Catherine

I seem to be getting later and later with these, but I've been really quite busy lately. Strange I know, but the point is: I managed to drag myself away from Mass Effect 3 long enough to type a coherent page. I recently played Catherine (which was released overseas last year), a pure puzzle game. And it's strange to see a pure puzzle game have such lastability. But is it also fun to play? Find out now!

STORY
Catherine follows a week in the life of Vincent Brooks, a middle aged man with a fear of commitment. This happens to be a big week, as his long time girlfriend, Katherine, starts hinting at wanting a marriage, as well as some other life changing events that could be around the corner for Vincent. As he drowns his sorrows at the bar one night, Vincent is cornered by an attractive, promiscuous girl named Catherine, and Vincent's inner turmoil begins as he tries to figure out what is important in his life, and where his morals lie. These struggles all manifest themselves as nightmares about falling.

To make matters worse, there are also alot of mysterious, cheating related deaths happening at the same time.

Catherine is a game with a surprising story; not many games can base a story on a man's relationship and have it work so well. Sure there's a side story about mysterious deaths, but the main focus is Vincent's inner turmoil, trying to figure out if he wants to stay with Katherine and live a consistent life, or stay with Catherine and live a life of chaotic freedom. The characters that Vincent meets each night before his dreams are mostly quite likable, and Vincent himself has a quite goofy charm.

PRESENTATION
The most striking feature of Catherine is most certainly the cell shaded graphics during the gameplay and in-game cutscenes. At other times, the game uses anime style animation cutscenes, and these not only look great, they look very distinct compared to other game cinematics.

The music is suitably frantic during the nightmare puzzles, contrasting with the games downtime in the bar, The Stray Sheep, which has soft jazz music. It's a good way to change the feeling the player gets when play through either section.
The voice acting is also pretty good, with none of the characters being particularly boring or over the top. Most NPC's hit the sweet spot.

GAMEPLAY
This is where Catherine really shines, as we've seen few games that function the same way. Catherine's main gameplay feature are the block puzzles that Vincent encounters in his nighlty horrors. Each nightmare requires Vincent to climb an impossibly tall tower of blocks, by way of shifting and stacking the blocks in the proper form.

This mechanic is surprisingly deep, as moving a block isn't as simple as it sounds. Blocks can be pulled so long as there's a space for Vincent to stand, and multiple blocks can be PUSHED at the same time. Impossible staircases can be created using the principle of edge connecting where, so long as the edge of two blocks is touching, gravity does not apply normally.

As Vincent climbs ever higher, new kinds of blocks are added to the mixture. Ice blocks force you to slow down and plan your climb better, while bomb blocks may force you to climb faster, away from the blast. It's difficult to imagine a game with such a basic premise with some much variety, but I honestly found it to be quite entertaining from start to end.

To top it off, there are boss levels, where Vincent not only has to climb, but he has to out-climb a monstrous creature that embodies his current fears. This is where the player really has to think, and use all the techniques they learn up until that point.

And before I forget, you'll often see sheep climbing the towers. These sheep are the representation of other people having the same dream as Vincent. These men can also be interacted with in the bar, during Vincent's down time. Just a sort of side thing I'd like to mention.

REPLAYABILITY
I've been told there are actually multiple endings to Catherine, which would explain the use of a morality meter, but that's not the best reason to play Catherine over and over again. No, the best reason to play Catherine over and over is to keep yourself on your toes. The block puzzles are some of the most challenging tests that I've seen in a game, and while some of them verge on infuriating, when they get beaten, you get an immense sense of accomplishment.

OVERVIEW
In summary, Catherine is a damn good game. I easily spent over 15 hours playing Catherine, and while a lot of those hours were spent tearing my hair out, the sense of accomplishment you get from beating a difficult puzzle is entirely worth it. The story is interesting (and different), while the presentation is really different to the rest of the games industry, it may not appeal to many gamers. It almost requires a previous appreciation of anime and the culture surrounding it.

