Last December, Destructoid’s Jim Sterling broke the story that Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning would feature a seven-part quest line, hidden behind an online pass.

Sterling called the practice "slimy and unjustified" on his personal Twitter account, and the topic quickly became a hot-button subject amongst savvy internet-dwellers wishing to offer their tuppenceworth on EA's new favourite money-making strategy. Part of the anger stemmed from the fact that Kingdoms of Amalur’s online code was restricting access to single-player content already on the disc, instead of online content, like previous games with EA Online Passes.

This is not the first time this year that a kerfuffle has been raised over single-player content restrictions. Last September, Warner Bros. Interactive and Rocksteady Studios came under fire when they sealed off several playable sections of Batman: Arkham City featuring Catwoman behind an unlock code. The move came under fire from users who felt they were being cheated out of the full experience, especially from the perspective of gamers who may not have an internet connection for their console, or anyone who might try to buy the game used.

Unfortunately, online passes are likely here to stay, especially seeing as publishers are trying their utmost to head off used-game sales. What started as a justification to recover operating costs for online servers has turned into yet another way for EA to coax a little more money out of its customers. And, beyond EA and Warner, THQ has also used online passes for Homefront and both of its UFC games, whilst Activision has as yet chosen not to follow the online pass route.

A hefty amount of digital ink has already been spilled on the subject of online passes, forming everything from reasonable discourse to righteous indignation. Some see online passes as a regrettable but understandable business decision, a reasonable push-back against used-game sales. Others feel they punish a significant part of their consumer base, and provide gamers with a worse experience; after all, typing in a new code every time one buys a new game gets very old, very quickly.

On a side note, I’m not certain that used-game sales cut into profits quite so much as publishers say they are, but I bet the fact that one of the world’s largest game retailers depends so heavily on used games sales doesn’t help.

I used to be reasonably tolerant of online passes; as a gamer who tries to purchase new games and support developers, rather than retailers, it didn’t affect me too heavily. Most of the games using online passes were sports games: the likes of Madden and FIFA, games I wouldn’t usually play but would likely purchase new if I did - new rosters, after all. However, online pass implementation has become much more ubiquitous - and, one could argue, much more stupid - in recent months. Entering each new code becomes more tedious every time, and the content hidden behind these codes has grown from bonus, thank-you-for-playing content to important, central portions of the game as a whole.

Perhaps my worst experience with online passes came when I rented Battlefield 3, for what was supposed to be a review. I ploughed through the campaign in one five-hour session (my preferred method for tight, focussed FPS campaigns), and after watching the credits roll, I sat down for a few rounds of multiplayer, excited to spend more time with one of my favourite online series in recent years. Instead, I was greeted with a screen that told me I needed to buy a brand new copy of the game in order to try the multiplayer at all.

I was shocked. Not only was the game depriving me access to arguably the reason to purchase Battlefield 3, but it wouldn’t even let me try it out and decide if it was right for me. Rather than spend an extra ten dollars on top of the eight dollar rental, I returned the game, frustrated and unsatisfied - at least online sports games like Madden allowed a seven-day free trial for online modes. And the sad thing is, I decided not to purchase Battlefield 3 in the end, because I wasn’t sure whether I’d enjoy the multiplayer; without an adequate chance to sample it, the purchase became too great a risk, and caused me not to follow through.

On the other hand, I can understand why publishers use online passes, despite how much they're inarguably awful. 38 Games' Curt Schilling recently talked about why they chose to implement their 'day-one DLC', saying that, as a new series in a crowded market, they wanted to stand out and provide extra content to gamers who would buy it new; after all, if they don’t sell enough copies, the studio may not be around long enough to deliver a sophomore effort.

To me, it really comes down to expectation. Amalur is an absolutely massive game, and as sucky as it is to miss out on a seven-quest cycle, there’s still a huge amount of content already available for playing. In terms of Batman: Arkham City and its infamous gated content, I rented the game shortly after it came out, and during the time I played it, not once did I feel ripped-off for not being allowed to experience Catwoman’s sections. Batman’s main storyline was so fun and well-paced, I never felt like anything was missing from the experience, making Catwoman’s sections truly feel like 'bonus' content.

Perception is also a big part of this discussion. There are those who feel that, because both Catwoman and the seven-part quest are on the disc, they should be available right out of the box, lest the experience be otherwise 'incomplete'. Yet, for some reason, removing the content from the disc and forcing players to download it through Xbox Live or PSN seems to make it okay. Perhaps we’re all hardwired to expect a more 'transactional' feel when purchasing digital items, and the physical distance the data travels and the time needed to acquire it perhaps make the content more worth the money than if it were simply unlocked from the disc. For me, if the experience feels complete (like in the case of Batman), anything extra is worth the extra money.

A similar situation happened last year with Gears of War 3, when Epic revealed that their game had a good amount of on-the-disc DLC. Their justification? They had already drawn up and followed a projected budget for the main content (single-player campaign, multiplayer, co-op, etc.), and the DLC followed a separate budget, making both sets of content two different sets of costs. The $60 purchase covered the main game’s budget, while the on-the-disc purchases would cover the cost to design, develop and test the DLC.

Also - and this makes me part of the problem - I would much rather have buy-new incentives that are actually worth ponying up the money for. Remember the Cerberus Network, EA’s free-DLC service from Mass Effect 2? Remember how awesome your new equipment was, and how engaging your new party felt? Of course not; they were all terrible. If I’m resigned to expect extra content from buying a game brand new, that content had better be worth the money I spent over buying it used. There’s a thin line between withholding content that’s worthwhile and keeping players from experiencing the game to the fullest, but the latter feels so much more satisfying than discovering your 'bonus content' was an extra pea-shooter and two differently-coloured T-shirts.

I’m not trying to be an online pass apologist; they add new layers of difficulty to customer experiences, and they could easily lead to a slippery slope of paying for even greater and greater chunks of content. Still, I know there’s a middle-ground that can be attained, in rewarding players who buy new without penalising those who buy games used, and hopefully developers can find that happy medium in the future. In the meantime, let’s get back to complaining about something that is really irritating. Like pre-order DLC.

