Review: Buried At Sea Part 2 DLC

G'day there guys and gals!

*Warning! This review may hold some potential spoilers from the original Bioshock and Part 1 of the Buried At Sea DLC. Read ahead at your own caution!*

Bioshock has always been known for it's dark depths, horror-filled moments during gameplay and of course, the city of Rapture. When Bioshock Infinite finally made the plunge back into the depths with Buried At Sea Part 1, fans were overjoyed to return to the place where their love for the series began. Personally, Part 1 left me shocked at the results of our labour, the terrific writing of the staff definitely shining through. However, and I'll be the first to say it, Buried At Sea Part 2 has done to me what no other game or DLC has ever done before. 

To the newcomers, the Buried At Sea DLC follows an alternate reality of Elizabeth and Booker in Rapture before the fall, when the city's firm chain still held strong, the lights were still on and people weren't dying by the day. Elizabeth approaches Booker in his office, asking for his services to find a little girl named Sally, whom he lost some time before. Of course, Rapture is well known for its use of little ladies but determined to find her, the two set out to find the poor girl. Part 2 picks up moments after the ending of Part, with Elizabeth somehow miraculously in a early 20th century Paris. I won't spoil you of the fun, so I shall stop there!
In the company's final send off, Part 2 will definitely confuse many and the twists, turns and plotline starts out from there. Ken Levine and his team of writers have really gone all out on this final send off and will leave you hanging for more, to know more, to search more right up until the end.

Gameplay wise is still more or less the same mechanics as the original game, but the DLC offers a few new weaponry and plasmids, completely changing the feel of the game. Whereas Bioshock Infinite's main gameplay is mostly a full on battle, Part 2 gives players the oppertunity to play and think differently with the Crossbow weapon. It does not hold bolts, but sleeping, knockout gas and bell darts. Along with your melee attack (The standard Skyhook that can one-hit kill enemies depending on their alert rate), footsteps on glass, water or simply running attracting guards and brand new Invisibility plasmid, the only way I can describe the gameplay is as such: Dishonored/Thief's system + Infinite's gameplay style all bundled up as a little baby. Sound effects and musical score are excellently done, with some new tunes done by Elizabeth (Courtnee Draper) herself. The voice acting by the main cast was, and I can't stress this enough, utterly sublime.

This is where I must break to talk about this voice acting. In very few games in the past have I personally teared or cried over an emotional scene, a character or event. But never before has a game done what one scene in particular did. The setting, mood, soft sound effects truly added to this scene but the voice acting made it what it is. Never have I sobbed that much, nor physically began to shake in fear, nor dropped my controller to cover my mouth in shock. Courtnee Draper truly made this scene what it was and I want to stress to the point that her acting, her portrayal, her sublimity needs recognition.

Not only does Buried At Sea Part 2 exceed expectations in length (Around 4 hours for me including exploration/stealth), the DLC also covers one or two of the plotholes fans pointed out in the main story, showing the truer side to the event, with an escalating ending, with the battle of Rapture all around you, one more twist ending that fans can only guess at, with those few little extras to tie off the story from Comstock to Ryan in a neat little bow. While some cutscenes are choice determinate, currently it's unknown whether these are based to your own personal choices or set in-game.
Overall, it's few flaws such as slow recognisation in AI (My guess being it dumbed down for 1998 mode) and it's interrupting loading screens that set off a brief console freeze are what keeps it from a perfect score, as they were just too frequent to ignore. But for what the DLC offers in length, story and so much more lore, exploration and even smaller surprises along the way, these few faults can be forgiven.
This DLC is a MUST BUY for hardcore or casual players of the series. The price-tag and download is highly worth it and I personally hold this DLC in high regard for what Irrational has given back.

Bioshock Infinite: Buried At Sea Part 2 DLC = A-

Part 2 is out now for $20

Review: Titanfall

G'day there guys and gals!

Reviews and opinions have been popping up for quite some time over this massive release, one the first major releases for Xbox One. And with that, many people sung the praise of the game for weeks. Trust me when I say, I do indeed enjoy this game and there is much to enjoy, but much like every other game, there are faults that cannot be ignored. 

