Game Review- Splinter Cell: Blacklist

          I've never really been very into the Splinter Cell series until Chaos Theory came out on the Xbox. At the time I couldn't believe how gorgeous and immersive it was running on the dated hardware of an Xbox, it looked comparable to a high-end PC game. I loved Chaos Theory, it really opened up the stealth genre for me and introduced many different ways of tackling a mission. No other Splinter Cell game has managed to entertain me as much as CT did, until Blacklist showed up. This new SC seeks to deliver a captivating new experience with missions that reward a number of playstyles. Finally you can play a SC game how you want, even if your methods involve removing the silencer and letting fly a frag or two. Ubisoft have a lot to live up to in this new installment, as does the new voice actor for Sam Fisher. So how does this new SC stack up with the others? Well let's skulk around below for the answers.

Sam, as seen here not being very discreet.

Story

          In this SC the good ol' U.S. of A. has come under attack by a highly secretive society of terrorists known only as the Engineers. These jovial individuals have started a chain of events that they call a Blacklist, a series of timed attacks that will take place on U.S. soil unless their demands are met. With its hands full, the U.S. government brings in Sam Fisher and the Fourth Echelon organization to help alleviate the situation and make all villains forever fear the shadows lest a middle-aged, unusually limber man pounces upon them like a puma wearing night-vision goggles. Blacklist certainly tells an interesting story, with a few characters making a cameo from Conviction such as the eccentric arms smuggler Kobin. Along for the ride on Sam's globe-trotting adventure are Grim, a hardened woman with a very business-like personality, Charlie, the resident geek and hacker, Kobin, like I mentioned above, and Briggs, an operative with a shorter temper than Sam and a penchant for ranged weapons.Over the course of the story each character is given an appropriate spotlight moment where their particular set of skills really shine, even though these instances only take place in cut-scenes. Blacklist more convincingly fleshes out it myriad of characters this time than Conviction did, setting believable people in an unbelievable situation. Most of the game's missions are undertaken while aboard the Paladin, a fully upgradeable military plane that serves as an armory, HUB, jail, and lounge for those aboard it. This setting lends some urgency to Sam's story, as he is constantly on the move from one part of the world to another. The nature of the Blacklist attacks are pretty horrific as each one is centered around a particular theme that makes America strong, such as American Consumption or American Fuel. The true motivations of the Engineers is never really revealed, with the final mission ending on a monstrously tall cliffhanger that might leave more than a few people frustrated with the narrative choices. Still, for its faults, Blacklist still manages to tell a painfully convincing story that might make you wonder if attacks of this scale and expert organization would be possible on America. Scary to wonder.

You will quickly come to loathe these armored enemies if you aren't stealthy.

Graphics

          I had a feeling that the new Splinter Cell would be upgraded to the UE3 after the majority of the previous games were running on the UE2.5, but boy was I in for a surprise. Blacklist is in fact running on a heavily modified version of the UE2.5 that has been altered for DX11 compatibility. While it would have been a welcome change had they upgraded the engine to something a little more modern, what they have managed to accomplish here is nothing short of miraculous. Blacklist is undeniably gorgeous in nearly all aspects, a SC game that when put on max settings looks something akin to a next-gen title. All modern graphics options are proudly on display here from HBAO, SSAA(albeit a bit glitchy), tessellation, parallax occlusion mapping, advanced shaders, fantastic lighting effects, etc. Every location in the game feels unique and extremely well designed, with one particular mission taking place in a storm ravaged European city. Water was pooling and cascading off surfaces realistically; even light sources were reflected upon the water's surface. The ambient details here are astounding and it will be very easy for the player to lose themselves in this fantastically detailed world. Textures generally run the gamut from relatively low-res to impressively crisp, with character models being on the middle portion of the detail spectrum. If  Ubisoft Montreal can accomplish this on an old engine then I can only imagine what they could do with a UE4 SC. Yes there is certainly room for improvement here, but what is on display is no less impressive.

Sam, seen here admiring the level design.

