At PAX Australia, I had to opportunity to try out Just Dance 17, the latest instalment in the Just Dance series. When I say opportunity, I really mean that I went to seek out these booths so I could play the game.

Standing up there against three others, two of whom were Just Dance representatives because nobody else had the balls to get up there, we shook and shimmied to Justin Bieber’s smash hit ‘Sorry.’ Following the prompts on the bottom of the screen, we were made to drop, twirl, slide and glide. It’s straight forward and easy once you remember the order of the dance moves, as most songs usually have three to four sets of moves that repeat as the song goes on.The dance moves themselves aren’t particularly hard or intricate, but to score the points, you have to have perfect timing. I played on the Wii U version and found the response and tracking of my moves to be very accurate.

I then made my way through to the second Just Dance exhibit just to play again, and this time it was a 2 v 2 battle round to Shakira’s “Hips Don’t Lie.” Just Dance 17 offers four modes of dance to play in: Single, Duo, Trio and Quadruple, for up to four players. It’s the perfect party game, really.

The visuals are great, providing a bright and whimsical backdrop that doesn’t distract you from your mission, and it really propels the game onto another level of engagement.

Some songs take the dance moves right out of the video clip, for example, Fifth Harmony’s hit ‘Worth It’ has various dance moves lifted right out of the official choreography performed by the band. Personally, this was a huge advantage for me as I was familiar with the dance moves prior to playing this level.The song list consists of 41 songs, taken from hits of today and the past. You’ll find a mixture of songs from DNCE’s 2015 hit “Cake By The Ocean”, to Queen’s classic “Don’t Stop Me Now.” You can also find hits from Ariana Grande, Maroon 5, PSY, and Sia to name a few.

A great thing about Just Dance 17 is that it comes with a 90 day pass to Just Dance Gold, a subscription to Just Dance Unlimited, which gives you access to every song in Just Dance history as well as a selection of songs only available through this service. You can renew this after your free period is up.

I then had the chance to play this at home on PS4, but because I don’t have the PlayStation Camera, I was worried that I wouldn’t be able to play. Luckily, Ubisoft has created an accompanying free iPhone app that lets you use your phone as the controller when you play Just Dance 17! Connecting via the same Wi-Fi network, you can navigate the menu with your iPhone and then use it as the controller while you dance.

There are over 230 unlockable avatars that you obtain after every song you play, which adds for a nice touch for those who enjoy being rewarded for their hard efforts. The score you earn also gives you some coins to purchase unlockable songs. I’ve yet to delve deeper into the game, but the replay level is high as I constantly aim to hit five stars and unlock all the trophies.

My highest score so far is 9,800 on Selena Gomez’ “Love You Like A Love Song.”

CONCLUSION

Parents who complain that children spend too much time playing video games and not getting exercise will regret ever saying that if they purchase this game. You will be most definitely be sweating by the end of it. Just Dance 2016 is fun for the whole family, and I’d highly recommend it.

The PS4 version of this game was primarily used for the purpose of this review.

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So, those of you who haven’t heard much about this game, might not know that the latest toys come to life offering isn’t content with just letting you develop and arm your Skylanders with all sorts of wacky skills and items.

No, this time around you can create your own Skylanders using the power of this stuff called ‘Imaginite’. Instead of merely offering you toy characters to plonk on your new portal (once again supplied with the game), this time around Skylanders Imaginators arms you with Imaginite based ‘Creation Crystals’, which you can use to make your own unique Skylanders. The crystals glow when placed on the toy portal and look a little like coloured egg timers. They come in different flavours, reflecting the core natural domains common to the series.

You also get a new type of character, the ‘Sensei’, to play with and you must head off into the gameworld and battle that persistent pest, Kaos. Naturally, the littlest big bad guy has a few fresh tricks up his sleeve too and has managed to use the same sort of magic that you now have access to, to conjure up unheard of foes, called Doomlanders.

There is plenty of intense combat and lots of cheesy one-liners from Kaos, with his deadpan sidekick Glumshanks still in tow. Plus, there is puzzle play aplenty, platforming action and racing too. What an absolute smorgasbord of ‘Skylandery greatness’, as Flynn, who has also returned, would say. There is a lot to like and much to do apart from the familiar cocktail of exploration and combat.

There is even rail riding challenges, a juke box you must tune to obtain gold, the odd spot where you can take ‘selfie’ images of your Skylanders for extra treasure, and a snail you must race for extra Imaginite crystals. It is like the developers reached a critical mass with a good group of mini games and then decided to double down and make even more, as the selection is superb.

All of these minigames have one very welcome reward. You get chests that, once opened, yield extra Imaginite. This substance can then be smashed and turns into cool bonus items. This system is quite different to the coin based reward dynamic we have been used to with previous games and to be honest it kind of makes the coins you do earn feel redundant. But hey it’s all treasure, so it is hard to complain.

One slight design change I personally don’t like, is the way you can so easily and instantly from anywhere open the ‘upgrade’ menu and purchase new powers. This cheapens the experience, as you can upgrade your characters as soon as you have the readies. Having to travel to an upgrade shrine during the game or schlep back to town like we had to in older games feels like a better design approach, as it means you treasure the upgrade process more.

That said, there are tons of upgrade options and it is still fun to pump your characters up, even if it is a little too easy to do so quickly.

If you thought the visuals in Superchargers were varied and colourful, you’ll be impressed by how much better Imaginators looks. The game is bursting with bright effects, colourful, varied architecture and wacky backdrops.

There are also new elements like Sensei Shrines that give you access to extremely desirable special attack moves. However, these moves are unique to a particular Sensei and can only be taught to an Imaginator ‘student’ from the same battle class. Thus, you are given motivation to buy all of the Sensei toys and Creation Crystals sold separately. This may not please everyone, especially those on a budget.

Also, using the Creation Crystal, the character creation aspect of the game is hugely satisfying with a massive array of classes, apparel options, voices, catchphrases, theme tunes and special attacks on offer.

Making your own characters and choosing how they look, how they sound and how they fight is immensely rewarding. There are some mighty oddball options too.

Watermelon shoulder pads and coconut helmets are just the start of how silly and creative you can be. It is slightly annoying how you must keep a particular character configuration once you have created it using a Crystal. These toys cannot be ‘reset’ like other Skylander figures.

That said, replacement crystals are only ten bucks and you can make an army of truly weird and wonderful warriors that reflect your own twisted ideas. Indeed as long as you buy into the need to purchase the toys there is a lot of (admittedly pricey) fun to be had building your collection.

Imaginators isn’t entirely perfect though. At times I did find the controls on the rail grinding sections lacked the precision required to easily leap from track to track. Also the racing bonus levels did see you occasionally get frustratingly stuck in the scenery.

However, for the most part the action is superb. The combat is chaotic with special moves and magical attacks firing off all over the place and as long as you keep moving and attacking you can generally do well even on the hardest difficulty level.

The way the Imaginators pushes the need to spend real world money to buy toys and other trinkets on you, with adverts that pop up during loading screens, is also a minor blemish.

CONCLUSION

Skylanders Imaginators manages to do the seemingly impossible. Not only does it breath life into a franchise that has always demanded fresh innovation with every release, but the game delivers fun for kids and older players alike. Imaginators adds new character customisation and creation dynamics to the already familiar formula of combat, exploration and puzzle solving.

If you are stuck for something to grab for a pre-teen gamer this Yuletide, and they don’t have the game already, Imaginators is a safe bet that will please most.

The Xbox One version of this game was used for the purpose of this review.

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Let’s face it, we all know the story of The Force Awakens by now, but what’s most important about a Lego game is how it handles the events and characters of the story it’s trying to re-tell. In the case of Lego Star Wars: The Force Awakens, there is simply little to nothing negative that can be said about Traveller’s Tales’ charming and incredibly accurate coverage of the events of Episode VII.

Whilst the newest installment of the Lego Star Wars franchise may only cover a single film, this has given the developers at Traveller’s Tales the opportunity to create their most narratively-faithful and charming title to date, combining the events of the film (including the most part, which I won’t spoil) with the charm and humor that we’ve come to expect from the Lego IP. The Force Awakens isn’t just a faithful adaption of the franchise as of yet, but it manages to raise the bar quite a bit for future installments of both the Star Wars and unrelated titles within the Lego IP.The game does compensate at times for the fact that we’re only covering a single film’s worth of material, which mostly comes down to comic relief and smaller character moments, which sometimes work and sometimes they don’t, though most returning players might not be affected too much by it as newcomers would. Lego Star Wars: The Force Awakens on a narrative front is a charming, fun and faithful experience that won’t just appeal to Star Wars fans, but newcomers and Lego fans alike.

Players have grown to expect the same old song and dance when it comes to the graphical aspects of Lego games, though as of Lego Marvel’s Avengers the attention to detail and faithfulness to the visual representation of the source material has taken a pretty significant leap when it comes to visual fidelity and even cinematography. Scenes like the Millenium Falcon escape and the battle of Starkiller base are presented in incredibly familiar fashions, with some of the cutscenes being basically 1:1 framed recreations of the film itself, which lends a lot to the game in terms of authenticity.Textures and geometry detail in general, are what you’d expect from a Lego game, though the overall product does seem a lot more refined and technically capable than most of its predecessors. Cutscenes and aerial sequences like the Millenium Falcon escape, in particular, are quite stunning to look at considering the graphical formula the brand has been practicing the past few years.

Some of the most notable improvements lay in the lighting and the animations, which have taken a huge step forward. Characters, in particular, look much more alive and traversal looks and feels a lot smoother than we’re accustomed to from previous titles. Facial animations are what you’d expect, though that’s always been part of the charm of the brand. Smaller droids and characters also fill the screen as the recreation of the Star Wars universe truly does feel more alive than it has ever looked before in the Lego dimension (pun intended.)Analyzing the Lego games has always been a particularly hard thing to do, as the core of most of the titles does feel awfully familiar from game to game. Lego Star Wars: The Force Awakens, however, does feel like one of the most renewing and well-forged titles that Traveller’s Tales has produced in the last few waves of their popular adaptions.

The strongest aspect of this newest installment is the fact that the game throws some much-needed diversity into the classic Lego gameplay formula, combining traditional platforming sections with intense dogfights and even shooter sections, which is something entirely new to the brand.The dogfights, in particular, are more well-crafted than you’d initially expect. Recreating iconic sequences such as the Tie-Fighter escape the game either puts you behind the wheel or in the shooting position as the game delves into extended dogfights that often rival the main gameplay sections in terms of gameplay design. Whilst the controls and combat systems are fairly simple in use and design, these levels simply feel like a joy to play as I  piloted the Millenium Falcon in my escape from Jakku.

The second most noteworthy addition, in my opinion, was the inclusion of new Gears of War-like cover sections, which has the players take cover in shooting sections that are used to take care of heavily armed enemies. On paper, it may sound repetitive, but these sections are actually a pretty nice change of pace in some levels as they never really feel out of place , though in some cases the shooting mechanic itself does leave a lot to be desired.
There’s also a good amount of puzzles throughout the game, though some mini-games which include visual passwords and such to move on to the next part of the level do seem to get a bit repetitive after a while.

A lot of the core gameplay remains unchanged, though the formerly noted additions and a good and the puzzles keep the pacing fresh as you move throughout the film, which should take about 6 hours for the main story, with some additional time left to replay levels, find hidden objects and play side-missions that should complete your experience quite nicely.Quite frankly, Lego Star Wars: The Force Awakens may be the strongest title that Traveller’s Tales has given us as of yet when it comes to adapting popular franchises. Providing fun, renewing and diverse gameplay, the game more than makes up for its length by the fact that what’s there is just so fun to play. If there’s one Lego game you’re picking up this summer, you better make sure it’s The Force Awakens!

The PS4 version of LEGO Star Wars: The Force Awakens  was primarily tested for the purpose of this review.

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Who here could honestly say they’ve never heard of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles? The ‘heroes in a half-shell’ have been a mainstay in pop culture since their inception in the 1980s; spanning comic books, television shows, movies, and especially video games. With PlatinumGames taking the reins for the latest installment, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutants In Manhattan, our beloved team of reptiles (that’s right, they aren’t amphibians) return to the fray for yet another beat-em-up on the streets of New York City.

Shredder, Krang and the notorious Foot clan are wreaking havoc in Manhattan, and once again it falls to the Turtles with the help of April O’Neal and Master Splinter to stop their nefarious plans.  With every known ally and villain in the fray, can the Turtles prevent Shredder from taking over New York?

The Turtles have evolved a lot over the years, going through various style changes and looks. Mutants in Manhattan adds a cel-shaded look to the 3D modelling of the most recent TV show, giving it a strange blend between comic book aesthetic and three dimensional gameplay. It works in the end, allowing the game to be bright and interesting.
Less can be said about the sound design though – the music is repetitive and grating, and battle sounds become a flurry of slashes and hits when fighting takes place on screen, accompanied by quite jarring camera angles that could have you on the floor in a dizzy spell by the end of a level. Even the menus are droll and uninspiring, with a looped track over and over that by the third time you hear it becomes annoying. And while we’ve grown up and loved the Turtles’ attitudes and humour, everything within this game feels terribly scripted and forced, and almost sounds like they found some unused scripts from the early 1990s to fill in the dialogue.

People have sung praises about PlatinumGames’ past works, and usually they were right to. This time around though, they have left a lot to be desired.

At the core, TMNT could have been a decent beat-em-up. You play as one of four Turtles, with the ability to switch at will between the squad, giving each Turtle a different special skill set. The three remaining Turtles act as support along the way, helping you take down the bad guys. Which sounds simple enough, right?

The first issue that arises is the overcomplicated controls. One trigger allows you to block and also parry (which in game is practically useless when swarmed with enemies). Another allows you to aim shuriken at the enemy or at things to make them blow up. And then ANOTHER trigger allows you to use special attacks. No wait, it allows you to swap Turtles. No sorry, I’m wrong, it does BOTH. Like the game itself, the controls for TMNT are just too frantic and confusing, and I found myself throwing shuriken in the heat of a battle when I was trying to swap to Mike and play with his nunchucks. In the midst of being surrounded by enemies, fighting becomes a chore rather than fun when trying to remember which button blocks and which button gives the rest of the team a different command.

The next problem, and the biggest of the game, is the fact that everything past the first mission is repetitive. April barks orders at you, you and your terrible AI gang head there and beat up a bunch of bad guys to do a thing. Rinse and repeat. Sure, there’s wall climbing and grinding mechanics but these are just stuck there, and after a while it just gets too tedious to be fun. Defuse a bomb? Hold circle. But wait, didn’t I just interact with a PC terminal by holding circle? And open a door with all the Turtles while holding circle?

Needless to say, I didn’t get a chance to play multiplayer – four player split screen co-op is strangely absent from a game that would benefit heavily from it, and the only way to play with your friends is online. At least that way the Turtles would control better as a team.

I really wanted to love this game, and I had hoped that it would give me a sense of nostalgia for my favourite TMNT game, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles IV: Turtles In Time for the SNES. All Mutants in Manhattan did was make me long for a decent beat-em-up that does more than just phone it in at times. Sadly this game feels more like a bargain bin pickup than one to run out and grab straight away.

The PS4 version of TMNT was primarily tested for the purpose of this review.

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Hero shooters are the ‘in thing’. Adding just a pinch of MOBA into first person shooters, they combine MMO elements with cooperative and competitive online gaming with flare, riffing off games such as Destiny and the Division. Gearbox, famous for the Borderlands series, jumps head on into the emerging genre, bringing with them their unique style, humour and flare. I wasn’t big on Borderlands, but was intrigued by the new formula, at least at first.

Gearbox aren’t striving to tell a hugely captivating story with Battleborn; it’s simply not the focus of the game. That said, they make an attempt.

It follows very much in the same vein as Destiny; there has been a near universe-ending phenomenon and only one star in remains. The surviving races collect around the final start and send out champions, the Battleborn, to fight off the Varelsi the malevolent Rendain.

Of the eight ‘episodes’ and prologue mission – which you can play cooperatively or by yourself – they typically involve search and rescue or defense objectives. There’s little in the way of story threads between missions; they’re self-contained so as to cater for repeated play and grinding on harder difficulties.

Battleborn’s focus clearly isn’t story, it’s merely a vehicle to peddle situations in which you can grind through bad guys and level up. Each mission took me a solid 40 minutes on the normal difficulty, but playing cooperatively you’ll smash through it in half the time. An advanced difficulty setting, plus the range of characters means there’s some replayability.

Sadly, it felt half-baked and honestly a little bland, giving me little motivation other than unlocking characters to return to the missions, and only then with some friends to keep me company.

Borderlands was instantly recognisable by its sense characteristic graphical style and attempt at humour, which carries over into Battleborn.

Graphically speaking, it’s fine. It’s got a unique appearance and the character design is certainly interesting but the game never looks overly impressive. It’d be more forgiving of this fact if it ran better, but on PC, the frame-rate chugged at times which is super frustrating in what I feel should have prioritized slick shooting.
Perhaps my biggest gripe however was the voice acting. It’s of no fault of the actors themselves I believe, but more so the direction. Everything is over-voiced and feels kind of lame. This game seems out of line with what we’ve come to expect this generation. Caricatures, archetypes and stereotypes are abound; it’s all just really obnoxious and annoying. Every single joke fell flat. Every. Single. One.

I can’t really level any complaints at the UI thankfully. It manages a lot of information and special attack timers relatively well, which is not an easy thing to pull off. Rather frustratingly, matchmaking was a little patchy, I almost always lost connection after every round of multiplayer, and it took a few attempts to reconnect every time.

I’ve already referenced Bungie’s FPS MMO twice in this review and for good reason; if I were to summarize my feelings towards Battleborn, it would be that is feels like a cheap, knock-off Destiny, especially in regards to its story and its gameplay.

That said, some gameplay elements seem inspired. The missions introduce interesting elements, almost in the realm of tower defense games, and the multiplayer adapts MOBAs into more accessible multiplayer modes. When it does it’s own thing, Battleborn is more intriguing, but when it mimics other games – and pales in comparison – I really just wanted to move onto something else.There is a solid mix of characters, they vary significantly and the changes between them aren’t superficial. There’s fun in seeking out your character but the game gets in the way of itself again.

There’s a learning curve to this game (that’s the MOBA in it) and asks you to understand the characters. You’re invited to find a character that matches your play style but annoyingly no two player in a multiplayer match can play as the same character. Additionally, whilst your loadouts are constant, character progression resets each time and hence, I struggled to develop an attachment to any one hero.There is depth to the mechanics and subtleties to the gameplay that prevent you from jumping straight into it, but it is sure to benefit the game in the long-run, along with new map and mode releases that need to supplement the relatively meager initial lineup.

Thankfully sufficient substance resides within the multiplayer component, with the balancing issues that I suspect exist fixable via patch.

I sense there is an audience for Battleborn and hence I am reluctant to rule it out altogether. I imagine there will be those that invest the time to study the characters and the game’s systems, seeking out all the characters and sinking time into the multiplayer. Unfortunately I don’t expect the community to be too large.

This isn’t the game for me, but at times I enjoyed the missions before there was one too many waves of enemies. I gradually got more interested in the multiplayer, but not to the degree where I would prioritise my time with Battleborn over other games that are available.

The PS4 version of Battleborn was primarily tested for the purpose of this review

The post Battleborn Review appeared first on Press Start.

TT Games is back with, you guessed it, another LEGO game! Following 2013’s Lego Marvel Superheroes, this time around it is the Avengers who get their turn with a title based on the Marvel Cinematic Universe. But how solidly built is this latest outing compared to the previous instalment?

Bridging what is essentially Marvel’s ‘Phase Two’ of superhero movies, the game is a movie tie-in to both The Avengers as well as Avengers: Age of Ultron, with levels thrown in from intertwining movies such as Captain America: The Winter Soldier and Iron Man 3. Starting with the opening scene of Age of Ultron, the game then throws players back to the first film, to chronologically play through.

Lego Marvel’s Avengers does everything right in terms of how it looks; which is the oddest thing for a Lego game. Environments are all modelled after those seen in the films, but the lighting and detail on the characters and environments makes me think that there is so much more that could have been done with the game itself rather than simply be a movie tie-in. The good thing is that this game shows how far graphic capabilities are coming in terms of console games, which can only mean they’ll get better from here. Other than that, the game itself is practically just another TT Games’ Lego game – the HUD and menus are exactly the same as pretty much every other Lego tie-in.
One of the most entertaining parts, although it does begin to wear thin after awhile, is TT Games’ trademark ability of adding in visual humour to an otherwise serious moment; think Nick Fury drinking a milkshake while delivering lines, chickens on the helicarrier, or the constant appearance of Stan Lee everywhere.

The score is practically just the Avengers OST directly laid over the top, but one of the most grating things is the fact that 90% of dialogue is ripped straight from the movies – background audio included. While this is clearly done to make the game a little more authentic, it is really jarring to not only hear the same quotes over and over again, but the sounds from the movie still embedded in the clip and not scrubbed from it. It almost seems rushed, as though they had a day before release to get it done, and it really takes you out of it.

There really isn’t anything special to be said about the gameplay here; if you’ve played one of TT Games’ Lego incarnations, you’ve practically played them all. Characters are paired up and switchable, each with a power relevant to the level (or relevant to the story being played), and players guide the characters through the level destroying as much as physically possible while solving small puzzles to unlock collectibles and amass a large amount of ‘studs’ (you know, those little pieces that come out when things break).

Although the gameplay is stock-standard for TT Games, they still manage to make it fun; there’s just something about wandering around as a Lego minifigure and smashing everything to find as many studs as possible, and in the process accidentally breaking a civilian or blowing something up and destroying yourself in the process. Tag team attacks are introduced between the two playable characters onscreen to double the damage, which are helpful when in a tight situation. Free play makes the game a little better and more bearable – instead of being shoehorned into the movie tie-in, you can wander Manhattan or a recreation of Asgard as any character you want – but here you’ll note that there are omissions of characters compared to Lego Marvel Superheroes, such as Spider Man, the X-Men, and the Fantastic four. Other inclusions from the now Disney-owned empire of Marvel just don’t quite cut it, even though there is a significant roster of playable characters.

Hopefully with the fact that there is set to be a ‘season pass’ (for Lego? Madness, right?) there will be increased content not entirely focused on just the MCU, but other aspects of the universe as well.

There’s no denying that the formula for the game is sound, as with pretty much every TT Games offering. But while it is another fun game to occupy time, Lego Marvel’s Avengers feels like it is dropping the ball a little when it comes to Lego games. Being stuck in a movie tie-in really limits the initial fun that can be had, and with poorly-ripped movie dialogue thrown in whenever they feel like it, the game feels more like a chore than a bout of fun that even die-hard fans might have trouble being entertained by.

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Temple of the Witch can best be described as a side story of sorts that takes place at the same time and in the same region as the original Rise of the Tomb Raider. You can complete the story at almost any point in the game, and the events themselves have no real bearing on the main story. There’s no development on the twists and conspiracies involving Trinity introduced towards the end of the main game proper. Just a neat little adventure inspired by Slavic mythology and folklore in similar vein to any “monster of the week” episode of shows like X-Files (how relevant!). There is some exploration of Lara dealing with her father’s death to, but it’s ultimately quite superficial.Temple of the Witch follows Lara as she investigates the presence of the Baba Yaga, a witch rumored to live in the mountains in a house that is sitting on top of giant bird legs. It’s a bit of a goofy sounding story but it’s a real life one – told to children as a kind of twisted fairytale of sorts. Of course, it’s not necessarily real, but investigating this subject matter in the realm of Tomb Raider gives artistic license for the team to go off the deep end with the supernatural surrealism of it all. The story is somewhat predictable, though, and while the journey is compelling, the destination unfortunately is a bit underwhelming.Temple of the Witch is relatively small in terms of scope but it does a great job at packing some striking artistic direction into the package. Folding seamlessly, and initiated from the Soviet Installation hub world, you’ll visit a few locations attached to the “Voice of God” challenge tomb. These locations are visually arresting – seeing makeshift scarecrows erected to “warn” the locals of the Baba Yaga is such a creepy sight when you first come across them. Without giving away too much – the “supernatural” themed segments are similarly visually bold – employing oversaturated colours and chromatic distortion to hammer home that what Lara is seeing might be a hallucination or might be something not of this world.The voice work is still en pointe, with Camilla Luddington bringing Lara to life in similar fashion to previous games – emotive but sometimes way too breathy. The actress who brings life to Baba Yaga is also to be commended, she manages to really instill terror into the role. The villager Lara helps out who eventually leads her on this path, however, is a pretty phoned in performance. If you’ve played Life Is Strange, and you know how Chloe speaks, imagine that for a “Russian” nomad. It’s weirdly out of place.

Despite these minor shortcomings, Temple of the Witch has had a lot of love and care poured into it from a presentation standpoint and is one of the strongest visual presentations in Rise of the Tomb Raider’s already impressive look.Temple of the Witch adheres to a standard I’m sure many can sympathise with – if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. You’ll do the usual that you’ve come to expect from Rise of the Tomb Raider. Gather ingredients, craft some new gear and solve some puzzles. There’s a mystery to be solved here too, and while it might play out like a Scooby Doo episode it’s still an interesting and intriguing storyline to play through. Sure, you might guess it, but I’d be lying if I didn’t change my ideas of what would happen as time went by.

There is a puzzle or two to solve, and fortunately they’re as well-crafted as those encountered in the main game, although slightly smaller in scope and scale. Despite this, the most glaring omission from Temple of the Witch is another challenge tomb to trawl through. Given how much feedback Crystal Dynamics would’ve received since the time Rise of the Tomb Raider launched, it’s a bit disappointing to not see them take the opportunity to hone their craft and build a solid challenge tomb for this package.Temple of the Witch is more or less what you loved about Rise of The Tomb Raider but in miniature, which is for sure going to lead to some contention as to whether the whole affair is worth it or not. Weighing in at roughly $14AU (or as part of the $40AU Season Pass) and taking between two to three hours to complete, some might not see the initial worth in investing in Temple of the Witch. But it’s not a thought that ever crossed our mind during our play but of course your mileage may vary – though those who loved the main game will find trouble hating Temple of the Witch.

The whole thing is wrapped up with a boss battle with none other than Baba Yaga herself, and boy is it a doozy. Taking place in a large multi-level chamber, it’s design is simplistic yet effective and easily one of the strongest set pieces from both of Crystal Dynamics rebooted Tomb Raiders. Completion of the story lends players to a new type of poison gas and costume – meaning that it definitely benefits those who play through Temple of the Witch before finishing the game rather than after the factTemple of the Witch is a hit and a miss in terms of downloadable content. On one hand, it provides a new self-contained storyline to play through for those who enjoyed the game on which it’s based. On the other, it can be over almost too soon for some who might feel their dollars were better spent elsewhere, especially given that there’s no challenge tomb on offer nor more than three hours of gameplay on offer here.

But regardless of these issues, the content on offer here is pretty fantastic. It’s got its own unique identity while still being characteristically Tomb Raider. It’s unafraid to dip into the nonsensical supernatural elements that permeated the series before it’s gritty reboot only just recently, but also in its own way that still stays true to the identity of the franchise. Your mileage may most definitely vary, but we enjoyed every second of Temple of the Witch and wholeheartedly recommend it.

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Resident Evil Zero takes place just moments before the opening scene of the original Resident Evil game. Whereas the original game had players entering a mansion to investigate the disappearance of a team of agents – Resident Evil Zero aims to tell the story of those agents and how they came to be missing. Similarly, it was to tell the story of the viral outbreak that would eventually shape the entire series and just what went down at Umbrella for such a catastrophic event to transpire.

The story follows Rebecca Chambers, a medic and the younger member of special task force S.T.A.R.S. who have been sent to investigate a series of cannibalistic murders on the outskirts of Raccoon City. When her and her team arrive they discover an overturned military police transporter and the corpses of two officers. Eventually she meets up with Billy Coen, a death row escapee aboard the Ecliptic Express, an Umbrella owned train which has been overrun by zombies following a bizarre attack by leeches. Despite their differences, they must work together to escape the train and uncover the mystery behind the attacks.Where I previously criticised the original Resident Evil’s story for its rather typical approach to its storyline, Resident Evil Zero goes off the deep end in how ridiculous and over the top it is. Fans of the franchise will be no stranger to the bizarre storylines – think the Psycho homage in CODE: Veronica – but Zero really is something else. It’s a haphazard mix of reasonable explanation for events with quite bluntly unbelievable circumstances too – even within the realm of Resident Evil. Resident Evil Zero is, without a doubt, the most ridiculous story out of the mainline games.

Which is quite worrying since, as it’s a prequel, Resident Evil Zero is designed to fill in the gaps between itself and the original game. On the whole, it barely manages to do so. Sure, it develops the story behind the “masterminds” who are more or less responsible for the outbreak – but it barely touches upon much beyond showing how each member of Bravo Team would eventually perish. The biggest offender here (and most controversial amongst fans) is that Rebecca, who goes through all of this, says nothing of this game’s events in the original Resident Evil making this prequel feel tacked on.Similar to the game that came before it, Resident Evil Zero was one of the best looking games of its time owing to its ingenious mix of pre-rendered backgrounds and highly detailed character models. Much like the original Resident Evil remake before it, Resident Evil Zero still looks fantastic to this day – thanks in part to the atmosphere it evokes.

Every area whether it’s a cabin on a train or a simple store room has had immaculate detail and care poured into it. Lights flicker and waver. Fires burn and crackle. Taps and sinks drip and overflow. Every environment in the game manages to tell a story in itself without saying anything, and it’s something to be commended. From the get go, it’s clear that the developers either honed their craft or had better access to the original game’s assets, as the visual quality of Resident Evil Zero’s HD Remaster is nowhere near as wildly inconsistent as Resident Evil was last year. Resident Evil had its clear sore spots in its HD restoration – namely the Aqua Ring looking too bright and washed out, but Zero suffers none of these issues. Some lighting has been rebuilt in the new engine, but nothing is anachronistic enough to change the look or feel of the game compared to its original appearance. The font for most of the in-game text has been changed too, leading to some files looking disjointed as if they were written by zombie as the new font clearly has not been optimised for how the files are displayed.

Some other more liberal changes have been applied to the games presentation too. The pan and scan camera – which pans the camera across each scene rather than displaying the full scene – returns to compensate for the original games 4:3 presentation. Resident Evil Zero benefits better from this camera style as the locales are designed to be much more open than in previous games. There are a few other changes that might rub purists the wrong way – such as the recolouring of certain enemies or some minor adjustments to Rebecca’s face – but generally speaking the game remains as true to form as it can be. The soundscape remains untouched – which means the voice work is awful and the orchestral score is complements the mood and the ambience perfectly.Much like the original Resident Evil, Zero lets players take control of two characters – each of whom have their own strengths and weaknesses. Unlike Resident Evil, however, both these characters can be controlled and switched between on-the-fly and they both play through the same storyline rather than two separate scenarios with differing supporting casts. This approach to the game means many of the puzzles and scenarios are designed around using both the characters or separating the two to create tension.

The redesigned control scheme from the original HD remaster returns in Zero, and with it comes all the issues associated with them. On one hand, they’re much more intuitive to use and are bound to make the game much more accessible for players who didn’t grow up with the configuration. On the other, they remove a lot of the tension from the game as they make playable characters much more manoeuvrable than they previously were. Thankfully, Capcom have included the option to switch between them (as with most of the changes made) so both sides of the argument can be satiated.Resident Evil Zero differs a lot from its predecessors in a few ways. First off, the partner zapping system means that you essentially will have double the inventory space that you’re used to having. Items can be exchanged between Billy and Rebecca whenever you so wish, and as long as they’re close to each other. Items can even be dropped and returned to later if required. While this sounds like item management isn’t as important in Zero, it’s almost the complete opposite considering that there are no magical linked item boxes anymore to store your goods. Wherever you put something down you’ll have to return to find it again. Item management is more important than ever in Zero and this can easily be a more polarising design choice for players.

The puzzles in Zero are bound to be talked about differently depending which fan you speak to, but a whole lot of them focus around the idea of two characters. Most of them are reasonably easy to get through but some players may get stuck on one or two of them. Some of them are very strong puzzles in the same ilk as classic Resident Evil. Others feel like bog standard “puzzles” you’d find in any game that lets two people play it. Both press the switch at the same time! Navigate through a maze while your partner unlocks the doors! Hold a door open while your partner runs through it! All of these types of puzzles are unfortunately as tired as they were in 2002.Enemy encounters are a bit of a mixed bag, and unfortunately quite a step down from the original Resident Evil. The simplicity of the creatures you’ll encounter (such as infected monkeys, frogs, grasshoppers and bats) will be appreciated by some but they pale in comparison to the creatures you’ll find in the other games. The boss encounters are similarly quite poorly designed, lacking any real strategy to them. One particular boss battle that takes place in a church is quite frankly broken and requires aiming into the air, firing, and praying to your respective god that you’ll be successful.

Speaking of prayer, your partner AI is somewhat competent in how they approach things. You can tell them to follow you or stay put or you can manually move them using the right stick. You can equip weapons on them and watch them use said weapons. But you’ll have to be a bit smart in how you manage your partner to be truly successful in Zero. Giving them too much ammo will see them chew through it like there’s no tomorrow. Alternatively, they can be pretty helpful if they take down an enemy who is mid-grab. You can even use them as a portable item box although it’s not recommended. We can’t be certain, but we do feel like in this HD Remaster that the AI is less aggressive and therefore wastes less ammo but we’d need to confirm it to be sure.The crux of Resident Evil is about surviving and altering your strategies if you come across any problems along the way. Zero suffers in this regard as its pacing is poor. Many times the game will punish you on your first play through by requiring immense backtracking (even by a Resident Evil standard) to find an item you might’ve dropped several hours ago. Other times you’ll be faced by not only one leech zombie but three concurrently. Resident Evil has always been about rationing your ammo and avoiding enemies every now and then rather than killing them – but the (im)perfect storm of a hard to avoid enemy, limited inventory space and constant backtracking makes them feel like an imbalanced inclusion.

For the completely unseasoned player who has never touched a Resident Evil game before, the whole affair will be over in anywhere between nine to twelve hours. Those who are a bit more seasoned could possibly finish it quicker – but repeat playthroughs can easily be cleared in under six hours if you know what you’re doing. The HD Remaster introduces a new for-fun mode where players can use Wesker instead of Billy along with his strange superhuman powers, which is a fun diversion. There’s also a slew of costumes to unlock and a Leech Hunter mini-game that in itself is quite fun to play through.After all is said and done, it sounds like I’m being extremely rough on Resident Evil Zero but it’s still a pretty competent classic Resident Evil game. It’s got all the hallmarks of a good Resident Evil game – the foreboding and ominous atmosphere, the creepy yet maniacal villain and the sense of survival and item management. But it just goes a little bit too off the deep end and is thus taken less seriously than other games in the franchise.

But make no mistakes, Resident Evil Zero HD Remaster is a strong remaster in every sense of the word. The visuals are beautiful, the environments are polished and everything is a visual feast whether it be the characters or the locales themselves. It’s just a fantastic looking game that can now appeal to newcomers and series veterans alike – and allowing more people to experience Resident Evil’s storied (and colourful) history is hardly a bad thing.

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The story of Rise of the Tomb Raider is set after the the events of the original game. Lara is out to prove that she’s not insane and what she experienced on Yamatai actually happened. She is forced to race against Trinity, an organisation that are obsessed with supernatural happenings. As Lara progresses through Syria, she discovers some stunning revelations around her father’s legacyRise of the Tomb Raider is a story full of twists and turns. The game doesn’t waste any time before putting you right in the thick of the main plot point and it is genuinely enjoyable being able to go through the story with a very relatable Lara Croft. She goes through extreme hardship and always manages to rise above. Overall, I felt that the the story wasn’t as strong as the original game as it relied too heavily on predictable set pieces and had some major plot holes which stopped it from being a true masterpiece of storytelling. While a solid narrative, these flaws detract from an otherwise memorable and well acted story.

A minor gripe in Rise of the Tomb Raider’s story is how the overall pacing affects the main story. Some of the hub areas can take you out of the overarching storyline as they’re quite large with not a lot of the main plot points intertwined within them. While this doesn’t reflect the final score and is equally a testament to just how fun these hub areas are, it still harms the narrative as things constantly grind to a halt as you will spend hours in side content.Rise of the Tomb Raider is absolutely beautiful. I can’t remember playing a game that changed landscapes this many times. Everything in the game is dynamically changing whether it be the weather or time of day. Whether your under water, climbing icy mountains or trapped in a mineshaft, the game looks absolutely gorgeous. The lighting brings a level of realism that I haven’t yet seen in a game. I constantly found myself stopping to stare at all the pretty sights of Syria. The game also runs silky smoothly which is surprising considering the size of the world and amount of things happening on the screen. There is a lot of assets on display constantly, and Crystal Dynamics have achieved a stable framerate combined with a gorgeous looking world.The overall soundtrack of the game is also exceptional. Whether you’re taking your time exploring or in the thick of a gun-fire, the soundtrack always seems to suit the specific moment of the game. Voice acting is also exceptional with a wide range of main characters taking part in the game. The only slight negative thing that I noticed with the presentation is that sometimes the transition between gameplay and cutscenes seemed a little bit janky, which shouldn’t be a true concern seeing as both are aiming for 30fps/1080p lock. Seeing as previous demoes of the game seemed to have screen tearing and immense slowdown in areas it’s a relief to see these problems (mostly) rectified. It’s so hard to know where to start talking about Rise of the Tomb Raider. On the surface, and based on what Microsoft has shown throughout the year, it appears be very similar to the first game in the rebooted series. It becomes appear very quickly that Rise of the Tomb Raider is extremely deeper than any game in the series before it. So much love and intricacy has been put into the overall game.

The best parts of Tomb Raider are evident in this installment. The same action-packed gameplay that was in the first game is present here with even more gun-fights and mouth-watering set pieces, but where the game really shines is in the open-world hub areas. This is where you’re able to break away from the action and choose how you want to spend your time. There are side missions in each area to get through, challenges to complete as well as a wealth of collectables in each area to find. You’re able to go straight through these areas or spend hours between missions getting through them. This is the most amazing thing to me about Rise of the Tomb Raider. I was more than happy to lose hours upon hours in these areas, providing much needed ‘quiet time’ away from the breakneck pace of the main story. Some players may find the transitions to be a bit jarring but it really works in this game.The combat has been vastly improved from the last game with more ability to play the game stealthily in most areas. You’re able to take the higher route and go past enemies if you play your cards correctly. You’re also able to use environmental objects to either distract your enemies, or use resources to turn them into explosives.

The Tombs in Rise of the Tomb Raider are mostly optional and for me are much more memorable than in the last game. Each Tomb has it’s own theme and feels extremely unique and clever in how you need to solve the puzzle. Completely each tomb will give you a skill that isn’t able to be achieved outside of that tomb, really emphasizing the need to explore and conquer these tombs, thus giving Lara Croft her titular name.Upgrades and collectives are absolutely overwhelming in this game. You’re able to upgrade your weapon through collecting resources at firecamps, through weapons parts in strongboxes, and also purchase weapons through byzantine coins. Arrows and ammo can now be crafted using resources which places more importance on hunting and scavenging resources.

Multiplayer is replaced in Rise of the Tomb Raider with the brand new Expedition mode. You’re able to replay a number of action-packed sequences and tombs in either a score-attack mode or using a higher difficulty. You are able to challenge your friends scores which is based on how many times you died, amount of stealthy kills, headshot etc as well as time to complete the section. To add even more depth to this mode, the developers have introduced cards, which can be unlocked using credits or through completing sections of the games. Cards can either add or deduct to your final score depending on whether they add a positive or negative effect to your play through. It’s a fun mode, and one that arcade fans will find a lot of joy in.

Rise of the Tomb Raider is something special. I absolutely loved the last game and this one takes it to a whole other level. I can’t recall ever playing a game that had such intense action-packed set pieces yet still managed to provide exceptional open-world elements that actually made you want to take a step back and explore. Microsoft have secured an exceptional time-exclusive and i’d urge every single Xbox One owner to grab this title and not let it get overshadowed. It’s obvious that a lot of love and care has gone into the game and it goes beyond my expectations.

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Life Is Strange is a five part episodic series that began in January and ends in October. This review is for Episode 5, titled Polarized. Given how important the story is to experience Life Is Strange, this review is spoiler free but given the stage at which we are with this game there may be some spoilers for previous episodes.By this point anyone who is following Life Is Strange hopefully has a general idea of what the series is about. In case you haven’t heard – it follow Max Caulfield, a senior photography student who lives in Arcadia Bay. Enrolled within a prestigious academy, Blackwall, she eventually reunites with one of her close friends, Chloe. Chloe’s father’s death occurred several years before and lead to the two growing estranged, so as you can imagine the two of them have quite some catching up to do.

The academy and the town itself is rife with rumours and speculation as to the mysterious disappearance of Rachel Amber, a girl whose reputation is variable depending on which residents you speak to. Some regarded her as innocent and sweet, others as a promiscuous drug addict. It’s up to both Max and Chloe to solve the mystery behind their mutual friends disappearance and other elements that may be threatening Arcadia Bay.Being the final episode of the series, Polarized aims to cover up most of the loose ends that might’ve been left hanging in previous episodes while wrapping up all of the conflicts that might’ve presented themselves to the player. Without ruining too much – there’s barely any reasons given for the storm that threatens Arcadia Bay. Similarly, the motivations of the characters are quite simplistic – though to criticise these elements when I praised the game for being so simplistic in its depiction of college life during Episode 1 would be remiss.

But how does it all come together? And how do your choices affect the endgame? Honestly – it’s quite disappointing. Because while all of these choices were made that were presumably going to affect how the story plays out – many of them merely result in some differing dialogue or the presence of a character during a major scene. Your ending, in particular, is still decided by a binary choice at the end of the episode. A hard choice, for sure, but one that feels ultimately quite phoned in given how the “butterfly effect” and “chaos theory” were so emphasised early on in the series.That’s not to say that the story in Polarized isn’t interesting – it is – especially for those who have a penchant for anything David Lynch. The story is quite interesting and the journey to the rather phoned in ending is still enjoyable. A poor ending, fortunately, doesn’t retroactively ruin the experience I’ve had with Life Is Strange’s characters, world and story. But it has definitely not lived up to the ambitious credo that the developers setup in the early episodes.Much like all the other episodes of Life Is Strange, there’s not a whole lot that changes between each episode in terms of visual style and presentation. The game employs a very rough looking aesthetic that gives it a dreamlike, surrealist quality. This, in particular, is effective in Polarized as it is easily one of the trippiest episodes in the series thus far. Don’t expect many, if any new locations in Polarized however. You’ll be visiting mainly the same locations you’ve been to before, but with interesting twists that still make them feel fresh. Overall, Polarized is a much darker episode and suitably so.

The usual issues with Life Is Strange’s presentation are the technical ones. Character models can look very rough or flat at times, hair can just look like clumped polygons rather than actual hair and all the models have a severely stylised look to them. These are somewhat subjective issues with the game’s presentations but still ones that do pop up from time to time. Speaking of, there are some times where the camera will switch to a character and the texture for their faces haven’t loaded – which is quite frankly terrifying – but also a shortcoming of the Unreal Engine too.The soundtrack, as always, is composed of original music and licensed music which is utilised effectively throughout the episode. As we’re reaching the end of the story, you’d expect most of the music to be grandiose. But until the very end, where a licensed song is used to great effect to present your ending, most of the music is sombre, eerie and ominous. Which is appropriate given where the story goes.

For the final episode, every member of the cast gives a great performance especially during the story’s emotionally draining final climax. The writing still has it’s own issues – namely the cringe worthy dialogue – though in this serious ending to the series it’s much more toned down.The general premise of Polarized is that Max has to get herself out of the predicament she found herself in at the end of Episode 4, only to discover that she also has to save her best friend Chloe from the same predicament too. On top of that, Arcadia Bay is at risk from the storm that was introduced in the first episode of the season, so she has to somehow work out how to save the town, her friend and herself.

Episode 5 differs significantly from other episodes of Life Is Strange in that it really just feels like a more linear path with one or two major choices being made. Most of Episode 5 is slightly disappointing in this regard – you’ll be in a location, be required to examine a few objects, and then move on to the next location to repeat. There is one moment where the episode takes on a more stealth flavoured approach, but otherwise this feels more like a long cutscene of sorts rather than a game. There’s little use of the rewind mechanics shown in previous episodes.Given that it’s the end of the episode, there’s little to no choices presented to Max throughout the events of Polarized – it’s more about narrative and bouncing between realities to very briefly fix the mistakes Max might have made in previous episodes. Unfortunately, this is a largely linear affair where you’ll jump back to a reality, make a single (and generally only) choice and then see the effects play out. As any science fiction fan will tell you – messing with time and realities does have its consequences. But in the case of Polarized, which is so linear, there’s really only two outcomes with minor differences.

Perhaps even more disappointing is that as Max jumps through layer upon layer of realities, you realise that perhaps some of these layers could be removed to make the experience a little bit better paced. I mentioned earlier in the review that a few segments of this episode evoke an ambience typical of a David Lynch film. But these segments don’t serve any narrative purpose, and while they’re great to interpret, they honestly feel like padding to make this episode feel the same length as others.One moment during these segments was a stand out for me however. It’s the only moment where Polarized is confident enough to give its players full control. It’s a stealth sequence where, without spoiling, Max must sneak past enemies to reach her own goal. Whereas anyone who ahs spent time with video games would roll their eyes at the notion of a forced stealth section, this one when coupled with Max’s rewind powers was actually pretty approachable. The rewind mechanics remove the frustration and the trial-and-error mechanics of the stealth making it a joy to play, essentially. I enjoyed this so much that I’d love to see DONTNOD attempt a stealth game with rewind mechanics in the future.

I feel like that, to a certain extent, I’ve been pretty harsh on Life Is Strange’s ending and the way that, like every other game that allegedly places an emphasis on choice, your ultimate ending is really down to a button press at the end of the narrative. But reflecting on the whole series is important too – that while your choices you made during the early episodes don’t exactly feed into your ending, they were still hard to make and they still brought you into the moment. What I’m trying to say is that while the destination might be somewhat underwhelming, the journey has still been incredible.After a long few months, Life Is Strange has finally come to its conclusion. And ultimately, some aspects of it have felt phoned in. Your choices were hard to make throughout the series and their impacts were somewhat visible later on – but it’s incredibly disappointing to find the ending could be altered or chosen with the press of one or the other button during its climax.

As a series, it’s still incredibly easy to recommend Life Is Strange to someone. The best parts of the series are easily the smaller stories – the ones where Max talks one of her friends out of suicide (or doesn’t). The ones where Max is looking for her missing best friend. The greater threat to Arcadia Bay is fairly bog standard though. That’s not to say that it’s bad – it’s just ground that’s been trodden a hundred times before.

But overall, Life Is Strange is a fantastic series – one of the best examples of episodic gaming. It’s just a dying shame that choice don’t affect the outcome of the series as much as it was implied in the earlier episodes. Regardless, it’ll be interesting to see what DONTNOD do next. They’re a fantastic team with a small yet diverse pedigree, and Life Is Strange is a great indicator of their talents.

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Transformers Devastation’s storyline may feel very familiar for many players that grew up watching the show back in the day. This isn’t because the story is lifted directly from the series itself, but the fact that the writers at Platinum Games have created a narrative that might as well be part of it in the grand scale. There story isn’t really that deep, but its simplicity works well considering the style of narrative Platinum Games has pursued with the game, which is to bring players back to the old days of cartoon storytelling in the Transformers universe, which is quite effective for what it is.This is basically all you’re going to need to know in retrospect, Devastation is the Saturday night cartoon you used to watch all over again, and fans will probably love it for it. The downside for non-fans however would be that the gameplay does often lack context due to this style of narrative, which can be bothersome if you’re not in it for the IP itself.
Devastation is one of the most stylized Transformers titles we’ve gotten so far, and whilst it may not speak to all fans out there, the G1-inspired graphics do lend the game a lot of character that goes along well with the story and action that is heavily inspired by this era of the franchise as well. It’s easy to imagine that a lot of people may miss the more gritty realistic look of the Cybertron games, but Transformers Devastation tries to hit marks elsewhere, which creates both pros and cons when it comes to the design and technical presentation.When it comes to character design the game has gotten it’s source material down as well as it probably could have. The animated feel of the first generation series is effectively applied to the characters, which when accompanied by the classic voice work will lend you a great sense of nostalgia, though its effects may not be as powerful or lasting once you look past the surface.

Whilst Devastation’s G1 inspirations have gotten the game to apply an animated art style, the game does sometimes suffer from some of the simplistic aspects of its nature when it comes to environmental design and effects. This is mostly reflected in the level design, which is often very repetitive in nature. The layouts of the levels and the appearance of the surrounding areas often lack greater detail, making exploration non-viable since there really isn’t any visual value to take in, aside from the artstyle, but you’ll probably be spending more time paying attention to the character designs and animations, which are superb.When the game was announced, many gamers were pleasantly surprised by the inclusion of Platinum Games in its development. But the question, is Platinum’s effort just a cash-in on the franchise, or is it a game that lives up to their own titles? Whilst it may not necessarily be on the same level as Bayonetta for example, Transformers Devastation surely hits a lot of right notes in the same areas.Leaving behind the third-person shooter aspects of the previous games, the game fully embraces Platinum’s signature style of action, which is reflected in both gameplay and presentation. Providing a fluid, fast-paced and fun combat system the main structure of the game is as solid as can be, making Devastation’s combat a delight for fans of both Transformers and other Platinum titles, of which their inspiration is clearly present in this game. If one game had to come to mind whilst playing this, Bayonetta would surely be a title that would come to mind, given the combat structure is pretty similar, which of course is a very good thing. However, the camera and difficulty can often put a lid on the fun due to their applied issues, which hurt what is otherwise a very solid basis of gameplay.

The upgrade system for weapons is often quite a bummer due to its chore-like nature of maintenance, which is even confusing in its set-up due to the fact that it’s just never explained properly, nor is it overly helpful throughout the game. The leveling system is equally poor, considering it rewards players for sticking with a singular character, rather than moving through all of the characters that the game has to offer throughout. These factors combined with the fact that you’re looking at a full-priced title do raise the question: Is Transformers: Devastation really worth it at its asking price?Transformers: Devastation is a very solid installment in the franchise that lends itself to excellent fan-service and strong core gameplay, though its technical and design-based drawbacks do hold its basis back from achieving greatness, rather than hovering in between the upper echelon of decent to good. Combined with the fact that the game does seem a little light on content, Transformers: Devastation remains a solid title, but not one that should be bought at the price its being offered at.

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Destiny enters year two of it’s expansive story with Oryx, The Taken King coming to eradicate the light of the Milky Way galaxy.

Oryx is just no normal bad guy; he is the leader of the Hive and has bought with him dark new powers that turn anyone he wants under his command. These new foes are the Taken. You along with your other Fire team members take the fight right too him aboard his ship the Dreadnaught, just outside of Saturn.The Taken King has learnt from the previous downfalls in Destiny’s expansions and initial game. Year two of Destiny feels as though there is some actual weight behind the story as opposed to the previous mindless running and gunning. This time you are treated to some great fleshing out of familiar characters and some highly detailed cut scenes between missions which gives a more if not exaggerated sense of depth to the half dozen or so missions focused solely on Oryx.

Destiny has always been a great looking game. The growing number of worlds are vast and vivid and if you are really paying attention there is always something new to see in the environment that you didn’t see before. Apart from the previously mentioned fleshing out of characters with their story and the more frequent cut scenes. There are two major additions to this expansion that need to be addressed, in terms of presentation. Firstly the Dinkle-Bot we all know and love has been replaced by a new voice actor, Nolan North of Uncharted, Last of Us and just about every other video game fame. Although the change isn’t as noticeable as you would assume it would be. Nolan’s Ghost has been given what I feel runs a very similar path to that of C3-PO from Star Wars. Higher pitched, robotic and throwing in awkward comments at times. The weird thing is that it somehow fits right into the game flawlessly but eventually just like the Ghost before him his comments are quickly ignored.The second is the new world where you will be spending a lot of your new time, the Dreadnaught. This is the ship that is transporting Oryx and his Taken; it is basically the size of a very small planet. It houses its own challenges, patrols, bounties and collectibles. The best part of the ship though is that it is just as grimy, dirty and disgusting that you would expect a Hive ship to be. It is littered with dark cavernous areas, grotesque monuments and maggots, lots and lots of Hive maggots.

Anybody returning to Destiny will notice the vast changes in the gameplay. The best way to describe the changes given out with the Taken King would be as having the previous year of Destiny a beta test. The update throws out the light level to reach your max level and now allows for experience to get you to the new max level of 40, Light now only upgrades your attack and defences to take on the more difficult portions of the expansion. So basically light still gets you to the highest possible level, Bungie have just tampered with the formula.

All your weapons and armour are very, very quickly made redundant as you work through the opening missions. Forcing you to find and upgrade new items that suit your play style, whilst adding different Ghost shells and Artifacts to your character to gain different stat benefits and perks. Yes, the grind becomes real as you are forced to achieve that higher light level to take on the games be all and end all The Taken Kings raid, Kings Fall.Before we get on to that though, the way missions are presented to Guardians now are in the form of Quests and steps which house their own special page on the pause screen. It tells you what to do and where to do it. What I really love about this system though is not only obviously the loot and fun that can be had but from the idea that these quests take the story way beyond the fall of Oryx. Yes there are only the half dozen or so missions based solely on killing Oryx but after completing that if you tick the right boxes you could participate in quests that expand on the story even more and that is the best thing that this game added. A sense of progression and purpose with out the developers having to go above and beyond game development for this expansion. Add a few characters out of place, head back to a less taken path and call it a quest. Simple on paper but by golly it worked well with some high experience and quality loot being thrown around.

Now the raid and the forced teamwork of this expansion. This is what I feel the game/expansion falls down the most in. The year gone by, typically you could do just about everything that needed to be done by yourself or a two man Fire team and leave the rest for matchmaking such as strikes, crucible and raids. In the Taken King there are countless times in which as a Guardian you are forced to have a full Fire team to complete missions and challenges. At its core, this game is a MMO but as a person who doesn’t have a great deal of online friends and works erratic shifts, it becomes a tiresome effort to either not be able to participate or rely on third party online match making forums. These people who, you don’t know, don’t know how they play and could be just plain old unreliable asking you to carry their weight as they reap the loot and rewards is not what I call fun. But how do you fix that? There in lies the problem.This obviously carries over to the raid. Doubling the required Fire team number from 3 to 6. In doing so it also doubles the trouble. With the raid no more than two weeks old the previously mentioned 3^rd party match making forums have created their own ridiculously standards asking people to be above and beyond what I feel is acceptable for something that is a few days old. Even above Bungie’s recommended standards.

The raid itself though is brilliantly structured around precision teamwork and communication with a sprinkle of plat forming that I cannot wait to tackle again.

For the crucible orientated players there are a few more match types to be played with a few new added features such as the “Mercy Rule” where a game will end if one team is getting pummelled beyond a comeback and then the servers will attempt to break up those teams to find a more balanced match.What stood out to me at the launch of the Taken King was the price, for the Australian PSN it was a whopping $70 for something that the developers describes as being between a new game and expansion. I’m paraphrasing with that quote but how is a $70 update valid when the game released for around the same price a year ago? Perhaps this purchase is also a key to another expansion or my even cover you for the entire second year of Destiny but only time can tell for that one.

The Taken King as a whole is a huge positive step forward in the universe of Destiny. New worlds, revamped quests, armour, weapons and light system. It is not without its hiccups though those are sure to be addressed in future updates. For returning players there is plenty to see and do and for brand new players, the world is at their fingertips. As a guardian I cannot wait to see what comes next.

The post Review: Destiny: The Taken King appeared first on Press Start.

Movie related games have always been hit-and-miss throughout the generations of consoles, and it is very rare to get a game that can pay decent tribute to the movie while not being an absolute pile of trash. Mad Max is an exception to the norm though; a high-octane adventure through the dustbowl of the Wasteland, building on George Miller’s lore and throwing players into a literal sandbox environment in the shoes of the titular character. Mad Max not only breaks the stereotype of bad tie-ins, it smashes it into the ground and leaves it for scrap.

The world is in ruin, the end has come and gone, and now only the stragglers survive. Well, if you can call it surviving. Welcome to the Wasteland, the remnant of a civilization long gone. Out here, only the crazy ones make it through, and the craziest yet sanest of them all is Max. After losing his family, Max drifts through the wasteland hoping to find a purpose, until he is attacked by Lord Scrotus (yes that is his real name) and his band of Warboys. His only possession, the vehicle “The Interceptor” is taken from him, and he is left for dead. With the help of the prophesising mutant mechanic Chumbucket, Max must build a newer and stronger car, the Magnum Opus, and defeat Lord Scrotus at all costs.

Mad Max sits visually between two of its related films – ‘The Road Warrior’, with its bleak and broken deserts and blacktop roads; and ‘Fury Road’, with its bright burning sands and terrifying storms. It truly feels like a destroyed world; remnants of scrap and makeshift hideouts litter the landscape amongst barely-identifiable roads and barren rocky outcrops. Don’t expect to see excesses of green or vibrant blues anywhere here, this is truly a deserted landscape; and the developers have done well at really adding a sense of emptiness to the world. This goes the same for structures and vehicles; the same red and orange hues of the land are incorporated into the rusted out vehicles and desolate metal structures and hideouts encountered. The only flashes of brightness you will see are either from the scorching sun bearing down, or when you destroy an enemy and have their vehicle explode into flames before you.

However in creating this bleak wasteland the graphics suffer a little; it seems that in the effort to make it bleak and desolate, some detail has been left out, and occasionally this is noticeable on textures throughout the game. Edges get jaggy, surfaces lose their detail, and things overall begin to detract from the game, making it feel less of a new generation game.
Speaking of vehicles, each one in the game has that true engine roar to it, again amplifying the idea of a post-apocalyptic motorhead wonderland. The different tones of the engines really suit the different vehicles, and add grunt and menace to every machine with four or more wheels on the scorched earth.

One of the biggest things that Avalanche Studios got right was casting an Australian as Max – a basic no-brainer, Max sounds like the character he was initially created as; tough and strong, but also isolated and with little hope. Many games have come and gone that have taken the Australian accent for granted, but credit where credit is due, one can’t help but feel a little pride hearing that gruff Aussie accent behind the character. And the rest of the cast don’t exactly suffer either; Max’s sidekick Chumbucket is frantic and insane but also full of comedic gold, and each other character in the world really adding to the post-apocalyptic madness.

Now I’m a fan of the X button. It has done so many things in games that it is hard to count. But the first thing that I need to mention here is the fact that this game revolves around “Hold X to EVERYTHING”. Seriously, it’s as if none of the other buttons can function as anything else, but poor old X gets shafted and mapped to perform every single action. X to climb ladders, X to put the fuel in the car, X to pick up scrap, X to talk… It begins to get tedious pushing the same key over and over.

Button gripes aside, Mad Max actually plays relatively decently; taking a mix of different techniques, it crams them in to one environment and pulls it off fairly well. You will spend most of your time roaming the wasteland completing missions, finding scrap and upgrading your car while taking out the ferals and warboys that litter the landscape through various means, and what better way to do so than in the Magnum Opus, Max’s replacement car for the destroyed Interceptor. These missions can be delayed and tackled at any time, giving you the freedom to ride around and destroy whatever you can, and finding everything collectible along the way.
Capturing territory from enemy parties is always fun, driving through Scarecrow markers or obliterating another car by ramming straight through it, and even out-of-car combat has a great flow to it; think a combination of the Arkham games mixed with a little bit of Assassins Creed and you’ve got yourself a good mix of fighting. Upgrades to your car also help you keep the fight going at high speeds – sniper rifles, hookshots and bullbars give a dynamic to the roadplay that you will face fending for your life in the wasteland. Finding scrap for Chumbucket as well as new car bodies and completing minor missions help the Magnum Opus become the god of all cars; something to truly be feared on the roads.

The driving mechanics also don’t suffer too heavily for a game this size; cruising around in the wasteland feels more like driving in GTA V (minus the whole civilization part) and car combat, although a little annoying at times, really lets you throw your vehicle’s weight around.
The only major drawback of the game is the fact that once you’ve performed a side mission, you’ve performed them all; the repetitive nature of the game begins to tire early, and eventually will have you starting to regret undertaking it again and again. Call it a necessary evil to upgrade and progress, but the lack of variation will surely annoy some players and have them wishing that the wasteland had just that little bit more to do.

One of the most serviceable movie tie-ins the gaming world has seen in a long time; Mad Max not only manages to create a fun and chaotic sandbox world filled to the brim with lots to explore, but it develops Max’s story out even further than the previous movies and really allows people to associate more with the vision of a post-apocalyptic future that George Miller created. With Chumbucket by your side, and warlords to obliterate, Mad Max will feed the need for high-octane action and vehicle carnage that you didn’t know you had.

The post Review: Mad Max appeared first on Press Start.

Most of us (if not all of us) will be familiar with the classic Jurassic Park story. A theme park compiled of genetically engineered dinosaurs where all things go awry; what’s not to love? LEGO® Jurassic World takes the approach of most franchise-based LEGO® games where the story told is an abridged version of the events throughout all of the films, which in this case also includes the new Jurassic World, which opened in theaters last week. But in the case of this game, does it hurt any of the material involved that’s been abridged? Yes and no.The charm of the Lego games is that it tells more humorous versions of the stories it adapts, but Jurassic World may be one of the most in-depth adaptions that the brand has attempted so far. Tonally the story is much more lighthearted than its theatrical counterparts, but it still tries to create some of the tension with a more friendly tone, which thanks to the art-style and overall take on the story itself is quite successful within it’s own context, but certain most darker-in-tone sequences from the films take a beating when it comes to delivery. This is mostly due to the fact that the game obviously wants to shy away from certain acts of violence and demise, which normally isn’t a bad thing within the LEGO® brand, but the fact that some of these moments were so iconic in the films themselves make it a shame that they’ve changed so much when it comes to structure, delivery and outcome. The formula Warner/TT Games have been using when it comes to humor and such may be showing fatigue though, which is possibly due to the fact that the brand has become quite over-saturated when it comes to the amount of released titles in recent memory. There are certain parts of the Jurassic Park/World brand that are simply more suited for the transition than others, and whilst the package overall is quite good, fans may be a little underwhelmed throughout.So what’s it look like? Well based on the overflow of LEGO® games in recent history we’ve grown pretty accustomed to the visual presentation that the LEGO®-based games have brought us. But with every property comes a different challenge, and with each title you’ve got to find a way to properly showcase something familiar, yet showcase it in an entirely different light, which is what TT Games has always been fairly skilled at and Jurassic World is no exception when speaking about their great track record. Some of the areas do have a distinctively more realistic look than we’re used to when it comes to the games within this brand, but the distinctive style always shines through in a well-done manner.

On a technical front LEGO® Jurassic World is pretty much the same as we’re used to from the other LEGO® games when it comes to graphical fidelity and performance. Textures on the actual LEGO objects are pretty sharp, though more natural elements range from ok to good when it comes to sharpness and detail. Elements such as grass don’t always come out as well as the more artificial objects, and backgrounds are sometimes a bit more blurry than probably intended. As a graphical package overall it doesn’t get any worse or better than other recent LEGO titles.Animations seem as fluid as ever, though motion blur may seem a bit exaggerated at times. (This feature is optional in the PC version, and in some of my walkthroughs performance did seem to pick up with the feature disabled.) There really isn’t much that stands out that I’d have to note, though I must say performance on lower-end machines did seem better than expected. Console users should experience similar positive experiences depending on their platform.

There aren’t any remarks regarding the sound design, though the musical score is a department where LEGO® Jurassic World is severely lacking. Due to the limited amount of licensed tracks from the films the game seems to limit itself to the small selection of songs quite frequently, backing it up with an original score that just doesn’t seem to do the trick, not only in comparison to the scores of the original films, but within its own right. The result is a musical score that quickly falls into repetitiveness as the game goes on, constantly falling back on the same themes.On a more positive front, the game seems to fare much better when it comes to gameplay, though content is much more limited. The game isn’t necessarily that much different than other LEGO games when it comes to gameplay, but it just works for what it is. General exploration, combat and such are genuinely fun, and given the fact that we’ve got 4 movies and 2 parks to explore the game could easily last you 12 hours, depending on your play-style. It does however raise one serious question; do we really need so many games of the same brand with similar styles of gameplay?Not to say that the game’s gameplay isn’t solid, because it is. The clear problem though is the fact unless you’ve limited yourself to LEGO® Jurassic World, you’ve most likely experienced something similar in structure about a few months ago with the last LEGO®-based title. This fatigue may be more apparent for returning players though, as newcomers and Jurassic Park/World fans could easily be delighted by the package the game offers.

