Sonic & All-Stars Racing: Transformed

Today marks the second game to be reviewed for the Wii U on this website, and though it's available on other platforms, I thought it would be a suitable Wii U purchase. So without any further ado, here's what I think of Sonic & All-Stars Racing!

STORY
I suppose I have to give some kind of credit here: at least Sega didn't just tack on some nonsense story about why all these people are together and racing. But there really is NOTHING here in the way of motivation. Just race and race and race. Kart racers can have decent stories (see Modnation Racers and Crash Team Racing), so I don't see why a few minutes couldn't be set aside for writing something.

PRESENTATION
When I reviewed PS All Stars a while back, I mentioned that it's visuals and audio were a love letter to Sony's past. In that same vein is Sonic and All-Stars Racing: Transformed. The characters are all from beloved Sega franchises such as Sonic, Super Monkey Ball and Jet Set Radio Future, and their Karts look just like you would imagine them looking; B.D. Joe from Crazy Taxi drives a modified Taxi, whereas AiAi from Super Monkey Ball drives a Banana styled vehicle.

Each Kart's forms (Car, Boat, Plane) all look stunning, and the animations whilst transforming are smooth and fluid. Drifting and jumping all look natural, and theres a nice feeling of speed whilst racing.

The environments all look fantastic, with highlights being the Afterburner level, the Super Monkeyball temple and the waterfront sonic level from Sonic Heroes. Often, the landscape changes mid race, and the tracks continue to look fantastic in motion.

The music and voice acting all calls back to the many franchises on display. Sega fans are going to love revisiting these memories with the many audio and visual nods.

GAMEPLAY
I expected to pick up Sonic & Allstars Racing and find your stock standard Kart racing game, but to be honest, this isn't a cheap Mario Kart ripoff. Sure, everything handles like most other Kart games; you accelerate, you powerslide, you pick up weapons and use them against your opponents. It's all very familiar and it all handles really quite well.

The boost mechanics that come from storing a slide, doing stunts mid-air and driving over boost pads are the secret to winning, and luckily they work well, and they're easy skills to pick up and perfect.

The major difference between this and most Kart racers is the Transforming aspect. Often, you'll come across diverging paths in the track. A lot of the time, this will pass through a transform gate, forcing you to take to the skies or the seas. The Afterburner stage in particular is quite thrilling, as the action follows racers driving along the runway of an Aircraft Carrier, into the sky, then landing on another Carrier, only to drive off into the sea to navigate the waves back to the start.

Piloting through the skies feels natural, as does boating across the waves; each different transportation method is unique, and they all have their advantages\disadvantages. Flying is fast, featuring high handling levels. Sometimes it can be too touchy, and you may find yourself making a few mistakes. Taking to the water, however, is very unresponsive, but the track is often far wider, allowing for more freedom. And driving is pretty balanced comparatively.

My only gripe with this game is that on it's hardest setting, races can be damn near impossible. And to get all the unlock tokens that are available, you NEED to race on the hardest setting. It's honestly really damn frustrating.

The Wii U supplies a few different additions to this game as well. The gamepad can be used as a standard controller, supplying HUD details such as leaderboards and maps while the action is on TV. On the other hand, the action can be completely moved to the lower screen to free up the TV for other purposes.

REPLAYABILITY
This game features a number of game options, from battle modes, chao capture and boost races. If you tire of the standard racing fare, then these will definitely liven things up. Online multiplayer also makes an appearance, and local multiplayer works fine, with 5 players available on the Wii U (4 on TV, 1 on gamepad).

OVERVIEW
Sonic & All-Stars Racing: Transformed is far from the usual Mario Kart clone, with solid racing controls, racers and tracks that pull from beloved franchises and some unique transformed racing features. This game is a love letter to Sega fans. That said, the game is far from perfect. If you want to unlock everything, you're going to need a lot of unlock tokens. Playing on the hardest setting to get these can be downright impossible sometimes. Add to that the lack of context as to why these beloved characters are racing and you have a couple of reasons as to why I find myself thinking of the game as rather difficult to keep coming back to. It's by no means bad, but certain aspects of it just feel like no one even looked at the finished product.

