Howdy folks.
Bad news and I'll keep it short; my laptop was lost. Not as in I misplaced it, lost as in some damn hacker got into my system and bugged the crap out of my laptop.
"But Fatman, if your laptop is gone, how are you writing this?"
Good question, Nobody.
With a combination of my old lady's 5+ year old crappy computer that forces me to rewrite nearly every word four times at least and on my phone.
So what does this mean?
All video production will be stopping for a month (since I lost all prerecorded videos too), including 95% of all reviews. I MAY be able to post some achievement guides but other than that, this blog will go silent for just over/under a month.
Okay, time to go. I'm getting more infuriated with this keyboard...ARGH!!
Thanks for understanding folks, take care.
As always, have fun and game on.
Tuesday 30 April 2013
Friday 26 April 2013
Review: Tyranny Of King Washington - The Redemption
G'day folks!
WARNING! This review will feature some minor spoilers from the DLC trilogy, read at your own precaution!
Over the last few months, many AC fans have been following the alternate story of Connor,
following in the footsteps of his mother's goal to bring down the now notorious and wicked King Washington who's mind and tenacity has been diluted by the power of the Apple Of Eden.
Once more, we see a short flashback of what had happened in the last DLC, quickly breezing through the last chapter. We find ourselves in an unfamiliar New York skyline and the people cowering in fear over what appears to be a cut-in-half pyramid and the earth of New York now a desert wasteland.
What was a massive change of pace was the game's opening of a naval battle, something that has yet to be featured in any AC3 DLC. Fighting off many enemies and smashing into boats as I stupidly did, Connor washes ashore to find Ben Franklin bent over a now dead Kanen'to:kon, which I will mention left me yelling at the screen in protest. (I will leave his death scene alone as it's quite powerful)
With that, Connor takes one last swig of the Tea Of The Red Willow and travels for the last time to the Sky World, to which he gains the strength of the Bear. While this ability can be used to decimate enemies in one massive thrash or destroy building structure around you, this ability definitely soaks up much of your health. While the Wolf ability does suck out little by little and the Eagle ability uses the least, two to five uses of the Bear ability will leave Connor running for health and it's not easy to regain it since this ability works best in the middle of battle.
The storyline ends the controversial telling very well, rapping everything off in a nice, neat little bow as the game ends on a high note, to which I won't divulge. With the final battle between Connor and the King finally reaching a climax, there isn't much left to mention of this DLC. Near much everything, from gameplay to sound effects are basically the same.
A fully fleshed out storyline over the entire trilogy of DLC, the animal abilities making the game much harder yet refreshing the stereotypical air inside the series and even a massive nod in the direction of the upcoming title in the AC series, I was impressed with the level of quality this DLC had as the main series comes to a close but hopefully, not the end of Connor just yet.
Overall DLC Rating: B
This DLC is out now for 640 MSP ($8)
WARNING! This review will feature some minor spoilers from the DLC trilogy, read at your own precaution!
Over the last few months, many AC fans have been following the alternate story of Connor,
Once more, we see a short flashback of what had happened in the last DLC, quickly breezing through the last chapter. We find ourselves in an unfamiliar New York skyline and the people cowering in fear over what appears to be a cut-in-half pyramid and the earth of New York now a desert wasteland.
What was a massive change of pace was the game's opening of a naval battle, something that has yet to be featured in any AC3 DLC. Fighting off many enemies and smashing into boats as I stupidly did, Connor washes ashore to find Ben Franklin bent over a now dead Kanen'to:kon, which I will mention left me yelling at the screen in protest. (I will leave his death scene alone as it's quite powerful)
With that, Connor takes one last swig of the Tea Of The Red Willow and travels for the last time to the Sky World, to which he gains the strength of the Bear. While this ability can be used to decimate enemies in one massive thrash or destroy building structure around you, this ability definitely soaks up much of your health. While the Wolf ability does suck out little by little and the Eagle ability uses the least, two to five uses of the Bear ability will leave Connor running for health and it's not easy to regain it since this ability works best in the middle of battle.
The storyline ends the controversial telling very well, rapping everything off in a nice, neat little bow as the game ends on a high note, to which I won't divulge. With the final battle between Connor and the King finally reaching a climax, there isn't much left to mention of this DLC. Near much everything, from gameplay to sound effects are basically the same.
