Tag Archives: game review

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.

Halo: CE Anniversary

Posted on by Semtex Skittle

Some of you may remember, back to a day just over 10 years back, when a little console called the XBox launched. It was, at the time, a seemingly suicidal attempt to challenge the dominance that Sony held over the home console market – albeit without much relevant interference from previous juggernaut Nintendo – and to establish a new console master. The XBox had such innovative features as an onboard hard drive (only standard on PCs since they were conceived) and a more interactive BIOS that let the owner of the console do things that had never really been possible with a home entertainment console before. At its launch, the XBox boasted such titles as Dead or Alive 3… Project Gotham Racing… Jet Set Radio Future (and I don’t think this launched in the US!) annnnnnnnd a very tiny game called Halo: Combat Evolved.

Most game fans, at least those who dabble in first person shooters, have played Halo: CE. Even in 2011, ten years after CE’s launch, with a whole new generation of gamers. At the very least, contemporary gamers are familiar with the Halo franchise, which has now spawned seven games (counting the offshoot Halo Wars), as well as novels, comics, and even an animated feature which tried to delve deeper into the mythology of the Halo universe. All of that – a billion dollar franchise – was spawned by this one little, innovative title.

Before I begin my review of the new game, launched a mere week ago, I think it’s important that we take a peek at the significance of Halo: Combat Evolved, as a franchise. Until CE launched, the gold standard for console FPS games was 007: Goldeneye, on the Nintendo 64. Now, Goldeneye is a fine game, and it actually incorporates many of the same elements that Halo would later exploit to their fullest potential, but there was never any danger of Goldeneye challenging PC titles like Counterstrike. At the time, the keyboard and mouse were irrefutably better for the world of the first person shooter. Goldeneye was really the pioneer that taught us how much fun it could be to play locally with a few friends split screen and try to kill one another. But Halo perfected this art; we learned to love the 16 player LAN, with a game that had faster pacing and a shallower learning curve than any PC-based shooter title, and was dramatically more advanced than Goldeneye.

You can look back and criticize the game now. It had poor multiplayer balance (well, really, the balance was excellent, so long as everyone had only a human pistol or sniper rifle), the single player re-used a lot of set pieces and enemy models, and the lack of true multiplayer – to be fair, XBox Live did not exist at this point! – made it impossible for Halo to truly outshine fully multiplayer active PC titles. But there is simply no denying that Combat Evolved launched a franchise which is now viewed as the flagship title of the XBox and Xbox 360, and one of the most successful shooter games of all time. Even Call of Duty, the chief rival in the field, has adapted a number of features from Combat Evolved over time.

Flash-forward to November, 2011.

I belatedly remembered that Microsoft Studios, in a shameless attempt to milk more revenue out of the franchise, was releasing the 10th Anniversary edition of Combat Evolved. Bungie has released the Halo franchise, and stated over and over that they’ll release no new Halo titles. Microsoft Studios, on the other hand, spun off 343 Studios (343 Guilty Spark, anyone?) specifically to create more Halo games. This remake of the original is just the beginning, as Halo 4 is already slated to be released sometime during 2012. Many fans may be turned off by Bungie’s dissociation with the brand, and I assume most every fan is going to look with some skepticism at this Anniversary Edition release of Halo: CE. To be honest; if I’d had to pay $60 US for a copy of this 10th Anniversary Edition, there’s simply no chance that I would have. Instead, I was able to rent the game, and so guilt-free I offer the following review:

The graphics are good. They are not cutting edge, and certainly do not test the limits of the XBox 360’s hardware. In a very real sense, the graphics of this updated remake were obsolete even before the launch. They don’t compare to the visual spectacle that we see in the level and model design of, say, Modern Warfare 3. So, those expecting some kind of visual masterpiece had best look elsewhere. However, the updated graphics are so far beyond the capabilities of the original XBox (the original graphics, like many XBox Arcade titles, are available with one button press). A couple of swaps between the original graphics and the updated ones should be more than enough to demonstrate how far graphical processors have come in such a short time.

If you’ve ever waxed nostalgic for the single player mode of Halo: CE, the Anniversary edition is for you. It adds nothing. Literally; nothing. But it does take us back to a game that many of us now lack the means to play; a classic title, but with beautiful new set pieces. The control setup feels very ‘classic Halo’, right down to the speed the Master Chief moves, and the way that he jumps. This will be unsettling for players of contemporary titles like Halo: Reach at first, but you’ll settle back in without too much trouble.

As for multiplayer, the Anniversary Edition builds on Halo: Reach. It features a number of remakes of original Halo maps, including Battle Creek, Damnation, Prisoner, Hang ’em High, and the Halo 2 map Headlong. All of these maps are set in the Halo: Reach multiplayer engine, so Halo multiplayer diehards will find nothing new here beyond the maps.

