Uncharted 2: Among Thieves review

UNCHARTED 2: AMONG THIEVES


(release) 10/13/09
(developer) Naughty Dog
(publisher) Sony Computer Entertainment
(platform) PS3

As I said before, I wasn’t crazy about the original Uncharted. It had a lot of great ideas and it did a lot of things well, but in the end it was buried by a frustrating mix of messy combat and clumsy platforming. You could tell that Naughty Dog was onto something though, and with a few more great ideas and some polish on the existing parts, a truly great sequel would be just a matter of time. I can tell you now, without a shadow of doubt, they delivered on every single problem I had with the first game and created one of the most fun and captivating experiences I've ever had. From start to finish, Uncharted 2 will sink its talons in you and never let go, and you’ll cherish every second of it. It’s that amazing. Really.

Everyone’s favorite treasure hunting troublemaker Nathan Drake is back and better than ever. Roughly a year after the events of the first game, Drake meets up with some old acquaintances who tell him of a plan to steal a Mongolian oil lamp from a Turkish museum. This is no ordinary oil lamp, however, and when Drake learns that it could lead to the discovery of Marco Polo’s lost fleet and the unimaginable treasure that lies within, the hunt is on. While the story is still standard Uncharted fare, it still does a great job of keeping you interested in what's going to happen next. You'll feel more connected to the characters though, thanks to an exceptional leap in the quality of the writing. Drake’s interactions with his companions feel more human, helping to flesh out more realistic and emotional character development. There’s no wasted dialog. Every scene (other than some light comedic relief) has importance purpose. That’s not to say the game is 100% serious at all times, it just seems more focused and keeps you tuned into what’s important. That’s the keyword: important. There’s a lot more riding on the actions of Drake and company this time, and it really shows. While the story and writing may be great, it's not without its flaws. The main bad guy is too cliched at points and segments towards the end wind up being a bit too over the top and unbelievable. Don’t let these even begin to be a deterrent. Naughty Dog stepped up their game like almost no other developer has and presented the audience with a truly engaging experience, the likes of which I’ve never played before in this genre.

Combat was one of the things I and many others had major complaints with in Uncharted 1. Naughty Dog definitely listened to what their fans had to say because the combat was a total blast (no pun intended) throughout the course of the entire game. All of the problems I had, from the later game enemies taking absurd amounts of shots to put down, or to enemies throwing grenades at walls right in front of them, have all but vanished. Hit detection is also fixed, improving the overall feel immensely. The core of the combat hasn't really changed; the gun-play just feels much tighter and more refined. You’ll still be using pistols and AKs (among a few new weapons, but nothing really worth mentioning), but you won’t be swearing at the TV anymore while doing so. Perhaps my favorite new addition, however, is the smarter design of the combat and the larger emphasis on stealth play. Many of the firefights (especially towards the end) take place in huge, multi-tiered open environments, leaving you free to take on the enemy in whatever way suits you. Take the high ground to gain advantage in a gunfight or take cover and eliminate the enemy silently. The latter reminds me of games like Metal Gear Solid or Deus Ex: Human Revolution at times, just not as in depth stealth-wise. Plotting out how you are going to take out a room full of baddies never gets old, and is a welcomed addition to the series. If done right, you’ll have at least half the room cleared before the bullets start flying. Uncharted 1’s repetitive, narrow corridor shootouts are a thing of the past. Hand to hand fighting is still an option and it’s been simplified by getting rid of the out-of-place combo system. to just having you mash the square button for punches and the triangle button for the occasional duck. It’s faster and more satisfying for sure, but I wouldn’t rely on it in tough situations. Guns and stealth are a Drake’s best friend.