Sega fans and Kart racing pros, get on this. Wii U gamers looking to expand their library should also look into getting this.
Well, that's all for this week. Next week, maybe Scribblenauts Unlimited. I don't know. Who knows? See you next time!

Halo 4

First review of 2012 and it's a big one from late last year that I just hadn't gotten around to finishing until recently. Now, you may or may not know this, but I was never the biggest fan of Halo as a franchise. Aside from Halo: Reach, I'd never really gotten into any of the games. For one reason or another, they don't scratch my gamer itch.
So with the covenant story arc winding down, is this the chance for me to get engrossed?

STORY
As Halo 4 opens, Master Chief awakens on the Forward Unto Dawn as it is attacked by Covenant forces. While fighting off the assailants, the ship's and everyone fighting among them are pulled down onto a mysterious planet. After learning that this is the Forerunner planet known as Requiem. In trying to escape Requiem and rejoin with UNSC forces, Chief and Cortana mistakenly free a long imprisoned Forerunner warrior, known as the Didact, who is hell bent on eradicating the Human race.

To be honest, I think Halo 4's story rushes things a bit too much. It seems like so little time between crash landing on Reqiuem, to unleashing the Didact, to escaping to the UNSC forces; it all just happens a bit fast for my liking. The story does have some high points, however. Cortana, being a rather old AI, is nearing rampancy, which she describes as when AI thinks themselves to death. The tensions between Cortana and Master Chief as her malfunctions increase and her personality frays make for some interesting scenes.

I also found it a little funny that Cortana seems to show more emotion that the Chief, and that, coupled with a question Cortana poses to him midway through the campaign, left me with a bit of a Bladerunner, is-Chief-what-we-think question near the end. I'm almost certain I'm wrong, but I just thought it was interesting.

PRESENTATION
I've never been able to fault Halo's presentation style, and Halo 4 is as stunningly pretty as you've come to expect. There's a nice variation in areas, from Forest areas, futuristic spires, rocky wasteland areas; and it's all very colourful. The only thing that annoys me about Halo 4's visuals is the amount of bloom. I prefer bright games over dark, this is true, but sometimes it's a bit too much. Everything gleams to an impossible degree. It's kind of annoying.

The soundtrack is as Epic as you'd expect for one of the headliners of the gaming medium, usually with ochestral tunes that really get you in the mood to shoot some alien bastards. Voice acting is pretty good, with Cortana's fraying psyche being portrayed about as well as you might imagine. Chief is still the stoic military badass you all (apparently) love, so it's nice to hear him actually get a little angry in certain scenes.

GAMEPLAY
In all honesty, if you've played any of the last few Halo titles before this, then Halo 4 will be as familiar to you as them. You run, you shoot, you jump, you grenade. Everything is as smooth and fluid as you could ask for. What makes this title worth noting are the new enemies and weapons.

The enemy designs of the Prometheans look great with their metallic designs and their vivid colours, but the way they impact on gameplay is the most interesting aspect. Dog-like prometheans scale walls and force you to watch all directions, while Promethean Knights can teleport, as well as spawning flying allies. These flying allies can in turn provide buffs, such as reviving destroyed allies and generating shields for them. Figuring out which enemies to deal with first and fastest is key to surviving, and blowing up these metallic foes feels truly rewarding.

As reward for taking these enemies down, you can get your hands on some sweet Promethean gear. They function somewhat similar to other weapons in the franchise, but have such a nice weight to them that I found myself always trying to keep one on hand whenever I could.

I still take a while to get my head around vehicle handling in these games, but that's probably just me. It's the whole steering with the right analog stick thing. It just feels odd. But, I guess it works.

REPLAYABILITY
Ok, one of the things that has kept Halo afloat in this industry is it's stellar multiplayer suite. While it's not my cup of tea, I do enjoy the occasional Slayer match, or Griffball game, and at the end of the day, that keeps me coming back to Halo 4 as well. On top of that, there's the Spartan Ops episodic co-op missions, so yaaay.

