Spec Ops: The Line

Just ordered Spec Ops: The Line.

If the plot is as good as they say (very "Heart of Darkness"), then it's going to be a different kind of cover-based shooter -ride.

Play Asia has it cheapest (Xbox 360), surprisingly (in UK PS3/Xbox versions are both over £32, in PA just over 20 eur, 24.85 with postage). Sadly the PS3 version costs $5 more.

Long time, again...

I guess I've been too busy playing through Assassin's Creed: Revelations (pretty good, though you can't shake the feeling of "been there, done that" and "this used to have at least a little challenge"). And more lately; Mass Effect 3 (finally around/under 30 EUR in some places).

Somehow I forgot (?) that in my ME2 save, which I imported to ME3, Garrus, Samara, Mordin and that punk chick, Jack, were all dead. At least according to ME3 storyline. Which was funny - I could've sworn Samara and Mordin were alive - and I know Garrus was dead along with Jack (who was the only person I failed the loyalty mission for). Now guess what ruined my ME2 experience in the end?

Right, the damn loyalty missions and "guess the right order for the suicide mission" - thing. I can't be arsed to replay 50% of the game just to get the end right. If I lost all my freaking pals, I still would've told ME2 to go "suck it" rather than replay that piece of "creative storytelling" (ie. bad plot and crappy, random, guess-it-to-get-it-right -gameplay).

Oh, and while I'm venting,  P-A has Dead Rising 2: Off the Record for pretty cheap (Xbox 360) & (Playstation 3), $19,90 + P&P. If anyone's interested. ;P

Ok, why is it that the PS3 always seems to get the short end of the stick?

Seems like the choice of  getting Skyrim for the PS3 was the least favorable one.

Why? It is starting to look like it's the platform where the "big saves bug" will most likely drop your frame rates or freeze your game. Oh, and speaking of freezing, the game has frozen / crashed on me on at least three occasions - so save often.

The game also looks crappiest on the PS3, I believe. Though neither of the console versions can hold a candle to the PC one - especially after you download a couple of "hi-res texture" mods for it.

I know I should've got the PC version - it's a Bethesda game after all and Oblivion was in the exact same situation even though the PC hardware was the underdog in 2007.

As for other games, every time there's a comparison, the Xbox 360 seems to come out as a winner - even though the PS3 is supposed to have superior hardware. How does, exactly, the superior processor, etc help you if you're memory limited and most of your games aren't even anti-aliased like the competitor's?

Don't get me wrong; owning all the current gen consoles, I would love to, well... "love" the PS3, but real world experiences make it harder and harder. I would especially love to prefer the PS3 for multiplayer titles, where paying for the actual game is enough and you don't have to pay the console manufacturer monthly for playing online. ;P

So come on PS3 developers, get your freaking act together and release less buggy games even though you're only doing a conversion (most dev studios seem to target the 360 as their main system, if not the PC). Sheesh!

Deus Ex: Finished

Gotta say that it's one hell of a game, Deus Ex: Human Revolution.

Made very much in the spirit of the original Deus Ex and repeats no mistakes from the sequel.

Very good, a 9.5 out of 10.

Has it been a month and a half already since last update? Damn...

Sorry about that.

I've been too busy playing Deus Ex: Human Revolution (damn good, so good it wipes the second Deus Ex from your mind and brings back the warm feeling from the first, classic one).

Oh, and the damn Rise of Isengard expansion for Lord of the Rings Online. Blah... ;P


Oh, and I did try (briefly) the new Call of Juarez game ("The Cartel"). You know, the one that's based in our time and tries a lot to be like GTA, but succeeds mostly in being like Kane & Lynch 2?

What an god-awful screw-up of a good intellectual property and two good western games... ;P


Oh, while we're on "everything" -subject here; if you like independent fantasy/suspense/whatever films - rent / buy "Trollhunter". It's a Norwegian film that's surely going to get a watered-down Hollywood version later on, but it's refreshingly new. And the Norwegian nature is really beautiful (well, except for all those damn big trolls :D ).

