Batman: Arkham Asylum

June 17, 2005 - There's something just a little bit crazy about a guy who dresses up like a bat. Though the Batman battles some true loons, there is an uneasy familiarity between hero and villain. Grant Morrison and Dave McKean explore that connection in Arkham Asylum, one of the finest superhero books to ever grace a bookshelf. When the maniacs in the madhouse are set loose inside of Arkham, they hold the workers hostage. They have a list of demands and topping that list is the Batman himself. Bats agrees and enters the insane asylum, but not with batarangs blazing. In fact, it's a calm entrance, with Joker acting as host. His enemies cause is simple; they believe Batman belongs in the Asylum just as much as they do. The twist -- Batman doesn't necessarily disagree. Parallel to Batman's journey through the Asylum is the tale of Amadeus Arkham, who originally constructed the house in the '20s. His journey into madness notes some rather familiar symbols. At one point he finds a playing card, the Joker, until eventually his madness emerges with the symbol of the bat, tying the Dark Knight to all the other madmen. Of course, this is 60 years prior to the birth of Batman and his Rogue Gallery, which then assumes all of this insanity was predestined. McKean's art is crucial to the tale. No other artist, with the exception perhaps of David Mack, could come close to capturing the claustrophobic psychosis permeating Arkham Asylum. Many of the pages read down instead of across and it's a disorienting experience. Each page feels like madness. The imagery is beautiful with Batman's battle with Killer Croc the most vivid moment. Batman: Arkham Asylum is unlike any other Batman book you've ever read. No one's ever tried to duplicate it. I doubt anyone could. While I can't really buy the comparison of Batman to Jesus (it's first implied with a spear stab to his side, then confirmed with a visual side-by-side), the rest of Asylum is brilliant. Is Batman really just as crazy as the rest, but somehow driven by divine purpose? Let's flip a coin to decide.

Dead Space

The survival horror genre is rife with games in which you are isolated in a hostile environment full of monsters, and Dead Space is no exception. But from the moment you're thrown into the middle of the fray in the heart-pounding introduction until the bone-chilling conclusion, it's clear that this is something quite unique. With its disturbingly twisted visuals, its deeply engrossing story, and innovative strategic dismemberment combat system, Dead Space is a best-in-its-class game that surpasses other entries in its venerable genre in nearly every way and will be the standard by which they are judged for years to come.
When the Concordance Extraction Corporation loses radio contact with its Planet Cracker-class mining ship, the USG Ishimura, engineer Isaac Clarke is dispatched on a routine mission to repair its communications array. However, Clarke is also on a mission of his own, having recently received a cryptic message from Nicole Brennan, a medical officer serving aboard the Ishimura. While on board he intends to reunite with her and learn the meaning behind her strange broadcast. Unfortunately, the moment you set foot on the derelict ship, it's obvious that something terrible has happened.

As Isaac, you are separated almost immediately from the rest of your team by the former crew of the Ishimura, which has been transformed into horrifying monsters called Necromorphs. Forced to fight for his survival, Isaac makes do with the tools at hand to defend himself with, which are for the most part repurposed mining instruments like plasma welding guns or buzz saws. These improvised weapons are put to graphic, gruesome work as bodily damage and even severe head trauma isn't enough to kill a Necromorph--only by severing their limbs can you put them down for good. This nuance, referred to as strategic dismemberment, vastly alters the way combat is approached in Dead Space from the typical "aim for the head"-style gameplay seen in most action games and zombie apocalypse scenarios.
Every class of Necromorph requires a different strategy to handle, and knowing how to combat multiple types simultaneously is an essential skill if you want to survive for long. Though dismemberment is ultimately the key to victory, failing to finish off a monster properly will only send it into a berserker rage and force it to adapt to its new, partially appendageless situation so that it can continue trying to eat your face. Even more alarming than their ghastly appearances and uncouth manners is the fact that they are quite intelligent. Necromorphs attack in packs using loose team tactics, and are capable of traversing the ship's extensive ventilation system to sneak around for outflanking or ambushing. They feign death among the corpses of their peers to rise up and attack when you least expect it, and they often come in waves, leaving you wondering if it's truly over or if they're simply toying with you.
The most basic Necromorphs are humanoid monsters that attack in a frenzy. Horribly mutated undead babies also make an appearance, and they run along the walls and ceilings sprouting tentacles from their backs capable of throwing organic projectiles. Others still are heavily armored but vulnerable from behind, are bloated with dozens of spiderlike parasites that are released upon their host's death, or shriek madly as they carry explosive pods toward you in a suicidal charge. In one fully interactive gameplay sequence that comprises some of the more amazing moments to be experienced in Dead Space, you're assaulted by the gigantic tentacle of an even larger, unseen beast that drags you to a gruesome and bloody death as you struggle to shoot yourself free.
Finally, at several key points in the story, Isaac stumbles upon some of the most incredible and truly terrifying boss monsters to be seen in the survival horror genre. Though revealing the circumstances around which you confront these nightmares would do much to spoil them, it is safe to say that these epic encounters are easily some of the most remarkable seen in years.

One of the first things to notice in Dead Space is that it features a complete lack of a traditional heads-up display; instead, pertinent information is integrated directly into Isaac's RIG uniform. To see his current health you need only glance at the iridescent meter built into the RIG's spine (or pay attention to his physical cues), and to see how much ammo is left in your current weapon, simply check the display readout visible whenever you raise it into the ready position. If you ever find yourself wondering where you need to be next, you need only press a key for Isaac's RIG to temporarily trace a beam of light on the ground toward your next objective. When called up, menus are holographically projected ahead of you in real time, producing a sense of urgency as you remain vulnerable to attack. These simple yet ingenious systems ensure that you remain firmly within the realm of the gameworld at all times, preserving the horror experience.
Your ultimate goal aboard the Ishimura is to escape from it, hopefully along with Nicole; but to get to that point you must first accomplish a series of dependent tasks. Guided remotely or in person by the remaining survivors of your doomed repair operation, your missions take you from deck to deck in a logical chain of events. For example, early on you discover that the ship's orbit is decaying because its engines are offline, so you must travel to engineering to refuel and restore them. Once they're back online and the Ishimura begins to correct its course, you realize that you're about to pass through an asteroid belt and that the automated defense systems are down, so it's off to do something about that.

Each deck is a self-contained environment in which you run around putting out fires while moving closer to escape, and while your team will remain in frequent contact, you are almost always alone--and most of the few survivors you do encounter have been driven insane by their ordeals. This sense of isolation in such a hostile environment, coupled with bloody visuals and a brilliant sound design, has you constantly questioning your own sanity and wondering when the next attack is coming. Further enhancing this effect are the bone-chilling logs you find left behind by the crew in which their final thoughts and moments are recorded. Though audio logs are nothing new to this type of game and are in fact often used to flesh out the backstory, these are exceptionally well done, and are accompanied by full video logs and text reports, which all together make for a much more compelling narrative.
As you explore the many decks of the Ishimura, you will come across two utilities that will prove to be of endless use: stasis and kinesis. Stasis, a finite resource that must be replenished at recharge stations across the ship or with booster packs, allows you to temporarily slow down fast-moving objects, while kinesis gives you the ability to lift, move, and throw objects in the environment at no cost. Each can be used independently or in tandem to solve puzzles or navigate the ship, and each has useful battle applications as well. For instance, stasis can be used to virtually stop incredibly fast-moving Necromorphs and give you the time to tear them limb from limb, and kinesis can be used to throw explosive canisters or even severed extremities to conserve ammunition.

From engineering to hydroponics and beyond, Dead Space never fails to impress with its visuals. Whether you're watching the torrential rainfall of asteroids across the hull of the Ishimura from the bridge atrium or witnessing the way a corpse spins serenely in a zero-g vacuum, the haunting yet beautiful graphics of Dead Space have a way of sticking in your mind long after you've quit playing. Semi-interactive cutscenes such as the one in which your team's rescue ship explodes within the Ishimura docking bay simply must be seen firsthand, and the tremendous lighting and environmental effects lay the groundwork for an intense horror adventure. VSync is enabled by default, which prevents some really nasty visual tearing but adds about a half a second of lag into mouse movements. This can be compensated for by adjusting mouse sensitivity, so make sure you tweak your control settings for an optimal experience.
What really rounds out the entire experience, however, is the incredible sound design. Throughout the halls of the Ishimura, you are stalked mercilessly by the Necromorphs, and while you can't always see them, you are constantly surrounded by the menacing noises they produce or the eerie pitter-patter they make as they crawl through the ventilation shafts. You'll occasionally hear the distant screams of Necromorph victims or the creepy singing of a mentally unbalanced survivor, and environmental effects such as those generated by the sudden release of a burst of steam will keep you on the edge of your seat. Perhaps the most impressive use of audio in Dead Space takes place in a vacuum: any sounds that originate outside of Isaac's helmet are muffled and barely audible, while those from the inside, including his breathing and grunts of pain, are amplified.

Far Cry 2

In Far Cry 2's chaotic world of mercenaries, gunrunners, and armed militias, you'll find yourself dropped into a dizzying web of shady clients and paper-thin alliances. All manner of names and faces are introduced during the course of the storyline, but the real star isn't anyone brandishing a smuggled weapon in search of blood diamonds; it's the daunting and awe-inspiring 50-square kilometers of African landscape that make up the game's open-world setting. Aside from providing the opportunity to soak up an amazing sunset, Far Cry 2's free-roaming terrain brilliantly harmonizes with the first-person combat. The diverse landscape and myriad environmental factors work alongside a wide assortment of weaponry to give you tremendous freedom to approach each mission. Combined with solid multiplayer, Far Cry 2's sheer breadth of action provides you with plenty of reason to stay lost in the African wilderness despite an underwhelming plot and the occasional sense of tedium in navigating from one location to another on the gargantuan map.