OVERVIEW
Halo 4 accomplishes quite a lot, at least in my eyes. It's the best looking entry in the series, with some awesome new enemies to blast, and some moments that really do their best to tug at your heart strings. Yes, it rushes things alot, and more often than not, the protagonist comes off as more of a robot than a man, but gameplay is still so fluid and fast that, in my eyes, 343's game feels almost superior than Bungie's efforts. It's at least on par with Bungie's best offering (which in my eyes, was Reach). Veteran Halo fans, get in there if you haven't already, and newcomers to the series, this is your time to jump in. A few plot points are poorly explained, but it's eaier than jumping in at Halo 3, that's for sure.

2012: The year in review

This year, I've decided to forego naming my favourite games of genres and platforms, and I've decided to just recount the highs and lows of my year in gaming instead. So let's reminisce, shall we?

To be honest, there were a lot of sequels this year. Not that that's a bad thing, but a little originality never hurt. Games that spring to mind when you say "Good Sequel" include The Darkness 2, Max Payne 3, Transformers: Fall of Cybertron and Black Ops 2. Now, don't get me wrong, I loved games like Mass Effect 3, but that game in particular didn't add a whole lot in the gameplay department. Story-wise, it's brilliant (apart from THAT unpleasantness.), but the gameplay department sort of meandered.

Assassin's Creed 3 strikes me as another great sequel, with gameplay that has taken a significant leap since the last numbered sequel in the series. Max Payne 3 utilized Rockstar's Euphoria engine to evolve the games dive-y, shoot-y bullet time gameplay into something more. It's setting may have taken it to one of the most colourful locales on the planet, but this game's story is as Noir as they come.

Lego Batman 2 improved upon the original by expanding the cast, as well as introducing something brand new to the series, voiced characters. Previously, Lego games were all slapstick and pantomime; and while that was adequate, having voice actors in the product helps make the games even funnier.

Games like Prototype 2 and New Super Mario Bros. 2 however show very little evolution in their respective franchises, let alone and changes to the formulas at all. Now, while Mass Effect 3 didn't change much gameplay wise, it at least had a great story with fantastic characters. NSMBU and Prototype 2 don't quite have that leg to stand on.

Now, even with the good and not so good sequels that came out, there was still a surprising amount of new IPs hitting store shelves. From Catherine to Kindoms of Amalur: Reckoning, to Dragon's Dogma and Lollipop Chainsaw. Now, certain games didn't get the sales that they needed, and chances of seeing a sequel to Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning are next to none. That's a shame, because I really felt the world and it's mythology have a lot of potential. Plus, it's such a bright visual style, it seems a shame to be wasted.

Speaking of bright visual styles, Lollipop Chainsaw certainly provided just that. It gave us some offbeat characters in a world that was more than just a little messed up, and if it had only had the gameplay to back it up, it could have been something great. Unfortunately it's gameplay often felt repetitive, and when it did try to change things up, it fell back on boring, or frustrating minigames.

Fortunately, there were some real winners in the New IP fold, and Dragon's Dogma was one of them. It gave players an interesting world, with gigantic beasts to fight, and their own hand-made Pawn to fight alongside. It also brought some interesting multiplayer ideas to the table, with other users' pawns being able to be drafted into your fold.

Last year was also a good year for some more Niche titles. Catherine, for example was a puzzle game that had you climbing a tower to survive the protagonists increasingly messed up dreams. While often frustrating, the game never felt impossible, and it's unusual story about a commitment-phobe and a crazy love triangle kept me pushing on into the early hours of the morning.

Also making it's way into the spotlight was the small squad-based Strategy game XCOM: Enemy Unknown. It's imaginative enemies, tactical freedom, and surprising difficulty made it impossible to put down. And it's a fantastic game when it comes to emergent stories. I'll never forget when my girlfriend, Lt. Lauren Annette was gunned down in cold blood. Her sacrifice was not made in vain, however, as my force of soldiers named after close friends annihilated the enemy in retaliation.

