Game Jam Week: Day 3

Day 3 saw the arrival of some art assets from a friend we worked with during our integrated project in third year. The models look cool and the textures are even better.

As a group we are seeing progress each and every day although we lost a member due to a family emergency. There is not much left in the way of design just now and we are working together to tweak and adjust all the HUD components and tweak the scene to make it look a little more lively.

We do have a screen shot to share with you all but it is not the latest version we have. The programmers are hard at work with finding out the limitations of Kinect and what we could do in the time frame. So far it looks awesome and I have been able to spin the earth as if it were a basketball. With 2 days left to complete it I think we should have a pretty rad game for everyone to play with.

Stay tuned for some more news by the end of the day.

Game Jam Week: Day One

Welcome to the first post in what could be many documenting the game we make over the coming week. The GameJam is running at Glasgow Caledonian University and is organised be our much beloved lecturer Brian McDonald.

The idea of the jam is to pick a input device or platform to develop for that we have never worked with before. The idea will help us expand our thought process and learn to work to certain constrictions that may come with our platform. Our team has chose to use Microsoft's Kinect and implement the gestures that are available through this medium.

The basic idea of the game is to have planet that you can manipulate and influence through various gestures. These gestures would then influence the population and resources in the world with the aim of the game being that you maintain an equilibrium across the earth.

From their we aim to develop and elaborate on our ideas but as it stands we are in the pre-planning stages and are making a basic mock up of the screen. So stay tuned for more news. There is even a little sneak peak at what we have planned down below.

Lego Batman 2: The Blocky Review

Lego is slowly becoming a dynasty with each game greater than the last. Lego Batman 2:DC Super Heroes is the 12th installment in this long line of blocky portraits and just so happens to be the best yet. Lego lovers all around the country gather to play these games with their kids and Travellers Tales know it. Like all of its predecessors Lego Batman boasts the same level of charm and charisma that we have grown to expect from the series.

As with all Lego games the story is merely a small portion of the endless pursuit of gold bricks, mini kits and secret areas but none the less there is still a great story buried under a pile of studs. Lego Batman 2 focuses on not just Batman but includes some awfully familiar faces as the dark knight and boy wonder seek help from the justice league in a bid to stop Lex Luthor and the Joker from taking over the world. With each level comes a cutscene that just oozes charisma, whether it is in the form of a reference to the comics or just the off the cuff remarks Batman makes about Superman, you will feel like you are part of the gang.

In an interesting turn of events this is the first Lego game to have voice actors. It was argued that part of the charm of these games came from the silly expressions and slapstick comedy that riddled the game with laughs but with the introduction of dialogue and acting from some familiar voices the game excels above the rest in terms of quality and hilarity.

Keeping in tune with the rest of the Lego games however is the endless need to pursue the in game collectables. As usual you can expect to find yourself replaying levels as the expansive cast in order to open hidden doors and unlock unfound treasure in a nearby chest.

Although the basic idea of collectables still remains there is now a vast map in which the red bricks, citizens in peril and new characters are scattered across. The map plays out very much like your own Lego sandbox. You can drive, fly or run through the streets of Gotham saving anyone and everyone you come across for those few extra studs you need for the next big purchase.

The gameplay itself is reminiscent of the previous Lego Batman but the suits have been streamlined, there is no longer umpteen suits you have to find in order to open that big door. The new suits for Batman and Robin allow the player to do multiple functions in one suit and cuts out a lot of the back and forth between small sections just to uncover a minikit or some extra currency. That’s not to say there is a lack of interactable objects, with the addition of the justice league there are some really cool areas you can access using their powers. For instance only the Green Lantern can build green lego constructs, Aquaman can swim and Cyborg can melt stuff with his eye laser.

As touched on previously this game is not just about Batman, the majority of the cast is made up from his rogues gallery and comrades but there are some great cameos from the best and brightest DC has to offer. Alongside the Justice League you will find Captain Boomerang, Braniac, Lex Luthor and a whole host of villains to toy with.

Lego Batman 2 is chockablock with replayability and quirky references to the comics that spawned such an awesome game. The amount of time you can invest exploring Gotham, fighting bad guys and saving the day provides you with a feeling of satisfaction you might struggle to find in other games, especially if you have a girlfriend or child to share the experience with as the dynamic duo. Everyone should buy this game just to punch Superman in his smug face a few times and you might even have fun saving the world while you’re at it.

