Rasenore Gaming

Dragon Age II

noreply@blogger.com (Rasenore) — Sat, 15 Oct 2011 22:15:00 +0000

Dragon Age II is a title that received controversy online. The original was well received, giving the players a modern experience with a traditional role-playing game. Hell, even I, who had very little experience with traditional RPG’s around the time I first touched Dragon Age: Origins, experienced an overwhelming sensation of nostalgia from playing. For many, the original drawed upon their nostalgia and gave an enjoyable play through this. The sequel, however, does not deliver this sentiment.

Dragon Age II follows Hawke, a refugee in the city of Kirkwall who is destined to be the Champion of Kirkwall. He escapes during the Fifth Blight, in Fereldan (the events of which conspire in Dragon Age: Origins), with his family into his mother’s birthplace. It is here that Hawke has a run with the Qunari and becomes an important figure in the ever ensuing fued between the Mages, whom are deemed too dangerous to let free, and the Templars, the knights who oppress the mages. The narrative itself focuses on a central theme of whether human rights should be sacrificed in order to maintain order.

The game is split into three acts seperated by key narrative events, with each act complimented by its own series of quests. The story being split into three acts, each seperated over the course of a number of years, allows the player to experience and involve themself in the change of Kirkwall under the ever-corrupting rule of the Templars, as well as discovering the consequences of earlier actions in previous years. As of such, players may also initiate quests which actually continue from a previous act, developing their own narrative and becoming a reasonably strong subplot which integrate with the central theme. These subplots delve deeper into the player’s sense of morality, resultingly making them question whether the ends is worth the means. I personally found myself siding with the rebel faction – the mages – more than I ever did the Templars, but there were a couple of tricky situations of which I struggled to pick a choice I felt was the right one as I played my character as a noble hero.

Being a role-playing game, you’d expect a lot of freedom to play the character you want to play. Unfortunately, this is when Dragon Age II becomes a shell of its former self. Whilst the previous title allowed you to choose from six origin stories, three classes and both genders of three races, Dragon Age II only allows you to choose both genders for three classes. The origin is the same, and the story itself is generally the same regardless of the actions you make. Indeed, the only real impactful choice in the game comes at the end. Beyond that, the game pretty much plays the same both times. This results in the replayibility of the game being completely underwhelming in comparison to the previous outing. Despite this, I did find exploring the other perspectives interesting. It just wasn’t enough to keep my second playthrough fresh.

The combat system feels significantly different in comparison to the previous title, but less has been changed as may appear. The pace has been increased, with battles becoming much faster and have now taken on the pace of an action game such as God of War. Players attack enemies through button mashing, occasonally mixing in abilities for various effects. While this is more immersive than the previous, with the user feeling more involved in the battle, it doesn’t take very long for the experience to become very shallow. Ultimately, there is nothing really to gain from being more in control of battle. Instead of watching them fight, and making impactful decisions, you are mashing the attack key while trying to keep your eyes out for an opening for one of your abilities – and that’s if you ever use them.

I found the majority of battles that I participated in were over in a flash, with myself only ever really mashing attack. My abilities were usually left unused, as they were relatively unnecessary in the many skirmishes you will face. Even with the difficulty turned up, I found that I rarely had to bother with the exception of the higher class enemies. The strategy from the previous outing was lost in exchange for short and flashy battles. While I do admit that there is still the useful tactics system, and how you develop your character requires some level of thought, they didn’t seem to be as effective in the previous. When a new ability is obtained, the characters’ tactics slots are usually updated to include their new skill; meanwhile levelling up has been made more simpler, with each class having two attributes that they specialise in – leaving the others pretty redundant.

Essentially, the new battle system seems to open up a new level of control in battle. And yet, it doesn’t take this new system anywhere. It plays out much of the same as the initial title did, with the bonus of possibly suffering a sore thumb or finger by the end of your playthrough. What could have lead to more depth (maybe invoking a combo system where the effectiveness of an ability is altered based upon the actual ability and when in the combo it is used?) only leads to an experience that, in all honesty, just feels more shallow than the last outing - despite the fact that it does not take anything of substance away (albeit the pace does often make abilities redundant, but I would chalk that up to the change in enemy attributes over anything).

There are plenty of quests to partake, but they usually all amount to the same ‘go here, kill that’ formula. It’s great that they add more story to their quests, but the quests still need more variety in terms of actual gameplay.

One of the key improvements, however, is the level of role playing in regards to a linear story. Bioware have a great tale to tell with Dragon Age II, even if the conclusion can leave the player disatisfied. It’s obvious to me that the story was the focus of this game, with gameplay shunned to second place. Despite that, the role-playing mechanics are superb. The player’s character, Hawke, develops his personality based upon your interactions with other characters. If you make many jokes, then Hawke will become a more sarcastic and witty character, for example. Furthermore, there are still plenty of choices for him to make that cover both ends of the spectrum. It’s just a shame that they usually amount to little more than just an immediate effect, with little consequence beyond the present dialogue.

