Review: Prince of Persia

When the Prince first arrived on the scene back in 1989 on the Apple II few would have believed that a franchise was in the works when it had to go up against several other big name titles that year, including the original Sim City, Populous and even the Gameboy.   It took five years for a sequel to finally arrive and though it sold well the next game, an ambitious 3D entry, was a complete flop, filled with tons of glitches and some very troublesome controls.  When Prince of Persia 3D failed and the game’s creator felt that the series was over Ubisoft stepped up to the plate and, after negotiating a license deal, 2003 yielded us a reimagining of the POP franchise: The Sands of Time.  This 3D Price title was exactly what fans were frothing at the mouth for and its two sequels kept players coming back for more.  Fans have been very apprehensive when it comes to the latest title in the series as it bears no subtitle nor almost any relation to the Sands of Time series.  Fans, I’m here to say that there’s no need to fret.

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Like Sands Through the Hourglass...

The game follows the Prince (though neither his name nor reason for his title is revealed) on a particularly bad day.  After having lost his donkey in the desert, both a motivation as well as the biggest running gag of the game, the Prince finds Elika, a princess of a nearby temple that keeps the evil god Ahriman imprisoned.  Naturally, through a fit of misguided parental feelings, Elika’s father kills the Tree of Life, leading to Ahriman’s freedom and eventual corruption of the entire kingdom.  The Prince and Elika, brought together by fate, depart on a quest to put the evil god back behind bars while trying to come to terms with the father’s corruption.

Prince of Persia is a very charming game on all fronts, none the least of which is the development of the story, mostly told through quick in-game cutscenes and dialog between Elika and the Prince.  The prince, with his smarminess and Elika’s passion for the restoration of order lead to some very intuitive, smart, and down right funny conversations.  The story stands out amongst the crowd, giving us something you don’t expect to find at every turn.  It does have a few standard clichés but what is a certainty is that, once you learn more about Elika and her father’s history, you really begin to feel for the characters.  The ending is quite a surprise and gives the feeling that a second game is all but unnecessary as questions are left unanswered.  The next game in this series will have a lot to live up to when it rolls around.

Float Like a Butterfly

The Prince of Persia franchise has always been a staple of the hack-and-slash genre since Ubisoft gave us The Sands of Time in 2003.  Swift combat, tight controls, and ingenuitive exploration have always been trademarks of the series and this latest entry does not disappoint.  The first point of order is the new open world that players get to explore.  The previous entries in the POP franchise have always involved linear levels.  Prince of Persia this time around discards that tried and true method with the ability to travel anywhere they wish within the realm of the kingdom.  Well, kinda.  While it is true that the game never forces you to get to a location by going a specific route the various routes never force you to stick to the path until you reach an intersection.  The world may seem like it is really large and open but the grim reality is that, unlike the open nature gameplay that players expected to find from the same developer as Assassin’s Creed, the game almost all of the time is nothing but corridor crawling at its finest.

The main objective in the game, other than putting a stop to Ahriman, is healing the Fertile Grounds, twenty unique locations throughout the kingdom that have been corrupted by the evil god.  Each Fertile Ground is also the site of a miniboss fight in which players fight the particular boss of that section of the world any number of times depending on the level being played.  The Fertile Grounds, oddly almost anywhere but actually located on the ground, are always an entertaining romp to get to but, once healed, leave very little incentive for the player to return to.  Players can open the map menu and warp to any healed Fertile Ground available, which is handy when heading off to finally kill a boss.  However this feature is discouraged by the game’s Light Seed system.

The Light Seeds are the necessary collectable of Prince of Persia and is with absolute certainty the most tedious part of the game.  After having healed a Fertile Ground the path the player took to get to it becomes covered in them which unfortunately is where the game throws in mandatory backtracking.  In order to gain news powers and in turn access other levels throughout the world, Elika and the Prince must collect specific amounts of Light Seeds, though the order in which you unlock these powers is entirely up to the player.  It is understandable that Ubisoft wanted to expand the play time by incorporating the backtracking but it would have been more enjoyable if Light Seeds were more common and didn’t require as many to unlock new powers.

Sting Like a Bee

Combat is by far the most enjoyable part of Prince of Persia, though it couldn’t be any more different from Sands of Time.  Rather than very frequent fights against dozens upon dozens of enemies, POP changes things up by having very few fights against but a handful of enemies during each level.  Players can even prevent fights by attacking the enemy’s spawn point before they arrive on the scene.  It would have been more desirable though to have fights come more often than only a couple of times per level as the combat system, while simple, is quite fun.  Built entirely around a simple combo system, each face button corresponds to a different type of attack with the end result being easy to remember combos, though it isn’t very accommodating to button mashers.  The combo system is all about timing so it is easy to break a combo but if you get your timing right with what’s going on on screen then you’re going to win every single battle you come upon.

One new addition to Prince of Persia is something the series has never really considered: a full time partner.  Elika serves more than just a plot motivator; she helps out in almost every aspect of the game.  When traversing the world she uses her powers in various ways, including giving the Prince extra air time while leaping as well as activating magical pads that wouldn’t be available for use otherwise.  In combat she serves as a magical attack, lunging off the Prince’s back and assaulting the enemy, albeit not as strong as the Prince’s sword.  What makes Elika unique among co-op partners is that she makes it entirely impossible to fail or die.  Fall in battle?  She uses her powers to get you back on your feet.  Miscalculate a jump?  Elika pulls you to safety.  While this is a smart feature to help encourage playthrough it doesn’t alleviate the stress as well as it should.  Sure it helps when you make a mistake and doesn’t force you to go through a loading screen but when you mess it on one of the games long climbing and grappling sequences and are forced to restart it entirely it does tend to annoy.  Overall though Elika is a smart addition to a game filled with hundreds of potential pitfalls.

