As I write this its 1:35am on 15/02/2010. About an hour ago I decide to start writing a review of the game that has consumed the vast majority of my free time over the last three weeks. I was full of praise and compliments for the game that has proven to be videogame smack for me and my PS3. The essence of this game is to beat a high score set so high by the game that merely being ok is not enough. Being good is also not good enough and quite frankly being employed, in a relationship or even thinking about other games is sufficient distraction to ensure those target scores mock you from their seemingly impossible lofty position. I was ready to heap praise on the addictive nature of the gameplay, the beautiful graphics and character animation that allow me to pre-empt the games next move in such a way that I appear to have Jedi style precognition. I say I was going to do this an hour ago because as my muscle memory hit retry again after what I promised myself was “just one more go” I remembered something. While I was thinking about how “great” this game is I remembered a conversation I had merely 2 days after buying the game. “A great game,” I said, “has to last me more than 2 days and this didn’t so I can only call it good.” It’s true that the story mode only took me 2 days to clear. Yes, this all consuming high-score fest actually has a story mode, a bloody good one at that. It’s also true that had Xbox not created achievements and PS3 not adopted trophies I may not have stuck with the masochistic task of reaching 100% completion. I beat the game on the hardest setting in a weekend. I watched the end credits role and sat back content with my success after less than 15 hours of play and, still hungry for more, launched the secondary game mode, you know, the one included just to make you feel like the game had reply value even after all the secrets of the story were out in the open. This was a game that I bought cheaply, second hand on a whim because it hadn’t excited me enough when it was first launched and friends who had bought it had been un-able to convince me to part with my cash. If you’re wondering why I haven’t named the game with opium rivalling addictive qualities it’s because I feel slightly embarrassed to have called the game merely “good” in the first place. While I do stand by my assertion that a game must last more than 2 days to be considered “great” I have learnt not to judge a game until I’ve tried every bit. I had fallen foul of the same mistake that the only person I know who owned and yet doesn’t adore Little Big Planet had by simply ignoring a large chunk of the available gameplay; a sinful omission I confess.
The game in question is: Batman Arkham Asylum. The secondary mode in question is, of course, the excellent Challenge Mode. As I said before I would have barely touched this mode were it not for the magpie like obsession I have with the shiny prizes that are PS3 trophies. By the end of my story play through and Riddler Challenge mop up session I had most of them already. Most; not some, not all, just most. To me there’s nothing worse than seeing my trophy list with games that have more than 50% trophies and not 100%. While I’m resigned to the fact I’ll never quite get 100% on everything, finding players online on Worms is like finding rocking horse faeces, I do strive to 100% any game that I enjoyed enough to earn over 50% on. So here I was, having just earned my Party Pooper trophy on Hard before going to beat the final boss in a triumphant flurry of button presses, loading the first challenge. Score 6000 point for one medal, 12000, for 2, 18000 for 3. “Easy” I thought as I pressed x and cracked my knuckles in preparation for yet another triumph. I failed. I scored about 3000 hard fought points and nearly died. Toys well and truly out of the pram and across the room I considered loading a new game on Easy just to mop up these trophies but after talking to a friend who hadn’t been man enough to play on Hard I discovered that Challenge mode is unaffected by the difficulty of Story mode. Back I went with a new respect for the leaders, and in all honesty everyone else, on the leader boards to give it another go. Soon I was able to press start, down, x, up, x quicker than I could think it (that’s the sequence to restart a challenge by the way) and also my scores were improving. I fought hard to achieve 1 medal on all the combat challenges will alternately breezing through the predator challenges, which are far closer to the way I chose to play through the story – by avoiding combat, only to find that I had to achieve all 3 medals on every challenge to earn my Perfect Knight 100% complete. Bugger!
Whatever my reasons for sticking with Challenge mode, sheer determination or unrepentant trophy whoring, I have to say that I would have given up by now were the combat system not so beautifully constructed. Batman has one button for striking, one for QTE counter attacks, one for stunning opponents and 2 specials which can only be triggered once you have achieved a sufficient combo. Add to that the ability to vault over an enemy, daze them with batarangs and drag them towards you Scorpion from Mortal Combat style with the advanced batclaw and on you have a simple to pick up yet fiendishly difficult to master combat system capable of reducing the worst of Arkham’s population to quivering heaps of broken bones and spinning heads. As I played I began to notice when an enemy was about to attack before the flashing indicator appeared above his head I also began to realise that simply surviving the 4 waves in each round was not enough to achieve those lofty targets needed to earn my 3 medals. And so I played on learning to plan my attacks as I went to maximise both my combo and the score it would bring. I can still press start, down, x, up, x quicker than I could think it but now it will be because I’ve lost my combo in round 4 not because I’m dying in Round 2.
