Landit Bandit Review

You can tell a mile away when a team of developers have a love for gaming. It’s clear that Sweden-based developers Bearded Lady Consulting have put a great deal of love into their latest effort; Landit Bandit.

The game is a slice of classic arcade goodness. Taking homage from games like Crazy Taxi and Lunar Lander. It’s simple yet incredibly fun. A fresh break from all the ‘hardcore games’ saturating the market. It’s a well priced and well polished title. A rarity these days.

You’re tasked with flying a home-made helicopter around various island paradises performing tasks along the way. Like ferrying people to a bar whilst keeping the rum flowing by picking up barrels. All the while avoiding environmental threats like jumping sharks and rising water levels. It’s standard arcade stuff; but you love it really.

Keeping with the arcade theme, there is of course, the staple power-ups. Dotted around the levels are vials that add to your boost and cogs that let you instantly repair your damaged chopper. Also, different characters act as add-ons, each having different powers. One has the ability to grapple metal loops to gain speed and another can summon ballast bags which instantly force the chopper down. For an arcade title there’s an insane amount of diversity. That diversity isn’t limited to gameplay as each level has a unique twist. There’s a level with ice where you slip and slide about making it harder to control the chopper. I especially liked the level which is wholly 2D, playing like a side-scroller. This uniqueness is a sure sign of a well developed game.


It’s bright and vivid, the setting is extremely beautiful. From half sunken ships to mountains, there’s plenty of set-pieces to keep the originality going. Each level is also quite different, island peninsulas and mountain cities all keep the flow going. You won’t get bored. The characters and story are also very well thought out. There’s a beautiful island babe, a bearded explorer even a gangster penguin. The story is whacky and to be honest is secondary to the arcade gameplay.

Multiplayer aspects of the game include a ‘Duel’ mode where you square off against another opponent and single player leaderboards. It doesn’t really add anything, then again; it isn’t detrimental. It’s nice to see what scores other people get, but that’s about it.



A big let down was the lack of cut scenes, what semblance of story there is, is told through a comic strip. Whilst the animation is top class. A few cut scenes wouldn’t go a miss. Especially when the game is this good looking. Another small factor is the tricky controls, the helicopter is somewhat hard to control, it’s only really noticeable in the tighter spaces, but it will annoy you. More so in the challenges when you’re timed. However, these a are two bitter drops in an ocean of great content. It will not hinder your enjoyment so much that you’re put off the game.

If you’re a fan of classic arcade action then I highly recommend this game. It’s such a well-rounded title, perfectly formed so that you’re hooked. A small title which packs a powerful punch, by all means buy it.

Naughty Bear Review

Naughty Bear had great promise. People grew excited over a cartoon Hitman, as did I. It failed on that front and although it pains me to say it, it didn’t really succeed on many other fronts either. You can tell 505 Games have but a lot of thought into Naughty Bear, not that thought counts for much.

The presentation of this game is original and pretty, from the colourful menus to the genuinely nice box art. Even the marketing campaign surrounding the game was excellent, superior to a lot of higher-end titles that are released. It’s safe to say no amount of polished presentation can make up for a fairly woeful game.

You play as Naughty, an outcast bear who is persuaded by the narrator to slaughter the rest of the islands bear inhabitants. That’s pretty much the breadth of the story. Actually, that’s a generous description of the story.




The rampage starts out at a party then progresses through five more levels, each getting more difficult. The level design isn’t great, but there’s no getting lost. Then again there’s nothing that stands out: trees, houses and a few other tiny features dominate the levels. There’s practically no variety. Which is a great shame as what is there is very nice to look at. Not that you’ll notice much, as the games crippling gameplay will hold your full attention.

The idea of the game is to kill the bears in the most interesting ways possible. More points are rewarded depending on how you kill a bear or how scared they get. For example, maximum points are achieved if you drive a bear so insane that they kill themselves. Laying traps, sabotaging escape routes and a few other ‘naughty’ things can also boost your score but this will get old, fast.





The way you unlock levels is also frustrating, you must unlock a certain amount of in-game trophies before you can move on. This game is its own worst enemy. Each chapter is separated into five small levels which are all essentially the same. On some you may be timed or have the restriction of not being able to harm a bear. You’re playing an average game as it is, taking away the best parts is a very bad idea.

Multiplayer is basic, it’s fun enough, but there’s no lasting enjoyment whatsoever. It was clearly placed in the game for its own sake. Gameplay types are all standard efforts like deathmatch. That’s all the mention the multiplayer’s worth. It will leech all hope you have for the game.

However, there’s one aspect in which I feel Naughty Bear is very deserving; the cut scenes. They are some of the most amusing I have seen in a long time. They are short skits that precede every level. Whether it be Naughty vs. Ninjas or him killing a fellow bear by toilet. They are extremely well done. The narrator of the game is also rather amusing his outbursts of “Total defluffication” and “Nasty!” all make you raise a smile once in a while; if only for a second.

Naughty Bear, like many games, had promise but failed to deliver; at all. It’s fun for a while but ages too fast, even for the brief moment you’re interested; there’s not a great deal going for it. If you’re into arcade style point scoring and cartoon violence then this is perfect for you. If you're not in that incredibly small niche, leave this well alone; for your sake.

Söldner X 2: Final Prototype Review

Söldner X 2: Final Prototype is pretty much your basic ‘shmup,’ a shmup being a 2D side scrolling shooter.

Saying that it does bring more to the table than similar titles out there now. Not a lot though. Typically being a genre that features some of the hardest games out there, like Ikaruga, Söldner has dampened the difficulty down somewhat by giving you a generous amount of health. It doesn’t sound much, but at least you don’t have to be a ‘pro’ to enjoy this game.

It’s a standard game with standard controls and you’ll mostly be shooting and moving, in massive amounts; with a few special attacks thrown in. Although it’s pleasing to the savage inside me killing thousands of enemies; there isn‘t a massive amount of diversity in those enemies. The bosses however are fun and massive, there’s a lot to be said for destroying massive robots with crazy flashing lasers, and this game says it all.