First off, let me start writing about the most controversial piece of this game, the campaign. While it's a good way to learn the ropes of the game in fixed, map set games like campaign, I would highly advice new players to simply start out in multiplayer before even trying the campaign. Extremely short, the "nontraditional" (And that's putting it lightly) campaign is simply a multiplayer mode with a weak and dull storyline from the two different sides of the war. This war (Which boils down to territorial war over a new world's resources/technology via militia VS military) is barely explained and holds utterly no lore, no explanation of why humanity expanded past Earth, how the war began or never fully explains why they fight at all. While there are a fair number of campaign missions, each one can be completed in about 10-15 minutes, cutting out the dialogue and cutscenes. At the end of the day, finishing one side of the campaign will take just under 2 hours. Since the opposite side holds barely any difference (Other than unlockables and different dialogue/cutscenes) each campaign plays out the same and despite the winning side, the script wins overall. In short, even if your team wins by a landslide, if the story says you lose, you lose. While the audio, soundtrack and voice acting is fairly good and entertaining, other than the gameplay itself and option to unlock the two extra Titan skins, there isn't much point to the campaign at all. The game will try to make you care about your fellow teammates and the characters in pivot points in the story but it fails utterly. You may experience some empathy but no point bringing your handkerchiefs on this ride.

The multiplayer, while the most entertaining part of this game, keeps to the multiplicities of every standard FPS but simply with different titles,even down to the multiplayer labeled as "Classic". The names are: Team Deathmatch AKA "Attrition", Last Man Standing AKA "Last Titan Standing", King of the Hill AKA "Hardpoint", Free For All AKA "Pilot Hunter (which is basically the same as Attrition but bots give less points), with the only standard name being Capture the Flag and lastly a Variety Pack of all the game modes mentioned. Either way, classic or newcomers will find much fun in Titanfall, in that is where the biggest strength lies within the game. Gameplay is by far one of the smoothest, simple and smooth experiences I have ever had. The Titan to Pilot strength is balanced (In the exception of Quad Rockets on Titans and Smart Pistol which have recently been patched to reduce effectiveness), the game still rewards those who cannot beat Pilots or those with slow connections and gives an equal and fair experience to any gamer, regardless of experience, Burn Cards (bonuses picked up during gameplay) or weapon use. While customisation is limited to a relatively small amount (I'm still really disappointed that Titans/Pilots aren't customisable) such as weapons and gender, they won't deter you too much from the gameplay or matches.

While in campaign, you can see some truly beautiful cutscenes, such as soldiers sorting out dropzone locations, a massive ship battle raging outside their windows and the planet below set in flames. Watching that scene is beautiful and truly shows the ability that Next Gen (Pretty much Now Gen) consoles have to offer, it was almost a shame to set in that drop pod and rush myself into battle. With Titanfall 2 already confirmed and in the works, I really do hope for more lore, a deeper storyline and improved multiplayer and campaign, making many gamers hoping for the Mass Effect Remake rumours to be true.
While many companies and reviewers have been giving this game perfect scores, in this gamer's opinion, Titanfall is a great game, a definite must buy and possibly worthy for GOTY, but while single player campaign games exist, a good multiplayer still cannot compare to a well told story.

Out of 10, I give Titanfall an 8/10

+Utterly fantastic gameplay
+Smooth multiplayer
+Great use of Burn Cards, balanced fighting
+Each finished fight leaves you wanting more
+Fun for newbies or veterans alike
-Campaign was pointless/waste of 4 hours for two unlocks
-Customisation lacked significantly
-Voice acting was sub-par

Titanfall is out now for the standard price of $80

Product Review: Turtle Beach Ear Force XO Four

G'day there guys and gals!

I haven't done one of these in the longest time but I decided to write the praise and respect I have for the Turtle Beach headphones as the company once again delivers an underrated product that excels all expectations.

The Turtle Beach Ear Force XO Four is a little bit of a mouthful to say, especially when preordering through a phone, but all jokes aside these headphones are for anyone, gamer or no, looking for quality. While the slightly cheaper price of $160 (In comparison to the XO Seven), the headphones appear small at first but fit any headsize perfectly. What helps this is the adjustable speakers. Not only able to extend and retract, they also swivel in place approximately 100% from the beginning place. What makes this stand out is the shape of the speakers themselves. By allowing to swivel and extend, the "Zero" shaped speakers fit almost perfectly over the ears; adding in the sound killing feature on the outside making them damn near sound proof, the speakers give an excellent quality that cannot be beaten.