I give it a stellar 9 out of 10.

E3 2012: The Year of Disappointment

Every year E3 kicks off the gaming convention madness with giant announcements, jaw dropping conferences and a plethora of new titles to be released in the coming year. For several years E3 was the benchmark to which many conventions aspired to be, set in sunny LA with hundreds of thousands of guests flooded E3 in anticipation of what was to come but a few years back E3 closed its doors to the public, shattering the dreams of many and alienating those who have supported gaming for years in favour of journalists and other developers.

Since then E3 has been a mixed bag of announcements ranging from the extremely out of date Mr Caffeine, the booing of AT&T and the excitement that followed after the Vita was announced. Much like your taste in games the conference has always been a hit and miss based on your preference although there was always something there that had your blood racing.

Unfortunately I struggled to find anything that left me breathless. Many of the games announced were sequels, prequels or just plain ass. Yes there were the odd one or two diamonds in the rough but it is hard to keep such high spirits after spending hours rolling around in filth.

It seems that even the greatest of franchises did not believe in this year’s E3 to the point that Halo 4, the Gears prequel and many others made announcements in the week or so before the show. If Microsoft cannot be backed by their own poster boy then why bother with such an illustrious event. On the PS3 front it was very disheartening with no news from the team working on The Last Guardian (even though Sony assure the fans that it will appear I find it harder to believe by the day) and what looks like a Super Smash Bros rip off on the horizon for Sony there was very little to look forward to. Hell even Netherrealm’s new fighting game surfaced the week prior to E3.

As for the nintendo conference we were promised 23 games and well we did see these games but they were either already on the market of were passed over so quickly in montages it was very hard to judge if they had actually met this quota. There was of course a new Mario game and the announcement of some cool new online features on the Nintendo side of things but it was largely underwhelming and the big announcements that were made were almost expected with a new consoles.

In a perfect world all these developers, excluding Nintendo are hiding their best for the new consoles they have stashed away in their evil headquarters awaiting to unleash the behemoths of gaming on the unsuspecting public at the next major conference. Although I can’t quite help thinking this is nothing but a pipe dream.

Hopefully there will be an upturn in next year’s conference with the announcements of some new and impressive IPs from both sides, it could be time for Kratos to hang up the gauntlet, Baird to drop the Lancer and the covenant to get a rest.

After all is said and done there are some awesome titles out this year and in spite of the delays of Bioshock Infinite we still have Borderlands 2, Persona 4 Arena, Assassins Creed 3, Call of Duty Black Ops 2 and Halo 4 all to look forward too. And after E3 all the speculation on Watchdogs, The Last of Us and a few others to keep us all going until next year. Failing that we can always hope for more big announcements at Eurogamer, Tokyo Games Show and all the others.

Advertising Gone Tits Up

I n the light of the new Hitman Trailer it seems that the industry might of breached in to a new and unwelcome area of fetishism . For those of you avoiding the PR nightmare that is the jaw droppingly outrageous Hitman trailer here is a short synopsis; Agent 47 brutally beats the Bejesus out of some sexy nuns in a very unstealthy manner. Yeah I know, sexy nuns does sounds appealing but the out right barbaric nature and break from the norm on 47’s behalf has been met with a lukewarm response.

Did you hear games objectify woman?

This only one example of the backlash, gaming and misogyny almost walk hand in hand in many advertisements.  Cast your mind back to very origins of the Xbox (the big black box). Do you remember the phrase “she kicks high” because I certainly do. Sex has always been used as a selling point to anyone and everyone in the budding world of games. A more recent campaign for SoulCalibur 5 had more than our chests swelling with excitement due to a raunchy poster that rose up on the web. This kind of advertisement caters to a specific crowd and most of the time fades into the background when the “real” trailers and advertisements surface and apologise for the bodacious barrage of boobs and bodices that were thrust towards us in a more than suggestive manner, leaving the customer rather confused and sometimes enraged by such a display.

In short advertising something that might be taboo is a great way to get the masses talking, remember “No Russian”. No it wasn’t exactly an advertisement but the political maelstrom that followed was. CoD had reached the masses and continued to gain infamy as more and more people chucked in there tuppence worth on the topic and in turn generated great publicity for this decade’s biggest franchise. 