Labels: 38 Studios, Andrew Testerman, Batman: Arkham City, EA, Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning, Online Passes, Opinion, PlayStation 3, PSN, Warner Bros., Xbox 360, Xbox LIVE

As comic book characters go, few have proven to be as captivating as the Caped Crusader, Batman. Be it his tragic origin story, his unparalleled fighting and detective skills or the sheer amount of kickassness that exudes from a man with no superpowers that can take on Superman, there’s just something about this character that has made him a staple of the comic book community for decades.

As tends to happen, the extreme popularity of the comic character has led to movies, animated series, tonnes of merchandise and - of course - videogames. In 2009, Rocksteady broke the licensed game curse, and created a Batman videogame unlike anything anyone had ever seen before. The boys and girls at Rocksteady care for the character, and poured attention and love into every single detail of the project, crafting more than just a game, but rather an experience. Batman: Arkham Asylum was more than just the best Batman game ever, or the best comic book game ever; it was one of the best games of 2009, full stop. This left this year’s sequel, Batman: Arkham City, with a rather unprecedented predicament: it ended up a licensed game with a large quantity of valid expectation for greatness weighing it down. Comic geeks and gamers the world over were wondering if Rocksteady would be able to strike gold twice.

The answer? Yes. God, yes.


You know the way that every sequel promises to be bigger and better, and then hardly ever is? That, luckily, didn't happen this time. Rocksteady hit the bullseye, and somehow managed to make the already pefect Batman experience even better, delivering a massive follow up to Arkham Asylum that is truly bigger and better in every way, giving you more of what you loved from the original and doing away with anything you hated. Fan expectations were more than met; they were surpassed entirely. This was clearly Rocksteady’s objective.

So how does a developer go about beating itself at its own game? Well, Rocksteady’s first order of business was giving players a larger playground to play in. Enter Arkham City, the mega-prison after which the game is named. If you’ve somehow managed to avoid spoiling the story for yourself already, I won’t spoil it for you here. All you need to know is that Quincy Sharp, former warden of Arkham Asylum, is now mayor of Gotham City, and he has somehow convinced the bigwigs of Gotham to let him wall off a complete section of the city and turn it into a prison. The result: a literal city prison, populated by every low-life thug, criminal and super-criminal in Gotham City. With appearances from almost every major nemesis in Batman’s rogue gallery (and a few not so major ones), veteran comic book writer Paul Dini has written a meaty, intense and suspenseful story that evokes a true sense of urgency in the player as the plot develops. The pacing of the narrative is pitch-perfect, and the game is filled with unexpected twists and reveals that will have you nerdgasming well into the night.

The game’s narrative is made that much greater by the excellent gameplay through which you experience it. Gameplay is divided into three basic elements: exploration, combat and stealth. Playing as the Dark Knight himself, Arkham City is yours to explore. As a gamer, jumping, gliding and grappling from rooftop to rooftop in an environment as vibrant and layered as Arkham City is a treat. As a Batman fan, the experience is just indescribable, and must be experienced to be understood. When you’re not mindlessly gliding around the city skies and freaking out at just how awesome Batman’s cape looks billowing in the wind, you’ll probably be meticulously scouring the environments for secrets or clues related to your current mission. Rocksteady has not forgotten that Batman is first and foremost a detective, and has made sure to feature Batman’s crime solving deductive skills prominently in the game, both in the main story missions and side missions, which I’ll get on to later.


As you can probably imagine, based on the fact that the whole game takes place in a megaprison filled to the brim with people that want our hero dead, you will get into a fair amount of scuffles. You will deal with your opponents either via direct mêlée combat or stealth. For the mêlée combat, Rocksteady has refined the amazing combat system they created for Arkham Asylum, the Freeflow Combat System. Freeflow combat sounds simple on paper: attack enemies with one button, stun them with another, dodge with a third and press a fourth button at the right time to counter. The truth of the matter, though, is that although the system is simple enough that a beginner can pull off some nice moves, this by no makes the game a button masher. If you’re going to call the Freeflow combat button-mashing, you might as well call Guitar Hero a button masher, and no, that is not an exaggeration. The key to successful combat in Arkham City is timing; you have to time each move to perfectly follow your previous move, counter just at the right moment, dodge exactly when required, all in an effort to boost your combo count and, consequently, the experience you gain from a fight. Perfecting Freeflow combat requires real skill. Add in enemies which require specific attack approaches, special moves and quickfire gadget moves – which allow you to incorporate Batman’s nifty arsenal into his combos – and you’ve got yourself an extremely robust combat system which will probably provide you with some of the most rewarding combat in any action title, ever.

Once you perfect the freeflow combat I guarantee you will feel like a ninja. But, alas, Batman - like all heroes - has a lethal weakness. For Superman, it's kryptonite; for Batman, it's guns - guns will kill the guy. Charge into a room filled with gun-toting goons, and you'll find yourself walking into the light faster than you can say "holy fatal wound, Batman". Armed henchmen require a more tactical approach; namely, stealth. Stealth (or predator) sections will require you to patiently wait in the shadows and use your wits and your gadgets to take out your opponents. Fear not, though, because the game arms you to the teeth, with everything from the must-have batarangs to explosive gel, freeze bombs, smoke grenades and zip lines. These stealth situations are also where you’ll make use Batman’s 'Detective Vision', which allows you to see through walls, in order to identify enemies and the weapons they're carrying. Each predator room is basically a puzzle that needs solving, with the answer always ending up as you doing a triumphant Batoosie dance over a heap of unconscious bodies.

Once you’ve explored, fought and ninja’d your way through the main story there’s still loads - and I mean loads - of things to do in Arkham City. The side missions prepared are just awe-inspiring, with most side quests featuring deep plots and their own villains. These optional quests will have you scouring the city solving The Riddler’s riddles, as lives hang in the balance; investigating a series of grisly murders; chasing down ringing phones in an effort to track down a psychopathic murderer, and so much more. With no hint of a joke, the side missions in Arkham City could be their own stand-alone game, they are that good. You also have the challenge rooms to occupy your time; these are Riddler Challenges, that either see you taking out waves of enemies with Freeflow combat, or clearing rooms of armed thugs in stealth missions. All missions are ranked online, with leaderboards and such, so you always have incentive to come back to these challenges and increase your scores. Add to the mix the addition of the newly re-vogued 'New Game Plus', which lets you play through the main story with all your experience and gadgets whilst considerably ramping up the difficulty, and it's easy to see that replay value is the name of the game. Oh, and I haven’t even mentioned Catwoman yet, have I?


