I am running through a mutant-spider infested metro tunnel. The only thing that is keeping these man sized arachnids at bay is my shotgun, which does little to no damage to them, and my flashlight. I find an unlit lantern on the ground and light it so I can get a moment to compose myself and charge my dead battery with a hand operated battery charger. The lantern illuminated the spiderweb filled tunnel and a giant spider that has been stalking me falls from the ceiling. I panic. I fire my shotgun at the overturned spider, spraying guts all over my gas mask but the buckshot also hits the lantern, causing it to explode. I’m left in the dark with a dead battery and an empty shotgun. I can hear the spiders and scorpions skittering along the ceiling and walls. I pull out my charger and desperately start priming it as the skittering noises are now directly over me.

Metro: Last Light is freaking intense.

I’ve spent 14 hours in the post-apocalyptic of a war-ravaged Russia. I’ve dealt with communists and the Fourth Reich Nazis. I hunted bandits that preyed on refugees and became the hunted by deadly mutants. The world of Metro is equal parts beautiful and deadly, but the sum of both parts is how awesome this game is. I like to think that I spent my time with Metro: Last Light playing the game the way it was meant to be played. I finished the game with the Shadow Ranger achievement, meaning I killed no human beings unless being forced to. I also played the game with above optimal settings on my PC, the game is breathtaking to say the least.

The surface is as breathtaking as it is deadly.

In Metro: Last Light you once again take the role of Artyom, the Ranger now known as the savior of the Metro. At the start of the game Khan shows up and informs Artyom that scouts have encountered a Dark One near the Botanical Gardens. This is concerning as Artyom believes they were wiped out in the missile strike that he orchestrated  and has felt guild over. While Khan believes that Artyom needs to reach out and contact the Dark One, his superiors would rather see a bullet in it’s head and give the order to Artyom himself to make sure it happens. From there, a wild ride that includes betrayal, duty and humanity takes off that will decide the fate of the Metro as we know it.

Numerous times, while playing the game, I needed to stop and admire the beauty of the environment around me. Be it above ground, in a ruined city, or underground, among the remains of the Metro system, there seems to always be something worth stopping to look at. The world seems to have a story to tell, every character, every room, every corpse and every piece of equipment seems to have it’s own background. Even though it is a first person shooter, your enemies are finite and each has their own story. After I was done playing, most had concussions as well.

While the game boasted some of the best visuals that I have seen on my PC, I couldn’t help but find myself continually pulled into this world. While I strived to make sure Artyom did not take any lives, I also did my best to make sure any and all innocents were safe as well. While cruising along in my rail-car, I heard a cry for help from a woman that was about to be raped. I jumped out of the car and ran into a room to see the woman and her attackers, I snuck up behind them and dispatched them, but not fast enough before for a third man to spot my car and decide to see what his buddies were up to. The woman was inconsolable, so I had to leave her, but I made sure that this third man was at least unconscious before I left. I couldn’t help but hope that somewhere in the game’s code, she is programmed to run back to the safety of the rest of the refugees. Metro: Last Light elicits some seriously strong emotions. There is a massive betrayal that happens early in the game, when the time comes for revenge, I couldn’t help but feel a bit of guilt as well. Literally an “I’m sorry that it had to come to this” moment.

Metro: Last Light is at it’s core a first person shooter with some pretty awesome optional stealth mechanics. While stealth may not be the way people want to play, you can also Call of Duty your way through the game and give any opposing people bullet sandwiches, but ammo and weapons are slightly limited so running around with weapons blazing isn’t going to do much more than let every person in the Metro know where you are. After spending a long period of time playing Last Light, I found myself quite aware of lights on in my house and ALMOST killed the lights in each room before I entered them. Doing so in Metro is quite beneficial. The game also features some of the coolest cinematic action sequences I have seen in video games. There is an escape from trouble that ends up rivaling the “Stand” moment in the Medal of Honor reboot. ‘Boss’ fights are nerve racking and absolutely make you feel nearly hopeless whenever you are thrown into a situation where the odds are not in your favor.

Everything has a story. Did the bomb get this family? Mutants? Rats? Illness?

While a great game (go buy it, seriously), there are a few things that I ended up a little disappointed with. First off, every stealth kill/knockout it exactly the same. I don’t really understand why I have to punch every person in the face to knock them out, I can’t punch them in the back of the head, pistol whip or asphyxiate them? There are also a few moments that are ‘trial-by-error’ which if you have been reading reviews and stories around here, you know I dislike quite a bit. On top of that, while playing PC there were a few inexplicable moments where I had slow down. These moments didn’t happen to during moments where a ton was going on, and at least a few times during empty hallways. These were not gameplay breaking moments, but were slight inconveniences and the game ran phenomenally outside of those moments. The most aggravating thing in the game has to be the fact that I have to hit X to knock someone out but if my gun has any empty bullets, a reload takes priority over a stealth knockout. This lead to quite a few moments where I snuck up behind someone and proceeded alarm them by noisily reloading my weapon. I had to reload way too many times because of this.

Metro 2033 was considered a fantastic game by most standards but Metro: Last Light takes the base concept and ups the beauty, intensity, fear and fun. I enjoyed the hell out of my time playing the game and will absolutely find myself playing through the game multiple times to try to unlock all the other achievements in the game. Metro: Last Light easily features one of the best single player first person shooter campaigns within it’s genre. Are you looking for some chills and thrills? Check this one out.

Graphics 100   Audio 80   Gameplay 90 Creativity 90   Execution 80   Offset 80

8.7

EASTER EGGS

Call of Duty, Battlefield, Counter-Strike – these are all big names in the FPS market if you are a PC gamer. The thing is, these games are all cut from the same cloth. Military games, the person with the better weapon and more time spent grinding games, the better advantages you will probably have. I still play these games, yet I find it difficult to be engaged with all these interchangeable titles. Fortunately, I was thrown quite a curveball at PAX East and the experience evolved into one of the better FPS games I’ve had an opportunity to play!

When I got my hands on ShootMania Storm, the most obvious thing I noticed was that the learning curve is relatively low right out of the gate. I had already started to grasp the basic ins and outs by the time that my first full game series ended. What did I walk away with? Well for starters, this is absolutely, positively NOT your cookie cutter FPS game. There are no weapons scattered all over the map, so there is no arms race. There are no real choke points or lopsided maps, your own skill will dictate your success. There isn’t any real ‘camping’ either. The game moves at a breakneck pace, standing around will get you killed faster that running into the tornado. Tornado? Yeah, we are about to talk about that.

ShootMania plays more like Laser Tag but still has a collection of weapons that you can use in the game. With that being said, weapons aren’t picked up. In fact, you get different weapons based on where you are standing. Different areas and platforms allow you to have different types of shots but as soon as you move from the area, you are back to the standard vanilla. In fact, the motto of ShootMania Storm should always be ‘location, location, location’ because once you really get the hang of it, you’ll find yourself always moving towards the best areas.

On the topic of moving around, I spent a majority of my time actually playing the Royal game type. This game type takes King of the Hill and mixes it with a traditional Free for All style. The whole point of the match-type is to have players rush to the center of the map and activate the node at the center that causes a tornado to slowly close in on the playing field. If you touch the walls of the tornado, you are instantly out of the game. It’s quite fast paced, and honestly way more fun than I have had in most other FPS games.  There are also game modes like Melee, Team-Battle, Elite, Heroes and Joust. The cool thing is, ShootMania Storm has a little something for any type of player, including the competitive ones.

I play a lot of PC games in my free time, often games like League of Legends. The beauty I’ve found with ShootMania Storm is that there is little time commitment to have fun. You simply need to jump in, choose a game type and then get into a match. I’ve played by myself and with friends and to be honest it’s always quite fun.