While the soundtrack was pretty well made, in my opinion, it quickly gets repetitive as a result of the sheer lackluster amount of locales to explore. The player often finds themselves revisiting the same handful of areas. The worst offender here are the interior maps – be it inside a cave or inside a building – there are about three or four of these maps total, and that’s more accurate than I wish to admit. Yet, considering the sheer number, quests almost always lead to visiting at least one of them, if not more. What results from this is nothing more than the repetitive formula quests becoming even more repetitive with their shared maps. It really doesn’t help that all of these maps are very plain, with the most interesting visuals being the background that I was left just wishing I could explore more of.

I can’t help but write negatively of Dragon Age II, despite it being a game I easly spent over one hundred hours of my life on. I personally found its repetitive nature strangely addicting. While the title doesn’t have much going for itself when you compare it to what the original was, don’t let it be said that Dragon Age II is an awful game. Far from it. It just becomes increasingly frustrating seeing the potential that the game has, and how it squanders it with what seems to be too little development time. And no wonder too. The game was released but a year and a half after the original. That’s shockingly short considering the genre, scale and content of the game, and what it had to live up to. There was no way that Bioware could have ever hoped to achieve anything slightly less of the game they were developing a sequel for, let alone surpass themselves.

To me, Dragon Age II is an example of a game that truly has so much going for it, and yet seemingly has little to show. It’s a great and fun game, with an immersive story and experience to play, but ultimately falls short of any expectations. In many regards, it feels incomplete with its lack of maps, underwhelming consequences from all those choices that you get to make, reducing number of quests as the game goes on, and the seemingly shallow combat. This game is an example of what happens to a game when developers try to make a title more accessible to the market. The title just feels more shallow, even if the substance found in previous titles remains. It is also an example of the terrible effects of a bad development cycle, with this game apparently getting too little time to be worked on – most likely a consequence of the older brother title, Mass Effect 3, being released later in the same year. A game of this magnitude should surely get at least two years of development time, otherwise the outcome is an unfinished and underwhelming game that leaves a disatisfying after-taste.

For what it’s worth, Dragon Age II was a title I love, but it does not really earn that love from me. It aims high but falls significantly short, as the game feels unfinished and rushed. There aren’t many people I would genuinely recommend it to over Dragon Age: Origins. In fact, there aren’t many I would recommend it to at all. If you like Dragon Age, I suggest you give it at least a rent, because it does have an interesting tale to be told, but you will be done with it after your first play-through. For anyone else: give this game a miss. It’s a real shame, too.

(Because people fret over scores so much, I have to give Dragon Age II a 6/10. This value means that the game is above average, but has nothing special going for it. In this case, it failed to live up to its predecessor, therefore it not only failed at its own potential, but at the potential of the game it was meant to be improving.)

(This title was reviewed on the Sony PlayStation 3. It is also available on the Xbox 360 and PC formats.)

Farewell Soon

noreply@blogger.com (Rasenore) — Fri, 09 Sep 2011 14:13:00 +0000

I'll try and get my last couple of reviews that I've been working on out, before I go, but I'll be starting uni come Monday again. I've decided to give blogging a rest, at least for now. While blogging was definitely quite rewarding, I won't have the time to keep it up (not as if I was consistent anyway). Keep checking back though, or follow me on twitter/like me on Facebook etc. because during breaks I will post some stuff again, promise.

It was fun, and I'll try to accomplish what I promised when I return! Cya.

Atlus Announce Persona 4 Port to Vita

noreply@blogger.com (Rasenore) — Sat, 03 Sep 2011 12:36:00 +0000

Continuing their recent trend of turning the Persona series into a portable franchise, Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 4 is due for a port release on the Sony PlayStation Vita, the handheld itself is due in stores sometime in 2012.

Persona 4 follows a group of teenagers as they fight to save the world, the typical JRPG kind of plotline, but what makes Persona so interesting is that it follows the cast during their free time as well. The social interactions help to empower your various Personas which can be summoned into battle. Frankly, I would recommend Atlus' titles over that of Square-Enix (who produce and develop 'Final Fantasy').

The original Persona and Persona 3 are currently available on the Sony PlayStation Portable, with Persona 2 due to join its brethren (as well as make its first over-seas appearance here in the west).

I've yet to play Persona 4, but I've been thoroughly enjoying Persona 3 on the PSP. For me, this will definitely be a title I pick up when I finally get my hands on my own Vita.

