1313 concept art with a much loved character of the series.

The news of the studios closure comes as being both unexpected and somewhat irrational on Disney’s behalf, despite Disney wanting to change their business model. One can’t help but think this idea may not win any awards especially form the 150 currently unemployed development staff.

Delving into the history of the studio Lucas Arts, it was formed back in 1982, acting as the main game development studio for LucasFilm. Expanding from the movie studio Lucasfilm into other areas turned out to be a great move, not only for fans of Star Wars related games, but also for fans of action adventure games. The studio has had some great success with other games that they originally started creating before the never-ending stream of Star Wars games came to light. The first games developed by the studio were for the Atari gaming system. Interestingly the first Star Wars title didn’t manifest itself until much later after the studios creation; not until 1990 to be exact. The first action adventure game to be created by Lucas Arts was labyrinth in 1986, which is based on the film version that LucasFilm also produced starring David Bowie.

One criticism of the many Star Wars titles appearing was that the overall quality dropped and appeared to be simply cashing in on the name, without putting any substantial amount of resources or effort into it. However, the result of throwing so many games at the wall meant that some of them had to stick, and as a result there were some instant classics. Some games kept to the standard story-lines and characters while other company’s expanded on it and made the games their own, so that they were different in terms of game-play, style and story.

The most recently released Kinect Star Wars: not a great critical success for Lucas Arts and was symbolic of its difficulties. The problem is that when such a game is announced, having the ability to control a character using move based gestures, with the expectation in a player’s mind is already at a high level to begin with, leads to a disappointing experience.

One of the quirks of playing a Lucas Arts Star Wars title was the constant logo animation which changed in it’s games, often the character in the logo would come to life and hurl a lightsabre about like a boomerang before ducking. Other games such as the Force Unleashed had the character in the logo jump and use force lightning. Even if a game failed to live up to expectations this amusing little quirk it always put you in a good mood when loading the game.

There are way too many Star Wars games to make reference to as much as I’d like to however I believe that there are a few games which deserve a mention or at least an affectionate nod as being among the finest that Lucas Arts helped to shape.

Star Wars: Jedi Knight: Dark Forces II (1997) Is a First Person Shooter which added some great puzzles, good fps game-play large explorable levels and story-line.

Star Wars: Episode I: The Phantom Menace (1999) was a PS1 game based on the movie version, receiving mixed to good reception the game was a best seller in the UK.

Star Wars: Demolition (2000) A firm classic because it was just pure simple fun to play, allowing the player to take control of some of the iconic vehicles from the movies weather that be on the PS1 or Dreamcast  playing with friend or alone it worked well.

Star Wars: Galactic Battlegrounds (2001) This is by far one of my favourite RTS games, the game allowed you to take control of armies of all of the main film factions and characters it was also a nice break from the usual lightsabre action.

Star Wars Battlefront which arrived in (2004) for xbox, PC and PS2 was a classic third person action experience which allowed the player to act out his fantasy of being in a Star Wars battle on various planets, it went on to create a sequel and also have a lot of interest in a 3rd game being made.

Star Wars Empire At War was yet another RTS game in (2006)  which was hoped to be close to the battlegrounds game which came before it, however it offered a completely rethought design with a new style of game-play which in itself was great even if a few of us were hoping for battlegrounds 3.

Star Wars The Force Unleashed: Ultimate Sith Edition (2009) was a very appealing concept as you were able to take on the role of the Sith and be utterly evil with your Jedi powers, even turning on loyal stormtroopers. One of the last two major titles form the studio the other being Star Wars Kinect both of which received very mixed views and disappointing sales figures, both of these games offered a great game-play concept  but it seems it just wasn’t enough.

Both 1313 and First Assault are now under the officially cancelled status, however this does not mean the games are nothing more than a hopeful dream; they may yet see the light of day, although the chances are now far less. While we haven’t seen the last of Star Wars with all new titles being developed exclusively by other studios, somehow it just won’t be the same without the official branding off Lucas Arts stamped on it.

DuckTales (oooh ooooh)”

As you may have guessed by the less than subtle hint, the DuckTales are getting a new game. Well at least technically new after all it has been a long time since the first Ducktales game, around 24 years in fact since the original was released for the NES. The original game was published by none other than Capcom, which may surprise those who would only associate it with more well-known titles such as Resident Evil. The game was an adaptation based on the TV series of the same name and, as adaptations go, it was a great one, which is a rarity in itself these days.

DuckTales was well received upon its original release, often being a subject for NES nostalgia among fans; the game itself is a fine example of some of the work Capcom were doing back in the 80s and 90s. The original game saw the main character “Scrooge Mc Duck” travelling around the world finding lost treasures to become the worlds richest duck, using his trusty iconic cane to whack his way through obstacles. Scrooge can also use his cane as a pogo stick allowing him to reach higher ground defeat enemies from above and avoid some hazardous obstacles. The game provided the player with colourful graphics, tight-play control and offering a non-linear game-play experience.

The original game was delivered in 8 bit architecture, even so it was still a fun game; after all as hard as it is to believe 8 bit was once all the rage. Just by looking at the pictures or trailer for the new game invoke a happy sentimental feeling of fun, no doubt there will be a few achievements to get along the way.

The original 8bit Version compared to the upcoming Remastered version.

Capcom are now bringing the game up-to-date for a new generation of gamers to enjoy, in addition to creating a fresher experience for fans of the original, recreating a golden gem not just of nostalgic gaming but of a much loved TV series. The new game title gets straight to the point with “DuckTales Remastered”. Essentially the game will be the same in all aspects but with an overhaul using things such as current generation graphics and processing power to name but two. The new game also promises new hand drawn sprites along with original voice-overs.