Unfortunately, there are still those people who will try to go out of their way to ruin other people’s experiences as well. While everything is extremely balanced for the most part, players can earn extra points for doing things like staying alive. While still pretty rare, I’ve been stuck in games with people who find it humorous to play down to 2 people and grind the clock down until they are forced to end the game. That isn’t fun at all but it seems that these issues are dealt with quickly, so many trolls will be out of your hair after their first offense.

Even in my free time, I find myself coming back to ShootMania Storm. I like to throw a game in between articles and reviews and love that I can do it without having to stress about it. If you are looking for a FPS game that is different, yet still very enjoyable, ShootMania Storm is exactly that game!

Graphics 90   Audio 90   Gameplay 85 Creativity 95   Execution 85   Offset 90

8.9

Fans of Guilty Gear and BlazBlue franchises now have something special to look forward to. Today, Arc System Works announced that they have officially launched their North American website today. The website will function as an information and social networking hub for Arc System Works’ operations in Northa America. Content from the site will be made available on Twitter, Facebook and Youtube and will allow visitors to browse Arc System Works’ upcoming catalog of products.

President of Arc System Works, Minoru Kidooka, said “We have a very passionate and vocal fan base in North America, so we wanted to give them a direct link to our organization that we’ve never had before.” He also stated, “Our hope is that gamers become part of the dialogue as we begin developing our latest titles with their input in mind.”

Wait, what?!

Hold on.

Let’s make some noise and get Arc System Works to look at doing a Guilty Gear vs. Blazblue. I need that in my life!

I reviewed the original Dead Island almost two years ago. I thought it was a fun game, a few flaws held it back from absolute greatness, but ultimately a ton of fun. I had just purchased a PC version of the game when I heard the announcement about the spinoff/sequel Dead Island Riptide. I had reasonable hopes for the game, after all the first game was buggy but I am sure there was a lot to do in another game.

The Bad:

I want to explain early that there are some glaring areas of improvement in Dead Island Riptide. The absolute worst issue I encountered is a glitch I was able to continually cause. Whenever I decapitated a limb or head from a zombie when they were in water, the game flows down to about .5 frame a second. It’s pretty bad because they game itself doesn’t actually slow down, this means that if you get the massive slowdown glitch, you are a sitting duck for the undead hordes for a few seconds. It isn’t a 100% sure thing when you kill zombies in the water, but when it happens, it is real bad. The other issue I really had was that there are oddly placed spawn points that seem to get stuck in a constant reset. In chapter 3 there was a spawn point for 3 infected that was pretty much on an infinite loop, if you killed them they would come right back. Needless to say, they made it incredibly difficult to get anything done in the immediate area. Finally, when you use the instant kill attack that can be used when you are above a zombie, you will sometimes miss and end up floating vulnerable for a few seconds. Other than that, I encountered a few audio glitches and enemies getting stuck in walls or underground. Outside of the water issue, nothing else was really infuriating. The interesting thing here was that texture issues from the first game have been completely remedied and the characters look a little better than they did in the first game.

The Good:

I played this game alone and I played this game with friends, the game plays almost completely different in both situations. In single player, it feels more like a survival horror game than anything else. The music is intense, the zombies and enemies show up without any notice and fighting without a plan will lead to an easy death. I had my share of moments where I jumped when I would get a surprise boat visitor or a zombie grabbed me when I least expected it. I was able to notice the improved AI and difficulty more in this mode as I didn’t have anyone to watch my back. The fact that you encounter the different types of zombies much earlier means that you have to stay on your toes constantly, I got ambushed my butchers far too many horrific times.

When I played in co-op, we had tons of fun. Everything aside, we had some amazing moments where we would pull off amazing saves or killer combos when fighting enemies. The strategy in multiplayer made things way more enjoyable as well. Often times we would add mods to certain weapons to work well with each others gear. We did learn that thrown weapons like deo-bombs and molotovs do have a horrible habit of hitting teammates. In fact, I died a few handful of times to explosives that my friend had thrown. Laughs ensued.

I felt that the game was way more difficult, which was nice because Dead Island got way too easy once things got moving. The crafting seemed to take more work as well, I needed to actually seek out certain items that I didn’t immediately have access to. I really liked all the extra areas and special ‘named’ zombies that you can encounter as well as the many island residents that will always be around to ask for help.

The Verdict:

Is Dead Island Riptide a perfect release? No, not at all, although I really wish it was? Is it better than the first game? Yeah, by all accounts I have to say it is. The story may be quite a bit more stale than the first game but the actual exploration in Riptide feels so much more worthwhile. The game provides a great looking backdrop to the carnage and the sense of despair and hopelessness almost is palpable while playing. Single player is a challenging experience that actually has a few scary opportunities while multiplayer is an amazing experience if you can get a few people together. When playing with more people, the game is all about teamwork and watching each other’s backs. It’s what a zombie game should be.

Is Dead Island Riptide the best zombie game ever? Mmmm, nah it probably isn’t. Is it the best multiplayer zombie game that is out for $50? Hell yeah it is. If I hadn’t been sent a review copy of this game, I would still purchase it. Ultimately, here are still some major issues that are in Dead Island Riptide, but the amount of enjoyment I have gotten out of the game itself far outweighs the cons.

Graphics 75   Audio 90   Gameplay 85 Creativity 85   Execution 65   Offset 85

8.1

It seems like an eternity since DrinkBox Studios unveiled Guacamelee!. That might be because the announce trailer debuted in late 2011, or maybe it’s porque every tidbit of información elevated my anticipación to mucho grande. Whatever the case, el nuevo de abril está aquí. Just as expected, Guacamelee! is estupendo!

Pitched from the homesick mind of the studio’s animator Augusto Quijano, Guacamelee! pulls from the rich, vibrant world of lucha libre and Mexican folklore. That alone sets it apart, but it’s more than just something pretty to look at. Gameplay draws influence from all over the place, though it is probably best summarized as a Metroidvania brawler/platformer. Hyphenating it really doesn’t do it justice though, as both genres are executed brilliantly. Focus shifts back and forth between the two, allowing for a solid pace and very organic evolution.

On the brawling side of things, simplicity quickly gains quite a bit of depth. Certain super moves, like an Rooster Uppercut, Olmec’s Headbutt, and Frog Slam, are unlocked with progression. Grappling moves can be purchased through the in-game store which allow seamless juggling and the ability to combo across multiple enemies. The combat really shines with the grappling and throwing. Once an enemy take enough damage, they can be hurled in any direction, further damaging themselves and anyone else that happens to be in their path.

From a platforming perspective, abilities are also frequently upgraded. What starts as a puny single jump transforms to a something far more complex. Double jumping, using super moves, and wall jumping all tweak the formula. For instance, to get to a high ledge you may have to double jump, then uppercut, and follow it with a forward dashing punch. Later, even that looks like child’s play.

The collection of these skills makes way for the Metroidvania nature of the game. Chests, which contain valuable heath and stamina upgrades, often require mastery of the platforming mechanics. Other sections are barricaded off by colored blocks, which can only be broken with their corresponding, color coded super move. Plus, there’s an even rarer set of orbs that will really test your mettle.

Did I mention there’s the ability to turn into a chicken? Yes, a chicken! This allows you to sneak into smaller spaces, or slowly peck your foes to death. While the slow pecking isn’t the most feasible – albeit hilarious – the small crevices lead to a lot new areas, and many chests.

On top of all that, there’s a phase shifting mechanic, which also plays a pivotal role in both platforming and brawling. There are two distinct realms in Guacamelee!: the Land of the Living and the Land of the Dead. In some cases, platforms or hazards only exist in one realm. In others, portals shift the world or your location. This same logic carries through to the brawling. Certain enemies can only be damaged in their corresponding realm. But they don’t care about silly phases; they’ll harm you in either.

