Oddworld: Abe's Oddysee

So if you were awesome when you were younger, you really should have pleasant memories of this. Well, maybe pleasant isn't the word seeing as the Oddworld franchise's first game was really quite dark, but I'm sure if you were a player you remember it being pretty sweet.

What makes it a surprise that it's so enjoyable is that even though it is on the PS1, the turning point of gaming, it is a 2D platform game, with incredibly basic mechanics. No weapons, AI is simple, maps don't change much, but to be honest the later games like Munch's Oddysee where they went 3D just didn't cut it like old Abe. However, the game's storyline, whilst being sick and nightmare-inducing, really pulls it together, and the amazing cutscenes (which actually had great graphics for their time) still remain in my memory, and it is good to see them on YouTube again the odd time. You play as Abe, a slave Mudoken on the meat processing plant Rupture Farms which is run by the malicious Glukkons. You discover that meat is running out and that the Glukkons plan to make the Mudokens into their new tasty treat, and so decided to get the hell out, find your other Mudoken friends and destroy Rupture Farms, saving fellow slaves along the way. Wit is your only weapon, and you must use it wisely to escape.

Retro game hunters, this is for you. A LOT of gameplay hours here, and the problems to solve using brutality and brainpower will keep you going for a long time. However, this won't sate the hunger of people who are only for modern styles; its simplicity is easily visible and has no techniques to learn or achievements to gain. This can affect the experience of any player to an extent, but if you're really only into recent stuff, the difference will probably be all too noticeable. As such, I give Abe's Oddysee a 6/10. The simplicity can feel patronising, but a rememberable storyline brings it back up, making all the nightmares worthwhile.

Call of Duty 3

Ok I am sick to death of people who, because they are delusional enough to think CoD4 is the best game ever, say that CoD3 is bad simply because it doesn't have a '4' at the end. And admittedly, CoD3 was said by critics to not carry on the baton of the first two. However, I find CoD3's campaign absolutely stunning and its multiplayer very well made, despite the fact it was originally made during the 6th generation, and everyone knows PS2 online was bawlz.

The third game of the series is based on the follow-up of the D-day landings and the liberation of France by the Beef, the Yanks, the Canucks, the Poles and, most unfortunately the Frog resistance. There is no shortage of glory in the campaign, and whilst fighting the most desperate battles with its brilliant soundtrack you will be wrapped in. The weapons are the things that are to be applauded most of all, the M1 Garand feels like it never has before with one-hit-kill power and sniper-like accuracy. The reloading of every weapons is realistic to every detail, and the submachine guns blind you as you fire furiously from the hip at your Krautz enemy, and when the light is gone you see them lying dead. I have yet to play a WWII game with so much... intensity I think is the best describing word. During the campaign you'll play as an English officer, an American corporal, a Canadian private and a Polish tank driver. All the storylines tie together and the effects of one side's actions can be seen the in the battles of the other. Multiplayer is one of the biggest reasons why people buy games today, and CoD3's has good maps, great weapon sets and fun game types. The only thing is that no one plays it...

Bad points for CoD3. The ragdoll is present and works on bodies that either fall off stuff or are blown away by grenades, tanks etc, but the animations by soldiers being shot dead can sometimes seem a little jerky, you get tired of the sergeant constantly yelling at Dixon, and of course the problem with the multiplayer. The campaign in also a little short, but I reckon this is nicely made up by the achievements to redo it for, such as the great one (which I managed to get) which requires you to complete a mission without firing a single round. To finish, CoD3 is given 7/10 for me, it lacks length but is a great WWII game with a lot of gunfire, explosions and all round thrills.

Worms for XBLA

Yep, one of the biggest PS1 classics makes yet another comeback, this one for the latest gaming generation. I read about it in 360 magazine and the review said it was pretty good, so I thought I'd burn some of my Microsoft points and download it. It's one of the best things I've downloaded so far.