Far Cry 2's story is filled with potential. You're a mercenary working for a client who's sent you to an unnamed African nation engulfed in civil war, and your job is to take out a notorious arms dealer known as "The Jackal." He quickly proves to be an elusive figure, so you'll need to begin working for various warring factions that the Jackal has armed so you can trace the supply line back to your target. The two primary organizations at the heart of all this bloodshed are the militaristic UFLL and the revolutionary APR. You'll spend the bulk of the story working for these two groups, getting to know their power structures, and taking on all of the violent tasks they throw your way. Complicating things is the fact that your character has malaria, which means you'll need to occasionally play nice with the more ragtag Underground, the only group with the medical connections necessary to keep your potentially life-threatening symptoms at bay.
Each story mission can be played in multiple ways. There are 12 potential buddies randomly scattered throughout the storyline who you can befriend (nine of whom are available to choose as your silent protagonist), and they're often keen to tack on their own interests to the quests handed out by the UFLL and APR. Instead of just taking out a target, you have the option to earn extra reputation points by working alongside your buddy to first squeeze any remaining assets from the soon-to-be-deceased. This also earns you the ability to increase your level of companionship with that buddy. It's a neat reward, but it doesn't shed much light on their backgrounds. But that's par for the course; the main story is delivered in such a rushed, quick-and-dirty way that you never feel very involved in the game's overarching conflicts. The plot is less Blood Diamond than it is early Grand Theft Auto, a long roster of changing faces that scroll by far too quickly to capitalize on the politically charged setting.
Although disappointing for a single-player campaign that could easily drain more than 30 hours of your time, any shortcomings in the plot are mostly forgivable thanks to Far Cry 2's overall structure. The game is organized in a way that provides a daunting amount of freedom to explore, earn currency, and wreak havoc on the game's landscape and its denizens. It's all laid out in a manner typical of sandbox action games. Pulling out your map reveals a collection of icons that signify available missions and points of interest that you can meander toward at your own leisure. Among these are dozens of side missions that you can take on, with various forms of rewards. Delivering transit papers to trapped refugees earns you malaria medication, destroying rival convoys for gun merchants unlocks new weapons for purchase, and performing assassinations for mysterious voices at the other end of your cell phone rewards you with diamonds. You can also rough up militias stationed in small camps and turn their dwellings into your own safe houses. The side missions can feel a bit repetitive when played through in rapid succession, but they offer a great change of tempo when sprinkled throughout the main narrative. But what's most clever is how their differing rewards intermingle so wonderfully with your needs in progressing through the story: Malaria pills keep your HP and stamina up, diamonds buy you new weapons and ability upgrades, and safe houses provide temporary shelter to stock up and save your game.

The freedom of choice that goes with selecting which mission you want to perform carries over to how you execute them, and that's where Far Cry 2 really shines. There are a variety of factors that affect the way you approach each mission, from the number of people you need to kill, to the landscape, to the weather and time of day. If your job is to take out a key figure hidden deep within a militia camp in the jungle, you'll do well to take a nap at your safe house until nightfall and silently stalk your prey under the cover of darkness. If it's a windy day and you need to take out a bandit outpost in the dry plains, you can start a fire from far away with a flare gun and let the breeze and arid conditions collude to spread the flames toward their camp, finishing off the survivors with a sniper rifle. Need to clear out a bunch of scattered guards? Why not shoot an oil drum near an ammo stockpile and watch as the bullets erupt in every direction like deadly pieces of popcorn? Of course, you can also get up close and personal with pistols and machine guns, but the moments in which elaborately planned assaults succeed are some of the most gratifying points in the game. The whole process of staging an attack only becomes more intricate and rewarding as you slowly upgrade your safe house into a full-blown armory and unlock new weapon and vehicle abilities--all done through the gun shops.

The sheer variety of weapons plays a big role in your ability to craft a personalized approach to each mission. For every situation, there's a weapon ideally suited to delivering mercenary justice. From the AK-47 to the Molotov cocktail and the remote-detonated improvised explosive device, they all feel like weapons that could easily be plucked from the civil wars of Africa. Furthermore, your weapons will cycle through an authentic level of wear and tear, particularly those picked up from ragtag militiamen; secondhand weapons will show dirt, frequently jam, and eventually break, which means that it's best to buy them from the shop. All of the above makes for a uniquely desperate and makeshift style of combat compared to other first-person shooters.

If there's one drawback to the combat, it's that it tends to be a little too forgiving after the first few hours of the game. Your health is divided into several individually regenerative bars like Resistance: Fall of Man, but once it gets low, you can inject yourself with a syrette for added health (though if it's really low, you'll first need to perform a slick self-heal such as yanking bullet shells out of your leg or snapping a broken arm back into place). You can eventually upgrade the amount of ammo and health you have to further tip the odds in your favor, and even have a buddy rescue you whenever you die (though you need to keep an eye on him because he can be permanently killed in a scuffle). Most of the challenge arrives when you're looking at your map in search of the next mission and then get surprised by a bunch of roadside bandits while you're driving one of the game's numerous run-down SUVs or river boats (which exist alongside hang-gliders, trucks, licensed Jeeps, and dune buggies as the types of vehicles you can operate). However, there are still very few moments when you don't feel like an everyman caught in a nasty situation, and that sort of improvised payback is what makes Far Cry 2's combat so engrossing.
Visually, Far Cry 2 is a stunner. Though not as technically amazing as the jungles of Crysis, Far Cry 2's depiction of the sprawling African wilderness makes up for it with environmental diversity and intimidating scale. Several landscapes are represented here: dense forests, rolling plains, arid deserts, craggy badlands, and even shantytowns and hut villages. You'll see trees swaying, the charred remains of a brush fire, and several forms of wildlife running around. It all looks incredible in the transitional period of the day-night cycle when the sun is falling or rising through the horizon and everything is cast in a warm glow. The game also sounds great, with tribal music accompanying you at all times, from a relaxing ambience in calm situations to a rapidly escalating roar of drums in battle. The voice acting during mission briefings feels strangely hurried (as if it's some trick to squeeze more dialogue onto the disc), but that's largely offset by excellent enemy banter during combat.
Adding to Far Cry 2's value is the 16-person online multiplayer. The gameplay modes on display are nothing terribly special (you'll see variations of Deathmatch, Team Deathmatch, Capture the Flag, and Territories), but the fighting captures a lot of the appeal of single-player, including vehicles, fire-based weaponry, and a great sense of scale in each map. But what sets the multiplayer apart is that you don't need to settle for the included maps; each version of the game comes with a deep but intuitive map editor capable of letting you create everything from dense urban locales to sprawling forests. And downloading new maps is simply a matter of seeking out featured selections or hitting "download" when a Quick Match search lets you know that you don't have that one yet. Such uninspired gameplay modes are certainly a letdown, but the map editor has great potential to inject loads of lasting appeal into Far Cry 2's online component.

Although the original Far Cry was available only on the PC for the first year and a half of its existence, Far Cry 2 will see an expanded audience with the PC, PlayStation 3, and Xbox 360 versions all available out of the gate. However, its roots are clearly on display when taking in the differences between the three platforms. Far Cry 2 looks best running on a PC, with clearer textures, better foliage, and less pop-in. The console versions also suffer from the occasional loading hitch when you're driving into a highly populated city. Another key difference is that the PC version lets you save anywhere you want, whereas the 360 and PS3 games only let you use predefined save points. However, the latter difference isn't quite as lopsided as the graphical disparity; saving anywhere gives you more room for experimentation in approaching your missions, but the console versions provide a more clearly defined sense of consequence that adds extra tension to the combat. You'll definitely want to go with the PC version if you've got a system capable of approaching the hardware requirements, but the differences aren't so great that you won't have a blast with either console version (which are virtually indistinguishable from one another).
Overall, Far Cry 2 is a game in which you can quite literally get lost for hours at a time. But that feeling of exploration is precisely what makes the game so much fun; your creativity never feels stifled when approaching a mission, and the game's overall structure of side tasks, friends, rewards, and upgrades is a diverse ecosystem rivaling the landscape itself. No matter whether you're a PC fan whose played through the similarly structured Crysis or a console owner new to the world of open-ended first-person shooters, you won't be disappointed by Far Cry 2.

Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare

The only real catch is that the single-player is almost shockingly short. If you've been keeping up with this style of game, you'll probably shoot your way to the credits in under five hours. While you can raise the difficulty to give yourself more of a challenge, the main thing this does is make the enemies frustratingly deadly, which sort of detracts from the fun.
While it may have a lack of single-player quantity, it makes up for most of it with its quality. The game tells its story from multiple perspectives, and you'll play as a new British SAS operative as well as a US Marine. The campaign takes you from a rainy night out at sea on a boat that's in the process of sinking to a missile silo where it's on you to save millions from an unsavory nuclear-powered death. Along the way, there are plenty of jaw-dropping moments where you'll look around the room for someone to whom you can say, "I can't believe that just happened." In a world filled with war games in which the good guys come out unscathed and the world is left at total peace, Call of Duty 4 will wake you up like a face full of ice water.
The action in the campaign is usually very straightforward. You have a compass at the bottom of your screen, and the direction of your current objective is very plainly marked. But getting from point A to point B is never as simple as running in a straight line, as you'll be conducting full-scale assaults in Middle Eastern countries by moving from house to house, taking out what seems like a never-ending stream of enemy troops along the way. You'll also get an opportunity to raid Russian farmhouses in search of terrorist leaders, disguise yourself as the enemy, and, in one sequence, don a brushlike ghillie suit and crawl through the brush as enemy troops and tanks roll right past you. It's a breathtaking moment in a campaign filled with breathtaking moments. Unfortunately, it's about half as long as the average shooter, and there are plenty of sequences where you wish there were just one or two more hills to take.
Of course, if you're looking for longevity, that's where the multiplayer comes in. Up to 18 players can get online and get into a match on one of 16 different maps. Many of the levels are taken from portions of the single-player and they offer a healthy mix of wide-open, sniper-friendly areas and tight, almost cramped spaces where grenades and shotguns are the order of the day. There are six game modes to choose from. The old standby is team deathmatch, though you can also play in a free-for-all deathmatch, which isn't as much fun as the team modes. The other modes are more objective-oriented, and a couple of those have you lugging bombs across the map to blow up enemy equipment, or preventing the enemy from blowing up your base. Others have you capturing control points. Lastly, you can change up the game rules a bit with a hardcore setting that makes weapons more realistically damaging or an old-school mode that puts weapons on the ground as pickups and generally moves away from the simulation side of things.