Another Day at the Beach

Prince of Persia is, for all intents and purposes, a graphical powerhouse.  Built on the same engine as Assassin’s Creed and the recent Shaun White Snowboarding game, POP trades in large, realistic towns and good looking white powder (no, not cocaine) in return for an interesting cel-shaded environment with little to no denizens at all throughout the game.  As if taking design hints from other games, POP looks very much like a cross between Ubisoft’s recent Naruto games and Capcom’s Okami.  Every level has a corrupt and pure look with an accompanying real-time transition between the two once a Fertile Ground is healed.  While both are just fine looking it’s easy to nitpick about a few of the textures, but that’s neither here nor there.  The character design, though sparse in number, is well done and compliments the vibrant colors of the cel-shading very well.  Lip syncing is spot on and match the charismatic nature of the characters.  Stability is never really an issue as the game runs at a very smooth framerate with no crashes and almost no slowdown.

The audio design is very well done.  While the voices for the Prince and Elika don’t exactly reflect the character design the voices do fit the script quite well.  Sound effects are well timed and are unique enough to not be recycled far too often.  The music is very sweeping and does an excellent job motivating you toward your objective.  It is also pretty dynamic and reflects the action on screen quite well.

Dashing Through the Sand

The past three months have been devastating to gamers’ wallets, with must have title after title arriving on store shelves with absolutely no pity being bestowed upon us.  Thankfully the onslaught has finally come to an end and Prince of Persia serves as a great title to round out the entire lot.  With an interesting storyline, a bright and colorful world to explore, and hours upon hours of platforming action, there’s very little not to like about the latest title in this long running franchise.

Review: Tom Clancy's EndWar

One of the best selling franchises of all time, it is almost a guarantee nowadays that, if you put the Clancy name on your game it’ll certainly sell like hotcakes.  While Ubisoft’s breadwinning series of games has earned them untold billions in revenue each game has stuck to traditional values while at the same time changing the landscape with nothing short of addicting tactical gameplay.  EndWar, the first new Clancy series in almost six years, looks to shake things up once again thanks to a very different take on the real time strategy genre.  But is it all talk?

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The Beginning of the End

The Clancy franchise, though based upon dozens of games, follows a singular storyline.  While there have been convoluted hints throughout the series that point to an eventual culmination of the various series there has yet to be such a title released, though we all know that that would sell a bazillion units.  EndWar seems to be the first true step in this direction with characters, and units from the various series set as key players in the overall story.   While it’s not very relevant to the average player, seeing familiar faces like former Rainbow and Ghost operatives as commanders in the field gives a bit of a nostalgia trip to veteran players.

If there’s one thing that the Clancy name is known for its creating scenarios based in reality that are as realistic as they are addictive to play.  EndWar is no exception.  Set in the year 2020, the game tells the story of how the world went to hell in a hand basket in just four years.  In 2016, following a terrorist detonation of a nuclear weapon in Saudi Arabia that kills over six million people and cripples the world’s oil supply, Russia almost overnight becomes the world’s leading supplier of oil thanks to massive fields in Eastern Siberia.  With its newfound wealth the country quickly begins to reconstruct its army with modern weapons to levels that haven’t been seen since the end of the Cold War.  Meanwhile, as the rest of the world copes with the economic crisis, several remarkable evens begin to take place.  The European Union finally unites under a single banner to become essentially a united states of Europe, placing their capitol at Paris.  The following year the United States and Europe align to launch the world’s first global interlocking anti-ballistic missile shield, dubbed SLAMS.  Russia quickly reacts by building their own ABM system, effectively ending the threat of a nuclear war.  All sides dismantle their missiles and the world revels in the newfound sense of peace.

The world stage begins to change once again in 2018 as the United States announces their intention to begin construction on the Freedom Star, a military space station that is able to deploy up to three companies of marines anywhere in the world in just ninety minutes.  Shocked at the militarization of space, the European Union and Russia protest this sudden gambit to regain dominance on the global stage which is promptly ignored in Washington.  On the day of the final shuttle launch two years later a series of terrorist attacks break out across the three nations, culminating in the destruction of the Freedom Four launcher.  This sparks a chain of events that culminate in all out war between them.  And so the final war begins.

It is worth noting that there is no one good side in this war, given that both Europe and the United States are the victims and Russia is secretly the aggressor.  Each side has their own intentions but Russia is clearly once again the bad guy as they both aided the terrorist factions as well as launched an all out invasion of Eastern Europe.  While very little story develops after the first bullets start to fly little snippets appear between missions giving you a sense for how the world state is rapidly deteriorating.  Learning of events like assassination attempts, riots, food shortages, and even the destruction of the Vatican due to a terrorist nuclear detonation give you a strong sense for how frighteningly realistic a Clancy apocalypse could be.

