Review: Portal - Still Alive

Hey guys and girls!

Possibly one of the most memorable games and one of the largest meme's made, Portal came from the pc onto the 360 in 2008 and finally made its long awaited sequal only a few months ago. After loving Portal 2 so much, I decided to head back and deeply look into the game and finally decide, once and for all, if the cake was indeed a lie.

An honourable mention would be the graphics. While simple, the creation of a universe where shooting two rings and being able to travel through Newton's Law of Physics made this game instantly fun. The game's challenges where indeed as such at points and the slight sarcasm and jokes of GlaDos made the game enjoyable. A saddening fact was the lack of music; while at serious points having quite a large effect, being stuck on an aread for 15 minutes may make the game a little boring and slightly dull.

Also the loading bar, while obviously necessary, was, also, slightly annoying. While I know this isn't the game developers' fault with the transfusion from pc to console, an area could take a few minutes to load and this was slightly dissapointing to see.

The 14 challenge rooms where quite fun, and original as far as I could see. The game obviously caught lightening in a bottle as they created it. While, again, the game took a while to load, it was well worth it to finally finish the level and be satisfyed after getting past a horrible level.

Discovering that tasty cake, the reason to why Chell decided to escape and kill GlaDos and how she did it was a brilliant change of pace. With GlaDos singing at the end and the gorgeous voice, it was a fitting end to such a great game.

Out of 10, I gave Portal an 7.5/10

Review: Annihilation DLC Black Ops

Hey howdy hey  folks!

Less than 24 hours of availability and already, here is my review on the latest DownLoadable Content for Black Ops.
Annihilation (promotional poster right) shows the 4 brand new maps for the Multiplayer experience as well as a new Zombie map that shall scare any hardcore horror player!

Firstly, the new multiplayer maps. To place all of these into one word, it would be this: redeemable.
Much of the community were not too pleased about the last four maps (Mostly being appropriate for sniping and camping types) but in Annihilation, the balance between short range and long range maps are just about right. The best example of this would be the first map, Hangar. With its long range areas and short range indoor fights, without even including the Easter Eggs that are hidden around the map, this may very well become a fan favourite.
Drive-In is also an honourable mention. While to the sides are short range, the middle of the map is generally for long range players, so snipers and Acog users shall be pleased. However, this does not mean they are impenitrable. There are mainly only two sniping areas to which anyone may take advantage, these being the movie screen or the projector room. But these are both accessed in two different areas, one being accessed by ladders, the other stairs. So while two people may dominate from either place, a good shot or a well placed grenade will unlodge you easily. Some may say that this may have become a standard for Treyarch maps, but still fun for the moment.
Silo is almost the complete opposite of Crossroads in the last DLC. While the first favoured snipers, Silo favours the "run-and-gun" type of players. While there are still sniping points, they have very little or no cover and others can easily kill the opponent. Staying still in one spot will also cause you great harm, as the flow of players is impossible to chart. A warning to uncautious players, be alert. Anyone can come from anywhere.

Lastly, Hazard is Treyarchs' personal favourite, built directly from the "Cliffside" map from World At War. Despite saying that the map is different, it differs very, very little. The map is a near exact map size and walking around the map, you may notice how simular the obsticles and hills are quite the same as said map. However, the map does offer more to snipers than short range players, the edges of the map will be your best friend, and running with a sub machine gun or pistol is not a wise move at all.

Finally, the new Zombie map, Shangri-la is based around a temple near Shangri la in which a zombie horde is guarding it. Unfortunately, I have still to discover what the plotline is but hopefully I've spoiled enough for you so far. The map is quite large and zombies have new abilities, along with new weapons. One of them turns zombies into babies with large heads. While they can still do damage, they cannot do alot. Zombie monkeys have also made another appearance, but this time, they may steal perks and change them at will, so this can become a problem for you if you are a 'Wait and see' player. Zombies may also come from out of the trees, out of the mud, and now, out of the water. Be careful when near the waterfall as they may spawn right beside you. Another place to be careful is the quicksand area, as zombie arms may come out and halt you at specific points. The map is quite large and you may get easily lost. Mystery Box's are also harder to find and in more remote areas, but they glow green against a certain skyline (spoiler here, I shall not ruin) and blue when normal. It is incredibly fun and still manages me to make me jump at certain points. Zombie fans will not be dissapointed!

