It's More Than Tricky

 

It has been almost six years since the last true SSX game. A lot has changed since then, extreme sports games are nowhere near as popular as they used to be and Tony Hawk hasn’t even released a game in a good few years. In spite of the long period between games it feels like the whole crew have been ready and waiting on their triumphant return. The game looks and feels fantastic with great controls and a great atmosphere in game.

The story of the game is that Zoe and Griff have decided to tackle the worlds most deadly descents.  These descents are located around the whole world with each having a different rider to conquer the mountain. Griff splits from the group of SSX riders and the descents then turn in to a competition to show up Griff and prove Team SSX and far superior to Team Griff.

 

The game plays like a hybrid between Skate and Tony Hawk Pro Skater in terms of the control scheme, there are two different layouts based on either the use of the face buttons on the control or the right analogue stick to pull off tricks. What is more interesting about the gameplay is the integration of different types of equipment. This equipment ranges from ice axes to use on iced terrain, armour, head lamps, oxygen tanks, solar panels, pulse goggles that show the contours of the terrain and my personal favourite the wingsuit. These pieces of equipment add a whole new dimension of the game and the feeling you get from soaring high above the mountain with the wingsuit deployed is awe inspiring, as you look down upon the other riders as you soar above the race you get a feeling of serenity as you evade the dangers of the race.

 

One final piece of the puzzle for the mechanics of the game is the ability to rewind time. These can be limited, unlimited or turned completely off throughout the many events on offer. This means that if you fly off the edge of the mountain it isn’t the end or if you get a mouth full of snow you have the pleasure of skipping back to watch the demise of your combo all over again if you aren’t careful. The rewind system has been done before but adds a safety net for those who might have a tendency to try and fly without the wingsuit and personally was very welcome at some points.

The game has both a story type mode that is used as an introduction to the basics of the game and a series of events on each of the descents that are accessible via purchasing them through the level select screen with money you have earned. These levels can consist of survive events, races and trick events. The objective of each of these is pretty straight forward but the levels are both fast paced and have multiple routes through them that add to the excitement of flying down a mountain at 300km/ph.

 

Although SSX doesn’t necessarily have a multi-player mode it does have some awesomely cool modes that make a great use of online. The first is the Autolog like system that pits you against those on your friends list in a bid to control the top spot on each run of the mountain. This mode is dubbed RiderNet and will notify if somebody has beaten your score and even recommend friends for you to add if you want to expand your network.

There is also an online global event set up where pots are put up for events which riders can either enter for free or use their hard earned in game points to wager on much larger pots. The events can least anywhere between 30 minutes to weeks at a time with loads of different criteria amongst them. You can even set up your own events for your friends and others to take part in privately. The final part of the online aspect of the game is the geotags. These markers can be placed through out runs and those who collect them are awarded with experience and credits but if you manage to place on that others cannot collect you are rewarded handsomely for your cunning placement with even more points and experience than you would for simply placing them. These rewards encourage you not only to explore the levels further but try and find the unreachable and unthinkable locations in the game allowing you to experience everything each mountain has to offer.

 

As with every extreme sports game, music is what defines how you feel while pulling off sick combos. I’m glad to see that although it is a remix that “It’s Tricky” is still on form and still has a great feel when your combo amps up and you enter tricky mode. There is a good mix of dance songs and some indy music and a good all round mix. The soundtrack captures the atmosphere of snowboarding and has the feel of your favourite skate/snowboarding edits.

The look of the game is astounding. You can see the snow slowly crunch under the board as you land and each mountain is a great view. The HUD look slick and blends well in to the style of the game. Each time you enter tricky mode the screen comes alive with colour as the ends of your board glisten and the combos become more extravagant and outrageous. Even when you are amidst a race it is hard not to stand and take in the scenery as most of the time you are so eager to pass it in a blur of tricks and boost.

SSX is a great game and was a blast to play. At some points it can get rather tricky and you might want to smash a remote or two but once you come to grips with the mechanics and settle in to the flow of things you will start to experiment and find your favourite moves and characters to tackle the odds with. Don’t miss out on what is yet another fantastic edition to a pretty awesome series.

