Deus Ex: Human Revolution Review

The year is 2027 and human augmentation technology is becoming a radical science for humanity. Augmentations allow for improved military functionality, stealth and weapons, but can also be beneficial for humans as augs can restore sight to the blind a allow paraplegics to walk. Some feel augmentation is impure to the true meaning of humanity while others prefer to have more augmentation than skin. Meet Adam Jensen, ex-S.W.A.T. member. At the start of the game, he is badly hurt while working for the company he is employed to protect. In turn, his boss saves his life through major augmentation. This gives an excuse as to upgrade many aspects of combat, like Dermal Armour, invisibility, super strength, seeing through walls and many more. Deus Ex is a third person shooter mixed with stealth and RPG elements, but let's start with the visuals.


The story in this game is epic, telling the tales of a global conspiracy revolving around mega corporations that have more power than the government. Needless to say, it's awesome. The script is also really strong, with the occasional blip here and there with some awkward text. Most of the characters are interesting, if not all that likeable. The real star is Jensen. You can make him the bad-ass resentful type, or the heroic guy who strives for good and justice. His voice acting is awesome too, whereas the rest of the actors range from average to awful. The graphics aren't super strong, but the art direction and style are stunning. The whole game reminds me of Bladerunner in the placements of buildings and streets. While the setting is very sleek and futuristic, there are many elements of the Italian history poking through. You can see the influence in the clothing, the augmentations and even in some of the story. Also, there's this sun yellow tint throughout the game which looks really cool.


The gameplay in Human Revolution plays like a third person shooter, but don't expect Gears of War. You take a lot of damage and you die very quickly, which opens up the option for stealth. But here's the great thing about this game; there are so many options to approach one situation. You can kill everything in sight if that's the way you've chosen to play, or you can invisi-stealth past people or you can 1337 HaX0r you're way in or you can even talk your way in. Here's an example. I had to break into this police station, but I wasn't permitted access. I didn't want a shoot out because a character relating to a side quest was there and he needed to live. So, I managed to convince the secretary to let me in. A friend of mine however couldn't be bothered with the side quests and used his super strength to move a piece of cover into place and from there killed everyone. However, while traversing the building, we both found vents and alternate entrances into the building, which were intended for stealth. 


Deus Ex; Human Revolution's level design is superb. The combat is awesome. You have a variety of weapons at your disposal like shotguns and pistols, but also some stranger ones like plasma cannons and spartan lasers...uh
But you can only carry what you can fit in your inventory (the inventory is awesome) Big, powerful guns take up a lot of space whereas smaller ones don't. This makes for some strategic thinking. The weapons can also be upgraded with stuff like silencers, extra clips, laser sight and exploding rounds. Jensen himself can be upgraded. Whenever you earn enough XP (for completing missions, killing goons and exploring) you earn a Praxis kit, which can be spent on Augmentations. These are things like steadying you sights, extra armour, invisibility, bigger inventory, improved hacking and double takedowns. I'm leaving a lot out though, there are so many more. Basically, this game is bliss. Insane story, insane setting, insane gameplay. In fact, you'd have to be insane not to buy this. 


Whazzat? u wanna no if der r bad thinks abot dis gaem???\
Well, there are a few problems. As mentioned before, some of the voice acting is poor, but the game's weakness comes from its map. Sure, it's not a big complaint, but city hub area's are so poorly designed (not the mission area's, they're awesome) It takes ages to find anything and you spend WAY too long searching for things. Oh, and the boss fights suck. Like, really suck. They take away the choice element of the game and throw you into boring and frustrating confrontations that take way too long. 
Aside form these minor problems, Deus Ex: Human Revolution is a fantastic game. Go pick it up. You will thank me. 

Harley Quinn's Revenge

At last, Rocksteady has confirmed the final chapter in the Arkham City story. Harley Quinn's revenge. You can buy the DlC (ready to buy on april 30 for $4.99 or 560 microsoft points) or you can buy the game of the year edition of Arkham City; which comes out on May 29. If you haven't bought the game yet (Terfle, Doctor) then buy the GOTY edition because it comes with the Catwoman pack, Robin pack, Nightwing pack, skins pack, challenge map pack and Harley Quinn's revenge all on the same disk. AWESOME!!

