Tag Archives: gaming

Video Game Power Rankings

Posted on by Semtex Skittle

Recently, as I settled myself into my cheap office chair, I realized that there was a stack of 360 games which was sitting on the table between my actual workspace (computers, etc.), and the TV with the 360 hooked up to it. My mouth twisting in annoyance, I inspected these games, determining which ones needed to go where on ‘the rack’. The rack is where games go to die after they’ve escaped immediate interest, especially in a climate like March of 2011… a climate in which new games are constantly being released.

A few games went on the rack. Others, I knew, had to stay out. Why? Because they’re go-to games. They’re games I need on-demand. This is 2011. If it takes me longer than 20 seconds to achieve video game bliss, I am doing it wrong. But it did get me thinking. What games are sitting on top of that stack? Which ones does Steam claim I’m addicted to? Which PC games are relevant enough to where I actually keep track of their DVDs?

So I thought, why not talk about video games the way I talk about sports? Why not have a power poll? After all, there are games which dominate my time, and those which do not. Not all of the games which occupy my attention are new. Not all of them are critically acclaimed. Not even all of them I would take the time to review (unless someone really wanted me to, I guess. I can probably write 2,000 words about any video game at this point). But these games do share a certain quality which sets them above and beyond the average title. These are games that I actually want to keep playing. Some games might make the list, from time to time, simply because I need to finish them in order to write a review (or, from a more fiscally responsible standpoint, mail them back to Gamefly) … but not all. Not even most. That stack which remains ever at my fingertips is video gaming bliss.

At least, today, it is. Tomorrow, who knows? So I thought I would share a few titles from ‘the stack’. You can think of that as a metaphor from now on. It represents the sum total of my gaming experience, from 360 titles through Steam downloads. These are the kind of games that I’d think about, for a flickering flame of an instant before slapping myself back to reality, turning down sex for. These are games which I can disappear into, and later boast about the accomplishments rather than hanging my head in shame over the time-sink. I think that’s enough adieu. Let’s agree to stop for now, shall we? Instead, let’s dive into the power poll, in reverse order…

8. Call of Duty: Black Ops – Not nearly the time-sink that it used to be. This reduction in attention has nothing to do with the game itself – which is still pretty fun – but rather due to the inundation of new games forcing their way in. If I had to pick just one multiplayer game to jump into with my friends, it would still be this one… but I’m not sure there’s any reason to play Black Ops solo right now.

7. Command and Conquer: Red Alert 3 – Steam tells me that I love this game, and that I’ve spent prohibitive amounts of time playing it. Unfortunately in this case, Steam is right. I actually had never picked up RA3 on its retail release, but I was unable to refuse Steam’s recent sale on latter-day C&C products. I was hooked pretty much on entry, through a combination of nostalgia and longing for a legitimate RTS release. Ever since I burned out on StarCraft II for no discernible reason, I’ve been looking for another strategy game to fill the void. I guess this one is it. At least, for now.

6. Civilization 5 – A perennial power-poll contender. The Civ series is a fall-back position for me. Anytime I hunger for immersion and a way to kill a two-hour-block, I fall back on this series. Ever since I embraced the latest incarnation over Civilization IV it’s been a no-brainer.

5. Bulletstorm – As I’ve stated before, this is a great game. I’m just not sure how replayable it really is. Given time, I’m sure I could play through the single player again and love every instant of the carnage… but in the meantime, the lack of variety in the multiplayer mode has this one shelved behind some of the newer titles, and some of my perennial all-stars.

4. Marvel vs. Capcom 3: Fate of Two Worlds – The DLC for Jill Valentine and Shuma Gorath is hideously overpriced. That having been said, having Jill back in the fold has totally re-ignited my interest in the game. I now play it as a kind of bridge between other more ‘serious’ games. I remain terrible at multiplayer MvC3. If you want easy winds, challenge me.

3. League of Legends – Continuing their unending trend of new champions, game state patches, and new content, Riot Games continues to impress with their tactical multi-player smash. I’m sure the microtransactions in this game are making everyone involved rich, too… which bothers me only in that I’m not involved in the collection of cash.

2. MLB 2K11 – I play two sports games every season; MLB 2KXX and Madden NFL. I will sometimes also trot out NCAA Football… but not often. Anyway, the latest version of MLB 2K isn’t exactly a re-invention of the wheel. We’ve known the rules of major league baseball since 1898, and Bud Selig remains as committed to stagnation as ever. There’s not a ton of new features to be desired in this latest incarnation, but the graphics are even better than ever, and the pitching and hitting controls are as good as I could conceive of a way to make them. There isn’t much to hate in this latest title.

1. Dragon Age II – Immersive doesn’t begin to cover this one. I’ve heard a lot of the complaints about this game… and my succinct retort would probably be something like: “I love this game. I hate listening to reason. So let’s not discuss it.” Frankly, that, and the enormity of what I have to say about this title, are the core reasons that I haven’t tried to review it yet. Fear not… thoughts are forthcoming… but I suppose after a certain point a true review doesn’t do anyone any good.

Initially, I had intended to make this a ten-game feature.. .but then I figured, why push it? These are the games that currently snare me. I’m playing them a lot. If you don’t know them, they might be worth checking out, and I’m certainly open to discussion. Also, if anyone wants to suggest new games to me that you’d desperately like to see reviewed, or that you think I’d really like… well… don’t be a stranger.

Game Review: Bulletstorm

Posted on by Semtex Skittle

Unfocused Ramblings

I loved Gears of War. I just want to establish that before I begin a rant that no doubt is going to feel very much like some kind of savage attack at the heart of that game. My problem with Gears of Wars is simple. There’s just too much ultra-real-gritty-brown-and-gray in today’s media. It’s not confined to Gears. It’s everywhere. Films have taken a darker ultra-realism tone, video games seem to be obsessed with avoiding an artistic style in favour of an ultra-realistic one. I’m sure this trend was fueled by a hundred different factors – not the least of which being that people expect HD graphics to look like real life – and it’s not even wholly a bad thing. It’s just everywhere.