A fully fleshed out storyline over the entire trilogy of DLC, the animal abilities making the game much harder yet refreshing the stereotypical air inside the series and even a massive nod in the direction of the upcoming title in the AC series, I was impressed with the level of quality this DLC had as the main series comes to a close but hopefully, not the end of Connor just yet.
Overall DLC Rating: B
This DLC is out now for 640 MSP ($8)
Review: The Knife Of Dunwall DLC
Howdy folks!
This review is 100% spoiler free for both the main campaign and the DLC. Read freely!
To those who don't know me, I've been a massive fan of Dishonored since the very first reveal trailer
and since its release, I've played many hours of the game. As the news of upcoming DLC was released, I was ecstatic at the thought of returning to the shoes of Corvo, even in trial forms.
The Knife Of Dunwall however takes a massive left turn, placing you in the shoes of Daud; another servant of The Outsider, Daud is the leader of a band of mercenary Assassins and is the man behind the murder of Empress Jessamine which begins the main story. From a slow intro that retells the murder through Daud's eyes (even though it fades to black as he's doing the deed), the game takes you onto the activities through the six months and slight time afterward of Corvo's imprisonment. As you finish off the Empress, you are pulled into the Void and The Outsider appears before you, claiming that "Your story runs short."
To start this review, the storyline sits around the word "Delilah", a word that The Outsider foretells to Daud as "a gesture of good will." and tells him that this, and a few other bits of info, will be his last gifts to him. With just a name, you must travel around Dunwall, hunting the men who know the secrets behind this word, bringing you both to familiar places and brand new ones the gameplay is much of the same with the exception of new Outsider abilities that Daud possesses such as Summon Assassin, whereas some are simular to Corvo's abilities but with a few tweaks, for example: While Corvo's Blink ability allows him to instantly transport large distances in meer seconds, Daud's ability will slow time (As long as he isn't moving) at the same time. New gadgets also come into play such as the Arc Mine and Choke Dust (Which really doesn't do much). Just like in the main campaign, The Knife Of Dunwall holds new moral choices that tie in majorly with the game overall; every move you make will ultimately determine the fate of all those around Daud and even the fate of him at the hands of Corvo.
However, there are a few bugs worth mentioning. Blinking while in mid air can cause players to fall through the world and never die; Sleep Darts mysteriously disappear when passing to a new area or checkpoints (Which resulted in me with no choice but the High Chaos) and navigational points tend to be misleading, leading me to brick wall in some points. Granted, the DLC does offer much more background on both the Outsider, Daud, Corvo and the history of Dunwall and while these were interesting to read and listen to alongside the main story, I was more focused on discovering more of the lore than my actual target.
With that in mind, for a DLC at a decent cost for only three maps and barely over an hour of gameplay, my excitement for the second part of this DLC (The Brigmore Witches, release date unknown) has been utterly smashed. While it has been fun to replay a bit of Dishonored, I feel I have lost a bit of my own personal honour and with that, I won't be waiting for the second part with bated breath.
Overall DLC Rating: C-
The Knife Of Dunwall is out now for 800 MSP ($10)
This review is 100% spoiler free for both the main campaign and the DLC. Read freely!
To those who don't know me, I've been a massive fan of Dishonored since the very first reveal trailer
The Knife Of Dunwall however takes a massive left turn, placing you in the shoes of Daud; another servant of The Outsider, Daud is the leader of a band of mercenary Assassins and is the man behind the murder of Empress Jessamine which begins the main story. From a slow intro that retells the murder through Daud's eyes (even though it fades to black as he's doing the deed), the game takes you onto the activities through the six months and slight time afterward of Corvo's imprisonment. As you finish off the Empress, you are pulled into the Void and The Outsider appears before you, claiming that "Your story runs short."
To start this review, the storyline sits around the word "Delilah", a word that The Outsider foretells to Daud as "a gesture of good will." and tells him that this, and a few other bits of info, will be his last gifts to him. With just a name, you must travel around Dunwall, hunting the men who know the secrets behind this word, bringing you both to familiar places and brand new ones the gameplay is much of the same with the exception of new Outsider abilities that Daud possesses such as Summon Assassin, whereas some are simular to Corvo's abilities but with a few tweaks, for example: While Corvo's Blink ability allows him to instantly transport large distances in meer seconds, Daud's ability will slow time (As long as he isn't moving) at the same time. New gadgets also come into play such as the Arc Mine and Choke Dust (Which really doesn't do much). Just like in the main campaign, The Knife Of Dunwall holds new moral choices that tie in majorly with the game overall; every move you make will ultimately determine the fate of all those around Daud and even the fate of him at the hands of Corvo.