An excellent feature I should also mention is the power point. The connection plug can fit into any standard music port; this meaning that the headphones don't have to be just used for Xbox One or Mobile gaming. While writing this, even I'm currently using them on a PC and I can confirm they work just as well on the Nintendo DS and any old MP3 players.
Music, voice and bass are equally mixed and are in stereo form, all clear, crisp and in excellent form, especially so on the Xbox One, the stereo style definitely making it worthwhile during Snap time periods and mic usage. In full honesty my only complaint with the XO Four is the shortness of the wire. A slightly longer wire would have made maneuverability much easier (Especially so when using headphones at night for Twitch/DVD, having no need to hold controller) or no cord at all would have been ever more better.

There's not much more I can say without you yourself personally buying these headphones. Even as I write these words, I see four different brands of headphones, each bought simply for their plugs or their uses in particular areas. Turtle Beach has once again made a product for all areas of media. If you can bear the price tag, you won't regret it.

Five Easy Achievement: South Park The Stick of Truth (BONUS FOUR EXTRA)

G'day there guys and gals!

I've been having a blast with this title, and while there are some awesome moments in game, there are a ton of easy achievements for you hunters out there, many simple but easy to miss! So for you hunters out there, get on it!

Warning! Slight spoilers ahead but not associated to the main storyline!

1: Acceptance
15 Gamerscore 
This achievement is easy to get but quite easy to miss if you're not careful. After completing most of your introductions into the game, as the New Kid you'll finally be bestowed with a title "Douchebag." You'll have two options to either agree or disagree. If you agree both times and not disagree, the achievement pops.

2: Too Far
15 Gamerscore
This achievement is mission based but quite simple to unlock. Near the end of the game, you'll be faced against undead nazi zombie babies. Defeat them in battle, and when back in roam press up on the right joystick to fart on one of the dead fetuses. 

3: Perverted
15 Gamerscore 
I'm not proud that I have this achievement, but I knew it was there so I felt obliged.
...do you believe that? Yeah? Moving on.
On the second night after moving to South Park, you'll be transformed into a small size and have to chase the famous underpants gnomes. When you make your way into your parents bedroom, let go of your controller and don't touch the controls for 60 seconds. Ignore the sexy talk and moans and wait for the achievement pop.

4: Animal Cruelty
15 Gamerscore
This achievement can be done as soon as free roam is available. Simply find an animal and fart on it (press up on right joystick) 25 times. Or simply beat it to death and then fart thusly. Quick and easy to get.

5: Just Saying Hi
15 Gamerscore
This achievement can only be unlocked about midway through the game. Once all crew members are unlocked, this achievement askes you to, you guessed it, fart on each one. Wait until you're in free roam and change your buddy each time. Make sure to fart on them, you'll know you have when they move away. Rotate through the crew in menu and repeat the process. Quick, fast, simple.

BONUS ROUND!
Here are some extra ones to get that do require a bit of legwork but naturally happen throughout gameplay.

6: Daddy Issues
15 Gamerscore
The achievement is simple, get your dad as your friend on Facebook.
There are some speculation on how to get this achievement, some say it's day based in-game but personally this failed for me. After I earned the "More Popular Than Jesus" Achievement (Half of South Park as your friends), I traveled home and asked him again.
Achievement popped and whabam. You don't have to search out for friends that much, but you'll naturally get 60 friends by the end of the game if you explore each mission and get bonus friends (Such as Lemmiwinks, Big Gay Al ect)

7: Truth To Power
15 Gamerscore
This achievement asks you to far on each power figure in the game: The Mayor of South Park, Father Maxi, Principle Victoria and the Prime Minister of Canada.
The Mayor can be reached at any time, but she can only be hit by a far by using a "Cup a Spell" fart. Father Maxi is simply sitting on a bench nearby the Mayor's office. Principle Victoria, however is only available during the PTA meeting that the Goths ask you to attend. Wait or skip the cutscene, walk over to her and far away.
The Prime Minister of Canada is right near the end of the game and ties in the main storyline, the same as Principle Victoria. You'll have to save him in a dungeon, but fart on him BEFORE you talk to him, or else the achievement is impossible.

8: Made This For You 
15 Gamerscore
Did you know taking a poop is a mini game in Stick of Truth? Cut a turd in a bowl (by rapidly pressing A when prompted), search the bowl and pick up the turd then find a battle, any old battle will do. When it's your turn, head to your consumables and select your turd. You'll throw it at your enemy and caused Grossed Out damage. Bam, achievement.