Gameplay

          This new SC encourages players to try one of three distinct play styles when tackling missions, offering incentive to focus on one particular style then come back and replay the mission while focusing on one of the other two. Ghost awards those who go unseen and use non-lethal means of dispatching foes, Panther is focused on players who prefer to kill out of sight and use an array of non-lethal gadgets, whilst the Assault style is pure run-and-gun mayhem. I personally found myself mostly sticking between Panther and Ghost as I took on new missions, as I had invested money heavily in armor and equipment which focused more on stealth than protection from harm. Oh yeah, this time Sam can buy loads of gadgets, armor, and weapons aboard the Paladin now, offer a wider variety of ways to complete missions. There is still a heavy emphasis on sticking to the shadows and staying quiet, but the huge array of tech to choose from makes it nearly impossible for the player to not consider venturing into a mission in an alternative fashion. The new Tri-rotor is one new addition worthy of mention; a little robot capable of silent flight and stunning enemies with electrified darts. This little baby can be upgraded with a sonar that pings enemy locations around it, providing Sam with updated info. Weapons handling can feel a bit clumsy if you do not invest in armor that adds to that stat, as Sam's aim with even SMGs can be thrown clear off the mark on full-auto or even burst fire settings. You are given plenty of options for taking out enemies; from lethal weapons of all sorts to gas grenades, flashbangs, sticky shockers, proximity mines, and even an awesome little crossbow with various ammo types. Yes, Blacklist really wants to give you freedom in how you carry out your assignments, and it does a stellar job in offering the player new choices after every mission. Aside from the story there are many different optional missions which usually don't take longer than 25 minutes to complete. You can access these missions either via the S.I.M. interface or chatting up your fellow colleagues on the Paladin. These missions vary from fighting off waves of enemies, completing three objectives in a small level, advancing through checkpoints till you reach the end, or engaging in co-op missions with Briggs. None of these are required to reach the end and offer neat little rewards upon completion. Sam's signature goggles can be upgraded a number of times, each time making Sam a little more omniscient each time to the point where he can see sound sources, heat signatures, foot print outlines, and energy sources. Nothing will escape your sight with the fully upgraded goggles, that is if you can afford to dump hundreds of thousands of dollars into these puppies. In missions you are given a choice in how you want to silently take down enemies: Lethal or non-lethal. This affects the story and gameplay in no discernible way but will affect your overall playstyle score. You will also come across H.I.V.s during missions which can be captured and detained for a large bonus of credits if you so fancy. Hell, you can even find Dead Drops and Engineer laptops to hack, adding addition info and credits upon doing so. Again, this is all left up to the player, you can either focus on the mission at hand or take a few detours along the way. The A.I. is extremely intelligent when provoked and will hunt you ruthlessly and in groups, they are not the easily exploitable mannequins from Conviction. The new heavily armored enemies are nearly impossible to take down from the front without blowing off their helmets first before you can score a headshot, requiring the player to assess the situation and plan accordingly. There are even drone operators that will be thrown at the player, enemies who jam your goggles and deploy small RC-like bombs that will scan the area for you. Te difficulty has definitely been ramped up, and Normal mode will provide a solid challenge for stealth enthusiasts looking to test their resolve against the dead-accurate A.I. This really feels like the beginning of a more open-world start for the SC franchise, a change that I would definitely welcome considering the well-implemented HUB features of Blacklist. A definite step-up from Conviction in all aspects.

The shaders at work here are duly impressive.

Sound

          Sound plays a very important role in Blacklist, it is the indicator of a nearby threat or coming engagement. The music in Blacklist cycles between dynamic and ambient tracks depending on if the player has been located by enemies, creating an audio cue that helps alert the player to danger. The ambient sound effects are impressive, especially in levels with heavy rainfall. Just listening to water running off a building's roof adds an underlying level of serenity to the audio design. The new voice actor for Sam does his job well, though he does make Sam sound about ten years younger. Its a shame that Michael Ironside is no longer with this series, however Eric Johnson provides us with a more contemplative and subtle side of Fisher that was lacking in the others. The supporting characters are all believable, with my favorite being the gun smuggler Kobin, who is renowned for being a complete smartass aboard the Paladin. Overall the audio department has been improved over Conviction, with no apparent downsides to note. The gruffness in Sam's voice will be forever missed though.

The guy in digital Winter camo sure sticks out here.