Next week, definitely reviewing Mass Effect 3. Trust me, however, it's AWESOME. If you can't wait a week, take this as my summarised review. Mass Effect 3 is the fitting end to an epic trilogy. Like the other games? You'll love this one too. See you next week!

Asura's Wrath

While working my way through the unbelievably thick RPG, Kingdoms of Amalur, I got sidetracked by alot of other games. One of which was Asura's Wrath, a game that, after finishing it, I had severely mixed emotions about. Read on, and I'll explain why.

STORY
The narrative of Asura's Wrath follows Asura, an ex-guardian general in this worlds army of demi-gods. The world is infected by a destructive force known as the Gohma, and the world's Demi-Gods take it upon themselves to save Gaea (the earth) and it's inhabitants by going to war with this evil force. After a huge battle, the victorious Asura is betrayed by his fellow Guardian Generals, and thrown from the heavens to his supposed death.

He awakens twelve thousand years later, only to find that the 7 Guardian Generals that betrayed him, have now appointed themselves as the 7 Deities. Fueling Asura's lasting rage is the knowledge that his daughter is the source of their powers.

The game is a huge departure from the current gaming landscape: no space marines or military soldiers, instead we have a story where Chinese mythology and sci-fi collide in an insane, bombastic adventure of betrayal and wrath. It's worth a look, if only for it's completely out there story.

PRESENTATION
Asura's Wrath is a beautifully colourful game, with a lot going on on-screen at any given time. Fan's of anime show's such as Dragonball will probably appreciate the colour and speed of everything, and the crisp graphics certainly don't hinder the game.
The game's music is suitably epic, fitting for a tale of a fallen god seeking vengeance. The voice acting is also very reminiscent of an anime, with some truly absurd, over-the-top characters with voices that reflect these qualities.

The actual Presentation of Asura's Wrath is much the same as an anime, say for instance, Dragonball. At the end of each chapter is a sneak peak of the next, and at the start of each chapter. This gets somewhat annoying when you play all the way through, as the narrations start repeating information over and over. Maybe this would have worked better for an episodic downloadable title.

GAMEPLAY
This is where my enjoyment of Asura's Wrath hit's a little bit of a wall. The main gameplay sections of AW are 3rd person beat-em-up (i.e. Bayonetta, GoW) or bullet hell shooters, which work fine as they are. The fighting mechanics aren't particularly deep, but they have the effect of making Asura feel like a godly badass. He also wreaks havoc across the battlefield while the player control's his deity blasts, tearing through opponents.

The problem, however, is that while these sections are somewhat fun, that's all the gameplay there is to Asura's Wrath; unless you count constant quick time events that don't really affect all that much anyway. The interactive sections of the game come in either gameplay sections mentioned above, or button presses during cutscenes. While I enjoy the cutscenes, AND the story they convey, the lack of variety or contrast in the actual GAME really get to me, and taint an otherwise enjoyable experience.

To summarise, I think the game, Asura's Wrath, would be better with more or less actual GAMEPLAY. With less gameplay, I believe Asura's Wrath would have worked well as an anime mini-series. With more AND more varied gameplay, I believe Asura's Wrath has the potential to be a God of War with a Chinese/sci-fi spin. Which would be awesome. As it is, it doesn't hit the mark.

REPLAYABILITY
I honestly don't think Asura's Wrath holds much replay value for many gamers. Yes, the story is entertaining, and the cinematics are colourful and really out-there, but it'd be just like watching a movie over and over again. Nothing you do will change anything, there are no different approaches, and theres almost no point at all.

OVERVIEW
I'm fairly confident that I'd be saving you all a decent amount of money if I said DO NOT BUY this game. As enjoyable as it is, it's just too short without enough variety to warrant spending a large sum of money on. I would, however, suggest renting or borrow this game from a mate. Buying second hand (for a severely discounted price I hope) would also be a choice. But with Asura's Wrath, you aren't getting your money's worth for a brand new purchase.