Cheap games for the summer.

PA has some offers going, so if you lack some gaming for the summer (or are allergic to the sun or something) check these out:

Xbox 360 (region free versions):
Where the Wild Things Are $9,99
Dante's Inferno $19,90
Legend of Guardians: The Owls of Ga'Hoole $12,50
Tropico 3 $14,90
Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe (Platinum version) $17.90
Project Sylpheed: Arc of Deception $9,90

PS 3 (always region free):
3D Dot Game Heroes $18,50
Fallout: New Vegas $17,90
Katamari Forever $19,90


PC (region, what region?):
Red Faction: Guerrilla $3,99
The newly released Dungeons & Dragons: Daggerdale $19,90
Dynasty Warriors 6 $7,90

June update; Witcher 2, L.A. Noire and other stuff...

Been a tad busy building a three by five meter storage shed in the back yard, so very little gaming going on.

I have tried Witcher 2: The Assassins of Kings though; very nice box with a coin, map, cutout characters, etc. And incredibly unforgiving combat system with no clue as to when a particular mission is suitable to your character's level or skills. Very nice graphics, aside from the occasional uncanny facial animation...

And L.A. Noire; I really don't understand what all the fuss is about. The game has been in development since 2006, and it shows in lots of places as crappy low res textures, low polygon houses, etc. And the cases? Might as well call it "serial woman slaying investigator, the game". I mean, how many laid out naked, strangled and assaulted women you have to put in cases in a row? Five? Enough? Get repetitive at all? Sheesh...

Don't get me wrong, the voice acting and the motion capture are top notch, and I actually recognized many of the actors from their faces ("Hey, it's the cop guy from heroes!") - and it's not a bad game. I just get the feeling I'm being led through my nose towards an ending I have very little power to affect... ;P

QnD quick review: Crackdown 2 (Xbox 360)

Price: 13.99 eur

Where: Play.com

A couple of years ago (or maybe three) came out an open world game called Crackdown (or Riot Act, like my JAP region free version was called).

It didn't include anything really new, except maybe the collection of agility, hidden, etc orbs that were sprinkled around the city in various hard to get locations, some impossible to get  until you had collected enough of the said orbs and got your agility up (as it governs how far and how high you can jump).

The game had all kinds of goofy achievements; like "juggling" a car in the air for several seconds with explosives, blowing up certain number of cars in one go, etc.

All in all; good fun and not that much originality.


Now it's 2010 and the same studio is out with the sequel. What has changed? Well, not much.

The orbs are still there, the the skills still advance by you using them, the buildings are still high and there's lots to blow up, shoot, maim and destroy.

Added are the "infected" (read: "zombies" from "28 days later"). By day the city is full of normal citizen, peace keepers and gangers, but by night the citizens are replaced by blood-hungry, zombie-like infected.

Instead of battling against the various gangs and trying to kill their leaders, this time around you're battling the infected by fixing up a series of beacons that can kill them by light. Yeah, they're severely allergic to light. So much so that they'll explode when exposed. Thank goodness they don't glow in it... ;P

All the while the only "gang" left, The Cell, is running interference (they're the guys that broke the damn beacons and their power generators in the first place, and are now guarding them). You can "pacify" things by taking over Cell HQs, fixing things up and taking care of the infected lairs.

All in the day's work for a good-guy agent. Or are you the good guy? There are recording and propaganda radio transmissions flying around that speak of an antidote for the infection - is it right to blow them up after all? Hmm...

The game engine is pretty robust with cartoon-like graphics. Sounds are mostly unnoticeable - in good and in bad. If you have Live Gold you can invite players to your world for co-op matches.

Crackdown 2 can look pretty at times.

But, somehow, it all feels nearly too familiar. There's no real new "gimmick" or new stuff to do. As an open world game, GTA IV beats this one hands down, without any DLCs.

Crackdown 2 is not a bad game, especially if you liked the first one. It's just a little... "uninspired". I paid a whopping 14 eur for it on Play.com, so I can't really complain as at this price it's an OK buy.

