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Final Fantasy XIII Review

Weasel Terrahawk — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 17:00:01 +0000

Final Fantasy XIII
Publisher/Developer: Square Enix
Release Date: March 9, 2010
Platforms: PS3, 360

Disclosure: This review is based off of the PlayStation 3 version of Final Fantasy XIII, which may differ from the Xbox 360 version.

Square Enix has finally hit the next generation of consoles with the release of Final Fantasy XIII for the PlayStation 3, and now even for the Xbox 360. Without playing either of them, the only main difference that can be said between each version is the fact that the Xbox 360 version is spread across multiple discs, due to the size of the game. Other than that, it cannot objectively be said which version is the “better” one without extensively playing through them both. None the less, FFXIII brings to the table an absolutely gorgeous game with another new type of battle system, and another new type of upgrade system, both of which are simple to understand, but look to be complex in their own ways. However, even though the game may look wonderful, it falls short in many aspects that previous Final Fantasy games have shined on.

The graphics are once again beautiful for a Final Fantasy game.

The controls are simple and easy to understand, as they always have been. Moving is controlled with the left analog stick, and the camera is controlled with the right analog stick. The camera, however, can be a pain to control sometimes, especially when you’re moving your character and trying to change the direction of the camera at the same time. The camera tends to want to move in the direction that you are running, no matter where you would rather it be, which can sometimes make you sick as it jerks back and forth. Another thing that you’ll note very quickly is how linear the game really is. From the beginning, you are forced down skinny corridors that move you in a single direction, not allowing for any types of exploration. Later in the game you are given a little more freedom as you are given sidequests, but for the first 20 odd hours of the game, you’ll be traveling in a straight line. Treasures are practically not hidden at all, as if they are down a side route, it will be simple to tell exactly where that route is by your mini-map.

To add to how linear this game really is, there are no cities, towns or shops to visit. To buy or sell items, you will access the “Shop” from save points, which electronically connects you to any types of shops that are available at the time. Save Stations, as they are called, are gratuitously scattered throughout the game, so you’ll never have a hard time finding a place to save. Upgrades to your weapons can also be made at these Save Stations, and while it helps, it can be very unnecessary to do, which adds another level of disappointment on to the game.

Abilities take up segments of your ATB gauge based on their power.

The battle system is the biggest change, and will leave you wanting something more. The ATB, or Active Time Battle gauge has returned, but in a different fashion. Each ability that you want to use costs a certain amount of segments in your ATB gauge, removing the idea of magic points or any limit on the amount of spells you can use. When the ATB gauge is full, your character will use the commands that you’ve chosen on the enemy that you selected, creating a chain. Attack chains are extremely important in this game. The more attacks you do in succession, the more percentage of damage you do to your enemy, until at a certain point they become “Staggered”. Once an enemy is Staggered, they become much more susceptible to massive amounts of damage, which can easily turn the tide of the battle in your favor. Ala Final Fantasy XII, you continue to only control the Leader character, while your other two party members are controlled by the AI. This brings to light the final most important battle strategy, the Paradigm Shift system. At any time during battle you can press L1, which brings up a menu which allows you to choose which role each party member plays. These roles include Commando and Ravager, which are attack based classes; Sentinel and Medic, which are defensive based classes; and Synergist and Saboteur, which are support based classes. There are many times where you will be changing your Paradigm every other action, so it’s imperative to be watching the battle to see what the status of your party members and your enemies are. While all of these features are nice, battles are hindered by the fact that they move so fast. While this may appeal to some players, choosing the commands that you want your party to use manually is slow, and can end in your failure, which is why there is an Auto-Battle button, which automatically selects the best commands that you should use. Unfortunately, this makes battles boring and monotonous, as you can sit and just press the X button repeatedly, and be finished with a battle within eight seconds of it’s start.

In addition to all of these features, summons have also returned, under the new name of “Eidolons”. Each character is assigned one Eidolon, and can only summon that one. To acquire these Eidolons, however, you must battle them while under a Doom counter, which counts down the time until you are killed, and the battle is over. Once you have them and summon them, they fight beside you with an SP gauge. Once their SP runs out, they leave the battle. At any time though, by pressing Square, the Eidolon enters Gestalt mode, which turns them into a vehicle which your character rides. This system is odd, and doesn’t really add much to the game other than being flashy.

The new Shiva Sisters Eidolon which... turn into a motorcycle.

