Consolation Prize

After two successful outings on the PS2, it’s time for the Ghost of Sparta to step into the mobile market for God of War: Chains of Olympus on the Sony PSP. The development reigns (or should that be chains) have been handed over to Ready At Dawn Studios using an enhanced version of their proprietary engine that was developed for Daxter (PSP).

Set as a prequel to the events that took place in God of War, this entry in the franchise nicely fits into the story arc that has already been told thus far and fleshes out more of our angry Spartans background.

At start of the game Kratos, already in servitude to the Olympian gods, is sent to the city of Attica to repel the Persian invasion. It’s an adrenalin inducing start and introduces the player to the controls gradually throughout the level and finally climaxes with a showdown with a Basilisk that has been terrorising the city. The level however is merely a taster of things to come and it’s not until vanquishing the beast that the true story line becomes apparent as Kratos witnessing the sun falling from the sky begins a quest to restore the god Helios.

Read the rest of this entry »

Mario and friends are back for another fun packed bout of racing in Mario Kart Wii. Although this is the sixth instalment in the series there aren’t really any drastic changes to the tried and tested formula. This isn’t a bad thing as by and large the series evolves with each generation of Nintendo hardware and introduces some new features.

So what’s new this time around? First and foremost is the introduction of motor bikes as vehicles rather than just karts. Instead of just being an afterthought however the bikes handle significantly differently from the karts to make them a worthwhile addition to the game, generally being faster and more responsive, but feeling a bit more unstable (twitchy). Bikes also tend to be lighter than there karting brethren and thus it’s easier to get bullied off the track while riding a pocket rocket, especially if coupled with a very light character.

Another new element this time around is the ability to perform tricks on jumps. A quick jerk of the wheel upwards at the right moment and you get to see Mario or Toad pull off a random smile inducing trick which upon landing gives you a speed boost for a few vital seconds.

There’s a wide variety of characters to choose from, in fact Mario Kart Wii boasts the largest character roster of the series to date spoiling the player with 25 in total, including the ability to use your Mii. Although half of these have to be unlocked during the course of the game most of the best known characters are available from the start.

Read the rest of this entry »

I’ve recently picked up an iPhone and as with any new gadget I was eager to find out what games were available for my shiny new device. Fortunately I came across
Kingdom Game and I’ve been putting it through its paces over the last week.

Kingdom Game is an online real time resource management game based on one of several worlds (servers) which are also populated with many other kingdoms. The aim of the game is simply to become the number one kingdom in the known world by increasing its net worth through buildings and population.

Peasants are the bread and butter of your kingdom; they not only provide an income from taxation but can also be trained to become one of several different military units or alternatively a specialist unit such as spies, diplomats or priests. To expand your population you’ll need to build housing and provide an ample supply of food from farms but also ensure that you have enough raw materials from lumber mills and stone quarries in order to satisfy any building requirements.

Read the rest of this entry »

I missed out on Rez the first time it appeared on the Dreamcast, and also its subsequent port to the PS2. An enhanced version is now also available from Xbox Live Marketplace for 800 MS points and this time I’m not going to miss out.

The story is a simple one providing enough detail to form a setting for the game. In Rez, you’re a hacker infiltrating a super network controlled by an artificial intelligence. Known as Eden, the AI has recently begun to question the meaning of its existence and has started to shut down. Your task is to enter cyberspace and infiltrate the core to re-awaken Eden.

Rez HD is an on the rails shooter and thus the player has no control over movement as you follow a predetermined path through each level. Emphasis is instead placed upon aiming as you guide the onscreen laser reticle over swarms of viruses and projectiles holding down the “A” button to get a lock-on to each target. Up-to a maximum of eight targets can be simultaneously locked-on ready for a laser attack when “A” is released.

Read the rest of this entry »

Released about three years ago on the PC to mass acclaim Half-Life 2 is now available on the Xbox 360 as part of The Orange Box. If you’ve not played either the PC game, or the Xbox port released back in 2005 then you’re in for a treat.