This Sunday, either Kingdom's of Amalur: Reckoning, or Catherine. Then MASS EFFECT 3!!! WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!! See you next time!

The Darkness 2

This review is a couple of weeks overdue now, and that'd be because a) I've been feeling a bit under the weather, and b) other games have really been distracting me. But I'm here now, so let's get on with it!

STORY
The Darkness 2 follows two years after the original game, and we join Darkness possessed mobster Jackie Estacado after this long period of keeping the demonic Darkness under wraps. The game begins with Jackie's mob getting hit at their restaraunt, forcing Estacado to unleash the force within himself to save his life and protect his gang. From here, Jackie must contend with a mysterious group who intend to take the evil power from him, whilst coming to terms with the death of his girlfriend 2 years prior.

The writing is pretty entertaining, with some interesting characters, and the ever constant struggle between the host and the parasite, between Jackie and the Darkness. Furthermore, there's enough mindfuckery going on (of the Batman: Arkham Asylum "scarecrow" scenes variety) to keep even the most on-the-ball gamers slightly confused.

PRESENTATION
Where, during my playthrough of the original, I would have complained about the visuals being far to dark, and highly uninteresting; the Darkness 2's visuals are surprisingly colourful and cartoonish (lending to the games comic book roots). The character models and environments have a lot more going for them now than in the previous title, though some of the characters look a little rough around the edges.

The animations are slick and fun to watch, with the executions being particularly visceral and instantly gratifying. The sound effects add to this sense of violence with the squishy sounds of limbs tearing, while the voice work for the main characters are all very well done. Victor Valente (the main antagonist) really sounds like someone you'd want to keep an ancient evil power away from, whereas Jackie's voice lends a very personal feel to him during his fourth wall breaking narrations.

The soundtrack is suitably dark, filled with lots of heavy guitar riffs, but is overall rather average, considering the interesting art style and gruesome animations.

GAMEPLAY
The best thing about the Darkness 2 is, without a doubt, it's superb gameplay. At it's core are solid gunplay mechanics that work just as well as any modern warfare game, but there's far more to the darkness than that.

First, there's the titular Darkness, normally manifested as two demonic arms, ominously framing the players view. Not only do these look really cool, they serve a purpose, being the main enabling feature for the Darkness's "quad wielding" feature. With the left arm, you're able to grab items like car doors or poles (for slicing and impaling when thrown) as well as enemies (to execute in a gory, fantastic style). With the right arm, however, you're able to slash your victims in half (vertical and horizontal).
Both of these abilities add a little more variety to Jackie's rampage through the underworld of secret societies, and they work really well.

This aspect also allows for a strange twist in gameplay that adds a weakness to Estacado. Similar to the first Darkness, standing in the light takes away the use of the demon arms, and stunts Jackie's ability tor egenerate his health. Staying in the dark is the key to success.

Secondly, there are light RPG elements, allowing players to use Dark Essence acquired through skillful kills, to personalize their play styles. While, by the end, you'll be able to unlock nearly everything, using all the different kinds of executions is certainly excuse enough to buy the abilities you desire. On top of that, dark channeling powers up your guns and ammo, making you feel like an absolute boss.

If I was to describe the gameplay of The Darkness 2 in one word, I'd say "Empowering". While the game never really devolves into "Cake walk" territory, the scales are normally tipped just enough in your favour to make Jackie Estacado feel like an absolute beast, tearing people down, left, right and centre.

Minor issues arise with repetitive enemies, as well as a lack of variety in weaponry. However, if that's not a deal breaker, then the gameplay of the Darkness 2 will more than satisfy.

REPLAYABILITY
The single player campaign is more than entertaining enough to warrant multiple playthroughs, but for the gamer's who have to have a "reason" for replaying campaigns, there are plenty of collectibles to pick up; all with interesting flavour text to fill in some of the Darkness's personal backstory.

