Game Review- The Evil Within

            Shinji Mikami has been trying to show gamers that he's bringing traditional survival horror back into the mainstream with his latest project, The Evil Within. After the enjoyable-but-nonsensical Resident Evil 6 deviated far from the series' founding roots, the creator of Resident Evil 4 took it upon himself to make gamers excited about survival horror games again. The primary way he has approached this is by making The Evil Within unforgiving and brutal in many aspects.. Difficulty does not make a good game though, so join me as I pick apart the innards of this creepy game.

Prepare to get covered in strawberry jam.

Story

            The Evil Within is definitely a traditional tale of madness and monsters, with its focus on Detective Castellanos as he investigates the scene of a grisly massacre at Beacon Mental Hospital. Once he arrives on the scene he finds a lone survivor muttering the name of the game's central antagonist, Ruvik. After checking a live feed and watching helplessly as three police officers are stabbed to death, Castellanos suddenly finds himself face-to-face with the enigmatic Ruvik. You wake up hanging upside down and dangling next to several mutilated corpses that are in the same position as you, then the Sadist steps into view. This is an apt name for this enemy, as he carries around a huge chainsaw and dissects various bodies as he leaves you to contemplate when he's going to come for you next. If you think that the game will adopt a Saw or Hostel type atmosphere from here on out then you are in for a few grisly surprises. Almost every chapter sets you in a radically different location from the area you just traversed, making the chapters feel more like random sections of a prolonged nightmare than a real, physical world. Each chapter reveals a little more of the demented, troubling story as you push through the hordes of shambling abominations in your mission to find answers to what exactly is going on around you. Is it all just a terrible nightmare? Is reality being manipulated and corrupted by a madman? These questions will linger even after you beat the game's lengthy 15 hour campaign, as the final cutscene is very vague as to what exactly will happen next. The Evil Within is a thematically diverse game, seeming to borrow from many great horror movies and games over the last few decades to weave together a creepy narrative and piece together the grotesque creatures you will face. The stories of H.P. Lovecraft frequently popped into my mind throughout various points in the game, and I couldn't help but smile and nod as the game kept introducing monsters and locations that seemed inspired by the material he wrote. The story's greatest strength is its ability to continually surprise the player as they progress through a warped reality, keeping a consistent cast of characters throughout and avoiding the typical narrative overkill that other triple A titles seem unable to avoid. The Evil Within's plot and conclusion are not for the faint of heart, this is a game that flaunts it's Mature rating every possibility it can. It is a darker, grimmer Resident Evil 4 that's story never quite reaches Amnesia levels of scary, but does instill the player with a sense of revulsion and unease that sticks with them until the end.

Do not let this chick touch you. She's not right for you.

Graphics

            The Evil Within is a visually diverse title with many different striking environments and enemies to behold. Levels are packed with detail and debris, along with copious amounts of vital fluids staining most surfaces. Each chapter has its own unique feel, so levels never become boring or too graphically repetitive before the next chapter rolls around. Most light sources in the environment generate dynamic shadows, adding another creepy layer to the atmosphere when you see the shadow of a monster cast upon  a nearby wall or floor before you can even lay eyes on the beast itself.

Enemies run the gamut of disgusting and unnerving, though the human-like fodder becomes a bit mundane to fight as the game progresses. From chainsaw-wielding psychopaths, a giant mutated hound, multi-limbed monstrosities and even water-bound beasts; EW will throw creeps inspired by decades of horror culture at you and see how you scramble desperately to survive.

 For all of its grisly environments and disturbingly detailed monsters; EW has a host of performance and visual issues. One would expect a game running on the id Tech 5 engine to achieve a near constant 60 fps without problem but this is sadly not the case. Performance issues plagued my entire playthrough, though thankfully never dropped below a solid 30 fps while I had the framerate uncapped. It seems that it simply is not possible to get EW to run at a constant 60 fps on any hardware configuration, as other websites have tried exactly just that with disappointing results.

Coupled with performance issues are the annoying black bars that take up roughly 30% of the total screen space, touted by the developers as being an artistic choice while remaining confounding to anyone actually playing the game. The zoomed in field of view doesn't help matters either, it only worsens the headache you'll likely get from staring at the back of Castellano's head for the entirety of the game. Aiming with weapons zooms this in to a near unplayable level and leads to me feeling as if I have to aim through a damn sniper scope for every snap shot I try to make at a rushing horror. This is not how you should try and make your game harder, the gameplay and encounters should prove challenging, not the mere act of aiming your damn weapon or moving around. Artistic liberties can lead to some amazing games, however this can also lead to sheer frustration as the devs try and force the player to advance through the game as they intended, instead of how the player wishes to proceed. Forcing your audience to experience your product with features that should be entirely optional is not fair, we want to play the game our own way. We shouldn't be forced to suffer through those big black eyesores taking up the bottom and top portions of the screen, we need those spaces visible. I was able to get around most of these issues by installing a third party screenfix program called Flawless Widescreen, and I heavily recommend that anyone playing the EW use this to fix some of the more obnoxious visual issues.

