Max Payne

Woah this is late! Having reviewed Max Payne 2 ages ago I think this deserves one as well.

One of the things that makes Max Payne as brilliant as it is is the time it was made in. The PS2 was barely on the shelves when this was released, and although this explains the poor graphics during gameplay it also makes the actual gameplay more impressive, as I haven't seen many PS2 games this immersive. The storyline is nothing short of outstanding, with similar graphic novels to the second, along with the brilliant voice acting and sound effects. It's dark, bloody, quirky and cuttingly emotional. As this game involves the cold murder of his wife and baby daughter that started his vendetta, the feeling of loss and the never ending striving for revenge is ever-present, and you find yourself violently wishing death upon ever thug you shoot in the face in slow motion, with grace and diligence on every shot.

For fans of realism in games, this one may be preferable, as this uses more weapons actually obtainable to thugs, and you can't do things such as magically throwing a grenade whilst holding a weapon; you have to equip it. There is no ragdoll physics due to the limitations of the time, but it's easily ignorable. It is also a harder game in general, your health is slightly less Incredible Hulk-like, but I didn't find this a letdown, in most cases I found this only added to the immersiveness. I would say that storyline is more of a focus in this game than the sequel, as although they both have great plots, this is far more grim and also goes with the tradition of originals in a series having the best stories. This isn't to say the actual gameplay is worse, just hindered by what was actually possible at the time.

Once again, it's gonna have to have an 11/10. I can hear a groan from people saying I'm a joke of a reviewer. Whatever, to be fair I haven't played better games ever than the Max Payne series. Huge kudos to Remedy and Rockstar. I really don't know how you do it.

Update: ANOTHER Fallout DLC? And other Fallout-related news.

It seems everyone knew about this before me, but there is going to be one and one more only Fallout 3 DLC, stacking up to five whole expansions. That's dedication if nothing else.

It's going to be called Mothership Zeta, and anyone who's really really REALLY into Fallout 3 like I am should be able to guess it's related to the crashed spacecraft near the Minefield. And indeed it is. It's all based on aliens and weird extra terrestrial stuff... and yes I do think it's risky. Fallout is fictional but stays variably within what could happen in the future but this seems to be crossing the line... not sure what specific sites have pictures but if you're interested a quick Google search will do the job, apparently the info's been leaked for quite some time.

NEW FALLOUT GAME

Fallout: New Vegas is the new title in the Fallout series and will not be developed by Bethesda (probably working their arses off for Elder Scrolls V). It will still be published by Bethesda but Obsidian Entertainment, those who made the RPG 'Knights of the Old Republic II', will be developing. The engine will probably be the same, and Bethesda have announced it will be similar to Fallout 3, but it is set in Las Vegas, and apparently will focus on the sleazy, immoral sexual side which the men of Las Vegas are letting loose in their post-apocolyptic freedom. I don't know much more but this article from IGN.com is pretty informative:

http://uk.xbox360.ign.com/articles/100/1002811p1.html

That's all for now!

Bioshock

Yes, I finally got round to playing one of the most critically acclaimed games of this generation, said by many to be 'the best single player experience ever'. Well, actually, I played it months ago but I'm getting lazy with my reviews ok?

Well, to start with, it is clear why Bioshock had so much appeal. It's absolutely unique; I have no played nor heard of any game, let alone FPS that is like this. The storyline is winding and still has room for expansion (Bioshock 2...), it being based on a completely unknown-to-the-world underwater dystopia which you find at the brink of its destruction. I won't go further but as you delve further into the supposedly 'free from the chains of society' city of Rapture you experience many shocking twists and unveiling of unexpected truths; in short the storyline is expertly written and brings out just about every emotion possible, and that's saying something for a video game. In terms of gameplay, the game hardly bores as everything is kept new and fresh; with new weapons to be created and upgraded, including yourself with the huge array of new powers to be gained. Through this there's a large amount of different ways the game can be played, and you are free to choose whatever powers suit you best. The game should take you about 6-8 hours and will be a memorable experience, definitely one which suits and sums up this generation's ability to break barriers.

