A Bright New Beginning

Nothing says arrogance like someone telling you what to think. When it's some random nobody at the other end of a web site it's even worse so, just for you cos you're lovely, here's the beginning of my new regular feature:

 

Oh Yeah! Comes with a sexy banner too!
Ok, so first up is Books. Books are good and without the following 10 you're life is missing a level of fulfillment that will allow hipsters to laugh at you. Armed with these 10 books and the eye-strain that will come from reading them you'll be a better person. So, in no particular order:

1. 1984 by George Orwell
Seriously, everyone should read 1984 by the time they're 18. It should be on the curriculum at school if only so you actually know where Big Brother came from before it was a TV show and you understand what doublespeak is. Besides being the source of many a song lyric or buzz phrase it's a good story too about forbidden love and betrayal. In fact if you haven't read it yet go and buy a copy NOW!

2. Haunted by Chuck Palahniuk
Better known for Fight Club, Chuck Palahniuk is a masterful author with a depraved imagination. Haunted is the most twisted, depraved and corrupting novel I've ever experienced. This is not a book for anyone under the age of 18. Telling the tale of a group of writers and telling the stories they write under extreme circumstances Haunted pushes the boundaries of what's acceptable to breaking point. A point the author references himself in the afterword. No other media could tell this story and for that reason alone Haunted makes the list.

3. A Philosophical Investigation by Philip Kerr
Set in the near future and telling the story of a serial killer who kills other potential serial killers based on a test which shows an abnormality in the brains of all people capable of serial murder. Told from the point of view of the anti hero and the detective pursuing him it's a gripping thriller which calls into question the fundamental beliefs of right and wrong.

4. Night Watch by Sergey Lukyanenko
Forget the film and read Night Watch. The epic struggle between light and dark has reached a stalemate and is held in a fragile truce by the Night Watch, forces for the light who police the night, and the Day Watch, forces for the dark who police the day. As ever in these situation events conspire to disrupt the balance and as this trilogy begins (followed by Day Watch and Twilight Watch) we are introduced to the players in this epic saga and watch as the delicate balance begins to crumble. It's not the most accessible universe to get into even before the idiosyncrasies of Russian life become factors but it's well worth the effort.

5. World War Z by Max Brooks
10 years after the Zombie War, a cataclysmic struggle between man and the undead of course, Max Brooks travels the world to compile an oral history from those that were there. The book reads like fact and tells the stories of many individuals chronicling the war from the earliest outbreak to the final days. It's been 4 years since I read WWZ but I still well up every-time I think back to some of the tales of survival. There is a movie in the works, but 1) don't hold your breath it was meant to be out this year but is taking much longer to come to life and 2) it cannot do justice to the book as there's just too much to cover. There's love, horror, comedy, tragedy and more. There is something for everyone here but if you're a fan of zombies you'll be in heaven.

6. Tricks Of The Mind by Derren Brown
Whether you're a fan of Derren Brown or not this book will have something to interest you. It's a mix of autobiography and instructional manual telling both how he came to be a mentalist, mind reading, devil spawn (ok, that's a bit extreme) and how you too can sell you soul for mind powers! (again not true). It's a good read and will no doubt encourage you to set up a memory mansion and start trying to count cards.

7. Born On A Blue Day by Daniel Tammet
An autobiography by a high-functioning autistic savant may not sound like a great read but I promise you won't be able to put it down. Few things are more inspiring or life affirming than seeing a person overcome adversity, especially when that person is just a nice guy like Tammet.

8. A Long Way Down by Nick Hornby
If you've seen any of the film adaptations or read any of his other novels then you'll know Nick Hornby's style. A Long Way Down tells the story of 4 strangers with nothing in common except the fact they all meet on the same rooftop one new years eve ready intending to kill themselves. As their immensely personal plans are disrupted by their meeting they band together to try and get through their problems one day at a time. Told from the perspective of the for main characters some events are seen several times and in several ways each with the humanity and humour you'd expect from Hornby.

