The Passing - Review

So, I’ve finally played the Passing. Did I enjoy it? Well… that’s difficult to answer.

In some ways I was impressed. The new weapons actually bring some new flavour into the game (The M60 is incredibly fun to use), the actual level design of the campaign is really well executed and, as always, has a lot of replay value and there are a lot of really nice features like footlockers full of pills/Molotov's/pipe bombs, the Bride witch (and wedding guest zombies!) and the new Survivor uncommon common which adds this really interesting new dynamic to the game. Need health? Pipe Bomb? Pills? Quick! Get the Survivor! He even runs away, forcing you to back track in order to get him.

What didn’t I like? The original cast. Valve had so much potential with the original cast being present within The Passing but they’ve really let themselves down. You see one of them at the very beginning… and then you see three of them at the very end. Oh, and as for who dies…

SPOILERZZZ

Bill dies. How? Fuck if I know. He’s just slumped against a generator. There’s no explanation and there’s not even any remorse or even sadness shown from the remaining three. They’re just their normal everyday happy go lucky selves. Just minus Bill. Really upsetting.

NO MORE SPOILERZZZ

Apart from the tacked on original cast, I really enjoyed The Passing. However, If I’d had to pay for it, I would have fucking lost it.

Five Things That Have Been On My Mind Today

1) Goddamn Valve, you are very good at making promo videos and launch trailers. I take my hat off to you, fine sirs and ladysirs. However, I have no intention of playing The Passing until the weekend. I apologise.

2) Why is Perfect Dark so goddamn hard on the… hardest difficulty? It took me three hours of solid playing to get past the first level. I hate old games, yet love them in equal measure. Damn you Rare.

3) Why isn’t Pokémon free? Also, why haven’t governments checked this game for mind control? Why do I want it so much? It’s embarrassing!

4) Should I put Ads on my blog? I suppose it would look a little less flash, but it’s free money and I like that idea.

5) Why hasn’t Sony came over and fixed my PS3 yet? It seems that the gaming God’s have forbidden me from ever finishing GTA4.

League of Legends

So I’ve been playing League of Legends (or LoL, as it’s often called, which I just find fantastic) quite obsessively these past few days. A friend recommended it to me on the basis that it was “very similar” to the cult Warcraft 3 mod Defence of the Ancients. To be honest, the only reason I gave it a download was because it sounded a bit like Warcraft 3 and… well it’s free to play.

I’ve been graciously rewarded for my choice. League is a very simple, yet addictive game that works like this. The player picks a character to play as, or a “Summoner” as they’re referred to in game, which is basically a hero character that you play as. All of these characters have four magic abilities and a basic attack that varies from punch or cast. Then you’re placed into a game with 9 others (5 Vs. 5 games) and the game begins. The basic premise is each base is defended by towers and waves of units which guard the main paths leading to your base. In the centre of each base is a building that must be destroyed to win the game.

So the premise is deviously simple, yet in practice it becomes this surreal game of fantasy tug of war. See, these towers are pretty powerful so you end up relying on the waves of units to act as human shields in order to push forward. Your summoner can level up to a maximum of level 18 in a single game, gaining more powerful levels of their abilities as you progress (as well as gold to purchase ability boosts) which means that what starts off as a quite relaxing game of click- to – kill – minions ends up as a furious war between ten completely different magical beings, all of them mercilessly slaughtering each other in an effort to just… destroy… that… one last… tower…

It becomes a death match, near the end. Once you hit level 5 it’s no longer about killing the minions. It’s about getting a positive kill streak by chasing down enemy summoners for a huge XP boost, as well as attempting to aid your minions is progressing… you get the idea. It’s a simple concept, but strikingly complex in practice.

Of course, the beautiful thing about this game isn’t the fresh and addictive nature of it’s game play or the quite frankly gorgeous visual style. No, it’s all in the fact that you don’t have to pay a penny to play it. Sure, there are additional buffs and enhancements you can buy with real money, but if you play enough games online you’ll earn enough “Riot points” to acquire them without ever having to touch your debit card. Even better, is the fact that the developers bring in a new set of summoners every wednesday in order to keep the game fresh and exciting. If you become attached to a summoner, you have the option of purchasing him or her (with money or riot points), meaning he won’t disappear from your list of available characters come next wednesday.