Special thanks to Biggl3s96, SICKFRIDAY and Spittingcobra47 for the help with the Zombie map.

The Annihilation map pack looks quite stunning, with a tune up to graphics and greater map creation, this may be the best yet to come from Treyarch. With the approach of Modern Warfare 3, only time will tell if they shall release a final DLC for Black Ops.

Out of 10, I gave the Annihilation DLC an 8/10

Australian Video Game R18+ Rating

G'day to you all.

As a twist, I have decided to take upon the lively debate that has plagued Australia for many years. Whether or not my country should have an R18+ rating for video games.

Firstly, what I should point out is that the majority of the world has an R18+ rating and most parents ignore or simply do not know that the gaming industry here has no rating system higher than MA15+ with this leading to games being censored and reduced. The average age of Australian Gamers is 28 and most are uncomfortable playing with children who freely play games that should definately be above their reach.

Games that have been given an R18 rating across the seas are such titles as F.E.A.R, Doom 3, Dead Space and a recent remake of a classic, Mortal Kombat 9. However, if the game is too violent or has too much nudity/sex scenes/gore ect, the game has to be reconsidered, have the content lowered or the game banned entirely, such like the new Mortal Kombat being illegal in Australia. Sadly, this does not solve the problem. For starters, children have access to the internet, if not at home (as over 80% do), at their local library or even at a friends house. Here they may illegally download the game or even purchase it from America off eBay.

This upsets many of the parents, evendentally getting the console banned from them and eventually being unable to play their other games at all. This does seem like a just cause to what they've done, but they are only children, after all, and most cannot take "no" for an answer. However, older gamers above the legal age suffer as well. The government is restricting what we see, what we here, and most of us just like to relax at the end of a day with a nice game and escape into another world.
For many years, a man named Michael Atkinson, the General Attorney of South Australia, has voiced his opinion on an R18+ rating on video games, claiming that it will, quote, "open up the floodgates" and also, quote, "Show the general public and our children unecessary and vulgar images."

Unfortunately, the internet beat him to that when I was a child.

For those who do not know, in order for an R18+ rating to pass, ALL the General Attorney's must agree for the change, and for the past 5 years, Mr Atkinson has held back this decision, being the only G-A to dissagree with the change. Thankfully, he has retired last year, and his successor, Mr John Rau, has a complete different opinion than him, agreeing that an R18+ rating would be the best solution for us all.

Gamers, such as myself, just simply hope that the games we enjoy and come to love can be played forevermore. Games such as Dead Space and the original Mortal Kombat changed the face of gaming and their genres, yet some parents don't even realise the small notices to how dangerous some games can be.

Take the "No Russian" level in Modern Warfare 2. This game in Australia is rated R18+ and, while this game has a skip mission option, the level consists of breaking into a working airport in Russia and gunning down screaming, fleeing innocent people. Would this be appropriate for your 11YO who loves the game?

Also, some games have small hints at how the game is dangerous for the youths. Take Red Dead Redemption for example. On the outside, the cover art only suggests an MA15+ rating.
But there are sex scenes. There is the gutting and skinning of animals ect.

What surprised me most was not the content, but the disc cover art itself. To those who have noticed, the disc itself SHOWS the original R18 Rating right on it. If parents actually cared for what their children played, they might notice this small piece of evidence that proves that the game is innapropriate for their kids.




The point I am trying to push is its not the government's fault completely, nor is it the parent's fault completely. It is both combined. With the slack and ignorance of some (or maybe most, seeing as most kids do play MA15+ games) and the indeciveness and willing of change of the G-A meetings, both of these together are upsetting Australian gamers, showing the future generations content they should not even know for many years.

Parents, I beg you, be more involved with your kid's development and what they do on their console and online. When I was a child, I wanted to catch all Pokemon and dreamed of being just like Goku from Dragon Ball Z. These days, children swear like sailors, talk about doing sexual acts with my family members and say and know things they shouldn't until they're at least 15.

Gamers, I encourage you, please voice your opinion. It may agree to my own. It may disagree but voice it. Ghandi once said "It is not the voice of one to change a nation, it is many" and if you do not want to be treated like a child and wish to have the same content as our fellows overseas, make your voice heard, as I have done now.

