Genre: RTS
Release Date: 27th February 2009
Developer: Ensemble Studios
Publisher: Microsoft Game Studios
Rating: PG
Platform: Xbox 360
“Halo” is a name associated with a number of things. First and foremost it is well known as the first really successful console First Person Shooter. Secondly, Halo or more specifically Halo 2 was the game that caused online multiplayer on consoles to be the extraordinary success is it today. It is also no secret that RTS games on console have been average at best, with the major problem being that the limitations of using a controller instead of a mouse and keyboard.
Halo Wars is the first RTS game to be built ground-up for console and coincidentally is the final game to ever be produced be Ensemble Studios (Age of Empires series). So not only does it have to live up to the Halo name, but Halo Wars will also be seen as the swansong of a studio that has been adored by RTS fans for over a decade. So Halo Wars has many expectations riding on its shoulders.
Set twenty years prior to the events in Halo: Combat Evolved, Halo Wars tells the story of the Spirit of Fire, a UNSC ship charged with investigating a covenant attack on the planet Harvest. As always, they find more than they bargained for and Captain Cutter and his crew realise they are the only ones who can prevent the covenant from destroying humanity as they know it. As Halo Wars is set before the original FPS game, don’t expect the familiar faces and names to appear as more than passing references as it is definitely a stand-alone game, albeit set in the same universe as the shooter trilogy. Despite the obvious clichés tied up with the story, it fits in well with the other Halo games, which have never been had particularly ground breaking themes. Ensemble has however weaved an engaging story around this seemingly bland theme, proving that the tried and true “Good vs. Evil” formula is not always a bad thing.
The pacing is superb, and I found myself wanting to pass the scenarios in order to uncover the next piece of the puzzle, revealed by one of the many well-crafted cut scenes that occur between subsequent missions. This made it all the more disappointing to find that the main campaign clocks in at a rather feeble 15 missions and can be easily finished in a nights play if the difficulty is set within your skill range. It is also rather disappointing that there is only the single Human campaign, especially since almost every RTS ever has had a campaign for each playable race. Halo Wars is not doing too much service to fans of the genre in that respect.
Visually the game is stunning. Halo Wars is filled with bright vibrant colours, which is in pleasant contrast to the brown and bloom we see from a lot of modern games. The cut scenes are perfectly rendered and even manage to trump the visual accomplishments of Gears of War 2, raising the bar for other games on the Xbox 360. Sadly the detail is not that noticeable most of the time as the gameplay requires you to zoom back from the action in order to manage units at any sort of speed.
Initially I had set prepared myself to be disappointed with multiplayer due to Halo Wars only having two playable races, so it came as a pleasurable surprise to find that Ensemble has implemented a “team leader” system. The leader you choose gives access to different unique units and leader powers, providing some vital variance to the multiplayer. For example, if you pick Sergeant Forge (the main protagonist in the campaign), you gain access to the powerful “Grizzly” scorpion tank that is capable of dishing out some serious damage to the enemy infantry.
The skirmish tactics are based around the classic “rock, paper, scissors” format that Ensemble has made their bread and butter. This can causes tactics to feel rather shallow at times, with the majority of players tending to just move mass groups of counter units around the battlefield. The format is however executed well in true Ensemble form and the different unit types provide just enough depth to satisfy RTS fans whilst keeping it simple enough for the casual gamers. Base building is sadly rather simplistic, with set locations to build on and only six different building types. There is also no resource gathering other than constructing a supply pad/warehouse and watching the ticker go up.
True to halo form, the online multiplayer is well executed and reasonably populated, meaning it is not at all hard to find a match on Xbox Live. The net code works well and despite the always frustrating latency associated with living in New Zealand, it is most defiantly still playable and enjoyable. Fans of the original trilogy will love seeing that Blood Gulch has been recreated for multiplayer but I am sad to report that the map roster roster is, like the campaign, rather brief. Halo Wars could most certainly do with some map packs, and knowing Microsoft, I’m sure they will be arriving soon with a price tag on their heads.
The major flaw with Halo Wars is still of course the controls. Designing an RTS game on console has always sounded like insanity due to the limitations of a 14 input controller but Ensemble have managed that particular challenge quite well. Every single input on the controller has been assigned to a hot key with the shoulder buttons being used for unit selection and the d-pad used for jumping rapidly around the screen to points of interest. The cursor snaps to units and important features as you move towards them, kind of like the auto-aim the original FPS series made so popular with console shooters. However, anyone who is used to the fast, responsive keyboard hotkey and mouse tracking familiar to RTS gaming on the PC is going to feel encumbered by the controller-based gameplay. More often than not I found myself frustrated with not being able to quite select the units I wanted to. Splitting individual units and groups of units off from a main group is nigh impossible and once you have managed to select that group you are unable to assign them to a button on the controller, resulting in defence missions turning into a nightmare and micromanagement becoming rather hard to do effectively. It is obviously still possible to do complex unit movements despite this, as proved by a few punishing losses received in some of my online matches but it still feels a bit clunky and not quite right.
Halo Wars is definitely the best a RTS game can be on console, with the controller being the only real negative to this game. This alone may cause fans of the genre on PC to stay away from it, but Halo Wars really is a must have for fans of the Halo universe and anyone who hasn’t dabbled in the genre before. It will be interesting to see just how well Halo Wars does and if it has the dizzying success of its FPS predecessor we may soon see other popular titles branching out in similar ways. Regardless, it is certainly a fitting send off for a game studio that will be sorely missed.
Posted by dee-zilla on Sunday, March 08, 2009 @ 00:35:54 New Zealand Daylight Time
Reviews: Burnout Paradise 'The Ultimate Box'
shango writes:
Burnout Paradise 'The Ultimate Box'
Genre: Racing
Release Date: 5th February 2009
Developer: Criterion Games
Publisher: Electronic Arts
Rating: M
Platform: PC
Well... It s interesting in the change of perspective when you have no expectations. For me the Burnout Franchise has always been a console arena which is not something I am keen on. When I got the title to have a look at I was automatically comparing it with other titles in the genre and looking for it 's place on the continuum of goodness.
The console origins are immediately noticeable with the intro and the menu layers and the default control set, but the on going commentary from "Radio Crash FM" made for a really cool ease in to the game as the DJ talked you through the intro. Fortunately his voice is not as irritating as Axle Rose's so he is noticeable without being distracting... Which is a good thing because there is a surprising amount to learn to learn.
The difference of playing with Fantasy cars as opposed to real cars modeled for the game was the first big change and you score your first car quite quickly. Building up your inventory of vehicles is almost as much fun as a high speed head on with a bus, or a bridge, or building... or many of the other solid objects that seem to find their way in front of you at insanely high speeds in a city scape.