In conclusion? I’m in love, and addicted. There’s so much more I’ve missed out, like a powerful ranking system, fresh maps, character skins, runes. The list goes on and on. This is as good as it’s going to get for free to play games people, so I’d highly recommend you download right now.

Uncharted 2: Game Of The Year, Game Of The Year.

IGN 2009 Game of the Year

I don't think I've ever cringed more before when watching a video. This has singlehandly ruined this game for me.

IGN's so cheesy!

The Original Dungeon Keeper 2009 Awards

 

So here it is. Did you bring your jacket? Can I get you a drink? It’s the first annual game of the year awards for 2009! Last year I didn’t bother, but this year I’m making it a tradition. I’ve devised seven categories and within each of them are the games that have left a mark on me this year.If you disagree with any of these selections, please leave a comment and tell me what you would have picked and I’ll do a further blog on what you all thought in a few days time. So here we go. The first award.

The “Most Fun I’ve Had All Year” Award:

Infamous

From it’s opening cut scene to it’s climatic conclusion, inFamous is gripping in it’s narrative, addictive in it’s game play and beautiful in it’s entirety. Criminally overlooked by the overall community as a “Prototype Clone”, inFamous is one of the most compelling and overall upsetting games I've played in years. The human elements of pain, isolation and corruption are presented on such a scale that it literally leaves you feeling… well rather depressed by the end of the ride. But it’s worth it, and no matter what path you choose, the conclusion will leave your jaw hanging wide open every time.

 

The “Oh… That’s Actually Quite Good!” Award:

Batman: Arkham Asylum

When I first heard about Arkham Asylum I didn’t even give it a second thought. I simply passed it off as another superhero action kids game that would clog up the shelves and sell by the bucket loads, even though it’d be about as fun as drowning. But when I played it, my whole perspective changed. This game is huge. This game is a masterpiece. This game could well be the runner up for my overall game of the year. I’ve never played a game that takes a franchise and exceeds expectations so much. The characterisation is perfect, the atmosphere is heavy and dark, the locations are bitter-sweet and the narrative slots very neatly and snugly within the Batman canon. I would even go as far as to recommend this over watching the Dark Night. It really is THAT good.

 

The “Continuing Tradition” Award:

The Sims 3

I bought this out of dedication. Same reason I bought Spore and Sim City Societies. I expected something abysmal, or the same as Sims 2 but with better graphics. What I got was the definitive Sims experience. If I could change one thing this year, it would be that I played more of the Sims 3. What appears to be the same old game, is actually a completely new game built entirely from scratch. Gone is the frustration, the difficulty and the tedium of the past incarnations. Here is a game that really does excel in every department, and I’d recommend this game to anyone with a brain cell. If anything, this game proves that maybe the world could survive without a Mr. Will Wright and his “Spores”.

 

The “I Told It Was Going To Be Good!” Award:

Resident Evil 5

To quote Chris in the opening scenes of Resident Evil 5, “Sometimes I wonder if it’s all worth fighting for…”. When it comes to Resident Evil, I can’t help but know exactly what he means. What is it worth fighting for? The desperate struggle to try and convince old fans that it’s worth playing the new incarnations. The impossible task of trying to educate newcomers that the old games are equally as pleasing (if not on the eye, then at least on the narratives and gameplay). The equally difficult task of trying to convince myself at the beginning of the year that Resident Evil 5 was going to be something worth fighting for. You know what? It is worth it, because Resident Evil 5 has given me 53 blissful hours of gameplay , two completions and a whole lot of fun. I adore this game, and you should too.

 

The “2009 is so 2008” Award:

Fallout 3

Slow at first, but as soon as it hooks you it simply will not let go. Give me a world that drips with as much satire, oozes with as much depth and shines with as much breathtaking beauty and I will eat my own face. Fallout 3 isn’t a game. It’s an experience, and it’s one that you will not soon forget. The reason it’s on this list? Because with the release of the new DLC packs this year, it was impossible to not be drawn back into the capital wasteland.