Subtle changes have also been made to the platforming mechanics making them a little more straight forward.   The next ledge or brick is usually color coded allowing you to easily see where you need to go, even if that's exactly where the game wants. It's limited in terms of exploration, but it's just as fun making crazy leaps and blind jumps as it ever was. You won’t be stuck on the same ‘grab the vine and swing’ segments that occurred too often in Drake’s first outing, either (I can't stress enough how awesome this is, in particular). I also felt a much bigger influence from Assassin’s Creed in the way Drake can traverse certain objects. You don’t have nearly that much freedom, but it can really help when you’re under fire and you need to get to a new vantage point as quickly as possible. All in all it’s still very linear in terms of where you can and can’t go, but it feels more open at the same time. Please tell me that makes sense. The shooting and platforming segments are also helped by an excellent checkpoint system. You'll never have to start more than a minute or two from your last death. Excellent!

Graphically the game is on a level all alone. Nothing clever to say here. Simply put, the game is head and shoulders above anything you’ll see this generation. From the dense jungles of the games beginning, to the vast snow-capped mountain ranges or Tibet, the game never fails drop jaws at every turn. It’s not only the quality of the visuals that will have you drooling, but the sheer amount of detail Naughty Dog has put into their environments. The locations you visit feel more vibrant and alive than before and you can easily tell how much research and effort went into their creation. Speaking about the environments brings me to my next point: the varied locations in the game. The first Uncharted took place deep in jungles and ancient ruins. It was nice too look at for a while, but it retrospect, it got dull rather quickly. Drake decided enough was enough, grabbed a map, and headed to several beautiful locations across the globe (Priceline?). Drake’s travels will take him to locations such as the jungles of Borneo, museums in Istanbul, urban Nepal, Tibetan mountain villages, and many others. I can’t emphasize enough how this helps to keep things fresh and exciting throughout the course of the game. Throw in an expertly crafted and more varied score (the music takes its roots from the areas of the world Drake visits), and you have the most complete presentation on the PS3.

The ultimate amalgamation of these new improvements would no doubt be the insane set pieces scattered throughout the game. Being chased by an attack chopper through the bombed out buildings of an entire city? Battling across the length of a train as it barrels along at high speed, shooting enemies and dodging incoming railway signs at every turn?  How about the chase scenes where Drake is running towards the camera (a throwback to a certain Naughty Dog game from the PS1 era), jumping over obstacles and blindly firing at certain death only feet behind? These are amazingly well done and are far and away the highlights of the entire game. I don’t remember a single section of Uncharted 1 that got my heart pounding like these segments did. Bravo, guys. Bravo.

New to the franchise is multiplayer. It’s always tricky to pull off multiplayer in a single player franchise, but Naughty Dog hit a homerun with their first attempt in the series. Team deathmatch, elimination, zone control, and capture the treasure are all included. They’re not that different from anything you’ve seen before, but they look and feel just like the fantastic shootouts from the single player campaign, leaving you to play in whatever style you want. The developer has also included co-operative and survival modes into the mix.  Survival follows the trend set by Gears of War's Horde mode and Halo's Firefight: survive wave after wave of increasingly difficult enemies. There is also a co-op mode where you and some friends can complete objectives loosely based on single player levels. This had the most appeal for myself because I’m getting old and bitter and deathmatch isn’t as fun as it used to be. While playing, you’ll start ranking up and earning money which can be spent on unlockable perks. Among them are increased accuracy, faster movement with large weapons, and faster reloading. Unlock several of them and you’ll be able to customize your character to your preferred play style. All in all its a superb addition to the franchise, and one that you’ll want to revisit over and over again.

So far everything sounds perfect, right? Not quite. There are a few nagging little issues I had, but trust me: it doesn’t affect your overall enjoyment at all. For as fun as the story can be, it can also be a little unoriginal. Especially the third act, which falls a bit short with its emphasis on the stereotypical and unoriginal villain. Puzzles are too simple, offering little real challenge whatsoever. That might not be a bad thing for everyone though, considering over complex puzzles can mess with a game's pacing and turn off some gamers. As for the game's length, I clocked in at right about 10 hours. Not too short for the tone of the game, really, but  you’ll have so much fun playing it that it's over before you know it. Lastly, I thought there were a few too many big shootouts towards the end of the game. I know that games tend to get more difficult near the end, but when you are so interested in the final moments of the story, you end up getting into a gunfight at every corner. Again, the game was still an absolute joy from start to finish, but I felt inclined to point out a few of the shortcomings.