Score: 7.5 / 10

Crackdown 2 for the Xbox 360 is out...

And it's curiously cheap at Play-Asia.

These days the UK shops usually beat the Hong Kong ones in new game prices, but I guess this is the exception...

Qnd quick Review: Red Dead Redemption (Xbox 360, Limited Edition)

RDR, or GTH (Grand Theft Horse) as some people like to call it, is finally here.

Was the wait worth it? Let's see...

The premise
In RDR you take on the role of John Marston, an ex-outlaw now working for the federal government mostly against his will. His job is to capture his old partner in crime so he can resume his life with his wife and child (so no Hot Coffee for Mr. Marston). From this premise starts his quest for justice or revenge - depending on which way you want to look at it, or play it.

Marston can be a nice guy, helping people along, or he can be total bastard and outlaw who robs banks, trains and kills people. Of course the latter will incur a bounty sum on your head (unless you use certain helpers like, err, a bandanna).

Keeping on the right side of the law is up to the player, though it's easy to slip by mistake; sometimes telling a lawman from a bandit in the heat of a gunfight can be hard - and accidentally shooting a deputy will instantly make you a wanted man and get a $20 bounty on you. Killing an innocent will make this bigger. The only way to get rid of this is to visit the rail station and pay off the bounty with either money or a letter of pardon.


The game
RDR looks great and plays well (with or without auto aiming). With the game installed on the hard drive, there are only occasional hiccups when you ride blazingly fast from one place to another. Out of the two versions of the game, the Xbox 360 one looks better. Again. I wonder if the developers / converters will ever get the hang of PS3, or indeed quit taking shortcuts in the development.

As for the game itself; along with the around 20 hour main storyline you have an open world the like of which only Rockstar can provide. You can hunt, collect herbs, play poker / blackjack, throw horseshoes, tame horses, slice your fingers in a game of five finger filet, rob banks / trains, steal horses, bounty hunt, etc. There are tons of side quests, strangers to help, etc. Towns are full of people acting like you'd expect people to act in 1908 west - along with whores, drunkards, fights and even the occasional rape or murder you can prevent if you're so inclined. Though I suggest you lay off the booze if you want to be of any use; it'll just corrupt any man who touches it... ;)

You can fist fight, knife people, use your pistols and rifles, lasso horses or people, etc. The only thing you can't do is swim. Don't try it (though getting killed isn't much of a deterrent - there's not much of a death penalty in RDR).

The game is, in essence, Grand Theft Auto in the Wild West. All this coupled with great voice acting, a good musical score and an interesting storyline makes for of the best games of 2010 (I'd have this contending for the Game of the Year with Mass Effect 2 if there aren't any more surprises this year). R* delivers, again.


Limited Edition differences:
In Europe, well most of scandinavia anyway, nearly everyone preordering got a "Limited Edition" instead of the normal one. What's the difference? A cartboard slide-in cover for the normal DVD box and a code that you can download a few extras with: the war horse (faster, more stamina), golden guns (extra fame) and an deadly assassin outfit that you can get after completing half a dozen or so missions in game.

After the code is  used, you're left with the cartboard covers, so there's zero extra resell value for the LE version. Currently the extras are not available for the regular version owners, but there's a rumor they might be available for purchase later.


Score: 9/10

Qnd quick Review: Splinter Cell: Conviction (Xbox 360)

Some might say that stealth has taken the back seat in the latest Splinter Cell, but I'd rather say it has taken the co-pilot's seat.

Stealth is still there, as it's always been in Sam Fisher games, but there is definitely more room for shooting action in Conviction.

As for the rest of the game, I'd say it looks between great and average. The long development time shows in some spots, but the nearly flawless "adaptive" controls make the game flow and feel very new.


Voice acting on the game is on par with other major releases, though Michael Ironside sounds a bit bored as Sam - but who else could be Sam Fisher, after all these games.