If collectibles aren't your thing, then perhaps multiplayer Co-op will scratch that Darkness itch for you. In the co-op mode, you and up to three other players can take control of a Darkness "B-team" who are carrying out odd jobs for the Estacado family. Some of these are even tied to the single player story.

OVERVIEW
The Darkness 2 has stellar gameplay, generally above average visuals, an interesting and entertaining story, so the only thing stopping you from playing this game is your interest in first person shooters, or your current cash. Well, let me tell you, this is more interesting than your average war shooter, so that should be reason enough to at least give it a rent. Do with that what you will.

Next week, (that would be next Sunday, as I'm going to Soundwave this Sunday) I'll review either Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning, MGS HD Collection or Asuras Wrath. I'll leave the actual decision a surprise. See you next time!

Sonic: Generations

Welcome to another year of Tophat Gamer, I hope you all had an awesome holiday break. This year promises to bring us many fantastic titles, but to kick of my reviews for 2012 I'll be talking about a title I never got to post about last year. And it's a title thats close to my heart, as I grew up with the original Sonic games and Sonic and I are both 20 years of age.
So has the blue blur outrun his streak of bad to mediocre games, or was the hype for Sonic: Generations undeserved.

STORY
Sonic: Generations begins with Sonic's friends throwing him a surprise party. As the party begins, a large, shadowy figure swoops in, kidnapping all of Sonic's supporting cast in the process. After regaining consciousness, Sonic finds himself in a blank zone of time and space, where he meets a younger version of himself.

It's here that both modern and classic Sonics must race through areas from their history to return them to their rightful time and space, and in doing so, saving their friends.

Used mainly as an excuse for modern and classic hedgehogs to unite, the story is surprisingly funny and entertaining, with classic Sonic's silent emoting providing a few laughs. On top of that, Modern Sonic's obnoxious "attitude" has been dialed back to reasonable levels. The game throws in a couple of unexpected twists, which I found quite interesting.

PRESENTATION
Sonic: Generations is a bright and colourful game with a cheery visual concept that was a breath of fresh air to me after playing so many gritty, realistic games at the end of last year. The game is surprisingly quite good looking on the technical side, and there's little to no framerate drop.

On top of a smooth, colourful visual style, lies an upbeat soundtrack torn from the sega mascot's past. Each level has had it's signature theme added, which gives the game another drop of nostalgia. And that couldn't hurt, now could it?

GAMEPLAY
The gameplay of Generations can be split into two sections: the sidescrolling Classic Sonic, and the mostly 3D, but occasionally sidescrolling Modern Sonic.

The Classic Sonic Act's run really well, with the speed being just fast enough to maintain Sonic's classic signature power, while not sending you flying into traps with no time to react. The jumping also feels just right, avoiding the Sonic 4 part 1 problem of not having enough "float" to it. That said, theres not so much float that it makes platforming imprecise, like LittleBigPlanet.

The modern Sonic sections are some of the best that I've seen in some time, but aren't perfect by any stretch of the imagination. The homing attack works as well as it ever did, and Modern Sonic feels much faster than classic, while still leaving players with enough time to react to most situations. Being able to sidestep with the shoulder buttons helps with dodging obstacles, but like I said, these sections are NOT perfect.

If Modern Sonic comes to a complete stop, starting a run again can be quite tedious without the use of a speed boost pad. His path finding (when slowed down)is surprisingly sensitive. In this situation, using his speed boost ability can give the undesired effect of falling of the edge of a path and to the blue blur's death.

Aside from this rather annoying problem, the gameplay is quite satisfying. The boss battles in particular are both fun and intense, and it's great to see Sonic back at his best.

REPLAYABILITY
Sonic: Generations is one of those games that, despite the lack of multiplayer, I would find myself coming back to, simply because the gameplay is in such a sweet spot, as well as the massive nostalgia hit. However, if you need more stuff to do, there are plenty of side challenges that unlock concept art and music tracks, which are all really cool.

