It’s been almost two decades since a 2D platformer starring Mr. Mario has appeared on a console, his last traditional outing was Super Mario World which launched alongside the Super Nintendo in 1991. Until this day Super Mario World remains to be my favorite game of all time so it should come as no surprise that my excitement for New Super Mario Bros.

Wii has been through the roof ever since it was announced at E3. As the title suggests New Super Mario Bros. Wii is essentially a sequel of Mario’s DS outing but on the Wii. The art-style is identical, the progression structure is the same and it even borrows music and sound effects directly from the DS game so if you’re a fan looking for the next evolution of the Mario Bros. franchise you’re not going to find it here.

Despite being over 20 years old, the core game design hasn’t changed. Once again Bowser has orchestrated the kidnapping of Princess Peach and it’s up to Mario to put put his plumbing duties aside and rescue her. His journey will take him through 8 distinctive worlds where he’ll have to traverse through jungles, tropical islands, deserts and even the beyond the clouds.

With each new world comes new enemies and a new challenge but unfortunately none of the worlds feel as unique as say, the Giant World from Super Mario Bros. 3. Every world on Mario Bros. Wii feels like a rehash of locations from the previous games and you’ll probably be able to predict what several of the upcoming worlds are going to be like before you even reach them. The Ice World is still slippery, the Desert World still contains pits of quick sand and surprise, surprise the final world still features Lava and erupting volcanos. Nintendo played it very safe with the creation of this game and the overall experience suffers for it, the only significant new feature they’ve added is the brand new 2-4 player co-op and competitive modes.

Taking a page from LittleBigPlanet’s book, players now have the opportunity to play through the entire game with up to 3 friends as Luigi, Yellow Toad and/or Blue Toad who all control exactly the same as Mario. Unlike LittleBigPlanet you won’t find any level creation tools or online modes here but as an overall experience Mario Bros. Wii is leaps ahead of Media Molecule’s cash-cow. The best thing about multi-player Mario is you have the opportunity to both assist and screw over your fellow players at will.

If you’re a genuinely nice person you can lift your buddy above your head to help them reach high areas, you can share objects with them and when they die and reappear on-screen inside of a bubble you can burst it to allow them to rejoin the game. However if you’re anything like me you could instead choose to throw them down pits, stomp on their heads to obstruct their jumps, collect all the items for yourself even If you don’t need them and when they die leave them to float around aimlessly inside of their bubble until you complete the level.

If you’re like me then you should jump straight in to the Coin Battle mode where you’re object is to collect more coins than your opponent(s), as long as you and the people you’re playing won’t get butt-hurt if someone throws you down a pit just to for a laugh you can’t help but have fun here. As you can imagine the more people you’re playing with, the more hectic the game becomes but it never gets hard to keep track of what’s going on.

If players are too far away of each other the screen pans out to give you all a better view, If one person goes up a beanstalk or down a pipe you all end up there with them and the game doesn’t end unless each player has lost all of their lives or every one is in a bubble at the same time. The single player campaign can also be completed with up to 4 friends and there’s even a Free Play Mode where you can select a playlist of your favorite levels and play them in sequence.

As fun as multiplayer can be I think it’s safe to assume that most players won’t have a friend to play with for the majority of the game so the crux of this title has to it’s single player offering. Many gamers have expressed fears that the heavy emphasis on family-friendly multiplayer will somehow dilute the solo experience especially since each of the levels were designed to accommodate up to 4 players but I can honestly say that not once during my entire play-through did I feel that the solo campaign had been compromised in any way.

Don’t let the TV ads fool you, New Super Mario Bros. Wii is definitely hardcore and one of the most difficult Mario games to date. Thankfully 1up’s are easy to attain and the age-old 99 lives exploit still works. If you do happen to come across that one stage that you just can’t seem to beat you’ll be pleased to know that Nintendo have included a Super Guide feature which essentially plays the level for you. If you die 8 consecutive times on any level a green item block will appear in the game world, activating that block will run a video of Luigi playing through the level on your behalf after-which you can simply move on to the next one.

The inclusion of this feature caused quiet an uproar amongst the Nintendo community as they felt it was yet another case of Nintendo games being dumbed down to cater for a more casual audience but I don’t see what any of the fuss is about. The feature is optional and it provides a way for everyone to finish and continually enjoy the game regardless of their age or skill-level.

One thing fans can be happy about is the return of Yoshi, who makes an appearance in a select few levels. Yoshi has the ability to swallow enemies, float for a few seconds and save Mario from plummeting to his death by ejecting him off of his back. Unlike Super Mario World, Yoshi can only be used on the specific levels he’s found in and once that level has been completed he gets left behind.

Mario should be just fine without him though because as well as the usual Mushrooms, Stars and Fire Flowers, Mario also has some all new items to see him through his quest. The most useful of which are Propeller Hats which, by shaking the Wii remote, rockets him up in to the air and allows him to float back down gently. Other new items include the enemy-freezing Ice Flowers and a Penguin Suits which are pretty much the same as Ice Flowers but also enables Mario to swim faster and slide on his stomach.

Any of the items available in the game can be won and subsequently added to your Items List by entering red Toad Huts located on the map screen, once an item is in your Items List you can pre-select it before you enter any of the levels to give yourself an advantage right from the start.  As well as serving as a hub to all of the levels the map screen also hints to hidden paths and shortcuts which only become available once you find a secret exit in a near-by level.

Each of the worlds contain a Fortress and a Castle (placed mid-way through, and at the end of each world respectively) both of which cap-off with a boss flights against one of the 7 Koopa Kids who have been missing from the Nintendo universe for far too long. Some worlds also feature tricky Ghost Houses and Air Ships which are a welcome returns from previous Mario titles and enemies even patrol portions of the map screen forcing you to engage in a battle ala the Hammer Brothers in Super Mario Bros. 3.

Playing the game with the Wii remote held sideways feels right as does tilting it to control moving platforms but I could have done without having to shake the remote to make Mario perform a spin jump or pick up items. You have the option to connect a nun-chuk if you crave inaccurate analog controls but no other peripherial is supported.