Now, I have trouble calling any game inherently bad, but there are definitely some that aren't worth your hard earned money. Medal of Honor Warfighter provided a barebones campaign, filled with glitches and very little else. At the end of the day, I had to recommend you not buy it. Same goes for Asura's Wrath and Lollipop Chainsaw, but at least give those a rental.

I'd like to cap off this post with my favourite games of 2012, and while some that I've already mentioned were great to play, these ones in particular stay vivid in my mind.

FAR CRY 3
People have been calling this Skyrim with guns, and despite having fewer side quests, that's a fairly apt description. Upgradable skills take the form of a tribal tattoo, you hunt to gather materials to make holsters and rucksacks, you can upgrade your arsenal and hold a varied assortment of weapons at any given time. Far Cry 3 gives you the choice on how you want to play, and it's one of the only games that makes any approach seem feasable.
Shotgun running through a stronghold to take out enemies? No worries. Stealthy knife kills to empty an entire camp without raising an alarm. Sure thing. You can even release captive wildlife to set it lose on your enemies. It'd be enough to be given a game where stealth actually works, but Far Cry 3 lets you adequately handle the situation if you mess up.

Add to this, the cast of colourful characters, and you've got one of my favourites of 2012.

SPEC OPS: THE LINE
On the surface, Spec Ops: The Line looks and feels like your average third person military shooter. It's mechanics work well enough, and it's visuals are pretty average. It's the game's story elements, the destroyed remains of Dubai, the rogue american forces, the increasing weariness of your companion's, it all comes to a head and it's an ending that shocked me. It makes me wish I had done things differently, but I doubt things would have been much different.

By the end, you feel as run down as the main characters, and you just want to know if you'll make it out alive. And if you do, will you be the same?

DISHONORED
After seeing alot of the trailers for Dishonored, you'd be excused for thinking it's all about killing people with a big knife. In all honesty, it's the first game I completed without killing a single person. If you pay attention, chances are you've picked up that I'm a fan of both Stealth, and Choice, something another game in my favourites group has as well.

Even if it didn't have such great stealth elements, the world and visual style of Dishonored would still force me to highly recommend this game. But as it turns out, everything it has to offer is stellar. The only complaint I can level about it is that it's too damn short.

So those were my three favourite games of 2012. What were yours? And what are we most looking forward to this year? See you next time!

Wii U. and New Super Mario Bros. U

Well, we're at my final review of the year (GOTY blog notwithstanding) and I've decided to let you all know about the first step into the new generation of gaming, the Wii U! Also New Super Mario Bros U. Because I'll probably only fill a paragraph on the console.

THE WII U
So right out of the box, some of the best things about the Wii U are it's backwards compatibility features. What I mean by that is, not only do your old wii games work, your wii remotes and the sensor bar are also compatible. Backing up all your Wii data is also pretty straight forward, once you find out how to, you know, START the process.

Now, Nintendo has graphically finally caught up to the competition. Games as simple as Scribble-Naughts unlimited and Super Mario Bros U all look surprisingly smooth. It's a big step up from the Wi's capabilities, but on top of this, the wii emulator on the console also looks smoother than it used to, for both Wii games and virtual console games.

The main event, so to speak, is the Gamepad; the tablet with buttons that's been the main selling point since it's reveal. Does it live up to the hype? For the most part, yes. It's not as responsive as an ipad, and it can only handle one point of contact at a time, but generally, the touch screen is accurate. It's implemented quite well in most games, with it being used to add platforms in NSMB U, as a keypad in scribblenaughts, as a live inventory in ZombiU, really, the possibilities are endless. At the moment, I'm most psyched about being able to seamlessly swap play between the tv and the gamepad, but so far only a few games support this.

Is the Wii U a big step up from it's predecessor? Hell yea it is. Do you need one if you already have a PS3 or 360? Well, no. But it does offer new and interesting play experiences, as well as some of the most fun party games I've played in a long time.

