Megabits of Gaming

10 of the best hybrid weapons in Dead Rising2

bojeeva@megabitsofgaming.com (Bojeeva) — Fri, 24 Sep 2010 12:00:00 +0100

It’s been a long wait but Dead Rising 2 has finally hit the shelves. You can check out our review of Capcom’s zombie epic here – but if you’ve already parted with your hard-earned cash, you’ll no doubt be eager to cause some real zombie carnage. Just find yourself a maintenance room and combine a couple of everyday objects to create some truly devastating weaponry.

There are literally hundreds of objects that can be grabbed and used to stop a zombie dead (geddit?) in his tracks. Within your first half an hour you’ll no doubt have combined a baseball bat and nails or a powerdrill and bucket. Then there’s the motorbike and chainsaw combo or the garden rake and car battery... there’s plenty to keep you busy and coming back for more. Make sure you check out the pawnshops too – you never know, there may be a few ready-made weapons waiting there for you... although the better they are, the bigger the price!

Here, Megabits of Gaming looks at 10 of our favourite weapons.

HAIL MARY – American football + grenades
Lob the ball for explosive results – it may be only a single use weapon but when you lob it through the air, take cover and watch as the prestige points pop up on your screen. Great for chucking into a crowd!

HACKER – flashlight + computer case
A truly shocking weapon that stuns unsuspecting zombies. The combo card suggests you try it near an ATM!?!

SNOWBALL CANNON – fire extinguisher + watergun
Freeze the freaks. This is great for when you’re surrounded; simply aim and spray the horde to stop them shuffling. Spray them once more and they break into a million pieces.

BLAMBOW – bow and arrow + dynamite
First blood to Chuck. Become Rambo for a few minutes – your arrows causing a huge explosion when they hit the target. Fun but limited ammo.

TENDERIZER – MMA gloves + nails
Fight for your life. Not a big PP scorer but fun nonetheless. Useful for getting out of tight situations when the zombies are coming at you from all angles.

TESLA BALL – electric battery + bingo ball cage
Electrifying. A personal favourite and absolutely brilliant for racking up the points. Lob the ball into the distance and it rolls about electrocuting whatever it comes in contact with. It can be reused several times too – and isn’t too expensive in the pawnshops. Great for levelling up quickly!

FLAMETHROWER – gasoline + watergun
Does exactly what as you’d expect... burns those zombies to a crisp.

HELIBLADE – toy helicopter + machete
You could grab a helicopter from a toyshop and use it to belt the undead around the head. Alternatively, a few moments with some gaffer tape and the addition of a few blades and it’s turned into a decapitation machine. Set it off and it hovers for a while, scything down anything it comes in contact with.

POLE WEAPON – broom + machete
A fantastic weapon that allows you to slice and dice to your heart’s content.

POWER GUITAR – electric guitar + amplifier
Rock out with your power guitar and watch as powerful shockwaves ripples through the crowd. Absolutely awesome in congested areas – and pretty pleasant to listen to as well. Great for collecting PP.

Review - Dead Rising 2

bojeeva@megabitsofgaming.com (Bojeeva) — Fri, 24 Sep 2010 00:01:00 +0100

PS3 owners have been positively salivating at the prospect of Dead Rising 2 – the first time Capcom’s multi-million selling zombie series has made an appearance on Sony’s machine. And not only is the exclusive nature of the game a distant memory (it's now available for the 360, PC and PS3) but Frank West and his camera are long gone too, replaced by former Motocross champ Chuck Greene – a tough guy type on a mission to clear his name and protect his sickly daughter, Katey.

Chuck finds himself in Fortune City – effectively Las Vegas in all but name – to appear in Terror Is Reality, the latest craze to hit our television screens and an homage to the popular real-life Gladiators TV show. His daughter’s been infected by the same virus that hit the Willamette mall that 360 and Wii gamers know only too well – and he needs the prize money to afford the costly Zombrex antidote.

But it’s not all plain sailing; someone’s gone and framed poor old Chuck and now the authorities want to track him down following a new outbreak. It’s a race against time to clear his name, cure his daughter and fight off thousands of onscreen carnivores. Fail and he’s dead meat.

First impressions suggest that Capcom and Canadian developer Blue Castle have paid a lot of attention to making the game look and play beautifully. Aesthetically, it’s far better looking than its predecessor. Chuck is less angular and more chiselled than Frank ever was and certainly looks the part. The environment is bright and brash - just as you’d expect of a gambler’s paradise, and it’s sharper and more colourful than the previous game, with the animations looking far more realistic. What’s more, there are now thousands of zombies onscreen at once, all baying for your blood. As you meander around the shopping malls, casinos, food courts and the huge TIR arena itself, the groans of zombies are punctuated by the sounds of fruit machines and ambient music. It’s fantastically atmospheric.

But has much else changed from the game of four years ago ? Clearly, there’s a degree of familiarity as you roam about the place and undertake the various missions. But that’s no bad thing. The format of the game and missions is barely changed from the last game.... accept a mission via your radio transmitter and run from one end of the map to the other before the time runs out, constantly checking your wristwatch. Along the way you’ll encounter stranded civilians who need to be helped back to the safe confines of the security room, and there are plenty of confrontations with the psychopath bosses too.

So it’s a case of business as usual for Dead Rising 2. The basic premise of grabbing objects to dispose of the undead is just as fun as it always was too. Strewn about the place are countless weapons and everyday objects that can be grabbed and used to stab and skewer the unsuspecting undead. This time round, however, you quickly realise that Chuck’s a bit nifty with gaffertape and tools. Gain access to one of a the many maintenance rooms dotted about the game world, combine two objects on the workbench and in a matter of moments our protagonist will conjure up a devastating weapon to cut those zombies down to size. It’s enough to make the A-Team proud. There are hundreds of variations, which are revealed by collecting combo cards.

Each of your victims provides you with prestige points – or PP – which, as mentioned earlier, replaces the photography element of the first game. Keep raising your PP and you’ll level up, improving your attributes and inventory.

Whereas the save system of the first game was deemed a major flaw, this is much improved with three slots now available. Not only can you pop into a rest room to save your progress but you’re also given the option to save fairly regularly after completing missions.

Fancy sharing the experience with a friend? Then why not invite someone to play the new co-op mode and within seconds you’ll both be slaying the undead.

The whole thing is laced with plenty of dark humour, which makes it stand out from the likes of the Left4Dead and Resident Evil games. It certainly makes you feel less guilty about massacring thousands of the undead for fun. And fear not, there’s still the opportunity to play dressy-uppy with Chuck if you so wish; watching some of the more dramatic cutscenes with chuck wearing a superhero outfit and a giant purple dinosaur head is good for a laugh. Despite the comedy aspect, however, the tension is heightened thanks to the constant clock-watching necessary to complete missions and stave off your daughter’s infection.

There are still issues, however. Weapons still run out a little too early for my liking – especially grating after you’ve spent ages trying to find the required components to make something. Some of the psychopaths are insanely difficult and will probably require numerous attempts to defeat them. And not only that but with so many zombies onscreen, getting from one end of an area to another will either see you bitten several times or wasting your treasured weaponry. The lack of spoken dialogue when talking with NPCs is also a bit of a letdown - relying instead on written text at the bottom of the screen. But these are pretty minor gripes.

When you fancy a change, you can now also pit your wits against up to three other players online as you actually compete in the Terror Is Reality gameshow. Presented like a television broadcast with an exuberant host and excitable commentators, this new mode works particularly well and provides a nice respite from the single player game. Take part in a series of events and earn cash depending on your final position on the leaderboard; what’s particularly good about this is that your winnings can be transferred to one of your single player save slots – meaning you can buy awesome weaponry or much-needed Zombrex from the in-game pawnshops.

There are plenty of mini games to keep you going – from “Bounty Hunter”, where you have to shoot as many zombies as possible before the time runs out to “Headache”, which sees contestants place explosive headgear on the undead before pushing a detonator. A personal favourite is "Ramsterball" – where you control a giant steel hamsterball to ram both your opponents and those hapless zombies.

Overall, it’s a worthy update and a great addition to your collection. It builds on the groundwork of the first game and improves it. It’s fun and far better value for money than Dead Rising – thanks largely to the new multiplayer additions.

If you’ve got an insatiable appetite for zombie games, this is highly recommended! Even if you haven't, it's still definitely worth a try.

Review - Halo:Reach

lazyperfectionist86@gmail.com (Ally Doig) — Tue, 21 Sep 2010 21:50:00 +0100

So the proverbial curtain finally falls on the Universe that Bungie created and has meticulously nurtured for nearly a decade. Since the legendarily revered Combat Evolved and it’s subsequent impact not only on FPSs but on the entirety of gaming (Microsoft can owe much of the original Xbox’s success to Halo:CE), the general and occasionally disgruntled consensus is that Bungie have never quite been able to eclipse their own flagship masterpiece.

After two genuine sequels, an embellished yet entertaining expansion to the events of the third game and even a foray into the RTS world; Halo:Reach encompasses all that the studio embarked on and have evolved since 2001, and finally delivers on a title that stands proudly outside of the ever present shadow of the esteemed original. Halo:Reach is a product that’s representative of the passion and dedication that have made the Sci-Fi franchise so popular and celebrated over time and is a true monument to years of hard work. Though the series is by no means dead and buried, whoever takes up the daunting torch-bearing duties from here on in will most certainly have foreboding heights to live up to.

The story is thankfully a more straightforward, less contrived affair than in previous incarnations. In this sense, Halo titles before have suffered slightly from being unnecessarily confounding and as such end up detracting from the otherwise immersive gameplay experience. That is not the case here, however. Although a largely basic affair, the more accessible narrative style actually compliments the in-game action more than an overtly complex one. Stripping away the layers to essentially a ‘Humans versus Covenant’ plotline benefits the exceptional action and frenetic pace of the campaign.

As part of ‘Noble Team’ you assume the role of a Spartan, 'Noble Six' (adjustable between genders depending on preference) and are tasked with taking the fight to the Covenant post planet Reach’s invasion. Noble Six is essentially a faceless, non-emotive character so don’t expect any in depth bonding as such, yet this is by no means detrimental to the single player experience. You won‘t become sidetracked or bogged down in irrelevant or convoluted storytelling, and you're instead left to concentrate fully on the task at hand. The supporting cast are each well implemented throughout the story and are individual and interesting enough to give fighting along side them a different feel to their respective combat scenarios. Whether it’s wading in all guns blazing with the chain gun wielding Jorge, or accompanying the more stealthy, husky voiced sniper Jun on ‘Nightfall’, Noble Team are a likeable and for the most part a reliable bunch to partner throughout the game’s course.

Reach’s campaign is beautifully balanced and packed with memorable set pieces. Where campaigns previously have had lulls in quality, here, the highlight reel is running more or less constantly. The confined corridor clashes with the Covenant as well as open air, epic battles that we know and love from all Halo games return, but are realised better than ever this time around. Far more detail has been applied to your surroundings. Where Halo 3 had rather bland and flat textures, now we’re treated to individual blades of grass, trees, wildlife and realistic weather effects. It’s the overall scale of Reach that feels so much more expansive than in the past, lending a truly epic nature to the battle and importantly resulting in the planet feeling genuinely alive. Diverse landscapes, environments and skyboxes, a much ramped-up enemy count as well as often deceptively devious AI (especially from Heroic difficulty upwards) are all factors contributing to a greater sense of involvement in Halo’s plasma strewn world than ever before.

Of course the most integral part of Halo is the combat. Since the introduction of it’s namesake, the series has always prided itself on expertly balanced combat and intuitive implementation of weapon use, and Reach continues and surpasses that notion. Some old favourites return, the age old stalwarts of weaponry: assault rifle, plasma pistol, sniper rifle, rocket launcher, of course frag and sticky grenades etc… make a welcome reappearance as well as some fresh and outlandish additions to the arsenal. The DMR takes the place of the “you either love it or hate it” battle rifle, a sentinel beam-esque focus rifle, vehicle decimating plasma launcher and the deadly needle rifle are just a few of the new tools available, and each feels suitably unique and satisfying to wield. Arguably there’s a slight continuity issue in terms of why these can be seen in a prequel and not beyond, but that would be an unnecessarily picky and unfair criticism to level at Reach.