If you have nostalgia for the Mario games of yester-year there are plenty of things in Mario Bros. Wii that are guaranteed to make you smile. The music, the enemies, the flag posts, the Koopa Kids, Yoshi, air ships, the list goes on. The release of the New Super Mario Bros. on DS just a few ago dampens the excitement a new 2D Mario game should have Mario Bros.

Wii is an excellent, excellent title with a tremendous ammount of replay value. The lack of originality, Classic Controller support, online play and a level editor are unfortunate oversights but hopefully Nintendo will address these issues and take cues from Media Molecule for a sequel. Regardless, as it stands this is an essential Wii purchase that will hopefully replace Wii Sports as the “must play” title during family gatherings.

Source: thekoalition.com

So then, Modern Warfare 2 – after all the hype, are you any good?

The first thing you need to know about Modern Warfare 2 is that the single player campaign is utterly fantastic and provides a rollercoaster ride that, while on fairly obvious rails, is so exciting you’ll blow through it in no time.

The second thing you need to know about Modern Warfare 2 is that the multiplayer isn’t as good as it used to be – on the PC version, at least – thanks mainly to the introduction of a new multiplayer framework. Dubbed IWNet, the new system has replaced dedicated servers with P2P match-making, zero mod support and far fewer customisation options.

In layman’s talk that means that if you class yourself as a hardcore game player, the type of person who likes custom maps and playing with a clan, then you’ll probably not like Modern Warfare 2 multiplayer.

The third thing you need to know is that that’s not all there is to Modern Warfare 2 and that a new mode, called Special Ops, has been introduced for those who prefer to play co-operatively. It’s this last and most new addition to the series which is the real stand-out success of the game, offering players a variety of self-contained missions and unlockable awards.

This isn’t your standard run and gun, either, as the Spec Ops mode includes some really inventive missions. Our favourite is the one where a player is a soldier who is trapped behind enemy lines and who must make it to the LZ as fast as possible, on foot. The second player covers him from the air with a thermal imaging-enabled artillery platform. And that’s just the start, as there are plenty of stealth and assault missions in Spec Ops mode too.

This huge amount of variation in the co-op levels (which can also be played single player) is also matched in the single player campaign, too, and the story, which revolves around an ultra-nationalist Russian movement trying to terrorise and invade the US, is equally unique. In just the first few levels you’ll go from climbing up the sides of glaciers and covertly infiltrating bases under the cover of a blizzard to chasing informants across Brazilian rooftops. And that’s all before the fight really breaks out in suburban US.

The combined result of all this is that the single player campaign of Modern Warfare 2, while a bit short, is incredibly fast-paced and offers something for everyone. It’s like a game adaptation of 24, but with Jack Bauer’s brain and gravelly voice jumping into the mind of a number of different soldiers.

Unfortunately, though, the multiplayer is a bit of a letdown, and although the actual game itself is really good, the IWNet framework is constant bullet in the backside. Simple things have been blocked, like text chat in lobbies (though microphones are still allowed) and the ability to customise the length of matches and levels. Every ten minutes you’re being booted back to the lobby screen, it seems.

In the end, though, gameplay manages to win out this time around and while IWNet is definitely a hindrance, it isn’t quite enough to spoil the game as a whole.

Modern Warfare 2 is just too good and the expanded multiplayer arsenal and skillset, which now offers everything from remote missiles to heartbeat sensors, is enough to keep you playing in spite of the problems.

Let’s just hope that IWNet doesn’t stick around for other games that can’t blind us with such brilliant quality!

Source: denofgeek.com

LEGO and developer Traveller’s Tales have had a good relationship, partnering with LucasArts for brick-and-stud renditions of the “Star Wars” and “Indiana Jones” film franchises, with Warner Bros. on a “Batman” game and most recently a version of Rock Band with MTV, Harmonix and Warner Bros. The various releases are all entertaining on various levels—it’s funny seeing popular movie characters made up of little LEGO pieces, but they also feature cute animations and often hilarious cutscenes that are reminiscent of the original films, and there’s entertaining gameplay revolving around breaking up myriad LEGO structures, then often building them back up into other creations.

It’s a tried-and-true formula that has charmed gamers of all ages over the past five years. The games have been so successful that they’ve inspired yet another “Indiana Jones” adventure, entitled LEGO Indiana Jones 2: The Adventure Continues. Does this new one hold up?

LEGO Indy 2 mostly sticks to what has been done in the past with some notable changes…or perhaps omissions. There’s still the same comical cutscenes that play off the original movies—here, you get small modular versions of the first three films and a three-part treatment of the latest movie, 2008’s “Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull.” You start with Part 1 of the “Crystal Skull” flick, then gradually unlock the other pieces as you go. Once a new segment is unlocked, you can move back and forth between them (represented as crates in a warehouse) as you choose.

The gameplay involves breaking up lots of LEGO objects and items, which generally reveal a number of LEGO studs, the smallest building block in the toy’s family. These represent the game’s currency, and your stud account can be used to purchase various things that become available through gameplay, including vehicles and access to different characters. Most characters come with particular skills, such as girl characters being able to jump very high or soldier characters carrying particular weapons.

As you go through each module, you access individual challenges, most of which have you fighting LEGO enemies, solving puzzles, racing vehicles though a course before time runs out and more. You earn rewards for your efforts, with ten levels giving you a gold LEGO trunk as the key prize. There are also colored bricks you can gather, and if you get all ten of them in the module, you’ll earn an “extra” that varies with its color. For instance, the red extras are all monetary multipliers that increase the value of the studs you pick up.

Perhaps the best part is that you can play solo or in co-op with another player on the same console. This is especially great for parents to play with their child, as the games are relatively harmless with cartoony violence (undertaken against LEGO characters that generally reappear right after with little penalty).

The assorted components that make up LEGO Indy 2 are mostly well done. For example, the terrain and water are quite realistic looking, but it’s easy to see the LEGO objects among the “real” world. The levels are filled with such creatures as rideable horses, along with spiders and snakes (which are “Indiana Jones” staples for adding tension). The backing orchestral music is also reminiscent of the movies and high quality, though it’s all somewhat repetitious when taken across the whole game.

