I'm not reviewing this: Uncharted 3:Drake's Deception

It is hard not to go into Uncharted 3 with lofty expectations. 2009's Uncharted 2: Among Thieves was a stellar blend of cinematic action, frenetic pacing and spectacular set pieces that combined together to make it one of the best games of that year. Unfortunately, the follow-up title's attempts to match that seem to have fallen short.

Let's start with the great: this game looks fantastic. I don't know what sort of artist and programming wizards they employ at Naughty Dog, but everything is beautiful. Each of the different locations and environment types are so vibrant and detailed that it's amazing to think that they were able to create all those art assets in the span of a couple of years.

Unfortunately, that is about the only area that seems improved. While the characterizations and writing are as fantastic as ever, they seem to have gone so overboard with how the models naturally interact with the environment that it became completly unnatural. For some unknown reason, Nathan Drake feels the need to touch almost everything he walks by. The rest of the game seems so rote and soulless that it comes across as the result of using a how-to manual for creating Uncharted games. It is following a constant formula of traversal, combat sequence, puzzle. Rinse and repeat.

This wouldn't be a problem, after all it worked to great success in the previous game, if it didn't seem so predictable. There is absolutely no suspense in the climbing. Nathan Drake can only have his handhold crumble or break so many times before it loses its effect. And in this game its once. Otherwise you go about your business of climbing, jumping and swinging and it feels just as good as it ever did. I would be remiss to not point out that there are a few of the set pieces that do make his climbing abilities more interesting beyond being a carbon copy of things seen in the previous installments.

The set pieces themselves are exciting but there is no surprise to them. I played the game just waiting for the next crazy thing to happen, and only once was I ever actually surprised and excited with the way things turned out. Even more surprising was that it was the most direct rehash of something that occurred in Uncharted 2. And it doesn't happen until 3/4's of the way through the game. That's a fair amount of gameplay to go through before actually feeling engaged with the content.

Sadly the real problem with the game is the combat. If it hadn't changed at all, it would be perfect. Something feels very off with the movement and aiming during combat sequences. The aiming was floaty and it often seemed too a little too difficult to get a precise aim on the enemies. The addition of a new melee system, which seems little more than a poor man's version of the one found in Batman: Arkham Asylum, makes the enemy AI seem almost too stupid to kill. I can't even remember the number of enemies that seemed dissatisfied with trying to shoot me and instead felt the need to rush up to me and put up their dukes. While there are many other enemies shooting at me still. And you continue to take gun damage. And die. A lot. Oftent times the enemies would rush up and just stand still waiting for me to decide what to do, which usually ended in me shooting them while they went through their gun grabbing animations. The combat simply wasn't fun and proved to be more of a hinderance to the game than an enhancement. I can recall great combat sequences from the previous entry, but not a single one in this game.

Going into this game, my biggest fear was wondering what misstep Naughty Dog was going to make by forcing a supernatural element into the gameplay. I had sincerely hoped that they would finally realise that they were fully capable of making a fantastic adventure/shooter game without needing to put a blemish on it with living dead or blue immortal enemy types. And they did, unfortunately they seem to have lost some of that magic in the other areas along the way.

Fable 3 Post Mortem

Having only a mildly enjoyable time with Fable 2 (even though I did 2 playthroughs of it) I wasn't all that interested last fall with the release of Fable 3. So come Fall 2011, and a Steam sale, I finally decided to go back into Albion and see if all the terrible things I heard about the end game are really true. And they are.

Mostly.

I'll admit that my motivations for playing Fable 3 the way that I did were largely achievement related, and honestly far too much of my 2011 gaming time has been spent in such ways. Thus the only real problem I had, was that I was trying to play a game in a way that I wasn't even all that interested in. I just wanted the points. What this meant was that on the few (and by that I mean very few, as in 3) times when I got reckless and fell in combat, I quit out of the game. And worst of all, I allowed my game to sit idly while I was accruing the necessary money that would ensure that I could save everyone in Albion. But really, that's irrelevant. I chose to play the game in a way that made it unfun. Anyone who complains about the way the ending works, chose to play it in such a way and has no right to complain. Really this isn't where my problems with Fable 3 arise.

The real reason I played Fable 2 for a second time was the Spire sequence. I really enjoyed where they took that story, and the section that required you to play through a very narrative driven section that was free from the free-roaming, quest accepting style that the rest of the game employs. The same thing holds true in the follow up. The only section of the game that seemed to have any sense of unique style, or directed story advancement, was the middle section where you are taken away from Albion and first encounter the horribly non-descriptive Darkness. The rest of the game feels like and endless series of fetch quests which are completely unrelated to anything else that is happening in the game. In this section we got story advancement, and drastic change in scenery, and most importantly, a reason to care about one of the supporting characters. In other words it was the only thing that differentiated this game from the other two Fable games.

