The Big 3 - Hardware Review

Here it is. The Sony Playstation 3, Microsoft's Xbox 360 and Nintendo's Wii all in one blog, compared, contrasted and analysed as best as I possibly can to see which of the 3 is best value for money, i.e. the best piece of hardware.

Please remember this is a HARDWARE analysis, not software, and for the record I will never be comparing software as I feel this is totally to the taste of the consumer and realistically reviews in general mean jack shit to me when it comes to making a purchase. I should also point out that I won't be delving into the various different processors and so on (partly because I'm not fully enough educated in this regard and also because the quality of the processors and RAM can sometimes mean nothing, example being God of War 2 on PS2 - whoever thought the PS2 could do that!!), so the affair will be more focussed on a features and functions style idea as well as reviews of each console's controller.

So let's kick it off going from smallest to largest with the Nintendo Wii:

Aesthetically it's a nice looking machine, it's hard to fault it really. Compact, shiny white and functional. Personally I'm not a huge fan of the tray it sits in, both the 360 and PS3 can sit on their own, but hey, no biggy. My only problem as such with the machine is the sensor bar. Now I know this is essential to the how the Wiimote works, but seeing as the PS3 pulls off motion control without a sensor bar one has to wonder if it is 100% essential. It uses automatic disk feeding for the Wii Optic Disc and has a liftable flab to expose four gamecube Dolphin controller ports. It has no harddrive with storage carried out by internal flash memory and can use SD cards for storage aswell.

The Wiimote itself is a well designed piece of equipment, comfortable and it looks great. I'm not a fan of the speaker that's built in as most of the time it comes across as poor audio quality and I really don't think it's necessary, especially when the game's primary sound filters through the TV and/or speakers anyway. However, out of the 3 the Wiimote is my least favourite to use and it boils down to one solid fact. The Wiimote is not essential to play the majority of Wii games. Now before you stop me, I'm still not commenting on the quality of the games, this bit relates to the controllers functionality with the games. Besides the launch title WiiSports, very few (with a notable exception of BoomBlox) REQUIRE motion controls. Smash Bros - non existent. Mario Kart - tacked on. Mario Galaxy - tacked on. Zelda - imposed on a game that already came out on Gamecube. And that's just four games off the top of my head. The cold hard fact is that these games would still be top quality even without the motion ability.

This critical flaw was realised by many gamers very early on, and even now the casual audience is starting to look upon the Wii as more of a fad than anything else. With motion-plus on the horizon at an additional cost it's hard to know what the future holds. What we do know is that the Wii is a solid machine with as far as I know a non-existent hardware failure rate. The Mii service is great and adds to the party-style orientation of many of the Wii's games. The different channels are excellent additions but compared to XBL or PSN, the Wii's online service has to go a long way before it should even be in the same sentence as the other two. Damn, I put them in the same sentence!!!

The Xbox 360

First thing you'll notice looking an Xbox is its smooth concave design. This one at home is an Elite Model, so it's black, but the other two 360 models are white. The console uses a disk tray, has slots for memory cards and large power button. This button not only indicates whether the power is on but each quadrant of the outer ring represents a controller that is linked and switched on with the machine. This particular model comes with built in Wi-Fi and a 120GB harddrive and utilises wireless controllers. This isn't consistent with other models, as the Arcade has no harddrive at all, no Wi-Fi (which needs to be bought at an additional expense) and wire controllers (though I have heard to the contrary in this aspect). The other model comes with 60GB storage.

The 360 unfortunately is well known for one fatal flaw - The Red Ring of Death. This alone is a serious issue and requires you to return your console either to the retailer or Microsoft, depending on terms of the warrantee. To pile on the misery another error, the E74 has begun to crop up as well. If you haven't got it by now, the 360 is possibly one of the worst designed machines ever (from that perspective, it's cores perform rather well). This extends to motherfuckin' fan that sounds like a jet engine taking off, and trust me when I say you will be raising the volume on your TV a few notches just so you can hear it! Also, take a look at the power adaptor... :O

Having said that though, both the NXE (despite being half a rip-off of the PS3's XMB and half the Nintendo Miis) and XBL are terrific services despite the fee for Gold Membership. The additionof the bundled headset only adds to the multiplayer immersion and for the most part makes the experience all the more enjoyable.

The controller is excellently designed, with a very comfortable grip and layout. The triggers work well but the D-pad is less than stellar and the requirement of batteries isn't the greatest either, though a lithium battery can be gotten at, yes, you guessed it, an additional cost. The positioning of the left analog adds to the comfort as it predominantly controls movement in the games and both thumsticks have a concaved centre to improve grip.

Playstation 3

First thing you'll notice with the PS3 is just how large it is. It's a little bigger than the 360 but it compensates its size with its arching curves and piano black finish (look how shiny it is in the pic, you can see ME in it!!). I have a 60GB model, with inbuilt Wi-Fi and bluetooth connectivity. This is standard across all models except you can now only get a 40GB and 80GB model (and possibly a 160GB region depending). Like the Wii it has a disk feeder. All the buttons are touch sensitive. Below the disk is a flab which allows for portable storage units like SD cards or Memory Stick Duo. On the front are four USB ports and two at the rear. At this point I should point out the PS3 uses entirely USB2.0 for all connections.

Unlike the 360, there's no mother of a power adaptor and the fans are quiet enough, though the system can get quite warm after extended play. Also, all models have wireless controllers as standard which come with an in-built rechargable battery which is charged via a USB cable with the system. Also unlike the Wii and 360, the PS3 can sustain up to seven controllers at any one time and it is the only system of the 3 to support Blu-Ray and DVD. My particular model can play PS2 games but this feature is no longer available.

However, the PS3's online service PSN isn't quite up to XBL standards, though it is entirely free of charge. More than likely you'll notice this very early on when you have to download an update. For whatever reason the damn thing is RIDICULOUSLY slow, though I must say it IS getting better. Xbox games sometimes come with the update on the disk, and install rather quickly, why this hasn't happened for PS3 games yet I don't know. Also, because headsets aren't bundled with the console - though I believe it is compatible with a lot of bluetooth headsets - the online experience isn't always up to 360 standards, though again, it IS improving with each firware update. As it stands currently there isn't a huge amount between the two online services, but there IS a difference nonetheless.

What can be said about the controller? I'm sure most of the planet has held a Playstation controller before, the design hasn't changed much except for the removal of the wire, the inclusion of the PS button and swapping L2 and R2 for throttle like buttons as opposes to the 360's triggers.

Conclusions

From a strictly hardware perspective, taking into account value for money, reliability, aesthetics there really is only one winner, and that's the PS3. The phrase "You pay for what you get" has never been more apt. The PS3 is the most expensive but with built in WiFi and a harddrive as standard, not to mention an internet browser built into the system with video support for most flash players, you simply can't go wrong. It uses all the latest technology, Blu-Ray, Bluetooth and USB for transfer and storage of data. The fact that PSN almost offers the same experience as XBL without any yearly subscription fee also weighs in Sony's favour. With its curving designs and piano black finish it looks well in any room with a TV and is the perfect hub for home entertainment in this modern era. It might cost a lot but I can guarantee you won't be a disappointed customer with the features and service on offer.

~The Damo

P.S. - Photos are poor quality as camera is on the blip

Jonathan Creek DVD Box Set

When I was about 13 years old, I watched a programme called Jonathan Creek with my mother. She did her best to try and explain what it was about but I didn't really get what she was on about and it is only now that I can fully appreciate how difficult it was for her to explain what the programme was about. The particular episode, which I now know is entitled "The Scented Room", involved a painting being stolen from a sealed room, where the door had only been closed for 30 seconds and the hall outside was full of people. So how did the thief do it?

Rather than spoil it, I suggest you watch it, but what followed was an hour of brilliant mystery solving and unravelling that captured my fancy the moment the solution was revealed. This I knew was my kind of programme. The only problem? Jonathan Creek wasn't on all that frequently, even now with Sky Digital the problem wasn't wholly solved and the interwebs only has two-three episodes that are viewable. My solution - buy the DVD boxset.

