Just in time for Halloween, Castlevania: Lord of Shadows swings into stores this October! Get it? “swings” into stores? Because, you know, the main character has a whip and swings… PS3vault is reporting that Konami has announced the release window and box art for Catlevania: Lords of Shadow. There is no exact release date yet, but launching the game during the Halloween season is not a total surprise- not just because the content of the game, but previous Castlevania games, including the last game Castlevania: The Adventure ReBirth, was was released on October 27, 2009. The reboot of the franchise stars Gabriel Belmont, a member of a holy order dedicated to defeating supernatural threats. Gabriel’s wife is brutally murdered by something supernatural, trapping her soul in limbo. Gabriel then begins a quest to defeat the three Lords of Shadow to obtain the pieces of the God Mask, a relic with the ability to bring back the dead. Castlevania: Lords of Shadow made a huge splash at E3 with its revamped controls and gameplay, plus it managed to breathe life back into a beloved, but stagnating series. Check out our hands-on impression from E3, and look for this game in October on PS3 and Xbox 360.
The latest iteration of 2K’s basketball franchise NBA 2K11 will feature a new game mode called The Jordan Challenge. Players will be able to play as the cover boy in 10 of his most legendary games and will be challenged to repeat the same feats that his Airness accomplished on the court during those games. From the press release: “Fans of the series are going to be thrilled to know that in NBA 2K11 Michael Jordan is much, much more than just a cover athlete,” said Jason Argent, vice president of marketing for 2K Sports. “We’re excited to start talking about the ways that Michael will be used in the game and there’s still a lot more to come. ” While playing The Jordan Challenge, fans can try to stun the world in Jordan’s self-described greatest game by torching the Cavaliers by 69 points in March of 1990; attempt to battle back from the flu to defeat the Jazz in Game 6 of the 1997 finals; or leave the world wanting more as they relive one of Jordan’s finest performances during his last game as a Chicago Bull on June 14, 1998. In addition to The Jordan Challenge mode, gamers will have the unique opportunity to play as some of the greatest teams in NBA history, including the ‘85-’86, ’89-’90, ’90-’91, ’94-’95, ’95-’96, ’96-’97, and ’97-’98 Chicago Bulls.
Fans of the Gears of War franchise are probably familiar with the poor, doomed Carmine family through the running joke that sent brothers Anthony and Ben to their horrible deaths in the first two games. But for the upcoming third title in the series, the death-friendly family will have the chance to make it all the way through the game when the hulking badass Clayton Carmine (pictured above) makes his debut. Or maybe not. Whether Clayton enters the Gears of War 3 with a target on his head and a ticker counting down his remaining minutes until a gruesome and brutal death awaits him, or if he bucks the trends and makes it to the end, is up to the fans of the series. Microsoft announced that beginning on July 29, fans will be able to vote on Clayton’s fate by purchasing one of two t-shirts: the first reads “Save Carmine”, while the other reads “Carmine Must Die”. No word on how much each shirt will cost, but the proceeds will go to Child’s Play, a community-based charity dedicated to improving the lives of children around the world. If you happen to be in the neighborhood of ComicCon, you can also stop by the NECA booth and purchase the real life t-shirts, each for $20, which also count as votes. Gears of War 3, which is being very specifically called the “trilogy finale”, meaning that while this storyline might end, others could follow, is due out on April 5, 2011. Check out the shirts below, but sadly, the “Carmine Must Die” t-shirt seems much cooler…
WhenElectronic Arts launchedSpore, the company promised to turn the creature-evolving title into a franchise. Now the company is starting to expandSpore’s culture, announcing it is working on a darker, sci-fi action-based RPG that will have players taking on the roles of mutated critters and have them set out across the galaxy to try to save everything from, well, other mutated critters. The new game will be calledDarkspore and is schedule to ship in February 2011. “Darksporeis inspired in part by the award-winning creature editor tech ofSpore, but also in large part from the team’s own passion for gaming and prior experience,” said Maxis Studio general manager Lucy Bradshaw, in a statement. “The team has combined these inspirations to produce a unique take on the action RPG genre.” Darkspore will feature both a full single-player campaign as well as a four-player co-op mode and multiplayer PvP capability. In the game, players will take on the role of one of five genetic hero types, and work on collecting customizations and upgrades scattered throughout theDarkspore universe, including acquiring and upgrading an arsenal of living weapons—”genetic heroes” with different abilities. EA promises “tens of thousands” of collectable parts of armor bits, as well as a strategy component as players have to carefully plan their squads and capabilities to succeed in the game. EA is planning to shipDarkspore on PCs and Macs initially; of the franchise takes off, likeSpore before it, expect EA to spread the franchise across a variety of platforms.