Every new copy of Arkham City includes a download code, which will let you access the Catwoman missions. These missions are interwoven with the game's main narrative, so they seamlessly integrate with the main story. It’s true that you could play the entire game without experiencing the Catwoman missions and not feel like you’re missing out on anything, but trust me, you would be. Catwoman moves and fights completely differently to Batman, and playing as the famed femme fatale was probably one of my favourite experiences of Arkham City. Not only will these missions reveal more about what’s going on in Arkham City, but they will also reward you with some of the best gameplay the title has to offer. Long story short, download, and play now.

Rocksteady has also been generous with its offering of DLC. Already the company has released two DLC character packs, featuring Nightwing and Robin respectively. These packs allow you to play as these two members of the Batman family in all of the game's challenge rooms, as well as in additional challenge rooms included in the DLC. These characters can’t be used in the main game, which has disappointed more than a few fans; however, I can guarantee that each character is worth trying out. Both have a very distinct feel to them, in combat and in stealth missions, and they are more than just palette swaps, with distinct moves, gadgets and combat styles. At the end of the day, though, I’d say that you should only really get these packs if you have the cash to spare, or if you’re a huge fan of the characters, like me. Either way, you won’t be disappointed.

Lastly, I just have to mention how spectacular this game looks. The art style is spot on, and the game is brought to life with stunning graphics and vibrant music, every bit as epic as anything you’d expect to hear in Christopher Nolan’s Batman flicks. It’s the gaming equivalent of awesome sauce, and you know just how awesome awesome sauce is.


I read somewhere that Arkham City was more of a Batman simulator than a game, and I couldn’t agree more. Rocksteady has successfully, and fully, recreated the 'Batman experience' in gaming form, and if you know anything about Batman then you'll know just how much of an impressive feat this is. Batman: Arkham City is easily my favourite game of 2011, and a solid contender for Game of the Year. You owe it to yourself to play this game.

10/10 [?]

Labels: 2011, Batman, Batman: Arkham City, Joey Núñez, Review, Rocksteady Studios, Warner Bros.

Will Day 1 Studio's new release in the F.E.A.R series be able to replicate the same scares and bump-in-the-night moments as the first two games in the series? Andrew Testerman finds out. Reviewed on PlayStation 3.

Warner Bros. Interactive are back to give gamers a third helping of FPS-horror action with F.E.A.R. 3. Developed by Day 1 Studios, creators of the Mech Assault series for the original Xbox, F.E.A.R. 3 attempts to carve a niche for itself in today’s crowded market through a focus on slow motion gunplay, non-traditional multiplayer, and things that go bump in the night. It’s far from perfect, but F.E.A.R. 3’s unique blend of tense atmosphere and solid shooting mechanics make it worth a look for FPS fans craving new experiences.

F.E.A.R. 3 casts the player as Point Man, protagonist from the first game. Following on nine months after the conclusion of F.E.A.R. 2, Point Man is charged with rescuing his squad mate, Jin, from the wreckage of Fairport City, as well as finding and destroying creepy franchise poster girl, Alma. Joining him is his brother, Paxton Fettel, the primary antagonist from the first game. Together, the two shoot their way through a variety of locations, escaping from a Mexican prison, traversing an abandoned airport and negotiating a ruined Sam's Club-esque store. F.E.A.R. 3’s story hinges on the theme of family, giving it a personal touch and helping it stick out from other, more boilerplate action titles.

For a game sold on the basis of its horror trappings, F.E.A.R. 3 is surprisingly, and unfortunately, not all that scary. Whilst the first two games subtly crafted their horror through slow build-ups and near-perfect pacing, F.E.A.R. 3 is content to hit gamers full in the face with its scare attempts. "There’s blood on the wall!" the game says. "Isn’t that so very occult and strange?" Yes, for the first few rooms, it is. When nearly every wall is caked in more red than a Target store, however, the shock factor wears out significantly. Fortunately, the game’s sound design manages to provide a few good scares, filling the environment with small, unsettling noises, and rattling players with a tense musical score.


While the scare factor in F.E.A.R. 3 is lacking, the gunplay is not. As Point Man, players are given the ability to slow down time in a Max Payne fashion, making for easier headshots and greater tactical awareness. Gamers will need this advantage, too, because the enemy AI in F.E.A.R. 3 is brutal. Even on the Normal difficulty setting, enemies will flank, throw grenades and take cover behind objects, making even the most average firefight potentially harrowing. Weapons feel uniformly satisfying, especially in close quarters, when a point-blank shotgun blast can turn most enemies into a large, steaming pile of goo. F.E.A.R. 3 also lets players pilot a mech at several points during the campaign, effectively relieving the tension by making the player feel like an invincible killing machine.

Once a level is beaten as Point Man, players can go back through it as Paxton Fettel, effectively turning the game on its head. Rather than slow down time for a firefight advantage, Fettel has the ability to possess enemies, letting gamers body-snatch any guard of their choice and wreak havoc on its comrades. Playing as Fettel is markedly different to playing as Point Man, and gives gamers an incentive to replay F.E.A.R. 3 once they’ve finished the main story. F.E.A.R. 3 can also be played co-op either as split-screen or online, with each player taking control of a different brother; the game is significantly easier when played this way, but it is also stonking great fun.

