Fear you can forget - Resident Evil 5 review

Resident Evil 5 is a game with a problem, and that problem is an identity crisis. It's at the same time a bold step forward for the franchise and a game rooted in frustrations of the past, along with a whole new set of frustrations that have been brought in.  

As any fan of the franchise knows, chainsaws are bad news

Any discussion of Resident Evil 5 must inevitably begin with a discussion of its illustrious predecessor. Resident Evil 4 was a revolution not just for the franchise but for action gaming in general. It found the triumphant combination of factors to make the definitive experience - more action, bigger weapons, smarter enemies, nastier bosses, new setting. The fact that it moved to a more action orientated stance and switched to a fully 3D camera made it appeal to a far larger audience than before, and it's rightfully acclaimed as one of the best games ever made. For Resident Evil 5 Capcom has wisely decided to build on the solid base that game provided. The interesting thing is how it has chosen to do this. The first thing which strikes you about RE5 is its setting. Capcom has cranked glorious visuals out of its proprietary MIT engine, and RE5 uses these in the best possible way to create a hugely effective environment. The dusty, ramshackle town of Kijuju oozes menace, its angry inhabitants throwing malicious glances at you as they kick writhing objects in sacks on the ground. Similarly to RE4, you get the impression of a civilization that has fallen off the edge into barbarity, its rural isolation being a lot more scary than any typical zombie apocalypse could be. The problem is, as impressive as this environment may be, you don't spend a great deal of time here, with only the first act being set in Kijuju. This in itself isn't the issue, it's the fact that subsequent environments lack flair and interest. When the mandatory Resident Evil underground laboratory is the most interesting things that crops up you know you're in trouble. Each of the six acts has its own setting, but within each of these there's too much repetition and sameiness, with little feeling of progression. At its worst the environments can degenerate into bland Quake- style killboxes. 

Capcom cranks its tentacle fetish to all new heights

This neatly brings us to the combat, which has been one of the most controversial aspects of the game, debate raging over the remaining of the stop and shoot controls. There's definitely reason to keep them here. They crank the tension up and force tight and precise aiming, always important when taking on the hordes of 'zombies'. And it's definitely hordes - the enemies now pour out in overwhelming waves, flooding combat areas and boxing you in, forcing you into alleys and onto roofs. It's a shame then deja-vu hangs heavy over all of them. The basic Majini are exactly the same as RE4's Ganados, same animations, same tactics, just with spears replacing pitchforks. It doesn't help that there's a far greater proportion of 'super enemies' who basically are colossal ammo sinks, disrupting the essential 'crowd control' tactic that applied so well and created so much tension. Despite this enemy design is pretty poor, with nothing as iconic or terrifying as RE4's Regenerator or Iron Maiden. The game seems to have issues with balancing its combat correctly, never better illustrated than at the end of act 3 when, having thrown a chainsaw wielding miniboss at you, leading to a protracted battle, it immediately goes and throws out.

It's here then that the identity crisis comes to light. As so many have said, this is now no longer a survival horror game. It is an action game, its entire being concentrated on shooting action and big combat set pieces. This wouldn't be an issue if it weren't for the fact that so many of the old hangovers exist. Tank controls and slow movement are fine when they are in service of a slow paced scary game, but they are a real and irritating detriment to blowing up as much stuff as possible. A limited and clunky inventory isn't suitable for such a higly paced game (why has the option to use things straight away without picking them up gone?). The introduction of a limited cover system halfway through the game smacks of half-arsedness and is poorly implemented, only necessary because there are gun toting zombies with machine guns and rocket launchers everywhere in the latter stages. It honestly feels like a bad Gears of War clone at certain stages.  

Alongside this crude evolution into action is the loss of almost all the traditional qualities of Resident Evil. The game is almost never scary, the constant presence of a second player and the fact that they can revive you from your near death state killing almost all tension. In single player the AI is a valiant attempt but is clumsy and makes certain boss battles supremely irritating. Said boss battles lack imagination and generally require the use of a specific weapon or environment conveniently found only in that arena and discarded straight away. The story, so cleverly rebooted in RE4 to revive the themes of infection and possession that made the series so distinctive, returns to a tangled mess of backstory and convoluted science. The supposedly world destroying Las Plagas are basically reduced to an excuse to have Ganados in the game, with an infuriating mix of viruses (I counted T, G, T-Veronica, Progenitor and Ouroboros viruses) taking centre stage once more. Worse still is the game's refusal to even slightly acknowledge its pulpy origins. The sarky quips of RE4's Leon S. Kennedy are replaced with Chris and Sheva calling each other 'partner' at every opportunity and generally playing it dead straight. The merchant is gone, and the game just generally feels very po-faced, as if it's trying to make a serious point in a game where you battle against an evil David Bowie lookalike. Oh, and there's a plot twist so telegraphed that a blind man down a coal mine could see it coming. If you've played it you know the one I mean.