The structure of the game is pretty simple; the game is set-up in a hub world (or in this case, technically two), through which the story levels are spread out through the map. Players progress through exploration, though the game does set you on a clear path to avoid confusion. The main levels usually consist of general exploration, combat, puzzles and chase sequences, which are based around the key sequences of the films, though obviously sometimes a little looser in interpretation for gameplay purposes. In the case of Jurassic World, you’ll also get to unlock and create dinosaurs, which adds a nice new dynamic to the mix.Most of the gameplay ranges from solid to good, though certain encounters seem a bit uninspired and more like filler material, which causes some pacing issues. Post-story content is another story though, as we’re also given a lot less motivation to actually complete what there is of it. The problem with the cast of the game is that there are simply less characters that players would actually pursuit to unlock. Games such as Marvel, Batman, Pirates of the Caribbean and such offer iconic characters that players actively pursuit to unlock, but with Jurassic World there aren’t many characters that are instantly recognisable or classics (a lot of the cast of the second and third movies come to mind), which offers players a lot less reward. Post-game content is also more limited, which puts a lot of the characters behind replays of the story levels, which honestly isn’t that fun.Jurassic World is obviously a great theme to pursuit when creating a game in this genre, though whereas the game has its moments to shine it more often stumbles. Fans of the movies and returning players who want some more to play should have a decent time with LEGO® Jurassic World, but it is definitely one of the weaker instalments in the LEGO® franchise.

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Life Is Strange is a five part episodic series that will be delivered over the next few months. This review is for Episode 3, titled Chaos Theory. It will attempt to cover the value of Episode 3 both by itself and as part of a larger experience. More importantly, given how important the story is to experience Life Is Strange, this review is spoiler free but may contain light spoilers for the first two episodes.Life Is Strange follows Maxine Caulfield, or Max for short. Returning to her hometown of Arcadia Bay in Oregon, she enrols in a prestigious academy as senior photography student, working with some of the most prestigious in the business. The academy is rife with rumours and speculations regarding the mysterious disappearance of Rachel Amber, a girl whose reputation changes depending on who you talk to.

Without giving too much away, the events of Life Is Strange are thrust into motion when Max reunites with her estranged best friend, a more rebellious Chloe. Chloe’s father died the same year that Max left town, leading to the two becoming estranged. Max and Chloe both have a mutual goal, however, as both were involved with Rachel Amber, and as such, investigate her disappearance together.Whereas the last episode of Life Is Strange solely focused on conflicts within the student body of Blackwall Academy, Chaos Theory focuses on the bigger picture – which you’d expect given the episodes title. We’re almost past the halfway point in Life Is Strange and thankfully the stakes are really starting to ramp up.

There’s not a lot that can be spoken about without absolutely ruining the episode for players, but things get interesting pretty fast especially as the consequences of all those choices made in the first two episodes begin to come full circle. And, as always, it ends with a killer pay-off.As the series continues, it has become apparent that not much is going to change in terms of presentation when it comes to Life Is Strange. The uniquely stylised visuals are still here – helping cement the games dreamlike, unapologetically indie flavour it employs in its presentation. The third episode continues this vibe pretty well although it does take place in some darker locales so it’s less of a showy episode, in terms of presentation.

The usual issues that have plagued the first two episodes of Life Is Strange previously remain in the third episode. Character models look good but have a roughness to them saved only by the severely stylised artistic direction. Texture pop-ins, especially for scene transitions, remain an issue as you’d expect from any game running on the Unreal Engine. Lip-syncing remains atrocious too.But it’s becoming more and more clear that the priority with Life Is Strange is to provide a reasonably compelling gameplay experience married with an intense and interesting storyline, which the game and especially this episode is largely successful in doing.

A now standard mix of licensed and original music helps to hammer home the atmosphere too, and it’s nice to see the developer not skimping now that the series is more established and instead using whatever music they feel they should use in any specific moments of the episode.Episode 3 brings no surprises – Life Is Strange remains a pretty typical adventure game. There’s little action or combat in the game, but where previous episodes shied away from puzzles, the third episode includes quite a few. Most of them are fairly typical things you’d find in an adventure game like this – but something I like about Life Is Strange is that it embraces the fact that its puzzles are trial and error. It doesn’t pretend you’re not going to rewind time (literally or figuratively) and instead just lets you. Most of the puzzles are built on this mechanic, while the weaker ones are simply collection based fetch quests.

Similar to previous episodes, Max can both look at and interact with most things throughout the game world. The former option gives us her thoughts on whatever she’s looking at, while interaction helps to build character or even make choices that may have greater ramifications later on in the story. It’s simple since it means players can look into information about characters and their interactions at their own leisure, or simply plod through the main story and get to the end.Of course, as most players will be aware of now, most of the gameplay revolves around the concept of the Butterfly Effect – the idea that small changes can somehow largely influence the future and current events. Some of the changes are blatantly obvious – while others are more nuanced and won’t be explored later.

Episode 3 provides some pretty interesting choices but many of them are blatantly black or white – there’s not a lot of grey ground here. Without spoiling, one asks players to take from one party to give to another, but one option is clearly the right one. Looking into the situation, there’s probably more to it than meets the eye, but at face value, there is seemingly one choice most players will make. It’ll be interesting to see if these choices pay off in future episodes but for now we’re just left wondering.The rewind mechanics are still prevalent here. Max can rewind time to explore different conversation options (especially if she stuffs up and makes someone angry at her) or to change the flow of events. The more interesting aspect of this mechanic is that Max herself, and all objects she interacts with, stay on her person. So you can grab something, rewind, and then move it somewhere else easily.

Episode 3 of Life Is Strange definitely plays with this mechanic a lot more than the first two episodes. Max will be required to explore all conversation options, use these conversation options to bribe or persuade others to talk to her, or even move items to prevent certain events from happening. Some of the puzzles in particular are purposefully obtuse, but honestly they’re also pretty satisfying to solve. It’s rare that games truly reward players for thinking outside of the box but thankfully Life Is Strange does it well.As per usual, exploring the menus and the journals and text messages provides extraneous information about the characters and what they’re going through as well as how they’ve reacted to the previous episode’s events. It gives a great sense of life to the game’s world, but at the same time isn’t necessarily pertinent information required to proceed. As usual, this episode feels well-paced and doesn’t outstay its welcome nor does it feel like it short changes the player either, especially if they stop to take in everything the world has to offer.But while I end every review of every episode of Life Is Strange with this thought, it’s one that still remains interesting. Just how will Life Is Strange manage to wrap up all these strange kinds of mysteries about its characters? Some of the decisions and their outcomes in this episode highlights an almost dramatic shift in tone for the remainder of the series. We can only wait to see how things play out, given the choices and opportunities available.

But it’s really freaking exciting, none the less.

The post Review: Life Is Strange: Episode 3 – Chaos Theory appeared first on Press Start.

The Game of Thrones saga continues our heroes rise and fall, bringing us further into the extended universe of Westeros.  Does Sons of Winter continue the winning streak that Telltale has been going on, or has winter come and are we left in the cold?

*This review may contain mild spoilers from previous episodes due to the necessity to follow up on certain earlier events throughout the structure of this review.As the war for the throne of Westeros ranges on behind the scenes of the universe our characters each run into the troubles of their own lives. The Forrester house is hanging on to the ridge of defeat, and all across Westeros its members fight battles of their own in order to bring back order to their home in the North. From Rodrik’s fight for their homestead in the North to Asher’s search for an army across the Narrow Sea, Sons of Winter brings valuable plot progression to the first season of Game of Thrones.

Following the turmoil of The Sword in the Darkness, each of our characters has found themselves in a conflict that has escalated the situation to new heights. Rodrik’s quest to re-take and defend House Forrester seems to have showcased some new possibilities, but every decision has its consequences, which this episode makes more than apparent across storylines.One of the most engaging arcs throughout Sons of Winter is Asher’s journey to find an army to protect his home across the Narrow Sea. After the heated confrontation with one of Daenerys Targaryen’s dragons, which has seemingly brought up some interesting opportunities for him and his companions. Faced with a battle that is not his own, Asher must work and find and compose new allegiances in order to take the next step in fulfilling his task. Arguably this particular arc does take a while to build up steam due to the fact that the storyline needed time to develop, but the payoff delivers a finale that is quite compelling.

As mentioned earlier, Rodrik’s arc continues as House Forrester finds itself in peril due to Griff Whitehill’s conquest over the halls of his own home. Approached by Gwyn Whitehill, Rodrik finds himself in a situation where he may have to compromise his own morals in order to get what he’s been fighting for throughout the season so far. Leading people isn’t easy, and when the enemy roams within your midst (literally and figuratively), maintaining your moral code may seem harder than it ever has been. The strong aspect of this part of Sons of Winter is the fact that all the little choices you have to make can really reflect on both you and the character, providing a view of your form of leadership and morality. In the storyline itself the outcomes may not seem as drastically different, but it’s these little narrative moments that provide some excellent character development, regardless wether these moments are chosen by the player or the developer itself. The only drawback of this particular arc is the position it finds itself in the third act. The slightly undefined structure of the balance between these acts creates some structural flaws that effect the tension somewhat.Gared’s storyline is somewhat smaller in size than usual when it comes to contents, and can be seen as buildup for the penultimate and final episodes of the season. The events are still engaging by the standards of this particular arc in the past few episodes, though development is somewhat limited until the third act. Some of the content seems somewhat like filler material, though its quality remains.

The events at King’s Landing involving Mira may be a hit or miss for some due to the political/narrative driven structure of the arc throughout the episode. Don’t expect anything in the scale of the other arcs when it comes to events, but the story progression throughout does give an interesting perspective into what’s going on behind the scenes whilst everyone is at each other’s throats.There isn’t much to be said about the visual fidelity of the game in regards to the differences between this and the previous episodes, so you can refer to the reviews of Iron From Ice, The Lost Lords and The Sword in the Darkness.The fourth episode of Game of Thrones brings us yet another 2-3 hours of Telltale’s classic gameplay formula, but does it still hold up? The basis of the formula still works very well, though the dialogue-driven structure of certain arcs may be a bit slow for some when it comes to pacing, but the payoff more than makes up for this fact. The only related question is wether the extended season may find some players fatigued by the structure of the game.Sons of Winter provides players yet another strong instalment in what may be one of Telltale’s best offerings in recent history. There are some structural issues that hold the episode back from being one of the strongest this season, but it holds up well in comparison to its predecessors. With engaging storylines and strong character development Sons of Winter is definitely worth your time!

The post Review: Game of Thrones – Episode IV: Sons of Winter appeared first on Press Start.

Telltale’s Game of Thrones saga continues as the world of Westeros continues its downfall into war.The story of The Sword in the Darkness continues the intertwining storylines that were set up in the first two episodes. All across Westeros and beyond the Forresters are resisting the forces who plan to invade them and prepare to defend the kingdom that they call home. Asher, Rodrik, Gared and Mira’s tales continue as their situations are seemingly escalating even further, providing even more pressure on their perspective roles in the fight for their house.

Across the Narrow Sea, Asher continues his journey with his travel companions Beshka and his uncle Malcolm seek for an army to defend House Forrester. Their journey basically acts as the bookends to the narrative of The Sword in the Darkness, but it also forms an important piece of narrative progression that ties the narrative of Telltale’s Game of Thrones even further into the mythos of the world of Westeros beyond the containments of the expanded universe they’ve been setting up ever since the first episode. Truth be told character development may not be the strongest part of this section of the series, but every event seems to be more of a small piece of a greater plan than it seems to be at first glance. Asher seems like a perfectly fine and likeable character so far, but the bookend/transition style of his sequences are implications that his actions will be more important towards the end of the season, but at the time his segments may feel less significant. This is an obvious trade-off, but the structure works well for the episode, providing powerful opening and closing segments for this strong episode.Rodrik’s sections provide the emotional aspects/impact of this episode, and the continuing struggle/resistance at House Forrester is escalating to a point where the tension could really be a cut with a knife. The Whitehill’s are steadily expanding their foothold on the Forrester house. As the family Forrester runs out of options Rodrik and his council contemplate wether to submit or rise against the forces that seek to control their legacy. The decision making involved in these sequences seemed to be the most important you had to make due to the impact they could have on your stance as the lord of House Forrester. Of course these moral discussions often go more deeply beyond the actual game’s narrative due to the limitations of the impact they can have on the structure of the story on a broader scale, but the sheer fact that you have to choose between defiance and compliance really make you feel like you’re growing as a character along with Rodrik, who has proved himself to be a strong character even beyond the decisions that you make for him as part of the gameplay. The buildup these sections of Game of Thrones have provided created a strong and well-told structure that strengthens the other intertwined storylines due to the fact that most of your motivations will lie in ending the events that occur here.

Gared’s storyline can be seen as a cross between the former two mentioned storylines. His story on and beyond the wall serves as a supporting structure that uses a well-placed MacGuffin that plays into the greater narrative of what the main characters are trying to achieve. Gared’s storyline can be seen as the most similar to the formula the TV series itself follows, though episode 3 really gives Gared his own proper differentiations that set him apart and give his story a proper sense of progression. His search for the North Grove has his recent history haunt him, and the past isn’t as willing to let go as he may seem to be depending on your actions. The thing with a lot of these characters is that they can seem more vengeful or forgiving depending on your choices, and experiences may differ as your own mentality can form the grander details of a character’s story arc, albeit in a more mental than actual visual manner of course.Mira’s storyline seemed to be the most lacking in regards to narrative quality. Aside from a few escalations her role in the narrative has seemingly been a political break from the more up close and personal aspects of the rest of the story, aside from the earlier noted occasional distractions. Mira does seem to be improving as a character and a narrative section, though the pacing of her storyline does seem to be off from time to time. A problem that popped up during this episode is that the narrative negates some of the earlier decisions you’ve been making during the season, and even though this probably plays into the greater scheme of things it kind of feels lacklustre to make a decision and have it handled in such a manner.

The Sword in the Darkness isn’t the strongest episode in the series so far, but it’s not far off. There are certain issues that pop up here and there, but Telltale has remained impressively consistent this season so far when it comes to writing.here has been nothing much new to note about the visual fidelity of Telltale’s Game of Thrones. You can reference the reviews for Episode I and Episode II for any earlier notes I had about the graphics of the series so far.Episode III: The Sword in the Darkness retains the same pattern of dialogue, exploration and action that the series has followed so far. Exploration is kept to a limited amount and the game puts a stronger emphasis on the dialogue itself, with occasional side-steps into combat and/or other physical aspects. The episode gives players a lot of decisions to make, and some great action sequences to boot. There isn’t much to explore and find in the episode, but the pacing itself doesn’t lend much to this aspect. You’ll have your occasional moments of finding something, but there are no actual puzzle aspects to be found for the most past.

As with the presentation section, you can reference the reviews for the first two episodes for any further notes.Telltale continues to present players with a consistent and well-crafted series that retains its narrative quality and provides long-time fans both new and familiar sights into the world of Westeros. The Sword in the Darkness isn’t the strongest of the three episodes out so far, but it comes close.

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Electronic Arts introduces players into a new age of Battlefield, where warfare is exchanged for high-speed and adrenaline-filled tales of crime and corruption through the eyes of the police and criminals. But is Hardline up to the task to keep the Battlefield name clear? Or does it flatline?

*NOTE: Due to technical disparities between certain versions of the game because of hardware limitations and differences, this review is mostly applicable to the version that has been reviewed. The PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 version of Battlefield: Hardline do not offer the full 64-player experience of its current-gen and PC counterparts. Experiences may vary per platform.

Battlefield: Hardline takes the franchise in a new direction by ditching its military setting in favour of a TV-inspired cop drama that takes its cues from popular shows such as Hawaii Five-O, Breaking Bad and other popular crime-related dramas. Hardline tells the story of detective Nick Mendoza, a young detective working through the ranks of the DEA. After an initially rough introduction Mendoza is introduced to his new partner and the hunt for some of the region’s largest drug lords begins. But like in any cop drama, there’s a twist to this tale, and Mendoza soon discovers that not all is well in his department, resulting in a cop vs corrupt cop conflict that might not end well for him and his allies. The story and characters of Hardline are anything but deep and well written, but often these effects seem more than intentional considering the fact that the entire narrative is set-up as a televised cop drama, which are often produced in a similar fashion. The characters are incredibly two-dimensional, but they are written in a fashion that often makes them likeable, rather than creating the one-dimensional military grunts that we’ve often had to deal with in the history of the franchise.

Rather than spreading the narrative out through the game as a three-act story the game gives each mission the structure of a TV episode, which creates a dynamic where the campaign is easily played in short sessions due to the fact that each mission is set up as a self-sustaining narrative. There are some problems with this narrative as playing through the entire game in larger sessions can make this formula a bit stale as some of the missions simply aren’t that long and the interruptions in between chapters dials the flow of the story back quite a bit.

Even though the game is set up in episodic context, the main narrative of the game can still be seen as a traditional three-act story. The opening chapters of the game feel like obvious nods to modern cop dramas when it comes to the tone, but it doesn’t take long until the story treads into Bad Boys territory by injecting some adrenaline and heading into some ridiculous car chases and action sequences, though these are over-the-top in the sense that they still seem enjoyable, and fit the formula that the writing of the story had adapted so far.  throughout its first and second acts the game tends to stay in these territories, but once we head into the third act the game often falls back heavily on the set piece formula that the main franchise had adapted. Some of the final sequences headed towards the finale are pretty absurd, with the penultimate chapter of the game treading into gravity-defying territory that even when compared to earlier games seems completely nonsensical. The finale has a lot to be desired as well due to the fact that the pacing decelerates quite heavily and showcases twists and turns that are not only completely insistent with the tones and characters of the game, but seem like an unlockable alternate ending that ignores the little character development the narrative had showcased so far.

Whilst Hardline starts out as a fun side-adventure into new territory, the narrative simply doesn’t have the consistency to keep itself to a singular tone and a (kind of) grounded story, which results in a third act that falls back into old habits and escalates in a nowadays obligatory explosive finale that makes neither nor sense, nor is it a satisfying conclusion to a story that had a chance to be decent on its own. The problem is that whilst Hardline wants to be its own thing entirely at times, it more than often goes out of its way to remind the player that it’s a Battlefield game. Heat and Miami Vice were often the most prominent takes of inspiration in EA’s marketing for Hardline, but Bad Boys and Lethal Weapon seem more prominent in its writing.

Ever since the introduction of DICE’s Frostbite engine the Battlefield franchise has been known for providing stellar visual presentations that truly showcase both the beauty and chaos of the battlefield. With its first non-DICE title, do the graphical aspects of Battlefield Hardline match up to the standard that had been set by Battlefield 4 just two years ago? Whilst there are certain aspects of Hardline that may seem like an improvement, there are certain aspects of its visual department that may seem a bit of a step back in comparison. Firstly I’ll talk about the environments, and of course its assets/contents. Textures in general seem to be well detailed, though in the game’s more natural environments certain textures seem a bit too muddy to match up to its urban counterparts. Shrubbery, trees and other natural elements seem to suffer from the same issue, and often look overly simplified when compared to the non-natural elements of the level designs in both the single-player and the multiplayer campaign.

These elements seem to fare much better in dimly lit situations, and with the right lighting in nighttime sequences these issues seem a lot less apparent unless you’re actively searching for these visual imperfections. However, in broad daylight these issues can be quite distracting for certain returning players, as it is a step back from Battlefield 4, despite this being a standalone spin-off. The game does shine when it comes to structures and non-natural elements such as concrete, glass, and whatever materials you’ll find in modern urban environments. Throughout my sessions I was quite impressed by the level of detail and the architectural design of certain locations that I had take a moment and admire Visceral’s impressive design work on these locations, which shines through in both the campaign and multiplayer sections of the game. Map designs seem to shine through in a similar manner, though some seem to be a little unbalanced when confronted with certain gameplay modes that have larger amounts of players running around.

The most prominent visual issue I encountered throughout the game was the quite apart aliasing issue, which often left the edges of characters and objects jagged in quite a distracting manner, which usually compromised what was often a decent visual presentation. However, the models of these characters and objects are usually quite well detailed and the texture work by Visceral on certain objects scattered throughout the world is pretty impressive. This isn’t limited to the larger set-pieces you’ll encounter, but the smaller details in the more enclosed levels are pretty much the best showcase of some of the modelling talent going on at Visceral, which sometimes goes unappreciated due to the less-than-ideal circumstances of some of the game’s less-finer moments in multiplayer.

Many of the issues are more present in the multiplayer, and te single-player campaign arguably is much more of a visually impressive product than its online counterpart. Whilst the game never reaches Battlefield 4 levels of fidelity, the game can stand on its own well enough, though its nighttime levels are pretty much the better half of the game due to the lighting situations that illuminate the game world. The larger the battlefield, the more Hardline suffers, and the more closed off areas of Hardline seem to be the much more polished aspects of the game, which seems to give the idea that the work on larger areas simply wasn’t a priority when it came to the IQ of the game, which is a shame considering the design seems to fare much better than its actual presentation.

The PlayStation®4 edition of Battlefield: Hardline runs at a resolution of 900p, aiming at a framerate of 60fps, which consistently dips into the mid to lower 50’s, with some heavier drops in the more hectic situations that take place in multiplayer. The singleplayer campaign features a combination of both 60fps-targetted gameplay and certain 30fps cinematics, which can make for some jarring transitions. This is due to the fact that there are no camera cuts or or any other transitions in-between these sequences. As said earlier the multiplayer suffers the heaviest from these drops, and whilst the framerate usually stays above 50fps, the result is pretty noticeable in quite a few scenarios, which is questionable since the franchise has maintained a similar framerate with much higher visual fidelity, which quite frankly questions the optimisation of the game.

Hardline is a pretty mixed product when you’re trying to pin down what kind of game it actually is. The campaign is a mix of existing and new concepts, the most apparent addition being its high reliance on stealth. There are quite a few sequences that will have you pass or take down enemies by sneaking past them and arresting or knocking them out, or in some cases just ignore them entirely. After using your radar to scope out the nearby area your mini map will give you the locations of your enemies, along with their active line of sights, which gives you a clear idea of where you can go. The stealth arsenal isn’t that diverse, as basically crouching and silenced weapons are the norm when sneaking throughout, but the addition of more non-lethal reactions to your enemies is quite a refreshing one. Rather than taking the life of every single enemy you’ll be able to apprehend them and take them into custody(just knocking them out seems to suffice as well.) When approaching an enemy whilst in stealth your most likely response would be to hit them from behind, and whilst this is an effective routine, there is also a more rewarding one. When approaching an enemy you’re be able to effectively apprehend your enemies and approach them to arrest them. To do this, you’ll have to keep your aim on them following your initial introduction, and if you’re in a situation where you’ve got multiple suspects the situation could still go south if your partner isn’t present. Whilst the mechanic in question is quite effective and a fun addition your enemies will often seem way to eager to give up, and more variety in responses would’ve been a more refreshing take on this great new mechanic, which is preferable due to the fact that arresting enemies simply give you more reward than killing them does.

Stealth is an effective option 9 out of 10 times, though you’ll often be presented with situations where you could go either way, and going in guns blazing can be as effective. On higher difficulties stealth does seem to be a wiser option unless you’re that well familiar with the style of gameplay, as the cops in Hardline seem way less bulletproof than they do in the classic entries. This of course is a matter of difficulty settings, but the point here is that getting noticed during stealth and/or going in head-on can have quite the consequences if you’re not prepared to face the results of your actions. Another change on this front would be the adjusted arsenal, which gives us a pistol as our primary weapon, rather than its original place as a side-arm as we most often see in most modern day shooters. Of course there are quite a variety of unlockable rifles and such to use as our side-arm, but the pistol does seem to be the most flexible when it comes to acting in both stealthy and hectic situations. Each weapon in both single and multiplayer can be retrofitted with quite a diverse selection of attachments that you can adjust accordingly. One weapon fits all in certain situations, and I often found myself switching the attachments on my carbine to better support my stealth approach, which often helped my save my own behind after making mistakes.

Cars have also been given a bigger spotlight in Hardline, and both the singleplayer and multiplayer feature a prominent push towards high-speed chases involving cops and robbers. Battlefield’s handling model has always been more practical when it came to trucks, tanks and other larger vehicles, but the handling method often feels too stiff when it comes to the game’s driving sections, which involve more traditional vehicles. The single-player doesn’t involve much strategy or skill when it comes to driving, and the almost on-rails approach to these sections is pretty boring due to the fact that you don’t have the situational freedom that you’re given on foot. The multiplayer obviously drops this problem, though the sheer weight and physics of the driving mechanic is pretty disappointing considering they are so prominently featured in the game as a whole.

As always the multiplayer portion of this Battlefield title holds the largest amount of content for us to play around with, and Hardline gives us a mix of old and new, which works out in a variety of ways. First off we’ve got classic conquest, which has players fight for control over specific points on the map to stop their team’s ticket count from depleting. Due to the variety of map designs in Hardline this mode seems to work better on certain maps than others, but this isn’t the only problem that looms over conquest. The inclusion of the mode is pretty much a given considering it’s a Battlefield title, but it’s also why it feels a little out of place next to the other game modes. Territorial capture simply doesn’t seem to fit in with the concept of the game, and forms a thematic clash between itself and the other game modes. It works on a technical leve, but not much else due to the fact that it stands out.

Most of Hardline’s game modes are entirely new to the franchise, and the list consists of; Blood Money (objective based capture and retrieve), Crosshair (VIP escort), Heist (an objective-based mode comparable to Rush), Hotwire (a vehicle-based versus mode), Rescue (hostage rescue) and classic Team Deathmatch, which speaks for itself. The sheer variety in modes is pretty decent, though certain modes like Blood Money and Hotwire are often prone to fatigue due to repetition. Hotwire seems to be the biggest offender in this regard, as it has players capture vehicles on the map followed by driving them around for as long as possible to gain points. Battlefield is always as hectic as the players make it, but soon you’ll probably be finding yourself driving around in circles capturing points with little else to do. Blood Money is a much slighter offender of this issue, as it’s also a concept that really relies on players to actually make it fun.

The multiplayer unlock system has been drastically altered, as players will no longer be able to unlock everything by experience. Rather than actually unlocking weapons and gear, you’ll be buying your loadouts with the cash you earn in multiplayer. Money has basically replaced experience in this regard, though you’ll soon enough be earning more than enough to purchase your ideal gear for action. Each of the classes has been renamed to match the style of the subject in question, but the primary use of each remains. The only problematic issue with classes is the fact that the engineer may seem a bit useless in certain situations, as there is a much lesser need of repairs due to the fact that much of the variation in vehicles has been simplified to cars and such, with helicopters being in the mix in lesser numbers.

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NOTE: This is the final of four informal pieces which will detail my experiences with each individual episode of Resident Evil Revelations 2. A full more traditional review of the game has been posted, along with this final article, on Press Start. A score will not be assigned here, but if you wish to see how the whole experience fares be sure to check out our full review!

The fourth and final episode of Revelations 2 doesn’t waste any time jumping straight into the action. Claire and Moira previously have begun their ascent to meet the Overseer herself after an intense and climactic battle. Barry and Natalia are now separated, but Natalia exhibited a bizarre and strange ability before it all happened. What does it all mean? Are all the questions answered after so long? I’m not entirely sure, but the surprises don’t quite end here. Onwards to Episode 4 – Metamorphosis.

Metamorphosis is definitely a bit of a lopsided offering from Capcom. Claire’s scenario, which sees her confronting the main villain and escaping the facility. There’s a few weird revelations here and there and an absolutely killer cliffhanger, but as I said previously it feels classically Resident Evil. Claire’s story, in particular, feels pretty anticlimactic although it does leave things with an air of mystery too them.

Previously in all the episodes of Revelations 2 that I’ve written about, the Claire and the Barry campaigns work towards solving their own individual mysteries rather than meeting up. At this point, we know Barry is exploring the same area Claire did six months prior. But it’s not until the end of Claire’s campaign that we realise how Barry came to find out about it. That is, the campaigns interconnect very well in Episode 4 and you’ll see how they relate to one another (mostly) by the time you begin Barry’s part of the campaign.

And it’s definitely the greater, more finale-like part of the episode. About 85% of your playtime in Episode 4 will be Barry’s campaign and that’s because it’s got a whole lot of fun and fascinating locales to trawl through with Natalia. I’ve used this word a lot now, but there’s really no other word to describe it. The first area Barry explores is a weird and dilapidated construction site that has been seemingly abandoned. Its home to a rather tedious co-operative designed puzzle that requires you to move an elevator between broken struts of a bridge. Following this, Barry descends into a mine which has been turned into a mass grave before finding the thing every Resident Evil fan loves to find – an underground facility.

Before you head into the underground facility, there’s more to explore but I feel like it would be grave injustice to totally spoil the experience. It really is a fantastic moment in the game and one that will scratch the nostalgia nerve in any diehard fan of the series. The final moments leading up to the final battle are also unapologetically classic Resident Evil.

The game, once again, throws you into a wide open area and allows you to explore it at your own will. There’s a few enemies peppered throughout the corridors but you’re largely isolated and largely on your own. There’s some genuinely tense moments too – constant backtracking past stasis tanks filled with enemies is bound to get most players in a bit of a stressed state – not knowing when (or if) they’ll burst out of their confines makes for some pretty tense gameplay.

Of course it’s worth clarifying at this point that while I mention that this game feels like a classic Resident Evil game, especially during the final moments of this episode, that it still falls short in some aspects. While I loved the puzzles you’d find in games like Resident Evil or even Silent Hill, most of the ones on offer in Revelations 2 never amount to anything more than fetch quests in open ended areas or backtracking to find doors that a newly acquired key will work on. Yes, these are classic elements of a Resident Evil game, but the idea of actual puzzles that require some thought are largely abandoned here. That’s not a bad thing mind you, but definitely something that is worth mentioning.

As you’d expect, there’s an incredibly flashy boss battle although it’s this aspect that I found ultimately quite disappointing in Revelations 2. Yes, some of the designs in Resident Evil have been ridiculous and over the top, but they’ve had a distinct and unique kind of “look” to them. The final battle in Revelations 2 looks like something Team Silent dreamt up for Silent Hill but scrapped for being too goofy. It’s a small issue I have but one where your mileage may vary – as I’ve not enjoyed the final boss design for both Revelations and Resident Evil 6 previously either. Once again, we could show it here but we won’t.

So after defeating the final boss and viewing the ending I, once again, came away with an odd feeling. The ending was depressing. It wasn’t conclusive. I needed more. So you can imagine my surprise when I found that there were in fact two possible endings to unlock in the game – one considered to be good and another considered to be bad. Unfortunately, we weren’t able to work out just how the endings were triggered but we’re sure it’ll surface soon enough. But it’s still a nice touch and throwback to older Resident Evil games since the more recent ones have not had multiple endings for some time now.

There’s heaps of unlockables to get into once you’re done too. I’ll definitely be going over most of them in my full review of the game, which should be going live around the same time as this piece, but most players can expect to unlock new weapons, new modes, new costumes and even new characters to play as in the more action-orientated Raid Mode. If you’re into this kind of thing, there’s a boat load of concept art to unlock too, some of which is unlocked using the game’s skill system points and others just by completing certain tasks in game. So after the initial Revelations 2 experience ends, there’s still a lot more to do.

So that wraps up Resident Evil Revelations 2, and my experiences and unfettered thoughts on the experience week by week. I’ve played each week and written my thoughts of each episode independently, without any foresight into what’s to come. But how does it compare as an entire experience? Be sure to read our full review to find out!

The post Resident Evil Revelations 2: Episode 4 – Metamorphosis appeared first on Press Start.

Resident Evil Revelations 2, much like the Revelations game that came before it, takes place between two mainline Resident Evil games. The events of Revelations 2 takes place between Resident Evil 5 and Resident Evil 6. The story follows two separate characters across two separate time periods across the same setting.

Claire Redfield and Moira Burton are abducted by a mysterious “overseer” and taken to an island to participate in gruesome and cruel experiments while they attempt to escape. Barry Burton, Moira’s father and long-time friend of Claire and her brother Chris, heads to the island to save them, but not before meeting up with a strange girl named Natalia who accompanies him along the way.

Despite being an immense fan of the franchise, it’s undeniable that the storyline and the many plot points in the games have degenerated into nothing more than mass produced schlock. But it’s still a guilty pleasure for many fans – and Revelations 2 is no different. The game manages to properly tie itself into the series mythos quite well and as a result is definitely canon candy for fans.

But it’s a pretty middling story overall that sometimes dips into science fiction territory that doesn’t quite frankly feel right in the context of a Resident Evil title. But if you can put this aside you, or if you enjoy the Resident Evil films, you probably will enjoy Revelations 2’s story. Just don’t expect any definitive closure for any of your favourite characters.

Revelations 2 really wears its budget on its sleeve and this is especially obvious from the game’s presentation. There’s heaps of reused assets here and there and generally most of the locales Claire and Barry will explore have a very subdued or “closed in” feel to them. But while this sounds like a bad thing, it really isn’t, because for the most part the team has crafted a creepy world and used various tricks to make the shortcomings of the game less evident.

But make no mistakes, the way the game is presented is very much on a lower scale and budget than other games like Resident Evil 6 and Resident Evil 5, but still looks reasonably good. The closer and more claustrophobic level design suits the horror themes rather well. More bizarrely, the game runs at a very smooth framerate of 60 frames per second too, which is a nice bonus.

More controversially, the voice work is rather flat. Ali Hillis, who many might know as having voiced Lightning from Final Fantasy, has replaced series mainstay Alyson Court as the voice of Claire Redfield and it honestly doesn’t sound right. Other characters strike a reasonable balance between seriousness and cheese, like Barry, but on a whole the voice work is more competent than you’d expect for a Resident Evil game, especially one produced on a tighter budget.

The soundtrack is a rather subdued affair however, though this might mean different things for different people. Most of the tracks in the game are more subtle, ambient tracks that are comprised of various noises and subtleties that help build the game’s environments. The result is nothing particularly memorable, but instead music that just blends into the scenes. Some of the remixed techno bangers that play during Raid Mode are sublime, though, even if they are more action orientated.

For the most part, Resident Evil Revelations 2 attempts to balance between the slower and methodically paced exploration segments of older games and the showier, action based set pieces of the newer ones. These attempts are mostly successful, but there are definitely some moments where the game feels like it could be a little bit better paced. Still, the designers’ willingness to allow players to just explore an area without having to shoot everything for long stretches at a time is to be commended in the current industry climate.

The game is split up into episodes, much like its predecessor, but overall does a great job at utilising this format to really keep the player wanting more. Each episode has you playing as Claire and Moira first, and then re-treading familiar (but different) ground as Barry and Natalia. It’s one of the many ways the game manages to get away with reusing some assets here and there, but it’s actually pretty fun to re-explore an area as Barry to see how things have progressed since Claire did the same.

The combat is a little bit more polarising. Throwing away most of the extra functionality that Resident Evil 6 introduced, Revelations 2 plays like a healthy mix of the original Revelations game with elements of Alan Wake or Gears of War sprinkled in. Characters can now move while aiming and shooting, sprint in any given direction at any time and even evade with the press of a button. It’s more restrictive than Resident Evil 6 (which was sometimes too convoluted for its own good) but it’s freer than Resident Evil 5 and 4.

What Revelations 2 attempts to do a little bit differently is by creating asymmetric partners for the player. Moira doesn’t use guns – instead she can use a crowbar to dole out melee damage or her flashlight to blind enemies and open them up to melee attacks. She’s pretty useful, if not overpowered – but only in the hands of a human player who understands the game. Her AI is quite terrible, but thankfully, she has regenerating health so it’s less of a babysitting job.

Natalia is Barry’s partner, and acts more like a support character. She can point out objects hidden in the game and throw bricks to distract or even slightly damage enemies that might be threatening Barry. Her major ability, however, is similar to The Last of Us’ listen mode – where she can see enemies (and their weak spots, in some respects) through walls. It’s a handy ability that opens up some stealth potential in the game, but might be quite boring for someone playing co-operative mode with another person.

There are a few puzzles here and there, but calling them puzzles is a bit of a stretch. Most of them require players to find an item or two, return it to an area and then progress through the game like normal. It certainly leads to some slightly less linear progression, but is by no means a return to form of the riddle based puzzles seen in Resident Evil and Silent Hill. Still, Revelations 2 definitely improves over its predecessors, so it feels like more of a little victory for the classic franchise fan.

When you’re done with the main campaign, which’ll take about eight or so hours to complete depending on how much you stop to explore your surroundings, the game’s endless content becomes open to the player. Two extra episodes, which we haven’t previously talked about, fill in extra story details between Claire’s and Barry’s campaign while employing more experimental gameplay design. They’re by no means absolutely necessary, but they’re a nice touch for people who want to explore the world of Revelations 2 a bit more.

And while there’s multiple endings, weapons, costumes and modes to play around with in the campaign, Revelations 2’s deceptively deep Raid Mode is some great and amazing fun. Giving players control of wide range of characters, it gives you opportunity to run a gauntlet of enemies using custom load outs and abilities. Some abilities are basic, like improving the functionality of different classes of weapons. Others are bit weirder – allowing you to deal damage to enemies by taunting or even turning them against each other for a while. While the Raid Mode takes a while to get going, it’ll easily lead to at least ten to twenty hours more entertainment for most players – and its co-op too!

If you  enjoyed reading our review of the entire Resident Evil Revelations 2 experience, be sure to check out our spoiler free impression pieces on the four individual episodes – Penal Colony, Contemplation, Judgement and Metamorphosis!

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Story-based platformers aren’t exactly the rarest thing in the world, and we’ve had quite our fair share of emotional/story-based platformers this generations so far, like Valiant Hearts, Child of Eden and such. The bar this generation had been set quite high, but every once in a while a special kind of game comes along, one which manages to capture the essence of not only gaming in general, but the essence of themes that are relevant to our everyday lives, and manage to immerse us in a world that is not only out of this world, but also captures the depth of our own.The tale of Ori and the Blind Forest beings as we meet Ori, a Forest Spirit that was separated from his home as a baby. As Ori withered away into the wild, he is discovered by Naru, who takes him in as his own. Raised as her own, Ori and Naru grow incredibly close together, and their amazing bond is set-up in a powerful prologue that may not be long, but it’ll follow players long into the game. After a terrible series of devastating events is set in motion, Ori’s world starts to fall into decay, and the young orphan must find his strength to fulfil the destiny that lies ahead of him and save the world that he became to call home.

At first sight Ori and the Blind Forest may seem light-hearted, but its themes can be incredibly mature throughout the narrative. One could call the world cute, but it can have a serious bite as a whole. The game has little to no voice acting, aside from some narrative speak, which is spoken in a language of the universe itself and translated visually with stylised subtitles, which are told from the point of view of an important related character. Themes like loss, responsibility and such are echoed continuously throughout the narrative, which effectively adds emotional weight to the shoulder of the player. Despite the lack of actual voices, Ori and all surrounding characters are simply as engaging as can be, and Ori’s body language alone can tell a thousand words, ranging from sadness to happiness, and all emotions in the spectrum in-between.

The world of Ori and the Blind Forest is full of depth, and both the background information and main narrative are some of the most well realised pieces of writing that I’ve encountered in gaming in a long time, and possibly even film. Every piece of gameplay, area and characters is woven into the intricately-detailed universe in a natural way, in which every piece of story, gameplay and design has its rightful place in the universe. Moon hasn’t just succeeded in creating a coherent story, but a story that genuiniely connects with players, and lets players not only move throughout its world with purpose, but with a clear goal and motivation.

When it comes to the visual department Ori and the Blind Forest embraces an almost painting-like form of artwork consisting of simple but well designed characters, visually appealing worlds and a lighting system that wonderfully enhances the experience as a whole. From the opening moments of the game the mood is set by colourful visuals, which create a warm mood that goes hand in hand with the heartwarming opening, but once the story makes dramatic turns, the presentation of the world follows and we’re introduced to a dark and bleak section that is set to define the coming events. The world of the Blind Forest can be as colourful as it can be serious, and the adapting colour palettes and lighting situations are always set in the right way to present the levels in their optimal state.

When it comes to environmental variety, Ori and the Blind Forest is quite diverse when it comes to design. Despite everything being connected as a single world, each section can look vastly different from the last. This isn’t just because of the lighting and colour palettes, but first and foremost because of the distinctive designs of each of the sections of Ori’s world. From the light and colourful forest to the moody caverns, the feeling of repeated visuals is barely ever present.The transitions between these sections is well executed, which is often a hard thing to do when switching areas as frequently as you’ll do in the game.

Character designs in the game are quite diverse, with plenty of variety in detail for both the protagonists and antagonists of the game. The simplicity of Ori’s design in particular is well done, whilst still creating a kind of iconic look for the character, which makes him immediately recognizable. The friendly form of design for Ori and the other protagonists is an excellent contrast to the enemies you’ll encounter. The main antagonist in particular is quite stunning, and seeing the imagery of a dark and giant owl in the opening sequences of the game certainly made it clear that the threat was real and gave me a good idea of what the stakes in this journey were gonna be. At times the storytelling felt like a super sized-shadow puppet theatre, with the shadows coming to life on the screen, and the narrator speaking a tale of loss, love and courage, accompanied by a musical score that is as heart-filled as the story and visual presentation themselves. Composer Gareth Cooker delivers an outstanding soundtrack that doesn’t just accompany the game in a fantastic manner, but even stands on by itself quite coherently, and it often helps elevate the atmosphere even more than the visuals themselves. Rather than seeming like an afterthought of a composition, the orchestrated score of Ori and the Blind Forest is as important as all of the other aspects of the game. Providing a colourful and fantastic melody to the world of Ori, it wouldn’t be the same without it.

Of course here we end up at the most essential section of our look at Ori and the Blind Forest, the actual gameplay. Before heading off into celebratory territory, there are a few things that we need to get straight first. What exactly is Ori and the Blind Forest? And what makes it unique gameplay-wise? Ori and the Blind Forest is your traditional platforming title, with upgradeable powers, collectables, unlockable sections of the world and puzzle-like sequences that require both wits and reflexes. Now what exactly makes Ori unique in these aspects? Funny enough, nothing. Now of course this sounds as a negative argument and I wouldn’t blame you for seeing this as one yourself, but for everything it does the game is quite good at all of these elements. There are no reinventions of the wheel present, nor any fancy antics that would set this game apart from other games in the genre, but the result is a game that only sets out to perform existing concepts, but succeeds pretty flawlessly in most of them. Whilst the saying “If it’s not broken, don’t fix it” isn’t exactly what I had in mind, this return to basic gameplay elements is a nice change of pace in a climate that often seeks to innovate, but fails in its executions. Don’t get me wrong, we desperately need innovation in the industry, but this momentary breather in the cycle is simply fun to play, challenging and keeps it simple when it comes to mechanics.

The levels/worlds of the game vary significantly in tone and design, but part of the game is connected as a singular ecosystem, allowing players to backtrack all of the levels to collect energy for upgrades and collect items and explore the world as much as you desire. None of the areas are locked after their initial discovery, and the dynamic set-up of the map allows to reach certain sections in multiple ways. Whilst the story of the game is always told in the same order, it’s up to the players themselves to find their way to the next area. The game will give you a good idea on where to go, but it isn’t always as blatantly clear. Finding the correct route isn’t that complicated, and if you like exploring finding your way throughout the world can be a very fun activity. Until you complete the map, that is. This only applies for as long as you haven’t finished the story itself, since there aren’t any activities or possibilities to explore the map as an endgame.

Of course the main factor of Ori and the Blind Forest is traversal and combat, both of which are simple in mechanics, but mastering each of them can be quite tricky. Platforming in advanced sections can be quite a tricky feat, but once you get a hang of the moments and timing of your jumps everything can be a piece of cake. The same goes for combat, which is structured in a pretty simple fashion, but still offers option to cater to your play style. Either fire at them from a short distance, or get up close and personal, your choice. That being said, despite the simple mechanics the game does have a pretty steep difficulty curve, which may be jarring for some. Whilst the game is essentially easy to get into in the opening stages, the later levels get seemingly more challenging as you progress through them. The further you go, the more the game begins to show its teeth, and whilst the challenge is admirable, for some it may be a bit off-putting if they’re too comfortable with the difficulty of the earlier stages. It would be hard to count this as a negative, since it is a matter of perspective, but none the less it is something worth noting.

The game can also be as difficulty as you’re willing to make it. The game has specific save points where your progress is saved, but for the majority of the game saving your progress is entirely in your own hands, with the player being able to create their own save points depending on wether they’ve got enough energy to do so. This seems pretty straightforward at first, but once you have your first streaks of deaths you soon find that placing these markers on the correct spots is essential to your progress, especially in difficulty platforming sections where you can easily respawn far away from your point of death because you didn’t save your progress at a later point. It does give you options to practice certain sections, in case you’re having issues with any of the elements you encounter.

On a technical note the game is very stable throughout gameplay when it comes to the framerate and visual fidelity. There are a few technical difficulties that occurred throughout the title, which resulted in the game either locking up or closing in its entirety due to an unforeseen error. The game has received a patch since its initial release date, but some of these issues still remain, though they aren’t that frequent. The most notable error left my game hanging on the menu screen, which led me to reboot the entire title and go through the startup process. Experiences may vary.

The post Review: Ori and the Blind Forest appeared first on Press Start.

Note that this is the third in a series of four informal pieces which will detail my experiences with each individual episode of Resident Evil Revelations 2. Following this, a full more “traditional” review will be posted at the end of March to coincide with the game’s retail release. As such, no score will be assigned to the game until all episodes are available to the public.

Of the three episodes of Revelations 2 that I’ve played so far, I’ve got to say that the third episode, called “Judgement”, is possibly my favourite. It’s got a good combination of tension and build-up. Some subtle tinges of horror. Even some action packed encounters that really force you to look at managing your ammo properly rather than just unloading carte blanche. In fact, it’s the first time since Lost In Nightmares that I truly thought the old style of Resident Evil could properly be mixed with the new style. Judgement isn’t a perfect example, mind you, but it’s pretty close.

When we left Claire and Moira in the second episode, she’d just lost sight of Natalia and through some vague messages was told to head to a mysterious tower to confront the overseer. Having lost some of her friends previously, Claire is fuelled by feelings of vengeance more so than ever. But as most of us have learnt, evil is always watching, and the overseer has grander plans for Claire and Moira.

Claire’s scenario feels very close to what Lost In Nightmares was. It throws Claire into a meat processing facility made up of a few different buildings, and lets her explore at her own leisure. Yes, there are enemies here and there, but for the most part the progression in this chapter is fuelled by the players’ completion of puzzles. They’re really simple puzzles, mind you, but at least one of them will have you scratching your head until you realise how obvious the solution was. It’s also a nice opportunity to explore and find files giving backstory to the region and all these buildings, specifically how they ended up so dilapidated.

In typical Resident Evil fashion, the door out of the first factory area is blocked by a ludicrously flamboyant mythological depiction of Prometheus. It’s bizarre and weird, but it reminded me of how much fun it was to approach similar situations in the Spencer Mansion back in the first Resident Evil. The overseer has a penchant for mythology and philosophy, it would seem, although the incessant quoting of Kafka probably eluded to that fact already.

The concluding half of Claire’s scenario is another one of those situations where Revelations 2 seems to seek inspiration from another horror franchise. I’m personally not sure if it was intentional or not, but the meat processing facility reminds me a lot of a scene from SAW III. The puzzle in this area is pretty simple but also pretty gross, and results in an intense arena battle that once again harkens to some of the better ones in the series like the village encounter from Resident Evil 4. After some pretty by-the-numbers cooperative puzzles and an explosive escape, Claire and Moira finally make it to the a boring and confusing sewer segment (seriously, has there ever been a good one) and then to the tower.

This is where the story takes a bit of a weirder turn as yet another major revelation is brought to the surface. We obviously won’t spoil it, but it’s nice to see that the story doesn’t lose steam despite revealing the identity of the overseer at the end of the last episode. Claire’s scenario culminates into something every old-school Resident Evil fan will appreciate. A grotesque mutation and boss battle. One which requires both Claire and Moira to work together. And it’s great!

Which then brings us back to Barry and Natalia. They just discovered who the Overseer is. Natalia was of course less surprised than Barry since she had dealings with her before. But Barry is still confused about the whereabouts of Moira. If you’ve been playing this long – it should be pretty obvious by now – it’s very obvious that there is a six month gap between Claire’s scenario and Barry’s. So the crux of the mystery now is whether or not Claire and Moira are still in the same place as Claire and how things came to be that way in the past. It might sound confusing, but it’s not, I assure you.

Through some idle dialogue between Barry and Natalia, we begin to learn more about why the father and daughter are so estranged now – including the obvious question of why Moira doesn’t use guns or only uses blunt weapons. Personally, I kind of understand why Moira might not after what happened – but at the same time I still can’t see myself being in the same situation as these characters and not being willing to use a gun.

Barry’s scenario for this episode is pretty by the numbers. He explores the same sewer area that Claire did, but taking a different path through. Him and Natalia must navigate what looks like a reservoir looking area using the same typical co-op mechanics you’ve become acquainted with in any game like this. One player must help the other move along a walkway so that they may open a door that the other player can move through. It’s very done to death and a bit of a shame that the characters asymmetrical abilities weren’t utilised a bit better.

Barry’s episode ends in an abandoned quarry which once again provides more backstory to the area and why it’s the way it is. Most of this connects to other stories told in other files elsewhere so it’s great to see the team focusing on building a story for the location and how the overseer eventually moved in and took over the area.

The quarry area is basically an extrapolated area of the battery puzzle from the original Resident Evil – trying to get a power supply to a certain point while opening up an alternative path to make such a thing possible. It’s simple and pretty hard to get wrong, but once again it’s complicated by an intense looming threat.

The boss in this area appears twice and follows the design you’d really expect to find from Resident Evil 5. Lots of long and oozing tendrils and of course, in typical Resident Evil fashion, insta-kill moves too. Surprisingly, it wasn’t too much of a hard battle although towards the end of the chapter resources will definitely be slim and you may only get through it by a hair.

Once again, the developers have done great work at writing and utilising the episodic nature of Revelations 2, ending it on a cliff-hanger that will leave most players wondering what the hell is going on but at the same time ridiculously excited for more. It’s hard to believe we’re going to see the end of it all next week, but be sure to check in next week at the same time for our final review as well as our final recap of the fourth and final episode!

The post Resident Evil Revelations 2: Episode 3 – Judgement appeared first on Press Start.

NOTE: This is the second in a series of four informal pieces which will detail my experiences with each individual episode of Resident Evil Revelations 2. Following this, a full more “traditional” review will be posted at the end of March to coincide with the game’s retail release. As such, no score will be assigned to the game until all episodes are available to the public.

Another week, another Revelations 2 episode and boy was it a doozy. Once again, we follow two separate (yet totally related) stories of both Claire and Barry. Both are still where we last left them. Barry had just discovered that there might be more to his daughters’ disappearance than he initially thought thanks to a creepy vision from Natalia. Claire escaped from the prison with Moira and signalled for help only to discover she was further from home than she thought.

This episode opens with Claire and Moira meeting up with two other members of TerraSave who were abducted from the same party Claire and Moira were at. They’re trying to repair a helicopter to get off the island, but need to collect the appropriate materials to get it running again. Claire, of course, offers to help, but it’s obviously not that simple. Barry, on the other hand, must retrace the steps of Moira when she met up with Natalia on the island previously. As you’d probably be able to guess, this episode shows us exactly how Claire, Moira and Natalia met on the island and shows the subsequent search for Moira by Barry in the second half of the episode.

Claire’s scenario opens with something pretty refreshing – yet another open area to just explore and let yourself get lost in the game’s atmosphere. It’s a seaside town, some areas are dilapidated and others are all locked up but most are accessible. The episode has you searching for parts to assist the other members of TerraSave in repairing the helicopter (and the only way off the prison compound).

It’s rather well paced – this exploratory phase of Claire’s scenario prepares you for an intense moment in the game that manages to mix the best bits of the village and cabin encounters from Resident Evil 4. Following that, you’re treated too some brief exposition as Claire and Moira meet up with Natalia for the first time and explore the city near the prison compound from the first episode. All in all, it’s a pretty well put together scenario for Claire and once again the way the story is drip-fed to you through files and dialogue leaves you wanting more.

I’ve got a feeling that Barry is really going to be playing catch-up for the entirety of the Revelations 2 campaign, given his penchant for revisiting areas Claire and Moira have already been through. It’s during Barry’s part of the chapter that most players will begin to understand how much time has passed between Claire and Moira’s adventures and Barry’s. But while Barry largely retreads Claire’s steps in his part of this episode, he and Natalia manage to find their own way through these areas leading to some nice variety. Most areas Claire found to be locked off will be explored in Barry’s scenario, which is a nice touch. It’s similar to Ada’s Separate Ways campaign from Resident Evil 4, if you will.

This episode introduces a few new enemies, most of which are unfortunately quite frustrating to deal with. One throws rubbish at you that blinds your character. Another launches fireballs and is tall and incredibly well built. Another is completely invisible and must be aimed at blindly. It is frightening on paper, but it’s mostly frustrating. Exclusive to Barry’s scenario, these annoying enemies create a weird distortion effect and can’t be seen. The only way that you can see them is by switching between Natalia or just watching where she points.

It’s a nice idea on paper but the execution is flakey since Natalia isn’t as responsive as she should be. To make matters worse, the game plays a hazy effect whenever controlling Barry and one of these insects is near. I’ll be honest – it’s a creepy idea – but games like The Evil Within did invisible enemies in a much fairer and better capacity. But it’s truly at this point that I was thankful that I managed to upgrade my evasion skills between scenarios.

Which is something I haven’t yet properly talked about. Revelations 2 lets players upgrade skills after each scenario (or even after each death) using points earned during the game. These can bolster the moves of your support characters, or even make them fight back more aggressively whenever you’re not controlling them. Others increase the potency of your healing herbs or the effectiveness of your evade skill. Evading is easily one of the most useful techniques in Revelations 2, as it lets you avoid almost any attack if timed correctly. Upgrade it completely and you’ll be able to evade cancel, that is, interrupt whatever your character is doing to evade for a faster response.

From a presentation standpoint, the second episode of Revelations 2 doesn’t do much to improve upon itself from the first one. You’ll explore a dilapidated coastal town, an abandoned metropolis and some buildings here and there. Once again they’re not anything particularly impressive but they’re just right in terms of lighting to look reasonable. Towards the end of this episode in particular, things start to get a bit more interesting from a presentation standpoint but we’ll have to wait until next week to see if it pays off.

And what a long wait it’ll be! This episode ended on an absolutely vicious cliff-hanger that sheds more light on who the Overseer might be, and why they’re doing what they’re doing to Moira and Claire. I won’t say anymore because the reveal is truly jaw dropping, especially for long-time fans of the series who’ve been paying attention, but it’s definitely not an episode that should be missed.

We’re excited to see where the development of this cliff-hanger takes the series next week, in Episode 3!

The post Resident Evil Revelations 2: Episode 2 – Contemplation appeared first on Press Start.

Akira Toriyama’s cultural series Dragon Ball is well known and popularised to the point of being one of the greatest manga (and anime) series in the world. Xenoverse is a clear letter of love to the diehard fans, as it tells a fantastical tale that basically becomes one big ‘what if?’ scenario for the franchise.

A time patrolling version of Trunks (how many versions are there now? Four?) resides in Toki Toki City with other warriors, keeping a close guard over the timelines (official canon being the DBZ and GT timelines). Two brand new villains, Towa and Mira, employ the aid of evil Time Breakers to tamper with time itself. When events in the canon timelines start turning out for the worse, Trunks enlists a completely new hero in order to help restore timelines to their correct formats.

Xenoverse introduces the idea of the ‘player character’, a fully customisable and strangely quiet hero as your main character. As your Dragon Ball avatar, you are dropped right into the middle of iconic and memorable set pieces spanning the entire Dragon Ball Z saga. There’s 11 in total, and it’s a satisfying story that will definitely take a while to complete. Players will get to play the following chapters during the story campaign, which includes all of the sagas seen from DBZ:

– Prologue
– Saiyan Saga
– Return of the Saiyans Saga
– Ginyu Force Saga
– Frieza Saga
– Cell Saga
– Android Saga
– Majin Buu Saga
– God of Destruction Beerus Saga
– Saga of the Demon God Démigra
– Saga of the Legendary Super Saiyan

Long term fans will very much be sick of retreading the same plot points over and over, which is why Xenoverse is so refreshing in its story. Brand new villains and characters come into play and the Back To the Future-esque plot points allow for a huge amount of creative freedom with what would otherwise be canon events. Fans who always wanted to play the big events in DBZ but not have to follow them to the script will have a tonne of fun following the whacky story, which allows for some fun twists and turns to the original formula.

Unfortunately, this leaves new fans in the complete dark, and I wouldn’t recommend jumping into Xenoverse without at least watching the entire DBZ saga, a heavy 290-odd episodes. Xenoverse is very much only interested in pleasing the fanbase (which isn’t necessarily a bad thing), and it has to be admired how much effort they put into playing with the story.  The developers know exactly who their audience is.

The freedom of character creation is brilliant; Players can create characters from multiple races, with the ones available being Saiyans, Namekians, Earthlings, Majins and Frieza’s race. You can customize gender, the build, the face, clothing and voice. It’s another fun touch that really will have fans in glee, creating some out of the world races and characters never seen before in the series. I went with a straightforward female Saiyan mainly due to my curiosity to see a Saiyan fighting style behind the controller, but there’s a tonne of flexibility.

The game utilizes a cel-shaded animation, which is perfect for the DBZ series. The game is set in full 3D ‘destructible’ environments. Fighters can traverse the levels free-roaming in very large spaces and can be fighting on a platform, go in the air, and fight underwater.

Characters look absolutely gorgeous; every single character new and old have been drawn and animated to perfection. True detail has gone into the roster of iconic characters and it is sheer joy to look at these characters in action.

Unfortunately the environments don’t receive the same sort of love. While iconic settings are recreated accurately, most fill completely lifeless and stagnant. A great deal of hype was given to proposed destructibility of environments, yet the end result is a complete disappointment. When you slam an opponent to the ground a crater appears but disappears almost instantly. You don’t hit against cliffs or walls dynamically, and buildings and structures are completely devoid of any interactions. It would’ve been nice to see dynamic events such as throwing an enemy against the wall or even destroying structures with power attacks, or smashing an enemy from air to ground, creating an earth shattering crater and resuming a battle in that same crater, but unfortunately each setting is lacking the vital interactions to make combat satisfying.

Menus are incredibly outdated and feel very clunky to navigate, and given the MMO-esque aspect of the game this is a big flaw. Toki-Toki City also feels lifeless and clunky to navigate; it becomes a bit of a chore to have to walk around the area to buy/sell items and participate in quests.

Unfortunately the gameplay is where Xenoverse truly stumbles. Combat is mainly a button masher, utilizing weak and strong attacks in preset combos. Combos are very lacking, and there are a mere handful to actually use, which means you’ll be looking at some very repetitive combat and animations. Special and ultimate attacks throw in a bit of variety for good measure; holding down a trigger and pressing a face button will unleash one of four skills that are completely customizable. You can equip skills that are brand new or some very familiar ones as well, like Goku’s Kamehameha, Tien’s Tri-Beam, Trunks’ Buster Cannon or Vegeta’s Gallick Gun. Using these require Ki, which is built up by attacking enemies. Combining these with basic attacks is hugely satisfying and nailing a complex combo finished off with a special skill is pure joy. Combined with Ultimate moves and Character Transformations and there’s a lot of spectacle to partake in. It’s just a shame there’s so little in the actual combat movesets. Looking at games like Ninja Gaiden or Bayonetta with their rosters of huge combos with multiple weapons, or even Batman’s Arkham series of dynamic freeflow, I feel I’ve been a bit spoiled by modern combat systems, but to revert back to a game that has barely a handful of combos just feels outdated and disappointing. It’s a huge blow to Xenoverse.

What doesn’t help is the seemingly artificial difficulty exacerbated by the shocking camera and lock on system. The camera veers wildly many times and locking on to one target is a nightmare when fighting multiple opponents (something that happens often in Xenoverse). It’s just impossible to keep track of things when group battles are happening, and it’s another disappointing blow to Xenoverse’s combat. In one main mission that involved fighting a transformed Vegeta, the main goal was to attack his tail, yet the subpar lock on system added with a shoddy camera meant this straightforward goal turned into a 40 minute slog with not only Vegeta, but with a frustrating camera. The guard system is similarly disappointing; in most action games you are granted the ability to block in the middle of an enemy  combo but in Xenoverse this is simply not possible. The blocking system feels very clunky and unintuitive, the only other option is to dodge which uses up stamina. And thanks to the targeting system, sometimes when I dodged I would be facing the completely wrong direction whilst attacking, which amounted to pretty much attacking air and leaving myself open for some harsh attacks.

As an offset of the not at all available Dragon Ball Online, apparently a lot of cues have been taken from that MMO and it’s very much evident here. There’s a certain grind aspect to the game, forcing you to grind out sidequests and missions to level up your attributes. It’s lucky core ideals of levelling up, improving attributes and gaining more gear is fun because there’s a solid amount of sidequesting you have to do to get through the main story.

There is a shocking amount of customization on hand as well. Hundreds of different accessories and costumes that give boosts to certain skills whilst sacrificing others, consumables that restore Ki, Stamina or Health, hundreds of skills to equip as special attacks, it’s jaw dropping how deep you can customize your character. Wanted to wear Piccolo’s cape or Gohan’s fashion-murder baggy pants? Why not Chi-Chi’s gloves? Or even the iconic Scouter (in multiple colours!), the amount of customization is just hands down amazing, and the developer needs to be applauded for once again injecting a tonne of detail into Xenoverse.

These all tie into your attributes, which are boosted or reduced by certain costumes. Health, Ki and Stamina can all be upgraded, as your base attacks or super attacks. You can build a tank with stamina and Ki, or build a high damage/low health hero, it’s completely flexible. Levelling up and pooling points remains satisfying to the basic degree.

The majority of this takes place in Toki Toki City; the main hub on which you depart on Time Patrols (main quests), online/offline battles (up to 3v3) or Parallel Quests (side quests). There a lot of quests to partake in, and every now and then you can participate in quests involving bad guys. What if you fought with Raditz when he fought Kakarot or Piccolo? These delicious slices of ‘what if’ scenarios are an absolute joy to play and see as a DBZ fan, it’s just a shame that combat is frustrating.

The post Review: Dragon Ball: Xenoverse appeared first on Press Start.

NOTE: This review is applicable to the Xbox One version of ScreamRide. This review may not be a 100% accurate in regards to the Xbox 360 version, due to technical disparities and missing features.

The post Review: ScreamRide appeared first on Press Start.

NOTE: This is the first in a series of four informal pieces which will detail my experiences with each individual episode of Resident Evil Revelations 2. Following this, a full more “traditional” review will be posted at the end of March to coincide with the game’s retail release. As such, no score will be assigned to the game until all episodes are available to the public.

Resident Evil Revelations 2 is a hard game to work out. There’s parts that work really well and parts that don’t work at all. But for the most part, it’s got its heart in the right place. It’s a Resident Evil game that tries it’s hardest to bring the best of both worlds – that is the new and old Resident Evil games – together. The first episode, unimaginatively titled Penal Colony, does a fairly good job at introducing players to the game’s locale and characters while also hooking you on its story.

Just like the original game before it, Revelations 2 is presented episodically. In the original game, this meant you just had to watch a recap between each chapter as it jumped from locale to locale. In Revelations 2, this actually means something. The developers at Capcom and TOSE have crafted a story that has been built from the ground up to be episodic. As a result, every episode ends on an intense hook that leaves you wanting much, much more. Similarly, the story is localised to a single location so everything feels interconnected to a degree much greater than before as well, unlike the original Revelations which used its episodic nature to offer a disjointed experience.