While none of the mechanics are overly complex or innovative, it’s the combination of all of these factors that creates an experience that is both unique and challenging in both genres. Later in the game, some enemies get aura-shields which can only be broken with certain special moves or multiple hits in quick succession. Adding this atop the phase shifting creates tactical challenges that can really kick your ass if you approach them without a clear vision. It’s very satisfying figuring out a tricky phase shifting platforming section, but it’s even more satisfying breaking an enemy’s shield, beating him senseless, throwing him toward an out of phase enemy, and shifting phases just in time to watch that enemy get knocked off his feet.

As far as the story goes, it’s pretty standard for a game in dos dimenciones. Carlos Calaca is a man scorned. After a dirty deal with the devil, the evil charro overthrows El Diablo to become the ruler of the Land of the Dead. To merge his land with the Land of the Living, he tries to kidnap El Presidente’s daughter. Juan Aguacate, an ordinario agave farmer isn’t having it… but he’s quickly killed… However, thanks to the power of a mysterious mask, he’s transformed into an extraordinario luchador. On a quest to rescue his hometown princess – who is not only a childhood friend, but the most beautiful woman in the world – he must hone his skills and face Calaca and his colorful cast of cohorts.

Calaca’s posse is strong: A seductive, wavy-haired X’tabay; A reckless, flame-headed gunslinger; and an overconfident guy who goes by the name of Jaguar Javier. Each is a pleasure to interact with, and even more fun to battle. As interesting as they are, they pale in comparison to the monstrous, mythical alebrije. You meet him very early on in the game, and take him out in a great tongue-in-cheek moment, but I wish he would have been more of a focal point throughout the experience. With DLC a possibility, I’d love to see the beautiful beast make a return. There are also many interesting minions, like esqueletos of multiple sizes with various weapons, armadillos, cacti, and chupacabras that you’ll pummel all along the way. Thankfully, you’ve got Uay Chivo, the fabled goat-man, on your side. When he’s not mad at you for wrecking his statues or talking about romancing your mother, he’s teaching you those aforementioned abilities that get you one step closer to defeating Calaca – even if he does undermine their greatness from time to time with silly, goaty sounding names.

Overall, presentation is top notch. Guacamelee! has a great sense of self and a bold visual style. I say it time and time again, but it’s unlike anything I’ve ever seen. It’s easy to see why it received an IGF nomination for Excellence in Visual Art, and criminal that it didn’t win. Color is used to great effect. The Land of the Living is vivid. Amarillos, verdes, and rojos all please my ojos. Environments range from lush forests to harsh deserts. In contrast, The Land of the Dead has an appropriate darker, bluish tone. The music also reflects these differences. The Land of the Living often favors a treble rich timbre, where the Land of the Dead amplifies the eerie bass.

There’s also a really beautiful mix of new-age crispness and retro inspiration in the visuals. Many of the design choices imply a subtle 8-bit feel. Where a lot of games do this and feel outdated, Guacamelee! does it with great artistry. The forest grass probably drives this point home the best. The blocky shades of green swaying in the wind are absolutely mesmerizing. Quirky, seizure-inducing screens that play after powers are unlocked always put a smile on my face. Just as with the world’s phases, the audio incorporates some retro qualities too. The Latin tunes – which would stand on their own at face value – infuse themselves with catchy 8-bit undertones.

Guacamelee! is a gamers’ game. Every aspect feels like a love letter to the medium. And just in case that’s not clear, DrinkBox has packed the game full of clever nods to gaming’s history. Many of Nintendo’s historic franchises are represented, but so are many of the great indie titles of this generation. Without ruining any of them, anyone who’s been gaming for a decent amount of time should be able to spot dozens of witty references.

With the next generation looming, Guacamelee! may very well be PSN’s last great downloadable title before shiny new tech arrives. It warms mi corazón. The juego is simply awesome-ísimo! I don’t know what they have in the agua up in Canada, but there have been some really impressive indie games coming from them recently. Whether you prefer to play on the PS3 or Vita, Guacamelee! is definitely worth your dinero and well worthy of the exclamation mark that graces the end of its name.

Pros:

• ¡Presentación es magnífico!
• Brilliantly merges mechanics in all aspects of gameplay.
• Seriously, the game’s nombre es Guacamelee!

Cons:

• Voice acting instead of text would have been nice.
• It makes me wish I retained more of my tres years of Español.
• It needs more alebrijes.

Graphics 100   Audio 95   Gameplay 90 Creativity 100   Execution 90   Offset 90

9.4

While at PAX East, we had an opportunity to get an in depth look at the game Watch Dogs. Yes, the hype train is correct, this game looks to be every bit of awesome that you have seen in previews, sneak peeks and trailers all over. What we saw at PAX, however, was an exclusive look at some of the mechanics within the game and also a little background on the games protagonist, Aiden Pearce.Click to view slideshow.

We were ushered into a small theater, where we saw an introduction video from the team behind Watch_Dogs. They explained how the new system works, what ctOS is and why Aiden can use it to control most aspects of the city around him and also the ways in which you can get around the city. They also explained that players could use the internet and other internet enabled devices to access info and manipulate things in the game. While the presentation was great, the information we got was awesome as well.For all we knew about Watch Dogs, the ARG aspects are something almost completely new to me, although we knew there would be some sort of multiplayer experience that would be involved. Here are the things we know for sure:

• Aiden Pearce has a checkered history, something from his past hurt his family or has put them in jeopardy. He isn’t playing that game, he isn’t afraid to kill.
• The way that you handle situations in the game will reflect in other events and maybe even the ending.
• Aiden Pearce has access to over 30 weapons, not counting his access to the ctOS. There are many different ways to deal with confrontation.
• There are over 65 different vehicles in the game the Pearce can use. Each has it’s own physics and the studio behind the Driver series, Ubisoft Reflections, put the vehicular aspects all together.
• This is real world Chicago, the streets and building will be familiar to those that know Chi-town. Building are more than just decorations as well, yes you can enter them .
• Everything is real time, want to mess with traffic so you can use it to your advantage? Go on ahead!

The other major thing we saw was how everything works together. We saw Aiden track a potential crime victim and stop a crime that could have escalated into a murder. We also saw ctOS respond to the prediction of this crime and send the police out to try to intercept Aiden Pearce as well. In the demo, Aiden used his environment and ctOS hacks to escape the police without casualties. Gameplay itself understandably resembles Assassin’s Creed slightly, with a little free running thrown in.

It isn’t a stretch to consider Watch Dogs to be one of the most anticipated games of this year. With what we saw, it damn well should be.

This year’s PAX East was a bit of a different affair for me than last year’s show. Last year there were a bunch of high profile games I was really excited to see in action, but there were far fewer games being shown this year that really had me interested. Of course there were a handful of games I just had to check out, but for the most part I was interested in going to panels this year. Now, with the new console generation being imminent and most of the big holiday games for those systems still unannounced, it makes sense that there weren’t as many exciting games on the show floor. I would have been disappointed by this, but it instead gave me the opportunity to attend significantly more panels than I did last year, many of which were quite fascinating. The following list will be my ten favorite things of the show. There will be some games on here, but for the most part the highlights of PAX East for me were the panels.

10. BattleBlock Theater

BattleBlock Theater is the newest game from The Behemoth, the developers of Castle Crashers and Alien Hominid. The game has been in development for several years but is just now finally being released on Xbox Live Arcade. Since the game was so close to release, the version of the game that was playable at PAX East was presumably the release build, so it’s not surprising it was so slick. A simple deathmatch mode was what I played, and I had a good time with it. It was more than a little reminiscent of Super Smash Bros, being a 2D 4 player fighting game with platforming elements, but it has it’s own distinct style and that unique Behemoth feel. The gameplay is really simple, but I still found myself having a good time.

9. Rooster Teeth Panel

In my experience over the past two years of attending PAX, I can say with certainty that the panels about a specific topic tend to much more interesting than the ones that simply feature a group or website basically putting on a show. With that said, the Rooster Teeth panel was pretty good, and offered up some laughs to go along with some exclusive video premieres. I’m sure the videos shown, such as a new trailer for Rooster Teeth’s completely original anime RWBY, are all available online now, but it was still a cool way to see that stuff for the first time. I don’t really follow Rooster Teeth much these days, but the panel was still entertaining.