Weapon reticules now expand and detract depending on fire rate which in turn affects weapon accuracy. Hitting “the sweet spot” with each weapon will inflict greater damage, meaning that controlled bursts of fire will triumph over wild, relentless trigger spamming. When a particularly versatile Elite is evading fire, as on Legendary they inevitably will, it becomes a true test of patience and skill. Gone are the days when two or three headshots will send him crashing to floor. Some of the tougher enemies in Reach are as resilient as they are relentlessly punishing; thus the gratification of landing your last plasma grenade on his torso or narrowly surviving after a well timed melee strike is immense.

Those familiar with the multiplayer Beta will be aware of perhaps Reach’s most notable and radical new inclusion - armour abilities. Sprint, jetpack, armour lock, shield, active camouflage and the deceptive hologram all have their benefits and downsides in varying combat situations, but one never feels too overbearingly powerful or underwhelmingly weak. The jetpack for example; excellent for getting to high areas and covering large amounts of distance, but will also leave you worryingly exposed as you glide through the air- perfect for being sniped. Active camo creates a temporary veil of disguise but will scramble your radar, meaning locating enemies becomes a real issue.

Players will experiment with armour abilities to see which ones fit their personal playing style the most effectively to achieve the greatest results. Tactically this adds a whole new dimension to the Halo experience. In the campaign these abilities are often found accompanying weapon stashes where they can be swapped for what you currently have equipped if you feel the replacement will benefit you in progressing through the section you’re tackling. Some missions such as ‘Tip of the Spear’ and ‘Exodus’ will require you to have the jetpack as a mandatory ability as the level design dictates that you’ll be required to get to otherwise unreachable areas both vertically and horizontally. In this sense, a broader choice of armour abilities really comes in to its own in multiplayer; the inevitable time-vanquisher once the single player campaign is finished and Reach has fallen.

Many fans will view single player as almost being bonus content accompanying the online multiplayer, which as expected, Bungie have pulled off with enthusiasm and dedication to make it the most complete, rich experience of any Halo to date. As well as the aforementioned armour abilities (abilities and loadouts can be chosen at the games start and switched on death) and new weapons adding extra depth to the multiplayer, there’s an influx of new modes that will instantly intrigue yet take time to master.

The Spartan versus Elites team based game mode ‘Invasion’ involving powering down the opposition's base and attempting to steal its power core, being one of the most tactical new additions, which forces a rethink of strategy beyond running and gunning or standard CTF tactics. The skull hording ‘Headhunter’ mode is more than a simple Oddball variant, with players gathering skulls from downed opponents and gaining points from depositing them in specific zones. More points are received in relation to the amount of skulls you deposit meaning there’s a temptation to risk death and collect more rather than painstakingly grind up the leader board, a decision which can lead to highly tense combat scenarios.

As appreciated as new game modes are, many players would rather stick to tried and tested formulae; with the Rumble Pit offering solo slayer and objective based matches, as well as the ever reliable social and team slayer options that are the most accessible to those who favour a more simple pick up and play online experience. Couple this with co-operative campaign (though the new difficulty scaling may well put off those who thought they could grab the Legendary completion achievement by getting their friends to help) and the new firefight matchmaking options, and Halo:Reach offers a deeper yet more accommodating approach than before that will satisfy both hardcore fans and recreational players in equal measure.

Bungie wants everyone to be involved in the Halo universe at a level they feel comfortable doing so, and, by and large, they have achieved this notion expertly. Although Halo already has an undeniably massive following, those not so familiar to the series are openly welcomed in, and navigating through Reach’s menus and options is a slickly presented and unrestricted affair. Even the new ‘Psyche Profile’ option allows you to cut out the irritating, immature players that find their way into matches by selecting preferences such as competitive or fun, chatty or quiet, all depending on how rowdy you want the game in question to be. The completely overhauled ‘Forge World’ promises new depths of level design and customisation to those willing to invest the time, and no doubt soon enough the community will devise some truly outlandish maps and game types. Daily and weekly challenges that earn you credits/experience to spend in the armoury are another addictive and replayable string to Reach’s bow, keeping players coming back for more if that shiny new shoulder armour really is too much to resist.

There’s so much content both above and beneath the surface of Halo: Reach that offers a wealth to gamers who are content in their comfort zone and also to those who are willing to explore, dedicate and create. Bungie stated that they wanted the Reach experience to “outlast Halo 3” and judging by what’s on offer here they look well on their way to accomplishing that.

Reach is not only one of the most complete FPS’s available, but represents nine years of Bungie’s devotion and commitment to the Halo franchise. It was never going to have the same groundbreaking impact as the original that evolved an entire genre, but Halo: Reach comes as close to perfecting it as possible, at least in the current console generation. A masterpiece and an absolute must for all Xbox owners.

Halo: Reach statistics

bojeeva@megabitsofgaming.com (Bojeeva) — Mon, 20 Sep 2010 12:30:00 +0100

For those of you living in a box, you may not be aware that last week saw one of the biggest launch events in gaming history. You'll no doubt have guessed that Halo: Reach bounded to the top of the various video game charts around the world... but did you know that 31 million games have been played it since its launch?!?

And that's not all, Bungie's statisticians have been hard at work and published some equally staggering facts and figures. Behold:

98,000,000 Player-games have been recorded
8,214,338 Daily Challenges have been completed
255,996 Weekly Challenges have been completed
78,499,560,895 Total Credits have been earned
953 Man-years have been spent in matchmade games
1365 Man-years have been spent in campaign
854,107 files have been uploaded
577,804 recommendations have been sent to friends
4,619,455 files have been downloaded

Video: FPS nominees for Golden Joysticks

bojeeva@megabitsofgaming.com (Bojeeva) — Mon, 20 Sep 2010 12:13:00 +0100

First person shooters are among the most popular titles in today's gaming industry, the majority of them literally shooting to the top of the charts. Below is footage of the FPS shortlist for this year's Golden Joystick Awards.

In advance of the 28th annual Awards, gamers are being actively encouraged to take advantage of the final month of voting. The star-studded ceremony takes place on October 29.

The nominees for the ITN Game On Shooter of the Year are:

Aliens vs. Predator
Battlefield: Bad Company 2
Bioshock 2
Borderlands
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2
Halo 3: ODST
Left 4 Dead 2
Metro 2033
Metriod Prime Trilogy
S.T.A.L.K.E.R. Call of Pripyat

- Must admit I'm torn by this one. My heart says Borderlands or Left 4 Dead 2... sadly, my head says Modern Warfare 2 will blow the others away. Shame.

Believe The Hype?

lazyperfectionist86@gmail.com (Ally Doig) — Sun, 19 Sep 2010 23:02:00 +0100

This week saw the release of one of the most eagerly anticipated games of all time, let alone of just 2010. This was the culmination of a relentless marketing campaign, subtly spun online promotion, in-house documentaries, and above all the ever powerful word-of-mouth effect (between said mouths salivating over the latest gameplay videos and screenshots of course), resulting in a tidal wave of delirium and hype. Of course the title in question for those with beneath-rock inclined living conditions is Halo:Reach. We can make our own minds up about whether Reach lives up to the stratospheric billing bestowed upon it from inside the industry and gamers alike; however, rather than simply focus on one game alone, let’s look at how the launch on September 14th is representative of how gaming’s progressive popularity has propelled it directly into the forefront of entertainment.

There was once a time when a few in-store posters or at best the occasional TV advert were all that accompanied an impending big release. A handful of the bleary eyed yet dedicated followers may shuffle in when Game or Electronics Boutique opened its doors that morning, then shuffle off again with say, Tomb Raider 2 under arm. Contrast the aforementioned scene with the release of a ‘Triple A’ title these days and the difference is plain and obvious to see. Midnight openings, lively excited crowds and long snaking queues as well as all manner of outlandish promotional events are what we now expect to supplement the latest blockbuster’s introduction to the shelves. Even red carpet fanfares that we’ve always associated with the silver screen are now being rolled out for games.

I went to a midnight release of Reach at my local Gamestation in Wood Green, North London, which rest assured is hardly the pinnacle of glitz and glamour. A good fifty plus crowd had turned out however; admittedly far from the whooping furore that might be heard at some American store openings judging from various Youtube clips, but still a decent effort and one I genuinely wasn’t expecting. Suffice to say that the general demographic was the painfully stereotypical “male aged 18-25”, but to converse with like minded, excited gamers minutes before release at midnight, was for me personally a refreshing experience.

The fact is that due to gaming’s relatively recent rise in popularity, that attending a midnight release (just as one example) is not as tarnished by negativity or as ‘shameful’ as once it was perceived to be. There’ll always be people who regard gaming as a disdainful sub-division of entertainment rather than accepting it as a genuinely worthwhile one, favouring turning away and ignoring instead of willingly embracing and understanding. Gaming is changing the face of entertainment. It’s innovative qualities and popularity are testament to that, yet many people are unwilling to change their own stubborn assessments. However; with every colossal release, pre-launch hype machine, red carpet event and subsequently the vast amount of sales recorded, it seems that such detrimental nay-saying is steadily becoming a product of the minority.

A recent example of the transition from lowly pass time to mainstream medium was the release of Modern Warfare 2 in November last year. As previously mentioned, the ‘premier’ style treatment of Triple A titles is a relatively new concept in gaming, but MW2 really pushed the boat out at launch, basing the reasoning behind doing so, I’d imagine on the insane amount of hype that marketing and PR had generated surrounding the game (though obviously aided by an already successful franchise). A full blown West End bonanza, taking over Leicester Square with actors dressed as military personnel and even wheeling a tank into proceedings was a fitting introduction for a game that obliterated sales records worldwide. In one of the launch events for Reach, a mock Spartan warrior took to the sky in a jetpack over Trafalgar Square. Certainly an attention grabbing sight, and again a demonstration of the promotional power that publishers and developers of previous generations could only have dreamt of.

A slightly cringe worthy effect of gaming’s now crowd drawing prowess however is the celebrity factor. Still a long way from attracting the cream of the A-List crop, we’re treated to a handful of minor personalities who often look like they aren’t quite sure of why they’re there or what the event is for. Although arguably rather famous, watching Rio Ferdinand mumble incoherently about liking the guns in Halo and how it had “more weapons than any other game, I think” made for some pretty painful viewing. I’m all for expanding gaming and reaching (no pun intended - that would be shameful) out to wider audiences, but recruiting someone who has nothing really relevant or articulate to say about the game in question is a fairly shallow grab for attention.

The internet is a defining factor in the success of gaming with the allure of online capabilities drawing an ever increasing audience. XBL, PSN, the constant stream of news sites, forums for debate and thriving online communities means that gaming is inherently involved our lives more than ever before. XBL and PSN now promote themselves more as lifestyle accessories than simple online playing platforms, branching out into social networking, music and sports and encouraging a sense of integration between mediums. It’s this connectivity which seems to be integral to its continued success, as sharing and competitiveness are encouraged in equal measure. Rather than the anti-social ‘geek’ label gamers were once branded with, by and large the scene has developed beyond to a stage of sustained acceptability. Also, now that casual gaming has become such a huge force in the market, all manner of once untapped audiences are becoming involved with videogames. Fair enough they may not be queuing at midnight on launch day for the latest FPS release, but in itself this is an exemplification of the diversity between audiences.

Expansion of videogames has happened at an incredibly fast pace, to such an extent that now, gaming is always in some way connected, at least in the leisure sense to emerging technologies. Blu-Ray and HD are now cemented in the current generation of consoles and 3D was inevitably bound to follow. It’s this cutting edge nature that now, keeps gaming in the forefront of public consciousness. Despite the fact that the 360 and PS3 are comparatively ancient in console terms, Kinect and Move are essentially breathing new life into both, and although Motion Control is not a brand new concept, it is a new direction for both Microsoft and Sony’s machines and again a chance to reach new audiences.