Currently DuckTales is being published for the PSN, Wii-U and XBLA platform’s for a relatively low price of $15 which converted in UK sterling works out at around £9- £10 which is pretty good for a downloadable network game. The game will be developed by WayForward Technologies, the announcement comes as one of two new games teased by Capcom; the other being Dungeons and Dragons: Chronicles of Mystara.

The advancement in technology and gaming is very apparent with the reveal trailer compared to the original game, now offering 2D characters in 3D modelled levels, looking just as though you were watching a rerun of the series. It’s both interesting and great to see that some of the more well renowned classic games are being revived; even though they may feel familiar, the experience promises to be be brand new.

Lighting and shadows make levels stand out vividly.

The game is made up of five levels which can be played in any order of the players choosing, much like the mega man games were. At the end of each level Scrooge must face off with a boss, once the five levels have been completed the player is transported to Transylvania for the final boss fight. Once complete you can also revisit levels in order to find items which unlock parts of other levels.  The controls will be fairly simplistic to master; it will be one of those games you can just pick up your controller and jump straight into.

Lots of platforming fun to be had.

The game won’t be overly long in terms of game-play hours; it will be relatively short depending how you play it, this won’t deter fans who have waited so long for a remake or for those looking for a fun filled experience down memory lane. In truth what fan can resist the charm of such a proposed title, with pure and simple platforming  fun and such an infectious intro song to get you in the mood.

DuckTales Remastered is set for a an unspecified date in Summer of 2013 with the possibility of being made available to portable devices such as the PS Vita.  I will most definitely be downloading this classic to relive a great game in its new found glory; the question is will you?

Playstation All Stars sees Sony maiden voyage into the crossover brawler sub-genre that has previously seen very little competition. Occupied almost exclusively by Nintendo’s Super Smash Brothers, Sony hope to make a smash of their own, with heroes featuring from their own intellectual property. 

From the get go it’s very clear where Playstation All Stars’ inspiration lies. The two dimensional  4 player stages bare an obvious resemblance to those of Super Smash Bros, and the likeness doesn’t just end with the aesthetic and presentation. Mechanics such as the games blocking, rolling and pickup systems are very similar to Nintendo’s offering. Fortunately the similarities are largely outweighed by the steps Sony and Superbot have taken to make PSA a very unique experience.

As with Brawl, the game features a singleplayer arcade-like mode, where you battle across various stages to defeat a final boss. It’s a pretty simple affair and each characters story is generally very generic, although very playable if you don’t have any friends to play with online or locally at the time. It’s a little disappointing that the character stories and associated cutscenes feel so lackluster, but it’s a decent offering and an opportunity for you to dry-run each character before taking the experience online or against friends locally. Plus you’re able to rank up and unlock new outfits and icons through solitary play too.

Battle Royale differentiates itself by being much more of a traditional fighting game than Nintendo’s counterpart. It has its emphasis placed much more on combination moves and the technicality of player input than Brawl, which, generally speaking, places a larger focus on spacing and zoning. This adds something of a sense of satisfaction when you pull off the correct sequence of moves, with the appropriate timing. It varies from character to character though, some are combo intensive, and others less so.

The game features a very diverse roster and attempts to accommodate their playstyles relative to the mechanics they originated from. For instance, Dante is very combo intensive,  there’s plenty variety to his move set with the ability to cancel certain moves into others. Sly cooper on the other hand can’t block, going invisible instead when you press the L1 button. With Sly you’ll find yourself trying to sneak up on foes for back attacks much more than you’ll be looking for a head on confrontation. 

The games character diversity is perhaps it’s largest failing; however, bringing about some unfortunate problems, regarding balance in particular. It’s generally true that the more aggressive characters in this game are the more successful, characters like Dante, Raiden and Kratos have obvious advantages in building meter and subsequently acquiring kills. It’s not to say that other characters like Sly and Cole MacGrath aren’t solid too, however more sluggish characters like Sweet Tooth and Sir Daniel can find it very difficult to hold their own in the fray. 

This problem is exacerbated by the games innovation. Battle Royale makes an effort to differentiate from Smash Bros and traditional fighters by not featuring any ‘damage’ systems whatsoever. Instead all you gain from hitting your opponents is action points, which fill your meter. You have 3 stages of meter, which can be used to unleash different levels of super moves. Your super moves are the exclusive tool you have to kill your foes. Each characters super moves are entirely unique, and each characters meter requires different amounts of AP to fill, it can be a confusing system to understand at first, especially considering how far detached it is from previous fighting game experiences, but you get used to it. The caveat of such a system is that when your only means of killing your opponent are placed upon your super moves, these moves alone largely define the quality of the character.

Characters with less effective Super moves like Sackboy or Sir Daniel become very difficult to employ correctly simply because they either cannot kill, or cannot kill as quickly as other characters. Similarly characters who have difficulty building meter, have difficulty finding success too, regardless of the quality of their super moves, because they have more trouble accessing their supers. Leaving the characters that have both solid meter-building techniques and efficient super-moves as dominant. Fortunately this is much less of an issue in stock limit matches rather than timed, but for some obscure reason timed is the games default, and as such ranked online feels somewhat redundant considering to how unbalanced it is. It should be noted that the games competition is little better either, though. Fighting games generally see fighters tiered and graded on their quality and efficiency in each matchup, even if it’s rarely quite as clear cut as it is in Battle Royale.

It’s not all doom and gloom though of course. The game is enjoyable, that’s for sure. The character super moves each have cool animations, particularly their level 3s. Even if some do feel a little cheap, serving as instant-kills, it can be argued that they’re still earned as the character did acquire considerable meter to be able to access them. In addition,  stock games are seeing many of the balance issues dissipate somewhat; in timed matches it’s easy for characters like Raiden to rack up high killcounts on weaker players, and the better players suffer as a result regardless of their individual performance, but in stock matches it matters little who kills who. The better player generally comes out on top, and the experience feels much fairer.