Differentiating F.E.A.R. 3 further from its modern shooter counterparts is its multiplayer. In today’s world of "Call of Duty this" and "Battlefield that", games with multiplayer need to provide more than just the standard Team Deathmatch and Capture the Flag modes, and Day 1 absolutely knocks it out of the park in this regard. The two primary modes are Contractions and Soul King. Contractions is a variant of Call of Duty: World At War's Nazi Zombie mode, with players battling through waves of increasingly-difficult enemies, rebuilding defensive fortifications, and stocking up on weapons between rounds. In Soul King, four players face off against one another, possessing the bodies of NPCs laden throughout the map, earning points for killing other NPCs and stealing points by killing other players. Whether or not the game will be able to garner an active community is unsure, but F.E.A.R. 3’s online component is a breath of fresh air for anyone looking for unique multiplayer action.


Unfortunately, a few problems do rear their ugly heads. As mentioned above, F.E.A.R. 3 is surprisingly tepid on scares, especially compared to the last two entries; most of the scares come from a monster jumping out of a closet and yelling "boo", making the so-called 'terror' aspect feel rather cheap, and nowhere near on the level as, for example, the school from F.E.A.R. 2 (a level available as a demo on Xbox Live and PSN, and containing more scares than the entirety of F.E.A.R. 3). There are also a few technical hiccups, including some audio sync issues, as well as the inability to manually reload weapons; it is likely this is an issue specific to my review copy, but is disappointing nonetheless. Lastly, F.E.A.R. 3’s remaining two multiplayer modes - Soul Survivor, a possession-heavy mode similar to Infection from Halo 3; and Fucking Run, a wave-based survival mode, with the added twist of evading a moving cloud of death - are only available with F.E.A.R. 3’s Online Pass, giving a disadvantage to second-hand gamers and those who rent their games.

Though not on the level of excellence that its previous two entries enjoyed, F.E.A.R. 3 still provides solid shooting action and several unique play mechanics, making it a good choice for gamers looking for a quality summer shooter.

8/10 [?]

Labels: 2011, Andrew Testerman, Day 1 Studio, F.E.A.R 3, PlayStation 3, PS3, Review, Warner Bros.

Does this year's Mortal Kombat reboot live up to its expectations? Andrew Whipple III takes a second look at the game in this follow-up to Tom's original review, and finds it to be an anomaly in the fighting genre. Reviewed on PlayStation 3.

The extraordinary history that encompasses the universe of Mortal Kombat is a thrilling - albeit abhorrent - experience. Having essentially created the rating system for the video games of today, Mortal Kombat was a striking, mature, showpiece of a fighter that wasn't afraid to get imaginative. That was true of the games of old; cut to its 3D-centric brethren and that philosophy existed beneath pillars of filth no-one dared spring free. Suffice to say, Mortal Kombat has been through quite a bit. Fortunately, this experience has given the franchise another chance. Under the banner of new studio NetherRealm, Ed Boon and company have turned back time on the famed fighter, finding a winning formula in the days of the past.

Fighters are a fickle thing. Whether it's delay-timing, button-mashing or standard memorisation, there's always a quirk to the fighter that throws an audience off. Few fighters are easily accessible to the targeted gamer, and even fewer to a wide audience. Whilst I haven't played every single fighter out there, I can safely say that Mortal Kombat is the end-all standard that every fighter should aim to be. Accessible to the hardcore or casual gamer without a hitch, all you need to do is pick up a controller and the game will guide you toward your first digital beheading in minutes. That isn't to say that there's nothing for the avid fighter junkie - because there totally is - but it's so easy to become involved in the mechanics of the game. It's refreshing.

Most fighters throw you right into the thick of it by letting you select whoever you want and allowing you to begin a sort of ladder climb. As you progress this ladder, enemies usually become more difficult and eventually it ends with a boss fight which gives you some kind of cinematic story short that absolutely never makes any damn sense. Ladder climbing is still in Mortal Kombat, as it should be, but NetherRealm has gone the extra mile and incorporated a story mode that functions as the real core to the narrative.


I know what you're thinking. Narrative, in a fighter? You'd better believe it. The story mode is essentially an amalgamation of the first three Mortal Kombat games, crafted into one interweaving story that has you progressing with different characters. This is single-handedly one of the best features Mortal Kombat has brought to the forefront of the modern day fighter. Not only does it wean you into the glorious arenas and mechanics of the game, it also serves as a purpose to play if you're not always wanting to fight online. The best part is that it isn't a cobbled together mess and - get this - the story actually makes you want to continue forwards just to see what happens.

When was the last time a fighter did that?

Story mode alone will take you upwards of ten hours to complete and, once that's finished, there's a plethora of additional content you can sift through. Primarily, the Challenge Tower will be your after-story focus. This beast is a 300-scenario tower you crawl up as events are completed. These events can range from a standard fight, to shooting zombies, to battling whilst headless and on fire. Some challenges are rather difficult, but after each one you complete you'll be rewarded with currency called 'koins' which can be used to unlock bonuses. Story mode, normal fights, performing fatalities; almost everything in Mortal Kombat will net you some amount of koins. Like Deadly Alliance and Deception before it, the Krypt returns, where your koins can be spent. Fatalities, skins, music, artwork; practically everything can be unlocked in the Krypt. At least this time you don't have to worry about coloured koins.

All these extras sure are great, but the central combat is what you should really be caring about. Sporting a cast of over twenty six characters, Mortal Kombat has cut out the fluff and focussed on the characters that matter. Practically all the classic characters - including Sektor, Kabal, Jade and Stryker - return fully-equipped with an arsenal of special moves and combos that are, quite honestly, spectacular to behold. Every single selectable fighter has special attacks, two fatalities, a stage fatality, and a myriad of combo strings available. Everyone also takes real-time damage that persists until the match has been completed. There's something about finishing off your opponent with half your face missing that just screams awesome.


Perhaps the most noticeable change to Mortal Kombat rests within the special bars at the bottom of the screen. Upon performing a move or taking a hit, this bar increases to a maximum of three bars. The significance of these bars is that they allow you to perform an enhanced special attack by using one of the bars to power-up your move. Let's say Reptile normally just shoots a small glob of acid; if he uses a bar of his meter to enhance the move it'll now become a full stream of acid. The best comes, though, when you can manage to build up your meter to its capacity, three bars. Once this is achieved you can unleash a devastating X-Ray attack that's as grotesque as it is crushing to your opponent's health bar. Don't miss it, though, otherwise you just saved up all that energy for nothing.

