Review: Assassin's Creed Syndicate - Jack The Ripper DLC

G'day there guys and gals! Enjoy this impromptu review!

(Warning: some slight DLC/Story spoilers ahead!)


Since the rumours of Assassin's Creed "Victory" being set in the 1800s, many of the people in the community have wanted a whisper of Jack The Ripper and in this DLC, that's exactly what those fans will get. Assassin's Creed Syndicate's storyline jumps twenty years, to the year that Jack The Ripper plagued the streets of Whitechapel and the city of London. You play as Evie, returning from India on the word from her brother Jacob, who has mysteriously disappeared during his manhunt for Jack The Ripper. Now it's up to her, with the city of London slowly turning against her, to hunt down Jack and bring him to justice.

The storyline itself takes a twist of the original and creates a great atmosphere where the murderer's identity was never found and gives him one, if ever so slight. You will be restricted to Whitechapel and City Of London but the overall atmosphere and tons of side missions make up for this, as well the fact of those two areas being reworked for the twenty years of progress. Playing as Evie is also a delight, as she brings in a new game mechanic - fear. With the use of Brutal Takedowns, Fear Bombs and Spikes, players can take down an enemy with ease by making them flee, shoot their allies and more. Gameplay also introduces two new characters as well as a few twists on the old side mission, such as tailing an enemy and interrogating them with fear, transporting allies with info on Jack The Ripper silently, shaming prostitute abusers (No Bell-Lady from Game of Thrones, however) by walking them through crowds of people, breaking up fighting pits and more. The classic Bounty Hunt, Stronghold and Cargo Hijack also return with various differences. Much of the gameplay's main storyline will side with the Syndicate-style assassinations, but there is a return of the Murder Mysteries mechanic from Assassin's Creed Unity, completely reworked and reimagined. Players will have to find all the clues and recreate the victims steps in order to find clues and information from Jack. Personally, these were the highlight of the DLC.
Voice acting is incredibly well done, especially by Victoria Atkin, showing both Evie's newfound passion and sternness. Sam Crane (Frederick Abberline) truly shines in this DLC, as well as Alec Newman (Jack The Ripper), both bringing the heaviness and bulk that was necessary to set the atmosphere.
I also want to give mention to the updated graphics, musical score and sound effects: Playing as the secondary character was truly perfect, it sounded absolutely amazing, like every part of clothing had weight, very much suiting the animation. The new musical score (with the obvious Indian overtones) was perfectly suited for Evie's new look, which you can further customise in the game (especially with colours, not so much with weaponry).

Overall, this DLC is a definitely must own for fans of the series. The DLC itself is around 6-10 hours, more so if you look to perfect it, but in retrospect the asking price may seem a bit too much to casual players of the series. With new mission areas to explore, new weapons and a much, much darker take on the Assassin world, there's something for everyone in this new addition to the series.

Assassin's Creed Syndicate - Jack The Ripper DLC: B+

Jack The Ripper DLC is out now for the standard price of $20.

My Top 10 Games of 2015

G'day there guys and gals!

Yes it's that time of year again when we revisit all our gaming memories over the past year and see which ones stick with us the most. As in every year, this is my personal list of games that exceeded in one area or more, and in saying that, some ground rules!
If the game releases in episodes and the majority came out this year, I'm counting it as a release of this year. HOWEVER, I'm not including any recent HD remakes if their original game was only released a few years ago. So Saints Row IV Re-Elected, Sleeping Dogs, all that noise, not gonna count.

So! Let's begin!

10: Wolfenstein The Old Blood.
The New Order was supposed to be a brand new look to the world that was Wolfenstein, a game where those of us that can remember, helped push forward the First Person Shooter genre into the giant that it is today. The Old Blood is the Prequel to the story of the The New Order and much like it's previous game, is incredibly fun. The storyline was...admittedly a little choppy in areas but still held up well, and although nothing was improved immensely, the game itself is still a great addition to your collection.

9: Rare Replay
So some of you may count this as just a pushout of the older titles, but there are so many games in this collection, I just had to add it into my Top 10. Featuring the huge library of game titles over Rare's lifetime (minus those that couldn't get release against their copyright), the game features hours upon hours of old and relatively newer titles we have enjoyed over the years, with the bonus of interviews, achievements and revisiting our childhood.

8: Assassin's Creed Chronicles: China
Now, for those who know me, you know another AC title will appear on this list later on but I wanted to give this game the spotlight it deserves. One part of the a three part trilogy, AC Chronicles China is unlike any other Assassin's Creed title to date; players traversity a 2.5D universe and solving puzzles of both stealth and deadly assassinations in order to complete their mission. Surprisingly long, and with Chronicles India and Russia on the way, I can't wait to see the other two games.

7: Dying Light
I have been (somewhat) a fan of Dead Island, loving the gameplay but hating mostly everything else. Then comes Dying Light; taking the horror and fear of a zombie apocalypse and putting it into a well balanced and fun parkour gamestyle. Sure, I can complain about the ending until the cows come home (Who uses this saying anymore? What am I, 80?), but the game overall is solid and more that worth your time.

6: Halo 5: Guardians.
Without a shadow of a doubt, I probably just pissed off a lot of Halo fans, and subconsciously, myself as well. Don't get me wrong; technical wise, this game is solid, plays incredibly well and is fun with a bunch of your friends on multiplayer, but the storyline's cut and dry ending/set up plus being overall dissatisfying leaves this game much higher on the list than intended. Play for the Co-Op/Multiplayer, but be wary of the Campaign.

5: Gears of War: Ultimate Edition.
While I am breaking my rule about remakes, the original came out nearly a decade ago and I consider this much more than a remake. Gears of War has always had a large cult fandom, and this game definitely appeals to all. Revamped controls, cutscenes, new levels (and now with Horde!), this collection of the first Gears game is a definite must own for fans of the series and those who love a good gory game.

4: Assassin's Creed: Syndicate
As a giant Assassin's Creed fan, I will personally kick my own arse for not putting this game higher on the list, BUT the game plays beautifully (Rare are the Unity glitches this time around), looks beautiful and is just a delight to play. Fans of the series who are looking for a way back into the series, this is your sign. Everything about this game takes all the old elements and improves upon them ten fold.

3: Telltale's Game of Thrones
While Episode One came out roughly this time last year, the majority of the parts came out in 2015, and one after the other have been an intoxicating experience. While still maintaining the classic Point and Click style gameplay, the storyline, voice acting and mechanics of the game itself hold this game up much higher on the list.

2: Fallout 4
I can already see some people immediately leaving this post because this game isn't number one, but don't let that discourage you! Fallout 4 is by far one of the greatest RPGs in recent years. The gameplay, storyline, voice acting, every part of this game has been created lovingly and obviously been put through a lot in order to be released in such a pristine and excellent state. The missions do tend to repeat but you won't care are you're battling your way through a legendary Deathclaw! This is a must by before the end of the year.

1: Life is Strange
Without a doubt, the people at DontNod Entertainment have put a massive amount of thought into creating this series and personally, and admittedly, at first it was one that I reluctantly avoided for the time being. I saw the hype, I had been burned by so many terrible, terrible games this year. But then I started playing...and immediately got hooked. I started writing theories, I started debating on what was going to happen next, and it was one of the few series I started streaming live for people to watch! This game completely destroyed my innocence; the gameplay was simplistic but brilliantly inventive, the puzzles were fun and creative, the storyline and the voice acting was sublime, everything about this game was brilliant. If you have yet to play this game, I implore you to buy the series now. 

With 2016 now on the horizon, I can't wait for next year's titles, especially the new Dishonored and Deus Ex. What games are you excited for? Let me know!
And as always, have fun and game on! See you next year!

RWBY: Grimm Eclipse Early Access - Thoughts and Opinions

G'day there guys and gals!

