Hi all!
This week I managed to play the latest episode in Life is Strange’s great campaign. Being the fourth episode of five, you won’t be surprised to learn that many mysteries are coming to an end, all whilst others are popping up.
If you wanna give the review a read, hit up the link below:
http://www.vgchartz.com/article/260439/life-is-strange-episode-4-dark-room-pc/
Thanks for visiting!
-Dan
Hi all!
So this week I went out of my way and decided to buy the game I raved about when I first set my eyes on it back in March, Beyond Eyes! The game was unfortunately a big disappointment, but if you want to read my thoughts on the game, click below:
http://www.vgchartz.com/article/260380/beyond-eyes-xbox-one/
Hope you’re all well!
-Dan
Hi all!
So this week I managed to get a review copy of Volume, and set about reviewing it over the course of an entire night. It’s a fantastic stealth game that really brings the genre down to its core essentials, emitting things we take for granted like graphics and sound. Overall, a great game, but with some nuisances, like the voice acting and music.
As always, if you wanna give my review a read, click the link below:
http://www.vgchartz.com/article/260707/volume-ps4/
Thanks for visiting!
-Dan
Hi all!
So this week I managed to get a review copy of Gears of War: Ultimate Edition, and proceeded to play the hell out of it! As you can see from my review, it was OK, but was fairly dated and with no context with the graphics, I just couldn’t help but feel I was playing the same game again.
http://www.vgchartz.com/article/260682/gears-of-war-ultimate-edition-xbox-one/
As always, thank you for your support!
-Dan
Hi all,
This week I look at The Chinese Room’s latest “walking simulator”; Everybody’s Gone to the Rapture. Whilst I enjoyed the story, the game was literally a walking simulator, and had nothing else worth mentioning apart from the lush graphics.
If you wanna give the review a read, you can check it out below:
http://www.vgchartz.com/article/260562/everybodys-gone-to-the-rapture-ps4/
As always, thanks for your support, and see you next week!
-Dan
I was sceptical about playing Metrico at first, I mean, a game where you mess with bar charts and pie charts? BORING. But after reading Eurogamers review of the game many months ago, I decided maybe it was worth actually looking past the boring exterior and seeing if Metrico was worth it’s time.
Well first off, I have to advise to seriously ignore the setting and the premise of Metrico, as it sounds boring on paper but makes for some excellent and amazing puzzles to overcome. The premise is simple: certain bars or platforms in the world will move or resize depending on how you move your player or interact with the environment. One of the most basic forms of puzzles in the game revolves around your players movement across a surface: move right whilst touching the floor and one bar may increase in size, whilst moving left will decrease it. It’s through these simple interactions with the environment that complexity starts to form, with bars or platforms interlinked, meaning your actions for one to progress may hinder another, causing yourself to be stuck until the solution is found.
It’s through this simplicity of interacting with the environment that you’ll find some of the hardest challenges I’ve come across in a game to date. Whilst the environment starts off related to your movement, it soon starts becoming more complicated, with a shooting mechanic soon entering the fray, along with the gyro-sensor of the Vita, and finally, the light around you and colours surrounding you in the real world using your Vita’s camera. They’re all novel ways of using every feature of the Vita, but they all really add to the complications of puzzles that may arise, with latter levels requiring you to both hold the Vita at a certain angle whilst also moving your player and firing at the same time. Digital Dreams really deserve to be applauded for the great work they’ve done in accommodating each feature of the Vita, a task I didn’t think possible.
Through all the different methods of controlling the world, it’s a good thing Metrico has precise platforming down to a T, with each jump and twist of the Vita being as precise as it needs to be, ensuring you don’t blame the game rather than your own skills.
The graphics aren’t much to look at due to it’s simplicity, but perfectly suite the environment of infographics Digital Dreams chose to portray. Pie charts appear in nice 3D, but as I said at the start, that’s all boring without context, so it’s a shame Metrico doesn’t really have a story. You walk endlessly throughout a forever changing world, with a choice given to you upon clearing one of it’s 5 worlds. These choices are between two doors, with each one having percentage of how many players have walked through it. There seemed to be no intrinsic value as to which one you selected, so for the most part, I just went for the door which had the least amount of players walk through it.
Whilst there wasn’t much in the sense of music (I genuinely don’t remember the music at all, a bad sign when it comes to music that entices me to explore and adventure on), the entire atmosphere of Metrico was still fascinating to explore, with each puzzle enticing me on to the next one with no hesitation.