So imagine my surprise when Epic’s new first person shooter game isn’t gritty or ultra-realistic at all. Here’s the first and strongest thing I can say about Bulletstorm: It’s almost an anti-Gears of War. The setting is shiny and vibrant. There are colours everywhere. I don’t have trouble making out details of the setting because of the lack of contrast between surfaces. And it’s ridiculous over-the-top action. Now, of course, it’s also a traditional first person shooter rather than an over-the-shoulder affair and it isn’t cover-based, so it’s not in quite the same genre as Gears of War… but I’d say there are certainly some strong parallels in places. It’s just that Bulletstorm feels like a much livelier game.

Which is ironic, because the game is about a dwindling group of people trapped on the surface of a hostile alien world which is completely overrun with toxic mutants, carnivorous plant life, and five hundred foot tall monsters with a foul temper.

Bulletstorm is, at its heart, about over-the-top action. Throughout the game, you will acquire points by slaying enemies. The caveat is that the game doesn’t reward precision or efficiency, but creativity. Although a small point bonus is given for shooting an enemy with a devastating headshot, a much bigger one is given for kicking him off the side of a chasm into a swirling tornado which has become charged with lightning and presumably ending his day in a less-than-desireable way. These point bonuses are universally referred to as Skillshots, and there are a couple hundred of them, encompassing virtually every conceivable creative killing. Oh, at this point it might be worth mentioning that this isn’t a game for your young kids. Trust me. The language is strong, the violence is insane, and the themes of bitterness, revenge, and despair aren’t particularly accessible to the under-20 crowd. Of course anyone can appreciate a good action game… and this is definitely one of those, because you’ll be moving non-stop, even while you try to find creative ways to dispatch your hapless foes and occasionally take cover from the devastating fire being flung back at you.

Like Gears of War, Bulletstorm features a quick-switching weapon trio. We haven’t got any grenades, but we do have a supertech gadget called a Leash. This is the game’s outstanding feature, as it allows you to manipulate your environment in many ways, gripping objects, flinging them from place to place, and so on. Of course, it distinguishes itself from other physics-heavy weapons (like Half-Life 2’s famous gravity gun) in that it also directly manipulates your enemies themselves. You’ll use the Leash to draw enemies out from behind cover so they can be kicked onto some metal wreckage (for good bonus points!) or to maneuver an explosive container for a timely detonation. The Leash definitely offers the most potential for manipulation and fun, but of course there are some enemy types which are (mostly) immune to it except in special circumstances by virtue of being either too large or too fast… but you’ll be relieved to know that even at the end of the game’s single player mode most enemies are ready to be tossed around like rag dolls.

In addition to the Leash, Bulletstorm features a variety of weapons. We have the obligatory assault rifle, a high-caliber pistol, a sniper rifle with remote controlled bullets, a gun that launches drills, among other stand-outs. In addition to their basic firing mode, each weapon has an upgraded ‘charge’ mode which can be purchased (with those ever useful score points) that can be used in special circumstances. The ‘Peacemaker’ assault rifle, for example, can use its charge mode to fire a special hundred-shot clip instantly into a foe. This will literally disintegrate one or more opponents if you land it, with the accompanying visual effects. The Leash itself has an upgraded charge mode called the Thumper which will use a wide-area application of force to launch your enemies into the air and crash them into the ground. It has more applications than it sounds like, and can occasionally be used to dramatically clear an entire field of enemies.

The weapons are re-loaded, re-armed, and equipped at the discretion of the player who will use special containers called DropKits which will accept the currency of the player’s score (achieved, again, through killing enemies through the skillshots) in exchange for the player’s choice of weapons, charge ammo, regular ammo, Thumpers, and so on. This interface also features a handy database of skillshots. You know,  just in case there was a weapon effect that you hadn’t considered.

Game Modes

Bulletstorm features a feature-length single player campaign of what to me felt like ‘appropriate length’. I didn’t time my run through it, but I can say that I was neither left wanting more nor lamenting the time spent on it. It tells the story of Grayson Hunt (voiced by Steve Blum, of anime dub fame), a bitter alcoholic space pirate and his squad. In the opening moments, Grayson makes a poor decision amidst an alcohol-induced haze which lands he and his remaining friends on a hostile alien world. Before all is said and done, Grayson is left with only his emergency-rebuilt pal Ishi, who is now half machine and partially in the grips of a psychotic AI. Recognizing that, despite Hunt’s mistakes, their best chance lies in cooperation, Hunt and Ishi take off across the hostile alien terrain. They discover the overgrown remains of what seems to be a giant tourist-friendly resort which has apparently been taken over by inhuman mutants, hostile plant life, and others.

It also features the Echoes mode, which is essentially a series of time trials that take you quickly through sequences from the single player game only without the story bits and dialogue, and with the bonus of a timer. As a result, these levels are completed quickly, and they heavily emphasize using the point-boosting skillshots in order to achieve a high score (in this case, rewarded by Stars, which are essential to completing a number of Achievements/Trophies).

Multiplayer is another outstanding feature as long as you have some fun folks to play with. The game mode, which is called Anarchy, is similar to a Hordes or Firefight mode from other FPS titles. However, the Bulletstorm twist (as you might expect) is that the game is based around racking up a high score through the use of skillshots. The environments in Anarchy mode provide some extra opportunities to earn some skillshots not seen in the single player mode, which is good, because the team’s aggregate score must pass a certain minimum in order to advance out of the current round. A premium higher than survival or the overall massacre of your enemies is on using the terrain features correctly in order to maximize player score. Although it’s certainly a great deal of fun (at least, initially), you may ultimately find that there’s not a ton of variety to be had in the Anarchy mode. The main variation is in the specific details of the maps, but there’s not a PvP aspect to it, and the AI is the same as it would have been in the single player campaign mode.