FINAL WORDS:

What else is there to say? Uncharted 2: Among Thieves is simply the best action adventure game I’ve ever played. Maybe even the best ever. From the open and varied combat, Hollywood level presentation, and amazing locations in every chapter, I cannot recommend this game enough. To anyone with a PS3 (if you don’t have one, sell a kidney!) this is perhaps the most unmissable game for the system, and more than likely for the generation. It has no equal.

Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine review

WARHAMMER 40,000: SPACE MARINE


(release) 9/6/11
(developer) Relic Entertainement
(publisher) THQ
(platform) Xbox 360, PS3 (reviewed on), PC, Onlive

The realm of Warhammer seems a bit odd on consoles. It hasn’t differed too much from its real time strategy origins, so when a new console game is announced in the Warhammer 40K universe that isn’t a PC exclusive, it tends to generate some buzz. This has been tried before, with entries on the Sega Saturn/PS1 (1996’s Space Hulk: Vengeance of the Blood Angels) and the PS2 (2003’s Fire Warrior). These games were met with very little commercial or critical success. Maybe it was because they were much more action oriented than their PC cousins. People were used to real time strategy, not mediocre first person shooting. However, there is still hope. With advances in technology and game design, did Space Marine mark a triumphant return for Warhammer fans? In short......erm......no.

First, some bad news. I’m not an expert in Warhammer 40K lore, and in my experience with the game it doesn’t do much to help bring you up to speed. It feels tailor-made for Warhammer fans, like a movie you’re thrown in the middle of where you know none of the characters or storylines. When you do get the feel for the story, you’ll find it’s not very enthralling or interesting in the least. You play as Captain Titus, the leader of a group of space marines called the Ultra Marines. You’re tasked with eliminating as massive force or Orks hellbent on destroying and conquering everything in their path. This is about as generic as it comes, especially if you’re one of the many who can’t relate to the narrative. You and your small band of fellow marines trudge through one area to the next, massacring every ork unlucky enough to get in your way. And that’s about.......it. Really. There is hardly any deviation from that formula. Cutscenes are there to help develop the story but they appear too often and break up the flow of the game. Yes, there are a few parts of the game that offer decent entertainment, but it’s all been done before. Much better, in fact.

Here’s some, albeit short lived, good news! At its core, Space Marine is all about the combat, and it’s the best part of the game (but that’s not really saying much). It’s a mix of over the shoulder shooting mechanics and the frenzied melee combat of God of War or Dante’s Inferno. There isn’t a cover system, but I don’t mind that because it forces you to stay on your toes and be alert at all times. You can’ just hide behind cover taking out one enemy at a time. Along the way you’ll find several different guns, from your standard pistol and machine gun, to chargeable plasma rifles and sniper rifles. You can switch between them at anytime with the d-pad. I found myself using mostly the pistol as it had decent stopping power and infinite ammo. You can use any of them to your hearts desire though because ammo is fairly plentiful throughout the course of the game. Titus can only carry one melee weapon at a time and these aren’t quite as diverse. He starts with the chainsaw sword, and can upgrade to power axes or huge, glowing hammers. Unfortunately, There really isn’t much of a difference between the melee weapons. Some may be faster than others, but I never noticed myself favoring one over the other. They all feel basically identical, and this isn’t helped by the fact that the combos are really barebones. You have a weak and heavy attack and a slew of button combinations between them, however when you upgrade to a new weapon you don’t unlock any more moves. The combos don’t change whatsoever. It’s just really lazy game design on the developer's part. Hell, there isn’t even a block button. Eventually you’ll acquire the jetpack for limited amounts of time and begin raining down hammer strikes from above, killing dozens of orks at a time. It makes combat a lot more fun and dynamic for a while, but it doesn’t happen often enough.

