Cobalt Monkey's Game Reveiws--Bioshock: Infinite

Borderlands

Graphics: 8/10
Everything in the game looks nice, but Pandora is such a dead planet, that it's kinda boring to look at after a while. Later on the environments change up a good bit, but it never looses that Wasteland feel. Which is what they were going for, so I can't really fault them. The guns, which almost overshadow the characters as the stars of the game, are where you'll see the most diverse graphics. The characters are all well done, and you can customize their color schemes, which is a nice touch.

Sound: 8/10
The background music isn't bad, but there's nothing spectacular. Except for the main theme, Ain't No Rest for the Wicked by Cage the Elephant. It's awesome, and can be heard here. (Video is dumb, so pay it no mind.) As for the sound effects, their a sight better than the background music. The different gun types do sound different, and each effect fits it's weapon well. Voice acting is great, what there is of it. Your characters don't really talk except to spout amusing one liners when they kill enemies with a critical hit. Everyone else talks a lot though, and how it sounds goes a long way to making these characters as memorable as they are.

Game Play: 10/10
Excellent. They've certainly made good on their claim that this is a hybrid of an FPS and an RPG. There are elemental affiliations for weapons and creatures. Every type of creature has one or more 'elite' versions that are a lot tougher to bring down, really more like mini bosses. The bosses themselves are alright, but I do wish they'd put more work into them. In the DLCs that follow, they do a lot to make up for this.
Characters gain experience and levels as they progress which serves two purposes. Firstly, factors in determining how much damage you do to enemies, and how much you take from them. If an enemy is higher level, it'll take longer to kill, and kill you pretty quickly too. You're warned of tougher enemies by helpful little Skull icon appearing next to their name.
Secondly, at every level you gain a skill point to be placed into a skill up to 5, each one increasing the skill's effectiveness. There are three different trees for each character, and all are open to you. Each tree has four levels. Once five points are in the first level (total points, they need not be in one skill) you can access the second level. What results is a varied way to customize each character for your personal play style, though each character has it's own combat role to play...which brings us to the main point for the game.
The Multiplayer. The entire game can be completed alone, but it's no secret that the designers really want you to play with friends (or some random people lol). Enemies get tougher the more people you play with. The loot also gets much better. Finding a gun in single player that's good is not uncommon, but finding that same gun in multiplayer makes it far more likely to be much stronger. Plus, all Exp and Money earned is shared completely. You pick up $100, everyone gets $100. Same with Exp.
In short, the game gets more fun the more people you have.
If I have to pick a complaint, it's that more enemy variety would've been nice.

Story: 7/10
There's fairly little in the way of actual story. The game mainly serves as a vehicle with which to give you massive amounts of humor. Everything in this game is pretty hilarious. With tons of pop culture references hidden here and there...or smacking you in the face. Some are obvious only if you're pretty familiar with their target. (Such as the Ludicrous Speedway. Got to be a Space Balls fan to get that one. lol)
The game really only sets out to be funny, and thoroughly succeeds. If you can play this without laughing, it's because you have not sense of humor. Something here for everyone.

Final Score: 9/10


The Zombie Island of Dr. Ned DLC

The Zombie Island of Dr. Ned definitely adds some fun to the Borderlands experience, but is it worth the price of admission? Tough call. Everything it does is as well done as the rest of the game, but it really feels like they might've done a bit more.

Atmosphere: 9/10
Genuinely creepy everywhere you go. The humor still comes in too, as you'll often hear over your com announcements from the Jakobs corporation. Very amusing.

Enemies: 8/10
You'll be mostly fighting zombies. Undead townsfolk NPCs, undead bandits, skeletal rakk. They are much like fighting their normal counterparts, with the exception that they will almost all try to close in for melees as opposed to relying on Pandora's abundance of guns. This certainly doesn't make them less dangerous, however. Most enemies have attacks that can inflict Stun slowing you down for several seconds.
There are several different kinds of enemies, but the similarity of their attack patterns makes me feel like I'm fighting the same enemies over and over. I'll list them in a separate post. A little more variety would have been nice, but a somewhat improved quality of the AI goes a ways to making up for this. The look and feel of all the enemies is also very nice and adds to the atmosphere.

Story: 7/10
There's not a whole lot of story to be had, but what is there is funny and entertaining in the same way I've come to expect of Borderlands. If you like the rest of the game, then you'll like this.

Missions: 6/10
Not quite enough variety, nor quite enough of them in general. There are fetch quests, and kill quests. A few are what you'd expect in this setting; survive the zombie onslaught until X way out appears. A couple provide good new minibosses. One fifth (5) of the new quests are just gathering zombie brains for a certain character. This can be done by killing one with a critical hit (most often via headshot, meaning you're literally blowing their brains out, lol. And you can't help but laugh at the role reversal. I recklessly charge the zombie horde with the intent of ripping open their skulls while crying "Brains! I must have more brains!"). More missions in the next installment please, Gearbox? It's a really wonderful set of levels, and I'd much like more reason to run around in them.

Levels: 9/10
Not just the look, but the layout of these levels is really good. At any step you could be surrounded by zombies, but if you look around a bit you can often find cover or good positions from which to defend yourself making the hordes more manageable for a solo player. Some places evoke some classic creepy images, while others are reused, if altered set pieces from the rest of the game. The most obvious one is a remake of Old Haven (including zombie versions of it's inhabitants). The layout is altered with many paths blocked off, you start in a different place, and of course, everything is all undeaded up. Your foray here is fairly short, and Gearbox was honest about what it was calling the place simply "Dead Haven".

Gameplay: 8/10
This is the same as the rest of Borderlands. The slightly improved enemy AI makes you pay attention a bit more. The mob tactics, sneak attacks, stun inducing attacks, and the faster bleed outs can make for a bit of challenge.

Overall: 8/10
The only fault I can find with the game is that it leaves me wanting more. Bottom line, if you like the game, then you'll like this too. If you've got the money ($9.99 American) spare, then getting this isn't a waste of it. If you haven't yet bought Borderlands, then you may want to hold off on getting it as you might (and this is speculation on my part) see a Greatest Hits or Game of the Year edition that already has this DLC included in the future.

Mad Moxxi's Underdome DLC

Here are a few things to know that I've picked up so far in my one playing of the DLC's first tournament.
1. The bank is located just inside the start area. It's a claptrap with a tux theme. It can store several items default, but upgrades can be purchased from the weapons machine in the first room.
2. The first tournament is structured like this:
Five rounds.
Each Round consists of 5 Waves of enemies. Each Wave has a theme. As of yet, there has been no variation that I've noticed. They always proceed in the same order, but each gets harder the more rounds you get into the game.
Wave 1: Starter Wave- Has some bandits and skaggs of varying types in it.
Wave 2: Gun Wave- Has mostly bandits with better guns that usual. Later rounds get a few Bruisers.
Wave 3: Horde Wave- Has nothing but Psychos of various types. Learn the area and run backwards a lot while shooting a good close range weapon.
Wave 4: "Elite" Wave- This one usually has several Crimson Lance soldiers in it. Only one of which has a shield.
Wave 5: Boss Wave- Contains a random, though buffed, Boss or Mini Boss as well as a few minions. I know it's random because I died fighting Bonehead (If you hated him at level 11, imagine how much he sucks at level 50. He's the only boss I lost to so far.) in Round 4, only to repeat that round and face Baron Flynt. So far I've also fought Hans & Franz, Mad Jack (and me without my car to just run over him, dang), Sledge (who you can cheap to death), Tyler Cob, Captain McCloud, and Reaver.