And the “whole game” is big. None of the puzzles are particular difficult, though there’s a lot to keep you busy as you work through each module’s many parts. When you near the end of a particular module, you’ll likely have some things left to do, and a good chunk of your time will be spent trying to find that remaining colored block to pull down or the remaining puzzle you need to solve for 100% completion on the module.

To add to the gameplay time, LEGO Indy 2 also includes an editor that can be used to create new levels. These mini-adventures are made up of the same items you’ll find in the main game that Traveller’s Tales put together, and you can save them to disc to play at other times. Another editor segment enables you to create a custom character to switching and swapping the body parts from all of those you unlocked through gameplay.

There’s definitely a lot to do, with a good quantity of entertainment on display as you go through the game, but it’s not without some serious flaws that can suck out some of your enjoyment. On the low end of the scale, there are times when you don’t have enough to time to pick up a large collection of spilled studs before they start blinking (the indication that you’re running out of time) and then disappear into the ether. Though later in the game, you’ll have more studs than you know what to do with, in the early and middle stages, you’ll be scraping to save enough to buy the helpful items and other characters that are offered to you. It’s during this time that you’ll really bemoan the loss of any potential studs.

There is a bunch of small foibles, though they can add up into bigger frustrations. Most levels include two characters for you to pilot, and the one controlled by AI is usually pretty dumb. There is a lot of cases where your “partner” is falls off a platform into lava or quicksand or just getting hung up trying to make some jumps to catch up to where you are. Switching characters will often enable you to extract the desired character from the undesirable situation—only to have the “new” AI-driven character start dying here and there in the same manner.

It’s also frustrating using vehicles in the game. Vehicle piloting isn’t really smooth (on the Left and Right Sticks for acceleration and braking), and you’ll run into plenty of items that’ll be in your way. In some cases, the vehicle will hang up and you won’t be able to extricate it (which is particularly bad if you’re against the timer in a race). In others, the vehicle will flip over and sit there for a few seconds, like a turtle on its back that’s unable to get anywhere—though the game does right any overturned craft after a few seconds of inactivity.

By far, the biggest problem is the lack of guidance. When you’re in the “warehouse” looking at each of the modules, it’s easy to see at a glance what individual locations need attention—though there’s no way to go right to one if you haven’t already accessed it already. It just shows up as a question mark on the chart. It’s worse if you’re in the particular module running around, because there doesn’t seem to be any indicator at the entrance to each challenge whether you need to do the challenge or if you’ve already done it. There’s an awfully large amount of trial-and-error as you wander around, trying to find the one or two challenges you have left to complete.

I don’t think the LEGO video-game formula has been tapped out, because, as noted, there’s a lot of fun in LEGO Indy 2. However, for whatever reason, the gameplay doesn’t seem to have been tested enough to weed out these fairly routine design flaws, because there are some serious usability issues that stand in the way of a what could have been a much better adventure. Hopefully, Traveller’s Tales will crack the whip before taking on another “Indiana Jones” trek.

Source: teamxbox.com

Tales of Monkey Island brings the adventures of pirate Guybrush Threepwood into a new era with an explosive storyline that becomes deeper and more entangled during the course of the five-episode saga. While battling his nemesis, the evil pirate LeChuck, Guybrush accidentally unleashes an insidious voodoo pox that threatens to transform the buccaneers of the Caribbean into unruly pirate monsters.

With all the television shows that have come and gone, I’m a bit surprised we’ve never seen a pirate courtroom drama. It seems like a fair idea, what with the constant looting, pillaging, murdering and general chicanery that goes on in the pirate community, but the idea has never made it on air for some reason or another. If such a show should ever come to be, though, I truly hope they’ll use the fourth episode of the Tales of Monkey Island series, as The Trial and Execution of Guybrush Threepwood is a sterling experience from start to finish.

When we last left Guybrush, he had been shanghaied by pirate hunter Morgan LeFlay and keelhauled back to Flotsam Island to be turned over to the dastardly Marquis De Singe. Unfortunately for the mad scientist, before he can lay a hand on our mighty pirate hero, a horde of angry townsfolk comes and drags Guybrush away to stand trial on a bunch of trumped-up charges over crimes that he may or may not have actually committed. What follows is your standard zany Monkey Island adventure, with a littlePhoenix Wright thrown in for an extra dose of fun.

The game is essentially divided into two halves, with each experience unfolding quite differently from the other. In the first segment, Guybrush must clear himself of all charges by questioning witnesses and coming up with evidence that will prove his innocence. Perhaps the most enjoyable thing about this part of the game is that your case briefs pretty much tell you exactly what you need to do to be acquitted, but the tricky bit will be figuring out how. The resulting cross-examinations, bribes and outright evidence tampering end up being an absolute joy, and they’re just tricky enough that you’ll feel a nice sense of accomplishment every time one of the charges gets dropped.

The courtroom segment is also where Telltale reintroduces yet another character from the Monkey Island vault, and this time, it’s our old buddy Stan in all his fast-talking, arm-waving, plaid-jacket-wearing glory. Stan is the prosecuting attorney in the case against Guybrush, but that’s really just a front for his bigger passion: selling trial merchandise and exploiting dumb pirates. Truly one of the highlights of the series has been the revival of old supporting characters we may have forgotten over the years, and the inclusion of Stan is one of those things that makes you fall in love with the franchise all over again.

After Guybrush finally convinces the locals to let him off the hook, business really picks up, as the Voodoo Lady informs him that La Esponja Grande must go through several rituals in order to mature and achieve the pinnacle of evil-absorbing power. At this point, Flotsam Island opens up once again, and Guybrush must explore the jungle again to complete the ancient tasks. It’s a significant change of pace from the last couple of episodes, and those who have been wondering where all of the really hard puzzles have gone need look no further. Even though the first half of the game isn’t too difficult, things ramp up quickly and substantially in the second act. Even so, the puzzles never feel unfair or unsolvable; they just require a bit more thought and perhaps some trial and error. It’s ultimately a nice balance, and one that will hopefully remain intact as Telltale preps the series’ final installment.

