Category Archives: 360
Say Hello to the Xbox One
- Assassin’s Creed 4
- Battlefield 4
- Call of Duty: Ghosts
- Destiny
- FIFA Soccer 14
- Forza Motorsport 5
- Madden NFL 25
- NBA Live 14
- Quantum Break
- Thief
- EA Sports UFC
- Watch Dogs
- Enhanced functionality with Kinect, even requiring it for system functionality
- The ability to replace one’s cable box, permitting live streaming of a paid subscription
- “Game DVR” continuously records recent gameplay, allowing for quick upload to various social networks
- “Smart Match” improves multiplayer matchmaking and enables players to play other games, listen to music, or even watch TV while waiting for a match to start
- An all-new “Snap Mode,” which lets players view two different apps simultaneously
- Players can play disc-based games as they install.
- Cloud computing to handle less important but system intensive features
- Continuation of Xbox Live accounts and improved friends lists of up to 1000 players
- Improved usage of SmartGlass to add extra features and simplify menu navigation
[REVIEW] Giana Sisters: Twisted Dreams
A peaceful holiday for Giana and her sister is interrupted when Maria is sucked into the dream world by a dragon, with Giana in hot pursuit. As a teenager, Giana has the ability to transform into “Cute” and “Punk” versions of herself at will, which also changes the dreamworld and the nature of her enemies. Each version of Giana has different abilities. Cute Giana twirls and glides, while Punk Giana dashes and attacks. Using both of her forms, finding secrets in the large levels, and traversing the hazards of the dream world will all be necessary if she is to save her sister.
The changing environment serves more than just an attractive aesthetic, however. At times, changes to the environment are necessary to progress: the dead world’s demolished well clears a path to the next part of the level, certain platforms can only be used in the living world, and deadly piranhas will change into traversible turtles in the living world, allowing the sister to get across the lake of acid. It becomes something of a puzzle at times, trying to figure out which persona and/or environmental change is necessary to progress.
The puzzles themselves are generally pretty good, with most being easy enough to allow for a generally breezy speed run of the levels. Others, however, are abstract and non-intuitive, creating some situations in which you may spend quite a while attempting to make the same impossible jump before realizing that there is an entirely different necessary method for progressing. These are uncommon, but like in any other game in which these issues appear, it brings the game to a screeching halt. For the most part, however, the puzzles generally require some clever usage of abilities, and it feels good to conquer them.
The changing environment wouldn’t be nearly as impressive if the game didn’t feature such a beautiful art design. While there has been a resurgence in hand-drawn 2D sprites, Giana Sisters makes a strong case for the 2.5D style of platforming composed of 3D models and environments while traversal remains on a 2D plane. Sharp graphics, sumptuous colors, and a creative environment make the game great to look at. The engine was developed in-house at Black Forest games, and it certainly looks attractive enough to be used in later titles.
Despite the game’s rather short length, there are a handful of additional modes to increase longevity that revolve around the same levels. For purists, there are time and score attack modes that focus on specific benchmarks in contrast with the generally leisurely pace of the main game. If the challenge of those modes is not adequate, there are two hardcore modes: one that does not have any level checkpoints, and one which doesn’t have any game restarts: if you die, you restart the game. There are a couple of other holiday-themed levels as well, but it’s still easy to hope for some additional DLC sometime in the future.
Despite having no knowledge of the series, I enjoyed my time with Twisted Dreams. While it’s all familiar territory in terms of general mechanics, the world shifting mechanic is what makes the game a little more special. Some tightening up of some of the other basic elements would have made a true gem, but as it is, this game is yet another solid entry in the new revival of platformers. Black Forest Games has a bright future.
[REVIEW] Warlords
Marcus Estrada
(PlayStation 3 [REVIEWED], Xbox 360)
Are you a gamer who remembers the Atari classic Warlords? If not, the game is simple enough to understand. Basically, it is a multiplayer-centric title focused on destroying the “forts” of opponents. Since this was the early ’80s, destroying forts was accomplished with a ball being flung across the screen. Imagine Pong, but with up to four players, and that’s what Warlords was in both arcades and home consoles. A downloadable remake was made available in 2008, but now another, more creative remake has been released.
