Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit

There was a time when Need for Speed was king. The first Hot Pursuit title, the Underground games; just a generation ago these were amongst the best racing titles out there. They were extreme, they never took themselves seriously, and they were hard to beat as splitscreen racers too. Oddly, however, the series began to lose steam after the release of Most Wanted, my favourite of the series. Carbon and Underground both failed to capture the essence of such brilliant street racing games, and despite an acceptable attempt at reaching out to the simulator audience with Shift, gamers were beginning to lose faith in Need for Speed. It seems that to remedy this, EA have placed the latest title in the hands of Burnout developer, Criterion. The over-the-top aggression that Criterion are so well known for seems to be just what the dying brand has needed.

The premise of Hot Pursuit is similar to that of Most Wanted, minus the plot. The goal is to reach the top of the local police's wanted list by completing a long set of races and challenges, but that's only when playing as a racer. The main twist in Hot Pursuit is that you are no longer restricted to just running from the cops, as instead the game is split in half, and the other fifty percent of races is spent playing as the police. Fear not however, as although you may start with nothing more powerful than a classic Ford Queen Vic, the police of Seacrest County have wised up to the local street racing culture and have in their arsenal everything from Porsches to Lamborghinis. It's no surprise that such a place (albeit fictional) has been chosen as a racing spot, either. Windy alpine roads, lush redwood forests, and huge arid deserts - Seacrest has all the best racing terrains within driving distance, built with care due to the collaboration between Criterion and DICE, creators of Battlefield's huge natural vistas.

Speeding through Seacrest isn't just easy on the eyes, either. Hot Pursuit is an incredibly finely tuned racer, sitting in a blissful sweet spot between smooth and sensitive, and fast and intense. It wouldn't be wholly true to say 'every car feels' different - in fact, one of my main issues with the game is the lack of depth and detail with each vehicle - but the way a $400,000 supercar glides gracefully down a straight, and an all-American muscle car roars along an offroad track is stunningly immersing. Such fine mechanics make for a great experience in races and time trials, but as the name suggests, the main pulling power of the game is in its police chases, and to say this in short; the Hot Pursuit race type is some of the most fun I've had in the entire series. If you're playing as a racer, your job is not only to win the race, but also avoid the oncoming convoy of police, who will use everything in their power to shut you down. Using spike strips, EMP blasts, a Jammer and Turbo boosts, you'll remember once more that feeling of satisfaction in Burnout as you annihilate a nearby car attempting to overtake or ram you. Racing as a cop, your objective is simply to shut down the whole race, meaning you have to take down as many as eight racers using spikes, EMPs, roadblocks and helicopters. Weapons are at the touch of a button, blend perfectly with the driving, and double the excitement.

Interestingly, everything that is done in singleplayer is also integral to the game's multiplayer. Criterion have developed the brand new 'Autolog' system, a network which tracks all your stats and times and shares them with your friends. I've no doubt that this is something that will be catching on and becoming standard for racing games, making every race you play a race against the people on your friend's list, the leaderboards shown after every finish giving it that extra edge of competition. Every time I sign on I am shown who has beaten me and where, giving me personal business to attend to before continuing against the computer. Then, when I move over to multiplayer modes, all my unlocked cars and stats are still there, so I can show off that new Lambo I just won in Career mode. The line between a solo and online experience is blurring, and for the better. This is a social game, achieving what Blur hoped for and more.

Forza 3 and Gran Turismo may be the cream of the crop for racers at the moment, but simulators can only deliver so much. Hot Pursuit doesn't fail to give a near endless stream of fun and competition at every turn, without having to answer to realism, and Autolog making the challenges continue far beyond finishing the Career mode. This is the future of racers, and what a bright future indeed. 9/10

Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood

It's hard to put a finger on what exactly Assassin's Creed Brotherhood is meant to be, in terms of a continuation of the series. It's not a sequel as such, and for that I am glad; if Ubisoft could genuinely pump out a fully-fledged sequel to such a polished game as Assassin's Creed II in just a year I would be seriously concerned about its quality. It's not in a different time period, you're still playing as Ezio, and just about every character, weapon and move you saw in Assassin's Creed II is here too. However, it's not just a repeat either, being in a fully redesigned city and with the new emphasis on teamwork, in single player and multiplayer. It's an interesting move, a 'semi-sequel' if you will, and definitely something fans of the series and its storyline will want to test the water with, though it leaves me wondering whether Ubi should perhaps have saved their efforts for Assassin's Creed III.