The characters move-sets are fun to play around with, offering 3 attack button and variations of move output depending on directional input, each character has 20+ unique moves that they can employ to gain AP, or in some cases steal AP from their enemies. And the stages are wonderfully designed mashups, each featuring two playstation franchises blended together. This creates some very obscure mixes like God of War x Patapon, but they’re all pretty good fun.

The game features a variety of options too. As well as a choice between stock and timed matches you can select teamed or solo play, alongside the expected options like the ability to enable or disable AI, and powerups. There’s even a training mode like those seen in more traditional 2D fighters where you can practice your combos, and a set of trials for each character to help you master the basics. The game makes a decent effort to make itself accessible, that’s for sure.

Aesthetically the game does a pretty good job too. Whilst you could argue that the games menus are somewhat barebones, and generic, they’re very functional. Each of the games characters is modeled very well, very true to their originals, from the games they were taken from. Similarly the stages and powerups each have their own charms, and accurately represent the visual stylings of the their respective franchises. It’s fun to see the characters of God of War and Infamous batter each-other across the 2D cell shaded environment of Loko Roco, for instance.

Ultimately though, I have to say despite the games charms it’s difficult to overlook the games issues with character balance and consider it a serious fighter. In the same sense the game doesn’t make much of an effort to compete with Smash Bros in regards to production values, singleplayer may be relatively insignificant for a largely multiplayer focused game, but Smash Bros goes much further in offering a quality experience for a solo player through collectible trophies and an adventure mode that Battle Royale lacks.

Battle Royale is a reasonably solid, enjoyable fighting game that simply lacks the substance to be taken seriously. It’s by no means bad, but it is not as thorough an offering as Smash Bros, and it’s not as balanced or mechanically sound as most other traditional fighters. I’d recommend it if you’re a fan of Playstation games, or Smash Bros and looking to try something new, but don’t expect to be blown away. 

“Wow” was the first word I said to myself when Bioshock Infinite was finished. I then proceeded to put the controller down and think. I thought about the ending, I thought about the characters, and I thought about what the game taught me about society, the dangers of Religious Fundamentalism, and the lengths a person would go through to absolve their sins. The real surprising thing is once I put the controller down I actually thought in depth about a game’s story. I couldn’t remember the last time I did that. Oh wait, it was when I finished playing the original Bioshock.

Irrational Games continues their absolute mastery of video game storytelling and mixes it in with some really tight gun-play, surprisingly deep but at the same time simple RPG mechanics, and a gorgeous world that really sucks you in and makes you believe a scenario like this game’s could exist. I was personally worried that Infinite would not stand up to it’s predecessor’s (we don’t count Bioshock 2 in this) glory, but it definitely did, and then some.

You are Booker DeWitt, a former Pinkerton agent with debt issues that offers to travel to the floating island city of Columbia to collect a mysterious girl and bring her back to New York. By doing this he settles his debt, though what the debt is and to whom is never really explained. He arrives in Columbia to find what on the outside seams like an idealistic paradise, but turns out to be overrun by racism, bigotry and religious fundamentalism, all of which is encouraged by the town’s leader; the “Prophet” Zachary Comstock, who founded the city. What turned into a simple rescue mission becomes much more as Booker meets Elizabeth, who turns out to have the ability to manipulate space and time, and has a nasty guardian (named the Song Bird) who packs one hell of a punch.

The story is told completely from Booker’s perspective, which you never leave from start to finish (the Half-Life method as I call it), with audio logs scattered around the levels which help flesh out the characters and the background of the city. Even the environments do a good job of telling the story. Every nook and cranny paints a picture of a very believable world, with propaganda posters everywhere, citizens talking about their daily lives and commenting on the events around them, and sometimes you just have to stop and take all the details in.

The highlight of the story without a doubt is Elizabeth herself. Booker and her are constantly chatting between fire-fights, discussing current events, bantering over certain situations, or in one scene that I nearly missed because I didn’t look around enough, add some levity to what is mostly a sombre tale. Her facial animation is fantastic, as its exaggerated nature allows you to really see how she’s feeling, and I can promise by the end of the game, you will think of Elizabeth as one of the most likeable characters by the end of the game.

This commitment to driving narrative through game-play means that this story is without a shadow of a doubt one of the best game stories ever told, and I can promise that people will be talking about this one for years to come. I cannot stress enough the importance of the first 20 minutes to half an hour or so of the game. When you arrive in Columbia, make sure to take in every sight and let the game’s world talk to you. You will find it a far richer experience if you do.

Now, on to the nuts and bolts. Much like its predecessors, Infinite is an FPS with RPG elements, that focuses on special powers (Now called Vigors, as opposed to Plasmids from the original) and a varying arsenal of classic ordnance in order to power your way through your enemies. The Vigors are extremely well designed and varied. There’s the classics, like the fire and shock powers, but also new ones such as a floating shield that absorbs damage which you can fling back at opponents, or a watery tentacle that can pull pesky snipers towards you. As well as a health bar, you now have a regenerating shield (with really cool looking effects when it breaks) which means that even when low on health (as it does not regenerate) you are able to continue fighting.

In the shooting is where Infinite leans the closest to the original Bioshock, and it manages to maintain a very similar feel, while being different in many respects. The action is a lot heavier, and the emphasis is on maneuverability and tactical choice. This is best emphasized by Elizabeth when she joins the fray. A lot of you will groan and think back to Resident Evil 4 and the permanent escort quest that was, but there’s nothing to fear. Irrational were very clever in her implementation. Elizabeth cannot be harmed in combat. What she does is move around the battlefield and scavenge items for you. This can be ammunition, health, salts (basically mana), and money, which is used to buy weapon and Vigor upgrades, and for purchasing of health pick-ups and ammo. What she scavenges depends on your desperate need at the time. For example, you approach a vending machine, and she’ll toss you an extra $20 or so which will buy another couple of ammo clips. Get low on health and she’ll toss you a med-kit. There are intervals when she does not find things, and that is when you’re at your most vulnerable, so this addition is by no means a walk in the park. Another thing she can do (which is also important to the story) is open portals to other dimensions (called tears) and bring certain objects to change the flow of battle, like some extra cover, an automated turret, or a crate of medical supplies.

