Prototype review

In a world of terrible superhero games, it's rare even consider any game other than Batman as your choice for superhero delight. However; games like Infamous are slowly beginning to turn the trend around. Spider-Man Shattered Dimensions was fun and Infamous 2 was amazing. Another game that folds in with this bunch is Prototype. A game where destruction and power are your toys and New York is truly your playground.


Prototype tells the narrative of Alex Mercer, a man who wakes up while being vivisected. He soon discovers he has incredible powers and the ability to consume and learn the memories of living things. Oh, by the way; New York is infected with some evil virus that turns people in to zombies. It's your job to find out who did this to you and do something about that infection. The storytelling isn't fantastic at all. It's not awful, just not very good. You meet a few characters, but care little about them for you to remember them and the story has holes. But all through this; Alex is the one character you really like. You want him to succeed, even though his motives are unclear. So, he wants to save people and stop the infection (I think) but he consumes people for extra health and slashes them for fun. At times, you might use them as weapons... Also, I could never work out if Alex was trying to stop the infection or if he just didn't care. In one mission, I had to destroy this antidote to the virus, but in the next I had to make sure a truck containing the virus wasn't destroyed. Huh?><><><>M<><>MKINBFWONWB!@
On the graphics side of things, they aren't strong or stylistic, which is a shame, but we don't care that much do we?


And now, the moment you've been waiting for...THE OMGFTW gameplay segment. Alex Mercer is everything you want form a super hero. 

Wheee!

Alex can do pretty much anything. He can run up walls with fantastic control, glide, transform his arms into hammerfist, claws, whipfist, blade, muscle mass and a shield. He can wear armour, hijack tanks and helicopters, pick up cars/buses/choppers and unleash devastator attacks which kill pretty much anyone around you. He can pick up a variety of guns and transform his appearance to make himself look like the last person he consumed. All of these offer unique gameplay options and ways to approach missions. The missions themselves...well, they tend to revolve around the same things. Chase this dude, kill enemies, destroy thing, protect x, whatever. Nothing too special, but the amount of gameplay devices you have at your disposal makes everything you do interesting and fun. There are also stealth sections which require you to remain disguised and these are really fun as they offer up a different style of gameplay. But, there are indeed some problems to this game that go beyond just the presentation. First off, if there are a lot of enemies on screen, if begins to lag up a fair bit. The other big issue with the combat is that towards the end of the game, enemies begin to swarm you. This happens so quickly and so often, that you have no chance at all to attack and no chance at all to consume anyone for health.


Besides these issues, Prototype succeeds where so many other games fail. It makes you feel powerful. No matter where you are in the game, you always feel like a super hero. This game is pure fun. Pick it up. 

Batman: Arkham City Lockdown review

In an attempt to cash in on the fantastic Arkham City franchise, Neverrealm studios fashioned the IOS game; Batman Arkham City Lockdown; a game that feels clunky, lazy and downright frustrating. This is a blemish on the otherwise amazing Rocksteady Batman franchise.

What kind of a fighting stance is that Mr. Master of most known Martial Arts?

To begin, the graphics in the game are actually really good. The feel strong and almost match the feel and tone of Rocksteady's games. Batman looks like Batman and the thugs look real. However, that's about it for positives. Levels in a certain area all look the same, so you feel as though you've just returned to a place where you've already been whenever you play. Also, there's only a few new lines, most have just been ripped from the good Arkham games. The story begins with all the inmates escaping Arkham Asylum once more and Batman has to round them up. However, this is not done in an epic cutscene, it's done via radio broadcast. This lowers the scale of how much you feel emerged in the game. Also, there's no backstory behind these super villains. You just; go and beat them up. In the end, you feel as though you're playing a demo rather than an actual game. The story is also littered with continuity errors.


The gameplay is an attempted Batman take on Infinity Blade, but it fails spectacularly. You can swipe the screen to punch, but this feels clunky as the screen rarely picks up what you actually wanted to do. It also takes away Batman's freeflow prowess and replaces it with slow moving, awkward fighting. You can only do a 4 hit combo and that just feels bad. You can dodge moves, or counter them, but this too feels vague and uncontrolled. Also, enemies do more damage to you than you do to them. WHAT THE HELL!?!?!?! SERIOUSLY?!?! YOU'RE BATMAN!!! THAT JUST DOESN'T HAPPEN!!!!!!! Boss fights are no different from regular fights, they just have a few gimmicks here and there like Joker's flower squirting on your screen making you have to wipe it off before you can fight. 
You can buy upgrades, but it takes ages to level up and you can usually only buy one at a time and some require you to level up multiple times. You can buy points with real money, but that's just complete garbage. In short; Batman Arkham City Lockdown is a waste of your time, money and effort. Avoid this at all costs. 

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.