LordKingboat's GameSpot Friend's Reviews LordKingboat's GameSpot Friend's Reviews LordKingboat's GameSpot Friend's Reviews en-us Copyright (c)1995-2013 CBS Interactive. All rights reserved. http://www.gamespot.com 20 Wed, 19 Jun 2013 09:19:45 -0700 GameSpot LordKingboat's GameSpot Friend's Reviews http://img.gamespot.com/gamespot/shared/promos/misc/gs_logo.gif http://www.gamespot.com 135 40 Fri, 07 Jun 2013 01:47:31 -0700 Falcon084 reviewed Remember Me for the Xbox 360... http://www.gamespot.com/remember-me/user-reviews/812156/platform/xbox360/ ...and gave it a 9.5!

Remember Me from Dontnod Entertainment is the french developers first game, and I can say with certainty that Dontnod will become a leader in innovating games.

Non spoiler story:

Remember Me is a fantastic game set in the Cyberpunk theme of Neo-Paris, a city built after a European Union Civil War in 2066. Humanity has become addicted to a new form of technology that allows the sharing and downloading of memories.

You play as a woman with a form of amnesia that if I explained more would ruin the story. Suffice to say that a lot of people want you dead.


Gameplay:

Gameplay reminds me of the Tomb Raider without guns, along with great memory based puzzles. Before you think "boring" and stop reading you should know that the memories are other peoples. You have the ability to alter a persons memories in a genius puzzle that lets you tryout different outcomes to what could have happened and warping your targets perception if his or her own reality. You can only do this a few times during the story which is a shame but it makes a great change of pace from the combat.


Combat:

Speaking of combat, you can unlock moves during the game and arrange them in any order you like giving you that ability to make your own combos! Enemies are varied and will keep you on your toes as you try to figure out how to best them.


As you go on other abilities become available and give you more puzzling and can also play a role in combat, but as I try to write spoiler free reviews I'll leave that up to you to discover!

No toilet breaks!:

If you have a day sick in bed (like me) you will beat it in a day but you can't stop playing to do so.

Graphics and sound:

With the exception of one hard boss fight that has some repetition, the voice acting is well enough for the characters, with the best acting going to the main character. It is a beautiful game to look at from the grimy under city to the richer upper city and small extras in the environment really bring out the immersion.


Out of Ten:

Graphics 9

Sound 8

Gameplay 9

Collectibles 7

Over all 9.5

Get the full article at GameSpot

"Falcon084 reviewed Remember Me for the Xbox 360..." was posted by Falcon084 on Fri, 07 Jun 2013 01:47:31 -0700
]]> http://www.gamespot.com/remember-me/user-reviews/812156/platform/xbox360/ Tue, 07 May 2013 15:08:22 -0700 WTA2k5 reviewed BioShock Infinite for the Xbox 360... http://www.gamespot.com/bioshock-infinite/user-reviews/811097/platform/xbox360/ ...and gave it a 8.5.

Who dares doesn't always win, apparently. BioShock Infinite is a game that far too often goes only halfway in realizing its many grand ambitions. It dares to speak on ever-relevant issues of racism, classism, and nationalism, but in an odd twist of irony, it marginalizes these plot elements that, in the real world, often lead to oppression and marginalization to instead focus on some good old-fashioned mind-bending speculative science fiction. It admirably deigns to not fall back on jarring cutscenes, but predicates most of its major mechanics on familiar shooting structures, leaving most of its truly affecting moments to be navigated through singular button-presses, that is, if you are given the opportunity to have any real input in these moments in the first place. It wants you to lose yourself in the visually engrossing but philosophically abhorrent world of Columbia, but many of the floating city's major players are paper-thin caricatures, and the game's wealth of audiologs feels cheaper and more overly-convenient than ever.

Still, it must be said that the fact that Infinite even partly accomplishes any of the tasks that it sets out for itself is hugely impressive. Considering many games have difficulties spicing up even the most rote shooting mechanics, unleash a deluge of cutscenes and quicktime events on players at every possible opportunity, and often struggle to not, themselves, be racist, BioShock Infinite stands out as an important step forward for big budget games that strive for serious artistry and drama. Irrational's latest isn't the gaming medium's magnum opus of cultural expression that one might expect given the game's self-serious artistic posturing, and huge critical acclaim, but it's still an utterly important release, and a damn good one too.

This is because there are plenty of things that Infinite gets totally right. The game's astounding audiovisual presentation is perhaps the foremost place to start. The game doesn't overtly flex any technical wizardry in the way an id or Crytek release might, but its sheer artistic splendor makes it one of the very best looking games of this console generation. At the root of this is no doubt the game's stellar environment, which ranks among the pantheon of gaming's greatest settings.

In the game's opening hour, players are slowly, calmly introduced to the seeming utopia of Columbia, an opulent, sun-drenched city above the clouds defined by exaggerated American expressions. Bright, idyllic gardens surround grand Palladian building; a peaceful stillness remains pervasive even through bustling storefronts and chatting citizens, only to occasionally be interrupted by enticing music selections (seriously, pay attention to this game's soundtrack), or - as players will encounter soon after arrival - a gleeful carnival complete with silly games and booming fireworks.

The game is wise to devote such a long period of time to simply navigating and luxuriating in its enticing environment, as Columbia is a true marvel that demonstrates the fact that Infinite's surely ungodly budget was put to good use - Irrational's hugely talented art team seems to have been truly unleashed. And though the game reserves for itself a few more simple moments of quietude, players will also soon discover their chief motivation for the rip-roaring action that consumes the vast majority of Infinite's running time.

Lead by the self-righteous and disturbed Father Comstock, most of Columbia's denizens have adopted a worldview that takes notions of American Exceptionalism to ridiculous but no less frightening extremes. Here, other religions have been extinguished in favor of a faith that idealizes America's founding fathers, as well as Comstock and his family, and all but the Anglo-Saxon adherents to this dogma are marginalized, reviled and exploited. This, as you might imagine, is causing some problems within the floating city, and tensions continually escalate from the moment you arrive.

But don't ready your spinning skyhook just yet, as there's quite a bit to dissect with this hefty plot setup. As mentioned before, Infinite has no qualms about diving headfirst into seemingly risky storytelling territory. But, much like the original BioShock's awkward and contradictory critique of Randian Objectivism, Infinite handles its set of sociopolitical critiques in a rather bumbling, heavy-handed, and ultimately ineffective way. For most of the game, these heavy themes of discrimination are mostly shock with little substance. Early on, for example, players will find themselves in the headquarters of The Fraternal Order of the Raven, an environment whose every last bit of iconography - including statues of John Wilkes Boothe, and enemies garbed in darkened Klu Klux Klan robes - spews bigoted filth. Troubling, to be sure, but this environment is never explored to a satisfactory degree in a narrative context. We are never told what drove the Order's members to this disgusting mindset, or what function it plays in Columbian society as a whole; instead we're instructed to simply tear through the environment, dismembering every racist we can find. Indeed, almost every one of the game's on-the-nose explorations of racism and jingoism seems to exist as more out of a desire to simply justify Infinite's absurd level of bombastic violence than a willingness to earnestly and cerebrally comment on these weighty issues.

It's a true shame, but again, the fact that the game is willing to go to these dark places in an upfront and confrontational manner when most games dodge around similar issues or make heavy use of metaphor and allegory in order to indirectly speak on them is commendable, even if it keeps Infinite's apparent daring from being something to truly celebrate.

But there is a second major component of Infinite's ideological critique, one that is much more subtly woven throughout the game, and one that ultimately cuts much deeper. Forgiveness and rebirth, in regards to its inherent inclusion in many major religions, is relentlessly examined and scrutinized over the course of the campaign in some truly unsettling ways. This side of the game's narrative might be so uncomfortable, in fact, as to offend adherents to the faiths that Infinite draws some heavily parallels to with its own disturbing belief system. The fact, however, that these themes aren't merely dabbled in, as are the game's superficial commentaries discrimination, but rather made absolutely integral to the core narrative and explored fully and fearlessly leads Infinite, in this instance, to fully live up to its grandiose goals. This is the moment where Infinite's narrative triumphs, and I can only hope that more games follow in its footsteps in bringing to light serious thematic content in a more direct manner, as can be seen so often in other media yet so rarely within video games.

Alright, here's where you can start revving up your skyhook. As he progresses through the carnival that greets him as he first steps foot in Columbia, Booker DeWitt, the game's playable and decidedly not-mute protagonist, begins to fully unravel the noxious worldview of Columbia's inhabitants. On his way towards a strange raffle that serves as the fair's main event, Comstock's voice booms over a loudspeaker, warning the citizens of Columbia about the arrival of the False Prophet, a man who has the letters "AD" burned into his right hand. Sure enough, our anti-hero holds his hand up to reveal that exact marking. And sure enough, during this eerie raffle event, the Columbians take notice of the mark, and Booker DeWitt swiftly digs a spinning hookblade into the skull of the first police officer that attempts to apprehend him.

With this, BioShock Infinite reveals its heavy emphasis on twitchy shooter gameplay and ridiculous amounts of gore. Engaging in the game's slick shooting mechanics feels no different than it might in the latest Call of Duty game; guns have a fantastic sense of weight to them and the responsiveness and ingenuity of the game's heads-up display ensures steady environmental awareness despite the over-the-top freneticism of many of the game's combat sequences. But where Infinite's combat truly shines is in its surprising mechanical density. Vigors that grant Booker special powers like the ability to shoot electricity from his fingertips or absorb bullets and toss them right back at foes serve as the first extra layering. For those familiar with the series, these powers might seem quite like the Plasmids introduced in the first BioShock, and though they do perform the same function, they're implemented in a far more balanced way in Infinite than they are in its predecessors; they're powerful and readily available but must be dealt out conservatively, as the mana pool they run on is rather restrictive.

But as gleefully destructive as they can be, Vigors are decidedly uninteresting in the face of Infinite's more inspired new mechanics. Booker's ability to latch onto the aerial Skylines running throughout Columbia is perhaps the most mind-blowing gameplay feature of them all. Though the mechanic seemed rather unbelievable during its first E3 showing a couple years ago, it speaks to the ingenuity of the game's level design that fluidly navigating Skylines that weave throughout many of the game's rather conspicuous battle arenas while taking shots at enemies, a potentially disorienting feat, becomes effortless after only a few encounters. The verticality and freedom of movement this system grants the game is awe-inspiring, and almost attaches a sense of childlike wonder to the act of mass-murdering racists.

For the first few hours of gameplay, these are the mechanics that Booker is limited to. It's during this time that he seeks to accomplish a seemingly simple direction mandated by a mysterious client: "Give us the girl, and wipe away the debt." Though this phrase ends up holding more significance than an uninitiated player could possibly know, it nonetheless serves as the impetus for finding Elizabeth, a young woman whose power to tear holes in the space-time continuum has, perhaps expectedly, lead her to be sequestered on the looming, Statue of Liberty-esque research facility, Monument Island.

So, as one might expect, this ability of hers adds more than a few layers of complexity to what might've otherwise been a rather straightforward plot. As the extent of her powers is gradually revealed, a suitably mind-bending narrative begins to form that comments, among other things, on the frail nature of identity and the profound ways in which a single choice can influence personhood, for better or worse. Though the introduction of converging space-time might seem to risk devolving the story into an Inception-esque exercise in overly complex authorial self-indulgence, BioShock Infinite uses this storytelling conceit to build a truly tragedian narrative.

But Elizabeth isn't merely a means for crafting a brain-melting metaphysical storyline. Nor is Booker DeWitt a stupefied on-looker who hails from the same lineage of horribly flat shooter protagonists as Gordon Freeman, or Corvo Attano. They are both memorable characters whose defined personalities infuse the plot's affecting tragedy with a true sense of humanity. Elizabeth, on one hand, starts out as a surprisingly cultured and self-aware inversion of the classic damsel-in-distress trope, and her evolution over the course of the game's ten- to twelve-hour campaign is astonishingly well-paced and believable. Her exaggerated features and expressive animations that pay homage to the distinctive style Grim Natwick invented for Disney solidify her as one of the most memorable and empathetic characters in gaming. DeWitt, by contrast, is predominately a closed-book, limiting himself to practical, yet charismatic antics strongly reminiscent of classic swashbucklers like Han Solo until his dark past is fully revealed during the final act. When that happens, he extends far beyond his narrative role as a foil to Elizabeth, and the resulting revelations cut to the bone. Major compliments are due to Troy Baker and Courtnee Draper, who faultlessly brings this odd couple to life even through all the mind-blowing turns the story takes.

The duo also serve as a great team during Infinite's huge combat sequences. Though Booker, as mentioned before, is in charge of most of the direct combat, Elizabeth is a key ingredient in what makes the game's massive shootouts so dazzling. Most significantly, she uses her ability to alter time and space to bring objects into the battlefields that didn't previously exist. Asking for a wall of cover to hide behind when a dozen enemies are facing you down, or perhaps a Skyhook that lets you access a sniper perch adds an exciting tactical dynamism to combat that feels especially important considering the sheer number of foes the game throws at you. Since you can only select one object to tear in at a time, more heated battles require a constant mindfulness and economization of Elizabeth's power that is as exhilaratingly strategic as the best of tactical shooters.

A smaller, but no less genius touch is the fact that Elizabeth tosses you mana and ammo when it feels clutch. Even when it becomes obvious that she's scripted to do so whenever your resources are running low, the notion that an AI is looking out for you is relentlessly fulfilling, especially in a game that constructs a scenario that might've so easily fallen into the dreaded escort-mission trap. Indeed, going back to other first-person shooters has become tough, as Elizabeth is not just a delightful companion in a narrative sense, but she's also integral to the satisfaction of Infinite's moment-to-moment combat proceedings.

Each of the augments to the core shooting experience are satisfying in their own right, but once they all start working in tandem, Infinite's combat scenarios reach the upper-echelon of FPS sublimation. Not since Half-Life 2 has a shooter married pulse-pounding twitch thrills to a deeply strategic core so seamlessly, and while leaving so much room for experimentation. The gritty sound design that punctuates the action is equally superb; a combination of abrasive string stabs, impactful weapon sound effects and some truly horrifying enemy damage reactions unfailingly sell you on the weighty ferocity of the mayhem you cause.

All this, of course, sounds amazing, and on some level it truly is. But consider this: for all its fast-paced entertainment, Infinite's combat never fully works. In a mechanical sense, it's pretty much as polished as can be, but the game's massive amount of carnage doesn't quite work within the context of the story. In fact, story and gameplay don't feel merged at all. While there's a fair amount of narrative justification for the heavy degree of violence, the fact that shooting people and ripping their heads of with a spinning hook is pretty much Booker's only way of interacting with the world undercuts much of the arresting emotionality of Infinite's narrative.

Highlighting this problem is the fact that many of the game's most powerful moments either preclude player input, or limit interactivity to the push of a single button. Elizabeth's ability to tear holes in the space-time continuum, for example, may have been the basis for some ingenious puzzle solving and narrative interaction, but players are instead left to simply push a button to demand entry into a new reality where they can proceed to shoot more people in the face. Again, this feels like BioShock Infinite going only halfway in bringing its many fantastic ideas to life; some truly inventive mechanical structures may have been borne out of the game's central narrative conceits, but Irrational has disappointingly opted to instead rely on more comfortable and pre-established action gameplay.

This disconnect is furthered by the game's odd focus on scavenging between each firefight. While the opportunity to really dig into and appreciate each environment, as well as get a break from the nearly nonstop action is welcome, the context of the narrative doesn't really support these detours either. Booker's mission is given an impactful sense of urgency, so the fact that the game encourages you to stop down for long stretches of time to eat random food items littered about and try to uncover Columbia's many secrets is rather off-putting. Early on, for instance, Elizabeth finds herself in immediate danger. An objective indicator flashes on-screen telling you to go rescue her, yet you find yourself surrounded by lootable objects designated by a pulsating golden glow. Of all the moments to try and fish pieces of cake out of a trashcan, this may be the least opportune, but Infinite's structure, which evidently values narrative over gameplay in terms of pacing and logic, continues to tempt you astray regardless. This might all seem a bit nitpicky, but considering the fact that Infinite is so intent on being treated as a significant work of art, these small annoyances can't be ignored, as they gradually undermine the meaning the game tries so hard to construct for itself.

BioShock Infinite is a game worth any mature player's while, but it has come at an unfortunate time. Within the past year alone, the industry has been treated to games like Spec Ops: The Line, The Walking Dead, and Hotline Miami, just a few titles that are capable of eloquently and expertly exploring dark themes while being cognizant of their respective mechanics' impact on the narratives they try to weave, making a game like Infinite - one that never fully accounts for the ways in which its gameplay influences the meaning and effectiveness of its story - seem a bit clumsy by comparison. David Jaffe, the brilliant designer behind games like God of War and Twisted Metal once deemed the relationship between gameplay and narrative as being like the combination of "chocolate and tunafish." I would argue that this claim isn't necessarily true, and games like Spec Ops are perfect demonstrations as to why that is. In the case of Infinite, however, Jaffe's argument has a haunting validity. But take heart, the chocolate that is BioShock Infinite's gameplay and the tunafish that is its story are pretty much premium grade when enjoyed separately. Just accept the fact that the combination is going to taste a little odd and find something to savor within it.

Get the full article at GameSpot

"WTA2k5 reviewed BioShock Infinite for the Xbox 360..." was posted by WTA2k5 on Tue, 07 May 2013 15:08:22 -0700
]]> http://www.gamespot.com/bioshock-infinite/user-reviews/811097/platform/xbox360/ Tue, 07 May 2013 13:42:46 -0700 WTA2k5 reviewed BioShock Infinite for the PlayStation 3... http://www.gamespot.com/bioshock-infinite/user-reviews/811095/platform/ps3/ ...and gave it a 8.5.