All this really told me is that I would like for Lionhead to actually make a more linear, story driven game. I'm a person that appreciates being taken on a ride, and what Fable offers (assuming that that Kinect game really isn't on rails as it appears) doesn't do that. A greater focus on story, narrative and character development would be great, and they have shown the flashes of creativity that could really make it something special

The Great Holiday Release Onslaught: Rage

Now that October is upon us, I can yet again brace myself for the annual beating that my bank account will take. If history has shown me anything, I will amass a ton of games, and maybe finish two of them. As such, with Gears of War 3 out of the way, I can get into the full swing of things and throw my life away!

The big games this week are id Software's long awaited Rage, and From Software's abusive stepfather-cum-action/rpg Dark Souls. As intrigued as I am by the Souls games, I also know that my gaming temper is far to fragile to deal with the extremely tough but fair game play that it offers. So, mayhaps I will take that left-hand path to hell in the future, but for now I'm going to shoot dudes in the face.

I'm still early in the game, but it is stunning. And a lot of fun. They use the same Fallout 3 trick of leaving your confines only to be blinded by the sun before the huge expansive world is revealed to you. I don't know how they managed to drag out that kind of visual fidelity out of the 6 year-old Xbox 360 hardware, but it is nothing short of amazing. It is one of the most crisp and sharp looking games I have ever seen, and maintains a great frame rate. Those id guys are pretty talented.

There is a lack of check pointing in the game, which is mind boggling in this day and age, but since I knew that going in, I made sure to save often (which the game even tells you to do). It only took me losing about 5 minutes of progress to ensure that I won't forget about it again. And it's little things like that that give away just how long it has been since they last released a full retail product. Things have changed, and these guys still have a bit of catching up to do.

The shooting feels great, but considering the pedigree, that is expected. The weapons are your standard id fare, but as usual, they throw a unique items into the fray. All of them feel good to use, and the animators really outdid themselves with the way that enemies react to being hit

From what I'm getting in reviews, the single player experience being run of the mill isn't at all surprising. As great of a legacy as id has, the fact is that they haven't really proven themselves as capable of making a modern style campaign. Their old were built on very repetitive mission objectives where the main sense of progression was more key cards and harder enemies, not plot advancement. It's been the better part of a decade since their last game, and clearly they are still masters of engine tech, but hopefully they can create a campaign that is as memorable as nice on the eyes for their next project.

I'm note reviewing this: Gears of War 3

One thing that I absolutely did not expect to say about the 3rd chapter of what is arguably the most influential game of the current console generation, is emotional resonance. However here I am after 10-ish hours of playing and actually thinking about the events that transpired. Now it should be stated that first and foremost, GoW3 is mostly a formulaic adventure that moves you quickly from one crisis to another, trying to find X or collect Y, for the greater good of the motley band of CoG soldiers and humanity at large. They did not reinvent the wheel. But they did perfect it.

Epic did not stray far from the beaten path on this outing. Nor should they. Your character still controls like an out-of-control Winnebago, and the shooting still feels as satisfying as it did back in 2006. And for my money, there is no more satisfying event in games than hearing the pop of a head in the middle of a firefight.

But here I am thinking about where they went with the story. And for the better. By the time all is said and done, things are very different in the world than when the journey started. Perhaps responding to complaints that the CoG soldiers where just a group of guys bro-ing their way through waves of enemies, Epic fleshed out the characters. You really do get the feeling that these guys have been greatly affected by this war, and almost that they have lost any sense of what it is that they may be fighting for. A few key scenes, though they may be brief in the grand scheme of the game as whole, really say a lot about them and their state of mind. By the end, there really is a sense that they may have found peace within themselves.

However not all is perfect within this closing chapter. For all the things that seem to be settled, and all the answers that are provided about how things came to be, there still remains one giant question that needs to be answered. Unfortunately it probably never will.

Beyond the great single player campaign, their is the usually batch multi player modes you'd expect from a Gears game. The new addition to the line-up is Beast mode, which is essentially Horde mode in reverse, where the player controls Locust enemy types and takes on fortified AI human opponents. I would love to elaborate on this mode more, but I have yet to actually get into a game because very few people seem to be playing it. Horde mode is still a great time, and the versus MP is still a way to be brutally humiliated by people who seem to have never stopped playing the series online. They did add a casual mode to introduce new players to the MP, however as soon as you graduate out of that, you will never experience the safety of that womb again, and will grow to hate the savage nature of the versus games at it is probably the most unfriendly towards newcomers as any game I can think of.

GoW 3 is a terrific game. It looks great (in particular a stunning underwater sequence), plays great, and most importantly, it is still really fun. Cliff et al. really outdid themselves and it's somewhat disappointing to be saying goodbye to the Gears universe for the foreseeable future. At least in the meantime we get a hell of a ride to go out on.