Due out next summer, the obligatory video game tie-in to the Green Lantern movie starring Ryan Reynolds, Green Lantern: Rise of the Manhunters, will give players the chance to take control of the Green Lantern and play through a story that will be connected to the movie, but also follow an independent storyline . Generally, video game tie-ins with movies tend to fail epically, with very few exceptions. If you are hoping for something like “but this game will be the exception!”, keep hoping. Sure, it would be great if this game is an exception to the rule, but beyond the inherent problems with a video game adaptation of a movie, the Green Lantern is not a character that easily lends itself to video games. Several Green Lantern games have been proposed over the years, and none have made it to the shelves, and the few instances where Green Lantern is featured in a game — as with Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe -- generally have the character using their amazing cosmic ring to make a giant cartoon-like hammer or a green beam of light. By the very nature of the Green Lantern’s powers, the game would have to limit the character’s abilities to make it work in a video game. If they could manage it, the game might be worth checking out. There is so much potential with the character, both in terms of gameplay and in the universe of the Green Lantern, that to do it correctly might be something worth taking note. We’ll have to reserve judgment until we know more. The game’s detail are still being guarded, but as the title suggests, the Manhunters will be the primary threat. In the comics, the Manhunters are a race of robots created by the Guardians of the Universe to keep peace before the Green Lanterns were created. The Manhunters were assigned to keep order, but they eventually determined that the only way to truly keep order in the universe was to wipe out all life. Hopefully, developer Double Helix games can break the mold and create a video game movie-tie in that pleases fans and gamers alike. The game will be available on all consoles, and is likely scheduled for release around the time of the movie’s June 17, 2011 release date.
On paper it might not sound like much of an issue, but users who have the choice of streaming Netflix directly to an Xbox 360, or streaming to the PS3 after inserting a disc will almost always lean towards the easier, disc-free option. It is a good problem to have, whether to watch Netflix’s increasing streaming library on the PS3 or on the Xbox 360, but the necessity of using a disc on the PS3 has always seemed somewhat bizarre when the technology to do without it is obviously there, and currently in use elsewhere. According to Shacknews, beginning this fall, PS3 users will be able to throw the disc out, thanks to an expected update that will make the disc unnecessary. There has never been an official explanation as to why the PS3 requires a disc where the Xbox 360 does not, but many have assumed that it is due to an exclusivity agreement between Netflix and Microsoft. Many DVD and Blu-ray players similarly do not require a disc to access Netflix, but the Nintendo Wii needs the disc due to smaller internal memory available.
Fans of the British sci-fi cult classic TV show Doctor Who can finally catch up to their UK counterparts and download two episodes ofDoctor Who: The Adventure Game, a series of episodic adventures set during the recently aired fifth season that aired in the UK, and recently completed its run on BBC America. Following the premier of the new season in the UK on April 3, the BBC announced that it would supplement the season with four “interactive episodes” that would be considered as canon to the show’s history. The episodes feature the voices of show stars Matt Smith as the Doctor and Karen Gillan as Amy Pond, both of whom are playable characters. Due to BBC subsidies, the episodes have been free to download in the UK since June 5 and June 26 respectively, but they will require purchase everywhere else. Originally priced as $4.95 for the first two episodes, the bundle has dropped to a very reasonable $3.70. The second and third episodes will follow the same pattern, but no date or details have been released on either. The first episode, “City of the Daleks,” sends the Doctor and Amy to an alternate 1963 where the Daleks have all but wiped out humanity. In order to correct the timeline and defeat the Daleks, the Doctor returns to Skarro, the home of the Daleks. The second episode, “Blood of the Cybermen,” takes place in a remote arctic base under siege by an army of Cybermen that have been frozen under the ice for 10,000 years. The episode marks the return of the Cybermen of the original Doctor Who universe, although their design is nearly identical to the Cybus-designed alternate universe Cybermen that have been featured in the recent show. If none of that makes sense to you, don’t worry, fans of the show should be suitably impressed by the scope of the plots. The episodes are now available to download through Direct2Drive.
The latest game in the Metroid franchise, Metroid Other M, has a new trailer up, which shows some great gameplay, of both the third-person and first-person action on the Wii. It looks great! Jointly developed by Team Ninja and Nintendo SPD Production Group 1 (collectively called "Project M"), the game’s storyline continues between Super Metroid and Metroid Fusion.
Darksiders to be launched for PC in June
An acclaimed action-adventure 2010 game title that made critics and gamers on the PS3 and Xbox 360 consoles very happy, Darksiders will soon release for PC, in June 2010, as announced by THQ Inc. today. Developed at THQ’s in-house studio Vigil Games, the PC version has been optimized to try to keep the amazing action and combat as close to the other versions as possible, while maintaining the dynamic gameplay and great art style.
David Adams, General Manager of Vigil Games commented, “We are really excited to have the opportunity to bring Darksiders to the global PC audience. We feel that the growth of digital distribution and PC online communities creates a great environment for our game. We are working really hard to make sure that key features such as user-defined resolutions, interface and both keyboard and game pad control sets are all up to the standards for today’s discerning PC consumer.”
One of the better sandbox-style games with a near perfect blend of freedom and tight, challenging game-play
Pros
Massive game world with lots to do; Difficulty scales well as the game progresses; Pretty impressive collection of air, water and ground-based vehicles
Cons
Weak script and voice acting; Occasional clipping-errors which forces restart from last checkpoint
NOTE: Just Cause 2 only supports Windows Vista or Windows 7 and requires a video card that supports DirectX 10 or higher. Windows XP and DirectX 9 are not supported. Does not require a Games For Windows Live account.