After each wave Moxxie, who you can see atop the center spire, will drop several large containers of health and ammo that quickly shrink and vanish. Health restores you to full, while the ammo contains a set amount of every type of bullet. NOTE: For whatever reason, there are no health and ammo drops after a Boss wave!
After each Round, several weapons will drop in the spawn area. Grab them quick as they'll disappear once the next wave starts. Best bet is probably to just pick them all up and sort them out after you win or lose.
A few rounds in you'll start seeing a slot machine come up after each wave. This will assign one (and later up to four, though I didn't get past two) random effect on you, the enemies, or the arena.
Ones I've seen so far include:
Weapon specific strengthening effects that make one type of gun stronger while weakening all others.
Low Gravity. Very fun as it allows you make huge jumps so you can reach otherwise inaccessible areas to use for cover.
Weakened Criticals. Headshots deal normal damage.
Strengthened Criticals. Headshots deal much higher damage, but all other shots do less.
No shields for you, but you very slowly regen health.
Enemies regen shields faster.
Enemies have stronger shields.
Enemies regen health.
There may have been others, but I can't recall.
Note: Whatever effects were on in Round 4 will still be on in Round 5. They don't change.
During multiplayer, if you die and aren't revived or get a Second Wind, then you'll be sent to the penalty box, which is also located under the center spire. You'll remain there for the rest of the round, but can still contribute by shooting from above.
If everyone wipes out, then you'll be given a choice of whether or not to try again. You'll start over from a previous round. Eg. I died in round five and had to start again at the beginning of round four. It's structured like this throughout.

The Secret Armory of General Knox DLC

I'll just focus on the what's new, good or bad for this section.
This DLC picks up where the main story left off. Your characters are now being hunted specifically by legions of Crimson Lance soldiers...even more than last time. And they've all learned some new tricks. This falls into the category of Good things, surprisingly.
Most Lance now have an elemental affiliation like other critters. Shock Troopers use shock weapons, and take less damage from electric attacks, with Pyros (Fire) and Chems (Corrosive) following suit, with elite versions taking it even further.
That aside, there aren't too many new enemies. there are a few old enemies with new skins, but the same behaviors. Other notable additions are skag riding midgets, elite midgets, Drifters (huge enemies meant to be taken on in vehicles) and Destructors (huge lance Mech suits). The new variety was nice, but I'd have liked to see a little more.
Any concerns about the difficulty of boss fights have been thoroughly put to rest. The game's last story boss fight is well balanced, and can be defeated though a bit of skill and proper preparation. The game's secret final boss, however, is an absolute Nightmare. With this one they really wanted to encourage teamwork, and while he can be soloed, I really wouldn't recommend it without just the right setup of skills, guns, and mods. As well as a truckload of luck.
Another new addition are the three new available types of vehicle. The Monster is an about average speed truck with a homing rocket launcher (that works wonders against those Drifters) and higher than average armor. The Racer is a high speed car with low armor. The third vehicle is practically a tank, it has so much armor and goes fairly slow. The Lancer is a four seat vehicle with a laser gun, a mine launcher, and a Blast weapon that damages anything immediately around you. Sadly, the latter two weapons won't see much real use as thing rarely follow in a predictable pattern to hit them with the mines, and though the Blast might seem good not much really gets close to be hit by it. Would've been better served with a second turret, imho.
There are now many Crimson Lance chests scattered around Lance outposts and fortifications. These are like red chests in the main game, but contain more items per chest. This gives you a better (though still slim) chance of getting the new Pearl weapons, which are the highest rarity rating.
The increase in level cap lets you further develop your characters, but not so much that they become unstoppable killing machines. You'll still have to work to beat the enemies the game throws at you.
One of the best things about this add on is how more focus is placed on the story. Important characters now get a cut scene introduction that better defines their characters and increases immersion a bit. When giving out missions they can still be treated like bulletin boards, but if you choose to you can listen to them actually say what it is they want you to do. There's also more chatter over the Echo to further establish the characters. It's really nice and spices up the running from here to there with more of the great humor we've come to expect from this game.

Overall Rating: 4/5
Gearbox is doing a great job of listening to their players. More importantly, they're not giving them everything they want, just the stuff that works. If they keep on like this with future dlc and games, then I can see myself being a Gearbox fan for a long time to come.

CoD: Black Ops

I've only played one other Call of Duty game, Modern Warfare 2, so that's going to be my frame of reference here. I'll be comparing it to that quite a bit. I'll also be doing a normal review, with sections for each mode of gameplay that's offered.
First up, the general review.

Graphics and Sound: 7
The graphics are adequate, but not spectacular. People are all pretty well done, but it seems they didn't spend as much time on most other things. Thing is, you won't be spending much time looking at the environment anyway. You'll be too busy scanning for enemies to notice. It's only in some cinematics that you can really tell. The scene with the Blackbird, for instance, could have been done on the PS2.
Sound, on the other hand, is pretty good. The voice acting is fairly well done and believable. There are a few odd times when a soldier will yell something when it isn't strictly needed, but that sort of thing seems random and not a problem.
Best of all, imho, unlike in MW2, the soldier you're playing as doesn't suddenly become a mime when you're put in his head. He continues to react to the situation, give out orders, and converse with fellow soldiers, although not quite as much as other characters. This was a good way to go about it, I believe.
Graphics and Sound are, of course, constant throughout the modes, so this score applies to all.

Story and Characters: 7
Well, the story is told as a series of flashbacks brought on by the interrogation of the main character. Technically, you spend most of the game strapped to a chair. Interesting start. This game is a lot more story intensive than MW2, which frankly made fairly little sense.
Black Ops places you in the head of a US soldier named Mason as he fights in parts of the Cold War, Vietnam, and in the "off the record" fight to track down a Russian terrorist named Dragovich. You'll also be in the heads of a few other soldiers, but only as flashbacks of what they told Mason that he's relating to his interrogators. The narrative is pretty well done overall, especially considering that storytelling isn't an FPS' strong point. There are enough little hints thrown in that the twist towards the end is a bit predictable. Overall, it's not bad.
The characters are what I've come to expect from shooters for the most part. Very angry guys. Doesn't leave a lot of room for character development, or rather it leaves a whole lot of unused room. However, by the end of the game you're likely to develop a bit of empathy for our protagonist.

Gameplay: 9
Most of the time you'll be playing as a soldier on foot using any of the numerous guns you can find. All the different types of gun combined with their own different attachments gives you a lot of options. Again, this is a lot like MW2 and that's a good thing. Also similar is that you'll be given several breaks in the type of action. Stealth is sometimes an option, though it feels a bit limited considering it always breaks out into a gunfight shortly anyway. Other than that, you'll be piloting a boat with a minigun and rockets, riding in a jeep with a Valkyrie missile launcher (the missile are controllable), and piloting a Hind attack helicopter also with minigun and rockets. While these instances presented fairly little challenge, they were nice changes of pace. The only new normal mechanic was the ability to dive at the ground. It's marginally useful. It didn't come up a lot, but it is nice to have the option.
Overall, there's nothing truly new here, but everything is polished to a shine. Very nice.

Campaign Score: 8

Multiplayer: 8--so far. Subject to change for better or worse.
Why the above note? Because they're still fiddling with it. Part of me wants to rage a bit about how this sort of thing SHOULD have been done before the game released. An honest to goodness beta phase, either closed or open, would have averted a great deal of difficulty.
However, another part is just glad to see some actual support for the game. MW2's nearly complete lack of support left me very cold. Let's hope that Treyarch owns up to their mistakes better than Infinity Ward.
But enough about that. Let's focus on the game itself.
First and foremost, is the game balance. I have yet to see a weapon/perk combination that is overpowered. There has been nothing so far that I just can't handle. Sure, I still die to the occasional noob tube, but it's not a constant thing like it was in MW2. If someone gets an advantage on me, then it's because of superior positioning, better skill, luck, or lag. But not because they're given a way to get cheap and easy kills like we saw in MW2's OMA/Scavenger and Danger Close combinations.
Every gun type seems to have it's own niche to fill. I have yet to use a gun that's good at all ranges. And since they also took out the ability to faux Quick Scope (that is, let the game aim for you and pray, as opposed to just aiming quickly and skillfully) sniper rifles are considerably less powerful. Almost like they were only made to kill things at a great distance or something.
Unlocks are handled a bit differently. Perks are unlocked whenever you want to buy them, meaning you won't be stuck using some perks you don't like while waiting to level up to get the ones you do. Guns can be bought too, but not until you reach certain levels. This does make sense to a degree because for the most part, the guns that are unlocked are just better versions of the ones available from the start.
One place that Black Ops and MW2 are about even on is personalization. The ability to customize your playercard is great. This replaces your titles and such from MW2. And while I did like collecting all the different titles and completing their challenges, I like designing my own player emblems, backgrounds, and soldier models just as much. It's become more of a personalization thing that a bragging rights thing. Not better or worse, imho, just different. Also, this cuts down a bit on boosting, I think, because one thing that drove boosters was getting unearned player emblems. Bonus.
A small complaint is that absolutely everything costs you CP. Each emblem piece you want to use costs. Each layer for your emblem. Each gun has to have it's own sites, lenses, and clan tag/emblem display options. Some of these should have just been a package deal, imho.
Killstreaks are a bit less overpowered than they were in MW2. Since they no longer add to your killstreak count, I find there are fewer people going for the high level ones. The only one I've come up against so far that might be a problem is Chopper Gunner which still can be a serious problem if it gets you in a spawn trap. Fortunately, these are easy to shoot down too.
So, what major complaints can I set against the game? The spawns, for one. They can be really poorly positioned. There've been many times I've spawned and taken two steps only to get shot in the back by an enemy that has just spawned right where I did. It's especially bad on small maps like Nuketown and Summit. They say they're working on it, so we'll see.
The other complaint concerns the obtaining of the Pro versions of some perks. Black Op has split MW2's method of giving you one long challenge into giving you three shorter ones. The problem is that some of these are not well thought out. For example, to get Hardline Pro one challenge makes you give up care packages. Not too bad by itself, but the problem is that you have to make certain an ally gets it. Many people won't just take your care package because it's a jerk thing to do. Also, some people will simply try to camp care packages to kill enemies trying to steal them. You're given every reason not to do what this challenge wants you to. Worse, you have to depend on other people to do it instead of it being just a measure of your ability. Ghost is another offender, making you destroy enemy Sentry Guns, which requires enemies to play with them. You can't force that. Fortunately, most perks aren't like this.