The first episode begins with Claire attending an event for her employer, TerraSave, an NGO dedicated to bringing down corrupt companies like Umbrella and Tricell. Claire meets up with Moira, the daughter of Barry Burton and newest recruit of TerraSave, and they’re both abducted by a mysterious third party known as the overseer. They both wake up in adjoining cells in what seems to be an abandoned prison. Someone is watching them, of course, and also quoting Kafka, because, well, it’s Resident Evil. Claire and Moira make an effort to escape the prison island and reach a radio tower to signal for help.

The second half of the episode follows Barry Burton, who receives the distress signal and heads to the prison locale to find his daughter and Claire. Once he arrives, he is met by a strange little girl dressed in white holding a teddy bear. Her name is Natalia, and she’s seemingly lost on the island following whatever incident has happened there. Natalia has a strange ability that means she can sense where monsters are when Barry can’t. For reasons I’ll never personally understand, Barry decides to take the creepy child with him.

The first thing I realised about Revelations 2 after completing the episode was just how strange the series has become in terms of gameplay. Back in the day, with both the original Resident Evil and Resident Evil 4, Resident Evil was the series that other games used to pull elements from in an attempt to imitate their success. But now, Revelations 2 seems to be doing the imitating with its gameplay. Drawing inspiration from games like Outlast, The Last of Us and even Alan Wake there’s a lot going on here.

The most obvious thing is that this game controls a lot more like Revelations rather than Resident Evil 6. The controls feel tighter, there’s less mobility (although this isn’t necessarily bad) and the weapons feel reasonably powerful enough. There’s no more sliding or aiming while lying down but instead there is a very simple dodge / evade manoeuvre not unlike the one found in Alan Wake. It’s a simple addition that has appeared in Resident Evil games previously but not in such a streamlined and easy to use way. It’s definitely appreciated.

Differing from other Resident Evil titles, Revelations 2 forces another character on the player but this time they’re not the same as the one you play as. Moira and Natalia are both controllable but don’t use guns. Moira uses her crowbar to take down enemies or her flashlight to make them open to a melee attack (similar to wearing away the “shadow” on enemies in Alan Wake). Natalia can throw bricks at enemies to help out Barry in the midst of battle or crouch to detect them (similar to the “Listen” feature of The Last of Us). Neither character can die – their health regenerates – which makes them less of a nuisance even if their AI seems pretty atrocious early on.

The episode itself is paced reasonably well. Claire and Moira must explore the prison for a way out while Barry and Natalia have to reach a key landmark by trudging through a dark and creepy forest. Claire’s half of the campaign is a bit more open ended, with multiple entrances and exits from various areas of the prison. It feels like a poor attempt to recreate the openness of the mansion from the original game, but does the job. The samey-ness of the prison can definitely make it confusing though. Barry’s section of the campaign, surprisingly enough, is better approached from a stealth angle to save ammo as the enemies in his campaign take a lot more damage.

Visually speaking the game is a bit of a mixed bag, although at such a low price this is probably to be expected. Revelations 2 runs at a silky smooth 60fps which is a nice bonus for those more concerned with a games framerate. The visuals themselves are definitely not the best – to the point where Resident Evil 5 probably still looks better than it – but the game is so dark it’s almost always hiding most of it’s low resolution textures here and there. Fans of the series will get a chuckle at just how low the game’s budget is, given that it reuses so many assets from previous games.

Without ruining the entire episode there’s really not a whole lot to say about Episode 1 of Revelations 2. It’s reasonably paced. It gets players really into the mythology of the island (and similarly, gets them hooked on the story with some truly awesome cliff-hangers at the episodes conclusion). But it’ll be interesting to see how the story plays out given what happens in Episode 1. But anyone into horror, Resident Evil, or any of the games that I’ve talked about Revelations 2 taking inspiration from; it’s hard to imagine you wouldn’t enjoy the first episode of this four episode adventure.

But we can’t talk about anymore until next week, so be sure to check back where we’ll have our full impressions for Episode 2 then!

The post Resident Evil Revelations 2: Episode 1 – Penal Colony appeared first on Press Start.

Note: Due to the technical differences between the different versions of this title, the technical aspects of this review may not be applicable to each version of the game. This episode may contain spoilers for the previous episodes. Read on at your own discretion.

The story of The Lost Lords begins shortly after the events of Iron From Ice, but immediately throw players into the fray by introducing yet another set of characters. Asher Forrester and Beshka, his travel companion are bounty hunters, and are off to their business in the city of Essos, which should certainly be familiar to viewers of the show and readers of the books. Safe to say, Game of Thrones wouldn’t be Game of Thrones if everything goes smoothly in the opening moments of a story, and The Lost Lords basically crashes into the middle of this narrative, rather than spending the proper time to introduce the characters, unlike the excellent introductions we got in Iron From Ice. This isn’t necessarily due to character development, but more due to the seemingly short sequences, which spend some less time to showcase exposition.

Asher’s storyline reoccurs multiple throughout the episode, but the lengths of these sequences make it a little harder to fully engage in the stakes that are teased in this seemingly-brief introduction, which felt like it implied that we’ll be spending a bit more time with Asher in the coming episodes, in a similar fashion like the show where the story priorities are divided differently per episode.

Once the opening credits of the game have initiated, the episode takes its pacing on a more familiar speed, and returns to the house Forrester, which is in peril after the shocking events took place during the finale of Iron From Ice. Rodrik, who has seemingly survived the aftermath of the ambush in the previous episode arrives heavily wounded at the gates of the castle of Iron Rath, but soon discovers that the peril he has come home to may be the end of him and his house.

Forced to take over the position of Lord, Rodrik is set to face some of the hardest challenges of his life, forcing a broken man to become whole to defend his people. Rodrik’s storyline is effectively the most emotional bit of The Lost Lords, and the connections with the previous episode and the decisions you’ll be faced throughout make it the most engaging aspect of Game of Thrones so far.

Mira’s tale in King’s Landing has taken its toll as well, and the secrecy and repercussions of her decisions may be causing her house of cards to crumble at its foundations, creating a critical situation in which choosing the right allies will be vital to her survival. The core of her storyline may seem small at first, but once you get into the decisions you’ll be faced with as her combined with some of the other storylines, it all seems to be clear that every character in the universe has an effect on the other in their own way.

Last but not least comes the continued story of Garred Tuttle, who’s actions have resulted in his voluntary exile to the cold shadow of The Wall to join the Night’s Watch. This storyline is seemingly a bit more isolated than the rest of the episode, but it isn’t any less engaging in any way. These sequences aren’t exactly prolonged, but they take as much time as they need to. These are undoubtedly the more light-hearted portions of the episode, but they are a nice breathing moments in-between the more intense decision-making of the rest of the episode. Garred’s interactions with John Snow in particular are pretty engaging.

The pacing of The Lost Lords seems a bit less-balanced than the previous episode, but it never falls into the territory of being extremely rushed. The Asher sequences are the only portions of the game which could technically be called rushed, as they seem to be more of a tease for a future episode. That being said, it doesn’t fall into extremely rushed territory, but it’s a notable development none the less.

Overall the pacing doesn’t seem to match the first episode, but the impact of the story seems to be quite effective either way. That being said, a serious bug in the game did seem to have wiped my decisions from the first episode off the title, creating a different dynamic that was a little less to my liking.

In my review for the first episode I noted that the game used an effective combination of Telltale’s classic graphical style, along with a water-painting-like filter, which created some visually impressive results. My view on this visual style changed quite a bit during my playthrough of The Lost Lords, as the filter takes quite a toll on certain sequences. Especially the gardens of King’s Landing took a visual hit as the filter drained the background of clarity, which seemed like it should’ve been toned down for certain areas, and applied in a different manner in order to maintain visual fidelity throughout these sequences.

This doesn’t stop the game from showcasing some visually impressive moments, with the most noteworthy being Garred and John’s moment on top of The Wall, with the visual design of the scene adding a ton of depth to the story going on. The game does remain consistent when it comes to visuals, aside from the drawback I noted in the previous paragraph, which is something Telltale Games may have to look into for future episodes.

From a gameplay perspective this second chapter of the season seems to be pretty much consistent with the first episode. The most noteworthy changes however are the refined combat sequences, which seem to be one-up the previous episode in every way. These sequences are much more precise and accessible on a technical level than their predecessors, and this was certainly needed as the episode does seem to have these moments pop up a little more often.

The game does spend a little less time exploring areas, as the episode is much more focussed on dialogue and combat this time around, but this wasn’t exactly jarring as the plot structure pretty much required this from the get-go. Whilst I didn’t time my playthrough, it did seem to run a bit shorter than its predecessor, but this could also be due to the pacing.

The post Review: Game of Thrones – Episode II: The Lost Lords appeared first on Press Start.

Life Is Strange is a five part episodic series that will be delivered over the next few months. This review is for Episode 1, titled Chrysalis. This review will attempt to cover the value of Episode 1 both by itself and as part of a larger experience. More importantly, given how important the story is to experience Life Is Strange, this review is spoiler free.

Life Is Strange follows Maxine Caulfield, or Max for short. Returning to her hometown of Arcadia Bay in Oregon, she enrols in a prestigious academy as senior photography student, working with some of the most prestigious in the business. The academy is rife with rumours and speculations regarding the mysterious disappearance of Rachel Amber, a girl whose reputation changes depending on who you talk to.

Without spoiling, the events of Life Is Strange are thrown into motion when Max reunites with her estranged best friend Chloe, whose father died the year that Max left town. To make matters even more coincidental (or perhaps not), while Chloe was grieving for the loss of her father, she became involved with Rachel, the same girl who disappeared under mysterious circumstances. With a shared mutual interest and lots of time to make up for, Max and Chloe decide to investigate Rachel’s disappearance together.

The first episode is titled Chrysalis – and it couldn’t be a more apt title. For the most part, the story and characters are only lightly introduced and developed here but what’s worth mentioning is how well written it is. I don’t know about you, but a lot of the happenings that occur at Max’s school were pretty standard for my own experience throughout some of my schooling life. More importantly, however, for a game of this nature – most of the conflicts and mysteries are developed in a way that makes you want more after the first episode ends.

In terms of actual writing, the script is a little bit inconsistent. Some parts are genuinely funny and somewhat edgy but this sometimes errs too far over to the other end of the spectrum, being easily categorised as try-hard. But it’s hard to hate Life Is Strange for this – it just reminds me of when I was younger and I’m sure the older kids were cringing at all the things I was saying too. The characters themselves are similarly pretty well fleshed out and none of them really stick out as not belonging within the world of Life Is Strange. You’ll definitely develop your favourites (and least favourites) by the end of the first episode.

Life Is Strange isn’t exactly pushing any of the systems it’s on but it makes up for these shortcomings with a very strong and distinct artistic direction. If I had to describe the visual style of the game – I’d say it’s The Virgin Suicides meets The OC meets Instagram. It’s a quirky and weird combination that oddly works together to give the game a dreamlike, almost idyllic feel that suits the indie tone and atmosphere that it’s going for. The game has a great sense of atmosphere that immediately draws you in to its world and events.

On a technical level the game is pretty sound too – models look nice and stylised enough to hide any shortcomings of the engine. Every character looks great and animates well and realistically. But there’s still a few things wrong with Life Is Strange in terms of presentation. First of all, the game is running on Unreal Engine 3 which brings with it similar problems to other games running on that engine – namely some pretty noticeable and jarring pop-in of textures.

The voice work is also reasonable although as mentioned previously the script is a bit inconsistent. Still, all the actors and actresses give a realistic performance and there honestly weren’t any moments where the voice work would take me out of the game or the atmosphere. Rather bizarrely, however, it appears that there were no efforts whatsoever to provide accurate lip syncing which is very distracting during dialogue. Whether this is an issue exclusive to the Xbox One version, we don’t know, but it was easily the worst thing about the game on a presentation level.

In a rather surprising move the developers have opted to set the game against not only an indie soundscape but a licensed one. Most will probably recognise the tracks licensed from Jose Gonzales and Angus & Julia Stone that make brief (and very appropriate) appearances throughout the first episode while others may miss tracks from American indie rock band Sparklehorse as well as tracks from Syd Matters, a group hailing from DONTNOD’s native France. The music is used to great effect to give greater emotional weight to almost all of the scenes in Life Is Strange – nothing feels tacky or overdone.

At its core, Life Is Strange is pretty typical adventure game. There’s little to no emphasis on action or combat and there’s not even a wide range of puzzles either. Instead, Life Is Strange opts to focus on a strong narrative experience as well as strong character interactions. You control Max directly, and can look or inspect at most things throughout the game world or interact with them if context permits.

While it’s a largely linear affair, each area Max visits has quite a few things for her to do. She can speak to almost everyone she comes across to learn new things about both the missing girl and the person she’s talking to. She can play around with items to look for photo opportunities, or even snoop around certain areas in the game but with an assumed consequence.

The crux of Life Is Strange’s gameplay comes with the idea of the “Butterfly Effect”, the idea that the change of something small somewhere will somehow largely influence future and current events. Some of these changes are pretty obvious and blatantly presented to the player – for example whether you report suspicious behaviour to a member of staff.

Others are seemingly small but might have bigger changes later on in the story – actions as simple as watering the plant in your dorm or drawing words into a dusty van window will presumably have consequences in future episodes. The choices Max makes are permanent, and while the idea of these choices having ramifications throughout the rest of the story, it definitely feels like this idea and concept will be better realised in later episodes as the story begins to develop greater depth and tie itself up.

What really makes Life Is Strange unique is its Rewind mechanic – a power we’re sure everyone wishes they had in school. As an example, if Max (and by extension, the player) says something wrong you’re able to rewind time to try it all over again. The kicker? Max retains memory of everything she’s witnessed and items she obtains.

This separates it from other games that manipulate time and allows the developers to incorporate some interesting situations throughout the episode. The simpler choices are presented at the very beginning of the game – where Max can rewind after hearing the correct answer in class and repeat it afterwards to gain respect from her teacher. But there are more complex ones, especially one in the episode’s climax which we won’t spoil here.

What I particularly enjoy about Life Is Strange is how it doesn’t make any assumptions about player agency. If you wish, you can rewind as much as you want to experience all dialogue options before choosing to move the story forward. If you want to play it blind, you can do that too. But it’s the options on offer here that make things really interesting. One particular choice leads to a piece of knowledge that seems pretty important for Max to know – to the point where I couldn’t understand how the story could play out if said piece of knowledge wasn’t uncovered. Life Is Strange’s lack of apprehensiveness about players not experiencing everything it has to offer makes it feel more confident, in a way.

The point is that if you want to involve yourself in the story completely, the game lets you. There’s several journal entries dating back some time that help get you into Max’s character and her thoughts long before you even started playing as her. You feel like you’ve been put into the middle of a living, breathing world that’s existed long before you even started experiencing it. But if none of that is for you, the game is happy and confident to let you progress without doing so.

Replayability is almost always going to be an issue with episodic titles, especially when considering them both by themselves and as a whole. But Life Is Strange feels competitively priced considering how much content is on offer here. In Australia, each episode will cost $6.65 while the season pass will set you back roughly $20. If every episode is like the first episode, you can expect roughly between two and three hours for a standard play through, though the sheer amount of choices on offer (and multiple save slots) means that you’ll be sure to get more than that out of the game should you wish. Thankfully, given its writing and pacing, Life Is Strange feels appropriately priced without outstaying its welcome nor underwhelming the player.

But its overall experience easily rests on the magnitude of the consequences that will arise from the choices we’ve made in the game. Given the nature of these choices and their consequences thus far, great things can be expected from Life Is Strange.

The post Review: Life Is Strange: Episode 1 – Chrysalis appeared first on Press Start.

Saints Row: Gat Out Of Hell tells the story of the Saints leader being captured by the evil Satan. The purpose of the abduction is for the leader to marry his daughter, Jezebel. Kinzie Kensington and Johnny Gat return, seeking to rescue their leader by reuniting with enemies of their past as well as former Saints.

The game picks up shortly after where Saints Row IV left off. It’s Saints Row in all of it’s glory, and there’s never been a more over-the-top story line. You’ll love every moment as the story pays extreme fans service. It’s non-stop action and it is hilarious.

Once booting into the game, you’ll get the initial feeling that Saints Row: Gat Out of Hell is just a re-skinned version of Saints Row IV. For the most part, it is. Where the game succeeds is being even more over-the-top than ever before. It’s the representation of the underworld that you have always wanted. It also puts a greater focus on super-powers rather than vehicle transportation which changes how you’ll explore the world. The visuals are almost on-par with the recently released GTA V, though contrasting visual styles make them hard to compare. The game’s frame rate dips slightly at times but nothing too badly.

The voice-acting is as superb as always; however, one area that the game felt lacking in was the soundtrack. Saints Row has always had such a diverse soundtrack which doesn’t seem quite as present in this game. It’s a small negative but something I noticed regardless.

For the most part, Gat Out Of Hell feels exactly like Saints Row IV. There is a big emphasis placed on the new flight abilities. Unlike most other games, flight is genuinely a challenge in this game. The developers have placed valleys, cuts through buildings, tunnels and many other obstacles in order to make flying through Hades a genuine pleasure.

The main difference in Gat Out Of Hell is how you progress through the game. Your aim of the game is to fill up Satan’s Wrath meter by completing missions. This unlocks different story elements and cutscenes which makes the story continue. There are five islands within Hades; these are Forge, Downtown, Barrens, Shantytown & The Den.

This marks the first game in the Saints Row series where you can’t customise your player. You’re able to import your Saints Row IV save in order to use your custom boss, but that’s as far as customisation goes. Longtime fans might not take to this well as Saints Row has been widely known for it’s customisation.

The best thing about Saints Row: Gat Out Of Hell is its standalone status. This is a very enjoyable game on its own and it’s highly commendable that the game is available to buy without ever playing or owning Saints Row IV. I can definitely understand how people would get burnt out after playing these two games in quick succession.

We initially reviewed Saints Row IV in September 2013. You can read the full review HERE. We praised the game for its high level of customisation, great-coop missions and hilarious gameplay. The negatives that we initially had with the game were its minor glitches as well like it didn’t do enough to differentiate itself from the last Saints Row game. We gave it an 8/10 for it being completely hilarious and providing entertainment like no other open-world game had been able to do before it.

Unfortunately, a lot of the problems that we had with Saints Row IV remain in Re-elected. There was the occasional glitch and freeze that should definitely have been rectified before re-releasing the game. The game now features a 1080p resolution and better frame rates, but the latter still dips at times. The textures are greatly improved across most parts of the environment and lighting is marginally better in some instances. For the most part, the improvement in the graphics department is extremely minimal. You won’t get the same amount of WOW factor that you did from replaying Tomb Raider or The Last Of Us on next generation consoles.

Saints Row IV: Re-elected includes a ton of extras that weren’t included in the original game. This includes both DLC mission packs including ‘Enter The Dominatrix’ and ‘How The Saints Save Christmas’, an extra 25 DLC weapons, 15 new vehicles, 60+ wardrobe items, 15 new homies and 6 new superpower elements. This ends up being a great package to those that didn’t play the game originally.

The post Review: Saints Row IV: Re-Elected + Gat Out of Hell appeared first on Press Start.

Resident Evil HD Remaster is, as you’d expect, a remaster of the 2003 Nintendo Gamecube remake of the original Resident Evil game. If you’ve only ever played the Playstation original – you’re in for a treat. This is a remake in almost every aspect. Visuals have been completely redone. Several side character arcs have been added. New enemies appear here and there. There’s even brand new areas to explore in the surrounding areas of the mansion. It is, more or less, a completely different game.

What hasn’t changed, however, is the story. And since it was originally penned between 1995 and 1996, it’s a bit of a typical and predictable story. A series of bizarre murders have taken place in the outskirts of Racoon City, in the Arklay Mountains. Victims appeared to be eaten.

Noting a problem, the Raccoon City Police Department sends the Special Tactics and Rescue Service (S.T.A.R.S.) to investigate the murders. Bravo Team are sent first, but after contact is lost, Alpha Team (lead by none other than series stalwart Albert Wesker and joined by Jill Valentine and Chris Redfield) are sent to investigate their disappearance.

Probably the biggest issue with Resident Evil’s story today is that anyone who has played Resident Evil 5 or even 6 will probably have a good idea of where things will go in terms of characters and deaths. But if you don’t know, the twist is still pretty cool even if it adheres to pretty commonly occurring horror movie tropes. But it’s nothing special and definitely not worth playing the game for solely.

The remake of Resident Evil was one of the best looking title of its time, owing to its clever use of pre-rendered backgrounds and animations coupled with some very highly detailed character models. Thankfully, today the game still looks great despite being almost eleven years old. But it’s not just about how great it looks technically, it’s about the artistic style and the atmosphere that it evokes. Areas outside the mansion are littered with shrubs and trees that blow in the wind ever so softly. The warm glow of an oil lamp in the game’s infamous save rooms help to give an ambience to the whole experience that few games manage to do successfully even today.

The main attraction of the HD Remaster is, as you’d surmise, the improvement of the game’s visuals to compete with today’s standard. Rather than stretch the pre-rendered backgrounds abnormally to accommodate widescreen resolutions, Capcom have instead opted for a pan and scan approach. What this means is that the image is touched up and increased in terms of resolution, but it doesn’t actually all appear on screen at once. Instead – the camera pans up and down or left and right depending on the position of the character.

On one hand this adds a bit more dynamicity to the static camera angles the series is used to. On the other, it’s implemented as a whole across the entire game rather than being individually tailored to individual cameras. What this means is that there’ll be times where the camera will cut to the next scene almost instantaneously, creating a jarring effect where the camera attempts to pan and then changes scenes anyway. It’s a minor complaint but one that might annoy some purists. Thankfully, the original option is there too.

The backgrounds themselves all look great, but there’s definitely some areas that have had a lot more attention paid to them than others. Some of the areas outside of the mansion – in the graveyard and the forest trail – are amongst the greatest looking in the game. Others have been upscaled and had a strange filter put over the top of them that makes them look either very washed out (ie. The entire Aqua Ring section) or like a scratchy oil painting. These moments are few and far between, but it is a tad disappointing to see such an inconsistency.

The voice work is dreadful, however. Resident Evil is infamous, especially the original game, for employing some absolutely atrocious voice work but it’s most likely worse than you remember it. The music, on the other hand, is still absolutely fantastic and really helps to set the mood the game is going for. Most of the tracks are incredibly dark in tone and employ strange noises and strings to really help ramp up the tension.

The Xbox One and Playstation 4 versions look much better than their previous generation counterparts. Character and enemy models are much more crisper and in some instances have even received some texture upgrades. The Neptune shark, for example, is now visibly covered in scars giving it a new look, which makes sense considering it’s time spent as a test subject for Umbrella. Plant 42’s strange central bulb like appendage is textured to the point where it looks realer than it ever has.

The backdrops similarly look slightly better and crisper on Xbox One and Playstation 4, although there are still some inconsistencies in some areas. But all in all, the next gen versions of HD Remaster are super crisp and easily the best looking ones available the players. The PC version even runs at a very smooth and stable 60fps if that’s your thing too.

Resident Evil feels like a strange mix of games that encourage backtracking like Metroid and open world games that encourage exploration. The game throws either Jill or Chris into the Spencer Mansion, which is also home to all kinds of creatures and experiments. From the outset, only a few rooms are available to the player to find – with most of the other areas of the mansion being barred behind locked doors, secret panels and of course powered down elevators. You progress through the area, managing your inventory and slowly unravelling the mysteries within the mansion. It’s open ended – but not quite of the same scale as typical open world games.

The controls themselves were probably the most contentious parts of the classic Resident Evil games and the developers have accounted for this with a new control scheme, which controls like games made more recently. As per with the other changes, purists can play with the original control scheme if they wish. The new controls are definitely much more accessible, but they also remove a lot of the challenge as they allow the player to be a lot more manoeuvrable than previously. It’s minor gripe that only a long-time fan like me would complain about – but it’s something that bares mentioning.

The game features two playable characters but their paths throughout the game is largely similar. Jill can hold more items but takes more damage from enemies. She can also pick certain locks throughout the mansion. Chris can hold less items but take a lot more damage, but has to find keys to unlock the doors Jill can with her lockpick. Both characters have their own different encounters with both creatures and characters and even weapons along the way which gives a great air of replayability to the game.

When the mansion and its surrounds are being explored you’ll come across a wide range of enemies who you can choose to take down with your limited resources or devise a strategy to avoid altogether. Combat is simple – you hold a button to aim / ready your weapon and press another to shoot. Should you make mistakes, defense items are littered throughout the game that give you an opportunity to escape an enemy’s grasp. It’s a simple combat system but one that feels appropriate given the tone and way the game is played.

Conveniently enough, the mansion was designed by an eccentric and paranoid man who incorporated a lot of strange and bizarre puzzles into its design. This acts as a very convenient way for the developers to implement said puzzles into the gameplay to break up the tension of the game. They’re not completely baffling and many of them are easily solved, but they’re a staple of the franchise that unfortunately less emphasis is given to today. It’s hard to imagine anyone getting stuck on them for too long, though.

But what’s fantastic about Resident Evil is just how well it does exploration. From the start, you’ll be finding locked doors that you’ll come back to in the last third of the game. You develop an understanding of where certain items are in the house, which rooms are connected to which and where you need to go next to finish your goal. The games non-linear progression means you can approach your goals at your own pace and in your own order (within reason). You’ll get lost and engrossed in the Arklay Mountains and the Spencer Mansion – because the art and the atmosphere is just that well realised.

When you’re not exploring, you’ll be surviving, and that’s just another aspect of what makes the Resident Evil remake such a fun game. From time to time you’ll have an exact idea of where you’re going or what you’re doing – but that can all change in an instant if you are attacked by an enemy enroute to your next destination. Your objective than changes – to survive to a nearby save room where you might have a healing item stowed. It’s this constant sense of on-the-go strategy making and improvisation that highlights what was so great about the Survival Horror genre.

Depending on your experience with the game previously, a playthrough with one character could last anywhere between six and twelve hours. Combine this with another playthrough and there’s quite a few things to see and do throughout the Spencer Mansion – including multiple endings and branching story paths depending who you save throughout your adventure.

Once finishing the game, there are several new modes unlocked that pose more of a challenge to veteran players including one where all enemies are invisible as well as costumes for the main characters. Finally, there’s even some unlockables that will help ease the tension after a tense playthrough – like a rocket launcher. So while it doesn’t have immense replay value akin to an online shooter, Resident Evil is easily playable at least twice or even double that if you want to see all the endings on offer.

The post Review: Resident Evil HD Remaster appeared first on Press Start.

In the past few years Telltale has brought us many adventures like Sam & Max, Tales of Monkey Island, The Wolf Among Us and The Walking Dead, but how does Telltale fare when adapting one of the most popular shows in recent TV history?

It’s hard to delve into a Telltale game without going into spoiler territory, so I’ll work around some of the details so I can stay as spoiler-free as I possibly can.

In order to understand the story of Telltale’s Game of Thrones, one will probably need to be familiarized with the actual storyline of the series itself. Game of Thrones is the story of several noble houses who are in the midst of a civial war over the throne that controls all seven kingdoms. Following many dynamic characters from several perspectives around the kingdom Game of Thrones tells a story of the noble, the exiled and the supernatural. This is the basic concept of the show itself, but should give you a starting point on how to get started. It’s hard to summarize the plot of Game of Thrones in a short paragraph, as its dynamics and several point of views make it an intricate web of plot that is better viewed directly.

I might also note that I refer to this game as an adaption of the series, rather than the books. The game follows the continuity of the series, and thus might differ significantly from the books due to certain changes that were made for the series itself. Whilst the protagonists and supporting characters are mostly original, there are returning characters from the show which connect the events of the game to the series itself, which may actually benefit players that have followed the series, as it gives them an insight in what to expect from certain situations and characters. The newly-added characters feel right at home in the Game of Thrones universe however, and as soon as our story starts it really feels like an actual HBO-crafted spin-off of the show. The funny thing is, whilst it’s enjoyable seeing familiar characters on screen, you never seem to miss them after they leave due to the fact that the Forrester’s are so well-written, and seeing their stories develop is much more entertaining than fan-servicing returning characters. Luckily none of these returning characters are there due to fan-service, and their portrayals are quite essential to the story the game is trying to tell.

The first episode focuses on the personal journeys of members of House Forrester, who are heavily affected by the war that is taking place. Spread out over the seven kingdoms ranging from places such as Kings Landing and other familiar locations. The episode starts off on quite a serious note, and a rather significant event from the series initiates the story that Telltale will be telling this season. The characters are well-written, and the events that occurred and have been foreshadowed simply made me more excited for the continuation of the series than I’ve ever been for any Telltale series, which says a lot in my opinion. Your choices still matter, and whilst some events are simply unavoidable due to the writing itself, you still feel like you’re crafting the characters themselves as the story delves into its core. Player experiences may vary, and this is definitely the case with the different protagonists. The episode spends a good amount of time introducing us to the characters,  In the two-hours that we’re introduced to all these characters however, you’ll be confronted with decisions that are quite more complex than we’re used to from the Telltale games. This story isn’t about risks or rewards, but sacrifice and survival.

As far as secondary characters go, I don’t think I can recall any characters that seemed badly-written or out of place. Every single character serves its purpose, and as the story progresses you really begin to care about the people surrounding you. Wether they are family, or innocent bystanders, the sense of responsibility given to players is impressive.

Game of Thrones fares as positively as most of the Telltale games do when it comes to the graphical department. The series is presented in a heavily-stylized fashion akin to cell-shaded animated film. In addition to this stylisation Game of Thrones also adds a filter that makes the overall presentation look more like a water-painting, which is quite aesthetically pleasing considering it mixes quite well with the source material. The effect is quite nice from close-up, though it can create some rough edges on characters and objects, which can be a little distracting during certain scenes despite its intentions.

Textures in general are a bit muddy, though this is less distracting due to the visual style the game maintains. The bigger problem however is the set of animations, which is getting seemingly stale considering they’re mostly ported over from the developer’s other titles. The animations aren’t necessarily bad, but it’s very apparent that they are aging, and seem rather wooden during certain sequences. Facial animations are adequate, but mostly due to the art style of the characters themselves. Movement however is another story, and whilst I can look past these faults, Telltale might want to upgrade their animation arsenal for their future titles.

The world around the characters themselves incredibly well-designed, and at times I felt like I was actually watching the show itself. From the interiors of the royal throne room to the icy-cold exterior of The Wall, Telltale has done some amazing work in recreating both the architecture and lighting of the show itself, whilst giving its own visual spin on it. The attention to detail is impressive, and they event went as far as recreating the title sequence from the show in their own visual style.

On a performance front Game of Thrones runs very well on Xbox One. The game is presented in 1080p with a frame rate that is reasonably consistent. Micro-stuttering and short pauses aren’t that out of place however, though they are pretty random, so experiences may vary. I didn’t experience any lock-ups throughout the entire episode, though performance weirdly did seem to drop during my second playthrough, which was rather peculiar.

Gameplay isn’t necessarily a department where you’d spend a lot of time in when reviewing a Telltale game, but it’s an essential part of the verdict none the less. The core gameplay consists of the mechanics you’d expect; choices are made by selecting them through the face buttons of the controller (or the corresponding keys on your keyboard), and at select points during sequences you’ll be prompted to use your left stick to perform certain moves or participate in a quick-time sequence. Ice From Fire is far from combat-oriented however, and you’ll be spending a lot of time in dialogue throughout its two-hour narrative.

The episode features a decent amount of exploration through some interior locations, but even this mechanic is pushed aside a little in order to set the stage through dialogue for the events which are to come. This isn’t really a bad thing in this case though, as character interaction is the strongest aspect of the game, and if you’re a fan of the story and gameplay-style, you really won’t be bored by this set-up at all. Choices in the game aren’t easy, and in certain situations players can truly place themselves in problematic scenarios where making a decision in the short-time frame given is harder than you’d expect it to be. For unexperienced players the concept of simply making a decision in a game like this may sound easy, but every choice has consequences, wether it be directly or on the long haul.

The post Review: Game of Thrones – Episode I: Iron From Ice appeared first on Press Start.

Destiny, Bungie’s mass-multiplayer online role-playing game first person shooter – or MMORPGFPS for short – experienced varying criticisms following its release in September this year. Whilst the storyline fell flat and most of the voice acting felt phoned-in, the strong, fluid gameplay and simple, intuitive RPG elements proved very addictive and sucked many players into grinding through what were essentially very repetitive and bland missions in order to acquire new armour and upgrades. Whilst the game was not everything we hoped for, Destiny continued to listen to the community’s concerns and gradually bring about changes. It was my personal hope that many of the grievances I had with the game would be rectified by The Dark Below DLC, the first expansion pack for the core game. At times, I thought it came close but ultimately it failed to reach the potential this game has.

The Dark Below storyline introduces itself through a ‘cinematic cutscene’ found in an icon floating near the Tower on the Orbit Navigation screen. In it, a freaky women, Eris Mora, with mysterious black ooze streaking down her face, tells of her ordeal attempting to kill Crota – a Hive go – and her personal tragedy of being the only survivor. She tasks you with finishing her mission; you are our last hope.

As a set-up, this sounds like an okay beginning, but the story does not progress anywhere from here. Instead, you seemingly run around, doing errands, repeating her mistakes and correcting a few others, with far greater ease then she suggests it will be. Each of the new missions follow the formula of the core story missions to the letter. “Go kill this thing. Now go kill this thing;” there certainly isn’t the variety I’d have hoped for.

The only praise I can think to give it is that there is a nice gradual feel of progress. Each story mission gets progressively harder, beginning at 25 and then reaching level 30 by the new Raid. Each task you are set works with the intention of better preparing yourself for your fight with Crota in the new Raid and to a degree, the missions feel to have a bit more purpose and immediate result, working your way towards another Raid, undoubtedly one of the most rewarding missions you’ll experience in Destiny as a whole.

Perhaps the most troubling aspect of The Dark Below is it status as nothing more than fan service. Sure, there are more weapons, bounties, armour, mulitplayer maps and a higher level cap, but most of these additions are out of reach of most players yet to make headway into the ‘light levels’. Most of The Dark Below’s most enticing features, such as the new armour, weapons and the Raid, are totally out of reach for most players not so keen on grinding to get to the high enough level where earning these rewards are feasible. For this reason, I would only recommend someone to purchase the DLC if they are an avid player and have at least a level 26 or 27 character and plans to level it up further.

On the whole, the voice acting of Eris is okay, although not varied. The same lines of death and misery about her failed mission are repeated over and over and it becomes more tedious then sinister. Again, this seems more the fault of the script and direction then that of the actual voice actress.

Obviously the new missions in some newer regions of already familiar environments look just as impressive as they did in the core game, but it is worth mentioning the clever UI choices that make it easier to identify the new missions. A simple roman numeral ‘I’ icon denotes anything related to the expansion making it easy to locate all the additional content.

I’d also like to celebrate the darker atmosphere occasionally created in The Dark Below storyline. The Hive are by far my favourite enemies to fight as there is a creepy element to them, reminding me of the Flood from Halo. On occasions, the DLC works to create an eerie and sinister atmosphere, which I wish featured more prominently then it does in both the core game and The Dark Below DLC.

On the whole, the gameplay remains true to what we’ve already experience in Destiny. The Thrall, running zombie-like Hive feature more so then they did in the core game which provides some additional challenge and fast reflexes, especially in the harder difficulties.

Some nice new additions have been included too. The randomly spawning ‘Blades of Crota’ in Patrol missions drop their sword upon death, allowing you to wield the ‘relic’ much as you did in one of the story’s missions. It was nice to see this return as it was one of the standout moments of the core game.

The opening mission of the DLC was by far one of my favourites. The creepy elements returned, as did hordes of Thrall. Progressively harder bosses reflected the dark tone of the story and the final boss of this mission came with a handicap, a ‘dark burden’, that dramatically hindered your movement, making the game suddenly feel much more like a boss battle in a survival horror then the typical arena we’ve come to expect of the game.

These were features largely absent from the rest of the missions with the exception of the Raid, Crota’s End. Much like the core game, the Raid is really where the game shines, a combination of challenging enemies, exploration, navigation and puzzles (initially) that really demands teamwork. Unfortunately, to experience these Raid’s requires a lot of commitment to the game, lots of grinding and generally speaking, lots of cooperative gaming buddies.

The post Review: Destiny: The Dark Below appeared first on Press Start.

After reinventing itself last year with the implementation of Konami’s FOX Engine, 2015 marks the first year that Pro Evolution Soccer appears on the current generation of consoles. After trying to catch up to FIFA in the last year years, will 2015 mark the year that Pro Evolution Soccer overtakes FIFA?

Presentation wise, Pro Evolution Soccer is still lacking, especially since FIFA’s overhaul last year. It’s a lot similar to FIFA now in the sense that it has added a bit more colours and now features a tiled based system. It does the job of allowing you to get into a game and manage your team, but it’s definitely not revolutionary in any way, shape or form.

Graphically, Pro Evolution Soccer 2015 is miles ahead of PES 2014. Whilst not quite up to the standards of FIFA, it’s still completely stunning. Lighting has seen a huge improvement and crowds are also more dynamic. Although, when you don’t have the huge licenses that FIFA has it doesn’t mean a whole lot. Really, now that you can actually recognised players who each have their own unique expressions, it shows quite clearly just how lacking Pro Evolution Soccer is without the big names of the FIFA franchise.

Another area where I think that Pro Evolution Soccer 2015 is still let down is it’s audio. The soundtrack consists of about 5-10 songs and commentators still aren’t up to scratch.

Many people associate Pro Evolution Soccer with the PS2. When presentation didn’t matter so much and it was all about gameplay, most people considered PES to be a better franchise than FIFA. Unfortunately as graphics and presentation became more important resource hogging, EA took advantage and FIFA became the juggernaut that it is today. Thankfully, this is the most promising iteration of Pro Evolution Soccer in years.

The first thing that you’ll notice about Pro Evolution Soccer 15 is the addition of an XP system. Much like in FIFA, you’re able to gain what Konami call Game Points for completing certain challenges and milestones. This mainly ties in to playing multiplayer games and Master League Online.

The core gameplay of PES 15 often feels better than Fifa. Dribbling feels extremely impressive and gives you a much bigger sense of control. PES also allows you to automate skills moves so that you’re not having to learn complicated button combinations. Something that I use a lot in FIFA is the double-team OR pressure. This is done by a simple shoulder button in FIFA however requires an extremely annoying combination in PES. I’m not sure if this is something that’ll frustrate a lot of players however it annoyed me from the start.

Tactics is another area where PES feels a lot more open than Fifa. You’re able to tweak things such as how many players push up in attack or make players create a certain formation depending on the situation. Sure, these are things that only hardcore soccer players will use but it’s great that they’re there nonetheless.

Master League has been much improved and is much easier to navigate than FIFA’s comparable mode. You’re able to quickly give each player different training regimens in order to improve lacking parts of their game. The biggest inclusion is coach mode which allows you to perform instructions and watch your team act them out on the fly.

The enjoyment level of Pro Evolution 2015 is down to how you like to play sports games. It’s a lot more tactical than FIFA and feels a lot less scripted at times. Through-balls don’t just automatically work and passes and shots will go widely astray. The different is though, it will mostly be your fault when these things happen. Sure, it can be hard to score at times but it provides for a intense match of soccer and if you’re the type of person who likes to be tactical and perfect your plays, Pro Evolution Soccer 15 should be right up your alley.

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When Rogue was announced to be coming out around the same time as Unity, I decided that I’d be playing Rogue first, just for the interesting concept the story took. We’ve had plenty of time hanging out with the Templars, but having the main character turn on his former friends? Sounds like a great tale of betrayal, revenge and all that good stuff Well…

So as I was saying, the concept of the story pulled me in; piqued my interest in what an Assassin’s Creed game could be. All the stuff I was expecting was there, for sure, alongside a few of returning characters from both Assassin’s Creed III and Black Flag. But ultimately, the ‘bigger picture’ style of story telling overshadows any real character development.

The game follows Shay, an Assassin trainee with a knack for the Assassin business. One of his missions ends up with him inadvertently destroying a city, and when he learns his Assassin buddies have no intention to stop messing around with Precursor artefacts, the kind that level cities, Shay turns on his friends to stop them, eventually ending up with the Templars. It all sounds good in theory, but the actual delivery of story is all over the place, changing locale maybe 2-3 times per chapter, and with the less interesting “Assassin’s vs Templars” story taking precedence over the much more interesting story of Shay and his personal war.

The modern day stuff makes a return as well, following on from Assassin’s Creed IV. You’re still a cubicle worker at Abstergo Entertainment, but you manage to accidentally crash the entire network while accessing Shay’s memories. But with Rogue being a much shorter game, there isn’t much to do outside the Animus, but the ending is interesting, none-the-less.

Also, having Captain Cook show up in the game is a bit of a treat for us Aussies, even if he does remind me of Ringo Starr.

My biggest gripe with this game is the inconsistent quality of voice acting. Shay sometimes sounds like he’s delivering lines casually, as if his actor was checking Facebook while recording. His first mate, Gist, also sounds like a drama student trying to make an incredible first impression at an audition. I feel mean for putting it like that, but when I’m focusing more on how they’re saying their lines, instead of the actual words they’re saying, it breaks the immersion in a huge way.

The visuals in this game, however, are amazing. I mean, going back from PS4 stuff to PS3, there’s a lot of problems I pick up, but it’s all made up with the North Atlantic ocean areas, with icebergs, snow, and breaking through ice sheets with my ship just feels satisfying. The ship also gathers snow and ice on the deck when sailing through snowfall, just a little detail that adds a lot! And with locations, New York looks great, but unfortunately is under-utilised in the game overall. Everything else feels mostly like IV, with beaches and island towns… nothing amazing, but necessary for exploration.

In terms of gameplay, the entire thing feels like a large expansion of Assassin’s Creed IV. Which is fine, it’s familiar, and the locations are vastly different. But there’s not a lot of new features in the game that help me differentiate the two games. On foot, you have a few new toys to cause mayhem with, like the grenade launcher, with both shrapnel and gas varieties. The gasses are just like the darts, letting you either make a small group fall asleep, or berserk.

New York has a couple interesting features, with gang hideouts you can capture, and renovating buildings. Gang hideouts, which are really just Assassin bases, play the role of territory control, with you clearing out the base and letting the British army take over. However, the leader of each base is Assassin trained, leading to either a satisfying finish when you manage to kill them, or a very frustrating half an hour of being shot at through walls. Sadly, I had more experience with the latter, and didn’t capture any beyond the story mission base. Renovations let you restore buildings, but it really isn’t explained much through the game the advantages of doing so.

As much as this can be taken as a complaint, it can also be taken as a warning; upgrade your ship during the game. That means avoiding fast travel. One of the last few missions in the game requires your ship to be much more powerful and armoured than mine actually was at that point, unfortunately because I had been skipping a lot of naval battles by using fast travel to move from place to place. The game had a tendency to shift locale way too many times during chapters, or sequences, as I stated earlier. So by the time I got to this mission, I was hilariously outgunned, leading to a lot more frustration toward the game than my own abilities.

The last thing to add is the addition of ‘stalker’ enemies. Naturally, with your enemies in this game being assassins, you’re going to get ambushed from the bushes, or building tops. It adds a strange twist, as now you kinda get a feel for what it’s like on the other side of the hidden blade. However, the sudden realisation that you’ve wandered into an area with hiding enemies is annoying, as sometimes they’re in chase sequences, which the only purpose they can serve is to mildly annoy you and slow you down.

The post Review: Assassin’s Creed Rogue appeared first on Press Start.

The land of Thedas is falling into darkness; Rifts are opening throughout the land and releasing demons, templars are at war with mages, and the skies swarm with dragons. At the midst of it all lies you, the survivor of a cataclysmic explosion at the Chantry, awakening with a sketchy memory and a newfound power to close the Rifts. You will become the Inquisitor, joining forces with people and races from across the land in order to stop the evil, defeat the dark forces and bring peace and justice back to Thedas.

Bioware have once again hit it straight out of the park with the latest instalment of the Dragon Age series, bringing forth a game that remains entertaining and fun to play on the surface but becomes even more adventurous the deeper the player goes.

Credit where credit is due, Bioware have always released amazing-looking games, and Dragon Age: Inquisition is no different. Characters are expressive and display emotion consistently, and environments are lush and vivid.

Players begin the game by creating their own character; selecting features and attributes to make it truly unique to them, including scars, hair colour and even tattoos and markings. This has always been a trademark of the Bioware series, and the feature allows for a player to truly connect with their avatar as it is something of their own creation. This level of detail is shared by other party members and NPCs, however there are brief moments where they appear less-realistic; lack of emotion or texture issues affecting character models. These moments are few and far between, and overall do not detract from the game itself. The level of detail on characters goes all the way down to armour and weapons; as detailed as ever, each piece of equipment looted from enemies adding a certain charm to your character.

The game’s enemies also do not suffer from a lack of detail;Templar knights look bold and threatening in thick steel plate, Mages cloaked in robes, and even demons from the Rifts appearing ghoulish and sometimes frightening.

To complement this, the land of Thedas is equally as amazing and detailed. The environments are full of life and colour, sometimes bordering on realism, and really highlighting the expansive size of the world. Trees sway with the wind, sunlight glistens off the water, and the architecture has an abandoned medieval feel to it. Rifts glow an eerie, otherworldly green, and the creatures that spawn from them border on scary. Intertwined with this is an awe-inspired orchestral soundtrack; fading in and out at moments of action or drama and really adding a cinematic sense to the whole experience. Couple this with the distant shouting and clanging of weaponry from a nearby battle, and the game truly feels alive.

Dragon Age: Inquisition takes the tried and true method of open world exploring from previous instalments and expands on it; making environments larger and allowing more freedom to roam and discover. Throughout these lands are multiple quests and side quests which aid the player in upgrading weapons, armour, and Inquisition status. Players can pick and choose what quests to undertake in order to either grind and level up, or progress with the main story. Side quests add to the Power influence which allows the player to maintain an area under Inquisition protection.

Gameplay focuses on tactical elements in battles; attacks and movements can be queued in a tactical system allowing for party members to use the best strategies to take out the enemy, including terrain and magic advantages. A tactical camera mode allows for the player to survey the situation and pause to complete actions before playing it out in real-time. While it sounds complicated, the game runs players through a tutorial first, and it becomes a unique and valued addition to the game.

Each character as a basic attack and special attacks; basic attacks mapped to the right trigger (in this case R1) and special moves mapped to the face buttons. Character class comes into play here as well; warriors are adept at close-range combat, rogues have stealth and can attack from either, and mages prioritise with ranged attacks. Combining a party of multiple classes allows for easier assaults on enemy targets and tactical advantages. Like the player’s party, enemy parties also have different classes within them, making for a mix in battles with warriors on the front line and mages casting support.

Bioware’s infamous ‘dialogue wheel’ is yet again a staple of this game; allowing players to focus on emotion (being sympathetic or cold) when conversing with NPCs. This leads into the approval system seen in previous instalments of the game, where certain party members will approve or disapprove of dialogue choices and actions taken. This can lead to members of the party disbanding if approval ratings drop too low.

The paramour system also returns with the game as well; with numerous love interests able to be pursued throughout the game, including same-sex and interracial options. Credit to Bioware where it Is due, to see a game include the ability to romance the same gender is a step forward in the current day and age; choosing not to alienate players but be inclusive of everyone.

One gripe I had with the game was the fact that for a while in the first location, travel takes a long time by foot. This drags out the game longer than expected and can lead players to become bored due to excessive roaming. Completing the task to gain a mount is key here, as it speeds up travel time drastically. Fast travel is an option in the game but fast-travel icons are few and far between.

The other issue is that players will seem like the game is all side-quests and grinding to begin with. The biggest thing here is to leave the Hinterlands as soon as possible; effectively this is a starting area. Side quests do not disappear or fade during the game and can always be returned to later, making grinding something less-key than expected.

The post Review: Dragon Age: Inquisition appeared first on Press Start.

Far Cry 4 revolves around Ajay Ghale, a young man who returns to his home country of Kyrat to spread the ashes of his mother as her final request. Soon you are captured by Pagan Min, the supposed dictator of Kyrat, and forced into a civil war between his army and the Golden Path, a terrorist state intent on bringing Pagan Min down. What saves Far Cry 4 are the myriad of interesting and engaging characters. The main villain Pagan Min could be one of the best villains in gaming this year, due to the game fleshing out his motives, his ideals and his beliefs. Pagan Min isn’t just a shock value villain with a driving goal to be your nemesis; he is a real character that actually draws sympathy in certain aspects. Much like Vaas in Far Cry 3, Pagan is easily the best part of Far Cry 4. Troy Baker gets a lot of criticism of being oversaturated in the VA market right now, but his performance as Min is as memorable as his role in The Last Of Us; it’s that good. Returning characters like Hurk and Willis Huntley are welcome, less due to their performances and more due to their interesting connections to 3. In fact, Far Cry 4 raises some very clever and interesting theories about previous instalments.

Unfortunately, the downsides come in often and plenty. Min doesn’t show up as often as you’d like him to, and the roster of supporting characters range from interesting, to mediocre, to downright awful. The two tribe leaders, Amita and Sabal are both terrible personalities, and worst of all, you’re forced to follow at least one of them in order to progress through the game. They both have flawed goals, but they treat you with utter contempt if you follow the other’s path. Seeing as how Ajay was literally dragged against his will into the civil war and his only goal was to lay his mother’s ashes to rest, I found no motivation to help the Golden Path outside of a purely gameplay perspective. Both Amita and Sabal are terribly written characters and only further emphasise how much I wanted to side with Min. They seem to forget that Ajay is not meant to be in this war, but that they dragged him in, yet they chastise and hate him for choices he is forced to make. Terribly written motives and terribly written characters combine to make the ‘good’ side look absolutely terrible. There’s some payoff towards the end but it’s not enough to justify the hours we’re forced to spend with such delusional, baffling characters. The writing spends more time humanizing the enemies than the allies; in one scene we are forced to capture a key lieutenant, but we have to sit through a solid five minutes of him calling his family and telling them how much he loves them, before we cart him off to be tortured to death. It’s this sort of two dimensional, unsubtle writing that really drags the story down.

At least the game tries to justify why Ajay is so important to the war. As the apparent son of the creator of the Golden Path, people already look up to him and expect him to do great things. It’s still flimsy, but it’s a hell of a lot better than Far Cry 3’s “because he’s white, he’s our saviour” plot. It allows the plot and setting to get away with a lot more than it usually would have, and while many may find the unblinking violence and culture wars shocking, I don’t fault a game for pushing the boundaries.

I appreciated the middle eastern/Asian influences that Ubisoft injected into the world of Kyrat. It’s clear the civil war in Far Cry 4 was inspired by the real life Nepalese People’s War, and it’s no coincidence that Kyrat is a dead on representation of Nepal and the Himalayas. All the Asian inspired art, architecture and foliage is all done in good taste and great to be immersed in. Asian culture doesn’t usually take a huge role in AAA gaming, so it’s always refreshing to see a new setting. If it’s something Ubisoft is good at, it’s exploring foreign and exciting places and cultures.

Far Cry 4 is more about the setting than the narrative. While Pagan Min is a memorable and wonderful character, the cast of supporting characters aren’t nearly as fun to watch or engage with. The story flip flops between serious satires about culture wars to silly juvenile writing, exacerbated by a pair of stoners who embody every possible stereotype associated with the culture of drugs. It’s a weak narrative coupled with a genuinely amazing setting.

As a literal reskin of Far Cry 3, the Dunia Engine 2 is starting to look a little old. Thankfully the art direction and vibrant use of colour make the game look incredible. As mentioned before, Kyrat looks pretty damn good, and the setting of lush trees mixed with snow capped mountains and some wonderful Asian-inspired art direction really disguises the aging engine. Shangri La in particular is jaw droppingly gorgeous: a not quite real world that you visit in game when consuming drugs, the world turns into a gold-toned nature walk, where you can command a Tiger to maul your enemies. Gameplay wise it’s fairly boring but in terms of the setting and presentation it’s hands down the best looking part of the game.

PC PORT:
After the shocker port of Unity (still unplayable on my rig), it’s almost ok that Far Cry 4 delivers an average port. At least it works, right? Let’s look at Ubisoft’s recommended requirements:

Minimum:
CPU: Intel Core i5-750 2.5 GHz or AMD Phenom II X4 955 3.2 GHz
RAM: 4 GB
HDD: 30GB (31GB installed, 26GB without localization files)
GPU: Nvidia GeForce GTX 460 or ATI Radeon HD 5850; 1 GB of VRAM, DirectX 11 compatible

Recommended:
CPU: Intel Core i5-2400S 2.5 GHz or AMD FX-8350 4.0 GHz
RAM: 8GB
GPU: Nvidia GeForce GTX 680 or AMD Radeon R9 290X; 2 GB of VRAM

As an essential note: for the love of god update your drivers.  I was stuck with atrocious performance but after the updates performance was significantly improved. Graphic presets are Low, Medium, High, Very High, Ultra, and perplexingly, Nvidia. Nvidia will automatically max every single setting, and turn on all Nvidia exclusive settings. Strange that they would call it Nvidia, seeing as my GTX 660 performs absolutely awfully on that setting. No doubt it looks gorgeous but I can’t see many rigs being able to maintain a steady 60fps with Nvidia settings.

On low/medium performance was adequate. Images are sort of flat, textures are especially ugly up close (a big deal when a big part of gameplay involves scaling cliffs and rocks) and it just doesn’t look alive. On higher settings it really starts to pop: shadows appear softer, grass looks better and ambient occlusion really makes the scenery look real. Mouse movement felt quite jumpy and skittish, and strangely enough mouse acceleration cannot be completely turned off.

Audio settings are awful: one master volume slider. That’s it. Otherwise the quality of the audio itself is exceptional. Voice acting is superb (as mentioned before), and Troy Baker is consistently fun to engage with and listen to; his radio calls to you are exceptionally well done and always humourous. Weapon sounds are authentic and I especially enjoy the positional audio, which is as impressive as it was in Alien: Isolation. Fire a 50. Cal machine gun up in the mountains, then fire one down on the ground. There’s a definite difference, and it’s a neat touch that really immerses the player.

Aliasing performance is strange: MSAA will cripple your rig and doesn’t offer enough improvement to justify the hit to FPS, but SMAA will soften the edges well. If you have a Nvidia card feel free to use TXAA.

When driving in vehicles some strange stuttering effects come in. FPS will fluctuate wildly between 30 to as high as 90-144 depending on your rig. Lowering any effects that have a heavy load on VRAM seemed to have fixed the problem slightly. It’s clear the port didn’t take into account PC graphic cards (which at average usually have 2GB), as current gen consoles share a unified pool of roughly 5GB.

Overall the port isn’t spectacular, but it’s a lot better than Unity. You can easily squeeze 60FPS on a mid-high rig. Settings are quite fleshed out (outside of Audio) and you can really tweak most effects to get what you want. The VRAM problem is very aggravating and lazy from Ubisoft, as it shows they really didn’t bother trying to optimize for PC’s. Not enough VRAM will cause immense stuttering during fast action gameplay, especially noticeable in driving. Overall an average port.

Far Cry 4 manages to overcome the flaws of 3 by making the world of Kyrat feel alive. While 3 stagnated from feeling absolutely artificial and empty (furthering my belief that FC3 was all a dream narrative), Kyrat is stuffed with so many activities and life that it feels almost like an open world RPG. Hundreds of locations are waiting to be unlocked (much like in Fallout 3), giving XP and rewards for searching areas. Masks, chests, spinning wheels, letters, propaganda posters are scattered throughout the world, rewarding XP and Karma to unlock skills.

It sounds familiar, because it is. Far Cry 4 is the very epitome of what is now known as the Ubisoft formula. Activities are cut from the exact same cloths of Assassin’s Creed/Watch_Dogs/Far Cry. Outposts, towers to scale, escort quests, vehicle deliveries, gather leaves for crafting syringes, search chests for rupees and climb towers to unlock the map it’s all part of Ubisoft’s insistence of failing to create something truly original, rather choosing to play it safe ensconced in the very familiar formula. It works for Far Cry 4 because the gunplay and world makes it so engaging, but it’s a formula that’s running very thin.

You cannot deny that Far Cry 4 is huge. Where 3 felt lifeless and empty after a while, 4 is absolutely packed full of content. Destroying propaganda, blowing up patrols, hijacking delivery trucks, freeing hostages, there’s so much to do. Hundreds of locations are unlockable and a lot have interesting notes scattered around giving a bit of backstory to Kyrat. It’s genuinely fun to explore and it feels alive. Hunting and skinning animals to upgrade gear is even better as it’s a genuine challenge this time around. There’s no perk to unlock double skins but using a bow or knife to kill animals will result in a ‘clean kill’ which allows for double skins to be picked up. It’s a great gameplay mechanic that rewards good shooting over simply unlocking a perk. And you can ride elephants now; another great gameplay mechanic that may be culturally insensitive but is undeniably fun. Running down the road and smashing a enemy jeep off a cliff is hands down one of the most memorable things I’ve done in Kyrat.

Infiltrating outposts remains as satisfying as ever, choosing to go either guns loud or stealth it. There are more rewards if you don’t manage to get caught, but it’s inherently satisfying to burst in with a rampaging elephant and jumping on a 50. Cal to kill the rest. Some outposts are genuinely tough, and you have the option to replay any outpost on the spot in order to get a better score to beat your friends.

Fortresses are hands down the best part of the game: four incredibly tough ‘outposts’ that are built like castles owned by each of Pagan Min’s main lieutenants, filled to the brim with enemies, giving a real challenge for the player. Stealth is the best option, as alarms will bring a seemingly infinite number of helicopters and backup. It’s a great feeling taking over a fortress and the best part about them is that you can choose to tackle them in any way you want. Blow open the gates with a grenade, sneak in from below or parachute in like a maniac, these are all genuine options for the player. It’s a shame the open endedness doesn’t carry to the story missions, which are so tightly wound it’s pure frustration to go from unlocking an outpost to a mandatory stealth segment.

There’s definitely less weapons on hand unfortunately. Far Cry 3 had a genuinely huge mix of SMG’s, Assault Rifles, Shotguns, Pistols, RPG’s and Signature Weapons. Far Cry 4 still has all of them, but pistols and small SMG’s are now Sidearms, and everything else are just labelled as Weapons. It feels like they’ve really streamlined the weapons on hand as there are definitely less available than in 3. Not to mention that most are literal reskins from 3. In a perplexing choice, you cannot carry four weapons anymore. The most you can carry is 3, and one ‘sidearm’.

Perks have been streamlined as well into two paths of 16 skills each and most are just taken from 3. Some are locked behind sidequests and unlockables (smart) but a lot are locked behind story missions (not smart). There’s nothing spectacular about them, except it’s a shame they’ve streamlined them so much.

The post Review: Far Cry 4 appeared first on Press Start.

Taking Batman and Co’s adventures beyond the streets of Gotham. The Justice League are forced to from an uneasy alliance as they defend Earth from the menacing Brainaic. A world consuming being that has now set his sights on our world and will stop at nothing to achieve this goal.

Lego Batman in all honesty hasn’t made any huge improvements since it’s original conception but at all costs do not let that weigh you down. The tried and true method of “If it isn’t broken, don’t fix it” applies to this beyond all measure. The amount of detail in each Lego brick is fantastic and the way the levels are built is magical sure to inspire any child. Particular note has to be made of the exemplary space segments.

Cutscenes are crisply rendered and outrageously humorous, with some stellar voice acting from stars such as Troy Baker, Laura Bailey, Nolan North, Conan O’Brien and even Adam West, the original Batman for a lot of people. Beyond Gotham boasts an outstanding soundtrack that has taken snippets from the wonderful Tim Burton Batman film’s of the early 90’s and incorporated them wonderfully.

One particular gripe I had with the games choice of presentation was during the local couch co-op portions where wandering too far from your partner would force the screen to split dynamically. This rotating nightmare was disorientating beyond description, sure it could be counter acted to a fixed vertical split screen which then cut your viewing space down to almost nothing. Perhaps I am showing my age but I really believe good old fashioned horizontal split screen is the answer to this but it might of just been something that was over looked in development.

Being a Lego character the bricked world is at your finger tips to destroy and create as needs be to further your progress. Just about any object can be bludgeoned to reveal collectible Lego points which accumulate to reveal a sense of progress throughout each level. Ultimately it hasn’t changed a lot from previous games but the same principle I gave in Presentation applies. I do have to mention the outstanding array of DC cast members that are made available throughout this game: Batman, Superman, Flash, Green Arrow, Green Lantern and that is only naming the more major characters. Looking past those bigger names there is still an abundance of characters to play as, in the 100s!

Once characters are unlocked you can take them back to previously completed sections to unlock or collect things that were otherwise unobtainable the first time through, increasing the replay value immensely. I must say it was excellent to see the various sizes of characters coming into play such as Lex’s Battle suit, Martian Man hunters natural form and Killer Croc just to name a few.

Not too far into the game players are given a huge treat in terms of game play. A small segment out in space opens up for some epic intergalactic battling. Reminiscent of the PS4’s launch game Resogun, this twin stick shooter segment was a great addition and a fantastic break in game play. That’s not too say I needed the break in game play but it certainly was welcome.

Abundance of fun aside and exceptional variations in game play aside. I felt that at a few times the methods to progress in the game were a bit vague. I don’t need hand holding but for an adult, sorry two adults playing this game. There were segments where we were both stumped, perhaps our Lego imagination wasn’t up to scratch but these examples surely did ruin the immersion we shared in this game.

The post Review: Lego Batman 3: Beyond Gotham appeared first on Press Start.

NOTE: Due to the technical differences and inconsistencies between the current and last-gen releases of Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare this review may not be applicable to the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 releases of the game. Technical and gameplay experiences may vary by platform.

Advanced Warfare stars Private Jack Mitchell (voiced by Troy Baker), whom after a disastrous mission in Seoul loses his arm and is discharged from the United States Marine Corps. Mitchell is approached by Jonathan Irons (voiced by Kevin Spacey), the CEO of Atlas; the world’s largest private military organisation. Irons offers him to replace his severed arm with a top-of-the-line prosthetic, and serve as part of Atlas’ private military arsenal.

As Atlas is hired by countries all over the world to fight their wars Mitchell is sent along with this squad to track down members of the KVA; a technophobic terrorist organisation that has been staging numerous attacks across the globe. Whilst the squad is out finding answers, the truth is revealed that Jonathan Irons and Atlas may not be all that they seem.

Whilst Advanced Warfare’s plot isn’t the strongest there is, it’s certainly some of the better material that the franchise has had to offer the past few years. The narrative is still rushed to an incredible extent though, and the heavy reliance on huge set pieces never really gives the material a chance to shine. There are some attempts to make the player more interested in its main protagonist, but most of the attempted ideas are either not given enough time to developed are simply absent to begin with. An example of this is his relation with his fellow soldier in the beginning of the game, who is described as his brother in arms. The dialogue tries to convince you that the two were inseparable, but on screen you don’t see any of these references come to play, which makes most of his background either irrelevant or unbelievable. The entire narrative lasts around six hours, and honestly you don’t get that much closure in the end. The final levels of the game are filled with great action, but on a narrative front it may seem incredibly disappointing for players who are playing it for the story itself. A complete walkthrough should take about six hours.

Performance-wise the voice and motion capture for most characters is pretty decent, and there are even a few impressive performances throughout the campaign. Troy Baker does a good job with the material he was given to work with, and most supporting characters range from okay to great. By this I am talking about the actual performances however, and not the material and background stories of their respective characters.

The flow of the narrative through the campaign is ok, but missions are easily interchangeable when it comes to the order of them. The narrative’s best points aren’t really part of the story at all, but rather in the concepts that the game introduces. Whilst the future setting isn’t new to the franchise, Sledgehammer has created a pretty believable view of futuristic warfare when it comes to technology and tactics. I recognised a lot of technology that is already in development today, and even though their use is exaggerated for gameplay convenience, it’s still pretty interesting to see a take on futuristic warfare that in theory isn’t as far-fetched as one might believe. Despite its lacklustre story, Advanced Warfare does offer some very thrilling moments throughout the campaign, and if you’re getting the game for the complete package it’s definitely worth playing through at least once for gameplay purposes.

Call of Duty’s debut on next-gen with Ghosts wasn’t exactly its best moment, but Advanced Warfare might be the biggest leap the franchise has made the past few years. Whilst the changes aren’t on the same level as most of the other continuations of existing franchises this generation, it still manages to improve the foundations of a franchise that has been staying behind for the past few years.