Very recently, Rooster Teeth has released their in progress game RWBY: Grimm Eclipse onto Steam Early Access due to overwhelming support from the fans of the show and the community at large. And thanks to my old friend Simon, I obtained a copy of the game in early access. Since the game is in early access and a full review is unnecessary here, the following is a short list of pros, cons and suggestions for the game in its current state.
(Please note: This list will be updating as the game updates over time)

Pro

• All four characters of the RWBY team are playable straight from the get-go, and have unique abilities to their fighting style
• Even on Potato quality, the game still looks incredibly good.
• Each character has unique dialogue when approaching/engaging/defeating a task. (Personally, my favourite is Ruby's "explosion" sounds)
• Grimm attacks are also fleshed out and unique, some offering an offense = defense attack or some plain disappearing to attack from behind.
• Commentary voice acting and the RWBY team are excellently well done.
• Gameplay is simplistic, but fun, especially with friends.

Con

• Gameplay objectives can be a taaaaad repetitive. Understandably due to the shortness of the game, but variety is the spice of life.
• Players cannot select a different character from the menu if they please. They must leave mid match or crash.
• Revival time limit is too long, especially when playing with one other friend.

Suggestions

• Weiss' Nova attack, when upgraded, is utterly overpowered, wiping out weak or strong Grimm alike in a single move. Most players play as her for this move alone. Perhaps take its damage down a tad.
• Allow players to change characters mid-game. Sometimes a character doesn't suit their style of gameplay.
• Allow custom controls. Personally, pressing numbers for my special moves is a tad irritating.
• Increase HUD size. I didn't realise Aura was my health/shield bar until much too late in the game!
• Apply XP bonuses to teammates. Every mission is a mad dash for players to get to each box first and collect their XP. That and with all three teammates playing as Weiss, players cannot get much XP outside completing tasks and the few Grimm the others miss.
• More characters please! I understand Grimm Eclipse is a RWBY story but personally I'd love to play as Penny or Pyrrha.
• Customisation? Early screenshots of the game showed colour swaps for players using the same character. These would be okay, but RWBY's alternative costumes would definitely be a big plus.

Review: Fallout 4

G'day there guys and gals!

This review has been a loooooong time in the works due to the massive undertaking that is Fallout 4: a giant world with many things to keep you going, addictive creative system and more side missions to shake your hat at. This was my first Fallout game that I've played straight on release, but I've experienced Bethesda's glitchy releases first hand before. But as a reviewer, I must be fair and judge each game for its merits as well as its faults.
Fallout 4 is by far one of the best games you will play this year, but it is riddled with issues beyond bugs that may cost it its GOTY.

For those unfamiliar with the world of Fallout, Fallout 4 would be the best game for you to pick and and enjoy as for the first time in the series, the game takes place shortly before the bombs falling on futuristic America. You play as either a male or female in the town of Sanctuary in Boston, basking in the glow of your loving family and newborn son when it is shortly interrupted by a Vault Tec worker asking you to officially sign up with the program. Either way, the warning goes out over the television that the bombing has begun and you race with your family to the vault and enter it in the nick of time.
To avoid any further spoilers, skipping ahead, you have awoken to a destroyed world and the Commonwealth is holding together by its bare bones. Something very precious to you has been taken and lost and now you scavenge the outside to survive in an unfamiliar Boston and to find what has been taken from you.

So let's begin with the standard. Storyline; overall I would personally say I am satisfied with the ending I made for myself (There are currently 4, which vary very slightly which is a small disappointment) but for the first time ever, I also both regret my choices and felt dirty. All the endings possible, in some way or another, never fully satisfy. It's clear that this is what is intended by the development of the game overall and to that, I tip my hat to the writers. Although the faction you choose to aid do make significant changes to the game, the ending you'll get will repeat only with slight dialogue differences.
Voice acting is phenomenal; Bethesda has clearly taken the advice of the community and added a lot of detail into every character, from the main cast to the NPCs, every character is singled out for their own issues. Yes, their dialogue can repeat and the typical one-voice-guy does make a comeback (this time its Brandon Keener, better known as Garrus Vakarian) but you'll barely notice this in the midst of so many characters. A huge props to the voice of the Sole Survivor Brian T Delaney and Courtenay Taylor for their brilliant performances as the protagonist. While I generally play as paragon in many games, I couldn't help but choose the sarcastic voice option in some moments.
Sound effects were beautifully done and I rarely came across a squish or a bullet sounding the same even being shot/punched multiple times. Musical score is also just as beautiful, I honestly turned off the radio just to enjoy the strings or piano during dramatic scenes; the hopelessness and struggle of the protagonist was captured to the point of sublimity.
Graphics, while sometimes appearing off, on the whole were also incredible. While some in the fandom don't support the bright, colourful Wasteland, I fully support the new weathering system. Seeing a perfect blue sky change into a Radiation Storm for the first time is a beautiful yet terrifying experience. Character models are also greatly improved, especially the ghouls. A ghoul's melting skin is terrifying, even more so now that Ghouls have become a much bigger threat this time around.

Finally, onto the main attraction, gameplay: admittedly, old fans of the series may be turned off by how the game now leans more towards a FPS standard, but the gameplay as a whole is a delight to enjoy. I was lost in the character crafting system for over an hour, creating my house and my base in Sanctuary became a ritual after every mission and for the first time ever, I became more dedicated to the side missions than to the main storyline. The sad point about this is that most of the side missions involve the Minutemen and after a while, they will repeat. A lot. I attempted to try to get the Minutemen missions out of the way, but the formula for their missions are just too similar: travel to a new area, take out a nest of Ghouls/Super Mutants/Raiders, tell the settlers, travel back to the Minutemen. This formula, and especially the dialogue, repeats WAAAAY too often to be enjoyable. Then if that isn't enough, eventually you'll be asked to travel back to an area and build new supplies or fend off an attack wave of enemies. There is also a glitch with some settlements where these missions will repeat even after immediately finishing them!
But I digress. What about the other things in the gameplay? All enemies are now much harder than before; Feral Ghouls now charge and inflict Radiation damage, Deathclaws attack you and interrupt your attack with an animation, and the input of legendary/named enemies to indicate their level is a great move by Bethesda. Crafting is addictive and fun, farming for food and creating buildings is also a bunch of fun and both the paragon and renegade options will leave you with a body count incredibly high. The mini-games on the Pip-Boy are reminiscent of old Arcade difficulty which I adore, and the radio is brilliantly done as well. While some songs do make a comeback this time around (Which admittedly felt a little cheap), the addition of more radio stations with varying music (from classical, strings, 50s rock and roll and beyond) is also a definitely plus.

At this point of time, what else more can be said about Fallout 4? The game itself is a definite must buy; I had wracked up nearly 40 hours by the time I was done with the campaign and I still had a bunch of side missions to enjoy. Fallout 4 gives you way more than what you pay for the disc and then some. Sure, there are glitches and bugs and many issues with the game, but I haven't experienced any game crashes or freezes in the game as of yet. Believe me when I say this; it is near impossible to completely 100% bug proof sandbox games. All variables and scenarios are hard to track. But in saying that, it misses a perfect score because of this, purely out of fairness.

HOWEVER, does that make it a bad game? Absolutely not! In my eyes, the game is worth your purchase, your time and your social life. Bethesda has made Fallout 4 an absolute necessity to own.

Out of 10, I give Fallout 4 a 9/10

Fallout 4 is out now for the standard price of $90

Review: Telltale's Game of Thrones

G'day there guys and gals!

I have been a long time fan of Telltale Games and have long since sang the praises of many of its other work such as The Wolf Among Us and especially The Walking Dead. And with the announcement of a Game of Thrones style Telltale game, I immediately jumped on the bandwagon and prepared to have my soul destroyed.
Telltale, sticking true with the series, have retained what has made the books and show both incredibly addictive and fascinating; no character, not even the protagonist, is safe from death.

Warning! Some slight book/show/game spoilers ahead!