Zombies: 8
This is a mode that hearkens back to the early days of gaming where the only goal was to get as far as you can and snag the coveted High Score. The rules are simple. There are Nazi Zombies coming to eat your brain, and maybe persecute it depending on its genetic background. Your mission is to not let them do that. Sadly, due to the nature of the game, you will eventually fail as that is when the game ends. But in the interest of putting off the inevitable for as long as possible, you can join up with 3 friends or strangers to put tons of those hateful corpses back in the ground.
Each round the Zombies will try to get to you by breaking down barriers (makeshift wood, not social or emotional barriers) that you can repair whenever you get a free moment. Hold off enough of them to end a round and your reward is a moment to rest and resupply with new ammo or weapons using money earned from dealing damage or doing repairs. But hurry because in no time at all the Axis undead will be back and tougher than they were last round. There are also ways to buff up your characters allowing them more HP, better accuracy, increased rate of fire, or faster resurrections. The weapons you buy can each be uniquely enhanced to better versions of themselves that have larger clips, more damage, or other enhancements. In addition, sometimes while dying the enemies will drop powerups to refill your ammo, multiply the money you earned, instantly repair barriers, or even give you one shot kills for a short while. You'll be needing all the help you can get, so don't miss those if at all possible.
The other uses for money are for to activate traps and turrets hidden around the level to help in your defense for a while, and to open up more doors to other areas of a level. Be advised that doing so also opens up new avenues for the horde to attack from, but you'll soon see the reason for expansion as the weapons you use need to be replaced by stronger varieties.
There appears to be a semblance of a story attached to this mode that is a continuation of the one from a similar mode in a previous game. There are a few Easter Eggs hidden about for those with sharp eyes to find. The characters you're playing as also make their return from that same game, but they're mainly used to convey amusing one liners. For instance, one character on being revived might say, "Did you see that? There were thousands!" or the cryptic, "Even a...blind squirrel is right twice a day." These lines do get old after a while, but most of the time you won't notice because of the frantic pace of the combat.
Overall this mode is great as far as it goes, though without a true objective to accomplish or a way to 'win' some people might get bored of it more quickly than others. What I will say for this is that it doesn't feel tacked on. It is distinctly it's own game and nicely developed.

Average combined score so far: 8 out of 10.
So, the game's holding steady at an 8 for now. Will it rise or fall? Time will tell.
EDIT: Time has been speaking. Current score is a 6 due to numerous technical issues that have arisen since the first patch.

Crysis 2

Today we take a look at an interesting FPS, Crysis 2. The sequel to a PC game (which is also available on consoles now), Crysis 2 is not exactly your everyday alien blasting FPS. For the most part, that's a good thing. Read on for the specifics.

Presentation: 9
At its release a number of reviewers called it the "best looking game on consoles". While I can't quite agree with that, it does look very, very good. The graphics are top notch. Though any PC gamer will be quick to point out that it's supposedly "a step back" from Crysis 1, I think that's not quite the case. It's true that the first Crysis was the standard by which PC graphics have been judged for quite a while. Running at it's highest, that game is phenomenal looking. However, on more manageable settings that wouldn't kill the average machine, it looks a lot like Crysis 2. Silly debate aside, the only complaint I have is that a battle torn New York City suffers from being overly gray. There are some very nice levels that ditch the monochromatic color scheme though, and they're quite welcome.
The report is almost as good in the sound department. The music is fine, and the sound effects good. The problems come in when the voices get involved. Not the acting, which is just fine, but the volume. Even at their loudest and with the music turned down, I still found the captions to be all but necessary. The sole exception to this was the annoying voice that chimes in whenever you activate Armor or Cloak mode. You have to do that a lot, and not only does it drown out other voices and sounds, but also grates on the nerves after a while.

Story: 6
You definitely loose something by not having been able to play the first Crysis. In a way, that puts you well into the shoes of our main character, Alcatraz. He too has absolutely no idea what's going on. All we really know is that there's an alien invasion, and that they seem to be causing a plague of some kind. There are numerous bits concerning a character from the first game, Prophet, but it's hard to really get what's going on.
Thankfully, there are some very good moments in there too that help make up for it.

Characters: 7
Alcatraz is a silent protagonist for no good reason. I almost always take issue with that. However, you do discover something important about him part way through that makes him a fairly sympathetic character. The rest of the cast is nicely done as well, if a bit stereotypical here and there. The hatred enemy soldiers have for you killing their buddies is almost palpable sometimes. The only place this really falls flat is in the alien department. You never see any distinct characters for their side, and they come across as generic as their plot to kill all humans for whatever reason.

Gameplay: 7
Lots of good stuff here. There are a fair variety of weapons to choose from, all of which can be altered to your liking with mods. Silencers, Scopes, Laser sites, etc. Once you find a gun that has these attachments you won't lose them even if you discard the weapon.
More customization comes in with your Nanosuit. Power, Speed, Stealth, and Armor each have a slot that allows you to pick one of three options to have active at a time. For example, the Armor slot lets you make your Armor mode drain less energy while active, regen health and energy faster, or deflect incoming bullets away at enemies. You get to pick one of those three and have it active. Some situations call for one option more than others, so switching it up can really help.
These fun abilities are only unlocked by killing aliens and absorbing their nanotec, so it's best to try to find your play style and stick with it as best you can. Even if you collect the nanotec from each enemy you kill, as I did, then you won't have enough to get quite everything until the last big fight. However, on future playthroughs, your unlocks will persist.
The nanosuit provides a lot of options in the way you approach your objectives. Will you ghost around your foes with the Cloak function, or activate Armor mode and try to tear into them? Careful though, whichever you choose, as they all draw from a single energy source. Once that's depleted you're quite vulnerable until it refills, so plan your moves carefully.
Though the levels are fairly linear, there are multiple ways through most of them. There's also a quite interesting vertical element to the gameplay. The suit lets you expend energy to jump higher and move faster, and you can use those abilities to climb any clear ledge you can reach and pull yourself up to them. That's right, our boy Alcatraz knows that he can use his arms to help him climb. Hardening your armor will also greatly reduce or eliminate falling damage, so you can survive very long falls at need. Altogether, this gives you quite a bit of freedom in how you move through these otherwise linear levels.