However, there are a few bugs worth mentioning. Blinking while in mid air can cause players to fall through the world and never die; Sleep Darts mysteriously disappear when passing to a new area or checkpoints (Which resulted in me with no choice but the High Chaos) and navigational points tend to be misleading, leading me to brick wall in some points. Granted, the DLC does offer much more background on both the Outsider, Daud, Corvo and the history of Dunwall and while these were interesting to read and listen to alongside the main story, I was more focused on discovering more of the lore than my actual target.
With that in mind, for a DLC at a decent cost for only three maps and barely over an hour of gameplay, my excitement for the second part of this DLC (The Brigmore Witches, release date unknown) has been utterly smashed. While it has been fun to replay a bit of Dishonored, I feel I have lost a bit of my own personal honour and with that, I won't be waiting for the second part with bated breath.
Overall DLC Rating: C-
The Knife Of Dunwall is out now for 800 MSP ($10)
Saturday 20 April 2013
Review: Uprising DLC
G'day there guys and gals!
The second DLC to hit gamers hands, the Uprising DLC offers a lot more to not only the multiplayer
fans but the Zombie fans too this time around. Following the same principle style of DLC, the Add On features four brand new maps and one Zombie map, including a brand new mode to the Zombie fight.
Let's start with the main bulk of the DLC: Encore is centered around a London music festival and is by far my favourite map of the four. A wide map with many options of routes with some even being dead ends, Encore truly captures the motive of abandonment and even gameplay online. Magma is a small Japanese town with small volcanic activity, with lava flowing from beneath your feet. While this map too is quite large, Magma is much more of a beautiful and interesting map to look at. With the town overflowing, a train inches away from the lava and battles raging all around you, this map is both engaging and can leave you out in the open to die.
Vertigo is an Indian Helipad and Terminal set high up in the clouds. This map is very close quarter friendly, with very little room for mistakes. One wrong jump near the edge or even not paying attention can lead to your death. I quite enjoy this map but with it's low edges and many ledges, it leads way to all online gamer's best friend, the camper with the shotgun. Studio is a remake of the original Blops Firing Range, updating it with a Hollywood backdrops from the old west to Sci-fi. A fan favourite map, the remaking of this map left me in awe as I found myself as a giant amongst a small city, on a firing range fighting off aliens and more.
Onto Zombies! Mob Of The Dead sees four well known actors (Ray Liotta, Chazz Palminteri, Joe Pantoliano and Michael Madsen) play as convicted felons in the famous prison of Alcatraz, to which they find themselves fighting off the undead, both prisoners and guards alike. With different playing styles and a return to the team battle, Mob Of The Dead brings a fresh look to the Black Ops zombie genre and I hope for different styles with more upcoming DLC.
While the COD popularity continues to flourish, Uprising DLC adds in a new flavour to what is steadily becoming a bland gaming type. With new ideas and hordes of zombies to fight, Activision definitely made a right move with this add on and with a few more to go, I hope they continue this chain of events.
My rating for Black Ops 2 Uprising DLC: B+
Uprising is out now for 1200 MSP
The second DLC to hit gamers hands, the Uprising DLC offers a lot more to not only the multiplayer
Let's start with the main bulk of the DLC: Encore is centered around a London music festival and is by far my favourite map of the four. A wide map with many options of routes with some even being dead ends, Encore truly captures the motive of abandonment and even gameplay online. Magma is a small Japanese town with small volcanic activity, with lava flowing from beneath your feet. While this map too is quite large, Magma is much more of a beautiful and interesting map to look at. With the town overflowing, a train inches away from the lava and battles raging all around you, this map is both engaging and can leave you out in the open to die.
Vertigo is an Indian Helipad and Terminal set high up in the clouds. This map is very close quarter friendly, with very little room for mistakes. One wrong jump near the edge or even not paying attention can lead to your death. I quite enjoy this map but with it's low edges and many ledges, it leads way to all online gamer's best friend, the camper with the shotgun. Studio is a remake of the original Blops Firing Range, updating it with a Hollywood backdrops from the old west to Sci-fi. A fan favourite map, the remaking of this map left me in awe as I found myself as a giant amongst a small city, on a firing range fighting off aliens and more.
