REVIEW: Dead Space 2

Sequel to one of the most original games ever, there was a very high standard for this game to live up to. But did it deliver?


I had a problem with this game. Literally. In that my second disc on my Xbox wasn't working. So after putting it down after intensively working my way through the first disc, I finally returned to Hell on Earth, or in space should I say after a 5 month hiatus.

Dead Space 2 takes place not long after the first game and Isaac is in a psychiatry ward in a settlement on some planet or other. Immediately, things start going wrong again. After an escape, your back with the monsters and you are left to survive - alone. Well, mostly. There's some woman who is helping you out a bit along the way as well - but she's hardly there so don't worry.

I can't really remember much of the story. You generally have to get from A to B via C and press a few buttons and do some things to turn things off and on in the grander scheme of things or whatever, but I never really understood the story at any point. You're also seems you're against the military as they are to recover the artefact, this ancient huge structure that seems to be the key to everything. What makes this game enjoyable is that the artefact and the story around it might seem like the main story, however it is in fact the story of Isaac's peronal issues that are the most interesting - and in fact make for the heart wrenching power behind what would usually be dismissed as a no-brainer action game.

In case you didn't know, the first Dead Space was actually Isaac coming to terms with his inner demons in relation to his wife. This denial continues in Dead Space 2 where is trying his hardest to let her go, but he cannot. She appears, calling him back into madness, Isaac trying desperately to hang onto his sanity. Again, the monsters are just personifications of his mental breakdown and it's these two levels of interpretation that make the game work. For the action shoot'em'uppers, it's a man killing monsters with a big bit of stone in the middle and some weird stuff going on, but for those who wish to, the story can be read in a multiple of ways.

In any case, EA have taken Dead Space 2 in a different direction. There's a lot more action, you get thrown about the city which has huge landscapes and more larger scale battles. However, what it makes up for in action it loses in it's original appeal. The reason why I loved the first game is that on the Ishimura spaceship, the corridors were tiny, claustrophobic, making you constantly on edge. The tension was unbearable at times and it dotted the gameplay with action set pieces that fulfilled the odd blood lust. Dead Space 2 does have tension, but it's so open that you can't help but feel like they've missed the point slightly. It's the same feeling as if it's like a Hollywood remake of a Japanese horror film. However, at one point when you enter back into Ishimura, it was one of the most emotive sequences I've had in a game. The recognisable set, the horrible closed corridors, the long elevator rides, it all came flooding back in a wave of dread upon me in a too-brief chapter that made it clear to me that the original Dead Space was definitely better.

An annoying aspect near the end, when you're up against an invincible Terminator-esque monster (which made me recall Resident Evil 3) took me quite a few attempts as I had ran out of ammo and health. I'd recommend saving at regular intervals on different slots because I'm used to just overwriting my save files again and again and I was gutted I couldn't go back to fill up on more health and ammo before launching into this battle against a load of creatures and someone that can't die. The same for the final boss battle, which took a few attempts and then suddenly through a stroke of chance I completed in about 20 seconds.

The gameplay however is a lot smoother, the graphics more colourful yet washed out and they have taken painstaking effort into the small details that grace the game's every moment. The voice acting is superb but, much like the first game, the overall story arc as I said before could have been more simplified. Why am I pushing this button again? Who is this guy? Why am I going back into Ishimura again? Luckily, it never stays like that for long and you're quite happy just to follow where you mean to go and kill some things along the way.

I did thoroughly enjoy the game and it was definitely a great purchase. However, it wasn't the survival horror that the first one was and also I didn't collect near as enough ammo or power nodes etc. by the end as I had done in the first game, so I felt like they somewhat rely on the fact you might want to replay the game keeping all your stuff again and adding to it. I just think that it's a worthy sequel but can't touch the amazing experience that I took during the first game.

Great fun but somewhat lacking in areas. I can only hope that another game like the first, or perhaps a sequel that might do something a bit different will come about. As much as I love those weird monsters, I can't help but feel that I'm going to be a bit sick of them if it's the same thing third time round. They should definitely make it more disturbing, which doesn't always mean less action.

And please no Terminator type monsters. As tense as it was, it was also very annoying.

Go out and buy it. You won't be disappointed but if you haven't done the first one? Definitely do that first.

Rating: 8/10

Dead Rising 2

Where killing zombies has never been so fun! Romero's "Dawn Of The Dead" was the inspiration behind the first in this series, but does the second deliver even more or is it an (un)dead series already?

