Latest news
Opinion: Whipple's personal top ten games of 2011
by Andrew Whipple III
30.1.12

The end of the year is always a hard time for a videogame journalist. Not only do we have to recall every experience we've had over the course of the year, but we then need to match each title up against one another, like some kind of digital Mortal Kombat tournament, in order to find that elusive 'game of the year'.

Keep in mind that this list is my personal favourite games of the year, not a list of the 'best' or most popular out there. That means some of the more abstract titles out there might take the place of the greater ones.

Let's start things off with a game that was neglected, but is great in its own way.


10: Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine


Space Marine is a third-person action shooter with combat mechanics similar to Rocksteady's recent Batman titles. It is Relic's first attempt at approaching the franchise using this genre and they did a fantastic job. The detail was extraordinary and, whilst the campaign was pretty short, the multiplayer served as a fun distraction with its competitive and co-operative elements.

It drops in at number ten for numerous reasons. Whilst it did the 40k universe justice, I felt that the campaign could have had more combat variety. The weapons, despite being brutally satisfying, were very limited, as were the combat moves. The multiplayer also lifted many of its features from games like Call of Duty and Gears of War's Horde mode (Exterminatus). Despite those shortcomings, Space Marine successfully tied together satisfying mêlée combat with solid shooting mechanics. Couple that with jaw-dropping executions and beautiful environments, and you have a sleeper hit on your hands. I can't wait to see what Relic does with this franchise.


9: Bulletstorm


Bullestorm is a unique first-person shooter that focusses on killing with skill. Generically shooting enemies to progress is out, and performing perpetually-interesting moves to decapitate, obliterate, incinerate or otherwise maim your opponents is in. Also, dick jokes.

Bulletstorm received massive criticism due to its humour and absurd format of first-person shooting. Sure, the funny bits were pretty dry, but think of it like the movie Snakes on a Plane; the whole thing is one big joke. The shooting is also rather great, but you can't play it like a conventional shooter where you shoot a target dude until the life bar depletes. Bulletstorm doesn't work like that, and if you play it as such, you'll despise it.

For me, Epic's extremely under-appreciated title pleased me with its style and surprisingly funny dialogue. Never did I think a FPS could change the formula into such a winning concoction. Using the environment to manipulate and slaughter your opponents? It might not be for everyone, but you'll never know whether you love it unless you give it a spin.


8: Orcs Must Die!


Robot Entertainment's Orcs Must Die! is a third-person tower-defense-esque game in which you control a Warmage. A really stupid Warmage. Your master slipped and fell on the steps, thus leaving you to fend off the relentless assault of Orcs who are seemingly allergic to fire.

Seriously. I heard one of them say it.

Whilst tower-defence games are literally a penny a dozen, Orcs Must Die! provides an excellent variation on the genre. By utilising traps instead of towers and allowing you to fully control a character who can use various talent trees and engage in either physical or magical combat, this game stays fresh for its duration. Throw in extra levels, traps and monsters via DLC, and you have a game that you'll be playing for hours upon hours, and for a ridiculously low-price too. Trust me when I say that Orcs Must Die! is one of the best in the genre.


7: Dark Souls


From Software returns with the brutal successor to the PlayStation exclusive, Demon's Souls, 2011's Dark Souls. Bordering on ridiculous as far as difficulty goes, Dark Souls takes you into a unique world where you must combat demons and all other forms of monstrosity with very little assistance. Survive long enough and you might just become stronger to journey into the next room. What's that you say; you died at the hand of a skeleton? You're screwed.

Next to Bioshock, the Souls titles are the most atmospheric games I've ever played. The art design, the ambiance; everything about these games screams style, and it works. Dark Souls is terrifying and that's mostly because it's a game that embraces a lost style: discovery. As you continue to discover more and more about a certain region, you begin to understand the game itself better, as well as your limits. Never have I felt so rewarded for defeating a tough monster, and so betrayed in dying to a standard enemy. Although the multiplayer was broken at release, Dark Souls is such a unique experience that you do yourself a disservice if you miss out.