Ala Final Fantasy X, levels for your characters don’t exist, and instead you upgrade your character through the Crystarium. After each battle your party earns CP, or Crystogen Points, which can be used to traverse through the Crystarium of each character, unlocking addition stats for your characters, including HP and Magic, or unlocking new abilities for each role that your character possesses. Sadly, CP is earned very quickly, allowing for a rapid traversal of the Crystarium. The challenge of unlocking everything comes slowly, until you unlock more roles for your characters to be able to play as. In addition to this, each character may or may not unlock each ability, so certain characters seems to be obviously better suited for certain roles over others, making it hard to be able to use a certain group and make them well rounded in each role.

As anyone can tell after seeing any screenshot of the game, it’s gorgeous beyond many games seen today. While you can still tell when the game enters a cutscene, the non-cutscene moments when you are learning more about the story look wonderful, with character mouth movement animations syncing perfectly to the voice acting. For the most part, the voice acting is spot on, but the voice actor for Vanille stands out like a sore thumb as something that just doesn’t belong. Given enough time, her voice will wear on you as it moves in and out of what seems to be an Australian accent, and her giggles and squeaks are odd and obnoxious. The music in the game is also somewhat sub-par compared to previous Final Fantasy games. It seems shines with the elegant orchestral beauty that they are famous for, but seems to miss the feeling of some of the scenes as happy, chipper music plays during a scene that just doesn’t fit the mood.

Lightning summoning an Eidolon with the Attack Chain gauge in the corner.

While Final Fantasy XIII is an okay game, it seems to just fall short in many of the areas where the previous games have excelled in. The first two hours of the game are extremely slow and boring and throw you into a story which, at the time, you have absolutely no knowledge about. And you are unable to choose your party until the 20-25 hour mark of the game as well, when the game finally opens up a little more. The battle system, while much faster paced and seemingly more exciting because of it, fails to excite as well when the player just has to continuously use the Auto-Battle function instead of actually selecting their commands. It’s not to say that Final Fantasy XIII isn’t a good game, and it isn’t bad either, but there’s not enough in it to consider it that outstanding RPG that we’ve been looking for in it.

Heavy Rain Review

Weasel Terrahawk — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 18:00:48 +0000

Heavy Rain
Publisher: SCEA
Developer: Quantic Dream
Release Date: February 23, 2010
Platform: PS3

There have been a lot of unique ideas that have been thought up of for video games. In most cases, it’s another new shooter, or some sort of role playing game with a new game mechanic. However, every once in a while, one game will come out that is so different, it will nearly define it’s own genre. Heavy Rain has been called an adventure game by some, and a psychological thriller by others, but Quantic Dream, developers of Heavy Rain, have called their game an “interactive drama”.

Holding a trigger button allows you to see what your character is thinking.

Heavy Rain lives up to being it’s own genre, as it uses gameplay mechanics that, while similar to some action adventure games in some ways, utilizes them in a way that none of them do. Everything that you are able to do to interact in the game is shown by circles and squares that appear in the world that contain a symbol or arrow within it, which signifies what you have to press or do in order for that action to be taken place. There is no user interface, and no complicated controls, just symbols which trigger an action. For example, in order to open a car door, you are shown a box with an arrow which points to the left, which tells you that you have to push the right analog stick to the left in order to open the door. Depending on how fast you move the analog stick is reflected in-game, as the animation only happens as far as you move. Of course, during fight scenes, symbols appear with a time limit, as the events are all happening in real time. If you correctly press the button shown, you will immediately see the positive results of your actions, and vice-versa if you fail to hit the correct button. However, one of the more broken controls is the movement control. To have your character walk when you have control of him or her, you must hold down the shoulder trigger and move your character’s head with the analog stick, facing the character the direction you want them to move. While this style works for the most part, trying to angle yourself perfectly so that you are looking at the item you want to interact with can be difficult at times, and since the camera stays at a single point most of the time, with the ability to change views with the press of another trigger button, it can become a frustrating task.

Throughout the game, you play as four different characters, each which you cycle through playing as. The transitions from one character to the next are smooth, and loose ends are tied up in the previous scene before it moves on to the next one. One of the unique features of Heavy Rain is the fact that if one of the characters who you play as dies in one way or another, the game continues to progress, just without that character in any of the story anymore. Due to this, the game’s story is very fluid, and will change depending on what choices you make in a previous scene, or depending on what happens to your character. Aesthetically, the appearance of your characters can also change over the course of the game based on previous decisions. This all being said, there are many different endings which are possible to achieve depending on what happens during each of the decisions you have to make throughout the game.