As you can see some of these cars are hot. Very hot. Some are a little odd but they all make for the flavor of the game.
Some of the Races are reasonably long distance so you have plenty of time to get lost explore the city and then try to get your ass back in the Race. The cost of getting lost can be seen when you are aiming at a license upgrade and there are still another 11 wins to go. I have resigned myself to something of a haul to make solid progress in this area but in the mean time I'm having a ball.
The physics of the cars are great but this is a complete fantasy so some of the stunts are realistically not survivable but hey, its make believe and its a heck'uva lot of fun.
The various challenges range from a "Road Rage" where you need to take out a specified umber of competitors to a stunt run where you are awarded points for jump spins and other stunts, through to a straight speed race with a marked man variation. Every now and then there is an alert out for a particular type of car that is cruising the streets. If you can "Take it Down" (read crash it off the road") you can add the vehicle to your Inventory of available cars.
Graphics are great and the cut scene car crashes will make you cringe in horror for all of 3 seconds and then you are back in the race. Damage control is sorted by driving through a crash repair shop at high speed in the middle of a race if need be but you will undoubtedly start picking up dings almost immediately. The damage does affect handling btw so sometimes you need to know where the nearest crash repairs are just to stay in the race. You will also need to drive through refuelling stations to top up your "Boost" as you will run out of your super accellerant quite quickly in some cases.
I tried the bikes. Didn't like them. I felt that the cars are heaps more fun but if thats your thing they look good and go like snot. I didn't really feel that these added any value to the game so, to my shame, abandoned them quite quickly.
All in all this game has no pretensions and is all about fun. I found it a great experience and sooooo easy to slip into the game that I was always going back for more.
My rating 7.5/10 - Shameless Fun
Posted by dee-zilla on Tuesday, February 17, 2009 @ 11:55:30 New Zealand Daylight Time
Reviews: Skate 2
Skate 2
by Cameron
Genre: Skating
Release Date: 23 January 2009
Developer: EA Black Box
Publisher: Electronic Arts
Rating: M
Platform: XBOX360
I must admit that when Skate 2 game came across my desk last week for review I was a little Sceptical. Having not gone through the sk8r boy phase in my past the only Olie I knew was a slightly smelly uncle that lived in Australia. Therefore I didn’t know what to expect when I started the game.
Once started however I was hooked – the controls were fairly easy to learn such that you could complete olies, kick flips, nolies, manuals and grind rails with easy by the end of the tutorials. The progressive nature of these tutorials taught you to combine these move into combinations, which in the context of the game gave you more points, but how the points system worked was not really well explained.
Although it was easy to learn how to skate this didn’t make the game easy by any means. Completing some of the challenges took me a few attempts to get perfect, and even if you do finish it sometimes you want to do it again to get better photo shots taken.
The world that you skate through is well crafted, giving you many surfaces and jumps to use as you skate between challenges. It’s also very vibrant with cars and pedestrians to avoid and guards that’ll chase you down the road if they can.
I didn’t really have enough time to see how the story would develop but there were a number of different challenges that I could partake in to move the story forward – and there in lies the challenge to the game – you can repeat challenges until you’ve passed them, and this allows you to perfect your moves.
I found the online aspect of the game a little frustrating, there were some definite pauses in game play that made it difficult to enjoy competing with other players. Free skating and issuing challenges to people was about all I was able to achieve.
Of course, once I learned about the hall of meat, that you could get “points” for wiping out and breaking bones in style, I spent most of the afternoon finding the highest things to fall off and performing the biggest bails that I could – which for everyone watching seemed to be the most amusing.
My hint for the game, spend some time in the skate parks early on and perfect your complex moves, and make sure you’ve got some spare batteries for the controller cause you’ll want to keep playing like I did.
Posted by dee-zilla on Monday, February 16, 2009 @ 12:47:49 New Zealand Daylight Time
Reviews: Need for Speed Undercover
Need for Speed Undercover
by Shango
Genre: Racing
Release Date: 21 Novemeber 2008
Developer: EA Games
Publisher: Electronic Arts
Rating: G
Platform: PC
I was really pleased to get my hands on this title as my last touch of a NFS title was too long ago. I recall that the last time I played that it had been quite challenging to master the driving skills required to make a reasonable race of some of the tracks.
I also recall being impressed by the graphics and the realism of the environment and rarely got tired of playing it.
The other thing I was interested in was the storyline which after the hype, sounded a little simplistic to me but I wanted to see how it stacked up against some other titles of the genre.
I realised how far the NFS franchise had come when I saw the city scenes and the road environment. The cityscape just begged for a full throttle thrash out around the traps.
To be honest I had a ball. This was fun. Simplistic sure, and pure arcade, but “tons o’ fun”.
I really enjoyed the races, the evasions and pursuits. The roads lend themselves to the insane speeds expected of you in the role you were taking as an undercover Cop trying build a reputation as a driver and the sheer joy of losing the nine cop cars that had been trying block and stop you.
However after my first half a dozen races I was feeling a bit flat. I shrugged it off and kept playing and while I was getting enjoyment out of the races there was a constant nagging feeling that I was missing something here
I kept pushing on through the various objectives and cut scenes and slowly it dawned on me.ion. This was as good as it gets. It wasn’t going to get any better than this. The game had at least one element going for it to make it a fun ride but the ‘Story Line‘ was quite the thinnest excuse for a cut scene I have seen in a long time and there was little cohesion between the races and the story.
While I realise that this was pretty much an Arcade style game, the pretensions and hype that it was a game with a plot and storyline sort of ruined the big experience for me.
Once I lowered my expectations I found the game is one of those I’ll probably keep installed because I can jump in any time and have a thrash around without worrying too much about game progress.
If EA/Black Box had invested more in the storyline this could have been an almost great game. It has some great action moments and a lot of roadway to explore and become familiar with but in the end it falls a little flat.
Disappointing that it’s potential was not fully exploited but fun to have around.
NB: Gossip alert… the NFS team have been given their marching orders Confirm/Deny ?
Posted by dee-zilla on Tuesday, February 03, 2009 @ 17:33:12 New Zealand Daylight Time
Reviews: Classic Fallout
Classic Game Review: Fallout
by Kovac
Genre: RPG
Release Date: 1997
Developer: Black Isle Studios
Publisher: Interplay
Rating: M
Platform: PC
"War. War never changes".
These words foreshadow one of the most recognized and respected role playing game franchises of the late 90s. Recently revitalized by the release of a third game into the series, it seems like an excellent time to delve back into the original game that spawned several excellent sequels and a multitude of mediocre ones.