Videogames and the surrounding culture has travelled a long way in what contextually is a very short time, and there are many smaller cogs that facilitate the running of the larger machine. In the grand scheme of things seeing fifty people turn up at a tiny Gamestation in one of London’s less desirable areas at midnight seems fairly irrelevant; yet is microcosmically representative of gaming’s evolvement from minor recreation to mainstream juggernaut.

(Photo credits: Craig Grobler, Weefz)

Screenshots: F1 2010

bojeeva@megabitsofgaming.com (Bojeeva) — Fri, 17 Sep 2010 12:11:00 +0100

There's been a deluge of top racing games already this year but another much-anticipated release is now under starter's orders... F1 2010 from Codemasters is due to hit the shelves on 24 September and is a likely contender for pole position in the charts.

After the likes of Split\Second and Blur, it's kind of refreshing to have a real racing sim coming out again. And I reckon it looks fantastic - fully licensed and featuring the official drivers, teams and 19 circuits from the 2010 FIA Formula One World Championship. There's the usual career mode, online multiplayer and... wait for it... it claims to have the most advanced weather effects in any racing game!

Here are some great looking new screens.

Review - Spiderman: Shattered Dimensions

noreply@blogger.com (Mark Medeiros) — Wed, 15 Sep 2010 12:15:00 +0100

So many comic book characters have been around for so long that they have undergone numerous reboots and reinventions in the name of relevance (or in the name of creating an excuse to retell the Green Goblin murdering Peter Parker’s love interest storyline again and again). Shattered Dimensions purports to combine the characters from various reboots in an unlikely crossover, and why not? I know I would love to see calloused, middle-aged and drunk Batman from The Dark Knight Returns team with Adam West to beat the snot out of George Clooney’s Batman.

Sadly, this game is missing the most important Spiderman of all; the 60s animated series Spiderman, with his peppy theme song and ability to swing from webs hanging off the moon. You also don’t get to knock some sense into emo Tobey Macguire for dancing the Spiderman movie series into franchisicide. What you do get are four different Spidermans: the traditional “Amazing” Spiderman that has been around for 47 years yet doesn’t look a day older than 20. The “Ultimate” Spiderman, a more recent reboot where Peter Parker is a high school kid and who’s sole purpose in this game is to wear that blasted black symbiote suit that won’t go away. Spiderman 2099 is the futuristic version, in a world with flying cars, holograms and other things us 90s folk thought would happen in the year 2000. And finally, there’s the Noir Spiderman, which combines Marvel wackiness with Sin City mood, depression, hyperbole and none of the sex and violence. I don’t think Spiderman Noir has his own comic book line at the moment, but after this game, he damn sure better get one!

All of these alternate universes are tied together because Amazing Spiderman accidentally broke some kind of superfunky tablet of funk. And now Madame Web (who’s career peaked with the 90s cartoon) is asking the four Spidermen to fix this. To be frank, Madame Web may be the worst part of this entire game, with her slow and plodding tutorials, predictable advice and tendency to say “good job” after every minor feat I’ve accomplished. Thanks for telling me the best way to beat a boss is to wait for his attack to miss and then counter-attack, Madame Obvious. Likewise, the best part of Spiderman: Shattered Dimensions is the narration from Stan Lee. The man is 87 years old, for Christ’s sake! And yet he still has more enthusiasm and energy than the combined attendance at Yankee Stadium. I’m pretty sure he could inject a sense of wonder and excitement into sock-knitting with his narration.

Though if I had to pick a second-best part to the game, it would probably be the effective use of the whole alternate dimension business, visually at least. The Amazing and Ultimate levels are bright, colourful and…err…comic booky. The 2099 levels are very neon, metallic, rich in blues and purples. It’s nice to see a video game version of the future that isn’t dystopian or ravaged in the greys and browns of war. The Noir levels rock that old film grain and evoke Dick Tracy and the like…but with more webs and less profanity. And as someone that likes comic book characters on the most casual of levels (there is only one Tony Stark and his name is Downey Jr), it was rather intriguing to see the different spins on famous characters. The Amazing levels were perhaps the least interesting since I’ve already seen their respective versions of Sandman or Kraven the Hunter done repeatedly. Rather, it was novel to see Vulture remade as a demented cannibal, or how plastic surgery advances so much in 100 years that Dr Octopus can get a sex change into a female supermodel in 2099.

And the game follows that new, unwritten-but-undisputed rule that every second or third Marvel video game, movie or other media property must feature some appearance by Deadpool.

However, the game kind of…er…shatters when you have to play it. Despite the advertised four dimensions, three of them play rather identically. Or to be exact, three of them are cheap God of War clones. The bulk of your time in the Amazing, Ultimate or 2099 levels are spent beating waves and waves of generic goons. Many of the enemies seem to have abnormally large chunks of health, leaving you with the non-sensation of button-mashing your way through one bout of repetition after another. Not all the levels are like this (the Deadpool level is 20 shades of awesome, though you wouldn’t expect otherwise) but the game seems to put its generic combat ahead of any other gameplay concepts. Occasionally, you’ll rescue civilians, and then protect them in escort missions, a concept I swore went out of style 12 years ago (before Ultimate Spiderman existed, in fact.) The levels are linear stages as opposed to the open-ended New York sandbox of past. Thus, the web-swinging, the best part of the last three or four Spiderman games, is relegated to simply a means to cross the occasional gap.

So you’ll fight many enemies, repeatedly. And that includes bosses. In fact, each level is named after its token Spiderman villain. Pretty much every major Spiderman rogue short of Venom appears in this game (and lets be frank, the big black symbiote dude needs a break from the public eye anyways.) It’s not uncommon to fight a boss once or twice in a level… and then for that boss to realize that superfunky stone grants superpowers, leading to a third, bigger boss fight.

Each level has its share of optional objectives, and completing them earns “Web Essence” that can be spent on various upgrades and moves. Most of these objectives fall in the category of “things you were going to do anyways” like beating up enemies and bosses, so you need not bother scroll through the needlessly bulky menu screen depicting your objectives. Each character has different variations of the same unlockable moves. Ultimate Spiderman can use a superpowered “Rage” mode that makes him stronger. 2099 Spiderman can use a superpowered “Accel” mode that makes him faster. Amazing Spiderman gets a raw deal in the special abilities mode. Otherwise, there is little difference in how the three characters handle.

But on the other hand, the Noir Spiderman is something else. His levels are reminiscent of the stealth levels from Batman: Arkham Asylum. A bunch of goons have guns and the hero is best served to pick each one off individually, from the shadows, like a man. There are a few differences between The Batman and The Spiderman; instead of gargoyles, Spiderman escapes to safety by merely finding somewhere dark to hide. You can takedown enemies from a distance, either from higher ground or while hiding on walls. And you’ll feel like a real badass in tights for sneaking up on an enemy and web-trapping them on the wall like a spider can. There are some technical issues that you’ll struggle with, mostly involving trying to figure out a safe distance for which the game allows said takedowns to trigger. You’ll also have to learn to takedown an enemy while no one else is glancing at you, for the takedown animations are canned, long, and involve obnoxiously loud punches to the face. And for whatever reason, you can’t perform a takedown on an aggroed enemy that isn’t walking on his predetermined patrol path. But I would be doing the brooding Noir man an injustice if I didn’t say how satisfying these stealth sequences can be. There’s something to be said about clearing out an entire room of enemies, unseen, while Hammerhead is in the next room scolding his numbskull henchmen. That’s what being a 60s superhero is all about. That and talking robots.

The first Noir Spiderman level is the best level in the entire game, due to how it consists entirely of one stealth sequence after another. The subsequent Noir levels intersperse fun stealth levels with annoying forced combat sequences, dragging them into the same interdimensional mud the other Spidermen have to deal with. And then there are the numerous other technical issues. Expect to have many tizzies with the camera and the various controls for climbing and web-swinging. I’ve had moments where the game froze my progress because one of the goons I needed to beat fell off the game world…and moments where Madame Web congratulated me on a job well-done and the sealed door was opened, despite me never laying a finger on any enemy in the room. The final sequence of the final boss is also rather poorly designed, and will lead to confusion and doubt if you don’t follow the unmarked path the developers want you to follow. And the game crashed on me four times. Excelsior.

The game’s about 7 to 8 hours long. But it’s not a particularly entertaining 7 to 8 hours.

I feel like there’s way too much drawn-out filler, repetition and technical issues interfering with my ability to appreciate the game’s novel concept. Plus there’s no 60s Spiderman, which is a gross oversight. At best, Shattered Dimensions is suited for a curiosity rental. I feel like after Arkham Asylum, the bar for a game based on a comic book game has been raised enough that this grossly underpolished title won’t cut it. And besides, Spiderman deserves better than to be trapped in a God of War knockoff.

Proof - games are good for you

bojeeva@megabitsofgaming.com (Bojeeva) — Tue, 14 Sep 2010 21:49:00 +0100

How appropriate that, on the day of one of the biggest launches in gaming history, academics publish a report declaring that gaming - and specifically, shoot 'em ups - are good for us!

As you read this, die hard gamers across the globe are sat cross-legged in front of their TVs pwning at Halo:Reach. Their eyes are glued to the screen, their thumbs are starting to suffer from repetitive strain injury and their loved ones are being ignored. But on the positive side, researchers from New York's University of Rochester in the US have confirmed what I have always maintained... games improve the mind. Not only that, but they help us hone our decision making processes and provide us with lightening quick reflexes!

According to an article in today's Independent newspaper, scientists carried out numerous tests to determine the effects of gaming:

The researchers tested dozens of 18- to 25-year-olds who were not ordinarily video-gamers, splitting them into two groups.

The first group were told to play adrenalin-packed action games such as Call of Duty 2 and Unreal Tournament, in which participants dash around online arenas shooting each other.

The second group were given The Sims 2, a more sedate, strategy-based game that mimics the pace of everyday life.

Despite the fact that those subjected to The Sims must have been bored senseless, the study showed that those lucky people playing the faster-paced action titles apparently made decisions 25% quicker than their peers.

There you have it, proof that gaming is good for you! It must be true - scientists say so!

Five things we’re not looking forward to in Halo Reach.

noreply@blogger.com (Ibwib) — Tue, 14 Sep 2010 14:13:00 +0100

The countdown is over and Halo: Reach is finally here. We’ll be slitting the plastic on our copy later this evening, and already we’re overjoyed at the prospect of new Covenant baddies, a graphical polish and the chance to experience the moodiest part of Halo’s backstory. But amidst all that excitement, something occurred to us, something we noticed when Halo 2 was released and again for 3, Wars and ODST. It seems that every time a new Halo game is released a small but noticeable collection of niggles created by fans, developers and journalists appear to take a little bit of the shine off things, and we’re betting that Reach will be no different. So, here are our five predictable things we think Halo: Reach could do without.

1. Copycat Cabooses

I loved Red vs Blue. You loved Red vs Blue. We all love Red vs Blue, it has a gorgeous mix of foul-mouthed humour, running gags and hilarious characters. But you know who loves Red vs Blue too much? Those plonkers in blue armour with names like xxCaboosexx and Cabooooose13 who hang around in multiplayer games wittering on about sandwiches in sub-par impersonation of our favourite lackwit. Enough. He was funny, you’re not.

2. 30 seconds of cheap journali..er...fun.

As a game design ethos, Bungie’s famous Thirty Seconds of Fun is great. Attempting to build a game around a string of breathtaking half-minute shootouts strung together with breathers for restocking is laudable, but it’s still only an ideal. Between the two weapon loadout, unpredictable AI and broad landscape, there’s enough unpredictability in Halo to make clear that the 30 seconds of fun is a guiding principle, an abstract concept, not a concrete part of the gameplay. Yet every time a new Halo game hits the stand we have to read reviews and even entire features in which deadline strapped hacks talk about the 30 Seconds of Fun as if it’s real.

3. Uninspired Forge maps

A year before Little Big Planet offered UGC creators the toolbox of their dreams, Halo 3 brought us the Forge, a multiplayer game maker that allowed users to insert objects and weapons into existing maps, beefing up the firepower, closing up the choke points, building new ramps and ladders-it was all down to your imagination. And what was the best that the imaginations of most Halo 3 players could come up with? Rocket launchers and grav hammers in a map the size of a postage stamp. Loud, tiresome and repetetive, it’s the gaming equivalent of a Saxon album. And now we have Forgeworld to look forward to...

