Telling Stories in Different Ways

Over the last few weeks I have found myself engrossed in two completely different types of game; Uncharted 3: Drakes Deception and Skyrim couldn’t be further apart from each other in the way each plays and how their stories are told.

U3 lets you guide its protagonist, Nathan Drake, through an intense story with twists and turns every few chapters. It guides you exactly where you need to go, you cannot deviate from its strict path, to do so results in death. Skyrim on the other hand, whilst also telling a truly epic story, gives the player a lot more freedom to progress through the world at their own pace, discovering hidden locations and new enemies to battle as they make their way throughout the land. Being guided down a narrow path allows a developer to tell a focussed story, one that they wish to tell, that their writers spent months crafting, whereas open world games allow the player to craft their own stories through exploration and discovery. Some people prefer sticking to one type of game, either linear or open world, which is a massive shame because both can offer so much to someone looking to be entertained.

I really wasn’t that interested in Skyrim as launch date rolled around. Sure the initial teasers and live action launch trailer were impressive but nothing about the game really grabbed me. Reading previews, speaking toRyan and Jenn about their Eurogamer hands on I just didn’t feel like I needed to play the game. It also didn’t help that the only other Elder Scrolls game I played, Oblivion, bored me to tears. “What changed Joe?” I hear you say. Well, I read a couple of reviews where the writer had told of the stories that he had been able to be a part of whilst playing the game, not even on the main quest missions, but random acts that happen that bring Skyrim to life.

To read the rest of this feature please head to Death By Robots by clicking here

REVIEW WWE ’12

The WWE Smackdown v Raw series has stagnated over the years. The yearly releases brought less and less significant updates, and if you played one from a couple of years ago you aren’t really missing out on much if you didn’t pick up the most recent title. It’s not just a problem with sports titles (yes, I’m clarifying WWE games as sports titles), it is becoming more apparent in all genres with developers/publishers rolling out new titles year in year out to cash in on their popularity. It takes a brave person to see that their franchise has stalled and choose to do something about it. That is what THQ have done with their newest title, WWE 12.

It was a case of going back to the drawing board for the developers, looking at what was working in previous titles, what wasn’t and trying to wrap all that up with a new look and a new feel – and it has a new look. When the first screenshots were released of WWE 12 earlier this year I was worried; it did look like it was just going to be another wrestling game with an updated roster and maybe one or two new match modes, but under the hood there have been a lot of changes. THQ’s ‘Predator Technology’ has been used to create a grappling game that not only looks different, it feels different. For those who have been playing the games over the last three years you will feel a little out of your comfort zone for a while. When in the ring the game feels slower, more methodical. The environment feels harder and even though there are still some animation issues that been present over the years there are also a lot of new ones. All move animations can now be interrupted which is a big plus especially during those tag matches. When controlling your muscleman (or woman, no sexism here) you have to think a lot more about how you want to take apart your opponent. One of the best inclusions is the limb targeting system which allows you to tailor your attacks to injure certain body areas of your adversary. Playing as Alberto Del Rio, who uses a cross arm bar as a finisher, you can wear your opponents arm down throughout the match making that body area weaker, so that when it comes to applying the finishing submission your opponent won’t put up as much of a fight. The better players will use this new system to their advantage allowing them win matches easier, even though you could get through a match just by spamming the same couple of moves again and again.

Another new addition to the gameplay is the Breaking Point Submission system. When you coil your opponent into a pretzel trying to tear his/her tendons from their bones the words ‘Breaking Point’ appear on the screen. You then start button mashing as you try to fill up the meter – meaning victory. If you are on the receiving end of a submission you must bash those buttons to reduce the meter. I’m sure this will get abused online as some people are better at button mashing than others.

Road to Wrestlemania, the main story sections of the game have changed drastically also. No longer do you have the choice of several different superstars with different stories, no sir. This has been substituted for a mode that sees you play as a Villain (Sheamus), a Hero (Triple H) and as a created character all throughout one tightly woven together story. It is obvious that this is a mode in its infancy. While it does certain things very well there are also some issues that stop it from being enjoyable all the way through.

To read the rest of the review head over to Death By Robots by clicking here.