While the Tales of Monkey Island games have featured solid writing throughout, the team really stepped it up this time around. There are plenty of laugh-out-loud moments, and basically anytime the camera cuts to Stan, you know that hilarity is about to ensue. The rest of the cast does a great job as well, and the writing has only gotten sharper as the series has gone on. It’s just unfortunate that things will be wrapping up soon, as it seems like Telltale is firing off hit after hit in the script, and it’s the sort of thing you wish could go on forever.

In addition to the sharp writing, the general story line for episode four also stands out. Just when I thought I had things all figured out, this installment started throwing curveballs, and now I’m left wondering how on earth Telltale is going to bring this story to a close and tie up all the loose ends in the final episode. In order to stay out of spoiler territory, I’ll just say that there are some major revelations about a couple of characters, and the ending provides a cliffhanger worthy of the early seasons of “Lost.” For perhaps the first time in the series, I’m legitimately anxious to get my hands on the next episode just to know what happens next.

There’s really very little to find fault with in The Trial and Execution of Guybrush Threepwood. The puzzles are creative, fun and ramp up in difficulty in a nice manner; the script, story and acting are all outstanding, and the entire experience is just fun to play. The game doesn’t really break any innovative new ground, but who’s expecting it to? Also, the story has gotten far too complex for new players to jump in now and get true enjoyment out of it, but who starts watching an episodic TV show midway through a season? Really, the only thing Telltale needs to worry about is how they’re going to top this game when the series finale hits. We may be nearing the end, but it’s been a hell of a ride so far, and this episode makes me wish the ride would never end.

Score: 9.5/10

Source: worthplaying.com

Few against many

Men of War: Red Tide is the sequel of Men of War that was released earlier this year. Like the original, Red Tide will place you in control of vastly outnumbered units going against the German war machine. But instead of the cooperative gameplay possibilities of the original, Red Tide features a single-player campaign of over 20 missions in which the player follows a group of Soviet commando’s called ‘The Black Coats’ during the Black Sea campaigns of World War II.

Collective heroism

Men of War: Red Tide is based on the writings of Alexander Zorich, which is actually a pen-name of two Russian authors Yana Botsman and Dmitry Gordevsky. The two are known for their sci-fi, fantasy and alternate history novels and are regularly asked to create original scripts for games, including Men of War: Red Tide. Good news to those who were disappointed with the haphazard way the scenarios of the original Men of War were tied together.

The authors’ most obvious input can be found during the loading screens that feature texts recognizable to those who are familiar with Alexander Zorich. One such paragraph sets the scene for the Red Tide pretty well and I quote a part of it here:

“There is a certain popular concept known as ‘collective heroism’. If there is a single perfect example of this notion, it would be the Soviet naval infantry of the Second World War. [. . .] With a grenade in one hand and a standard-issue rifle or machinegun on their back, the infantrymen could do wonders: they waded through ice-cold water submerged to the neck, attacked German and Romanian coastal batteries, turned captured guns at the enemy, detonated enemy offices and ammunition stockpiles…” etc. etc.

Men of War: Red Tide not only puts you in charge of the heroes as mentioned in that quote but also of tanks, armored trains, landing craft, artillery and enemy weapons that can be captured and used. The campaign will carry you back in time to the famous theatres of war, including Odessa, Sevastopol, Theodosia and Eltingen.

Historical detail

The most striking feature of Men of War: Red Tide is undoubtedly the historical detail that has been inscribed into the game. This becomes apparent right from the start of the game as the player is treated with period documentary film material of the Soviet Black Coats and the battles that they fought in. Similar background documentaries are offered for each of the six battles that the campaign covers. This film material and written descriptions of the battles are wonderful at setting the scene for the game.

Like the original Men of War, Red Tide challenges the armchair generals’ to an ultimate test. Unlike other RTS games that pretty much guide the player by the hand for the first mission or two, Red Tide simply throws a couple of units of the Black Coats on the coast of Odessa and tells you to get through the first line of defense of the Romanians. The player will have to figure out the main controls as enemy fire rains down on his units and learn more detailed controls on the go.

This introduction proves to set a steep learning curve that is complicated further by inordinately high challenges very early in the game. For instance, you are vastly outnumbered and your units seem to hardly care about your commands at all. The first battle is set at night-time, making it very hard for you to tell your men apart from the enemy and allies. So there are no easy starts to be had here, but on the plus side, you find new appreciation for the confusion of a real battlefield.

Where is that rifleman running to?

You control your units by selecting them and then clicking on the destination where you want them to go to. But whereas you can usually draw a rectangle over several units in order to select them all, in Red Tide this action will only select one of the units inside that rectangle. Instead, you should select the units that you want to command from the list on the left side of the screen. But even this way you can only order the units one at a time. This tends to break up your formation into smaller units at whim, leaving you with a new button for a single machine gunner or a single officer and no clue as to how you could attach them back to their original units.

So much for ‘collective heroism’. Many times I saw a single soldier standing somewhere far outside the action, apparently bent on taking a nap while his pals were engaged in battle. Similarly, when I ordered a single unit to attack a certain enemy stronghold, one of the soldiers decided to run straight at the enemy while the rest of the selected unit remained where they had been, or decided to start shooting at the enemy from where they were at the moment. Naturally, the single attacker usually perished as the enemy battery opened fire at the fool.

Other problems arise in the pathfinding algorithms. I once ordered a single soldier standing at one end of a trench to traverse to the other end of the same trench. ‘Naturally’ this fellow decided to do this by jumping out of the trench and running through enemy fire until he reached the other end of the trench, where he got back into cover, much to the detriment of his health.

When everything works

Looking beyond these quirks, the gameplay of Men of War: Red Tide does give the player detailed control over the units, allowing you to order your men into defensive positions in trenches, bushes, behind vehicles and in buildings with great accuracy. The tactical detail of your controls is superb as you can command a group of men to capture a 75mm Schneider artillery, take direct control of the unit and blast away with the artillery at precise spots of enemy defenses, instead of letting the AI to decide what to shoot at.

The sounds and graphics are certainly the weakest spot of the game. The visuals are mediocre at best at today’s standards and the sound consists of basic pops of small-arms and explosions of bigger guns. Both the graphics and the sounds certainly achieve what they were meant to, but they will not treat the player any more than that.

