Vanquish Review

I'll start with this, if there is ever a game that will make you shout words such as 'yeah', 'awesome' and 'sick', then that game would be Vanquish.

When Platinum games announced they were creating a new third person shooter, the gaming community sat up and really took notice of it. After the hilarious Bayonetta, we were all really hoping for a top class, over-the-top, insane game that would be a ball to play, and man have Platinum games delivered. although the rumours of a very short length a entirely true; supposing that I completed it in 4 hours, don't let it put you off. I can safely say that the 4 hours or so of gameplay that you play will be some of the best 4 hours of you gaming life, well 3 and a half hours, but I'll come to that later.

Now, your first thought with Vanquish is just wow. The graphics are simple put, A*. The ARS suit, of which gives our main protagonist Sam Gideon some 'special' powers, is one of the greatest looking character models of any game ever, the amount of detail comes close to that of Kratos from God of War 3. It is a real joy to see his suit transform and witness all the tiny moving parts that overall, create an insanely good looking charcter. But, its not just the character models that are briliant, its also the settings. Set mainly inside a giant space ship, you may be mistaken for thinking of just the same old bland backgrounds, but some how, vanquish seems to have you in constant awe of their ever changing backdrops. Taking a large influence from games such as Halo and Mass Effect, the settings are usually silver and shiny, but each with their own unique character, something which only a few games can achieve. However, the one down part about the graphics is that about halfway through the game you encounter a forest, and the woodland and more organic settings don't really stand up to the indoor settings, but its not a massive negative. One thing that made me buy Vanquish was that the explosions and guns looked awesome too, and in the full game, they really don't let this trade down. The explosions are by far the best and most satisfying that I have ever seen; you have not lived until you witness the pure beauty of a blue-spark explosion as you land a perfect headshot on a robot, pure heaven!

But is Vanquish innovative enough and polished enough to really make a stamp in the gaming world? The answer, yes. If you have played the demo for Vanquish then you will no doubt of fallen in love with the amazing ARS suit, or Augmented Reaction Suit. Created by DARPA, the sort of research lab of Vanquish, this suit gives Sam some awesome abilities that really change the course of the game and create a very deep, tactical shooter. The suit gives you the ability to slide around on your knees at ridiculously high speeds, enter slow motion and also it helps as an extremely powerful melee weapon. Platinum games obviously realised the threat that these powers may be too strong and ruin the challenge, but I can safely say that they have done a brilliant job at making them well balanced. Sliding around a giant robot whilst blasting its legs with a massive gun that shoots large discs is by far one of the most adrenaline pumping feelings ever to come out of a game. The slow motion is another fine addition as it comes into great use when outnumbered. A quick hold of the L2 button and then a tap of the X button slows down time and gives you the easy task of picking up those headshots. Also, this ability appears when you are near death, as it gives you a chance to escape or fight back, another fine feature. Overall, Vanquish is possibly one of the most amusing, fun and damn right enjoyable shooters out there. I could try to explain to you about it in further detail, but instead of reading this, download the demo to really see what I'm talking about. The gameplay is golden.

The weapons also play a massive part in Vanquish (duhhh). And Vanquish really doesn't let down on this apartment. The range of guns isn't massive, but it is satisfactory for anyone who wants to make they're style of play they're own. the weapons range from the classic light/heavy assault rifles, to powerful snipers and from huge turrets too a lock-on laser. Every weapon has its own unique feel and sound which makes the feeling much better when playing, as you can feel he differences in power and manoeuvrability. Each weapon is great use for different enemies too, as I would always use the Heavy for large robots and then the assault for just normal robots. Vanquish also adds a clever little upgrade system which can add a sense of desire to build up your weapons, but the upgrades become samey with a 10% ammo increase or increased rate of fire. Gaming has always had a slight hole in it, which is the fact that in games such as COD or Half Life, you could carry about 8 guns, all of which are massive. Us gamers have always thought, 'come on, that's a bit unrealistic', but Vanquish solves this problem in a very cheeky way. The ARS suit has a built in scanner that transforms into each weapon once you have scanned it, so no more impossibly sized back packs!