Dynasty Warriors One Piece?

noreply@blogger.com (Rasenore) — Fri, 02 Sep 2011 12:38:00 +0000

So, everyone remember the release of Dynasty Warriors Gundam? How about Fist of the North Star: Ken's Rage? Or the recent Bleach: Soul Resurreccion? Next to join the midst of all of these Dynasty Warrior and anime franchise cross overs is the fun adventure series: One Piece.

Whilst Gundam certainly seemed to fit the bill, Fist of the North Star worked adequately, and Bleach sees an alarming rate of Hollow attacks; One Piece, being the adventure series that it is, doesn't seem to quite fit the Dynasty Warrior formula. Yes, the fights can get good in it at times, but that was never the focus of the series. I wonder how this one will turn out.

Yakuza 5 Announced

noreply@blogger.com (Rasenore) — Wed, 31 Aug 2011 15:25:00 +0000

How many people out there are familiar with the PlayStation exclusive Yakuza series? The series isn't exactly low budget, but I wouldn't consider it an AAA title either. In Japan, it usually finds itself the best selling titleduring it's launch week, but in the west the game isn't anywhere near as popular.

I had never played the franchise until Yakuza 3 was finally localised, giving into the online hype. I thoroughly enjoyed it. The games are pretty good, unfortunately, it's also quite hit or miss for many. If you've never given it a go, Yakuza 4 is pretty cheap right now (near enough £12 at GAME).

Yakuza 5 was just announced, so we can expect to see more of this. Good or bad? For me, that's a good thing. I'm looking forward to it.

Yakuza involves a bunch of Japanese gangsters and some drama. It's an action game, and a very brutal one at that. The game mixes elements of Japanese Role-Playing Games (or as I call them, Japanese Adventure games) and Action. They're fun, and did I mention brutal?

Ubisoft Part 2: Why You Can't Trust a Teenage Girl

noreply@blogger.com (Rasenore) — Fri, 26 Aug 2011 12:19:00 +0000

In part one, we discussed in just what way Ubisoft were like a teenage girl. Yet again is it that time of the month for Ubisoft, so let's look further into the mind of a young girl (in a non-creepy, figuratively speaking sense, of course).

Ubisoft recently declared that From Dust will be safe from their most wretched form of DRM, instead requiring an online connection strictly for a one-time activation. This was up until players purchased the game, promised a more loose DRM model. 'lo and behold they were surprised to find that the DRM for From Dust required a permanent online connection. Yes, somewhere along the line Ubisoft made a mistake and consequently made a false promise.

The situation is so bad that you can actually get a refund from Steam. That's like ... well, I don't know what that's like, but it's extreme! A refund is something that Valve state very clearly that they will not do. Ubisoft know how bad their mistake is, frantically trying to cancel the text they sent to their boyfriend (the consumer) telling them that they're dumped, immediately regreting it. To make up for it, they're offering sex, and lots of it. At least, that's what a Steam refund feels like because it's something so very special. And something rare. This is depressing.

So anyway, they went back on their word. Ubisoft also promise to patch in the activation-only DRM model to replace the currently existing ones. Gamers who want to play From Dust may want to wait until then, but if you don't mind being permanently connected to Steam, feel free to pick it up.

Maybe Ubisoft won't learn to dump us with the permanent connection model again after this mishap, but I give them a month. Until then, expect a lot of bitching behind our backs.

It's Official, Ubisoft is a Teenage Girl

noreply@blogger.com (Rasenore) — Thu, 18 Aug 2011 13:30:00 +0000

Unable to keep consistency, constant mood swings, bitching and then taking back everything to make friends again; Ubisoft has been discovered to be a young teenage girl. For many, this might even sell Ubisoft more games.

Alas, how did I come to that conclusion? Well, to me it's very apparent the moment I look at their DRM controversy. What was DRM again? Oh, you, blocking out horrible memories as you do. DRM was a measure to prevent piracy by having online activation for their products. It doesn't sound too bad, I guess, does it? Steam is a form of DRM after all.

Well, unfortunately, Ubisoft's original plans for DRM were pretty punishing of the legitimate consumer. Their DRM involved a permanent online connection, even for offline games. Imagine playing Assassin's Creed 2 when you get disconnected, suddenly the game locks you out and you lose all your unsaved content (fortunately, they did release a patch for that). You pay them your hard earned cash because they earned theirs with their latest game that you're a fan of, only to find out that you can't even play it because of their DRM.

Although to more of the casual userbase whom a persistent internet connection may seem an ordinary thing, and therefore this would not be an issue, it's the principle at hand. Because of the rampant piracy found in PC gaming, consumers are punished by being told they can't have their game unless they follow a specific set of rules. Consumers don't like being punished, and needless to say that this was very unpopular. In the end, the pirates got what they wanted and had the bonus of being more free than the loyal consumer.