Rico Rodriguez reprises his role as a CIA operative in the sequel to Just Cause-- the 2006 sandbox-style action game developed by Avalanche Studios. This time around his mission takes him to the fictional island country of Panau situated in Southeast Asia. The mission is to destabilize the newly instated government led by a certain Baby Panay and subsequently assure that the US government has control over this relatively tiny country. Helping Rico on his mission are other CIA operatives that provide him logistical and intelligence support.
Just Cause?
As the game’s protagonist you take on a role can be described as that of a saboteur, mercenary or even a terrorist. Working undercover as a hired gun, Rico works with three other factions in Panua that are just as keen to usurp the incumbent government’s rule. Along with these faction and other CIA operatives, the player’s main objective is to maximize chaos by systematically destroying the country’s civilian and military infrastructure. By the end of it all you leave the country in a crippled pile of smoke and rubble, which makes you wonder if the developers call the game Just Cause out of sarcasm.
The game’s paper-thin plot unfolds like a typical US black-ops mission that is often discussed in the fringes of political debate, but never in the main-stream. As you continue to carry out missions for the CIA and the three other factions, you built up Chaos score and earn heaps of money. Building up Chaos score unlocks Agency missions, which in turn advances the game’s main-plot. Cash earned can be used to purchase equipment and vehicles from the agency. These vehicles and weapons can be upgraded by spending upgrade parts that are scattered across the map. Alternatively, the player can also jack any vehicles from the game-world that are not available for purchase. Purchased vehicles and equipment are dropped at the player’s location via a helicopter drop even in the middle of a heated gun-battle.
Travelling mercenary class
The game-world is huge and there is an impressive variety of transportation means with a plethora of ground-based vehicles, motorboats, helicopters and airplanes. The player can even hijack and fly around in a Boeing 747! For a more unconventional mode of transportation, the player can use the combination of Rico’s trademark grappling hook and parachute to slingshot across the map. This method—if used effectively—is one of the fastest ways of getting around with maximum mobility.
The grappling hook is invaluable even in combat as it can be used is a variety of ways to quickly turn the tide of a battle in your favour. For instance, when the player is on foot and is pursued by a helicopter, one can grapple onto the hull of the chopper and subsequently take control of the craft. This instantly changes a dire situation into one where you can completely own your enemies. The grappling hook can be used in other creative ways and just discovering those uses is half the fun.
One-man army
Side-mission are littered across the map and new ones appear and the game progresses. The switch between free-roaming and ‘mission-mode’ is quite seamless and the game gives the player choice to abandon the current side-mission at any point. While most of these side-missions may appear similar at first-glance, it is impressive to see that the level design and enemy types keeps things fresh and challenging. Depending on how much damage you cause, the game raises the threat level starting from one to a maximum of level five, during which you can expect at least a couple of choppers and a handful of elite troopers on your tail. Also, as you complete more and more missions, the country’s military permanently raises the threat level which means that the next encounter will be a lot more challenging. This mechanism works well to scale the game’s difficulty as Rico’s firepower increases with weapon and health upgrades.
Compared with the choice of vehicles, the game has limited arsenal of weapons. However, in all fairness it is adequate to carry out any type of mission. At any point, the player can carry a single two-handed weapon and two single-handed weapons. Along with these, player can carry two types of explosives that are invaluable in bringing down big structures like communication towers and chimney’s.
Tech behind the mayhem
Avalanche Studios has used an improved version of the engine that they used to develop the first game in the series and the result is mostly positive. The load-times are impressively low and the textures scale very well without any ‘popping-in’ effect or noticeable drop in the frame-rate. However, the game suffers from occasional clipping errors especially while using the grappling hook to get around. There were a couple of instances when Rico got ‘stuck’ in a structure and I had to reload the game from the last checkpoint. Although not a deal-breaker, this is a blemish on an otherwise pretty tight game.
Another area where the developers could have done a lot better is with the game’s script and voice-acting. There are instances where you feel that the developers have intentionally kept the quality low to resemble a B-grade action flick. It is also surprising that the game has not run into any controversy as there is at least one conversation between Rico and his ‘buddies’ from the CIA where they talk like gangsters about the Panua government breaking ties with Uncle Sam and “looking elsewhere for protection”. This is just one example of the many conversations that are filled with Cold-War paranoia and black-propaganda. At best, the developers should get credit for keeping things honest and in the right perspective.
Completing the side-mission to purse the main-plot took me little over 20 hours on Normal difficulty. As expected, the game continues after you finish the main objective in a ‘Mercenary Mode’. In this mode you can finish any incomplete side-mission, participate in illegal races and locate hundreds of collectibles. You can also use this time to destroy what is left of the country’s infrastructure, which feels like putting an injured dog out of misery.
In my experience, sandbox games are fun to begin with, but just as easy to lose interest in. Just Cause 2 in one of the exceptions as it manages to keep you engaged and interested right till the end and beyond.