Conclusion

          Measured by the sheer amount of variety and focus on different playstyles, some could consider this to be the perfect stealth title. Much care has been taken by Ubisoft in weaving this new adventure for Sam Fisher, essentially overhauling every aspect of the SC universe and retooling it for maximum enjoyment. While the conclusion of this may not be the jaw-dropper some were expecting, it certainly leaves the door open for more of Fisher's unseen antics. The multiplayer section will not be covered in this review, as multiple problems arose with hackers, rage-quitters, and various balancing issues that caused much frustration while trying to remain objective. Hope Ubisoft will fix the multiplayer soon, until then the co-op missions will have to suffice. 9/10 (PC version reviewed)

Game Review: Amnesia: A Machine For Pigs

          Oh how I fondly remember my first playthrough of Frictional Games survival horror masterpiece Amnesia: The Dark Descent. It was one of the first games that truly left me feeling alone and helpless in a castle overrun with Lovecraftian horrors just waiting to play a grisly game of tug-o-war with my intestines. Every aspect of the game seemed to be created solely by a team of developers who all had PhD's in Psychology, people who truly understood how to fundamentally scare the ever-loving crap out of anyone who dared play it. Now after the portal has closed and gamers are looking for more reasons not to sleep at night, Thechineseroom has taken the reins from FG and made an Amnesia game of their own. This was met with skepticism from both fans and myself, as the up and coming indie developer's most notable work was the hauntingly beautiful Dear Esther, which is more of an interactive story than hardcore horror adventure. For this review I set aside any preconceived notions and expectations, wanting solely to experience an Amnesia game from the point of view of a different developer. The end results were fascinating to say the least, so let's get to it shall we?

What could possibly be offensive about this?

Story

            AMFP definitely has one of the darkest stories I've ever experienced in a game before, almost on par with The Dark Descent but minus the more supernatural elements prevalent in the first game. The story this time around is more grounded in reality, for better or worse, and your character Mandus must face the shambling abominations crafted by a mad man. The game opens with you waking up in your bed, which strangely has large metal bars around it. You soon come to realize that your two sons are missing and have likely gone under the manor to the dark tunnels below. What follows is a harrowing tale of human imperfection, scientific experimentation, a clever spin on class warfare, and one man's longing for redemption past the horrific atrocities he has committed. The story is the strongest aspect of the game, though I would have expected no less from the developers of Dear Esther, however the rest of the game suffers because of it. There is a singular focus on story and atmosphere here, with gameplay being kept bare bones to better convey certain overarching themes to the player. I'm not going to sugar coat this: Mandus is a terrible terrible person who has done things so vile that redemption should not even be possible for a monster such as himself, yet the game deposits you in his shoes and lets you experience this twisted world from his eyes. Scattered throughout the levels are notes, gramophones, and creepy humanesque telephones that let you discover a bit more about just what the hell is going on. These shed much needed light on Mandus' intentions and reasons for the crimes against humanity he has committed, revealing that he was once a sane man who succumbed to insanity due to crippling despair. Mandus is an effectively tragic figure, a man who wants nothing but the best for mankind, even though his actions are bringing about the damnation of the human race. The creatures in TDD were amazingly well-crafted and legitimately terrifying; you saw so little of them but encountered them so frequently and randomly. Keeping your monsters hidden from the player is an important necessity when crafting a survival horror game, something that the first Amnesia understood. AMFP throws this out the window a few times, providing prolonged, well-lit glimpses at its grotesque pig men. Though there is no doubt that they are disturbing and unsettling to behold, these monstrosities could really benefit from not being around so many light sources. This overexposure to them detracts from the terror they are supposed to instill within the player. The more I learned about them, the more I began to sympathize with the poor wretches, who were more victims of circumstance and poor luck than a supernatural affliction. To me this hurts the game, which carries "Amnesia" in its title. If it weren't for the title then I would only have thought that this was a game inspired by TDD, as the scare factor has been dialed down considerably and is now more akin to an extremely creepy haunted house tour. Another thing I must note is how damn impressive both the written and spoken dialogue are. The voice actors and writers have really outdone themselves in selling this ghastly world to the player, and the performances are definitely worthy of some awards if you ask me.

I'd be pissed too if I had to live in a glass container.

