Disclaimer: The ‘RB6:Patriots’ information referenced within was compiled from several media outlets and is summarized in the accompanying article. Should anyone be confused, I do NOT claim to be a professional “news generator”/ journalist under the purview of their bylaws & access, traditionally reserved for the strict gathering & reporting of facts. Rather I’m acting as a “news disseminator,” spreading gaming details like an STD while editorializing on previously reported information. Thus, anyone claiming “plagiarism” is welcome to gag on my ‘Rainbow 8-3/4.’

In today’s saturated market, you can’t throw a pirated copy of ‘RB6:Raven Shield’ without hitting another military FPS. In fact, many of them are quite good and offer fans of the genre incremental tactical & graphical updates to an otherwise pigeonholed evolutionary branch of gaming. So where have Bravo team been all this time? Why come back now? And, where will ‘RB6:Patriots’ fit in the grand scheme of things?

The developers have given us just enough details in trade magazines and on podcasts to wet both our appetites and our tighty-whiteys. So I rushed to my laptop (waited several weeks) to share some of these details with all of you. I had intended to do a full write-up on RB6 until I took a ‘Black Arrow’ to the knee. Sorry. Sorry. Terrible joke. Besides, it’s completely inaccurate. I actually took a ‘Rogue Spear’ to the Distal Femur, which in truth, is slightly above the knee; just there (gestures). Never mind. No need to go into the sorted details here. But what I will do is provide you with a list of notable ‘RB6:Patriots’ features and the phone numbers of several physicians skilled in treating knee injuries, in case you’re interested.

Knee injuries are no joke. You can’t kick a football or a homeless person anymore – and did you know, knee injuries limit your ability to lift your leg and let off a ‘triumphant bum-flapping blast’ at a store or on the street. I’m tell’n you – If you fart in public just standing there, with no boisterous performance to go along with it, people look at you like you’re pathetic! There’s no appreciation for diet, effort, or the very real risk of ‘sharting’ – Ingrates! That’s the last time I ruin a perfectly good pair of pants just so they can tell their friends at lunch about the guy who spontaneously walked up and “nurtured a Hufflepuff “ (copyright 2012 – H34DCA5E) while everyone was waiting to cross the street!

Just Give Us the List, FFS!:

The fluid 2013 release date, coupled with developer fidelity claims & recent rumors concerning next gen consoles, has some speculating that ‘RB6:Patriots’ may, in fact, be one of the first titles we play on a new console.

Developers have claimed that despite the early state of the game, it already features the most realistically rendered & functioning gun models of any game to date. Reload times, operating procedures, & animations are said to be unparalleled in the current FPS space. Developers are said to be committed to real-world firearm handling that translates seamlessly to analog sticks without negating the need for accessibility and fun. Realistic melee options will be available as well.

Previous installments of RB6 games all utilized tweaked versions of the Unreal Engine. But ‘RB6:Patriots’ will use a new Ubisoft proprietary engine. This engine is a direct descendant of Anvil, known for its use in the Assassins Creed titles. Developers claim that their absence has been due, in large part, to the need to evolve a propriety next gen shooter engine from the bones of this outdated Anvil platformer.

The game features a PlayStation Home style lobby system (the HQ) for both coop & multiplayer. You’ll no longer be stuck looking at a list of pot emblems while people trade racial slurs and question your sexuality. (Sorry for that by the way. I get bored waiting for the next round to start.) But in RB6, you’ll be able to walk around, talk to teammates, and check out their customized armor, uniform, & weapons. There’s still no word on whether or not you’ll be able to do each other’s hair or shower together after the match. (Insert your own ‘soap dropping’ joke here. – Sh*t. – Just mentioning dropping the soap is a joke, isn’t it. I had wished to avoid that. – Well, as the saying goes: you wish in one hand and grope strangers with the other and see which yields better results… or something like that.)

Need a mentor? A life coach? A “shoot’em in the face” how-to instructor? Patriots is implementing a system by which new players or teammates can ask to be “mentored” by a more experienced player or, as I like to call him, an elected nob-jockey. But this feature may just work. We often tell new players to “find someone & stick with them to learn the ropes” in a game they’re unfamiliar with. Apparently, once agreed upon, squad members/underlings will be privy to this Colonel Sanders’ battlefield communications, tactics, commands, and HUD-based intel.

Want to build a sand castle? Well, RB6 has a “sandbox” to use in the HQ lobby area. This is a virtual mini-map of all the multiplayer arenas complete with windows, doors, ladders, stairs, etc. Players can now learn the maps and coordinate their efforts without the hours of getting pwned in matches normally needed to acquire this info. You can also put markers on this map so that everyone knows where & what you’re talking about even though they’re busy checking Twitter and don’t really give a sh*t.

Your character is now an imposing hybrid of Marcus Phoenix and Mikhail Baryshnikov. He can nimbly vault over obstacles whilst violently slamming into cover with the full weight and resonance of a human wearing a tactical loadout. And after all of the Cirque Du Soleil training during your 2-game stint in Vegas, rappelling is now a fluid ‘death-from-above’ tactic that even Batman would be jealous of.

Stats at the end of a match will no longer appear in boring spreadsheets. Players return to the HQ room and witness visual presentations of their performance. One example given was that of a human silhouette firing-range target depicting accuracy and hit locations. This is a nice touch. (The feature is cool, but right there I was referring to the wife trying to distract me while writing this. Whoa, another really nice touch. brb).