I think the thing that stands out so much about Metrico for me is the way that it brings to the forefront the code that’s happening in the background to players. Everything happening on screen in a game is usually linked to numbers in the background; from health bars slowly diminishing to the timing of an enemies movement, it’s all maths, it’s merely hidden from view. Metrico does a fantastic job of showing all these numbers to the player, and even helps in making players think more logically in how they approach problem solving. There are many times you’ll need to approach a puzzle from a different angle after you accidentally press a button too many times, pushing you on to find the correct solution as fast as possible.
Whilst most of the puzzles allow you to carry on with the progression of the game, there are a few that allow you to pick up items should you get all objects on the screen in the correct place. These “collectibles” are purely for the challenge for the most part, with no story or extras being unlocked for gaining them (apart from trophies). Whilst I missed a couple, I enjoyed these extra challenges, as you’d have to look at the same puzzle in a different way, ensuring nothing went over it’s mark and all objects were in the correct place.
As I said at the start of this article, ignore any and all preconceptions you have about Metrico and it’s style, and give it a go. I for one am ashamed at my preconceived notion that it would be boring, and feel that it doesn’t deserve that at all. Metrico is easily one of my favourite Vita games so far, which, for a console that’s been out for 4 years, is a damn great achievement.
4/5
“Yeah yeah we know, it’s been a while” episode 2 starts by saying. And it has really has been ages. I bought the season pass at Christmas, well after the first episode had already been released, so it really has been at least 5 months since the series started. What was supposed to take a few months between episodes has weirdly taken a lot longer in Tales from the Borderlands, Especially compared to the Game of Thrones series and Life is Strange, which have been pushing out new episodes every few months.
So was the wait worth it? Well, for the most part yes, with the vast majority of the episode being extremely enjoyable to progress through, with so much happening that it feels like its own game in its own right. There’s plenty of action, plenty of humour, and enough character progression that you really feel like you’re getting to know and like all the characters you come across. So much happened in fact that I’m struggling to remember everything I done in Episode 2. I’ll try and recall as much as possible, to see how much on an impact the game had on me.
So, to start off we’re back with the two main characters telling their accounts of what happened up until they’re captured in the present. In the last episode, Rhys used a security stick to change his personality/ID, making him see Handsome Jack. No one else can see him though, so Rhys goes upstairs to talk with him alone. During this segment you’re mostly playing as Fiona, your other controllable character through the campaign. She tags along with the other cast that fell down into the basement in trying to find a way out. After a little exploration, we find that the security will only work with one persons retina scan, and luck behold, that person is cryo-frozen next to you. Fiona then is tasked with using a spoon to scoop that persons eye out, which results in some funny quips and mistakes along the way. Once the scan is done, you’ll take control of Rhys, and see his conversation with Jack. It’s funny and cool to learn that Jack was so admired in the world of Borderlands, with many Hyperion employees loving his every action, so much so that Rhys apparently had posters of him around his room. some time later, Hyperion starts firing their massive cannon down to where Rhys and the group are located, prompting the Hyperion robot to help you out. It’s here that the group are then separated, as the car they use to outrun a massive beast and the Hyperion missiles splits in two, leaving the two men and two women far far apart.
Next up, Rhys gets a little visit from the chairman of Hyperion, who proceeds to get the two to dig their own graves before he then tries to kill them. it’s here that Jack actually comes in good use, allowing Rhys’ scanning method to overcharge the CEO’s weapon, allowing the two to escape. This whole scene was interesting, as it put the seed of doubt in your mind as to where Vaughn’s allegiance’s lay, after he begged for his life by saying he hadn’t completed his mission of deceiving Rhys yet. It was also funny as hell, with Vaughn weirdly having an extremely toned body, ruining the stereotype of a geeky man having a skinny body.
Once the pair escape, it’s time to make use of Fiona’s racing “experience” (ahem), with Scouter, a fan favourite from the Borderlands series, who will happily fix up Fiona’s car if she becomes a spokesperson for his catch a rideeeeee service. It’s all rather funny, and definitely helps to make the world of borderlands a lot more human, with ordinary people living out ordinary lives. You eventually get chased by an assassin, which you manage to escape from, and finally catch up with Rhys and Vaughn as you make your way to a place where the map at the start of the game pointed you to (an Atlas stronghold).