REVIEW: Uncharted 3 Drakes Deception

I don’t really read books, I just can’t sit down and concentrate on digesting the words on the pages. Maybe it’s because my imagination just isn’t what it should be and I would rather have it spelt out for me on a screen. The problem with not reading is that rarely do I get to engross myself in a good story, losing myself in characters that I care about and wanting to learn their ultimate fates.

I need not worry about it too much though as video games have become a medium where engrossing stories can be told and I can also become a part of the story. I’ve always been a fan of games that can capture me with a quality narrative where you never really know what’s going to happen; Metal Gear Solid and Heavy Rain are two examples, but what will strike you about that is that I have heard those games described as “interactive movies” rather than games. Do I agree with that statement? To a degree yes, you as the controller drive the characters down a linear path from cutscene to cutscene whilst a strong, guided story unfolds around you.Uncharted 3 comes from that mould of games, where freedom is sacrificed for a pulsating thrill ride. But does this make Uncharted 3 a bad game? No, because linearity shouldn’t be frowned upon when the end result is an experience as engrossing as this.

Uncharted 3: Drakes Deception thrusts you back into the world of intrepid treasure hunter Nathan Drake. Drake and his mentor Victor ‘Sully’ Sullivan open the game with a bang; getting involved in a bar fight in a London pub full of crafty English Cockneys flanking Talbot, a sharp dressed English gent who is looking to do a deal with Drake and Sully. The deal, of course, doesn’t go to plan and you are introduced to the improved fighting mechanics. While you have noticed I have said that the mechanics have improved from previous titles in the series the hand to hand combat still feels clunky especially coming off the back of playing Arkham City, from where it is obvious Naughty Dog have taken inspiration. You have a strike button, a counter button and a grab button that allows you to deal out some pain to those enemies who come a little too close. Blows feel heavy, as if they are doing some serious damage and I have used hand to hand combat so much more in U3 than I have in any of the other titles. My issue with the new fighting system is that a lot of the time it turns into a button mashing exercise, franticly tapping strike until a quick time event happens telling you to dodge an attack.

So just as Drake and Sully seem to have wrapped up their little disagreement they are greeted by more thugs out the back, who manage to keep them down long enough for the main villain to be introduced, Katherine Marlowe. After taking Drake’s ring from around his neck, that belonged to Sir Francis Drake, Marlowe rides off into the sunset… That’s as much as your getting from me on the story. The Uncharted series is renowned for it’s twisting plots full of action, adventure, backstabbing and redemption, and U3 is no different. For me to reveal even a little bit of extra story would be a ‘reet bastard thing to do. This certainly is a story that draws you in, grabs you by the neck to make sure you are paying attention and keeps that attention until the closing credits. Whilst there are times when you can raise eyebrows about little holes in the story (Nathan Drake must be arrested for mass murder at some point) the wholly believable characters help you overlook them. Nolan North is again fantastic as Drake, with the supporting cast bringing their characters to life with realism rarely seen in video games. What I personally love most about the cast of characters throughout the whole series is how you can imagine each one of these people existing in real life. The fact that the scenes are acted out helps the actors deliver such believable performances. Drake and Sully’s relationship is further developed in U3 and it really is great to see where this dream team of country hopping treasure hunters got together.

To read the rest of this review head over to Death By Robots by clicking here.

Open Up

There are times in life when you have to let yourself go, open yourself up to whatever is thrown at you. There will be times when the only option available to you is to break down and cry, no matter how tough you think you are; there will always be that moment where there is nothing left, you can’t take it and the tears stream down your face leaving glistening trails on your cheeks. There will also be times when you take a risk, open your heart and say those three words to a special person. You find someone that you feel so strongly about that you cannot keep it in anymore, like gunpowder inside a firework you burst out “I love you”.

Laughter, sorrow, love, hatred; these are all traits that make us human. When you feel so strongly about a subject matter, a person or even yourself is when you feel most alive. In everyday life I’m sure there are people that you would just love to tell exactly what you think of them; they work you up whether they mean to or not, but sometimes that emotion bottles up to the point where you have to take your mind off of it, release some of that pressure. You watch a film, read a book or play a game (some good, some bad) but it helps you unwind.