I had got only about halfway through the first Dead Rising but I did remember enjoying it, but loading this game up I was questioning why I never finished it. I'd loved the swarms of zombies everywhere, taking pictures, the little strange missions etc. and then once I started playing the second one, it started to dawn on me why I had quit; and unfortunately the same problems remain.

Let's start at the beginning, Dead Rising was about a journalist caught in the middle of a zombie outbreak and they had taken refuge in a mall. This sequel is a few years later, where zombies are somewhat controlled and they've even created a game called Terror Is Reality which is essentially Gladiators with zombies. Your character is Chuck, one of the regular contestants on the gameshow and as like every zombie movie, it all goes wrong and Chuck has been framed for the outbreak. You soon have to clear your name before the military arrive while looking after your daughter by injecting her with Zombrex every 24 hours and trying to save as many people as possible.

There were many reasons why I gave up on the first game. Namely, when saving survivors you had to escort them for aaaaaages to the safe house and they would often be completely beaten up by zombies and when trying to save them, you often did more damage than the zombies. Fortunately, the survivors are a lot more hardcore this time and will keep up with you which is a massive improvement, however the escorting back to the safe house is often a huge ball ache and the loading times between different areas take soooo loooong. The next huge irritant is the saving system, you can only save your games in restrooms across the mall which means if you venture too far, or come up against a boss, you have to fight your way again through hoardes of zombies to get back to where you need to go, so if it's a tough level and you're restarting from the restroom again, you'll be likely to throw your console out the window. Why not just do checkpoints? Or restart from the beginning of the boss battle?

There's also the fact that this takes place in a mall. It's been done in the first game, why do it again? There's not many new unique ideas here, it really is Dead Rising 2 or rather it should be called Dead Rising: Fortune City seeing as it's pretty much exactly the same as the first game. There's not even the photo option which I quite enjoyed first time round, but instead you can combine weapons to a staggering degree. This might seem cool, but really unless the items are on the way you're just not bothered enough to go out of your way to do it. You don't even know where to find them unless you look it up online, the same with finding the Zombrex, there are missions to get the drug but they say you can find them in the game, unless you know where to look you'll never find it. If you want to buy anything, you have to have a fair bit of money and unless you play online (I'll come to that later) I don't know how you would raise enough.

Graphics wise, it looks OK, but is typically Capcom who really need to up their game. Reading dialogue on screen? This is next-gen gaming not PS1 time. The characters and acting are so OTT that it really does lose it's true horror essence to become more of a fun weird distraction, typically Japanese who I'd argue are losing their way. Gameplay wise, it's not very good either. The 'moves' that Chuck acquires are almost useless as you really need a weapon, and when you use a weapon or have a drink, that short animation takes so long that you can easily get attacked. Same with putting on clothes, or even looking at your mission list, if you take too long chances are you run the risk of dying. There's also not much of a learning curve. Simple fact is the higher your level during the game, the easier everything is, which means that the enemies are arguably the same difficulty but you'll die a lot easier earlier on, which is frustrating. The endings were also quite average and after checking them all out on YouTube I'd say the depressing ones worked the best, I'd recommend checking them out after you complete the game.

The missions are OK, the psychos are reasonably psychotic and the plot works well, but this is such a flawed game that a lot of the time it was more a chore to complete rather than fun. Completists might say there's a lot more to do and I'm missing a lot, such as being able to open the car, the different costumes, the weird weapons, getting to level 50, but come on - a game shouldn't be reliant on this.

Online, the game works quite well. Co-op means you can join someone's game randomly and your character will level up there so you can take your stronger Chuck and put him back into your own single player campaign which is a nice touch. The real treat however is Terror Is Reality, the gameshow Chuck is on, where you get to do the events yourselves (4 of 9 I believe each time) and I spent a lot of time on this for fun and also to win money to use in the single player game, meaning buying Zombrex was never an issue.

Overall, the game was somewhat entertaining but it felt like no-one had gone over the details and it shows how much a thorough games testing is needed before putting games like this on the market. The saving is ridiculous, some of the fighting is stupid and unreliable, escorting survivors is a chore and the reading messages or dialogue rather than speech is a joke. Capcom had a long time to make something great here, but really they've just rehashed their old game and tried to make it look a bit more funny with it's costumes and weird weapons, clever, but we're not 12. Online gives it an extra point but I'd say this is a rental at best, not worth going out of your way for.

