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Bond Legends – Game Review

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‘Do you expect me to be a great game Mr Goldfinger…?’

‘No Mr Bond, I expect you to be a crap Movie tie in and destroy your own fanbase…hahaha!’

If everyone was to be completely honest James Bond’s history in video games is a bit of a mixed bunch, on one hand you have got gaming classics like GoldenEye, a decent enough gaming experience with Everything or Nothing, average entries like Agent Under Fire, then you have crap titles like GoldenEye: Rogue Agent. Where would I put 007 Legends? Hmmm – the bottom. Sorry to say it fans but it’s true.

It’s a game I really looked forward to and wanted to enjoy. Hand on my heart I am an avid bond fan and I’ve been enjoying every single one of the films since I was a child. So seeing the trailers for this game, having been told it was the best bits of all the Bond movies I was eager with anticipation on how they were going to do it. Receiving the game early for review ahead of the forthcoming Skyfall film made all of those child-like instincts come out. Yes, Christmas was going to arrive early for me. There it was, sealed in front of me and even though it was 12pm at night I just had to play it. I soon wished I hadn’t. It soon dawned on me that it was one mess of a title that felt untested, incomplete, and well, boring. What happens to children’s dreams eh? Where’s Father Christmas or even Ms Christmas when you need them?

The concept is pretty sound, and one that even I could get my head around. At the beginning of 007 Legends there is a scene showcased from the trailer for the film Skyfall. Daniel Craig as 007 is mistakenly shot by a sniper and falls off a speeding train. Hitting the river below, (in this game at least) causes Bond’s life to flash before his eyes. We can make a fair assumption that he is perhaps thinking or seeing key moments from his life. Next thing you know you are walking into a room where a deceased young girl is sprawled out over a bed covered in gold. A mobile phone rings, the camera turns, you see Daniel Craig answer it and then it cuts to the intro sequence. You get the idea, this is going to be the best missions of Bond but what would have happened if it was Daniel Craig’s iteration. Fair enough I thought – great. The intro sequence was typical Bond style with elements of Goldfinger’s soundtrack, sexy saxaphones, and building orchestral crescendos. Alas, introductions alone do not make a game and once the game actually started I soon realised I was in a poor iteration of Modern Warfare.

Each section plays out in the game’s five missions each based on a different Bond classic Goldfinger, On Her Majesty’s Secret Service, Die Another Day, License to Kill, and Moonraker. Skyfall we are assured will be downloadable after the movie release. 007 is a straight faced FPS (First Person Shooter) and like Modern Warfare there are sections where you will be driving and shooting either trying to catch up with someone or trying to escape. There are times where the shooter element in Legends works – some fire fights are genuinely intense and when you first start playing you don’t realise the lack of attention to game structure or even gameplay. But when this game doesn’t work, it really doesn’t; that’s when you realise that despite the change in levels, each game within the game is essentially the same.

To be fair the graphics are of high quality and the rendering of beloved Bond enemies such as Goldfinger, Odd Job and Pussy Galore is gorgeous to see. It’s just a shame that the attention to detail couldn’t be extended to the voice acting. Fine – the actors might not have wanted to put their voices to their onscreen counterparts but they should have at least got people that sounded like them. At one point Pussy Galore asks Bond his name and he just says casual as you like ‘James Bond’; no build up, no nothing, he might as well have been Soap Mactavish. It gets to a point where even the major set-piece battles end up remarkably dull. It really annoys me that the developers failed to capitalise more on the films they sought to use, after all, the film franchise has so many memorable moments and villains, they should have had the pick of the bunch. It’s such a shame that they did not lavish greater attention on them instead of just coating them over.

At some points Bond needs to do little more than follow onscreen indicators that make even taking on Odd Job a walk in the park and every Bond villain receives the same terrible fate. I’ve heard some people talk about stealth sections being a major selling point, but even this was not thought through properly. You see, enemies become alerted when they see dead bodies however as Bond you cannot carry or hide bodies. This means that although you can incapacitate an enemy and get passed them the alarm will nearly always be raised and you end up having a shoot-out anyway. What is the point? On other stages the difficulty level becomes impeccably ramped up causing you to die and restart the entire stage again because the game has failed to save. One would think that problems like these would have been raised and ironed out at the play-testing stage, surely?

My Verdict

Im not going to go on about this game any further because I think you get the picture. Everything about my experience of this game points towards a rushed development, one that was focused on releasing the game as close as possible to Skyfall’s cinematic release which is a shame because they could have developed a higher quality game based on Skyfall instead and released it later and no one would have blinked a golden eye. As it is, this game is below par. Its such a shame because the world of James Bond is almost custom-built for an awesome gaming experience, but Activision deserves a slap on the wrist and should be sent to their room early for putting out this poor excuse for gaming in 007 Legends.

4.5/10

Dishonoured – Game Review

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I begin this review with an apology – it is to my own regret that it took me so long to sufficiently play this game before I was capable of writing this review. I have always prided myself on never writing a review until I have at least completed the game a satisfactory number of times. I feel that only then can I put a reasonable perspective and objective view to a title. The only exception to this is when a game is crap and a second or third play through is unwarranted. However, with Dishonoured I felt like it was too much of a good thing, like going into a sweet shop as a child, being told that I could have everything I wanted and then being perplexed by nothing other than abundance of choice.