The new tagging system works well, even though the requirement to hand-to-hand kill one opponent before being able to "tag" enemies for 100% sure slow-motion instant kills seems somehow artificial. Sure, the system works from a gaming point of view, but still feels... "strange".

So how does the tagging work? Once you have your melee kill, you can tag minimum of one or two enemies (depending on the weapon you use and your achievements in the game). The basic weapons in the beginning of the game are able to tag two enemies, whereas the pre-order bonus SPAS shotgun can target three, etc.

You can also tag "traps" in the enviroment, including chandeliers that drop on top of your enemies, fuel barrels that explode, machinery that crushes them, etc.

When done tagging, you hit the Y-button and watch as Sam executes his enemies in slow-motion.

The plot is your usual "everyone is trying to screw Sam Fisher and nobody can be trustes / you killed my daughter so you MUST DIE! DIE!" -variety. Nothing special there, but it gives you the excuse to plow through dozens of enemies (or if you're a patient man; stealth past them to get to the enemy).

The usual bosses that you'll get to only to get caught or see them escape in front of your eyes are of course there.


I did run into one bug in my early game; in the fair level where you're supposed to dispatch three enemies in stealth before you can meet your contact, the barrier preventing me from meeting him before the kills didn't disappear even though I was done with the enemies.


Score
8.5 / 10

(Order a region free version of Splinter Cell: Conviction (Xbox 360) from PA.)

QnD Review: Dante's Inferno (Xbox 360)

This review is purely based on around hour and a half of gaming, from the start of the game to the Gluttony level of hell (ie. 2nd real game level).
Edit: some updates and the game has been thoroughly played through, and the score of 7.5 is appropriate.


First things first; is DI a God of War clone? Does the bear shit in the woods? Hell yeah - and it doesn't even try to hide it.

You have exp, mana and health fountains (GoW: chests), you have the same kind of ground and aerial combos, you buy skills (good or bad, here) with experience points as you proceed, etc.

Even the combat is pretty much the same; dozens of enemies coming at you at once, small bosses, big bosses, you have quicktime events that you kill small (optional) and big bosses (mandatory) with. Only difference is, usually, that you can either punish or save their souls while you do it (being good, ie. "Holy" will get you more experience, which is kinda silly).

You have your standard variety of lost souls, small, medium and big demons; noting you haven't seen before in a video game about hell (or a dozen other subjects). You also have a 7-layer depiction of hell that ranges from "ho-hum another wall made of souls and guts" to "Wow, those little demons bursting from the big demon's nipples were a nice touch!" -kinda moments.

It all reeks of unoriginality. (But that's fine, it's not like it is an original story either...)


It's not bad, though. The good parts are still good, but the whole lands short of it's clone-father; GoW just does everything slightly better, has a bit more style - and face it: if Dante and Kratos were put in the same room, Kratos would come out the winner, with Dante following him on a leash and wagging his... err... tail. ;)

If you're a 360 owner, this is pretty much as close as you can get to GoW - without the Greek parts, and with a lot more tits and darkness.

Addentum on 8.2.2010:

Now that I've played the game to completion I have to hand it one thing: the pre-rendered cut-scenes between different acts (and especially the one in the end) are nothing short of gorgeous. Of course these are made by a 3rd party studio (Blur) that has shown excellent results in recent games like Dragon Age: Origins, and have little to do with the game itself. In fact, in the last video it's eerie to see a really different looking Satan in the cut-scene from what you just fought on the "pentagram". Nevertheless, they build up the immersion pretty well.

The game itself held together pretty well to the end - being pretty much the same fare than in the earlier levels. No real "ooh, aah" -moments (aside from the cut-scenes), but no real feeling of boredom or insurmountable opposition.


Score 7.5/10

First Impressions: Mass Effect 2

While not the prettiest game on the block, and not without hassles (invisible, invulnerable enemies that force you to reload, anyone?), it still feels like a genuine "Mass Effect" experience.

I could nitpick all day, but in the end it's still going to the top of my list of games I'll have to finish "now!". ;)

Qnd Review: Race Pro (Xbox 360)

Currently you can get Race Pro for 10.49 eur at Play.com.