Even though I had watched them all weeks ago, only now have I got the chance to share the experience. Jonathan is played by the brilliant Alan Davies, and for series 1-3 is accompanied by Crime-Investigative writer Madeleine (Maddie) Magellan played by Caroline Quentin and for series 4 is joined by journalist Carla Borrego whom Jonathan had a previous relationship with. There are guest characters in episodes including Anthony Head and Bill Bailey to name but two. Before even getting to the premise of the whole thing, I should point out that throughout all the series and specials the acting and characters are very believably, in particular Alan Davies. Once you become familiar with the character of Jonathan Creek from watching it, you find yourself hard pressed to imagine anyone else in the role. What's more is the line between Davies and Creek is very hard to define, thus adding to the performance and credibility of the character. His character also develops over the course of the episodes in a subtle yet noticable manner.

Creek himself works for illusionist Adam Klaus (played by Anthony Head in the first episode and later by Stuart Milligan. Creek's job description is probably best described as "Illusion-Maker", making the props and tricks for Klaus' show, fooling the audience. He's not much of a socialiser and struggles with women at points. However over the course of the series' he becomes more open and charming, likely due to his working relationship with Maddie that is started in the first episode.

In any particular episode, Creek is usually faced with an "impossible" crime or feat or mystery. More often than not, Creek is brought in my Maddie who usually is called upon in the first case as an investigative writer by the "client", to help her out. What's more, she also writes about Creek's endeavours, generating an unwanted fame meaning that in some and in particular later episodes he is "hired" to solve the mystery.


I should stress perhaps that it isn't always murder at the heart of the story, though I must admit some of the best ones DO relate to murder mysteries. The thing that makes the programme special and watchable is that like any crime/mystery series, like Inspector Morse for example, you want to solve it as well. Whilst you know the solution will be revealed by the shows end, you can't help but try and figure it out for yourself. Trust me when I say that what you think is the solution is very probably miles off the mark.

I guess in part my interest in the show is fuelled by my chosen profession of engineering, as the type of thinking I have to do is in many parts similar to what Creek has to do.

"Making the impossible possible" is an often cliched phrase thrown about in these kind of things, but the style of Creek is unique in the sense that it requires very lateral thinking, something that many people, myself included, simply cannot do off the bat. Unlike a crime series such as Inspector Morse that I mentioned above, where the crime is very motive based and a little piece of the focus is given to technique, the plots of Jonathan Creek give equal emphasis on both, almost doubling your value from the point of view of story-telling and mystery solving and I can guarantee that you won't be disappointed with the end results.

In an early episode Creek makes a statement regarding the "impossible, the improbable and what's practical/logical" as he is about to reveal how the particular crime occured. The ideas of "impossibility", "improbablity" and "logical" are the cornerstones of the series' brilliance and it's these set the tone for all the episodes to follow. In order to solve these mysteries, you need to separate what's impossible from what's unlikely, and then establish how the unlikely could've been done. I can guarantee that in each case you will be thoroughly satisfied with the end result, scratching your head at the ingenuinity of it all yet just how simplistic it all really was.

The DVDs themselves are what they are. All the episodes and specials minus "The Grinning Man" which was shown January 09. There are several bonuses available including documentaries, interviews, etc. Standard fare stuff.

On just a general note of the episodes all together, it seems as though the mysteries/quality of the episodes in series 4 wanes a bit. I'm not suggesting they're bad by any stretch of the imagination, but if you watched them in order as I did the "impossibility" shall we say of the mysteries isn't as grandiose as the earlier seasons, though the episode "Gorgon's Wood" - the last in series 4 - is certainly up there with the best of 'em.

Jonathan Creek has generated huge viewing numbers across England, and the success of the show is shown in the specials that are produced this year and for next. If you like a mystery this is certainly for you. I can guarantee a thoroughly enjoyable experience with the perfect blend of humour, mystery and drama. Just remember to bring your lateral-thinking-cap with you when you do.

~The Damo

P.S. I can't link to episodes, but if you want to find some online, google it and you should be fine.

Resistance: Retribution - Review

ALL THAT REMAINS….

…is retribution. Resistance: Retribution takes place between Fall of Man and Resistance 2 on PS3. You play as James Grayson, a former British soldier who, after having to execute his own brother who was in the process of being converted into a Chimera, deserts his post and goes on a rampage across Britain blowing up more than 20 conversion centres and becoming somewhat of a folk hero to what remains of the British population. Grayson is then captured and faces the firing squad for desertion in a time of war until he is recruited by the Maquis – the French Resistance who want to take back a conquered Europe from the Chimera – who seek his experience in dealing with conversion centres. So begins Operation Overstrike.

Grayson as a character has a very strong personality, and greatly contrasts the “get-the-job-done” silent attitude of Nathan Hale, the protagonist of Fall of Man and R2. The trauma of having to execute his own brother has left him with a thirst for Chimeran blood – an attitude which surprisingly is re-evaluated throughout the game – and a chip on his shoulder. He may not like his new employers, particularly Colonel Mallery or “Molly” as Grayson prefers to call him but he knows his duty nonetheless. Whilst Operation Overstrike is the encompassing military mission being carried out, Grayson is really in Europe to help Raine Bouchard (also a Maquis member) in researching and later administering a virus which would stop the conversion process altogether. Unlike Fall of Man and R2, there is a much bigger influence on the plot, with plenty of distractions to the main objective which keep the game interesting throughout. The story is told via pre-rendered cut-scenes, still images and diary entries. The diary entries help give an insight to character motivations, something that was lacking in Resistance 2.

One thing is certain about Retribution and that is it’s a hell of a lot of fun to play. Retribution switches to a 3rd person perspective with a clever lock-on system and cover system which helps keep the action fluid and paced despite the limitations of the PSP. Move with the analog, aim with the face buttons. It works surprisingly well, and focuses the emphasis on not taking hits rather than aiming. Levels are also diverse enough to include some verticality, crawling and swimming, resulting in nice and timely changes of pace to the enjoyable gun play. The levels, on the whole, are fantastic. The game certainly feels more like Fall of Man than Resistance 2, so expect to see those mines again as well as a few Slipskulls on the way. You’ll find yourself fighting for the cause in Rotterdam, Bonn, Luxembourg to name a few and a some other locations which help set the scene for Resistance 2.

Ultimately Retribution seeks to fill in any gaps, and indeed create a few of its own, in the Resistance Universe. For the first time ever in the series the player finally meets the Cloven face to face, and if your patient enough to collect the hidden intel about them aswell I can assure you that fans won’t be disappointed. Every level in the game has hidden intel, which when all found can unlock some bonus weapons for replay of previous levels. Traditional weapons like the Carbine, Auger and Fareye appear with a few nice additions typical of the Resistance universe such as the Razor (which replaces the Bullseye) whose alternate fire is an energy blade which ricochet off surfaces and a chaingun with a regenerate shield.

Intel and skill points (like achievements) help to add to the replay of the game which lasts about 12 hours on a first play through. Resistance 2 owners get a few bonuses in the form of Infected Mode and Retribution+, which can be activated by connecting your PSP to a PS3 with Resistance 2 running. Infected Mode infects Grayson with the Chimera virus, giving him regenerative health, the ability to indefinitely breathe underwater and the Magnum from Resistance 2. Additionally his appearance changes to that of a SRPA operative. The only downside of this mode is that it doesn’t change the pre-rendered cut scenes and is deactivated once you quit the game or power down the PSP. It does however alter some encounters with other characters in the game, as well as their reactions to Grayson.

Retribution + allows you to play the game using your Dualshock 3, but it disables the auto-lock on system and the game becomes a little bit harder. Plus mode isn’t game changing like Infected mode but it is nevertheless a nice addition to a portable system game that already has more content than most console games.

