Games: Rate and Discuss

AHA-Lambda said:
bayonetta
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Praise be! Someone else has seen the light :cheers:

The scary thing about Bayonetta is that the 2nd play through is more fun than the 1st, and the 3rd better than the 2nd. It's ridiculously good. The only bad thing was how average it made God of War feel afterwards!
 
good to hear :) i'd replay it again if it weren't for the backlog of games i've got the now :p

and i was never a huge god of war fan anyway in all seriousness (only the first game actually left an impression on me overall) :|
 
Hidden and Dangerous 2 - 6/10

I was having a nostalgia trip so I figured I would re-buy this with Sabre Squadron and give it a whirl again. When I first played this years back I loved it to bits, I knew there were flaws and bugs but I could overlook them, this time however, I simply could not. The problem with this game is that the concept is excellent but it just cannot pull it off well enough because there are just too many faults with the game. As a minor I could overlook them, but now as an adult I see them ahead of the good points, because they are just so bad at times.

There are times where you would load from a certain point and your team mates will be naff, and then you would load from it again and they will be superhuman in terms of killing people, they would sometimes kill people I couldn't see, however the enemy AI always remained able to distinguish that I was an enemy and therefore I must be shot. Its these inconsistencies that led to SO many re-loading times. I mean there was quite a hilarious point where there was an enemy caught in a small bush firing on my men, who were standing right next to him just letting themselves get shot without doing anything, they were supposed to standing in aggressive stance (meaning they are supposed to shoot everything that moves).

One thing that really grinded me about the team mate AI was that say you gave one of your men and thompson and a bazooka, when you are leading them through a level, they would use the bazooka on a lone soldier. Or if you gave your sniper a sten gun too incase we got into close quarters fighting, and they would just ignore the sniper rifle completely when you are moving through large, open terrain. I had to start giving my men just one weapon each. Also for some retarded reason, whenever you issued a command to a man via tactical mode, when they reached the end of the command line, you couldn't give them anymore orders until you switched to them manually and moved them around. Or say you use one man and issue the others to fire at will, if you switch to another man, for some reason the rest will suddenly all decide to hold fire.

Also the objectives seemed to require the player to be physic at times. For instance the first mission, you are asked to go into a secret laboratory and destroy it with dynamite but I was never told at the load up screen beforehand that I was meant to carry any dynamite, or that I would find some in the lab itself. There is a mission later one where you are required to steal the uniform of a driver and his papers so you can infiltrate a castle. I fought my entire way through a level and reached a shack that had an officer inside it ready to sound the alarm, you assume its him. But after you kill everyone, and find out that the driver was actually just one of the other soldiers hanging around, its already too late because you can't take his uniform anymore because he didn't surrender, and because you have already saved it, you have to start the entire level again.

That said, underneath all the bugs there is as I mentioned earlier a very good game. The fact that you have only four men at your disposal and you have to choose carefully all the items that each will bring and what weapons they use, is an excellent concept, its just that in game the AI makes a mockery of it at times. And when your team mates actually to remember they are SAS soldiers then moving through a map and tactically eliminating all opposition is brilliantly satisfying. The tactical map is amazing, and allows the player to basically surround and entire area or create ambushes with the rest of your team while you use one of them manually, only problem with it is that sometimes you team mates will just refuse to shoot anything even if they are on an aggressive stance. The level variation is also excellent, the missions in Norway and Africa were a joy (there was a mission where you had to capture a German officer from an airport so I managed to sneak a man inside and steal a tank, causing all sorts of mayhem). But some of the missions weren't so great, for instance the Burma missions were just completely pointless, and I only got the first mission in Austria before I gave up with the game entirely.

So overall, the game COULD have been brilliant, you can definately see the approach they were using, but because of the bugs, the dodgey AI and the odd objectives, it frustrates more than creates enjoyment, the fact that the bugs were so vast that I couldn't even complete the game only strengthens my point. I will try Sabre Squadron now however and see if it improves on these problems.
 
Starcraft 2:

I dont play RTS basically at all and i doubt this game will convert me but at least blizzard was good enough to put in a noob difficulty so that i could play it w/o compromising the complexity.

The story, cinematics, the polish and the immersion were just great and i really enjoyed the campaign so much. Ending was ****ing great i thought and i'm pumped for the next installment.

Plants vs Zombies:

fun simple and addictive tower defense game (actually my first :p) starts to get a bit repetitive but only at the end really - unlike peggle. Good and cheap fun :)

Penumbra Overture:

Scariest.game.ever.

If you think:

A) you cant be easily scared or dont think games do horror well
or
B) think games like F.E.A.R. are scary

you need to play this game. It does so much with so little, playing on your fears with perfect pacing building to a great tension.

Admittedly it does start to wear of slightly as you go through it once the enivornments star to seem familiar and you figure out how to kill enemies easily. But ep2 fixes both those things with variety of locales and removing weapons (at least from what i've played so far).