However, the game still has several redeeming features. Foremost among these is the inclusion of co-op, which utterly destroys the experience as a Resident Evil game, but makes it into a far more fun game to play overall. Any game is more fun with another person, but the specifically co-op design makes RE5 a total blast. And every so often, a set piece crops up that reminds you simply how very effective a game like this can be. A trek through a darkened mine where one partner has to hold the spotlight, the opening levels in Kijuju where the bright sunlight offers a startling contrast, the triumphant return of Mercenaries mode. And at its most base level, it is built on bones and mechanics which remain sound, and the strengths that characterised RE4 remain here. The level of polish remain high also, graphics, sound and voicework being excellent. It's important to emphasise that the core gameplay here are still good fun in its own right, the crowd control shooting and set piece battles often being tense and exhilarating. Still plenty of fun to be had here.  

Ultimately, this is a game which struggles to find what its purpose is. It cannot escape the shadow of RE4, yet it tries to by cranking up the action factor, without realising that this causes it to discard a great deal of what made that game special. The greatest fear before release was that this game copied Resident Evil 4 too much, ironically it turns out that it simply didn't copy the right things. It's a good game, a fine game to play through in co-op especially, but it lacks imagination, and coasts by on being merely competent rather than extravagant. The polish and fine gameplay raise it above average, but there's nothing here that makes it special, nothing here that inspires.

[7]

Still in a Dream - Looking back at Metal Gear Solid 3

Among the Metal Gear games, Snake Eater (and its enhanced version Subsistence) are somewhat anomalous. Metal Gear games have always fetished technology and embraced barmy futurism, but Snake Eater on the whole curbs these tendencies, creating a much more insular Metal Gear than any that had gone before.

The key factor here is setting. By placing the game in 1964, firmly in prequel territory, Kojima continues with his usual nuclear message, but allied as it is to real Cold War era paranoia, it feels much more cutting and pointed than usual. Winding the clock back also allows in a single swoop the ditching of the dreaded Metal Gear continuity, allowing the story and characters to stand on their own and develop without the need for referencing. The result is a much leaner, sharper Metal Gear, one which feels very focused and intimate. The jungle setting is also a clever inversion of the normal Metal Gear environs, allowing a more open and freeform play style while adding to the claustrophobic atmosphere of the game. Atmosphere isn't something the game lacks either, the combination of these changes giving a much more naturalistic, creepy vibe to proceedings, accentuated by the seemingly supernaturally powered Cobra Unit.

Speaking of the Cobras, Snake Eater features some of the most memorable characters in the enitre franchise. The Cobras themselves are standouts, some of the best bosses in history, particularly the near legendary sniper battle against The End, while Colonel Volgin is a typically, but wonderfully overblown villain. The appearance of young Ocelot is a real treat, his evolving rivalry with Naked Snake powering some key set pieces, particularly the revolver juggling torture sequences. The Boss meanwhile remains a fascinating figure amongst videogame characters, an adversary who is tied inextricably to the hero by the bonds of duty and loyalty. Kojima maintains his theme of soldiers as pawns here, but because the cast is much smaller and again because of the real world ideal of double agents and defectors the ideas of patriotism, the often overblown dialogue and the rammed home points here work much more effectively.

Ultimately, like the character it portrays, the game is a stripped back, bare minimum Metal Gear. But what this does is allow the fundamental  qualities that have always made these games great shine through. From its iconic opening through to its famous, heartbreaking finale, this is an example of a developer and storyteller firing on all cylinders. Although surpassed in technical and gameplay terms by the extraordinary Guns of the Patriots, no game will ever speak to the hearts and souls of gamers about soldiers and patriots quite like Snake Eater.

The line starts here

Yesterday, a friend and I undertook a mission: To head to the Trocadero, the large shopping centre in Picadilly, and hunt down what I believe is the only Street Fighter IV arcade cabinet in the country. It took some diligent searching (hey building planners, why not have one enormous arcade rather than 4 or 5 smaller ones?) but eventually we discovered a minature mecca of fighting games tucked away in a corner.  Street Fighter III: Third Strike cabinets were lined down the middle and an impressively large japanese Tekken 6: Bloodline Resurrection cab at the end of them. The Street Fighter IV cab was easy to find however, because it was the one with the crowd around it.  We watched for around ten minutes as the guy on the left cabinet went on a hot winning streak with Ryu, pulling some high level juggles and we ooohed and aaahed with everyone else when the flashy finishers came out.  Eventually I got to sit down and face off with him, picking Sagat as my character, and while I lost, I'm happy to say I didn't disgrace myself. He pulverized me in the first round, but I fought back to win the second round, with the third round going right to the wire, but a mistimed Tiger Knee finished me as I got caught in a juggle in the corner.

