Title: Uncharted: Golden Abyss
Format: Game Card
Release Date: February 15, 2012
Publisher: Sony Computer Entertainment America
Developer: Bend Studios
Price: $49.99
ESRB Rating: T

*NOTE* Word is that Bend Studios continued fine-tuning even after this game was release in Japan. This review is completely based on the Japanese version. *NOTE*

When Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune first hit the PS3, I was a bit cool to the game. I was never much for the Tomb Raider’ish type of games, and it seemed like more of the same. Of course my mind was changed once I actually played the game, and since then I’ve been an ardent fan of the series. Seeing an Uncharted game on a handheld was something I never thought would be as good as it is on the PlayStation 3, but what we were shown at E3 definitely gave me hope. Read on to find out if this is worthy to be called “Uncharted”.

Gameplay:
First-off, everything you know of the gameplay in an Uncharted game is here, except for the melee combat from Uncharted 3. Overall, the classic mechanics are kind-of a hybrid between Uncharted 1 & 2, but are very solid. Obviously though, the Vita allows for even more options. In Golden Abyss, some are good, some are a bit cliché’ existing more to show that the system CAN do something even though it really adds nothing to the gameplay.

What they’ve inserted into the game using the rear touchpad are some of my least favorite, but they do work. First is being able to use it to climb a rope or chain. Yeah, it’s neat, but pushing Up on the left analog does the same thing. Now when you find treasures or objects, on occasion you have to interact with the object. This is usually either by doing a charcoal rubbing by running your finger over the paper, or in the case of the rear pad, when you pick an artifact, it usually needs to be cleaned-off. In this case, the rear touchpad is used to rotate the item, but it’s really touchy. This is the worst of it though in terms of exploiting the new hardware.

The touchscreen is used extensively, but still sparingly in most cases. In the previous example above, and as in performing the charcoal rubbings, you’ll “clean” the artifact by running your finger over the dirty sections to get the dirt off. This again, at least to me, is sort of unnecessary, but it does add to the immersion of the experience a bit. Another new touchscreen-centric aside, that also uses the motion-controls, is to take pictures of certain items that help to uncover mysteries listed in your journal. The controls work wonderfully, but the margin of error to get the picture as close to the sample photo is excruciatingly devoid of any margin for error.

But where the touchscreen sees the most action is in hand-to-hand combat. You can still use the buttons to fight, but no matter what, you will have to finish the foe off with a couple swipes of the screen. Also, with some long jumps, you may have to swipe up on the screen to get your grip. It’s also used to pick-up hidden treasures, guns that are dropped, and even to reload your weapon of choice. This use is unavoidable in many situations, but everything is quite intuitive, and the touchscreen is very responsive. Lastly, and one of the most convenient uses, is the ability to swipe your finger all the way across handholds that you would normally have to keep hitting X to traverse. Now you simply slide your finger across the path, and Nathan follows the path effortlessly. I laughed when I first saw this in use, but after using it, I take that laughter back. Golden Abyss even uses the rear camera a couple of times. You’ll find a blank piece of paper, and to see what’s actually on the paper, you have to hold it up to light, so you actually do this using the built-in rear camera. It’s actually pretty cool, and it really does need light. I had to turn a light in my kitchen on that was bright enough to do the job,

Now, to my favorite new option, the motion controls, specifically the ability to fine-tune your aim while looking down the sights. They’ve tuned the motion aiming perfectly, and being able to use the right stick to aim, then go down the sites and use the motion sensors to home right in is fantastic, and adds a great deal of precision to the gameplay. It really is the first time that an aiming mechanic like this works as well as it does, and it may actually ruin me for other similar games. The motion controls are also used for aiming the camera, getting your balance when walking across a narrow board, and guiding yourself down rivers. The sensitivity of the motion sensors in the Vita is stunning really, it’s just incredibly accurate.

So past all of that, the level design is good, but one thing missing is “that blockbuster level” like we’ve seen in the past with the Train or Horse levels for example. The locations are highly detailed and run the gamut from dense jungles to humongous caverns. I did have a couple of occasions where I really didn’t know where I was supposed to go, and I think that may come from this being Bend Studios first foray in to the world of Uncharted. Again, there’s nothing wrong, but it definitely harkens-back to the first game. The mix between puzzles, exploration, and action is very well done, with that classic pacing we’ve gotten to know and love. Regarding where in the Uncharted timeline that this game falls, there’s no indication in the story, but a few things you’ll see would lend me to think that this takes place before Drake’s Fortune.

Visuals:
The visuals are in a word, stunning. This is an Uncharted game through-and through. Seeing people on the Internet profess that the game runs at a lower resolution, or that it looks blurry obviously haven’t actually seen the game in action. Might I suggest a trip to Lenscrafters for those posting stories based on nothing more than a guess based on a blurry image posted to the web.

Also, the game is made for that luscious 5-inch OLED Vita screen, and it just bleeds color from every edge. I will say though, that you’ll probably need to up the brightness, as while I was playing with all of the blinds up in my living room, even with the OLED screen, some scenes were a bit tough to see when underground (also, I have old-man eyes.)

The biggest issue I have in this area are some of the puzzles, especially one in particular that requires you to match 7 faces with 7 symbols. The symbols are all on wheels like an ancient slot machine. A couple of them were incredibly hard to see, and made me long for the option to zoom-in on that section of the puzzle. Other allow viewing from multiple angles and even have a zoomed view, but not that one. That was probably the most frustrating piece of the game, but fortunately it happens early in the game, and doesn’t happen again.

On top of all of this, the lighting is superb, and better than the first Uncharted in my opinion. It’s really great and very immersive when light reacts to everything the way you’d expect it to, especially in those rare instances when the sun is visible. Torches flicker realistically, while your shadow appears on a wall behind you. Flashlights are used sparingly, which I’m happy about. It’s very easy to get too ambitious on a portable platform, but no matter what, playing on a 5-inch screen, no matter how beautiful, is still different than on a 50-inch HDTV. Luckily, the puzzle I described above is really the only instance where this was a problem.

Audio:
Top-notch in every way, the audio design is what you would expect. My advice, wear headphones. The soundtrack is amazing, with definite hints of tribal chants and pounding drums, perfect for locations based in South America. The voice acting is excellent, with not a one that doesn’t fit perfectly. Guns and rockets sound exactly as they do in the games’ big brothers, only lacking surround sound. Even in stereo though, the sound design fills every nook and cranny of your ears.

Conclusion:
Golden Abyss is a worthy entry into Uncharted lore, and even with a couple of control issues, and dealing with some semi-gimmicky mechanics, it’s a fantastic game. No, there’s no online or multiplayer, but neither did Drake’s Fortune, of which overall, this is actually a better game. The story takes a while to unfold though, so don’t get deterred when you’re playing it. Even though it doesn’t have a stats page to tell me, I’d say that on Normal, this took me between 7 and 9 hours to complete. If you’re a trophy-whore, you’ll obviously have to play through twice, so you can finish on Crushing difficulty to insure that Platinum. I honestly can’t believe that this wasn’t developed by Naughty Dog, and that alone speaks volumes for the talented team at Bend Studios.

Grade:

Gallery (All screenshots were taken by me using the Vita’s screenshot function):

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Title: ScaryGirl
Format: PlayStation Network Download
Release Date: January 24, 2012
Publisher: Square Enix
Developer: TikGames
Price: $9.99
ESRB Rating: E10+

Gameplay:
ScaryGirl is based on a charming world created by Australian artist Nathan Jurevicius. In it, you’ll play as the titular character who was abandoned by the side of the road one night and found by a friendly octopus named Blister. He found all sorts of clothes and things for her to wear at the bottom of the sea and built her a tree house to live in. ScaryGirl is having recurring dreams about a mysterious man and when dead leaves begin to wash up on shore, Blister asks her to head to the mountains to find Treedweller and see what’s going on. He tells her to consult Bunniguru, a large rabbit that lives in the tree trunk for advice on her journey. Yup, it’s gonna be that kind of game.