6: Dynasty Warriors 7


Have you ever laughed out loud at a game on the brink of release? I certainly did with Dynasty Warriors 7. A notorious joke within the industry, countless Warriors titles have released, and hardly any have been in any way worth praising. Surprising as it may seem, Dynasty Warriors 7 is the exception, and has unbelievably steered a sinking ship in a respectful direction. Yes, it's still a hack-and-slash game and, yes, it still has some pretty bad voice acting, but I'll be damned if I don't say that Koei did an outstanding job with this one.

As detailed in my review, one of the biggest selling points for me was online play, a first for the series. Even better, Koei actually took the time to refine the gameplay and eliminate the fluff that the series was known for. The story mode for each kingdom was confusingly addictive and the cut-scenes were crafted in a delightful way. With hours upon hours of relatively simple gameplay, Dynasty Warriors 7 was probably the biggest surprise of the year.

It also contains the best capes in gaming. Seriously, take a look.


5: Gears of War 3


Having composed the final entry in the Marcus Fenix story-arc, Gears of War 3 is the end of the story that all Gears fans know. Until this point, Gears had its highs and lows, but this game truly delivers on all fronts. As emotional as it is fulfiling, this is the definitive example of how a series should wrap things up.

It's hard to think that the third entry is Epic's swansong for the series. Whilst it most definitely won't be the last game we see in the Gears universe, Epic has done a fantastic job of sending it off. Four player co-op? A refined multiplayer experience with dedicated servers? A skilled author composing the story? Everything Gears of War 3 brings is the best of the series, and the only way you'll know is to play it yourself.


4: Dead Space 2


Renowned engineer Isaac Clark and the very angry Necromorphs both return in the much anticipated Dead Space 2. Having lost seemingly everything in the Ishimura incident, Clark wakes to find his nightmare renewed and, of course, he's the only one with the knowledge to stop the growing threat. Scary, atmospheric, technologically superior and, most of all, fun, Dead Space 2 is a worthy instalment to one of the better third-person titles available to gamers.

To this day, Visceral's creation is yet to be matched by an equally-fun and jump-worthy third-person shooter. The first Dead Space took many of its cues from the superb Resident Evil 4, but while that series has somewhat lost its course, Dead Space has evolved with the rest of the gaming industry and put out an incredible sequel. Although its multiplayer is forgettable beyond measure, the single-player experience never wavered in quality, and that's what really matters.


3: The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim


Every Elder Scrolls game is huge, and Skyrim is no exception. Taking cues from the ways that games have changed, Bethesda has streamlined their seminal franchise to cater to all types of play-style and gamer. Couple that with an intriguing story, beautiful technology, and discovery elements that have been lost since Morrowind, and you get Skyrim, one of the best games of the year.

I have yet to finish an Elder Scrolls game, but Skyrim might just be the first game to break that mould. It certainly has its faults and glitches, but even those are not enough to sway my recommendation. You can play this game however you want, and with the death of the awful, awful level-scaling system present in Oblivion, even I can enjoy this game.


2: Mortal Kombat


You're reading the words of the most loyal Mortal Kombat fans out there. Yet, I never thought that Mortal Kombat could drag itself out of the abysmal hole that it dug itself into. But I was wrong. If you know nothing about Mortal Kombat - and if that's the situation, shame on you - understand that this game's accessibility is unparalleled and contains everything that made the old games memorable and great. Which largely means that Liu Kang isn't a zombie this time.

Foregoing the 3D style and retracing its steps back to the original days, Mortal Kombat is a masterclass in what a fighter should be. Not only does it give you the best story that any fighting game has ever seen (no, seriously, play it), but it is also loaded with unlockables, challenges and DLC that doesn't suck. The only thing holding this game back from perfection was its rather awful online component. Constant disconnection is enough to dissuade anyone from trying to compete online, but if they can get this right next time, then I can't wait.


1: Bastion


You might laugh, but my number one game this year is a downloadable title that will take you less than ten hours to play through. Regardless of its duration, you cannot measure the importance of quality in a game, and Bastion achieves that quality to the highest degree. Supergiant Games hasn't created a great title, they've created an incredible one.