See that guy on the left? He's not half bad.

It's been years since I played in an arcade, and I've never played a competitve fighter in one (quite a black mark for a fighting game fan I know), so the difference in the experience was quite a revelation. The incessant noise, the people behind you egging you on or laughing at your incompetence, the sturdier controls, the trash talk, it all adds up to a heady blend, and it's easy to see why people get nostalgic for the so-called 'Arcade Culture.'  It was particularly gratifying to be able to turn to my opponent at the end of the match and go 'Good fight mate' and hear the same back, it personalises the experience in a way no amount of online play could.  I may have to drift back soon...

P.S. Also in the Trocadero is a branch of Tokyo Toys, where I scored an awesome Kingdom Hearts scarf and Sonic X pin badges :)

Fight for the Future - Looking back at Street Fighter III: Third Strike

Games from 1999 generally haven't aged well, and there's fewer still that would be regarded as ahead of their contemproray peers, yet a decade after its release, people are still playing Street Fighter III Third Strike: Fight for the Future and it features regularly in every major fighting game tournament. Yet it also remains a deeply divisive game, with some arguing it represents the zenith of the 2D fighter while others maintaining it was a major misstep that failed to capture the magic of its famous forebear Super Street Fighter II Turbo.  As ever, the truth lies somewhere in between.

Technically, SFIII is probably the most perfect fighter ever made. Keeping the familiar joystick motions and basic mechanics from Street Fighter II, it made several important changes and tweaks. Most notable of these was the infamous 'parry' system. Supplementing (but not replacing) the basic blocking system, the idea was simple in principal. By pressing forward or down-forward at exactly the point an opponent's attack connected, the attack would be deflected away, not causing any 'chip' damage and not breaking any blocks. Furthermore, a spilt second window would be opened in the combo to allow a counter-attack.

In practice this worked brilliantly. The problem was that parrying was a) Very difficult. In a typical SFIII match  the hits come so thick and fast that parrying was near impossible for the average player and b) Very powerful, since it could break combos and provide near invulnerability, even against super attacks.  Therefore it was practically a requirement at high level play, which made the gulf between amateur and dedicated players even wider than before.

The other major change made to SFIII was the way the super combo system worked. Renamed to 'Super Arts', each character now had up to three super arts which could be selected before a game began. Each different character and art would have a differing length of super maeter, and each would also have a 'stock' counter where full super meters would be stored, up to a maximum of three. This created intriguing tactical possibilities, as there was now a contrast between characters with short super meters who could unleash weaker moves more often, while longer barred characters would have to wait but could perform more damaging attacks at the end. The stock system also allowed constant building of the super meter even when specials were not needed, and added another layer to character and Super Art selection.

Ken vs Alex - Note the use of the parry at 0:11 and the Super Art finish.

The character roster was probably the most controversial thing about SFIII, seeing as it practically erased the cast from SFII. Only Ryu and Ken returned, and even then only as supporting characters. Instead, as the original subtitle suggested, a 'New Generation' carried on the fight, led by burly grappler Alex. They were an odd bunch indeed, ranging from the freaky failed experiment Necro to the dapper British boxer Dudley (who has surely the best motivation in a fighting game ever - he's trying to get his car back). Subsequently, Second Impact and Third Strike added back Akuma and Chun-Li respectively, but also delved deeper into unusual territory for new characters, ending up with the robotic trenchcoat wearing Q and the truly insane Twelve, who could shape his limbs into weapons and whose special move involved transforming into the character he was fighting.  Despite their oddities, the new cast is likeable, and it's a shame none of them carried over into later games, as there's real potential here.

Yun and Yang were originally reskins of each other but by 3rd Strike had become separate characters 

Playing it today, Third Strike holds up extremely well. Graphics are crisp and well designed, defying their low resolution, and the much admired animation is as good as it ever was, with the super arts in particular still visually stunning.  It's great to play as well, feeling a much more rapid, focused game than the increasingly sprawling Street Fighter II sequels, with a great deal more depth than any other game out there. The issue remains however, that only those of similar skill levels will ever enjoy matches. This isn't a game where the underdog will ever have any chance, where anything less than perfect timing and total knowledge of a character will triumph.  There's more here than anybody could ever know, and that remains the issue. With Street Fighter IV seeming to take the franchise in a new direction, it's unlikely that Third Strike  will ever be bettered as a pure fighting game, and its technical  brilliance cannot be denied. I'll end on a controversial note because it deserves it. It's better than Street Fighter II and always was, it's perhaps only now people realise it. A game to lose yourself in and to teach yourself endlessly.

