Bayonetta
Posted by: fahadmajidi on: July 2, 2010
Those of you trying to keep up with new developments in the Bayonetta camp are likely to be in the same position we are namely: we have no idea what’s going on with the Devil May Cry-ish actioner. Not because we aren’t being told how it’s shaping up, not because the question of who is developing the game is up in the air, but because we’re watching the trailers when they’re released. And they’re confusing.
Nevertheless, a few details have sprung up in recent months; the game features Bayonetta’s father as a probable antagonist, the game isn’t being developed by Platinum for PS3 – it’s been framed out to Sega – and reports the game wasn’t running too well on Sony’s console, when compared to the 360, were pretty much rubbished at the Tokyo Game Show. We’ve also seen more gameplay elements, with a motorbike section and a battle op top of moving vehicles standing out the most.
While the Japanese will be able to enjoy Bayonetta and her lovely hair by the time you’re reading this. We don’t know if there will be any region specific extras thrown in, but there’s always a chance. For now, though, we are very hopeful Baynoetta will end up being a mental masterpiece.
The Saboteur
Posted by: fahadmajidi on: July 2, 2010
Sod history: in Saboteur the Irish ended World War 2. Or rather, a single Irish chap working for the French Resistance, screwing up the Nazi’s efforts in Paris with a bag of weapons, a cheeky grin, and the worst Irish accent known to man.
Sean Devlin, the Saboteur, seems to defy classifications as a hero. From his nimble acrobatics – he can climb much of the environment, and leap over beams with ease – you may think he’s a free running action hero in the vein of Assassin’s Creed’s Alter. From his stealthiness you might surmise he prefers lurking in the shadow to kicking Nazis in the balls (wrong again), and from the game’s huge, open world you’d be forgiven for thinking this is a straight GTA clone. Saboteur offers an unusual, and effective, blend of genres.
Regardless of the pigeonhole, being Sean Devlin is plenty of fun. In our latest hands on session, we had to escape captivity of stealth killing Nazis, clambering up Old Persian buildings and shooting through swathes of goons. But it could have been different. Tire of stealth and you can quite happily get through most sections in open combat, thanks to a simple cover system and the ability to soak up a few hits.
Gravity Crash
Posted by: fahadmajidi on: July 1, 2010
It’s safe to say there are a great deal of twin-stick shooters on PSN, and it’s safe to say there’s also a gem involving brightly colored vector graphics on a simplified background, if you understand the geometry of what we’re saying. But that’s about where comparisons to Bizarre’s most addictive of downloadable shooters ends, as Gravity Crash has proven to us through an extended playtest, harking instead to classis Eighties titles like Asteroids, Exile and Defender.
With half an hour of starting we were managing to make our way through levels with a modicum of confidence and avoided crashing for a while. As long as the difficulty curve keeps on a curve and doesn’t hit a wall, it should be successful. We also had a brief play about with the editor, which enables you to create entire levels for use in the game – they can also be uploaded to share with the world. It’s a wonderful touch and one we hope to muck about with more in future. We’ll need to play through the game more thoroughly to judge with the token, but right now it’s looking like a nice addition to PSN. It’s different enough from everything else to be interesting, and it’s handled well enough to be fun – that’s all we can ask for. Except for a low cost
Gravity Crash sees players taking control of ship – either ‘classic’ control or in the now-more-familiar twin-stick style and carry out objectives in a variety of cavernous levels. Collecting gems, rescuing stranded allies and destroying targets and the usual objectives for a level, and players have to navigate each level while managing the effects of inertia, speed, thrust and gravity. We found this system hauntingly familiar, but at the same time confusing and annoying – until we adjusted, of course. It doesn’t take long to get used to the control system and it seems perfectly weighted in the build we played – when you crash, which you will, it never feels unfair.
Marvel Ultimate Alliance 2
Posted by: fahadmajidi on: July 1, 2010
When it comes to comic book games, fan service is essential, Ultimate Alliance 2 takes its plot from Marvel’s Civil War and Secret War storylines (good), but liberties have been taken with the plot that are bound to annoy the hardcore (bad). As with its predecessors, you guide a team of four heroes through labyrinth corridors, defeating waves of enemies. There’s a wealth of characters to pick from a team-mates can be swapped on the fly.
Your Al pals, while competent can make dodgy decisions. Thankfully there’s four player, drop-in, offline and online co-op. The upgrade system has been simplified this time around, resulting either a weaker RPG experience or pure brawler, depending on your viewpoint. Defecting foes now builds up your Fusion bat; when full, hit (L2) and a corresponding button to perform a double team Fusion attack. There’s a huge variety of Fusion to be performed, but these room-clearing moves are too easy to learn.