Söldner has a great deal of re-playability, admittedly it will get boring, but not until after you’ve played for a great deal of hours. There’s seven stages and plenty of challenges. There’s some semblance of story, something about a virus or some such. I guarantee you won’t be playing for the story, just the old school arcade action.

The graphics are pretty, featuring dazzling lights and quirky enemies. They are surprisingly impressive, they kept me transfixed on the screen while a crazy light show went back and forth.

The game however is quite expensive, at £9.99 there are far better games available on the PSN, if you care about high scores and leader boards, and are a veteran of the arcade era then you will definitely enjoy this.

Alan Wake Review

Alan Wake has been 6 years from original unveiling to launch. A game with the heritage and weight of Remedy's previous hits (such as the phenomenal Max Payne series) to carry on its shoulders, could this be the killer exclusive app that Microsoft desparately needed in order to lure over gamer's from their Sony black box?

Story

First and foremost, this story is unlike any other on the Xbox 360. Featuring that same distinctive and warped/crazy quality Remedy are notorious for, the way the entire game has been scripted (from the character's [lead and minor roles] all the way to the settings) have been mastered to such a high level you can't help but admire Remedy's work.

In essence, you play as Mr Alan Wake. Famous, esteemed and well sort after published author, and on the back of his most recent and biggest selling book to date. You and your wife (Alice) decide on a romantic retreat away from it all at Bright Falls, to escape the PR, the strict schedule and to attempt to cure Alan's progressively degrading hangovers.

Without spoiling the deep complexities and intertwining story-lines surrounding each character that you meet in Bright Falls, you find out there is something odd going on. A darkness, using the face of a local resident to manipulate, control and strike fear into its environment. It's your job - after Alice has been 'captured' - to rescue her.

Now, you're reading that thinking "yeah, yeah. Princess Peach and Mario anybody?" but this game is so much more complex than that and to further delve into the story will only detract from your experience for yourself.

Gameplay

The use of light in this game is paramount to the core gameplay elements. There is something about the 'dark' that manages to control your foes, be they of human form or poltergeist manipulating projectiles surrounding you. To counteract this, you are equipped with a torch (or, in American-ish a "flashlight") used to startle the human forms in order for the easy take-down kills or to rid the 'blackness' and remove the power possessing the projectiles being hurled in your direction.

Alongside the more basic lighting equipment - in order to defeat several enemies - flashbangs are here and are more powerful than in any game I can recall. One blast will rid a whole horde of enemies in an instant. Flares are used to give you breathing space and time to reload, collect your thoughts and allow your health bar to slowly regenerate and throughout the game there are floodlights - often requiring the activation of a fuel generator to get them going, by means of a short quick time event - and these act as rest points, ammo refill points and checkpoints (that's a lot of pointing).

These can often determine which tactic to use when fighting a mass swarm of enemies; you can choose to unleash a torrent of gun fire on the weapon toting mad men, or simply make a break for it and dart towards the light where, of course, the enemies can't follow. Alan is no Linford Christie though, and quite often a barrage of axes will be thrust upon him as he wheezes and pants his way to safety.

Obviously, torches and flashbangs and a few streetlights are all good but a bit lacking in credentials. So, the maker's have decided to arm you with a revolver (which is nice) and a few hunting rifles and shotguns (including pump action) for your arduous journey. Weapon refill points are regular, but try and aim for the head and time it well to conserve your ammunition and your flashlights, as there's only so many Lithium Energizer batteries around.

The game plays out like a standard survival horror come adventure game mix, very akin to Max Payne but with the balance of survival horror and action orientated gaming is tipping slightly towards the horror element. There's some puzzles dotted around, they're infrequent and welcome breaks amongst the exploration of dark woods, creepy deserted town centres and sheer cliff faces and are simple to understand what is going on with suggestions being made out loud by Mr Wake himself if you begin to struggle.

There are a couple of minor niggles that I found, these are regarding the puzzle elements whereby accurate and slow manouvering of Alan is crucial. A perfectly timed jump, for instance, is very hard to pull off with the way Alan reacts to your input on the analogue stick, with him jarring forward or completely missing the jump you swear you just timed to perfection. Other bug bares are the 'dive out the way at last minute' by hitting the left bumper button; it's great if you pull it off just in time, as you're often greeted with a bullet time/slow motion action shot of some crazed mentalist just scraping the coat of alan with an axe, but other times when you press it, the game denies you of this and Alan takes one for the team and gets brutally battered.

On the whole however, the balance of flashing some one (with the torch, obviously) then firing your pistol or whatever combination you happen to be using is extremely satisfying, very intuitive and highly rewarding. Driving elements between distant locations, cart's that wouldn't be out of place on set at the latest Indiana Jones film and mazes to find your way around all add to the constantly evolving story and plotlines as your journey sees you from pillar to post at Bright Falls.

Graphics

Predominantly set in the dark, the vivid lighting from the moon glowing behind the dense forrest with towering mountainous backgrounds all adds to the tremendous feeling of being engulfed in this massive, idyllic haven. The use of a halo-like state for lit areas, whether these be from car headlights, street lamps or inside buildings make these feel genuinely upliflting and a welcome and necessary relaxation for a moment as your demonic pursuers make off into the shrubbery to escape the light.

Everything has a really highly detailed and polished feel to it. The water effects from the start of the game and the daytime settings scattered throughout reveal a completely different town, with a genuinely friendly, upbeat and welcoming ambience, a feeling so distant to the oppressiveness from when the sun goes down.

Just a shame the guys in charge of the lip-synching didn't spend a little more time in those 6 years sorting the mouths to move properly, instead of leaving poor Alan Wake in a constantly surprised dramatic squirrel like pose. All in all, the game is a graphical triumph. It's very rare to see such a beautiful, awe inspiring game from the smallest object (such as fully functioning televisions) all the way to the tallest mountains sharing the same amount of attention and detail.

Music (Soundtrack/score)

I usually describe this part of the review as "sound" but that description just doesn't do the score in this game justice. The ever developing backdrop score from where enemies spawn behind you and go "BOOO" in a slow motion action-panning camera view, where the music builds with the tension and the action, as your feet pound the ground on your way up towards the safety and sanctuary of a generator, constantly glancing backwards to startle your 'tails' chasing you down really is heart thumping.