Worth noting beforehand is the performance gap between the different editions of the game. This review is based on the PlayStation 4 version, and there may be significant differences in performance depending on the platform you play it on. The PlayStation 4 version runs at a resolution of 1920×1080 at 60fps, the Xbox One version runs at 1360×1080 at 60fps and the PC version obviously depends on the specifications of your rig itself. The PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 versions run at a Sub-720p resolution, but we can’t comment on the performance for those versions due to the significant differences in development and hardware.

Performance-wise the PlayStation 4 version seems to run smoothly most of the time, though the frame rate may dip to 54 frames per second from time to time. The visual fidelity in static images is good, but Advanced Warfare’s visuals tend to look more impressive in motion due to its heavy reliance on post-processed effects such as motion blur, subtle use of chromic aberration and depth of field effects. Paired with improved animations and fast-paced action the game often masks its visual drawbacks by phasing them out in motion, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing depending on how you perceive these actions.

Character models have been improved from the previous instalments, though they range from impressive to passable depending on their roles in the game. Most of the main characters are pretty good looking, but secondary characters and NPC’s can look pretty bad when seen up close, which is understandable in some cases but something worth noting none the less. Animations have been significantly improved, and I was often impressed by the movement of the NPC’s during certain sections. Secondary characters sometimes have a problem when it comes to their course, and sometimes you may see the invisible line they’re walking on by sudden changes in directions that aren’t fluid enough to be natural.

Facial animations are a hit or miss, and whilst most secondary characters have pretty well-made animations the biggest issue in the game is ironically those of Kevin Spacey’s character. His character seems to have the typical dead-eye syndrome that many games seem to cope with, and often the top part of his face will look motionless and dead as his mouth moves. One of the points that Activision advertised was the fact that it was using the newest facial-capture technology, but in motion it seems that a lot of this tech paid off more in the CGI cutscenes than the actual gameplay.

Environments generally look pretty sleek, though textures may vary by material such as the difference between natural elements and fabricated elements such as steel, fabric and such. Assets in general look well-made, though some of the edges may look rough when viewed up close. In multiplayer the game does take a step down, but this is most likely because of the lack of the post-processing done during the campaign.

Advanced Warfare’s HUD in the campaign is the most simplistic it’s ever been in the franchise. Whilst there are direction markers for your objectives present, most of the information will be on your weapon itself, including ammo and grenade counts. Having all of this in the same place removes a lot of the clutter from your screen, and adds actually helps immersing yourself into the game a bit more. The multiplayer mode takes a more traditional approach due the mini-map and score sections, but even in this form it still seems a lot more simplistic than the crowded HUD’s the franchise usually applies.

At the first glance Advanced Warfare plays like a lot of its predecessors, and whilst for a large part it still does, the small refinements and additional features in this title make this game stand out more than most of its predecessors in the franchise. The biggest difference in gameplay is the addition of the Exo-skeleton, which funny enough actually strengthens the Call of Duty-formula in itself rather than creating an entirely new dynamic.

Initially the concept of the Exo-skeletons and their use may seem familiar from titles such as Titanfall, and whilst there are some similar uses, they definitely add a unique touch to the game. Traversal is the biggest change that you’ll catch early on. Double jumping changes up traversal quite a bit, and especially makes for some interesting firefights in multiplayer due to the added verticality of the situation, which is reflected in the map design by adding areas that can only be reached by jumping up the structures. Players are also able to use a horizontal boost in mid-air, which helps when crossing gaps throughout the levels and maps. These features aren’t always available however because of the different types of Exo’s and multiplayer load-outs.

Next to advanced traversal the Exo-Skeletons have multiple form factors which are constructed for specific situations. The main Exo-type is the Assault model, which relieves on advanced traversal and brute force, along with certain smaller features such as zip-lines which will be available depending on the level or personal load-out. The other is the Specialist, which focusses on stealth and precision, and whilst it lacks the advanced traversal options it offers the player other features such as a riot shield and stim and overdrive abilities. Exo-types are non-customisable during campaign missions, and you will be given a standard load-out depending on the mission. In multiplayer you will be given the option to apply two Exo-abilities, should you make use of them with the Pick-13 system. Abilities also rely on the battery of your system itself, and due to these limitations you’ll often have to wait for your battery to recharge before you can use your abilities again. This usually only applies to specific features such as stim, the riot shield and such, and traversal options are usually unaffected.

Gunplay remains pretty similar to the previous games, and aside from some of the new weapons in its arsenal returning players should feel right at home when starting up this game. The recoil/feedback of weapons may be questionable for some, but more traditional for others. In my own personal regard I was missing a lot of visual feedback/recoil whilst using certain rifles, but in context to the gameplay formula that the franchise has maintained so far it’s still functional and a lot of fun to play with.

The campaign as mentioned earlier in the review takes up around 6 hours depending on the difficulty you’re playing it on. (For reference, our main walkthrough was performed on normal, and we replayed certain sections on different difficulties to compare them and analyse the artificial intelligence of the game.) The campaign offers an experience that is more diverse than Call of Duty usually is, and gives the player a good training run with all of the weapons and abilities available in the game. Whilst most of the game consists of brute actions there are some stealth-inspired sections, but in most of these it’s only an optional way of action, whilst in one or two of them it can result in an immediate failure.

Vehicle sections are also present, but these sections are very hit-or-miss. However, some of these sections are plagued by clunky handling buggy coding, which can result in experiences that may not be as fun as the developer intended. An example of this is the Golden Gate bridge that was frequently demo’d in the advertising campaign, in which the player drives a van to the site in an intense pursuit. Due to the handling I found myself often having trouble to keep a clear driving line, and there seemed to be constant clipping with other vehicles as the game didn’t exactly seem prepared for player-caused collisions with AI vehicles.

The basis of the multiplayer modes is very solid, and true to the traditional formula the franchise has held as a standard in the past. In this fast-paced gameplay skill may seem a requirement, but often coincidence and luck may have much more to do with it as you’ll often have your ups and downs in your multiplayer career. Basic multiplayer modes from the previous instalments such as deathmatch, kill confirmed and domination have returned, and the game even offers a few original modes which add a nice bit of variety to the selection.

Balancing isn’t always that stable, and respawning is often a problem like it has been in the past. The netcode in its current state seems a bit problematic, with hit-boxes and and lag compensation causing some frustration situations. This isn’t exactly the result of a bad connection, as it seemed to have the same occasional effect on multiple connections. It’s not an issue a 100% of the time, but it’s noteworthy enough to take it into account.

(Note: Current connection/lag issues may not be representative of the title at a later date due to software/client updates. Experiences may vary by platforms due to network/server structures.)

Customisation in the multiplayer modes is pretty well-done, and the Pick-13 system offers a nice fix for any player to adapt to their play style. The Pick-13 is a system where the player is given 13 points to customise their load-out. These points aren’t restricted to certain items. For example; if you don’t or barely use killstreaks you could scrap them altogether, and spend them on a different perk or item that better suits your needs. With this system in play the game allows you to suit every aspect of your load-out to your needs.

And last but not least: Exo Survival. In Exo-survival four players are given the objective to fight through various amounts of enemies which enter the map on a wave-basis. Certain waves may also contain specific objectives; such as collecting certain items or performing specific actions. Exo Survival offers a nice slice of content for players, but it may seem a bit simplistic for players who want a more unique experience that differentiates itself from the rest of the game.

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The Evil Within is a new survival horror game by legendary developer Shinji Mikami or for those that don’t know him by name, the father of Resident Evil. Since the game was first announced there has been a lot of interest in what Shinji Mikami would do next. Along the road to launch he has mentioned numerous times that he wanted to create a game with a “classic horror” feel and one that is truly terrifying. Unfortunately he only really seemed to hit one of his core requirements.

Horror and survival horror games historically have used their story to induce another level of torment to the gamer. Often the details are unclear, and you wonder why you are in a particularly creepy fog engulfed location ala Silent Hill. The narrative gradually develops to a point where you really feel part of the story and care about what happens to your character.

In The Evil Within you start your adventure as Sebastian Castellanos, a detective who seems like he has seen a few things in his time. You are sent to investigate a disturbance at a mental hospital and discover something truly horrible has happened to your brothers in arms. This opening scene sets you up for something spectacular. Furthermore, other events within the opening really get you excited about what The Evil Within is going to throw at you. Your first 15 minutes of gaming are tense and confusing in all the most fantastic ways and then nothing, absolutely nothing for a long time.

The Evil Within seems content with letting you meander through 5 or so chapters (around a third of the overall game) without giving you any reason as to what you are doing or what you are facing. There are plenty of throw backs to the opening scene but after three or four times you don’t really care. You want to know who the enemies are, why you are doing what you are doing and why you should care about any of this. Context is everything in horror and because of this it really doesn’t feel scary.

Thankfully the narrative does pick up, unfortunately by the time it does you hardly care and maybe because you have lost all interest it seems to be a mess of confusion. I was taking notes while playing like I do with every review and there are so many question marks and the word “why” written in big letters. This doesn’t bode well, I suggest maybe having some sort of online reference open with the story time line and events written out to get the maximum out of the game.

The Evil Within is at times a very good looking game. The grotesque detail in some of the environments look like where nightmares are born. The game takes you to a variety of locations and not once was I disappointed in what was presented to me. The lighting effects are brilliant, the way that light is used throughout the game is clever and charming and of course terrifying. Enemies have a good amount of detail even if some do look very similar to each other. The games bosses are where the character design and detail really are a cut above. You will see blood dripping off chainsaws or wet slimy hair from some horrible creature whip back and forward. Even if you are playing on an older gen console you will see some things that make you smile, although the PS4, Xbox One and PC versions look a lot better and take advantage of the hardware. One thing that might annoy some people is that on the console versions there is letterboxing that cannot be turned off. It might not sound like a big deal, but you always feel like you are not seeing something really important because the intruding black bars on the top and bottom of the screen.

If the effort made on the visuals can be described as solid, then the voice acting is weak at best. I am not sure if the reason for this is because of poor translation, poor voice actors, a poor script or a combination of both. It makes memories of the Jill Sandwich come flooding back, just when we all thought we had moved on from such atrocities.

On the other hand, if we look at the sound design excluding the voice acting, The Evil Within Shines. When you are out of breath you can hear yourself panting, enemies give off distinct shrills and groans which up the tension throughout and the games audio queues are well placed and sound great.

As soon as you are given control of the gameplay those that have played any of Resident Evil 4 will feel at home. Your view is a close up third person, over the shoulder affair and except when you are in close quarters or with many enemies it works fine. This viewpoint really breaks down when you are in a small room and you are trying to take out or avoid an enemy or group of enemies. It is sometimes too easy to get disorientated and that can severely cost you.

This is survival, there is no questioning that. The art of resource management is alive and well in The Evil Within. You are encouraged to treat every bullet like it is your last and every health item like your life will depend on it. For anyone who has played either Resident Evil 5 or 6 this will take some getting used to as they both handed out ammo like it was diabetes at Krispy Kream. For survival horror purists this will be magical, there is no better feeling than being down to your last bullet, facing a room of enemies then somehow finding a clever way out of the situation. It makes you tense, you can feel your heart rate rising and you feel alive in those moments.

Boss battles feel wonderful and a little tedious at the same time. You honestly feel like you are up against some truly formidable foes and that the odds are very much stacked against you. You quickly realise though that the bosses are simply just bullet sponges and battles with them can last way too long. You will often feel tense during these battles because you have been fighting for so long that if you die you know it will all need to be done again. Although I don’t think there was a boss battle where tension wasn’t felt one way or another.

Upgrades are handled in a rather clever way, you are transported through mirrors to a hub world. This other worldly place allows you to save, see the progress of different collectibles and upgrade your various stats and weapons with the green goo you find littered around the levels as you play. Upgrading is essential and feels very natural in the way it is handled. You will often have internal battles with your own mind on what your upgrade goo should be spent on. Like ammo, goo is hard to come by and a precious resource in it’s own right.

Nearly every moment of The Evil Within is filled with tension. For this reason, I find it hard to imagine that most people will be able to sit and play for hours at a time. The developers seemed to be aware of this and have delivered the game in a stress reducing chapter format. The chapters are a great break and give you a chance to go away, relax and come back after you have had some tea.

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True to name, Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel takes place after not only before Borderlands 2, but time skips to ahead. The narrative frame is set as the Vault Hunter Athena (any DLC players from Borderlands 1 will recognize her) is set to be executed by the original gang of Vault Hunters (Lilith, Brick and Mordecai), taking place sometime after Borderlands 2. The time skips back to before Borderlands 2 as Athena recounts her story, setting the story as truly, a pre-sequel. While this sort of narrative trick has been done countless times, it’s not unwelcome as there’s a lot of opportunities to inject some humour into the narrative, as the old Vault Hunters chime in with their opinions and exclamations whilst Athena recounts her story.

There is a lot of focus on one Handsome Jack before the Handsome: one of the more memorable villains in the franchise, he’s given a lot of screen/voice time as he slowly evolves into the pretentious asshole that eventually becomes the big baddie of BL2.

There are few memorable characters outside of the old bunch (Mad Moxxi, Vault Hunters, prototype Claptrap, etc) but the new gang of Hunters are surprisingly well focused and interact with each other to really make it feel like they’re a group working together. Previous instalments lacked this sort of touch, and it was enjoyable to see Athena interact with Wilhelm or Nisha. Each Vault Hunter has appeared in some form in previous games, so fans will immediately recognize the playable characters. Nisha appeared in Borderlands 2 as the sheriff of Lynchwood, Athena appeared in The Secret Armory of General Knoxx (BL1), Claptrap is pretty much the mascot of the franchise and Wilhelm was the major second boss of BL2.

Doctor Zed is of course missing, replaced by Nurse Nina, but they’re both equally annoying and disposable. Janey Springs acts as the new mechanic, and she’s well written and has some genuinely funny lines. Otherwise, there aren’t too many memorable new characters. The story falls flat outside of genuinely funny character moments, and it’s simply not very engaging throughout the 15ish hours you’ll spend on the moon of Elpis.

Humour is also way more inconsistent than in Borderlands 2. For every moment where I laughed out loud or smiled at the smart jokes, I cringed and groaned at twice as many. Quests are written pretty poorly to the point where I didn’t feel like doing many. I thoroughly did enjoy the Australian focused humour, which could very well be the best part of the game. There are some really shallow digs, but some really smart ones as well that’ll have any Aussie bloke or sheila laughing. Overall it feels like it was written by a B-team, or the normal writing team who didn’t bother. Weak jokes drown out the strong ones, there are some downright awful and cringey dialogues, quests are terribly written; it’s simply not an engaging story.

There’s honestly not much to say in this department, since the Pre-Sequel uses the same engine and pretty much looks exactly the same as Borderlands 2. Surprisingly enough, I encountered a lot more bugs and glitches than I did in BL2, which is just surprising. Textures are average, lighting system is outdated, there are a lot of shadow issues and the environment feedback to weapon fire or interaction is bare minimum.

Environments look a bit better than in previous games, in a creative sense. The moon of Elpis is genuinely good to look at and has some really wacky environments and architecture, at the start. Unfortunately the game doesn’t evolve, and soon you’ll be looking at the same old grey-moon-rock drab over and over again.

Like most old-gen titles, Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel is optimized for tri-core CPUs. It’s definitely not a demanding title, and midrange builds to beyond will easily squeeze a smooth 60fps out of max settings. Just make sure to avoid excessive Physx if your build is lower: On a GTX660 there was significant slowdown in huge firefights with Physx on high.

There a tonne of options to use, just like in the previous game. Ambient occlusion, bullet decals, colourblind mode, FXAA, it’s all here for the PC.

Overall, if you had no trouble with Borderlands 2, I see no reason why you would struggle with this one. It’s the exact same engine, just reskinned. And just like Borderlands 2, the outdated engine saves itself with a unique art style.

There’s very little to talk about Borderlands: TPS. It plays very similarly to the second game.
The biggest changes involve two new weapon types: laser and cryogenic. Both are not unwelcome additions, but they’re not gamechangers either. They’re both fun enough to use though, and I hope to see them permanently added to the roster in the next instalments.

In terms of characters, Claptrap is the only really unique player in the game. While the other characters have generic roles (Athena is treated as the melee tank class, Nisha is the enemy clearer and Wilhelm is the distraction) Claptrap has random unique traits, that all depend on the situation on hand. He can receive boosts from others, he can be a damage expert, and best of all is a skill that lets him use powers from other Vault Hunters depending on who he is fighting.

Since the game takes place on the moon, there’s a lot of gravity focused gameplay. You’re forced to juggle your oxygen usage, as there’s a limited supply when traversing environments outside of towns and mission hubs, and a specific ‘gravity slam’ attack that uses a lot of oxygen. Juggling oxygen usage isn’t a huge problem and the fun that leads to jumping in low-grav all over the place is worth the pain of recharging oxygen. O2 kits are also added to supply air when on the lunar surface; oxygen supplies can be replenished using generators, vents, and through oxygen tank items dropped by enemies. The kits can be used like a jetpack to perform double jumps, hovering, and ground slamming attacks; as with other items, different types of O2 kits can provide stat bonuses and affect how ground slams deal damage. I enjoyed the use of oxygen in this game- jumping high over enemies while shooting down upon them was a great strategy, and there were enough recharge stations and air vents around to make the O2 mechanic less burdensome. The low gravity allows for interesting exploration, as players’ platform their way across places that were either built for platforming or was pure level breaking.

Terrible issues from Borderlands 2 remains prevalent here, and it’s just a damn shame 2K Australia didn’t bother fixing the inventory, the skill systems or the maps. The inventory is a pure pain to navigate, and is incredibly cumbersome and clunky; its 2014, such an archaic form of RPG inventory should not exist in this sort of game. The skills systems are as broken as they were in Borderlands 2: some trees are heavily, heavily overpowered (Athena’s Aspis shield is fun to use but incredibly overpowered).  Most skills are useless (+1 ammo, +1 damage) but the useful skills are overpowered. It’s a balance issue of filling out the skill tree with useless ones, and it remains broken in this game. And the map system, already known for being terrible, is even worse due to the increased amounts of platforming you have to do. It’s just a damn shame that there are improvements in gameplay, but the same old flaws from the previous game drag it back down to mediocrity.

Loot is even worse: one of the cornerstones of any game like Borderlands, there’s no greater thrill than opening a chest and getting a better weapon. But the loot is crushingly disappointing: not once in my 20 hour journey did I get a legendary. Every loot chest contained mostly common’s, no unique or epic items. Vendors happen to have better loot, so in the end it becomes a grind for cash. It’s just a poor system, relying on vendors to give the best loot, and it’s the exact opposite of nearly any other loot-driven game.

The shooting is fine as always; I felt the hitboxes were way worse though; headshots weren’t landing where they should be, critical were wildly inconsistent, it just felt off. The very mechanics of shooting are still great though, and I was glad to see the feel of shooting with pistols is still incredibly satisfying. Lasers and cryo weapons were a neat touch, but they didn’t really elevate the gunplay beyond what was already done in BL2.

There’s not much here that’s worth playing, but fans of the franchise will still enjoy what’s on offer in terms of gameplay, especially if they’re used to the flaws that were prevalent in BL2. The low gravity mechanics are definitely fun, and the extra weapon classes are not unwelcome here.

There are bugs. A lot of bugs. Bugs that didn’t exist in Borderlands 2. Crashes to desktop, freezing, lack of collision in certain environments, textures missing, it’s strange that these bugs exist. And it’s a definite blow to the game.

The post Review: Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel! appeared first on Press Start.

Just Dance 2015 is the follow up to Just Dance 2014. There’s no story of sorts to push the player through the routines, it merely throws the player into the game with a large majority of the songs unlocked.

The improvements introduced in 2015 do their best to streamline the experience previously presented in 2014, as well as improve the sense of community and social interaction between players. In that regards, it’s widely successful.

In short, Just Dance 2015 is the perfect embodiment of the mantra “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it”. It’s improvements are iterative but it doesn’t break any of the components put in place in previous games.

As with last year’s game, Just Dance 2015 employs a very simplistic user interface that makes it pretty easy to find what you want relatively fast. It’s a kind of retro glam look that really fits in with this kind of game. During the actual dance sequences, the now ubiquitous Just Dance style is ever prevalent. A silhouette of the dancer moves in a similar way to how the player should imitate during gameplay. These moments have only gotten better as each game is released, being professionally animated and/or captured.

Similarly, to keep things interesting, most of them are stylised in a way that suits the song that’s being played or references some other aspect of the song (such as its lyrics or even its music video in some circumstances). A new addition with Just Dance 2015 is that many of the videos aren’t afraid to create a little bit more visual spectacle by zooming in during certain moments or even panning the camera. They’re small touches but they help keep an otherwise stale formula remain fresh visually.

With the Just Dance series becoming more of an annualised occurrence, it’s easy to sit back and assume everything is the same as last year, just with a different set list of songs, but thankfully it isn’t. Ubisoft have done a pretty good job at providing a fresh experience with a new set of routines but also with new and cool features.

Are they groundbreaking? Not particularly, but they certainly help the experience stop from stagnating despite the annualisation of the franchise although a lot of them require you to be willing to put videos of yourself dancing up on the internet which is definitely not something for everyone.

Those who have never played a Just Dance game shouldn’t have too much trouble adapting to the formula. You create a profile, pick a song, and mimic the character movements as they appear on screen to the best of your ability. The better you mimic these moves, the more you’ll score and subsequently unlock. Some songs are more difficult than others, so you’ll get a pretty good idea as you play which songs you’ll prefer.

And there’s a wide variety of songs too, with some old school groups like Gloria Gaynor and Aerosmith all the way up to Icona Pop, Calvin Harris, Lady Gaga and Miley Cyrus. There’s even a few tracks from some foreign artists, like angry French rap or a Bollywood rendition of your classic Christmas songs. Just Dance 2015 takes on a pretty diverse set list and it’s something to be said where almost anyone of any age could easily join in and not feel left out. I don’t know how, but Ubisoft really have crafted one of their most diverse setlists yet and despite going on for so many years it’s baffling how they manage to keep finding the “greats” of each genre and include them while still feeling fresh.

The crux of the new content is relegated to multiplayer modes, which seems appropriate given how social this kind of game is. Community Remix is an interesting one – it allows players around the world to dance to a routine of Ubisoft’s choosing, and for Ubisoft to collate these videos together to make a choreographed routine as danced by the community. Ubisoft allegedly screens these before they’re put together, which is a job I don’t envy. But it’s a great way to add “multiplayer” and make players feel like a part of the community without incorporating proper, live multiplayer.

Other new modes include Challenger Mode, which acts to capitalise on similar asymmetric multiplayer experiences such as Words With Friends and SongPop. Every song can be performed as a “challenge” against another player. Once the first player completes their dance, their score and choreo is saved in the system until the challenger dances back. This is another great inclusion because it allows you to complete and compete against other players at your own leisure, and the community is already active enough that I’ll have three to four challenges ready for me each time I booted up the game. It’s not live multiplayer, but it’s so well done it’s hard to fault it.

World Dance Floor returns from the last Just Dance game too, where players can join up into crews (think clans, but dancing instead of shooting) and compete to climb a global leaderboard. This mode is pretty fun but it’s restricted by how many people are performing at that given time so it wasn’t always available for me to play during my sessions. But it’s still nice to see how you stack up against other people throughout the world and even within your own country.

One thing that’s immediately more obvious with 2015 is the way that the menus have been fine-tuned to be a lot more responsive. The user interface, in general, has been tweaked ever so slightly to reduce the time it takes to jump and select from song to song. It’s a very minor improvement but one that really streamlines the entire experience and one I really commend Ubisoft for, they’ve really built a solid case on how to use Kinect to completely control and navigate a user interface with little to no effort.

This streamlining also carries over into the playlists mode, which can also function as the Fitness mode. In playlists mode, as you’d expect, you can pick a certain time interval to play in or just pick a non-stop shuffle mode. Calorie counters are also included, and when activated, act as a replacement to the Sweat mode found in previous games. I appreciate the addition of non-stop playlists as they’re perfect for a pick up and play setting at a party or if you’re not sure how long you want to spend dancing in each session, but it is a bit disappointing to see you can’t skip a song if you’re not a fan of it.

On a technical level, Just Dance 2015 isn’t really one of the best demonstrations of Kinect as a motion tracking device. It’s particularly forgiving when it comes to scoring and there were many times when me or my group would score a “Perfect” just when waving our arms rather than doing the proper movements as shown on the screen. This feels like a bit of a moot point since it completely defeats the purpose of playing a game like this, but it’s worth mentioning especially when other games like Dance Central actively provide feedback on which parts of your body are out of touch. Just Dance does nothing of the sort, but you could argue it’s more about having fun in Just Dance than technical proficiency.

The game also supports downloadable content but I’m of two minds about how it’s been implemented in Just Dance 2015. There’s a few new routines available as of now, one of which is free, but there’s also several of the Just Dance 2014 routines available to download. I already own these routines in Just Dance 2014, so having to pay extra money just for the convenience of having them playable from the Just Dance 2015 disc seems a bit rough, especially considering that the game’s contemporaries have managed to migrate downloadable content from three previous games and even across generations.

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The Legend of Korra takes place between the second and third season of the popular animated television series. Korra is a bender – a special kind of person who can manipulate the elements of water, earth fire or air. Korra is an avatar, a person who can bend all four of the elements, and is thus responsible for maintaining balance in the world.

The game picks up with Korra being opposed by what’s known as a “chi-blocker”, who strips Korra of her bending abilities (conveniently providing her with a void to fill with powers as the game progresses). Following events of the second season, Korra herself unwittingly unleashed Hundun into the real world from the spirit world. An ancient evil, Hundun must be stopped before he spreads chaos throughout the world, and banished back to his spirit realm.

As you’d expect given how boring it sounds on paper, the story of The Legend of Korra is definitely not the focus here. It’s your stereotypical, Saturday morning cartoon type of storyline that only serves to push the action from locale to locale. There’s no surprises, there’s no thrills and there’s really nothing of note here. I’m almost willing to bet that everything in the series itself is more compelling than what’s on offer here.

Korra’s presentation is designed to evoke the look and feel of the animated series that it’s based on. In that regard it’s pretty successful, right down to presenting some beautifully animated cutscenes between levels to set the scene and the story. The colours are solid and vibrant and the characters move as if they were in an animated television show – even the powers themselves, such as the water and fire all look great and  the whole thing runs in an extremely fluid 60fps.

But it’s evident that a lot was sacrificed to achieve this fluidity – with many environments looking extremely bare. We’ve seen that Platinum Games can achieve 60fps with very detailed environments in their previous works, but for Korra everything just feels barren and rush. None of the environments feel alive or lived in, they just feel like static backgrounds to the action.

The voice work is similarly quite disappointing, although it is apparently making use of voice actors from the series itself. The performances are just dull and quite honestly, phoned in. The soundtrack, on the other hand, is great. Its action packed when it needs to be, it’s good at setting an air of ambience during calmer moments and appropriately melodramatic during the big (not to mention lacklustre) reveals during the story.

Legend of Korra’s gameplay is what ultimately saves it from being an utter disaster, but you’d hope so given the developer’s pedigree. Korra is a pretty standard action game – you play as Korra herself and can switch between the elements at will (as you unlock them), with each element serving a specific purpose. Each of these elements can be charged to augment Korra’s attacks and deal more damage too – for example augmenting the Earth power sends out rocks with every punch that can be pulled onto enemies for extra damage.

There’s four elements to bend in the game. Earth is a heavy hitting, but slow element. Fire is blazingly fast but does less damage than the others. Wind strikes a balance between the two, but provides a great degree of crowd control with its whirling tornadoes. Water is more of an all-rounder. All the elements are well defined and distinct enough to serve a purpose in the game against certain enemies, although there is definitely a tendency to rely on one or two more than the others.

This can be seen as either a positive or a negative – on one hand the game doesn’t force you to use all your powers outside of the moment they’re introduced (ie. like DmC: Devil May Cry’s forced polarity system) but on the other it’s entirely possible you might undervalue one of the powers and not use them at all.

The combat itself is rather simplistic – Korra can use a light or a heavy attack to deal damage to enemies, as well as dodge or jump to get out of harm’s way. Counters can also be initiated by dodging at the right second, allowing Korra to retaliate for good damage. From time to time, an enemy may block Korra’s attacks and the game will enter a short QTE which provides her with an opportunity to defend herself.

It’s a simple system combat system, but it’s very easy for the game to somehow keep putting players said QTE sequence – either allowing the player to abuse the damage that can be dealt without worrying about other enemies attacking them or just plain frustrating the player who might want to fight naturally.

There are some other scenarios interspersed into the main storyline that break up the monotony of Korra’s simplistic combat system against the same five or so enemies. Firstly, there’s high speed traversal segments where players control Korra’s pet, Naga, in a Temple Run-esque gauntlet. Secondly, there’s Pro-Bending, which is like a simple game of attrition and a competitive, regulated bending competition. Both of these segments are playable without having to play the story; the former from the chapter select screen and the latter from a separate mode unlocked upon completion of the game.

Between missions, Korra can visit a store to purchase items such as consumables that heal damage, new moves and abilities or other items that might buff her abilities at the detriment to others (ie. Double experience, but halved health). These should provide a nice air of strategy to the game but on your first play-through, the game is so easy that their effects and detriments are arguably negligible. It’s clear this system, as simple as it is, was designed for repeat play-throughs on higher difficulties.

And you’ll want to be replaying it too, since the entire experience could easily be over in five hours. It sounds short, and it really is, but Korra hopes that you’ll return to its higher difficulties to try to rank higher. Weirdly, the ranking system only really emphasises combo counts and time, so it’s possible to get a Platinum medal (theoretically) while still taking damage. We dabbled briefly in the unlockable “Extreme” mode, and it provided a challenge, but it should’ve been unlockable from the start for action game veterans.

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Candy? Costumes? Why, it must be Halloween! Think of children running around, excitedly yelling, “Trick or treat!” or street parties where neighbours can come together to celebrate.

Costume Quest 2 opens on that high note, picking up siblings Reynold and Wren’s adventure soon after the previous game, just as they arrive in their hometown of Auburn Pines. A Halloween party is due to begin, but as is sometimes the case, there may be some unwelcome guests. And cue the arrival of invading monsters from another realm, led by the crazed local dentist Orel White. The kids must then embark on a journey to try and prevent the invasion from ever occurring, or risk facing a dystopian future where candy and costumes are outlawed.

All in all, the game features a simple story that is easy enough to follow. While it may certainly appeal to a younger audience, the simple premise of going around on an epic adventure wearing costumes and fighting bad guys is sure to also have a nostalgic effect on some of the older gamers out there. However, and as I’ll go into detail later, there is very little story beyond that which is made clear at the beginning.

I should probably take the time, however, to commend the writers for offering up a storyline that, for the most part, is able to stand up on its own. By that, I mean that newcomers to the series will quickly be able to grasp what’s going on, even without having played through the original game or had knowledge of its storyline.

I must say that I rather enjoyed the game’s simplistic design, aesthetically similar to Double Fine’s Psychonauts. At times, the game took more of a cartoon-like appearance, though that did little to detract from the experience. In fact, it reminded me of my childhood, with an environment that visually resembled ones from classic games like Crash Bandicoot.

It is also worth noting that I found some of the building and character models to take upon a lighter, and often, comical appearance. This was likely intentional on the developer’s part, helping to establish an atmosphere suitable for players of all ages, and to contribute towards the game’s focus on a child’s imagination.

With regards to sound design, the developers certainly did well to provide a score that matched the mood and atmosphere of the explorable locations. It was a nice touch to hear gentle guitar strumming as I explored the swampy bayou, to the upbeat, New Orleans-esque sounds of the French Quarter.

Central to the game’s premise is quite obviously candy and costumes. While the former’s importance was restricted mostly to purchasing upgrades and replenishing health, it is the latter that was of more interest to me.

I vividly remember owning several costumes as a child, but those don’t begin to compare to the variety featured in the game. They ranged from the starting superhero costume, to a clown, right up to a ghost. Each came with their own unique abilities, so it was fun to experiment with different combinations for my characters during battle. A number of them did have abilities usable outside of battle, like the pterodactyl costume allowing us to flap wings. I do find fault with this feature, however, given the lack of cues informing us what to do upon first encountering an obstacle we could clear.

In addition, the presence of several of these costumes did seem to be a matter of convenience. Sure, it was nice to have such a variety of them, but certain ones like the Hotdog outfit really only had one use outside of battle, and that was to distract a minion standing close by to where it was found.

Upon getting right into the main part of the game, I found myself in a bayou, where I began to familiarise myself with some of the game’s features. Throughout this stage of the game, I was tasked with carrying out a number of side quests, including locating children (hide-and-seek), knocking on doors for candy deliveries, and seeking out special Creepy Treat Cards for trade.

At first, I found these side quests to be a largely fun and challenging experience, although given the scale of the bayou, it often took some time backtracking if I missed something. However, when I advanced onto the following stages, I found that each area contained all of the above features, and little else. This gave way into repetitiveness, and as such, the game felt like seven monotonous hours doing the same things repeatedly. More than that, the hours spent running around had me forgetting that there was actually a point to all this, with a disproportionate amount of time doing errands to advance the storyline.

In their quest to undo Orel White’s evil plan, our heroes must often face off against the dentist’s minions. These take the form of turn-based battles, providing ample time for players to formulate strategies on how best to defeat their foes. Each character in the party would have an opportunity to use a regular attack, their costume’s special ability (if the special meter was filled), or a Creepy Treat Card.

I honestly felt that the Creepy Treat Cards made skirmishes far too easy. Despite encountering such a wide range during the course of the game, two in particular caught my attention: one that enabled enemy minions to attack themselves, and another that caused their attacks to heal your heroes. To put it simply, these two were overpowered. Perhaps to dampen their overall effectiveness, making use of them required cool down periods, and some were restricted for use only on minions and not bosses.

If I have anything positive to say about the combat system, it is that the game offered up some interesting special attacks. These attacks carried on between each battle, and gave me the freedom to strategically charge them up during a minion battle, and save their use for a boss battle. A particular favourite of mine was the ‘Declaration of Destruction’ that accompanied the Thomas Jefferson’s costume, and came with a neat little cutscene.

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Skylanders Trap Team follows the story of the evil Kaos. This time, Kaos has blown up Cloudcracker Prison which has obviously released all of the evil villains. It is the Portal Masters job to use the Trap Master in order to capture the escaped villains and return order to the universe.

The story won’t be winning any Golden Globes however it’s solid enough to keep the key demographic interested. I have to commend the writers for finding a way to keep the story going without making it feel too shallow. Cut scenes are well presented and are sure to suck young gamers in.

Skylanders Trap Team looks exceptional on PS4. It’s without doubt the most colourful and vibrant game that i’ve played on the console. Most elements of the levels are destructible and react beautifully with a ton of particle effects scattered around the creatively crafted world.

I really have to commend the various Skylanders teams at Activision. The game runs extremely smoothly which is impressive for the amount of consoles that the game is available on. The game rarely has any slow-down which is a great feat considering that a lot of enemies are always on-screen at once.

There are now over 300 Skylanders and they’re still looking just as inventive as the first wave. They’re all extremely unique and interesting to look at and animation of the characters are always smooth.

I also played the game on an iPad mini and was completely stunned with how great the game looked. Sure, it didn’t have the polish and sharpness that the PS4 version did, but it was extremely impressive to me that the game was able to run at all, let alone look so good on a tablet device.

?The concept of last year’s Skylanders Swap Force let me a little underwhlemed. The gameplay was solid but the concept of joining two different Skylander halves to combine a new one didn’t feel as special to me. It took away from the overall personality that individual Skylanders have and it didn’t make collecting anywhere near as fun. I know that my nephew definitely didn’t grasp onto the concept either. The naming conventions and endless possibility just left him confused to the point where he wasn’t able to get as involved as he usually does.

I’m happy to report that this is not the case with Skylanders Trap Team. Not only do you have the usual new lot of Skylanders, there are now 40 trappable enemies that are all playable within the game. You get two different traps with the starter pack and more are available to purchase separately. Basically you’re able to trap certain enemies with the corresponding elements trap. You can then tag this enemy into the game whilst the trap is inserted into the new portal. It sounds extremely confusing but it works. It adds a whole new dimension to the game that I didn’t think was possible after four straight yearly releases.

My only criticism of the game remains that unless you’re willing to play the main game over and over again, there really seems to no reason to collect everything. The game is over in about 10 hours and whilst it is an absolute blast, there really is no reason to replay the game unless you want to test out more characters. I’d recommend that you get at least one of each element for both the traps and the Trap Masters to unlock absolutely everything there is to unlock. What’s included in the Starter Kit is enough to get you through the main game but you’ll be going past a lot of gates that you won’t be able to access.

When getting through the game, you will also notice that there are a lot of gates that have the symbols of two unannounced elements. These have now been confirmed to be Light and Dark elements but no release date has yet been set for these figures. I’m a little bit unsure about the strategy behind this. It’s extremely annoying to have sections of the game that can’t yet be started because the figures haven’t been released.

I was lucky enough to get to play the game on both the PS4 and on a Retina iPad Mini and the game plays tremendously on both. For the first time ever, I can happily say that it is the exact same experience on both platforms. I can’t think of a AAA gaming franchise that has been able to achieve this so successfully.

On the Tablet version, you’re given a bluetooth portal that still has a spot for the traps to go in. It syncs perfectly out of the box with absolutely no effort. Similarly, Activision have given you a Bluetooth controller that also works on AAA batteries. The controller also syncs straight into the game without any effort whatsoever. I must say, the controller is absolutely wonderful. It’s a scaled down version of a 360 controller and feels every bit as good. I hope that Activision allow this controller to work as a standard bluetooth controller down the line as i believe that it is the best in the market.

The game apparently has to be online to download new characters once placed on the portal. It is a small annoyance but won’t be an issue for most players. I’d rather that the game do this as it’d be ridiculous to download character data for over 100 Skylanders when most won’t get the full catalogue. The good thing is that you’re able to play the game with no portal attached and you’ll still have access to two Skylanders at all times. You’re also able to play the game without purchasing the Starter Kit through the use of digital packs. These are quite expensive though so i’d opt for buying the Starter Kit.

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Set 15 years after the events of Ridley Scott’s Alien, Ellen Ripley’s daughter Amanda (mentioned often in the films but never seen) is offered to accompany a team to Sevastopol, a giant space station, in order to retrieve the flight recorder for the Nostromo (the original ship in the film) and find out what happened to her mother. Of course, things go disastrously wrong: Sevastopol is a wreck upon arrival, androids are mysteriously hostile, survivors shoot on sight and a terrifying presence stalks the station. Allies are few and far between, enemies are everywhere and when the titular antagonist finally makes its appearance the tension that the game has built is so overwhelming it’s almost anticlimactic to finally see the Alien in its entirety.

The story cleverly uses the huge 57 year gap between the events of Alien and Aliens to tell a story that’s both flexible in storytelling and faithful to the franchise. There’s no cheap retcon or shoved in ‘canon’ material (thanks, Colonial Marines), it’s just an old school Alien story, one that will strike familiar to any fan of the first film. In fact, it’s just a bit TOO similar to the film. Everything that happened in Alien/Aliens pretty much is copied in Isolation. It’s especially detrimental when plot twists and story beats are pretty much ripped from the films. The most refreshing plot point involving openly hostile androids adds a mix to the story (and gameplay) that adds an extra layer of intrigue to the story. It’s all faithfully done, but Isolation forgets that it’s not an adaptation, it’s a standalone game, and the line is blurred just a bit too much as the game chooses to play it safe. There’s a lot of wasted potential to explore the Alien mythos and setting further, choosing to replicate an arguably perfect film.

However, all of this can ultimately be seen as a positive to the fans of the franchise, as there is no other game that will make you feel like you are actually in Alien more than Isolation does. The story reflects the atmosphere and presentation in that it just feels like a true part of the Alien franchise.

Isolation looks fantastic. The game nails the aesthetic and atmosphere that the original film had. It’s set in the future yet looks like the past: simple CRT monitors and binary displays, video tape tracking, monochrome and vector graphics. It doesn’t just look like an Alien film, it feels like one. It doesn’t take place on the Nostromo, but Sevastopol is so aesthetically similar that it feels like you’re in the film. Characters are dead caricatures of their film counterparts; with the exception of Jones the Cat, with no such double existing, tragically. And the titular Alien looks impressive: the tall, thin glistening monster with dozens of different animations depending on the situation. And thank God Creative Assembly got it right, because they manage to make the now iconic Alien look terrifying all over again. While years and years of films, media and spoofs have dulled the impact of the natural scariness of the Alien, Isolation manages to overcome 30 years of pop culture to make it look as scary as it did in 1979.

The flame effects in particular looks downright spectacular: engulfing the Alien with your flamethrower or throwing a molotov cocktail will result in a glorious eruption of flames that are hands down the best looking fire effects in a game since Far Cry 2.

The audio is exceptional: the dynamic sound range will have you jumping in terror at the mere sound of a vent opening and closing. The vibrant sounds that the Alien makes are terrifying: hissing when you get close, shrieking when it sees you, stomping around the vents. The mere creaking of a vent straight above you will send chills down your spine, whipping out the iconic motion tracker to see just how close you are to certain death. The sound is essential in any horror game, and Isolation nails it. It’s not just recommended to play with a great headset, it’s essential.

It also sounds like an Alien film would: monitors hum and beep just like in the original film did, with the limited technology and budget that the 1979 film had at the time there was a lot of old school technology used, and it carries onto Isolation. 20th Century Fox apparently provided The Creative Assembly with three terabytes of archived data related to the original Alien film, including notes on prop and set design, behind the scenes photos, videos, and the film’s original sound effect recordings, to help Creative Assembly authentically recreate the atmosphere of the film, along with the original soundtrack which Creative Assembly then re-recorded with an orchestra in order to get the perfect cues for certain scares, and it works damn well.

The voice acting is solid all around; thankfully, Amanda Ripley is a fully fledged character with actual motivations and emotions. She isn’t dead silent throughout the game and even in general gameplay she makes noises dependant on what is going on; hiding in a locker she may hold her breath if the Alien is especially nearby, a nearby explosion will cause her to swear and mercifully, she actually talks to characters instead of blindly following orders. Lip synching and facial animations are beyond awful, but since you’re spending 90% of your time alone, it doesn’t become a huge deal.

In terms of the PC version, the differences are pretty bad. The game uses a LOT of contextual actions: going near any object will automatically make you lean under or over; a nitpick that it does not have a separate prone button, with only a crouch button and contextual actions taking over the rest. The game was built for a controller, with leaning a KB+M function will only allow you to lean fully, instead of having a joystick to carefully put pressure on how much you would want to lean.

Graphical options aren’t so flashy: the only options for Anti-Aliasing are FXAA, SMAATX2 and SMAATX1,and they don’t actually get rid of aliasing. The aliasing is borderline awful and is especially noticeable with dark environments with sole light sources: something that is very commonplace within Sevastopol. The sliders are strange: FOV slider is reversed and is vertical instead of horizontal, SMAA T2X comes before T1X, HDAO looks worse than standard AO. The pre-rendered videos are also very bad: obvious compression and runs incredibly choppy. Depth of field would usually be turned off for me, but since this is directly involved with an important gameplay component it gets a pass.

However, even on Ultra settings the game runs incredibly smoothly: my rig is a mid-range build (i5-3570k CPU, GTX 660, 16GB RAM on Windows 7) and it was amazing how well the game was running, with a constant 60FPS on the highest settings.

As a survival horror, you cannot kill the Alien. This is a huge positive, as many so called modern ‘horror’ games become trivial due to the lack of fear that the enemy couldn’t be beaten. Like the Hunter in Dead Space, the Nemesis in Resident Evil 3 or the Regeneradores in Resident Evil 4 (sort of), the Alien is nigh invincible. Gunshots will just anger it; your best weapon against it would be the flamethrower which scares it off but doesn’t quite hurt it. Any weapon build or obtained by Amandais used to either distract the Alien of kill the weaker Working Joes; lethal androids who aren’t quite humanoid, but with their red eyes and grey complexion are a near equally terrifying presence on Sevastopol.

Segments with the Working Joes are refreshing because they can be overcome, and it’s a fun change over the unstoppable Alien as it lets you have a bit of fun with the weapons and the AI, exploiting whatever weaknesses the androids have. Using the revolver is especially satisfying against the androids, and words cannot describe the sheer terror of reloading the revolver whilst a Working Joe approached Amanda to throttle her. While the best scenario would be to sneak past the Working Joes or outright spring to the next destination (as they take a tremendous amount of punishment, requiring a few headshots with ), it’s still stimulating to have a bit more frantic and upbeat action in comparison to the almost torturously slow gameplay involving the Alien.

Moving slowly, softly and quietly is the only way to survive the Alien, and throughout the course of the 20 hour game it gets a bit tedious. Sheer terror sometimes devolves into tedium and boredom, and while the top notch audio and atmosphere keep you on your toes, it’s easy to see why some people would give up halfway due to the slow pace that rarely quickens. Save points are few and far between, doesn’t pause the game and are genuinely old school. A notification pops up when hostiles are nearby, and it’s up to you to decide whether to risk saving the game or waiting for the enemy to pass, because the Alien can completely sneak up and kill you right as you are about to save. While the save system is a good change over the trial-and-error quick save system, it can lead to a certain amount of frustration when you die just short of a save point, forcing you to retrace the last 15-20 minutes of the game.

The Alien is just about unstoppable in Isolation; it can smell you, hear you and once it sees you, you might as well restart from the last save. It’s a real shame that there’s no real chance to outrun the Alien, as like in Outlast, chase scenes can lead to exceptionally memorable and frightening moments. Rather, there’s no chance to outrun the Alien, just wave it off with a molotov, or distract it beforehand with a noisemaker. Amanda Ripley’s background of a technician is a good way to introduce a crafting system, as most items need to be crafted with ingredients picked up throughout the station. It make sense contexually, and adds a lot of flavour in the otherwise slow paced horror.

Little minigames exist throughout the station, but I feel they are fun only because of the old school CRT displays that are a throwback to the original film. They’re simple enough: decrypting codes to open doors, changing power outlets to certain elements (such as lights, sprinklers, alarms or doors) and generally hiding in lockers or cabinets and trying not to pee as the Alien stalks past you.

There is no heads up display thankfully; forcing you to explore the generally non-linear environments to reach your goal. It never gets difficult as the motion tracker gives you a mark on where to go and bringing up the map contains all the information you will need. In contrary, having a goal waypoint would be extremely detrimental to the atmosphere and gameplay. Pulling out your revolver, you have to wait several seconds to line up a shot; another great reflection on Amanda’s inexperience with a gun and the fear of survival.

The pace will throw many off, but survival horror gamers will love Isolation’s creepy, tense atmosphere that builds slowly and pays off in spades. The survival mode in particular has potential to become a huge party game: get a group of friends together and see who can survive the level. It worked with Slender, and I see it working with Isolation.

The post Review: Alien: Isolation appeared first on Press Start.

Project Spark is hard game to properly define. On one hand it’s a pretty typical action adventure game. But on the other, it’s a game maker. A digital canvas with which players can create almost anything and everything. Throughout my time with Project Spark, I’ve seen it be used to create platforming games, music and rhythm games, aerial combat simulators and even re-enact classic franchises like Zelda or even music videos from established artists.

I guess the point I’m trying to make here is that the crux of Project Spark is the creative tools it provides players. While it includes a rudimentary campaign, it’s merely designed as light tutorials to accustom the player to the components that Project Spark gives the player. In short – it’s only as good as the things you create, and your own capacity to create. So your mileage will most certainly vary.

Project Spark employs a colourful and vibrant art style that isn’t really pushing the system beyond anything you’d see on Xbox 360 but adheres to a uniform art style instead. Character models and environments all have a unique looking, almost Claymation style that gives Project Spark an instantly recognisable look no matter what the setting is. From space to the medieval, everything looks different but at the same time like it belongs to the same family and this is quite an accomplishment.

Unfortunately that’s just about where the praises end for the game’s presentation, as for the most part Project Spark is pretty poorly optimised, at least for the Xbox One. The tools don’t really feature a “limit” of sorts and while that sounds like a great thing for content creators it means that there’s several times where a creation will bring the action to a crawling frame rate.

The sound design is pretty nice, however, and fits in with that airy and whimsical, Disney-esque aesthetic that Team Dakota were clearly going for. Sure, it’s not as witty or as charming as Stephen Fry from LittleBigPlanet but it definitely does the job.

Project Spark splits its experience into three core tenets. The first is Play, where as you’d expect, players can play a variety of games. The game includes a campaign which runs you through the absolute basics of programming logic (and by extension, Project Spark’s underlying coding system) while also providing a nice primer on how the game’s combat works. It’s very simple, and at most times plays like a low rent Fable, but it still provides a nice foundation from which to create more scenarios – the irony of which being that many of these creations are more interesting than the campaign.

But between the game’s very comprehensive tutorials and its rudimental campaign – Project Spark does one thing pretty well that many other titles like RPG Maker or even LittleBigPlanet fails to do. Team Dakota have managed to create an in-depth and complex game maker but at the same time managed to remove a lot of the tedium and confusion surrounding how to put everything to good use. The tools are in-depth enough to create your own artificial intelligence (affectionately called “brains”) whereas those who are put off by programming logic can easily just choose from a set batch of resources too.

The Starter Pack, despite my own personal issues with its visual style, features a large variety of themes that’ll get most players in to create all kinds of stages. It’s really fascinating to see how many different things are possible with Project Spark and even more importantly how creative the greater community seems to be. You can create a twin stick shooter, you can create a first person adventure – you can even take a classic game like Gradius and make it all about zombies. The sky really is the limit. You can even use Kinect to capture animations for characters too, often to hilarious and unintended results.

For people like me who aren’t creative in the same way that Project Spark encourages, it’s also great to see that it’s possible to take any map already created and remix it and add your own touches. It probably errs on the side of plagiarism too, but Project Spark does a good job at giving credit where credit is due. The “lineage” feature tracks remixes of a level back to its original creator which is a feature that seems simple but one I really appreciate. As you’d expect, there’s all kinds of typical community features like user ratings and whatnot too.

But there lies one major problem with Project Spark that keeps it from being truly great, and that’s the way the content is provided to the player. The Starter Pack includes a wide breadth of content but a lot of the cooler stuff (including the aforementioned Zombie content pack) will set you back credits. Credits can be earned through normal gameplay but it is such a grind that it’s presumably going to be frustrated and impatient people shelling out real money for them rather than earning them naturally. To be fair, the game seems to favour creators more than players with the doling out of these credits (and rightly so, they do make or break Project Spark) but it still feels like an unnecessary and arduous grind to unlock everything and create everything.

The post Review: Project Spark appeared first on Press Start.

Disney Infinity 2.0: Marvel Super Heroes features an original story headed by Brian Michael Bendis. In The Avengers, players must defeat the Norse God Loki from rebuilding the Casket of Ancient Winters. Similarly to the film, The Guardians Of The Galaxy plot revolves around the Guardians protecting Nowhere from Ronan the Accuser. Spider-Man’s plot is heavily inspired by The Ultimate Spider-Man and features around defeating the evil Green Goblin.

The three plots will please fans of the Marvel universe as they each tell a new side of each franchise in quite depth. The Disney Original characters will not receive their own individual stories this time around and will only be useable in the Toy Box.

Disney Infinity 2.0 on PS4 is a big step-up from the Wii U version of the original game. Characters have a lot more detail and seem to have a lot more in common with their original on-screen characters. Maps appear to be quite a lot larger in scale and more seems to be destructible which is a nice touch. There are a lot more other things that help the open-world games seem a lot more alive. The worlds are full of cars and people which are all destructible and overall, more enemies seem to be able to appear on screen at once without the game slowing down.

I commend Avalanche with being able to represent so many different Disney franchises in so many different ways throughout the game. There are so many fan favourites ranging from different furniture items to Toy Box vehicles.

The main gripe I had with the game was the persistent loading times. When booting up the game or loading up the Toy Box, the load times were fairly long. Thankfully they’re not quite as bad once you get into a Play Set but it was still more than noticeable in certain instances.

In Disney Infinity 2.0 there are 3 separate Play Sets this time around. With the Starter Kit you will receive the Avenger Play Set whilst Spider-Man and Guardians Of The Galaxy can be purchased separately. The Spider-Man set was by far my favourite as I feel that they really nailed the Spider-Man’s ability to fly through the city. The completely different characters of The Avenger characters are well represented in game and really do well to provide some variety.

Unfortunately the overall lack of imagination in Play Sets means you’ll be stretched for creativity while playing them. The gameplay is still extremely solid however variety between Play Sets left me wanting so much more. Each Play Set has you going from point A to B in order to complete missions with the odd side-mission to keep you occupied. I can completely understand the gameplay is so basic as my seven year old nephew is able to understand what he has to do in order to get through the game. However as an older Disney fan, it’s still too basic for me. Countless films and games have shown that they can pander to both adult and children audiences, and it’s hard to forgive Disney Infinity 2.0 for not being able to engage adults well.

Some characters could be used across Play Sets through the use of Crossover Coins. It’s still limited to certain situations but wherever possible, characters can cross over into two play sets. This is something that wasn’t allowed at all within the original game so I was extremely excited to see how this works. Skill trees are also more fleshed out and seem to add much more depth to the overall experience. I would have liked to see both things taken further however it’s improved the game dramatically.

Power discs return and make a much bigger impact on the game. Whilst ability and toy box discs are still around, power discs also unlock alternate costumes for characters. Sidekicks make an appearance in the form of the side-kick power disc. Whilst not everyone’s favourite may not appear as a figurine, it doesn’t mean that they’re not featured as a sidekick. They play into the game as a timed power-up with their own exclusive health bars. The biggest new addition to the power disc collection are the Toy Box game discs. These are discs that unlock 1-2 hour mini-games within the toy box. Two come with the Starter Kit however it has been announced that there are at least 4 more to be released in later waves.

The Toy Box in 2.0 has seen quite a massive improvement. In the first game, it was extremely impressive with what Avalanche were able to do with the game however they’ve brought it leaps and bounds in Toy Box 2.0.

The first big addition are townspeople. These are characters from various Disney shows that will start building various aspects of the Toy box for you. For instance, Eve from Wall-E builds trees and foliage around the place. There is another character that also builds race tracks. The cool thing about this is that they build around each other and essentially create a world that will be unlike the last.

You’re able to take customisation further in the Toy Box by taking full control the camera angle and add in-game text to essentially create a story (with online approval from a Disney moderator). This basically means that players are now able to create a game that doesn’t feel like it was something forced and incomplete.

Another addition are INTerior Toy Boxes. You’re able to populate these inside spaces with popular items from all over the Disney universe. You can also put doors all over the place which can link to a completely different space. These can be linked to an extremely large scale and allow you to keep building until your heart’s content.

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Madden 15 is the 27th game in the extremely popular American EA sporting franchise. As they’ve done with previous years, EA allowed NFL fans to vote via ESPN to select who they wanted to see on the cover of the game. The vote lasted less time that previous years due to a later than normal release of the game. Seattle Seahawk player Richard Sherman was the chosen cover man for 2015.

EA Sports have always been praised on their wonderful presentation and Madden 15 is a great example of why they’re the leading sporting developer. Players have more detail and personality than ever before. Animation is smoother than it’s ever been but not without some glitches. What fun would the game be without them? Improved lighting means that light now reflects directly off players. Crowds are much more full and alive than ever before and bring a bigger amount of atmosphere to the game.

As always, a great soundtrack and commentary accompany this iteration of Madden. The commentary in particular seems a lot less repetitive than in years past and seems to match the situation a lot more closely. There is a high emphasis on replays that take place in key moments and this is well appreciated in highlighting the big hits and great touchdowns.

I’m not the biggest NFL fan however I can appreciate any sport game. Madden 15 boasts a number of new features which help make the game much more realistic and strategic than ever. Madden 15’s main new feature is War In The Trenches 2.0. This is something that the developers at EA have introduced to make much passing a much easier process. Passing quickly is more fluent than ever and you’re able to hit your target like never before.

Organising your plays has never been more of a tactical process. EA have added in a feature to show you which plays other players around the world are using as well as which play the opposing team are most likely to use. This gives a brand new insight into the game. Defence has also been rejigged giving players to choose between whether they want to make a more aggressive or conservative tackle.

A.I players have now been improved as well. This allows in-game players to make better defensive and attacking moves in order to pull off plays that weren’t possible in previous years. Zone Coverage ratings have a bigger impact on how quickly defenders will break through the line on throws. Defenders with higher ratings in a certain zone will react much quicker to those that don’t.

Madden Ultimate Team has also seen a new healthy additions. The new items screen shows you the latest items for use in your inventory. Changing your team lineup is more simpler than ever whilst still providing the same amount of depth as ever before. You’re also able to choose your best lineup by overall or play style.

The post Review: Madden 15 appeared first on Press Start.

Bad Blood picks up after the events of the original Watch Dogs game, where Raymond Kenney, known by the alias “T-Bone” has some unfinished business to clean up in Chicago following Aidan Pearce’s subversion of ctOS and Blume Securities hold on the city. Despite the events of the main game, almost nothing has changed in Chicago and you’d be forgiven for thinking it took place at the same time as the original game. Still, Aiden has disappeared and is laying low while T-Bone is left to clean up his mess and finish up some loose ends for his own benefit.

T-Bone’s story treads familiar ground and while the conclusion it reaches is rather predictable, I can’t fault it too much because it was still genuinely intriguing. It does attempt to reincorporate some characters from the original game into its story to better flesh them out, but this feels quite forced. As you’d probably surmise if you played the original game, T-Bone is a much more charismatic protagonist than Aidan Pierce but he also errs the line between legitimately humorous and cringe worthy stereotype.

Since the original game, nothing has really changed here. Chicago looks just like it did in the original game. The city has a lot of action to make it feel believable and alive, but definitely looks better at sunset and night time as opposed to the day where colours look less vibrant and instead washed out. T-Bone himself looks great in terms of modelling and animation, even if he does borrow a few from the main game and Aiden.

As with the original game, there’s some very nice subtle lighting effects here and there – like the glow of T-Bones smartphone dynamically lighting up parts of his body if he’s holding it while running away from a group of enemies or his tasers glow as he beats up enemies up close. All in all it’s a game that looks great, but is still a far cry from the original reveal of the game several years ago.

From a sound perspective, the original score here is a step up from the original. The new pieces that are played during missions, whether high tension or ambient slower pieces, really fit the theme of the future that Ubisoft is trying to portray in Watch Dogs. Voice work is similarly an improvement – with John Tench easily outclassing Noam Jenkins (Aiden) in his portrayal of T-Bone.

Bad Blood really is more or less a Watch Dogs expansion pack, except barely anything here is new. While Ubisoft claimed the game featured “new locations within Chicago”, many of these were unfortunately just new areas within buildings that already existed. A major issue I have with the lack of expansion of the map (heck, even adding a new district might’ve been nice) is that it removes that sense of exploration from the town. As such, all your fast travel points and your map is fully viewable from the get-go. The core structure is similarly still like the original game – there’s a whole bunch of icons on the map, of which some advance the main story and others start optional content.

The main story missions themselves are pretty varied but still, at their core, provide the same experience that Watch Dogs did. There are a few missions that feature new (indoor) locations but they as a whole are pretty unremarkable. Most of the missions involve you having to raid an indoor location, hack something, and then leave or kill everyone in the area. It’s not a terribly bad experience, it’s just too close to home with what we’ve already experienced in the base game.

The biggest new addition to the game is Eugene, a small remote controlled car that T-Bone can use to infiltrate areas and scout out locations. Completing side missions will eventually outfit Eugene with a stun gun as well as explosives too, making him a little bit more useful than when you first pick him up. The idea of Eugene is a pretty small and yet simple way to make things feel different, but in his present state he’s hideously overpowered – being able to take down even heavy soldiers with a quick stun shot and no recovery time. He’s also, disappointingly, only usable during certain moments in the game (largely within missions themselves and not during open world free roaming).

The other new addition is the “Street Sweep” missions, which are more or less optional missions that further a minor storyline in the game. These are pretty run of the mill – including having to stand near a computer while hacked files transfer, taking out a certain target without harming anyone else and racing through a selection of checkpoints before a timer elapses. They’re apparently procedurally generated, but they’re so dull to the point where I wasn’t surprised to discover this. On the plus side, these missions can be tackled co-operatively with a friend, which is a nice touch and is much more enjoyable than I thought it would be.

As you’d expect, the ten mission run of Bad Blood is easily over within three to four hours but there’s a wide breadth of optional content to wade through to further extend the experience. Whether this is worthwhile, however, is a whole other issue. To unlock absolutely everything the game has to offer, you’ll have to complete at least sixty procedurally generated missions on top of the ten main ones, which quite frankly feels like the worst kind of padding possible in a game like this. Sure, it’ll easily extend the experience from a four hour one to somewhere between six and eight, but it’s simply too dull to warrant it.

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As the initial fence sitter of Press-Start regarding Destiny it seemed only right that I should be the one to review this game without any unrealistic expectations or exceptionally negative preconceptions. Three weeks worth of game time has certainly provided me with enough hands on experience and insight for the game. Here we go!

Destiny’s story is exceptionally dry, plain and simple. After the Earth entered it’s golden age of interplanetary exploration and began inhabiting other planets surrounding our own; thanks to the assistance of The Traveler, a large floating vessel the size of a small moon. After the appearance of this mysterious being, its long time enemy known as the darkness followed it and was lead to earth. The citizens of Earth and surrounding planets were either eradicated or pushed back to the last strong hold of Earth, which Guardians now struggle to keep protected. You play as one of those guardians and uncover the truth behind the mysterious appearances of both the Traveler and the Darkness.

This game is typically good vs bad, move from point A to point B as you shoot and loot your way through. It has received massive criticism for having such a dull and mundane story – it is peculiar coming from such a well known story developer, Bungie. However as i see it, yes an intriguing story is great but to have that it would completely miss the ideals and concept that is Destiny. I believe Destiny to be a drop in/out open world exploration to be experienced with your friends or as Destiny calls it, Fire teams. Many times during my hands-on I opted to join my friend’s Fire team only to be transported to missions or even planets ahead of where I was, to once again shoot and loot ’till my heart’s content. Essentially this is why I believe Destiny does not and cannot produce an in-depth story. If I am able to jump missions or planets ahead in the game, it would be like jumping pages or chapters in a book; I would be missing chunks of the whole story. Better to miss points of a not so great story than to miss them on a more crucial story driven scenario, right?

As an interplanetary experience your surroundings are going to change and vary immensely as you jump from planet to planet; I believe that Bungie has captured each planets essence perfectly. I won’t name what planets you can explore spoilers sake, but I can only reinforce the amount of work that has gone into creating unique worlds and true to what we non-astrological people believe it to be. There are certainly going to be moments where you just stop to take in the scenery and ponder on what the universe may really contain.

The voice casting of well known actor Peter Dinklage was definitely a strong move for Destiny but I can honestly say that his presence has no great impact to the overall experience. Sounding as bland and mundane as the robot companion he portrays. While the rest of the voice work accompanying him have sat in line behind “The Dinkle-bot” (as Destiny community members are calling him) are just as utterly dry. Perhaps it was a sales pitch to align such a big name actor from a popular TV series in an attempt to sway or intrigue people, but in this case they missed the target by a mile.

Enemies and Guardians have all received a deeply detailed amount of love and care providing a uniqueness yet familiarity, enough to associate themselves with their respective groups. For guns and ships it can also be said each differing variation is captured and displayed exceptionally whilst cut scenes, in particular the opening one will leave you mind blown with some of the visuals.

I was told long ago that Destiny does not really open to the player until they reach level 20 and that person couldn’t have been more right. As you trudge along completing the story across different planets and competing in the online competitions known as the Crucible; you grind and gain experience which is used to level up your character. These characters are one of three; a Hunter, good for longer ranged attacks, Warlock who has mid-ranged attacks and a Titan best used up close and personal. Obviously these characters can be used for any situation you choose but overall their upgradeable characteristics determine how you play as them. Each character has two classes – for example a Titan has a Striker and a Defender class which can be upgraded and managed to suit not only your style of game play, but also your fire team’s style of play, which has you constantly reconsidering your tactics as you make your next assault.