Set in the dark ruins of the 22nd Century, Fallout's futuristic imagery is a blending of the idyllic vision for future of the 1950s and the twisted paranoid nightmares of the cold war. Combining both nuclear technology and advanced genetics with primitive monochrome screens, valves and dials, to me the game is reminiscent of the original Star Trek and The Jetsons. In how the story deals with the consequences of too much technology it also brought to mind some aspects of H. P. Lovecraft, particularly when you start dealing with radioactive monsters.
Ron Pearlman (Hellboy - The City of Lost Children) delivers the narration for the initial cut scene that explains just how humanity has been reduced to the ruin which your character will be thrust into.
Most survivors have been living in a huge vault structure while they wait for the irradiated earth to slowly return to a liveable state. The initial starting conditions for your character find you as one of descendants of the survivors of a nuclear apocalypse which decimated most of the earth. After centuries of monotonous survival cut off from the outside world, a serious situation develops within the vault. Your one source of clean drinking water has been put out of action due to a technical breakdown. As the most capable member of the vault your overseer/leader chooses you to go out into the unknown and deadly wastes to search for the computer chip required to make repairs to the water purifier.
If you fail your friends and family will face an inevitable death.
Unfortunately the game does have one "feature" that makes your chances of success even more difficult.
This is a time limit imposed on your quest dictated by the dwindling water supplies of your vault. Unlike many other games where such threats are usually empty, Fallout will actually end the game in a cut scene that will show the destruction of your vault. The developers eventually did decide that the 100 day time limit was problematic and frustrating, so it was removed in one of the official game patches. I would definitely suggest downloading this, as being forced to rush to complete the first primary mission in the game adds nothing to the experience.
On leaving the safety of your vault and moving out into the remains of the West Coast of the United States, the scope of the story and gameplay expands markedly as you attempt to not only save the denizens of your vault, but also become a vehicle of transformation in the wastes. How much you help, hinder or ignore the plights of the villages, towns and cities will eventually shape what kind of conclusion you will receive at the end of the game, who will prosper, and who will be destroyed and left in the radioactive dusts.
Starting the game requires the player to create an individualized character based on how you want to move through the world, with a huge selection of character options. It is very flexible about how you can choose to do so. Skills allow you interact with the challenges you will face, and will decide if success will be possible when you perform actions.
Fallout differs from many of the RPGs of the period in that it does not use the popular DnD game play stat system; instead the game uses an internally developed character creation system called S.P.E.C.I.A.L, each letter representing a characteristic that links into a skill:
Strength
Perception
Endurance
Charisma
Intelligence
Agility
Luck
Additionally, you get access to traits when you first create your character which can be useful, absurd or next to useless, but these traits are usually balanced by some kind of negative aspect.
These statistics and skills will primarily come into play when you face combat against the many threats populating the dessert wastes; various kinds of radioactive and giant insects, genetically modified/radioactive super mutants, human raiders and more.
Fallout is a third person, turn-based game which can be manipulated by using both the mouse and the keyboard. Where the game is distinct from other RPGs like Baldur's Gate or Neverwinter Nights is that each character's actions (firing weapons, reloading, and moving) are all performed using "action points" (APs). When your character or an NPC uses up their APs, their turn is over and the enemy can react. I enjoyed the pace of this kind of combat as opposed to some others, like Neverwinter Nights 2 or other such realtime RPGs. It allows real thought to go into planning how your fight will proceed.
Throughout your journey you will run across various non player characters that you can choose to join you as party members. These can provide valuable assistance, particularly in the early game when an extra weapon can be very handy. Where this falls down, however, is in the AI and the interaction with the NPCs. In any combat situation, there are risks of missing your target and hitting another. This can be very helpful if you miss your initial target only to hit a secondary one, but it is also true with your NPC characters, and they can prove to be menaces when provided with weapons. If you inadvertently get between your NPC and his target, he can very easily shoot you in the back by mistake. In the end I resorted to taking the ammunition away from my NPC just so that he would stop shooting me when I least expected it.
Unlike most other RPGs, or even the eventual sequel to Fallout, you can't configure what armour NPCs wear, and you can't easily choose what weapons they can use. If you want to add or remove items from their inventory, you need to buy or sell the items to them despite the fact that you are working together.
Visually, the game is drab and oppressive with a lot of grey and brown. In regards to games in general this has been a contestable subject among both critics and game enthusiasts alike, who have made the point that there is an over-abundance of games with this excessively brown and grey colour scheme. In the context of Fallout and its post apocalyptic background, however, this makes perfect sense. The game has a gritty realism which a wider colour palette would not have provided.
The voice talent is where Fallout really shines. Black Isle Studios managed to obtain some of the most talented voice actors available.
Aside from Ron Perlman who provided the narration for this and the later games, notable actors include:
Richard Dean Anderson (MacGyver, Stargate SG1),
David Warner (TRON, Twin Peaks, Sweeney Todd),
Tony Shalhob (Monk, Galaxy Quest),
Clancy Brown (The Shawshank Redemption, Starship Troopers),
Tony Jay (Star Trek: The Next Generation, Legacy of Kain)
Brad Garrett (Everybody Loves Raymond).
Giving this game a miss just because the graphics are limited would be a great disservice to yourself. While it may be showing its age due to its older visual effects, and the lack of some more modern features, it is still one of the best RPGs to date. To fully delve into Fallout will take many rich hours that will be well spent. With the recent release of Fallout 3, now is an ideal time to experience both the original and the sequel. It's not necessary to have played the original to enjoy the third game, but you will gain a far more complete understanding of the story if you step into the boots of the original vault dweller.
Obtaining Fallout is easier than ever due to services like www.goodoldgames.com, a site which provides a download service exclusively for classic older titles such as this. They have been tested and are fully ready to run with Windows Vista. Alternatively it may be possible to find some game stores that still carry the game on CD, or purchase it second hand online.
Posted by dee-zilla on Tuesday, January 27, 2009 @ 21:39:47 New Zealand Daylight Time
Reviews: Mirrors Edge
Mirrors Edge Review
by Shango
Genre: Action
Release Date: 16 Jan 2009
Developer: Dice
Publisher: Electronic Arts
Rating: M
Platform: PC
Hmmm what is going on here…
Mirrors edge has had some great preview blab and all sorts of excited tones were uttered about it and I was generally looking forward to having a crack at it.
First impressions:
Well… it really is quite pretty and it certainly is engaging, but it can get a little uneven.
It’s a game that is built on interesting concepts and fairly polished game play. It has similar feel to Assassins Creed, except that this time instead of mud shacks you’re swinging from skyscraper to skyscraper on flimsy flagpoles and air-conditioning ducts while thinking just how large that gap is between you and the concrete.
The premise is you are Faith, a Runner, whose job is to deliver messages and packages across the rooftop highways of an Urban dystopia all while avoiding the “Blues” or Cops.