Visually this is a well-executed game, with plenty of sights and scares to offer, but the technical and performance issues are simply inexcusable for a game in this day and age. Players shouldn't have to download a third party program just to properly and comfortably experience a game, the devs themselves need to ensure that their target audience can have a good time. If this cannot be achieved then maybe the game isn't ready to be sold yet.

NOPENOPENOPENOPE.

Sound

            The horrorscapes of the Evil Within are brought to life by a genuinely unnerving soundtrack that serves to increase feelings of paranoia and dread. Nothing seems out of place and the sound design works flawlessly with no notable audio glitches during my entire playthrough, showing that the dev team did a much better job fine-tuning the sound design than they did optimizing the engine. Voice acting is convincing with just enough of that odd-dialogue that Japanese horror games are known for, making the game almost feel like its poking fun of its premise at times. Weapons are appropriately loud and sound almost antique as you put them through the killing ropes, lending believability to EW's more antiquated locations.

Enemies themselves have a range of gruesome sound effects and blood-curdling screams that they employ to make you as uncomfortable as possible, proving once again that sound can truly help bring a horrid beast to life on your screen instead of just showcasing detailed character models with poor sound effects. This area of EW stands a head above the graphics design; it simply works perfectly with the premise in a way that the engine performance simply cannot hope to match. Its such a shame the game wasn't optimized and tweaked better, we could have had a completely stable horror game with near-perfect levels of immersion.

You really don't want to find yourself in this particular situation.

Gameplay

            Resident Evil 4 is very much an inspiration for the many gameplay mechanics you'll find in EW, in fact I'd say EW has obsessively copied them almost identically. This isn't really a complaint, the two games are very similar and have the same creative director attached, so it makes sense that they would have obvious similarities. Luckily I can say that the player is not rooted to the spot like they've dropped anchor whenever they so much as raise their firearm, which was a rather absurd movement penalty in RE4 that I never quite understood the place of rather than to make the game more challenging. Yes, detective Castellanos is free to move around to his heart's content whilst blasting away at the hordes of mutilated baddies that come his way, though the zoomed in field of view creates the perception that you are almost aiming down a scope, making Castellanos' head obstruct a large portion of your field of view in the process. I suppose this is to increase the tension caused by not being fully aware of your surroundings, but its honestly a lazy way of achieving that effect.

An interesting addition to this game is the ability to burn bodies, though this mechanic loses much of its value once you start pouring upgrade points into your weapons, more on that later. Basically, enemies may or may not be dead when they hit the floor, so its up to the player's discretion whether they feel lighting up the corpse is worth expending a match. Its easy to tell whether an enemy requires an extra tap in the noggin or a fresh cremation as truly dead enemies will ragdoll while stunned foes will simply fall down and twitch. Turning a downed foe into a squealing roman candle is a surefire way of achieving a hassle-free kill and conserving your scarce ammunition supplies. An added bonus is that multiple bodies can be burnt if they are in close proximity, meaning with a few well-aimed shots to the legs you can cripple a mob before making a bonfire of them.

Now back to those upgrades I mentioned; EW contains a rather interesting upgrade system that literally has you collecting green goo from breakable objects and dead enemies in order to develop your skills further. Everything you can purchase is a passive upgrade, however that fits right at home in a survival horror game such as this. To upgrade you must enter these glowing mirrors that are scattered throughout levels, which will take you to the game's hub area where you can save your progress, unlock safes with collected keys, and plop down in the most horrific upgrade device I've ever seen in a game. A series of needles will slide into your skull and inject you with various chemicals as you spend your hard earned fluids. That's right, you literally torture your character into becoming a badass. Eeesh, talk about making the player uncomfortable. I've found the most effective upgrades to be the ammo increases and critical hit chance multipliers. If you can get a maxed out critical chance upgrade on a particular weapon, then you can kiss matches goodbye and simply pop heads like exploding grapes. Keep in mind that it is generally a good rule of thumb to upgrade your health first in any survival horror game, and that proves true here as well. You will die a lot, mainly due to traps and bosses, but I've been picked off several times by enemies who got in a lucky swing and dealt massive damage. Be sure to upgrade your sprint meter too, you are going to be doing an unusual amount of backpedaling in many areas to stay alive.

