Sunday 25 November 2012

Review: Call Of Duty Black Ops 2

Howdy folks!

Much like the game series Halo, more than likely everyone has at least heard of the name "Call Of Duty" or of the Modern Warfare series. With the release of the sequel to the game changer, Black Ops 2 or better known as BLOPS has made its way onto console and PC alike, the game already 10 million plus strong. However, a fan base does not make a game great, it is what the game has to offer that marks it down in our history as something worthy of the sands of time or something you'll find in the bargin bin the next time you stop by your local electronics store. With some fans worrying that a futuristic COD game would ruin the series, many have been casting sceptical looks upon the game, until now.

One of the first things out of the gate was the improved cinematics. As a man who enjoys Campaign much more than Multiplayer, I headed straight into the game mode and was plesantly surprised. Customisation in a Campaign game is also a huge surprise as well; which guns to take, what equipment and even perks to have in-game such as accessing unavailable areas, faster reloading and being able to hold your breath longer while using a sniper. With the Campaign missions, Strike Missions also unlock as you play the campaign, which are a nice change of pace. I'll leave it at that to avoid spoiler territory but I will say this, the adding of actions have concequences, even over long periods of time, is pretty smart and fantastic. The one issue I have had so far is glitches in-game. The only two I have experienced so far are random deaths for no reason and missions failing for being unable to reach the area due to buggy AI movement. Regardless of what reasons, these are short drawbacks which take you out of the storyline, if only momentarily.
Zombies is, of course, brilliant and creative. Treyarch definitely went out of their way this time around. While the menu screen for Zombies is slightly annoying (especially when you can't find a match), the games themselves are great fun. Survival matches are much more involving this time around. For those who have yet to get the game, Survival sees 8 players in one match split into two teams. To win, all team members on one side must be downed or die and the opposite team must survive the round in order to win. This gets very dicey and can be great fun when played with a bunch of good friends. While you can still all team up together, the round you're currently on will be restarted if all team members on both sides die. This is the only true fault with the Survival mode, as this can continue on and on for ages (my record time is an hour) until you are left with nothing. After a period of time, you will respawn with no ammunition for your pistol and no money to purchase new weapons. This means certain doom, especially if you are on a higher round.
And now, right down to it - Multiplayer. With very little online connectivity issues, the Multiplayer is possibly the best in the entire COD series. Customisation of guns, their camo and equipment is quite well done. With unlock tokens given out with each level increased, selection of your class is limited down to 10 choices, including weaponry. This makes each match more important to which maps and who is playing against you. Stratergy definitely becomes important. Maps are also quite diverse; from close quarter areas to sniping long areas, each map makes each type of gamer happy. What truly makes my day is the custom gamercards. This time around, specific actions unlock different pieces for your playercard. And of course, with customisable playercards comes the more penis and naked women creations. Treyarch has thought of this and added a report system for those with "rude" playercards; even if removed, they can still be found on your Elite Server or in your Barracks setting so be warned!

While COD and Halo fans fight it out for who deserves Game Of The Year or not, Black Ops 2 has made a significant impact on the community, grossing over $500 Million in the first 24 hours, beating the Modern Warfare 3 sale records to become the most biggest entertainment launch of all time. And disregard all the hype and promotion and take it from a neutral reviewer: Whether it is Zombies, Multiplayer or the Campaign that takes your fancy, Black Ops 2 does deserve a place in your collection.
Out of 10, I give Call Of Duty Black Ops 2 an 9/10

Good Points
+ Storyline is great and diverse, actions matter
+ Zombies is greatly improved and revitalised
+ Best Multiplayer in COD Series by far
+ Customisation everywhere!? ME GUSTA
+ Stunning graphics and voice acting

Bad Points
- Campaign glitches = Sad face
- Zombie Survival mode has issues
- The-Never-Ending-Fan-War

Call Of Duty Black Ops 2 is out now for $78

Tuesday 20 November 2012

Review: Assassin's Creed 3

Howdy folks!