When you throw in a standard, yet welcome, multiplayer component, Retribution ticks all the boxes for a top-notch game. The graphics, for handheld standards are mightily impressive with clever lighting and texture design and a butter-smooth framerate throughout. Add in a brilliant soundtrack that changes to coincide with the action on screen and voice acting on par with the console games and you have one helluva package for €40 that you can keep in your pocket. Here’s hoping for a sequel in the years to come.

Presentation: 9.5

As far as portable games go, they don't get much better than this.

Gameplay: 9.4

Fast and intense, the way I like it.

Story: 9.3

Probably the single best Resistance plot yet, great focus and an engaging experience.

Design: 10

Experience with the PSP shows, well made from framerate to sound.

Content: 10

It has more content than a console game. That's all I need to say.

Overall: 9.6

~The Damo

Guitar Hero: World Tour - Review

GH: WT is the fourth installment in the Guitar Hero franchise. What sets this game apart from its predecessors is the inclusion of the drum kit and microphone, transforming the Guitar Hero experience from a single player game to a party one. Rockband and its sequel have proven that the ability to play as a band is an incredible selling point and so the Guitar Hero franchise has had to reinvent itself to keep up with the competition, but the question is, has it worked?

World Tour sees you take the role of a rockstar and has you performing across a whole host of venues. The game allows you to create your own rockstar, and dress him/her in whatever way you like, as well as customising whatever instrument you play. You have the option of playing guitar, bass, drums or vocals.

The features five difficulty modes; Beginner, Easy, Medium, Hard and Expert. Not being a particularly well versed music person I started out on easy mode. Well in actual fact I started on beginner but it's totally insulting so I recommend you go to easy mode. Putting it simply, Guitar Hero is a helluvalotta fun!! It's such a different experience to play a game like it after hours spent in Resistance and Fallout. The Guitar Hero gameplay is well known, even by those who haven't played it. The discs on the screen are associated to the music that is being played, you play the note when it hits the strike line by pressing the appropriate fret button and strumming at the right time. I'm gonna avoid the technicality of explaining hammer-ons and fret tapping and just say that the game is very easy to play. And even though it is easy, it's still very enjoyable, as you are very conscious of how well you're playing, given the "Rock meter" on the left as well as the combo indicator and note counter.

To compliment the difficulty levels, there is naturally a great range of songs which vary in difficulty as you progress, i.e. the songs you play in the first performance are a lot easier than those in the last one. The setlist available is great, and you'll be hard pressed to find a song that you don't like. Yeah, sure, you may not like a certain band or whatever, but the quality of the songs on show is fantastic - all of which are master tracks and no covers. There is also a host of cameo appearances of familiar faces in the music industry like Ozzy Osbourne, Sting and Jimi Hendrix to name a few.

The game is tied together by points and cash. Points earned are determined by how well you play, including high combos, obtaining star power, long strings of successfully hit notes and so on. The cash you earn is based on your overall performance and other particulars like a "Hot start" and "Never going red on the rock meter". The points are uploaded to a worldwide leader board and the cash is used to buy more venues and gear for your rockstar. What you're wearing or how your instrument is decorated doesn't influence the level of your performance, at least I don't think it does. What adds to the GH experience is the on screen performance of the virtual band members. All the actions are beautifully rendered in the 3d cartoony like style of the series and are accurately portrayed according to the actions/notes you're playing, as well as set pieces that may indeed imitate the bands from which the songs were taken.

I've only too complaints when it comes to World Tour. Firstly, there are times when it feels like the notes your striking either don't represent or don't coinicide with the music that is being played. This is definitely more evident in the lower difficulties but you don't really know it on the higher ones. This then leads to my second problem: it feels as though the step up between difficulty levels is sometimes too difficult. For example, on easy mode you're only ever required to hit Green, Red and Yellow. Medium is Green, Red, Yellow and Blue. And finally orange is introduced on hard mode. Now on first glance that's ok, but the transition to hard mode is more significant as you have to start changing your hand position, whereas in medium or easy you can just leave your hand as it is and strike the notes as required. I would suggest that a better difficulty progression would involve all the notes from the start, but having to strike them less frequently, so you get used to moving your hand.

It is a minor complaint when you consider that the difficulty progresses as you work your way through the gigs. And what's great about the game is that you actually DO feel yourself progressing, be it a higher score or a longer string of successful notes or whatever. You CAN see your progression! And playing through a song that you've mastered is still as fun as it was the first time you played.

Guitar Hero: World Tour has a lot to offer, and is certainly one to break out when you're having a party. Then you can be like a real band where you kick the crap out of someone for a rubbish performance, as well as all the coke and booze.

Presentation: 8.5
Yeah it looks good for what it offers, but you never feel WOW-ed by the visuals at any point. We all know they could get more out of the 360 and PS3.

Gameplay: 9.3
Plays great even if it is a little hard at time. Once you get motorin' it'll be hard to drop the guitar, drum sticks or mic.

Design: 9.0
One of my cymbals doesn't work, and as I said sometimes the notes seem out of sync, but it doesn't distract too much from the overall experience.

Content: 9.0
Great set list and tonnes of replay value. I would prefer if they gave more of the treatment Rockband gets with the worthwhile updates.

Overall: 8.7

Bring on Guitar Hero: Metallica!!!!!

~The Damo

Fallout 3 - Review

Fallout 3 is an action adventure RPG set in 2277, in a post-apocalyptic Washington D.C. You play as, well, yourself, a resident of Vault 101. The basic premise of the story has you following your father out into the Capital Wasteland, after he mysteriously abandons the Vault. The catch is, no one leaves the Vault, you are brought up believing people are born and then die in the Vault. And that’s where the story takes off…

Now I won’t be discussing the main story as I would otherwise be spewing spoiler after spoiler out like no ones business, but I will say that it is awesome. Fallout 3 is developed by Bethesda, the same crowd that brought the excellent Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion, and one could argue that Fallout 3 is “Oblivion with guns”. Certainly that’s how I felt early on, and treated the game as such. You are by no means required to follow the main story under any circumstances, you’re free to explore the Wasteland at your will, though I would suggest you play a bit of the main quest. If there was to be one flaw with Fallout 3, it would be that everything can seem very overwhelming. The second you step out of the vault you can go anywhere you want and do anything you want. Unlike Oblivion, where there was a judicial system, law as we know it does not exist in the Capital Wasteland, so if you decide to break into someones house or steal something you only have to deal with them, usually by killing them. There’s no jail and the worst thing that might happen is you lose some karma.

Karma is an indication of how moral a player you are, i.e. do something to help someone or the morally right thing and your karma increases, do something that would otherwise be against the law or anything that is “wrong” and you lose karma. Your karma level can influence how people respond to you and can also dictate whether an individual is likely to come to your aid in an encounter. Gaining or losing karma extends to conversation choices as well as how you decide to tackle a quest. Many quests have alternate approaches and perspectives. For example, a quest called “Tenpenny Tower” has you enlisted to exterminate a group of ghouls who are allegedly planning an assault on the Tower. When you reach the ghouls – and after hearing their side of the story – you may decide that you are then going to help them instead, or, as the case may be you may want to find a non-violent compromise which suits both sides. The game has been excellently designed to allow for personal interpretation and appropriate execution of our own moral understandings of the situations. Quests that you undertake may also have a significant impact on other characters or locations. Very early on in the game you are given the option to wipe an entire town off the map with a nuke, and you must ask yourself if you deem that to be the best idea – morals as opposed to money.

Thankfully there are appropriate awards depending on your handling of a quest, and these could range from a person lowering their prices in their stall for you to schematics for a weapon or a permanent increase in your attributes. The versatility of the system and the array of choices and permutations available provides huge replay value. Many people, myself included, can happily confess to simply wandering the Wasteland, exploring. Exploring is rewarded in a sense, but the world is so beautifully created that you’ll find it hard not to wander at times, especially when you might see something interesting in the distance. Speaking of the graphics, there far from the best I’ve ever seen, but they are quite good, particularly given the scope of the game. Every area – particularly those relating to quests – is well designed and coloured, especially considering that the concept of a post-apocalyptic wasteland doesn’t allow for a huge variety in colour or setting. Locations are plausable, and the odd repeated feature (like similar corridors) can be forgiven. Fallout 3 has the added effect that many sources are radiated, meaning that you can’t interact with water (swim, drink) or any area that suffered recent or permanent nuclear activity without increasing your RAD count. The higher this is, the more likely you are to suffer from some degree of radiation sickness. When you’re sick, your attributes are usually negatively effected.