Rating: 6/10

God Of War 3

One of the most popular and critically acclaimed series comes to a climatic end as Kratos continues on his path to kill Zeus ...

Each God Of War has always been a benchmark of gaming since it's first release in 2005 and with it's unique hack'n'slash gameplay mixed with button-press timing, it has paved the way for other titles to try and copy the format but alas they have never been able to fully capture God Of War's sheer ingenuity and originality.

For those who don't know, you play Kratos,a Spartan, who after offering his soul to Aries for victory was tricked into killing his own family and became a servant to the Gods of Olympus. But since then, he has rebelled and taken it upon himself to get revenge by killing Zeus and anyone who stands in his way.

This game was created by Sony and therefore is a PS3 only title. It also means that they have been able to push the console to it's limit and it looks stunning. Graphics are lush, the gameplay is smooth and it looks and plays like a dream. As always, God Of War remains epic - the huge backdrops, the incredible enemies, the amazing score and a story that doesn't let up.

As you travel your way up to Zeus through all kinds of scenarios, you benefit from a great array of weapons. If you've played a God Of War before, you'll be used to many of these already but you do get some cool little extras like wings to fly (or rather glide), the Head of Helios - literally a head ripped off someone that exudes light, and more. The fighting doesn't ever grate, even though it's essentially the same thing, and the puzzles are original and satisfying. The voice acting is inspiring and the entire experience makes for an outstanding game.

But then, I wouldn't say it was perfect. For one, even though it does summarise it's history as it goes along in quite a cool animation style, you do seem to have to have a knowledge of sorts of the first two games, but then this would be expected at the end of any trilogy. Also, there is some rather annoying aspects of the game that I found infuriating. Firstly, the 'flying' scenarios that occur are enough to make me throw the controller at the screen. Why they added this is a mystery, it goes back to 80's gaming where up, down, left, right and memorising the sequence as you die each time doesn't make for a satisfying experience. It wouldn't be so bad if you could potentially do it after a couple of go's, but by the end of the game, they get so ridiculous that you feel like relying on chance would be a better idea. There was also a sequence inside a cube where you had to hang onto a flying thing otherwise you get impaled on a spike. However, it all got a bit hectic and you had to wait to the last minute to do it successfully three times in a row, or you'd have to go back to the beginning which made for a lot of retries.

Apart from these few problems it makes for a terrific game and one that ends the series well. However, I couldn't help but feel I'd done all this before and it wasn't quite as varied as I would have liked. You cannot fault it for it's looks, style, story and gameplay but I just felt that as epic as it was, it would be the same thing but in a different backdrop and as varied as the weapons and enemies are, it is ultimately a hack'n'slash that compared to the more contemporary games coming out these days, feels slightly outdated. This might be a controversial statement, but it is by far the best of it's kind and perhaps the best-looking games on the PS3, but I can't get blinded by it's beauty as, at it's core, it's the same game as it was back in 2005.

Rating: 8/10

Gaming News

Metal Gear Solid: Rising

It's finally here! The new episode in MGS which will feature Raiden, and not shitty Raiden from MGS2 either, but the hardcore totally fucked up Ninja one from MGS4. As a little treat for my little Bores (that's you) here's the teaser trailer for the game. Aren't you spoilt?!





Gears Of War 3

Not much has been said about the new Gears Of War except that it might be the final one in the series. By the looks of the trailer, there's a new female character as well. There's also talk of 4 player co-op.The first two were incredible and I can't wait to get back into the fray! Here's the trailer for your eyes only.




Demon's Souls

This Namco Bandai game was a RPG PS3 exclusive last year and was regarded overseas as one of the top games of the year. The reason you might not have heard of it? It's because it's only just been talked about getting a release over here in Europe. Something to look forward to for anyone who has completed FFXIII.

Infinity Ward

Modern Warfare's kids have started to leave the sinking ship after Activision fired it's founding members. The two have now gone off to start up their own company (again) but this time with EA, 13 people have left since this was announced only a little while back. Uncertain future for CoD now perhaps.

F.3.A.R

F.E.A.R gets another chapter where Alma is set to have another freakish son but this time you have the option of going co-op! Though strangely, you can play as Point Man or Fettel who are enemies, so as much as you might be assisting each other, you can go off and do your own thing as well which is something quite unique. Can't upload the live-action trailer for some reason but it's on YouTube.