You may of noticed that by now, I havent mentioned the story, well thats because, to be honest, its crap. The story is almost non-existent and is the usual case of Russia goes to war with the USA. Its nothing special and takes the back seat, but, to tell you the truth, it fits with the game. Vanquish doesn't take itself massively serious, so it is a breath of fresh air when you see such a tongue-in-cheek story. It has its fair share of patriotism and backstabbing, but, overall, the story brings nothing new to the table, but as I just said, I dont really mind. One thing I do mind though is the characters. I have expressed my love for Sackboy and Drake many a time, but Sam Gideon and Sgt Burns are the two most obnoxious, arrogant, big headed dicks ever to grace a console. Yes, it fits the game once more, but these characters are just so unlike able that when Sam dies, you feel good that he has been taught a lesson. Sgt Burns is your stereotypical USA Marine leader, all big (ridiculously huge for that matter) and with the classic gruff voice, so, he is a dick. Another niggle with |Sam is that every time you get to a cut scene, he lights a bloody cigarette, which is not a good sign for the youth of today. The enemies you face aren't really a massive mixed bunch, but they offer enough variety to stop getting stale. I don't really understand how all the Communists are robots though, never really got that.....

Vanquish is, in a word, well three words, the dogs balls. Only rarely does a game so fresh, fun, enjoyable and damn right awe inspiring come along and Vanquish is one of them. It takes all the good things about western games and adds a bit of classic Japanese madness, and the risk paid off. Although it suffers from diabolical story and the biggest cocks in gaming, Vanquish redeems itself with epic battles, amazing graphics and some of the best, innovative game play ideas out there. I will have to admit that the last quarter slows down a bit and the pace is completely lost, but don't let that get you down. Vanquish is brilliant. Its been nearly a month after release, but my fears came true, Vanquish hasn't sold well due to other releases such as COD and Assassins Creed, but instead of dishing out your precious money to large over rated companies, give it to Platinum Games.

9/10

Mafia II Review

In 2002 Illusion Softworks released a quite game called Mafia: The City of Lost Heaven. The new IP was met with a generally positive response, with some critics calling it more realistic than Grand Theft Auto. So when a sequel was announced in 2007, many people were surprised and pleased to see that this classic series had been given another go and it had not been forgotten about.

Set about 10-20 years later than the original, Mafia II places you in the shoes of a war hero Vito Scaletta. After returning from the war, we see Vito growing back into his old life in the lively city of Empire Bay. We see him join up with his old pals, doing dirty work and slowly rising through the tough ranks of the Mafia. The story is absolutley fantastic and is by far one of the best in the gaming medium. The detail, twists and characters that Vito meet along the way are nearly unmatched, making Mafia II a very strange game now days as most modern games are all about the set pieces and online play, and not about the journey of the main character. Because of this love for the brilliant story, Mafia II has a special place in my collection now, it is great to see a modern game with such a brilliant story and a level of detail that is so rare these days.

But what good is a story without a strong set of characters, and man does Mafia II have a fantastic set of characters. The acting and voice work is top notch and the relationships that Vito shares with his colleague really comes across and help convey the feelings between characters. Apart from the main man Vito, Vito's childhood buddy Joe Barbaro takes centre stage. Joe is a rather marmite sort of character, you either love him or you hate him, I personally loved Joe and thought that he made a brilliant contribution to the game and was a major part in the story. Also, Joe is extremely well acted and his mannersims really help establish a believable character. However, all of the people that you encounter in Mafia are awfully stereotypical, its quite embarassing really. I understand that 2K Czech have produced some of the most colourful characters in gaming, but the cast consists of the classic fat drunk friend, (Joe), the big hard boss with the deep voice and then the classic weapons salesman with an eye patch. But, above all that is the frankly disgusting portrayal of the Chinese people in th game, it is cringe worthy. Maybe im exagerrating it, but I felt that if people complained about the Taliban in MOH, then why aren't people complaining about the Chinese in Mafia? It is that bad.

Some people may find me naive and shallow for caring so much on the graphics of a game, but the inconsistent graphics in Mafia sort of hindered the experience a bit. There is no denying that the facial animations and lighting work is amazing, but it is the smaller things like the edges of buildings or tiny details like the buttons on a phone that are a bit sloppy, and it can really destroy the game. I also found that the framerate would drop occasionaly and I would be stuck with a stuttering picture, but luckily this only happened a couple of times. Also, a tiny thing that is irrevelant but still annoying is that the subtitles are tiny, and I mean tiny. I had to squint many times to make out what they were saying, and that was even with my glasses on!