The Tools to do the Job

The Tom Clancy name signifies a franchise that is very distinctive in the realm of video games.  EndWar is no different from the other series in this regard.  The game shares several distinct features with new-age RTSes like World in Conflict.  The game attempts to give an alternate take on how real time strategy games should be played and, surprisingly, it does quite well.  The first thing players will notice will be the way the game’s camera system works.  Rather than sticking to the traditional “god eye” system, EndWar places the camera on the ground with the units you are commanding, limiting your movement to within a small distance from your unit.  Since the game does not incorporate a “fog of war” mechanic (though there are draw distance limitations) you have to play the game different from any other RTS on the market.  By placing your camera next to the units you command you get more drawn into the action and desperation of the moment.

Instead of employing traditional resource-gathering gameplay that you would find in roughly nine out of every ten RTS titles, EndWar goes a very different direction.  The game chooses to utilize what are known as Command Points, which are constantly earned over time but can be given bumps by meeting certain objectives.  Command Points can be used to call in off-map support such as air strikes and electromagnetic pulse strikes.  Force Recon, this reviewer’s personal favorite support option, calls in off-map army units to a designated location and, once powered up, can rival that of all your units combined.  The majority of the points however will be spent on the deployment of units.  As players are put in command of an entire battalion, the player can deploy a set amount of units, depending on their Command Point value.  Players can command up to twelve units at one time and you are not limited on having a set number of the same unit type.

One of the more interesting aspects of the game is how the units operate.  Using a rock-paper-scissors rule set, EndWar makes the deployment of your men to the battlefield more a strategic necessity than anything else.  Transports will trump choppers, choppers trump tanks, and tanks trump transports.  The list goes on and on, and with a variety of seven different units the player has to think carefully as to who to deploy and in what order they wish to do it in.  Each unit also has secondary and sometimes tertiary functions, though most involve a quick blast of firepower that affects the enemy unit’s health directly.  Engineers, for example, are arguably one of the most powerful units in your arsenal, are pretty much vulnerable to most of the units on the battlefield until they get into cover, at which time they can slaughter most mechanized units and are dreadfully unstoppable when facing down gunships.  They can also deploy minefields and even restore the shield of other units.

Everybody Wants to Rule the World

Console RTS titles are still an adventurous type of game to create for developers that doesn’t guarantee success.  Only in the past couple of years have we begun to see the potential of such a genre finally coming into its own on a platform that doesn’t involve a mouse and keyboard.  And while most of the other titles on the market, while being developed for simultaneous release on multiple systems, at the end of the day the resulting console product is not as good as the PC version.  This is not the case with EndWar.

This fact cannot be any more obvious when you examine the game’s control scheme.  EndWar is very ambitious in this regard as almost the entire game can (and is recommended to) be played via voice command.  Using a console specific headset (for this review both the generic Xbox 360 headset as well as the official wireless headset were used) all a player has to do to issue a command his a unit is pull the trigger on your controller, say it, and release the trigger; it’s that simple.  The list of commands that can be given, seemingly taking a few notes on the SOCOM: US Navy SEALs own command system, partitions your orders in a certain order, having you name a unit, give them an action command, and then giving them a destination or target to do said action to.  While such a feature has been tested and tried in other games EndWar is extremely successful in this regard.  Roughly 90% of the commands you issue will work out as planned with only a few small caveats here and there.  The list of commands is made intentionally small and therefore is easy to remember.  Once you have the list memorized you’ll find yourself issuing commands faster than you could possibly have done so with your controller.  Plus, there’s very little else that’s as satisfying as barking orders at your troops.

Tom Clancy’s EndWar consists of three different modes of play: singleplayer, skirmish, and the Theatre of War.  Beginning with the singleplayer, EndWar has two concurrent campaigns to fight through.  The first, Prelude to War, has you jumping around between the three different factions and, as the title implies, playing out the various terrorist battles that eventually lead to the full-on realization of World War III.  Once the second campaign has become available players choose a faction as well as a battalion to use which I’ll get to in a minute.  What’s interesting to note is that the World War III campaign is entirely non-linear and changes based on your progress.  While players cannot choose battles to initiate as the war is far bigger in scope than just you and your men, there is a set list of battles occurring within the turn you are playing you can participate in.  After the conclusion of your battle the entire theatre for the turn is calculated and, in various regions, your front is pushed forward or back.  Your battles will determine the course of the war eventually and to win the player must either conquer either the majority of the map or all three capitols.  The singleplayer can last a very long time depending on your actions and is the longest one this reviewer has ever seen in a RTS title.  The endings for each faction are lackluster but the overall effect of the singleplayer is very entertaining.

Ubisoft knew what they were doing when they were considering long term play with EndWar.  The Theatre of War, the main multiplayer component for the game, is nothing short of being very entertaining.  Similar to the singleplayer in scope, the Theatre of War is a persistent online campaign being fought by thousands of players across the three factions and is entirely shaped by the player’s actions.  A set amount of battles occur each day and, at the end of said day, the total results for each one is calculated and the overall winning faction wins that battle.  The map changes every day and will only conclude when one side conquers most of the map or all three capitols.  Once a faction has won the campaign is reset and, theoretically, different conditions to win are set the change up the pace.  Obviously facing a human opponent is much more difficult than any AI could be but it is still rather fun to play.  I can only imagine the variety of downloadable content Ubisoft could be bringing us.