Transformers

For all you uber-geeks like me out there, you might cream your pants. Activision have announced Transformers: War On Cybertron, where it's an all out slug fest on their home planet. It takes after the actual anime series rather than the films thank God and after seeing the trailer, I think Michael Bay will have a lot to live up to when this is released in June. Check it out on YouTube, I can't upload the bastard.

New iPhone!

Hold on to your old handsets for the moment because what with the release of Apple's 4.0 iPhone OS, June 22nd has been booked to reveal the brand new spanking iPhone. Rumours suggest it will obviously be faster, but also have a forward-facing camera and 4G wireless support. With the 4.0 OS offering a multi-tasking ability so you can run several apps at once, it also has an Xbox Live-like gaming system with achievements and all that, so the gaming aspect of the iPhone has been already given a dramatic focus, oh and you will be able to read books on it and all that.

New Xbox

If you haven't heard already, it looks like Microsoft is going to reveal it's new slim Xbox 360 model which is likely to coincide with the release of Natal. It looks set to have wireless stuff, perhaps play Blu-Rays and all that. So basically it's going to be a PS3.

Call of Duty

For those PS3 owners still awaiting the new Call of Duty maps, it looks like you'll only have to wait til early May to get hold of them. Keep waiting!

Heavy Rain

...is a huge success! It's topped a million units and looks set to get 1.5 million by the end of the year. Seeing as people thought it would get between 200-300 thousand, it just goes to prove time and time again that gaming is more for adults these days than kids.

E3

Of course June is the gaming month of the year as E3 takes place in LA. There looks set to be a lot on show but for me, Konami's announcement of a new Silent Hill game might top it!

Shadow Of The Colossus

Taking a step back into a pre-gen console classic, The Wild Bore takes on the much-applauded Japanese game that is still being bid on like crazy on eBay and still sends tremors through the gaming world.

To some this is a vintage classic like no other. Never before, or since, has a game been so original, innovative and pain-achingly beautiful and yet remained so epic, simple to play and just fucking amazing. All this on a Playstation 2 and, even though playing it on a PS3 might pull up the graphics somewhat, it still looks incredible. But for those not already aware of this cult classic, what's it about?

You play a young lad who's missus is dead, and so to bring her back you take her to a forbidden land and make a deal with some sort of dark creature. The deal is you are to kill every single Colossi (or Colossus) and in return, she will be brought back to life. Simple enough. So with just your ancient sword guiding you, your bow and arrow and your faithful horse Agro for company, you are to travel the land and defeat the Colossi one by one.

Firstly, the graphics make you look like you are travelling through a painting. The colours and light can look rich at times, bleak in others, reflecting whether you're in a lush green field, a desert or atop a mountain. The sound is incredible and feels like you're in a fantasy film and even picks up the pace when you're duelling with a Colossi. The controls are fairly easy consisting of stabbing and shooting but you'll mostly be playing a balancing act between jumping, gripping and resting to get your strength back. Your horse Agro allows you to travel the plains and comes in use when dealing with certain enemies, he is in fact your most reliable and trustworthy, dare I say it, friend. You go up against so much together that if anything ever happens to him, you suddenly get really worried, it's only supposed to be a bloody game for God's sake!

So what actually happens? You basically have to kill 16 of these huge creatures and the set-up is the same in each scenario. You follow your sword to the fighting ground, a cut-scene introduces the Colossi, then you have to figure out a way to get on top of it and then climb your way to it's soft spots to kill it. Each one acts differently and it becomes a tactical game on a monumental scale, whether you have to jump on top of a huge bird-like creature, gallop alongside a sandworm one and jump off your horse or simply hold on to a water dragon one as it flows through the lakes. Each one is exciting and you have your heart in your throat each time, if you fall or fail, you will have to climb atop once again and it's all one big flowing world - you aren't cornered off at all, if you fall off a flying beast, you could land anywhere and have to find a way back. Some of these creatures you cannot even fathom how you are going to get on it, let alone kill it and it's the whole one small boy taking on a huge giant that reveals the passion behind the game. It's the idea of having all the odds stacked against you, having to tackle an issue a billion times bigger than yourself and all for the sake of love. Even as you defeat them one by one, you might be getting somewhat stronger but you soon realise you are growing paler as you absorb the dead souls and you understand that you are in fact, slowly dying.