The most interesting game-play addition is the Skyhook. This ingenious contraption is not only a particularly gruesome melee weapon (seriously, the executions will make you cringe), but it also allows you to move around the battlefield with ease thanks to floating rails dotted liberally around the maps. Using the Skyhook means you can re-position so you have an advantage over a particularly tough enemy, or even just move fast enough so you can’t be shot so easily.

If there is one minor gripe I have, its with the enemies. Unlike the Splicers from the original, the enemies here are mostly just generic soldiers. There are some cool “Heavy Hitter” additions, such as the Motorized Patriots, who are actually robot George Washington’s with chain guns. I am dead serious, and the Handy Man, who is an obvious replacement to the Big Daddies from the original, but are not nearly as interesting, and are only fought about 3-5 times in the entire game. I feel like more could have been done with the enemies, and while there are some good designs, Irrational is definitely better than this.

Graphically, on the PS3 anyway, the game is gorgeous. The slightly exaggerated “cartoony” visuals allow it to keep a stylish presentation that looks pretty, and is perfectly suited to the game’s art style, which incidentally is inspired. The first time you walk outside and see the buildings floating towards you as if to say “come and explore, you know you want to” is absolutely stunning, and I promise you, you won’t be disappointed. The frame rate remains consistent, no matter the sheer number of bullets and enemies the game throws at you, and the gore is surprisingly satisfying for such a bright looking game.

The music adds to the combat by adding notes when an enemy is killed, and slowly dying down as threats disappear. My only gripe sound wise is that there are no memorable tracks, with the possible exception of the Beach Boys song “God Only Knows” performed A Capella style about 50 years before its supposed release date!

All in all, apart from some very very minor issues, I have to say, developers are going to have to look at this game and realize they need to step up their development, because I highly doubt we’re going to see anything of this quality for a long time. The game-play is tight, perfectly suited to an outstanding action fps, but the story is where this game truly stands head and shoulders above any other interactive experience that at least I have played in this generation, hell maybe even my life. This one is staying in the history books for a long time, and I command anyone who has a love for games as a medium, to play this game right now. I promise you won’t regret a second.

The first game saw you completing missions by completing set objectives with the follow up games following more story oriented objectives.

Having the games constantly jump between different time periods added a new level of variety to an FPS game, which more than likely became its unique selling point. An example of this would be when you find yourself fighting alongside a world war one Englishman known as Captain Ash, complete with a stereotypical gentlemanly accent and moustache. You are fighting soldiers with weapons both from the current time period and from the future. Another level was set in a futuristic world currently in war with machines, which featured the deadliest and coolest looking of killer robots. The series employed a cartoonish look at times, whether that be in facial expressions from the characters or  with the comic book inspired levels. It also had a wry sense of humour that is currently lacking in the more serious offerings found today.

One of the fondest memories I have for the series is with the built in map editor; there wasn’t anything else like it at the time on PlayStation 2.  TimeSplitters 1 allowed multi-player maps to be created, with TimeSplitters 2 however you could create single player levels with objectives, while the third game included the ability to have maps take place outside. The creator was a simple grid based level editor which you could create an entire level filled with auto turrets, objectives and as many enemies as the editor would allow you to fill it with. Imagine creating a futuristic lab level with armed robots and objectives located in a macabre haunted house style level which also joined onto a separate part of the map. It was so enjoyable to spend many hours of my time doing this.

The biggest limitation, however, was the space taken up by the editor when saving it simply was never enough on traditional PlayStation memory cards. Even when using the game with the PlayStation 3’s inbuilt memory cards level’s always seems it full up too quickly, this was because it still had the same restrictions on internal card space. Once a level was created you could also share it for others to play on-line, allowing a lot of possibilities.

A simple map editor which anyone could make use of.

It is stated that TimeSplitters 2 became the highest ranked game among the FPS genre on the PS2 platform. As some people may be aware, the studio behind the games, Free-Radical, unfortunately ran into problems. Free radical design shut down and went into administration on December 18th 2008. Crytek confirmed on Feb 4th 2009 that they had purchased Free Radical Design.

TimeSplitters  4 was set to be a PS3 exclusive proprietary title as was described in 2007, images were leaked with hints pointing at the new game this included a parody of the  Gears Of War logo with the infamous TimeSplitters Monkey head inside a gear. Then in 2008 fresh images appeared, this time parodying the Need For Speed series. The next was the memorable image of a more mature Jo Beth Casey in a torn nuns outfit brandishing a blood stained chainsaw. With so many images being leaked all of which looked entirely reputable, it seemed the game was an inevitability. Following the administration of Free Radical’s studio, no new images appeared and all sources from Crytek seemed to point at TimeSplitters 4 having being laid to rest.

Jo Beth Casey leaked image, opens to a lot of speculation on where the next game was heading.

Ever since Crytek took over Free Radical, news has been scarce, non-existent perhaps. Despite strong support from fans, Crytek were not satisfied that the game would sell or gain enough interest to green light the development. For this reason, a petition was set up by fans to reach out to Crytek to develop the next game in the series. Despite receiving over 75000 signatures the studio still seemed reluctant to give the go ahead. Hope has not been lost, however, with the studio stating that if there is enough demand it will go ahead. In order to test the water so to speak Crytek have done the next best thing.