In addition to just firing your weapon or tossing grenades, you earn some more interesting tactical moves for skilled play. If you can shoot three opponents without dying, you're able to call in a UAV drone, which basically is an upgraded radar that makes enemy positions show up on your onscreen map for 30 seconds at any time. Normally, enemies blip up onto the map only if they fire their weapon to make their location known. If you can go on a five-kill streak, you can call in an air strike, which brings up a shot of the entire level map and lets you place the air strike wherever you like. When combined with a UAV sweep, this can be really devastating. If you can make it all the way to seven kills--which is actually easier than it sounds--you can call in a helicopter for support. It'll buzz around the map and automatically open fire on enemies, though enemies can shoot it down, too. These additions to the normal first-person shooter gameplay really open up the game a lot and make it superexciting to play.

You'll also always have something to work toward, regardless of mode, because in standard, public matches, you earn experience points for just about everything you do. Capturing control points, getting kills, calling in support, all of these things give you points that go toward your rank. Ranking up unlocks most of the game's multiplayer content.
The class system in Call of Duty 4 is also very interesting. Each class has a different weapon loadout and different traits, called perks. As you rank up, you eventually unlock all five of the preset classes and the ability to create your own class. This lets you pick your own main weapon, your sidearm, attachments for both weapons, what sort of special grenades you want to carry, and three perks. The perks are broken up into three groups to help keep things balanced, and as you continue to level, you'll unlock additional perks. These class traits are one of the game's neatest tricks and, again, really helps to set COD 4 apart from the pack.

Perks in the Perk 1 group are more focused on explosives, letting you get more flashbangs if you like, or letting you lug around a rocket launcher, which is great for taking out enemy choppers. The other two perk groups have traits like juggernaut, which increases your health. There's also last stand, which activates when you are killed by dropping you to the ground and switching you to a pistol, giving you a moment to kill the guy who took you out before he realizes you're still squirming around and finishes the job. Our current favorite is martyrdom, which causes you to drop a live grenade when killed. It adds a healthy dose of mayhem to the proceedings. The perks and other unlockables feel nicely balanced, too, so you probably won't run into situations where one class is just better than the other. As it should be, your ability to point the red dot at the head of your enemy and squeeze the trigger before he does the same is still the deciding factor.
While there are a ton of compelling gameplay reasons to play Call of Duty 4, it also has top-notch presentation. The graphics are fantastic throughout, and they do a great job of rendering wide-open fields, tight buildings or houses, smoke-belching silos, and lots more. Some of the multiplayer maps look like they've already seen a lot of action, with blast craters, destroyed tanks, and other things that you can hide in or behind. It also has terrific lighting, so everything looks as it should. Everything sounds right, too. When you hear a battle raging in the distance, it sounds appropriately muffled, and up close, the crack of an M16 or the full-auto barrage from an AK-47 are appropriately loud and angry sounding. There is also quite a bit of voice work throughout the game, and it's all nicely done. The music, for the most part, is the typical sort of action-movie music you've come to expect from a first-person shooter, except for a rap over the end credits that seems to simultaneously detail the game's story while also acting as a subliminal diss record with some slick talk about how this is the third chapter by Infinity Ward, perhaps lightly inferring that you should ignore Treyarch's contribution to the series, Call of Duty 3. It's great.

COD 4 is available on the PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, and PC, and each version holds up admirably. The differences between the two console versions feel mostly negligible. Both systems deliver good frame rates and have good, easy-to-use multiplayer setups that most closely resemble Halo 2 and 3's party system and matchmaking playlists. The PC version of the game uses a more traditional server browser to get you into games. Both systems work just fine on their respective platforms. The PC version has the ability to run in a higher resolution, if you're equipped with a PC that can handle it, but it seems to scale quite well. You can also create servers that allow up to 32 players to play at once on the PC, as opposed to a limit of 18 in the console versions, but given the size of the multiplayer maps, putting 32 players in them makes things a little too crowded. Despite listing 1080p support on the back of the box, COD 4 appears to prefer 720p on the PlayStation 3. The only way to get it to run in 1080p is to tell your PS3 that your TV doesn't support 720p or 1080i, but the difference seems minor. Either way, you'd be hard-pressed to tell it apart from its Xbox 360 counterpart. And all versions control just fine, making the decision over which version to buy totally dependent on which controller you like the most.
It's a shame that the single-player is so brief, but you should only skip out on Call of Duty 4 if you're the sort of person who doesn't appreciate great first-person shooter multiplayer. The quality of the content in the campaign is totally top-shelf, and the multiplayer is some of the best around, making this a truly superb package.

Crysis Warhead

In the year 2007 came Crysis, a First-Person Shooter from Crytek, the game that set new levels of excellence for others to follow. Its graphics were the best around, on all platforms. However, it did have its problems which for some people ruined the experience. Still, the game earned a plethora of award for setting new standards in gaming.Crytek promised us an expansion, with better AI and improved performance (PCs costing less than $1000 would be able to run it lol). Did they keep their words? Lets find out.Crysis Warhead is a open-world base FPS that gives you a freedom of how you can approach each tactical situation. Crytek has done a great job in making a fast pace and intense action based game in form of Crysis: Warhead to overcome the previous drawbacks of the Crysis, and this proved that Crytek has the full potential of delivering a intense action game with outstanding visuals.Story OutlineIn Crysis Warhead, you will play as the Sergeant Sykes, also known as ‘Psycho’, one of the most memorable characters from Crysis. More brash and aggressive than his Delta Force squadmate Nomad, players will experience Psycho’s parallel story during the events of the original game, finding that life on the other side of the island is even more intense and explosive than they ever could have imagined.The events of Crysis Warhead take place at the same time as the original Crysis, but on the other side of the Island. No, it’s not confusing at all. It doesn’t ‘advance’ the story, but it does make it interesting. Psycho was mentioned in the original Crysis, as a member of the 5-member team that parachuted onto the Island.Most of the story involves Psycho running after a mysterious container that the KPA is protecting.

SoundThe game’s music is… Well its there, and its pretty OK. The voice acting is great. O’Neil sounds just the way you expect him to. There are times when the dialogue gets just a bit corny, but that’s all. Just like the original Crysis, if you choose to play the game in the hardest mode, all the KPA members will talk in Korean only, so that you can’t understand a word they’re saying. How cool is that?The other sound effects are all very good. Definitely better than the original Crysis. Now you can hear splashing sounds when you walk/run in water. The weapons sound nice, not very powerful, but still nice and sort of realistic.Oh and there is the occasional use of the F-word in the game.

GameplayCrysis Warhead, just like the original Crysis, plays well. The control scheme is great, and there is full controller support. The nanosuit functionality is just as great. It makes the game very interesting. There are several ways you can kill your enemies. Snipe them from far away (shoot their head off), or sneak up on them using the Cloak Mode. The most fun way to kill the Koreans is to punch them in the Maximum Strength mode. One punch – One kill. You can be really creative that way. I grabbed a Korean and went high up a tower and threw him down from there, just for fun.The enemy AI is better as well. The original Crysis’ enemies were a bit dumb. Especially the aliens. Well the aliens are still dumb, but a little less. The KPA also have some of their old flaws, but in general, they are more intelligent. They hide in bushes more often, flank you, and try to find better cover. The AI in Crysis is better at times that some of the best games around. But then again… All of the KPA fighters seem part-deaf. They can’t seem to understand where the bullets are coming from if you snipe them. Moreover, Psycho can sneak-up on them without any problem. You can run towards them, and they won’t hear you. This is a bit stupid, but like I said, you only notice this at times. The enemies are not Call of Duty like. You can’t kill them with a couple of shots if you shot them in their stomachs. Head-shots are a different matter. One proper shot, one kill.

Oh and there are more enemies with nanosuits on them. The nanosuit enemies also use their powers more efficiently. They use their Maximum Armor mode too (you can tell by the color) to absorb damage.The Alien AI has been improved a lot. In Crysis, some of the Aliens would just float above you without actually attacking you. The ones that did attack didn’t do it with any strategy. In Warhead, the aliens are a bit sensible. They tend to hit you more often with their ice-beams, and their movement is more random, making them harder to target. Still, with the right weapon, the Aliens are not hard to take out. There are less of them anyways.The weapons… Crysis had some good weapons, but according to some, they didn’t FEEL powerful. I disagreed. Anyways, there are cooler weapons in Warhead. I especially like the EMP grenades, which are extremely effective against both the Aliens and the nanosuit guys. There is another ‘experimental’ weapon that you get to use near the end. One word, it’s awesome.The vehicles also handle better. I didn’t really use them much, as I’m more into direct confrontation. But they are good if you want to get to your objective quickly.