Without diving headfirst into spoiler territory, Telltale's Game of Thrones starts (in the show's timeline) at the end of Season 3 with the Red Wedding and ends roughly at the start of Season 5. The main focus of the story revolves House Forrester; a Northern house which resides roughly south east of Deepwood Motte. The protagonists you will be playing as are as follows: Gared Tuttle, Ethan Forrester, Mira Forrester, Rodrik Forrester and Asher Forrester. While the game does center around the North and Ironrath. the home of the Forresters, players will also see many other exotic locations such as Meereen and Essos in general, The Twins, King's Landing, The Wall and more. 
As I mentioned earlier, Telltale has perfectly captured the meaning of "no character is safe" by the ending of the first episode, however it does not stop there. Player choices can well result in the end of a character in question and choices made earlier on, even those slight ones, will have horrible results by the end of the game. Even telling you this much is well into spoiler territory so for now, that is where I'll leave the info behind.
The storyline itself is utterly fantastic, once more Telltale as written a perfect set of characters who are unique to their own attributes and morals, even siblings are vastly different yet share some similarities, even with Gared Tuttle. The inclusion of more well known characters such as Tyrion and Cercei Lannister, Jon Snow and more, while including their actors as the voice roles, was a brilliant nice touch to the series overall and added a definite air of magnitude to your actions. Bits and pieces were a tad cliche at times but is easily overlooked by how much depth of character they have by the end of their screentime.

Gameplay is, what we can now call, classic Telltale: basic point and click. However by episode 2, the gameplay is improved with well designed Quick Time Events. While ordinarily we as gamers groan at quick time events, these quick times almost always managed to bamboozle me with their speed, as they would slowly fade in or quickly appear. The constant change between these did indeed keep me on my toes, so for this, I do praise the change. Players can also experience some FPS, Hold and Move and QTE joystick movements from time to time. 
Musical score takes a nod to the show, especially by the end of Episode 6, but creates its own for the Forresters here and there, which gave their home and struggle a much more earthy, desperate feel to the game overall. Sound effects were also good, human grunts and groans do tend to be repeated oddly at times (especially in episode 1) but in the midst of an action scene, you won't notice it unless you pay close attention.

Graphics are extremely well done, especially on the character models; the detail to each character (especially in the eyes, facial expressions and hair) looks exquisite. Areas and objects during gameplay can often give off the feel of an oil painting at times, almost as if the characters you're playing as are moving inside a painting. To me, at least, I enjoyed this look overall and liked the art direction, as it truly did well to match each area of Westeros and beyond: King's Landing was colourful, bright and warm, using many bronze and gold colours, while The Wall maintained is dark blue, and faded white look, the sense of a cold place was well captured.

Finally, voice acting. In the past, we have seen many voice actors find their full careers ahead of them in previous Telltale titles and this time is no exception. The vocal cast did an absolutely beautiful job in bringing the world to life inside the world of Game of Thrones. I absolutely hated Gryff as a character, thanks to his voice actor Sasha Dhawan. The choices in every game were made easy or near impossible thanks to my love or hate for every character in this game. I will admit, Kit Harrington as Jon Snow was a teeeeeensy bit off at times (Almost as if he was reading the lines after just been woken up over the phone), but even the actors inside the show did a brilliant job in enhancing their characters through a video game, especially Emilia Clarke, Lena Headey, Peter Dinklage and ESPECIALLY Iwan Rheon. I highly expect that man to go on doing more voice overs for many games in the future, as he has a definite talent for it!

Overall, it's easy to say that I am deeply impressed and enthralled by this game, but those words use too little description to how much I've come to love these characters. The ending itself teases at so much and gives so little into what we see and hear that a Season 2 is a definite must and I pray to the Old Gods and the New for a return for this series.
Once more, Telltale has made a storytelling masterpiece in a gameplay style that anyone can play, book, show or new fan alike. Bravo!

Out of 10, I give Telltale's Game of Thrones a 10/10
PERFECT SCORE!

Telltale's Game of Thrones is out now for the standard price of $30

Fallout 4/TTGoT Review updates

G'day there guys and gals!

By now, you're probably wondering where my review for Fallout 4 is, and I'm here to tell you that it is most definitely on its way! This is my first absolutely fresh Fallout game and I'm trying to be as wide range with my experience as I possibly can to give you folks a better understanding.
And yes, don't worry, I'm keeping track of my bugs so far. 
As for Telltale's Game of Thrones, I did originally write pieces for the first two parts but I decided against writing more due to my hiatus for University. I'll be doing a full review and score after the final episode is released in a few days.

Past those two...I don't really have any other plans for the moment, but I'll be reviewing what I can, when I can. Don't forget to check out my twitter page for updates, news and just general tweeting.

Otherwise, it's business as usual. I'll still be chugging along with University. I hope to be finished shortly after my next birthday, which is coming up in a few months.
Speaking of birthdays, The GameCave will make its 5th birthday this coming Thursday! Despite beginning as a hobby, I'm so glad to see people still take an interest in this site over so many years. Perhaps one day I can make a career out of it, or better yet, someone could review one of my games for a change!

All that aside, thank you for your continuing support and well wishes to you all.

And as always, have fun and game on!

Fallout 4 Nuke Pack Edition Unboxing!

After posting a poll on Twitter asking if anyone wanted to see an unboxing video, I received a 100% yes! Enjoy! 

Review: Assassin's Creed Syndicate

This has been a long time in the making, thank you all so much for your patience!
For all links, check them out in the YT page.

All disclaimers also in the video and the description.
Enjoy! 

Review: Halo 5 Guardians

G'day there guys and gals!

Shortly before the year of 2002, I happened to win a competition from an Australian tv show called Cheez TV. The prize? A brand new Xbox. I received the console a few weeks before the Australian release date, and one of the games inside was Halo: CE, which I still have today. In my entire country, I was the first to play Halo publicly.
By now you are most definitely asking yourself "Why are you talking about this? Review the damn game!" and to that, I will reply to you with all you need to know: the gameplay, the musical score, the multiplayer, all of these things are improved dramatically and if these are all you need to buy this game, go for it. But the fancy graphics and the choppy and the lack-there-of in depth story is definitely a major turn off for long time fans. 

For those unfamiliar with the upcoming plot, Halo 5 Guardians takes place a year after the events of Halo 4 and begins with Fireteam Osiris taking place on a rescue and assassination mission, which somewhat wraps up the events of the Spartan Ops (I say loosely because if you don't read the books, didn't play Spartan Ops or anything else secondary to the main games, you will be immediately lost). Soon after we also finally meet Blue Team and take control of Master Chief attempting to retake a facility, and it's here that the entire story takes over.
(SPOILER ALERT)
But it's in this that the massive faults begin to show; in playing as Chief, you discover that Cortana is alive and kicking and you being Chief, naturally, you go off in attempt to find her. In the game itself, the reason to why she's alive is barely glossed over further on in the gameplay. What makes this worse is that you'll have a total of THREE missions as Chief. I'm all for new characters and storyline but if you're going to advertise for a two sided story, make it half and half! Also worth mentioning is that a further three missions with Fireteam Osiris are nothing but two minute talking missions! You begin, you run to your objective, talk to a person, talk to another person and get on a Pelican. This happens three times (two in the same area!) followed by either a cut to black or a short cutscene.
Another major annoyance is the advertisements of the game itself have very little affect to the actual gameplay and story. Do you want a showdown between Loche and Chief? Well, I hope you like a cutscene cause that's all you'll get. ALL other moments between them are cutscenes; their conflict begins in a cutscene and is over in a cutscene? The advertisements of Chief or Locke bleeding out in front of their opponent? Never happens. Chief supposedly killing civillians? Never happens. The CLOSEST you'll get to that actually happening is due to another force entirely, one outside the Chief's control, which is irrelevantly obvious from the start. To see the advertisements for this major conflict, for Chief to be the bad guy, now it's clear that it was to hide who the real antagonist is.
And for your sake, I will save you from that spoiler.
(SPOILER END)