NEW SUPER MARIO BROS. U
STORY
Ok, at this point this is like pissing in the wind. There's a party at Peach's castle, everyone's invited. Then Bowser and the Koopalings show up and shit gets real. Mario, Luigi and two toads get booted a dozen or so worlds away, and they have to work their way back. Is it too much to ask for some narrative, Nintendo? I'm currently replaying paper mario, and while Bowser shows up to be a prick, at least he seems to have some motivations and goals.

PRESENTATION
As I mentioned above, New Super Mario Bros. U looks fantastic. The graphics are smooth and surprisingly crisp, and the visual style is colourful and full of personality.
Unfortunately though, I struggled to spot anything even remotely new to the series here. Sure, theres a flying squirrel suit, but there have been similar powerups (both visually and practically) before.

The music is still great, but it's just so similar to the other New Super Mario Bros. games! Very cheerful, full of life, A Capella styled tunes fill the game, and it always brings a smile to my face.

GAMEPLAY
While the story leaves much to be desired, the gameplay of NSMBU follows the Presentation's suit. It's all very familiar, but it's polished to a mirror shine. Jumping, bouncing, sliding, sprinting,wall jumping; it all feels smooth and fast and fun. Nothing feels better than nailing a sequence of jumps without missing a beat.

Co-Op is still fun, yet frustrating. Platforming in the New Super Mario Bros. multiplayer games feels more like it should be a competitive mode, because I've died more from my co-op partner bouncing on my head, or knocking me off a ledge, than I have due to the enemies or level design!

For the future, it'd be great to have this in as a competitive co-op mode. If it's co-op for fun, then the bouncy ass physics need to be an option, not the standard. It just ends in agony for one (or more) of the players.

The gamepad is utilized for a couple of features here. In Boost Mode, up to 4 players plus one on the gamepad, can play co-op Mario. The catch is, the gamepad player can make platforms, to either help or hinder their friends. Alternatively, playing singleplayer on the gamepad allows for you to use the Gamepad ONLY.

I wish I had more to talk about with this game, I do. But it's just so insubstantial. And what makes it worse is that it's so similar to all those who came before. All it is, is minor tweaks and some polish!

REPLAYABILTY
The amount of secret coins in this game is a decent incentive to play it over and over, but if collectible hunting isn't your thing, the coin rush and challenge modes are there for you. They basically provide small tweaks on the base gameplay, so nothing too special.

OVERVIEW
As I'm sure I said with the last New Super Mario Bros game, I do enjoy these titles. I do. But there's just so little to talk about, especially when each iteration doesn't even add anything to those that came before. At least Call of Duty can boast a new story, or something small like that. What does New Super Mario Bros U add? A platform creating fifth player?.... Woo.

Next time, GAME OF THE YEAR TIME!!!! See ya!

Hitman: Absolution

Those who frequent this blog or know me personally will know I'm a huge fan of stealth gameplay as well as choice in games. So when it comes to the Hitman franchise, you can bet I'm a huge fan. Hitman: Blood Money provided many a fond memory in my gaming history, one such involving a Santa costume and a glass spa bath suspended over a 50 foot drop. So what about Absolution? Does it maintain that memory-making quality of previous installments?

STORY
Absolution picks up with Agent 47 on assignment to take down his former handler, Diana, after she goes rogue and steals agency property. After completing the contract, a letter from his former handler informs 47 of the nature of the stolen property, a girl named Victoria, and the treachery of the man who ordered the contract, Benjamin Travis. After rescuing the girl and going rogue himself, 47 stumbles upon a plot by dubious business-man Blake Dexter, to kidnap Victoria and sell her back to the agency for millions.

Over the course of the narrative, Victoria's true value is revealed, and 47 will kill any who threaten the girl to whom he has committed his services.

Hitman games have always been on the line between serious and goofy, but Absolution seems to completely commit itself to the grindhouse style. Over-the-top, cartoonish villains, contrasted by the stone-faced viciousness of Agent 47. I can guarantee that you've never wanted any gaming character dead, moreso than some of Absolution's baddies.