Weapons and armour can be found throughout the worlds or bought from the base of operations known as the Tower. Upgrading weapons can have a variety of impacts from increasing damage to reducing recoil with all sorts of weird and wonderful things in between. Armour is much the same allowing you to carry extra of a sort of ammo for example.

Throughout the Tower players can opt to participate in bounties that are active in both the open world or in the competition crucible to gain experience and reputation. Gaining reputation mark across all varieties allows the player access to a vast array of rarer and more powerful weapons and armours. Taking this into account and the grinds that appear having reached level 20 is where this game really shows it’s MMO head. Collecting specific items and achieving particular milestones are the foundations of exceeding the level cap of 20.

Bungie has taken an interesting look into the social aspects of the game, creating specific missions that require three participants to compete and another that requires 6. Along with random chance encounters to keep players on their toes and grinding for more upgradable materials.

I think a lot of people were not expecting the game to be so MMO focused or perhaps being console gamers have never really experienced this formula of game, however it may be that it has certainly left a bad or even confusing taste in some people’s mouths. The difference comes down to personal preference, some people may like this formula, others wont.

At the finer points what Bungie has created with their shooting mechanics is nothing short of spectacular. Tight responsive gun play with intense action heavy encounters are going to keep any FPS fan intrigued. As a side note, having reviewed this game for the PS4, I took advantage of the PS Vita’s remote play capability and found it to be an exceptionally thought out experience in terms of buttons mapping. Everything else still looks and plays the same and was a pleasure to use.

I can only recommend that any player participating do their absolute best to get friends involved or make new friends during their game play as it can be a long desolate road if you take this adventure by yourself. The use of a microphone is also a benefit for those tougher missions where strategies need to be formed but can be overcome without through trial and error.

The post Review: Destiny appeared first on Press Start.

Forza Horizon 2 is the follow-up to the critically well received Xbox 360 game released in 2012. It was developed by Sumo Digital for Xbox 360 and Playground Games for Xbox One. Turn 10 Studios (developers of the base Forza Motorsport games) have also worked closely on both titles to ensure that they are both above par. The game takes place during the fictional ‘Horizon Festival’. Southern Europe is the reference point for the game’s large map with major events taking place across Southern France and Northern Italy. The game world has approximately three times more driveable area than that for the original Forza Horizon, with events set in Provence, Tuscany and Côte d’Azur, among other regions. Players will explore the region, taking part in races and special events in order to advance through the game.

Forza Horizon 2 is without doubt the best looking racing game that I have ever played. The game does extremely well to integrate a huge variation of different locations within one large map. You’ll seamlessly go from driving within the narrow paths of Italy to quickly being able to let loose in huge open country terrain.

Seamless weather and night to day transitions are a huge talking point of Forza Horizon 2 and they deserve to be. You’ll often find yourself cruising along smoothly at 250 KM/h when rain hits and you instantly start to slip around the racecourse. It’s things like this that instantly provide an extra point of challenge and realism to the game. Similarly, day changes to night whilst driving, your headlights come on and it instantly becomes a whole different race.

The UI in the game is one of the best that I’ve seen in any game, let alone any racing game. Everything is so sleek and minimal, whilst still providing a wealth of information and customisation. Racing novices will easily find whatever they’d look for whilst experts will be more than happy with just how much information is available.

The one negative that I did have is that in some places there was a lot of pop in. Trees and other random terrain would often load quite slowly, taking me out of the experience and providing an unrealistic obstacle that shouldn’t be there in a racing game. It wasn’t happening all the time, but when it did, it would be extremely noticeable. Aside from this, the frame rate seems to be extremely solid and everything appears to be crisp and sharp. The game almost never loads whilst driving through the vast open-world which is a huge positive in such an ambitious game.

Forza Horizon 2 definitely feels like a Forza game; however to me, it lends itself to being a much more versatile game. It finds a great balance of realism and skill that should appeal to most racing fans. The narrower parts of Italy and France really require the precision and skill that is expected from the Forza series, however the open highways and off-track segments allow players to really rev their motors and pull off unbelievable stunts that can put them ahead in the race. I’m not a huge simulation racing fan, however I can really enjoy Forza Horizon 2. It’s a great entry point into the racing genre for gamers who aren’t usually racing fans. It gradually increases your driving skills whilst still allowing you to be totally crazy in small bursts.

Much like the first game, Horizon 2 takes place across a open-world map. In each major city, you will find 3 events which you must finish atop of to progress. Races are fairly similar in objective, some take place across the aforementioned off-road terrain whilst some take place in city streets. Players are required to drive from race to race which can become troublesome, however Playground Games allow you to spend credits in order to fast travel. Whilst this seems cheap, it is sometimes necessary in order to get to the action faster. There are more than 700 racing events in total, all which depend in what type of car you’re currently in.

Leveling up will allow you to spin a wheel allowing you to win random items such as credits or brand new cars. It’s extremely novel, but does provide an extra incentive to level up. Similarly, perks are unlocked through skill points. These range from things such as gaining an extra 10% of XP from drifting or 25% XP for having a clean start to a race.

One of the things that I really loved about Forza Horizon 2 was that it always felt like I was driving in a real world full of real people. People that played Forza 5 on Xbox One will know all about Drivatars. These are racers that are based off your friends list that are supposed to drive in the same sort of way that your friends do. Drivatars are constantly filling the open-world map with racers from your friends list and also competing against you in every race. Whilst it’s not obvious that these are real world racers, they act a lot more like it than you’d think. They’re constantly speeding past you giving you the feeling that you’re not alone.

From the start of the game, racers get to choose from three different cars: The BMW Z4 SDrive 35IS, Toyota Supra RZ and Chevrolet Camaro SS Coupe. There are over 200 cars in Forza Horizon which is sure to make car fanatics extremely happy. I’m not a huge racing fan and I was more than happy with the selection of cars that can be unlocked throughout the game. I actually felt like each car controlled differently which was important to me. The Xbox One’s Impulse Triggers were more at play than ever and really make you feel every bump in the game. Break hard and your left trigger feels the pulse, change gear and the right trigger gives you a little whip of vibration.

There are a wealth of customisation options in Forza Horizon 2. Players are able to create custom designs and upload them to the internet for others to see. Racers can also tune their car to their ensure that it meets their driving patterns. I’m extremely glad to report that Playground have ensured to cater to both sides of the racing spectrum. You’re able to tune each part of your car or automatically have the game tell you which parts it would recommend that you upgrade.

Bucket List is brand new to Forza Horizon 2, which is a group of challenges for the player to complete, similar to the 1000 Club in Forza Horizon. There is a separate list for Italy and France. These are scattered throughout the map and allow players to take place in short, skill based challenges such as performing 15 air jumps within a 2 minute period, or making it to a point in the map in a short amount of time in a super-fast Ferrari. Apparently more Bucket List challenges are going to be added throughout the game’s lifespan. This can only be a good thing as they do extremely well to break up the flow of normal races.

There is also a lot of other things to fill your time whilst playing Forza Horizon 2. Showdowns are amazing events that put you in out of this world scenarios. These range from racing stunt planes to a train. The best part of all is that you get to keep your car for passing the event. Barn Finds is also a great little side quest to break up the racing. These require you to find special cars that are hidden in certain parts of the map. A wealth of other side quests such as Speed Traps and Rival races will ensure that you’re never left without something to do in Forza Horizon 2.

Anna is your new driving assistant. She leads you around the map and points out new and exciting events for you to partake in. You’re supposed to be able to activate her menu by saying ‘Anna’ to connect however I have mixed results in getting it to work. I’m not sure if this is due to the Kinect’s lack of being able to understand the Australian accent or the developers implementation of the feature.

The online modes of Forza Horizon 2 has taken a step forward since the last game. Jumping online is as simple as pressing a button from the start menu. You’re able to join a suitable Online Road Trip with random people or join a private match with friends. Online Road Trip sees you racing from event to event with a hand full of other races in order to compete in a series of events. After four events, the player with the most points will most likely come away with the most XP. The events range from team races to modes such as ‘King’. This was by far my favourite multiplayer mode. One racer will be crowned the king whilst each other races tries to bump into them in order to gain the crown. The player that has held the crown longest after a certain amount of time is the winner. Online for the most part seemed to work fairly well however there was quite a bit of lag which became a small problem. While Forza Horizon 2 comes with dedicated servers (a must for online racing fanatics), there are no local servers for Australia, and as far as it’s been, the Azure servers from Microsoft aren’t up for Forza Horizon 2 yet, meaning Australians will most likely struggle to keep up with less responsive internet.

The post Review: Forza Horizon 2 appeared first on Press Start.

MILD SPOILERS FOR ALL EPISODES FOLLOW – Set as a prequel to Bill Willingham’s comic series ‘Fables’, The Wolf Among Us is a fantastic neo-noire fantasy crime thriller drenched in blood and neon, billed as a mature version of classic fairytales. Focused on Sherrif Bigby (otherwise known as the Big Bad Wolf) trying to maintain order throughout Fabletown, the name given to basically a settlement based in 1986 Manhatten. The game draws upon the classic children’s fables, with characters such as Snow White, Beauty and the Beast, Mr Toad, Bloody Mary and Ichabod Crane. All familiar names and characters, yet you’ve never seen iterations of these characters before. Snow White is tasked with running the failing Fabletown, Ichabod Crane is a greedy pervert, Beauty and the Beast are facing marital and financial troubles and Bigby himself is plagued by violent memories and behaviours characteristic to his old persona. It’s the Brothers Grimm mixed with David Fincher’s trademark whodunnit filmmaking and with a bit of Hitchcock thrown in as well. Let’s not forget Chinatown.

After meeting with a young prostitute named Faith, Bigby and Fabletown is thrown into turmoil when her head literally arrives on his doorstep, and as more prostitutes start to die, Bigby discovers a conspiracy that throws the entire Town into peril over the course of five episodes, that occurs over a 9 month period as Telltale once again delves into the episodic format, to varying degrees of success. As I had waited for the entire season to come out before playing it together (something I also do with TV shows), I didn’t feel the excitement OR the frustration that came with a trademark end of episode cliffhanger. I didn’t really need the recap and preview for each episode either, as I played most episodes in one sitting. This wasn’t a big issue, but it would have been nice to skip it. Again, this is only because Telltale does the episodic format so it doesn’t count as a negative.

To really tell more about the story would be spoiling what is mostly a fantastic murder-fantasy-mystery, as the plot throws twist after twist that soon become quick to lose track of. The first episode is clearly the best one of the bunch, with a focused premise, amazing character development and really throws the player into Fabletown. Most of all, I was surprised to see how much I connected with Bigby and the residents of Fabletown. As the crux of the investigation, it was essential for people to connect with Faith, even if she only appears for half an hour, and I was damned surprised just how much I liked her, which made my emotional investment into the game so much more satisfying.

Unfortunately the game loses track fairly soon, and by episode 4 plot threads start to feel muddled and the ending just doesn’t feel that satisfying. Plot threads are left open for no doubt a season 2, but the main storyline is resolved well enough that I just didn’t feel like I wanted another season, just answers to open threads. And while Snow White and Bigby’s interaction served as my favourite part of the game, it led to a complete lack of pay off by the end. Unlike the Walking Dead’s pure focus on Lee and Clementine, The Wolf Among Us plays with a more ensemble cast, no doubt due to the sheer number of iconic characters they’re given, but while it was fun to see random fairytale characters cameo, it led to a distinct lack of character growth or development. On the plus side, there are many memorable characters; from the efficient yet likeable Snow White to the sheer terrifying homicidal Bloody Mary, characters really leave an impression. Bigby is wonderful as the protagonist, and he is given sufficient room to let the player choose who to be: good guy or bad. While it may sound simple in practice, Telltale once again nails the morality of your actions by making everything not as simple as they set out to be. Good or bad isn’t black and white, it’s shades of grey (splashed with some neon-fantastic purple), doing good is a lot harder than one would think, and doing the bad thing is sometimes necessary. It’s everything Bioware wishes they could write; and most importantly, choices matter. For the most part choices play a big role and while it suffers from the Walking Dead symptom of needing to come to a boiling point for every player The Wolf Among Us remedies it by letting the choices play out better. Actions mean something, people actually remember something bad or good you did and it’s just satisfying to see a plot thread from episode 2 surface in episode 4.

All in all, much like The Walking Dead’s first season, it boils down to how much you are willing to invest into the story. If you find yourself attached to characters and invested in the mystery, it’ll pay off in spades. If not, it won’t be enjoyable. This is a game that is 80% dialogue and conversation choices, 10% QTE action and 10% mindless walking around.

Using the signature Telltale Tool engine used in most (all?) of Telltale’s games, It’s surprising how much better The Wolf Among Us looks in comparison to The Walking Dead Season 1 and 2. Fabletown is a neon soaked setting that drips of atmosphere. Purple is the most prominent colour here, and during night time scenes the game really looks downright amazing, with some very good camerawork and lighting. I was hitting F12 (screenshot) non-stop during my playthrough.

The Wolf Among Us nails the aesthetic of a 1980’s corrupted town with joy, as the shadows or the flicker of Bigby’s lighter to a cigarette providing a singular light source makes The Wolf Among Us look more than remarkable. It’s easily one of the most beautiful games I’ve played this year.

Character’s also look great. The usage of Glamours (potions to disguise the Fables true form) led to some remarkable transformations when Fables chose to reveal themselves, and the appearances of characters who couldn’t afford Glamours and spent the game walking around in their true form was almost jarring compared to the crime and poverty ridden Fabletown, but somehow it worked. Seeing a chain smoking little Pig banter with Bigby was something quite unique to see.

Unfortunately, the same old Telltale Engine bugs pop up here. Terrible lip sync, strange character animation glitches and most infuriatingly, towards the end I encountered a terrible bug that led to a blank screen with ‘This choice is blank’ dialogue boxes, and open clicking a box would launch me back to the very start of the episode. This was all solved with a restart, but it’s still a bit messy nonetheless.

As per norm of Telltale’s recent successes, The Wolf Among Us eschews any reasonable form of gameplay with story driven narrative. If you’ve played any old school point and click adventure game, than The Wolf Among Us will be a breeze to play. Telltale once again chooses to ditch puzzles (complicated ones anyway) in favour of dialogue and plot, which mostly works, though this time to less satisfaction. Because The Wolf Among Us is primarily a murder mystery, an emphasis on suspect chasing and evidence solving would have gone hand in hand with the dialogue and choices, yet there never really is anything overly engaging for the brain. I found myself frustrated when I linked evidence together on my own, yet had to wait for the plot to hit the pivotal moment before Bigby himself could link it to progress the story. While The Walking Dead can be forgiven for focusing on a narrative driven dramatic piece, The Wolf Among Us suffers more, mainly due to the potential of real puzzles and Telltale once again putting 100% of effort into dialogue.

But where puzzles fail, the dialogue and conversation choices are so crisp and open ended that they form a puzzle themselves; having to study characters and choosing which way to go was always refreshing and satisfactory. Deciding whether to take a tough route or a sympathetic one was a lot harder than I expected, and I genuinely felt bad for characters I rough-housed or bullied and got angry at people I let go. The Wolf Among Us nails the dialogue, nails the morality choices and proves why Telltale are the masters of storytelling.

QTE’s make up the rest of the fast paced action, and they’re serviceable, if nothing spectacular. I managed to beat all QTE’s without failing one, but this was probably a good thing since QTE’s aren’t really engaging to begin with. The gameplay is once again merely serviceable, but one doesn’t expect gameplay revolution from a Telltale game.

The post Review: The Wolf Among Us Season 1 appeared first on Press Start.

Inspired by real letters from the trenches of World War I, Valiant Hearts is a harrowing tale about four lives and how the Great War affected them. Their paths constantly crossing due to circumstance, as well as life’s great motivators; love, family, pride and even, in one instance, hatred that cuts deep to the bone.

Valiant Hearts is as genuine and authentic a wartime story as we’ve ever been gifted in this medium, and it truly runs the gamut from brutally bleak to hopeful. One hundred Call of Duty titles couldn’t paint a picture depicting the horrors of war like Valiant Hearts has, and it has done so all the while maintaining a tongue-in-cheek slapstick that rears its head from time to time.

It’s an odd, yet brilliant, balance that is struck by Ubisoft Montpellier.

Valiant Hearts begins its story in 1914, at the time of Franz Ferdinand’s assassination and Germany’s declaration of war on Russia. Karl, one of our four heroes, was a German living on a French border town with his new family at the start of this conflict and, as a cruel act of fate, is deported, being forcefully separated from them. This is the crux of the plot in The Great War, though there’s a lot of undertone and subplot at work, keeping the game compelling for its respectable run time; it took me around eight hours to see and do everything.

Baron Von Dorf, responsible for both the killing of one hero’s wife and the kidnapping of another’s father, acts as the tale’s main antagonist. That is until the war itself emerges as the senseless, greater quagmire of misery.

In a year where I thought Wolfenstein had a lock on the most refreshing wartime story—and don’t get me wrong, The New Order is an excellent game—out of left field comes Valiant Hearts, an honest and, by the end, heartbreaking glimpse at just some of the atrocities wrought on nations full of innocent people.

Powered by Ubisoft’s in-house Framework engine, as seen previously in Montpellier’s Rayman titles, as well as Child of Light, Valiant Hearts unfolds beautifully across the horizontal plain, almost like a living comic book, bursting to life from the page. Thick, bold lines trace the outlines of our characters and the world they inhabit, only to be filled in—more often than not—by the dullest of greys and service colours.

While beautiful, the game never lets you forget that this is a dire time in human history we’re reliving here. It’s the moments you remember the underlying themes in Valiant Hearts that the art is most poignant and heartbreaking. Like when thick plumes of smoke obscure the once beautiful skyline of quaint Saint Mihiel, it really hits home how quickly beauty can be ravaged by such senseless things.

Considering that Valiant Hearts draws on war as its lifeblood, graphic depictions of murder rarely take place. Bodies litter the battlefields like grains on a beach, but you don’t often see the act of death itself—unless it serves a narrative point. This came as a surprise, as I did expect the game to be heavy on all fronts, though this choice helped the gameplay remain light, while the story being told acted as the grim framing for it all.

Primarily a side-scrolling puzzle game, Valiant Hearts doesn’t reinvent the wheel as far as the core game goes. It’s more a cinematic treat than it is a challenge, though that isn’t to say there weren’t a small selection of puzzles that had me stumped.

Each of the game’s heroes offer up a different experience throughout the game’s four chapters. In one scene you might be digging underneath trenches to escape aerial bombardment, and then, as another character, you’ll be running bull true through a battlefield peppered by gunfire, propelled by blood lust. Valiant Hearts paces itself nicely, never letting one hero’s feel overstay its welcome, mixing them up quite frequently.

Though it’s a simple platform-puzzle game at heart, there are a handful of incredible sequences that set Valiant Hearts apart. They’re artistic and, as I mentioned earlier, add a little light to what is truly a terrible set of circumstances we find our characters in. One specific sequence features Anna, a medic in search of her father, happening across two of our other heroes whilst driving a taxi. The resultant scene, which sees the three of them fleeing a zeppelin blitzkrieg to the romantic composition of Johannes Brahms, is masterful.

The post Review: Valiant Hearts: The Great War appeared first on Press Start.

Taking place in Salem, Massachusetts, Murdered follows Detective Ronan O’Connor, a crook who was “born again”, more or less, and eventually decided to right his wrongs and become a member of the police force. In pursuit of a relentless serial killer, known by the townspeople as “The Bell Killer”, Ronan meets his grisly death by being thrown out of a window and shot several times. Revived as a ghost, Ronan must track down those involved with the murder and use his new found spectral powers to not only solve his own murder, but to discover the true identity of the Bell Killer too.

Unfortunately, Murdered never really takes full advantage of its locale or characters to provide an interesting story. Ronan himself is as uninteresting and generic as ever, and his support cast members are consist of poorly written, shallow caricatures of exactly what you’d expect to come out of a game set in Salem. With such a colourful history, it’s a shame to see such an interesting locale be wasted. It’s honestly as if the setting was chosen just to explain a way why Ronan can’t do certain things as a ghost that he should be able to do too. To make matters worse, the conclusion to the story is not fulfilling, nonsensical and quite frankly, unreasonably misleading.

Murdered is a pretty drab game to look at, unfortunately, and features a rather generic artistic direction too. The environments are large and empty, the characters are locked into generic and canned animations and there’s little that could really be considered impressive for game released so late in the consoles life cycle. What does save it, however, is some pretty nifty lighting effects that really five a great mood and vibe to the streets of Salem and its surrounding areas that Ronan explores as part of his investigation. On the PC version, light even shines through the bullet holes on Ronan’s body, which is a great and nice little touch. The visual effects used to depict all the ghostly objects, on the other hand, doesn’t quite look right and cheapens the whole look of the game.

In terms of both original scoring and voice work, the game does quite a good job at providing character and emotion to the people Ronan encounters throughout his journey. Most of them, like their designs, obviously fit into a predetermined trope and as such are rather generic, but they are serviceable. Sound design and music is possibly the game’s only saving grace, on a presentation level, and gives Salem and its surrounding areas a dark and brooding feel.

At its core, Murdered could really be considered to be a glorified point and click adventure game, harkening back to the days of Grim Fandango and Monkey Island. Players can control Ronan completely, but generally speaking the gameplay can be distilled down to finding objects, piecing them together using a “logic” system and then moving on to the next area, only to repeat everything again in different environments. The game throws a few “encounters” with devils along the way as well to mix things up.

Essentially, Ronan will enter many crime scenes in the game and be told how many clues there are to find. Upon finding some clues, he’ll be able to examine them in a case file and then put them together to answer a question, usually posed to the player on-screen. It’s an interesting system that has worked in games like Ace Attorney in the past, but Murdered’s system is so simple that it’s downright offensive with how stupid it presumes the player is. As an example, the player is asked “what will remind this person of the murder” and is required to present a clue. Of the eight clues, roughly four or five of them were reasonable responses to the question. But the correct answer was “The murder”. It’s just too simple, most players will overlook it because it’s too simple and it provides little to no challenge for the player.

From time to time, Ronan will come across demons who are remaining in this world, not moving on. They have the ability to steal Ronan’s soul and thus end his journey – think like a Dementor in the Harry Potter series because they more or less look and behave exactly the same. When seen, Ronan must hide in “spirit pockets” and jump between them to avoid detection by the demons to the point where they return to their normal patrol route. To make matters a bit fairer on the player, approaching a demon slowly from behind allows Ronan to eliminate them with a brief QTE sequence. While this idea of stealth-based combat and encounter design sounds like a great one to ramp up the tension, the cumbersome nature of hiding and the lack of visual feedback to the player makes it hard to pull off correctly. As such, most encounters will lead to frustration rather than tension.

Being a ghost, Ronan has a few abilities up his spectral sleeve that he can utilise to make his life a little bit easier. First off, he can pass through almost any object – which makes for some easy traversal – but doesn’t include certain items that have been “marked” by people in Salem’s past. It’s a dumb and easy way to limit the game’s boundaries but it still feels a bit restrictive. Ronan can also reveal items that used to be place somewhere, possess people to hear their thoughts or even just to look at what they’re looking at. They’re simple but useful abilities that take this beyond your average adventure game.

Besides the main story itself, Ronan can also engage in several side quests and collectible quests to uncover more stories about the history of Salem. Most of them are tied to collecting a set of collectibles (there’s roughly 200+ of them) and in most cases are actually more interesting than the main narrative itself. While delivered over a static image with scrolling text, these are told well. Other quests involve helping ghosts discover what happened to them so they can “move on” as well. While these are nice ideas, they only really boil down to tedious fetch quests and feel like a lazy justification for making the streets of Salem the “open-world hub” of the game. If you do decide to find and do everything in Murdered: Soul Suspect, you’ll be looking at roughly nine hours of play time, although players could easily breeze through just the main story in six.

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Our last Team Review was for GTA V the reason we did that was because we felt everyone on the team would find something different to enjoy about the game, seeing how expansive it was. While I can’t speak for the others, I can use my experiences in previous open world games to describe my feelings of Watch_Dogs. I love open world games, from Prototype and Infamous, to Sleeping Dogs and GTA V. In each of those games movement is a big deal, if it isn’t fun to to move around, and explore your environment, all side activities become uninteresting and just tedious to perform. Unfortunately, that was the case for me in Watch_Dogs.

When I wasn’t driving point to point, you will find yourself doing a lot of vaulting and climbing over objects and that works just fine. The problem is when you are required to climb up anything to reach an objective, like a building to reach a collectible for example. Instead of just being able to scale the building like assassins creed, it turns into a frustrating puzzle game. Find that ONE set of suspiciously placed set of boxes that you can climb, or find the ONE cherry picker you can hack so you can climb what feels like the ONE way up to the next level or a structure or environment. It feels like the developers remembered that Aiden was a hacker and not a traceur. So they had to shoe horn in some hacking, or make it feel like Aiden is really not suited for parkour at all by removing the ability to jump and including some climbing height inconstancies.

So after an hour and a half of trying figure out how to reach a collectible, I decided to just marathon the campaign since I did not find any of the side activities compelling, especially after realising that campaign missions were giving me all the ammo, materials, money and skill points i needed to progress through the game just fine. The campaign structure will be familiar with anybody who has played an open world third person game before. You will infiltrate, assassinate, assault, tail, spy, retrieve, and participate in chases. It’s diverse enough to not overstay it’s 5 Act length. I found I was having the most fun with the infiltration and action missions. I played it a lot like Splinter Cell conviction. I took my time, scouted the entire area via hacking cameras and tagged enemies so I knew where they were at all times then made my way through killing them off one by one with well placed head shots or stealth takedowns.

It plays as a really solid third person shooter, that lasted me a good 15 hours. Though with multiple issues with the non-compelling side activities, annoying parkour, Aiden is not a good protagonist at all with a personality that ranges from brooding jerk to batman impersonator, and hacking that doesn’t feel like the game defining mechanic it should be. Ultimately the game doesn’t do enough to stand out from the rest of the pack, and for me it just ends up as a good third person shooter, not the unique open world adventure I was looking for.

Having spent most of the launch period downloading, logging in and waiting for uPlay to fix itself, I found myself questioning why I continue to support Ubisoft as they have proven time and time again how poorly they optimize games for the PC. Because many of my brethren here at Press Start will be focusing on the game itself, I chose to focus on the actual PC performance and whether it’s worth playing on the PC.

Let’s have a look at the graphics and display options:

Not going to lie here, there are some impressive options on hand here. With V-sync you can choose between 1 frames, 2 or off. 2 frames caps the FPS at 30, which provides stability (which is useful here considering how atrocious the game runs) but honestly, why would you want to play a PC game at only 30fps? (Answer: stable framerate trumps a wonky one, even if it is capped at 30).

Anti-aliasing support is great, probably the best I’ve seen. FXAA, SMAA, MSAA and TXAA. Obviously if you know about anti-aliasing then I don’t need to go into detail, but if you don’t then if you’re running a mid-base rig I would recommend SMAA or MSAA if you’re feeling brave. I’d avoid FXAA since SMAA supersedes it performance wise and graphics wise, and obviously if you’re running a high end rig feel free to max it out. TXAA is a Nvidia exclusive so if you have a GeForce card go ahead and take advantage of that.

So moving on to the graphical quality, again, we have a wealth of options, but unfortunately here is where performance takes a nosedive. I’m running Watch Dogs on an Intel Core i5-3570K @ 3.4 GHZ with a GeForce GTX 660 at 16gb of RAM, not a high end PC but definitely in the middle spectrum. It’s good enough to run most games on High quality at a steady 60FPS+. That said, on custom settings set at high, Watch Dogs barely hits more than 25FPS, which is an absolute travesty. In fact, once I hit the open world, on medium settings I’m struggling to maintain a steady framerate. And the differences between low and ultra are drastic. Playing on low means you’ll be missing out on a LOT of neat graphical effects. Car reflections, water and lighting effects, random debris and foliage on the ground. It’s all eye candy that doesn’t reflect the actual gameplay, but you’ll be missing out on a lot of immersion because of the poor optimization. Texture settings scale with video memory, so on medium you need 1GB, high needs 2GB and ultra needs 3GB.

All of this will vary based on your rig, but right now Watch Dogs is bordering on JUST playable for me. With Ubisoft announcing a patch (hopefully) I could not recommend the game based on my experiences. Ubisoft have given us a HUGE amount of customization and range of settings, but they cannot get the execution right. I managed to find a sweet spot between medium and high that gave me mostly 60fps but dipped quite shockingly once I started driving. Watch Dogs IS playable, and it is fun and diverse and interesting, but honestly I would wait until Ubisoft have released an official patch before diving in. If this was how it played now, I’d hate to have seen it when it was due for release six months ago.

It’s worth noting that there was a uproar about the supposed Nvidia exclusive deal that was struck between them and Ubisoft. You can see some Nvidia exclusive graphics on games like Splinter Cell: Blacklist and Assassin’s Creed IV, but here the cry is unjust, seeing as the game still runs poorly on a Nvidia graphics card. I have noted that I am not alone with these issues, so while you should take my perspective with a grain of salt, you should also know that I am not the minority.

UPDATE: As of 3/06/2014, Ubisoft have officially released a stability patch, which has tackled some of these issues I have mentioned. So I guess if you’re on the rope on whether to get Watch Dogs or not for PC, now wouldn’t hurt.

PS: One completely nitpicky thing I took away from this game was in regards to the side missions where you had to hunt down random targets that have committed crimes of various nature. The game perplexingly FORCES you to commit a non-lethal takedown in order to beat the mission, with killing of the target resulting in instant failure, yet due to reasons unknown to me, not only are you forced to get up close to every single enemy, scan them with your profiler and determine if they are the target, there are no distant non-lethal options, no tranquilizers or any other method other than beating them down with your justice stick. Not only that, after the mission cleared I instantly pulled out my pistol and shot them in the face about 6 times. I did this for EVERY target that required a non-lethal takedown. Why bother restricting us so much in the game when you’re not going to even follow through or give any reason whatsoever that they should ‘survive’? Especially since I could kill any target I knocked down without ANY punishment whatsoever after I had completed the mission. This forced mission structure is just another reason why I walked away feeling that Watch Dogs was a poor experience.

I believe I was one of the few who was not mesmerized by the hype of this game. Sure I took a look at the initial reveal trailer in E3 2012 and I thought to myself that I should keep half an eye on it, which I did. Prior to the launch of the New Generation of consoles, Watch_Dogs was toted to be an all new next gen only experience that would raise the bar for gaming. Alas, it was delayed nearly on the eve of its launch for some more “polish”. Six months later the world finally got Watch_Dogs.

The concept of hacking from your smart phone which opens up a vast playground of technological infrastructure certainly is an original idea. Unfortunately, the main man you are playing, Aiden Pierce, is about as paper thin as he appears on your game cover. A character that contains absolutely no depth and given some very personal dilemmas ha faces in game he barely seems to recognise them as such with little emotion exposed at all. It stands out like a sore thumb on a cold winter’s day in comparison to some of the other major characters that will be appearing throughout your invested time.

Ubisoft have done a remarkable job of creating a living and breathing open world. The individuality in each NPC and each of Chicago’s suburbs is a plus that surely everyone will recognise. At first being let loose upon the world, I was amazed at all the hacking opportunities presented towards me. Which is great, as Ubisoft really wanted to enforce the fact that yes you are a hacker. There is no need for weapons during car chases, learn to use the city to your advantage and make it yours. Talking of cars, there was a slight learning curve I felt with the roads being extra slippery, perhaps someone buttered them?

A multitude of side activities are present that mainly consist of perfecting your hacking and parkour movements, which are briefly fun but can become tiresome and repetitious for the reasons John mentioned above.

What I was really impressed with was the shooting and cover mechanics. Basic cover to cover manoeuvres but it worked well the same can be said for the aim and shoot mechanics. In comparison to GTA (which lets face it, is Watch_Dogs sole competition) when free roam aiming then weapon aiming would require a small but significant refocus, Watch_Dogs stays on the mark all the time, saving you time and health in those heated moments.

Keeping to the tune of GTA comparisons, I feel GTA’s sound track always has the perfect song playing for each and every moment you encounter in the game. Watch_Dogs only had about 4-5 songs which I liked (and spammed the hell out of for the duration of my gameplay).

Online multiplayer elements are a great idea, the way that it has been seamlessly incorporated works a surprising treat (for when you are being hacked), although can become a pain when solely setting your task to side quests as online hacks usually mean you end up all the way across the city.

If you decide to go on the hack-attack, you had better pray for some luck. If your game synchronises to a players that has already left the spawned area, your screen will have more hiccups than the in-game alcoholics you compete against. Managing to get closer and dodging the instantly appearing cars deserves a reward in itself!

As I mentioned previously, Ubisoft gave Watch_Dogs an extra 6 months polish. This is where the game really lost me and I gave it every absolute chance to win me back. There were so many unpolished aspects I really, really would have loved to see what the game would have been like if it launched when first anticipated. For example; during a few side missions you are tasked with taking down a person for whatever various reason they provide and that’s fine, until the game forgets to load the person I am supposed to be chasing. This one example happened more times than I cared to count. Stacking a motorcycle during another side mission wouldn’t let me pick it back up, I was forced to restart (then for curiosity sakes I crashed again, in the same spot or near enough too and was able to remount the bike?). The biggest one that got me was during a cut scene your character comes under enemy fire out in the open, instantly cutting back to gameplay I was already nearly dead with no decent cover very close, God help the people trying to tackle that scene on realistic difficulty. I know it may sound like I am having a whinge and it may be so but if you are going to take 6 months to polish something at least do it right!

I believe Watch_Dogs certainly isn’t the next gen experience it was hyped up to be, far from it in fact. Yes it does have some innovative and original designs, namely the hacking concept and its endeavour to make Chicago a living breathing world. Frankly, I don’t think this game should be franchise material but I already know I am wrong, which is a shame for honest people’s wallets. For an open world experience of similar value gamers are better off going for GTA. Or at least wait for a decent price drop and dive head first into the digital trips, these barely mentioned side augmentations are the game’s ace in the hole.

The post Team Review: Watch Dogs appeared first on Press Start.

LEGO The Hobbit tells the story of the first two Hobbit movies. The story sees Bilbo Baggins team up with a group of Dwarves as they try to claim back their homeland from the evil Smaug. The only argument that I have is that they could’ve waited until the third movie was released in order to release a completed package. As it stands, the game ends quite suddenly and feels like an incomplete story. The developers have done quite well in bringing a bit of humor to quite a dry story.

I played LEGO The Hobbit on the PlayStation 4 and was pleasantly surprised with the game’s visuals. The recreation of Middle-earth is full of colour and personality. The game looks much better than the previous LEGO Lord of the Rings games. The developers have hit a good balance of LEGO-like graphics and semi-realistic graphics. As expected, the character models and animation are incredibly solid and also do well to capture the essence of Middle-earth.

The voice acting is pulled directly from the film sequences. It creates a faithful representation but can also fall quite flat in terms of a unified experience. It felt to not fit in with the overall presentation at times.

Coming from The LEGO Movie Videogame, LEGO The Hobbit is quite a disappointment. It reverts straight back to the formula of the LEGO games that you’re used to. It’s the rinse and repeat formula of repetitive combat mixed with unlocking new characters. Its only saving grace is when playing the game with another person. The LEGO games were made for co-op play and it’s always their redeeming gameplay feature. It’s one of the only games that let you sit down with another person and hash it out with a bit of old-school local multiplayer.

One of the biggest issues with the game are the boss fights which are comprised of QTE events and frantic platforming sections which can still be frustrating due to the camera angles.

LEGO The Hobbit retains the blueprint formula that was introduced in The LEGO Movie Videogame. This was a new gameplay mechanic that required you to find a bunch of missing parts in order to build something new to advance to the next section. This does well in breaking up the repetitive gameplay, but it is now quickly becoming something that is overused and being relied on to break up pacing. Another new addition are buddy attacks. You’re able to get together with another character to unleash a more powerful attack that can be used to take down larger enemies. It’s a good addition, I just wish that more new gameplay mechanics were introduced.

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You are Spider-Man, local hero of Manhattan and web slinging nuisance to the thugs that engulf his city. The Amazing Spider-Man 2 game serves as more of a prequel to the film of the same name for the most part, which then diverts sharply into an alternative timeline. Frankly, I couldn’t decipher if the reason for this choice was to save spoilers from the coinciding film or just a reason to cram as many of Spider-Man’s rogues into the game.

After a brief flashback which ignites the beginning of the story, Spider-Man is left to uncover the mysterious murders that are only referred to by police as “The Carnage Killings”. During the game’s duration, many characters inject themselves throughout the course of the story, offering no real depth but what feels like a filler or even unnecessary deterrents to extend the length of gameplay out.

Having the opportunity to review this game on the older generation of consoles, I went in feeling at a slight disadvantage in terms of experiencing the best presentation I could. Realistically though I think it didn’t matter in the slightest, as current and new gen are that close together in terms of graphical fidelity there is a difference measured by the skin of your teeth. In terms of game development this game felt like it could have snugly fit rubbing shoulders with games released early in the last generation. Character models were bulky, unrefined and during cutscenes moved worse than robots from 80s movies.

It just feels like fuel to the fire that the videogame/movie tie-in combination is horrendous. This is supposed to be a movie tie-in videogame but it doesn’t even utilise the cast of the film, the only original cast member who reprises his role is the master of cameos, Stan Lee. Other major characters barely resemble their on-screen counterparts, a huge departure for a supposed “tie-in”. The cast for the game did little to offer any form of engagement, leaving me feeling like they were just simply reading the scripts rather than feeling them and truly portraying their characters.

Spider-Man tries to be funny delivering his trademark smart ass comments and cheap shots to the bad guys. Typically I would love these sorts of antics, being the person I am. Unfortunately, these comments completely miss the mark of humorous and become painfully repetitive pretty quick.

At various points also, Spider-Man will be presented with an interactive conversation where a button press opens a conversation path revealing more information that is usually irrelevant to anything. Spider-Man is exceptionally agile; I understand that, the world understands that. I don’t see why it is necessary for Spider-Man during these conversations to be excessively moving or jumping around, or even creeping up on captured foes, during the conversations. The latter example is flirting dangerously close to disturbing.

The big open world that is Manhattan is unlocked to you from the get go. Traversing Manhattan is one of the best features available to the player, and although it may take you a little while to finely tune the perfect rhythm for web swinging and navigating the city it is certainly one of the more richer experiences to be taken from the game. Using the respective shoulder buttons to make either your left or right hand deploy a streamlined web is probably as close as anyone will get to being a real web slinging Spider-Man any time soon.

Combat is a vital aspect of the game in both stealth situations and normal combat. Beenox tries to use a system similar to Arkham’s “Free Flow” but makes a mockery of it rather than a flattering imitation. Building a sense of strategy and rhythm is what the developers aimed for in their concept and imitation but unfortunately it results in a bash the attack button with a few counters performed to save yourself.

Stealth portions of the game borrow from, again, what feels to be a gimmick of Arkham’s Predator encounters; stalking your adversaries (as you battle beyond confusing camera angles) biding your time for the right time to strike. Often I was in clear view of a patrolling goon (for longer than the required recognition time) as I subdued one of his allies for no punishment or even acknowledgement of my sloppy stealth tactics. The range in which stealth takedowns can be performed also felt very inconsistent: sometimes I could be meters away whilst the other times I had to be right on top just to perform the same basic takedown.

Dispatching goons and bosses as well as collecting special items throughout the game will earn Spider-Man experience points for boosting abilities and enhancing skills. Some examples of the skills are strengthening your web to entangle goons for longer or to swing quicker and more precisely as you navigate the vast open world. These upgrades aren’t really necessary or relevant to the gameplay, as I had long forgotten about them and didn’t purchase any upgrades until I was well into the later portions of the game and it was simply just to spend the experience rather than a necessary purchase.

Boss battles aren’t big or epic nor even really inventive or challenging. Generally you are just facing off against one super strong person as you mash attack and counter his moves. Rarely they might spawn a few lackeys to help them out only for Spider-Man to eliminate, though basically you are dodging a character specific move then attacking, which is nothing really memorable.

Finally, there is an abundance of side missions to complete which actively control your hero/menace meter. Being a hero or a menace determines if the Enhanced Crime Task Force (this team gets explained to you in-game) targets Spider-Man during this game. Whether you are being targeted or not isn’t an issue, usually it is a small one or two button quick-time event to continue. Over the course of my time with the game I became less concerned with the meter as the side missions that affect your stance are repetitive and offer little reward other than keeping the task force off your back.

The post Review: The Amazing Spider-Man 2 appeared first on Press Start.

Wolfenstein: The New Order opens in 1946 during the midst of an intense battle of World War II in Europe. Nazi forces have mysteriously turned the tide on the Allies and General Wilhelm Strasse (known as Deathshead) overcomes the Allies. Humanity’s greatest hope is lost, and the Nazis win the war. Fast forward to 1960, and the Nazi’s oppressive regime is spreading, utilising mysterious and advanced technology from beyond their years. Playing as B.J. Blaskowicz, who was there and fought in the same battle in 1946, you must stop Deathshead and their iron fisted regime.

While the story in Wolfenstein might not sound like anything interesting, it’s presented in such an interesting way that it’s hard to be disinterested while playing. Blaskowicz does have his broody monologues from time to time, but his supporting cast in particular stand out here. Every character is characterised well, is likeable (even the villains) and behaves somewhat believably – giving a greater emotional weight to the story. While the themes explored are somewhat confronting, Wolfenstein does not shy away from any subject matter and provides a compelling story from beginning to end that’s not afraid to shock or terrify.

Wolfenstein is a pretty mixed bag visually speaking, although for the most part a strong and bold artistic direction saves it from looking generic and uninspired. Environments themselves are well designed to capture the era of the 60s well, but with an obvious twisted “what-if” scenario with the Nazis having won the war. The most interesting of these is a museum which tells the “history” of the moon landing in a different way than most of us would know. The combination of the time era, as well as the alternate timeline gives Wolfenstein’s environments subtle changes to illustrate an overarching larger change. It’s this subtlety that helps elevate its visual design above the rest.

While on a technical level, it’s definitely not what the newest set of consoles is capable of. While the game runs in full 1080p and 60fps on both Xbox One and PlayStation 4, there are times where the textures could have perhaps been a little bit more detailed. The team have obviously weighed this sacrifice up with achieving a higher frame rate, and for the most part, in motion, it appears they have made the right choice. At any given time bullets will be flying, blood will be splattering walls and walls themselves may be falling apart. There’s a lot going on in any battle during The New Order and it’s admirable that the engine manages to keep up during all of it, never dropping its framerate.

Cutscenes in particular have a very film noire feel to them – although some players might find the transition between them jarring as they are filmed at a lower framerate (assumedly for a “cinematic feel”) and presented in a letter box format. Character models themselves look great and animate beautifully too, further cementing their presence in the scenes in which they feature. While the game performs very admirably on the Xbox One, PC and PlayStation 4; older consoles are visibly struggling to load everything at once with some bad cases of texture pop-in from time to time.

In terms of sound design – the soundtrack itself is a very strong offering. Featuring some sombre and downbeat acoustic tracks seen in other games like Metro: Last Light as well as The Last of Us, Wolfenstein’s score does a fantastic job of painting the world as a worn down, oppressed one. During scenes with a greater degree of intensity, a more heavy metal tinge is applied to the soundtrack and it works surprisingly well here. Voice work is also pretty spot on – with both the German and English performances in the game sound realistic and well directed. It’s saying something about the game’s direction when you can watch a character speak in German and just by their actions and intonation tell what they’re feeling.

The worst thing about Wolfenstein was the game’s sound mixing. There were times where characters would be speaking but the music would be overpowering them so it was near impossible to hear what they were saying. Similarly, some guns lack a certain bass to them, which makes them feel rather weak. For a game with reliance on stealth and epic set pieces, having poorly mixed sound can ruin the illusion and/or atmosphere of a game.

The New Order is a first person shooter, and it’s extremely unapologetic about it. It employs all the standard tropes of the genre, and provides something that many developers seem to have forgotten about recently. It provides a solid, fantastically paced single player game filled with interesting and unique set pieces, but rooted in updated design choices that feel like they’ve been lifted straight out of the 90s and early 00s. It sounds like something bad – but it’s not, the game has been designed to give a classically influenced experience but at the same time modernised to be playable and enjoyable today in 2014.

Most of the areas are designed to be approached in multiple ways, either with a gung-ho approach or a more stealthy one. Similarly, environments are physically designed to accommodate both play styles, with more than enough ammo and health packs around to support a spray and pray philosophy and more than enough concealed entrances to sneak through. Essentially, Wolfenstein: The New Order brags the ability for players to change up their approach as they see fit – and it follows through on this brag with the design philosophies to support it. While the stealth approach is a nice inclusion, it’s also quite broken – the AI has clearly not been fine-tuned to detect dead bodies, so it’s sometimes easier to be silent than loud if you’re feeling particularly lazy.

While it appears to be a rather standard shooter from the outset, Wolfenstein’s shining gem is the gunplay itself. Everything feels well-adjusted to the point where the game is just a blast to play. Controls are tight, guns feel great and there’s options for players to duck in and out of cover that work whether wielding one or two weapons. And, in a nod to games less preoccupied with gritty realism, BJ can wield absolutely any two weapons. It’s a simple and yet enjoyable addition that has been missed from a large majority of shooters recently – and while you’d think it’d make the game too easy, the game still provides a good (but not immense) challenge.

While the game is entirely single player, it employs a perk system similar to most multiplayer shooters in the industry at present. Completing small but manageable tasks (like killing a certain amount of enemies with a certain weapon, or within a certain time limit) awards perks. Completing these unlocks perks, which in turn unlocks minor buffs for BJ, like increased magazine capacity for certain weapons and replenishment of health after certain takedowns. The perks system is a great addition because it entices players to play the game utilising all kinds of different play styles, as most of the benefits of earning a perk carry across to all players of all play styles. The tasks are manageable and approachable too, so most players will have no issues attempting them.

As you’d hope, with The New Order being an entirely single-player experience, it’d have to be something substantial to warrant the price tag, not to mention something that keeps players interests from beginning to end. Thankfully, Wolfenstein is very well paced. Every encounter feels meaningful, and nothing feels like pointless filler. There’s a good mix of exploration, stealth and action along with the odd on-rails segment or two. It just feels well-constructed – and despite being roughly fifteen to twenty hours long, it never gets boring and there’s never a dull moment throughout. Nothing ever lingers too long or overstays its welcome. Nothing overwhelms to the point where you have to put the controller down. It’s just extremely well balanced, extremely well-paced and surprisingly enjoyable to play for long periods at a time (and without finishing it too).

When all is over and done, there’s quite a bit to do. Collectibles provide compelling and interesting backstory to characters throughout the world, as well as unlock new modes that place “rules” on the player – such as completing an entire run of the game with one life. At the beginning of the game, a choice can be made which also unlocks one of two timelines. Both timelines will take in excess of twenty hours to complete easily – but neither of them differ too dramatically. One provides access to a lockpicking skill, another provides access to a hotwiring skill – with armour upgrades being hidden in the former and health upgrades being hidden in the latter. Dialogue options, and themes explored in the story will change in each of the two timelines – but outside of the collectible changes and some subtle nooks and crannies to explore, barely anything changes between the two timelines.

So essentially, your mileage may vary with whether or not you’d enjoy and benefit from a second playthrough. As The New Order’s characters are so well written and the story is so well delivered, personally, it was definitely worth it to play it through twice just to experience the different character interactions.

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Led by Colonel Repeatski, the Super Time Force spend their time traveling through both time and space to make the world a better place to live in.

Ever thought a world where humans and dinosaurs coexisted would be neat? So did Repeatski. He sent his team of wormhole-surfin’ militants to the prehistoric age to topple a mighty tyrannosaurus rex and bring down the asteroid that, in another timeline, would bring on the extinction of the dinosaurs.

The maniacal mind behind the plot to rid the world of these terrible lizards? The one and only Dr. Infinity.

The Super Time Force follow him from 1,000,000 B.C. and run the chronological gamut until they reach Future City.

Super Time Force looks wonderful in motion.

It might be tough to appreciate it fully while you’re enthralled with keeping your team’s timeline in order, but it’s truly wonderful. It’s easy to correlate pixel art with indie and indie with simplicity, but it’s an obvious reality that pixel art is just as time consuming and gruelling on developers. It’s intricate work, but it is work that pays dividends when the job is done right. And it most certainly has been executed with aplomb here.

There’s no better feeling than finishing a level and getting to watch the replay. Letting it all sink in and seeing all of your efforts running and fighting alongside each other concurrently, is top drawer.

Super Time Force doesn’t have a whole lot of worlds, but the ones it does have are charming. There are six in all, and they’re selectable from the game’s central hub, known as the Spacebus. You’re also able to check which extra squad members you’ve rescued—such as Squirty Harry, who absolutely is as grim as he sounds—as well as how many glorbs you’ve collected, etc.

It’s an elegant way to take inventory in a sense without taking players out of the narrative. To this day, even seeing the over-decorated Colonel Repeatski pacing back and forth on deck still gets a laugh out of me.

Super Time Force just doesn’t take itself seriously and I think that’s what I enjoyed most about it.

Super Time Force has been described by Capybara’s own Kenneth Yeung as “Gunstar Heroes meets that one level in Braid.”

As you expect, each member of Super Time Force has their own unique ability that makes them particularly useful when enduring the curtain of bullet of fire. Whether it’s firing through walls as Aimy McKillin or deploying a bubble perimeter as Shieldy Blockerson, finding the perfect skill to compliment any given challenge is the hardest part of Super Time Force.

Poor strategy leads to wasted time-outs and, even worse, the loss of precious seconds.

Time-outs can be used whenever a player dies or voluntarily halts the progress of time, sifting backward through the timeline to find the perfect place to rejoin the fray as a ghost, ready to compliment the original steps you made – it’s a regular ‘army of you’. This mechanic can be used to gain a tactical advantage over a boss through sheer weight of numbers, or it can be used in a tactical effort to reach collectibles without wasting valuable time having your ‘original‘ veer from the path.

The trick is that you’ve only thirty time-outs up your sleeve, as well as a whole sixty seconds that— when you begin to falter and make missteps—can hastily leave you.

Run out of either and you fail.

Aside from Super Time Force’s clever and challenging time-bending mechanics, its secondary brilliance rests in its satisfying combat.

The guns punch holes through anything unfortunate to wait in their path and, although the aiming is a touch imprecise, it is an ever present pleasure seeing enemies—be they Blounbots or other—reduced to muck.

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The LEGO Movie Videogame tells the exact same story as The LEGO Movie. Emmet Brickowski is your average construction worker in LEGO Land. An unfortunate series of events leads him to being the ‘chosen one’ that has to save the world by defeating Evil Lord Business and ‘The Kragle’. As with the movie, the game’s story is hilarious, however I’d highly recommend not playing this game before watching the movie, if you have any interest in seeing the movie that is. The game spoils the best lines from the movie and whilst they’re just as enjoyable the second time around, the movie will be almost pointless to you if you’ve already played the game.

The LEGO Movie Videogame looks almost as good as the LEGO Marvel Superheroes. The biggest graphical change is the fact that the environments are now all made out of LEGO, where in previous times they LEGO was limited to some of the characters and parts of the environment. I really enjoyed the change, as the game was able to separate itself from a series that has become quite stale.

The cut scenes in the game mostly consist of original sections from the movie. They look slightly more compressed and less visually impressive but that’s to be expected. The sound in the game does a perfect job of making you feel like you’re in The Lego Movie. It’s not out of this world, but it’s enough to put you in a believable environment.

The LEGO Movie Videogame differs slightly from previous games in the LEGO universe. It tries to add more variations of gameplay through the use of mini-games and interesting character missions. For instance, the game kicks off almost instantly with a Dance Dance Revolution type mini-game to the ridiculously catchy theme song “Everything Is Awesome”.

The game also introduces a new play set mechanic in which Emmet must build large city items using instructions from a play set. They usually involve finding specific bricks that are missing from your collection in order to build the item required to advance. The game also features Master Builders, which can create structures using blocks without instructions, as you’d expect from previous games (and the movie). Unfortunately this gets repetitive fairly quickly and the game feels like it relegates back to the standard formula of previous LEGO games.

In fact, this is the thing that disappointed me most about the game. The game starts out as the most innovate LEGO game to date but quickly morphs into a repetitive game that screams rushed, clearly in an attempt to coincide with the release date of the movie. It’s still a ton better than the majority of movie tie-in games, but it still falls a little short.

Thankfully, The LEGO Movie Videogame introduces a stellar roster of characters. Wonder Woman, Batman, Superman and even Gandalf are all unlockable and provide an exciting burst of gameplay for a brief amount of time. As always, the game is better played with a buddy. It’s easy enough for anybody to pickup and is great in short spurts. Unfortunately, for older players there is almost no challenge in the gameplay, but this means that it’s completely achievable to beat for its target audience.

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“Cold, Cold Heart” is set less than a week after the conclusion of Batman: Arkham Origins, Bruce Wayne is hosting Gotham City’s Humanitarian of the Year Award at Wayne Manor on New Year’s Eve. Not long into the evening Mr. Freeze captures award recipient, Ferris Boyle, leaving Wayne Manor in a horrific mess. It is then up for Batman to swoop in, save the day and uncover all he can about this mysterious new villain, Mr. Freeze.

Right from the get go, this game feels cold, even before Mr. Freeze appears the cavernous mansion that is Wayne Manor just feels draughty and chilly, which is perfect in terms of setting the tone for the cold progression of the game.

Visually, “Cold, Cold Heart” is what you’ve experienced before, the recycled snow storm from the main campaign’s Christmas Eve night is used as expected with a few frozen assets in various places to add to the frosty destruction. These include such things as people or cars, but perhaps the most awe-inspiring piece off the icy mayhem is the glacier that devours the Gotham City bridge. (Thank God, we don’t have to waste time crossing it again.)

Inside the other few buildings you enter, things feel just as bleak and desolate. Doors are frozen over, rooms are filled with cryogenic vapour as a deterrent for The Dark Knight, and lift shafts are totally encased in ice and barely navigable.

Voice acting is brilliant once again; Roger Craig Smith doesn’t skip a beat reprising his role as Batman, portraying a younger Dark Knight. Maurice LaMarche again represents Mr. Freeze perfectly. Nolan North takes the reigns of Oswald Cobblepot (The Penguin) and Alfred is none other than Martin Jarvis. The class of all these brilliant. individual and talented voices combines to produce again some of the deepest and true to lore Batman experiences that can be had. On a personal note, it was brilliant to see Bruce give Alfred a little more respect rather than acting like a stubborn teenager toward him, just six days ago (in game time).

“Cold, Cold Heart” allows players for the first time to really explore Wayne Manor with a few rooms for combat and predator encounters; which fans of Batman will enjoy, even if the mansion is extensively cavernous for some architectural reason. Mr. Freeze brings along with him a new type of henchman, a freeze-ray wielding thug. Whilst not overly difficult to overcome, they do add another element to take note of during your free flowing combats. A distinctive click can be heard before the gun fires. Simply evading the beam will suffice, allowing for any other enemy caught in the crossfire to be frozen stiff until subdued.

During Freeze’s terror spree he has frozen over access for most of the districts, allowing Batman to openly explore roughly 50% of the southern island that was available in the main game. It might sound like a restrictive move from Warner Bros. Montreal but the available area is more than enough to encase this story. As is tradition with all games in the Arkham series, there are a few side missions ready for the player to tend to at their own leisure.

Perhaps the biggest focal point of the frozen world Batman must survive is the introduction of the X.C. Batsuit (which stands for extreme conditions). A bigger, bulkier, internally heated suit that looks similar to a miniature Transformer, you may expect such a thing to weigh down the Bat but it doesn’t, movement is still as fluent with the suit on. After donning the X.C. suit, a few subtle mechanics change your gameplay, batarangs become heated by holding your aim which dislodges ice stalactites to obliterate the opposition. Batman can also generate a heat force strong enough to unfreeze victims of the freeze-ray and melt the ice over doors or vents. Also rather than continuing with the shock gauntlet combat power-up, they become thermal gauntlets; the name is different but results are the same. A quicker, unblockable power-up for free flow combat, which I always try to avoid as I feel it takes away from the excellent free flow combat experience.

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You play as Aurora, a young girl with long flowing locks of red hair. She is the daughter of a Duke of Austria in the year 1895. Her mother’s identity has remained a mystery to the young girl and the absence of a motherly figure has created an extremely strong relationship between her and her father. Although as time passed, her father grew lonely and eventually found the company of another woman. On the night of her father’s wedding, Aurora becomes ill and would not awaken. For all intents and purposes she is announced deceased.

Aurora awakens in the mysterious land of Lemuria. A strange world full of stranger monsters, where she is greeted by a new friend, Igniculus. Aurora eventually learns that Lemuria’s sun, moon and stars have been taken from the land by the mysterious Queen of the Night. It is then up to the small child to recover these divine figures in the hope of reuniting with her father.

Ubisoft Montreal has crafted Child of Light on the ever so popular UbiArt Framework Engine, the same engine that has re-invented and re-defined the Rayman series.

The use of this engine presents the player in a 2D side scrolling world, none the likes of which the world has seen before. Every piece of the game has been hand-drawn to an incredible amount of detail. The world will ignite your inner child’s nostalgic imagination of all the wonderful stories and fairytales you heard and dreamt of when you were younger. All of this occurs before the magnificent watercolours are delicately placed into the world.

Traversing from one side of Lemuria to the other, is like bearing witness to an evolving and growing children’s book. It’s incredibly soothing and calming to the soul and leaves you in a state of awe. Accompanying the humble visuals is a restful, yet engaging string ensemble with a masterful pianist performance keeping the rhythm and the flow to this enchanting soundtrack.

I mentioned that Child of Light is reminiscent to that of a children’s book, and keeping to the nature of that, the game has an exceptional narrator delivering outstanding guidance and background to the elements of the game. Keeping in tune of the children’s theme is the way that the dialogue has been fashioned to speak only in rhymes. If more voice actors were cast I feel it would have enriched the experience, although in saying that I understand the design choice as story books are read, not heard. It is a wonderful design choice as time and time again I found myself chuckling at the entirely predictable outcome of a conversation in regards to the rhymes. Some particular characters even take it as far as to correct other characters who do not speak in rhymes.

I have already mentioned the word ‘child’ a few times in this article. Don’t naively let that fool you into thinking that this is a children’s game. At it’s core, Child of Light is essentially a turn-based RPG, with all the item collecting, experience gaining and levelling up that goes with the genre.

Very early you are introduced to Igniculus, a rain drop looking fire fly. Igniculus can be controlled by you at the same time as you control Aurora or separately by a local co-op friend. Igniculus is invaluable to your quest, lighting dark treacherous paths, gathering the fuels for your health and magic but most importantly, his battle aids are vital to your success.

Once a battle is engaged, you are able to attack based on your speed and how long it takes to complete your chosen actions. The game makes use of an Active Time Battle System, popular to the genre; taking skill and finesse to manage your health and magic as you wait for the right time to strike with your attack. Evading your opposition’s attack is obviously one of the best strategies to survive, but to use Igniculus to your advantage is sheer brilliance. Utilising the second (or single) player firefly you can shine a light over your opponent as they strike to ‘blind’ them which may result in a miss, resetting their action timer. Not only is attack offered, but healing is also an option from Igniculus and various other party members who join you along your quest.

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Set three months after Origins—the prequel Rocksteady are more than prepared to exclude from the saga—Blackgate follows a night which sees the Dark Knight’s most ominous foes rise up and seize control of Blackgate Penitentiary, with The Joker, Penguin and Black Mask each holing up in a ward of the prison.

The world’s greatest detective is quick on the case, as we see an expansion of his origin tale, including the first time he happens upon the seductive Selina Kyle, better known as the cunning thief Catwoman. We’re also able to see a young, hardboiled Jim Gordon as he and Bruce continue to forge a relationship that’ll define their lives, as they throw their bodies upon the gears of Gotham’s crime rings.

It’s a serviceable addition to the Arkham saga, though narrative has long been a strongpoint for the franchise.

Being a handheld port, I didn’t expect this game to look the part when scaled up for the big screen but it holds up surprisingly well. Blackgate, like most other games in the series, has a tonal darkness that beautifully suits the consistent, gritty presentation of Batman—which has been commonplace pretty much since Nolan’s film adaptation, Batman Begins, almost a decade ago. It’s almost hard these days to imagine the campy, 60s iteration of Bats ever returning. Any chance of that died a grim death at the hands of Joel Schumacher.

Blackgate Penitentiary serves its role as a battleground for Batman to overcome his great adversaries, though like most prisons it’s a bit drab and yearning for colour—which makes The Joker’s deranged scrawls littering the walls all the more striking as they burst luminously from the open canvases that are Blackgate’s walls. The setting does undergo a change once you make your way through the prison’s administration offices so it remains not only foreboding, but fresh also. The game’s cut scenes aren’t presented in the traditional Arkham fashion.

Due to the initial restrictions of being a handheld game, the major narrative plot points roll by almost as a storyboard with almost static images being complemented by the odd flourish and a stellar cast of voice actors. Considering our hero’s roots lie in the comic books, this is a logical choice in style that I’d say pays off handsomely.

Heavy hitters Roger Craig Smith and Troy Baker—who’s in pretty much anything and everything these days—reprise their roles as our favourite dysfunctional duo, Bruce Wayne and his number one nemesis, The Joker. Their rich vein of form from Origins continues as they turn in great performances, particularly Baker who is on his way to creating a Joker that he can own. Granted, he’ll never be Mark Hamill but if the torch is to be passed, he’s making an excellent case for himself.

Blackgate plays like a “Metroidvania” game, with map exploration and using upgrades to reach hard to reach places playing a huge role, making it much more like Asylum than City. That said, despite being a 2.5D title, the franchise’s focal point—being its combat—remains more or less intact. Of course, with threats only converging from the left and right, a lot of the challenge has been sapped out of it, though the fundamentals are still in place with timing being key. Counters remain the name of the game, as a well timed counter will put the attacking thug squarely on the deck.

Similar to other Arkham games, Bats gradually stockpiles an arsenal of handy gadgets that open up new avenues of exploration within the prison. That weakened wall you couldn’t penetrate at the start of play will succumb to your explosive gel, which comes later on as you progress. It’s definitely rewarding to explore and discover all of the hidden collectibles in Blackgate, though the map isn’t without its flaws.

There was a point early on in Blackgate, after I’d chosen to first pursue The Joker, where I became seemingly stuck thanks to my lack of an upgraded encryptor. The poor in-game map made finding an escape an impossibility that eventually led to my reboot, it’s an inelegant design that made Blackgate a terror to navigate.

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Trials Fusion is a follow up to the previous Trials games. It’s a physics based game that doesn’t adhere to one specific genre – there are elements of platformer, puzzle and racing games in Trials Fusion.

Fusion features everything players loved about the previous games, but also employs a new tricks system known as “FMX” as well as a fully-fledged track editor, allowing players to edit and create their own courses and share them with other players.

Even better, drastic changes like the FMX system are relegated to their own sections, so they won’t upset purists while also providing a new experience for players who aren’t that fussed. That being said, they aren’t ground breaking either – their impact on the Trials formula is pretty minute.

The level creator certainly lends itself to some fantastic potential – especially players who might want to recreate versions of classic tracks from previous games.

Trials Fusion takes a much more futuristic approach to its presentation – and while that doesn’t seem to make a lot of sense, it means that it gives the team a lot to work with in terms of visuals. On the PS4, the game runs at full 1080p in 60fps too, so the gameplay is silky smooth. Reports indicate that other versions run at reduced resolutions in order to achieve this, but most versions of the game are very well presented. Explosions happen in the background, items destroy parts of the track and the environment itself interacts as much as possible with the player and the track without interfering with the gameplay. The only real problem with the game’s presentation is the textures, which sometimes take time to properly appear after choosing to retry a level. It’s a minor gripe, but it’s there. There are some frame rate drops in the Xbox One version too.

The soundtrack is a bit of a mixed bag. There are definitely some people that will appreciate the Swedish House Mafia-inspired B-side track that plays on the title screen, but I personally find it a bit tacky and cheesy. Besides the title track, the soundtrack consists of largely generic fast paced EDM tracks that perfectly fit the tone and atmosphere of the game, especially since it has stepped into a more futuristic setting. There is some occasional voice work too, and while it’s nothing besides the occasional yelp from an airborne or free-falling driver, it does get annoying from time to time.