Warlords just arrived on PlayStation Network (coming soon to Xbox Live Arcade, and tries to be both reminiscent of the original, while updating the formula. For one, the visuals are probably near to what Atari would have done if they had nearly enough power on arcade machines at the time. Instead of very dull forts, they are now full on castles. When hit, the castle walls steam, blaze, and crumble. The Warlords themselves also have distinct appearances and attitudes, instead of being awkward block shapes.
Visuals are not the only update – gameplay has also seen a boost. The very basic mechanic of blocking incoming balls with a shield still remains. If you get hit enough times, then your castle will crumble and enemy warlords will still mock you. However, there are more fireballs which will slowly pepper the field until it becomes quite the challenge to block them all. There are also power-ups which will affect the balls and forts in a variety of ways. Expect to have power-ups to slow shield movement down, speed ball movement up, or even unleash a giant knight onto the battlefield.
Another gameplay feature was added for players to make use of power-ups. There are now little knights called Snoots who will secure power-ups for you. In order to grab one, they must stand on a platform and maintain control of it for a set period of time. Once that’s taken care of, the power-up will activate automatically to help you mess with the other players. While this is fine in theory it works out to be much more of a challenge. When you’re busy contending with half a dozen flaming balls, you have little time to manage Snoots. They will attempt to automatically perform actions, such as repair your castle, but sometimes they don’t do a thing.
Not all modes require the Snoots, and these prove to be the better for gameplay. Not only are they hard to take care of when focusing on protecting yourself, the power-ups themselves aren’t labelled easily. Instead of having a very simplistic symbol, they are all marked with elaborate runes. As a power-up platform appears, it will say what it’s called, but often you won’t be looking right there as it flashes for a second. The developers really should have come up with a better way to quickly identify what is going on in the battlefield, as the game is so frantic. For a long time, you’ll probably end up randomly choosing power-ups, and hoping that they’re useful.
Although the game is much less infuriating without Snoots, you won’t be able to complete it without ever encountering them. In campaign mode, there are a great many levels which require their strategic use. Matched against A.I. that doesn’t need to “think” to manage troops, while defending, makes for some infuriating matches. Thankfully, quick matches, as well as multiplayer modes can be tweaked to keep that gameplay element out entirely.
Multiplayer includes both online and local play functionality. In either version, players are presented with the same amount of options. With up to four players you can dictate things such as whether to use power-ups, as well as how many fireballs can be on the screen. As far as Warlords is concerned, the game is always best played with others. Even if gameplay is a pain, it’s at least entertaining to know that your friends are having as much trouble with it as you are.
It’s obvious that there was a strong attempt to modernize Warlords. While the basic gameplay still maintains a level of fun, it is certainly simplistic to modern players. However, it doesn’t feel like the additions have done much positive for the title. Instead of simply making it exciting, power-ups and additional fireballs only make for a more hectic experience. As stated earlier, it is quite difficult at times to even know what power-ups are available, much less be able to guide your Snoots there while also deflecting objects.
Although Warlords is a valiant attempt to update an over 30 year-old game, it fails to surpass it. It’s not even able to capture the same degree of fun the initial originally evoked. This doesn’t mean the game is a complete loss, though. Setting options to make the game about as close to the original as possible reveals something much more playable, if simpler. Fans of arcade-style games might enjoy it, but overall Warlords-curious players should simply skip back to the 1980 original.
Forza Horizon – It’s Good, But Is It GRiD 2, Yet?
Callum Petch
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| Admit it. You all totally want to own this car in reality. I know that I do. |
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| And these. Oh, jeez, do I want these in real life! |
Graphically, the game is pretty, but nothing special. Cars get the appropriate level of detail; which is to say, anally accurate. The scenery is bright and breezy, very pleasing to look at. There is an abundance of colour all over the place (you know, colour? That thing that’s not grey or brown?), but at no point did it blow me away or make me salivate. It was good, serviceable, competent, and nothing much more.
[REVIEW] Mark of the Ninja
Mat Paget
(Xbox 360 [REVIEWED])
This review is late because I couldn’t stop playing this game. In fact, I’m having troubles finishing this sentence.