A new TimeSplitters Emerges

The new game has been titled TimeSplitters Rewind losing the number 4 in the process.

Crytek have given their official permission to bring out a new game for the series to a team of 25 talented game developing fans. But before you get too excited this isn’t exactly the TimeSplitters comeback we were hoping for, especially when TimeSplitters 4 was on the verge of potential development by Crytek.

There you have it then a confirmed title at last simply named ”TimeSplitters Rewind”,  here are the good and the bad points of the proposed new game development;

TimeSplitters Rewind will be based primarily on PC and without support from Cryteks development team, have limited resources, no single player or co-op campaign modes, utilising just the multi-player and challenge aspects from the series. The major plus of a somewhat less than hopeful comeback is “Rewind” will be absolutely free to download and play as well as all available DLC made for the game. The team are actively recruiting programmers to help them and have reached out to fans for character ideas some of which if good enough will appear in the final game.

The whole array of characters from previous games are set to headline, but who else will make an appearance aside from Harry Tipper and Cortez?

Crytek also gave permission to allow the team to access assets form the main TimeSplitters games. The 25 strong team declined however in favour of building the new game with the use of Cry Engine 3. This is a very sensible move; in order to review the games properly I recently started replaying Future Perfect with the use of my PS3. The graphics especially the cut-scenes are very dated but unlike other games it is still engaging and playable as a fun replay. This is because it is so unique in terms of story characters locations and weapons frankly you won’t find in any other game. In fact you can really get a sense when playing one of the previous gamers now how it could be if they were to have a sequel on a next gen system, but it would only really work if it had as many of the creative talents from the free radical studio behind it as that is the soul of the game. The new game promises 300+ playable characters in addition to maps that reflect the feel and look of the original games.

Rewind ditches a lot of things then instead focusing on the fast paced mult-player aspect of the series this means that the game will complete in a shorter space of time with hints pointing to a December 2013 release. Multi-player will feature from 8 to 16 players either on-line via LAN or solo competing against AI bots, all the usual modes are set to make a comeback such as TDM and Vamp with along with a few new ones.

The team have also stated that the possibility of a campaign may still happen but all immediate attention is set on the multi-player. While the best of hopes goes to the team now in charge or “Rewind” it is disappointing that Crytek haven’t confined with a following to future perfect despite a 75,000 strong petition by fans across the world.

We can only hope that the fans will be able to not only make the game a hit but also confirm to Crytek without a shadow of doubt that TimeSplitters 4 has a market, is a great selling series and a fourth next gen title needs to be produced, it seems we have more confidence in Cryetk making a new game than they do themselves.

In the second part of the three part episodic content, dubbed “The Tyranny of King Washington”, the story picks up from where the first part left off. Connor is now a prisoner in Boston, and is kept under lock and key by General Israel Putnam, the other lackey that is currently licking old Georgie boy’s boots (Benedict Arnold being the original arse kisser).

Naturally, you escape the prison with some other guy, with a name that I can’t type, for I lack the keys to do so. Upon doing so, you are granted a new spirit power. The power of the eagle. Thrilling stuff. It’s a little tricky to get to grips with at first, however, you do get used to it as the game goes on. Power of the eagle provides Connor with the ability to fly easily to high places, and provides a faster means of traversing the map.

The story lasts about the same length as the last outing of dlc, with a few variations in the missions here and there. In all honesty, they are fairly menial; some missions are just plain uninteresting or downright frustrating. Did you enjoy the eagle flying mission from the main game? No? Well you’re in luck, because there is some more of that in The Betrayal. In addition, and I kid you not, two missions have you playing checkers. CHECKERS?! Optional objectives are available, once again, on most missions, including those where you play checkers. So if you are a masochist, and like torturing yourself with trivial side objectives, you are well catered for. I’m being melodramatic. Most of the time, they make you play in a way that isn’t just charging in and slaughtering people, but when the objectives pertain to a board game, you begin to question what the developers were thinking.

That aside, there is little else added here, that wasn’t already in the first part. The Betrayal also suffers from the same flaws that The Tyranny did. The main plot is far too short. You are given a handful of lackluster, and quite frankly, dull side missions; and there is very little to do in the way of exploration. The DLC lacks these key elements that made the main game so fun, even if people did experience bugs. For 800 MS points, this certainly isn’t worth the purchase, and if you already have the season pass (like myself), then you are probably beginning to regret buying it.

Overall, a very run of the mill experience, that drained me, almost to the point where I couldn’t even be bothered finishing it. If you already have the season pass, then you aren’t exactly in for a treat, but you could probably do worse. I have very low expectations for the next part, “The Redemption”, but perhaps it will blow my mind. Probably not. Checkers. Checkers. Checkers. Checkers. Checkers. Checkers. Checkers. Checkers.

The game takes place around four years after the events of Metal Gear Solid 4. Raiden, a member of “Private Security Provider” Maverick, is on a routine escort of the prime minister of a small African country. This man is known as N’Mani. However, the team is ambushed by enemy cyborgs. Raiden continues to fight them off until N’Mani is killed. After a quick clash with a cyborg known only as Jetstream Sam, Raiden is left wounded both mentally and physically. After being given a new cyborg body, Raiden deploys once more to stop the coup’d’etat. What follows is an action packed series of events that leaves Raiden challenging and conflicting with his own ordeals, struggling to carve his own path while doing what he feels is right. The story is short and sweet, but definitely worthy of a Metal Gear game. What disappointing for fans however is the near complete lack of familiar faces!

Rising’s gameplay is of the classic Platinum Games essence, fast split-second-to-think combat. The basis of combat relies on five things, a steady mix between heavy and light attacks, knowing when and how to block or parry and a little something else we’ll come to later. If you’re too early on a block attempt, you have a pretty good chance of taking a hit. If you’re too late, it basically heeds the same result. On harder difficulties this requires you to first tilt the left stick in the direction of the enemy you want Raiden to block. Enemies glow orange to red before they’re about to attack though, so this makes timing a whole lot easiers. It can be a tough system at first, but you’ll find yourself getting used to it quite quickly.