Choice in itself is one of the main appealing factors of Dishonoured; a game which isn’t afraid to demand that you think for yourself, that you make choices and reap either the rewards or consequences. In a world of FPS (First Person Shooters), Open world sandbox games, linear game plays, and storylines that essentially make choices for you it is refreshingly different. But this is not entirely not to be expected, its creative team includes alumni from PC favourites System Shock, Deus Ex, Half-Life 2 and Arx Fatalis; games that prided themselves on open world exploration.

For those unaware of the concept behind Dishonored, it’s a first-person stealth and/or action title. But to merit the game solely on this premise takes away from Dishonoured’s real pleasure which is providing the player with a dynamic open world experience. Taking place in the noir-esque plague ridden city of Dunwall, you take on the role of Corvo Attano, a former bodyguard of the Empress – a woman who is desperately trying to save a ruined city from further destruction. Finding yourself wrongly framed for her murder, Corvo is given to opportunity to take revenge on the corrupt officials who were behind her death.

The game kicks off with a short level swiftly introducing you to the basic controls as Corvo is accused of the Empress’ murder and linked with the disappearance of her daughter Emily. Jailed, tortured and with an execution on the horizon, it’s at this point that an ally offers you the chance to make an escape. From here on in Dishonoured is all about thinking on your feet, choice, variety and surviving. To give you an example of what this means in actual play there are no maps, no objective markers and to pick up food or items you have to actually look at it with your reticule and press the ‘take’ button. For some this might be a tad bit overwhelming; after all for many of us we are used to simply ‘stepping on’ food to pick it up and replenish our health – not so here; in a fight scenario you will have to consistently turn to face your enemy even if there is more than one of them. What’s more you will be required to both block and defend before attacking if you want to survive.

Cast as part-assassin, part supernatural superhero, Dishonored’s levels sets up an undesirable target of wealth of power before allowing you to go about executing them in whatever way you are able or your health and / or supernatural abilities will allow. Even though you are blessed with special abilities the enemies are powerful and numerous enough to warrant the need for stealth for most situations. The AI (artificial intelligence) used in the game is clever; Dunwall’s guards are far from stupid and can be ruthless – they will find bodies, call for reinforcements, send in dogs to sniff you out and once they have you in their sights they have no hesitation in taking you on. This means that you will have to resort to tactics such as creeping across the rooftops, squeezing underneath dilapidated constructions or rewiring security mechanisms.

Corvo’s abilities are split between his left and right hand, allowing you to either dual-wield a sword and crossbow or pistol, or to use a supernatural ability. This is all accessed via a radial menu, and your skills are upgraded by finding runes found in secret places dotted around each level.

Weaponry is a crucial part of Dishonored and is once again, all about choice. There’s a range of weapons that suit your playing style. Sleep darts are great if you want a non-lethal approach as is ‘Blink’ a nifty teleporting ability. But hey, if you’re not too fussed use your gun, sword or grenades; just be ready to take on the enemies as they come to investigate the ensuing noise. It has to be said that the voice acting in this game is truly superb and helps bring the game to life.

When it comes to supernatural abilities, Corvo has a basic arsenal for which more can be accessed in exchange for artefacts known as Runes which are scattered throughout the city. Each have their uses for example ‘Dark Vision’ shows enemies and their fields of vision through walls. ‘Devouring Swarm’ summons a pack of rats to devour enemies whereas ‘Possession’ allows you to take control of animals and people for a short duration; useful for getting into hidden areas or sneaking into rooms unseen.

At the end of each mission an overview will reveal your ‘Chaos Level’ which ranks you on the amount of times you were spotted, amount of times alarms raised and amount of dead bodies found. A ‘High’ level will result not only in fewer points but in raised defences by that city, more advanced level security systems implemented, a higher number of rats and plagues and an overall darker ending for the city. I’m not going to lie, the first time I played Dishonored I was like ‘whatever’ as I brutally took on guards left and right, however it was just a matter of time before that attitude faded as I realised my actions always had consequences especially towards the end of the game.

There are some areas Dishonoured falls short. The difficulty seems to jump from low to high and back again very quickly. Saving also seems to be sporadic when left to its own devices so I wholeheartedly recommend players to save whenever they can. Graphically Dishonoured does not disappoint but is far from what I was expecting. When you hear some reviewers saying that ‘it looks like a painting…only it moves’ and ‘Graphics that will make your eyes cry…’ one cannot help but build up expectations which lead to let down. I came away thinking these are reviews written by individuals that have been locked under the stairs for far too long. I’m sorry but no, the graphics are nothing special. Granted, they may look nice and moody and there is little in terms of gaudy shading that you tend to see in open world titles but no, my eyes did not cry and no, it did not look like any piece of artwork I have ever seen. I would say that graphically the game is both great and functional but not of a higher finesse than say Uncharted 3. Finally my last gripe is that there is no online multiplayer options which would have taken this game to the next level, it would have been incredible to play with or against friends in teams or even as part of the story – it is a huge shame that this is missing from the game.