I think everyone can agree that ninjas are awesome. But there haven’t really been a lot of proper ninja videogames. Sure, I know what you’ll say: “But Mat, Ninja Gaiden is a ninja videogame.” Well, I’m going to stop you right there because it totally isn’t. There’s nothing ninja about running head-on to a group of guys, and performing seemingly endless combos until the limbs of your enemies have painted the area red. And I’m sure the ninjas in Mortal Kombat get into ninja shenanigans on their own time, but fighting in a tournament is not ninja. At all. And sure, Batman may know ninjitsu, and act similar to one, but it’s just not the same. No, there haven’t been many proper portrayals in videogames. But don’t worry, because Klei Entertainment has managed to make a really awesome game that does justice to the word, “ninja.”
Mark of the Ninja is a stealth-ninja game that embodies exactly what it is to be a ninja. You sneak around, stealthily take out enemies, plant traps, throw smoke bombs, and even wear fancy ninja garb. The game itself puts the player in a situation, and tasks you with completing it. From there, you pretty much have free reign over what you want to do, whether that’s take out every guard, or simply sneak by them without being detected. And like Deus Ex: Human Revolution, there are several ways to complete a single task, which can depend on what you have in your inventory, or simply just your imagination. It’s definitely a game where you’ll need patience, and practice, if you want to make it through a level undetected.
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| The ninja is always in the last place you look… |
And the inventory system is actually pretty interesting. There are two different kinds of items — distraction and attack. Distraction items are used for distracting enemies, or avoiding detection, while attack items are used for eliminating, or terrorizing, enemies in different ways. For example, if you place a spike mine, and an enemy steps on it in front of someone, the witness will become terrorized. The sound and animation the frightened target makes is extremely satisfying, and makes you feel like you’re terrorizing a bunch of near-sighted children. Different costumes also affect the items you can carry, and some of your abilities; some will allow you to perform flawless stealth kills, while others will allow you to remain completely silent when moving. But the costumes don’t create a desire to play through the game again, they create an absolute need to.
Also, let’s backtrack to taking out enemies for a second. Taking out an enemy involves pushing the X button, but it doesn’t stop there. At this point, you’ll need to hold the left stick in the designated direction, and then finish it by pressing X one more time. If you completed this with no hitch, then you’ll kill the target silently; however, if you performed the incorrect input, the victim will make some noise before succumbing to your blade. This isn’t the hardest thing to get a hang of, but when you rush or panic with the controller, it translates to the game into an imperfect kill. It’s a very simple mechanic that is actually quite immersive.
Now, I guess I should mention the story. It’s not the most engaging story, and is definitely not what you should be coming to this game for, but it’s serviceable nonetheless. The story revolves around an unnamed ninja who adopts markings that grant him supernatural powers. His clan is then attacked by a group of mercenaries, and it’s your job to bring honour back to the clan… by murdering dudes. But like I said, you can get through the entire game without killing a single soul. Finding out how to do that, however, is the tricky, yet fun part.
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| Don’t worry! He’s just performing the Heimlich maneuver. |
There are skill trees that can help you complete those kinds of tasks in different ways. Some upgrades cater to different play-styles, but you’ll never get locked off from anything because you decided to buy techniques and items that cater more to the sneaky side of things. Each technique is significant, too. It can be hard to decide which ones you buy first because it’s worth getting every single one; they all contribute to becoming the ultimate ninja. Unlocking new items is also worth your time, as distraction items are essential if you want to make it through a level without being detected. Oh, and the items are just fun to experiment with.
Also, the game looks great. It’s a very simple art-style that takes full advantage of shadows and light. The foreground is almost always completely black, while the background is governed by a higher sense of detail. The locales seen in the background range from cities around the world, to almost-abandoned ruins. And when you’re deep inside an enemy fortress, the background is still lit up more than what you’re traversing on; it really brings out the detail of the room. Even when you’re in the depths of the catacombs, the game’s look gives off an atmosphere crawling with dinginess. It looks fantastic, and with the excellent sound, it creates an absolutely dynamic combination.
Actually, that’s a great way to describe this game altogether: a dynamic combination. Nothing in this game slacks, and it delivers a fun experience that can’t be matched in any other stealth game. It takes mechanics that are usually only found in 3D games, and applies them brilliantly to a 2D playing field. The fact that a stealth game can work in this way is only exceeded by the fact that Mark of the Ninja is one of the best stealth games ever made. But people who are new, or adverse to stealth games needn’t worry, as it is also quite approachable. Be you a rookie or veteran to the genre, there aren’t many better options to spend your money, so do yourself a favour and buy this game.