A totally rad 9/10

Street Fighter X Tekken: Battle of the Best

 

It’s the answer to the question that has been playing on every-one's mind since the 90’s. It’s 2D X 3D, Shotos X Mishimas. It’s Street Fighter X Tekken (SFxT) and it’s here to blow your mind. Street Fighter first hit the scene way back in 1987 but it wasn’t until 1991 with the release of the first true 2D fighter, Street Fighter 2 sprung in to action. Hot on its heels was the first king of the 3D fighters Tekken and so the debate ensued, which was better? This question would not be answered to over a decade later and now because of the rivalry we have the first in the “cross” series. Only time will tell in the 2v2 showdown and the victor will claim the crown of best fighter.

 

Aside from the obvious bid to bring two behemoths of the fighting genre together there is something of a story peppered ever so slightly around the edges. This “story” is based on a box the eerily resembles the cosmic cube descending from space and landing in the antarctic. This box is dubbed “Pandora” and all hell ensues as those who come in to contact find the urge to bludgeon the very last breath out of each others overtly muscular physique. As fighters amass around said box they become imbued with the strange fluorescent liquid that resides within the box bestowing power on all of those it consumes.

This story is the front to the first of the offline modes on offer and lies within arcade mode, the endings in the arcade mode are abysmal and struggle to reach beyond the generic black screen with scrolling text and label it a suitable ending. That being said many of those who chose to play fighting games are not gravitated towards its wondrous arcade mode but it’s abilities to enable locally with friends as well as the ability to train and guide the player towards bettering their play. The offline modes are extensive and allow up to 4players in a standard tag match or the increasingly fun scramble mode. In scramble mode all the players fight at once in a smash bros/Street Fighter type game mode where each player has ability to bound about the screen and beat the living tar out of the competition. This game mode allows for countless hours of fun and has to be one of the highlights of the game. There is also a tutorial mode for those just picking up the game and a set of challenges and missions for each character to help them learn new combos and show them other possibilities.

 

The online has sparked somewhat of a debate in the gaming world as there has been several issues with sound drops and issues with playing with a friend locally online (or lack there of) on the xbox 360. Out with that the game boasts a rather extensive online system with an online training mode to practice with your partner, an endless lobby system to invite friends to, ranked matches and a replay channel to boot. The online does have a few issues and can be a deal breaker on some fronts but if you are able to see past the issues you will find a rather robust and rather smooth online gameplay that does a lot to handle lag to prevent the online play suffering. The aforementioned replay channel is some what spectacular in the sense that it allows you t follow your favourite players and create your own channel to view lots of different videos and updates you when there are new replays to be watched.

The system feels like a cross between the tag combos of Tekken Tag and the fighting mechanics and style of Street Fighter with a whole load of extras mixed in to try generate the hype of the marvel series. The buttons are that of the 6 button layout with 3 punches and 3 kicks and combinations of these buttons can tag, cross assault and cross rush. Each of these different combos can deal a devastating amount of damage if used correctly and have flashy explosions to add that extra punch. There is also a juggle system in the game that allows the player to cancel moves with tags and continue combos that  previously would not of worked. Finally there is also 4 button based combos for the Tekken players that act like links in the street fighter series as well as the already present chains in SFxT that allow players to tag in new characters.

 

Out with the in game mechanics there is the gem system that allows a degree of customisation to each character. Every player has 3 gem slots per player in their team. These gems can add extra damage, defense health regeneration and several other attribute bonuses that are activated under specific criteria. On top of that there are also different types of assist gems that aid the newer people to the series tech throws, auto block and have easier inputs at the cost of damage or meter. Other ways of customising your character is through the colour palette which is rather bare at the moment but you can change colours of all your favourite characters from the massive 38 player cast. These colour swaps are rather lack luster as your struggle to go beyond the colours used in the alt colour for 2 player and black/white incarnations that are available through customisation.