PS: Personally i will say i am terrified of dogs and it plays my own fear of that damn well :|

Scott Pilgrim vs the World The Game:

from my point of view as a pretty big scott pilgrim fan this is the BIGGEST disappointment for me of the year ;( (yes i was that hyped for this =/)

It has all the charm of the comics in it and a really cool score to it :) but thats where the compliments end :| I thought this game was to be a crazy fun filled action game similar to something like shank or the dishwasher but it plays like double dragon right down to the flaws DD had in the ****ing 80s!!

It is ****ing slow as hell to control
you have to be on the exact same plane as your enemy or you'll hit thin air most of the time
moveset is too limited initially and requires upgrading to expand on
clearly designed for 4 player co-op but no online WTF?!
AI is generally dumb but my biggest complaint is...
ITS TOO ****ING HARD!!!! Its clearly designed around 4 people and as someone who prefers solo play this is just plain ****ing unfair!! I'd play online to get round this just so i could get further but theres no online

oh and apparently the best way i've heard to get around the difficulty is to keep playing the first level over and over and over again to get lots of money for upgrades -_-

I've got to level 2 got pummeled by the 2nd evil ex and i've just ****ing gave up! on EASY!! :flame: such a shame, i was so hyped ;(

PS: i've not finished it (only level 2 -_-) but i've heard scott's ending and it is bull**** to the point of rage. You could give a variation of the final book dont just make up random **** that'll piss me off :flame:
 
Bayonetta has to be the weirdest game Ive hardly played.

I swear, Ive done about 2 levels and thats it. I want to go back to it, but its just too quick and I have no effing clue what is going on on the screen.

Myabe Im just crap at fighting games, combos especially, the need to remember them AND have the speed to pull them off.
 
AHA-Lambda said:
Penumbra Overture:

Scariest.game.ever.

If you think:

A) you cant be easily scared or dont think games do horror well
or
B) think games like F.E.A.R. are scary

you need to play this game. It does so much with so little, playing on your fears with perfect pacing building to a great tension.

Admittedly it does start to wear of slightly as you go through it once the enivornments star to seem familiar and you figure out how to kill enemies easily. But ep2 fixes both those things with variety of locales and removing weapons (at least from what i've played so far).

PS: Personally i will say i am terrified of dogs and it plays my own fear of that damn well :|
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<3

I went back to play a little bit of this game a few days ago. Still scares me.
 
jimbo118 said:
You should try doing the campaign solo. Much more fun imo. It's not as hard as it seems.
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That sounds like a good idea actually, sometimes my team mates are very valuable, but mostly they just get in the way. Will give it a go :)
 
Yeah, just pick a guy who can carry a decent amount of gear and has a high stealth rating. I wouldn't really bother with nades. Just keep enough healthpacks. Silenced sten and a de lisle rifle ftw!
 
Shift said:
Hidden and Dangerous 2 - 6/10.
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great review - soundtrack was pretty good . The last level was strange...all I remember is that you had to attack a german base/bunker and steal something and then fight off attacking russians was some reason..

I also remember sniping a german in the head and all he had was a bloody noise!
 
Call of Juarez: Bound in Blood - 8/10

Just finished it and overall I enjoyed it. It does manage to make you feel like you're part of an action packed western. I ended up playing with Thomas the most, because of his sharp shooting skills and the lasso.

However there are a few things that I didn't like. The FOV yet again is horrendous, searching turns out a lot of people have complained about it, but sadly there doesn't seem to be any way to change it.

The graphics are very good only when you're outside in broad daylight, the interiors or darker environments are very poorly done in my opinion. it kind of reminded me of Far Cry 2 where night time looked awful.

Flaws aside I did have fun with it, and that's all that matters.
 
Mafia

Just been re-playing the original again since pre-ordering on Steam and I had forgotten how frustrating the original games driving mechanics are.
What the **** is the point in setting up a mission with a car chase when both cars are crawling up a hill at about 4 mph shooting at each other? They may as well get out and ****ing run after each other. I understand they went for realism but it shouldn't be at the expense of fun. Also when you factor in working against time limits it just becomes annoying.
It also features some of the worst voice acting I've ever heard, I swear some of these guys are just the programmers having a go at VO work.
When I bought this back in 2002 it was one of my favourite games and the story is still pretty good, though it loses some of it's emotional intent when the characters have absolutely no expressions. It makes the sex scene look very funny. The mechanics of the game just feel clumsy when playing it today, and although I will always consider it a classic I just feel somewhat disappointed that the rose tints didn't stay on.

7/10

EDIT:- Oh and that ****ing looping music track really gets on my tits.
 
Mercenaries - 8/10

Wanted a war game that could be role-played in various ways, and Mercenaries 2 was aweful at that. Mercenaries:poD still maintains its fun value, albeit it looks very dated. Lots of square faces, and on PS2, the shadow effect its piss poor. The voice acting is....ok. Some characters could use more emotions. Still one of my favorite shooters, and my favorite TPS game of all time.

Sniper Ghost Warrior - 6/10

Its not a BAD game, its just not great. The actual sniping missions are pretty fun, except the 12 foot invisible barriers take away from some of the stealthy fun. The story and VO's are rubbish. Also, the fast paced FPS scenes are unneeded, generic shit. Its not as aweful as some reviews make it out to be. Worth a rental at least.
 