Fallout 3 however is not Oblivion with guns. The levelling up system and character progression are more refined, i.e. no more jumping on the spot to elevate your atheltics ability. Instead, everything you do nets you XP, be it killing someone, or picking a lock or completing a quest. Almost everything you do nets you some XP. When you level up, you can then upgrade your S.P.E.C.I.A.L., which is your skills with guns, your speech, your medicine skills etc. Each level up also lets you choose a perk, which could be anything, such as a higher resistance to radiation, or an increased chance of successfully picking a lock.

What also makes Fallout 3 unique is the V.A.T.S. system. This is related to your AP or Action Points. V.A.T.S. allows you to freeze the game and target enemies in a particular order and their particular body parts. Strategic targeting can have you knock the weapon out of their hand or make them move slower. When I first saw this in the trailers I wasn’t overly impressed, and I didn’t use it early on, but now I’ve come to appreciate it and almost use it whenever I can. The huge variety of weapons available in the game means you’ll be hard pressed to find a favourite, especially when you can make your own. You won’t understand why there’s so many bits lying around until you start collecting weapon schematics and start building.

And you’ll need plenty of weapons and to keep them in good condition if you plan to survive in the Capital Wasteland. Everywhere is frought with danger, and rarely will you avoid an encounter when travelling from one place to the next. The range of enemies changes from location to location, for example Super Mutants will be all over the Capital, particularly in the center, and the further out you go into the Wasteland the more likely you are to encounter wild animals and such. Raiders are a constant threat whereever you go and as you make a bigger name for yourself, you may just find that someone has put a bounty on your head, making travelling that extra bit dangerous.

Fallout 3 is an incredible game with tonnes of game time and a thoroughly satisfying experience. While it can seem very slow at the beginning, it won’t be long till you find yourself wanting to enter the Wasteland for just a couple of more minutes (or hours) to visit every far reaching corner and uncover the secrets hidden beneath the Earth. Not to mention the opportunities to earn all the Trophies and Achievements for your profile. The atmosphere and the world Bethesda have created is truly something that must be experienced, and once that disk is put into your console, it’ll be hard to take it back out.

Presentation: 9.5

The game looks great, though not as good as the PC version. The limit of the colour palette seems non-existent, and each area is beautifully detailed and living.

Gameplay: 9.7

The game is fun, no doubt about it, but it can seem a little slow at times or even uneventful in places you might expect to be. Nevertheless, the way the game allows you to choose how to play is certainly a plus.

Story: 9.8

Really, really good and once you get into it, you won't want to put the controller down till you've seen it through to the end.

Design: 9.3

While everything looks great, the same can't be said for overall performance. There are strange glitches at times involving NPCs there's times when I've felt the game didn't feel as good as it looked. Much of it can be forgiven given the scale of the game.

Content: 9.9

Given that you can play that game in anyway at any pace you want, and the freedom to explore the Wasteland at your leisure, there's hours and hours to be spent wandering aimlessly uncovering the secrets of the Capital.

Overall: 9.6

~The Damo

Resistance 2 - Review

This is how to finish the fight!


Resistance 2 is the sequel to 2006's best selling PS3 title Resistance: Fall of Man. R2 continues the story of Nathan Hale who is infected but resistant to the Chimeran virus. The game takes place across the United States (the last free area in the world) over 7 chapters and a prologue. It begins immediately with the last cut-scene from Fall of Man and makes a seamless transition into R2. Hale is brought to Iceland by Major Richard Blake, head of tactical ops at SRPA (Special Research Projects Agency) and from there Hale joins the Sentinels, a group of soldiers like himself who are also resistant to the Chimeran virus.

The story then picks up two years later in San Francisco and from there the game transports you to select locations in the U.S. such as Twin Falls Idaho, Chicago and Louisiana. The story is quite good overall and unlike the first game it is centered entirely on Hale with no narration. Focusing the story strictly from Hale's perspective works fine but there are instances where you wish you understood character motivations and thoughts. The progression of the events is well paced and much like the first game you certainly feel as though you are fighting a losing battle. However, R2 succeeds in driving home just how large a conflict the war with the Chimera is. There are moments in every level where you will just pause and go "Wow...". Be it a scene of utter chaos or a confrontation with a swirling swarm ripping the flesh of anyone foolish enough to step near it.

A moment that comes to mind is in Twin Falls, Idaho, where you land in a residential estate and find it completely covered in Grim cocoons. Unlike the first game, the Chimera no longer need to send humans to conversion centers to turn them into Chimera. Instead, they send in Spinners, tiny creatures - about the size of a large rat - that spin people into a cocoon and bake them into mindless Grims. The scale of just how many cocoons are in the area is gruesome, not helped by the fact that in some places you will find a "baby" sized cocoon as well. When one of your comrades comments "Makes you miss when they needed conversion centers...", you can only nod to yourself and agree. The scene over San Francisco is unlike anything I've seen before (below) and I found myself just staring aimlessly around the area, watching the fleet tear the city apart. The shear scale and ambition of the game is incredible to behold.

To compliment the incredible atmosphere, in several points of the game you can listen in to the broadcast of Henry Stillman, the last man alive in Philadelphia. Your story, as you progress through the game is mirrored events of Henry's means of trying to survive. We learn he watched a Spinner wrap his wife in a cocoon and watched on helplessly as grims devoured a young boy and his father. I found myself wanting to listen to what Henry had to say, as though I was experiencing the war from another persons perspective. While you never truly envelope yourself in the 50's setting, as you are constantly under fire and so on, the game succeeds in creating a sense of urgency about everything you do and everything that is happening around you. For instance, there is a moment in Chicago (which is entirely flooded by the way) where you jump over an embankment and as you hit the otherside you knock a beam which bursts the barricade holding back the water. You suddenly find yourself frantically running from high points to the next high points to stay out of the water. Why you ask? Well it's not that you'll drown, it's the fact that there are Chimera, called Furies, which infest the waters and if you're down there too long, BANG, your dead, instantly. What's more, you can't shoot or kill them either. You don't want to die, and there is a genuine sense of fear everytime you have to step into water that a Fury will pop out of nowhere and mince you. Fortunately for you, the Chameleon, which can also kill you with one hit is much easier to take down. They make strange noises, almost like an owl or a pigeon, when they're near you and as they approach you will hear a rumble and your controller will shake before they become visible and try to land the killing blow.

The gameplay in R2 is a step above its predecessor. Gunplay is more fluid and controlled and there is an overall reinfinement of the shooter mechanics to bring the game in line with modern shooter standards. The 4 part regenerating health bar is gone replaced by the now common red blurry ring fully replenshing health system. This also works well into plot, as now that Hale has been infected with the Chimeran virus for so long, it seems only natural that he can now replenish all his health, as opposed to just a quarter. The weapon system is now strictly down to a pair replacing the weapon ring from Fall of Man. Sometimes you will find carefully placed weapons, like the Rossmore before you go near some Chameleons or a LAARK in an area where you face a Titan. Nevertheless the weapons feel fantastic, with added tweaks to some originals from the first game such as the Auger's new heat vision ability aswell as the Rossmore now using a clip of ammo as opposed to single rounds. Insomniac have also thrown in a heap of new weapons which fit well into the Resistance universe and are equally fun to use. Be it the magnum with explosive rounds, the Marksman battle rifle or the Wraith mini-gun, you'll find plenty of new toys to play with as you blast through the single player campaign - which is about 10 hours I might add.