GraphicsOh the good stuff. I intentionally kept this part for the ending part of the review. Based on Crytek’s own CryEngine 2 both the Crysis games are graphically the BEST game out there on any platform. There is simply no arguing that fact. Warhead improves on the original Crysis but adding some more cool effects to the game, and by ‘optimizing’ the game so that it can run well on a wider range of computers. The result is awesome. It really is. While playing the game, you’d go WOW at its beautiful graphics. Believe me, the game’s graphics look prettier than some of the hottest chicks at Iqra.The cutscenes in the game could’ve been better in my opinion, but hey, that’s just one thing right? The rest of it is pure gold. There are little additions that make the game look even better. Dive into water, the come out. You’d see the difference. The sunsets somehow seem prettier, the water reflection look better, there are new birds in the game and the explosion look awesome as usual. You can now see frost on weapons, that changes with conditions. I can’t really explain, but anyone who has played Crysis will see various little improvements when they first play Warhead.

The game runs smoothly on a lot of different configurations. Even with the added effects, I ran the game at Enthusiast Settings on an ATI Radeon 4850, getting very playable framerates.ConclusionCrysis Warhead will WOW anyone who isn’t blind, or dumb; graphics being its strongest point. The little tweaks and improvements are just what Crysis needed, and while there are still minor problems that should’ve been addressed, the game remains one of the best shooters released this year. The gameplay is absorbing, the graphics are awesome and the enemies are smarter, all for a very modest price tag of $29 (in Pakistan, you know what is the actual price of the game :P so no comments please..).One of the best games of 2007 just got better. Get it NOW.

Street Fighter IV

The name "Street Fighter" sends one on a long trip down memory lane. Capcom’s series shot to immense fame with its second installment, bringing a simple and accessible one-on-one arcade brawler to the masses. Eventually, console ports and countless spin-offs, followed by a proper sequel, have managed to keep the franchise alive to this date. The third entrant i.e. SF III was criticized for its lack of accessibility and hardcore-centric approach, essentially giving experienced players a massive leverage over newcomers. However, new additions like the ’parry’ mechanic gave it a lot more depth than previous games in the series.Years later, Capcom brings forth its latest installment in the series i.e. Street Fighter IV, with enormous hype surrounding it from the moment it was announced. The big questions: Does it live up to the enormous hype? Does it strike a perfect balance between accessibility and depth? The answer to both is a resounding YES! On the flipside, you may also ask if it bring anything new to the table. That depends on what you’re looking for. If you’re hoping Capcom has reinvented the wheel with it latest iteration, a huge disappointment awaits you. However, if you seek a pure refinement of what you’ve come to expect from the series, this is most definitely the game for you.

The game’s story is set during the timeline of SF II and III, taking place a few years after the former. The central plot involves the returning shadow organization, Shadoloo, which creates circumstances for another fighting tournament to serve its own ulterior motives. Character specific storylines unfold via animated cut scenes and in-game conversations.It isn’t shocking, then, that you get to see quite a few returning faces. There are plenty of favorites, ranging from Ryu and Ken to Sagat and Bison, all boasting significantly enhanced move sets. In addition, there are several new characters, all having their own unique fighting styles. There’s C. Viper, who is somewhat of a Terry Bogard rip-off in terms of gameplay. Then, there’s an obese-looking street brawler, Rufus, who’s deceptively quick for his size and weight. Ryu and Ken’s Sensai, Gouken (no, not Sheng Long), is seen for the first time as a playable character. Another new addition is Abel, a martial arts specialist with an extremely wide grab range. There’s even a Mexican pro-wrestler, El Fuerte, who’s a little goofy, but at the same time has some deadly maneuvers. All in all, the roster comprises of 25 diverse characters that should keep you busy for quite some time to come.

If I were to describe SF IV’s gameplay in one word, it would be "perfection". Not because there isn’t room for evolution, but because the game succeeds at what it set out to achieve, tweaking its age old characters to make them as evenly balanced as possible. There are always going to be top tier/bottom tier characters when it comes to competitive play, but the advantages/disadvantages of picking one over the other have been reduced to a minimum. Whether you win or lose will solely depend on how good or bad your actual skills are. The developers appear to have found the perfect sweet spot between SF II’s simplicity and SF III’s complexity, making the game accessible for the masses, and at the same time, making it rewarding enough for the pros. Being able to effectively perform EX versions of your moves gives you an advantage over casual players, albeit not a significant one. Learning to do Super/Ultra moves isn’t difficult and performing these moves can quickly turn the tide in your favor. Similarly, breaking free from a combo is as easy as getting trapped in one.The greatest new addition to the gameplay comes in the form of the all new focus attack, replacing SF III’s parry system. Depending on how long you have the medium punch/kick buttons held, it lets players absorb one blow from their opponent and counter with an attack of their own. It’s extremely easy to perform, even for the inexperienced, though hardcore enthusiasts are rewarded for well-timed counters with greater damage and a free hit advantage. The mechanic adds a whole new layer of depth to the gameplay, dramatically shifting the tide in one player’s favor.

The game modes are fairly robust, in the sense that there’s pretty much every option available that you’d expect from a current generation fighter. There’s a story mode, an offline and online versus mode, and a training dojo to hone your skills. You do get to unlock a decent amount of goodies from the single-player modes alone, which helps to enhance the longevity of the solo experience. However, the real "bread and butter" of any fighting game comes from its multiplayer experience and thankfully, SF IV doesn’t disappoint.Whether you’re on Xbox Live or PSN, online matches are as easy as flipping a coin down an arcade machine, provided you’ve got the broadband muscle to sustain a lag-free game. The standard matchmaking options are all present, with the game finding an opponent most suitable to your skill level. Interestingly, in an attempt to emulate the ’arcade experience’, the developers have incorporated a neat little touch by letting online opponents challenge you while you’re playing a single player game. It actually works quite well considering that once you’re done, you return to where you left off in your single player game, just as you would with a real arcade machine. Surprisingly, the game is currently lacking an online tournament mode, something that would’ve really added to the entertainment value. Here’s hoping Capcom eventually adds it into the game via some future DLC. Don’t expect it to be for free, though. Nothing’s for free these days (Not even horse armor).

The game boasts some brilliant visuals that give it a unique hand-drawn/artistic look. Similar to the EX Alpha games, even though the fighting takes place on a 2D plane, the fighters and backdrops are in 3D, letting the game cover the action from some glorious camera angles. Character models look very detailed, sporting a more realistic look compared to previous iterations. The environments are varied, showcasing quite a lot of background activity. Animations and facial expressions are also top-notch, making every move look all the more menacing and effective. The added on-screen artistic flair while performing special moves makes them all the more fun to watch. The music, while not as catchy as that of SF II, works well within the context of the game. It’s also nice to occasionally hear remixes of some of those classic tunes during rival battles, though it would’ve been much nicer if there had been an option to let you set your personal favorite playlists. Sound effects are just as satisfying as the animations, making every character sound like they can pack a punch. Believable sound effects for background objects and people make the experience even more captivating. Voiceovers are decent enough and get the job done.Amongst the two console versions, there are a few minor differences that are worth mentioning. Visually speaking, the PS3 version appears to be faithful to the arcade game. However, the X360 version goes a step further and boasts a few minor improvements, mainly in the form of a slightly cleaner look and more depth in color/shade. Also, character models appear slightly sharper on the X360 during close up instances. However, these differences are only visible if you’re really looking for them, comparing the two versions side-by-side. The frame rate seems to stay constant in both versions and that’s where the real fun is at. In fact, even with the minor technical shortcomings, it can actually be argued that the PS3 version is the way to go, as the X360 controller d-pad is absolutely hopeless whereas the PS3 controller holds its own, probably even against the official SF IV game pad. I personally found it a LOT (and I do mean a LOT) easier to consistently perform super moves and combos using the Sixaxis controller.

Bottom line, SF IV is a hardcore fan’s dream come true. At the same time, it’s accessible to the casual crowd. If you’re looking for the game to take an evolutionary step for the genre, steer clear of this game. On the contrary, if you’re looking for a brawler that’s been fine-tuned to absolute perfection, then this is the game for you.

Uncharted: Drake's Fortune

November 13, 2007 - It's been a rough year for PlayStation 3 owners. Exclusives have been lost, a handful of titles have been bumped from the bottom line-bolstering holiday season, and Lair was Lair. With each disappointment, more and more fans have looked to Uncharted: Drake's Fortune -- a title whose screenshots have been lauded for months -- to be the saving grace of Sony's 2007. But pinning so much on one title pretty much guarantees a letdown, doesn't it? Can Naughty Dog live up to more than a year of mouthwatering coverage and placate fans who forked over $600 to see stellar title after stellar title come out on non-PS3 platforms? Yes. Yes, it can. Uncharted: Drake's Fortune is the most fun I've had in a videogame this year.
Putting you in the shoes of Nathan Drake -- a worldly treasure hunter on the trail of something big -- Uncharted tosses players into a third-person action/adventure/platforming/shooting homage to the pulp-action movies of yesteryear. Nate takes on pirates, scales ancient walls, swings from jungle vines and solves puzzles using the most basic of clues on his path to unearthing the secrets of his ancestor Sir Francis Drake alongside his cigar-chomping buddy Sullie and newswoman Elena. Uncharted does what few titles manage -- it completely immerses you in its experience. From the moment the game begins with a sweeping camera move through the waters off Panama, a rich score and the words of Sir Francis Drake etched on screen, Uncharted will have you hooked. It'll maintain that hold with its story, style and gameplay. If the broad strokes of Drake's treasure hunting story sound hackneyed -- a tough female reporter who hates the hero at first slowly starts to dig him, the older partner's past catches up with him on the hunt of the century, etc. -- rest assured that the possible setback is blown out of the water by the superb dialogue and motion capture from the cast.