Graphics

          AMFP nails its immersion factor almost perfectly right from the start, only growing more eerie as the player progresses. Thechineseroom have crafted an extremely bleak, horrific world where you feel as if something could be stalking you at all times. Lighting was one of the strong points in TDD, and it continues to be a strong point of its successor, with a multitude of light sources spread throughout levels, slicing through the darkness that pervades most of the game. I was also impressed with the texture work and SSAO on display here, which is a definite step up from TDD. Various machines of infernal design are scattered throughout Mandus' macabre world, their intricate workings visible to the player upon closer inspection. Rust and blood coat much of this world, a testament to the subject matter presented to the player while at the same time increasing the immersion factor. Remember, this is not supposed to be a clean, sterile world. Animations are passable whilst enemy models are quite detailed and mortifying to behold. There was one strange glitch I ran into though; for whatever reason turning up the gamma ratio causes a blue haze to appear. This haze gives textures and lighting an extremely "washed out" appearance and detracts from the scare factor immensely, however I was able to circumvent this by simply adjusting the gamma in my Nvidia control panel. Overall thechineseroom have done an excellent job in creating the visual aspect for their new Amnesia game.

So realistic you can almost feel the eyes staring at you through that mirror.

Gameplay

          This section oddly enough might be rather short compared to some of my others. Thechineseroom has stripped out many key gameplay components that were integral to the first game, while ramping up the ambient horror and linearity. The game practically leads you from location to location by hand, throwing all manner of jump scares at you along the way. Even the lantern has been dumbed down considerably, no longer requiring tinderboxes or oil to be kept lit. If anything the lantern acts more like a flashlight, with a large, conical beam illuminating the environment in front of the player instead of around them. Most troubling of all is the exclusion of the sanity meter altogether from this installment, which really added to the sheer terror experienced in TDD. No longer will your vision blur when looking upon a mutilated aggressor, allowing you to fully gaze upon them instead. I don't know about anyone else, but having to actively avoid looking directly at enemies in TDD is one of the reasons the game was so suspenseful. You wanted to look at those monsters, the developers knew you wanted to look at their monsters, but they added a penalty for it that only helped strengthen the main theme of madness. Now what I'm about to say might influence your decision on whether to purchase this or not: You will die very rarely. The game seems to go out of its way to help you towards the climax of the story, with monster encounters being few and far between. Even the creatures you do encounter are usually ridiculously easy to bypass, merely requiring you to hide in the shadows and let them pass. The sense of impending dread is replaced all too often with a much more subtle sense of unease and hesitation, a definite step down from TDD where several times I refused to even walk down a hallway or open a door lest I discover something awful lying in wait. Puzzles have also been considerably reduced in their complexity, mainly now just requiring the player to fetch an item that is laying a few feet away and fitting it into the right slot. Ultimately everything feels a bit too streamlined and rushed now, as if the developers forgot they were making an Amnesia game.

Not what you want to see when walking into a new room.

Sound

          I tip my hat to AMFP's composer Jessica Curry, who has crafted a masterfully haunting soundtrack that will not soon leave me. This, along with the story, is the most well-designed aspect of the game. Everything has been brought to life with an ambient score that had me turning on a heel on more than one occasion to make sure I wasn't being stalked by something unseen. The pig men's ghastly squeals and grunts will definitely put you on edge, as will the hellish sounds of the machines running non-stop, going about their grisly duties as if they were alive. Worth mentioning again is the absolutely stellar voice acting which is backed up by a phenomenally well-written script. That is what really made the characters believable; how each line of dialogue was delivered with plenty of heart and soul. Thechineseroom have definitely matched TDD in this department, leaving me duly impressed and wanting to hear more of this dark world.

Hope you've had a Tetanus shot.

Conclusion

          What thechineseroom have crafted here is a bit of a paradox: A cut down, bare bones, strictly linear, overly simplistic Amnesia game that somehow still manages to impress with its deep pseudo-philosophical storyline, well-written characters, excellent dialogue, great writing, and sickeningly filthy atmosphere. While not what many fans were hoping for in the end, AMFP still manages to be both thrilling and horrifying enough to warrant a playthrough. Mandus' tale is one that needs to be experienced, for his madness is what dwells within every man. AMFP will show you the terrible things that desperation can cause, how all it takes for us to crack is just a push in the wrong direction under the right circumstances. Thechineseroom have revealed that locked deep inside a corner of the human soul, where are darkest secrets and desires are kept, we are all pigs inside. 7/10 (PC version available only)

 

Game Review: Saints Row IV

          Let me start off this review by saying one thing: I freakin' love Saints Row 4. I don't believe I have ever seen a game take such a wanton and casual approach to planetary invasion such as this one. Developed by Volition, SR4 is a game made just for the sake of being a game. It knows exactly what it wants to be and it repeatedly throws furries and superpowers at you to remind you of that. This is possibly record-breaking levels of moronic fun, a game with a deceptive amount of intelligence thrown into the design whilst remaining observably idiotic in nearly every aspect. I have never grinned so much while playing a game of this caliber before, it truly is something to be experienced. Now that I have conveyed to you an iota of this game's nonsensical nature, shall we nut punch this review into gear?

