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Review: Transformers: War for Cybertron
Has it got the touch and the power or is it more offensive than Mudflap and Skids?
Format: XBox 360, PS3, PC (Other versions available on Wii and Nintendo DS)
Release: Out Now
Players: 1, 2-3 Co-op (2-4 Escalation mode), 2-10 online multiplayer
Developer: High Moon Studios
Publisher(s): Activision
Forget Micky “Explosion” Bay and his complicated movie designs. Forget Armada, Energon and Cybertron with their annoying kids and Mini-bots, although that Armada game was amazing. Transformers: War for Cybertron begins before the beloved robots crashed on earth in the Generation One era. The story, which owes a lot of its look and feel to the War Within comic series from Dreamwave Comics, shows Megatron’s rise to power over the planet Cybertron before a brave Autobot, named Optimus, decides to fight back for his home planet’s survival.
This is the beginning of what the fans have been asking for. Generation One based games have been made before, but usually with horrendous results. The only exception to the rule being G1: Awakening, which was released on mobile devices. War for Cybertron is the first real, genuine attempt to establish Transformers as a long running, high quality video game series. The good news is, that it is a good start. Not perfect, but it is good with plenty of promise for the future.
It owes a lot of its gameplay, ideas and structure to existing and well-established games such as Halo, Gears of War and Call of Duty. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing though as it gives the game a base to build from. The first outing for this new series is hit and miss in its execution. First and foremost it is an all-out shooting game. Small gaps between fire fights allow you to replenish your ammo and health while giving the characters a chance to advance the story and show off their personality. Occasionally you will be required to flick a switch to open door or trigger an event to open the next section of a level. It’s pretty brainless.
Split over two linking single player campaigns, you play as both Decepticon and Autobot. Some of the biggest and most loved characters are available, including Megatron, Soundwave and Starscream for the ‘cons while Optimus, Bumblebee, Ironhide, Jetfire and Ratchet are present for the Autobots. For each level you play as one of three characters, while the other two members of the team can be controlled by computer or fellow human players. That’s the co-operative play box ticked.
While the story works and is a decent chapter in Transformers lore, the campaign is short and a little lazy in terms of its structure. The Autobot and Decepticon campaigns are essentially the same; three ground-based shooting levels across Cybertron, one flight level and a huge boss fight ending the campaign for both forces. The good news is that levels haven’t simply been rehashed and reused for each campaign. Each level is completely different from the previous, but throughout you will find a very generic crop of enemies moving from machine gun wielding grunts, through missile firing bots, snipers, stealth bots before having to deal with bigger, tougher enemies who’s attacks cause more damage. There are a couple of boss fights throughout both campaigns, the most notable being the fight with Soundwave, who uses the minions he ejects from his chest to fight you. There are a number of excellent little nods to the series’ of old.
Graphically this game is purple… and red. You will see those two colours alot throughout the game. The character models are dark in colour, gritty, detailed and war torn. The levels are the same. It’s hard to complain about how Cybertron looks given that it is a planet made entirely of metal. Any version of the planet that was ever shown had this appearance no matter the continuity. This is true for the game too, but that is what we wanted and also what we expected. We finally get to explore the famed robot planet. I can’t help looking forward to a game in this series that is set on earth and expands what has been developed so far. I feel that this will add a greater range of level design to the game.
The multiplayer aspect of War for Cybertron apes its influences offering a co-op option for the game’s story mode and a Horde-like mode named, Escalation, in which players must stave off wave after wave of enemies. The multiplayer vs modes use a leveling up system, much like that seen in Call of Duty, giving players experience for kills which eventually unlock other abillities and perks to use. The standard multiplayer modes have been included in what is a watered down version of better multiplayer games. It is still enjoyable and solid in what it does. It could be seen, again, as laying ground-work for future games.
The worst element of War for Cybertron is the lack of originality. The ability to transform is the one thing that isn’t available anywhere else. The range of character classes is generic, covering medics, leaders, scouts and soldiers, but the characters that are on offer are instantly familiar. The license will sell this game more than anything else. Characters have special abilities such as placing a gun turret, providing a shield or using a special melee attack etc. This is an area which I feel could do with improving. You could easily get by in this game without making use of the abilities at all. Another area in which this game needs improving is hand-to-hand combat. One melee attack isn’t enough. We have seen these robots scrap it out with their crunching, metal fists as often as we have witnessed them in fire fights. These are small improvement for the future games that could really see this series take off.