[NEWS] Terraria Headed to Consoles
Mat Paget
Today, it was announced via the official Facebook page that Terraria would be coming to the PlayStation Network and Xbox Live Arcade in early 2013. To say the least, PC gamers aren’t impressed (whether they deserve to be or not is up for debate).
Regardless of the mostly negative recepetion, I am happy to hear that more people will be able to play it. For those who don’t know what this game is, it’s basically a side-scrolling Minecraft with RPG elements. You craft, mine, and build, as well as defend yourself against onslaughts of enemies, and even participate in a boss fight every now and then.
Terraria is pretty damn good; Jonny and I play this game for increasingly long sessions at a time. You can even check out Jonny’s review of the game right here.
We will keep you updated, as more is learned.
[REVIEW] Sleeping Dogs
Mat Paget
(PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 [REVIEWED], PC)
Open-world crime games are a dime a dozen these days, and it takes a lot to stand out. Something new to the table must be brought in order to be noticed, and remembered by a large audience. But what if a developer went the other way? What if they took a few already-familiar systems, refined them, added a unique twist, and put them together into one awesome package? Could the game be good enough to stand on its own, and not be accused of copying? Well, there are a lot of things that come to mind when thinking about Sleeping Dogs, but, as derivative as the game is, clone is never one of them. No, a Hong Kong crime romp accompanied by a good story and excellent gameplay just seems to fit better.
Meet Wei Shen. He’s an undercover cop infiltrating, and attempting to take down, the Triad organization called the Sun On Yee. Like many cop films, the protagonist has his own reasons for doing the job, and this game is no different. While trying to settle the score, he becomes a gangster, orchestrates amazing action movie-like stunts, makes multiple friends and enemies, and still takes the time to sing some karaoke. The story is definitely nothing to gawk at; it’s actually quite entertaining. It’s delivered through your typical open-world missions, which do a great job at pacing, and are very effective when it comes to becoming attached to the characters. And it’s very easy to play for longer periods at a time, as it mixes things up, making each mission different from the last.
The missions range from fistfights, firefights, chase scenes, and a lot more. Each aspect of gameplay, although done before, is implemented incredibly well. The fighting mechanics, similar to Batman: Arkham City, are the best it has been done since Rocksteady’s caped crusader, and the on-foot chase scenes put L.A. Noire to shame. Even the shooting is done really well, regardless if it’s on foot or vehicle. If you aim while driving a vehicle, everything slows down to let you focus on aiming and using ammo wisely. It makes chase sequences actually fun to play, instead of a chore that wastes considerable amounts of ammunition. Also, losing the cops is as easy as ramming your vehicle into them, meaning no more ridiculously long chase sequences to escape them.
Even the minigames in missions are done well. The majority of them feel essential to the experience, and none of them are too hard to complete on the first try. They mostly consist of hacking cameras, planting bugs, tracing calls, and other police-related business, but at times they’ll range from picking locks, to singing at karaoke bars. The only minigame that could cause some groans when it comes up in the story is the karaoke, as it’s not all that interesting. Other than that, they’re implemented into the story well.
During each mission, you’re able to gain experience in two different “skill trees,” titled Police and Triad — I hesitate to call them skill trees, as there’s very little branching within them. With Police, you start off with the full experience at the beginning of each mission. To retain it, you’ll need to drive carefully, avoid hurting or killing innocent civilians, and be swift on your feet. Triad, on the other hand, will need to be earned through fighting, killing, and other dastardly deeds. Thankfully, doing well in one does not affect the other, and each level earns you one skill point to assign in the respective category. And last but not least, Face experience is basically how the public sees you. It’s gained from completing favours, and as you level up, you’ll be able to purchase better vehicles and clothes, as well as receive parks like a Car Valet. All of the upgrades are really useful and, like an RPG, make you feel like Wei is getting stronger with each level.
The Police experience in particular does something pretty interesting to the game’s dynamics. In most open worlds, the story doesn’t always line up with the actions you can perform in the open world. For example, John Marston in Red Dead Redemption was reformed and trying to right his wrongs, but you could still perform all the deeds of an outlaw in the open world. In Sleeping Dogs, you’re encouraged to act accordingly with the law in return for experience. The more you behave, the bigger the pay-off. It’s not perfect, but it’s the best job a developer has done so far at keeping your actions in-line with the story.