It's a unique score, after each of the chapters - as a sort of chillout zone - you are rewarded with a custom tune written and sung especially to compliment the game which is a genuinely nice touch. It's the small things like this, that really bridge the gap between games, books and films to a revolutionary result. I honestly believe that the way in which sound, voice overs and music in this game has been mastered, will become the standard to achieve for all other single player titles to come.

Summary

This game is a triumph. The story, gameplay, audio work, voice acting, character portrayal, presentation all feel somehow believably real, as if watching a genuinely gripping and well acted film. You actually care about your character, interested in what happens next, and ultimately what happens in the end. From start to finish (around 6-8 hours), you'll be gripped, stunned and wanting for more. A must have for every 360 owner.

Lead and Gold: Gangs of the Wild West Review

Lead and Gold: Gangs of the Wild West is a multiplayer only 3rd person shooter from Swedish game developer, Fatshark; and it’s not bad either.

The game mechanics are ancient but well loved, each of the four classes is a stereotypical wild west character, there’s the gunslinger, deputy, hunter and a burly miner. The character models are some of the most detailed and genuinely good looking I’ve ever seen in a game, which says a lot, considering this is a download only game.





Each class has unique weapon and a unique secondary ability. The miner has a shotgun and can throw dynamite, the hunter has a sniper and can lay traps, the deputy has a pump action rifle and mark targets for extra damage, the gunslinger, has a revolver which he can fire rapidly. This is all very exciting but it makes for very limited diversity. You’ll be tired of all four characters within the first two games. They all have their strengths, some have a little more strength than others, the gunslingers secondary ability to fire out his revolvers six bullets in quick succession is immensely powerful, and sometime it seems unfair. Nothing breeds frustration like turning a corner to meet certain death without any chance of escape. You will get annoyed at the slight imbalances in this game; I guarantee it.

It would certainly be a more a more balanced game if it was 1st person. The characters aren’t necessarily clunky, yet sometimes cornering and aiming is just a bit too hard. It doesn’t kill the game, but it doesn’t do it any favours. Along with an aiming reticule a brightened circle also signifies your weapons spread. It is extremely ugly and will often ruin the atmosphere. More often than not, in fact. All in all the character control is basic, seen in a great deal many other games, it’s in them for a reason though, it works; but it won’t break any boundaries.

There are six game types, some are staples of multiplayer, some are surprisingly original. You’ll see team death match and territory control in there; pretty standard stuff. Gold Rush is where it’s at though, a multi-staged game type which sees one team attempting to carry powder kegs to the oppositions safe in a joint effort to get the to the sacks of gold to their base. This is where the game really comes together, each role has their part to play, each has to hold their own in the fight. This game type really fits in beautifully with the wild west setting, it’s pace is genuinely exciting.


At least, it’s exciting if you get a decent map. Devil’s Pit is one of the most poorly designed maps I have ever seen in a game. It is effectively a maze, you have to worm your way around the map before getting to the fight. Its labyrinthine design negates any fun to be had. Saying that, the six other maps found in the game are original in there design, and very good looking. The almost cell shaded look of the game combined with the wild west setting make for an extremely scenic game.




This game by no means creates an definitive multiplayer experience, it is however, worth a purchase. Especially if you can coax a number of your friends into buying it also. If you fancy some wild west action check out Lead and Gold: Gangs of the Wild West for £11.99 available on PSN now.

3D Dot Game Heroes Review

This games entire basis also happens to be its greatest downfall, satire in games is tough, and 3D Dot Game Heroes doesn’t pull it off brilliantly. As a rule if you’re referencing things that are older than 10 years old, you will struggle.

Its pastiche of games like Zelda is perfectly done, between the opening sequence and some of the gameplay mechanics, you could swear you were playing Zelda itself. The NES edition of Zelda that is. Not the shiny new versions but the beloved, and extremely old versions. But you loved those games, didn’t you?

Keep telling yourself that, as thankful as we should be to these games, for effectively being the ancestors of our industry, they had those really annoying problems. It’s fun until enough but then you realise everything you found annoying about these games, also returns.

The game is set in the kingdom of Dotnia, in which an evil King is about to be resurrected. You’re tasked to find powerful orbs hidden throughout the land, and stopping the evil King. That story in itself sounds familiar, it’s a nice story, but one that’s been told a million times.

The world was once 2D, and populated by cute little sprites, but one day the King decided to go 3D, as you do. This is where the whole pixelated look the game features, comes into play. This game is beautiful looking, the colours are vivid. This, combined with the pixel effect makes the game look like a painting. This is where the novelty of the pixel look wears off. Even the bad guys are made of ‘pixels,’ being essentially Lego blocks, they blur all into one and you end up fighting a some strange block of colour. Not good, not clever and most definitely not fun.




In true old school style you are tasked with finding orbs that are hidden deep with temples, each temple has its own style, with its own bosses and other adventure game staples. In true archaic fashion at each temple you will receive an item that allows you to progress. Just like Zelda. These items make for controlled progression, the games open world is deceptive. You’re more constricted than you think. However, you’ll be blasting through the game so fast you won’t notice; much.

Combat is set in a classic and tortured paradigm. You simply assign items to the X and O buttons. The sword is upgradeable, becoming bigger and stronger. Not that it matters, pretty much all standard enemies are one shot kill.



The only fun part of this game is the progression, it happens way too fast though. It’s fun to get a new item and use it a few times, to kill some enemies and to solve some puzzles. And then, like the rest of the game, it gets stale. It’s a very good job that before you get too bored with the game, you have a new item. This is without a doubt, this games only saving grace.

Another thing about the game is the annoying soundtrack. It’s overly repetitive and somewhat soul destroying, many times the ditsy music mocked me as I failed to complete a task. Seemingly torn from 8-bit games and then spliced onto our title. The entire game is like this, a poorly made Frankenstein of everything we used to love; and hate.

