lisa's blog

Skyrim: Don’t install on the Xbox 360

2011-11-14T14:38:00.001Z

What once was a rumour has now been confirmed by many 360 users. It seems that Xbox 360 users have been having major issues with Bethesda’s latest addition to the Elder Scrolls series. While most games consoles benefit greatly from a game install (Fallout3, Rage) Skyrim on the 360 has been having nothing but graphical issues. When the game data is installed on the console it should be a more pleasant experience with less loading times and a smoother resolution, instead what is happening is a severe lack of proper visual quality such as loss of frame-rate and poor textures. Since I only play Skyrim on the Ps3 I have not noticed this personally, how ever a large number of people are reporting the issue so for the mean time it’s probably best to play the larger than life Skyrim directly off of the game disc – as of writing this there has been no notice on the release of a patch to fix the problem. Skyrim is out now on the Ps3 / 360 and the PC, and I’ll be reviewing it very soon.

Modern Warfare 3: first day impression

2011-11-09T04:17:00.001Z

Another big game gets released and as a first day buy I thought I’d write yet another first impression, again this is not a review as that will come later. Most people seem to gravitate to either BF3 or MW3, it usually ends up in you either love one and hate the other. After playing both all the way through the campaign and through the multiplayer I have to say I do recommend both games but for different reasons – in a nutshell BF3 has the better multiplayer and MW3 has the better single player campaign. Popping on MW3 today I wasn’t at all surprised to see an almost identical start and menu screen to the previous modern warfare title, giving it the benefit of the doubt I went right in and started the campaign.

The game continues right after where MW2 left off, and to be honest I didn’t really like the first few missions because they were trying too hard to shock and awe me with all kinds of over the top scripted events. It’s fine to have one or two in there but having so many in one mission just makes it too unbelievable to think you really could do what was being done on screen, the rest of the campaign does have similar events but they are a bit more believable and for a Call of Duty game that’s saying a lot. The controls handled very well and I saw no real differences between them and what was used in the previous games, even if you aren’t familiar with the game the controls are easy to pick up. The weapons handled pretty well and looked realistic but firing an RPG didn’t feel right, my character barely flinched as it rocketed away.

In past Call of Duty games I never felt too engrossed in the story or in the characters but this time I found I was paying a lot more attention to the characters and really liked how they dealt with the story. While the first few missions are based in the States the next remaining batch are dotted around locations such as London, Somalia, Germany, Paris and Prague, maybe I found it easier to relate to the game because I felt closer to the European cites portrayed in the game than in the States. As for the maps themselves and the overall design I was very impressed, familiar cities of the world looked brilliant and I noticed it was less closed than I expected. Instead of just having to run through a street in a straight line it gave me the choice to cut through buildings or shops, I liked that they put all of that in and it helped keep the game more interesting and certainly less linear.

The multiplayer is the main reason a lot of people will buy MW3 and given its popularity between both casual and hardcore gamers I can see why. I’ll admit that having played the multiplayer online for a few hours I do enjoy BF3’s multiplayer more, it’s simple really MW3’s is more of an arcade shooter laden with perks and bonuses while BF3’s is more gritty and has a more urgent sense of realism to it. There is no shortage of guns and equipment in MW3 online, I started off with a fairly standard pistol and submachine gun and had no problems gunning down players unlucky enough to cross my patch. The perks are all back as are the missile strikes and attack helicopters, I didn’t much care for these in MW2 but it didn’t spoil my most recent experience.

There was a lack of campers and that definitely helped keep me playing, even random running and gunning seemed to be few and far between. The maps were ok but I only played 5 or 6 of them and I’m sure there are still a lot more to see. All in all the online multiplayer hasn’t really changed that much but it’s changed enough to keep fans of the series busy and happy. Spec Ops mode was the main reason I bought the game because I enjoy having the option to play offline in split screen, again this didn’t disappoint. The missions in Spec Ops are fun and there is a new survival more that I enjoyed, it’s early days yet but I’m sure I’ll like the rest of the content Spec Ops have to offer. So the main question would be is Modern Warfare 3 worth the price tag? As a first day buy and as a first impression I’d have to say yes, fans of the series will love it and I’m really looking forward to reviewing it soon.

Rage: game review (ps3/360/pc)

2011-11-07T06:32:00.001Z

When the makers of the iconic Doom and Quake series set their sights on a modern day shooter they may have set them a little too high because while Rage has its good elements the main problem is it looks too good ..or at least it’s supposed to, the truth is a little more colourful. It’s extremely rare a game will slant my opinion on it in such a short time and I never in million years thought Rage would be the one to do it but my initial response to the game was that of surprise and not in a good way. Rage starts like many shooters in a post-apocalyptic world where you as a survivor must do what you can to make the world a better place, by that I mean shoot and blast your way through the hordes of scavengers and bandits that rule the wastelands with mad max like brutality.

The reason this time for the earth being such a mess is an asteroid has impacted and changed life as we know it, the remaining people who are left over are either organized gangs of bandits and mutants or regular people trying to make a life for themselves, you on the other hand have been secretly stashed away in an underground bunker as a sort of failsafe or last chance for the earth but the life support system has malfunctioned and the rest of your comrades have all died. The world of Rage is brutal and just as you emerge from the bunker you are immediately set upon by wastelander bandits, saved by a stranger you then have to repay him by doing little odd jobs around the area and that to me is the whole game a series of odd jobs that don’t really pertain to the furthering of any cause or even story because while Rage doesn’t lack much on the shooter side it seriously lacks a proper story or sense of progression.

Before Rage was released I keenly followed many stories and articles about how it would play and above all how it would look, many sites and magazines talked about the super textures it would feature making it one of the most advanced and realistic looking games on the market. I’d heard a lot about the textures and did expect a very lush looking and vibrant game, while the character animations do look fantastic and very life like the game itself suffers from the worst popin I have ever seen and probably ever will. The popin I’m referring to is a constant shift of focus and clarity when your character moves or looks from one direction to the next, while most games have a certain amount of popin Rage goes above and beyond the call of duty. The first thing I saw in the game and it looks stunning was the sky ..it would since it unlike the textures is just painted in but once I looked from one corner of the screen to the next it took about five seconds for the graphics to load up properly so all I saw was a blurry patch of ground or wall. While you would expect it’s a temporary thing it really isn’t and lasts the whole way through the game never even letting up for a second, the reason is simple current game consoles can’t handle super textures because the internal readers are not fast enough so naturally Rage suffers – I’d not call it a game breaker but at the same time the popin was so bad I felt the need to quit many times. Soldiering on through the game it took about three hours of playing until I felt immersed enough to making a difference. Given the game had such a huge install file with mind numbingly bad popin it did have some redeeming features so I do think it deserves a review and if like me you do give it a chance you might just like what you find.

So what makes Rage different than other similarly styled shooters, it’s a mixed bag really while it does have the usual fire and forget simplicity there are some interesting things that Rage does better than its rivals. Rage plays like a mix of Borderlands and Fallout, the gaming map is not huge and sadly even if you do find something to explore you really won’t find anything off of the beaten track which is a shame because the game comes across as an open world shooter when really it’s not. You can jump into vehicles made from beat up scrap metal and that will get you around faster but if anything it hammers home the fact that the world is restricted in its size, there are of course some plus sides to being able to use vehicles. Available in the game are a series of races which can be done once you have the appropriate vehicles and mods, that’s right you can modify your vehicles to make them more resistant to damage/faster/and even kit them out with guns and missiles and while all that sounds like fun it can be until you realize the actual races are a piece of cake to complete.

Perhaps the developers were trying to make the racing segments accessible to everyone but what they did was make it much too simple to pose an actual challenge and I would have completed them all if not for the game doing something really annoying which I’m about to address. I can name a few games which close certain aspects or mini games once you reach a certain part of the story but the scale Rage does it is unacceptable. Near the end of the game and without warning games like racing get closed down so you can’t compete in them anymore and if you were after 100% game completion you will have no choice but to replay the whole game again, while that might not sound like a big deal I found plenty of trophies/achievements were unattainable for that very reason. The mini games when playable can actually be a lot of fun, featured is Tombstone (a sort of digital chess with lashings of violence) 5 finger filet (think bishop in Aliens with the knife on the table and you got it) Strum (a miniature version of Guitar Hero) and one of my favourites a card game which relies not only on skill but on you to find and collect the many game cards hidden all over the game. While these mini games can serve as a distraction from the main game the missions themselves are so repetitive and uninspiring that there really isn’t a lot to be distracted from in the first place.

From start to finish the only mission that really stood out for me involved being a contestant in a game show where your very life was at stake, you win cash by staying alive and getting kills but with hordes of mutants trying to stop you it’s not easy. There are of course other missions that show a glimmer of hope but I found the more I tried to enjoy the action the more something else would crop up making me feel like I was accomplishing nothing and if I was no one cared. While there are some interesting characters expertly voiced the story seems to go nowhere and when I did feel a change of pace it turned out the game was over with one of the shortest and most abrupt endings I have ever seen. Even with the extra missions offered from random characters and from notice boards the lifespan of the game is far too short to make a serious ripple compared to other games that offer a similar campaign but more diverse multiplayer, Rage does have a multiplayer but again it’s limited because its mainly all about driving around shooting the competition so don’t expect the usual run and gun deathmatch fiasco because it’s not there.

Like many shooters you will find to progress you need better guns and ammunition and Rage doesn’t let you down here because not only can you acquire all manner of guns you can also build and modify gadgets that can be used to exploit the enemies weakness or simply kill them. By doing jobs you earn money but you also find money on downed enemies or hidden across the game map, the money can then be used to purchase guns/etc but better than guns were some of the various gadgets you can build such as explosive radio controlled cars/gun turrets and little robots that follow you around blasting everything in your way. It’s these little gadgets that make the game different than other shooters but for the traditional shooter fan there are plenty of rifles and machine guns to keep even the most frag happy busy throughout the game – budding robin hoods will also find the crossbow very useful. The bandits and thugs you face do make up a big part of the game and there has been a lot of thought and work put into keeping them rather unique and interesting, the ones that stood out for me were a group of Russians who were obsessed with technology so they had all kinds of traps and weapons at the ready. Something Rage implements well is the reaction of an enemy when wounded or shot, some are very fast and will dodge or jump out of the way when you attack but when you do hit them they stumble or grasp the wound in the way you would expect if it were real life.

Other than the human element you also come across mutants throughout various areas of the map and while most of them only take a few shots there are some that merit the extra special attention that only a whole bag of ammo and a rocket launcher can deliver. I expected the game would have a nice healthy amount of bosses and super enemies that would really bring the game into its own but I counted a very small few and even the ones I did meet were easily defeated in no time at all, I could have sworn I’d seen clips of bosses that were never put into the finished game and given how bad the popin was I’m not surprised. Rage at its core tries to be an excellent game offering a unique experience but the closer I looked the more I saw that held it back from greatness, there is a certain degree of unfinished product that radiates from Rage that probably wouldn’t have been so obvious if the game hadn’t been so hyped up in the first place.

Painfully numbing popin aside Rage does look visually near perfect to anything else on the market, the physics engine works brilliantly and given how demanding the visuals actually are it’s the little things like water and dust that really make your jaw drop. Racing along through the wasteland in a beat up wreak of a car with dust and debris flying is an enjoyable experience, the terrain when properly visible does look astounding and even the cut scenes are beautifully rendered to the point where you forget you are playing a game until of course you step out of the car and start going through the game on foot again and notice the sharpness and clarity popping in and out. The world of Rage is less laid back than it feels, the people who you think you are helping or are helping you have a real knack of lulling you into a false sense of security but once you leave the safe zones you are back in bandit country and they will make your stay there very short if they spot you. The game environments both inside and out are highly detailed and give you a lot to look at, there is a real sense of thoughtful construction in many of the buildings and complexes I just wish I could have viewed them without graphical errors. The main things I liked about the game were the complex character movements/model animation and the ability to upgrade all of your weapons and gadgets. As a traditional shooter Rage works perfectly but it’s not and the developers made no secret of trying to embed a story with added desperation so once you did get into it you expect a lot more especially from the ending, it’s a lot of fun shooting down whatever tries to kill you but garnishing it all with a story that goes nowhere ruins the flow and leaves the player feeling cheated.

I tried very hard to like Rage and as a shooter alone it did satisfy, my biggest advice would be to play the game and ignore what little story is there that way when nothing gets resolved you will feel less cheated. I did however like how the weapons handled and loved how powerful and solid they felt, every impact is reacted to and you can sense the carnage you are dishing out. There is a nice escalation of difficulty between the different enemies and you will find you have to adapt and become creative with combat manoeuvres in order to not get overwhelmed by the attacking forces ahead and around you. Having gadgets and creating gadgets is something that I felt made a big part of the game especially when I got to the last few missions, deploying sentry turrets and bots definitely saved my skin more than once. The rate at which enemies will adapt and avoid your bullets is truly frightening, not only will they duck or leap out of the way they will dart up and across the ceiling scaling their way either to safety or right up next to you ready to pounce with the deadly precision of a king cobra. Car mode in the multiplayer can have its fun moments but I really would have preferred some maps on foot with the possibility of death match or capture the flag, given the developers history with games like Doom and Quake you would not expect that to be too much of a tall order. What they did do however was include a co-op mode which although doesn’t pertain to the actual campaign mode itself it does let two players stand together in a battle to get the most kills, it’s a diversion but not much of one because it gets old quick.

Rage tells me a lot about the developers of the game, they avoid a strong story element and instead opt for a heavy handed shooting experience that while a lot of fun is too brief. The game controls well and the mechanics are solid and feel like they do what you want them to do but I seriously doubt they tested the game and if they did its unacceptable to ship it knowing the popin was so bad , some people suggested it would work if the popin was patched but as part of the games core it can’t be patched without gutting the engine and rebuilding it from scratch. The characters and people you meet along the way are realistic and help give the game a heightened sense of reality but at the end of the day none of them do or say anything too memorable meaning you will forget it all very quickly. It may have won a whole host of awards at shows like E3 but I feel it was unfinished and lacking depth in the story department, you may argue that shooters don’t need stories but you can tell they were trying to implement one at the start and when they reached the middle they just gave up leaving the player unsatisfied and wanting. Rage could have been one of my favourite games of the year but it has too many problems that can’t be fixed with a simple patch so I’m giving Rage a 6 out of 10. I’d not recommend it for retail but it’s definitely worth a rental, think Mad Max mixed with Borderlands ..a side helping of Fallout all served up on a bed of Doomsday and you have Rage.

Ace Combat: Assault Horizon (ps3/360)

2011-11-01T05:01:00.001Z

Ace Combat has always had a history of being the crème de la crème of flight fighter sims on the playstation and playstation 2, unfortunately years later the same cannot be said about the latest release in the series. First off Ace Combat Assault Horizon is not a bad game it is actually a lot of fun the only problem is Namco have gone to the trouble of fixing something that really wasn’t broken and what you are left with is a level of unrealistic yet highly accessible fighting and flying. If like me you played many of the older games in the series and thought the newest one would follow much in the same manner then I’m sorry to say that’s not the case, but all is not lost because there is a lot about the game that really makes it stand out among other recent flight sims. It’s easy to assume Namco made all the new changes in order to breathe new life into their highly popular franchise but you can’t help but wonder are the helicopter door gunner and C-130 segments a sign that it’s been influenced too much by games like Modern Warfare and Medal of Honour – both games are good but it’s a dangerous trend to follow that can often result in unimaginative gameplay that screams déjà vu. Though Ace Combat is in some ways guilty of the same influence it does have a trick or two up its sleeves.

The game does have a story and for the most part it’s not too bad but at best it’s predictable, given the aerial action is the centre point the story really isn’t something you will be paying attention to in the first place. In the past Ace Combat games have been exclusive to fighter jets and that worked, while reimagining the game it seems that Namco thought planes alone wasn’t enough. While jets do feature 80% of the time and work very well the added helicopter missions are a lot of fun and it keeps the game interesting when you have to adapt to a new style of flight but it’s nothing that’s not be done before. Anyone who played Apache Air Assault will be very familiar with what Ace Combat has done, the only helicopters available are an Apache and a Russian Hind – they do pack a punch and add a little extra to the game but you can only use them on helicopter specific missions. Also included is a mission where you are a gunner on a chopper and must hit ground targets and soldiers, again its interesting and fun but it’s been done to death by similar games – even the token C130 bombing run is included. It’s a shame the developers thought they had to add all the extra razzle and dazzle to sell it to today’s audience and I can’t help but think if they concentrated only on the jets and planes the game would have been more of a success especially with the fans.

My biggest complaint was that the game didn’t stand up to the realism and expectations that it built up, many past Ace Combat fans are use to a certain learning curve and even with the advanced controls activated it’s still too easy. To really hammer home how easy the flying can be one of the modes known as DFM (dog fighting mode) thrusts the player into a close up battle of break neck speed with explosive results, sounds good right? – Unfortunately no this is another example of fixing something that isn’t broken and here is why. To activate DFM you have to fly up behind the enemy at close enough range, once active your plane gains a sort of phantom autopilot that perfectly guides you through danger leaving you to blanket the enemy aircraft in gun and missile fire. While that may sound like fun the auto pilot is too linear and often sets you off on a scripted flythrough that feels more like a ride at universal studios than an actual dog fight.

Dog fighting mode is probably one of my biggest gripes with the game, you can successfully shoot down aircraft by not getting too close but it seems like it’s geared towards having you dog fight as much as possible. My assumption is they included this new mode to bring the player closer to the action but being that it can become so linear and the auto pilot takes over you never really feel like you are the one in control of the game – it might have looked good on paper but the end result is not pretty. Controlling the planes in the game is easy enough and the learning curve is short enough that in under an hour you can become an ace pilot in both manoeuvres and in combat. I love that the developers have made the game more open to newcomers but at the same time they have dumbed down too much of the controls and even the action, while engaging aircraft in dog fighting mode even if you try to crash into buildings or in my case the ground you just can’t do it and I personally think this kind of scripted event has no place in a flight sim.

It’s not all doom and gloom as Ace Combat is a beautiful looking game with painstakingly brilliant visuals both in the air and on the ground. Each plane in the game is perfectly rendered and the work done truly is exceptional, especially when it comes to the explosions and near perfect bleeding of metal. When firing upon the enemy you will see chunks being ripped from its body until its completely gutted and either bursts into flames or simply breaks apart in a hail of sparks and shrapnel. It’s very satisfying seeing your rounds rip apart the enemy reducing them to pieces but often too many times that means jumping right back into the pre-scripted DFM mode so you often end up back at square one on your round trip of repetitiveness. The game scores very high in the sound department, the planes and weaponry all sound exceptional but the real beauty is in the soundtrack. Ace Combat games have a history of featuring very well made music and Assault Horizon is no exception, it’s certainly a driving point of the action and a huge bonus point that the soundtrack CD came with my version of the game. Being that most of the game is set in Africa a lot of the maps are made up of deserts, there are also snowy mountainsides and very impressive renderings of Dubai and Moscow that definitely merits a mention. Most of the missions are straight forward enough and will either involve you taking down enemy aircraft in the area or targets on the ground such as troops and tanks.

To help you dominate the skies all manner of missiles and bombs can be unlocked for your various aircraft, unfortunately though the upgraded hardware will help it only serves to drain even more of the challenge away from your experience. Since Ace Combat is all about the planes you would expect they put the work in and recreated some real gems. In previous games you had to buy new planes but here you are awarded them after missions, thankfully there are enough to give the game a little more spice and variety. Notable mentions include the F-22A Raptor, Typhoon, F-16C Fighting Falcon, JAS-39C Gripen, Rafale M, AH-64D Apache, Mi-24 hind and my usual favourite the Russian Su-47 Berku. They all look sound and perform brilliantly unfortunately some of the aircraft in the game is mission specific so you can only use them for particular missions that require aircraft of that type and roll. Eventually you unlock a few different paint schemes for your aircraft but the majority of paintworks seem to require buying them as DLC which is a shame because once you finish the game there is not too much incentive to go back and do it all again. When you do complete a mission you are given the option to go back and play it through online co-op with a friend, and if that’s still not sociable enough there is always the multiplayer with its addictive domination and death match modes.

Assault Horizon is really a bag of mixed tricks, on the one hand the game is very accessible to casual gamers and newcomers but to the hardcore fans it’s slightly insulting to the point that you will forget you are even playing an Ace Combat game. Games like Gran Turismo have successfully revamped what they stand for and what they do but it seems that somewhere along the way Ace Combat got not only lost but confused. The comparisons to missions in Modern Warfare and similar shooters are too in your face to just brush them under the rug and forget about them. The game mechanics work when you are in-flight but once autopilot kicks in and steals the action the realism grinds to a halt. I really wanted to like this game and in some ways I still do but after playing through it and completing everything the game had to offer I’d have to recommend it for rental only.

It seems many developers are setting a dangerous new precedence which involves revamping a series to what they think is a near perfect representation of their chosen field, realistically what they end up doing is gutting it then dressing the remains in fancy ribbons that fall off once you give it a serious test run. To add insult to injury the rinse and repeat element to Ace Combat is such that for the entire game just relying on lock on missiles will get you through mostly in one piece. There are too many things wrong with the game to make it a top class combat flight sim, I’d liked to have given it a higher score but it proves too much how a perfectly good franchise can be ruined by reinventing its ins and outs. I’m giving Ace Combat: Assault Horizon a 6 out of 10 – this is one ride that’s not worth the purchase price but as a rental it will definitely pass the time.

Battlefield 3: day one on the frontline

2011-10-29T06:40:00.001+01:00

This is not a review for Bf3 so don’t expect my usual high polished professionalism and attention to detail (really don’t), there will of course be a review soon enough – this is simply a brief description of what I experienced on my first day playing one of the most anticipated games of all time. Firstly I heard a lot of negative remarks about the single player campaign so I honestly didn’t expect a lot right there ..wrong. the campaign is actually very good and does tend to draw you in very quickly. The first few missions were kind of mediocre but after about an hour into the campaign it got very fast paced and very involved. The visuals in the campaign were absolutely stunning, the lighting and smoke effects were jaw dropping.

A perfect example was one of the levels set at night where I could see enemy flashlights ahead piercing through the smoke and darkness, it was hard to snap to action when the visuals demanded so much attention. The friendly AI is for the most part pretty good and they don’t seem to hog the spotlight too much leaving you with nothing to shoot. the enemy AI can be quite brutal at times but I find many shooters to be brutal until you learn the basics. The missions did seem a little linear with a lot of scripted events but it was never enough to make me complain. In short the single player campaign is not half as bad as some reviewers have previously stated, linear or not its a whole lot of fun packed full of heart pounding moments and fire fights.

Ok onto the multiplayer, the reason why many people will get the game in the first place. Guns and lots of guns! there is no shortage of weaponry in BF3, anything I used from rifles to handguns all looked and sounded very authentic with a lot of upgrades to unlock. The first time I tried the online I got blown to bits after about one minute, I quickly respawned and jumped back in to see what would happen next. Looking around the main staging area I was treated to having the option of jumping into a jet / tank and even a little jeep, naturally my curiosity got the best of me so I climbed right into the pilot seat of the first thing I saw with wings. Staying in the air was not an easy task, I stayed airborne for a minute or two but inevitably lost control and crashed into the ground. The controls for aircraft are straightforward enough but keeping them in the air is a whole other story, this was to be expected and I’m glad they didn’t simplify it for the sake of reaching a bigger audience – if you do screw up you can always parachute to safety.

Anything on wheels was easy to drive and I found tanks especially were fast and strong enough to push forward without too much flack. The maps for the game were absolutely brilliant with so many buildings and areas that the possibilities for strategic combat were pretty much limitless. I found the first few times I played with random people it was much harder to gain any ground or get kills, when I joined a match with some friends that all changed. Given the maps are so large you can of course go and do your own thing lone wolf style but if you want to last longer sticking to your squad and working as a team is the way to go. Like I said this is just a brief summary of my first play and though brief I’d already recommend it as the best shooter I have ever played – full review coming soon.

Dark Souls: game review (ps3/360)

2011-10-24T06:27:00.001+01:00

Demon’s Souls was on its arrival quickly tagged as an insanely difficult game, for that reason it both drew players to it but also kept many away. Now a few years later comes the following title in the series, but this time regardless of the high difficulty level gamers are finding it nearly impossible to stay away. Dark Souls is not just more of the same unforgivably hard dungeon crawling it’s a refreshing breath of innovative strategy and brutally punishing death that will satisfy even the most hardcore Demon’s Souls fan for a long time to come. For those of us who stuck with Demon’s Souls to the bitter end there was a tremendous sense of achievement that no other game could replicate. Dark Souls is no exception, it’s equally rewarding and equally hard. If you are up to the challenge and ready for the fight of your life then read ahead.. and prepare to die.