What does this all mean for the storyline itself? Well you're going to get lost. A lot. Many things are glossed over or barely explained, to the point where you'll be doing some major research to to understand what exactly is going on. All previous story development from Halo 4 and the Spartan Ops are dropped and basically ignored except for the pivotal plotpoint from the previous game and in classic Halo sequels, the game ends in a cliffhanger.
Gameplay itself is excellent, despite it's brand new elements. Halo 5 introduces many new elements into the gameplay such as advanced melee and ground pounds, zoom in for all weapons, etc. The four player based co-op is also an incredibly nice touch, playing with friends is a definite bonus to breezing through the main campaign missions (15 in total) in ease. If you prefer the lone wolf style, you can still play on your own with AIs helping you out. Their movement and recovery can be a bit off at times (often getting stuck or killed, they have no sense of self preservation), but otherwise provide a decent amount of damage or distraction. Musical score and sound effects are typically what you'd expect out of a Halo game, the score definitely outshines the sound effects themselves, sometimes to the point of what's happening on screen. It does lack in a few areas but it is otherwise appealing. Voice acting for the most part...is acceptable. The main cast had strengths and weaknesses; Jen Taylor and Steven Downes are once more brilliantly done and add an incredible atmosphere into the game, while many of the additional characters tend to sound a little forced or out of place at times.
Graphics are stunning, simply said. The world and scenery are especially breathtaking, while all character models look incredibly detailed. Spartans in armor do tend to look like a spotlight is constantly shining on them, but this helps show the added detail into the game. Finally, onto multiplayer; for anyone who read my Beta notes, you know I had a LOT of issues with the Beta and I'm happy to report many of them has been fixed! Players dying doesn't equal a killcam and a swell of music every time and no longer trap players in them, I've had very few issues with connectivity and playing overall and what is presented is well polished and maintained. I would be remiss to ignore my slight disappointment in the lack of many, many options for multiplayer (With most being variations of Team Deathmatch and Free For All), but I will admit the new mode Warzone (Where two teams of 18 people battling over a large area for control) is incredibly fun and addictive! Multiplayer also introduces the usage of bonuses, boosts and equipment for Warzone, some which you can unlock by furthering your experience or completing tasks, but the option to outright buy these boosts are there for those who wish to indulge.

Overall, what the game presents is good from a technical standpoint; the game play beautifully, it runs excellently and overall it's had a smooth launch. However, while the campaign itself is fun to play, the storyline and the lack of plot movement is truly a massive disappointment.
I've been struggling to give it an accurate scoring based on my experience, but I've manage to come to this conclusion: if you love multiplayer type games and can waste days playing them, you'll find little fault in this game. If you're wanting a deeper story for Chief, Locke and the continuation from Halo 4, what you'll get is a cut and dry, need-to-know only basis story to advance the plot with nothing explained and everything open ended, especially if you don't read the books, listen to the audio "Hunt The Truth" clips or anything else outside the main games.

A good, although unsatisfying, addition to the Halo series.

Out of 10, I give Halo 5: Guardians a 7/10

Review: Life is Strange

G'day there guys and gals!

With the high standard and want in the current gaming community for Point and Click games (especially from Telltale), many were skeptical of Life is Strange, myself included. I shall admit, I was incredibly judgmental of the game before I played it!
However, for the five years that I have been reviewing games, I have written them with one rule; you, the reader, receive a 100%, unbiased review. And if no one has told you yet, let me be the first to say thus so: Life is Strange is one of the best games of 2015 and more than worthy of the Game Of The Year position.

For those unfamiliar with the storyline and to save you from too many spoilers, you play as Max Caulfield, an 18 year old girl attending Blackwell Academy for her remarkable skills with photography, with an odd obsession with selfies and old technology. Yet after taking a photo of a blue butterfly in the bathroom and witnessing a girl's murder, she soon discovers she has obtained the ability to control time through herself and her photos, and this ability is one that will change the destiny of everything and everyone around her.
Gameplay basically boils down to point and click gameplay, with the addition of button control time travel to reverse or speed up time. In doing this, you may capture Optional Photos (for your diary, and extra Achievements) as well as aid your fellow students. As the episodes go on, you will face various other puzzles, from conversations and codes to opening new areas. Graphics wise are well done, there are some bulkiness to the characters, however the vibrant colours and the settings help to create a perfect mood, especially during small cutscenes or times when players lose control. Sound effects are great and give a definite modern feel to the overall games wheras the soundtrack is perfectly placed. Each song captures the mood, tension and emotional state of Max perfectly. Voice acting is one of the greater aspects of the game, the portrayal of young adults of today's era is done exceedingly well. It was clear from the first "hella" to cross my ears that the developers at DontNod have definitely done their research into Western Culture. 

But what makes this game as brilliant as it is is the storyline. While the game admittedly starts semi-slow with many promises and Max discovering her powers, if the ending of Episode 1 doesn't intrigue you, Episode 2 definitely will, and from there, it will snowball as it did for me. The game covers incredibly sensitive topics such as teenage pregnancy and abortion, sex tapes and drugging, suicide, murder and more. The way DontNod has handled these topics (even offering aid to those with depression and suicidal thoughts via their website and game itself) is also something to be applauded for. The game's choices, admittedly, do feel slightly like Telltale's choices of "selflessness or selfishness" but do it in a way that you won't notice until you're completely finished with the game and debating over the choices you should make. Choices can be simple such as bacon and eggs or waffles (no I'm not joking, that's in the game) or choices you don't even realise you're making, such as multiple ways to complete a task. What leaves my jaw dropping from this is how the game both handles them and uses them to bring out pure, raw emotions; the slightest similarities to your own high school life/experiences can be seen in this game.
It's worth note that during all five episodes, I barely had any issues, the only being the standard achievements not unlocking via the 48 hour refresh issue as well as the slight delay of episode 5. However I found no game breaking and glitching issues of any kind. Being a episodic-release title and having no issues on release is an incredibly brilliant feat.

Huge amounts of nerdy references, a beautiful setting with horrible outcomes and plotlines, incredibly hard choices and all tied off with brilliant acting, sound effects and musical score. This game will bring you to bliss then immediately to tears.
In a world today where mobile games are the rage and Online Only titles matter, it warms my heart that the tradition of video games is still alive and well; the era of incredibly written, made and executed games is not over yet. With the Holiday season upon us and the onslaught of AAA games to come, if there is any game you would consider adding to your list, make Life is Strange one of them.

Sublimity in its purest form.

Out of 10, I give Life is Strange a 10/10!

Kudos to all at DontNod, Square Enix and all others involved in this excellent game!

Life is Strange is out now, with all Episodes out, for the standard price of $30

Review: Dishonored Definitive Edition

G'day there guys and gals!

(Please note: the final score of this review will not affect the original scores of the original content/DLC present in the Definitive Edition. To read the original reviews, click here for the game review, and here and here for the DLC)

Since the very first reveal trailer, I have had a passionate love for Dishonored; the steampunk setting accompanied by a rich world full of lore, assassination and a brilliantly made storyline. I'll be the first to admit my disdain for HD remakes: the current standard of remakes is not one I would approve of in the gaming industry today, especially so as my University studies have opened my eyes to the process of how they come to be approved of and made. So far this year, there has been only one remake I have praised for being remade into the current gen consoles. Unfortunately, I would not add Dishonored Definitive Edition into that list.

For those who have never heard/played the game, the storyline goes as this: you are Corvo Attano, the Royal Bodyguard to the Empress, Jessamine Kaldwin. The story takes place in a Steampunk-like world called Dunwall, which is riddled with the Rat Plague, a plague where rats infect humans into zombie-like walking flesh, riddled with the plague. After searching for a cure known to the other kingdoms, Corvo returns to the Empress and her young daughter Emily. But upon returning, the Empress is assassinated by Assassins, lead by a man named Daud, who also kidnaps her daughter. In doing this, Corvo is left behind and is wrongfully blamed for the Empress' murder and the kidnapping of her daughter.
Left to rot in prison for six months, Corvo is visited by The Outsider, an all seeing god-like man who lives in the Void. In watching Corvo, he gives him the gift of his mark, which besets Corvo with abilities unlike any other. And thus, Corvo sets off to seek revenge against those who killed his beloved Empress.

The gameplay and controls are as good as ever (although strangling people only to block is still a massive annoyance), sound effects and the voice acting audio appear to be improved ever so slightly whereas the music and the score are still as great as ever. I barely mention these because due to my 23 hours (so far) of experience in the Definitive Edition, none of these aspects appear to be upgraded at all. By now you may be asking "What about the graphics?". To me, these are the most disappointing feature of them all; Textures are still blurry, the frame rate is still locked at 30 FPS and screen tears are still present in the game! In all honesty, the best way to describe this re-release is that it's PC specs with all the issues of the console versions. The settings and the tone seem at the very least a little brighter and less "smudgy" than before, but in a city where a plague is infecting your populace and the city is falling into ruin, doesn't that seem more likely than bright blue skys?
The character models seem to have improved ever so slightly (especially Corvo's hands and mask) but other than that I cannot tell much difference from the PC/360 version and the updated game. The same can be said about the additional "free" DLC Knife of Dunwall, Brigmore Witches and Dunwall Trials on the disc.

