Red Dead Redemption: Undead Nightmare

There were many great games that came out during 2010 but one of my favorite was Red Dead Redemption. I found the game incredibly immersive and fell in love with the lonely Old West as did many.

I was a little skeptical when Rockstar announced Undead Nightmare, however, as at that time zombie-mania was at a high and I found myself disliking several zombie games already including Dead Rising 2 and Left 4 Dead 2. Well I’ve just finished Undead Nightmare and I can happily report the game is as awesome as Red Dead.

So, what’s going on in Undead Nightmare? Well the game should be considered a narrative arc; it takes place before the ending to Red Dead. During this arc something has gone terribly wrong and the undead have risen. Having no concept of zombies, as it is 1910, you can imagine the populace is panicking something fierce. When John Marston’s family become infected he sets off to find a cure.

You’ll quickly learn two things about Undead Nightmare; ammunition is very scarce and no-where is safe. Every town and bandit hideout you remember from Red Dead has now come under siege from the walking undead and it is within your own interests to help the survivors there.

By liberating towns you’ll gain access to a small amount of ammunition, a new weapon (including new ones not in Red Dead) and a place to save your game, fast travel or change outfits.  After a town is saved it’ll have about three days, game time, before it’ll be attacked again. It is best to go back and save them especially if you’re a trophy/achievement hunter. Due to this I found myself relying more on the in-game autosave as manually saving the game will advance time by six hours.

Saving different towns will also gain you access to the main story missions and Survivor side missions. There isn’t as many as in Red Dead but as Undead Nightmare is an add-on and not a full game so you shouldn’t expect it to be as long. Those missions are as fun as the original game though, even more if you’re a big zombie fan. Challenges also make a comeback and are just as fun as the original with a nice zombie twist. Besides hunting zombies in a variety of different ways you’ll also take a crack at hunting undead animals too.

Did I mention all of the animals from the original game are now undead as well? That includes horses and it’s here I have a small problem. You’ll start the game with a regular horse but if it dies you’ll end up with one of the ‘beautiful’ beasts you see to the left there. These are the most annoying of creations. They constantly veer off to the left no matter how hard you try to steer them otherwise. Considering the horse is the only mode of available transport in this game being stuck with one that has awkward steering is very irritating. You will have the chance to capture some mystical horses throughout the game but even they can die if you’re careless. Care for a little, under the table, tip? Sometimes you’ll see a survivor riding a normal horse… you know what to do.

Lets move onto the graphics; they’re basically the same as in Red Dead. The zombies are rendered very well and a headshot produces a satisfying gory explosion which is always fun. I really can’t say much about the graphics but I do have two criticisms. The first involves the rendering of fire; it could be much better. Comparing fire in GTA IV and Red Dead Redemption and I believe GTA IV comes out on top which makes me wonder why it couldn’t be recreated in Red Dead? Secondly, the map whether zoomed out all of the way or zoomed in all of the way is fuzzy. It can be hard to pick out details because of this and it’s even replicated on the compass. I know, I’m nitpicking at this point.

All in all Red Dead Redemption: Undead Nightmare is an awesome add-on to an already awesome game. Through games like this and GTA IV I’ve become a huge fan of Rockstar. If you enjoyed Red Dead you’ll enjoy this and if you’re a fan of zombies then you’ll really enjoy the rare combination of zombies and gunslingers.

The 2011 Wishlist

We’re well into 2011 with January soon drawing to a close and I’ve decided to share my personal 2011 wishlist of games new and old.

The other games I’m looking forward to this year, but I can’t find covers for, include The Elder Scrolls IV: Skyrim ,Final Fantasy Versus XIII and L.A. Noire. I’ve been hearing rumors about a GTA V as well but that’ll probably be a 2012 release. 

Gran Turismo 5: In Depth Review

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.

Top 5 for 2010

2010 has seen a big rise in gaming for myself and I’m very fortunate to have had access to a great selection of games right from the get-go.

As such I’ve decided to choose my top 5 from the games that I’ve played throughout last year.

And here they are in alphabetical order in both text and a cover art display:

• Assassin’s Creed II
• Batman: Arkham Asylum
• Bioshock
• GTA IV: Episodes from Liberty City
• Tom Clancy’s H.A.W.X.

As far as 2011 goes, well it’s already off to a great start with Final Fantasy XIII. One of these days I’m going to have to get my hands on a PS2 and go on a Final Fantasy binge.