The black spot on this mostly sterling game is the multiplayer component. Definitely feels tacked on. The lag is obscene. I've been melee killed from ten feet away, no joke. See, the big problem here is that there are no severs, so once again we're forced to deal with P2P connections. To make matters much worse, the movement speeds in this game vary wildly. Couple that with the lag, and it's almost impossible to get any fair fighting done. You're either dying to someone you couldn't have seen because on your screen they were around a corner and up some stairs, or you're filling enemies with entire clips and hitting nothing. That kills what would be a fun, if somewhat CoD clone-ish, game.
You get to pick a perk, er I mean, "module" for each of your suit's three aspects, Power, Armor, and Stealth. Just like in the main game, you can run faster/jump higher, harden your armor to take more hits, or turn mostly invisible for as long as your suit's energy lasts. The modules let you further each of those aspects by picking something useful like Radar Jamming, longer lasting armor, etc. This lets you tailor your loadouts to suit your play style. New modules are unlocked as you level up your suit's aspects. Each one gets experience towards it as you use it in battle. So for example, if you want to level your Stealth aspect, then spend a lot of time cloaked, and try to stealth kill enemies.

Killstreaks are handled a bit differently. The game decides which three are in play based on the map. The first one, requiring 3 kills, is always Maximum Radar, which functions much like CoD's UAV, showing opponents on the map every few seconds. The second, which takes 5 kills, varies between suit disrupting beacons, orbital strike lasers beams, and radar jammers, while the third, 7 kills, will be either a friendly alien gunship, or Nanosuit 2.0 which lets you run around with each aspect of your suit maxed for a while.
The biggest difference is that the streaks come not from just killing opponents, but from collecting their dog tags which are dropped upon death. (Only you can collect the tags from your kills, so there's no worry about having them stolen.) If you do happen to die before you can get to them, they don't always go to waste. They hang around for some time, so if you can get to them you can get a jump on a new streak.

All this would be just great, if it weren't for that meddling lag. As it stands, it's tough to say whether you've displayed any measure of skill in a given game, or if it's simply that the lag is with you.
The only other complaint is that you can die from a single headshot by any weapon. That means if one random bullet from a burst hits your head, you're down. Makes Armor mode all but useless.

Replay Value: Fair
There are lots of collectibles to find, and several trophies to go back for. In addition, the various ways to complete any given level allow you to tackle them all again in different ways a couple times.

Overall: 7
Held back by a sparse story and nearly unplayable at times multiplayer mode. Still a very solid and interesting title. I do recommend it, and look forward to picking up it's predecessor when it releases.

Demon's Souls

A lot has been said about this game's difficulty. And in several ways it lives up to it. There's no denying that the game's going to frustrate you. But the rewarding feeling that comes with completing it is very sweet. Want to know more? Here's the breakdown.

Graphics and Sound: 8
The graphics are pretty much standard PS3 fair. Nothing amazing, but it all looks good. The character, enemy, magic, and weapon designs are all top notch.
Sound is very nice. Which is good because you'll be needing it. Listening for enemies is one of the keys to survival in this game. It's good to see that they took this into account and didn't skimp here.
The only real complaint for this part is that some NPCs' voice acting sounds very wooden.

Story: 7
...What story? Okay, it's not quite that bad. There is some story here, and even a few cutscenes to move it along. What's here is good enough, but it's clear that the main focus of the game isn't on the story. Of a little redeeming value is that there are numerous side stories attached to everything. There are characters to be rescued inside some levels, as well as a few scattered vendors. These all provide a bit of background on the story, levels they're found in, and other characters. The story serves mainly to give you a vague reason to die repeatedly. lol

Characters: 7
About the same as the story. The characters all look nice, and play their parts. Only a few have anything approaching a backstory, but what's there is nice. Again, nothing to write home about, but certainly nothing bad.

Gameplay: 10
To start with, this game is likely to frustrate you a great deal. That sounds bad, but if you think about it you'll realize that so were most of what we consider the classics. Death sends you back to the last Archstone the same way it sent you back to the beginning of a Super Mario Brothers level. The degree of difficulty we say this game has is an indication of just how spoiled we've become by modern games. If you approach this game with the same diligence that saw you through World 8, then there's nothing to be scared of. Look for traps like you looked for Bullet Bills and pits. Be on guard for ambushes from Black Phantoms like you were from Winged Koopas. If you just take care, then it's really not that bad.
A lot of the frustration comes from not knowing how much further it is until the next Archstone. You worry that when you died, maybe you were only a little ways away, and now have to go all the way back. But once you've been through a level, you'll realize that it's not that long. Moreover, there are usually shortcuts you can set up that get you close to the end of a level once you get near there.
Also, this is one of those games that gets easier the longer you play it. Not just from having more experience playing, but also because the longer you go, the more developed and better equipped your character gets.
The game plays much like an Onimusha title, or the first Devil May Cry at its base. There are numerous different weapons and magics to fit just about any play style. Different weapons have different attacks types. Curved swords are long and have more sweeping attacks, whereas straight swords are more used for stabbing and swift slashes. You'll also have access to bows, crossbows, axes, daggers, large swords(like Claymores or Flamberges), maces, and shields. You can wield two items in each hand (one at a time, of course) and switch them out on the fly. Dual wielding is possible, or you can use a sword and shield. Bows take up two hands when in use, but only need one slot. Also, pressing triangle puts your left hand weapon on your back (any effects it was having continue) and lets you wield your main weapon with two hands for increased damage, and a different attack style.
Anything you're not using can be stored back at the Nexus, your central hub. You can also buy or find basic weapons and forge them along different upgrade paths using different types of stone you've found for different effects. Blessed weapons give you health regen, Dragon weapons have a permanent fire effect, etc. there are about ten different ways you can go about it. Lots of variety.
Some weapons and spells are more effective against certain types of creature or armor. This can make a huge difference in combat. For example, in one world the skeletons were kicking my butt. It took as many as 7 hits with my sword while frantically dodging to put one down. I left and came back a bit later with a mace I found and they went down in two. I shortly replaced that mace with a Crescent Falchion (Sword that does magic damage in addition to slashing, and regens your MP to boot) that I found and things just turned golden for a while. The lesson here is that you can't get too reliant on one style of play. Keep your mind open. On a side note, spells or items can be used to add a temporary buff to your right hand weapon. Fire or Magic damage can go a long way.
Killing enemies gets you Souls, which are both the currency and experience points of this world. You use them to pay for items and repair weapons. You can also invest them into improving your stats. Each time you pick a stat to improve, you increase your Soul Level. As your SL goes up, it becomes more expensive to raise it again. Of course, the further into the game you get, the more souls you'll be getting, so it balances out quite nicely. Each boss or optional boss defeated drops a unique Demon's Soul that can be used for one of a few things. Some can be traded to learn Spells or Miracles, while others can be used for forging unique weapons. You can also just consume them to gain a huge boost to your souls that you can use as you see fit. This is in addition to the souls they drop on being defeated, so you're not going to be behind the curve if you choose to use them instead of eating them.
Death. No two ways about it, death sucks. You're set back to the last Archstone (one is at the beginning of a level, as well as one appearing after you defeat each boss) and lose all your souls UNLESS you can get back close to the place where you died and touch the blood stain. If you can, then you regain everything you lost. If you die again before you can reclaim your souls, however, then they're gone. Good reason to be cautious. You'll never lose any items you picked up even if you die, so no worries there.
The bosses aren't that tough. You're actually likely to have more trouble with some of the normal enemies. I only died on three of them throughout the entire game before learning their attacks and the proper way to fight them. Of course, I was in no way above being cheap. lol If I could get to a niche where they had a hard time hitting me, then I was darn well gonna fill them full of arrows.
The level design is quite nice, and there are numerous places to explore for finding good weapons or loot. Each area really feels unique, and they're all fun to run around in. Some even have multiple paths you can take to reach your objectives.
This isn't all there is to cover concerning the mechanics, but I think I've hit the high points. If there's anything else anyone has a question on, then feel free to ask, either here or in the original thread.

There's also an online component. While playing online you can see other players in the same area as you. They'll fade in and out of existence, but you can't interact with them. You can, however, leave messages that they can read, and vice versa. People are really good about leaving you messages on where to get an item, what will work on the next enemy, as well as giving you much appreciated warning about enemy ambushes. If you recommend their message, then they'll receive a health refill. Good incentive. You'll see bloodstains where other players have died too. Touching them replays the last few seconds of that player's life, which can also serve to warn you of what's ahead.
You can lay down certain runes to be summoned to the game of another player. There you'll appear as a Blue Phantom with all your same stats, weapons, and equipment. You'll gain souls alongside the host, and can help fight off tough enemies.
You can also put down a different rune to Invade a host's world as a Black Phantom. Once there it's your mission to hunt them down and kill them. Enemies will not attack you, but you can die to the environment just the same. If you die before killing the host (who may or may not have up to two Blue Phantoms with him!), then you're kicked back to your own world, and lose a Soul Level. If you win, then you stand to gain a good number of souls. You can only invade, or be invaded by, a player with a similar soul level, so no worries about suddenly facing someone with many levels on you.