In the first game Half-Life, our protagonist Gordon Freeman was involved in an incident at the “Black Mesa Research Facility” which resulted in a dimensional portal being opened to an alien world. Half-Life 2 kicks off an unspecified amount of time after the events of the first game as Gordon finds himself on a train on route to City-17 and learns that the world has been conquered and humankind enslaved by an alien force known as the “Combine”.

What follows is a series of story driven events split into a number of seamlessly merging chapters as Gordon tries to escape the Combine forces that are hot on his heels, and help the resistance movement fight back against there alien oppressors.

Although I’ve summarised the story rather succinctly I don’t want to give too much away. The unfolding story line, witnessed first hand without cut-scenes and narrated though dialog and characterisation is excellent and certainly one of the highlights of the game. Even though Half-Life 2 is now a few years old I still found myself very impressed by the emotional expressions shown by non-player characters and struggle to name another FPS game that can show the same mastery.

The world that the developers, Valve, have created is both believable and full of interesting locations. The urban setting of City-17 and its network of canals compliment locations outside of the city like the abandoned settlement of Ravenholm, or the hideouts along the coast-line, ensuring that repetitive locations are kept to a minimum.

Unlike a number of recent games where the player can only carry up to two weapons, Gordon can carry all the weapons he comes across during the course of the game. Although the actual number available just runs into double figures there’s a good assortment, including the trusty “crowbar”, sidearms and fully automatic weapons. The much touted “Zero-Point Energy Field Manipulator” also known via the much catchier name of the “Gravity Gun” is the key innovative weapon and can be used in a variety of ways both defensively and offensively to grab, throw and manipulate environmental objects.

Throughout Half-Life 2 not only will your reactive shooting skills be tested but also your grey matter will be called upon to solve puzzles that stand in your way. The puzzles nicely act as a change of pace, sometimes allowing for a breather, but always keeping the game feeling fresh and stopping the action from becoming monotonous.

I’ve not mentioned much about the look of the game up to this point, but even though the “source engine” is now a few years old this port is still looking great today. As an an extra benefit this (Orange Box) version features HDR (High Dynamic Range) imaging to further enhance the visuals. Audio is yet again decent with good voice acting for characters, although Gordon is once again silent throughout, and some pumping background music kicking in at key moments. The radio calls between Combine troops as they relay information to one-another, or the audible radio “white noise” and monotone beep as they’re killed are excellent examples of how sound effects when used correctly enhance a games atmosphere.

The greatest negative I can say of the game are the “loading” points. Although they’re not poorly situated they do detract from the game as suddenly everything comes to a halt for the 20 or so seconds it takes to load the next portion of the map.

It took about 16 hours to play through Half-Life 2 and as part of The Orange Box represents incredible value for money as this game alone is first class. Highly recommended!

See also:
The Orange Box: Portal Review

Every now and again I get the urge to play a decent old school style shooter that can provide a good gaming fix when you’ve only got limited time to spare. I’d heard that Super Stardust HD on the PS3 was a good classic style shooter and once I’d sorted out my credit card with the PlayStation Network, promptly downloaded it.

The game is very straightforward and at its heart this is similar to the classic Asteroids but with a 21st Century spin to provide fast and frenetic gameplay with the simple aim of destroying anything that moves. The player controls a spacecraft in orbit over a planet using one joystick for movement and the other for directional fire, similar to Robotron or Geometry Wars. However, unlike the aforementioned classics you’re not based on one 2D plane but on the curved plane of the planet you’re orbiting.

Your ship comes armed with three different types of primary weapon, namely the “Rock Crusher”, “Gold Melter” or “Ice Splitter” which are selected via the “L1″ and “R1″ shoulder buttons. Each weapon is not only more suited to certain asteroids and enemies, but slightly different in nature. For example the “Gold Melter”, a beam like burst of fire is more appropriately used against “Gold” asteroids whilst the “Rock Crusher” is best against standard asteroids but provides great fire dispersion.

Although it’s not essential to use the correct weapon type it certainly makes life easier and thus less likely you’ll be swamped with hundreds of asteroid fragments floating around the planet surface and your ship crushed between a rock and the proverbial hard-place.