The Verdict
Dishonored has one of those rare things in a game and that is choice, repercussions and consequences. Developer Arkane Studios had a tough order but they delivered with a game that is great fun and that rightfully deserves all the awards it has merited. Whilst the game is not without issues, it is a title I definitely think of as one of the best of the year – an enjoyable free roam experience that players can visit and revisit over and over again.

9.3 /10

Max Payne 3 Game Review

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What would you do if you came home one day to find your beloved family murdered by a bunch of psychos? Become a manic depressant? Turn to drink? Drugs? Not rest until you had hunted the scumbags down and wiped them off the face of the planet? Well, Max Payne did all of the above. Now, after a lengthy nine-year hiatus and with the franchise firmly in the hands of Rockstar Games – proprietor of titles such as Red Dead Redemption, the Grand Theft Auto series and LA Noire, – Max Payne is back, gulping painkillers down like no tomorrow and killing his foes softly and…erm, not to mention slowly. But has the wait been worth it?

Rockstar Games have built a solid reputation in creating games of high calibre. Just look at their back catalogue. They don’t release a game without it being tested to extinction, they flourish in building deep storyline arcs and cinematic traits in all their titles, and in nearly all their games, they invest highly in intricate details. Plus, they’re unafraid of raw violence. Max Payne 3 might not rank as their best title to date – let’s just get that out of the way – but let’s also be clear, it doesn’t fall too wide of the mark.

The quality in Max Payne 3 shows from the moment you load up the disc. Faithful to the original game, it starts at the end and rewinds to the beginning. Strong cinematics give you a taste of what his world has become introducing you to some of the main characters with real vigour and energy. Max is now a reluctant bodyguard charged with looking after a millionaire’s family who like to live fast, and die young.

The in game graphics are superb

Looking at the screen as the sequences unfold, you can’t help but take pleasure in the quality of the animation and Rockstar’s trademark dialogue. If you enjoy movies, you’ll find it draws parallels with movies of its genre – the chromatic aberrations and the dialogue between characters where key words appear on screen – there are flavours here of ‘Man on Fire’, ‘Miami Vice’,  ‘Wanted’. ‘Domino’ and ‘Lethal Weapon’. Oh, and not forgetting ‘The Matrix’.

A shootout in a nightclub demonstrates all that’s good about bullet-time – moving from cover to cover in slow motion, flying through the air delivering headshot after headshot to save a woman from being kidnapped,  shooting a vehicle’s tyres so it has to stop or taking out foes while you dangle helplessly from a helicopter. It’s scenes like this that make you semi-orgasmic and pleased you bought this title.

Max Payne is simply a badass with badass guns and badass quips, even when he takes painkillers to restore his health. Having lost everyone he cared about in his life, he really couldn’t care less and is ‘damaged goods’ with inner demons – a reluctant hero who would be happier doing other things.

As the storyline develops, it is hard not to be engaged with Max and the struggle he gets drawn into. And wow! What a struggle he has on his hands…or rather, you have. Max Payne 3 will prove to be one tough game for some players and some levels especially can be hugely frustrating. Enemies are just so numerous and hard to kill, leg shots won’t do it, chest shots won’t always do it and if they have head gear expect to expend a whole clip. Even when enemies go down, they will fire a last few rounds to take you down with them. Now, some will argue that my criticism is unfair, after all, a game where enemies fall to the ground like dominoes would quickly become boring and let’s be honest, Max Payne himself only needs a handful of painkillers to restore his entire health. However, when some guy you have shot point-blank in the chest gets up a few seconds later and comes running at you, and delivers a head shot that means you have to restart, excuse the pun, but it is a tough pill to swallow.

It’s flaws like this that start to creep in, and the longer you play, the more apparent they become. Painkillers are few and far between and the checkpoints are unevenly and unforgivingly spread which means if you die, you will often have to redo entire sections again, and with the game as challenging as it is you can expect to die more than once.

Because of this, frustration quickly sets in. I think the programmers realised this because if you die in a section too many times the game will restart you with extra painkillers. It’s a weird compensation, especially thinking you may have to die a good number of times to get it. The steep difficulty curve also means that to survive you are forced to engage bullet-time more often and then entire stages just become a repetitive matter of slowing things down and holding out long enough behind cover.

It’s also a shame too, that unlike the original game, Rockstar did not build in some kind of bullet-time reward system so that you could increase the length of time you could enter slo-mo. I can’t help thinking it was a bit of a missed opportunity. However, if you do manage to stick with it ,you are rewarded with a dark and deep storyline full of betrayal and deceit, not to mention some of incredible set pieces.

In multiplayer, Max Payne 3 delivers excellently too. At first you’re limited to straight death-match and team death-match modes and it all feels slow and a little second-rate, but prolonged play provides benefits.

Bullet-time makes all the difference, with its use balanced by the same post-slow-mo movement issues as in the single-player game, and by the fact that it also affects line-of-sight targets, not just your character. Gain enough kills in the boot-camp scenarios, and you can also join in a Gang Wars mode. This sees two teams running through objectives in a themed mini-campaign. It’s another example of a game that can start off on the wrong foot, but that works hard to turn your initial impression around.