Rating: 8.0/10
Details: Genre: Action, Third Person Shooter, Sandbox Studio: Avalanche Studios, Square Enix London Studios Publishers: Square Enix, Eidos Platforms*: PC (MS Windows, Steam), PlayStation 3, Xbox 360
Price: PC: INR 699/- PS3, Xbox 360: INR 2499/-
*Reviewed on PC
Minimum PC requirements: OS: Microsoft Windows Vista, Windows 7 (Windows XP is unsupported) Processor: Dual-core CPU with SSE3 (Athlon 64 X2 4200 / Pentium D 3GHz) Memory: 2GB System Memory Hard Drive: 10GB of free drive space Graphics: DX10 compatible graphics card with 256 MB of memory (Nvidia GeForce 8800 series/ ATI Radeon HD 2600 Pro) Sound: 100% DirectX 10 compatible sound card DirectX®: Microsoft DirectX 10
"Rapture is a body, Delta. I am the voice and Big Sister is the hand. When Rapture speaks of you it says only this: sleep now for your day is done!"
―Sofia Lamb
Bioshock 2 returns with dark and gloomy corridors that lead to tattered remains of what was meant to be an underwater utopian society. ADAM, the very substance that was going to be mankind’s savior, has reduced the city of Rapture to a crumbling civilization of junkies, hopped up on the gene altering substance. Eight years have passed since the events of the first game and the failure of Andrew Ryan to establish a stable society. In Bioshock 2, the mantle of Rapture is taken up by Sophia Lamb-- another professed messiah of the race. Lamb believes that the biggest hurdle between mankind and a Utopian world is the obsession of the self.
Water is a central theme throughout the game
The sequel retains the immersive visuals and narration that was the hallmark of the first game. Once again the story in the game unfolds by playing recovered audio logs and with game’s characters speaking over the PA system. The game’s premise is pretty much set up very early in the game, so the audio logs and PA announcements serve to dwell deeper in to a person’s fears, motivations and dreams. Most of the script of Bioshock 2 is pretty dense with psychological, philosophical and political rhetoric and arguments. If you are interested in any of these subjects, you probably will consider the game’s script and narration as its strongest elements; otherwise you may be in for a snooze fest.
Rapture Redux
Buying provisions at a vending machine
As the game’s protagonist, you get to play as one of the early test subjects of the Big Daddy experiments. Playing Subject Delta in a big, burly suit does not affect game-play as much as you might think as Bioshock 2 retains most of the central elements from the first game. Combat remains a combination of weapons and Plasmids that gives you spell-like abilities. Since character upgrades are bought by spending ADAM at vending machines, encounters with Big Daddy and collecting ADAM still remains central to survival. And just like in the first game, weapons are upgraded by single-use vending machines and supplies can be purchased by spending cash at the machines. Your size and strength does not give you an advantage in battle as you are easy matched (and sometimes outmatched) by the quick and nimble Splicers. Major addition to the enemy roster is Big Sisters and they are one of the toughest opponents in the game. They are as quick as the Splicers and hurt almost as much as the Big Daddies. There are plenty of weapons, ammo types and Plasmid abilities in Bioshock 2, so there is certainly no shortage of ways in which you can defeat enemies.
So, as one might expect from sequels of successful games, 2K has taken the core elements from the first game and tweaked and polished it for the sequel. For instance, hacking has been simplified and the introduction of remote hacking ability means that it is much easier to turn Rapture’s automated security systems against the enemies. In fact, effectively using the security systems can really turn the tide of battle in your favor.
Friends and foes
Hacking for dummies!
Speaking about the overall balance of the game, I feel that the developers could have done better on at least two fronts. During the first half of the game, I found it quite difficult to progress without using the resurrection feature of the Vita Chambers. Then towards the end of the game, when you have access to some powerful upgrades, the balance shifted drastically to the other side. The game is comparatively a cake-walk at this point, even with more enemies on the screen. What makes life more difficult is some of the other design elements. It is quite harrowing to stay on top of things when you are surrounded by enemies. You need to keep one eye on the health and EVE reserve and another eye on the ammo type that you have currently equipped and the ammo reserve. Between all of this, the enemies are all over the place as they have the ability to teleport and even crawl on ceilings. Then there is the control system that will have your fingers all over the keyboard like tentacles— there is only so much one can achieve when using with the off-hand.
Visually this game is just as brilliant as the first one, although I experienced a few performance issues. Even after lowering graphics details from what the game had auto-detected, there were regular instances of textures popping in. Also, while accessing some of the game menus, my computer’s CPU utilization reaches almost a hundred percent, and sometimes even forcing me to restart the game.
Power to the people
Bioshock 2's matchmaking system is worse than my mom's
Entirely new to Bioshock 2 are the multiplayer game modes, and 2K has kept things simple and traditional in this department. Referred to by different names, the game modes in Bioshock 2 includes: deathmatch, team-deathmatch, capture-the-flag, last man standing and domination. What really sucks about multiplayer in Bioshsock 2 is the abysmal match-making system. During the couple of hours I spent online, my level one character was pitted against players that were as high as level 40. Online lag starts to become crippling when there are about five or six players on the screen. Also, accepting a game invite causes the game to crash. If the developers can iron out these issues, Bioshock 2 multiplayer has the potential to be a lot of fun.
