Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts - X360 Review

‘Have you been playing for a while and still don’t like the vehicle based gameplay? Maybe you need to download Banjo-Kazooie from Xbox Live Arcade instead.’ Believe it or not, that statement actually appears on a loading screen in Nuts & Bolts, immediately creating the impression that Rare are edgy about what people will think of their newest Banjo creation. Their doubts, sadly, are not completely unfounded.

Instead of making the traditional platformer that just about everybody was hoping for, Rare decided to make a game all about vehicle customisation. One can only guess as to why they thought this would work, maybe they were afraid of letting the fans down with a substandard effort. However, some simple research would show that the 360 is overflowing with driving games, and has not a single worthwhile platform game to offer.

The gameplay basically consists of doing the same few quests over and over again in slightly different vehicles. Most missions are either ‘drive from A to B’ or ‘fetch things and return to starting point’, and this gets old really quickly. Sure, there are a staggering amount of possible vehicles to make, but it doesn’t make that much difference, especially early on when all you have is essentially a shopping trolley. Finishing quests rewards you with Jiggies, which unlock new areas and more quests, in the traditional Mario 64 style. The hub of the world here is Showdown Town, where you will find crates with extra vehicle parts to ‘pimp your ride’ (sorry).

The game does have immense possibility, but there’s no real motivation to see it all. The driving feels horrible, the quests are tedious and the constant gaming in jokes thrown at you are pathetic. The most enjoyable aspect of the gameplay was running over innocent animals, in a weird cross of Old Macdonald and Grand Theft Auto. The graphics here are good but unspectacular, and the sound is suspiciously similar to Viva Pinata, as if Rare couldn’t be bothered to change it up a little. Overall, this cannot really be recommended to anyone. There are far better driving games out there, and Banjo purists will most likely be more offended by this than everyone else. A shame, as this was a genuine opportunity to create a quality traditional platformer on the 360.

[Out of Five]

[Originally Published in Forge Press:Issue 5]

Street Fighter IV - EG Expo Preview

While SFIV isn’t technically the franchise’s first foray into the third dimension, it’s certainly the first time most gamers will have seen their preferred fighters rendered in polygons rather than pixels. Having had a chance to play a few rounds of the arcade version of the game the gameplay remains resolutely locked to two dimensions, the graphics have had a fully 3D makeover. Not that things have gone realistic or anything.

SFIV stays totally true to the aesthetic of its 2D predecessors, with the familiarly exaggerated proportions and improbable physiques we’ve come to love. So yes, those thighs are just as impressive as ever. Beat-em-ups usually need to look fantastic to stand out, and in this respect SFIV certainly doesn’t disappoint, with incredibly detailed and personality-laden stage backgrounds, and stellar character designs (the new additions to the cast sit comfortably next to the old gang).

Plus it’s slick, fast, fun and incredibly well-animated. The entire game has a fluidity that always reminds you why SF still remains one of the most highly respected fighting franchises even after the passage of nearly two decades, and the game now includes all-new animated super finishers for all characters, mastery of which proves an ample (and satisfying, if my opponent’s smirks were any indication) reward for dedication to skill over button-mashing.

Though my time was spent with the arcade version (which is, naturally a joy to play on a fully specced-out cabinet) the more frugal (or reclusive) among you will obviously be more intrigued to hear about the home console and PC versions. Due on February 12 2009, the Xbox 360, PS3 and Windows versions will naturally be graphically identical to the arcade source, and all feature the not-inconsiderable bonus of online play. Like its downloadable companion piece, SF2 Turbo HD, SFIV apparently features clever lag-reducing algorithms that remove the input delays that commonly ruin the performance of even the most hardcore players. PC gamers who’ve used the software (in conjunction with various PC-based fighters and emulators) claim that it works exactly as advertised, even for transatlantic scuffles, so dust off those arcade sticks (or buy one – several are being planned to tie in with the release) as SFIV could spark something of an online revolution amongst fight fans come release in February 2009.