9: Gingivitis
15 Gamerscore
Finally, this achievement asks you to allow a Ginger Hall Monitor to bite you three times without you blocking. You can do this early on in the game when gathering you fellow clan members but enemy attacks can be random and can take forever. Further on in the game, you'll fight a Nazi Zombie Ginger Hall Monitor. While you'll get Grossed Out, he'll use the bite attack more than often. Just be sure not to kill them so easily.

And that's it! Whew! Five Easy Achievements just became Achievement Guide via Al Fatman! That's 135 extra Gamerscore right there so happy hunting gamers. Have fun and game on!

Review: South Park The Stick of Truth

G'day there guys and gals!

Massive draw-backs, company changes and controversial content. These are just a few of the issues South Park The Stick of Truth has had to face for quite some time since development. Australian gamers massively disappointed when content was removed and replaced with a crying koala. Even despite the missing content, mini games and occasionally swears, The Stick Of Truth continues to keep television to video game titles in the industry.

You are the New Kid, fresh to South Park after a mysterious happenings whispered by your parents occurred which has rendered you mute. Under threat of being grounded, your father forces you out the door to make friends in your new home, enter Butters and the game begins!
One of the personal touches about this game is after the opening cut scene, players will be able to make their own character. While gender is fixed to boy (Don't worry ladies, you'll get your chance later in the game), the customisation is fairly extensive. While not as large as many other games, there's still plenty enough to satisfy any gamer, with plenty more as you continue playing the game. There are a mass amount of costumes to wear, dye with crayons and tag different stickers that apply in-combat  changes such as higher defense, shields, attacks, elemental attack ect.

The controls and gameplay can only be described as "Old school FRP" or just standard Role Playing Game, much like the older Final Fantasy titles. Each character gets a turn to attack, defend themselves or eradicate/add in-game effects such as Bleeding, Grossed Out/regenerate PP ect. Attacks are situated to Melee and Ranged, with three standard attack forms such as Normal, Power and Magic, each having their own ability (Depending on the weaponry) with special abilities in regards with your class and magic ability. Classes in the game are drawn down to four: Fighter, Mage, Thief and in standard South Park style, Jew.

The story, by far, truly makes this game; newcomers or old fans will find something to love and enjoy over as they play. With the fleshed out map of most of the town, the game truly feels like one large episode of the show, even with the extensive side missions such as defeating  Mongolians for Mr Kim, finding Jesus (Which can also earn you an achievement as a specific class), on the hunt for ManBearPig and so many more. The script and voice actors are all from the tv show, Matt Parker and Trey Stone sparing fans no doubt that they've put in their fair share into the game's creation, with many throwbacks, jokes and collectable "Junk" referencing the past of the characters. With side missions, general exploration and personal time solving puzzles or buying new equipment, you can expect to play fifteen to twenty hours of gameplay and even at the end, it's still not over, with South Park and Canada open to you to explore and complete whatever side missions you have left, or simply sit back and enjoy your facebook wall full of jokes from the characters you've befriended.

Throughout the game, players can also have a main character from either side of the Humans or the Elves follow and assist through the game, each with their own special ability and attacks. With either Butters, Cartman, Stan, Kyle, Jimmy or the lovely Princess Kenny at your side, there are plenty of moments in game where a particular move may just have you on your knees weak from laughter.
Sound effects are what you can expect from the genre of Fantasy Role Playing, swords clash loudly and "magic" definitely humorous, the traditional South Park sound effects also fit in nicely into the world such as animals, walking ect. Musical score ranges throughout the South Park world, with large orchestra flourishes to standard South Park musical cues, and even expect a few modern ones to make their way in the game, but this is leaning dangerously close to spoiler territory.

South Park The Stick of Truth is a prime example at how Movie/TV titles that appear on our consoles/PCs should be, setting latest titles such as Thief and Rambo The Video Game to much shame. Dedicated to the fans and still have extra to newcomers. While there is no multiplayer, players should have no problem finding something to do or explore, with the Forbidden Forest hiding many dangers to find after your journey is through. This is a definite must buy, even for causal gamers/fans of the show, even if your country has censored many parts of the game, for the replay value is unimaginable.