4. Clicking to sprint...

...oh, no, wait, we’re not playing Call of Duty. Although the absence of a sprint button almost makes me wish I was. While I accept that the first Halo can be excused due to its comparatively limited multiplayer options, would it really have hurt to add a sprint to Halo 2 or 3? The inability to vary your speed when under fire is one of the few things we’d change in Halo multiplayer.

5. The great debate...

Is there a more frequently debated topic in gaming than this? On some message boards there might as well be a ‘Start a tiresome “Is Halo Overated?” thread’ button right next to the log in. Over and over and over we read the same basic complaints-the guns are unbalanced, the vehicles are brilliant, the library is awful, the AI is great. Point and counterpoint ad infinitum. The fact is, it’s here in all its six games, seven novels and numerous action figure spawning glory. Let’s just say there’s got to be something to it, and not have yet another tedious debate as to the actual value of that ‘something’.

An homage to Mario - happy anniversary

bojeeva@megabitsofgaming.com (Bojeeva) — Mon, 13 Sep 2010 22:22:00 +0100

The plucky Italian plumber we all know and love appeared in the self-titled Super Mario Bros 25 years ago today. Here's to a happy anniversary!

He may have started out as a carpenter and been called Jumpman but thankfully his creators saw sense and Mario was born!

To mark the occasion, we at Megabits have tracked down some of the greatest video homages to the mustachioed protagonist. The Family Guy video and nod to MTV show Jersey Shore are firm favourites!!!

(Photo credit: undeleterious)

Sequel/original? Showcase console or stick with story?

bojeeva@megabitsofgaming.com (Bojeeva) — Sat, 11 Sep 2010 23:50:00 +0100

It's an age-old dilemma that many of us gamers have faced at one time or another: what's the first game you buy when you get hold of a shiny new console?

I found myself in just such a position last month when I finally took the plunge and bought my PS3. There had already been a lot of deliberation behind my purchase given that my house is already awash with consoles and game discs - but the lure of PS3 exclusives and that Blu-ray player sealed the deal for me. Anyway, I digress... There I was, console box tucked under one arm, staring at the instore display.... as part of the bundle deal I could pick a solitary title to go with my new toy. I glanced down the list and quickly made my decision... Uncharted 2 was on offer - so it was a done deal.

So there you have it. Arriving back at home, I hastily unboxed everything and powered up the black beast. The disc whirred into action, the title screen popped up and the award-winning music spilled from my speakers. I was a very happy lad.

But it struck me later that night that I may have made a dreadful mistake. Don't get me wrong, I was very happy with my new machine and I was thoroughly enjoying Drake's escapades... but had I made an error of judgement with my game choice?

I'd seen all the rave reviews, cooed over the graphics and heard about the unparallelled gameplay and storyline... hell, it had been one of the main reasons for buying the PS3 in the first place. So why was I moaning?

Should I have instead gone for Drake's original outing? Should I have chosen to go in search of El Dorado rather than Shambhala?

So that's the dilemma... if given the choice, do you pick arguably the bigger, better-looking sequel to see exactly what your console can do or instead choose to start Drake's adventures from the very beginning and play the games in order? Would you read one of the later Harry Potter books because it is better, or start with the original? Would you go choose to watch the third - and perhaps best - Lord of the Rings movie, or go for the first?

It seems such an easy choice for books and films, but should gaming be any different? What should I have done - go straight to the sequel to showcase my console or opt for the original to understand the characters and follow the story from scratch?

Review: Heavy Rain

noreply@blogger.com (Mark Medeiros) — Tue, 7 Sep 2010 17:20:00 +0100

All that is old is new again. A game comprised entirely of quick-time events (a concept that hasn’t been funky fly since Shenmue) combined with the hunt for a Jigsaw-like killer (imitating a movie that hasn’t been interesting since…well the first one), coupled with Resident Evil-like walking controls (which have never been cool). Throw in the most daring attempt to climb the uncanny valley to date and you have a game that really, really should not have any claim to relevance in today’s market.

And yet there’s something about Heavy Rain that makes it feel so fresh and interesting that you almost have to play it out for yourself.

The game is built around some Origami Killer figure that kidnaps and murders children. This “killer” could be anyone. He could be Ethan Mars, the family man-turned-manic-depressive whose son is the latest victim. He could be Madison, the obligatory female character who exists in the game mostly to have her female body parts violated. It could be Scott Shelby, the unhealthy but cheery private eye figure who exists to break the streak of characters with perfect physiques. Could be Norman Jayden, the cokehead FBI agent wearing freakin’ virtual reality sunglasses, the kind of fictional technology that makes the CSI Vegas show jealous. For all we know, the killer could be you.

The game comes with a graphic piece of paper, and the installation screen gives instructions on how to fold it into the Origami Killer’s artwork of choice. Quite bluntly put, this really is the greatest installation screen in the history of gaming. Despite how my origami bird-thingy has since crumpled and creased under the weight of gravity, it was sure worth not renting the game for that sole purpose.

There’s an admittedly slow start to the proceedings. First you have to live an excessively jovial day in the life of the Mars family (no relation to the cancelled CW program) as they live a perfect birthday in the perfect house with the wife, picket fence and 2.5 children. Then the obligatory tragedy occurs and suddenly, you have to live a day in the decidedly unjovial life of the deadbeat Mars family, with his not-perfect house and not perfect…yeah. The game has some admittedly slow pacing issues but at least effectively breaks you into each new pawn in this murderous chess game is introduced.

A combination of factors immerse you into this odd version of reality. There’s the ever ominous music, some of the most weighty and mood-appropriate orchestral pieces to appear in an electronic video game since I played Kum-bay-ya on my recorder in Grade 3. There is the ability to interact with your environment through any given number of quick-time events. You can sit down, use the can, take an exposed-breasts-shower, open the fridge, decide you’re not thirsty, close the fridge, turn on the tele, watch random, looped cartoons you see people on television watch, etc. They’re mostly pointless (even the ones that involve alcohol, sadly) but they at least serve the task of making you feel like part of a world instead of a series of walls pretending to be furniture like in every pre-Half-Life-2-shooter. In fact, quick-time events are the very soul of Heavy Rain. Heavy Rain is to quick-time events what Republicans is to opposing free health care.

The game’s plot conjures up a variety of surprising gameplay scenarios to use these quick-time events. And you’ll be shocked as to how well combining button presses, analog stick swipes and Sixaxis motions, often in clever tandems, recreates in-game activities. It actually puts the three-year-old Wii to shame in regards to interactivity and that’s embarrassing, Nintendo. There are a variety of interesting scenarios, such as changing a diaper or applying first aid, that are a shocking fit to the game’s unique brand of controls. Of course, there are also fights, chases and various other action sequences, and the game at least grants a reasonable amount of leeway. Instead of being forced to restart a battle over slipping on a single button, your mistake is merely reflected in the form of your own-screen character slipping-but-not-defeated. In turn, Heavy Rain is a massive improvement over every single game to use quick-time-events-ever-period-end-of-story-up-yours-god-of-war.

The catch of this quick-time-action-driven-insanity is that the game does get a little outrageous at points. You’ll be suspicious as to how the main characters can just happen to run into these various unlikely scenarios. These are an awful large quantity of Hollywood fight sequences. The most difficult to swallow is one involving a particularly deranged doctor, better suited for a James Bond film than a game with some semblance of reality. (Though giving ARI a claim to reality seems to be pushing boundaries a bit.) And do not fret, nothing in this game approaches the sheer stupidity of the events of Indigo Prophecy, Quantic Dream’s previous interactive movie folly.

And the voice actors try their hardest to conceal their non-American accents. The child actors, in particular, seem to endure a great struggle in the regard of covering up the truth behind their culture of origin. And the walking controls, reminiscent of Resident Evil but not really, they suck. But at least you can adapt. But if you can accept a small modicum of nonsense, the plot does get very interesting as you progress. The action scenes get exciting, the murder mystery gets intriguing, and the game will sink its hooks into your shoulders and drag you through some exciting moments (and do so with the shoulder buttons in a quick-time event).

Since you have a degree of input in the character’s actions, and determining who lives and dies, the game’s final sequences do feel like the product of your design, and give you an appropriate payoff for your button-pressing. Admittedly, subsequent playthroughs are a bit less interesting. All of the major moral choices occur the game’s later stages, and you’ll find no pleasure in reliving those lengthy stays at the Mars residence. Rather, you’ll feel more inclined to just revisit individual chapters to see how certain events unfold. It’s almost comical, actually, how there can be little-to-no punishment for failing certain sequences. For at least two fights, I put my controller down and made no attempt to defend myself, and the story progressed all the same. There’s a seemingly dire life-or-death situation in particular seemed strange in how I was allowed to make no attempt at survival and still survive.

But still, Heavy Rain is one of those games that you kind of have to play at some point. It’s highly immersive and intriguing, and so different from everything else on the market that it almost begs for attention. I doubt that it’ll launch a genre of “interactive movies”, but I would not mind the occasional attempt of a new story from Quantic Dream here and there. Plus it has the whole origami paper install factor going for it.

Land of the Free - stories from the sandbox

lazyperfectionist86@gmail.com (Ally Doig) — Mon, 6 Sep 2010 19:50:00 +0100

Freedom; in the modern era the very definition of the term is constantly misconstrued and distorted, especially within the often frictional socio-political environment we find ourselves living in. It seems that implemented boundaries and constraints often masquerade as promoters of ‘freedom’, yet in reality are instances of the complete opposite.

Paranoia, anti-establishment views and general Orwellian foreboding are certainly rife, no question, and with the threat to privacy seemingly as potent as ever before, it’s not too difficult to understand why. So if society is heading down this dystopian path, are video games doing the complete opposite, and where do the two worlds - real life confinement and digital liberty - collide? Surely there must be a correlation between the upsurge in gaming popularity and the greater restrictions we see placed on populations?

With advances in technology comes new opportunities for creating ever more elaborate and groundbreaking gaming experiences. What were once two dimensional and imaginative yet unconvincing creations, are now fully immersive worlds inviting the player to explore and experience them in great depth. One of the finest examples of the aforementioned environments would be within the sandbox genre.

Being fully realised by Grand Theft Auto 3 nearly a decade ago, the sandbox genre is perhaps the largest advocate of a ‘freewill’ type of gameplay. The freedom of choice aspect and omission of strict linearity has made such titles hugely popular, offering expansive digital arenas in place of overtly structured locations with heavily regulated goals and aims to follow.

Take Saints Row 2, for example. While GTA IV opted for a more realistic approach and subsequently discarded the more outlandish elements that made San Andreas so entertaining, SR2 opens up the proverbial toy box of outrageous customisation and riotous fun. In my opinion San Andreas is the best GTA to date, and although IV is an undeniably more quality game technically than Saints Row 2, the latter is a more player driven title. By this I mean that SR2 lets you build up your own protagonist in the mould of your choosing, be it a morbidly obese cockney or a Carl Johnson inspired gangbanger; meaning a more personally fulfilling experience than adhering to the Niko Belic driven narrative of GTA IV.

The ridiculous primary objectives, side missions and diversions of SR2 are a testament to it’s non-serious approach to the sandbox game. I preferred both San Andreas and Saints Row 2 as sandbox titles to GTA IV because they shied away from the limitations of ‘gritty reality’ that IV imposed on itself. In other words, for me, freedom and diversity are far more entertaining video game devices than (arguably) life-like realism. A game where you engineer your own experience will most likely be a more immersive affair than those in which you cannot.