PRESENTATION
Few games have ever looked as good as Hitman: Absolution does. It's slick graphics present the grimy, gritty world in which 47 inhabits perfectly, and characters receive the same treatment, from Agent 47's trademark scowl and suit, to the giant man-beast Sanchez. Hitman: Absolution is filled with so many cool and interesting characters, that you'll be eager to meet the next one. And murder them viciously.

The soundtrack is suitably atmospheric, but nothing too special to write home about. The use of Ave Maria near the end adds a nice touch, but otherwise, it's pretty average. The voice acting on the other hand is brilliant. 47's monotonous drone is perfect, while Travis sounds like the controlling bastard that he is. Really, the cast sell their parts perfectly.

GAMEPLAY
Now here's where Hitman: Absolution will be divisive. Old fans may be put off by it's simplistic gameplay changes, but newcomers to the series should feel right at home. Now, at it's core, Absolution is still a Hitman game. It's still about picking off your target it any way you choose.

Now onto the changes. Alot of Absolution's levels are very linear, and don't have you assassinating specific targets Some have you trying to get to your target, or escaping an area. I suppose if you took out the mid chapter checkpoints, they could all be seen as one huge level. As it stands though, each chapter is split into four or so levels.

Also added to the formula for this game are the cover system and the instinct system. Now, this might just be me, but I feel that all stealth games need a cover system. It makes it so much easier to know when you're hidden by cover and when you're not. The instinct system on the other hand, I could take or leave. It's reminiscent of Eagle vision or Detective Vision in Assassin's Creed and Arkham City respectively.

It's handy to know where NPC's are moving, or where they're located in the area, or what is special nearby, but overuse of it feels like cheapening the experience. Along with this is the point shooting ability, which is much like mark and execute from Splinter Cell. I can see a lot of players just forgoing this feature, apart from the moment's when using it is actually required.

All these changes aside, Hitman: Absolution still feels like a Hitman game. Scouting the area you're in, finding objects that can be used to form elaborate assassinations, and tailing your mark until the situation lines up perfectly, then BAM! Electrocuted while pissing! Or pushed into a storm water drain! Or crushed by building equipment! Or scorched by sabotaged Barbeque! Or Sniped into a grave so no-one finds the body! It's a nice level of freedom. Also, you can do it all dressed as a chicken.

REPLAYABILITY
The addition of challenges, as well as a more visible score tracker, the ability to choose a level from the list becomes more inviting because, hey, I'll just kill those guys a different way, or hey, I'll just shotgun everyone in the area. Because I can.

But if replaying story scenarios isn't your cup of tea, Contracts mode is there for you. In it, you can create or play custom contracts set with standard NPC's in the story maps. You might have to poison a man's sushi while wearing a chicken suit. Or shotgun a woman while dressed as a samurai. It adds a nice level of replayability.

OVERVIEW
Hitman: Absolution provides most everything I ask for in a game. Functioning stealth, decent gunplay controls, wide maps to make use of, inventive forms of assassination, and a wide variety of choice. Sure, things have changed since past games, but while many will say it's too simple, I say that accessibility is better than having a frustratingly hard game that no one can play. What matters is that the franchises imagination, freedom and brutality all return for Absolution.

Next time, I review New Super Mario Bros U!! And the Wii U!... Unless I finally finish Halo 4.

Far Cry 3

Ok, after many a setback, I'm... well.. back! I've had so many games to try and finish for reviewing that I'm finding it hard to just focus on one. But, one game stood head and shoulders above the rest. And it was Far Cry 3. Let me delve into why exactly this game tickled me in that very special way.

STORY
As the game starts, you're treated to jet-skiing, skydiving, a montage of insane shenanigans performed by yourself. As the camera pans out, it's revealed that your jailer is taunting you with the footage of your vacation up until this point. You are Jason Brody, and the paradise of Rook Island has just turned into hell.

After escaping the insane clutches of the pirate known as Vaas, Brody befriends the island natives and strives to become strong enough to save the rest of his friends. But as he gains strength and progresses along the path of vengeance, will he go too far? Will he ever leave the island as the man that first arrived there? These are the questions that Far Cry 3 asks players.