One of the many interesting situations you'll encounter in Heavy Rain.

The main draw of Heavy Rain is, without a doubt, it’s engaging storyline and immersive dialogue that connects the characters to each other, and more importantly the player to the characters. There are many times during the game which will test you on how you want to react; are you going to react as you think the character in the game would, or are you going to react how you yourself would in such a situation. There are also a few times where you really have to consider what feels “right” to you, and what does not. These decisions make the game very dramatic, and keep you on the edge of your seat, as you await what reaction you will get from each of your decisions.

Probably the first thing you’ll notice, though, is the immense visual style of Heavy Rain. Heavy Rain is one of the most beautiful games out there at the moment. It has an ultra-realistic style to it, on everything from the characters themselves, to the rain which constantly falls, creating an atmosphere which has yet to be rivaled. There are, of course, some imperfections with the interactions between the characters and some of the items that they carry and use, but overall, these minor issues are some that can easily be overlooked.

The graphics are unparalleled to others games right now.

To add to the atmosphere of the game, a beautiful soundtrack has been developed for Heavy Rain, making each situation that you are involved in a unique experience. The choice of music during each scene is well chosen, and was created by a special orchestra brought in to create the music specifically for Heavy Rain. The combination of the deep storyline, the engaging characters and the beautiful orchestral music make Heavy Rain a very unique game which is very worth a purchase. The question of replay value, however, is a questionable one. If you are interested in seeing a different ending, depending on how else you could make the decisions posed to you in the game, this game will last you more than the eight to ten hours that one play through takes. The one downfall is that, after you already know the full storyline, connecting with it in a deeper fashion after one play through is difficult. In any consolation, Heavy Rain contains an amazing 57 trophies, with two of them being “See all endings” and “Complete the story with four characters alive”, which are two tasks which will take more than one play to achieve. Overall, if you are looking for a unique, engaging game which will show you something new, Heavy Rain is definitely the game to pick up this year.

These Hopeful Machines Review

Weasel Terrahawk — Wed, 03 Feb 2010 18:00:08 +0000

These Hopeful Machines
By: BT
Genre: Electronica
Release Date: February 2, 2010

In his first album in four years, and one of the first major EDM (Electronic Dance Music) album releases of 2010; Composer, Producer and Artist BT returns with the two-disc album called These Hopeful Machines. The album can be found in major retailers that carry EDM albums in a two-disc set, or can be found downloadable online as such, or as a two hour long mixes, in order to preserve a flowing, non-stop style.

Contrary to many electronic albums, BT continues to show his musical prowess, with his mixing of an everyday music sound feel and electronic beats. While the songs are definitely of the electronic variety, each one uses a unique emotion to create an excellent sound. One could easily expect each song to sound similar, as most artists tend to use a very familiar beat in many of their songs, but These Hopeful Machines surprises, with every song having a different tempo, and sounding much different than the one before. Not to mention the amazing vocal abilities that were used in each of the songs, it makes for an excellent mix that makes you want to keep listening.

The first half hour is a great example of what to look forward to. “Suddenly” starts you off with a good classic electronic rock feel. Following that is “The Emergency”, which preserves the electronic feel but goes with a lighter song. Finally, “Every Other Way”, vocalized by Jes Brieden and released in a singles album late last year, is one of the most beautiful songs of the new year, with a light, loving tone, yet still keeping with the electronica undertones that BT is famous for. One could say that BT is a electronic, symphonic genius with this new work, and even non-electronica music fans can get in to this listening experience.

Usually an album is worth a listen or two, and contains songs that are extremely well know to the EDM community already, due to the various podcasts and mix/mashup compilation albums that are released these days, but BT succeeds in bringing brand new songs to the table, and making them so wonderful that they will stick with you for time to come. Just listening through, there feels to be an extremely high attention to the small details of each song, and the resulting songs are worth every second of your time. If you are a fan of EDM, or dare I say, if you are a fan of good music, and enjoy songs that are a little off the beaten path, with unique vocal and instrumental tones joining in, then These Hopeful Machines is an album that should be checked out.