There's nothing that can prepare you for dealing with the Colossi on such a monumental scale but rest assured you will be able to fathom out how to kill each one by using your smarts and gaming skills. There's nothing quite as satisfying as dealing that final killer blow, but as you wake up again with another black soul of the Colossi staring down at you, you cannot help but feel sorry for them as they are tend to be just going about their business until you turn up. Some of these monsters took quite a while to kill while others took no time at all but the main annoying point of the game was finding the buggers. I found myself often running around on my horse with no idea where to go and even, shock horror, used a walkthrough to figure out where the next one bloody was. This, to be fair, is enough to put people off but a minor irritant to a somewhat perfect game and, seeing as the environment is so bloody gorgeous, it's worth running around in it just to have a look.

So are there other flaws? Unfortunately yes, but teeny tiny ones. Mainly, I found controlling the horse somewhat annoying. Tapping 'x' to get him to go faster was just a nuisance and sometimes I found myself jumping around him when I'm trying to get on him which, in some urgent cases, left me screaming at the screen telling him to get on. Also the jumping/gripping combo feels like it needed a shine that something like Uncharted has, but seeing as this game was made in 2005 - you can't blame it!

This game makes me want to go back and complete Ico, which I never got round to doing and also conjures up exciting images of the next Team Ico project due out on PS3 later this year in Japan. It is also a reminder that, like movies, some games will always be perfect and this is another example of how video games should be winning awards for sheer originality if not for anything else, it's a work of art and should be treated as such. Never before had a game like this been created and never will it again. I can't imagine many game developers in America walking into the office going 'OK, one kid on a horse, 16 bosses - nothing else, and there's next to no dialogue' and everyone giving it the green light, but this comes from a time where the Japanese were taking chances and changing the course of gaming, which says a lot nowadays seeing as the country's gaming produce is somewhat of a cliche (new Yakuza game anyone? Jesus!).

There's a reason why this game is still doing well over five years on and if I was you, I'd even try buying a PS2 again just to play it. It might seem a bit much giving this a perfect score, but as soon as I completed it after a good 9 hours of gameplay, I started it again almost immediately. I don't think I've ever done that with a game before and so that's really saying something. If you like the classic David Vs. Goliath story, you might as well take it to the extreme because the Goliath's don't get much bigger than this. See that huge creature in the distance? The one that's about as tall as the Empire State building? Give it fifteen minutes and you'll soon be on top of it's head trying to stab it to death. A colossal score to a colossal game - if only there were more about like this.

Rating: 10/10

Dante's Inferno

Visceral Games unleash Hell on Earth. But is it a piece of gaming heaven or should it be damned forever? The Wild Bore goes to Hell to find out.

Visceral Games, once called EA Redwood Shores, products are getting increasingly popular. Since starting out on the luke warm 007: Everything Or Nothing game on PS2, they suddenly burst out 3 years later with the highly anticipated Godfather game. It got mixed reviews but was generally well received as a parallel storyline to the first film and personally, I quite enjoyed it. After The Simpsons game (which wasn't too bad, but not great either) and an unsuccessful Godfather II game, Visceral got back on track with the release of the amazing Dead Space game. Since then, The Sims 3 (whatever) came out but their original content again made a mark, which is Dante's Inferno.

Loosely based on the first part of the Divine Comedy where Dante travels to Hell, Dante who is a Christian during the Crusades rather than an Italian poet, has sinned quite a bit while he's been fighting and his missus is paying the price for it as she is trapped in Hell with Satan. Basically, you go through the 9 Levels of Hell to get her back with a completely useless old blue ghost guy 'helping' you, or just annoying you.

One thing will come up immediately as you begin playing, it's completely ripped off God of War, which is probably why they were quick to get it in before God of War 3 was released a couple of weeks ago. Press buttons at the correct time to launch devastating moves, tap buttons to get doors open and so on and so forth. But the problem is when stealing a successful formula, you need to make it better and quite frankly this hasn't.

The gameplay is very smooth with upgradeable abilities, moves and what not, but it is very much of the same thing again ... and again. Which is fine if, like me, you like a bit of hack and slash, but near the end where you go through 9 different stages of just killing enemies with certain parameters (in the air, no magic etc.) you almost want to kill yourself with irritation. But the fighting is quite fun, so luckily it works. Other irritating things come up, such as puzzles that aren't quite 100% clear on what you have to do, and at one point it took me 15 minutes to find out that by jumping off a falling lift into a dark space, I'd survive rather than plummet to my death. Again. And again. Over and over. These minor irritations do add up.