The Chimera feel as bad ass as ever and a bump up in the visual department is welcome. The inclusion of Daedalus - effectively the Chimeran leader - gives a sense of a more organised Chimeran force. While I'm disappointed to see that Angels, Widowmakers and Howlers didn't make it into this game, the challenge the Chimera put to you more than makes up for it. Resistance: Fall of Man was hard, Normal mode felt like Hard mode, and Hard mode was...well....VERY hard. That hasn't changed here, and it's one of the reasons I love the Resistance games. Even on easy mode there were times where I was genuinely challenged, and the Chimera don't make it any easier by attacking strategically in packs and exploiting your own cover when they can. Many reviews I've read have commented on there being too many "cheap deaths", and while I feel that the statement is fair to an extent (I'm looking at you - the 3 Titans in Twin Falls and your surrounded by cars that when they explode they've a 90% chance of killing you section.) this shouldn't be used an excuse for people finding the game too hard. No pussies allowed is how it is. If your going to play R2 you better be freakin' good.

And that's why it's great. Resistance 2 pushes you.... HARD. There are far too many games coming out now that cater for the casual audience and are simply too easy. This only partly extends to the boss fights in R2 which were one of the main advertising points. Let me get one thing clear - there are boss fights, and they are BIG. Some boss fights are disappointingly easy, but some are a genuine challenge. I'll be discussing them in a future post as right now I don't want to talk about spoilers or anything.

Normally this is where the review would end, but guess what??

That's only a THIRD of the whole game!!!!!

Even before I had finished the single player, I had already stabbed at the online Co-op campaign. Initially I was slightly disappointed to find that you couldn't play the story mode co-op style, but once I stared playing the online co-op I almost forgot the game had a single player to begin with. Put simply, the Cooperative is phenomenal, and is unlike anything I have ever played before. In fact, I'll go on the record right now and say it is probably the best online experience I've had to date.

The campaign runs a parallel story to what is going on in the single player. There are several locations such as Chicago, Axbridge, Holar Tower and unlike the single player they make reference to the fight against the Chimera in Europe, from none other than Rachel Parker, the female narrator from the first game. You play as a member of Spectre - like the Sentinels - and fight through a heap load of missions with up to 8 players. Each map is modularised, and each time you play a certain map, the mission objectives will be different and you will experience different sections of the maps in different orders. This adds greatly to the variety and replay value of this mode. Furthermore, at the beginning of each mission you get your intel story - there could be anything up to 12 parts for each map, meaning that at the very minimum you need to play each location that number of times. And with several locations that means a lot of hours spent online.

To add to the diversity the number and types of enemies you face depends on the number of players playing and the various levels of those players. Even after starting the co-op after a lot of people, I have yet to feel like I'm out of my depth in these missions. (Or that could be a testament to just how damn good I am at the game - ignore the vanity). When playing, you have a choice of 3 troop types: Soldier, Special Ops, Medic. The Soldier is your damage sponge, and he can also dish out tonnes of damage. His special ability is to bring up force barriers which can protect the rest of your team members. The Spec Ops can deal out a lot of damage with the Marksman but can't take much, and he is the only team member who can supply the others with ammo. The Medic, uses the Phoenix weapon to sap energy from enemies and then convert it into health for other team members. It is absolutely 100% essential that you have at least one of each type of class and that you all work together to get through this mode. What's more, you gain experience points for everything you do, meaning you're constantly progressing. Levelling up unlocks new weapons, new equipment and new berzerks which all improve the Cooperative experience. It is just amazing how much depth and player support this mode offers.

Finally, we have the competitive online multiplayer. While there are typical modes like Team Deathmatch and so on, it's Skirmish mode you want to look out for. In case you didn't know, Resistance 2 is capable of having up to 60 players on one map at any one time, and Skirmish mode takes full advantage of this. The game splits the 30 Vs 30 teams into 5 man squads, and these squads are then given objectives across the map which will often have one squad vs another competing for the same objective. The maps are so huge that at times you wouldn't realise that there are another couple of dozen players on the map. As the timer counts down, the game then funnels all the squads to a certain location and all hell breaks out. Like Co-op, there is XP to be obtained for kills and so on and all this adds to the development of your character, but XP can only be earned in ranked games.

Presentation: 9.9

The game looks and runs great and is leaps and bounds above the original in every department. The only thing keeping it from a perfect score is minor low-res textures in places and a bit of screen tearing.

Gameplay: 10

Solid through and through and more importantly a hell of a lot of fun. Weapons are creative and it'll be tough to find a favourite. The Chimera put up an ample challenge.

Story: 9.8

A little weaker than the original but not much, and still very good by modern standards.

Design: 10

Bigger is better. Everything about the game is well made and runs great, with no lag whatsoever online either.

Content: 10
If I could give it an 11 I would, a 10 hour single player, unthinkable replay-ability in online coop and competitive it's hard to imagine what else they could've put in and still only charge €50!

Overall: 9.9

Resistance 2 is a top quality production with tonnes of replayability and player support. It successfully continues a gripping plot moulded in the first game and compliments it with impressive performance and gameplay. With multiple difficulties, great trophies and all that XP to earn you really couldn't ask for a more complete package. Kotaku reports it will take on average 420 hours to complete! Let's hope the sequel can somehow do even better....

~The Damo

Reviews Have Changed....

Or at least mine will be. From here on out I've set out to clarify my scoring and review techniques.

Before I write a review, I try to play as much of the game as possible, for example if a game has a single player component, I will try to finish that so I have good ground to discuss. If a game also has an ample multiplayer component, I will play it to the point where I feel I have formulated a good enough opinion of my experience playing the game.

What I've found in the past is that I have been changing the categories under which the games I review are rated, such as Unlockables or Multiplayer etc. So what I am now trying to do is tie up my system to consist of basic units which can be counted for every review, and thus allow if a game doesn't come with multiplayer or specifically isn't designed with unlockables. So below is the criteria for all future reviews:

Presentation - this deals with graphics, appearance and sound. Basically it deals with all elements into which the game looks. This won't deal with my personal taste for style choices as I will leave that to the design element.

Gameplay - this scores how well the type of gameplay being presented is executed and allows for innovation in the genre. This score will not be hampered by performance issues but is subject to a FUN factor.

Story - as you may have guessed deals with the storyline if there is one, but also entails any voice acting, character design, atmosphere, setting and architecture. For example - even if the character models don't look "good" they can still be good characters to interact with, and any unimpressive visuals are accounted for in Presentation.

Design - mainly deals with framerates and game peformance and general score for the idea or style behind the game and whether I feel the developers have successfully implemented what they advertised they would do and whether or not they could have achieved more.

Content - covers anything from unlockables, trophies/achievements, length of the game, replayability, multiplayer etc, anything which can give you an idea if you've got something that's worth your money. A game won't be critiqued on all of them, for example Bioshock is 20 hours long, but has no mulitplayer and no unlockables for completing the game, but that doesn't suggest your not getting a great experience for your money.

Hopefully these changes will turn out for the better, check out the LittleBigPlanet Review above to see how it works.

~The Damo

Bioshock - Review

When Bioshock first hit the scene this time last year, reviewers hailed the game as one of the greatest experiences ever made, so you can imagine my disappointment when this was an Xbox 360 only game. Now, a year later, the PS3 version has hit the shelves, but does this game truly deserve the accolade of 2007’s Game of the Year?

Having now completed the game once, I can certainly say yes, it does. Even though the game may be a year old, it’s still as good as (and indeed better than) most of 2008’s big games. Bioshock is set in the fictional underwater city of Rapture (deep in the Mid-Atlantic), created by the sole imagination of it’s grand architect, Andrew Ryan. You’re character, Jack, survives a plane crash and enters a mysterious lighthouse which transports him down to the city via a Bathysphere (the main mode of transport across the city). Upon reaching the city you are greeted by Atlas via radio, who acts as your guide for the game. It is apparent almost immediately that something is severly wrong with Rapture, with its inhabitants boosting up on Plasmids and ransacking the city clean. Not only that but it seems as though the city itself is falling apart. The game’s approximately 20 hour experience takes you around several key areas such as a Medical Pavilion, an Oxygen forest, the Central Core and a shopping district to name but a few.