There is also some voice acting included, mainly consisting of the cries of the soldiers on the field, but also featuring during the cut-scenes. Some of the voice actors seem to be trying hard at sounding realistic, but their efforts are undercut by their fellow actors who have all the enthusiasm of an S-Mart clerk using the store sound system to tell the customers about various deals of the day.

Hardcore

Men of War: Red Tide is seriously hardcore on many fronts. First, learning the controls takes time and patience and forces the player to refer to the game manual, instead of teaching the controls and other basics during gameplay. Second, the missions themselves are very difficult to perform. Many times you find yourself having completed one main objective, but facing the next one with far fewer soldiers due to the casualties that you have taken. This forces you to start over, trying to perform the initial objectives with less casualties so that you can even hope to overcome the main objectives. Third, the historical accuracy of vehicles and the men’s uniforms really shows the enthusiasm of the developers and how they love their subject matter.

Overall, I was left with an impression that Men of War: Red Tide would have been a far better game if the developers had paid more attention to the controls and user-friendliness of the interface. As it is, the interface seems to hamper your actions more than it helps you perform them. This may drive away many traditional RTS fans. Still, I am sure that World War II buffs will enjoy this title as much as they enjoyed the original Men of War. And after all, war was never meant to be easy.

Source: hookedgamers.com

Genuinely one of the most unique games I’ve played this year, Rule of Rose defies convention in terms of gameplay and story. You play as Jennifer, a recently orphaned girl due to the tragic deaths of her two parents. Set in the 1930’s Jennifer is sent to the Rose Garden Orphanage by bus, Jennifer befriends a small boy along the journey who disappears into the night once they reach their destination. This sets the stage for a creepy, atmospheric experience which is part survival horror and part adventure set within the confines of a story that would perplex famed film noir director David Lynch.

The game starts off with a jaw-dropping intro CG sequence (it’s the official selection of the Annecy 2006 International Animated Film Festival as the game features 50 minutes of CG in total) and foreshadows the bizarre events to come. Once the game gets underway and you have full control of Jennifer you’ll quickly realize that you’re playing the role of a young girl. Jennifer isn’t an action hero ala Jill Valentine or Lara Croft; she’s not given to fits of heroism or super strength. She’s a frail human being who can’t defend herself very well and it’s this element of the game that will either turn you off completely or hopefully, pull you that much closer into the character. Many of the enemies you encounter can often be avoided, and should be, since they are often prone to attacking in large numbers. Jennifer can easily run around them most of the time, but naturally she won’t be able to avoid boss battles.

The essence of the game involves roaming the halls of the orphanage and a large zeppelin, opening doors, collecting and examining objects, solving puzzles and either avoiding or confronting trouble. Eventually you’ll locate a canine companion named Brown, who will help you locate your objectives by sniffing objects you’ve already located. Unfortunately for you, Brown isn’t much of a help in battle, but his sniffer is an absolute necessity. Jennifer will be able to issue a few commands to Brown, such as Stay, Come and Go – which is the “find” command, allowing you to follow him while he tracks the scent of an item or person.

As you delve deeper into the story, your goal will be to attempt to rise in the ranks of the Red Crayon Aristocrats, which is comprised of the creepy boys and girls littering the orphanage and airship. The truly fascinating aspect to the children is that they act like kids, albeit demented and awfully creepy at times, but nevertheless, they remain flesh and blood rather than ghosts or other demonic apparitions – which I found only deepened the mystery behind Rule of Rose.

Every rose has its thorn, and RoR’s protruding pain just happens to be its fighting controls. Gamers looking for a combat-oriented horror show will be sorely disappointed by RoR’s pint-sized (somewhat hilarious looking) enemies and occasional boss battles. Tackling a room full of tiny terrors is futile and should be avoided as the fighting controls are hit and miss, although finding more powerful weapons certainly helps. Jennifer will be at quite a disadvantage during the RoR’s boss battles which can be difficult due to sluggish control, spotty collision detection and lack of items to restore health. Making matters worse Jennifer slows to a crawl if she’s almost out of health which makes her an easy target. Thankfully her health will be replenished once a new chapter begins.

Since your journey involves collecting and finding items, revealed to the gamer by a twinkling light, a quick tap of the Start button will whisk you away to the inventory menu where you are able to hold a select number of items. You’ll eventually find more items than you can carry and in a flash of convenience while simultaneously ignoring reality, Jennifer can “drop” items at any time which are then magically placed in garbage cans situated in various rooms for swapping later. You’ll also find a bucket-headed buddy located in these rooms whom you can tell your tale too, which saves your game. From the inventory screen you’ll also be able to look at items, equip weapons and have Brown “find” the scent of the objects you’re currently carrying.

The perfunctory level design – dozens of nondescript corridors and rooms – provides the game a heart-wrenching foundation on which this twisted tale is told. Everything in Rule of Rose is drab and dreary and that’s exactly the way it should be. Visually the game isn’t a looker, but remember that everything in RoR is secondary to the story. Complementing the stark visuals are quality voice-acting, narration and spine-tingling score which will immerse you fully and completely in this fairytale gone horribly wrong.

Rule of Rose may not satisfy those who prefer survival horror with more pulse-pounding action and disturbing R-rated scenes. It’s more of an acquired taste, like an independent movie which becomes popular via word of mouth and later blossoms into a cult classic. It would be easy to rag on the spotty combat controls, but RoR isn’t about kicking ass – as I’ve maintained throughout, everything is secondary to the story. If you’re in the right frame of mind for something completely dark and decidedly different, you’ll find it blossoming in the macabre bouquet of Rule of Rose.

Source: cheatcc.com

Starting out this review with the boldest of bold statements seems fitting for this title so here goes. Uncharted 2 is possibly the best game I have ever played. It seems like a tall order and it is not without its faults but when it comes to modern “next-gen” gaming experiences, this has captured the way I have thought games should be unlike any game on the Xbox 360, Wii or PS3 until now.