When you start out you are recovering from a injury sustained on a previous job and now your good buddy Celeste takes your through a course that teaches you the basics of running said rooftop highway, and teaching you what you will need to survive. It covers everything that you will need to know.
The training run is short and exhilarating however I would suggest twice through here just to ensure that you don’t miss some of the nuances of movement.
The console origins become evident quite early on and although they have translated some of the combos quite well there are a couple of contextual inconsistencies. It doesn’t detract from the game experience too much but it created a bit of confusion when things didn’t work out the way I had planned.
The story line came across as an afterthought. In fact I would say it was pretty lame. You should not be expecting anything special regarding the storyline. I have read more original fan-fiction than what DICE try to pass off as a plot. In fact I would rate the plot line as just a little better than the Quake2 single player as a story, with the plot being often drab and predictable to the extreme that pans out like your typical “framed for murder made for TV” movie. It holds little surprise for anyone familiar with Television drama and often only makes you press the “Next” button to avoid the jarring dialogue and the tacky animations they have for the cuts scenes, This could have been so much better if they had dared to be a bit more creative with the story.
Essentially you have been framed for a murder of a prominent rising star politician and then hunted by the police of an authoritarian society, which as an adjunct gives justification for the heroine’s current employment as a rooftop courier.
Points for Plot Originality ummmm… zero.
Good points… This is pretty. Graphics wise it is a beautiful game. DICE have nicely blended the various urban environments and rarely let your forget that you’re on the rooftops of a modern high-rise urban environment. Often I would stop on the edge of a building and look out and down at the city and actually get feel that I could have been that high up. An interesting point to note is that there are reports of players suffering vertigo and nausea during the game when they turn off the ‘sighting’ dot in the middle of your field of vision.
Recommendation: keep it on.
You also can’t help but notice, that when the cops are raining down bullets on you as you dash through a walkway, that they are ripping holes through the very walkway itself and allowing the light to stream through the freshly minted bullet holes. All in all the visuals will not disappoint although for me it did get a little too bright and shiny sometimes. There are definite colour themes to the various stages and these coincide with the chapters (read save points). There are lots of high saturation primary colours and while some of these are a little screechy after a while, they do serve a purpose which becomes apparent as you move through the game.
Game play is enjoyable. It does take some time to get used to the controls and during that time you will become accustomed the noises the human body will make as it falls from high places and hits concrete. You will get used to it a lot.
There is fighting in this game, make no mistake, but instead of going in guns blazing you are rewarded by out running them. Yes, you can use weapons to gun down the cops but often staying still against these genetically engineered super soldiers is a death warrant waiting to happen. Run, run and running more is the key when you find yourself in a sticky situation but it is surprisingly enjoyable.
The designers have giving the game various forms of urban developments on which to test your parkour skills. One moment you will be racing along the street, ducking and weaving between parked cars to avoid pursuit and next you will be plunging through an office, smashing glass walls for good measure and finally riding a subway train through underground levels before you have to ditch it for another train and a sewage system, or hoisting yourself up a seemingly endless set of buildings staircases and giant air conditioning units.
Mirrors Edge is game that could have been really great. There is an unevenness that stops this game from achieving greatness. One jarring problem is the ambience of the game, when, even during broad daylight, you can rush through malls and business offices that are totally devoid of life and populated by only Cops. In fact the whole city feels like the ‘Police State Utopia’ you live in is merely a ghost town with a population you and thousands of Police.
Then there is the question of, how many rooftops can you cross without wondering if you have come in a vast circle and are standing back where you started. The developers chucked in a neat little trick so you can recall where you need to go to by pressing the “E” key your FOV will change to the next place you have to travel to.
This sameness is only broken up when you are required to go insides buildings and while this game was designed to move across the roof tops I was more satisfied moving through the underground levels.
Add the feeble attempt of a storyline and you have a game that misses out on true greatness.
Despite this there is a glimmer of hope, as this game stretches the boundaries that encompass most platform games and is worthy of a shot.
Posted by dee-zilla on Friday, January 16, 2009 @ 22:37:06 New Zealand Daylight Time
Reviews: Fable 2
Fable 2 Review
by E|usive
Genre: Fantasy RPG
Release Date: October 2008
Developer: Lionhead Studios
Publisher: Microsoft
Rating: M
Platform: XBOX360
If you enjoyed Fable 1, you'll definately love Fable 2. Lionhead Studios brings back the adventure in the sequel to their #1 Fantasy RPG, boasting a wider range of options to choose from, co-op play over xbox live, and a world 10 times the size of the original Fable to explore.
Who will you become? You start out as a penniless street-urchin, your as yet unknown destiny: to become the Hero of Albion. How you choose to become that Hero is up to you. Man, woman, good or evil, you can live your life the way you want to. Fable 2 brings you all the choices and npc interaction as it's original, with a little extra. You can select your career path to earn money (a job as an assassin is always fun if you err on the side of evil), raise a family, and buy just about anything in the game. It's a satisfying experience buying up inns and pubs, setting your rent, and watching the gold roll. Your interaction with npcs will strongly affect your reputation and status amongst the townsfolk, but this is no different than the original Fable.
A new addition to your character is mans best friend. Your dog is loyal in every way and will follow you wherever you go. He accompanies you on your adventures and has many useful actions, such as finding treasure (you can teach him how to find better treasure with books), warning you of nearby enemies, and finding objects related to your quest. He fights with you, cowers when scared, whimpers when you're hurt and plays with you as you interact with him. Your dog also takes on the same path you do, and his appearance will change to show traits of evil or good as you go further down either side.
The graphics, while much cleaner and smoother, aren't vastly improved. Whether this was to maintain the original Fable look and feel or not, there are still areas in the world that make you stop and think 'wow', areas that make you want to go exploring just to view the scenery. This can be a bit difficult at times though, as while Lionhead Studios did boast a more non-linear world, there are still invisible barriers or bushes that block your way and at times force you on towards a quest area. There is certainly a feeling of more freedom, but the game still seems a bit too linear for the all the hype and promises.
The game follows in a similar style as that of it's predecessor, with story book style cut scenes, and an elderly womans voice to guide you. The storyteller is also your mentor and trainer. She is the one who communicates with you during your adventures while questing. The story telling and her input during gameplay all help to immerse you in the unfolding plot. Dialogue is very well acted, with many amusing anecdotes and expressions which will leave you in stitches at times or chuckling as your character interacts with other npcs. The music hasn't deviated much from the original with many of the same clips being used. This isn't necessarily a bad thing. It brings back memories and feelings of your first experience in the Fable world, and allows you to slide into gameplay and npc interaction without distracting music or ambience.