You also don't really get the sense of Hell's geography, which might sound stupid, but I want to know how this is all laid out. You seem to wander through one level into the next and I'd feel more satisfied if it was thought about a lot more. There are some good points though, the graphics are pretty damn impressive. The CG cut-scenes look incredible, probably some of the best I've seen maybe, and the general concept art I thought was quite good, but seeing as it's Hell, it felt sometimes way too cartoony and obvious. Though trying to avoid being shat on in the Gluttony level was quite unique. Also taking advantage of the huge beasts is quite fun, but a little boring about the 4th time you do it, and when you're destroying a city it's so slow that you start pushing other buttons to see if you can hurry it up. You can't.

So graphics are pretty good, gameplay is good, the sound is great but what about the story? Seeing as it's based on what some people call the beginning of Italian literature as we know it, surely it cannot fail. Well, it kind of does. I enjoyed the story of seeing your sins, meeting your friends and parents trapped in Hell and the little anime sequences of his past (as if he cannot take his past mistakes as 'real') but I wanted something a bit darker and it still seemed a little like the inside of the cave in Disney's Aladdin rather than a true dark, sinister ugly Hell. It's what you would think a video game set in Hell would look like, so there's nothing that might really surprise you. The whole collecting souls and damning or saving them soon goes from a novelty to a chore and after a while you realise you're wasting time constantly doing it when you'd rather finish killing the enemies.

It's a good 7 or 8 hours worth of gameplay, so if you really wanted to you could bash it out in a day, or a weekend and there's enough to last but it won't be something you'll remember for ages. There's downloadable content, different difficulties etc. but you must have to have loved it if you want to come back to it. It worked as a good filler to quench the thirst of everyone who was waiting for God of War 3, well now that it's here, I'd say go do that instead and if you want a bit more, come see Dante in Hell. It won't rock your boat over, but it might cause some waves.

Rating: 6/10

Bioshock 2

The sequel to the BAFTA award winning game, it is already being touted to win again at this years awards ceremony. But does it live up to all those top reviews? The Wild Bore delves deeper into Rapture to find out ...

I loved Bioshock when it first hit our screens. I remember playing the demo before it came out sitting round my mate Ben's place, the burning plane, the abandoned lighthouse. It struck me as one of the most original FPS (first person shooters for all you others out there) made. I always think the key thing about any film, game, even song etc. is that it is made up of little works of genius that other pieces would base the entire concept over. For instance, in Bioshock, the Little Sister element of 'saving' or 'harvesting' these little fucked up girls could have made the entire game. But instead you have these amazing powers that you pick up along the way, which could have been a game in itself etc.

I did have some faults with the first game though that I was hoping the second would answer to. Mainly, by the end of Bioshock I was so powerful that nothing could hurt me, including the final boss whom I expected to absolutely batter me, but instead it took me almost no time at all. Secondly, I kind of understood the story, but did get lost often with what was going on. All I knew is I had to kill the bad guys. So has the second one made up for this? Not really ...

What I loved about Bioshock 2 is what I loved about the first one. The art deco setting, the fact it's all underwater, the amazing AI, the dark atmosphere, the horror element - but that's just it, I've seen it all before. So what's different? Okay, the AI has been boosted more, the enemies take cover etc. and all that, but there's also the fact that there's new enemies. In terms of the narrative, why didn't I see these new guys in the first game? I might have missed something where they explained it but I don't think so. Where would they have suddenly sprung from? You're also a Big Daddy and, to be honest, it hardly makes a difference. Yeah yeah, I know that you kind of lumber about a bit, that you have your drill, but I hardly EVER used my drill. I might as well just have been the guy from the first one but with new weapons. There was nothing that made me feel like a Big Daddy except for carrying the Little Sisters (yes I saved each and every one and got Adam from all the bodies for those in the know). Though sometimes I thought they did this on purpose - often the light shines from behind you and you see your shadow and you stare at it. Is that really me? This huge mechanical monster? Which, in a way you won't have in any other medium, would also be what your character is thinking. Clever, clever, clever.

The Little Sister element is a great little side project, but sometimes I just found it annoying. She will lead you to a body to extract Adam (the good stuff you want) and you protect her while there is an onslaught of enemies. Every. Single. Time. It gets quite tiring as for each Sister there's two bodies, which means that on average, as there are 3 Little Sisters in each level, you're potentially doing it 6 times each time. I just thought this was a bit much and made me just want to kill them, but I'm too sweet.