The online component works, but it's been struggling since launch. There was a patch that fixed many of the connectivity issues but it still isn't picture-perfect. The only other complaint I have is what the conventional fighter always has: cheap-ass bosses. You'll find, over the course of the game, that several bosses have insane combos and 'armour' that allows them to stay standing when they otherwise should be sprawled on the floor. It can certainly get frustrating, but this is all trivial when looking at the overall package NetherRealm has crafted.

Mortal Kombat is an anomaly within the fighting genre. Whilst easily accessible to the casual gamer, it also caters to the hardcore in terms of how deep the combat can become. Even if you don't care for playing online - or maybe don't even care about fighters - the story mode is worth going through at least once. There's no fighting game like this out right now. With that said, welcome back, Mortal Kombat. Welcome back.

9/10 [?]

Labels: 2011, 360, Andrew Whipple III, Mortal Kombat, NetherRealm Studios, PlayStation 3, PS3, Review, Warner Bros., Xbox 360

When a fighting game comes along that makes me stop and take notice, it's usually a sign that it's a damn good fighter. Street Fighter IV was possibly the first fighting game I'd enjoyed playing since Tekken 3 on the original PlayStation, but after hearing of the hardcore-centric arcade past enjoyed by the Mortal Kombat series, I have to say I felt a rather large degree of trepidation going into this game. I'd had a good time with the demo for sure, but delving into the larger overall single player and multiplayer experiences offered in the full game would surely be an entirely different story.

Don't get me wrong, this rebooted Mortal Kombat is just about as classic and hardcore as you're likely to get in this generation of console fighters, but even for a relatively inexperienced fighting game player like myself, this is still a damn enjoyable, blood-drenched good time.

Mortal Kombat's reboot undoubtedly stems from the 'easy to learn, difficult to master' template of approachability, and in the eyes of most people this is probably the ideal way to design the gameplay system of a fighting game. Mortal Kombat is set on a traditional 2D plane, a departure from the 3D plane of Mortal Kombat vs DC Universe; as a result, the action is far more immediate and intense. The style of fighting encourages an offensive strategy, with techniques such as projectile attacks and air combos far more dangerous and effective than they were in the more recent entries to the series. Indeed, this new Mortal Kombat has its feet firmly planted in the arcades. Learning defensive moves like blocking, jumping and teleporting are obviously important if you're to have any success on the harder difficulties, or when taking the fight online, but the way in which you are encouraged to play with an open and offensive style certainly caters itself to newcomers looking for a bloody good time.


Fighting is ultimately thrilling, as it should be, and the formula is given even more flash by the special moves. As you take damage or land hits, a combo bar fills up at the bottom of the screen. As it fills, you're able to perform special moves simply by landing a combo on an enemy whilst holding down the right trigger button. Alternatively, you can wait until the entire combo bar is filled up and subsequently unleash a devastating 'X-Ray' move, by simply holding down both triggers. These bone-crunching moves not only do ridiculous damage that can change the direction of a fight immediately, but they also look completely insane. Fighters are subjected to acts of complete brutality and, as the name suggests, players are given an X-Ray view of their opponent, as their spines are snapped, skulls are stamped on and crotches are kicked. Whilst obviously looking insanely brutal - and also rather cool, in a sick kind of way - these special moves ensure that the game isn't just a nineties arcade title with modern day graphics. Whilst the basic fighting is still fantastic despite the age of its core mechanics, the special and X-Ray moves keep the gameplay feeling fresh and unpredictable, even for veterans of the series.

Fatalities also make a return. These finishing moves are more for visual punch than anything gameplay-related, but it's undeniably more fun to finish a fight by ripping your opponent in half - or, eating their face playing as a scantily-clad, busty, deranged woman - than it is to simply kick them over. They look ridiculously violent, and you haven't lived before you've seen Johnny Cage rip someone's torso off in 3D.

The classic one-on-one fighting is what most people will get their kicks out of, but Mortal Kombat has also introduced a new tag-team approach to fighting. The game lets up to four humans play at once, if you're interested in tag-teaming with a real person; but you can also play alongside an AI partner against two other AI-controlled fighters, or can control both of the fighters on your team and swap between them as the fight plays out. The tag battles add some extra moves to the game as well, such as allowing you to call in your partner to perform quick special moves, or tagging out in the middle of a combo for additional brutality. Personally, I prefer the classic one-on-one style, but tagging in and out makes for a fun variant which may be even more enjoyable for some.


What surprised me the most about Mortal Kombat was the sheer amount of content on the disc, ensuring that there are plenty of ways for you to kick arse across a multitude of modes. The multiplayer modes are obviously worth considering, but what really impressed me was the breadth of single-player options available. In fact, the game probably has the widest and best selection of single-player modes that I've ever seen in a fighting game. The flagship mode is the story mode, which simply connects the traditional fighting with a decent story told through very well-produced cutscenes. To be honest, the story flew right over my head, but it will probably appeal to long-time fans of the series tenfold more. In fairness, a clear amount of effort and resources have gone into the story mode, and that fact alone impressed me, even though I really didn't have a great idea of what was going on half the time. From what I've gathered from friends who are somewhat more familiar with the Mortal Kombat lore than myself, the story mode here retells the events of the first three games of the series as if they had taken place in an alternate timeline. As a result, some characters end up in totally different states than they had done in the prior games, and so loyal followers of the lore will find some interest in seeing what happens to their favourite characters. For me personally (and for other newcomers as well, I'm sure) the story mode is just a well-presented excuse to rip people's heads off.

The eight-hour story mode isn't the only single-player mode here, though. The traditional arcade mode is present and accounted for, and plays out in a ladder-based tournament style. Playing through this mode with different characters will give you slightly different endings depending on who you choose.

