Konami’s Silent Hill franchise has faced a lot of criticism over its last few instalments, and deservedly so as well. Ever since ‘Team Silent’ stopped working on the series after Silent Hill 4: The Room the franchise hasn’t been able to hit a home run. Having said that, those classics endure despite several gameplay flaws, what makes them so incredible is their story and atmosphere. Silent Hill Downpour was aspiring to be a return to form for the franchise, taking notes from the franchises’ greatest achievement, Silent Hill 2, with a protagonist separate from the town’s cult and having a mysterious reason for ending up in Silent Hill. But as a game, it also ends up as a weird hybrid sitting between Homecoming and Shattered Memories. Overall, the game itself is exactly what the franchise needed, but it still has a long way to go before it gets close to what it was. Anyway, it’s time to dive right into the review, so let’s get started shall we? Back to that lonely town, Silent Hill.

Click here to read the full review.

Fans of BioWare’s Mass Effect franchise have pushed through up to one hundred hours of gameplay and narrative to prepare themselves for the epic finale in the trilogy. Now it is finally in our hands, and we can judge it for ourselves. A lot of controversy has been kicked up since the launch of this new entry. Some people have praised it, others have a strong hatred towards it (to the point where fans are pushing BioWare to change the ending, yeah). So, without further delay it is time to choose your squad, take cover and get ready to kick some serious Reaper arse in order to save Earth.

Click here to read the full review.

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Click here to read the full review

Yes, that includes the mighty flagship title from BioWare, Mass Effect 3, so this is going to be quite a hefty loss. Granted it seems that this could be a stance by GAME UK to try and re-coup some of their serious losses lately. EA have been pushing online passes, and there is a chance this could be a way for GAME to try and EA to play the same ball game.since the online passes are a direct attack on the used game market that chalks up most of the retailers profits.

It is uncertain how this will pan out in the long run, but it’ll be interesting to find out. Game companies have been increasingly interested in combating the used game market so we’ll see what happens, I’m just hopeful this doesn’t affect GAME Australia!! (Though they received all of the things that GAME UK didn’t… so I think I’m safe).

Way back in January 2011 a little game called The Last Story exploded onto Japanese Wii’s and it was met with some pretty high praise. Flash forward just over twelve months and finally the rest of us are getting a chance to take it for a spin. I’ve managed to sink about 7 hours into the game so far (and have reached about Chapter 15) and I have to say… I freakin’ love it.

The game is just a simple sort of pick-up-and-play action RPG, which actually reminded me a lot of the original Kingdom Hearts from way back in the PlayStation 2 era. The controls are simple and it never really throws you into the deep end at any time, as long as you pay enough attention to what it says then you won’t be too lost. There were a couple of moments where I wasn’t quite paying enough attention and found myself a bit lost in a few boss fights (because each boss fight requires different strategies as far as I’ve progressed) and it was introducing me to a new way to increase my defense. Long story short, I missed an instruction and couldn’t figure out what to do… but I got there in end. I’m really enjoying that the boss fights keep me thinking on my feet though, taking control of your team-mates actions and combining attacks to take advantage of certain situations. This isn’t a new feature in RPG games by any means, but it was just a relief for it to feel fresh. It is fun, the ability to freeze time to give commands is a nice touch as well, I’m excited to see what over combinations I’ll get to toy around with later in the game.

Instantly the art style reminds me of classic Final Fantasy adventures, with jagged here, exaggerated weapons, crazy combat and bizarre outfits. The distinct style of a JRPG is covering The Last Story, and so far it has been wearing its heart on its sleeve. It doesn’t make any major attempts to tailor itself to the Western audiences (like I would honestly say both Final Fantasy XIII and Final Fantasy XIII-2 did).

So far the plot has been a slow burn, which works well for. The characters have good chemistry and there have been some really nice moments between the main lead, Zael, and the romantic interest, Calista. At the point I’ve reached I can’t say I have any solid predictions as to where the plot is going, because it still feels like early days. I’m very much hooked on finding out where the game is going to take me.

Honestly, The Last Story feels like it really could go the distance. I feel spoiled, honestly… firstly Xenoblade Chronicles and now The Last Story. I should have a review up by sometime next week.