A lot of times we as an industry like to wax on and on about how videogames rival movies, but rarely do we have an example as well done as Uncharted. Nate is funny as he laments over yet another wall he needs to scale, Sullie is loveable as he tells the same traveler's tales over and over, and Elena's fire for her story and give-and-take with Nate is endearing. When these characters interact and you watch their relationships grow, you feel like you're part of their circle. You feel like they're your friends. Hell, Naughty Dog even went the extra step and made Elena and Sullie non-playable characters that actually help you out. From the first time Elena and I got into it with a set of pirates, she was alongside our hero shooting the bad guys. Mind you, she wasn't softening them up for Drake and she wasn't hiding, she was shooting to death the guys I missed. When Sullie and I were investigating ancient ruins in the heart of the jungle, my former mentor was quick to pull chain levers to open doors for me as well as provide his lighter to enact certain puzzle pieces on our journey. Non-playable characters with spot-on AI is something we don't see enough of in games.

A lot of times we as an industry like to wax on and on about how videogames rival movies, but rarely do we have an example as well done as Uncharted. Nate is funny as he laments over yet another wall he needs to scale, Sullie is loveable as he tells the same traveler's tales over and over, and Elena's fire for her story and give-and-take with Nate is endearing. When these characters interact and you watch their relationships grow, you feel like you're part of their circle. You feel like they're your friends. Hell, Naughty Dog even went the extra step and made Elena and Sullie non-playable characters that actually help you out. From the first time Elena and I got into it with a set of pirates, she was alongside our hero shooting the bad guys. Mind you, she wasn't softening them up for Drake and she wasn't hiding, she was shooting to death the guys I missed. When Sullie and I were investigating ancient ruins in the heart of the jungle, my former mentor was quick to pull chain levers to open doors for me as well as provide his lighter to enact certain puzzle pieces on our journey. Non-playable characters with spot-on AI is something we don't see enough of in games.

Some people are going to get tired of the constant stream of rebellious pirates because I know I found myself rolling my eyes when the umpteenth group attacked me. When you've dipped into the black-and-white screen of near death a few times and are running low on shotgun ammo, it's hard to keep your spirits up when the fourth wave of bad guys flood into an area. However, Naughty Dog should be applauded for their decision to stick with the bad guys because Uncharted does a 180 in the final chapters on everything you've known, and it's amazing. Without spoiling anything, the game teaches you to fight and investigate in a very specific manner with its early level hooligans and cover system. Toward the end -- once you've gotten supremely comfortable with the combat -- Naughty Dog flips the system and you've got to improvise. Still -- as awesome as the flip was -- I could've done with less pirates or a cornucopia of pirates. The point would've been the same, and one of the only dark spots on the game would be removed. Graphically, Uncharted's beautiful as you tear down trees with turrets, watch Nate's clothes saturate with lagoon water and the sun filter through the leaves, but there is a lot of texture pop-in on the jungle floor and treasures while aliasing on the walls and screen tearing are par for the course. It shouldn't take you out of the experience, but it is noticeable.
Closing CommentsHere's the thing about Uncharted, the final sum is far greater than the individual parts. Maybe you don't dig the combat or maybe the pop-in gets you down, but the overall package of an endearing story, outstanding score, great performances and fun gameplay should put this title on the top of your holiday wishlist. Say what you will about the PS3, but Uncharted isn't just a standout for Sony -- it's a standout for gaming as a whole.

Ninja Gaiden Sigma

June 29, 2007 - Ninja Gaiden on the original Xbox was a landmark release for the system, partly for its lightning-quick gameplay and brutal difficulty, and partly because of its outstanding visual prowess. It's arguably the best-looking game to ever hit the system. As good as it was, the perfectionists over at Tecmo, and Tomonobu Itagaki in particular, decided to refine it even more with the release of Ninja Gaiden Black, an updated re-release of sorts that added the Mission mode and new enemies that upped the difficulty even higher. Now the title gets its third release in Ninja Gaiden Sigma exclusively for the PlayStation 3. Sigma is essentially a remix of the original game and Black, offering up some of Black's additions like the Mission mode, while going back to the original's difficulty level (though it's still certainly not easy). There are also new enemies to be found, some new areas, various gameplay tweaks and, most notably, the ability to play as Rachel.

The end result is that Ninja Gaiden Sigma is, as expected, the best of the bunch and a fantastic title all around. It's somewhat amazing how well the core game holds up three years after its release and a generation later. Many of us around the IGN offices were massive fans of the original game, and our time with Sigma was easily just as much fun as we had three years ago. If you didn't like the original there won't be enough here to change your opinion, but fans of the game will find a ton of fond memories here. The gameplay in Ninja Gaiden Sigma is extremely fast-paced, maybe even faster than the original release. It's very quick and requires a lot of dexterity to handle, and new players may find a bit of a learning to overcome as they get used to how to properly fight, but once you have it down you'll be lopping heads off left and right. Old timers who've beaten the old releases will find that much of the game feels easier this time around. But in large part it's simply because after you've worked through the game once, your skills have necessarily become so honed that the early (and seemingly difficult at first) stages are essentially a breeze. As mentioned, the biggest addition in Sigma is the ability to play as Rachel, a Fiend Hunter who made various appearances in the first game, but only as a non-playable character. In Sigma, you're able to play her efforts as she heads off in search of demons to slay. These missions are a bit of a hit and miss. On the one hand, they help flesh out the story a little more in certain areas. Ninja Gaiden's story never made a ton of sense, but her sections help clarify a few events.

The ability to play as Rachel isn't the only new thing you'll find in the game. New enemies are scattered here and there, and a number of the returning characters have been given visual overhauls, not just with regards to texture resolution boosts but their overall design as well. Most of them fight the same, but some do look quite a bit different, and all of it's for the better. For instance, the black ninjas in Tairon look much more lethal now, as do the Vigoor soldiers. All of these updates have been applied fantastically. There's also a new weapon in the game, or pair of weapons in fact. Dragon's Claw and Tiger's Fang is a dual-sword combo that you can find relatively early on in the game, and aside from being powerful they look awesome. Unlike most every other weapon in the game they act very similarly to the Dragon sword, so you don't have to trade functionality for coolness.
The ability to play as Rachel isn't the only new thing you'll find in the game. New enemies are scattered here and there, and a number of the returning characters have been given visual overhauls, not just with regards to texture resolution boosts but their overall design as well. Most of them fight the same, but some do look quite a bit different, and all of it's for the better. For instance, the black ninjas in Tairon look much more lethal now, as do the Vigoor soldiers. All of these updates have been applied fantastically. There's also a new weapon in the game, or pair of weapons in fact. Dragon's Claw and Tiger's Fang is a dual-sword combo that you can find relatively early on in the game, and aside from being powerful they look awesome. Unlike most every other weapon in the game they act very similarly to the Dragon sword, so you don't have to trade functionality for coolness.
One thing that wasn't helped a ton is the somewhat confusing layout of some areas and a lack of direction on occasion. Tairon is still a maze, and towards the end of this chapter when you need to face off with a couple turrets before you leave, the only clue your given is to head over the nearby drawbridge and then you're left on your own to wonder until you happen upon your exit. Being that a couple progression points in the game require that you've learned to multi-wall-run (run along one wall, then jump and run along a second or third), if you've missed this clue and haven't learned that you can do it out on your own, you can get really stuck if you have no idea where to look to advance. The camera is also unfortunately exactly as we remember it from Black. It's adjustable, but there are times when it will be pointing in less-than-ideal directions, and it can be hard to see what you want in tight quarters. In open areas, which thankfully encompass most of the game in some respect, it's not really a problem and the overall experience more than overshadows this fault.

One fault that we had with the original game that was greatly addressed here are the sections where you were required to fight a seemingly endless amount of enemies to advance. Areas like the Archives were especially bad about this, but they've luckily been removed from all required sections. There are sections where this will happen, but in each of these cases it's for some sort of bonus item. Unfortunately, you don't realize this until after you've spent all of your urns while fending off nearly 100 enemies, but at least they are optional, whether you know it or not.
The Mission mode from Black returns once you've beaten the game, as do interchangeable costumes and the ability to upload your high Karma score. Rachel gets her own set of missions this time around which is nice, though as mentioned previously, she's not as fun as Ryu. The Mission mode is locked prior to beating the game for a reason, however - it's extremely difficult and intended to truly test your abilities. If you want to practice for those, once you've beaten the game you'll also have access to a harder difficulty option, which is paramount to self-torture for all but the exceptionally talented players. Visually, Ninja Gaiden Sigma is easily one of the cleanest-looking games we've seen this generation, with extremely sharp visuals all around. Texture resolution is great, character detail is fantastic and it runs at a blistering 60fps even at 1080p. The environments look good, though since most of the geometric content has been moved over from the Xbox title it's not mind-blowing in any way. The same holds true for the lighting. Characters feature self-shadowing, which while subtle does look nice, but the environments use the same lighting techniques as the previous iterations. There's a time or two in the game where Ryu's dynamic shadows get cast onto the ground where the shadow from a platform you're standing on isn't cast and makes things appear messed up, though you really need to look for these instances and you'll probably never really notice them during actual gameplay.

Closing CommentsThough its core gameplay and content is more than three years old, Ninja Gaiden Sigma is just as fun as the original release. Many of the new content additions and tweaks have been added for the betterment of the experience, making this clearly the best of the bunch. The sections with Rachel are reasonable fun, though pale in comparison to what it's like to take Ryu on a decapitation world tour. If you didn't like the first two releases, there's not anything here that'll draw you in. But if you're a big fan of the original, it's worth your time and money to pick up Sigma as the game has never looked better or been so refined. And if you've never played Ninja Gaiden before, you should stand in line for this one.