Mass Effect first impressions

Terfle recently leant me the first Mass Effect game and boy is it a lot of fun. The story and cutscenes are second to none while the gameplay is fun and dynamic. Shooting enemies with a two others at your side is fun, if a little clunky. The controls and gameplay work, but there are problems. Firstly, sometimes the friendly A.I. take cover right in front of you, making it hard to hit the enemy. And the other problem is that sometimes, everyone is using all their powers at the same time, cluttering up the screen and leaving you with no idea on what's going on. My main problem would be the way health is managed though. Health does not regenerate, instead you have to heal yourself with medi-gel, which is in limited supply and takes forever let you use another one. Or, you can heal by going ALL the way back to your ship. This leads to some frustrating deaths. But aside from these small complaints, Mass Effect os shaping up to be a great game. 

Dark souls...

THIS GAME...

THIS FREAKING GAME IS

THE CAUSE FOR MY RECENT LACK OF ACTIVITY

MY GOSH IT IS AWESOME.

BUT AT THE SAME TIME ITSSODIFFICUL, aITHINKMYHEADWILLASP

LODEFROMRAGEADNAEVP)AIEANEIVNEOPVHNAPSCOIWANVCOWBVAVN AOB POIBAVN :BSPOV...

sorry bout that. Anyway,

Dark souls , as you know, is a

game with a non existant difficulty curve. BECAUSE ITS FRIGGIN CRAZY FROM START TO FINISH. Like Demon souls before it, Dark souls is unforgiving, painful and fulfilling when you progress.

the story is... kind of hard to follow, but it all comes together near the end. and speaking of the end, ZEUS IS

THE FINAL BOSS.

YEP, THAT IS NOT A JOKE, THE FINAL BOSS IS ESENTIALLY ZEUS.

but im not up to thst yet. :3

unlike other rpg's released last year, *cough* Skyrim*cough* dark souls has characters you can get attached to easily and even want to learn more about. for instance, veterans of the game might know of a freaking beast NPC called knight solaire. Solaire gives you the required item for co-op. making meeting him almost essential. also, you can summon solaire to help

you with bosses in the fashion of JOLLY COOPERATION!

but solaire's character is deeper than just the guy who helps you out.

supposedly, he is the final boss, Gwyn lord of sunlight/cinder's, first born sun, who lost his god status.

other memorable characters include the sealers of new Londo, the not-seen-but-mentioned-abyss walker artorias, and of course, the black knights. sweet mother of jumba jookeeba, the black knights. they are powerful, fast and terrifying. only face them if you believe yourself ready.
thats about what i have to say...
just... be prepared to die. ALOT

Batman Arkham City: Catwoman review

In anticipation for the potentially new Arkham City DLC, I've decided to go over the previous DLC that comes as add ons to the game. Catwoman is a completely unique character that is bundled with the game in the form of a code. So, if you aren't connected to the internet, you won't be playing as her anytime soon. She isn't necessary to complete the game, but you will see her side of the story as Arkham City unfolds. Catwoman is very different form Batman when compared in combat. She moves a lot quicker and her animations match the more acrobatic style of her combat. She only has three gadgets, much less than Batman. She has a whip which can be used to disarm and trip people. This ball on a strong bolas that acts a little like a Batarang and some caltrops that trip enemies. All of them are used in predator and combat and they're quite useful, although they take away many of the options Batman has while in stealth. In combat, Catwoman has only three special moves as opposed to Batman's four. Special combo takedown take down anyone, this whip trip that will knock over anyone close enough and another whip combo which dishes out minor damage to anyone near. Missing something? Yeah, weapon break. Catwoman can't break weapons, meaning that the fight becomes more and more difficult with each added goon with a weapon. Also, she can't ride Titans. Why not? In stealth, she can run about the place without  being heard because apparently, she's light footed. The downside is that she only has about half as much as the other character's armour health. This puts her a a greater disadvantage than what she already is in. Also, she has no grappling gun, so she has to use her whip to pull her on walls, where she then jumps up. This means for a less than speedy escape if detected. That, coupled with the fact that she can't glide means she covers less distance and generally moves around Arkham City slower than the caped crusader. So, she's nowhere near as good as Batman, but that wasn't what rocksteady tried to achieve. She is meant to be a unique character and so she plays differently. They got that right. So, yeah, buying a completely new copy of the game just for Catwoman is worth it, but maybe not if you want to buy her online. Also, as a closing remark, I must say that I hate the way Rocksteady tries to squeeze as much sex appeal out from her. Her outfit is...provocative to put it lightly and some of her lines and the lines directed at her are littered with innuendo that actually annoys me a little. Selina, YOU'RE IN A CITY FILLED WITH CRIMINALS! IT'S NOT THE BEST IDEA TO HAVE YOUR ZIPPER THAT LOW! But at least Rocksteady don't pretend that they didn't put the sex appeal in there though. I guess they wanted to use that to add to her character, but I don't think it helps all that much. Also, when she slides...on never mind.