However, this game is not without faults. In general, I think the game is good but overrated, I don't think it deserves the 10/10s it has recieved as it can run a little dry. For example, as well-written as the story is, it's very easy to lose track and you feel you need to listen to ALL the tapes you pick up just to get a hold of what you're meant to know about. It's also bloody hard. I've played plenty of FPS games and I can usually pick them up pretty quickly (before getting hopelessly addicted) but this I found really quite tricky, even on Medium difficulty. The system for dying is so that when you die, the game doesn't restart from a last checkpoint but instead has you respawn nearby, with any enemies you killed still dead and any you weakened still weakened. Though this means its easier to tackle, you feel a bit pathetic as you can use cheap techniques like using a powerful shotgun right up close, getting punched and killed, and repeating the process enough times to eventually bring down your enemy. Some might not feel guilty about this but I think its unrealistic and plain boring how your character is effectively invincible, I think they should have just made it easier. The weapons are varied, and many unique (each with inventible ammo types and seperate upgrades - absolutely fantastic) but ammo is extremely scarce and you have to try to use your weaker weapons as much as possible to save the ammo for your power weapons and this ends up in you dying and slogging on- and before you know it you're out of ammo all together.

So Bioshock is not without its faults, and although it really has branched out the FPS genre, there are improvements to be made, as can only be expected for something which almost creates a new genre. I rate it 8/10, for good arty style, real creativity in development and a lot of variation, but could have done with a little more playtesting and checking all the systems work in harmony.

Update: E3 Stuff for the Xbox 360

Yeah, I'm a few weeks late with this one. Anyway, here goes I'll mention what stood out to me.

- The Beatles Rock Band: Looks like a pretty unique music game, huge set list is impressive. Would definitely buy if I was a Beatles fan.

- Alan Wake: Sam Lake himself turned up! That man is a legend, and with Remedy having made the Max Payne games, and with them worked on this game for absolutely AGES now, I can only expect good things. Game world looks massive.

- Assassin's Creed II: The first game is based on a killer concept that didn't turn out all that amazing. This looks like everything could be made up for. Exciting stuff.

- Project Natal: Fuck the nay sayers. This isn't the Wii. This is at least 10x the Wii. Scanning, recognition, so many new features and the approval of Peter Molyneux. Could be gaming perfection.

- Tony Hawk's Ride: I was a huge fan of the PS1 Tony Hawk's games, this one looks a lot different. With the board 'controller' it may end up with little variation and small possibility of intense tricks/combos. Looks risky.

- New Fallout 3 DLC: Point Lookout: Always happy for a new Fallout DLC. This one seems to be the size of the first two, but liking the Western theme. Can't wait.

- Halo 3: ODST: Didn't show anything I didn't know already, still looking forward to it. More Halo is good Halo.

- Halo: Reach: They didn't show us anything! I can make an educated guess at what it's based on but still clueless on the game in general.

- Facebook and Twitter on Xbox Live: Kinda useful I guess, but I do have a computer for that kind of thing, just 5 metres away...

- Modern Warfare 2: I'm going to save myself the disappointment...

Fallout 3 DLC (PC and Xbox 360): Broken Steel

The third DLC is yet another of Bethesda's attempts to do justice to the incredible Fallout 3, and unlike the first two, this has been really very enjoyable. Instead of it requiring you to take a detour from your current position and exit the Wasteland, this follows up from the somewhat abrupt ending to the main storyline. It is based on capitalising upon the Brotherhood's capture of the purifier and wiping out the rest of the Enclave.

This may make it sound like Anchorage, in the way it focuses on FPS-type gaming, and has you fighting with an army beside you. I assure you, though this is the case, it is pulled off a LOT better than it was in Anchorage. You're now free to use your own weapons and armour, you're not stripped of your gear, and as it remains in the Wasteland it remains in full Fallout style. With the Brotherhood fighting at full force around you only makes it more intense. The scale of this is slightly bigger, more side quests are available and the achievements add up to 150g, not 100. I was done in about 4 - 5 hours, and in my opinion it's the best they've made. There aren't a lot of new weapons, but 4 new enemy types are now included, a new Super Mutant, Radscorpion, Feral Ghoul and Enclave trooper. All the new ones are elites and are very tough to kill, the Feral Ghoul often requiring the Fat Man to do the job. A fun and challenging experience, with such variety leaving little to criticise.

Once you see the huge, satisfying explosion at the end marking the demise of the fascist Enclave, you'll look back and see an overall successful DLC. It fits perfectly with the rest of the game game, maybe except for the lack of total free roam of the new area. However, with the Level Cap raised to 30, your new skills and perks make it only more exciting the whole way through. I strongly recommend this to any Fallout player; if you buy one of the three current DLCs, this should be the one. 8/10.

Fallout 3 DLC (PC and Xbox 360): The Pitt

The second Fallout 3 DLC was released not too long after Operation Anchorage, and because of the flawed, if not very disappointing first expansion, there was a mixture of 'maybe this one will be better' and 'the first one sucked, this one will too'. I was actually thinking a bit of both; it would be nothing new for game developers to not learn from their mistakes. But, out of pure loyalty (if anything) to Fallout, I went ahead and bought it.