(By Paul Davies)

SSF2 Turbo HD - EG Expo Preview

Super Street Fighter II Turbo HD (the HD being the important bit) is one of those ‘double-take’ games, Whether you’re a dedicated tournament player with intimate knowledge of how many frames it takes to execute a hadouken, or you just remember throwing down a few rounds of Ryu vs. Ken at a mate’s house after school in 1992, you do not remember Street Fighter looking this good. Capcom have literally gone back to the drawing board for the visuals, so while the core gameplay remains frame-for-frame identical to SFs of yore, the character sprites and background art have been completely re-drawn to take advantage of modern HDTVs. The effect, when running on a full HD set, is striking, to say the least. The game looks gorgeous in a way that most modern games don’t – after all, how many purely high-definition 2D games have been released since the dawn of the new console generation?

The character roster looks like something of a street fighter greatest hits, so characters from later instalments (like the dreaded Shin Akuma) make an appearance alongside series favourites like Ryu, Ken, Guile, Sagat, Chun-Li and Cammy (keeping the British end up), who’ll no doubt all be pitted against one another endlessly in online ranked battles, which Capcom are promising will be lag-free thanks to the implementation of some clever latency-reducing algorithms. Released this week over Xbox Live and PSN, SFII Turbo HD is well worth a look for both casual players as well as the more dedicated.

By Paul Davies

'New' Xbox Experience

So here it is, the DAWN of a new era!

Or just another step and a stumble into the same old nonsense. Desperately trying to get my internet connection up and running for the 10 o' clock launch yesterday morning, I must say my hopes were high. Maybe that's why it all came off as a bit of disappointment.

Sure it's great fun to piss about with a new avatar creation system, to sit and bicker with a housemate exactly how long my fringe, how beady my eyes actually are etc etc. More hairstyles than the Miis, so bonus points for that. Points deducted for hiring the costume department of Dawson's Creek for possibly the blandest wardrobe seen this side of Gap. I'm not the worlds most extravangant dresser, but fifteen variants of boring OC standard 'faux-indie' t-shirts isn't really that brilliant.

And that said it is great to see how my friends envision themselves as well. Print editor Sam's done an accurate job of recreating himself, but not to be snide, but a couple of peeps I know seem to be suffering from reverse-anorexia... if you know what I mean. On the flip-side, it is fun to log into a housemates profile and create a slightly podgier avatar of him. Can't wait to see his reaction when he turns on the box to see that IT'S READ HIS MIND.

But after thats it really. The menus have been made a little bit more practical, and everything looks a little shinier. It is however not quite the 'revolution in home entertainment' that Microsoft were hoping for.

Maybe it'll become that with time, who knows? But for now the games pretty much remain the same.

Resident Evil 5 - EG Expo Preview

By Paul Davies

Following a class act like Resident Evil 4 was never going to be easy. But while there’s no denying that the team at Capcom have got some fairly lofty expectations to meet, impressions from a recent build of the game suggest that they’re well on course to do exactly that.

The jump to a new console generation’s certainly helped, though picking up the pad to try the couple of short levels on offer at the recent Eurogamer Expo it was immediately apparent that none of the fundamentals have been messed with much. Resi 5, (barring the addition of a ‘shooter’ control scheme that pretty much just remaps aim and fire to the triggers) feels just like its predecessor. Instead, everything’s been turned up to 11. Graphically, its spectacular on either 360 or PS3 and environments are now much larger on the whole, with more opportunities for unscripted door-barricading, ladder-pushing, wall-vaulting mayhem. Plus, there’s now enemy counts to match, with huge throngs of zombies that feel more Dead Rising than Resident Evil. Thankfully, though, they seem to take far fewer shots to dispatch, which puts the game even further into the shooter camp. The fact that inventory and weapon-switching is now performed in-game (and in real-time) keeps the pace quick and frenetic, and even the short pause encountered in Resi 4 when picking up items is gone, with Chris deftly snatching ammo and items up instantaneously. The whole experience is leaner, meaner, and more exciting.