The Bottom Line

The single key word to Bulletstorm is: fun. It’s not thought-provoking (although the characters are oddly compelling), and it’s not breaking new ground all over the place, but it is a great deal of fun just to sit down and play. It’s worth re-emphasizing that this isn’t a game for younger kids… the characters swear like sailors.

The Big Question

Is it now required by law (as opposed to just by convention) that every game needs to set itself up for its own sequel?

Game-Play

The game plays pretty tightly. Occasionally you’ll find the hit tracking on the melee attack isn’t so good against enemies who are right up in your grill, but this is only a problem when trying to pull off specific skill shots and not an overall problem when playing the game. Despite having quite a few mechanics going for it, Bulletstorm’s control system is simple and intuitive. If you’ve mastered the controls of any first-person shooter in the past you’ll have no trouble with Bulletstorm. Despite its variety of game modes, Bulletstorm is ultimately a bit limited in terms of the variety of experiences that it provides. However, as long as you ration your exposure, you could very well find the game fun forever.

Graphics

As we expect from Epic, the graphics in Bulletstorm are gorgeous. More importantly, we see some varieties in colour, with lush green foliage all over the place and a clear sky above. Now, of course, there are some areas of the game which are more breathtaking than others, but all of the sets were gorgeous in design, and some of the set pieces were very epic, and very cool. You’ll have such encounters as a hydroelectric dam which is coming to pieces around you (including its massive water-turning wheels), and trying to escape not only from enemies but also from terrain pieces aboard a fast-moving train. The character models are also very pretty, although some of the textures will sometimes break down in close-ups. The best character design in the game definitely has to go to Ishi and his newly-installed machine parts. You’ll also be treated to a number of interesting visuals directly tied to how you finish off your enemies, but those I’ll leave you to discover on your own.

Sound

The score is proficiently done and fits the settings pretty well. For the most part, the tracks are forgettable (although I do very much enjoy the main theme which plays on the menu and at places during the single player campaign). The voice acting is all very well done. I particularly like the voice acting for Ishi, which has been digitally modified to have a mechanical edge to it. His banter with Grayson is a little reminiscent of what you get between Dom and Marcus in Gears of War, but with a more genuinely hostile edge to it. The sound for the game’s effects, weapons and other features is tight and complete. Nothing to complain about in the sound department with this title.

Multiplayer

The Anarchy mode is definitely a lot of fun, but it’s not something that most people are going to want to play every day. Given the style of the game it’s not insane that there isn’t a strong PvP multiplayer component to Bulletstorm, but by its nature PvE multiplayer is going to have some limitations that there are no ways to overcome – human enemies will think creatively, and want to hurt you. AI opponents just do whatever they’re programmed to do.

Game Review: Marvel vs. Capcom 3: The Fate of Two Worlds

Posted on by Semtex Skittle

The Bottom Line

It’s been over a decade (no, seriously! Marvel vs. Capcom 2 came out in 2000! It was on the Dreamcast!) since we last dropped into this remarkable franchise of fighting games. A lot of our favourite characters are missing, but the feel hasn’t changed.

Unfocused Ramblings

As usual, I like to begin these reviews with a boring story about my personal life. About ten years ago, a friend of mine owned the Sega Dreamcast. He never had a ton of games for it, and we all agreed that the controller was preposterously big, but it was probably the console that my group of friends and I played the most during that stretch. Because whatever we thought about the Dreamcast, and however few games there were on it, or however few my friend owned… he did own Marvel vs. Capcom 2. At this point, years later, I don’t even remember much about the fine details of the game. But I do remember its feel… and that feel has returned, to my hazy memory more or less intact, this year with the release of Marvel vs. Capcom 3: The Fate of Two Worlds. So now that I’ve played it, and the excitement is all flooding back to me, the unfortunate truth comes out: for all of its selling points (and it has them to spare) this game is not as much fun as its predecessor.

It’s not. You may think it is, and you may even be having more fun with it now… but it’s a matter of circumstance. And this game is not as much fun as the last one.

Does that mean that Marvel vs. Capcom 3 isn’t a great game? No. Actually, I’ve been impressed by basically everything that I have seen from the new title so far. It has the same feel of the old game. That hyper-frenetic superhero/comic book/action game and so on action is quite intact. You still have the hyper combo bars. You still have three different characters who are flying in and out of the action supporting one another and generally causing some havoc. You can still fill the screen with blasts of energy and crazy attack schemes that seem like no one could ever possibly survive them (and be just as disappointed to see that your opponent blocked in time). In other words, they’ve done a magnificent job of recreating what made Marvel vs. Capcom great. So we can say that this sequel is a faithful one. So what’s the problem?

I’m not sure this game translates as well to playing against faceless strangers on the internet as some of the other fighting games that have come out over time. Of course, it’s not a different experience on XBox Live (or the equivalent service of your choice) but this game, unlike other games, is a more intense frenetic experience and should be less about a cold, tactical approach. To me, this makes it more fun to play with friends than in multi-player match-making. Ultimately, that’s subjective, and if you like fighting games you should enjoy the multi-player experience here as well. Of course, whatever I may say about frenetic superhero/video game combat, the more skillful players of fighting games will still maintain a big advantage in this game due to the huge variety of combos available, even if the move-sets of each character are relatively simple. A lot of universal concepts translate across all characters (such as chaining together flashy aerial or team combos, and the counters to those moves).