Where was I, oh yes. RB6 hopes to immerse you IN the game and forces you to play from different character perspectives. An example is when a hostage is strapped with a bomb, and must keep his finger on the detonator to prevent it from going off. That’s right, YOU are the hostage for this sequence. Get comfy holding down that ‘A’ button while trying to navigate & cope with the anxiety and chaos of events around you. In addition, squad commands promise to be more intuitive, streamlined, and contextually sensitive to keep you playing rather than looking at a command interface.

Options, options, & more options with no “right” answers. That’s the goal; to present numerous black & white choices in frustratingly grey situations, and force the player to deal with the outcome. Witnesses to one gameplay demo recounted a situation where the playtester deliberately chose to shoot a cop in the leg in order to hobble him. It turns out that this cop was about to confront the hostage with the bomb, making it all but certain that it would detonate and kill many others. His tactic allowed the hostage to pass unfettered and saved countless pixilated lives for the time being. Panicked players have been known to actually kill cops and civilians in other similar types of situations.

Cyberdyne/Skynet is here. ‘RB6:Patriots’ A.I. is said to be second to none. Teammates take appropriate actions based on their skill set and loadouts. Thus the sniper hangs back while the shotgun-pimp hits the kill funnel first. Both friendly’s and tangos alike utilize cover, bounding, suppression, & flanking with lethal efficacy. You’ll witness A.I.’s stumble, make mistakes, gun jams, and decision-making. In fact, desperate enemies may barricade themselves or grab a human shield. Bullets and body parts react as they should, impacting and affecting NPCs in an impressive visceral feedback system.

Morality. In ‘RB6:Patriots’ you have choices and those choices have consequences. Do you sacrifice the few to save the many? Do you risk a shot when the baddy’s got a human shield or let him get away? Your team even reacts visually, verbally, emotionally, and efficiently based on their trust in your leadership decisions.

Although FPSs are certainly part of a dried-up, clone and sequel spawning, gene pool, I have real hope for ‘RB6:Patriots.’ Firstly, they correctly predicted who would make it to this year’s NFL Super Bowl. Who really wants to see ‘RB6:Packers’ anyway. But besides that, the details emerging demonstrate that the developers are fully aware of the rinse-&-repeat formulas out there today.

As we all know, there’s more competition at the level of mediocrity. So ‘RB6:Patriots’ is striving to be the best. The FPS genre is and always will be, at its core; “person with gun.” And wow, has that translated well to countless systems and interfaces throughout gaming’s relatively short lineage. But I get most excited when a “person with gun” game gets made by a proverbial “person with insight.” We’ll just have to see if all of these things actually come to fruition when the game is finally released. Until that ‘Critical Hour,’ keep an ‘Eagle Watch’ on 360GamerCast for updates.

- H34DCA5E

How do you make the sequel to the greatest super-hero video game of all time? Well that’s was the question on the mind of many when UK developer Rocksteady scored big with the 2009 smash Batman: Arkham Asylum.

Where Rocksteady succeeded with Arkham Asylum was to make you actually feel like Batman – The World’s Greatest Detective (TM). My Game Of The Year for 2009, mixed stealth, puzzles, exploration, gadgetry and being a badass together superbly.

I therefore had massive hopes for the sequel, Arkham City when it was announced as surely bigger is better? Recent reports on the game have it  boasting a play area five times the size and a reported playtime of 30 hours plus. Indeed, now that I have played through the main game I can see how Rocksteady have made attempts to crank the template to 11.

For a start where the asylum was a quite a low lying, linear experience, we are now in a sectioned off area of Gotham ran by Hugo Strange which expands the playfield not only in scope with streets & alleys but vertically. Batman in this environment positively soars and a new move set in his glide set means he can dive bomb from a height to then glide upwards at the last minute.

These streets and roof tops are also littered with the scum of Gotham. Gang members aligned with Batman’s arch enemies like Joker, Two Face and Penguin hang about ready to hand out their best beat down. Sub-quests not associated with the main plot show up frequently and a central map hub enables you to see these and set handy way-point markers. These missions range from rescuing political prisoners to cameos from characters from the DC Universe. Then there is the tackling of various puzzles to gain Riddler trophies in a cleverly imbedded sub-plot named “Riddler’s Revenge” which neatly carries on from events from the first game. Arkham City is perhaps the richest play area of any game of recent memory.

Batman also starts out with nearly all of his gadgets from Arkham Asylum which you originally had to earn. This allows you to get stuck into the game following an absolutely awesome introductory level (jaw on floor). There are also of course other gadgets to pick up along the way which, like Zelda before it, enable you to explore further by uncovering new routes and secret areas. They also can fit in nicely into the free-flow combat and predator sections of the game, giving you more and more options when plotting to take out henchmen.

Boss fights are also again well designed and feel solid and without being cheap! Well fancy that.  The battle with Mr. Freeze is especially “cool”. Ahem…

There is also a neat new game+ mode once you finish the game which begins the campaign anew but mixes things up a bit whilst maintaining all side-missions completed from your first play through. This is a definite improvement over the first game which left you to explore an empty Arkham Asylum to pick up collectibles.

Then there is Catwoman who has four interconnecting missions to Batman’s main story arc. She controls similarly to Batman but with different combat move sets, gadgets and a neat ceiling climb. However although she is “online pass” DLC, she feels more like an after thought in the whole scheme of the plot of Arkham City, just turning up and not being all that integral in the grand scheme.