Out of 10, I give South Park The Stick Of Truth a 9/10

+ Storyline is original & attractive, unable to put down
+Gameplay is simplistic but addictive
+Lore gives a lot to experience
+Musical score is fricking awesome!
+Extensive side missions
+Customisation is enjoyable
+Kenny-Hime no kawaii desu ne!
-Menu Navigation could've been cleaner
-Few game freezes/glitches here and there

South Park The Stick of Truth is out now for $80

Gamer Rant: Australia's Continuing Censorship (R18+)

In 2013, Australian gamers were overjoyed to see the R18+ rating put in place, not only to protect the youth of our country but in hopes that video games would come to our shores now uncensored by our government. One year later and unfortunately, while the R18+ rating still continues to go on strong, the censorship of our games has also. This angry rant was inspired by the recent censorship of South Park: The Stick of Truth and whereas I will base most of my issues with.

(You can read my previous posts about the rating here (Copy and paste): http://thegamecavereviews.blogspot.com.au/search?q=R18%2B)

For the people outside Australia, up until 2013, Australia's video game industry was heavily censored, with many games being the subject of ridicule by our government due to the "inappropriate" content they held. Even with the birth of home entertainment consoles, the Australian rating system's highest rating was MA15+, censored content with adult supervision for anyone younger than 15. Of course, there is no law where parents must accompany their child while playing this game and many bought titles simply to keep their child quiet. With games such as GTA, Call of Duty, Doom ect being lashed out by many in the Attorney- Generals (The Classification Board for all media in Australia) for being vulgar or immature, the gaming community appealed, rebelled and petitioned their way for an R18+ and eventually, succeeded. However, while gamers are experiencing a wider range of video games, previously banned and now available, the Board continue to censor games, such as Metro Last Light, State of Decay, Saints Row IV (Heavily) and more. It's utter ridiculousness.

The average age of a gamer is 32 years old in AUSTRALIA ALONE whereas the average age of a gamer worldwide has been bumped up to 35 YEARS OLD, the R18+ rating ensures that children under 18 can't buy underneath this classification and has dropped children playing said games dramatically. Yet there are parents who continue to buy these games for their child, so gaming companies are forced to censor these games as well. Enter in South Park: The Stick of Truth.
I've always been a fan of South Park, not as far as many but still enough to own DVDs and merchandise. No one can deny that they have a crude side to themselves as well, finding things funny that others do not, as disgusting as anal probing to as simple as a fart. The show has always, since day one, had a crude sense of humor and if a fan is going to play the game, they're going to expect to get the same crudeness of the show as well. However the game is so utterly censored, it takes a lot of the fun out of the game. Take for example Mr. Slave. Mr Slave is well known for being a sexual deviant, having shoved Paris Hilton up his anus. However this ability in the game is edited to show only his movements from waist up.
The reason this frustrates me is why it was censored. The show is mostly rated MA15+, so any child could skip over a channel and watch the rude humour fly. However the game is rated R18+, for adult eyes only and it's censored. 

Do you begin to see the idiocy of the Board?

If you notice from the classification's content on the R18+ rating, it states quote "Some material classified R18+ may be offensive to sections of the adult community."

So in summary: "Your game got censored because one person may take offence."

The following is parts of an email I have recently sent to the Classification Board.

"While I understand a lot of the Board are simply taking orders, I find it completely unfair to a lot of the gaming community that these types of censorship is continuing, even after the placement of the R18+ rating. 

Yes I understand that a lot of children are still able to play these games due to ignorant parenting or online shopping, but does that mean the rest of us must suffer because of this? That is utterly unfair. 

As I turn 22 in a few weeks, I understand that there are some who may be offended by some content in games, or perhaps a community/religious group that may be offended, but as adults don't we deserve the choice to have these in a video game or not?

I'm simply asking the Board to rethink classifications. Australia is my home as well as yours and yet we're still the laughing stock of the world on this subject. Until things change and we continue censoring games, children will still find a way to get the banned content via their parents or online shopping. All I ask is to rethink the classification or perhaps, the sale of games. If we could simply have even simple warnings in places of retail that sell games, warning parents not to buy games that have the R18+ rating for their child, we may be able to stop these issues and perhaps in the future, stop the censorship completely.

It's these issues and more that the gaming industry in Australia is flat-lining and due to that, I will more than likely be forced to travel overseas looking for work when my university studies have ended, creating less jobs in Australia and thus, hurting the future generations. You have a chance to make our country better and many people happy.

Please think of Australia's dignity."