However, I'm still not saying that this is an absolute classic or anything, as it happens the stuff that most people download isn't really expected to be the highest standard stuff, but Worms is definitely a game I don't regret buying, and I still play it months later on. If any of you played the original, it is very similar to that rather than the later installments, but it has better graphics, and I think much better generated maps. Worms does what it does best: ignoring technicality and seriousness for pure, rediculous FUN. You're still able to play a full house of four on a local game, and can now play on Xbox Live, which is pretty well done for an arcade game. The necessary destructable environments are still present, along with the arsenal of retarded weapons like the sheep and banana bomb (which is SO good). The challenge levels are exactly that: challenging. You'll find yourself needing a lot of experience to complete them all - I still haven't - and if you do there is an achievement to be unlocked.

I think the minor criticisms I can make are that although the generic element of celebrated silliness is there to keep the fun coming, there is only so much you can take of high pitched voices saying 'Hooray!' and 'Owww!', and bazooka rockets flying unrealistically all over the place. Yes, it's meant to be a laugh, but it's nothing to be taken all that seriously and it can make you feel like you're just pissing around rather than playing a video game. Though, isn't that what it's all about?

Good ol' Worms can have a 6/10, because it's hella well made, but, like Hexic, it's still just an arcade game. In terms of the Xbox arcade game it's top notch stuff, but in the leagues of big games it can't re match. Nonetheless, of things to spend your Microsoft points on, this is worth it without a doubt.

Need for Speed: Most Wanted

SURPRISINGLY GOOD GAME ALERT:
Warning, this game may be surprisingly good. Blogspot cannot be held responsible for any surprise, shock or confusion experienced by the reader.

Anyone who knows me personally will know I'm don't really cut the male stereotype with an obsession of football, cars and fags. However, this game was introduced to me by an old friend now long gone and it completely turned me around. While I used to think cars were just cars, NFS:MW actually got me really interested. That, of course, doesn't actually make it a good game, so I may as well explain why it is.

What really drew me in about this game, apart from the superb range of motors that become available through the game, was the absolute fine tuning about every different car, making every single one unique and having different strengths. For example, the BMW M3 GTR that you start the game with (and consequently lose, and win back at the end) has great acceleration, but turning can be a great difficulty. In contrast, the Toyota Supra will do beautiful turning worthy of a Fast and Furious film. Cars can also be customised with a great deal of upgrades, and so realistic they are that even physical changes like spoilers affect handling. As you climb the ranks or 'Blacklist', your cars become more expensive and more towards the 'supercar' label, and as such every awesome ride you take from a renowned driver feels like a trophy to be shown off.

The best thing I found about Most Wanted was both the cop chases, which top GTA's ones, with flying police cruiser and smashed roadblock a many, and the Reaction Time that you can enable, which makes your intricate drifts both more cinematic and more controlled. Everything will truely feel Holloywood as you race at 180mph along the highway with a fleet of cops chasing your tail. The free-roam I also found very pleasing, with great fun to be had with no challenge present.

I give Most Wanted an 8/10. It's the best racing game I've played, and it has a lot of hours in it. I found the graphics were slightly unnappealing in places, apart from your car which is very well pixellated. Also the fact that traffic is almost entirely un-rammable; if you hit a civilian car, it'll take a good 50mph off you which is very irritating indeed. Nonetheless, a good buy, and one for all players I believe.

Frontlines: Fuel of War

This is one of the games that came free with my 360, and I'll be honest, I can see why. It has also recently come to my attention that Frontlines is not actually an Xbox Exclusive. To be honest, not much loss there.

Frontlines, I think, defines the word 'mediocre' in the gaming world. I really can't describe it better than this - everything is ok and up to standard. Nothing excels, nothing breaks new ground, but nothing makes you want to throw it at a wall. The graphics are not bad at all; in fact I think that they are the best thing the game can boast about. The gameplay is fine, so fine in fact it makes me just want to stand up and scream 'THIS GAME IS SO OK!'. I never really got bored, the campaign had a good storyline and the enemies were believable, though I was rather underwhelmed by the ending. Admittedly, I was almost annoyed that it left it open for a sequel. It just isn't necessary. I enjoyed the sprint ability (and also the fact that you can reload while sprinting) and I think it has very realistic explosion damage, for example the grenades. All the weapons are very similar, and save the sniper rifles looking great and shooting shit, I didn't have much of a problem with them.