What saddened me the most was the presence of glitches: my game froze four times due to the saving and loading screens, screen tears were ever present, especially in loading screens (The Knife of Dunwall and Brigmore Witches also seemed to pixelate the most during this), while I also got stuck in walls several times, the weirdest being while swimming underwater at Daud's hideout.
Load times were also incredibly slow, so much so that I started timing my loads! When you start doing that out of boredom, you know something's wrong. For the record, my longest time was 1 minute and 42 seconds. While more hilarious than annoying, I can also mention the numeral amount of times I had corpses/unconscious people glitch through the walls and map itself. These only became annoying if they died in doing this. More often than not, they didn't, but it's still worth mentioning.
As this review is to be treated as a DLC review, I cannot in good faith give it the same score as I did the original, as the issues present here weren't there to begin with. There is the bonus of having $20 knocked off the pricetag if you own the game digitally (I cannot find any info on if you need the DLC too), but for people like me who prefer still buying discs, you're paying full price. And full price in Australia is basically five bucks short of the minimum full price for a brand new title game.

Overall, with deluxe AAA titles coming out in the coming weeks, especially another Bethesda title (Fallout 4) in consideration, once more I have been baited for my love of an (semi) old game being re-rendered for new consoles at a sub-par rate. Even regardless of the upcoming titles and other games such as Gears of War Ultimate Edition offering so much more quality at a lower price, I would suggest waiting for a price drop.
As a diehard fan of this series and someone eagarly awaiting the sequel, it truly pains me to be incredibly negative towards a game I love. Is the game itself bad? No, absolutely not. But I wouldn't be able to call myself a reviewer if I did not bring these issues to life. Forgive me Bethesda and Arkane, but this left more than a sour taste in my mouth.

Final score for Dishonored Definitive Edition: D+

Dishonored Definitive Edition is out now for the standard price of $75

Review: The Deer God (Xbox One)

G'day there guys and gals!

There have been many Indie games over the last few years that I have come to utterly love and enjoy countless times: LIMBO, Bastion, Transistor, Five Nights At Freddy's, the list can go on. The Deer God once started as a Kickstarter project from the minds and hands of a few Indie developers with a dream to "challenge your religion and platforming skills". I have nothing but respect for all Indie Developers, but as a gamer, while they've definitely hit the mark they have fallen short of their goal.

You are an unnamed human on a hunting trip with a buddy when the character spots a deer. As he takes the shot, wolves descend from the shadows, knocking his aim and shooting a baby deer instead. As the character dies and dissolves to ash from lightening, a deer god tells him of his crimes against her kind and how he must learn what it is like. And thus, the character is reborn as a deer.
This is the point where you take control of the character.

Gameplay is simplistic enough; a 2D sidescroller, your platforming skills will most definitely be challenged as every nook and cranny will become a godsend. While the areas do vary (green fields and forests, deserts, wetlands, graveyards, caves, etc), they very quickly become repetitive, almost within the first ten minutes of gameplay, and often repeat as you run. The saving grace of this is how the game loads almost seamlessly (bugs are frequent during this however  - we'll touch on that later) and the enemies are never lacking. While there are dangers from drowning in water, falling on spikes and starvation, plentiful enemies are there to try and kill you: foxes, saber cats, bears, ghosts, skeletons, wild hogs, snakes, spiders, etc. It is a little ridiculous how bats, hedgehogs and spiders also pose a serious threat but I digress; killing these enemies will give you good karma while killing friendly deer or harmless animals will result in bad karma. There is also a large amount of collectables as you play that can give you a useful boost in your playtime or against bosses. Players can also learn an abundance of abilities from the gods, from fireballs to making it rain hail, even some passive ones such as light conjuring and tree growth, these abilities must be obtained by solving statue puzzles (which some are glitched where unnecessary blocks need to be placed in specific areas just for the ability to unlock), while other main abilities you gain as the storyline progresses.
Graphics are plain, but beautiful enough; there aren't any "wow" factors from the look, but the lighting and scenery is definitely well worth the pause in running, but these moments only truly happen during the more open areas where the camera pans out. Musical score, what's there, is lovely and peaceful but also repeats quite often as well, never really changing until the final boss fight.

This brings me onto the more disappointing areas of the game, beginning with storyline. While there is plenty of storyline, the story itself is...sadly lacking. As a deer, you must aid those seeking your help or those offering guidance; while some can give you items (some useful, others not), main story missions give you relics, fulfilling the prophesy of the transhumant deer. However...none of this is explained in game. The prophesy isn't even mentioned until near the end of the game, nor do we actually see it until then as well. The main reason I mentioned the quote from the developers of "challenge your religion" is because this actually took me back when I first read it: at no point during my gameplay time did I make any sort of connection between this game and a religion at the time. There is a single deer story in Christianity, but nothing holy-like (other than the obvious deer gods) as this game presents. I digress.

Bugs are plentiful in this game unfortunately, with many invisible walls when speeding through regions, which leads to taking damage for no reason (even with full hunger) or outright dying. There are some glitches on the final boss (which I should mention killing the other bosses isn't necessary to finish the game), including simple graphical glitches on the walls of the pillar, the baby birds not dying and being forced to refight the final boss if you die before reaching the deer statue.
Speaking of deaths, there is no consequence for dying over and over on Normal Mode (on hardcore you lose your gamesave): when you die without a baby deer with you or without and deer skulls (a collectable to help you respawn), the deer goddess will say "One life left...". However if you die again, the screen will fade to white, you'll respawn as a baby deer and nothing has happened. No inventory loss, no abilities lost, no nothing. Also mentioning losing gamesaves, *SPOILER ALERT* at the end of the game you're left with two decisions - one leaving you with the ability to continue playing your game, the other erasing your save after a 10 second cutscene and a cut to a single credits scene! That ending leads to dialogue (with no voice despite having it in the short cutscenes) and the character talking to a deer while seeing a gravestone named "Tim". Who the hell is Tim? Is he that other guy we saw? Why was he sacrificed? Why did he become a deer? What is he in relation to our character? Was he a bad person too? None of this is answered in the game! *END SPOILERS*
One achievement is also frozen for me (ironically "Put Them On Ice") but for the majority, you can earn a decent amount from multiple playthroughs, but only if you can tough out the endless repetitiveness.

My final gripe with the game is also the asking price and play time. While the game is free for Gold Xbox Live users, it's current asking is $20. During one playthrough of the story, you can manage to finish the game in a hour! One hour, for $20! You can start the game again for both endings (one of which doesn't even lead to a end to credits or a cutscene at all!) but if you play it twice, 2 hours for $20. At least on Steam it's $15!

I want to be kind to this title and express to the developers that they have made a great game with a lot of promise, but in all honestly, for whatever fun I had playing this game, I cannot get past its bugs, its glitches and the issues I've presented above. Technically speaking, the game plays fantastic, there was no issue I could find with the gameplay controls, but that cannot excuse the major issues I've experienced. My experience, overall, is sadly mediocre. 

Try it while it's free (if you can), but I'd still suggest wait for a price drop at the very least.

Out of 10, I give The Deer God 5/10

Review: Gears of War Ultimate Edition

G'day there guys and gals!

In the year of 2006, when flip phones were still cool and mine came from a Coca Cola bottle, it only took me a few weeks after launch to hear the news that was flying around my small town: Gears of War is amazing. Being only fourteen at the time, I begged my parents to let me buy it, fell in love with the game, the story and their characters and ever since, it has held a special place in my heart. Here we are nearly 10 years later, and I'll be the first to admit to my growing disapproval of HD remakes, but I have been so pleasantly surprised by Gears of War Ultimate Edition that I cannot praise it enough.