The question here is, where the fuck do you do your market research? Yes I have frequented porn and love boobs but when I want to see my favourite bald assassin makes his return to form I don’t want him bludgeoning the nearest scantily clad woman to show me a cool new move he learned while on hiatus. 


As of late gaming has come under fire for being almost devoid of woman and those that do choose to join in the fun are ogled and perved over by many. This type of advert canonises the issues that arose on Capcom’s Cross Assault  stream in which a female competitor was harassed to the point of quitting after another member of the show made sexual remarks live about her bra size and continued to objectify her.

The abused and accused

It seems that every time a female is presented in game there is a large amount of controversy attached to how she was designed, nobody wants to see a frumpy specky and spotty female protagonist but if her boobs are too big and her waist isn’t accurate to a “true female figure” there is an outcry that the character is not realistic enough.

Gaming seems to shoot itself in the foot at almost every corner when it comes to representing females and it can be hard to point the finger at the man responsible (yes a man). Although it would seem that this time Hitman is not another splash in the gaming pond. The tsunami of criticism that has followed suit after the trailer was released has been an ugly one. The level of criticism has also amassed much attention generating more opinions and even more publicity for the game. Although some may say that there is no such thing as bad publicity the sexism and games debate is surely the counter to the argument, this fiasco may have cost Hitman more than a few bruised knuckles and shameful looks.

That's right beat that sexy nun...

With many trailer misrepresenting the quality and gameplay of their gaming counterparts I hope that Hitman will find his feet and break a few necks in the process. This trailer has served a great injustice to such a wonderful series and has highlighted a lot of issues that needed addressed in the industry but will we learn from our mistakes this time?

AddictNauts: Awesomenauts Review

Awesomnauts is the latest game from Ronimo Games. And with a name that includes “awesome” it has a lot to live up to. If it had been called “PreparedToBeDisappointedByALackOfLevels-nauts” I would of known exactly what to expect.

The game had been in development for some time and almost never seen the light of day when the publisher dtp Entertainment announced that they were struggling financially and had filed for insolvency. Since then Awesomenauts has been fortunate enough to not only release the game but announce the first batch of DLC for the game.

The story is set at the beginning of the game with the news that the galaxy is at war with itself. The rivalling sides are locked in a stalemate with no victory in sight. This deadlock has lead to both sides recruiting some of the galaxies most notorious and deadly mercenaries in a bid to sway the outcome. “Who are these deadly mercenaries?” you ask, the Awesomenauts that’s who.

With a charming cartoony background and player art each level has a vibrant and almost childish appeal to it. Some levels have giant worms that remind the player of Star Wars and the worms from Dune where other can be described as the most cuddly cyclops monsters ever. The characters all look fantastic too. There has never been such a cool motley crew; jetpacking monkeys, killer robots, brains in a jar and many more are all thrown into the maelstrom and everyone is as fun to play as they look.

Awesomenauts has a unique set of mechanics, it has several different elements from games like League of Legends and those of the same MoBA ilk. Although the gameplay may be similar as LoL it is by no means as complex. Every character can deal devastating damage if levelled correctly and any combination of miscreants can be wielded efficiently given the right team mates. The main aim of the game is to advance towards your enemies supplies as you slowly tear through your opponents defences, in between advancing on your opponent's defences you are confronted by turrets and whatever worthless peons they can toss at you. There are some different enemies in specific levels but once you learn how to level quickly you may avoid these completely, unless you need a quick burst of money to push for the next upgrade.

A unique mechanic that makes Awesomenauts stand out from the crowd is the way in which you enter the battlefield. Upon entry your character drops from the skies in a flaming drop pod collecting resources as they hurtle towards the battlefield. This can be extremely effective as you might have died just short of an upgrade and that little boost you get from entering the battlefield occasionally boosts your resources that little bit.

When all is said and done Awesomenauts just falls short of its name. With some great game mechanics and really interesting character design you will lose countless hours to tense matches but on the whole the experience feels empty and you will slowly be ground down by the lack of levels. With the news of DLC being developed and the possibility of more to come the game will hopefully see a lot of growth over the coming months.

8 rocket monkeys out of 10.