Trials Fusion is a physics based racing game with puzzle elements, so it takes a while to work out how your bike will react to certain geometry in the environment as well as the most effective ways to navigate obstacles. The other half, and where most of the difficulty lies, is in precision. Players will be able to pull off all kinds of manoeuvres during the game, and only the most skilled of players will be able to correct themselves in the face of error. It’s that divide between the player base that gives Trials’ its immense appeal – it’s almost universal in it’s ability to appeal to audiences and it’s simple enough to grasp at a superficial but hard to master.

The missions themselves all adhere to a very standard formula – get from beginning to end. Of course, from beginning to end, players will be met with all kinds of obstacles whether it be unconventionally shaped ramps or impossibly sharp ravines. It’s interesting to see what the team have come up with in terms of level design – two interlocking platforms might look impossible to traverse but by thinking outside of the box and utilising backflips and the like, they become rather easy to get through. The process of working these parts out is what makes Trials Fusion so fulfilling – why I am inclined to say that Trials Fusion is partially a puzzle game.

There are also “skill” levels that don’t require players to reach the finish line, instead imposing specific goals like traveling as far as possible without letting go of the accelerator or as far as possible without leaning forward or back to change your trajectory. These are fun and add variety to the game, but unfortunately don’t happen nearly enough.

Trials Fusion is packed to the brim with content, and amongst that are the customisation options. There’s all kinds of bikes to use, as well as brand new quad bikes which add a new layer of strategy to some of the levels. Each bike can also be customised with different wheels and colours too – and with the amount of options on offer here it’s easy to say every player will find a look that will suit them best. Although I found that it’s kind of annoying that a lot of these options are tied behind player progression through the main career mode. Many of these options also extend to your driver too, which is a nice touch.

For those who aren’t happy with dying hundreds of times just to get through the level, each level also comes with a set of challenges that players can attempt to complete while trying to get the finish line. These challenges vary quite a bit – some steal directly from the skill based sections (ie. Complete the level without reducing your speed) but others are more unique and require you to explore your environment. It’s a simple system that’s been done to death in games like these. It definitely fosters replayability in the game and provides players with many reasons to replay the games multiple levels multiple times. The game is perfectly designed to allow this too – with the press of a button taking players to either the beginning of a course or the latest checkpoint with little to no interruptions – a necessity in a game that warrants so many retries.

In addition to the challenges system, the game also employs a basic rankings system to allow players to earn medals. Medals are tied to progression in the game – so players will have to overcome their lower skills if they want to unlock new courses. It makes sense too – since later courses will require players to have the proper skills and mastery to be remotely enjoyable. Given the amount of content available here, many players will easily get at least ten hours – with most completionists or, for lack of a better term, addicts, getting over twenty ours out of Trials Fusion.

There’s even local multiplayer too, which pitches two characters on the same course against each other. This is a nice touch, but it feels like a bit of a misstep that there’s no online modes available – though there are leaderboards to compare with your friends. There’s even basic ghosting modes – where you can see how your friends did on a course in real time as you play. It’s a great way to be competitive without actually providing proper online multiplayer.

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Playing the role of Yaiba instead of Ninja Gaiden regular Ryu Hayabusa seems like an interesting design choice, especially when turning Ryu into the antagonist, but the story is shallow and devoid of interesting motifs or characters. Yaiba acts as the playable character, seeking vengeance after Ryu bests him in combat and chops off his arm in a bold presentation  to throw you into the action straight away, but the tradeoff being that we cannot connect or understand Yaiba outside of his singular motive. Which all comes to nothing, as Yaiba may be 2014’s most despicable and disinteresting protagonist.

Topping off the tragic excuse of a story is the game’s blatant sexism and pathetic excuse of ‘comedy’. The humour is juvenile and utterly disgusting. It’s one thing to have black/dark humour, another to just thrust sex and gore onto the screen and practically grabbing the player and telling them to laugh. The sexism is so childish and immature that to get angry about it isn’t even worth the effort, and hell, at least all of this follows a pattern so you could hardly accuse Yaiba of acting inconsistently. One must feel sorry for the pathetic skills of the writer/s that were hired to write this drivel, or applaud the dozen monkeys that were trained to write SOMETHING that was coherent, if barely.

Yaiba briefly comes alive with some sleek looking animations and a cel-shaded look that manages to be a little interesting to look at. Unfortunately as I will explain later on, it’s these two things that will directly contradict the gameplay and actually makes the game worse to play.

The colour scheme works fine, but when you throw in hundreds of enemies, a huge hit counter, an intrusive HUD and a fixed camera that does not work, it’s a complete and utter mess, and makes what should be a unique looking game look forgettable and terrible. The collision detection is completely off and the constant pop-ups that completely intrude the combat (something that pissed off many Far Cry 3 players until they patched it out) is such a detriment to the game. But hey, as long as the game plays good, who cares about graphics, right?

The crux of the Ninja Gaiden series has always been its tightly refined combat, tough mechanics and punishing difficulty (ignoring the third instalment seeing as that was a complete disgrace). What made Ninja Gaiden Black/NG2/ ? so good was how tough the enemies were, how they would smartly counter your attacks forcing you to adapt on the spot with ultra fast combos, mixing it up with different weapons and magical powers that would help turn the tide of the battle. Yes, Ninja Gaiden had a near perfect combat system (second only to that of Bayonetta or Devil May Cry 3), so naturally, the next step was to add zombies. To add mindless shambling crowds of zombies that holds none of these qualities of previous games’ enemies, no semblance of smart and fast combat, Ninja Gaiden has truly jumped the shark here.

Yaiba is a complete mess gameplay wise, and a further betrayal to the Ninja Gaiden name that was so cruelly spat on already by the third instalment.  What was once a tightly wound and finely tuned combat system has now been reduced to a button mashing mindless mess, a shamble of spamming buttons and mindless repetitive asinine gameplay that is so dull and unengaging that it’s an utter disgrace to have the words ‘Ninja’ or ‘Gaiden’ in front of it. Despite cyborg ninja Yaiba’s apparent talent with the sword (sadly limited to cutscenes), he is a complete brick to control. Buttons are unresponsive, dodging is completely useless, and the fight system is so terrible; old NG games let you interrupt and cancel your combo whenever you wanted to block or dodge (which was a necessity to survive), therefore shaving precious milliseconds off animations in order to USE said milliseconds to do something of worth. Unfortunately in Yaiba, when you press an attack button, you have to wait for the entire animation to complete its cycle before you can even think of blocking or dodging, leaving you open to attacks. The screen is so full of useless things that it makes it very, VERY hard to tell what is going on. Throw in some horribly implemented QTE’s and you certainly have a mixture of a terrible game.

Let’s not even mention the incredibly unfair difficulty. Ninja Gaiden has always been about tough but fair (for the most part) difficulty. NG2 may have gone overboard with the off-screen projectile spam but even that was a cakewalk compared to Yaiba. Fighting off hundreds of zombies is so easy that you could do it blindfolded, but then they throw in such a huge difficulty jump in the form of bosses that it’s completely unfair. Having to slice up zombies is all well and good, but to go from that to chipping away at slivers of health with bosses that can take out all your health in 2-3 hits is complete bullshit. The options to use potions is gone here, forcing you to “absorb” lesser foes in order to revive your health. It’s a decent premise, but here it’s an utter failure. Because of the mess of graphics and HUD and blood and explosions, it’s impossible to tell when you are able to grab an enemy to absorb their health, and during a boss fight if all enemies are dead, well then you are just completely and utterly fucked, forced to restart from the start and try your luck again.

The gameplay is much like the new theme of Ninja Gaiden; a zombie. A mindless, shambling, pathetic, and utterly disgraceful shadow of its former self. Yaiba should be a once in a lifetime level of bad, but Spark Unlimited have already proven just how pathetically low they can sink. The Uwe Boll of video games, Spark continue their trend of ruining decent premises. Yaiba will make you question why you play games, as it certainly made me question it.

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Please note: This is the review for both chapters of the Burial at Sea DLC. To get the full benefit of understanding and enjoyment of this downloadable chapter it is highly recommended you complete the main campaign of Bioshock: Infinite first. A decent knowledge of the first Bioshock game wouldn’t hurt either but is not essential.

Burial at Sea is set after the original game and continues the theme of ‘Constants and Variables’ among many other themes explored in the main game. Booker Dewitt has found sanctuary in the underwater city of Rapture, re-establishing his private investigators firm. A client Elizabeth (taking more of a femme fatale role), approaches Booker with a job. Elizabeth is being very vague of the details but divulges she has to find a girl named Sally. The two set out on the eve of 1959, right before the riots that eventually destroy the underwater utopia.

Irrational Games have taken the Unreal Engine 3 and re-created Rapture from the ground up. Bioshock Infinite was and is a visually amazing game, set amongst the glorious bright lively colours in the open spaces of Columbia; which are then perfectly contrasted by the darker, sombre, confined spaces that make Rapture. Visiting both the cities throughout the episodes comes as a perfectly timed change of pace to the story and a pleasure to be in once again.

As stunning as Bioshock is visually, the main emphasis of the series has always been the story telling. Utilising the strong, emotive voice talents of Troy Baker as Booker and Courtnee Draper as Elizabeth, combined with Ken Levine’s creative direction; is a masterpiece that culminates in a bitter-sweet yet perfect conclusion to the series and perfect send off for Irrational Games.

Burial At Sea arrives in two chapters, adding a few new elements of gameplay to each; the first primarily set in Rapture sees you controlling Booker. Introducing the mechanics of Bioshock: Infinite to Rapture, was a simple and elegant treat. Also being introduced are a set of new vigors/plasmids and a new weapon; the Radar Range. Episode 1 takes a more hostile approach in terms of open conflict and guns blazing in the confined limitations of Rapture.

Concluding in an only natural cliff hanger, the second chapter puts you in control of Elizabeth. Elizabeth is portrayed to be not quite as competent as Booker in the battlefield and in doing so is given a set of weaponry and plasmids that accommodate for her intended play skill. Stealth and evasion is what is suggested for her but ultimately I felt that I could just run and gun most of my adversaries on my review. Although the creations of the Rapture and Columbia segments are crafted wonderfully for stealth play through.

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Note: There is one thing that I need to mention before the review. This game will be around $50 in Australia. The cinematic experience by itself, without considering the replay value, is extremely short. So a huge part in your purchasing decision should be, determining the value of your own personal time. How much I value my time, may be completely different to how much you value yours. Personally, I got Ground Zeroes for roughly $40 through the US Playstation Network on the PS4, and I felt like I got my money’s worth.

Guys, here is a little reminder. Metal Gear solid 4 came out in 2008, and Peace Walker came out in 2010. Either way you look at it, it’s been quite a while since we have had some original MGS content. My frustrating bout with Vamp in MGS4 feels like a distant memory. Now with taste of Ground Zeroes on my pallet, the wait for Phantom Pain is going to be, well, painful (Forgive the pun).

I’m going to have to say it straight up, I can’t really comment on the story here. Ground Zeroes is so short, that I can only really give you a brief synopsis without pretty much describing the entire “Theatrical” experience. What I will say is that it does what it aimed to do, set up the story for The Phantom Pain. Think of it as an appetizer, it’s there to prepare you for what’s coming. In typical Kojima fashion it’s very cinematic, and engaging. The trademark Metal Gear insanity takes a little bit of a backseat here, but if you’re an MGS fan,I’m sure you’re going to buy this regardless. However, a warning for the newcomers. Ground Zeroes is technically the fourth game in this story arc, so there is quite a lot of backstory to cover. Thankfully GZ offers a way to bring you up to speed, but don’t expect to just jump in and understand what’s going on and why it’s important. Oh, heads up. It’s eleven pages of backstory. Have fun reading.

As mentioned previously, I got GZ on the Playstation 4. I haven’t played the game on Xbox 360 or PS3, so I can’t talk about the visual differences cross gen. If you’re interested, Kojima put out a graphics comparison video which you can find here. All you need to know is, I played the version that was in 1080p.

Ground Zeroes is our first hands on with the brand new and shiny FOX engine. Boy, oh boy is it pretty. Lens flare deluxe, weather effects, impressive lighting displays and a rock solid 60 frames per second are things you can look forward to gawking at. Then you have pop in issues, and some textures that look a little rough when you get up close and personal. For the most part it’s pretty smooth sailing.

As per usual, the sound in MGS is top notch. Guns have a kick, ambient noise makes you stay aware of your surroundings, and when things go awry the soundtrack does a damn good job making your situation feel all the more dire. Now for one of the many Elephants in the room, how’s the voice acting? I’ll say this now, by no means is Kiefer Sutherland doing a bad job as Big Boss. There was no point where I thought it was totally egregious. That being said, Snake doesn’t really talk much. Certainly not enough to decide if I’d prefer Kiefer Sutherland over David Hayter, let alone adjust to the change. Not to diminish all of the other talent, Robin Atkin Downes, Tara Strong, and Antony Del Rio return, reprise their roles and do a damn good job alongside everybody else.

A lot of controversy has been surrounding Ground Zeroes in the lead up of it’s release, most of it concerning the length of the game. Here’s the deal, Metal Gear Solid has always been a fairly linear and lengthy series. This is no longer the case, MGS is changing fairly significantly, while still retaining the excessive amount of detail that makes MGS so great. Much like Metal Gear Solid 4, the game plays a lot like your typical 3rd person shooter, for the most part controls are intuitive if you have played this type of game before. Snake also feels more agile then ever, the trade for this is that there is no more radar. If you want to keep track of enemies, you’re going to have to manually tag them by spotting them with your binoculars. This leads you to pay much more attention to your surroundings and assessing the situation, how will you handle the assassination of a target quietly if your suppressor is broken? Situations like this gives a chance to show off the new open world type system we can expect in The Phantom Pain. You’re given an objective, kicked out the door, and told to figure it out. That’s the beauty of Ground Zeroes, you figure it out.

The entire game takes place at Camp Omega; a Military black site, so there is a whole lot of things in the environment to take advantage of if you choose to. Want to do things fast and loud? hop on an AA gun and lay waste to everything around you. Want to infiltrate quietly? try hiding in the back of a truck. The amount of things to see and experiment with, is easily enough to warrant subsequent playthroughs. On top of that you have diverse side missions, more guns to unlock, collectibles, and a learderboard to compete with. Yes, you could finish the game in 2 hours. Yes, that speed runner did finish the game in 7 minutes, but he played through the game multiple times and learned the optimal route. Everyone has their preferences, some will come to this just for the story. Some will stay longer for the fun gameplay. It’s all down to how you play, and how much you value your own personal time. Mathematically, it may seem like a bad deal, a $40 demo. Personally, I thought it was worth it.

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The story of Titanfall pits the IMC against the Militia. The IMC are trying to gain control over a series of planets known as The Frontier. The residents of these planets had finally decided that it was time to join forces to form the Militia. In doing so, they wanted to regain control of their respective planets and drive away the IMC. Both sides of the story are told and it’s up to your interoperation to decide who is in the wrong. The story isn’t fleshed out but the general premise is set up to ensure that you have an understanding of why you’re fighting the good fight.

The world of Titanfall is larger and more varied than any other first person shooter that I can recall playing. The game takes place across 15 different locations and each look just as stunning as the next. One minute you’ll find yourself in a dark corridor and the next you’ll be strolling through a vast jungle. The artists of this game really did well to convey a wide variety of different planetary location.

The sound design in the game is equally as thrilling as the graphics. The sound of your Titan dropping onto a pilot or the robotic squeal of a grunt are all extremely satisfying. Set scenes that take place throughout the campaign are epic and visually remarkable.

At first glance, the gameplay of Titanfall looks like your typical new-age first person shooter. As you continue to play through it, it’s obvious that it’s much deeper than this. Microsoft’s Cloud Servers are taken advantage of to free up more of the Xbox One’s processing power and boy does it show. Being able to Auto-pilot your Titan whilst being at the other side of a huge map is no easy feat and Respawn have managed to nail things like this without sacrificing the game’s ability to run.

Titanfall’s campaign consists of 9 levels and is playable from both sides of the war. You’re able to play as the IMC or Militia to begin with, then you have the choice to replay through the story from the other side’s perspective. The campaign consists of five Attrition matches and four Hardpoint Domination matches. These are just regular multiplayer matches with a cutscene at the start, and usually some epic set sequences throughout the level that you would not normally experience in a multiplayer match. I can see why Respawn wanted to go in this direction with the campaign. Essentially, they have decided to use the rock-solid multiplayer matches with slightly altered levels and cut scenes in order to give players an immersive basic introduction to the world of the Frontiers, IMC and Militia.

Honestly, I was slightly disappointing with the fact that Respawn didn’t take the extra time to create a dedicated campaign. We’ve seen first person shooter series such as Battlefield and Call Of Duty with extremely epic campaigns and I can’t help but feel that Titanfall would’ve pulled off a solo campaign incredibly. The world and art design intrigued me more than just about any shooting game that I can recall in recent times.

Titanfall’s core gameplay is so great because it is almost perfectly balanced. It has a maximum limit of 6v6 players and I feel like Respawn got this balance right. I never felt like the huge maps were overloaded or felt like I couldn’t find anybody. This would’ve been the biggest task with creating a game like Titanfall. You have the Pilots, which are extremely small and agile and then you have the Titans, which for the most part are slow-moving and gigantic. It sounds like it wouldn’t work in theory, but it does.

Among the battlefield, there are also a number of bots. These come in the form of Grunts and Spectres. Whilst the bots provide little challenge, they still add to your overall game score and also lower your Titanfall build time. They make the maps less lonely, and always keep you on your toes.

Attrition mode is your standard team death match. Players are required to kill Pilots, Titans and bots in order to get to the required team score first. I found that Attrition was good to learn the basics of Titanfall, but this mode is nothing unique and shares a lot of similarities with other first person shooters. Pilot Hunter is extremely similar to Attrition with the exception of Grunts and Spectres counting on the scoreboard. Whilst they will still lower your Titan build time, you will have to be extremely careful about when to kill them as it’s a much riskier choice.

Hardpoint Domination is all about capturing and holding three key areas, known as Hardpoints. You can capture these Hardpoints by neutralising the area by killing any enemies, and standing in the area for a certain amount of time. Once you’ve achieved this then it’s your main goal to defend your area. For every 2 seconds that you hold an area, one point is earned for your team. I really enjoyed this mode as it really requires you to think about your positioning within each area.

In Last Titan Standing, each player starts as a Titan with the sole purpose of knocking out each Titan one by one. When you’ve been ejected from your Titan, you will live your last legs out as a Pilot. Once your pilot has been evaporated you’re out of the game for that round. The winning team will be the last Titan or Pilot standing.

My favourite match type by far is Capture The Flag. CTF is extremely addictive and seems to play on Titanfall’s strengths more than any other match type. There are two flags on the fairly large map and it’s the Pilot’s and/or Titan’s job to escort the flag from one side to the other. The entire match is extremely tense as you need to be quick to avoid pursuing Pilots whilst keeping clear of any Titan sight.

As you progress through the game, you will have the ability to upgrade your Primary Weapon, Anti-Titan Weapon, Tactical Abilities, Ordinance and Kits. On top of that there are also a number of Burn cards to collect and use throughout the game. These are really the only thing that keeps the game feeling fresh and motivated to keep playing and that ultimately is my biggest problem with Titanfall. Whilst it is one of the most solid new franchises that has been released in recent history, I have to question just how much longevity the game has? Hopefully DLC will release with new game modes and keep the game feeling fresh.

On the game’s release last Thursday, EA announced that Titanfall would be getting local servers here in Australia. Once I was on the Australia servers, my ping dropped from around 150 to 10-15. Keep in mind that these servers are apparently not using Microsoft’s Azure servers and are instead using EA servers located in Sydney. They are still in Beta and not without a few problems. I found the game to be a little bit jumpy at times but it’s nothing that lowers the experience. The Australian servers are still far better than the other alternative and I’m sure that they’ll only get better as the weeks roll on.

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Thief is set in a dying city overruled by the tyrant Baron. You play the role of Garret, the lonely master thief. As the city falls apart Garret finds himself thrown among a revolution he does not want to take part in. The revolting citizens will try anything to get the city back from the hand of the Baron. The revolution is coming, and if Garret doesn’t get involved the streets will run red with blood and the city will tear itself apart.

As a master thief there is nothing out of your reach. Precious possessions, gold and secrets. If you listen closely you will find even greater prizes. The main story centres around the fact that Garret awakes after he has been missing for a year. Completing jobs and travelling the city you will find small clues that will unravel the untold mystery behind your missing time.

Thief is a very dark and dull game, but it does have real beauty within. Amongst the many shades of black you will find a dash of colour that will contrast beautifully. This could range from the flickering of a fire, the shine of gold or the scarlet red of a rose petal. Thief has some fantastic colourful moments that really does take your breath away. Eidos have made some mistakes though. With frame rate issues plaguing certain areas and textures popping in and out, they really did drop the ball in a few instances. As you travel around you will find some unique conversations that slowly become very repetitive and soon ignored.

Although the story is compelling and really grabs your attention, the lack of overall colour and the repetitive nature of the textures and sounds, makes it hard to play for a large amount of time. Although the story will keep you wanting to finish it, it does become a chore in some cases. The overall product definitely doesn’t represent what Eidos said this game would be.

Thief is a first person stealth game that introduced a lot of great mechanics. With running, climbing, and sneaking, you have the ability to move around the world in a variety of styles. Although you can choose how you approach a situation, you only have one choice on how to do it, stealth! If you do not sneak past the guards you will die. The sneak mechanic seems like it could’ve been pulled from a variety of other games. Sneaking is ignited by clicking on the left analog stick. You have the ability to slide which will allow you to get around in the quickest way. Travelling large distances becomes a hassle because you can’t run without alerting the guards, so your only option is to sneak. Sneaking is unbearably slow and the map layout makes it impossible to get anywhere fast. There are a number of bows and a mace to use in the game but these are purely about knocking the enemy down in order to get away. The game is about stealing and sneaking not bashing your enemies heads in.

The 3rd person climbing mechanic works great if you’re next to something you can climb, but these instances are few and far between. The focus vision mechanic works great but you only use it to find traps or loot. With the blue glow staying after you turn it off you will be spamming the button to turn it on and off and save your focus bar. With no Regen on your health or focus bar, you have to make sure you have food and poppies stacked up in your inventory at all times. You have an impressive array of equipment to use but there isn’t an instance where you really need them. The only equipment you will find yourself using is the rope arrows to get to high places. Except the rope arrows only have specific areas you can use it, making it useless everywhere else.

There are small quick time events to get between areas but they’re identical every single time. The lock picking is so simple that they could’ve left it out. It definitely felt more gimmicky than anything. The only difficult puzzles are the safes located in random areas. You need to find the combination which is usually located within the immediate area, whether it be in a document or on the environment. You will be constantly spamming the X button to pick up loot and open draws.

The save feature is irrelevant, hiding in cupboards is almost unnecessary, so finding that feature was very difficult. The peek feature is useless, if you stay in the dark they can’t see you, so there is no need to peek around the corners. You can blow out candles and hit fire with water arrows to create more darkness, or you can find a better path that is already dark.

The post Review: Thief appeared first on Press Start.

Wind the clock back 10 years and the original Fable was being released on the Xbox. It was released to favourable reviews and went on to become one of the best selling games on the platform. Fable takes place in a land called Albion. You take the role of a young boy who’s family is brutally killed by bandits. An old hero rescues you and trains you up to become the hero of Albion. The story still holds up quite well even though it hasn’t changed in the last 10 years.. The main story itself is quite short so it never really feels like it’s dragging on. Story-wise, I still feel like this is the best game in the series. It’s easy to follow and provides a simple narrative that’s easy to follow. Unlike the more recent games, you can still only select to be a male hero, which may annoy some people.

The biggest thing to talk about with Fable Anniversary is the upgraded presentation. The game has received a visual upgrade which puts it in-line with the newer games in the series. Whilst it is a welcomed upgrade, I couldn’t help but feel that some of the visual charm was lost with replacing the cartoony character designs with a more realistic model.

The real improvement comes in the form of updated weapon models and the spell effects. These make the game much more immersive and realistic. The landscapes are also much improved and have a lot more personality. In the original game, environments looked extremely similar and lacked a certain visual quality. Unfortunately, there are a few graphical issues. There are some glaring framerate issues, particularly in areas with a lot of enemies on screen. There is also some quite noticeable pop-in during some cutscenes. Something that seems strange to me was the decision to leave the original interludes in the game. Surely it wouldn’t have been much of an effort to recreate these to better suit the Anniversary editions upgraded visual quality?

The biggest change in Fable Anniversary comes in the form of updated controls. Fans of the 2nd and 3rd game will be pleased to know that dedicated buttons for magic, melee and ranged attacks have now been bought across. If you preferred the older way of manually switching attack types, a legacy control option has been bought into the game. It really is the best of both worlds.

The combat was extremely enjoyable in the original and i’m happy to say that it’s just as fun 10 years later. There is a ton of variety in the way that you can attack situations. Cast a spell, attack using a melee weapon or use your bow, the options are endless. I really enjoyed the fact that the game never limits you to any attack type. The only fault that I had with the combat is the old-school lock on system. You can lock on to targets by holding the left trigger to engage in lock on mode and then to tap the same button to change targets. It feels extremely cumbersome and had me constantly missing targets.

Fable Anniversary is still just as easy as it was 10 years ago but I never felt like this hampered my enjoyment. You are able to hold enough potions and food to always get out of sticky situations. It does kill the tension a little but it ensures that the game never gets frustrating. Another new introduction is the ability to save anywhere. The game also auto-saves and has checkpoints. Some minor SmartGlass functionality has also been included. You’re able to view your world map and some minor backstory stuff. It doesn’t really add anything to the experience but it’s there for those who would want to use it.

Included in the Anniversary Edition is the full Lost Chapters expansion. This will add a few more hours of play-time to your quest. The Lost Chapters expansion adds new items, a new town and a new ending. It’s definitely a valid addition to the game as the main story is quite short.

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Man, oh man, ever since Final Fantasy XIII’s international release in 2010, the FF fandom has been divided. Those who enjoy the Final Fantasy XIII series, and those who don’t. I am in the former of the two groups, which is definitely the minority. I feel that FF13 and 13-2 were unfairly treated, just because 13 was really linear, for the most part. They are both good games in their own right, and I wish more people would understand that. Over the years of defending the XIII series on message boards and in arguments with my friends, I have found myself really emotionally invested to the series. So here it is, the final installment to the XIII saga I’ve been waiting for since that gut wrenching cliff hanger in XIII-2. Here is my review for Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII.

The first thing I should mention about the story that should be obvious by now is that this is the final part of the XIII trilogy. If you’re looking to jump into the Final Fantasy XIII saga, I have to highly recommend that you play Final Fantasy XIII and XIII-2, watch all the cutscenes or at the very least watch this short recap that Square-Enix pushed out last week.

The reason I say this, is because Lightning Returns is very unfriendly to new players to the franchise in terms of story. You could roughly piece together what has happened in the previous two games, but you don’t get all the information you need until pretty late in the game; until then, you’re left in the dark.

If you are like myself, you have gone through the previous two games and have an emotional investment to the story. So you shouldn’t have any trouble understanding what’s going on with the exception of the beginning of the game. It starts similar to Final Fantasy XIII-2 in a sense that it just throws you into the situation without an explanation to start with. The jist of the story is that Lightning has awoken from her crystal stasis to a world that is on the brink of destruction. She is appointed as savior by god, and it’s her job to save as many souls as possible before the world ends. The core cast of the previous two games return in one way or another, in a world filled with despair and devoid of hope what happens when the unbreakable are broken?

These story settings and themes certainly allows us to see a new side of the characters we haven’t really seen before in the series, and sets up for some really touching moments in typical Final Fantasy style. Themes of love, hope, and light make their strong return and if you have played enough Final Fantasy games you should know what to expect. Some love it and some don’t; I’m in the former of those two. Lightning Returns is much easier to follow than the convoluted stories of the previous two games, that being said, the story of this installment is for the people that stuck with the XIII saga until now.

I’m in two minds when it comes to the presentation for Lightning returns, as usual, Square-Enix shows off their CG muscles with some breath-taking cutscenes. The OST is a mix of styles of the music in XIII and XIII-2, so at some points, you have some beautifully orchestrated symphonies and in others, Metal and Hard Rock. Music is subjective, so if you enjoy it or not is completely up to you. A mixed soundtrack is a good way to accentuate both differing styles though, so it works in my mind.

When it comes to Voice Acting, I have a tough time judging it. The main cast returns to reprise their roles, and they are what you expect, unfortunately, there weren’t any stand out moments of excellence, but there were no terrible lines either; unless you count some of the sidequests that are really campy and awkward. There are some standout visual issues in game though, the frame rate is something I would hardly call “stable”, Which is a huge problem for me, seeing as one of my pet peeves is an unstable frame rate.

While the environments are diverse, the nature of some of these environments means that the frame drops a lot, like the bustling city of Yussnan is certainly lively, but my frames are dead in the water. Aiming to do a lot of AOE Damage? A quick Runiga followed by a Blizzara will certainly tank that frame rate. The point is, this game buckles under the load it’s given a lot.

Behind the frame problems though, there is some beautiful animation, character design and environments that won’t leave you without something to look at. I also love that the gear you give Lightning shows up on in-game cut-scenes now. It’s a give and take situation that somewhat ends up breaking even in my mind. Man, frame rate issues really rub me the wrong way.

The Final Fantasy XIII saga feels like an encapsulation of an idea, implementation, refinement and now evolution. Lightning Returns is mechanically dense, so expect things to get heavy really quick. The biggest change in my opinion, is probably the battle system. I feel that the comparison a lot of people are going to make, is that it is a cross between X-2 and XIII which is unfairly dismissing it. Lightning Returns takes the combat system from XIII(-2) and kicks it up a notch. You still have the basics of the paradigm shift system, which is that you can change what you are mid battle.

What you are in battle, is up to you. Commandos, Ravagers, Sentinels, Synergists, Saboteurs and Medics are a thing of the past. Let me explain, instead of being tied to class archetypes, you have three Schema (Equipment loadouts) you can switch between while in battle, these three Schemas can be customized to your whim. They consist of a garb, weapon, shield, accessories, and four attacks or spells you can assign to the Facebuttons; there is a lot of room to make your playstyle work.

Want a fast attacking damage dealer? It’s possible. Want a high defense saboteur (debuffer)? You can do that too. A huge part of how your classes play is in the garb, of which there are many in Lightning Returns, and all of them have their  own specialties. The battles themselves feel akin to an ARPG, with each Schema having it’s own ATB with many segments. depending on how your Schemas work , most of the time you will be attacking, evading or blocking. You never really stop moving, it’s a lot of fun and exhilarating. The stagger system also returns from the previous two games, in the form of a wavelength that appears with the enemies’ health bar. It’s not as clear and concise as the bar in previous two games, so it can be a little irritating at times, but once you learn each of enemies stagger conditions, that situation resolves itself pretty quickly.

Outside of battles and Schema customization is a giant numbers game. It’s all about time management. Your goal is to survive the maximum amount of days, and finish all the main quests given to you in each area within those days. Think of it as Majora’s Mask without the time travel. Unfortunately, the world can end prematurely, so on top of finishing those main quests, you need to extend the remaining time left by saving souls, which you mostly do by completing side-quests. If you collect enough souls by the end of the day, time will extend, which makes Side-quests more or less, mandatory. Whichever ones you do however, Is completely up to you. The harder the sidequest, the bigger soul you get.

Consider it this way, should you do a lot of simple side quests? Or risk a lot of time by doing a complicated one? Time management is the core of this game. From doors that only open at certain times, to the fact that there is no dying, when you fall in battle and have no reviving option, your only alternative left is to escape which costs you an hour in game time. Unlike the terrible time I had in Dead Rising 1, the time management in Lightning Returns is oddly enjoyable.

Lightning Returns follows the trend of it’s predecessors and doesn’t have your typical leveling system; matter of fact, there is no leveling at all. Stat improvements come in the form of quest rewards. Of course, you also improve with better gear, with the aforementioned Schemas, but for the most part though, they are only available via vendors or story progression. Grinding is pretty optional in Lightning Returns. The only annoying thing I really discovered while roaming around the world of Lightning Returns, is that sometimes the game asked for some precise platforming, which it isn’t really built for, luckily these moments are few and far between.

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Set in New Orleans towards the end of the French and Indian War (1765 and 1777). You play the role of Aveline de Grandpré, an African-French Assassin and the first female protagonist for the Assassins Creed series.

During your time in Assassins Creed Liberation, you will scale the heights of a bustling 18^th century New Orleans and navigate the boggy crocodile infested marsh that is the Bayou. Aveline’s personal journey is quite intriguing, having lost her mother from an early age and ending up joining the Assassins Brotherhood in secrecy from her adopted family. Aveline does what she can to do what she feels is right, by liberating slaves, aiding her adopted family and uncovering what really happened to her mother.

Like all Assassin’s Creed games there is a present day aspect but it takes more of a back seat approach in liberations; passing off Aveline’s tale as a form of interactive media from Abstergo, the front for the Templar organisation and enemy of the Assassins.

Utilizing the same engine that Assassins Creed 3 was based on (Anvil Next), Liberations looks below standard in comparison to AC3; even the HD remastering didn’t really appear to have helped the visuals. The scope of New Orleans is quite small in size and quality, but we must remember that this title was first on the Vita. The architecture is simplistic, with timbre based buildings mixed with the local flora that makes traversal a breeze. Perhaps the better of the locations explored during your adventure is the Bayou; fallen trees and hanging branches are a joy to navigate though (when it works) and I feel that the creation of the Bayou is certainly one of the games strongest points.

Voice acting was a mismanaged portion of the game. My first missions in the bayou threw off my sense of immersion due to the poor voice acting from the natives, they didn’t sound convincing, and all in all, it was just a poor performance. This however was just one instance that stuck with me as Aveline herself was fortunately,  a well cast figure. To accompany this experience is a quality soundtrack that invokes a sense of mysticism and tension,  Particularly throughout bayou missions where you can’t help but feel that there is a touch of voodoo in the air.

Liberation is easily the most streamlined of the Assassins Creed games to date, not hesitating to dive right into the action and unleash Aveline in New Orleans and a few surrounding areas.  For the re-release of Liberations, Ubisoft have removed a few of the Vita specific missions where tools such as the camera or touch screen were required, but the experience is not hindered by this transition what so ever.

Aveline controls like all Assassins in the series, making it a comfortable swap between games, but unfortunately her interactivity in her world is beyond painful. The system fails to recognize movements and doesn’t interact within its world at all. Attempting to scale a ladder and dismounting at the base of a slanted roof saw Aveline fail to recognize the difference in heights over and over again, making her fall, igniting my frustration. This wasn’t an isolated event, it happened many times whilst on missions, causing a fail and of course, the impending restart.

There are a few new variations to the Assassins Creed formula not seen before that do provide some unique variations. Aveline with her French-African heritage utilises differing outfits for various missions, but obviously, the most iconic is the Assassin’s outfit. The second is a lady’s outfit where she is a well-dressed, respectable member of the community and finally is the slave outfit, where she dons a raggedy set of run down clothes. Each of these outfits gains and loses varying abilities. The Assassin’s outfit allows her to perform all of the assassin’s usual techniques, but gains notoriety much faster. The slave can free run but has lower health and fewer weapons and finally, the lady cannot free run and is limited to only one weapon. It was a well thought out mechanic that I found enjoyable and made certain missions much more approachable and understandable.

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Trine 2 takes place sometime after the conclusion of the first game. Our three heroes, Amadeus The Zizard, Pontius The Knight and Zoya The thief are summoned by the Trine. The Trine is a sort of watchful protector of the land and summons the trio when trouble lurks. Trouble certainly is brewing, the kingdom is in disarray as the forest seems to be growing a mind of its own and the goblins have taken over the castle. To add to the trio’s already growing list of problems it seems a mysterious witch is watching their progress and is soon to reveal her intentions.

Trine’s graphical presentation is phenomenal; the vast array of colours that are produced is breathtaking. Frozenbyte reinvent the rainbow with the spectre of colours on display. The levels range from forests, castles, icy caverns, dungeons, underwater and even lava filled pits. Apart from the already mentioned fabulous colours on display, each individual level is bursting with details that deepen the experience. The trio’s voice acting isn’t anything special but they don’t get a great deal of opportunity to talk apart from a few humorous wisecracks now and then. The majority of the story is narrated through enchanting story book segments at the beginning of each level whilst it loads. The narrator is cast superbly and tells an interesting story, setting the atmosphere for each level. Each level’s accompanying soundtrack is unique and emotive and does a great job of adding to the experience.

The Trine is a mysterious relic that bounds the three characters into one, making things much easier for the player or players involved. Throughout your adventure the three characters will use their specific traits to solve a series of physics based puzzles which incorporate a couple of the elements as well as magic and gravity.

Amadeus uses his wizardry skills for the puzzle solving, he can conjure up planks or boxes and even levitate certain objects. Pontius is the muscle of the group doing most of the battling against the enemies and Zoya uses her agility and archery skills. Each character has a skill tree which can be developed through the collection of vials in-game. The branches offer more tools which can be used for puzzles and attack. Zoya for example can shoot flamed arrows, Pontius can use his shield to glide and Amadeus can conjure more than one object at a time.

Three players can join in the adventure either locally or online. Locally works fine and is great fun with a bunch of mates. The exact same goes for online where players can drop in and out as they please and your unlocked skills transfer no matter where you go. Online flowed smoothly without a hiccup but I feel it may be worth mentioning that using Amadeus levitating skills resulted in a jerky, imprecise and uncontrollable experience. Also from what I could tell, there was no online chat.

The puzzles offer a great challenge that have a good steady rate of increasing difficulty. Time and time again players will sing the accomplished “Ah-hah!” moment. Replay-ability comes not only great multiplayer available but also through the collection of secrets such as poems and portraits that dive deeper into the lore of Trine.

The PS4 entry offers a few unique opportunities to control actions of your player through the use of the Dual Shock 4’s touchpad. Aiming Zoya’s bow, levitating items with Amadeus or defending Pontius with his shield can all be controlled through the touch pad. Of course if this isn’t comfortable for you it has been mapped to right thumb stick.

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You play as Dawn, Didi’s imaginary friend and master of the shadows. Didi is unfortunately going through a tough time at the moment; her father recently having left her and her mother. However she still misses him and wants him to come back. Whilst her mother is routinely working at the local club where she sings, Didi with the aid of Dawn manages to arrive in time to listen to her performance. Afterwards overhearing a few interesting revelations regarding her family, she endeavours to get to the bottom of these discoveries.

Taking place in a beautifully crafted early 1900’s noir French setting, the world of Contrast looks the part and sounds it too. An absolutely brilliant jazz soundtrack drives this game and really is the force that can connect a lot of players to the game. During the course of the game the only people whom you encounter in the flesh are Didi and Dawn, while the remaining cast is portrayed by shadows that can fully interact with Didi during conversations.  For instance, one of the parents giving her a cuddle still connects their shadow to the young girl.

It may seem like an odd idea to portray other characters like this, particularly when you enter a room full of chitter chatter and cannot see anyone, but it is all adequately explained in the stories resolution. The environments just give the right feel to the noir setting; a café table complete with umbrella and chairs right next to an old theatre might not sound like much, but the way Compulsion Games have infused them together does a remarkable job of setting the atmosphere. I  also cannot stress enough just how good the jazz soundtrack is, particularly the first time you boot the game up.

You see the world through the eyes of Dawn. Dawn is quite a unique individual, as she can shift in and out of shadows. Whilst out of the world of shadows, you navigate from a third person perspective in an open world, and as you enter the shadows, it instantly shifts to a two-dimensional platformer. The shadows are always puzzles of different variations that will keep you progressing through the story. One time you are untying an anchored air balloon or even a shadow fueled puppet show, the latter being extremely fun and humorous. Outside of the shadows there are sections to explore for “luminaries” and collectables.

The luminaries are the power source to active light sources to create shadows to solve puzzles, which can be projectors and spotlights. Some of these light sources are interact-able in terms of movement; finding the correct position to solve the puzzles is vital to your progression and at times requires some precise timing with the mechanisms that you create a shadow from. Unfortunately, I felt that the controller responses were not accurate enough at times when solving puzzles, this mainly occurred when I had to jump up to enter a shadow. Collectively however, the puzzles are by no means difficult, only offering a solid challenge but overall approachable to anyone willing to give this extremely interesting take on puzzles a go.

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Taking place 15 years after the conclusion of Assassin’s Creed 4 you play the role of Adèwalè, first mate of Edward Kenway and Quarter Master of The Jackdaw. Sometime during the 15 year gap, Adèwalè has joined the ranks of the Assassin’s and become an exceptionally proficient assassin.

During a naval confrontation with some Templars, a horrific storm capsizes and leaves Adèwalè floating adrift. Eventually washing up on the shores of Port Au Prince, Adèwalè ignites a rebellion of sorts and begins to liberate his people from the clutches of slavery.

Ubisoft have made an amazing effort of developing a completely new area for their Freedom Cry DLC. Rather than resting on their hunches and giving old areas a simple make over, they have really taken a step above and beyond what is needed and fans are sure to love it. Whilst the enemies are simply just a re-skin to a more appropriate French attire to fit the theme of the game, the world still boasts its own unique charm. Taking up roughly 20% of the size that AC4 did there is still plenty to see and do, small islands to collect treasure and other areas to visit. One feature that caught my attention is the singing of the slaves. Call it folk, freedom or redemption songs but these amazing voices truly capture the emotion of the oppression. Their voices produce a source of hope and courage.

Freedom Cry introduces players to a couple of new weapons; two in particular are the firecrackers which distract guards and the blunderbuss which is essentially a short range, wide spread shotgun. Adèwalè is a much more physical and brutal assassin utilizing the blunderbuss and a machete to lead the rebellion.

There are a few familiar features from the main game appearing again but offering slight variations to make things much more interesting. The plantation/warehouse loot missions are replaced with liberating plantations of slaves. The same applies to free the pirate segments which are now free the slaves. Freeing slaves is the key to unlocking rewards for Adèwalè; free 25 and you get a bigger ammo pouch, free 500 and you get unlimited ammunition with unlockable increments in between. The same applies to “Maroons”; people of the freed slaves who take up arms and aid you in your quest. I found this reward system to be extremely generous and found myself taking much more interest in the side missions. The brilliant naval segments are present for the DLC and offers players the opportunity to liberate slaves in transport.

Whilst you can expect the beautiful charm and attention to detail in Freedom Cry as you know and love from the main segment of AC4, Freedom Cry still containts a lot of tedious repetition that goes hand in hand with the Assassins Creed series. Tail and eavesdrop on a conversation or simply synchronise a view point and run around collecting the items it reveals to you. Depending on your personal preference, Freedom Cry can be tackled head on while you are in full swing of playing Assassin or can be approached at a later time when it suits the player as it is its own very capable and competent story. Personally I would have loved  to see this a bit later down the track when I had acquired a taste for the open seas again. I found the story of Freedom Cry to be much more engaging and direct as opposed to AC4’s light hearted theme. Unfortunately, 10 or so missions (4 hours for 100% completion) are not enough to capture the true severity and horrific implications of slavery.

Ubisoft should be applauded for taking such a bold step into a topic not usually associated with gaming. The experience was so intense and heartfelt that I felt morally obligated to help those in their plight whenever the situation arose; it would actually leave me emotionally shattered if I failed to save them.

Freedom Cry is a part of the AC4 season pass or can be purchased separately from your respective online store.

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WWE 2K14 marks the first time that a professional WWE wrestling game has been published by 2K Sports. Taking over the franchise after THQ went bust, a lot of people were excited to see what 2K would do with directing the series in a new direction. This was fulfilled for most of the part.

In terms of the visuals, WWE 2k14 really lacks that certain polish. The series has always been known for it’s awkward animations and unfortunately they are still apparent here. Thankfully, this still provides for some hilarious glitches. It’ll be interesting to see what a new next-gen engine can spit out for this franchise. Something that really disappointed me was the fact that the commentator audio is really repetitive. This is something that NBA 2k14 really nailed this year so I was personally disappointed to see that the same old repetitive commentating is still here.

A lot of the gameplay mechanics from WWE ’13 have been slightly updated, or in some cases, completely repaved. One thing that I noticed is that walking and running seemed to be a lot smoother than ever before. This made for characters running a lot faster, which sped things up significantly. All reversals lead to offensive attacks which means that matches seem to move a lot quicker avoiding all that tedious reversal spam.

The Create-a-Superstar mode has been finally expanded in order to be able to fill 100 save spots. 2K have finally added the ability to use existing superstars as a template to create your own characters. The options to create your own entrance and  finishers is still there, plus now even the ability to create your own custom WWE championship has been added.

The new Universe Mode sees you acting as the GM of WWE. In this mode you will be deciding which wrestlers you want to push forward for titles. You’ll also be in charge of creating the match cards for events and putting factions together. It’s a really interesting mode and one that WWE fans have dreamed of having included in this video game. You can finally see the rivalries that you’ve been dying to see on the big screen for many years.

The biggest addition to WWE 2k14 is the new ’30 Years of Wrestlemania’ mode. In this mode, you will find yourself playing through 4 key eras of Wrestlemania’s history. These are split into chapters called Hulamania Runs Wild, New Generation, Attitude Era and Universe Era. This mode is enough to make old school WWE fans as well as newcomers to the series extremely satisfied. Unfortunately, one issue with this mode is that you need to play through the older stuff in order to gain access to the newer content.

Each section features a few matches for that particular era. Each match features its own special stipulations. These usually involve things like performing a particular finisher in a certain spot. Performing this correctly will trigger a cutscene that will play through the moment, exactly as I remembered it from that certain Wrestlemania.

WWE 2K14 features two specific gameplay modes that surround The Undertaker’s 21-0 streak. These are called ‘Defend The Streak’ and ‘Defeat The Streak’. Trying to defeat the streak will see you take the role of Undertaker’s opponents in order to try and defeat him. When undertaking this mode be prepared for a HUGE challenge. The difficulty is at its highest level and The Undertaker will reverse just about any move that you try and throw at him.

When trying to defend the streak, opponent upon opponent are thrown at you and it’s your goal to defeat them one by one; you will do so by pinfall or submission. This starts out quite easy when the first challengers enters but once you get to 25-30, you’ll notice a significant increase in difficulty. The challenge really comes from seeing how long you can last as your health bar continues as you face an onslaught of wrestlers. It’s a interesting mode however it just takes far too long and gets old after a few attempts.

Local multiplayer is as fun as it ever was but unfortunately, online play is still quite broken. I faced an incredible amount of lag which makes it almost impossible to play for a game like this. WWE relies on perfect timing in order to reverse move and kick out of pins and unfortunately this is something that simply can’t be enjoyed. I’m praying that this is fixed on the next-gen iterations as it’s something that was never able to be nailed on the PS3 and 360.

It’s fair to say that this is a solid effort considering this is 2K’s first time publishing the WWE series. A lot of improvements to general combat has been made for the better and all of the new modes will play to the nostalgic WWE fans. Unfortunately, we just can’t find ourselves really getting engrossed into WWE 2k14 as the series just feels stale at this point. I’m really excited to see what the team can do with next-gen hardware.

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Lego Marvel Super Heroes brings a brand new story to the table which will absolutely please fans of the brand. The game starts off with Silver Surfer being chased by S.H.I.E.L.D. Soon after Iron Man is knocked out of the sky by Doctor Doom. After Doctor Doom falls onto earth, Doom forges an alliance with Loki to make the Ray of Doom. It’s an extremely interesting story that throws a bunch of Marvel characters into a situation that couldn’t happen otherwise.

LEGO Marvel Super Heroes doesn’t really stray too far from what we’ve come to know from previous games in the series. On the PS3 it wasn’t visually any more impressive than the last game. It’s always great to see a new lineup of characters be turned into LEGO form however and the game is as bright and colourful as always.

What we’re really intrigued about is the next gen version. Loading times have been dramatically improved and the amount of LEGO blocks on screen is said to be almost doubled from what current gen can handle. Lighting is also dramatically improved. This is just what the series needs after a bunch of releases that haven’t really progressed on current gen.

Firstly we’re going to say that LEGO Marvel Super Heroes is pretty much what you’d expect from a LEGO branded game. There aren’t really any advancements made in the series which is the biggest disappointment to us. If you’re a Marvel fan then you’re going to eat this game up and enjoy every single second. There are over 100 characters that make their grand appearances from start to finish which keeps things feeling fresh and interesting.

It’s the lack of progression in mission structure and AI that really disappoint. We can’t help but feel that they’re becoming simply reskinned games. After playing through LEGO City Undercover on the Wii U we’ve really struggled to enjoy any LEGO game fully since. The varied mission structure in that game was absolutely phenomenal and it’s hard to stay interested in LEGO Marvel Superheroes when the gameplay itself feels so repetitive.

As always there’s always fun to be had in local multiplayer. I could sit there for hours on end playing this with my nephew and to see him sitting next to me in pure joy was enough to keep me going. If i’m being honest it’s a little disappointing that online co-op hasn’t been included in the game. It feels like it’d fit the game perfectly. Hopefully this is something that the developer looks to add in the next-gen versions.

The real highlights of the game are in the boss battles. Whilst these are all similar in nature, it’s really awesome to see you going against teams of popular bad guys in order to overcome evil. They all have amazing visual set pieces that really make these memorable and an absolute joy to play through. Exploring a LEGO version of New York City is another special moment that will be enjoyed by anyone.

LEGO Marvel Super Heroes is a must have for any gamers who have even a remote interest in the Marvel series. It’s a fun time for those who aren’t feeling tired of the LEGO series. The game looks as colourful as ever and will take up about as much as your time collecting all of those characters as any other game.

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For those who are expecting an epic adventure set in the Toy Story universe you may be disappointed. The Toy Story expansion takes place in space and whilst the setting is extremely unfamiliar, all the characters that you’d expect are here. Rex, Hamm and those crazy little aliens are all featured and seem to really fit their originals character representations well. It was good to see the Toy Story characters interact within a new universe.

The Toy Story In Space play set looks as you’d expect. It’s a great representation of the Toy Story universe and is a lot more interesting than other playsets, purely for the fact that this is a setting that I’ never really seen before. It’s not as colorful as the other playsets but this is countered with a darker tone that will really intrigue Disney fans.

Unfortunately there are still quite a few problems with slowdown on the Wii U version. One thing that I absolutely loved was the fact that a lot of the characters are voiced by their original voice actors. This makes all the difference to Disney fans.

As with the other additional playsets, you get two characters. Disney have been smart in including Buzz and Jessie in the playset whilst requiring you to buy Woody separately. I wouldn’t have minded this if it wasn’t for the fact that Woody isn’t available at launch here in Australia.

The mission structure in this new playset is exactly as you’d expect from playing the previous ones. As Jessie or Buzz, your main mission is to help transport the Pizza Planet Aliens to a brand new world.

Expect the usual dose of platforming and climbing. I found that making jumpers were a lot more difficult until you unlock Buzz’s jetpack. Once you unlock this fan favourite, you can glide around from jump to jump with absolute ease.

There’s also a ton of other unlockables that fans will be familiar with. Our favourite is definitely the blaster. It wasn’t until I unlocked it that I really felt that I was in a Toy Story universe. You can expect your romp around the intergalactic to last around 6-8 hours as per the other playsets.

Toy Story in Space is another great addition to the Disney Infinity universe. I can’t help but feel that 34.99 is quite a good deal for 6-8 hours of additional playtime when you’re getting two beautiful painted figurines. I wish that the structure differed a bit more from the other play sets but it seems like simplicity was a design decision made by the game designers.

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ATTENTION: Assassin’s Creed 3 is shamelessly spoiled in this review, so if you haven’t played it yet and want to find out the fate of Desmond Miles and co, I’d skip reading this

Black Flag tells the story of Edward Kenway, charming/roughish pirate who seeks fortune, whilst stumbling upon the Assassin’s Order and their vicious fight against the Templars for humanity. It sounds engaging and deep, but it’s not really. I feel I only was vested in this game because of my love for pirates and nautical based themes, and the story just kind of flew over. Big names like Blackbeard, Charles Vane and Calico Jack make appearances, but they amount to similar cameos as the historical figures in Assassin’s Creed 3 were, ergo not much impact. It’s a story that’s more grounded thanks to the final bow of Desmond: no more end of world bullshit, it’s a simple pirate tale mixed with the Assassin’s Creed template without the need to juxtapose crazy cult figures and bullshit end of world theories into it. I guess Desmond was good for one thing.

In a surprising twist, the plot for the ‘present day’ plot is not only engaging and interesting, but an absolutely hilarious bit of meta-narrative worthy of Kaufman himself (Charlie Kaufman, that is). Playing the role of an Abstergo employee digging through the memories of previous protagonist Desmond Miles to create the ‘perfect entertainment piece’ for the audience, you have to sift through the memories of Kenway in order to discover and create material to make it a mass produced game. It’s incredibly self-referential, clever and intriguing, especially when the layers start to fall and a more sinister plot is discovered. Not only was this an incredibly interesting plot, but it was the very first plot in the Assassin’s series where I WANTED to play it. I found myself laughing at some of the self-deprecating and meta jokes Ubisoft were clever enough to put in, and there are a couple of very welcome easter eggs that scream of potential for crossover franchises (coughWatch_Dogscough).

Black Flag runs quite poorly on the PS3, no sugarcoating that. Frame rate chugs like crazy, pop in is evident everywhere and outside of the free-run animations not much stands out. The open world is immense and deep, but the graphics take a hit. The atmosphere on the ship is clearly the only standout here: rain hitting the deck, watching your crew run around whilst you engage in ferocious battles, it would be absolutely spectacular if there wasn’t so much cluttering the UI. Honestly, I’d love for the game to ditch the present day concept entirely and just focus on the Assassin’s Creed past; just imagine a game like Black Flag without any of the immersion-shattering parts. While I lauded the present day plot, I also would not mind seeing it disappear if it meant this happening.

It’s no competition to which version you should get: if the DRM is gone, then PC gets 100% of my vote, otherwise the next-gen consoles are looking much better, though I’d wait for the whole 900p/1080p mess to resolve itself, because God knows no one wants to be a part of that right now. The PS3 version runs well enough, but I KNOW that there are better versions out there and if you had the choice, there’s my vote.

The menu system has been COMPLETELY overhauled, and thank God for that, since the franchise’s UI have ranged from terrible to completely fucking atrocious. Though I’ve fairly sure they’ve recycled the menu sounds from Splinter Cell (you can quote me on that, I’m very confident of this) the menu’s are fluid, easy to use and the map is actually easy to access for once. No longer waiting for the map to load agonizingly slowly, then agonizingly trawl my way looking for my objective, it’s been simplified to great effect.

Sounds are solid, especially Kenway’s voice actor. Fits the character exactly, I found myself liking (or at the VERY least, tolerating) Kenway because of this, which is more than I could say for Connor from AC3. Voice acting all around is solid. Can’t really think of many negatives here, or many positives. It’s good. The orchestral score is fantastic, and it absolutely shines during the combat, completely immersing myself into the pirate life. That’s not to mention the dozens of sea shanties. Black Flag nails the pirate look, the pirate feel and the pirate sound.

Let’s get the worst out of the way: the core combat on foot is an absolute disaster, and it is completely monotonous and boring to slug your way through dozens of enemies when Ubisoft have created a combat system this uninspired. The age old ‘wait for counter, then chain kill’ system is here, yet it’s not even half as fun or engaging as Brotherhood’s combat, despite the advancements everywhere else, simply because it’s just not challenging at all. Mashing dronelessly to kill enemies is incredibly dull, and not only are the chain kills and combos completely unsatisfying to pull off seeing as they require the skill of a 3 year old, but the kill animations are incredibly drawn out and just boring to watch. The sword/blade combat is boring, it’s unchallenging and it’s just taken steps backwards. Ubisoft need to really just completely overhaul their on-foot combat system and start from scratch, because what’s left is unsalvageable. There’s some nice sword and pistol sets to buy to make the monotony less…monotonous, which is always a nice touch.

That said, the core components of stealth and assassinations are quite fun. The stealth has been overhauled for the better, and it works well in Black Flag. Hiding in bushes, luring guards to their death and silently assassinating a whole convoy is a thousand times more satisfying then mindlessly mashing the attack button in face to face combat. Assassinating from air is always a slice of fried gold, and I’m glad to see the inherent fun and style of assassinations remain as strong as ever.

Fortunately, the two things that Assassin’s Creed 3 got right are done magnificently well here, this being the ship combat and the free-running. AC3 was criticised heavily for its lack of focus, and here I can see the attention into the ship gameplay was not a throwaway. I don’t recall having this much fun in a pirate themed game since…ever. Controlling the Jackdaw is wonderful, it feels like a real ship, customizing and upgrading it is not only essential, but actual motivation to go out and do side quests, and the love for the pirate life is evident here. Sea shanties can be collected around the world, chasing them down on foot, money is actually challenging to collect, and the weather system is impressive. Things like storm and fog actually have an effect on gameplay, as wild hurricanes threaten to tear your ship apart, and rouge waves attempt to capsize you. It’s a battle against man and nature, and the ship combat is absolutely breathtaking.

Hearing the score swing into action, firing cannons and swivels and barrels into ships that double the size of yours, then boarding them, swinging from rope into air assassination into quick combos and igniting explosives, it is absolutely magnificent and more than makes up for the bland on-ground combat. Attackable forts around the world add another dimension to the combat; taking a leaf from Far Cry 3’s outposts, consisting of withering down the exterior’s defences with the ships’ weapons, then running on foot to assassinate the head officer. The fort mechanics are wonderfully fluid, engaging and challenging, with a nice decent curve of difficulty to accompany the ship’s eventual upgrades. However, it is a shame that it gets so repetitive. Things like unlocking taverns (which consist of the exact same bar fight every time) and boarding ships don’t change objectives, and it’s a shame to not see a mix-up of objectives. That being said, the core components are so damn fun that it’s hard to see it as a negative, but even eating ice-cream every day for a month will become boring and repetitive. The diving sites provide a necessary annoyance: having to dive down shipwrecks is fine despite the finicky controls (seriously, will we EVER get a game with good underwater controls?) but the top tier upgrades are tied to these sites, which make them a chore to go through, albeit a near compulsory one.

Free-running has been fine-tuned so well that I don’t even look back on AC2/Brotherhood anymore. The overhauled animation system that debuted in Assassin’s Creed 3 was great, and here it’s near-perfection. My main complaint in the series was that free-running never gained any momentum. Climbing over a bar in the old games would stunt your progress even if you were running full pelt. Not anymore; running into objects will have Kenway vault over or duck under them with equal parts grace, speed and style, without losing a step in momentum. Running through crowds is now done organically without the need to hold down an awkward button, and the world has been fine-tuned to accompany Kenway’s free-running actions, with ledges, ramps and nature itself all being climbable objects. AC3 harped on about its blend of free-running between the natural world and buildings; Black Flag makes good on that promise. While we won’t see the style and skill equal to, say, Mirror’s Edge’s system (and I doubt we ever will), this is the next best thing.

And finally: the hunting system. While still not as engaging as Far Cry 3’s system (despite being ripped out from it entirely) mainly due to most on-ground upgrades being unnecessary, it’s a hell of a lot better than AC3. I felt myself actually stopping at harpooning sites, actually going out of my way to upgrade Kenway’s weapons and health not because I NEEDED to, just because the system was much better crafted than in AC3. I was surprised to see myself spend so much time hunting, it’s not a stand out feature and it suffers from repetition much like the rest of the game (thankfully the canned animations before/after the hunt is skippable) but it’s a welcome one.

Assassin’s Creed Black Flag is a strange game. There’s many things wrong with this game, so much I can nitpick and groan and put down, and Ubisoft have had more than enough of my time and money (and yours!) to not warrant forgiveness or for me to look over these things, yet I find myself completely and utterly immersed in this game. One of the deepest, most addictive sandboxes I’ve found myself playing this year (edging out even GTA V in terms of depth and fun). The ‘Assassin’s Creed’ logo on it isn’t really justified, as it has become its own game, and very unlike an AC game. Black Flag does many things wrong, but when it reaches its highs, they’re the highest the franchise have ever been. Buy it on console, next-gen or now, buy it on PC (hopefully if the DRM will be removed), just play this game and acknowledge the first right step that Ubisoft have done with this franchise in years.

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This game is an origin story. It’s a retelling of the twisted relationship between the Belmont family of vampire hunters and Dracula. The game starts with us controlling Trevor Belmont and how he battles his way through the dark forces of Dracula, to finally meet his doom and that of his wife. Trevor’s section is brief, and is mostly there to show us the motives behind Simon’s reason for desiring Dracula’s destruction: Revenge. As an orphan Simon was raised in the mountains, and when he is finally ready, he walks into the darkness of Dracula, to search him out and destroy him. He meets Alucard along the way, which also has his own motives for wishing his own father’s destruction. It’s a simple enough story, and being able to control three characters in order to understand it gives it a different and more fulfilling perspective.

The graphics within the gameplay looked quite dated to me. I feel like the design was somewhat lazy with the environment, comparing it to other settings that I have seen with older Castlevania titles, which always looked solemn and majestic to me, this one falls short. Some other issues that I found were also with the platforming; some places looked reachable but were not, or sometimes I found myself stepping off into a hole because it looked like there was something I could step on. I choose to give it the benefit of the doubt in that regard, because maybe it was just my TV that had a poor gamma adjustment.

Cutscenes looked very beautiful in contrast to the gameplay graphics. They were cell shaded highly stylized in design, and really reminded me of the whole aesthetic found in a Borderlands game, which to me is a good thing.

Sound design and music was nothing short of exquisite. Before, I said the game lacked the majesty and solemnity of old Castlevania games, but that was visually. In terms of sound and music, it was there, new and improved. Many times I would sit still, and just listen to the beautifully orchestrated music, which made me feel slight melancholy at times. I would definitively recommend purchasing the soundtrack if you are interested in this kind of music.

The first thing I noticed, is that the game seems remarkably similar to what God of War would be if it had a side scrolling counterpart. The combat is simple and combo based, where you chain combos together to get build up different finishers for each of them. The main weapon is a whip, and it’s extremely similar to Krato’s blades, with the chains attached and all. The platforming is pretty straight forward; most of the game just requires you to simply follow your next destination which is presented to you in the map through simple colour coded markers.

There’s some puzzle elements to the game, but they are extremely simple and basic. They were only a mild inconvenience in the face of everything else the game has to offer.

I say that Mirror of Fate HD is very similar to God of War’s combat in 2D form, but in all honesty, I think this game pulls it off better. Blocking and counter attacking is very satisfying, and when you’re faced with large groups of opponents, it’s much more complicated than just simply blocking and counter attacking.

The highlight of the combat is boss battles. Some of them are very difficult and require quick thinking to come up with strategies to approach them. Their actions have a pattern that can be figured out and exploited, but they aren’t simple and straightforward enough to make them unexciting. Some boss battles are extremely difficult, even after having figured out the patterns to their actions.
Even though the game offers you 3 characters to control through different parts of the story, they are unfortunately almost a rehash of each other in terms of gameplay. Their combos and blocking stances are practically identical, with each character only having variation with their special abilities, which doesn’t provide a big enough sense of difference.

I would say that a game like this is a nice addition to anyone’s game collection, but not really something essential, unless you’re a Castlevania fan, in which case you’re probably going to buy it anyway. The combat is satisfying and the music is absolutely incredible. Some poor decisions were made in environmental design, but not enough to actually break the game. In the end, it’s a solid enough experience.

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Deus Ex Human Revolution was originally released on the PS3, 360 and PC in 2011. It is the long-awaited sequel to Deus Ex which was a game changing shooter in terms of combining both RPG and FPS shooter elements in a seamless way. The series is heralded for it’s story and Human Revolution doesn’t disappoint, combining a fantastic setting with the ethical dilemmas of human augmentation, body modification and what constitutes right and wrong in those moral situations.

Human Revolution is visually quite average. Its saving grace is it’s fantastic art style. It provides a different look into a very futuristic world. It sports an extremely vibrant orange and black colour vibrant. These elements work together to create a world that you’re very intrigued to explore.