The game does offer some options to help teach people about the game-play mechanics. If your fingers aren’t made of steel you may get frustrated attempting to execute long multi-team-mate-extravaganza type combos, but the mission mode (sort of a training mode with specific objectives as far as moves) encourages you to explore chaining moves together (from the basics of knocking a foe in the air and coming down on top of them with a crushing blow all the way to the aforementioned 500000 hit combos). I suspect that if you explore some of these modes, and trouble to learn the moves of a few favourite fighters, you’ll quickly get the hang of winning in this game.

Oh, and don’t be overly troubled by the absence of some Marvel vs. Capcom favourites. I’m sure they will all be available through DLC sooner or later. What’s that, you say? They announced that Jill Valentine and Shuma Gorath will appear as DLC characters even before launch? Let the games begin!

The Big Question

What were they thinking, not including characters like Megaman X? Presumably they were already looking at the prospect of selling DLC packages… but there is an infinite pool of characters to draw on between Marvel and Capcom. It still feels a little cheap to have excised some of the staples that we’ve been playing with since the first installment in the series.

Overall Game-Play

It’s a seamless game-play experience that has more than its fair share of flashy effects and super-cool sets of moves. My one gripe with the game on the whole is the inconsistency in move-sets between the characters, where some of the characters have a huge variety of diverse moves that can work in every situation… while other characters… are basically stuck with a signature move or two and a series of button combos. I can see how the innate attributes of the different fighters necessitate some of this for the purposes of balance, but it’s a little disappointing to find out that a personal favourite character has a lackluster move set. I suspect that this will be the exception rather than the rule for most players, but I do think it’s worth mentioning.

Graphics

It’s not visually breathtaking, but it has a certain (and to my mind, incredibly appropriate) style, and you won’t be disappointed by the attack animations. A ton of unlockable artwork accompanies the game in addition to the rendered character models, and there’s a lot to like with the visuals in this game. More important than the overall graphical presentation is probably the tightness of the experience, which doesn’t seem to have any glitches or bugs to it.

Sound

An upbeat main soundtrack accompanies unique themes for every fighter in the game as well as for the mighty Galactus. You’ll likely recognize a lot of the music as remixes on songs associated with the character in question (for example, Chun-Li’s appearance in a bout is accompanied by an overclocked remix of her battle theme from Street Fighter II) and you’ll probably come to appreciate a few favourites. I didn’t find the score forgettable which is a point in its favour. Obviously there’s not a ton of room for mood music in a fighting game, so the character themes and menu themes are essentially it. As for the voice acting, I haven’t encountered any voices that send me to my knees screaming at the heavens, and I take that to be a good sign. For a handful of bonus points, if you have some good surround sound and bass, you may be blown out of your seat by comments from Galactus, who addresses Thor with a hearty “If you are a god… then what shall we call Galactus!?” and other fun-loving quips.

Quick Take: Magicka

Posted on by Semtex Skittle

Quick Take

If you ever asked yourself how much fun it would be to randomly combine 10 different “elements” to create an absurdly large array of spell effects this game answers the question. For the rest? Don’t ask questions.

Unfocused Ramblings

I have, upon reflection, a soft spot for games that are developed by groups of Swedish students. I mean – in a broader sense, if you can make a game that people will enjoy, then why not? And through the magic of Steam, this game becomes available to the world. I know a lot of people have already played Magicka, and but I’m hoping more people will take the plunge into it.

So what is Magicka? It’s a humorous adventure-RPG-ish-game set in a world that parodies a number of mythologies as well as aspects of pop culture. You’ll see a ton of references to pop culture icons like Star Wars, 300, and literally dozens of others. The opening movie which introduces the setting and the premise is chock full of pop culture references and popular memes, and it doesn’t slow down from there. The player takes command of a nameless mage clad in an obscuring robe who has been taught at the academy of magic, and learned to wield eight ‘basic’ elements in order to weave together ever-more-impressive spells. If that weren’t enough, you quickly learn about two basic combines which produce two other, we’ll say “hidden”, elements (which, themselves, are frequently used to create still more sophisticated spells). With these ten building blocks, tens of thousands of combinations are possible. And, since the game doesn’t really force you to progress forward, and even your most tenderly beloved allies are valid targets for your spells, the game really does encourage you to play with these elements until you create something you really like. And from there, to use that spell until you get tired of the animation… and develop something new… and so on.

And yes, there are some big booms available in the more sophisticated spell combinations.

On top of just randomly mixing and matching various elemental building blocks to create beams, balls, streams, and walls, there also exist a repertoire of ‘Magicka’; defined spells that you learn the combination to which have particularly powerful effects (such as Revive, which restores a dead ally, Haste, which allows your mage to run at incredible speed, or Grease which deposits some very flammable fun on the ground).

Your mages can collect weapons from time to time which have some special effects, but for the most part, the game attempts to steer clear of any kind of level-up or power-up type stuff. The focus is very much on the interplay of the spell combinations, and the limitless fun you can have blasting your friends up, over, and through the landscape elements using your magical powers.

All of that sounds good, right? Well, it is. But the game does have some problems, and I would be remiss if I didn’t warn you about them before you shell out your hard-earned cash for a copy of Magicka.

– The single-player version of this game just doesn’t stand up well on its own. For several reasons. The most important one is that it’s very easy to kill yourself in Magicka, and if you do so when playing solo, you’ll find yourself regressing to a checkpoint that could be a good ways back. Quit the game? You’ll end up restarting the entire chapter. This glaring weakness still exists in multiplayer, but with a team of four, you can revive your comrades and hopefully not all die at once. This is tough in single player.

– There are some bugs. Let’s not mince words about this. In addition to wacky things that can happen with spell effects (many of which will send you or your enemies flying around the screen) the game seems to crash occasionally, and it just doesn’t feel quite as polished as you might expect from EA’s latest release.