These Hopeful Machines CD on Amazon.com
These Hopeful Machines (Amazon MP3 Exclusive Version) on Amazon.com
These Hopeful Machines (Continuous Mixes) on iTunes

Assassin’s Creed II Review

Weasel Terrahawk — Mon, 14 Dec 2009 20:56:22 +0000

Assassin’s Creed II
Publisher: Ubisoft
Developer: Ubisoft Montreal
Release Date: November 17, 2009
Platforms: PS3, PSP, 360, PC, DS, IP

If you’ve ever played the first Assassin’s Creed, or even talked to someone who has played the first game in this series, you know what kind of issues it had. While the concept that the game brought to the table was new, innovative and fun, the game itself was boring and repetitive due to the lack of variety in what you were sent to do to progress through the game. Taking all of the negative feedback that they were given into account, Ubisoft went back to the drawing board and came up with a sequel worthy of carrying on the franchise’s name.

In Assassin’s Creed II, you continue to play in the real world as Desmond Miles, the character who you played as in the first game as well who was captured by the supposed enemies who ran the company called Abstergo. This time around, though, you escape with the researcher and now friend Lucy Stillman, who was by your side throughout Assassin’s Creed as well. At the hideout that she brings you to, you find a small group of people who are all assassins, such as yourself, and they need you to go back into the Animus once more in order to follow the story of another ancestor of his, and also an ancestor of the assassin you played as in the first game, Altaïr. When you rejoin the game in the past, it is the 15th century, and you are in the Italian Renaissance, playing as Ezio Auditore da Firenze.

One of the new weapons, a pole arm, will allow you to sweep your enemies to the ground.

The controls of this game are very similar to the original, so those who have played the original will be able to pick up this one very easily. Unlike the first game, though, there have been a few changes to the way that you interact with Ezio, and how Ezio interacts with the world around him. The health in this game is not fixed at a certain amount as it was in the first game. By collecting codec pages throughout the game and bringing them back to Leonardo da Vinci, you are able to increase the maximum amount of health that you can have. Also added to the HUD is a new “Notoriety” meter. Instead of having to guess by looking around you at when the guards are unhappy with you, you are now able to see a bar which shows how aware of you the people around you are. This is a very helpful addition to the game and it works well also. There are also a few additions to the mini-map which makes it easier to locate many of the objectives around you.

One of the main things you’ll notice is the immense amount of upgrades that you can do to Ezio. To build upon the first game, many different weapons have been added, from a dagger, to the twin hidden blades, and in the later parts of the game you gain access to a limited ammo single shot gun. While it may seem like a ridiculous weapon that should have no place in this era, it is not a weapon that you can just pull out and fire instantly, as it takes some time for it to load. Speaking of upgrades, after you get past the beginning of the first city, you are taken to another city owned by an uncle of yours, who happens to be named Mario. Using the money that you earn throughout the game, you can purchase upgrades for your city and your uncle’s Villa. By doing so, the items that you purchase from your city become lesser in price, and you also earn more money. Every 20 minutes, an income is earned from your city which you can go back and collect at any time. Unfortunately, it is very easy to upgrade your Villa, and you can find yourself with an overabundance of money which can help you easily purchase everything in the game. While this takes away from the fun of earning it yourself, it does take just a little bit to be able to upgrade your Villa, so you won’t be overpowered in the beginning of the game.

Assassin's Creed II is definitely an M rated game as it is very bloody.

One of the major issues with the first game was the lack of variety in the side missions that you could perform. Ubisoft addressed this issue this time around and added a handful of different optional side quests that would earn you a little more spending money, and some trophies/achievements as well. While the View Points are back, Assassination Contracts, Races, Beat-Up Events and Courier Assignments have been added to the mix. The most puzzling aspect of the game, though, is the Assassin Tombs, which you must solve in order to unlock Altaïr’s armor, which is the max armor in the game. These provide an ample challenge, but still aren’t impossible to solve on your own.

As you may expect, this game is not perfect. While the controls are very easy to learn, and climbing tall buildings is easy to do, there are times where you’ll hit snags. Sometimes it will look like you can continue upwards, but you’ll realize that you can’t, and one wrong button press will earn you a flying leap straight into the pavement below. While these issues can sometimes be obnoxious, overall the game is solid, and does a great job of putting you into the shoes of Ezio. And of course, you can’t forget how beautiful this game is. Video games have come a long way in the past few years with the addition of high definition, and games nowadays continue to shine as good as ever. When on a View Point, the amount that you can see is excellent, giving you a real idea of how big each city is. And you will find out that as the game moves on, the cities get bigger and bigger, giving you a very large area to explore if you are looking to acquire 100% in the game.

While the flying machine may have looked cool in the trailers, you only get to use it for a single mission in the real game.