9. The Bible
Regardless of your religious beliefs or lack there of the bible makes for a fascinating read. More than any other written work this book has influenced life in the world today, especially here in the uk, so you really should at least dip into it to see why. If you regard it as pure fiction the bible tells one hell of a story or two and will arm you with all the tools you need for a theological argument down the pub.

10. The Holy Blood And The Holy Grail by Michael Baigent, Richard Liegh and Henry Lincoln
By now most of us have read or seen The Da Vinci Code. The pivotal plot point in that tale is the assertion that Jesus, yup the star of The Bible, didn't die on the cross and in fact had a family and blood line that lives on to this very day. This is the book where Dan Brown got his idea, although definitely not in a plagiarism way - more a copy bits of a book no-one remembers and hope no-one notices kinda way. The authors work back from the present day to the time of Jesus exploring the very real possibilities of "what if?" It's an intriguing read that will shed light on Medieval Europe, The Knights Templar, The Vatican and the heresies that could be closer to the teachings of Jesus than Catholicism.

Cheers,
R.

Side One, Track One

Praise be to Sweet Zombie Jeebus! Thank Godaroo! After a week of being unable to form this article I've had a "Eureka!" moment. Unlike Archimedes I wasn't in the bath, (nor was I changing the world with my discovery but hey) I was playing some riffs on my guitar and started playing Sleepflower by Manic Street Preachers. It's the opening track to their second album, Gold Against The Soul, and begins with a lone guitar playing and infectious riff that sets the theme for the track. After a couple of repetitions it's joined by the bass playing the same and Sean Moore's typical tub thumping and the track comes to life. As an album opener it is one of my favourites as it never fails to get the volume cranked up and my head bobbing. As with most tracks on this list it's not the best by the band but it is a great example of the phenomenon that is the "side one, track one."

All albums need to start somewhere, somehow and the choice of first track sometimes be the difference between an album's residency on your ipod and being confined to the back of the cupboard with cassette singles from the '90's. As with all music there's no rules. Some great first track begin with a bang, some whimper into life, some just start and some don't exist at all. Before I continue I want to share some notable exceptions to the rule, great album, shit opener. Frankly anything that labels Track 1 "Intro" falls into this category just for being pointless (eg. Limp Bizkit - Significant Other) to feeling like it was cut from a track to create a single (Muse - Absolution). An "Intro" track just means none of the real songs on your album have enough impact to grab attention or that you're more worried about the singles than the album as a whole. The other type of exception is when a fully fledged opening track just doesn't cut the mustard. Finelines by My Vitriol is an amazing album but is begins with an instrumental track which builds into first track proper, Always: Your Way, (Smashing Pumpkins's Meloncholy And The Infinite Sadness does the same) and as such stunts the appeal of that track. In both examples the first track is very good and enjoyable but only really works in context and as such cannot be considered for this list.

So to the list. I have chosen 10 notable examples of what I consider to be great album openers. There are better tracks out there by these artists but as the first track to the album they grace the grab your attention, set the mood and give you a taste of what to expect. So fire up your music source of choice, find these tracks and enjoy:

1. "Awakening" by The Reasoning from Awakening
The album is a modern prog rock odyssey and this opener sets you up brilliantly. Initially sounding like an extract from Tubular Bells you'll have to wait 20 seconds or so before the over-driven guitars and melodic riffing begins. About 1 minute in the vocals start and you'll begin to see where this is going. Clocking in at 6:49 it's quite and opening statement for any album let alone a debut but as it weaves it's way through various styles it won't disappoint. At 4:22 we're treated to a true welsh rock solo which could easily belong to our next band....
2. "Sleepflower" by Manic Street Preachers from Gold Against The Soul
As I said before this is the track that switched on the light-bulb for this article. If the opening riff isn't enough to hook you then James Dean Bradfield in full rock mode will. It's not the most well regarded track from the album, over shadowed by La Tristesse Durera (Scream to a Sigh), but it is a worthy opener containing as it does all the elements of the album to come and seamlessly setting up single From Despair To Where.
3. "Everyone's At It" by Lily Allen from It's Not Me, It's You
Ms Allen's thoughts on drug abuse open her second album and does so in style. Splashy cymbals and a constant kick drum on 8th beats fade in with rising sirens and a simple vocal melody that promises something special. If you know Lily Allen's work then you'll not be surprised by the rest of the track which stands up strongly against the three singles the follow.
4. "Showdown" by Pendulum from In Silico
The third opener from a difficult sophomore album in this case begins with the same splashy cymbals and driving kicks of the last track but with Rob Swire's vocal from the off. As it builds, layer by layer, a solid drum and bass influenced rocker emerges and sets up what proved to be a divisive album for fans. Regardless of what your opinion is Showdown makes this list for it's no nonsense approach that just gets things rolling.
5. "Pornography For Cowards" by Million Dead from A Song To Ruin
Who needs intros? For a their debut album Million Dead simple play the blister riff from the opener twice and scream. In less than 10 seconds you'll be rushing as if down the first big hill on a rattling, old roller-coaster...in and earthquake...headed straight to hell. And what a roller-coaster it is. At 30 seconds you're soring towards daylight again, 1:00 and you're rushing around corners build speed before the beginning of the end at 1:27 as you hurtle inevitably towards a wall. It's a musical rush that blows away the cobwebs and encourages you to "gird up your loins" ready for what follows.
6. "Needled 24/7" by Children Of Bodom from Hate Crew Deathroll
As with all power metal there's a lot going on from the opening chord stabs and any song the offers a solo within 20 seconds is a winner in my book, but what qualifies this for my list is it's accessibility. Children Of Bodom are hardly the most listener friendly of bands but the opener for their forth album is a catchy tour de force which will encourage you to dance along in a similar way to the best Dragonforce tracks. Not bad going for a band named after a triple murder from 1960.
7. "You Held the World In Your Arms" by Idlewild from The Remote Part
When your first track on the album is going to be a single and contains anthemic guitars, strings, driving drums and drunken shout along lyrics then you don't need an intro. A simple snare hit prepares you for the opening riff which hits full force and starts an album made by a band at the height of their powers. Three of the album's four singles are the first three tracks and this punchy start gives you everything you need except a chance to adjust the volume.
8. "Torn" by Creed from My Own Prison
When beginning an introspective album such as this bombast isn't necessarily right. There's no need to raise the pulse or get people dancing and the opening arpeggios of "Torn" do precisely the opposite. Scott Stapp's mournful vocals cut through beautifully as the track gets going and the grungy guitars reassure you that there's rock to come. By the time the track strips back to those arpeggios for the outro you'll be in no doubt what you are listening to and probably be nestled into a comfy chair clutching your favourite teddy.
9. "Did You Miss Me?" by The Cooper Temple Clause from See This Through And Leave
If you could capture the sound of my tinnitus it would be something close to the high note that rings through the first 2 minutes of this schizophrenic, electronic, noisy bastard of a track. It's got a face only a mother can love and will leave you feeling uncomfortable and slightly shaken before you realise it's actually a friend for life if only you can get past the hideousness of it all.
10. "Invaders Must Die" by The Prodigy from Invaders Must Die
If you're going to start an album with the title track it had better be a doozy. If you are a band going back to your roots it's doubly important. A simple bass riff fades in and after 49 seconds it hits. All the classic elements are there and any apprehension fades away as the music brings you up almost as much as the drugs (that you are most definitely not on!)

There you have it, 10 great tracks that begin varying quality albums that range from good to amazing. Have a listen and see what you think.
Cheers,
R.

