So this week I have been able to play a few different games, and here's what I thought.
CoD Black Ops:
This is ok, it is decent fare but really nothing special. The story is probably the best yet, but then doing a better story than previous CoD games is like doing better than Silvio Berlusconi in an anti sleaze contest, anyone can do it. The gameplay works by and large, but the missions can be pretty tedious, a constant grind checkpoint to checkpoint, and is also significantly harder than Modern Warfare 1 or 2. It has one glaring fault, and that is auto failing you for utterly ridiculous things you couldn't have guessed, forcing you to replay sections until you win through trial and error, which kills off any possible cinematic moment. For example there are a number of sections where you must flee for your life, from police or an avalanche, yet you can only run for a few seconds, which leaves you stumbling along after your AI allies like an obese asthmatic, alternating every few seconds between running and walking. At one point I failed a mission for not staying with my team when I was stood literally right beside them, another section where you are guiding people on the ground from a high altitude blackbird saw me fail because I didn't press a button to make my allies on the ground hide when enemies approached. Now I would have thought that special forces operatives on a stealth mission would know to hide when there were enemies around, especially when your character actually tells them to hide. But you have to press a button to make it happen, making you feel like you are controlling a group of rather stupid robots. Other stupid game moments include automatically swapping your equipped weapon for a knife so you can silently kill some guards, even though you carry a knife at all times on top of all your other weapons. It is an ok game, but frustration and bad design decisions so far have prevented it becoming anything special. Like Modern Warfare 2 it is a very clear example of a game focusing almost exclusively on multiplayer, and handing you a basic, incomplete single player mode. It is rather a shame that CoD has gone this way, given that people raved about the single player campaigns of the first few games, and their large set pieces. Now the single player has become generic and stupid, tacked on in favour of a multiplayer game. Maybe it is time for CoD to abandon the single player pretence and focus on releasing multiplayer only titles.
Trials HD Thrills pack:
Trials HD is one of the best arcade games you can get, and if you don't have it yet, pick it up ASAP, you wont be disappointed. Part racer, part physics puzzle, it is one of those games that frustrates you in a way that leaves you determined to keep going and beat just this one more level, sucking up hours of your time. It is fun, amazingly well made, and with the second dlc out now, has a huge number of levels to tax your brain and reflexes, absolute arcade gold.
Vanquish
I said last week this is probably going to be my absolute favourite shooter. This week I have to say, yes, yes it is. Very very strong contender for game of the year, this shooter is the perfect bridge between careful cover use and hectic gunplay. It is one of those titles whose simplicity belies its' depth and is a great blend of gritty shooter and arcade action, giving you a score for each level, statues to find and shoot, and some genuinely varied weaponry, it is a game you can keep coming back to. I have tried the first unlockable challenge facing off against waves of enemies, and it gets very hard very fast, but just like Trials HD, it is frustrating in that great 'one more go' way. The graphical style is beautiful, the characters are interesting, and the story is very solid. There is enough plot to make you want to know what is going on, and how things will turn out, without it getting in the way of you sliding around very fast shooting robots in their big sensor-y faces.
Assassin's Creed 2:
I completed this game shortly after it came out, and traded it in for something else, as my lack of regular employment has lead to me sacrificing games in order to keep up to date. But I had a gift card to spend so I picked it up again second hand to have another run through prior to hopefully getting Brotherhood for Christmas. It is a great game, and stands up well to replaying. Even with other new games unfinished, I have found myself playing this quite a bit again, meandering round the various locations and assassinating random guards for the hell of it. Also, punching minstrels in the face never gets old.
Mass Effect 2:
Another game I completed this summer, I returned to space to player Lair of the Shadow Broker. I am on my second play through of mass effect 2, using the same character, putting me at a tasty level 30. The game is so big that you can play it through a few times without getting bored.In ME1 I romanced Liara, because there is nothing better in life than a hot blue alien space lesbian, and in ME2 I stayed true to that relationship, leading to a scene near the end with Shepherd alone in her room staring forlornly at Liara's photo. As such I was looking forward to getting her back in the team and resuming that relationship. The dlc is great stuff, plenty of content, some wonderful banter between Shepherd and Liara, a variety of missions, and more space sex. I was slightly disappointed that liara doesn't become a permanent squad member, but all in all I thoroughly enjoyed it.
So then, there are my views, what have you all been playing? Getting anything for Christmas?
