Review - Batman: Arkham City

Welcome to yet another fantastic fall/holiday rush of AAA titles. I start to sweat with excitement when I think of this time of year. When the last Batman game in this series Arkham Asylum was released I intentionally passed over it, even though every friend and media outlet was gushing like a nerd at comic con. My reason for this mistake was based solely on the amount of games with super heroes attached that completely sucked ass. I will not bother making the list because I do not need carpel tunnel that bad. I think my point is pretty obvious and I am not alone in thinking these companies have made a lot of quick cash by flipping a turd with a super heroes name on it. So Arkham Asylum landed on my Christmas present filler list because it was about 20 or so bucks and I did not want to waste the cash. Low and behold the Almighty holiday came and so did a neatly wrapped copy of Batman AA. I was on holiday break and decided it was time to see what all the fuss was about. From that point I did not eject the disc from my Xbox 360 until the main quest was complete, which is pretty rare for me and my 30 second attention span. Since the announcement of the sequel at the 2009 Spike VGAs I have been waiting patiently to play this one through just as the last. And let me tell you it was damn well worth the wait.

Gears of War 3 : What a Killer Last Ride!

Welcome to the last hurrah in a series that has helped shape and define shooters since the release of the first Gears. This series has developed and aged almost perfectly when compared to a lot of the "make a quick buck and run" sequels we see all too often. This last offering in the current story arc is once again a third person shooter that utilizes team tactics and cover. Personally I do not like a lot of third person shooters because I always feel pulled out of the story and watching it unfold over someone else's shoulder is a bore. Gears was one of the first to change that for me. A lot has gone into the story and with the third one we have Karen Traviss at the writing helm. If you do not know this SCI FI writer, she has penned the Gears novels. So what do you say we put on that armor and take a ride into Gears of War 3?

So this is 18 months after Jacinto was flooded and any survivors are making an attempt to rebuild on the island of Vectes. All the COG have been disbanded and are located throughout the different areas. There is an increase in the Lambent on the surface which are emulsion infected mutants you face in addition to the Locust. Throughout the game you will see different Gears soldiers from previous games and you even get to play as someone other than Marcus for a change. The story follows the standard "save the world or what's left of it" which the last two games have also used. I am still at a loss as to who decided to nickname the Lambent as "glowies". Seems pretty weak for a game that swims in male bravado.


Graphically this game is top notch. I went out of my way to try and find something a miss but the graphics were spot on. Normally the graphics will tend to be better in Linear games were you cannot explore as freely as open world titles like Grand Theft Auto. The amount of polish on the campaign itself was enough to induce drooling here and there. This game is easily a contender for 2011 as best game. So don't be surprised when the press is talking about it again non stop.
You can tell the story was done by someone who knows how to write because you will care about Marcus by the final act. Anyone who tries to make me believe they did not after all was said and done will be considered full of sh*t and rightfully so. There is not a lot of twist in the story beyond what develops in the first few acts. The rest lead up to to the final goal established earlier. Nothing super insane here but you will have closure by the end of the game. The voice acting was great and fit each character perfectly as it always does in this series. If you are not into the macho crap from the last few games do not expect a change here. The generous use of profanity and violence may make some parents want to consider this before allowing your child to partake. I am pretty sure the characters dropped more F bombs than I did for once and this is pretty rare when I am gaming.
The controls have not changed at all really. They are still pretty tight. I have always been annoyed when hitting the button to roll because I always seem to roll too far. It is also annoying to try and steer your character when in "roadie run" because you will have to stop the run to turn sharp. This can be an issue when you are trying to escape death. On line I just get creamed because I cannot for the damn life of me figure out how to roll 60 times and get 20 head shots with the shotgun like most. If you liked or could handle the controls in the last two titles you will be right at home here.
The game play was and always has been a blast. I believe the core game play to be what keeps us coming back and everything else is "icing on the cake". The satisfaction of a well placed bullet from the long shot is very satisfying. Personally I still find the Torque Bow to be the end all awesome in the Gears series. The metallic thwomp it makes when connecting with the target is like audio effects gold for me. I am not 100% sure why, but it does and this is my review so nah nah. You will see the branching path choices again in this one. I did not see a difference other than scenery when you choose your path. You do now have the ability to mark the enemy so the squad concentrates fire as needed. I completed the campaign on normal and felt at times dying was hard to do. You always had an A.I. teammate near to pick you up before you could be finished off. I tried my damnedest to die in the last big fight to test this but someone always revived me. Maybe I should have went for a harder mode. I did notice teammates stuck in objects a time or two. I also found it annoying that they dropped in at the next checkpoint when we were all just running together seconds ago. This is no way took away from the intense fun that this campaign was.
The audio was spot on. I cannot think of a time I felt it was lacking. Things always progressed and you could tell the battles were coming with the various audio cues. The audio across the whole series has been excellent. It has always been a great score from front to back. The guns all sounded realistic or as realistic as we would expect a gun to sound that fires via a satellite like the Hammer of Dawn. Interaction with items and others sounded completely authentic and natural. The sound will not leave you feeling flat especially if you are using a surround sound system.
Multi player in this series has always been a mixed bag for me. I really enjoy it but suck most days unless I am on a team. Once again the land of rollin' and shotgunin' kicked my ass. All the standard modes are here again death match team DM, wingman (2 man teams) and the others. I really enjoyed the beefed up Horde mode which now played out like a Gears themed match of tower defense. Allowing you to purchase and unlock various weapons and defenses will definitely add to the replay value and have Gears fans playing for many moons to come. I found the new mode called Beast to be a blast. This new mode is Horde from the Locust/Lambent perspective. You have different classes to choose from. Depending on your rank and performance you will unlock better characters to use with different abilities. This mode clocked in at about 30 minutes and 12 levels which seemed quite short when compared to Horde. Getting into matches over all did take sometime. I cannot think of one match I joined that took less than 3 minutes to get into. I did see a lot of lost connection issues initially but now the servers seem to be good. Lag did not seem to be an issue at least not nearly as much as getting into matches was.
Overall I have to hand it to Cliffy B. and the boys because this final installment delivered as promised on every front. If you only own a PS3 you will be missing out on one of the top 5 games of 2011. Yes there was no great innovation here but why have any when the core of this series just works so damn well. A few hiccups with on-line and some odd things happening in the campaign do little to mar what will go down in history as a great finish to an already excellent series.