2K has done very well at retaining the highlights of the first game, but introduction of new features has brought some problems along with it. If you look towards Bioshock for an engaging and often thought provoking script, then you will not be disappointed with the sequel. Game-play has balance and other issues; however none of it is game breaking. Comedable effort has been made to improve on game's combat mechanics; however the control schemes can be a bit overwhelming.The publishers had five different studios working on this game and maybe that is showing with some of the bad spots in the game.
Rating: 8.0/10
Details Genre: FPS, Action RPG *Platforms: PC (Windows), PS3, Xbox 360 Studio: 2K Marin, 2k Australia, 2K China, Digital Extremes, Arkane Studios Publisher: 2K Games Distributor: E-Xpress *Reviewed on PC
Other Requirements: Initial installation requires one-time internet connection; Ability to save game, earn achievements, receive title updates and online play requires login to Games for Windows LIVE
I have studied the ancient pagan faiths that came before this more recent obsession with a single, divine creator... there was an attempt to categorize, study, explain, and understand the way things work - even if it was flawed. But no more. Now we are asked to succumb to a far more simplified explanation. How naive to believe there might be a single answer to every question. Every mystery. That there exists a lone divine light which rules over all. They say it is a light that brings truth and love. I say it is a light that blinds us - and forces us to stumble about in ignorance.
I long for the day when men turn away from invisible monsters and once more embrace a more rational view of the world. But these new religions are so convenient - and promise such terrible punishment should one reject them - I worry that fear shall keep us stuck to what is surely the greatest lie ever told.
- An excerpt from the Codex of Altaïr, page 20
When you start Assassin’s Creed II (AC2), one of the messages that flashes by, goes something like this: “we, the developers, have based this game on real-world events and histories and would like to tell you that we belong to, and subscribe to, a varied mix of faiths and beliefs” – the implied subtext being: “so don’t hurt us please”.
Rarely does one play a game that crosses so many lines brazenly and with aplomb: AC2 questions morality, authority, religion, science, our history, our place in the universe, and expertly weaves a tapestry of conspiracy so vast, intricate and complex – connecting everyone from Eve to Jesus, Hitler to Gandhi – that by the time the game is done, only three words come to mind: What. The. F*ck.
WTF did I just play? And: OMG, mind blown.
But that’s not new territory. Games of past have played with gamer’s minds before – Xenogears, Deus Ex, even the better Metal Gear Solid entries – to name a few. What makes AC2 so unique is that it never shoves a point down your throat (*cough* MGS4 *cough*). The game gives you as much as you put in. You can play it as an action romp, you can approach it as an adventure, you can revel in its GTA-like open-world mayhem, you can unlock its many mind-bending puzzles, or enjoy some of the best platforming moments this side of Prince of Persia: Sands of Time. You can do all, or you can do naught but jump from rooftops onto victims’ throats. AC2 succeeds in creating a play-as-you-like experience and should you choose to poke around and nose through the vast tapestry it lays before you -- it constantly rewards you with cool upgrades and nuggets of information.
Nothing is true
I did not think I would recommend this game when I started playing it. AC2 stumbles at the starting point -- falls almost flat on its face even before it begins -- through some awkward 30-odd minutes of uninspired dialogues, characters and setup. The game has something of a curve which is not just relegated to learning the ins and outs of its controls. It starts slow and almost creeps to a point before it hooks you. When the game starts, if you are like me, you will be snorting in derision over the game’s Matrix-like setup (complete with a female version of Tank), or will be laughing at the terrible and almost-stereotypical Italian accent of the characters (the game is set in Renaissance Italy). When the protagonist’s uncle goes “it’s a-me, Mario” (yes, really), one can’t help but laugh out loud at the ridiculous moment of self-depreciation. AC2 even looks pretty bland for a next-generation game. On the whole, it’s a bad first date but stick with her and the game grows on you. Over time you will tend to look past her average looking cut-scenes and bland environments – not to mention the texture pop-outs and screen tears – and come to appreciate her awe-inspiring, meticulous architecture and the ridiculous amount of detail lovingly poured into each of her cities.
While AC2 can look a bit bland at times, there is no denying the splendid architecture and level design
AC2, perhaps, has the liveliest city-life ever virtualized for a game. Inhabitants perform an orgy of tasks (and given the density of people milling about in an average AC2 city, orgy is just the right word): tilling fields, walking, carrying boxes, performing acrobatics, flirting, talking, pickpocketing, pushing, shoving, sitting on top of boxes and staring out to the sea... The cities are dense and claustrophobic, encouraging you to climb a nearby building and take to the rooftops; to escape. And once you do, you’ll rarely want to climb back down.
Leap of faith
Rooftops are AC2’s soul food. You will be ever-yearning to get on top, excuse the pun, not only to get away from the crowd but also to take in the vista and to explore. Rooftops also offer the game’s core platforming hook. Going from ground-zero to the top of the tallest church is as exhilarating as it is ultimately breath-taking. The controls for platforming are simple – press two buttons, or just one if you don’t want to sprint, and move the analog stick in the direction you want to go. Ezio – the game’s protagonist will automagically climb boxes, jump across poles, run across balconies, leap across roofs, swing across buildings, and so on... as long as your analog stick is true, everything goes almost according to plan. Almost.