Outside of the missions altogether, there are a slew of activities to do. It’s not hard to see that this game is huge, and not only when it comes to map-size. Martial arts clubs, street races, and drug busts are just a few of the things you’ll encounter. Martial arts clubs have you go up against six rounds of enemies, with each round adding more, while street races are what you’d expect. The big difference is the races are much better than they are in other open-world games, and the driving is actually pretty good. Finally, drug busts have you take out a group of thugs, hack a camera, and then use a surveillance system to arrest the supplier. The activities are definitely not lacklustre, as many open-world activities tend to be. If you need more than just the story, this game has you covered.
Now, I’ve been saying a lot of great things, but the game is definitely not without fault. There are a lot of corners cut to make the game a smoother experience, and that would be okay if the game wasn’t so grounded in reality. For example, when stealing a car with a passenger in it, the passenger will disappear as if they were never in the car. Also, restarting from a checkpoint doesn’t mean you’ll restart from your checkpoint. There are preset checkpoints already in place for every situation, which can be jarring if, for example, you catch someone you’re chasing before you’re supposed to, then are forced to restart for some reason. It’s not a huge issue, but it can definitely take you out of the immersion.
It’s very easy to pull apart this title into little pieces, and label each one with a different title, because at its core, it’s made up of different aspects from many popular games. It’s definitely not the most original game, and that might turn off a lot of people, but it shouldn’t because all of these things come together and make one hell of a fun package. Most games that borrow so much from others don’t usually do it as well as the games they’re borrowing from, but United Front’s Hong Kong adventure totally does. And although the game isn’t perfect, it is really entertaining, and it would be a shame if people let a little familiarity ruin that for them. All I am saying is give Sleeping Dogs a chance. You most likely won’t be disappointed.
[REVIEW] Wreckateer
Mat Paget
(Xbox 360 [REVIEWED])
Angry Birds is the bane of many people who enjoy videogames. I still don’t understand why, though. It’s definitely not the most entertaining game in the world, nor the most interactive, but to hate something that doesn’t affect you in any way is kind of weird. Games that even sort of resemble the infuriated bird-themed catapult game are instantly written off. Well, Wreckateer is a Kinect title that takes the same type of gameplay that the pissed-off avians have made famous, but turns it into a game that you play, instead of watch for the majority of the time. It’s an uphill battle, but it manages to do some interesting things with this already familiar format.
First off, this game strikingly resembles Angry Birds. The main difference is the third-person view, and that you have to destroy structures in this game, opposed to disposing of green enemies (which this game totally has). Taking out the green goblins earns you Mulligans, which allow you to retry a shot by raising your left hand. Shooting the various shots consists of stepping forward and reaching out as if you’re grabbing the slingshot. What you have to do next is take a step back, and then move your closed hands apart from each other to send the shot flying. At this point, you can influence the shot’s path by waving at it with your hands. Some shots even have skills that need activating; this is achieved by making a Y with your arms — fans of the Village People rejoice!
And the shots that are made available throughout the course of the game are all unique from each other, and have some interesting mechanics. One of my favourites is the Split Shot: when activated, it turns into four chained shots that take the form of your wingspan. However, it still uses the momentum gained from letting go of the slingshot, so you’ll have to rely on that to keep moving. The Flying Shot, when activated, turns into a small plane that you can use to fly through point bonuses, opposed to having to aim for them. It also allows you to crash into exactly what you want. There are many more shots to play with, which are all very well crafted, but those two were the ones that stood out.
But even though this game is well made, and has some interesting mechanics, it just doesn’t hold up as strongly as when it started out. The repetitive nature of the game can become boring, and it’s definitely aimed more towards children. The two characters that accompany you on your journey to wreck everything are very cartoon-y, and have some mildly entertaining conversations — they also develop all of the new icons and shots you encounter. The game also works well when played with a group of people; there’s a multiplayer mode where players trade off shots. Both players have to wreck the same castle, but there’s no sharing; each player has their own castle to wreck. The game definitely becomes more entertaining when played with a friend.
And the Kinect does its job for the most part. Putting your hand up to claim a Mulligan, and other similar motions, can be finicky at times; if you move your other arm even a little while doing one of these actions, you’ll have to restart from the beginning of said action. It can be really frustrating at times, but the game does a good job at moving at a good speed, so you can keep up, and not be too late to act. For example, if you want to take a Mulligan on your last shot, you can activate it whenever you like, as long as you don’t fire another. Pertaining to the actual gameplay, there are times when it activates a shot’s skill more than it’s supposed to, or just isn’t activated at all. However, those occurrences are rare, and thankfully, the flying and arm formation stuff feels really good.