Simbin; makers of such racing games as GT-R and GT Legends (not to be confused with the legendary GP Legends). So what does the Swedish developer's second-newest console racer (newest being Race On) taste like now that it's in the bargain bins?

Bland, I'm afraid.

I like the occasional arcade racer just fine; Forza 1 and 2 were very good, Gran Turismo series on the Playstation is amazing (since the first PSX installment - I think GT 2 is still my favourite). Even Grid on the consoles is nice (though nowhere near the Codemasters' masterpiece that Colin McRae 2 was in it's time).

But Race Pro? It cannot decide between "semi-serious" or "arcadey" racer and tries to walk the line between them, failing most of the time. The rate of failure changes from point to point, but the sum is around "pretty average".

Physics are really arcade, with grip being too unrealistic most of the time, and when you actually lose traction, it feels like you're playing the first TOCA game where the spins were "canned" - most of the time there's just no righting your car. Also, there's little warning when your rear end is starting to lose traction, and as said, when you do it's nearly always too late.

The AI's driving style ranges from "OK" to "horrible". They pay little heed to your position, sometimes plowing through you if you're returning to the track from a minor driving error, or paying you no heed at the corners.

As for the graphics and sound - the former are nothing to write home about. Not ugly by any means, but nothing your average racer didn't have a couple of years ago.

The sound is mostly passable, but at times it gets on your nerves - especially the revving sounds. One moment you might have a glorious roar and the next second you're hearing something awfully average (or even bad) - with little or no transition between the samples. It sounds like the game just cuts from "engine sample A at high revs" to "engine sample B at low revs" without any transition (if they're the same samples, there's even less reason not to transition more smoothly from high to low revs).

All in all, Race Pro is very average. Bringing nothing but a dumbed down racer to the consoles. At less than 11 euros it's not that bad - but honestly, I'd rather play Grid (more on that later, perhaps) or Ferrari Challenge if I'm looking for a cheap racer.


Score 6.5/10

QnD Review: The Saboteur (Xbox 360)

You know, I'm tired of everyone saying this is "Pandmic's Swan Song". It might very well be true, but I'd rather remember the bunch from a couple of nice games like the Mercenaries 2 and The Saboteur.

Both are sandbox games that offer you great freedom - the other taking place in a tropical South American island and the latter, in WW2 era Paris (and environs).

While not a masterpiece, or even a contender for the game of the year, The Saboteur is a very nice game in itself.

Like I said, the game gives you great freedom; Paris is at your fingertips, you can roam around, do side quests, climb tall buildings (the Eiffel tower, anyone?), visit raunchy stripclubs, etc.

The areas of Paris that are still nazi-occupied (ie. the ones you haven't had chance to blow up yet) are artistically colored gray. When you free an area, the color comes back in. While a great idea, most people probably prefer the nice black and white artistic style with dabs of color like red blood, a blue necklace, etc.

Movement and fighting controls are a bit restless, but the vehicle controls are even more so. Most cars handle like they had too little weight, especially if you try the handbrake, and none of the vehicles handle like period cars.

While lacking character advancement, you do get "perks" you unlock by doing specific things like beating five nazis, blowing X number of things up, etc. Perks are essentially new attacks, bonuses to things like shooting, bomb setting timers, etc. All handy stuff that'll make you so much more effective at liberating Paris.

The story is nothing to write home about; there's the main villain, revenge, the nice girl and the naughty one, etc.

What sets The Saboteur apart a little, is the use of very adult themes throughout the game. You have topless dancers, lots of blood and violence, drinking, bar fights, etc. In short; good fun all around. ;)


So should you get The Saboteur? Yeah, I think so. Especially if you're a friend of open world sandbox games like GTA, Mercenaries 2 or Saint's Row. The WW2 might be a genre that has been game-developed to death, but as you can see from the list I just mentioned - no great WW2 era "GTA" games are around. It's a different experience from modern cars, planes and helicopters or heat seeking missiles and "ho-beating, drug trafficing".