Stealth is a big focus for EW on your very first playthrough, becoming much more unnecessary when you begin the game again with all your weapons and unlocked upgrades. Sneaking around is easy enough, there is even a handy animated eye icon at the top of the screen to let you know if you've been spotted. Lesser enemies can be grabbed and killed quietly by sneaking up behind them, but the greater threats are best dealt with using guerrilla tactics. Don't worry too much if you are spotted, just run away and hide in a dark corner or room for a minute or so and the enemies will resume their usual patrol routes.

New Game+ is a welcome feature in TEW, as it lets you begin the game again using all of your purchased upgrades and weapons. This transforms the experience into a game that plays very similarly to RE5, with the player able to run-and-gun instead of having to slink around in the shadows. A heavy-hitting LMG and a rocket launcher also unlock after your first playthrough on Normal, while other weapons become available after finding all the corresponding collectibles. These additions to the core gameplay can make additional playthroughs enjoyable and even fresh, vastly changing the pace at which you can progress depending on difficulty.

Lastly, I wanted to discuss the daunting boss battles that await you within TEW. These rare, yet grueling encounters will test you in ways other shooters haven't, often requiring trial-and-error play and a great sense of timing to even stand a chance at surviving. While these fights may seem incredibly unfair at first, they are not badly designed, and merely ask you to look at your surroundings a bit more carefully before heading into almost certain death. You will need to be quick on your feet and use sound to your advantage, as you can hide in many of these dreadful battles. One fight early in the campaign has you scurrying away from a long-haired, multi-limbed blood siren as she chases you down corridors and around large, circular rooms. Unloading my weapons into her was not cutting it, and after dying a few times I knew that I was missing something. I won't spoil what I did, but needless to say it had been presented to me from the start, but I was just so used to how other games handle boss fights that I simply hadn't noticed it. This attention to detail is where TEW's boss fights really come into their own, forcing you to think about the options presented to you and your surrounding environment.

Might need to pack a few towels, just in case.

Conclusion

            The mastermind behind one of the greatest survival horror games of all time has released a worthy spiritual successor to that title. While TEW may suffer for its over-familiarity, what it offers in scares and sheer disturbing content is more than worth the price of admission. This is a horror game that gets the difficulty just right, punishing you hard for screwing up, while encouraging you to redouble your failed efforts. The two major flaws with TEW are its absolutely unreliable performance and its bizarre aspect ratio that I simply had to change to play the game comfortably. The latter issue was solved by Flawless Widescreen, but a solid 60 fps could not be maintained for any reasonable length of time.

If TEW gets a sequel, the dev team must make damned sure that it is more polished than their debut for this new and horrific IP; too many games are coming out of the gates either technically broken or severely under-optimized. While this certainly isn't broken, a bit more time and polish in development couldn't have hurt the final product. Should you buy TEW in its current state? That depends on exactly what kind of experience you are expecting. Are you wanting a rock-solid survival-horror adventure with tons of gore and a wild story? Go out and buy this now if so. Are you looking for a technically polished game with few glitches or graphical bugs? You may want to wait a little while longer for a few patches. Regardless of what category of buyer you fall into; TEW stands as one of the most engaging horror titles I've played in quite some time and I highly recommend it. (PC version reviewed)

8/10

 

Game Review- Destiny

            Behold fellow gamers, the much hyped Destiny has finally graced us mere mortals with its release! Surely a game so highly regarded and anticipated can possibly deliver on every last bit of that much dreaded hype train right? Well not completely it seems. Opinions on Bungie's newest IP have been fairly mixed leaning towards positive, though many gamers expected Destiny to be something very different than what they got in the final product. So what can I tell you about Destiny after having leveled a Titan Striker to 21 and a Hunter Gunslinger to 12? Join me as I dissect this purportedly "revolutionary" new console shooter.

Dat draw distance.