If you have any love for Transformers, you will get goose-bumps everytime you hear Peter Cullens famed Optimus voice bellowing out to his comrades. You will love playing as these characters while transforming, driving, flying and fighting through Cybertron. War for Cybertron is a solid, if unoriginal shooter, and I feel that this is the first step in establishing something special. If sequels are made, I hope that the developers expand upon this game, adding more unique elements and really running with ideas that they may not have wanted to risk implementing first time out. As it stands, this is a very enjoyable game which leads to me utter those immortal words, “Autobots. Roll out!”
[rating:4]
Studio Ghibli Game Ni no Kuni – The Another World
Studio Ghibli, the wonderful people behind beautiful Japanese animated films such as, Spirited Away, My Neighbour Totoro and the recently released, Ponyo, have been taking their first major step into the games industry. In collaboration with Level 5, they have been hard at work on, Ni no Kuni (The Another World). Originally a Nintendo DS game, early last week it was announced that the game will also be released on PlayStation 3.
This stunning looking role-playing-game, featuring a cast of bizarre looking creatures and characters, takes place in the world of Ninokuni. This place is a parallel world to that of the main character’s, a young boy named Oliver, in which he will meet alternate versions of people he already knows from his own world.
We have a trailer of both PS3 and Nintendo DS versions of the game for you to lose yourself in and admire. Ni no Kuni is due for release at the end of this year for DS and 2011 for PS3 in Japan with a UK date still to be announced. Fingers crossed.
PS3
NDS
Images courtesy of Kotaku
E3 2010: Sony Press Conference Round-up
After Microsoft had shown Kinect, and Nintendo had shown some strong first-party games alongside a new piece of impressive hardware, all eyes were on Sony. How would PlayStation Move stack-up against it’s controller-less rival? What would Sony do to challenge Nintendo in the handheld market? Would Gran Turismo 5 finally get a release?
For their press conference, Sony bombarded the audience with montages mixed with new, exclusive and third-party games. After a quick show of upcoming games, Sony demonstrated 3D gaming by showing, Killzone 3, in 3D. While Nintendo are bringing 3D to the handheld market, Sony are firmly behind bringing 3D to the home. Killzone 3 is due out in February next year and will contain Move functionality as you zip around on jet-packs and take the fight to the Hellghast.
Sony continued to show their support of 3D by showing a number of games to the audience in 3D. It seems like a fad that will never go away. During this opening, Sony made an announcement, which I personally am a little perplexed by. The Sly Raccoon games are to be released in a high-definition collection. This is the second time that Sony will have done this after the successful re-release of God of War 1 and 2 on a single BluRay.
Last year Sony displayed some pretty fantastic tech demos for the new motion-control peripheral, Move. This year, they demonstrated a number of games in a close-to-complete build to give us a better impression of how well Move works compared to its rivals. The influence of Nintendo’s Wii motion controls has had a big impact on the gaming industry. This method of control has seen both Sony and Microsoft look into this area of motion based gaming in a bid to add something new while also, and more importantly, tightening and redefining the existing control methods for more accurate motion tracking. To really kick-off with Move, Sony demonstrated key titles with the emphasis on ‘precision’. Sorcery, a cross between Fable and Harry Potter, sees you playing a young wizard who must take on the Nightmare Queen.
The new, Tiger Woods 2011, will be Move enabled and is due for release very soon. It happens to feature Northern Ireland’s own Rory McIlroy, who is trying to take Tiger’s space on the front cover. EA have worked hard at trying to make the game feel like you are holding and swinging an actual golf club.
Heroes on the Move (working title) was a surprise game for PS3. Sony have brought various game characters together, including Jak and Daxter, Sly Cooper, Ratchet and Clank for this party game. More details will become available on this game soon.
It may be all well and good for Sony to show off these wonderful new games and prospects that make use of their new technology, but what we all want to know is, how much is it and when will it be out? PlayStation Move will be available from September 15th in U.K. and Europe in three bundles. Prices are still to be confirmed for U.K. and Europe, but there will be 15-20 titles Move enabled games from release.