Sniper: Ghost Warrior Xbox 360 Review

As promised I am going to review Sniper: Ghost Warrior properly now I've had a chance to complete it. In thinking about this review, and more specifically the fact I'm writing it on my mobile, I've realised that objective opinion and personal experience can mean 2 very different things to the same person. For example, I recently changed a Nokia 5800 for a Sony Ericsson Vivaz (U5). A well known website that reviews phones rates the Nokia more highly and a detailed review they have of the Vivaz nit picked enough details to knock down the score. The morning after I read the review my new Vivaz arrived and I couldn't have been more shocked to find the phone in the box was, in my experience, much more lovely than the 5800 I was stuffing into a bag for 'cash my mobile'. All the fears the review had triggered in my choice melted away within minutes as the apparent exaggerations of the Vivaz's reviewer were proven to not bother me in the slightest. If you hadn't guessed where this is going here's the game review:

Ever since Metal Gear Solid first gave me a taste of what being a sniper in a game could be like I've been itching for a game dedicated to lying in the dirt for extended periods, staring down the scope of a high powered rifle. So imagine my delight when a trailer sneaked into my consciousness for Sniper: Ghost Warrior, a game based primarily on accurate sniping mechanics! Now, I've seen Enemy At The Gates and watched enough Discovery Channel to know that a sniper does not run around like Rambo trying to save the world single handedly and I've played enough games in my time to know there's often another approach. Knowing that, I started playing the game cautiously and stealthily and I found it very difficult. Not because it's broken or hampered by poor AI but because, and this is a real shocker, I was being a crap sniper. S:GW doesn't hold your hand for a second longer than the patronisingly easy tutorial which casts you as trainer rather than a recruit and lasts only about 5 minutes of the 12 hour game. From the first minutes of your first mission you have to be aware of everything around you, constantly checking that twitch in the far distant to make sure it isn't an enemy guard, constantly being careful not to stick your feet out for passing guards to see or to reload too close to one and give yourself up with the noise. The production values of S:GW prevent it from being the best looking game on the market but the Chrome Engine 4 does an admirable job of creating a lush tropical environment that looks like Uncharted: Drake's Fortune meets Far Cry squeezed into slightly angular boxes. For the most part the graphics, which never become immersive enough to draw you in fully, are completely acceptable for a low budget game of this generation. The big let down comes on the few occasions you get close enough to an enemy to see they're more akin to Action Man than any believable life-form. Other than that a few niggles with overly shiny rain effects and the odd rock that you pass right through give the look an arcade style shooter as opposed to the gritty realism attempted by some AAA FPS's.

 
The controls will be instantly familiar to any FPS fan with 'looking down the sights' mapped to LT and 'Fire!' mapped to RT. All the other usual jump, crouch, melee controls are there too but they're joined by 'hold your breath' which is just an LS click away. That's a good thing too, not only because it free up your right hand to concentrate on the dirty stuff but because you will need to hold you breath, a lot. S:GW's USP, if it has one, is the sniping mechanics that make up the vast majority of the gun-play in the game. As you look through the scope of whichever high-powered rifle you're equipped with at the time you'll notice the cross-hairs rise and fall in time to you character's breathing (It's worth a side note here that you play as several different characters a la COD which I why I've not referred to him by name). At the same time you'll be lining up your shot and adjusting for wind speed, bullet drop and sometimes rain, although in easy and normal modes the game helps this with a dot that shows where you bullet is likely to end up. It all makes for some challenging and often exhilarating shooting as you lie in wait for a shot knowing you have only seconds, if that, to perfect your shot and move on undetected. So you'll hold your breath. AND press LS in so you character does the same, his breathing stops and the sights steady, the target comes into view and RT. Head-shot! Yeah! To make those perfect moments better City Interactive saw fit to include a bullet time, slow motion barrel to brains reply for some head-shots. It's often a welcome moment and can be very useful too as you get a close up of an area up to 300 metres away. Unfortunately this moment is sometimes spoilt by jerky animations but at their worst it looks like a deliberate attempt at a stutter effect and never froze or broke the game during my play through.