 

The “Faith In The Industry” Award:

Uncharted 2: Among Thieves

If you haven’t already read my gushing review to this game, then you’re unaware on how much of an impact this game had on me. The world of Nathan Drake became perfect in this title, and it is the best game ever made. That’s a fact. This game will make you laugh out loud, it will make you shift forward to the edge of your seat in actual real tension more times that I wish to mention and most of all? You will walk away with a feeling of complete satisfaction. The same feeling you had when you first saw Star Wars, The Godfather, Fight Club or The Shawshank Redemption. I priceless piece of entertainment, all yours for £30.

 

The “Little Game = Big Surprises!” Award:

Burn Zombie Burn

This game impressed me in two ways. Firstly, it’s so tongue in cheek it’s entire face is bleeding. Secondly, it’s fun. This game is pure, 100% fun. You will sit down, you will play, you will enjoy it. It’s entertainment in it’s purest form and it’s an absolute corker of a title. If you’ve never bought a game from the PSN before, then this is a damn good start.

 

There we have it. The first annual Original Dungeon Keeper awards for 2009. Now all that’s left to say is Happy New Year, and I hope you all have a great 2010.

What's In The Box?

Probably some of the nicest Half-Life film stuff I've ever seen before in my life.

Whether or not the Half-Life references are there on purpose however... well...

Star Wars: The Old Republic

So did everyone enjoy the Podcast yesterday? If you did, please go comment on it... ;_;

In other less whiny news, I've been getting quite excited about Star Wars: The Old Republic lately. I've always wanted a decent Star Wars MMO (Star War Galaxies... meh) and this looks to be it. They've really stuck to the whole Star Wars Canon which is a nice surprise, considering what most Star Wars games do... yes, any Star Wars game released before the first Battlefront game and in some ways Force Unleashed I'm looking at you... collectively.

Let's hope I get the BETA!

(Hint, Bioware)

The Saboteur

The Saboteur looks incredible. I'll be honest when I first saw a press release of this I barely even batted an eyelid but now... well now it looks like something rather special.

I don't know whether it's the fact that it's set in Nazi occupied paris, whether it's the black and white Sin City style concept or the whole idea of an Irish race car driver bringing down the axis. Let's face it, it's because it's an over the top stylised sneak-em-ups and my God do I love games that are just balls to the wall ridiculous.

I in no way mean that the Saboteur looks incredibly silly of course, because at the end of the day it does look like a fantastic WW2 stealth game, a concept that intrigued me when Velvet Assassin hit shelves. Except this game isn't offensive.

Here's some footage:

Graphics or Narrative? The Age Old War.

Since time began (presuming that time began in the mid to late 80's) there has been the never ending debate about what matters most within Videogames. Graphics or Narrative.

It's a dead cert that as you read this, you've instantly thought to yourself "Why, it's clearly narrative! Graphics don't matter diddly squat to me, the well informed, well educated Gamer that I am", and I don't blame you for saying that. I do however, think you're a complete liar. You do care about Graphics. If I told you to back and play the original Timesplitters for instance, you would flinch at the sight of it. We all care about what our games look like, all of us, me included. I challenge anyone to say to me that they've never purchased a game without at least considering what it's going to look like. We all care about graphics, but this doesn't necessarily mean we need them in order to enjoy our game.

First let's look at two examples. Crysis, released on the PC in 2007, and Bioshock released the same year. Now, Crysis is a pretty game. In fact it's a very VERY pretty game, to the extent where it's established itself as almost a tool of measuring the performance power of a computer instead of the joyous, sci-fi romp of which was the developers original intentions (I presume anyway). Everyones played it, everyones cooed over the photo realistic graphics.... But how many people have finished it? I never finished it, nor do I have any intention of finishing it either. I played as much I needed to play, and as soon as the novelty of the graphics had worn off I was gone. Never to look back again either. Now I know this doesn't apply to everyone, but it's the same for most good looking games released recently. Crysis, Far Cry 2.... pretty much every game released on the Unreal 3 engine. They're all nothing more than bland, two dimensional videogames that don't really ever have the potential of being anything great.