An interesting aspect to take note of is the battalion you command.  While the units you command are at the end of the day no different from one another their status as veterans is something of relevance to the gameplay.  Your battalion is entirely persistent and units that survive your battles and kill enemies will earn increasing veteran status.  When outside of a mission players can go into an upgrade shop and upgrade the various units in their battalion, giving them secondary abilities, offensive and defensive upgrades, and even allowing you to purchase upgrades to off-map support.  Units that are killed lose their veteran status and therefore all the upgrades you’ve purchased but once the new unit begins to climb the ladder again they automatically unlock those upgrades.  The only catch players might take offense to is that, while the credit’s earned from both the singleplayer and multiplayer will transfer between the two the battalions can’t be.

DEFCON ONE

Tom Clancy’s EndWar is a true example of how to affectively create a console RTS without having to worry about a button layout.  While the integrated storyline will have some players troubled about where the other Clancy series will go, Ubisoft’s goal of uniting them all for one massive war game sometime in the future Endwar clearly depicts a prosperous future for the entire franchise.  For RTS fans out there looking for something different this is definitely the title to get.

Review: Brothers in Arms Hell's Highway

 

In 2005, Gearbox Software, famous for their various Half-Life expansions such as Opposing Force and Blue Shift, truly came into their own with the creation of the Brothers in Arms franchise. The first game in the series, Road to Hill 30, was notably different from your typical World War II shooter, introducing a tactical edge with squad commands and a gripping story. Earned in Blood, the second title in the series, launched just a few months later and introduced a story that paralleled the events in the previous game while refining several key elements.

Now, after three years of development and numerous delays, the third title in this franchise, Hell's Highway, has finally used the exit ramp. But is it a successful drop or should you take cover in your foxhole?
 

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I Never Asked to be Squad Leader

With Brothers in Arms: Hell's Highway, players are reintroduced to Sgt. Matthew Baker, a paratrooper squad leader in the 101st and survivor of the Normandy invasion. While he may have come out of the Normandy campaign in one piece, he didn't quite make it out intact. Burdened by the deaths of several of his comrades, Baker is slowly starting to go insane from the constant fear for the lives of his men and from his hatred of his supposedly "cursed" pistol with which everyone who has ever wielded it has died. The game even incorporates this beyond just cinematic sequences. It is not uncommon for Baker to get flashbacks of his departed friends while alone or even seeing their ghosts fighting alongside you just a few yards away.

The game occurs during the daring September 1944 campaign dubbed Operation Market Garden, in which American paratroopers dropped into Holland to secure key bridges across the Rhine and, with British armor support, hopefully create a highway right into the heart of Germany. Those who are aware of their modern history probably know what happened next. After the paratroopers dropped in, chaos ensued with missed deployment points for the British. The Germans counterattacked and forced the Allies to withdraw after nine days of torrential fighting. The events of those nine days came to be known as Hell's Highway.

The events of the game follow Baker and his men through those nine days and the end result is nothing short of being stellar. The story is the best part of the entire Brothers in Arms experience and, thanks to the power of the Unreal 3 engine, is a visual feast. Watching Matt Baker slowly begin his descent into madness is startling and parallels some of the best television shows and movies of the past twenty years. There are no unimportant characters in the story either; every person in the game is fleshed out and they all feel like actual people. In keeping with Gearbox's devotion to creating a realistic experience, everyone ranked lieutenant or higher was an actual person who was involved in those locations and times. When a character dies no one is left unaffected by their death and by the time you get to the end of the tale you will feel similarly affected.

Corrion, Get to That Cover!
Gearbox Software, while being in the business to entertain and make money, prides itself in creating a realistic experience that few other developers have ever been able to accomplish. Unlike the Call of Duty and Medal of Honor series that have been more about creating cinematic moments than a realistic depiction of what transpired, the Brothers in Arms series devotes itself to balancing fun with realism. The end result does indeed meet such a balance and is never tiring.

Hell's Highway incorporates the same type of squad tactics that were employed by the Allies and the Germans in World War II. Called "fire and maneuver", the rules of engagement usually involve two or more teams. One team, dubbed the fire team, would take up a position and provide a base of fire to suppress the enemy with. When the enemy has been suppressed, another team, dubbed the assault team, would maneuver around to a position at the enemy's flank and wipe them out in the ensuing confusion. Roughly 90% of the Brothers in Arms experience has worked this way with the small exception of the main character going off alone or with the addition of armor support such as tanks.

 Fire Teams

Hell's Highway adds to this formula with the introduction of a third fire team and different variations thereof. Whereas the first two games in the series only involved fire and assault teams and the occasional tank, this latest addition introduces the machine gun team, armed with a fearsome .30 Browning M1919, and the bazooka team. The Bazooka team is especially handy in situations in which your squad is pinned down by enemy fire from a weak cover position. As you would expect, this team can destroy light cover such as sandbags and vehicles.

While your fire teams will be doing almost all of the suppression fire on the German positions, at least 50% of the kills will come from the player. You will often find yourself in positions in which moving a team will get your men killed and thus requires you to take out the enemy. The controls are simple and don't take much time to learn even though it does not adopt the standard Halo scheme. Commanding your squad is done with a pull of the left trigger and directing it at either a position or an enemy squad to fire upon.

While the campaign is an excellent experience to have, there is one critical area that really detracts from the overall Hell's Highway experience: the multiplayer component. While there is a fair amount of different maps available, most games are plagued with lag and there is only one mode to play. I'm sorry, but I was under the impression that a deathmatch mode was a staple of the first person shooter. Overall the multiplayer experience feels very tacked on at the last minute and isn't worth playing for long. With two collection features to find throughout the game and a hard mode that completely removes the HUD, the replay value is increased somewhat, but it would have helped if the multiplayer would have received more attention.