OVERVIEW
This game is a near perfect mix of colourful and vibrant visual design, cheerful soundtrack, above average gameplay and the power of nostalgia, and the result is a great platformer which leaves the past few mediocre attempts to reinvigorate the franchise in the dust, as the hero speed boosts on to better things.

Alot of today's "hardcore" gamers may look at the colourful design and platforming gameplay and think of it as a second class game, and to them I say, I'll take a hundred games of this calibre over a hundred CoD clones any day of the week.

Next week, maybe a review of MGS HD Collection (unless it's been delayed again. If so, perhaps Super Mario 3D land, or pokemon white? We'll see.
See you next time!

Tophat Gamer: GOTY Special

Ok, So I've finally gotten around to doing this (I had a mad pokemon marathon this weekend, so who could blame me?). In this final look at the year that was, I'll be revealing to you my best games of each platform, and my favourite game of the year.

BEST X-BOX 360 TITLE
This year, the 360 hasn't had the biggest library of first party games, so bare with me, as I add some 3rd party titles to the mix. On our 360's we raced some of the greatest vehicles ever made, and ended a war with our chainsaw bayonets. We fought in the interests of America behind the guns of soldiers, and shouted our way to the top of a fantasy world.
These are the nominees for best 360 game of 2011:
-Gears of War 3
-The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
-Forza Motorsport 4
-Halo: CE Anniversary
-Battlefield 3

And the winner is:

Gears of War 3 isn't just a polished re-release of the game that came before it. It's a game that continues to surprise us, even after all we've seen from the franchise. The gameplay remains uber gorey, and the mechanics have been polished to a mirror shine. I was surprised to find myself caring so much for certain characters in this macho-man bro fest, but other gamers who played this title will agree when I say that a few moments really hit their mark perfectly. Gears is one of Microsoft's most solid titles, and its not surprising that Gears of War 3 was their best game of last year.


BEST WII/3DS GAME
The Wii didn't see as many solid titles as it did last year, but Nintendo as a whole had a pretty high calibre year, with their first party 3DS games, and the big release of their green clad hero on the Wii (possible the last huge Wii release before the Wii U). So here are the best Wii/3DS games released this year:
-Super Mario 3D Land
-Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword
-Mario Kart 7
-Ocarina of Time 3D

And the winner is:

While I may not be the best person to talk to about, but you don't have to be a genius to see that Skyward Sword is a beautiful game. In contrast to the competitions greys and browns, this Zelda game has a vibrant, almost painting-like visual quality to it. I haven't played a whole lot of the game, but I've experienced enough to know that the motion controls actually work (for once), and people who I've consulted on my Nintendo award this year agree, Skyward Sword was the best.

Who knows, maybe the next Zelda game we see will be in glorious HD, and the game might surpass other games on the market with not only its visual style, but the technology behind it too.

BEST PLAYSTATION 3 GAME
The past year was set up to be the year of the big black behemoth, but hacking issues (among other things) stopped the consoles full potential from being realized. However, the PS3's first party library grew amazingly, especially when compared to Nintendo and Microsoft's efforts. Here are the best PS3 games of last year:
-Resistance 3
-Infamous 2
-Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception
-LittleBigPlanet 2
-Killzone 3

And the winner is:
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Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception has continued Naughty Dogs tradition of high quality games, with a title that, surprisingly, stood proudly alongside the previous installment, and not in it's shadow.
The game looks and feels very similar to Uncharted 2, but the games story is, for the most part, slightly more engaging. The sheer amount of "holy crap, is this really happening" moments keep players on the edge of their seats, and these moments are strung together quite well (for the most part). This installation gives us more of the characters that we love, and teaches us more of their history together, and the whole story often hits an emotional mark that most games don't even bother aiming for.