After solving a quick and easy puzzle, it’s time to meet the enemies again, who force the group to connect the two pieces of treasure they found at the start of the game. Upon doing this, the entire security system starts up purely because Rhys cocks up and drops the big crazy ball that was made. It’s in this hecticness that Jack appears again, asking Rhys to take over his body so he can override the system and use it to their advantage. This is when the episode finishes with everyone at a stalemate, the CEO man and the imposter man having Rhys’ and Vaughn’s friends held hostage, and Handsome Jack having control of the security system. For its annoyance that the episode is ending, it’s certainly a good cliffhanger.
Given my disappointment with the Game of Thrones Telltale series, I’m genuinely surprised how much I’m enjoyed Tales from the Borderlands. Everything about it is funny, and genius in the way it expands on the borderlands universe, something we didn’t know much about in the first place. It does a fantastic job of humanising the characters, with everyone having their perks and secrets. I seriously cannot wait for more, cause compared to GoT, this is my go to series from now on.
4/5
It’s been years since I’ve played a call of Duty game. That’s not to say I don’t like them, far from it in fact, I spent hundreds of hours playing Call of Duty 4 and World at War with friends whilst at uni. The problem is, in subsequent years since I fell in love with the series, not much has really changed in the way it’s played out. I found my time in COD Modern Warfare 2 mediocre at best and only entertaining because me and a work colleague brought it at midnight on release day and managed to finish it within a day. COD Modern Warfare 3 didn’t fare much better, as I only played it purely to finish the story, and purely to see how to game turned out considering all the controversy that happened around infinity ward’s directors.
I picked up Advanced Warfare as it’s genuinely one of the only COD games in recent memory which has actually peaked my interest. I managed to get a few matches of the games multiplayer done over Steams free weekend, so decided to pick the game up on PS4 where my other friends would be playing it.
So, to start with the differences, the setting. Previous games of the franchise have taken place either in the past, or in the present, with others straying semi into the future (black ops 2). Advanced Warfare doesn’t piss around, and is set firmly 50 years in the future, ensuring the player has access to all manner of different vehicles, settings, and technologies we could only dream of. This setting has it’s advantages; it allows sledgehammer games to imagine a world not too different from our own, but with the whole world being taken over by LCD screens. It’s pretty cool actually, seeing a world that isn’t completely sci-fi but actually imaginable compared to the technology we have today, something I compliment Sledgehammer on portraying fantastically.
Next up, the combat. Apart from introducing a new double jump that allows a player to see the terrain better or get up to new heights, not much has changed in the traditional Call of Duty formula of hiding behind a wall until an enemy hides and peeking out to kill them. The addition of homing grenades and new gear which help to highlight enemies on the field better than simply zooming in help to allow the player to kill more enemies than ever before, but doesn’t stop the core combat from feeling hollow as a result. I easily mowed down over 1400 enemies in my play through of the campaign, which would easily class me as a psychopath in most games, but in Call of Duty, it’s a standard affair.
The hollowness isn’t to say that the combat is boring, far from it; it’s still easily one of the best shooters on the market by far, with its simple Left Trigger Right Trigger combo of aiming one of the most satisfying by far. I just merely wish that the campaign/ would have some gravitas to it, some personality if you will, rather than the entire world being in danger and it’s up to you and your team to save it.
Graphically, Call of Duty games have come a long way. I seriously was gobsmacked at times at the intensity of the lighting effects on textures and shadows across the world. Add to this the amazing facial animation on characters in the world (with House of Cards’ Kevin Spacey playing the main antagonist), and you’ve got a truly delightful game to behold, one that really does honour the title of “next gen”.
Story wise, the Call of Duty formula unfortunately rears its ugly head once again, with a huge organisation (Atlas) threatening all of the free world with it’s tight grip on security giving it a plentiful supply of targets on the planet. This is another “one man saves the world against one insane dictator” type stories, but one which is made more believable due to Kevin Spaceys ability to make Irons an actual believable character, one which really does believe his own motives behind killing america or any other free state in the world due to governments inability to act within a timely manner.
The multiplayer of Call of Duty hasn’t changed a great deal, but my god is that a good thing. The timeless mechanic of die and repeat seems like it’ll never get old, with each death pushing you on to find your killer and put them down. It’s odd, but for all the new guns and advantages players are given (such as the double jump), things have relatively stayed the same, with most players staying grounded through fear of other players catching them whilst jumping. It’s all brilliant in the end, and I can easily see why players continue to buy Call of Duty games for the multiplayer alone, let alone the over-the-top campaign. There’s nothing more satisfying as seeing your own name at the top of your team with no deaths and many, many kills.