Now the fifth installment in the series, Assassin's Creed 3 has made quite the impact on the gaming community. With this all said, the final game of the series sees us as Connor Kenway AKA Ratonhnhake:ton (Pronounced Ra-doon-na-kay-doon), the closest ancestor to Desmond Miles we have ever seen. We follow his story. While Altair's story was of redemption and Ezio's being one of revenge, Connor's story is a mix: he seeks revenge for the death of his mother, he seeks freedom not only for his people but the people of the new nation and also honour for the fallen Colonist Assassins.
What is first off out the gate is the new stylised gameplay. New controls means that veterans of the game series will struggle to adapt and sure enough, it took me a while to stop pressing A to jump everywhere! Free running is completely controlled by holding RT, everything from running, sprinting, pushing guards out of your path and jumping from one rooftop to the next. Combat has made Connor definitely the most destructive and deadly Assassin yet. While many fans will argue whether Altair or Ezio is better, Connor's simple yet brutal kills can take down multiple opponants with everything at his disposal; from his Tomahawk to even ripping an enemy's throat out!
Sound effects are quite imaginative; squaking seagulls at the docks eventually fade away as you make your way into town; quickly replaced with soft chatter and the various voices of animals. Pigs, chickens, cats, dogs, the list goes on from what you can hear and interact with.
Graphics look pretty great, especially during cutscenes and gameplay. Smaller cutscenes and the promised larger battles are quite brilliant but the AI's lack human movement as they all move in the exact same order or in the same motions in order.
Voice acting was not only effective but quite well done. Connor (Noah Watts) gave quite a good performance but lacked the strength in emotion for many of the harder scenes. The same can be said with AC veteran actor Nolan North (Desmond), a stillness in his voice 80% during his cutscenes. Many of his personal scenes relied on the secondary cast such as John De Lancie (William Miles) and Danny Wallace (Shawn Hastings) for comedic relief. Neil Napier (Charles Lee) was the man of the hour, his character development quite noticible from quiet and respectful to boystrous and utterly evil. Without revealing many spoilers, Connor's story will definitely be more satisfying for new comers than the Desmond story. True, it is great to finally play more of the game but the game doesn't explain many of the plot twists revealed in the other media such as DLC, books, Indie games ect and it's hard to still stay in the storyline when you don't know the backstory.
Multiplayer, while with fantastic graphics and gameplay, sadly offers nothing too remotely new. The same previous game modes remain but little more other than new maps and characters. While the gameplay is fun and creative, it doesn't take long to get repetitive.

In summary, Assassins Creed 3 is definitely the best game in the series thus far, but its storytelling needs a little more work. And while the fans of the series, such as myself, will continue to wonder where the game will go from here with the rumoured AC4 already being in the works, all we can say is prepare for a game that becomes addictive, fun and laugh at how the world becomes your toy.
Out of 10, I give Assassin's Creed 3 an 9/10

Good Points:
+ Fun gameplay and style
+ Connor's story tragic, yet greatly made
+ PET ANIMALS! ^.^
+ Mutliplayer can be fun....

Bad Points:
+ .....but gets old fast.
+ Desmond's story not fully fleshed out
+ Game never fully tells backstory of specific characters

Assassin's Creed 3 is out now for $78

Review: Halo 4

G'day g'day!

As like Doom was in the 90's, Pac Man to the 80's and Pong before it, to this day people worldwide, whether gamer or not, will recognise the words "Halo".
Halo: Combat Evolved made its debut on the Xbox in late November 2001 and with it a lengend was born. Rating 9.2 originally with OXM Australia and 9.7 moderately worldwide, Halo CE had been quoted to say it had "Surpassed" 007 Goldeneye. Eleven years later, Halo 4 has finally made its way into the hands of many underage fans around the world, the first not to be made by the original creators, Bungie. There was only one question that mattered overall with the regular players and the die hard fans alike: Would Halo 4 live up to the legend it had created?

Of course, the first thing that needs to be talked about is the gameplay. The Single Player is definitely fluid and works well, developers have created changing and challenging areas to fight in. This is pushed greatly by the graphics; the game looks stunning during both Multiplayer and Campaign. While the Covenant do look slightly different, its refreshing to see them in a new light. Voice acting is utterly sublime; Jen Taylor (Cortana) creates quite an effective mood and feel both in the midst of battle and in the cinematics. A more talkative Steve Downes (Master Chief) is definitely the cherry on top of the cake. While the rest of the voice cast do a great job diving into the Halo Universe, many lacked the "oomph" that the series requires. In saying that, not all secondary characters are overlooked - Mark Rolston (Captain Del Rio) does an extraordinary job, especially with the sparring between the main characters and Darren O'Hare (Thomas Lasky).
Without revealing many spoilers for the game, the storyline does indeed start off a little rocky, not knowing what's happening but nearing the end of the game things start to tie off into a neat little bow. The epilogue does show quite the small spoilers and where the game may head for the next game in the new sequel. Sound effects were of great quality in-game but seemed to lack in the cinematics. For unknown reasons, all actions in the cutscenes seemed to come out faded and dull, while the voices were clear. This detracted from the mood but had little effect.
Many of the fans were worried over what would happen to the Multiplayer side of the game but 343 Industries truly delivered what many are calling one of the best MP experiences online for a Halo game. While a few sneaky glitches has been found and exploited, with the choices of connectivity, the customisation of our characters being even better than before, 343 did not hold back for the series.
Spartan Ops was originally critisied for its "Spec Ops" likeness, but the gameplay is quite enjoyable. Waiting each and ever week for a new installment adds to the excitement of completing something on this massive scale. Remember, this is continuing for 50 weeks after launch. That's five brand new maps for nearly a full year!