Story

            I remember when Destiny was first announced a while back, hearing Bungie brag about it's deep story and fleshed out lore that they wanted to immerse players in. Fast forwards to after the game releases, my Titan is nine levels short of hitting the hard cap and I still have no idea what the hell Destiny is even about for the most part. Story-telling is not this game's strong point at all, even your sidekick Ghost Dinklage cannot be asked to give you a history lesson after he revives your battered corpse and turns you into a Guardian. You unlock Grimoire cards by completing challenges and finding fallen Ghosts, which you cannot even view through a menu in-game. You have to either go to Bungie's website or use their Destiny mobile app if you want to read up more on the lore. I don't have to be an expert storyteller to tell you that this is not an effective way to integrate players into your story. Its a downright lazy mechanic that only serves to waste your time instead of making you seek to uncover more about the history of this strange universe. Now let's get into what little of the story is actually revealed. You are a Guardian, a warrior created by the Light of this strange omniscient orb known as the Traveler. The Traveler came to our galaxy as it fled its mortal enemy, a vast cosmic presence known as the Darkness. The Traveler terraformed many worlds in our system before settling on Earth and spreading its Light to humanity. Then war broke out as the Darkness invaded our solar system, bringing with it many waring species and factions that seem to have absolutely no ultimate goal or well-thought plans of any kind. The Traveler and Darkness fought, the Darkness was pushed back temporarily, however this advantage wounded the Traveler, which entered hibernation. Now the Darkness is returning and you must shoot the hell out of it because the Speaker says mass genocide is necessary. That's it. The intro has more story progression than the rest of the game. Bungie has said that Destiny will continue to evolve and unravel over time, which is still not much of an excuse for having a story that seems like several concept writers got together and mashed as many sci-fi tropes as possible onto one page and called it a day. The Fallen, Hive, Vex, and Cabal are all interesting races that I would have loved to learn more about but so little is unveiled about them throughout the game that you start to view them as nothing more than mobile loot pinatas. The Fallen were a once noble race that are attacking us for some reason, the Hive are freaking space necromancers that live on the moon and hate the Traveler, the Vex are time traveling robots that are the ultimate evil because a story character says so, and the Cabal are a bunch of planet cracking frat boys who don't need a reason to piss in your backyard. Destiny is a game that just begs to have a great, compelling story, and maybe it will in time. But for now we have a half-assed story that is rife with sci-fi cliches and has very little explanation for character motivation and events that unfold over the course of a playthrough. Come for the gunplay, not the narrative.

Prepare to do a lot of reloading when battling the Hive.

Graphics

            Since its first major reveal, Destiny has been quite the showcase for Bungie whenever they talk about the power of next-gen consoles. After having sunken well over 20 hours into the various worlds and areas; I really have to say that Destiny may be the most graphically impressive console game ever. Textures are sharp, aliasing is handled well with what looks like FXAA, lighting is mighty impressive, models are incredibly well-detailed, foliage sways in the wind, there are cloth physics in full effect for certain materials, and just a long list of impressive effects. Best of all Destiny runs at a locked 30 frames per second on both consoles with nary a hiccup in the frame rate to be found in even the busier battles the game will throw at you. It is easy to see where a lot of Destiny's budget was invested, this truly seems like a game that could only exist on a high-end PC or new console line. It really is a treat to watch a pitched confrontation between warring enemy factions or to see players activating their super abilities and laying waste to entire groups of foes in a flash of particles and light. You know this game is beautiful when you can just sit back on the shores of Venus and watch as day transitions into night, the crepuscular rays shifting as the sun moves across the sky and casts long shadows across the land. Destiny is a beautiful game with plenty of visual variety to offer; taking you to the eery depths of the Hive infested Moon, the lush, verdant jungles of Venus, the sand-blasted ruins of Mars or even the snow-covered plains of Old Russia back on Earth. Graphically speaking; Destiny is never dull for a second and the performance is rock-solid throughout with no dips that I could discern. That next-gen hardware is paying off for Bungie it seems.

Vex Minotaurs are not to be taken lightly.

Gameplay

            After a few hours of playing Destiny I came off with the impression that I was playing a game with a level of polish and refinement that is just rarely seen in this age of day-one patches and unfinished products. Destiny genuinely feels like a game the developers took their sweet time with, like its their magnum opus and they cannot bare for it to display flaws or glitches of any kind lest it tarnish their reputation as a studio. This transitions magnificently into the game world as you slaughter your way through hordes of enemies, where the gunplay truly stands out amongst its peers in other FPSRPG games. Taking feedback from the beta; Bungie have fine-tuned each weapon type so that it feels comfortable and uncomplicated to wield. Auto-rifles have a fair amount of recoil and decent magazine sizes, hand cannons feel like mid-range headshot scoring monsters, scout rifles are perfect for delivering semi-auto high-damage shots into critical areas, and pulse rifles are the ideal hybrid for anyone looking for a great compromise between rate of fire and damage. After this comes the special weapon category, which is composed of more specialized weapons for each range. The Sniper rifle is ideal for long range engagement with extreme critical damage dealing capabilities, shotguns are of course close range monsters that will keep melee enemies from getting the best of you, and fusion rifles are mid-range beasts that fire bursts of annihilating energy and deal high-damage but have limited magazine capacity. After this comes the final weapon category: Heavy. Heavy weapons consist of group splattering rocket launches and herd-culling heavy machine guns that are absolute nightmares to deal with in PvP.
        