CoD Black Ops:
This is ok, it is decent fare but really nothing special. The story is probably the best yet, but then doing a better story than previous CoD games is like doing better than Silvio Berlusconi in an anti sleaze contest, anyone can do it. The gameplay works by and large, but the missions can be pretty tedious, a constant grind checkpoint to checkpoint, and is also significantly harder than Modern Warfare 1 or 2. It has one glaring fault, and that is auto failing you for utterly ridiculous things you couldn't have guessed, forcing you to replay sections until you win through trial and error, which kills off any possible cinematic moment. For example there are a number of sections where you must flee for your life, from police or an avalanche, yet you can only run for a few seconds, which leaves you stumbling along after your AI allies like an obese asthmatic, alternating every few seconds between running and walking. At one point I failed a mission for not staying with my team when I was stood literally right beside them, another section where you are guiding people on the ground from a high altitude blackbird saw me fail because I didn't press a button to make my allies on the ground hide when enemies approached. Now I would have thought that special forces operatives on a stealth mission would know to hide when there were enemies around, especially when your character actually tells them to hide. But you have to press a button to make it happen, making you feel like you are controlling a group of rather stupid robots. Other stupid game moments include automatically swapping your equipped weapon for a knife so you can silently kill some guards, even though you carry a knife at all times on top of all your other weapons. It is an ok game, but frustration and bad design decisions so far have prevented it becoming anything special. Like Modern Warfare 2 it is a very clear example of a game focusing almost exclusively on multiplayer, and handing you a basic, incomplete single player mode. It is rather a shame that CoD has gone this way, given that people raved about the single player campaigns of the first few games, and their large set pieces. Now the single player has become generic and stupid, tacked on in favour of a multiplayer game. Maybe it is time for CoD to abandon the single player pretence and focus on releasing multiplayer only titles.
- what is it with FPS' and crossbows on snow levels? not even very practical in that type of weather
Trials HD Thrills pack:
Trials HD is one of the best arcade games you can get, and if you don't have it yet, pick it up ASAP, you wont be disappointed. Part racer, part physics puzzle, it is one of those games that frustrates you in a way that leaves you determined to keep going and beat just this one more level, sucking up hours of your time. It is fun, amazingly well made, and with the second dlc out now, has a huge number of levels to tax your brain and reflexes, absolute arcade gold.
Vanquish
I said last week this is probably going to be my absolute favourite shooter. This week I have to say, yes, yes it is. Very very strong contender for game of the year, this shooter is the perfect bridge between careful cover use and hectic gunplay. It is one of those titles whose simplicity belies its' depth and is a great blend of gritty shooter and arcade action, giving you a score for each level, statues to find and shoot, and some genuinely varied weaponry, it is a game you can keep coming back to. I have tried the first unlockable challenge facing off against waves of enemies, and it gets very hard very fast, but just like Trials HD, it is frustrating in that great 'one more go' way. The graphical style is beautiful, the characters are interesting, and the story is very solid. There is enough plot to make you want to know what is going on, and how things will turn out, without it getting in the way of you sliding around very fast shooting robots in their big sensor-y faces.
Assassin's Creed 2:
I completed this game shortly after it came out, and traded it in for something else, as my lack of regular employment has lead to me sacrificing games in order to keep up to date. But I had a gift card to spend so I picked it up again second hand to have another run through prior to hopefully getting Brotherhood for Christmas. It is a great game, and stands up well to replaying. Even with other new games unfinished, I have found myself playing this quite a bit again, meandering round the various locations and assassinating random guards for the hell of it. Also, punching minstrels in the face never gets old.
- "so I killed this one dude, and he was like this big! honestly!"
Mass Effect 2:
Another game I completed this summer, I returned to space to player Lair of the Shadow Broker. I am on my second play through of mass effect 2, using the same character, putting me at a tasty level 30. The game is so big that you can play it through a few times without getting bored.In ME1 I romanced Liara, because there is nothing better in life than a hot blue alien space lesbian, and in ME2 I stayed true to that relationship, leading to a scene near the end with Shepherd alone in her room staring forlornly at Liara's photo. As such I was looking forward to getting her back in the team and resuming that relationship. The dlc is great stuff, plenty of content, some wonderful banter between Shepherd and Liara, a variety of missions, and more space sex. I was slightly disappointed that liara doesn't become a permanent squad member, but all in all I thoroughly enjoyed it.
So then, there are my views, what have you all been playing? Getting anything for Christmas?
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