originally posted by contributor Christopher Young

Dead Island - What a Deadly Good Time!

I would like to start this out by letting everyone know I love zombies. I read the books, watch every craptacular Z flick and play any game with even a whisper of the Z word. Some would say I am obsessed with the whole idea of a zombie apocalypse but better that than hookers and blow, right? As a kid nothing could scare me more than a group of slow moving dead people with nothing more than some body rot and a hunger for flesh. Is it so wrong to want to see this happen in reality and watch humanity prevail in the end? OK, enough ramblings. Lets get on the boat and head for Dead Island.

The game opens on the island of Banoi with you walking into a concert at the Royal Palms Resort. You have some quick interaction with each of the playable characters before passing out in the hotel room. I won't say much more to avoid spoiling a pretty decent opening to the first chapter. You will need to choose one of the four characters to begin the game. You have Logan, ex pro football player with the "hots" for throwing weapons; Sam, a washed up one hit rap star with a love for blunt objects; a women named Purna who specializes in guns, guns and more guns and last would be Xian the undercover Chinese cop who is an expert with sharp weapons. All of these characters come with a little more back story but still seem very stereotypical and one dimensional. As you awaken from your drunken slumber an evacuation is taking place at the royal palms resort. The only catch is the fact that you seem to be the only living person in the damn hotel. This first level is basically the "paint by numbers tutorial level" where you learn all the simple controls and functions while escaping the building. To me it seemed a little slow, but then again 70 percent of what I play is first person. Once you escape the hotel you will meet your first group of survivors.

Your main quest begins with having to go outside with just a paddle (JUST A FREAKIN PADDLE! Come on, they are zombies man!) and save someone. The first time I was truly scared and jumped a little-I was right outside that door. A zombie came after me from the side, which not only caused me to jump but maybe I needed a moment to check my shorts. You beat down a few dead ones and move back inside. The combat itself was not spot on but worked and felt a lot like the condemned series. This is where I noticed my own ugly addiction rearing it's head again. I am not going to lie to anyone or myself. I am addicted to looting and scavaging virtually. I have to check every nook and cranny or I feel cheated. Thank god I had so much laying around. If it was not luggage I pilfered it would be a body or a safe. Yeah I need help oh well don't we all. I have not been able to feed the addiction this well since Borderlands or Fallout. This is where a lot of the comparisons start to games like Fallout, Borderlands, Left for Dead and the Dead Rising series. Personally I believe this to be a form of flattery on the part of Techland and Deep Silver Games. There was a lot borrowed but executed well enough that you did not feel like this was a knock off game. I used the weapons mod system which was a direct pull from Dead Rising. Techland made sure this was a useful and interesting option but not a requirement. So if you wanted to, you could skip Modding and just repair or upgrade the stock weapon. I found myself digging in a lot of nasty trash cans like a crack head, for just one more battery or glue to get the next mod. I also loved the nods to other game titles with some of the mods. Assassins Creed comes to mind along with Nail'd.