Things don’t get much better in terms of presentation and design. While the graphics aren’t necessarily bad, they don’t do anything to stand out from the crowd. Characters are modeled fairly well but won’t have you admiring them and the level design meets the same fate. Industrial, rust covered battlefields and uninspired corridors seem to endlessly repeat themselves until the credits roll. There is no exploration at all (unless you count an odd room tacked on to the side of a hallway with an audio log collectible). You are funneled from one fight to the next, with nothing to do in between. I really did have to force myself to continue playing the game at points, that’s how disinterested I became.

One of my biggest complaints though, is the lack of enemy variety. You really do fight the same 3 or 4 enemies the entire game. That means you get stuck in the same old routine of fighting styles, never having to switch anything up. Shoot>melee>repeat. It gets old, fast. The whole thing feels uninspired and lazy. Nobody put their soul into the development of this game, and it shows. It’s unfortunate that the only time the game decides to try anything different, it ends 5 minutes later.



FINAL WORDS:

All in all, there’s not much to say about Space Marine. It feels shallow and dull, like a movie licensed game that only garners interest from the most rabid of fanboys. It doesn’t offer anything that other franchises don’t do much, much better. I’ll go as far as to say that any other game in this genre will run circles around this mess. It’s unfortunate, though, because the subject matter is somewhat interesting and some of the gameplay was fun at certain times. In the hands of a different developer, someone with a fresh take on things, this could have been a worthwhile endeavor. That’s not the case here, however, and I really think that even the most diehard Warhammer fans should think twice about picking this one up. Don’t say I didn’t warn you.

Heavy Rain review

HEAVY RAIN


(release) 2/23/10
(developer) Quantic Dream
(publisher) Sony Computer Entertainment
(platform) PS3

Heavy Rain is a unique beast. It tries to do what most other games attempt and fail: to be a complete interactive narrative experience. What does that mean? Most games attempt to have a deep story and stimulating dialog, but it ends up being all action with not much in between (*cough* Gears of War *cough*). Heavy Rain truly exceeds where other games have failed. You will become attached to its characters and watch them develop. You will feel for them when they suffer, and feel elation during moments of pure joy. You will really think about the choices you make and what consequences they may or may not have. Yes, that's been a fad for a few years now, but trust me when I say that Heavy Rain does it much better and more in depth than any game you have played in the past. This is how it's done.

The story of Heavy Rain is told through the eyes of four main protagonists: Ethan Mars, a father trying to pick up the pieces after the death of one of his sons. Scott Shelby, a private detective tracking the case of the serial killer known as the Origami Killer. Madison Paige, a journalist suffering from chronic insomnia, and finally Norman Jayden, an FBI profiler brought in to help the local police catch the Origami killer. If this sounds like a movie, well, it IS a movie. As I said before, I've played games that attempted the cinematic feel. A lot of them can pull it off parts of it, but no one comes close to the complete package that Heavy rain is. I've never felt so immersed in the story and characters before this. I was invested in every choice I had to make to the point where I often paused the game to consult a friend on what I should do. Even in games like Mass Effect I never felt so torn by the choices I had to make. Heavy Rain truly succeeds where others have merely attempted. Having said this, a lot of the choices you do make don’t have such an immediate effect as they might have in other games, but they lead to immensely different ending. You’ll definitely want to go back and replay the game a few more times to see where the story could have gone.

At its core, Heavy Rain wants to be a big Hollywood picture, and all the pieces are basically there. It won’t take long to see comparisons to movies like SE7EN and The Bone Collector. The game has a dark, Fincher-esque style to it supported by excellent, mood setting camera work and hauntingly sorrowful score. This helps further connect you to the characters and what they’re going through. The animations are well thought out and clever as well. Stuff you might not think about, or even notice, like characters crossing their arms and trying to warm up whenever it's raining outside. Which is always. When it comes down to it, everything this game does helps further its own cause. It’s a game that wants to forget it’s actually a game. It wants to be a 10 hour movie, and it pulls it off with flying colors.