Lisa's top 10 games of 2010

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

The Great Slump

The great slump, the long break; a period of time a gamer experiences when they have little interest in gaming. It can happen to any gamer and probably will more than once in their gaming life. For some it can occur every couple of weeks or months, maybe just once a year. The variance in how long it lasts is great too although I believe all gamers eventually go back into gaming sooner or later.

The reasons for the slump are also quite varied and personal. For some the lack of anything new on the market can drive them into the slump. For others it can be a case of too much repetition in the games they’re playing or perhaps the trophy hunter who needs a break from the tedious hunting.

I’m experiencing a sort of slump at the moment. It all started when I decided to try and finish Mercenaries 2… again. Everything was going well and I was enjoying the game; who doesn’t love blowing up buildings or running through sheds with tanks? Unfortunately I always get to the middle of that game and my interest dries up. I don’t get why but it’s happened twice and it remains unfinished. It’s a shame but there you go.

It didn’t matter too much, however, because we’d just picked up Gran Turismo 5. So I threw myself into that and I was loving it. I was doing great in A-Spec and I even better in B-Spec. I was building up a great fleet of black cars and finally managing my money a little better. It was all going so well and then my interest peaked and went; again I don’t know why. I guess the game just couldn’t hold me.

This left me in a crap position. Ideally I would’ve liked to play Red Dead Redemption, collect all the trophies possible, then follow it up with Undead Nightmare. Unfortunately with it being so close the Christmas investing in a new game just isn’t viable. In about a week and a bit I’ll be heading away to spend Christmas with my girlfriends family and when I get back I’ll have Final Fantasy XIII which I’ve been looking forward too; RDR and Undead nightmare will have to wait.

So here I am in the slump but unlike many slumps this one has some gaming in it. While I can’t start anything new I can fall back on old reliables to get me through. I love a game with a great storyline so I’ve fallen back on GTA IV: Episodes from Liberty City. Why? Because both episodes and, indeed, GTA IV have well written storylines that are just fun to play without the worry of trophies or any such thing. I’m hoping these will carry me through the slump to Christmas and after that… a new year of gaming. 

Dead Rising 2 ..viva Fortune City

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 favourite 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.

Rainbow Six Vegas 2

Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Vegas 2 is a squad based tactical first person shooter… most of the time.

It’s brought to us by Ubisoft, specifically the Montreal division. I don’t know where Red Storm Entertainment has gone but I guess it matters little.

As I said before RSV 2 is squad based, you’ll usually have another two guys with you at all times. Many people are probably groaning at the moment as they imagine how horrible the A.I is going to be but I was pleasantly surprised at how fluidly it comes together.

Team mates are handy for a number of things. The first is using them to leap frog down a corridor or through a large room; they move forward, you move forward, etc. It’s an effective way to maintain covering fire or draw out enemy fire, both which are needed in various levels. Secondly, team mates can be ordered to move up to a doorway and then enter it in a variety of ways; breach charge, flashbang or sweep and clear. All very fun and all working pretty well together. Trust me, it’s the levels  without team mates you’ll be frustrated at.

Graphically RSV 2 isn’t really up to scratch with the current line-up of FPS’s; Killzone 2, Bad Company 2 and Modern Warfare 2. It was a little reminiscent of the older Rainbow Six games but it really didn’t matter to me in the end. The graphics are good enough to enjoy the game; I find with a good FPS you should be drawn into the intensity of the action so the graphics to not become overly apparent in any deficiencies.   

Gameplay is also pretty good. I’ve already mentioned the squad based stuff which is a nice and integral element to any Rainbow Six game. You can follow this up with a little customization. At the beginning of each level you can usually change your weapon loadout and there’s plenty to choose from too; sub machine guns, assault rifles, light machine guns and sniper rifles are available. Each weapon can be customized with different attachments as well. Furthermore you can choose your armor loadout. You’ll get to choose between light, medium and heavy; each one modifies your mobility offset to the protection it offers. I have to admit though despite wearing the heaviest armor I didn’t see any noticeable drop in mobility and it’s not like you’ll be running around anyway.

All in all it is sounding pretty good so far, right? I’d have to agree but what really makes a Rainbow Six game is the storyline. So how does this one pan out? I was disappointed to be honest. There’s a major story element at the start of the game that in my opinion happened far to fast, this coupled with the often low sound of characters taking through mics meant that I wasn’t entirely aware of what was going on.