Who dares doesn't always win, apparently. BioShock Infinite is a game that far too often goes only halfway in realizing its many grand ambitions. It dares to speak on ever-relevant issues of racism, classism, and nationalism, but in an odd twist of irony, it marginalizes these plot elements that, in the real world, often lead to oppression and marginalization to instead focus on some good old-fashioned mind-bending speculative science fiction. It admirably deigns to not fall back on jarring cutscenes, but predicates most of its major mechanics on familiar shooting structures, leaving most of its truly affecting moments to be navigated through singular button-presses, that is, if you are given the opportunity to have any real input in these moments in the first place. It wants you to lose yourself in the visually engrossing but philosophically abhorrent world of Columbia, but many of the floating city's major players are paper-thin caricatures, and the game's wealth of audiologs feels cheaper and more overly-convenient than ever.

Still, it must be said that the fact that Infinite even partly accomplishes any of the tasks that it sets out for itself is hugely impressive. Considering have huge difficulties spicing up even the most rote shooting mechanics, unleash a deluge of cutscenes and quicktime events on players at every possible opportunity, and often struggle to not, themselves, be racist, BioShock Infinite stands out as an important step forward for big budget games that strive for serious artistry and drama. Irrational's latest isn't the gaming medium's magnum opus of cultural expression that one might expect given the game's self-serious artistic posturing, and huge critical acclaim, but it's still an utterly important release, and a damn good one too.

This is because there are plenty of things that Infinite gets totally right. The game's astounding audiovisual presentation is perhaps the foremost place to start. The game doesn't overtly flex any technical wizardry in the way an id or Crytek release might, but its sheer artistic splendor makes it one of the very best looking games of this console generation. At the root of this is no doubt the game's stellar environment, which ranks among the pantheon of gaming's greatest settings.

In the game's opening hour, players are slowly, calmly introduced to the seeming utopia of Columbia, an opulent, sun-drenched city above the clouds defined by exaggerated American expressions. Bright, idyllic gardens surround grand Palladian building; a peaceful stillness remains pervasive even through bustling storefronts and chatting citizens, only to occasionally be interrupted by enticing music selections (seriously, pay attention to this game's soundtrack), or - as players will encounter soon after arrival - a gleeful carnival complete with silly games and booming fireworks.

The game is wise to devote such a long period of time to simply navigating and luxuriating in its enticing environment, as Columbia is a true marvel that demonstrates the fact that Infinite's surely ungodly budget was put to good use - Irrational's hugely talented art team seems to have been truly unleashed. And though the game reserves for itself a few more simple moments of quietude, players will also soon discover their chief motivation for the rip-roaring action that consumes the vast majority of Infinite's running time.

Lead by the self-righteous and disturbed Father Comstock, most of Columbia's denizens have adopted a worldview that takes notions of American Exceptionalism to ridiculous but no less frightening extremes. Here, other religions have been extinguished in favor of a faith that idealizes America's founding fathers, as well as Comstock and his family, and all but the Anglo-Saxon adherents to this dogma are marginalized, reviled and exploited. This, as you might imagine, is causing some problems within the floating city, and tensions continually escalate from the moment you arrive.

But don't ready your spinning skyhook just yet, as there's quite a bit to dissect with this hefty plot setup. As mentioned before, Infinite has no qualms about diving headfirst into seemingly risky storytelling territory. But, much like the original BioShock's awkward and contradictory critique of Randian Objectivism, Infinite handles its set of sociopolitical critiques in a rather bumbling, heavy-handed, and ultimately ineffective way. For most of the game, these heavy themes of discrimination are mostly shock with little substance. Early on, for example, players will find themselves in the headquarters of The Fraternal Order of the Raven, an environment whose every last bit of iconography - including statues of John Wilkes Boothe, and enemies garbed in darkened Klu Klux Klan robes - spews bigoted filth. Troubling, to be sure, but this environment is never explored to a satisfactory degree in a narrative context. We are never told what drove the Order's members to this disgusting mindset, or what function it plays in Columbian society as a whole; instead we're instructed to simply tear through the environment, dismembering every racist we can find. Indeed, almost every one of the game's on-the-nose explorations of racism and jingoism seems to exist as more out of a desire to simply justify Infinite's absurd level of bombastic violence than a willingness to earnestly and cerebrally comment on these weighty issues.

It's a true shame, but again, the fact that the game is willing to go to these dark places in an upfront and confrontational manner when most games dodge around similar issues or make heavy use of metaphor and allegory in order to indirectly speak on them is commendable, even if it keeps Infinite's apparent daring from being something to truly celebrate.

But there is a second major component of Infinite's ideological critique, one that is much more subtly woven throughout the game, and one that ultimately cuts much deeper. Forgiveness and rebirth, in regards to its inherent inclusion in many major religions, is relentlessly examined and scrutinized over the course of the campaign in some truly unsettling ways. This side of the game's narrative might be so uncomfortable, in fact, as to offend adherents to the faiths that Infinite draws some heavily parallels to with its own disturbing belief system. The fact, however, that these themes aren't merely dabbled in, as are the game's superficial commentaries discrimination, but rather made absolutely integral to the core narrative and explored fully and fearlessly leads Infinite, in this instance, to fully live up to its grandiose goals. This is the moment where Infinite's narrative triumphs, and I can only hope that more games follow in its footsteps in bringing to light serious thematic content in a more direct manner, as can be seen so often in other media yet so rarely within video games.

Alright, here's where you can start revving up your skyhook. As he progresses through the carnival that greets him as he first steps foot in Columbia, Booker DeWitt, the game's playable and decidedly not-mute protagonist, begins to fully unravel the noxious worldview of Columbia's inhabitants. On his way towards a strange raffle that serves as the fair's main event, Comstock's voice booms over a loudspeaker, warning the citizens of Columbia about the arrival of the False Prophet, a man who has the letters "AD" burned into his right hand. Sure enough, our anti-hero holds his hand up to reveal that exact marking. And sure enough, during this eerie raffle event, the Columbians take notice of the mark, and Booker DeWitt swiftly digs a spinning hookblade into the skull of the first police officer that attempts to apprehend him.

With this, BioShock Infinite reveals its heavy emphasis on twitchy shooter gameplay and ridiculous amounts of gore. Engaging in the game's slick shooting mechanics feels no different than it might in the latest Call of Duty game; guns have a fantastic sense of weight to them and the responsiveness and ingenuity of the game's heads-up display ensures steady environmental awareness despite the over-the-top freneticism of many of the game's combat sequences. But where Infinite's combat truly shines is in its surprising mechanical density. Vigors that grant Booker special powers like the ability to shoot electricity from his fingertips or absorb bullets and toss them right back at foes serve as the first extra layering. For those familiar with the series, these powers might seem quite like the Plasmids introduced in the first BioShock, and though they do perform the same function, they're implemented in a far more balanced way in Infinite than they are in its predecessors; they're powerful and readily available but must be dealt out conservatively, as the mana pool they run on is rather restrictive.

But as gleefully destructive as they can be, Vigors are decidedly uninteresting in the face of Infinite's more inspired new mechanics. Booker's ability to latch onto the aerial Skylines running throughout Columbia is perhaps the most mind-blowing gameplay feature of them all. Though the mechanic seemed rather unbelievable during its first E3 showing a couple years ago, it speaks to the ingenuity of the game's level design that fluidly navigating Skylines that weave throughout many of the game's rather conspicuous battle arenas while taking shots at enemies, a potentially disorienting feat, becomes effortless after only a few encounters. The verticality and freedom of movement this system grants the game is awe-inspiring, and almost attaches a sense of childlike wonder to the act of mass-murdering racists.

For the first few hours of gameplay, these are the mechanics that Booker is limited to. It's during this time that he seeks to accomplish a seemingly simple direction mandated by a mysterious client: "Give us the girl, and wipe away the debt." Though this phrase ends up holding more significance than an uninitiated player could possibly know, it nonetheless serves as the impetus for finding Elizabeth, a young woman whose power to tear holes in the space-time continuum has, perhaps expectedly, lead her to be sequestered on the looming, Statue of Liberty-esque research facility, Monument Island.

So, as one might expect, this ability of hers adds more than a few layers of complexity to what might've otherwise been a rather straightforward plot. As the extent of her powers is gradually revealed, a suitably mind-bending narrative begins to form that comments, among other things, on the frail nature of identity and the profound ways in which a single choice can influence personhood, for better or worse. Though the introduction of converging space-time might seem to risk devolving the story into an Inception-esque exercise in overly complex authorial self-indulgence, BioShock Infinite uses this storytelling conceit to build a truly tragedian narrative.

But Elizabeth isn't merely a means for crafting a brain-melting metaphysical storyline. Nor is Booker DeWitt a stupefied on-looker who hails from the same lineage of horribly flat shooter protagonists as Gordon Freeman, or Corvo Attano. They are both memorable characters whose defined personalities infuse the plot's affecting tragedy with a true sense of humanity. Elizabeth, on one hand, starts out as a surprisingly cultured and self-aware inversion of the classic damsel-in-distress trope, and her evolution over the course of the game's ten- to twelve-hour campaign is astonishingly well-paced and believable. Her exaggerated features and expressive animations that pay homage to the distinctive style Grim Natwick invented for Disney solidify her as one of the most memorable and empathetic characters in gaming. DeWitt, by contrast, is predominately a closed-book, limiting himself to practical, yet charismatic antics strongly reminiscent of classic swashbucklers like Han Solo until his dark past is fully revealed during the final act. When that happens, he extends far beyond his narrative role as a foil to Elizabeth, and the resulting revelations cut to the bone. Major compliments are due to Troy Baker and Courtnee Draper, who faultlessly brings this odd couple to life even through all the mind-blowing turns the story takes.

The duo also serve as a great team during Infinite's huge combat sequences. Though Booker, as mentioned before, is in charge of most of the direct combat, Elizabeth is a key ingredient in what makes the game's massive shootouts so dazzling. Most significantly, she uses her ability to alter time and space to bring objects into the battlefields that didn't previously exist. Asking for a wall of cover to hide behind when a dozen enemies are facing you down, or perhaps a Skyhook that lets you access a sniper perch adds an exciting tactical dynamism to combat that feels especially important considering the sheer number of foes the game throws at you. Since you can only select one object to tear in at a time, more heated battles require a constant mindfulness and economization of Elizabeth's power that is as exhilaratingly strategic as the best of tactical shooters.

A smaller, but no less genius touch is the fact that Elizabeth tosses you mana and ammo when it feels clutch. Even when it becomes obvious that she's scripted to do so whenever your resources are running low, the notion that an AI is looking out for you is relentlessly fulfilling, especially in a game that constructs a scenario that might've so easily fallen into the dreaded escort-mission trap. Indeed, going back to other first-person shooters has become tough, as Elizabeth is not just a delightful companion in a narrative sense, but she's also integral to the satisfaction of Infinite's moment-to-moment combat proceedings.

Each of the augments to the core shooting experience are satisfying in their own right, but once they all start working in tandem, Infinite's combat scenarios reach the upper-echelon of FPS sublimation. Not since Half-Life 2 has a shooter married pulse-pounding twitch thrills to a deeply strategic core so seamlessly, and while leaving so much room for experimentation. The gritty sound design that punctuates the action is equally superb; a combination of abrasive string stabs, impactful weapon sound effects and some truly horrifying enemy damage reactions unfailingly sell you on the weighty ferocity of the mayhem you cause.

All this, of course, sounds amazing, and on some level it truly is. But consider this: for all its fast-paced entertainment, Infinite's combat never fully works. In a mechanical sense, it's pretty much as polished as can be, but the game's massive amount of carnage doesn't quite work within the context of the story. In fact, story and gameplay don't feel merged at all. While there's a fair amount of narrative justification for the heavy degree of violence, the fact that shooting people and ripping their heads of with a spinning hook is pretty much Booker's only way of interacting with the world undercuts much of the arresting emotionality of Infinite's narrative.

Highlighting this problem is the fact that many of the game's most powerful moments either preclude player input, or limit interactivity to the push of a single button. Elizabeth's ability to tear holes in the space-time continuum, for example, may have been the basis for some ingenious puzzle solving and narrative interaction, but players are instead left to simply push a button to demand entry into a new reality where they can proceed to shoot more people in the face. Again, this feels like BioShock Infinite going only halfway in bringing its many fantastic ideas to life; some truly inventive mechanical structures may have been borne out of the game's central narrative conceits, but Irrational has disappointingly opted to instead rely on more comfortable and pre-established action gameplay.

This disconnect is furthered by the game's odd focus on scavenging between each firefight. While the opportunity to really dig into and appreciate each environment, as well as get a break from the nearly nonstop action is welcome, the context of the narrative doesn't really support these detours either. Booker's mission is given an impactful sense of urgency, so the fact that the game encourages you to stop down for long stretches of time to eat random food items littered about and try to uncover Columbia's many secrets is rather off-putting. Early on, for instance, Elizabeth finds herself in immediate danger. An objective indicator flashes on-screen telling you to go rescue her, yet you find yourself surrounded by lootable objects designated by a pulsating golden glow. Of all the moments to try and fish pieces of cake out of a trashcan, this may be the least opportune, but Infinite's structure, which evidently values narrative over gameplay in terms of pacing and logic, continues to tempt you astray regardless. This might all seem a bit nitpicky, but considering the fact that Infinite is so intent on being treated as a significant work of art, these small annoyances can't be ignored, as they gradually undermine the meaning the game tries so hard to construct for itself.

BioShock Infinite is a game worth any mature player's while, but it has come at an unfortunate time. Within the past year alone, the industry has been treated to games like Spec Ops: The Line, The Walking Dead, and Hotline Miami, just a few titles that are capable of eloquently and expertly exploring dark themes while being cognizant of their respective mechanics' impact on the narratives they try to weave, making a game like Infinite - one that never fully accounts for the ways in which its gameplay influences the meaning and effectiveness of its story - seem a bit clumsy by comparison. David Jaffe, the brilliant designer behind games like God of War and Twisted Metal once deemed the relationship between gameplay and narrative as being like the combination of "chocolate and tunafish." I would argue that this claim isn't necessarily true, and games like Spec Ops are perfect demonstrations as to why that is. In the case of Infinite, however, Jaffe's argument has a haunting validity. But take heart, the chocolate that is BioShock Infinite's gameplay and the tunafish that is its story are pretty much premium grade when enjoyed separately. Just accept the fact that the combination is to taste a little odd and find something to savor within it.

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"WTA2k5 reviewed BioShock Infinite for the PlayStation 3..." was posted by WTA2k5 on Tue, 07 May 2013 13:42:46 -0700
]]> http://www.gamespot.com/bioshock-infinite/user-reviews/811095/platform/ps3/ Sun, 28 Apr 2013 00:22:13 -0700 ShadowsDemon reviewed Sleeping Dogs for the Xbox 360... http://www.gamespot.com/sleeping-dogs/user-reviews/810774/platform/xbox360/ ...and gave it a 8.0.