The camera is still that bit too far away, making it easy to lose focus on who’s who in larger brawls. This highlights the game’s main flaw – there are little tactics required in combat. Blindly mashing (X) or (0) will get you out of any trouble. Overall, it’s fun, if familiar, experience. It’s the ability to swap your team-mates around freely and the diversity of Fusion attacks that carry the most appeal.
Midnight Club: Los Angeles
Posted by: fahadmajidi on: June 4, 2010
Midnight club has dragged itself out of the shadows and in doing so has instantly disassociated itself with the slightly teenage Fast and Furious aesthetic. This is an older, wiser, classier racer than before, with slick, HDR-lit visuals and a genuine sense of power in its engines. As its core, though, Midnight Club remains faithful to its original premise. The open world is used to stage races with no boundaries point-to-point challenges where having a taxi-driver like knowledge of the streets pays dividends.
You can follow the flaming checkpoints, of course, but savvy drivers will use back alleys, subtly disguised ramps and corner-shaving petrol stations to gain an advantage. Nothing new of course, but rarely has it looked and left so coherent and substantial. The RAGE engine has been created not just to shift polygons but also to emote, to allow Rockstar’s development teams to suck us further into their games.
A good example of such immersive techniques is Los Angeles Turbo mode. The camera slides in behind the car when you hit the NOS, the screen fades to sepia and the bass begins to thud. The sense of danger is dramatically increased: the motion blur combined with a narrowed viewing angle makes dodging through the traffic a harrowing experience. Just as it should be, and when you crash, the impact is terrifying. Whereas other racing titles may revel in the pornographic glory of a traffic accident, Los Angeles has gone for a raw, gritty, nasty feel.
Adding to this notion of gritty reality, Los Angeles is a stringently streaming gaming experience, while the arcade handling and ridiculous speed disregard any notion of genuine realism, this is still a world that wants you to believe its real. So, after flagging a rival driver for a race, you drive to the start line, race your wheels into the axles, and then finish, straight back into the city. No loading times, no menus, everything has been crafted so you feel connected to the Los Angeles streets. Immersion is Rockstar’s ethos this generation.
Heroes of the Pacific
Posted by: fahadmajidi on: June 4, 2010
Although World War II may be the most popular video game setting since the omnipresent lava world, usually we only see combat from the ground. Heroes of the Pacific focuses on the aerial component of that war, and pull if off with such finesse that it earns a mark next to such great WWII labels as the Brothers in Arms and Call of Duty franchises.
Although Heroes is far from the first WWII fight sim, it soars high score above the other games thanks to its incredible attention to detail. The shifting, multilayered clouds are truly a sight to behold, and the water below is equally impressive. Of course, what is more stunning is the sight of a hundred Japanese planes barreling down on you.
Of course, looks aren’t anything without substance (just look at Paris Hilton), and fortunately Heroes delivers on this front as well. Controlling the various planes is completely intuitive and each one has its own unique handling. The different missions are also expertly paced – dogfights are broken up with bombing runs and a huge variety of other tasks, so you never feel like you’re simply shooting everything that flies. There are even a nice variety of multiplayer games modes and bonus missions included.
Syphon Filter: Logan’s Shadow
Posted by: fahadmajidi on: June 3, 2010
Syphon Filter: Take the graphics, for instance, which were already quite stunning the first time around. The character models still look as good as ever, but some of the environments are especially impressive.
Water plays a part in some of the new environs, and while it looks amazing when you are on the surface, actual underwater combat is only so-so. The bulk of the game centers on either being stealthy or flagrantly combative, but underwater combat strips that away (you’re slower and can’t really use cover). It’s not horrible by any means, but we definitely prefer fighting with ground beneath our feet.
One complaint we had about the first game was that the story wasn’t all that engaging, and sadly, we have to say the same about Logan’s Shadow. The basic premise of sidekick Lian Xing possibly being a double agent is intriguing, but the major plot points are predictable – which is kind of surprising given that author Greg Rucka (Queen and Country, Whiteout) helped craft the story.
Everything else is great, though. Both the multiplayer and the gameplay are better than ever – the former thanks to two new modes (Retrieval, which is like Capture the Flag, and the Sabortage, where you, well, Sabortage your opponents), and the latter thanks to new features like being able to use enemies as human shields. It’s enhancement like these that help make Logan’s Shadow the best in the series.
