Call of Duty World at War: Nazi Zombies for iPod Touch

Shoutout to Rob Wells for brutally forcing me to play this and review it. I'll keep this quick.

As far as handheld consoles go, the iPod Touch is probably the most limited, usually keeping to simple motion-controlled games based on dodging objects or solving puzzles, which is why any FPS is either bad or pretty impressive considering the platform it's on. So despite my somewhat violent hatred for Call of Duty, for an iPod game I was still pretty impressed with the Touch version of Nazi Zombies.

If you remember before all the DLCs when it was just Nacht Der Undertoten, that's what you get on the iPod Touch, and I mean that to the letter. Everything from the Help Room and upstairs to the Mystery Box, it has everything. While in comparison to what you'll get on a full console I don't find that much fun, on a tiny thing made to just play music it's brilliant. The controls are based on look, run, aim, fire, and CONTROL which fixes barriers, opens new areas and activates the Mystery Box. You realise that this is really all you need and it becomes a challenge you really want to work at before long. 

Graphically it's also impressive for an iPod, it matches roughly PS2 quality which really isn't too bad. Take into account the selection of weaponry AND the fact it can be played with friends over WiFi and you've got yourself a top of the range iPod game. DLCs of all the other maps are said to be coming out so this really has everything you need for the full Nazi Zombies experience. I would say the only really downer for the game is its difficulty, you're killed a little too fast considering how tricky it can be to run away with the touch-screen analog sticks. 

In all, even though I usually hate handhelds and Call of Duty, this was genuinely enjoyable. The price tag of £6 is a bit much for any iPod game but I would say it's worth shelling out if you're on a lot of bus journeys and need something to keep you occupied for a fair amount of time. 8/10.

Assassin's Creed II

We all know Assassin's Creed I was a good game and not a bad start to the series, but definitely with a lot of flaws, some of which could really hinder the whole experience. A great, previously unexplored idea and fantastic setting, but who wants to do the same missions about 9 times over, with little or no character development in the frankly awful cutscenes, and you can't swim? Well, despite Ubisoft doing not a great job with some of the Splinter Cell games, and making a diabolical follow-up to Prince of Persia: The Two Thrones, it seems they've gained a skill all too few developers have: scouring the internet, seeing what people didn't like, and changing it. This is a sequel with a difference, and sets a very good example.

The setting of Creed II is both the same and completely different. It picks up exactly where the last one left off, in the room of (presumably) Subject 16 who you find out more about in the course of the game, and follow Desmond a lot more, discovering a good deal about the war of the Assassins and Templars continuing into the 21st century. However, when in the Animus, you're now accessing the memories of a different ancestor, Ezio Auditore, in 1400s Italy. You're only given two cities this time, but not only are they absolutely huge (Florence and Italy), you are also given access to a couple of smaller towns, and your very own town with the great Villa De Auditore where you can touch base if you're short of weapons or money. The cities are complemented with a much-improved crowd dynamic; you can blend with anyone and there tend to be a lot more civilians who instead of just walking robotically round huge scripted loops, actually stand in groups and talk, or shop, or (as irritatingly as the Harrassers in the first game) run up to you and play music. It is clear that this is the type of environment Ubisoft wanted in the first game but fell short of. The cities in general are, for the most part, a lot easier on the eyes too. When standing atop a building, you're not looking at a flat sea of yellow, brown and white. Beauitful European architecture is all around you and it's not hard to recognise some of the breathtaking landmarks, in particular the gigantic Duomo in Florence.

The storyline really takes off during the course of the game, while it takes a little too long for Ezio to take his true Assassiny form (even though he already has the ability to free run like a pro), a lot of questions are answered and even more asked, allowing at least two more sequels. More about 'the truth' is uncovered and you begin to understand the Assassin motto 'Nothing is true, everything is permitted' to a greater extent. It is considerably more complex than the first and I would say you are missing out on 60% of the game if you are not following it or have not played Assassin's Creed I. Thankfully the story is now shown in actually watchable cutscenes with decent camera angles and some fantastic facial expressions; the graphics aren't mindblowing but the faces are some of the best I've seen in a game. 

A very strong point of the predecessor was the combat system. It allowed skill and without irritating button-bashing you could fight elegantly with nifty counter attacks shown with gruesome detail, with a variety of weapons. Even this strong point has been improved upon, there are about 30 different weapons in all, ranging from swords and daggers, to spears and axes, to throwing knives and even a small gun. Fighting different classes of enemies spices it up and you have to use different tactics accordingly, and new moves such as fighting unarmed and disarming enemies means you can recover and get your own back if attacked off guard. I can't say it any more; Assassin's Creed II has one of the best combat systems out there and you'll find every fight being unique. 

