Game Information


Basic information
Bayonetta
Developer: Platinum Games (PS3 port: SEGA)
Publisher: SEGA
Released: 29th October, 2009 (Japan)
5th January, 2010 (North America)
7th January, 2010 (Australia and New Zealand)
8th January, 2010 (Europe)

Platforms
PlayStation 3
Xbox 360

Genres
Action

Certification
BBFC: 15
CERO: D
ESRB: M
OFLC: MA15+ (Australia)
OFLC: R16 (New Zealand)
PEGI: 18

Before picking up Platinum Games' first title, Bayonetta, there are a few questions you must ask yourself. Do I enjoy crazy, Japanese style action? Have I enjoyed games such as Devil May Cry? Am I tolerant of the sexual objectification of women? If you answered "yes" to any of those questions, Bayonetta might be a game for you. Although this is Platinum Games' first game as a studio, don't think that they are inexperienced. The group is made up of mostly of former members of the now closed Clover Studios, who were responsible for Viewtiful Joe and Okami. Bayonetta also has the pedigree of having Hideki Kamiya - creator of the Devil May Cry series - on board. Bayonetta easily stands on the same ground as these games. That being said, it is not a game for everybody, and your enjoyment will come solely from how accepting you are of the game.

Bayonetta places you in the seductive, black, gun-attached shoes of the titular character, Bayonetta. Bayonetta is a witch suffering from amnesia, trying to piece together her past, all while bashing her way through hordes of angels and demons. Upon waking up at the bottom of a lake after a 500 year nap, our heroine finds herself thrust into the middle of a battle between her clan, the Umbra Witches, and the Lumen Sages. Of course, there is a lot more to the story of Bayonetta, more than you would expect from an action game such as this. You will often find yourself in near-Metal-Gear-Solid-length cutscenes depicting the drama between the game's colourful and exciting characters. The game's cutscenes are shown in two varieties, either in standard, full motion videos, or in animated photographs in a "film reel" style. I found the latter to be more of a nuisance rather than a compelling way to portray the story, and would have preferred to have all of the scenes done with full motion. Although there is a heavy focus on the story in Bayonetta, most gamers will find themselves lost trying to comprehend all of the intricacies of the narrative on their first, or even second, play through.

The real enjoyment of Bayonetta comes from the fast-paced, gun slinging gameplay, which - as mentioned before - is in the vein of games such as Devil May Cry. With a complex combo system, as well as unlockable weapons and moves, gamers will find plenty of depth and incentive for replayability. Starting the game with only four, hell-crafted pistols (one for each appendage) Bayonetta will quickly find other toys such as a powerful shotgun and a sword. Controlling Bayonetta during the chaos is rather straight forward; there are buttons for light and heavy attacks - or hands and feet respectively - and a button dedicated to shooting which I found to be rather useless. While veterans of the character action genre will find Bayonetta easy to pick up, the main innovation lies in the "Witch Time" mechanic. This activates when the player dodges an enemy's attack just before impact, and causes the world to slow down around Bayonetta, letting her let loose impressive yet simple combos.

Story aside, Bayonetta is simply crazy. The game starts off while fighting angels, standing on rubble, falling though the night sky, and it does not let up. If at any point while playing Bayonetta you tell yourself that it can't get any more insane than this, you will find yourself sorely mistaken. I will refrain from giving away any of these jaw-dropping moments, but I can guarantee that during the first play through of Bayonetta, players will be dumbfounded, or even have a chuckle, at the absurdities and relentless exploits of this game.

Bayonetta is by no means a perfect game. Like many games released since the original God of War, Bayonetta includes quick time events. These feel tacked on, and often have such a small window for response that players will fail them the first time. This is particularly frustrating because they usually result in instant death, and consequently lower your rank on the stage. Another problem I encountered with Bayonetta was the difficulty. Now, there is a place for hard games, and I do enjoy a good challenge, but I found the difficulty to be uneven and fluctuate throughout the story. By that, I mean that some sections of the game can be extremely frustrating, especially for players focused on obtaining good ranks, and then be followed by an easy part. Apart from a few other minor complaints, these are the bulk of the things I did not enjoy about Bayonetta, although they do not ultimately dampen the experience enough to make it not worth a try.

The final piece of Bayonetta I would like to highlight are the boss fights. Often very large in scale and offering multiple sections, the boss battles in Bayonetta are, in my opinion, the high point of the game. From large, multiple headed dragons to other witches with similar abilities to your own, most of the bosses in Bayonetta are very enjoyable and offer a great challenge. That being said, a lot of the bosses are recycled and show up a little too much, leaving room for a bit more variety to be desired.