It's one of those great games of recent days that takes the copious violence of your standard video game fare, and puts a mirror up, forcing players to look at themselves. Now, it doesn't pull this off quite as well as Spec Ops: The Line, but it gives me hope for the future of games stories.

PRESENTATION
One thing you're bound to hear from gamers is that Far Cry 3 looks gorgeous. And that's because it does. The island is a bright, colourful paradise on the surface, littered with temples, shantytowns and strongholds, populated by NPC's who feel like they're actually living in this world. As well as the human denizens of Rook Island, there's a whole menagerie awaiting Brody's machete. Mountain Lions, Tigers, Bears, OH MY! And manta rays. So cool.

Character models are decent, but nothing too special. More fascinating is the amount of detail put into the first person animations, from tumbling after a fall, swimming, climbing, hang-gliding, it feels more like you are the character, and not just a camera attached to him.

The soundtrack is filled with dubstep-styled tracks, jungle drums and tribal chants, which really sells the feel of the island and its residents. The voice work is also really great, with Brody's cast of friends sounding like the spoilt douchebag 20-somethings of today, nailing the stupid tourist in a nightmare situation vibe. Characters like Vaas and Buck constantly remind you of how insane everything is. Also, theres a variety of kiwi accents on display for the NPC's, which is AWESOME!

GAMEPLAY
On the surface, Far Cry 3 is a first person shooter like so many other games. But look beneath that and you'll see it's sublime stealth mechanics, it's super cool skill tree and it's crafting system that borrows a little from Assassin's Creed 3 and Red Dead Redemption.

The basic gameplay is most definitely the shooting. Guns feel good to use, they have a nice weight and power to them. Especially the Desert Eagle. Goddamn is that thing powerful! The cover system works nicely, with just a button push seperating you from crouching behind a wall and aiming over it. The weapon variety is fantastic, from pistols and assault rifles, to flamethrowers and a recurve bow. It all plays into how you want to attack a situation.

The stealth mechanics are nicely implemented; it's easy to know when an enemy can see you, and there are systems in place to allow you to distract guards, as well as take them down silently. Takedowns in this game are awesome, as well as super violent. And the skill tree allows you to customize those to your every whim. Whant to stab a guy and silently take his friend down with a thrown knife? Go ahead. Want to steal your victims weapon after and shoot the rest of his patrol? Do it! Aerial assassinations and ledge takedowns all visit from Assassin's Creed too.

Now, as I mentioned, there's a skillt tree as well. The most noticable (and cool) part of it is that with each skill, Jason's arm Tatau gains a new symbol. With each skill learnt, Brody get's inked up like a badass!!!

The hunting system is fantastic, and having to use animal hides to upgrade wallets, loot sacks, holsters and ammo packs encourages the use of the hunting system.

Now Far Cry 3 is not perfect. But to be honest, aside from a few glitches, the biggest issue I found was with the enemy AI. Sometimes it can act as though it grew up drinking paint, other times it's einstien with a gun! But, it's only on rare occassions that the inconsistency of the AI is shown.

REPLAYABILITY
With strongholds to attack, Radio towers to scale, animals to hunt, bounties to cash in and minigames to play, Rook Island has a digital fuckton of things to do. And if you finish with that, theres a multiplayer mode. Though I'm not a huge fan, it feels like it was tacked on to tick a corporate box.

OVERVIEW
Here's the rundown: Far Cry 3 has excellent visuals, entertaining characters brought to life by immaculate voice acting, solid gunplay, satisfying stealth play and a living breathing world that you can get lost in for hours. It's not only high quality, it's also value for money, as I can see myself spending hours more exploring the island.

Next week, hopefully Hitman: Absoloution. If not that, then maybe a Wii U review? WHO KNOWS?! See you next time!

Playstation Allstars: Battle Royale

I know what you're probably thinking. Oh, I'm not going to play that, it's just a Sony rip off of Smash Bros, I'm not supporting plagiarism. Well I have some news for you. PS All Stars sets itself apart from its obvious inspiration. But, I'm getting ahead of yourself. Allow me to do my thing, and I'll let you know what I think of it.