Best Visuals (Technical) of 2011
Best Visuals (Artistic) of 2011
Best Story of 2011
Best Original Score of 2011
Best Original Theme of 2011
Best Sound Design of 2011
Best Voice Acting of 2011
Best Online of 2011
Best Moment in a Game 2011
Best Character of 2011

BEST VISUALS  (TECHNICAL) OF 2011
Winner: Battlefield 3
Runner-up: Uncharted 3 – Drake’s Deception

DICE have done it with Battlefield 3, the PC version has the best visuals you’ll see this year (or at least in my opinion, hence me awarding it to this game). Everything about the technical prowess in the highly anticipated first-person shooter is stunning. If you own a top-end PC, then you owe it to yourself to pick this up. The effects and the scale just leave your jaw on the ground for most of the game, and then you get them in multiplayer with sixty-four players. Brilliant. Granted the console versions drop the bar significantly, but when it comes to PC it is hard to look beyond it.

The PlayStation 3 is still a power-house, Naughty Dog’s Uncharted 3 really proved that point once again. Uncharted 3 managed to add just the right amount of shine to the already impressive engine that powered Drake’s second outing, and with such varied locales we got a lot of eye candy throughout this game. From escaping eye-poppingly gorgeous chateaus to navigating carefully across a wonderful detailed (and capsizing) ship, the stuff that Naughty Dog have made Sony’s console do is plain downright impressive, earning this game a worthy runner-up.

BEST VISUALS (ARTISTIC) OF 2011
Winner: Legend of Zelda – Skyward Sword
Runner-up: Marvel vs. Capcom 3 – Fate of Two Worlds

Personally, I was in love with the artistic flair of Link’s latest outing the moment it was revealed at E3. It called my mind back to the eye-candy that was Wind Waker but also added in a pinch of the Twilight Princess inspiration to the mix, making for a wonderful combination. The game bought a world of colour to life right in front of my eyes, and did so impressively considering it was only a Wii title. The water-colour-like art style never got tiresome to me, and I think that it nearly edged out Wind Waker as the most visually impressive Zelda I’ve seen. It will definitely date better than it’s predecessor did for me.

Capcom’s cross-over with Marvel was also going to have a fair kick to the visuals, but Marvel vs. Capcom 3 still blew me away. The way they worked the comic style that Marvel brings to the table and made it gel so well with Capcom’s video game roots was just plain astounding. There is always so much happening on the screen that sometimes my eyes feel over stimulated by the flashes of purple, pink, yellow, etc. People may complain about the overall quality of this release, but there is no doubting the visuals are beautiful to behold.

BEST STORY OF 2011
Winner: Deus Ex – Human Revolution
Runner-up: Xenoblade Chronicles

What’s this? Eidos managed to bring back Deus Ex without making a completely pathetic story. The franchise returned to form with Adam Jensen and his journey to take down some terrorists who have attacked the company that he works as head of security for. What follows is a tale of one man’s choice, who do you trust? Who will you side with? Is the human race ready for the progression that Sarif Industries are offering or should they be shielded from the potential that is offered? I found myself lost in Eidos’ cyberpunk world and the story really won the year for me.

Xenoblade Chronicles was a sign that the Japanese role-playing genre wasn’t quite dead, despite previous efforts trying to show the opposite. In fact, the story itself was a particular point of interest. It starts out in a traditional manner, before kicking up the intensity with a wonderfully paced story that rises and falls at all the right times. It was something that I had missed from the JRPG. Sure, some of the characters were less than interesting, but the overall story really satisfied my narrative-driven needs. Well done, Monolith.

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE OF 2011
Winner: Legend of Zelda – Skyward Sword
Runner-up: L.A. Noire

After years and years of waiting we were finally lucky enough to let our ears feast upon an orchestrated Legend of Zelda score. It hit every note perfectly and now I don’t think I can ever go back to having a MIDI soundtrack. The score carries you through a plethora of new music mixed in with hints of old classics here and there, making for a wonderful audio journey through new and old. I talked about my love for this game’s score in my review, but from the moment we discovered that the Ballad of the Goddess was Zelda’s Lullaby in reverse I think we all knew this score would stand above almost every other soundtrack from 2011’s offerings.

Hear me out. I’m a sucker for period drama. I’m also a sucker for anything set in a certain period (for example say… the 1940’s) and correctly creates an authentic world. This love also extends to music, and the score to L.A. Noire was spot-on. Jazz was the flavour of this soundtrack, as it was the flavour of the era. Composers, Simon and Andrew Hale, really did a fantastic job going that extra mile in dragging you into the period this game brings to life. The vocal tracks are also amazing, I could listen to this soundtrack all day and just be mellow.