The PSP may be down in a lot of people’s eyes, but according to Sony, not out. With the PSP GO, Sony attempt to create a device that was closer to the iPhone than the DS with software available via download only. There were rumours that the PSP 2 would be shown at E3 which would be more powerful than the previous console and include a touch screen as an input device. Sadly, it did not materialize. Sony did reaffirm their support of the PSP by showing some new games including God of War: Ghost of Sparta and EyePet.
Moving back to the PS3, Sony proceeded to show some very strong titles coming from both themselves and third party support. Little Big Planet 2, was shown again, being one of the most highly anticipated future titles for the PS3. The developers have added even more tools for users to create new levels, content and potentially, whole games. A number of these were shown during the media briefing to show just how much control users have been given. The only limit this time is their creativity.
The PlayStation 3′s online service, until now, and still into the future, is free to use. Sony are now looking to make some money from this after the announcement of PlayStation Plus. PS Plus will be a new subscription service which, while costing users money, will offer rewards to subscribers in the form of PSN games, minis, discounts on media and automatic downloads. The pricing structure will be similar to that of XBox Live with yearly and three-month subscriptions available.
Third Party support is something that Sony have heavily relied on and one of their biggest supporters has been, EA. Despite already showing games at their own press conference, they appeared for Sony’s to show off the new Medal of Honor game alongside the excellent looking, space-horror, Dead Space 2.
The biggest shock of Sony’s media briefing came in the form of Gabe Newell from Valve who took the stage and announced that they were bringing Portal 2, to the PS3. Valve had previously said that the PS3 was difficult to develop games for and to date have not released any games for the console. How times change. Valve are now fully behind the PS3 and with Portal 2 being released it could see more games such as Left For Dead and Half-life finally released for Sony’s console.
The third-party support continued by showing another trailer for the massively multiplayer online role-playing-game, Final Fantasy 14, for the second year in a row at E3. This game is now in its second stage of testing, which is due to end soon to allow for the beta-testing to begin soon after. The game is still expected to be released later this year, but time will tell.
Assassins Creed: Brotherhood, had already been shown by Ubisoft, but was shown off yet again during the Sony conference. Following on from Assassins Creed 2, you will once again play as Ezio as he fights the powers of the Templar Order. While there will be a lengthy single-player mode, this game introduces a new multiplayer mode which will allow for players to fight together choosing from a number of assassins each with different abilities. For PS3 players of Assassins Creed Brotherhood, the game will have an exclusive pack of missions only available on the PS3.
To finish their media briefing, Sony focused on some exclusive games. Gran Turismo 5, which has been 90% complete since the PS3 was released apparently, has finally been given a release date. American gamers will be able to get this long awaited racer on November 2nd 2010, while the rest of the world must wait for a release date. A special edition will be available as a reward for our patience. Nice of them, but it will probably cost a fortune.
The sequel to the sandbox superhero game, Infamous and the return of Twisted Metal, a racing game with an emphasis on destroying your opponents with a bizarre cast of characters, ended a strong Sony conference which displayed more games than you can fit in an E3 booth.
First Look: Rock Band 3
USA Today have given us our first look at the latest game in the Rock Band series. Rock Band 3, expands on the series by adding a new instrument to the guitar, drums, bass and microphone that already exist. For the first time in the series you will be able to jam along with your friends to your favourite tunes using a keyboard. A MIDI-compatible 25-key unit will ship with the game when it is released later this year.
A ton of other new features have also been added to the game including the option to have seven people playing at once providing you can fit them all into your living room, the ability for other players to drop in and out of a game mid-song and most notable of all, ‘Pro Mode’. Pro Mode will bring the game playing experience even closer to playing a real musical instrument by using new peripherals which resemble their real life counter parts even more closely. A new guitar peripheral being made for Pro Mode will have buttons on every fret, while drummers will be able to add a 3-cymbal pack to their kit to achieve a more authentic experience.
Review: God of War 3
Format: PS3, Release: Out Now, Players: 1, Developer: Santa Monica Studio,
Publisher(s): Sony Computer Entertainment
images courtesy of IGN
Riding a-top the Titan Gaia (Mother of Earth), stands Kratos, whose story started with him being a captain of the Spartan Army fighting the God of War, Ares, to being shunned by the Greek Gods of Pantheon before being sent to Hades having been struck down by Zeus himself. Now out for vengeance, along with a group of Titans, he climbs Mount Olympus to bring an end to Zeus and the rule of the gods once and for all.