Following directly on from the events of Assassin's Creed II, players are put straight back into the boots of the now-seasoned veteran that is Ezio Auditore da Firenze, and he has some business to clear up. Strangely, this really is the case - Brotherhood hardly sees the Assassin guilds pursuing the members of the secret society of Templars, but rather has Ezio hunting down his family rivals, the Borgia, who are more often a troublesome bunch of aristocrats than an organised, villainous faction bent on control of the Pieces of Eden. Cesare is a detestable enemy, sure, and certainly enough so to motivate the player to continue with Ezio's quest, but don't expect to be facing an evil mastermind like Al Mualim at the game's climax. Throughout the game you'll make your way up the 'ladder' until the Borgia are weak enough to be taken head-on, and this will require the usual grind: creeping into buildings undetected, trailing targets, and in some cases having to heroically fight your way out of some sticky situations. However this time, Brotherhood takes us to a place we got only a glimpse of in Assassin's Creed II - Rome.

Being the capital of Italy, Rome is considerably larger than Florence and Venice; even bigger than both put together, in fact. Its architecture is noticeably different, too, as instead of having the contemporary Renaissance-style brickwork and tiles the other cities had, it sports a much more classical style, with many remains of old Roman temples and landmarks scattered throughout. Most importantly, it incorporates in one big map just about all the elements of the formerly used cities and towns, and this can be good and bad. On one hand, it provides one location for the story to be set without need for fast travel and always makes the action feel like it's happening on home turf, but unfortunately it also struggles by having a heck of a lot of open ground, similar to that of the Tuscany map. An open field is no place for an assassin, and with the horse controls feeling as clunky as ever I felt often that it was a chore getting to the southern corners of Rome.

As the name 'Brotherhood' suggests, Ezio is not alone this time. Being the new 'Mentore' of the Assassin Guild, his job is now also to recruit and train new assassins, who will later be at your beck and call for when things get messy, or need a quick and quiet execution. Training assassins has been made a simple, yet satisfying task; once recruited, you use pigeon coops to send them on missions across the world for EXP points. The higher level they are, the more likely they will survive the more dangerous and rewarding missions, and there are few things in the game as awesome as calling in a trio of fully-trained and armed assassins at that crucial moment.

Oddly, however, this teamwork mechanic only enters the game after quite a few hours have passed, and it is only from this point onwards that the game really holds its own as something new and exciting. The game in general, I found, struggled badly with some pacing issues, and when I look back on it I often think of the first two or three hours of Brotherhood as 'the worst Assassin's Creed I have played' - the missions are dull, the storyline is uninspired and it seems that everything you worked hard to earn in Creed II has been mysteriously lost as you go back to using the Common Sword and little else. I wasn't exactly expecting to start with the Altair Sword, but at least give us some new abilities to make up for the sudden loss - these are the events directly following, after all.

That said, when Brotherhood picks up steam, Ubi's dab hand on the series once again begins to show. New weapons such as the utterly brilliant crossbow (easily my favourite weapon, from all the games), a refined and more stylish combat system, new moves such as horse-to-horse assassinations - these are just a few additions, and from here on out it's the Assassin's Creed you love and more, all the way to the finish.