Certain asteroids contain glowing green cores and when destroyed will leave various power ups to collect such as extra lives, shields or weapon upgrades. Power-ups gradually degrade over time and when left uncollected eventually deteriorate to bonus points.

The game is split into a series of five planets, with each planet separated into five phases culminating with a boss encounter. Each planet gets progressively more difficult and soon the planet atmosphere is swarming with asteroids and enemies to avoid. In the event of an emergency you have a limited number of “bombs” which can be used to clear the immediate area or alternatively a “boost” facility which is unlimited but takes a a few vital seconds to recharge.

The game is gorgeous to behold featuring some great explosions and special effects with some catchy background music tracks which take me back to some of the classic shooters that appeared on the Amiga in the days of yore. Super Stardust HD has all the qualities of a great shooter and at its core is a very playable game that is easy to pick up and play yet hard to master. The game not only provides a great experience but is exceptionally good value at only 4.99 GBP.

As The Orange Box offers such a solid line-up of games all in one package I thought I’d review each element as and when I’ve played them rather than as a whole. First up is Portal.

Although Portal is played through a first person perspective it is at heart a puzzle game where you survive using your wits and skill. When the game begins the player awakes in a test chamber at an Aperture research facility and is informed over the intercom that they must complete a series of hazardous tests and when complete you will be rewarded with cake.

Portal does an excellent job of slowly introducing the player to the different aspects of the game, building upon skills learned in each test chamber enabling you to solve increasingly more complex tests. The primary puzzle solving element of the game is of course learning how to use the portals created by the “Aperture Science Handheld Portal Device” which you pick up during the early stages of the game.

The device allows you to create two portal openings, one blue and one orange, on most flat surfaces be it floor, ceiling, or wall and creates a physical connection between the two. Thus if you walk into the “blue” portal you will walk out of the “orange” portal. This is obviously a fairly simple example but things soon become more complex when you realise physical laws can be applied to problem solving. Thus if you fall into a portal at high speed you will exit the other portal at the same velocity and it becomes apparent that you have to use these physical laws to your advantage to jump great distances, reach high platforms or drop an object onto a button or hazard. As the game progresses you’ll have to start using more resourceful methods for portal placement, and experimenting with ideas is certainly one of the highlights of the game.

Graphically the game looks good. The environment portrays what I’d imagine a research testing facility with minimalistic design to look like. Portals deserve a special mention as being able to view into a different part of the map and seemlessly move between them in a 3D space is a feat in itself.

The test chambers are all excellently designed and you feel a real sense of satisfaction when you figure out how to complete a level. Dialog from GLaDOS (Genetic Lifeform and Disk Operating System), your guide through the game, is top notch being both informative and amusing and gets even better as the story unfolds. Also of special mention is the ending of the game which features a sublime song sung by GLaDOS.

Unfortunately it’s over all too quickly and you’re left with wanting more. As a bonus for completing the game you get access to six advanced “re-jigged” test chambers and additional game modes such as completing the chamber with the least number of portals or the fewest footsteps providing a good deal of replayability.

Even though the game is short it’s still excellent, provides an alternative approach to the first person perspective genre and is a worthy addition to the Half Life universe.

So the fight has now been finished but was it worth the blood, sweat and tears of your fallen comrades? Well for me the answer to that question is mostly a resounding “Yes”.

The game kicks off immediately after the ending of Halo 2 as Master Chief impacts “meteor-like” on Earth. After being found by sergeant Johnson and his team the chief sets off on nine campaign missions to conclude his fight with the Covenant forces.

If you’ve played any of the prior games then you will instantly get a feeling of familiarity. This is by no means a bad thing as the gameplay which was so successful before has been retained, tweaked and honed to near perfection to provide both intense small scale skirmishes and massive set piece battles.

The campaign game features a variety of decent locations both on and off Earth with most missions providing a good balance between indoor and outdoor settings. The levels are generally easy enough to navigate around with a waymarker appearing on your HUD to provide assistance. However, without giving too much away, there’s a mission towards the end of the game that features a very organic environment which unfortunately was all too similar and isn’t the easiest level to find your way around. With the exception of the aforementioned, all the other campaign missions were thoroughly enjoyable and provided some great gaming experiences.