Firstly, YES, this one is NOT a linear, FPS styled 'go shoot enemies and blow stuff up' set of missions. Free roam is most certainly an option with this one, thank goodness. It is set in the devastated remains of Pittsburgh which wasn't nuked in the war, but instead has been plagued with radiation-related disease, slowly turning inhabitants who are exposed to the air and water for long enough into 'Trogs', a goblin-like type of Feral Ghoul. Unfortunately, those exposed are slaves, or 'workers' for a large band of raiders. So basically a fellow called Wernher comes along and tells you about the Pitt, you get to go there (sneaking in dressed as a slave) and take part in a revolt in order to get the cure from the raiders' grasp and save the slaves. I won't go further into the storyline, but it's been well put together without a large backstory, and it doesn't drag on or go by too quickly either. There are, like all Fallout DLCs, three missions, which are all in the style of normal quests and none of them really fall below standard, though they are fairly brief. A highlight for me - and most likely for Oblivion fans - was fighting in 'The Hole': an obvious remake of the Arena from Oblivion, with opening speech and all. The hardest challenge of the expansion is an optional mission which is collecting pieces of steel from the Trog-infested Steelyard, 100 in total. Finding all 100 will prove difficult but there is a reward for every 10 you find, these rewards include new armour and weapons, the best of these being the awesome Metal Blaster (a Laser Rifle which fires about 6 shots at a time with huge damage) and the Tribal Power armour, which is similar to the boss' armour with different effects. Even if you're not after the achievement for finding all the steel, these should be incentives alone. Where a majority of the DLC proves to be not much more than your ordinary playing of Fallout, I think the steel-searching and the Arena give it an extra something which Operation Anchorage didn't offer.

Once done you'll be able to return home with your new goodies, having chosen your Good or Evil ending. It's certainly improved upon the previous expansion, and has given just as good weps, but there's still some excitement missing. The new scenery is a nice change but, in all, the Capital Wasteland is real Fallout environment. I give 'The Pitt' 6/10 for an enjoyable experience, but I say again: Bethesda still haven't fully nailed it.

Fallout 3 DLC (PC and Xbox 360): Operation Anchorage

This is the first DLC that Bethesda oh-so-kindly released for good ol' Fallout 3 which was, I believe, necessary after the somewhat disappointing abrupt end to the main storyline, which I won't spoil for those who haven't completed it. However, like the Pitt, it doesn't continue with the storyline AFTER the final quest, so it has to be done when you're still playing through the game, which can be annoying if you had finished it before the expansion was released. Oh well....

What has attracted criticism from a majority of the people buying this expansion, including myself, is that this works NOTHING like the rest of Fallout - there's no Wasteland, there's no 'survival' theme, no radiation-poisoned animals, nothing like this. It's unfortunately based too much on your everyday FPS, linear missions and all. Fallout 3 was built to be a massively varied game, so focusing on just shooting stuff (and you ONLY shoot stuff in Operation Anchorage) makes it seem far worse than it is. The scenery looks good it must be said, the sound effects of blizzards are very convincing and the snowy, mountainous backdrop is great, but it's simply not enough. Because the whole scenario is based in a US Army simulation, bodies disappear and people 'warp' through doors, making the whole thing seem a lot less believable. Without packs of Giant Radscorpions or Deathclaws jumping at you from nowhere it hugely lacks the deadly and dangerous feel of a much more believable Wasteland.

There are 3 quests involved, and these are zero-complication 'go kill stuff' missions. There are no side quests because of the linear landscape which allows for no free roam, so once you've done the quests it's done and that's the end of it. I suppose you can't blame Bethesda for these things seeing as being a soldier you wouldn't be allowed to run around a war area killing who you like, but then maybe this just means the whole thing shouldn't have been made if it was going to abondon Fallout's traits entirely. The good points I can make are the goodies you can grab at the end of the quest, bringing home a Gauss Rifle (amazing), a Stealth suit which makes you invisible when you crouch and the Winterised T51-b armour, with almost the highest damage resistance in the game and a somewhat lucky scripting error by Bethesda meaning it almost can't degrade.

So Bethesda didn't make a great start with the expansions. If it weren't for the decent weps to take back to my comfy ranch in Megaton, I'd say it was a complete waste of 800 MS Points. You might find this DLC mildly fun if you're REALLY a fan of generic FPS games, but I won't go further than 'mildly'. 4/10, a big disappointment for one of my favourite ever games.