My Verdict
Max Payne 3 might not be Rockstar’s best work to date, but it probably is the best example of its genre. What Rockstar brings to Max Payne 3 is style, personality, cinematics, gritty rawness and an exciting and memorable experience. Max Payne 3 might not be perfect and might be frustrating as hell. But one thing’s for sure, it packs a mean punch and, despite its flaws, is a quality title

9/10

SSX Game Review

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If gamers are completely honest with themselves Extreme Sports games have been severely lacking in this generation of consoles. Yes, the XBOX has had the…erm, Motion Sports titles but come on, really now, all you have had to do is essentially strike a pose and look surprisingly un-cool. If we are completely honest, gone is the insane rush of pulling off trick after trick; gone is the feeling of utter wow whilst your mates go ‘did you really just do that?’ SSX Tricky on the PS2 was the last game to do that me, and not even being able to download it from the PSN store was going to make me feel that way again – until now.

SSX has exploded back on the scene in such a way that many of its competitors will just probably want to turn away from the starting line and hang their heads in shame. Such is the wealth of options, such is the banging-ness of the tracks, such is the literally obscene nature of the tricks, such is the colour and richness of the graphical nature, such is the sheer speed of the game and finally such is the seamless incorporation of all what games developers EA have learnt so far with their other titles such as Need for Speed and its Auto log that many other games just wouldn’t stand a chance.

EA Canada decided to show the world what happens when you don’t just put the game out every year, but instead put your heart and soul into it and take time crafting it, polishing it and the result is an  ultimate experience.

I’ll forget the storyline (is there ever a storyline?) and break this game down to you in the simplest of terms. You will go down mountains – admittedly fantastically rendered mountains. You will have an articulated lorry of tricks at your disposal and these tricks accumulate points which can be traded for speed. Like Need for Speed there are a range of different events – here classified as either “Race It,” in which you have to speed down the slopes against competitors, “Trick It,” in which you need to pull off tricks and outscore the competition, or “Survive It,” which is the final region challenge pitting you against one of the elements.

While there are only three basic modes, there’s a good mix of racers and racing conditions to keep things exciting. You will attempt to conquer slopes all over the world, be that in china or even the Andes.  Each location is interesting and each race has a lot going on.

“Survive it” is the real new addition to the series. Borrowing a lot from Motorstorm Apocalypse you take on the elements  for example thunderous avalanches will try to swallow you up, freezing cold temperatures and lack of oxygen will attempt to suck the life from you, jagged rocks and trees will threaten to turn your bones into mash potato. The skill level is graduated so you get a bit of equipment, like a headlamp, a wing suit or sonar goggles, and you can conquer the very different problems you face on the mountain in each location: the wing suit will help you cross substantial gaps, sonar goggles can help you find a path in whiteout conditions and the headlamp will illuminate even the darkest of caverns.

Control wise this game is quite good; making use of the analogue sticks as well as L and R buttons too to create smooth transitions between tricks. What I thought was really nice is that there is a classic button selection too. So if you were used to the old button setup of the last generation you can select it and pull of moves via the button mashing system of old. You also have a rewind button so if you wipe-out you can go back in time and alter your fate so to speak – although this does cost you points.

Whereas Need for Speed had Auto Log, SSX has Rider Net. It keeps track of your progress. Rider Net alerts you about what your friends are doing. Any scores posted or collectibles acquired pop up, and the game sets challenges for you based on your friend’s scores.

Multiplayer in SSX comes in the form of Global Events, a constantly updating series of challenges open to everyone in the world. EA has challenges going all the time and you can just drop in and try and post a high score or fast time.

As you’re racing through a course, other players doing the same will just show up alongside you in a crazy simultaneous event. For some, it may seem loopy but there is no denying that it keeps the edge and playability of the title top notch. Besides, what else can you do with a snowboard?

My Verdict?

SSX may not be a title for everyone but it is a title that has been long overdue in a genre that sorely needed it. If snowboarding is your thing, if racing games have been getting boring for you or you just want to try something fun, fresh and funky do check out SSX – it’s incredible.

9.2/10

The Cursed Crusade – Game Review

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Take a dark period of thirteenth century history, mix in generously some supernatural elements, now whisk in some of that ‘buddy genre type thing’ and turn up the combat engine to about 89 degrees centigrade. Now pop in the oven with some decent cut scenes. Add a sprinkling of Darksiders, a dessertspoon of Dantes Inferno, a gallon of blood.

What do you get?

 

A dish that looks good, tastes good, but ultimately could have stayed in the oven just that little bit longer.

 

The dish in question is none other than The Cursed Crusade, the latest game from French seasoned PC Games developer Kylotonn Entertainment. A game, I might add that has had so many delays that not even ‘Game’ knew when it was coming out. It also sports the now familiar ‘reduced’ price tag of £32. Make of that what you want, the reality is The Cursed Crusade is nowhere near a bad title, it’s just not a great one and it could do with more, a little bit of a lot more refining.