The final single-player mode, the Challenge Tower, is a collection of 300 tasks, from traditional fights to some seriously crazy twists and variants to keep you guessing. Some of these variants are simple enough, such as requiring you to use a certain move or to perform a fatality, but some of them are much crazier - launching one of your limbs at your enemy, for example. Your limbs grow back over time, giving you a steady stream of heads, arms and legs to launch instead of traditional punches and kicks. Other twists include having the stage tilt from side-to-side as hits land, or even fighting upside-down. Some of the tasks come with silly bits of dialogue, such as one that has Mileena trying to give a teddy bear as a gift, or another that has Shang Tsung and Shao Kahn fighting over a baby that sits in the background as you battle. A crying baby sitting there as two guys tear each other limb-from-limb? It's at times like that when you wonder about the state of Ed Boon's mental health.

These single-player modes are worth playing before you dive into the online competition, mainly because you'll want to master at least a few of the twenty-seven characters on offer. Old favourites like Scorpion are available, and all the fighters have at least two fatalities and two costumes. These extras are unlocked in the Krypt by spending your MK Points, which are earned simply by fighting, completing challenges and advancing in the story. As well as costumes and fatalities, you can also unlock music, concept art and other goodies that can be viewed later in the Nekropolis. PlayStation 3 owners can also enjoy playing as God of War frontman, Kratos, which might be worth considering if you have the choice between the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 versions.


The aforementioned online experience is a key cornerstone of this new Mortal Kombat. Ranked and unranked options are both available in order to quickly dive into a fight, but lobbies make a welcome return and are a fun way of experiencing the online component of the game. As well as fighting, other members of the lobby can watch ongoing fights and perform gestures, as their Xbox Live avatar watches the fight on a cinema screen. PlayStation 3 gamers instead use cartoon doll versions of Mortal Kombat fighters (don't expect to see your much-loved PlayStation Home avatar jumping around anytime soon). In terms of online modes, regular fights as well as tag-team battles are available, and there are also some unique modes to the online experience such as King of the Hill. The concept is simple: the winner stays on, the loser goes to the back of the queue and is forced to watch the next few fights from the lobby as the next contender gets a chance to fight. None of the interesting mini-games from the Challenge Tower are available to play online, but with DLC promised further down the road, that may eventually become a reality for players to enjoy.

Clearly, there is a hell of a lot to Mortal Kombat, and it's all brought together in a very impressive visual package. Characters and backgrounds are exceptionally detailed, with a disturbingly impressive range of animations for the X-Ray moves and Fatalities. Fighters get battered and bruised throughout the course of a fight and their costumes become ripped and bloodied, which is another really nice touch. Of course, a further bonus for PlayStation 3 owners is the ability to play in 3D and - whilst I only have my experience with the PlayStation 3 demo's 3D capabilities to go on - it's a very impressive visual element which adds a nice layer of depth to the proceedings. In terms of mere graphical detail and performance, however, there are no noticeable differences between the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 versions of the game.

There isn't much that's in any way negative about Mortal Kombat. It's a fantastic fighting game with a ridiculous number of modes for both single-player games and online competition, a terrifically approachable but fiendishly difficult to master fighting system, and it's incredibly good-looking as well. Whether you're a hardcore fighting game fan or someone who just wants to kick some arse and rip some heads off in a ridiculously violent game, Mortal Kombat is absolutely worth playing. Absolutely.

9/10 [?]

Labels: 2011, 360, 3D gaming, Fighting, Mortal Kombat, NetherRealm Studios, PlayStation 3, PS3, Review, Tom Acres, Warner Bros., Xbox 360

In just a day or so Mortal Kombat will grace our living rooms with another dose of its trademark violent tendencies and indecent mannerisms. To celebrate this joyous occasion we've compiled another list, but this time we're focusing on the slew of kombatants that should have made the cut and been placed on the upcoming game's roster, not the ones who make you hemorrhage by simply staring at them. Whether we see these dudes and dudettes via DLC or not, this is the cast NetherRealm should implement into the new game.

Last week's list of hate garnered much attention for my MK4 abhorrence, and I'd like to make something clear - I hate that game. However, while MK4 is an aversion of the brand-new vision NetherRealm has crafted, it did throw some characters into the mix whom I have no issues with. Like this guy:

Reiko

Kombat Primer: Reiko first appeared in MK4 and is a raccoon-face painted general in Shao Kahn's army that you couldn't care less about. He enjoys throwing shurikens, kicking peoples' torsos off, and wearing Shao Khan's helmet when no one is watching (true story).

Why he should make it: Reiko isn't like one of these half-baked, half-thought cookie cutter archetypes Mortal Kombat is infamous for. He actually has a decent story, and some brutal abilities that are representational of a few kharacters you might know. While that's not necessarily the most unique thing in the MK roster, surely NetherRealm can tweak some of those moves to make Reiko more personable. Not that you'd actually want to get to know him.

Khameleon/Chameleon

Kombat Primer: This cold-blooded duo originally came into being during the days of Mortal Kombat Trilogy. Chameleon is the male, and debuted as a secret character in the Playstation version. His skins constantly alternated colors between all the famed ninjas of the series. His counterpart, Khameleon, is the female and debuted in the N64 version as a completely different character. Both are Saurians, or dinosaur creatures like Reptile, who built their moves off of other kharacters' abilities.

Why they should make it: These characters are literally copy/paste material, but they did get makeovers in Armageddon that gave them more unique abilities. I think if elaborated on, NetherRealm could have an interesting mix of abilities to work with, and since Reptile has practically always been on his own, why not add in a few more weird ass creatures like him? These two (or even just one of them) would make Drahmin and Moloch look like bigger mistakes than they already are.

Kira

Kombat Primer: Hailing from Mortal Kombat: Deception, this vile temptress runs with all the bad boys like Kano and Kabal. Although her goal revolves around aspiring to rid the world of all organization and sow the seeds of anarchy, she is a rather nice girl.

Why she should make it: I think this speaks for itself. Kira is a vile character that fits with Mortal Kombat universe. She's not too over the top and she's not stupid beyond redemption. If she is to make a comeback, I would say that her fatalities and normal abilities could use some reworking. Since Kano and Sonya are both in this game, it'd be pretty gimmicky if they kept it all the same.

Hotaru

Kombat Primer: It doesn't get much better than a samurai-style badass who rips his own head off if things get too dicey. Hotaru is intoxicated with the notion of keeping law and order - nothing you care about as any of the other kombatants. He's originally from Deception.