The other problem was again the story, I kind of knew what was going on, but if you told me to run you through it, I couldn't. I don't know how but I just feel they should make it clearer with what's happening. They summarise things usually through some kind of audio log which means instead of explanations, you get anecdotal summaries, which you don't always want to listen to. I enjoyed what I understood, but generally all I knew is I had to get from A to B for some reason.

The end was also quite satisfying story-wise and gameplay wise, but really the final 'onslaught' was nothing anyone couldn't handle and by that time, I was again ridiculously powerful. I had passed about 20 First Aid Kits on the final level because I just didn't need them. There's no real jeopardy. It's funny because I was talking to 'muh lady' the other day and she was saying how she didn't like the idea in games of re-doing things until you get them right and I explained that a lot of the time, you enjoy it, not if it's near-impossible, but the fact that you have to work twice as hard to do it and the satisfied feeling you get afterwards makes it even better because you know you deserved it. This is why people often see retro games in rose-tinted glasses, you really did have to earn it in those days because it was pure gameplay instead of the overall evolution of the industry today where everything counts. I wonder what you guys think ...

Anyway, other improvements is the hacking element. Instead of the 'pipe' hacking, you just have to time a needle against a colour. Easy enough and far quicker than before. An auto-hack tool and gun to do it make it a lot more fun than before. The graphics also look great and the gameplay is very smooth. You can shoot and fire your plasmid abilities at the same time, which I'm not sure you could do in the first one. There's also the online capability which, as I'm not hooked up to XBox Live yet (I will be) means I'm not able to do, but I've heard mediocre things about. True?

So what really makes this stand out from the crowd? Well, the story is good if not somewhat discombobulated, the gameplay is once again flawless, the graphics are incredible and the general tone of the game is as dark yet delightful as always. It's major fail? I've seen it all before in the first one. This return to Rapture under the guise of a Big Daddy does work, but I wish they'd branched out a little more. Why not an alternative Rapture? Perhaps a huge sea vessel like an underwater Dead Space? I don't know. If you haven't played the first one, I'd give this a 10, but as it stands it only gets a ...

Rating: 8/10

Uncharted 2

A game that is another example of the fact that if you aren't into gaming, you are seriously missing out.