I think the most common criticism that has been made by players of Frontlines is the the vehicles. They control very unrealistically, such as the jeeps having turning as rediculously good as the cars in San Andreas. The tanks also fire shells that, after reaching their target at 10 miles an hour have very little effect. There is also a glitch which I have experienced and heard about from many other players where your vehicle reverses constantly if you are not pushing either analog stick. I really can't explain how irritating this is, but imagine you are doing a skillful handbrake turn using the same technique that you do in Halo (they have identical driving controls) but at the peak of the turn when you are at your slowest, you got backwards. What the hell? Lastly, the multiplayer is pretty useless. So few people actually play Frontlines that I have barely ever been in a full game. The maps are also impossibly huge, and despite having maximum teams of 50 (woah) you'll still find everyone too spread out across the map. One thing though I did have great fun with on the multiplayer; fighter jets!

I give Frontlines a 5/10. It's just a decent game that does what a game does and not much more. I wouldn't buy it, but as a starter game, it's not too bad.

Gears of War

You may have noticed I'm starting this review site with as many successful games as possible. So I'll continue by reviewing Gears of War, the multi-time 'Most Played Game on Xbox Live' and the game which turned the 360 from the 'newer Xbox' into a fanbase spawning MACHINE.

Blood. It's pretty much what defines Gears, and hell there is a lot of it. You shotgun a Locust enemy. They explode into a flurry of blood and body parts. You snipe a Locust between the eyes. Its head shatters into an explosion of blood, brains and skull. You chainsaw an approaching Wretch, and your screen is stained red as you hear the battlecry of your player and the tortured screams of your enemy. Nothing on any console has been so gorily satisfying.

After that somewhat graphic intro, I'll explain what EPIC Games' blockbuster title is about. Despite many people's first impressions of it taking place on Earth, it is about the human population of the planet of Sera being almost exterminated by an army of pointlessly angry aliens called the Locust Horde which dig tunnels and burst from the ground at any moment. You are Marcus Fenix, once a prisoner for what was said to be desertion, now set with your squad the task of taking down the Locust 'once and for all'. This plan involves using a device called the Resonator to map out the enemy tunnels for a superbomb to blow them all to hell.

Having explained this, it leads me on unfortunately to the game's main bad point: the lack of real storyline. Yes, it's good idea, but you never really feel that you're carrying it out and because the whole campaign is set in just one 24 hour day of Marcus Fenix's life it seems that every mission is nothing more than a continuation of the last. Well, it's a good thing then that every level is brought to life with great coordinated AI, fantastic weaponry (despite there only being about 7 different types) and sound effect that will put you right in the blood-spattered boots of Fenix. As you rev your chainsaw and charge for the nearest Theron Guard you're sure to be sweating and panting for more, more blood.

The online is so well put together with its game types and excellent maps, many of them similar to places visited in the campaign, that it is a great shame that it is riddled with problems. Two words: BULLET LAG. Funny, seeing as bullets travel faster than the speed of sound, you would think that it would take them at least under a second to leave the barrell of your gun right after you've pulled the trigger. Unfortunately this is not the case, and hitting anyone with bullets is so unlikely that I seldom bother. Chainsawing and Boomshotting are the only things I've found to be successful. Also, the waiting times are rediculous, and I could do my RS homework in the time it takes to gather enough players for a game.

Gears is a great game, and a must-have for any 360 player, unless you're really that squeamish. 8/10 is my rating, and worth it if you're not a solely online player. My purchase has been completely justified from the campaign, but if that isn't your thing, then I would probably not bother.

Halo 3

The Halo franchise is one of the biggest in gaming ever, and is Microsoft's lovechild in terms of its gaming consoles. A good 80% or so of people with an Xbox 360 have Halo 3 and it's the generic taken-for-granted game, unfortunately. Everyone knows Halo 3 but I still think it isn't given enough credit.

Please for the love of shit do NOT mistake me for an 11 year old Floridian fanboy. I do not think Halo 3 is the absolute greatest game ever - though I don't deny it comes close indeed. The reason it is as great as it is is because it just has SO much, allowing for a huge replayability value. Firstly, we have the campaign. The campaign is actually what gets the most stick from fans of the previous games; it's undeniably short and to many doesn't answer all the questions. However, with such incredible environments, each with mindblowing backdrops and a huge variety of enemies, some being very challenging, I don't know what there isn't to be liked. The variety in weaponry also allows for great variation in play and tactics are different with each. You run and gun through an adventure of loss, pain, glory and horror, all with the masterpiece of a soundtrack playing through. Absolutely unforgettable.

