Got some reviews, I've collected up in one post, here. A mixed bag of titles really, though they deserved a mention. I've recently pre-ordered the new SSX and Mass Effect 3, March month can’t arrive soon enough!
I'm currently playing through Dead Space 2, with Fear 3 planned just after. Will be back with more details on these at a later date!
Released: 2010
What happens when the original Resident Evil creator, Shinji Mikami, takes on the western, fast-paced, third person, action shooter? Complete with covering mechanics and slow motion, adding smooth controls, robots and even faster gameplay than your average shooter? Well, you end up in Vanquish territory.
Released: 2009
Although games with zombies have been around for a while, made most famous through Resident Evil back in 1996, there's always been a kind of hope that games with hoards of zombies would appear. With the limited hardware from last generation, it's been easier to create such an idea this gen.
Review
Played on: Xbox 360Released: 2010
What happens when the original Resident Evil creator, Shinji Mikami, takes on the western, fast-paced, third person, action shooter? Complete with covering mechanics and slow motion, adding smooth controls, robots and even faster gameplay than your average shooter? Well, you end up in Vanquish territory.
I’ve complained many a time about the stiff gameplay, and the overhanging feeling that Japanese developed games are lagging behind technically, especially in this genre. Vanquish is one title that want to change that. They succeed fairly well too.
Vanquish has a rather easy and well-informed tutorial to get you into it's gameplay quirks. It really should have been obligatory to go through it, skipping it is not recommended. Vanquish relies on, not only shooting over-the-shoulder style action, but also moving around the battlefield rapidly. In Vanquish you're equipped with rocket boots, which let you slide fast across the ground, from cover to cover. The more you overheat them, the more your suit energy is drained. These boots are, in a sense, what makes Vanquish stand out from other third person shooters, it’s originality key if you like.
The shooting mechanics work well, there’s a fairly standard set of weapons, ranging from an assault rifle, sub-machinegun to a sniper. The feeling of gunning down the robot enemies feels satisfyingly heavy and violent, and although robots seems a little lame as enemies, they actually suit the art style and environments, perfectly. They also die in a rather exciting fashion too, so you never feel the need for human or monster enemies.
Vanquish has a rather easy and well-informed tutorial to get you into it's gameplay quirks. It really should have been obligatory to go through it, skipping it is not recommended. Vanquish relies on, not only shooting over-the-shoulder style action, but also moving around the battlefield rapidly. In Vanquish you're equipped with rocket boots, which let you slide fast across the ground, from cover to cover. The more you overheat them, the more your suit energy is drained. These boots are, in a sense, what makes Vanquish stand out from other third person shooters, it’s originality key if you like.
The shooting mechanics work well, there’s a fairly standard set of weapons, ranging from an assault rifle, sub-machinegun to a sniper. The feeling of gunning down the robot enemies feels satisfyingly heavy and violent, and although robots seems a little lame as enemies, they actually suit the art style and environments, perfectly. They also die in a rather exciting fashion too, so you never feel the need for human or monster enemies.
In the beginning, the gameplay may seem a tad too fast and confusing, but once the controls stick to your memory and you get fairly familiar with the gameplay mechanics, Vanquish really starts to feel great. The gameplay is what Vanquish does really well.
Sadly, the very shallow and stereotypical characters, the over-the-top voice acting and completely pointless story, really pull the game down from being so much better. You simply don’t care about anybody in the story and what is happening. The presentation of the story feels like an anime, and in fact, it actually may have suited the game to have a sort of anime style to the characters and making the plot darker with more substance.
Sadly, the very shallow and stereotypical characters, the over-the-top voice acting and completely pointless story, really pull the game down from being so much better. You simply don’t care about anybody in the story and what is happening. The presentation of the story feels like an anime, and in fact, it actually may have suited the game to have a sort of anime style to the characters and making the plot darker with more substance.
There should also have been more variation in the environments, especially in the colour spectre. It looks over saturated and repetitive visually, only a forest really stands out from the rest. That said, the high tech futuristic city has cool design to it.
Vanquish is game for the gameplay alone then, its fast paced and feels satisfying when you get to grips with the somewhat tricky control scheme. The difficulty setting is unbalanced though, its too hard in normal mode, the checkpoints are relentless, then again it breezes past a little short in easy mode.