Of course, the Anniversary Edition also includes Online Co-Op, so you can play the story mode with friends across the world. Don’t sell that short; Halo’s storyline has always been more involved than people give it credit for.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3

Posted on by Semtex Skittle

So. At long last, here it is. The latest installment from the shell that remains of Infinity Ward, bringing back those endlessly popular features like sniper rifles, killstreaks that build on one another, and host migration that keeps the multiplayer modes playable!

The first reaction I’ve heard from people on the fence about this game (and, let’s be honest, there aren’t that many) is that they don’t want to pay the Madden Tax to play yet another Call of Duty that, much like any sports game, just isn’t that different from year to year. If you’re of that mindset, you’ve likely already made up your mind about this title. This review probably isn’t going to change your mind either way about this title, so I’m going to try and keep the review brief and focused upon specific observations I have about this game, the ground it breaks (or doesn’t break, as the case may be), etc.

Before I do some quick hits on the game though, it’s worth visiting the game’s new mode. The outstanding mode in Modern Warfare 3 is Survival Mode, which is an offshoot of the single/multi player Covert Ops mode from Modern Warfare 2. Like that title, Modern Warfare 3 includes a panel of special missions (based on levels that appear in the single player, of course) that you can run through that pose unique challenges. New this incarnation, however, is a wave-based horde mode that is very much in the vein of (nearly) identical modes in the last couple of Halo or Gears of War games. If you found those modes satisfying in Halo or Gears (or another title I’ve forgotten. Please forgive me?) you’ll like Modern Warfare 3’s take on it as well. The only possible downside is that, like the true PvP mode, Modern Warfare 3’s survival demands that its players level up to unlock certain equipment pieces. The problem is that the equipment curve in Survival begins with an even more boring selection of equipment. It’s worth noting that the level curve is so much lower that you should earn the equipment you really want in no-time flat, if you’re dedicated to doing so.

So, assuming you’re one of three human beings sitting on the fence today… you’re asking the question, do I want to buy this game? (Or, perhaps more probably, is this game right for X gift recipient?)

FULL DISCLOSURE: I pre-ordered and received the ‘Hardened’ Edition of Modern Warfare 3. I’ll try not to harp on pre-order features, but I’m not going to guarantee I’ve got it right. In addition, I am playing this title on the XBox 360. Addressing technical aspects of the game is pertinent only to the XBox 360 game system.

The Good!
– Multiplayer mode features more guns than ever. Not all of them seem powerful, but none of them seem un-useable (with the possible exception of the handguns, which I don’t deal in).
– Story isn’t bad, actually. It’s well-conceived, and fun to play. The variety in the level design is a nice change!
– Multiplayer mode rewards you for past service by giving you a head start if you’re achieved prestige mode in a previous title (going back to CoD 4!)
– The Prestige Mode now has its own shop that gives you a choice of rewards. Prestiging players can now keep a piece of equipment (such as a favourite gun) through the Prestige Mode. Players are, of course, free to go with more traditional benefits such as adding a custom class or gaining a bonus title and emblem set. The player is able to choose between options at each Prestige level.
– Netcode is very passable. The game will hand off host in extreme circumstances in order to improve gameplay (this was the single biggest downfall of Call of Duty: Black Ops, and no, it’s not close)
– The gun customization in this game is awesome. Adding the customize menu (including such benefits as reducing gun kick, or equipping two attachments) on top of the attachments available really makes you feel like you can get the gun you want to play with.
– New Strike Package system in multiplayer is endless fun.

The Un-Good

– Frankly, it’s Call of Duty. There’s no real innovation here, just a lot of touch-ups. It’s up to you to decide if that’s worth it!
– This game pushes the hardware limits of the console hard, and fast. I’ve noticed some weird system lag issues as a result of this, and the game frankly just doesn’t run as crisply as earlier entries (particularly, CoD 4).
– Story contains a horrifying twist… although, this can be disabled in the game options, much like the level ‘No Russian’ in Modern Warfare 2.
– Weapon balance is – as ever – questionable. Why bother including some weapons that feel utterly useless at higher difficulty levels and in multiplayer arenas? It’s worth noting that all weapons have some (read: dramatically more) use in the single player modes as opposed to the multiplayer environment, but it still feels like some weapons are universally strong, useful, and sustainable… and most others just simply aren’t. Given how many incarnations of Call of Duty we’ve suffered through now, this is the sort of thing that should have started to be fixed.
– Online players are as annoying as ever. Need proof? Take a look back at this review. I’ll see you on XBox Live. 🙂

Bastion!

Posted on by Semtex Skittle

A short while back, I got a message from a friend of mine. He urged me to download a game available on the XBox Live Arcade called Bastion. Actually, it was more like he demanded. Well, I acquiesced. And I could not possibly be more pleased that I did. Bastion is going to cost interested parties $14.99 (US currency) and is available for the XBox 360 and for PC gamers as well via the Steam network. I have heard no word about it being available (now or in the future) on the Playstation Network.

So what is Bastion?