8. Dungeon Defenders II

I saw a good chunk of gameplay footage of the new MOBA-esque multiplayer mode in Dungeon Defenders II at PAX, and you can read my full impressions of that here.

7. Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag

Last year I was extremely excited for every new bit of info about Assassin’s Creed III. Even coming off the slightly disappointing AC: Revelations I was still really pumped about seeing the conclusion to Desmond’s story as well as the new setting in Assassin’s Creed III. After coming out of the 10 minute AC3 presentation at last year’s PAX, I was even more excited to play the game. When I finally did play Assassin’s Creed III I was a bit disappointed with the final product and felt it was a poor way to end Desmond’s story. I told myself I was done with the series as Ubisoft continued to show their determination to milk the franchise dry with the announcement of yet another yearly release with AC4. Despite being mostly disinterested in the direction of the series, I begrudgingly waited in line for an hour to see the AC4 presentation at PAX this year just so I could what they were doing with the game. After seeing the presentation, I can’t quite say I’m back on board, but I did think a lot of what I saw seemed pretty okay. They seem to be fully committing to the pirate lifestyle of the main character and the game could wind up feeling fresh with the removal of traditional Assassin’s Creed cities and world design. I’m still pretty cynical about the future of the series, but Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag could very well be the change of pace the series needs.

6. OverClocked ReMix Panel

I love video game music, and I love remixes of video game music as well. If you like video game music and have never heard of Dwelling of Duels or OverClocked ReMix, you should go check them out. The OCRemix panel at PAX East had live music, the debut of trailers for upcoming OCR albums, and a live Shaq Fu tournament in which the winner was a guy wearing a horse mask. I dare you to find a similar combination of awesome activities anywhere else.

Dungeon Defenders was a fun action/tower defense hybrid with some RPG elements and a focus on cooperative play. It was one of the first games I reviewed for Gaming Irresponsibly, back in October 2011, and I really enjoyed it. Developer Trendy Entertainment was showing the sequel at PAX East, and I had a chance to check it out. I didn’t get to actually play the game myself, but I watched a good 15+ minutes of the game being played.

The first game focused on taking the standard tower defense formula and infusing it with elements from role playing games, and it did it quite successfully. Like any tower defense game, the goal was to protect your base from wave after wave of enemy forces, but the game gave you many more options than simply building defenses. There were deep loot mechanics, a variety of character classes each with their own abilities, and a weapon upgrade system to go along with the standard RPG character progression. It was these elements, along with the excellent cooperative play, that set Dungeon Defenders apart from other tower defense games with an action twist. With Dungeon Defenders II, instead of fixing what isn’t broken, they are instead adding new modes to the game.

The big thing about Dungeon Defenders II that was being shown at PAX East was the competitive multiplayer mode. The first game did have a PVP Arena, but it mostly a throwaway feature, where as the competitive mode in Dungeon Defenders II will be a full fledged online offering. The first immediately apparent thing about this mode is that it is a MOBA, like Dota or League of Legends. Now, I can understand if that puts some people off, I know I was scratching my head when I learned that as well, but I think it has a chance to be great. It was made very clear that the cooperative tower defense mode of the original will absolutely be in the sequel in a bigger and better way, and that the MOBA-like competitive mode was only an addition. Knowing that, this seems like a really cool way to expand the game.

The original game launched with only four different characters to choose from, while the sequel will have significantly more. Now, I admit, I don’t play much of League of Legends or any other MOBA games, but something about Dungeon Defenders II has got me interested. One thing that definitely seems a bit different from other games in the genre is the persistence. Your characters have a permanent level and inventory of weapons and equipment that will carry over from match to match, obviously adding a bit of the cooperative mode to the competitive. It’s really hard to say from the small amount of the game I saw just how the competitive mode will turn out, or how much of the spirit of the game be implemented in the MOBA style multiplayer, but I have tentatively high expectations.

There wasn’t anything shown of the co-op at PAX East, but given the quality of the first game, I have high expectations. If I’m being honest, the co-op is really the part of Dungeon Defenders II I’m looking forward to most, but I am more intrigued by the competitive play, mostly out of curiosity. Also worth noting is that the game will be free to play, which makes perfect sense for the competitive play, but makes me wonder how it will be implemented for the co-op. Dungeon Defenders II doesn’t have a release date yet, but the developers are going to be running various open and closed betas over the next year, and you can sign up on the game’s website.

After a pretty heavy hitting March, a dry April has finally arrived. A dry spell might not be the worst thing however as I know I’m not the only one needing time to catch up on some of the releases in the past few months. That and I just want to keep playing more MLB The Show 2013, that combined with the start of baseball season only means more late nights that involve me cursing at my television. Despite the lack of heavy hitters in April, there are still a few titles that deserve your attention.

Defiance
Release Date: April 2^nd
Developer: Trion Worlds

Let’s be honest here, I don’t think anyone has any particularly “high” hopes regarding Defiance. It’s an MMO, it’s on a console, and it’s based on an upcoming SyFy television show. These three combinations make for what sounds like an awful experience. But I say forget your assumptions, Defiance introduces you to an alien infested San Francisco. Your character, which is entirely customizable, is enlisted by a man named Karl Van Bach as an “Ark Hunter.”

Ark Hunters scour the Bay Area looking for Alien technology. The invasion began when a major terraforming event took place on Earth. Once this happened, animal and plant life was destroyed and aliens began to take the Earth for their own. That led to a war between humans and aliens which further hurt the planet. Eventually, aliens and humans began to live together. Does it sound like a whole bunch of SyFy nonsense? Yes it does. Is it a whole bunch of SyFy nonsense that at least hold a little bit of promise? Yes it is.

Injustice: Gods Among Us
Release Date: April 16^th
Developer: NetherRealm Studios

Ah, Injustice, I’m so indifferent to your existence. On one hand, I’ve never been a big fighting game guy and I didn’t enjoy Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe upon its release back when NetherRealm was still Midway. Then again, I loved the newest Mortal Kombat as NetherRealm simplified many of the characters combos which increased accessibility immensely. On top of that, they created one of, if not the best, single player story in a fighting game.

NetherRealm obviously hopes to recapture that magic in a bottle with Injustice and they seem to be heading in the right direction. The roster spans from the obvious Superman and Batman inclusions all the way to lesser known superheroes/villains such as Solomon Grundy. It’s going to be incredibly interesting to see what their writers do with this diverse array of characters that both DC and Nether have put together. Hopefully the accessibility of Mortal Kombat will enter Injustice and help make it one of those rare fighting games that I love.

Dead Island: Riptide
Release Date: April 23^rd
Developer: Techland

With the recent release of The Walking Dead: Survival Instinct, I began craving a good zombie survival game. Obviously Walking Dead was not going to be that experience, so I began turning my eyes to Riptide. Techland’s original Dead Island had its problems, there’s no arguing that, but it succeeded at what it set out to accomplish: Establish a zombie infested world and make it fun to tear through. Who do you voodoo?

Since Riptide’s originally unveiling, it’s been fairly clear that no drastic were coming to the original Dead Island formula. That has only been further lamented by the fact that there has been more talk about the game’s pre order bonuses as opposed to new features within the game. Don’t get me wrong, I remain fairly excited for Riptide, but I’m far from convinced that it will receive the same love that the original held so highly.

Star Trek: The Video Game
Release Date: April 23^rd
Developer: Digital Extremes

Oh hey, this game is finally coming out. It’s a tad odd that it isn’t releasing the same week as the new Star Trek: Into Darkness movie but hey, what do I know about marketing. The story for this upcoming Star Trek game will take place between JJ Abram’s 2009 Star Trek adventure and the aforementioned Into Darkness sequel. I may be speaking solely for myself but as much as I loved Star Trek (2009), I felt fairly fulfilled with the story and how it transitioned into the possible sequel.