Immersion and diversity are what makes sandboxes brilliant. Although inevitably constricted to a certain degree as all game are, the increased emphasis on choice is what sets them apart from say, your average cover based shooter. In day to day reality of course, freedom of choice is often heavily regulated and the options to do exactly as one pleases are for the vast majority exceptionally limited. Gaming to an extent allows us to experience such diverse opportunity that reality often forbids. The main argument against this notion however would be that although sandbox (as well as many other game types) games allow us to experience a sense of freedom, we are in essence just substituting reality for a temporary fix of fantasy. This may be true, but in reality will we be ever be able explore and exist in rich, mythical lands such as Oblivion’s Tamriel? No, in which case the closest we can get to actually living and acting out these Tolkienesque tales in in video game format.

To be successful the sandbox must feel like a living breathing world, be it from the realms of fantasy or a mimicry of a human metropolis. The post apocalyptic wastes of a game like Fallout 3 perfectly capture the sense of desolation of a world torn apart; the player can envisage how the now decimated landscape was once a habitable place. This is almost a matrimonial hybrid of fantasy and realism, but one that captures the very essence of what makes such games so immersive and plausible: the fact that the world is above all a believable place to be in.

One of the most recent examples of a truly believable game environment would be Red Dead Redemption. The hustle and bustle of congested cities, towns and villages is to all intents and purposes substituted by the epic landscape and rural scenery of the old American West. Although it may seem contradictory to what I previously mentioned regarding gritty realism being detrimental to a sandbox games enjoyment, RDR in fact benefits from promoting itself as an authentic experience. Rather than granting the player either a modern or overtly fantastical setting, RDR awards its freedom by allowing us to essentially, play a historical page from western folklore. The ability to (coining the cliché) “ride off into the sunset” and pretty much do what you please brings a new level of quality interaction to the western genre that before was starkly lacking. The Western relies heavily on it’s legendary environment being one of the primary star roles in it’s many tales and stories, and in a video game it takes a sandbox to truly bring the scenery and narrative to life.

Whether fantasy (Oblivion/Fallout), urban expanse (Saints Row/GTA) or historical realism (RDR), any self respecting sandbox prides itself on exploration. Here is a where the core appeal for such games lies. The desire to explore is ingrained in us from an infant age, discovery is of course how we learn about the world around us and free roaming games are an excellent example of this notion. It could be argued that for many, the mundane nature of, as well as being committed to the daily grind of life fails to allow a great degree of exploration outside our own bubbles and comfort zones. Sandboxes however, although obviously not an out and out substitution for real-world expedition do offer a degree of other wise restricted freedom to explore and discover.

A key term to consider here is escapism. Escapism can often be used in a disparaging manner, almost suggesting an unwillingness to embrace reality. However, this should not always be the case. Rather than the negative, seemingly anti-social connotations associated with the word, we should consider that various mediums of entertainment, in this case video games, can offer windows of opportunity to experience the otherwise impossible. Positive escapism is a quality a good game should always strive to be able to deliver, and sandboxes often offer a sense of non-linearity, scale, and above all immersion that other genres often fail to do.

Offering a world that demands to be explored, investigated and fully lived in; the sandbox has often been credited with producing some of the most critically acclaimed games of all time. Whether it’s art imitating life, games imitating art, or simply utilizing a digital city to recreate everyone’s inner desire to blow things up, this particular game type is expanding outwards beyond the perceived limitations of video games, and offering ever more diverse and free roaming experiences for those willing to embrace them.

Welcome to the Land Of The Free.

Evolution/revolution? Gaming over the years

bojeeva@megabitsofgaming.com (Bojeeva) — Fri, 3 Sep 2010 21:45:00 +0100

Found these great videos - the evolution of console gaming and the history of video games. You may already have strayed up the Megabits Must Play List but if you fancy a little more retro goodness, why not pull up a chair, sit back and take a trip down memory lane with these fantastic compilations.

We at Megabits love the latest technologies and titles as much as anyone but nostalgia should definitely not be a thing of the past... Enjoy.

And here are a selection of some gaming greats too...

The 10 best GTA IV mods ever

bojeeva@megabitsofgaming.com (Bojeeva) — Thu, 2 Sep 2010 20:15:00 +0100

It's a few years since Rockstar's Grand Theft Auto IV hit our screens - but that doesn't mean its appeal is waning. Part of the reason for its continued success is the support of the modding community who have conjured up all sorts of weird and wonderful ways to wring out every spare drop of gameplay in the PC version.

Here, Megabits takes a look at some of the best mods available for the epic sandbox title... we're particularly fond of the first person mode, which adds a completely new slant to the game and arguably makes you feel like you're really walking through a living, breathing city. The Force mod is pretty cool too - great for getting rid of those pesky cops after a killing spree, eh?

First person mod:

Formula 1 mod:

Nuke mod:

Super weapons mod:

Bullet Time mod:

Plane mod:

Monster Truck mod:

BMX mod:

Devil mod:

The Force mod:

Clowns are no joke in gaming

bojeeva@megabitsofgaming.com (Bojeeva) — Wed, 1 Sep 2010 22:40:00 +0100

Picture this. You've just lost your son. Panic sets in. Where could the little wretch have got to? Not to worry, there's a witness - someone who saw him only moments before... perhaps they could help you find him?

Those were my initial thoughts after my ungrateful young son ran off after I'd bought him a balloon during the prolonged introductory scenes in Heavy Rain on the PS3. Surely the amiable looking clown/balloon salesman would be able to help me find him? He'd handed over that red balloon but seconds earlier. He could at least point me in the right direction, right? But no... his nonchalance simply confirmed what I'd always suspected... clowns are evil, pure and simple.

And so there it is, my inspiration for this post. My aforementioned witness wouldn't even raise a gloved finger to help me look for poor old Jason (RIP). But he's by no means the worst of his kind; they're a nasty breed, all of 'em.

For all your alien Necromorphs (Dead Space), struggles against the evil Oro cult (Condemned 2) or creepy confrontations with Alma (FEAR 2), there's little in the world of gaming as scary as the humble clown. Whether it's that menacing grin, the wild hair, grotesque makeup, oversized shoes or baggy trousers, there's something deeply sinister about them.

We at Megabits decided to take a look at some of the others you may have had the misfortune of meeting:

Sweet Tooth (Twisted Metal) - Ah, a name that surely belongs to someone cute and cuddly? Perhaps he gives out candy canes to passers by or has hair that looks like candy floss? Nope, not this fella. Among the most sinister of clown folk, Sweet Tooth earned his place in history as a real badass in the cult racing game Twisted Metal. Known for his flame red hair (literally) and iconic ice cream truck, this evil critter is to make a comeback on Sony's PS3 in 2011. Be afraid.

Adam (Dead Rising) - Clowns are scary enough. Make them psychotic and give 'em chainsaws and they're a whole lot scarier! Adam confronts you in Wonderland Plaza by the Space Rider rollercoaster... and you thought the zombies were nasty.

Zombie clown (Left 4 Dead 2) - Don't like clowns, then avoid Dark Carnival - there are hundreds of the big-shoed freaks dotted about the place. Put aside the wild makeup and their ravenous tendencies and there is some comedic value to them though - try whacking them in the face to make their nose honk (there's even an achievement for your efforts).

Joker (Batman: Arkham Asylum) - Batman's nemesis takes a starring role in Arkham Asylum - one of the best games of last year (check the review after the jump). The wily old Joker is repulsive enough but watch him pump the rather potent Titan concoction into his veins and he becomes even more gruesome and threatening.

Any other clowns we've forgotten? We're not talking about the likes of Krusty... we wanna hear about the really evil ones! Let us know...

(Photo credit: San Diego Shooter)

30 Minute Playtest: Just Cause 2

noreply@blogger.com (Ibwib) — Sun, 29 Aug 2010 14:27:00 +0100

Ok, this game has been out long enough to qualify for a full review or even a bargain bin review, but between Red Dead Redemption, Borderlands and my semi-annual OCD replay of ancient Resident Evil games, I’ve only just got round to this, so a 30 Minute Playtest it is. In fact, it’s tempting to refer to it as a 20 minute playtest, as the sheer immensity of the game map is such that I blew ten minutes of review time just driving around the island chain of Panau.

With over a third of the test time taken up by just one activity you’d be forgiven for thinking that there can’t have been enough other activities for me to have assessed the game, so to set your mind at rest, here’s what I did in the other twenty minutes: Harpooned a soldier to a jet plane which I then hijacked and crashed into a casino; rammed a jeep full of soldiers off a motorway flyover; grappling hooked my way aboard a flying helicopter which I used to wipe out an army base; bought and crashed three £30,000 micro-jets in the space of two minutes and, in an actof shocking cross-cultural callousness, wiped a Buddhist temple off the map using a mini-gun. Best of all, only one of those was part of a scripted sequence as opposed to something the game granted me the freedom to do during open play. Seriously, this is a game that encourages you to think like a Hollywood stunt director with an unlimited budget, a game in which the chase sequences look and feel like you’ve taken control of a Bond movie, a game which starts with the entire map open to you and swiftly lets you begin buying military hardware and experimental aircraft. Just Cause 2 is the very definition of instant and explosive gratification.

Readers of Bojeeva’s recent articles about the worrying easiness of modern games will no doubt find much comfort in Just Cause 2 as well. The difficulty here is perfectly balanced-squads of soldiers can take you out if you’re not extremely mobile, cars can quickly be machine-gunned into an exploding fireball and believe me, your first three or four jet flights will end in disaster just moments after take off. Nothing in the game is completely effortless, but none of it is ever difficult enough to get you frustrated either.

For all the glorious scale, gorgeous scenery and exhilarating freedom of the game, however, there are few drawbacks as well. The fast travel system only works on location you’ve already visited, meaning that you’ll spend a staggering amount of time just trogging around the map-as we’ve already said, a third of our playtime was taken up by travelling. Worse still, of the missions I carried out in the other twenty minutes of test time, no fewer than three of them were essentially identical, a trend which, if it continues, could suck a lot of the joy out of the game.

Finally, there’s the voice acting. The Asian characters in Just Cause 2 speak in a sing-song gabble of missing consonants and breathy tail-offs. Seriously, it feels like only a matter of time before one of them offers me “Egg flied lice, fi dollah”. It’s only the fact that the game’s American, Swedish and Hispanic characters are afflicted with equally poor dialogue and dodgy voice acting that makes you realise the Just Cause’s voice direction is just rubbish and not actually racist. Even so, Just Cause 2 is a game that provokes a shamefaced urge to turn the volume down whenever there’s anyone else in the room.

These mild complaints, combined with some even smaller ones (the long winded process of buying equipment, the wacky vehicle physics that causes sports cars and motorbikes to hump the road like motorised sex-limpets while saloon cars and jeeps handle like turbo-charged clown cars etc) take a lot of the shine off the initial exhilaration. This is a game that instantly establishes its five star potential, and just as swiftly undermines it. Nevertheless, any game where a rocket launcher, microlight and powerboat are never more than a button push away has a lot to recommend it.

Verdict after half an hour: Don’t bother going for 100%, but it’s definitely worth your time.

Review: Alan Wake

noreply@blogger.com (Mark Medeiros) — Fri, 27 Aug 2010 12:20:00 +0100

I don’t know what to make of Alan Wake as a novelist. His writings, while fairly manageable to comprehend, seem nondescript, ridden with clichés. I have a feeling that my former Creative Writing teacher would probably rip the pretentious drunk to shreds if he ever took a glance at his works. However, the game does make allusions to a series of “Alex Casey” books starring a presumably dashing male lead hero. This suggests that Alan Wake is intended to be a straight-to-drugstore novelist, the Dan Brown of video games. And then again, I’ve never read an Alan Wake book, I can only evaluate his typing prowess based on the loose pages scattered around his self-titled video game.

Alan Wake is indeed a video game about a successful book writer. He attempts to live the life of a book writer by way of sewing patches onto his elbows and balancing alcoholism with Vicodins, but the whole “success” and “loving wife” business interfere with his starving artist roots. So he and the missus take a trip to a suspicious and haunted town in the woods. The kind of town where everyone knows everyone’s name, and shotguns and pitchforks keep away outsiders with crazy ideas like “internet” and “Starbucks.”