Soon, very soon, the G-A of my nation will vote again on this issue, and I pray that the R18+ rating shall come through and that we, as the public, may finally be treated equally.

Review: Dead Space 2

Hey there guys and girls!

I'm here to write about game that has, quote, "taken the normal shooter/zombie killer and turned it on its head".
Quickly becoming a fastly popular series, as well as a growing gaming community hunting for more zombie thrillers, Dead Space 2 delivers with a nice, neat and blood stained package.

First thing to mention would be the utterly gorgeous graphcis. As you make your way through the space station on one of Saturn's moons, the protagonist Isaac Clarke must fight his way through hundreds, if not thousands of Necromorphs, made by The Marker, a Marker, in fact, he and a few selected others made. He has spent the last three years in a sedated state and finds himself being awaken by Franco, the protagonist of the prologue puzzle game Dead Space Ignition.
Tormented by his dead partner Nicole (Voiced by Tanya Clarke) and being driven mad by The Marker, it is up to him to destroy what he had created.
Back on topic, the graphics are very gorgeous in some parts, for example, the shine of the sun atop a glowing Saturn. But these moments are rare, as you spend most of it in total darkness or with flashing warning lights and the moans of Necromorphs beating down on you.
The audio is of excellent quality, not only was the screams of the many enemies rushing my way fantastic, but the tension and emotion in the voice of Gunner Wright (Who is the face and voice of Isaac Clarke) and between his companions Ellie Langford(voiced by Sonita Henry) and Nolan Stross (voiced by Curt Cornelius) who aid, lead and try hard to come together with Isaac to destroy The Marker and escape Sprawl Station once and for all. With both audio, visual and graphic content as you fight your way through the dark, this game became very custom to swearing and yelling at this game quite quickly. Gameplay is extremely smoothe, making the game easy to learn. This, however, does not mean the game is completely easy. While you do start out in baby steps (SPOILER AHEAD) the game thrusts you straight into the mist of it all, as a swarm of Necromorphs attempt to kill you from the get go. While still tied in a straight jacket, you must sprint for your life to the exit. This is an excellent move by Visceral Games, reminding us all how our parents taught us how to swim, by pushing us into the deep end at the pool.

The multiplayer has one of the most accessable multiplayers I have ever seen. Not only do they give you an option on what game mode to play as but no matter how far the players are apart, the connection is near perfect with little to no glitches whatsoever. From what I can gather, the game uses a Main Multiplayer Modem or MMM for short. This is a large computer where a person can host a game, invite his friends or wait for others to join and then as the match is starting, the host is switched to this console, most likely at Visceral Games. This is a brilliant way to decrease lag and allow perfect syncronisation for gamers who live across the world from their opponent.

This brings me to the saddening points.
Although there are not many, while the game itself is brilliant, a few more tweeks here and there would have made it terrific. For example, in some places, the game was too dark, even when lights and such were above my head. I changed the brightness level but this did very little help. Also, while I played Campaign online, very, very rarely, as Isaac had a moment with Nicole, this would make the game skip as well as the audio, making it sound like a scratched CD. Seeing as my discs have yet to have a scratch on them, I have brought it down to a rare episode or possibly Xbox Live automatically doing an update on the game. 

While these bad points did discourage me, they only did so ever slightly. I am now currently hooked on all things Dead Space related and I am loving the series. I'm currently halfway through my second playthrough and this is a game that could very possibly be made a candidate for 2011's Game Of The Year

Out of 10, I gave Dead Space 2 an 9/10

E3 coming up!

Hey there folks!

I just wanted to say thank you so much for all the views. 350! I'm starting to get somewhere.

Although this isn't what I'm here for.

I'm here to say that E3 is less than a week away and I'm more giddy than ever! Gears of War 3, Assassin's Creed Revelations, Mass Effect 3 and many, many more to be announced. I'm overjoyed and the gamer nerd that is me couldn't be more excited.
Also, the possible announcement of a new console for the Xbox. 720 is apparently coming and to those who don't know, it will be slightly better than the 360 Slim but with Blu Ray Disc. That's right, Microsoft are taking the Blu Ray plunge. Since alot of games on the Xbox now require two discs to be played (Mass Effect 2, Dead Space 2, just to name a few) and since the Blu Ray can hold more data, it seems that it may be here to stay, particularly for Platformer gamers.