Overall, Assassin’s Creed II does an excellent job of following up on the shortcomings of it’s predecessor, but as you may have heard, there is still to be an Assassin’s Creed III to finish out the series in a trilogy. Without spoiling anything, the end of this game leaves you with some excitement, and only a slight idea of where you are headed to next, but it’s enough to keep you excited enough for the next one, even though cliffhanger endings are not a wonderful thing to sit on. And there is also some replay value in this game, especially if you are interested in earning all of the achievements/trophies, but, some of them are difficult, so you may want to look for a guide of some kind if you are interested in collecting all 100 of the feathers, which don’t show up on your mini-map, even if you buy the treasure maps.

DJ Hero Review

Weasel Terrahawk — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 23:50:20 +0000

DJ Hero
Publisher: Activision Blizzard
Developer: FreeStyleGames
Release Date: October 27, 2009
Platforms: PS3, 360, WII, PS2

When you think about the Hero franchise, you immediately think of the ever-growing selection of Guitar Hero games that continue to come out year after year. Yet, someone gave it enough thought to think outside of the box in the music and rhythm genre and gave FreeStyleGames the opportunity to create a new kind of Hero game: DJ Hero. Out of all of the different styles of music genres out there, the DJ mix styles have not become very popular or mainstream in the U.S., while in other countries, such as Europe, the techno, trance and progressive genres have been wildly popular. None the less, the introduction of something new and unique into the repetitive music genre of video games has been welcoming to many. And DJ Hero doesn’t disappoint; this game actually has a lot to offer for people who even might not like the music genre.

There are two things that people see when they first think of DJ Hero: the new DJ turntable peripheral, and the price tag. The good news is that, unlike the other band games out there, you don’t need to spend $200+ to get four plastic instruments so that you can take full advantage of the game. The price tag is still hefty at $120, but the controller is very good quality. The controller is made up of two pieces, the first being the turntable and the second being the crossfader, mixer, controls, etc. The turntable will turn 360 degrees, and keep turning just like a real record would, so you don’t have to worry about hitting and breaking some sort of brake on it. There are three buttons on the turntable, just like on the guitars, except these buttons are depressed, meaning your fingers will be able to fit down into them, making it more comfortable to handle. While the Guitar games have Star Power, DJ Hero has Euphoria, which works in the same way. The button for Euphoria on the controller, surprisingly, lights up when you have the ability to use it. The one main issue with the peripheral is the crossfader. When you need to move it from one side to the other, it’s very easy to overshoot the middle, which ruins your streak. None the less, overall, the controller is of great quality.

The DJ Hero peripheral is very cool and new.

But what about the game? The game follows the quality of the controller and it easy to use, as well as fun. As the notes come down the stream on your screen, you must press the corresponding button on the controller, just like any of the guitar or band games. Sometimes, though, it will show arrows on it. When it does that, you must hold the button and spin the turntable back and forth, just as a DJ would when they are scratching it in real life. In the easy difficulties, it will allow you to scratch the turntable in any direction you want, but as you get up to hard, it will tell you exactly what direction you need to scratch it. The game is very friendly to all audiences; for those who are playing it casually for fun, the easier difficulties make it enjoyable for you, but if you want to really master the game, the harder difficulties will provide you with a considerably ample challenge.

Normally when you’re playing, you’ll never have a chance to see what’s going on behind the stream, because the second you do, you realize you’re not pressing anything. Luckily, they’ve added a Party Play mode, which allows you to sit back and enjoy the music as it plays for you. While you won’t get scored on the game, it’s still nice if you just want to be able to listen to the songs on their own, or check out what goes on in the background. Obviously, these types of games aren’t meant to have good graphics, but if you know anything about this genre of music, you will know somewhat about how the parties and concerts look. FreeStyleGames succeeds in capturing the atmosphere that you would find in these types of concerts, with massive audiences, huge television screens, laser lights, unique video filters and much, much more.

An example of what you'd see when playing DJ Hero.

Really, though, the whole point of DJ Hero is the music. With any music and rhythm game, if the music isn’t good, people aren’t going to want to play it. The main challenge that they have with this game is the fact that the audience for this type of music isn’t as broad as something like the guitar or band genres. None the less, the variety of mixes that they have in DJ Hero makes it very impressive. First, you must note that almost all of the songs on DJ Hero are a mix of two different songs. The genres of the songs that they mix together range anywhere from pop, to hip-hop, even to a little bit of the trance genre itself. And of course, you can find many of the major players in that industry, such as DJ AM, DJ Shadow, and most popular, Daft Punk, with many featured mixes in the game. And the set list is impressive as well, coming in at 93 mixes! In short, the music selection is great for a large variety of players, and is well mixed as well.