Overall Score: 8.5
Demon's Souls is a solid game with very few flaws. I strongly recommend this game.

Dishonored

Things are pretty lousy for Corvo Attano, Lord Protector of the Empress. The world believes her dead at his hands. He's been betrayed, tortured, and yes, dishonored. When a mysterious benefactor helps him to escape and he dons the mask of an assassin, it's up to the player to determine whether he will embrace his fallen status by slaughtering everyone in his way, or stick to the ideals of the Lord Protector, saving lives and sparing his enemies.

Presentation: 7
The art style and characters aren't the only thing reminiscent of Half-Life 2. The overall graphics themselves could have been pulled from the 5 year old title. But it doesn't take long to stop noticing this and just enjoy the stylized world for what it is. Once you get past the slightly aged look you'll find that all the graphics mesh quite well with one another. The effects of your powers and weapons are nice.
The game really shines in the sound department. Top notch voice acting brings the characters to life, and the sound effects that are especially important to a stealth game are very good.

Story: 8
The "framed for murder" premise isn't exactly original, but there are more than enough twists and turns to keep you interested. The impact of your decision between murderous rampage of revenge or peaceful campaign to reclaim your honor only really has any effect towards the very end. And while the story on the last level plays out differently, the actual ending sequences are fairly similar. Strangely enough, the most drastic change actually happens to a relatively minor character, and one who wound up being my favorite.

Characters: 10
Great voice acting does wonders for most of the characters in this story. They run the gamut from lovable to loathsome very convincingly. The only dark spot is our silent protagonist, and even he gets to show some affection in a couple places that really helps to humanize this otherwise dull blank slate.

Gameplay: 8
Getting the bad out of the way first:
The AI is fairly stupid. They won't hesitate for a moment to shoot their friends dead if you position yourself with someone between you and them. Likewise, if you hack a Wall of Light (read as "disintegration field") enemies will run right into it even after watching their buddies get friend a second before. (Clearly they were trained by Zapp Brannigan.) Though amusingly enough, this "tactic" could actually work somewhat since Walls of Light do have a limited number of charges before you have to refuel them.
Gadgets actually offer very little in the way of variety. Most on your wheel are just alternate ammo that does slightly higher damage. There's no significant difference between the two available grenade types. The Springrazor trap is certainly a welcome change of pace.
The Heart is handy...too handy. What's the point of hiding things around the level and then slapping a giant "Here it is!" sticker over it? I enjoy the whispering it does, but the big neon signs are overkill. Much better if they had just let the beating intensify slightly as you closed in. Keep your secrets secret, but with a reasonable clue. Of course, you don't have to use it.
One of the powers, Darkvision, is just as bad, but even more optional. Using this one takes all of the need for caution out of the stealth aspect of the game. Having a basically infinite use ability that lets you see where all guards and security systems are at all times in kind of a gamebreaker.
Not enough random chatter. This one's kind of nit-picky. Is it really enough to warrant a complaint? "Chances are very good." "Indeed, I believe so." And I really, really wonder what it is that's happening the night before I show up everywhere that inspires so many guards to think they'll be getting a promotion. I know it's nothing to do with me, 'cause I'm taking out targets left and right.

The Good:
The rest of the powers help make up for the lack of variety in the gadgets. Slowing or Stopping Time, using Windblast to throw people into walls or off of ledges, huge improvements to mobility, and other powers are all a blast to use. Freezing time and firing off four quick shots to take down four guards at once when the time freeze ends? Yes, please!
The real stars for me were Blink and Agility to move quickly and double jump. These were the abilities that let me most feel like I was doing something. They expanded the ways in which I could interact with the world itself instead of just killing more enemies. A bit better distance control on Blink would have been nice though.
If you're a stealth buff, then this game is definitely for you, providing you can resist the ease with which you can simply kill everyone. Stealth is harder than Combat except at the highest difficulty levels where the two even out (unless you use Darkvision, which makes Stealth much easier).
Bone Charms can be equipped in up to 6 slots, and they can have a significant impact on your playstyle. Faster mana regen means faster Blinking without cost. Health or Mana regen from water sources means you can cut loose and fight or use expensive powers liberally in any area with a sink. Strong Arms allowing faster non-lethal takedowns is a huge help for a stealthy player.

The Meh:
As much fun as it is to set up crazy combos between your gadgets and powers, the majority of your enemies have absolutely no real means with which to combat your crazy supernatural abilities. After a while it can feel like picking on toddlers. For example, the Possession power allows you to walk them out of their patrols, which are pretty much the only defense they have against you, and that's only a defense if you're going for a no alerts/no kills playthrough.
A sword is perpetually glued to Corvo's right hand. Allowing the player to assign whatever they wanted to that hand, or even just dividing up Gadgets and Powers between hands, would have allowed for much more fluid attacks and combos.
There are a ton of Bone Charms, but which ones you find is random. Moreover, there are more types than charms in the game, so the game picks out which ones you find at the start. I know I went a very long time on my mana-intensive Stealth playthrough finding only charms to aid in combat. This does help to change up gameplay on repeat playthroughs, but the same thing could have been accomplished by having them purchased like the Powers are.

Replay Value: Fair
Multiple difficulties and a wide array of ways to take down your enemies means there are many ways to play each level. However, the guards never change their routes (aside from between having High and Low Chaos in the very late game) and once you find the best way through a level there's little incentive to do anything else.

Overall: 8
While the complaints and the indifference appear to outnumber the good here, there's most certainly a solid game to be had, whether you want crazy combat or careful stealth. More than anything, I'm excited by this as a first step for what I hope will be an interesting and entertaining series to come.

The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim


What can I say about this game that hasn't been said already? A mountain of amazing games released this year and, for many gamers, Skyrim stands firmly at the peak. Does it truly deserve to stand there with giants like Uncharted 3, Dark Souls, and others also scaling that mountain? Well, that'd be a matter of opinion. And since you came here for mine, I'll gladly give it.


Presentation: 9
Greatly improving on its predecessor Oblivion's already nice graphics in many areas, the look of Skyrim is pretty darned good. You'll still find the occasional jagged-edged shadow, and a close look at the plants will let you see them as flat. But the character and creature models, the flowing water (complete with currents that push you along this time), spell effects, and every single item you can pick up being lovingly rendered in your inventory goes a long way to make up for it. The only true flaw in the character models is that they have some difficulty showing expression. The best example is probably the guy in the opening scenes who's voice shows he is clearly freaking out, but his expression remains quite wooden.
The musical score from the trailer captures this game's sound perfectly, going from heart pumping to breathtaking and back again. Which is what the game does too, incidentally. The wind howling at your back as you look out from the edge of a tall cliff, or the heavy breathing of your character as they stagger on, one wound away from death. Every bit of the sound in this game is flawless. There is a single annoying line that quickly skyrocketed to meme status. And it's only really annoying because of the way people won't stop talking about their knee arrows everywhere on the internet.

Story: 9
In another improvement on Oblivion, the main campaign's story is very nice. The Thieves Guild's story is good enough to rival it too. Every questline has its moments, to be sure, but those two stand out as the best. In a way it's the opposite of Oblivion's weak main story and much stronger side stories. Most side stories here could use some improvement. None are bad by any stretch, but they do suffer somewhat from having their pacing just a bit off. Or from a somewhat silly thing in the story like being made Archmage of Winterhold Mage's College by virtue of smacking someone around with a sword as opposed to, you know, using magic really well. Then again, that's almost an Elder Scrolls staple nowadays. Still, there are a thousand little stories waiting to be discovered aside from any of the major questlines. From an aged Orc wandering the wilderness in search of an honorable death in battle, to an ambushed merchant's wagon telling you of a nearby dungeon, to a friendly ghost who pops up to applaud your diving skill should you leap off a certain high place. There's always something to find.