The other big problem with her is that you only play as her for four missions. Oops. 

Why am i not suprised?

I'm not sure whether it has been mentioned at all on the blog, but the three of us that posts here, that's right there are other people than 4ever, basically we don't particularly like ign, for various reasons, mainly because we often disagree with their reviews. So, if you think about it, reviews are an integral part of the game making progress. As a reviewer, you are meant to be honest, you are meant to tell the gaming community the truth about a game, unlike marketing which is solely there to make a game look good, reviewing can also point out the flaws in a game. This can then get a developer to fix the game before it goes public, or just warn the average gamer of what a game is really like. Reviewers are pretty important, but, when reviewers like ign start accepting money so that they will give games better reviews it ruins the entire system. Major flaws can get through to production and people can easily be disappointed in what they buy. This seems, to me, to just be another reason to dislike ign.

I found most of this out from a totalbiscuit video.

4EVER's adventures in the land of Skyrim

Well, here we are. After extensive playing and thinking, I've finally come to a conclusion. I am finished with Skyrim. Now, don't get me wrong, I don't hate this game...I just...Well, let's start shall we?


Skyrim takes place in the province of Skyrim where a whole bunch of fantasy races live and thrive. You are a prisoner about to be executed. You are saved when a dragon, thought to be long dead, comes and interrupts your death. You escape and from then on, you do whatever. This opening is the only cinematic part of the whole game, whereas the rest of the storytelling is done by talking to people. Yup, I just love standing completely motionless and watch a character's mouth flap. Whenever this talking is done, it feels so artificial. You pretty much mash "A" until the speech is over and you can go run away. So much of the voice acting is poor and there are maybe...ten voice actors across the land of Skyrim. Also, it hurts that the script is poor as well. I spoke to a child and he said: "You're new around here, so I'll go easy on you. But don't get on my bad side" A KID SAID THAT? Really? A freaking child of maybe ten years of age??????? On the plus side of presentation, the graphics are awesome. Seeing the mountains in the distance make you feel emerged in the universe and character models for things like the frostbite spiders make you swear you were really there. Basically, everything in Skyrim looks really pretty. Except for children. They are just plain weird. 


The gameplay in Skyrim consists of exploring, fighting and crafting. As you traverse the huge (and I mean huge) land, you'll come across enemies that range from wolves to Dragon Priests. Unfortunately, combat is simple. If you use magic, you pretty much just walk backwards and spam your powers. Swordplay consists of swiping, then moving backwards, then swiping again. Every now and then, you need to do a power attack to break somebody's guard, but that's really all there is. Archery isn't really something I explored so I won't talk much about that. Sure, combat involves the occasional dragon shout or the use of a special power, but that's all there is. But, it's still fun, especially magic. I enjoy fighting a lot actually. Exploring will lead you to places that have some treasure or armour to plunder, which is cool. You might even stumble across a section of a story while exploring. Crafting is done in many different ways. You may blacksmith, where you require certain ingots and materials to make new stuff or improve it. Enchanting grants an item certain powers and alchemy makes potions to be used offensively or as restoration. It's very deep and clever. The story will sometimes take you to places like temples or dungeons which really get to me. The music plays the same track over and over again while it attempts to put in interesting puzzles. Nope. It doesn't work.


With all this "awesome" exploration and complexity, why don't I like this game? At first, I didn't have an answer. So I took the dog for a walk and had a long think. Then I realised; Skyrim lacks two things important to any book, TV show or game. Excitement and character. I don't know how, but Skyrim fails to be exciting. You never have a sense of urgency or drive. Take something like Mario Galaxy. That is exciting because of the pure rush you get when running up walls with Yoshi or platforming above a black hole or fighting a boss, or just about anything. Of course, you can relax and tool around on Starship Mario as much as you want, but when you commit to a level, it's serious. You jump and run through perfectly designed levels and have a great time. In Skyrim...you just sort of walk about...and see and enemy and then beat the enemy. The combat doesn't reward you or make you feel epic like in Arkham City and there is no drive to complete these quests. They all feel like; collect x, kill y or destroy x after killing y. And this isn't exciting. Sure, there's no doubt that I had some thrilling moments throughout my time in Skyrim, but they were soon replaced by a lack of atmosphere and drive. Here's the other problem. I don't care about anyone in the game or feel any drive to do anything. Nobody is interesting or engaging thanks to the script and storytelling and nothing feels special. I don't feel like I'm tearing through thieves, I feel like I'm killing three of X. Look at Animal Crossing. No, it's not exciting, but it's not meant to be. You like the characters, you care about building your house and most of all, you care about this little town (I named mine "Town" Clever?) But in Skyrim: "oh, Riverwood might burn down...too bad"

Now, Skyrim isn't a bad game, with the following it has, how can it be? But it just doesn't grab me. Goodbye Skyrim. I'm going to go play Deus Ex for a few hours. Or maybe Arkham City. 