For those who have never touched the series, Gears of War is a Third Person Shooter over the shoulder of Marcus Fenix, a COG soldier released from prison to fight alongside his friends Dom, Baird and Cole against the Locust Horde army; a brutal, scale-covered humanoid race living deep below the surface of Sera and waging an all out war on humanity. Back at release, the game was well received and won a few awards, critics only being the lacking storyline and its plotholes and the lack of depth in characters. With all that aside, we now turn our attention to the Ultimate Edition.
Gameplay is superbly done: despite the shiny new overcoat, the game plays nearly exactly like the original Gears of War, the controls being smooth and easy to use and the gameplay even smoother than that, while including mechanics from the newer editions such as roadie running and spotting. Storyline is just as good as before, with the addition of five new chapters (further explaining how Delta escaped the Brumak and how they got to the train) from the PC version that never made it to the console. Seeing these chapters brand new brought a lot of fresh air into the game itself and added a further 2-3 hours of gameplay on top. Voice acting was ripped straight from the original game and sounded to be somewhat enhanced, it did sound off at times (especially the beginning sentences - beautiful graphics, smudge-y audio).

I cannot continue without mentioning what stood out most in my eyes, or better case, ears; the audio quality. The sound effects were new and beautifully done, especially the slicing of Locust and the weapons, but the soundtrack was were the game began to shine. New pieces into the cinematic and the gameplay itself truly brought in the hopelessness of the COG and humanity as a whole, revamped originals were also present as well as original score straight from the first game. It was an utter joy to hear it remastered.
And obviously we're brought to the graphics and to put it in a single sentence; much more than just a reskin. The team at Epic and The Coalition truly brought out the beauty of the Gears world with completely new scenes, new character models and changes to the look, adding much more detail to the characters while keeping them in their original forms. With many HD remakes, developers simply re-render the scenes in a higher setting, Epic and Coalition animate completely new cutscenes, remake the old ones and give the game a whole new paintjob! It's clear that this was a work of labour and not one for a quickie cash grab.
Finally, multiplayer. Nothing too big to report on the multiplayer side; players can now choose between social and competitive gameplay, with a wide array of modes from all across the series (and yet does not have Horde Mode! That is a definite negative). Players can choose which character and skins to use for their weapons. I personally haven't experienced any bugs in multiplayer and matches with all the new modes and maps (also redone as well!), however I have experienced a few bugs in the single player: being stuck in an invisible floor, enemy (and NPC) AI standing still or never moving for cover, not to mention an abundance of glitching through walls. The biggest would be with the additional chapters: cinematic freezes, off audio-to-visuals and of course, the weird audio I mentioned before.

While none of these were game breaking overall, it would be wrong of me to give this game a perfect score (especially without Horde mode), but that does not mean it's a terrible game! In truth, Gears of War Ultimate Edition is by far the best remake for any game I have ever seen. Epic and The Coalition have truly paved the way to what remake games should be (minus their skin pack DLCs - however not promoted in game!); adding most/all DLC and a HD render does not suffice for a remake in my eyes anymore. I have been spoiled by this glorious Gears game, and now I'm left wanting more!

Out of 10, I give Gears of War Ultimate Edition a 9/10

Gears of War Ultimate Edition is out now for $40!
And you can read my original review right here.

(Fair warning, I wrote it when I was just starting out, it's fairly bad!)

I'm back! (kinda)

G'day there guys and gals!

It has been four months since I've last written anything on this blog/review page and let me tell you; you have not been forgotten.
I still stand by my original statement that University must come first. HOWEVER, while I'm not saying that I'll be making a full 100% comeback, (with their blessing) I will be reviewing whenever I can!

For the moment, there'll be no schedule or updates into when I review but all followers will naturally be updated when I post, so check back here often.
I will be reviewing Rare Replay asap, so you can look forward to that at the very least.

Take care and game on!

Al

Review: Fallout Shelter (Android)

G'day there guys and gals!

For the first (and probably last) time ever, I'll be reviewing a mobile game, one that has taken the world by storm since the release of E3 2015. While originally released for the iOS during E3, its release on the Android has been a welcome one and rightly so!

I'll admit to it now; I have never thought (or praised) highly of any mobile game, ever. Generally I disapprove of many of the standards of mobile game development, but the people at Bethesda Studios and Behaviour Interactive have gone above and beyond any current mobile game.
To put it simplistically, Fallout Shelter takes place in the world and lore of the Fallout universe (I wonder what the first clue was...) and players take control of their own customisable Vault. You are the Overseer, the person in control of a Vault and it's up to you to control, manage and protect both the population inside the Vault and its resources.
Gameplay is reminiscent of SimCity, where players must gather humans (or make their own the old fashioned way) and their three key resources (Food, water and power) through building rooms. Players can also build rooms to up the stats of their dwellers, create Stimpaks and RadAway, radio stations to call for more citizens, living quarters, storage rooms and so on. Players can also choose to kit up their dweller in clothing and arm them with weapons to survive gathering resources from the surface; all of this done while fighting off raiders, radroaches, room fires, radiation and more. All gameplay is 2.5D, where the Vault and its dwellers are all viewed side on. Players control their movements, where there go and what they do by tapping and moving them to each destination.
This is not even mentioning the stats of each individual dweller, how they're used in each room, how players need to keep every resource level, etc. 

Storyline is little to non-existent; each character often remarks on how great/terrible they feel, or jokes about what they'd do with their own vault, even down to how great their Overseer is! However the meat of what little there is comes to dwellers who venture out into the Wasteland; often remarking on how scared they are, finding injured people, sneaking past Raiders, ect. These do repeat incredibly often but that's to be expected.
No voice acting or musical score is present in this game (I won't be counting the main menu music) but the musical cues during rushing a room for its resources is as close as you'll get. While it has a great Fallout-esque style, if you refuse to pay the microtransations, prepare to hear it often, but again, to be expected.
Graphics, for a mobile game, are very diverse and unique, while still retaining the Fallout features and look. The game itself is incredibly detailed (especially when zooming in on a room and the characters) but retains its own personal feel and vibe to the series.

The only major issue with the game is the purposeful slowness at specific points of the game. When resources are full but Caps are low, the game's fun and energetic style does slow down to a halt as you wait for your dweller to find decent items out in the Wasteland. To this gamer, it seems that this is the point some will buckle for microtransations but this is where the game shines. Another small issue are the game's few glitches (such as the game's options disappearing when entering a game when a baby's been born), but these tend to be only temporarily and rarely game breaking.
As gamers, let's face the cold truth; microtransations are here to stay. To be fully honest, without them, games would cost a lot more than they currently do (and as Australians tend to pay $90-$110 already, that would be a tremendous issue). But what Fallout Shelter does better than any other mobile game is the they don't shove microtransations or ads down your throat. In fact, for a Free-To-Play game, there are no ads at all! The only ad I have seen so far is a "rate this game" ad and that was after the first time I just created a Vault!
Microtransations are constantly there if you wish to pay $5 for a stack of Cards (cards being a sort of random chance gamble at resources/new items) but they're off to the side and aren't ever thrown onto the gamer as a quick-fix to their Vault's issues. While I would like to have a Caps for Cards exchange in the game, at its current standing, the game works perfectly.

As I said earlier, I have never been a big fan or supporter of mobile phone games, but the people behind Fallout Shelter have done such an excellent job, I cannot praise it any higher. Officially, Fallout Shelter will forever be my benchmark in mobile phone games. Kudos to the entire team!

Out of 10, I give Fallout Shelter a 9/10

You can find it now on Android and iOS appliances for free!

TEMPORARY HIATUS

G'day there guys and gals.

I know I haven't reviewed much in the last few weeks and I've been meaning to for a long time, but at this point of time, I need to focus all my time on my university studies and my personal health, as both have been neglected for some time. 

With that being said, I won't be going away forever! After university is done, I will be returning to everything that I've been working on. I started this page and began reviewing games right after high-school and I intend to start again after university.

So now, I shall take my leave. Take care folks, I'll be back!
And as always, have fun and game on!

Review: Telltale's Game Of Thrones Episode 2

G'day there guys and gals!