 

Young Templar Knight Denz de Bayle is the hero of the piece. His dad has gone missing, his family’s land seized and his mother killed. All knights of the crusade have committed unspeakable acts, but those who have carried out true evil atrocities find that they are befallen with a curse. A curse that will follow their bloodline and damn their souls to hell. Denz is heir to this curse; what’s more, Death wants him and will stop at nothing to take him personally to the hot house.

 

So begins the story. Denz de Bayle is a more than capable fighter but like many tales of this genre like Ghost Rider he can use this curse to his advantage. He can switch between this world and the cursed parallax of hell almost at will. Think Constantine but with horns and glowing eyes and screams. In the hell world he is stronger, can move faster, attack quicker and has access to more power and more areas but it comes at a price – energy and then health, not to mention also providing death with easy access to your soul and he cannot be stopped.

 

Denz is joined on his generic quest by Esteban Noviembre, a wise-cracking Spaniard, tried, tested and formulaic. Esteban has the curse as well so together they form a partnership and it is their camaraderie that flows throughout the game.

 

Combat is what this game is all about. If you look at other games of this genre it is really hard to escape the ‘old chestnut’ of repetitive gameplay. However The Cursed Crusade gets around this with a deep enough combat system. Thanks to the directional controller you can carry a combination of swords, axes, shields, double handed swords, maces, with either one in each hand or, if the weapon is big enough just one. Blocking, parrying and dodging is built around timings of button presses with enemies flashing a certain colour if they are about to attack. Points are awarded at the end of every stage which you can use to build up your combos and finishers to make you even more of a formidable fighter.

 

The scenarios themselves never vary too much from the reliable old staple diet of ‘go here’ ‘do this’ ‘meet this person’ ‘fight that person’ but the nature of the storyline and their friendship is strong enough to carry it through. More often than not the enemy just runs towards you and then take it in turns swinging their swords in your direction and at first you don’t need to think about your parries and protecting your self. But later when preserving your health is a requisite to survival you find yourself drawing on all your skills and Death really doesn’t give a damn how he gets you so hopping in and out of hell to get a one up on your foes is not always the answer.

 

Did I mention the game is bloody? Well be warned, true to its historical origins heads roll, maces can be used on either side to flatten a head to a pulp, axes chop people in two. I like the way the game developers opted to define each and every limb so that you can remove each one from the torso with deadly blows each one splattering blood on impact.

 

All of this sounds pretty good and indeed like the first mouthful of Diet Coke it actually tastes really good. I found myself drawn into this game quite quickly; rapidly building combos and cutting swathes through my opponents learning new skills all the time. However there were a few things that the game can’t shake.

 

Firstly the camera angle is dreadful. Why oh why did they opt for a floating camera when it would not know its way through a paper bag? Even with the right analogue stick being used as a last resort to control it gets stuck behind trees, buildings and walls. In the early stages this is not so much a problem but later, when you have tough enemies you cannot do anything other than block and watch as your life is ebbed away by an enemy who will tag team you into oblivion.

 

Secondly there is a real lack of direction, there are a few times where it really is not clear what to do or where to go. You spend ages aimlessly running around when if they had incorporated it into the ‘hell self’ or even done as LA Noire did where you could ask your partner for guidance the game would have flowed better.

 

Finally the game tends to sporadically save at the end of the level which means that if you die; even at the end of a stage you have to do the whole thing again and this includes the cut-scenes of which; take it from me, there are many. Just incase you are thinking to yourself – hey I have done Demon Souls and there is no way this game can be tougher than that, then hats off to you and you are right; this game isn’t tougher but the enemy tends to infrequently jump in difficulty and with the camera angles not being as solid you should expect to lose lives.

 

My Verdict

 

With a thrilling action packed story not to mention blood guts and gore and a reduced price tag The Cursed Crusade is not a bad title at all. However it does suffer from faults that set it back from being a decent enough purchase especially in light of the competition which is going to be huge in the run up to Christmas. It is competent and satisfying enough and no where near a bad title just not a great one. Try before you buy or Wait until the price drops further before you splash your cash.

 

7.5 / 10

 

 

How does this game compare to others in its genre?

 

 

Equal to: Quantum Theory

 

Better than: Wet, LEGO Pirates of the Caribbean: The Video Game, Disney Universe

 

Worse than: Enslaved, Castlevania, El Shaddai: Ascension of the Metatron

 

 

 

DRIVER: San Francisco Game Review

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I don’t know about you but when I first heard about Driver:San Francisco I was almost bi-polar about it. I mean; the last Driver game was awful in so many ways – things could only get better on third generation hardware. However, on the other hand, I had heard that they were going to do some mad ‘supernatural’ thing with Tanner, having him ‘jump about’ from ‘body to body’ at will. Now hands up who actually thinks that, that is going to work? Er…yeah…me neither.

So begins another entry into the Driver Franchise and perhaps the most outrageous premise in computer game history seen in a decade. Man, I would have loved to have been at the developers table at Ubisoft when they thrashed that idea out; I am guessing that they would have been more raised eyebrows than a Roger Moore convention. Yet for some insane reason it got the go ahead and here we are, Driver:San Francisco is a reality that has had gamers raving. But is it as good as they say?