A refreshing aspect of the game was the character customisation, there’s a massive list of pre made characters to choose from, and they’re pretty fun too. There’s standards like a Samurai or a Warrior, there’s also the amusing options, like a Shark, which swims in the ground and comes up to attack; with a sword of course. You can also build your own characters, these too are made up of the pixelated blocks, no matter how creative you are they still end up looking like glorified Lego characters. But it’s nice to have the option, even if it is poor.

The game is fun, and at below average price for a game it’s only worth picking up of you’re a die hard fan of the olden days of gaming. 3D Dot Game Heroes is available now for the PS3. By all means buy it, but don’t come crying to me when you get mugged by a drug dealer on your trip down memory lane.

Metro 2033 Review

Featuring one of the most detailed, unique and atmospheric settings since the underwater oasis of Rapture in BioShock, Metro2033 gets its unique feel by being set in a post apocalyptic Metro system set under the now frozen and toxic city streets of Moscow, Russia. The sense, scale and unnerving nature the environment's impact has on you really adds a further dimension to the game's character and gameplay, allowing you to creep and crawl undetected amongst the sewer rats and goolies or the complete opposite, completely tearing it up and cleaning house.

Story

The backstory to the present 2033 situation (put simply) consists of an apocalyptic event that occurred in 2013, annihilating almost all of mankind which coincidentally transformed earth into a poisoned wasteland. Survivors took refuge underground away from the radiation and now (20 years on), any remaining life forms have mutated from their original forms and now rule the surface and the skies above Moscow.

You play as Artyom, born a few days prior to the 'fire' and raised in the sancturary and micro-civilisation that was formed in the Metro links under the city. You are given a message to be delievered to Polis, which starts your adventure leading you away from the sanctuary of the station where you've never left, all the way to highest tower overlooking Moscow.

Gameplay

This is where the game shines amongst the crowd of samey, cliched single player only games. Aside from a few questionable moments where enemy AI runs up to and turns their back to you whilst you furiously pelt them with bullet fire, this game is a fantastic mix of stealth, heart thumping tension and close combat gunfight action.

You can choose to play the game in two completely separate ways: number one is sticking to the shadows, holding and hugging the walls and looking out for traps (broken glass, cans on string or more sinister ones which will kill) and slowly making your way undetected through the Metro world, OR way two, all guns blazing.

My personal preference was to stalk and sneak past anything not human and then take the rebellious enemies (who take the form of Nazi's in this game) out one by one. The benefits of doing so where, well there weren't any really, but it's nice to see a decent mix of ammunition conserving and supply after the original coding and testing received complaints for being too strict on ammo supply. 

You are able to carry one weapon in each of the game's 4 weapon classes consisting of: a handgun (normally some non descript, hand crafted/bodged magnum of sorts), an assault rifle (again, hand crafted - like all of the weaponry - to vaguely represent an AK), shotgun, grenades (or throwing knives if Modern Warfare 2 tickled your taste-buds) and a knife. Guns all behave well, it's easy to line up targets, light them up and move along and all the weapons are upgradable if you spend the time searching throughout the game in order to do so. 

Due to the new forms of life which have manifested due to the change above ground level (thanks to copius amounts of radiation), the game's 'survival' aspect comes in the form of a gas mask. These require fresh and clean filters in order to stop you choking on the air above ground and once you leave the Metro station's air cleaning facilities so get searching for spares and take cover when in firefights as if you take too much damage to that mask, it will eventually crack and break leaving you, swearing in a smog of choking poison.

All in all, this is a cracking play through, whether it be once or multiple, as the ability to switch style and the inclusion of subconcious decision making determining the final scene's outcome will surely lure you to go through hell once again, to see exactly what Artyom makes of himself.

Graphics

As hinted at earlier on, the environments created within the Metro universe are deep, dark, moody and genuinely chilling. Settings aren't constricted to tunnels (which the name would lead you to believe) but flow between deserted rail exchange stations, deserted and snow covered wastelands (above ground level), demon filled libraries and many more. 

All of which present new challenges, tasks and wonderful arrays of detail and scale. The final level sees you replaying the first few minutes of gameplay from when you power the game on, and ultimately reaching a tower. The views upon this and looking out show off the supreme power the 360 is still able to achieve.

There was some slow down when it came to highly detailed and pressurised situations, where lights would flicker, enemies would duck and dive behind cover and gun fire lit up the metro tunnels, but this was infrequent and did not represent the vast majority of the gameplay time. Facial animations are believable, character animations realistic and general behaviour of the human participants in the world where excellent.

Sound

Sound in this game offers the most chills and scares than any graphic or story could possibly throw at you. Whispers, growls, chants, ghostly apparitions and the old favourite of children singing with the sounds of a rusty swing in the background when approaching a radiation pocketed park are all rewardingly creepy as hell.

The use of music is paramount to the experience too, voice overs are of excellent quality and I particularly liked Artyom's readings during loading screens, as if he's reading out entries in a journal or diary which made the already quick loading times seemingly disappear whilst you're distracted listening to him basically talk about him crapping himself, and rightly so.

Words can't really describe a scene to the fullest, where you're quietly creeping with the sound of a demon's breathing echoing in the rooms you're set to discover. The soft breathing through your gas mask coating the environment and a softly playing orchestral score suddenly stops, and your heart momentarily stops along with it. For the remaining few seconds, all that is heard are your foot steps, cracking the broken glass below your feet as your breathing gets deeper and suddenly wham, as the goolie that you were listening to earlier shows his face and starts chasing you like a crazy cat around the bookcases. Absolutely, fantastic.

Summary

What to say, other than this is the greatest introduction to a new environment and situation since BioShock revolutionised the done to death scenario's of old and took the player under the sea with the friendly crustations. Without breaking into song - a'la Little Mermaid - instead of being drowned amongst art deco sunken city scapes, you are left constantly wanting to flee the confines of the metro tubes up until the moment when you actually climb that ladder and see the devestation first hand, where the sanctuary below truly feels like home and secure.