The voice actor for Jensen does a fine job but the majority of the voice acting treads a line between cringey and terrible, which is a shame since the game uses an abundance of cutscenes that push the plot. The cutscene presentation also contrasts slightly with the actual game, with better textures and darker colours in comparison, which clash with the overall presentation. The Wii U looks pretty similar to the PS3/PC version and it runs well.

Since the original game came out years ago, this review will focus mostly on the improvements on the Wii U.

Deus Ex Human Revolution: Director’s Cut was first exclusively announced for Wii U which is why Eidos Monreal and Straight Right have made such good use of the Wii U gamepad. It feels like it was made for the Gamepad and not as an afterthought like so many other Wii U ports. Navigating inventory and hacking systems is a lot easier to use with the touchscreen than with buttons. The game also supports off-screen play where the developers have been smart enough to use the sides of the gamepad in order to access things like mission objects or your map.

There are still a few things that feel tacked on. When you take aim using a rifle, your view switches to the Wii U gamepad in order to make your shot on the smaller screen. Whilst this is a cool idea, it something feels unnecessary and makes combat feel clunkier. Thankfully it feels incredibly smooth and actually helps the experience rather than hinder it in most other instances. There are also still a few issues with dumb AI that still seem to appear from the original.

The Wii U version also allows you to take screenshots to draw on and record short audio clips. You can share these with friends. You can also share screenshots through Miiverse if that’s more of your thing.

The Director’s Cut was always intended to be the definitive version of this game. It aims to fix a few niggling complaints that players had with the original. One of the main ways it does this is by giving more choice when it comes to the boss fights. You can now take the bosses down through ways other than straight up combat. It still feels similar and a little tacked on (endgame results that they still die no matter what route you take) but it’s nice to see that you can employ tactics that you’d use in other parts of the game to defeat these bosses.

The Director’s Cut version also finally includes the Missing Link DLC. They’ve also been kind enough to include the full strategy guide for your viewing pleasure. Another neat touch that has been included is a commentary track that allows you to get an insight into the developer’s initial creation process. You can also take a further look with the Making Of documentary. There’s a lot here for Deus Ex fans, and it’s worth the purchase if you’ve never played it before.

The Director’s Cut is without doubt the definitive version of this game. It’s absolutely exceptional on the Wii U and we found that it was the best way to play this game. Eidos have been smart enough to include enough for players of the original to come back. These include tweaked gameplay, riveting developer commentary and a new game + mode to explore. This is a must purchase for all Wii U owners.

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Set 10 years after an Odin strike called on America by the Federation that has the left the country in ruins and with the impending invasion, we follow two soldiers on a mission to save the country. These soldiers must overcome great loss and work together with the Ghosts. The Ghosts are the last force that America has at its disposal, using technologically advanced weaponry and tactics to fight back. Ghosts is the 10th Call of Duty sequel that’s been brought out. Infinity Ward and Raven studios developed it, and this is the biggest COD ever. With the biggest multiplayer rebuild in the series, this has been one highly anticipated release for a lot of people.

Now before anyone says anything, I know that the game is still running off a dated graphics engine. But who can argue with a constant 60fps? I’ll always pick a smoother experience over slightly higher graphics. The fact that Infinity Ward uses the same engine as before means that they can push it to the limits. It’s not as good as some of the other AAA titles out there but the game still looks great. The scenery, the animations and everything else are so smooth, seamless and look great.

Even whilst online, the game still runs smoothly minus a few instances of lag that I’ve experienced and while I was a little let down they didn’t try and go with a new engine, this is the best sounding COD game I’ve ever played. With the new reactive sound emitters, the team has been able to make the most realistic sounding game possible. Especially if you’re running your sound through a surround sound system or even a pair of decent gaming headphones, it’s so easy to dive right in and feel like you’re part of the action. It’s the little things they’ve added that make the game better for me, like how online the other characters will yell out where enemy players are and where to go.

For me, I feel games like Call of Duty set the bar when it comes to the first person shooter. While some people have their picks for which COD is the best, I think that this one is up there. As per the standard, Ghosts is spot on with the gameplay. The story itself is on par with most big budget action flicks these days. With a great storyline and some fairly believable characters, my only problem would be that it feels somewhat short. I managed to finish it spaced out over two nights, but it was worth it. The controls are the same as always, which makes jumping straight into the action all that much easier.

Ghosts also brings the knee slide into gameplay. Treyarch does the dolphin dive and now you can slide while running into cover into a crouching position. It does take some getting used to, but once you’ve got the hang of it you’ll be pulling off trick shots and executing some aggressive tactics with it.?But when you think Call of Duty, most people think of the multiplayer. When Ghosts was announced Infinity Ward said that multiplayer was getting a huge overhaul and they’ve done just that. From new game modes such as Blitz and Cranked, to the way you equip perks, it’s all different.

Ghosts has some of the greatest maps I’ve played and they all look incredible. Each map seems huge in its own right, but they all have their areas that you can turn into a vital choke point. They do take some getting used to but I feel they’re great. Infinity Ward have even added dynamic events into gameplay, each being triggered in different ways. When you play on some of the new game modes that have been added, the action is very consistent. Cranked, Search & Rescue, Blitz and the all new squads mode. While it looks great, that same high quality sound from the main game is found online. Knowing that every lifelike explosion, gun shot, bullet whiz is from another player, it ramps up the tension tenfold.

But one of the biggest changes for online would have to be the character customisation. For years gamers have wanted to make their own soldier and now they can, even having the choice of playing as a female avatar for the very first time in the series.?Extinction mode is probably my favourite bit about Ghosts. Similar to BO2 zombies in the sense it’s a wave based game, the action builds up much quicker and gets harder in a much more progressive way. Moving your way through an alien infested town to set off a nuke then run back to the evac, I’ve only been able to make it back just once with a group of mates. The different breeds of aliens, the somewhat strange attachment system, even levelling up, it’s just a lot of fun you can have with mates.

For me, I think Call Of Duty Ghosts is a great addition to the Call of Duty family. It has a decent and while short, fun campaign, a great online section with pretty much any kind of game mode for whatever kind of gamer you are, and it looks and feels great to play. Over playing it my one concern had a lot to do with lag and dropping out online, but recently they’ve talked about Ghosts getting dedicated servers across all platforms of gaming from next gen to current gen, which is just the start for this game. You already know that there will be four DLC releases over the course of the next year keeping the game fresh for everyone, I feel this game will be a very big hit with fans new and old.

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Battlefield 4 is set in the present, in a war between the Americans, Chinese, and Russians. You follow the squad known as Tombstone as these marines carry out orders to save a VIP and make it home safely. The squad consists of PAC, Irish and you as Recker. You’re stuck behind enemy lines and the only way out is through.

Battlefield 4 brings forth a stunning environment with amazing particle physics and unbelievable scenery. From the flora to the huge explosions, everything is improved with the Frostbite 3 engine. The Rapid Changing multiplayer experience with “Levolution” makes everything destructable. This makes every game different really makes you feel as though this is a new map every time. Because of the spectacular graphics and the large amounts of rendering needing to be done it allows a lot of graphical glitches. The main graphical error was un-rendered areas and the occasional pop in and pop out textures. This became rather frustrating when you’re in the middle of a fight and things just disappear.

The sound in this game is spot on, surround sound that immerses you into the battlefield with precision. Allowing you to pinpoint where shots are being fired from all the way to footsteps next to you. This coupled with the stunning graphics helped cut the ties between reality and game and lets you immerse yourself into this world.

Battlefield 4 is a FPS much the same as its ancestors. With present day weapons and constant changing maps it adds a level of excitement never achieved in previous Battlefields or any FPS before. With weapon range, recoil and bullet spread to take into consideration taking down the enemy has never felt so good. The campaign now has a ranking system which requires you to get enough points to get gold for every mission. Points come from killing enemies, getting head shots, destroying vehicles, or even ordering your squad to take someone down. As you venture further and further into the story you find more weapons which are added to your gun crate. Finding all of them is a challenge upon itself, with some of the guns hidden in dark corners of the level you will have to do some exploring. You also have the challenge of finding all the dog tags which are scattered around the world.

This game’s main focus is the multiplayer. With games having as many as 64 players, unbelievably large maps, and constant chaos you can say you’re about to get thrown into the thick of it. With no ranking system to separate the beginners from the advanced you will find that you will have to learn the ropes quickly. Just when you have worked out how to defend yourself against a soldier you will get hit with your second challenge, A TANK. If you thought killing someone before they killed you was tough, you are now facing a metal behemoth with a 40mm cannon aimed straight at you. The worst part is, you don’t have a weapon to face it. You are literally unable to attack it. Your only hope is to run for cover and fast! So you made it into the building you’re safe now. . . NOT!

With “Levelution” in play that tank has the ability to shoot that wall down and come after you. Let’s head to the roof as tanks can’t climb stairs. Okay you’re on the roof no snipers in sight, no one around, you’re safe. Or are you? What’s that in the distance, that’s right that’s a helicopter armed to the teeth with mini guns and rockets. On the other side is a jet. It’s time to re-spawn. The re-spawn screen allows you to select where you re-spawn and what load out you use. With nearly a hundred weapons and a large amount of gadgets to use you will never find two loadouts the same. Having classes designed for specific tasks you will find yourself filling a particular role in each team. With engineers designed to take care of and control vehicles, Assault ready to take on close combat fighting, Recon to watch over the team and snipe anyone who is not wanted and Support ready to assist your soldiers on the field at all times.

This is just the tip of the ice berg. With every class having a levelling system that unlocks certain features for them and every weapon having its own levels, you will find yourself mastering a class and weapon for most of your battlefield career. Battlefield 4 holds a large array of game types from the classic Conquest and Deathmatch to Rush and vehicle based warfare. All game modes appeal to a particular player equally. From the classic player’s choosing conquest, all the way to the engineers choosing a vehicular based game type. This game is a huge improvement from Battlefield 3 and they fixed a lot of the problems we we’re having with it. The amount of work they put into the multiplayer is astounding. This game is a FPS multiplayer’s dream.

The campaign of this game needs a lot of work. The story never explains why you’re doing what you’re doing. The voice acting is great, the graphics are unbelievable but the bugs and frame rate issues are a major problem. The origin game client is completely unnecessary when it links you to a webpage to start the game and the always online feature means you cannot play the game if you don’t have an internet connection. If your connection lags it creates huge frame rate issues and massive graphical errors.

The multiplayer is spectacular with large unbelievable battles that last a whole game and it will leave you wanting more. With bullet and physics mechanics that shape the battle it has the most amount of realism whilst still remaining a fun and immersive game. A masterpiece that will not cease to amaze.

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Game: Just Dance 2014 Developer: Ubisoft Publisher: Ubisoft
Release Date: Out Now Available On: PS3/360/Wii U/Wii Version Played: Wii U

Just Dance 2014 is a big year for the series. It adds a variety of online features as well as adding a new Karaoke mode. It will also release on the next gen consoles at launch. Our review will specifically cover the Wii U version and the functionality that the Wii U gamepad brings to the table.

Just Dance 2014 doesn’t stray too far from what you’d expect. The menu is extremely stylish but simple enough for players of all ages. Players are given the choice to either navigate with either the Wii Mote or the Wii U Gamepad. The entire game has an extremely fun, retro colour pallet and it makes it an absolute joy to play. Quite simply Just Dance 2014 looks better than any that come before it. Each song is paired with its own unique theme and that’s what makes the game so fun.

The song list this year really sets it itself apart. There is truly something there for everyone with favourites such as the Ghostbusters theme song and more recent hits such as Lady Gaga’s ‘Applause’. Just Dance relies on its music and this year does not disappoint.

The main gameplay of Just Dance 2014 has not changed much from previous iterations. Your main objective is still to use a Wii Mote and follow the on-screen dancers to the best of your ability. Your performance is based on how many stars you can get out of 5. The better you perform will determine how quickly you unlock new tracks and modes. We’re glad to see that Ubisoft have not broken the usual formula too much. Just Dance is extremely popular amongst a casual audience and we can’t see this title being any different.

Just Dance 2014 has added a few new modes into the mix. Stage Mode is the first that we’re going to talk about. This mode places one player as the leader dancer with two backup dancers behind you. The whole idea is that you’re trying to replicate a lead popstar whilst your backup dancers complete a different routine. Our personal favourite was Battle Mode. In Battle Mode, you take your choice out of 4 mash-up songs. Each player will have custom choreography in which they go head-to-head in a dance off. The better you dance determines how quickly you eat away at your opponents life bar. Just Sweat is the final mode that is included for offline use. In this mode you dance to tracks like normal with a calorie counter showing how much that you’ve burnt off for each routine. There are a lot more tracks for this mode than in previous versions of Just Dance.

We also found that Party Master was a great mode for groups of people. One player uses the GamePad and chooses which dance moves that the people holding the Wii Motes should perform. Not only can they change dance moves as frequently as they want, they can also change to a song of their choosing mid match. It adds a sense of uncertainty to what are usually familiar routines and is a great use of the Wii U GamePad.

The biggest addition to Just Dance 2014 on the Wii U is the added Karaoke support. You can switch on karaoke mode by tapping on the GamePad. You can then sing along into the GamePad’s microphone in order to earn yourself extra mojo. We found this a little cumbersome as it’s pretty hard to dance and hold the GamePad but it was still impressive to see Ubisoft adding new features into an already successful franchise.

Just Dance 2014 finally brings the series into the online space. It features two online modes. Online Competition is exactly what it sounds like. You can jump online and dance to the same song as other people around the world in order to try to get a better score than them. It’s not possible to communicate with your competitors or even choose your song. You literally just jump in and start dancing. At the end of each song you’re presented with a dynamic leaderboard which shows your ranking amongst other places in the world. I think that we’ll see this space updated even further in years to come but it’s good to see the series pushed into the online space.

Autodance introduces video recording to the series. Using the GamePad, you can record 30 seconds of yourself dancing. The game will automatically choose parts of the clip into one goofy clip that looks absolutely ridiculous. You can then share this video to Just Dance TV or Twitter. There is also a pretty good system where you can look at other people’s videos, rank them and even give them a tag. It’s not perfect but it’s good that it’s there. You can also visit the Nintendo eShop in order to purchase new songs. We were shocked to see that new releases such as Katy Perry’s Roar was already on there as a free download.

Just Dance 2014 is the biggest leap that we’ve seen in the series since it’s debut. There isn’t a single person that couldn’t have fun with this game at one time or another. If you’re a fan of dancing games then this is a must purchase. It betters itself in almost every way which is what we’re looking for in a game. We’re excited to see how it fares on the next generation consoles in a few weeks time!

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Game: Batman Arkham Origins Developer: WarnerBros Montreal Publisher: Warner Bros
Release Date: Out Now Available On: PS3/360/Wii U/PC Version Played: PS3

New developers to the Arkham series WB Games Montreal take the series to an early part of the Dark Knight’s career in this prequel to perhaps the most critically acclaimed superhero game series.

In Arkham Origins Batman is reasonably new to the vigilante gig in Gotham City, having only spent a couple of years under the cowl, while the police don’t know if he is on their side or aiding those who terrorize the city. For some of the criminals they aren’t even sure if “The Bat” is real or is just a figure made up by the local law enforcement to scare the criminals into hiding.

One criminal who is well aware of the Batman and has had enough of him interfering with his business is the crime lord Black Mask. Reaching the end of his tether Black Mask issues a bounty of $50 million dollars for Batman’s head, bringing 8 assassins to Gotham on a brutally cold, dark and stormy Christmas Eve.

A less experienced and unrefined Batman is the focus here. It is called Origins after all and WB Montreal has really nailed what they set out to do. Batman is angry; he is hostile and is at times a little too confident in himself and his abilities which lead to a lot of underestimations in this adventure; he lacks the wisdom and experience that eventually makes him the Dark Knight. The Batsuit screams the same, unrefined and open to revisions. It seems as if it has been assembled together rather than the whole piece that it will become. Roger Craig Smith makes his debut portraying a gruff and extremely passionate Batman and does not miss a beat. In fact after the first scene I completely forgot about this being his debut performance and instantly placed him right up there with Batman legendary voice actor Kevin Conroy.

But what is Batman without his Joker? Arkham Origins takes you into the first meeting between the two characters and WOW! The chemistry is phenomenal both collectively and individually. Troy Baker who takes on the role of The Joker, after Mark Hamill’s retirement from the role. Baker portrays the character excellently by incorporating snippets of Mark Hamill’s work and adding his own flare which proves to be an outstanding combination.

To compliment the terrific voice acting is the exceptional cut scenes that accompany the voices. Highly detailed scenes with exquisite attention to detail that screams out amazing potential for a CGI film. There was more than once instance where I was covered in goose bumps just from the power and emotion of the terrific cut scenes.

Gotham City’s size is roughly twice the size of that which was offered in Arkham City. In fact, in the northern part of the city for those who played Arkham City will be able to recognise the buildings and structures that do eventually become Arkham City, which can be seen as a smart development move and a nod to the previous work of Rocksteady, all which helps to reinforce the idea that we are in the same universe of Bat lore. What connects the northern side of the city to the southern side is a bridge of epic proportions which truly does exemplify the verticality of this world. Tall structures of different shapes and sizes are out there waiting to be scaled for Batman to perch atop and brood upon.

Whilst the city is of a much larger scale it is still an option for Batman to grapple hook onto building ledges and then accelerate off that grapple to enter a sped up glide which is not only extremely fun and is just another one of the little things that make you feel even more like Batman. If soaring and gliding through the air isn’t your thing though, you can remotely call the Batwing for fast travel across the city; a new feature for the series.

Unfortunately for the PS3 version I was reviewing, I suffered from severe frame rate issues which required a restart, all which occurred from selecting the fast travel option. Whilst it appears to have been fixed during an update patch, I must stress that to get the most from your game, it is best to update to save yourself any dilemmas.

For such a large city for all extremities, it is an extremely quiet and lifeless city. Understandably it is Christmas Eve and everyone may be and probably is at home asleep waiting for Christmas day, also with the martial law in effect, but to see some life in the streets; even to intervene in a random mugging would have made the game all that more realistic and improved the experience tremendously.

Arkham Origins doesn’t re-invent anything in the Arkham series and to be honest, why should they? As the old saying goes “If it isn’t broken, don’t fix it” a phrase I am positive that everyone has heard in reference to the Arkham series. Previous entries are regarded as the ‘cream of the crop’ in the superhero game genre. Previous developers Rocksteady Studios have set a high bar but WB Montreal answers the call and hits back with ferocity. They have tweaked a few components here and there such as gadgets or slight variations to the enemy roster such as martial art fighters who are able to counter your counters and the large armoured enforcer that needs to be completely immobilised and disarmed before you can subdue him.

The boss battles are incredible, full of variety and constantly keeping you on your toes, which is only scratching the surface for combat in Arkham Origins; free flow combat makes an appearance again and is once again in excellent form. Building combos, whilst jumping, countering attacks and using gadgets has never been so much fun and the way the animations tie in and react so quickly particularly when countering three enemy attacks at once is simply outstanding.

As previously mentioned the game borrows a lot of aspects from previous entries; predator rooms play out basically the same as they always have, tasked with subduing an entire room of thugs with only the finest of Batman take downs. At the completion of either combat or predator challenges you are scored on a number of variables such as gadget variations, combo accumulated, stealth and health remaining which is graded and then calculated to give experience points. After collecting enough experience you can enter a menu which allows you to upgrade aspects such as your health, number of Batarangs thrown at once or open alternative take down methods, just to name a few.

A new and exciting feature to debut is the Dark Knight system in which your progress is traced across areas such as combat, predator or navigation. Each category contains 15 ranks each of increased difficulty; a welcome inclusion that will have the keenest of players modifying their approach as they apprehend their foes in all situations.

Batman is after all labelled as ‘the world’s greatest detective’, a feature that is highlighted extremely well in Origins. Using his sophisticated Bat Computer and cowl, Batman can analyse a crime scene and piece it together to solve the crime. These small occurrences only last a couple of minutes but are welcome breaks in the pacing of the game and lets the player focus on another aspects of The Bat; his extraordinarily sharp detective work.

As you progress through the story avenues open to further immerse yourself in the world of Batman, through the “Gotham’s Most Wanted” menu, you can for instance, find yourself dissecting Enigma’s (soon to be The Riddler) cleverly crafted puzzles throughout the city just as an example. This and much more will have you covering Gotham over and over to see 100% completion but it doesn’t end with the completion of your first play through; new game plus allows you to play though a second time with an increased difficulty with your progression transferred over from your first run through, including Gotham’s Most Wanted progress and Dark Knight Challenges. For the extremely brave once you complete new game plus a mode called “ I Am The Night” becomes available in which you are given one life only to play through the entire game (fortunately there are checkpoints so you don’t have to complete this 12 hour campaign in one sitting).

As always, challenges are available outside of story mode to compete in online leader boards or for your own personal satisfaction. Subject to a variety of combat and predator scenarios you are given either a score to beat or three varying methods to take down your opposing thugs; challenges are a sure-fire way to keep the replay value alive for many more hours to come.

For the first time ever in the series multiplayer is introduced which places you in a 3v3v2 scenario. One team of 3 will consist of members of The Joker’s gang, another 3 from Bane’s gang and the remaining two of course become the Dynamic Duo, Batman and Robin. The background to this is a turf war between the two gangs with Batman and Robin coming to put an end to it. Utilising a third person shooter mechanic for the gang members and a simpler layout of controls from single player for the dynamic duo, Splash damage have done a fantastic job with this. It is up to the gangs to eliminate their rival gang, with bonuses for killing Batman or Robin; certain tools specific to the gangs’ help you gain the upper hand and during the course of a match The Joker and Bane become playable with their own added bonuses. All the while Batman and Robin take down as many thugs as they can to increase their intimidation meter. Multiplayer works well it its own right and doesn’t necessarily feel ‘tacked’ on. In fact I think I will be spending a bit more of my free time in it.

Like I have stated Arkham Origins doesn’t re-invent the series but it doesn’t need to. What it does is perfect a balance of using old tools and mechanics from Rocksteady whilst taking small liberties to add variations and flare to it. At times it can feel very repetitive, but then you quickly notice how much WB Montreal have added for this game making it feel like a certified chapter to the Arkham series and not just a game with the Arkham name tacked on. WB Montreal have truly done an outstanding job with Origins. Through their excellent voice acting and CGI works it makes a gripping story impossible to ignore. The multiplayer will have you playing for hours and the challenges as well as new game plus modes will have you hooked for even longer.

For those of you who cannot get enough of Batman Arkham Origins, Nether Realm Studios have developed a mobile tie in app that lets you take your crime fighting anywhere you go. Whilst essentially an individual game it does contain a few tie-ins for your console experience that are worth noting. Upon fulfilling certain criteria, achievements are unlocked and by connecting to your console of choice can unlock experience points for your multiplayer game or unlock a Bat suit for use in the game.

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Game: Skylanders Swap Force Developer: Vicarious Visions Publisher: Activision
Release Date: Out Now Available On: PS3/360/Wii U/3DS Version Played: PS3

The story in Skylanders: Swap Force is quite similar to those of the past. You as the portal master will embark on a new adventure into Cloudbreak islands. This is the home to a mystical volcano that erupts every 100 years to replenish all the magic of Skylanders. Whilst engaging in a huge battle, some Skylanders were caught in the volcano’s eruption which blasted them apart from each other and sent them all to Earth. This magic has now granted Skylanders a special ability to swap halves in order to form even more powerful combinations. Skylanders must unite in order to defeat Kaos once again in order to get them back to Cloudbreak Islands in order to save the Skylands.

Upon booting up Skylanders Swapforce, the first thing you will notice is how much the visuals have been improved. The game has a new developer in Vicarious Visions and they’ve rebuilt all environments and character models from the ground up. The result of this is a much more realistic representation of what Skylanders should look like. The Skylanders used to live in a cartoony, uninspired world and now live in an almost Pixar quality like universe.

The animations in this game are simply stunning. Vicarious Visions had over 100 Skylanders to recreate and reanimate in this game and all of them move absolutely superbly. It doesn’t matter whether it’s Wash Buckler on his tentacles or Blast Zone on his rocket, the Skylanders are completely smooth in how they navigate through this beautiful world. Another huge improvement in this iteration is the music. For each level you are presented with an orchestrated sound track which is unique for each level. One of my biggest gripes with previous games was that the soundtrack got hugely repetitive and sound effects really got on your nerves. This is not the case with Skylanders Swapforce. ITtwas genuinely a pleasure to listen to the music as I made my way through this beautiful universe.

The biggest addition in Skylanders Swapforce is without a doubt the ability to jump. All Skylanders whether they be from previous games or not can now jump. This allows the game to now take place on different levels and completely makes it much more of an expansive game. Whilst this doesn’t completely reinvent the game, it’s really refreshing not to have the whole game take place on a single plain. I felt that this had become really repetitive in previous games.

The control scheme has retained its simplicity which is to be expected as it’s mainly targeted as kids. My 6 year old nephew absolutely loves this game and as an exclusive Nintendo gamer, it’s really refreshing to see him pick up a PS3 controller and instantly know how to play this game.

The main concept of Skylanders Swapforce is the swappable characters. There are 16 swappable characters and the interesting thing is that the bottom and top halves are upgradable separately so you retain those attacks when swapping characters. This allows you to find your perfect combination and stick with it. There are also 16 new non-swappable characters and 16 reposed characters. Thankfully the game will let you use ALL of your old Skylanders but unfortunately you will need the new portal. Skylanders Swapforce packs a bunch of content with 17 levels. You won’t be finishing this game anytime soon and we really love this about the game. The amount of characters is backed up by just how long the campaign is.

The levelling system is quite similar to that of the previous games. You level up your character by collecting coins and beating enemies. You can then use those coins to purchase upgrades for the top and bottom half of your characters. Upgrades are made at strategically placed pods throughout each level. There are also specific upgrades that can only be upgraded for finding soul gems throughout the world. Each Skylander has one respective Soul Gem that is placed in a specific level and can be found with any character, regardless of whether you own that Skylander or not.

One of the main new mission additions is Swap Zone challenges. These are challenges where you need to use specific elements together in order to complete a mission. These include things like speeding down or flying down a race track in a certain amount of time. You get smaller presents like hats that upgrade a specific stat for completing them. These are a fun break from the main story and also a very clever ploy in order for people to buy that Skylander they need in order to complete all of the missions. The one thing I will say about SKylanders Swapforce is that the amount of depth is incredible for a game that’s aimed at children. To think that there are well over 100 characters who all have more than 10-15 specific moves is absolutely amazing. It really is a kids dream.

There are also a bunch of arena modes outside of the story mode. Solo Survival mode is where you face off in a bunch of different arenas with a variety of different enemies. This mode is extremely difficult and really put my skills to the test. Team Survival Mode is where two people can enter this same arena and face off against the same wave of enemies. Rival Mode incorporates you versing your opponent in order to defeat more enemies than the other. Battle Arena Mode is where you put your skills to the test and go head to head with your opponent with the sole purpose of defeating them. Finally, Ring Out mode is where you go head to head with the mission of knocking your opponent out of the arena in order to win.

Skylanders Swapforce is a very welcome addition to the Skylanders series. Vicarious Visions have really revamped the series in a way that probably wasn’t imaginable last year. The environments and characters look a whole lot better and gameplay has had a turn for the better with the inclusion of the ability to jump and swap tops and bottoms of characters. I’m excited to see where the series goes from here and how it fares on the next gen consoles.

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Game: Fifa 14 Developer: EA Canada Publisher: Electronic Arts
Release Date: Out Now Available On: PS3/360/PC Version Played: PS3

Fifa 14 is the latest entry into EAs best-selling sports franchise. The game released to a lot of criticism due to the fact that the gameplay was a lot more unpredictable than previous iterations. This has since been rectified with a patch that was recently released for all platforms. I’ll discuss the problems that game had prior to the patch being released and also touch base on how the patch has fixed the game for the better.

Presentation has always been a strong point of the Fifa franchise but EA managed to take it up another level in Fifa 14. The whole menu system has been completely revamped for the better. Everything looks incredible and suff is much easier to find. One of my biggest gripes with Fifa in the past was that it was really hard to find specific modes. They were buried in sub menus and half the time I didn’t even know they existed. Fifa 14 really excels in putting its amazing modes front and centre for you to explore.

The game itself looks marginally better than Fifa 13. Collisions feel more realistic and movement in general seems to look a lot less stiff. It’s apparent that the real improvement will come in the next-gen versions. Fifa 14 on the Xbox One and Playstation 4 use a brand new engine that has been dubbed The Ignite Engine. This engine will incorporate things like True Player Motion and dynamic weather and crowds that constantly change-up the game mid match.

Whilst it’s exciting to look forward and see what advances Fifa 14 will make on the next gen system, it’s also sad that the masses won’t get to enjoy these upgrades without upgrading to the Next Gen consoles. Fifa as a series has really seemed to hit a wall over the past few years and we feel like there’s no better time than now to make the Next Gen leap with a brand new engine.

When I first got my hands on Fifa 14 I was pretty disappointed with a lot of the changes that had been made. I was extremely happy with how the game played in the past few years and I’d sunk 100’s of hours into them without ever feeling that I was getting bored. In Fifa 14 however, I felt that the A.I was even worse than in previous years. The one thing that I immediately enjoyed was that players seemed to run better lines into open space however this lead to a frustratingly amount of offside calls.

Not only this but I found it absolutely ridiculous just how overpowered headers from crosses and corners were. I feel like more than half of the goals being scored were from headers that I simply couldn’t do anything to defend against. I’d get men around the ball and still have goals scored against me. Not only this but I also just felt like I had less control over my players in general. Players seemed to be less responsive and needed that extra step in order to get the ball on their foot. For a game that relies so heavily on getting the timing down and having it as a second nature, this really felt like a step in the wrong direction for players that had put hours upon hours into the series so far.

Another huge problem was that Finesse shots seemed to be a lot more overpowered in Fifa 14 than in previous years. I felt that Finesse shots were being used from outside of the box in order to get around the goalkeeper more easily than usual. Usually finesse shots are reserved for when you outsmart the defence and go in for a close range shot. It wasn’t helping that goalies were constantly rushing in and putting themselves in bad positions either.

Thankfully this all changed with a game changing patch that was released a few weeks ago. EA released a patch that vowed to fix attacking headers, finesse shots and improving defender switches during crosses. I feel like this patch has made all the difference. Immediately after installing this patch I felt that it was a much tighter experience and I was back to enjoying Fifa to its fullest potential. I felt like I had to earn goals once again and felt that goals were only scored against me when I made a bad defensive move. I felt that less goals were being scored from luck on most occasions.

This will also upset some people. I felt that Fifa 14 pre patch was a lot less skill based and had a much more arcade feel to it. After the patch it is back to its strategic, skilful best and will really require you to put in effort in order to score a goal. This will ultimately lead to less goals being scored in matches so it all comes down to personal preference. I still feel like there are some oddities in AI making stupid decision and a few overpowered players that really change the game up.

Fifa 14 is another great entry into the series. After playing the next-gen versions on both consoles, it’s clear to me that Fifa 14 was created with a next-gen vision in mind. Everything is more dynamic and the gameplay feels more realistic in general. Fifa 14 on current gen is still a very worthy experience for the fanatics. I’d recommend that you’d install that patch before playing if you’re a series veteran as the gameplay is almost enough to turn any Fifa fan off without it.

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Game: NHL 14 Developer: EA Canada Publisher: EA Sports
Release Date: Out Now  Available On: PS3/360 Version Played: PS3

NHL 14 marks the 20th year anniversary of the franchise. To celebrate, EA have introduced a ton of new modes to this years entry. They’ve also introduced the new FIFA Player Impact Engine and a new engine to handle more realistic fights. EA have also rewarded loyal fans with a modernised version of NHL 94 Anniversary Mode which features current rosters and updated graphics. –

For a current gen game NHL holds up exceedingly well (I cannot wait to see what next gen holds). The arenas are excellently detailed with the glass walls rattling with every heavy hitting impact on your opposing team. Players’ movements are clear and precise without a fault. Goalies are remarkably focused and hard to get past and the commentary is on par, with lots of in game references and hockey jargon.

The soundtrack to NHL 14 blew me away with some outstanding selections from the punk, rock and heavy metal genres, just to name a few. These upbeat tunes capture the atmosphere perfectly for a hockey game and felt right at home with the adrenaline fuelled games.

This yearly entry brings a lot of new modes to the table for NHL 14 Perhaps the biggest and best feature for me was the fight mechanic improvements, about 30 seconds into my first game I was into my first scuffle. NHL have borrowed the Enforcer Engine from the Fight Night and made it a completely different game in its own. Punches are thrown and countered but players can be pushed and pulled into prime position opening yourself or your opponent up for a ‘bruising’.

Another feature borrowed from another series is the ‘Player Impact Engine’ from the FIFA games, big hits are to be found all over the shop and it could not be more glorious and satisfying with this fantastic engine. NHL 94 Anniversary marks the 20^th anniversary of one of the greatest arcade sports based games with updated graphics and a simple control scheme to match. Not to mention the matching blue ice from the classic game just to hit at that nostalgic feeling.

Talking of control schemes NHL needed an overhaul from their last game and have delivered big this year with the one touch Deke system. This new system opens the door for newcomers and casual hockey games by simplifying things as opposed to the time needed to master the layout and nail the moves in previous entries of the series.

As custom to the NHL series, the career menu opens you up to a selection of game modes that will entice any hockey fan. First up is ‘General Manager’ mode where you can manage your favourite team over a selected number of seasons, salary caps can be enforced, players traded and contracts signed all as you organize your team to the best of your ability from the side lines. ‘Be a Legend’ allows you to play as one of four hockey greats as you play out a contract with your selected team. All the while your contracted team is hoping to bring some of your experience and expertise to the team. In game experience can be earned and spent on improving your attributes. ‘Season’ mode lets you plain and simply play out a season with your team of choice.

The biggest inclusion this year is “Live the Life” where you get to be a pro on and off the ice. You can create your own pro (with huge amounts of customization available even being able to make a female player), start off in the Canadian Hockey League (CHL) or start straight in the NHL. Everything imaginable influences your progression as a pro, all from game performances to TV interviews, fans can love or hate you, contracts can be torn up or you can receive huge endorsements all based on your interactions with the world around you as a star of the NHL. This mode is without doubt a huge step forward for the series and an amazing opportunity to fully immerse yourself in the life of a NHL Player; it is called Live the Life after all.

Instead of listing every feature that is present in this year’s entry for the NHL I have instead opted to describe the new features available for gamers this time around. The biggest and most appealing features would no doubt have to be the one touch deke system and the introduction of “Live the Life” mode, which is a great introduction for new players to the series. On that note however there is certainly enough ‘new’ to keep series fans coming back for more, whether it be for the two new engines for fights and collisions or the inclusion of the NHL 94 Anniversary mode.

Online modes are plentiful and can be completed in matches on ice or against other General Managers in GM mode. For the outgoing current generation NHL is a great advocate for what has been a great series throughout the years but at the same time opens up the door for alot more opportunity in the next generation of consoles.

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Game: Dead Or Alive 5 Ultimate Developer: Team Ninja Publisher: Tecmo Koei
Release Date: Out Now Available On: PS3/360 Version Played: PS3

Dead or Alive 5 goes from laughable to bizarre, and the storyline never seems to make sense, nor be taken seriously. After the success of Mortal Kombat, I had hoped that fighting games COULD tell a semi-coherent story, yet, here we are with Dead or Alive 5. The prospect of the Dead or Alive Tournament is what groups the characters together, told out of chronological order, with sideplots and strangely confusing jumps from one event to the next, while the ongoing threat of clones and Alpha-152 occupies Kasumi and co. Old favorites return, such as father-daughter combo Bass and Tina Armstrong, or my personal favorite, Ryu Hayabusa, and it’s impressive to note how recognizable they have become. That said, the story is a complete wash, and I blew through the 70 stages in record time.

Despite producer Yosuke Hayashi’s promise to tone down the sexuality, it remains blatant here. Sex sells, it really does, but I’m starting to feel uncomfortable with the unrealistic presentation of the women (and men) in this game series. It’s juvenile and it’s AIMED at a younger audience, and its giving them unrealistic expectations of how real women should be. It’s an almost pornographic nature and it’s a shame that this series is 100% selling this, and its clear that they have no notion to change. Maybe I’m just causing a storm for no reason or maybe I’m just trying to up my word count, but I believe that a better message could be sent to gamers. I noticed how when they did alpha testing that players requested even larger proportions of breasts, but maybe I’m thinking they should test outside of Japan…

In terms of performance, the DOA engine runs very well, and Ultimate is polished to near perfection. Bugs and glitches have been ironed out, the FPS is very smooth and the animations are incredible. Each fighter has a unique fighting style, and it’s mindboggling to see how much effort went into the amount of comboes and different moves for each character. You really feel the differences between each fighter, and the pros/cons that go with them. DOA5 wasn’t about innovation, it was about perfecting. Team Ninja really pulled all the stops for this one.

Gameplay is the crux of the fighting genre. An insane amount of balance and tweaking has been done for this installment, and DOA5U is the most polished entry yet. It’s all about strikes, holds, throws and counters, and it’s an incredibly deep system that pays out in spades. Button mashing will only get you so far. Like many of the superior fighting and action games, taking a precise and methodical approach to fights will let you walk away the winner. The timing and strength of counters have been tightened (one of the main complaints of DOA5), and the precise nature of hitting full combos is incredibly difficult, yet satisfying to pull off. DOA has always focused on a more fast paced style of combat, chaining together combos of increasing lengths, while maintaining a balance between offense and defense, the old saying ‘if it isn’t broken, don’t fix it’ remains true here.

Ultimate comes with 4 new characters, more than twice the amount of costumes (114 to 231), a huge overall cleanup of bugs and known exploits, new modes and new offensive gameplay features. Needless to say there’s a wealth of content, and this truly is the ‘Ultimate’ version of Dead or Alive. Tag team battles make for a return, and now feature online as well. The arenas feature an insane amount of destructive aesthetics, both interactive and non, and it’s just a blast to fight in a steadily crumbling battlefield.

The animations are a delight to watch. Every fighter has a unique fighting style, and you can just tell between them. Each fighter has their own moves, their own combos, and even if some of them share the same button inputs, they will look different enough to be unique. The whole thing comes together nicely to form some of the most fluid and better looking fights I’ve seen in the genre, and the faster and harder the fights get, the more you realize how ineffective button mashing and repeating similar moves becomes, forcing you to change up and vary your combos. DOA5U offers some of the smoothest, fastest and entertaining fights I’ve seen this side of 2013.

All in all, it comes down to a matter of value. If you already invested in DOA5, I don’t see enough to justify buying the Ultimate version unfortunately. Spending the full 80 bucks for DOA5 then another 60-70ish for this version isn’t worth it. Despite the bevy of improvements, the tightening of gameplay and ironing of glitches+additional modes and costumes, I have trouble recommending it to people who already spent money on the vanilla DOA5.

However if you’re someone itching to play a fast paced fighting game, and you don’t mind the blatant childishness and immaturity of the presentation of women and men in a game that clearly will never grow up, I do recommend giving Dead or Alive 5 Ultimate a shot.

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Game: NBA 2k14 Developer: Visual Concepts Publisher: 2K Sports
Release Date: Out Now Available On: PC/PS3/360 Version Played: PS3/p>

The NBA 2K series has completely taken over as the most prominent NBA franchise in the last 3 years. This year will determine whether it keeps that stranglehold as we see the release of EA’s first NBA game in several years. Can the game remain it’s legendary status with an all new control scheme?

NBA 2k14 looks better than ever. The animations are a lot smoother and more plentiful in variety. Player physics are a lot more realistic with different sized players reacting different depending on the size of their opposing player. The commentary has seen a huge upgrade this year with a lot of new interactions between commentators Steve Kerr, Kevin Harlan and Clark Kellogg.

The great presentation of the NBA 2k series is continued here. half-time shows are as entertaining and varied as they’ve ever been and the soundtrack consists of a great collection of Hip Hop beats and fits the demographic perfectly.

For a third consecutive year, the main passing and shooting mechanics have been completely revamped. The right stick now handles shooting. The left trigger controls when you pass. Unfortunately this will mean that series veteran will be forced to learn a new set of controls from scratch. Whilst the new control scheme is easier to access and more welcoming for new players, it’s hard to say that it is a good thing for the people who play your game most to relearn everything.

Thankfully the offence and defence are as good as ever. Passing is incredibly smooth as always and you never cough up the ball unless its through your own fault. You never feel like anything in this game is cheap which is incredibly rare for sports games. Once you have the new controls down then you’ll feel right back at home.

Path to Greatness mode featuring LeBron James is the newest and most interesting mode. It combines a series of modes. There are scripted events, which put LeBron in a ton of interesting situations. Your main goal is to be able to put yourself in the best position when dealing with dealing with free agencies. You’re able to replay all of these events after in order to achieve better scores and unlock other games. There are bigger obstacles to get past if you want to take out major championships. It is clear here that this was clearly a chance for the developers to let loose and implement a bunch of new ideas. Whilst it isn’t all perfect, it’s an extremely creative idea that was a ton of fun.

Path to Greatness is by far the biggest addition to NBA 2k14. My Player returns and is just as good as ever. The new control scheme helps this out a ton but the content inside is largely the same as the past few years. This is great for newcomers to the series but you’ll have to force yourself to get through it again. Almost identical interviews and scenarios take place.

Unfortunately there isn’t much more to do beyond what is listed. It feels like NBA 2k14 actually features less modes than in previous years. There are no Jordan challenges or Legends modes and these are the type of things that we know and love the NBA 2K series for.

NBA 2k14’s presentation and gameplay are sublime as usual. Unfortunately there isn’t a lot to see here for series veterans however we’d suspect that the next-gen versions will have a lot more on offer for those who wait.

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Game: Pro Evolution Soccer 14 Developer: PES Productions  Publisher: Konami
Release Date: Out Now Available On: PS3/360/PC Version Played: PS3

Because of EA’s monopoly on the licensing rights for their FIFA games, Pro Evolution Soccer has always been seen as an inferior franchise, yet it’s popularity continues to remain steady. Konami have steadily built a reputation for realism over the more arcade style of football that FIFA implements, and fans remain rewarded in this instalment.

PES 2014 uses the Fox Engine. This is a cross-platform game engine that was built by Kojima Productions. The engine was believed to be created for next gen gameplay. It is said to shorten development time and make it easier to develop for multiple platforms. It helps PES offer advanced physics and helps distribute individual player mass providing a more realistic overall experience.

The presentation is better than ever in PES 14. The stadiums look incredibly realistic and the crowds are bursting with life. Their reactions are actually realistic to what’s happening on the field. It really brings a true to life representation of a real football match which helps a lot to make PES 14 the more realistic of the two biggest football games (the other one being FIFA).

The players in PES 14 also look amazingly like their real life form. Not only do the players look insanely good, it’s good to see how much more emotional they are in their facial expressions. It’s needless to say that the Fox Engine has significantly improved the way that players move and how much more realistic it is when they collide. It really does put last years game to shame. There are a few frame rate issues at time to time but this can only be put down to the fact that it’s using a completely new engine.

Pro Evolution Soccer 14 builds on last years entry in almost every way. Passing feels as good as ever and shooting is a lot more trickier than ever but the real advancements come in the form of TrueBall Tech. This helps enhance the game with the use of fully realistic ball mechanics. This makes passing and shooting a lot more harder to execute but provides a stronger sense of accomplishment when you pull off that perfect play.

Another new addition is the new ‘Heart’ system. This is a new system that handles a players emotions and how they react. An example is if you’re winning a game and lose in the last few minutes, your team morale will be lowered. On the other hand if you make an unpredictable comeback your overall team morale will be boosted. The Heart system is something that is extremely subtle but just adds to that overall realism that PES 14 is going for. It makes the game feel so much deeper than ever before.

Master mode is as good as ever and lets you take over any team and put them in the league with the goal of achieving world glory. You’re able to set the rosters, give a game plan and buy and sell players. Legend mode lets you take control of a use-created or real player with the aim of becoming the best player possible. You have the choice to stick out your career as a one team player or constantly jump from year to year.

Career mode is a fairly barebones experience. You’re able to sign up for a team, set your training meter but this is about where it ends. I feel like they could’ve added more for the simulation fan. Instead you’re left skipping weeks until you’re called up by your manager to play. I felt that playing against sporting rosters of fake teams it just wasn’t that enjoyable of a mode to play in.

There are a few smaller downfalls to the new PES. The framerate can suffer and it is also missing things like rain and the stadium editor which were featured in previous entries. There is also the fact that Konami still don’t have licenses to some of the biggest leagues in the world. Another thing that still really hurts the franchise is the fact that there is a lot of loading that doesn’t seem necessary.

PES 2014 is one of the best entries in the series yet. The Fox Engine makes the game a lot more realistic than ever and really makes the player work even harder in order to pull off the perfect play. It still lacks in certain areas but this doesn’t stop it from being a genuine competitor to FIFA.

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Game: Madden 25  Developer: EA Tiburon  Publisher: EA Sports
Release Date: Out Now  Available On: PS3-360  Version Played: Ps3

Madden 25 signifies 25 years of the Madden franchise. Madden made it’s debut on the Commodore 64 and has been one of the most successful selling sports franchises in the United States over this time. It continues to be updated on a yearly basis. This year marks the most significant change in a while with the jump to the Ignite Engine on nextgen consoles.

The presentation of Madden is something that EA have always taken pride in. This year, the Infinity Engine has received a nice upgrade. Those awkward tackles that used to defy physics have now have a small upgrade that sees players reacting more realistically to the specific tackle rather than falling limply onto the field. There are some weird graphical glitches such as players walking through walls or benched players but we’d expect a significant upgrade in this once the next-gen versions hit with Ignite Engine.

Some of the voiceovers in Madden 25 have clearly been recycled from previous years. There were a few instances where commentators would make references about deceased formers players which had been made in previous games. There are also some small organisational issues with sponsorship but overall the presentation has improved from last years iteration. The game looks largely the same overall which is to be expected. We’d expect another huge upgrade in visual quality in November.

Madden 25 is largely the same game as it has been in the last few years. Mechanics wise the developers have focused on the run and how offensive lines now open up holes more dynamically. They’ve also tweaked how the backs dynamically changed in motion. This is a really appreciated upgrade and now makes games play more openly and more realistically. It opens up plays that you couldn’t make so easily before and this is significantly important into creating more realistic and enjoyable Madden game.

Ultimate Team has seen a bunch of upgrades. Madden 25 gives you even more of an opportunity to make a killer pack. There are now special challenges placed through the session as well as the opportunity to win big games and special events. EA have also included an ultimate 25 squad which has been hand-picked by EA in order to provide the best football experience. You can only use them in the Play Now mode but this really gives you the chance to use a dream team.

Owners mode is a great node mode that EA have included. It allows you to take the role of the owner and control every aspect of your team as well as things like which stadium they play in. It will be your job to make sure the fans are happy whilst maintaining the overall health of your team. You will manage blockbuster trades and things such as fees of entry and parking tickets. You also have to manage things like staff and player salaries and make sure that all of your books are in order. You also have the chance to move your team to another town if it is financially beneficial to you as the owner.

This all ties into the connected franchise mode. You can improve player and coaching skills by the managing experience that you’ve earned throughout the season. If you’re an NFL lover then this is the mode for you. It incorporates a realistic sim of owning an NFL team whilst still maintaining the great gameplay that is Madden NFL.

Madden Share is also a new feature that EA have added. You can now upload things such as customer sliders and play books with others online using Madden share. It really opens up your playing experience to see what other players have been using and it’s great to see that EA have done away with the USB uploading and allowed for a big community to come to life. You can sort by passing, running or custom with ease and even rate them for the rest of the community.

Madden 25 isn’t ground breaking by any stretch of the imagination. It features a few much needed additions that will force the Madden faithful to upgrade. It’s been great to watch this series grow over the last 25 years and we can’t wait to see it come to a new life with the Ignite engine on Next Gen consoles.

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[gameinfo title=”Game Info” game_name=”One Piece: Pirate Warriors 2″ developers=”Tecmo Koei” publishers=”Namco Bandai” platforms=”PS3/360″ genres=”” release_date=”Out Now” version_played=”PS3″]

The story starts after the two year timeskip, just after the crew reached the New World. They get surrounded by a Marine fleet led by Monkey D. Garp. He shoots his Ryuusei Meteor against the ship, then the Marine soldiers assault the pirates. After a short battle, which involves all the crew members, Luffy directly attacks an enemy ship with his Gomu Gomu no Rocket and fights Smoker. After this, Luffy comes back to the ship and the Knock Up Stream launches them up to Skypiea. The story will interest fans of the series and dialogue is extremely intriguing.

One Piece: Pirate Warriors 2 will please fans of the series. The visuals are extremely similar to that of the anime and fit right in with their cartoony look and feel. The sound track is extremely catchy and has a very upbeat nature. The game is extremely easy to navigate and runs well.

One Piece: Pirate Warriors 2 is a Dynasty Warriors type game. You run around a wide environment and choose an attack that clears out the biggest amount of enemies in the smallest tine frame. You follow the objectives which range from defeating mini bosses to capturing bases and then battle the final boss at the end of the stage. Combat is mixed up by special attacks and also character-specific attacks. Searching through treasure chests is a much to gain much-needed health.

The game adds a few things in order to spice up the combat. Once you’ve beaten enough enemies, you can activate your style gauge which allows you to call in a partner to assist you. You can now temporarily play as that character in order to extend your combo count and even throw in an additional super attack.

Your character progressed by earning experience and levelling up their states. It is support by the style partner system and also the collectible coins. Your partner will also gain experience alongside you making for bigger bonuses. Coins on the battlefield can also be placed in slots to increase the stats of your character. An interesting concept in Pirate Warriors 2 is the bingo cards. Getting a bingo grants you perks that you can equip before setting out to battle. There’s also a ton of unlock able coins that you can earn through completing secret objectives during missions, achieving S rank on every stage and completing crew missions.

Online multiplayer is also back with a few new features. A player can now issue an SOS whilst playing and a random online player can see their message and choose to join their match to help out. You can also do this for others as well. Traditional multiplayer is also available for those wanting to play with their friends. Matchmaking can be a little bit off in terms of placing you with similarly levelled players but this game was a ton of fun whilst playing online.

One Piece: Pirate Warriors 2 is great looking game that has done everything to improve on the original. It is quite repetitive in its nature however enough is added along the way to keep it feeling fresh and makes you want to keep playing in order to unlock what’s available.

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We decided to do a team review for GTA simply because different people are going to enjoy different aspects of the GTA universe. We’ve split our team review up into two parts. Each will have 3 different team members expressing what they loved and didn’t love about GTA V.

Grand Theft Auto V is a great example of a developer learning from their past games, not just in the same franchise but across the entire catalogue of games they have developed. This is what sets Rockstar Games apart from other developing giants in the industry today, its not just the innovation that they bring to their current project but their collective advancements across the board. Where some developers are content to release annual installments of a popular game and let the marketing do the rest, Rockstar lets the game do all the talking and it has a lot to say.

When Rockstar released GTA IV back in 2008 it was met with rave reviews citing the extent of the living world was as much of a character in the game as it was a backdrop to the drama, it was this world that also saw Rockstar take the most criticism as it had cut out a great deal of features seen in its previous title San Andreas as well as substitute the bright Californian fun filled adventure with a darker grittier tone and more realistic story. With the eventual release of the Episodes from Liberty City DLC, GTA IV found great moments to show its fun loving nature beneath the level of grime but for some it was too little too late. While an achievement in technical design, GTA IV left many people wondering if the shift in tone to a more realistic setting was step too far and by the looks of things Rockstar were asking themselves the same questions.

GTA V sends us back to the West Coast state of San Andreas showing us that with 5 years development and 4 blockbuster games under its belt in the interim, the Grand Theft Auto series is in the best shape it has ever been in. Back are the fast cars, eccentric characters and pin point accurate social satire that we have come to expect from the GTA series all to the backdrop of a beautiful open world that has taken more that a little inspiration from Red Dead Redemption. In a departure from the regular staples of the franchise, GTA V features 3 distinctive playable characters this time around all of whom fulfill a particular role in both the game play and the narrative.

Franklin is the street smart urban thug on a zero to hero quest to get out of the ghetto and make a life for himself a career criminal. He feels familiar to the San Andreas protagonist CJ in many ways, trying to better himself and make some money while doing it. Michael is the retired bank robber and feels like a mid life crisis Tommy Vercetti from Vice City, stuck in the glory days of the 80’s and still wanting to re live his former glory but tied to the responsibility of his family.

His focus on gun play and stealth have taken great inspiration from Max Payne 3 with a bullet time special ability to boot. Then there is Trevor. Trevor is the character that you will either love or hate, he is a throwback to a day before the modern trappings of GTA where mayhem and “Rampages” were a staple of game play. Trevor’s character works to provide the player a chance to experience the chaos of GTA V all the while feeling justified in your actions of killing and maiming as “that’s what Trevor would to”. The way these 3 characters work together in mission is fantastic, hot swapping from character to character during gunfights to get a better angle is very satisfying. With 3 characters in play, it does make the pacing of the action muddled at times and as a result it can feel hard to focus on any one story line, so much so that by the end of the game they just converge all of the narrative into one set of missions.

It is clear that Rockstar have created something of a masterpiece when it comes to the world of GTA V but with so little of the actual story challenging players to explore it, it feels at times wasted. I imagine that areas like the prison or army base will receive some more attention when the online component is opened up in October or via a DLC in the future.

GTA V feels like the most complete video game that i’ve played from this generation. Whilst it doesn’t have the stunning narrative of The Last Of Us, it has just about everything else. The game looks absolutely incredible for how big the world is. The varied environments all feel like real parts of LA. I really loved coming across random situations that required you to blow up a security truck or stop a thief. These were some of my favourite parts of the games and I just wish that they were more varied.

The missions of GTA V are the best of any in the series by far. The sheer amount of them were mind blowing and each one felt completely different from the last. I felt like all vehicles handled significantly better than in GTA IV. Helicopters and planes don’t seem as touch and cars feel a lot more arcade and take a lot more damage before they explode.

It is one of the first open world games where the game has really incorporated a living, breathing city. This is what makes the game so enjoyable. You never know what to expect. In my opinion, the characters aren’t really all that interesting. Trevor provides something that we haven’t seen in a video game but Michael and Franklin are extremely stereotyped. Shooting feels a lot better than all previous GTA games and cover is extremely simple and seamless to execute now. You’ll have more fun than ever trying to steal fighter jets, parachuting of Mount Chilliad and the like.

This is what makes GTA so much fun and there’s an amazing variety of things to do in GTA V. As the game grew on I became more fond of the 3 character system. In the beginning I was feeling a little mixed about it however as the game integrated the characters I began to realise how much it opened up the game world.

It’s been 5 years since GTAIV, which for me personally was a huge disappointment. I tried, over and over again to try and get into it, and just so many issues prevented that. I just couldn’t understand what so many people loved about it. I thought maybe I just outgrew the series and it just wasn’t fun to me anymore.

I had planned to do so many things last week, be a productive member of society, then GTAV came out, and well. My week flew right before my eyes. Now I didn’t spend 34 hours straight sitting down and beating the story rather then spreading roughly 44 hors through out the entire week playing the game. Doing everything I possibly can within the game. Let me tell you. I’m only 79% complete with that game. It hasn’t been since the start of the year with Ni No Kuni that a game captivated me so much to make me play roughly 6 – 8 hours a day for a week. All of those issues I had with GTAIV were solved. Well, most of them.

No one is going to Argue that GTAIV was a beautiful game at the time, but since then we have had quite the jump in graphical quality, just when I think these consoles are done, what else can you do without setting them on fire, well. GTAV shows what it can do. The game is absolutely gorgeous, it’s bright and vibrant, highly detailed, and absolutely huge without feeling like it’s all just one big empty island. With several different areas which are all diverse in their own way, that require no loading when going between them, GTAV is a visual and technical marvel. The atmosphere of the game carries the signature social satire that GTA has been known for. Rockstar is not trying to paint anybody as the hero, rather then depict a morally deprived culture obsessed with self image. Even though you have a lack of protagonist, all three characters you do play as Michael, Franklin and Trevor are all absolutely terrible people, there is no redeeming quality about them, and they are just trying to forward their own endeavours by getting rich.

However in saying that. I enjoyed each and every minute with them. Their struggles as they meet new enemies and encounter new problems, the way they interact in society as a whole, either had me laughing or going “HELL YEAH” as a result. Turns our I have quite the appetite for dark humour, and this game has plenty of it. Since you control three different characters the story doesn’t feel like it reaches the heights as some other GTA games, but that doesn’t mean there are plenty of awesome moments and situations.

Most of said situations are a result of the multiple heists which you can pull of in the game. Which coincidentally, are my favourite part of the game, I hope that some single player DLC comes out in the future giving us more heists missions. Heists happen only a few times in a game which leads you to sitting in a room giving you two approaches to a heist, one way is the less noisy smarter approach, for example secretly fire bombing a place, dressing up as fire fighters and then going inside the building dressed as fire fighters to rob it blind without people noticing. The other approach is the chattie chittie bang bang approach which involves guns, killing dudes and most likely getting away from the cops. The typical action movie approach. These aren’t just missions you initiate at any time. You have to prepare for them. Want to take the Fire fighter approach, you’re going to need to steal that Firetruck son. Want to be an action hero, you’re going to need some extra gunmen and getaway driver.

Speaking of which, the crew members you choose from either take a higher cut of the money or you can take a risk with the lower skilled crew mates but they take a much lower take of the money, and if you choose them the next heist they will have improved. So there is a little risk reward for the first few heists you do. But it is oh so fun. Unlike Saints Row however, crew members are not people you can just go out and find, they are just given to you through out the story, or there are some random events in the game that if you participate in will give you a crew member, they are few and far between. Heists sadly are only a small part of the game. After all this is part of the GTA Franchise. They plop you into the open world of Los Santos and give you lots of activities to do. From Yoga, tennis and Golfing while they aren’t fully featured enough to be their own game, they are still a nice distraction and also a good way of levelling certain stats, then you have activities like going out to being a bounty hunter, and going to the shooting range to complete challenges.

Not to mention the hundreds of collectibles to go for if you’re looking to get trophies or achievements like myself you will be busy for quite some time. There is not shortage of content here, but a big problem in GTAIV for me were the controls. I’m pleased to say most if not all of the controlling issues has been fixed. While the shooting consists of locking onto targets and hosing them down with bullets, it’s responsive and quick, and if you really want free aim it is there. The driving was a huge pain in the ass in GTAIV, due to the mass amounts of cops and the very touching driving that often left you flipping and spinning out of control from the smallest mistake. Both of these issues have been fixed. Driving feels more arcade like and responsive, it has a little learning curve but once you find the car you like, customise it the way you want. You will be weaving through oncoming traffic and making tight and reckless turns in no time, which I could never do in GTAIV.

Flying is also improved, and even then flight school isn’t boring or laborious rather then has you do stunt manoeuvres to get you used to the feel of flying, it works well. As a result of these tightened controls exploring the the island of Los Santos a sinch. However I have one complaint, why is it that when I set a waypoint am given and objective marker on the map why do I have to stare at the minimap to find out where I’m going rather then having some sort of floating arrow of visual markers in the distance helping me out. It’s not a big issue, but it’s one I would expect to be fixed by now.

Overall, the story of the game is not all that deep and meaningful but rather an adrenaline fuelled ride of explosions and betrayal that doesn’t quite reach the heights of previous games, all of the control issues from GTAIV has been improved and then some, there is tons of gameplay content here to keep you busy for a while if you are a perfectionist. The heists are a fantastic new and by far my favourite addition to the series and it has left me clambering for more. Sure, it’s satire can be a little controversial and offensive, but when did GTA not cause controversy? In my opinion, the praise GTAV is getting is justified right down to the dot, and worthy of the title “Swan song of this Generation”

The post Team Review: GTA V – Part 2 appeared first on Press Start.

We decided to do a team review for GTA simply because different people are going to enjoy different aspects of the GTA universe. We’ve split our team review up into two parts. Each will have 3 different team members expressing what they loved and didn’t love about GTA V.

It’s astonishing how expansive GTA V is. The world of Los Santos is vibrant, colourful, and most importantly, alive, much unlike GTA IV’s drab and grey Liberty City. It’s simply a wonderful feat that Rockstar have achieved and should not be diminished by some…questionable gameplay and narrative choices they have taken.

Unfortunately, while the world is begging to be explored and you could stumble upon many unscripted events (following a cop car chase a criminal, culminating in a fiery battle that resulted in the criminal’s death, where my only role was to watch) and immerse yourself in the legions of side activities (tennis, golf, ‘cinema’, strip clubs, Paparazzi activities, etc, etc) when it comes to the main missions GTA V becomes incredibly restrictive and linear. Attempting to try a different method or a different route in a mission results in instant failure. Most of the time the mission structure is so well done that it isn’t noticeable too much, but it does come up, and it is an issue that’s been carried on from IV.

Fortunately, the checkpoint system has been perfected here. No longer being forced to drive over and over to the start of a mission when you’ve failed, you can pick up right where you left off, and in particularly cumbersome or frustrating moments, skip these sections completely. This may seem like pandering to the ‘lazy’ audience, but believe me, when you’re struggling to load containers onto a truck then driving the truck carefully to the destination, you’ll be glad there’s a skip option.

Gameplay has been tightened considerably. The gunplay feels a lot smoother, carrying on the DNA of Max Payne 3, as the driving. GTA IV was a complete pain in the ass to drive around, and here it’s been improved, if only slightly. Car handling is still hard to get the hang of, but a couple of hours with it and I was driving through traffic with ease. Shooting whilst driving still remains completely broken, where I was forced to liberally spray and pay in order to achieve any effect.

The 3-character structure is incredibly well done and in depth. Having one character take someone hostage and rappel out of a window, while another pilots a helicopter, and the third provide sniper fire is impressive on its own, but the ability to actually switch between each protagonist in real time is truly impressive and makes for some incredibly fun and thrilling missions. GTA V brings its A-game during the heist missions, and it’s a shame there’s only a handful.

GTA V’s narrative is again cohesive and absolutely ridden with biting social satire that will have you shaking your head to how closely Rockstar’s parody on contemporary America manages to get. There are barely any sympathetic characters, but there are relatable ones. GTA V attacks the culture of Modern America viciously, and judging by how well they nail it, it deserves every ounce it gets. Unfortunately, since no one in the game is sympathetic, we find it hard to justify the protagonist’s actions. During a torture sequence (which again, is a take on US policies of torture) which we are forced to partake in, it breaks the barrier of tasteful entertainment and is completely and utterly disgusting, despicable and horrifying, despite its satirical nature. Of course, what’s a GTA game without controversy?

And controversy laden this will become, as I sit here and wonder how in God’s name did this game sneak past the Australian Classification’s Board. Torture, murder, hardcore nudity, strip clubs, prostitutes are all here and all fully uncensored. Saints Row IV was refused classification because of one side mission with drugs, GTA V have several side missions revolving around drugs, and one reoccurring character gives you weed which results in some heavy, heavy hallucinations. While I’m glad GTA V made it here, I’m shocked at the absolute hypocrisy of the ACB, seemingly picking games at random to appease the hardcore anti-video game crowds, and letting GTA V slide because of the massive backlash it could case if it were banned.

And glad is one word I could describe myself whilst playing GTA V. This is gaming at its finest. This is a culmination of years and years of work. San Andreas was last generation’s finest release. GTA V is this generation’s. Throughout my hours and hours of playing, I sunk deeper and deeper into the beautiful and vibrant world, as never before I have been into a game this much. GTA V is nothing short of a massive accomplishment, and it deserves every ounce of praise it gets.

The way people would say they grew up with Harry Potter and everything lead up to that one moment, would be the perfect way to describe GTAV. I can remember playing the first GTA on my PS1 and falling in love with the mayhem I could cause. Ever since then I’ve been a huge Rockstar fanboy. Every GTA game in the franchise that I’ve played has raised the bar for me, from the colourful backdrop of Vice City, the hustling streets of San Andreas. Every game has lead up to the release of the long-awaited GTAV, and after exploring Los Santos I can honestly say the delays and the wait has been worth it. Rockstar has stepped everything up, from the scenery and gameplay, to the characters and the story. I can’t fault a single part of this game.