BEST ORIGINAL THEME OF 2011
Winner: ‘Icarus (Main Theme)’ – Michael McCann
Runner-up: ‘Dragonborn’ – Jeremy Soule and Julian Soule

BEST SOUND DESIGN OF 2011
Winner: Battlefield 3
Runner-up: Dead Space 2

Yes. Once again a Battlefield title runs away with my ‘Best Sound Design’ award, and honestly it is pretty much for all the same reasons. Last year I talked about how the amazing sound really immersed you into the heart-pounding combat. Bullets, explosions, reloading, jets, everything sounded so crisp and realistic. I can only imagine how it’d sound if you were using surround sound, may as well be in a warzone. DICE are the masters of sound design in the first-person shooter genre, and this year they once again crafted the most breath-taking audio atmosphere for simulating a warzone. Nothing quite matches crawling through the grass, bullets whizzing overhead, the grass crunching softly under your weight, everything is as it should be.

You remember Dead Space 2, right? It was the game that jumped the gun on 2011 by releasing in early January. Visceral Games went above and beyond to make sure you felt as uncomfortable as possible as you guided poor Isaac through Sprawl. Necromorph’s scrapping, wheelchair wheels squeaking, far-off voices whispering horrifying nothings to deceased friends or work-mates. This game set a new standard for scary atmospheres, harkening back to the uneasiness of curling up with a classic Silent Hill game.

BEST VOICE ACTING OF 2011
Winner: Uncharted 3 – Drake’s Deception
Runner-up: L.A. Noire

I had some issues with some aspects of Uncharted 3, the voice-acting was still top-notch. The entire cast once again bought their A-game to the table. Nolan, Richard, Emily and Claudia were all top notch once again. And the new characters fit right in with the best, Kathrine Marlowe, Talbot, etc. Considering this time around the story involved a bit more drama than the usual action-packed Drake adventure it was great to see some of the voice actors push themselves that little bit extra. There were some wonderful scenes between Drake and Sullivan and Sullivan and Kathrine, etc. Definitely the strongest voice acting that gaming saw this year.

Thank god Team Bondi assembled a good voice cast for their period noire mystery game. It helped that a lot of the actors had actual acting experience, allowing them to take full advantage of the facial capture and maximise their performance. Aaron Staton was a real stand-out as Cole Phelps, he showed a whole new side of himself in his performance to what I had seen from him in AMC’s Mad Men.

BEST ONLINE OF 2011
Winner: Battlefield 3
Runner-up: Assassin’s Creed – Revelations

Despite some teething problems at launch, DICE’s first-person shooter flowered as the months progressed. If you have some patience then you’ll find countless hours of fun here, with friends or random players. I know some people prefer Mordern Warfare 3, but that doesn’t quite sit well with me. I tip the advantage to Battlefield 3 with vehicles and just the flow of the gameplay. Like Bad Company 2 previously you’ll always enjoy teaming up with three other squad-mates co-ordinating attacks and formulating strategies to hold key points on the battlefield. Don’t let the necessity for Origin scare you off, it is worth enduring for.

I remember shaking my head at the addition of multiplayer in Assassin’s Creed – Brotherhood, but I’m happy to admit I was wrong. It was edged out by some other games last year, but Revelations really was a smoothed-out multiplayer experience. Whilst the single-player lacked a lot of energy, the multiplayer kept me satisfied. Adrenaline pumps as you silently pursue your target through the streets, hoping that someone else doesn’t steal the kill and reset your mark. It makes for some hectic moments, especially as the matches reach their climax.

BEST MOMENT IN A GAME 2011 [SPOILERS]
Winner: Legend of Zelda – Skyward Sword
Runner-up: The Elder Scrolls V – Skyrim

Considering that Skyward Sword’s place in the muddled Zelda timeline, it was naturally going to snag my favourite moments award. There were so many moments throughout this game where my cold, cynical gaming heart was warmed to its very core. Some of them are pretty spoiler-heavy, so honestly it is hard to dive too deeply into why this game won me over. But if you are a fan of Zelda’s questionable continuity then you’ll find a lot to love here. Guiding Link to become the hero he was destined to be is a pretty significant moment inside itself though, collecting everything along the way and piecing together a vague history of Hyrule along the way was just a delight.

Bethesda’s Skyrim scoops up the runner-up honours in this categories for being built of so many moments of gawking at the game and going ‘Woooooow’ or ‘Did I just do that?’ Bethesda knows how to build an open world game (though they may not know how to bug test them to the same capacity) and thus it shouldn’t surprise anyone that Skyrim is full of moments you’ll never forget. Anyone who has spent time with this game will likely agree, taking down your first Dragon, running like a sissy away from Giants, exploring the numerous dungeons and labyrinths. This game is built on over one hundred hours of moments, and honestly I’ll probably remember them for many years to come.