Why he should make it: Hotaru is single-handedly one of the most powerful looking dudes in Mortal Kombat. I mean, he's got some serious armor on, has friggin' flags on his back, and manipulates fire. Regardless of what he looks like, Hotaru is unique enough alone to rip apart these other kombatants, and it doesn't hurt that Hotaru literally means "firefly" in Japanese. Yeah, I so went there.

Bo' Rai Cho

Kombat Primer: This dude is a drunken asshat from Deadly Alliance who teaches people how to fight. Unsurprisingly, no one he teaches ever fights like he does.

Why he should make it: I've never been a fan of Bo' Rai Cho. I don't care how important he is to the series and I don't care that he trained Liu Kang and Shujinko. Still, I'll level myself out a bit here and say that Bo' Rai Cho could finally be tolerated if NetherRealm puts some strength into his design. You see, if you ever played previous MK games you'd know Mr. Bo has the most disgusting move set available. He farts, he makes obscene gestures, and he vomits all over the place; it's childish really. If Bo has any chance it's gotta be in this game.

Rain

Kombat Primer: Another ninja type character? From MK3? Well, yes - did you expect anything else? At least Rain can roundhouse kick a guy across the screen and then blow him up with a lighting bolt. Now THAT is what I'm talkin' about.

Why he should make it: Not exactly the most seminal of the ninja bunch, Rain at least comes with a unique move set that entices. A frozen orb thing, super roundhouse, lightning cannon - it'll work out. His story isn't superb, but then again, are we really that concerned with the narrative?

Li Mei

Kombat Primer: Gypsy looking lady from Deadly Alliance who's rather quick and malicious. Ready for this one? She's also a good guy... and a lady.

Why she should make it: Li Mei's story actually makes sense, for what it's worth. It's also a point in her favor that she was fun to play in Deception. There's not too much NetherRealm would have to shift here, and with that I say, "IMPLEMENT HER!" from every mountaintop.

Havik

Kombat Primer: A being of Chaos, Havik is the polar opposite of Hotaru, whom he joined in Deception. Don't worry about losing against said rival; when you can break your joints at will to gain the advantage, well, you win.

Why he should make it: A cleric of Chaos and one of my favorite characters in the MK universe, Havik is seriously hilarious, as he's completely serious during the game, but every move he does is obtuse, awkward, and awesome. Beating someone to death with their own arm? Destroying your kneecaps to shoot a low fireball? The new MK needs this man.

Shujinko

Kombat Primer: Appearing as the protagonist of "Konquest mode" in Deception, Shujinko is a member of the White Lotus and an old man with a vengeance. All you need to know is that his move set is a conglomeration of all the most heinous abilities in MK.

Why he should make it: The old man is a character you can't immediately hate. It's pretty hard to dislike a character that has Scorpion's spear, Sub-Zero's freeze, Raiden's slam, and a whole lot more. Obviously if he came back he wouldn't be able to have all of these moves, but I think he'd make a fine addition once crafted a unique move set. Old dudes suplexing demons and half-naked wenches? I'd totally be that guy pissing you off online.

Motaro

Kombat Primer: Of all the classic demons and creatures, Motaro is one we need to see in the new MK most. Appearing first in MK3, Motaro is a Centaurian. That's Spanish for pissed off human-horse cyborg who will break your face.

Why he should make it: As I said, Motaro is classic. He's the guy holding you back from beating Shao Khan. Actually, he's the guy bouncing all your abilities back in your face, picking you up by your throat and punching you across the screen. I'd love to see someone like Motaro make a comeback (someone has to rival Goro) but if he does I don't think I'd be okay with his newer Minotaur-esque form. How about it NetherRealm? Old-school giant Motaro? Please?


Well friends, it appears I have exhausted my MK formula. Hopefully you enjoyed this list and by all means please suggest other kombatants you'd like to see! The new game is close so expect a review from us in the coming days.

Labels: 2011, Andrew Whipple III, Mortal Kombat, NetherRealm Studios, PS3, Warner Bros., Xbox 360

As a franchise, the Harry Potter brand has a long and illustrious history. J.K. Rowling’s septology of novels – following the adventures of young wizard Harry Potter as he grew up at a school for budding wizards and witches – became an unexpected success, having as much positive impact on children’s literacy rates as it did to Rowling’s bank account. Soon snapped up by Warner Brothers as a film franchise, the idea for the Harry Potter series – conceived on a train journey between Manchester and London in 1990 – has become an icon of both British literature and ‘magic’ worldwide.

However, when it comes to games, Harry Potter is somewhat of a grey area. Stacked against every developer is a key question: how does one weave the delicate tapestry of Rowling’s deep stories, about love and trust and magic and death, into an entertaining eight-hour-or-more gaming experience which will appeal to a wide demographic? This is, of course, the same problem which plagues the majority of ‘branded games’, a subset of gaming which most steer clear of. Putting across the whole of Rowling’s stories, with their complex canon and trivia, in game form is no mean feat.

That didn’t stop developers from trying. Since 2001, we’ve had better Potter games, such as the original PS1 version of Philosopher’s Stone and Prisoner of Azkaban on PlayStation 2 and Xbox; and not-so-good attempts at translating the Potter recipe into game form: the PS2 version of Goblet of Fire stands out to me as easily one of the worst of the series, alongside the spin-off game Harry Potter: Quidditch World Cup. But despite the valiant attempts of EA Games to pull off Harry Potter in a videogame setting, any Potter gaming experience I’ve been brave enough to attempt has been distinctly mediocre.

So when I heard that Traveller’s Tales were planning on taking the world of Harry Potter and transforming it into Lego form, I was adequately intrigued to see how the final product – which arrived in June in the form of Lego Harry Potter: Years 1-4 – would come together. Almost every gamer knows the Lego game concept by now, even if they feign snobbery and pretend they’ve never played one. Still, the Lego series has been highly successful, and the choice to take on Harry Potter and turn the universe of the boy wizard into pixel-modelled plastic sounded like the lifeline which Harry Potter, as a game concept, needed.