The sequel to Uncharted: Drakes Fortune, this title takes everything that was great in the first game and improves on it.  The developer, Naughty Dog, has learnt a great deal about storytelling and the way this tale unfolds is so much fun and, at the same time, quite clever.  The plot follows our hero, Nathan Drake, a treasure hunter of sorts akin to Indiana Jones or Lara Croft.  He is joined by a band of like minded characters and together they set out to find the lost treasure of Marco Polo.  The quest takes a drastic left turn as events unfold and a villain is uncovered.  The race is then on to get to the treasure before it is used for dark purposes.  I am deliberately keeping plot points fairly light in this review simply because i don’t want to give much away.  The way the story unfolds and the twists and turns are so enjoyable it would be criminal to give too much away.  Sufficed to say, you will finish the game feeling very satisfied and the ending leaves you with a warm fuzzy feeling, especially the place they leave the characters.  Bring on Uncharted 3.

What is brilliant about this game, and what makes it stand out from similar titles is the storytelling.  It is more like an interactive movie than a game but it has all the classic third person shooter and treasure hunter elements in there too.  There is plenty of gun play, car chases, shootouts with helicopters, damsals to rescue, monsters to fight and villains to defeat.  There are puzzles to solve, fist fights to be had and dark jungles and temples to explore.

The blending of cut scenes and gameplay are done so well that there is very little difference between the two.  All the cut scenes are done using the game engine so once they are over, the character is able to be controlled right of the bat.  Also, there are also moments where the action that would normally be reserved for a cut scene happens while you are still playing.  An example (which was shown at E3) is during a battle in a building against a helicopter.  As the chopper fires repeated rockets at the building to take you out, it finally gives way and the building comes crumbling down while you are still inside. This is in the middle of a firefight with various henchmen so you will need to take them out while guiding yourself toward the only way of getting out of there alive. There are many moments like this where the action is ramped up and the player is in the middle of it.

All of that wouldn’t be so impressive if you weren’t emotionally involved with the characters.  Each and every character is memorable and this is due to the incredible voice acting and the motion captured animation.  It also helps that the graphics in this title are one of the best that I’ve seen the PS3 pull off.  Naughty Dog said that when making the first game they used about 40% of the processing power of the PS3 and with Uncharted 2 they used 100%.  This is clearly shown and the characters and environments have far more polygons that the first title and are rendered with exquisite detail.  They don’t suffer from the “dead eyes” syndrome that many video game characters do.  Instead they acting comes from how well the facial expressions and eye movements are handled.  The voice acting is done so well that when combined with the animation, the game really comes alive and the player feels invested in what is unfolding before their eyes.

It isn’t just the big action set peices that make Uncharted 2 great though.  The small details that are thrown in also help build the world.  Just as much as the main dialogue, the offhand comments help build who these characters are and the fact that the game is genuinely funny without being overly cheesy is a big plus.  What this game does, it makes look effortless.

The graphics, sound design, direction, animation, character acting, plot development and gameplay are all awesome.  However, it isn’t a flawless game.  It comes pretty close though.  The control system can be a little cumbersome at times depending on the camera angle.  Quite a bit of the game involves climbing terrain and jumping from ledge to ledge and from time to time, even though you have pressed the right direction the character still jumps in the wrong direction.  Also, the multiplayer isn’t that great – at least not when I was trying it.

There are two types of multiplayer to be had here.  One is the co-operative missions where you and a friend work through the game together.  That works brilliantly and adds depth to the game similar to the way Gears of War played.  However, there is also online multiplayer with games like Deathmatch, capture the flag and whatnot.  This plays well too and has the potential to be perfect but we experienced quite a bit of lag and getting into a match took ages or didn’t happen at all.  It uses a matchmaking system to put you on an even playing field but it can take an excruciating time to get into a game and sometimes it just sits there and does nothing, forever searching for a game that doesn’t exist.

However, as much as the multiplayer didn’t work well for me, I don’t really care all that much.  There are plenty of deathmatch style games out there to play and this one doesn’t offer much that others don’t.  For me, this is a single player or co-op game. If the rest works well for you, then that is an added bonus.  The single player campaign is so good that I am more than willing to forgive the multiplayer shortcomings.

With every generation of consoles, there are a handful of games and franchises that define it.  With the Xbox 360 there have been quite a few titles that have driven sales of the console and have been quite memorable and even the Wii has titles that are considered “must have”.  The PS3 has been largely underwhelming for me so far with very few games that I have needed to own that could only be found on the PS3 or look better on the so-called “advanced” hardware.  Uncharted 2 is THE game to own on the PS3.  It shows off the power of the console and what can be done with a little ingenuity and creativity.  It shows that games don’t have to follow a worn out formula to be successful but most of all, it shows that the PS3 can be fun.  This is one game that you will love to death and it will even make you want to go back and play the original, either for the first time or all over again.  If you own a PS3, you owe it to yourself to player Uncharted 2.

Source: smarthouse.com.au

The game developer Bioware has created some incredible role playing games in the past so when Dragon Age: Origins was announced fans naturally got excited. With the Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic series and Mass Effect they created some truly incredible experiences. Dragon Age is no exception.

Released on PC, Xbox 360 and Playstation 3, the RPG is a remarkable piece of storytelling and game play. The enemies are interesting and challenging and the way you interact with the world is truly exceptional.  Unlike most games these days, playing DA isn’t a short 8 hour experience.  This is a massive game and will take over 40 hours to complete.  The result, is highly satisfying and completely depends on the decisions you make as a player along the way.

The story is set in the land of Fereldan, a very Lord of the Rings like place, were an evil force known as The Darkspawn are making preparations for an all out invasion.  You become a member of the Grey Wardens, a group of protectors that have been fighting the Darkspawn for thousands of years.  After tragic events occur it is up to you to unite the different races of the land to fight under your banner and together stop the Darkspawn by killing their leader.  There are four main factions you need to win over before you can engage in the final war.  For each there is a long series of quests that will have you crawling dungeons and beating back everything from Ogres to Werewolves.

If you have ever played Baldurs Gate II or a similar RPG, you will very familiar with how this game works.  However, like other Bioware games, it is the little differences and innovations that make the game exceptional.  The first thing you will notice is that the game unfolds unlike most RPGs.  The story isn’t linear, as such, but gives you more choice as to how to go about getting the tasks down.  They still lead to the same general story progression but depending what you decide to do and how other characters feel about you, the story can take very different twists and turns.