Onto Zombies! Mob Of The Dead sees four well known actors (Ray Liotta, Chazz Palminteri, Joe Pantoliano and Michael Madsen) play as convicted felons in the famous prison of Alcatraz, to which they find themselves fighting off the undead, both prisoners and guards alike. With different playing styles and a return to the team battle, Mob Of The Dead brings a fresh look to the Black Ops zombie genre and I hope for different styles with more upcoming DLC.
While the COD popularity continues to flourish, Uprising DLC adds in a new flavour to what is steadily becoming a bland gaming type. With new ideas and hordes of zombies to fight, Activision definitely made a right move with this add on and with a few more to go, I hope they continue this chain of events.
My rating for Black Ops 2 Uprising DLC: B+
Uprising is out now for 1200 MSP
New Reviews = New Rating System
Howdy folks!
Now in little over half a year, I'll have reached my three year marker of doing reviews on the many games I love and since I've just peaked over the 190 mark of the amount of games I have/had owned, a change of pace would be a welcome sight.
Over these few years I've added in Gaming Appliances reviews, all the more videos I produce on Youtube and the surprisingly very popular Five Easy Achievements. While these different series have added a lot of spice to the line-up, the rating system has been more or less the same and since I have three DLC reviews coming up, I've decided to change the rating system for Add On material.
In short - all main title games (both disc and Arcade) will still receive the 1-10 rating however since DLCs are simply add on a wider experience to the game, they will be given a alphabetical rating, A being the best and F being the worst.
So, for example, let's say I just bought some DLC for a game I gave a 7/10 for. The DLC widens the customisation but does little else so I would give it a C+. It doesn't change the original score of the game but it does, as I said, adds a little spice to the bowl.
So right after this, I'll be writing the review for Black Ops 2 Uprising DLC, so I'm writing this little bit so you folks know.
Well, time to get back to the grindstone!
Stay tuned and as always, have fun and game on!
Now in little over half a year, I'll have reached my three year marker of doing reviews on the many games I love and since I've just peaked over the 190 mark of the amount of games I have/had owned, a change of pace would be a welcome sight.
Over these few years I've added in Gaming Appliances reviews, all the more videos I produce on Youtube and the surprisingly very popular Five Easy Achievements. While these different series have added a lot of spice to the line-up, the rating system has been more or less the same and since I have three DLC reviews coming up, I've decided to change the rating system for Add On material.
In short - all main title games (both disc and Arcade) will still receive the 1-10 rating however since DLCs are simply add on a wider experience to the game, they will be given a alphabetical rating, A being the best and F being the worst.
So, for example, let's say I just bought some DLC for a game I gave a 7/10 for. The DLC widens the customisation but does little else so I would give it a C+. It doesn't change the original score of the game but it does, as I said, adds a little spice to the bowl.
So right after this, I'll be writing the review for Black Ops 2 Uprising DLC, so I'm writing this little bit so you folks know.
Well, time to get back to the grindstone!
Stay tuned and as always, have fun and game on!
Wednesday 17 April 2013
Blogger First - Fatman's Choice!
G'day there guys and gals!
So as you may have seen, due to my absolute love for Bioshock Infinite (And as I hinted before my holiday), this is my new mini series JUST for my blogger watchers - Fatman's Choice!
"But Fatman, what is your choice?"
Well, to put it simply, Fatman's Choice shall be a little series where I'll be posting games/DLC/Arcade and classic Xbox games that are Fatman's Choice. My pick of games that I would highly suggest to anyone to play them.
The first of which being Bioshock Infinite, but don't you worry. More games, new and old, will be added to the collection soon and right after I'm finishing writing this, the list will be featured on the main page.
Thanks for reading folks and as always, have fun and game on!
Review: Bioshock Infinite
G'day guys and gals!
(On a side note, sorry this took a lot longer than predicted. I had to get everything just perfect in order to explain how I see/others see the game - FM)
Spoiler Free Review - no major plotholes were exploited in this review
It's fair to say that this game has been the most talked about title, even outside the gaming community
in a long time. Gamers or not, everyone has at least has heard of these titles; Call Of Duty, Halo, Doom, Quake, Pacman, Frogger, Goldeneye 64, Zelda, Mario and so many others.