Okay, so, this game might be a couple of months old now but I only just got it off my mate Si last week and had to complete it before Bioshock 2 came out so he could exchange it. True story. But my word, what a game!
I, like many others, was already hooked on the first Uncharted. There are only a handful of games that really make you stand up and go "Fuck me. This is brilliant. Actually fuck me!" This sequel takes everything about the first one and builds on it's successful formula. A bit of history, a bit of the supernatural, a beautiful landscape and an incredible story with engaging characters.
For those who aren't already in the know, the Uncharted series uses actual actors to act out the scenes and has developed facial recognition software (much like Cameron's "Avatar") in a way never seen before in games. Not since Uncharted had characters moved, looked, expressed themselves and acted so naturally. The graphics are incredible, luscious and amazing to look at. Perhaps the best seen on a console so far. It's voice acting is also incredible; in a way it is almost the future of acting itself. If you're a great actor but just don't have the face to be a leading man, then you can be made up to look just like one. Much like Drake is.
His character is what I LOVE about action films, he gets absolutely beaten about, he's charismatic, genuinely funny, truly wants to do the right thing and with impossible chances of surviving, he leaps in headfirst anyway. His character has a some kind of learning experience, in that he realises the true meaning of love and recognises that, despite his faults, he is a good person . But apart from that bit of slush, the action is relentless.
Without ruining a story full of twists and turns, your main goal is to stop the evil madman from getting to Shangri-La, but it's not until the end you find out why it's so important he must be stopped. From the very first moment you turn on the game where you're hanging off a train about to go over a cliff, to fighting helicopters, climbing mountains, running over crumbling bridges and more - you know you won't be in for an easy ride.
The entire franchise has bits out of Indiana Jones, Romancing The Stone etc. but in a way that is much, much better. Yes, I said it was BETTER than ANY Indiana Jones film. In fact, it's better than pretty much 99% of action films. It's hard to describe this to anyone who doesn't really like gaming. When I'm in work talking about it, people - like a certain Mrs Delbridge (I don't work in a school) - will laugh away with quite a chortle at how childish it all is. But I let them laugh. Because as all us 'gamers' know, we have the last laugh. As much as we try to get non-gamers to 'see the light' - we don't really want them to be part of it. We don't want to force them because you want it to be your thing, something that not everyone is part of. Like you have a secret. Even though, especially in the last 5 or so years with the certain next-gen console releases, people keep saying how successful 'video games' are (we don't actually call them video games here - it's a term we feel we have to use so that people who don't understand, will understand), the masses on their high horses just won't accept it. There's some kind of geeky stigma about it, well documented by people like Charlie Brooker.
When we put that controller in your hand and say 'have a go' - we're actually opening up quite a bit, letting you into some sort of mass 'Fight Club' and if you're not going to do it properly, then we'd rather you don't get into the club. In fact, it's like offering someone a doorway into another world of interactivity that they can never experience again. We're not talking MMO's and all that bollocks. Sure there's a time and a place for that, but you can actually get COOL games. But what the main point is, is that maybe we have been gaming since we were kids but the only reason we're any good at games and you might not be - is because we didn't quit. You're not a quitter right? You can't work out what millions of children can? Okay then. Hand me the controller back or fuck off because one thing is for sure - it's the future.
Okay, so Uncharted 2 isn't going to start a revolution, but it's definitely part of one. It combines the best thing about all these popular types of medium and puts YOU in the driving seat. I'm a big fan of films (as you can probably see) but games transcend films and will start to absorb the medium until in the end, people will rather play games than watch films. It is in essence a 12 hour film (average these days) that allows you enough breathing space to evolve characters, play different set pieces and constantly be entertained. There's enough good games out now that you won't be wasting your time with fluff. Recently, if you're game isn't of the highest quality, it will be shelved rather quickly which cuts out the fat - something Hollywood will never be able to do. It also is more of an investment, you get a lot more bang for your buck. But I am going off on a total tangent here and so will hark back to Uncharted. But let me put it this way, I hate having to explain myself for why I like to be a gamer. There's a reason why games like Grand Theft Auto, Call of Duty etc. beat Hollywood films by huge margins (yes even "Avatar" - which in 2D looks JUST like a computer game anyway), and if you can't figure it out. Well, fuck off.
UNCHARTED 2! So ... the story is great - I'm not sure if it beats the story of the first game which I did love. But it does surpass it in every other area. The characters are so well-rounded and clearly important to the producers that it pays off hugely. It has raised the standard of game acting set by the first Uncharted (but could be beaten perhaps by Heavy Rain in the next couple of weeks?) and the control system is smooth, rarely without glitches. Though the odd hugging of a wall for cover can prove annoying when you're on the wrong side getting shot at.
I also don't like the way all the enemies, though there are different ones, essentially take 1 of about 5 or 6 different forms. It feels like they are all brothers or something. The puzzles are complex enough to have you guessing, but simple enough that you won't be stressing too much, you even get a hint if you're taking too long. The hanging off cliffs and finding your way round obstacles plays so fluidly and easily that when you do get to where you're going, you do feel truly satisfied for having figured it out. The game engine also blends into the cut scenes seamlessly and looks incredible - any game that can do that deserves respect.
So gameplay 'check', characters 'check', graphics 'check', story 'check' - it all falls into place. So what's missing? To be honest, not much. It was an adequate length full of different scenarios that would make any action film pale in comparison. The camera-work (yes there is such a thing) was very inventive - at one point it seems like you're looking at Drake from behind a boulder on the other side of a mountain, until it moves and you see it's some form of creature. Whoa!
Everything about this game is nigh-on-perfect. The only criticism might be is that it's greatest achievement is also it's greatest downfall. It feels like it wants to be a film so badly sometimes that you'd rather it keep to being a game as it also picks up flaws of most action films. The twist in the beginning is rather obvious, it feels like it jumps around the globe somewhat for the sake of it and there's even the big bad bald guy with scars, the hot femme fatale etc. and it plays into a box sometimes a bit too much. Also, where the hell is Sully through most of this?!
There is also the multiplayer, which is ... okay. It's not exactly going to see off COD or anything but it does work in some weird way. It's something to work on at least for the next one. There's also not much replay value unless you want to get ALL the artifacts. Which is a bit obsessive.
So overall, if you don't have a PS3 you should get one, even if it's just for this it'll be worth it. It is an experience you won't get from any film, book or TV show. It got IGN's game of the year last year (a very high accolade) because it's sheer innovation and blatant love for the game from it's producers make it an enjoyable experience for one and all. Except for those who don't want to try something new. Idiots.

Rating: 9/10