TOPHAT GAME OF THE YEAR
The past year gave us a lot of solid, enjoyable titles to play through, of many different genres and styles. Platformers, both new and old stepped up to the plat, as well as arcade racers and sims, first and third person shooters, epic rpgs and slower paced adventure games. We have a diverse list of nominees this year, and here they are!

-Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception
-Gears of War 3
-Sonic: Generations
-LittleBigPlanet 2
-InFamous 2
-L.A. Noire
-The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
-Resistance 3
-Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3
-Driver: San Francisco
-Assassin's Creed: Revelations
-Batman: Arkham City
-Saint's Row: The Third

And the winner (my favourite game of 2011) is:

Batman: Arkham City had a lot to live up to. It followed up from 2009's Arkham Asylum, a game that proved all preconceptions about licensed property games being terrible, and quite frankly the best Batman game of all time. And as amazing as it sounds, Arkham City not only lived up to the standards set by Batman: AA, it surpassed them in almost every way. The strong cast of voice actors expanded with the infamous character roster, and the boss fights (one of Arkham Asylums low points) were drastically improved. Add in a sprawling sandbox full of gothic, slum character and a story with so many unforeseen twists, and you have yourself a game of the year contender. Add in Batman, and you have yourself a winner.

Well, 2011 was a hell of a year! I'm going to continue reviewing in February, possibly with the MGS HD collection, or maybe a 3DS game from last year. Have a safe new year people, I'll see you next time!

Best of 2011 Pt 2

Yesterday, I covered my picks for the best in a wide variety of gaming genres, and tomorrow I'll cover the best of the platforms, as well as my favourite game of last year. So today, I thought I'd take some time to reflect on the little stuff, the best characters, music, visuals and more. So lets get into it.

BEST MUSIC
Music is an oft overlooked aspect of the video game industry, with many gamers choosing to focus more on the graphics or the average play time on offer. What many fail to realize is that a games music can often set the perfect mood for a game's most amazing or tense scenes.

So here are my nominees for best music in a game:
-Assassin's Creed: Revelations
-Batman: Arkham City
-Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception
-Sonic Generations

And the winner is


Batman: Arkham City is a fantastically atmospheric game, with a world that almost leaps from your tv and into real life; thanks in no small part, to the soundtrack. While the rundown streets and towers that extend into the endless night do convey alot of the games sinister atmosphere, it's the music that puts the final metaphorical polish on this work of art. The city-turned-prison feels all the more ominous when the expertly crafted score rumbles through the speakers, and though you may be the Batman, a chill might just run down your spine.

BEST LICENSED TRACK IN A GAME
Before I type the nominees for this award, I must say, some spoilers may be ahead. Licensed tracks can sometimes strike an emotional chord that a score just won't. For whatever reason, hearing a song we know and love might be enough to get your blood pumping, or to make tears form in your eyes. The nominees are:
-Mad World by Gary Jules- Gears of War 3
-Hero by Bonnie Tyler- Sain'ts Row: The Third
-A Little Bird Told me by Evelyn Knight- L.A. Noire
-Not Ready To Die by Avenged Sevenfold- Call Of Duty: Black Ops (Call of the Dead)
-Spectrelight by Mastodon- Resistance 3 Brutality pack

And the winner is:

Without wanting to spoil anything too big, the scene that this song plays in, under normal circumstances, would normally be pretty sad. Particularly upsetting for more seasoned Gears veterans. Then the slow piano intro kicks in and the tears start to form. And believe me, they shall form. I still can't watch the scene without getting misty eyed, and it's been 3-4 months now. Trust me when I say, it really hits it's mark, and the guys at Epic should be commended for the decision that led to the insertion of Mad World.