Never has a game had that effect, and even allowing for some questionable moments and slight repetitiveness, this is a fine exclusive that everybody must at least experience during their 360 ownership. Worthy of a fitting sequel and I sure hope they do so, just don't tack on an unnecessary multiplayer like you didn't do this time and it'll work again. Top game, must play.

If we did "4.5", this would get it.

Perfect Dark Review

Remember 10 years ago, before the age of online multiplayer, hi-definition, motion controlled gaming and the graphical power of 64bit, cartridges and one analogue stick was the way the cool cats rolled? If you do and you reminisce with a smile on your face to the days of Goldeneye 4 player and Rare ruled the roost when it came to multiplayer and first person shooters then maybe this re-incarnation of Perfect Dark will tickle your tastebuds.

Story

Set in the year 2023, a war between 2 races (the Maians and the Skedar) rages. On Earth, the war between 2 factions (The Carrington Institute  [goodies] and DataDyne [baddies]) is heating up in the battle for research and development. The 'T.C.I.' are working a deal and are operating an espionage group in partnership with the Maians whilst the DataDyne group are defence contractor with the Skedar.

Basically, you play agent Joanna Dark (nick named 'Perfect Dark' due to her expertise in her field of espionage) who is set to infiltrate and investigate the enemies research and rescue an informant. He later reveals a much more sinister development, where the DataDyne/Skedar partnership and G5 Corporation are developing some massive weapon which takes Joanna into Area 51 to rescue any captives to uncover an Alien friend called 'Elvis'...

...okay, to keep it short and sweet and to stop my head from exploding, this allows Joanna to be in several locations throughout the game, meeting several new enemies and challenges, each getting more ridiculous at the minute. Don't take this as a dig at the game or the story, just don't think this'll be easy to follow.

Gameplay

Beginning life in the early 2000's, this is testament to the game's quality to just be given a graphical boost and remapped controls and still feel in touch with the competition of today. Other HD boost games (Doom, Serious Sam) feel antiquated in comparison to the fluid way the levels play out. There's none of this 'hold your hand' lark either with regards to figuring out objectives, you're on your own and are expected to utilise and think like Joanna all the way.

Controls have been 360'fied by switching the one analogue stick of the N64 era for the duel stick option all FPS games now adopt. Feels good too, makes me slightly motion sick but even the N64 original did the same. Levels are average in detail, but are varied enough so that balances out overall.

Most of the gameplay involves attempting to sneak into a base and fail, meaning shooting out enemies is the only option. Gunplay is decent and I particularly liked the auto lock on feature of the game, however the holding left trigger to aim more accurately is simply a pain in the backside and requires such delicate and precise, slow moving of the right stick to accurately take someone out that it 'almost' ruins the sniper moments where pinpoint accuracy is the name of the game.

After the gunplay in the levels, you're required to normally hack, blast through, rig an explosive, take a disguise etc. in order to access a further part of the level and normally end the level by entering a door of some sort to progress to the next area. One thing you certainly do notice, is just how short game's used to be back then as the average stage (level, area or whatever) time is usually under the 10minute mark.

So, gameplay is fast, sneaky and frenetic. It's a rare combination but it still works all these years on and is genuinely an excellent title to enjoy inbetween games for a level a pop, or a marathon gaming 'sesh', if that is more your thing.

Graphics

Now, as mentioned and hinted at earlier on, this is a game from 10 years ago on a console that predates the console before this one in terms of 'generation', so it's technically a grandad. Therefore, graphics are weak and a bit lacking in detail but thanks to a clever use of HD technology, they're smooth, fast loading and detailed enough to bring them into line with other less polished HD remakes currently available on the marketplace.

Animations are some-what lacking, and there's no movement of Joanna's lips in cutscenes, but we'll forgive it that, as at least the maker's have whacked the detail and polygon count up on the weapons (good thing seeing as they're so near the camera) to make them look bang up to date.

It's no 'Modern Warfare 2' in terms of cinematics or detail, but it doesn't aim to be and instead manages to be one of only a small percentage of remakes that is inkeeping, tasetful and respectful of the original's look and feel. Explosions are cheesy too, which I'm sure all N64 fans will be glad to hear.

Sound

From that techno mix of late 90's music in game, to the god awful tacky voice over, this game is brilliant. I'm a massive fan of the old style 'pay a guy on the street £5 to say this line in a game' voice acting as it brings a smile to my face everytime someone goes "hey you?" or "stop her" in an awful fake French accent.

The music throughout the game is brilliant though, remastered by the sounds of it and given a 2010 boost in quality but still the same 'tunes' from the original that had that thumping baseline in every level that kept you going. Weapons have the good old Cowboy Spaghetti Weston 'per-ching' after every ricochet shot, and guns have a decent score to accompany the remixes too.

Multiplayer

For most fans, this is what they remember most from the N64 incarnation. Using the adopted engine and mechanics that powered the hardware shifting Goldeneye to success in the late 90's, Perfect Dark manages to clone that same style of start with no gun and shoot the enemy first tactic and even manages to retain the map showing where the enemies are at all times, so campers need no apply.

Managing to take you back to the days before ranks, perks, kill streak rewards and camping snipers by introducing close quarter combat only style maps with corners, ledges, ramps and underpasses at each turn, this is the 4 player local co-op play experience the fans of the original have been hoping and praying for and demanding that Rare and Co. didn't ruin.

Taking the game online only further shows the progression of the industry and demands of players, and proves that by stripping all of the unnecessary add-ons back down and streamlining the experience so it's just you, in a search for a gun and then kill some 'noobs' is still all that is required for laughs and fun.

Summary

Should you buy a 10 year old remake then? For 800 points, absoluetly. It's the best remake-HD classic on the marketplace and is a fitting climax to the House Party month schedule of events that everybody can enjoy.

Scrap Metal review

Remember back in the late 90's when top down racers where all the rage? Micro Machines perfected the art of multiplayer carnage on the PlayStation and Mashed delievered it in spades on the PS2.

Today we're focussing on the second week of 'House Party' month, where 'Scrap Metal' from developers Slick entertainment could possibly see the next spiritual home to our classic friends.