You visit Bunniguru which will then kick you into a tutorial explaining the basics of movement and combat. The game itself is a 2.5D action platformer and you’ll be using ScaryGirl’s whip-like tentacle arm for light and heavy attacks. You’ll also have some basic combos and the ability to stun enemies. Once stunned, you can grab them and either throw them at other enemies, smash them into the ground or pull a few other cool moves once you get some upgrades. You’ll also be able to use the tentacle arm to hook onto some objects and even fly for a short time.

Gems are littered around the levels and you’ll be collecting them for higher scores and to purchase upgrades when they become available. A number of the levels also have branching paths, making backtracking essential for more gems and higher scores. The combat can almost be described as God of War lite, with combos and juggling enemies in the air but it’s all done with an adorable and memorable style.

The are a number of boss battles throughout the game, some easier than others. If you’ve played this type of game before, you’ll know what to expect, looking for patterns and attacking weaknesses. You’ll also find two other characters every now and then that can help you out. One will restore full health for a number of gems and the other has a store where you’ll purchase any unlocked upgrades. The upgrades range from vinyl figures you can collect and display in your tree house to new attachments for your tentacle arm to new combos. You’ll need to unlock a number of these to get through the game as the enemies get much tougher the further you go.

Some of the attachments include a feather which lets you float farther, an anchor which makes your attacks more devastating but slower, a magnet which attracts gems and so on. The combo upgrades fit right in with the offbeat style of the game, my favorite being the mass of tentacles that rise up out of the ground and slam down on nearby enemies dealing massive damage.

The other trick in your arsenal is Scary Mode. You have a meter that fills in the bottom left of the screen which can be triggered when full. At that point the colors drain a bit from the screen and things seem to enter a dream-like state where ScaryGirl becomes a monster that can one hit kill pretty much anything. It’s really fun to watch.

The story progresses nicely through the game and the difficulty has a pretty steady curve save for the Rooftops level where things become near impossible. Having infinite lives is helpful, but get past that and you should be fine.

Visuals:
Gorgeous, sumptuous, whimsical, how can I describe them? Just look at the screenshots in this review and realize it all looks even better in motion. When the path splits, you can usually see the other path trailing off into the distance and see gems and enemies out of focus in the background making you want to go back and take that other path as well.

The characters and enemies are all imaginatively designed with a quirky, fun style. Even ScaryGirl has a sweet charm about her and it all looks wonderful in the pseudo-3D environment. The color palette and the blending and shading is just fantastic, which, being based on the work of an artist is to be expected, but I absolutely love the look of this game.

Audio:
The only voice in the game is that of the somber British accented narrator and the work is excellent. Sound effects are well placed, allowing you to hear what’s just off screen so you’ll know what’s coming up. Each of the environments and enemies have their own unique feel and the sound design plays a big part in establishing all of it.

The music is mostly a combination of guitar and keyboards and it blends in beautifully with the art style. It never feels tired or repetitive even when you get stuck on a level and have to replay it a number of times.

Online/Multiplayer:
No online is available but there is an option for two player local co-op throughout the entire game. The second player joins as Bunniguru who tends to be a little faster than ScaryGirl but the combat seems generally the same. There is also a placeholder for DLC but we don’t know yet what form that will take, whether it’s additional levels or characters or something entirely different.

Conclusion:
ScaryGirl is a wonderful game overall with some really good platforming and combat along with a nice upgrade path and imaginative weapons and enemies. I mistakenly listed the price at $14.99 on the podcast and said it was still worth it, but at the correct price of $9.99, this game’s a steal. If you like action platforming or quirky stories, you’re going to love this game.

On a side note, there’s a Minis title available on the PlayStation Store also from TikGames called Dr. Maybee & The Adventures of Scary Girl. If you enjoy the game I’ve reviewed here, I urge you to check this one out as well. It’s designed like a 16-bit 2D platformer with similar mechanics but a different storyline and it’s the perfect complement to this game. It’s really a treat to play the two of them back to back.

Grade:

Trailer

Screenshots

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Title: Killzone
Format: PlayStation Network Download / PlayStation 2 Disc
Release Date: January 24, 2012 / November 2, 2004
Publisher: Sony Computer Entertainment
Developer: Guerrilla Games
Price: $9.99
ESRB Rating: M

The Killzone Universe has an incredibly deep lore and history which was once housed at the official website but has since become inaccessible. To read the immense back story, see this post on the PlayStation Forums. *Note that Killzone 1 doesn’t even start until about halfway down the page.

Set in the year 2357, the people of Helghan, who were originally human settlers from Earth are about to start The Second Extrasolar War. After years of repression and suffering, a new leader comes to power, Scolar Visari. He builds up the Helghast army and restores pride in his people as he launches a bold sneak attack on the nearby UCA colony planet Vekta, a world originally settled by the Helghan people and lost after the First Extrasolar War. It is here that the game begins.

Gameplay:
Set against the backdrop of the Helghast invasion of Vekta, Killzone offers up an interesting first person shooter campaign across a wide variety of environments. You’ll move from trench warfare to bombed out cities, to shipyards, parks, snow covered mountains, lush jungles and even a space station.

You start the game as Jan Templar, an ISA Captain who’s caught in the thick of the invasion. As you fight your way across the planet, you’ll add a few new soldiers to your squad, each with their own back story and specialties, Marshal Lugar, the slick female stealthy assassin, Gregor Hakha, a half Helghan spy and Ricardo ‘Rico’ Velasquez, the heavy gunner. As they join your party, you’ll be able to choose which character you want to use at the start of each level, but you can only use one per level. It can be hard to pick not really knowing what you’re getting into and every now and then I became frustrated using a character that was ill-equipped to deal with the situation at hand. More often than not though, you’ll be able to get through the levels with relative ease no matter what character you choose.

As an FPS, Killzone gets a lot of things right. The action can be intense at times and the pacing and story are pretty good. Unfortunately, there are also times when the game can struggle under it’s own weight. Guerrilla Games pushed the technical capabilities of the PS2 to the limit… and then tried to go a little further. Enemy AI seems to be all over the place, but mostly they don’t seem very bright. You’ll do a lot of moving into an area, clearing out the enemy and moving into the next area. It can be a problem every now and then trying to find that one last enemy that will let you move on, but for the most part, there’s some intense action and a few good surprises along the way.

The one strange thing here is that the whole world feels a bit empty. It’s played off a bit in the story, but a huge invasion just happened and it feels like you’re walking through places that were abandoned years ago. Wherever you go, it’s just you and the invading Helghast, the population of the planet has apparently found a really good hiding place. None of it really takes away from the fun of the game and the story that unfolds and I’m sure a lot of it had to do with technical limitations but it feels a bit off at times.

The storyline has a nice payoff at the end and it flows nicely into Killzone: Liberation in the PSP. If you’ve played Killzone 2, you’ll immediately recognize Templar and Velasquez and that’s one of the draws in this game. It’s part of a cohesive story, a bigger narrative that spans four different games across three Sony platforms.

Visuals:
As you can see from the screenshots here, Guerrilla Games worked hard to build a meticulously detailed world that feels like a real place. The layout and design of buildings, streets, shipyards and everything in between is phenomenal. I really didn’t expect this level of detail after hearing so many negative things about the game.

All of this comes at a cost though and the PS2 has trouble at times rendering the textures properly. You’ll find pop in, missing textures and weird geometry in places like the jungle. It’s a distraction at times, but not so much to make you throw down your controller in disgust.

There are also frame rate issues throughout the game which can make things difficult when the enemy is jumping all over the screen. I also ran into more than a few dead bodies with one or two legs flailing all over the place.

Even with the issues, it’s still a fantastic looking game. Killzone set the tone and the design standards for the look of this universe and they would be expanded upon in the games that followed. The great thing about this game is that even though it was on the PS2 it looks and feels like it fits right in with Killzone: Liberation, Killzone 2 and Killzone 3.