So, all in all, am I glad I brought back into the Call of Duty hype? Yes and no. The series is still easily one of the most recognisable in the world, with it’s shooting mechanics and priority of 60fps gameplay being a staple of the series, it’s not hard to see why. What I wouldn’t have minded seeing was after all this time away, experiencing something new and unique would have been nice. Scripted sequences like the jet level merely give the illusion of player control, and don’t necessarily go so far as to actually give you freedom to explore. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but considering games have the ability to give players an experience no film or book can give you by allowing you to make choices, it’s a shame the medium still hasn’t pushed forward or advanced. If you’ve kept your distance from the Call of Duty franchise for some years, Advanced Warfare might be worth coming back to, if not only to see how little has changed but how fun the core shooting mechanic still is.
4/5
Hey all,
Hope everyone’s well! Last week I was at Develop conference, so please by all means check out my articles over at VGChartz.com!
Regardless, this week I look at Tachyon Project, a game by Eclipse Studios. I enjoyed it, and found it a love letter to Geometry Wars:
http://www.vgchartz.com/article/259958/tachyon-project-xbox-one/
As always, thanks for visiting, and thanks for all your support 🙂
-Dan
Telltales Game of Thrones Series has been very weird since it’s inception many months ago. In the first episode, the character you get to know and think is the main one is killed within a few hours, jarring you from the games pretence instantly. The second episode then goes about causing you more and more grievances without any of it being your fault and all of it being out of your control. The series just keeps on getting shittier for the remaining family of the Forresters, and in Episode 3, that doesn’t look to change at all.
First things first, you start the game out as the long lost brother of the Forresters, Asher, whilst he’s still out in the desert. It’s here that you find him outrunning guards (like he was in the previous episode), only to happen across a dead end. Finding a cave, you come across one of the first protagonists you’ll recognise from the TV series: one of Daenerys’ Dragons. Running around and avoiding the dragon in a contrived and weird setting with guards still chasing you is a weird set piece, especially in a tight small cave, but the episode manages to pull this weird setting back when you run away and take control of Mira, who’s feeling the consequences of her previous actions piling up upon her.
Taking control of Mira was strange in this episode, with everything stacked against her due to all of the decisions I had made in previous games. Throughout the episode I had guards constantly asking where she was or investigating her, with Margery disowning Mira for talking to Tyrian Lanister behind her back. It all felt far to contrived, with any decision I would have made in previous games coming back to bite me in the bum. Given that I was discussing a contract with Tyrian, Mira is put in the awkward situation of having to get the contract from Tyrians room due to his arrest after King Joffreys death. It’s through this weird scene that Mira has to avoid guards again, meaning every single event happening to her is pushing her one step closer to death/problems, a contrived instance where the player literally has no control over what happens.
Rodrik makes a return in Episode 3, with the guards of Whitehall causing all manner of trouble for the Forrester family. Rodrik, in his feeble state, can’t really do much about the guards, and so goes to the Whitehall’s sister, Ludd, to ask for advice on what they should do. Rudd advices that they should show restraint and not rebel agains the Whitehall rule to lull them into a false sense of entitlement. It’s during this false sense of entitlement that the Forresters can fight back, with the army Asher will be bringing aiding for the cause of the Forresters.
The only redeeming feature of this episode was Gared up at the wall, where his quest to head north to find the grove has unlocked some nice secrets about his friends and comrades. Add to that his nice fight sequence where he has to kill a fellow brother, and you have a truly new piece of story which helps to flesh the GoT world and lore out a little bit more.
It has to be said, that you can tell how cut back and cheap the game is to make considering the fact that you never actually see any fights or action. Take for instance the Joffery death. The game explains that Mira and her friend cannot attend the main wedding as there’s no more space due to it being used for the kings guard. We all know this was purely so that Telltale didn’t have to render/animate an entire death scene, and even the characters that would have inhabited it. You can see this at other times in the episodes, with entire environments not being built in 3D like the rest of the world. Entire scenes are replaced with painted backgrounds, which, when coupled with the 3D characters, creates a jarring and noticeable effect of making the game feel cheap. I can imagine it’s hard to create a new episode once every few months, but the other projects Telltale have taken on can’t exactly be helping.