This could very well come back to bite you in ass later on in the game in terms of understanding the storyline. Fact of the matter is I was never entirely sure how one of the main characters, Alvarez, came into the game in the first place. It just wasn’t made that clear. However, I played along with the storyline and I was having a good time. There were a few frustrations here and there; unexpectedly being shot in the head and going down as I turned a corner for example. Nothing major though… until I came to the end of the game that is.

I don’t want to go into too much detail and ruin the ending for anyone but it has to be said this is one of the worst endings I’ve seen in a game. It completely ripped apart the flow of the game for me. I’ve played many Rainbow Six games from the very first ones on the PC and even on a Gameboy. I have certain realistic expectations from a Rainbow Six game and the ending to this one clearly didn’t meet expectations. I wonder if Red Storm Entertainment had been involved would the ending have been any different?

Well time to wrap this up I guess. In conclusion Rainbow Six Vegas 2 is a decent FPS, perhaps not as good as more recent ones but still entertaining. If you can get past the ridiculous end game scenario then you’ll probably enjoy the game but loyal fans to the Rainbow Six series might be a little disappointed. 

Fallout: New Vegas–Ain’t That a Kick in the Head?

I had such high hopes for this game, really high hopes, dizzyingly high even. I’ve been waiting for this game for sometime wanting a great experience.

After the Fallout 3: GOTY bug fiasco I was hoping, beyond hope, that New Vegas would be released bug free or thereabouts. You see I love nothing more than a good RPG with a rich environment and an immersive storyline; something you could sink into. New Vegas was supposed to be that or so I hoped.

Hope is such a fickle thing and so is New Vegas. This game has more bugs than an ants nest, freezes more than water in the Arctic Circle and glitches more than… well it’s just really glitchy. At first these were minor disturbances and something I could live with. As a software developer myself I know that no software can be produced bug free and I was content to let a few issues aside. Things have changed however.

Over the past three days I’ve been watching my girlfriend go for the end-game scenario’s. There’s four big endings and she wanted the trophy for each. Considering the work she put into it I don’t think it’s too much to ask. Unfortunately the game didn’t think so and decided to fight her all of the way. During one mission the game froze four in less than an hour and then suffered a severe drop in frame rate. Following that the game have an issue were VATS couldn’t be accessed causing the mission to fail indirectly. Entirely ridiculous.

Now don’t get me wrong, there’s a lot I like about this game. It’s a beautiful post-apocalyptic world; my favorite kind. There’s some really interesting characters and backstories around. Modding weapons is a lot of fun and you could build a character around that alone. Plus for anyone who played Fallout 2 back in the day, well, you’ll get a lot of references and pick up on a few things that those newer to the series won’t.

Unfortunately, though, I don’t know what I’ll be doing with this game. My girlfriend ran into an uber glitch only yesterday. This glitch occurs through exploration of Vault 11, be it of your own accord or that of a faction mission. Now anyone who enters a Vault is going to explore it top to bottom because each one has its own unique, twisted story to tell. But the secrets in this Vault could in fact fail one of the four end-game scenarios for you. Why? Because of the oversight of some developer who didn’t realize what a major glitch had been produced.

My girlfriends game and my own have been affected by this. Her chances of getting all end-game scenario’s completed, of getting all trophies has been robbed. I wish I could recommend this game but I can’t. At least not until it’s been patched to fix the serious errors and issues this game is encountering.

A note to all games developers: don’t release a broken game…

IL 2 Sturmovik: Birds of Prey

IL 2 Sturmovik: Birds of Prey is an aerial combat simulator much like the recently reviewed HAWX. Unlike HAWX, however, Sturmovik takes place during the Second World War making it a slightly unique game.

I should mention this game was slated terribly, in my opinion, review-wise. I don’t share that feeling however. Sturmovik was a great game to pick up.

As mentioned the game takes place during WW2 and you’ll find yourself flying through 6 different theatre’s during the main campaign. These include: The Battle of Britain over the English Channel, The Battle of Stalingrad in Russia, Italy, The Korsun Pocket over Ukraine, The Battle of the Bulge in Central Europe and finally over the skies of Berlin. Seems pretty busy right? Well that’s just the main campaign. The game also comes with a long list of single player missions in the same theatres that are different from the campaign entirely, there is a lot in this game.