Even on the current gen consoles the graphics are amazing, the city and its surrounding areas are lively, colourful and nothing short of astounding. Not to mention the single loading screen at the start, with no mid game load screens (unless you fail a mission and restart), walking in and out of cut scenes just adds to the overall smoothness of the game.

The characters you meet throughout are all different, the dialogue is believable and often times hilarious. And the story! It’s better then any Hollywood blockbuster I’ve ever seen. At first I thought controlling three different protagonists would be tricky, but swapping on the fly is quick and easy, with each character adding their own spin and flavour to the mix.

This is hands down my game of the year and GTA Online hasn’t even been released yet! I can’t help but zone out and just completely immerse myself in this game and I’ve already grown attached to Franklin, Michael and Trevor. If you’ve ever enjoyed any previous GTA or any open world game for that matter, you will enjoy GTAV.

Grand Theft Auto 5, perhaps the most hyped of this generation, if not of all time. Taking to the streets of San Andreas, you are instantly drawn into this vast world full of excitement and an abundance of things to see and do, but we will get to that later. Without spoiling things for anyone I will leave the stories finer details out of this review but let me assure you that this story has all the charm and the thrilling, pulse pounding excitement only Rockstar Studios can provide.

You will play the role of three characters throughout your story. Michael – a successful man living a gifted life atop of Los Santos. Franklin – a street wise gangster who works hard for his money and Trevor – a rural man with more than a few screws missing. The interconnectivity and relationship between these three is excellent and portrayed fantastically with a very strong and high quality cast of voice actors. The multiple character method serves the purpose well enough for the gameplay. However, I am not sold on it. Personally I think I would develop a stronger relationship with my controllable character if I only had the one to control.

At just about any time you can transfer between characters and this transition is AMAZING! Upon selecting your new character you leave him in a progressing aerial snapshot of your character, which truly gives you a breath taking view of the hard work Rockstar have done to make this a truly huge and living city. At the apex of the aerial snap shot you will transition to your newly selected character and progressively zoom in on him. No matter what location or whom you chose, they will always be doing something. It could be Franklin helping a friend in trouble with the police or even Michael just relaxing besides his pool. An excellent example of fantastic development and a true testament to Rockstar’s devotion to making the extra effort on the little things. The character transfer also works well during mission gameplay, although the transition has a lot less shorter timespan but swapping characters allows for you to overcome various mission aspects that are individual to a character, shooting, driving or flying just as examples. This all works exceptionally well in the mission progression and involvement.

In Australia this game released to a R18+ rating. This is certainly required. Containing scenes of violence, nudity, coarse language, drug use and very confronting scenes. That for the sake of spoilers I won’t reveal. Some people may feel uncomfortable at times with the context of conversation and the actions being involved in which is understandable and at a few select times I agree but it all works perfectly to set the amazingly diverse and exciting world that is renown as Grand Theft Auto.

Mechanically this game is perfect; controls are incredibly responsive and accurate. The cover system works like a charm. If I had to pick at something however, the control layout had a longer than usual learning curve for me, considering the layout changes compared to previous Grand Theft Auto games.

The depth of detail Rockstar have gone into for this game is phenomenal. Activities to suit anyone’s desires ranging from tennis, golf, bars, strip clubs, shooting ranges, shopping(property, guns and clothing),races and even yoga. These are just samples of the fun to be found all along San Andreas.

Vehicles make a fabulous appearance from all kinds of fast exotic cars to rickety rural motor bikes. The skies and seas are your playground as you can traverse them in style with a range of planes and boats. Cruise around the waters on a speeding jet ski and then, if you’re feeling brave, take a dive under the waves and have a look at what lies beneath the beautiful detailed ocean. Counteractively the skies can be conquered in a range of vehicles and then best of all you can launch out of your air transportation for a glorious rush of adrenaline filled skydiving. Once the parachute has been pulled you are at the mercy of this beautiful world and all its finer details from the incredible heights of Mt. Chilliad to the bustling metropolis that is Los Santos. This crafted world is a world of beauty and wonder.

With so much to see and do it certainly will be like a mini holiday for those who enter this amazing world. Rockstar have designed one of the most cleverly crafted ideas I have seen in gaming with the timed release of GTA Online, a multiplayer feature that releases two weeks after the initial launch of GTA 5. This move not only allows plenty of time for people to complete the story portion of the game without other temptations but allows for an opportunity to become fully familiar with the world available to you before indulging in the world of GTA Online. Where you are only bound by your imagination and map limitations as all features present in single player are available in multiplayer.

Like I’ve mentioned before the sheer size and recreational activities in this game is near endless especially with the (soon) inclusion of other gamers to participate with. As a working adult I feel I won’t be available to invest the time needed to fully appreciate or even participate in all the wonderful features this game provides. A feat well accomplished by Rockstar for making a fully liveable and interact able world of this sensory beauty. I am sure that there will be a lot of people calling in sick or avoiding classes to explore this fantastic creation.

Rockstar have certainly set a bench mark for themselves with this outrageously beautiful world beaming with life. I only wish I had the time to fully appreciate it to its full potential.

Stay tuned for the second part of out GTA V Team Review in the later half of this week.

The post Team Review: GTA V – Part 1 appeared first on Press Start.

[gameinfo title=”Game Info” game_name=”Saints Row IV” developers=”Voilition” publishers=”Deep Silver” platforms=”360/PC/PS3″ genres=”” release_date=”Out Now” version_played=”PC”]

Saints Row IV is the latest installment in the long running Saints Row franchise developed by Volition and this time around published by Deep Silver after purchasing the rights from THQ during its bankruptcy. Beginning its life as a Grand Theft Auto clone, Saints Row set out to create a name for itself as the more off the wall and over the top version of the popular sandbox game and as we arrive at Saints Row IV it is obvious that the separation from GTA is finally complete. It is important to note that here in Australia it has taken a while for the game to reach our shore. I have also played through an international version from the United Kingdom. While at its heart the difference is entirely superficial, I will touch on the infamous drug toting mission that helped cause its refused classification status in the conclusion.

The story of Saints Row IV starts with the protagonist, the leader of the 3rd St Saints, participating in a black ops style assassination of a terrorist leader (the first of what would be a perpetual acknowledgment of the series greater lore), stopping a nuclear missile and literally falling into the oval office of the White House. After a brief section where you choose to either cure cancer or stop world hunger you are invaded by aliens and trapped in a simulation of Steelport, the city where Saints Row: The Third takes place.

Saints Row IV starts at the absurd and then turns it up to 11, this only serves to fuel the action of the greater narrative, a story that pits your character against the leader of an intergalactic warlord while trapped in a simulation of the city you most recently conquered yourself. Most would argue that story is not what Saints Row IV is about but there is a lot of love in this game for the world it has created up until this point. The game at points forces you to reminisce about characters and events in previous games which if you are riding the Saints Row roller coaster for the first time with this installment will feel disjointed.

Saints Row IV is a game that prides itself on an aesthetic of fetishism for pop culture. Everything from mission design to weapons to cars proudly sets out to reference an aspect of popular culture in some way or another and then ramps it up further into the realm of the outlandish and the absurd. References to movies, television, genre culture, current events and even the games series itself are rife throughout the experience and provide a worthy motivation to press forward into the next mission or try out the next weapon just to see what little ‘Easter Egg’ they have crammed in. This all serves as the backdrop to what is a rather disappointing decision to bring us back to the city of Steelport.

It is clear from the first moment you settle back into the open world that Saints Row IV began its life as an addition to the Saints Row: The Third experience with copy paste game mechanics coming back without feeling like they really have a place in this new world. What is the point of customizing a car when you never need to drive it? It is the left over trimmings from its predecessor that makes Saints Row IV feel a little rushed to completion.

Where that game world and its backdrop feel familiar so too, to an extent, does the game play and in this instance that is a great thing. The one thing that the Saints Row series as a whole has continued to improve on is the ability to make an open world sand box feel fun.  The vehicles handle better than ever and due to the fact that the sandbox is set in a virtual world, the ability to save your pimped out ride with the push of a button is a welcomed improvement to the old “park it in the garage” system used by many games in the genre. The downside to all this is that unlike previous installments of the Saints Row series, there is no point to using vehicles at all with the main draw card for this latest Saints Row outing is the inclusion of super powers.

Super powers featured briefly in a DLC mission for Saints Row: The Third to great effect and it’s clear that this was a huge motivator for Saints Row IV to explore the notion on a larger scale. Including a great deal of evolution with your powers from shooting fireballs to suspending people in mid-air, superpowers in Saints Row IV are undoubtedly joyous in this sandbox and provide a great way to explore the world. Taking lessons from games like Infamous and Prototype, there is a nice progression to mastering these powers with some abilities only unlocking after a certain experience level or mission is completed. While this approach works well with your powers, by half way through the game I was able to handle most encounters without ever needing to fire a shot with my gun which is a shame as your guns are just as varied and insane as your superpowers.

Missions in Saints Row IV are broken up into story missions that happen outside of the simulation or in another section of the simulation where you have a limited arsenal and limited use of your super powers. Surprisingly enough for an open world sandbox game, the story missions are very linear and often take place outside of the open world free roam simulation. This provides a great diversion to the sandbox game play which, while fun, can at times seem like you are too overpowered for the activities you have to complete. In the real world you can interact with your crew members to activate missions and even engage them in “romantic” relations for added comical effect. Comedy is indeed at the heart of Saints Row IV featuring weapons like the violator, a Japanese tentacle bat and my personal favorite the Dub-Step gun that fires focused blasts of Dub-Step music destroying enemies and causing nearby pedestrians and vehicles to dance. Saints Row IV takes pride in its ability to laugh at its own absurd world and the things that take place in in and in this new simulated world it makes more sense than ever as to why everything is so down right bizarre.

Activities make a return here but while there are some nice new additions to the formula, like exploring the rift,  its clear that these diversions were added in to uphold the status quo of the game series and do very little to add to the narrative. The justification given to activities in the Saints Row series is what helped to make them more enjoyable, spraying sewage onto buildings to reduce property value is ridiculous but makes sense in the Saints Row universe, here in Saints Row IV the activities see you steal cars called “viruses” and racing through the city for some reason or another. It is these decisions that take you away from the world building that has gone into the series as a whole and is disappointing to see especially seeing as there are so many call backs to the previous Saints Row games throughout Saints Row IV.

A main stay of the Saints Row series is a focus on customization which again in Saints Row IV takes it to all new levels. While it’s always been possible to play as male or female, that is only the tip of the proverbial iceberg when it comes to the character you will craft. My protagonist, Reginald St. James featured mutton chops, a top hat and a thick cockney accent who, on occasion would moonlight as the super powered “Naked Justice” clad in nothing but spiked boots, wrist guards and a mask to protect is identity while duel wielding nail gun SMG’s. Everything from outfit to “Sex Appeal” can be modified with cosmetic weapon customization being added as well.

Everything else aside, as far as game play is concerned, nothing beats causing wanton destruction around the simulated world of Steelport with a friend and this is where Saints Row IV really excels. Featuring a full 2 player cooperative experience, Saints Row IV allows you to play the whole game with a friend system link or online. There is no added Coop experience or requirement to play as the side kick, Saints Row IV places both players in the role of commander-in-chief with each game substituting their character into the cut scenes. Free Roam is untethered and each player is free to pursue activities like stealing cars, flash points, finding collectibles and customization independently of one another or together as a team.

With Saints Row IV, the name of the game is fun. It takes great mechanics from other successful games and mashes them all together in the one open world. The comedy while largely dependent on pop culture references and experience with the franchise as a whole works to great effect. The game boasts a varied visual aesthetic that is at times let down by graphical glitches and is powered by the same game engine used by its predecessor.  I wish they would have taken the time to really flesh out the direction of the game and not rely as much on the the foundation of Saints Row: The Third. Its not hard for me to recommend this game but if you are coming in hoping for Grand Theft Auto experience you will be disappointed. Fun, silly and most assuredly funny, this game is in a bizarre league of its own.

For those of you who are picking up the Australian copy of the game, rest assured that you are truly not missing out on anything. With all the hype and attention the Alien Narcotics mission received, it’s over in a flash and happens in the simulation. There is an argument to be had about how the mission was completely contextual in its “Drug Use” but for now, Blow people up with a guitar case shaped rocket launcher and run away up as wall dressed as a toilet.

The post Review: Saints Row IV appeared first on Press Start.

[gameinfo title=”Game Info” game_name=”Splinter Cell: Blacklist” developers=”Ubisoft Montreal / Toronoto” publishers=”Ubisoft” platforms=”PS3/360/PC” genres=”” release_date=”Out Now” version_played=”PS3″]

Splinter Cell has never been the apex of good storytelling, but Blacklist tries to keep the player intrigued with an otherwise basic terrorism plot. A terrorist group known as ‘The Engineers’ begin orchestrating attacks on U.S assets, with the demand that the government pull all U.S soldiers from foreign lands, otherwise executing the Blacklist, a series of deadly attacks. In continuation of Splinter Cell Conviction and it’s fractured leadership, President Caldwell from the previous installment reinstates Fisher and recurring favorite Grimsdottir to Fourth Echelon, which basically is Third Echelon all over again, with Fisher as the leader.

The story is hardly remarkable, and doesn’t contain a trace of Chaos Theory’s nuanced and subtle style of storytelling (which overtly focused on optional data collections to piece together the whole story rather than Blacklist’s linear progression of the story through cutscenes) but it’s well voiced, the main antagonist Sadiq is very well portrayed and as a vehicle to drive the gameplay forward it does the job fine. When the lines start to blur between Fourth Echelon and the American Government, as we are shown how far the team will go to protect their nation and people, is where Blacklist shines. Some surprising twists abounds, but ultimately the story fizzles out in the end due to a nuanced final encounter and plot points that purposely leave the door open for a sequel. That’s all well and good, but Blacklist suffers for not continuing the story in favour of a probable next-gen outing.

New characters Charlie and Briggs are nothing more than shallow stereotypes (the nerd and the rough and tumble partner) which is a shame; neither holds a flame to the old favorites Lambert or even Redding, and do nothing other than exchange shallow quips and break rules/back up Fisher, respectfully. There’s little emotional connectivity, and even Grimsdottir isn’t up to snuff. Fisher himself has lost the charm of his witty and sarcastic past self. Given the subject matter and Conviction/Double Agent’s foray into playing it straight, this is less of an negative, more of a confirmation that this looks like the road we’ll be going down. Conviction’s Victor Coste and Kobin both make appearances, and it’s actually sort of nice to see Kobin get a role that doesn’t involve him getting beaten up in every encounter.

Despite the outdated character models and wonky cutscenes, Blacklist looks and feels great. The animations (easily the best part of Conviction) looks even better here. The sheer amount of work gone into the takedown varieties, both lethal and non lethal, is impressive. The sheer smoothness of sliding from cover to cover, marking three enemies, taking down one with a hand-to-hand knockout then executing the rest with both skill, stealth and style makes for exhilarating looks, not to mention gameplay.

In terms of voice actors, yes the now iconic Michael Ironside is gone, and also surprising (and subsequently ignored due to the Ironside controversy) is that Grimsdottir is also voiced by a new actress. Eric Johnson as the new Fisher does a good job with what he’s given, but the mere fact that Ironside is gone is already held against him, and the fact that we’re playing a younger, more agile and faster Fisher throws the age discrepancy into a bit of a loop. As far as we know, Fisher is at the very least, in his late 40’s by the time the events of Blacklist have happened. To hear a younger voice is definitely strange, as are his phone calls to his now mid-20’s daughter.

As for the controversy ‘torture’ sequences, I was surprised at how much backlash that ONE scene had received in the E3 demo, and that Ubisoft felt needed to be cut out. Since it was playable, I suppose that’s why it received the full grunt of negative press, but honestly, the entire game is full of torture sequences and very dark subject matter. Fisher and co beat, mutilate and break their way through people in order to extract information from them and not only is it very disturbing, it’s encouraged as the end results get them their information. I feel that the press here may have missed the point, though that can be chalked up to Ubisoft showing only one segment of the game in a tight E3 schedule. Needless to say, the violence is a bit heavy handed.

Thankfully, the gameplay makes up for whatever mishandled messages of violence Blacklist comes with in fantastic ways. While elements of Conviction remains (the superb cover system and the less superb Mark and Execute), this truly is a Splinter Cell game for both young and old. What’s remarkable about Blacklist is that not only non-lethal stealth part of the game, it’s actively encouraged. Not only that, the lethal route is equally fun. The absolutely spellbinding balance between the 3 core gameplay styles (aptly called Ghost, Panther and Assault) is truly impressive, and you’ll be replaying this game well into the end of 2013 just figuring out the amount of routes you’re given. Some of the levels can easily match the amount of creativity shown in past installments, like the Estate level, which is as glorious as Chaos Theory’s Teahouse level, or Double Agent’s Shanghai one.

To break it down, gameplay consists of 3 styles that are both intertwining and flexible. The Ghost style is for the hardcore fans of Splinter Cell, remaining in the shadows and bypassing all enemies through levels (or taking them out non-lethally), possibly being the favorite route for players, rewarding you the most and being the most satisfying way to tackle objectives. The Panther route is more of an aggressive stealth, much like Conviction, where you make your way through levels taking out enemies without prejudice and without…conviction. Assault means taking out enemies loudly and quickly, probably making liberal use of both the Last Known Position feature and the Mark and Execute feature.

Yes, the dreaded M&E feature is back, but fortunately it has been severely nerfed this time. For starters the maximum amount of marks is three, and the infamous ‘shoot through any surface’ from Conviction has been fixed. Not only that, many enemies start wearing helmets or carrying shields that make them impervious from instant headshots, and a mark simply knocks the helmet off, encouraging you to get up close and personal to take them out. Yes, M&E had to come back. And yes, it actually works in Blacklist. And probably best for old fans, the hardest difficulty (Perfectionist) gets rid of Mark and Execute entirely. It’s a nice touch and a respectful nod to the old fanbase, who may have been alienated after Conviction’s streamlined features. That and the fact you can move and hide bodies, a feature sorely missed in Conviction. The Last Known Position (LKP) is actually a feature I loved in Conviction, and it’s been again tweaked to make things slightly more challenging in Blacklist. Having the ability to make your position known to enemies, then circling them to take them out from behind makes for some extremely fun situations and tactical gameplay.

Gameplay for the most part sticks to tried and true Splinter Cell formula. Stick to shadows, knock out, kill or avoid your enemies, and get to your objective. Each style awards you points, which converts into cash, which you can then use to upgrade Fisher’s arsenal. It’s definitely a great touch and gives a nice sense of progression for your character (this includes your online character) but unfortunately it’s a little TOO easy. Playing on the Realistic difficulty, I quickly racked up enough money to buy all my gadgets, upgrade a decent pistol and rifle, and pack my suit with all the stealth upgrades it had. By endgame I had pretty much bought all the gadgets and optional colour schemes, and had 200 grand just lying there.

Yes, it’s a lot more fast paced than the first four games, and yes there are some annoying scenarios that force you into open combat, but for the most part Blacklist is a perfect mix of Chaos Theory old school stealth and Conviction’s aggressive stealth. However, the sensitivity of Fisher’s speed can be called into question. He’s simply TOO fast, to put it simply. Pushing the thumbstick softly has him break out in a stride, and pushing it a tiny effort more results in his full speed stealth run/assault run. This normally wouldn’t be a problem, but enemies can hear you creeping up to them, and the lack of sound bar means you’ll really be struggling to discern whether you’re moving slow enough to not be spotted. While this isn’t much of an annoyance, I definitely recommend precaution to play it softly.

Side missions courtesy of Grim, Briggs, Charlie and Kobin are both a nice touch and slightly frustrating, at least on the harder difficulties. Charlie’s ‘Horde’ mode is a nightmare on Realistic, as it requires you holding out against legions of enemies for 20 waves (with optional exits with every 5 rounds), but it’s a nice way to stretch out your assault talents and the huge amounts of enemies allows for creative and flexible ways to tackle combat situations. Grim’s missions are possibly the hardest and most frustrating, having a strict ‘no alarm’ stealth run for each of her situations. It quickly escalates into madness, as you’re silently taking out guards, whilst dodging security cameras, laser systems and drones that routinely patrol security areas.

This normally would make for a nice challenge, but one slip up and you’re sent back to the very start. This, and the campaign missions that restrict you to a no kill, no alarm policy, quickly end up as a frustrating trial and error system until you absolutely perfect a route, something that hasn’t been seen since the hey-day of Pandora Tomorrow. Briggs’ missions are co-op only, and it’s nice to see the co-op get a fully fledged mode, since every one of those side missions can be accomplished co-op. It’s even encouraged, with certain routes in levels locked out unless you have a partner. Finally, Kobin’s missions can be described as a ‘flexible Grim’, encouraging you to go stealth, but getting caught and raising an alarm means reinforcements. They are all a solid bunch of missions, and completely optional.

Despite some strictly linear missions and the surprising speed of Fisher (who’s meant to be 40-something by now), the gameplay in Blacklist is pretty much perfect. Playing it on Perfectionist is a must, and there’s even a trophy/achievement for doing a no-kill run throughout the course of the entire game.

Fan favourite multiplayer mode Spies versus Mercs has also been reworked. The mode now sees two teams of four working together to complete objectives and eliminate the opposition. If you’re a spy you will play in the third person whilst the Mercs will play in the first-person perspective.

The mode is split into two rounds. One in which your team will take the role of the Mercs and the other where you will take the role as the Spies. Your job whilst being the Spy is to hack one of 3 terminals without getting killed by the Mercs. The team who can hack the most terminals for the longest period of time after both rounds are complete win the game.

This is one of the most fascinating multiplayer modes that i’ve had the joy of playing in a long time. Each game was exciting until the last second and it was really about combining the right classes in order to make sure that your team is a success. A huge amount of team work and strategy is needed which made it so enjoyable.

Conviction may have lost the fans, but Blacklist will bring them back. While the franchise is firmly speeding past Chaos Theory’s style of stealth (and never coming back), you couldn’t ask for a better playing sequel. The cover system, the focus on stealth, and most of all, the ability to ghost your way through shows that Ubisoft really put effort into bringing back the stealth fans of old, and keeping the new ones as well. This is simply a must buy for Splinter Cell fans, and I cannot wait for the next-gen movement.

The post Review: Splinter Cell Blacklist appeared first on Press Start.

[gameinfo title=”Game Info” game_name=”Diablo 3″ developers=”Activision Blizzard” publishers=”Activision Blizzard” platforms=”360/PS3″ genres=”” release_date=”Out Now” version_played=360″]
Diablo 3 is an action role-playing game set in the world of Sanctuary. You participate as one of the 5 hero classes: Barbarian, Wizard, Monk, Witch Doctor and Demon Hunter. Combat is fast as you assault various dungeons and bosses all for that shiny loot

Burning hell demons have lust for the world of Sanctuary and a mighty group of demon lords have been sent to crush all of mankind, turning them into servants and poisoning their minds with deceit. Cities crumbled, thousands died and the all mighty Worldstone which lay in the mount Arreat was destroyed. Without it Sanctuary became vulnerable to the Prime Evil invasion who have now come to unleash havoc. This is where you come in, an aspiring level one hero ready to be the Saviour of Sanctuary. The storyline plays out with spectacular cut scenes and talkative quest givers which keep you updated on what’s going on storywise.

Diablo 3 is  Blizzards first release in this gen on the console and they’re really pushing the limits of the 360 and PS3. Visually, I find this game exquisite. With the vast array of hero spells and enemy abilities, it can be hard not go all starry eyed when a wizard joins your party and electrocutes everything to death before you can punch a mob of your own. Blizzard’s art style always seems to always hit a sweet spot of mine. The backdrops are beautiful and the creativity in monster design set my imagination on fire.

City hubs are quite easy to navigate around with obvious map icons and quest givers standing near by. A lot of loot shares the same skins and the quests aren’t anything that we haven’t seen before and are merely there to move you between zones. The frame rate seemed to stutter in later levels on the 360 but nothing that kept me from having an awesome time. Behind all of the big monsters, flashy spells and fat loots is the games soundtrack which really sets the tone and moods of the locations you travel through.

Gameplay is fast and addictive. The combat is fluent and everything feels good under thumb, loot is easily accessible and the growth of your character is rapid. You feel yourself become more powerful with each level and it really is rewarding for your hero and abilities to come together nearing endgame. A lot of this consists of loitering around mobs that will kill you with one shot otherwise, depending on the difficulty of course. Diablo 3 was the most rewarding for me playing on hard with a group of friends who were communicating the whole time discussing boss strategies and what skills had synergy. The meta game was a great aspect of it and i thoroughly enjoyed the multiple playthroughs.

The matchmaking isn’t exactly anything amazing but it does the job. You’re mostly dropped into local games where lag isn’t prominent, but there were times where it wasn’t so easy to find fellow Australians to play with. There’s two crafting professions to take part in; Blacksmithing and Jewel Crafting. Both cap out at level 10 and requirements are a lot of various mob drops to acquire the max level. Both professions are put in place for upgrading gear with different tiers of gems with various scaling stats that benefit your hero in addition, rare and legendary recipe/patterns can be purchased and crafted into loot. The only I time really found blacksmithing useless was early in the game when trying to fill out my gear with somewhat better items.

The console version features a new quick equip system. You can now cycle through the last few items that you’ve looted and quickly equip them based on a preview of Damage, Health and Defence. This works extremely well with a controller and alleviates our concerns about how the inventory would work. Upon picking up a weapon you are also presented with a damage difference which you can quickly swap out and quickly keep playing if it meets your requirements.

Unlocked abilities are mapped to the face buttons, bumpers and triggers. You control your character with the left analog stick and the right analog stick is used for dodging attacks.  You aim by simple looking in the direction of the enemy you want to attack. They are painted in red when they’re selected. Whilst this worked quite well, it didn’t quite provide the precision that can be gotten with a keyboard and mouse. This is especially the case when playing on harder difficulties in later levels.

The console version of Diablo 3 has been in development for a considerable amount of time since the PC version was released. It is clear to me that this is the way that Blizzard wanted the game to be played on the home console. I was extremely addicted over the past week and couldn’t put the game down. Playing with friends was an amazing time and really let the game shine.  Diablo 3 is most praised for its streamline nature of content, the addictive combat, loot in abundance and pretty spells. The game had very few bugs and I look forward to hearing news about the upcoming possible expansion Diablo 3. Taking all of this into account I could comfortably recommend this to any PS3 or 360 owner.

The post Review: Diablo 3 appeared first on Press Start.

[gameinfo title=”Game Info” game_name=”The Bureau: X-Com Declassified” developers=”2K Marin” publishers=”2K” platforms=”PS3/360/PC” genres=”” release_date=”Out Now” version_played=”PS3″]

After a troubled development schedule, that consisted of a terrible received E3 demo that originally was a first person shooter, to multiple developers over 8 years and several technical and creative issues, this X-Com spin-off has all the makings of failure after the rough and tumble ride it took to get here. How does it fare?

The Bureau tells the story of William Carter, a CIA special agent who is tasked to bring a mysterious briefcase to his director Faulke, and soon becomes part of the war between the US and the Outsiders, an extraterrestrial hostile force that comes to lay waste to Earth (or the United States) . Needless to say, the story in The Bureau is very haphazard and disengaging. The story logically makes little sense, Carter is a charmless protagonist and the very fact that these events are meant to be secret operations is laughable.

One has to wonder how X-Com manages to hide all traces of alien activity when the entire United States falls under attack. Carter may be the least engaging protagonist this year, as he plays his role completely straight, coming off as completely unlikable. The attempts at plot twists come off as weak, as we’re not given a reason to connect with Carter outside of playing as him. He has no motivations or reasoning for his actions outside of being a CIA agent who has to protect his country.

In the context of the game, he is merely a vehicle to drive the setting from one point to the next, with little connective tissue keeping it together. While this may be enough for some, it simply doesn’t make for engaging storytelling. The setting would have somehow benefited from a more parodist point of view, giving the setting of 1962 America and the absurdity of the situation. But Carter plays the thing so straight and humourlessly that it’s painful, and the rare attempts at quips and one-liners are just absurd. The rare attempt at throwing a spanner into the mix in regards to the story is welcoming and a surprising narrative twist works well, but it’s merely a cherry on what is a figuratively bland and unremarkable cake.

The Bureau looks great. It looks like 1962 America. The aesthetic, the feel, it’s all there. Again, if The Bureau decided to play a campy and over the top route, it could have made the setting charming and engaging, but the insistence of playing it straight hinders the presentation of what would otherwise be a fantastic looking game. You really feel like you were dropped into 1960’s America. The style and clothing, the cars, the buildings, it all fits well with the setting. Unfortunately, the game is riddled with technical bugs, at least on the PS3 version.

Frame drops, screen tearing are commonplace, and I encountered a mildly hilarious glitch that had Carter on an audio loop of him barking orders at his teammates that wouldn’t stop until a battle was over. Audio wise, the voice acting fulfils the bare minimum as competent, but serviceably bland and unengaging. Carter’s voice actor seems simply disinterested in his script, as when faced with a huge revelation, he acts completely nonchalant. Not one voice actor stands out, with the possible exception of Alan Weir, who has the worst Australian accent in a form of media since Pacific Rim.

The Bureau can be described as a mix between the old school SOCOM, Mass Effect with a dash of the criminally underrated Star Wars Republic Commando thrown in. Gameplay is The Bureau’s saving grace, as the intriguing mix of tactical combat and straightforward third person shooter elements is both fun and engaging. Unfortunately, the AI is dumb as a brick. Or two bricks, to be precise. Unlike Enemy Unknown, the focus on Carter as the squad leader means you’ll be spending your time and perspective on his actions on the battlefield, and occasionally your mind will slip in regards to your teammates.

Like Enemy Unknown, you need your teammates to survive. But the lack of complete control over your two teammates, coupled with the terrible, terrible AI system means you’ll be spending most of your time frustratingly micromanaging each specific action for your teammate to even have an effect on the battlefield, much less keeping them alive.

The pure fact that this is an X-Com game that revolves around one main protagonist  means that Carter cannot die on the battlefield, severely negating the threat of the widely touted ‘permadeath’, something X-Com popularized and is widely known for. The effects of permadeath are short term at best, as a fight can only be handled with both teammates, and if one dies, the simplest course of action is to restart from the last checkpoint. Of course, The Bureau’s attempts at telling a story with actual focus can’t be held against it, and the mere fact that there is one means there has to be one protagonist who cannot die in the course of the game, but this mostly rules out the effect and fear of permanent deaths.

Combat consists of open battlefields, shooting at aliens and using abilities. There are a few great tie-ins to the aliens of X-Com (this being a spin-off and all), and the mix is varied enough to keep things interesting. The amount of enemies the game throws at you towards the end makes for a huge challenge that treads a fine line between thrilling and frustrating, as you struggle to fight against commanders, Outsiders, and giant Mutons that take a huge beating.

While some of these bigger enemies attempt to throw some variety into the mix (Sectopods requiring you to break the cockpit with firepower before dealing any real damage, and Psychic Commanders mind controlling one of your teammates) most of these boil down to whittling down their health until they’re dead. Later on when facing pairs of these Sectopods or Elite Mutons, the crawling rate that their health drops at comes off as pure tedium and frustration, rather than showing any real challenge.

The weapons are devoid of creativity and uniqueness. The human and alien weapons are essentially similar in terms of impact and damage, only you’ll be using a lot more alien weapons halfway through. The limited ammo resources means you’ll be constantly running around the battlefield, scrounging up weapons in an attempt to keep you on your feet, but it’s the abilities you’ll fall back on. These abilities make up half the fun of The Bureau’s gameplay, as you rely on turrets, drones, critical shots and many other variations of powers to turn the playing field.

They don’t make much narrative sense (halfway through a battle you can suddenly gain the ability to throw a ‘blob’, or a drone) but they’re quite useful and creative enough to warrant a mild interest in the battlefield. The game also throws in backpacks, which can be equipped to provide mild perks such as extra ammo or extra damage. These are nice touches but ultimately they aren’t necessary to win a battle, but they do help in the short-term.

As much as I love 2K and despite the fear that the studios behind this game will suffer immensely due to its long and turbulent schedule, The Bureau remains a weak entry into the X-Com series. The attempts at introducing actual plot elements into the X-Com universe comes off as weak, the gameplay is fun but ultimately drags and doesn’t evolve, and the permadeth element comes off as non-threatening. Enemy Unknown was a gem from 2011. The Bureau isn’t so lucky. Maybe as a budget title it would’ve seen a more successful launch and a longer shelf life, but despite this possibly meaning the end of 2K Australia, it just isn’t worth your time.

The post Review: The Bureau: X-Com Declassified appeared first on Press Start.

[gameinfo title=”Game Info” game_name=”Killer Is Dead” developers=”Grasshopper Interactive” publishers=”Deep Silver” platforms=”PS3/360″ genres=”” release_date=”Out Now” version_played=”360″]

Suda 51 is someone I have a lot of respect for, he isn’t afraid to push the barrier of what’s acceptable and mix it in with utter absurdity, while some how managing to make it fun. While I didn’t play much of Killer 7, Lollipop Chainsaw and Shadows Of The Damned are two of my favourite games and the gameplay trailers of killer is dead seemed to show it as a character action game along the lines of Bayonetta, and Devil May Cry. So I’m gonna say I was really excited for Killer Is Dead. So how do I feel now? Well, it’s certainly a game from the insane mind of Suda 51.

Killer Is Dead’s story is neigh on nonsensical, but I’ll attempt to explain what the hell is going on. You play as Mondo Zappa, an executioner by trade. After promptly killing your predecessor you find out that you work for an organisation that take requests for “special” help, which usually revolve around some sort of supernatural phenomenon involving creatures called “Wires” which come from the dark side of the moon. The agency helps gives you context why jumping from level to level seems to have no overarching story.

The problem is that it actually does have an overall story, but they space it out with so many missions that have nothing to do with it. By the time they address it again it feels more like a reminder that the game actually does have a story, rather then being an advancement of the plot. What the story does offer, is classic off the wall absurdity we have seen from other Suda games and if that’s all you’re looking for, the story is fantastic. From a Yakuza Boss being inhabited by a wire tiger causing him to murder people. To a musicians ears being stolen. They try to have some emotional moments in the midst of these absurd situations, and it falls flat.

Killer 7 was a cult hit on the GameCube, well known for it’s unique first person gameplay and heavily cellshaded look that hasn’t been done like that since. Until now. Killer Is Dead recreates the style of its predecessor, but now taking advantage of current gen hardware. Artistically it looks fantastic and there is nothing like it on the market. But it had quite a lot of problems. There is a lot of repeated enemies and levels seem to only throw one or two new enemies you will see appear through out the game, reskins are present, and it’s general representation of women is pretty horrendous.

Unlike Lollipop Chainsaw where most of the female cast are total kick ass powerful characters, most if not all females in Killer Is Dead seems to be there just to be  represented as sexual objects, and that’s quite disheartening to see. This stuff normally doesn’t offend me, but its so predominant here, that you simply can’t overlook it. Especially when it ties this mentality straight into its gameplay.

Technically, It’s not that great. Rampant screen tearing, unstable frame rate, view distance is buggy, smoke items you have to interact with aren’t visible from certain angles, when they clearly should be and the game randomly freezes for a few seconds sometimes, for what I’m assuming is loading.

Outside of the visuals, the games soundtrack is fantastic, and is certainly another proud addition to my cars VGM collection, the English voice acting is pretty good, and the option to switch to Japanese voice work is appreciated.

Killer is dead ditches the unique gameplay from its predecessor, In favour of turning it into a 3rd person hack ‘n slash game. Each level is more or less structured the same way, wade through waves of enemies in each level to face a boss at the end. Combat isn’t that diverse, you have your Katana, which is what you will mostly be using, and then you have your mechanical arm which can turn into a variety of different weapons once it has acquired blood from killing enemies. This ranges from a simple automatic gun, to a drill used to break rocks and enemies shields. I hate to say it, but the combat is pretty lackluster.

You will find yourself resorting to just waiting till the enemy attacks, then dodging out of the way at the last second to just mash “X” to do quite considerable damage, this even applies for bosses. Rinse and repeat. There is a shop where you can buy more moves and upgrades for combat, but you will find that the only ones you will actually use are the passive bonuses, such as improved weapons, health regen, etc. Otherwise you will just be hacking away at the X button for most of the game. The combat in general just feels clunky, and there is no real reason for using these extra moves. I also found the fact that since some of Mondo’s attacks can take a while to execute, crowd control becomes a thing you should keep in mind. It’s worth mentioning however, that the game does put you in some tight enclosed areas, and the camera makes crow control harder then it should be as well.

Outside of the main story missions, there are a few things to do. Certain side missions unlock the further you go into the game, so you can get some more cash. I never played any of them more then once since they didn’t feel fun and the reward wasn’t really good enough to warrant me to grind it out. Then you have Gigalo missions. This is where the objectifying of the women of Killer Is Dead comes into play. Gigolo missions put you in A first person perspective with the goal of staring at women’s bodies without them noticing, so you can build up your courage meter, which then allows you to give them presents. With the X-ray sunglasses you can acquire, you can see through the Woman’s clothing, doing so tells you what kind of presents the women like and also builds your courage meter faster.

The ultimate goal in these missions are to, well give them so many presents that they eventually well, want to get Intimate with you. Doing so will give you certain weapons for your mechanical arm, and other various items. Sure, these items don’t seem necessary, but they will make your play through much, much easier. So whether you like fan service, or are just outright against it, it would be beneficial to do these missions at least once, Especially if you want weapons such as the Charge Cannon and etc. Maybe I would feel these were more acceptable in the game if it was just a faster way to get currency for upgrades, but it’s the fact that you need to play these to get certain weapons that bugs me so much.

Killer Is Dead is another game that proves Suda 51 has one hell of an imagination, it’s story, universe and aesthetic is absolutely absurd, and in a world with a lot of games that take themselves too seriously, that’s a great thing in my book. Some fun can be had with the combat as well. However, it is also plagued by so many various gameplay and technical issues that it is hard to recommend it at it’s full price. I would recommend it if you could rent it or get it at a reduced price, just for the novelty of how absolutely absurd it can be, if you don’t mind some repetitive combat.

The post Review: Killer Is Dead appeared first on Press Start.

[gameinfo title=”Game Info” game_name=”Rayman Legends” developers=”Ubisoft Montpellier” publishers=”Ubisoft” platforms=”Wii U/360/PS3/Vita/PC” genres=”” release_date=”Out Now” version_played=”Wii U”]

Rayman Legends doesn’t tell much of a story but that’s ok because the game is enough fun that it doesn’t need one. It does however provide a small cut scene at the start to set the game up for those who are interested. Rayman, Globox and the Teensies have been sleeping for a century since Rayman Origins. During their extended nap, The Bubble Dreamer’s nightmares grew in strength and numbers and so has the magician. Rayman and his friends are waken up by side kick Murfy who alarms them about the bad news.

Rayman is the best looking game that I’ve played on Wii U. It outputs natively in 1080p on the Wii U and it looks absolutely gorgeous. The backdrops are so varied in design and the hand-drawn art shines on the big screen. Character design has also been given a huge amount of love. There is a massive variety of character costumes and each one is just as detailed as the last.

The sound effects in Rayman Legends have also been given a lot of love. The constant ‘oohs and ahhs’ when you find a special passage or the ‘thump’ from smacking a friend or foe never gets old.  I was really surprised with the variety of music included for a game that has SO many levels.

The overall Presentation in Rayman Legends is one of the best i’ve seen. The games hub places you in a museum where every piece of hanging artwork represents a level. Jumping into the artwork then takes you to the said level. This really made me want to keep playing as I constantly went back and checked which levels I had completed 100% and which I still needed to go back to. This was a huge step up from the map that featured in Rayman Origins.

Rayman Legends is a side-scrolling platformer which has a huge emphasis on speed. What starts out as a walk in the park soon becomes a game of speed, skill and a lot of trial and error. What Rayman Legends does really well is it’s gradual increase in difficulty and throwing new things at you. I never felt that I was comfortable or that the game was getting too easy because as soon as you get used to one mechanic, it throws a new one at you.

The amazing thing about Rayman Legends is that it’s the simplicity in gameplay that makes it such a successful game. The gameplay only really consists of running, jumping and whacking enemies so anytime you die only comes down to your own mistiming rather than feeling cheap. The sheer variety of enemies in the game is something that amazed me. In almost every level the design is changed up with the use of new enemies which all behave in different ways.

In each world there are a number of levels to complete. These vary from simple platforming levels where you have to get from the start to end, touch-screen based levels where you control a character named Murphy on the touch pad in order to get your AI controlled player through obstacles, boss fights, time based invasions levels and a special musical level at the end of each world which are some of the most creative levels that i’ve ever seen in a platformer.

Each level features a number of Lums that must be collected in order to 100% that level. These go towards unlocking new characters and unlocking a lucky ticket for each level. This lucky ticket can unlock creatures which give you extra Lums, a random sum of Lums and Back To Origins levels which are recreated levels from Rayman Origins.

The game also includes four-player, drop in and drop out cooperative play which makes things a whole lot more enjoyable. Playing through these levels with friends makes the game even more frantic than before and provided some of the biggest laughs that i’ve had with a game in a long while. The touch screen based levels are also a lot more enjoyable with another person. I played a lot of these levels with my nephew controlling the touch screen whilst I quickly navigated through the levels. The amount of puzzles that the game throws at you are so varied and over the top that it never got old.

I must admit, playing through these levels by myself was a bit of a drag. When playing by yourself, you’re relegated to the touch screen whilst an AI player navigates through the level. It seemed to take away from the overall speed and pace that the other levels required. I would definitely grab the Wii U version for this reason as well as I couldn’t imagine them being any better on the PS3/360. Thankfully you can skip these if you’re by yourself and wait until you’re in the company of a second player.

The variety in level design will keep you happily playing until you complete the game but you’ll still feel a huge need to go and collect every single Lum and Teensy from each level. The game also features a challenge mode with updated daily and weekly challenges which will provide you with a reason to come back for weeks after you’ve finished the main campaign. There is also a soccer mode called Kung-Foot which uses a great combination of action, skill and timing in order to get a soccer ball in a goal.

Rayman Legends is a must buy on any console. I’d recommend the Wii U or the Vita version as the game clearly was built around touch screen mechanics. It’s beautiful artwork and amazing level design makes it one of the best side-scrolling platformers i’ve ever played and does everything to better itself from Rayman Origins.

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[gameinfo title=”Game Info” game_name=”Disney Infinity” developers=”Avalanche Studios” publishers=”Disney” platforms=”Wii U/PS3/360/3DS” genres=”” release_date=”Out Now” version_played=”Wii U”]

The stories of Disney Infinity are dependent on their respected play sets. The great thing for Disney fans is that each play set has a uniquely written story that extends on the universe of that given play set. For instance in The Incredibles, players must defeat Syndrome as he tries to take over Metroville once again. In Monsters University, players must beat FearTech in order to be the superior college group.

This is one of the best things about Disney Infinity. The game would’ve been at a huge disadvantage if Avalanache retold the original stories for each respective movie. The story lines are extremely believable and a range of characters are found in each universe with near perfect voice acting.

The presentation in Disney Infinity is incredible. The game is absolutely beautiful and colourful and really brings these Disney worlds to life. Each play set has a slightly varied art style and it completely shows. Whilst the Pirates Of The Caribbean play set is completely dark, the Monsters University play set is full of life and colour.

The character details have received a lot of love and care which really helps this be an amazing game for Disney fans. The sound effects are extremely varied and fit the worlds perfectly.

There are a few downfalls however. The frame rate can dip quite a bit when playing in split screen and the menus seem to be clunkier than they need to be. I played on the Wii U version so thankfully most of the menus were touch capable on the touch pad however the menus are a lot clunkier on the PS3/360 and this is easily the biggest negative with the game. After a few hours with the game you will find yourself getting through these menus quicker however I couldn’t help but feel that it should’ve been much simpler for its target demographic.

Disney Infinity is the type of game that you have to play to understand just how special it is. Upon booting up the game you have two options. Play sets can be described as the ‘storyline’, and are specific to a certain Disney theme and cannot cross over (for example, Woody from Toy Story cannot enter the world of Monsters University, or vice versa).

This is one of the things that really shocked me with this game. A lot of people don’t seem to know this yet however EVERY play set is extremely different in how it plays. All of the play sets have been given a lot of love and care in order to make them play completely different and offer a new experience to the player. For instance the Cars play set is a complete racing game whilst the Lone Ranger is an old school Western shooter and Monsters University involves scaring other monsters. The amount of possibilities is endless due to the infinite number of Disney franchises that Avalanche Software gets to explore.

I found this to be a huge positive as it provides a lot of variety to the game. I don’t think I would’ve been as eager to get to the end of each play set if each character could be used within that play set. This way it always felt that i was playing a true Disney experience that could only be had with this game and that felt incredibly good to me.

Completing missions gives you coins and levels up your character. Both of these things result in unlocking items for both play set use and within the Toy Box. The interesting thing to note is that your level and coins stays with your character so you can take these to your friend’s house whilst retaining your data.

The second part of Disney Infinity is the Toy Box. The Toy Box allows you to create your own Disney World from scratch, or starting out with one of the pre built worlds. This is where your imagination can explore. There are no boundaries or restrictions in the toy box – every single character can enter and interactive with each other.

There are a number of Pre Built Toy Box experiences which really showcase just how much you can create in this mode. To give you some scope these include things such as a football stadium complete with scoreboard, a Mario replicated platformed, a fully customisable cars race track and a complete recreation of Disney Land.

This is just the beginning,  There are also a bunch of tools which work to change the perspective to be top down and mess with gravity. You get to choose whether what you build use the law of gravity or not.You can upload your creations to Disney who will then curate the best levels and make them available on the Wii U, PS3 & 360. This is truly something that has never been done before. You can also partake in Online co op with up to 4 players in the Toy Box.

The 3DS version is a completely different game all together. It features a Mario Party type gameplay which sees you going around a board competing in mini games. The figurines and power discs still apply for the gameplay isn’t nearly as appealing as it’s console counterpart. It’s disappointing to see that you can’t buy the game as a standalone version as well.

The last thing to talk about are the Power Discs. These are  are discs that can be placed on the Infinity Base along with their characters to add new elements to the game. There are two types – Round and Hexagonal. The circular discs affect in game attributes such as a 20% health boost or 15% more damage to other characters.

The hexagonal discs can only be used in the Toy Box. You can unlock a series of Disney favorites such as the Mickey Mouse car or Cinderella’s Coach. There are also hexagonal power discs, which change the whole world of the Toy Box. For instance the Finding Nemo disc will turn the whole toy box into an under water world. This is extremely cool and something that you have to experience to understand. Watching the world you just created change on the fly is truly special.

Power Discs are also stackable. For instance, you can stack the round discs in order to create special in game combos that can only be experienced be doing so. Similarly hexagonal power discs can be stacked in order to unlock multiple items in the Toy Box at once.  The power discs will be sold in blind packs of 2 for $5.95 and will be released in a series of waves. Wave 1 will be available at launch which features 20 discs. Be prepared to open your wallet as you WILL get addicted and collect them all.

Disney Infinity is a must play for anyone young or old. The gameplay is absolutely infectious and it has one of the most spine tingly introductions that i’ve ever experienced in a game. Don’t be put off by the price of the figurines as they’re extremely good quality and each play set lasts anywhere between 6-10 hours. You will sink hours into this game without even noticing.

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[gameinfo title=”Game Info” game_name=”Brothers: A Tale Of Two Sons” developers=”Starbreeze Studios” publishers=”505 Games” platforms=”360″ genres=”” release_date=”Out Now” version_played=”360″]

The most remarkable part of Brothers is how it manages to tell an emotionally driven story without using a single word of the English language. Much like 2012’s Sony Exclusive Journey, the game doesn’t use dialogue to move the plot forward, relying on the character’s interactions with each other and the world and leaves the player to interpret it how they may. It worked in Journey, and it works just as successfully in Brothers.

Brothers tells the story of two brothers who set upon a remarkable quest to save their dying father, by finding the ‘Water of Life’. The story doesn’t flinch away from some dark themes and pulls some heavy punches. Suffice to say, if you have a brother in real life you will be bawling at some points during the 3 hour experience. Brothers’ story is strong enough to warrant it’s price point, and it’s a huge boon to this generation’s last steps into the next. It’s very rare for a game to emotionally connect so strongly with such simplicity. Simply put, Brothers is this year’s Journey, and Xbox’s Journey.

As most likely 100% of other gaming sites have mentioned, Brothers is Fable, meets Journey (optionally throw Ico and Limbo in there as well). The buzz term isn’t profoundly wrong, as technically Brothers is, well, Fable and Journey mixed together. The art style is very reminiscent of Fable, and the style of storytelling, with a reliance of actions over words, is also similar to Journey. The game looks gorgeous, especially for a small XBLA game, and the art style is quite cute, for lack of a better word. I found myself laughing at some of the more nuanced moments, just simply because of how cute the characters or the world looked. Many others would find themselves giggling at the sight of one of the brothers carrying a fluffy sheep to a treadmill (it makes sense in context).

Of course the inherent charming visuals are balanced with some dark storytelling themes. Life and death, survival, horror, suicide are all big themes in Brother’s 3 hour journey, and some scenarios may shock you or cause you to shed a tear, or even contemplate life itself. Starbreeze, like in their previous game The Darkness, pull some serious punches and aims to engage you with a mature story.

Starbreeze Studios, known for their quiet successes in the gameplay field (see the aforementioned Darkness and Syndicate), sadly falter in the gameplay perspective, which in the previous examples have showcased their exemplary talent for pure fun and in Syndicate’s case, pure style.

Since Brothers opts for a unique control scheme, in which each brother is controlled by a thumbstick (the elder brother being dedicated to the left stick and trigger, and the younger brother to the right), it’s functional for the most part but it doesn’t allow for a more in depth gameplay experience.

Puzzles are quite simplistic since you’ll spend most of the game wrestling with the control scheme, and when brothers end up on opposite sides of the screen your mind will boggle as you attempt to untangle the two. For a 3-4 hour game it just doesn’t stick around long enough for you to truly get used to it, and by the time you have, it’s finished.

Some puzzles are genuinely interesting and require some actual thought, for the most part they’re quite straightforward. What’s more remarkable is the two brothers’ interactions with the world. Dozens of events happen in this world, and like the naive younger brother, the gamer would be naturally drawn to attempt to interact with other characters, animals and objects in the world. Simply sitting on a bench to admire the view is in itself breathtaking.

While the frustrating controls and straightforward puzzles don’t lend well to the experience, Brothers is simply put, a must play. The fantastic story, interactions with the world that’s teeming with life and tragic and dark themes all make this game unforgettable. Brothers hit’s hard, and like Journey, you’ll be sitting in front of the TV in awe long after the game ends.

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[gameinfo title=”Game Info” game_name=”Payday 2″ developers=”Overkill Software” publishers=”505 Games” platforms=”PS3/360/PC” genres=”” release_date=”Out Now” version_played=”360″]

Payday 2 is the sequel to Payday: The Heist brought to you by Overkill Software. It’s a first person shooter set around 4 different bank robbers, and how each robbery goes down is up to you. Personally, I find the best way to explain Payday 2 is by comparing it to Left 4 Dead but with banks. Four bank robbers coming together to rob banks, art museums, jewellery stores and mansions, all with the hopes of getting in and out without alerting the police.

Payday 2 has a nice look about it, everything is smooth and vibrant. Each map has a distinct feel to it, but will never play the same each go through. Every play through will be different thanks to randomly generated guard patrols and camera positions. Stalking through an art gallery is completely different to a smash and grab style jewel heist. There are small glitches like player model clipping, but that’s an easily fixed problem. There’s even a rumoured years worth of DLC and free content to come with the first called “Armored Transport” being free to those who preordered it.

But the best thing about the presentation of the game is their choice of music. Depending on how you’re going through your heist, the music plays accordingly. The longer you stay in the clear the music will be subtle and almost non-existent, but as soon as the action steps up the music quickens. Bass drops blast with every incoming assault and you’re returning fire with this hard hitting techno music that fuels your desire for money.

Picking up the controller and playing through my first mission is where the bug caught me. The controls are very familiar for anyone who’s played COD or any other FPS really. But the shoulder buttons instead are used to shout, interact with your environment and deploy your gadget. Your gadget is your class specific item, enforcer has ammo bags, mastermind has med packs, etc.

When you start playing you’re level one and have no perks, but as you level up and gain more cash you can decide what class you want to be and upgrade their perks. Deciding what class you’re going to pick is a big player in how you should best tackle every heist. But if you happen to not like your current skill tree, you can always respec and you’ll get all your points and money back! So, for example; a technician can fix drills faster or even blow safes where your mastermind is the guy out front controlling the crowd Which leads into my next point: Teamwork.

You can run in and start gunning everyone in your path down if you want the police to show up, but the best way to play through the game is with teamwork and I love that. Every heist must be planned beforehand with everyone knowing their role for the job. The game doesn’t force you to play together, but it encourages it.

But more then likely, your teamwork will somehow fail and the police will show up. With the familiar controls, fighting off police is that little bit more fun. The game goes from a strategic team based game to an all out in your face FPS. Ducking behind cover will trying to keep your drill going can get quite overwhelming unless you’re prepared and what FPS is complete without a vast array of guns and attachments? Payday 2 has enough guns to cater to every crim’s needs, shotguns, assault rifles, SMGs, all with their own attachments. And to keep your identity secret, why not make your own mask? There are supposedly over 15,000 different mask combinations so go wild!

Once you’ve made it back to getaway vehicle, you’ll see how much money you’ve been paid. Every mission or heist has a star rating, with the possible extra 1 to 3 yellow stars. These missions payout a lot more and will earn you more experience, but you’ll be up against more police, swat teams and more.

Following the money, you’ll gain experience. You get XP points for teamwork, everyone finishing the mission alive, loot you grab, and you can level up pretty quickly if you play the game properly. Finally after the XP screen, you’ll get your ‘payday’. You see three cards and you have to pick one, this is how you unlock masks, gun attachments, mask colours and patterns. This was really the only feature I didn’t like, I thought the ‘payday’ would be better used for rare items or money/XP bonuses.

Honestly, I’ve rarely put this game down since I bought it. I’ve got my friends and family in on it, and they all love it as well. It’s exciting and fun to play! Every job feels like a blockbuster movie made by my team as we steal everything in sight. Besides the clipping and somewhat frustrating unlock system, I love this game. I even bought the soundtrack too I like it that much.

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[gameinfo title=”Game Info” game_name=”Charlie Murder” developers=”Ska Studios” publishers=”Microsoft Studios” platforms=”360″ genres=”” release_date=”Out Now” version_played=”360″]

Rising up from Hell, take control of one of five different characters, and seek revenge against those in Gore Quaffer! That is the story of Charlie Murder, the latest game from developers Ska Studios, who also brought you The Dishwasher. Roam the landscape on your quest for revenge, battle hordes of the undead and unlock the secret to your “Anar-Chi”!

Ska Studios followed the tradition started by The Dishwasher and brought back the cartoon style graphics with a much more overall gritty feel to it. Whether you’re in Hell or running through a derelict cemetery, the cartoonish visuals don’t take away from the darkness of what you’re seeing. Streets are filled with cars, bars are dark and dirty, the landscape is ever changing and each area of the map has a different theme as you progress. Not to mention all the heavy metal playing in the background, the perfect music for fighting of the unholy. Although I did find that some levels lighting were a bit too dim, but it wasn’t that big of a problem.

You get five characters to pick from at the start, each with their own subclass (mage, shaman, tank) and this plays the role of determining how best to play, but more on that later.

This reminded me of the first time I played Streets of Rage 2, X is your light attack, Y is heavy and combinations of the two result in some fearsome combos and even juggling of your enemies. But using the right trigger brings up your spell menu and this is where the RPG elements shine through.

All of your spells are powered by your “Anar-Chi”, your inner metal power, this is drained by using your spells and replenished with food and other items found throughout the maps. Each character has a set of specific spells which are unlocked by getting tattooed. Your first few are free, but soon you’ll find you’ll need a lot of money to get tattoos and more spells down the track.

Each member of the band has a set of spells used by their instruments, Charlie screams his enemies down, Tommy strums his bass, etc. And in true RPG style, some spells will buff your parties speed, defence or attack up.

While you travel the world on your quest for revenge, you will level up from combat, gaining followers and becoming more famous, finding mythical relics and even changing your clothing. Hats, jumpers, masks, gloves, they all buffer the stats of your character and can even knock cooldowns, add various types of damage to your attacks or raise your elemental defences.

Now not all of your loot will be useful for you, but luckily you can sell everything you don’t want to help you save up for your next tattoo! Now well playing alone is great, the real fun comes when you take your character online. You play with up to four people, taking on the unholy, gathering rare loot and gaining massive amounts of experience. This is how the game was meant to be played, and it’s huge amounts of fun. And when you’re done with that, why not enter the PVP arena and see who’s the best?

Charlie Murder is a great new take on a classic style of game, It’s dark and at times even humours, but most of all it’s fun to play. Ska Studios have made looting, grinding and exploring rewarding. The game is easily worth the download for the amount of time you’ll be able to rack up on the way to melt glory.

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Once again the Australian games retail sector has shown it’s contempt for such trivial things as “street dates” and “release schedules”. Set to be released on the 22nd, Disney Infinity has officially broken it’s release date today with its sale to the public being confirmed by EB Games Australia via its official twitter handle

This isn’t the first game in Australia to launch ahead of its previously scheduled release date and with a big line up of AAA games on the horizon its now become “wait and see” for which one is the next to fall. Check out our preview of the game and let us know if you are excited to finally find out who would win in a fair fight, Woody or Buzz.

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[gameinfo title=”Game Info” game_name=”The Smurfs 2″ developers=”Wayforward” publishers=”Ubisoft” platforms=”Wii / Wii U / 360 / PS3″ genres=”” release_date=”Out Now” version_played=”Wii U”]

The Smurfs 2 has the usual story that you’d expect from a Smurfs storyline. The evil bad guy Gargamel has snatched the blonde Smurfette from her home in the Smurf village. The rest of the Smurfs crew take up the challenge in finding her and returning her to the village yet again.

The presentation in The Smurfs 2 is one of it’s redeeming assets. It features a hand drawn art style which took me back to my childhood as it represents the original art style of the show rather than the movies. Story is told through the use of cartoon still-frame images with an overlay of narrative. Whilst these do well to tell the story, i would’ve much preferred actual cut scenes. I also think that this would’ve been more appealing for children who can’t really read all that well.

The animation in the game is pretty great and the scenery is extremely vibrants and sharp. There is a bit of glitchyness when it comes to the character animations but they’re hardly noticeable due to the beauty of the rest of the game. The sound in the game is a great representation of the original shows and the movie.

Smurfs 2 is a traditional side-scrolling 2D platformed. The goal is to make it to the end of the level by bouncing on enemies and avoiding pits. There are also a host of coins and other items to collect upon your journey. Unfortunately The Smurfs world is let down by a largely uninspired level design. Unfortunately all of the levels seem to blend into one and never really provide any new ideas along the way. The game features six different locations to explore. This excited me at first but I soon realised that the game is still extremely repetitive despite the vast variety of locations.

There are 5 levels in each world and you will face a boss battle in the form of a Smurf bad guy at the end of each world. The game isn’t long by any stretch of the imagination but Way Forward are to be praised for including a number of reasons to continue playing beyond completing the main story. You will be challenging with beating 3 achievements in each level. These vary from collecting a number of things or completing within a certain time limit.

The incentive in doing this is to unlock all the new characters from The Smurfs universe. There is good reason to do so as each character has an unique ability that completely changes up how you’ll play through the level. This is where you will get your variety from and it’s recommended that you try each level out with a number of characters to see how they differ.

I played the Wii U version which to my surprise actually added in a unique feature to the Wii U. A player can use the gamepad in order to control Clockwork Smurf. As Clockwork Smurf you fly around the world helping player 1 attack enemies whilst dropping them berries and coins. Whilst it doesn’t add much to the gameplay, it’s good to see the developer take use of the gamepad.

Whilst this game clearly isn’t intended for adults, I invited my nephews around to try out the game and they absolutely loved it. The difficulty seemed to be just right for them and they really enjoyed playing through the game with a huge variety of characters that they’ve come to know and love from the movies. 30 levels, 6 boss fights and a bunch of achievements make this game something that they’ll be playing for weeks.

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Dynasty Warriors 8 spins a similar story from the previous iterations (the emphasis on ‘similarity’ is something that will pop up very, very often in this review) and focuses on a faction based storyline, as you follow the Kingdoms of Wei, Wu, Shu and Jin in highly stylized recreations of stories from the Romance of the Three Kingdoms. New ‘hypothetical’ scenarios are thrown into the main story for some interesting new settings and stories, more of a ‘What If?’ sort of mode that allows for the story to take some huge deviations WITHOUT breaking historical accuracy (to a degree). Fans of Chinese history and the study of the Han Dynasty will love the focus on Chinese culture but otherwise it’s not entirely engaging.

While Dynasty Warriors has never been the pantheon of high quality graphics and realism, the half-hearted graphics, bad English voice acting and repetitive animations are sort of a staple of Dynasty Warriors, and most of the charm comes from that necessitated quality. Because of this, is it fair to knock down a game like Dynasty Warriors because it RELIES on these points?

I mean, it’s up to 8. Obviously people are still buying them, and when you make it to 8 without changing the formula drastically, its image is pretty much set in stone. Much like Suda 51 games or Deadly Premonition, the (almost deliberate) bad presentation is the charm. Unfortunately, unlike those aforementioned games, what Dynasty Warriors lack is originality, as its umpteenth iteration is utterly devoid of innovation or creativity.

Again, if you’ve played ANY of the past Dynasty Warriors, the formula remains the same, albeit with some minor improvements. The crown of crowd combat remains resolutely on the head of Dynasty Warriors, more or less due to lack of competition, which is a shame since this (most likely) final outing on this generation is more or less yet another shoehorned in sequel. The ability to mow down hundreds and thousands of mooks is still the best part, and the HUGE cast of characters and weapons is a huge boon to the game. The ability to choose from dozens of weapons and dozens of characters allows for some creative choices, and the surprising different amount of combos with different weapons means you’ll be dipping in many choices early on. Unfortunately the game still remains repetitive, as you may find yourself settling into a favourite character and weapon set when you get comfortable.

For some reason, like watching fish swim around or petting a purring cat, there is something almost….therapeutically rewarding and comforting about the repetitive combat in Dynasty Warriors. Its lack of depth or difficulty allows for entertainment in its basic form (of course the higher difficulties result in tougher resistance, though this is more frustrating than ACTUALLY challenging). Mowing down legions of enemy guards without much effort or resistance is delightful and the emphasis on crowd combat is always fun to see on screen, as literal hundreds of people fill the screen. Like the forgotten Vikings: Battle of Asgard or the criminally underrated Kingdom Under Fire series on the original Xbox, I always love to see this sort of impressive crowd dynamic, and if anything it just makes me lament for a proper sequel for Kingdom Under Fire for this generation, or the next.

Dynasty Warriors 8 boils down to 3 main modes; Story, Free and Ambition. While Story and Free mode are exactly what they sound like on the label, Ambition allows for a bit more depth to the core game and is surprisingly fun. Ambition takes you on a mission to build a ‘Tongquetai’ in your base, in order for the Emperor to come, as you slowly gather resources and fame to build your base bigger and bigger, as you venture out from your base to fight battles to gain allies, materials and fame to keep upgrading your base. The ability to fight battles back to back which quickly rise in difficulty with the rewards of bigger and bigger prize pools is hugely satisfying, as you overcome huge odds in order to win battle after battle.

The AI remains as dumb as a brick. While usually this wouldn’t be a problem seeing as this is Dynasty Warriors, 8 decided to add some objectives that DON’T revolve around simply killing an officer or….killing more officers. Having to escort an ally to a designated location is infuriating especially if the ally is running into a brick wall half the time. Having to backtrack to move a catapult or to rescue burning peasants is just tedious at best and brutally boring at worst.

Dynasty Warriors, now up to ‘8’ (excluding spin offs and side sequels) isn’t going to win over anyone that hasn’t been interested in the series before, but it’s a relatively solid sequel. While the relatively high price tag in Australia (currently $80-85 in most popular retail stores) isn’t justified, the core gameplay is solid and the small but significant tweaks to the formula bode well and hopefully this is a sign that the next iteration could signify actual change for the next generation.

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