The Last of Us Review

The Last of Us is Naughty Dog's latest IP, released two years after the conclusion of their blockbuster epic Uncharted. This game has been showcased as a gritty, dark and very violent game, which is not usually Naughty Dog's style. However, the Sony owned studio have always managed to please gamers, and receive critical claim with new IP's, but can The Last of Us do the same?

Story

The Last of Us starts off in present day USA, and introduces us to Joel, the main character, along with his brother Tommy and daughter Sarah. On the night of his birthday, a mutant Cordyceps infection breaks out amongst humanity, which quickly spreads throughout the country. 20 years later, and a much older and rugged Joel awakens, and he and his  smuggling partner Tess are entrusted with a mission to deliver a young girl named Ellie to the Fireflies, a rebel group, fighting against what remains of the authorities. Joel and Ellie must make their way across a United States now teeming with infected humans, hunters and thieves and make sure that Ellie is delivered safely to the Fireflies.

The story of this game is incredible, and you will feel a connection with the characters almost immediately. You will never know which way the story is going to go, and you will be guessing as to what happens, as well as going, right until the end. Naughty Dog did an amazing job making the player feel an emotional connection with all the characters you will meet in Joel's and Ellie's journey.

Gameplay

If you have played Uncharted before, you will see some of the mechanics naughty dog brought over from those games. You will spend the majority of the game playing as Joel in a third person perspective, while Ellie is controlled by the AI. As the game is based on survival, sneaking is essential, as ammo and other supplies are very limited. There is also a crafting system, where Joel can create Shivs, bombs, and other items, provided he has the necessary parts scavenged from the game world. Naughty Dog created a new AI system for this game called "Balance of Power", where the enemy AI will react depending on the situation. For example, if Joel is preoccupied with fighting off a group of 2 or 3 enemies, another lone enemy may sneak around and take Joel by surprise. It's a new fight every time, and it keeps the player constantly alert for any and all threats. The gun-play has been adapted from Uncharted, but given some changes to keep the survival element of the game intact. For example, you can no longer fire from the hip, as this would be a huge waste of valuable ammo. There is also a higher level of control needed when firing, as Joel will not be able to aim as well under fire. Another new feature of this game is "Listen Mode", which allows Joel to see enemy movement and positions, as long as they are making noise. Enemies that are quietly moving around the area will not be visible and will still require the players' attention.

While I am usually not a fan of stealth games, and I dislike having it forced on me, it's completely understandably why there is such a huge emphasis on it in this game. If you were to run out guns blazing like in Uncharted, you would be dead in seconds, and the feeling of the game would be completely ruined. Joel isn't supposed to be a superhuman, he's just a regular guy, and the game gets that point across very quickly.

Visual/Sound

The feeling of a post apocalyptic world is shown really well in the design of the levels. Nature has started to reclaim its territory, with plants and animals covering towns and cities, but the destruction of other survivors is also shown well too. Windows are smashed, doors are hanging off hinges, makeshift barricades from early in the outbreak still exist in places, but most of the areas you explore will have been long ravaged by other survivors. Again, it really adds to the survival aspect of the game, and completely immerses the player. The music in the game is equally fantastic, and always matches the current situation. Most of the music is slow, but in some of the more gripping parts of the game, it will slightly up the pace. The music and look of the game is just another wonderful piece which really helps keep the immersion and feel alive from beginning to end.

Multiplayer

The multiplayer mode of the game incorporates many of the survival aspects from the single player, and adapts them to a multiplayer setting. The multiplayer has its own story, independent of Joel and Ellie's journey. You must choose between being a member of the Fireflies, or a Survivor, each with their own mission lasting 12 weeks. 1 multiplayer match counts as one day, and you are in charge of making sure your camp is well fed and healthy. You do this by scavenging for supplies in multiplayer matches, either by killing enemies and looting their bodies for supplies, or scavenging from supply boxes located around the maps. Just like in single player, there is a huge emphasis on survival and stealth, and it is key to making sure you maintain  a happy and healthy camp, which will constantly be growing. Cooperating with other players on your team is essential, and trying to lone wolf will almost always get you killed by better prepared opponents. As of now, there are only two modes, Supply Raid and Survivor, both of which revolve around killing the enemy team in order to win. Hopefully the community keep this multiplayer ali

ve, and Naughty Dog add some new modes that are not just based on killing, as it is a very unique concept for multiplayer and can be very fun.

The Verdict: The Last of Us is most definitely Naughty Dog's crowning achievement this generation, and has left me eagerly awaiting their next game. The game has been crafted to near perfection, and I cannot see another game this year beating it to become Game of The Year.