BEST CHARACTER OF 2011
Winner: Wheatley (Portal 2)
Runner-up: Narrator (Bastion)

GLaDOS stole a lot of hearts when the original Portal was released several years ago with her sadistic insanity. Fast forward to 2011 and we were introduced to a new AI friend in the form of Wheatley. While he initially provides us with many laughs throughout the first half of the game he ends up becoming quite an interesting character in the second half of the game. Definitely a surprise when all I was really expecting was some more Portal puzzles with some classic GLaDOS moments. Wheatley definitely sticks out as 2011’s best new character.

You have probably played Bastion, if you haven’t played Bastion then you have most likely heard of it at least, which means that you probably know about the Narrator. The way his voice helps pave the path you walk on in Bastion was absolutely brilliant.\A role this important needs a strong voice, and they really nailed it with their choice. Honestly, I could play Bastion and just listen to him talk as I explored new areas as he describes what was happening to me. He may not be as deep of a character as Cole Phelps (L.A. Noire) or interesting as Vincent (Catherine) he was still a worthy runner-up in this category.

First of all, here is the Resident Evil 6 trailer for those who haven’t seen it:

Okay, so without further delay it is time to talk Resident Evil 5, I will happily admit that I am still bitterly disappointed with Capcom for their recent neglect of the ‘horror’ part of their long-running survival-horror franchise but recently I’ve been at ease with it because let’s face… Resident Evil is an action game now. This is the first thing that bothered me about Resident Evil 5, you could probably draw a graph and mark the game’s inevitable descent into mindless action and stupidly plotted out combat. The game starts out fine, with a similar tone to the previous entry (Resident Evil 4, which I enjoyed) but it soon hits the brakes and goes a completely different direction. By the end of the game I found myself taking cover and having gun fights with some random enemies, to me this felt completely out of place in a game that is typically about escaping slow-witted zombies. I accepted Las Plagas to start off, I mean a parasite that allows the host to be controlled? Fine! But gun combat does not belong in this franchise unless and that was one of my biggest pet peeves that I could never shake off after completing the atrocity that was Resident Evil 5. As I previously mentioned, I was more accepting with Resident Evil 4 because Capcom really nailed the balance! For every action scene there was a delightfully spooky quiet hallway or eerie environment to explore. Resident Evil 5 didn’t perform quite as strongly in this area, instead featuring some nice and spooky environments to start off with and in the end just leaving a big mess on the carpet. Sure, it is petty of me to hold this against the, arguable, evolution of Capcom’s franchise in an attempt to keep it fresh but that doesn’t mean you should ignore the roots from which you sprouted.

The next thing that really irritated me endlessly: the controls. So you pick up your controller and start shooting the weird Las-Plagas-zombie-things, bam! No problem. However, you find yourself pretty overwhelmed in latter portions of the game and suddenly you begin to become frustrated with the control layout, and you most likely become frustrated for a single reason: stationary gun use. That’s right, this game wants you to get absorbed into the action it is throwing all over your face and you can’t even navigate around whilst shooting off your attackers. Why is this? I’ve heard people say that it was Capcom’s way of keeping some tension and fear present in the game, but guess what… it was plain frustrating. The game was too much an ill-conceived hybrid, half of it wanted to keep you scared and the other half wanted you to blow half of the god-damn world up with your ridiculous arsenal of rocket lauchers, grenade launchers and other such weaponry. The fact that it could never decide at any one time what it wanted to be came across as too awkward and convoluted. I believe this can be fixed as well, but Capcom need to take notes from Visceral’s incredible Dead Space franchise. Yes, it pretty much only exists because of Resident Evil 4 but it managed to beat Capcom’s efforts with relative ease. It had a better and far creepier atmosphere, it had a better balance of action and the controls were not as awkward (as in, they knew what they wanted the game to be). I found the Necromorph’s induced significantly larger amounts of fear in me than any of the Las Plagas infested people I found myself facing in Resident Evil 5, and a lot of what makes a game scary is made up of what exactly you are facing. Dead Space 2 also found a way to balance an even larger focus on the action with plenty of creepy-as-hell moments as well, Capcom could learn a thing or two from Visceral.

Finally, the story. Resident Evil titles are notorious for their bad storyline and poorly written dialogue, Resident Evil 5 made absolutely no effort to change this. The game tries to wrap up events with Umbrella whilst introducing a new, and ultimately underwhelming threat, in the form of Tricell. I can only assume Tricell will have a large part to play in Resident Evil 6 but can they go back to basics. At the same time though I fear the damage may be done. The franchise has branched into government conspiracies and secret organisations dealing in biological warfare now, and with the main man (Wesker) now currently unaccounted for who exactly will Capcom create to play the part of an imposing figure at the head of all this. I’m not a magnificent writer, but I’m sure I could have pieced together a better ending than Resident Evil 5‘s stitched together mess. I feel that they should also try not so hard to include a (air-quote) big plot twist (end air-quote) such as they did with Wesker’s little helper, who I think most people instantly picked as Jill Valentine from the first time they were shown, just go back to basics guys. Somewhere in here there is a story that could be enjoyable, but you have blown everything out of proportion. Considering that Resident Evil 6 is taking us around the globe… expect an atomic explosion blow-out of a story, with so much unnecessary fluff and complications that you just stop caring (if you already haven’t, which I had started doing about halfway through Resident Evil 5).