You start the game by building your own custom character, much like Demon’s Souls you are given a choice of classes such as knight / cleric / wanderer / thief / bandit and pyromancer. Each class determines your ability and overall power at using particular weapons and magic spells, as well as your various strengths and weaknesses. It’s a good idea to read through the stats first and judge the character you want but even if it doesn’t go right the first time there is always the opportunity to customize your abilities by levelling up. Oddly enough there is a new class in Dark Souls known only as deprived, you start off without armour and proper weapons instead you have a plank and must build yourself up with any equipment you happen to find – it’s a perfect example of the games unique styling when it comes to putting together a real challenge.

As for the story itself initially it’s rather bare, all you know is you have awoken in an old decrypted asylum and things are about to get a hell of a lot worse. Though you won’t be following a story as such there are tips scrawled into the floor and a very short but to the point tutorial that teaches you the basics of combat and survival. If you take the time to read the tips and master everything from blocking to parrying you will survive a lot longer in your quest, longer but not forever. Dark Souls is all about learning from past mistakes to conquer the next pitfall, that pitfall could be anything from a squad of heavily armed undead knights to a gargantuan demon hell-bent on pummelling you into the ground. Thankfully the combat in the game works exceptionally well so each player is given a fighting chance, constantly pressing the attack button won’t get you far ..if anything it will get you killed even faster. Combat in the game whether it be with mindless foot soldiers of hulking bosses depends on you knowing how to fight, learning to block effectively and with the right shield is paramount to defeating your foe. If you fail to learn an enemies attack patterns or they are strong enough to break through your defences while your stamina is low the result will most definitely be messy. The good thing is most of the enemies are easy to read so getting fatal blows in can easily be dished out in an even flow, not only that but the enemies always respawn in the same locations making it even easier to plan and execute your attacks more precisely.

To help you dispatch the many legions of demons there are all manner of weapons and magic spells available, if that’s not enough armour too can be found all over the game world making it that little bit harder for the forces of darkness to annihilate you. Wandering through Dark Souls you won’t just find swords spears and bows, you will find many magically enhanced weapons that when coupled with the right skills and stats will provide you with invaluable killing tools. Demon’s Souls had so many weapons and sets of armour that in order to use them all you would have to play through the game numerous times, many people did and again in Dark Souls the tradition continues. Since dying is common place and you will die over and over again many people start the game all over again with a different class, I originally started as the thief class then switched to the knight it’s all part of the learning process.

Dark Souls never lets up or apologizes for its unrelenting abuse of the senses, but there are ways to even the odds. When you kill an enemy in the game you are rewarded souls, it can start off low and you have to take out area bosses to gain enough to make a substantial amount but by farming locations you will soon be on your way to going up a level. The catch of course is if you die while carrying your unused souls you will lose them all, they can be gained back if you find the place where you died and touch your bloodstain ..die on the way and they are lost forever. You can also find the slightly more rewarding souls of knights/heroes and warriors on some bodies but its rare so you have to keep your eyes peeled when you are exploring a new area or you could miss them. Souls can also be used as currency to buy weapons/upgrades/spells/armour and so on, just like the weapons and other items in the game there is no shortage of vendors willing to trade their wares for your precious souls. Vendors can be found all across the gaming world and there does seem to be a lot more of them than in the previous game, depending on your current status the items and materials they sell can come in very useful. You could always decide to just concentrate on getting all of your weapons and items off corpses on the battlefield but it’s always worth checking a vendors wares because you never know what they might be selling. Weapons and armour can be upgraded by visiting one of the many blacksmiths you will find, initially they will only make light improvements but once you start finding the right stones and materials more powerful weapons with magic properties can be made.

This time around instead of visiting the nexus and finding herbs to regenerate health you visit bonfires that when lit serve as resting points, while rested you can fill up your health flask and upgrade your skills by spending souls. Be warned that once you rest at a bonfire all of the non boss enemies in the game will automatically respawn, this might sound unfair but it’s a plus because you can keep killing the same enemies over and over again to collect up even more souls. Eventually by progressing through the game and buying certain items from blacksmiths you will be able to do all manner of things from bonfires such as upgrade your weapons and store everything in a bottomless box, given that you pick up so many weapons and armour sets while playing the box soon becomes invaluable.

It’s not always a lonely road in Dark Souls, just like before there is a complex co-op mode that allows players to drop in and out of your game. In most games co-op comprises of a friend helping you out in those tricky moments where the odds really are stacked up against you and though that’s true about Dark Souls it also allows for more sinister opportunities. Playing the game online means you can and will interact with others playing the game, some will leave messages on the ground offering strategy on what’s around the next corner / some will leave summoning signs for you to activate thus drawing them into your world to help you slay the next demon / and some more deviant will use the opportunity to invade your world and kill you so they can steal your souls. The same system was paramount to Demon’s Souls online experience only this time the emphasis is on helping others rather than terrorizing them, by implementing a system where you can report the invading player the game actually punishes wrong doers and makes for a more interesting gaming experience.

Making your way through the gaming world is much more fluid than I expected, from the very start you are given the option to just start exploring not only at your own pace but also in the direction you choose. One thing I really liked was opening connecting areas by unlocking sealed doors or gates that I previously hadn’t got the keys for, the world of Dark Souls can be vast and dangerous so opening doors and activating elevators is something that really shouldn’t be avoided. As for the levels themselves quite a few do remind me of their counterparts in Demon’s Souls, Blighttown for instance is a lot like The Valley of Defilement but its different enough to feel fresh and unseen. The levels are expertly constructed and contain lots of secret rooms and pitfalls that will test you at every turn. Each part of the world has its own specific look and feel, Blighttown is dark and toxic, Undead Burg is a lot like the first area in Demon’s Souls surrounded by high castle walls and crumbling battlements, the Darkrook Gardens are lush and green but contain deadly secrets all of their own, there really are so many painstakingly detailed areas to explore that I can’t possibly talk about them all.

The detail and graphics really are highlighted in every step of the way, each area has a certain glimmer of authenticity that integrates itself seamlessly into the vast environments you can and will explore. There is a seriously accurate atmosphere to Dark Souls, the threat of defeat and pulverizing death around each corner really radiates from your surroundings and makes you feel that little bit more on edge. The sound effects are nicely done and really don’t seem too different than they were in Demon’s Souls, but then why fix something if it’s not broken. The music does play a bigger part this time and the score is exceptionally well written fitting the game perfectly, though at times it will seem as if there is no score present it manages to sneak up on you right as your combat situation escalates.

The enemies in the game are the second star of the show and command a serious presence around every corner. At first you will tackle mindless undead who are for the most part a pushover, as the game progresses the legions of demons and undead escalate in difficulty to the point where you are up against a serious challenge. Just as the first game had a whole host of infernal demon’s guarding the passages to the next area so too does Dark Souls, and they won’t let you pass without a fight. For the most part it did feel like the bosses were a little easier than those of Demon’s Souls, because not only could I summon up help online I could also summon up the help of offline characters I met by joining special covenants. That said even with the extra help some bosses can be quite the handful and can do more than their fair share or damage to your character. There is a catch in summoning help, since your character is undead you must find and use humanity sprites to restore your human self and interact with other players willing to help you slay an undefeated boss or minor demon.

Humanity is an interesting enough concept that seems to work, it also restores your health so it can be used as an alternative method to staying alive a little bit longer when your flask has run empty. The undead and demons in the game don’t just do physical damage with slashes of swords and spears, some have the ability to curse you which can be devastating if you don’t have the proper tools to reverse it. When cursed you lose a substantial amount of your health and stamina bar and you won’t get them back until you find and take the cure, the first time this happened to me I felt cheated but it helped harden my skills for survival and there was a tremendous sense of accomplishment when I finally had the curse lifted. It’s these little moments of fear and progression that really propel Dark Souls above and beyond the realms of all other games, they are all victories in their own right as everything you work towards is for a reason and it all serves to toughen you up for even more hell raising encounters.

To really grasp the Dark Souls experience you have to play the game with the proper skill and respect it deserves, if you come to it expecting a simple hack and slash romp then the chances are you won’t last very long. Each enemy requires you to learn an attack pattern so you can dispatch them with enough skill that they can’t in turn drain your health or kill you, this takes time effort and above all else strategy. If you go about playing the game properly you will find progression comes much quicker and death comes more sparingly, you can’t escape death because it’s a core element of the learning process and needs to be experienced to toughen you up. The controls for the game are solid and extremely responsive, fans of the previous game will be happy to know what your character has a few new moves such as jumping and plunge attacks that give the combat a more balanced approach.

All that aside there were a few times where I felt the game was tipping the scales too high against me, one particular time involved two armoured archers on either side who had direct line of sight and were able to hit me every time making me plummet to the ground below. It didn’t matter what my skill level was nor what my characters class was the only way across was to not get hit and then take out one of the archers, there was no room to really navigate and the ledge was about a foot wide – it took over 10 tries to finally roll forward across the ledge dodging incoming fire and then dealing with an archer. I knew to expect a serious fight when I started the game because I had played Demon’s Souls long before Dark Souls was announced, but the archer section was a case of the game using a cheap trick to push the difficulty level up another notch and though examples like that are few and far between a lot of players will find those moments unacceptable.

In certain areas of the game you may find the camera can get you killed as you manoeuvre your way through the darkness only to find you are now on your way either off a cliff or into an enemies ambush, though it’s rare that this will happen when it does it can be very frustrating especially if you were carrying a lot of unused souls. Ironically enough the same area where the camera can be tricky is the only area I ever noticed any substantial drop in frame rate and it all was over so quickly it didn’t impact my fun. Those are the only negative points I ever noticed about the game and they are minor in comparison to the epic scale of what Dark Souls has to offer, every little detail is perfectly suited and expertly executed. This is not the kind of game that overloads you in story and lore, instead it distances you from other characters keeping you on a constant battle of survival and strategy.

The difficulty level is continuously adjusting itself so as soon as you beat one enemy you start to encounter more that force you to fight even harder and with more skill, to make things even harder if you die in an area the enemies fight even harder and are more brutal than ever – unfair? That’s just how the game plays out. Its clear Dark Souls aims itself at a specific type of gamer and if you don’t fit the bill you might not last very long, it’s immersive and deeply overpowering with enough lifespan to satisfy even the most hardcore gamer. Demon’s Souls was and still is only available as an exclusive to the ps3 so many 360 gamers could only rely on their expectations and not have the raw power of the original to compare it to, having played both I can say that all of my expectations were more than met in every possible way. It’s not rocket science what the game does but it manages to effortlessly exhaust and drain your senses without skipping a beat, in short it’s a serious dose of psychological warfare that is more than worth the ticket price. I loved every minute of Dark Souls, it rarely frustrated yet managed to keep me motivated enough every time to keep pressing on even when I was getting annihilated by creatures three times taller than me.

It’s rare I give a game serious top marks because realistically they all have some flaws here and there, Dark Souls is quite the opposite it doesn’t apologize for the extreme difficulty but it does reward you for persisting even when the odds are stacked against you. I’m giving the game a well deserved 10 out of 10, the minor issues that I experienced were minimal enough to not result in any hampering of game play. If you liked Demon’s Souls then you will lose your mind when you play its brutal predecessor, if on the other hand you haven’t and are up for a serious challenge then Dark Souls just might be the game for you.

Prepared to Die: a first play of Dark Souls

2011-10-10T04:18:00.001+01:00

Though I review lots of games there are very few I blog about before actually reviewing them, Demon’s Souls was the exception and now Dark Souls follows in those footsteps. I will be writing up a full detailed review of Dark Souls in the near future, until then here is a brief rundown on my first few days of gameplay.

Bonfires serve as checkpoints and a place to rest.

Having had to wait a few extra days for the European release I was really excited to play, and it sure did meet all my expectations and more. After waking up in an old gothic asylum I quickly got to my feet and started exploring, with a broken sword in hand (that’s all they gave me) I carefully ventured through the place but soon met some demons. As you would imagine they were low level demons that were easy to slay, going further still I soon encountered my first boss.

Earlier bosses can put up one hell of a fight

Compared to the first boss in Demon’s Souls it was rather easy to kill and soon I found myself being carried off by a giant bird to an even more expansive world. Straight away the game started to really show that there were many different routes to take so I took the opportunity to explore as many places as possible, naturally the different areas have different enemies with low to high health power so attacking some early on was suicide.

The undead army are worthy foe

The key to really staying alive and pushing through to the next area is to scavenge the best weapons and armour you can find but in Dark Souls that was easier said than done so I spent a lot of time just farming until I’d reach a good enough level to take on the next big task or foe. Unlike Demon’s Souls there was no nexus instead I had to find and light bonfire, when lit they save your progress and give you flasks of health. The online worked well and when I got stuck I easily summoned up another player to help me vanquish a really tough demon, thankfully I wasn’t invaded by a black phantom.

Building an efficient character through upgrades is essential

So almost 3 days in and I have to say I love the game, it’s VERY unforgiving and it makes no excuses about its insistence to punish you for not being strong enough to survive. So far I have defeated quite a few demon bosses and put together a good strong knight character equipped with some very damaging weapons but I still have a ways to go so a full review won’t be posted for another while.

FROM SOFTWARE in join development with SONY COMPUTER ENTERTAINMENT JAPAN STUDIO (SCE Japan Studio).
directed by Hidetaka Miyazaki of FROM SOFTWARE and Produced by Takeshi Kaji from SCE Japan Studio. Music composed by Shunsuke Kida.

The Dark Sacrament: book review

2011-10-07T05:11:00.001+01:00

As an avid reader and collector of occult and paranormal books I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to read this powerful book that is based very close to home. Demonic possession is something that shot to light when the movie The Exorcist stunned and shocked audiences all over the world, what followed was a spate of reported cases involving people supposedly possessed or influenced by invisible forces and demons. Regardless of what your view may be when it comes to the existence of these powerful forces and entities The Dark Sacrament will both educate and terrify. Essentially many of the cases in the book lead back to the oppression and possessions coming into being because of the intervention of stronger spiritual forces, the Ouija board in particular is no stranger to the spotlight.

While many of the accounts painstakingly presented in the book can be quite similar the real similarity they feature is the ability to shake your very foundations as to the existence of evil. Each account is expertly researched and transfers to paper perfectly in a way that will keep you coming back for more. While I read vast collections of similar styled books this is the first and only book that has ever actually made me question my own beliefs, the authors really did their homework and it shows at every turn of the page. Truly this is a book aimed at adults only because it deals with some very deep and important issues, while other books have attempted to do the same none have come this close.

The stories themselves are all recounts of the actual individuals who went through their trials and tribulations in the island of Ireland, it’s indeed a unique look into an otherwise unseen world. Though Ireland in the past was known to be in the firm grip of the Catholic Church The Dark Sacrament points to the cases where ordinary everyday people regardless of their belief systems were instead gripped by demonic power. Perhaps one of the most frightening factors detailed was that children too can be just as susceptible to the forces of darkness, and that they don’t always welcome the idea of ridding their demonic oppressors. One of the most memorable stories involved a young boy finding an Ouija board on his way home from school, treated to a magic trick like no other the boys life is soon turned upside down. The demon whom he contacts influences the boys life to the point where he becomes possessed under complete control of the entity, at a loose end his parents contact the local parish priest who in turn recommends an exorcist.

This is where the book really shines, not only are the stories recounted by the individuals themselves but also by the priests and exorcists who had to deal with the darkness they faced. I was very impressed by unravelling process of information held between the pages, though I’m very educated in the ritual of exorcism and the history behind it the authors offer up notes in the final pages that really shine light on everything you ever wanted to know about the subject. While the individuals themselves have had their details changed in order to hide their identities I was amazed to see that one particular person did not, Canon Wm. Lendrum. It was a testament to the man himself that he did not mind being publically identified as one of the main figures people turn to when they are faced with a demonic force. It’s the people like Wm. Lendrum that really make the book special, while you would expect the book to be preachy it does not put any emphasis on what you the reader should believe instead it gives you the facts and lets you make your own mind up. What I really liked was how the authors don’t just tell the stories they actually explain the possibly reasons behind the occurrences and in doing that help others prevent such happenings tainting their own lives.

After studying the occult and paranormal for many years I have come to the conclusion that many people don’t see the dangers in such things as Ouija boards and other means of spirit communication, while it can be done safely it can take a lot of time do it right. What many of the cases in The Dark Sacrament had in common was the obvious lack of education when it comes to such devices, though alcohol abuse and other forms of self abuse can open doors for demonic forces and negative energy the book itself may indeed serve as a way to prevent further escalation of cases.

Exorcism has always been a touchy subject in many countries but none such so as in modern Ireland, thankfully The Dark Sacrament tackles the subject perfectly without ever offending or pushing your own beliefs aside and every page turn is an edge of your seat experience. I recommend the book as a must read, whether you do or don’t believe in the existence of evil you will absolutely love the book – the only problem I found was it was nigh on impossible to put down! – The Dark Sacrament is available from all good bookstores such as Amazon.com and Barnes & Noble. Author David M. Keily was interviewed by Jim Harold on the Paranormal Podcast some time back, for fans of the book it to is not to be missed and offers a rather insightful and personal look into the both the creation and research that went into The Dark Sacrament.

Review Score: 10-10

Naughty Bear: game review (ps3/360)

2011-10-07T03:10:00.001+01:00

If you go down to the woods today, prepare to be disappointed. What could have been a great game has unfortunately turned out to be rather poor and lacking real fun. Meet naughty bear, he really isn’t happy with his fellow bears and so decides to go on a kill crazy rampage. He has his reasons though, unlike all the other bears he does not receive an invite to daddle’s birthday party. Poor naughty bear even goes to the trouble of crafting a special gift for daddle’s, however on the way over two other bears mock naughty bear and his gift.. naughty bear then skulks off back home to plot revenge on the inhabitants of the island. And that’s really how it goes, what follows is a lot of carnage ..stuffing will fly but sadly that’s about all.

The first thing that I noticed about the game was the overly dated look, though I was playing it on the playstation 3 it looked like a playstation 2 game. Games in general don’t have to look good for me to enjoy them but a more polished look does inspire me to play longer, Naughty Bear made me do the opposite. The main character of the bear does have a certain charm, he doesn’t talk instead an unseen narrator spins the yarn in the style of a slightly morbid children’s television show. Another issue I found to really hamper the pace of the game was the camera, normally a slightly turbulent camera is not a deal breaker in a game but the camera here will hang behind walls and doors causing you to have to keep centring it again and if you are lucky an enemy bear won’t attack.

The cartoon violence was for the most part quite funny at times but once I got about an hour into the game it really started to feel really repetitive to the point of me putting the controller down and turning the game off. The naughty points system is quite good and it lets you upgrade your bear to use different looks and weapons but again it’s something that only adds a little more lifespan to the game that in the end makes very little difference. Each level in the game world plays the same, find the bears and dispatch them ..maybe scare them first but inevitably the bears must die. Like I said the weapons do add a little spice and naughty bear has many weapons at his disposal including knives and guns.

Unfortunately the cartoon look just hasn’t been met to the standard you would expect from a nextgen console, I expected the developers would easily put together some great lush environments that were both clever and humorous instead they are drab and flat. The controls like the camera are at times very clunky and really drag the flow of the game down to a snail’s pace. For such a game with a lack of gloss to it the frame rate has issues especially when switching between areas of the map. Some are so bad it can result in an actual game freeze and since there is no real checkpoint system in place you will get very frustrated from having to start over again and that in itself might well be enough to make you either turn the game off or toss your controller at the television.

It may seem like all I’m pointing at are the negative aspects of the game but there really are very few redeeming features I can mention. At times there can be what feels like a burst of creativity but it’s so short lived that it will quickly be forgotten. When I have to point out the main menu screen as a positive part of the games design then it’s clear that said game has serious issues. The initial story of Naughty Bear is quite clever and promises a whole lot of laughs and adventure coated in a twisted little murder romp, but none of those promises are met ..apart for the murder of course. Originally I was very excited about the game but upon playing I have to do something I have never done before, and that’s to seriously recommend people not to buy Naughty Bear. As a rental the game might work, its short lived and it’s different but that’s really all.

Like any game there is always someone out there who will enjoy it no matter how bad others think it is and normally I always see something positive in an otherwise mediocre game so maybe it will appeal to someone. In a nutshell Naughty Bear is built in the style of games like Manhunt and Hitman but with bears and cartoon violence, if you like the idea of running around scaring and knocking the stuffing out of your fellow bears then this “might” be the game for you. Otherwise Naughty Bear really doesn’t deliver as a retail released console game, the graphics and sloppy game mechanics are the main choking point but there are too many other problems that stop it from ever becoming a game I would recommend. And so for my final score, I tried to enjoy Naughty Bear and I gave it a few chances to impress but any time I felt like I was having fun something else cropped up to ultimately frustrate and annoy until I eventually quit – Naughty Bear is getting a 4 out of 10. I did enjoy the narration and it was funny at times but even with the added DLC it’s just not enough to keep you going back for more.

The Paranormal Podcast

2011-10-02T03:46:00.001+01:00

It’s no secret that I'm a big fan of almost everything paranormal, from practising tarot and other means of divination to actually studying parapsychology and the occult. And so I'm absolutely delighted to say I finally found a podcast that addresses all these subjects and much more. So what’s it called? Quite simply it’s called “The Paranormal Podcast“ and it’s as the name suggests a podcast that deals with the paranormal and all things spooky. In the past I have listened to a few podcasts and radio shows of a paranormal nature which attempted to explain and educate but they always fell short. There were a few reasons such as hosts not letting their guests get a word in edge ways/poor equipment set-ups which resulted in badly transmitted audio from both the guests and the hosts.. the list goes on and on.

Again The Paranormal Podcast soars above the rest, not only is the audio quality exceptional the host Jim Harold is both sincere and inquisitive, he is not afraid to admit he doesn’t have all the answers and gives his guests ample time to provide a deeper insight into what those answers might be. After listening to my first show I like many listeners was hooked and quickly went about downloading every single episode available, but didn’t that cost a lot? Not at all. Subscribing to The Paranormal Podcast is 100% free which is mind-blowing when you see the wealth of entertainment and education that show delivers over and over again. Jim Harold tackles so many paranormal subjects with an open mind and a professional manner that both draws you in and sends chills through your spine, what subjects exactly?

After listening to every episode i could find I have seen the show feature ghosts and spirits/tarot/ufo’s & aliens/cryptozoology/near death experiences & after death communication/ghosthunting & psychic's/magik & astrology ..and that’s just the tip of the iceberg! The Paranormal Podcast has something for everyone. Other shows too featured guests but for the most part they were unknown and not very professional, instead here we have popular figures such as the legendary author Brad Steiger, Annette Martin, Rosemary Ellen Guiley, Dr Bruce Goldberg and even my favourite Irish author David M. Kiely all make an appearance over the vast archive of shows. If you are obsessed or just curious about the paranormal and the unexplained then make The Paranormal Podcast your first stop for all your spooky needs, and if that’s not enough Jim Harold graciously offers yet even more podcasts.

We all love sitting around campfires sharing ghost stories but its not really something we can do on a regular basis, however through the magic of the internet now it’s possible. Jim Harold’s Campfire is a virtual feast of great stories that come from the actual listeners themselves. The stories range from downright scary to humorous and heart-warming, its a rare unseen yet interesting look into the paranormal events that occur around ordinary people every day. Just like the previously mentioned podcast this exciting mix of storytelling and real life happenings is truly not to be missed. If you are a believer or a sceptic or simply just not sure these campfire stories will give you hours of listening for absolutely no cost at all. I as a general rule don’t mention other sites or even podcasts but i genuinely recommend you check out what’s going on over at JimHarold.com and give his podcasts a listen, I know many of you who read my blog on MySpace (over 50,000 subscribers thanks guys!) are into the paranormal too. So give it a try you won’t be disappointed, with Halloween right around the corner it’s the perfect time to tune in.

Driver: San Francisco (ps3/360/pc)

2011-09-23T05:13:00.001+01:00

The Driver series has always been a love or hate it affair with some nice wheel action thrown in ..or at least it used to be, Detective Tanner is back only this time everyone will enjoy the ride.

The story this time is even more far fetched than you could possibly imagine, but if anything it heightens the fun and kicks it into overdrive. When the infamous crime boss Jericho manages to break out of police custody during a prison transfer Tanner is as always quick on his heels. During the pursuit to apprehend the felon Tanner gets involved in an accident, the result is a coma but unlike any other. From his hospital bed he soon realizes he has the ability to interact with the world he left behind in a way he never thought possible, this is where the bold new approach comes into play. Driver games work when it comes to the driving action but once Tanner leaves the car it often results in something completely different altogether, so how did they get around this problem? Tanner uses an ability called “shift”, put simply he can shift into the body of any driver on the road, so there is never a need to actually leave the car physically – at first I thought that was a bit of a cop-out but it works.