Characters: 9
Aside from the aforementioned woodenness in their models, the characters are mostly well done. You will find some odd mismatches of text from time to time. Such as children who claim not to have 'seen such a thing in all their years' when you fell a dragon. I'm pretty sure this was purposefully done for a giggle as it is voice acted for the children and not simply them getting an adult's lines. There are a number of likable characters and an equal number of detestable ones. And all are great to see.

Gameplay: 8
The classic Elder Scrolls combat style of 'backpedal furiously while attacking' makes its return. But it's now complimented by an improved stealth system as well as more effective use of blocking and the ability to dual wield any one-handed weapons or spells, and combine two casts of the same spell for increased effect. Not to mention the inclusion of various Shouts, abilities with a cooldown in between uses that can let you do things like push enemies away to gain a moment's respite in combat, breathing dragon's fire on your foes, or sensing the lifeforce of enemies through walls, and many, many others.
That's a lot of improvement on your options over past games. But it's not without its downsides.
There's a smaller number of spells to be used per school than in past games, and the ability to make spells yourself has been removed completely. This kinda sucks because it would be really helpful to be able to make weaker versions of stronger spells. For example, when the Destruction school's basic Flames or Firebolt spells aren't strong enough, but you don't have enough magika to cast Fireball effectively. Things like that make playing a pure Mage character a lot tougher than it should be compared with the other character archetypes of Warrior and Thief.
Also suffering from a limiting factor is the Enchanting skill. Not only are you now limited as to what item can be enchanted with which effect, there are also fewer pieces of armor and equipment available to enchant. You can only wear one ring, and the torso and grieves armor are no longer separate. While this is pointless from a gamer's perspective, it does make sense in order to maintain balance. Without this limitation you would have no reason not to cover your equipment in enchantments that increase your primary attack skill (One-handed weapons, Destruction magic, etc) to crazy heights and just dominate everything you come across.
Not that you can't do that anyway, mind you. People were quick to find a way to exploit the system, as always, to make weapons and armor that can completely remove a school of magic's mana cost allowing for infinite free spells, or to craft weapons that can do over a thousand damage per strike while their original form could do only 50. Of course, doing so takes any and all challenge out of the game.

The leveling system too has it's improvements and problems. Unlike in previous games, your level no longer requires you to use only specific skills to level up your character, which greatly removes some of the tedium and so is quite a welcome change. In addition, the new perk system lets you feel like you've really been rewarded when you level since any given perk's effects are a lot more tangible than the previous games' minor increases to stats. Oblivion had perks too, true, but they suffered from the same problem of being too subtle most often. It's definitely an improvement...but it's not perfect. Why?
Level scaling, while more in line with Fallout's version, still causes gamers grief. One of the bigger problems is that improving social or crafting skills still contributes to increasing your level. This is a problem because enemies' stats are still based solely on your level. It's best summed up in this comic. You can quickly find yourself outclassed by even the basic enemies if you focus too much on increasing skills like Smithing or Speech. After all, no matter how charismatic you are, you generally can't talk well enough to convince a bear not to eat your face. (Though you can Shout at him and send him flying.)
I can't help but think that the whole thing would go over better if your combat and social skills were split into different levels. Or if they would just stop insisting on using this badly flawed level scaling system.

One of the game's premier features is fighting dragons. Which turns out to be kind of a mixed bag. In the game's initial state dragons were afflicted with a bit of ADD. They might be poised to kill you, only to suddenly notice a mudcrab 50 yards away and be overcome with the urge to attack it instead. The patch released not long after the game mostly fixed that, but afflicted them instead with a random decision to just sort of fly away backwards on rare occasion.
The difficulty of fighting dragons sort of takes on a bell curve as the game progresses (*on the standard difficulty setting). Early on you won't be well equipped, but can still take them down with a little careful dodging for cover and timely healing. They're no bigger threat than any other boss enemy. Towards the middle of the game as your level has gone up you'll start encountering Elder or Ancient dragons. These guys are the heavy hitters. One breath attack you aren't prepared for can be the end of you. But by the time your character starts to reach their end game build (roughly level 50-60, though you can twink it up to 81) you'll be able to take even these two at a time.
Even with that though, there's still a good bit of enjoyment to be had from dropping one out of the sky through spell or arrow and having it plow up the ground as it crashes. Despite what's seen in the trailer, the dragons aren't usually dumb enough to fly within melee range. Which makes sense. Why would they when they can just strafe you with fire and ice?

Lastly, I must mention that there's currently a bug due to the patch that was released. While it fixed many issues, letting the game play more smoothly, it also broke one of the key combat mechanics: your character's Elemental Resistance stats. As it stands now, they don't work. No matter your armor or resistance enchantments, any mage or dragon can put a serious damper on your day. This won't really effect the assassin or thief type characters who tend to focus on not being seen in the first place, but it can give others serious trouble. There's supposed to be another patch to fix it on the way soon though.
Patching lately in games is kind of a hydra. Slay one head and two more arise in its place. Let's hope Bethesda can put this particular beast down for good.

Replay Value: High
There's just so much to do that it's highly unlikely that you'll find even half of the content in a single playthrough. In fact, you're best served by at least making a character for the Warrior and Thief archetypes and playing out the questlines built for their kind of character in their own playthroughs.

Overall: 9
There's something for everyone here. It's got its flaws, but overall its positives far outweigh the negatives. This is a must buy for sure.
If you're still looking for my opinion as to which game stands atop that mountain, I can say this: "I don't wanna choose, 'n you can't make me! Neener neener!"
I haven't played all the games I'd like to, but I can say of Dark Souls and Skyrim that I'm glad I played them back to back. It feels like each has what the other lacks. Go get them both.

Final Fantasy XIII-2

A wise monkey once said in his review of Final Fantasy XIII, "The game was fun, but I've come to expect much more of this series. Here's hoping Square listens to their fans' feedback for the next game." With that in mind I was skeptical when they announced XIII-2. I waited until the reviews came out, finding solid 8/10s in most places. I asked a friend who'd bought it, and he said he was enjoying it. So I decided to take a gamble and picked it up recently. What's the verdict? Well...


Presentation: 10
Was there ever a doubt? This is a Final Fantasy, after all. If they did nothing else, you could always count on them to look and sound good.
There are a few flaws in the sound department. One character's voice can be a bit irritating, and a blessedly rare boss battle track that sounds like someone's murdering a camel to screamo music. Even that's not enough to detract from the overall goodness of the soundtrack though.

Story: 5
Let me preface this by saying that there is a vague, but important spoiler in this section. It's the source of my biggest problem with this game, and might really impact your decision to buy it. I highly recommend you read it anyway. With that warning out of the way, here goes.

The game centers around Serah, former damsel in distress of the previous game, as she journeys through time with Noel (pronounced "Noll" not "No-el"), a guy from far into the future, in an effort to find out what happened to her sister, Lightning, who everyone apparently thinks was pulled into the crystal pillar along with Vanille and Fang at the end of the first game.
FFXIII-2 has an interesting take on time travel, and dodges many of the expected tropes. However, it also doesn't seem to follow its own rules sometimes as well. For example, having caused a change in the future at one point, another fellow time traveler is removed from that point because they would no longer have been called there. However, the very same thing applies to our heroes, yet they remain right there. (No, that was not the important spoiler.) A few other mostly minor things as well, but they do take away from your understanding of exactly what's going on. Speaking of which, letting you get that understanding is something XIII-2 seems bound and determined to keep you from right up until (here it comes) the ending cliffhanger. That's right, for all your time invested you'll be getting a great big "To Be Continued" before the credits roll.
Now to its credit, as cliffhangers go it certainly leaves you wondering. But that's partly because there are several story hooks and characters that are introduced and then never expanded on...in the game. Looks like they're supposed to be DLC. Yeah.
On the timeline map you'll notice 3 areas completely separate from the rest of it. These are for upcoming episodes featuring those characters, the first of which drops this month sometime, I believe. In addition there's a Colosseum you visit briefly during the game, but never have any reason to return to, unless you shell out for the Lightning and Amodor DLC that was available on release. And as another symptom of the DLC infection, the main menu holds the Outfits option which you can use to put on different costumes for your characters, but there are absolutely no alternates available within the normal game itself. Not even any unlockables. The prices of these DLCs are so far no greater than $3.00. But since they are dangling story hooks with places clearly prepared and set aside for them in game, it really feels like withheld content, whether or not it actually is.
But you know, even with this, I might still be able to overlook it since nothing that's available yet is essential to the story. I certainly don't like the idea, but I can't hold that against the game itself. The real question is whether the story continues into a XIII-3 or a DLC. I absolutely cannot recommend supporting a company that would intentionally withhold the ending of a game into DLC. It's absolutely inexcusable. So, amazingly enough I'm going to sit and hope for a sequel. But I don't think it's likely. That's why there's a question mark next to the score up there. What'll decide it is whether the game is just the next part in the story, or just a lead up to DLC. For now I'll assume the best and count that 7 into the score.