Lovers of video games, don't stand by and wait for the best. Stand up and prepare yourselves for tomorrow. Prepare for the fight. Stand up for our rights!

Review: Telltale's Walking Dead S2 E2: A House Divided

G'day there guys and gals!

*Please note: Telltale's Walking Dead Season 2 is released in episode form. For now, each episode will receive a DLC ranking (A through F) and the full experience by the end will receive a numbered rating*

This review is 100% spoiler free, for both Season 1 and 2! Read freely!

The return of Telltale's Walking Dead was seen with much rejoicing and happiness as players were able to take the lead with Clementine who, for the entirety of Season 1, was mainly a side character but was heavily liked by the community. Older and wiser, Episode 1 of the new season saw Clementine make mistakes, decisions and take the charge of her own choices through the teachings of Lee. Episode 2 picks up moments after the previous episode and thus, we start again.

Without giving away the story of either this episode or the entirety of Season 1, fans and newbies will still be able to find something to like and enjoy about this particular episode. Players will have about two hours of gameplay and of course, decisions to make both hazardous and moral. A little sad factor to mention is the amount of time playable throughout the episode; around an hour of the gameplay is nothing but lengthy cutscenes, with no chance for any exploration and fixed in one way motion with mostly Quick Time Events. The only decent chance to explore comes near the end of the game, with very few puzzles to solve. Fans looking for the action side of the series will be disappointed for a majority of the game while die-hard fans will find each payoff acceptable/overwhelming depending on previous choices. Voice acting and musical score were, once again utterly amazing, the monotone moments of the previous episode completely gone. Take note also that sound effects and graphics are also of the same high standard quality.

Overall, fans both diehard and casual will find this episode enjoyable, with no doubt in mind about that. New fans may be slightly disappointed with the lack of the content this time around, but hold hope that Telltale's promise of more next time in Episode 3 may be a possibility. Regardless, Episode 2 is a fine purchase and worthy of your time.

Telltale's Walking Dead S2E2: A House Divided = B rank

Episode 2 is out now for $6.50 or $24 for Season Pass.

Review: Thief

G'day there guys and gals!

In 1998, a revolution was taking place in the gaming industry, a change for the standard shooters of the times to a more quiet approach with a morality choice, one of the very first to do so. From Thief: The Dark Project to now the stand-alone title, Thief is one of 2014's most anticipated titles of the year and hoping to recapture a fanbase ten years in the making, while the title sat for five/six years to come from rumour to development and release. As a AAA title, does the game live up to the hype and anticipation?
The saddening truth is no, barely so for the fans.

Thief sets players in the role of Garrett, a Master Thief with years of experience who is jokingly named "Rat King" and the likes throughout the game. Taking a contract from his friend Basso, he travels with his underling Erin to a mansion, hoping to steal a particular item of interest, only to have the plan fail at his own hubris and Erin's childish nature. Returning to "The City", Garrett awakens to find a brutal man known as The Baron has taken control of the city, now riddled with a disease called The Gloom. It's up to you to solve the mystery of your disappearance and your new abilities.
While Thief offers a lot of places to explore, things to see/hear and a massive amount of collectibles, the lore of The City falls incredibly short and majorly effects the storyline. Quest items, plot points and even the point of traveling to your mission falls simply to "We need this to understand this.", repeating the entire way through the game. The storyline heavily suffers from the repetition as emotional points where the game tries to suck you in or at pivot points that redirect the story are lackluster. Unfortunately the fault for that falls to poor writing and voice acting. For example: while the game features free roaming and allowing players to openly loot houses and areas, each cutscene entering this area after a main mission is devastatingly repetitive; three times a character is hanged with the same animation, several times the Town Crier proclaims laws and the rest is usually either a slow pan of nothing or skipping the entire area completely. For a person trying to appeal to a crowd of TWO PEOPLE not to die is just ridiculous. "Should we hang this man?"
"Yeah, do it!" "Kill the thief!"