Bayonetta, while an excellent game, is not for everybody. Gamers who do not have interests in Japanese game design, or are not drawn in by anime-esque story lines will find little to be enjoyed in Bayonetta. However, Bayonetta's intended audience will be able to get the most out of this ridiculous and fun game, and with rewards obtainable only through the second and third playthroughs, there is no shortage of content. If you are on the fence with Bayonetta, I recommend giving it a rental first, but if you have a feeling that it is a game for you, I can say with confidence that Bayonetta is a game you will be glad you played.

8/10

Tyson

Labels: 360, Bayonetta, Platinum Games, PlayStation3, PS3, Review, SEGA, Tyson, Tyson Breen, Xbox 360

Game Information


Basic information
Uncharted 2: Among Thieves
Developer: Naughty Dog Inc.
Publisher: Sony
Released: October 2009

Platforms
PlayStation 3

Genres
Action-adventure
Shooter
Platformer

Certification
BBFC: 15
PEGI: 16+
OFLC: MA15+
ESRB: T
CERO: C

Once in a while, there comes along a game that makes you glad to be a gamer. The type of game that you want to tell all of your friends about and that you can't stop thinking about when you have to part yourself from the screen. For me, and many others, the most recent example of one of these games is Uncharted 2. A sequel to 2007's critically acclaimed shooter/platformer hybrid, Uncharted 2 succeeds in encapsulating everything that made the first game so great, and expanding almost every aspect.

From the get go, Uncharted 2 is a non-stop thrill ride. After a brief cutscene, players will find themselves climbing for their lives from a train dangling over the edge of a snowy cliff. This scene sets the stage perfectly for what is to come. From car chases to shootouts, the action in Uncharted 2 starts high and refuses to let up. Players will find themselves the subject of constant set pieces, such as the aforementioned train climb, which gives off the impression that the game was lovingly and thoughtfully crafted. When playing the game, I found myself constantly striving to find out what was going to happen next, and what the game designers were going to do to impress me.

Taking the role of Nathan Drake, the wise cracking treasure hunter from the first game, players will run, jump, climb, and shoot their way through stunning atmospheres. The controls in Uncharted 2 are extremely intuitive, and make for an immersive experience that isn't clouded by having to struggle with buttons. The shooting has been tweaked slightly since the first game, allowing enemies to be taken out faster and more accurately. Equally as important as the shooting are the platforming elements of Uncharted 2. The controls continue to impress, which makes guiding Drake through various vertical environments an absolute joy. In addition, there are also several stealth sections in the game. Being a fan of the stealth genre, I found these sections quite fun and exhilarating, but the enemies seem a little too unattentive, making these portions a little too easy.

The story in Uncharted 2, while entertaining and a good motivation, takes a backseat to the action elements of the game. Avoiding as many spoilers as possible, the narrative revolves around Nathan and his companions, which includes characters from the last game as well as some fresh faces, trying to find the treasure of Marco Polo. Of course, that is only a brief outline of the story in Uncharted 2, and it is filled with surprises and tense moments. While not Oscar-worthy, the story in Uncharted 2 succeeds in giving personality to the characters and keeps the player interested between the intense gameplay and can easily be considered one of best narratives in an action game.

Uncharted 2 also includes a mode not present in the first game; multiplayer. The multiplayer in Uncharted 2 is fairly standard as far as shooters go, including team deathmatch, capture the flag, and a few other genre staples. While enjoyable, and with an experience system in vain of Call of Duty, the multiplayer comes off as an afterthought to the fantastic single player game. The gun combat feels loose and not accurate, and there is a slight pause between when a player takes a hit and when they die. This causes annoying moments when two players start to shoot at each other and both of the players die. The multiplayer in Uncharted 2 can be entertaining for a little while, but most players will find themselves having more fun with a multiplayer centric shooter, such as Halo or Call of Duty.

Minor complaints aside, Uncharted 2 is one of, if not the, greatest Playstation 3 exclusive title released so far. Most video game fans will find something to enjoy in this title, whether it's the exciting shootouts or tense climbing areas. While lacking in the multiplayer department, Uncharted 2 has an outstanding single player with interesting characters and non-stop action. Amongst the horde of games being released this winter, Uncharted 2 shines through as something special, and is a game that any PS3 owner would be foolish to overlook.