10/10

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BioShock: Infinite Review

BioShock: Infinite is the third game in the highly acclaimed BioShock series. Despite this, you do not need to have played the first 2 in order to understand the story for the third. This game has been highly anticipated since it was first shown at E3, but have Irrational Games managed to meet the expectations of gamers?

Story

Bioshock Infinite takes place in Columbia in 1912. However, this Columbia has one key difference to the one we know of; it is a city suspended in the air by quantum levitation. The city was lost by those on the ground, until Booker DeWitt, a disgraced ex soldier and current private investigator was tasked with the mission 'bring us the girl and wipe away the debt' with instructions on how to reach the city above. Initially, the city seems peaceful and happy, with the belief that their leader and prophet, Father Zachary Hale Comstock, the founder of Columbia has the ability to see in the future and will lead Columbia to a bright future. However, beneath the surface, civil war is brewing between the poorer working classes and the richer middle and upper classes. As you take control of Booker, you will witness both sides of Columbia, as well as discover that there is more to Bookers story than meets the eye.

Gameplay

Like the first 2 BioShock games, Infinite is a first person shooter with RPG elements. Throughout the game, you will collect special abilities called vigors, which will allow you to perform a wide array of techniques, including setting enemies on fire, summoning a murder of crows to distract and damage your opponents, and leave enemies vunerable by removing gravity's pull from around them. Vigors use up Salts, which you can replenish by eating food or at Salt stations. You will also have a unique grappling hook type weapon which can both dismember enemies at close range, and allow you to travel around the city quickly on skylines. There are also a wide variety of weapons to chose from, ranging from a basic pistol to the Hand Cannon, which will make quick work of anyone in your way. All weapons and vigors can be upgraded via vending machines found throughout the city with money you will find looting enemies and storage containers.

Once you have found the girl (Elizabeth), she will assist you by scavenging the area for ammo, health packs, Salt, and throwing them to Booker if needed. She also has the ability to open tears in time and space, allowing her to assist even further by bringing in some cover, or powerful weapons. Only one tear can be opened at a time, and the player will need to choose carefully depending on their surroundings.


Visual/Sound

The city of Columbia is beautiful, and is full of colour and life. No two areas look the same, and the developers did an amazing job of showing both the rich and blissful side of the upper city, and the poor and rough slums below. The music used in the game is equally incredible, and really helps create a great mood for the game, and an emotional link with the characters. Irrational did fantastic work in making sure gamers would get lost in the city of Columbia.

The verdict: A lot was expected of BioShock Infinite, and Irrational have definitely delivered, creating an unforgettable experience in an amazing world, topped off with a very unique story that will no doubt influence other games in the future. The only downside I found whilst playing this game were that while great, I felt there was still more of the story to tell, and all loose ends were tied up very quickly in the last hour.

8.5/10

I found this review quite difficult, as there is so much to say, but it's hard without spoiling anything. However, I feel I hit the key points. Thanks for reading, and as usual, I am open to advice and criticism for future reviews.

Thanks!

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XCOM: Enemy Unknown Review

I should say now that I have never played the original XCOM game. I have never really been a fan of turn based tactical games. I picked up Final Fantasy Tactics on PSP a few years ago and couldn't stand it. However, I decided to give the genre another go with XCOM: Enemy Unknown. And I'm very glad I did.

Story

The story takes place on Earth in 2015, which has just been invaded by aliens with far greater technological superiority than our own. Our reponse to this force is XCOM, a scientific and military organisation that is tasked with defending Earth from extra terrestrial attack. The player takes the role as commander of XCOM, and must command troops through battles in a war that humanity will never forget.


Gameplay

As mentioned before, the game gives the player the role of commander of XCOM. This will give you the ability to command your troops in combat against the alien threat. The missions are broken up by returning to the XCOM base of operations, where the player can research new technology, expand the base with new facilities, hire new soldiers, and purchase new equipment, as well as expanding XCOM's global effectiveness by launching satellites able to detect alien presence across the world. All of this will cost money and/or resources which are obtained through battles.

The battles are purely turn based and will put you in command of between 4 and 6 soldiers of varying classes (Support, Heavy, Sniper or Assault). Each battle will have its own requirement for victory. Troops that take part in battles will earn XP, and when levelled up, will earn new skills to use in future battles. However, if the soldier is killed during battle, their death is permanent. Soldiers can also be out of action for a certain amount of time if they are wounded during battle too. You can customise each soldiers loadout, including special items which can assist in battle. For example, the medkit will allow you to heal any wounds sustained. Soldiers can also take cover behind objects, with the objects size being a factor into how much protection it will offer. The special abilities include being able to take a reaction shot against an enemy when they move into a soldiers line of sight, limiting enemy vision with smoke grenades, and healing allied units. I have found myself addicted to this sort of gameplay, and despite my first playthrough being on easy, money was still very tight, and I had to plan my next move carefully, whether it was expanding the base, or launching an assault on an enemy.
Visual and Sound

It is not as visually appealing as most other games released last year, and there isn't a lot of colour. A lot of the maps also look identical to each other, and I found myself getting tired of the scenery pretty quickly. The cutscenes are very nice, but again, they don't stand up to anything else other games released offered. There isn't too much to say about the sound either, as you'll either be hearing dialogue or the beeps of computers at work. Music in the game is very limited, and will usually be drowned out by the sounds of units moving or firing. However, I don't mind this too much, as it helps set the mood for the game.