BEST MALE VOICE ACTING
Voice acting can make all the difference; it can make a bad script somewhat enjoyable, and a fantastic script truly amazing. The following list contains some of the best male voice acting talent of this year.
The nominees are:
-Carlos Ferro (Dominic Santiago); Gears of War 3
-Roger Craig Smith (Ezio Auditore); Assassin's Creed: Revelations
-Mark Hamill (The Joker); Batman Arkham City
-Richard McGonagle (Victor Sullivan); Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception
J.K. Simmons (Cave Johnson); Portal 2

And the winner is:

While this may not be the most original part on the list, Mark Hamill reprising his role as the Joker is one of the most awesome sounding things that'll come out of a game from last year. The Joker was as twisted as ever in the late 2011 release, and Hamill played the hell out of the part. I think it's only fitting that his last time playing the clown prince of crime should also be one of his finest. The entire cast of Arkham City was amazing, but Hamill and Kevin Conroy really brought it home.

BEST FEMALE VOICE ACTING
The nominees are:
-Ellen McLain (GlaDOS); Portal 2
-Emily Rose (Elena Fisher); Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception
-Sasha Grey (Viola DeWynter); Saint's Row: The Third
-Victoria Kruger (Isabela); Dragon Age II

The Winner is:

Once again, Ellen McLain shines in her role as the psychopathic, testing crazed living computer, GlaDOS; possibly the funniest character to ever be an antagonist in a video game. Let's face it, after the hit that was the original Portal, GlaDOS would never have sounded quite right with anyone elses part autotuned voice. And I doubt any other voice actress could get away with insulting players through every step of their journey, even when GlaDOS stops being an enemy, and has to rely on the player.

Few characters can deliver so many laugh out loud lines with such success, and it's for that very reason that I'm giving this award to the voice of GlaDOS. Plus, the woman knows how to sing a catchy theme song.

BEST SANDBOX
Gameplay mechanics are only as fun as the playgrounds we use them in, and as such, alot of the better games this year were in fact, sand box games. So here are the nominees for best virtual playground:

-Constantinople (Assassin's Creed: Revelations)
-Steelport (Saint's Row: The Third)
-Arkham City (Batman: Arkham City)
-40's L.A. (L.A. Noire)
-New Marais (InFamous 2)

And the winner is:

With InFamous 2, it would seem that the people at Sucker Punch had endeavored to make their new electric playground a much more bustling, living city than Empire City. And they well and truly succeeded. On top of that, there was always something to do, whether you're collecting blast shards, or fighting off large groups of mutant freaks and ice conduits at the same time.

As we all know, a Sandbox is only as good as the way you get around it, and ice-leaping, gliding, and parkouring around the city is infinitely more satisfying than commandeering a car and driving around, and it rivals the high tech gadgetry of the

Part 3 is tomorrow, where I reveal my picks for Best console games, and Game of the Year. See you then!!

Tophat Gamer: Best of 2011 Pt1

Well, the year is over, and it's back to "normal" work for me tomorrow morning, so what better time to do a recap of the year past, and share with you my picks for the best games of different genres, platforms and my favourite game of the year. So let's get into it!

BEST RACING GAME
This year has had a number of decent racing games, some of which are our nominees:
-Forza Motorsport 4
-Driver: San Francisco
-Mario Kart 7
-Motorstorm: Apocalypse
-Need for Speed: The Run

And my pick for best racing game of 2011 is:


Driver San Francisco may not have been the best looking graphics, or the most refined gameplay, but it did have one thing done quite well compared to the rest of the competition; Driver SF had a deeply entertaining story that not only kept the players interest, but also tied in with the title's new gameplay mechanic, shifting (which would have been cause enough for me to give the game a hearty recommendation). Driver: San Francisco breathes new life into a genre that generally relies solely on a highly repetitive formula.