Of course, there is also an online component to DJ Hero, which works quite easily, and works well. All you do is select the set list of songs that you want to play, select the character and venue you play at, and just play. The downfall is that, with any of these games, it makes your stream very small on the screen, as it shows both players’ streams, but, that is nothing unusual. And, the best news of all is that if you play any of the songs online that you haven’t played in single player yet, it still counts the stars that you earn on each of the songs and adds it to your collection. So, in theory, a player can play the entire game online with other people, and still unlock everything in the game. Just remember though, it doesn’t matter what your opponent gets, it only counts your own.

Two DJs facing off in multiplayer play.

DJ Hero opened up a new avenue into the music game genre. It’s been years since we’ve seen something new come out that hasn’t been a Guitar Hero or Rock Band game, but FreeStyleGames made one, and made it good. It’s been said that DJ Hero could possibly be the best music game since Dance Dance Revolution, and innovation-wise, that definitely checks out. If you have some extra time and money, and want something new, DJ Hero won’t disappoint you, or your wallet.

Afrika Review

Weasel Terrahawk — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 21:12:25 +0000

Afrika
Publisher: Natsume
Developer: Rhino
Release Date: October 14, 2009
Platforms: PlayStation 3

Now I know, when you first hear about Afrika, you begin asking what in the world could make this game good at all. As you expect, this PlayStation 3 exclusive, which was shown off as a tech demo before the PlayStation 3 was even released to the public, and was said to have been a launch title, takes place in, well, Africa. You play as one of two selectable characters, one male one female, who are both photo journalists who have been sent to Africa on an expedition as part of a wildlife organization. No matter which character you choose, the other one is also there with you in camp, and also sometimes comes with you on your adventures into the African wild. The point of this game is simple: go out into this fake piece of Africa and take pictures of the animals. While it sounds boring at first, and it can be, it’s not just doing that.

You don't want to get too close to a rhino; they're angry.

In your main camp, you are able to access your laptop, in which companies, including real, licensed wildlife magazine, will e-mail you, asking you to take a picture of a certain animal doing a certain thing, or from a certain angle. Using your real, licensed Sony cameras, which you continue to unlock better and more advanced of as you progress through the game, you are to go out in to Africa in search of the animal. At this point is where the game gets both fun, and not so fun. After leaving the camp, the first thing you realize is that there are no voice actors. If you’re traveling with your guide, or even your partner, the text will show up at the bottom of the screen in what looks to be a very outdated font. Jumping in your Suzuki jeep, you head out into the beautiful Africa that Sony has created for you to explore.

Afrika is a beautiful game, without a doubt. Looking around, you will see that each area is somewhat large, and filled with various different land types which are home to different types of animals. When you’ve driven around and found the animal that you’re looking for, you’ll also find the animal models to be quite well done as well. The attention to detail on the environment is definitely stunning, although not in a way that you find in a lot of games out these days. Of course, the attention to detail also goes into the cameras as well. When you are in the menu choosing your camera, you will find a perfectly detailed Sony camera, modeled to look exactly like the camera’s real life counterpart. Taking a picture with the camera also has a bit of authenticity to it, as each camera’s lens is different when looking through it.

Packs of animals are beautiful in Afrika.

Here’s where we encounter another issue. After you’ve reached your destination by driving, you can get out and run around just like in an open-world game. The controls are mostly simplistic, the analog sticks controlling which direction you move and look. When you press the up or down button on the D-pad, your character with kneel to the ground to be able to move up quieter, or stand up in order to move faster. To bring the camera up though, you have to press the square button. Many times while trying to do this, I’ve found it to be somewhat annoying and difficult, and I’m always wanting to press the X button in order to bring my camera up. Although, when taking a picture, you are supposed to press the R1 trigger button, and, just like a real camera, by pressing it down half-way, it focus holds the camera if you are set to Auto Focus. That attention to detail to real cameras impressed me.

There are a variety of missions in Afrika. Some of them are more interesting, such as one Big Game mission where your guide drives your jeep next to a cheetah chasing a gazelle, and you have to take a handful of action shots while the chase happens in slow-motion. Some of them, however, can be quite boring, including one in which you have to sit in the bushes next to the hippo pond, and take a picture as one of them is yawning. None the less, there are a wide variety of different types of missions, from getting a picture of a certain animal doing a certain action, to getting a picture of a certain animal at a certain angle, so there’s always enough room for a lot of creativity when taking these pictures, and if you love photography, you’ll love how well some of the ideas of this game work.