This is the problem I had with Arkham City. In an attempt to make things grander, Rocksteady has perhaps added too many characters into the mix with major players in the DC Universe turning up, saying a few words to get you excited to then bugger off  never to be heard of again.

Furthermore, sometimes the task at hand can be so overwhelming that I felt rail-roaded into following the main-plot just to make sense of it all. The magic is lacking in this instalment for me as I preferred it when Arkham Asylum gradually opened itself up, pulling you along and allowing you time to see the world on offer.

That said what is on offer is spectacular, the main story is still magnificent with notable character voice performances from Mark Hamill as Joker (stealing the show again) and Nolan North as a cockney wanker-esq Penguin which actually works. Furthermore Harley Quinn’s comeuppance is pure hilarity.

Summary

I enjoyed my time in the City but please do take me back to the Asylum.

Verdict – 8.5 / 10

Disclaimer: “Cut Scene” is intended to be a series of short and intentionally provocative commentaries on the state of gaming.  Preconceived notions that the author is “full of sh*t” are likely to be confirmed in the associated text. Any language that results in the activation of a sleeper cell is purely coincidental.

Gamers are trendsetters. Why else would we have such bad reputations if it weren’t for our uncanny ability to generate stereotypes about ourselves.  There’s the pot smoking COD player, the stinky expo queuers, the stunningly handsome amateur podcasters, etc.  But one particular trend has been recently brought to light with the release of the game Dark Souls.  Known for its brutally unforgiving and frankly, frustratingly infuriating game-play, Dark Souls is not for the ill-tempered or noobish faint of heart (say that sentence 3 times fast).  Put plainly, it’s F**kin difficult and a challenge few gamers will ever be up to.

            There are, however, gamers chomping at the bit to test their mettle against Dark Souls and countless other games that offer a difficulty level above and beyond the norm. Veteran, Insanity, Legendary; these are the labels applied to modes that often foreshadow countless virtual deaths, repetition, time consumption, frustration, and maybe, just maybe, accomplishment and reward in the end.  The player then proudly displays the 100G achievements, the in-game badges, and the avatar awards for all of us to see and bow down to in our pitiful gaming inferiority. Except, I’m not sure whether to be impressed or not…

Sailboats. Have you ever really looked at a sailboat? Ever actually been on a sailboat? It’s truly serene and inspires a feeling of freedom and sense of escape, relaxation, and adventure all at once.  But I imagine that one day two sailboats pulled up next to each other.  They enjoyed the gentle rocking of the waves, the cool breeze, and watched in wonder as the majestic sun set before heading back in to port.  But steadily, and without a conscious effort at first, the boats began to pick up pace.  Soon, each party was furiously attempting to best the other in speed and agility in an all out race back to the dock. But why? Human nature? Darwinism? Who gives a sh*t?  The point is that we do THIS crap all the time. That is, we take our hobby, passion, experiences, socializing, and fun and wholeheartedly pervert everything that was pure about it.  At one moment we’re reminiscing about Mass Effect 2 as a stunning piece of virtual art that affected each of us on an individual level. And the next moment, we’ve devolved into comparing achievements and insanity run-throughs.  Is this a “good” thing, “bad” thing, or just inevitable?

Playing games on their hardest difficulty is a personal challenge for some, a sign of devotion to a title/genre for others, and just shameless cheevo whoring for many more.  But my ambivalence comes from the culture of “E-Penis(s)” that has risen as a result (pun intended).  That’s right, many people engage in countless hours of frustratingly unsatisfying game-play, against ridiculously unfair AI and level design just to be able to show fellow gamers how “hardcore” they are.  And wouldn’t you know it; cut scenes, story, nuance, and contemplative appreciation for the game itself is abandoned during these “hardcore” playthroughs as attention is dually shifted to the hundreds of enemies on screen and the hopes of E-Penis envy from fellow gamers everywhere.

            Perhaps this brings us back to the age-old question of why you’re a gamer in the first place.  “Games” are, at their very heart, competitive in scope.  So why not be the best, succeed at the most difficult challenge, and claim the glory amongst fellow gamers in the end? Gamerscore, achievements, badges, etc have proven to be an incredibly addictive and successful metagame competition occurring outside of the games themselves.  But for me it’s akin to a woman carrying around a designer purse. The intended message being: “I’m better than you.” This is a fallacy of course. The real message can only be “I have more money than you” or “I choose to spend my money differently than you.” I ask you then, since when did playing a difficult game or playing a game on the hardest setting become so readily accepted as indicating “I’m a more legitimate gamer than you”?  The real message can only be: “I choose to play games differently than you.”

Don’t you just love the cut scenes in a game of chess or tic-tac-toe? No? Why not? Because there aren’t any. That’s right. Games have evolved past purely competitive experiences into story telling works of virtual art and fiction.  Perhaps the people that play them have not evolved nearly as much as the games themselves.  Put strongly, you might as well take that coveted Mass Effect 2 disc and see who can throw it the furthest distance.  Or take the xbox apart and see who can withstand the most severe electrical shock – Achievement Unlocked.  I’m suggesting that at it’s worst, playing games on their hardest difficulty is a deceivingly subtle version of starring in “Jackass: The Gamer.” It often boils down to abusing the medium in a manner for which it was not intended simply because you can. Lets consider the Halo series. It has a recommended difficulty.  In fact, years of development went into specifically crafting the optimum and intended experience.  But that’s not good enough for some people. No; a world-famous chef makes them the perfect meal… and they add hot sauce to it.  (Remember the tag-line of this series of articles: “intentionally provocative”)

            We all consume these things as we see fit. That’s part of the beauty. But it can also tell us something not-so-insignificant about ourselves. Perhaps you’re competitive at work, competitive at school, and competitive in your relationships.  Then, you load up a game and BAM; you gravitate to the most competitive settings.  In fact, the saying, “everywhere you go, there you are” comes to mind. I’m not saying there’s anything wrong with this. I’m simply saying it should always be a conscious decision when you choose to put yourself in challenging/frustrating situations rather than a “need” or a misunderstood urge. But we’re still just talking about games here right (wink, wink)?

