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

Assassin's Creed: Revelations

This week will be my last proper "review" until next year. I'll be coming back on January first for my GOTY blog, so I want to take this opportunity to say that 2011 has been a great year, and I want to thank you all for reading these things. I'll see you all next year! Now, Assassins Creed!

STORY
If you haven't played the last AC game, first off, why are you here?? Second, there will be spoilers. Massive spoilers as far as AC: Brotherhood is concerned.
Don't say I didn't warn you.

The game starts off where brotherhood stopped; Desmond's mind has shut down, and his fellow assassins have put him in a safe zone of the animus til they can find a way to help him. Inside this safe zone, he meets Subject 16, who informs Desmond that to rebuild his fractured psyche, he must bring closure to the genetic memories of both Altair Ibn La-Ahad and Ezio Auditore Da Firenze, so that the Animus may seperate these memories from Desmonds own.

Meanwhile, in Ezio's memories, the Italian Assassin Mentor is on a pilgrimage to uncover the secrets of the great Altair, hoping to find answers to his own questions of whether his life has been spent well or not. Along the way, he also becomes embroiled in a political struggle that has Turks and Byzantines (both Templar and non) vying for control.

The high level of story telling and writing that the Assassin's Creed franchise is known for continues with Revelations; the game has some of the most likeable characters to date. Unfortunately, the main opposition to Ezio's cause lack the characterisation of the conspirators of AC2 or the Borgias of ACB. However, characters such as Yusuf Tazim and Sofia Sartor are instantly likeable, much like Da Vinci in the previous titles.

If you're one of the naysayers who criticized the series for the far fetched conspiracy theories used as the story's basis, then ACR may not change your mind. However, if you like big plot twists and out there ideas, then ACR will keep you entertained.

PRESENTATION
Assassin's Creed: Revelations is the best looking AC game to date, which is no easy feat. The improvements aren't hugely noticeable when compared to AC: Brotherhood, but the subtle improvements are there. Character models and faces, for instance look amazing (Altair's features have improved significantly since his last appearance).

The soundtrack will sound very familiar to long time players, which isn't necessarily a bad thing. When the danger picks up, the music does too, and it all really helps the games high adrenaline atmosphere in these moments.

Voice acting continues to be fantastic, with the ever present Nolan North providing Desmond's voice. Ezio's voice actor returns, and Altair sports a more realistic middle eastern accent in his sections.

GAMEPLAY
The gameplay of Assassin's Creed has always been a high point; the combat, platforming and puzzle sections have always been top notch. So it baffles me as to why Ubisoft would add pointless gimmicky mechanics into a near perfect formula, thus taking it down a notch.

I'll start with the good stuff, the stuff that has been polished over four games to a mirror shine. The combat is as fast and fluid as ever, with a little added difficulty in the form of a larger variety of enemies. The kill animations are extremely brutal, and very fun to watch.

The platforming fares a little worse. That's not to say it's been ruined. The parkour gameplay is still fast and frantic, but some pathfinding issues make certain sections of the game rather frustrating.

Another frustrating feature would be certain "optional objectives" for 100% sync. Alot of the time, they turn the missions into stealth missions, which would be fine, if the enemy AI didn't fluctuate between absolute retard and omnipresent psychic. Assassin's Creed Brotherhood didn't have these problems, so I'm wondering where these ones have sprouted from.

As far as new mechanics go, there are 3 main additions: Den Defense, The hook blade, and bomb crafting. To start with the bad news, Den Defense just does not fit in. After capturing templar towers, you gain Assassin Dens, which can be attacked at any time. When they are attacked, a mini tower defence game activates. It seems totally out of place and can be seriously frustrating at times. Especially when you realise that it's only compulsory if you want to get 100%.

On the other hand, we have the hookblade and bomb crafting. The hookblade is handy for getting around quickly, and it helps to make the platforming that little bit more fluid. It also allows Ezio to use Ziplines, which are awesome for getting from A to B in style. Also new are the bomb crafting mechanics, which allow for large varieties of tactical, diversionary and lethal bombs to be created, of different triggers and blast radius'. Both of these are useful and fun to use. unlike Den Defense.

Oh, and before I forget; the Subject 16 puzzles of previous games have been replaced by a strange first person platforming section covering Desmonds memories. They seem a little strange at first, but become a nice break from the otherwise hectic gameplay of ACR. The narrative behind these sections is worth a listen, if you can get behind the gameplay.