The realism in Sturmovik is pretty well developed. Since this is WW2 there’s no such thing as guided missiles, you’ll be shooting down enemy aircraft with guns alone. During ground attack missions you might get lucky and be gifted with free fall bombs or rockets. This might seem a little daunting at first but let me assure you it only adds to the fun. There’s nothing like lining up behind a bomber, dodging the fire from its tailgun and then releasing a relentless firestorm upon it.

Damage effects upon planes are the superb; the more fire you take the more holes punch through your wings. Accidentally fly to close to another aircraft and you’ll clip your own wing sending yourself spiraling to a fiery end. Fly into the smoke trail of a damaged aircraft and your cockpit window coats over with leaking oil. It’s all very well thought out and rendered very beautifully. Furthermore, the more damage done to your plane the harder it’ll be to fly it. Flight is already a little difficult to begin with… at least it is if you go straight to it from HAWX. It’s quite realistic in that it limits you from performing totally insane combat maneuvers. This, again, only adds to the fun and it makes sense too. After all many aircraft during WW2 had mostly wooden bodies.

It’s worth mentioning the different gameplay modes on offer with Sturmovik. The first is called Arcade and this is the most easy going too. Arcade mode gives you a targeting reticule to assist you in dogfighting opponents, it also makes flight and damage effects a little easier. Realistic mode is next and this will take away your reticule and make flight much more difficult. Simulator is insane though, not only are damage effects severe but flight is super sensitive and you can only fly from within the cockpit. I avoided trying that more than once. 

So, lets take about the gameplay a little. You’ll start off doing a little tutorial and then you’re thrust into the main campaign as a British pilot operating around Dover. As the game progresses you’ll also fly as an American and Russian pilot too. Throughout the campaign, and the single player missions, you’ll be facing the Nazi war machine but also the Italians to a lesser extent. I thought this was a nice tough because the Italian theatre during WW2 is often overlooked by gaming companies. Another nice feature of the campaign, and single player missions, is that you’ll be flying a different variety of aircraft including bombers. After each campaign mission the narrator will read an extract from an the actual diary of various pilots during the war, another nice touch. Want another nice touch? The Russian and German pilots in the game do speak authentic Russian and German. This game has a whole lotta nice touch’s if you ask me.

Moving onto graphics and wow… The landscape is rendered beautifully around you, the aircraft are rendered beautifully and the damage effects are great too. I seriously can’t find a fault here, even the music is great if not a little somber.

So are there any faults with this game, only a small few. At times gameplay can seem a little slow. It’s not as intense or dramatic as HAWX but that might be because of historical nature of the game. Also, because flight is a little difficult due to the nature of the planes you might find yourself mentally or physically ( your hands) exhausted after a mission or two. Then again my right hands last two fingers are a little damaged…

Either way I’d recommend picking up Sturmovik if you’re into flight simulators, WW2 or just aircraft in general. It’s a nice game with loads of well thought out detail and loads of gameplay.

Gaming Frustrations

How often have you been playing a game and become so frustrated that you wanted to toss the controller across the room or violently kick the nearest inanimate object?

Unfortunately it happens to us all for one reason or another. It might just be that the objective laid out before you is insanely difficult, you might be facing an unholy uber boss of stupidity or maybe, just maybe, the game controls are ridiculous?

Is the irony lost on us? Here we are playing a game and getting so irritated that it ceases to be fun; the entire point of a game. Is it a phenomenon among gamers that we all possess a deep hidden rage within us that can be brought to the surface by an annoying game sequence?

We all have our breaking points, our Radecs. Anyone who has played through Killzone 2 will know what I’m referring too. Remember Radec, remember your reaction to that terrible last battle? Remember how your murderous rage drowned out the men in white coats as they hauled you away? 

How about the ending to Red Faction: Guerilla? Do you remember ascending Mount Vogel like Moses up Mount Sinai? No..? Probably because Moses didn’t have to contend with the equivalent military of a small country. I mean come on they really, and I mean really, try and push you on the last part. While you’re clawing your way up that mountain you’re probably being dragged into a deep pit of despair.

Then we come to the little annoyances. Many games have quite interactive climbing abilities these days, games such as the Uncharted series or the Assassins Creed series. It’s fun climbing our way up through giant caverns or bell towers and seeing beautifully rendered scenery below us. But there’s always those really awkward jumps you have to make that really drive you nuts. It’s not the jump itself that makes it awkward though, it’s the controller. Although the joysticks on modern controllers are far better than using the older d-pads sometimes they have trouble differentiating Right from Down… sending your character flying off a guard tower like a sack of potatoes… and hitting the ground like one too. Ouch! Wait until it happens repeatedly and ouch turns into a string of nasty expletives.