Following up from that, Assassin's Creed Brotherhood saw a new change to their DRM model. No longer were consumers persistently punished for the crime of others, for their loyalty. The new model saw the requirement of an internet connection upon installation. There are still a few issues with that, but I'll give Ubisoft their dues for softening the blow a bit.

Jump ahead a few months and Ubisoft appear to have been turning back on their word. The previous DRM model, requiring a permanent internet connection, apparently saw a rise in sales or a decrease in piracy. Regardless of what really happened, they regarded it as a huge success. What did this mean? Driver: San Francisco would be requiring permanent internet connection to play. The dreaded and revered DRM model that apparently drove many to piracy, at least according to the varied outlets on the internet, was returning.

After loosening it up, they decided to tighten their grip on the player again, resulting in the relinquishing of any freedom the consumer had. No more playing offline for them. No more playing Ubisoft games on their laptop in a cramped train on their way to university. It was confirmed on the Twitter page for Driver that this would be a thing.

Jump ahead a mere three weeks, however, and Ubisoft backtrack. Again. Apparently, they only just realised how unpopular their DRM model, which resulted in some even comparing them to the Industry's hellspawn company Activision, and loosened their firm grip once more. Driver: San Francisco will be free from the clutches of permanent connections. For now.

If that doesn't confirm that Ubisoft is a young, teenage girl, then I'll deliver one smaller example. Besides the gaping vagina as they moan about piracy hurting them, as they rake in massive profits from their AAA titles anyway, Ubisoft seem to have this thing about telling everyone untrue things about others (or giving away secrets). At least, that's when next-gen systems are involved. Of course, that's not saying every other company isn't doing that too.

My conclusion? The Games Industry is finally in its teenage years, and it's full of teenage girls. Mind you, it does have a rather grouchy old man perving on them all too (I'm looking at you EA).

Kojima Cockteasing With Zone of the Enders 3DS

noreply@blogger.com (Rasenore) — Tue, 16 Aug 2011 14:22:00 +0000

Remember that last post I made about there not really being much on the 3DS? Well, Kojima is giving us yet another reason to purchase the handheld; Zone of the Enders is due a new release on the Nintendo 3DS. That's about all I can say on that, bar speculation.

The confirmation comes in the form of Kojima tweeting an image of a model of one of the Zone of the Enders mechs in front of a "ZoE 3DS" logo. Kojima states "omori what you like to sit. What's this?" according to Google Translate. That makes no sense to me. Could it be Kojima being cryptic as per usual? Or could it just be the unreliability of Google Translate? Who knows?

Who thinks this will be a possible Zone of the Enders 3? Kojima, himself, is no stranger to major sequels on handhelds, with Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker (originally named 'Metal Gear Solid 5') being one of his more recent releases. With that in mind, it's highly possible. But then, MGS3 is seeing a remake on the 3DS, while the entire MGS collection will be available on the PS3. Zone of the Enders is seeing the same thing, so perhaps this will just be a 3D remake of one of the two previously released titles?

Twitter: @Kojima_Hideo

3DS Price Cut, Is It Now Time To Own One?

noreply@blogger.com (Rasenore) — Thu, 11 Aug 2011 12:38:00 +0000

Here in the UK, the 3DS is still selling pretty steep. The original RRP was £229.99, which is roughly $371. You can't blame me for refusing to purchase one. With the Nintendo 3DS, Nintendo themselves just gave me the impression that their ego was incredibly bloated. They were on top in the gaming industry and they knew it. They believed that their userbase would eat up any crap they sold.

What made the issue worse, was just how rushed the 3DS was. Several features that the 3DS was supposed to sport did not make it for the retail launch and had to be delayed until later in the summer. Not to mention that the roster of titles for the 3DS was nothing short of garbage, to be frank. Sure, they had a couple of decent games, but that was it. The people who bought the handheld so soon were nothing short of fanboys, and I use that without slander. That's loyalty that, being able to bend over and take it right up your ass, so long as Nintendo were giving it. With tobasco rubbed all over their penis.

Finally, in August, the 3DS' price has been slashed - just a mere five months later. How much has the price dropped? Well, here in the UK it's now sitting at £134.97 at Gamestop. That's nearly £100 cut off, and is £15 below the price mark that I admitted would sell the 3DS to me. However, five months later the roster is still very short of spectacular to me. Besides the port of a previously successful title, and a couple of games such as Super Street Fighter IV 3D, it still feels pretty lacking. To be fair, there are a number of titles that interest me personally, titles due for release later this year or next, but none of them even have proper release dates yet.