Brotherhood's campaign is roughly 12 to 15 hours long, and this really depends on how long you care to spend finding collectibles and rebuilding Rome to its former glory. After that, Ubisoft have provided what was totally unexpected for the series - multiplayer. In this, you play as Templar agents, using the Animi to catch and kill Assassins. There are multiple game types, pitting different team sizes against each other and having different objectives, but the main goal is to act inconspicuously , sneak up on your target and go in for the kill before they know what's happening. On the whole, this is fairly well designed, with particularly impressive civilian AI which really keeps the prey on their toes when trying to spot their predators. It comes with a host of upgrades, perks, and custom class settings for the dedicated, but for me this was precisely the problem. The multiplayer was original and very well polished indeed, but it wasn't something I could play for hours, nor get competitive over. This is personal taste of course, and I've no doubt some will be hooked, but there's something about walking slowly and carefully after your target, before suddenly bursting into chase that can get tiring quickly. I hope this is something Ubi improve on in the future, as this was some serious potential that wasn't quite realised.

Brotherhood seems to be a sign of a yearly Assassin's Creed, and this could be good or bad. The game is great, adding many new features to an already enthralling experience, but it still seems to feel like Assassin's Creed II with new tricks, instead of wholly coming into its own like the transition between the first two games did. Come for the story, stay for the 100% completion and multiplayer, and Creed fans will most likely love it, but I feel with a little more time put into Brotherhood it could have been something a whole lot more. 8/10

Call of Duty: Black Ops

The Call of Duty series and I have had a rocky relationship. While I greatly enjoyed Call of Duty 3, and to a lesser extent World at War's brutal yet believable portrayal of the Second World War in the Pacific and Berlin, the series' modern offerings have both greatly disappointed me, finding little excitement with either campaigns and nothing but extreme frustration in Modern Warfare 2's multiplayer. Black Ops however, Treyarch's latest entry to the series, fits in between these two starkly different eras. Taking place during the Cold War, it shows warfare as secretive and rapidly evolving, and Treyarch's work to rebalance the experience is noticeable and impressive.

Black Ops' campaign is not what one would expect from a Call of Duty game. For a start, it's not simply following orders from a radio involving clearing out trenches or assaulting an 'anonymous Middle Eastern terrorist faction', nor is a hideous mess like Modern Warfare 2's single player. Instead it tells an edgy and perhaps controversial story of a US Special Forces agent who, having escaped torture and testing at a Russian labour camp, must root out and destroy the Soviet Nova 6 Project, a deadly gas weapon that is planned to be used against the USA. It has its fair share of clichés, such as the stereotypical 'big bad Russians' and the age old 'going rogue' plan, but it also delivers plenty of twists and turns amongst the action, and is in my eyes the best Call of Duty campaign yet. Gary Oldman reprises his role as Viktor Reznov from World at War, now a weathered veteran and a central role, and plenty of new and diverse environments (from Cuba to Vietnam) keep the experience new at every corner, as does the franchise's trademark character switching, which helps to see the tale unfold from both sides. My main issue with the campaign was some pacing problems - the game begins with a bang in an attempt on Fidel Castro's life, and this extremity does not let up throughout. Sure, the story is well told and you are always aware of what you are fighting for, but with little to no down-time, many climactic moments lack punch. What couldn't have hit harder, however, is the ending which was an utterly stunning twist that defied expectation, and was one of the finest conclusions to a plot I have seen lately.