Be prepared to witness some strange sights on your journey.

Story

          Asking me to describe the story in this game is akin to asking me to give you a summary of every major action movie plot from the 90s onwards. SR4 takes elements from all of those plots and melds them together into some kind of horrifying plotbomination that makes you rethink what you know about a proper storyline. Ordinarily I'd call a game like this disjointed in nature but somehow this mishmash of story elements works wonderfully for this game. The story starts off with you, the leader of the 3rd Street Saints, embarking upon a secret mission to take down the General that escaped in the last SR game. Unable to accept the public's praise of the Saints gang, the General has decided to team up with Middle-Eastern terrorists and nuke Washington so America can somehow start over. As ridiculous as this opening sounds you should know that the crazy train is about to plummet down a mountain and end up in a zany pit of no return. After defeating the general and disarming the nuke, you land straight in the President's chair in the Oval Office, which somehow spurs a spontaneous election which sweeps you into office. I guess the American people have a heart for destructive badasses over peaceful diplomats. Or everyone in the world lost their damn minds because this is a Saints game and there is only bizarro logic. Sure, let's go with that last one. Soon after this election the Earth is invaded by a war-like race known as the Zin, a galaxy spanning empire hellbent on total domination. After having most of your gang members abducted, you try and square off with their leader, Zinyak, who quickly proves to be the better combatant. Seeing the destructive potential in you, he kidnaps the main protagonist and places your mind inside a virtual prison as a way of indoctrinating you to the Zin philosophy. This proves futile because your character is a complete psychopath, or a puckish rogue depending on your viewpoint, and thus begins an eye-opening tale of how a gang leading U.S. president kicked the collective asses of an entire alien empire. Yes, that is the story and it doesn't get much deeper than that. I cannot even call it weak storytelling because of how effectively implemented it is into the structure of the gameplay. Everything mixes so well that I cannot fault the creators for their rampant creativity. You just have to play it to really grasp what I'm talking about.

Why would powered armor NOT be in this game?

Graphics

          For those of you wondering if SR4 suffers from the same issues that plagued its predecessor, I'm here to let you know that you can rest easy. Performance in SR4 has been greatly improved over the 3rd entry, although both games look about identical to each other. If you have played the 3rd game then you'll know pretty much exactly what this one looks like. The game features great lighting, reflection mapping, fantastic particle effects, and detailed character models; same as the last game. Also ported over from the last game are the rather awful looking low-res textures, which are thankfully almost never pulled into the spotlight thanks to most of the game taking place in the evening.  Yes, most of the game takes place at night, which may be very disappointing to some given how the series has always had a day/night cycle and even a few weather patterns. After your first playthrough you gain the ability to change the weather and color palette of the world, though having access to this earlier on would have been more greatly appreciated and utilized by those who might like to perform xenocide during the daylight hours. Now getting back to those particle effects; I must say it works favorably for this game with how often random objects seem to explode and give off glowing sparks and embers, or how energy pulses out from one of your many super powers. Oh yeah, I forgot to mention that you get those to. I'll expand upon that in the Gameplay section later, as they really come into their own when given to the player. The city of Steelport, or to be more accurate the simulation of Steelport, is a lively place with all manner of strange characters prowling the streets after hours. Its common to see gimps, furries, and bikini models strolling around as if no one is paying them any mind. This kind of whackiness really helps sell this sequel's insanity, its just a shame they couldn't have improved the textures for the PC version. With the next consoles around the corner I don't believe we'll have to worry about low-res textures in console ports for much longer. So to sum it up: SR4 is a rather pretty game that seems well aware of some of its engine limitations and strives to only put its very best at the front for the player to witness.

Hmm...flashing red lights and alien guards, must be important.