Visually the game matches its ambitions on almost every level. Character’s faces are extremely well detailed to the point where you can see pores and individual hairs. Although you can tell a lot of effort went into the detail in the world of Heavy Rain, but they missed the mark on a few occassions. Certain textures can be a bit muddy and the motion capture isn’t quite as refined as some of the bigger franchises. The voice acting is a whole other concern. A few of the performances are top notch, while others really fall flat. It’s really apparent that many of the voice actors aren’t American and their accents are hard to believe. This is unfortunate because you can really be taken out of an otherwise wonderfully crafted and emotional scene by some awkwardly delivered dialog.

The game's developer, Quantic Dream, has been here before. They released Fahrenheit (Indigo Prophecy in North America) in 2005. A gritty, paranormal thriller, Indigo Prophecy made heavy use of dialog and character choices with a unique quick time event playstyle. Heavy Rain continues this style and uses it for every moment of the story. There are no iron sights or cover based shooting. There’s no melee combat or platforming. The game is all about dialog and decision making advancing the story. All actions are controlled by prompts that appear on the screen for which you must press the corresponding button or analog stick. For instance, if you need to open a fridge in an apartment, you would have to hold the right stick to the right or left, and then move it counter clockwise. You can also hold down L2 at any time to bring up your characters thoughts. These thoughts represent your character's mood and emotion regarding the present situation.This style of control will be new for most people (especially the Call of Duty generation), so make sure you use the beginning of the game to get acclimated. You do a lot of mundane things at the start, like exploring your house, opening drawers, or shaving your beard after taking a shower. There’s no catch to any of this. You are actually performing these actions like you would in real life. I know, it sounds odd, but there’s something kind of enticing about it. It helps you to understand where the characters come from and get yourself in the proper mood.

The controls makes for vastly different action scenes as well. At several points of the story you’ll be forced to fight off burglars, have a shootout with thugs, or even drive the wrong way down the highway. These play out as long series of quick time events. However, since this is the game's sole design, it’s much more lenient than your average QTE segment. Fail one or two prompts and your character will come away more beat up or distressed. Mess up too much and you’ll fail the sequence. They turn out to be quite hair raising and intense because so much of the dialog and story depend on the outcome. In most other games, failure usually means death. In Heavy Rain it can lead to vastly different storylines and character development. 

The only thing I didn’t like about this control scheme is some of the free-movement. Simply moving the left analog stick will only make your character look at his or her surroundings. You need to hold R2 to move your character in 3rd person. It’s takes a little while to get used to and is often clunky, making you go in directions you didn’t want. It’s a mild frustration, but it doesn’t ever affect your overall enjoyment of the game. It’s also one of the very few complaints I have about this game, to be honest.

FINAL WORDS: 

Considering the trend of current games, Quantic Dream took a huge risk with Heavy Rain, but in the end it paid off. This game isn’t for everyone. It’s a game mature in content, but for all of the right reasons. It’s a much needed breath of fresh air in an often stagnant pool of explosions and bullet holes. If you can look past the sometimes slow pace and movie-like feel you’ll find a highly rewarding and emotional experience unlike anything you’ve played before. You shouldn’t miss this one at all. Just remember to bring a rain jacket. 

-Andrew Schwaiger

Uncharted: Drake's Fortune review

UNCHARTED: DRAKE'S FORTUNE


(release date) 11/6/07
(developer) Naughty Dog
(publisher) Sony Computer Entertainment America
(platform) PS3

Nathan Drake is the face of the PS3. Everyone and their grandmother loves the Uncharted series. So what I’m going to say may seem odd: I did not really enjoy Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune. I keep mulling it over in my head. “Am I being too harsh? Did I miss something that everyone else picked up on?” The resounding answer is that while the game does have its fun set pieces and nice looking visuals, Mr. Drake’s first outing is not all it’s been cracked up to be.

The story begins with our hero, Nathan Drake, recovering the coffin of his ancestor Sir Francis Drake from the bottom of the sea floor. Drake has inherited a ring that once belonged to the great explorer and written on it are the coordinates to El Dorado, the Lost City of Gold. Joining Drake is Elena, a journalist documenting the expedition, and Victor “Sully” Sullivan, Drake’s adoptive father and longtime partner.