The demo showcased two areas from the final game, both vastly different in tone from one another. An action-focused section in a market saw Chris Redfield (returning from the original Resident Evil) and his new partner Sheva Alomar - an African special-ops type lady with some nifty close-combat moves – trapped in a tiny shop fending off dozens of t-virus infected locals. After barricading a few entrances and dispatching a horde of enemies, the action moved to a more open area amongst several market stalls. Now being chased by a much larger group of zombies led by a hulking hooded beast wielding a huge warhammer, the focus shifted towards keeping out of the horde’s clutches until a helicopter pilot obligingly blew open a gate to provide a means of escape. The second section was much more low-key, and saw Chris and Sheva making their way through a high-rise building, dealing with the occasional surprise zombie appearance. After a section during which the pair are briefly separated in opposite structures (during which Chris needs to cover Sheva with a rifle) they reunite to face a larger number of foes in some claustrophobic alleyways, including a somewhat familiar chainsaw-wielding maniac – perhaps a distant cousin of his Spanish counterpart from Resi 4, though just as lethal. I died several times, shamefully.

Naturally, the biggest change to the gameplay is the addition of a fully functioning co-op partner. Though while a problem shared is a problem halved, half a baying horde of zombies is still a horde. In singleplayer, Sheva strikes a happy medium between needing to be constantly minded and completing the level for you. You have total control over what weapons, ammunition and items she’s allowed to pick up and wield. But it seems as though greedy players may pay the price for not sharing, as leaving Sheva ill-equipped puts her in serious danger of being overwhelmed. Of course, none of this is an issue if you’re playing in co-op mode, which, while not on show, can apparently be enjoyed either split-screen or online over PSN or Live. Time will tell if it’ll come close to being as compelling a co-op experience as, say, Gears of War, but early reports indicate that it works extremely well.

Resident Evil 4’s strengths lay in its brilliant pacing, as it shuffled the player from one memorable set-piece battle to another, cleverly switching from action to suspense as the situation demanded. Naturally it’s hard to tell from playing two disjointed snippets if its sequel manages to continue the trend, but from seeing how strongly Capcom have nailed the fundamentals, its hard to imagine that Resi 5 will disappoint come release early next year.

Mirror's Edge - EG Expo Preview

By Paul Davies

Well, the demo’s out, and most of the reviews have hit. It may not be quite the generation-defying classic many were expecting. All that remains now is to convince a few remaining fence-sitters to decide whether or not Mirror’s Edge is worth their time and money.

The naysayers may have a point. Mirror’s edge is a fairly slight experience, apparently clocking in at around six hours for the story mode. Yes, it is also fairly linear, being about getting from point A to point B as quickly and efficiently as possible. The main point is that this is not a bad thing. The tendency towards ‘sandbox’ type design, where the player is allowed to roam around in a large (though predetermined) space is a bit of a double-edged sword. Yes, there’s something of a degree of freedom to games like GTA IV or Far Cry 2, but ultimately all the player is deciding is what order in which to do things. Its like changing the order of tracks on a CD. Mirror’s Edge, with its defiantly old-school focus on speed, efficiency and building and maintaining momentum, has a purity that puts it on par with classic 2D platformers of old. The Time Trial modes that apparently comprise the real meat of the game, display this philosophy better than anything.

Plus, it’s just satisfying to play. Compare it to something like Call of Duty 4 or BioShock. Naturally, the strengths and focus of those games lies elsewhere, but its pretty hard to claim that you feel anything like the same connection with the anonymous, floating-arm-with-a-gun protagonists of more traditional shooters as you do with the heroine of Mirror’s Edge. In Mirror’s Edge, the player feels every vault, leap and misjudged landing (especially the latter). Even the simple act of running has a sort of visceral feel that no other first-person game has come close to matching.

It is, for want of a better word, an important game, and I’d urge anyone who’s even remotely (and justifiably) tired, dismissive or jaded with first-person games to try it immediately.

Fable 2 - X360 review

[Originally Published in Forge Press:Issue 4]

Long ago there was a developer called Peter Molyneux. He had many weird and wonderful ideas like creating large chimps and making them Gods. Then one day he got the idea to experiment with good and evil. These foundations were experimented with and after many years this blossomed into Fable 2. And so our tale begins.

Fable 2 is one of those games you love to hate. With so much hype around its release there is every need to be wary. You tell yourself this could just be the next Halo 3. Of course these fears melt away once you play it at which point the game swiftly swallows you up.