I may be bitching about Resident Evil 5 more than it deserves, the game had moments here and there. But in the end it didn’t have enough to save itself from the mess that it became. Ultimately, Capcom don’t need to start from scratch to fix this franchise, they only need to be a bit more willing to stretch outside of their comfort zone instead of getting an arm out and suddenly realising, “Oh crap, what do I do now?” Come on guys, you can do this!!

Having said all of this… I will be purchasing a copy of Resident Evil 6 at launch, because at the very least I have enjoyed the Leon Kennedy games even if he is bringing ol’ melon arms along with him this time.

Click here to read the full review.

I think the problem is as deep-rooted as lot of things, perhaps it is just me but I know there are others who’d be guilty of the same thing. Essentially it all comes back to being comfortable with the classics. Whether it is an old flame who you know and understand or an old movie that you know and love, it is always easier to go back to something you already know you like. But the question burns: is that the right thing to do? On the one hand the timeless classic is always going to be just that but what about the new thing you have the chance to try? Shadows of the Damned offers a new intellectual property that is just begging for my attention but I can’t help but lose myself in Ocarina of Time all over again.

We are all guilty of doing this in some areas, and whilst in video games it is a lot more natural (heck, why buy a new game when you can just pick up another Call of Duty) it is definitely something we need to look at in ourselves. Every few months new I.P’s step out into the world and more often than not are shunned into the abyss as sequels and franchises sell more than ever. But the blame lies with many as opposed to the few, but who will blame them? You buy a game in a franchise because there is a high probability that it will be something you enjoy because things rarely change too much between entries.

There are people out there striving for something greater than a franchise. Developers who want to bring new ideas into the industry. Jenova Chen (along with thatgamecompany) is bringing us something beautiful and refreshing in Journey. You’ve got the guys at Team ICO helping us realise our imaginations over again with The Last Guardian. You’ve got the likes of Shigeru Miyamoto trying to innovate and create new properties (see: Pikmin). Last year Playdead took the world by storm with their unique new title Limbo. And there are many more if you go hunting, but don’t be fooled… not all brilliant new ideas are born on the App Store.

Of course, it is easy enough to say this is the problem, it is coming up with a solution that begins to make things tricky. Fighting against comforting nostalgia is difficult. Especially when you might be taking a chance on something new that could inevitably suck outright. But without taking these chances, things will never innovate. Imagine if Nintendo had never created the Super Mario I.P all those years ago? What would you be playing now? Would you be even playing video games? Not every franchise was born a franchise, they all started somewhere and the continued ignorance directed to a lot of new properties is going to continue to destroy the industry we know and love. So next time you look at a game on the shelves like Shadows of the Damned or the upcoming Catherine, don’t simply write it off.  Pick it up, take it for a spin, at the very least you tried and know for yourself how it is and won’t need to rely on the opinions of others to make the decision. Same goes for everything in life, it never hurts to step out of that comfort zone.

That risk could pay dividends one day when you look at a game and reminisce about how you gambled on it, much like I do with The World Ends With You.

Gaming Memories

Sounds pretty average, and honestly it probably is. But basically all it will be is a monthly piece in which I’ll recall a moment in gaming that means something more to me than just a game. Whether it is a childhood moment that I’ll never forget or a memory I shared with someone recently, it’ll be me re-visiting moments in gaming that will always have a place in my heart and furthermore who I am as a person. I’ll be going pretty far back for some of these as well, I’m hoping it is fun to write and it showcase just how important gaming is to me as well as how gaming is more than just something that you play, it is about who you play them with and the good memories that you form.

Lazy Video Reviews

Inspired by my internet idol, Toby Turner (and probably other vloggers out there), I plan on recording short video log reviews of games that I complete. It won’t be anything fancy or exciting, hence the lazy title, it’ll just be me talking about a game that I have completed. I figure it’ll be a good way to get my views on a game out faster. I’ll still write my usual word-heavy reviews but this will be a more efficient way to get my views out.

So yeah, expect posts when I get closer to substantiating something.