Well I might as well cut to the chase and blatantly say DRIVER: San Francisco is not a ‘10/10’, a ‘gaming masterpiece’ or a ‘must buy’ like a lot of reviewers are/were saying and I don’t care what anybody says the multiplayer is never going to be a ‘Call of Duty killer’ but as far as a single player driving game goes it does hold up to provide an enjoyable race experience. Once you get past the aforementioned ludicrous storyline and clichéd scripting the only negative thing you are left with is the terrible handling of the vehicles. Yes – Burnout, Split-Second, Need for Speed, even Motorstorm Apocalypse fare better when it comes to the handling of the incredibly weighted vehicles of Driver which sporadically felt like I was steering a tank at times through quick drying cement.

Other than those ‘facets of joy’ though everything else is largely excellent; San Francisco is a beautifully glossy, detailed vista and the whole jump into another person’s head idea – called ‘Shift’ despite being an absurd idea actually works quite well; thrusting you into the mainstream driving, racing, chasing and crashing scenarios with ease.

Now hands up if you want to know more on this whole ‘shift’ thing? Thought you did. Well, fortunately (or unfortunately depending on how you look at it) the first 60 minutes of game play is taken up with the storyline and ‘mere reasons’ to justify the plot. John Tanner the undercover cop from the main game has finally tracked down his long time nemesis Charles Jericho. In an attempt to take him down he is forced into a near fatal collision and ends up in a coma. This means the vast majority of the game takes place in Tanner’s head and in which he continues to track his nemesis down; mind jumping from person to person in order to get close enough to stop Jericho once and for all.

Just in case you couldn’t tell – I had huge doubts about the whole ‘shift thing’ but in play I found what it brings is some real immediacy to the proceedings and a kind of ‘cocky but coolness’. What it also gives is options; trying to chase down a target? Hey why not just jump into a bus driver coming in the other direction – he-he laugh out loud as you say ‘any more fares’. What’s more every crash, every explosion happens in beautiful slo-mo so there is always a reason to do it; the game delights in bringing you thought out destruction.

Being a sandbox game there is a fair bit of exploration to be had and as typical for this type game alongside the main missions you have a plethora of side missions. However fortunately Driver: San Francisco has the least boring side missions I have seen this year besides perhaps those seen in LA: Noire. One such mission sees you jumping into the body of a young weedy chap, nervous as anything about his driving test. Do you think the idea is to help him pass? Nope…the idea is to put the fear of the devil into the test instructor by driving as insanely as possible.

Other than this though for most of the time you have standard Driver fare; follow this car, get to x in x amount of time, come first in this race, smash this car etc. Of all of these though the most exciting is shaking off the police and it has to be said that for all of the faults synonymous with driver of the past, one of the things that they have got right here is the police AI. No longer can you shake off the police by just bombing it down a road or even driving into oncoming traffic, they really do keep up the pressure and you have to be good to get away from them.

Longevities is sadly not a strong point of this game; the whole title taking me just over 6 hours to get through resulting in an ending hardly inspired enough for me. Although completing the game opened up some challenges and online multiplayer which in all honesty was not too bad and I am sure enough people went out there to buy this so there is hardly going to be a drought online. There are issues with balancing out gameplay between players of different ability so my advice is be the best you can be before you go online or else you will lose…a lot. Quite controversially I read the developer stating in interviews that no DLC (Download Content) has been planned which is an incredible shame.

My Verdict

Despite my initial concerns about the whole shift thing I do have to say it brings a level of originality, even if it makes serves to make the script clichéd and downright weird I would be lying if I said that I did not enjoy this game. I am hoping that further patches will be released to improve the atrocious handling and fix balancing issues because once those issues are resolved the game will go from great to being fantastic. At the moment I would say whilst it is a great purchase it is far from essential and for some hardcore gamers I would even say wait until it comes down in price before giving it a long hard look.

8.0 / 10

 

How does this game compare to others in its genre?

This is a hard one as although there are other racing games, none have the ‘shift’ feature and so are not the same and can’t be compared.

Equal to: Need for Speed – Hot Pursuit (only just)

Better than:  Burnout Paradise

Worse than: None

L.A. Noire – Game Review

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Rockstar Games makes the 1940’s world dark, sinister and not to mention sexy.

I knew it the very minute I saw her; something about the way she made her approach at me, like eyes looking from afar. Her controversial nature shone a reputation like a Rockstar and demanded my attention. Like a woman of your wildest dreams Rockstar Game LA Noire puts you in an incomparable situation where too much is never enough and, more often than not you will be left crying out for more or to get just that little bit further.

I have been talking like this ever since I played LA Noire – the newest release from Rockstar Games and what can I say – I am smitten.