Since its release, never before has a game made this much of a splash in not only the gaming community, but in our media, in our news, in our day to day lives and its for this reason that I believe Bioshock Infinite will now take it's place among the greats of history.
More of a prequel than a stand-alone game, Bioshock Infinite sets us as Booker DeWitt, a man of principles as a gun for hire, now bent on redemption. With a large gambling debt on his head and every other option now exhausted, these words not only begin to shape DeWitt's life but also becomes the theme of the game: "Bring us the girl and wipe away the debt." and with that, DeWitt sets off to Colombia to bring a certain girl back to New York and pay off his large debt.
First off, I have to mention the graphics. Bioshock has been known for it's dark, horrific, underwater world and many fans were worried when their next title was featured in the sky. However, even to this gamer, I was pleasantly surprised by how the game looks and feels. Bioshock, as we know, is a title that draws horrors to the mind but when I first saw Colombia, even I held my breath and sighed in wonder. The bright world that I fell in love with quickly became a war torn place of hatred; the lower class rebelling against those in power, dark clouds swirling above your head and as you travel down the rabbit hole even more, the darker the world seems to get.
Sound effects is very well done, even the newest of sounds make a great piece next to the musical score. With so many Easter eggs in the music around you, the game makes you feel - dare I say - at home. An acapella version of the Beach Boy's title "God Only Knows" to a chimey version of "Girls Just Want To Have Fun", walking around the world, you can be drawn to so many other places by the things you see and hear alone, or even by your companion doing something you'd never expect.
Speaking of which, AI usage. Elizabeth is by far one of the most intelligent AIs in a game in at least the last 10 years. A continuous commentary on things around you, small little clips of interaction with items around you (Such as stones, toys, guns, rides ect). Over the years gamers have had many AI companions over the year, the best by far being Ashley in Resident Evil 4, but Elizabeth definitely top her by far. Need ammo? Elizabeth will search until she finds some. Running low on Salts? Elizabeth has some handy. While she has been criticised for not picking up lockpicks (The only thing she uses), she still points them out to Booker and they become highlighted. Even despite that, she is definitely not frustratingly annoying and useless like 98% of other game's AI characters.
Now into the heat of things: Gameplay and the voice cast. Some folks, myself included, were worried about the new Salt system, which effectively replaces Plasmids. In brutal honesty, they're the same items as before but with different names and trap abilities. Originally, Salts weren't available and each Vigor was only able to be used for a certain amount (So one bottle of Murder Of Crows would last eight uses) and players were unable to use them again until they find another bottle. With foodstuff with Salt and bottles of Salts, you can quickly and efficiently restock your Vigors. While they have added many new abilities, Vigors tend to fall into "The Backup Plan" as no Vigor outright kills any NPC, no matter the strength. Weapons tend to be the main go-to. Don't get me wrong, the gameplay is smooth and extremely fun and the game itself has re-playable value through the roof, but Vigor and gun strength could have been levelled out a little bit more.
Now, onto the voice cast. One of the most well known voice actors Troy Baker takes the main role as Booker and while he has less lines than our dear Elisabeth (Courtnee Draper), his lines still bring much depth and emotion to them, Courtnee bringing not only a cutesy feel to Elisabeth in the early stages and also by the end, a dark and sorrowful performance. Elisabeth is the main character with the most change over the coarse of the game. With other well known voice actors such as Laura Bailey as Lady Comstock (From other works such as Kushina from Ninja Storm 3 and Rivera from Halo 4) Kimberly Brooks(Ashley from the Mass Effect series) and other well known names such as Steve Blum, Jennifer Hale, Robin Atkin Downes, Yuri Lowenthal and so many more in main and additional roles, the developers bring the world to colour, the voice cast brings it to life.
In closing, Bioshock Infinite has seem many positive reviews in the last few weeks while some like to nitpick at the smaller things. Granted, the storyline does have a few fallouts when it comes to a few mistakes but otherwise delivers a brilliant story. With a unique storyline that will literally leave you breathless by the time you finish, a game that will give you a warm feeling in your heart as Elisabeth sings warmly to a child and so much more, I had to create my own reward for the game.