All of this probably sounds familiar: a hunky, charismatic treasure hunter hears of adventure and excitement and takes his merry band of friends and carries them off on another danger laden adventure. Sounds like the script to a summer blockbuster doesn't it? Well that’s exactly what Uncharted is. It’s an action packed popcorn movie you can play on your PS3. An energetic mix of Tomb Raider and Indiana Jones. We’ve seen games like this before, but this one has something a lot of others don’t: character. Lots of character.

Visually the game looks fantastic. Even playing it well after its release I can tell how amazing it must have looked to players in 2007. The jungle locales and ancient monasteries are both stunning and crisp to decrepit and barren, respectively. Plants sway as Drake runs by. His clothes will be noticeably soaked after a dip in the water. It’s a nice touch. There is plenty of eye candy between firefights and they are the perfect medium of showing off what the PS3 is really capable of in the hands of a talented developer. Character animations are smooth and detailed, right down to Drake platforming with his pistol still in hand if he hadn’t put it away yet. Every cutscene and dialog segment help immerse you in Drake’s world.. The voice acting and motion capture are still a cut above a lot of the games you’ll play today (even 5 years later). A great effort that goes a long way to help soak up more of the story. The original score also matches the high production values set by the visuals and cinematics. Composer Greg Edmonson (King of the Hill, Firefly) really nailed the summer blockbuster feel with every note. I even found myself sitting at the main menu on several occasions to hear the main theme loop. It really does help you get into the mood every time you hear the music. Plus, how often do you reference the composer when talking about a game? Yeah, it’s that good. Naughty Dog knew them had a gem on their hands during development and the high production values match that ambition every step of the way.

“Wait, I thought he said he didn’t like the game?” Yeah, everything I’ve written has been positive so far, but that’s because I haven’t talked about the gameplay yet. That’s where this story takes a wrong turn. The game plays as a mix between the aforementioned Tomb Raider’s platforming and exploration and Gears of War’s stop-n-pop cover based shooting. It’s an interesting take on paper, but this is where the game starts to lack in its execution. Speaking of exploration, for a game set in jungle ruins and ancient temples, it’s far too linear. You are funneled down narrow corridor after narrow corridor cleverly disguised as jungle paths to the next open area for another shootout. There is literally no exploration to be had, save for a few empty rooms from time to time that may or may not hold a hidden collectible. You are constantly being rushed to the next plot point or cutscene without much deviation. The game has a set focus and the developer definitely wants you to follow it closely. Some light puzzle solving does exists but it never slows you down and makes you get frustrated and look at a walk-through.

Enemy encounters are altogether too frequent and hardly give you a chance to catch your breath. You’ll most likely be outnumbered and out of ammunition during the many firefights. My favorite reason for running out of ammo so frequently? Probably having to put 6 or 7 AK-47 rounds into the chest of a enemy wearing nothing more than a wife beater. Seriously stupid. These enemies aren’t always the smartest foes, either, charging at you in the open offering an easy pop-out headshot or throwing grenades at a walls right next to them. Another question I have: who’s bright idea was it to make the evade button the same as the cover button? You’ll die more than once in battle because you end up panicking with these controls. 

Your arsenal contains your average shooter fare: pistols, shotguns, assault rifles, and grenade launchers. Most gunfights consist of you hiding in cover until the opportunity arises to pop out and get some kills. I actually found myself using the pistol the most because it seemed the best for pulling off headshots with some consistency. Grenades have the Gears of War style arc telling you where they will land. This can be controlled with either the analog sticks or the PS3’s sixaxis motion control. It’s a neat feature but during an intense firefight you will most definitely not be waving the controller around. You have the luxury of having AI partners (Elena or Sully) to help you along the way, but they don’t offer much help. Sure they may get a kill every once in awhile, but you’ll be doing the bulk of the work. 