Score 8/10


You can get Xbox 360 version of The Saboteur from Play-Asia for $49,90.

Also, the PS3 and PC versions are available.

On the Cheap: Risen (Xbox 360)

Play-Asia has Risen, the latest RPG from the developers of the Gothic series, on sale for $19,90.

Version is the region free NTSC-J.

Happy new year! (Oh, and a quick game snippet: AC2...)

We're starting to be done with all the crap that comes after moving; painting, putting stuff in their places, buying new (expensive!) household appliances, etc and I finally had time to do some gaming (the Xbox 360 was of course the first living room item I put in place after the TV, amp and speakers :D - even though I had the PS3 and OpFlash 2 to keep me company while we were living at our temporary housing before the move).

I took Assassin's Creed II for a little spin; All I can say is "wow". Just what I wanted. It's basically the first game with improvements all around. The awesome climbing / parkour is still there, so are the stealthy elements.

The fighting is much improved; the wrist blade is actually usable in combat (and quite effective), there's an inventory system (other than "you have X knives"), etc. Although, at points, it feels like the combat might be a tad too easy; you have little problem taking on half a dozen guards, something that you'd be running from, screaming like a little girl, in such early parts of the original game.

Maybe I'll just write that down as Ezio being a bigger badass than Altair... ;)

All in all, it seems like a very nice game. Though if you felt the first one was too repetititititive, this might not change your mind - even though there are improvements in that category.

Dragon Age: Origins

Checklist:

• Played through the Journeys -flash game - CHECK (just once, mind you)
• Made a character with the Character Creator - CHECK
• Preordered the game for the 5.11. euro release - CHECK
• Madly waiting the game / took time off to play it - UNCHECKED

Ok, it's coming. It's on pre-order. But I can't get exited yet (and it's not even because of the crappy IGN review of 8.4 - it's not the score, the review itself made little sense in it's nit-picking...).

Bah.

Maybe I'll get more exited when it's spinning in my Xbox 360's drive... ;)

QnD Review: Bionic Commando (Xbox 360)

Where: Zavvi.co.uk
Price: £12.95 (+1£ postage outside UK)
(Edit: now on sale at The Hut for £9.73.)

I've never been a big fan of Bionic Commando and I don't think I ever played past the first stage (even though the whole game takes 9 minutes to complete! ;) ).

This version, the first true sequel you could say, plays like your average "average shooter game with a gimmick"; you have a hero with a bionic arm, grudgingly fighting against enemies of the state who destroyed and took over a major metropolis.

What is refreshing though, is that that the jumping and swinging with the bionic arm from sign to sign, house to house is not automatic or a complete walkthrough, even on the normal difficulty. You actually have to time, target and think about where you jump and how you swing.

Shooting on the other hand is pretty easy - you just make sure the reticle (a BIIG round thing in the middle of the screen) is on an enemy and pull the trigger. Whether you hit is pretty much only governed by your distance to the target.

Why an elite soldier would be able to carry only 50 ammunition for his pistol is beyond me - maybe his next bionic upgrade should be "Bionic Pockets"?

The graphics are "OK" and on par compared to other current titles - even though the city graphics could be lifted straight from inFAMOUS or Prototype. Though don't expect anything really jaw-dropping.

Level design is pretty linear...

*PLEASE WAIT, LOADING*

... though sometimes you can decide between the "low route" or "high route".

The levels aren't very big, even though...

*PLEASE WAIT, LOADING*

... there's constant loading between them. (Geddit? ;P )


The game could use a few more checkpoints, as dying can set you back a bit (so going after those bonus hidden markers can make you fight the armored robots you just destroyed or the group of soldiers you killed, again).

All in all, not a great or memorable game - but definitely worth the 13 quids.

Score: 7/10

On the Cheap: Sacred 2: Fallen Angel (Xbox 360)

Zavvi has the opinion splitting RPG, Sacred 2, on sale for £9.95 (11.90 eur with postage overseas).

Just put my order in.