            All weapon drops are random and come in the form of engram drops from slain enemies. Engrams have had a weird effect on players, including myself, causing us to rush forward in a frenzy after they clang to the ground from a fallen foe. To be honest I've started calling them "candy drops" due to their multicolored variety and general shape. Armor can also be equipped the same way as weapons and are acquired by the same means. When a weapon and armor engram is decoded by the Cryptarch in the Tower, higher rarity weapons have different slots and upgrade paths players can unlock by spending collectable resources in order to improve their gear. Its an effective system and ensures that rare, outdated loot can still be useful after finding something better to replace it. The only issue I have is how often rare and legendary engrams just decode into lower value items, this is a problem that needs addressing in a future patch as it can seriously detract from the joy players feel after grinding their way through strikes and missions for loot.

            Oh, about the different missions you can go on. There are Story missions, Patrol missions, and Strike playlists. Each mission type carries a random chance for different rewards while Patrol missions offer the best chance to gather crafting resources. Strikes are three-player quests that will see you and your Fire Team trekking through hostile grounds to face off against multiple mini-bosses before finally engaging in a show down against an end boss. Strikes are great fun to play in but the experience can be hampered by bone-headed team mates who sometimes embark on their own little hunt instead of aiding their allies. Nothing is more infuriating than having a team mate muck about while the other two are trying to earn better gear. Luckily this problem happens rarely as most people understand that you need team work in order to handle the more challenging boss monsters.

            The foes of Destiny are crafty and relentless opponents, employing a range of attacks and tactics than can challenge even a maxed out character if they are careless. Each race has its own strengths in combat but most of them share the same easily exploited weakness: The head. A few quick shots to the head with a powerful weapon is usually more than enough to end an encounter quickly, though some of the later enemy variants are infuriating bullet sponges that can require a full magazine to the face before they realize they're dead. The different races, while interesting, are also a glaring weakness for Destiny. There is simply not enough enemy variety for a game as ambitious and grindtastic as Destiny. Still, what is there is extremely well done and challenging to overcome, with even old enemies finding ways to surprise you.

            Now to the gunplay, Destiny's most satisfying mechanic. Rather than take a new approach to wielding weapons, Bungie has instead made your character highly mobile and tweaked the smoothness of the aiming to an absurdly comfortable degree. Lining your sights up with a vulnerable head has never been easier on a console game, which is a pretty damn good bit of praise. Even sniping on the move feels natural and not clunky like it did in Titanfall. Many times I found myself scoring headshots and precision kills while floating or rocketing through the air, a truly exhilarating feeling of accomplishment settling in my mind afterwards. Bungie has ported over the best of Halo's gunplay with none of its weakness, creating a shooter with shooting that feels fluid and responsive in every manner. For this, the devs are to be congratulated. Awkward, fidgety controls can destroy a player's immersion, but luckily Destiny suffers no such woes.

            Finally for the Gameplay section I shall conclude with an overview of the different classes available and their abilities. First off is the Titan, the archetypal tank with surprising agility. The Titan has two distinct subclasses known as the Striker and Defender. The Striker has the ability to slam the ground, releasing a massive shockwave of energy and slaughtering any non-Major or Ultra enemies in the area. The second subclass is the Defender, a stalwart hero that can raise up an impenetrable wall of light for their allies to use as cover. The next class we have is the Hunter, the sharpshooter focused role with all around balanced stats. The two subclasses for the Hunter are the Gunslinger and the Bladedancer. The Gunslinger's special ability is the most easily utilized, plopping a flaming golden hand cannon right into your grip with three devastating shots ready to fire. The Bladedancer utilizes a short range teleport and charged knives to make quick work of her foes and can cover ground alarmingly fast. The final class we have is the Warlock, the mage of Destiny that wields void powers to obliterate their foes. The two subclasses are the Voidwalker and the Sunsinger. The Voidwalker's ability causes them to levitate before unleashing a powerful blast of void energy that serves as an area of denial weapon. The Sunsinger plays the support role with their ability to cut their teams cooldown rates, insta-revive after death, and shorten grenade cooldown.