Uncharted 2 images

9/10

Tyson

Labels: PS3, Review, Tyson, Tyson Breen, Uncharted 2

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Ever since the release of Halo on the original Xbox, the Halo series has both set the bar and dominated the realm of console shooters. With the main story being wrapped up in 2007's Halo 3, series developed Bungie decided to created an offshoot to the franchise entitled Halo 3: ODST. Marketed as an extension to the Halo 3 experience, ODST puts the player in control of an Orbital Drop Shock Trooper (ODST) instead of the usual super soldier, Master Chief. When ODST was announced, it was first determined to be a straight up expansion to Halo 3, but through the course of its development, it has evolved into a full on retail package with its own multiplayer modes and campaign. However, the question is whether or not Bungie was once again successful in pleasing their die-hard fan base, or if they should have left the series with the closure it had.

ODST takes place during the events of Halo 2 and the beginning of Halo 3, in the Earth city of New Mombasa. The game kicks off with you taking the role of the rookie of an ODST squadron, barrelling toward the Earth in a pod with the rest of your squadron - hence "Orbital Drop". Upon impact though you are knocked unconscious for 6 hours and awake to find that it is already nightfall and the rest of your squad is nowhere to be found. You then take it upon yourself to find out what happened to the rest of the squad by exploring the open world streets of New Mombasa. By following waypoints marked on your minimap, you find objects such as a helmet and broken sniper rifle. These objects act as the start of a mission and once you find one, you are put into the shoes of one of your squad mates in a flashback scene. These flashbacks uncover story elements to help solve the mystery of what happened while you were asleep. The story in ODST is nothing special, but it is a series highpoint. The constant unravelling of story elements is incentive to keep players entrenched, and the flashback scenarios ensure that the levels are always varied from the last.

Now, stories are all fine and dandy, but what gamers are going to want most out of ODST is the gameplay. As expected, Bungie have not lost their touch. Using the same engine as Halo 3, ODST controls really well, allowing players to quickly pull off satisfying kills against their alien foes. There is no shortage of weapons to do this with either, as all of the weapons from Halo 3 have returned (sans the Battle Rifle) and two new weapons have also been thrown in. One of the weapons is simply the SMG from Halo 3 with a silencer on the end for added stealth. The other weapon that is added to your arsenal is one that will make long-time Halo fans quite pleased; a pistol. This isn't any old pistol however - this pistol resembles the Halo 1 pistol: with a 4x scope and a powerful kick, it delivers devastating head shots that can kill many of the game's enemies in one hit, even on the highest difficulty. The main difference to the rest of the series is, unlike Master Chief, these troopers do not possess recharging shields. Instead, the player's health depletes in two ways. The first is stamina - similar to shields, if you avoid combat for a moment, you stamina will recharge. If you take damage after your stamina is depleted however, you will lose health which can only be replenished with med-kits. ODST's gameplay doesn't stray much off the path of the previous installments,which means that your enjoyment of ODST boils down to whether or not your a fan the series.

ODST is also a gorgeous game. Although it uses the same engine as Halo 3, a lot has been refined. The weapons have a shine that wasn't present before. Also, the character and enemy models look great. The biggest change in the graphics occurs in the environments however. From lush African wildlife settings, to claustrophobic cities,the world of ODST is breathtaking. The night-time environments also allow for the use of one of the games new features, the VISR. Short for Visual Intelligence System Reconnaissance, the VISR allows players to see in the dark. In addition to simple night vision, the VISR allows highlights important things in the environments; enemies in red, teammates in green, and clues in yellow. It's a helpful tool for dark fights, but brightness is increased which turns the screen almost entirely white if the VISR is used during the day.

After completing the campaign, players will want something else to keep them occupied. This is where the game's 'Firefight' mode comes in. Similar to Gears of War 2's Horde mode, or World at War's 'Nazi Zombies', Firefight allows players to team up with 3 of their friends to fight off waves of enemies. With a constant increase of difficulty, Firefight quickly escalates into a frantic grasp for survival. "Skulls", switch on and off during sessions as difficult modifiers. They do things such as give the enemies a huge amount of grenades, or make the only way to regain stamina to melee attack enemies. Players share a pool of lives, which makes teamwork essential. With this focus on teamwork, Bungie decided to eliminate matchmaking from Firefight, meaning that your teammates are limited to those on your friends list. It is an excellent mode that can keep gamers occupied for hours on end, but your enjoyment is unfortunately limited to whether your friends have the game.

Halo 3: ODST also comes packed with a second disc. Dubbed the multiplayer disc, it included the full multiplayer experience of Halo 3, including every downloadable map free of charge. This is one of the best multiplayer shooter games available to Xbox 360 owners, but many gamers will already own it if they were Halo fans to begin with. The extra maps are a good incentive to pick up the multiplayer again if you have been away from Halo for a while. Although it is a great competitive experience, the multiplayer disc feels like a last minute attempt to justify a full price on the package.