 
The story is generic war game fodder with an evil 'Regime' becoming a threat and us good guys having to go and save the day. This is delivered by game engine cut scenes, between mission narrative (over loading screens to prevent boredom) and through cinematic set pieces which range from defending yourself with a heavy machine gun as wave upon wave of enemy troops try to cut you down to making a mad dash amid hostile fire to reach your pick up and safety. These changes of pace are a welcome break from the intense paranoia of the stealthy sniping but could have been fleshed out to make a more compelling game. One such example of a great idea not fully realised is a section where you and your team are heading up a river in a small boat and you are charged with picking off as many of the enemy guards as you can while the rest of your team clear up the stragglers. It's a nice change of pace but it's all over too soon. Other section of the story are played from both the sniper's and the ground troops point of view and you'll alternate between cover fire from a vantage point and run and gun action with an assault rifle. These sections are solid enough but don't expect AAA shooting. The core or this game is in the sniping and the more in-your-face elements, while solid, are average at best.

In the end what you get with S:GW is 12 hours of fun if what you like in a game is hard as nails, balls to the wall shooting and you don't mind what it looks like. I loved every cursed, infuriating minute of it. While I may have turned the air blue as I repeated a section for the twentieth time I always knew that, firstly I would restart within 5 seconds - very important and secondly, I had failed because I'd done something wrong and could do better this time. I saw none of the alleged glitches other critics have talked about and I ultimate discovered the 'super visioned guard that could see me through a bush at one hundred yards' actually always had a friend six feet away from me staring at my feet as the poked out of cover.

Sniper:Ghost Warrior never was a AAA title and if you have to save your pocket money or only get to buy one game a month thanks to a filthy drug habit the rent it or borrow a friend's copy. My copy was a birthday present so I've invested £0 and definitely got my money's worth. More importantly though I don't think my Mum was ripped off either.

Cold Hard Critical Score: 6/10
My Opinion / Enjoyment score: 7/10

cheers,
R.

Ps. I did tell my Mum to buy the game so this isn't a glorified thank you note.

The images used in this review were download from www.sniperghostwarrior.com/  as part of a screenshots downlaod pack

Sniper: Ghost Warrior Rolling Review

As you may know I normally don't offer any form of review on a game I'm playing until I've finished it. That way I have plenty of time to form my opinions and review the game as a whole. Today I'm breaking that mold in response to Eurogamer's review of Sniper: Ghost Warrior on Xbox360. They gave it 2/10. Atrocious according to their scoring policy. Well I'm not sure they played the same game I am.
Now S:GW is by no means a AAA title City Interactive aren't a massive developer with massive budgets and any gamer who hasn't come to own the game through gifting or blind chance will know that the game they are buying will not be perfect. That said S:GW does deliver on it's most important feature. Yup you guessed it: sniping. More importantly sniping with all those real extras that most games leave out, such as wind and rain effecting the bullet's flight, bullet drop, heart rate and breathing. Run to cover and stand while trying to aim and your character will heave and pant and wave the barrel of his rifle around like a raver with a glow stick. But if you sneak and crawl on your belly to a good vantage point and hold your breath (by pressing LS) and you'll get a nice steady shot. If you are good enough to put that shot into your enemies head you'll be rewarded with a slow mo replay of the flight of your shot from barrel to brains for your trouble.
Graphically S:GW is clearly not up to the standards of the like of COD or GearsOW2 (GOW could be God of War or Gears) but I haven't felt they hindered gameplay. The environments are as believable and immersive as those of Far Cry Instincts: Predator and are somewhat reminiscent of them too. The weapons available all feel more believable than any Halo has to offer but do lack the punch of those in COD. The sound is fine, the voice acting is ok although limited to repeating the same few phrase for the most part and the controls are instantly familiar to anyone who's played Borderlands. So far there's nothing broken or atrocious anywhere to be found.
So long as you treat the game correctly, that's as a stealth sniping game where you're not meant to run and gun like John Rambo in a deathmatch, it will treat you to some glorious head bursting fun. If you want to play Halo or COD, play Halo or COD. I'll continue my analysis and give a full review as I go but my advice would be if you like sniping and can pick it up for £20 or less you'll have fun. I doubt S:GW will change your life but who cares? It's a game, it's enjoyable and it's ok.
Based on what I've seen 6/10.
cheers,
R.

For fairness Eurogamer's review is here.

Batman: Arkham Asylum - Ps3 review

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

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