They gunplay actually feels decent enough for the most part, but I wish they would have had a bigger emphasis on exploring. There’s also some light melee mechanics thrown in for good measure but you’ll hardly ever be forced to use the. They feel clunky at best and all you’re given is a 3-hit combo. Drake’s one-liners are more harmful than his fists. The pen is mightier, as some may say. (SIDE NOTE TO DEVELOPERS: NO MORE EXPLODING BARRELS IN ANCIENT RUINS PLEASE!)

Now we come to my most hated part of the game: the platforming. I normally love platforming. Who doesn’t like jumping around, navigating cliff walls and swinging from vines? It can be especially nice when it’s not the main focus of a game and it helps mix things up. Prince of Persia: The Sands of time is a great example.The platforming is fluid and intuitive and you have to use your brain to get by many of the harder parts. In Uncharted all you need to do is point in the direction you want to go and hit jump. That’s all there is to it. You may come across a vine or a crumbling ledge, but it really offers no challenge whatsoever. They missed the mark with the platforming and the game could have been a lot more fun (and challenging) if it were more finely tuned. 

Uncharted feels like two totally different games. There’s the cinematic joy of the story and characters, making you feel like a kid again watching your favorite heroes on the silver screen. Then there’s the clunky, trial and error shooter that can frustrate you to no end with its bland, repetitive gameplay. Both sides of the game pull you back and forth the entire time. It would be nice if there was a big, satisfying end to all of it, but all you get is a “boss fight” that consists of a few button presses and you’re done. That’s it. Far from rewarding.

FINAL WORDS:

Perhaps I have been too harsh. There’s something about this game that is a bit infectious. Shoddy combat and weak platforming aside, you might still find a weekend of enjoyment out of it. It's worth it for the story alone so you can dive right into the sequel. Just make sure you know it’s not all fun and games the first time around.

-Andrew Schwaiger

Batman: Arkham City review

BATMAN: ARKHAM CITY

(release date) 10/11/2012
(developer) Rocksteady Studios
(publisher) Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment
(platforms) Xbox 360 (reviewed on), PS3, PC

I'm not really a huge comic book fan. They never interested me. So when Arkham Asylum came out it didn't really pique my interest, but I eventually played it and ended up loving every second of it. Fast forward to 2012 (yeah I know, I'm late to the party) and I can't wait to dive in to Rocksteady's latest entry as the Dark Knight.

Months after the events at Arkham Asylum, Gotham city is still as dangerous as ever. Former asylum warden Quincy Sharp is now the mayor of Gotham and has appointed everyone's favorite psychopathic psychiatrist Dr. Hugo Strange to run Arkham City. The city itself is a giant open air prison filled Gothams worst super villains. Swarms of inmates patrol the night, pledging their fealty to whoever they fear most. Bruce Wayne is not happy about the mayor's new project and at a press conference held to voice his displeasure he is arrested by Strange's TYGER mercenary group. He is thrown into Arkham City as Bruce Wayne. After an airdrop from Alfred, he finds his gear, and transforms into Batman. Now we can have some fun...

PRESENTATION:

The first thing you'll notice when you're out in the world is the world itself. Rocksteady has truly created a visual masterpeice with Arkham City. The game does a amazing job of blending dark, realistic visuals with over the top comic-book flair. Looking out over the city from atop a skyscraper is something you'll not soon forget. City streets are messy and dimly lit, with drum fires burning in dark alley ways. Groups of henchmen walk in packs, patrolling the night on the lookout for Batman or beating defenseless political prisoners to death. The game just oozes atmosphere. The music is also top notch. It reminds me a little of the Dark Knight soundtrack; very heavy and aggressive. It does a great job of setting the tone right from the menu screen.

One thing I cannot stress enough is the quality of the voice acting. Every character, from the most maniacal super villain to your common street thug, was given 110% in the booth. Almost every big name returns to reprise their roles from Arkham City (some from even older entries in the Batman universe). It really helps add to the overall feel of the game when the quality is this good. I can't remember a game with such well rounded voice acting. No weak spots at all. I'm beginning to think that Mark Hamill as the Joker could be my favorite performance of all time. It's that good.