Transformers: The Fall of Cybertron

If you weren't already blown away by that trailer, let me elaborate further into the lore. Transformers: Fall of Cybertron is the upcoming sequel to High Moon's War for Cybertron game, which was one of the few good Transformers games, well, ever. It's been tough for the Transformers as of late. Not a single good TV show since the G1. Plotless movies. Bad games. Basically, not doing so well. So High Moon decided to do the Bots justice and make an awesome game. Now, I haven't played it yet, but I'll have the chance soon. This new Transformers game features some new elements. For instance, robots can now triple Transform from things like Helicopter, to Jet, to Robot. This opens up different attack options and strategies. Also, the Dinobots are back. Hell yes. There are now robots that can combine, just like the show. High Moon said that they really wanted to push the difference between each Transformer in this new game, so they're getting rid of Co-Op to help with the dynamic new gameplay choices. There also appear to be a big emphasis on Optimus Prime and how bad ass he is. But that's cool. Prime was always the coolest.

ARKHAM CITY STORY DLC W/ ROBIN!

At freaking last! There may just be some story DLC for Arkham City. On the PS3 trophies site, it give us achievements names for Robin under the label Harley Quinn's revenge. Now, this can't be confirmed as accurate, but it seems more than likely that Robin will be facing off against Harley Quinn in Arkham City soon. 

Call of Duty

This series has copped a lot of hate, yet sold millions of copies. But here's the funny thing. EVEN THE PEOPLE WHO BUY IT STILL SEEM TO HATE IT! Now, let's get the story straight. I dislike Call of Duty, and not just because it's popular. There are so many legitimate reasons why I detest this game series. To begin, let's go to single player. Or, what is almost a single player. Thing is, the developers put little to no effort into it. The story makes no sense, the setting is basically "oh, stop the evil bad guy terrorists" and there are no memorable characters. The gameplay in this limited amount of space is almost thoughtless. You can hold down "L" and you sights will snap to the nearest enemy, and then you just rip through them. Admittedly, some sections are kinda fun, but they get repetitive quickly. Any vehicles in the campaign control awkwardly, making them feel tacked on, which they are. But the focus of the game admittedly isn't on the single player. It's the multiplayer. It's fast, furious and flawed. Now, don't get me wrong, I had some genuinely gleeful moments with multiplayer. I liked the thrill of hunting for other players and then blasting them before continuing my search for others. But, as with most other forms of online shooters, it gets boring after a while. I'm not being biased against COD, Halo and Goldeneye got boring within week of online multiplayer. If I'm playing a game, I need drive. I need a story to pull me along, or I need friends to make the experience more enjoyable. Also, this type of game is really unpolished. You just walk around, hoping you don't get sniped and killing enemies within seconds. There's little challenge, just mainly seeing someone before they see you or having the better weapon at the better time. In Halo, you strive to get those shots in, but in COD, it's just bamdead. Here's the other thing. EVERY COD FEELS EXACTLY THE SAME! I hear people complaining: COD 4 is so much better than World at War, but they play identically. A few different weapons and a few new maps aren't enough to be part of a completely new game. Fans pay $100 for something worth about $30 at maximum. So, the game has its moments. Okay, but hold on: sorry IT IS THE BEST GAME OF ALL TIME. ALL OF THEM! People talk about this game like its Zelda or Deus Ex or even Skyrim. But its not. Its a timewaster. Here's the thing. The devs have so much money from this game series which could be spent in truly pleasing their fans and putting in effort and devotion into the inevitable yearly release, but instead, you get the same game. Year after year and the fans eat it up. Why? And the final thing; the community. Every player hates every game, except for all of them. People say: Oh, MW2 is better than Black Ops, but they keep playing it anyway! Also, you get a lot of kids playing the game to try and be cool, but in actuality annoy the crap out of you. I know a kid who asked his mother if he could take a day off his school to spend the day playing Black Ops. Apparently, noob tubing is more important than en education.