You play as Wei Shen, an undercover cop in the Triads. This open-world game set in the crime-ridden city of Hong Kong lets you experience the best of both worlds and how Wei struggles within both sides.
Single-player:
Let's get one thing straight before we even begin guys. Not only is Sleeping Dogs is everything that Grand Theft Auto should have been, it excels and dwarves almost every single open world game out there (excluding RPGs of course). It's one of those games that you'll be able to play endlessly, and never failing to be amazed at its stunning and brutal world.
So, what's the whole background of Sleeping Dogs? Well you play as Wei Shen, an American-Asian police officer who has been assigned with infiltrating the Triads of Hong Kong, called Sun On Yee and take them down. The plot sounds simple, but in reality it is anything but. Wei becomes engaged in brutal war that involves multiple gangs within the Triads such as the Water Street Gang, the Jade gang, racers, drug dealers, the police and more. It's a complex tale that has you question your original assumptions of good and bad once you realise that they aren't really so clear-cut as you believed them to be. As you continue through the story, and grow found of characters such as Winston Chu and his crazy mother, Jackie Ma, Uncle Po, your multiple girlfriends such as Amanda Cartwright (voiced by The Amazing Spiderman's Emma Stone) you'll discover their secrets, passions and goals, and you'll see that they aren't all the typical gangsters you'd automatically perceive them as. It's sobering to know that these people are regarded as evil when subjects as such family and honour mean so much to them.
The story interweaves between multiple objectives set you to by friends, the triads, police and alike. Even though most of the missions are similar, they have a distinct feel to them, and allow you to delve a little deeper into the world of Hong Kong's Sun On Yee and its complex members within.
The best thing about this game is the atmosphere. It's delicious and steamy layout does the inside of Hong Kong justice, and as a person who has visited the island, I can vouch for its authenticity. You can wonder into the night market, and rub shoulders with the locals as you hear their broken English and fluent Mandarin as the shopkeepers cry out and beg you to shop at their stall, which they insist is 'da best place you can buy, sir, I show you, yes', despite pretty much all the shops selling the same clothes. You can pick up a new mattress for your apartment, some pets and more. You can stop by the many food-stalls and buy delicious Asian food such as Pork buns and fish curry balls. Feeling tired? Go for a massage. In the mood to win some cash? Gamble your money on cock-fights. Now before you all buy the game, it's cocks as in chickens, thus chicken-fights.
All this adds up to make one of the most atmospheric games in recent memory. The rich neon lights that hang over you as you explore every inch of this city is a blast. There's also sightseeing to do, the malls to visit, and karaoke to sing. If you're feeling religious, you can even pray at the many shrines around the city, which will also increase your health. Even when bumping into people on the street, their irritated cries and curses in broken English assist in making Sleeping Dogs a genuinely immersive game that you can easily get lost in. It's stunning production values and variety of quests, missions and objectives keep the game from going stale. Unlike so many other games like it, Sleeping Dogs goes into great detail with everything, from the smallest rooms to the city view at night. You can tell that the developers made a real effort to make their game as tangible as possible, and that's something you cannot possibly deny.
The world of Sleeping Dogs is brutal, violent and complex, but in despite of that it manages to create a compelling narrative in an immersive world. This is everything that Grand Theft Auto should have been, and thus is one of the best single-player campaigns you'll come across this year.
Gameplay:
The gameplay in Sleeping Dogs allows to do anything at any given time, each other crazier than before. Are you in a high-speed chase? You can jump from one car to another as you speed along the highway. Are you getting pursed, by either the triads or the cops? You can shoot out their wheels, and then observe the carnage in slow-motion. You can do the same when in a gunfight, the slow-motion battle feeling as awesome as it is brutal. If you've played Vanquish, you'll feel right at home here.
But the best part of Sleeping Dogs where gameplay is concerned is the combat. Very much like Batman: Arkham City, you'll face off in some cases over a dozen thugs with brutal moves and techniques. However, unlike Arkham City, you can actually kill your opponents, and sometimes with the aid of the environment. One of the best (and most gut-wrenching) environmental kills comes from forcing the heads of your enemies over a burning furnace, and then watching as they burn to a crisp. Other options, such as throwing them in garbage bins, smashing them against walls and fans, not only look awesome, but earn you face points as well, which can then be used to deal extra damage to your opponents, and force them to cower in fear.
You have a number of unique moves at your disposal, increasing as you complete a particular side quest. The unparallel violence is enhanced through the slow motion kill cams, as the blood sprays, bones break and the screams of pain are heard. Even better, you can equip a weapon such as a tire-iron or kitchen knife – which can be dropped by your opponents – and use them to your advantage.
But that's not all you can do, however. In the game's many thrilling car chases you can hijack the cars, meaning you can jump from one to the other within seconds, and take control of the cars. It's the sort of work that gets your blood pumping and has you craving for more. The game of course has guns, and has been tweaked to feel surprisingly meaty and effective, unlike so many other third person shooters. It's not that all realistic, considering you can simply pick up a shotgun and let it rip, but the way in which the game allows you to shoot, especially when in slow-motion, gives a sense of gory satisfaction and weight. I will, however say that in the midst of these gunfights, the controls become clunky and unresponsive, especially when trying to duck for cover or run away. You end up feeling like an idiot as the enemies puncture you with bullets.
The AI aren't exactly smart enough to all gang up on you, such as in the game like The Witcher 2, but they know when to strike, and when your back is turned in combat. They even position themselves in such a way that makes your escape even more difficult, and they will pull you out of cars if you – like me – decided that running them over instead of fighting them would be an easier solution. They become even smarter in gunfights. They only fire when it's possible to hit you, and they won't spray either. They'll duck for cover and then only peek out to fire a couple of rounds – all together, might I add.
The gameplay in Sleeping Dogs is brutal, weighty, and satisfying. It's got everything you could want from an open world game, from brawls to car and police chases to minigames like karaoke and gambling, and everything the game does do it does smoothly. The gun fights leave a lot to be desired, but the game fulfils your expectations from the first moment to its last.

Presentation:
The virtual version of Kong Kong is utterly drenched in detail and brilliant design. The city and markets come to life with huge neon signs and lit up buildings. The many shops have aisles and stacks of products with writing you can read. The fluent Mandarin spoken by the locals is often hilarious and thoughtful, especially when you bump into them. The visuals shine both technically and artistically, though a little weaker on the artistic side. Regardless, this is one of the best open world games you'll be coming across, and it damn sure looks sweet.
The voice acting is solid, with hundreds of hours of genuine Mandarin script and voices with use great gusto such as Mrs. Chu, Wei Shen and Winston. Sleeping Dogs does everything it can to make this world feel real, and it does so to its best extent.
Another praiseworthy aspect is due with the radio stations. Many real bands such as Queen appear on the radio, along with advertisements and radio shows, both in English and Mandarin, adding yet another layer of complexity to the game.
Trophies:
The Sleeping Dogs isn't that hard, it's merely time-consuming, but in a good way. You'll need to win a certain amount of cash at gambling, kill any enemy with each type of gun, among other things. Regardless, Sleeping Dogs provides an enjoyable, albeit long, journey to its platinum trophy.
Conclusion:
Sleeping Dogs provides you with a complex story, a dark world in which two sides blend into one, brutal combat and gunplay, brilliant design and fantastic replay value. It'll take ages to complete and find everything, and you'll enjoy every moment of it. Sleeping Dogs is not only one of the best games of the year; it's one of the best open world games of all time. It's everything that GTA should be and more. This is one adventure you don't want to miss out on.

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"ShadowsDemon reviewed Sleeping Dogs for the Xbox 360..." was posted by ShadowsDemon on Sun, 28 Apr 2013 00:22:13 -0700
]]> http://www.gamespot.com/sleeping-dogs/user-reviews/810774/platform/xbox360/ Sun, 28 Apr 2013 00:21:08 -0700 ShadowsDemon reviewed Final Fantasy XIII-2 for the PlayStation 3... http://www.gamespot.com/final-fantasy-xiii-2/user-reviews/810773/platform/ps3/ ...and gave it a 7.5.


FF13-2 is one of those titles that's exactly the same as it's prequel in some areas and the complete opposite in others. The gameplay is somewhat similar, with the battle system containing 6 roles, ATB bars and micromanaging your own spells and abilities. This time around though you have the opinion to change your party leader, even in the midst of a major battle. You can also "tame" your former enemies, getting them to fight at your side in battle. There's nothing better than working with a chocobo to slain a monster 100 times bigger than you. The trouble with the game though lies within the story. There's a lot going on with time, paradoxes, seeing the future and in short what's happening around you. It's a well done tale with a lot of twists along the way, but you'll be confused for the most part for where exactly you want or need to go. You'll be given multiple time gates that allow you to travel back and forth – like using the ship in the old FFs in a way – and doing this over and over again gets confusing to say the least. Not to worry though, it's as fun as ever.
The technical side the game has dramatically suffered with Square deciding to squeeze the game onto a single disc for the 360 unlike for the last game. The graphics aren't quite as crisp as they were previously, and there's a lot less of those stunning CGI cut-scenes to gawk at. The soundtrack also suffers. A strange blend of metal, techno and party music does little to suit the atmosphere in some cases. Even small quirks like enemies becoming one with the battlefield and popping up randomly is a sign of a drop in quality. However, the gameplay is more enjoyable and complex in battle. You'll have a blast, and with the linear aspect completely gone FF13-2 has an extremely enjoyable, albeit a short, single player experience.
FF13-2 doesn't quite match up to FF13, even though the gameplay has improved and the linear aspect done away with. It's still a fantastic title however that is well worth your time.

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"ShadowsDemon reviewed Final Fantasy XIII-2 for the PlayStation 3..." was posted by ShadowsDemon on Sun, 28 Apr 2013 00:21:08 -0700
]]> http://www.gamespot.com/final-fantasy-xiii-2/user-reviews/810773/platform/ps3/ Sun, 28 Apr 2013 00:19:56 -0700 ShadowsDemon reviewed The ICO & Shadow of the Colossus Collection for the PlayStation 3... http://www.gamespot.com/the-ico-and-shadow-of-the-colossus-collection/user-reviews/810772/platform/ps3/ ...and gave it a 7.0.

Overview: It's been six years since we mustered up the courage to slay 16 shadowy monsters as big as mountains to save the life of a loved one back in 2005. Now we get the chance to re-experience the glory in HD. Will Shadow of the Colossus maintain its memorable gameplay and stunning presentation on the PS3, or will it just turn our nostalgia sour?

Gameplay:
If you ever want to set yourself a messy and difficult job, you could try to describe the gameplay of a game that's from the last generation and compare it to the video games seen in recent years. It's about as simple as nailing jelly to a tree. But I'll try to do my best.
Over the years video games have dramatically changed in terms of gameplay. The reactions are sharper and less clunky; there are less glitches and more flexibility. As these elements continue to improve we strive forward in the world of electronic games and achieving near flawless results as we enter the realm of a masterpiece. But then what if we look back and see just how far we've come?
When Shadow of the Colossus came out – it was like nothing that had come before it in terms of gameplay. With your bow and dagger you toppled beats as big as mountains. We were blown away back then, and it's something that will always be remembered. Then suddenly here comes the catch: with the gameplay seen today how well does SotC hold up?
One could say that it is near impossible to compare the two generations, and it is. But with the HD remake hitting the shelves the page is ready to be written on. SotC appears deceivably simple at first. You ride your horse around a deserted land (you might want to adjust the button configuration before heading off. Yes, it's been that long) and hunt down the colossus with your weapons.
The colossus's seem simple enough to kill to start, but then you'll find that you'll need to make use of the environment in order to topple them. In some cases you'll need to hide yourself and climb up its beard when it searches the cave for you. In other instances the only way to get the better of them is by waiting until they climb up on the wall of a building and then knocking them down. This added element of complexity increases with nearly every encounter. Part of the thrill of slaying these monsters is by discovering their weak point by means of a sophisticated way and then plunging your dagger into them.
Doing this is by no means easy. You are rarely given clues or hint how you can get the better of them, and even when you do the clunky controls will frustrate you more times than you'd like. We just have to remember how long ago it was in comparison to the games we get treated with today. However that won't be too likely as you fall of a colossus once again because you accidently let go. Climbing the colossus shouldn't be this much off a chore, and as you constantly fall off or press the wrong button your patience may give in too soon. Of course, everyone who played the game when it came out is expecting this. Newcomers might be disappointed and unpleasantly surprised at the game's harshness.
It's great to know that the using your weapons is spot on in terms of smoothness. As you plunge your dagger into the colossus's weak points and aim your bow there's a feeling of strength and accuracy. Riding your horse and aiming at the same time with your bow bonds the hunter and his horse a realistic and pleasant way.
You may find yourself getting continuously irritated at the dated, clunky controls, but you have to remember how excellent it was back in 2004. This HD remake will shock first timers until they slowly adjust to the game and appreciate it's art, whilst those who had played the game on the PS2 will be right at home.
Single Player:
At the start of the game you see Wander come into the Shrine of Worship and lay down a person wrapped in white sheets. Without spoiling too much, if you want to bring your loved one back to life then you must kill 16 giant colossus that roam free in the area, and destroy the 16 statues in the shrine. You then set off on your quest with nothing but a dagger and a bow to slay these beasts the size of mountains.
The story isn't memorable to start, and often you'll be wandering..sorry..wondering if this is all there is to it. The area of which the colossi roam free is completely devoid of other life sources apart from a few scattered lizards, birds, fish and your single trusty horse – Argos. It feels lonely and empty; somewhere you'd rather not be in as you seek to bring your loved one back. The story isn't a main factor in this game, and you'll wonder why it's even there to start with. By the time you reach the end the story takes you by surprise as you await the shocking ending that you probably knew was going to have to happen.
Other than hunting and toppling the colossi there's absolutely nothing else to do in this world. You can eat fruit off the trees and lizards to increase your stamina and health, but there is literally nothing else in the world of any interest for you. It increases the sense of isolation and exploring the unknown that some may find appealing. If you had to explore a magical kingdom populated with towns, castles and bustling people then this game wouldn't be the same. There's no inventory, no sense of progress or interaction. It's just a Wander, his horse and the massive colossus.
Looking at the glass half full there are no distractions or branching options that draw you away from your main quest, giving you the sense of little time left as you seek the next boss after the other. It's not something everyone is accustomed to, and will unquestionably leave a lot of people underwhelmed. Then again it's extremely effective in terms of creating a brilliant atmosphere and environment for you to explore.
It's a very different aspect to consider, and will leave a lot of people asking that age old question: "What were they thinking?" It also provides you with a mysterious story, an isolated and shadowy land and a unique environment. It's an acquired taste, and those who don't have the stomach for it will possibly be turned off until the spirit of emptiness summons them to return once again.

Technical:
This is where it becomes extremely difficult: how do we compare the graphical and technical presentation of the HD remake of a 2004 game? To say the least even with an expensive makeover the technical side hasn't fared well. Characters appear to be no more than cardboard cut-outs at times, and trees seem to be second-dimension at times. This is strangely the polar opposite of the artistic side of the game, despite the land sometimes being one gray corridor after another or shape lumps of rocks jutting out of nowhere. You really get a massive scope of the land and it's emptiness by gazing at its clever art design. It's excuse for running short on the technical side is of course that the game was originally on the PS2, and when it came out on the console at the time it blew everyone away. This is what we'll remember for years to come – when we gasped at the unbelievably visuals back in 2004. Strangely enough the visuals in with the HD remake look half baked at times – though this is often seen in open world games.
But what it disappoints in visuals in makes up in audio. The sound design is brilliant as is the soundtrack, sending chills of nostalgia tingling down our spines as we yet again get treated to one of the most astounding soundtracks in gaming history. It may be impossible to ever top SotC's mighty soundtrack, and if it's one thing we'll remember the game by it's from its audio and soundtrack. It's a shame the visuals don't match up to our expectations but the soundtrack will never let us down, and will be the benchmark for all future gaming soundtracks that many developers have strived to match.
Trophies:
The trophies in SotC aren't difficult, but merely time-consuming. Multiple playthroughs will keep your entertained as hunting for all the fruit and lizards will. Granted it's not a weekend platinum and will often frustrate you at times, but SotC contains a trophy set that is mildly challenging but takes a fair amount of time.
Closing Thoughts:
Shadow of the Colossus is an extremely difficult game to review, especially in comparison to how we viewed it on launch and how we view it today. Those would played the game back in good ol' 2004 will be right at home here and will love the game just as much as they previously did. Those who haven't will unquestionably be shocked by the clunky controls and tattered visuals until they get a grip and see the brilliant works behind this ancient masterpiece. It doesn't matter if you've been eagerly waiting for a shot of fresh nostalgia, waiting to get your teeth into the game once again, or a newcomer who wants to see what the hype is about, Shadow of the Colossus is a game that everyone should try for themselves and see what's behind the curtain. Some will be turned off by its dated and unusual gameplay and tale, but that's a judgment you'll come to make for yourself.

Get the full article at GameSpot

]]> http://www.gamespot.com/the-ico-and-shadow-of-the-colossus-collection/user-reviews/810772/platform/ps3/ Sun, 28 Apr 2013 00:18:49 -0700 ShadowsDemon reviewed Ratchet & Clank: All 4 One for the PlayStation 3... http://www.gamespot.com/ratchet-and-clank-all-4-one/user-reviews/810771/platform/ps3/ ...and gave it a 4.0.