You might say to me, "Hey, the game has multiple "endings" you can go back for." But only once you complete the true ending, so none of them can be canon, nor do any of them actually brings you any true conclusion either. I sorely wish they had spent the time and resources used to make these false endings exploring those story hooks. Why didn't they? I can only assume it's because they couldn't sell the paradox endings like they can what's up for DLC.

Characters: 7
Our protagonists are all likeable, but don't develop much. Or rather, it's done in the same style as XIII and there's no real transition. Aside from them there are a few characters that really have some personality about them.
It's good that they've added in a town or two, but once again most of the people in it are blank slates you can't talk to unless they're specifically for a quest. They will randomly speak as you pass by, and it is cool how they'll respond to things you do like riding a chocobo or throwing Mog. But that doesn't give them personality since everyone will react the same way.

Gameplay:8
Much has changed for the better in this area, but they sometimes take a step back as well.
The first problem addressed is the infamous linearity of the levels. That's not to be found here. Many places have multiple routes to take, and all of them have out of the way nooks to explore and search for treasure.
Combat has remained similar to the original in most ways, but with several changes. Since the story only focuses on our two characters, the third party slot is filled by a monster. Whenever you defeat a monster there's a chance it will turn to crystal. Should this happen you get that monster as a party member (though only one of any given monster at a time). Obviously not all monsters are obtainable, but a very large number are. Each monster has it's own miniature Chrystarium that you use found/dropped materials to advance them through to level them up and make them better. You can also choose to Infuse one monster into another. This will transfer any passive abilities (HP +20%, Item Finder, etc) from one to another. This does consume the donor creature, but aside from a very few unique monsters, you can always catch another one later. If they share a role (Commando/Ravager/etc) then you can also select a number of active abilities (Thundaga, Shell, Powerchain, etc) to transfer depending on the Chrystarium level of the donor.
The problem here is that each creature only has one role and you can only put 3 in your party at a time to switch between in fights. This is less diverse than simply having a 3rd character would be since a person can have any of the 6 roles, but most of the time you won't notice a problem. It helps that you can now save up to three different sets of paradigms, and those will automatically switch in the saved creature combination as well when selected.

Each monster also has a kind of Limit Break too. As long as they're in battle their Feral Link gauge fills up. When it's full you can activate their ability at any time. There are a variety of abilities ranging from simple damage, to area damage, to healing and buffs for the party. The status of the gauge persists between battles, and it can be used as often as you like in a fight. Unlike Noel and Serah's similar abilities which can only be activated once per fight. The right monster with the right Feral Link can make all the difference in a fight.

In what I consider another waste of time and resources, you can also collect a ton of different Adornments and stick them on your monsters for a bit of personalization. Don't get me wrong, it's nice and all, but again I would much rather have had more of the more important stuff.

There has been another improvement to the paradigms, though. You can now customize them a little more by setting whether or not you want more focused or spread out attack types. By selecting a paradigm like Relentless Assault you can adjust it so that your characters will use single target attacks (like the basic Attack or Fire abilities) against single foes and make it Relentless Assault X, or if you want them to prioritize using larger area attacks (Blitz or Firaga, etc) with Relentless Assault W. A nice touch, but it doesn't go quite far enough. If they would give you the ability to simply turn off some actions like in FF12's gambit system, you could get them to focus on doing the actions you would prefer. For example, Poison is most often a waste of time (though it does have its uses rarely). Nevertheless, both the AI controlled character and your Autoselect will prioritize it over the vastly superior Imperil.

Lastly, the ATB gauge still has the same flaw as before, where increasing it just means you act most slowly since you have to wait longer for it to fill up. While you can order your character to act before it's full, the other two AI controlled ones will always wait. This could potentially lead to a lack of healing when you need it, or longer than needed battles because they wouldn't do the one or two attacks needed to finish them.

That isn't actually a major problem though because of the game's difficulty. Or rather, its lack of difficulty. It comes in two settings, but if you'd told me I was playing on Normal instead of Easy, I might not have believed you. I rarely had to scramble for a strategy during a fight. Only ever really had use for 4 paradigm slots. All through the story I died about 4 times too. It wasn't until I started to take on the few powerful monsters after the endgame that I died repeatedly. Luckily it wasn't an extreme grindfest this time to get within striking distance of them though.

The casino was a letdown. It only has two games; a slot machine and chocobo races. (Though they're quick to tell you that they'll be adding two more card games in the upcoming DLC. Sigh.) The slot machine is worse than random. In hours of playing it I never came out ahead. Worse, you're required to play it to get a Fragment, one of the game's collectables to unlock a few things. (More on that in a moment.) The fact that they had to put in a button to do all the boring stuff for you should have been a hint that it shouldn't be in the game to begin with.
The chocobo racing is much like the battle system in that you can't actually control what happens specifically. Instead you just get to pick a strategy and hope your chocobo has the stats to pull it off. The ones you race are captured in battle just like any other, or in two instances found in item boxes. Their battle stats and skill are what determine their racing abilities, so catching them in the wild and improving them like other monsters makes them better racers, and very hand combatants too. Unfortunately, you don't even get to control where you run on the boring oval track. You're assigned a position in one of the 8 slots before the race. Your chocobo will never leave that slot to try to get ahead of others either. You only really control when it uses its Boost to sprint, and even that seems broken.
In either game there's little or no skill involved. C'mon, Square. Shouldn't you have to be good at something to win instead of just hoping the numbers come up in your favor?

Collecting Fragments through story progression or doing missions here and there can result in unlocking Fragment Skills. Unfortunately, only a couple are useful. Ones that might be good are rendered useless due to when you get them. For example, Field Killer lets you use the overworld attack button to kill monsters instead of just starting fights with them. But you only get it after completing the Bestiary, meaning you've killed every boss and monster. In all likelihood, it's the last one you'll get since completing the Bestiary requires finishing all the paradox endings as well. There are some handy ones which increase or decrease the monster spawn rate as you want, or increase the spawn rate of rare monsters. But they're outnumbered by the useless ones.

Replay Value: Low.
Since you can rewind time as much as you want in any area after completing it and finding an item to do so, there's little reason to ever start from the beginning again. You'll likely skip most cutscenes and conversations too. The adventurous types will likely have found and explored every area to it's fullest as well. Plus, you know, the ending thing.


Overall: 7
I'm disappointed by the DLC shenanigans and the lack of a true ending. A lot's riding on where they go from here. They definitely listened to the feedback about the last game. Let's just hope they listen this time too.

Golden Sun and Golden Sun: The Lost Age

Time for another Retro Review. This time we move to new territory for my reviews, the Gameboy Advance. This little machine turned out some good titles. Castlevanias, Final Fantasy remakes, Lunar, a couple quality Mario titles, and Metriods. Oh, and of course, these two very solid RPGs. These games were fun when they came out, and speaking as someone who recently played back through both of them in preparation for the series newest entry, Dark Dawn (review upcoming), I can tell you they're still just as good.

Graphics and Sound: 9
For a series 6 years old, everything still looks and sounds fine. The musical score is nice overall, and the main theme is especially good. This Orchestral Remake is excellent.
Much like in Alundra, which I reviewed earlier this year, the graphics aren't going to astound anyone, but they are the best they can be, and polished to a shine. Each ability does have it's own distinct look in combat, and some of them actually look really nice.