Akin to some of my old favourites, such as The Secret of Mana, Bastion is an action-RPG that knows the ropes. Everything from the music to the combat feels right, and the story is mysterious enough to make you want to continue on your adventure to discover more about its surreal environment. Whilst it isn't the longest, deepest, most addictive or largest game out there, Bastion is composed so professionally that anyone can get into it. Saying that, if you've yet to skim the surface of this exceptional game then please, do so. Now.

Labels: , , , , , , , , , ,

- Andrew Whipple III
Analysis: who will win Game of the Year for 2011?
by Chris Hawke
29.11.11

It's over. It's finished, man. It's done - that's it.

Skyrim and Assassin's Creed are out, and with them arrive the bitterly cold winds of change; we stand on the brink of 2012, a brand new year brimming with adventure and intrigue. And another Call of Duty. With Star Wars: The Old Republic and Rocksmith bringing up the rear and probably being too late to be included in most Game Of The Year lists, you can turn your mind back to a year that saw Libya Liberated, Osama Obama-nated, and Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 single-handedly ruin everything I hold dear.

Unless Postal III pulls a stunner (spoiler: it won't), that's pretty much it for 2011, so we're compiling the most notable games you've played over the past twelve months and shamelessly judging them based on our incredibly poor recollections. Portal 2 is the one about the Italian plumber, right? Good.

Note: if you can't tell by now, the following list isn't to be taken very seriously.


Dead Space 2



It was kind of like Dead Space, except...Nope. I've got nothing. Basically, you ran about and shot zombie-alien things and there was a lot of blood. While it's hardly original, Dead Space 2 was actually a resounding success; the dismemberment was a grotesquely gleeful as ever, the characters were believable and well-rounded, and the story had enough hooks and twists to keep you blasting on. It's going to take a lot longer than a year for us to forget that needle-to-eye scene.

Why it might win GOTY:

A more refined, polished Dead Space that still haunts our dreams, the buckets of atmosphere and flashy set-pieces (complete with severed baby faces) make it a heart-stopping thriller.

Why it might not win GOTY:

The multiplayer was a giant alien sack of balls, and it came out in January. January. I'm pretty sure the British Empire was still intact back then.


Dragon Age II



You were called Hawke. Now, call me biased, but that's basically the best name in the world. If I could come up with a fake name, it would be Hawke. Luckily, I don't have to. I'm one of the lucky ones. The chosen ones.

Oh, the game? I don't know. I think it had something about violence in it, I forget...

Why it might win GOTY:

Building on the success of the original, what could possibly go wrong?

Why it might not win GOTY:

Quite a lot. Fans were perturbed, to use on overly fancy word, at the shoddy control system, the confusing story and general lack of ingenuity or originality. Plus, we have Skyrim now. Dragon Age II can only look on in wonder.


Homefront



Ha! Just kidding.


Crysis 2



Probably the most visually impressive game on this list - so long as you've got a high-end PC. As this PC poster boy shifted onto the consoles, many worried the Nanosuit would be dumbed down; and while the set-pieces were epic, the story exciting, and the graphics one-of-a-kind, the series had lost some of its charm; no longer were we allowed to wreak havoc in a sandbox paradise, but instead tied down in a tightly scripted, linear, shoot-em-up.

Why it might win GOTY:

It's got the looks. When you boil it down, Crysis 2 is basically an entire series based upon being pixel-perfect, and as shallow as that is; cor. Look at them explosions!

Why it might not win GOTY:

The stealth mechanics are to fiddly and slippery to be a long-term strategy, and the straight-up-shooting is just a bit bland. Crysis 2 might be a jack of all trades, but a master of none.


Portal 2



It was actually funny. Which surprised me - the original Portal was so fleeting, experimental and unexpected that it took everyone by surprise and was allowed to be itself. But when shoved on a standalone stage and told to perform for ten hours, there was a worry that GLADoS would lose her charm, the mechanics would become stale, and it would all be a little bit disappointing. But with the excellent Merchant at the helm, Portal 2 managed to be legitimately hilarious (with as little nerd-humour as possible) and keep a strong pace. Wait - did someone say pace?

Why it might win GOTY:

Cute, funny and thought-provoking, with a solid co-op mode and tonnes of little secrets. There's not another game as unique as Portal 2 out there.