I've already talked about how Mafia II really excels in tis story telling, but another high point is the atmosphere that is created. It is just magical. As you start off in the winter, you can see snow falling, people wrapped up warm and the music playing on the radios is all cheesy 1940 christmas songs. But, the two things that really help create a picture are the untouchable authienticity of the radio and the cars. There is only a choice of 3 radio stations, a bit measley compared to GTA 4 if I dont say myself, but, these radio stations play awesome music that you can even see developing as Vito does in the game. It is a pleasure to listen to the early days of rock 'n' roll and the sweet sound of a 5 part harmony, it is just magical. Also the cars are really good too. Although many of them are a bit slow and sluggish- much like they were back then- the range of cars and choice of custiomisation is fantastic; giving you a real choice to chop and change cars and colours to see what you prefer. Another nice touch is the speed limiter that you can turn on and off when driving. I found this very helpful when driving as the police in Empire Bay are really quite harsh and will chase you for any minor offence, sometimes being a good thing, but also being a burden.

But where is a game without a set of easy controls and a nice range of missions? Well Mafia II is, well, to be honest, a bit mixed here. The controls are extremely simple and are very easy to get used to, but its the weird camera angle that slightly irritated me. Maybe other critics haven't mentioned this as it didn't bother them, but I felt that the actual camera angle could be a bit obtrusive sometimes, which really annoyed me. However, camera angles aside, the actual gun play is great. There is a large array of guns; from Greaser guns to Thompson's and from Magnums to shotguns, your arsenal of weapons is awesome and it gives you great firepower, sometimes a little too much. The cover system is OK, but not perfect as I got attached to a wrong piece of cover several times, but it is still solid enough to not be a massive negative. One other slightly annoying factor is the lack of blind fire, a technique that I would think is a staple idea when constructing a third person shooter. But, its not just the guns and cover system that make the levels good, its the settings. I will warn you now though, at the beginning of the game the missions you are sent on are quite dull and will normally involve you driving from point A to point B, a factor that becomes very tedious. But I also feel that by starting off with the smaller jobs and then gaining momemtum, it helps show how Vito and Joe become more respected and trusted in their mafia famillies. However, after the boring tasks your are thrown into a brilliant range of mission settings that even beat games such as COD or Resident Evil. You will be sent to placs such as a hotel, to a slaughterhouse and then to a planetarium, all of which will consist of intense gun fights. The settings are amazing and help create an interesting array of levels for you to explore.

I like Mafia II, actually, I like it a lot. I think it is great how 2K Czech have concentrated on bringing us a involving story that is fantastic and a colourful range of characters, but I feel that they may of missed with the gameplay and the pacing of the game. I occasionaly found myself in the midst of a gun fights, and then having to drive back home straight away, a complaint that may spoil the game for other people. But I really do like Mafia II, it is a great game with an unmatched story. 2K Czech have produced one of the finest gaming protaginists in gaming in the form of Vito Scaletta and the atmosphere that they have created is fantastic. Mafia II may seem like the game of the Godfather, but trust me, it is not the Godfather of games.

8/10

Top 5 most anticipated games for 2011

We still haven't got through Autumn and Winter yet, but us gamers are already looking forward to what next year will bring us. Yes there are many awesome releases that are coming out over the next 3 months, lots of which will be huge (COD, Gran Turismo, Vanquish etc), but we still cant ignore the pure bliss that will be gracing our consoles next year. Here is only a few, but they are my most anticipated games of the next year....

5. Twisted Metal


The Twisted Metal series has always been big in the USA, but it never really took off in Europe, however, the new instalment is looking to change that. The brilliant Twisted Metal is the classic car combat series that did what God Of War did for the hack 'n' slash genre, it made it easy and accessible. With the best gameplay about and some of the funniest, darkest and sickest humour ever to come out of the video gaming medium, the Twisted Metal series is back with a very large bang. Following the main antics of Sweet Tooth, a sick clown with a flaming head, the story and plots for the series have always been over the top, but still fantastic. Announced at E3 too, this game has really got me excited, so excited in fact that I have watched the trailer at least 7 times! Although the early demo showed very mediocre graphics, there is no denying that it looked immensely fun anyway, and what more could you ask for from a car fighting game?!? With a strong legacy of being one of the best games with mates, the new Twisted Metal is looking as if it may storm Europe at last, and, come on, there's a robotic, walking, evil ice cream truck!