Despite the numerous frustrations, great and small, that we find in various games we keep playing; why? Is it an addiction or are we simply masochists? I don’t think it’s either. With each game we’re taken to a new world, something different that escapes the boring reality of life. A little bit of mind numbing frustration isn’t going to cause us to give all that up is it?   

 

 

H.A.W.X

Tom Clancy’s HAWX can best be described as an aerial combat simulator, a pretty rare genre for modern console gaming although some might remember the Ace Combat series on the Playstation 2. Other titles that would encompass this genre is the recently released HAWX 2, IL 2 Sturmovik: Birds of Prey and Ace Combat: Assault Horizon which is due for release in 2011.
So, what does HAWX offer us then?

HAWX puts us in the cockpit of over 50 different actual aircraft in existence today. I’m not kidding either, the game has 50 fully licensed aircraft to unlock and play. Each has its own strengths, weaknesses and weapon packages. Ever fancied flying a Tomcat, Stealth Bomber or A-10 Thunderbolt? Well you can, in fact you can choose whatever aircraft you like for each mission and choose the weapon package to fly with as well. The game, of course, will recommend an aircraft and weapon package for each mission but I used these more as guidelines then choose my own equipment, it’s more fun this way. Admittedly the game has more aircraft than it needs, I found that I didn’t use half of those available.
You’ll find yourself flying a variety of different missions where you’ll be engaged in escorting aircraft, dog fighting, bombarding ground and naval targets and contending with SAM sites. The missions are quite entertaining and bring a strong storyline that sync up and squeeze into the Tom Clancy universe where you’ll find Ghost Recon teams and the like. Although each mission will put you through your paces I did find myself wishing there were a few more missions in the game. Also having finished the game on Normal I moved onto Elite and found no significant increase in difficulty. Granted, when you do move onto Elite you’ll have all the available aircraft and weapon packages unlocked from the previous run through the game so maybe it all balances out?

 

Moving onto the game controls: everything handles pretty well. The aircraft, all jet planes, handle perfectly well. Each aircraft has its own handling limits, of course, but as far as the controls go everything is spot on. That is until you activate Assistance Off. Assistance Off (AO) gives you a zoomed out view of your aircraft in order to let you dogfight more effectively and also to dodge incoming missiles. AO allows you to throw your aircraft around in tighter corners to gain the edge on enemy aircraft and in my opinion is a well engineered idea with but one flaw. While flying in AO you’ll be turning many tight maneuvers quickly and just as quickly it is easy to lose track which side of the aircraft is up and which way you’re turning. It could just be me, mind you, I do have glasses and I am operating on a 22” HDMI TV but I have the feeling others might feel the same way.

Lets move onto the combat. With a small range of guided missiles, rockets and bombs to choose from you’re pretty well equipped to take on whatever comes your way. This being the modern age your aircraft will try to establish missile lock on your enemies and away your missiles go. That might sound easy but trust me in close range aerial combat establishing missile lock is no simple task but it is very enjoyable. Watching an enemy aircraft roar past your cockpit followed by two smoky streaks of guided death is a tasty treat. Lining yourself up for ground targets for a bomb drop or rocket strike is just as fun, especially when you hear that familiar whistling sound of a plummeting bomb.

 

Finally we move onto the graphics and we’ll start with the aircraft. Now I’m no expert on aircraft although I do enjoy modeling them but, to me, it seems all of the aircraft within HAWX are pretty well detailed. As I started each mission I found myself swinging around the camera and admiring my aircrafts style and curves… sexy.
It’s the world around you that’ll really captivate you though. From the dizzying heights you find yourself at you’re presented with stunning scenery. It all looks very realistic until you get closer to the ground… The fact is buildings and vehicles down there aren’t all that detailed unfortunately. It’s not a big loss but for a game with a fair bit of ground bombing they could’ve put a bit more work into it.

All in all I loved HAWX. I loved being able to choose an aircraft for each mission, choose the weapon load out and wreck havoc. The game isn’t perfect but then what game is? I’d recommend this to anyone who is interested in modern aircraft or aerial combat. There’s few of these games out there so why not give it a try?

SAW... do you want to play a game?

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?