The point of all of this is to offer the notion that not everything has to be made into a competition.  Not everything is an opportunity or, God forbid, a mandate for you to have to prove your skills or worthiness against some arbitrary standard.  Some things can BE just for fun, experience, or enjoyment.  I’m simply asking you to consider exercising without feeling compelled to become a bodybuilder.  To have a wonderful meal without feeling the need to join the competitive eating circuit.  You have freedom to decide what games to play and HOW you play them. A freedom many people allow to be governed, influenced, and manipulated in ways they’re scarcely even aware of.  As for me?… I like sailboats.

                                                                                                                                                              – H34DCA5E

Am I clearly insane?

Having heard about the phenomenon Demon Souls on the PS3 and its mix of hardcore hack ‘n slash, exploration and reward, I was interested when From Software announced that the spiritual successor, Dark Souls, was coming to the 360.

To say that Dark Souls hasn’t been hyped by the gaming press is somewhat of an understatement. Indeed, for the past couple of weeks my twitter feed has been buzzing about the game with gushing games journalists it being described as unforgiving and rewarding in equal measure. A bit like filming amateur porn.

Today therefore I started my voyage into the world of Dark Souls just to find out how much of a challenge Dark Souls actually is and to see whether there is decent game in there. So far I have played for a total of 2 hours and 47 mins. I have died 34 times. That represents a death approximately every 5 minutes. Hardly Super Meat Boy carnage standards.

Upon booting up the game I was given the choice of any one of ten different character classes as well as other characteristics and add-on perks. I went for the thief and chose to have an over-sized head. Apparently that made me smarter. I could have chosen worse with the depraved class who wields a wooden sword and shield whilst sporting nothing but a brown jock-strap. Only nutjobs, sadists, perverts and the professionals would choose such a class. It is also worth noting that this game does not want you to play in party chat. You can but all online functionality is switched off.

After that a smart cut scene reveals that the backdrop to the world you’re about to enter. In short there are dragons, deities, gods and evil bastards. Your character then awakens in a cell and you have to break out and navigate yourself around the jail whilst learning the ropes via clues scratched in the floor. These messages were also a major part of the online functionality of Demon Souls where players could leave (false) hints and heckles, but I have yet to find any such user generated content in my game. Another internet based mechanic sees you seek out stained pools of blood on the floor. Click on one of these and you can witness the ghostly shadow of a fellow gamer die horribly in front of you. Likewise we will also occasionally see these phantoms go about their business in the game world in real time giving you a sense that you are not alone.

Back to my play through there were few enemies littered about which upon killing with some fairly decent sword & shield game play, gave me the in-game currency – souls. These are used at bonfires to level up your character so to give you more of a fighting chance. Bonfires also represent HP replenishing points and areas where you will not be attacked, they also reset any enemies you have defeated already. If you die any souls you may have accumulated are wiped out but can be recollected if you return to the spot where you died. This is the crux of Dark Souls. How far do you advance before turning in at a bonfire? Do you risk levelling up all the time to get a lucky break to advance or do you take the slow and steady route of play by making the constantly respawning enemies easier to destroy? Classic risk and reward game play VS a hardcore grindathon.

As of this my progress was fairly slow and steady through the tutorial level, taking on zombies and accumulating a serviceable sword and shield set before I was confronted by a massive demon. I died. Well I died several times before I work out a nifty drop slice which wiped out half the demons health and that by dual-handling a sword increases the damage it gives. I’m now taking on the undead warrior hordes in The Undead Burg and it is tricky…

Impressions?

I’m liking it. It hasn’t been too frustrating as I already know what I getting myself into. The graphics are a mix between serviceable and absolutely amazing and the sound design is representative of the environment that you’re playing in. Enemies are nicely designed with my current favourite so far being a giant diseased zombie rat.

Also for a limited time you get a nice bonus of a very pretty hardback art book containing a soundtrack CD and making of DVD. Good value.

I’m sticking with Dark Souls I think.

Bring it.

It’s a brilliant opening with explosions going off everywhere with you simply having to dodge the flak thanks to the mortar he’s carrying on his back. The sparse grassland environment reveals some of the visual limitations of the PS3 and Xbox 360 hardware compared to high-end PCs, though as it looks slightly more low resolution and pixelated than the PC version of the multiplayer which was also playable on the show floor.

When we make it under the flyover and edge toward the urban area, the visuals work better. We have to set down the mortar and fire off a couple of illumination rounds so we can see what we are doing. Later, when we’re edging cautiously down a river bank, we come under enemy fire and the soldiers are beautifully silhouetted beneath the blaring chemical light.

Our first job is to take out a machine gun emplacement and a swift grenande blows them out of it. We come to a second gun emplacement which we try to sneak around but the enemies are skillfully hiding behind cover and shooting at us. The enemies are quickly taken care of and we blow up the second emplacement.