I suppose I’m just finding the series more and more annoying, as every single decision is given to the player not to empower you, but merely to stump you down a peg or two later on in the series. Every decision may seem important at the time you’re presented with one, but each and everytime you’re beginning to sense that it’s all for nothing. It makes me think that telltale should just go about making the story themselves rather than allowing the player a sense of choice, as it never amounts to anything in the end.
All in all, I didn’t mind the episode too much, but I seriously can’t help but think Telltale games are seriously pushing themselves far too thin with the amount of projects they have going simultaneously. Think about it, Minecraft, The Walking Dead, Tales from the Borderlands, Game of Thrones, and The Wolf Among Us, eventually, somethings got to give, and considering how much I’m enjoying the writing and action of Borderlands, I can’t help but think Game of Thrones is the grunt of the litter with all the franchises they have going. The quality is no where near to the standard of their previous endeavours, both in graphical fidelity, and story telling/sense of worth in this world.
3/5
Given that the game come out back in 2013, I’ve been meaning to get my hands on EA’s latest and greatest for a while now, but given the amount of negative press the game received upon it’s release I decided to postpone it’s purchase until things quietened down. Given that the game was 35 on disk at Amazon recently, I decided to take the plunge, after my initial impressions of the game when it was free were timid, £5 seemed like the perfect price. I wasn’t too impressed with the original Battlefield 3 many years ago, so how has time aged this product?
Well for starters, graphically, not a whole bunch. The game looks absolutely stunning at times, with the main characters detailed to such a degree that you can see the individual fibres in their hats and clothing. But this is all trickery, because for the vast majority of time you don’t see this at all, and instead see simple geometry for cars, or less detailed actors. Even the lighting is trickery, with most lighting sources on ultra not actually making shadows in the world and instead making cheap lens flare effects like you’d see in a Michael Bay film. Needless to say, I was intrigued by the graphics, but wasn’t stunned, something I was surprised by considering how many outlets use Battlefield 4 as a template for next-gen graphics.
The story was astonishingly terrible, with horrendous characters that made me sick to the bone and annoyed that I couldn’t team kill. I’m pretty sure Irish, the black gentleman of the group, was meant to have the common decency, with more humanity than the others, but I couldn’t stop hating him. He was disrespectful, annoying, and constantly got the group in trouble. In fact, if it wasn’t for Irish, the vast majority of the problems wouldn’t have existed for your trio.
Battlefield 4 could be called Battlefield Bad Company 3 for all the antics the group gets up to, with dam’s being exploded, planes crashing and boats collapsing, the group just seem to always find themselves in unlikely situations that ordinary people would die from. With Bad Company it was funny, with the dynamic of the group being happy go-lucky to the point I liked the company of characters assembled. Battlefield 4 on the other hand grated on me, constantly making me want to skip all cut-scenes which made out everything as the end of the world. The story and characters were seriously that lame that I wanted to shout at the screen: “I JUST WANT TO SHOOT PEOPLE AND BLOW STUFF UP DAMNIT!”
The campaign had it’s ups and downs, and could be considered ok if it was released 10 years ago, but by todays standards it just comes off as terribly short and damn right mediocre. The Russians have devised a plan to kill a Chinese official that is essential in maintaining peace and stability in the region, and in doing so, would cause another world war. The americans, and in turn Recker (the character you play as), have managed to save the gentleman, all without anyone knowing, starting china’s acceleration in bringing down all of the american Navi that happens to be by China. The plot comes to an end with the Chinese boarding your boat, managing to find the missing VIP, and bringing an end to the war between China and America.
This lavish over the top story ensures the crew of tombstone (of which you are a part of), manage to travel through snowy mountains, stormy seas, and normal desert-y locations, all trying to show off the frostbite engine underneath. It all comes off as unfeasible, and melodramatic, with some areas of the game being just impossible to pass due to the team taking on huge tanks and millions of squad members.
It’s in the multiplayer that Battlefield 4 comes into its own, with huge arenas allowing you the freedom to tackle any enemy however you’d like, be it getting into a car with some squadmates, to gunning it alone with some C4 to take down enemy vehicles across the map. What little I played of the multiplayer was enjoyable, but I could help but feel left out due to all of the DLC which has been released since the game is 18 months old now.