Albeit my favourite campaign of any Call of Duty released, as always it is not a lengthy experience, spanning 7 hours tops, and naturally multiplayer is the focus of the title. Modern Warfare 2 was the most popular multiplayer game of all time, meaning Black Ops has the expectations of several million players to live up to, but it also has some major balancing issues to deal with that Infinity Ward left behind. These issues are what turned me away from Modern Warfare in the first place, and I approached Black Ops' online mode with apprehension. Fortunately, my fears were dashed away, and multiplayer on Call of Duty is finally, for me, the addictive and rewarding experience that I could not find since Call of Duty 3. A host of fourteen maps are evidently sculpted around certain gametypes, and it positively shows during matches. Killstreaks, while technically harder to get due to the new 'no stacking' policy, are satisfying and original, in particular the 11-kill Gunship which allows the player to have full control over a Russian Hind - gone are the days of a boring circling aircraft aiming at enemies through a infrared scope a mile away, as killstreaks feel more as if they're part of the battle rather than observing it. The most of Treyarch's work, however, is in the class customisation. Everything now costs 'COD points' to buy, meaning you don't just have to unlock new guns and perks, you have to earn them too. These COD points are made by playing and winning matches and can be made in any playlist, but most proficiently in the new Wager Match game types. As the name suggests, you pay COD points to enter, and if you win, you profit. You lose... well I'm sure you can work out the rest. What's different about these game types is that there is no death match, or capture the flag, or demolition, but instead totally different match types such as Gun Game from Counter-Strike, or One in the Chamber - an incredibly tense tactical mode in which you have one bullet in your M1911 and will only get more ammo by killing enemies. Don't miss. The changes made in the overall multiplayer experience go on, and Black Ops is several steps ahead of any other Call of Duty as far as customisation and diversity are concerned. Admittedly, there are a couple of things I would like to see patched, such as the overpowered RC-XD killstreak and most of the SMGs being underpowered, but even with these in mind this is still the most balanced of the lot, and frustrations are at an all-time low.

After World at War, there is one thing Treyarch couldn't leave out for Black Ops - zombies. The Nazi Zombie mode started off as a simple post-campaign level made as little more than a joke, but it quickly grew to be the most popular component of the game. Needless to say, the experience is repeated here, giving the player two maps to start with. One of them is a hilarious bout in the White House that sees JFK, Nixon, McNamara and Castro fighting together against the undead hordes, while the other acts somewhat as a continuation of Der Reise of World at War. The voices of Nikolai and Tank Dempsey return, as do teleporters and a Bioshock-esque environment. Personally, while I couldn't put any particular faults on the zombie mode, I didn't enjoy it quite as much as I did on World at War, perhaps because of the map structure, or because slow and heavy WWII guns seem to fit the survival theme, but on the whole it's still a great time holding off the endless flesh-eating freaks and those who enjoyed the mode enough to buy the maps in Treyarch's last title won't be disappointed.

I'll always have reservations about a Call of Duty title; I still think its mechanics are bested by plenty of other FPSs and to me its smaller map sizes will never beat the large-scale intensity of a Battlefield game, but after what I have seen since Call of Duty 4, Black Ops has been a very pleasant surprise for me. My enjoyment of the game was consistent across campaign, multiplayer and zombies, and personally it seems a sign that it's at least going in the right direction. It's the title that will once again trounce the Christmas gaming market, and people all over the world are going to be having a very cosy winter indoors this year playing a solid and refreshed shooter. 9/10

Halo: Reach

9 years later, and Bungie have brought the main Halo saga to a close. Considering their previous offerings have been met with greatly mixed opinions (especially on the subjects of Halo 2 and ODST) it's interesting to see how this final episode gives the series a new direction just before it is passed over to Microsoft's 343 Industries. Taking place during an important event in a loved universe and Halo 3 being a tough predecessor to beat, Reach needs to be the best it can be if the Bungie-bred titles are to be given a fond farewell.

As the title suggests, the context of the story is the fall of Reach, one of the final human colony planets. As shown in the beginning of Combat Evolved and the novel written by Eric Nylund, it depicts the 'glassing' of hundreds of cities and the tragic end to the Spartan warriors. The player is put into the shoes, armour and helmet of Noble Six, a newbie to the Noble squad. As fate decides, this squad is destined to be the last of all the Spartan squads, and to see the demise of the planet first-hand. The scale of this is, as expected, considerably larger than Halo 3 and instead of taking part in a multitude of one-man-army skirmishes, you are on the UNSC frontline and will see armies clash around you as you fight towards your objectives. You also won't just be going on a tour of the same battlefield either; as the campaign takes the squad from ruined cities to icy caverns and, most spectacularly, into space in a a death-defying mission to save what could be humanity's last hope (and something Halo players will be very familiar with). Each mission is recognisable in its own right and consistently action-packed.