Overview: Our old Lombax friend, his robotic sidekick, the green clown in green and evil genius with a few screws loose all team up in the latest Ratchet and Clank game from Insomniac. Has this game lived up to its worthy predecessors, or has it taken the evitable turn for the worst?
Gameplay: Ratchet and Clank is probably best known for its meticulous and ridiculously fun gameplay. After taking a dab in the shooter genre with Gladiator, the gameplay continuously kept improving from Tools of Destruction, before giving us the innovative Clank time mechanics and more in A Crack In Time. Where does that lead up to in R&C A4O?
You basically get a similar experience for the most part that you got in the previous games; you bought and upgraded bizarre weapons, you solved puzzles and leapt across bottomless pits, and you used as many gadgets as you could possibly handle. It's all here in Ratchet and Clank: A4O, but it doesn't do it quite as well as it did in the previous games. The camera angle continuously struggles to keep with you and your buddies, for instance. It'll be jerking all over the place, and you'll be unable to focus on your objective simply because you cannot get to it. Even as the AI characters will be busying doing something else that they happen to believe is more important than the situation or objective at present.
The controls also infuriate you time after time. You'll often clear a gap and then suddenly slip off for no apparent reason. Other annoying quirks like getting the aim and select weapon analog sticks confused are more plentiful than they should, and will most likely turn you off after a short while.
Never the less, the gameplay is as fun you'd expect it to be, and with the classic bolts, creates and more, A4O does at least do the franchise dignity by supplying us with enjoyable gameplay and co-op craziness. Now that you're able to play with a total of four people you'll have action and carnage a plenty as you all rush to the bolts or rescue a friend from a close shave with a razor saw. As expected, many puzzles and bosses can only be beaten with steady co-operation from all four players. The sense of victory achieved from pure teamwork is well worth the effort in every instance. Having a few buddies over or playing with other gaming dweebs online is a blast. The clunky controls are slightly less noticeable in co-op, which is a great thing as there are enough problems playing co-op as it is thanks to the jerky camera angles.
Thankfully for previous entries in the series brushes with glitches have been kept to a minimal. All 4 One has obviously decided to make up for it, as the glitches are worse than they should be at any rate. You'll regularly die expectedly; the enemies will be un-killable or certain section nigh-on impossible unless done with fewer or less people. The Ratchet and Clank franchise has built itself on tight controls and ridiculously fun gameplay; and whilst it still has that the game feels as if it's been rushed and dumbbed down.
Ratchet and Clank: A4O's gameplay is close enough to the core to remind us of its origin, but simultaneously it's too far to match up to any other previous installment on any scale. The glitches are also more than annoyance, but you can get by for a good amount of the time.
Single-Player:
Our two heroes can never seem to catch a break, can they? From stopping Dr. Nefarious' plan to turn the universe's inhabitants into robots and being held hostage by an organization baying for blood, to running from a certain Cragmite and racing against time, Ratchet and Clank have always had their more than fair share of action and adventure in a (mostly) light-hearted universe. The stories were always comical and intriguing, particularly A Crack In Time which possessed the most powerful and awe-inspiring stories ever created by Insomniac Games. Plenty of replay value and goodies always kept you coming back for more through the fantastic campaign.
So what went wrong this time?
Ratchet and Clank have finally decided to retire from playing the roles as heroes, but the universe has other plans for them. Captain Qwark and Dr. Nefarious are also thrown into the confusion as the four are marooned in foreign territory and struggle to find a way back home. Now, as if this didn't sound tacky enough as the four work together to get home they come across Ephemeris the Creature Collector and have to save the universe once again. This sounds the standard procedure for Ratchet and Clank, but in truth it's anything but. The story gets no form of attention or care of any sort. You wouldn't be able to care less about our heroes or what they're getting up to this time. There's nothing to hold your interest or imagination. You'll trudge through the levels continuously without even noticing them slip through your fingers, and then you'll come to the end of the single-player in near to no time at all with a story that is underwhelming simple and poorly constructed.
Even the level design is simple and straight forward. You'll clear gaps, fire your guns, solve simple puzzles and plod along with barely anything holding your interest. It's tragic that Insomniac had to soil the franchises reputation for their lengthy and enjoyable single-player campaigns. Instead they give us the complete polar opposite. Avoid like verenal disease.
Multiplayer:
If there's one area where R&C A4O shines the most it's in the co-op without a doubt. Solving puzzles, leaping across gaps and exchanging insults with three other buddies is a pure blast. It's enough reason to play the game alone; not that there's many other reasons at all that this.
As enjoyable as it may be – the server issues cause a severe headache. Constant lobby crashes, excruciatingly long loading times, connection errors and more will send you into an occasional fit. Even when you've created the lobby the game will freeze suddenly when someone wants to join. You'll be unable to exit out as they attempt to join the lobby, and then in the end they won't end up joining. Even finding a lobby that isn't full can prove to be a challenge, and for some reason people seem to be fighting over Ratchet – which cuts down the available lobbies even more so.
But when you do happen to find a lobby that you can have a game in – or get three friends to share with the tiny couch with at home, you'll enjoy the co-op even more so. Firing your guns rapidly together to create an explosive effect and working together with each of your unique abilities is somewhat similar to LittleBigPlanet, albeit a much timid version.
The multiplayer is enjoyable, explosive and will get a few good laughs out of you. The many problems with match making and alike will frustrate you, but for the worst part it's worth putting up with it until the end.
Presentation:
Rich and deep colours inspired the artistic visuals behind R&C A4O, as well as a silky smooth framerate and very rare moments of slow-down or texture pop-in. They aren't as smooth as R&C ACiT, nor are they as technically outstanding, but they do a fine job regardless.
The soundtrack is designed by Boris Salchow, the same mind behind the works of ACiT's soundtrack. Comical and light-hearted tunes occupy your mind as you play through the game; though it's noticeably less brilliant than ACiT's. The audio design is above average at best, neither being particularly poor nor fantastic.
Closing thoughts:
Ratchet and Clank: All 4 One shows us exactly what happens when you turn a series into something that is the complete polar opposite of the previous games. It's almost as if Insomniac Games wanted to disappoint their fanbase. A4O doesn't feel like a feel Ratchet and Clank game, and if it weren't for the title name the game would be called back off the shelves. The comical humour and enjoyable co-op do ease the pain of seeing this franchise hit rock bottom, but maybe this is just another lesson learned; and our creative designers at Insomniac have humbly released their mistake and will bring the real franchise and its dignity back.
You got what you deserved Insomniac.



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]]> http://www.gamespot.com/ratchet-and-clank-all-4-one/user-reviews/810771/platform/ps3/ Sun, 28 Apr 2013 00:17:15 -0700 ShadowsDemon reviewed MotorStorm: Apocalypse for the PlayStation 3... http://www.gamespot.com/motorstorm-apocalypse/user-reviews/810770/platform/ps3/ ...and gave it a 7.5.

Single Player:
Goodbye the beautiful beaches and rainforests, hello to the crumbling cites of America, where the buildings that tear themselves away from the ground to crush you, the civilians shoot at you, and where a mistake will not only cost you the race, but your life.. Welcome to the apocalypse, baby.
What's your first thing that comes to mind when you read those words? If it's pure chaos, beautiful madness in a frenzy of cars, buggies, ATVs and monster trucks, all willing to kill to stay ahead of hell, then you've got the perfect image in mind that sums up MotorStorm: Apocalypse.
You might be surprised that this game is actually superior to its past games, considering that most of the locales aren't as varied as before. You won't be racing across beaches, lush tropical jungles, hot volcanoes and mudcliffs. Most of the racing takes part in industrial areas, the city streets and even on top of skyscrapers. While this isn't exactly for the best, the way in which it is handled causes you to wonder what you saw in the past games compared to now.
You might be surprised to learn that this game actually has a story. You play the role of three different characters, Mash "The Rookie", Tyler "The Pro", and Big Dog "The Veteran". Each of these characters offers a different perspective of the game's story as well as an altered difficultly level, which offers multiple play throughs. Instead of just selecting the levels and tracks that you choose to race in, after each race you will be progressed to the next one, with some text and dialogue that allows you to catch up on what's happening. It's a good way to get the story flowing, and the tracks that are given to you are varied and in complete different locals, which allows you to taste the full spice of life that the apocalypse has to offer. New additions include superbikes, hot hatches, and supercars, each with their own certain advantages and disadvantages. In some cases it's up to the personal player in choosing the perfect ride for themselves, or the track in-particular.
One of the best things about the single player campaign, however, is that the race track constantly changes. You might be burning your way across a certain path, but then suddenly a building collapses in front of your very eyes, forcing you to change your direction within a split second to avoid crashing. The track is completely altered, forcing you to go an entirely new direction, or in some cases drive under or above the obstacle. It's a great sensation to wonder when the track will change, offering some new burst of excitement just when you thought the track was going to get dull.
Sadly, in terms of the games' story there's no real backbone to substantiate any genuine reason to care about the tale. The story is merely a flimsy hook to hang the progression of your career and edge you along. Then again, not many racing games actually employ any form of a story at all, so the mix up is nice to see once in a while, even if you won't really be getting much out of the story at all.
MotorStorm: Apocalypse provides a great single campaign, albeit a poorly shaped story, that gives you pleasure to constantly experience. The tracks are well designed, the variety brilliantly maintained, all of it soaked in the brutal reality of a real apocalypse.
Gameplay:
If you've ever played a MotorStorm game before, then you'll know exactly what to expect. However, the way in which Apocalypse handles it is quite unique. The steering is drastically improved, the handling and way in which you maintain a steady flow throughout the race has been tweaked to be much more enjoyable. In addition, collapsing buildings, tornados that throw cars at you, helicopters, earthquakes, and gunners try to do everything in their power to turn the race into a playground of burning and twisted metal and fire. It's your job to stay ahead of that, and that element is what makes MotorStorm: Apocalypse so enthralling.
There's always something going on, be it a building collapsing, a helicopter flying through the air, or the stupid locals trying to chuck grenades at you, there's always something on the screen to entertain you that just adds to the mix of adrenaline, speeding up the race. The mix of fire and water also adds another layer of complexity, meaning that you have to be careful when to use your boost. That ledge might give you the extra height or might be a short cut, but if you're in critical mode with your boost and that "short cut" has fire scattered all over it, or some locals and a helicopter decide to fire some lead in your direction, it might just cost you the race. Be careful, and while you always want to get to the finish line as soon as possible, going too fast in some tracks can be the worst thing you could do. Unlike in previous games, Apocalypse is about so much more than just winning the race. It's about a brutal mix of insanity as you burn your way through a track that falls apart as you speed through it. And if there's three massive trucks, all trying to get in that small space that only one of you can fit in, then it's ram, or be rammed, my friends. And boy is it fun to ram and punch (depending on your vehicle and the other vehicle, of course) your opponents to a sudden crash or even causing them to fall off the building. It's hiliarious stuff, especially when you're in the middle of the air, trying to all land in a difficult spot, and you all end up totalling each other. The game often takes itself very seriously in its context and story, but in moments like these you'll realize just how much fun it can be to all crash yourself in the middle of the Apocalypse.
However, this game is significantly easier than the past entires, which is both a good and a bad thing. The learning curve is smoothed out and is a hell lot easier to get accustomed to. However, the desperation of trying to get in that first place is gone here, as the benchmark for many races is 5th place instead. Not only that, many opponents seem to slow down when you get far behind, and seem to crash more. And when you boost ahead, they seem content to let you stay in that position. And quite frankly, I highly doubt that in a real apocalypse that your opponents would be so forgiving.
Apocalypse does a fantastic job of setting the standard for racers, and is more than a pleasure to experience as you crash your way more often than not through the track. The gameplay is slick, tight, and best of all: fun.

Multiplayer:

The core element of MotorStorm: Apocalypse and maybe even the best multiplayer I have ever experienced in any online racer, it's that superb.
You can race with up to 15 other players online, and that creates even more mayhem and destruction than before, as your online opponents seem to love ramming you as much as you love ramming them.
As with every online game, there's ranks to gain, achievements and medals that you can earn that boost your stats, and even create new loadouts for your game. In fact, this is probably the closest any racer can get to have FPS aspects within its multiplayer. And boy does it work well. These loadouts can give you some extra boost, better drift, and so on. You have to adjust it to the actually vehicle that you're driving, as it would be pretty pointless to gain extra drift for a mudtruck.
In addition to standard racing there's a mode called elimination, which creates even more madness in order to struggle out of the danger zone. The way it works is by every 30 seconds or so eliminating the player in last place, and even then if the last two players are close together, it holds a "second chance" system, which will kick the player that falls drastically behind the other. It's even more fun than the standard race, and provides so much entertainment. And be wary that all the earthquakes, crashing buildings, etc, take place in multiplayer too, so if you want to time that ram of yours to send your opponent flying into hell, do it before they do. There's no mercy in the apocalypse.
Another great aspect of the multiplayer is that unlike so much games now days it provides offline, split screen multiplayer, that including
All in all the multiplayer in MotorStorm: Apocalypse is fantastically crafted and will unquestionably provide you with hours upon hours of entertainment and joy. Prepare to get lost in a realm of fun, insanity and mayhem.
Technical:
The gritty urban visuals continuously impress, and the frame-rate never fails, even when a hundred and one things are exploding in your face at once. You won't experience much – if at all – lag, even when playing online, or in the middle of a single player race. The loading times do leave a lot to be desired, however. It's a pain to just sit there and wait for the race to load when you know that it really isn't that big of a file. But regardless, the game runs smoothly, the textures are nice and crisp, and the visuals awesome. If you're one of those few people that actually owns a 3D HDTV, you can try the game in the third dimension. Sadly though, I don't have thousands of dollars to burn, so I can't deliver my own opinion on the matter. I can say, though, that the game would look awesome in 3D, which all the water getting splashed on the screen.
The audio is ace, the soundtrack less so. Thankfully, the developers decided to be smart and allow you to play your own custom music while in any race. So instead of the awful mash of random music that's carelessly slapped together, you get to listen (or at least in my case) to the likes of Metallica, Nirvana and Rise Against. It's great stuff, especially when a song equalizes in tune to the track.
Trophies: Don't expect an easy platinum, but I'd say that you can bag this one without too much trouble. At the rate of how superb the online is and how often you'll probably replay the single player, there's no reason why you shouldn't get this soon enough.

Conclusion:
MotorStorm: Apocalypse delivers a mix of a flaming ball of insanity tumbling down to a highway of superb action with a splash of a story to keep the ball rolling. Sure it isn't that good and the loading times leave a lot to be desired, but this is by far one of the best, if not the best racer that we've had in years, offline and online, and this is coming from a person who dislikes the genre. If you only buy one racer, make sure as hell it's this one.

Get the full article at GameSpot

"ShadowsDemon reviewed MotorStorm: Apocalypse for the PlayStation 3..." was posted by ShadowsDemon on Sun, 28 Apr 2013 00:17:15 -0700
]]> http://www.gamespot.com/motorstorm-apocalypse/user-reviews/810770/platform/ps3/ Sun, 28 Apr 2013 00:15:13 -0700 ShadowsDemon reviewed BioShock Infinite for the PlayStation 3... http://www.gamespot.com/bioshock-infinite/user-reviews/810769/platform/ps3/ ...and gave it a 10.0!!!