GAMEPLAY:

For anyone who played the previous title, they'll feel right at home. Rocksteady took their tried and true combat system from Asylum and refined it, made things tighter, and added a few new tricks up the Dark Knight's sleeve. The basics are all the same: the X button strikes, the Y button counters, and A dodges. You now have the ability to counter multiple enemies at once which is much needed when you see how many foes you'll have to take on at any given time. A convenient hotkey system is used with the d-pad to equip all of your favorite gadgets on the fly making it a breeze to drop Freeze grenades or Batarangs in the heat of battle.

I've often heard this game described as "GTA: Arkham City". This couldn't be further from the truth. It really just feels like a bigger version of Arkham Asylum. True, the game does take place in a giant closed off section of Gotham City, but I just don't get the open world vibe. No cars, no pedestrians, and no real freedom. In fact, the play space isn't really that much bigger than Arkham Asylum at all. The addition of side missions is a nice touch, but even at that there are only a handful of them and the focus is still mostly on the main story.

Beat up enough thugs and you'll eventually level up. When you level you you'll be asked to choose a new upgrade. These come in the form of new combat techniques (the Batclaw disarm is a good example: you can rip the weapon right out of the bad guys hands), armor upgrades (being able to take more melee or bullet damage), or even upgrade the power or range of your existing tools. At the completion of my play through I still had plenty of items and techniques to acquire. Plus, if you like using Catwoman (provided you have the DLC), you can upgrade her as well, but not to the level you can for Batman. Her skill set is much smaller. The bad guys also get significant upgrades the farther you progress. They utilize stun rods, shields, and armor and they all have to be dealt with in their own specific way. This really forces you to switch up your plan of attack in the later fights because just striking won't get you far in a room full of thugs outfitted in different ways.

A quick word on Catwoman: (if you downloaded her DLC), she joins the game at various points of the single player campaign. She has her own reasons for coming to Arkham City and her story does tie in mildly with Batmans, but other than some of the super villains getting more screen time (mainly Two-Face and Poison Ivy) I wouldn't really recommend this to anyone who doesn't have it. There just isn't enough variety in her missions and the combat is a downgrade from Batman. She doesn't have a wide range of toys to play with and after getting used to playing as Batman for 90% of the game, this is a bit of a downer. She just doesn't bring enough to the table. Only for diehard Catwoman fans. Wait.....do those exist?

Challenge rooms are back and include the combat and predator maps. The combat maps focus on Batman taking down waves of bad guys and the predator maps have you using stealth to take out your enemies. I wasn't too interested in these modes though. They're fun to mess around with, but I tend to get bored with them after a few rounds. I'd rather play through the campaign a second time then spend a lot of time on the challenge maps. They have added Riddler challengers, however, and these can be more interesting. These put challenge maps and gameplay modifiers (low health, time, etc.) into the mix and can really help you sharpen your skills for a tougher NG+ play through. It’s worth your time.

FINAL WORDS:

The game isn't without it faults, but in the end they're so minute that it doesn't detract at all from this amazing game. The voice acting, the dark atmosphere and visuals, the fast and frenetic combat, and the ending all make for a can't miss experience on this generation of consoles. Do yourself a favor and get a copy of this game. Now.

-Andrew Schwaiger

Ran into a snag with the Batman review but it should be up relatively soon. I am working on my Max Payne 3 one right now.

In other news, I just saw a really interesting trailer:

A first person survival horror game where you play as a toddler? That's just......fantastic? It's called Among the Sleep, and it's from Norwegian developers krillbite. I know the premise sounds weird, but when you think about it, it makes a lot of sense. It plays on the fact that you're a two year old. Utterly helpless. No weapons, no sidekicks, no anything. Just you and your overactive imagination. Can a situation really be more dire? Sounds excellent.

Follow development updates at http://krillbite.com/blog/

This is one to keep an eye on.

Just finished my Batman: Arkham City review! It needs extensive proofreading and tweaking, but I should have my first real review up in about a day.

Hope you guys like it!