Gameplay

Firstly, this is a top down zoomed out perspective of racer where the goal is to beat your competitors in a variety of match types. Whether these be standard races (first person past the finish wins), Elimination races (lap knock out, last place gets blown up), destruction derby, 1 v 1 cage match (destroy the competitor and claim their car as a reward) etc. they all roughly feature the same game play style.

There are 2 control methods, one standard right trigger accelerate, left for brake and the direction is altered by the left analogue stick, or the default control scheme where everything is mapped to the left stick and as the track bends, a slow precise scroll of the left thumb is all that is necessary to control your car.

Sounds great in theory this default control scheme, and for the start of the game it is indeed the preferred method of taming and reining in your beast of a machine, however as the levels progress and the difficulty gets turned up to 11 very brutally, you're left spinning in the wake of the oppostition crashing and banging into every piece of scrap metal, dust bin, low wall and fence posts and venting your frustration by hurling your pad in the rough direction of your television.

The difficulty curve for me, was far too steep. As a seasoned pro and racing veteran, I was left raging at the fact the 3rd (sometimes even the second) level of a track would rob me of a winning position allowing me to progress to the next level every single time. I personally feel an option to set AI difficulty down a notch would've been very beneficial. This isn't Trials HD we're talking about here, afterall this is/was supposed to be easy accessible online multiplayer fun.

As you progress through the game, racing on a certain track for a specific amount of time opens up your next venue. Each venue compromises a host of different race types including the above I listed earlier and end the track listing with a boss battle. Finishing 1st, 2nd or 3rd (which you have to do anyway to progress to the next level and is a lot harder than it sounds) unlocks modifying points which you can use to upgrade your vehicle in the garage section.

In your garage, you have the ability to boost up your defences, attack (by means of a fixed weapon specific to each different vehicle ranging from machine guns, flame throwers to circular saws) speed boosts and improved handling but these modifications really don't feel all that beneficial once in the game. Especially when it appears everytime you fill your nitro bar (either on track via a pick up or via the garage prior to racing) and use it, all the cars around you appear to boost along with you defeating the purpose.

All in all, it's a fairly decent game to play with, but they seriously need to tone down the difficulty as it errodes the fun of the game and leaves me absolutely furious once I've finished playing it for the day.

Graphics

The look of the game is pretty darn sweet. Colours, map designs are nothing special but are pin sharp and detailed so that doesn't matter. Track designs and layouts differ sufficiently to stop them feeling completely samey and car models are decent too.

Presentation in the garage segment is nicely done as well, as are the comprehensive menu's prior to loading the game. But the whole character appearing on the bottom of the screen with a subtitled message and that done to death 'radio interference' sound thing where it normally says something on the lines of "you'll regret that" if you hit someone is a bit too cheesy when comparing it to the presentation of the rest of the game.

Sound

That bloody menu music sounds pretty good first time, but on a 30 minute playthrough where you're constantly crashing on the last lap, being blown up in a 1 v 1 when they're on a miniscule bit of health and your bar is almost full and to then hear the same tune on loop drives you absolutely nuts.

Car engines sound like car engines should, and in general the rest of the sound score is pretty much okay (except for the forementioned cheesy line thing in game accompanying sound), nothing special or stunning to report really.

Multiplayer

In the single player game, there can be as many as 8 cars out on the track which makes those moments when you flame thrower a car then t-bone another at an intersection to then watch your competitors plough into them great fun and truly entertaining, which is why when I found out the multiplayer online was limited to just 4 people I felt an opportunity was missed.

Multiplayer is decent with a mixture of modes from the single player games and whilst the game doesn't live up to the Mashed/Micro Machines link I made in the opening lines, it's still a fair game to play and burn a few minutes on prior to a gaming session or the like. It won't hold your attention like other more casual multiplayer games on the Arcade (such as Worms 2 or Battlefield 1943) but it's a fun time waster while you're waiting for friends to come online.

Summary

This is a tough one as this was by far and a way my most anticipated launch of the House Party month. Sadly, I'm left disappointed and disheartened due to many things as mentioned like the AI being punishingly difficult, the upgrades and the multiplayer being the biggest selling point also having been compromised by limiting the number of players.

There's some sweet moments in there though, and don't let the niggles put you off. I have to admit the 1200 points price tag seems a little over the top when comparing titles such as Trials HD which are pretty darn cool and also faultless. There's also an option for 3D play with the game, this wasn't tested by myself however due to not having the correct equipment to test it with. But it's a nice touch and a notable one, as is the inclusion of avatar rewards including an awesome RC car for completing the single player.

So all in all, should you get it? I don't want to have to tell you that, test the trial out on Live and see for yourself what you make of it. It's a good game bit it could and should have been a great one.

Scrap Metal Review

If you’ve been waiting for a sequel to R.C Pro-Am, then Slick entertainment have delivered, well sort of anyway. It isn’t actually an R.C racer, but the top down viewpoint makes it appear as if you’re driving miniature cars. This game is not a simulation by a long shot, the name of the game is action and nothing but. While the game has it’s issues such as some buggy controls and some below par artwork there is still some fun to be had here if you can fork over the 1200MSP without choking.

Scrap metal is comparable to Super Sprint, but with one difference each of the cars are brimming with weapons and hardly ever hold them back. There are 8 tracks to cause carnage on, with you having to complete a set number of missions before you face the track boss. What Slick has done well here is vary the mission types, in a genre that can sometimes be awfully repetitive. In Scrap Metal you’re constantly having to change strategies from races to demo derby’s and even monster trucking.

Whenever you wreck an opponent’s car, you gain that car in your garage. Each vehicle not only has different strengths and weaknesses, but weapons. However, you have to choose what to put in your garage and carefully, as you only have four spots and if you replace a car you lose all the upgrades you have bought. Completing mission’s gives you upgrade points for coming in the top three positions, which you can then use to upgrade your chosen car.

The graphics for the tracks and cars are good, unfortunately some of the tracks lack personality and unlikely to make you want to chose them again. The animations for the weapons and track effects look good, but don’t overtly impress. My biggest niggle with the graphics however, is the 2D character art, which looks as if they got it for free. Over all on the graphical front Scrap Metal would have benefited if it had a unique or memorable art style, which sadly it lacks.