Single-player:
The premise of the game alone shows you that you're going to be in for one hell of a ride. The year is 1912, and Colombia is a floating city in the clouds. You are Booker DeWitt, a mercenary who is in deep shit. Specifically, he's in debt to certain people who aren't so forgiving about forgetting to cough up what they're owed. His last chance to rid himself of the burden is to rescue Elizabeth, a mysterious girl held captive in a tower that is protected by an angry, mechanical bird, and deliver her safety to New York. It may sound deceiving simple, but in reality there is nothing 'simple' about this game and the twisting tale that it tells.
From the game's opening lines (Woman: "Do you fear God?" Man: "No, I fear you.") you know that this is going to be a game layered with religious, political, moral, and philosophical overtones. That's nothing different from traditional Bioshock lore, but the way it is hammered into your skull time and time again shows just how different Colombia is from Rapture. Rapture was mainly about "no government, no god, just people", and all that propaganda. In Colombia, signs and billboards advertising the theocratic government and system along with referring to numerous Bible texts, quotes and tales highlights just how deeply religious (and crazy) this place is. Don't worry; it just gets better from here.
Shortly after you arrive in Colombia and stumble upon a carnival show the mystifying initials "A.D" appear on your right hand. In the lore of Bioshock and Colombian culture this is equivalent to 666 or having a pentagram stencilled on your chest. You are seized by authorities and about to be taken away and killed as a 'devil' and 'false prophet' when you escape, slaughtering the police even though you have no idea why they're after you and what this 'false prophet' represents. Numerous flashbacks, subtle hints, audio logs and cameo appearances by a strange duo all do their part in leaving you itching to see what happens next and figure out the entire plot.
As before, the moral choices and different pathways are given to you, although they are not as painstakingly clear as they were in the previous games. They will, however, affect the way people see you and alter elements in the game. If you decide to blast everyone in the ice-cream parlour to hell with a shotgun and steal their cash, the police will more than likely come running. Just maybe.
A fair warning here, though; this game will possibly offend you if you're a devout, religious person or celebrate American idealism the game will likely inspire outrage and anger. Bioshock Infinite is not afraid to ask questions that revolve around the taboo and fragile subjects such as racism, religion, god, political, reality and moral perception. It's the sort of game that thrusts the questions out there and leaves us to make up our own mind concerning the various topics at hand. I have to say, though, that the game does this in a truly spectacular way. This is a tale of turmoil and strife, of lust and greed; of sin and redemption. On top of the invigorating and heady themes that the game handles, as you get closer to the end you are left with more questions than answers, and the questions that you already were posed at the start of the tale evolve and twist beyond recognition as things start to seem as if they are contradicting each other. You turn off the game with these various questions still in your mind, the gears spinning in your brain as you fall asleep. You'll be so desperate to know the end that you'll almost wish the game was shorter so you could uncover the dark and evil mysteries at the heart of this dystopic and broken city. Alas, you'll have to endure the many hours that only leave you more and more bewildered. But that's a good thing, as it makes the ending pack one **** hell of a punch. But I'll talk about that later.
One of the best things about this game is that it doesn't ever treat you like an idiot; it doesn't hold your hand down the merry lane and pointing at what you have to do and how to reach your goal. Sure, there's a waypoint, but the way you get there and what you do in the meantime is up to you. For example, I decided to plod around and visit the ladies bathroom (creepy, yes I know), and Elizabeth makes some sort of subtle joke at me being a pervert. Then I visit the mens, and then she exclaims, 'I hope you aren't expecting me to follow you in there.' It's these little, subtle touches that I appreciate. They aren't apparent at first, and reward those who seek them out. Even better, the side missions aren't slapped in your face, either. For instance, Elizabeth might remark about a bookstore, or suggest that we explore the boardwalk for a little bit before moving on. In the store I discover multiple weapons, cash registers, and more. I also discover an audio log. Listening to the audio log I figure out that someone has a listen hold in another shop, and Elizabeth urges me to discover it. I do so, and when I open up the secret hatch I find a codex book (which will assist me with another side mission) and more audio logs. In these audio logs there are references to the past games, lore, and other titbits that are useful in forming the enigmatic puzzle that the land of Colombia is.
Now, onto the ending:
It's not good. It's not great. It's not even fantastic. It's **** incredible. There is no other way to describe it. I was expecting a plot twist, but the ending to Bioshock Infinite just blew me out of the water. I can with all seriousness say that Infinite's ending will be the standard for all games to come. Each time an amazing game ends with a fantastic conclusion, it must be compared with Infinite, and even then will likely fall short in a dramatic way.
You probably think I'm exaggerating or even feigning enthusiasm just for the sake of it, but you could not be more wrong. The twists, the absolute jaw-dropping moments, the dialogue and the slow realization as you piece the ending together will stay in your mind until the day you die. It's impossible to explain why without spoiling it, and believe me, this is one game that you definitely don't want to be spoiled. It's an ending you need to see for yourself, and as the gears spin in your head long after you've finished it you will come to countless theories and alternative conclusions, and will then be discussed and dissected for years to come. The ending is completely and utterly unprecedented on every possible scale, and will find its place in your mind and hearts until the very last breath leaves your body.
Gameplay:
Bioshock has always maintained a unique, albeit clunky and awkward style of gameplay. I don't mean the gameplay itself per-say, but the shooting mechanics. They were clunky, unresponsive, and downright piss-poor. That's not the case in Bioshock Infinite. The guns are an absolute blast to use (no pun intended) from the powerful shotgun to the accurate carbine to the RPG with incredible splash damage. Ploughing through the streets of Colombia, blowing off heads and shooting off limbs has never been more enjoyable. Of course, half the joy comes from vigors. If you've played any previous Bioshock games you'll know what plasmids are, and in Colombia, plasmids are vigors. If you don't know what they are, I shall explain.
They allow you to use unique and powerful abilities to screw up, harm, confuse, possess, and piss off enemies. You can use a certain vigor to possess a machine and cause it to attack your foes. You can use the Murder of Crows vigor to send a blast of ravens at all enemies in your radius. You can fire a bolt of electricity that channels from one enemy to the other. Combined with multiple vigors and your weapons, you can a create a mini version of World War III in the streets of Colombia. They're immensely enjoyable to use, and even more enjoyable to deal out punishments with. In BioShock 2 you had a bloody big drill to use. In Infinite you have some sort of cross between a hook and a cleaver. It's good for two things; the first of which is slicing the heads of those who are too stupid to come close to you. The seconds is used for sky-lines. These massive metal railway-like poles suspended in the air can be used to travel on at incredible speeds, firing as you go and gaining access to new areas that were previously out of reach. Even better, you can perform aerial assassinations and surprise your enemies. The sensational joy of speeding along these skylines at break neck speeds never gets old. It's unparalleled joy that was never experienced in any previous games. You'll also go up against a variety of challenging enemies, the most iconic of which is named Patriot and looks suspiciously similar to George Washington. Between cries of 'may the lord guide thee' and ''tis but a scratch' and 'the lamb our saviour' he'll focus his crank gun on you until your health drops to zero. He's a challenge, but a welcome one. Just be glad that religious freaks in real life aren't equipped with crank guns. Most of them, anyway.
As with the previous instalments, you'll purchase upgrades, health and ammo from various vending machines. Unlike Bioshock 2, the vendor doesn't simply shut down after you upgrade a single weapon, so your progress is only limited by the coin in your pocket. In order to get filthy rich you'll need to explore the rich vastness of Colombia. Exploring a secret room and finding dozens of goodies will etch a grin on your face as you listen to the your latest audio log.
A new addition to this game is gear. There's four pieces; the hat, torso, pants and shoes. You'll find them scattered around Colombia, and they provide incredible help to you on your journey. Wearing certain pants give you a 40% chance of having your weapons auto-reload. Maybe a top-hat you found in a deserted garden gives you extra health when you gain a kill. These game-changing clothes allow you to make your own custom strategy and the way you play the game. It allows you to feel as if you're in 'control'. You have a choice. This alludes back to your game changing decisions and pathways that you experience, showing you that Bioshock Infinite is not just a great game where it feels it's convenient to be. Rather, it builds its entire game around a certain set of rules and never falters from the path, no matter how tempting or 'easy' it may appear to be.
That is a sign of a dedicated, firm, and quality game.
Presentation:
From lush green gardens aripe with blood-red roses and grand bronze statues, to the sweeping steam punk landscape of cranking gears and pulsing machinery, Bioshock Infinite never lets you forget where you are. In contrast to Bioshock 2, where almost every neighbour and locale appeared to be the same, each section of Infinite is uniquely crafted and never lets you forget where you are. The incredible blue sky and the golden yellow sands make each area distinct and provide their own special flavour.
Technically the visuals are stunning, and light years ahead of Bioshock 2. However, I did experience a few instances of screen-tearing, jagged edges and extended loading screens in the middle of a level. These minor faults do little to irritate, but they are noticeable. Whilst the graphics of Infinite are fantastic; they aren't ground breaking or 'next-gen'. The audio is where it really hits home, though. The dynamic and sweeping soundtrack binds you in its spell and makes you sway to its dance of beauty. The intense effects don't meet up to those in Bioshock 2's, but the overall soundtrack far surpasses anything in the last two games. Voice acting is solid and are voiced with great gusto, be it political and religious propaganda booming from the speakers, or the audio logs that you will be sure to find in the game. It's very easy to forget this is a game and not actual, genuine recordings done by people in real-life situations. Oh yeah, it's that good.
Trophies:
A lot easier than Bioshock 2's and way easier than Bioshock 1's, the trophies are challenging, but not frustrating. I achieved around 70% of trophies without even trying to earn them. Frankly, the only things that could piss you off is completing 1999 mode without using a vending machine, and finding the seemingly endless collectibles. Nothing that will have you ripping your hair out, though. Overall:
Bioshock Infinite is not a mere game; it is a work of art. It's a game that will cause your jaw to drop and turn your nights into sleepless toss-abouts as you go over the ending repetitively, spinning around in your brain like a marble in a whirlpool. The dark and devious tale will hit you at full impact, and as you think it over and come to another realisation you will be more shocked than before. You'll then want to replay the game, looking through a shaded lens that you'll never be able to un-see again. An incredible, ground-breaking and sublime masterpiece, Bioshock Infinite is nothing less than one of the best games of all time, and will be held as the standard for all games for years and years to come. It will be recalled by gamers with teary eyes, hearts filled with nostalgia and incredible memories that will linger in your mind for decades. You say I'm exaggerating do you? Play the game for yourself and see if what I say is true.
Infinite is a game that only comes once in a lifetime. There may never be a another game like it, and if there is, it must be measured to Infinite's standard as the final judgement. Infinite is not one of the best games of this year, nor it is one of the best this generation. It is one of the best games of all time.
That, ladies and gentlemen, is a fact.

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"ShadowsDemon reviewed BioShock Infinite for the PlayStation 3..." was posted by ShadowsDemon on Sun, 28 Apr 2013 00:15:13 -0700
]]> http://www.gamespot.com/bioshock-infinite/user-reviews/810769/platform/ps3/ Fri, 19 Apr 2013 20:42:10 -0700 PyreofKoL reviewed BioShock Infinite for the Xbox 360... http://www.gamespot.com/bioshock-infinite/user-reviews/810440/platform/xbox360/ ...and gave it a 10.0!!!

Ah, 2007. What a year it was for gaming. It had every imaginable thing a gamer could want. The RTS genre came back to life in an explosion of excellent sequels, Nintendo reinvented the platforming genre again with Super Mario Galaxy, Valve introduced the world to the dark wit and brilliant design of Portal, Ubisoft gave us a wrist blade and set us loose in the midst of the Crusades and the first person shooter genre experienced a renaissance. Halo 3 and Call of Duty 4 showcased some of the best competitive multiplayer we've seen this generation and a new IP called BioShock took the world by storm. This was the first time that many gamers would hear the names Ken Levine and Irrational studios, but this was far from his first project.

Back in 1994 a studio called Looking Glass made a game called System Shock. System Shock put players in control of an unnamed (like every other FPS protagonist of the time) hacker and threw them into a fight for survival in a disabled space ship against a deranged AI named S.H.O.D.A.N. The game was a little clunky but a great story made it a cult classic. The sequel, which featured much better graphics and gameplay was extremely successful and acted as a springboard for Ken Levine. Levine intended to make a third System Shock but was forced to shelve it due to the franchise rights being sold. So, Levine and his newly rechristened Irrational Games studio created a spiritual successor called BioShock and released it in 2007. It was a shooter unlike anything the gaming world had ever seen before. Instead of a battlefield, players found themselves in the underwater city of Rapture. We wandered through this once proud and now derelict city in awe at both the ingenuity behind its construction and the stunning views of endless stretches of ocean. We sat on the edge of our seats as we unraveled the dark narrative of BioShock and fought off its deranged inhabitants. We felt a surge of adrenaline the first time we used a Plasmid and freaked out the first time we met one of the terrifying Big Daddies. The immersive story, dark atmosphere, incredible visuals and practically every other element of the game made it an instant classic and a powerful argument in favor of video games being an art form. Three years later a sequel was released, simply titled BioShock 2. The game was developed by publisher 2K Games' 2K Marin studio and wasn't quite as well received. The single player campaign was good, but it failed to capture the character of Rapture and the new multiplayer mode was, at best, half-hearted in its implementation. Then, not too long after, the third BioShock game, subtitled "Infinite", was announced. Levine and Irrational were back at the helm and gamers were promised something amazing. Did the masterminds behind the original BioShock deliver?

Yes. I can't say that word enough times or in enough different ways when it comes to this game. It begins in such a familiar way that one might worry that they're playing the same game as they did in 2007, but Infinite uses that familiarity to spectacular effect and rewards the player in so many different ways. Like in the first BioShock, the protagonist finds himself in the middle of the ocean under mysterious circumstances. However, instead of a silent man wading through the wreckage of an airplane in 1960, we meet a gruff private detective on a rowboat trying to get some information from the bizarre pair of proprietors of the boat on a stormy night in 1912. The man, Booker DeWitt, has been sent on a mission to rescue a girl named Elizabeth from a place called Columbia, and he was to start his search in an old lighthouse. After a brief climb to the top, DeWitt finds a strange transportation device, hesitantly steps in and is thrust into the clouds. Thus both player and protagonist are introduced to the wonder of human ingenuity that is the city of Columbia. Columbia is a massive, airborne metropolis that is absolutely jaw-dropping to the last detail. The city is founded on a religion that deifies the Founding Fathers and turns patriotism into the greatest outward expression of one's zealousness. This creates for a truly beautiful and unsettling visual aesthetic and atmosphere. Statues depicting Ben Franklin and George Washington as angels or gods dominate city squares and parks, and every shop, home and restaurant is adorned in red, white and blue in some way. As you traverse the streets of Columbia you'll see propaganda posters calling for the citizens of Columbia to do things ranging from seemingly innocent to outright disturbing. An expert use of the Steampunk aesthetic brings these elements together to form a fantastic buffet for the eyes.

The ears do not go wanting either, however. Infinite's excellent score, just like its predecessors, consists of a combination of haunting, intense original music from series composer Garry Schyman and eerily appropriate songs of the era in which the game is set. The period pieces are particularly poignant when heard drifting from a lone radio in a deserted marketplace. The voice acting and sound effects are fantastic. The voice cast really brings their characters to life and make you want to learn more about each and every one of them (which you can do if you take the time to find Infinite's audio logs, known as Voxophones). The sound effects are subtle, often creepy and really add to the game's immersion factor.

The game plays like a dream. The gunplay is smooth and each gun has its own distinct feel and play style; however, you're only able to carry two weapons. This will annoy some, but it does add a layer of strategy to combat. Infinite replaces the Plasmid system with Vigors. As Vigors don't play a major role in Infinite's story the upgrade system is simplified, but the Vigors still feel quite powerful and are a blast to use. Melee combat in Infinite is made considerably more interesting and versatile by the Skyhook. You obtain the device early in the game and can use it to perform brutal executions on enemies with low health, but its main purpose is to help players traverse the Skyline. The Skyline is a set of wires and rails that function as the main form of transit in Columbia. Using the Skyline in both combat and exploration is absurdly entertaining and is by far one of the game's greatest aspects. You'll spend most of the game with Elizabeth at your side. I can hear the groaning already. "A ten hour escort mission? Are you serious?" Rest easy, friends. Elizabeth cannot be harmed by enemies, and thus you don't have to worry about her in a firefight. She even helps out by throwing you health, salts (needed to use Vigors), ammunition and money. She can also use mysterious rifts called Tears to bring everything from new guns to automated turrets. The sprawling layout of Columbia encourages exploration to discover its past and clever use of your surroundings to survive long enough to see its future.

BioShock Infinite is as much of an achievement as the original game. The audio and visual design are brimming with detail; the combat rewards careful foresight as well as quick reflexes; the atmosphere is unnerving and engaging and the story is suspenseful and will leave you in awe upon its conclusion. Ken Levine and Irrational Games have taken the familiar and made it new and exciting. BioShock Infinite is a rewarding, thrilling experience that you truly have to play for yourself and is certainly a great way for this generation to go out.

Get the full article at GameSpot

"PyreofKoL reviewed BioShock Infinite for the Xbox 360..." was posted by PyreofKoL on Fri, 19 Apr 2013 20:42:10 -0700
]]> http://www.gamespot.com/bioshock-infinite/user-reviews/810440/platform/xbox360/ Wed, 26 Dec 2012 13:56:14 -0800 WTA2k5 reviewed Halo 4 for the Xbox 360... http://www.gamespot.com/halo-4/user-reviews/805201/platform/xbox360/ ...and gave it a 7.5.

Halo 4 begins with a gorgeous CG cutscene that presents many of the series' key battles in a slick montage - the fall of Reach, the invasion of New Mombasa, you name it, it's probably there. Amidst all the jaw-dropping action and visual splendor, a comparatively low-key scene plays out: Dr. Halsey - the creator of the Spartan program, and thus the Master Chief, as well as his AI sidekick Cortana - sits in a shadowy room as an interrogator looms over her. This enigmatic figure half-heartedly accuses her of war crimes before revealing what he's really after - –the keys to the Master Chief's success as an unstoppable killing machine. He explains that Spartans tend to exhibit sociopathy (though Noble team might have a thing or two to say about that), then asks a particularly juicy question:–

"Do you think Master Chief succeeded because he is, at his core, broken?"

For a series that seemed to possess a steadfast determination to never address its numerous narrative criticisms, this single question presents a surprising moment of self-awareness. The Master Chief is indeed broken, not just in terms of personality, but in his general quality as a protagonist. It might always be a blast to take control of the series' signature 7-foot, impossibly strong android, but watching his story actually play out has long been an immense bore. Within this one small moment, newcomer developer 343 Industries sets a strong expectation - namely that, in the middle of the high-concept sci-fi grandiosity that fuels the franchise's muddled mythos, they won't forget to lose sight of the humanity that should be at the center of every great epic. This ambition is certainly striking, but 343's initial cognizance of the series' problems soon fades away, and the proceedings more or less revert to Halo as we know it. And while that may bode poorly for Halo 4's campaign and narrative, the franchise's mechanical perfection, along with immense production values and a great set of multiplayer options, allows the new team of creatives to get by with the series' exalted legacy very much intact.–

Still, it's very hard not to feel let down by the campaign that follows such a clever opening cutscene. Perhaps the most disappointing part is that, for its first few levels, Halo 4 successfully leads you to believe that it's bolder and wiser than any of its predecessors, as the game's first act sees the Master Chief and Cortana surrounded with enticing and menacing unknowns. After being rudely stirred from a four-year cryosleep, the Chief soon finds himself contending with a whole host of obstacles, including a fleet of rogue Covenant and the planet Requiem, a mysterious and truly alien environment the likes of which the series hasn't crafted since the original Halo. The conflict that takes center stage, however, is the onset of Cortana's rampancy - the height of an AI's aging process, and the time at which their systems begin to fail. With Cortana's "death" seemingly imminent, the long-understated relationship between the series' famed duo finally takes center-stage as the Master Chief finds himself struggling to balance saving his partner and confronting a newfound menace.

This all adds up to clearly indicate that 343 knows what needs to be done in order to not only put their stamp on the Halo series, but to make it better than ever. Unfortunately, it seems they lack the daring needed to execute on these concepts in a truly compelling way. The driving plot involving a new alien threat falls into the typical Halo series pitfall of becoming overblown and convoluted pretty much the very second additional plot elements come into play. Ancient evils, secret weapons, evolution and genetic modification, Halos, Forerunners, Prometheans, and a whole host of other topics work their way into Halo 4's narrative, but none of them come together to form an engaging, or even coherent plot. The more personal subplot centered on Cortana and the Chief's relationship should've fared better, but the repetitiveness of its key moments, along with a climactic sequence that falls completely flat, make it lose every bit of its potential poignancy.

The action that surrounds these story beats is entertaining insofar as any Halo game is, but there are clear signs that the usual campaign formula desperately needs to be reexamined. To start with the good - or rather, utterly fantastic - the mechanics are still as perfect as ever. Every gun has a weighty feel entirely of its own, and punchy sound effects do a lot to sell you on their raw power. Movement and aiming is slick and precise, and 343 does well to maintain series signatures like a subtle but finely tuned bit of aim assist, and the Master Chief's superhuman leap.

Beyond these core elements, moment-to-moment gameplay is most reminiscent of Halo: Reach, as dual-wielding remain out of the picture and Armor Abilities factor rather heavily into firefights. Unlike its predecessor, however, every one of Halo 4's batch of Armor Abilities is a hit. Abilities like Armor Lock that didn't quite work are gone, while old favorites like jetpacks and holograms return, and new additions like the Autosentry, a hovering robot companion who aids you in gunning down your foes, and the Hardlight (read: riot) shield further change the dynamic for the better.

The new breed of foe you'll face in the form of the Prometheans also help to keep things feeling relatively fresh. While the smaller enemies mostly behave like reskinned versions of older baddies, the daunting Promethean Knights offer an invigorating challenge. Decked out with a long-ranged weapon, shields, crushing melee, and the ability to teleport out of harm's way, these aliens are some of the toughest foes in series history, and facing them down is always a riot thanks to their unpredictability. The bright, bold colors and sleek chrome look that defines these new enemies, though very clearly influenced by Metroid Prime's iconic space pirates, still provide a wondrous departure from the typical Halo aesthetic.