Pushing The Front Forward

As the third entry in the franchise it is almost a requirement to create new gameplay elements and refine others that came before it. Several of these new features are anything but refined, as many have become staples of this generation. The first of which is one that is almost always present in a shooter nowadays: a cover system. The cover system could not be much simpler and involves walking over to an object and pressing a button. Controls for being in cover are actually better than most games however, as peaking out of cover is devoted to the left analog stick and the aiming on the right stick, whereas most other shooters devote it pretty much to the right stick. The addition of the cover system really changes things from the methods established previously in the series and strongly aids in tackling tough objectives.

Another new gameplay element is destructible cover. Objects such as fences, carts, and sandbag walls, previously all but invincible to even tank fire, can now be taken out depending on the material they are built with. As stated before, certain objects can only be taken out by explosives but a good majority of cover such as picket fences and wooden walls can be destroyed by gunfire. There are still objects that for some reason or another are invulnerable, such as some brick walls, but it is not a game killer.

Hell's Highway abandons the health bar in favor of the typical Call of Duty health regeneration system. It seems that Gearbox understands the lack of realism in having such a system (logically I shouldn't be able to finish a level after being hit by two hundred bullets) and has added a twist. Instead of allowing you to be a living repository for enemy fire, the game incorporates a 'one shot one kill' policy to players. When the screen begins to turn red, it is not an indication that the player is getting hit but rather that he is exposed and is drawing fire. When the screen has turned completely red and black you get shot and die right there. This works well and we wouldn't mind seeing this in other games.

The final addition to the game doesn't change the gameplay so much as make it more entertaining. Upon certain events like a devastating headshot or an explosion taking place at an enemy position, the camera will zoom in on that position and slows down everything, allowing the player to take in what has just happened. The result isn't that much different from the bullet time effect that was made popular by Max Payne but it is still entertaining every single time. The effect occurs at random times but you won't find yourself wishing you could speed through it.

The Roar of Windmills Aflame

While a game always gets high marks for a good story, sadly it is the graphics that more often than not decide the fate of most games. Luckily, Hell's Highway takes this category head on and comes out smiling. Gearbox chose to utilize the ever impressive Unreal 3 engine to get the job done and shows some excellent eye candy. While there are certain polish issues that are seen throughout the game, such as certain rubble textures and some last-gen grass models, you find yourself immersed by the visuals. The game experiences some drops in framerate on occasion but otherwise works out just fine for most of the game.

The biggest visual highlights are the flames seen on almost everything in sight. Put quite simply, what Bioshock was to water effects, Hell's Highway is to fire. The visual design of many of the levels is great and really throws you into a hellish situation. The titular level of the game, set toward the end of the campaign, is filled with both visual splendor and is genuinely creepy. There's just something genuinely scary about seeing windmills and other farm buildings on fire with the ruins of a convoy lying in ruin and not knowing where the Germans are.

The modeling of the characters is quite well done. No two people in Baker's squad (or on the Allies' side for that matter) look the same. There are a few variations in the German models but you aren't going to be focusing on those very often. The facial expressions on Baker, Frankie, Corrion, and Hartsock are particularly well animated with Baker standing out. Watching Baker's face twist and contort in sorrow and rage tells you more about his current state of mind than words could ever convey.

Violence

Gearbox's attention to detail is exceptional. The game really captures the feel of 1944 Holland and in more than just scenery. Gearbox went out of their way in the recreation of Eindhoven. Using city maps and descriptions from both civilian and veterans, Gearbox recreated the city to within a foot of where everything actually was. All the building designs, store locations, roads, and landmarks are exactly as they were during Operation Market Garden. Short of a golf game, Gearbox has done one of the most remarkable recreations ever done in a videogame.

One graphical change that is fairly surprising to see is the amount of violence as Hell's Highway is loaded with gore. It is not uncommon to see limbs blown off at their joints or heads explode at the impact of a bullet. Severed legs and arms show the exposed bones and muscle from the wound and heads are nothing short of a bloody mess. It really gives you a sense of the horrors seen by those who were there.

The audio portion of the game has some very authentic sound effects. The music is your typical sweeping World War II suite with everything kicking in at just the right moment. The voice acting is superb and obviously uses well experienced voice actors. Troy Baker's presentation of the game's main character is very emotional and does tug on the heartstrings. Your squad mates always have something useful to say and the dialogue takes a long time before it starts getting too repetitive.

Remember the Fallen

Brothers in Arms is an excellent example of taking what could have been another typical first person shooter and adding just enough refinements to be one of the best on the market. While Hell's Highway's multiplayer component is something you should all but steer clear of. The campaign is an excellent fictional narrative set within an all too realistically depicted battlefield. This one's going to be with me for a long time.

Review: Alone In The Dark

Fifteen years ago a French developer named Infogames released a title that was radically different from any other previously released.  Alone in the Dark, then heralded for both its cutting edge 3D technology and its invention of the survival horror video game.  Taking root in paranormal activity the game explored a haunted mansion filled with monsters and placed the player on a quest to discover the mystery and get out alive.

Since then Infogames has seen fit to release three sequels though none of the have garnered the acclaim that the original did.  This new title, taking the name of the original bereft of a subtitle, seeks to do justice to the series and put Alone in the Dark back on top as the premiere survival horror title.  But can it be done?