Mini Review - Prince of Persia: Epilogue

The Good - Still beautiful to look at and to control.  Challenge level has been significantly raised, some new sections require superbly tricky timing and acrobatics. A partial return to the 'large puzzle room' philosophy of The Sands of Time (one room in particular). Solid level throughout. 

The Bad - Short. Nothing too new here. Dark design (though necessary from a plot standpoint) dulls the game's beauty somewhat. Practically no narrative progression.

The Ugly - Boss recycling, which the main game was guilty of already, reaches irritating new heights here. Particularly bad to see The Warrior, the most tiresome boss from the main game reused extensively.

We got next - Street Fighter IV review

Street Fighter IV has a lot to live up to. It's the first 'numbered' game in the legendary franchise since 1999's Street Fighter III: Third Strike, a game that was widely considered to be the ultimate 2D fighter, one of the most beautifully balanced and technically proficient fighting games ever made. It was also widely considered to require expertise beyond the ken of mere mortals, and although this could produce some truly memorable moments, its complicated parry defense and super arts combo system made it a game to be intently studied rather than picked up and played. In this, Capcom failed to reproduce the mentality behind the legendary Street Fighter II, which appealed to all ages, skills and gamers. Has Street Fighter IV managed to recapture that elusive audience?

The first thing that strikes you about Street Fighter IV is the visual style. Although there have been 3D Street Fighters before, in the shape of the black-sheep EX series, you've never seen one quite like this. The game has embraced cartoon influences and rendered its characters as big chunky caricatures, ripped straight out of an action figure design manual. It's a very effective move, the style instantly suiting and bringing a new dimension to familiar designs, with it particularly benefiting the more outlandish and comic characters. The thick lined design is accompanied by a distinctive trademark in the form of splashes and splatters of black ink that fleck the screen upon powerful attacks or impacts, an effective stylistic touch and a throwback to the game's original calligraphic trailer. The background stages are slightly more realistic, but are without fail strongly detailed and highly animated, with little touches like children cheering on a battle or tourists taking pictures breathing life into every vignette. The upshot of all of this is that Street Fighter IV is an amazing looking game, with a style and flair all of it's own.

The game can be stunningly pretty

However, good looks count for nothing in a fighting game if you don't have decent mechanics (take a bow Rise of the Robots). Despite the full 3D graphics, all the combat in Street Fighter IV take place on a strictly 2D plane. Combat is largely built on the bones of the classic Super Street Fighter II Turbo model, with parrying and multi part super combos eschewed in favour of standard blocking and a single super per character. The game remains finely balanced, and it's a lot harder to win by mashing buttons than many other fighters. Exquisite control has always been a SF mainstay, and the precision and feeling of contact have been well replicated here.

A welcome addition however is the inclusion of the EX special moves first seen in Street Fighter III: Second Impact. This divides the super gauge into four separate segments. Once a segment is full, a player can use it to enhance a special move by pressing two buttons instead of one. These EX moves are the same as the originals but more powerful, often adding an additional hit or an unblockable state. This creates a nice risk/reward conflict - do you EX your moves to boost their power or save your meter in hopes of unleashing a super combo once full?

The first major tweak Street Fighter IV makes to this system is the inclusion of the Focus attack. Designed to replace the parry system from Street Fighter III, this is a much simpler concept that merely involves holding medium punch and medium kick. This puts you in a charged state in which you can absorb one attack. Releasing the buttons triggers a unique attack. Holding the buttons long enough will result in the attack auto triggering, but as an unblockable version. Both attacks will leave the opponent to crumple to the floor, but if you're fast enough, the split second they are stunned is long enough to launch a new combo.

The focus attacks are where the signature 'ink splash' style is most obvious

Though the focus attack sounds simple in principle, it's a minor stroke of design genius, a simple and elegant way to counter move spamming and turn the tide on an opponent. It's far from invulnerable - certain moves can break it and it will only absorb the first hit of any multi-hit combos - but it's an invaluable skill to lean. Newbies will appreciate the protection it offers, while high level players are already discovering further ways it can be useful (for cancelling out of extended combo strings for example).

The other big innovation Street Fighter IV offers is the Revenge gauge. Unlike the Super gauge, which fills when you land attacks, the Revenge gauge fills only when you are damaged. After you've taken a certain amount of damage, the gauge enters 'Ultra' mode. At this point, the grandstanding Ultra combos become available. By far the most spectacular moves in Street Fighter IV, these combos are hugely damaging, often outlandish and are accompanied by fantastic swoops and pans of the camera. Despite the eye candy on show they're also another important part of the tactical game, allowing comebacks from nearly impossible situations. In another neat move, the revenge gauge will continue to fill even after the trigger point has been reached, and the fuller the gauge the more damaging the combo becomes. The upshot of this is that it's rare to see a match that doesn't have one of these mighty combos unleashed at some point, and improbable turnarounds suddenly become much more likely. They're not impossible to avoid or even to block, so there's still skill required to implement one successfully, and they offer tremendously satisfying payoffs.