Unfortunately, the dynamism seen in this singular enemy type is nowhere to be found when examining the campaign as a whole. Though its reluctance to adhere to current development trends during this setpiece-heavy era of singleplayer gaming is commendable, the standard proceedings simply get boring after a while. As fun as the new weapons and enemies are, standard gameplay structures simply can't sustain an eight hour campaign, and repetitive objectives only exacerbate the feeling of sameness that sets in after the first couple of hours.

The game does subvert repetitiveness to some degree here and there. In Halo 4's most inspired bid at shaking things up, Requiem's bold, angular visual design is occasionally made a factor in gameplay. An early sequence, for example, sees players teleporting to different platforms in the middle of a vast, hollow globe of alien machinery is enthralling in its visual design to the point where the more immediate action almost becomes secondary. Beyond moments like this, the game also seems to acknowledge its relative lack of variety by including a number of vehicle setpieces in its last few missions. Aside from a gleeful rampage through a space station in the new Mantis mech, however, these moments are mostly retreads of old setpieces.

Though sandwiched between Halo 2 and ODST's more experimental campaigns, Halo 3 and Reach locked into similarly comfortable grooves with their singleplayer components. Halo 4 sticks mostly to their formula, offering a campaign built around the series' core gameplay and the long-running, immensely confusing narrative with a few decent setpieces and half-hearted appeals to emotion thrown in for good measure. The problem is that this setup works no better in this title than it has in the past, and while powering through the game's eight levels can be fun simply thanks to a set of thoroughly satisfying core mechanics, it's quite clear that a significant change must be made in order to craft a compelling experience once more. Halo 4's setting is the clearest indication of this notion; the metallic opulence of Requiem is pure, old-school sci-fi splendor that serves as a refreshing change of pace from the militarized planets seen in previous titles. In fact, this awe-inspiring new backdrop is realized so meticulously that it even serves to alter gameplay from time to time. Unfortunately, Requiem isn't a reflection of the rest of the campaign's ingenuity so much as a standout exception to its lack thereof.

It's rather odd that 343, despite showing a painfully apparent reluctance to break new ground with the Halo franchise's aging campaign formula, is willing to overhaul the series' exalted adversarial multiplayer offering in major ways. Taking cues from pretty much every major online shooter from the past couple years, Halo 4's suite of multiplayer options (dubbed Infinity) is exceedingly fast paced, and brimming with unlockable rewards. Though many fans have been skeptical, modern tweaks like killcams, split-second respawns, killstreaks, and a lengthy sprint ability fit quite naturally into the preexisting Halo dynamic. In fact, the healthy dose of twitchy freneticism they provide gives multiplayer matches a consistent energy and intensity, the likes of which wasn't necessarily accomplished in previous games' more emergent design.

Furthering this more structured approach is a swath of unlockables. Partaking in the matchmaking madness earns you new ranks, as well as Spartan Points, which then lead to the acquisition of a whole host of rewards. Some of them, such as new pieces of armor, are simply smoke and mirrors that seem to exist just to keep you hooked. Other unlocks, however, can be quite substantive. Perhaps the biggest revelation comes with the addition of loadouts. By allowing players to select their own starting weaponry, the usual lull that occurs as a game begins is entirely avoided. Having to dive into a match's first few firefights without any idea of what to expect from your opponents is immensely exciting, and helps rounds feel fresh and dynamic from the very second they start.

This chaotic and utterly exceptional combination of Halo multiplayer mainstays and post-Modern Warfare features is further amplified by Halo 4's ten incredible maps. At first glance, it might be hard to pick out one or two real hits out of the bunch, but it soon become apparent that each arena is a masterstroke of design. With varied visuals, perfect weapon and vehicle placement, and meticulously crafted chokepoints, Halo 4 features the best map lineup in the entire series. With any luck, this slew of fantastic arenas will cause the Halo community's usual tendency to favor one or two maps over all others to become a thing of the past.

Secondary modes like Theater and Forge, an accessible map pseudo-editor, make a return and provide pretty much exactly what fans would expect. Both features are as fleshed out and easy to use as they've always been, and sharing your works is quicker than ever. The Forge toolset has also seen a good bit of expansion, with three (rather than just one) base template to work with. At this point, it's likely that most players have made up their minds as to how much time they're willing to spend delving into these extras; some are devoted to building architectural wonders and Forge, some have turned the Theater mode into a sort of art form, while others ignore these features entirely. Players new to these features owe it to themselves to give them a shot, however, since the toolsets offered are among the best console gamers can get their hands on.

Perhaps the most radical upending of Halo tradition is the removal of the Firefight wave-defense mode in favor of a new beast: Spartan Ops. This new cooperative mode's main conceit is that it takes on an episodic format. A new episode is delivered each week, bringing with it five brief stages that can be cleared with up to four players. More surprisingly, however is that these pieces of content also provide gorgeous CG cutscenes that reveal new pieces of an overarching narrative. While these marvelous cinemas succeed in drawing you into Crimson Squad's perilous exploits, the ensuing gameplay doesn't do its part to support Spartan Ops' ambitions.

This is because, for the most part, stages are rather bland and unexciting. Players are usually tasked with shooting through a bunch of foes, accomplish a menial objective or two, then hold off as they wait for extraction. Though this might change down the line, Spartan Ops' first few episodes have clung to this ill-advised formula rather tenaciously, resulting in an experience that quickly runs out of steam. Compounding this issue is the fact that only the single most recent episode supports matchmaking. Thus, if you want to catch up on the story or play through more than just five fleeting scenarios, you'll be out of luck unless you can gather some friends together to power through the content you actually want to experience. This baffling choice to eschew easy connectivity for past episodes comes as a huge detriment to Spartan Ops, as it fails to incentivize experiencing the piecemeal narrative upon which the mode is predicated. Though 343 deserves some credit for trying to subvert the archaic blueprint laid out by Gears of War 2 a few years ago, the solution they've devised in Spartan Ops never quite comes together, and is ultimately less entertaining than a standard Horde-mode knockoff might've been.

Taking an all-encompassing look at 343's attempts to put their stamp on Halo's three main pillars of play - those being campaign, coop, and adversarial multiplayer - yields an amusing result. The campaign formula, which is in desperate need for a change, ultimately receives the least improvement, even if a story expressly built to tug on your heartstrings might attempt to convince you otherwise; the action is still plodding (save for a few setpieces), and the narrative is still insufferably focused on needlessly fleshing out a mythos that has already way overextended any immediate narrative's ability to implement its innumerable and absurdly complex plot elements in an interesting way. The cooperative component does well to move onto a fresh format that has nothing to do with waves or hordes, but 343's innovation only goes halfway; Spartan Ops suffers a number of problems that keep it from being the phenomenon it has the capacity to become, the most notable of which being its exceedingly shoddy matchmaking functionality.

Where the new developers see the most success, however, is in their revamping of player-versus-player combat. Though this side of the Halo franchise has always been addicting enough to reduce a quietly humming, freshly powered Xbox to a loud, clunking jet engine, numerous smart design tweaks have been made to bring the action to even greater heights. Why it is that a mode that would've still impressed if left alone receives the most attention is beyond me, but that doesn't keep the proceedings from possessing an undeniable fun factor.

Halo 4 is, essentially, the old "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" rule gone horribly wrong. The facets of the series that have been, to a certain extent, broken for years (a few of which get pointed out by 343 themselves) are left in their faulty state. Meanwhile, the Halo franchise's more time-tested strengths receive major overhauls. Fortunately, this perfect storm of confusion as to how to iterate on a strong IP never leads Halo 4 to fully underwhelm. The presentation, complete with a wonderful score by Neil Davidge and the best visuals you'll find on the Xbox 360, is thoroughly fantastic, the multiplayer is endlessly entertaining, and despite their being rough around the edges, there's still quite a bit of fun to be found within the campaign and Spartan Ops.

Ultimately, however, Halo 4's perpetuation of the series' masterful set of core mechanics allow it to remain a damn good game. In this way, Bungie has equipped their best-known franchise with a comforting anchor; no matter what direction any new creatives try to drive their sci-fi opus, the moment-to-moment gameplay will never fail to entertain. 343 Industries may use this fact as a crutch too often, but it nevertheless acts as a potent assurance that this is a series that will always be worth players' while.

+Excellent core mechanics
+Superb and robust adversarial multiplayer
+Stunning production values
+Forge and Theater are as compelling as ever

-Repetitive campaign
-Poorly executed narrative
-Spartan Ops never quite lives up to its promise

Get the full article at GameSpot

"WTA2k5 reviewed Halo 4 for the Xbox 360..." was posted by WTA2k5 on Wed, 26 Dec 2012 13:56:14 -0800
]]> http://www.gamespot.com/halo-4/user-reviews/805201/platform/xbox360/ Fri, 14 Dec 2012 11:25:07 -0800 WTA2k5 reviewed Assassin's Creed III: Liberation for the PlayStation Vita... http://www.gamespot.com/assassins-creed-iii-liberation/user-reviews/804694/platform/vita/ ...and gave it a 6.0.

After completing a playthrough of Assassin's Creed III: Liberation that I knew to be somewhere in the realm of 12 hours or so, I went to check my exact play-time in the game's stats screen. According to this submenu, my week's worth of multi-hour play sessions had, in truth, only lasted 42 minutes. As bizarre as this error was, I didn't think much of it as I had already encountered dozens of similar flaws by the time I had completed the campaign; in a game as sloppy as Liberation, the flaws are so manifold that it's hard to take particular note of any one of them by the time all's said and done. Whether its a chugging frame rate, an incoherent narrative, clunky combat, or serious glitches, there are more than a few punches to roll with while playing Liberation. Still, it's quite hard to call it a bad game, and this is simply because it manages to mimic the series' acclaimed ethos, even if it never fully captures it. The hugely inconsistent experience that results is generally a mess, but the mere fact that it achieves even the slightest success in upholding the franchise's stellar ideas and mechanics allows it to, intermittently, be quite brilliant.

One of the game's occasional bursts of cleverness comes in the establishment of its unique framing device. Instead of following the core console series' formula in which a modern-day protagonist straps into the Animus and lives out their ancestors' memories, Liberation's historical narrative is presented as a propaganda-laden consumer product released by the franchise's chief antagonists, the nefarious Abstergo corporation. If the game had executed on this concept with any grace, the adventures of 18th-century New Orleanian Assassin Aveline de Grandpre would have had an enticing air of deceit about them. Unfortunately, whoever's coming up with the slanderous propaganda over at Abstergo exercises surprising restraint, leading Liberation's narrative tone lacking in any sort of clarity; it's rarely apparent which sections are doctored memories and which are the real deal. What follows is a continuously off-putting plot that's wholly unreliable simply by accident and lack of foresight on the part of its writers.

The historical plot, even when distilled from its ill-conceived framing device, doesn't fare much better. The game's focus on the dichotomy between New Orleans' upper-class merchants and the suffering slaves that fuel their wealth seems like a promising setup. Similarly, the fact that Aveline is of mixed heritage, with one parent on either side of this class and racial divide, makes her a fitting anchor for this seemingly fearless tale. The fact that these themes are presented, however, doesn't mean that they're explored all that thoroughly. In fact, the plot largely glosses over its weighty subject matter in favor of a more straightforward whodunit mystery, thus completely squandering its impactful potential. Mostly good voice acting and memorable character designs keep story sequences from being a complete bore, but it's still unfortunate that the game doesn't capitalize on its fascinating foundations.

It's odd, but no less impressive that the best realization of Liberation's thematic ambitions is achieved within a small gameplay subsystem. During the first half of the game, Aveline is often required to change into one of three different outfits: the Slave, the Lady, and, of course, the Assassin. Each Persona, as they are called, affects both Aveline's moveset and the way the world responds to her. The Lady costume's restrictive corset, for example, prevents Aveline from stashing very many weapons or from engaging in the series' signature free-running mechanic. To make up for this seeming disadvantage, the citizens of New Orleans are much less suspicious of her, and some particularly chivalrous gentleman can help her blend into crowds or assist her in dealing with muggers. The Slave costume has its own set of perks and pitfalls, and the Persona system as a whole provides a refreshing twist on the usual Assassin's Creed formula.

Perhaps the best part of this system, however, is in how efficiently it characterizes Aveline. Though the game's lackluster cutscenes fail to give her many defining traits, this system eloquently shows her resourcefulness and knack for assuming the various societal roles that comprise the world around her. The Personas thus video game storytelling at its most ideal, as gameplay actively enforces the narrative shown through more traditional means (never mind how poor that plot is in the first place).

As fun as it is to experiment with the Slave and Lady costumes, the latter half of the game has you donning the Assassin's garb most frequently. It's here that Liberation returns to playing like Assassin's Creed as players know it, complete with death-defying platforming and swift, brutal combat. But while the series proper has perfected its core gameplay to the point of mechanical sublimation, a myriad of issues keep Liberation from attaining that same level of quality.

Though the excellent ambient sound design and lush art direction that bring New Orleans and the surrounding bayou to life create a wondrous sense of place, the immersion is all but broken once things pick up speed. As powerful as the Vita is, it's still unable to handle quick movement through such a large and detailed environment while maintaing a steady frame rate. Thus, the sense of speed and effortlessness that gives Assassin's Creed's parkour its thrilling edge is more or less nonexistent once the game begins to frequently dip into lows of 15-20 FPS. Still, the series' free-running system have always succeeded in inducing a sort of trance-like state thanks to its combination of stunning environments and detailed animations, and this effect is nevertheless achieved despite Liberation's relative sluggishness.

Combat, similarly, can yield some satisfaction despite never quite feeling right. Fights control much in the same way they do in Assassin's Creed III proper; the old block-counter routine of games past have been removed in favor of an Arkham City-esque control scheme centered around aggressive attacks and rhythmic parries. While this might sound perfectly entertaining, the game is oddly inconsistent in registering your counter-attacks, and you'll often find enemies proceeding to successfully wounding you despite your best efforts to get the upper hand. The same goes for stealthy kills; the game fails to recognize up-close assassinations rather often, leaving you to fumble around for another way to quickly dispose of your foe before getting caught up in an all-out brawl.

Luckily, Liberation almost seems to acknowledge its problems, and quickly introduces you to a vast array of instant-kill maneuvers to ease the pain that accompanies its poorly made combat structures. A pistol, multiple poison darts, liberally dispersed muskets, and a mark-and-execute system lifted straight from Splinter Cell: Conviction provide Aveline with plenty of ways to end violent encounters quickly and decisively. It goes without saying that none of these elements bode particularly well for the game's core fighting system, but they serve as apt crutches for its shortcomings.

Liberation further suffers from the same sort of arbitrary integration of the Vita's many control options as Uncharted: Golden Abyss did earlier this year. Swiping the screen to paddle a canoe or open a letter, using the gyroscope to solve a digital version of a magnetic handheld maze (don't even ask), and pointing the camera at light sources to illuminate invisible ink are about yield no enjoyment, and are readily visible as the needless stopgaps they are between the moments of more meaningful action.

The game also features a peculiar asynchronous, strategic multiplayer mode that plays out like an extension of the Brotherhood meta-game found in later console entries. You and your opponent vie for control of various cities across the world and achieve dominance by going on missions, and, of course, killing each other. All of this action takes place on a world map and within submenus with no real-time gameplay to be found. Though it's certainly atypical, this multiplayer mode simply isn't compelling enough to deserve much of your attention, and its social game trappings that limit the number of actions you can perform in one sitting lessens its appeal even more.

Though it's technically a spin-off of Connor Kenway's bloody campaign in Assassin's Creed III proper, Liberation is most reminiscent of the series' first entry. Altair's first outing is much like Aveline's in the degree to which it is defined by unrealized potential. Conceptually, everything is in place for one hell of a game. From a memorable protagonist and an immersive setting to a cool frame narrative and tried-and-true gameplay concepts imbued with a few innovative twists, Liberation has it all - on paper anyway. The slew of technical problems and ludonarrative inconsistencies that plague every facet of the game keep it from ever living up to its grand ambitions, and rather unfortunately renders the original Assassin's Creed its most fitting analog. All we can do is hope for a sequel that we might just as easily compare to Assassin's Creed II.


+Persona system is a great bit of ludic characterization
+Strong audio
+Great concepts...

-...that largely suffer from poor execution
-Data-corrupting bugs
-Arbitrary, uninteresting use of the Vita's many control options
-Poor frame rate

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]]> http://www.gamespot.com/assassins-creed-iii-liberation/user-reviews/804694/platform/vita/ Tue, 11 Dec 2012 22:34:32 -0800 PyreofKoL reviewed Disney Epic Mickey: The Power of Illusion for the 3DS... http://www.gamespot.com/disney-epic-mickey-the-power-of-illusion/user-reviews/804579/platform/3ds/ ...and gave it a 9.5!