Lastly, I will also be putting up links to game video's of trailers of UGOI (Upcoming Games Of Interest) in the near future.
For now, its time for me to sleep.
Thanks very much and game on!
Al

Review: The Force Unleashed 2 Endor DLC

Hey there folks!

Even though I know this isn't a really new DLC, seeing as its associated with one of my favourite games of all time (Also my favourite actor as well) I thought I'd better hurry up and get a review done!
Ladies and gents, The Battle of Endor DLC for The Force Unleashed 2.

*WARNING! This review may have some spoilers ahead, so if you haven't beaten the Campaign or have not yet bought/finished this DLC, please look away now*

Firstly, let me explain the ending of Star Wars: TFU2
At the end of the Campaign, you have the choice of having the Light Side ending, or the Dark Side ending. In case you do not know, the Light Side ending is what actually happens in this famous series. However, the Dark Side option allows the player to see the "What if", giving the player an alternate ending. In this case, the end of the game allows you to choose either to spare Darth Vader and let him be captured and taken prisoner by the Alliance or strike him down and end his life. When the Dark side is chose, Starkiller is killed, as is General Kota and his men. The murderer is a clone of Starkiller, just like him, but separated from his memories. Vader calls him "The Perfect Clone".
So as the good Starkiller dies at his feet, Vader orders "Maulkiller" to search the galaxy, kill the rebels and their leaders and put an end to the Rebellion.

The first (And hopefully not last) is The Battle of Endor DLC, which sends you to the forest moon of said place and kill the rebels hiding there. What I noticed is that your unlocked powers and abilities from the Campaign are not transferred over to here. All is gone bar the Lightsaber crystals and the costumes you have unlocked. While this does make it more challenging and slightly annoying, this is a wise move from the Developers. Seeing as they are different Starkillers, their abilities would differ from each other. The gameplaye is nearly exactly the same as the Campaign but with three small differences. 1: Ewoks. These little buggars will attack you with all you got and if you grapple a few of them, you might unlock an achievement *hint hint* 2: Puzzles. Some areas are unreachable unless you kill all enemies, defeat a particular enemy (In this case, turrets) or figure out how to reach a high spot. For instance, shortly after the beginning, there is a rock balancing on another rock and you must figure out how to counterbalance the other end and what to jump on in order to reach a high cliff edge.

Number 3, unfortunately, brings me to the bad points. This game has more bugs than a rotting piece of food. If bolt of lighting hits an explosive, the ground escapes your feet. If Chewbacca throws a electric bomb at you, you and him plummet into nothingness until you eventually die. If Han shoots a rocket and hits Chewie or an Ewok, it still damages you, no matter the distance. There is an achievement "One With The Force" Which requires you to not die during the DLC. Due to these bugs, no matter how many times I play it, I still have yet to unlock it.
Not only is it buggy, but the acting of Han Solo (Unfortunately not done by Harrison Ford but a impersonator) isn't exactly the same as Harrison. Credic where its due: he does a fair decent copy of the man, but he lacks the emotion and smartallec-ism that is Han Solo.
Not to sound too nerdy.
The last bad motion to mention is this: I can't explain it, I can't understand how it has happened, but the DLC also effects your normal Campaign and beyond. Since I have downloaded it, the video and audio of cutscenes are not insync and sometimes pause for 10 seconds or so. This isn't fairly bad as the Downloadable Content itself, but to effect the game itself whenever its played it not good marketeering.

I shall not spoil the complete ending of the DLC, but it is fair interesting. It makes you wonder where it is going to go. The voice acting by the rest of the cast was well done (special mention to Sam Witwer who voices Starkiller and Emperor Palpatine, who does the best work I have ever seen since the original) and the game seems to rap up quite nicely.




While I love the game completely, this DLC seems a little bit more trouble than its worth. I am a fan of The Force Unleashed series and I look forward to the next installment, as well as other DLC's. But if the next is as bad, or worse, than this current one, I don't think the rest will be worth it.

Out of 10, I gave The Battle of Endor DLC a 4.5/10