I'm not reviewing this: L.A. Noire

There's a lot to be said for a strong single player narrative. As a person that will rarely ever delve into a game's multi player component, I can appreciate when the time and effort has been put into a game in order to create an engrossing solo experience.

Such is the case with LA Noire. Although prominently displaying the Rockstar name on the box, this is not your typical havoc wreaking, rags-to-riches/retribution story. Instead we are treated to a strong period piece that is far more content with conveying mood and creating an atmosphere that you can become quickly lost in. Much like Red Dead Redemption before it, we are given a great setting full of compelling and disgusting characters.

I have never been a fan of the "starting shit" style of open world play. Thankfully, LA Noire does not even provide you an option for this. You can never draw a gun unless the game's scenario dictates that a gun is required. What is provided instead is a slow, painfully methodical game about solving crimes that has more in common with point and click adventure games than it does with open world crime. Will this turn people off? Probably. As someone who has been playing games for the better part of 3 decades its refreshing to come across something that is so focused on a compelling package rather than just slapping a copyrightable name onto a new game mechanic and calling it a day. It's also refreshing to find an M rated game where the mature rating is not used ironically.

Is this crime thriller perfect? Far from it. While the game is certainly rife with great story and scenery, the action moments are terrible. Very little of the main story cases involve action sequences. Largely you are investigating crime scenes for clues, driving to locations and interviewing suspects. However, when these action sequences occur you are usually chasing someone on foot, or chasing them in a car. And typically these are dull. The action sequences are so heavily scripted that they almost always have a predetermined outcome which is entirely independent of how well you can drive or run after the suspect. The upside to this is that it prevents spontaneous mission failure due to the typical random open world unpredictability factor. The downside is that if you do have to repeat a chase, you see every near miss and close call crash happen in the exact same spots.

Ultimately I'm torn on what to think of this game. I was sucked into marathon play sessions that ate up huge chunks of my day just trying to find all the clues and finish the case. On the other hand, there is an expectation of playability within a video game. While I have nothing but praise for the casework sections of this game, I expect to have more compelling reasons to drive after people or, when the game allows, shooting at people. The action sequences feel so contrived that it becomes all to obvious where the developers interests were. While they have done amazing things with their new facial animation technologies, I feel that they have let the players down on the mindless fun part of gaming. As an adventure game, something magnificent has been created here. As a fun escape you can just pick up and play, they have failed. Not that that is what they wanted anyway. LA Noire is a bleak, terrible world full monsters, and sadly, that makes it the most realistic game I've played in years.

I'm not reviewing this: God of War III

A funny thing happened a few hours into God of War III: it became really, really amazing. Perhaps it was the over hyping of the first 30 minutes that so many previews had gushed about. Perhaps it was the considerable increase in hack’n’slashery that I had done this year. Maybe it was even the incredibly misguided Platinum trophy runs of Dante’s Inferno that I had done, but I just was not into this game at all. The giant bosses, the same combat I had played with twice before, and the puzzles which seemed to only slow down the pace of the game. Then, all of a sudden, it just clicked.

First off, this game is more God of War. If you’ve played the previous installments, then you know what you’re getting yourself into. Brutal combat, mythological beings, pushing things around to solve puzzles, and some gratuitous nudity that seems to do nothing other than appeal to 16-year-olds, all make their returns.

From a presentation standpoint, this game is gorgeous. With some exceptions here and there, this game is stunning in its scale and detail. The Kratos model is truly impressive. Unfortunately, the same cannot be said for all characters as there is the odd model that pops up with poor texturing, or is just plain weird looking. More specifically, the character of Pandora has odd, buggy eyes, and her father Hephaestus is pixilated and features some clipping issues. But these are minor gripes, especially when you factor in that Hera has been designed as a drunken socialite. Truly a round of applause should be sent to whoever is responsible for that.

The story itself seems pretty predictable insofar as Kratos continues on his journey of killing anything that he comes into contact with. I will admit that my dislike of the character stems from this anger and the fact that the events of the series are entirely his fault. It’s hard to care about a guy who seems to want to punish everyone but himself for the mistakes he has made. Fortunately, the journey that his killing spree takes him is enjoyable enough that I can overlook his depravity.

Perhaps what I enjoyed the about this game over previous ones was that all the “in between” time, meaning the elements that connect the major set pieces, were a lot more enjoyable. The game does not get dragged out by walking down corridors only to fight a group of enemies, and repeating the process endlessly. Truly it seems that ever location, every mountain and every hallway serves out a specific purpose to the overall experience.