But at the end of the day, Wreckateer is a game that most people have already made up their mind over. And that’s somewhat of a shame. The game is definitely nothing that you should rush out to buy, but it gives an interesting spin on the Angry Birds format. However, other than the difficulty, the game never seems to build up to anything, and you’ll feel like you’re seeing the same thing from level to level. And like most Kinect titles, this game definitely works best when accompanied by others. People who are interested in this type of game, or just this game, will be happy to know that it all works exceptionally well, but everyone else should approach with caution before putting down any money.
[REVIEW] Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater HD
Mat Paget
(PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 [REVIEWED], PC)
Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater was a huge series. To a large group of people, it’s just as important as Mario or Zelda. To me, it was a game series I spent most of my childhood with. Games of Horse at the Skate Park, or even the deserted School (which I always found strangely creepy), carry some of my favourite memories. So, Robomodo, the developer, must have a lot on its plate when it comes to making an HD remake, right? Well, yeah, but it’s as easy as putting together a good collection of levels, game modes, and skaters. Unfortunately, that’s not exactly what has happened with Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater HD.
Now, that last sentence sounded all doom and gloom, and that’s not entirely how it is. This game still plays as good as it ever did, maybe even better. Since the game is a remake of the first two games, the revert that was introduced in Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3 is absent. But manual as much as you want because that returns in full force, allowing you to chain your tricks together into insane combos. However, despite the great gameplay, there are some technical issues with the game. Getting caught on the geometry of levels, as well as clipping through the environments into a black abyss, are common occurrences that are especially frustrating when you’re in the middle of chaining tricks. This doesn’t happen to the point where it’s unplayable, but certain levels seem to be more prone to this than others.
And talking about the levels, there are only seven of them. And guess what? Neither of the ones I mentioned in the first paragraph are there — nor is the game mode Horse. It’s probably safe to say that, if you’re a Pro Skater fan, some of your favourite levels are missing. The game does feature the Warehouse, Hangar, and School II levels, but those are only a small fraction of the classics. There’s no Downhill Jam mode in this game, yet Downhill Jam and Mall are featured — once you reach the bottom, you’re teleported to the beginning. It’s funny how this is really disappointing to long-time fans, such as myself, but newcomers won’t even think about it.
But even if the game is missing some obvious choices for levels and game modes, they do look pretty good in high-definition. It’s not going to be blowing anyone away, but it’s definitely awesome to see the levels in particular look this good. And like the original games, you’ll need to unlock each level by character (sort of like a certain tennis game featuring an Italian plumber). This isn’t really a problem, though, as the game is quite fun to play. And to top it off, the load times are pretty quick, which is appreciated because if you’re anything like me, you’ll be hitting Quick Restart over and over again to perfect your run. It’s just a shame that Horse isn’t in this game.
And although the aforementioned mode isn’t present, several new game modes join Graffiti, Free Skate, and Trick Attack. Hawkman is the one I feel is worth mentioning, as it’s probably the best mode being offered. First off, the name is supposed to be a play on Pac-Man. I don’t really understand that joke because other than collecting pellets, it’s not all that similar. Basically, you have to collect pellets by performing different tricks — yellow pellets need to be collected through a grind, green needs to be collected during a manual, red needs to be collected while you’re in the air, and blue’s requirement is a wall ride. You have to plan your course out before going through, as you’ll need to collect each pellet within a certain amount of time. It’s actually quite the challenging, yet fun mode that causes you to throw your hands up, and shout, “YES!” when you achieve the “Sick Score.”
And of course, there’s the progression through the career mode that allows you to complete the same objectives that were available in the original games. Completing objectives scores you money, which can be spent on new boards, tricks, or stats. And if you’re playing the Xbox 360 version (the only version available at the time of this review), then you’ll be able to play as your Avatar, as well as upgrade stats, and purchase new tricks and boards for it. I think it’s safe to say you should expect Batman, Scorpion, Ezio, and Tron Guy in the multiplayer modes.