Shift is certainly a unique yet fresh idea that really brings the game into its own, it’s not just a gimmick that’s used to cheat you of a controllable character it completely changes the way the game can be played. Freedom is something past Driver games have tried to do offering vast expansive maps of well known cities but this time it’s taken a step further, your feet are literally not touching the ground. Shift lets Tanner inhabit the body of any driver on the road, it’s all at the touch of a button and works brilliantly. At first glance it can appear a bit silly but its such a great tool you will wonder how you played games without it, hovering over the city and shifting into the car of your choice is something you will come to love. So how is shift useful? Picture the scene.. you are racing down the freeway in a police car but the guy ahead is in a Lamborghini and almost impossible to catch, not if you shift into a truck up ahead and ram him head on. Shift is not just there to jump into the nearest car, when used properly it can be the difference between losing or succeeding in a level. It’s something you will use on both sides of the law, Tanner may be a cop but that doesn’t stop him from shifting into the body of a getaway driver complete with a barrage of chasing police cars.

The main game focuses on Tanner trying to play catch up with Jericho, this is done by a slow but deliberate attempt to infiltrate his gang. Along the way Tanner must prove himself as one of the gang by getting involved in get away driving and the like. The story is really not the best and for what it’s worth it doesn’t have to be ..but that’s not to say it’s terrible, a lot of work has been put into making shift mesh well with Tanners surroundings and the people he encounters as he tries to take down Jericho. Interestingly Tanners new reality sometimes blends with the real world, one of the missions involves speeding after an ambulance in a desperate attempt to keep his heart going. It’s these clever little ideas that really pay off in the end but the main story is not all the game has to offer.

Scattered across the map are a very generous amount of challenges/side missions and goals to meet. It’s the side missions where I had a lot of fun, one in particular had me driving under the trailers of semi-trucks to disarm bombs ..while the trucks are thundering down the freeway. Others can involve having to get to a location in a certain amount of time while losing the chasing cops along the way. Many of the challenges are races but not always as straight forward as just come in first, one particular part of the racing challenges you to control a team of two cars, so you shift back and forth to ensure you take both 1^st and 2^nd place rankings, it may sound complicated but like most elements of the game the learning curve is not that steep it’s more like a speed bump. As you would expect when he shifts into the body of another driver he is not always alone in the car so a lot of the conversations from Tanners unassuming passengers can be downright hilarious especially during side missions. Some characters will pop up more than once, a perfect example being a young Japanese student who is trying to pay for his college tuition and so he takes up street racing. Another sees you speeding through the streets in as you try to keep your passengers heart from stopping, and how does that work? Racing through oncoming traffic/drifting/and performing jumps will keep their heart from giving out.

The fun doesn’t end there, hidden across the city are over 50 film tokens, collect enough up and you unlock drivable side missions that are based on famous or iconic movie scenes, feel like speeding away from the cops in the bluesmobile (ford Monaco) it’s in there, or how about Steve McQueens pursuit in Bullitt ..there too. To unlock cars in the game Tanner earns willpower credit (WP), WP is gained by performing crazy stunts and generally driving like a lunatic. Very few games are rewarding in such a way so you are constantly building up credit even if you are not deliberately trying, credit is then used to buy garages across the map and each garage unlocks cars for sale and upgrades to your driving abilities. Abilities like a better boost bar, an improved game radar for finding movie tokens and much more. In short the map is so populated with side missions and challenges that you will never be short of anything to do, they vary in difficulty so no matter how good a driver you are there are always a few left that require tremendous skill.

Being that the game is heavily influenced by cars and motors you would expect a decent amount of vehicles roaming the streets of San Francisco and there is certainly no lack of them but I didn’t expect fully licensed cars and trucks, it’s not just normal cars either. Some of my favourite cars like the Bentley Arnage T/Lamborghini Murcielago/Aston Martin V12 Vantage/Mercedes McLaren SLR/Maserati GranTurismo S and even the Audi S5 Coupe all make an appearance and can be purchased in your garage, unlike many games they don’t cost an arm or a leg either so you will eventually be cruising the beautiful streets of San Francisco in style. Oddly enough the cars handle really well, early reports of the game insisted the handling was dreadful and the cars felt heavy but to me they felt fantastic, the cars move and sound as close to their real counterparts as possible with little or no drawbacks. It’s not all modern cars either, for fans of older motors there is the Shelby GT500/Aston Martin DB5/Jaguar E-Type and a whole lot more, the list of available cars will satisfy even the most hard to please petrol heads.

The single player on its own is fun enough without the need for multiplayer and in true Driver style there is not just online play but a very fun and addicting offline multiplayer done through the magic of split screen gaming. As for the online that too is very addictive! There are nine game modes available that range from races to tag, capture the flag and a lot more. Each mode makes the best of Tanners new abilities so shifting while you are playing a cop in order to catch the getaway driver is unlike anything you ever experienced before, it reminds me a lot of The Matrix where the agents can shift to whichever vehicle will cause the most damage. Just like the main game rewards the player for the effort so too does multiplayer, rewards such as player icons and cars are unlocked as you make your way up in levels. It’s rare I find a multiplayer experience I’ll stick with but Driver implemented shift so well that the multiplayer is insanely addictive in every way possible.

It’s a good looking game too with cars glistening in the sun and sidewalks packed with people who inevitably dive out of the way when you either accidently or purposefully come speeding towards them. The gaming map is huge but not too big that you have to spend forever getting across the city, in short it’s just right. While most of the map is concentrated on the main city blocks you can cruise out across the golden gate bridge and take your ride off-road, San Francisco has never looked so good. While the city can at times look a little flat and not super detailed you really don’t notice as you speed past leaving a trail of smoke and wreckage in your wake. The games frame-rate is nigh on perfect, even when going full speed with boost firing away its hard if not impossible to notice a lack of smoothness. You would assume for such a high powered speedster of a game there would be sporadic loss of picture or frame quality but it’s just not the case, it looks and plays superbly even when pushed to the limit. Sound in the game is everything you would want and more, the actual in game music is controlled by the player and is a funky mix of 70’s rock and the occasional modern day tune to really help you put the pedal to the floor. Traffic and pedestrian sounds are crisp and come across real well even when drowned out with the roar and rev’s of a high powered engine, it all adds to the mood and Driver San Francisco is not lacking in that department either.

So is the game worth getting? Absolutely and it’s a must have for fans of the older Driver games. When it comes to negative marks I’m kind of at a loss, sure the story could be a bit longer and sure the map could be a little more detailed but that’s really my only complaints and even then the game plays so well and looks so well that all they are is minor strikes. If you like racing games especially the Burnout series you will be in for a treat with Driver, the learning curve is miniscule and the controls are so easy to learn you will be shifting and burning rubber like a pro in no time at all. To me the stars of the show are the cars, there are over 100 different motors and they all look the part, given that I didn’t expect such real attention to detail especially licensing it’s been a treat.

While the main missions can be done relatively quick a lot of the side missions and challenges will give the added lifespan of a few days at least, once you complete a challenge you can do it again any time you want, a save+ means once you finish the story you can either remain in free-play mode exploring or finishing challenges, or just play the story again with the skills and cars you already earned. If you want even more value for money then taking a spin in the online multiplayer will give you weeks if not months of high octane goodness. For a game I didn’t expect to be a hit it has certainly proven itself even with the likes of Deus Ex and Dead Island taking most people’s attention, I really loved the game and it’s everything and more you could possibly want from a Driver game. I’m giving this high octane thrill ride a 9 out of 10, if the story had been longer and the map a little more detailed it would have scored higher but as it stands its more than capable of standing up to some of the more recent game releases. Driver San Francisco is out now however PS3 owners should avoid buying it on the PSN as it retails much cheaper in stores.

Dead Island: game review (ps3/360/pc)

2011-09-18T05:33:00.001+01:00

Welcome to the beautiful island of Banoi, situated in the south pacific this lush and picturesque paradise is soon to become a living hell for its many wealthy vacationers who come to the island for a nice peaceful getaway. Out of no where a strange and deadly epidemic hits the island turning all but a few into mindless bloodthirsty walking corpses, the few who are left must work together if they are ever to leave alive. What i like about the story is it goes out of its way to really leave you in the dark about what has happened and how you can stop it, instead you have to either work hard through the story missions or if you are lucky find some of the many news excerpts scattered across the map. What you do learn is this, the royal palms resort is no longer a beautiful getaway with all the trimmings of pure luxury, instead its overrun with hordes of the walking dead who are hell bent on making your stay a living nightmare.

The first thing about Dead Island is this, yes it’s easy to draw comparisons to games such as Borderlands/Dead Rising and of course Left 4 Dead but it’s a bit more complicated than that because really the game adapts and crafts itself to your own choices and so it’s not the same for everyone playing. There are four different characters to choose from each with their own sense of style and special moves, they range from the usual gunning expert/throwing expert/sharp weapons expert and the more in your face brawling expert. As you would expect each character has more power in their chosen field than the others so it makes for a lot of replay value.

At the same time i find it hard and unfair to group the game in with so many others because a lot of what it is actually doing is more original than the usual type of game in its genre. Dead Island is at its core an RPG styled survival horror game, the horror comes in the form of the many hordes of zombies who never fail in instilling a sense of dread and fear in the player, and the RPG comes from the ability to tailor your chosen characters skills and build in order to make a more efficient and deadlier survivor. What really makes the game special is the many moments gamers all over experience one time another in their quest for survival, for some it might be something like diving off a roof only to land on a truck below in a desperate attempt to escape their undead pursuers while for others it might be taking on a whole horde and narrowing escaping death while a thrown knife just misses your head. It’s these little moments that really get the blood flowing and there are an almost endless supply once you take your first step into the infected world of the undead.

Playing the game really is easy and even if you are not that familiar with RPGs you will soon get a hang of the skill tree, it’s a very simple formula and it goes as so: killing zombies earns you XP (experience points) once you have enough you earn a skill point which you can use to enhance your chosen abilities. Abilities help you stay strong and make you a more effective zombie slayer, some will enhance the damage you do while others can help you pick locks on crates/run for longer/and much more. Players familiar with the skills and levelling up in Borderlands will feel right at home here because it’s almost identical to the same system the game used. With my own character i used a lot of skill points to enhance my fighting abilities with edged melee weapons, without these skills and enhancements it really would not have been possible to finish the game because like most RPG styled games once you level up the enemy does too.

Zombies are no stranger to recent and past video games but no where have they been as deadly or utterly relentless as in Dead Island, when it comes to motivation they are on a whole new level. Its brutal how they are so well done, they don’t just look the part they really are the part. The zombies are a huge part of the gameplay and its immense immersive styling so you would expect them to be good.. just not this good. As you explore the island you will see zombies eating many of the fallen victims, banging at doors and windows to kill the remaining survivors hiding inside or just aimlessly roaming around in a world of their own. Like almost everything in the game they are not just there for looks they serve a purpose and the game will try its hardest to make you their next meal. The first time you encounter the infected wearing their beach clothes while their faces rot off they are easily dispatched with a few whacks of a blunt instrument, when the game really gets going they start to move faster and prove to be more ruthless.

Not only that, there are many different kinds of zombies from the early shambling walker zombies to the fast and agile infected whose shrill screams will make you jump even before they come at you with their red eyes glowing. Bigger zombies will make their presence known and when they do you really have to react fast because as you would imagine the bigger ones do most of the damage. The Ram were already insane before they got infected, so kitted out in straitjackets all they can do is charge and ram you ..but that alone is enough, Suiciders are as their name suggests bad news and they go about killing you by exploding once they get within range of the uninfected. Further on in the game other zombies such as The Floaters and the Butchers will make themselves known, the former being a grotesque bloated behemoth capable of inflicting large amounts of damage as it spits up corrosive slime and bile. The Butchers ..well as the name suggests they are good at slicing and tearing their prey, they share the speed and agility of the faster zombies and put serious fear in even the most experienced player.

Combat in the game is quite realistic and you soon discover that even with so many upgrades you are far from invincible, luckily for you Dead Island not only gives you tons of weapons it lets you upgrade and modify them making them the more deadlier. For example early into the game you might pick up a kitchen knife that takes about 6 hits to permanently put a zombie to rest but after upgrading it the strikes needed are halved.. modify the knife to give them an electric shock too and you have a more reliable weapons. Thankfully kitchen knives are only just the beginning, on offer are all manner of weapons including machetes/axes/sickles/samurai swords/hammers/handguns/assault rifles/shotguns, the list goes on. They all serve a purpose and it’s a good idea to use weapons that suit your characters fighting style because you will deal more damage and earn more XP to use in crafting weapons and items. Crafting weapons and explosives cannot be done unless you have the required items and materials that make it possible but the island is packed full of places and things to loot so you will always be stocked up on items – though at times the items might seem useless its worth looting everything you can because you never know when you might need it. Driving is something i never expected to appear in the game so i was surprised to see drivable trucks popping up on the map, they do come in useful on the island as some of the locations are so vast you will need some wheels to get around where fast travel teleports don’t go.

The locations and world the game offers spoils the player in a way unlike anything you would ever imagine. I was quite content to just explore the resort and miles of lush beautiful beaches, little did i know there was more varied locations to come. As the story progresses other areas open up such as cities and even jungles, each one really is a testament to the work that has been put into the game and each one has something new and exciting to offer. Though the story missions are the main focus of the game they are not all that is there, through the player’s journey many side quests are made available and all offer a perfect opportunity to interact with the game world and its characters. Some side quests will require you to search for specific materials or kill specific targets; they all have the fun factor in common and can be done at your own pace with no timers to be seen. What i liked about the missions was the realism, characters will ask you to find them gas for cars, food and supplies and even fuel to burn decaying corpses; they all seem to be things you would expect in a real life outbreak. The realism makes the game all the more enjoyable because you feel like you really accomplished something by helping the people around you and in a way it makes you more aware of what’s happening.

The graphics are not the best the gaming world has to offer but in some parts especially outdoors they are really well done and very vividly portray the island and its surroundings, the trees and vegetation are lush and crisp, the oceans and water are beautifully rendered to the point of calling you to jump in and you will even if it’s just to crush the head of a fallen zombie. One of the most savage examples of the games graphics is the brutally vivid way a zombies body can be taken apart only to leave a staggering pile of limbs. The physics are not perfect but they are no way near horrible, if you toss a propane tank a quickly placed bullet will cause it to explode destroying anything within its devastating range. Throwing a knife at a zombie will result in a walking pincushion, then you can pull the knife back out when they are dealt with. Kick a zombie into water and funnily enough they will start to lose some of their life bar, equally running past with a sword at neck level will cause the head to come right off like a hot knife through butter ..is this all sounding violent? It is.

Dead Island is a not a game for the kiddies it’s a veritable gore fest of mass proportion, heads will fly, arms and legs will fly and it all gets washed down in a river of blood. Similar to Borderlands and Left 4 Dead the story quickly takes a back seat when Co-Op is in session, with or without other players its one of the most addictive games you will ever play. If you are not familiar with Co-Op in games then Dead Island is the perfect place to start, whether it’s with long time friends or just random strangers playing online is very enjoyable and the added company comes in very useful when you are swamped with a zombie horde coming at you from all directions. For the trophy and achievement hunters out there a whole host of challenges and requirements await, some are easier than others but most seem to be picked up through story progression or just random exploration. Levelling up is fun and adds to the games lifespan, along with that the choice of four different characters to play with opens the replay value to a whole new world of possibilities, in short you will never be lacking for something to do or see. I started playing the game the morning it was released and after 70hrs of game time and levelling up all the way to level 50 i’m still finding lots to do, it really is the game that keeps on giving. There are many games on the market which offer the zombie survival horror experience but none have been this fun or rewarding, though it has its small problems (see below) the glitches reported in no way hamper or take away from the real Dead Island experience. I loved this game and everything it had to offer, i’m giving it a much deserved 10 out of 10 and though it’s not even October yet it is already a serious competitor for the coveted game of the year.

Glitches & Bugs

When the game was originally released it was plagued by an infection of its very own, glitches and bugs. People who played before the patch and then installed it reported a loss of progression and even corrupted save data. My own experience was nothing short of brilliant, initially i only played the game offline with the Co-Op disabled on the main menus options screen and i had no problems. I then tried with the Co-Op enabled and i not only lost save progression, my trophies would not activate. Strangely enough now when i play on Co-Op with friends my saves don’t malfunction and my trophies work. Other people have not been so lucky so unless you want to wait for an updated patch to fix the bugs and glitches i’d advise playing it offline to prevent any data getting lost or corrupted. Even with the glitches the game is nothing short of brilliant, and to completely avoid it because of some release day bugs would be a bad idea and a complete loss of possibly one of the greatest games ever made. Dead Island is on sale now and DLC has already been announced.

Keeping track: of my photography & photoshop books

2011-09-09T04:37:00.001+01:00

Since I'm a photographer I read and buy pretty much every photography book I can find, after so many years I'm starting to amass quite a big collection so like anything I try to keep track of I thought I might as well add my list so far to my blog. call it insane or an obsession but I'm quite proud of my collection so far.

“There are always two people in every picture: the photographer & the viewer”. - Ansel Adams

Black & White

Black & white in photoshop cs3 & photoshop lightroom – leslie alsheimer
Black & white photography a basic manual – h. horenstein
Black & white photography a basic manual 3rd revised edition – henry horenstein
Creative black & white photography – bernhard j. suess
Mastering digital back & white – amadou diallo

Lighting

Better available light digital photography 2nd edition – joe farace
Big light from small flashes – joe mcnally
Digital photography in available light – mark galer
Light & lens photography in the digital age – robert hirsch
Lighting nude – a.k. nicholas
Lighting photo workshop – chris bucher
Lighting techniques for photographing model portfolios – billy pegram
Master lighting guide for portrait photographers – christopher grey
Night photography – lance keimig
Nikon creative lighting system digital field guide
Photographic lighting 4th edition – john child & mark galer
Photographic lighting simplified – susan mccartney
Portrait lighting for digital photographers – stephen dantzig
Practical artistry light & exposure – harold davis
Pro lighting studio portrait photography – johnaton hilton
Speedlights & speedlites creative flash photography – lou jones
Stoppees guide to photography & light – brian & janet stoppee
Studio & location lighting secrets – rick sammon

Study & Reference & Business

101 quick & easy secrets to create winning photographs – mathhew bamberg
Absolute beginners guide to digital photography – joseph ciaglia
Advertising graphics with impact – pie books
Advertising photography – lou lesko
Basic critical theory for photographers – ashel la grange
Becoming a graphic designer: a guide to careers in design - steven d. Heller
Colour confidence digital colour management – tim grey
Commercial photography handbook – kirk tuck
Encyclopedia oh 20th century photography volume 1 – lynne warren
Exhibiting photography – shirley read
Famous photographers – nigel tomm
Fashion illustrator – bethan morris
How to make crazy money in photography – jonathan souza
How to make money from your digital images – douglas freer
How to succeed in commercial photography – selina maitreya
Illustrated dictionary of photography – barbara a. Lynch
Langfords starting photography 4th edition – michael langford
Logo design workbook – adamsmorioka
No copy adverstising – lazar dzamic
On being a photographer – david hurn
On looking at photographs – david hurn
Photographers guide to making money – karen dorame
Photographic possibilities – robert hirsch
Photographic possibilities 3rd edition – robert hirsch
Photography foundations for art & design – mark galer
Photography your way carrer guide – chuck delaney
Profitable photography in the digital age – dan heller
Starting your career as a freelance photographer – tad crawford
Studio photography essential skills 4th edition – john child
The art & business of high school senior portrait photography – ellie vayo
The art of digital photography – john hedgecoe
The art of raw conversion – uwe steinmuller
The book of photography – john hedgecoe
The elements of photography – angela faris belt
The manual of photography – ralph e. Jacobson
The moment it clicks photography secrets – joe mcnally
The photographers eye composition & design – michael freeman
The photographic eye – michael f. o’brien

Wedding Photography

Do it yourself wedding photography – james booth
Master posing guide for wedding photographers – bill hurter
Professional techniques for the wedding photographer – george schaub
Professional wedding photography – damien lovegrove
The best of wedding photography – bill hurter
The best of wedding photography 3rd edition – bill hurter
Wedding photographer’s handbook – bill hurter

Poses & Model Guides

500 poses for photographing women – michelle perkins
Classic glamour photography revised edition – duncan evans
Digital boudoir photography – john g. Blair
Digital portrait photography studio – lou jacobs jr.
Female nudes – alina reyes
Garage glamour – rolando Gomez
Head & shoulders portrait photography – jeff smith
Hollywood portraits – roger hicks
Master guide for photographing high school seniors – dave wacker
Master posing guide for portrait photographers – j.d. wacker
Nude photography the art & the craft – pascal baetens
Photographing children & babies – michal henon
Portrait photography secrets of posing & lighting – mark cleghorn
The perfect portrait guide how to photography people – michael busselle
Undressed – philippe vaures santamaria

Nature & Landscape & Macro & Other

Capturing ghosts on film – christopher balzano
Close up & macro photography – adrian davies
Digital food photography – lou manna & bill moss
Digital landscape photography – john & barbara gerlach
Digital nature photography the art & the science – john & barbara gerlach
Digital sports photography 2nd edition – g. Newman lowrance
Ebay photography the smart way – joseph t. sinclair
Flickr hacks – paul Bausch
Food styling for photographers – linda bellingham
Location photography – mark galer
Nature photography – chris Weston
Panoramic photography – arnaud frich
Pet photography 101 – andrew darlow
Professional architectural photography 3rd edition – michael harris
Professional interior photography 3rd edition – michael harris
Understanding close up photography – bryan peterson

Miscellaneous Digital

50 digital camera techniques – gregory georges
A to Z of digital photography – olympus
Complete digital photography, 4th edition – ben long
Complete guide to digital infrared photography – joe farace
Digital art photography for dummies – mathew bamberg
Digital photography acquisition and processing techniques – ron reznick
Digital photography and imaging – david d. Busch
Digital photography bible – dan simon
Digital photography expert techniques 2nd edition – ken milburn
Digital photography hacks – derrick story
Digital photography pocket guide – derrick story
Digital photography pocket guide 3rd edition – derrick story
Digital photography simplified – rob sheppard
Digital photography simplified 2nd edition – gregory georges
Digital photography the missing manual – barbara brundage
Digital photography workflow handbook – bettina steinmueller
Digital retouching & compositing photographers guide – david d. busch
Digital slr cameras & photography for dummies – david d. busch
Going digital the practice & vision of digital artists – joseph nalven
How to do everything with your digital camera 2nd edition – dave johnson
Mastering digital slr photography – david d. Busch
Nikon dslr digital workflow – tony sweet & jim white
Perfect digital photography 2nd edition – jay dickman
Quick snap guide to digital slr photography – david d. Busch
Shoot like a pro digital photography techniques – julie adair king
Shooting digital 2nd edition – mikkel aaland
The digital photography book step by step secrets – scott kelby
The digital photography book volume 3 – scott kelby

Paint Shop Pro & HDR

Top 10 mistakes in hdr processing & how to fix them – trey ratcliff
Hdr photography photo workshop – pete carr & robert correll
Hdr photography secrets for digital photographers – rick sammon
Paint shop pro 8 for dummies – david kay
Paint shop pro 9 photographers guide – diane koers
Paint shop pro photo x2 for photographers – ken mcmahon

Adobe & Photoshop

Adobe indesign cs2 how to 100 essential techniques – john cruise
Adobe photoshop 7.0 for photographers – martin evening
Adobe photoshop cs fast & easy – eric grebler
Adobe photoshop cs in 10 simple steps or less – mirach laaker
Adobe photoshop cs2 classroom in a book – adobe creative team
Adobe photoshop cs3 a to z – philip andrews
Adobe photoshop cs3 classroom in a book – adobe creative team
Adobe photoshop cs3 for photographers – martin evening
Adobe photoshop cs3 simplified tips & tricks – visual
Adobe photoshop cs4 for photographers – martin evening
Adobe photoshop elements 5.0 a to z – philip andrews
Adobe photoshop elements 6 – mark galer
Adobe photoshop elements 6 – philip Andrews
Adobe photoshop lightroom workflow – tim grey
Advanced photoshop elements 6 – philip Andrews
Art & design in photoshop – steve caplin
Commercial photoshop retouching in the studio – glenn honiball
Hacking photoshop cs2 – shangara singh
How to cheat in photoshop cs3 4th edition – steve caplin
How to cheat in photoshop elements 6 – david asch
How to wow photoshop for the web – jan kabill
Indesign cs3 for dummies – galen gruman
Mastering photoshop cs3 for print design & production – ted locascio
Photoshop cs2 before & after makeovers – taz tally
Photoshop cs3 all in one desk reference for dummies – barbara obermeier
Photoshop cs3 essential skills – mark galer
Photoshop cs3 for dummies – peter bauer
Photoshop cs3 for nature photographers – ellen anon
Photoshop cs3 for screen printers – joli ballew
Photoshop cs3 restoration & retouching bible – mark fitzgerald
Photoshop cs3 user guide – adobe creative team
Photoshop cs3 workflow – tim grey
Photoshop cs4 for nature photographers – ellen anon
Photoshop cs4 studio techniques – ben willmore
Photoshop effects for portrait photographers – christopher grey
Photoshop fine arts cookbook – john beardsworth
Photoshop finishing touches – dave cross
Photoshop lightroom 2 for digital photographers only – rob Sheppard
Photoshop restoration & retouching 3rd edition – katrin eismann
Real world adobe illustrator cs2 – mordy golding
Teach yourself adobe photoshop cs3 in 24 hours – Carla rose
The adobe photoshop layers book – richard lynch
The art of photoshop for digital photographers – daniel giordan
The focal easy guide to photoshop cs2 – brad hinkel
The photoshop anthology 101 web design tips – corrie haffly
The photoshop channels book – scott kelby
The photoshop cs2 book for digital photographers – scott kelby
The photoshop darkroom creative digital post processing – harold davis
The photoshop elements 4 book for digital photographers – scott kelby
Web designers guide to adobe photoshop – chris tull

Sucker Punch Super Review –dvd/bluray/soundtrack/official art book

2011-09-05T04:15:00.001+01:00

Straight from the brilliant visionary mind of director zack snyder comes Sucker Punch, i skipped it in the cinema and instead bought it on DVD ..after realizing the Bluray not only had 2hrs of extras but almost 20mins of unseen footage i bought that too! what quickly followed was a purchase of the official soundtrack and art book – what follows now is a run down of what to expect from all of the above.