Will I be likely to purchase one? Yes. Will I anytime soon? No. The price cut is a great opportunity, and for those who have a genuine interest in a few titles that have been released already then I recommend you take this opportunity and purchase it now. If you're like me and want more from it, I suggest waiting until after the New Year. I'm going to wait until I know when the games I want are released, and save my money for now. Maybe the PlayStation Vita will have more for me?

UK Game Deals: Borderlands (PC)

noreply@blogger.com (Rasenore) — Sun, 07 Aug 2011 11:09:00 +0000

Available at TheHut.com, the Borderlands Game of the Year Edition is currently available for £9.85, which is relatively cheap to everywhere else. Being a Game of the Year Edition, this not only covers the cost of the game but the cost for all four of the downloadable content packs too. Unfortunately for console gamers, this deal is strictly PC.

Borderlands is a mix between a first person shooter and a role-playing game, applying mechanics often found in both genres. Unfortunately, the game isn't all that fun ordinarily, but when you make use of the four player co-op it can be quite the blast.

Batman Arkham City: Adam West Mode

noreply@blogger.com (Rasenore) — Sat, 06 Aug 2011 11:39:00 +0000

I couldn't not share this with you. Unfortunately, this isn't real, but how awesome would it be if it was? The game needs a mode so that it plays through like this, even if it's unlocked after beating it once! What do you think? Should we start a petition?

Let's Program: C++

noreply@blogger.com (Rasenore) — Thu, 04 Aug 2011 20:32:00 +0000

So, do you remember the origins of this blog? It served to look into programming and tutorials for games development. Well, this will be the first step. Here, I will be teaching you the basics of programming in the language known as C++.

First off, you will need a compiler. A compiler is software that essentially translates the programming language into machine code. You could download a trial of Microsoft's Visual Basic from their website, or try the free compiler: Dev C++. Both of which are a Google search away.

Now, considering you're here looking at this, I'm going to assume that you know what a programming language is and what they do, so we're going to delve right into the first bit of code:

#include <iostream>

using namespace std;

int main ()

{
cout<<"Hello world! And all that other jazz. \n";

cin.get();

}

For these series of tutorials, I'm going to take it nice and easy so that you dwell more on the smaller details. I cannot stress enough how important the basics are to understand. This small bit of code is it for today. So, would you like it explained? I figured that you would.

Firstly, the "#include <iostream>" part informs the compiler to include the code found in iostream, a header file (which I will get to later). This will allow the program to use the "cout" function, as an example. The next line, "using namespace std;" tells the compiler to use a group of code from the standard library.

Finally, we're at the meat of the code. The "int main()" line is the main function. From here, you can put in the code that you wish to be executed, which includes other pre-made functions from other headers and so on. This function must always be named main. The two brackets are for parameters, which we will get to later. The '{' and '}' informs the compiler that everything found within that

The two functions used within the code are cout and cin. Cout essentially outputs whatever code that comes after the << (in this case "Hello World! And all that other jazz!"). The quotation marks are required, as it tells the code that the message isn't code such as a variable. For example, if I wrote: cout<<hello world; then the compiler would assume that hello and world were both varaibles or functions.

Hello World!
And all that Jazz!

Briefly, I'll touch on the last function. Cin is for input, essentially taking data in from the information that the user puts in. In this example, "cin.get()", the user must his the enter key before the program continues.

As a final note, a semi-colon (which is a ';'), is required to say that line is finished. You must remember to put it at the end of each line, except the main() function and the '{}'.

Play around with the code and see what you can do. It's my first tutorial, so I'll try and tidy it up and explain things better, particularly with feedback. This is a small step, but it's a start.

The End of the Month Is Near

noreply@blogger.com (Rasenore) — Tue, 26 Jul 2011 11:46:00 +0000

So, the end of the month is near and I've realised that I slacked off this past week. Regardless, blogging has turned out really rewarding, interestingly, especially this past month. I obviously seem to get a good number of readers as well according to the site stats, at least compared to what I expected, and that's despite being semi-active. What does this say to me? I should put more work in.

I'll be aiming for one review a week. These things take time, so I can't promise more than that, but I'll also be aiming to get out more programming stuff since that's what I started the blog for. Furthermore, for any particular gaming news that stands out I shall be writing about it and injecting some of my own opinion. More content, yeah?

Expect the news starting next month. As for this month, I have six days left. It calls for at least a programming tutorial, but I'll also see about another review too.

Review: Killzone 2

noreply@blogger.com (Rasenore) — Sun, 17 Jul 2011 15:07:00 +0000

Originally, I wasn’t fond of first person shooters. I had played a couple on the original Playstation, and had played one on the PlayStation 2, but I could never get into them. That was until I got Killzone. Killzone wasn’t particularly special for gameplay. I enjoyed it, but it wasn’t amazing. No, what made it special to me was the atmosphere, the Helghast and Visari’s epic speech. I managed to enjoy the experience that the game gave me, and Killzone 2 was no exception.

