Memories

Ok, so I know I said I was going to talk about Splinter Cell Conviction this week, but unfortunately I made the mistake of buying too many games to devote enough time to having a good look any one of them.  So expect to see some reviews in the next few weeks for Fallout New Vegas, DJ Hero 2 and probably Fable 2 after tomorrow.

So this week instead I figured I’d talk about moments in my gaming past in particular, times that I was genuinely awestruck by the game I was playing. I should also prefix this by saying that there may be a spoiler or two in here, but I’ll make sure you know where in advance.

There have been many truly inspiring moments in gaming for me. Just recently in Enslaved during the first level as you’re whizzing above the skies of a post apocalyptic New York on the wing of a crashing plane, I was left thinking “wow. That looks really cool.” Much like when I first played Fallout 3.

You see, back before I found the love of console gaming I was a PC advocate all the way, and one of the staple games for me was the Fallout series. I lost sooo many hours of my life slugging around the wastelands dealing with super mutants, deathclaws and whatever crossed my path.  When I heard that Fallout 3 was being developed, and by the guys who made Morrowind as well, I was in heaven. When I finally got the game, I still recall the sense of awe I got when I completed my training inside the vault and stepped outside into the wasteland. It was truly impressive, and I stood on the cliff top, scanning the horizon in a desperate attempt to soak it all in. 

Another RPG that grabbed me was KOTOR, or Knights of the Old Republic. It’s a Star Wars game set thousands of years before the movies. Spoiler alert coming up. The game itself was an engaging RPG, really filling out the Star Wars universe without destroying cannon law in the process. What set this game apart was the story, with the final revelation that the character you played for the whole game was in fact the current Dark Lord of the Sith, who’s memory had been wiped, giving you a chance to convert to the side of good.  The moment I realized who you were, my jaw dropped and I got goosebumps. More games should give you goosebumps….and maybe bacon, but that’s a different issue altogeather.

Going back further still, I remember when a friend of mine got his hands on a copy of Wing Commander 3. We sat crowded around his monitor (all 16 inches of it), and watched the story unfold. This was back before the concept of interactive movies was birthed and then written off as a waste of time.  The live actors added a depth of realism to the game that I never thought was possible.  I think we watched the introduction to that game several times over, just soaking it in.

Well, tomorrow Fable 3 comes out. Despite the fact that I have a swagger of epic RPG’s to finish (Fallout 3, Fallout New Vegas, Dragon Age Origins, I’m looking at all three of you now) I know I’m going to grab myself a copy, and if it lives up to even ½ of its potential, I may have something new to add next time I write one of these trips down memory lane. 

So now I want to hear from you. What gaming moments have really made you say “Wow!” What ones have left a bitter taste in your mouth?  Where do you stand on the whole bacon issue? Let me know.

Next week: Fable 3. Unless its crap, then Fallout New Vegas. Unless its crap too

Tour Of Duty

Ok, so this week I was a little apprehensive about the game I was going to review. Medal of Honor holds a special place in my heart as one of the finest WWII shooters I’ve played. I still have fond memories of attempting to storm the beach at Normandy, only to be shot to pieces as soon as I’ve stepped of the boat.  Last week Medal of Honor was released, with the series set in Afghanistan and focusing on hunting Al-Qaeda.  As per usual before a big game release, I checked out IGN’s review and was astonished. They gave it a 6. That means that the game is just passable.  For a game this big, a 6 is just beyond belief.  But I was intent on at least trying is out, if nothing else to see if it was as bad as they said.

And I am glad I did.  This game is fantastic.  The visuals are spectacular, giving many moments where you want to pause to really soak it in (even though you’ll probably die doing so).  As I said this game is set in Afghanistan, so you won’t be speeding down the side of a hill on a snowmobile while shooting at bad guys like James Bond, as you did in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2.  You see it’s hard to look at MoH without comparing it. For the record CoD was given a 9.4 from IGN, and sort of set the bar of military first person shooters.

One of the issues brought up regarding MoH was the lack of character development, which I will agree with. You never find out who your character is and why they joined the army. But then again, do you really need to?  The game play is great, well paced with spectacular set pieces that give you an epic cinematic feeling, without resorting to a “Do this and save America the world” mood.  It feels gritty and real. Everything from the sound of gun fire to the dust being whipped up around you adds to this, and to that extent it becomes an immersive experience.

The multiplayer was actually developed by a different studio (Dice) who were responsible for Battlefield Bad Company 2, and has a solid, polished feel to it. The ultimate test came on Thursday night when I was playing it and time came to turn it off and call it a night. My initial reaction was “aww”, and regret that I couldn’t play just one more map. There are a few different modes to help keep it interesting, including objective based death match, team death match and more. It also features a leveling system, although the number of classes is a bit lacking at only 3.

So the big question is, is this game worth getting?