Lego Harry Potter allows gamers to play through the key moments and plot of the first four Harry Potter stories (Philosopher’s Stone, Chamber of Secrets, Prisoner of Azkaban and Goblet of Fire), but with the cutesy yet charming aesthetics of famous building toy, Lego. Of course, you play as the key characters – Harry, Ron and Hermione – for the majority of the game, but also get the opportunity to take control of other supporting characters, such as Fred and George Weasley, Remus Lupin and even the lovable giant Hagrid. Indeed, the cast in the game is strikingly large, and is faithful to both books and films, only adding to the sense of familiarity which long-term Potter fans will revel in.

It’s this familiarity which really sets up Lego Harry Potter as a must-buy for Potter fans. Hogwarts Castle, whilst not an exact clone of the castle from the movies, features many locales which will be instantly recognisable to aficionados. The majority of the Harry Potter cast make appearances, all in Lego form; whilst the player has the opportunity to learn a range of the spells from both page and screen. The game is also largely faithful to the storyline of each book: although each story has been abridged and edited down in order to fit the first four books into one game, all the key moments of the stories feature, and whilst the full depth and colour of Rowling’s novels and their canon isn’t put across, both fans and newbies to the Potter series will have at least a basic understanding of the fundamental plot of each story.

I mentioned earlier that Lego Harry Potter is charming, an adjective which I seldom get opportunity to use in a review. You find yourself playing the game and smiling; it’s child-friendly, clean, innocent fun, and beautifully implemented too. Even the older gamers amongst the Lego ranks will find Lego Harry Potter irresistible once they’ve begun on the first two or so levels. At the risk of wandering blindly into the shady underworld of New Games Journalism, wittering on about the emotional effect of games, it does make you grin like a small child as you regress and re-experience your Lego-centric youth.

However, a game is nothing without good gameplay mechanics, and Lego Harry Potter is a thought out title. Controls are intuitive and follow the basic scheme of all the Lego games’ controls. The shoulder buttons are particularly cleverly used, allowing players a quick method to switch between spells in their inventory. Furthermore, changes of controls according to the context are a big win and, whilst they’ll go largely unnoticed by most, certainly keep the game feeling smooth and polished.

The latest iteration of the Lego games franchise also utilises the excellent ‘drop-in’ co-op mode present since Lego Star Wars back in 2005. It works flawlessly: one can play through the single-player campaign alone, but a friend can join them immediately and without having to change game-mode or setup a new player profile by simply connecting a controller and pressing the ‘Start’ button. It’s a simple addition which does a huge amount to make the game more attractive to those who enjoy a laugh with friends during their gaming sessions, but the lack of an online co-op mode may have been an oversight on Traveller’s Tales’ part, and a feature which I believe would have added a huge amount more lifetime to the game.

It’s genuinely funny, too. Traveller’s Tales have interwoven some truly fantastic moments of comedy into the game, following the same utilisation of comedy which Rowling herself uses in her writing: have a quick giggle and then move swiftly on. It adds sparkle, personality and fun to the game and, considering that there is no speech during the entirety of the game, was probably the saving grace which prevented the story from becoming dull after long play sessions. Some favourite moments include the Gringotts scene, where the camera pans round to show that the goblin is not hard at work doing some number-crunching, but instead drawing a picture of a house and trees. It’s comedy gold, unexpected and laugh-out-loud.

The actions which the player undertakes are largely consistent and unvaried, however, and in a game with no script and only comedy to pull some interest back, Lego Harry Potter becomes dull during long play-sessions. In short stints, there’s no doubting the attraction and success of Lego Harry Potter, but as a game for long-term play, there’s better choices out there. Of course, for completionists and collectors, Lego Harry Potter is practically a wet dream: not only are Lego studs (the currency) readily available in bulk, but the gold and red bricks, student in peril challenges and collectible characters provide a wealth of content to unlock for those obsessed with clinching that platinum trophy. For those who aren’t largely bothered with hundred-percent-ing their games, however, Lego Harry Potter will be trying after a while.

Combat is also disappointing, though thankfully doesn’t appear often. Duels between students or opponents are slow, clunky and ultimately unrewarding, and only serve to irritate the player. Every year has its own boss character, too, and the combat doesn’t really improve here at all – every boss battle is handled in much the same way as one another, and the disappointment which these battles serves ends up making the end of each year feel a little anti-climactic.

That aside, though, Lego Harry Potter isn’t about combat, instead rewarding players for exploration and the development of their characters through that exploration. It’s where the game really comes into its own; Hogwarts is huge, sprawling and confusing, exactly as you’d imagine it would be, and all of it is spectacularly presented (graphics are high-quality and impress, and framerate is stable for the most part). There is a real magic to Lego Harry Potter as you wander round the locales and see pixies holding key objects just out of reach, or locked chests which you can’t open, or objects which just can’t be destroyed – rather than being an irritant, they give the player a sense of drive as you know that, eventually, you’ll learn the spells you need to open those chests or defeat those pixies. Whilst I’d advise against long play sessions with Lego Harry Potter, particularly if you’re playing alone, short stints combined with this motivation to learn the spells you need to complete tasks is what will keep you returning to Lego Harry Potter, even years after your first play-through.

Despite the challenge of translating Harry Potter into a game context, Traveller’s Tales have certainly done an admirable job. There are flaws, yes – it is the only game I know to give me a physical headache after more than a few hours play – but it is a game more focused at fun and enjoyment in the short-term than addictive play appeal. The parts which matter – the exploration, comedic moments, Lego aesthetics and incorporation of the Potter canon – are developed and impressive, and do well to make Lego Harry Potter a must-buy game for fans of Rowling’s creation. Admittedly, the more experienced gamers may not find any real appeal here, but the point is that this isn’t a game for the hardcore. It’s a game designed to cash in on the cutesy Lego brand, whilst providing some giggles and quick entertainment. In that, it does superbly.

8/10 [?]

Labels: Lego, Lego Harry Potter, Lego Harry Potter: Years 1-4, Linford Butler, Review, Traveller's Tales, Warner Bros.