Monday Night Combat 9/10

I was really surprised by this XBLA game, I can't get enough of it.

Stylistically, it's similar to TF2, and has the whole "Red Team vs. Blue Team" thing going on, and there are classes, but that is where the similarities more or less end.

It's a classes based game where either up to 4 players take on waves of robots while trying to defend their "Moneyball" until the number of waves end, that game type is called a Blitz. There are 5 different types of Blitzes, with varying difficulty and pace.

There's also a 6v6 gametype, called Crossfire, where two teams try to destroy each others Moneyball. Both sides have robot reinforcements, which can turn the tide of the game.

I loooove this game, I've played nothing but Assault, and I always love playing the Steel Peel Stadium. I would give it a 10/10, but I can't stang the goddamn Assassins. Anyone wanna party up, my Gamertag is RuzzianRoulette.
 
The Misadventures of PB Winterbottom 7/10

In the same vein as Braid in that it is a 2D platformer puzzler with unique gameplay (CLONES) but is less serious and artsy and leans into the realm of whimsical, cute, and funny. Nothing spectacular, but an enjoyable gameplay experiment that will provide a few fun hours.
 
Scott Pilgrim vs the World the Game (Addendum) :

ok unbelievably i have managed to finish the game and like i said before it is hard as balls even on the easiest difficulty if you play by yourself. The only way i found myself to crack into this rock hard game was until i got money to buy the bionic arm (a strength upgrade). From there the game became a bit more manageable. Even then it can still be challenging in places. I had to do the evil twins level about 4 times and only beat it after unlocking the video rental store (access to very cheap lives and upgrades but costs a fortune to unlock at first).

And as for the final level my character (scott) was then at max level, max strength, high stats otherwise with the most powerful weapon in the game and max lives and i got through it with only 1 life left!! = O

Then i see the ending and i rage, what a pile of ****. And now ubi wants me to do this game 4 more times from scratch to unlock one of the unlockable characters and see all of the other endings (including the good one)?

**** OFF!

Once you could get into it it was a fun game but if online co-op was added or there was a scalable difficulty it wouldn't have a difficulty curve the size of climbing a ****ing mountain.

Mirror's Edge:

I found myself replaying this again recently as i found myself curious as to how i thought it had aged since i last played it at release. Back then i bought this game for full price the day it came out and i was MEGA HYPED for it (probly most hyped i've ever been for a new IP apart from heavy rain) and i thought it was possibly the most disappointing game i had ever played. So yea i was curious if i had just hyped this up too much but was otherwise a fine game.

Nah...its the same. Its too short with too little replayability yet repetitive if played in long sessions, one of the most horrid stories i've seen in a video game and gameplay that unfortunately can become frustrating much more quickly than your average game due to the fast pace of the game, an element of trial and error, crap combat and at times confusing level design. Its a brilliant concept but thats really all that it rides on.

Part of me would want a sequel to make this game what it should have been but then again what are the chances it would just end up being more of the same? :|
 
NCAA Football 11 - 9/10

NCAA blows Madden out of the water with this little gem. Graphically superior, atmospherically superior, gameplay is superior, it just looks and feel more realistic, and surprisingly much more fun.

And the little touches are awesome. This is the first game Ive ever played that has a running update at the bottom of the menu screen of scores in sports in your country of football (soccer) and rugby.
And having a live broadcast of ESPN radio in the background is a sweet, sweet touch.

Road To Glory is recycled of course, and Dynasty mode hasn't changed much, but why break something so great by adding more stuff? Its alot like FIFA has done where you take one player through the ranks to play for your international team and become the best player in the world, except in NCAA you start as a senior, fight to your college graduation and control what your player does on campus in the evenings, practice training, getting better at the playbook, building confidence.

Home advantage plays a huge roll, with the opposite team's quaterback folding under pressure. Equally, playing away can cause your quarterback to lose confidence and get psyched by the crowd, with each delivery line being squiggly, causing missed throws, fumbles etc. And this all based on the size of the stadium and how much of the crowd is cheering the opposing team. Even calling a timeout in the 4th quarter when the scores are tied or this kick will win the game causes the kicker to have an iced-over power bar and a different camera angle, as well as a beating controller to make the kick that much more difficult and stress the importance.

Love. It.
 
Mafia 2

The criticism this game is getting is really quite unbelievable, It seems people are going into it expecting some sort of GTA 50's even after the have experienced the linear experience of the original.
From the moment I stepped out of the cab on Chapter 2 this game had immersed. From the Dean Martin track "Let It Snow", to the old residents of Vitos neighbourhood welcoming him home I knew then that the reviewers had pegged this game wrong .
There is so much detail and atmosphere in this game it's quite unlike anything I have ever played. The graphics engine put's it's closet comparison in visuals, GTA IV to shame on PC whilst running very well. I was even able to have PhysX on medium with hardly any framerate loss (after the cloth delete technique).
The gunplay and cover system feels competent enough so as not to pull you out of the experience
The story grabs you as you follow Vitos rise from depression into a made man and all the trouble that follows and throws some genuinely likeable characters in all with excellent voice work. At a couple of points I felt shocked at how invested I got with these characters when things went wrong.
Something absent though, and although I am aware that it's not trying to be open world, it does seem at some point they wanted to include side missions as the markers are still on the map as well as the people who would have given you these missions. It seems these have been held back for DLC though. Then again, I never expected side missions so it's no big deal to me.