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One Dark Night

Alone in the Dark takes place one evening in modern day New York and follows series protagonist and amnesiac Edward Carnby.  Shortly after having woken up groggy and confused he is lead away to be executed when all hell breaks loose.  As the building begins to crumble around him and living fissures and the possessed attempt to kill him he, along with his friend Theophile Paddington and a woman named Sarah, escape to Central Park, a place almost untouched by developers for centuries and filled with dark mysteries.  With New York crumbling around him it’s up to the trio to discover the mysteries surrounding the park, survive, and ensure that humanity will see the dawn.

While the story is definitely B material the scale of it and its intentions are far grander in design.  It is revealed later in the game that the supernatural creatures attacking New York are minions of Lucifer who intends to be incarnated into the mortal realm that very night.  The story, while quite linear in design, does not allow you to learn anything regarding the plot outside of exploring the main areas of the park in the order it is given to you but it does allow you to freely explore the park and way you see fit.  The game unfortunately comes down to two endings that are almost exactly the same and is disappointing and also leaves many issues unresolved.  The end result feels a bit rushed and can turn off players who want something a bit grander.

Real World Rules

Eden Studios, the developer, prides its work on Alone in the Dark in the interactive realism present despite the supernatural plotline.  Dubbed ‘Real World Rules,’ this system allows you to become a game version of MacGyver in almost all senses of the term as you can create makeshift weapons and items by simply combining different things found around in the environment.  Famous weapons like Molotov Cocktails are easily created as well as makeshift lanterns from glowsticks and tape and the like.

Real World Rules however does not stop at creating items however; it is instead built into the entire game itself.  Need to fill a bottle with fuel?  Simply stab a car’s fuel tank with a screwdriver and fill ’er up.   Need to get through a locked door?  Pick up a fire extinguisher and use it as a battering ram to get through.  Nearly every scenario that can be conceived of can be overcome in the game using RWR and is quite entertaining in how different it is from a lot of other titles on the market attempt to use rules like these but come off as a gimmick at best.

Central Dark

As far as this reviewer can recall this is the first survival horror title to exist in a sandbox environment.  The scale in which Eden Studios has recreated Central Park is surprisingly deep for a sandbox title, as it maps down every path, road, and bench to within a about a yard of its real life location.  While slightly twisted by the forces at work with fissures and divides that separate the park from the rest of the city and a very apocalyptic presentation thereof it is still a very nice recreation that is worthy of praise.  Every single landmark on the map is present including Belvedere Castle, Delecorte Theatre and the Metropolitan Museum of Art.  Heck, I’m certain that if you were to play the game enough and memorize the map, upon actually visiting Central Park you would never feel lost.

Despite the set nature of the game entirely existing within the confines of Central Park, given the occult nature of the park there is a nice diversity of environments that range from sewers to building interiors and even underground ruins.   While Edward is not granted the ability to swim (otherwise known as GTA 3 syndrome) he can still travel everywhere on the map that is not a deep chasm.  Indeed, the highest point of merit within Alone in the Dark is the park itself as you will learn.

Things that Go Bump in the Night

As a survival horror game it is a given that any enemy you encounter is designed specifically kill your character.  Alone in the Dark is no exception to this rule.  However, given some fundamental flaws in the game’s design it is far from being a horror game that drives you to frantically play it safe to ensure your survival.  Dare I say it but it seems that the game does not frighten you in the least.  The horror aspect of the game is absolutely minimal and not once will it make you jump off your couch in fright.

What makes the game abysmal in terms of horror are the enemies you encounter.  First off there is very little variety in what you will encounter, ranging from possessed ‘Humanz,’ bats known as ‘Vampirez,’ and poison-chucking insects known as ‘Ratz.’  That’s it.  Given the small variety one would expect a number of different AI attack routines that would be random upon each encounter.  Again the game fails as the AI is in itself blatantly stupid in all regards.  The only time it seems that your enemies are smart are when they are retreating from you because you are wielding an ax that’s on fire.  This reviewer believes that everyone should flee from such an imposing weapon and those that don’t, well, you deserve a Darwin Award.  I apologize, but sticking a Z at the end of your enemies’ names does not make them unique.  The survival aspect is made redundant based on the fact that fire, essentially the arsenic for every single enemy in the game, is easily found or made and can end any encounter you have in just a matter of seconds.

The horror aspect only appears in terms of the game controls.  Put quite simply, unless the game is played almost exclusively in the first-person perspective, players will find that the game, despite being in a mainly closed-in third-person camera ala Resident Evil 4, Edward handles like a tank.  The controls are clunky at best and are one of the main reason for which you will die throughout the games.  In addition, the game does not pause when you have entered your inventory screen and can thus result in further damage should you be in the middle of a swarm.  Perhaps this is an attempt to conform to the RWR set but its poor game design for inexperienced players.

The two gameplay elements that Eden Studios can be proud of are its cinematic nature and the puzzles the game throws at you.  The game’s cinematic scale is excellent if you are paying attention.  For example, the second chapter of the game has you driving in a car through the streets of the city attempting to outrun an earthquake.  I wish I could make that up but its true and what’s just as stunning is that it’s fun.  The first two episodes of the game are by far the most exciting but once you get to Central Park it goes downhill from there and does not rise to that same level at all save for one small section toward the end of the game.