Vanquish is game for the gameplay alone then, its fast paced and feels satisfying when you get to grips with the somewhat tricky control scheme. The difficulty setting is unbalanced though, its too hard in normal mode, the checkpoints are relentless, then again it breezes past a little short in easy mode.
I hope they make a sequel, which really focuses on making a good plot and a deeper level to the lore.
Review
Played on: Xbox 360Released: 2009
Although games with zombies have been around for a while, made most famous through Resident Evil back in 1996, there's always been a kind of hope that games with hoards of zombies would appear. With the limited hardware from last generation, it's been easier to create such an idea this gen.
Now, there seems like there are a bit too many titles resorting to a zombie mode. However, the original Left 4 Dead was fairly early in this trend. On paper, it was like a dream come true: Up to four player, co-op, zombie survival.
In truth though, it ran on the old and rather aged Half-Life 2 engine, featured far too fast zombies, had no story whatsoever and became seriously repetitive. It was very fun, especially when you all were overrun and desperate, but it had a few annoying gameplay issues and simply resorted in throwing you into complete chaos to challenge the player.
Has anything changed from this in L4D2? Well, basically no. The graphics look really aged and the game looks bad. The splitscreen feature has a terrible framerate and dips constantly. The only new gameplay elements added are melee weapons. The game is far too dark in areas, has a confusing level design and often you end up wandering around aimlessly.
The game needs to be much longer, it feels like an add-on to the laughably short original game. It should have cutscenes and more story elements. The way it’s set up now, it should not be purchased on the intention of playing it offline alone with A.I. teammates. You buy this game for multiplayer co-op only and I guess the lifespan will feel more fair as you'll be replaying this over and over with friends.
Released: 2010
There isn’t really any question as to why Limbo received a lot of praise and awards for being the best arcade game the year it was released. It fell under my radar and I only recently purchased it. Limbo has an undeniable unique art style. It has no HUD, its in black and white and simply only takes use of a few buttons. You traverse the 2D levels with no explanation at all and must solve how to progress further and avoid being killed.
Limbo is presented in a very dark and dismal world. It feels almost like a post-apocalypse setting, where everyone has disappeared. You wake up in a woodland area and quickly realise when you play that there are a lot of dangers in its world. Often you need to simply explore and then die to know what is dangerous, but it doesn't feel like tedious try and fail mechanics in any way.
In truth though, it ran on the old and rather aged Half-Life 2 engine, featured far too fast zombies, had no story whatsoever and became seriously repetitive. It was very fun, especially when you all were overrun and desperate, but it had a few annoying gameplay issues and simply resorted in throwing you into complete chaos to challenge the player.
Has anything changed from this in L4D2? Well, basically no. The graphics look really aged and the game looks bad. The splitscreen feature has a terrible framerate and dips constantly. The only new gameplay elements added are melee weapons. The game is far too dark in areas, has a confusing level design and often you end up wandering around aimlessly.
The game needs to be much longer, it feels like an add-on to the laughably short original game. It should have cutscenes and more story elements. The way it’s set up now, it should not be purchased on the intention of playing it offline alone with A.I. teammates. You buy this game for multiplayer co-op only and I guess the lifespan will feel more fair as you'll be replaying this over and over with friends.
Review
Played on: Xbox 360Released: 2010
There isn’t really any question as to why Limbo received a lot of praise and awards for being the best arcade game the year it was released. It fell under my radar and I only recently purchased it. Limbo has an undeniable unique art style. It has no HUD, its in black and white and simply only takes use of a few buttons. You traverse the 2D levels with no explanation at all and must solve how to progress further and avoid being killed.
Limbo is presented in a very dark and dismal world. It feels almost like a post-apocalypse setting, where everyone has disappeared. You wake up in a woodland area and quickly realise when you play that there are a lot of dangers in its world. Often you need to simply explore and then die to know what is dangerous, but it doesn't feel like tedious try and fail mechanics in any way.
The creepy darkness, sounds and disturbingly violent deaths for the main character, a young boy, all add to a fantastic atmosphere. You'll be shocked and scared many times during its playthrough.
The simple gameplay, dark atmosphere combined with difficult and brain taxing puzzles, make Limbo one of the best indie games this generation. The artistic side to game is fantastic. It’s a tad short, but the experience is well worth the purchase.
The simple gameplay, dark atmosphere combined with difficult and brain taxing puzzles, make Limbo one of the best indie games this generation. The artistic side to game is fantastic. It’s a tad short, but the experience is well worth the purchase.