Audio:
The great and not so great is a theme that continues in the audio department. The soundtrack is a real treat and lays the groundwork for the games that follow. The sounds of battle also work very nicely. The voice acting is better than most PS2 games but there are definitely problems.

The Helghast soldiers have a very limited vocabulary and you’ll find them being repetitive pretty quickly. The other downside is the overall sound quality of the voice work. It’s clear that in order to make room for the graphics and everything else on the disc, the audio was encoded at a very low bit rate. It’s not quite the voices in birthday cards bad, but it’s right on the edge of dipping into that mechanical sound.

Online/Multiplayer:
For all the negative press the game got, it had a pretty strong online community and solid multiplayer matches. The multiplayer is obviously not available in the download version on the PSN, which is fine considering the availability of Killzone 2 and 3

Conclusion:
Killzone, like many PlayStation exclusive first person shooters, was built up in the press as a potential “Halo killer”. It certainly didn’t live up to that hype, but underneath the core issues is a really interesting game with a good story and rich universe.

It’s great to see what the franchise has grown into and how good a developer Guerrilla Games can be when they have a powerful machine to work with. Killzone will probably surprise you if you’ve never played it before. Don’t go in expecting a high end experience and you’ll have a lot of fun.

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Title: Oddworld: Stranger’s Wrath HD
Format: PlayStation Network Download
Release Date: December 21, 2011 (EU), December 27, 2011 (NA)
Publisher: Oddworld Inhabitants
Developer: Just Add Water Ltd
Price: £9.99/€12.99/$14.99
ESRB Rating: T

Even though the original was a critical darling, it was launched incredibly late in the life of the original XBOX and really didn’t get much retail exposure. Fortunately, for fans of the Oddworld universe and especially fans of the original Stranger’s Wrath, Just Add Water and Oddworld Inhabitants have brought this game to the PlayStation 3 as a downloadable title. BUt instead of merely porting the game, a lot of time and effort was put-in to remastering every aspect of the game, even going as far as re-recording a couple of the voiced characters. Read on to see how well of a job they’ve done.

Gameplay:
To this day, Stranger’s Wrath is one of the more unique games available in terms of gameplay. It’s not an FPS, it’s not a pure 3rd-person action ttile, but rather a blend of both styles that can be changed on-the-fly by the player according to what works best in each situation. In 3rd-person, you can run faster, melee combat is more effective, it’s easier to perform platforming duties, and you can capture your bounties in the vacuum, or whatever that thing is. In 1st-person, in mostly plays like a typical FPS, except that you really don’t have guns or grenades, well, you kinda do. You see, the Stranger doesn’t like guns, so instead he’s armed with an arm-mounted crossbow, and the ammo has to be captured. In other words, your ammo is actually different creatures that all have different effects. The way that the weapons balance is setup definitely requires the player to be very mindful of how to approach a situation, which usually means that I’ll die a couple of times, since my mind is always on “Blow everything up” mode. Each type of “ammo” serves a very specific purpose, so for example, you could place some Fuzzles (little brown balls of fur with a huge array of razor-sharp teeth) near a door, then back-off and fire a Chippunk near them. The Chippunk attracts enemies by being incredibly annoying, so when they come to shut him up, the Fuzzles attack while you wait in the wings. That’s just one example of how to use your weapons effectively, and is something that brings such a unique experince to the gamer.

Overall, you could say that Stranger’s Wrath is a semi-open world experience. The genreal idea is that you, known only as “The Stranger” need to make enough “moolah” to get a life-saving operation for yourself, and you do this by hunting bounties on contract. There are different towns throughout the story, each one acting as a hub for a few bouties at a time. There is definitely room for exploration, but nothing like a GTA or Just Cause. Missions revolve mainly around bounties, which you accept at the Bounty Store in each town. There’s also a Genral Store available to buy ammo at, and sometimes they may have upgrades or special items as well.

That’s as far as I’m going to go on the gameplay side fo things though, as there a few twists and turns that actually change things up, and there’s no way that I’m spoiling that piece of the game. What I will say though, is that the gameplay is very refreshing, as it never gets stale or repetitive. It’s an elegant design that had to have taken a long time to build, and I just hope that someone else will be able to capture some of this magic in the future.

Visuals:
This is a Since this is a remake, it really begs a comparison to the original, and all I can say is “Wow!” Take a look at a Youtube video from the XBOX version. Go ahead, I’ll wait…

OK, Back? Yeah, everything’s been updated, from the textures to the more complex character models, and oh yeah, that silky-smooth 60 frames per second, Just Add Water definitely spent a lot of time on this one. It’s obviously not Uncharted, but it’s no slouch when compared to curent titles either. The new effects such as foliage and full HDR lighting really make this HD remake shine. Also, not a visual thing, but the updated control scheme is AWESOME! Color is impressive as is the detail in textures. I’m also impressed with the up-res’d cinematics, as they don’t take you out of the game like in the God of War cinematics. On top of that, they even plan on releasing a patch in the furture to add full 3D support, which intrigues the hell out of me.

The entire game is essentially a Spaghetti Western, and the visual style reinforces the style. Buildings in town all have swigning doors, the main mode of transport are wagons, and the dialogue is spot-on with some familiar movies in the genre as well.

Audio:
The audio has been completely remastered, and eveything you hear is brought to you at a higher bitrate than in the original. Additionally, because all of the voice work in the original was done by “the guys in the office,” which includes the female voices, a couple of the tracks were completely re-recorded, and in my opinion, are much better. On top of that, everything is mastered in full DTS surround, and I must say, eevry channel is used liberally. If you use a set of gaming headphones, obviously you’ll need to disable DTS, and in that case, the Dolby Digital mix is still exceptional. The music fits the genre perfectly, and reacts to the situations. Dialogue is fun, cheesy, and well done. It brings a smile to my face, especially because I’m a huge fan of the movies that have influenced the style of this game.

Conclusion:
Obviously, anyone that listens to the podcast knows that we’ve been tracking this game since before it was even announced. I never finished the game when it was in its original form, and now I’m happy about that. Playing through the HD remake has been a treat, and being able to discover the second half of it in its best form has been great. Also, the design really draws from an older style, which is a refreshing change of pace that instills some nostalgia at the same time. This is a long game, and part of that is the insane boss battles that you’ll encounter throughout the game, each requiring the player to really think instead of blasting-away as soon as you enter the area. I had a couple of battles take upwards of 15 minutes even. I tried to make a comparison when I reviewed this on the podcast, and like then, I still can’t think of any one game that it’s similar to. But it’s not unique just to be unique, as the design of Strager’s Wrath is truly and singularly unique, refrshing, challenging, and enjoyable. Congrats also need to go to Just Add Water for a truly beautiful HD makeover. Oddworld: Stranger’s Wrath HD belongs on the same shelf as other HD remakes such as the Sly Cooper and Ico/Shadow of the Collasus collections.

Grade:

Title: Disgaea 4: A Promise Unforgotten
Format: Blu-ray
Release Date: September 6, 2011
Publisher: Nippon Ichi Software
Developer: Nippon Ichi Software
Price: $59.99
ESRB Rating: T

This year will be known as the year of 3s and 4s, with sequels of sequels, or in some cases, sequels of sequels of sequels – hey there Ezio, overwhelming us with familiar gaming options. While most action and shooter titles have a fairly easy time reengaging their audience, just move the proceedings to more exotic locales and add some additional melee and/or gunplay mechanics, RPGs have to walk a finer line. With each iteration a roleplaying game needs to add more mechanics, but at the same time remain accessible so that a new player isn’t put off by the myriad of seemingly incomprehensible systems. Luckily for strategy RPG and NIS fans Disgaea 4: A Promise Unforgotten doesn’t just walk that fine line, but gleefully dances down it making odd sardine jokes along the way.