Why it might not win GOTY:

If you pushed through the campaign in a matter of days, the endless portal-shooting and gel-jumping do start to wear thin. Also, it might not be the best critique of a game, but...it's just not Portal 1, is it?


L.A. Noire



Hang on - did I say there wasn't a unique game like Portal 2 out there? Excuse me - I must have forgotten about the game where you solve crimes around a perfectly-recreated 1940s Los Angeles. And accuse old ladies of being killers. L.A. Noire made up for what it lacked in freedom with a mature, developed plot, involving some superbly crafted characters, rich dialogue, and a whole lot of picking up cigarette packets. And drawing. And racism.

Why it might win GOTY:

It's a Rockstar game.

Why it might not win GOTY:

It's a Rockstar game shrouded in modern-day slavery court-cases. And did Cole Phelps put on a flamethrower at the end of the game? Like, for real?


Infamous 2



While a lot of games on this list are criticised for the fact they lose the charm of their predecessor, Infamous 2 is the exception. It's messy and repetitive and shoddy and slightly creepy (why the hell is this city so quiet?!), but it's such a beautiful game when it all comes together. The progression, the powers, the freedom of movement and the powerful-as-a-lighting-storm ending; it may not be perfect, but it sure as hell tries.

Why it might win GOTY:

It should win just for this scene only. (Big spoiler)

Why it might not win GOTY:

While they're easy to forgive, you can't quite overlook the plethora of AI issues, graphical slip-ups, and repetitive missions forever.


Deus Ex: Human Revolution



I never asked for this.


Forza Motorsport 4



Since Gran Turismo 6 won't come out until we all get hovercars and the game becomes outdated before its even released, Forza Motorsport 4 is left to hold high the torch of virtual racing. And fanboyism. It's beautiful, it's fast, and it's flashy.

Why it might win GOTY:

Enough simulation to be realistic, but enough arcade to be masses of fun.

Why it might not win GOTY:

Racing games never win Game Of The Year. Ever.


Battlefield 3



64 players tearing the French Metro to shreds, bombing it across the crisp blue skies of the Caspian Boarder and commanding tanks in the dusty plains of Iran? Forget the rubbish single-player; Battlefield 3 is all about the multiplayer, and with a slew of grand maps, an endless array of weaponry, and a multiplayer shooter that's NOT Call of Duty, Battlefield 3 has a real shout.

Why it might win GOTY:

It's big, loud and a visual stunner. EA's plugged everything they've got into making this a real winner, and they'll be livid if it doesn't come out on top.

Why it might not win GOTY:

The game is certainly not without its problems, with countless issues abound on forums everywhere. These things mount up, y'know.


Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception



Serious undertones of paedophilia. That's what I remember most about Uncharted 3; you're a ten-year-old orphan getting chased around by an old man with a moustache. I think there was a lot of other stuff about spiders and adventure and treasure, but I basically zoned out after that and expect Chris Hansen to turn up at my doorstep any minute.

Why it might win GOTY:

As someone who thinks Uncharted 2 was massively overrated, Drake's Deception pumped a lot of my faith back into the series - it's got swagger, ambition and oomph. And when you're reduced to using onomatopoeia to describe a video game, you know you've got something special.

Why it might not win GOTY:

While it's the strongest first two-thirds of any Uncharted yet, it pulls its punches at the end - there's no big revelation or seismic shift for the series, but just another 'sunset and banter' fade-out.


Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3



Why it might win GOTY:

It's a brand new Call of Duty!

Why it might not win GOTY:

It's exactly like Call Of Duty 4. Again.


The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim



I'm not even going to talk about the game here. Instead, I'm going to ask you to look at Dead End Thrills. You'll see why.


Driver: San Francisco



Why it might win GOTY:

Best interracial back-and-forth of 2011.


There you have it folks. We'll know soon enough which of these games will come out on top, in the meantime, troll us below with your picks.

Labels: , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

- Chris Hawke
Why the top 5 games of the year so far are no good
by Unknown
1.9.11

Think that 2011 has been a good year for gamers, having given them a slew of new, unique, and enjoyable titles for their consumption? Think again. Tom Acres is here to tell you why five of the year's top games aren't worth the discs they're pressed on.