It is an epic opening to the final chapter in the God of War series. Everywhere around you chaos and war erupts as Poseiden, God of the Sea, battles against the Titan’s advance. While clinging to and fighting your way around, over and through Gaia herself, you will be faced with a horse/crab creature created by the god of the sea, before having to fight him face-to-face.
This is the kind of opening sequence we have to come to expect of the series. Grand spectacles against forces not of this world which dwarf Kratos in terms of scale. We all remember the fight against the Hydra on the stormy sea from the first game. Immediately you can see how the series has not only maintained a high level of quality, but advanced it, tightened it up and really pushed the power of the console that it was made for. The smoothness of the animation, the detail and scale of the surrounding environments and character models is an impressive feat. God of War has always excelled in these areas while giving us a very tight combat system and a game that rarely lets up in terms of action.
The fight sequences and indeed the quick-time events that have been a staple-mark of the series return and feel better than ever. As your progress through the game you will gain other weapons to assist you, all of which can be upgraded. The flow of combat has been improved from previous games. Now you can easily switch between each of these weapons during a combo without the need to break or stop the combo. It allows the player to be more creative with how they fight and deal with the various guards of Olympus you are opposed with.
The quick time events are as brutal as ever. In fact, possibly more so. When Poseidon has been bested, Kratos takes it upon himself to completely destroy him with his bare hands, gouging out his eyes as he finishes him off. This is your first display of just how violent and brutal this game really is. As violent as the game is, it does fit well with the war-torn setting of one man’s mission to have his revenge against those who cast him aside. Kratos is raw, powerful and unforgiving. He is ready to leave every adversary without their head… literally. Kratos will spare nobody; even throwing innocents caught up in the chaos from the walls they cling to, leaving them to plummet to their death.
The boss battles of the God of War games have always been a grand spectacle. With the added power of the PlayStation 3, the developers have been able to push things further with these sections of the game. Some fights are just one man tearing at and pummelling another, while other boss fights are a little more creative. The fight against, and on Cronos, is notable for the sheer scale of the character. Cronos towers above Kratos, making him seem microscopic by comparison. You scale Cronos’ body and arms while he scours his skin in search of you. At one point you must attack his finger nail, which dwarfs Kratos, to stop Cronos patting his arm in the hope of ending the Ghost of Sparta’s life. There is such a variety in how each boss is dealt with showing how much thought has been put into each stage of the game to keep it fresh.
As good as the combat and general game mechanics are, I had a few niggling issues. As you level up your weapons, you open up new moves. However, there still remains a smaller selection of attacks compared to similar games such as Devil May Cry, Bayonetta and Ninja Gaiden. I found that for a lot of fights you can spam one attack over and over. You will take damage, but it can be an effective, yet cheap way of defeating small groups of enemies. This does come down to player choice and whether they would want to use a single attack over and over or explore the fight system a little further. God of War can be praised for not over-complicating the fight system. In doing so the developers have made the game more accessible to everyone without the need to memorise long strings of button pushes.
Areas of the game requiring double-jump actions simply failed once too often. There were a number of times I was left frustrated as the double-jump action just would not register. This failing leads to Kratos meeting a clumsy and untimely demise as he plummets down yet another hole. It is a tiny, yet very basic, area of the game that has a problem. He may pummel gods and tear the heads of his enemies, but when it comes to jumping a small gap Kratos is suddenly humbled.
These are just small gripes in an otherwise excellent game. God of War 3, as a game and story, is nicely woven together from start to finish. There is no real level divide which helps with the flow of the story. The game occasionally gives you a wonderfully animated cut-scene which informs you of Kratos’ past and why he is on this one-man mission. These are a joy to watch due to their style and the action involved. They never interfere with the game or feel too long and unnecessary. Every element of the game flows into the next giving it a very cinematic feel. The story is very solid and easy to follow which has been a key factor from the very first game in the series.