What first hits you is the grand scale of things. While a lot of time and effort has been put into providing game environments that allow the free roam to do what you like, it’s the small things that add up.

Flowers gently sway in the wind and over the course of the game the land changes based on your decisions. Knowing that what you do has consequences is an interesting feature of this game. Donate money to a developer and in a few years a settlement has been built on what originally was derelict land. For once you actually feel like you’ve accomplished something.

This of course leads onto the main issue of decisions. While games will never be able to fully mimic the complexities of modern day living, Fable 2 makes a valiant attempt to do so. Influencing factors of wealth and corruption are included adding variety to the standard good versus evil. At times it even reflects real life, especially the shame you feel knowing you’ve caught an STD.

Removal of screen clutter like mini-maps is also a welcome change. Instead a bread crumbs style trail is introduced, guiding you along in the event you get lost and to its credit it is hardly noticeable only appearing in the situations when you really need it. And of course there is the option to turn it off for the truly adventurous.

Then there comes an issue. A fairly big issue for a role playing game: the plot. The main storyline fails to impress instead opting for the usual unite and kill the crazed villain. While the witty Pratchett-esque dialogue makes up for this, it still seems a failure on Molyneux’s part not to have made the plot a cut above the rest.

Combat likewise feels slightly imbalanced. Once you’ve learnt how to headshot people to kill them instantly you tend not to use anything else. This does help for new gamers but it does make the game a little easier knowing you can wipe out an entire group with little effort. Another minor problem is the distinct lack of bosses which is like removing the filling from a Cadburys crème egg.

Nevertheless Fable 2 is a stable successor to the original. It builds upon the core mechanics of good and evil allowing many different ways to be the ultimate badass. While it may not last for years the time spent playing with it is precious. And so concludes another chapter of notable gaming.

[Out of Five]

Dead Space - X360 review

[Originally Published in Forge Press:Issue 4]

Fear is often a difficult feeling to create in a video game. Some recent attempts at horror have fallen spectacularly on their arse (Alone in the Dark comes to mind), which leaves Condemned as the only actually scary next gen horror series. Fear not though, Dead Space is here to save the day, and it is scary. So very scary.

The story on offer here is generic spaceship gone wrong, and all seems very Alien influenced. You play as Isaac Clarke, an engineer sent to try and repair a derelict spaceship. Of course things are not as they seem, and it turns out that the crew have all been genetically mutated and turned into Necromorphs, which are reanimated dead bodies.

The scares here are provided almost entirely by the environment, which is brilliantly crafted and very believable. The ship (USG Ishimura) is a sprawling, epic environment which just begs to be explored. It makes for a superbly atmospheric experience which keeps you on the edge of your seat the whole time, and there are wonderful little touches to keep you guessing. Lights flicker as you approach, malfunctioning doors make repeated unsettling bangs, and chunking noises are pretty much a permanent feature of the Ishimura. In fact, the sound design here is some of the best ever found in a video game, it manages to take the atmosphere of Rapture in Bioshock and ramp it up a notch for truly superb results.

The game takes place from the Resident Evil 4 over the shoulder perspective, which seems to be the favourite amongst 3rd person shooters these days, and features mostly combat with some puzzle solving thrown in. The Necromorphs themselves are agile and quick, and make for formidable opponents. Killing them requires carefully shooting off their limbs rather than the more straightforward ‘shoot until dead’ approach, and this gives the gameplay a more measured feel than most shooters. However, the fine aiming and tactics often go to hell when several enemies attack at once, and in this instance the game reveals another problem. In an attempt to remove the HUD, the health bar was put on the back of Isaac’s suit. Fine in theory, but when the action gets particularly chaotic, the health bar can be obscured. Fortunately, this is a very minor complaint in an otherwise excellent game.

So, in short, Dead Space is scary, but not as terrifying as it could have been. It seems that scares were sacrificed in favour of better cinematography in some cases, such as the camera willingly swinging round to show you enemies. Having said that, this is still the best horror game available for the next gen consoles, and fans of the genre should definitely consider picking this up.