4. Crysis 2


The first Crysis was a very unique, exclusive game as it could only of been experienced on a massive, full spec, ridiculously powerful gaming PC, and still to this day, is a one of a kind game. The original was released in 2007 and featured some of the best physics around, some of which are still the best today. The graphics were insane and the gameplay was inventive, fast and fun. The second game from EA is looking to ramp everything up and let the consoles experience the beauty of Crysis too. The game had already had many demo's released, and although it kills me to say, it look better than Uncharted 2. However, it not just a good looking game that is oh so nice, no, Crysis 2 is still the intense, exciting and brilliant game that it was before, only this time set in New York City, not a jungle. The big selling point of the first Crysis was the amazing Nano Suit, it was a suit which gave the player lots of game changing abilities, such as invisibility or super strength, but not only is this being continued in the single player, EA have shown us how it can work in the multiplayer. Much like Bioshock, many fans went up roar over the announcement of online in Crysis, but with an incredible demo shown at E3 this year, the fanboys had their mouths shut tight. Although it was only a 5 minute video, that 5 minutes showed us a more intense, tactical, better looking and crazy version of COD online, so, you never know, we could have a genuine Call Of Duty beater here!

3. Portal 2

Oh Portal, how I love you so. You were a simple add on in a brillaint collection of games and you showed us hwo such a beautiful game could be created without guns and shouting. Once again, Valve had made a fantastic game, along with EVERY other game in their prestigious catalogue! Portal is still to this day the best console puzzle game ever and one of the most original concepts out there. Not only did Portal introduce us to the some how loveable GLaDOS; perhaps the greatest ever game villain and one of the funniest characters in gaming, Portal introduced us to the lovely Portal gun, a  dreamy magical gun that nerds still want in their rooms and also the adorable companion cubes, oh the companion cubes! But, since the original only lasted about 6 hours and was extremely short, Portal 2 has promised to step it up a gear and create a really unique world that will, once again, grab the players attention and help make a truly special game. We have already been shown the intriguing concept of  Pneumatic Diversity Vents, Repulsion Gel and the Faith Plates, which have all shown ways of new changes and solutions for working out the ever increasing puzzles that lay ahead. Along with the new game changers, a co-op section has already been confirmed and had shown us to loveable, slightly weird bots that look like the old sentry guns from the first one. By adding two players, Vlave have opened up a whole new avenue of pleasure with online play. The original Portal was one of the most unique games ever made, and somehow, the second is shaping up to be even more unique! As long as Still Alives in it, we will be happy!















3. LittleBigPlanet 2


Most people will know by now the true love I feel towards game characters such as Kratos and oh so sexy Nathan Drake, but one little ickle person that I have yet to talk about is Sackboy. Never has a video game character been as simple, but as purely charming as this little critter. When I received the first LBP for Christmas 2 years ago, it was still an empty game. Yes there was a story mode and level creator, but the true potential hadn't been unlocked yet. And then, as the two years passed, the game truly game alive; we were seeing Indiana Jones remakes, art galleries and even an incredible pirate ship level that easily resembled the Pirates of the Caribbean. From what had started off as a strange, empty new IP that had been lovingly made by a lonely developer studio known as Media Molecule, the game grew and grew, to an unbelievable size of over 1 million levels, all created using the level creating tools! And LittleBigPlanet 2 has already shown us how it is getting bigger and better. Even in the recent beta we have witnessed the creation of strange FPS, brilliant over head racers and even something simple such as giant noughts and crosses. Media Molecule claim that they are leaving the game to the public and community, as in the original, they took over. The level creation tools are easy to use and the new uses for them are there and ready to be used, but they need growing and experience, much like the original. In the words of Alex Evans, 'LittleBigPlanet 2 is not a platforming game any more, it is a platform for games'. What he is trying to say is that the game is not going to have one boring genre for it, it will be a mixture of many genres, all lovingly pieced together by the strongest gaming community out there. LittleBigPlanet 2 WILL be huge, no doubt.

1. The Last Guardian


The Last what??? Exactly. And that's why this game rightfully deserves its place at the top. Unlike the last 4 games, this will be a small entry.