REPLAYABILITY
Assassin's Creed Revelations has a great sandbox that invites players to just run around in, as well as a story that, despite it's linearity, warrants multiple playthroughs, a buttload of collectibles to find and side quests to embark upon, and a fun and improved multiplayer component to mess around in.

Assassin's Creed: Revelations is the kind of game that the word "Replayability" was made for. Believe me, theres at least 20+ hours of gameplay here.

OVERVIEW
Assassin's Creed fans, this game is most definitely for you, though the tainting of this game through the pointless gimmicks may ruin the experience for you somewhat. For newcomers to the series, maybe start with AC2 and work from there.

ACR has a fantastic story, andx the gameplay (for the most part) is perfect. The visuals and audio are spot on, and Assassin's Creed: revelations is a worthy addition to the series. Now, to wait until December 2012 for the final chapter in Desmond's story. Note: Not the final AC game.

OK Guys, I'll be back on Jan 1st for my GOTY blog. See you all then!

The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim

Let's not waste any time, and get into the review I meant to do last week. Get your sword and shield, and put on your boots, Skyrim awaits!.. And it might pay to bring a coat and pants or something. Your privates will freeze off otherwise.

STORY
The game begins with your character on a prison carriage with a group of men headed for execution. It is revealed that civil war has broken out in Skyrim, between the empire and the Stormcloak Rebels (a group who wish for an independant Skyrim). Being mistaken for one of these rebels, your character is taken to the executioners block, but a chance dragon attack facilitates your escape.

Through the earlier quests in the game, we learn that your character is Dragonborn, a being with the ability to slay dragons and absorb thier souls. It is up to the player to fulfill their destiny, and stop the world from being destroyed.

As far as stories go, Skyrim is a fairly interesting one. It uses the old story telling gimmick of "Destiny" but ESV:S never forcesm players to follow its interesting, yet cliched story. Players have the freedom to go and make thier own stories, without ever having to do a proper quest, outside of the opening one.

PRESENTATION
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim is by no means the best looking game of this generation. It probably doesn't even stand up well against other games released this month. What it does do, however, is far surpass the technology used in Oblivion, the last Elder Scrolls game.

Thats not to say Skyrim looks bad, however. The environments are varied, and the weather effects make the land feel almost alive. Also there's a substantial amount of detail in the game, whether it be on flowers or in-game items such as swords or books. The occasional texture pop in ruins this slightly, but not too much.

The sound design is fantastic, with the Dohva chants being delivered with force, while very subtle orchestral music punctuates the more quiet times in Skyrim. Beastly noises deliver a suitable sense of danger when your character is initially weak, and voice acting has vastly improved since the last game.

On e last point of interest; Skyrim's menu system is one of the best and easiest to use that I've seen in some time. The map, Skill trees, Magic inventory and item inventory are all mapped to directional buttons after pressing B or Circle. Its a visually interesting and intuitive way of presenting the games options.

GAMEPLAY
Skyrim is, first and foremost, an RPG. As hardcore as they come. And Skyrim offers a multitude of choices and skills with which to personalize the way you play. Do you play as a sneaky khajit thief with a penchant for archery? Or maybe you make a Breton battlemage, wielding a blade in one hand and fiery destruction magic in the other? The choice is yours, and most choices are completely viable.

While an RPG at heart, Skyrim has solid action elements when it comes to combat. Strikes have a realistic weight behind them, whether you're dealing out the damage or blocking it with a shield. As far as first person combat goes, I've seen far worse in games that relied on it. Speaking of which, while playing in third person looked like a crap sandwich in Oblivion, its a perfectly viable choice here, especially if you want to see that new Daedric armour your character is sporting.

One feature that I really like is the levelling system. TES V never ties you to a class. You pick the skills you want to excel at, and you use them. Want to pick locks better? Pick more and more, til you get better. levelling up skills through repetition raises your level, and at each level you get a skill point to spend on a perk. It's a useful and logical way to make a strong, personalised character.

REPLAYABILITY
Skyrim is one of those games that you could play through many, many times with each playthrough being different. With the different starting races and play styles, coupled with the near infinite quests and dungeons, here you have a game that basically allows you to make your own story and adventure. Or follow the main path; player choice is truly paramount in this game.