Bioshock on the other hand, released the same year remember, may not have been as visually stunning but had a far more intelligent storyline than in Crysis (which, I may add, could have been partly due to the over saturation of "A Big masculine male in a big masculine suit goes to shoot Aliens/Zombies/Other big masculine men in big masculine suits" games being released as of late). The world of Rapture was intriguing, dark and disturbing and the underlying morals found within Ayn Rand's classic novel "Atlas Shrugged" made Bioshock an absolute literary classic, never mind a cracking good game to boot. However, it cannot be denied, the graphics were very very good.

This is the problem with modern day videogaming, all games are graphically, very impressive and it's as if great narrative is simply an optional extra that the developer decides upon. Mirrors Edge, a very technically superior game, did not need the dystopian future plot in order to sell itself. The gimmick of first person freerunning was a good enough selling point as it was, and this is proven in the time trials mode (perhaps a look at what Mirrors Edge almost was, if magazine previews from the pre-release phase are to be believed). In order to truly understand which is more important, you have to look back to around the late nineties and in some cases the eighties.

I have a task for you. Go find a ROM or a real copy of the original Monkey Island, Day of the Tentacle, The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy or.... let's say the original Fallout. Go on, go do it.

Now I bet once you've finished tutting over the horrendous graphics (or in the case of Hitchhikers, no graphics) you're going to get completely into it, to the point where graphics no longer matter. That's the beauty of older games. There was a distinct point where games designers released that there was more potential within the medium than simply making Object A destroy Object B and started writing in depth narratives that were as compelling as they were entertaining. The great thing? Because graphics were so uninspiring back then, the developers tended to focus more on the story aspects instead the visuals onscreen. Sure, time was spent on them but not as long as today, which is my point. In some cases, modern day technology has killed the great videogame narrative. I believe that if videogames were still the 32bit pixel mash ups that they were in yesteryear, a higher percentage of new releases would be inspired and original pieces.

In conclusion? Well what is there to say? Graphics are important, no matter what people claim otherwise. If it's visually pleasing on the eye, you will enjoy it more. Imagine if Team Fortress 2 had dropped it's cartoon style in favour for a more COD4 approach for instance. Think it would be as fun? However, this isn't always the case. Bioshock for example has a narrative that is so ingenious that you literally stop caring about the narrative and it's the same with classic adventure games and most Playstation 1 titles such as Metal Gear Solid and PC classics such as System Shock 2 and Half-Life. In these cases, great visuals are not needed for they rely on narrative so much.

Still, it has to be said that Videogaming is a visual format. Visuals are required, and as are narratives of all various degrees of excellence and intelligence. But as Uncharted 2 has recently proven, breath taking visuals and incredible story telling can sometimes, on rare occasions, be found within a single game.

All in all? Well, it's all down to one simple thing isn't it. Gameplay. A game can have a great narrative, it can have stunning graphics but if it plays like a dead horse? Then it's worth nothing in the eyes of the modern day gamer.

Big Rigs: Over the Road Racing

Big Rigs: Over the Road Racing has been hailed as the worst videogame ever, and to be honest it dosn't suprise me. A friend of mine once downloaded it for the crack, and my God did we laugh... for a LONG time.

I can't do this game justice of simply how terrible it is. So here's a video, and an accompying quote from a recent article on Games Radar.

Oh, and my opinion? If you've just bought a game that you think is terrible, give this a download. Big Rigs could put cancer into perspective.



“Stay one step ahead of the law”? The game didn’t ship with police included. “Race your modified rig”? It also forgot to ship with actual racing opponents. “5 different tracks”? When you try to load the fifth, the game crashes… and when the publisher released a patch to fix this issue, the fifth track was revealed as nothing but a mirrored version of the first. “Non-stop driving”? Sometimes, when starting a race, Big Rigs believes you’ve finished and rewards you with a congratulatory screen after five seconds. Genius!