If you can capture a picture like this, you're bound to get a good rating.

When getting down to the nitty-gritty of the game, it’s a little rough around the edges. The menu system is very out-dated and janky, the fonts used are not the most unique, there is a great lack of music in almost every area, there is a limited amount of sound effects; not to forget that each animal does have their own real noises; and the control system is sometimes hard to use. Looking past all of these issues though, if you love photography, you’ll love how authentic the game tries to be to it, and you’ll love the quality of the graphics. I fear that this game was really meant for a certain niche, and while that works out well for those of us who like this kind of game, that doesn’t bode well for the finance department in the end.

Uncharted 2: Among Thieves Review

Weasel Terrahawk — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 18:35:01 +0000

Uncharted 2: Among Thieves
Publisher: SCEA
Developer: Naughty Dog
Release Date: October 13, 2009
Platforms: PlayStation 3

The comedic, no luck hero Nathan Drake returns for a second time as Naughty Dog creates Uncharted 2: Among Thieves for the PlayStation 3 exclusively. You play as the hero in events that take place after Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune. When you begin, you will find yourself injured on a train in the middle of a snowy mountain region, and this will be the setup for the tutorial of the game. The intro really sets you in to the feel of the game, and gets you prepared for the worst there is before you even jump into things. But you will not actually play in this area until about midway through the game. Instead, the game continues to test out your skills by sending you back in time to tell the story of how you got to this point, and does a very good job of it.

You get into many firefights in this third-person shooter.

One of the first things that you will notice about this game is that it is beautiful. Just the same as the first game, the detail that has been put into every piece of the game’s graphical ability has been excellent. The amount of distance that you can see is very far, and can really be seen when you enter the cities. Everywhere that you move is very detailed, and there are very little issues with walking in any of the environments. As with the first game, water effects are one of the best looking pieces of the game. If you are submerged in water, your clothes will look like they are legitimately wet. Not only that, but if you only walk in water up to your knees, only the bottom parts of your pants that were in the water will actually look like they got wet. Light effects also stand out and look wonderful. There are times when not only you, but your other AI-controlled companions, will be in a dark tunnel, and you will be carrying flashlights. Depending on whatever direction each character is looking in is where you will see a small circle of light from your flashlight. There is also another time where you will have to light some resin on fire, and it will light up the entire room in a very unique blue glow. The light effects on not only your characters, but their surroundings, is very excellently done.

Games are not only graphics, though, but also gameplay, and without a solid gameplay mechanic, even the most beautiful games can fall flat. Uncharted 2 is not one of those games however. The beginning of the game sets you back in time with the event that begun the mess that Nathan has gotten himself into, and sets you into a stealth action area, where you must sneak around a museum without being caught, taking out the guards silently, and you are given no weapons to do so. Following that area, you are soon thrust back into the usual Uncharted third-person shooter, which handles very easily. Later in the game, you are put on to a moving train, and even further in the game, you are put into a rail-shooting type of situation on moving vehicles. Uncharted 2 offers a wide-variety of gameplay, keeping the game interesting at all times.

Elena returns from the original Uncharted game.

For those who have played the first game, one of the more important features is that the grenades have been given a trigger button, so you will not have to fumble to jiggle your Sixaxis controller forwards in order to throw a grenade. Uncharted is an action/adventure game, so there are a lot of puzzles within the game that don’t require killing enemies. Some of these can also be somewhat challenging, and the developers realize that. If you spend enough time trying to look for the solution for the puzzle presented for you, the game will offer you a subtle hint which will try and point you in the right direction in how to find it. It makes you look for the solution on your own, and probably fail at least once or twice, before it offers you a hint though, which doesn’t make the game too easy on you.

The flow between cutscene and gameplay is nearly seamless, and you will quickly find yourself back in control of Mr. Drake after learning an important piece of information about where you are heading next. Another thing you will notice in both cutscene and gameplay is the excellent voice acting that they have. Each character is played by a voice actor who knows exactly what character they should be playing. During the game, you will hear your character say some sort of witty banter which really adds to the atmosphere of the game, as you are probably thinking the same thing that they say. The game, while having it’s serious side, is full of small bites of humor which blend in really well with the rest of the game.

You'll travel all over the world in Uncharted 2.