For all these improvements, there are little criticisms to make. The main I find is while the actual cities look better and are more fun to traverse, the setting of the first game had a feel of religious tension, of 'Holy War' that brought it to life, and showed the contrast of the different cities. The most you'll get here is gang wars and it simply isn't the same, not to mention in this environment assassins are expected to be around, whereas during the crusade it's a much more original idea. The voice acting could also have been a lot better, it's far too obvious that it's done by Americans due to painful Italian sterotypes, eg 'Mamma Mia!' and the use of moronic American vocabulary, such as 'gotten' and 'someplace'. It's a minor criticism, but it's sometimes quite distracting.

Assassin's Creed II probably won't get into the books as one of the best games ever, but it is very, very good. Being one of the best single-player games I've had this generation, I rate it 9/10. Not perfect, but without a doubt worth a buy, so long as you're acquainted with the storyline of the previous game.

Operation Flashpoint: Dragon Rising

Please note this is not quite a full review, as I have not played the multiplayer (and from what I've seen, do not wish to) and have had... another problem which I will explain.

The full-blown tactical military simulation genre is not an easy one to pull off, I'll admit. Having very reliable AI, decent tactical maps and realistic weaponry are all vital and it takes a good dev company to get this done, but OF:DR falls down in a horrible number of ways.

Before I get to that, I'll throw in the good parts of the game. One is the map, a fictional island called Skira off the coast of Japan, which in the almost non-existant storyline has been overtaken by the Chinese and the Americans and Russians have combined to re-invade. Think that's just a setting? Nope, you genuinely get the whole island. One of the biggest maps in game history, it's a truly impressive sight - and you genuinely get the sight, no foggy environments WHATSOEVER, you can see as far as the human eye can - when you stand atop a hill preparing for your raiding of a PLA outpost. They did a lot of work on the aesthetics, so day/night scenes look brilliantly tangible. Thankfully, for it being a squad simulation, they also included a huge number of commands, from formations to orders of when to fire, and as it is mainly aimed at the hardcore gaming audience, they made the intensity of shoot-outs very sudden and tense, instead of your ordinary 'they come blasting out the treeline, you mow them down'. Every bullet can kill you, and you have to think tactically and make the right decisions for your squad. 

All that is nicely done, but just about everything else went horribly wrong. This may take a while...

Firstly, this is where realism goes wrong. I understand that it's not meant to be easy, and that you're meant to be as vulnerable as every enemy, and I actually like the idea. But that isn't what you've got here! Why does every enemy have more health than you do? Yes they're not as clever as you, but that doesn't mean they should be able to take 5 bullets when you can take 2 at most. Speaking of AI not being clever, this game is a masterpiece of the moronic bots, in particular you friendlies. I've had numerous occasions where I'm shooting at the distant blob of an enemy at the other side of a valley, and my medic has thought it an incredible idea to jump in front of my barrel and get his brains blown out. They'll do what you tell them, but they don't do it well so for example while they will hold fire when you tell them to, when you tell them to open fire again they'll sometimes take about a minute to react and completely miss. Whilst desperately needing to escape a base I planted a bomb in, I was sprinting up a hill escaping enemy fire and there was my squad, crawling on their bellies after me. They were wiped out within 20 seconds. 

Another is the general bugginess of the game. While playing co op, I died and the usual thing to happen afterwards is that you view the surviving player and respawn after a minute (at least not on Hardcore difficulty). I got a nice view of the sea and never respawned. I've also experienced one which many others have had where at the end of a mission my squad and I board the extraction heli, which then never takes off. The mission can't end. You have to restart. Last and certainly not least, my Flashpoint is effectively broken because of this bug, I can't play my last two missions, and will probably never be able to. Why? My game doesn't save any more. I have 60gb free left on my hard drive so that's not the problem, it simply won't overwrite. And despite the good environmental look to the game, get near anything at it looks jaggedy and too PS2-like, especially the character models who all look incredibly angry/constipated. 

Apart from that, monotony will usually kick in, either from samey 'take out a mortar team' objectives or having to retry countless times because of enemies who apparently have skin made of kevlar. A couple of good sniper/stealth missions break the mould, but it's never long before you're back with your unbelievably dim fireteam. I rate this 3/10, Codemasters (surprisingly enough)  don't seem to know what a code is, let alone how to make a game out of it.

Update: Out of games...

Sup non-existant readers, I have successfully reviewed all my Xbox 360 games, and now I have a problem which is twofold.

1. I have no money.
2. I don't want to do any more reviews of old games that I played years ago, unless I buy them now, I want the focus to be on stuff coming out at least recently.