In the glory days of the SNES and Sega Genesis, platformers ruled and Mario and Sonic the Hedgehog were the undisputed champs of the genre. Of the many series that went virtually unnoticed in the shadows of those titans, one of the best was the Illusion series from DIsney. The World of Illusion and Castle of Illusion games featured tight platforming, beautiful visuals and a charming soundtrack. The stories were generally the same and saw players guide Mickey Mouse (and Donald Duck later on) through various stages based on Disney worlds as well as original stages that had been warped by the power of Illusion. The series was high quality but nevertheless it gathered dust in the annals of gaming history. Flashes of the games were seen in the crossover RPG series Kingdom Hearts and action/adventures games from Disney like the mediocre GameCube game Magical Mirror and the recent Epic Mickey series. The first Epic Mickey game (Wii only), while good, fell short of the hype but had enough success to prompt a superior sequel which is available on the original Wii, the Wii U, Xbox360 and PS3. A companion handheld title was released along side it, and it generated a lot of excitement for fans of the Illusion series. Epic Mickey: Power of Illusion did not disappoint. Mickey returns to the Castle of Illusion once more, this time to help Oswald combat an evil witch named Mizrabel who's trapped various denizens from different Disney worlds in the Castle. The game retains the classic platforming but overhauls everything else. The combat gets the most significant upgrade. Mickey's most basic attack is triggered by pressing the jump a second time while Mickey is in midair. This triggers an animation which allows Mickey to do damage by landing on the heads of enemies. However, some enemies are protected from this attack, but Mickey has other weapons at his disposal. Mickey can use his magic brush (the signature weapon of the series) to fire projectiles. These projectiles are limited by gauges (a blue gauge for paint, and green for paint thinner) and always result in an item drop when used to defeat an enemy. The paint shots interrupt enemy actions and always cause enemies to drop hearts, and the paint thinner projectiles do more damage and drop paint refills and pretty much every other type of item in the game. The paint and thinner are also used for puzzles. In many places you'll be required to draw or erase items (using the stylus) in the stage to progress the level. The better you draw or erase something the more paint and thinner you get back when you complete the item. Mickey's other attack option is his special attack in which he briefly turns into a whirling tornado. This attack can stun certainly heavily defended enemies and allows you break certain blocks as well as dealing damage to most enemy types. All these abilities can be upgraded. The game has a hub area called the Fortress. Whenever Mickey rescues another character, they set up a room in the Fortress. Some of the characters will open a shop once their room has been upgraded a time or two. These shops accept e-tickets, which is the game's currency and the most common item in the game. These shops allow you to increase the damage you deal with all your attacks, increase your health and upgrade rooms in the Fortress, among other things. The characters also give Mickey sidequests. These sidequests get a bit repetitive but are extremely worth it. They often give you currency, but far more often they yield some extremely useful upgrades. The Fortress is also where Mickey accesses the game's worlds and the stages contained therein. The stages are extremely well designed and the visuals are gorgeous. The stage design also houses one of the game's few complaints. The difficulty of the stages starts out building gradually and eases the player into each new challenge. The last world, based on the Little Mermaid, spikes drastically in difficulty. Most of it takes place under water, which completely changes the physics, and adjusting to the change is made much more challenging thanks to obstacles like strong currents that send you hurtling into walls of spikes and enemies that move much, much faster than you. It will get very frustrating, but don't let it get you down. All the levels are replayable, even after you beat them, so you can figure out the timing and the attack patterns of enemies. The only other real problem with this game is the length of it. For all the sidequests and other activities mentioned above, the game is still really short, but honestly, the game is just too good for this to be anything more than a minor issue. If you own a 3DS and are a fan of the classic Illusion series or just a fan of good platformers, pick up this game.

Get the full article at GameSpot

]]> http://www.gamespot.com/disney-epic-mickey-the-power-of-illusion/user-reviews/804579/platform/3ds/ Fri, 16 Nov 2012 04:03:50 -0800 SadPSPAddict reviewed WRC 3 for the PlayStation Vita... http://www.gamespot.com/wrc-3-2012/user-reviews/803251/platform/vita/ ...and gave it a 5.5.

So I'd like to start by saying I am a big fan of the WRC series and have the last 3 iterations for the Xbox. I was excited to see a Vita version but decided to rent it first just in case it was identical to the console version - if only that had been the problem!

So graphically and game play wise it is the same as the console version. Graphics are good if not outstanding and the cars handle like rally cars should! Plenty of options exist for driver assists so even people with little "driving game" experience can pick up and play. So far so good.

Here comes the BUT ( and there are a couple of them I'm afraid ) - only half the number of rally locations and stages as the console version! Major downside and maybe we will get more later as DLC but even so......

Second BUT - No career mode! Now unlike the PSP version of Gran Turismo that everyone said there was no career mode when the reality was no STRUCTURED career mode in WRC 3 there really is no career. In the console version you can choose from Multiplayer, Experience ( pick a driver and either stage, rally or championship ) and Road To Glory which is the career mode. In the Vita version only the Multiplayer and Experience modes exist. So all you can do in the game is pick drivers and a number of events and race them.
Nothing to unlock, no structure and therefore no reason to keep playing it. I got 75% of the trophies in only a few hours game play and then got bored with it. Very disappointing in this aspect.

So to sum up, solid portable racer with good accessibility and great for short bursts but missing that vital component - a career mode and therefore reason to carry on playing!

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"SadPSPAddict reviewed WRC 3 for the PlayStation Vita..." was posted by SadPSPAddict on Fri, 16 Nov 2012 04:03:50 -0800
]]> http://www.gamespot.com/wrc-3-2012/user-reviews/803251/platform/vita/ Thu, 25 Oct 2012 21:51:24 -0700 InstantKlassick reviewed AMY for the PlayStation 3... http://www.gamespot.com/amy/user-reviews/801982/platform/ps3/ ...and gave it a 1.0.

I found this game on PSN for $2.50, this game was a waste of both time and money. I can't believe this game debuted for $14.99. This game is broken in every way. The screen tearing is atrocious, the graphics are painful, and story is almost non-existent. There is absolutely no reason for anyone to purchase this crap. Even though it's discounted for a special time, just pass it up. I played this game for 47 minutes, that was 46 minutes too long. Just say no to Amy! Graphics - Horrible (Screen Tearing, to many trails on character models) Sound - Grating and Annoying. Game-play - Awful (Clunky Combat, Stiff Character Models, Horrible Collision Detection) Replay Value - NONE! (If you beat the first level and not die of boredom first, Kudos to you!) All-in-all, this game sucks, please do not buy! Thank you!

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"InstantKlassick reviewed AMY for the PlayStation 3..." was posted by InstantKlassick on Thu, 25 Oct 2012 21:51:24 -0700
]]> http://www.gamespot.com/amy/user-reviews/801982/platform/ps3/ Sun, 21 Oct 2012 16:53:06 -0700 WTA2k5 reviewed Dishonored for the Xbox 360... http://www.gamespot.com/dishonored/user-reviews/801782/platform/xbox360/ ...and gave it a 8.5.

The developer diary has become an increasingly common pre-release marketing strategy amongst AAA game studios. Though they are, in essence, glorified advertisements, they represent something rather grandiose and self-important in that they show potential customers the meticulous inner-workings of a project that might not ultimately be all that special. Dishonored is a AAA game, and it did indeed benefit from a long string of developer diaries leading up to its release, but Arkane Studios' behind-the-scenes videos are quite unlike most; instead of inundating viewers with quick-edits of flashy gameplay clips and pithy talking-heads, their developer diaries are content to be unabashedly unhip. Instead of spoiling the story, tossing out overblown superlatives, and showing off cool kills like most others do, a lot of Arkane's diaries spend their running time talking about things like whales, rat plagues, and what goes into designing dystopian metropolises.

Oddly enough, these videos probably do the best job of capturing how Dishonored feels to play; just as they are bizarrely off the mark despite feeling more honest and true to the game's ethos than most other dev diaries, the game itself adamantly - and sometimes sloppily - circumvents most staples of modern gaming in order to bring back the dynamism of the non-linear FPS classics of yore. The resulting experience is an engrossing love-letter to games like Deus Ex, and Thief, and though the game's execution doesn't always live up to its many ambitions, the degree of freedom it grants players is simply awe-inspiring.

The game doesn't start out by letting you loose, however; its decidedly dull opening moments are largely spent setting the stage for the cliched drama of betrayal and revenge. As Corvo Attano, bodyguard to the empress, you quickly find yourself framed for the monarch's murder at the hands of a shadowy band of assassins. Her assassination is, of course, done in the name of placing the egotistical, tyrannical second-in-command in charge until her daughter comes of age. This, in turn, leads Corvo to team up with a group of loyalists to the royal family, and hunt down all those behind the conspiracy. Unfortunately, the ensuing narrative is just as bland as its setup; there's not one interesting character or plot point in the entire game, and twists can be seen from miles away.

Luckily, this mostly becomes a non-issue as the game hands the reins over to you, letting you explore the twisted city of Dunwall to your heart's content. The city itself, with its many narratives both explicit and implied, is far more engrossing than the game's shoddy traditional storytelling. A rat plague sweeps the city, leaving its citizens dead, dying, or even zombified. A devastating flood leaves a good portion of Dunwall in ruins. Propaganda booms over loud-speakers and corrupt aristocrats surround themselves with armies of guardsmen while commoners die in filth. Learning about Dunwall's fascinating and horrifying issues is spellbinding, and will likely send you scouring the corners of its semi-open-world levels in search of more bits of lore, whether they come in the form of side quests, books, or audio recordings.

Furthering the macabre appeal of Dunwall is its masterful visual design, which comes from the mind of Viktor Antonov, the man who devised Half-Life 2's iconic style. Much like the imposing, police-state of City 17, Dunwall's looming, angular architecture is strikingly creepy, and contrasts nicely with the cartoony character models. The city's Victorian-meets-steampunk designs are a joy to behold and explore, and each new environment brings its own unique wonders. The tech that backs this all up isn't always up to the job - there are a number of pop-in issues, blurry textures, and poor graphical effects - but these issues are far outweighed by the bold splendor of the artistry.

Of course, your primary means of exploring, and even shaping the city of Dunwall is through the game's litany of entertaining sandbox mechanics. Corvo, already possessed of superhuman agility and quite good with a knife, quickly becomes acquainted with a mysterious being who grants him magical powers and a genius quartermaster who supplies him with the latest in steampunk murder instruments. The result is an absolute glut of gadgets and abilities to toy around with that also impressively subverts feeling overwhelming. Taking the time to experiment with your massive arsenal can yield some shockingly brutal outcomes. Tricks like stopping time while you're surrounded, plopping a grenade amidst your frozen pursuers, then running to a safe distance and watching the ensuing bloodbath are vastly entertaining, and feel especially rewarding because the game gives you so few indications of how powers and gadgets can be used in tandem. You are given complete free rein over the use of your many powers and the game is balanced enough to make any play style viable, so whether you wish to take a completely non-lethal route through the game's 12 hour campaign, shoot everyone you see in the face, or simply mess around with your myriad of powers to your heart's content, Dishonored's exceedingly smart level design will ensure you can succeed.

On my first playthrough, I favored abilities like Slow Time and Blink that would allow me to traverse the environment fast, kill my targets even faster, and get out of Dodge before anyone caught on to me. Thus far, this play style has been the most satisfying; Dishonored features the best first-person platforming this side of Mirror's Edge, and once you get the hang of its movement mechanics, gracefully hopping and teleporting around the roofs of Dunwall is absolutely joyous. Taking both the non-lethal, or the head-on approach can be equally thrilling, but require an adept knowledge of the game's levels and mechanics; though these options aren't as accessible, they're ultimately just as fine-tuned as any more balanced play style, and the fact that Dishonored can support the myriad of potential approaches is immensely impressive.

Unfortunately, Dishonored's ill-conceived narrative rears its ugly head within the realm of gameplay thanks to the addition of a confounding morality system. Based on the number of people you kill, levels will be slightly (or in the case of the final level, significantly) altered to reflect the degree of unrest you've caused in Dunwall; shed too much blood and you'll be faced with more security, zombies and vicious, flesh-eating plague rats than those who prefer a more peaceful approach. While the idea of handling choice and consequence through the direct actions of players rather than gameplay-halting dialog trees is certainly a good one, it simply doesn't fit the game's essence; the bag of tricks Dishonored hands you actively encourages experimenting with different gameplay styles, so the decision to incorporate a restrictive morality calculus is truly baffling.

This system proves to be equally flawed from a narrative standpoint. Emily, the daughter of the decreased empress, looks up to Corvo, and her dialogue and behavior is thus influenced by his actions. While this is also a novel concept, it simply doesn't work within the greater context of the narrative for many reasons. For one, Emily's responses to Corvo's level of brutality are comically overblown; though her reactive dialogue is meant to instill in you a sense of pride or guilt, they'll probably end up causing you to chuckle more than anything else. Secondly, players are never given a reason to care too much about Emily. In fact, aside from the game's final sequence, there is only one other time at which the player is required to interact with her; I, for one, felt no inclination to check up on her between missions, so her heavy involvement in the endgame sequences never meant much. While this may sound somewhat inconsequential, it's highly indicative of just how poorly planned Dishonored's morality system is in the first place; not only is it contrary to its design philosophies, it also comes to the detriment of the game's already poor narrative. Why, then, it is in place, is a true mystery. Ever since BioWare pioneered binary good/evil decision-making, similar systems have been arbitrarily tacked on to far too many games, and Dishonored is an unfortunately perfect example of why such gameplay conceits should be used far more sparingly than they actually are.

About a third of the way through the game, after collecting most of my primary abilities and gadgets, I forced myself to stop caring about my moral standing; such delightfully violent powers were too good to not toy with. It was soon after that I came across the Golden Cat, a brothel which my two assassination targets were patronizing, and more importantly, the game's most open-ended environment. It was in this moment - what would turn out to be the first of many - I found myself stuck, not because of the game's difficulty, but rather due to the overwhelming vastness of options that lay before me: I could have easily gone on a rampage, killing anyone who stands between me and my marks, or I could perhaps have slinked through a few open windows, silently dispatching my specified targets and escaping without anyone knowing the difference. What's more, I could've done a separate favor for the local crime boss in exchange for the abduction of the corrupt conspirators. Considering these options isn't arresting simply because they are so manifold, but also because I know they'll all be gleefully entertaining. Not many games can support your every whim, and even fewer can ensure that your choices can yield fun and entertaining results, but such is the beauty of Dishonored. At a time when the design behind most action games sacrifices too much player input to mimic the straightforward thrills of a Hollywood blockbuster, it's nice to play a game that is willing to sacrifice flashiness for emergent gameplay and dynamic, player-authored fun. Games like Dishonored have been done before, and have been done better, but rarely in recent years have they been executed so effectively.

+Amazingly free-form gameplay
+Dunwall is a joy to behold and explore
+Great first-person platforming

-Uninteresting story; mostly bland characters
-Confounding morality system

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"WTA2k5 reviewed Dishonored for the Xbox 360..." was posted by WTA2k5 on Sun, 21 Oct 2012 16:53:06 -0700
]]> http://www.gamespot.com/dishonored/user-reviews/801782/platform/xbox360/ Thu, 11 Oct 2012 20:36:10 -0700 InstantKlassick reviewed Street Cleaning Simulator for the PC... http://www.gamespot.com/street-cleaning-simulator/user-reviews/801295/platform/pc/ ...and gave it a 10.0!!!

First words that come to mind, Oh My god (lower-case "g".) I have never played a game that has such a deep and rich story. Don't even get me started on the game play. I mean, the hell with Skyrim, COD, GOW, Borderlands 2, etc. This game is where it' s at. You would be passing up a major gem if you missed out on this fantastic game. I can't stress enough how awesome the game is. The developers of this game have truly spoiled us. Not only do we get to drive down a rich and crisp detailed street, but we also get to simulate the experience by cleaning it too? I could easily play this game for 8 hours a day, but the fact that it is so amazing, I feel like I don't deserve the awesomeness of this game. So I'm stuck playing crappy titles like Borderlands 2 and Dishonored. I think if they make a sequel my head would explode due to the fact that there is too much pure awesomeness in this title to make it better! I only have one more thing to add. PLEASE, Excalibur Publishing Limited, bring this spectacular game to consoles; possibly as a release title for the Xbox 720 and PS4. Although I don't think the consoles can handle the graphics and the smooth game play. Thank you for reading my review of this amazing game - now GO! and buy this one of a kind title, it is definitely worth the $50 price tag! Have fun, and enjoy! :)

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"InstantKlassick reviewed Street Cleaning Simulator for the PC..." was posted by InstantKlassick on Thu, 11 Oct 2012 20:36:10 -0700
]]> http://www.gamespot.com/street-cleaning-simulator/user-reviews/801295/platform/pc/ Wed, 03 Oct 2012 04:43:55 -0700 ShadowsDemon reviewed The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim for the PlayStation 3... http://www.gamespot.com/the-elder-scrolls-v-skyrim/user-reviews/800830/platform/ps3/ ...and gave it a 9.5!

Overview: Casting spells, hacking with swords, sniping wolves with arrows, completing side quests and slaying dragons. Welcome to Skyrim.
200 hundreds years have passed since the gates of Oblivion slammed shut. Now in Skyrim you play the role of the Dragonborn, a legendary hero with the blood of Dragons running in your veins. Has Bethesda taken over our social lives yet again as we play their latest role playing game?


Gameplay:
Skyrim automatically feels familiar to anyone who's had the pleasure of experiencing Fallout 3, Fallout New Vegas and Oblivion. You either view the world in first or third person; you kill enemies and then search their corpses for items. You learn new abilities and level up. Sounds basic? Perhaps, but is it?
The first thing you'll notice about Skyrim is that unlike past Bethesda games you'll no longer have to bear the clunky and off-putting Gamebyro engine that Fallout and Oblivion were based on. Having built a completely new engine Bethesda gave Skyrim the chance to be similar to its predecessor but simultaneously unique.

The shear variety of gameplay choices opens up within a few mere hours into Skyrim. Before you begin you'll be able to design your character from an attractive number of races to choose from. These races do not restrict your choices of weapons or class in any means what-so-ever. You'll have the choice throughout the game, which provides you with additional freedom. You can effortless switch from casting spells of illusion and fire to being armed with a bow thanks to a fantastic 'favourite' list, meaning you don't need to rummage around your inventory at the high point of battle to merely change your weapon of choice.