There are three other main sections of Halo 3. The multiplayer (of course), the Forge and the Theatre. This is where I believe it elevates above your standard Sci Fi FPS. The multiplayer is only describable as massive, in every sense of the word, partly for its population, for its variety of game types, for the time you'll spend on it and in the chav from Sussex 'massive trackkkkk' kinda way - a compliment. Unlike the Call of Duty, the difference in every game type is outstanding, and each requires VERY different tactics, not least because of it not being easy to kill one person - again unlike CoD. You love it or you hate it; and to put it simply, you'll probably love it. Bungie keep everything varied, with things being edited as soon as need be, and Double Exp playlists being available every weekend. Skill in this does not come easily - it takes a lot of practise but the medalling for superior skills make everything so much more satisfying when you get four sniper headshots in a row. The Forge is a map-editing program which is another brilliant part of the game. It allows you to move weapons around, make new ones, put vehicles where you want, put random objects where you want and how you want. The sky really is the limit, along with the budget. But what can be made and saved as a custom map just blows customisation in most games out of the water, you can see on YouTube some of the maps that have been made, you'll be amazed. I, for example, have personally made a D-Day style map, where the attacking team start on the shore with explosives constantly raining on them (explosive barrels spawn in the air above them), and they must try to make their way up the hill as the defending team mans machine guns from their fortress and stop the attackers from planting the bomb in the base. This is only a small sample of what you can make. Get forging, and have a heck of a lot of fun. Finally, the theatre is a feature in which you can re-watch your previous multiplayer games or capaign levels. Sound boring? Right. Who wants to watch their own games when they were the ones who played them? Exactly. So Bungie took made it so much better: you're able to take screenshots and videos of your greatest, funniest or weirdest moments of Halo with the very flexible ghost camera mode, which literally will fly all over the map allowing you to get the perfect angle. You can then slap these o your File Share so your friends can download them, along with your custom maps and game types.

Seem a lot of stuff? It is. Guess what? There's still so much more which I needn't go into. If you haven't got Halo 3, I really hope I've convinced you to buy it from just showing you the main points. On top of this there's secret easter eggs, fun glitches, www.Bungie.net for tracking all your stats, and more. Incredible, I sometimes wonder how Bungie did it all. 10/10, I still struggle to find flaws other than the occasional network lag. Finish the fight, and enjoy it.

Mercenaries 2: World In Flames

This game is hated by so many it is unbelievable that I actually enjoyed it so much. Thousands who enjoyed the first episode of the merchandise (which was a brilliant game) saw the TERRIBLE trailers that were released for the second installment and turned away, screaming about its unrealism and its poor graphics. To an extent, I agree with them, but enjoying the game takes a certain gaming point of view.

I openly admit that Mercenaries 2 is nothing more than a compromised script from George Lucas' shed that he sold to EA for a few bucks. It's short with only about 8 hours gameplay for the storyline. The bodies disappear in ten seconds. What could not be destroyed in Mercs 1 (e.g. trees) are now insanely easy to destroy, for example driving a bike through them. The driving is unbelievably unrealistic and you can fall from ANY height and survive. This is most likely what made so many fans come to think 'wait a second. This is a piece of shit.' And, to be honest they're right. It's a shoddily made game that is far too easy but, take on the right approach to it and it's not too bad.

Should you pick up this game, don't start it thinking that you're going have a good few weeks of hardcore gaming which is gonna take all your skill and wit. No. Come to it thinking of it as a bit of fun, ignore the unrealism and take the absolute piss out of it and, you never know, you might begin to like it. Even so, there are some parts of the game which are generally good, such as the graphics for explosions and burning foliage, and the hijacking minigames which, especially when it comes to helicopters, are amazingly put together and does make it seem very movie-like.

I give this game a 7/10. It's buggy, unrealistic and easy, but as a jokey kinda way it is good. Undeniably a bad follow up to the first Mercenaries, but worth £15 I would say, definitely if you're into big scale free roam and blowing the absolute grandmother out of everything.