We're only just in August - still a good few months away from the time of year in which many of the years best games tend to be released - and already critics and gamers alike have been lauding many of 2011's titles as masterpieces and Game of the Year contenders.

Five of the top games of the year happen to include three sequels, a remake and a glorified adventure game - hardly the innovation or creativity that surely we should expect from the very best of the medium? Yet critics will tell you why the following five titles are worth their weight in gold. Well, I'm here to tell you exactly why they're not.

Editor's note: this article is intended as a humourous, tongue-in-cheek look at some of the year's top games, and should be taken with as big a pinch of salt as possible.

Portal 2


It says a lot about this generation of games when Portal 2 is lauded as a game for clever people. A challenging game, with puzzles that 'make you feel smart'.

Well, I suppose in comparison to the mindless shooting of Black Ops, or the incredibly stupid enemies you stab repeatedly in Assassin’s Creed, Portal 2 is for clever people. But that's like saying Wayne Rooney is supremely intelligent, just because he might be ever-so-slightly more intellectual than Katie Price. At the end of the day, there's a rather large difference between being clever, and being made to feel clever.

The only way Portal 2 makes you feel clever is the way you get through the game from a first-person viewpoint without killing anything. To gamers of this generation, a first-person viewpoint basically means 'aim, pull trigger, kill'. Just because Portal 2 is a first-person game that doesn't involve killing, doesn't mean it's suddenly ingenious. Portal 2 is a puzzle game, I'll give it that, but just because it's a puzzle game in a generation full of shooters doesn't suddenly make it brilliant. Critics have lauded it as being a thinking man’s experience - really? Portal 2's repetitive chambers basically work like this:

Step 1: You see a huge wall, just about the right shape for a portal, made of the right material for portals to be placed on.

Step 2: You find another wall of exactly the same attributes.

Step 3: Shoot a portal on each wall.

Step 4: Walk through a wall and pretend to feel like a genius because you've been told that this game is God’s gift to intellectuals.

So, yeah; Portal 2 is hardly the mind-bending experience that so many claim it to be. If that wasn't enough, Valve has also received a great deal of praise for its use of 'dark humour' and mature writing.

I'm sorry, what? Are you telling me that a game rated 12+ is considered to be at the forefront of dark humour? And the plot twist at the end? Oh my goodness me! You mean the good guy turns into a bad guy? What an incredibly unique storytelling device that is totally unpredictable in every way!

So what of these remarkable characters that everyone seems so keen on? Sure, it may be novel to have the other one from all of Ricky Gervais' stuff voicing a little robot, but that novelty soon wears off when the writers recycle the same gags again and again... and again. So then they make him evil, for seemingly no reason other than to try and 'surprise' the player.

Portal 2 is a game that is placed firmly up its own backside; it thinks it's oh-so-funny and oh-so-clever and oh-so-different, when in actual fact it's a simple puzzle game for fools who otherwise spend their time either playing Modern Combat Space Marine Reach Wars 2011 or watching porn.

It's a puzzle game for 2011. So it's essentially a puzzle game for idiots.


The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D


Why do people even pretend to have a sense of nostalgia when old games are re-released? Publishers don't re-release games with a new lick of paint because they love you, the consumer, or because they want to 'let a brand new audience experience a classic'. No; it's because they want your money.

Despite this rather obvious money-making scheme, for the most part, gamers seem to fall for it. Why do we even pretend to enjoy playing old games in 2011? When an old game is re-released, people seem almost inclined to buy it because they'd feel bad if they didn't. It's like when your mum asks if you'd like to come with her to visit your grandma; of course you don't - she's boring and smells funny - but you feel almost as though you have to, and once you're there, you have to pretend to be enjoying it. This is exactly what it's like to play The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D.

Sure, it was good in 1998, but you know what else was good in 1998? Arsenal. Now look at them. Don't pretend to admire their pretty football; they won't win anything, and all their best players want to leave. Look at Ocarina of Time 3D; sure, you could admire the pretty new visuals, but it's still an old game that wouldn't have received nearly as much attention if the Nintendo 3DS library wasn't so bad that one of the best titles to be released for it thus far is Spongebob Squarepants 3D.