The cast of Thief, while mostly a mix of veteran and relatively new actors, is just a disappointment. Garrett's original voice actor Stephen Russell (best known for his roles in Fallout 3 and Elder Scrolls: Skyrim) was replaced with Romano Orzari, known for his role as Giovanni Auditore from Assassin's Creed 2. Flat, monotone and unemotional even in points where the game tries to connect you with the characters, many moments die before it gets the chance to connect or make an impact. Like some gamers, I play with subtitles on so that in case I mishear a word, I know what was said. It's incredibly hard to read when sentences fly in scene before the first word is uttered, especially annoying when Garrett is doing a slow, barely vocal monologue. The sad truth is I felt more emotion from side characters than I did to the main cast.
Gameplay is fun, and definitely attractive but is unfortunately gets repetitive much too fast. My advice is to buy tools as soon as possible: opening air grates or disabling traps opens new areas to sneak past enemies and is much more fun than actual combat, which of course the game doesn't promote. However if you give gamers the option to fight, even with the protagonist promoting fighting "I kill only when there's no other option", crippling gamers for choosing to do so isn't fair or tactical, especially when half of the titles in the series promote moral choices of whether or not to kill enemies. Fighting, climbing, navigating ect becomes nothing but button mashing, with combat being utterly dull without use of your Eye powers (You'll be unlocking the combat perks quickly, trust me) to insta-kill enemies to be over and done with it. What sounds simpler: twenty whacks with your climbing claw, using all your arrows in combat to kill one enemy or Eye power insta-kill? Sneaking does help this without using your Eye but this falls into the next flaw, which I'll mention in a moment. One issue I want to address is the navigation. While fun and useful, a lot of the climbing areas use small grates, which are useful, but it personally bugs me how they serve no function other than to boost you. Climbable pipes hold water, ropes haul boxes, but there's grates in the rock, serving no purpose. Did the thieves in the area go around and attach them to the walls for an item that is unique with only one in existence? Even Quick Time Events would have served more purpose and kept interest when even a scene in a main mission is simply hold L Trigger and running. Lastly, I want to mention the boss battles, to which you'll have around two/three. All but one, you do have the option to sneak past your enemy. Fighting your main antagonists, however, is just poor. Ten seconds and it's over with a cutscene that fails to deliver an emotional blow when the game clearly means to. The ending boss battle, if you can call it such, isn't a fight at all but more of a collecting mission, finishing off with a terrible two minute ending that is just weak and distasteful.

In your Options menu, there's the option to turn on your Kinect sensor. Don't do it. While there are no commands, the game picks up anything as a command to attract guards. Using Kinect commands such as "Xbox Record That" or "Xbox Snap" will alert any guards near you. Even coughing/sneezing will attract guards to you. If you have it on, make sure you stay quiet as a bug.
Sound effects and musical score are one of the only great qualities of the game, offering booming and exciting music to the scenery and appropriate sounds to your actions in game, really aiding gamers to feel more in the world. Graphics, also, are quite good and live up to the Next Gen world. The only issue this causes is effecting gameplay. "Hold" areas will appear often, needing you to open a window or push past fallen logs to progress. Unfortunately the game sneakily (No pun intended) loads during these moments. A lot of these areas will auto-fade to black but too often will you be mashing X for up to 30 seconds to progress, six times longer than usual. In particular areas also you will be seeing NPCs or enemies load in the map while exploring. One other dishonourable mention would be the viewing system. As a thief, the shadows are your friend but the viewing system ruins this concept. Even in darkness, if an enemy is facing your way, they'll eventually become suspicious. If you're standing near a light source staring into the dark, your pupils aren't dilated enough to see that far. In retrospect, some enemies will see you in the dark regardless but at least the humans shouldn't!

Fans of the series will definitely love this game regardless, but for it's many flaws and for a $100 price tag, it's debatable whether of not this game is worth the price. Recycled Competitive mode from in-story missions/microtransations (You're limited to TWO if you don't buy the extra), if you're going to base a game entirely on a storyline, you need to leave the player wanting more. While I have a great love for the gameplay and feel, one playthrough is enough. The only worthy quality of this game is that this gamer will be taking a leaf from Garrett's book and losing his memory, to which I will do so soon thanks to alcohol.

Out of 10, I give Thief a 4 out of 10

+Great graphics
+Musical score/sound effects set tone
+Few enjoyable moments/hilarious jump scares
+No major glitches = brownie points
-Story driven game with lackluster story
-Lots of collectables/readables, not enough lore
-Kinect WILL ruin your experience
-Cutscenes (Especially ending) ridiculous and choppy
-Side missions more enjoyable than main arc
-Combat is terrible; Too few retailers/usable items in missions
-Money WAY too easy to get
-Boss fights are simplistic/weak, 80% enemies overpowered
-Main voice cast acting = fingers on chalkboard

Thief is out now for the standard price of $100