The combat system has in some ways improved, but can feel a bit clumsy and simple. You can set your main attacks, and from there it comes down basically to button mashing the same button for physical attacks. This can leave you feeling a little unchallenged at times, or frustrated as it's a little chaotic to change attacks mid fight. The willpower bar has been removed, and the Will spells are all very interesting and very cool as far as looks go, but you do need to charge them now, so no more instant attacks. The plus to this is the longer you charge up, the bigger, better, badder they are!
Co-op mode seems to be an option thrown in at the end for online users. While you can play co-op, you appear as an ordinary henchman to your friend. This can be argued that Lionhead didn't want players imposing on each others worlds, but it does feel rather odd seeing your friend as an every day henchman as opposed to his/her own unique character.
There is one particular feature which Lionhead did well to add: the quest helper. As you go along your adventures, a magic line appears along the ground to guide you towards quest areas and objectives. This definately helps as far as time saving and getting stuck as to where to go next is concerned. You arent' forced to follow this line though. You can deviated and explore, the line will then follow you, making it easy to get back on track when done with enjoying that ocean view.
Overall, while there were promises of much more which were admittedly cut out for the final release (there are times where you feel as though something is missing), and Lionhead could surely have cut back on effort in dialogue to include more quests, Fable 2 is a thoroughly enjoyable game with its many options for character building and personality. Play it your way!
Posted by dee-zilla on Monday, October 27, 2008 @ 17:55:53 New Zealand Daylight Time
Reviews: Spore
Spore (PC)
Genre: RPGF/Sandbox | Developers: Maxis | Publishers: Electronic Arts
Spore has been a highly anticipated game release this year. Maxis have decided to take a whole new spin on game play, steering away from the usual objective based game play to a more creative approach.
Spore’s new creative game play puts you in the hands of the “Creator”, allowing you to create your own creatures from the ground up, from a small transparent amoeba all the way up to a space faring race, all nicely packed into seamless game play from start to finish.
Spore isn’t all about intelligently designing your new creatures. (No pun intended) Spore also has you controlling your new creations in a cut down like version of the game civilization. Building cities and taking over the world. It’s really a five stage game, each stage playing slightly differently from the last.
The user interface is a work of art. Having just the bare essentials on the screen at all times really brings down the clutter most games tend to be bogged down with. Maxis have gone with a simplistic UI design to match its simplistic game play. Nothing you don’t need and everything you do need.
Life sucks at the bottom of the food chain
Customization and creation of creatures is by far the main feature of this game. Maxis have created a highly sophisticated creation engine capable of creating near limitless amounts of creatures. As well as being sophisticated, the creation engine has a very solid feel and is a breeze to use.
“Excuse me, where are my racing stripes?”
The only available entertainment for a growing Tribe
No seriously, it delivers grain to starving villages, Honest!
Spores creative streak doesn’t stop at just creatures. During your time playing spore you will create buildings, boats, air planes, tanks and space ships for your creatures to use. Spore has a lasting endurance and endless replay ability that most other games just don’t have; spore will keep you coming back for more.
Not bowing to conventional game play is sight for sore eyes (at least for this gamer) and I am glad to see someone is taking the initiative to create something different. Maxis have managed to pull off a neat sandbox game that defies conventional game dynamics and brings new material to a stale industry. Some people might find Spore a bit wacky and maybe a bit hard to adjust too, but once you find your footing you will get hours of enjoyment out of this title.
Sir! Klingons off the port bow!
Posted by dee-zilla on Wednesday, September 24, 2008 @ 10:54:46 New Zealand Standard Time
Reviews: Warhammer
Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning
Genre: MMORPG | Developers: Mythic Entertainment | Publishers: Electronic Arts
Overnight World of Warcraft became a phenomenal success, since then no other game has been able to make a mark in the ever growing MMO genre. No game has come close to the standard of polish blizzard has perfected in it's juggernaut hit. Now EA try's its hand at creating an MMO masterpiece and we at xLAN have spent the weekend giving this new addition to the MMO genre the shakedown. For those who aren't familiar with the Warhammer world, let me give you a brief rundown. The fantasy universe of Warhammer was created by Games Workshop, a company who produce miniatures for table-top gaming and who have mastered the art of bringing life to these figures with in depth backgrounds and heroic tales spanning the ages. It is a realm of swords and sorcery, of valiant knights and giant rat men. So along comes Mythic entertainment and sees this rich tapestry of fiction set in a war torn world and deems it perfect for a Massively Multiplayer Online game and right they were.
The game begins like any other MMO with the character creation screen. First players are asked to choose a race out of six potential choices. The races are divided into two sides one being the side of light or Order and the other darker side resides under the moniker of Destruction. The side of Order is comprised of three races; The Empire, High Elves and the Dwarfs. The Empire are the Human representation in the game, holding on to survival and sanity on the edge of the chaos controlled northern regions. Times have become very tough for mankind with the constant incursions of chaos raiders and spreading power of the dark chaos gods. The three classes for the Empire are the Witch Hunter which takes the role of melee DPS, the Bright Wizard who serves as the ranged DPS and the Warrior Priest, a healing class.
The High Elf race is characterized as one of the oldest races in the Warhammer world with elegant architecture, powerful magics and a knowledge that their time is soon coming to an end. They are currently besieged by their exiled cousins, the Dark Elves on their island kingdom of Ulthuan. The High Elf classes are also divided into the usual archetypes with the Swordmaster taking the tanking role, the White Lion and Shadow Warrior on DPS and the Archmage as healer. The final race on the side of order is that of the Dwarfs, an ancient race of mountain dwelling smiths, which seems to echo the feelings of every other fantasy universe created. The Dwarves struggle against the Greenskin races of the Orks and Goblins, trying desperately to hold the last of their kingdom together. The Dwarves have the Ironbreaker on tanking duty, the engineer as DPS and the Runepriest taking up the healing slot.
On the opposite side of the coin we have the forces of destruction. The forces of Chaos, driven by their dark gods move ever more south bringing suffering in their wake. their tank is the Chosen a imposing northern raider. The Marauder and Magus take up the DPS slots and the Zealot operates as the Chaos healer.
The Dark Elves led by their Witch King attempt to reclaim their former Homeland from their cousins in a moment of opportunity created by the conflicts in the other areas. They feature the Witch Elf and Sorceress as DPS and the Disciple of Khaine as the healer. The final race to join the side of Destruction is that of the Orks and Goblins. The Greenskin races are only unified for one thing, a mighty Waaaaagh led by a chieftain who can hold the various clans and individuals together through an iron will in order to prevent the infighting that stops the Greenskins from becoming truly powerful. The Greenskin races have the Black Ork as a tank, the Squig Herder on DPS and the Goblin Shaman on heals.