For me this is definitely one of my GOTY and I probably will buy the DLC when it comes out if I can experience more of this.

9/10

Kane And Lynch 2

Short as hell but packed with brilliant and weighty firefights and a another decent story centring around K&L continuing to **** things up. Don't buy at full price though as 4 hours is a bit short for £30.

7/10
 
StarCraft 2 - Game Of The Year / 10

From the Single Player to the ladder even to the custom games....this is a QUALITY game. The insane Polish on the graphics, the SP and the balance, I'm insanely happy. While things could be added/fixed, I feel the game is pretty damn perfect right now and it will just get better with time...

Again, GoTY, calling it now folks.
 
Resident Evil 5

This is the game they made after Resi 4? How embarrassing. A facsimile and derivative follow-up that feels clunky, awkward and above all, unwelcome. The repetition of the basic set-pieces and encounters you faced in Resi 4 makes for a seriously poor-show, especially when you're forced to saunter along with a bad ally (unless you have a friend(s) and you're playing co-op), trek through skeleton locations of the predecessor and once again endure a drivel storyline.

Just embarrassing.
 
Fun in co-op, though ;)

I agree to an extent - it's a lazy addition that adds nothing other than showing how suited the slow and measured pace of Resident Evil is to playing with a partner. However, despite the flaws and the utterly broken single player experience (and the ****ing doors - anyone who's played this game in co-op knows what i'm talking about -wtf were they thinking!!???), RE5 offers co-op that's actually about cooperation - a rare thing. It's a model that should be built and expanded on. Rather than sticking a bunch of players in the same game and doing little else, in RE5 you have to slowly move as a pair, closely watch each others back, cover each other while you reload/change weapons/items. The low fov means you have to rely on your buddies vision as much as your own and firing while your partner retreats is a basic tactic that's oddly more advanced than pretty much anything you find in other co-op shooters. L4D's is a good example - awesome game, but actual co-operation, something more than all shoot the zombies and occasionally pick each other up, not really. If someone could take these co-op elements and put them into a decent surivial horror - you know, one that's actually scary and with the need to explore, find and conserve items etc - we'd have something very special.
 
Cant move when aiming = fail. I dont care how the rest of the game is, that is just serious fail.

God that game annoyed the crap out of me. Got to the part with the tribal guys and their huts after the crocodile section and just gave up, ***king hopeless game.
 
Dynasty said:
Cant move when aiming = fail. I dont care how the rest of the game is, that is just serious fail.
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Why? It may be a cheap mechanic, but it's one that works. Perhaps they could reduce the movement speed to something very, very slow, barely faster than being still, and achieve the same result. I could handle that. As it stands, not being able to move while firing works well - on the list of things worth complaining about it's waaaaaaaaaay down at the bottom.
 
Dynasty said:
Cant move when aiming = fail. I dont care how the rest of the game is, that is just serious fail.
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What a well constructed, logical, and compelling argument.

STALKER: Call of Pripyat 6.5/10

Very mixed feelings here. For one thing, the overall plot of this game is incredibly dull. Some helicopters crashed. You look at each helicopter. Strelok shows up. The helicopters crashed because of anomalies. Oh. Wait. Anomalies? The big mystery of this game turns out to be that some helicopters crashed because there were anomalies? But other than thatI actually found the side missions/stories to be very enjoyable. Whereas in SoC I sort of never got into heavy exploration because of the carrot on a string that was the main mission, I think I can say I explored and loved almost every inch of this game world. Stumbling upon an Oasis, stealthily eliminating an entire Monolith camp, hiding in a cave from an emission with a man who you want to take vengeance upon. The world is incredibly absorbing and enjoyable. Not that it's perfect. For one thing, I seriously missed the random anomalies that would pop up and whirlwind around some small artifact. And of course, the biggest complaint, there isn't enough. Three maps, one of which is barely populated. Not that any of them were populated enough. Where was the faction tension? Other than mutant fights and the occasional pissy bandits, all the other people in the world may as well be invisible. I'm not a big, 'Okay 47 hour RPG!' kinda guy. I generally like my games to be short and sweet, but here I felt the opposite. After every concievable mission was over with I just took to randomly wandering the maps and getting artifacts for Beard. With a little more work, STALKER could easily be my favorite series, but here it just didn't seem quite enough.
 
Warbie said:
Why? It may be a cheap mechanic, but it's one that works. Perhaps they could reduce the movement speed to something very, very slow, barely faster than being still, and achieve the same result. I could handle that. As it stands, not being able to move while firing works well - on the list of things worth complaining about it's waaaaaaaaaay down at the bottom.
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The amount of times I screamed with rage at this game simply because I couldnt move when aiming was ridiculous. When youve got guys chasing you, you have to stop, turn around slowly, aim and then hit all of them with almost a full clip, when, in some cases, they're running at the same speed you are. Thats IF you have the time to turn around, and IF they're far enough away to actually warrant shooting in the first place. And IF you actually have any ammo left.