The things that were good about Ocarina of Time in 1998 have since been done better in Twilight Princess, and probably again better in Skyward Sword. The bad stuff from 1998 is now considered not just bad, but monumentally shit. Still, people seem willing to excuse it because it's 2011. Just like when your grandma addresses you by your uncle's name - you laugh it off, but deep down you want to give her a good slap.

Why would anyone want to spend a Friday afternoon pretending to be pleased to see their grandma? Exactly. So why do so many pretend to enjoy The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D? It's an old game and the new headline feature gives you a headache. Good one, Nintendo.


L.A. Noire


Just like Portal 2, Rockstar's L.A. Noire has been lauded the world over for being a bit different. So different, in fact, that you're not even allowed to kill innocent people. I know, what a monumental step forward in game design that is.

In all seriousness, L.A. Noire is just a glorified point-and-click adventure game. I'm not saying there's anything wrong with adventure games, but the way in which L.A. Noire hides this core concept beneath an unnecessary sandbox world and clunky gunfights makes it seem as though Team Bondi are almost ashamed to declare it an adventure game. Perhaps having 'Rockstar' emblazoned all over the box and TV adverts made the Australian developer think, "Oh bollocks. People are going to buy this hoping for the next GTA. Let's connect all the missions together with a bit of a boring sandbox, chuck in some rubbish gunfights with movement so clunky it makes Heather Mills look like a gymnast, and end up with a weird hybrid of a game called Tales Of Monkey Theft Auto And Max."

The focus of L.A. Noire is solving cases, but, much like Portal 2, these scenarios aren't nearly as clever as the developers like to think. Sure, it might cause ten-year-old Timmy some frustration, and avid sixteen-year-old Modern Warfare player Steve with his 1 GCSE might find the pretence of 'solving things' all too much to bear, but for the average person, this game is about as clever as a ham sandwich.

L.A. Noire also so clearly wishes it was a HBO crime series; it's almost embarrassing. If you've watched Mad Men, or The Sopranos, or any of the countless other similar shows distributed by that channel, then you've seen each and every character and crime found in L.A. Noire. In fact, you could just watch an episode of Sherlock on the BBC, and pause the show every so often to try and use the clues found so far by the character to solve the cases before clever old Benedict Cumberpatch can. And, by doing so, you could get just as much enjoyment and satisfaction as you would from playing L.A. Noire, without all the rubbish gunfights, driving and exploring.

The next series of Sherlock will air next year; remember to record each episode, pay nothing, and experience everything good about L.A. Noire without having to pay a penny. Solve crimes for free, but with likeable characters instead!

And don't try and bring up the facial animation. So it might look quite cool. But the faces look far more realistic in Sherlock.


LittleBigPlanet 2


So here we have the sequel to the game that lets you play other people's shit versions of Super Mario World.

Come on, let's not beat around the bush here - the majority of the user created levels in LittleBigPlanet 2 are rip-offs of practically every somewhat-popular game in the history of the world. You want a rubbish, top-down version of Gran Turismo? You can have it. You want a boring and slow take on Space Invaders? Not a problem. You want to play through someone's effort at an Uncharted game, but in a side-scrolling environment in which you play as a little stuffed toy? Whatever floats your boat.

Also, the majority of people that buy LittleBigPlanet 2 can't actually be arsed to make their own levels. They just play through the Media Molecule-developed campaign and then muck about with some user-created levels before trading it in.

LittleBigPlanet 2 doesn't even work on a basic level. Every time you jump, you feel like you're going to float into space; grabbing things is an absolute nightmare, whilst the introduction of new gameplay types like racing and flying just make you wish you were playing other games.

Summing up LittleBigPlanet 2 is as easy as saying that it's a jack-of-all-trades, but a master of absolutely none. In fact, it isn't even moderately okay at any of the trades, either.


Dead Space 2


Oh look, it's Resident Evil 4 in space. But, as if that wasn't enough of a creative idea the first time round, Visceral Games - who also made the highly original God of War: Crusades Edition, something they tried to pass off as Dante's Inferno, or something along those lines - decided to make a sequel! Oh, how kind of them; they've made a sequel to cash-in on a franchise that was only created in the first place to cash-in on the success of another franchise.