Ultra finishers are hugely spectacular.

A good solid roster is the other essential for any fighting game, and Street Fighter IV has a strong lineup. All 12 of the original World Warriors from Street Fighter II return, and are joined by four brand new characters, grappler Abel, tubby karate expert Rufus, businesswoman Crimson Viper and Lucha Libre wrestle El Fuerte. The new characters fit in well for the most part, and the console versions are graced by the presence of six additional characters - Cammy and Fei-Long from Super Street Fighter II ,and Gen, Sakura, Rose, and the evergreen Dan Hibiki from the Street Fighter Alpha series. Also present and eventually playable are Seth, the game's new boss, the long time hidden boss character Akuma and a first ever appearance for Ryu and Ken's master Gouken (aka Sheng Long) to give a total roster of 25. For the most part the characters are highly varied and offer plenty of different moves and techniques, although it's possible that there are a few too many Shotokan (Ryu-style) fighters. Nevertheless it's a good solid lineup and every player should find a fighter they are fond of.

Despite the addition of Rufus, Dan retains his crown as king of joke 

characters

Most of the standard fighting game modes are offered, with the main attraction being arcade mode, the usual series of fights followed by an encounter with Seth, the game's big bad. This however is one of the game's most serious weak points. While offering a wide range of difficulties to sit all sorts of players, the fact remains that Seth is hideously overpowered and even on the easiest difficulty defeating him is often a hugely frustrating task. Bad boss design has plagued fighting games for years (Tekken 5's Jinpachi is a notable recent example) but Seth is the worst of the lot, and sucks a great deal of enjoyment out of the arcade mode.

You'll say nasty words about him

Elsewhere the game chooses to mix up the traditional Survival and Time attack modes, instead setting a ladder of challenges with certain conditions, such as enhanced defence or no ultra combos. These come in medium and hard varieties, with the hard versions having online leaderboard support. There's also a trial mode designed to teach you the various moves and combos of each character, which is appreciated but a little bare-bones. A more dedicated tutorial wouldn't have gone amiss. Despite all the tick boxes having been filled, I still would have liked to see some additional features. There's no support for saving or replaying matches for example, and I personally think a persistent mission based mode, like Soul Calibur's could have greatly increased longevity. There is a neat hook included in the form of the title and emblem system however. Titles are exactly as they sound, and emblems are small icons that accompany them. These are earned through various feats, which you aren't told about, and obviously the rarer and cooler titles are gained through more difficult feats. You can then set one title and one icon on your profile to intimidate, or trick, any opponents you might fight. Title hunting quickly becomes addictive, and there are literally hundreds of titles and icons available, meaning you'll likely be unlocking them for some time.

Facial animation is a particular highlight

Finally, there's online play. I'm playing Xbox 360 code, so the connection here is made through Xbox Live. There's support for both ranked and 'Player' or casual matches, though combat is strictly one on one, which seems a shame given the durable lobby system from Super Street Fighter II Turbo HD Remix allowed four players to rotate with spectators, giving a more arcade feel to the whole match. Matchmaking also seems a touch broken at this point, with most of the games I'm attempting to enter flagging as already full by the point I hit the button. Once you're in a match however, performance is very impressive, with barely any lag, and a performance similar to the offline mode. There's a persistent ranking system for ranked battles going on using 'Battle points' which determine your rank and you accumulate when victorious. Defeating opponents with a high BP total nets you more BP yourself, and vice versa with opponents ranked lower. Leaderboards are of course available, and your title and emblem are also taken online with you. In addition there's a system of medals that are only available in online fights, chronicling particularly great or desperate feats.

You don't mess with Akuma

Overall then, it's difficult to paint Street Fighter IV as anything other than a triumph. It's not perfect, and hopefully certain issues (like replay functionality) will be addressed by upcoming patches, but at its core the game is supremely solid and a hefty amount of fun. Built on solid foundations, and dressed in the wonderful day-glo cartoony graphics, this is the most complete fighting game in years, largely because, like its legendary forebear, the appeal is instant and universal, blending casual and expert in the best way possible. It perfectly fulfills the maxim of 'easy to learn, impossible to master', and for that reason, it looks like this new challenger is here to stay.

[9]

Catch the Wind - Flower review

Flower is an incredibly unique experience, something that could only exist in the downloadable space. It's received a lot of press in the run up to it's launch, a lot of it due to the debate over whether it is so-called 'interactive art' and whether, in fact, it is a game at all.