Shook off so many zombies in that game simply because there's no real logical method of wading through the masses; you cant move when you aim. Its so ***ked up, it goes against every other game out there.
 
Metro 2033:

I liked it overall but it didnt really do anything that wowed me :|

The concept and style are the best parts of it but if you've played stalker then i guess you've seen it before really. I was on two sides about how i felt with the gunplay: your weapons are just too damn weak unless you use your special ammo which doubles as your cash so naturally you will hardly ever use that. It does make some sections seem quite unfair in all honesty (one specific tough enemy i remember took 15-20 shotgun blasts before it died WTF!) but on the plus side this does create a really well done survivalist feel to the game as you constantly search and scrounge from everywhere you can.

Story was hardly there really. You are a faceless, voiceless guy called artyom who everyone seems to know...just because. And everyone highly trusts you....just because.

early on in the game a ranger by the name of hunter dies and he asks specifically for you to tell his home station what happened to him...just because.
You sneak off in the pretense of signing up for caravan defense so that your father doesnt know....just because :|
when you get to his station and tell this council of elders type thing about the monsters and what happened to him they deny you help....just....because >_>

Apart from that there isnt really much to the story its more of building a concept and an atmosphere than a narrative. And yeah not the most satisfying ending either.

though the idea for the alternate ending that i didnt get is deliberately vague as to how to get it and i liked that idea, makes it seem much more meaningful to get than just an arbitrary choice at the end like most games

But its certainly interesting enough that i wanted to see it all through and its got more creative ideas to it than most brainless fps nowadays even if the action is a little rough.

Bioshock 2 Minerva's Den:

ok this is a surprise! :eek:

a dlc pack released to little fanfair and only £6 that is decent? In fact its good? :O

this is probably one of the best value for money dlcs i've ever got. For 800 points you get an extra 4-6 hours in a new self contained story in rapture with a new character after the end of bioshock 2. It shows some interesting ideas that mystify me as to why they werent in the game (i.e. splicers with elemental tendencies; fire, ice etc.) and a plot that in all honesty is probably better than bioshock 2's with another famous twist like bioshock 1. I managed to figure out what it was but not too long before it all unfolded i admit.

If you want to play more bioshock i would def recommend this dlc pack, infact its probably the only good bioshock 2 dlc.
 
AHA-Lambda said:
Bioshock 2 Minerva's Den:
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BLOOD TRAITOR.

No but seriously, the lack of a PC release shits balls. Rather want to play this, along with the Shadow Broker DLC for Mass Effect 2 (though I'm holding out for some kind of DLC bundle).

6-8 hours? You sure about that? The main game itself was in that region.

Lancer Big Daddy for NECA figure release plz.
 
6-8 hours? You sure about that? The main game itself was in that region.
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its about 4 hoursish, ymmv depending on level of exploration and difficulty setting. Yeah i guess i have overestimated that actually, i'm on autopilot i guess :p

*edits*

EDIT: forgot one

Shadow Complex:

surprisingly fun and addictive metroidvania style platformer. Really fun and it hooked me so that i finished the game in about 2 sittings. I'd say its the best game i've played on XBLA

EDIT 2:

Singularity:

Certainly an interesting game that went by largely unnoticed thanks to activisions brilliant tactic of being tighter than 2 coats of paint when it comes to the marketing of any game not called call of duty -_-

Imagine the butterfly effect as an fps....or timeshift but good. Singularity doesnt do anything new or even anything wholly remarkable gameplaywise: its not too long, no replay value outside of the dead multiplayer, quite easy (altho i ate thru medpacks (NO REGEN!! YES!!)on a couple of occasions especially when ticks appeared; they are now one of my most hated enemies in a modern game >_>), linear, gets a bit repetitive to the end and it definitely aint a looker on the 360 anyway. Definitely some big nods to the uncanny valley here.

But the games combat is fast and fun, the time mechanics do add a few neat twists and the controllable seeker bullets are real good fun :LOL:

The plot does keep things interesting enough to want to keep playing all the way through. The start actually is actually quite reminiscent of bioshock: detailing the downfall of the island through audio logs and some surprisingly very well done russian propoganda. Slight downfall though is the rest of the game never reaches the heights of that introductory chapter when you slowly uncover the mystery of the island, plus there is no real 'happy' ending to the game but at least they're all inventive.

I'd certainly recommend renting it to play through the once :)
 
HAWX! 8/10

If you spent $60 on this I pitty you. I spent $10 and thought it was fitting. the gameplay was fun, but you can either rent this or buy it cheap and thats the best way to play console games these days. overall it was fun but I'm not gunna play the first one again. I'm moving onto Heavy Rain now which I'm about halfway done. the controls suck balls and don't make sense half the time and the characters move about as bad as a Resident Evil character but the story and drama are well worth it
 
Halo Reach: i just finished it, enjoyable and yes it is just more halo for better or worse. There is a lot of content and variety in this package as people know but that is mostly in terms of the MP but in terms of the campaign 1 and odst still beat it and i'd say its tied with halo 3 :|

after all the hype i just expect something shall we say 'epic' to happen each level but while some where a good welcome change of pace (e.g. the space battle level) others did have the feeling of been there done that before long.