The Last Guardian is the newest game from the small developers named ICO. ICO produced the fantastic games ICO (strange name) and one of the best games ever made, Shadow of the Colossus. The company's first two games really struck a chord with the gaming community, it got rid of all the guns, bullets and explosions, and introduced a quite game, that relied on the emotional connections with a certain character. The first was your horse, and even more brilliantly, in Shadow, the actual Colossus. Not much is actually known about the new instalment apart from  the fact that you play as a young boy who is mysteriously partnered with a giant bird/dog like creature. Although we have only witnessed this beast for 2 minutes, gamers everywhere have fallen in love with him and the game is slowly growing, with new information only released, say, every 4 months.  Whilst COD goes about with its loud explosions and shouty men and FIFA continues with its repeatable, same old footy games, ICO are very slowly working on this masterpiece, just piecing it together. It may not be the biggest or well known game being released in 2011, but due to ICO's record, and the pure mystery surrounding this project, I have to award the most anticipated game of 2011 to The Last Guardian, a truly special creation.

The Ones that got away........

We all know that there are way too many games coming out next year, and I thought I would just mention the brilliance that is turning gaming into a mainstream medium. Some of these will be fantastic, whilst some may let their fans down, but it just goes to show how much effort goes in to giving us gamers the best possible rewards, something that other services dont give their true fans;

Killzone 3                                                 Doom 4                                            Batman Arkham City
Infamous 2                                                LA Noire                                         New Battlefield
Gears of War 3                                        The Agency                                      New COD
Dead Space 2                                          Spec Ops; The Line                          Brink
Rage                                                        Alice in Wonderland                         Motorstorm Apocalypse
Metal Gear Solid Rising                            I am Alive                                        Bioshock Infinite

My top 5 games of 2010 so far

Hi,

Now before the next 3 months roll in, I thought it was time to look back at the year of 2010. Why now? As many of you are aware, there is a huge array of games coming out soon, so it'll be interesting to see what games were the best before the last months of 2010:

                                              5

Bioshock 2

The first Bioshock was huge. Its amazing story, incredible story and ridiculously good atmosphere shot it right to the top of the 'classic games' list. It was something new and unique which looked like it could change gaming for a new generation. Well, it sort of has. Anyway, when the sequel was announced, many fans, along with my self were extremely worried at what they would do. Would they spoil the story? Would the atmosphere be lost? And would the series sink to the bottom of the mediocre ocean. But 2K games listened, and delivered one of the best sequels ever. With an even better story, still a great, haunting setting and even throwing in a robust multiplayer, Bioshock 2 was a worthy sequel to one of the defining games of the last decade.

4

Just Cause 

For a long time gamers have been longing for a game that was just fun. Yes, we love stories, but occasionally we want to let our mind free and just jump from a burning helicopter, pull out our parachute and just fall slowly to the ground. And in 2010, our great friend Rico appeared. Ever since the demo was released, millions of people have been wondering around the huge island, looking for new ways to blow up things, new ways to travel and new ways to cause mayhem. Just Cause 2 was a brilliant open world game where the greatest ever game weapon was introduced, the grappling hook. I still remember the many times of attaching one end to a soldier, and the other to a gas cannister, and oh what fun was ahead of me! The grappling hook did what the Gravity Gun did for Half Life 2, it made it interesting, clever but most of all fun! 

                                                                    3

Red Dead Redemption

Oh Rockstar, Rockstar, Rockstar, how do you do it? How do you make a Western game so incredibly deep,    

fun, emotional and alive? Putting the likes of Liberty City to shame, the old west was one of, if not the best ever open world setting in gaming history. Along with an incredible setting was a relate able  main character, one that you felt sorry for, you knew his pain and you wanted to be with your trusted John Marston to the very end of his rather gruesome life. With on of the best stories ever told, a brilliant mix of different missions, an awesome pace range and some rather intense shoot-outs, Red Dead Redemptions story was not only the beginning. After completing the long and fantastic story you were given the opportunity for tests, challenges and to get hammered at a bar and challenge a fellow drunkered to a shoot off. However, it wasn't just the story which held me, the multiplayer is also the best out there, with an amazing array of options to play and a great matchmaking system. Red Dead Redemption, for me, is the high point of Rockstar's development.