 

As previously mentioned the roster is massive and manages to hit most of the right spots if not all. There are many favourite spanning across all the Tekken games and many faces from both SF3, SF2 and other from the large back catalogue of Street Fighter games including an appearance from Poison of the Final Fight series. Personally I can’t stop playing with Law/Rolento and struggle to pick between such a diverse cast.

Capcom plan to keep their game in the spotlight for years to come and have an extensive list of post-release content on the horizon ranging from more colours for the customisation, different gems, more quick combos and alternate costumes. There is also a collection of 12 characters to be released when the game makes an appearance on the PS Vita. These characters have sparked quite some debate as they have already been found nearly completed on the disc and videos were uploaded online, they have since been released but many consumers are disgruntled by the fact that these characters were not playable on release. That being said Capcom plan to support the game in to the distant future and hopefully we will be able to see the roster continually expand and evolve as the year progresses.

Overall SFxT boasts the 2D fighting style of the Street Fighter series with the flare of the Tekken series. With a whole host of mechanics to boast and a character roster to match you will find plenty of combinations and possibilities to immerse yourself in. All in all the game has both its ups and downs and it can occasionally be pretty frustrating but you get over the issues and as you learn find new and interesting combos.

7 deadly blows to the face out of 10.

Integrated Project Update

It has been a few weeks since the last update and the game has came along way. With the majority of levels already designed we have started to implement more art assets and textures.

The levels are great and Gavin and James are adding more and more to the levels each day and it is actually starting to feel like a real game. The only issues are the bugs that we aim to fix relatively soon.

The assets are also flying in with new set pieces and obstacles showing up almost every second day. All that is left to do is properly texture them and we are good to go.

In the coming week we hope to rid the game of bugs, add more art and start work on tweaking the story and adding music. Hopefully I'll be able to get some screenshots when it looks a bit better.

I'll probably get another round up this time next week if possible.

Mobsters, Mutilation and Gun Toting Maniacs

It has been 5 years since Jackie Estecado last tore his way through our chest and in to our hearts. Since then there have been several changes to the game and its development team. Previously it was Starbreeze Studios that took on the momentous task of bringing Top Cow’s legend to life but due to prior commitments they were unable to return to the franchise for the sequel. This lead to the game being passed on to Digital Extremes.

The Darkness 2 follows Jackie 2 years after the first game, he has learned to suppress his inner demons and has been living as much of a normal life as possible until an unknown enemy literally come crashing in to his life. Jackie is dragged to safety by his trusted right hand man Vinnie while the darkness slowly stirs inside of him, bursting to get out. The game continues as Jackie is engulfed by the darkness as it tries to control him and haunt him with the memories of his beloved Jennie. The only solution that Jackie can see is to find his new enemy and seek out a way to quell the darkness.

 

The Darkness 2 is more than just your standard FPS, the game plays to the comics and uses several different powers to liven up the standard linear shooter that we have got far too familiar with. At first the player starts with just his pistol and the two demonic arms sprouting fourth from Jackie’s back. As the story continues you can collect skill points from inventive kills and from finding special artifacts hidden around the game. These points allow the player to enhance his bullets by channeling his darkness through his guns, harvest black holes from dead bodies, call upon a swarm of dark bugs to attack his enemies and teach his demonic arms to kill his enemies in a manner of horrific ways.

What is different from the previous game is the lack of the ability to send your demonic arms in to the world to sneak up behind unsuspecting enemies. Instead this is replaced by scripted events where you now take control over your one and only minion. I felt like this was kind of a disappointment, instead of elaborating on previous ideas they merged and constrained the two which is a bit of a let down. There also seemed to be a lack of outfits for your minion, in the previous game you were able to kit your team out with different outfits and weapons where as now there is only one (2 if you pre-ordered a special edition).

 

Another change in the game is the aesthetics. The game has now received a going over with a cell shaded brush. At first the style felt a little out place. It seemed that its developers had seen borderlands just at the start of development and thought it would be the ideal choice for them. Unfortunately they were wrong, although the visuals look astounding at some points and create brilliant atmosphere I felt like they were a bit too bright. I have a great love for Marc Silvestri’s art and I can’t help but feel a little left out with the lack of close up shots as Jackie with his darkness unleashed and there was no point where you were able to see him decked out in his full darkness armour.