As you progress through the incredible world of Skyrim you'll level up with each individual skill that you often use; though of course there is also an overall rank. If you spend a fair amount of time picking locks of innocent people's homes at the dead of the night you'll level up your skill in that area. If you enjoy the science of Alchemy and constantly create new substances and potions you'll progress in that area and will unlock new possibilities.

Unlike in the Fallout games playing the baddie very rarely cuts out for you in the land of Skyrim. If you decide that the poor peasant's supply of cheese and potatoes serves a greater need in your hands it's only a mere matter of time before you're caught with the stolen goods if you happen to be seen. You'll then have to pay off your bounty, serve time in jail or fight for your life. The same thing applies to you if you decide to start the fight in the middle of the town or butcher the Jarl of Whiterun. Avoiding this requires more skill and focus, such as only stealing when out of vision of anyone else, and if seen you decide to "remove" all witnesses before word can spread.
You'll also have the moral decisions when in missions; though these don't lead to consequences that land you in jail.
As you purchase more magic spells, upgrade your blade and steady your aim with your bow the challenge increases dramatically, as it should. You don't ever feel either overpowered or underpowered unless you decide to strict yourself to leveling up in a specific area or class, though this limits particular quests and objects that you can interact with.
As you collect objects and items throughout Skyrim you'll be able to experiment with them. For instance; you can enchant your weapon, giving it a significant power. Likewise you can also poison the tips of your arrows to give yourself a venomous advantage when tacking a dragon.
As with previous Bethesda games the gameplay is clunky and rather awkward at times. Characters will often attempt to have discussions with you through walls and ceilings, and it's not unknown for your character to get stuck in the environment. Worse still when getting hit by a troll – for instance – you'll be propelled up in the air. Glitches seem to be Bethesda's trademark nowadays for their games and whilst these glitches are a slight annoyance they aren't frequently bad enough to the extent that you can't play the game.
And as with the Fallout and previous Elder Scrolls games you'll regularly end up accidently attacking other character or NPC and then have the entire village after you, baying for your blood until you pay your bounty of 3 gold pieces. Role Playing Games are supposedly to be as far away from realistic as possible, but confusing is something we'd rather do without.
Despite its miniscule flaws the gameplay in Skyrim is top-notch and worthy of any modern RPG. Unquestionably it's clunky at times, but the fantastic dramatically overshadows the bad in nearly every way. You'll near to never grow bored of it. Outstanding to say the least.


Single-Player:
There are exceedingly few ways to describe the sheer size of Skyrim whilst doing it a fair amount of justice. This is one of them.
Imagine that you are looking at the universe for the first time. You can see countless stars, planets, and galaxies. Each and every galaxy has it's own universe filled with planets and stars. These planets and stars contain endless space and objects as well, and each of these areas cannot be covered completely in a lifetime.

This is how I explain how complex and humongous Skyrim is.
When you first step out into the world you'll visit a village or two; chat too few people, and generally get the feel for the game. Now when you start partaking in quests you'll be scratching the surface of Skyrim's expansive web of interwoven complexity. A simple task – for example – such as looking for a woman or finding a unique object can led to unbelievably intricate quests and tales that can in some cases be their own retail game alone. There is simple almost no end to what you are able to do. Even merely stumbling along a quaint village and going for a drink at the local inn can lead you to unraveling the dark secrets of Skyrim. I can discuss the details of a single quest for hours on end alone, so suffice to say that you'll be supplied with hundreds upon hundreds of hours of content.

The game begins with you sitting in the back of a carriage, being taken to a village to be be-headed for your "crimes". Just as axe is about to fall, a Dragon's screech pierces the air. Amongst the confusion you escape.
You have clue as to who you are or what your purpose is–until you end up at Whiterun and slay your first Dragon. When you do so you absorb the Dragon's Soul. You then discover that you are the Dragonborn, someone who has the blood of Dragons running through their veins, and the only one who can slay the awakened Dragons once and for all. This starts a journey that will twist and turn in nearly every way possible and defy all laws of nature and myths.
True be told, however, the story isn't a major factor in Skyrim as the unbelievable amount of side quests will hold your attention until the bitter end. Surprisingly many of the quests meet at an intersection and you'll discover paths you never thought could possibly exist.

Many of the quests you complete will lead on to yet another quest that expands to a tale of it's own. Exploring the sewers of Riften for the sake of talking to someone – for example – will bring you to the headquarters of the Thieves Guild. Should you decide to join them is up to you; but doing so will unlock new rewards, items, and skills. You'll be gifted with recognition from civilians' and guards unlike, be given numerous additional side quests to accept should you want to, and learn of incredible secrets. All these take time to complete, and pulling off a successful burglary – for instance is much easier said than done, and you'll meet many roadblocks along the way. You'll also be given moral choices and decisions that will not only affect the quest but your skills, your reputation and even the world around you.

You can choose from plentiful of skills to level up with or specialize in. If you choose the life of a thief is for you the speech lock picking and sneak abilities are right up your street. Similarly if you enjoy casting spells then the perks of illusion, conjuration and restoration should spark your interest. Each and every item you equip has an effect on your character status and perks, and even how others may see you.

There are near endless possibilities to be explored with a combination of meticulously crafted quests and choices. It's simply one of those games where have such an abundance of quests and choices that you have no idea where to start first.
When you decide to take a break from the multitude of quests and merely explore the magnificent world of Skyrim you'll discover many interesting places to explore, such as ancient ruins or a winter forest. You may want to watch what you do, however. As fun as stealing the farmer's gold and butchering the village is, the guards of Skyrim may think otherwise. Make the wrong enemies, say the wrong thing or make the wrong choice and you'll only have yourself to blame.
If you want to be a two goody shoes and not get up to much mischief, you may be interested in buying a house, looking for work and getting married. There are even plenty of objectives to complete in these mundane tasks, amazingly.

With an eternal number of possibilities, thousands of quests and a staggering number of options and decisions to make Skyrim is a never ending world of unimaginable possibilities and freedom. The sheer quality and complexity of the single-player campaign in Skyrim is so powerful that it could only be described as food to satisfy your hunger for the game. You will be held in awe throughout the entire game and as you go deeper and deeper into the game and its content you'll be ever lavishly rewarded for your efforts. Delicious.


Presentation:
For an open world game Skyrim boasts brilliant technical graphics. Disapprovingly there are plenty of rough textures and uncanny glitches but for the most part the world is painstakingly detailed.

The artistic design fares even better, with silent forests, freezing blizzards and bloody dungeons all containing the upmost care. The character detail and facial expressions have undergone a massive amount of plastic surgery, which is a god-send looking at Bethesda's previous works. This time around the NPCs who you speak with will not cause the camera to zoom in on their wax like faces such as in Fallout 3. Rather they'll glance your way and talk whilst performing actions such as chopping wood or mending a weapon. It makes the world feel ever more improved.
The in game soundtrack has such a degree of quality that it'll cause you to pause and ponder if Bethesda have stolen God's CD collection. The rhythmic chants, battle themes and haunting soundtracks will stay by your side throughout the entire adventure. Effects, dialogue, voice acting and more all are equally at the top of the class. Bethesda took notice of what was said to them concerning the presentation of their previous games and outdid themselves in every way possible.
Trophies: The trophies in Skyrim are not hard when it comes to skill but rather they are exceedingly time-consuming. In order to obtain the platinum trophy quickly you'll need to perform an extremely specific set of actions and choices, which takes the fun out of the game. You'll eventually reach that point without trying especially hard, but not after a long time. Bethesda should have been more creative and expansive when it came to the trophies, but doing this also allows us to not focus on the trophies and focus more on the game itself. It's one of those platinums you'll obtain without even trying, and Skyrim is one of those games that you'll continue to play long after the trophies have stopped popping.


Overall:
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim has done more than merely live up to its hype. It is without question the best Bethesda game ever created and more importantly is one of the most engaging, engrossing and expansive Role Playing Games of all time. The minor issues, such as weak textures, glitches and clunky gameplay do little to hinder the game's quality. Skyrim has something in it for every type of gamer and is a game that should be picked up by RPG lovers the very minute it lands on local shelves. Bethesda have created a masterpiece that will never be forgotten, and they deserve the upmost praise.
All thee kneel before Dragonborn, and praise thy new master: Bethesda Software.

Get the full article at GameSpot

]]> http://www.gamespot.com/the-elder-scrolls-v-skyrim/user-reviews/800830/platform/ps3/ Sun, 23 Sep 2012 17:52:40 -0700 PyreofKoL reviewed SoulCalibur V for the Xbox 360... http://www.gamespot.com/soulcalibur-v/user-reviews/800373/platform/xbox360/ ...and gave it a 9.0!

Soul Calibur is one of the most beloved franchises in video games and has made a name for itself over the years with outstanding visuals, nearly flawless combat and unusual but fun guest characters. SC V continues the story of the Soul Swords, but this time the focus is on a new main character, Patroklos. He, and his sister Pyrrha, are the twin children of long time character Sophitia, and their fates have become entwined with the Soul Swords and a new disease generated by Soul Edge called Malfestation. The game is set 17 years after Soul Calibur IV, so it features several new characters including Xiba (a staff-wielding Kilik clone), Natsu (Taki's hitherto unseen apprentice), and Leixia (Xianghua's daughter). These characters play very closely to their counterparts from previous games and bring only a few differences to their movesets. However, there are also returning characters like Yoshimitsu, Maxi and Astoroth that really help round out the roster and make returning players feel at home. As mentioned above, Soul Calibur has a long history of fun, if bizarre, guest appearances. In Soul Calibur II, each console received an exclusive character: Link from the Legend of Zelda on the GameCube, Todd McFarlane's Spawn for the Xbox and long time Tekken villain Heihachi for the PS2. Things got even weirder the next time guest characters appeared in Soul Calibur IV. The jaws of gamers far and wide dropped when trailers were released showing the likes of Astoroth, Mitsurugi and Cervantes facing off with Yoda, Darth Vader and the Secret Apprentice from the (at the time) unreleased Star Wars game The Force Unleashed. As soon as SC V was announced speculation over a guest character ran rampant, and fans were delighted when Ezio de Auditore from the acclaimed Assassin's Creed series was revealed. Like any good SC guest character he's borderline broken (projectile attacks, naturally) and an absolute joy to play. As far as the combat goes, it's a good as ever. It's been streamlined in this entry to make combos flow better and increase the overall sense of speed in combat. This make also marks the first time that Soul Calibur has featured super moves (as opposed to Critical Finishes, the flashy finishing moves from IV). These moves, called Critical Edges, are flashy and powerful and flow with Soul Calibur's fighting style surprisingly well. Along side Critical Edges we also received special moves called Brave Edges. Each character has numerous unique Brave Edge moves and they're excellent tools for veteran players to spice up their combos. Both Critical and Brave Edges feed off of the revamped Soul Gauge. Like any other fighting game, the Soul Gauge is filled by dealing and receiving damage; however, in the final round of a match the player who is in danger of losing the match gets a substantial chunk of Soul Gauge to aid him in a possible comeback attempt. The gauge has two bars with multiple segments that can be filled. A Critical Edge takes a full bar, and a Brave Edge usually only consumes a segment. These new mechanics are very well designed (if a little cliche) and add a great new level of depth to the game. The multiplayer, as always, is robust. The online continues to improve with new types of lobbies and more consistent matchmaking and good old fashioned couch competition is just as entertaining as ever. The single player is something of a sore spot once again, however. The story mode has returned to a more traditional form in that it's now an actual narrative again as opposed to the shortened arcade oddity from the previous entry. However, the story is still a bit too short and it fails to cover a lot of characters on the roster (most notably Ezio; I was personally quite interested to see what his motivation for getting involved with the Soul Calibur mythos was) as well as not explaining the notable absences of characters from the series' past or the notable changes in the series' returning characters. Still, going back to an actual narrative is a step in the right direction, at least. SC V eschewed IV's intriguing and challenging Tower of Lost Souls for the equally challenging Quick Battle and Legendary Souls modes. In Quick Battle you choose from a group of computer controlled enemies from which you can win a title for your player card if you defeat them. These bots feature a range of difficulty levels and looks as they're creations of the game's dev team. With the huge number of enemies to choose from and a range of difficulties to fit any player's skill level it makes a pretty fun addition to the series. Legendary Souls is definitely for veterans of the series. It pits you against of a series of extremely high level AI enemies. Often these enemies seem difficult to the point of being cheap and can be very frustrating, so I suggest you spend time honing your skills before you take this mode on. Now we come to my favorite part of the game: create-a-character. Since it's introduction in SC III it's only gotten better and SC V continues that trend. Namco elected to remove the armor stats introduced in IV and instead focused on making tools for the detail oriented characters like myself. You now have a range of stickers and patterns that you can put on your characters gear and you can customize everything from the color of a weapon's movement trail to your character's eyebrows. Finally, the visuals are, as we've come to expected, absolutely gorgeous. The animations are fluid, the environments are beautiful and the cut scenes for the Critical Edges are just plain cool. The sound hasn't changed much; it's the same solid musical score and cheesy voice acting that we know and love. The combat, deep customization and further improved online experience really make this game a must for any fighting fan, but the story and frustrating difficulty of the other single player modes will definitely try your patience. On the whole, though, this is a fantastic fighter that most anybody would enjoy.

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"PyreofKoL reviewed SoulCalibur V for the Xbox 360..." was posted by PyreofKoL on Sun, 23 Sep 2012 17:52:40 -0700
]]> http://www.gamespot.com/soulcalibur-v/user-reviews/800373/platform/xbox360/ Sun, 23 Sep 2012 15:39:34 -0700 PyreofKoL reviewed Street Fighter X Tekken for the Xbox 360... http://www.gamespot.com/street-fighter-x-tekken/user-reviews/800366/platform/xbox360/ ...and gave it a 9.0!

Street Fighter x Tekken was probably the most anticipated crossover game of any kind when it was first announced. The respective series are veterans in their corners of the fighting genre and set fighting fans abuzz with questions ranging from what the story would be to how Tekken's fighting style would fit into Street Fighter's style. The answer is something of a mixed bag. The gameplay is smooth and the movesets of the Tekken characters are reworked in an interesting and accessible fashion, but one can't help but feel that Tekken's personality is diluted more than one would expect of a crossover coming from Capcom. The Tekken side of the roster was translated beautifully into SF IV's engine. However, this also one of the game's downfalls. The translation is so good that it almost makes the game feel like another add-on to Super Street Fighter IV. In otherwords, you simply don't feel like you're in control of a Tekken character, but simply another of the many, many obscure Street Fighter combatants from the series' history. The thing of it is, it's quite difficult to determine just how much of a problem this actually is, and we probably won't get a concrete answer to that until SF ventures into Tekken's world in the next few years. Now, this isn't to say that there aren't some clear differences that mark this as a true Capcom crossover. Each character has a powerful Super move, just like they would in Street Fighter IV, but they only have one a piece (mostly). To make up for this, Capcom introduced Cross Arts. Cross Arts are a new twist on the Team Hyper Combos featured in Marvel Vs Capcom series. Instead of your team of two fighters attacking at the same time, the character your controlling activates his Super Art and then, after inflicting a good bit of damage, calls out your team mate who proceeds to do the same with his or her own Super Art. This new ultimate attack is highly damaging, but consumes all of your Cross Gauge which forces you to be strategic in using it. Another new super move featured in this game is the Cross Assault. When triggered, the character your controlling calls out your teammate and then fights side by side with him or her as an AI controlled fighter while you controlled the summoned teammate. There's a neat twist on this with the new multiplayer set up featured in this game. You can play a traditional one on one where you and your opponent control both members of your team, but you can now also play with two humans on each team controlling a character. What this means is that if you have a human teammate and activate the Cross Assault, you both get to fight at the same time. It, like the Cross Art, has the potential for a great amount of damage, but it also takes up all three bars of your Cross Gauge. Next on the list of new mechanics for this game is Pandora. The game's story focuses on a mysterious box referred to as Pandora's Box, and when the fighters interact with the box's power they enter Pandora mode. Pandora, like Marvel vs Capcom 3's X-Factor mode, is a last resort mode that greatly boosts damage and speed. However, Pandora can be dangerous if not utilized properly. When activated, it forces a switch to your teammate and bars the use of your other character, and if you fail to KO your opponent before leaving Pandora mode, then it's an automatic loss. It's a tricky mechanic and one that's not particularly highly regarded by most. Finally, we come to the gems. The gem system is an excellent strategic addition to this game. Each character can equip a set of one to three gems before battle, and these gems can have all kinds of effects ranging from boosting speed or damage in battle to extending the duration of Pandora and increasing the amount of Cross Gauge you gain. The gems are set up in the customization screen and you can have several sets if you so choose. You can, of course, play without the gems but they add a great new level of depth to the game and I highly recommend you spend time experimenting with gem combinations. Visually the game is fantastic in spite of the fact that we've seen these graphics before in the current generation of Street Fighter games. The character animations are great and the levels (the scant few that there are) are vibrant and packed with detail. The music is the typical fighter fare and not particularly exciting, but the voice acting is pretty good all around. Capcom has created a lot of controversy around this game with their questionable "DLC" but there's a ton of depth and a lot of fun to be had here; however, it's definitely wise to rent or borrow this before buying as it may not appeal to everybody.

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"PyreofKoL reviewed Street Fighter X Tekken for the Xbox 360..." was posted by PyreofKoL on Sun, 23 Sep 2012 15:39:34 -0700
]]> http://www.gamespot.com/street-fighter-x-tekken/user-reviews/800366/platform/xbox360/