Video games are a fantastic way of forgetting the day you have had and, if you let them, they can also teach you a lot about emotions that you may not have felt before. Losing yourself in a whole new world lets you forget any burdens weighing heavy on your shoulders. Playing Battlefield Bad Company 2, Halo Reach or Call of Juarez can help unleash that anger on figments of your imagination, ending up in you walking away from the experience like you have settled your scores. But it is dangerous to think that videogames can only help release anger. It is a trap that the media fall into every time an atrocity happens; videogames are to blame, always.

I’m a pretty chilled out person, I have a happy home life, a girlfriend whom I love, a decent job and I’m not in debt. I go to work nine to five and sometimes I just want to escape, not because I’m angry but because there is nothing like losing yourself in a story. I don’t just want my time in front of my TV to be an empty experience, I want to feel for the characters I am controlling. I want to be drawn into a story so much that I feel exactly what the characters are feeling. If they hurt I want to hurt; if there’s someone who is supposed to be hated I want to hate them – not just because I’m told to, but because of their actions, their personalities. A lot of that comes down to the performances of voice actors and the scripts they are given, but not always. I have always found it so much easier to feel for characters in TV shows and movies.  I have been watching Game of Thrones on Sky Atlantic recently and I haven’t found a character whose head I want to mount on a spike more than Joffery. Jack Gleeson gives a masterful performance and his acting, along with a fantastic script, means that just hearing his voice or seeing a picture of him gets me angry.

There are the exceptions though and it’s not just TV and film that can grab me; certain games can as well. I can’t say that I have lost myself in any game the way I have with the Mass Effect series. Who wouldn’t want to be a galactic hero? But what makes Mass Effect different to say, Heavy Rain (where I cringed when I was forced to cut my finger off), is that I can put my own slant on Commander Shepard; he is an extension of me. Whilst the tone of Shepard’s voice is the same, I still have some measure of choice in the way he is perceived in the universe. I play my Shepard the way that I think I would react in that situation; doing this allows me to feel a part of the universe and not only feel like a hero, but it also means I feel for the other characters. I’m not saying I love the female characters in the game, but I thought I knew who they were; I knew their strengths, their weaknesses and not just in the ‘shooting bad guys’ department.

To read the rest of this article head over to Gaming Lives

Death By Robots Video Game Podcast – Episode 3

So ladies gentlemen I have been involved in a podcast for Death By Robots for the past few weeks so thought is was time to share it for those of you who stumble across my site.

Artwork by www.thegarf.co.uk

“Join Ryan, Jenn, and Joe as they discuss the week’s events, including that infamous Playstation advert that has done the circuit, a bit about Xbox’s new TV channels, of course the iPhone 4S, and many other things besides. If you’ve been hiding under a rock this last week or so and don’t have a clue what any of these are, we have included videos at the bottom of this post!”

You can subscribe in iTunes by clicking here.

Interview with Jess Ratcliffe of GaBoom.co.uk

Have you ever wanted to set up your own business? Well, not just a business but one that was doing something you love? For a lot of you reading this that would be video games. I know I have thought of it a lot, “what can I do that will make me money and means I work in video games?” I have yet to find that answer, I’m still trying don’t you worry, but for some people they have made their dream a reality. 

Recently I was looking to get rid of a copy of Deadly Premonition. I had recently purchased it from my local store and hated it. I knew I wouldn’t get much money for it anywhere so was at a bit of a loss as to what to do with it. I had seen on Twitter a mention of a service that would allow me to swap my games online with a user base. I managed to find someone willing to swap Deadly Premonition for Assassins Creed: Brotherhood and the rest is history.

GaBoom.co.uk was the service I used and will be the service I use for the rest of my time on this earth. GaBoom is an easy to use service giving me the option to swap my game by connecting directly with the other user, by Escrow where each user stumps up £18 deposit and then sends the game out using recorded delivery with their deposit returned when the game is received or by using the GaBoom secure swap system where for a minimal fee both users send their game to the team at GaBoom who check the discs and then send the games out to their new owners.

The owner of GaBoom, 21 year old Jess Ratcliffe is very active on twitter (@GaBoomTweet) and since the service went live in July 2010 Jess has managed to amass over 10,000 active members. After chatting to Jess online I asked if she would be willing to answer a few questions. She was, and here are the answers:

Where and when did you first get the idea for GaBoom? 