Well, it’s an action RPG in the tradition of games such as Diablo. You control a character who is known only as the Kid, who makes his way through a city and world that have been ruined by an apocalyptic event referred to as the Calamity. The Calamity not only destroyed the magnificent city of Caelondia – where the Kid hails from – but also seemingly everything nearby, including the home of the Ura… a superstitious warrior tribe who had often been at odds with the Caelondians. Unfortunately for the Kid, he has no idea how this transpired, or what to do in a world where everything has been smashed to bits. Helping him on his way is a low-voiced narrator who guides the Kid – and, by extension, the player – through the game’s action. The story is told (almost) entirely through the narrator’s quips, which come one line at a time. Rather than having to read through large blocks of text, we instead are treated to a consistent flow of short quips from the narrator. He remarks on almost literally everything… from the progress of the story, to the different perks the Kid equips as he levels up, to the Kid’s choice in weapons… and, of course, on every piece of junk that the Kid finds lying around the burnt-out wreckage of their former home.

As a result of this narration, I would say the story of Bastion is considerably richer than that of many other action-style RPGs – Diablo springs prominently to mind. However, the story is also fairly simple, despite a couple of twists, and there is a dearth of developed characters. It doesn’t play with the same richness as some of the all-time greats in the genre (like some of the Legend of Zelda games). I should, however, note that the casting of newcomer Logan Cunningham as the voice of the narrator does a lot to give this game a style all of its own. Not only does he seek to bring this world alive for us, but he imparts some significant emotion into the games’ heavier moments.

Gameplay takes place over a series of beautifully rendered worlds which are restored a bit at a time (in the form of terrain pieces, both the actual surface of the world and the details accompanying it) recalled from the aether beyond. A variety of enemy types inhabit this world, each with their own quirks. The Kid equips two weapons (and while a melee and ranged weapon are strongly encouraged for ease of use, these weapons can be any pair you desire), a shield which can be used to both block and reflect enemy attacks, as well as a spell chosen from a list of at least 25 such spells (in earnest, I didn’t count. I suspect I missed a few anyway). In addition, the Kid can carry a number of health potions and black potions which restore health and power spells, respectively. Using these implements, the Kid fights his way across a dozen or more chunks of the world, interspersed with ‘Proving Grounds’ for each weapon, where the Kid is called on to complete an extraordinary task with each weapon for big rewards. Between missions, he’ll return to the last safe haven of Caelondia, called the Bastion. In the Bastion, the Kid can purchase upgrades (ten for each of the game’s 11 weapons!), equip spirits (of the 80+ proof kind) that give him significant bonuses, and select his weapon loadout. The player can also make the game more challenging by equipping idols (similar to equipping skulls in the Halo game franchise).

The single player will take perhaps 8 hours to complete (more if you’re extra thorough or big on using idols) and is followed by a New Game+ mode.

I really can’t recommend this one enough. Even at the (seemingly) hefty price tag of $15, it delivers as much content as some newer games which have the gall to charge a full $60~ retail.

Review: Dragon Age II: Legacy

Posted on by Semtex Skittle

Dragon Age: Legacy is the first post-release DLC available for BioWare’s hit dark fantasy epic. Available for 800 MS Points (or $10), this DLC is launched from your in-game home (whether this is Gamlen’s House or the Hawke Estate, depending on when you launch the DLC) by interacting with a creepy statue that you’ve apparently kept as a memento. Depending on your difficulty settings, level, and party make-up, the DLC will take about 2 hours to complete. It is not noticeably more or less difficult than the primary game, but it does introduce a number of new adversary types that were not present in Dragon Age II (more on that later).

This DLC is visually impressive, using all new set pieces (including a set of desert ruins, a Carta base, and the interior of a Grey Warden fortress) and a location outside of Kirkwall or its immediate vicinity. Hawke and a chosen party of three head into the Vinmark Mountains in pursuit of a group of dwarven Carta members who have made an assassination attempt against Hawke. I have not completed the DLC with all of the different party members available, but I can safely say that there are significant (and pleasant) tie-ins for Varric, Anders, and Bethany (presumably Carver as well) as you proceed through the DLC. Although it is told largely through the prism of combat, as you would expect, there is a fairly hefty dose of story in Legacy. Several smaller stories are told through side quests, and the main plot thread takes us some place unexpected in the climactic scene as you confront the DLC’s final boss. The encounters in this DLC are a little more thought out than many of the ones in the original game, with scenarios such as enemy archers attacking from raised positions, and areas you are herded into that have been deliberately trapped (complete with activation levers! Try turning some of these traps on their owners instead!) New enemies include brontos (the large dwarven pack animals) which make charge attacks that will bowl members of the party over and have tough hides, the re-designed genlocks (who are now quite distinct from the hurlocks; especially their alphas!) and the Alpha darkspawn that were absent from Hawke’s foray into the Deep Roads in the original game. Also returning are the deep stalkers, who are in large-scale battles with spiders at several points during the DLC.