When a young girl “Babydoll” is locked away in an insane asylum against her will she soon learns that though physical escape is impossible the ultimate escape that is within her grasp is that of the mind. By going deep into her mind she finds the skills she needs to come that one step closer to the freedom she seeks, though in reality she is the very essence of frailty and innocence, in her imagination she is a specially skilled warrior who is more than a match for the inner demons she faces. at the beginning of her journey she befriends a group of her fellow captives and over time convinces them to join her struggle. they too prove to be a pivotal part of baby's plan, Rocket, Sweet Pea, Amber and Blondie all add their own personal flair to the battle plan, but with everything to play for the lines soon blur and escape may not be as easy as they thought.

Lines blurring and a warped reality is where Sucker Punch really finds its home. they seem to be set up into three separate realities, when babydoll is locked up she escapes to a world where she is again held against her will, this time in the form of a brothel where the girls are at the whim of the paying high rollers who visit. babydoll uses the power of her imagination to escape again to a world of fantasy where she and her friends must vanquish all manner of monsters, from dragons to robots and even steampunk inspired zombie soldiers.

Though this might not be to everyone's tastes what Sucker Punch offers is a lot of over the top action and fun with dashes of raunchy female empowerment all dressed up in a moulin rouge-esque thrill ride. don’t expect the laws of physics to intervene, this is their world so matrix styled kicks and flips are ever present, the girls twirl and leap unrealistically opening fire left right and centre. its not all unbelievable though, the dialogue and need for freedom that is expressed from the narrative is carefully written and the characters too draw you into the story. the acting is for the most part top notch even when faced with the overwhelming number of bullets that fly across the screen quite regularly. there is much eye candy to be behold in the movie, snyder brought a whole boatload of visual perfection to his previous films Watchmen and 300, Sucker Punch is no exception.

Visually and even musically it works, the dark world of the asylum and the contrasting brothel blend together rather seamlessly. the characters too from the asylum leak into baby’s imagination and soon become key figures in her quest for freedom, all have a part to play and they play it exceptionally well. if you want to enjoy Sucker Punch be prepared to leave common sense at the door, having watching both versions of the movie i’d recommend the Bluray for the real Sucker Punch experience because the extra footage adds so much more to the story which at times can be hard but not impossible to follow.

Special Features

Maximum movie moment with the director: its very informative and covers all aspects of the film from pre to post production, think storyboards, comparative shots, film stills, interviews and much more its one of the best insider insights ever to grace Bluray.

Animated short comics: these looked and felt like an animated graphic novel, they served as an interesting and visually pleasing way of providing a more fleshed out back story to the worlds that feature in babydoll’s quest. they are quite short, running at about 4mins each but they move straight to the action and tell the story very well so they are a nice little extra.

Behind the soundtrack: though i really liked the idea of this its much too short, the film features many great renditions of popular songs reimagined for the picture but 3mins is nowhere half as near as what's needed to really delve into the creative process. in short its just a general overview of what's on the soundtrack and feels a lot more like an advert to buy it – buy it i did so on to the next part of my review.

Sucker Punch the Official Soundtrack

Its been a long time since i bought a soundtrack and thought the songs all fit together in a way they could expertly enhance the experience of the film, and work together they do, its a fun rocking album that through banging beats and psychedelic splendour delivers hit after hit. opening with a stunningly haunting version of “where is my mind” its not altogether apparent that the cast themselves had a huge part in the recording of the soundtrack, but they did and Emily Browning herself sings beautifully. Tracks such as “sweet dreams” “asleep” “white rabbit” and even “love is the drug” all come across as deeply meaning to the theme and feel of the film. its a soundtrack you can enjoy without even seeing the film and that is very rare, you can love or hate the movie but the songs speak for themselves – though dark and gritty at times it is at its core hauntingly beautiful.

Sucker Punch: the art of the movie (hardback)

When it comes to collecting movie memorabilia I'm very careful, but i do like art books so i was very curious to see just what the official art book had to offer. The cover and binding are very nicely put together, its even thicker than you would expect, at just under 300 pages its a whirlwind tour of everything that went into the movie. actors and actresses are all here, profiles and pictures of the various characters are aplenty. its a very vivid and highly detailed book featuring all kinds of stunning photography and artwork profiling the weapons and costumes of the film. the work in the book changes regularly but its very consistent with the flow and story of the Sucker Punch reality.

If the weapons were your thing you won’t be disappointed with all the work put into displaying the inner workings and designs of the various guns and blades at babydoll and her teams disposal. the same thing can be said for the costumes, set designs, promo art and so much more. the insight really is more visual than i’d like relying more on photos and artwork, there is in parts a lack of text but its not lacking enough to make you question why its not there. the castles and landscapes of babydolls imagination are all represented in brilliant clarity, the cover price may be high but its definitely worth it.

Deus Ex: Human Revolution – game review (ps3/360/pc)

2011-09-04T03:45:00.001+01:00

The original Deus Ex was released back in the year 2000, with its ability to blend the world of cyberpunk, intense shooting and all around action packed RPG it quickly became a must have for gamers everywhere. What followed was a whole host of awards winning the game recognition, it was unlike anything of its time. Now over ten years later the series returns with a whole new bag of tricks that is sure to hook gamers everywhere, Deus Ex has again raised the bar for video gaming perfection leaving its competitors in a cloud of dust.

Set in the year 2027, the game follows Adam Jensen an ex-SWAT specialist who works for an american experimental biotechnology firm. Tasked with the job of keeping company secrets and watching over technical aspects of security his life is soon changed when trying to stop a team of attacking mercenaries leaves him half dead. Much like Alex Murphy in Robocop he is saved when the company he works for replaces and enhances his vitals and limbs with enhanced augmented robotics. Obsessed with the attack he soon uses his new found powers to track down and deal with those responsible for what happened to him and the team he was protecting, what follows is a highly adaptable action adventure tour de force that changes depending on how you choose to play.

To pursue his targets he has to face a whole host of bioenhanced super soldiers and mercenaries whose loyalty falls on the mysterious forces who are hell-bent on directing mankind's evolution. While a lot of the story looks and feels like a cross between Blade Runner and Robocop it easily stands up on its own with all the twists and intrigue you could ever want from a game of its kind. Many games claim to have open ended stories where outcomes change depending on your decisions , while most fail Deus Ex sticks to its guns leaving a whole wealth of alternative options and ideas for even the most hardcore gamer.

The gameplay experience is huge and from the very start a lot of questions need to be answered, how you go about getting those answers is entirely up to you. Fans of games like Metal Gear Solid and Splinter Cell will find a lot on offer here, but you don’t have to be a fan of stealth to progress through the game. If you chose to charge into a room guns blazing and grenades flying you will get the effect you would expect, enemies will be alerted to your presence and open fire on your position. While this works the stealth option can help you get an advantage over your targets, a carefully placed shot from an air vent will take a soldier down while not giving away your position, either way you get the job done.

For fans of hardware there is an impressive arsenal of high-tech weaponry on offer, fans of FPS games should not expect a ridiculous amount of handguns and assault rifles. Kit ranges between a pistol, revolver, combat rifle, sniper rifle, grenades and many more hidden weapons that are found either through story progression or purchased on the black market. Cyberpunk fans will find that the best weapon is Jensen himself, he is fully upgradable enhancing many aspects of combat, movement, vision, etc. Upgrading Jensen is done through a system of implants known as praxis, rewarded for missions, found hidden around the map and even purchased in clinics these upgrades are an integral part of the gaming experience.

On my first play through i opted for stealth using silenced weaponry, sticking to the shadows when i could, the upgrades i concentrated on modified my vision so i could see through walls, made my footsteps more muted, gave me an edge over the enemy making it easier to track their movements and monitor their field of vision. The more fantastical upgrades allow Jensen to punch through weak walls, land from great heights, take down multiple enemies at once, and many more.

The levels themselves are extremely well detailed and mapped out with so many alternative routes that exploring them all will make your head spin, many levels allow you to try multiple entry points to buildings and installations, exploration is highly advised as all manner of gear and equipment is hidden in out of the way places you could easily overlook. Many areas can be accessed by hacking doors or nearby consoles, computers, safes and even robots. Unlike most games hacking appears to be more realistic with the option to take down more important targets on the network rewarding you with cash or even hidden viruses you can then use, its easy to learn and can be greatly enhanced if you chose to award praxis points to the hacking skill. There is no shortage of targets, there are computers filled with hidden emails which will not only give you insight into the shadowy story but give you some chuckles too.

Like many games there is a big emphasise on defeating enemies from grunts to bosses and there is no shortage of both. Special forces patrol installations packing combat rifles and stun grenades, bio-enhanced super soldiers prove more of a challenge sometimes vanishing before your eyes using stealth to their advantage, bigger grunts carry heavy rifles and take many hits to bring them down, robots too patrol many areas and are activated when a security system identifies a threat. Dispatching the enemy can be done in different ways but as expected the bosses prove to be a much more serious task. Some will stomp around peppering Jensen in explosives while others will use stealth and surprise to get the job done, these battles are challenging but firepower seems to be the only way to defeat them, killing the illusion of open gameplay.

Graphically Deus Ex has not been getting the most impressive response from the critics but i really don’t see the distinction, visually the game looks a lot like Blade Runner and at times the cityscapes and environments can be awe inspiring. It’s a darker world indeed its a darker vision of a future that has altered the path of mankind, blinding buildings of neon loom above Jensen as he traverses across streets populated with armed police and enhanced citizens, some offering the chance of a side mission so its worth keeping a close eye on those around you. Though at times the character animations and voice acting can seem a little ropey or repetitive it in no way takes away from the fun, and there is plenty of fun to be had. Visually many of the key characters in the story benefit from a renaissance inspired look, the architecture too blends into the game very nicely.

The music comes as a great surprise, it perfectly fits the world that Jensen inhabits and really immerses the player in a cyberpunk futuristic environment. Voice acting in the game can at times be hit and miss, while Jensen comes across as sounding mostly genuine many other characters some pivotal don’t really suit the voice they have been given. It’s really a minor con and it doesn’t affect the flow too much but its a shame more work wasn’t put into establishing a more solid line of voice acting.

Lifetime and replayability is extremely high inspiring many people to play through the game multiple times for the extra endings, missions and equipment. It’s a little frustrating that on completing the story you don’t hold onto previously acquired upgrades, however it helps keep the player interested and more driven when replaying missions. Even with a lack of multiplayer there is a lot to be excited about and over 20 or 25 hours of play for even the most hardened gamer, on finishing the game the first time i later realized I'd missed many side missions. Alternative paths and events will quickly hook the player into seeking out and experiencing all the gaming there is to be had.

The only real downside about the game is that while most of the game lets you play how you want to, boss fights will be almost unwinnable unless you use firepower and lots of it. By working like this it removes the idea of an open ended battle and the choice is more or less taken. The pros easily overshadow the rather limited cons so really its a small price to pay for an otherwise perfect game. Variety is everywhere from upgrades to the tools at your disposal, the story is brilliant and immersive in very angle, the visuals are crafted to fit the world perfectly and its more open ended than any other game of its type. Though it does have its minor issues they are greatly over shadowed by the vast and highly detailed world of Deus Ex. I loved every minute of the game, pacing as well as major decisions and story progression are all guided by your decisions alone, I'm giving it a much deserved 10 out of 10.

What I’m Watching: TopGear Challenges 5 (DVD)

2011-06-27T04:30:00.001+01:00

I’m always happy to randomly find the latest TV show dvd’s in HMV and other similar stores but TopGear has always been high on that list, why? because their specials on adventures and challenges always features out of this world zany and funny stunts. In this latest dvd the boys push each other and a whole host of motors to the absolute limit. As always there are some great laughs along the way and its packed full of brilliant dvd extras, it’s a must for TopGear fans everywhere.

Motorhomes
The motorhome has been with us for many years, but Jeremy, Richard and James are convinced they can do better. As this cliff-hanger of a film proves, they really can't.

The Making Of The Car Advert
Volkswagen are renowned for making the best car ads in the world. Jeremy and James are convinced they can do better. As these hilarious but hopeless attempts for the Scirocco prove, they really can't.

British Sports Cars
In a surprisingly poignant film, the boys fire up three British sports cars and set out on a nostalgic road trip to look at what happened to our once great sports car industry.

Cheap Saloons In Germany
A cut price road trip across Europe's engineering heartland, involving a hairy high speed autobahn run, the industry standard Oompah Band test, and a terrifying encounter with Das German Stig.

The Dakar Car Versus The Snowmobiles
In one of the most spectacular Top Gear challenges ever, Richard, at the wheel of a fearsome Dakar car, takes on some crack Swedish snowmobile racers in a race across a ski resort.

Topsy Turvy Reliant Robins
Jeremy sets out on an epic quest to get from Sheffield to Rotherham in a Reliant Robin that likes to fall over. Loads of "A" List northerners pop up in this crashtastic film, described by Harry Enfield as "quite funny."

The Veyron In Hyperdrive
Bugatti unveils a new Veyron designed to be the fastest production car in the entire world. Only one man can take it to the max: Captain James T. Slow.

Airport Vehicles Race
Airports are just too slow. To solve the problem, Hammond organises a grid full of airport vehicles, fills them with mad Touring Car drivers, and a race of epic anarchy ensues. Everything crashes, nothing is solved.

The Caravan Airship
James May's "Clear The Roads of Caravans Solutions System" takes to the skies as the world's first Caravan Airship. Marvel at this new fangled creation as it fails to stop, go, steer or fly, and then causes chaos at an international airport.
The Twingo In Belfast
Enjoy one of Jeremy's more extreme road tests as he takes the Renault Twingo on a spin, literally, through the Belfast sewers and then tries to catch a ferry. And misses.

May's Volcanic Adventure
A big volcano kicks off in Iceland. James May builds a car capable of tackling the fiery furnace on a journey to the centre of a piece of earth quite near the volcano.

Gravity Drop Race
Is a shonky old Beetle faster than a modern Porsche 911? Well it might be, if the Beetle's a mile up with gravity on its side.

Special Features:
* Extended interview with Tom and Cameron
* Extended interview with Lewis Hamilton on Ayton Senna & lap of the MP4
* Lewis Hamilton lap of Silverstone with 2 alternative POV angles of his lap mounted on the front of senna's car
* Real time 3 fastest track laps of 2010/11 - All done with a running clock and additional angles: Bugatti Veyron Super Sport, Arial Atom V8 and Zonda R
* Rubens - Driving the perfect line POV
* POV Speed Record in Veyron
* 2 Extra reliant robin rollovers
* Additional Germany challenge - fuel run
* Deleted Volcano scene - James' tyre pressures and cooking breakfast
* Brit Sports Cars outtakes

Dublin Pride Draws Thousands

2011-06-27T03:15:00.000+01:00

Thousands of people took part in Dublin’s latest gay Pride parade yesterday in the heart of the city. The numbers point at over 25,000 people in attendance while a reported 100,000 people looked on. The parade started at the top of Parnell Square with everyone rushing to get ready and gushing at the beautiful weather. Over the course of ten days Pride put on over fifty events, these included everything from walking yours, sports events, music gigs and even a dog show. I like last year popped along to the parade to mingle with friends and snapped a respectable bunch of pictures which can be viewed on the following Flickr page.

Alice Madness Returns: game review (ps3/360/pc)

2011-06-24T04:38:00.001+01:00

It’s been over ten years since Alice had her last videogame outing, originally it was a pc exclusive and now she returns to grace the world of games consoles. Set just after the events of the original game Alice is back in a desperate struggle to finally put her demon’s to rest, unknown to her she is set to partake in the fight of her life. The magical world of wonderland is no longer her refuge, instead it is slowly being systematically destroyed by a powerful evil force. She soon realizes that the reality around her is not much better and is forced to delve deep into her own darkness in the hopes that she alone can restore balance to her mind and to her beloved wonderland.

Madness Returns draws you deep into a world of darkness and surreal creativity, though at times the game play can lag a little its well worth the ride and when you do really get into it you won’t want to put it down. The story is as you would expect nothing short of brilliant, the writing is superb and the dialogue is perfectly matched to the universe it occupies. Alice is an action adventure game with a serious emphasis on platforming, but it doesn’t stop there along the way players are treated to various mini games that are both fun and testing. Its a challenging world full of jumps, dives and a lot of monsters to give even the most experienced gamers a serious run for their money.

Lewis Carroll originally dreamed up a world of fantasy and wonder, but this world is far removed from that wonder. It is a grotesque and dark world that Alice has to venture trough if she is to ever conquer her fears, her mind and save wonderland. Alice has a number of character moves to use but unfortunately getting her to carry them off at the start can be quite the ordeal, they lag and feel almost unresponsive though it eventually irons itself out this can be a bit of an off putter for new visitors to the game. Its a shame really and probably part of the reason many games reviewers found it hard to warm to but since most of the game really depends on these moves it can really drag the pace down to a crawl. Going slow is not a huge problem, wonderland though ravaged is quite the sight to behold and visually its extremely impressive. Many of the levels call for Alice to leap and glide her way from platform to platform, graceful in her glides and jumps she can at times be a delight to control.

The levels as mentioned are highly influenced by towering platforms you need to either leap to or solve puzzles in order to cross to the next part of the map. Some of the jumps can be very difficult to get to grips with and at times i found myself either cursing the camera or the platforms themselves. The game camera though not always can feel schizophrenic as it chooses to place itself in the most awkward of places making a hard jump even harder, a few times the camera on doing this caused me to miss completely and plummet straight off the edge. Camera aside the platforming elements are enough of a challenge to really keep you trying, many times Alice will discover secret areas that will give her an alternative route helping her bypass such difficult jumps. An integral part of Alice’s moves is the ability to shrink herself down at a time of the players choosing, this helps Alice pass though hidden keyholes scattered around the nooks and crannies of the map. Another ability she posses is a sort of special viewing where hidden bridges or passages show up as a sort of chalky outline, its a nice touch and really adds to the game.

Often these hidden areas contain collectibles such as forgotten memories Alice desperately needs as she struggles to piece together her fragile mind, when found these play out as amusingly good audio sequences that give the player a better grasp of what has happened to cause the destruction and devastation around them. Defeating enemies gives the player rose petals used to fill back up a depleted life bar, while teeth are used to buy weapons upgrades. Being an action adventure game you would expect a lot of action and Madness Returns certainly delivers. Alice starts off with the powerful vorpal blade which was once used to slay the evil jabberwocky but as she progresses various other weapons become available such as a pepper mill grinder which doubles for a gatling gun, a hard hitting hobby horse, a teapot that launches steaming hot tea, and my personal favourite clockwork bombs. All of the weapons apart from the bombs can be upgraded to prove more devastating against your ever-changing enemy.

The monsters and foes Alice faces throughout the game are as twistedly decedent as the nightmare world they occupy, though the game doesn’t exactly feature level bosses as such the monsters change so sporadically that you won’t really think about it much. The first monsters Alice encounters are easy enough to defeat as it teaches you the basics of control and combat but as the game progresses they get extremely hard especially when they hit you in waves. Combat too is difficult and at times the auto aiming can be a bit of a pain as it jumps from target to target leaving you exposed to attack, thankfully the hand to hand weapons are strong enough to not really need to rely too much on guns or cannons. At first Alice faces the likes of leeches and other low level cannon fodder but along the way she must tackle card knights brandishing axes, fire breathing dolls, samurai sword wielding wasps and executioners hell bent on separating your head from your shoulders. They can be tricky enough to deal with but eventually you learn when where and how to hit them effectively, the action part of the game can definitely be bloody but it really adds to the games atmosphere and overall visual look of the game.

Visually the game is absolutely stunning and the setting is unlike anything i have ever seen before, its a beautiful mix of style creativity and true unbridled terror. Alice not only traverses wonderland but also reality, a reality that looks like it is straight out of a Tim Burton movie. London though small and rarely visited is seeped in dark and gothic atmosphere, characters litter the street conversing shadily about this or that while other more sinister individuals peddle their wares. Reality of course is no match for the visual delight that is wonderland, it may be on the brink of annihilation but there are still pockets of pure beauty waiting to be explored. Wonderland at its worst is equally beautiful, and the game goes through an impressively and surprising amount of landscape changes. While one level might look like something straight out of a SAW movie or even Clive Barkers imagination another will place Alice in a scenic frozen tundra where you can’t help but smile happily as you wander through. My favourite level in the game was one where Alice has to make her way through a world that resembles a dollhouse, there is no shortage of level types or designs in this nightmare and shockingly each level is extremely long. Recently the market has been saturated with games featuring half finished short levels that leave the player wanting more, Alice however gives all that and then some.

Apart from a few small elements of the game i have to say i really enjoyed Madness Returns, it was hard to warm to and at times frustrating but having played though it all now and finished the game i feel like i really accomplished something. The story is so well interwoven with this dark fantasy universe, all the characters you would expect are here, the cheshire cat, the caterpillar, the carpenter, the march hare, the dormouse and of course the insanely brilliant mad hatter. The music changes as much as the visuals and levels do, its in no means repetitive and really adds to the game. The sounds too and lighting are very well done, it is not the best looking game on the market but it certainly does not disappoint.

Alice has enough moves and weapons to keep the player busy homing their skills and upgrading their tools, but that’s not all many of the levels come with their own attire to perfectly match the scene. This comes in the form of a series of dresses Alice wears throughout her journey, they are very well designed and though they do not add any special ability to Alice they look amazing and its nice to have the added choice of what costume to wear. Recently a DLC pack was released to buy for the game, it includes a whole host of dresses that give Alice special abilities and a number of weapon upgrades that really help tip the scales in your favour. Loading can be a little bit of an issue at times but its not enough to spoil the mood or the fun, the game may come to stand still followed by an egg timer but its usually for a few seconds so though noticeable it doesn’t really affect the pace.

Madness Returns could easily have been a 10 out of 10 game if the minor issues were addressed, on their own they don’t bring the pace down but all at once can be frustrating. Given the minor shortfalls its still a very good and uniquely creative game and should not be missed if given the chance. Its challenging yet very rewarding, upgrades and collectibles breath new life into the game and since they carry over once the game has been finished you will find yourself wanting to go back through the story again not just to pick up items you may have missed but for the deeply engrossing story telling. I’m giving Alice a 7 out of 10, I'm taking marks off for the reasons mentioned but those alone are not enough to really stop you from enjoying the game. If you are looking for a challenge served with a double dose of platforming action and superior story telling then this is a tea party you will not want to miss, the guests may be stark raving mad but the more the merrier.

inFamous 2: game review (ps3)

2011-06-19T05:07:00.001+01:00

Just when the world needs a hero Cole MacGrath is back to either save or destroy the world only this time he is more powerful and more in control of his destiny. Empire City lays in ruin and you get blamed for it all, as the rest of the world comes under threat Cole makes his way down the cost in search of undiscovered powers capable of defeating the real cause of the disaster …the Beast.

The game opens in the last few moments of Empire City where Cole must face the Beast, ultimately he fails and has to flee to New Marais. Here he witnesses a lawless city torn apart from natural disaster ruled by a power hungry dictator and enforced by a ruthless gang of militia who are hell-bent on wiping him out.