What you really have to give Eden credit for however are the physics-based puzzles the game incorporates into its design.  On par with and sometimes superior to the puzzles that Valve incorporated into Half-Life 2, Alone in the Dark’s puzzles are quite thought-provoking and entertaining.  Going beyond simple see-saw ramps, the game actually incorporates the behavior patterns of some enemies at times.  I don’t care who you are: any puzzle that has you light a car on fire, drive it at a ramp at top speed and has you dive out at the last second and you watch as it flies through the air like a comet to take down an objective is priceless.

A (Not So) Pretty Picture

The production values in Alone in the Dark are, at best, a mixed bag.  On one hand you’ll find that the graphics are on par several of the triple-A titles of last year and as such will easily look good to the average player who’s been around the block.  The audio, while far from stellar, is still sufficient to keep you entertained as the story goes on, though it’s clear that during several scenes in the game you will find it out of sync with the video.  The water looks decent enough despite your inability to swim and the lighting is interactive and fantastic at times thanks to RWR.

What will most assuredly make every player angry at the game is the sheer number of bugs present everywhere.  It’s simply startling how atrocious the gameplay experience can be at times, as you will be close to completing a timed objective only to get stuck at an invisible wall.  It’s not uncommon to fall straight through the geometry get stuck because the geography wasn’t linked together properly.  Ropes will flail as if having a seizure, enemies will get stuck in a behavioral pattern, and things that are supposed to be lit on fire simply won’t.  It’s astounding how many issues made it through QA despite over three and a half years of development and many very exciting tech demos.

Satisfaction Not Guaranteed

Alone in the Dark is another example of a game that, like Advent Rising and Haze before it, had a lot to live up to and simply did not deliver.  While the game is a definite rental and not a buy it is still a worthwhile experience for those looking to shorten the gaming drought that will span through July and into August.  If you are looking for a solid survival horror experience you should look somewhere else, but if you are seeking a game with a decent plotline and creative gameplay this may just be the ticket.

Review: Ninja Gaiden II

In 1989 one of the most beloved titles of the 8-bit era of gaming, Ninja Gaiden, saw a release onto store shelves and quickly became a part of gaming history.  Renowned for its difficulty as well as its sheer fun factor the game garnered two sequels before suddenly disappearing into the mists of history seemingly never to reappear again.  All hope was not lost however as in 2002 Tecmo announced that the series would be making a return under the guidance of in house developer Team Ninja and headed up by Tomonobu Itagaki, creator of the Dead or Alive series known of his “bad boy” behavior and work ethic.  Re-imagined within the universe of DOA, the 2004 release of Ninja Gaiden saw rave reviews, though not without seeing complaints on some components, and quickly became a key title in the Xbox lineup as it was Tecmo’s answer to Capcom’s Devil May Cry series.

Ninja Gaiden 2, hot off the presses and an Xbox 360 exclusive, is in stores now and has a lot to live up to.  But can it make up for the flaws that its predecessor had?

Click to read the full review

Vengence: Best Served Cold

Tecmo’s creation in 1989 wowed gamers with some of the first cutscenes ever to appear in a console game with a storyline that was, while simplistic, still fun.  2004’s Ninja Gaiden story was filled with plot twists and mysterious figures galore, though the end result wasn’t as promising as it could have been.  It seems that Ninja Gaiden 2 stakes its name and tagline on being a quest for revenge though it’s quite clear that Tecmo has dropped the ball in this regard.  The story, occurring an undisclosed amount of time after Murai’s betrayal and the destruction of the Vigoor Empire, once again follows Ryu Hayabusa, one of the last descendants of the Hyabusa Dragon Ninja Clan and protector of the Dragon Sword.  After having encountered and rescued a scantily clad CIA agent named Sonia from his arch nemesis the Black Spider Clan, Ryu goes off on a world-spanning pursuit of Genshin, leader of said clan, and Elizibet, queen of the Greater Fiends, who have wounded Ryu’s father Joe and stolen the Demon Statue, an ancient relic whose power ensures the eternal slumber of the Arch Fiend.

Sounds like the basis for a good story, right?  Sadly this is not the case.  In all the globe-trotting its clear that Tecmo forgot what they were advertising and decided to minimize the story into a ridiculously basic and ludicrous one even by Tecmo’s standards.  The only interesting part of the plot curtails not to the events occurring in the game but rather the various memos and diaries you can find on the corpses of other fallen ninja.  The wannabe love plot between Sonia and impotent Ryu is shallow and unfulfilling while his quest for revenge simply becomes a slaughterfest of boss after boss without any feeling of justice served for Joe.  Ninja Gaiden 2 definitely won’t be winning any awards for its storyline, but then again, you’re not here for that, are you?

Sliced, Diced, or Made Whole?

What makes the Ninja Gaiden series so great are its tight controls and wicked gameplay that goes along well with its unyielding difficulty level.  However, while this new now-gen title has quite a bit of promise with an expansion of the previous game in 2005 with the subtitle Black and a refinement of the same game in 2007 subtitled Sigma it’s clear that the opportunity to fix many of the issues was, for the most part, passed by.  Just like its predecessor, Ninja Gaiden 2 once again suffers from a maddening camera system that can lead to near controller-throwing frustration at times especially since every single enemy is designed specifically to kill the player instead of being there to be hammered upon.  The game is also very unfriendly to newcomers to both Ninja Gaiden and fast-paced actions games alike as its difficulty makes even the most experienced players have to experience a game over screen time and time again.