The ending was a bit disappointing. The bit after the credits was a real nice touch but the first half of it?

the autumn launches and then 2 lines of dialogue from the first halo are repeated? Is that it? Hell not even any music for the credits? :| I even expected a master chief cameo but apparently theres no legendary ending either

In terms of the plot I would think that if you're going to make a prequel then there should be a good reason in the plot to do so, like some new information that totally makes you look at something from the other games differently and gives a different context to them (e.g. MGS 3) but there are no revelations here: NONE! :|

At a stretch you can say
we now know where cortana found out where halo was instead finding it by accident?
but is that all you can bring to the table as a prequel? :|

EDIT: Kane & Lynch 2:

good god the only game that pissed me off more this year was yakuza 3 and thats only because its about 3 times longer. This is actually worse than the first which is amazing to believe given the potential it had and the lessons that should have been learned but clearly were not!

First the story, its ****. Kane has no meaningful role for this game at all and Lynch's psychosis is absent apart from some mild talking to himself. The plot is quite forgettable and has almost no setpiece moments apart from the helicopter section. Whereas the first was quite varied, everything here is the same; just back alleys of shanghai. The ending...wow...the ending is almost reminiscent of nes games.
kane and lynch run up stairs to a plane leaving shanghai. Lynch gets up first kane follows. Shot of plane leaving runway.
and then the credits roll. quite frankly thats a ****ing slap in the face as blatant as it will get in games imo.

Gameplay wise it is an improvement over the first BUT alot of the flaws are back albeit better but their effects are compunded by the bigger emphasis on cover based combat now (at the expense of a loss of creativity like the team combat >_>). The sticking to cover works much better but the cover is useless you'll find yourself keep taking damage in cover when you shouldn't! The strange thing is i'm not sure if IO wanted a realistic thing to it or not but when ever i faced the opposite direction in cover from where the oncoming fire was coming from i stopped taking damage o_O Aiming is still kinda loose and most weapons apart from oddly enough the shotugn are innacurate at long distances and pretty weak. So yea it was great fun taking cover from enemies were my weapons were practically useless if i didnt have a shotgun on me, having to face away from them when i was under fire and then cant return fire without taking damage again if i faced the other direction again o_O

The strange thing is the enemies are as dead as deadstops half the time in the AI department (they only sit on their ass or run right at you) but the only reason its frustrating is cos theres loads of them at a time. This game needs to be a lesson in why pacing is important as the game is nothing but a shooting gallery there is no variation nor even breathing space between each fight making me burned out on it all before the half way mark. Graphics are deliberately crap we all know but the weird lip syncing and jaggies and plasticy faces on the characters? idk about that :|

And yea it is about 4 hours but even that was just too damn long >_>
 
Medal of Honor 8/10

Very fast game to say the least. I finished it in 2 nights and you can really rush this game and get all the achievements/trophies in probably 1 playthrough if you do some backtracking and or dying. but besides the game made me blink twice a few times and I couldn't tell if it was real or not because the photorealism hits a few high points out of no where, and at other times the textures look like utter shit. the gameplay is tight, as with any modern fps, but what i liked about it was the crazy amount of enemies they throw at you at once. the vehicle missions are amazing and break up the pace, the sniping is great, the stabbing is fun, and just about every part of this game was very exhilarating. one low point are the stupid cutscenes of high military people barking back and forth and not knowing where you got shot from because the game seems dark even after adjusting the brightness and contrast. one major pro for this game is the realism, this does not have any crazy over the top scenes or twists. also if you enjoyed the storming of the beach in the original Frontlines game, you will love this game, there are plenty of very aggressive moments like that. I will jump into Tier 1 and multiplayer in a few days with this game so those 2 separate modes I haven't even touched yet. Overall fun game, if your in a money pinch, wait because the price drop will be worth it. I spent $50 on this because of the free $10 giftcard and its the PS3 version which comes with Frontlines (unlike the 360 version which doesn't because bluray rocks) and some unlockables too. Also whats awesome is no looking for ammo, just walk up to a friendly AI and ask for ammo when you are low, its almost too easy. Played this on Normal mode and took all but 5 hrs which is all I care to play fps of this taste. Multiplayer will probably give me twice that
 
Amnesia: The Dark Descent

Alright, so my review of this game basically boils down to this. I loved this game, its probably one of my favourite games that I've played this year. However, I also kinda secretly hated it, because some parts were so damn scary that it would take me a week or two to get through the part.

Story:

You play as Daniel, a man who has woken up inside this bizarre and empty castle called Castle Brennenburg. Daniel has no recollection of how he got there or what he was doing there, which is a cliche, but is woven quite well into the story. His only hint at the start is that he must find and kill a man named Alexander, and that there is a Shadow following him. At the start of the game its terribly confusing, as you have no idea why you are going after this man and what this shadow is. Throughout the game, you experience auditory flashbacks and read notes and journal entries that help flesh out the story. It started off slow, but eventually the story pretty much became my main motivation for finishing the game. The very end of the game seemed to be a little disappointing, simply after how good the story got towards the conclusion. There are multiple endings, but they only depend on actions at the end on the game, and only one really seems to provide a satisfying conclusion to the story.