I officially pronounce that Bioshock Infinite is the very first of FATMAN'S CHOICE!
Out of 10, I give Bioshock Infinite a 10/10
PERFECT SCORE
Good Points
+ Voice acting is utter brilliance
+ Storyline is jawdropping
+ Gameplay is fun and addictive
+ Voxaphones makes the world larger
+ Infusion bottles truly do help
+ Definitely a game you can play over and over
Bad Points
- Admittedly, a few small plotholes
Bioshock Infinite is out now for $78
(On a side note, sorry this took a lot longer than predicted. I had to get everything just perfect in order to explain how I see/others see the game - FM)
Spoiler Free Review - no major plotholes were exploited in this review
It's fair to say that this game has been the most talked about title, even outside the gaming community
Since its release, never before has a game made this much of a splash in not only the gaming community, but in our media, in our news, in our day to day lives and its for this reason that I believe Bioshock Infinite will now take it's place among the greats of history.
More of a prequel than a stand-alone game, Bioshock Infinite sets us as Booker DeWitt, a man of principles as a gun for hire, now bent on redemption. With a large gambling debt on his head and every other option now exhausted, these words not only begin to shape DeWitt's life but also becomes the theme of the game: "Bring us the girl and wipe away the debt." and with that, DeWitt sets off to Colombia to bring a certain girl back to New York and pay off his large debt.
First off, I have to mention the graphics. Bioshock has been known for it's dark, horrific, underwater world and many fans were worried when their next title was featured in the sky. However, even to this gamer, I was pleasantly surprised by how the game looks and feels. Bioshock, as we know, is a title that draws horrors to the mind but when I first saw Colombia, even I held my breath and sighed in wonder. The bright world that I fell in love with quickly became a war torn place of hatred; the lower class rebelling against those in power, dark clouds swirling above your head and as you travel down the rabbit hole even more, the darker the world seems to get.
Sound effects is very well done, even the newest of sounds make a great piece next to the musical score. With so many Easter eggs in the music around you, the game makes you feel - dare I say - at home. An acapella version of the Beach Boy's title "God Only Knows" to a chimey version of "Girls Just Want To Have Fun", walking around the world, you can be drawn to so many other places by the things you see and hear alone, or even by your companion doing something you'd never expect.
Speaking of which, AI usage. Elizabeth is by far one of the most intelligent AIs in a game in at least the last 10 years. A continuous commentary on things around you, small little clips of interaction with items around you (Such as stones, toys, guns, rides ect). Over the years gamers have had many AI companions over the year, the best by far being Ashley in Resident Evil 4, but Elizabeth definitely top her by far. Need ammo? Elizabeth will search until she finds some. Running low on Salts? Elizabeth has some handy. While she has been criticised for not picking up lockpicks (The only thing she uses), she still points them out to Booker and they become highlighted. Even despite that, she is definitely not frustratingly annoying and useless like 98% of other game's AI characters.
Now into the heat of things: Gameplay and the voice cast. Some folks, myself included, were worried about the new Salt system, which effectively replaces Plasmids. In brutal honesty, they're the same items as before but with different names and trap abilities. Originally, Salts weren't available and each Vigor was only able to be used for a certain amount (So one bottle of Murder Of Crows would last eight uses) and players were unable to use them again until they find another bottle. With foodstuff with Salt and bottles of Salts, you can quickly and efficiently restock your Vigors. While they have added many new abilities, Vigors tend to fall into "The Backup Plan" as no Vigor outright kills any NPC, no matter the strength. Weapons tend to be the main go-to. Don't get me wrong, the gameplay is smooth and extremely fun and the game itself has re-playable value through the roof, but Vigor and gun strength could have been levelled out a little bit more.
Now, onto the voice cast. One of the most well known voice actors Troy Baker takes the main role as Booker and while he has less lines than our dear Elisabeth (Courtnee Draper), his lines still bring much depth and emotion to them, Courtnee bringing not only a cutesy feel to Elisabeth in the early stages and also by the end, a dark and sorrowful performance. Elisabeth is the main character with the most change over the coarse of the game. With other well known voice actors such as Laura Bailey as Lady Comstock (From other works such as Kushina from Ninja Storm 3 and Rivera from Halo 4) Kimberly Brooks(Ashley from the Mass Effect series) and other well known names such as Steve Blum, Jennifer Hale, Robin Atkin Downes, Yuri Lowenthal and so many more in main and additional roles, the developers bring the world to colour, the voice cast brings it to life.