So, being as this is just a quick review of the game and not a comprehensive one by any means, is Battlefield 4 a worthy game to be played by anyone with a next gen console or high-end PC? In my opinion, hells no. The story and game as a whole is just one huge convoluted mess, ensuring time and time again I wished I wasn’t playing. It may look pretty at times, with most textures being very detailed, but at other times the game just looks like a mess, with flat geometry across maps and terrible AI all making my experience with the game beyond a joke. Avoid like the plague unless you really REALLY want to show off your new gaming machine to friends and family.
Having loved the original monument valley when I played it a year ago on this very blog and with my new android phone, I had been wanting to buy the DLC for ages, but had never gotten around to actually downloading it due to time constraints. So, with my blog backlogged with content until August (yep, I’m that ahead of time in regards to weekly gaming), I decided to take the plunge and buy the £1.49 Haddon to the game I loved so much this time last year. So what’s been brought back to the fray, and what’s new in this £1.49 expansion?
One of the first things that will be apparent the second you start up the DLC is the increased difficulty of the game, something many won’t be accustomed to considering the relative ease many were able to complete the original with. For starters, one of the first levels has you twisting geometry to make your princess go from one side of the world to another, a confusing feat for any player, both new and old. Once you’ve wrapped your head around this increased difficulty from the offset, the game continues to get harder with each level bringing new and interesting challenges to throw at you.
Your ally from the first game, the totem block, is back, and this time, you’ll need to use him in weird and wonderful ways that had me scratching my head for ages. From twisting him to breaking him to get through certain areas, you can be sure that every level with him involved will push you to you limits in how to proceed, something I loved when playing through the levels. It’s strange how so many people have such a strong emotional attachment to the totem block, despite it having no personality and no speech. This is probably due to the fact it helps you out and expects nothing in return, like a cherished pet.
Add the increased difficulty together with the return of the totem block, and in turn the new ways you’ll use him, and you have a challenging but rewarding game on your hands. One that doesn’t hold your hand, and rewards creativity in the way you look at the levels. Later levels for example start twisting walls and the angle of your princess, making it difficult to determine how she’s positioned and whether she can progress through doors on the same level. It’s through trial and effort that you’ll pass some stages, which always allows you to feel accomplished at the end of each stage.
One of the most creative stages was one where you lost your hat (the source of the princesses power which in turn allows her to fix the world). It happens to fall on a birds head, which leads to a brand new way to look at the world and the puzzles within, as you’re not only moving the princess around, but having to guess and control where the bird is going, or even manipulating it into pressing switches for you just by knowing it’s movements. It’s interesting, and a good twist on the fantastically simple but hard gameplay that comes before it.
I praised Monument Valley for it’s fantastic art direction and simple mechanics, with that not changing in the slightest for it’s DLC. Levels are gorgeous, fitting perfectly on a mobile phones display in portrait orientation, with even bigger levels showing extreme amounts of detail in their surroundings. UsTwo are a force to be reckoned with when it comes to design, something their recent contract with BMW (yes, they’re now designing BMW’s dashboards) shows off.
So, was Monument Valley worth the £1.49 entry fee? HELLS YEAH IT IS! It’s seriously one of the best games for mobile, but easily one of the most creative too. The simplicity of the movement and concept it fantastic, and the developers at UsTwo have gone to great lengths to push the boundaries of what can be done with such a simple premise, whilst still making it challenging and rewarding to overcome. If you’re anyone that has a smartphone (AKA every single person on this earth at this rate), then you owe it to yourself to own Monument Valley, and in turn it’s DLC Forgotten shores.
4/5
Dear readers of caesoose.com, I have a confession to make. I have only ever completed 1 Metal Gear game in my life. I know this may sound insane considering there are many of you that know how much I love games/franchises that have a rich and deep backstory, I’ve just never gotten around to actually playing the games. Growing up, I was beholden to my parents to buy new games for the family, so if something wasn’t bought, something wasn’t played. Even when Metal Gear Solid HD collection became available for free on PS+ for my vita, I still didn’t play the games, as these days, I just don’t have the time (that, and I still have bad memories of not knowing what the original game meant when it told me to look at the back of the CD case, meaning I spent an hour pressing up once on the codec and dialling every number until I found Merils).
So why did I break my radio silence in regards to the metal gear franchise? Well, I do love myself some action, and with Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance being on sale for only £4.99 a while ago, I had to grab the game on the cheap. I know it’s crazy to keep on buying games when I have so many more I need to play, but it’s a weird hobby I have, to collect them all in on form or another.