While this all looks great as a shooter, it still struggles at times with Halo 3's fairly clumsy story-telling; too many characters saying too little leaves the player with little sympathy for each of the squad's members, and this somewhat hinders the impact of their inevitable demise. It's no easy feat to make a successful action-adventure in which there is no ultimate victory, but in such a familiar franchise it was a great opportunity to pull at players' heartstrings and for me it didn't nearly deliver.

To fit with the more matured tone of the game, the visuals of the game have had their biggest overhaul since the series' beginning. The colour palette has fewer blues, purples and reds and instead has darker, richer tones. Environments are not bright and lively but are moodier and foreboding, with thunderous skies hanging above scorched earth. The look of the weapons has vastly changed; the classic assault rifle has a much sharper and more visceral appearance, and the Battle Rifle replacement, the DMR, kicks violently in your hands as it fires. Many of these visual additions are thanks to the new graphical engine that Bungie has built, and for the most part it is a welcome change, but it is not without its problems. During the campaign, and occasionally in Firefight, I had some of the worst framerate issues I've seen in a video game, and some moments in real-time cutscenes were everything would slow down and blur horribly. This is certainly not intentional, and I have seen it on other copies of the game. It looks so bad in these moments that I find it astounding that Bungie released the game with such a glaringly obvious graphical flaw.

With all this aside, it's known that with Halo most people come for the campaign but stay for the multiplayer. Of course, as it follows the same basic staple as the other games' staple, it's hard for Reach's multiplayer to disappoint. In fact, not only does Reach keep the same formula fans have come to know and love but also adds to the mix with various new objective gametypes such as Headhunter, a skull-gathering match which requires risk-taking as well as skill, and Invasion, a Bad Company-like game of pushing the defending enemies back in stages, pitting Spartans vs Elites. The intensity and competitiveness is still just as high, and with a whole host of new medals and awards you'll always feel rewarded for your hard work on the field. The old, complex ranking system is gone (to my dismay) and is replaced with a basic exp-collecting system, but with a twist - these experience points are 'credits' and can be used to buy armour pieces for your Spartan, which is now far more customisable. This is a very personal multiplayer experience and one that will certainly please the hardcore and dedicated, but my one gripe was the selection of maps. In total, there are 9 maps packaged with the game. Two of these were remakes from Halo 1 and 2, two of them are only available in Invasion, and almost all of them were taken exactly out of campaign missions. One map, the gigantic 'Forge World' has been split up into various smaller maps, but regardless of this I was greatly disappointed that there wasn't the variety nor the individuality that Halo 3 had with its maps.

Bungie keep in Halo 3's standard, however, with packaging even more than just campaign and multiplayer. Forge and Theater are still superb additions, especially with the new super-map Forge World inviting endless creativity. Firefight has also been added, carrying from ODST, and remains one of the finest wave modes seen amongst the many that have sprouted up since Gears of War 2's Horde mode. Finishing the list is the Custom Game option, and even more (yes, more) options have been added to fully customise your private game experience.

Halo 3, for me, was a timeless classic and I had some of my greatest times gaming on it and I knew from the start Reach wouldn't quite beat it for me. However, despite there being small things that put me off from saying this is the finest of the entire series, Halo: Reach is nonetheless a fine addition to the Xbox 360's biggest franchise, and one that will be more than enough to satisfy fans of the Halo universe. Thankyou, Bungie, for all your hard work. 8/10

Bioshock 2

Though it surprises me to this day, Bioshock 1 simply did not call out to me. Sure, I was deeply impressed with the game's dynamic opening and its original setting, but frankly it didn't take long until the die-and-die-again gameplay frustrated me. Upon hearing that Bioshock 2 was a 'more of the same' sequel, my hopes weren't exactly high.