If you are a Halo fan, you probably already own ODST or don't need to be sold on it. If you've never experienced a Halo game however, this is the best time to jump into the series. With a fresh new story, fun gameplay and beautiful visuals, Halo 3: ODST is a great single-player game. The addition of the Firefight mode guarantees for a great time with friends, and the inclusion of Halo 3's multiplayer ensures that this game will last you quite a long time. If you're not a fan of Halo, ODST will not change your opinion, but everyone else should have a great time playing this spectacular game.

Tyson

Labels: Bungie, Halo ODST, Microsoft, Review, Tyson, Tyson Breen

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Ever since it was shown at E3 2009, 5th Cell's creative Nintendo DS puzzle game Scribblenauts has had an overwhelming amount of hype and anticipation for its release. For those of you who don't know, Scribblenauts gives the promise of letting the player solve action puzzles using literally thousands of nouns. All one has to do is think of something they would like to conjure and simply type it on the bottom screen and it instantaneously appears on the screen to be used however seen fit. Now that the game is on shelves, could it possibly live up to the amount of coverage and buildup it has received in the past few months?

It's sort of telling that before Scribblenauts even gives the player a menu, it drops them right into a playground title screen to mess around with the item generator. I say this because this is easily the most impressive part of the game, and rightfully so. Being able to summon anything that comes to mind is a power that no other game has given before and, for the most part, 5th Cell has kept their word. Scribblenauts has pretty much everything you would ever think of, jam packed into a tiny cartridge (copy written material and profanity omitted, of course). There is a shortcoming however, in the fact that a lot of words give the same result, for instance; "monster" and "boogeyman". Another issue that arises from having so many things in the game is glitches between objects interacting. This is pretty much an unavoidable problem however, as the game would have been in testing for years if they were to check how every object interacts with one another. Overall, the item creation is a blast and its problems are easily forgivable.

After messing around with the title screen to get acquainted with the item creation, players will want to jump into the actual game. Scribblenauts consists of over 200 levels that range from quite easy to frustrating. Of these 200 or so levels, there are two different types - puzzle and action. Puzzle levels require the player to complete a specific scenario by using created objects, such as "reunite girl and cat" or "stop the runaway truck". Upon completion of the objective, the player will be rewarded with a starite, the game's form of collectable. The other type of levels, action, will simply require the player to maneuver the games main character, Maxwell, around the level to reach a starite. In addition, each level can be done again in advanced mode which challenges to beat the level three times in a row without using the same items. The level design is generally great in Scribblenauts, offering cute and colorful environments and objects. However, players will find themselves being able to solve every level with the same few items and this makes the game feel a little repetitive and dull.

Scribblenauts is predominately a fun game but there is one major problem that takes away from full enjoyment: the controls. With the exception of moving the screen around the level, all of the games controls are done with the touch screen. The annoyance occurs in this because moving your character and moving objects is the same action. This creates huge amounts of frustration by creating such situations as trying to pick up an object and incidentally making Maxwell jump into a pit of lava and attempting to make him walk across a bridge only to pull the bridge out from beneath his feet. By making the d-pad control the character, this issue could have been easily avoided and, although it doesn't take away a great deal from the game, it certainly diminishes a lot of fun from some of the levels.

Scribblenauts comes with plenty of unlockables to obtain. Things such as new avatars for your character and songs give the game a little bit of variety. Scribblenauts also includes a level editor. It feels sort of tacked on and last minute however. It allows the player to take a completed level and changed items around and add new ones using the item creator. This mode isn't particularly appealing as it doesn't allow for actual level creation, and instead allows for manipulation of existing levels.

Scribblenauts is a charming game and a technological accomplishment. Its item creation makes up in quantity what it lacks in quality. This also applies for the games levels, as they are somewhat repetitive. The experience is clouded by its poor controls, but people who are interested in the game will most likely be able to ignore this problem. With plenty of unlockables and a level editor to fool around with, Scribblenauts will last a long time to players who enjoy the game. In a world full of copy-cat game design, its great to see developers trying something different and thinking outside the box and Scribblenauts is a game that should not be passed up by gamers looking for a break from the typical experience.

Tyson

Labels: DS, Nintendo, Review, Scribblenauts, Tyson, Tyson Breen

Rockstar Games, the studio behind the critically-acclaimed Grand Theft Auto series, has released the first trailer for the second downloadable addition to GTA IV, The Ballad of Gay Tony. Like the previous expansion, The Lost and The Damned, players will not take control of the GTA IV protagonist Nico, nor will the story revolve around the events of GTA IV. The game puts you in the shoes of Luis Lopez, a drug dealer and bodyguard of the titular Gay Tony.