From here on out it is the standard escort him/her, get this item, save that person quest types for pretty much the entire game. On the side of the main game hangs a massive amount of side quests, which tend to pay well or give you a mod you would not get otherwise. On my entire play through of the main quest I completed about 30 percent of the optional or side quests. You can accept any quest and it will stay active on your list for when you want to do it. I recommend accepting all so when you find an odd item you know what it is for (I.E. When a 20 yr old female survivor wants nothing more than her Teddy bear. Wtf?!?! How about a ride to safety and all the stuffed animals you can handle.) I did get bored with the side quests once I hit about level 17 and stuck with the main story from then on. The story is pretty cheesy B movie stuff but why not? I mean come on this is about zombies for god sake. Many of the side quests were forgettable if not laughable at best. I mean come on, Latsvania do you really need champagne to party all night? There are flesh eating bastards everywhere! This game also did an amazing job at causing me to have "controller seizures (freaking out and twisting or squeezing a game controller while verbally assaulting a TV screen)" at least every thirty minutes when I would die and be re-spawned right on top of the a-holes who killed me 10 seconds ago. This led to at least a handful of deaths and respawns before you would be in a position where you even had a chance at winning this battle. This only got worse and more frustrating when you were escorting someone. I almost snapped my controller in half while trying to get through the village late in the game with Mr. Witch doctor. The village was full of super zombies and walkers. You needed to defeat them all and keep dummy alive with no armor. The profane words that rang out from my living room would have made a porn star blush.

The graphics were actually a lot better than I expected. I was really worried about slow down when there were too many on screen NPCs (non player characters). It seemed to be when you would use a Molotov or cause an explosion. I also became pretty annoyed with the slow mo on a kill shot. When fighting multiples that would kill my timing and also pull me out of the moment. Looking from any distance was a bummer also because there would be nothing moving anywhere and then bam- as you walk zombies would materialize. Also a good number of clipping issues where things would pop in and out. This happened to me with a propane tank where it was there and then was not but I could pick it up. I also noticed some pixelation with the smoke effects namely in the sewers. Zombies would pop in and out from time to time. I found it massively annoying to defeat a super zombie like a ram and have one pop up because I backed up 20 feet to loot a bag.

The controls did take some getting used to. Most gamers will have no problem picking this title up and decimating zombies right away. Movement did seem to lack in feeling smooth when turning and moving around objects. Objects thrown did not seem to carry a realistic amount of weight when thrown. The menu functions left a little to be desired. I specifically did not like how long and clunky it was to switch weapons into the slots. If a weapon is junk an auto switch to the next available "banked" weapon would have been nice. The driving controls left a lot to be desired because they seemed super clunky. Most times regardless of the vehicle I felt like it was a massive square brick I was piloting. The driving did seem to improve in the second half of the game... well either that or I adjusted to driving a tank. The controls with hand held weapons was ultra satisfying. I spent plenty of hours just dismembering and cutting away at enemies just to see a different death. Decapitations were easily the most satisfying of all attacks.

The audio was top notch in my book. The constant screams had you fearing every turn or doorway. The sound fx while battling the undead were also pretty solid. The score was very atmospheric and did a great job delivering whatever scene was taking place. It was very cool that they used some sound effects to warn you of baddies. I remember coming around a corner. I could hear the moans and screams. The other sound was ripping flesh and something eating. As I slowly crept around the corner a scene of zombies feasting on a corpse was right before me. So with my venom modded machete I made short work of the walkers and moved on.

My initial play through was a solo effort and well worth it. Playing solo did make the game that much harder and I did not realize that until partaking in some CO OP. In coop it was so much easier to defeat any of the special classes like the ram or thug variations. The story also moved along at a much more rapid pace with 4 people completing tasks versus one. The major point of suck was the fact you need all players present to advance the main story. We all know on-line play can be very frustrating when you have a teammate that is not playing along or as a part of the team. This led to a handful of frustrating quits for myself and others because there is no way to make others be present. Would it have been that hard to add a forced placement option for the stragglers? I also noticed that when playing solo you had the same cut scenes as if you played a group. This did pull me out of the experience a little because I was constantly referred to as a group when in reality I was solo. I did a great job of making the player feel a real sense of dread. This game is truly about survival and at the least it will test your ability to keep from taking the dirt nap.