My word processor tells me with authority that the above contains 1114 words within which I have barely touched upon the reason you’ll have bought Batman Arkham Asylum in the first place; the story. The game begins with Batman delivering The Joker to Arkham one dark and stormy night (aren’t they always?) only for Joker to promptly escape and.... That’s all I’ll say. Written by veteran Batman writer Paul Dini and including the vocal talents of Kevin Conroy and Mark Hamill reprising their roles as Batman and The Joker among an excellent vocal cast the story is great. Releasing any Batman game after The Dark Knight and Heath Ledger’s iconic turn as the joker was always going to draw comparison and Arkham Asylum performs so well that by the end of the game you’ll be in no doubt that, while Ledger’s Joker is awesome, Hamill’s Joker is a true icon in his own right. Gameplay in the main story is a blend of puzzle solving, stealth and hand to hand brawling which is mixed so thoroughly it never gets stale and while you are always free to roam wherever you please the story compels to forward in your task. Aside from the main story there is a wealth of extras within the main game that help flesh out the experience for hardcore Batman fans and casual Caped Crusaders alike. The Riddler Challenges hidden throughout each area could lead to a nod to key inhabitants of Batman’s universe, often unlocking an accompanying biography too, or and audio diary for one of Arkham’s more infamous prisoners, which help explain the motivations of many central figures in the plot. There are more secrets to be found by hunting down all the Riddler Challenges but I’ll not spoil the fun. It is a pity that, in a game that offers so much originality and depth, that the boss battles do tend too often to be variations on a theme rather than a unique challenge in their own right, but this is a minor let down in an otherwise excellent game. Reading this now you’ll already be aware that there is a sequel coming and frankly I’m glad to admit I’ve gone from being distinctly un-interested to lining up a pre-order as soon as possible. Now if you’ll excuse me I’m still only at 98%, back to battle I go.
9/10
Good –
Gorgeous graphics, excellent story, addictive Challenger mode
Bad –
Samey bosses, Main game not quite long enough
Sunday 4 April 2010
Dante's Inferno - Ps3 review
Let’s get something out of the way from the start. Dante’s Inferno is an adult game. Based loosely on Dante Alighieri’s epic The Devine Comedy the game charts Dante’s journey into hell. So not exactly Viva Piñata then. The imagery in the game is, as you may expect in a depiction of hell, in turns grotesque and disturbing throughout. The first circle, Lust, is full of phallic imagery and culminates in a battle against a naked female demon dispensing mutant babies from her nipples; so, really, not for kids. Why then did Visceral think their adult audience would accept light weight unoriginal gameplay? The gameplay is traditional hack ‘n’ slash platforming fare which requires you to battle through waves of demons and lost souls as you chase after Beatrice, you’re beloved, who has fallen foul of Lucifer’s trickery. There’s nothing here that hasn’t been seen before; Dante’s cobbles together the climbing and rope swinging of Prince of Persia, puzzles and block moving from the simplest parts of Uncharted and combat not a million miles from Beyonetta or Arkham Asylum. The thing is imitating the best bits from some great games loses the originality that helped make those other games great.
The combat requires a balance between physical, spiritual and magic attacks to be most effective and the platforming sections often require some skilled timing in jumps and some lateral thinking in the puzzles but there’s nothing here that will really test the grey matter. As you vanquish the demons of hell and punish or absolve the lost souls you find along the way you earn xp which unlocks further attacks and upgrades and collect souls which act as currency for purchasing said upgrades. This adds some tactical depth to the combat as you can choose which whether to add an extra move or improve your health or magic abilities. Aside from these upgrades you can equip relics that you find along the way which can be changed on the fly and again have tactical advantages depending on the situation. All too often though, you find yourself bashing repeatedly on O (or B on Xbox). Need to open a door? Mash O. Absolving a soul? Mash O. Restoring health or mana, searching for relics, solving puzzles? Mash O! The least they could have done is change the button for some things!
While the gameplay is strictly linear and your viewpoint hampered by a fixed camera the different circles of hell all appear to stretch on forever in vast and unforgiving landscapes. Each circle has its own unique character and is beautifully realised as are the character models and animations. In a way it’s a shame there is so little opportunity to explore or even stop to take a look around but the linear nature if progression through the game only helps keep a sense of urgency in your quest.
In the end Dante’s Inferno is a game that you will take from what you put into it. I found myself enjoying every moment, even the latter half which feels cheap and rushed in comparison to the grandeur of the first circles, because I expected hell and was given nothing less. In looking back I could criticise so much of the game for not being “as good as ...” but in the end the experience was greater than the sum of its parts.
7/10
The combat requires a balance between physical, spiritual and magic attacks to be most effective and the platforming sections often require some skilled timing in jumps and some lateral thinking in the puzzles but there’s nothing here that will really test the grey matter. As you vanquish the demons of hell and punish or absolve the lost souls you find along the way you earn xp which unlocks further attacks and upgrades and collect souls which act as currency for purchasing said upgrades. This adds some tactical depth to the combat as you can choose which whether to add an extra move or improve your health or magic abilities. Aside from these upgrades you can equip relics that you find along the way which can be changed on the fly and again have tactical advantages depending on the situation. All too often though, you find yourself bashing repeatedly on O (or B on Xbox). Need to open a door? Mash O. Absolving a soul? Mash O. Restoring health or mana, searching for relics, solving puzzles? Mash O! The least they could have done is change the button for some things!
While the gameplay is strictly linear and your viewpoint hampered by a fixed camera the different circles of hell all appear to stretch on forever in vast and unforgiving landscapes. Each circle has its own unique character and is beautifully realised as are the character models and animations. In a way it’s a shame there is so little opportunity to explore or even stop to take a look around but the linear nature if progression through the game only helps keep a sense of urgency in your quest.
In the end Dante’s Inferno is a game that you will take from what you put into it. I found myself enjoying every moment, even the latter half which feels cheap and rushed in comparison to the grandeur of the first circles, because I expected hell and was given nothing less. In looking back I could criticise so much of the game for not being “as good as ...” but in the end the experience was greater than the sum of its parts.
7/10
Welcome to Cracking Glass
Greetings traveller! Welcome to my blog. You know how sometimes you find yourself shouting at the TV or wishing everyone could discover that great book or band you know about? Well I've decided to dispense such outpourings here. Topics will range from the serious to the pointless and all that's in between.
cheers,
R.
cheers,
R.
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