Story and Characters: 9
In ancient times there existed a power called Alchemy, the ability to break down any matter into it's base components of the four elements, then use it to construct whatever the user wished. Naturally, this lead to widespread war and strife. The wise men of the time sealed away Alchemy by containing the essences of the four elements within the Elemental Lighthouses. As long as the seals remain, then only a fraction of each's power flows into the world. In the time of our story, there exist only a relatively few people who are especially in tune with the elements and can use this power. This lesser ability is known as Psynergy. (Unsurprisingly, all our characters just so happen to be Psynergy users, or Adepts as they are called.)
When several other Adepts fool Golden Sun's protagonist Issac into stealing the keys to these lighthouses from inside the Sol Sactum, then take hostages, the chase is on to stop them from breaking the seals. Gathering new allies and powers as they go along, our heroes pursue the villains relentlessly, but they always seem to be one step ahead. After finally catching up with most of their adversaries for an epic showdown, we're left with a cliffhanger ending. Which picks up right where it left off in The Lost Age--only now you're playing as Felix, now the leader of the previously enemy party. You finally get to learn exactly what's going on, and why he's doing what he is. This method of storytelling actually turned out really well. It's a great way to convey the whole story from all sides. And still leave you wanting more.

Each character has their own distinct personality, even many of the random townsfolk. In a bit of a twist, our two main characters Issac and Felix are mostly silent protagonists. Yeah, you read that right. Mostly Silent Protagonists. There are a few instances in each of their respective games where they speak a few words, and they both have a good bit of dialogue in each other's games. They just mostly refuse to talk for no good reason.  Still, even having a selective mute for a leader doesn't hamper the story in any way. There's enough depth to keep me happy, and enough twists and turns to keep me guessing sometimes. Even if the gameplay didn't back up this great story, I'd play these. Fortunately for me, that's not the case.

Gameplay: 10
Remember the part where our heroes are Adepts, capable of using the four elements? Well, that's not just for raining destruction down on your enemies. That's right, you'll be using these powers in and out of combat. The Psynergy Frost isn't just used for dropping hailstones on your opponents. It's also used to freeze water into traversable columns of ice. The Burst Psynergy can put a hole in a wall, or between your enemy's eyes. Now, not every ability can be used outside of combat, of course, but enough of them to keep things interesting. Often times you'll be returning to previous areas to get new items and Djinn (more on that in a bit) that were previously out of reach, but now you have the Psynergy you need. The dungeons, and indeed every town and village is full of puzzles for you to solve through Psynergy. These range from simply moving items around, to really complex stuff involving many different Psynergies in the later areas. The puzzles in Golden Sun are generally easier than those in TLA which adds to the feeling of progression as you get further and further in. And you'll never need to really worry that a lengthy puzzle will run you low on Psynergy Points for battle because not only do you regenerate them as you walk around, but the encounter rate in rooms with puzzles is drastically reduced where it's not eliminated completely.

Djinn. Here's where it gets a little more complex. Djinn are physical manifestations of the elements. As you muck about across the world you'll find these little guys hanging around. Some will join you just by being found, others must be persuaded through force. But once you get them on your team, they'll add their power to yours in several different ways. Once a Djinn joins you, it will be Set to a character you choose. A Set Djinn boosts your character's base stats and can even change their Class, allowing you to use new Psynergies. But wait, there's more! Each Djinni also has its own unique ability, such as raising your party's attack or defense, attacking enemies, inflicting status effects, or healing one or more party members. Using these abilities in combat sends the Djinni into Standby mode. This has an up side and a down side. The down side is that that particular Djinni is no longer boosting your stats, and can temporarily downgrade your Class. The up side is that a Djinni in Standby mode is ready to be used for Summoning. There are numerous summons, many of which involve different types of Djinn and deal huge damage. Once a Summon has been used, the Djinn involved move to Recovery mode. Starting the turn after the summon, they'll move back to Set mode one per character per turn at a time where they go back to boosting your stats and waiting to be used again.

Defeating enemies grants exp to level you up and useful items to..um..use. In addition to level, you also have a Class. However, unlike in similar games, you don't just decide to be whatever class you want. It's determined by your character's innate element, and what kind of how many Djinn you have. This can be as simple or complex as you want to make it. If you want to take Issac, who's innate element is Earth and just stick only earth elemental Djinn on him, that's fine. It's entirely possible to beat that game using 'pure' characters, and is in fact what I did my first playthrough. You are penalized in no way for doing this. But to give you an idea of the amount of diversity available to you, here is a link to a class guide on Gamefaqs. I'll give you a moment to put your eyes back in your head. Better now? Good, because I'm not through talking about combat.
You pick your actions for everyone at the beginning of a round and then you and the enemy perform them based on each character's speed. Defend to reduce damage, let loose with Psynergy or Djinn or Summons, use items, or just slice and bludgeon the enemy with physical attacks. Pretty standard RPG stuff, but with a few quirks.

Firstly, if multiple characters are set to attack an enemy, but it dies, then the other turns are wasted and you automatically defend. At first I thought this would be a big problem, bit I soon found that whenever you go into a new area it won't take long to figure out how much damage an enemy can take and plan your attacks accordingly. (They've changed this in Dark Dawn. Now your attack just goes to the next enemy.)
Second, holding down the A button hurries up every action allowing you to finish fights much more quickly. Lengthy summons can be partly skipped, much like in FFX. This goes a long way to keep combat from getting tedious.
Lastly, The world is littered with special weapons, all of which have their own unique attacks commonly referred to as Unleashes, that add elemental or status effects, or just greatly boost damage. These randomly trigger at what seems to be about half the time. There are so many individual ones that you're not likely to get bored of seeing them before you find a suitable replacement. Just another way in which the games keep things interesting.

Some final bits about the game. There's an arena mode that allows you to use your party to battle against a friend's. A nice touch.
More importantly, if you played Golden Sun one to completion and saved the clear data, then you can transfer that data either through link or password to Lost Age. Now when you inevitably encounter the party from Golden Sun, it will be your party, complete with all levels, equipment, items, and Djinn you had when you finished. In fact, there's even a secret dungeon with that you're only allowed into if you've found all Djinn in both games. Naturally, it houses the strongest enemy in the game. But that's not the only such extra. Both games are full of secrets and sidequests ripe for exploration. Despite being on handheld, these are fully fleshed out games with 60-70 hours in between them.

Overall Score: 9.5
There is just so much awesome packed into these games. They contain almost everything right with RPGs. If you're an RPG fan, then these games should be on your must have list.


       
  

inFamous

The Good: The controls worked well for me, but I do have a knack for adjusting quickly. Personal preference is invert. The variety of powers was good, but could use a little expanding. The good and evil powers were distinctly defined. For example, both trees get grenades, but Blue(good) grenades upgrade into an auto restraining version designed to spare enemies/civilians, whereas the Red(evil) grenades split and scatter all over with no regard for collateral damage. Bioleech specifically was quite evil. I actually felt bad using it. The ability to perform stunts, distinctive kills or maneuvers that is, to gain extra EXP was a nice addition. There were several ways to use the environment for combat, always a plus. I haven't played many sandbox games, but of the ones I have played this is the best.

The Bad: A little too short. Rental is probably a pretty good call. One reason I bought it was for the Uncharted 2 beta. (Which is fun so far and I'm certainly keeping an eye on it. One bit of pointless gameplay, the last 30 or so shards do nothing for you (aside from trophy awarding). Because Blast Shards that are given as a quest reward count for the upgrading of the energy bar, but aren't "hidden" shards, those last few are rendered pointless by the time you can get them. No unlockables. I'm crazy for them unlockables. Even the pointless ones. Definitely needed more Boss battles.

The Meh: The story was not thaaat bad. I mean, you know its a superhero game. You have to expect a certain amount of cheese going in. The variety in the enemies was adequate, but could've used some more Conduit class enemies instead of waves of trash enemies here and there. The Golem class conduit was my favorite enemy. The territory gaining side missions were good, and the game stopped just early enough to keep them from being repetitive. Unless you played good and evil paths back to back like a dummy. Like I did. Speaking of the paths, they do change the story to a degree, but embarking on the paths themselves is as simple as following the choices laid out by Cole's internal monologue. Or healing/killing a large number of civilians.

My Verdict: 3.7/5