Although it isn’t directly the art style Jackie has returned in-between levels to talk to the player. The story telling in the game is artistic to an extent, it really feels that they have taken the time between action to step back and spend a little time plunging in to the depths of the darkness and it’s great span across time. Whether that is through the collectibles or through the character’s dialogue. The story is a great improvement over that of it’s predecessor.

 

Again there has been some cut backs between games in another aspect of the game. This could be seen as a positive as to be frank the online mode from The Darkness was pretty dire although it did have some potential that could of been built on.

In lieu of the versus mode’s absence there is the new vendettas campaign where the user can play as one 4 characters with darkness possessed guns in a bid to retrieve special artifacts that have been tainted by the darkness throughout the world. Each one of the character’s has a claim to their own unique and at sometimes very controversial back story. Personally I loved Jimmy the hard walking, no shit taking Scot with an axe he can split skulls with from a distance. This mode can be played both online with a friend and off line on your own. The only problem I had with the mode was it was too short. As well as vendetta mode there is also a set of missions that you can play online with your friends.

The game also has a new game+ option which I feel adds a new level of playability to the game where you can explore different different talent trees, make different choices and just bask in the wonderfully told story again as it unfolds.

 

In conclusion The Darkness 2 lacks a few awesome quirks from the last game but on the whole goes miles beyond the story and gives a second wind from the monotonous shooters that have flooded the market in the past year or two. If you can find a friend to play with online I urge you to try out the wonderfully colourful characters that are at your disposal. Although I had my issues with the game it was a great play and had great nods here and there to the comics.

A rather tasty 7 hearts of helpless mobsters out of 10.

Catherine Review

Recently I had the pleasure of playing Catherine. Although I was a little bit late to play the game due to the Xbox 360 EU release being months after the Japanese and American release. It is safe to say that I too have fallen in love with Catherine. When you look at the essentials, Catherine is a puzzle game, but it is the way the designers have evolved it far beyond a simple puzzle game that makes it interesting.

The basic story of Catherine is based on Vincent, the protagonist and all round “hero” of the story, and his relationship with Katherine (not to be confused with Catherine) as well as a mystery revolving around the death of many locals in their sleep.

Definitely a restless sleep.

The game starts with Vincent being dropped in to a long line of nightmares in which he attempts to outrun his fears during his sleep. After each puzzle he arrives at a landing where others have stopped between puzzles to brace themselves for the horror that lies ahead, it is here that we can see a far more intimate version of each character in a sheep form. All these characters for the beginning at least have no idea who the others are as they only have slight quirks and differences to distinguish each other a part and because of this feeling of the unknown band together and share both horror stories and techniques of survival. At the end of each tower Vincent is confronted by a manifestation of his fears in the form of a boss that chases him up that last tower of that nights trials. Vincent awakes the next day to try continue on with his life, which from what I understand consists mainly of drinking at “The Stray Sheep”. In the second day of the game while Vincent is drinking at “The Stray Sheep” he is confronted by the girl of his dreams, Catherine. Catherine is smart, funny, quirky and outgoing but most of all she is not Katherine. From here the game takes off based on your decisions and the way you tackle the game. Each piece of story has its many different outcomes and each with their own quirky twist that really needs multiple completions to appreciate.

The game is from the legendary games developer and publisher Atlus who are renowned for their simulation games such as the “Shin Megami Tensei” collection of games and more recently the “Persona” games. Altus are well known for their anime styled games and Catherine is a stellar example of how well it can be done. The cut scenes and game play blend so well that you rarely notice a large difference in characters or their portrayal.Each character also feels significantly different from one another with no two even having a great similarities.

The level design is well done and really conveys the feeling of being lost in a nightmare with dark tones and very dark atmosphere generated by the background alone. The game even goes as far to show you other sheep failing at climbing the tower which builds pressure on the player to succeed as they can see what is potentially their fate.