Overall, the Halo series is still alive and well and many gamers worried if the game would live up to the hype, if 343 could fill the shoes of the departed Bungie. In a sense, 343 and all those involved have breathed on the embers of Halo 3 to bring the series back to life, and now the fire is burning hot once more.
Out of 10, I give Halo 4 an 9/10

Good Points
+ Campaign is great, storyline and graphics suit well
+ Spartan Ops a nice touch  
+ Cinematics awesome
+ Return of MC!


Bad Points
- Few MP issues
- Sound effects muffled during cinematics

Halo 4 is out now for the standard price of $68

Tuesday 6 November 2012

Review: Medal Of Honor Warfighter

G'day folks!

Now well known amongst the game community for its sublime realism, Medal of Honor has graced our consoles with a return to the franchise with MOH Warfighter, a sequel to the self named title of 2010.
Heading straight into it to what everyone is talking about, the new in-game engine of graphics, courtesy of Frostbite 2. I have no words for this utterly, utterly fantastic move. I spent more than 5 minutes into the Cinematic trying to determine if it was real or fake, it is literally that good. Obviously it is fake, but the graphics, weather, lighting and so on look so utterly real, it's quite easy to get lost from reality and be sucked into this game.
Sound effect and musical score is also a big plus in a large budget game such as this. Voice acting is once more, great, but seems lacking in specific areas. While the acting is by no doubt great, it seemed they lacked the depth of emotion in the voice. Whether this was done on purpose, as most soldiers are trained to be emotionless killers, this remains to be seen.
The campaign is definitely much longer than anticipated: with many plot twists and turns, different areas to travel to and new information to take in, the game will definitely keep you on your toes.
Multiplayer has been greatly improved since the demo a few weeks back. Lag is definitely not an issue, maps are extremely level and even headed and players can join friends quite quickly, with little to no loading time.

There isn't much more to say about this game, despite its shocking take and sales record. The 14th chapture in the long series is definitely worth a look. With easy achievements to be had, a great multiplayer to enjoy with your friends and utterly jaw dropping visuals, I would extremely recommend this game.
Out of 10, I give MOH Warfighter an 9.5/10

Good Points
+ Amazing graphics
+ Musical score/sound effects quite brilliant
+ Storyline is extremely solid
+ Multiplayer is fantastic and simple

Bad Points
- High graphics does tend to stop cinematics in the middle of viewing
- Customisation limits to guns, nothing for characters

MOH Warfighter is out now for $88

Review: Doom 3 BFG Edition

Howdy folks!

Anywhere you go, anyone you talk to whether it be gamer or not, it's safe to say that they have at least heard of Doom, renown for its gore, bloody, violent and horrific gameplay. Doom definitely paved the way for First Person Shooters of today and even modelled as many horror/survival games of today. Bethesda has recaptured that magic and placed all three games into the one we see today, Doom 3 BFG Edition. While the title only states one of the games in the series, one of the little gems about this game is that you pay the price of one game, but really get three.
With this knowledge, I dived right back into Mars, Hell and Doom, and almost simultaniously, fell back in to the nervous, scared child I was when my brother introduced me to the game. Although I did get much further than I did in my youth, it was nice to reflect, if only briefly, on a classic. Bring on Doom 2! Hit again with nostalgia, I pushed my wave through Hell's spawn and human alike, diving right back into the fight. Nothing new is offered in either of the older titles other than achievements and an updated Options menu. Doom 3 is where most of the changes are.

Updated graphics, musical score, cleaner audio and sound effects are just some of the new features in the newest version of the game. Despite this, the game still retains its massively challenging gameplay and riddle solving. However, the game still retains the few bugs here are there. The random spawning of enemies finds them spawning within walls, enemies (On occasion) not dying or moving at all and so on. While these cause slight upset, these are overlookable.

While the game itself only offers a better version of Doom 3, the game is still a great buy. Returning to the classics of any game series is always a great play and a good time to play with friends. Doom will always live on as the kickstart to the gaming community we all know today.
Out of 10, I give Doom 3 BFG Edition an 7.5/10

Good Points
+ $70 for three games? SCORE
+ Getting frightened all over again is awesome
+ Graphics and sound effect will blow you away

Bad Points
- Doom 1 & 2 won't play with installed disc...
- Odd glitches here and there
- Doom 1 & 2 offer nothing relitively new

The game is out now for $70, depending on location.