One of the complaints with the previous Uncharted is that the AI enemies were dull and stupid when it came to their fighting ability. In Uncharted 2, you will find that the AI is very capable of holding their own. You will find that they are smart enough to know when there is a suicide situation at hand, and will find other ways of being able to kill you instead of blindly running out to get themselves killed. They will also notice bodies around them of their fallen comrades, and search in the direction that they found the body for you. One of the new weapons, if you wish to call it that, is the Riot Shield, and you will find some difficult enemies carrying these. When you defeat these enemies though, you can pick up the shield and use it for yourself, which is a new gameplay mechanic found in Uncharted 2. The shield can be used as a defense with your primary weapon, or can be used as a weapon itself if you can get close enough to your enemies.

Overall, Uncharted 2: Among Thieves is a deep, engaging game, which keeps you on your toes at all times. The cutscenes are not too long, but give you plenty of story to keep the game moving, and with over 25 chapters, the game can last you for ten hours, or more. And, of course, if you want to gather all of the trophies, you will have to play the game again, and after playing it once, you probably won’t have found all of the treasures, so you can always replay the game on a harder difficulty to be able to finish off the game. Uncharted 2 is worth every penny, and is definitely a good star in the PlayStation 3 lineup.

Flower Review

Weasel Terrahawk — Thu, 19 Feb 2009 19:00:04 +0000

Flower
Platform: PlayStation 3
Developer: ThatGameCompany
Publisher: Sony Computer Entertainment
Rating: E

At first glance, most people who I even mention the name of this game to ask me why in the world I would even want to play such a game. Shockingly enough, Flower is actually one of the most interesting games I’ve played in a long time. Personally, I’ll admit, I love music and sound based games, I feel that they have a very interesting and unique quality to them that other games miss sometimes. And, to be honest, this game is so simplistic that a person of any age can find enjoyment in it.

Flower's graphics are absolutely gorgeous.

Since this is a downloadable PlayStation Network game for your PlayStation 3, this isn’t necessarily a big game. When you first start the game, you are sitting in a bleak room with a flower in a pot. As you progress, more pots with various different colored flowers begin to get added to your room. When selecting a level, it begins with a small cutscene with a beautiful brush stroke look to it. As the level begins, you find that you play as a flower, or rather, a flower’s petal. The controls are simple; by tilting your SixaxiS controller forward, backward, left or right, the flower petals on your screen will move in the respective direction. By pressing any of the shape buttons, it creates wind, which pushes your petals forwards in the direction that you are faced. Quite simply, you are supposed to guide your petal over other flowers. As you do so, a single petal from that flower joins you, and you find that at the end of the level, you have a massive collection of flower petals that you are guiding around. Collecting these petals and opening the various flowers around the level will begin to color the world around you in gorgeous vibrant colors, as your objective is to return color to the world.

As you fly over each flower, a different sound effect is made for each different flower’s color. In addition to this, the music playing in the background is a wonderful musical assortment which fits the mood of each level and each situation perfectly. This is one of the things that Flower does the best. While Flower can get exciting, and more into an action-type setting, for the most part it is a calm, adventurous game, which rewards you (with trophies) for going out of your way and finding those hard to reach flowers. In total, there are six flowers’ levels to fly through, each with more flowers to find than are necessary to complete the level.

You fly around as a large train of flower petals.

Visually, this game excels. Created for High Definition, Flower shows off the best of the PlayStation 3′s ability with this visually appealing game. There are literally thousands of blades of grass, all modeled separately and with their own unique animation style as you fly through them. The end result is a gorgeous looking field of vibrant colors. Each level has a different color scheme that you will find, enough to provide you with a different experience each time. While in the beginning you will just be looking to bring back the green of the grass to the vast wide fields, later you will enter a night level in which you must light up the grass around you to move on to the next area. And if you’re really looking for something different, there are different colored flowers in each level which can turn the grass a different varied color, making for a very beautiful setting around you.

The one downfall that Flower succumbs to is the fact that it is a very short game. It’s definitely possible for a player to finish this game within a single sitting of an hour or two, although trying to find 100% of the flowers may take a little bit more time. And although there are a lot of various flowers to find, there is virtually no replay value to the game once you have completed it, due to the fact that the levels will always be the same each time you play through them. While these factors do hinder Flower a slight bit, overall I find this game to be worth it’s value of USD$9.99. Something like this hasn’t exactly been tried before, as with a lot of the PlayStation Network games, but this one does a good job of creating something out of an idea that no one would think could be even remotely interesting: flying around as a flower petal.