Legacy also features no fewer than three boss encounters that have some unique elements to them. The final boss uses a lot of impressive visual effects and set pieces, but quickly grows repetitive. You’ll see what I mean.

One of the selling points of this DLC will no doubt be the large amount of gold and gear that can be obtained by playing it. You should note before launching the DLC that you will find a goodly number of useful green items scattered throughout it, and the relative power of these items is determined by Hawke’s level when you enter the DLC. None of the new items improve as you level, so if you visit Legacy very early in the game (when you’re still leveling frequently and replacing gear often) you may not get the best bang for your buck. In addition, only Hawke’s new weapon is truly awesome; the other items may not be as useful later in the game when you have access to many powerful items. I personally attempted Legacy a few quests before proceeding into the Deep Roads, and then in a post-game save. Hawke’s new weapon (typed appropriately for you based on your weapon group, i.e. a dagger or a longsword) is pretty dang awesome. It will begin with a high damage for your level and add a little to a key attribute for your class. As you make your way through the Grey Warden fortress, it will gain three upgrades that you’ll select from a total pool of twelve, including an elemental damage upgrade.

Even before the sale of junk items from Legacy, you’ll have easily made 40 gold or more. In addition, your party will gain a large amount of experience in the play-through (for example, I leveled from 11-14 just through playing the DLC); especially if you complete all of the available side quests.

I genuinely enjoyed this one. It’s easily worth the $10 in my estimation, and shows the care that I thought was typical of DLC in the original

Review: NCAA Football 12

Posted on by Semtex Skittle

Yes, it’s that time of year everyone. Football season looms … at least, it does for the thousands of student athletes within the NCAA system. The NFL is still in limbo, even if it now appears inevitable (although either way, it won’t slow down the annual Madden release). Now, let me preface this review by saying that I don’t actually enjoy college football. I find the poor defensive play and imbalanced match-ups boring, and I hate the way that the BCS standings come together over the course of a season. The fact that the Big East has an automatic bid is a bad joke, etc. All of this is probably because I never attended a university where college football mattered. But absolutely none of that counts in the world of video games!

As a visceral experience, there’s a lot to be said for the college football style. Here, we still live in a world where running the football can be king, and a world in which the QB option (in a shocking variety of forms) can still be a primary offensive tool. Teams suffer every year from playing the service academies (who still run the triple option) because defending it is so different from the spread, or even the spread option, that most teams run. If you’re looking for a football experience where all of these systems are in play, then you should run — not walk — toward NCAA Football 12. Of course, most people are more NFL fans than NCAA fans, if the numbers are to be believed… but the one thing that the video game version will always have over Madden is that it isn’t quite so formulaic. We’re dealing with an eclectic mixture of offenses and defenses. If you care to start a dynasty (and the dynasty features are outstanding in the new version. In NCAA Football 12 we’re treated to the full coaching experience. More on that in a bit.) you have a ton of player turnover, which can make it difficult to have a consistent program. I suppose it’s probably easier if you’re a fan of Alabama or Florida. I’m not, so this title has a refreshing ‘battle uphill’ feel, especially in the Dynasty Mode.

The flagship promotion for this game has to do with the authentic recreations of the university celebrations, pre-game ceremonies, etc. It deserves to be the most outstanding feature. Granted, it has absolutely no effect on game-play, but one of the things that sets college football apart from the professional game is the sheer number of teams in play – each with their own unique celebrations, entries, and whatever else – who have their own tradition. If that kind of personalized experience doesn’t faze you, then you won’t find much of note has changed between iterations of this game. The graphics are still in the same generation, we have the same playbooks, the announcers have actually become less interesting (which may be a selling point, depending on your point of view – Lee Corso has made his departure), and there are no real innovations in game-play. The tackling feels slightly more authentic — that is, there’s less magnet tackling — and the AI that guides defensive players in zone defenses is dramatically improved over the 2011 version of this title. You can actually feel pretty confident when calling cover 3 defense… of course, this goes double for the AI player, who aggressively bats down passes (but mercifully doesn’t seem to randomly intercept any more). Still, the game emphasizes more than ever the value of lofting a pass high to avoid marauding defenders as opposed to just firing laser beam passes from point A to point B.

Outstanding features include the Dynasty mode. Returning are the online dynasty features, which were a huge improvement in last year’s title… but massively upgraded are the single player versions. You can now create your own coaching avatar who can hold the position of Offensive/Defensive Coordinator, or Head Coach, at a university of your choice – but who is held accountable for the team’s performance. The university has expectations, and you can experience first-hand being on the coaching hot seat and being fired from your job. Of course, if you’re good enough at the game, this is hardly a concern… but it does add a fascinating dynamic to the experience – a bad recruiting class could still doom you! If you are fired, you end up on the coaching carousel looking for a new job. It’s definitely a cool feature, even if you probably won’t run into it much.