The cut scenes themselves are fantastic. The animation is great and there is a lot of it. Each animation integrates the morale system of the game and has a good hour or two of animation through each play through. They flow well in to the gameplay and merge the different aspects of the story in a good fashion and a great feel. The only issue I do have with the scenes are that sometimes they can be a bit lengthy, I swear I was at the end of the game around 11 o’clock at night and after I completed the last few levels and watched the animations it was pushing 3 o’clock the next day.

The games itself has two main focuses, that of the dating simulator in which the player has to text both Catherine and Katherine, the other being the block based tower climbing puzzle game.

The most interesting part of the dating simulator is the moral choices you make. Each little choice you make can influence your relationship with Katherine and Catherine as well as the survival of the other sheep in the nightmare realm. The choices are made through conversational choices that either have a “law” option or a “chaos” option or by sending different texts to each of your lovers to try avoid or entice them. These choices greatly impact the ending of the game and the interactions between characters in very discrete ways. These choice also culminate to a plethora of endings ranging from Vincent and Katherine’s marriage to some extremely odd endings in which Vincent ditches both the girls, takes out a loan and starts to bet on pro-wrestling.

The other key point of the game is the puzzle based side. The majority of your play through will be spent pushing, pulling and climbing your way towards the light at the top of the nightmare tower. At first the puzzles are relatively easy to navigate and the techniques to scale the levels are pretty basic but like the tower itself these techniques start to pile on and become a dauntingly difficult climb. There are mounds of different types of blocks you face throughout the game each with its own attributes and uses. The first of which is your standard block which you can push pull and climb as your heart desires, next up is the crumbling block which is pretty self explanatory then comes the spring block, ice blocks and exploding blocks etc. Each level has at least one way to get round it but in some cases you will find yourself hard stretched to do it in one perfect run, unless your a puzzle god genius with a mechanical brain that churns out more strategies than Micheal Bay does explosions.

 

Each of these levels build upon the events of whatever happened that day in the game, in most cases this seems to be relatively appropriate aside from one boss level in which you outrun a giant ass faced mess of limbs, facial features and exposed flesh that I am still trying to interpret. The boss levels are very similar to the standard tower levels in which you need to climb to the top of the tower although each boss has his/her/its own special attack that they will use to destroy blocks, shoot you and generally try to prevent you from escaping.

Catherine does boast a variety of games modes but variety in these modes lacks greatly. Of course you have your standard story mode and the ability to have a new game+ style of play in which you can skip levels you have perfected. You also unlock a challenge type mode with co-op levels that are also unlocked by successful gold completions of levels, these challenge levels are just the basic tower climbing levels but with a greater high to climb and a leader board to show just how awesome you are at scaling these monstrosities (I’m even in the top 100 of the first level with my friend) although I feel that the difficulty of these levels is one of the hardest in the game as you are timed and the complexity of the level can stack ramp up very quickly.

One final notable game mode is that of the Rapunzel arcade game that can be played in the story. This mode although buried deep within the story is not directly linked to that save, with your progression being carried across multiple playthroughs. The play of this mode is again another puzzle game but with no timer, you would assume that this would be easier than the main game but I without a doubt struggled almost every step in this mode. Each puzzle has one specific solution to them and you also have a limit on how many times you can move blocks.

 

I had a great time with Catherine, the game flows brilliantly and looks amazing. The only downfall is that it’s tougher than mutton, if you are a gamer with a short fuse and can be lead astray then it might not be the game for you.

I’d give it 8 out of 10 lambs to the slaughter.

Integrated Project 3 Update

Unfortunately this was a slow week in progress for the group. We have been able to record the animations with Kinect but had some problems with the implementation, although it is getting there.

As for the art assets we are slowly building up a library of useful and rather nice looking items to place around the levels and we are beginning to see a lot more character in what was a rather dull set of levels.

The levels are also coming together quite nicely with the mall level slowly evolving and the other levels in production. All that is left to do is import art assets and get some tweaking of variables then we are on to testing.

EXCELSIOR!