The first thing to clear up is that second point.  This is most definitely a game, though a rather relaxed and sedate one.  The actual progression through the game is a simple case of item collection, in this case of the titular flower, but it's in the implementation that Flower excels.  Sixaxis motion control has been very much an afterthought for the majority of games that use it, but in Flower it is implemented near perfectly.  Any button on the controller causes the wind to blow, and tilting the controller changes the pitch and direction of your collection of flower petals. Gusting over other flowers causes them to open and add petals to your collection.  And that's it. But the result is a gloriously free feeling of flight, great tactile wind physics combining with the excellent sixaxis mapping to help create the illusion of soaring and swooping across verdant meadows.  It doesn't hurt that the game is alarmingly beautiful, green grass and lush vegetation creating a wonderful atmosphere.

If it ended there, Flower would merely be a fine 'gimmick' game, a neat exercise in motion control.  But it's elevated beyond that by the narrative progression. Though the game has no real story, each there is definitely a trend that runs through the game, moving from the dappled meadows of the opening level to darker and sadder territory as time passes by.  Music and graphics conspire to create a real atmosphere, each level having a defined mood it tries to capture.  This culminates in an astonishing final level, which, without spoiling things, is a euphoric cap to everything that has come before.

That Flower is able to mix a clever and interesting mechanic with such an interesting attempt at imbuing the game with higher meaning and pull it off makes it a very unique experience.  It's uplifting, relaxing, and very beautiful and deserves the comparisons to the equally idiosyncratic Rez. Transcending expectations, it manages to both stake a reasonable claim to be the aforementioned 'interactive art' and also a very fine game indeed.

[9]

State of Play

So as I rather abruptly pointed out in my previous post, my Xbox 360 rather catastrophically failed. This was not a good state of affairs, what with the then impending release of Street Fighter IV. Rather than wait the month or so for the repair, I decided to pick up an Arcade unit, and hunted down one of the new 'Jasper' chipsets, which are hopefully less prone to this sort of thing.  I also recieved some bad but far more predictable news, namely that my Tournament Edition Fightstick was delayed, and won't be arriving for several weeks. These disappointments were offset by the arrival of Street Fighter IV two days early. My first impressions are that it's very very good indeed, and a full review will be forthcoming.  With my old Xbox safely ensconced in Germany, I'm also continuing my backlog play, making another run through MGS3, completing Rez HD and will probably grab Noby Noby Boy soon. Further updates soon.

So my Xbox red ringed....

Finish the Hype - Halo 3 retro review

Note: As anyone who's read this blog will know, I'm not a big multiplayer guy.  This review is therefore centred only on Halo 3's qualities as a singleplayer experience, with no multiplayer discussion or judgement.

18 months after its launch, Halo 3 is still a big noise in videogames.  Widely regarded as the defining title of the Xbox 360, the question is, how well has it held up in the time since launch?

Visually at least, the answer is 'not too bad'.  Technically it's clearly outshone by more recent titles, and the graphics can look a touch jaggy (remember the game is only rendered at 640p) with texture work often coming across as flat.  But this is compensated for by the strong design, the Covenant particularly remaining an aesthetic highpoint with their brightly coloured technology and sleekly organic design.   Sound too remains excellent, with some good voiceover work and plentiful explosions.

It's when we get to the gameplay that gaps begin to appear.  Halo's mantra has always been '30 seconds of fun' and that's still applicable here.  Combat remains satisfying, with enemies treading the fine line between smart and stupid well, and the weapons give satisfying feedback, with the option to dual-wield at the expense of grenades and melee returning from Halo 2 for a nice touch.  But why so many weapons? There are 20 different weapons in the game, and many are duplicates of each other, such as the human SMG and the covenant Spiker, both of which are standard machine pistols.  My opinion is that there's too many different varieties here, and a slimming down of the arsenal would have better balanced the various weapons.  As it is some are practically useless while others (most notably the energy sword) are god weapons.  To be fair, there are some standout additions here, most notably the scenery-wrecking gravity hammer.

Level design is something of an issue as well.  With an upgrade to a next gen platform you'd expect a vast leap in scope, and while the game occasionally wows you, most notably in the battles against the colossal Scarab walking tanks, the truth is an awful lot of it feels underwhelming.  Haven't I seen this underground base before? Haven't I driven along this beach before? Haven't I attacked this control room down these corridors before?  Deja vu sets in quite early, and there's little real spectacle for the eye to feast on.  Some might argue that this isn't the point of a Halo game, but considering that one of the draws of the original was its sense of scale and outstanding art design, this falls a little flat.  The same goes for the story, so taut and well paced in Halo 1 but now expanded to a confusing mess of alliances and betrayals.  One of the game's main villains never actually appears onscreen, the other is killed well before the end of the game, and the strange pseudo love story between Cortana and practically every other character is laughable.  There's little sense of pacing and although there is a clever twist near the finish the finale ends up being another lame retread, lacking the intensity of its celebrated forebear (though it's better than the non-ending of Halo 2).  The game feels rushed, not helped by the fact that this is a very very short experience.  I finished it in a day, and I'm very bad at console FPS's. 