This time around Cole and his powers are more focused and feel much more powerful, he uses his abilities to the maximum whether it be for good or for evil. Just like its predecessor part two lets you choose how you want to act, choices have consequences and its more than evident here. Treat people well and help out the citizens and they will respect you but destroying the world around them will cause them to despise you sometimes even throwing rocks or punches your way. Cole can handle whatever comes his way so it really doesn’t matter how you choose to play, but its worth playing through it twice with each karma option because the story changes drastically as do the missions.

The story like most aspects of the game has received a fresh coat of polish indeed the location itself seems more vivid and better built. Empire City was a great location it had a tremendously good sense of scale but this time around players are treated to a explore wider variety of urban wonder. If Empire City was based on New York City then New Marais is based on New Orleans, however it too has been ravaged by a disastrous flood so Cole has to literally watch his step. The buildings are beautifully rendered and though some are decrepit or run down they perfectly fit the world around you, along the way you unlock districts one of my favourite being an industrial area full of towers and structures to climb and leap from.

The first thing I noticed playing the game was Coles voice, its changed drastically but you quickly adjust and it doesn’t really become an issue anymore. The soundtrack too has been brought right up to scratch, its not intrusive as such indeed there are times it seems to vanish altogether but its there when you need it. The usual sounds of Coles powers cracking into life, crowds of people on the streets, cars passing, enemies firing or engaging you, in fact the whole package sounds expertly composed. The graphics have been overhauled and visually its stunning, its certainly a vast improvement over the first one in that Cole and the world around him looks and feels more realistic than ever. As the story progresses the weather and time of day change with it, its not a major feature of the game but it does add an even deeper sense of realism to the experience and ambience especially when a storm blows in and Cole utilizes it to really let his powers rip.

When it comes to powers Cole enjoys a new and more improved gauntlet of crushing electrically charged energies at his disposal only this time as the story progresses other elements can be added into the mix. In the first game I never really felt like Cole was all that because he just didn’t seem overly powerful, sure he could shoot lightning but he was still new to utilizing it. Cole can now use bigger and better powers to cripple his enemies, the older powers are still there but the new ones are more fun and much more useful especially since some of them make getting around the map easier. Included is his new handheld weapon known as the amp, think of an oversized cattle prod and you get the picture, combined with special takedowns the amp can be very useful against targets of all sizes.

There are plenty of opportunities for Cole to use his newfound powers and abilities, New Marais is not just overrun with corrupt and brutal militia its infested with monsters. The militia are easy enough to defeat and are a lot like the reapers in the first game, they carry assault rifles and some of them pack rocket launchers. Other enemies include a brethren of ex-mercenaries with the power to control ice, and a whole host of gruesome monsters. Taking out your foes is fun again and Cole employs a barrage of stunts and special take-downs. For fans of the original collectibles like shards and dead drops make a welcome return, however finding them this time seemed much easier than ever before. The side missions make a return too, they are simple enough and can be a bit repetitive but they can be fun and its the best way to earn experience points used to purchase newer powers which you will need to progress through the story. Other little missions pop up from time to time and usually involve disarming bombs, stopping muggers, basically helping out mankind …of course if you are playing evil you can deal with it differently and still get experience points.

A new addition to the game is the User Generated Content (UGC), it might sound technical but its basically a scaled down version of a level editor. UGC lets the player build and set their own unique missions, then upload them online so that others can play them. It might sound like a big leap in gameplay but its not really up to scratch and has a few issues, its a nice inclusion but I really didn’t see the need for it in fact most of the UGC mission I did try out online were either poorly made or just didn’t work. UGC does award experience points but its capped so you really only come away with 100 or 200 points, this is obviously to prevent players from farming or boosting points unfairly. In fairness I’m used to the level editing power of LittleBigPlanet 1 & 2 so naturally UGC would seem rather scaled down but I do think the game could stand up without it regardless of the extra lifespan.

So my final thoughts on the game are as follows. It is presented more vividly and has a more natural flow to the controls, it sounds better in almost every aspect, the enemies have a lot more thought put into them and react better especially the monsters, Cole moves better and utilizes his powers to their full potential, the karma system doesn’t seem like its been overhauled by too much but there are plenty of choices to be made, the inclusion of other elemental powers serves to really spice the game up. If you are recognizing a trend here its simply because the game meets all my expectations and more, its a perfect sequel which is very rare in games these days.

I played the game twice on both good and evil, the game did change and though it wasn’t drastic it did make an enjoyable change each time. For trophy hunters there are a huge number of fun and attainable awards up for grabs, I generally try to avoid hunting down a platinum but just like its predecessor 100% can be reached with a simple enough amount of dedication so I managed to get it on my second playthrough. If like many people you only recently played the first one because it was free on the PSN then I strongly recommend you part with your cash for this highly electrically charged follow up. I really loved the game when really I didn’t think it would improve too much on the original, it was fun all the way with lots to do whether you wanted to help preserve the fragile city of New Marais or completely raise it to the ground. I’m giving it a well deserved 9 out of 10, it loses one mark for the evil ending and for the lack of real control over the UGC – other than that its high powered platforming bliss where no building is off limits and the world truly is in your hands to do with as you please.

L.A. Noire: game review (ps3/360)

2011-05-25T04:44:00.001+01:00

Its not every day a game comes a long that shakes the very foundations of how games should be played but L.A. Noire is quite simply a fantastic achievement that does all this and a whole lot more. I intentionally went out of my way to not follow previews or leaked information because I wanted to take this game head on with no outside influences or over exaggerated hype.

Its 1947 and you are detective Cole Phelps for the LAPD. Set in a world of glamour wealth and Hollywood fame you must use all your cunning and investigative skills in order to climb the ranks. Unlike Rockstars famed GTA series players cannot freely go around gunning down any one they choose in a fast paced free wheeling whirlwind of havoc, so if you are expecting another GTA then that’s not what you will get. Instead you will be treated to the following.

The direct theme of the game is the stylistic world of tough talking early 50’s film noir cops and the violent yet distinctively charming criminals that evade them. Los Angeles is the perfect setting and its rendered beautifully in perfect clarity, its not all glitz and glam but it all serves a purpose. The game uses similar styles of lighting and looks to the old post-war master pieces of the era. Those unfamiliar with such films should turn to the more recent L.A Confidential as an example of what to expect.

Some people will be under the assumption that L.A. Noire is a lot like Heavy Rain, but its not. The game is easily one of the most absorbing entertainment experiences available on any console or system. Each case is soaked in its own distinctive mix of great writing and is practically soaking with atmosphere. Playing the role of a hardened cop you need to go through the evidence available to you, some of it may be obvious early on but as the game progresses its becomes a real challenge. Showing up at the scene of a gruesome murder is something common place for your character and you will find that the more you do this the better you get at gathering the clues needed to solve the mystery. Some crimes will have you searching through a particular location like a home or warehouse, though not everything you pick up pertains to the crime in question so be prepared for a challenge.

One of the most amazing features of the game is the incredible way characters are realistically portrayed facially. The reason for this is not just to look good but it serves as an integral part of the game. Not just physical clues help to solve a case, interrogation and suspect or witness questioning is very important and you can’t progress without it. I expected it would look good but i find myself constantly shocked and surprised how life like the characters actually are, its really a testament to the hard innovative work developed to make it all possible. When questioning characters you have to spot the difference between a lie and a truth, this might sound easy but its so well rendered that if not watched carefully characters will run circles around you and literally get away with murder. Collected and discovered clues can be used to further press a suspect into giving up information or details, so do your job right and you will climb the ranks faster.

The cases themselves include the likes of traffic/homicide/vice and arson, each one sets you up with a different partner and a different set of crimes to solve. For the most part you will be dealing with gruesome crimes of both passion and greed but as the game progresses the more influential criminal elements will be your soup du jour. My favourite desk in the game was Vice, i think it nailed the scene brilliantly and gave me everything i expected from a Vice squad. Homicide was probably the most gruesome to deal with, be prepared for violent imagery of deceased corpses some battered and bruised – why Cole refuses to use gloves when dealing with a corpse I'll never understand.

A few people have said to me that they did not like the driving mechanics of the game and at times felt it was clunky and heavy, these are not modern cars they are what was around in the 1940’s and 1950’s but to be honest i didn’t find it a problem. There are almost 100 drivable vehicles in the game each one with realistic damage modelling but unlike GTA when you wreak a car or cause damage to the public you will be penalized at the end of the case. At first i didn’t like this but after playing a few more cases i realized the right way to do it was cut down on the crazy driving and concentrate on getting there in one piece. Another issue someone raised to me was the fact you can’t change the radio station while driving, again it doesn’t really matter and it adds to the authenticity. While on a case Cole will engage in a discussion with his partner, it may be a minor detail but its all these little elements that propel the game to such heights.

Its not all mind boggling gritty cases of murder and deception the game gives you a lot of extra little tasks to do when you want a break from the madness. Being a Rockstar published game you would expect quirky side missions and collectables, well that’s exactly what you get. When in a patrol car you can respond to street crimes happening in your vicinity, some involve car chases or shoot outs. Side missions give you extra experience and unlock extra’s for your character, most are short but are nevertheless fun. Across the map you will also find elusive gold film reels hidden cars and my personal favourite famous landmarks, it may not offer a lifetime of free roaming excitement but it does offer a lot of value for eager treasure hunters that yearn for that little bit more.

L.A. Noire is a tough game to review, not because of the game itself but because its easy to divulge too much and spoil it unintentionally. Its a game that has being surrounded with hype ever since it was first announced back in 1997 so naturally people have high expectations. Everything about it is garnished in a satisfyingly accurate and realistically moulded way that you would expect in the golden age of Hollywood. It is more than a quiet nod to the iconic films of the period its a perfectly rendered addition to those by gone times. Even the map itself is steeped deeply in authentically accurate block by block rendering unseen in any other game, its no surprise really when you learn that the map is a perfect representation of some 110, 000 aerial photographs taken by Robert Spence – the map being a solid 8 square miles of 1940’s Los Angeles so there is plenty to see.

I really wanted to give L.A. Noire top marks but sadly I can’t, there are one or two issues that hold the game back from complete perfection. I would like if they had offered a little more options when it comes to interacting with characters, instead of playing good cop i would have liked the opportunity to use my badge to take advantage of certain characters – even if it was just to bend the rules a little to get a confession from a stubborn suspect. Depending on your recollection of the story and case files, replaying the story might not be that enjoyable for most gamers. If it wasn’t for a few little issues like that I'd gladly give L.A. Noire a ten but this being an honest review I'm going to have to give it a 9 out of 10. Its still a great score and one of the best games i have ever played. Though very linear at the times there is something here for everyone to enjoy, the amazing voice acting/beautiful visuals/shockingly real facial expressions and uniquely authentic setting serve to tip the balance from just a game to a work of art.

Family Guy: season ten

2011-05-25T01:37:00.001+01:00

I stopped watching TV a long time ago and instead follow all my favourite shows on DVD. Unlike most cartoon shows family guy doesn’t seem to have slipped as the years went by, instead it seems to get funnier and funnier. There is a significant difference between what’s being shown in the US versus what being shown in Europe, so sometimes we get left behind. That may be so but there is no shortage of laughs with this seasons boxset, if anything i enjoyed it more than the previous season 9. I expected the writing would have slipped by now and it would only appeal to loyal fans but every episode was hilarious. I was looking forward to the 150th episode and i think it paid off, even after all this time family guy retains its place in the big leagues of entertainment without feeling old or mediocre. Family guy has come a long way now since the older DVD sets, in the past we had to be happy with a dull picture format but now Fox have put in the effort making it more crisp and appealing for the viewer. Finally they saw the need to move to widescreen and it will be greatly appreciated by the fans.

Included along with the 15 episodes is the brilliant whodunit episode starring James Woods and the fantastic “tearjerker” American Dad episode, a nice little bonus for family guy fans who may have not seen it yet. The usual extras you would expect like deleted scenes and commentaries are all here, its certainly surpassed season 9 when it comes to value. Family guy season 10 is available now and well worth picking up if you are a fan, or if you didn’t catch the last series when it aired.

Borderlands: game review (ps3/360/pc)

2011-05-24T17:53:00.001+01:00

Borderlands is a game I over looked for quite some time, the reason? – graphics. I never really did like the idea of it being almost in the style of a cartoon because i thought it would lack real detail and depth but I was wrong it doesn’t hold the game back instead it pushes it forward. I’m sure to a lot of people this would be something they are not used to seeing but to dismiss it because of this would be a really bad idea and here is why.

Set on the planet Pandora the game gives the player a chance to feel what its like to be a bounty hunter in search of fame and glory. what was once a rich planet full of rare minerals and materials is now an almost post apocalyptic world ruled by psychopathic gangs of cannibals, heavily armed criminals and deadly creatures that all aim to make your stay on Pandora very short and unpleasant. The game is for the most part a first person shooter but it also blends in RPG elements that enhance your overall experience of how you play and how the game reacts to your character.

You can’t cosmetically build a character but you can build it up with stats and skills, by doing this you become a more powerful force to be reckoned with. There are four main categories in the game, The Siren/The Hunter/The Soldier and The Berserker. Each character has unique skills attributed to their class, The Hunter for instance is good with sniper rifles and can be upgraded to carry a hawk which he uses to attack his enemies. The Sire uses speed and cunning rather than pure muscle, The Soldier uses firepower first while the Berserker uses his fists to pulverise and pound. All of the characters carry weapons but the skills do become very useful when faced with too many enemies at once, even with bosses skills usually help to tip the balance in your favour.

Pandora seems to be a gun runners paradise. For a shooter its got all the guns and weapons you could ever ask for, pistols/smg’s/rifles/machine guns/sniper rifles/rocket launchers and high powered shotguns are all on offer. Located all over the map are hundreds of weapons and weapon mods. Guns can be found not just on dead enemies but also in lockers/boxes/vending machines/rooftops/even toilets, the list seems to be endless but there is a catch. Guns are colour coded and level coded, this means if you are not the level the gun requires you can’t use it. Its not such a big problem because most of the guns you will find in single player will be aimed towards your character, and even if they are higher than your current level they might be worth holding onto as you level up quite fast. When it comes to fire power in the game the thing that really impressed me was the inclusion of environmental guns, some guns will cause explosions/fire damage/electric shock and my personal favourite acid bursts. The more you play you learn what weapons are good for certain tasks, acid weapons are good for getting through an enemies armour – I found this especially good when faced with area bosses.

I find it hard to call Borderlands a shooter, sure it has that element and at its core it is one but there is a lot more on offer for fans of free-roaming and exploration. The maps are big enough to hide all sorts of items from stacks of cash to weapons, and their is no shortage of secondary tasks. Along the way you meet characters who offer you jobs and missions, these missions can be very varied though some might feel a little repetitive after time. Its worth doing extra missions and exploring as it builds up your overall experience in the game allowing for new skills and weapon usage. Navigating the map is easy and straight forward enough but you get around quicker using vehicles and fast travel stations, both are unlocked through story progression and make getting around less of a task. The levels themselves can be fun and are mostly large, the map has many interconnecting areas that lead to other regions containing different enemies and loot. At first the graphics don’t really succeed to impressive but over time i found myself falling in love with the visual style, it wouldn’t work with all games but i find it hard to imagine Borderlands without it.

The game features a whole host of ultra violent bad guys and creepy crawlies that will have you either grinning or running for your life. At first you encounter basic raiders with little or no armour but when the game really gets going you will be treated with all kinds of cannon fodder. I’m used to shooters being busy and full of targets but Borderlands really packs them in. There are lots of types of creatures, some are easy to dispatch while others will really put up one hell of a fight. Its a while since I have seen so many fun and challenging level bosses, there is no shortage here. The game didn’t at any time really feel unfair nor did it feel like too much to handle, it always felt like the situation I was in or enemy i faced was something i could deal with. It was in no way a walk in the park but the learning curve is extremely easy and you don’t have to be good at shooters to enjoy the game.

I don’t usually spend much time on multiplayer features of a game because most of the time you are thrown into a match with 20 or so people, some want to play seriously while others don’t care. Borderlands stands out here, you can only have four players per game but it works brilliantly. The experience is Co-op based with characters working together in story mode to progress further, I wondered if more players meant less enemies to deal with but instead the game adapts and scales up making it challenging for everyone involved. Online is a great way to help build up your character, if you are playing in another persons game and they are a higher level than you a lot more experience points are awarded. If however you don’t like the idea of online Co-op there is also a very well put together offline Co-op mode where you and a friend can go split screen, there is unlike most games no need for two consoles as its all done on just one. If that’s not enough the replay value is exceptional, my second play through had me facing harder enemies with even better loot rewards, its a lot more challenging but its worth it for the new weapons and loot you amass.

I loved Borderlands and many things about the game really stood out. For a shooter the story is very deep and you do find yourself wanting to know what’s going to happen next. The mini games and missions scattered around the map gave me hours of extra playtime, but its easy to just go exploring for loot and weapons. Lately I seem to be constantly finding games I overlooked in the past because of either bad reviews or just chatter, while not all turn out to be gems there are the select few like Borderlands that really hit the mark. Everything it does it does brilliantly, the style is amazing and the hours of gameplay on offer are astronomical. I normally don’t try and platinum a game because 100% is time consuming and not something a lot of gamers aim for but Borderlands was the exception. After spending days playing the game both in single player and in online Co-op i finally reached 100%. It doesn’t end there, Borderlands has a lot of DLC available for the game each one adding a little more to an otherwise perfect game. I’m giving Borderlands a 9 out of 10 – I’m taking one point off for some of the mini missions feeling a bit too familiar and a lack of other vehicles. If you are looking for a shooter than dares to do things differently in a stylish and funky manner then I’d recommend Borderlands. I was looking for a refreshing change and I think I found it.

Playstation Network: weeks on, but the service remains off

2011-05-09T17:55:00.001+01:00

The outage which has affected millions of psn users of the last few weeks was the result of an external intrusion from an unknown hacker group – some say it was the group known as Anon yet as time went by they have denied involvement. The theft of personal details happened between April 17th and April 19th, yet Sony did not disclose the intrusion to its users until May 4th. An estimated 77 million accounts had personal details stolen from them surpassing previous hacks of any kind on any records. Its no surprise that Sony have had so much negative press through the incident, many governments and agencies accuse Sony of mishandling personal information and lacking to keep its users safe. On April 20th Sony turned off the network and its Qriocity services, stating that it would be back within the week – now on May the 9th it still all remains offline.

At the moment Sony claim they are aggressively trying to track down the hackers who perpetrated the attack, yet even with various law enforcement agencies on the case they have not been found and the service remains offline. Sony have stated that the attack is a criminal cyber attack and that it will remain offline until they have completed extensive security tests. When asked to report to congress Sony had the following to say about the on-going attack on their network.

“Sony Network Entertainment America is continuing its investigation into this criminal intrusion, and more detailed information could be discovered during this process. We are reluctant to make full details publicly available because the information is the subject of an on-going criminal investigation and also the information could be used to exploit vulnerabilities in systems other than Sony's that have similar architecture to the PlayStation Network.”

The real concern comes from the way Sony has dealt with the issue, it took Sony almost a week to notify its users that their had indeed been a theft of information and personal details. The information available to the hackers were highly identifiable and included usernames/passwords/emails addresses/home addresses and even credit card information. The circumstances surrounding Sony got even more controversial when their was strong evidence to suggest that Sony failed to encrypt personal details/held on to older information and made it too easy for external attackers to steal. There are even a number of lawsuits being filed against Sony on behalf of its users, each one addresses Sony’s lack of power to protect private information. Since the initial attack Sony have failed to meet set deadlines and some users have had their personal information openly posted on websites controlled by the hackers.

In response to the outage Sony have released information about what they are calling their “welcome back” program. The idea is to compensate its users with a number of offers including free downloadable content and the use of the Playstation Plus service for 30 days. For many users its not enough, they see Sony’s gross negligence as a betrayal to gamers everywhere. Sony are now saying that it could still be a number of weeks until they are fully back up and running though some services should be restored before then. Many are pointing to May 31st as the day when services are fully restored but as the outage continues there really is not telling when it will be business as usual.

When I first heard about the outage I had serious doubts that it would affect me personally but recently my email account has been compromised. It occurred when my details were stolen and then used to access the account, upon noticing I contacted my email provider and explained what happened. It turns out that my details and password were changed and so I have no chance of recovering the account, a harsh lesson when it comes to using Hotmail . As far as I can tell when the network does come back online I should be able to verify my account through my console, but I'll believe it when i see it.

Sniper: ghost warrior (ps3/360/pc)

2011-05-09T04:34:00.001+01:00

Its not every day a game gets exclusively released on the xbox 360 that i really wanted but sniper: ghost warrior was top of the list. originally the game launched on the xbox in june 2010, it went under the radar pretty well and didn’t create much of following. i don’t usually keep up on xbox games but after seeing it online i really liked what i saw of it, i love sniper sections in first person shooters so a whole game dedicated to sniping sounded really original. luckily a ps3 version packed with extra content has just been released (may 6th 2011) and i made sure to get it on the first day, I've been playing it for a few days now and here's what i thought of it.

The story is set on the fictional island of el trejon, a place that has seen violent civil unrest by the countries tyrannical ruler. you play sergeant tyler wells, a marine sniper kitted out with a high powered rifle and a ghillie suit. the story may be brief enough but the action is far from it, your skills and ability to blend into the environment make you the perfect weapon in this covert operation. during the game you get to know a bit more about what’s actually going on but a lot of it is predictable enough, that said there are a few surprises especially in the extra missions.

The thing that first impressed me about the game were the extremely realistic graphics. the island is full of jungles/beaches/mountains/temples/drug plantations/enemy camps, all feature at one point in the game and all look amazing. i’m used to seeing appealing graphics in games and it does seem like a lot of games are really stepping up to fully optimizing what can be done with a good engine, this game seems to have gone further although i have heard that the ps3 features upgraded graphics and visuals. it really seems like the developers did their home work on what sniper fans would actually be looking for in a game. there are so many missions where they give you the perfect map, and there you are in the perfect hiding place with a view to die for populated with enemies that can’t see you! all this of course follows with the perfect headshot.

One of my favourite features in the game was the bullet cam, it sounds simple enough a bullet travelling from the rifle is tracked with a game camera. its been done before but its never looked so good, when you do take that perfect shot the camera will track the bullet as it whiz's through the air (often covering 100’s of yards) coming to a definite halt as it embeds itself in your unlucky target. i joked to my boyfriend that i’d never get tired of watching the bullet cam in action and after playing through the whole came i can honestly admit its too good to really tire of. so much work has been put into the visuals that its almost jaw droppingly beautiful, and the best part is you don’t have to charge through because if you do you will almost certainly end up getting shot.

The weapons in the game are really well thought out and you never have to ask yourself why you have something you don’t need. at first i wondered why i was given explosives when the main aim was to be stealthy in taking down the enemy, then i realised you could find the best hiding spot and rig the perimeter so that approaching enemies who have compromised your position would be taking out. the sniper rifles you get in the game are as follows:

AS 50 – .50 BMG antimaterial rifle, it packs a punch and holds 5 rounds. (very modern warfare)

MSG90 – militarized version of the PSG1 (used in metal gear solid) lighter with better accuracy

SR 25 – semi-automatic 7.62x51mm Nato caliber

Dragunov SVD – used by enemy snipers, reliable soviet rifle with good accuracy

High Powered L96 & the Super Long Range CheyTac M200 Intervention (both are extremely accurate/deadly and exclusive to the ps3 version of the game)

Along with rifles the player gets to carry a silenced pistol and throwing knives. the ground enemy usually carry assault rifles (probably a variant of the Ak47) while watch towers and other positions are patrolled by sniper rifle wielding soldiers. the AI has apparently been worked over too giving for a more fluid experience of combat. i didn’t notice many glitches with the AI and for the most part they were sharp enough.

There were a few times where i wondered if they had 100% accuracy at long range.. with an assault rifle, i couldn’t see a sniper at the time but its only happened a small number of times. i don’t know what the AI was like in the original version of the game, i heard it was bad but i’m assuming it was all ironed out. the bullet dynamics and ballistics are all top notch, bullet drop is a huge part of sniping at long range and your bullets trajectory will be affected by things like weather/heart rate – breath can be controlled to slow down what’s seen through your scope so that you are one step closer to the perfect shot.

As for playability and lifespan there is a lot on offer. when you finish the main game there are a host of extra missions and challenges, in challenge mode you are given limited ammunition and a limited HUD so it all feels the more genuine and the more exciting. the story missions all feel fluid, fun and rewarding. some of the missions will involve sneaking a great distance through enemy forces in order to take out a target while others will have you eradicating enemy camps, others still might be gaining intel or backing up another force fighting alongside you. its all very well put together and each mission lasts anywhere from about 40 minutes to just over an hour. i do think there is replay value in the game because so many of the missions are very entertaining and for fans of sniping it never gets old.