Soooo I am now on a short hiatus from game reviews, with the exception of Operation Flashpoint: Dragon Rising which should be within two/three weeks. After that I might be able to get Assassin's Creed II before Christmas but I can't be sure. After Christmas the old money problem should be solved but this is all until then.

In the meantime, please check out my game RANTINGS at

www.failboatskippersgamerantings.blogspot.com

and my/EnglishCarBomb's general thought blobs and rantings at

www.brain-remnants.blogspot.com

If you actually read ANY of these 35 reviews, thanks a lot.

Red Faction: Guerilla

Destruction. We all love it right? There's few things as satisfying in a game than blowing the crap out of stuff, and it coming down in a way that obliterates as much around it as possible. No doubt this is the selling point in Red Faction's third installment, and it does it damn well.

Ok, the whole game isn't just 'blow this up, and this, and this, and you're done. But it was fun right?'. It's a sandbox game based on Mars and you're a new member of the Red Faction, overthrowing the fascist Earth Defense Force who are oppressing your people. The game works in a very similar way to Mercenaries 1, just with a slightly more bleak landscape and more futuristic weaponry. The feeling of a tense, harshly dominated country is there; the civilians go about their business and manual labour quietly whilst EDF patrols of armoured cars fly past regularly. Your job is to help the Red Faction take all the sections of colonized Mars and eventually throw the EDF off the planet, which will be no easy task considering the lack of weaponry the Red Faction own. This means you have to resort to guerilla tactics as the title suggests, and at the beginning of the game you definitely get the feel of this as you haven't much more than your rifle, sledgehammer and charges but as you get upgrades - a system this game has done VERY well with ways to upgrade just about everything about you and everything you carry - this becomes less of a need as you become able to blow the crap out of most things they can throw at you. This is a bit of a disappointment considering the title, as there are plenty of one-man-army type games out there but not so many Fidel Castro-type ones, but you shouldn't find this hampers the game's enjoyability too much. The game should take you about 20-30 hours to complete the whole storyline - yes, a sandbox game released in recent times with appropriate length!

And now I come to the highest point and what everyone knows the game for: its glorious physics/destruction engine. Remember when Pandemic said for Mercenaries, 'blow up anything and everything?' They were lying. Yep, damn good as it was for its time, trees remained indestructible and buildings were destroyed in scripted ways and would leave the same rubble every time. That was all well and good considering it was on PS2, but we're in the 7th generation now, and it just gets better and better. Take a swing at a wall with your sledgehammer and you'll smash a hole in it, and plates and shards of metal will fall away. Place charges around the foundations of a building, blow them up and watch it collapse in on itself, or drive the biggest truck you can find through the ground floor of a building and watch it slowly lose balance on the remaining supports it has left, until it inevitably tumbles, crushing everything near it and leaving thousands of individual pieces of rubble on the floor and remains of pillars, furniture, EVERYTHING. This is the most realistic destruction simulation you'll have ever seen, Geomod 2.0, and it will undoubtedly blow you away, if it doesn't crush you first.

It’s worth noting that whilst Red Faction does make a good impression with the impressive physics and bringing a new ‘guerrilla’ type gameplay which has not been done many times before, it has a fair amount of problems which tend to make some of the experience less enjoyable. The most notable of the problems is the difficulty; I played through the whole campaign on Normal and many of the missions took far too many tries and did not have anywhere near enough checkpoints. Even when you upgrade your armour and get more and more powerful weapons, the amount of enemies you are put against in some of the later missions gets simply ridiculous, and it becomes very tempting to knock the difficulty down to Easy. I like a challenge in games, which is why I don’t play on Easy, but this got plain frustrating. The particular example I have in mind is the final mission, and though I believe this should be difficult, there is one checkpoint in the whole mission, AFTER which you have to drive a tank for five minutes just to reach the final boss which you then have to defeat. If you fail, do the driving again and try to beat him again. Doesn’t help one bit that the loading screens are about 30 seconds, even if you install it on the Hard Drive (for you good old Xbox 360 users out there...).

Apart from this which will generally affect the gameplay all the time, there are a few things that could have been fixed with a bit more work, such as the sparse cut scenes making the storyline sometimes hard to keep up with. There is also very little character in any of the people involved in the storyline, so really what you're left with is a visually impressive action game with a fair amount of playtime, but only running on a skeleton of a storyline. As such, it's never worth knowing WHY you're doing a mission and how it advances the storyline, you'll just want to know what you have to do.

So Red Faction:Guerilla did a good job, especially for the physics engines of future games, here's hoping this kind of technology will be used in something else soon. 7/10 for an explosive experience, albeit with little depth.

Mercenaries: Playground of Destruction

I noticed to my horror while I was writing the Just Cause review that this hasn't been reviewed here, despite it being one of the games in my life that I have spent the most time on...