Gentlemen

No where was I? Oh yea Dj Hero! Wait...... I haven't blogged in almost two weeks! Woah what happened? Did I black out or something? Oh wait no, I've had A-Level exams as of late and just haven't had the time. Foolish of me huh? To neglect such a noble duty that is the "blog". Or maybe I was just busy and stuff. Well who knows. A conundrum for a later time. 

Tomorrow I'll post something more complete, but I can't not post the epicness that is the Meet The Spy. I actually consider this a landmark in video game advertising. It truly is incredible.

Bioshock 2

"Local fisherman Eamon Clune, 44, and his wife Charlotte (32) were awoken by the sudden shattering of a window in the front room," a document on the site reads. "Moments later, his daughter Maura, age 7, screamed. Mr Clune rushed to investigate the noise only to notice the unknown attacker racing out of the broken window with 'incredible speed'

"Due to the moonless night, Clune was unable to provide a description of the assailant. He notes that the attacker was thin, above average height and wore some kind of 'red light.'"

This here, are the first story details for Bioshock 2. As I said a while back, I was a bit skeptical about the whole thing, but this has certainly restored my faith in the whole game. It’s set seven years after the original, and appears (according to the text above) to be set in Ireland which should also be nice. Still, no release date yet, so all I can do is wait I suppose.

A Productive Day

Oh yea! I finished an RPG today, can you believe it?

 

I really, REALLY enjoyed (Pauses for breath) Penny Arcade Adventures: On the Rain-Slick Precipice of Darkness. It was a fantastic blend of humor, fresh game play and some truly fantastic artwork. In fact, I don’t think I’ve enjoyed a game this much in a long time. Bravo, Penny Arcade boys. Bravo.

 

In other news, Peggle has been confirmed for the PSN with trophies (something that made me beam with joy) and Quake Live is as epic as… well Epic. Speaking of Epic, they should really jump on the bandwagon and make a free to play browser based Unreal Tournament. I mean, that would rock.

Penny Arcade Adventures: On the Rain-Slick Precipice of Darkness Episode One

Bought this, this morning. To be honest, I kinda regretted it straight after because I hadn’t read… GOOD reviews for it. Just average ones. Still, it was already downloading so I sighed, set my PS3 to shut down after download and off I went to college.

 

I got home around 8, wandered down the local Tesco with a mate and got back around 9. I booted it up, sighed, and began playing.

 

Let me tell you, I love Penny Arcade. The web comic is funny as hell, and never fails to deliver off the wall yet true to life wit and humor. It’s a must read. No doubt my obsession with the web comic was one of the factors that led me to buying this game. So why was I so cynical about my purchase? Well firstly it’s an RPG and I don’t really do RPG’s… Also, it’s episodic. Meaning that no matter how long they claim it is, It just wont be.

 

As usual though, I ate my own words (for the record, they taste rather rich like fruitcake, and as you well know, fruitcake is the preffered choice of desert for a liar). I love this game. It’s around 6-8 hours long (or so I’ve heard), has a rather fresh combat system (it’s just the usual turn based, but it’s not as strict as Final Fantasy) and, best of all it is funny as hell. It really left me wetting myself with laughter. It’s brilliant.

 

The character creation system is pretty impressive as well. Your character appears in the cut scenes, fully animated in 2D. It’s rather clever!

Lord Of The Rings Conquest

I played the Demo of this last…. Thursday? Yea must have been. It was… well. Broken. Even after an hour of play it still didn’t seem to play right. I know that sounds confusing, but the whole game just seems flawed and badly made.

 

I dunno, I wouldn’t recommended it but maybe the full products better?

 

What do I know :P

My Tiny Little Family

I played The Sims 2 again today. I got it around 4 years ago. It was brilliant fun. I felt like the puppet master, controlling their lives… Oh how I laughed when he was promoted! How I sneered, as he fell in love and all because of me! I felt like Iago, deceiving and plotting.. Like God, controlling without anyone realizing and like Will Wright, because at the end of the day it’s a game and I’m just a nerd with long hair… *sighs*

 

Still, good game!