So it has many positive points but it also has a few negative ones too. the auto saving can be a bit of an annoyance at time, though it doesn’t exactly affect your experience it can take you out of the zone. the graphics engine handles weather extremely well yet there are only a few levels that feature rain/fog the rest are bright and sunny, they could have implemented the weather effects more. for a sniping game you would think the developers might add in some mini games such as target practice but they didn’t. the music is a little depthless at the time but i can understand not really needing it when you are trying to concentrate on taking a carefully planned shot.

Finally there seems to be a glitch or glitches in the way that trophies are collected, this could be down to the fact that the options menu features a trophy section. at one point i was trying to get a trophy called “fallen eagle”, all you need to do is shoot 10 eagles – easy to do really and the trophy list on the menu crossed it off as completed yet the trophy itself didn’t activate. its these little negative points that stop the game from attaining a higher score, its a shame really because if all the little issues were dealt with it would be almost perfect.

I really enjoyed the game and i will probably be replaying through the various missions for some time to come. sniper: ghost warrior is a game of patience and finesse as is of course real sniping, if you are expecting fast paced running and gunning action then i’m afraid you won’t find this here and anytime you do its the enemy chasing you down. if however you like the idea of sneaking around the jungle using your environment to pull off your shots with pin point accuracy then i strongly recommend this game. i’m giving the game a 7 out of 10. no other game offers as much high powered long range sniping action, if there is ever a sequel released i’ll definitely be getting it.

Unfortunately i could not test the multiplayer as the playstation network is still down. the ps3 version features new multiplayer maps and game modes such as capture the flag. when the network comes back online i will add a multiplayer section to the review.

Assassin’s Creed: revelations (details)

2011-05-07T02:49:00.001+01:00

It seems the latest assassins creed game has not only been named but details are already starting to leak about the different features and locations that will feature in the game. Given that the last game (assassins creed: brotherhood) was not released too long ago you cannot help but hold a little scepticism as to ubisoft blatantly milking the series. I personally don’t think they are milking it, assassins creed is a journey through the ages and every journey tells a tale, whether or not the next game after this will feature desmond as the main character only time will tell.

The final chapter in the Ezio trilogy has been detailed. The latest issue of Game Informer has first information on Assassin’s Creed: Revelations, which sees Ezio searching for the lost ‘seals’ of his assassin ancestor, Altair.

Finding these seals allows Ezio to peek into the life of Altair, just as Desmond peeks into the life of Ezio through the Animus. During these sequences, you’ll control Altair.

The majority of the game takes place in Constantinople, the heart of the Ottoman empire, split into four ‘huge’ districts — Constantin, Beyazid, Imperial, and Galata. You’ll also swing by Cappadocia, Turkey.

As one would would imagine, Ezio’s aged in Revelations. No longer the young lad from the first two Ezio titles, he is now over 50 years-old. Though, with age comes wisdom… or new accessories. He has a new item called the hookblade, allowing him to zipline from point A to point B throughout the city, speeding up navigation by ‘about thirty percent.’ It can also be used as a weapon to pull in and attack enemies. To make for the new accessory, the control scheme’s been modified — Circle/B controls the hookblade and Triangle/Y controls projectiles and bombs.

A crafting system also makes its way to the franchise. Ezio can use the system to make bombs — bombs of over 300 types, according to Ubisoft.

Eagle Vision’s been given a makeover. Now called Eagle Sense, it “let’s your focus on a character and see where he’s been,” according to creative director Alexandre Amancio. “You’ll get an approximation of where he will go. If you’re able to detect the path a guard will take, you can run ahead, set a bomb, and create a trap or an ambush.”

With the Borgia gone and a new area being used for the setting, Borgia Towers no longer exist, but the concept does. A new system has been created in its place. There are locations throughout the city called Assassin’s Dens — you can build these dens by killing off the Templar presence in the area through various assault scenarios. Once obtained, you’ll be able to upgrade the buildings and add ziplines across its rooftops. The guards in the area will shift from hostile to neutral.

Your dens aren’t all safe and sound after their obtained, however. As you gain notoriety in the city, you can lose control of your dens. If your den is under attack and you’re unable to make it to the area to save it, you can send your assassin troops out to do it for you — so long as another den is nearby. You can also have once of your master assassins control a specific den, so you wouldn’t have to worry about it being attacked and taken over.

The leveling mechanic for assassin’s has increased from 10 to 15.

Side-missions are gone in Revelations. Instead of planned events, side-missions are random — you may see a shop owner being mugged as you walk through the city; your mission would be to stop him.

A new facial capture technology dubbed Mocam is being used in the game. The magazine describes it as an “intriguing amalgamation of traditional animation, performance capture and the fascinating new style of performance on display in games like L.A. Noire.”

Desmond, whose accessing Ezio’s memories through the Animus, finds a new safe mode in the machine called the “Black Room.” In this room, you’re able to access Desmond’s own personal lost memories. The gameplay during your time as Desmond are said to be ‘narrative-fueled puzzle sequences.’ The magazine writes, “through the manipulation and creation of geometry with the game world, Desmond seeks to reintegrate the splintered layers of his subconscious.”

As for multiplayer, which is making a return from Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood, you’ll now be able to create your own character with customized appearance and weapons, and start a guild. Ubisoft says that while the component is returning, they’re putting greater focus towards the narrative, as it’s the heart of the franchise. (neogaf)

Operation Flashpoint: red river (ps3/360/pc)

2011-05-04T02:10:00.001+01:00

Red river just like dragon rising is a tactical first person shooter and just like its predecessor infuses action and planning to immerse the player into the most realistic war experience available. just like dragon rising the combat is in your face and unforgiving, only this time there seems to be a little bit more leg room when it comes to fire fights. if you can’t take a world where war is real and every bullet counts with deadly accuracy then its best you think twice before heading into the battlefield of red river – it is no doubt a brutal and tough game but it is also one of the most engrossing war experiences you will ever get on any console or system.

Set in the year 2013 the current conflict concerns the breakout of a civil war in tajikistan. just like before the marines are sent in to clean up the mess only this time neighbouring china orders the troops out and when they refuse all hell breaks loose. what results is not just a fight with the locally inexperienced tajik militia but with the far superiorly armed forces of the chinese army. unlike before this game allows the player to pick between classes, you can chose between the likes of a rifleman/grenadier/support gunner and my personal favourite the scout sniper. each class can be finally tuned to give you the perfect loadout for every situation, their skills vary as does their gear.

The great thing is by doing missions you build up a line of combat points that can be used to open additional perks and build up your weapons and guns. all of your guns are fully customizable, sniper rifles can be given better scopes that help you take out that evasive distant target, regular rifles too can be given scopes and suppressers but you won’t be loaded down with weapon selections – whatever is needed is there while the weapons you don’t need are no where to be found. just remember to take bullet drop into account or you will miss and by missing you allow the enemy to take one more critical shot at you and your team.

Again you are in charge of your very own fire team and like before they require your directions and tactics to get the best out of them, if you treat them right they in return will treat you right. in the previous game there was the constant threat of a stray bullet taking you out, the threat is still there but there are so many allies on screen in most battles that the stray bullet won’t have your name on it. that’s not to say the shootouts are not fierce because they are and then some, unlike their FPS counterparts red river is no corridor shooter its all in the field and the landscapes look the part. the tajikistan country side is beautifully rendered, one of the most striking visual effects of the game is the sky its unlike anything i have seen in a game of its calibre.

The sounds in the game are very authentic from the noise of a whizzing bullet passing by your head to the intrusive crackle of the radio as it sparks to life delivering a barrage of radio chatter. i was really surprised to see some of my favourite bands providing a pre-battle soundtrack for the game, which of course added to the realism. this time around the extra presence of a tough talking staff sergeant delivers the what to and what not to do’s, he surely isn’t subtle but he feels completely authentic as he spurs you and your team into action. one of the first missions in the game that really impressed me was one very similar to the hurt locker a movie which features the daily routines of an EOD member disposing of bombs and improvised explosive devices. you are sent into a village to provide support for an EOD team who are there to deal with a car bomb, soon after your arrival a fire fight erupts and you and your team have to fight off the attackers before they remote detonate the device. its really only a small example of how in depth and engrossing the missions are, many of the missions and fire fights verge on epic – you might not live through it but its always one hell of a way to go out.

Realism is something i keep mentioning when referring to red river because red river really is the most realistic combat experience on the market. there are very few bad points in fact i find it hard to say anything bad about the game, probably the only thing i didn’t like was how a lot of dialogue being shouted back and forth from fellow combatants seems to be repeated to frustrating results. though you yourself play the most important roll in turning the tide of war commanding and directing your fire team is integral and you will find yourself issuing orders to not only save your skin but theirs too – you need to keep them alive and that might be a little tough for most people.

Given the games ability to deliver a brilliantly crafted combat simulator it can easily be forgiven of any shortfalls that might pop up but after three or more play trough's i have noticed very little that could possibly drag it down. from playing the previous operation flashpoint game i expected a lot from red river and i wondered if it would abandon everything that made the original so good, thankfully it stuck to the same formula and the only minor changes were those of improvement. i enjoyed every moment of red river it was so well done in every way possible, i’m giving it a rarely awarded 10 out of 10. if you are looking for the usual run and gun corridor shooting call of duty type clone then you will feel far from home here but if you are looking for the perfect ultra realistic combat experience that doesn’t hold the punches instead pummels you whenever it gets a chance then red river is the way to go.

Operation Flashpoint: dragon rising (ps3/360/pc)

2011-05-03T20:53:00.001+01:00

I thought about playing this many times but anything i heard about the game made it sound like it was too difficult and punishing to be of any actual fun. given the lack of good shooters lately (most seem to be clones of call of duty) and given my curiosity of the game i went ahead and picked it up. in no way is it the easiest FPS i have ever played in fact its downright crippling, but it is one of the most realistic shooters out there – not because of graphics. the realism comes from how the game plays and how the AI react when drawn into a fire fight.

The story is well written though brief but you will feel like you are really fighting for something on the front lines. you are a marine sent to the island of skira, a 220-square km island off the eastern coast of russia. the island has been invaded by japanese forces who wish to take possession of the oil rich island and you and your team are sent in to prevent total domination. russia has turned to the usa for support and aid, the usa responds by sending in the troops, which means you and your team.

The game play is fast and unrelenting, you can’t just run in and start shooting everything or you will be taken out in an instant. it requires tactical skill and finesse the likes of which will seem alien to a lot of FPS fans. the controls are easy enough to pick up and took me almost no time at all to get used to. there are many different missions available ranging from simple search and destroy to recapturing a target, all of which require thinking and take time. don’t expect to be charging around destroying all you see, its not that kind of game you do have high powered weapons and guns but you don’t have vast never ending supplies of ammunition. never before have i seen a more perfect example of make every shot count, its easy to run out and enemy weapons picked up are not always that reliable so its best to conserve and use short bursts.

There are a number of weapons available and each one reacts just as you would expect, the recoil in the rifles and handguns especially are some of the best i have seen. the enemy too are well armed and seem to always have the upper hand, using tactics and well planned manoeuvres will most likely result in a win but not always. its a shooter so you will be drawn into situations where you have to engage the enemy, often at a distance and the enemy are far from forgiving. you will find yourself bleeding out from bullet holes more times than you can count, sometimes your team will be close enough to patch you up but not always. this crushing difficulty makes the game unique in terms of other shooters, you are far from bullet proof and even getting around the island can be a task in its own. though you can take control of some vehicles for the most part you will find yourself having to go on foot vast distances to get to where you are going.

Finishing the main campaign will take countless restarts but thankfully it provides a decent amount of checkpoints so you get back into the action without having to go back too far. there were some ridiculously hard missions that i thought i’d never finish but i found by changing tactics and improvising i finally got through, this game calls for a lot of improvisation because your enemy is not always easy to read. one of the big things the game has going for it is the vast expanse of the battlefield, you are not locked into place in a certain area you can go where you want and that’s where the realism really kicks in, if you want to flank an enemy you will have lots of room to more around – this also helps when you are low on ammo and need to avoid an enemy patrol.

Dragon rising is not the best shooter out there but it may be one of the best tactical shooters on the market (it was until the sequel Red River was released.) it is no doubt one of the hardest games i have ever played but also one of the most rewarding, there is a tremendous sense of accomplishment when you beat a mission – often after shooting your way through platoons of heavily armed enemy forces. the controls are solid and it handles well with a minimal learning curve, the graphics are not ground-breaking but they are not ugly either. the music is there when you need it but doesn't intrude on your concentration. there are some extra fire team missions available by simply inputting codes found easily on the internet, the fire team missions though short are challenging and will provide that extra boom as will the typical enough multiplayer maps and objectives.

Its not all straight forward though, some missions have objectives that must be completed under stringent time restraints so you really have to hustle if you want to get them done, frustrating yes but also it adds to the realism. another point that will put a lot of people off is the almost certain event of you being taken down by a stray bullet, sometimes it can be non fatal so you can get patched up quick enough but a lot of the time the stray bullet can be a deadly headshot planting you firmly in the ground. if you can get around these points and do appreciate a challenge then dragon rising should not be skipped over, just be prepared to have your ass kicked by the AI. i got tons and tons of play from the game and even though it wasn’t a walk in the park it was highly satisfying and so i’m giving it a 7 out of 10 – all it was missing was slightly more variation to the map, some more vehicles and more responsive AI for your own team. given that its an old game now i’d highly recommend playing the latest instalment “Red River”, it was a first day buy for me/delivered days of action and is currently my favourite shooter on the market.

Brütal Legend: game review (ps3/360)

2011-05-03T18:32:00.001+01:00

Perhaps one of the most under rated games i have played in a long time brutal legend was a pet project of game designer tim schafer, and it quickly turned into a game the likes of something you have never played before. its bizarre quirky and packed full of unique experiences that will have you playing for hours, if not days. for fans of metal it really feels special, not only does it address newer metal but also old or classic metal with well known characters like ozzy and lemmy playing pivotal rolls in the story. sure the main protagonist is voiced by jack black which for some people is reason enough to snap the disc in half but you would be missing out on a fun packed game.

You play eddie riggs a roadie for the latest in nu metal a band called kabbage boy (more like blink 182) during one of their shows riggs puts his life at risk to save one of them from a fatal accident, after being killed he finds himself transported to a brutal world ruled by demons who are bent on extinguishing the torch of metal music. he is not alone in his fight and he soon recruits troops to aid him in his quest, along the way he makes friends and enemies but his real foe are the legions of bondage loving demons who look like something from a clive barker movie (hellraiser much?) wish to rid the world of music and will kill anyone who gets in their way, now riggs who was used to a life behind the spotlight soon takes centre stage.

The style of game is unique and it advertises itself as a RTS (real time strategy – game) of course it has these elements but not at all like you would expect. you use your powers of rocking out to recruit an army of headbangers that can be used to tear down and destroy demons and those who want to cleanse their mythical world of metal. this is done by selecting what you want to attack, then sending a specific unit over there to get the job done. you can beef up your units by collecting the souls of loyal fans and by playing rocking guitar solo’s that appeal to the metal nature of your recruits. at first i found the RTS parts extremely difficult but once you figure out what unit to send into battle its gets easier – its also helped by the fact that you too can jump in at any time and dish out your own demon pounding powers. the game is about much more than RTS stage battles but you need to perfect the RTS to get ahead.

The world riggs ends up in is unlike anything he ever imagined, as a metal loving guitar playing headbanger it really appeals to his nature and to fans of metal it will too. its open world and its done beautifully, grotesque yes but it feels vivid and alive with uniqueness. the landscape is a mix of forests/frozen valleys/swamplands/jungles and even a sort of tim burtonesque dead world inhabited by all manner of ghouls and demons that i really liked. getting around the world is easy for riggs as he can summon up a deuce car at any time, the car can then be brought to a motor forge where the guardian of metal (ozzy osborne) resides. ozzy offers upgrades to your car and to your guitar, these upgrade can be used to kit you car out with weaponry and the same goes for your guitar. eddie carries a guitar with him which he uses to fight demons, it has many magical powers that result in devastating ways of destruction.

The game certainly lives up to its name it is extremely brutal and doesn’t shy away from violence or gore (though it gives you the choice at the start) but that’s to be expected. what i didn’t expect was a world full of stunt jumps and collectables all of which build up your experience points in the game unlocking new items and powers. using the guitar can at some times resemble guitar hero because the button pressing is very similar but it usually only takes a few seconds. the game also features a fun and intelligent online multiplayer mode that pits player against player, you get to choose what faction you want to be but if that’s not your cup of tea there is also an offline battle mode that serves as great practice.

Being a musically inspired game i did expect some good well known tracks but i was completely blown away by how many tracks feature in the game.. and how good they are! if you are a metal fan the music will seem like the best game soundtrack you ever heard and in a way it is. packed into the cars stereo are over 100 tracks by over 70 different bands, these include the following: black sabbath/judas priest/slayer/motorhead/children of bodom/inflames/marilyn manson/ministry/emperor/megadeth/dimmu borgir.. rob zombie! and much much more. the tracks are some of the bands best work and they perfectly blend into the world of brutal legend. some of the characters seem to be inspired by certain tracks as are some of the levels, “ghost in the fog” by cradle of filth plays during a dark and gothic battle with an evil female foe and yes there is fog. its this perfect blend of music mood and gaming that really makes the game shine and its not a once off either, i found that just when i thought the game couldn’t get any better it did. its not all RTS styled, there are so many collectibles to hunt out, tons of side missions that can easily be started and are all fun.

Not being jack blacks biggest fan is a terrible reason to not play this game, even not liking metal that much is another reason. it does grow on you and after a while you start to admire eddie riggs and what he is doing, he is not as i thought he would be a macho loud mouth demon killing death machine – he is just a guy on a quest and at times will surprise you. the voice acting in the game is fantastic with some of the main characters being voiced by the likes of tim curry/rob halford and lita ford but curry steals the show every time with his role of the demon leader doviculus. brutal legend is a solid playing fun packed and utterly unique experience, if you were considering playing it or are just not sure it would be any good then i’d recommend picking it up.

I love metal and i can tolerate jack black so i assumed everything else about it would be mediocre. what i didn’t expect was a great game that had gone under the radar of most open world fans for so long. there is DLC for the game but with the psn being down i have yet to purchase it. i’m giving brutal legend an 8 out of 10, two marks off for being a little frustrating when the RTS kicks in and not having good enough AI. Brutal legend is brutal and a metal lovers mash up of all things heavy and metal, if your head is not almost always banging up and down and your fingers not in the shape of devil horns then you probably won’t respect what its done but if you are.. prepare to have your world rocked!.

Apache Air Assault: (ps3/360/pc)

2011-05-03T16:46:00.001+01:00

Apache air assault is a flight simulator that puts you in charge of helicopters not planes. if you are a fan of the hawx series don’t despair as the game gives you one of the deadliest and most efficient gunships of all time - the apache. it may be too hard for most players as it requires a certain level of skill to play but if you are a fan of flight sims its a must have.

The missions are straight forward enough and offer a briefing at the start so you know what you will be doing, fighting terrorists and modern day pirates seem to be the order of the day and the game serves them up in bucketful's. The training too also helps you get the best out of your helicopter – again its not easy but in time it can be picked up. the levels are fantastic looking and for the most part appeal to the eye, however like a lot of flight sims once you come close enough to the ground it gets a little choppy. the thing is though if you are playing properly you shouldn’t need to be that low in the first place. when the action gets going the explosions and weapons all seem very realistic and look well polished.

The controls are and can be utterly frustrating to the point where you will start to really respect what real pilots must go through. there are a number of difficulty levels, each level changing not only the AI but the way you fly your vehicle – realistic mode is something i tried but gave up almost immediately after crashing into the ground constantly. the combat really feels fine tuned and helicopter’s are packed full of weapons to use on the enemy. it features everything you would expect from machine guns to rocket pods/hellfire missiles and so on. the thing i really liked about the game is the offline co-op, its fun to fly around with a friend either being a gunner or pilot – not a lot of games feature such in-depth offline co-op anymore and it was a big reason for me getting the game.

The game offers a vast number of boeing’s super beast that is the apache but other helicopters do pop up in the various side missions such as a russian mi-35 hind and the mq-8b fire scout but for the most part you will be flying apaches like the ah-64d logbow and the ah mk1 apache. it uses the same engine as il-2 sturmovik: birds of prey so it is at its core a very satisfying looking game that plays hard but rewards you for it. helicopters can be customized with decals letting you give your helicopter the perfect look, there are a lot of decals on offer so the perfect looking chopper is just a few button presses away.

The online multiplayer adds a little extra life to the game and it can be fun working together with another player but they could have done a lot more with it. its not a bad thing really but the opportunity was there to create a truly engaging multiplayer experience. in closing i’ll admit i really liked the game, the developers had previously made a game i enjoyed and i wondered if i’d feel the same about this one – trading a squadron of planes for helicopters could it work?. it did and its unique in that way but its uniqueness causes it to only appeal to a certain audience. if you like flight sims like tom clancy’s hawx or the sturmovik series i’d highly recommend giving it a go, it delivers in terms of combat and looks but not controls . i’m giving apache air assault a well deserved 9 out of 10, if it offered a little more in terms of mission types and multiplayer it would be a straight 10 – the controls could do with a little work too. it may just be a combat flight sim but for fans of the genre and of aerial assault vehicles its deliciously decadent eye candy.

HomeFront: game review (ps3/360/pc)

2011-05-03T05:11:00.001+01:00

Homefront is a first person shooter set in the year 2027, a world which has been attacked and ravaged by a nuclear armed korean republic. if this sounds like the film red dawn then there is a valid reason for that, john milius the writer of the movie also did the game. so you would think that having such a powerful story and setting would guarantee an almost perfect gaming experience – sadly its not.

The game starts with the USA being taken over by the greater korean republic, armed to the teeth and determined to destroy all that oppose them. you play robert jacobs a former marine helicopter pilot and all around hero type. jabobs is on his way to a re-education camp when he is busted out and promptly recruited into the resistance. put simply the resistance plan to take back their country using whatever means is available to them – they of course need jacobs for the plan to succeed.

What struck me first about the game was the gritty realism and often controversial story elements playing out in front of the gamer. war of course is not pretty and the game developers obviously wanted to push the limits of what to show in a game, this won’t appeal to everyone but its realistic and is an integral part of the story.

The game is like i said a third person shooter so a lot of the time it just feels a lot like another call of duty game. not always though, there are missions where you get to control tech like a robot or to fly a helicopter through a hillside valley in pursuit of an armed convoy. the problem with the game is simple, it does get epic and it does pack in the action.. but not enough. for me the game came to a halt once the action really got going, and then it literally was over. sure the action it did feature was fast fun and quite realistic but its unforgivable to not address the games length. its just too short, there are some good missions but they cannot overshadow the fact that once you really feel a part of something special the game punishes you by ending. when i was playing it my boyfriend joked that “oh that’s the end now” i laughed thinking there would be hours of more game play but we were both shocked when the credits rolled. given the hype that surrounded the game i made sure to buy it the morning it was released but i finished it in under 3hrs, i play games fast but not that fast.

The graphics are great in places and the realism can be amazing but there doesn’t seem to be a lot on offer in terms of lifespan. the music fits the game perfectly and is composed with the story in mind, the sound effects and lighting too are top notch. homefront is steeped in an undeniably horrific atmosphere where the vast majority of people have given up hope and you really feel it through the graphics. the campaign can be and for the most part is thrilling, even the AI feels highly polished. its a fast-paced in your face shooter that will deliver for fans of recent shooter games but at the same time you have to accept the short lifespan.

When you do finish the main game, and you will very quickly – there is the multiplayer. a lot of the time the online multiplayer feels a lot like call of duty but it does at times set itself apart from other shooters. as with most shooters you choose a class and build on that class through experience points. battle points are earned by completing set objectives and killing enemy team members but they can only be used in the one match, when the match ends your points are gone. weapons/vehicles and air strikes can be bought and used to a satisfyingly crippling affect on your enemy. there are a few different modes like deathmatch and ground control, most modes are fun and play well.

Story wise and graphically the game scores high, which you would expect from most modern games now but not always from shooters. character designs on screen can sometimes look a little ropey but most of the time its not noticeable. i wanted to like homefront and i was truly excited when i bought it but it just didn’t meet the hype it was getting before its release. perhaps if the game had been longer than 7 missions i would have been more impressed but by expelling the gamer from the action just as its getting really good feels like too much of a rip-off. in looks and atmosphere the game doesn’t feel rushed but in length it certainly feels unfinished and rushed. in past shooters i was used to short campaigns but homefront promised more and just didn’t deliver and so i’m giving it a 7 out of 10 – homefront is fast paced and brutally realistic but too short, i’d recommend it as a rental - and only a purchase if you want if for the multiplayer.