When Killzone 2 was released, I promptly bought myself the collector’s edition proudly. Killzone 2 was a title that I was really looking forward to, and it finally came. I slaughtered the Helghast on their own planet, I vanquished an uncountable number of ISA scum from Helghan, and I enjoyed another great speech. Yet, Killzone 2 was, unfortunately, not without it’s faults.

Publisher: Sony
Developer: Guerrilla Games
Release Date: 25th February 2009
PEGI: 18
Platform: PlayStation 3

(As this review is intended for a build up for Killzone 3, it will containt some unmarked spoilers).

Killzone 2 takes place on the planet Helghan, where the protagonist’s faction – the ISA – are currently invading. The Helghast had invaded Vekta, a neighbouring planet, but Templar (protagonist of the previous game) and Rico had managed to help deal the necessary blow to make the invasion unsuccessful. Unfortunately for the ISA and the protagonist, Tomas “Sev” Sevchenko, the Helghast have prepared for their strike and they are unable to close to were they want. The members of the Special Forces Alpha Team – Sev, Rico, Natko and Garza – face many trials as things gradually go wrong more and more against their favour, as they face an epic struggle to end the war.

The game becomes very bleak very quickly. On many occasions, new ‘characters’ are introduced and are immediately killed off. Everything the ISA attempt tends to end in failure, if not in a major struggle, as Helghast defense systems constantly stand in their way. And then there is Rico, a war hero back on Vekta. Rico has a good heart, but he is very flawed as a soldier. He often lets his deep hatred towards the Helghast get the best of him, resulting in things going heavily wrong. Even the ending is a massive cliffhanger, as the unit find themselves completely failing their mission and being stranded – all thanks to Rico.

The story shows the dark side of war; full of casualties, tragedies and failures, Killzone 2 shows the worst parts of war through-out and rarely has a cheerful moment. In the early stages, when the player finally overcomes their objective, the player is rushed into a new battle as something is going wrong elsewhere. Slowly, things begin to decline – mostly due to Rico’s intervention.

The characters rarely get much coverage, with the main focus being Rico’s own flaws. Interestingly enough, the enemy soldiers are very animated and well voice acted, resulting in them being given a strong personality. I found myself liking the Helghast more than I did the ISA; although, seeing the effects of war on the ISA did make me sympathise with them more. In multiplayer, I tend to prefer to play as the Helghast.

The game’s physics are essentially marmite. Players feel the weight of the gun that they are carrying, resulting in weaker, smaller, guns being quicker. This worked to create a balance so that every gun had a purpose, but it also added a layer of skill to wielding your weapon. You must learn to use that specific weapon, instead of being able to just pick up any gun and using it. On top of this, you were not only just skilled at your preferred weapon, but you were also skilled at Killzone, and not just first person shooters. To be good at most FPS games, you must be good at one. For Killzone, you must be good at Killzone. There was actually challenge, and I loved it. For many, however, they didn’t like the lag induced by the weight.

The enemy AI is actually pretty well designed, often preferring to taking cover when you aim and flanking you whenever you give them an opportunity to. Their whole purpose is to ambush the player, and they do it well. Of course, this makes for some frustrating battles when you have countless enemies firing directly at you, but it’s not you that you have to worry about.

Every level of the game often as you accompanied by either Rico, Garza or Natko. Unfortunately, their AI isn’t as well rounded as the Helghast AI and they are constantly dying, forcing you to rush to their support. You can often ignore them, but their backup is often handy. In all fairness, they help draw the fire away from you which, given the whole ‘ambush’ theme of the AI, is actually pretty good support. They serve their purpose, but it’s just a shame that they don’t cover well.

The cover mechanic is pretty solid. There isn’t much else to be said about it really. It efficiently lets players destroy their enemies from the safety of cover. A handy mechanic that you will be using often, given the constant waves of Helghast troops.

Visually, Killzone 2 is absolutely stunning. At the time, it was one of the best looking games on the PlayStation 3, or any system. The graphics had a unique visual style which only enhanced the bleak, dark atmosphere of war on Helghan. Unfortunately, the game takes place in mostly rural environments, which gradually become very repetitive. It looks amazing, but it does make the game more boring than it should be.

To further enhance the dark, bleak atmosphere surrounding the game, Killzone 2′s soundtrack is brilliant. It captured the slow ascension to victory well, as well as the sharp descend into the abyss of failure. The main theme is one of my favourite theme tracks from any game as well, sounding very epic. The voice acting in the game is fairly good, particularly with the talent of Brian Cox lending to the game’s main antagonist, Visari. The sound effects are great as well, and the audio sounds very real. Sounds going off nearby sound quite different to sounds in the distance, much like the way it should, with closer sounds being louder and more crisp.