We now go to enter a door but it is locked. I see one of my squad mates throw a grenande in and an enemy comes flying out of this locked door on fire. It’s its quite a crazy but realisitic looking scene.  Myself and the squad enter the apartment building and we get to a blocked door requires fast repeated pressing of the circle button before we can get through, and the next door has an enemy right behind it who pushing me to the ground, it goes into slow motion as I am falling to the ground and I pump some lead into him. After this and a few other enemies killed we are outside again, regrouping with another character named Brady then getting into a Humvee to drive further into the city.

A very fun mission which shows off EA Dice’s  real-time lighting technologies, some marvellous character animation, and the excellent audio. Every gun sounds different and eerily like a war documentary, from the rackety G3A3 to the pop-pop of the KH2002 assault rifle and the relentless volume of the PK Pecheneg machine gun. This is a game I definitely recommend a decent surround system of Turtle Beach headphones for as the sounds are just brilliant

Overall a brilliant mission and a great way to show off some of the campaign. I just hope the multiplayer will live up to the excellent campaign.

Prepare to watch me eat a hat. Sort of…

Avid listeners of the 360Gamercast podcast will know that I seriously put a nice size 12 boot into the single player Driver San Francisco demo a few weeks back. I still maintain that the demo I played back then was a befuddled mess. It focused on three fairly disjointed missions that introduced this new “body shift” mechanic main Driver honcho, Tanner could now pull off. The best way to describe it then was kind of The French Connection crossed with The Matrix Reloaded. Indeed there was no explanation in the demo as to why Tanner could now switch bodies / cars on a whim, nor was there really any focus on how this fed into a bigger picture – in other words a full priced retail game. I feared the worst – a sort of potentially decent homage to Hollywood car chases ruined by some Quantum Leap-esq science-fiction bollocks.

A multi-player demo followed the week later and I was pleased to see more of how this mechanic could be used in the game world. Facing off with randoms, I had a blast with the game modes on offer. A hit & run “tag” mode as well as a frantic “trailblazer” game were a complete giggle as we all tried our best to get the upper hand by shifting into vehicles ranging from sports cars to articulated lorries. It worked! I was sort of interested again.

Here I find myself with the full game and some of the criticism I levelled about fitting this new “shift” mechanic into an once dominant racing franchise still stands I am afraid.

The main game is lusciously presented with all an singing & dancing opening movie cut scene setting the game up for the player. The plot starts with Tanner’s arch nemesis Jericho, under armed guard and being transported by road to a court house so to stand trial for no doubt being an evil bastard. Tanner in the meantime is observing this by car at a distance when suddenly a bazooka from an overhead helicopter gives Jericho the opportunity to take control of the police van and go on a getaway wrecking spree. Tanner gives chase but ends up getting pummelled by Jericho’s overtly aggressive driving style and ends up in a coma.

So far, so far Sue Ellen as although Tanner now lies unconscious in a hospital bed, he subconsciously believes that he is still in the hunt for the now at large Jericho. What plays out is a gentle but, dare I say, well thought out tutorial introducing players to the new physics in this instalment of Driver.

Players now have free  run of a selected area of San Francisco to drive around to get to grips with the game world. Graphically everything is very polished and handling feels solid and very arcadey. This I liked as you need cars to be fairly forgiving if you are required to drive like a maniac possessed with the ghost of Steve McQueen. By hitting the A button, Tanner now leaps visually from the car he is currently driving into a birds-eye “out-of-body” view. From here to can use the right thumb stick to climb into the air so to see more of the San Francisco map so to select another car to literally instantaneously leap into. This impressed me as there was no additional loading times in carrying this out.

To progress Tanner must complete missions, some story driven others not so. Here the introduction of Will Power comes into play. This is the in game currency and can used to spend at in game garages to buy new cars to use in special modes as well as unlock special in game features and abilities. Despite allowing the game to suck me in, this was my first “WTF?” moment. Earn “will power” to buy cars in a dream world where Tanner can technically leap into any car he fancies? WTF!?!?!?!

The plot chugs along quite competently to be honest with a couple of more WTF moments along the same. The plot is extreme “high concept”. Indeed, Tanner crossed with Sam Beckett is handled well and the voice acting and character animations are some of the best I have seen on this generation but there is that nagging feeling that should have been a much more enjoyable game if it was to stick to its core roots – movie-style car chases.

Driver San Francisco does a phenomenal job at recreating that low-suspension, drift style car chase feeling. Destructible items litter either side of the streets begging to be ploughed through at high speed. Pedestrians comically leap out of the way each time you race towards them which also adds nicely to the tone. There are also modes and challenges available that remove the shift mechanic and these are these represent the best racing experiences in the whole game and had me grinning like a loon. The in game soundtrack is also phenomenal, perfectly adding to the car chase ambience – California Dreaming Diplo Mix? Hell yeah! Furthermore there are 140 licensed cars in the game as well as 200+ missions and challenges.

Throw in also a Film Director function like the original PSOne Driver, that enables to take your destruction and edit it into a dramatic movie that can be unloaded to the internet. I constructed a wacky three yellow cab montage naming it “Crazy Taxi”. Great fun and very easy to use.