Each level is perfect in design. It’s clear the designers put a lot of thought into both the architecture and planning of each zone, creating an incredible atmosphere, making you feel like you are truly exploring a new world, though still making it feel familiar with the 1960’s art style. The atmosphere is consistent throughout, enhancing the experience on the whole. The audio diaries which you can pick give you a taste of the events leading up to whatever it is that happened to Rapture, and answers several questions you may have been asking yourself as you progress through the story.

While the game ultimately forces you down a particular route in the grand scheme of things, the areas are so massive that you will spend a lot of time exploring, especially if you want to find all the radio diaries, plasmids and gene tonics. What’s more, you’re free to return to these areas if you wish later on. This non-linear design keeps the gameplay interesting, which can be a problem in some first person shooters. Fortunately Bioshock manages to keep the first person shooter experience interesting from start to finish by the use of plasmids, gene tonics, weapon upgrades and enemies.

Plasmids are special abilities that rewrite your DNA, and thus allow you to unleash spectacular powers like shocking someone with a bolt of electricity, freezing them where they stand with a blast of ice or even swarm them with a horde of bees. The variety of these plasmids allows for different playstyles, and given that you can equip a maximum of 6 at a time means that no two players will use the same plasmids for the whole game. In addition to these are the gene tonics, which enhance your abilities, such as being able to resist fire based attacks, or allow you to turn invisible when standing still. With 3 gene tonic tracks – Physical, Engineering and Combat – and 6 slots in each, the game allows a whole host of different combinations, further dispersing the likelihood that any two people will progress through the game in the same manner.

In order to expand your plasmid and tonic slots, you need to collect ADAM. As it so happens, collecting ADAM is easier said than done. The Little Sisters harvest the DNA of the dead, and convert it into ADAM. But these girls are protected by the Big Daddies, and as their name suggests, they’re quite a handful to take down. When you do take down the Daddies though, you’re then faced with the binary choice of harvesting or rescuing the Little Sisters. Harvesting gives you maximum ADAM but the girl dies, Resucing gives you a reduced amount of ADAM but the girl lives. This choice tests the players morality, something which isn’t done that frequently in video games and makes a huge difference in the course of the game. While collecting ADAM from the Little Sisters isn’t mandatory save for one or two occasions throughout the game, not collecting ADAM will make the game very difficult.

Throughout the game you will encounter a variety of enemies, including automated turrets and security bots as well as Raptures inhabitants which could be anything from the ranged combat Lead Splicers to the vanishing teleporting Houdini Splicers. Naturally when you enter an area it will be populated, but just because you killed them first time round doesn’t mean the room will be empty should you return. Rapture is a living city, and the movement of its inhabitants keeps you on your toes, and ensures that moving through any one particular area is neither uneventful or labourious, regardless of the amount of times you pass though it.

The game does help you on the way to taking down your enemies. During the progress of the game, you receive a research camera, which you use to take photos of your enemies. A little bar at the bottom of the photo indicates how far along your research is. The quality of the photo determines how much the bar moves, and of course there are a bonuses and penalities which will either add or subtract from the score your photo receives. Researching your enemies grants you damage bonuses when attacking them or may even unlock gene tonics which are specific to that class of enemy.

There really is a lot to Bioshock to fully experience the game. The story, the atmosphere and gameplay is so fantastic; it’s hard to imagine how its sequel could do any better. With the addition of Playstation 3 exclusive downloadable content coming in November and the inclusion of Trophies to the mix, you will certainly have more than one reason to keep making that fateful trip to 400 fathoms below.

Graphics: 10
Gameplay: 10
Sound: 10
Longevity: 10
Presentation: 10

Overall: 10

One you don't want to miss!

~The Damo

Angry Video Game Nerd Bonanza

It’s been a long time since I posted any Nerd videos so I’ve got a bit of a kitty to post today. First up is the follow up to the last post, which was about Superman on the NES. The Nerd gave the fans what they wanted and has here a video of quite possibly the worst game ever made in the history of video games….

Superman 64:


After that the Nerd began a build up to the release of The Dark Knight with a two-parter review of several Batman games on numerous systems. I think these two videos are some of his best yet, well worth a watch. How will the Batnerd escape this one?????

Part 1:


Part 2:


I have to tell the blog I’m Batman before I publish it…

“I’m Batmaaaaaaaaannnnnnnnn”

~The Damo

Super Stardust HD - Review

Super Stardust HD (SSHD) is special for me not only because it was the first PSN game I downloaded from the PS Store, but it also the first game I’ve played that has “Playstation Trophies”. Certainly when I set out to download SSHD it wasn’t because I had heard it was a great game, it was simply to get my hands on trophies as – at the time of buying it – it was the only game supporting trophies. And boy was I happy with my purchase!

SSHD is an arcade style game. You can play it at certain difficulties gaining higher scores with the more enemies you kill, the longer you stay alive and what not. My top score which is ~72,000,000 lies about 87XX in the world rankings. At my last check the highest score is 228 million! Little was I to know when I first downloaded it that I would playing possibly the most addicting game I’ve played since Pokemon.

The game’s premise is very simple – you control a spaceship which flies above planets clearing them of asteroids and enemies to save the planet below. Your ship has 3 weapons; a green rock crusher, a red gold melter and a blue ice breaker. As you can imagine those descriptions tell you what each weapon is best suited at. Enemies will somewhere on them have a colour, indicating the best suited weapon for them. By blowing up asteroids and enemies you gain points. You steer your ship with the left analogue stick and fire your weapon with the right. L1 and R1 change between weapons. The more things you obliterate without dying the higher your multiplier goes (a 10X multiplier actually unlocks a Gold Trophy), thus creating an intrinsic challenge of obtaining a higher multiplier aswell as a higher score. When you blow up larger asteroids, they may contain glowing green rocks, which when destroyed release white point tokens or colour coded tokens for each of your weapons. The more of these you collect the more effective your weapons become. Picking up an upgrade after reaching 100% with any weapon sends it into “overdrive” firing faster and dishing out more damage for a fixed period of time.

Along with your three weapons you have bombs triggered by R2. These can be picked up by destroying special carrier crafts which are found on certain levels. When fired a bomb will destroy all targets in a certain area or at the very least weaken larger ones. You also have a boost activated by pressing L2 which thrusts you in a direction determined by the left stick destroying anything in your path. Unlike the bombs which you need to collect, the boost regenerates over time, so using it appropriately is an acquired skill (a silver trophy is unlocked for not using a boost during a single planet). The other two power-ups available are a shield (purple) and an extra ship (or life) which is yellow. Picking up subsequent “shields” whilst already equipped with a shield has the same effect as firing a bomb, only your total number of bombs is not depleted.

The game’s basic mode is arcade, which sees you blasting away over 5 different planets. Each planet consists of 5 phases, with increasing difficulties and the 5th and final phase consists of a boss battle. Alternatively you can play all these missions co-operatively with a friend.

Released after the main game was the Solo-add on, which I have only recently downloaded. This mode offers new gameplay in the form of “Endless”, “Survivor” and “Bomber”. Endless sees you fighting hoards of enemies, Survivor leaves you with one life and bomber disables everything except bombs. I can’t comment any further on these as I really haven’t played them enough. The most recent add-on was the Team Add on which I believe allows for split screen co-op.

In conclusion, SSHD is a highly addictive experience, with impressive colourful visuals, a rockin’ soundtrack, and the addition of Trophies makes it a must own for any PS3 owner.