As I’m sure many of you can guess, you will play as either Spock or Kirk in this co-op heavy third person shooter. I’m incredibly excited for the new movie, but I, like many others, remain very skeptical to the quality of this bridge between the two recent Star Trek movies. Hopefully it’s great, hopefully it gives us everything we wanted that the Star Trek MMO couldn’t achieve, hopefully, hopefully, hopefully. Time will tell, but Star Trek: The Video Game looks as bland as the entire month of April.

Other Releases:
Ninja Gaiden 3: Razor’s Edge (April 2^nd)
Painkiller Hell & Damnation (April 15^th)
We Sing: UK Hits (April 19^th)
Dragons Dogma: Dark Arisen (April 23^rd)

I’ll be 100% honest here, I hate Kickstarters for the most part. With the exception of a few situations, They’ve been filled with empty promises and smoke and mirrors. Now, with that being said, I have no problem backing a Kickstarter on a project I have personally seen, know it works and actually exists.

Stinkyboard, that foot controller that blew my mind at PAX East, is starting it’s Kickstarter today and if prior experience proves accurate, this is a wagon worth getting on. The Kickstarter rewards consist of a considerably cheaper purchase of the Stinky, a limited edition fire-red Stinky (OMG, WANT!) with 4 soft springs, and various Stinky merch. I believe in this, hopefully you will as well and shoot them a little love!

Despite what you may think of the sequel, we can all agree that Irrational struck pure gold in Bioshock upon its release back in August of 2007. The atmosphere and city of Rapture was unlike anything we’d seen in a video game before. This obviously set up some incredibly lofty expectations for Irrational’s next adventure, Bioshock Infinite. Those expectations only heightened once information begin to roll out and we realized that Rapture had been ditched for a new city, a city that existed high up in the air. Thankfully, Irrational and co-founder Ken Levine have become rather talented at taking expectations and exceeding them to a point that not even we perceived possible.

If you played Bioshock, you remember the intro. The plane crash, the elevator ride down, the broken glass, the imagery, everything, and it was without a doubt one of the best intros in the history of gaming. Irrational took that “one of” part seriously and decided to smash that over their knee by creating an intro that is so effective at inserting you directly into  a new world, you can’t help but call it the best intro any video game has ever produced. From slight hidden nuggets to the skyscraper esque buildings surrounding the beautiful city of Columbia, this is an intro that will be absolutely impossible to forget.

Columbia, the actual city itself, meets all the same notes Rapture did. It’s a visually stimulating environment filled with different little touches that demand your exploration. I’ve never been one to wonder around a city aimlessly but I found myself doing that multiple times throughout Infinite. Then you begin to realize that the more you wander, the more you learn of Columbia, which just makes you want to learn even more. Turning the setting of a game into a character in and of itself is an insanely difficult thing to achieve, though that hasn’t stopped Irrational as they’ve managed to do that multiple time now.

A lot of the character found within Columbia comes from the gorgeous visual design of every aspect in the city. There’s a certain level of attention to detail found in the smallest things, like a simple newspaper laying on the sidewalk, that you just don’t see in other games. It’s a testament to just how hard the art team for Infinite wanted to bring this city to life, and they succeeded with flying colors. However, one of the few complaints regarding Infinite comes in the form of the frame rate. Frame rate tends to take a dip whenever things begin to get heated which can dull the experience slightly. But you ultimately begin to ignore it as the story continues forward.

As for the actual characters, both Elizabeth and Booker are nothing short of spectacular. A lot of hubbub was raised over the inclusion of Elizabeth, a character that would remain by your side for a large part of the game. The obvious scare was what if the whole game felt like one big escort mission? Irrational quickly lays that to bed once you realize just how helpful Elizabeth is within combat. Throughout your many heated encounters, Elizabeth will provide you with items ranging from ammo to health. Her helpful nature is so useful that the few times you don’t have her by your side, you miss her tremendously.

That goes without mentioning her actual personal characteristics, which rival her helpfulness in combat. She, along with your character Booker, are set up with some unsettling mystery surrounding their existence and what led them into the beautiful city of Columbia. As the story goes on, those mysteries begin to unravel and unlike most things in life, the answer to the mystery was actually better than the mystery itself. While Booker is a fine character, I feel it necessary to point out that the connection you establish with Elizabeth is something that few games have ever achieved. I’ll be shocked if she isn’t strong in the running for best character come December 2013.

The real cherry on top of Elizabeth and Booker’s characters is the voice work performed by Courtnee Draper and video game voice actor professional, Troy Baker. Baker has obviously been around the block a few times as he voiced characters in Brothers in Arms, Red Faction, Persona 4, and many others. His experience shines through as he does a raw but effective performance of the emotionally scarred Booker DeWitt. This is only Courtnee Draper’s second appearance, however, as before taking on Elizabeth, she appeared in Kingdom Hearts II. That being said, I think Draper has found her calling if she so chooses because she brings Elizabeth to life like not even I thought possible. Expressing emotion through reading into a microphone is a tough thing to do, Draper makes it seem impossibly easy.

Elizabeth and Booker would both be nothing without a tremendous overarching story and Bioshock Infinite has just that. While the original Bioshock had its fair amount of insanity, Infinite tops that by a mile at almost every story beat. The game begins and seems like a simple tyrannical dictator needs to be overthrown narrative but that story quickly evolves into a whole new beast. I suppose we shouldn’t expect any less than stunning material from the guys that brought us the previous two Bioshock’s but hot damn did they out do themselves this time around. Infinite also features an ending that manages to feel “right” but also leave you scratching your head for hours after the credits roll.

The combat is where Bioshock Infinite very clearly becomes a Bioshock game. You have a special power in your left hand, this time called Vigors, and a wide variety of weapons to choose from that you may insert into your right hand. This go around you gain power to unleash your Vigors by collecting salts, something that you’ll quickly realize needs to be used wisely. Not because salts are a hard thing to collect but instead because you always seem to run out of power as the worst possible time. Gunplay remains mostly unchanged, the real variety comes in the form of transit rails that you’re able to grind upon thanks to an object that Booker intelligently places on his hand early on in the game. Though it’s a rather small change, grinding around a combat area adds even more life to some already exciting combat.

I think we all knew Bioshock Infinite would at least be a memorable experience upon its release. What we didn’t know was just how memorable it would be. There’s no aspect of Infinite that won’t have a lasting impression on me in some way. Irrational has managed to stun even me by releasing not only one of the best games this year, but one of the best games to be found on this generation of consoles. Remember back in 2005 when we were all dreaming of what next gen games could achieve? Bioshock Infinite is the game we’ve been dreaming about for all these years, and it has finally arrived.

Graphics 95   Audio 100   Gameplay 95 Creativity 100   Execution 100   Offset 95

9.8

Did you know that the RTS game series, Blitzkrieg, just had it’s 10 year anniversary? No? Well fortunately for you GOG.com is celebrating Blitzkrieg’s ten year anniversary by discounting Blitzkrieg Anthology and Blitzkrieg 2: Anthology 60% on GOG.com until March, 31st. But what is this? You are broke? You aren’t sure if you like this classic RTS series? Well these cool folks also let us give away 10 bundles to fans. What do you have to do? Follow the directions below and we will give them out Sunday afternoon. I know you all like free stuff, get cracking!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

The Last of Us is my most anticipated game of the year, so when I saw that Sony had a thirty minute demo playable at PAX East, I was ecstatic. I was actually a little hesitant at first, wanting my first experience with the game to be when I finally get my hands on the final copy, but I ultimately succumbed to my hype for the game and decided to play it at PAX. Now before I get into my impressions, I want to make it clear that the show floor is not a very ideal place to play a game. It’s loud, there is usually lots of glare on the screen, you’re only playing a small (usually out of context) portion of the game, and you have to play standing up just inches away from the screen. The impressions I had of several games I played at PAX last year wound being way off once I was able to play the final games under normal circumstances, so keep that mind.