Multiplayer

The multiplayer portion of the game takes the battle part of the game online, where you can play ranked battles with strangers, or private matches with friends. There is a slight difference in regards to how you deploy soldiers. Each troop type will cost you points, and the player who has spent the least will go first. As I'm new to and not very good at turn based tactical games such as this, I do not enjoy playing against opponents who are clearly more tactically skilled than me. However, multiplayer is a great place to learn new tactics and get better at the game.

The verdict: While it will not impress visually, and the story isn't as in depth as other games dealing with extra terrestrials, XCOM: Enemy Unknown does a very good job of providing addictive gameplay and really makes you consider the choices you make before you make them.

9/10

I hope you enjoyed this review, and I am always open to feedback and criticism.

Thank you!

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Borderlands 2 Review

I've probably missed the boat on this one by a long shot, but I figured I might as well voice my opinion on Gearbox Software's latest game. Borderlands is a FPS/RPG hybrid that was hailed as something fresh in a market that some people felt was stagnated with the same dull military FPS's that were being released year after year. It combined elements of any role playing game (side quests and a levelling system) with elements of any FPS (blow loads of stuff up). It received many awards and won Game of The Year when it was released back in 2009. Now, after much anticipation, its successor is among us and is being lauded by critics everywhere. But do I think it's deserving of its praise?

Gameplay

Well, I don't really know where to begin. The gun-play is just fantastic, when they say there are 'gajillions' of weapons to choose from, they're not exaggerating (well, maybe just a little bit). There is an amazing variety to suit anyone. Want to snipe from a distance and corrode your enemies with acid? Sure! How about if you want to get in-your-face with a shotgun and watch them explode in a bloody mess? They've got you covered. There is something to suit everyone's style of play, and the vast amount of guns encourages you to mix up the way you destroy that bandit's hopes and dreams of disembowelling you without forcing you. There are 4 characters to choose from. Maya the Siren, a person with the ability to control elements and can 'Phaselock' enemies into a ball of fire, lightning and corrosion all at once, Salvador the Gunzerker, a short, yet massively built person who can wield 2 guns at once, doubling the speed at which any who oppose him will meet their maker, Axton, the commando who can deploy a turret to help decimate hordes of enemies, and Zer0, a mysterious assassin with the ability to go invisible for a brief period of time and eviscerate his foes with his sword. Each of the characters have their own abilities which helps seperate them, but apart from that, they all felt the same to me. For example, choosing the Gunzerker doesn't make your efficiency with weapons any better than if you had chosen the Siren. Each character has their own skill tree which enhances their special abilities and gives them new ones, such as quicker reload speeds for Salvador, or staying invisible longer for Zer0, but it's nothing that changes your style up too much.  The side quests are all unique and while they mainly boil down to 'Go to this location and kill this guy', they never actually feel the same and they actually make you feel accomplished each time you finish one. The control has been tweaked to be just right for any player regardless of skill to be able to jump in and start dropping your enemies quickly. You are given a massive open world to explore with a wide variety of landscapes, but I will go into more detail about that later. Gearbox did an excellent job with this one, especially when they needed to one-up the first game, but they definitely did not take any risks in regards to making Borderlands 2 feel like its own game.

Story

The story takes place 5 years after the events of Borderlands. The 4 characters are on a train together where they believe the ruthless dictator 'Handsome Jack' is on board and plan to kill him. However, it is a trap, and the train explodes, leaving the characters for dead in a frozen wasteland. You are saved by a robot known as Claptrap, a character who also served as the players guide in the first Borderlands, and a mysterious entity known as 'Angel'. The main goal of the game is to kill Handsome Jack before he reaches 'The Vault' and resurrects an ancient alien being known as 'The Warrior' to serve as his minion and cementing his place as ruler of this alien planet known as Pandora. The story is good, and will definitely keep you playing, but it mainly just serves as a framework for all the other quests in the game and to give your character an excuse to     go crazy on every bandit camp you see. I don't want to go into too much detail as I don't want to spoil the game for anyone, but the story is definitely very solid and doesn't feel like it's been plucked out of nowhere by Gearbox just so they could make a sequel.