My verdict is that while the plot may not measure up to the likes of Mass Effect 2, it was still a very interesting tale that kept compelling me to play the game right through to the very end.

Gameplay:

The gameplay will be super familiar to anyone who has play a game by Frictional Games in the past. Its a real-time physics based puzzle game with a survival horror aspect. There is no combat, so if you meet a bad guy, you had better hope there is a place for you to hide, or you are going to die fast. I thought this was a great idea at the start of the game, though there were some later levels where I wouldve liked some way to slow them down just for a second to allow me to get away.

The level design of Brennenburg castle is pretty straight forward. Throughout the game you will come across these sort of hub areas, in which there will be one area that you want to get to, but cant for some reason (this can be due to the entrance being blocked, or some machinery not working). In order to get where you want to go, you will essentially have to go to a bunch of different areas of the castle to find clues about how to proceed. I somewhat liked this design choice, it allowed you to have some areas where you KNOW that you can take a breather, and think clearly about what you should do next.

Being primarily a puzzle game, most of these obstacles can be overcome by finding certain items, fixing machinery, or combining objects. The puzzles are very logical, and therefore they tend not to get overly complicated which I liked. I do think that the puzzles in Penumbra were maybe a bit better, though a lot of these puzzles have cool, multiple part set pieces, and tend to grant a sense of achievement.

Which ties into one of Amnesia's interesting game mechanics. As well as having to monitor your physical health, you must also monitor your mental health. Disturbing scenes, darkness, and enemies can drain your sanity, which can really affect you when extremely low (blurred vision, sluggish controls, falling to the ground, hallucinations). In order to keep your sanity up, you need to stay in light or make progress in the game. I thought this was a brilliant idea (especially since they originally just had "sanity potions" lying around), as it made progressing in the game super satisfying, and it forced you to choose between light (which would make it very difficult to hide) and slowly losing your mind in the dark.

One last thing is that the developers have obviously put a lot of effect into the horror aspect of the game and it really shows. The game always has some new and unexpected way to scare the crap out of you, and you may find yourself being forced to pause the game to take a breather, or even call it a night (I did that a few times). If you are someone who complains that modern games arent scary nowadays, this game is for you. On the same token, if you dont like getting scared then this game is absolutely not for you.

Presentation:

There have always been those games out there that excelled not because they had the prettiest graphics, but because the developers focused on the presentation aspects that were most important in contributing as much to the gaming experience as possible. Amnesia is one of those games. This game was made by a developer on a relatively low budget (compared to the likes used for Halo, CoD, of Starcraft 2), and it does show from time to time. There will always be some items that are relatively low-poly, and perhaps some scenery that couldve used better textures. As I alluded to before however, these minor nitpicks pale in comparison to what Frictional Games did right in this game.

The lighting in this game is absolutely superb, which I think it really needed to be in order to succeed as a survival horror game. This isnt a game like FEAR, where the lighting either seems normal or completely pitch black. Amnesia had plenty of areas in which it was maybe just light enough to instill a sense of confidence (an example being the second hub area for those who have played the game), or dim enough to cause you to be very cautious when proceeding into the unknown. It helped contribute to the atmosphere of the game so much that I simply think the whole illusion would have been shattered if it was not spot-on.

Another thing that should be commended is the sound design, because what good is a survival horror game with crappy sound? Instead of complete silence, Amnesia opts for a plethora of sounds to keep you on edge. Each area has its own unique ambient sounds that really do add a lot to the atmosphere (ie. chains rattling in a prison, piano sounds in the study). Some people complain that there may have been a bit too many sounds, but I never really got any sensory overload when I played. Music come into play from time to time, sometimes to put you on edge, other times to put you at ease, and it does the job when it needs to. Music and sound also helps play a role in knowing when enemies are near of if they have spotted you. I absolutely hate the noise that plays when you are being chased, but this is more because of how terrified it made me.

Finally, I want to point out that the overall art design of the game is very good. Castle Brennenburg immediately seems like a foreboding and unwelcome place, and the attention to detail in every nook and cranny only helps immerse you further in the setting. The monsters are wonderfully grotesque, and if you are unfortunate enough to see one up close before you die, that horrid face will likely stick in your head for days.

Overall

This game really have 3 things it needed to do right in order to be a successful game in my opinion. It needed to have interesting and satisfying puzzles, it needed to have an engrossing atmosphere and setting, and it needed to have polished yet terrifying survival horror elements. Amnesia: The Dark Descent has not only met these expectations, it has exceeded them. All the minor downsides mean nothing when you consider that this is easily one of the scariest games to be released in recent memory, with very good real time puzzles that very few other games can match. Clocking in at about 8-10 hours (with the option of downloading and playing custom stories made by other players) and at only $20, I have no trouble recommending this to anyone even remotely interested in this game. Just dont enter any castles for a long time after playing this.