In LA Noire you become Cole Phelps, a hero returning from World War II and now a cop on the LAPD. Murders, corruption and dirty, dirty deceit stand in your way as you attempt to piece together vital clues and discover the truth. During the game you will track and solve cases that include serial killers, rapists, smash paedophile rings and drug rackets. You will also come face to face with the seedy world of 1940’s LA, Hollywood, racism, Domestic Violence not to mention the questionable motives of the police department. Typical of Rockstar Games – whom almost seem to delight bringing you the gritty reality – the game does not shy away from the hard topics, coupled with sharp, period-specific scripts, solid direction and the adoption of Motion-Scan technology, (seen in Heavy Rain and Mass Effect but used with much more proficiency here) LA Noire is the embodiment of Cole Phelps, and you cannot help but develop rapport with him for what he is facing. Like fellow title Heavy Rain there is a strong undercurrent that all is not as it seems and that there is a large area of grey between black and white. Throughout the game there are frequent flashbacks to his troubling tour of duty – some of which concern his colleagues and around the game there are newspapers which show you a gritty back story independent of the main game which are pretty shocking. There are also cases that leave you with a sick feeling in your stomach because you realize the characters in the game have got it all wrong.

The majority of the gameplay lies in solving crimes. These are presented in a lovely ‘Columbo’ Sunday matinee prologue kind of feel; there is a murder, a woman is snatched, a man is shot, a shady dealing takes place or you see someone enter a building and there is a scream. You make your way to the car, drive to the scene and find and examine as many pieces of evidence as you can find. Finding evidence is partially similar to Heavy rain, but rather than technology good old Cole has his instincts. Sometime the pad will vibrate if he comes across something, sometimes if you are searching an apartment you will hear the music change, sometimes you will have to use your saved intuition points and sometimes you will just have to be lucky. It is through unearthing this evidence and speaking to witnesses that you will build up enough of a case to put a suspect behind bars.

It is in these sequences where LA Noire comes into its own. The MotionScan technology truly takes things to a whole new level. Facial expressions, body language, tones of voice all play a part in helping you determine whether a witness is telling you the truth or plain face lying in order to hide skeletons in their closet. In questioning a suspect you can make accusations but if you do you need to refer back to incriminating evidence perhaps located earlier on. Explicit questioning can be a nerve-racking affair especially in the later stages of a case when the pressure is on by your superiors to wrap up a case or when evidence is so slim you have to go with anything you have. In the first few stages of the game the in game tutorial provides quite a lot of support and hand holding but later, when the gloves are off you are expected to do it all and there are quite a few surprises along the way – nothing is as it seems.

Quite often you may not even get as far as questioning a suspect as some will make a break for it and need to be stopped. This begins a chase sequence where you and your partner have to give chase either on-foot or in a vehicle. Whilst these sequences offer a welcome break from the main question and answer routine they fail to be done with as much spit and polish. Some sequences end in a fisty-cuffs or a shoot out – and again whilst these are credibly delivered and the combat and firearms are nicely executed in an ‘Untouchables’ kinda way, sometimes you get the feeling that these were just flung in for extra good measure. It is a bit like when you commandeer a vehicle in the game; although you are taking the vehicle with authority it is essentially no different (besides the mandatory drag to the street or slap to the face) of that seen in ‘Grand Theft Auto’. Not that these sections are bad, the quality of the actions is as you would expect of any other sand box game, they just could be done better.

Sometimes LA Noire is too smart for its own good. Rockstar obviously wanted to cram a great deal into this project and it shows but to be honest at times it is bursting at the seams. Despite being linear in its approach quite often you are encouraged to stray from the path into sheer nothingness with side missions which are just petty and rarely drive the plot forward. In short it just is not becoming of the title. Another gripe would be in the character animation. Occasionally I found annoying glitches when I wanted to manoeuvre the character to do exactly what I wanted him to do. The same happens for your partner’s animations too, which, on more than a few occasions can only be described as erratic. As a games player I found this quite disappointing, however thankfully these were less of the norm. Everything is so beautifully rendered from the vehicles to the buildings that to be honest the minor faults pale in comparison to the appeal and trying to cram so much into a game is almost destined to run into problems of some kind sooner or later.

With 21 primary case missions to solve, along with 40 side missions and countless collectables there is certainly lots to discover wit La Noire, and although you may not wish to trawl through the game for a second play in order to succeed in your gameplay rankings there is a whole host of Downloadable Content to sink your investigative skills into. These include:

The Naked City – a bonus case previously given away to those who pre-ordered the game. Here Phelps investigates the apparent suicide of a fashion model. It also contains the “Badge Pursuit Challenge” where the player is tasked with finding 20 police badges hidden in the city. If you manage to find them all you will gain access to the “Button Man” suit; an in-game piece of clothing that allows the player to carry extra ammo.

A Slip of the Tongue; a traffic case where a simple car theft escalates into a large scale investigation into the largest car fraud racket in the city’s history.

Popping into the PSN Store in the game also give you the opportunity to purchase:

“The Broderick” detective suit; a suit that boosts the fighting ability of the player’s character as well as its resistance to damage.

“The Sharpshooter” that enhances a character’s aim with pistols and rifles.

“The Chicago Piano” an OMG type of Machine Gun as they say ‘favoured for its reliability’ which when purchased is stored in the boot of Cole Phelps’ car throughout the game.

If that isn’t enough more DLC is planned for the future including two other cases: Nicholson Electroplating, an Arson case and Reefer Madness, a Vice case due for release on 12 July 2011.

All of this means that there is plenty of reasons to return to this title and purchasing a RockStar pass gives you entitlement to new content as it is released.