Alan’s wife goes missing, and he must unravel the mystery to rescue his princess from the castle that was his cabin…or something. Or is it even something at all? Maybe all of the dark and spooky events of the game are happening in Alan Wake’s hallucinogenic head. Sadly, the pretentious “everything is a metaphor for something else” ending I was hoping for didn’t happen, though we may have to wait until Braid is a few years older before that concept is fresh again. But I did enjoy the story in its own way. The game is smart in throwing some kind of crazy cliffhanger at the end of each “episode” to entice in into continuing. And the end payoff for your troubles is mostly satisfying, with a slight dash of the pretentiousness I was gunning for.

The game does abide by its own unlikely conventions. Scattered throughout the worlds are pages of a manuscript for the very game you are playing, spoiling events that are yet to come. I get that including so many spoilers is meant to give these pages a haunted quality, but this is a game that already spoils itself too much. Before each “episode” is a recap of the prior events, a “previously on Alan Wake” package akin to a typical television drama. Like a typical television drama, you can pick out a handful of spoilers of what’s to come based on what is highlighted in these video reels. I get the whole homage business, but I’d rather not pick up crucial plot points before they happen. On a brighter note, I did appreciate the moments where a television flickers on, showing footage of Alan himself soliloquizing about “how books have a life of their own and the writing controls you and” blah blah blah. I laughed so hard watching these because THAT is what so many novelists and poets think of their work. Egotistical writers eat self-directed hyperbole for breakfast and wash it down with a glass of pride and Jack Daniels. So Alan Wake definitely lives up to the role.

Though the fact that he just so happens to be proficient with firearms could be a stretch, despite his coming from NYC. This, by the way, is an action game of sorts with horror-based intentions. Reminiscent of another famous action game of sorts with horror-based intentions. Lets call Alan Wake “Rural Evil 4.” During the day, Alan walks around in search of the specific spot to stand in to trigger the next cutscene, preferably a cutscene that’ll activate night time. During late hours, the dark forces of darkness appear with intent to darkly consume Alan Wake into darkness. Then the game becomes a third person gunfest, although Alan is a third of the man Leon Kennedy was. (For one, Leon doesn’t drop all of his weapons and ammunition every other cutscene.)

The whole gimmick hook behind fighting the dark darkness is that you must first shine a light onto your enemies long enough to annoy them, then you riddle their peeved body with bullets. The game does kind of rewire your thinking to accommodate this pro-light stance. You’ll hunt down spotlights and exploding gas canisters as alternate means to defeat enemies, and suddenly a flare gun strike becomes the most visually spectacular video game explosion since the Modern Warfare nuke.

So Alan Wake works as an action game. An action game with a distinct setting, to be sure. The foggy forests of yore make for a decidedly more enthralling setting than your typical abandoned warehouses and fire temples of other games. But I should also profess that the game strikes me as a complete failure when it comes to the “horror” bit of the experience. I can’t quite put my finger as to why. Maybe it’s the complete lack of gore for this T-rated thriller. Maybe it’s because I was never short on ammo, or because a man with self-regenerating health has nothing to fear in the dark. Perhaps playing a harder difficulty would raise the proverbial stakes. Or perhaps it is because the forces of darkness only know of three methods of attack.

-Evil lumberjacks. (Numbering in the thousands. Bright Falls is very much a one-industry town. If environmentalists had their way with the logging industry, this town is toast.)
-Evil possessed objects. (Which Mr Wake quickly points out is a homage to Stephen King.)
-Evil possessed birds. (Which Mr Wake does not point out is a homage to Alfred Hitchcock.)

Except for perhaps a few moments near the end of the game, these three elements are spread out just far enough to never feel redundant. But that the evil force has no other means to surprise you yanks out some of the fear of the unknown that a horror game should have. Oh, and every time a force of evil ambushes you, the game is quick to slow down time and direct the camera towards their dramatic stage entrance. That’s a bit of a fear-killer too.

But at the same time, I was quick to welcome back these bullet-time sequences. And the game does not skimp out on the use of Bullet Time. I shouldn’t have expected anything less from the same development team that conjured up Max Payne. So I found myself readjusting my standards, deciding to anticipate less of a psychological horror and more stylish hard action, but with a properly-clothed protagonist. And I found myself appreciating the experience more for it.

And there are several other staples that you would anticipate seeing from a Remedy game. Like televisions airing a direct spoof of the show that influenced the very game you are playing. And great original music. And an idol worship for Norse mythology.

It took me about nine hours to finish the game. Keep in mind that this was a very dedicated 9 hours, with few breaks in between. So this is a game that knows how to sink its hooks into you. (To quote a cliché my teacher would hate me for using.)

Alan Wake is that Bioshock-kind of good. It’s the kind of game you are going to want to play once, and savour the experience for a long time. The catch being that in playing it once, you will get your fill and never yearn to touch it again.

There are two downloadable packs coming, including one that sounds like an arena challenge mode (which is kind of what some of the final level is anyways) so I have my reservations on the chances of interesting DLC. Nonetheless, this is a moody-fun morsel of action non-horror.

Megabits' pick of...Current Gen Co-Op

noreply@blogger.com (Ibwib) — Mon, 23 Aug 2010 15:20:00 +0100

Ok, everyone knows that Super Mario Galaxy 2 was a triumph, losing none of its predecessor's inventiveness whilst adding a new twist in the form of co-op, but if we’re entirely truthful, we have to admit to being a little bit underwhelmed. Co-op should genuinely enrich a game, either by allowing you to share the spectacle or by adding an extra dimension to the gameplay or game mechanics. With that in mind, we at Megabits have wracked our brains and assembled our list of the ten best co-op games, the ones that, unlike SMG2, didn’t fall swiftly by the wayside. These are the co-op games that had legs, that gave us days of play rather than hours, that made us glad of our friends list.

Guitar Hero World Tour

I have to admit, I’m on record for my dislike of the all conquering plastic tat and pseudo-music franchises, largely because I hate the feeling that the gameplay is designed around the idea that the controller is an obstacle between you and the screen rather than a conduit into the game world. But for all my general distaste for the game, I have to concede that if you throw in a couple of mates the whole thing becomes rather more fun, as you argue over song choices, bicker over instruments, wrangle over whether to move on or retry songs or…ok, wait a minute, that still sounds rotten. Yet somehow that indefinable magic of gaming, that intangible something that separates a Halo from A Call of Juarez or an Oblivion from a Nier takes over when you get a group of mates on Guitar Hero, and annoyance becomes exhilaration.

Resident Evil 5

While the later entries on our list are marked out by a level of quality that makes them as good in single player as they are in co-op, it’s these early entries that can only muster strength in one category by being weak in another. Resident Evil 5 is a case in point. As a single player effort it’s easily the weakest in the Resident Evil series, a mess of bad QTEs, cheap shots and, unforgivably for a game bearing the name Resident Evil, no tension whatsoever. Played as a co-op, however, and Resident Evil 5’s weaknesses become strengths-those villains with hidden weak spots and superior maneuverability can be taken down with teamwork, as one player fills the role of stalking horse while the other plinks away. The lack of tension becomes irrelevant as co-op turns the game into a successful shooter rather than a failed horror, and the garbled inventory management becomes a much smoother process when not subject to the infuriating whims of Sheva Alomar’s gormless AI. As a failed solo horror, Resident Evil 5 makes an enjoyable co-op shooter.

Crackdown

Perhaps the most debatable inclusion on this list, it’s fair to say that the gameplay in Crackdown doesn’t change noticeably between singleplayer and co-op modes. In fact, it’s possible to spend hours playing in co-op and not experience anything notably different from the single player. The secret to Crackdown’s co-op success lies not with how good it is for two, but how good it is to share how good it is for one. The glorious, over the top leaping, skidding, shooting and bus-chucking that make the open world actioner such anarchic fun in singleplayer are still there in co-op, except now, you can get some extra chievos whilst yelling ‘Dude, did you see that?’ as another mob of Volk baddies are subjected to some comedy pyrotechnic physics. Except we’d never use the word chievos. Or dude. Honest.

Lost Planet 2

Kill big. That’s the idea behind Lost Planet. Well, actually, the idea behind Lost Planet is that a big snowy genocidal land grab is good fun, but that’s not very pithy. Kill big, on the other hand, sums it up nicely-Forget about shooting enemy soldiers not noticeably larger than you. Team up with your buddies and take down giant insects. Steal an exoskeleton and take out bigger insects. Have all your mates steal exoskeletons and combine them into one giant exoskeleton and take down enormous insects. With the sequel adding some jungle variety to the original’s icy tundra as well as creating multi part scenarios in which team work is vital, Lost Planet 2 is that rare breed of game where the co-op factor doesn’t feel like a half-baked bolt-on. The single-player is lumbered with the feel of a dumbbot-populated multiplayer and saddled with a frustrating save system that make it almost worthless, but if you’ve got a couple of buddies on your friend list, then Lost Planet 2 is worth a look

FIFA 2009

I’m among the small group of naysayers who feel that advances in gaming technology have taken a lot of the fun out of football games-the small play area and unregulated flow of action mean that context sensitivity can’t take as much of the burden off the controller, meaning that almost every chip, lob or pass has to be available at the drop of a thumb and the experience becomes a matter of pernickety button combos and less enjoyable than an actual kickabout. Having said that, however, FIFA 2009 still gets on the list thanks to the sheer unbridled joy of joining your friends for an 11 a side online match. The game that has the slightly contrived tendency towards the spectacular that infuriates Pro Evo purists but makes everyone else feel like Pele. The realisation that every Bergkampesque pass is not only delighting your friends but infuriating the opposition gives you an in-the-guts experience that doesn’t last for long, but is glorious for those first few games.

Aegis Wing

An old-school side scrolling shooter doesn’t sound like it would fit with our desire to have a list of co-op games where co-op means more than just having two players on the same side, but Aegis Wing has more to it than just a backdrop and blasters. Up to four players can fly around the screen at once using ordinary and super weapons, but the real co-op fun begins when players combine their ships, Big Dai X style, with one player piloting the resulting ship and up to three more acting as gunners. In many ways, its the essence of good co-op gaming: everyone gets better and stronger by working together, whilst simultaneously inheriting the weaknesses of the entire team-a slow gunner or inattentive pilot can make you question whether the alliance was worthwhile as you sit, wondering if the teams one lifepod will be used to save you or someone else...

Halo 3

Much like Crackdown, it has to be said that Halo 3 is not a game that mixes it up for co-op gaming-it really is just the single-player campaign with the Chief, The Arbiter and up to two more Covenant Elites. But Halo is the game that took multiplayer gaming from painfully slow dial up Quakefests and the occasional late night on the office LAN and brought it into your living room, allowing you to play with friends remotely. Its almost as if playing Halo with other people is encoded in gamer DNA, so for the third instalment in the trilogy to include co-op play is an easy, natural fit, and feels like something you’ve been doing since you were a nipper. Add to that the sheer scale of the Scarab fights or the claustrophobic crawls through the Gravemind’s guts and you’ve got a game where company is always appreciated.

Borderlands

Take the aesthetic of 80’s scrapheap sci-fi movie Space Hunter: Adventures in The Forbidden Zone, mix it with surrealist punk western Straight To Hell. Overhaul the visuals with a cel-shaded art style reminiscent of Katsuhiro Otomo, and you’ve got...something that doesn’t quite describe Borderlands. Now what could be missing...? Oh yes, 17,000,000 guns! Essentially a loot driven scavenger hunt combining RPG upgrading with First Person Shooting, Borderlands follows a simple procedure-do missions, obtain guns, do more missions, get bigger, more preposterous guns: flame-throwing machine guns, lightning shotguns, you name it, just about any ludicrous combination is possible, and what do you want most when you’ve obtained a thermonuclear machine pistol? A friend to share it with-Borderlands is built for multiplayer co-op, with the number of enemies hitting hordelike proportions as you and your buddies back each other up whilst unleashing colour-coded ballistic chaos.