Graphics: 8

Gameplay: 9

Sound: 9

Longevity: 10

Presentation: 8

Overall: 8.8

~The Damo

Metal Gear Solid 4 Review Compilation

As promised, I've been searching for a list of all MGS4 reviews to date and courtesy of N4G.com and Gamestats.com I have the below summary:

9.9/10 IGN UK REVIEW
8/10 EUROGAMER
10/10 MERISTATION.COM
5/5 OFFICIAL PLAYSTATION MAG REVIEW
95% PSM3 UK REVIEW
97% GAMEMASTER
8/10 EDGE REVIEW
10/10 OFFICIAL US PLAYSTATION MAG
10/10 OFFICIAL UK PLAYSTATION MAG
10/10 OFFICIAL ITALY PLAYSTATION MAG
9.6/10 OFFICIAL DUTCH PLAYSTATION MAG
10/10 LEVEL (SWEDEN)
19/20 JOYPAD (FRANCE)
9.7/10 CHIEF (BELGIUM)
9.6/10 HOBBY CONSOLAS (SPAIN)
9/10 HARDGAME2
97/100 GAMEMASTER
10/10 PTOM (USA)
9.5/10 PLAYFRANCE
9.6/10 PSW
9/10 GAMEREACTOR
9/10 JEUXVIDEO
10/10 PLAYSTATION BEYOND
9.5/10 MAXI CONSOLES (PORTUGAL)
10/10 EMPIRE ONLINE
10/10 PELAAJA MAGAZINE #6
99.5/10 IGN AUSTRALIA
5/5 PS MANIA 3.0
9.5/10 GAME REPUBLIC
10/10 PSM
97/100 PLAY GENERATION
10/10 PLAYR TV UK
5/5 TTP
9/10 SPANISH ELITE GAMER

NOTE: a lot of reviews are yet to come (IGN US, Gametrailers, Gamespot, etc) following the Konami Review Restrictions and will only become available post June 12th.

Plan for tomorrow: get to Smyths by 10am, vote, play MGS, play MGO, play MGS again, play MGO, etc, etc, etc. Yes, I know I have no life!

~The Damo

Journalistic Integrity

As many of you know, I would consider myself a member of the gaming community. Indeed anyone who owns any console or PC (for games use) from any manufacturer is a member of this community. However, there is growing concern emmerging in this community over the validity of official professional reviews, and the matter has now come to the fore with the upcoming release of MGS4.

Most notably is EGMs refusal to review the game because of the restrictions put in place by Konami. All we - the general public - know is that this "list" contains reference to cut-scene lengths and install times. What is strange is how numerous reviews have been made without being hindered by this "list". Which raises the question of just why exactly EGM won't review it. Many are looking upon Konami's restrictions as preventing reviewers from mentioning bad points about the game - and hence EGMs refusal is based on not being allowed to illustrate these negatives. What seems more probable however is that these restrictions are centered on spoilers and plot - one of the key aspects of the Metal Gear franchise. Furthermore, cut scene lengths and install times are hardly negative topics a game should be reviewed on. In particular with install times. Surely by allowing an initial install on the hard drive to ensure better loading screens and overall fluidity of gameplay is a good thing? The same could be argued for cut-scenes, in that you can skip them if you want to...

The Eurogamer review of MGS4 is very questionable. The reviewer openly states that he is not a fan of the series - so why in God's name has been given the task of reviewing it? Not that 8/10 is a bad score, but many including myself feel that had it been reviewed by someone who likes the series, a more fairer score could've been given. Remember of course that MGS4 is really for the fans - not for money. If it was for money we'd be seeing it on PC and Xbox 360 aswell.

I've already commented in a blog below about the GTAIV review scores, and how shallow they were in the context of reviewing. Seeing the scores given you cannot help but ask yourself how much should we trust reviews anymore? The issue of bias has also come to the fore in the community. Some websites will favouor the Xbox over the Playstation and vice versa, and reviewing scores reflect this. The issue of bias came to the attention of everyone with the Gametrailers scandal - a website I once respected.

Bias had always been visible - multiplatform games being only reviewed with the Xbox version, Xbox boxart only being used for multiplatform games etc. The issue really unfolded with the famous GRiD comparison where a PS3 version was compared against....a PS3 version. I CAN'T EVEN SHOW YOU THE VIDEO BECAUSE GAMETRAILERS HAVE REMOVED IT FROM YOUTUBE!!!! The video tried to show the better looking PS3 version to be the Xbox one. The video showed that Gametrailers had a double standard when dealing with the PS3, and brought into question just how reliable all their previous comparisons had been. The issue of dodgey videos was first apparent in the Assassin's Creed comparison, where it was eventually revealed that one of the PS3's settings had not been turned off, resulting in a drastic difference in video quality.

There is too much talk now of money in the gaming community. We all know the stories about Microsoft pumping money out to keep reviews of HALO 3 in the 90 range. Is that right? Should companies be able to control reviewing? With the way GTA4 reviews have been, it wouldn't surprise me if we found out by the end of the year that Rockstar had spread a little green around to everyone...

At the end of the day the quality of a game is solely dependent on what you - the gamer - think it is. We shouldn't have to rely on other people to tell us what's good and what's bad. The only problem is that these reviews do hold sway for some people, and if these reviews are becoming increasingly biased and unprofessional, it will become more difficult for us to ascertain what is legitimate reviewing and what is not. Yes, I'm still actually refering to Eurogamer.

~The Damo

Grand Theft Auto 4 and the Gift of Hindsight....

I said a while back that I didn't plan on doing a full review of GTA4 - and I still don't. But on Friday I finished the main single player story and on reflection of playing the game virtually to its end, there's a lot of things which have struck me about it. Rather than writing a proper paragraphed review, I'm instead just going to outline the pros and cons of the game in comparison to its previous incarnations and then give a score at the end like I usually do.

PROS

1. Graphics - a huge step up in terms of GTA. Still nothing compared to Metal Gear or Uncharted, but everything is well textured in GTA4 including water effects and generally just great.

2. Euphoria engine - the physics engine governing the game brings a whole new realism to the series. Collisions and damage are more realistic, physical interaction between objects, people and their surroundings is more natural, everything just feels like it should.

3. City - this incarnation of Liberty City is easily the best yet. Every corner, alleyway and building has its own feel to it. Modelled on New York, the developers have certainly put a lot of thought into making Liberty feel more like a real city. Taxis, buses, subway, overheads, everything adds to this bustling metropolis.

4. Technology - GTA4 includes an in-game internet, a mobile phone and GPS. This is the first game in the series that really feels it's more current and up to date. All of the above are used quite well in the game itself.

5. Story and Characters - the story in GTA4 is easily the best yet, leaving you wanting more and wanting the characters to succeed. You can genuinely feel compasion for some of the characters at times and the introduction of "choices" for missions in the games give the series a sort of moral side - something which it has been lacking for a long time. Allowing you to interact with your "friends" more is also interesting, as you can finally experience the effects of doing work all the time on your relationships with others in-game.

6. Controls - are very streamlined and are very comfortable. They are different to previous games but you easily adapt to them and appreciate just how well the developers worked on making it more fluid.

7. Multiplayer - a nice addition though a little chaotic at times, and equally fruitless at times aswell. The inclusion of multiplayer is an essential part of any game nowadays and for the first incarnation of multiplayer in a GTA game, it's not too shabby.

CONS

1. Lack of FUN - some of you might be surprised to see this, but its true. Once you finish the story there's virtually no "fun" things to do. There are no tanks, no wacky vehicles, no interesting weapons, no strange locations, nothing. Compared to what San Andreas had to offer in Harrier jump jets, jet packs and virtually everything else, GTA4 is just missing that "umph!".

2. The Taxi - while initally a great idea, the availability of reaching your destination immediately without driving begs the question "Why bother driving at all?". The inclusion of the Taxi as a usable vehicle has led me to feel that driving is actually boring in GTA4.

3. The GPS - again, the inclusion of GPS tells us the "fastest legal route to your destination", so when I AM driving I'm more looking at where the coloured line is leading me on the mini map rather than where I'm driving and learning the surroundings and geography of the city.

4. Money and Property - you get too much of it and have nothing to spend it on. This was a problem in GTA3, but when Vice City came out and introduced buying property and businesses, earning money in missions had a purpose and use, an idea that was further pushed in San Andreas. A lack of the above means not only fewer side missions, but nothing to do with all the money you earn. I now sit on a $900,000 bonanza with nothing to do with it!!