The other game mode which received a significant overhaul is the Road to Glory mode. As always, you create a single player, and advance from a top-rated high school prospect through your collegiate career at whatever university. However, this time around, the experience is much more interactive. We’re treated with a game mode that allows us to fully develop a single player in a much more immersive way than in previous installments. Your created player will gain experience and skills — as always — but also adapt to (or be moved into) a specific role on the team. I imagine this is a much more authentic recreation of what going out for Div 1 sports is really like… but you tell me.

The game does take a significant step back in terms of calling audibles. I would say that the player is given more freedom than ever in terms of setting up audibles (with the addition of custom playbooks) but gone are the menus that actually tell you which button push calls what. Or, at least, they were absent for me. It seems like a senseless change, and one that left me feeling pretty bitter through my Dynasty play… when I had to frequently consult my audible chart in order to keep track of what I was calling, and when. If I could remember all of this playart, I’d probably be playing Div 1 football myself.

As always, this game will synergize with the Madden release in terms of draft classes, as the Madden schedule continues uninterrupted. Definitely worth a pick-up if you’re starved for some video game football, or if you consider yourself a college ball fan.

What I Played Today: Majesty 2 and MLB 2K11

Posted on by Semtex Skittle

MLB 2K11

I bought MLB 2K11 on the first day of its release… and, having played hours upon hours of it, I’ve been dying to review it ever since. The core problem, however, is that there’s really not that much to say about a sports game. Especially a baseball game. Especially a baseball game that doesn’t really boast any new features over its predecessor from the year before. It’s the tightest baseball simulation with the best graphics that I’ve seen. You know, since last year. It still uses the one-touch control system that basically lets you play the entire game with only single presses (or maneuvers of the thumbsticks. Whatever.) to take any action. I would say the ease with which the game can be played is its best feature by far…

And it’s hard to criticize the game, since they’ve culled the irritating features over the years, until the tight baseball simulation is basically all that remains.

It’s worth noting that unlike other sports offerings (Madden, I’m looking at you!) MLB 2k11 does a fantastic job of keeping up with the big league rosters if you’re playing in an online format, or if you just hop straight in and want to play a game of baseball.

As you would expect, the game has all of the modern game modes. Many of the big achievements revolve around the My Player mode, which is also one of the most fulfilling modes… depending on the position you prefer. I would say, tentatively, that I’ve spent more time in My Player than in Franchise or Play Ball this year. It really is kind of fun to work your way up from AA ball into the big leagues, and then to carve a name out for yourself from there. I like this mode in MLB far better than I ever have in Madden, and I really can’t recommend it any more strongly.

Oh, and it’s worth noting… out of all of the 2K Sports offerings for baseball, this one is easily the best. It runs mostly alike to the 2K10 effort, but as you would expect, it’s a little tighter, and a touch better looking… and, really, with not much else to improve on that’s the story of the game. If you like baseball, or you have some hankering to play it, this game is definitely for you. If you’re looking to gain 1000 GS then this game will disappoint you with the amount of time required to earn some of the achievements. If you’re *that sort*, I wouldn’t bother with this title.

Majesty 2

The self-described fantasy sim game, Majesty 2, makes its triumphant return on Steam. I bought the gold collection when it became available partially out of nostalgia, and partially because I desperately wanted a strategy game to play that I hadn’t worn out. I could always return to StarCraft II, but for some reason Majesty 2 caught hold of my imagination, and drew me back in.

The outstanding feature of Majesty 2 as opposed to your generic RTS game is that much of the action is not under your direct control. Your armed forces consist of guards, who will defend your town and your palace in a very automated, very uninspired, way… and heroes, who do their own thing, unless they’re being paid. You can throw out contracts of various types (examples include ‘destroy target’, or ‘explore region’) in the form of flags, for which you announce a bounty you’re willing to pay. In an ideal world, your heroes will help you out, and dash to the rescue. Of course, the interest level of your heroes and their personal gumption depends both on their hero type and their hero level. For example, the Rogues from the Thieves Guild are a bit on the cowardly side and flee at the first sign of real trouble, while the Rangers Guild and its heroes are particularly excited about exploring the wilderness and battling beasts.

You personally control the construction of town structures and fortifications, and choose the path through the single player campaign; a rich experience which takes its decent share of time. This experience can actually get a little repetitive; you’ll want the missions to end a bit quicker, at the very least, no later than halfway through the campaign. No doubt if you’re better at the game than me, this will never become a problem.

L.A. Noire

Strictly as a tease… I’ve been playing a great deal of this game lately. A full review from me is forthcoming.

What I Played Today: Golems of Amgarrak

Posted on by Semtex Skittle

I was in quite a mood after playing so much Dragon Age II, and (as that led to) another full play-through of Dragon Age: Origins. I had originally planned to continue straight on to Awakening, and just complete the whole series. But then, as I was on my roll, I remembered that I had purchased a couple of DLC packs for Dragon Age: Origins a while back on the cheap. They had some kind of sale for half price DLC, or some such. I’d taken that opportunity to pick up both Witch Hunt and The Golems of Amgarrak… but while I’d completed the former some time ago, I’d never bothered to sit down and play through Golems. I took a look at the achievements, because I’m like that, and I realized that I needed to complete the DLC on a minimum difficulty of Hard in order to receive my e-recognition for my accomplishments.