With all that said, after playing thirty minutes of The Last of Us, I remain just as excited for the final release as I was before playing. The biggest thing that stood out for me in the demo was the degree of challenge; the game is difficult. The thing that makes the difficulty so great is that it still feels fair. The demo starts off with Joel, Ellie, and Tess making their way through downtown Boston on their way to the Capital Building. It felt like this was very early in the game, likely the first time the three of them had been out together, and it didn’t seem like they had encountered the infected yet, but I could be wrong. You get a look at look at environments and do some light exploration and platforming before coming up to your first enemy encounter.

The game immediately makes it clear that often avoiding combat is just as valid as diving in headlong and gives you plenty of tools to facilitate this approach. The combat in the demo is limited to infected enemies, with two distinct types being present. The more advanced form of infected, called clickers, are completely blind, using sound to hunt you down. You can distract clickers by tossing bricks or bottles away from you to get them to investigate the sound. If you make too much noise they’ll be on you in no time, and the only way to kill them is either by stealth or with guns; your melee attacks are ineffective against clickers. Some of the most tense moments I experienced in the demo were having a clicker come charging at me with only one or two shots left in my gun. Once you miss, you are done for since there is no way to kill clickers in a head on encounter. I often died in these instances, but it felt fair because the reason for my death was my missed shots, not because the enemies were bullet sponges (one or two shots will take down every enemy in the demo).

The other enemy type, runners, are in an earlier stage of infection and are more common (at least in this demo). They still have limited sight and rely more on that than sound to seek you out. Runners are faster than clickers and tended to be in larger groups, but are a bit easier to handle. You can dispatch runners much more easily, having the option of stealth take downs, guns, or melee attacks. With just your fists, it takes several hits to kill a runner (leaving you open to attacks by other runners or clickers), but if you have melee weapons such as a 2×4 or a brick, you can take them out much quicker. The combat in the demo felt really satisfying. It definitely felt like planning ahead and remaining undetected for as long possible was key to survival, and this game requires an element of strategy most modern action simply don’t, which is really refreshing.

As for the other aspects of the game, Naughty Dog’s production quality shines through in every second of the demo. The motion capture and voice work are unsurprisingly excellent, and the environments look fantastic. There was some weirdness with the image quality, but it seemed to me to be an issue with the TVs and not the game itself, though I can’t say for sure (though the fact that no gameplay footage shown thus far has had that issue, I lean toward it being the TV). My expectations for The Last of Us are as high as ever, and we only have to wait a few months. You can expect a review of the game from me when it hits stores this June.

]]> http://gamingirresponsibly.com/the-last-of-us-hands-on-pax-east-2013/feed 0 http://gamingirresponsibly.com/how-i-fell-in-love-with-the-most-curious-controller-ever-at-pax-east http://gamingirresponsibly.com/how-i-fell-in-love-with-the-most-curious-controller-ever-at-pax-east#comments Wed, 27 Mar 2013 18:14:38 +0000 Josh Knowles http://gamingirresponsibly.com/?p=23938 A week before PAX East, I received a quirky email detailing how a controller that could be used with only your feet would be at PAX East. I initially put it with the rest of the clutter in the ‘follow-up if I have time pile’ but then another email came through that said something to [...]]]>

A week before PAX East, I received a quirky email detailing how a controller that could be used with only your feet would be at PAX East. I initially put it with the rest of the clutter in the ‘follow-up if I have time pile’ but then another email came through that said something to the extent of ‘Not a Prank! You Have to See to Believe!’. With such persistence, I figured I should at least humor these people and swing by to see this oddity. What I didn’t know was that the decision I just made would pretty much make my PAX.

I swung by the Stinky Footpad team at our agreed upon time and immediately noticed that this really wasn’t just a tool for disabled gamers. This was an actual peripheral that had the ability to give a gamer an extra edge during games. You see, the Stinky Footpad is a board that has 4 mappable keys or macros on it that can also be set with various degrees of sensitivity by using different springs. Want to trigger a key? Step on that area of the footboard and you are cooking. This durable piece of metal and plastic was about to blow my mind.

I sat down to try to play Battlefield 3 with the footboard. I could still use my mouse and the keyboard, yet the controller gave me quick access to four additional keys without having to leave the WASD setup. The Stinky had sprint mapped to the top part of the board, crouch to the back part, knife to the left and dive to the right. The board effectively allowed me to access those 4 abilities without ever-changing the positioning of my fingers on the keyboard or mouse. Since crouch and sprint are toggles, I could also hold them while I did whatever else I needed to with either hand. While there was a bit of a learning curve to get used to actually using your feet while playing a game, I found myself getting the hang of it pretty quick.

After learning a little bit more about the Stinky, I discovered that it was built to take an absolute beating. I was shown a video where the team ran over the board with a truck and then was shown that board in person, the only damage it had was friction damage. It was also explained to me that the Stinky is resistant to spills, so if you were using it and happened to dump a drink on it, it is built to keep undesirable things like liquid out of the board. Two things definitely came to mind almost immediately, how come no one had thought of this yet and what other games could it help with?

I started theory-crafting in my head, mapping keys in League of Legends would be absolutely amazing! How about HAWKEN? Yeah, secondary fire, heal and dash would also be nice to have quick access to. How about productivity? I already have programs mapped, how freaking awesome would it be to open them with a simple press of my foot? The Stinky Footpad opened up a myriad of different opportunities. However, I was also told about a gentleman that had visited the Stinky team while at PAX. He had an issue with a hand and was easily able to use the Stinky while playing Team Fortress 2 and was “kicking ass” while doing it. That reminded me of how the Avenger Controller was built to make console games more accessible, the Stinky Footboard could easily be poised to do the same for PC.

After expressing my enthusiasm about the board, I was told that their people would be in touch with my people, but one thing was for certain. The Stinky Footboard absolutely knocked me off my feet. Kudos to the Stinky Team, you guys easily deserve the best tech at PAX! We can’t wait to take it out for review!

I was hardly a fan of the Tomb Raider franchise. I did play a majority of the series but I would consider ‘playing’ to be finding the highest point I can make the polygonal Lara Croft swan dive off of that would result in a painful death. The way I looked at it, the character was a play to get us 13 year-olds excited over a busty character. Game play was as stale as their character design, when Uncharted came out, the series was obsolete. Then GamersGate hooked us up with the new Tomb Raider for PC, I had high hopes but I didn’t expect the game to deliver like it did.

Let’s jump back to last June, I was sitting in a small private showing room at Square-Enix’s watching some of the first live-played footage of the upcoming Tomb Raider title. i was initially apathetic towards it, but by the end of the show I realized there was some serious potential there. By the end of E3 I realized that it was probably the best game I had the luck of seeing there. The longer I waited for the game to release, the more excited I was to play it.

Unlike prior Tomb Raider games, this Lara isn’t the over-the-top eye candy that seemingly ventures through caves and cliffs in nothing more than tank tops, booty shorts and pistols. This is a shipwrecked young archaeologist that is probably more afraid of her situation than anything else. While the characters in the game are blatant tropes, you can’t help but like most of them, and when a ‘twist’ takes place, there really isn’t any surprises. Yet, with that being said, I found myself pushing to get the story advanced, as I just wanted to see what Lara and the crew of the Endurance were going to have to go through next. The story is told masterfully and the amount of over the top visceral moments that Lara is thrust into will keep any veteran player on their toes.