*Please note: Since Telltale games are originally released in episode form, this review will be rated in my DLC form (A through F) until all episodes are released.
Also, spoiler alert for anyone unfamiliar to the show/books or episode one! Tread carefully!*

Putting aside the current issues with the episode with Xbox users, currently I have bitten the bullet and continued on with the game, playing against my choices from episode one. What I found was a great new part to the growing series, even if a little off at times.
The gameplay has been upgraded ever so slightly with the new addition of timed Quick Time Even, waiting for the proper time to press the correct response, as well as a return of First Person firing view from the first season of The Walking Dead. Sound effects are standard and repeat often (especially when at the Wall or Castle Black) but at least voice sounds such as grunts and groans are improved on (a small mention I made from episode one).
Graphics are just as great as ever, each scene looking like an old fashioned oil painting, although those who succumb to motion sickness easily may wish to tread carefully, especially so during action scenes as the fast moving characters can often revert to pixelated blurs.

So let us get down to the real bulk of episode 2; storyline and voice acting. Bringing in Episode 2 brings everybody's favourite bastard who knows nothing, Jon Snow, voiced by the Kit Harrington and while he does do a fine job, oddly at points he sound...dull and flat, bored if you will. Peter Dinklage and Natalie Dormer return to their respected roles and knock it out of the park (admittedly I was sad to see so little of Natalie) and the rest of the cast does well, the new addition (for spoiler reason I won't say who) does awesome and adds real depth to the Forrester family as well.
Storyline wise, there isn't much to say without giving it away; while not as shocking as the first episode, the game does offer a lot of plot twists and surprises, your choices from the first episode barely making a mention most of the time but well on their way leading up to a huge conflict between all involved, even those ever so slightly touching on the matter.

That being said, the ending itself is gorgeously done and quite meaningful, especially to House Forrester and the choices both of Ethan and those you play. While not overly impressive as the first episode, The Lost Lords does well to build up the coming fight, the building tension and set the scene for the future episodes.
Like chess pieces on a board, episode 2 is decent set up to a winning strategy. Just shy of greatness.

Telltale's Game Of Thrones Episode 2 - The Lost Lords: B-

Review: Dying Light

G'day guys and gals!

*Warning: This review features the first 10 minutes of gameplay and mentions gameplay mechanics for the ending*

The creators behind Dying Light once brought us the zombie hit Dead Island many years ago, a game renown for its moving, incredibly heart breaking trailer but being much less impressive. Although the game itself had quite good gameplay and mechanics, it had very little else to offer and the games that followed have been a tragedy ever since.
This is not the case with Dying Light; there are some small similarities in the animations (especially small knives) between the two games, Dying Light is much more dynamic, impressive and downright addictive, with very little holding it back.

Let's begin with the storyline: players take on the role of Kyle Crane, a hired operative of the GRE (Global Relief Effort) sent to the fallen city of Harran to retrieve a document from the rogue Kadir "Rais" Suleiman that can lead to the cure of the infection plaguing the city. On your decent into the city however, you are beset on by Rais' thugs and attacked by a zombie, bitten and left for dead. With the aid of the sudden appearance of Amir and Jade, you are taken to the Tower to begin your search for Rais and discover the location of the document.
The story itself is brilliant and dynamic to the situation, the cast of people you will meet becomes huge and stretches from the Slums to Sector 0 of Harran, all the while meeting people aiding you in the Tower's survival and your own, as you desperately try to secure Antizin (The only known deterant of the infection) for your people and yourself, all the while fighting back the spasms of turning. The voice acting in the main cast is superb; one of my favourite voice actors Roger Craig Smith takes the role of the protagonist and utterly dominates the role, easily switching from the seriousness as a GRE operative to compassion with the Tower's struggle and at times, being incredibly witty and realistic. Outside the main voice cast it does range from melodramatic to dull but interaction with them usually lasts little under thirty seconds. Musical score, for the most part, is great and adds tension, shock and sympathy to the right moments. Overall during gameplay however it does seem to fade out for the most part, but is made up for the gorey, terrific sound effects of the world around you.

This brings me to the two biggest strength points; gameplay and graphics. While as a reviewer, I believe graphics aren't a huge necessary deal but here I make the exception for the utter beauty that is Dying Light. The scenery is as dynamic as the plot as sunsets glow red and wild, the days clear or pouring down rain and thunder, or the night as dark as a tunnel with the screams of zombies all around you. Playing during the day is more leisurely than it is at night as the slogan for the game takes its words quite literally. I promise first time players that you will most likely die some time during the night (especially during one particular zombie hunting mission) as the Volatiles, Bloaters and other beastly creatures skulk the night. While I will admit the graphics do tend to repeat with crates, already killed zombies, NPC's wearing masks and the insides of buildings (as to be expected), I still take my hat off for the developers for making it as brilliant as this is, truly giving gamers plenty of areas to explore and visit.
Now, gameplay. The gameplay is by far the biggest asset this game holds. Freerunning (or Parkour if you're fancy) completely dominates any other like it before, the feel almost as if you are the one performing the moves. Customisation with Survivor, Power and Agility Points will greatly increase your odds of survival, whether it be killing or avoiding zombies. Crafting also is excellently done, giving a plentiful option for players to choose whether to favour a loud or quiet approach, a tactical or "run and gun" stylised dash during the night as well. The money mechanism is also handy to those who use it, especially running drops back to the Quartermaster, however destroying items for parts it a little one sided in giving (mostly) only metal parts. While they are crucial, I have never run out of them, especially when you can run out of pretty much everything, even when fully upgraded and decked out to the halls full of inventory. 
This doesn't deter from the fun of the game; killing zombies by smashing their heads open, burning or blowing them up is still as fun as ever, with the terrifying zombie look of olden days definitely there in some of the bulkier kinds.

My few small issues with the game have been minuscule but still noteworthy; I did find one glitch unfortunately near the end of the game, where after killing a mini-boss and dying right after caused the game to lock me in the area in which the fight took place, leaving me unable to leave. This was quickly fixed by reloading the checkpoint but caused audio lapping.
Another small issue was the ending itself being...a Quick Time Event. There were many missions before the final one that would have served as a decent send off to the game. The mission itself was fun and challenging but the last 5 or so minutes of QTE is a mark of shame on the ending of a game; QTE's to end a game is as cliche as the plot-twist in melodramatic soap or "The Good Guy is the Bad Guy" reveal in any action movie.

Due to those reasons, for me at least, the game does miss out on a perfect score but regardless of that, Dying Light is an incredible game that any self-respecting gamer should check out, especially zombie fans. As odd as it sounds, a quote from Game Of Thrones is the perfect metaphor for this brilliant game.
"For the night is dark and full of terrors".
Terrific gameplay, 18+ hours storyline and double that number in side missions. If you want a bang for your buck, Dying Light is your answer.

Out of 10, I give Dying Light a 9/10

Review: Saint's Row Re-Elected/Gat Out Of Hell

G'day there guys and gals!

(Please note: Re-Elected and Gat Out Of Hell will be rated by my DLC rating system *A through F* and will not affect the overall score of the original review, found here)
*This review is 100% spoiler free!* 

Overall, while Saints Row IV was a fun game, personally I found it tedious and quite dull at a lot of points throughout gameplay. I've never hidden my affection for the Saints Row series, my very first 360 title and one I spent countless hours playing. And while I do miss the serious plotline, the insane, crazy, fun gameplay is still a welcome one.
However, Re-Elected has made the same mistake Square Enix did with Sleeping Dogs; picking a recent title and moving it forward to current gen consoles. The game still includes the fun of super powers, kicking some alien arse and the witty dialogue but retains many bugs and glitches from the old game. This is not a HD remake, this is a port. 

There isn't much I can't say that I didn't say in the original review; the gameplay is still simplistic and quite fluid, however of course the super powers make you completely OP once you upgrade them a few times but this is to be expected. DLC weapons make an appearance, much to my delight; with the inclusion of a heavy metal Dubstep gun, it was my go to weapon. Sadly the tune repeats over and over but again, this is expected. All old and new weapons do make a reappearance but it seems the Australian Classification Board has done some tweaks to rename the The Penetrator to The Dildo Bat. 
Vehicles are there for you to enjoy but with unlimited sprint, flight and high jumping, there isn't much point to them at all. The voice acting is still excellent, the sound effects and musical score is still as good as ever. To the nugget of the point; with every port or HD remake, the main focus usually with older games brought back from the dead is the graphics. Sadly, this is where the main issues remains. High amounts of screen tearing (usually when accessing the main menus), several odd glitches with explosions distorting the screen, not to mention the four times the game froze and kicked me to dashboard, or twice how a dead controller swap deleted my autosave, my progress and unlocks. 