When having conversations with other characters, you are presented with a variety of responses and how you respond determines the outcome.  You can choose to be pure and wholesome or be a nasty evil-doer and the people around you will react accordingly.  You want to get your party members to like you though as the more they like you the more skills are unlocked for use by your main character.

The strange thing about this game is that you become rather emotionally invested in the characters in your party.  I played the game through to the end as an Elf female mage (I always play female characters in games, I guess I just like chicks that kick butt).  As you move further into the story, the other Grey Warden in your party, Alistair, reveals secrets about his past that sets him on a path that may see him leading the armies against the Darkspawn.  (I am trying to be as vague as possible here, to not give away the story).

As the game went on, my character was liked more and more by Alistair and I thought it would be really nice if the two ended up together at the end of the story in a “happily ever after” scenario, so I started choosing answers to push that agenda.  When he broke up with me on the night of the final battle I was horrified but that is what is so brilliant about Dragon Age.  The choices I made along the way, determined what would happen.  I may have been pushing for the two to end up together but I pushed a little too hard and he didn’t like that too much.  It was hilarious that I was getting dumped by a video game character and I was actually feeling kind of sad about it.  That is how invested you become.

The game play is squad based combat. You can pause the game at any time and tell each character what you want them to do.  You have four characters in the party at any given time and you need to be very careful about who you choose to take along.

A warrior is essential in any group make up, one that can use a sword and shield.  You will send him in and let everything beat on him.  He is not invincible though so you will need to have a healer.  Mages can be damage dealers or healers so you need to have at least one mage in your party.  It’s a good idea to have a damage dealing mage as well since they have some of the most powerful attacks in the game and can attack from range.  The last person in your party can be pretty much any damage dealing class.

At first I went with three mages, and then I replaced one with a melee rogue, then a two handed weapon warrior and finally settled on a rogue archer.  The rogue archer was a little weak at first but became quite a useful character as the game went on.  Only rogues can pick locks and there are plenty of chests you come across that only they can open. Also, in the final battle, I found having a rogue in the party made it extremely easy, I won’t say why though. I don’t want to ruin your fun.
While the game was exceptional in many respects, it did have its mediocre elements too.  Some of the voice acting is pretty bad, the story can get a little cliché and predictable at times and some of the dungeons got tiresome now and then.

However, the good far outweighed the bad.  The story is far more involved than a simple “go here and kill this and come back” that you get in many RPGs.  The story is more complex than I first thought it would be and the ending was surprising and unexpected.

This isn’t a game that relies on cut scenes but it does have a few here and there.  The cut scenes are done well and have a very Lord of the Rings feel to them. The environments are beautifully detailed and the graphics, on a whole, are excellent.  The Xbox and Playstation 3 ports are surprisingly easy to play, although I finished it on PC.

Another complaint I would probably aim at the game is that there just weren’t enough gear upgrades as you went through.  Most of the things that dropped from monsters or chests seemed to be geared toward melee classes.  My mages were still wearing some of the same gear they started the game with when I killed the final boss.  There are a few pieces here and there on vendors that are great but the cost of buying them is very expensive.

One piece of advice when playing this through is to use your professions well and think about how you want your characters to develop as you go through the game. Each time you level, you are given a few attribute points to spend and can choose a new skill.  Give some thought as to how you want to spend them as once spent, you can’t unspend them and you may find you want a useful skill later on that you just can’t get to because you don’t have enough levels left before the end of the game. Of all the professions you can choose, make sure you, at the very least, have someone to make potions.  Having to buy your own potions will get very expensive fast and you need potions to survive.

Dragon Age: Origins is one of the better RPGs to come out in recent years.  It isn’t perfect but it is in keeping with Bioware games of the past and is their best yet. The story is complex and fulfilling to play but most of all, it’s a load of fun.  This is a game you will have to dedicate a lot of time to playing but even once you finish it, you can play it all over again as a character from another race or simply make different decisions to see an entirely different outcome.  It is well worth picking up, especially for sword and sorcery RPG fans or those that loved Baldurs Gate.

Source: smarthouse.com.au

Strange one, this. Mini Ninjas is, at first glance, clearly aimed at children. Or at least children at heart. Big-eyed characters, cute design. But it was also made by the same guys who did Hitman.

Mini Ninjas is a game that sees you start off as a young ninja, sent out into the world to stop an evil samurai. As you progress on your travels, you’ll meet new friends, learn new skills, explore large areas and do a lot of fighting. All controlling an ever-expanding gang of cute, big-eyed ninjas.

And yet, it’s by the same guys who did Hitman. So is there some substance, some menace beneath the fluff? Or is this just Fisher Price: My First Legend of Zelda?

Loved
Design – Mini Ninja’s visual design is clean, pure, charming and incredibly effective. Adorable, even. I wish more games realised that it’s better to have a fully-realised, simple aesthetic than get bogged down shooting for something more elaborate.

Okami Jr. – It’s not Fisher Price: My First Legend of Zelda. There are no dungeons and no puzzles. Instead, it’s Pixar Presents: Okami. Except, in many ways, better. The levels are often smaller than Clover’s masterpiece, but not an inch is wasted, enemies are easily distinguished and varied, and there’s no unskippable dialogue sequences. It rarely feels linear, or cramped, it just feels tight, focused.

E for Everyone – Don’t write this off as a kids game. Like the best cartoons, it appears superficially to young ones, but has a greater depth to it that adults can appreciate, like tongue-in-cheek humour, hidden areas on every map and some surprisingly tough combat sequences that feel more Ninja Gaiden than Mini Ninja.

Hitman: Lunch Money – IO are the guys behind Hitman, and Agent 47’s influence can be seen skulking under the hood of Mini Ninjas. There’s a strong stealth mechanic throughout the game based on crouching and hiding in long grass or bushes, which makes every confrontation a choice between fight or fright and every level – especially the large, “urban” castle stages – a tip-toer’s playground.

Tricks – One of the delights of playing Mini Ninjas is in the little things, the little touches that add colour and variety to the gameplay. Like your big hat, which when under fire can be used to shield you from arrows, but also doubles as, of all things, a boat and a ski sled during some “vehicle” sections. Or your magic powers, some of which are obvious – like firestorms – but others quirky little delights, like allowing you to possess cute little animals and, disguised, sneak past guards.