– They made some inexplicable choices with the multi-player, such as not being able to reconnect to a game in progress, and the cut-scenes not being skip-able except by the host (and they’re pretty lengthy cut scenes at that. You can skip ahead of the cut-scene even if you’re not hosting, but you just stare at a loading bar until the cut-scene ends anyway).

– Despite having its own tutorial section, Magicka really doesn’t teach you much about how to play. Pay close attention to the controls it does show you, and don’t be afraid to experiment, but also don’t spend a lot of time looking for the game to guide you… because it won’t. That having been said, it’s not a crippling problem since experimentation is half of the fun in this title.

– Although the game is clearly more friendly for multi-player use, you’re definitely going to prefer putting together a group of four friends as opposed to playing open multiplayer. Friendly fire is a huge part of this game, and you’ll enjoy it more with your friends. Trust me.

The Bottom Line

Personally, I love Magicka. It’s a great multi-player experience and the combination of spell effects is a lot of fun. But it’s not a polished experience; it has some bugs, some of which are frustrating, and as a single player experience it leaves quite a bit to be desired. For what you’re going to pay for Magicka, however, you’ll feel as if you’ve gotten your money’s worth.

DLC! Black Ops: First Strike

Posted on by Semtex Skittle

(This DLC is an add-on to  Call of Duty: Black Ops by Treyarch.)

Standard Open

Hey, it’s that time of year! No, it’s not time for a new Call of Duty game… but it is time for the first multi-player map pack that Treyarch has released for the latest iteration of the Call of Duty franchise –  Black Ops. The “First Strike” pack contains 5 all-new maps, four for the standard multi-player modes of Black Ops, and one for the “Zombies” mode. Since there’s no other content for this review, I’ll go ahead and give you the multi-player play-by-play (if for some reason you need a review of a zombie mode map, I don’t know what to tell you)

Ascension

Hey, it’s a zombie map! As you would expect, it has a lot of doors… I guess that doesn’t tell you much. This map has you climbing a missile silo. Like all zombie maps, it centers around team-work and cooperation. Don’t play it with your enemies.

Berlin Wall

This map is a (relatively) small battleground that is divided into two distinctive halves by the existence of a kind of ‘neutral zone’ across the middle. This zone, marked very clearly on your radar in red, is the home to multiple guard towers who will shower you with a pleasant hail of sentry gun bullets if you so much as set foot inside of it. The rest of the combat is, to a lesser or greater extent, defined by this dead zone at its centre. Although it initially seems like more long-ranged combat would be the result, you may find that most combatants are seeking ways around the dead zone in order to engage their foes, and that the map actually has a much more intimate feel than you might expect given its small size.

Discovery

This map is the arctic site of some Nazi laboratory. It’s very small, and divided into two distinctive halves. The division is not nearly as clear as maps like Nuketown, but the presence of a bottomless chasm that divides the centrepoint of the map still leads to a limited number of routes from one side to another. It definitely feels like a map where a spawn lock could be effective. That having been said, a central bridge which connects the two halves of the map makes for a potentially brutally-contested “B” point for Domination and other balanced side game-types. Despite its small size and the relative open-ness of most of the map, Discovery is very much a 2-3 level map, and enemies will often be above or below you, so pay close attention!

Kowloon

This map is based on the Hong Kong escape level from the single player campaign, using many of the same terrain elements to create a multi-leveled brawl. This map is very small. In terms of physical size, it probably would rival most of the mid-sized maps, but because of the way the multiple levels and terrain intervene, it plays as small as any level in the game. You’ll often find that combat over the central portion of the map is the key to victory, and is defined by numerous level-changing bridges which provide access not only from rooftop to rooftop but also between the combat levels. Enemies can, and will, come from all sides on Kowloon, and it’s important that a prudent player stay careful throughout.

Stadium

Another small map, actually, despite having several different distinct combat areas. Depending on your chosen game-type you’ll find yourself mostly embroiled in combat in one of the map’s main “zones’… which is to say, the hockey arena itself,. the area outside of the building, or between the rink and its surrounding structures. Spawn points, available cover, and the general feel, of this map change significantly from iteration to iteration. Like most of the best multi-purpose maps, the first time that you play Satdium you should find yourself wondering what it plays like in Death-Match, or Domination, or Demolition, or whatever you’re not playing. Out of the four maps, I personally think that Stadium is the most universally fun design, albeit with some potential for tiresome slug-fests over the same couple of areas of the map.

The Details

For X-Box Liver users, this game is going to run 1200 Microsoft Points (or roughly $15). For hard core Black Ops players the DLC is very much worth it, as it significantly expands the basic roster of maps that the game shipped with. Much like Modern Warfare 2 this DLC will not allow you to match-make on the new maps if you don’t own them, without forcing you to select an alternate play-list (Halo style). On the other hand, this method filters down the available pool of players based on the ownership of the DLC, so it probably evens out.


The Bottom Line

Is this DLC worth it? If you’re a serious Call of Duty multi-player mode player, then yes, it probably is. You’ll appreciate the additions to the game’s maps… and the new maps seem to have been founded with an understanding of what Black Ops really is; a game that features much more intimate combat than its immediate predecessor. You probably won’t feel any urgency to use your sniper rifle on most of these DLC maps (not to say that you can’t snipe, but merely that these have a feel more like Firing Range or Nuketown, and less like Array), but your SMG will probably get a workout.

Classic Game: Baldur’s Gate II

Posted on by Semtex Skittle

A lot of people – and I mean a lot – have played BioWare’s games over the years. Knights of the Old Republic, Neverwinter Nights, Dragon Age: Origins, Mass Effect, Mass Effect 2… and it’s still going strong. BioWare has at least two games that are probably going to come out in 2011. But as time goes on, I rarely find someone who played the games that sort of set off the whole BioWare phenomenon. I would consider BioWare to be the definitive “WRPG” developer, much as Squaresoft would have been the definitive JRPG guys in the past. Of course there are others in the medium, and their work is good too, but when I look back, I always find myself staring back at one game: Baldur’s Gate II: Shadows of Amn.