So there's the breakdown and after carefully reviewing the options I decided to role a Empire Witch Hunter and enter the Fray partly because I felt like some visceral up, close and personal action and partly because they wear pimping hats. Upon entering the world I found most of what I would expect to find when entering an MMO, a small village square and bunch of nondescript kill quests and a lot of players named after various body parts. Needless to say I was unimpressed, more of the same I thought. Sure the world was pretty, the animations well handled and the UI fairly easy to navigate but I was really looking for a difference here, something to set it apart from other games on the market and found little. Upon reaching level three and checking out the world map i began to notice a few differences. The map is divided into pairings much like Dark age of Camelot and although one can move freely around each zone, staying in one area gives you a feeling of really fighting for something. Each zone is divided into 4 tiers each comprising of two game zones making for a large world. The point of all this being the PVP combat (called RVR in WAR), by fighting players in the instanced zones and non instanced zones as well as taking part in open public quests the players can determine which side controls each tier. If one side controls tiers one through to three then tier four becomes open for attack, including the enemy capitol and their king and from what I’ve heard there is nothing better than sacking someone’s city and putting their kings head on a pike. Controlling various areas also gives area wide and worldwide buffs to players to increase their effectiveness Armed with this knowledge I joined the queue for the Empire tier one PVP scenario "The Guns of Nordenwatch and journeyed to the nearest contested city to burn some heretics while I waited. I was hooked, within the space of a few hours I had gone from being rather jaded about the whole experience to enjoying it thoroughly. PVP instances or scenarios can be joined from any spot by clicking on the queue icon above the minimap, making combat easy to get into. Other combat situations can be found in the world map as well as larger Battlefield instances.
PVP combat is where the game shines, it is well thought through and implemented its only flaw being that it requires the players to drive it; therefore server population becomes a concern. Body blocking makes a return meaning that players can't move through other players to attack someone else making the tank even more effective at holding narrow chokes or protecting weaker classes such as healers. This dynamic alone makes for some interesting matches. The instance setup for the most part is the usual captures the flag, kill x amount of generic enemies, hold point x against the odds but mythic does throw in some exciting castle sieges and major campaign centrepieces such as sacking enemy cities which provides for a great deal of fun.
Character development is sluggish but keeping with the combat oriented focus PVP is rewarded just as much if not more than PVE with player receiving traditional level experience from both but PVP rewarding player with renown experience which improves your pvp rank allowing for better gear and rewards along the way. The PVE combat is still there and well done, the quests are the usual run of the mill grinds but the culture and lore surrounding them is well written and easy to get lost in, it just pales to the games inter player combat.
At the end of a first weekend on Warhammer online, I come away pleasantly surprised, instead of finding a pale imitation of World of Warcraft, I found a different take on the genre, a little something different wrapped in a well thought out, good looking shell. Although not without its bugs here and there the game does have a decent level of polish. However in saying all of this the true test of an MMO is time, so we will continue to watch Warhammer Online and its continual development over the coming months and then deliver a full verdict on the Title. Until then pick up the game and give it a try if your looking to make some heads roll.
Posted by dee-zilla on Tuesday, September 23, 2008 @ 21:11:21 New Zealand Standard Time
Reviews: Battlefield - Bad Company
Battlefield - Bad Company (XBOX360)
Genre: FPS | Developers: Dice | Publishers: Electronic Arts
Battlefield Bad Company is one of the more anticipated console titles of the year and yet another attempt by EA to translate the wildly successful Battlefield series to a console environment. This time round it works remarkably well and comes out as one of the better shooters on either the 360 or the PS3. The title steps away from the more traditional battlefield setup involving little in the way of plot with the exception of some American centric opening clip where uncle Sam plows through anyone sporting another flag. It also steps away from the massive battle situation in favor of a smaller single player experience although multiplayer remains more or less unchanged from the PC battlefield titles and brings a total of 24 players to Xbox Live.
Bad company centers around the question, what do you fight for? somewhat more philosophical than other Battlefield titles. The game follows the story of Preston Marlowe as he is transferred into B company or Bad company out of prison. Preston and his fellow team mates on their normal tour of duty stumble across a more important reason to fight than any that had been given to them. This provides a little bit more depth to the game than the usual kill the enemy because he happens to be wearing a different uniform. The characters are all well voiced and portrayed although the dry American humor begins to grate on you about 10 minutes after the game begins. But right from the start you know its a battlefield game with an awesome soundtrack and opening music that pays homage to the Battlefield franchise in full.
The concept that excited people the most about this game is the ability to blow up anything in the world around you. have an enemy taking shelter in a building, then blow a hole through the wall, having trouble taking out a snipers nest blow him right off his perch. This kind of interaction with the environment creates a new layer to the tactical side of the gameplay. Allowing you to create cover where needed and to obliterate the enemy's. I can tell you it works out well, half the fun of this game is blowing stuff up, seeing the explosion and smoke billow from your newly created hole in the side of the building is a ton of fun, perhaps too much for it to be healthy.
The game takes an interesting approach to health instead of forcing you to use health packs or simply making you sit in a corner until your health returns your forced to use a health injector that while never running out can only to used after a small cooldown. The system works well forcing you to dip back into cover when the fighting gets too hot. Auto aiming helps the FPS along quite nicely which does compensate for the lack of a keyboard and mouse. In saying that Bad Company does feel like a console shooter not just a shooter that has been ported over. Visual effects and graphics in general are some of the best I've seen on either machine and looks brilliant for those sporting HDMI and a 50" plasma to view it on.
Multiplayer is impressive with up to 24 players online which is a step up from the usual 16 although again two players can't play on the same console, multiplayer is restricted to online play only which is a little frustrating for those looking for a title to muck around on with friends. Various modes are available for Multiplayer including the Goldrush mode where attackers are trying to defend crates of gold while the defenders rush to protect them. Interesting granted but nothing groundbreaking just another variation of the tried and true capture format. Others include the usual team Deathmatch type modes amongst others.
Battlefield - Bad Company is a well rounded shooter, in fact one of the best for either console in no small part to the fact that it caters well for those looking for an interesting single player experience and to those looking for a multiplayer one. The only thing it lacks is the ability to play with more than one person on the same console.
Posted by mordennz on Wednesday, June 25, 2008 @ 19:14:30 New Zealand Standard Time
Reviews: Preview - Too Human - Review
Preview - Too Human
Genre: RPG | Developers: Silicon Knights | Publishers: Microsoft Game Studios
With E3 fast approaching, the slew of new game information and interesting details have begun to emerge. Last night we were invited to the RVB nightclub in Auckland to attend a little release night for Ninja Gaiden II and showing of the Red vs. Blue Bar, which is currently running some warm-up tournaments for xLAN in the final hours before the big event. However the real treat of the night was a showing of Too Human. Too Human is an upcoming futuristic RPG due for release soon. so lets have a brief look at how the game is shaping up.