Square Eyes: A Minecraft Review

When you were young your mother would always warn you that too much television would give you square eyes. So it would almost seem fitting for this unbelievably addictive game to cause such a condition would already provide a rather blocky outlook on life.

Minecraft is every indy developers dream. It shot to fame in late 2011 with a very small team and large dreams. Since then the game has seen continuous updates and several different platforms. The most recent of which being the Xbox Live marketplace. With such a buzz about the game it has went on to smash expectations reaching over 1 million downloads on XBLA alone.

The game is based on a randomly generated map, a sandbox in which you can build whatever you may desire. This could be a simple construct such as a house or something as elaborate and a replica of the millenium falcon. So although there is no direct story, the universe is what you make it.

The graphics are nothing to gawk at as they are very simple and the texturing is comically retro but therein lies the charm. Such a simple and basic palette can be used by a veteran crafter to create some buildings you would struggle to comprehend in real life let alone in a world comprised of cubes.

As you make your way through the expansive sandbox you realise that the worlds is at your fingertips. Countless hours can be lost and days can drop off your calendar as you dig in search of the ever elusive diamond resource or trying to kill enough cows to build a full leather suit. A large part of this can be contributed to the absolutely splendid soundtrack. The melodic sounds relax and soothe you as you start to delve into world.

There are no real objectives to the game but in a sense the game can be associated to with that of the sims and a survival type game in which the player must build their own defences and gather the resources needed to survive. The achievements in game can serve as objectives but on the whole the game is vast sandbox in which you can do whatever you like. Unfortunately the maps are constrained to a size of 1024x1024 which does dwarf in comparison to the much larger maps available on PC. That being said there is still plenty to do and since the Xbox game is several versions behind the current PC build there have been rumours of planned expansions and title updates if the game were to highly successful.

Minecraft is a joy to play and you can get lost in such a large game. It is more suited for the creative types as without a vivid imagination you can sometimes feel lost for something to do. Played with friends you will usually find some flamboyant task to undertake and if it turns out well you might just feel like you have accomplished something albeit in your underwear most likely. If you love to explore and create this game is definitely up your blocky alley so make sure you pick it up and support one of this generation's biggest indy hits.

9 poorly constructed blocky castles out of 10.

Some Girl on Girl Action (And No Not That Kind)

This startlingly beautiful game is the first to be made by Reverge Labs and is the culmination of almost a decade's worth of work. Skullgirls is the first game to be produced by Mike Z and it has gained fame amongst the fighting game community as being the game designed by the community for the community. And with a tagline like that who can resist?

The story starts with the arrival of the Skull Heart in Canopy City. This heart possesses the power to grant any woman/girl a wish. It almost sounds like a fairytale but with every fairy tale there comes a catch and this one is a biggy. Although the skull heart can grant any of their wishes they wishee must be pure of heart, if not they are consumed by the power it holds and become a skullgirls destined to torment humanity. As with every fighter each character has their own needs and wants for the artifact, some wish to destroy it and others want to abuse its power but they all inevitably end up at the same point face to face with the current skullgirl.

With mountains of experience behind him Mike z has taken the best ideas from across all different types of fighting games. There is your standard 6-button layout with light,medium and heavy punches and kicks as well as an intricate tag system. The game also boasts the very ingenuitive variable tag battle in which the is no restrictions on either side meaning that a single character can face off against a team of 3, this would seem that one sided might be slightly disadvantaged having less characters but the game allows this team of one to have more power and health whereas the team of 3 could have a lot more variety for different situations. There is also the infinite prevention system that prevents the player from discovering an abusable loop and puts the player in a position where they can develop their own combos with different ways around them.

The game places itself in amongst the masses of different types of fighting games perfectly drawing inspiration from BlazBlue, Marvel vs Capcom and Streetfighter and you can see in the mechanics alone that there has been a lot of love and care put into the game to make a truly fun experience.

With so much time and effort being used to create an in depth system to the game, naturally it would need some form of explanation to how everything works and so far Skullgirls has taken the prize on introducing new players to the true basics of fighting games. What a player would usually learn from peers or trial and error is laid out in front of the explaining terms they are unfamiliar with or they are given the true meaning behind the term. Each stage places the player in situations where the intuitively build upon skills to deal with more complex strategies and understand why they do what they do as well as a good reason behind it. This is something that has never really been tackled before within a training mode, or at least not as in depth and it is nice to see it done so well.