Multiplayer allows you and up to 3 other people to battle it out online with the addition of a number of NPC competitors. There are three match types, Demo derby, Race and King of the Hill. Demo derby just consists of you getting the most number of wrecks before the time runs out, race is exactly the same as in campaign with each of you vying for first place. King of the Hill is exclusive to the multiplayer and combines elements of Racing and Demo Derby. In it you have to have the highest high score by the time the clock runs out but there's two ways to go about accumulating points. One way is to stay in one of the three medals positions, and for each half lap you get rewarded points. The other way is to wreck other cars and by doing this you can get a substantial amount of points. While the multiplayer is unlikely to hook you like MW2 or BF BC:2 would, it doesn't mean that it would be fun to give it a spin with some mates.

Last but not least there are the controls, which is easily the largest flaw in the game. Slick entertainment did the right thing by offering two different control systems for you to choose from. The first mode, which is recommended to beginners, is where you just simply push the stick in the direction you wish to go. You would then think you would push it in the other direction to reverse, but instead you have to press LT. It does feel a bit weird at first and during a tense race you’ll often get tripped up. The second control scheme lets you drive from the perspective of the car with R.C style controls. The biggest problem is if you’re driving towards the bottom of the screen you have to remember to reverse your steering controls. However, the physics engine can be the most frustrating thing in the game causing you to spin out for no reason at all and cause you to lose the race. This is where the game stops being fun and enjoyable and just becomes frustrating if not evil.

The Xbox Live Arcade Block Party Promotion has so far been a good way for Microsoft to do some self-promotion of first-party studios. Block party started of with a fantastic little tower defence action game called Toy Soldiers. Which was then followed up by Scrap Metal before the world ends and we finally get the re-release of Perfect Dark. Unfortunately, when compared to these games it may look like Scrap Metal belongs in the Block Party junk heap.

Scrap Metal is a good game in its own right, but not compared to how Toy Soldiers nearly reinvented the Tower Defense genre and the nostalgia of Perfect Dark or even the slightly overpriced potential of Game Room. Scrap Metal just can’t stand up and compare itself. However, that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t take it for a test-drive, but with a price tag of 1200MSP you won’t be too eager to jump right in.

Final Thoughts

Presentation: With the somewhat shoddy controls, and a lackluster art style, its a surprise that Scrap metal still manages to be a fun and enjoyable game.

Sound: The metallic guitar riffs are a great backdrop for vehicular destruction.

Gameplay: The variety of missions and the upgrade system keep things interesting.

Re-play value: With multiplayer races with up to 3 friends there is a reason to go back, but not a very strong one.

Overall: 7

Toy Soldiers Review

It's the devastating war between Britain and Germany, World War 1 is being replicated with stunning realism with... wait a minute, these are toys? Fly toy biplanes, drive wind-up and go toy tanks and destroy the opposition's men in what is one of the finest strategy-come-action games on Xbox, and it's all part of House Party month.

Story

Think of this as World War I with your mum and dad's (possibly gran/dad's) toy collections replacing real weaponry. You're faced with the challenge of defending your toy box from the opposition by means of force and utilising all the equipment at your disposal. Battles take place right over Europe as the German movement to capture and cease power continues to build up pace.

Gameplay

Right, storyline over now I get on to what really matters with regards to this game, and that's all about the gameplay. First of all, this is one of those little unique twists on an old, tried and tested formula that we like so much here at Game Attic.

Although from appearance and your first introduction to the game, yes it looks remarkably similar in style to a standard Real-time-strategy game (place guns here, defend this position etc.), Toy Soldiers throws a spanner in the works by completely changing gameplay by allowing the player to control the placements and other assorted weaponry (such as tanks, planes) along the way.

What you effectively have here, is 2 games. Should you wish to leave your AI guys to it and would rather play commander from the sky, you can do so no problem. Doing so removes the soul from the game though as so much detail and attention has been paid to the design and workings of the weaponry, that it's the source of most of the fun.

Along the way and as you progress further into the game, different weapons are available to be placed. You begin the game (normally) with a stable of cash that allows to take stock and sort yourself out with basic defences to stop the first advance from your enemy. With each kill (whether it be enemy placement, soldier, cavalry, tank, 'choppers etc.) you get a cash reward that allows you to boost your defences by either upgrading or occupying another placement point dotted around your toy box.

In the later levels, you can leave your guys to defend your box on their own and you have to go beyond enemy lines in order to wipe out the enemies defences which are hampering your armies progression.

Enemies come in 'waves' which can be seen and ticked down at the top of the screen allowing you to prepare for the next onsalught. If you see planes a'coming, set up an anti-air turret immediately and such, up until the final enemy wave. Final waves sometimes conclude with a "boss battle", which sees a standard piece of equipment jumbo-ised (it's a word) and your task is to kill it dead, good luck as these things are BIG.

Graphics

The general presentation of the game can be altered by your own personal preferences. If you feel like going all old school, turn the film grain option to on and be absorbed into the dark ages of technology and development as the cavalry come charging towards you.

That - you may be glad to hear - is completely optional though. Other than the film grain this is a totally 2010 affair with beautifully detailed surroundings, well animated enemy attacks and deep detail on everything within eyesight.

What's great though is the real sense of 1900's toys and play time. The massive big "ROAR" tanks have little clockwork windy up bits on them, when enemies are shot, they don't explode in a puddle of blood with limbs flying everywhere, they simply break into two. It's charming and unique look extends to the sympathetic battlefields where these wars take place.

The battlefields are detailed, with ruts full of mud, puddles, barbed wire and the like and are distinctively war torn and ravaged, just as you expect them to be. Overall, it's a triumph.

Sound

From the early war gramophone style menu and pause menu music echoing the 'tunes' of the generation, through to the gritty cries of a sniped soldier as he plummets to the ground, this isn't toy-like at all.