Visual and Sound

The visuals are just outstanding. From the design of every gun right up to the vast and unique landscapes offered, Borderlands 2 promises to immerse you in the environment of Pandora. You will be battling enemies from the frozen tundra all the way to dying deserts and even huge cities as you struggle to return peace to this cruel and unforgiving world. The art style used in this game has allowed Gearbox to just go crazy on their design and that's exactly what they have done. And it is perfect. The sound in the game is just as well done as the visuals, with each set of guns having awesome sound design. The music in the game is equally fantastic, and while you may not here it much over the screams of enemies promising to wear your head as a hat,  each piece has been crafted well for the environment it represents.

Multiplayer

The multiplayer segment of Borderlands 2 is a drop in and out co-op style. You can team up with friends to complete quests, or use the matchmaking feature and drop in with some complete strangers for bandit-blasting fun. The multiplayer has been designed as  core feature of the game, and this is something I was not too keen on, as I felt like I was being forced to play with other people at times. I would get constantly swamped with seemingly non stop waves of enemies and it made me feel like teaming up with others was my best option of getting through unless I liked dying a lot. However, if you can get 2 or 3 friends together, you are guaranteed to have an amazing time.


The verdict: While it takes no risks, it capitalises on the success of the first one and gives Borderlands fans the experience they've been hoping for. It is deserving of all its success and praise, and while there are some cons, they're not major ones and should not impact on whether or not you should purchase this game.

9.5/10


Thanks for reading my review, and remember, I am still new at this, so criticism is welcome and noted.

Take care!

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Inversion Review

So I have decided to revive this blog of mine that I completely forgot about and will use it to review some video games. They won't necessarily be reviews of the latest games, but just games that I have recently played. So first up is Inversion, a game I felt was overlooked this year. For those who don't know, Inversion is a 3rd person cover-based shooter which gives the player the ability to manipulate gravity, adding a whole new play style to the game. I'll go into more detail below, as I will split my review up into different categories that I believe will cover the game in its entirety.

Gameplay

 The majority of the gameplay is pretty bog standard; just go from cover to cover, blasting anything that opposes you with the, quite frankly, pitiful number of weapons available to you. Nearly everything in the game is destructible, and this encourages the player to keep moving from cover to cover under heavy fire. However, the main selling point of this game is your characters use of the Gravlink, a device that allows you to fire a blast of anti-gravity in a certain area. This can be used to force enemies to float out of cover, or to pick up objects such as cars and barrels to hurl at your foes. It's a very nice concept, but very rarely does it ever come in handy, other than when the game forces you to use it to move obstacles out of your path. The AI isn't very smart and will constantly pop out to take shots at you even on the hardest difficulty, making one of the main features of the Gravlink completely pointless. The Gravlink doesn't even immobilise enemies when they've been struck by it, it just seems to give them more of a height advantage against you. The Gravlink gets upgraded and becomes a much more viable tool against your enemies later on, but by then, I had just gotten so used to relying on your guns, that I was completely forgetting about my ability to hurtle cars and leave my enemies in a bloody mess. Gravity control was an excellent idea, but its usage in the game is not.

Story

I will keep this spoiler free. The story definitely isn't the reason most people will be picking this game up for, but it still manages to be a somewhat engaging experience. In short, humanity is devastated by alien beings known as the 'Lutadores' and within 30 days, the once peaceful 'Vanguard City' is nothing more than a shell of its former self, as huge drills have destroyed everything in their path, and entire buildings have been caught in anti-gravity fields. You play as Davis Russel, a police officer who is on a mission to find his now missing daughter. You are accompanied by Leo Delgado, another police officer who was Davis's partner before the Lutadore invasion. The story definitely isn't the worst in these type of games, but there are definitely better. There was enough in it to keep me playing up to the conclusion, so that's definitely something.

Sound and Visual

I will keep this short because there really isn't much to say. When it comes to Inversion, Saber Interactive pretty much wrote the book for 'bland'. There is absolutely nothing, from the seemingly non-existent music scores to the generic and dated map design that will stay with me. Even the sections where you change vectors and are suddenly fighting hordes of Lutadores on the side of a building felt exactly the same as if you were on the floor. Everything is just the same dull, grey landscape and I feel they really dropped the ball here.


Ok, that's it for my review of Inversion. I was going to do a review on the Multiplayer segment, but I was unable to find a single game, due to the poor sales. All I can tell you on that side is from what I've read on forums and whatnot, and that is that it is pretty solid. I would like to check it out myself, but unfortunately that is impossible.

The Verdict: It's worth picking up if you can get it cheap, which shouldn't be too difficult now. It's fun enough to keep playing and if you manage to get some people together for Multiplayer, then there's even more fun to be had.

My score: 6.5/10

Thanks for reading. This is my first ever game review, and constructive criticism is welcome and will be noted for next time.

Take care!

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