BEST PUZZLE (ADVENTURE) GAME
This year was filled with quite a few puzzle and adventure games, but not enough for their own categories, so we've made one for both. Here are the nominees:
-L.A. Noire
-Portal 2
- Catherine

And the winner is:


L.A. Noire was one of the few new intellectual properties of last year, developed by a little known studio in Sydney, and backed by the video game giants at Rockstar, the buzz generated before its release guaranteed L.A. Noire's success. It's just too bad that the developer faced so much controversy after its release, surrounding their working conditions. But, back to the game: L.A. Noire mixes old with new, fusing the gunplay and vehicular chases reminiscent of GTA4, with the story heavy, thinking mans gameplay most common in the point and click adventure games of old. What we got was a tale of corruption and mystery in the underbelly of 40's Hollywood.


BEST ACTION ADVENTURE GAME
Not to be confused with Adventure games, Action adventure titles put players in the shoes of characters in amazing situations, often facing adrenaline pumping action (thus the title of the genre). These are the nominees for 2011:
-Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception
-Assassin's Creed: Revelations
-Batman: Arkham City
-InFamous 2
-Saints Row: The Third
-Zelda: Skyward Sword
And the winner is:

Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception is a game of high pedigree. Naughty Dog is one of the most well known developers of this, and the last two, generations, and after releasing Uncharted 2: Among Thieves in 2009, no one could have seen them releasing anything else quite as high quality. But they proved the naysayers wrong, and here sits Drake's Deception. Few games could have possibly matched the pulse pounding action scenes of Uncharted 2, but when the action flows from a burning chateau, to a sinking ship, to a crashing cargo plane (with only a few narrative hickups along the way) you start to get that Uncharted 3 is indeed a worthy successor to an amazing game.


BEST RPG
This year saw the release of some huge titles in the RPG genre. From Cyberpunk conspiracies, to Elder Scroll prohecies, to zombie infested tropical paradises, this year's RPG stable took us to a wide variety of locations and times, which were amazing. Here are the nominees:
-The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
-Dark Souls
-Deus Ex: Human Revolution
-Dead Island
-Dragon Age II

And the winner is:

The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim is the follow up to the beloved RPG series, The Elder Scrolls. Skyrim follows the tale of the Dragonborn, a being with dragon's blood flowing through their veins, as they try to stop the end of the worlds of the living and the dead by defeating Alduin, the world eater. That said, however, Skyrim is one of the only games that allow enough freedom for players to ignore the story and truly roleplay as the character they want to be. Add to that an interesting and logical level up system, and you have not only the best RPG of the year, but one of the best games of 2011.



BEST PLATFORMER
This year saw the yet another return of everyones favourite plumber, as well as his blue, spiky rival and the little burlap boy that everyone loves. Also, some madness returned, I'm quite sure. Here are the nominees for best Platformer:
-LittleBigPlanet 2
-Sonic Generations
-Super Mario 3D Land
-Alice: Madness Returns
And the winner is:

Sonic Generations is a sonic fanboy's wet dream. The game merges the old styled gameplay from Sonics 1 through 3 with a highly improved version of the 3D gameplay from recent Sonic games, to provide us with a time twisting story of two Sonics, and their race to save their friends and come back from a bad run of games. Sonic Generations has tight gameplay and smooth visuals, and brings back the chubby classic Sonic we all kn ow and love, while dialling back the annoyingness of modern, thin Sonic.



BEST SHOOTERS
This year, we were saturated with Shooters, from Sci-Fi shooters to Warfare of the modern variety, both first and third person; 2011 was not short of shooting games.
Here are the nominees:
-Killzone 3
-Gears of War 3
-Modern Warfare 3
-Resistance 3
-Battlefield 3
-RAGE
-F.3.A.R.

And the winner is:

Gears of War 3 has nicely tied up the Gears of War trilogy, with tight gameplay and striking visuals that accompany a surprisingly well written story with plenty of plot twists to keep players interested.
The already amazing franchise already has story expanding DLC on the way, so fans can continue to explore the universe, while this trilogy is one of the first to be well and truly tied up.

Special mentions go to Resistance 3 for trilogy resolution and fire breathing shotguns.

TUNE IN TOMORROW FOR THE BEST OF 2011 PART 2