Gears of War 2

While your every urge is to dismiss Gears of War as ‘Lunk & Biff’s chainsaw-a-go-go’ , what seems to be one of the dumbest games you’ve ever played is in fact one of the smartest co-ops. Sure, it’s all about big action, gravelly voices and preposterous monsters, all presented in some of the sweetest graphics you’ve ever seen, but underneath all that is an intelligence at work to make sure that the spectacle is complemented by a game that is great for one but brilliant for two. The combination of cover mechanics and buddy revival allow you to feel a genuine sense that you’re supporting each other as you advance, the splits in levels that allow one player to head to an objective while the other covers him, the mix of short and long range weapons that a good team can combine to great effect when switching from claustrophobic tunnels to subterranean cathedrals and back...its all designed to allow players to form a working team without sacrificing their individual playing style.

Left 4 Dead

When it came to picking the top spot on this list it was always going to be either Left 4 Dead or Left 4 Dead 2. We agonised long and hard over it, and eventually came to the conclusion that it had to be the original. Sure, the sequel has the excellent scavenge mode, and the sheer joy of playing as a charger in VS, but the original’s hospital, farmyard and airport settings have a sombre tone that befits the games apocalyptic nature better than the fairgrounds and rock concerts of the sequel.

Beyond its settings, Left 4 Dead gets the balance for a co-op game exactly right: your allies can make you strong, or they can slow you down, and you’re tasked with the option of helping them or leaving them for dead, all the while knowing that they’re making the same calculations. Do you share the medical kit or save it for yourself? Do you backtrack to rescue a fallen team mate or peg it for salvation? Is it better to scavenge for a full supply of equipment or sprint to the next safe room as fast as possible? For all the frantic onscreen shooting, it’s these background questions that are the tasty rare meat of the game, and there’s the added frisson of tension that comes with the knowledge that the rest of your team might answer them differently in the middle of a pitched battle.

Review: Flower

bojeeva@megabitsofgaming.com (Bojeeva) — Mon, 23 Aug 2010 12:32:00 +0100

Just to clarify, I am a man’s man. I love watching sport, enjoy swigging beer and am extremely fond of female attention. I sometimes sport stubble and can be found, on occasion, in the presence of power tools. I also have a penchant for violent games, with guns and gore.

It’s not that I feel I have to justify my emotional reaction to playing Flower on the PS3 for the first time, but the above had to be said. That aside, I must admit I did feel pretty teary eyed after a brief stint playing thatgamecompany’s creation. In fact, I bounded up the stairs to tell my wife all about my experience. But unless you play it first hand, it’s hard to explain. And she looked at me with pity. I managed to convince her to give it a go – and now she’s a convert too.

Now, take a seat and a deep breath and relax.

The game's all about poetry, beauty and the dreams of flowers desperate to leave the confines of their pots on the windowsill (!) Confused? Well don’t be; the concept is beyond simple.

You control the wind through a simple button press. Any button, it really doesn’t matter. It’s your job to guide a lowly petal on the breeze through the clever application of Sony’s coveted six axis technology. By gesticulating your controller, your petal will come in contact with other flowers, which blossom and add colour and life to dead ground nearby. Each flower’s renaissance sees another petal join you on the breeze – your trail growing until the screen is awash with colour.

The subtle sound of the wind is accompanied by calming melodies as you glide about the place, but the music reacts dynamically whenever you come in contact with another flower. In effect, you not only create colour and beauty but compose ever-changing harmonies too. It’s magical.

There are no enemies and no failure, just six levels of increasing loveliness and relaxation. It may only provide just over an hour’s gameplay but you will certainly come back for more – if not to show people exactly how amazing this game is and why you’re all overcome with emotion and happy thoughts.

For the experience itself, it’s well worth the minimal outlay for the download. Highly recommended.

Megabits' pick of...special edition games

bojeeva@megabitsofgaming.com (Bojeeva) — Fri, 20 Aug 2010 13:30:00 +0100

Tin boxes, limited edition artwork, extra DLC, memory sticks or soundtracks… just some of the “bonus” items bundled with the latest games for a small premium!

But what's the deal with all these special, limited and collector's edition boxsets?

You’d think that all of a publisher’s efforts before the launch of a key title would go into tweaking code and getting the graphics and gameplay spot on, wouldn’t you? But with so much competition nowadays – and ultimately, so much at stake – games companies are having to pull out all the stops to ensure that potential customers opt to buy their wares rather than someone else’s.

Perhaps it’s for that very reason that several versions of many games are hitting the shelves – and I’m not talking about the various console formats but Limited Edition boxsets.

Quite why these are so popular amongst today’s discerning gamers is beyond me. Afterall, why double your outlay on a new title just so you can be the proud owner of a few postcards or a figurine? These gimmicky toys have little use when all is said and done, and I’ll wager that many are quickly consigned to the back of a cupboard to gather dust.

Are they being bought because of some misguided expectation that they will one day be worth vast sums of money? Who knows – but there are certainly many of us out there who are desperate to get our hands on these trinkets and keepsakes.

Megabits decided to see what all the fuss was about and found a selection of the weird, wacky and woeful… Sadly, some are region specific so don't get too disappointed if you can't track them all down!!!

To fuel our growing hunger for upcoming zombiefest Dead Rising 2, we decided that should be our first point of call. What we found was a prime example of the kind of superfluous mementos that have become so popular. The collector's edition incorporates not only the game but its very own syringe pen, which may prove handy for administering all that Zombrex antidote! Not only that, but there's a making of DVD tucked away in the box too. An appropriately-titled "Outbreak Pack" is also on offer, boasting a 12" zombie figurine.

For the less bloodthirsty amongst you, there are plenty of cuter options out there too. What about snapping up the LittleBigPlanet 2 collector's edition? Not only do you get your very own 7" sackboy toy but there are loads of DLC costumes in there too and some bookends (!)

Love them or loathe them, you have to concede that these collectibles are getting increasingly inventive, don’t you think?

The latest addition to the Call of Duty franchise even trumps last year’s efforts... a special version of the much-coveted Black Ops game is bundled with a radio controlled car!

Keeping with the car theme, and not to be outdone, there are plenty of Gran Turismo 5 goodies to be had by PS3 petrolheads too... Depending on how much money you have to splurge on Polyphony Digital’s upcoming racer, you could be the proud owner of a die cast model of one of the hundreds of cars featured in the game, a strategy guide spanning several hundred pages, postcards and a key chain among other bits and pieces.

Xbox 360 owners shouldn’t feel too left out though. Both Fable III and Halo: Reach will be bundled with plenty of knick knacks when they are released in the coming months.

Molyneux’s brainchild will come in a box cunningly disguised as an old book, and will feature character playing cards, exclusive unlockable locations on the map and an alternative canine to accompany you on your quest through Albion.

The Limited edition of Halo: Reach, meanwhile, will be packaged in an “recovered ONI black box", (which apparently is just as exciting as it sounds), and will also include exclusive Elite armour for multiplayer and a bag containing the personal journal of none other than Dr Halsey. Alternatively, there's the Legendary Edition that includes a hefty-looking statue and a flaming helmet Spartan armour addon.

But these are by no means the coolest or quirkiest extras that we've come across. Here are some that have already hit the shelves…

As mentioned above, the Black Ops Prestige Edition must take credit for being a pretty decent collectible. But it still doesn't trump the efforts of Modern Warfare 2 last year.

What self respecting soldier wannabe wouldn’t want to own their very own pair of night vision goggles, eh? Reviews of the nice-looking headgear have been pretty favourable too, which suggests that it's perhaps worth spending that little bit extra?

Perhaps the Batman: Arkham Asylum boxset comes close as a must-have package for fans? Not only do you get a behind the scenes DVD, map pack DLC and Arkham Doctor's Journal, but there’s also a rather nifty 14” Batarang with stand in there too!

If you're into your weaponry then how about a gun used by our scantily clad heroine in Bayonetta?

We glossed over the inclusion of figurines above but they're by no means a new trend. If you look hard enough you can still get a mini Ryu or Crimson Viper statuette with your version of Street Fighter IV or an Assassins Creed Altair figure.

Fallout 3 addicts had plenty of options available to them too. There's a chunky metal lunch box and 5" Vault-Boy Bobble-Head Figurine or... wait for it... what about this replica of the Big Daddy? Even I’ll admit that he is pretty cool.

And who wouldn’t want a Chris Redfield statue on their shelf? Thankfully, I could get hold of one if I picked up the special collector's edition of Resident Evil 5. There are bags of goodies crammed into the box, including a Tricell bag, a BSAA patch, and a pendant. WOW!

For the more fashionable amongst you, what about sporting a Far Cry 2 T-shirt? Snap up the boxset and there’s also a book featuring artwork from the game, a guide, making of DVD and a map – ideal for traversing the absolutely huge gameworld.

On the face of it, the God of War III Ultimate Edition looks great too - but there's little inside the intriguingly ornate box to get the juices flowing. Besides the game, there's some artwork and DLC codes for the soundtrack and a documentary.

Last, but by no means least, is Starcraft II's recent effort. Flash your cash and you could be the proud owner of... yep, you guessed it, a 176-page book featuring artwork from the game!
Actually, the main selling point seems to be a 2GB USB flash drive replica of Jim Raynor's dog tag - including the original game and expansion pack. If that's not enough, there's a behind-the-scenes DVD containing over an hour of developer interviews, an official soundtrack CD "containing 14 epic tracks from the game along with exclusive bonus tracks". There's even a comic book thrown in there for good measure and some other sundries too.

There's certainly plenty out there to spend your money on - but, to be frank, there's very little that looks like an essential purchase. Granted, this is only the tip of an ever-growing iceberg of special edition boxsets but to continue the analogy, they all leave me cold (except perhaps for the goggles!).

The important part of any games purchase is surely the game itself, right? Personally, I'd prefer the time, money and effort went into adding a few more levels or a great multiplayer mode. Give me awe-inspiring graphics, sound and gameplay any day. Surely, there can't be THAT many people out there who would prefer a gimmick instead???

(Photo credits: Fable III, LittleBigPlanet 2, Modern Warfare 2, Batman: Arkham Asylum, Bayonetta, Assassin's Creed, Fallout 3 bobble head, Fallout 3 Big Daddy, Resident Evil 5, God of War III, Starcraft 2)

Review: Bioshock 2

lazyperfectionist86@gmail.com (Ally Doig) — Thu, 19 Aug 2010 22:20:00 +0100

Adam, Eve, Big Daddies, Little Sisters and all manner of genetically altered ‘splicers’ in one submerged dystopia can only mean one thing. It’s time to return to Rapture…

Bioshock 2 is set ten years after the original Andrew Ryan-inspired nightmare, in which time Rapture has become more of a dilapidated hell hole than it previously was. Rather than assuming a human role in the latest outing, control is instead shifted into the hands of a Big Daddy prototype, referred to as ‘Subject Delta’. Due to the limitations of the cumbersome and slow paced nature of the Big Daddies, it’s obviously apparent why you won’t be playing as a fully-fledged incarnation of the overtly protective behemoths.

As the sequel to a best-selling and multi award winning title, it’s fair to say that 2K Marin have opted to stick to an already proven formula in favour of further bold experimentation. This is evident in both the gameplay and narrative driven structure of Bioshock 2.

The antagonistic (and now deceased) Andrew Ryan is relieved from his sinister, over-seeing role by Sofia Lamb, who along with her fellow, ever untrustworthy cast of characters is in constant radio contact throughout proceedings. This familiar set up to fans of the first game instigates a series of linear objectives through Rapture’s confined corridors (inevitable plot twists aside), primarily to rescue Subject Delta’s bonded ‘daughter’ from the entrapment of the nefarious Lamb.

The bizarre and often clichéd cast of Bioshock 2 play second fiddle, as arguably they did in the first outing, to the submerged city itself. Rapture is still as foreboding and disconcerting, yet beautifully realised as ever, if not more so in the sequel. Graphically the game is a sharper, more defined affair than previously. The neon lighting and aquatic backdrops clash bewitchingly, yet brilliantly with the morbid sense of doom laden claustrophobia of your surroundings.

When passing through a glass tunnel for example and taking in the sea-life, coral and Rapture’s crumbling walls and skyscrapers, it’s truly possible to imagine it as the utopic vision that was originally intended before its downfall, adding to the immersive nature of the game world. This is complimented by the musical score throughout that lends itself appropriately to differing set pieces, be it 1950’s style pop music or an adrenaline fuelled orchestral piece during combat sequences.