Rockstar creative director Dan Houser also recently announced that the upcoming expansion, as well as the previous downloadable installment, will be released on a stand-alone disk. The package has been named Grand Theft Auto: Episodes From Liberty City, and will not require the original game to be played. This bundle, as well as its downloadable counterpart, are set to be released on 29 October 2009.



Tyson

Labels: DLC, GTA4, Rockstar, Tyson, Tyson Breen

Super Metroid and Castlevania: Symphony of the Night. Ring any bells? Chances are that these classics rank high on many of your favourite games lists. From its announcement, the developers of Shadow Complex admitted to taking a heavy influence from these titles while working on the Xbox Live Arcade release. Some people may have been skeptical whether or not the studio behind Gears of War could create a game in the vain of Super Metroid and Castlevania: SotN, but after playing Shadow Complex they will realise that it is not only worthy of being compared to these games, but that it should be talked about with the same reverence as these classic titles.

After a Metroid-style power-up stealing, Shadow Complex starts you off as Jason Flemming. Jason is just a normal guy on a normal date in the woods with his normal girlfriend - that is until they decide to explore a nearby cave and Jason's girlfriend gets captured by a technologically advanced army called "The Restoration". Jason goes after his girlfriend and soon finds himself in the middle of a huge complex (a shadow complex, if you will), navigating his way around to find a way to get him and his love to safety. Although based on the universe of Orson Scott Card's novel, Empire, and written by comic book writer Peter David, the story in Shadow Complex soon takes a backseat to the action and exploration aspects of the game.

Shadow Complex is the first game that I feel truly earns the title of 2.5-D. The game only allows the player to move on a 2-D plane, and yet enemies appear, not only in front and behind you, but also in the foreground and background. This is an innovative addition to the game, but it usually makes for some frustrating points when aiming at enemies on different planes, and when trying to determine whether you are able to land on a certain platform or whether it is in the background.

When starting Shadow Complex, you will be armed with nothing by a t-shirt and a torch, but it doesn't take long for Jason to be able to hold his own against the games enemies. Promptly finding a pistol and grenades, you are able to take out green-coloured doors, but as the amount of other coloured doors in the base show, this is just the beginning. From missiles to a grappling hook, the power-ups in Shadow Complex are extremely satisfying and you will find yourself constantly itching to get your hands on the next one. A personal favorite of mine probably the most original power-up in the game; the foam gun. It's exactly what it sounds like too, a gun that shoots quick-hardening foam to be used however the player sees fit. There were a few too many power-ups that feel like they were taken straight out of Metroid, but Epic Games did a good job of making these items feel fresh.

The giant military base, of which the game is named after, is an absolute joy to explore. Although you're limited to only the large base and the wooded area surrounding it, there is enough varation to make the backtracking feel not only bearable, but fun. With the game constantly giving you new items, you will usually find something new every time you are required to go to a certain area. Looking at the map screen may be a little daunting to some players, but Shadow Complex gives the player an option of having a blue line on the map screen giving a specific path to the next object. Sticking to the path is not always the best strategy though, as off the trail is where you will find most of the hidden weapon upgrades (more missiles, health, etc.).

The controls are especially good. Jumping, grappling, and climbing the architecture is a breeze. The game falls short when aiming, however. Controlled by the right analogue stick, the overly sensitive aiming can be a problem in parts of the game where accuracy is required. This causes most of the encounters in the game to be most easily solved by wiggling the stick in the general direction of the enemy until enough bullets make contact. A little more auto-aim help could have easily avoided this problem. The aiming can be a huge frustration, as it is usually the reason for unnecessary deaths and soaking up more damage than you should have.

The graphics in Shadow Complex are gorgeous, especially considering that it is a downloadable game. Using the Unreal Engine 3 - the same engine used in such graphically impressive games as Gears of War 2 - the graphics impress. Up close, the character models are not especially pretty, but from the game's intended 2-D perspective, the environments and characters are all quite impressive. However, I also found many instances where parts of my character would clip though a wall, which could be off-putting and often pulled me out of the experience.

Although it is a single-player only game, Shadow Complex does have a mode called "Training Grounds". This mode challenges players to complete specific tasks using a limited amount of resources. The player is rated based on the time of completion and is ranked on an online leaderboard. These challenges are fun, and are a good incentive to keep players coming back.