            All of the classes and weapons in Destiny feel like they've been polished to a mirror sheen; a lot of work and time has been put into ensuring that Destiny is one of the most well-balanced games of the year. The only problem that could hurt long-term replay value is its disappointing lack of variety for its enemies and go there, touch that  campaign structure.

I hear the moon is quite horrifying this time of year.

Sound

            Destiny is filled with great ambient sound effects that help bring the environments to life, such as the repulsive squishy sounds emanating from Hive architecture, the ululating cries of Fallen on Earth, and the various wildlife making themselves known in the forests of Venus. Even the enemies have interesting war cries and chatter that is not entirely discernible due to their respective languages, but it is always fun to listen to them panic when a grenade happens to land in their midst. Weapons also generate very  loud and convincing sound effects such as the gratifying boom of a rocket detonating or the clunk of a shotgun barrel being pumped; combat is alive with noises that really help to immerse you in the work of driving back the Darkness.

            Voice acting is generally very well done by the main characters in the story except for Dinklage's character Ghost. What should have been an outstanding performance by the renowned actor is instead akin to a very bored high-schooler just trying to get through his lines in a play. Dinklage just sounds very uninterested in his role and it shows, though thankfully there is nothing quite as bad as the infamous "Moon Wizards" dialogue from the beta to listen to. While the overall performance from the cast is solid, especially the Speaker, it does get a little tiring to listen to everyone droning on about how evil the Darkness is without actually explaining the motives of the Traveler or its enemy.

            I have to say that I absolutely love the music in Destiny, its has an orchestral quality that is very appealing to me though I can see how others may not much care for it. Hearing what sounds like wind chimes playing in the background when you enter the Tower hub area always makes me smile; the music conveys a sense of wonder and adventure wherever you go. I like the music so much in Destiny that I am even considering buying the OST. So take that as a positive opinion if you like.

Destiny sports the best skyboxes I have ever seen. Prepare to spend a fair amount of time looking up.

 Multiplayer

            The Crucible is the PvP portion of where Destiny takes place. Guardians are pitted against each other in a variety of modes to test their skills and claim various rewards. The possibility of unique loot only earned through Crucible participation is a great incentive to get people coming back for more. The higher your level the higher your chance of getting rare, legendary, and exotic gear are, giving even max level players a reason to keep showing up. Standard modes abound such as Deathmatch, Team Deathmatch, Zone Control and an interesting mode that pits two fireteams against each other with increased respawn times and puts a priority on the use of team work. Unfortunately, balancing tends to become an issue when you have players who have just started an adventure facing off against veterans who have started earning Light levels. While level advantages are disabled, max level players still have all their abilities and skill modifiers unlocked, making them an absolute nightmare to deal with for novice Guardians. Its almost unbearably frustrating to die time after time as a warping, shotgun toting Warlock zips across the level and closes in for the kill. Weapons and armor also retain all of their upgrades and enhancements, further adding to the unfair advantage that veterans enjoy.

            Overall the Crucible is an exceptionally addictive experience despite its completely random match quality, with the promise of new gear and faction reputation a tantalizing draw for multiplayer fanatics who just can't stop fragging. Bungie have essentially taken the multiplayer portion of Halo and infused it with a healthy mix of CoD, UT, and Tribes, creating an experience that, while not feeling wholly unique, still provides a more polished multiplayer fix than most games do at launch.

The first boss fight gives you a taste of how powerful the enemies can become.

Conclusion

            Bungie set out to accomplish a lot with Destiny from its inception, but they have ultimately overshot their intended goal for this sprawling MMO-like shooter. While the story, characters, motivations, and themes are incredibly forgettable, the combat, multiplayer, large worlds, and looting really shine through the flaws. Destiny could have been so much more, and in time it likely will be what the dev's original vision was, but for now we have  an extremely well crafted shooter with addictive gameplay, beautiful graphics, evolving content and a sense of wonder that doesn't disappoint. Destiny has failed to be the revolution that the video games industry needs, but where it fails it exceeds so much more in other areas. While not the game we were all waiting for to truly push consoles forward, Bungie have nonetheless crafted a an adventure that must be experienced. (PS4 version reviewed)

8.5/10

 

Game Review- Earth Defense Force 2025

          Back in 2009 a studio by the name of Sandlot released their first EDF game in the US; a third person shooter so zany and ridiculous that it managed to pleasantly surprise almost anyone who played it. The EDF series is known for its poor writing, dated visuals, terri-bad voice acting, stupidly fun gameplay, and oversized insects, robots, and reptiles. Now that it is 2013 and the somewhat passable spin-off Insect Armageddon is behind us; does this new EDF game match up to or exceed its extremely fun predecessor? Better bring some strong insect repellant; this game is buggy in all the right ways.