Indeed, the first hour or two of Bioshock 2 hardly prove this view wrong. After a short and somewhat baffling introduction in which the protagonist shoots himself in the head, the player wakes up in Rapture and the adventure begins. This is perhaps where the game does lacks most; the awe of entering this dying, mysterious world that one gets at the beginning of the predecessor was the perfect start. Now, Rapture is nothing new; instead you're already there and expected to just get on with it. The storyline isn't as inventive either, instead of exploring good and evil, human worth and self-identity as the first did, it's now simply a struggle to save your daughter from your psychotic wife. Granted, there are emotional moments along the way, but it disappoints that 2K Games couldn't be a little more creative with the plot.

Given a little more time, however, and I found to my relief that combat is no longer such a constant losing battle. Did I mention that you play as a Big Daddy? As an anomaly to the usual Big Daddy experiments, you're not entirely programmed to follow and protect Little Sisters, you have a mind of your own, not to mention your right hand has a giant drill attached. Fear not, you won't be lumbering round like an 8-foot tall snail; you are an earlier model which makes up for a lack of titanic strength with the agility of any other human. The main difference I noticed in the balancing of the combat was that enemies are slightly fewer in number and do a little less damage. Personally, being killed and instantly being revived in a Vita-chamber rather than going back to a checkpoint really irritates me as it feels like a cheap tactic, and thankfully there was a lot less dying this time around. 

Most impressive about the revamp is certainly the sheer number of plasmids and tonics. There is now about 30 different plasmids on offer, many with two or three upgradeable forms, and a selection of tonics that is two or three times the size of the previous game's. Weapons are also an improvement. Forget ordinary human weapons - the pistol is replaced with a Rivet Gun, the Tommy gun with a triple-barreled .50 calibre turret, the wrench with the mighty drill (a personal favourite). These are only the first three weapons you'll obtain, there are several others and of course all weapons can be customized, use different ammo types and upgraded to one's preference. There isn't a large host of new enemy types, but considering the more exciting armoury of weapons and plasmids at your disposal, combat never gets old.

As the hours went on, I was pleasantly surprised to see that the game did get better and better. The storyline doesn't exactly improve, but as well as collecting more weapons and exploring new areas, there are interesting extra mechanics that spice up the pacing of the game. One of these is the underwater sections. Being in a Big Daddy suit, you're able to go to Rapture's exterior and walk the seabed at certain parts. There's zero fighting on these mini-missions, just the eerie silence in stark contrast to the hell indoors, broken only by your heavy breathing inside the helmet, and the deep thuds of your weighted boots on the ocean floor. These sections (ironically) give a breath of fresh air to the gameplay and keep the pacing in check. Another major new element is the addition of the 'adopt' choice when it comes to Little Sisters; they will guide you to a fresh body to extract Adam from, and once you're done defending her while she works, you'll be able to spend this Adam at the nearest shop on plasmids and tonics. Careful though, mess with the Little Sisters too much and you're inviting the wrath of the Big Sister, whose chilling approach leading to a frantic and desperate battle will not be easily forgotten.

The single player story will take on average about ten hours, and this time around 2K have decided to include a multiplayer mode. Just about every player had their doubts about this move, and it seems this time they were quite right to doubt. While you play as a perfectly nimble human with sensible, balanced weapons, Bioshock simply isn't a game made for multiplayer. The maps aren't exactly tactics-based, and despite a good selection of game types most matches will descend into an inevitable mosh-pit of fire and electricity plasmids flying about with little room for skilful play. Adding to this is the Big Daddy upgrade which can be grabbed by whoever happens to be nearby when it spawns, leading to one player being a near-unstoppable tank for a couple of minutes, without any real weakness. If you're looking for a few games of laughs and madness, Bioshock 2's multiplayer does the trick, but this won't be your next big online addiction.

Bioshock 2, this time around, seems to have done well on what the first game didn't, but unfortunately missed out on what the first game did. Story and atmosphere have seemingly been replaced with improved gameplay, and so it's hard to say if it has really succeeded as a sequel or not. If you, like me, felt overly bogged down in Bioshock 1 by endless hordes of Splicers, then you'll be getting your gleeful revenge in this installment. However, players wanting another great narrative in a wholly new environment that will amaze you all over again will be disappointed - this is the same old Rapture again, albeit with a few new toys to play with. 7/10.