All in all, Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater HD is a good game, but those who hold nostalgic, or emotional, connection to the series may be disappointed with the developer’s choice of levels, skaters, or just the lack of polish. The game feels half-heartedly put together by people working within strict guidelines. Ironically, people who hold no attachment to the original games will enjoy this game more than the intended audience. But despite some of the game’s disappointments, the gameplay still holds up, and is still really great. If you can look past some of the nostalgic, and technical, blemishes, this game will provide one hell of a good time, even if Spider-Man isn’t there. Or Horse.
[REVIEW] Spelunky
Mat Paget
(Xbox 360 [REVIEWED], PC)
Anger. Frustration. @#$%!. These are all emotions I am feeling thanks to Spelunky. But even though this game has made me the maddest I’ve been in a good long time, I can’t put the controller down. It’s too good, too hypnotic to rage quit. It’s one of those games where people will wonder why you continue to play it, when your overly-loud swearing is scaring the neighbourhood children. You will shout, “BECAUSE IT’S *!@#ING FUN! THAT’S WHY!” Yeah. It’s one of those games.
So, to start things off, let me explain how this game works. You travel through levels trying to reach the next one, but you only have four lives to get through; depending on the enemy, you lose a number of those if you’re hit by them. There are also traps along the way for you to forget about, then immediately remember when you’re impaled by one. Not only that, but in each level there’s a damsel in distress you’ll need to rescue — actually, you can change this to a dog, or even a dude, in distress. They’re the only way you’re going to get any lives back, as rescuing them earns you an additional one. Your goal is to make it through a set of four levels until you reach a guy who can help by making a shortcut. But there’s a catch: he needs multiple supplies in order to create said shortcut, so you’ll need to make it through each area several times.
Sounds simple enough, right? Well, add on the fact that each level is randomly generated, so you’ll never go through the exact same level twice. Also, the game has some rogue-like qualities to it; if you die once, you have to start from the very beginning of the area — if you were right at the end of the fourth level, you’ll be sent back to the first with nothing to show for it. The shortcuts are basically the game’s way of setting checkpoints; if you’ve successfully created a shortcut, you can start from the new area. If the game sounds easy, you’ll be corrected soon enough; this is the most challenging experience I’ve had in a long time.
Oh, and the game is extremely well made. The controls are tight, and there’s never a time where you’re able to blame them for your demise. However, because the game’s levels are randomly generated, it’s easy to blame the geometry, and enemy placement, for what happens to you. There are ways around obstacles like these, including rope and bombs, but there are times when you’ll be dazed by one enemy, while another moves in to finish you off. And there are also several variables, like the area being engulfed in darkness, that can screw you over when you’re on a roll. These moments can really make you feel cheated, but it pushes you to be extra careful when traversing levels.
But even being careful can be hazardous. There are moments where you’ll need to rush, so you’ll have to balance whether it’s safe or not. It will definitely take a lot of practice, and exposure, to understand how every little thing in each area works. Basically, the more time you invest in the game, the more you’ll be able to get out of it. And putting time into this game isn’t exactly hard, as you can sit down to play for a few minutes, and end up spending an entire afternoon trying to reach the next area. “This is my last try,” will be your mantra before too long.
The game also has a really awesome Indiana Jones thing going on. There are even parts where picking up a Golden Idol will trip a giant boulder to chase you, or have the floor disappear from beneath your feet. The default character even looks like Indy, whip and all. It doesn’t go much further than that, but it’s definitely a cool aesthetic for an already great game.
But if the single-player content isn’t enough, you can play through the Adventure with friends, or even jump into a Deathmatch. And if you thought the adventure was hard by yourself, then you’re in for a treat — it’s so much harder when accompanied by another player. Not only can it be chaotic with two players jumping across the screen, but the camera follows player one; both players will need to stick together if they want to get through alive. On the other hand, the deathmatch modes can actually be a bunch of fun with friends. There are several settings, including arenas, that can be customized in a bunch of hilariously fun ways (want to create a match with each player being equipped with 99 bombs?).
Spelunky may be a game that is sure to piss off everyone who plays it at least once, but it’s also really hard to put down. You may make zero progress, but this game still finds a way to be fun. And people who enjoy games that present a true challenge? They will eat this up. Like Super Meat Boy before it, it does a great job at being difficult, while still being approachable for people who aren’t as skilled. Anyone who takes their time, and spends it with this game, will be happy they did. Even if you do spout out swears you never even knew existed.
GameSparked 