"Who cares if it's not original? The gameplay is great and it looks fantastic, it's atmospheric and scary!" I hear you cry. Well, you're wrong. Massively wrong.

The game plays like Resident Evil 4. Which is to say that the shooting is clunky and there are some boring puzzle bits that make Portal 2 look like the work of Albert Einstein himself. The game isn't scary, either; the monsters are generic, and the creepy babies are only there to provide shock value. To me, it just made me question the mental health of the developers - shooting creepy babies isn't scary, or fun, or exhilirating. One thing it is, though, is sick.

And not sick in a good way, like, 'Innit, blud, that was sick!' It's sick like, 'what kind of vile individual came up with that idea?'

Most of the 'scares' come from cheap tricks, like monsters jumping out of doors and things - yet another highly creative decision from the developers, there. The game is also really short, but the developers manage to extend the lifespan by forcing cheap deaths upon you. You can almost hear them screaming, "You will learn to appreciate this game!" as you're rushed again and again by mutant babies and stupid fleshy things that look like someone put concept art from Alien in a bonfire. If you've made a bad game, the least you could do is let me finish it quickly, so stop making me die! You're making me hate it even more; now leave me alone, and go and finish developing Army of Duty: Contemporary Combat, or whatever your next highly original piece of work will be.

Did I mention that Dead Space 2 also has multiplayer? No, that's correct: I didn't. Because it's rather poor and completely unnecessary. Even people who like Dead Space seem to agree that multiplayer is a dumb idea. So do I really need to explain what I think of it?

Here's to Dead Space 3, which I imagine will come out in about two months' time with a brave new feature not often mentioned in the gaming community, called 'co-op'.

Labels: , , , , , , ,

- Unknown
Retrospective Review: Dead Space 2 (including video review)
by Andrew Whipple III
13.8.11

Sleeper hits like the original Dead Space are proof that the horror genre, inadvisably, is undead. Complete with satisfying shooting, space curb-stomps and legitimate scary moments, Dead Space 2 is more of the same with some augmentations. It isn't a reinvention of the wheel, but the original Dead Space formula was already a sound enough one, which didn't require many tweaks to its already commendable horror/shooter setup. Throw in some new competitive online action, and there's something for just about everyone in Visceral's little monster.

It's been about three years since the game's protagonist, Isaac Clark, last combated the parasitic Necromorphs that riddled the dark corridors of the first game. Having been out of commission for unknown reasons, Isaac awakens on a moon orbiting Saturn, just as the Necromorphs begin their rampage of terror... again. Fortunately, he'll have some new toys and friends to help him along the way.



Admittedly, the story behind Dead Space 2 isn't a strong one. Waking aboard a mysterious space station, only to see the Necromorph threat already in full swing, was a bit disappointing. The first game built up the unveiling of the infection, making the threat feel that much more terrifying, along with some pretty astonishing moments. In its defense, the threat was already identified in the original game, so it'd be hard to control those emotions so fluidly this time around. That's not to say that the narrative behind the game is bad, but it isn't until you get well beyond the halfway mark that you begin to understand the issues behind-the-scenes. Even then, it's a very predictable and contrived string of events that didn't leave me surprised in the least.


Despite the lack of ingenuity in the story, I found the characters this time around to be much more personable. I'd say 'likeable', but who can you like in deep space when you're surrounded by necrotic aliens who want your brains? Exactly. The normally-mute Isaac actually debuts with fully-fledged dialogue and stand-alone personality; this one manoeuvre is mostly responsible for my positive reaction to characters, since Isaac can now interact with the people around him by engaging in actual conversation. Before, Isaac was basically in the backseat as other characters ran the show with their dialogue, commanding you to do what they willed. No longer.

Just as all sequels do, Dead Space 2 spices up the combat with some nifty new gadgets and techniques. If you played the first game, you'd know that the shooting/combat was fun and responsive, but Visceral wanted you to feel at a disadvantage, being an engineer and all. That focus has changed with the sequel, or so they wanted you to think. Saying that, Visceral was touting Dead Space 2 as being more centred around offense and 'badass' weaponry, when really it plays identically to the first game. The only actual military-grade 'weapons' you have is the Pulse Rifle and the brand-new Seeker Rifle, a normal rifle with a zoom feature that I found largely useless. Other than that, all of your previous weapons from the first game make a return here, including my favorite, the Force Gun.