Jess: I first had the idea for GaBoom when I was 15 years old and hanging out around the corner from where I live. There’s a large field, so a group of friends and I used to play out there all the time, climbing trees, skateboarding and then going inside to play video games. I used to swap my video games with my friends and neighbours and one day thought, ‘wouldn’t it be awesome if you could do this on a larger scale!’ The idea grew from then on.

What was it that sparked you to look into setting up the service?

Jess: As soon as I had the idea, I knew I wanted to make it a reality so I started looking into getting work experience at local web development agencies.  Fortunately, it was around the time of work experience week at my senior school, so it fitted in perfectly! I got myself a weeks work experience at a web development agency in Guildford and it was there I explored the possibility of setting up the service. Unfortunately, the agency quoted me £10,000 for the work, which was way out of my budget at 15 years old! So, I hired a web freelancer over the internet and that’s when things took a turn for the worst, and I soon realised I had been taken for a fool, when the developer walked away with my money without delivering the website he had agreed he would. Then when I was 19 years old at in my first year at university, I was able to take the idea back up again and I’ve never looked back!

To read the rest of the interview and find out Jess’s thoughts on the kind of games she likes and also her time on BBC TV show Dragons Den then head over to Death By Robots by clicking here.

Also, check out GaBoom.co.uk – a great place to swap games you don’t want, for ones you do.

 

Newbreview.com Podcast

Just a quick one to let you know that I was a guest on the newbreview.com weekly podcast this past week. It’s well worth a listen, not just because I’m on it but because it is a very good podcast that you should subscribe to.

Here’s a brief summary of the topics discussed.“Tom and Kieran are joined by special guest Joe Dale to discuss the incredibly important topic of Zombie Games – following the release of Dead Island have we finally had enough of them?

We also have our regular 60 second review and Adam Thinks features, as well as a bit of banter about what we’ve been up to since our last podcast (a regular thing).”

Click here to check out Newb Review Podcast Episode 40.

FIFA Manager 12 – Preview

Let’s get this out of the way right now, not everybody loves football management games. It could be because they don’t like Football in general or it could just be that people find them too fiddly, and I can understand why people would feel that way. As someone who plays football (when I’m not injured) and who has tried my hand at coaching and managing a side, I am one of those people who really quite enjoy the genre, and find it a perfect way for me to see if I can manage the egos of a top class football team (though I draw the line at trying to keep them away from ladies who aren’t their wives).

FIFA Manager 12 is the eleventh instalment of the FIFA Manager series and also happens to be the first time I have ever seen a FIFA Manager game running. Based in Cologne, the developers, Bright Future, have been working on the FIFA Manager series since 2007 and, since taking over the development reins, they have managed to produce a game that has gone down quite well with the critics. This year, FIFA Manager is looking to blow the competition out of the water with some brand new features and refinements of old ones. During a visit to EA’s offices last month, Producer Adrian Curry ran me through some of the new features for the game and talked over what I could look forward to getting out of this one…

The first thing that struck me is the quality of the presentation. In football management sims, I’m used to staring at the same dull menus – a massive issue for me in this genre as you’re usually just staring at a screen full of boxes and menus – but Bright Future have picked up on that and created some beautiful and intuitive menu screens. This was best shown off in the game’s 3D match engine, an enhanced and tweaked version of the previous FIFA engine that not only looks good, but provides minimal loading times in the transition from menus to game and certainly looks impressive.

The game plays out as if you were watching a game of FIFA but, at any time, you can make changes to your formations and tactics, differing from rival footy management sims by allowing you to make all of these decisions right there on the pitch, without having to trawl through lots of menus and sub menus. If you know that the opposition striker is dangerous and needs close attention, you can find the defender on the screen and check out his man marking stats while the game is still in full flow, and then instruct the defender to man-mark that target. As soon as you have made that man-marking call, you will see your defender attempt to get close to the striker, though unfortunately in our demonstration the opposition striker scored within seconds of being marked, but it just showed that it’s not a guaranteed way of always keeping your opponents from scoring. With defending as just one example I was shown, you can also make changes on the fly all across the pitch, instructing your midfielders to take more long shots and wingers to cross the ball more often, all while the game is unfolding in front of you, just like a real manager.