Shadow Complex is awesome. Its minor flaws in the aiming and graphical glitches are no match for the games strong points. Exploring the world and finding new power-ups is a great way to spend an hour or two, and players will quickly find themselves losing track of time while playing. Shadow Complex can easily be called one of the best downloadable games to date, and could be considered one of the years best games, downloadable or disc-based. If you're a fan of the games that Shadow Complex draws its influence from, or if you've always wanted to check out Super Metroid or Castlevania, it is an easy recommendation. For only 1200 Microsoft Points, Shadow Complex is tremendous value, and is a game that no Xbox 360 owner should be without.

9/10

Tyson

Labels: 360, Epic Games, Shadow Complex, Tyson, Tyson Breen

That's right World of Warcraft fans - the rumours are true. Today at Blizzcon, Blizzard revealed that the third World of Warcraft expansion, entitled Cataclysm, will be coming to a PC near you. Most of the speculations circulating the internet were proven true, including a raised level cap to 85, and two new playable races: 'Goblins' and 'Worgen'. Blizzard stated that Cataclysm is set to release in 2010. Included below is a list of the major changes that will be in the expansion.

* Two New Playable Races: Adventure as one of two new races—the cursed worgen with the Alliance or the resourceful goblins with the Horde.
* Level Cap Increased to 85: Earn new abilities, tap into new talents, and progress through the path system, a new way for players to improve characters.
* Classic Zones Remade: Familiar zones across the original continents of Kalimdor and the Eastern Kingdoms have been altered forever and updated with new content, from the devastated Badlands to the broken Barrens, which has been sundered in two.
* New High-Level Zones: Explore newly opened parts of the world, including Uldum, Grim Batol, and the great Sunken City of Vashj'ir beneath the sea.
* More Raid Content than Ever Before: Enjoy more high-level raid content than previous expansions, with optional more challenging versions of all encounters.
* New Race and Class Combinations: Explore Azeroth as a gnome priest, blood elf warrior, or one of the other never-before-available race and class combinations.
* Guild Advancement: Progress as a guild to earn guild levels and guild achievements.
* New PvP Zone & Rated Battlegrounds: Take on PvP objectives and daily quests on Tol Barad Island, a new Wintergrasp-like zone, and wage war in all-new rated Battlegrounds.
* Archaeology: Master a new secondary profession to unearth valuable artifacts and earn unique rewards.
* Flying Mounts in Azeroth: Explore Kalimdor and the Eastern Kingdoms like never before.

For more information on World of Warcraft: Cataclysm visit the official FAQ.

Tyson

Labels: Activision Blizzard, Tyson, Tyson Breen, World of Warcraft, WoW

Ever since it was announced at this years E3, Shadow Complex had been high on my list of anticipated games. The promise of a current-gen, Metroid/Castlevania style game by Epic Games, the studio behind Gears of War, had me squirming with excitement. Today, the game launched on the Xbox Live Arcade for 1200 Microsoft Points and I wasted no time downloading it and hoping in to the campaign.

Shadow Complex starts you off, not as the main character, but as a fully upgraded government soldier. After teasing you for a few minutes with the overwhelming power, in true Metroid fashion, you are stripped of all the power-ups and begin playing as the games hero, Jason. Out in the woods with his girlfriend, the couple decide to explore a nearby cave. Upon entering the cave - which turns out to be a large, technologically advanced complex (hence the game's title) - Jason's girlfriend is taken hostage by the occupants of the base. Jason does what any good boyfriend would do and infiltrates the base armed with nothing but a flashlight.

The controls are spot on in Shadow Complex, I found myself easily maneuvering the games areas. The only points so far where the controls have been an issue is when pin-point shooting is required, as the aiming sensitivity seems a little touchy. The game helps slightly with this problem by giving all of your firearms unlimited ammo, making missed shots less of a hindrance.

Like the games that its inspired from, a main component of Shadow Complex is finding secrets. I've been in every corner of the complex, searching for hidden power-ups, and from what I've found so far, it seems as though the designers have done a great job of evenly pacing the amount of unlockables for the player to find. From extra grenades, to health extensions, anyone who enjoys exploring in games should have a blast with Shadow Complex.

Graphically, Shadow Complex is fairly good. While not overly impressive in comparison to some disc-based games, Shadow Complex rises to the top of the pack when looking at other downloadable games. Using Epic's own Unreal Engine 3 technology, the visuals in Shadow Complex will surely not disappoint.

I've only played a few hours of Shadow Complex, but it has already given me the impression that it is a quality product. Even while writing this post I am itching to get my hands on the game again and continue to explore the large world that Epic has created. Expect a full review of Shadow Complex on GGTL in the near future.