Perhaps one major flaw however, in the manner that this system relies on the irection direction of your camera to gauge what direction you should push the stick in. This might sound fine, but at times the camera itself has a mind of its own,  this over-complicates parrying which can hurt you, and this is problem is even more problematic on higher difficulties. Not only that, but it can drastically impede your ability to see enemies preparing to gut you. It isn’t problematic that often, but it can definitely lead to some frustrating moments.

Finally, the fifth but most important tool in Raiden’s arsenal, blade mode. Blade mode is a highlight of this game, allowing you to slow down time and cut down your enemies with precision. This is extremely important because you must use it to perform the Zan-Datsu technique; to cut and take the spines of your enemies to replenish Raiden’s health and fuel cells. Your fuel cell bar depletes the longer you’re in blade mode, making it a resource you need to manage carefully at times. There’s also an upgrade system which allows players to upgrade Raiden’s robotic body and weapons, this includes increasing his health, his fuel cells, and even new attacks. You also have access to a plethora of secondary weapons. From missile launchers that home in on their target to 3D picture frames that display virtual woman to distract guards. Though, I never found myself using or appreciating this additional arsenal particularly often.

The environments are typical of a Metal Gear game, though there isn’t much of spectacle to behold. Platinum Games went all out on boss battles though. These spectacular showdowns alone make it worth picking up. They’re extremely well crafted an enjoyable and success against these seemingly insurmountable foes makes you feel like you’re unstoppable.

Each bossfight and encounter is backed by solid audio design, the soundtrack in particular provides appropriately intense ‘fight’ music, that subtly amps up the action and benefits the games atmosphere! The sound track is not like what you’d expect from a Metal Gear game though, it’s an extremely creative twist on Metal Gear’s musical style. There are many different songs, with different vocalists and instruments, songs are generally fast paced to match the graceful chaos Raiden unleashes onto the games world. Every boss fight has a specific track tailored to it, and certain segments are cued to certain actions and phases throughout. This creates dynamic well versed environments to toss Metal Gear Rays and chop up robotic dogs in!

Perhaps Rising’s largest shortcoming is its length, if you just play to beat the game and nothing more, you’re looking at six to eight hours worth of game time. It tries to make up for this through extensive re-playability through collectibles, costumes, weapons, and New Game plus. There are also thirty or so VR missions to conquer. There is plenty here to keep you going for thirty or more hours.

Overall, this game is a blast to play, regardless of if you’re purely an action game or a Metal Gear fan. As I said before, Platinum Games accomplished something that isn’t done often and they should be commended for it, even more so with such a small amount of development time. I am certainly looking forward to a sequel!

  Since I would to leave the best until last, I have decided to review the multiplayer first. Tomb raider is the first outing in the series to include a fully functional online, Player vs Player multiplayer mode. Much like the single player game, you play in third person, and use parkour to navigate the environment. The player is given the option to choose which weapons they take into battle in the form of customization loadouts. These are scant and basic to begin with, but the options for weaponry begin to increase as the player levels up. So far the multiplayer seems rather standard. There are five different maps to slog it out on, all of which take inspiration from the locales of the single player campaign. In addition to this, there are also four different game modes. The first two are your standard Deathmatch and Team Deathmatch. The latter two are objective based gametypes.

Rescue is a game mode not too different from capture the flag. Supposedly, some unseen survivors are in need of medical aid. You are and your team are required to seek and capture medical kits. However, the opposing team have a kill count to reach, and if that limit is reached before your team can escort five med kits back to base, then it is game over. To balance this, the capturing team have a bleed out timer, and can shoot whilst downed and waiting for revival.

The final game type is something. Ok I forgot what it was called, and had no idea as to what I was doing. Speaking of, he general feel of the multiplayer is that it is quite forgettable. Whilst it has it’s unique moments, such as using the environment to gain an advantage over other players, the multiplayer as a whole feels unnecessary. There are enough in game options to keep you playing, but there is little there that actually makes you want too. There is not enough variety with the maps or game mode. Many a superior multiplayer game are available, and this just can’t compare.

Onto more exciting endeavors. Watch out for potential, albeit minor spoilers ahead: Lara Croft is a young, 21-ish archaeologist on an expedition into an ancient Japanese kingdom known as Yamatai. This civilization was supposedly ruled over by a legendary shaman: Himiko, the “Sun Queen”. Aboard the Endurance, a ship bound for Yamatai, Lara is accompanied by Roth, an ex marine and mentor to Lara, sort of the Sean Bean of the group – a tough but compassionate northerner. Reyes, the ships mechanic. Jonah, a guy who looks like Vas, but has indulged himself in far too many pies. Sam, Lara’s best friend and camerawoman for the expedition. Grim, a bad ass Scottish sailor. Finally, Dr.Whitman, the resident arse hole – also an archaeologist, seeking to hit the big leagues and leave bankruptcy.

All hell breaks loose when the Endurance is caught in a storm and is shipwrecked on an island. However, the quickly find they aren’t the islands only inhabitants and are quickly captured by the current residents. Lara must now survive, kill and hunt for a way to escape the island. The story is certainly an emotional telling, that can get quite dark and gritty, whilst maintaining an air of mystery throughout. It focuses on how Lara becomes the iconic bad ass that she is know as today, and gives more character to her, well, character.

Lara is no longer in the short shorts that, for little more than a decade, have been making teenage nerds’ crotches just as tight. She has been given a more up to date, modernised look, whilst still retaining that beautiful recognisable appearance. The game looks incredible, and the effects of the environment and situation are exceptionally detailed on Lara. As the game progresses, she becomes dirtier (not like that), beaten and worn. Seriously, the amount of abuse this girl can take is staggering.