Jumping across rooftops is where AC2 really shines; bar the occasional control hiccups
Here lies the most damning aspect of the game: its controls are not very reliable. They work most of the time but just when you need them the most, Ezio will do something stupid and spoil your run. I’ve experienced Ezio squatting between two elements of a roof instead of pulling himself over and running across; many a times (at least three!) has Ezio leaped to his death instead of to the nearest bundle of hay (when performing the signature- and ironically-named, Leap of Faith move). The controls work 99 times out a hundred. But the hundredth time is invariably when you needed them to continue working, and not spectacularly fail. It’s a case of Murphy’s Law working against you and is the only reason why this game falls short of perfection.
Everything is permitted
If platforming be the soul of AC2, then a sandbox presentation forms its heart. Like a Grand Theft Auto title, AC2 throws several cities at your mercy. Each city is unlocked as the game progresses, and within a city, you are typically restricted to one or more districts; others unlocked yet again over time.
Each city offers a variety of missions – assassinations, chases, stealth, tailing, eavesdropping, smuggling, racing across rooftops, delivering letters, stealing codex pages, hunting for treasures, raiding secret tombs, collecting feathers.
Typically, each successfully completed mission rewards you with money, some unlock new moves and abilities, while a few offer new weapons and tools. Money plays an important part until halfway through the game – after which you have so much, you will literally find yourself throwing money at passing people. Through money you can buy items such as health potions, poison, smoke bombs, throwing knifes; you can upgrade your armour and thus lengthen your health bar; you can also hire courtesans/thieves/fighters to distract or fight alongside yourself. The most important use of money is to upgrade your hometown / villa. As you improve your villa and its surroundings – either, for example, by upgrading the doctor’s or by adding a brothel – your town’s standing grows; more people come to visit, bringing in more money. It’s a positive loop and the first thing you should invest in. Pretty soon, the town will be earning you upwards of 14,000 in virtual cash every 20 real-time minutes.
You can also fly across Venice, oh-so-briefly
The game also borrows a notoriety system from GTA: When you perform tasks which are either too aggressive (like throwing a guard down a building), or too flamboyant (like jumping down a roof to kill a guard), your notoriety increases; pretty soon making you Notorious with a capital N – comparable to the Wanted status in GTA. This is when the authority has it in for you and every guard is after a piece of your hide. Well-meaning though it might be, the system feels a little broken as it’s a small task to bring the notoriety level back down – either via bribes, assassinations of key government officials (ironic!) or the easiest and cheapest means of all – through tearing down your “Wanted” posters. As such it never adds to any tension, as was the probable intent behind the notoriety system. In fact, a lack of tension is a common complaint in AC2.
Where’s the challenge?
Combat in AC2 is a simple affair: a target is selected through the L1 button (note: all keys correspond to the PS3 controller). Once marked, pressing X on the controller performs an attack. You can block attacks by pressing the R1 button. When blocking, X allows you to dodge, the square button starts a counter. While attacking the circle button grabs the enemy after which you can headbutt using the triangle button, or kick in the groins using the X button. It might seem confusing (and there is a very real chance that I made a mistake in laying down the control options) but once you have the controller in your hand and understand that L1 is an attack modifier and R1 the defence modifier – it all falls into place. Promise.
Combat boils down to a lot of blocking and countering. You can also go unarmed, in which case R1 and countering will disarm the opponent giving you a chance to one-hit kill them using their own weapon. Broadly speaking there are four types of melee weapons – small weapons (the knife variety), small swords, spears and its ilk, and hammers and blunt weapons. Ranged weapons are throwing knifes, a gun of sorts (worst gun ever in a game!), and the all-too powerful smoke bomb which can render a large group of enemy helpless and victim to your sword. You can also buy/unlock some special moves such as throwing knifes at multiple enemies or throwing sand to blind your foes.
Disarming an opponent and then stabbing him through the heart using his own sword is more enjoyable than it should be
The system is such that you never feel threatened by an encounter. Sure, a combat situation might be a tough one to crack, especially when surrounded by a group consisting of axe-wielding brutes and spear wielding, err dudes. But you know you will make it through, if not through skill then through chugging down potions. You never feel challenged or threatened during a fight.
Outside of combat, the platforming is key. Here you will feel threatened but only because of the aforementioned “Enzio could do something stupid any moment now” phenomenon thanks to the none-too-reliable controls. There are some incredible levels though – the secret tombs you need to traverse and defeat offer plenty of challenge and of the right type. You will look forward to these but alas there are only a handful of them in the game. Moreover, these tombs are entirely optional (it would be a shame if you skip them though). Another optional element, but one which requires a fair degree of mental acumen is glyph-hunting. All throughout the cities, glyphs tag some key structures.
AC2 offers a variety of weapons. It’s hammer time here; you can’t touch this
These glyphs must first be found (plaftorming) and then be solved (brain-teasers). Each glyph offers puzzles ranging from jigsaw-like complete the picture, to cracking a code. On the whole then – unless you adamant on completing every aspect of the game, you will find little challenge in AC2, outside of a few moments of frustration.
The verdict?