[Out of Five]

Fallout 3 - X360 Review

[Originally Published in Forge Press:Issue 4]
By Peter Walsh

War never changes, but consoles do, and with a skip and a jump comes Fallout 3 crashing into the current generation. To say that this game has been a long time coming would be a gross understatement, and in terms of ‘on-again/off-again’ production cycles it’s only outdone by Duke Nukem Forever. Thank the gods then that it’s a.) arrived and is b.) living up to expectations.

Set in a world gone rather a-wry, our history branched from that of Fallout back in 1950, and while we weathered the buffets of the Cold War the Fallout universe never did. Huge nuclear bunkers were built out of the paranoia of a pending nuclear holocaust, and sure enough when the bombs hit only the lucky survived. Born and raised in the underground village of Vault 101 your character is forced to leave the bunker to find his own way in a world scarred by the ravages of nuclear war.

Built on the engine of orc/rat/elf-slayer Oblivion, developers Bethesda have taken the lessons learnt from their previous fantasy epic to make one slick RPG-action game. Experience isn’t gained from hoping around on one foot, but from the simpler model of awarding experience points for successfully achieving stuff. Like killing, lying or perhaps even picking locks. Or if you’re of a more saintly inclination just for helping people.

Stats and ‘karma’ are definitely at the core of this game, and while ‘every action has a reaction’ the game isn’t quite as morally black and white as other RPGS. Conversations generally offer positive/neutral/negative options, yet for those with added charisma stats your powers of persuasion to get your merry way with things. Only the other day I convinced a druggy to kick his habit, and in gratitude for helping him back onto the straight and narrow he left me to ‘get rid of’ his stash of stat-enhancing substances. As it turns out I found them quite handy when I needed to clear a suburb of fire-breathing mutant ants.

Because that’s how things in Fallout 3 roll along. Whereas certain missions and side-quests in Oblivion could feel endlessly dissociated from everything else, events in Fallout 3 genuinely feel quite consequence laden. Sometimes in the short-term, affecting how you operate (eg. getting lots of drugs) or perhaps in the long-term (by helping someone else kick the habit).

Beyond corrupting and/or healing the community you encounter, the actual business of interacting with hostile characters and beasts is also tremendously rewarding. Melding the hack-n-slash action of Oblivion to the turn-based combat of Fallout 1&2, this third iteration makes use of the V.A.T.S. system. Not associated in anyway to consumer tax, this specialised targeting system freezes action and allows you to focus your assault on any one enemy, and any one of his/hers/its’ extremities. If you’re close enough you can try to debilitate them with a shot to the head, or maybe even crippling a limb or three. It may sound contrived, but it’s beautifully implemented and intuitive.

Action and interaction aside, the brilliance of the game is the vast world you’re left to explore and exploit. Taking the ‘ten’ graphics of Oblivion and just edging it up to ‘eleven’, the nuclear wasteland of Fallout 3 is tremendously realised and detailed. Like Bioshock, this game drops you into a distorted version of our own universe and not some contrived wizards and wands never-neverland of many moons ago.

Immense in its scale, the moral grey-zones of this game will have you coming back to it again and again, and that despite the first play-through holding a solid 50+ hours. It’ll remind of what RPG’s should be about; looting, killing and not actually finishing the storyline. Brilliant.

[Out of Five]

Fracture - X360 Review

[Originally Published in Forge Press:Issue 3]

Terrain Deformation. These two words feature heavily in Fracture, the latest in a string of next gen ‘gimmick shooters.’ Like games such as Army of Two, Dark Sector and Timeshift, Fracture offers a fairly generic shooting experience overall, but adds a unique gimmick in order to keep things interesting.

The big new thing here is that the landscape can be changed at will, allowing the player to drastically reshape the battlefield. Every weapon can impact the environment, which gives the game a truly chaotic feel which only enhances the run and gun gameplay on offer.

While it all sounds good in theory, Fracture feels like a game with a serious lack of polish. The AI is terrible, with enemies rarely trying to find cover, and frequently not responding at all to being shot in the head. The graphics could do with a bit of work, especially during cut scenes, but overall they get the job done.

The storyline also seems a bit dubious. It seems that Day 1 Studios decided to try and get every generic storyline into the same game, and the result is a bit of a joke. You play as a cybernetically enhanced American fighting against an army of genetically enhanced Americans who aren’t really Americans any more, while global warming has melted the ice caps and raised the ocean level to the point where America is now two separate landmasses. Ok then...

