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.

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.

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?