Harkening back, I recall that Golems of Amgarrak was touted as an extra-difficult bit of DLC… it was, ostensibly, much harder than the regular game, even on the Casual difficulty. In short, this DLC was not intended for the faint of heart. This did nothing but excite me, but I did go into it expecting a higher degree of difficulty, and felt that I should use some caution.  Although I might be ‘that guy’ when it comes to gaining achievements in an expedient manner, I’m strangely honourable about some of them. It seemed to me that if I were going to defeat the DLC’s final boss on a Hard or Nightmare difficulty, I might as well play the whole DLC on that difficulty. So, I set my difficulty, and I chose to import a Warden from an Origins playthrough at level 20, a Dwarven sword-and-board warrior.

The DLC took a couple of hours to play through all the way. It introduces a semi-new area (yet another re-skin of the default Dwarven Thaig that we saw four times or more between the Origins game and the various DLCs) that paves the way into a completely new area. Amgarrak itself is a completely unique area replete with colour-switch puzzles, swarms of enemies (mostly of the more difficult types. I assumed there would be Golems, but I was treated to a plethora of Revenants, Arcane Horrors, and high-ranked skeletons as well), and a bunch of loot. Most of the loot proved to be useless, but it did provide upgrades to the Golem which I picked up on my way in. As one might expect, the Golem is the key to the whole deal. It has significant healing abilities, and while it can’t always fight its way out of trouble, the Golem is tough enough to escape from danger so long as your party features some tankier types.

Ultimately, I found the DLC a little on the disappointing side. It was about as substantial as I expected (given the average length of BioWare’s DLC add-ons) with a fairly large area to run through and a whole new party. However, in lieu of adding substantially to the story (as Leliana’s Song does, and Witch Hunt debatably does) the idea behind Golems of Amgarrak was to provide a very challenging play experience within the tactical game engine of Dragon Age: Origins. Earnestly, I didn’t feel the need to adjust my tactics much from playing the original game. Tank-type characters are still able to mostly take care of themselves, and the most effective approach for me seemed to be to focus on healing. The only encounter I had to repeat was a surprisingly difficult swarm of golems which jumps out at you in an optional chamber while in the process of acquiring golem upgrades. I was not particularly impressed by the Harvester, which seemed to be mostly a matter of managing a group of enemies and keeping on top of healing.

Anyway, I think this polishes off my experience with Origins. I’m very much anticipating a DLC – any DLC add-on, really – for Dragon Age II.

Review: Dragon Age 2

Posted on by Semtex Skittle

Unfocused Ramblings

After a long wait, I hope to be back and better than ever. I was originally planning to go off the board with MLB 2K11… which is still getting a review I might add … but Dragon Age II consumed my life for a while, and I have to talk about it. BioWare and I have had a rocky relationship. The first game of theirs which I played was actually Neverwinter Nights… which I got about halfway through before my friend told me to stop playing it and go back and hit Baldur’s Gate II: Shadows of Amn instead. It was a formative experience for me. Up until that time, I would have described myself as an irredeemable JRPG fan. Since that fateful day, I’m not sure I’ve ever enjoyed a JRPG as much again. Naturally, this launched my love affair with BioWare. There have definitely been parts of that relationship that I’ve enjoyed more than others. For me, as much as I enjoyed Baldur’s Gate II, the current generation of these games is really the golden age of WRPGs in my eyes.

Is Dragon Age II the best WRPG that I’ve ever played? Ultimately, I would have to say no. Its release was too obviously rushed, which is evident in the plethora of bugs available for your gaming pleasure (some of them pretty damaging to your game experience, and all of those impossible to correct when playing the console versions). In years past, it was always true that the PC release was preferable because the developer could release patches that would solve a lot of the known bugs, and knowledgeable use of the game’s console could solve a lot of other problems. Obviously console games still don’t have the latter option, and only (relatively) recently gained the former. But as time has gone on and computers have easily outpaced what I need them for in terms of work, it became steadily less economically viable for me to upgrade my GPU three times a year… especially when I could own one XBox 360 for four years and counting.

The potential annoyance factor only comes out occasionally – when games are pushed through release with known bugs, and you have some agonizing wait for them to be fixed for the console version. Unfortunately, this was definitely the case with Dragon Age II and it sapped some of the luster off of what I otherwise felt to be an extremely fun offering from one of my favourite developers.