Driver San Francisco’s multi-player is strong featuring 19 different online modes to play with up to 7 other players. I’ve already aforementioned “Tag” and “Trailblazer” but also on offer are basic racing and various team play options including “Capture The Flag” and “Blitz”. The most fun I had though was with “Takedown” which is a cops and robbers challenge which features one player trying to escape everyone else racing as car shifting coppers. Hilarious and frantic.

Verdict?

Driver San Francisco does a lot of things right. In game presentation – check. Impressive game world – check. Decent and varied car handling – check. A satisfying movie car chase experience – check. Multiplayer – check. But I’m left with the feeling still that the body / car shift mechanic is out of place as part of the overall narrative.

Whilst some could argue that it is taking the Driver franchise into a bold and new direction but what is next? Another body switching instalment if Ubisoft end up with a hit maybe this time including wormhole time travel? Or a dead duck of a once exciting game series if sales aren’t forthcoming.

Despite the fun I have had, the main story is frustrating as all I want to do is chase done the bad guys and run away from a pack of narked coppers. The game insists that I have to play the main game to unlock the modes I want to play – the modes sans Quantum Leap.

Perhaps if the shift mechanic was introduced into a brand new IP then things wouldn’t feel so disappointing.

7 / 10

Relics. That is what pinball tables are these days. Testament to a by-gone age in the 1970s and 1980s where pinball was king and gaming, in part was a spectator sport. Unfortunately the video game boom of the 1980s began to signal the end for pinball machines as Pac Man, Space Invaders and Asteroids took over. Suddenly the easy to upkeep and profitable arcade cabinet look like a better investment than the more expensive to repair (if even a single part went wrong), pinball machine.

Now we’ve come full circle. A new physical pinball table has not been manufactured in years and the digital medium has taken charge. A resurgence in the interest in the game style has come about as of late thanks in part to Zen Studios and their Pinball FX2 which is a fresh take where the core game remains but today’s technology enables polygon models to  interact with the play on screen so to create a more modern arcade feel.

So enter now Williams Pinball Classics, a compendium of 13 classic real world pinball tables that has just been released multi-platform. These tables are the real deal. Lovingly recreated from actual tables from a double decade period and featuring the bleeps, clangs and muffled mono voice recordings you may remember if like me, you’re over 30.

Pinball FX2 fans might be initially be taken a back by the limitations of some of the tables. Gorgan and Black Knight for example feature some very basic features and chances to score as well as quite laughable voice samples, but don’t let that put you off. What Williams Pinball Classics does brilliantly well is to trace the evolution of arcade pinball.

There are some real pinball gems in here – Medieval Madness, No Good Gofers and my personal favourite Whirlwind all are engaging, faithful and most importantly, fun. You can also unlock Jive Time, a 1970 Williams release and proto-pinball machine which is a nice touch for aficionados. If you are however expecting a photo-realistic recreation of these tables expect to be disappointed. The game uses a bizarre cell-shaded style and looks quite poor against Pinball FX2. Likewise the ball physics is much more floaty but I got used to it fairly quickly.

The game itself if ingeniously structured around an virtual arcade where initially you only have a handful of credits to play a limited number of tables. More credits can be earned by carrying out unique goals attached to each table and the best way of achieving these is by playing the “Williams Challenge” in which you play each table one by one advancing to the next by achieving a set score. Achievements are also linked to this goal structure and by achieving a set you are handsomely rewarded – 25G for the Basic set and 50G for the more complicated and advanced Wizard set. Much more satisfying and achievable than some of those featured in Pinball FX2.

Finally what would a pinball game be without leader boards? Williams Pinball Classics does have these but they’re nowhere near as comprehensive or clever as their Zen Studios rivals.

Verdict

7/10

Definitely for pinball fans this one. Playing some of these tables really brought back memories. Although lovingly compiled, some of the presentation is lacking as is some sheen I would have expected on the graphical style – the metal ball in more a grey lump than shiny silver. The structure of the game though must be applauded as also the clever use of the achievement system.

So Williams Pinball Classics or Pinball FX2?

Pinball FX2 for me. Yes it’s more of an arcade style but the physics, table features and leader boards options are preferable. Zen Studios cater perfectly towards why I play pinball.  What Williams Pinball Classics though provides almost perfectly though is that feeling of playing pinball on an actual machine, something Zen Studios hasn’t yet achieved and I don’t think they will.

Cinema Dan

As if ripped from the headlines; Mexican drug lords are fed up with the U.S. cracking down on their operations and have begun to strike back.  Their terrorist acts targeting American law enforcement agencies have prompted the U.S. to take action to subvert & destroy The Cartel by any means necessary. But for this mission they need a certain breed of officers; those unencumbered by silly ethics, self-respect, or the rule of law. In other words, they need you… and two of your most despicable mates.

Synopsis, Concept, Story, & Characters

The Call of Juarez series, known for it’s gun slinging western genre, makes a desperate attempt to force its traditional cowboy theme into this modern day FPS.  Gone are the open trails, the search for Indian gold, and the lore of the Wild West.  In their place, the mean streets, the hustle for cold cash, and the age-old tale of the gun. Only when the game escapes the urban settings for the sprawling canyons of the southwest is the player able to comfortably justify this as a C.O.J. game they might recognize. In addition to borrowing from its previous titles in the series, players may find “The Cartel” pleasantly influenced by several games like GTAIV, Far Cry, and even Call of Duty.  Filled with bold and interesting changes to the series, this game’s strengths are likely found in its nuances rather than its degree of success as a whole.