You can tell by now that I really enjoyed this game. While the combat doesn’t have the depth of a game like Bayonetta, it features a much stronger and more enjoyable story. Everything looks fantastic, with some amazing boss battles and settings for the different areas of the game. Animation is incredibly smooth too. The game offers up some brief, brain-scratching puzzles and a few flying sections in which you must simply avoid obstacles. The puzzles won’t leave you stumped for too long as the solution is usually pretty clear. These sections offer a nice break from the constant, brutal brawling proving that it isn’t always about fighting. When it is though, God of War is one of the best and most entertaining. Then again, it always has been.
[rating:5.0]
God of War Collection
Format: PS3, Release: Out Now, Players: 1, Developer: Santa Monica Studio,
Publisher(s): Sony Computer Entertainment, Ported by: Bluepoint Games
While I haven’t had a chance to play through the entire God of War collection, I would just like to mention the availability of this product. God of War Collection sees the first two games of the trilogy given a high-definition make-over and released on one disc. It is ideal for people who want to play God of War 3, but missed out the first time round and want to know the full story.
These games were two of the best released on the PlayStation 2, pushing the console to the very limits of what it could do. They both feature an excellent combat system, fantastic story and setting with some of the greatest boss battles seen in gaming. The graphical tweak and increased frame rate is a nice touch and smoothes over the rough edges. The cut-scenes during the game look rough by comparison to the added polish of the main game. The cut-scenes run in their standard definition and haven’t been improved. This doesn’t interfere with the games though which even feel a lot smoother to play than it previously did due to the improved frame-rate.
Originally released as part of the Pandora’s Box edition with God of War 3 through Game, the collection is now available on general release from all gaming retailers. I highly recommend this to collectors or people who want to sit through the whole God of War story from beginning to end. They both play just as good as they did when first released and still manage to put some of today’s games to shame.
[rating:5.0]
Shelf Space – New Video Game Releases – 14.05.10
While there are only five new releases this week, all of them are worthy of your attention. Lost Planet 2, sees an emphasis on co-op in this Capcom third-person shooter. The game is set ten years after it’s predecessor and takes place on the same planet (E.D.N. III). The ice has melted (so you can leave your parka at home) unveiling a jungle that you must venture through as you take on the alien hoard. A variety of characters can be found in the game as customisable characters from other game series. Frank West (Dead Rising), a Monster Hunter fighter, Albert Wesker (Resident Evil) all appear as standard along with Marcus Fenix and Dominic Santiago (Gears of War) on the XBox version, while PS3 owners will get two downloadable Hellghast (Killzone) costumes. Phew!
The Skate series is now on it’s third iteration with Skate 3, and looks set to retain the crown of skateboarding king after the disastrous Tony Hawk: Ride which was released at Christmas. Skate 3 does not come with a skateboard peripheral for you to fall off while playing.
PS3 owners can get their hands the delightful looking 3D Dot Heroes which couldn’t be any more of a Zelda clone if it tried. That can’t be a bad thing though and the game has a nice, three-dimensional, pixelated graphic style and even allows you to create your own hero from scratch as the advert below will show. The advert is a parody of an excellent and amusing Old Spice commercial. Look down…
Now back at me. You aren’t me, but if you were, you would have spent all weekend playing, Alan Wake. This psychological thriller has been in development hell for five years and finally gets a release. The good news is that we will have a review very, very soon.
One game the retro loving folk out there may want to check out, available to download this week, is Rocket Knight Adventures. This reboot is based on an old MegaDrive game, which also had a SNES spin-off, and given the modern day three-dimensional, high-definition shine. Look down. Now back at me. I’m on a horse. Happy gaming.
In Stores Now:
- 3D Dot Game Heroes (PS3)
- Alan Wake (Xbox 360)
- Lost Planet 2 (PC, PS3, Xbox 360)
- Skate 3 (PS3, Xbox 360)
- Tropico 3: Absolute Power (PC)
Online Now:
- AiRace (DSiWare)
- Bit.Trip Runner (WiiWare)
- Brain Drain (DSiWare)
- Catan (PSN)
- Chronos Twins (DSiWare)
- Fire Panic (DSiWare)
- Ghoul Patrol (Wii Virtual Console – SNES)
- Rocket Knight (PSN, Xbox Live Arcade)
- Sudoku Challenge! (DSiWare)
- Things On Wheels (Xbox Live Arcade)