The game play itself has several very important bullet points that absolutely need to be mentioned. First off, the game plays like a Metroid game, with many things hidden away in plain sight and only accessible once you have unlocked a certain item or upgrade. Lara also ‘levels up’ in the game, survival points allow you to actually purchase or augment abilities to make Lara’s 1 v 1000 odds much better. Finally, exploration offers many different rewards throughout the game, from small collectibles to massive tombs that you can explore. It’s like they took the concept of what an action/adventure game should be and followed it to an exact T, something that everyone tried to take a creative direction with up until this point. The game seems to provide the exact right amount of content for the situation, without overdoing it or undercutting the experience.

I can write tons of commentary on how the game plays and feels, or how the sound effects are absolutely stunning but when it is said and done Tomb Raider was one of the first games that actually upset me when I knew it was drawing to a close. Lara and I were on an adventure, we fought off crazed cultists and deadly animals. We climbed mountains and ventured through dark and dangerous caves. When I saw the message “You will not be able to fast travel to any other location on the map after this camp”, I was sad because I knew that it was all coming to an end. I cared way more for this Lara and this Tomb Raider than I ever had for any in the past. This isn’t only the best Tomb Raider ever, this very well may be the best action/adventure game ever. Move over Nathan Drake, Lara Croft has come back to show you a few things.

Graphics 100   Audio 100   Gameplay 100 Creativity 100   Execution 100   Offset 100

10

Pros:

• This new Lara is much more human than the old, it was a treat to watch her become a survivor
• Combat is great, do you hear me? Excellent even!
• Fast travel and exploration make the game worth coming back to, even after you have beaten it.

This game was provided by the kick ass folks at GamersGate.com, don’t be a jerk and check them out!

Gears of War has become the poster child for Microsoft’s Xbox 360 ever since the original’s release way back in November of 2006. With this generation of consoles quickly winding down, it’s only fitting that Epic and Microsoft release one last Gears of War before focus shifts to whatever the next Xbox will be named. But still, even with that “fitting” nature, many people still wondered if Gears of War Judgment was necessary. But more importantly, with it now being a direct spin off from the previous games, would it acquire the same passion and care that the last three installments so eloquently flaunted?

The Locust invasion story has never been a particularly fascinating one in the Gears universe. It’s been the constant string tying all four installments together but the storytelling mostly relied on your care for the main four COG members: Marcus, Dom, Baird, and Cole. With the ending of Gears of War 3, it was abundantly clear that Marcus and Dom’s stories were over, meaning placing them in a subsequent sequel would feel forced and unnecessary. To avoid that, Epic and People Can Fly decided to delve into the previously untold backstory of Cole and Baird. It’s been alluded to that they were on trial before meeting up with Marcus and Dom but the actual ins and outs of that trial have never been elaborated upon. In Gears of War Judgment, all your questions regarding that trial are answered, although the answers may be much less interesting that you had once thought.

Judgment introduces two new characters that join Cole and Baird on their journey, Padduk and Sophia. These characters are given slight backstories but never anything that propels them up to what you already know about Cole and Baird. Despite some of People Can Fly’s efforts, Cole and Baird are the two characters you ultimately care about. I’ve always had a slight admiration for Baird, though I understand that isn’t the popular opinion regarding him. That being said, him and Cole are especially reserved this go around, never really exerting their standard “hoorah” bravado. The actual story is told almost exclusively in flashbacks from the four characters, with you taking control of that character each time they give their “testimony.” Sadly, the trial itself is incredibly uninteresting and never becomes anything more than a platform to propel the next gameplay section forward.

The Unreal Engine has been a staple of the Gears series for years, and it’s beginning to show. The same grimy nature of the enemies and busted buildings still exist. On top of all that, the color palate remains rather bleak, apart from some surprising use of the always allusive blue color near the end of the game. That doesn’t mean that there’s a complete lack of variety however as some of the more open areas flaunt some really nice scenic views. These shots are few and far in between but when they come up, it makes you want to stop moving and just examine this ravaged world.

One of the biggest question marks heading into Judgment was how in the world the developers could make this single player campaign engaging yet again. Epic managed to hold our attention for three straight games but at the end of Gears of War 3, I felt more than done with Gears of War’s single player. With development now shifting to the Polish studio, People Can Fly, odds were stacked against them in their hopes of making their first Gears campaign an interesting one.

But they’ve managed to overcome those odds mainly due to the addition of a “declassified” objective that is available before the start of every section. These declassified objectives can vary from forcing you to use certain weapons all the way to giving you a time limit that forces you to hurry through the current section. The time limit contrivance can be a bit annoying but every declassified objective manages to add an interesting layer that otherwise would not exist. Also thrown into the campaign are horde mode sections that force you to fend off two or three attacking waves of Locust. The additions People Can Fly installs into the single player work brilliantly in revitalizing what seemed to be a lifeless experience prior to release.

There are a few fundamental changes that Judgment inserts which were not in previous installments. For example, instead of using the d-pad for weapon changes, you now tap Y to alternate between your two weapons. It’s a tad frustrating at first due to the removal of one of your weapon slots, but you quickly learn to get used to the new Call of Duty esque weapon swapping. With this change, you now use LB to throw grenades, which led to me using grenades much more often than I previously did. Now instead of being forced to swap out of your weapon mid firefight, you can simply tap LB and let whatever modified grenade you have in your inventory fly. It’s a smart but subtle change that goes a long way in making the Gears experience more accessible and easy to handle.

The lifeblood of the Gears franchise has forever been its expansive multiplayer. I remember many of nights spent playing Gears 1 and 2’s online multiplayer until I could see sunlight creeping back through my window after long hours filled with Coca Cola and Cheese Puffs. That magic had worn off slightly when Gears 3 released but that didn’t mean the multiplayer was any less impressive. By far the most bewildering part of Judgment’s multiplayer is the lack of any kind of Horde mode. If you remember correctly, Horde was the wave based survival mode focused on upgrading turrets and barriers. It was a widely loved feature that somehow did not make it into Judgment.

Instead, we have received a mode simply called “Survival.” Survival is also wave based but instead of having fifty waves, it only has ten. Also instead of being able to upgrade barriers and such, you can simply repair them after the Horde does their damage. You begin Survival by choosing between four classes: Medic, Engineer, Soldier, and Scout. Each class has its own special ability such as the engineer can repair barriers whereas the soldier can throw out a grenade that refills your teammate’s ammo. Survival is an acceptable mode that provides a few thrills, but never anything on the level of Horde. Due to that, you’re left feeling immensely unsatisfied after each round comes to a conclusion.

Not all the new modes are unsatisfying however as People Can Fly combined both the Beast mode from Gears 3 and the aforementioned Survival mode to form Overrun. Overrun involves two teams taking turns at attacking emergence holes that have been covered up by COG soldiers. As the horde, you’re choosing between multiple classes and pushing forward in hopes of breaking down enemy barriers and ultimately opening up room for an all-out rush on the E-Hole. Once you do destroy the cover on the E-Hole, the COG falls back to another area and the process begins anew. Once you destroy the covering yet again, the COG falls back to their generator which is the last line of defense. If you destroy that generator, that round is over and you transition to the COG side as you try to fight off the invading Horde. It may sound a bit tedious, and it does become a little tiresome after multiple hours of playtime, but it’s still a very fun mode to dive yourself into.

The head to head multiplayer feels mostly unchanged in the grand scheme of things. The biggest change is due to the new way you switch weapons, it forces you to only have one main weapon. Thankfully, you do get to choose what weapon you want before the match begins and there are still larger weapons strewn across the maps. But it seems as if everyone selects the Gnasher Shotgun as their one weapon, leading to a mostly shotgun dominated multiplayer experience. Possibly my biggest complaint regarding Judgment’s multiplayer is in regards to the lack of maps. There seems to be around four maps that are played on religiously, which gives me the bad feeling that if you want more variety, you better get ready to pay for some DLC.