Several changes and additions make up for this a little but doesn’t overall make the experience any more inviting than the first game.  The refinement of the health system from being static to being regenerative once all the enemies in the area have been dispatched is very welcoming.  Seemingly hearing the heart-retching cries of its fans Team Ninja has increased the number of save points within each stage and has spaced them out appropriately this time around, meaning you won’t have to go far before you find one right after a boss battle.  Save points also fully heal this time around which is a godsend.  The new weapons, bringing the total to nine in all, are a mixed bag of both well thought out and poor planned ideas.  The scythe is without doubt the most powerful weapon of the game and the talons are absurdly fun to use weapons like the kusari-gama and the twin swords are disappointingly weak even when maxed out.

One of the best refinements however doesn’t truly affect the gameplay but instead eases the burden upon the player.  I’m speaking of the menu system which this time around has been streamlined and is much faster and easier to work with than ever before.  Taking exclusive control of the Xbox 360’s directional pad, players can on-the-fly equip any weapon or use almost any item in their arsenal.  While character refining items like the Jewel of Demon Souls have to be accessed within the game’s pause menu, the d-pad select option is a great way to pause and assess the situation before jumping right back into the heat of battle.

Overall though the additions and changes, while beneficial, are simply not enough to justify Itagaki-san’s claims of Ninja Gaiden 2 being an evolutionary step over the first game.

You Didn’t Really Need that Arm, Did You?

The gameplay in Ninja Gaiden is a very memorable experience for everyone who plays it as, while very similar in concept, feel worlds apart from games like Devil May Cry and God of War.  Focusing almost entirely on melee combat save for a few unique instances, Ninja Gaiden 2 continues on from its predecessor with lightning fast combat with unrelenting enemies outnumbering you at times more than a dozen to one.  The most exciting addition, and one that changes up the combat significantly, is the ability to dismember your enemies.  When this occurs the enemy will continue to attack but won’t be near a threat as the other intact ones on screen.  Some will even attempt to take you out kamikaze style should you do so.  Dismembering an enemy allows you to initiate what is called an obliteration technique, a God of War-like sequence in which Ryu kills the enemy in various gruesome ways that are dependent on both what weapon you are using and what enemy is the target.  The end result is a spectacular gorefest that never gets old and even counts toward gamerscore points.

Ninja Gaiden 2 still has some issues though.  The difficulty curve, while more friendly to players on the lower settings, can be obscenely annoying at times for even veterans.  Several poor game design choices have been implemented specifically to several select boss fights designed to hamper a players progress.  The most prominent example is the battle against the giant volcanic armadillo (you read that right) who, when you defeat him, explodes and instantly kills the player unless they are using a ninpo spell at the exact time of the explosion.  It is not uncommon for levels to have 2 or even 3 boss battles apiece as well as large brawls after several of them as well.  One particularly frustrating event occurs directly after a tough fight toward the end of the game as after having defeated a boss a path is opened to you to advance only to be blocked by a field of mines that are near invisible onscreen which ultimately leads you to your death and having to redo the previous boss battle again.  Shame Itagaki, shame.

The Writing’s on the Wall; and the Rest of Him

While Ninja Gaiden lets you trod through a fictional empire within the DOA universe the second game in this series takes you far beyond the borders of the Far East.  While initially taking place in Tokyo (what ninja game doesn’t?) and in the remains of the Hayabusa Village, Ryu’s quest takes him around the world, from the rain slick streets of New York, to the beautiful canals of Venice.  Players even get to visit Moscow and the jungles of South America, but despite visiting all these locales you won’t find yourself really impressed with anything you come across save for a few heavily-forested areas later in the game.  The game, while built on a very strong engine back in 2004, is beginning to show its age and is not as impressive as it used to be.  Many of the textures, while updated for the native resolution of 720p, are not as up-to-snuff as they should be for a now-gen title.  All the cinemas are in-engine though which is a nice touch.

There are still some issues that abound in the production department that far outweigh a few unsightly graphical issues though.  While there can be a significant reduction in the framerate should more than a dozen characters be on screen the most demeaning thing a player will have to experience is the unacceptable number of bugs present in the game.  Put quite simply, the game has more twitches and glitches than any game I have seen on the Xbox 360.  It’s not uncommon to find yourself falling outside the geometry to your death or even being able to circumvent entire sections of a level thanks to a design flaw.  The AI in the game, while otherwise very smart, can get stuck in performance loops that result in nothing more than it twitching in the corner and thus being an easy kill.  The game could absolutely benefit from several more months of polish and refinement.

The only part of Ninja Gaiden 2 that you cannot find fault with is the audio work put into it.  The sound effects are evenly distributed and many things are easily identifiable from sound alone.  The music is a very motivating blend of slow drum arrangements to fast-paced orchestral scores that very appropriately arranged according to the situation at hand.  While it’s not something that’s going to end up on your playlist for your mp3 player it is undeniably perfect for use with custom soundtracks.

Cutting Through the Crap

Ninja Gaiden 2, while filled with bugs and balance issues, is probably the most entertaining frustration-fest available to date for the Xbox 360.  While it is still a singleplayer series and has absolutely no multiplayer functionality save for the ability to share and compare leaderboard scores the game definitely has some life in it beyond a playthrough for masochists and achievement whores alike.  This game is perfect for players wanting to player something different from Devil May Cry or for those looking for something to play during the summer gaming lull that occurs from June to the end of August.  Just don’t expect this one to stay on your shelf for very long though.