Tyson

Labels: Epic, First impressions, Shadow Complex, Tyson, Tyson Breen

When Sega announced that they had opened up a poll for fans to decide on the next Genesis game to be released on the Xbox Live Arcade, Earthworm Jim quickly rose to the top. The poll was restarted today with Earthworm Jim removed from the contest. But don't cry yet, Earthworm Jim fans: the reason it was removed was due to Gameloft announcing that Earthworm Jim will be coming to all consoles as downloadable content.

Sega had this to say. "Unfortunately, due to a licensing issue, we are no longer able to offer Earthworm Jim as an option in our poll. It was announced earlier today that Gameloft will be bringing Earthworm Jim to Xbox Live Arcade along with several other platforms. We are excited that our fans will soon be able to play this game."

It seems that Toejam & Earl has become the new fan-favorite, with about 42% of the votes at the time of writing this post. I'd rather see Streets of Rage in this position, but getting both Earthworm Jim and (likely) Toejam & Earl is nothing to complain about.

If you would like to vote on the new poll you can do so here.

Tyson

Labels: Poll, SEGA, Tyson, Tyson Breen

August 14th marked the 20th anniversary of the North American release of the Sega Genesis. To celebrate this occasion Sega has decided to let their fans vote on the next Genesis game to be released on the Xbox Live Arcade. Voters have from August 14th to August 21st to make their choice and vote on the Genesis Poll website. At the time of publish, Earthworm Jim has a commanding lead, taking up nearly half of the votes. Out of the options given, I'm very glad to see Earthworm Jim pulling ahead of the pack, although I wouldn't complain if Streets of Rage won either.

If you want to have a say in the decision of which Genesis game you want to appear on XBLA next, take a look over the nominees and vote for your favorite here.

Tyson

Labels: Classic Consoles, SEGA, Tyson, Tyson Breen

UK retailer, Argos, announced that they will no longer be selling the 60GB hard drive version of the Xbox 360. This continues to hint that Microsoft will be revealing a lower price point for the Xbox 360 Elite.

"We are very sorry but Microsoft have discontinued this line," says Argos on its official website.

It is speculated that Microsoft will discontinue the 60GB unit, making the 120GB Elite console the main unit at retail along side the cheaper Arcade unit.

Tyson

Labels: 360, Financial, Tyson, Tyson Breen

Looking back at the history of mankind, one thing can be traced as the highlight of all of our existence; destruction. No game captures this essence greater that Red Faction Guerrilla. Developed by Volition Inc. (the team behind the Saints Row series) and using the "Geo-Mod 2.0" destruction engine, Red Faction successfully gives the player a feeling of pure destructive bliss. However, the other aspects of the game wrapped around the carnage don't quite impress the way the demolition of buildings does.

In Red Faction Guerrilla you take the role of Alec Mason, a worker who relocated from Earth to Mars looking for work. Upon his arrival on the red planet, Alex meets up with his brother (a member of the rebellion group "Red Faction") who is soon gunned down by the Earth Defense Force before you even start to play the game. To make things worse, after the gruesome murder of your brother, the EDF associates you with the rebellion and attempts to take you out. You are promptly saved by members of the Red Faction and, with one thing leading to another, you're soon a full fledged member of an organization supporting the liberation of Mars. Not that any of this really matters though, because the games cutscenes are few and far between. Apart from the intro, ending, and a few story highlights through the game, the story is told entirely though radio transmissions. This causes the games story to come of as uninteresting, anti-climactic, and in some cases, practically non-existent.

Although the story comes off as throwaway, it really isn't the highlight of the game. As mentioned before, the most entertaining aspects of the game come from destroying the buildings on Mars. The game starts you off with a hammer and some remote explosives to take care of destroying architecture. These two items will be your companions for most of the game, but a few other tools are introduced later in the game, such as a rocket launcher and a rifle that's ammunition melts anything on contact. The thing that makes the destruction in this game so pleasing is how realistically the buildings break apart. Explaining the destruction, or even watching it in a trailer, really doesn't do it any justice, it's something that needs to be experienced to fully appreciate. The first time you take you hammer to the side of a building and it slowly crumbles to the group is extremely satisfying. That being said, the disintegrating architecture of Red Faction isn't perfect either. On numerous occasions I found buildings being supported by single pieces of metal. Another annoyance that I encountered several times was ramming into a building with a vehicle in hopes of destroying a good portion of it, only to be stopped dead in my tracks by an indestructible object.

Mars is portrayed fairly accurately in Red Faction, all of the rocks and environments being red. However, this isn't as visually pleasing due to nearly every inch of the games world looking identical. This is even furtherly emphasized by all of the games buildings are quite similar in design, and most of the structures are repeated all across the map. Although the design of Mars in Red Faction isn't so creative, it is partially forgiven by that fact that the game is very visually pleasing. Using the Havok engine, the games visuals are very polished, and though they arn't the greatest graphics, Red Faction is a good looking game. My only complaint regarding the games graphics is there is constant texture popping as the games far off objects appear from the foreground.