In closing, Bioshock Infinite has seem many positive reviews in the last few weeks while some like to nitpick at the smaller things. Granted, the storyline does have a few fallouts when it comes to a few mistakes but otherwise delivers a brilliant story. With a unique storyline that will literally leave you breathless by the time you finish, a game that will give you a warm feeling in your heart as Elisabeth sings warmly to a child and so much more, I had to create my own reward for the game.
I officially pronounce that Bioshock Infinite is the very first of FATMAN'S CHOICE!Out of 10, I give Bioshock Infinite a 10/10
PERFECT SCORE
Good Points
+ Voice acting is utter brilliance
+ Storyline is jawdropping
+ Gameplay is fun and addictive
+ Voxaphones makes the world larger
+ Infusion bottles truly do help
+ Definitely a game you can play over and over
Bad Points
- Admittedly, a few small plotholes
Bioshock Infinite is out now for $78
Friday 12 April 2013
Review: The Walking Dead
G'day guys and gals!
I must be honest before I do the review: I have never been a huge Walking Dead fan, of the comics or
the greatly famous TV show. I've seen the odd episode here and there, I've read one or two comics down the line but I've never taken any interest of the series in a whole. That was, until, I met Lee and Clementine in this five part series. A young girl in the care of a simple man, fighting off their fears of death, zombies and the chance that life may never return to the way they were before. One searches for their lost parents, the other seeks redemption, this is their tale.
While the game is under the classification of "Downloadable Content", I'm treating the game as an Arcade title. Walking Dead by Telltale sees a convicted criminal, Lee, on his way to jail for a gruesome murder. As the infestation of the zombies begins, he finds himself in a car crash with the undead quickly surrounding him and thus our adventure begins.
I'll get to the groundbreaking stuff later, for now, technicalities!
Graphics are in classic comic book style; facial expressions aren't overwhelming unless the character is performing a higher expression such as agression, fright or joy. While comic book graphics in a video game aren't exactly new (Such as in the series The Darkness) and are at times oddly confusing, the game pulls it off quite well. Sound effects and musical score are brilliant and quite well suiting. From the crush of zombie brains to the gust of wind through trees, the sound effects makes a brilliant alliance with the musical score. Sombre in times of peace and safety, quick and jagged as one of demons pushes for your brains. Sound effects are quite crutial to a Zombie titled game and Telltale
truly did great work in mixing both to work simultaniously together.
Now onto what makes this game truly great: The voice cast. The back and forth between Dave Fennoy (Lee) and Melissa Hutchinson (Clementine) is one of the best partnering in video game history. There have been many games where the protagonist has met or spent time with a child before, but never before has a game completely fleshed out a brilliant storyline between the two before. Secondary characters truly bring this type of connection to a further standpoint: Gavin Hammon (Kenny) and Lee develop a close relationship as they both are trying to look after the people they care about. While Lee keeps a constant watchful eye over Clementine, Kenny sympathises since he too is watching out for his wife and son, Katjaa and Duck (Cissy Jones and Max Kaufman) and the rest of what would become to be their little survival group. While so many characters come and go, whether by their choice, death or the choices you make along the way, each and every character makes a big impact on the storyline.
Speaking of which - your choices in every single episode makes a massive impact on how the story changes. From small choices such as telling people the truth or lying to the face to the large impacts such as who should live and who you leave to die follow you right until the last moments of the game, where all of your choices good and bad will be there staring you in the face.
While the TV show flourishes on the small screen, the video game series is still as popular as ever, even as rumours of the upcoming epilogue continue to circle the web. Even though I wasn't a fan to begin with, I am now. To those who have yet to try the game, I highly recommend giving the game a chance, as by the end you will be out of breath and sobbing.
Out of 10, I give The Walking Dead a 10/10
PERFECT SCORE
Good Points:
+ Gameplay is simple, yet fun to play
+ Storyline is sublime
+ Voice cast is damn near perfect
+ Each episode leaves you wanting more
+ Musical score/Sound effects are brilliant
+ Cheap price, big on quality
Bad Points:
NONE
The Walking Dead episode 1-5 are out now for 400 MSP each (Total of $20 for all five) and 2GB of download usage.