My Final Verdict –

So I turned my eyes to her as she entered the room and smiled as I turned her on…I knew it wasn’t going to be a one night stand, as long as she kept bringing something new to me I would keep wanting to play with her all night long. She was never going to stay on the shelf…not for long anyway…

Sorry…In short – Granted it is not perfect – but it is still gloriously good.

8.9 / 10

How does this game compare to others in its genre?

There are only a few games of this type for comparison…

Equal to: Heavy Rain

Better than: Alpha Protocol

Worse than: None

Green Lantern – Rise of the Manhunters: Game Review

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Hey, who turned out the light?

My first thoughts when I got this game were not overly positive. I mean, movie tie-in games tend to be pants and synonymous with rushed deadlines, repetitive game play and pointless plots that neither push the console’s hardware, or push the player on the end of the controller to anything other than utter suicide. And lets face it, there are enough useless games out there without the need to resort to such attempts that are no more than cash-ins on an audience looking to ‘vividly’ re-enact their favourite moments from a flick that will inevitably end up on DVD in a bargain basket somewhere.

Rise of the Manhunters tries desperately to reverse this trend. Gosh, it tries so, so hard. But try as it might, it never comes to the point where it is truly spectacular or ‘an essential purchase’.

Developed by Double Helix – the developers behind Front Mission Evolved, G.I Joe, (yes, I see you laughing at the back), Rise of the Manhunters takes place shortly after the events in the movie. Hal Jordan (voiced almost persuasively by Ryan Reynolds) is the Green Lantern and the story takes place at the centre of the universe on the Green Lantern homeworld, Oa.

For the uninitiated, the Green Lantern Corps is an ‘elite police force’ created by the ancient guardians of the universe in order to protect it from evil. Each Green Lantern carries a ring which can channel and manifest their willpower into any object or mechanism they can think of.

You play as Hal Jordan, the most recent Green Lantern recruit and immediately find yourself tasked with stopping the Manhunters – an ancient race who are sworn enemies of the Guardians – from stealing their powers.

It is sad to see that the plot line from the movie has been thrown out of the window along with any back story. Yes, well, we all knew the big bucks cash-in cow would make some sacrifices didn’t we? What we have here is no back story, no continuation from the film and no ending. So what DO we have?

Well, gameplay-wise, what we have is basically no more than a basic hack ‘n’ slash, button-basher in the majority of the green palette. Yes, you have to time your combos. Yes, you have button combinations. Yes, you get to use your green ring, and yes, you have upgrades, But inevitably, it is wave after wave of the same thing.

The developers failed to work more variety into the missions and as a result, far too many of your ‘duties’ end up as systematically taking down robots or shutting down teleportation gates, and shamefully, besides the odd palette change, the majority of your enemies look continually similar.

There are some nice set pieces though. For example, the boss battles are quite nice, as are the flying sections which really make good use of the 3D effect. You also have the ability to collect XP from your fallen enemies which you can use to upgrade your powers and construct new weapons such as a massive baseball bat to send enemy projectiles back at them, a huge buzzsaw that can give multiple hits on your enemies or even turn yourself into a massive jet in the flying sections.

Another thing that this title brings to the table is drop in, drop out co-op play. So if you have a friend, you can both partake in some ring-blasting action (pun intended). Although the game only supports it offline, I found it really good to see. So many developers go for online play, but nothing quite beats that ‘Streets of Rage’ feeling you get with a friend when you are taking on the best of what the enemy has to offer.

I found the controls and movement to be a little dated. There is no sprint option for instance and even worse, no camera control, so this means there are set angles of play with no way of rotating the camera to see behind you. You do have a dodge button and quick attacks, but the enemies tend to circle round you and if you are caught in a corner, you have no choice but to fight your way out or watch as your life force gets blasted away.

Although it is fair to say you won’t be blown away by the graphics, as mentioned before, the game features 3D visuals and it is pleasing to see that this applies to all formats – the Nintendo 3DS, PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. The PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360’s 3D can be accessed in two forms, TriOviz Inficolor 3D – which is usable on any standard TV with the game’s included 3D glasses – and stereoscopic 3D for ‘proper’ 3DTVs. While the 3D effects are not as dramatic as say Black Ops, there is evidently more depth and some nice explosions too. This is something I think that more games should do.

Although I have slated the sheer expense of 3D in the past, the fact is the cost of them is dropping. More movies (including Green Lantern) are coming out in 3D, so they’re bound to be out by Christmas on 3D Blu-Ray. Therefore the only thing lacking is the number of games, which can really make or break the market.

To sum up: How does this game compare to others in its genre?

It is here that I feel a little bit sorry for Hal Jordan and his green ring…

Equal to: Marvel Super Hero Squad: Infinity Gauntlet, Thor.

Better than: Lego star wars the clone wars, Fantastic 4 – Rise of the Silver Surfer.

Worse than: God of War, Castlevania – Lords of shadow, Bayonetta.

My Final Verdict –

For a movie tie-in, Rise of the Manhunters doesn’t do as badly as expected, but is still not worth the money – even on a reduced price tag. There are just so many games out there which do the job better. Granted it is not bad – it is just not that good either.

5.5/ 10