DLC is soon to be released consisting of extra missions both as robert jacobs and an unknown SAS soldier tasked with regaining control of hawaii. a sequel is supposed to be underway with london as a possible location for the next invasion, no doubt there will be hype but whether or not they address the life span of the original game remains to be seen.

Alpha Protocol: game review (ps3/360/pc)

2011-05-03T02:50:00.000+01:00

I had originally avoided this game and stayed far away from purchasing it when it was first released, why? because it received poor reviews from almost every gaming site and magazine out there. recently i picked it up just to see how bad it actually was, i was quite surprised to see it was actually the opposite – a very good game. why it got such bad reviews is simple, it starts off slow and the training can be enough to make you eject the disc but once you get out in the field its a different story – i’m assuming most reviewers didn’t play far enough into the game to see it.

You play michael thortan the newest member of the secret program known as alpha protocol. sent into the field on your first mission you are tasked to track down stolen missiles that are being used in terrorist attacks around the globe. starting in saudi arabia thortan sets out to bring the terrorists to justice but he soon learns that trust is far and few in his line of work. after the operation collapses thortan is forced to become a rogue agent using his skills in a desperate attempt to find the missiles and find whoever put them in the hands of the terrorists. what follows is a smartly written ever changing ballet of bombs and bullets played out whatever way you choose to play the game.

The game is original in that its an espionage/spy type RPG, a great idea if you ask me but its not easy to pull off. the RPG element works i think because it allows you to build the perfect character for the mission at hand, not only that it brings you deeper into the story and world by making you a integral part of the process. dialogue is used on enemies and friends alike, depending on the choices you make and the words you throw around you will either impress or annoy people – often to the point of them becoming your enemy and a threat to you on missions. however this can be used to your advantage, turn people to your side and they will help you by sending you intel or even offering help on missions by providing fire support or helping you get into secret areas.

That said it can be hard at first to figure out what makes certain characters tick but by doing your homework on dossiers or just getting lucky you can find out quicker and get them on your side. the characters range from fellow alpha protocol members to private contractors/mercenaries/gangsters such as the russian mafia/chinese triads and plain and simple psychopaths – all can be interacted with and all bring something different to the story. one of the most bondesque features seems to be the ability to romance female characters you meet along the way, in the world of espionage however not all is as it seems so you have to be careful not to get on their bad sides or they too can become a dangerous enemy.

For a third person RPG action adventure game it certainly delivers everything you would expect and tons more. as for guns and tech thortan is kitted out with safe houses and online contacts that can deliver black market weapons and gadgets. silenced pistols/assault rilfes/smgs/shotguns and all kinds of gadgets are available for use, and as you would expect the weapons can easily be customized to your liking. though it technically is a spying game you are not stuck with using stealth alone, if you want to go in silently taking down enemies with quick blows to the back of the head you can – if you want to blast your way through the game with high powered weapons you can – even if you want to use tech and computer skills you can. each different class allows you to do different things in the field, they also determine how effective you will be in your chosen field. not surprisingly all three of my play trough's so far have been under the guise of a spy, silent and effective kills/computers and gadgets used to break into systems and safes/using evasive techniques on the enemy and much more.

The graphics in the game are a little dated looking in some of the video clips but in the game itself/levels they look pretty good. each country or setting seems to be very authentic in details and looks like the work really was put in. it plays a little sluggish and confused at the very start but it soon turns into a solid almost epic in places experience that is easily missed by most gamers.

There definitely is a serious learning curve involved with how you play and how you go about using your gadgets and tech but once you get a grasp of it all the game opens up providing fun and tense action. originally i heard from people that the voice acting was appalling but i can say without a doubt that there is nothing wrong with the voice acting in any part of the game. the music is subtle for the most part but picks up when the action itself picks up – often adding a genuine feel to the environment. the sound effects and lighting are more or less what you would expect, its not heavily polished but it does the job.

I really find it hard to brand this game as of poor quality and unfinished, because it really isn’t. its a shame that so many reviewers chose to rate it so low when really its a top notch gaming experience. many sites stated it was full of glitches, however having played through the whole game three times i counted few glitches and any i did spot were extremely minimal and didn’t really affect the game. i wouldn’t recommend the game to just about anyone, as i said it has a learning curve but if you can stick with it you will soon see how rewarding it actually is. trophy hunters among us will find a wealth of trophies that can be picked up through fun and exciting missions. if you are a fan of the metal gear solid series or liked the recent james bond games you will no doubt find something positive in alpha protocol. in most places the game now retails for a cheap enough price so if you are curious like i was its worth trying it out, you never know it just might surprise you too. i really liked the game so i’m giving it an 8 out of 10 – lots of high explosive and intense evasive action all wrapped up in a unique package.

Medal of Honor: game review (ps3/360)

2011-02-21T15:08:00.001Z

The thing that put me off playing medal of honor when it was first released was the fact that there are already so many first person shooters on the market, that and that this particular one is based on the current conflict in Afghanistan. i didn’t want it to be forcing a particular view on me or indeed to change my own, going in all guns blazing may work well in games but not always in reality and so i waited for a while until i gave it a play through. so given the wait is the game all that? it actually is and then some.

In modern shooters the quality of story telling usually takes a back seat leaving the guts and glory to, well the guts and the glory. medal of honor actually excels here, the story is engaging and quite brilliantly told and played out. the thing i really liked was how it lets you play as part of 3 different teams yet its all linked together seamlessly so you actually feel like you have worked towards accomplishing something epic. normally in shooters especially war or combat simulators the characters are not very likable however in medal of honor they actually are.

Realism is where the game really comes into its own and there is no shortage of that realism. from gun sounds and dust filling the air after a bomb has been dropped medal of honor has it all. as mentioned the sound is fantastic, each gun sounds 100% as it should and not only that, they behave and look just as they should. superior graphics are something you expect in modern day shooters and medal of honor doesn’t hold back in the least. the landscape of Afghanistan may not be a lot to visualize but its amazingly reproduced, gritty when it needs to be and lush with detail all the way trough.

The single player campaign may be short but in comparison to most recent shooters its not actually that short and it depends on how quick you decide to go. the levels are well thought out and are great fun, each one has something special about it that really propels the story forward and you really feel a part of the story by completing tasks. there appears to be no learning curve as it is of course a shooter but if you do want to play it right then depending on the others in your team is a definite. the actual difficulty level of the game is not much to write home about and playing on hard mode is more like just playing on normal, this doesn’t take away from game play it just makes it a little less challenging the first time around if you don’t know about it – playing on hard is the way to go.

And on to my final conclusion. medal of honor is a good game with an engaging story and equally engaging combat and story telling. the levels are really well put together and they even add a level where you take control of an apache gun ship tasked with the challenge of taking down enemy positions will under fire by rpg and anti air guns. the music/sounds and graphics are all top notch helping to really establish the situation and to show what's at stake. the combat though light at times is some of the best i have seen in a shooter yet, parts even rival the famed call of duty series. as if all of that is not enough my copy came with an exclusive copy of the older medal of honor frontline game, it may be older with predated graphics but its a great game. so after all that (excluding of course the online mutliplayer which it has – i just didn’t play it) i’m giving the game an 8 out of 10. if they had just made the main campaign a little big longer it would be almost perfect. if you like first person shooters then medal of honor is surely one not to be missed.

I Spit on Your Grave: movie review (2010)

2011-02-10T15:05:00.001Z

Remakes seem to be common place these days especially when it comes to the genre of horror, cult classics like The Texas Chainsaw Massacre and Friday the 13th are just two of the widely known slasher flicks to get the modern treatment. when they were originally released they and many more like them set off a string of controversy leading many films to be banned completely – now it seems the consensus has changed, they are easily found on DVD yet their remakes are even more bloody more violent and more realistic. i have been a horror fan for as long as i can remember so there is a certain level of desensitiziation when it comes to both old and new horror, as much as i love the older cult classics i find myself continuously seeking out and tracking down newer reimagining's of the classics and in todays media driven world there seems to be no shortage.

The film is a remake of the 1978 cult classic of the same name, branded a video nasty by the film classification board and ultimately condemned by most critics it was to be banned almost world wide with some countries releasing cut versions of the film. over the past few years some countries have re-released the film under various ratings with various cuts of certain scenes, one thing that remains however is the controversy the film sparked in its day and so it comes as no surprise that a remake of the film has been released – again the controversy and again the same response from film critics world wide. i’m by no means easily led when it comes to someone else's feelings of a certain type of media, people are entitled to their own opinions and that’s why i always try to not judge a book by its cover whether it be a movie or a game, and so being an avid horror fan i had to see it for myself.

Jennifer Hills is a writer who seeking seclusion for her next book retreats to a cabin in the woods, little does she know that her arrival attracts so much attention especially from a group of morally deprived local thugs who set out to turn her world upside down. breaking into her cabin things escalate and what follows what can only be described as torture and abuse – both of those things are not uncommon in modern horror especially in films like Hostel and A Serbian Film. again though like its original I Spit on Your Grave takes it a step further with overly gratuitous acts of humiliation and intimidation which though expected were still shocking. like the original before they can kill her and do away with the evidence of their misdeeds she manages to get to a bridge where she lets herself drop into the waters bellow, over the next few days they continue to search the river for any sign of her body finding nothing – until she finds them. now the real theme of the movie takes over, the film is in essence a revenge tale where a great evil is done onto a person so they return that evil in large doses. absolutely hell-bent on revenge Jennifer spends the rest of the movie tracking down and brutally dispatching her tormentors using whatever methods are available to her.

as far as trumping over the original in terms of actual cinematic power it has, the acting especially on Sarah Butlers part is a big improvement as is the cinematography giving the film a gritty yet almost surreal feel. the horror itself is by no means tame nor is the gore, the second part of the film feels like what an older version of Hard Candy would be capable of if she were really pushed and this is why the film would have male audience members squirming just as much as their female counterparts. at the time of the original films release the charge was that the film shows deplorable violence to women (and it does) however some people said the main female role was a sort of ultra feminist in that she carried out such acts on her terrorizers – whatever the case two wrongs don’t make a right and the film was buried.

did i like the movie? it had its moments, like i said i like to follow up on horror remakes but would i recommend it to non horror/gore fans? not in a million years. it is extremely shocking and unforgivingly brutal in all aspects but at the end of the day it is only a movie, much like other remakes of similar video nasty's before it. in short if you don’t like horror and gore, if you deplored Hostel and the SAW franchise then you will hate this movie.

Demon’s Souls Sequel Announced: “Dark Souls”

2011-02-09T13:25:00.001Z

There were a few things that propelled the game demon’s souls to the status of a cult classic among gamers, some may argue it was the insane difficulty level while others will say it was the no nonsense in your face action – some may even say it was the innovative way multiplayer was designed and implemented into the game. whatever the reason was it comes as no surprise that another game is already in the works with a release date of 2011.

The following are a number of leaked details floating around the gaming community:

There is no DLC planned for the game, nor a demo.

The lifespan of the game is said to have over 60hrs of play.

The difficulty has been increased greatly over Demon's Souls.

Dark Souls shares the same themes as Demon's Souls: learning from mistakes and the joy of discovery.

There's no connection with Demon's Souls in terms of story or world.

As with Demon's Souls, the basic gameplay is based off classic RPGs -- things like character creation, obtaining weapons and items, leveling up, etc.

The biggest change, according to Hidetaka, is in the area of exploration. The action battle component is an important element, but on top of this, exploration of a large, seamlessly connected field is an important element. You walk to areas that you can see far off in the distance.

All the maps are connected, rather than having you move to each area from a shrine. This time, you head off on a journey from a large base of operations, and find smaller bases along the way as you progress further and deeper into your adventure.

There are far more areas with complex land formations of varying height.

The goal in character development is to get rid of elements that may hinder freedom of play style. This is why there's no job concept during initial character creation.

Weapons have a great variety of motions and special capabilities, and there are a great number of magic and item types. This will allow players to play in their own style.

Regarding network play, Hidetaka said that he can't share too many details, but the game will have cooperative and competitive multiplayer elements. You'll be able to call upon people to help you out when you're stuck.

The game will also have indirect online elements like the original -- seeing the images of other players, messages from the dead, and so-forth.

The game will not have its own servers this time, though, so elements like Soul Tendency from the original will not be here.

Dark Souls is set for release on PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 in fall 2011. Outside of Japan Both the PS3 and 360 release will be done by Namco Bandai

Dark Souls will be released in Japan in 2011. The game's overseas release on PS3 and 360 is being done by Namco Bandai leaving Japan with only a published ps3 version of the game.

Demon’s Souls: game review (ps3 exclusive)

2011-02-07T15:30:00.001Z

It seems that any time i play a recent release i’m nearly always so impressed by the graphics that i concentrate a huge chunk of a review on them or on some other quirky feature, Demon’s Souls however is different. the game is by far the hardest game i have ever played, through years of games nothing has even come close and its because of this that i wouldn’t recommend it to casual gamers wanting a quick run around – unless you like getting killed over and over again.

Unlike most rpgs on the market demon’s souls doesn’t actually have a lot in the way of story, which i found to be better because i don’t like getting bogged down in mind numbing conversations with characters when their are worlds to explore and demons to vanquish. the story though simple was intriguing enough for me to want to follow it to the point where i’d reach the very end and see what the final conclusion with the characters would be.

The world you play in is consumed by dark forces causing demons to awaken and tear up the very fabric of existence, by this i mean their main aim is to completely wipe out humankind. between the realities of life and death exists a place known as the nexus where the souls of those who are slain pass through on their way to the the next world. beneath the nexus lies an ancient being known as the old one, this being offers riches and power to those who give themselves up to its will. in an attempt to bring more wealth and prosperity to his kingdom the king of boletaria gave himself over to the ancient power but instead of the riches he dreamed of his realm was blanketed by a thick fog which brought with it hoards nightmarish demons that killed those who crossed them and drove the rest of the living insane. as time goes by many brave warriors attempt to heroically slay the demons and rid the land of evil but they are never heard of again, soon you too are to answer this calling where you enter the fog as humankinds last hope.

Like i said before and in previous blog postings the gameplay is unforgiving and brutally hard, its because of this that i wanted to play it, unfortunately i only recently managed to track down a copy of the game so i eagerly jumped right in. there are many original points about the game that make it a fun though tough gaming experience but the main one is this, when you die the game gets harder so if you continuously get killed the game will scale itself against you. now this might sound unfair and indeed it can be but it teaches you to be more aware and to fight better, the temporary release from this unfairness is the fact that the enemies always spawn in the same area so you will soon learn their patterns and know what to expect. the first time i played i was getting severely thrashed by the enemy AI which caused me to delete my chosen character and build a better one, the second time around it worked much better. similar to most rpgs once you start the game lets you build and fully customize your chosen character class but as you progress through the story it offers an in depth stats modifier letting tweak and perfect their skills at the cost of collected souls so you have a better chance of surviving the mayhem.

Apart from the ability to level up your characters skills and stats there is a wealth of weapons scattered throughout the worlds that can be used to fight with, almost all of these weapons can be modified or upgraded using stones or souls. pretty much every medieval style weapon is on offer such as swords/spears/bows/shields/daggers and various types of armour but you really need to upgrade your tools to stand a chance. magic too is on offer and it worlds really well on some of the many bosses you encounter on your journey, spells such as fireballs and clouds of poison really help to even the odds. the main key to progressing is really learning how to use your arsenal correctly, if you don’t quickly learn to use a shield you are not going to last long at all and if you don’t learn to strike when their guard is down again you probably won’t last long.

The enemies are wide and varied going from small mindless corpses to towering level bosses that guard the gates to the next area of the map. one of the things that really impressed me about the game was the amount of and quality of the bosses, modern games seem to not incorporate the idea as much as past games did but demon’s souls makes up for this in droves. right into the first level of the game you meet the first boss which can be taken down easily enough but is only a sample of what’s to come. as you get deeper into the world you encounter huge beasts that can decimate your character with a few hits but its refreshing to see the work that’s put into them, even if its only for a few seconds before they crush you where you stand. besides the bosses each world has a number of different kind of enemies laying in wait, some can be dispatched with the usual slash of a sword but others require the help of magic or a specific type of weapon.

The environment is really a mixture of everything you would ever need from an rpg, there are huge stone castles teaming with armour clad knights, pitch black tunnels crawling with life, dreary swamps infested with rotting jackal like creatures and a whole host of other clever and well drawn out places and predicaments. graphically the game is impressive, the lighting is done really well giving the game a realistic yet slightly other worldly feel to some of the worlds. levels like the tower of latria feel and look like something straight out of a lovecraft novel and their clever level design keeps you on your toes for evil lurking in the shadows or even traps. the sound is pretty much what you would expect from an rpg and though the soundtrack fits the game really well complimenting the story nicely its not quite as epic as it could be. other sounds like the clang of a sword against armour or the whish of an arrow are for the most part fitting of that weapon.

Apart from everything mentioned there is also a rather unique online mode which shows you ghost images of other players traversing the same world, but they are ghost images for a reason because what you are witnessing is their demise. why would anyone want this feature? its simple really this alerts you to hidden dangers even traps. another way to warn users is the message box you use to leave predetermined messages on the games landscape, if used correctly it can be a great asset to other players. if you don’t feel like helping other players you can always invade their world and kill them for their souls, be warned though just as you can invade theirs so too can they invade yours.

Demon’s Souls has been and still is one of the best yet hardest games i have had the good fortune to play, due to the games high difficulty level the games developers never really aimed it at a wider market and so many gamers have trouble tracking it down which is a real shame because its such a unique experience. i can’t really say anything negative about a game that openly admits to being such a difficult play, complaining about the various and many times i was killed repeatedly would be stupid because i knew to expect it all. the story like i said is minor so it forces you to just get on with the action and exploration side of it rather than slowing down for explanations. every little element of the game seems perfectly tuned to fit the world you inhabit which is what you want from a game but rarely is it ever delivered and in such scale too.

I can’t begin to calculate how many hours of gameplay you will get from the game because there is so much to do and it all takes time and effort but i recently finished the main story and that took at least two weeks. on finishing the story i was awarded with a fresh play through using all my stats/weapons/etc but with one major difference, not only had the game world opened some new areas it had gotten even harder. that’s right when you complete the story you are given the chance to replay it on a harder difficulty to pick up new items or missed achievements but unless you have perfected your skills and stats its going to be a brutal experience all over again. during the middle of my completing the game it was announced that another game is to be released, this time much bigger and much harder. for the time being i’m giving this one a 9 out of 10 and eagerly awaiting the arrival of the next in the series “Dark Souls”.

Demon’s Souls (two down.. many more to go!)

2011-01-30T13:38:00.001Z

After ditching my original character (the thief class) and playing as a knight instead the game has gotten a lot more less stressful, its still however ultimately unforgiving but at least now i have a better chance. i’d read somewhere that the best thing to do is just redo levels for items and souls but i really didn’t want to, soon enough i had no choice. its definitely helped me level up my attributes and collect up a satisfying haul of weapons and items, and surprisingly it doesn’t feel repetitive because i’m concentrating on a few worlds and not just the same one each time. i have met a few level bosses but only managed to kill two of them (the phalanx and the armour spider) – the tower knight is next. normally i wouldn’t post more than once on one game but demon’s souls seems to be one of the hardest and unforgiving games ever. not helping my progression in the game is the fact i have another stack of new games to get through over the next few weeks so i won’t be seeing the end in sight for quite some time. one thing is for sure even with the constant brutality and crushing defeats its still one of the best and most original games i have played in years so i probably will keep blogging about it for some time to come.

I met these guys in stonefang tunnel, easy to dispatch when on their own but tough as nails when in a group – creepy too.

I died ..and died ..and died some more (or “how the first level of Demon’s Souls played out”)

2011-01-25T23:41:00.001Z

Its only my second day of playing demons souls but its already been one of the most challenging games i have ever played, i would have played it sooner but i could never find it any game shops – perhaps its the difficulty level?. it took about ten times of dying until i managed to get to and slay the first demon in the game. its funny because i read that it was going to be tough and that it would take a long long time to finish but i thought they were just exaggerations. as tough and annoying as it is when you die without a save checkpoint its still probably one of the best surprise games i have played in a long time. my first character was a thief because i figured all the agility and sneaking would give me an advantage over the others but i totally got massacred over and over again, finally i built a new character this time a knight and the game is less brutal. given the difficulty of the game and lack of save points it should be quite an experience – i’ll get around to reviewing it in the near future.

Splatterhouse: game review (PS3/360)

2011-01-22T15:02:00.001Z

for those of you who remember the original game which was released in 1988 you will be in no way surprised to see that the series has recently been resurrected with new life and a lot of new blood. originally splatterhouse was criticized for being too violent and controversy soon surrounded the game in many countries, resulting in the game being toned down for some regions. though it had such a frosty reception from some groups it was an instant hit with gamers in both arcades and on home consoles leading to another two games being made soon after. the gorey hacking and slashing seen in splatterhouse is one of the earliest examples of survival horror as we know it and if it had not been for the series its possible that the survival horror genre may not have gained as much ground as it has in the past decade.

the story though similar to the original game is written by gordon rennie (judge dredd, necronauts, warhammer fantasy). when jennifer willis is invited to the house of the estranged Dr. for an interview her boyfriend rick taylor being the protective type tags along. for whatever quirky reason rick choses that night to propose to jennifer but he doesn’t get far, attacked by west jennifer gets kidnapped and rick is left for dead. during the commotion rick knocks over an ancient sarcophagus containing a mask which calls out to him telling him it will save his life and jennifers if he puts it on. with no other choice and the life force rapidly draining from his body he puts on the mask, instantly his body starts to change leaving him in the form of a large muscular beast who feeds on the blood of others to survive.

the gameplay plays a lot like the original in that you have to hack through and pulverize the many creatures you meet on your journey to rescue jenny from the clutches of the evil Dr. west. this of course is easily done because rick is for all intended purposes the hulk, and so the mayhem begins. the controls are simply enough and at the start bashing buttons will result in a guaranteed kill but bashing buttons will only get you so far because as the game progresses you will need to adapt and learn new combo’s in order to survive. executing special moves though incredibly violent and disturbing can be great fun and once learned serve rick well in his task. the terror mask that rick wears requires blood in order to reach its full potential so you get a certain amount for each creature killed, the blood collected can then be used to buy extra moves that level the playing field even more for rick.

included with the steady line of kick and punch combo’s is the ability to wield melee weapons such as 2x4’s, baseball bats, iron bars and even chainsaws and shotguns – all work well on the various creatures and demons encountered throughout the game. borrowing from the original game seems to happen a lot but its more of a clear thought out homage than a lifeless reimagining, even side scrolling makes a few appearances in the game giving fans of the original series a warm feeling inside. i was surprised to see how much jumping had been incorporated into the game, rick has to jump across crumbling bridges and platforms – timed wrong its fatal because under some of this jumps can be spikes or all kinds of traps. the creatures themselves though cannon fodder for the most part are not really that smart and going at them fists first can usually work but the game has its fair share of level bosses or super creatures which require not only lighting fast button bashing but thinking too.

the game is built in the style of a graphic novel but it caught me completely by surprise when i realised it was done with cel-shading.. i’m not the biggest fan of the look but it actually suits this game really well. there are many levels in the game all varying in different styles and looks and they are each rendered so well that i found myself stopping to look and marvel at the carefully constructed level design and lighting. the sound design is deeply atmospheric thanks to the score being composed by howard dossin (afro samurai, baldur’s gate) and complements the game perfectly with its almost nostalgic sound. when the action really takes off and during crucial battles the score is replaced by some of my favourite metal bands such as lamb of god, the haunted, mastodon and many more all lending some of their best tracks to the game.

so is the game that good? honestly i expected a few cheap thrills from splatterhouse, in short i didn’t expect much but i was wrong. the creatures are challenging enough once the game gets going and the platform puzzling elements all serve to slow you down just enough but not too much so that you are cursing the game. there were times when the fighting got so brutal that i doubted i’d ever get passed but once i upgraded my skills it was not a problem. in terms of replay value there is a lot of fun to be had, once skills are unlocked and the game finished it can be done again with those skills, there are a number of collectables to find such as audio journals from the deranged Dr. west and pictures dropped by jenny – trophies/achievements too are plentiful giving you that rewarded feeling a bit more than most games. even all 3 of the original games can be unlocked and fully played, if that’s not enough there is also a survival mode which really tests your skills. i really enjoyed splatterhouse and it was a lot of fun but its not going to be everyone's liking, if you don’t like gore and ..more gore then you probably won’t like the game but its worth a rental at least and a definite play for fans of the franchise, after a full play through i’m giving splatterhouse an 8 out of 10.