That is until you reach the end game. Things seem to fall apart a little, when suddenly you are back tracking through areas and repeating set pieces. It seems like a complete shame after having created so many wonderful areas and encounters beforehand. The final boss and conclusion are epically disappointing when compared to the earlier games. The final conclusion to the story seems so forced, and so against everything that they build up, it almost seems like a fake out. But then reality hits and you realize that it wasn’t a joke; they really did want to end it that way. Ultimately that’s what holds this game back from greatness.

While there are some nice improvements to the gameplay and combat, courtesy of the powers and enhancements that you earn throughout the adventure, the thing that is really needed to make this game great is an amazing conclusion to the Kratos storyline. It seemed like they really had something special here, and for the most part it is, but the final act leaves a lot to be desired. The amazing set-pieces and boss fights that precede can only do so much if the entire package cannot maintain the same level of quality. Without a doubt I would recommend this game to anyone to play, just be wary of expecting an absolute masterpiece.

I'm not reviewing this: Dante's Inferno

Let's clear this out of the way now: yes, this game is almost a wholesale imitator of God of War.

OK, then. Let's move on

So like most games based on fourteenth century literature, Dante's Inferno takes many liberties with its source. For starters, Dante is now Crusader who fights off Death and steals his scythe. And he managed to talk Beatrice into getting it on with him by using the old "I'm shipping off to war tomorrow" trick. So promises are made, promises are broken and lo and behold, Dante has to travel through Hell to rescue Beatrice's soul. Truth be told, the story is kind of flat, and there isn't much in the way of plot development beyond the idea that you have 9 levels of hell to kill your way through to get back to Beatrice. And it's very hard to sympathize with Dante when the current predicament is entirely his fault.

From a design standpoint, Visceral Games was given a really great blueprint for level design since they basically used the poem as their design dock. The problem with that lies within what each of these circles are. Indeed they do a great job with Gluttony by creating a nasty, gastro-intestinal wasteland, but how do you visually represent Fraud? The answer is they don't. The game moves along quite quickly, and there were several instances where I passed through one of the circles and didn't even realise it because it was so indistinct and there were no stand out moments, whether it be a puzzle or boss battle, that indicated that area to be unique in some way. The levels are also inconsistent in their quality. The Violence circle is probably the most visually interesting, as well as containing some of the better gameplay and story moments, and then that is followed up by Fraud which is a mind numbing series of arena challenges, all fought on identical grey stone platforms. The only thing that breaks up the monotony of those 10 challenges is the method by which you have to clear the game from the save point on to the platform where the next challenge takes place. There was some good momentum coming out of the Violence section, but it gets killed completely by the repetition that follows

The combat is good for the most part. Dante has the exact variety of moves you would expect, and controls in the same fashion as most other games in the genre. What does separate him from the rest is the to weapons he has. There is the unholy scythe for melee attacks or the holy cross which creates a crucifix projectile that can kill off weaker enemies at long range, or just keep your combo going on the stronger enemies. Both of these weapons have distinct powers that can be upgraded by spending the souls that you collect from the fountains/chests scattered throughout the game, or by killing enemies. New skills and abilities are unlocked as you collect specific orbs to level up the holy or unholy paths by either punishing (unholy) or absolving (holy) the enemies. These orbs can also be gathered by encounters with shades. These are sinners that correspond to people that Dante meets in the Poem, whose sins are representative of the circle that they occupy. A word to the wise: absolving these shades leads to an extremely tedious button pressing mini-game which kills the flow of the game.

Probably the biggest sin (ha, get it?) of the combat is the cheapness of some of the enemies. All too often you will find yourself swarmed by smaller enemies that will quickly chip away at your health bar and prevent you from doing anything offensive leaving you to simply block and hope you can dodge out of the way to an open space. The game also has a terrible habit of locking you into a set combo animation which doesn't allow you to do anything to break out of it, which leaves you open to more attacks you can't do anything about, and dying in ways that you probably shouldn't. This is something that I didn't really experience in other recent games, so I wonder why it's left in this one.

On a technical level, Dante's Inferno holds up well. The frame rate stays smooth, and the music and sound design is generally quite good. There were a few instances of ambient voice work cutting out, but nothing so severe as to be game breaking. The worst thing about its presentation would be the compression of the cut scenes. Considering that I'm playing the game off of a bluray disc, I can see no excuse for the compression artifacts that are present in those scenes. Its a shame though, because the quality of those scenes is pretty high, and having them be marred by compression issues seems unfair to the people who made them.

Dante's Inferno is a decent romp. Nobody should look to this game to be setting any standards as pretty much everything that appears in this game has been done better by someone else. If all you demand out of a game is decent action with a few impressive set pieces, then you could do a lot worse. And if you want gore, sex and grotesqueness, then this is your game of the year. Otherwise, either get the sexy-librarian game from January, or wait for the pissed off bald guy in March.