Gameplay:
The Disgaea series has never shied away from throwing a variety of gameplay systems at you and letting the player choose which they want to engage with. In fact, Disgaea has been doing that since the beginning by combining the standard move and attack gameplay of strategy RPGs with the tile-based effects of the GeoPanel system, spelunking through Item Worlds to build up weapons, and playing cutthroat politics with a demonic Senate. Thankfully with each Disgaea sequel NIS has been able to add subtle tweaks to their successful formula that introduce depth without creating confusion.

Having not played a Disgaea title since the original I was pleasantly surprised to be introduced to the tower, Evility and MagiChange systems from Disgaea 3 as well as Disgaea 4’s new features – Demon Fusing and the Cam-Pain system. Demon Fuse is an ability that allows two monsters to combine to create a giant version, like Voltron only more adorable. The results, aside from twenty-foot tall Prinnies, are increased stats for your now larger than life party member. For even more fun feel free to MagiChange a Demon Fused monster into a giant weapon. While Demon Fuse is for use on the field of battle the Cam-Pain system is about setting up your characters for success. As you progress through the campaign each new level you unlock adds a grid space to your kingdom, place your party members adjacent to each other and their chances for combos will increase, or add in various buildings you can buy to boost abilities or your spoils from battle. Who doesn’t love their main characters getting an experience boost each time they level up?

If you glazed over reading that last paragraph – demon fuse-a-whatzit? why would I mess with a board game in the middle of my RPG? – don’t worry because all the systems I mentioned can be as little or as large a part of your Disgaea 4 experience as you want. If you have a backlog that towers over your living room furniture and just want to see the story, level up your characters a bit, and wail away on some bad guys you can invest a couple of dozen hours, get your RPG fix, and then make it back to Uncharted Creed City: Skyedges 4. You will walk away having enjoyed the game, indulging in a lot of unique, fun game mechanics and experienced a ridiculously offbeat story. However, if Disgaea factors into how you plan to spend your holiday vacation then go ahead and drop over a hundered hours into it – you will be rewarded. The most obvious indicator that this has the potential to be a free time eraser is the save game screen, which boasts a level indicator with four places. That’s right you can level up your characters to 9,999. Beyond that you can delve into Legendary weapons, upgrade them, and then one shot the final boss. There is no wrong way to play and enjoy Disgaea.

Visuals:
Gorgeous anime-inspired visuals are a hallmark of the Disgaea series, and Disgaea 4 is no different. While many felt Disgaea 3 lacked the visual punch a PS3 game should provide, Disgaea 4 makes up for it with a lush, warm color palette and striking character design. Each Disgaea has added new characters to its quirky pantheon, and Valvatorez, your main character and Prinny caretaker, Fenris, his loyal bodyguard, and Fuka, a girl who wears a Prinny hat and windbreaker combo because they ran out of Prinny skins, all fit right in.

The levels themselves have a more organic feel, with the courtyards and castles of more traditional strategy RPGs being absent in favor of  lush forests with giant mushrooms that serve as grid space and multi-tiered bridges, which bring height mechanics to bear. Add in the GeoPanel system, which allows individual grid spaces to have status effects, and a gorgeous mushroom patch becomes a deadly trap, as various spaces will poison characters. Level design in Disgaea 4 is among the best in the series and some of the best I have played in any strategy RPG.

Audio:
The underlying strategy mechanics of Disgaea alone would likely bring in a solid following, but it is the personality that NIS has time and again injected into these titles that make them the fan favorites they are. As always voice acting is top notch, probing the entire spectrum of characters from yellow-bellied wardens to too-cool-for-school Prinny posturing. Valvatorez, as the star, is particularly note-worthy combining an uncompromisingly serious demeanor with grand, and always ridiculous, pronouncements, with an occasional pop culture references thrown in for good measure.

Conclusion:
For strategy RPG fans Disgaea games are an event, and Disgaea 4 continues that illustrious tradition. While lesser series would have crumbled by their fourth iteration under the weight of their byzantine systems Disgaea has transcended this obstacle by allowing players to explore every nook and cranny, but not forcing them. The only knock against Disgaea is that it preaches to the converted instead of bringing new players into the strategy RPG fold. However, if you love chess, tabletop games, or just the idea of stylishly adorable characters eviscerating each other then Disgaea is worth your time. Just be warned if we haven’t heard from you in a few days and your mail starts piling up we might get worried, or just assume you are heading towards the level 9,999 promised land.

Grade:

Title: Scene It? Movie Night
Format: PlayStation Network Download
Release Date: November 29, 2011
Publisher: Screenlife
Developer: Sarbakan
Price: $9.99
ESRB Rating: T

Gameplay:
The Scene It games have been kicking around for years. Originally played using a DVD player and eventually a disc based game for home consoles, Scene It? Movie Night brings the game home in it’s most accessible format to date.

Essentially a trivia party game, Scene It allows up to four players to test their movie knowledge in an entertaining variety of ways. You can play solo and simply try to rack up as many points as possible for bragging rights on the leaderboards or get a group of friends to join you on the couch for a few rounds.

Each game consists of seven rounds of trivia and the game has fourteen different types of puzzles. Throughout the seven rounds, you’ll typically have at least two that will show an actual scene from a movie. You’ll then be asked questions about what you just saw and/or the movie in general. You really have to pay attention because you may be asked about a specific line or background item or you may not. It really keeps you on your toes which is great.

Other rounds are picked randomly from things like “Credits”, where you have to figure out a movie title as quick as possible while seeing credits flash on the screen and “Child’s Play” where a childlike drawing depicting a scene from a movie is shown along with clues and you have to figure out the title. You’re also given things like a Movie Poster where layers are brought in and Matching games. All in all, the different rounds work very well in switching up the gameplay and keeping things fun and moving along which is critical in party games.

The final round is always a Lightning Round and this can usually make or break people. Answer quick and you can rack up huge points, but answer wrong and you’ll lose points and fall behind the other players. It’s a good, challenging finish to each game.

The game features a pretty impressive amount of trivia for the price. I’ve already played a dozen rounds and haven’t hit any repeats yet. The nice thing is that a new downloadable pack, SciFi Movies, is teased in the menu and there are placeholders for a number of others. It’s almost a given however that those future packs will almost certainly depend on sales of the game so here’s hoping for a lot of downloads.

Visuals:
For a relatively simple movie trivia game, the visuals are pretty good. Each round has it’s own unique look and while they tend to repeat pretty quick, it’s not that big a deal. They’re designed to let you know which round you’re playing and they do their job well.

Finding your way around the screen and figuring out which buttons to push, especially for quick matching games is actually pretty easy. With years of experience behind the Scene It franchise, the interfaces are pretty clean and easy to navigate.

Audio:
With movie licenses in place and Phil Lamarr doing the duties as host, the audio is pretty good overall, but don’t expect anything too exciting. While Lamarr does have some funny lines and he delivers them well, they tend to repeat after a few games.

Online/Multiplayer:
This game screams for online multiplayer… unfortunately, the only multiplayer in this is local. While it works great, it would have been much better with the addition of online. What you get instead is leaderboards and nothing else. Kind of a disappointment.

Conclusion:
If you’re a movie buff or you’re looking for a fun little trivia game, Scene It? Movie Night is worth the price of admission. There’s not a lot of depth to the gameplay, but as a simple, downloadable party game, it’s not really required.

The promise of DLC trivia packs is a double edged sword. If the game doesn’t sell well, they may never materialize but if they’re priced too high, they may not be worth it if they do come out. There’s just too much up in the air to comment on that yet.

The lack of online multiplayer hurts it a bit, but overall it’s a fun trivia game at a low price, and I’m fine with that.