Not only is the game aesthetically pleasing, but the mechanics are as smooth a babies bum. (And no I don’t go round touching babies, it’s a saying). The parkour, climbing and cliff scaling are unbelievably easy to use, and probably outstrip Assassin’s Creed’s controls. The animations are extremely detailed as Lara moves from one surface to the next. She automatically adjusts her stance to suit the situation that she is in, whether it be near, but undetected by enemies or moving around the side of a cliff face.

Dispatching enemies is also varied and highly engaging. At times, you are required to face them in open combat. This is probably the most challenging aspect of game, as enemies shift around constantly trying to avoid your attacks, whilst trying to keep you out of cover. The combat requires a lot more moving around and dodging in comparison to other shooters, as the different classes of enemies will quickly beat you if you stay in one place for too long. This level of challenge can be occasionally frustrating, but not insurmountable, even on the hardest difficulty. Having said that, I did throw my controller, like a child, more than a handful of times.

That aside, Lara is given five weapons to upgrade and kill enemies with as the game progresses. To do so, you must hunt  for salvage and weapon parts, which can often be found in crates and on enemies. There is also an experience system, that allows you to level up Lara at campsites, so that she is more capable of surviving in, and adapting to, the environment. Experience can be garnered from killing enemies, hunting the local wildlife and finding treasure.

The world that is available to you to explore is fairly open, with branching paths that lead to different opportunities. However, it is not a sandbox, and you cannot go where ever you please. This is not necessarily a bad thing, as a guided path allows for a more tightly nit story telling experience. If you do go off the beaten bath, there are seven possible tombs to enter, each with puzzles to solve and treasure to discover. They are the game its best, where exploration and platforming combine. Additionally, there are dozens, if not hundreds of collectibles. They not only provide the player with something to prolong the game, but also with insight into the island and its many inhabitants as well as background story for Lara and her companions. Much like Batman: Arkham Asylum, areas previously unavailable to the player, become accessible as Lara finds more tools and gadgets.

Tomb Raider is a shining example that reboots can improve upon a franchise, and make them accessible to people who, perhaps, never thought to play the originals. Tomb Raider is an excellent start for new comers to bask in Lara Croft’s glorious radiance. Whilst the game isn’t perfect, with rare, occasional crashes and a tad overuse of quick time events, it comes damn near close. Everything is so well executed, that singleplayer alone is worth the full retail price. The story clocks in at about 12 hours, but with tombs and collectibles, the game could last a potential 15.

Now, you will notice that the word badass is used profusely in this review. That’s because Tomb Raider is exactly that: Badass. The game combines several different elements to make this colossal piece of Badassery. There hasn’t been this much Badassness since Far Cry 3, which, admittedly, wasn’t that long ago. Tomb Raider is most definitely an early contender for game of the year. You could even go as far to say that it is the Cream of the Croft. How about it? No? Shut up.

In closing, good job Crystal Dynamic.

This is the underworld section of Coruscant home to villains, corruption and non-Jedi supporters, with no hint as yet to any other locations or familiar characters.

With no sign of the Jedi or Sith being present within the game yet, I think it likely that there will be an appearance somewhere along the line during the course of the game. The first screenshots show a much darker Coruscant, a living breathing city deep beneath the refinery of Coruscant’s wealthier and more prominent population. The game looks set to promise a harsher, grittier and unfriendly atmosphere. Gone are the days of strutting around with your trusty Lightsaber, thus making you slightly more vulnerable, albeit not entirely useless. You are still pretty dangerous as a bounty hunter, even without Jango or Boba’s cool outfit.

When bounty hunter, Star Wars and video game are mentioned in the same phrase, one can quickly cast their minds back to the 2002 Star Wars Bounty Hunter game. The game follows Jango Fett as the main character who hunts down various bounties across 6 different worlds. Surprisingly the game received mixed reviews and scores; it was little more than an add-on to the already expanding Star Wars universe, which you either loved or you hated. It had both its good points as well as its bad. However, whilst not being an instant hit or an immediate failure, it was unique; and a similar game had yet to be attempted. Until now that is.

Maybe it’s me but “I got a bad feeling about this” The population of 1313 should be interesting if nothing!

Star Wars 1313 makes a prominent change to start with, as the main character of the game is not your usual Jedi/Sith or foot soldier variant. Instead you are put into the shoes of a bounty hunter with little in common to the Jango Fett outing, previously mentioned. Although I actually really enjoyed it myself for what it was and for where it was trying to go, I don’t believe it was a successful as it should have been. The question remains, will 1313 be the game that bounty hunter was trying to be.

As much as we like cutting storm troopers down with the power of a Lightsaber or going head to head against the dark forces of the Sith, it’s nice to enjoy a new game perspective. The 3rd person style once again is reminiscent of an Uncharted style character mechanic, which is a great start. The game also promises environmental adaptability and cover combat. As with most of the newer Star Wars games, such as the Force Unleashed, there will no doubt be an element of interacting with the environment around you, to assist you in-game. The combat will, again, probably be your generic style of gun play and close quarters combat; but sadly no specifics on any other style of play have currently been released.

The action will be focused on weapons, gadgets and tools traditionally found with bounty hunters, such as trademark blaster and more than likely an arm attachment or two (although not yet confirmed).

News of a delay of up to a year came as an odd and unwelcome announcement. The game was supposedly going to make an appearance in games stores sometime later this year, with a preview expected at one of the various games conferences to boot. That, sadly, does not seem to be the case; instead the earliest perceived date will be sometime next year in 2014. Why has the game suddenly gone into another year of possible development then?