Big-ass guns will also suffice.

Story

          The story takes place eight years after the events of EDF 2017, with most of the world quizzically back to normal after the near extinction of the human race at the hands of the Ravagers. You are a member of the elite squad known as Storm Team; a not-so-secret special forces branch composed of the best of the best of each class of soldier. At the start of the game it is revealed that the Ravagers were hiding and rebuilding on the moon while waiting for reinforcements to arrive. Long story short: They are back with lots of new monsters, weapons, and a renewed sense of vengeance. As usual it is up to you and you alone (unless you are playing with others) to help halt this invasion in its tracks with a huge variety of weapons and strange technology at your disposal. That is pretty much the gist of the storyline; it adheres to the basics that all EDF games are renowned for. The focus is, as always in this series, centered solely on having a kick ass time. Let the extermination commence!

Its gonna get weird.

Graphics

          2025 is by far the best looking game in the series and a definite step up from 2017. Visually, everything has been improved across the board with dynamic shadows, higher-res textures, detailed enemy models, bigger levels, better particle effects, full ragdoll on almost every enemy, etc. Sandlot has really gone all out on this game, undoubtedly trying to give us a great distraction while they work hard on their already rumored next-gen EDF game. The swarming insects and fleets of robotic creations are back and in even greater numbers and varieties, flooding the screen with either weapons blasting or mandibles snapping in an attempt to overwhelm you as the developers gleefully display their best work in the series. There is a good amount of slowdown as the action ramps up and more bodies start filling the level, but the decrease in performance actually aids you in the more hectic moments when you need everything to slow down just so you can process the sheer insanity of everything going on around you. I must really state how happy I am that the devs decided to add many different weapon models this time around, staring at the same rifle or grenade launcher in 2017 could get old fast. Generally the more powerful a weapon is the more badass it will look this time around. Without a doubt this is the best looking EDF game in the series; a technical marvel considering just how much is going on as you play a mission. I must say that I am eagerly anticipating the announcement of the next game in the series, the thought of a next-gen EDF makes me squeal with joy. I have problems.

Because of course it has dragons.

Gameplay

          In most ways 2025 is exactly like 2017, only with added layers of refinement and tuning to make the core gameplay and features even better. EDF is a game series that has always concerned itself with being a game and nothing else. 2025 knows what it is; it never aspires to reach any higher. That is perfectly fine, seeing how we have a damn fun game here that could keep completionists busy for months just trying to unlock all the weapons and difficulties. Unlike 2017, this game features four different character classes suited for a variety of playstyles. There is the Ranger, which every fan of the series will recognize from 2017. This class serves the role of a balanced soldier, preferring assault rifles, shotguns, and rocket launchers to the other more specialized abilities employed by the other classes. The Ranger's special ability is a simple dodge maneuver that is much more useful that it sounds, letting you avoid deadly plasma barrages, acid saliva, sticky webbing and so many more things that would prove extremely detrimental to the health of an enterprising exterminator. The second class is the Wing Diver, an all female special ops wing equipped with jet packs and very little clothing. These fearsome ladies are able to zoom above the battlefield and employ their extremely effective laser and plasma based weapons, relying on their speed and agility to offset their abysmal starting health pool. The third class is the Air Raider, a support class with the ability to call down many different types of vehicles. If you have an affinity for mechs and tanks then this class should be your number one choice. The fourth and most unusual class is the Fencer. The Fencer is an extremely ponderous, heavily armored assault unit equipped with two weapons and two shields. What he lacks in speed the Fencer more than makes up for with devastating firepower and a fortress-like defense. Each class has its own entire arsenal of weapons that can be unlocked, a feature that will encourage players to test out each class and find which they are most comfortable with. Once on the field you are able to hook up with fellow EDF operatives and form squads of incredibly thick-headed AI soldiers that never stop yammering. Their dialogue smacks completely of B-movie script and is often hilarious; soldiers often contemplating the meaning of existence or complaining about their need for food as you are charging into a battlezone filled with giant insects and robots. The nitty gritty of combat is quite simple: Use any abilities you have and fire at things until they are dead, then saunter on over to any upgrade drops and go nuts collecting everything. Despite the extremely simple formula the game does this extremely well, giving you incentive to keep playing as it keeps throwing some extremely clever and just downright bizarre enemies at you to defeat. By the endgame you will be wondering why more games don't let you eradicate giant insects with laser rifles. There is something almost magical about how EDF manages to keep you entertained well after the credits have rolled; it is a game that knows its audience and how to keep them enthralled.