Grade:

Title: Goldeneye 007: Reloaded
Format: Blu-ray
Release Date: November 1, 2011
Publisher: Activision
Developer: Eurocom
Price: $59.99
ESRB Rating: T

Activision knows that you’ve been hoping and praying for another chance to redeem yourself after being double-crossed by 006, and has even set you up in a Daniel Craig disguise so you won’t be recognized. You would expect this to work great since all of the guards are looking for Pierce Brosnan…

Gameplay:
Granted I haven’t played the N64 original for Goldeneye in a few years, but if you’re going to compare to that one, well of course the gameplay is fantastic, simply for the much better controller. What I don’t honestly remember though, is how accurate this remake is to the original is locations or story. When compared to the plethora of FPS’ on the market right now, then Goldeneye 007: Reloaded is pretty middle-of-the-road. There’s nothing new in the execution, controls, weaponry, level design, enemy AI, or really anything else that screams originality. What bothers me is that there’s very well-known source material out there, but the developers and writers have chosen to merely pick and choose only certain elements and have created the rest out of thin air. I mean, you always see some creative license used when a movie is transformed to a videogame, but usually not as much when a game is remade in newer technology. What we get here is a mess though, as there are signs of brilliance that are ultimately overtaken by uneven textures, weird changes in well-known characters, and odd changes to different elements that are more confusing than convincing.

The gameplay here is what you’d expect from an FPS. Get into cover, pop-up, kill enemy, drop back into cover, rinse, repeat. There is of course, an underlying metagame as well, giving the player a secondary objective to optionally complete for a better ranking, and the standard “hidden items” to shoot in each level. The secondary objectives aren’t very difficult to accomplish if you’re actually mindful of them during the level, but the hidden objects are ridiculously hidden to the point where they’re almost completely obscured from view unless the player is in a very specific spot, and he or she just happens to look at that specific location in the corner of the outside of a bunker with trees and foliage covering the entire thing. It’s a recipe for frustration that I quickly chose to ignore.

The campaign itself is objectives-based, and loosely follows the story in the original movie…. very loosely. There’s a lot of sneaking, which at first was fun, since it’s not anywhere close to the level of an MGS title, but you’ll quickly realize that the clunky level design and pedestrian AI will completely ruin your expectations of playing a stealth-oriented game. My experience quickly would become “shoot about 4 or 5 guys in the head with my silenced Walther PPK, then all hell breaks loose because of a simple incorrect movement, or because an enemy spotted me across a room when the lights were out.” At that point, it became a standard FPS, but with AI enemies that home in on you no matter what distance there is between you and said enemy, and unless you get a headshot, expect to spend an entire clip on each one. That, or the occasional AI enemy that would hunch in the corner until you find and eliminate him.

To take a step back though, there’s nothing fundamentally wrong here. It just doesn’t do anything unique or groundbreaking, and with other FPS’ like Resistance 3, Killzone 3, Battlefield 3, and yes, even Modern Warfare 3, the gameplay is just “there”. There’s nothing really compelling other than the desire to get through the mediocre story.

Visuals:
This is a completely mixed bag. There’s some really cool stuff here like HDR lighting, weather effects like rain and snow, and all at 60FPS. But there are also elements that make this game look like a launch title for the original XBOX. The best example I can give is when you drive the tank through Moscow. The textures are blurry, the gameplay clunky, object models are simple, and glitches abound. It’s quite jarring when you have a gorgeous level like when you’re sneaking through a snow covered forest, just to be taken back a few years when you get to the Goldeneye facility itself. Some of the level and graphical designs are brilliant, while others seem to be copied from the game “Haze”. All-in-all the visuals can really impress, it’s just a shame that with al that’s good, there are other elements that are just as bad, which is quite a shame.

Audio:
Again, this can be a mixed bag, but is much more consistant than the visuals. Some guns don’t really seem to have that “oomph” that you would expect, but the little details like eavesdropping on enemy NPC’s coversations or the snapping of a baddie’s neck while you silently take him out of the picture, fit very well with the feel of this game. Surround is used well, and when sneaking through a large group of enemies, helps quite a bit in making sure that someone’s not in your blindspot.

Both Daniel Craig and Dame Judy Dench are the only voices that you’ll recognize from the Bond World (even though for Goldeneye you’d expect to hear Pierce Brosnan as Bond.) The rest of the voice work is adequate, but there’s nothing special there. The story has been changed a bunch from the movie, but the characters are all present here, even though most are here only in name, as many have been visually changed, and personality characteristics are also quite different than their movie counterparts.

Online/Multiplayer:
Here’s the crux of this game. The biggest reason that Goldeneye gained such popularity on the N64 was the 4-player split-screen multiplayer, which at the time was revolutionary for console gaming. In this new iteration, the multiplayer has the same feel that was in the originally game, albeit now online with more players. But this begs the question of how good this can really be in 2011. I can see people falling victim to nostalgia, but more often than not, I would almost bet that dusting-off the old N64 version would be a more favorable experience than trying to recreate the experience with newer tech and online availability.

For me, it just didn’t cut it. I was pretty bored with the multiplayer, but I’m also the FPS fanatic in our group. I do believe that there is a small section of gamers that will enjoy this, but at the same time, I just don’t see the multiplayer in this new version of Goldeneye lasting for very long for anyone.

Conclusion:
In my opinion, and even though I wasn’t a huge fan (mainly because of the awkward N64 controller,) I still recognize that the original Goldeneye on the N64 had a huge impact on gaming as a whole (even more than Halo I’d say.) I can definitely see the nostalgic angle that a lot of gamers around my age could take toward this “reloaded” version. But at the end of the day, all we’ve gotten is a bland FPS with a shiny new coat. Some of the visual elements blow me away, while others left me wanting a lot more. For games based on James Bond, I actually prefer “Blood Stone” to this one. But like I mentioned before, there’s nothing really “broken” here, but there’s also nothing extraordinary or groundbreaking either, and that’s the focal point that I kept coming back to when I was playing this game. I noticed myself being bored and merely playing it “to get through it for review.” That, to me, is the most telling factor of what this game brings to the table.

Grade:

Title: Star Wars Dark Forces
Format: PlayStation Network Download / PlayStation Disc
Release Date: April 29, 2010 / November 1996
Publisher: LucasArts
Developer: LucasArts
Price: $5.99
ESRB Rating: T

Gameplay:
When the first person shooter craze was in full swing in the early 90′s, everyone was looking to capitalize on the successes of Wolfenstein 3D and Doom, and LucasArts was no exception. The idea of a first person shooter set in the Star Wars Universe made the kid in me giddy and the game didn’t disappoint. Originally released on the PC and eventually ported to the fledgeling PlayStation platform, Star Wars Dark Forces puts you in the shoes of Kyle Katarn, a mercenary hired by the Rebels to do a number of jobs.

Set just before Star Wars: A New Hope, your first mission sends you off to find the plans to the Death Star, yes those plans. It’s a great way to pull you right into the Star Wars Universe. Eventually you’ll uncover a new type of weapon the Empire is developing, the Dark Trooper. It’s up to you to hunt down information about the project and try to bring it all down.

Not content to be a simple Doom clone, the game added in a number of changes that would become commonplace in later first person shooters such as the ability to look up and down and the ability to jump and duck. This allowed for more creative level design as enemies could be above or below you around any given turn. It helped make the world more believable.

The excitement of this game lies in the story and the tools you’re given as you make your way through it. The moment I picked up and fired an Imperial blaster I was hooked and the cool thing here is the way everything works. You have a flashlight and night vision goggles that require batteries. These can be picked up around the levels and by destroying droids. Shields can be charged up through pick ups and weapons will need ammo as well. Standard fare nowadays but this was all new back then. You’ll even have to use ice cleats and an air mask when the situation calls for them.

Along the way you’ll visit a number of worlds and bases including the sewers of Anoat City, the ice planet of Anteevy, Coruscant and Darth Vader’s Super Star Destroyer, the Executor. There are even appearances by Jabba the Hutt and Boba Fett. What more could a fanboy want? Spread across fourteen levels, the game is challenging and pretty fun at the same time.

The controls are decent, all things considered. It’s not easy to map an FPS built for the PC to an original PlayStation controller with no analog sticks, but they managed it pretty well. It takes a bit of getting used to, but by the end of the first level, everything feels pretty solid.