OVERVIEW
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim is a fantasy RPG buff's wet dream. Player customization is truly impressive, both on the appearance and skillset sides, and the world has a lot of character to it. The amount of quests in Skyrim means that 100%ers are going to go absolutely mad, and theres a lot of sweet loot for those kinds of players too.

The game also looks and sounds impressive, and the gameplay is damn solid. If you're looking for a massive time sink, then Skyrim is the game for you.

Alright, Next week will be my last review for this year; with Assassin's Creed: Revelations on the way. After that I'll be back on January 1st with my yearly recap. See you next time!

Saint's Row: the Third

This week, I thought I was going to review The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, but it turns out that Skyrim is HUGE. And I also got sidetracked playing another fantastic game; Saint's Row: The Third. So here's a review of that instead!

STORY
Saint's Row: The Third follows the story of Saint's Row 2 (Duh), where we find the heroes from the previous installment as worldwide celbrities, with a brand that spans clothing, movies and energy drinks.
After robbing a bank owned by Steelport's "The Syndicate", the gang begin to question whether they've lost thier edge or not; while they fight for control against the 3 gangs that make up the Syndicate, for control of thier new stomping ground.

The game is surprisingly well written, with interesting characters and over the top, crazy story events. You could be having a mid air shootout, then flying a tank then driving a car with a tiger in the passenger seat, all in the same hour.
The only problem I've seen with the SR3 story is that it occasionally skips entirely past certain plot points. Also, you may find that it moves very quickly, with big moments being completely rushed over.

PRESENTATION
After only a few minutes of playing Saints Row: The Third, I could easily tell that there had been significant graphical improvements over Saint's Row 2. Animations look alot more fluid, and the entire world looks more detailed. The only downside to this is that the world seems a whole lot smaller than Stillwater in the previous games.

The voice acting in the game is generally pretty good, however characters that we kn ow and love, Shaundi in particular, don't look, feel or sound the same. It feels very alien. Daniel Dae Kim reprises his role as Johnny Gat, while Hulk Hogan and Sasha Grey have cameos as main characters; all of whom play their roles very well.

The game as a whole feels much more cinematic, with huge set pieces and self contained missions. Helping this are the scripted soundtrack moments where licensed tracks play in sync suitable story moments. They're some of the best uses of licensed music I've seen since Red Dead Redemption (beating Gears 3 if only due to it happening more than once). The radio stations also have a wide range of music, from Latino, to Rap, to Heavy Metal; and everything in between.

GAMEPLAY
The gameplay in Saints Row: The Third is more solid than ever, with vehicle and shooting gameplay being refined to a near artform. There's a wide variety of cars and other vehicles to choose from, all of which handle as well as one could imagine, as well as looking visually distinct.

There's also a wide variety of weaponry, ranging from Rifles and Handguns, to Rocket Launchers and giant purple dildo clubs. What elevates the weaponry over what SR2 achieved, is the large amount of customization options available to players.

Speaking of customization, the character creator has kept it's status as one of the best character creators in the industry. There are an uncanny amount of facial feature sliders, as well as thousands of different clothing combinations for you to really make your own Saint. The customization also carries over to your gang, weapons (as mentioned above) and cars.

The over the top-ness of this game is most certainly a selling point, if only because you'll be hard pressed to find a point in which you're actually bored. And if you find yourself with very few story missions to do, then theres a whole bunch of over the top diversions to accomplish.

The addition of the Awesome Button spices certain mundane tasks (melee attacks, carjacking) up, but the awesome animations tend to get a bit overused by the end.

REPLAYABILITY
Saint's Row: The Third is one of those games that will always be fun to play, no matter how far through the story your are, no matter how many actual missions you have to do. However, on top of this already versatile game is a new Whored Mode, which pits you and a mate up against wave upon wave of enemies, with increasingly crazy stipulations.

Add to that the large amount of collectibles and side missions, and you'll be set for quite some time.

OVERVIEW
With the immense customization options available as well as a crazy open world to cause havoc in, Saint's Row the Third is the gaming definition of Freedom. On top of the craziness, the gameplay and story are both surprisingly solid. This is a game that doesn't take itself seriously, but can quite easily stand up to the mega blockbusters of this gaming season.

Next week is most definitely Skyrim. Or maybe Assassin's Creed: Revelations. See you next time!