Red Dead Redemption

I know for a fact that there are plenty of people like me who, whilst recognising GTA IV as the technical and satirical masterpiece that it is, struggled to actually find the game a great deal of fun. Let's face it; it was like a great painting when looked at as a whole, but upon sitting down and casually playing bits and pieces of it, it wasn't all that enthralling. This was my main reservation about Red Dead Redemption preceding its release - would it balance great storytelling with genuine enjoyability, and perhaps even a strong multiplayer component? Despite my initial doubt, Rockstar San Diego have blown me away exceeding all my suspicions.

You may have noticed that a Wild West game world is rarely touched upon in modern games, and while some forays have been successful (see: GUN), many have fallen flat on their faces and instead created Hollywood-esque, over-the-top basic shooters fitted into a Western frame. It's clear that in contrast to this, Rockstar have truly done their research on the context, both on historical fact and on the Spaghetti Western films that have inspired the world's archetypal view of the West. The silence of the vast, hazy plains is broken by the chugging of a passing steam train. Drunks stagger blindly out of the swing doors of saloons. The whines of bullet ricochets signal a faraway dispute that has ended in needless bloodshed. This is the world you are pushed straight into from the outset, and even by the end of the single player story, it will still astound you how real this world feels.

Speaking of which, Rockstar have certainly not slacked out on making a lengthy and involving single player experience. In keeping with former standards, it will take the average player roughly 20 hours to complete, and involve traversing the giant map for all it's worth. The storyline is not particularly original - the morally ambiguous tough guy reluctantly has to re-live his messy past to save his family - but what makes it so believable is not the plot but the characters. It's said that the script for GTA IV was ten times the length of the average movie, and this follows suit, in depth and in execution. You'll meet retired gunslingers of old, settlers from the East, bandits and lawmen, tyrants and rebels, in a tale that epitomizes the death of the Old West and the enroachment of trans-continental government rule. 

Red Dead also manages to pull away from its modern-day counterparts in terms of gameplay in just about every area. There are small-scale improvements such as the weapon selection wheel and a more flexible cover system, but there have been several RPG elements added to make every action you make in the dog-eat-dog world significant. For example, there is an Honor system (which anyone familiar with Fallout's Karma system will pick up quickly) that rewards or penalises you for how you treat others, and a large inventory of items you can carry around to either use or sell. What I was most impressed with during the single player game was that there was always something I could be doing, whether in a mission or not. Rockstar have seriously upped the ante in terms of extra activities, as on offer are highly detailed and polished games of Poker, Blackjack, Liar's Dice, Horseshoes, Five Finger Fillet and arm wrestling dotted around the map. There are also bounties to be captured, animals to be hunted and skinned, treasure chests to be found - the list goes on. The game has been in development for a long time and it is in this huge range of possibilities that it really shows.

I know there are enough persnickety people out there for the game to be decried for its technical faults, and to an extent they cannot be blamed. I can't deny that I have had plenty of instances of glitches with NPCs and textures, a couple of saving errors and more than a few animation errors, but this really should be overlooked for all the obstacles that have been overcome in making what is indisputably the best non-city environment ever. The horse animations are near-perfect, and the way animals act towards you both passively and aggressively is incredibly realistic. Visuals are another definite stand-out point and galloping over the rocky prairies as the sun sets on the red horizon is a breathtaking sight.

This huge range of 'plus' points combined to make an unforgettable campaign, but I held my doubts about the multiplayer. Much to my surprise, however, the multiplayer component wasn't just good, it was amazing. It is split between two modes; Free Roam and Competitive. Free Roam is just that - you are given the whole map to explore with friends or other players online, and you are at liberty to do what you please. Apart from having fun in your own ways (a personal favourite of mine was to have fisticuffs on a cliffside) you are given a long list of challenges to complete which easily keep you busy. In Competitive, there is the expected host of game types and map variation, and yet another list of challenges to complete for bonus Exp. It's hard to put a finger on what exactly makes the multiplayer so addictive, but provided you have some friends with the game as well, it will have you coming back time and again, even if it is just to unlock that bull at Rank 50. 