Tanks sound mean and furious and the base weapons all sound mean-as, with satisfying 'boom' bellows and the like, filling the battlefield.  The infamous bugle "we're coming!" starts every wave of advancement and an alert siren informs you of when an enemy is too close for comfort to entering your base.

It's less unique and adventurous sound wise, but we can forgive it that simply for the way it plays.

Multiplayer

Take the battle online via Xbox live over 5 maps encompassing all the stuff you loved about single player including: taking bombing runs in a plane then flying into the enemies toy box without him even knowing, to blocking the road with a tank and screaming "YOU SHALL NOT PASS", this can either be a serious strategy game fix for your Live arcade collection, or a mess around laugh fest (which is what it turned into for me).

If anything, it catches the fun and spirit of actual toy playing just for the digital revolution and 'kids' of the facebook generation. It's simply too fun at times for words.

Summary

Well, what a shocker. From the first try I had with the trial to actually playing the full game was a massive leap. The increasing learning and difficulty curve will keep you busy and on your toes, whilst remaining challengly fun throughout. One of the greats of Xbox Live Arcade (I say that a lot right?) and proof that we're going through a golden time of arcade classics. Buy without concern, it's great.

Dante's Inferno Review

Take control of Dante in his crusade to save Beatrice by entering and kicking seven shades of 'you know what' out of hell in an attempt to break free and save the trapped souls under control of the evil and sinister Lucifer keeping them there.

Story

Dante's Inferno is heavily based on one man's passage through the circles of hell in order to free Beatrice - his sweetheart who was cruely taken as bait into hell - and to defeat the entities representing the rulers of the 9 deadly sins, to ultimately take over the Throne of God.

Throughout the game, you will see your passage take the path echoing the 14th Century Poem - Divine Comedy - on which the story is based on. The allegory is the telling of Dante's adventure through a medieval interpretation of what hell is and what it represents and sees him travel through the 9 circles of hell in order:

Limbo, Lust, Gluttony, Greed, Sullenness, Heresy, Violence, Fraud and ultimately, Betrayal.

Later in the game, Dante must face up to and ultimately fight his own sins in a tale of treachery, war crimes, family tragedies and more as his descent into the center of hell deepens and the pursuit to rescue his beloved reaches a stunning climax.

Graphics

Normally, the path in which my reviews go lead on to the gameplay side of things next, but the presentation and quality of the story telling in Dante's Inferno is so impressive it needs to be addressed now.

All of the main story developments are presented using a 3 tier mix of in game cutscenes (all of which have production values so high, they could be mistaken for real life), a cartoon-come-story board presentation similar to an historical timeline and a fully fleged animation.

It's this stunning attention to detail and depth to the story telling that is ultimately the main feature selling point to Dante's Inferno. WIthout a doubt, you'll have your breath taken away in the opening scenes and hooked to the end because of it.

In game graphics continue the high quality theme as the journey through the 9 circles deepens and your crusade picks up pace, the action and environments react accordingly and with each increment in difficulty along your path, the tasks and challenges, enemies and puzzles reflect in a deeper, darker and more sinister presentation of your surroundings.

Boiling blood, fire effects are all impressive, but are dwarfed in comparison to the sense of scale both of the levels and in the size of the main 'entities' (think of these as 'end of level' bosses) and their respective attitude's.

All in all, it's bloody beautiful. Animation is slick, environments seedy, shiny and highly detailed and polished to a squeaky clean sheen and it genuinely pushes the limit of the 360 in terms of the stunning FMV interludes.

Gameplay

Think of this as the ultimate mix of hack 'n' slash, adventure, mini RPG and story telling and you're pretty much there.

The standard mix of spam 'x' button and press 'a' to jump to kill and fly and jump from swinging vine to swinging vine idea is all present, mixed in with opportunities to scale and ride the larger enemies to either 'absolve' or 'punish' them by shoving your fabled cross in their face or by slashing them in half respectively by doing on screen commands (such as push the analogue sticks in opposite directions at the right time, or by mashing 'b').

Throughout the game, you'll have the opportunity to develop the way in which you play with the introduction of magic and expanding your arsenal and killer moves by collecting souls and exchanging them as a sort of in game currency in order to progress further.

You also have the ability to rank up a good and an evil side by either rescuing souls at the appropriate times or by punishing them. Doing so much of one or the another allows your XP to rise in order to ultimately rank up and unlock the more advanced abilities depending on your play style.

Puzzles are a regular occurence and are often based and feature the same principles as the previous ones, such as: drag this block to hold this object up, or shove the block up to make an easier platform to jump up etc.  There's no serious head scratching moments, it's just simply a break up of the never ending slaughtering of the ever increasing amount and size of enemies throughout the game.

All objective or point of interests throughout the levels are highlighted by a spinning circle allowing you to grab, jump to, swing from, slide down or pull (ie. switches) and any interesting fixed objects that are able to be destroyed glow and flash in order for you to swing your scythe at in order to reveal new pathways.

It's a simple game, but very enjoyable and for a hack and slash newbie like me, the storyline drove the game forward at a perfect pace and was complimentary to the simple gameplay design.

Sound

From the menacing screams of tortured souls or the desperate plees for help while climbing the walls within hell, the representation of hell is one of a pain and suffering.

Excellent voice acting throughout the game, whether via in game action or cutscenes adds to the sense of high production values. Dramatic tense undertones in the background whilst playing, through to the mechanical movements of stairways, chain lifts and creaking statues all add to the sense of depth and scale of hell.

To summarise the audio quality and cinematics, they're complimentary to the proceeding comments on graphics, without being outstanding. Great voice acting talent is a genuinely pleasant addition.

Summary

Dante's Inferno is an epic depiction of one man's travel through hell using stunning graphics and simple to pick up and play game controls so everybody can enjoy and feel pro whilst gorging on it.

If a little short and some what lacking in replay-ability, the game is a must play for fans of such series as Devil May Cry and God of War, and whilst some fans of the forementioned series' may feel that this is a blatant 'rip' of their favourite franchises, they can relax fully in the knowledge that this can sit comfortably next to them due to the quality and attention to detail Visceral Games have added to it.