Visuals:
Okay, so it’s not nearly on par with the PC version. It is, in fact, very blocky and pixilated. That’s not to say it looks truly terrible, it just doesn’t look great. Enemies are still instantly recognizable, from your basic stormtrooper to probe droids, Imperial officers, Gamorrean guards and more. While some of the areas look a bit generic simply because of the angular constraints of the technology, it all still feels like Star Wars, and that’s really the most important part.

The cutscenes are better than expected, with Mon Mothma and Darth Vader coming across quite well. Lighting also plays an important role as you’ll be thrown into dark tunnels and caverns and you’ll need to rely on your headlamp or infrared goggles while at the same time conserving the battery life. It makes a good use of the game’s engine and adds a bit of a strategic element to the game.

As long as you’re not expecting a beautiful Star Wars game, there’s a lot of fun to be had here.

Audio:
One of the high points of the game for sure is the audio. While not the full orchestra sound we’ve come to expect, the Star Wars theme and other related music are all faithfully reproduced here. During the fighting the music will build to fit the action and then drop off to a more natural pace when exploring. The sounds are pure Star Wars, from the blasters and doors, to the droids and stormtroopers, it’s all quite authentic and immersive, even the voice over talent does a pretty decent job of replicating Mon Mothma and Darth Vader. The other characters, including Kyle Katarn and General Rom Mohc (head of the Dark Trooper project) are also pretty well done.

Conclusion:
Yes, it’s an old game and yes, the graphics aren’t terribly great, but underneath it all is a pretty decent game and a cool story that’s integrated right into the Star Wars Canon. This was an early PlayStation game and it shows, but for a fan of Star Wars, it’s absolutely worth the $5.99 if only for the story.

Grade:

Title: The Elder Scrolls: Skyrim
Format: Blu-ray
Release Date: November 11, 2011
Publisher: Bethesda Softworks
Developer: Bethesda Game Studios
Price: $59.99
ESRB Rating: M

Where does one begin reviewing a game like Skyrim?  Do I tell you that I have been playing it since release date and have enjoyed every moment of it?  Do I tell you about how magnificent the scenery unfolds before your eyes, or how the character models have improved greatly from the previous game?  Or how about expressing that the NPCs come to life with brilliant voice-acting that no longer sounds like its coming from robotic AI?

Yeah, I do have to tell you all of those things, because a review needs to elaborate on the individual elements that make Skyrim the game that it is.  But I will do so out of that requirement, because what I would rather tell you about is the experience of Skyrim.

I’ve been a fan of the Elder Scrolls series since the days of running Arena on my IBM computer in my college dorm room.  Before that, I was playing role-playing games on my Sega Master System, Genesis, and Super Nintendo, with the occasional Gold Box Dungeons and Dragons game on my VIC 20.  So, from out of nowhere comes this game that promised thousands of square miles of virtual world to explore.  There wasn’t much more that needed to be said.  I picked up the game and I installed the 10 or so floppy discs into my computer.  Everything from the decorated instruction manual, to the ability to create this custom character from a choice of different races.  From the living world that included its own calendar year (which had different towns celebrating holidays with convenient sales on weapons and items), to the promised-enormous world that actually covered all of the states that were later divided into the games we are familiar with (Morrowind, Cyrodiil, Skyrim).

Every game in the series has managed to improve upon its promise of a living-breathing world.  And while games like Morrowind, Oblivion, and Skyrim do not cover nearly the insane amount of virtual miles as Arena and Daggerfall, the real estate sacrifice was made in favor of making every inch of the world as believably-beautiful as a hand-crafted virtual world could be.  And one thing that should be noted is that this world is not a canned world that can only be viewed by a camera positioned on a controlled rail.  Everything has to be crafted with the expectation that a player can approach anything in the game and observe it closely.  This makes the task even more of a challenge for the folks at Bethesda, but it is a challenge that they have taken, and the result of their work isn’t seen in high scores from the press, or some you tube video of a fella’ yelling at the screen about how Skyrim’s graphics are “off the wall.”

The result of their work came from a very simple emotion that I experience when I visited my first town in Skyrim.  The rain was coming down, and a small river was raging to my left.  There was a slight breeze making its way through the pine trees, and I could smell it.  I live in the suburbs, so the scent wasn’t coming from my asphalt encrusted neighborhood.  It was coming from a simple math equation.  The combination of those sights and sounds, all executed with such attention that it allowed my brain to add the remaining sensation, the smell.   I realize that Skyrim is far from being the only game to employ a rain element, and truth be told, visually, I have seen better rain.  Again, it’s the combination of the hazy lighting and fog, the sound of the wind, the distant effect of the river, some people talking in the distance, the creaking wood coming from some unknown source, and a simple dog barking in the background.  We’ve all been in that environment.  And we know what it sounds like and what it looks like, so our mind automatically fills in the blanks.  The fact that Skyrim allows you to walk around in this setting with full control of where you go is what sets apart this game (or series) from anything else.

Thus, I ventured forth with this initial experience, anticipating the world that would eventually unfold before me.  I refrain from spoiling any story elements, particularly because story and exposition is one thing that Skyrim has improved upon, and I don’t say this lightly.  While I admit that this may simply be my experience, I was never really attached to the narrative of Morrowind or Oblivion.  I knew well-enough what was going on, but I never actually felt like I was anyone important.  Oh, to be certain, I was treated like someone important by the NPCs in the game, but I always humbly felt that anyone could do what I was doing in the game.  My adventures in Skyrim and (once again) the combination of well-written dialogue, and NPC expression,  not to mention the situation that some of these quests put me in, bestowed upon me a level of self-worth that I hadn’t experienced in an Elder game.  I actually felt like a badass with the ability to speak the long-forgotten tongue of dragons.  These people needed me.  I could dual wield blades, and I looked like a legendary warrior (thanks art department).  People spoke about the “Dragon Born” when I walked by, and there was a dead dragon corpse at the entrance to town.  Yeah, that’s right, folks.  I did that.   The shop-keeper’s sister flirted with me when I entered his shop, and old women trusted me with their problems.

But if these NPCs had been robotic drones that approached each other and discussed the weather for 20 seconds before returning to their predetermined paths, I wouldn’t have believed in their love for me so much.  It’s the fact that I walked in on conversations that seemed to continue long after I had walked away that made their praise so believable.  These folks have lives and discuss situations with one another.  Some of these situations were actually indicative of future quests.

I walked upon a pair of gentlemen arguing with a guard who was preventing them from entering the city because of their race and reputation.  The men were simply looking for a woman who had eluded them.  I listened in on the conversation and eventually asked the two men about the women.  This unlocked a quest that would have me looking for the woman myself.  But this was not the impressive part.  An hour or so later I was venturing through the wilderness on a trek to visit a nearby dungeon when I saw two men harassing a woman on the road.  I moved into investigate and listened in on their conversation.  It was the same men from before, interrogating a woman who they believed to be the one they were previously looking for.  As it turned out, she was not the right woman, and was pretty defensive about their accusations.  But that little moment gave life to the NPCs in ways that better facial expressions and higher-resolution textures could not.  Oh Skyrim excels in that department as well, but bringing a character to life takes a lot more than just pretty pictures and motion.  They were on their own journey, and if followed, they wouldn’t simply walk into a wall and stand there until you returned.  They conduct actions that are more-believable than those of previous games in the series.  This is just another added level of detail that makes Skyrim a serious improvement over Oblivion.  Yes, Oblivion did allow you to follow characters throughout town, but the conversations they had with each other is at a completely different level with this sequel.

But enough gushing about the magnificence that is the world of Skyrim.  Let’s get onto the individual elements that make this game.