Some speculation says it is due to be a tie in with the latest upcoming  Star Wars movie by J.J Abraham’s.   Another reason may also be the impending launch of next gen consoles; could a re-think to port the game for the newer console platforms be on the table for the developer’s? After all the trailer for the game was a beautiful cinematic render which could easily be ported to a next gen system. It’s understandable that departments such as Lucas Arts industrial light and magic, Lucas animation and Sky Walker sound have their hands full at present with the upcoming movie, but would this also allow 1313 to benefit from some extra development time.

The trailer for 1313 gives an almost political movie thriller feeling following the characters shown above Coruscant as they descend deep down to its seedy underbelly while mentioning an unravelling of corruption.

The game seems to be a separate entity within the Star Wars universe, although it was noted as being set between the original movies and the prequels. Turning it into a sudden spin-off/tie-in to the new upcoming move seems unlikely, as the game itself was conceived way back in 2009. Lucas Arts stated that the game has not been cancelled, but they are instead focusing their attention on the new upcoming trilogy; with undoubtedly a few more game related installments to follow. This may be a good thing for gamers, if the game is developed for next gen systems; which was previously not seen as an option for the game.

Will Star Wars be reworked as a next gen title? Will the game ever see the light of day? Most of all, will it be worth the wait, or will it lose its current appeal?

Whilst these questions remain unanswerable for now, we can only hope extending the release is a good thing, and that the game will be even more exciting. Until then we will have to quench our fan boy thirst with the current slew of Star Wars games available to us.

One look at the device itself and you can’t imagine how it has earned the title of “games console”. In fact, just by looking at it, without knowing what it was, you would probably believe it to be a lavish looking external hard-drive. The console is very small in size; roughly the size of 3 decks of playing cards placed on top of one another. You’re probably ready to disregard any thoughts of seriously buying at this point, but you may well be wrong. Here’s why: Ouya features a standard HDMI port with the ability to output to TV screens from 720p, to 1080i, and 1080p resolutions. The system also runs its own Android version of 4.1 Jellybean, so the feel of the interface should be fast and smooth moving between apps and screens with relative ease.

Ouya will be able to run built in apps such as popular game streaming services (Twitch TV, Onlive etc.) as soon as it is plugged in.

What make this a really exciting and interesting system is that it is running a modified Android variant which will be open to rooting (without voiding the warranty). Not surprising given it size and limited internal part structure, that it can be opened up fairly easily; in fact you only need your traditional screwdriver to access the internals. This allows for modding and hardware upgrades which can be done by you, the user, however you please. What the team behind Ouya have done is allow owners of the console to also be developers without paying fees for doing so; something the big game companies would die of fright at the very mention of such an idea.

Performance wise, the system has an NVidia Tegra  1.7 Ghz processor with 8GB of flash memory and 1GB of RAM.  The amount of memory isn’t that inspiring and there is no certainty that the system can be upgraded with the use of external storage drives, but it is quite likely considering it has a USB 2.0 port in addition to a micro USB port. The fact that it has a 1.7GHZ processor will mean a not overly powerful machine, especially when you consider the unveiling of the PlayStation 4, which boasts  an AMD 8 core processor with 8GB GDDR5 RAM; 2GB of which is exclusively for system use.  The question then is, will a system with this kind of processing power and RAM really be enough to warrant its (low) asking price? On the plus side, these facts do help to bring down the cost of the unit to around £100. It remains to be seen if it will stay at such a low price closer to release.

No match for the heavy weights, but Ouya can still make a nice addition next to them.

All of the apps in the system will be unique, and all games will be either free to play or free to try; with the possibility of home-brew and more than likely emulated games.  One great feature of the system however, is it does perform well using programs such as XBMC at a reported 55-60 frames per second. This can be a bit of a hit and miss it seems with some encoded videos having trouble maintaining a stable frame rate. This in itself is quite an achievement though seeing as some processors do not have the power to run XBMC, (words form someone who has crippled an older computer more than once when trying to run the Windows XBMC version).

The console takes similar controller designs from other consoles with the main buttons spelling “O  U Y A”, much the same as the PS3 and Xbox do with their own colored symbols. The top of the controller also has a built in touch input interface, useful for android based touch input games it is imagined. Having been conceived as a project in early 2012 it really isn’t that old at all. For an independent development company, it’s not at all a bad entry into the video game market. But will it be a memorable entry, or will it be crushed outright while trying to connect with its intended market.

In summary, the console is very small and will fit nicely next to your console or PC of choice while not getting in the way. Sadly this console will be over-shadowed by rivals. Let’s not forget however, the truly free nature of the product. A big part of its selling point is home-brew gaming, modding and even emulating; something which people have been doing on Xbox consoles for a while, so there should be some appeal based on this alone. Getting such features on a dedicated console can be complicated, time consuming and unpredictable; though Ouya looks set to simplify this with a dedicated system.

ShadowRun, one of the many game titles being released for Ouya, and the 13th game in the series. The game looks set to run really well on Ouya.

For a small device able to stream game services and play movies, shows, games and emulators from XBMC, this should be a console you at least consider getting if you like this sort of customizing and experimenting; if not, or you already have more game services and media streamers than you can handle, this probably isn’t going to make your day any time soon.

The console is set to go on sale to consumers sometime in July, with an official unveiling 28th March in a conference in San-Francisco. It’s still dubious whether the price will go up by then but considering the components inside, it seems somewhat unlikely. Sure, it won’t impress compared next to the upcoming consoles, but in some ways, I don’t think it’s trying to. Instead, it paves the way for other developers to experiment, as well as providing an experience not found on rival consoles. While not strictly competing with them it can sure sit nicely next to them.

Ouya is currently available for pre-order from sites such as Amazon and Game-stop.

Are you interested in getting an Ouya or does it leave you somewhat unimpressed?