Gimmick shooters in the past tend to have suffered from the same problem; none of them have been particularly enjoyable to play. Fracture, despite all of its shortcomings, provides a lot of entertainment. There are ways of manipulating the landscape which invoke feelings of utter joy, such as creating a rock spike under an enemy in a cave which then crushes him against the roof. Yes, it’s very silly, but it’s fun while being silly, and even manages to have a sense of humour about itself.

So, in short, is Fracture worth your money? Yes, provided that you can overlook its flaws. It is a game of decent length (nearly ten hours on first playthrough), with a well implemented online mode. While the single player campaign is highly linear, the opportunities to create Terrain Deformation related havok are almost endless, and the game demands a second run just to try out some new styles and techniques, not to mention the hundred collectible data chips strewn throughout the campaign. In the rush of big releases all hitting in the next couple of months, Fracture will probably be overlooked by many, which is a great shame as this is a unique game with substance to back up the gimmick. Those looking for an interesting run and gun shooter should pick this up, and for those who are undecided, it’s much more entertaining than the likes of Halo 3.

[out of five]

FIFA 09 - X360 Review

[Originally Published in Forge Press:Issue 3]
By James Morris

On the back cover of Fifa 09, there is a boastful statement reading ‘true football simulation’. But then again it pretty much says that every year. This year, however, EA are actually telling the truth.

Indeed, Fifa 09 is every bit as fun, addictive and rage-inducing as its main counterpart, the long-superior Pro Evolution Soccer series.

Whilst Pro Evo has essentially stuck to the same brilliant footballing formula year after year, Fifa has slowly improved upon each edition, to the extent that now, in 2009, it can be taken seriously when compared to Pro Evo.

The immediate joy of Fifa 09 lies with its free-flowing gameplay. Every pass, however simple, must be measured to perfection. Every shot has to be weighted with precision for you to have any chance of scoring. It is this complexity that makes Fifa 09 so addictive to play, and it is why your language will become increasingly foul as you find yourself outwitted and outplayed, especially in multiplayer games. At last, this is a Fifa game that feels and plays like real football.

As can be expected from Fifa, the game is characterised by superb graphics. It could almost be mistaken for an actual game of football, if it wasn’t for two of your flat mates hunched over controllers with deadly expressions of concentration on their faces. The stadium details are exact to their real life counterparts, whilst every little detail from player appearances to their body language and movement is captured perfectly, for example Crewe Alexandra winger Joel Grant’s direct dribbling style is seamlessly incorporated.

Hard-core Fifa players will also be pleased with the vast features included in this edition, such as the ‘Be A Pro’ mode. This allows you to play as your favourite player, for example Crewe Alexandra midfielder Michael O’Connor, over the course of 4 seasons, during which you and your player can work your way to the top of the footballing world.

Even more innovative is the ‘Adidas Live Season’ feature, whereby online players can sign up for weekly updates linking the form of real footballers to their virtual counterparts. Therefore, if strikers are failing to score in real life and are clearly short on confidence, that striker will also be a liability on Fifa. A simple concept, but really quite clever.

As good as these features are, for the casual player they are irrelevant when compared to the true delight of this game, which is the simple footballing joy that can be found in multiplayer games. It is this that underpins the basic brilliance of this game, easily the best in the Fifa series so far. Watch out, Pro Evo.

[out of five]

Star Wars: Force Unleashed - X360 Review

[Originally published in Forge Press:Issue 2]
By Brendan Caldwell

To sum up the gameplay of Star Wars: Force Unleashed in three words: shit gets broken. Windows, spaceships, ribs. They all get smashed to tiny little bits. Sometimes they explode. Extensive research has shown that explosions are always cool, with the exception of those that actually happen. You will be pleased to learn that none of the explosions that happen in Force Unleashed are historically accurate. Ergo, every explosion in the new Star Wars game is cool.

Now that the rough science is out of the way, the game itself can be considered. SW:FU, aside from sounding like an insulting internet acronym, is a really enjoyable game. The story is set between the third and forth episodes and centres on the actions of Darth Vader’s secret apprentice, the lovingly named Starkiller.