Mercenaries is freedom of exploration mixed with ultimate destruction. Simple as that. Simple, but very, very fun. Unlike the sequel, this game takes a fairly more serious tone to overthrowing a government (in this case, North Korea) and this works a lot better and doesn't slowly reduce the game to a complete laughing stock. The storyline is pretty long and will take you at least 20 hours to finish, and it is absolutely fantastic. Each mission is unique and will take you to new places to do new things, be it assassinate targets or blow a lot of stuff to bits, I can't say it better than expect fun of the highest standard. The more you do, the more you unlock and this slowly builds up an impressively huge armoury of vehicles, weapons and airstrikes which are kept neatly in your PDA system. You need to use these tactically due to them being increasingly expensive but there are so few things as satisfying as blowing an NK bunker to bits with a bunker buster and watching tanks and cars blow up in chain reaction. You also are faced with many different factions which you can choose to follow or oppose; each with advantages and disadvantages, thus meaning if you play the game more than once (and I damn well did) it can be different the next time around. Factions begin to rival each other too, and not to mention you're faced with a whole new map at the half-way point of the game, so expect the game to keep changing as you play. 

Of course, you're not ever forced to do any of the main missions. You can roam North Korea: find and capture high-profile government members, raze enemy outposts to the ground, steal expensive vehicles and sell them to the Mafia, do side missions or just explore, it's all great fun and will keep you hooked even if you don't want to continue the story just yet. Destruction is a high point, somewhat obviously as it is the game's focus. Buildings are all destructible and have varying amounts of damage they can take, and although things like trees cannot be destroyed it doesn't weigh down the gameplay as it's in the context of early destruction engines and there are no points where you need to get past any huge forests or anything.

I can't find many criticisms, I enjoyed Mercenaries fully for the 100 or so hours I spent addicted. I find it is pretty much sandbox perfection for its time, I think maybe the side missions could be a little better rewarded, with new vehicles or something, and the big map would benefit from planes and a parachute (hello, Just Cause...).

So yeah, 9/10, for great originality, freedom and plenty of things that go boom. Would still recommend these days, for anyone with a PS2/XBOX.

Battlefield 1943

Having beaten the hell out of Bad Company, though not to say it ran dry, and having passed my GCSE exams I decided to be spontaneous and download Battlefield 1943, the recent remake of 1942 for the Xbox 360 arcade and Playstation 3 (PC version coming soon). It's a download-only multiplayer game which proves that time and time again Battlefield games will always be a success, with it already breaking the record of fastest downloaded game of all time.

For anyone comparing this to Bad Company, it is different in a few ways. The health system is no longer a bar which goes down and will only come up again if healed, it is regenerative in the same way as CoD, Halo etc. This may disappoint some as it admittedly takes a bit of skill out of it - at least that's my opinion. It's also using the classic Conquest game type; to anyone who hasn't played older BF games it's the same type that you play in the fairly-disappointing-yet-free DLC for Bad Company, or in the Star Wars Battlefront games. It's also limited to three classes (Rifleman, Infantryman and Scout) and no buyable upgrades or weapons, due to its download-only form which means there isn't a motherload of data, and this restriction can bring the game down in places.

The good parts of the game mainly consist of variety in playing styles, good maps and graphics. By variety I mean that you are able to use the many different vehicles - tanks, cars, boats and to my delight, planes - to get to your objective, and each class REALLY has strengths and weaknesses. For example, while you're able to take on a few men at some range with your M1 Garand with the Rifleman kit, you'll be screwed if you find a tank coming up to you, nor will you be able to fix vehicles. The vehicles work the same way, while a tank is great for capturing flags because of its firepower and it being hard to destroy, it's also a slow mover and is a sitting duck for planes. Flying in general is a strong point, once you get the hang of it it's great fun doing barrel rolls, and weaving around in elegant dogfights. This is even better with the new Coral Sea map with a planes-only gametype.

Despite the great Battlefield experience, something is still lacking. After a good 7-8 hours gameplay I can really no longer be bothered. I understand that it's a download-only game and as such it has its limits, but the lack of more than 3 classes and no upgradeable or buyable weapons, along with there only being 3 original maps and one extra, the fun will run dry at some speed, despite the fun being plentiful. The theme is great, and the gametype works well, not to mention fighting on what seems to be a real battlefield with a thousand things going on at once, but they should make a 'full' version of this on disc, with the same - if not bigger - amount of classes as Bad Company, and THEN I believe it will be what CoD WaW could have been.

So in all it's what Battlefield should be aiming to be with a WWII setting, just painfully limited. Worth the 1200 points, but don't expect to be hooked for weeks. 6/10