AC2 does away with the mission structure of the first game. For the most part, it’s for the good but where the first entry ended an assassination with a long “confession” from the murdered party, AC2 leaves Ezio to do all the talking. It’s a small detail but you do miss the back story of your target and the reasons why he did the things he did which led to his assassination... Similarly, the pace at which an assassination takes place is less than ideal. In the first game the crescendo built up to an assassination and then the game played you out as you sought cover and refuge from the now-on-high-alert-guards. AC2, for the most part, ends a mission after you kill your target. There are a few missions which call on you to escape after an assassination, and kill a multitude in your wake. And frankly, these are the most fun. So while AC2 adds a whole lot to the first game’s formula – yes there is a lot to do – it also takes away some aspects that made the first outing enjoyable. Another small niggle: that “whole lot to do”, is rewarding for the most part. AC2 should have offered better rewards for two of the most mind-numbing hunts though: (1) hunting all the feathers, (2) opening all the chests. The reward for the former is a pathetic cape, while you won’t even care to complete the latter since frankly you have so much money half-way through the game that yet more money is not incentive enough.
These issues, a lack of persistent challenge, and the occasional control problem mar an otherwise excellent experience.
Bottom line: We strongly recommend playing this game. It’s one you must experience in the year 2009. If you don’t have a console, pick it up for the PC next year. But play it, you must.
Play it to experience the awesome architecture, play it to leap four storeys down and to kill two guards at once, play it to mow down a group of people under your horse, play it to hide bodies in bundles of hay, play it to poison a guard and watch him flail to his death, play it for the stupid Italian-English accent (it grows on you), for the amazing conspiracy theory the games weaves around you... if for nothing else, play it to experience the most satisfying 30-final minutes a game has to offer. It will blow your mind.
Can you say no to this?
Rating: 8/10
Details Genre: Action Adventure Platform: PS3, Xbox 360, PC (2010) Developer: Ubisoft Publisher: Ubisoft Distributor: e-Xpress Price: Rs. 2,599
Good game for those whose like a lot of explosions to go with their racing
Pros
Technically robust; Balanced difficulty; Packed with frantic action
Cons
The action takes the attention away from racing; Virtually no customization options
Split/Second is Blackrock Studio’s follow up to off-road racing game Pure which was released a couple of years back. In Split/Second, the player takes on the role of a race car driver in a reality show on TV.
Of racing and wrecking
In keeping with the game’s setting, the levels in the single-player campaign are divided into episodes and each episode has multiple races. The game rewards the player with credits and the amount is dependent on the player’s finishing position. A central element of the game design in is a move called Power Play, which lets the player control the outcome of the race by wrecking opponent’s cars, opening up shortcuts or drastically changing the race track. The player needs to start filling up the Power Play meter before these moves can be executed. Performing stunts like jumps, scarcely avoiding obstacles, drafting behind opponents or by drifting through turns are ways in which the meter can be filled. A partially filled meter lets the player execute level one Power Play moves like blowing up parked cars and building structures or opening up shortcuts. A completely filled Power Play meter allows execution of level two moves that change the course of the race track and also has the potential to take out multiple opponents in one fell swoop. Timing these moves correctly is absolutely essential, since mistiming a trigger may actually take your own car out instead of the opponents.
The balance of game-play is heavier on the action-side of things, rather than actual racing. Since these Power Play moves can be very effective at changing a race’s result, you may find yourself concentrating more on getting the meter filled and not actual racing. Also, it’s not just the player that has the ability to alter the race track, but even the AI controlled racers. The result in a very frantic experience as the next danger can come from any of the four angles. And while this makes for a very exciting and often unpredictable contest, some racing fans may be put-off by the strong emphasis on cunning, in lieu of racing skills.
Money, cars and glory
At the end of each race, the game rewards the player with credits. Earning a certain amount of credit unlocks events and new vehicles. There is also a bonus event in each episode that sometimes requires the player to wreck a certain number of opponents before it is accessible. The prime objective of each episode is to unlock and win the last race that features elite racers. According to the player position, championship points are awarded at the end of each elite race. These points accumulate over all the episodes and determine the player’s standing at the end of the season.
There is a fairly decent amount of variety in terms of cars, tracks and event types. There are mainly three classes of cars—sports, GT and SUV. Tracks are designed around a certain theme like an intercity free way, airplane scrap-yard, nuclear power plant and a few more. Event types include the tradition time trials, circuit races and elimination.
There are also a couple of unique event types in Survival, Air Strike and Air Revenge. Survival features many big-ass trucks that ply the race tracks and are laden with explosive barrels. The objective to pass as many trucks as you can while avoiding hitting the barrels that are chucked out of the trucks. Passing each truck adds points to the score and also increments the combo counter. So each consecutive truck the player passes will increase the score exponentially. Air Strike and Air Revenge are similar events. These events pit the player against an attack helicopter that is armed with an endless supply of missiles. Just like Survival, the objective is Air Strike is to dodge the missiles and rack up points. In Air Revenge, the player gets to retaliate by deflecting the missiles by executing Power Play moves.
