There isn’t too much info out there at the moment other than a few key details which i’m going to raise on, so maybe this post is too hasty. But at the same time, they better not f**k this up. Seriously Sega. If you produce a shit sonic game with a sub-title like ‘unleashed’ that’s dismissible, but you CAN NOT create a direct sequel to Sonic 3/and knuckles and it be anything but perfect. I really hope with all Sega’s recent publishing on the Wii and working with Nintendo that they’ve learnt a few things from the big N, because they know a thing or two about producing the same game over and over…
So to help I’ve produced this checklist:
Gameplay - Fast, insane, fun. Must ‘feel’ like the original 4 Genesis (Mega Drive II) sonic games. The gravity of how you jump, run and stop must be perfect.
Music - Catchy, rememberable, fitting, sets the theme and feel of the zone.
Sound effects - The old ones.
Enemies - Creative and cheesy designs, as well as some of the classics.
Nemesis - ROBOTNIK. None of this ‘Dr Eggman’ BS. Needless to say, he needs to turn up at the end of every stage in a crazy over the top killing machine.
Zones - Some throwbacks to the old levels, but mostly original (we don’t want a re-make). They all need to have a unique theme. Also about 6-7 would be surfice
There has been a teaser and a trailer released, which show a little bit about what the game promises. They seem to have sound effects ticked off the list, and you can also spot a couple old badniks (see: enemies), but no actual game-play (only what could be gameplay).
So lets all just hope (or pray if your religiously inclined) that Sega don’t epicly screw up like they have for the last few years…
Following my impressions post, i played for quite a few more hours and finished the game. My thoughts haven’t changed much since then, so I still believe it to be one of the year’s better games, but I don’t think it’s a game for everyone…
There’s definitely a lot to like about this game, but there’s also a lot to put people off. It’s very much so a game for people who love the experience/leveling of an RPG, and the run and gun game-play of first person shooters. Everything pretty much stays the same in-terms of gameplay so, if you’re not keen on those things, this definitely isn’t for you. However, if you do, then read on for the full review… Read the rest of this entry »
I decided to get Borderlands when i traded in the uber disappointment that was Brutal Legend. Not sure what to expect i entered the world of Pandora with an open mind. The only expectations i had, were that it would be an open world, FPS with RPG elements. After only a few hours of play i was pleasantly surprised.
Firstly, it feels a lot like an MMO in the way you progress and play the game. You collect quests from bounty boards and characters, which simply list the quests in a menu, most being explained in text. It’s this sort of loose story telling which makes everything you do less about a desire to see what happens, and more about gaining XP. Thankfully, it’s all pretty fun. You travel to an target area on foot or in a buggy, find/kill A, and take it back to B, killing C, D, E ,F etc in between. It’s pretty mindless fun which doesn’t take much to get used to or become efficient at.
The presentation of Borderlands is top notch. They changed the visual style towards the end of the development cycle, from realistic to a cartoony, painted style, which works brilliantly with the humour of the game. The sounds do get a bit repetitive, with the vehicle sound being particularly awful, which just sounds like a landmower.
My main criticism after nearly 20 hours of play, is that there isn’t enough variation. Mainly in the enemy types. There are 5 main type of enemies in the game, with each having a handful of varitions. This just isn’t enough for a game of this size. And secondly the missions tend to send you to the same areas over and over, which does get a bit tiresome towards the last few missions of an area.
Overall though, it’s a surprisingly good game which is great to play through with friends. Expect a full review soon.
As gamers we are as guilty as the rest of the world for over indulging in electricity fueled entertainment. We shouldn’t feel guilty about gaming in-general, just more conscious about what we’re contributing to, and what we can do to minimize our carbon footprint. Its easy to say it doesn’t matter, or that if you weren’t gaming you would be doing something else which uses electricity, and it’s probably true. But there are things we can do to make our gaming habits more power efficient, which intern helps reduce carbon emissions. Unfortunately, like a lot of environmental options, they are more expensive than the norm, but since when has the cheapest option in life been the best? Check out the tips after the break: Read the rest of this entry »
With the upcoming GTA IV DLC ‘The Ballad of Gay Tony’ approaching, I’ve decided to go back to the original (+ LATD DLC) to syke me up. Sadly though, I’ve been left somewhat disappointing by the experience. Now, before you label me as an attention grabbing hater, I want to clarify that I played and completed IV, and loved it. My praise for the game couldn’t be any higher, and I couldn’t have recommended it or defended it’s criticisms any harder. So why the disappointment now?
When i first played GTA IV I was willing to mentally block out forgive any problems or issues I had with the game, simply because It was a next-gen GTA IV, and everyone was raving about it. Mainly because It’s a brilliant game. I won’t go into depth why, as it’s been said by many others, but for me It was a very engrossing, varied and enjoyable experience from beginning to end. The problem was, after returning to it after 14 months or so, the expectations were still high, but the media induced ‘happy shot’ had worn off.
I received my copy of Dead Space on thursday, and have had two medium sessions playing it. Firstly, it is as good as the hype and acclaim surrounding it, and i see it being reviewed very well. It’s shit scary with any corridor having the potential to make you run for fresh underwear. The story (so far) builds up at an appropriate rate, unraveling the mystery with audio and text logs found scattered around the ship. What you see around you also gives you clues as to whats happened, with words splashed on the walls and dead bodies EVERYWHERE.
The gameplay isn’t a game/genre changer and takes what worked well from other 3rd person survival games. It does however give you an interesting array of weapons, a couple being quite unique, and the way the inventory and map are dealt with is very impressive, if not a little frustraiting at times. Getting lost is never an issue, when at any time you can toggle a line in the enviroment which shows you where you should be going.
Everything looks very impressive, with a few jaw droppingly beautiful moments. Character models are detailed and the enviroment art style fits very well in the grand scheme of things. I haven’t seen anything out of place so far, and objects/items of interest are subtly emphasised to help you solve puzzles.
So far the sound has stood out the most though, from the dramatic score which fires up when enemies draw close, to the sublte sounds of tools crashing in the background (which send you into spinning frenzy trying to find what it was). The sound of Issac (MC) trying to breathe in the no oxygen enviroment is also quite haunting and adds to a sense of urgency to find an airlock.
So far so good! A full review will come when I’m done with the game.