I’d played the game for more than seventy-three hours. Considering that, at the time, I was only really able to spend three hours on computer games at most, that’s pretty impressive. The online component is addicting, very competitive and skillful, and has some great customization between classes as you can combine their secondary abilities with other classes. Particularly, the game sports a great mechanic in which after one round (say, ‘Deathmatch’ or ‘Team Deathmatch’) the game continues and the next round plays. It creates a more dynamic warzone. The order is randomized, and with the massive levels, play can vary significantly even with the same teams.

Killzone 2 was a great game with many flaws. Many people didn’t like it for the physics engine alone, but I particularly enjoyed the level of skill required to be good at this game. When you’re good at Killzone, you are actually good at the game. I enjoyed it, and it has been my most played first person shooter title, by far. Unfortunately, there are still a few flaws that hold the game back, and the somewhat repetitive environments makes the game a little bit boring at times. The constant bleak tone of the game doesn’t do wonders for the enjoyment either, but that’s for those who don’t like the most depressing games.

Killzone 2 earns a 7/10 from me. It is a good title, but with some improvement could easily be something more. If I were being completely subjective, however, I’d have had to make the game a 9/10. I absolutely loved this title, and I’m still keeping up with it despite owning Killzone 3! Is that a deadly premonition about my upcoming review of Killzone 3? No, not really. I love that too.

What Fantasy Class Are You?

noreply@blogger.com (Rasenore) — Wed, 13 Jul 2011 01:18:00 +0000

So, I took a random quiz thing just for fun. A friend actually linked me to it, so I thought I'd try it out. This was quite the interesting quiz, and I recommend it to any readers just for fun. I doubt many of you will try it, but what the hell? What did you get? You can take the quiz here.

Your result for The Fantasy RPG Class Test...

The Odin Warrior

62% Strength, 30% Bloodlust, 17% Intelligence, 12% Spirit, 37% Vitality and 23% Agility!

Masters of multiple weapons and forms of hand-to-hand combat, the Odin Warriors are truly fierce and formidable opponents. Although Odin Warriors may look frightening, they often have a good heart and engage in battle for the right reasons, but make them your enemy and expect to be soundly defeated! Although warm-hearted on the inside, Odin Warriors are tough, cold and ferocious on the outside. With so much power and ferocity, some Odin Warriors may occasionally become corrupt and bloodthirsty. In fact, some Odin Warriors have mastered the art of dark magic and summoning techniques, making them even more dangerous and savage in battle! Regardless of whether or not they are good or evil, their endurance and strength is almost boundless enabling Odin Warriors to take down truly formidable foes. Their skin is literally so tough that they can block a sword with their bare hands. Spellcasters have trouble against them as well because magic attacks seem to have little effect on this tough natural armor. Besides their defense, Odin Warriors can easily punch through stone walls with their bare hands, or they can even blast through by launching energy from their fists and weapons. With a sword, Odin Warriors can simply slice through giant boulders as if they were made of butter. This combination of defense and strength makes the Odin Warrior an unstoppable force!

Congratulations on reaching this formidable class!

You have not mastered any Hidden Power granted by the Genie.

Want to share your results on a forum? Copy the code in the top right corner of the page and paste it into this website. Your result will be converted into a format that will show up on any forum! :)

Please check out my other SHORT, ONE QUESTION quiz, The Side of You That's Locked Away Test!

Take The Fantasy RPG Class Test at HelloQuizzy

Over 100 Followers, Nice!

noreply@blogger.com (Rasenore) — Sat, 09 Jul 2011 23:29:00 +0000

Well, since I reached another milestone I might as well thank you all for the support, comments, and everything else. To more posts, hopefully more programming, and some more insight. Cheers!

Crazy Taxi: Fare Wars (Review)

noreply@blogger.com (Rasenore) — Sat, 09 Jul 2011 12:23:00 +0000

Do you remember the SEGA Dreamcast that turned out not too successful? Yeah, me neither, but that might have something to do with all the ports alot of it’s good games get. Amongst those good games is Crazy Taxi which has been ported, since then, to PC, PlayStation 2 and PlayStation Portable, and it seems that there’s a possibility of an XBox 360 port as well.

Some of you may have heard of it and some of you may have not; but that’s what I’m here for. Crazy Taxi was a game in which you selected one of four taxi drivers to play as while you transport passengers from point A to point B as fast as you can and as reckless as possible. It was a pretty simple design, but a well implemented one at that.