Flower

February 9, 2009 - thatgamecompany has depicted something that I never once imagined: what would a flower's dream look like if we could see it? Flower, a PS3 downloadable that comes as a spiritual successor to flOw, is one of the most beautiful games that I've ever played. Not just because the visuals are entirely breathtaking, but also because the experience of playing it offers more enjoyment, emotion and enlightenment than any game I've tried in years. Before you read on, keep in mind that Flower isn't quite for everyone. There will be those that experiment with it but won't see the point, as it strays so far from the traditional spectrum of gameplay systems, but it's truly worth playing. Flower is a poem, where you as the player participate in the dreams of flowers confined to the ever-changing landscape of a colorless city. Each dream, or stage, revolves around a different theme and gameplay objective, but your method of control remains the same: tilt the controller to direct a series of flower petals through beautiful environments. Press any button to stir up a wind that will coax them along. As you begin with one flower petal, you'll soon touch other flowers and gather more petals, generally influencing the environment in a way that pleases the dreamer. This setup works amazingly well to create varying tasks for you to enjoy.

As odd as it sounds, thatgamecompany has created one of the most elegantly crafted gaming experiences of all time, where learning only takes a moment -- if it doesn't already come naturally. I've never felt motion controls work so seamlessly before, but Flower is a testament to how effective the scheme can be when used properly. Even turning the controller upside down will cause the petals to blow in a loop or travel towards the camera. Furthermore, the fact that the game only requires one button (any button on the controller) makes it totally approachable. I found the right analog stick to be my favorite method of controlling the wind, as applying a light amount of pressure caused a weaker breeze and subsequently allowed for more precise control. In truth, that's really all there is to Flower from a gameplay perspective, but the experience is much more fulfilling than you could understand just from reading about it. Watching the petals join together in a subtle blend of light and musical notes while thousands of blades of grass billow back to life stirred deeply-rooted emotions in me. The majesty of it all stems from the fact that Flower tells you so much by saying so little -- as if a Zen poem had been lovingly shaped into a videogame. This is the sort of experience that anyone can enjoy with the right attitude. There is no death or failure. You simply complete the objectives and solve organic puzzles in your own time while basking in the euphoria of the game's visuals and music. But for gamers more interested in traditional challenges, there are secrets to be found in each stage, as well as extremely clever Trophies that tie in brilliantly with the game's overarching philosophy. Although the entire game can be "completed" in under an hour and a half, there is an impressive amount of replay value that comes just from playing in the sweeping fields. For example, one dream allows you to change your petals to one of three different colors. Skirting across the grass in this state will paint the grass that color, giving you the freedom to color an entire valley as you see fit. This is entirely optional and unobtrusive in its design, but adds a layer of gameplay onto the stage that enhances the richness of the experience.

Although I admit that I would have liked to see even more in Flower, I am completely comfortable with the game's length. The reward you receive emotionally is easily worth the ten dollar price tag. Flower is also the type of game that you can come back to just for the joy of playing it again. It's so streamlined and elegant that I'm even content to let it sit idly on my PS3, as it will quietly switch to stunning landscape shots of the current stage.
Closing Commentsthatgamecompany's Co-founder, Jenova Chen, told me that Flower is experimenting with territory outside the traditional "fun pie," an abstract pie chart Chen constructed that maps out the emotions and motives of modern game genres. If you're interested in something very unique and very powerful, Flower is a must-play. It will especially resonate with people that possess a deep connection with nature and spirituality, as it's the type of game that reaches out to us and whispers about the beauty of life -- without saying anything at all.

BlazBlue: Calamity Trigger

June 26, 2009 - BlazBlue: Calamity Trigger is something of a dream game for me. Being a devoted follower of developer ARC System Works -- the folks behind the Guilty Gear series -- I was ecstatic when I first found out that BlazBlue was on the way. The oddly-named 2D fighter would serve as the (dare I say it) spiritual successor of the Guilty Gear franchise and preserve the developer's legacy for creating wildly imaginative, fast-paced fighting games with nice visuals. Although I was sad to hear that Guilty Gear might eventually bow out to the BlazBlue name, I was eager to get a fresh start. And now that BlazBlue is finally here, I couldn't be more pleased with the final product. BlazBlue: Calamity Trigger is one of the most polished, fun fighting games I've ever had the pleasure of playing. Although the game will have a much more limited appeal than mainstream powerhouses like Street Fighter and Tekken, this gem of a fighter really needs to be played by anyone even remotely interested in fighting games. There's almost nothing about this game that rubs me the wrong way and ARC System Works has thought of every little detail a fighting game fan could want. As a side note, the initial run of BlazBlue was all limited edition, but eventually the standard edition will make its appearance on store shelves when the limited versions are sold out. But the overall package is still very much worth the investment. BlazBlue has it all: awesome characters, stunning backgrounds, sweet music, tons of unlockables and -- most importantly -- enjoyable fighting. Like the 2D fighters before it, BlazBlue pits two characters against each other in a battle that takes place on a 2D plane. Anyone even partially familiar with Guilty Gear will feel right at home when playing BlazBlue, as the game not only borrows heavily from Guilty Gear's aesthetics but also feels very much like the "evolution" of the Guilty Gear franchise. While certain fighting games (such as Street Fighter and Soulcalibur) emphasize ground combat and more pointed, precise inputs, BlazBlue places tremendous stress on fast action and dashing, as well as plenty of aerial combat. Unless you're controlling a slow character (I'm looking at you, Tager), be prepared to play this game at a dizzying pace.

One of the things I love most about BlazBlue is how straight-forward the basic fighting engine is. Yes, there is depth to be found and the advanced techniques can be intimidating, but at its core, BlazBlue only has four buttons to learn. Attacks A, B, C and D. The "D" stands for "Drive," which is a special, character-specific attack that is -- essentially -- the "easy way to look cool." Attacks A, B and C are just normal attacks of increasing strength. Besides these simple attacks, you use the D-pad (or an arcade stick) to move around, duck, jump, and block. That's all there is to it. Of course, that's just the tip of the iceberg in BB Land. BlazBlue also features a host of advanced techniques that ARC System Works fans should have come to expect. By pressing back on the D-pad and holding A and B (The attacks, not the 360 buttons!), your character will put up a Barrier, which is a more effective way of protecting your fighter. You can also hit A, B and C together during a move to Rapid Cancel, which stops the animation of your current attack and allows your fighter to execute another move immediately. This sort of technique drains your Heat gauge though, which is the BlazBlue equivalent of a Power/Super/Tension gauge. Besides cancels, the Heat gauge also governs your Distortion Drives (super attacks) and Astral Finishers (a flashy instant kill), to name a few. As you can see, there's plenty to learn in BlazBlue, but that's what experimenting in the Training mode is for. If this looks like it's too much to handle, it's really not. BlazBlue is actually very beginner friendly, as basic combos can be executed just by hitting A, B and C in order. The Drive attack is a great way to perform a special move without any effort, and blocking soon becomes second nature. These are all one-button-press techniques, so I suspect that even beginners will have something to enjoy when they first start. Even when players do move on to bigger, better special moves, all the directional inputs are familiar: circle from down to forward on the D-pad, circle from back to forward on the D-pad, etc.
These responsive mechanics are complemented by a veritable sea of other gameplay elements that make BlazBlue such a fun experience. No fighting game is complete without a great cast of characters and once again the designers at ARC System Works have given us a memorable roster. Yes, these characters borrow heavily from their Guilty Gear predecessors, but they've been given a life of their own thanks to their very distinct personalities and their unique Drive attacks. Positioned as the poster children of the BlazBlue universe, Ragna, Jin and Noel are arguably the game's star characters. The strangely adversarial relationship between Ragna and Jin echoes the classic tension between Guilty Gear's Sol and Ky. This time, however, the roles have been seriously reversed, as I'd say that Ragna (the successor to Sol) is the hero and Jin is the "villain." I love these characters and how fun they are. From the distinguished vampire girl Rachel to the over-excited ninja Bang, there's just too much personality for one disc.

This online functionality is made even sweeter when you realize that you can save match replays and watch them in the Replay Theater I mentioned above. Replays can be viewed at normal speed, sped up, or frame-by-frame, which is a great option for the hardest of the hardcore that want to study a troubling loss (or startling victory). The only problem with these replays is that you can't rewind them once you start -- you have to boot them up again. A minor complaint, but a complaint nonetheless. The only other real issue I can call out in regards to BlazBlue: Calamity Trigger is the game's limited appeal. Although I personally think everyone should give this game a go, I know that the zany character designs and speedy combat might not suit everyone's tastes. For me, I was right at home the moment I landed on the main menu. For others, they might see the giant, disproportionate Tager and question the game's (lack of) logic.
Closing CommentsHonestly, there's no way I could describe everything I love about BlazBlue: Calamity Trigger because I would be writing a novella. All you need to know is that this has become one of my favorite fighters of all time and the level of polish and detail this 2D wonder has is amazing. The character designs are excellent, the fighting mechanics are top-notch and there are even extra animated scenes that feature chibi (super adorable) versions of the characters talking about the BlazBlue universe.
I know BlazBlue is only targeting a certain type of fighting game fan, but I think the mechanics are cool enough to entertain anyone even remotely interested in the genre. I'm sure that once the community gets its hands on this game, the true test of balancing will begin and issues I might have missed might come to the surface. With that said, there's no escaping the fact that I had a blast playing BlazBlue and I encourage everyone to buy a copy.
It's something of a dream game for me, you see.