Red Faction Guerrilla is an open world game. This means that it falls victim to many of the genres problems. For starters, you will constantly be navigating the games world using your minimap rather than the actual game screen. The games developers attempted to avoid this by placing a navigation line in front of you when walking or driving toward an objective, but I still found myself staring at the bottom left corner of the screen way too much. Another pitfall that the game encounters is the plethora of side quests. Now this can be considered good or bad depending on how much you enjoy the game, but there are only 9 types of side missions and most of them are not very amusing. However, I did find some of the games side missions, such as destroying a building as fast as possible, and maning the turret of a vehicle to destroy as much as possible, to be quite fun.

I find it necessary to bring the games AI up. It proved to be excessively annoying at times. It seems thoroughly unnecessary that as soon as I so much as touch a building that suddenly and entire army appears to take me down. The game constantly throws more enemies than required at you, all of them blessed with pin-point accuracy. This makes for some frustrating moments in the game, especially when long, checkpointless missions have to be restarted several times. On the opposite end of the spectrum, you teammates are never much help at all, that is if they even show up. From missing most of there shots, to would-be rescued hostages not being able to get into your vehicle, your teammates are the only thing more aggravating than you enemies.

Red Faction Guerrilla's multiplayer offering is fairly standard. It consists of two modes: wrecking crew and online. Wrecking crew is a pass-the-controller, local-only destruction fest. It involves two to four players taking turns to see who is able to achieve the most points given different rule sets. This mode is quite entertaining as it eliminates some of the frustrations of the single player campaign and allows players to enjoy ripping down buildings without any distractions. The other multiplayer component of the game is online. This mode is exactly what it sounds like; travel into the world of Xbox Live or Playstation Network and put your skills to the test against other players. The online modes are fairly generic, consisting of the usual suspects of deathmatch (called anarchy), team deathmatch, and capture the flag. Some other modes, such as damage control and demolition, bring the destruction factor into the mix for a more unique flavor. The main difference to the way the game is played in the multiplayer is the addition of backpacks. Stations are set up across the maps that distribute power-ups in the form of backpacks. From being able to run faster to healing yourself and teammates to making yourself invisible, there's a backpack for nearly every situation. The online multiplayer in Red Faction can be hectic at times, and some of the weapons don't work as good against thinking opponents, but it's a fun if your looking to kill a bit of time. Aside from the addition of the backpacks, the multiplayer comes off as an afterthought in the development in the game, and it's hard to see the game keeping a solid number of players other than a dedicated few.

All in all I enjoyed my time with Red Faction Guerrilla. The campaign drags on a little more than it needs too, and the story is quite forgettable, but the game's emphasis on destruction is truly entertaining. The games missions and environments are not especially varied, but the graphics and fun factor more that make up for these shortcomings. The games multiplayer is enjoyable if you want to get a little more out of the game, but it's hard to recommend to anyone looking for a strong, long-term multiplayer experience. If you are looking for an open world experience, or just a fun time in the summer games drought, Red Faction Guerrilla is a great game that can easily be recommended if you can get past its flaws.

7/10 - Worth a rental for fans of the series/genre

Tyson

Labels: Red Faction Guerrilla, Review, Tyson, Tyson Breen, Volition

Nintendo's strong success since the launch of the Wii took a huge hit during the first quarter of fiscal year 2009-2010. The company's revenue has dropped 60.6 percent from the previous year. Nintendo's total year-to-year loss was 65 billion YEN. This marks the first annual decline for Nintendo in 4 years and is highlighted by the drop in console sales. Wii sales tumbled 2.94 million from Q1 last year, while DS sales dropped from 6.94 million sales to 5.97 million.

Tyson

Labels: Financial, Industry, Nintendo, Tyson, Tyson Breen

I've never really been much of a fan of the Splinter Cell series, spending barely any time with the previous installments. However, the E3 trailer and demos of the upcoming Ubisoft title, Conviction, have me squirming with anticipation. The changes made to the character and gameplay appear to have changed for the better, and the in-game presentation of information sprawled across the games world is aesthetically pleasing as well as innovative.

This week at Comic Con, Ubisoft has released another trailer for the game. Not much new information is shown in the teaser, but it succeeds in continuing to build hype for the games release in October. Take a look at the video at the top of this post.

Tyson

Labels: Splinter Cell, Tyson, Tyson Breen, Ubisoft