Now That's Realism

I got Playstation Official Magazine the other day. It came with a free Demo disc as per usual, and before discarding it (It's had the same demos on the disc for a few months now), my girlfriend had a look. 

I'm one of those really lucky people who happen to have a girlfriend who shares the same hobby as you, and in our case we both adore games. Together, we've finished Half Life and a few others and regularly compete on Team Fortress 2. So, as she glanced over the list of games and I pottered around the room she came out with this.

"There all the same though, aren't they?"

Bemused by this statement, I asked "What do you mean?". She replied "There all too realistic. Whatever happened to... Sly Racoon! And original Spyro games! Games these days, especially for PS3 and Xbox are too realistic." 

She's right of course. Most modern day developers are determined to create the most realistic of experience they sometimes go as far to forget to check if the game is actually fun. I agree that Call Of Duty is a masterpiece, Metal Gear Solid 4 is amazing and Crysis is a good laugh but there all very realistic. 

In the mainstream, I believe there's four different types of games lining the shelves. The "Brutal Shooter" in which a man with lions for arms charges through a desolate war torn landscape killing everything in his path and eating them (Avec Gears of War), The "Crybaby Shooter" in which a group of hardened men go to a desolate war torn landscape to die and kill many MANY people (Most realistic, and Call Of Duty 4), The "Inbetweener", this is normally the same as the other two but with a sense of humour or a stupid 

story (Metal Gear Solid 4). Finally, we have the "Everything else". These are the games that normally deserve our attention more than the rest. 

Personal opinion of course.

And what did happen to Sly Raccoon? I'll tell you. There making this promising looking superhero sandbox game. But like most modern day companies there doing something more adult, just like Naughty Dog did Drakes Fortune and Insomniac did Resistance. 

*sighs*

What WAS the last great game?

A friend of mine struck a conversation topic I seem to have been avoiding as of late, last night. He said to me "What WAS the last great game?". Instantly, being me, I said Bioshock. 

But then I thought myself, hang on. I got Bioshock in September... Surely I've played better games since then. Well the Orange Box is probably my most played game of all time, Team Fortress 2 especially. But why didn't I say that straight away? Surely that must be the obvious choice? Well, thinking of it in hindsight, it didn't move me as much as Bioshocks story did. There wasn't as much thrill as exploring rapture for the first time. (It pains me to say that, it honestly does. But Bioshock beats Orange box by a mere millimetre) 

So then I pondered some more. I got loads of games for Christmas, one of them must have beat Bioshock and the Orange box? Surely it hasn't been almost 11 months since the last truly enjoyable game was released? I got Crysis, Unreal Tournament 3, Super Mario Galaxy, Mysims, Metroid Prime 3 and Sim City DS for Christmas. Not one lived up to expectations, and to be honest not one gripped me enough. Crysis got boring very quickly, as did Unreal Tournament 3. As for Mario Galaxy, well it was fun but it was just another Mario Game. 

It seems to me that the games market is becoming stale. Super Mario Galaxy was the first indication. It was meant to be a completely new Mario experience. It was just Mario. In space. Unreal Tournament 3 was just UT2004 with a healthy dose of LIQUID MUSCLE. And It was also, rather boring compared to the others. 

"But what about the others!?!" I hear you cry. "What about Grand Theft Auto 4? Metal Gear Solid 4? Surely these are sure choices!". Well, no. GTA4 is GTA3 in essence, but I can't argue that it's not a good game. Personally I love it, and I'm currently playing through it for the first time and enjoying myself immensely. But it's nothing groundbreaking, nothing immense. It's a good game. But not a great game. Oh, and Metal gear Solid 4? I haven't finished it yet, but It's still the same formula as the others. 

So now I've established there hasn't been a great game in around 11 months. That makes me rather cynical to be honest. Especially with games such as Resident Evil 5, Left 4 Dead, Little big planet, Tomb Raider Underworld and Mirrors Edge coming out. Will these games live up to expectations? Will they manage to make me feel an emotional connection to the game like Bioshock did? We'll have to see, because right now I don't even want to think about it.

Oh, and I didn't mention about Spore. I'll talk about that tomorrow.