As Darth’s tea-bitch you’re sent on various missions to root out the last of the trouble-making Jedi scattered over the galaxy. They haven’t been paying their protection moneys or something and Mr Vader would like you to rough them up a bit. Like, until they die. But seeing as you’re no ordinary goon, you don’t have to use blasters or baseball bats. Starkiller gets his own shiny lightsaber and a collection of destructive force powers which you can use to cripple enemy soldiers and solve an occasional puzzle-ish thing.

If you’re a Star Wars fan you’ll probably have dreamed of wielding the powers of the force at some point in your life. If you aren’t a Star Wars fan, then you won’t be reading this and I can use this opportunity to insult your mum. She’s fat.

The force is presented incredibly in the game. Using force grip to hurl an enemy through a window into deep space is almost as satisfying as watching his comrades get sucked out after him by the loud, rushing vacuum that has been created. A blast shield closes and the window is sealed. Stormtroopers float off into the great black, spinning recklessly toward some distant star. You will giggle.

The level design is, in short, astounding. In shorter: wow. One level will see you explore the stomach of a Sarlacc, that thing what ate Boba Fett in Return of the Jedi. The detail of this huge monster’s intestines is just one of the many triumphs by the games design team. Unfortunately, there are a few platforming sections that feel like they belong in Super Mario 64. And some of the levels are recycled later in the game, giving a disappointing sense of déjà vu.

There are obviously other flaws. Boss battles can be stupidly frustrating on higher difficulties and the inclusion of quicktime events – where you have to press certain buttons in time with your actions – can be annoying when they pop up mid battle. And although the animation following this will look cool, you’ll get bored by the tenth time you see it. It’s a short game and it isn’t perfect but any game that lets you throw a spaceship at someone using just your mind is pretty damn solid.

[out of five]

Madden 09 - X360 Review

[Originally Published in Forge Press:Issue 2]
By Brendan Allitt

Another year another Madden; the ever successful and sometimes controversial American football series is back for another rush into the end zone.

Madden is cited by some as an example of the problem with developers today; focusing on releasing sequels with little innovation in order to minimise risk, rather than bringing new intellectual properties into the marketplace. Madden NFL 09 does however add a few new features worthy of fan's hard earned cash.

New commentators Cris Collinsworth and Tom Hammond have been introduced, providing a surprisingly accurate critique of your plays. The campaign offers the usual selection of modes such as building up a single player or even an entire franchise, with graphs of team income and player stats reminiscent of Championship manager. Also new are the 'Madden Moments', which allow you to relive key events in games from NFL history, and an xboxlive fantasy football mini-game. Local multiplayer remains pretty much the same, however the online league system seen in Madden '08 has been improved.

While basic gameplay remains the same with a player able to run, throw and tackle in their various incarnations, the trends towards realism seen in recent years from the series has continued, further diverging from the arcade sense of the one man team. Games are stop, start with all out sprints for the end zone being rare, instead tactical decisions between each down are key. These along with snap pass judgements represent the core gameplay dynamic; as with its real world counterpart, in Madden '09 quarterbacks are king. This is obvious whenever you're doing anything but throwing or planning as the polish disappears.

Player movement seems unresponsive and the commands for different dodges and tackles seem to be mostly interchangeable, making you feel detached. Therefore it plays in some ways more like a manager sim than an action sport title. The enjoyment one experiences from pulling off a risky play however should not be underestimated, but this enthusiasm may be tough to grasp for someone with no prior knowledge of the series or the sport.

The new Madden IQ difficulty-level system, while slick and intuitive, only allows for the player's dexterity in pulling off all the key moves ingame and not the more cerebral parts of gameplay. Madden NFL 09 won't be everyone's cup of tea but I recommend giving it the time it deserves to find out if its yours.

[Out of Five]

Too Human - X360 Review

[Originally published in Forge Press: Issue 1]
By Sam Robinson

I’ve always had a soft spot for mythology. The concept of all the different gods and goddesses for different things interspersed with the many different tales enthralled me as a kid. And it’s still the same today. So when I heard of a game featuring the bloodthirsty Norse gods I couldn’t turn down the opportunity to play. It’s a shame no-one stabbed me with a mistletoe-tipped spear beforehand.