Oh, and a little disclaimer before I begin complaining in earnest. As I am wont to do, I’m going to table any discussions about DLC, micro-transactions, and EA’s 2010+ marketing strategy of bundling add-ons with pre-orders and adding content at regular intervals to bridge the gaps between releases. I think we can all agree that it is one of the more brilliant marketing ploys (not that we’re giving EA credit for coming up with it, but that doesn’t really detract from the idea itself) that we’ve seen… ever. I think we can also all agree that regardless of our personal feelings, on the whole, it works. This was the first game I’ve pre-ordered in years, and I did it entirely to gain access to the launch DLC that I’d otherwise have to pay for. It wasn’t particularly onerous, since I knew I was going to purchase the game anyway, and EA knew for a fact that they’d sold me a copy six months before launch. I’m sure some executives slept very soundly knowing that they’d suckered yet another fan into pre-ordering titles and sitting around in anticipation of Amazon’s launch day delivery time.

So how is Dragon Age II? As a sequel to the dark fantasy original, Dragon Age: Origins I would say that it both succeeds masterfully and disappoints completely. The feel of the two games is almost entirely different. In the original, we’re treated to a bleak literal-end-of-the-world scenario that is playing out before our eyes. Factions of whom we urgently require aid are fighting one another, the enemy is building in power, and in the grand tradition of Tolkien-esque fantasy, evil used to have a hell of a lot harder time of it. The sequel, rather, takes us through an eight-ish year period in the life of a single protagonist within the Dragon Age setting. It deals heavily with plot elements that were introduced in the original game and it has some obligatory cameos from characters we’ll recognize, but it otherwise is entirely stand alone. Gone is the overarching threat of a darkspawn-fueled apocalypse. Instead, the conflict centers around the city of Kirkwall, a deeply troubled metropolis that was formerly the center of a bustling slave trade in the ancient Tevinter Imperium.

We haven’t really gotten away from the slavery, however. Not only is Kirkwall infested with some of those very same modern-day Tevinter slavers, but the whole city lies under the pall of another form of slavery. As brutal as we may have found the treatment of mages in Ferelden – what with the vials of blood taken from every Apprentice that could allow them to be unerringly tracked down, or with the merciless hunting of unlicensed ‘Apostate’ mages – we only saw the tip of the iceberg in terms of both what mages have to suffer through, and what they’re capable of when they’re left unshackled. The picture painted by this conflict is an interesting one primarily for its gray morality. Very few issues in real life have the kind of clear-cut good and evil dynamics that we often see in video games. Real people are complex organisms with complex motivations. We are not a society of mustache-twirling villains tying maidens to railroad tracks only to be foiled by tights-wearing do-gooders from every angle. To an extent, we experienced this in Dragon Age: Origins as well. Both games mercifully liberate us from the point-based good-versus-evil system that characterized the Knights of the Old Republic games and others during that era.

In Dragon Age II we’re treated to a whole new system which bears a little resemblance to the party-favour style system we saw in Origins, but with a new twist. Now, our party members (as expected) either approve or disapprove of our protagonist, Hawke, and the actions we take as Hawke. The relative level of either ‘Friendship’ or ‘Rivalry’ (I’m sure you can figure out which is which) then begins to colour all of Hawke’s interactions with the rest of the party. Many of the changes are subtle, but Dragon Age II is rife with subtle-but-appreciated touches that make it stand out as a game above many of the other offerings in this same genre. These little touches serve ultimately to give this title a more authentic feel than many games that I’ve played over the years, and I appreciated the attention to detail. It seems an odd contrast with the various bugs, which, I really can’t state enough, were plentiful and ranged from mildly irritating to infuriating.

Oh, and while we’re unfocused, and while we’re talking about subtle details? An odd thing occurs in this game. One which I might have appreciated more than almost anything else in the whole thing. Each conversation option is responded to with a variant of the Mass Effect style conversation wheel – responses to the right tend to lead toward the conclusion of the conversation and have a certain tone, while ones to the left tend to be follow-up questions. Unlike Mass Effect, we are treated to some symbols which help to identify the tone of the message before Hawke plants her foot in her mouth. For example, a sarcastic or whimsical reply will be accompanied by a comedy mask icon. A decisive, aggressive reply is accompanied by a closed fist. A bribe is accompanied by an image of falling coins. And so on. Anyway, this in and of itself is nice, but the truly outstanding dialog feature of the game? If you reply consistently in one vein (i.e., if you are consistently sarcastic) then the filler dialog or automatic replies from Hawke begin to mirror that type of response. Again, using the ‘sarcastic Hawke’ as an example… the dialog which is default, that is, not under the control of the player. Eventually, if enough sarcastic replies are given in order to establish a pattern, Hawke will begin to respond in a sarcastic manner on her own. It adds a lot of character to Hawke solely based on how you’re already playing the game. I hope that you can see why I think this is one of the best (albeit very subtle) features that BioWare thoughtfully included for me in this title.