It can be correctly argued that these are all praises bestowed upon the first Bioshock, and as such, demonstrates a lack of ambition to push the boundaries of an already original franchise. True indeed, Bioshock 2 is really not attempting to make any wholesale gameplay changes to the inspired original, but then again, that was a title correctly lauded as one of the most ground-breaking FPS’s of all time. It would be hard to alter the sequel too radically for fear of eliminating the true essence of what made Bioshock so good in the first place. Granted, the developers have played it safe but not without well founded reason.

This notion extends itself into combat. The basic mechanic of having a left hand for plasmids and the right for firepower is still intact, only this time there are some well-conceived Big Daddy ready inclusions to the arsenal. The most notable of these being the splicer severing drill, which requires fuel but is destructive to soft skinned foes at close range. Other inclusions include the rivet gun, heavy machine gun, spear gun and of course the ever reliable shotgun returns, all of which can again be upgraded at the Power to the People stations throughout the city, often turning a simple piece of weaponry into a devious and deadly trap laying device. Thankfully the arduous pipe connecting hacking mini-games have been ousted in favour of precisely timed button press events, which are more tolerable if not still an overly common occurrence.

The core plasmids; Telekinesis, Electric Bolt and Inferno all make a return as well as some new faces including; Decoy, Scout and Cyclone Trap, each of which are initially intriguing to experiment with, but more often than not it’s the tried and tested plasmids that are the most useful when overrun by enemies. Although both Bioshock games often promote tactical forethought and diversity of attack, in the midst of a heated battle, all gunz blazing, sticking to one or two plasmids and making sure you have plenty of health and eve is normally enough to see you through.

As with the guns, plasmids can be found, or alternatively purchased at Gatherers Garden outlets and subsequently upgraded provided that you have sufficient Adam for the transaction. Gene tonics can be applied which will affect various characteristics of Delta, from the speed he moves to the ease of hacking a desired object. Again, if you’ve played the first title, these are all very familiar yet proven gameplay concepts.

However, there are some minor inclusions to the formula that certainly add an element of variety. Rather than simply being given the option to ‘harvest’ or ‘rescue’ the little sisters in order to gain Adam, this time around you can adopt one prior to her guiding you to corpses to begin the extraction process. This is essentially an exercise in defence; the splicers and later on the fearsome Alpha Series opponents will relentlessly attack you and the gathering sister until the sequence is complete.

It’s these instances where forethought genuinely does reap rewards as you are granted time for preparation. Laying the ground with trap rivets, proximity mines and mini-turrets before the onslaught starts will undoubtedly aid you and the little sister’s chances of survival and therefore of stockpiling the Adam at stake. After accomplishing this process twice and you’ve taken her to a vent, the ‘rescue’ or ‘harvest’ question presents itself, the latter yielding more Adam, the consequence being however that you will miss out on useful and powerful gifts from the little sisters in the future.

One of the most fearsome new enemies is without a doubt the ‘Big Sister’. Incredibly powerful, strong and lightning quick, they’ll eat through your health and ammunition before taking a fall. When the words “A Big Sister Is Coming – Prepare Yourself” appear on the screen you’ll be frantically scrutinizing your inventory of guns and plasmids, praying that you have enough firepower to hold her off. To say that these formidable beasts make the Big Daddies look tame is an understatement, yet there is an immense amount of satisfaction to be garnered from their eventual elimination.

Somewhat annoyingly, the Big Sisters will attack regardless if you save or harvest the little sisters, which isn’t really in keeping with the storyline. Instead, it would have been far more sensible to have to endure a forced encounter when harvesting only, as the lucrative amount of Adam gained from doing so should in-turn be punished by being confronted by such a powerful assailant.

The rather drawn out conclusion aside, Bioshock 2 is a worthy yet unambitious addition to the franchise. There’s plenty for Bioshock fans to love here but they certainly won’t be blown away by any wildly innovative new inclusions. There is a fairly standard multi-player mode (Deathmatch/Capture The Flag variants) to briefly mention, but being nearly nine months old as well as facing stiff competition from the ever dominant Modern Warfare 2, it’s pretty much vanished from the online radar.

However, retailing at around £10-15 these days, Bioshock 2 is a worthy inclusion to any gamer’s library, but be advised, if you took issue with the first game, there’s nothing that will sway your opinion here.

The few snippets we’ve been drip fed of Bioshock Infinite certainly look to be as bold and brave as the original back in 2007. Fingers crossed.

Golden eras of gaming: PlayStation 2-Part II

bojeeva@megabitsofgaming.com (Bojeeva) — Tue, 17 Aug 2010 12:40:00 +0100

Slimmed-down consoles are in vogue nowadays, aren't they? Late last year, the PS3 slim helped sales of Sony's flagship console soar, and more recently the Xbox 360 lost a few lbs and boosted Microsoft's coffers somewhat too. But the most remarkable weight-shedding exercise of recent years has to be the smaller, lighter and quieter version of the super-selling PlayStation 2 back in 2004 - four years after the launch of its bigger (more ugly) brother.

All these years later you can still snap up the slim PS2, which is selling well by all accounts. If you do - or have the console tucked away in the cupboard somewhere - here are a few more suggestions for games you simply must add to your collection.

If you missed the first part of our top 10 picks, take a look after the jump. Otherwise, stick around and enjoy...

5. Jak 3
Naughty Dog's platforming/shooter hybrid made a colourful comeback, thrusting our protagonist Jak and his trusty sidekick, Daxter, into the deserty Wastelands. It's your usual blend of running and jumping about the place, with some decent vehicles thrown in and some very tasty weaponry. Jak 3 is widely recognised as one of the greatest PS2 games, achieving a respectable 84% from aggregator, Metacritic!

4. Devil May Cry 3
Starring everyone's favourite half human, half demon, Devil May Cry 3 proved damn tough - its difficulty levels were positively hellish. Nevertheless, it looked sublime, and improved in many respects over its predecessors - including a new-look combat system.

3. Tekken 5
A firm favourite, this addition to the long-running Tekken series kicked the others in the guts and proclaimed itself deserving champion. It was more attractive, had more fighters and included a multitude of game options - including Jin Kazama's Devil Within mode. Buy this and "You Win".

2. Gran Turismo 4
What can you say about perhaps the greatest driving simulator to date? For those of you not keen on the Forza series on the Xbox 360, to this day Gran Turismo 4 remains the ultimate stop gap until the fifth game in the series hits our shelves for the PS3. Hundreds of photo-realistic cars, faithful handling and bundles of tracks made this a must have for every PS2 owner.

1. Grand Theft Auto: Vice City
Opinion remains divided as to which is the ultimate edition of GTA. For some, it's San Andreas, whereas others prefer its fourth incarnation on the PS3 and 360. Vice City, however, for its 1980s focus remains a firm favourite. Retaining all the charm of the previous games, Vice City perfectly captures the music, fashion and feel of the period - helped of course by the multitude of vehicles and radio stations!

Agree/disagree? Let us know...

(Photo credit: Bojeeva)

Review - Castlevania: Harmony of Despair

noreply@blogger.com (Mark Medeiros) — Sun, 15 Aug 2010 20:01:00 +0100

I’ve spent the last few days indulging in Harmony of Despair and I’m still not exactly certain what exactly Harmony of Despair is trying to be. Is it supposed to be a Diablonian gear-driven fire sale? A co-op adventure where players are made to work together to reach a common, anti-vampire goal? A developer trying to showcase as much low-resolution art on a single screen as humanly possble? An attempt to fill my heart with as much despair as humanly possible? A harmony of desperate guitar riffs?

This is what I can tell you with some certainty. It’s a Castlevania game that reuses all of its visual assets from Symphony of the Night and its Game Boy Advance/Nintendo DS offspring. The problem with that approach is that all of those games already had a problem of reusing assets within each other, making Harmony of Despair some kind of inbred child born in a part of Japan existing below the Mason-Dixon line. You can elect to play as Alucard or any of the characters from the DS games, with all of them succeeding at being very androgynous and not having the last name “Belmont.” They each have their perks that are semi unique to their native games, but all share the same affection for swords and weapons that slap-chop the undead.

I can tell you that Harmony of Despair has no storyline, which is a freaking godsend. All of these Castlevania games have horrible, overwrought anime-esque plots, and it’s nice to see this game take the simple approach of “here’s something evil, please knock it’s smile off its face.” There are six stages, each has a boss of varying ugliness. The levels are really sizable in length, which would normally inspire the intrepid Metroidvanian explorer to venture forth in hunt of treasure. Except there’s an inexplicable 30 minute time limit per level. Why? Is that the period of time before Dracula leaves for his pedicure? I can’t understand the rhyme or reason for this time limit business. People playing single player may want to peruse the levels at their pace. People playing multiplayer will breeze through each level faster than a washroom break, the kind of washroom break where you realize “Alucard” is “Dracula” spelt backwards. And the time limit doesn’t stop when you pause the game or manage your inventory, even when you are going solo. A strange game indeed.

As mentioned, this is meant to be a multiplayer game. Up to six players can collaborate on a mixtape of death-dealing in any given level. Even if the online settings are a bit of a joke; I an unable to use the “Quick Match” option for the game searches for players in your country only. And Canada hates Castlevania, Canada likes manly things like Mixed Martial Arts and Slap Shot. Just as bizarre, the “Custom Match” option only has one option, letting players elect to only search for games in their country or worldwide. A bizarre game, this is.

And granted, you could just work through each level on your own. But the path to the boss will always be the longest, and those bosses seem to have really large health bars. With several players working together, you can access shortcuts activated via contrived switch-flipping, and take down those larger bosses with relative ease. Hell, I’ve been in games where bosses were damned to the great beyond without me ever laying so much as an exhaled breath on them in person. I almost feel like a full six-player game is too easy; I once reached the Count Dracula in about half an hour, and stuck a stake in his heart within the span of 2 minutes.

You can, at any point, zoom the map out and see all of the activity happening on the level. There is some kind of unusual novelty to this, if just because it halfway justifies the reusing of nasty Nintendo DS sprites. It also lets you track the progress of your teammates. Speaking of things that suck like Dracula, those giant block indicators that point in the direction of your teammates occupy way too much screen space. The visual cue telling me where the four other Alucards on the map often get in the way of the enemy skull monsters I’m trying to whip fireballs at. The game does manage to find some novel uses for the large overworld, the kind of pseudo-logic that only makes sense in 2-dimensional side scrollers. One boss will discharge vomit-lasers across large portions of the screen in the face of someone’s poor Alucard. Another boss is so danged tall that you need the wide-view just to glimpse at his thighs.

But at the same time, there comes a point where a man sits and asks himself, “why?” Like “why am I replaying these same six levels repeatedly”, or “why do I allow myself to play as this excessively feminine man?” Leveling up might be a good reason, except it really isn’t. Your character doesn’t level up, though certain attacks do become more powerful with repeated use. Rather, you enhance your character via the stat-boosting equipment you acquire.

Except your character sprites don’t wear the equipment you pick up. So the hot chance you have to show off your gear to the world will not present itself. Worse, most of the equipment you pick up is worthless, repeating junk. Someone needs to sweep Dracula’s castle and donate to Goodwill all of the loose coats, capes and corsages lying around. Better the homeless have them than my wealthy looking androgynous sprite. If Harmony of Despair was meant to be a Diablo-like loot quest, it closer resembles a spreadsheet charting a recycling plant.

I almost feel like there is a good idea somewhere within Harmony of Despair. I would like to see a sidescrollers whose co-operative focus reaches beyond the dick-around-fest seen in New Super Mario Bros or LittleBigPlanet.

But there isn’t much of anything in this game that’ll maintain your interest longer than an hour or so. Revisit any of the DS Castlevania games, or go online and buy Symphony of the Night or Shadow Complex or the Wii’s port of Super Metroid. Maybe someone out there likes the idea of having a Castlevania game that they can enjoy with their friends. I am not one of those people. I don’t want any of my friends knowing I played a game starring Soma Cruz.