 And that's when it struck me - this entire singleplayer campaign feels phoned in, like it was very much a secondary concern.  It lacks polish, pacing and the major setpieces needed for a truly Triple-A game and compared to efforts like Bioshock and the masterful Half-Life 2 feels very immature and inconsequential.  The core strengths of Halo are as good as they have always been, the great feel of the weapons, the smart enemies and clever combat design.  They should have been the bones on which a much greater experience could have been fleshed out.  Instead, they're the bright sparks in a sea of average.  This is not a bad game, in fact, it's a good game. But, crucially, it is not a great game.  Which is a shame.

[7]

In these challenging economic times...

So, long story short, I don't have a great deal of money this month, due to a mistake involving my own rampant stupidity.  This subsequently means that new games are pretty much off of my list of purchases this month, which in turn affects what I'll be writing about on this blog.  There's still going to be some up to date stuff, as I shold have a copy of the Street Fighter IV collector's edition winging it's way here which I'll review, alongside the most indulgent thing I've ever purchased.  Also, provided it ever arrives, there'll be a Chrono Trigger DS review as well, although that depends on how long it takes to complete.

Howeve, the vast majority of this month will therefore be spent playing games from my 'pile of shame' and sbsequently writing them up on here.  I've already finished up Halo 3, and a review shold be up later, and there's some big hitters in there, such as Lost Odyssey, Dead Rising and Motorstorm: Pacific Rift as well as some older quirky stuff like Odin Sphere, Persona 3 and a real gem I dug out of the local GAME's preowned bin, Gregory Horror Show.  All of this stuff will hopefully be played and/or written up at some point, so that's what lies ahead.

Demo impressions triple tag team! - Killzone 2, FEAR 2, Halo Wars

Killzone 2

The first thing that's worth saying is that Killzone 2 is probably the best looking thing ever to appear on a console from a purely technical standpoint.  The high level of detail genuinely brings atmosphere to the world, particularly the grit and grime, with dust in the air and surfaces realistically worn and chpped away. It lends the game a very brutalistic fell that's matched by the gameplay.  The chunky, realistic weapons, the decidedly non sci-fi settings and the slow paced combat, complete with a nicely clunky cover system conspire to make the pace of the game quite slow and the feeling very far away from the 'one man army' approach of supposed competitors like Halo.  Overall, it's fun to play but the whitewash of genericism, plus the reports coming in that the story is utter rubbish probably means I'll put off grabbing this one for some time.

FEAR 2: Project Origin

I was a huge fan of the first FEAR (full stops omitted because I'm lazy). I loved its spooky premise, its insane weapons and the gorgeous slow-mo combat that saw enemies pirouetting away in a hail of bullets, blood and masonry.  From this brief demo all those things seem intact, but there are a few caveats.  The graphics are certainly shinier, and the scares more sophisticated, but the truly outlandish aspects of the first game have been played down.  The shotgun, which was a god weapon in the first game, seems nerfed, which is probably a good thing if you're sensible, but I miss being able to dismember people with it.  And why have all the enemies suddenly turned into space marines? The mech section also feels hopelessly out of place to me, and overall although it's scary I miss the grim gritty tone that made the first FEAR (and the underrated Condemned) so compelling.  That being said, there was still lot's of good stuff in here, so I'll probably pick this one up in the late spring drought.

Halo Wars

I've always been a firm believer that the RTS is one of the genres that has no place on anything that doesn't have a mouse and keyboard.  Halo Wars has partially solved these problems howeever, by eliminating a great deal of the depth.  This is very much RTS lite, with base building stripped back to an absolute minimum, and the prevailing tactic once again being the rush (something which is acknowledged by the existance of a 'select all units' button).  But these are actually all good things, with the trade of instead being an emphasis on action and spectacle that fits nicely with the console platform and Halo license.  The two levels in this demo, are nicely packed with spectacle, hammy cutscenes and neat map design, and since I do tend to like my RTS's less complicated I think this one might be on my radar also.

The world's latest best of 2008 post

I know this is very late.  Apologies, I'm trying to get back on the blogging train.