92/100
 
Alan Wake: The Writer

Generally underwhelming which is kinda the feeling i have of the game overall now that i have completed the full story experience. The sad part is the free dlc episode was better than this one i felt, that one was engaging and interesting in its pacing and plot (which is alan wake's only real strength imo) but the plot for this one was essentially GTFO and escape...yea exciting stuff :|

The gameplay is the same: servicable but ultimately shallow and tedious and after playing the full game and the first dlc i couldn't care less anymore so i ended up running past most fights or using cheap methods like spamming flares. The combat for the last dlc i thought was better too; the combat in the main game is pretty piss easy, its only in the dlcs that they try to make things more challenging but i was never lifted out of my feelings of apathy to get engaged into the gameplay for this dlc anyway. Oh and there is dodgy platforming sections in this one too :dozey:

Unfortunately it ends on a cliffhanger and leaves unanswered questions aswell and so just like twin peaks we will never see them answered because in all liklihood there will not be a sequel due to its really poor sales. One of the bigger gaming disappointments i've had this year *sigh*
 
Halo Reach - 8/10

Sadly more Halo 2 than Halo. Still fun - Firefight and multiplayer are as good as ever - but the campaign is a mixed bag and the balance, especially on Legendary, is way off.


Sin and Punishment 2 - 8+2/10

If i'd got this game as a kid - when I could only afford a new game every 2 or 3 months and thrashed each one to death - it would be up there with the very best arcade shooters. It's game that deserves to be played again and again, learnt, mastered, rolled over and done dry. It's Rez mixed with Space Harrier with a bit of every side scroller you've played thrown in; and it's lovely. I just don't have the time or the will power to invest in one game any more (the same thing happened with Bayonetta) and will never fully appreciate the gem that is Sin and Punishment 2!
 
AHA-Lambda said:
Metro 2033:

I liked it overall but it didnt really do anything that wowed me :|

The concept and style are the best parts of it but if you've played stalker then i guess you've seen it before really. I was on two sides about how i felt with the gunplay: your weapons are just too damn weak unless you use your special ammo which doubles as your cash so naturally you will hardly ever use that. It does make some sections seem quite unfair in all honesty (one specific tough enemy i remember took 15-20 shotgun blasts before it died WTF!) but on the plus side this does create a really well done survivalist feel to the game as you constantly search and scrounge from everywhere you can.

Story was hardly there really. You are a faceless, voiceless guy called artyom who everyone seems to know...just because. And everyone highly trusts you....just because.

early on in the game a ranger by the name of hunter dies and he asks specifically for you to tell his home station what happened to him...just because.
You sneak off in the pretense of signing up for caravan defense so that your father doesnt know....just because :|
when you get to his station and tell this council of elders type thing about the monsters and what happened to him they deny you help....just....because >_>

Apart from that there isnt really much to the story its more of building a concept and an atmosphere than a narrative. And yeah not the most satisfying ending either.

though the idea for the alternate ending that i didnt get is deliberately vague as to how to get it and i liked that idea, makes it seem much more meaningful to get than just an arbitrary choice at the end like most games

But its certainly interesting enough that i wanted to see it all through and its got more creative ideas to it than most brainless fps nowadays even if the action is a little rough.
Click to expand...

Honestly, it feels like they want you to read the book. The book does a MUCH better job at telling the story, and is way more interesting/well thought out then the game. The game has some intriguing dialogue, but a lot of silly FPS elements, and tons of ads are scattered around the game for the book. If you haven't already, it is a VERY good read. Quite probably one of the best books I've read yet, and much of the game makes more sense after reading it.
 
Tales of Monkey Island: 8/10
There's a spread of scores in the series, but the eight is the average. It doesn't help that the first two are definitely the lower scorers: we've seen lifeless tropical islands and these character types countless times before, and the unimpressive engine powering it all sinks further still due to reoccurring character models that this mini-series retains for the duration. The third episode really shines though, with some great puzzles and humour (or both at once, with the gurning competition), even if the setting pushes the envelope on just how flexible the reality is. Still, settings are what make the later episodes so memorable, even if some creativity start to flag.

Monkey Island seems to me comparable to The Simpsons and Futurama, in that over their lengthy runs, various absences or changes in staff have just completely changed the feeling of the property, though the continuity of quality definitely has more in common with Futurama (and you know, Guybrush acts so much like Fry now that it hurts. Also, chapter five steals a one-liner so great that you can forgive the plagiarism). It's worth admitting that I can't remember when and how I finally gave up and admitted Dominic Armato was Guybrush Threepwood, but he, and the rest of the core cast would be terribly missed in a game with such unspectacular character models.

In this age of videogame bargains, it would be altogether too far to claim this was 'the best £3.50 I ever spent'... but with hindsight, I really could have paid more for 15 hours of this quality.
 
Wolfenstein 7/10

this game would have been a good rental, instead I spent $40 last year on it and finally got around to playing it. the gameplay was easy enough, powers were useful, and plenty of guys to kill but there feels like a lot of repetition and not enough variety. the game also wasn't scary at all, whereas the others had a very dark and dreary mood. also half the game is spent in the Veil mode where its very bright and everything is either green, blue or red color and it just feels so tacky in that realm. other than that it was a decent game considering
 
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