Gran Turismo 5: in-depth review (PS3 exclusive)

2011-01-19T15:46:00.001Z

Taking a whopping five years to fully develop gran turismo 5 is simply hands down the best racing game ever, normally i’d come to the conclusion on how good or bad a game was at the end of the review but instead i’m going to do a run down of the features of the game and why its a must own for ps3 racing fans. i originally wanted to review the game just after the launch in November but i got too caught up in racing goodness and wanted to get most of the trophies and win the events.

The original gran turismo series was spawned in the 90’s and upon playing it i was an instant fan. back then the method of play was simple, buy a cheap car and enter it into some low level races then use the money on said car to improve it for higher races and so it went. of course the option of a licence test was there too and in many cases you level up quicker by completing these tests first, i tried to do this but i was too much of a crazy driver to apply the calm finesse needed to pass these tests instead i went straight for the races.

In gt5 its a different story, the licence tests are still there only this time i have the skills and quite calm to execute the complex manoeuvres needed to pass the tests. and this is where gran turismo starts to make the most sense, if you are not grown up enough to play the game properly then don’t complain when you get no where, it does require a mature enough approach especially with its professional learning curve.

Gaming Modes

gran turismo 5 is split up into two major modes with a number of other modes or events thrown in. the main mode is A-spec and this as you might imagine is the heart of the game, its you yourself racing against computer controlled opponents, at first its easier but as the game progresses your opponents become more aggressive and more skilful in their driving.

the second major mode is B-spec and this is more like a driving managers take on the game. the car is driven by the computer against the computer but you issue commands that determine the outcome of the race, at first i wasn’t at all interested in this because i thought of it as lazy and boring buts its not. B-spec offers its own rewards such as credits for buying and improving cars and even cars themselves which can be very necessary when competing in A-spec.

there are like i said a number of special events included in the game such as TopGear challenge's (which are as you would imagine pretty zany) rally courses and races, mercedes AMG academy, Nascar racing, go Karting and many more – most of which get unlocked as you progress through the game.

Other Features

photo mode

being a photographer its no surprise that photo mode is probably one of my favourite added features to the game. this mode allows you to shoot your car either on the track or in a location mode that shows of the beautiful graphics that truly do the cars justice. photo mode gives you the option to choose between shooting modes and to generally experiment with very similar controls as you would find on a real SLR camera .

course maker

included is a fairly standard track editor which allows you to modify sections of a track or to simply build your own but given the amount of courses already available its not really needed.

arcade mode

plenty of racing fun to be had here be it local 2 player one on one racing, one player time trials or even drift trials.

online mode

the game boasts 16 player races, chat & lobbies, an online photo gallery where you can share your images or even your tracks and even a garage which can be used to share or exchange cars with other gt5 players.

The Cars

cars in the game are sorted into two categories premium and standard, no points for guessing what the difference here is. premium cars have detailed interiors and can be used in photo locations – in short they look stunning inside as well as out. standard cars are cars which look great on the outside but have no interior, standard cars are either won or bought in the used car dealership while premium are bought brand new for a lot of credits in the new dealership – very straight forward.

the number of cars in the game is a staggering 1000 with almost 200 of them being premium models. each car not only looks amazing but they are modelled so close to the real thing that they drive and perform as they would in real life. being no stranger to luxury cars offline i tested many of the top cars in the game to see just how well they performed to their real life counterparts and the results were as you would expect. Ferraris, Mercedes, BMW’s, Audi’s and many sports cars all looked like sounded like and drove like the real deal. the work put into the cars is phenomenal but it doesn’t end there. gran turismo games have always allowed the player to tune and customize their favourite cars be it in looks or pure speed. this time around it seems easier to tune a specific car from a purring kitten into a roaring lion, and you will need to if you plan on winning races.

Graphics

the graphics are astounding and probably the best i have seen on any system or console. the cars kick up spray as they race along a wet track, mist hangs in the air as cars cut through it at high speed, the sun and clouds reflect not only on the car exterior but also on the interior making it look so close to the real thing that sometimes on long endurance races i’d forget i wasn’t driving in real life. the new physics engine may not be to everyone's liking when it comes to damage, as the game progresses the cars take on more damage both cosmetically and physically – sparks will fly, dents will appear, exhaust fumes blacken the paintwork and even tires will wear out all of this completing the ultra realistic wonder of the game.

Sound

sound is a crucial part of the game and it wins here too. everything has been fine tuned to sound just as it should, the first thing i noticed about the sound was i could actually tell the difference between a V6 or a V8 engine. the sound of each car is simply put clear and distinct, cars not only sound like they do but they change depending on how you tune or modify them. the music included in the game is surprisingly fantastic with a huge selection of rock/jazz/pop and a bunch of other tunes, for the first few days i used classical but then i took advantage of the games ability to read the games off your ps3 and i let it synch up to my 320gb ps3 – there were a few issues with repeat and shuffling songs but all in all it works.

Conclusion

inclosing there really are not enough great things i can say about this game, i expected a nice little racing game to keep me busy for a few days maybe weeks but now its getting daily plays and my stack of new releases are just building up – most of them unplayed. gran turismo 5 is a game that takes time patience and even more time, its got a steep yet fun learning curve and you won’t be earning that dream car on your first few plays. i have been playing it ever since it was released on November 24th of 2010 and its only recently that i bought up most of the super cars by spending an insane amount of money. if you want a simple enough racing game then pick up one of the need 4 speed titles but if you want a real game that is challenging and rewarding at the same time then go for this. it may only be a racing game but its got so much on offer that if played right you will get hundreds of hours worth of play from it.

i’m giving gran turismo 5 a much deserved 10 out of 10 – it may have a minor flaw here or there but it does what its supposed to do with unprecedented style and elegance all beautifully wrapped up in the body of a fuel injected dream machine.

My Game Statistics So Far..

A-spec level: 25 B- spec level: 29

Game Progress: 79%

Current Credits: 7,424,105

Total Wins: 464

No. of Cars Owned: 139

Trophies Earned: 52%

Total Distance Driven: 23,933.4km

Gran Turismo 5 cars on eBay

2011-01-08T12:38:00.002Z

Gran turismo 5 was for myself and most ps3 owners a first day buy. for those of you not in the know its a racing simulator made exclusively for the ps3, the team who developed the game worked on a number of other GT games for every console sony have released since their initial launch back in 1994.

The game has a learning curve that starts off straight forward enough but the final set of races require more than just driving skills alone, they require fine tuning cars to perfection some cases this involves tuning the car for each specific track. of course to even come close to finishing these races one must possess the cars themselves and this is where eBay comes in. ordinarily cars can be earned by winning races or by simply buying them with the credit won from races. the developers included a trading feature this time which allows online users to gift each other cars but some people are starting to exploit this feature to make real cash. i didn’t believe this at first until i took a trip over to eBay, .co.uk didn’t have much listed apart from a few gift cards but .com was a whole other story.

The vast majority of the cars start between two and five dollars but there are some ridiculously priced ones that are advertised from as much as fifty to three hundred dollars. who would buy these cars? people who bought the game of course. don’t get me wrong i like the idea of a gifting system between users but not for profit. i have yet to use the feature myself because i’m almost finished the game and i got there by just persisting and choosing the right cars and tune-ups. its probably just a phase while the game is still popular but these eBay styled deals are starting to pop up on gaming forums and sites all over the internet.

My top 10 albums of the year

2011-01-01T15:38:00.001Z

Rob Zombie: hillbilly deluxe 2
Disturbed: asylum
Katy Perry: teenage dream
Eyes set to kill: broken frames
Apocalyptica: 7th symphony
Korn: III remember who you are
Stone Sour: audio secrecy
Angelspit: hideous and perfect
Hawthorne Heights: skeletons
Coheed & Cambria: year of the black rainbow

All mentioned are albums that were released in 2010. it wasn’t the best year for music so i ended up listening to a lot of previously released work.

Last.FM: lisatiffanypaws

My top 10 movies of the year

2011-01-01T15:08:00.001Z

Inception
Alice in Wonderland
Shutter Island
Kick Ass
From Paris with Love
Eclipse
The A-Team
Machete
Hot Tub Time Machine
The Crazies

My top 10 games of the year

2011-01-01T14:23:00.001Z

Dead Rising 2
Assassins Creed: brotherhood
Red Dead Redemption
Gran Turismo 5
Castlevania: lords of shadow
GTA: episodes from liberty city
Guitar Hero: warriors of rock
Fallout: new vegas
R.u.s.e
Heavy Rain

My favourite photo’s of the year

2011-01-01T13:02:00.001Z

2010 was a very busy year for me but i still managed to capture some great images either through work or just out and about. every year i go through the majority of what i snapped choosing my favourite's for prints or stock , below is just a sample of what i like to call my best of the year. all images of course are copyrighted and i appreciate any feedback or comments – thanks.

The Irish air corps screaming overhead at the bray air spectacular.

Samuell Beckett bridge designed by Santiago Calatrava.

Painting the body by light. thanks to James my model.

Dublin city hall, Eire.

Bike terminal on Stephens green. a common sight now around the city.

The beginning of and end result of a new hobby.

Over 20,000 people participate in pride 2010.

Happy New Year 2011!

2011-01-01T12:17:00.005Z

Happy New Year to you!
May every great new day
Bring you sweet surprises
A happiness buffet.
Happy New Year to you,
And when the new year’s done,
May the next year be even better,
Full of pleasure, joy and fun.

lisatiffany x

Dead Rising 2: game review (PS3/360/PC)

2010-11-10T15:38:00.005Z

Zombies are everywhere these days from movies to games they have infested our cities our pubs and even.. Vegas, that's right its the sequel of the 2006 zombie smashing hacking and slashing hit Dead Rising.

The first game had you running around a shopping mall taking out zombies but giving you the option to save survivor's which in return netted you bonus points. this time around its pretty much the same deal except the story plays a more important part in your gaming experience and its much more open ended with almost double the lifespan.

You take on the role of chuck greene a former motocross star who is forced to enter a game show with a difference in order to buy the medication he desperately needs for his daughter. that game show is TIR - terror is reality, and the main aim of the game is to kill more zombies than the other contestants, simple enough really until the zombies escape and overrun the city tearing apart everything and everyone they come into contact with. so now with 3 days until the military arrive chuck has no choice but to fight it out until help arrives – there is of course the small matter of his daughters medication too.

So surviving the 3 days really is all up to the player, you have pretty much an open world to explore and game through which is similar to the original game but being set in Vegas its bigger and much more vibrant. crazy is a word i have used to describe this game many times and within the first 5mins of gameplay you will see why. chuck has at his disposal an almost limitless amount of weapons and props to use against the undead, these range from simple golf clubs and antique blades to pretty much anything you want or can find laying around. going to a hunting store will net you sniper rifles/shotguns and the like while going to a sports store will result in bats/clubs/rackets and even balls, that's right balls. this is where DR2 really shines, there is an almost limitless amount of novelty items to twist and turn into your very own killing tools. crafting your own items can be challenging at first but once you start to progress you will receive combo cards which work as a blue print in weapon design. i found that a simple bat with some nails worked wonders but you can get as creative as you choose.

Being set in Vegas means there is gambling aplenty to be done but its not always so easy to win, you can increase your luck at gambling by picking up gambling magazines in bookshops and scattered around zombie infested casino’s. the books also serve to raise the skill level of other things like your combat and even driving. the driving in the game actually works quite well but you have to buy whatever vehicle you want and no matter how many times you do playthrough you won’t be able to afford them unless you start gambling.

The enemies range from your average stumbling zombies to shoplifters trying to score big to my personal favourite, the psychopaths. these are individuals who have been affected by the zombie outbreak and they put up one hell of a fight but beating them gets you big reward points and most lead to more survivors who will tag along with you. the psychopaths all have their own unique traits but they all have one thing in common, they are hard as nails to beat and don’t expect to beat even half of them the first time round, but this is where one of my favorite features comes into play. the game gives the player the ability to quit at any time so they can start a new game but with all the skills and points they had from the last game. this really works in building up a stronger character with superior combat skills and a much higher chance of surviving.

There really is so much i could say about this game and i did indeed play it to death, mostly for the achievements but also because each playthrough was so different. the world is so open you can do whatever you want and save or not save the others hiding around Fortune City, its really up to you. the level design is top notch with wide spacious malls packed with stores/costumes/weapons – casino’s filled with slot machines and zany games which can be played, and so much more.

Dead Rising 2 is a game i really can’t say anything bad about, its was hugely enjoyable playing though your first playthrough will be the hardest. i’m giving it a 9 out of 10, i’m removing 1 point because of katey’s zombrex needs – though the medication could be obtained with a little work it sometimes felt repetitive getting back to her with it in time.

Things not mentioned: online co-op, i never tried it - DLC available: mostly costume packs, Ninja, Psychopath, Sports & Soldier.

Tom Clancy’s HAWX 2: game review (PS3/360 & PC/Wii)

2010-10-09T13:00:00.002+01:00

Being a big fan of the original game i really wanted to place this and so i snapped it right up on the release date. the first game centred around around high-tech air combat with a plethora of planes to choose from, this time around the formula hasn’t changed but does it still work.

The short answer is of course yes it does, it really does. the story takes place just after the original game with the team being deployed to the middle east where terrorist attacks are on the increase, this changes when three Russian nuclear weapons go missing and they are tasked with tracking them down. tracking nukes down in planes may sound a bit ridiculous but the missions are set up in a way that the player can and does influence what happens with the nukes.

The original game relied on planes to get the job done and though there was nothing wrong with that the developers have added a little twist to the game play this time in the form of UAVs. you will of course be tasked with take out strategic targets and installations but this time around you can recon the area with a UAV and in some cases destroy targets with armed UAVs. along with this of course comes the use of a gun-ship which can fire 3 different ranges of heavy artillery, these are evident the most in the rescue mission where you have to provide air support for your allies on the ground. there have of course been other improvements such as being able to land your aircraft but that also raises the difficulty when it means you have to land your plane on an aircraft carrier at night. the combat itself is high octane driven with a steep enough learned curve but once you enter the zone you will gain air superiority over your rivals.

One of the features that really stood out too me is the upgrades system which in many ways reminded me of modern warfare 2. my finishing in game challenges you gain experience points and with these xps you can upgrade your planes, the upgrades themselves come in all shapes and sizes with all kinds of categories from evasion to damage. the reason this system works so well is because by having a tough plane if you do play through the story missions again you will have the upper hand on the enemy. another feature i enjoyed was survivor mode which just like it sounds involves waves of enemies coming at you with everything they have, once the timer reaches zero the game ends but its no walk in the park.

Graphics wise the game is quit impressive but my main gripe with the game is this, the video clips are sometimes awful and i’m talking playstation one awful. the reason for this i’m sure is the connection between HAWX 2 and the new future soldier game yet to be released, the footage is just lazy and really made me wonder if they rushed the release, luckily nothing else is lacking detail. this time around planes will take damage more realistically from the new damage system and the AI is greatly improved giving a more challenging game experience. if it were not for the sometimes ugly video clips (there are a few, about 30% of the video) i’d give this a higher rating, the graphics/music and of course game play are all top notch but the difficulty may not suit all gamers. if you were a fan of the original its a must play but if you are a casual gamer i’d say maybe rent it first. 8 out of 10, its losing a mark for the video and for some of the missions not allowing some of the unlocked planes.

my favourite aircraft the russian SU-47 berkut makes an appearance.

IL-2 Sturmovik: Birds of Prey: game review (PS3/360 & PC)

2010-10-09T12:04:00.002+01:00

Il2 is as you would imagine a flight simulator with the main focus being on combat, there have been previous instalments of the series on the pc but i have never played them so i won’t be referencing any differences between them and this new one.

The game takes place during world war 2 with the player controlling the side of the allies. a wide range of battles are rein acted beautifully from the battle of Stalingrad to the battle of Britain and many more. the game is not just confined to the major battles as it also includes many lesser known operations all testing your skills of both flight and combat.

Graphics wise the game has some of the best visuals i have seen to date at times they even rival other flight combat simulators such as Tom Clancy's HAWX. one level where the graphics particularly shined included search lights piercing the dark clouds of an aerial battlefield, everything looked and sounded ultra realistic. there is no doubt the visual work of the game won me over from the start with the incredibly accurate plane interiors but even the sounds are authentic, sometimes loud and bombing while you get torn up from a flak unit bellow – sometimes screeching while a dive bomber gets you in its sights.

The game play is solid, the missions though sometimes a little bit repetitive are both fun and engaging. there is certainly a lot of life to this title too as you unlock more and more extra single player missions along with a whole host of planes. as a combat flight simulator it has everything you would expect so it wins there but as a pick up and play game it has more than enough here too. trophy hunters will be glad to hear there are a satisfying enough amount of trophies to pick up and you will be earning them in no time. IL-2 impressed me so much in every way i’m giving it a 9 out of 10 – if you are a fan of aerial combat simulators its a must buy.

YLOD - PS3 yellow light of death strikes again...!

2010-10-01T12:49:00.007+01:00

A year or two ago if someone told me the ps3 could fry up like the 360 i would have not believed them, surely Sony wouldn't ..couldn't allow such a thing to happen but yes they can and they did.

Two weeks ago while playing a game (R.U.S.E i think) the ps3 gingerly turned itself off once.. then twice after which there was no third time just a annoying yellow light with no way to get the console going again. naturally i freaked and started Googling what to do, contacting Sony was out of the question for the simple fact that the stories of refurbished consoles/tech support were the stuff of nightmares so i started looking for a business that specialized in console repairs. i quickly found said business and once the work was done (new parts were ordered and the chips were re-applied) she is back working like a dream, as for price it was only 50 euro's - the price of a new game here. in the past i had seen many red lights of death on various 360's but i didn't think it was possible with the ps3. i kept the console in a well ventilated area being careful to never overheat the unit but it seems after two years (turned on the first time on the 29th of april 2008 - GTA IV bundle) it was literally played to death. the fact a console can do that to itself is really annoying and problematic but the positives in my own case are very good - i lost no data/saves/etc, there was no serious damage to the console - i got my own machine back and not a refurbished one, and lastly it was cheap to repair - some people have told me they had to pay 150 dollars they have theirs repaired by Sony.

Now that my on ones been repaired i can get back to playing and reviewing games. coming up will be Tom Clancys HAWX 2/R.U.S.E/Sturmovik/Dead Rising 2/Castlevania: lords of shadow, and of course the next installment of Medal of Honor. my advice to anyone who does get the YLOD of death is to not freak out too much, just see if there are any local repair companies in your area - i found that most places offer no fix no fee and it sure beats buying another console.

SAW: game review (PS3 & 360)

2010-09-05T14:09:00.005+01:00

Taking over after the SAW movies comes SAW the game. the character you control is that of David Tapp, a detective obsessed with catching the infamous jigsaw killer. his obsession quickly leads him into jigsaws biggest game yet, being a pawn in an ultimate test. waking up in an abandoned insane asylum he quickly finds how real the situation is, driven by his determination to bring jigsaw to justice he has no choice but to stay and play jigsaws deadly game.

The first thing the game developers did was successfully recreate the feel of the films in such a uniquely way that dangerous as it is you just want to explore it inch by inch. doing so will not only put you in the path of jigsaws maniacal traps it will also put in direct contact with the other inmates… that’s right jigsaw has concealed a key to the exit inside of your chest and people will be hell bent on getting it out of you to gain their freedom. the environments themselves like the movies are dark/dank but beautifully rendered, yes the game oozes atmosphere at every level.

the lighting is fantastic with everything from flame effects to the little blips of CCTV cameras adding unparalleled realism. the building itself is abandoned so expect decaying floors “pitfalls”/pitch-black offices/cold operating rooms and much more… of course the levels would be nothing without jigsaws own personal touch. some of the traps such as the jaw-split and shot-gun collars will be instantly recognizable to SAW fans but there are a whole host of new traps designed specifically for the game each one mechanically different from the other but equally as horrific.

Adding in the element of other people roaming the asylum really sets the game into overdrive, i soon found out that they don’t just attack with whatever they can find scattered around the environment “bats/iron bars/furniture” but they will also set traps of their own so the player is constantly on watch for trip-wires that could lead to a very sticky situation.

Being in the SAW universe means that the player has to work their way around puzzles to not only free themselves but to also free others. Each major stage of the game has the player work to gain the freedom of jigsaws other victims, often they are there for their own personal reasons but some are directly linked to Tapp.

Ok so as a diehard SAW fan i can admit playing the game i really was in my element and so it would have been hard for me to find any faults in the game… but i did. my first gripe with the game was the fighting system it seems that if you get the first punch in then you win the fight, but if they get the first punch then they win. of course you can change the odds drastically by swinging an iron bar or nail-bat at their heads… this is SAW after all. my second gripe is with the puzzles themselves, although most of them are very well created and implemented i found myself looking for tips on YouTube and Google. of course the puzzles are supposed to be challenging and the brain teasers tricky but on many occasions i found it being a bit much when i couldn’t work a puzzle because the gas being pumped into the room kept throwing me off. the best example of this would be would be a puzzle that involved me connecting up three circuit boxes under an impossible time limit while the room filled with gas… i got it after about 10 tries.

So my final conclusion is this: SAW is actually a great game with stunning visuals and edge of your seat game-play which should be experienced by SAW fans and survival horror fans alike. if you are a fan of neither then there may not be enough to there to keep you playing, the ultimate question remains… do YOU want to play a game?

New Hobby: Modelling

2010-08-23T13:36:00.004+01:00

If you can’t tell i don’t mean modelling as in fashion i mean building modelling kits, i started a few months ago and so far its turning into quite the hobby. my first kit was a russian battle tank by revell which i found easy enough to build (except for my first run in with tracks!). painting it was a whole other story, i think the paint went on way too thick but then it was only my first try and i expected it to turn out much worse.

The following kit is a set of russian special forces known as vimpel, the kit is by zvezda and went together realy well, even the painting seemed to be less complicated than the previous kit. i changed the colours slightly to make them look more like the irish special forces unit. the vimpel were formed as an elite team to deal with terrorism against the soviet union and its states.

Israel's main battle tank came next, the merkava mark III. like the russian tank above it too was a 1/72 scale model by revell. this time there was a few little problems, the main one being when the top part of the tank had to attach to the bottom a gap was left so i made a sort of tow-bar out of left over plastic and filled the gap in, it actually worked. the next problem was the decal sheet that came with it, the decals fell apart so i had to paint most of them by hand. other than that it was a good build and i’d build it again in a bigger scale like 1/35.

The next kit i tried was a german artillery vehicle known as the panzerhaubitze 2000, popular in modern warfare combat zones such as afghanistan. again the kit went together with very little problems and there were no issues with the mould itself. the pzh is quite a remarkable vehicle that has enough firepower to take out the competition the move away without being detected. i spent a long time painting this kit because i wanted it to be as close to the real thing as possible, in the end i think i did a good job with the modern german camouflage scheme.

Finally i’m posting some pictures of a rather quirky camo design i tried, mostly i wanted to see if i could do something different so i picked another modern german kit by revell. the leopard 1A5 is one of germanys main battle tanks so it looks a lot like many other tanks used in modern combat, i figured i might as well try unique camo on something i could always paint properly lately and there are a few different versions of the leopard. for paints i used a mixture of brands from revell/tamiya and even games workshop.

Completed kits in order of build

Russian t80-b tank (Revell 1/72nd scale)
Russian vimpel antiterrorist unit (Zvezda 1/35th scale)
Israeli merkava mrk III tank (Revell 1/72nd scale)
German panzerhaubitze 2000 (Revell 1/72nd scale
German leopard 1a5 tank (Revell 1/72nd scale)
German leopard 2a4 tank (Revell 1/72nd scale) (pics TBC)
German ksk commando unit (Trumpeter 1/35th scale) (pics TBC)

To view larger and more in-depth images of the kits mention head along to the following set on Flickr

An afterthought.. i don’t see war as the answer to any of the worlds problems nor do i support any specific armed forces. i’m simply busying myself with the kits provided by companies like revell and such. on another site someone questioned my liking of palestinian's because i built the merkava tank – not the case. that kind of backwards thinking is something i like to avoid.

Dublin Pride 2010 - "we are family too"

2010-07-02T12:45:00.007+01:00

Well Over 20,000 people including yours truly took to the streets of the capital last weekend for the Dublin Pride Parade, the theme this year being "we are family too".

Participants assembled at the Garden of Remembrance in Parnell Square and marched along O’Connell Street and Dame Street to Christchurch for the Pride in the Park Party. The party, which took place at the Civic Offices in Wood Quay, is the centrepiece of the week-long lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender festival. The annual event has been running since 1992. The grand marshall of the parade was Dr Lydia Foy, who won a landmark legal case declaring that a person who underwent a sex change had the right to have his or her new identity recognised in official identity documents. I was there with my camera snapping and my legs marching, I added 100 colourful pics of the event onto flickr so why not pop along and have a look.

Pride 2010 pictures by ©lisa tiffany photography