Worms: Open Warfare 2
Posted by: fahadmajidi on: June 3, 2010
Functionally Open Warfare 2 is flawless: connections are mostly solid and reliable with little slowdown. In terms of features, Worms is far in advance of any other PSP game too. As well as regular deathmatches, it is also possible to take part in ‘Fort’ games, where each side protects a base, and ‘Races’ where teams compete to Ninja Rope from one end of level to another. Each mode is bolstered by a healthy set of leaderboards that rival even the best Xbox Live games for comprehensiveness.
If the game judged on these merits alone then it would surely achieve the highest possible score, if only for the fact that it is that much more advanced than any other PSP title. Sadly Open Warfare 2 features a slight variation to the rules that will infuriate Worms purists for the way that it unbalances the game. Play a ranked match in any other version of Worms and the weapon scheme will be limited to the low powered weapons in order to force players to adopt strategic tactics, which ultimately makes the game fair. In Open Warfare 2, though, every ranked game is assigned a random weapon scheme that could potentially allow a player to win a game in just one turn with a Concrete Donkey, the most powerful weapon, and send them flying up the leaderboards.
That such an oversight has crept into series that always prides itself on balance in both astonishing and shameful. What is genuinely the best Worms game in years in reduced to one of the worst when playing online, which is even more of a shame, considering the potential offered by the wealthy set of options? Anyone who cares about ranking should therefore stick to Live Arcade for now.
Trials of Topoq
Posted by: fahadmajidi on: May 3, 2010
Playstation Network contains as electric selection of titles considering it’s only been just over six months since console was launched. Certainly the downloads on offer during this time have been more varied than the early days of Xbox Live and obviously more original than the retro catalogue of the Virtual console. But with three new Playstation Eye games available for download, its time for us to sit up pay attention.
A trial of Topoq is a simple puzzle game with gameplay comparable to Archer MacLean’s Mercury, Marble Madness and Super Monkey Ball. You roll a ball around various platforms in an effort to reach the goal. There are 30 levels, with a different challenge associated with each, such as avoiding Red Devils, collecting boxes or simply racing to the goal within a time limit. What makes Trials Of Topoq unique is its use of the Playstation Eye. Instead of rolling the ball with the analogue sticks or hitting the screen with the Sixaxis, making any movement on screen will cause the mosaic surfaces of the platforms that the ball moves no to rise and fall according to the speed of your actions.
You will usually be using your hands but you can also use other parts of your body. Needless to say, this can create quite a scene, and your apparent mime impressions and invisible football headers will look more than a little odd to onlookers. The difficulty ramps up by quite a margin after the first few levels as the enemies become mobile and the minimum score threshold is pushed higher, but Trials of Topoq is till very accessible game for all to play, and a pretty decent way to spend a few pounds and couple of hours of your time.
Condemned 2: Bloodshot
Posted by: fahadmajidi on: May 3, 2010
Condemned: Criminal Origins was a curiously unique piece of work. Simultaneously commercial and entirely niche, it blended abject horror, gritty combat and oppressive atmosphere with forensic science, Greg Grunberg and an unnecessary leap into the supernatural. At its peak, Criminal Origins felt like an interactive Se7en, following the journey of a fragile cop into the twisted mind and sickening accomplishments of a serial killer. However, the studio’s confidence in this excellent premise faded, leaving the draft plunge into surrealism at the game’s climax spoiling an otherwise impressively cogent adventure.
With Bloodshot, it appears Monolith may have abandoned the maturity of the original. Protagonist Ethan Thomas, once styled on portly Heroes Star Gurnberg, has now been remodeled as what can only be described as ‘emo vagrant’, mixing a trendy haircut with blood –eyes and tattered clothes. He’s lost a few pounds too. Thankfully, Thomas pugnacious attitude hasn’t deserted him, ad you’ll be happily clouting destitute weridos with all manner of leap pipes, axes and misshapen pieces of firewood. But where Criminal Origins used its combat as a means of telling its story, Bloodshot is pushing it to the fore. The intense atmosphere will remain and the aggressive and cruelty of the experience will be ever present. Whereas Criminal Origins simply presented its violence, Bloodshot revels in it.
Keen not to lose all senses of purpose, Monolith has completely revamped the forensic investigation. In Criminal Origins, it acted as little more than a semi-scripted segue between all the brutality, but Bloodshot has made everything that more organic. You’ll have to use the correct tools, locate suitable evidence and examine every minute detail in order to solve the crime scene’s morbid mystery. Let’s hope that Monolith finds a suitable balance between combat, horror and investigation so that Condemned 2: Bloodshot can truly progress from its predecessor.
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