Bionic Commando

May 18, 2009 - Over twenty years ago, Capcom introduced gamers to a story where the hero was dropped deep behind enemy lines with little more than a pistol and a bionic arm. Bionic Commando went on to become an action classic thanks to its challenge and its gameplay, and fans of the original will frequently tell you stories of how fun, but also how difficult the game was. In many ways, it was a badge of honor to play through and complete, and players eagerly awaited the next chapter for Rad Spencer. While the original was remade in last year's critically acclaimed Bionic Commando Rearmed, Grin took almost another year in producing a true sequel, also called Bionic Commando. Confusion of naming conventions and systems for each game aside, the new Bionic Commando is an enjoyable addition to the franchise for action fans. The game takes place ten years after the original game, where you once again take up the cybernetic enhancements of Nathan "Rad" Spencer. Time has not been favorable to Spencer, because he's been blamed for an incident that has inspired hatred of bionically augmented people by his former comrades. As a result, Spencer's been imprisoned, stripped of his technology and sentenced to death. Fortunately for him, he's pulled back into service after a terrorist group known as Bio-Reign detonates a weapon that irradiates most of Ascension City, ripping it asunder and killing a large amount of the population. With Super Joe, Spencer's commanding officer, calling the shots, our hero gets deployed into the ruined city to discover the purpose behind the attack.

For the most part, the story keeps moving at a reasonable pace. There are some implied connections to the first game via characters that are introduced, which helps considering the length of time between titles. Some of these are rather tenuous, and some of the scenes are pretty horrendous – for example, the sequence between Mag and Spencer when they first meet is straight out of a B-movie with all of the pushing they perform – but overall, the story is enjoyable with some interesting twists and a set up for future sequels. Clearly, much of Bionic Commando's gameplay revolves around the bionic arm itself, which helped distinguish the original from other action games at the time. However, Bionic Commando takes an interesting twist to your abilities with the arm from the start of the game, by keeping you separated from the gear for a few minutes until you recover it from an errant drop by your forces. Since Spencer has been away from his equipment for many years, his body needs to take time to remember all of the moves that it can perform with the appendage. You're always able to perform swings and vertical leaps with the bionic arm thanks to a grappling reticule, which turns blue whenever you can connect to a surface. Based on the amount of arm cable that you have extended as you swing, a momentum indicator highlights the best time to propel yourself forward. It may take a little while to get used to, but once you do, you can perform an incredible sequence of jumps with impressive speed, leaping from area to area seamlessly. Be aware, however, that you'll need to be careful with some of your jumps. If you miss grappling from one area to another and fall to your doom--swing into any irradiated areas or land in deep water and can't grapple out--you'll start back at a distant checkpoint, without any of the equipment or items that you may have acquired along the way. If you want to avoid this hazard, you'll have to get better with your skills – something that harkens back to the game's older NES roots.

The other abilities for Spencer slowly come back during specific checkpoints, allowing you to figure out the best way to use each move in combat. It makes sense, and along with button prompts that pop up on the upper right hand corner of the screen, reduces any confusion as to what you can do. Obviously, Spencer learned to put a large number of tricks up his metallic sleeve in-between the first and second game, because he'll eventually be able to utilize a significant number of abilities. Of course, he can perform a light or heavy punch with his arm, as well as knock objects into the air and smash them towards targets or weakened walls. If you'd like to perform a silent attack on enemies, you can attach the arm to them and perform a zip kick solidly to their chest. You can also connect the arm to them and fling them into other enemies or smash them into the ground. Enemies can also be suspended into the air in a move known as "kiting," allowing you to shoot them while they're helpless. You'll even be able to rip objects such as train cars off their tracks and send them crashing below, which is a great way to take out enemies from a distance without alerting troops to your presence. Eventually, you'll even be able to perform whip strikes by swinging your arm in a large circle, killing anyone in its immediate vicinity along with finishing strikes on larger mechanical opponents.

You won't be restrained to solely relying on your arm to eliminate opponents, either. Spencer always has his standard issue pistol which he can use to shoot enemies. As he moves farther into the field, he gains access to grenades and other weapons that can be used to eliminate large groups of enemies. You won't be picking these firearms up from fallen soldiers; instead, every now and then Super Joe sends out a drop pod to provide you with extra firepower. These range from shotguns and sniper rifles to machine guns and rocket launchers. While all of these weapons are powerful, there is a caveat to these guns – the ammunition for each is few and far between, which means that you may want to conserve your ammo for when you really need it. As a result, gunplay isn't a true star of the combat system; using your arm to attack characters is the real stand out. There's another reason why you'll want to be careful with your bullets: Bionic Commando provides you with various challenges when you gain new abilities or find certan weapons. You're not required to accomplish these tasks to finish the title. In fact, you'll complete a certain amount of them by simply playing from beginning to end. Some of these objectives require you to perform tricky jobs, like blowing up six soldiers with one grenade or performing a certain number of strikes with a particular weapon. However, the challenges provide bonuses for Nathan that are above and beyond the old school notion of bragging rights. Some of these, for example, provide additional armor for Spencer to deflect damage, while others increase the clip size for weapons or the grenades that can be carried. The further test for some challenges comes in managing to have the right weapon for a particular task with enough ammunition – waste your shots, and you can be relatively assured that you won't be able to accomplish that goal at all.

While Nathan's character model might not appeal to some purists, you can take a certain amount of solace in the fact that you can unlock Nathan's classic "Rearmed" skin if you have a saved game from the download. What did annoy me was the oversaturation of in-game ads. It's one thing to advertise fake ads for things within Ascension City, because it extends the fiction of the location itself. I could even allow for cross-promotion of Capcom titles to a degree, simply because that is a practice that some publishers are trending towards (I don't like it, but it does happen.) However, when you're swinging through a city and you're confronted with huge Pepsi, Nvidia and Alienware ads, it sucks a certain amount of the immersion out of the gameplay. The voice acting is pretty decent across the board. Faith No More's Mike Patton does a solid job of conveying a Spencer that's morphed into a sarcastic anti-hero from his years of imprisonment, and you'll hear plenty of adlibs and snarky comments when he kills enemies. Musically, there's an interesting mix of mellow and rock infused takes on the classic Bionic Commando theme, which frequently rise up during battle sequences.

Closing CommentsIt's been an incredibly long time since Nathan Spencer swung onto a console, and for the most part, his return is a solid one. Bionic Commando provides an updated adventure for the classic hero, sending him as a one man army against daunting odds to save the world once again. If you can look past the replayability issues that crop up due to the linear play, you'll find an enjoyable adventure that easily re-establishes the franchise for Capcom. You've been out of duty for way too long, Spencer – Hopefully you'll come back sooner than later.

Gears of War 2

EPIC games’ sequel to the incredible Gear of War lives up to their name. Touted throughout its development as bigger, better and more badass it ends up making that sound like a parental warning. Gears of War 2 (Gears 2) is epic, relentless and downright fun. The game combines the stellar looks and gameplay of the previous iteration with better design, world and puts generous amounts on blood, swearing and polish on everything. The result is an instant classic that is without a doubt an advertisement for the current generation of consoles.Gears2 starts 6 months after the events of the first. The Delta squad’s valiant effort of dropping a light mass bomb in the rabbit hole does not yield the expected results. The Locust grow even fierce instead and the onslaught continues. Faced with an unknown force that can sink whole cities, The COG army stands up to protect its last stronghold, the city of Jacinto.

The game builds on the characters introduced in the first game with Dom getting the most airtime. Dom’s search of his wife ends with one of the moving moments in the game. Gears2 ventures beyond the emotional state of i-don’t-give-a-fuck of the first game and has its fair share of awe, horror and dismay. The new characters gel in perfectly and fans of the first would love to hear that Carmine’s brother plays a very memorable cameo.One thing that hasn’t changed is the sadistic humor, Marcus is still as cold as an Antarctic winter and his one liners never disappoint. Cole Train and Baird are back to their best and humanize the experience. The subtle references to the first game never fail to garner chuckles.

The only criticism would be that it feels like they wrapped it up too quickly. It’s not that the ending isn’t satisfying, because it definitely is, but the game seems to end almost abruptly and might leave some people frustrated over the fact that there was still much to be done, having said that the story is still a lot better written and driven throughout the campaign and the game does well to add some context to every situation.GameplayThe familiar stop and pop gameply is back with the intensity cranked to 11. The enemy count has made a huge leap with environments as big as complete levels from the previous game. Imagine taking on 2 Brumaks in the distance while over 30 Drones shoot at you from the other side, buildings collapsing everywhere and dozens of Reavers flying overhead. Its Christmas time for the sadistic, an exploding grenade throws chunks of concrete all over while corpses of obliterated drones show off rag doll physics. All of this while maintaining rock-solid 30 frames per second. It doesn’t get any bigger than this.

A few adjustments have also been made to the overall game play. For instance, your character sprints faster from cover to cover than before. Every weapon feels, sounds and actually is powerful than before. While the lancer might probably remain your weapon of choice throughout the campaign, there are some new and heavy additions. Mortars help start the festivities with their long range and deadly killing power, Mulcher also joins in as the hand held tank of destruction. To top everything off you can quell the fire in your belly with , what else?, a flame thrower!The improvements made over the previous iteration fine tune an already award winning formula to near perfection. Chainsaw battles are a spectacle to behold while the new executions really bring out the devil in you. Subtle changes to the weapons and ability to crawl while knocked down make sure all bases are covered.Enemy AI now reacts in a more realistic manner and displays good amount of intelligence. They’ll charge you when their health is low and constantly move from cover to cover to get the best angle. They also seemed to have learned how to throw a grenade, The academy must be proud. The friendlies also show more bite this time. Rather than pretending to fire a weapon, they actually take those hideous monsters down. Marcus’ promotion through the ranks also means that you are no longer the sole nurse of the squad and the AI friendlies can revive each other.

Experienced players should definitely start with “hardcore” difficulty while new gamers can ride with the training wheels in “normal”. Longevity has always been Gears’ strong points, the first one still makes the XboxLive most played list to this day. The amazing single player, Co-op and the brand spanking new multiplayer modes will keep you coming back for more.Horde mode is sweet gore filed dessert after a relentless main course. Your squad of AI or human teammates take on wave after wave of Locust with only one objective – Survival. The incredible design really comes to life with players putting on their best Napoleon faces and jostling for choke points to withhold the Locust onslaught till the 50th wave.