To be honest, I could go on and on describing everything that Red Dead has and explaining why it all just works so seamlessly, but I'll cut it short - this is simply a must-have. Rockstar have outdone themselves in their own form, giving everything the player needs, and doubling it. If you haven't enjoyed a sandbox game before, then this will be the game that will change your mind completely. It effortlessly surpasses every other game of its genre. 10/10.

Splinter Cell: Conviction

I remember many moons ago getting my Playstation 2 for my birthday, and waking up extra early on the day to play the first game I had for it: Splinter Cell. I was amazed at the depth of the stealth action which required serious thought and planning for every situation, but a few sequels down the line and I had a growing distaste for the series which was going stale. However, this game seemed to signify a turnaround for the style of the Splinter Cell games, and I was intrigued. 

What I was perhaps most happy about Conviction was it doing justice to the storyline of the games. The game definitely appears to have made some turns more towards a third-person shooter but it does not lose its emotional edge by reminding the player what Sam is fighting for: the discovery of his daughter's fate and the corruption of his former agency. The story and script is very well written, including one major twist which may have been a little predictable but was certainly well-presented. Speaking of presentation, the visuals of the game are a particularly strong area. Ubisoft have managed to completely overthrow the generic HUD when updating your objectives, and instead of giving you a box of text to read, throw your instructions on huge letters on whatever wall or vertical surface is nearby. This not only stops you removing your eyes from the action to read out of a rectangle at the bottom of the screen but is also effective in describing Fisher's thought processes. Sometimes a short animation will be shown, or as seen in one particularly emotional cutscene, words will fly around the room describing his mix of feelings. A matching technique to this in contemporary games is yet to be seen.

Gameplay is, however, what I was most apprehensive about as I was worried that the game would become a mundane stop-and-pop, using Sam's rage as a justification for a mindless shooter. Fortunately, this was not the case, as not only is stealth brilliantly constructed, but it's also an option. Sam's gunning hand isn't quite so slow and clumsy now and with a Gears of War-beating cover system you now can choose, at the cost of the game becoming significantly harder, to shoot your way through a situation. A hefty armory of weapons can be collected and customized to your preferences, using points earned by various in-game challenges. To add to the already solid combat, you can do all that Sam has always been able to do: climb walls, hang from pipes and sneak through shadows, which are all well-polished and keep the action fluid. While I was impressed by the exciting range of environments during the single-player campaign, it certainly suffered from the usual problem in most of this generation's games - it was short, and it was easy. When I say easy, I mean I could finish it on the hardest difficulty on my first playthrough, within 7 hours. I would suggest expecting the game to be more of a experience than a challenge. 

The multiplayer is what is left after the campaign, unless you're dedicated enough to complete all the campaign challenges (which are, to be fair, a lot of fun), and it seems this is rather hit-and-miss. Four gametypes are available, and personally I found the selection to be quantity over quality. Last Stand is the now all-too-common wave mode, fighting off endless enemies in a small space until inevitable defeat, and it is probably the most dull of the selection. The other three are based on a fully-fledged co-operative campaign, Hunter being an ordinary playthrough of the campaign with another player, Face-Off in which two agents compete for the most kills in one certain area - including killing each other- and Infiltration which must be unlocked via Uplay, in which you must sneak through a mission without being spotted. While you are not short of things to do in this area, with another full set of challenges and upgrades, I tended to tire of it within an hour or two as it missed the certain drive of the campaign's characters and storyline, and became a shell of the real game. However, stealth fans who look more for the action than they do the narrative will not find a better title than this.

I found Splinter Cell Conviction a pleasant reassurance that the franchise is not dead. It has a great story and art style, a much-needed gameplay revamp and, if you enjoy it, a fine set of co-operative activities as well. Providing you have patience and someone to play with, this is worth your time and money. 8/10.