, and overhearing snippets of conversation lets us understand how so. It drew me into the setting of a (seemingly) hopeless war more than any activity aboard the Normandy. After all, Commander Shepard runs a stealth vessel with the most deadly folks around aboard. We don’t have any reason to fear the Reaper forces for the most part, because we’re better than they are. But on the Citadel, the Everyman is on the run. The Everyman fears that they will never see loved ones again.

In a holding area for Refugees, there’s a teenage girl waiting for her parents who has a variety of conversations with a C-Sec officer about her parents, and their transport, and when it’s going to arrive. It’s kind of heartwrenching. But also extremely appropriate.

In the field I suspect players will find much to like. The variety of enemy types is vastly improved over Mass Effect 2, as you combat the forces of the Reapers (now with more than just Husks and minibosses!), the forces of Cerberus (who are varied and deadly, very appropriate) and the traditional Geth opponents as well. I often felt that ME2’s opposition was pretty vanilla, but the unique properties of the enemies in ME3 make them feel much more varied even if (as I suspect) the actual number of “different” enemy types is not much different. The variety of powers IS improved, and now re-implements the use of grenades (an odd omission from ME2!) while keeping the basic gameplay mechanics of the second game intact. The most tangible difference is that you can now see Shepard’s hit points reflected in a bar with five segments. Once a segment is totally depleted, it only replenishes with the use of Medi-Gel. This is a significant feature of the game, especially on the harder difficulties.

Weapon upgrades are back with a vengeance. They operate like they did in the original Mass Effect, only +1. Now, you can acquire more advanced versions of weapons, and install increasingly powerful upgrades, to customize weapons to fit your playstyle. All classes now wield any weapon you like, with the newly devised penalty of heavier weapons slowing the recharge time of your special powers. So, a Biotic Adept is fully free to carry a sniper rifle and assault rifle, but it may mean that their Singularity cools down three times slower. Is that trade-off worth it? The answer is no, but it’s still definitively up to the player.

I was favourably impressed with the character moments and interactions in this game. Your own mileage will vary based on choices in previous games (and yes, while I have heard complaints that your choices don’t have a significant enough impact on the ending, they certainly have a significant impact on the game at large) but I was treated to a number of unexpectedly poignant and emotional character moments from both new and old faces. To me, this is the best work BioWare has done yet in terms of the characters involved… perhaps even exceeding Dragon Age II (although that entire game is so character-based, it’s a tough comparison). Some may be disappointed that many of the discussions no longer involve choosing options on the conversation wheel, but rather just talking it out after the fashion of conversations with companions Zaeed Massani and Kasumi Goto in Mass Effect 2.

I hesitate to say more, because it’s a story game, and I won’t be the one to spoil things for those who haven’t completed it.

Multiplayer!

Yes, there is now a multiplayer mode. It feeds the single player in that you can use any multiplayer character of level 20 as a War Asset, and in that it improves your Galactic Readiness score. For anyone who is wondering why your Galactic Readiness sits at a mediocre 50%, this is why! The multiplayer mode is a horde-styled mode where you fight against any of the three enemy forces (Geth, Cerberus, or Reaper) on one of several small maps, over the course of 10 waves, and then a “bonus” wave in which your squad waits for extraction. Three difficulty levels are available, which mirror normal, hardcore, and insanity level enemies, and thereby force different tactics to be used by the players.

I’d heard rumours that the single player was also supposed to support the multiplyer, but I’ve seen no evidence of that.

If you’re into Horde modes, you’ll almost certainly enjoy the multi-player here. Just be aware that you’ll have to work your way through a lot of matches to earn weapons and characters if you want the full experience, and getting a character to level 20, while not hard per se, can be time consuming. If you’re only looking to supplement your single player experience, your mileage will vary with the multiplayer mode.

And that’s where I’ll stop. I’d be happy to answer any specific questions, but I certainly don’t want to spoil the game for you. Just know that it’s a good game, and I hope you like it.