Along with credits and new rides, the game features another little reward that gives the player bragging rights. Achieving a certain milestone—like wrecking a set number of opponents or winning by a fraction of a second—earns the player with decals that are automatically applied to all the vehicles that the player has unlocked. There is a great deal of decals that can be unlocked and while some are quite easy to earn, others require serious skills. While the decals serve solely aesthetic purpose in Single Player mode, it is also a way of flaunting skills during multiplayer races.
After the glory
There is quite a bit a player can do after winning the Split/Second season. There are new rides and decals that can be unlocked. The player can also attempt any of the events again to earn gold ranking in all of them. Aside from single-player modes, the game also features multiplayer over internet, LAN or offline split-screen. I personally did not have good luck with online multiplayer—each time staring at an empty game lobby.
Split/Second is worthy of a try if you like games like Fatal Racing or even Rock ‘n’ Roll racing. There are couple of areas where the developers could have done better. For instance, while the game is supposed to be a TV show, actual game-play does not give that impression. Something like commentary would have certainly helped to achieve that effect. Also, it would have helped if there was some form of a speed meter in the game, because without one it is hard to judge the loss of speed and subsequently device if it’s better to break at a turn or drift through it. Split/Second is a fun and fairly robust game in its own rights; however serious racers might want to steer clear of this one.
Rating: 8.0/10
Details Genre: (Arcade) Racing Studio: Blackrock Studio Publishers: Disney Interactive Distributors: Excel Interactive * Platforms: PlayStation 3, PC (MS Windows), Xbox 360
Platforming is the only thing that shines out amongst lacklustre combat and ho-hum storyline
Pros
Platforming in this game is some of the best since Sands of Time
Cons
Compared to platforming, combat is mundane and uninspiring; Most of the game-play elements have been recycled from previous outings in the series
Within the timeline of Prince of Persia (POP) games, Forgotten Sands is placed sometime after the events of Sands of Time and before Warrior Within. The Prince is sent on a quest by his father to seek training from his brother Malik. However, after arriving at his destination the Prince finds out that his training will have to wait since his brother’s palace is under invasion from a large group of raiders. In a desperate attempt to turn the tide of the battle, Malik releases the power of King Solomon’s army and inadvertently unleashes the sand army. From here on end it is pretty much business as usual for the Prince— fighting sand-monsters, negotiating traps and ravines, and scaling dizzy heights.
Marches and the battles
The Prince gets his powers over the elements and time through a piece of a medallion lodged in his breastplate. Along with the series-staple ability to reverse time, the medallion also allows the Prince to solidify water. Using this ability to control flow of water, the Prince can shimmy over waterfalls or use pillars of water to get around. Further into the adventure, the Prince encounters a crumbled and ruined city and here the medallion has the ability to ‘repair’ broken pillars and missing chunks of floor. Finally, the medallion allows the Prince to trust himself vertically over small distance, which is a toned-down version of the flying ability from the last POP game. All of these new abilities combine with old techniques to deliver a fairly fresh and challenging platforming experience.
Combat on the other hand is a quite mundane due to a bare-minimum, hack-n-slash system with magic thrown in for crowd control. There are a handful of enemy types in this game; however they are all slow and lumbering, adding very little to the challenge. It is quite common in the game to be outnumbered and flanked by enemies on all sides. But even in such situations magic can be used to quickly and effectively turn the tide of the battle in your favour.
Fallen enemies and smashed pottery leave behind collectible coloured orbs. Red orbs regenerate health, blue orbs refill the magic gauge and yellow orbs can be used to purchase combat and magic upgrades.
Sequences of combat and platforming are interspersed with puzzles that are mostly about pushing levers in the correct sequence. Any POP game cannot be complete without traps and this game has a few old and some new traps to negotiate.
A familiar fable
From the very first level, right to the end of the game, Forgotten Sands feels like a tribute or a compilation of the first three games in the ‘Sands’ saga. While it was nice to see the developers returning to the original setting and reverting on the attempt to reboot the franchise, Forgotten Sands is a bit too much like its predecessors. This game has picked up elements from all the POP games thus far and added just a couple of new ideas that really affect game-play. Story-wise, this game is of little consequence since we already know what follows after this in Warrior Within and Two Thrones. Moving the storyline forward—instead of filling up gaps—could have been more prudent choice as it may have given developers more freedom with game-design and players more satisfaction at the end of it all.
On the first play-through the game can last between seven to ten hours depending on your platforming skills and more importantly, familiarity with POP games. After beating the game, you have the option to play the game all over again with all the unlocked upgrades carried over to the new game. Besides this, beating the game also unlocks challenge mode against waves to enemies.
Game-play in Forgotten Sands is an infinite improvement over the last outing; however it is nowhere close to the bar set by Sands of Time. While the setting of this game was ripe to relive the greatness of the original game, it falls short mainly due to weak storytelling, combat and music.
Rating: 7.5/10
Details Genre: Action, Adventure Studio: Ubisoft Publisher: Ubisoft *Platforms: PC (MS Windows), PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 Nintendo DS, PlayStation Portable
Price: PC (MS Windows):Rs. 699/- PlayStation 3, Xbox 360: Rs. 2499/- Nintendo DS, PlayStation Portable: Rs. 1499/-