Being able to wield four weapons certainly throws some unnatural variety into your dismembering ways, but don't get stuck using only the old-school guns. If I could give out a recommendation, try some of the new stuff out, such as the Detonator and Javelin. Just as it sounds, the new Javelin gun is actually quite fun to use. Obviously, stapling a crazed creature with several razor-sharp limbs to the wall is great enough, but when it doesn't quite work like that, you can always hit the alt-fire and watch as your target gets crispy from concentrated electrification. The Detonator is also nice because the mines you fire explode on contact, or can be set tactically to prevent those nasty beasts from creeping up on you. I can't tell you how many times I'd be fighting one creature, only to see seemingly random limbs go flying past me, from another trying to be stealthy. It's a pretty awesome feeling.

Visually, Dead Space 2 is excellent; its clean-cut interface returns unscathed from the original, and the space environments are simply breathtaking. Beautiful as some of the scenery is, Visceral never loses sight of the fact that Dead Space 2 requires a mostly solitary and violent atmosphere in order to remain relevant. Rooms are stricken with bodies and excess blood, and the plethora of blinking and fading lights certainly aids in that claustrophobic feeling. Speaking of claustrophobic, Isaac can now enter grates in walls to get to and from certain areas; it isn't the innovation of the century, but it does make sense for a game like this.


One of my favorite parts of the original game centred around the Zero-G space events. Unlike the first game, which required you to jump from place to place, Dead Space 2 gives you full control of how you move. This decision aids in the creative nature of certain puzzles, and navigating them is a fun, but often tense, endeavour. For obvious reasons, combat is also much more fun this way.

Fun as it is, Dead Space 2 is not without its quirks and deficiencies. It didn't happen very often, but sometimes whatever device I was lifting using Kinesis would just up-and-vanish for no reason. There were also a few rooms where one or more of the Necromorphs would be running in place perpetually, even when I blew their limbs off; don't ask me how. But perhaps the worst issue is something Visceral put into the game on purpose. Due to a bug that happened around the time of the game's launch, Visceral unlocked all of the bonus suits and weapons right out of the gate, also making them free to purchase. This provides a problem; you could start the game with some souped-up weapons and armour that would otherwise be inaccessible to you, making currency almost irrelevant and the game infinitely more easy. Unfortunately, there's no possible way to disable this 'feature'.

Once your romp through the Sprawl comes to a close, there's always the 'New Game+' option. Diving into 'New Game+' will let you carry over everything you've built up in the previous campaign into a new playthrough. There's also a new Hardcore game mode, which features the toughest enemies, minimal health pickups and - get ready - it'll only allow you to save three times throughout the whole game. The entire game. If that doesn't do it for you, and playing through the game again doesn't get you excited, then you could always jump into the brand new competitive multiplayer. Except, you actually really shouldn't.


Dead Space 2 is a single player game, and that is a known fact. Implementation of a multiplayer mode was only a selling point to try and get more sales: "you can shoot 'dudes' online now!" Terse as this statement is, Dead Space 2's multiplayer is a welfare version of Left 4 Dead, where you play either the humans or the Necromorphs. Unless you have nothing better to do, I'd suggest staying very far away from this forced component.

Visceral has successfully brought Dead Space into the much-coveted position of solid, noteworthy games of 2011. Whilst its horror atmosphere and premise may not appeal to everyone, its solid shooting mechanics, outstanding visuals and brilliantly-paced design should. Here's to Dead Space, a horror series that the industry should be looking forward to seeing more of.

8/10 [?]

Labels: , , , , , , , , , , ,

- Andrew Whipple III
GGTL Classics
Some of the very best articles dug out from deep in the GGTL archives, written by some of our past and present wordsmiths alike.
Your continued use of this website and/or any others owned by Gamer's Guide to Life.com represents your acceptance and indicates your full understanding of all of our legal policies and terms. Our legal policies and terms are legally binding. If you in any way disagree with or refuse to be bound by any part of said legal policies and terms, you are advised to leave this website immediately.