2

Mass Effect 2

It hurts me to say it. For a dedicated Sony fanboy to claim an Xbox game as number 2 on his list of best games of 2010 is difficult. But I cant deny it any longer. Mass Effect 2 was massive. The first one was an OK game, but the second one stepped it up a notch or two. Mass Effects style, gameplay, story and range of story arcs is out of this world. Even a simple small conversation with a some sort of random guy can change the course of this epic masterpiece. The shooting was redefined and was tweaked to such a way that it was a breeze to use was the first step in creating this beast. But that was the start, an incredible interface, some of the best graphics ever and a awesome bunch of characters all came together to form the perfect RPG. As it is the highest scoring game of 2010 so far, we can clearly see that Mass Effect 2 was a blinder of a game and was out of this world. Shame its coming to the Playstation then!

1

God Of War 3

Epic. There. Thats GOW summed up. 

From opening up the first level you can tell that your in for a ride. Fighting a giant weird water spider horse thing was the best opening level in any game ever. Never has a game portrayed size and epicness so well before. Although Kratos may be hated by some people as being just an angry weird violent Sparatan, which he is really, the story of his rise, fall and revenge on the Greek Gods is out of this world. Changing gamers views on Greek Mythology, the God of War series is the trademark, original trend setter for the Hack 'n' Slash genre. The gameplay, or button mashing as many people like to call it is the pinnacle of simple to learn, hard to master combat. With the dreaded QTE's occasionaly popping up, the intense battles you encounter are by far the best of the series, and any game for that matter. With gorgoues graphics and the best looking main character ever, GOW set new standards for graphics as it showed what the PS3 can really achieve. To me, God of War was full of so many memories that its unbelievable. Who can forget the first time they fought the huge, massive Cronos? Or the fight over Hades in the Underworld? I know it will not get Game of the Year, but to me, it deserves it no doubt. Never has a game pushed the boundries of what developers can achieve as much as Santa Monica achieved. And in my opinion, it is by far, not just the best game so far of 2010, but one of the greatest games ever created.

The slow fall of Call of Duty

Hi guys!

Now, unless you have been living under a rock, you will of no doubt heard about the new and up coming Call Of Duty: Black Ops. As new videos and screens come pouring out as the release date gets even closer, my hopes, expectations, but more importantly, respect for this old series has been dramatically reduced and I am now not even a bit impressed with their new effort. You may be wondering why I have randomly started a stupid argument, but it started about a month ago. Whilst on our summer holidays, I went down to my local Apollo and I swapped 3 games in for another game. As these three games were crap, I didn't get that much money for them, but one game in Apollo that caught my eye was Call of Duty 4 Modern Warfare. Whaaaaa......you don't already have it?!?!?! I know, I know, but I've just never bought it or played it.

No offence to the Call of Duty franchise, I was expecting an over the top, shouty, unrealistic shooter that for some reason you get addicted to. But to my surprise, as I sat playing the opening levels of this masterpiece of a game, I fell in love. The story was involving, the characters were awesome, some funny, some harsh, a brilliant mix. The levels were exciting, mental and the game was a damn right laugh. I'm not normally some one who gets all emotional at games, but the first person view of the nuclear blast? One of the most powerful moments in gaming, up there with Half Life's final scene and Metal Gear Solids epic last level. As I was crawling through the obliterated city, moving at a snails pace, I actually felt emotion. And then that thought hit me. Im feeling emotion at a Call of Duty game? How can this be happening. But as I continued through the story, I was feeling happy, sad, scared and in peril, something that never happened to me when playing a COD game.

What im trying to get at here is that, in my eyes, Modern Warfare 2 was one of the laziest, shortest and most over rated game of this decade. The story? Basically the same. The controls? Not any changes. The levels? Shorter and worse. The characters? Typical American 'OH MY GOD' action hero's. Infinity Ward just let the  huge success of the first MW to carry the second to the top spot. However, it wasn't just the story that surprised me. The one so-called 'improvement' from the last Modern Warfare was the 'flawless' multiplayer. I cannot deny that I played online for about 5 months after wards and, like everyone else, I was addicted to unlocking new call signs, emblems and being the top of my friends. But now, once the hype quietened down, its nothing but a place for immature 8 year old's to shout about how you are a 'fag' or how my mother is 'fat'. The servers are constantly breaking for me and the games get over run by Pave Lows and AC130's. And to tell you the truth, I'm bored of it now; the maps are tedious, the fights are boring and it is generally a bit of a rubbish experience. So critics said it the multiplayer was improved from the 1st, but I have to disagree, the multiplayer is perfect. Its easy to get into, not over run by shouty people, and every match is a fair game with only a couple of helicopters each game. And the helicopters don't destroy everything in sight.