I think of Shadows of Amn more than the original Baldur’s Gate because it’s a better game. In a lot of cases, we can probably agree the sequels never quite match up with the originals. I think Shadows of Amn blows away the original game for two reasons. First of all, it used to be that advancing technology and increasing popularity for video games made sequels that had a bigger budget and more respect than the originals. History is replete with examples of this phenomenon and it definitely continues into the late 90’s and early 2000’s.

Baldur’s Gate II, however, is a little bit unique in my opinion in the way that the evolution of the same general WRPG style takes a significant step backward from the sophistication and features that BGII integrates. We see in Shadows of Amn an alignment system which your party members will react to throughout the game (including outright leaving if they don’t like your guts), several romances which have interaction with one another, as well as a culmination within the game. A wide cast of characters who support and aid you throughout, and a five-character party which allows for sophisticated and tactical combat.

How much of that transfers on to Knights of the Old Republic? Earnestly, not a great deal. KotOR is still the evolutionary advancement of Baldur’s Gate, it’s just not as evolutionary as you might think. In a lot of ways, it represents a significant step backward in terms of the sophistication of WRPG, the decision-making process that characterizes the genre, and other things. Just one of a thousand reasons that I will always feel that KotOR is insanely overrated. As you’ve probably caught on to by now, I don’t tend to favour titles which don’t advance the genre in some way. I admit that there is some logic to the idea that making changes just to make changes is a recipe for disaster (and let’s face it, there’s no stronger example than my most hated game ever released, Master of Orion 3), but I also think that games should evolve along with the technology that supports them.

Do I think that Mass Effect is a better game than Baldur’s Gate II? In most respects; yes. I thought that the party interactions in Baldur’s Gate II were more sophisticated and more fun, but in most respects, I don’t even think it’s arguable that Mass Effect has moved us in a positive direction with the usage of technology and budget, and is the superior title. But even with Mass Effect (one of my favourite “modern” titles) I’m not certain that everything has been done better than Shadows of Amn. As usual, when we forget about past games, we’re leaving diamonds buried in the sand, and it’s not becoming of us.

So, I guess the bottom line is, play Baldur’s Gate II if you get an opportunity to do so. Try and appreciate the elements of it that are still great, and are still better than modern WRPGs, despite the inferior technology, the (relatively) primitive game system, and even the ongoing use of AD&D 2.0 rules.

Classic Game: XCOM: UFO Defense

Posted on by Semtex Skittle

Those who forget their past; are doomed to forget some incredible games.

I forget who said that, but he must have been a smart man. Going back to the days of DOS games and 3.5 disks, we can still find some gold. In fact, some of the greatest games I’ve ever been played were made before the world had envisioned the idea of a game on a CD-ROM. Well, the greatest squad-based strategy game ever made is just one of these. And you can get it on Steam for a pittance. Really, a pittance of a pittance! I’m talking, of course, about X-COM: UFO Defence (Hereafter referred to simply as X-COM).

People who have played this game are already having some nostalgic flashbacks, and are strongly considering buying it on Steam right now.

For those of you who haven’t played it… read on!

X-COM is a squad-based strategy game that places the player in command of a global counter-alien organization aptly titled X-COM. A completely covert organization, X-COM crosses national boundaries with impunity, and remains hidden from the alien aggressors who haunt the globe. As the theatre commander for this covert organization, you will establish bases across the globe. Each base can house facilities such as alien containment for captives, hangar bays to launch interceptor craft in pursuit of UFOs, laboratories to develop new technologies, and workshops to build weapons. From your initial base, your X-COM organization will grow to protect all of Earth from a merciless and inhuman enemy. It is up to you to save us all.

The game play is based on the Geosphere. In essence, this is a map of the earth which is manipulated through time lapse controls, allowing the player to speed or slow the passage of time. From the Geosphere, the player can access the aforementioned workshops and laboratories, outfit soldiers for battle, and construct new bases and facilities. In addition, the Geosphere map allows the player to monitor alien activity on earth. Each time your base(s) detect UFOs, you can intercept them, shoot them down, and attempt to recover salvage. In addition, you may detect alien bases manufactured on earth, or the aliens may strike on their own, terrorizing Earth cities in an attempt to frighten our governments into submission.

Once you’ve landed at an alien crash site, an active UFO, a terror site, or an alien base, you take command of a squad of soldiers deployed from your landing craft. Equipped with the weapons and armor that you provided them, your soldiers are ready to fight and die at your command. They have various gameplay statistics that will determine how far they can move, how brave they are in the face of adversity, and how accurately they shoot. This squad combat is turn based, and pits a small group of highly-trained soldiers against their enemies. As these soldiers kill aliens and survive their missions, they are advanced in rank and in statistics, moving from squeamishly determined green troops into hardened combat veterans. At the same time, your scientists will learn the secrets of the aliens’ technology, allowing your troops to use fantastic energy weapons and psionic attacks against the invaders.

Strategy game enthusiasts will, almost without variation, love this game. It has incredible depth of strategy, and yet still contains a lot of action. You’ll have to learn the strengths and weaknesses of a variety of alien opponents, and counter them, if you ever intend to defeat the aliens at their base on Mars and stop the invasion of Earth. If you don’t know the joy of X-COM: UFO Defense, then it’s time to run, not walk, to check it out.

Review: Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood

Posted on by Semtex Skittle


The Bottom Line

Assassin’s Creed just gets better and better. Ubisoft has proven that they understand what things work, and what things don’t, in this series.