Too Human has had a long and sordid development history and has gone through a few incarnations, a quick trip to wikipedia will fill you in on all the details of a game that was almost certain to become vaporware. So instead we will get down to the good stuff, The game itself. At first look the game is a solid graphically, which seems to be first and foremost on peoples minds these days, i did notice some framerate hitches in some of the bigger areas and the more open environments, nothing game breaking but something that needs to be polished before release. Facial details look good, although the style bears a striking resemblance to Gears, with every male you meet in the game taking a few tips from the colonial marines school of gritty masculinity. The environments look a little too shiny for my liking, sure its a nice change of pace from every other game on the market that is determined to shout realism from the rooftops by making every color in the game a shade of black. But this is one a the few games that might have benefited from it.
Gameplay wise it felt sluggish, the movement and pacing at times was just plain painful, being an RPG as well meant that you spend a good amount of time walking from cutscene to cutscene, which is fine is the game makes it easy for you, and this is my biggest complaint, A lack of a map. Instead of a HUD based map, directional arrows or a map accessed from the start menu we are stuck with painfully walking around looking for a map access point which becomes an exercise in frustration. Combat however is done well, the right thumbstick controls sword movement which gives it a very fluid feel, long range weapons are accessed using the usual triggers which makes for a very satisfying experience somewhat reminiscent of Unreal Championship 2 on the xbox which reigns as one of the best titles to implement a dual style of combat.
At the bottom line the game has potential, the developers just need to polish up a few of the loose ends and it could end up being an awesome title, I would also like to see some sort of coop play which for some reason has all but been ignored by RPG developers in the past.
Posted by mordennz on Friday, June 13, 2008 @ 11:44:55 New Zealand Standard Time
Reviews: Mass Effect (PC) Review
Mass Effect (PC)
Genre: RPG | Developers: Bioware | Publishers: EA
Bioware is well known for its stunning RPG's, Knights of the Old Republic and Jade empire sit at the top of that list, not to mention some of the classics like Neverwinter Nights. Their latest offering Mass Effect received some well deserved praise when it hit the console market a few months back. Now with the titles release on the PC the other half finally get a chance to have a look at this galaxy spanning SciFi adventure.
For the uninitiated Mass Effect revolves around the story of your character, Shepherd in a time where humanity has attained space flight and now spreads across the stars thanks to the use of ancient alien technology. Earth and her colonies have become part of a larger alliance of various alien races and works to become a bigger part in galactic affairs. At the games start you are inducted into the specters, a sort of galactic security force as part of furthering earths agenda. From that point onwards you are tasked with the usual task of mopping up alien scum, uncovering convoluted plots and agendas before being faced with a terrifying realization and a final score to settle. If it sounds like what you have come to expect from the RPG genre then you would be right. Bioware doesn't rock the boat in its story-telling style or for that matter much else in the game. Now this isn't a bad thing though, the formula works and although its predictable and the gameplay is much the same as it was in Knights or Jade empire it is still enjoyable to watch it play out. The game has some huge and varied locations and jumping from planet to planet provides a new set of challenges, enemies and eye candy keeping it fresh right till the end.
Gameplay wise you have the same sort of of combat system that is used in previous Bioware titles. A sort of JRPG, realtime hybrid that works well in the context and allows you to choose your abilities as each round of combat progresses. As the game progresses you gather up a party of individuals to help you who you can control and level in the same way you level your primary character. The stats system doesn't mix it up too much and follows a sort of DnD score and dice roll mechanic that works but can seem slightly rigid especially when comparing new combat systems even the one used in penny arcades new title, Precipice. Graphics wise, the game shines apart from its one graphical flaw. A flaw which seems to plague many titles in the current generation, late texture arrival. The engine kicks up at the start of each scene and the textures come in about 2 seconds later. perhaps I'm just nit picking but it is a noticeable problem that no amount of hardware will solve. Hardware requirements are not huge but to run it well you are going to need some serious hardware. Being a console port some of the controls seem slightly clunky but such things are unavoidable. The downloadable content that was available on Xbox live is packaged in the box so PC gamers are getting the same level of value for their money.
An obvious lack of multiplayer doesn't cripple the game but in a day and age where multiplayer gaming is so essential its seems remiss not to include some sort of online coop that people can sink their teeth into. In saying that the box does mention that an internet connection is required to play the game, part of Biowares new protection system, one that got a lot of attention for going too far and crippling the game.
If your looking for an RPG to whittle away the hours on then you can go alot worse than Mass Effect, the story while cookie cutter is reasonably compelling, the graphics hold up well while allowing older machines the room to breath and the gameplay is paced well. For console gamers who have played it and are looking for the next fix, the PC version adds nothing new unlike Gears of War so keep holding the candles a little while longer, number two will be along soon no doubt.
Posted by mordennz on Sunday, June 08, 2008 @ 23:08:36 New Zealand Standard Time
Reviews: Viva Pinata Party Animals
Darthpyro writes:
Viva Pinata
Genre: Party Game | Developers: Krome Studios | Publishers: Microsoft Games
Viva Pinata: Party Animals is the sequel to Viva Pinata and styled as a Viva Pinata TV show. As such it features the piñata characters in a reality TV show, competing in up to 50 party mini-games featuring activities like apple eating, bug stomping and paint splattering.
The two reality TV show commentators, one a French parrot named Pierre and the other, an American pigeon named Pecky guide you through the action. At the start you get to choose to control one of eight contestants, Hudson Horstachio, Paulie Pretztail, Fergy Fudgehog and Franklin Fizzlybear or their female counterparts.
In this TV Show, there are a series of races and events that allow you to score candy. After every event, Pierre and Pecky total the scores up and then introduce the next event. While the parrot is amusing, the pigeon’s quips become tedious instead of funny. Tedious seems to be the name of the game, as the “up to 50 minigames” are in reality tiny variants of each other. This makes for an incredibly boring experience. It seems like they got lazy and stole ideas from other games out there. Then they got even lazier and only used six of the stolen ideas and varied them slightly.
The sound in the game is good overall, however there seems to have been laziness in this department too, with very few sound bytes recorded. This adds to the repetitive nature of the game. The only stand out feature of the game is the bright and flashy graphics. They are nice and bright and flashy. The cartoonish colors are fun to watch and the characters are well animated. This for me is the best part of the game. Having said that, the repetitive animations make you think that the developers were cutting corners.
As the repetition continues, frustration joins in the fun. Frustration at not being able to control my character in events so I keep on going round and round in circles while yelling at my character to go straight. In the races, I constantly get stuck on invisible edges. I thought those days of game development were over, but it seems open beta is still all the rage.
This game is clearly aimed at children under seven. They are probably more forgiving than I am of the game’s many flaws and they might end up being entertained for at least an hour. If the boredom doesn’t drive them away, you may find yourself banning the game due to fits of frustration and thrown controllers. Considering the many better titles out there, I would definitely give this one a miss.