5. Extra activities - again, San Andreas had a lot to offer with buying clothes, gambling in casinos and warring over gangland, but in GTA4 everything has been pulled back. You can still buy clothes but it's much more restricted, and there is no working out and eating in restaurants is a case of getting health, the consequences of eating too much are no longer felt.

In short, GTA4 is very much a case of one step forward and two steps back. By making the game more realistic they have sacrificed things which people loved. Tanks, wacky cheats, planes and so on are all absent, leaving a very dull experience once the game is finished. The stand out point of GTA is that once you're finished, there's still stuff to do, but sadly that's not really the case here. There are nice features like hunting down wanted criminals and shooting radioactive pigeons to unlock the bonus vehicle but then, the vehicle is a FUCKING HELICOPTER. Like the Hunter in Vice City!!! We've seen that before...and in fact, the one in GTA4 isn't nearly as good as the Hunter. We expect something better at this stage.

GTA4 is also a case of "If it ain't broke don't fix it!". The GTA3 series catapulted Grand Theft Auto into superstardom and like so many others the anticipation for GTA4 was sky high. Now, I am left underwhelmed, eagerly anticipating MGS4 in two weeks time. Rockstar had a winning formula with Vice City and San Andreas, and while trying to revolutionise the genre, they have sacrificed the one element which is essential in all video games.... FUN! Yes the single player is FUN - to an extent, but a lack of planes for example and key interesting areas means the range of missions to complete is very short and shallow, leaving you wanting more. The tell tale sign for me that is a let down came very early on, when I found myself not overly bothered to try and finish the game - unlike when I was playing the previous installments. Now having finished it, I really couldn't be bothered to go back and pick it up.

I'm well aware that I've outlined more PROS than CONS, but really, the CONS equally match the PROS. I think reviewers were too quick to rate the game with 100/100 and 10/10's and so on, with only a few websites giving realistic scores of 9.7/9.8 . For me, GTA4 doesn't deserve the perfect scores it's getting, and it's a sign of how shallow reviews have become when games are rewarded such scores when they are not deserved.

Graphics: 10 (only because for a GTA game they are excellent)
Gameplay: 9.8
Sound: 10 (can't flaw it anywhere)
Longevity: 9.5 (short for a GTA game)
Presentation: 10
Extras/Unlockables: 8 (poor for a GTA game)

Overall: 9.6

~The Damo

Haze - The Review

Last Saturday I managed to get my hands on Haze, the latest FPS from legendary developers Free Radical. I had been slightly put off by the IGN review which gave it a 4.5/10, but I can safely say - having now played through it in full - that it is not 4.5 bad. Yes it has flaws, but there are aspects of the game which more than makes up for them.

You are Shane Carpenter, a newly enlisted Mantel Corp Sergeant eager to taste his first sip of battle. The game opens with a first person perspective in-game engine cutscene. This is the style that all cutscenes follow during the course of the game by the way. You're rising on a platform to the deck of the Mantel Land Carrier when meet your squad mates for the first time. Everything feels good; the sun is shining, everyone looks well, life is good. As you stand on deck two large aircrafts fly over, with a roar from the troopers on deck - their latest shipment of precious nectar is here - when a rocket from the jungle cripples one of the planes. You are immediately dispatched to assess the damage....

As you drop down from your troop carrier you get a brief tutorial about using Nectar. Nectar is the combat enhancing drug used by Mantel troopers. You are always on Nectar, but controlled boosts allow you to shoot better, see enemies more clearly, take more damage and strike harder. Too much Nectar and you overdose, loosing the ability to tell friend from foe. This only happens once beyond your control in the course of the game. Nectar is designed to give you confidence and like any drug will want you coming back for more, and my God is that true. Ok, I've never taken drugs myself, but once you start juicing up on Nectar you feel invincible, and just want to use it more. So when you use up your initial six doses, the wait for them to regenerate - even just one capsule - can become agonising.

I'll be honest though - Haze is a shooter, and gunplay is quite solid. As a Mantel trooper you start off with an Assault rifle and a pistol. Both sides have a counterpart with the exception that the Rebels have a knife instead of a pistol and a gatling gun and flamethrower instead of a rocket launcher. All work well and you'll soon find your favourite. Graphics are ok. They're not the greatest out there and they certainly look better on a SD tv rather than a HD one, but this is a shooter, and graphics are one of the least important things, but graphics do help.

As you progress through the opening level you can approach a certain rock. You're hardly thinking about your surroundings when suddenly the screen shakes, the colour turns to black and white, the message "Nectar Disruption" reads on the bottom of the screen and lying sprawled on the rock is a dead body. Seconds later the Nectar reboots and the body disappears. Already it has you asking questions. This happens again in the 3rd "stage". You enter a room which is seemingly empty, only for your Nectar to go again. This time you can see blood smeared everywhere, bodies lying in heaps all over the place. The non-Nectar existence becomes more graphic when you go to pull a lever, and see your hand covered in blood. The Nectar disruptions become more frequent, and it is only when cut off from Nectar you realise how fragile you are. Without it, bullet shots are louder, you can see the bullets making contact with flesh, people are screaming. It becomes evident quite fast that Nectar is giving you an edited view of the world. It also becomes apparent that Shane is not like his squad mates, when they cut off the finger of the Merino, a man they have been led to believe wears a coat of human skin. This prompts Shane to switch sides.

It's far more elaborate than that though. The carrier bringing Merino and your squad back is shot down, and crashes in a swamp. As you emerge from the wreckage you learn that Mantel are after you because they cannot access your Nectar administrator. A rebel scout brings you back to their HQ. It is here that the effect of Nectar becomes more evident. Now fully off the drug, your former comrades (who were rescued from the wreckage by the rebels) try to take over the rebel base. Their suits are covered in blood, their faces shallow and their eyes bloodshot. This is a vast difference to the image given to the player when we first meet them on the land carrier. As a rebel, your tactics change, and you can no longer rely on Nectar to fortify your health. You can double tap X to do a roll, steal your opponents weapon, lay mines, make Nectar grenades, and wipe Nectar on your knife.

Gameplay is a lot more fun as a rebel. Though I am disappointed that we didn't get to play as a Mantel trooper for very long. The story is quite good - and graphical, particularly when you open a shipping container to find it full of Nectar troopers with no signs of bullet wounds on the corpses - but the voice acting is a litte OTT. There are no load screens in the game, meaning you could technically play it through without stopping. The levels themselves are as a result quite big, and it is often difficult to ascertain where one level begins and another ends. Another problem as a result of this is that it can often be hard to tell where you're supposed to go. There are sometimes flares on the ground to direct you, but finding the flares isn't always easy either! No loading screens adds to the story in a way, as games which use defined "levels" can sometimes feel a little disjointed. The games main holding point is that it can be played co-op style offline and online, and you don't need to start a new segment to do it. A human player can sign in and immediately take the place of one of the AI controlled allies. Speaking of AI, enemy AI is definitely one of the games low points. It's not great. Putting it simply. I did expect better, but rumour has it that playing on Hard mode is a real challenge.

Multiplayer is quite fun aswell, with the Team Assault mode standing head and shoulders above the other two. Online stats are also very extensive, and rewards are given for certain events. The back of the case indicates that there will be free downloadable content - here's hoping it's more weapons, modes and maps for multiplayer.

To sum it up, Haze isn't the greatest FPS ever, but it IS fun! I've certainly enjoyed it. The campaign could've been a bit longer but multiplayer can make up for that. Graphics and audio are ok, and gameplay is good for an FPS. Free Radical have sought to bring some new elements to FPS gameplay with the two asymmetric styles of gameplay and it does work!

Graphics: 7

Gameplay: 8

Sound: 7

Longevity: 6

Presentation: 6

Extras/Unlockables: n/a

Overall: 6.8

Now just to wait for MGS4. Oh...and the ending kindof hinted there might be a sequel...Don't know whether that's for better or worse....

~The Damo