I must be honest before I do the review: I have never been a huge Walking Dead fan, of the comics or
While the game is under the classification of "Downloadable Content", I'm treating the game as an Arcade title. Walking Dead by Telltale sees a convicted criminal, Lee, on his way to jail for a gruesome murder. As the infestation of the zombies begins, he finds himself in a car crash with the undead quickly surrounding him and thus our adventure begins.
I'll get to the groundbreaking stuff later, for now, technicalities!
Graphics are in classic comic book style; facial expressions aren't overwhelming unless the character is performing a higher expression such as agression, fright or joy. While comic book graphics in a video game aren't exactly new (Such as in the series The Darkness) and are at times oddly confusing, the game pulls it off quite well. Sound effects and musical score are brilliant and quite well suiting. From the crush of zombie brains to the gust of wind through trees, the sound effects makes a brilliant alliance with the musical score. Sombre in times of peace and safety, quick and jagged as one of demons pushes for your brains. Sound effects are quite crutial to a Zombie titled game and Telltale
truly did great work in mixing both to work simultaniously together.
Now onto what makes this game truly great: The voice cast. The back and forth between Dave Fennoy (Lee) and Melissa Hutchinson (Clementine) is one of the best partnering in video game history. There have been many games where the protagonist has met or spent time with a child before, but never before has a game completely fleshed out a brilliant storyline between the two before. Secondary characters truly bring this type of connection to a further standpoint: Gavin Hammon (Kenny) and Lee develop a close relationship as they both are trying to look after the people they care about. While Lee keeps a constant watchful eye over Clementine, Kenny sympathises since he too is watching out for his wife and son, Katjaa and Duck (Cissy Jones and Max Kaufman) and the rest of what would become to be their little survival group. While so many characters come and go, whether by their choice, death or the choices you make along the way, each and every character makes a big impact on the storyline.
Speaking of which - your choices in every single episode makes a massive impact on how the story changes. From small choices such as telling people the truth or lying to the face to the large impacts such as who should live and who you leave to die follow you right until the last moments of the game, where all of your choices good and bad will be there staring you in the face.
While the TV show flourishes on the small screen, the video game series is still as popular as ever, even as rumours of the upcoming epilogue continue to circle the web. Even though I wasn't a fan to begin with, I am now. To those who have yet to try the game, I highly recommend giving the game a chance, as by the end you will be out of breath and sobbing.
Out of 10, I give The Walking Dead a 10/10
PERFECT SCORE
Good Points:
+ Gameplay is simple, yet fun to play
+ Storyline is sublime
+ Voice cast is damn near perfect
+ Each episode leaves you wanting more
+ Musical score/Sound effects are brilliant
+ Cheap price, big on quality
Bad Points:
NONE
The Walking Dead episode 1-5 are out now for 400 MSP each (Total of $20 for all five) and 2GB of download usage.
Tuesday 9 April 2013
Back From Holiday!
G'day folks!
Just a quick little update to inform you all that I'm back!
I'm back from holiday, it was awesome sitting around and doing absolutely nothing.
So, I still have a few reviews to give out and that will be coming soon, I promise you that.
I was sitting around doing absolutely nothing but I have written the first halves to both Bioshock Infinite and Walking Dead.
So those will be coming back ASAP.
Also, remember my promised new series? I'll have more news about that coming soon, but for now, I'll leave you with a hint. It's a segment on Fatman's Weekly Reports that has only been used twice and it's now making its way here!
Speaking of which, Monday-itis and Fatman's Weekly Report returns next week!
Thank you all for sticking around!
Have fun and game on!
Al Fatman
Just a quick little update to inform you all that I'm back!
I'm back from holiday, it was awesome sitting around and doing absolutely nothing.
So, I still have a few reviews to give out and that will be coming soon, I promise you that.
I was sitting around doing absolutely nothing but I have written the first halves to both Bioshock Infinite and Walking Dead.
So those will be coming back ASAP.
Also, remember my promised new series? I'll have more news about that coming soon, but for now, I'll leave you with a hint. It's a segment on Fatman's Weekly Reports that has only been used twice and it's now making its way here!
Speaking of which, Monday-itis and Fatman's Weekly Report returns next week!
Thank you all for sticking around!
Have fun and game on!
Al Fatman
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