Gameplay:
I’ll start by describing the things that I felt needed work in Oblivion, and how they have been improved in Skyrim.  Oblivion was a role-playing fan’s love letter.  It had pages and pages of menus, where you could look at your weapons and armor, check your status and the level of different attributes.  Two pages for quests and tasks, along with their current progress.   Of course this included a map, which highlighted local areas, as well as your location in the entire world.  While this level of management and detail was lovely for a role-playing goon like me, I have to admit that at times (particularly when jumping into the game after a long absence) I found it a little painful to  flip through.  I carried around so many items and weapons at times that figuring out which weapon was stronger required a bit of effort.  Yes, I realize that the weapon’s strength and weight were all listed to the right of the item’s name, but you still had to find your equipped item and compare these values.

Skyrim does away with some of the clutter for a more simplified interface.  Pressing the Circle button brings up a basic menu that is divided into Magic, Status, Map, and Items.  Within the items menu, you have a column that indicates whether you are looking at weapons, apparel, potions, etc etc.  But its the weapons and armor menu where I found the first improvement.  Role-playing gamers who have been playing Japanese role-playing games for the last decade are familiar with the red and green numbers.  You walk into a shop and check out an interesting weapon.  If it’s better than yours, there is a green number indicating the difference in strength from what you are currently holding.  If it’s not as powerful, then the numbers show up in red.  This has been a simple way to keep players from wasting time in shops.  Skyrim has employed this method of weapons/armor comparison, and it’s only limited by one thing.

Games like Dragon Age adopted this old method and understood that when you were buying a bow (while holding swords) that you were more interested in knowing how this new bow compared to the one you had equipped as a secondary weapon.  Skyrim doesn’t.  So if I am holding my swords, it stands to reason that my bow will always appear weaker.  So in order to see if the bow that I am inspecting is better than the one in my inventory, I have to do a bit more work.  Yes, it’s a shame that the system isn’t as intelligent as the one in Dragon Age, but at least Skyrim is moving in the right direction, and shopping for weapons (or simply picking them off the ground) is a lot less time-consuming when I know that what I am holding is better than the fancy-looking sword that the now-dead bandit was carrying.

I have never been a magic-user in Elder Scrolls games.  This just about goes for any role-playing game out there.  Skyrim changed that for me.  It probably has something to do with the fact that I can hold the R1 button down and my hand becomes a flame thrower as a result.  It also has something to do with the fact that I can equip flame magic on both hands and dual wield the hell out of my flame-thrower, electricity (Sith style), or blizzard.  Not only is the presentation of magic improved in Skyrim (with charred stone textures appearing where my flame touches, and icicles covering the environment where I unleash my blizzard spell), but it also makes utilizing it along side a melee weapon possible, so you don’t have to completely give up your love of melee in order to use magic.  At one point I found myself torching an enemy with my left hand while slicing him up with my right hand.  This also opens up the possibility of healing while you fight.

Granted, your swinging arm is limited and does not deliver as many blows per round, but it is possible to fight and heal, which becomes an extra powerful tool if you really put some points into restoration perks.  If you equip two healing spells at the same time, you can do a mega heal that can turn the tide in a losing battle.  Magic has never been more enjoyable for me than it has been in this game.  Opinions of this may vary with good reason (I don’t usually play wizards).  But in my experience playing with magic in games, this has been the most rewarding, and I really feel like Skyrim allows for some interesting combinations and experimentation.

Swordplay in Skyrim has also been improved in a number of ways (not least of all the ability to dual wield).   Oblivion isn’t always remembered for its amazing sword fights.  Yes, you could get into some serious skirmishes, but it always began and ended with you swinging from right to left with an occasional stronger attack.  It’s not that Skyrim introduced Soul Calibur-style combos to the mix, but what Bethesda accomplished with this sequel is simply making bladed combat more interesting, particularly in third-person view.

Animations look better and contact with the enemy feels less floaty (if you take my meaning).  Referring to the word “floaty” again, running and simply moving about also feels less so than in the previous game.  This makes the aforementioned third-person mechanic work a hellovalot better.  This is especially true when playing a sneaky bastard like I do.  Since your cross-hairs are positioned with an offset to your character, you can do a lot of your sniping work from the third-person if you choose to.  I sometimes find myself returning to first-person view for this because I can see a bit better, but I have been exploring most of Skyrim in third-person view, because I like seeing my character fight.  I did this with Oblivion as well, but now I can functionally do so in Skyrim.

If I had one complaint about Skyrim’s Favorite system (where you check-mark items that you plan to use frequently and have quick access to them via a quick menu) is that after a while, you end up liking a lot of things.  I have five favorite spells, and two sets of headgear that I like to switch between.  This is on top of my swords and bows, and two shouts.  So my Favorites menu is pretty large, and as a result,  it ends up becoming just another menu.  I almost wish that there was a favorite menu for weapons, armor, and magic, (accessible by pressing different directions with your digital pad) instead of one menu with all of my items.  If not that, it would also help if I could sort by type, so that I could easily replace my bow with my swords when the enemy closes the gap between long range and close range.  Not a score-changing gripe, but perhaps something that I would have added to the developer’s approach in making things a bit easier to manage.

Visuals:
Skyrim has to be judged as a package when considering a grade for visuals.  Sure, I can compare it to Uncharted 3’s visuals, or something like Killzone 3.  But again, it is unfair to judge the visuals in a game like this against other games with stronger visuals, because such judgement would not factor in the considerations that the developers had to make in order to bring a living world to life.  Skyrim is not canned.  It’s not an environment where invisible walls can limit you from discovering that no geometry exists on the other side of that building.  Daylight and Night are controlled lighting fixtures that will not change throughout your adventures in Uncharted (unless its by design, within the controller environment).

And despite all of this, Skyrim still manages to impress, with technological advancements that make some its environments comparable with some of the more linear games out there.  For example, I found the open world of this game to be more visually-impressive than Dragon Age 2, a game with self-contained mini maps.  This is not a dismissal of the amazing work done on those other games.  It’s simply a testament to what Bethesda’s artists have done in delivering such a large environment, while still managing to make it look next-generation.

Stonework doesn’t tile (or if it does, it is beyond the player’s view), valleys expand out before you with majestic trees and foliage that make every square inch of the environment a different experience, be it a lonely tree sitting on a small patch of land in a swampy bog, to the amazing vista of the sun setting (complete with rolling clouds) from an outcropping high upon a snowy mountain.  Skyrim also employs a stronger shadow system that has every item (including yourself) casting beautiful shadows.  This also plays an amazing role when you are sneaking around a dungeon and the torch-cast shadow of an enemy creeps into view before the actual source, giving you ample time to prepare your attack.  Skyrim’s visuals are nothing short of breathtaking, and for such a task to be accomplished, while still making every mountain in the background explorable, is an undertaking that only Bethesda’s experience in the field could accomplish.

Audio:
Boot up Skyrim and you will be treated to a theme song that has already been cloned on youtube in heavy metal, piano solo, and I’m sure there is probably a guy singing it somewhere, if you really look for it.  The theme is familiar to fans of the series, but it seems to me that every time this theme song is revisited, it gets better and better.  The music continues strong throughout the game.  At times it dips to simple ambiance, and some familiar town music cues make there way into this game to compliment similar village and town environments. The sound effects work in Skyrim also benifits the successful implementation of combat in the game, in that sword collisions sound more effective (particularly when they make contact with the enemy).  You really get a sense that you are causing damage and beating the crap out of that troll.

This is rounded out by some amazing ambient sounds, delivered while exploring caverns and dungeons.  From the sound of water rushing in the distance, to that unnerving tell-tale effect of skeleton warriors approaching, Skyrim’s visuals only go at far as their sound compliments them.  As I initially mentioned, the sound work in Skyrim does so much to envelop you in the world which the visuals establish, that it would be extremely noticeable if the sound work was missing or poorly-done.  Fortunately, this is far from the case, and the sound design is strong enough that one can close their eyes and still imagine the location where his/her character is standing without the need for a visual representation.

Online/Multiplayer:
No online for this series at this point (for which I am eternally grateful).  Though I have to admit that a little four-player (join me to help me kill this dragon) might be fun in the future.