Overall I would say Techland surpassed my expectations along with many others. As with any title this ambitious you will see issues and believe me, I did. Fortunately the good well out weighs the bad. Yes they did borrow many things but in this day and age who is not? You had the skill tree from Fallout 3, weapons mods from Dead Rising, enemy types pulled from Left for Dead; all executed well if not better than where they borrowed from. The idea of a completely original IP is almost unheard of in gaming this day and age. In a very over crowded sea of sequels and shooters I welcome games that tastefully borrow with open arms.

The game opens on the island of Banoi with you walking into a concert at the Royal Palms Resort. You have some quick interaction with each of the playable characters before passing out in the hotel room. I won't say much more to avoid spoiling a pretty decent opening to the first chapter. You will need to choose one of the four characters to begin the game. You have Logan, ex pro football player with the "hots" for throwing weapons; Sam, a washed up one hit rap star with a love for blunt objects; a women named Purna who specializes in guns, guns and more guns and last would be Xian the undercover Chinese cop who is an expert with sharp weapons. All of these characters come with a little more back story but still seem very stereotypical and one dimensional. As you awaken from your drunken slumber an evacuation is taking place at the royal palms resort. The only catch is the fact that you seem to be the only living person in the damn hotel. This first level is basically the "paint by numbers tutorial level" where you learn all the simple controls and functions while escaping the building. To me it seemed a little slow, but then again 70 percent of what I play is first person. Once you escape the hotel you will meet your first group of survivors.

Your main quest begins with having to go outside with just a paddle (JUST A FREAKIN PADDLE! Come on, they are zombies man!) and save someone. The first time I was truly scared and jumped a little-I was right outside that door. A zombie came after me from the side, which not only caused me to jump but maybe I needed a moment to check my shorts. You beat down a few dead ones and move back inside. The combat itself was not spot on but worked and felt a lot like the condemned series. This is where I noticed my own ugly addiction rearing it's head again. I am not going to lie to anyone or myself. I am addicted to looting and scavaging virtually. I have to check every nook and cranny or I feel cheated. Thank god I had so much laying around. If it was not luggage I pilfered it would be a body or a safe. Yeah I need help oh well don't we all. I have not been able to feed the addiction this well since Borderlands or Fallout. This is where a lot of the comparisons start to games like Fallout, Borderlands, Left for Dead and the Dead Rising series. Personally I believe this to be a form of flattery on the part of Techland and Deep Silver Games. There was a lot borrowed but executed well enough that you did not feel like this was a knock off game. I used the weapons mod system which was a direct pull from Dead Rising. Techland made sure this was a useful and interesting option but not a requirement. So if you wanted to, you could skip Modding and just repair or upgrade the stock weapon. I found myself digging in a lot of nasty trash cans like a crack head, for just one more battery or glue to get the next mod. I also loved the nods to other game titles with some of the mods. Assassins Creed comes to mind along with Nail'd.

From here on out it is the standard escort him/her, get this item, save that person quest types for pretty much the entire game. On the side of the main game hangs a massive amount of side quests, which tend to pay well or give you a mod you would not get otherwise. On my entire play through of the main quest I completed about 30 percent of the optional or side quests. You can accept any quest and it will stay active on your list for when you want to do it. I recommend accepting all so when you find an odd item you know what it is for (I.E. When a 20 yr old female survivor wants nothing more than her Teddy bear. Wtf?!?! How about a ride to safety and all the stuffed animals you can handle.) I did get bored with the side quests once I hit about level 17 and stuck with the main story from then on. The story is pretty cheesy B movie stuff but why not? I mean come on this is about zombies for god sake. Many of the side quests were forgettable if not laughable at best. I mean come on, Latsvania do you really need champagne to party all night? There are flesh eating bastards everywhere! This game also did an amazing job at causing me to have "controller seizures (freaking out and twisting or squeezing a game controller while verbally assaulting a TV screen)" at least every thirty minutes when I would die and be re-spawned right on top of the a-holes who killed me 10 seconds ago. This led to at least a handful of deaths and respawns before you would be in a position where you even had a chance at winning this battle. This only got worse and more frustrating when you were escorting someone. I almost snapped my controller in half while trying to get through the village late in the game with Mr. Witch doctor. The village was full of super zombies and walkers. You needed to defeat them all and keep dummy alive with no armor. The profane words that rang out from my living room would have made a porn star blush.