Playing as Raiden, a cyborg in the Metal Gear universe, you’ll fight many other cyborgs after they toy with you for protecting an african president. The enemy cyborgs are employed by a different PMC (Private Military Company) you see, and so with your PMC being used to protect the president, you’re technically rivals. After failing to do your job correctly, Raiden is employed by someone else, and so begins his exploration of a weird world where companies will steal children, make them undergo Virtual Reality training, and plant their brains into cyborg bodies to be used as puppets, should the PMC wish.
Sound convoluted and fucked up? That’s because it is, but reading about online and hearing from friends and colleagues over the years, apparently this is what’s become of the Metal Gear franchise. It’s a good job then that the combat is so damn beautiful and perfect that it gives Bayonetta a run for it’s money. Just like any normal action game, you’ll repeatedly hammer the X or Y button to change up combos, switching between light/fast attacks and heavy/slow attacks, the difference here is in how you avoid/counter enemies. In Bayonetta and Devil May Cry, you counter an enemy by pressing a dodge button, usually assigned to the B button or a trigger, enabling your character extra time to do more damage. In making the counter button dodge, the player still manages to avoid being hit even if they didn’t press the button at the exact right moment. Metal Gear Rising reverses this, making players put themselves in harms way should they wish to maximise their advantage. You’ll need to move your analogue stick in the direction of an enemy the exact moment they’re about to hit you in order to counter. You’re given a few seconds of leeway, so should you press towards the enemy before they’ve charged their attack, you’ll still be fine, just won’t counter.
The countering system isn’t the only combat scenario that’s been improved or experimented with in MGR, with the whole remise of the game when it was first conceived being around the ability to cut anything within the world in whatever way you’d like. This system is also used to great effect within the battle system, by making your health and energy tie to “Electrolites” stored within enemies spinal cords, meaning you’ll need to slice enemies when their health’s low enough to nab their spine out and regain your much needed energy. It’s a nifty system, one which you’ll kick yourself for not perfecting each time you mess up, and one which is used to great effect should you wish to get all of the games collectibles, with some enemies left arms being collectible for merchandise in the shop between battles.
So, for all the fun I had with the combat, was it worth me coming back to a Metal Gear game? Well, I couldn’t help but feel left out on a lot of the jokes and references made at times, with some characters making an appearance that meant nothing to me, but I could clearly see was fan service to people who recognise them. This didn’t happen too often, but frequently enough that I was annoyed at times. Also, what people say about Metal Gear endings and politics is so damn true it hurts. I decided to finish the game one night after two missions ended up being a lot shorter than I originally accounted for, and I regret doing so. The cutscenes, story and action all became so ridiculous and cumbersome that I wish I postponed playing the game until another day due to the fact I was staying up until 2am playing it. Konami are trying to make a point, I get it, but I swear for 10 minutes the ending boss was just repeating himself over and over, with Raiden himself not helping the situation at all. So word of advice, play the game through all 6 acts EXCEPT the last act, and you’ll have had one of the best action experiences of your life.
So, am I glad I took the plunge back into the Metal Gear series after 16 years? Yes and No. Whilst Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance was an awesome action game, I couldn’t help but think the metal gear parts was the thing letting the game down. The graphics were awesome, the action was awesome, but the story was convoluted beyond belief. By all means pick the game up if it’s cheap, it’s a masterclass in action gameplay, but don’t buy it for it’s story, there really isn’t much substance.
4/5
Hi all!
So this week I introduce to you The Silent Age, a point and click adventure game that concentrates on time travel as an extension to the puzzles, with a fantastic story that’s sure to captivate. If you’d like to give the review a read, please by all means click the link below:
http://www.vgchartz.com/article/259456/the-silent-age-pc/
As always, thanks for reading and supporting me!
-Dan
Hi all!
Welcome back for another weekly gaming feature! I’m glad I’ve kept this going for 30 months now, mental long time but is great for improving my writing and keeping me going.
Anyway! This week I take a look at Slightly Mad Studio’ latest Simulator, Project CARS. Here’s a hint on how I felt: I genuinely loved the game, a far cry from how I usually feel about racing simulators.
http://www.vgchartz.com/article/259221/project-cars-ps4/
Anyway, please by all means let me know your thoughts on the piece if you have any, my ears (and eyes!) are always open.
Thanks as always,
-Dan