By the end, the only saving grace is a cleaner, better Co-Op to enjoy with friends. At this point I wanted to give up, and that brings us to Gat Out Of Hell.


To be perfectly honest, I went in with low expectations and while in some areas they were met, the DLC itself is quite excellently done.
For those interesting in the storyline; with the voice of a familiar narrator, the Saints begin to celebrate Kinzie's birthday when a mishap with a Ouija Board brings Gat, Kinzie and the Boss down into hell. It's up to you to free the Boss and put a bullet in Satan's eyes.

The gameplay is excellent; while still more or less the same SR IV, the DLC features new powers, new abilities and some old ones, not to begin to mention the new weaponry, hellish monsters to battle and some familiar faces for you to see in the game itself.
Sound effects are quite well done although the musical score does suffer slightly in gameplay but is otherwise noticeable only in combat or cutscenes. Graphics look incredible and each area looks significantly different amongst the deep red lava. 
Voice acting, at times, is quite well done by the main cast. At points it does sound quite monotone and dragging; the disappointing thing about this is these lie in the tutorials, the main commentary or the missions.
Speaking of missions, Gat Out of Hell takes a step back to Saints Row 3 style and makes 80% of the main storyline nothing BUT mini-games, which of course are nothing but rehashes of Saints Row IV games. There are plenty of twists on the classics and new ones to accommodate your new powers, but it's really disappointing to see this in this series continuously. While it is (sort of) explained as a pun mid-way through the game, it makes it abundantly clear what this port was made for. Don't get me wrong, the game modes are fun but many are too short, repeated too often in main missions and after a while, become too boring as your powers grow.

Other smaller mentions would be the change to Clusters (Although a better name would have been "Souls" or something, you are in Hell after all!) and your abilities make it WAY easier to collect them. Each Loyalty mission is basically the same; several mini-game, a take over mission and done. Last the loading times are incredibly fast so that is definitely a plus, not to mention the Deus Ex HR type ending. But I digress.

My main goal for this entire review was to determine whether or not Re-Elected was worth your time and the high asking price. And this is my summary:
Saints Row Re-Elected is perfect for old and new fans, achievement grinders and those looking for a wacky game to Co-Op in with friends. Otherwise I do advice caution in buying this game; this game is furthering the standard of shoddy console ports for a quick buck by companies and the addition of the DLC won't keep me on this title for much longer. There are plenty of hours to waste but too much old content or improvements for it to be truly called a HD Remake. 
And while there is one major hint towards a sequel, the Gat Out Of Hell ending brings it into question; Saints Row IV was originally made as a April Fools joke. Hopefully this is the punchline and we can all move on.

A fun but disappointing start for 2015.

Saints Row Re-Elected: C-

Gat Out Of Hell DLC: C+

Gamer Rant: The Future of Games

G'day there guys and gals!

After a short rant on Twitter last night, I feel as if I have to talk about a very real problem in the gaming community today and that is how far the games, companies and our future itself is falling.
To put it plainly, our future looks bleak.

First off, you may be asking yourself "What fall? What do you mean?", well let me give a short explanation: as short of a time as 10 years ago, games that were released HAD to have perfect controls, up to date mechanics and be perfect itself in order to get attention. This is how games such as Call Of Duty, Assassin's Creed, Far Cry and more were able to make comeback after comeback in our community. However, for the last two years, AAA titles and major companies have been releasing digital messes, remakes barely remade and games that simply didn't work whereas indie developers and even one-people crews have released timeless classics that are now revered in our community. Do you see now what I mean by fall?
Companies are beginning to rely too hard on old titles to make a profit: Call of Duty "sequels" are seen as a joke online as each year brings a new game. Assassin's Creed hardcore fans have been more and more disappointed with the titles released as years go on and way too many remakes have been coming out - games made two or three years ago getting ports into the new world or older games with a dying fanbase given life once again. It's January 2015 and we've already had THREE AAA titles given a HD remake (Duke Nukem 3D ME, Saints Row Re-Elected, Resident Evil Remastered) and three more coming in the next couple of months. 
And don't get me started on Mobile games. Personally, King is the devil of video games; rehashed old titles made "new". They spit in the face of our community.
But regardless, moving on.

I'm currently in the middle of reviewing Saints Row Re-Elected and already I've experience multiple bugs, issues, a few KTDs and even where changing a CONTROLLER lost me my autosave! Is this what our future holds for video games? Where games are SOOOOO buggy that I can't even change a controller without losing my data, my autosave or my character?
As a young lad, games released with bugs were dead in the water; there were no patches, there weren't any DLC or fixes or apologies. It was a $100 piece of junk that wouldn't work and its games like those that have long since been forgotten about. But these days, too many companies are being pushed by their corporates to dish out games faster and this is why they're failing to the little guys out there.
Take for example Scott Cawthon; you're probably wondering who he is?
He's the creator of this:   

And that is why he's been so damn successful; with the internet in a state that it is, the popularity of a game depends on five different things -  Simplicity, creativity, new mechanics, positivity in product and word of mouth. Have all five of these things in a game and players will be drawn to it like moths to light. This is where FNaF has succeeded where others (Like Slender) has failed; Scott is currently cranking out the third game in the series and while that is ambitious, he has created an interesting world, storyline and of course, a terrifying set of characters of something so universally creepy in its normal state that naturally is shocking in a horror setting. Slender, while successful overall, was stuck in development much too long, became way too complicated plotline wise and by the time it came out, most interest had moved on.
And that is why plenty of Indie Developers are starting to take wing while AAA titles and their companies are failing -  because they LISTEN to their demand. Because FNaF has simple mechanics, fine but not overbudgeted graphics and relatively shortness to game style, the only things that need alterations is characters, storyline, audio cues and setting! 
In other words, graphical look.
FNaF 2 had more characters, a developing storyline, tweaks on the gameplay and kept linear to the original work. Slender The Arrival complicated the plot, gameplay and became different to the original piece leaked online.

HOWEVER, you're thinking "Hang on, but that's every game ever. Things need to change and they have to advance!" and I agree with you: playing the same thing over and over is boring.
But not to the majority of gamers and the majority is Casuals.
As much as it pains me to say it, Casual Gamers have the majority control of what becomes popular, what goes viral and what people play; this is how games in the past became popular. People who stick to the franchises of old soon become hardcore gamers: achievement grinding the same game over and over, playing through each alteration repeatedly and then moving onto the next new franchise while Casuals will hear from a friend how "insert title here" is amazing and they'll play it, stop and move on.
Take me for example: I have been a Saints Row fan since the beginning, I played SR over and over, especially since it was my first 360 game title and now, nearly 9 years later, I'm playing the remake of its 4th "sequel" just for the achievements. 

So why am I writing this down like this? What is my point about all of this?
This is my point: too many companies are giving out glitched, buggy or rehashes while Indie Devs are thriving, which personally I find awesome and gives me hope for the future. But as a future game dev, I personally don't know whether to work for a big company or myself. Australia has very few game companies and many of which are either Indie companies that I've never heard of or the big guys that dominate our consoles. Do I chance working for them for Call of Duty 31 or do I follow my own creative passion? Do I travel overseas and work on several titles of games at once, passed around from project to project, or do I apply myself to become a story-writer and see my own passions become a living, breathing game for generations to come?
With the way company after company treats their projects, the choice is simple at this point; too many companies are facing the way of THQ while their bosses pushes a game underdeveloped out the door while Indie Devs are rising to the top through passion, hard work and sacrifice. 

That is where our future as gamers is coming to; old titles taking $100+ out of our pockets while smaller titles as for $5 or less for a game they spent years making. 
Don't get me wrong! Many companies are willing to fix their titles, whether their buggy, unfinished or failures, but it shouldn't be us who tell them this. It shouldn't be gamers and consumers telling them the issues of their games. 
And so I speak to all coporates: delaying games to make them better will not cost you money. Even a bad looking game can still be played by millions. Give your developing team more time.

Forgive me, but this needed to be said. Make your choices well.
And as always, have fun and game on!

(Dedicated to all gaming companies forced to be shut down before their time)