To read the whole preview click here to be transported to GamingLives.com

The Secret World – Preview

Forget what you think you know. Imagine a world where the lost city of Shambala suddenly reappeared on the world map, imagine a time where the lost city of Atlantis rises out of the sea and imagine a time where the earth that we live on is revealed to be hollow. Those stories, dismissed as myths and legends, are now all true and, with these truths revealed, dark forces come forth, storming the earth and spreading the shadow, waiting to claim anyone who dares to set foot into the darkness. The end of days is upon us, there’s nowhere to run and nowhere to hide. Time is running out and now is the time to choose a side; The Secret World is appearing in front of us.

The Secret World, a brand new MMO from Funcom, places you in a real world setting where everything you thought you knew about this world must be discarded. With darkness seeping into the world, there only are three secret societies willing to stand in its way:

• The Illuminati; with headquarters in an abandoned warehouse in New York City this group of shadowy figures are looking to rid the world of the darkness. By having their plants in high profile positions in governments and businesses around the world, they can do as they please without giving too much away about themselves.
• The Dragon; based in Seoul, South Korea, the Dragons motives are not entirely known to the other two factions. The Dragon feel they know the true meaning of the world and are the ones who sit in between the other rival factions, at times being able to manipulate them and bend them to their own will.
• The Templars; a lavish mansion in the centre of London Town is home to The Templars. With rich heritage and a history of battling the dark forces for thousands of years, tradition means everything to The Templars, although they are aware they must change with the times in order to keep up in the fight.

Not only will these factions be battling demons and the mythical creatures found rising from the depths, now they will be battling against each other. The Templars and The Illuminati are directly opposed, both wanting total control of the world but for totally different purposes. The Dragon on the other hand are very shady, slithering between the factions, ready to turn their back on one and offer their help to the other, but always in a way that benefits them, so that when the time is right, they will be the ones left standing when the dust falls and the sun sets on the end of days. “You can be whoever you want to be and play however you want to play,” says Ragnar Tornquist, creative director on TSW. One of the big differences with TSW compared to other MMOs is that this is a class-less and level-less game, where you are able to progress exactly as you please. PvE missions act as the base for you to gain skill points in order to equip new skills and powers to your character and, whilst I got a quick look at the skill wheel, the presentation I sat in on was unfortunately all in German, so I couldn’t tell exactly what was going on… helpful, I know!

To read the rest of this Preview click here to be transported to gaminglives.com

Bastion Review

Recently I have been struggling to find games that I really want to play. I’ve been picking games up and putting them down halfway through, nothing has really captured my attention. It’s never usually a problem I’ve had since I have been playing games. I always try to play titles that I usually wouldn’t, if I see people saying good things about a game I will pick it up.Flower was one of those games that I picked up and instantly enjoyed, and now the spiritual follow up Journey is top of my wish list for this year. Bastion is another game that had been recommended to me by quite a few people so I took the plunge and put down 1200 Microsoft Points.

I can describe the basics of Bastion very easily; start a new level, hack and slash your way through the level, pick up item, return to base. In a nutshell, that is Bastion… but leaving it at that would be doing it such a great disservice.

Bastion has a story that far surpasses a lot of AAA titles, unfortunately I can’t really say too much about the story because if you go into the game with too much knowledge it will ruin the experience. The first scene opens with you, The Kid, lying on a stone floor, you have no idea where you are and why you are there. When you move the analogue stick for the first time you are introduced to The Stranger who will tell the story of The Kid and his quest. The Stranger is ever present throughout the game, he will describe a lot of the actions you perform as well as informing you of the background of the world that you find yourself in and the enemies that inhabit it. A narrator is a great story telling device that when used correctly, as it is in Bastion, really helps immerse you into the world.

As you move through the first corridor the tiles on the floor rise up from below, guiding you forward, and fall away as you leave them. Secret areas can be found in most levels and if you love spending time exploring you will have a lot to get through. The rising and falling floors are another simple yet fantastic way of separating Bastion from it’s competition, and also adds a sense of mystery of “am I going the right way” even though, in truth the levels are quite linear.

To read the full review head over to Deathbyrobots.com