Short Film Festival – During the game, story sequences and cutscenes are kept to a minimum. But as you unlock new ninjas to control, you in turn unlock a short animated vignette of that ninja’s first day at ninja school (here’s an example). It’s a shame these are buried within an extras menu on the game’s start screen, because the quality of both the animation and humour really blew me away.

Hated
Mini Game – I blew through mini ninjas, finishing it in just under two days. That’s partly because the game is so tight, with no real “down” time, but mostly because it’s, well, short. It’s such a joy to play through that it’s a shame there’s not more to it.

A little more conversation, a little less action – one area it differs from Okami and co. is in a lack of NPCs and things to do other than fighting. There are a few people scattered around, and they offer sidequests to boot, but they’re one –dimensional and rare. For most of the game, you’re just exploring and fighting. I would have liked a little more depth to the world, make it more worth your while to go off the beaten path and explore the game’s many hidden areas.

Mini Ninjas is one of the most pleasantly surprising games I’ve played in a long time. Hitting the market with little fanfare, I threw it on expecting a quick blast through a children’s action game, and ended up loving every second of one the most polished, charming action/adventure games I’ve played in a long, long time.

Source: kotaku.com

So much has changed since the last trip to the Animus that it’s hard to know where to begin. While Assassin’s Creed may boast that “nothing is true, everything is permitted”, it is certainly true that this sequel feels like a new monster in comparison to its predecessor.

Let’s begin with combat, as that was one of the top complaints of the first game. While there are some foes that can easily be dispatched with a simple counter-attack, many are impervious to that solution. Ezio, Altair’s replacement, is now capable of using a large number of weapons. As you progress through the game you can purchase better swords, hammers or mauls to use as a primary weapon and daggers as a side arm. Each blade has a different set of statistics, so how well they deflect blows away or how quickly you can counter varies from weapon to weapon. As such, early on it may feel as if they game isn’t nearly so responsive as the original. And still each foe seems to have its own way of quickly being dispatched.

While this certainly makes combat more difficult yet much more interesting, it can also become a greater chore. Health does not regenerate on its own, meaning the player must carry a supply of medicine or visit a doctor once too much damage has been received. It will take players some time and a lot of exploration before they can find the best options to use in specific situations. However, each weapon is useful in some way, even the wrist blades and throwing knives.

Of course, players likely won’t be fighting as often as they had in the first game. Assassin’s Creed 2 features a new notoriety system, where certain actions will cause awareness in the city to go up. The higher the notoriety the more quickly guards will recognize you on the streets. However, reducing notoriety is as simple as tearing down wanted posters and bribing heralds to discuss anything but your antics. Though players should be careful when tearing posters down, as any guard that sees you doing so will only pester you and boost your notoriety right back up.

Walking through the streets is also much easier and more interesting to do. The blending mechanic has been completely revamped, allowing players to step into any amorphous blob of peasants to escape the notice of guards. There are also factions that you can hire to help you distract guards or even fight, including courtesans (prostitutes), thieves that can run on roof tops and mercenaries. The ability to throw money is also incredibly useful at slowing down chasing guards or even distracting them from your illegal antics.

Yet it seems all of Ubisoft’s focus on the streets has caused them to ignore balance on the roof tops. While there are plenty more objects to climb on top of, and each city’s environments are unique and interesting on their own, the guards up top are more annoying than ever. In the first game a simple toss of a throwing knife was enough to clear them from your way, but it takes up to two in the sequel to take one down. This wouldn’t be so bad if they weren’t scattered so numerously in many sections of the game. In fact, they seem to be placed in clusters, many of which don’t make sense. One section of town may be empty of guards, but next thing you know every roof top in sight has them. Step too close or take too long to escape their notice and they’ll give chase. Take the time to assassinate them sneakily and your notoriety goes up, but if you allow them to attack you first your reputation remains unchanged. Instead of rewarding stealth, players are punished.

In fact, any sense of being a stealth game seems to have been thrown out the window. Sneaking through the crowd is a much better option than climbing on roof tops, which breaks half the purpose of the franchise in the first place. Yet Ubisoft also chose to listen to every player that didn’t have the patience to perform an assassination properly in the first game and made nearly every story based kill a regular fight or chase. There are plenty of optional assassination missions that allow players to strike like a hawk from above or an anonymous blade in the crowd, but the satisfaction isn’t there. There’s nothing like breaking through a warlord’s defenses only to strike him when he is most vulnerable. Yet, instead of rewarding players that took the time to learn to play the first game properly, Ubisoft merely made each assassination simple for those that don’t want to bother. It almost feels like a slap in the face and pulls that stealth action away even further.

Despite this major flaw in design, the problems with the previous game’s missions are gone. They are no longer repetitive, but varied and straight forward. Players that want to move on with the story are free to do so, though the campaign will be extremely short and likely rather difficult due to a lack of funds. Those that wish to do side quests and find collectible items will be rewarded with long hours of play. Even the assassination missions vary in their style. The pointless collection of flags has been replaced with collecting monetary treasures, Codex pages, seals, glyphs and feathers. Each collectible offers an in-game reward in some manner, and are much easier to locate than the previous game.

In particular these items will be highlighted in Eagle Vision, which is a much more useful tool than ever before. Allies and hiding spots are highlighted, but hidden treasures stand out against the rest of the environment. The player is also capable of moving while using this vision mode, though the rest of the HUD is gone. Even so, it’s incredibly useful for those tough to find feathers and glyphs.

On the whole Assassin’s Creed 2 is a major improvement on the first game. It doesn’t merely have more stuff, but has taken a completely different approach to the idea of the first game. The story executes much more cinematically while offering even more side missions. Collectibles are still there but are more varied and provide some sort of bonus. Combat can still be easy but you must first learn each foe’s vulnerability. At the same time, the cost of this approach has hurt some aspects of what made the first game great. Particularly the enjoyment of roof tops and actual assassinations as opposed to sloppy murder.

Yet there is no doubt that Assassin’s Creed 2 is, on the whole, better than the first. This is a franchise that is going places, and if any sequel dominates your holiday wish list it should be this one.

Source: gamersdailynews.com