The story is told through a number of cut scenes using the game engine or via dialog when in-game. The story is functional and does a fairly decent job or wrapping things up but leaving some tantalising questions hanging in the vacuum of space. Speaking of dialog, the “battle banter” from comrades and foes is top class and enhances the overall sense of immersion and on occasion provides some very amusing lines, especially with the “IWHBYD” skull switched on which provides alternative dialog.

The game features a number of vehicles both old and new which can be used by yourself and your comrades and were great fun to use. I still found that when it comes to driving the AI still isn’t the best around and in some circumstances would get stuck or overturn the vehicle when you’re controlling the mounted weapon of a vehicle like the “Warthog”.

Graphically the game doesn’t look to be on a par with some of the showcase games on the 360, but they are still very good and the entire game moves at a very slick pace without any slowdown even when there are lots of models on screen during the larger battles. This in itself is an achievement that is worthy of praise. No game is complete without decent background music and the dramatic music score featured in this game strikes the right balance between subtlety and the melodramatic and is always perfect for the current encounter.

The single player campaign isn’t the longest around and should be finished within a few days, however it does promote a lot re-playability. Not only are there hidden “golden” and “silver” skulls which drastically alter campaign mission parameters, but the entire campaign can be played through with up-to three friends in co-op. Even when you’ve exhausted those options you can turn on campaign scoring for an extra edge of competitiveness’s with friends and for the game achievements.

As mentioned the “skulls” that are found dotted through the campaign missions can be switched on to alter certain parameters. For example; the “Fog Skull” removes the motion sensor and more drastic skulls such as “Iron” ensure that the mission would have to be restarted from the very beginning if anything unfortunate happened to the chief.

A lot of games tag on some sort of multi-player mode just as an afterthought but this is certainly not the case here. As with its fore bearer Halo 3 has an extensive multi-player mode on offer. Depending on your preferences you will find something to suit your gaming style. Whether you prefer running around solo or teaming up with friends or random players there are a number of maps available which are all significantly different to one another, and together with the variety of gaming scenarios and settings that can be changed provides one of the most complete multi-player experiences available on a home gaming console.

A Halo game wouldn’t be complete without featuring a variety of weapons and Halo 3 is no different. Some new weapons have been introduced like the “Brute Spiker” and “Spartan Laser” whilst others have been refined or re-introduced like the “Assault Rifle”. All the weapons feel well balanced and some are more suitable to certain situations than others. Additionally the player now has the ability to rip weapons from mounted gun emplacements, such as Gatling guns or plasma cannons, switching the view to an “over-the-shoulder” third person view. This can be incredibly powerful while the ammunition lasts enabling you to clear rooms full of enemies quickly but reducing your movement speed quite considerably. The game now also features four grenade types with the standard frag and plasma now reinforced with the spike and incendiary grenades.

As-well as weapons and grenades Halo 3 now introduces “equipment” to the mix. This provides another tactical element to the combat as deciding what to carry (only one item a time) and when to use it can sway the tide of an encounter. Each piece of equipment has there uses. For example, the “bubble shield” provides an enveloping shield which cannot be breached by weapons, whilst a “power drain” can be used to remove the shielding from your foes making it easier for you to finish them off.

Of final note is the new “Theatre” mode. Every game you play, whether campaign or death match, is temporarily saved to the 360’s hard drive for viewing afterwards. Although this initially doesn’t sound like it should cause much of a fanfare what really raises the bar compared to other replay modes is the ability to detach the camera and move it around to your hearts content while the movie is playing or paused. This is a fantastic feature enabling you to analyse your performance, or that of another player, and definitely helps you learn item locations and strategies. As an additional bonus movie segments can be recorded or screenshots taken to send to friends or upload to the file share.

In summary; although in my opinion the single player experience doesn’t quite reach the lofty heights of something like Bioshock , as a complete package it provides first class entertainment and will be played for many months and years by its devotees.