Multiplayer is as addictive as ever with addition of new modes like meatshield making things even more varied. The maps are perfect blend, some of them cramped and multi storied while other being the usual symmetrical battlefields. The Live integration is even expanded and the spectator views, replays and stat tracking make it a game that’s very hard to leave.The only irk worth mentioning is that the driving controls aren’t up to scratch. In a game where everything else works so perfectly they really stick out as a sore thumb.PresentationGears2 is a cinematic masterpiece. It’s a fist pumping collaboration of 2 genres and the experience is something that’s unique to the game.The best compliment you could give to Gears2 is that it makes the first one look bad. The environments are not only varied but they actually tie into the whole setting. You’re not just playing the obligatory bunker, factory and jungle levels. It never tries to get ahead of itself and the mantra of ‘destroyed beauty’ from the first game is fully realized.

The voice acting returns with a bang. The quality is top notch and the writing is also improved. Marcus is still his haughty depressed self but Dom and Cole Train steal the show. A hilarious ‘motivational speech’ by Cole Train later in the game will have you in laughing fits.Minor Annoyances with graphics include some overdose on the blur filter in the second chapter and a diluted color palette. The game also uses softer colors and might seem a bit washed out when compared to the steely grays of the first game but the expanded color palette more than makes up for it.The VerdictGears of War 2 is an adrenaline rush from start to the finish. It’s over the top, its ridiculous and its awesome. A game designed to be fun and delivering in bucket loads. Whether it’s single player or multiplayer, alone or co-op, Gears 2 provides fist pumping, gore filled hours of enjoyment. If entertainment is what you’re looking for, grab a ticket for this freight train.- Radd @ PakGamers

Resident Evil 5

It’s been 4 years in the making. But it’s finally here. Resident Evil 5, the latest entry in Capcom’s acclaimed Resident Evil franchise has finally hit the PlayStation 3 and the Xbox 360. Featuring drastic changes from the past Resident Evil games, this game promises to entertain old and new fans alike. Here are my thoughts...The latest entry in the series puts the players in the shoes of one Chris Redfield. The star of the first Resident Evil game and widely considered as the central hero of the series. Chris Redfield is joined by the lovely Sheva Alomar as they experience unspeakable terror in a remote African region of Kijuju. Together they must solve the mystery of the infection that has plagued the innocent civilians and ensure their own survival.The partner feature is by far the biggest departure the game takes from the rest of the series. Unlike the previous games you will never be alone this time around. Chris and Sheva will be together at all times, and you have the option to go online and play as either Chris or Sheva with someone else controlling the other character. But just because you have two sets of guns, it doesn’t mean there’s nothing to fear. The game has a new, faster, stronger and smarter cast of enemies that would love nothing more than to rip you apart.Down to it’s core, Resident Evil 5 can be summarized as Resident Evil 4 in HD with online capabilities. The core game play is almost exactly the same as Resident Evil 4. You still have the over the shoulder aiming system that was introduced in Resident Evil 4, and similar to RE4 the game restricts movement while aiming and shooting, which ends up creating a feel of tension unlike any other game. Taking the new enemies into account, the game has optional control schemes that allow you to strafe, which is a completely new feature for the series. Fans of the Resident Evil 4 control scheme still have the option to revert to the classic controls if they choose to. There’s multiple control choices for different types of gamers.

That’s not to say that the game play is perfect, it still has its flaws. For example in some locations of the game, a half assed cover mechanic is given for the player to use, and considering how the action ramps up in the later levels, it becomes kind of necessary to use it. But things like this are only minor gripes in the grand scheme of the game play mechanics.The ability to play online is the other big addition to the game. Now you have the ability to play the game with someone else through multiple methods. You can do proper online via Xbox Live or PSN, system link on the 360 or even split screen Co-op which splits the game vertically. Getting online is a simple and hassle free process. The person who hosts the game will always play as Chris, while the person joining the game is always going to be Sheva. But since both the characters are exactly the same, there really isn’t much difference here besides Sheva being left-handed.If you’re one of those people who doesn’t have access to a decent internet connection, or you just don’t have any friends or want to play the game alone, there’s nothing to worry about as during the absence of a second person a competent AI takes control of your partner character. The AI is competent for the most part, making smart judgments and taking care of itself when the shit hits the fan. But as most games with AI partners, it tends to fall apart on the final levels where the enemy AI becomes much more aggressive.

Concerning gameplay, several things have been changed from Resident Evil 4. For starters, the inventory returns to the classic Resident Evil slot style instead of the attache case from RE4. Your space is also very limited as you can only hold 9 items on Chris and Sheva each at one time. Accessing the inventory during the game doesn’t pause it and item usage and swapping must be done in real time, which adds tension as you can see the enemies charging towards you. At the end of each chapter you can access a shop menu where you can reorganize your inventory, put useless items in a storage area and buy or upgrade weapons and healing items. This adds a more main stream interface to the game, but it looses the charm that Resident Evil 4’s Merchant character had.Let’s talk about the game’s plot and story. We can safely say that the story line in the Resident Evil games isn’t as deep or epic as say a Metal Gear game, but the B movie cheesy-ness is very entertaining and for someone like me who has been following it from the very first game, it’s great to see that the developers are focusing on the original storyline. Unlike Resident Evil 4 which didn’t have any connection to the past games, Resident Evil 5 is all about the Resident Evil history.The story goes all the way back to the birth of the Umbrella Corporation and all the major events from the 60’s to the mansion incident to Resident Evil 4 are recalled in the game in one form or another.

The central storyline revolves around the Progenitor virus, the original virus which led to the development of the T virus and its many variants which have been the cause of all the disasters in the Resident Evil history. The majority of the game takes place in rural Africa, the birth place of the flower from which the Progenitor virus is derived. Chris Redfield and Sheva Alomar begin their mission as a simple operation to stop a bio-terrorism weapons deal, but they soon realize that they’ve stumbled upon something much larger. The weapons dealer they’re trying to apprehend is a part of a much larger organization that happens to be based nearby.Expect several central characters from the Resident Evil series to return, including those who have only been mentioned in files, and never shown in person. The plot tries its best to tie all the loose ends like MGS4 did, although not as successfully and completely, but it still manages to do it in a good way for the most part. Resident Evil 5 effectively marks the end of the Umbrella’s story, their history and the effects they had on the world after closing down. Even then the game still introduces a new dominant company, and there are still certain aspects of the Resident Evil history that have remained untouched that can potentially spearhead the future of the series.Capcom have hit a new level as far as technical achievement goes. Using their revolutionary MT Framework engine, Capcom have managed to create one of the prettiest looking game this generation has seen so far, and it’s equally gorgeous on both platforms which makes it all the more impressive. The game has sharp textures and amazingly detailed character models. The environments are top notch, and while they’re mostly static, a good deal of the back drops can be destroyed by larger enemies or explosions as well. Besides a little bit of tearing on the 360 and some odd frame rate drops on the PS3 version the graphics are mostly top notch and give off a cinematic experience that matches the game’s block buster presentation.

Special credit goes to the artists behind the real time cut scenes. The detail in the cutscenes is tenfolds of what it is in-game. Often reaching the quality and standards of something like Metal Gear Solid. The cut scenes also feature superb motion capturing which gives every subtle character movement a realistic look.As good as the graphics of the game are, the sound track matches it in every way. Featuring orchestral scores vastly improved over Resident Evil 4, the tracks in this game range from terror, tension to epic themes during big set piece battles. The sound track manages to bring out the emotion in several key battles ranging from the feeling of helplessness to the fight for one’s very life. This is one of those games who’s OST you would want to buy separately. Besides the OST the game features some top notch voice acting from tried and tested talent. Though the dialogue is very cheesy at times thanks to the Resident Evil writing team, its delivery is still very believable. Things like pitch perfect lip syncing and snappy one liners makes cut scenes that much more entertaining to watch.During the first time through the game can easily last a satisfying 10 to 12 hours. It may not be as big as Resident Evil 4 if you compare them, but that’s just because the game throws in one great set piece after another and doesn’t bog you down with un-needed back tracking or forcing you through area’s with no real activity ala the majority of the castle in Resident Evil 4. Even then, once you beat the game there are a multitude of reasons you would want to replay the game. Featuring a host of unlockable game modes, graphic filters extra costumes and a wealth of hidden arsenal, this is one game that will give you many reasons to replay the levels one more time.

Once the main game is beaten, the infamous Mercenaries mode is unlocked, which is basically a typical set piece in Resident Evil 5 with infinite amount of enemies coming at you from all directions. You’re given a fixed time limit that can be increased by finding checkpoints within a level, and you’re task is to kill as many enemies as you can, building up combo’s to increase the points you earn. All kinds of sub-bosses from the actual game appear in Mercenaries as well, ramping up the challenge and offering even more points if you manage to kill them. Now this may not sound that exciting on paper, but Mercenaries is incredibly addictive. Mercenaries also features online co-op and a forth coming patch will add a versus mode as well, ensuring replayability far beyond the game’s release.Resident Evil 5 is a game that offers something for both the original fans of the series, and for new comers who may be interested after the success of Resident Evil 4. The central storyline revolves around the original incidents but it manages to throw in enough references and in-game material so that any new comer would have a good idea of what’s going on. This is complimented by the evolved game play from Resident Evil 4, more refined to make it faster and better.Overall, the game takes the game play formula that its predecessor established and refines it producing an enjoyable game play experience that will leave you satisfied and make you want to replay the game again. The ability to play online co-op with friends or with random people around the globe gives the game infinite amount of replayability and with Capcom looking forward to adding more game modes via online patches and DLC, you can expect the game to have a lasting appeal. If you can get past the minor control issues and some game play blemishes, Resident Evil 5 is one of the most enjoyable game released this generation. Capcom have struck gold yet again.