Conclusion:
It’s not the fancy graphics or splendid music that pushed me into giving Skyrim the score I ended up bestowing upon it.  It’s not the improved fighting system or better menu organization.  As gamers (particularly role-playing gamers) we look for the next experience that takes you from your living room into a virtual world that echos the realities you know, but places them in a fantastical setting with some unfamiliarities that separates the experience from that of simply walking outside of your house.  Skyrim receives my highest score because at one point in my play-through, I stood upon a rocky ledge, overlooking a magnificent valley below.  Ahead of me, beyond a distance mountain range, an orange haze marked the ending of the day, as low clouds rolled across the horizon.  The sound of a chilling wind filled my ears as it struggled through protesting rocky structures with a resounding howl.  Behind me was the cavern which I had recently cleared of bandits (my pockets a bit more full from the exploit).  This wasn’t a cinematic, and the mountains in the background were not pixel art, meant to be seen only from this vantage point.  I had 360 degrees-worth of choices to make at that point (270 degrees if you factor in the cliff-side behind me, but who’s counting).   It’s that knowledge of uncertainty and adventure, and that fact that the subsequent exploits were just as amazing as the previous ones, that guided me towards the score that I chose for Skyrim.

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Title: Battlefield 3
Format: Blu-ray
Release Date: October 25, 2011
Publisher: EA
Developer: DICE
Price: $59.99
ESRB Rating: M

Let’s get this out of the way right now, Yes, I’m a Battlefield fanatic. I own every iteration except for Modern Combat, I’m in an awesome BF Clan (WDT Fo’ LIFE!), and I’ve probably spent as much time playing the series as even the most devoted MMO fans have played WoW. That doesn’t mean, however, that I can’t realize a deficiency in a Battlefield game. For example, BF 2142 is still my least favorite, as air ships were incredibly nerfed and insanely difficult to control, and BF Vietnam, well it wasn’t very good until 3 or 4 patches were released. In other words, yes, I can be realistic about a Battlefield game, so let’s get to this perfect game! *smile*

Gameplay:
It’s Battlefield!

Kidding, but that’s definitely the feeling, which is a great thing. It’s feels like Battlefield in every aspect, even on a console. The scope of the maps, the way the weapons feel, the vehicles (including having a machine gun available on the tanks for the driver instead of only the turret like the “made for consoles” Bad Company off-shoots. Aircraft feel great as well, and I’m actually getting chopper flight down pretty well. It’s definitely been tweaked since BF2, as for example, the choppers are definitely setup to be more “realistic” and don’t allow for as many acrobatic feats as BF2 did.

There are some things that did evolve and move over from the previous console brethren, especially the weapons progression system. It’s smooth, and quite easy to understand. Physics are better than what was available in the Bad Company games, and hey, splash damage from a tank shell or RPG is actually present here, which is a key part of gameplay when you’re trying to take someone out with the tank.

In Single Player, you obviously start with specific weapons but dropped weapons of your foes are plentiful. Also, since we’re on the subject of single-player, the campaign is quite solid, and definitely better then what was included with BF: Bad Company 2. It’s your standard “you’re in a room and some dudes with bad attitudes are interviewing you about a bad situation, and you go back in time and play-through these scenarios” mechanic that we’ve seen in many games already. One big difference though, is how they take the player through these scenarios using cinematic techniques and solid FPS gameplay. One highlight is a portion of the game where you play as a Rio in a jetfighter under attack. It’s one of the coolest things I’ve ever played, and will blow your mind for sure.

At the end of the day though, it’s an FPS Campaign, but one littered with amazing next-gen effects and solid gameplay throughout, but it’s not without its issues. The difficulty, even on Normal, is ramped-up quite a bit. Also, a few situations really feel like “trial and error” since things can definitely seem vague occasionally. Also, I swear that I was being shot through cover like huge rocks and others items as well. Is the campaign perfect? No, not at all, but it’s solid, and still quite enjoyable. You probably will get a bit frustrated though, as it can become a bit uneven when your enemies all of a sudden develop PERFECT aim at 300 yards.

Visuals:
In a word, stunning! As a fan of the Battlefield series on a high-end PC, I can’t believe what they’ve done on the PS3. Lighting effects everywhere, highly detailed textures, a solid framerate, and things like blowing dust and rainfall (+more) This is on-par with Killzone 3 in terms of effects and overall visuals, but this time obviously in a more recognizable setting. Also, one place where BF3 excels is scale, in many situations you can see for miles with essentially no pop-in (some bushes and random objects may pop-in occasionally though.)

With every step taken, or every yard traveled in a vehicle, the visuals impress. Then put the destructibility of the Frostbite 2 Engine on top of that, and you feel like you’re truly in these battles. This is the most visceral and engrossing multiplayer I’ve experienced in an FPS for a long time. You’ll quickly notice this when a building that you’re in suddenly collapses around you even though you were safe from that tank firing upon you from the street.

A problem with the visuals though, is those damned flashlights mounted to tactical weapons (which DICE is saying will be fixed in the first patch.) Even in daylight, one of these flashlights aimed directly at you will completely blind the player, which is insanely unrealistic, and isn’t really fitting for a game trying to straddle that gap between realism and the fantastic. That’s about the only issue with the visuals though, as everything in the game is truly a sight you must experience on your own.

Audio:
In the pursuit of realism and bringing the player into this world, the audio design is second to none, with full use of surround sound at all times. Rockets whiz by your right ear, while you hear a tank moving-up behind you. Individual bullets hit the wall to your right, with chips of brink falling to the ground. You run toward the yells of who you hope are your teammates, as you hear a grenade hit the ground to your left. Every single object in this world has its own sound applied to it, and everything is encoded in beefy DTS sound. If you have the system to experience audio like this, you’re in for a treat. If you have a subwoofer, turn it up a notch or two, because you’ll feel how awesome the sound design is.

Online/Multiplayer:
Until BF Bad Company 2, I’d never done anything BUT play Battlefield online. In other words, that’s the bread and butter of the series, and Battlefield 3 doesn’t disappoint in the least. This is such a great evolution from what Battlefield 2 offered, and with the upcoming “Back to Karkand” map pack (4 of the best maps from BF2,) I couldn’t be happier. The squad system works as expected, and has been updated since Bad Company 2. Voice chat works great, and finally gives you the option of chatting with your team, only friends in the game, or with your squad only. The audio quality for chat is great, and in a game like this, chat is essential! The number of maps included is a nice number, and the variations between Conquest and Rush especially is well done. Honestly, this is what I’ve been waiting for, and unfortunately, the victims of how great the online play in Battlefield 3 are games like Resistance 3, Uncharted 3, Modern Warfare 3, Killzone 3, and well, you get the idea. I’m addicted to this game like no other, and even with some random bugs, this is one of the most solid Battlefield games at launch.

On top of this is the addition of some co-op missions. There are only like 6 or 7, but they vary quite a bit, and range from a clone of “horde mode” to snatch & grab and even to you and your buddy manning a chopper to cover a squad on the ground. The variety is good, and even if you’re playing under the idea that you can lose and learn, the missions will actually throw you a curve ball or two if you replay the missions. The chopper mission was definitely my favorite, and really, there’s something for everyone in there.

The one big issue people may encounter is partying-up. The best way to get a group together is by finding a server that’s near-to or completely empty, filling it with your crew, and letting it seed from then forward. Luckily, DICE have actually included a server browser, so you can easily communicate the server name to your cohorts.

Conclusion:
As you can probably tell, I love this game, not just because it’s a Battlefield, but because it’s awesome. I’m actually disappointed that so many other great titles have come out recently, because they’re pulling me away from BF3. If you want Call of Duty, you may want to go somewhere else. If you liked Warhawk, or are looking for a great FPS with a lot of scale and options, and an FPS that’s flexible enough for you to play any way that you’d like, Battlefield 3 will fulfill all of your needs.

Kudos DICE!

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