Gameplay

          This entry is going to be tough to tackle considering the sheer number of gameplay elements present in SR4. The game offers an expansive amount of content to explore and acquire, such as various super powers, weapons, homies, and much much more. Now about those super powers I mentioned earlier. Since the game takes place mostly in a simulation, certain hacks become available throughout the game. These hacks are used to give your character fantastical abilities and powers, such as Super Stomp, Freeze Blast, and Arc-Lightning Telekinesis. I don't even have to elaborate on how awesome that last one is. These abilities will radically alter the way you play the game and are a massive shift in a new direction for the Saints Row series. Nearly right off the bat you are given the ability to run faster than most vehicles, eliminating the need to ever jump into one again. Vehicular transportation has been a big part of the series since its debut back on the Xbox 360, so it may come as a shock to some that the game tends to steer you away from riding from location to location. You can still pimp out your rides as extensively as you like, with a huge assortment of vehicles waiting to be discovered and newly added Zin vehicles to test out. The phone returns in SR4, allowing you to call up homies, vehicle delivery and more. Since you are in a virtual world your rides take no time to reach you, teleporting you inside them on the spot so you can immediately wreak vehicular carnage to your heart's content. I found this addition to be much needed, as the AI in this long running series tended to smash your beautifully customized sports cars just trying to reach you. The weapons are also vastly expanded, with each category containing several death dealing items that continues to expand as you progress further into the story or complete challenges. Most of the weapons feel over-powered, which is fitting considering you are a super power wielding president of the United States. All weapons, powers, and vehicles are customizable and upgradable, offering something for everyone. Want to take a Pulse Rifle from the Aliens franchise and pair it up with Fire Blast to barbecue an entire city block? Feel free to, this game doesn't seem to care how insanely psychotic you are. And you will revel in being the psycho. The game rewards you with new weapons and abilities for completing challenges that are mostly based on causing massive amounts of chaos. Among these new challenges are vehicle based destruction bits, super powered fight clubs, the returning Insurance Fraud and the like. To be honest it felt like there was less variety in the challenges around this time, like they just reskinned a few aspects for most of the events and popped them in-game. In order to gain new powers you must defeat these alien brutes known as Wardens throughout the game, though their numbers are not limited by storyline encounters. Get your wanted level high enough and one of these baddies will come tumbling from the sky amidst fiery rain, ready to bash heads with you. While mindlessly fun, the series seems to be showing its age, with Steelport seeming a little smaller than last time. I had completed every challenge and hacked every store after only completing roughly 50% of the campaign, which did allow me to focus purely on the story afterwards, but ultimately left me wanting more. Despite some of these issues what I'm about to say next makes up for absolutely everything the game does wrong: Dubstep gun. A freaking gun that shoots various flavors of dubstep. Dear god that is the best idea ever. Now I just need a gun that shoots metal music and I'm made for life. I could go on about everything else the game offers, but that would likely take a couple pages. This game offers so much to the player, you really get what you pay for here and then some. The series has aged well, with everything still working like it should, but hopefully in the next entry things will be a little more different. Larger locations would be nice, along with crisper textures, but then I just break into a sprint on the free-way; creating hurricane force winds in my wake that send vehicles crashing into buildings. And then I realize I've been grinning childishly this entire time.

That one guy standing behind the others seems oddly unconcerned about his impending doom.

Sound

          The musical score is exactly what you'd expect from a Saints Row game: Loads of different musical choices, a customizable track listing, and plenty of radio stations for the enterprising gang president on the road. Weapons have an appropriate level of bang to them while explosions hit speakers and headphones with massive force. Its almost as if you can feel the very shock-waves reverberating through you. The dialogue exchanged between the many characters is both hilarious and interesting, with the new villain Zinyak being a near constant source of Shakespearean quotes and condescending jabs at the player. Another thing worth mentioning again is the Dubstep Gun. Oh goodness does it sound so damn awesome to be able to slay your foes with heavy bass drops. Overall I found the audio aspect of the game to be consistent with the quality displayed in the other categories of this review.

Behold a Warden. Happy campers they are not.

Conclusion

           Volition have really set the bar much higher for themselves to top in this fourth installment of the series and its made abundantly clear that absolutely anything can happen after this. From what started off as a GTA clone in Saints Row, the series has become a shelter for those seeking pure enjoyment for its own sake. SR4 is about having your cake and eating every other person's slice too. Its just thrilling to use your newfound powers for mischief, tossing cars over buildings and ice blasting entire intersections. I can not more highly recommend this game to anyone who is looking to have a good, mindless time. SR4 is a fine example of when developer's let their hair down and tap into their creativity, they come up with ideas that would make a psychologist start popping pills. 9/10 (PC version reviewed)