The graphics were actually a lot better than I expected. I was really worried about slow down when there were too many on screen NPCs (non player characters). It seemed to be when you would use a Molotov or cause an explosion. I also became pretty annoyed with the slow mo on a kill shot. When fighting multiples that would kill my timing and also pull me out of the moment. Looking from any distance was a bummer also because there would be nothing moving anywhere and then bam- as you walk zombies would materialize. Also a good number of clipping issues where things would pop in and out. This happened to me with a propane tank where it was there and then was not but I could pick it up. I also noticed some pixelation with the smoke effects namely in the sewers. Zombies would pop in and out from time to time. I found it massively annoying to defeat a super zombie like a ram and have one pop up because I backed up 20 feet to loot a bag.

The controls did take some getting used to. Most gamers will have no problem picking this title up and decimating zombies right away. Movement did seem to lack in feeling smooth when turning and moving around objects. Objects thrown did not seem to carry a realistic amount of weight when thrown. The menu functions left a little to be desired. I specifically did not like how long and clunky it was to switch weapons into the slots. If a weapon is junk an auto switch to the next available "banked" weapon would have been nice. The driving controls left a lot to be desired because they seemed super clunky. Most times regardless of the vehicle I felt like it was a massive square brick I was piloting. The driving did seem to improve in the second half of the game... well either that or I adjusted to driving a tank. The controls with hand held weapons was ultra satisfying. I spent plenty of hours just dismembering and cutting away at enemies just to see a different death. Decapitations were easily the most satisfying of all attacks.

The audio was top notch in my book. The constant screams had you fearing every turn or doorway. The sound fx while battling the undead were also pretty solid. The score was very atmospheric and did a great job delivering whatever scene was taking place. It was very cool that they used some sound effects to warn you of baddies. I remember coming around a corner. I could hear the moans and screams. The other sound was ripping flesh and something eating. As I slowly crept around the corner a scene of zombies feasting on a corpse was right before me. So with my venom modded machete I made short work of the walkers and moved on.

My initial play through was a solo effort and well worth it. Playing solo did make the game that much harder and I did not realize that until partaking in some CO OP. In coop it was so much easier to defeat any of the special classes like the ram or thug variations. The story also moved along at a much more rapid pace with 4 people completing tasks versus one. The major point of suck was the fact you need all players present to advance the main story. We all know on-line play can be very frustrating when you have a teammate that is not playing along or as a part of the team. This led to a handful of frustrating quits for myself and others because there is no way to make others be present. Would it have been that hard to add a forced placement option for the stragglers? I also noticed that when playing solo you had the same cut scenes as if you played a group. This did pull me out of the experience a little because I was constantly referred to as a group when in reality I was solo. I did a great job of making the player feel a real sense of dread. This game is truly about survival and at the least it will test your ability to keep from taking the dirt nap.

Overall I would say Techland surpassed my expectations along with many others. As with any title this ambitious you will see issues and believe me, I did. Fortunately the good well out weighs the bad. Yes they did borrow many things but in this day and age who is not? You had the skill tree from Fallout 3, weapons mods from Dead Rising, enemy types pulled from Left for Dead; all executed well if not better than where they borrowed from. The idea of a completely original IP is almost unheard of in gaming this day and age. In a very over crowded sea of sequels and shooters I welcome games that tastefully borrow with open arms.



originally posted by contributor Christopher Young

L.A. Noire by Rockstar Games

Rockstar Games has once again come out with a winner. Even though it is a Crime Noir game one of the storylines deals with the greatest unsolved mystery since Jack the Ripper, the Black Dahlia Murder. Once you progress the game enough to become a Homicide Detective, you start getting more and more Bloody and horrific deaths to solve, all with the feel of the Black Dahlia. The storyline has many twists and turns that finally leads you to the killer but has an interesting ending that I won’t spoil. If you’re a fan of crime noir or interested in the Black Dahlia murders, this would be a game for you. Even though the game itself, for the gaming side of it, I would give it a Five, but as the horror aspect of it I only gave it a three, due to only parts of it deal with the Black Dahlia.

originally posted by contributor AnOriginalDick

Alice: The Madness Returns

$59.99

IN STORES JUNE 14!

Alice: Madness Returns delves deep into the dark and violent side of the imagination, creating a
nightmarish Wonderland where Alice must face the demons that haunt her visions. Visit the grim
reality of Victorian London and then travel to the beautiful yet ghastly Wonderland to uncover the root of Alice’s madness and discover the truth behind a deadly secret, kept hidden for years.

http://www.ea.com/alice