Unfocused Ramblings

No one was more excited than I was when the original Assassin’s Creed was announced. It brought to my head dreams of my days of playing Thief. I’d been starving for a new stealth-based game for years. It just seemed like nobody was making those kinds of games anymore, and this one had real potential to be what I’d been missing. Well, of course, anyone who played the original Assassin’s Creed can attest to the fact that stealth had little to do with Altair’s journey through the twelfth century Holy Land. I enjoyed the game, but it definitely had its flaws, and I fervently hoped that these things had been addressed when I bought my copy of Assassin’s Creed II. I was not disappointed. The team from Ubisoft working on these games understands what works in their games. I don’t know how better to explain it. And they continue to let the game evolve in a desirable way with Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood.

Brotherhood once again follows Ezio de Auditore in Renaissance Italy, literally beginning at the minute that Assassin’s Creed II ended, as he exits the Vault. This time, Ezio begins the game as a fully trained assassin, though he’s missing some of his bag of tricks due to an event near the game’s open. And he finds himself in the city of Roma circa the late 16th century, once again pursuing the Borgia family; Cesare, Lucrezia, and of course, Rodrigo. As the game moves along, Ezio can eventually regain all of the mechanical tricks from the previous title plus a couple of new ones… including a long-awaited gem in the crossbow. As a weapon, the crossbow does not disappoint. It kills swiftly and silently, and carries a fair amount of reserve ammo. If you’re anything like me, you’ll use the crossbow a lot.

Piling on to the improvements in the game are the huge number of side missions available (although they are met with a disappointing reduction in the girth of the core story). There are several guilds in the city whose allegiance Ezio must win. Once he has it, they each come with a slew of side missions that he can undertake. In addition, Leonardo Da Vinci returns, this time having been forced to craft war machines for the Borgia. Fortunately, Ezio can destroy these mechanical monstrosities in a series of stealth-based side missions that take him to other places in the Italian countryside. Templar Agents must be brought down in side assassination missions. We explore more of Ezio’s past through missions that center around Cristina, a beautiful Italian girl, and Ezio’s first love. The Followers of Romulus have a series of underground lairs which must be negotiated Tomb Raider style, much like the Assassin Tombs found in Assassin’s Creed II, which will grant a special set of armor.

Oh, and we still have the whole ‘rebuild the town and generate income’ mechanic, except this time you’re rebuilding the entire city of Roma, which has fallen into disrepair under the neglect of its Borgia masters. To seize control of the city, Ezio must destroy Borgia towers (essentially, viewpoints that are owned by the Borgia) from which they extend their influence into the city.

And then, of course, there’s the reason this game is called Brotherhood. As you might have noticed if you’re a fan of the series, the Assassins are often a hard-luck bunch, always taking casualties and being beat up on by the Templar. Fortunately, people can be found willing to take a stand against oppression. After saving certain bold citizens from the Borgia guards, Ezio can recruit them into the Brotherhood of Assassins. These Assassin recruits can be called in to assist Ezio in fighting, assassinate a target, or bombard an area with a storm of arrows to massacre a guard patrol. Their effectiveness grows as they are used, and they can also be sent on missions for the Assassins all over Europe, returning to Ezio with florins and special items gained while out on their assignments (these assignments are of the boring point-click-and-wait variety, but if you do things intelligently the process isn’t too laborious).

And all of that is strictly in addition to a palatable, if not necessarily filling, main storyline that begins to tie in Desmond Miles and his compatriots in the year 2012 much more than in previous titles. Desmond continues to be able to exit the Animus at any time to converse with his Assassin friends, but now that he has mastered Ezio’s skills, he can also cruise around the modern version of Monteriggioni, and there are some action sequences that utilize Desmond as well.

The Big Question

How soon will the next Assassin’s Creed be out? Because I’m already hungry for more, and not just because of the serious cliffhanger that Brotherhood ends with. This series is one of the best-handled that I have ever had the pleasure to play. Each installment is noticeably better than the last. The games become more polished, more fun, and with more stuff. Once this franchise has run its course, which might just take a while, I’m equally excited to find out what this development team will be working on next.

Overall Game-Play: 8.0

The gameplay hasn’t changed tremendously since the original Assassin’s Creed. Minor improvements and polishes have made the contextual controls a little better, but they still suffer from the same limitations as always. If you play the game enough, you’ll occasionally find Ezio infuriatingly doing something you didn’t intend; likely to your cost. But once you’ve really gotten the hang of the controls and gotten into a rhythm, these incidents are likely to be few. The biggest limitation to the game play (and, I will add, I don’t have any great suggestions on how to fix the issue) is probably the use of the ranged weapons available in the game. The pistol still feels clumsy and useless, and while the crossbow is predictably powerful with its silent kills, it’s tough to use against enemies who have been alerted to Ezio’s presence.

It’s definitely worth noting that while Assassin’s Creed basically eschewed stealth except for the mundane business of traveling from place to place, while Assassin’s Creed II embraced it and made it a valuable tool at your disposal, Brotherhood seems to demand it. There are a number of sequences where stealth will make your mission a hundred times easier, and others where it is required by the mission itself. And I’m not just talking about tailing people in the market. As much as I appreciate the game fully embracing, and even desiring, your use of stealth, I’m actually now a little aware of the limitations of the controls as far as stealth goes. I feel odd not being able to crouch and skulk silently, or press up against cover, like Sam Fisher. Ezio can presumably do these things. If stealth is going to become a focus, I’d love for the controls to be more conducive to it being successful.

Story 9.0

The story is a quality affair. For this return trip to Ezio’s memories, we now have a very explicit goal; to recover the Apple of Eden that Ezio took in the 16th century in the year 2012. Desmond is already a full-trained assassin, so we’re spared any introductory sequences where we gain valuable abilities one by one over time. Instead, the story literally begins where Assassin’s Creed 2 ended. From there, Ezio’s life of seeking revenge while staying distant even from his family continues. The story gets rolling more quickly now; we already know almost all of the characters on Ezio’s side of the story. We only need to meet a few of the new villains that we know we’ll be assassinating to get things moving.