10 - Apollo Justice:Ace Attorney

No, it's not a notable evolution on the previous games.  But the Ace Attorney series has always delivered great gameplay and terrific soap opera storylines, and this is no exception.  And it is a Phoenix Wright game no matter what the title says, the trademark everything-and-the-kitchen-sink plotline returning and delving back into the storyline of our favourite spiky haired practitioner of the law.  As a franchise evolution, this needs serious work for its next instalment, but even without a major step onwards this is still one of the best interactive yarns you'll see this year.

9 - Super Smash Bros. Brawl

Yes, it's just a glorified fan game, but what fans and what a game.  Takes the anarchic sumo of Smash Bros. past and cranks up the insanity factor, which may or may not suit your taste.  Regardless, with an expanded roster, better level design and a raft of gameplay tweaks, including the new final smash attacks made this an outrageous, fast and heady experience.  The much touted singleplayer story mode was a letdown, and online play was totally broken, but a keen eye for detail and a great sense of free-for-all fun keeps this in here.

8 - Devil May Cry 4

This is one of the most stupid games ever released, an anachronistic throwback to a bygone age.  Fortunately, it knows this.  Instead, it chooses to put its efforts into its super slick graphics and a balanced and highly entertaining combat system.  The guns 'n' swords action is more balletic than ever before, new character Nero brings the action to the masses, while Dante provides depth and difficulty that the hardcore crave.  Combined with some striking level design and dialogue so horrifying it's hilarious, it produces a game which is no masterpiece, but is a fantastically enjoyable old school romp.

7 - Rock Band 2

The sequel gets the nod here, but really this is an endorsement for the whole rock band experience, regardless of platform or guise.  Harmonix took everything that made Guitar Hero so great and slipped it into a slicker, more grown up shell.  Adding in a superb song selection and friendly interface made the entire experience that much better, and there's still no better game to be played at a party.

6 - Burnout Paradise

I'm no big fan of driving games, but Criterion's latest is impossible to resist.  A huge, shiny mass of twisted metal and nitrous oxide, this is by far the best of the open-world racers, blending a hugley impressive city full of backstreets, junctions and improbable jumps with Burnout's trademark smash and crash racing.  Seamless online integration completed an excellent package, and generous downloadable content expanded the appeal and rightfully kept the game in the public eye.

5- No More Heroes

This could go 5 places either way and it would still polarise opinion.  There'll always be those who say that the abundant technical errors, grainy graphics and poorly realised open world break the immersion, and the repeated and repititive jobs and missions are simply no fun.  They'd probably be right.  There are also those who would proclaim that the outstanding characters, super sharp dialogue and irrepressible sense of style are enough to carry the game.  They're also right, since this is a game of deep flaws which you choose to ignore.  And if you can, there's a funny and clever experience like no other in here.  For better or worse, Suda51 at the height of his powers.

4 - Braid

The arguments that it is pretentious, that it is over-wordy and that it is deliberately and frustratingly impenetrable all hold true.  But it is so unlike anything else, and holds your attention and your interest far beyond its much talked about ending.  Beautiful and mechanically clever and deep, it deserves its much heralded status as the gem in a year of superb downloadable titles.

3 - Gears of War 2

I loathed the first GOW, so the fact that this ended up this high is a testament to its high quality.  Taking the stop-and-pop gameplay of the original, every single aspect is then scaled up to produce a gargantuan epic the scale of which has barely ever been seen in videogames.  Like the world's most expensive B-movie, giant worms, risible dialogue and some sledgehammer storytelling combine with endless spectacle to produce a rollercoaster ride of a game.  As far as third-person shooters go, this is the biggest, dumbest and best of them all.

2 - Prince of Persia

In any other year this would have won.  A game of endless polish and innovation, its revamped parkour makes it flow like no other platformer, while the new combat system suits well, neatly splitting the two parts of the game.  The much vaunted 'no death' mechanic slots in so well you'll wonder why it isn't in every game, and the plot reboot produces a pair of very different and but very likeable new protagonists, while the plot they're dropped into is clever and ambitious.  Add to that the fact that it's possibly the most beautiful videogame ever made, its fantastic environments and painterly backdrops creating a world of unparalleled visual glory, and you have a game that will go down as an instant classic.  The best game of the year.  Almost.

1 - Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots

Some would argue this isn't even a game.  They're wrong.  But they may have a point in the sense that it isn't the game parts of this experience that make it so special.  The revamped combat, the enhanced weapon loadout, the revamped controls, the repositioned camera, these all help, and they bump the purely game parts of it up to a very high standard indeed.  But really, it's the chance to immerse yourself in Kojima's world one last time, to see his beloved cast end their adventure together.  Long, pretentious and unwieldy, it is also a game of deep sorrow, a sad and tired game almost unique amongst all the games ever made.  Supplemented by astonishing production values, including amazing graphics, superb voices and outstanding music, this is less of a game, more of an experience.  And as experiences go, it is unmatched.