I’ve never been a fan of Halo nor the Call of Duty franchises, but for some reason I’ve always had a love for Gears of War. That being said, I did not expect Judgment to be the tight little bow I had hoped would wrap up this beloved franchise. I, like many others, felt like Judgment was simply one last cash grab from Microsoft before the Xbox 360 ultimately rode off into the sunset. Thankfully, I was wrong. While Baird and Cole’s story isn’t the most interesting, the gameplay mechanics surrounding it make up for the dull storytelling and the multiplayer remains interesting, if not a little dumbed down from previous installments. Gears of War Judgment overachieves, which is something many did not expect, but it’s become clear that the series deserves to be put to rest.

Bulletstorm 2, anyone?

Graphics 80   Audio 85   Gameplay 80 Creativity 85   Execution 85   Offset 80

8.3

While at the Mad Catz Unleashed in Boston, we had the opportunity to speak with a VERY reliable source that said that Tropico 5 will be unveiled at Gamescom. If you are unfamiliar with the Tropico series, it is a construction/political sim that is a very tongue-in-check experience. While our source has asked to remain anonymous, the team at Project Frontburnr can corroborate this news.

If you remember correctly, developer Giant Sparrow released their incredibly surreal and artistic adventure “The Unfinished Swan” way back in October, which also happened to be the first project they had created as a studio. Unfinished Swan was met with a pretty positive reception and due to that, Giant Sparrow quickly became a developer to watch as we all hope their next experience is just as obscure and original as their debut product. These hopes are starting to ramp up as the studios has officially announced their newest product, entitled “Unannounced Giant Sparrow Project.” Seems pretty catchy, huh? That obviously will not be the final name and little details are currently known regarding the product but the Giant Sparrow website does reveal a tiny bit in their announcement article:

“When you make games about evoking a sense of discovery and wonder the publicity part of it is a little tricky. If we don’t say anything then no one knows the game exists, but if we talk about it too much then no one is going to be surprised when they actually play it.”

It continues… “That’s why for our next game we’re going to start talking about it early but in broad strokes. Our last game took us a little over 3 years to make so as you can imagine we’re still in a very early phase on this new one. We’re pretty excited about it though and wanted to share some of that enthusiasm along with a piece of concept art (see above).”

Okay, saying they revealed any kind of information is stretching the truth a bit. But on a side note, the name of the image file in the announcement article on their website is called “edith_finch_mirror1.” Edith Finch is an author from many years ago… A clue, perhaps? Joystiq reported that the name of the game will be Edith Finch, which would make sense, I suppose. We shall see in the coming months!

As I’m sure many know, The Walking Dead has become quite the hit series these past few years. It all begin with the graphic novel that was beloved by many, and it then transitioned into an equally well received television show. A video game was obviously the next stepping stone in this sequence of events and Tell Tale took care of that last year as they released a point and click strategy game of the same name. This strategy game was one of the highlights of last year and even won my personal Game of the Year award. This all begs the question, why did Activision and AMC decide to release another Walking Dead game?

Even after playing through Walking Dead: Survival Instinct, I cannot answer that question. Its existence remains bewildering due to the lack of any kind of marketing push by Activision, which signifies even they do not show a great deal of confidence in this silent product. Thankfully, I can report that not all is terrible with Walking Dead: Survival Instinct, which is about as positive a statement as I can make. If you didn’t know, and I wouldn’t blame you if you didn’t, you play as Daryl, the likable asshole from the show. The game was pitched as being a Merle and Daryl focused experience but Merle appears for hardly an hour before disappearing for nearly the rest of the game.

The choice of playing as Daryl seemed to be a good one to begin with but it became clear as the game trudged along that Daryl isn’t the most likable nor is he the most charismatic character. Sure, his character on the show is good, but it also relies heavily on influences from others around him. You spend most of Survival Instinct by your lonesome, which leads to Daryl whispering a whole lot of slightly offensive obscenities. It also doesn’t help that the voice work performed by Norman Reedus, a fine actor, is subpar at best. The cast around him is far below subpar however.as some border on unlistenable at times.

The story itself does nothing to rectify its middling characters as you march forward through environments, doing exactly what you expect in a stereotypical zombie game: Look for others, look for guns, look for vaccine, look for evacuation ideas, etc. My interest behind the story before playing the game relied solely on seeing the development behind the Merle and Daryl relationship, which as I previously stated, is nonexistence apart from one or two lines that reference how they lived before the outbreak. It’s a forced, convoluted story that never builds up any kind of momentum for its underwhelming ending.

Development on The Walking Dead: Survival Instinct has been quite the head scratcher ever since it was announced. Like I previously mentioned, there’s always been the “Why?” question floating around it but another questions leading up to its release is just how much time was given to develop The Walking Dead? A few months back, a “fan made” trailer for Survival Instinct was released and to put it kindly, the game looked like trash. The visuals are definitely better than what the trailer showed off but not by much. You could put these visuals against some Xbox 360 launch titles and hardly find any kind of difference between the two. The most frustrating aspect of the visuals is by far the constantly repeating environments. There seems to be around four different environments to search through, apart from the main story missions, and five or so set patterns for each room you enter. Lazy art design at its finest, there’s no excuse for the lack of visual variety in Survival Instinct. That all goes without mentioning the consistently bad frame rate and uninteresting art that does appear.

If you know anything about the Walking Dead universe, you know that making a full guns blazing action/adventure game was not an option for developer Terminal Reality. Instead, they had to turn enemy interactions into mostly stealth based experiences, sneaking around corners, executing walkers, and doing your best to never fire off a weapon around a large herd. This is when one of the more hilarious issues comes up as you unveil the horror that is the melee combat. In games similar to The Walking Dead: Survival Instinct, like Dead Island, you have a weapon and can control what part of the body to attack, which means you must develop a strategy for nearly each enemy. Walking Dead throws that idea out the window and decides your best course of action is to simply bang on the walker’s face until he caves over backwards into a limp death animation that is sure to garner a few giggles. The banging on the face consists of taking whatever melee weapon you have equipped (hammer, bat, knife, etc.) and tapping RT until the previously mentioned death animation rears its ugly head.

That isn’t to say the combat is all bad however as once you begin to stockpile some ammo, you realize using the firearms is much more enjoyable than using the standard knife. Blasting through a ton of walkers with pistol, all while trying to navigate your way to some more fuel for your vehicle, is a lot more enjoyable than simply sneaking around until you get caught and are then forced to partake in the melee combat. My biggest complaint with the firearms, though I’m not sure it is considered a “firearm,” would be the lack of Daryl’s crossbow. Sure, you get it eventually but for over half the game you remain crossbowless. Which only becomes more frustrating once you realize the crossbow is probably the most enjoyable weapon in the game.

Arguably the most interesting feature Survival Instinct possesses is the group mechanic idea, an idea that never feels fully fleshed out. The concept is simple, you rescue people while you’re scouring around desolate towns and then add them to your group. Before going out a mission, you choose if you want these survivors to go out and find more food, gas, ammo, or simply stay at the vehicle. In Survival Instinct, supplies are everything and that becomes apparent by how hard the game pushes you to constantly search around your environment. While searching, you find everything from fuel (obviously very useful for traveling, which is done by a simulated sequence usually used to propel the narrative) to ammo or newer melee weapons if you become so lucky. The search for newer and better items is a lustful one but it is also one that has been done much more successfully in Dead Island and Zombie U.

I know this will surprise very few but The Walking Dead: Survival Instinct is not a good game. It obviously had a very low production budget and was green lit simply to rake in some easy cash for Activision. That likely assumption is a bummer for developer Terminal Reality as I truly believe with more time and money, they could have made a fine Walking Dead experience. Instead, Terminal did their best with what they had, they produced a poor man’s Dead Island. A poor man’s Dead Island is a hard product to recommend but if you need your zombie fix and can’t wait until Dead Island: Riptide, I have a mediocre product for you.

Graphics 40   Audio 50   Gameplay 55 Creativity 35   Execution 50   Offset 50

4.7