Posted by mordennz on Friday, May 23, 2008 @ 21:00:44 New Zealand Standard Time
Now first up, for me, on the far edge of the Pacific Rim, using Steam is pants. I’ve managed to avoid it so far which is why my frustration levels started to max out when it took 45 minutes to install the game before I was able to play. I hear what everyone says about the fact that you never lose your games, that it great protection for the developers and keeps everyone up to date but please people is possible to keep a local point of presence on this side of the Pacific? Steam was designed for high speed broadband delivery of games and I have no doubt that where that type of service is available, it works great , but down here in Godzone its Pants… enough with the ranting… on with the game.
19 Puzzles, solved in a little over 2.5 hours. This is not a long game by any stretch of the imagination but boy did the time fly. I hadn’t realized how absorbing this game was until I looked at the clock and wet myself. It was like being caught in a time warp. Later I discovered this. Makes me feel like the amatuer that I am.
The basic premise is of a ‘Test subject’ in the Aperture Science Labs being put through a series of challenges using their portal generators and the odd cube thing euphemistically called “Aperture Science Weighted Storage Cube”. Sounds pretty uninteresting and I recall that when someone tried to describe it to me without giving too much away I was not terribly interested, until I got the chance to play the pesky thing.
The puzzles themselves begin simply and lead you down a logical introductory route until all the basic concepts are explained on the way, with few explanations and, after the second level, armed with your portal projector. The idea being that you create a pair of portals from one place to another instantaneously and use this to create your path through each level avoiding some ‘interesting’ obstacles . Watching yourself through a portal can be quite disorienting the first few times. The difficulty of the each puzzle increases as you progress and by the end of the tour it can take some time to solve one level.
To solve most of the problems, with you need to think carefully and be aware that there are a couple of circumstances that will get you killed, like some evil colored industrial pollution , if you fall in it, getting fatally crushed by closing doors attached to insanely powerful hydraulic rams and shot with mini-guns by homicidal robots. Oh and an energy pulse in the back of the head will do it too. Yet all of these elements, properly employed will allow you to get through to the next challenge.
The game has the Valve feel to it. The artwork, the sounds and even the little ambient touches like the sounds of the machinery in the lab. Each sound is distinctive and when you hear something new, it can give you a little twinge of fear of the unknown. Think of face eating aliens in Halflife. The most pervasive touch was the voice of GLaDOS that delivers in a semi mechanical deadpan tone such classic lines as “there will be cake” and “we will stop enhancing the truth in three, two, o--"<SKKKWKKKT>” . Another favourite was the little voices of the android that says “I don't hate you” after you had upset its applecart. Another interesting touch was the persistence of your bloodstains after you died messily. They were a poignant reminder not to make the same mistake twice. One view I found intriguing was the presentation being shown in an adjacent room viewed through a window adding a little more to the story line about the Aperture Labs V Black Mesa corporate struggle for Government funding. Aperture isn’t doing so well it would seem.
Once the final puzzle is ‘solved’ they really bring out the weird stick to beat you with it. Then they finish with the oddest song I have heard in a long time… Nuff said. Don’t want to ruin it all for you.
FInal word... some people just go too far...
Posted by mordennz on Monday, May 19, 2008 @ 17:05:00 New Zealand Standard Time
Reviews: Age of Empires III Gold Edition
Darthpyro writes:
Age of Empires III Gold Edition
Genre: RTS | Developers: Ensemble Studios | Publishers: Microsoft Games
Age of Empires III Gold Edition, is the story of the Black family. The narrator guides you through the ages, as you assume the role of the earliest Black family member and continue to take on the role of each successive generation of Black family members. Each generation of the black family has a hero, and you’re it. Firstly you play as the Knight, Sir Black. You are tasked to defend Malta and then chase your attackers across the ocean to the new world. In the Americas, your adventure continues and you get in and out of some tricky situations. As each generation passes and you take on the role of the next family member, you play a part in some epic historic battles. In each situation it’s up to you to save the day. The games plot keeps you interested and is a part of the action, not just an afterthought.
If your skills are as rusty as mine were at the beginning of the game, give the tutorials a try, they are a great help. This game has a steep learning curve and as such, I had to restart some levels a few times. There are a lot of things going on at once and time management and strategic planning are key to winning. It is a difficult game to master, which is a welcome change when the market is flooded with games you can finish in a night. You character serves as the centrepoint for the campaign. Through the new world of America, various treasures are found. Each treasure is guarded by some kind of animal. Once you slay the guard, the treasure is yours for the taking, or at least, your hero’s for the taking. Sometimes it’s food, or wood, or gold, (the three main resources in the game) or sometimes it’s an upgrade. Your main character can not die. If he is bested in battle, he will lie there on the battlefield, moaning in agony until reinforcements are sent to him. He then revives and keeps fighting.
Another welcome addition is that of a metagame of sorts, that has you managing things on a global level, for example one thing you have to keep an eye on is your incoming shipments. At the end of each campaign, you are taken back to the home city and you can unlock improvements to the home city as well as cards for reinforcements. How many cards you get depends on the experience gained on the battlefield. Once these reinforcements have been unlocked, you are able to call for reinforcements during battle. Use these wisely as a well timed shipment of musketeers has saved my village more than once.
Graphically this game shines. There is nothing new or ground breaking, but you can easily see a horse is a horse and a man is a man. The scale is pretty good, however the houses do seem small when a man is standing next one. The only issue I really have is when I start to attack a building, the picture of it doesn’t get progressively damaged. The only way I can tell that I am doing damage to the building is if I watch the building’s hitpoints. Not a big deal, but a little annoying. The sound is great and well thought out. My troops yell and cheer when they win a battle and the cannons sound deadly! The music is from the correct era and adds to the gameplay. You don’t really notice the music is there until it’s not and then it really feels like something is missing which is exactly how a games music should be. Powerful enough to make you feel its absence.
When it comes to the game interface, I struggled at first. The buttons are not very intuitive and it takes a little time to learn where everything is. One important thing I looked for in vain is the button for spare villagers. I had no idea how many villagers were lazing about and found myself hunting for spare villagers in my base. Pretty frustrating if you need a barracks built quickly! Another thing I found interesting was that in any group of units you select, they all travel at the speed of slowest unit in the group. The best way to combat this is to group each type of unit into a separate group. This is also useful in battles because it is very possible for you to win a battle if you are out numbered, by micromanaging every troop at your disposal. My overall feeling on this game is that is a lot of fun. It is very engaging and keeps you on your toes the whole time. A few small things could have been done better, but the highlights far outweigh the flaws.
Posted by mordennz on Friday, May 16, 2008 @ 12:29:50 New Zealand Standard Time
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