My answer is yes.  The game, in my opinion, is fantastic.  Where CoD is like watching Commando, MoH is more like Saving Private Ryan. It feels real and gritty, not over the top set pieces with increasingly more outlandish stunts and action.  Of course, this all may change with CoD Black Ops comes out next month.

On a side note I learnt a lesson. Never take a review for granted.  Especially with companies like Game offering 7 day return policy. If you think you may like a game, I say grab it, try it and if its crap *cough Kane and Lynch cough*, and if so return it and get your money back.

Next week: Splinter Cell Conviction. A little older, a little wiser.

Monkey Business

Growing up as young kid I feel in love with a strange little show from Japan detailing the exploits of a magical monkey man, and his ragtag group of companions including a pig monster, some sort of water demon, a horse that’s really a dragon and a young Buddhist boy who till this day I still think was a girl.  The show was called Monkey (I knew it as Monkey Magic due to the opening credits tune), and it was based off an ancient Chinese story call Journey to the West.  As I grew up I always thought this would have been a great idea for a video game of some description.  Luckily I wasn’t the only one, and the good people at Ninja Theory decided to take this story, twist it a bit, and come out with a fantastic little game called Enslaved: Odyssey to the West.

Set 150 years in the future, you play Monkey, A loner on the run from Mechs and slavers. During your voyage you are enslaved by a young girl named Tripitaka (but everyone calls her Trip) who agrees to let you go free if you take her back to her home village. 

The game itself plays similarly to Ubisofts treatment of the Prince of Persia franchise. You’ll need to negotiate your way through a beautifully designed New York city years after a global war has ravaged the earth.  You’ll climb pipes, leap for hand holds and other such acrobatics while trying to reach your destination, all the while searching for floating orange orbs to level up your abilities.

Combat comes in the form of your magic staff.  The staff can be used to fire stun rounds, plasma rounds, or just beat the snot out of things.  It all flows quite smoothly, and although uses a fair amount of button mashing it feels instantly familiar to use.  Also worth a mention is Monkey’s cloud. In the tv series monkey whistles and a magic pink cloud comes along to take monkey where ever he needs to go. In Enslaved the cloud is represented as a flying blue hover disk that when you get enough speed on looks kind of like the aforementioned cloud. Its clever and really cool to zip about on.

The game itself isn’t particularly long, but at the end its quite satisfying.  You feel the story has been told, and the pacing of it is fantastic. 

There are some downsides though.  Sometimes the graphics get a little glitchy, and there are some moments of frantic button mashing, but these are usually forgotten when one of the many beautiful set pieces are revealed to you. 

One of the other things I noticed in this, which I usually don’t pay attention to, was the sound track.  The voice acting is superb, with monkey being voiced by Andy Serkis aka the guy behind Gollum. The music is also fantastic, matching the atmosphere of the game, without being too intrusive.

This game is defiantly worth a look, and if you’re still unsure I suggest downloading the demo and giving it a try.  It’s free and it’ll help give you a really good idea of what to suspect.

Next Week: Medal of Honor. Can EA topple Activision in the war based first person shooter market?

Spiderman Faces His Greatest Foe Yet: Camera Angles

So last week I picked up a copy of Spiderman Shattered Dimensions with a little bit of trepidation. You see, the last few installments for everyone favorite web spinner have all been, shall we say, less than stellar. In fact some might even go as far as to say that they were craptastic.  I’m glad to say that this game turns a corner for the franchise.  

The basic story is that Mysterio, a fish bowl headed amateur magician/villain, has attempted to steal an artifact. Spidey turns up and in the ensuing fight the artifact is broken and bits sent flying into other dimensions.  Now Spidey needs to team up with three other Spidermen from different dimensions.  

This adds a depth of game play, as each of the different Spidermen have different play styles and abilities.  Ultimate Spiderman wears the symbiote suit and uses a special attack called rage which sends tendrils flying out in all directions.  2099 Spiderman fights villains in a neon future using a special spider sense ability that slows time down. Noir Spiderman is probably the most different in style, and in my opinion the most fun. Noir Spidey creeps around in the shadows and focus on silent take downs and webbing unsuspecting bad guys while avoiding being seen.

Overall this game is fun. Lots of web slinging fun.  The different Spidermen all add a different dimension (no pun intended) to the game play, and help the game from becoming too repetitive.  There are some downsides, which while are not deal breakers, they do make the game somewhat frustrating.  Wall crawling is massively annoying.  It’s almost impossible to control the camera making wall crawling an almost vomit inducing experience.  Luckily there are only a few times when you need to use it, so the blow is lessened.  There are also some button mashing moments, such as guarding civilians from wave after wave of henchmen, which can be just plain annoying. I mean how long could it possibly take two guys to open a door? Surely at a console the size of the one they’re bashing away at there must be an open door button. 

All that aside, Spiderman is still fun. A little short, but a hell of a lot of fun.

Next Week: Enslaved. A futuristic retelling of an old Chinese fable.