So, I suppose the real question is… what is Dragon Age II like? True to how it was promoted, it’s sort of a compromise between the FPS-action-with-RPG-elements style of Mass Effect 2 and the old-school WRPG tactical gameplay of Dragon Age: Origins. If what you loved most about Origins was how it harkened back to Baldur’s Gate II, you’ll probably find the combat system in Dragon Age II to be a bit on the shallow side. You’re still, of course, perfectly at liberty to pause the game, arrange your party, and launch a more tactical assault. On the harder difficulties, being discriminating and tactical pays off big dividends. However, the game clearly wants to draw in fans of the Mass Effect games with a pace that is overall faster, and a system that is much more streamlined. As a result of this intention, it’s pretty quick-paced… or, at least, it can be, with an optimized party on the lower difficulties. Don’t expect the same degree of difficulty that Origins could present, either, if you chose to visit Orzammar first and played on the higher difficulties. Although, again, on the higher difficulties Dragon Age II has its own challenges.

Let’s boil things down, shall we?

The Good

– It’s a beautiful, detailed, thoughtful world. We’re introduced to more of a setting we’ve been introduced to. In a lot of ways, Dragon Age II exceeds Mass Effect 2 in terms of expanding on an existing setting. If you were really drawn into the world of Dragon Age, you’ll find a lot to like in the sequel.

– The voice acting is exceptional. I can’t think of a single character whose voice acting was poor, whether you like the character or not (and – almost as a side note – I liked them all)

– The characters offer a lot to the narrative, and have some fantastic interactions. BioWare has done a stunning job letting the party members banter back and forth during quiet moments. Try different combinations. You won’t be disappointed!

– The slice-of-life style which follows a single character, Hawke, and her life is perhaps a bit less ‘epic’ on the overall than the Grey Warden’s quest, but it delves far deeper into the underlying themes of the setting.

– Combat system is streamlined and intuitive. You’ll recognize everything from Dragon Age: Origins and the menus are actually easier to navigate now.

– Party members have completely unique skills, maintain their own wardrobe, and maintain their personal opinions, which lets them keep a refreshing flavour each of their own.

– BioWare went out of their way to make crafting your own potions, Runes, poisons, grenades, and supplies more attractive. Given how frustrating it could be to locate certain components in Origins, it may almost seem like an overreaction for how simple things become in Dragon Age II – but it works well.

– Girthy. This game is pretty long. If you’re planning to do everything… settle in. You’re looking at forty hours of game-play or more.

– The DLC items (from every source!) are not the best items in the game. They’ll definitely serve you well in the early part of the game, but they’re outclassed by the mid-game, and they also don’t sell for a ton of money. Just having DLC gear won’t make this game a breeze for you, or render all other equipment useless. It’s a nice touch to actually be trying to upgrade my stuff, rather than just equipping Blood Dragon Plate and calling it a day.

The Bad

– Buggy. Buggy. Buggy. Buggy. I really can’t overstate this. Every game launches with bugs, but this one launches with an unacceptable amount, and an unacceptable severity. Patches have already cleared up a couple of them (even for the console versions) but I was still frustrated to see the sloppy polish on what is otherwise a very delicious fruit.

– Much of the tactical aspect of gameplay is gone. Baldur’s Gate II could be a serious pain in the ass sometimes, but it really rewarded good planning and a thorough knowledge of spells and mechanics. Dragon Age: Origins made a strong compromise between viable-console-game and hardcore-tactical-gameplay… this element isn’t nearly as strong in Dragon Age II.

– Did I mention the bugs? Seriously. Hopefully more of the issues in this game can be patched out.

– Overused sets. Although the set pieces are beautiful and I love the look of the game, it suffers from a bit of the Mass Effect syndrome, where there are a hundred caves which are all built using the same “cave” layout and look. Very disappointing to see a step backward here after what we saw from Origins, Awakening, and Mass Effect 2. I can only assume this is another aspect of rushed production.

– We revisit too many places. I understand the scope of the game, its focus on Kirkwall and the surrounding environs, and whatever else… but while I don’t mind re-treads within the city (especially in, as the game runs on, a number of years) it seems like there should be more unique locales around the city. It feels lazy for us to revisit the same places over and over again for quests in each Act of the game. I’ll mention it once more… it was probably intended to have a few more locales, and that was probably scrapped for time. I’m in no position to complain because I bought the game, and I loved it, but I would have loved it more if EA/BioWare had spent another month catering to my discerning tastes.

– The game seems to lack focus at times in terms of the narrative. I actually appreciated this characteristic as it seemed to mirror how a real person’s life would tend to pan out… but it does seem out of place in a video game. At times, it’s not clear where the game is headed.

– This may sound stupid, but I’m far from above personal pique, so… way too much energy spent on promoting the game prior to launch. Although their strategy of offering DLC items for interacting with people on the BioWare website or whatever else might have drawn in a couple of new fans, it almost assuredly annoyed a lot of fans who were planning to buy the game anyway.

The Bottom Line

BioWare has me, at least, hook line and sinker. In spite of my various whiny complaints. I can’t wait for their next release.