Crazy Taxi: Fare Wars is the PlayStation Portable port of Crazy Taxi and Crazy Taxi 2, combining features brought in by earlier ports such as “Crazy Box” in Crazy Taxi. Unfortunately as far as I’m aware there is no Crazy Taxi: Fare Wars for PSP Go. So with the introduction out of the way it’s time to get to the actual review. I’m going to review both games simultaneously since they are practically the same. Of course, I will be comparing them as well.

Publisher: SEGA
Developer: Sniper Studios
Release Date: 28th September 2008
PEGI: 12+
Platforms: PlayStation Portable

Read more »

Blogger Issues

noreply@blogger.com (Rasenore) — Thu, 07 Jul 2011 20:27:00 +0000

Is it just me or are there some weird issues with blogger today? I tried to do a category thing (on the right, see Reviews, News and Programming), but it doesn't want to work. I tried to post a new review, but no luck there either.

Anyone else experiencing similar problems?

Review: Red Dead Redemption

noreply@blogger.com (Rasenore) — Sun, 03 Jul 2011 17:27:00 +0000

Another re-post. This time, it's my Red Dead Redemption review. The final score is debatable, but I stand by it. Running it through my review criteria, it earns the score it gets. At least, in my opinion.

I’m not a fan of westerns. Not by a long shot. At first I had no interest in Red Dead Redemption when it was announced; to me it was just another boring western adapted into game form. That was at first. Although I wasn’t interested, I went at the game open minded. The result was that I was blown away.

Developed by Rockstar as a spiritual sequel to the Playstation 2 title, ‘Red Dead Revolver’; Red Dead Redemption is a game that stands alone. The game is a sandbox action game; set in 1911, at the old frontier in America. You play as John Marston, an ex-criminal and gang member who now works for the Government. John had his wife and son kidnapped by the Government, and was threatened to kill old members of his ex-gang who have taken refuge at the frontier.

Publisher: Rockstar Games
Developers: Rockstar San Diego, Rockstar North
Release Date: 21st May 2010
BBFC: 18
Platforms: PlayStation 3 (Reviewed), Xbox 360

Review: Kingdom Hearts Re: Coded

noreply@blogger.com (Rasenore) — Wed, 29 Jun 2011 11:24:00 +0000

: The box art for the DS port of the title.

After rescuing Kairi and then Riku, and saving all of the worlds twice, Sora is finally given time to rest. True enough, the protagonist of Kingdom Hearts and Kingdom Hearts II barely makes a cameo appearance in his own series. Instead players will take the role of Sora, the digital data stored in Jiminy Cricket's journal as he fights the data bugs to restore the journal to its former glory. Yeah, this will be interesting.

Publisher: Square Enix
Developer: Square Enix, h.a.n.d. (DS version)
Release Date: 14th January 2011 (UK)
PEGI: 12+
Platform: Nintendo DS (Port, enhanced), Mobile

Review: inFAMOUS 2 (Gameplay)

noreply@blogger.com (Rasenore) — Fri, 24 Jun 2011 11:24:00 +0000

The second part of my inFAMOUS 2 review deals specifically with gameplay. Enjoy.

Part 1 | Part 3

Review: inFAMOUS 2 (Final Part)

noreply@blogger.com (Rasenore) — Fri, 24 Jun 2011 11:22:00 +0000

Well, here it is. The final part of my inFAMOUS 2 review. I think I'm going to take a month break after this beast.

Part 1 | Part 2

Review: inFAMOUS 2 (The Narrative)

noreply@blogger.com (Rasenore) — Thu, 23 Jun 2011 22:30:00 +0000

This is a big one. My review is somewhat incomplete, but what I can say is that it may be my best and biggest review yet.

Due to sheer size, I've decided that I'll be posting it in parts. So, here it is. The Narrative review of inFAMOUS 2.

Part 2 | Part 3

Read more »

Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker Review

noreply@blogger.com (Rasenore) — Tue, 14 Jun 2011 08:56:00 +0000

With the announcement of a Metal Gear Solid HD Remake Collection (entailing MGS2, 3 and Peace Walker), I see it fit to post up my MGS: Peace Walker review. This review is on the PSP title that has been out for over a year now. Enjoy.

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20 Today

noreply@blogger.com (Rasenore) — Mon, 06 Jun 2011 10:39:00 +0000

It's strange to now believe that I am twenty years old. I remember, when I was just a small kid, thinking that even twenty was quite old - but now that I'm twenty it seems like nothing. I feel almost unchanged to how I felt in my early teens.

It's difficult comprehending that I'm twenty, when I remember my original concept of the age. Strange stuff. I've never been twenty before, so this is new. In all seriousness though, damn this came fast. It was like barely yesterday when I first walked through my secondary school's gates. And they say with age, your perception of time increases even faster? The years will eventually become a blur, surely?