Too Human is too flawed. First off is the rubbish title, Too Human, deriving from the fact that the main character, Baldur, is in a world filled with cybernetic gods whilst our main protagonist has few technology implants and as such is considered too human; ‘great’ wordplay.

Sadly this leads onto the second flaw, the plot, which chooses to appear at points thanks to a lack of cutscenes. When it does appear then we’re faced with verbal diarrhoea which is leaking out of the basin they call a game and all over the bathroom floor. It’s undeniably bad and only really picks up towards the end, when it swiftly ends. And yes, they plan on making two more of these.

This now brings me onto the crown of the crap-heap: the gameplay. The developers clearly had the goal of making an easy to play fun game for friends to mess around on and flex muscles at each other. What we ended up with is a flawed game that combines all the things we avoid about games.

The camera is poor, sticking to your back like a limpet and gracefully shields your view from the enemies. Even the combat is below average with poor targeting with ranged weapons, and the melee fighting is, frankly, irritating.

This is made ten times worse by the fact that playing as any class other than the bio-engineer will lead to your frequent death, which is made additionally painful by including a pointless scene of a valkyrie carrying you away each time you respawn.

The first time this happens it is mildly surprising as you wonder whether it’s a good thing or a bad thing. But after a while my brain gave up trying to comprehend why this useless feature was added and instead wonder about the infinite vastness of space. Which is a problem, as a game should enthral and captivate.

Then it came to me. What I was playing was a poor version of Champions of Norrath (which is saying something as that also sucked more than a Dutch prostitute). That also had pointless gear, no foreseeable plot and pretty much the same classes available. To be fair all RPGs have the stereotypical healer, damage dealer, damage taker but after so many years it is beyond a joke.

I would never recommend this to anyone I liked but if you like seeing people throw away their money or you are just one of those twisted few who likes to see people suffer then this is the perfect revenge. And here’s a warning to any adventure role play games developers: come up with innovative, fun to play classes or I will send you on a quest to recover your lost teeth.

[Out of Five]

Sequel Generation

[Originally published in Forge Press: Issue 1] By James Cook

The gaming industry has changed irreparably with the current generation of consoles. Development costs for the Xbox 360 and PS3 are so high that many games are not managing to sell enough copies to break even, and to counter this problem several publishers are focusing mainly on sequels. It seems to make sense for everyone, allowing developers to make big budget games for a reduced sales risk and giving the fans more of what they like. However, it seems now that the number of original games coming out has decreased substantially, as shown by a quick look at some major exclusives for this Christmas season for each console.

Wii – Animal Crossing: City Folk, Wii Music, Rayman Raving Rabbids: TV Party
Xbox 360 – Viva Pinata: Trouble in Paradise, Gears of War 2, Fable 2, Banjo Kazooie: Nuts and Bolts
PS3 – Little Big Planet, Motorstorm: Pacific Rift, Resistance 2

Of these ten games, Wii Music and Little Big Planet are original, and the rest are sequels, of which five are in series which only began in the current generation. This shows a trend with the console lifecycle, in which a new system launches with some new, innovative titles designed to show off the console, and these games often become exclusive franchises which the console relies upon.

Take, for example, the launch of the PS3. Resistance: Fall of Man and Motorstorm were the big hitters from Sony, and both were very successful. Now, both development teams are making sequels to these rather than more original games. The list is expanding all the time: Assassin’s Creed, Mass Effect, Wii Sports, Too Human, Saints Row, Rock Band, Dead Rising, Lost Planet, My Sims, Red Steel, Boogie, and even Bioshock have new instalments planned or already out.

Some of these, such as Mass Effect and Assassin’s Creed, were planned as trilogies, so the sequels are necessary to experience the full storyline of the game. However, Bioshock was a game with a complete story, which left almost no scope for a sequel, and this looks like a franchise being built simply to make money.

However, there are some positives. Games like Mirrors Edge, Dead Space, MadWorld, Brutal Legend and Braid show that there is still plenty of originality left in the gaming industry, and that it is up to players to buy titles like these or risk losing them completely.