As with any fighting game there is a story mode an arcade mode and a local versus. Unfortunately it is within the single player aspect that the games faults rise to the surface. The story lines are short and have very little deviation from a set list of fights, although the world in which the game is set is vibrant and bursting with character the short cutscenes struggle to convey such an awesome atmosphere.

What really sets SkullGirls apart from the majority of modern fighting games is the hand drawn art, other games do have bragging rights in this area but none of which breathe the same character into the world or its inhabitants in quite the same way. Each level has a vibrant colour scheme and compliments the madness that surrounds the fights. This art style is another testament to Mike Z’s involvement with fighting games from an early age and you can see where 2D art and BlazBlue have influenced the game. I think it is best left to see the art in action and with no palette swaps or “redux” levels in sight and some truly inspiring design the art style will leave you begging for more.

With a cast of 8 characters many would be quick to judge the game on its lack of variety. And for those of you who do embody this sentiment, shame on you. The 8 characters present are nothing like you expect from a fighting games, with no; multi coloured ninjas with slightly differed moves, palette swapped american rivals or duplicated move sets SkullGirls’ cast is something else. Each character has their own quirky puns and pays homage to other famous games, attacks and characters. Another point of interest is that even with an all female cast each of the characters have their own style, story and even bra size all laid out on skullgirls.com. If you don’t like the look of the big breasted nurse then maybe the more sinister shape shifting nun will take your fancy but you will be hard pressed not to find a character that doesn’t stir up some curiosity inside of you.

As a massive fan of the game and genre I have got more bang for my buck from Skullgirls in the past week than some more high profile fighting games released in the past year and with a price tag of 1,200 MSP to boot you will struggle to justify not buying the game too.And if you are really interested in a larger roster it has already been announced that there will be more characters and stories added to the universe throughout the year. In short with characters as unique as the art style you will struggle to pull yourself away from this punchtastic slugfest.

Generation Lost

Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Storm Generations

Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Storm Generations is the latest in the “Ultimate Ninja” series in the Naruto game franchise. Much like the others the game collects a vast cast from all over the naruto manga and pits them against each other to see who truly is the ultimate ninja and this time it comes with a twist. Generations gathers both the old, the young and even the alternate versions of Naruto’s foes, friends and ancestry all in one large roster.

With a story that spans almost 10 years the game does a great job of summing up the highlights of the Naruto manga in 11 different storylines. This starts with a young, fresh faced Naruto graduating as a ninja and progresses through the story at an alarming pace to the more recent stories such as the Kage Summit. Not only does the game tell the story of Naruto but it also has 8 other campaigns based off other members of the cast including Itachi Uchiha, Zabuza, Kakashi and Killer Bee. With such a large cast and extensive back catalogue of story the developers have been hard pressed to squeeze in such an elaborate story all in one game, which unfortunately leaves the story feeling a bit hollow and rushed at times. That being said other sections of the story have been elaborated on with new anime and different perspectives on the story that have never been seen before.

The game itself struggles to hold down multiple game modes with very little in the way of “extras” beyond different tournaments and a very basic survival mode. While the button system remains largely unchanged the game’s mechanics feel more polished and smoother than its previous iteration. This means that there is still only one dedicated attack button and the others are dedicated to projectiles, charka concentration, assists, items and substitution jutsu.

Although all this polish and shiny new story points have came at a price, there is no longer the RPG like game play between missions nor is there much replay value to the story unlike the previous games in which you had the opportunity to replay missions for extra money and rewards. The online was rather weak too and every player I faced seemed to lag dramatically, which resulted in giving it a miss for the rest of the time I played the game.

As with every Naruto game the extras are all there. They range from the rather insignificant titles you can give yourself, extra images and substitutions that differ from the standard log as well as a customisable item set for battle. In comparison to its predecessors Generations is again lacking.

Although I greatly enjoyed playing Naruto there is little to no replay value to be found. If you are a fan of the series you will love it and there are some quirky sections I won’t spoil but for the majority of those who don’t divulge in weekly readings of the anime and don’t care too much about the battle between Sage Naruto and Rasengan Naruto it might be best to look at the older games and pick up The Broken Bond or Rise of a Ninja.

6 tails out of 10.

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.

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.