As a member of an inter-agency taskforce, you play as one of three dirty cops. Players are able to choose a character with the combat specialty that best fits their personal play style. But each character also comes with a unique set of life circumstances and ulterior motives that form the basis of the character-specific story paths. There’s Kimberly Evans (F.B.I.), the Jada Pinkett-Smith clone specializing in long-range weapons. Eddie Guerra (D.E.A.), the suave Latino, skilled at dual wielding and medium-range instruments of freedom. And lastly, there’s the cliché Benjamin McCall (L.A.P.D.). He rounds out the cast as a modern day, no nonsense, shit-kicking cowboy forced to be a city slicker. One might think McCall would be able to dispatch enemies with the cheesy bravado and poor voice acting. But alas, ol’ Ben is for the players wanting to do their wet work with the short-range boom sticks and classic revolvers.

You’ll make your way through large, open set pieces that succeed in providing the illusion of an open world.  Take for instance the intense gang war fought amidst neighborhood slums in the looming shadow of downtown Los Angeles.  The richly detailed environment conjures up images of any number of battles through the rundown streets on COD4 or MW2.  Whether it’s the shipping docks or the canyons of Mexico, the player is rarely in danger of feeling claustrophobic. You’ll follow the waypoint, track down a suspect, escort, defend, set the explosives, or battle your way through with little exception. But “C.O.J. – The Cartel” sweetens the humdrum brew with a few interesting and unexpected sugar cubes along the way.

Thankfully, there’s a tiny bit more than just “aim and shoot.”  I first took note of the Left 4 Dead style lobby/safe area where the player gathers his party and gears up before each mission. It’s a welcome addition and appropriately sets the stage for what’s to come in each level. Another notable feature is the driving sequences. Hoping to provide a modicum of variety, developers have you frequently climbing into a steel horse carriage (SUV) and taking the reigns for simple transports, follows, escapes, chases, and on-rails shooting sequences. Breaking up the furious run’n & gun’n, “The Cartel” slows the pace at key moments for “Team Entry” tactics.  Sounding like a clinical term for a gangbang, this feature is actually a slow motion breach and clear exercise done Call of Duty style. The Uplay service also makes its return providing you with free points to spend on extra game related goodies. And of course it wouldn’t be a Call of Juarez game without the proverbial means to “focus” or slow down time to maliciously pick off targets with reckless abandonment. But the most intriguing feature is something known as “Secret Agendas.”

As the unique character selection screen suggests, these three people are indeed individuals. He or she is never too far from their own personal demons, hardships, and selfish motives as they try to focus on the main task at hand.  Via mobile phone, their personal lives keep creeping in at the most inopportune times, requiring you to accomplish side tasks away from the prying eyes of your two fellow officers. Hence the name; “Secret Agendas.” The individual stories and motives associated with these guarded acts add a welcome bit of depth to an otherwise standard affair.  Lest we forget, your comrades are no saints either.  In fact, the game allows for the possibility that you may find yourself confronting one of your hypocritical partners as they too attempt to shove a wad of cash down their tighty-whiteys. It’s one of those relatively inconsequential extras that serves to break up the monotony and add richness and detail to the experience.

Yet sadly the player is left with too many nondescript NPCs, convoluted plot twists, and so many changes in loyalties that the narrative cancels itself out.  That being said, each player will ultimately have to make a choice determining the nature of the ending their character experiences.  Although the conclusion of my run-through was certainly no happy Hollywood ending, “The Cartel” wraps up its story with a proper “dénouement” in stark contrast to the abrupt and unsatisfying endings of many big budget titles.

The Overall Look & Graphical Appeal

I’m still waiting for an apology letter addressed to my eyes to arrive in the post. Ok, I guess the graphics aren’t THAT bad. But “C.O.J. – The Cartel” can surely thank Homefront, Brink, and a few other noteworthy titles for lowering the bar so that its faults don’t stand out nearly as much. The visuals are not dated; they’re just down right poor in many instances. Every spectral highlight or reflection acts as a tiny blinking distraction at the slightest move of a thumbstick. Filters, meant to convey fog, mist, dawn, dust, or the like, succeed only in washing the screen with a healthy amount of muddy blur. With the brightness cranked all the way up, some areas are still impossibly dark. And the bokeh (the out-of-focus depth-of-field cinematic effect) is the worst I’ve seen in contemporary media.  However, credit must be given to them for recognizing the need for it in the first place. In fact, the noticeable absence of bokeh in games like Crysis2 is often responsible for that “sterile, lifeless feel” despite its incredible fidelity.

All of these well-deserved criticisms aside, there are moments of beauty and awe to be had. Waterfalls, wind farm vistas, dessert canyons, and richly appointed city streets provide just enough legitimate eye-candy that you start to forgive the game a bit for its more egregious graphical sins.  It’s like a hideous painting that’s been impeccably matted, framed, and displayed… it’ll do if you don’t look too close.

The Feel, Controls, & Playability

One gets the sense that “C.O.J. – The Cartel” was going for the “Most Generic Controlling Game” award. There’s nothing too out of the ordinary here. Its eccentricities are found in the weapon switching shoulder button and the curious reloading “Y.” But we’re all adults here. It’s nothing we can’t handle. Unfortunately, the same can’t be said about the driving. In fact, the driving sequences come with a very special feature added: frustration.  Not wanting to remove you from your view through the character’s zombie-like eyes, the developer chose to sit you squarely behind the wheel first-person style. The restricted visibility, poor handling, and unreliable waypoints will have you frequently driving “out of the play area” with just a second to return “or else!” However, they have added a “B” button feature that allows you to duck down and peek over the dashboard to avoid gunfire while driving.  That brings us to the gunplay itself. It’s incredibly unremarkable in almost every way except for the gracious time the developer allotted for you to grow a beard and do your Christmas shopping as the iron sights are casually brought up to the eye with the press of left trigger. But overall, “The Cartel” is the epitome of contemporary FPS generic gameplay.