So there was my rant. Sorry about that. I'm just tired of COD milking money and getting lazy. Black Ops may bring in a few new gameplay techniques but, to me it still looks the same old same old stuff. I know that there are people who agree with me, and I hope that they will join me in not buying Call of Duty, they don't deserve the money.

Thanks
James

We want more than 3D

The year of 2010 in gaming will be remembered for the year that motionless controlling and 3D changed the way we game for years to come. Now I think that motion controls are a wonderful 'gimmick' that are fun, interesting and can extend a consoles life span by a considerable amount. Also, 3D is looking to change the way we view games, giving us an extra layer of skill needed to complete the normally so easy games. But with 3D, and Sony, for that matter, I have a little thing bothering me.

When reading into the future releases intended for PS3 exclusivity, one main point that the developers are trying to push is that it is in 3D. At E3 this year, games like Killzone 3 and Motorstorm Apocalypse were all shown in 3D and that was its sort of main feature. I love the idea of 3D, but I feel its being stuffed down our throats a bit to much. I wish, instead of just showing us how awesome the 3D looks, the developers would show us what differences, updates and tweaks they have made to the game which will set it apart from the previous instalment.

Look at Killzone 3. Geurilla did an amazing job with Killzone 2, it was stunning, immersive and had the best graphics ever (until Uncharted 2 that is)! And it was a huge step up for the FPS genre, as it basically was the best of the best. It may of suffered some critiscim for its controls, which I personally loved, and its predictable story, but overall, I believe it was the best shooter of 2009. However, looking at the new videos of Killzone 3 from E3 and Gamescon, it doesnt look really different. I like similarity in games, but I like change and risks more. Apart from new settings and a couple of new guns, what else has been crafted in to change the experience? Instead of just talking about the future with 3D and Move compatibility, the developers need to show the gamers what they really want, the knowledge of something new and revitalising to the series.

Same can be said with the new Motorstorm. The first two were all out adeniline filled action racing games that got the heart pumping. The change from the first game to the second game brought along some new changes. It wasnt just a new setting but new slow motion cameras, screenshots, online play etc. It was a great instalment to the amazing series. Nevertheless, the new one just doesnt look that different. Yes it is once again in a new setting, and a very nice one it is, and yes the 3D is meant to be spectacular, but anything else Evolution Studios? I just hope we were given more information on really big, new direction changing changes, not a new setting or gimmick.

The year of 2010 will be revolutionary in my eyes, it is bringing many new changes into the medium but I wish that developers dont get too caught up with it. I know 3D will be a hit, and I will almost certainley buy a 3DTV in the next couple of years, but I just hope that the people who make the games dont get to carried away with the new things to forget about the old things that have made the excitement and intrigue that new games bring us. Bring on 3D.

James

The other day whilst I was reading through some old reviews from around the web, I stumbled across the IGN review for Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2. I watched the video version and about half way through, my mouth fell to the floor with a look of disgust on it. The reviewer for MW2 claimed that its graphics were on par with the incredible Uncharted 2: Among Thieves. Now, I know its a bit of fanboyism, but really IGN? Have you even compared them? Let me give you the low down;

Uncharted 2 is a PS3 exclusives, which already compared to MW2 is an advantage, as the Playstation is much better looking than the Xbox when considering graphics.
Uncharted 2 runs in 720p, whilst MW2 runs at a mere 600p.
Uncharted 2 runs at 60fps, and, although Infinity Ward claimed that MW2 runs at 60fps, some nerds discovered that it runs at 30-40fps.

I can take into account that Modern Warfare is a multiplatform game, so it has to accommodate for everyone, but I still think the claim is a bit stupid. There is also the arguement that MW is a FPS whilst Uncharted 2 is a third person, and yes it is true that Uncharted 2 doesnt have to spin around and move as quick as a FPS, but, well you get my point.

Comparison pictures


Now to me MW2 looks a little flat and undetailed, while Uncharted looks sharp, crisp and detailed. Dont get me wrong that some parts of Modern Warfare are gorgeous, I mean look at the gun and hands, very nice. But to me Uncharted is just overall much better, its bolder, crisper, smoother, and just out of this world. (Sorry about the picture positioning)