And actually, it’s probably worth noting that the core storyline doesn’t seem to focus on or revolve around the individual assassination of individual people the way it did before. It also gives us a lot more reasons to specifically dislike each person we’re assassinating as opposed to just making them a part of a conspiracy too large for us to get to know each member of. All of that is fine, and the level to which we can now use stealth to make kills is incredible. Did I mention that I like stealth?

To me, this more mature Ezio is a much less vibrant character than the youthful assassin we met in the last game. It makes sense, given his life experience, but I really do feel like there’s an aspect of sadness to Ezio’s character and his life by now. He’s determined, and strong, and I still find him very likable (especially compared to the dryness of Altair) but his life is as an assassin. Presumably he’s spent too long, and killed too many people, to be anything else.

Anyway, since Desmond now has a much more focused goal while perusing Ezio’s memories, and he can now do things outside of them, we have a bigger tie-in with the year 2012 than we did in the previous games. While the 2012 side of the story does advance, it’s still not a core part of the game. I think a lot of people anticipated more action in the frame story in this installment, and it could be considered a disappointment. I guess it’s worth noting that it didn’t bother me much; I still found Ezio (and the city of Roma) compelling.

Graphics 10.0

I suppose I’ve just come to expect this from the Assassin’s Creed franchise. The game is visually breathtaking. The city of Roma has more recognizable landmarks per capita than any place we’ve yet been, and they’re rendered spectacularly. As are are the buildings. The major characters. The minor characters. The random guards. The civilians who have you no interaction with whatsoever. The game is gorgeous. I’m not sure that anyone would be surprised by that at this point.

Sound 8.0

The voice acting is held to a high standard, as it has been through the franchise. The music is also compelling, and features from beautiful tracks, but I actually fervently wish they had done more with it; or at least included more variety of tracks for the streets of the city, or something. I eventually found myself growing a little tired of the ubiquitous “traveling the streets of Roma” track. Still, the sound is unlikely to disappoint all but the pickiest and most easily-bored gamers (like me).

Review: Cthulhu Saves The World

Posted on by zackthewicked1

Cthulhu Saves the World, an Xbox 360 indie game from Zeboyd Entertainment, the same people who brought us Breath of Death VII: The Beginning.

Once again Zeboyd Entertainment resurrects the feel of an old school 16-bit RPG with the graphics and sound feeling like they’re right out of an old SNES RPG.

The plot of this game is that the evil Cthulhu is defeated in battle and is under a curse that makes him lose all his powers.  The only way to regain them is to become a true hero.

Really the first thing that comes to mind is this… what would H. P. Lovecraft think if he were still alive today?  First there’s the three-parter of South Park featuring Cthulhu and now this.  He’s either rolling in his grave now or if he had a sense of humor he’d laugh.  No telling unfortunately.

It features the gameplay and graphics of Breath of Death VII, but with improvements.  For starters you can save anywhere but in battle which is a major improvement.  It was annoying that you could only save at inns in Breath of Death VII.  The game has still image cut scenes which are really cool, and of course there’s the dialogue.  Some of the funniest dialogue I’ve seen in a game.  Constantly breaking the fourth wall which in parody games is always a nice little treat.  In addition to Cthulhu you have 6 other party members you can choose from to form your party having up to 4 characters.

Like Breath of Death VII each time you level up you have two options to customize customize your character, whether it be new spells, new effects for current spells, improving stats and more.

The best part about this game is it’s only 240 MS points ($3).  Yeah Breath of Death VII was only 80, MS points, but trust me, the $2 extra is well worth it as this is the superior game.

If you enjoyed Breath of Death VII, I cannot recommend this game enough.  Zeboyd Entertainment I look forward to your future games.

Quick Take: Breath of Death VII: The Beginning

Posted on by Semtex Skittle

Quick Take

So here’s a random little Indie game that I caught wind of a couple months back. I guess I was behind the curve on this one, but I’ve always been in favour of promoting indie developers. We need more people making great games. And not all of those people are going to work for EA. So, in that respect, the Indie Game Marketplace on Xbox Live is one of the greatest inventions of our time. On the other hand, there’s so many bad games being released on there, that it can be difficult to even trust the cost of downloading one of these titles. Well, if you’re afraid of a title that lacks quality, then you have nothing to worry about with Breath of Death VII: The Beginning (which I will hereafter refer to as BoD7).

It’s a satirical (or parody, I suppose) throwback experience, hearkening back to the days of 8-bit RPGs on the NES. You have the true top-down environments with their (mostly) non-interactive terrain. You have your sprite-based characters, your very traditional 8-bit combat screens. Really, you have it all, except for a beautiful score which pays homage to, but isn’t, an 8-bit tracklist. The game is well put together. It has the polished feel that you’d expect from any professional game in its presentation, the way the game plays, and so on. There are no gameplay glitches or issues to be found in BoD7. I guess that reflects the dedication of the developer once again.

So obviously, you’re not playing this game for the graphics. You’re not playing it for the storyline (but you may very well be playing it for the satire of a typical 8-bit storyline) and you’re not, strictly speaking, playing it for the game system. Fortunately, BoD7 doesn’t reflect 8-bit releases in every way. The system is very intuitive. Characters level up quickly, and get access to a lot of cool powers without much difficulty. Don’t be fooled by the ease with which you’ll breeze through the early parts of the game though – in the tradition of 8-bit games, the game gets pretty hard as it goes on. Of course, it’s still far from unplayable, and you should still have fun progressing through the whole world that Zeboyd has presented for you.

The bottom line? It’s definitely worth the couple of bucks it’s going to cost you. Check it out!