The Co-op and Multiplayer Features

Although three players is an odd number for a co-op campaign, we’ll gratefully take it. The same safe area used for loadouts in single player doubles as a lobby when gathering your co-op partners. The most interesting dynamic is that, while collectively completing the mission, those cheating bastard friends of yours are trying to get away with just as many Secret Agendas and cash grabs as you. Catch’em red handed if you can.

The competitive multiplayer is a cops versus criminals series of objective based gun battles. Each round appears to rotate the game mode from capturing intelligence, killing/defending a witness, or infiltrating/destroying a stronghold.  Each player is assigned a partner and becomes more resistant to damage when in close proximity to each other. The offensive team often jumps in a convoy of vehicles, hangs their guns out the windows, and storms the objective while reminiscing about the first time they did this in GTAIV. There is certainly some fun to be had there with friends, but joining a quick match with randoms quickly turns into an over-powered shotgun meat grinder. I can honestly say it is a full-fledged multiplayer mode in stark contrast to the tacked-on zeitgeist we’ve all experienced in recent years.

Something Often Overlooked; Reviewer Bias Towards the Game’s Genre

I’m personally quite fond, and perhaps too forgiving, of these medium-budget FPS’s that often serve as refreshing palette cleansers between lengthy titles.

Wrap it Up Already, This is the Internet FFS!

Unremarkable with a few welcome surprises, “Call of Juarez – The Cartel” ventures off into new territory and utilizes influences from notable titles to do so.  Struggling with its identity, the game offers a standard action FPS with just enough featured nuance and personality to be enjoyable for most FPS fans and their co-op buddies.

Positive Bits of the Game
- Individualized character story elements & actions
- Varied set pieces
- Co-op campaign

Negative Bits of the Game

- Inconsistent graphical quality
- Poor driving controls and waypoints
- Dark cookie-cutter warehouse battles

“The Full Monty”

- Review Copy: Rental
- Playthrough Difficulty: Easy
- Playthrough Completion: 100%

If I Had to Give it a Review Score it Would Be…

6/10: Fair
Games that earn a 6 certainly have good qualities but can have significant faults as well. These games may be well worth playing, but you should approach them with caution. They are likely to appeal to a specific audience or interest.
                                                                                                                                                            - H34DCA5E

Back in the early days of arcade shoot ‘em ups, in a time when arcades and chip shops ruled supreme in the gaming world, Namco were responsible for a series of addictive top-down shoot ‘em up titles. Games such as Galaxian and Galaga were in amongst a group of games that meant that I often went without sustenance at lunch time. Indeed getting a hold of decent conversions of these games on home gaming platforms meant that I became a complete “arcade rat” and it wasn’t really until the last generation of consoles when the titles I enjoyed of yesteryear started to be released arcade perfect on retro compilations that  passions reignited across the gaming world.

Cue 2007 when Namco released Pac Man Championship Edition and took the original formula to stick ten tonnes of neon techno up its bum. They essentially re-invented the wheel. The following year they did the same to Galaga so to create the original Galaga Legions a rock solid but fun high definition score attack monster that utilised some new mechanics in the form of wingman ship direction placement and chain reaction explosions.

The original Galaga is 30 years this year and much in the same vein as the even-better sequel to Pac Man Championship Edition in 2010, Galaga Legions now gets its own DX version of the game. Pac Man CE DX was one of my favourite titles last year so does Galaga Legions DX  measure up? The answer? Yes.

Immediately you notice how similar the DX edition is to the original Galaga Legions. Menu and selection screens are almost identical as are the graphics which are initially set as high-definition models but can be optionally retro-fitted to represent the classic insectoid blocky sprites of the original coin-ops.

The new game however… wow. Essentially it looks like Galaga Legions but the right thumb stick now precisely controls directional fire. There is also like Pac Man CE DX, a Matrix-esq slo-mo mode when you come close to enemies or their fire.  Bumper buttons also switch your firing mode direction from straight ahead to diagonal left and right which in conjunction with the right analogue stick means you can fire in all sorts of directions tactically when you try to anticipate wave movements. This opens up the game as literal swarms of insect alien scum smother the screen leading to delicate dodging and spectacular seat of your pants moments. Chuck in 10 areas divided into 5 levels each and a score-attack and time-attack game structure you have score leaderboard heaven for me.

What Namco has done is re-write the Galaga rule book for the better. I found Galaga Legions too tricky but the bite sized level structure of the DX edition are surprisingly do-able even on the hard setting when aiming for the top score. Indeed like Pac Man CE DX, score attack is where this game excels and there’s a multitude of measured score tables to work upon when perfecting your game. That said there is a lot of repetition as essentially you are replaying the same levels again and again in the quest for online glory.

The 800 msp I laid out for the game however is proving to be a complete bargain as I am not addicted much like I did back when I was loitering in the local chip shop with a stack of 10ps. Its both hardcore and accessible to reward the player in spades over time. Gibber.

Verdict 8/10