STORY
Playstation All Stars doesn't seem to have an overall canonical story to call it's own. However, across the wide array of franchises and characters, each have their own reasons for competing in the battle royale. For instance, Dante goes in search of demons to hunt, whereas Jak and Daxter follow the trail of a new source of eco. As well as this, all the characters are paired with another in a sort of rivalry. It's adds an interesting spin to each Arcade mode playthrough.

Aside from that though, there's really no explanation of why the battle royale exists or why exactly the main nemesis has brought the combatants here. What is here are interesting spins on the cast's individual stories, and not much else.

PRESENTATION
To sum up PS All stars in a few words, I'd call it a Love letter to Playstation. The character roster is vast, and each character remains true to his or her own franchise, even with their various outfits. Drake has ouutfits from all three main series games, and all his moves pull straight from them too. For instance, most of his moves involve guns; one even brings up a piece of cover, adding a little bit of Uncharted's signature play style.

The music also draws from all this amazing source material, from the orchestral scores of God of War, to the heavy metal of Twisted Metal. It really does well in utilizing the great properties that have come together for this project. In fact, each characters voice is spot on, from Cole McGraths gravely voice, to Kratos' godly roar.

Last but not least, the environments have a cool feature where they take two properties and mash them together. You get sweet mash ups of things like Uncharted and Bioshock, God of War and Patapon, and Resistance and Ratchet and Clank.

The biggest downfall of its presentation is in the Arcade story mode. Each character begins and ends with a bunch of stills with a voiceover, while midway through they have an in engine cutscene with their specific rivalry. I feel like more could have been done with this, if only to flesh out a proper storyline here.

GAMEPLAY
Now we get down to the meat of it. Is Playstation Allstars Battle Royale fun? Hell yeah it is! Is it a shameless rip off of Smash Bros.? Well, it's obvious that Nintendo's mascot brawler was inspiration for it, but PS Allstars differentiates itself enough to carve out a name for it in the fighting game scene.

In Battle Royale, your main goal is to build up your AP meter so you can perform supermoves to score KO's. Performing moves successfully builds AP, pulling of bigger combos builds higher levels of AP, and falling off the stage or getting hit by stage hazards can cause you to lose AP..

Each character is a joy to play, with their own pros and cons. Characters like Kratos, Raiden and Nariko are heavily melee focused, while Drake and Radec play it better from afar. The roster is nicely varied and their moves are all nicely pulled from their respective franchises.

Probably the best feature of the gameplay is the risk/reward aspect of the Super meter. Do you use your level one and aim it to score the maximum amount of KO's? Or do you build up the level 3 super and activate it for a guaranteed multi-KO move? It all depends on how well you know the character's super moves, and just how quickly you can build up the Super Meter. It's a fantastic dynamic that keeps fights tense and interesting.

Now I would have preferred a larger roster, but as DLC characters have been announced (and will be free for the first week or so) it's not such a deal breaker. Otherwise, I find the gameplay to be immensely enjoyable, and a whole different beast to Smash Bros.

REPLAYABILITY
PS Allstars may not be as similar as one may think to Smash Bros, but it certainly has the fantastic party mentality that Smash has. Even without that, it's a fun game to practice and becoming amazing at character after character is truly rewarding.

OVERVIEW
Playstation Allstars is a brilliant game. I've been wondering for years why Sony didn't bring out a Smash Bros clone, and then when they finally do, it's actually quite different to the mascot brawler we all love. That said, it's simple to learn, difficult to master combat system, tense risk/reward Super Meter feature and it's amazing cast of characters and list of levels make it a joy to play. Playstation veterans should get in on this, as should fighting game fans. Smash Bros fans may find something they aren't expecting, and they may just like it.

Next week, it's looking like Hitman Absolution. Or maybe Far Cry 3. Or New Super Mario Bros. U. My Wii U is my new best friend. It hands down has the best Youtube capability out of any item in my home. And I'm not talking about it's Youtube app. I mean the browser version.
Anywho, see you next time!