Yes, that is a giant foot behind those robots.

Sound

          The music is easily the most forgettable thing about the game. To be honest none of the games in this series have had particularly good music in my opinion. The music just has a very cartoon-ish vibe to it, which is definitely not out of place in a game where ants morph into dragons. The other sound effects have just obviously had so much more work put into them that the musical score just seems tacked onto the final product. Ambient sound effects are pretty much non-existent, with most sounds being generated by your weapons, AI squad mates, com chatter, and enemies. What is there though is very well done and more believable than what was prevented in 2017. Robots sound more mechanical and heavy whilst insects sound more like they probably would if you took their real life counter parts and increased their size exponentially. Aside from the corny music; everything else is still pretty solid and definitely does not detract from the experience. There is nothing more satisfying than hearing the resounding boom of a rocket detonating amidst a swarm of giant insects.

Can never have enough giant bugs.

Conclusion

          Overall, 2025 is definitely a step in the right direction for this long running series. It packs so much variety  and unlockables, more than justifying its price with offering players 85 levels of pure mayhem and carnage. Sure the game may be packed with filler, but its just more icing on this bug gut cake. Sandlot knows how to make extremely enjoyable games that you can sit back and have a blast with, putting gameplay before story to ensure all players have one hell of a time in the perilous world of EDF. For all of its problems and slight technical issues; I really must remind you that you can plow into a horde of ants and robots with a giant mech. You know that's awesome; I know that's awesome. If you are looking for a game with a deep, branching storyline then you need to look elsewhere because the story is just downright laughable. If you are looking for a game that is the epitome of Japanese tropes and culture, then this is your dream game. Now just sit back, relax, and blow the living hell out of some giant arachnids8.5/10 (Xbox 360 version reviewed)

Game Review- Ryse: Son of Rome

          Back during E3 Crytek unveiled their gorgeous next-gen brawler known as Ryse, a game set in ancient Rome during the barbarian uprising and the reign of Emperor Nero. Everyone was wowed by the level of visual fidelity that the game offered, but unimpressed by it's over-reliance upon spamming quick-time events. Now that the final product is out alongside the Xbox One, does this gruesome adventure justify the purchase of Microsoft's new console? Let's hack away at the chaff as we unveil the truth in Crytek's Centurion simulator!

One of the few surprisingly clean sections where everything isn't coated in blood.

Story

          The story of Ryse is one of its strongest features, alongside its impressive graphics and gory combat. The game opens with Rome under siege from the roaming barbarian hordes, with you taking the role of Marius, a Centurion in one of Emperor Nero's legions. As it begins you are immediately thrown into all out chaos and flung into the game's cinematic combat system as you clear groups of enemies along the path towards Nero's palace. Once inside you and the Emperor hide inside a secret entrance as you await reinforcements, giving Marius a chance to recount the tale of how he came to be. If anyone here has scene Rome or Spartacus, then you will know exactly what to expect: Grand journeys waylaid with danger and traps, loads of slow-motion executions upon foreign invaders, a slight dabbling of the supernatural, and a healthy dose of fickle Roman politics and intrigue. The characters throughout the game are very well acted and are very convincing, though the writers seem to have greatly altered the actual history of the Roman Empire for the context of Ryse. Marius is a strong and likable character immediately, a humble soldier burdened by extraordinary circumstances beyond his control. The tale of greed, lust, deception, and bloodletting is one that still sticks with me even after having long completed the single player portion, and ultimately that is exactly what I wanted. Ryse is a deceptively smart game under all the layers of dried blood and bone fragments, with a wonderful script and lively characters that really help to flesh out this time period. Once the credits have rolled you will likely yearn for the next installment like I am, if only for another taste of the gory combat and complex political machinations that ran rampant through Rome's greatest years.

Just one of the many unlockable executions on display here.

Graphics

          Crytek have crafted a visual masterpiece, just like they did with the Crysis series. Ryse is all about wowing you with its scope and high-polygon counts, being exceedingly good at doing just that. Environments come alive with tons of little details like fog lit by torches, grass and leaves swaying realistically in the wind, water dribbling off of large stone buttresses in an immense rain storm, and a huge variety of other effects. Character models are similarly fantastic, with even individual hairs on arms, chests, and heads being easily distinguishable. Armor gleams in the sunlight, light sources play off several layers of furred armor and hide, and severed limbs spew blood in a disturbingly realistic fashion. Another thing I must praise is the fantastic facial animations at work here, these are even better than L.A. Noire and further increase the immersion factor of Ryse to a new level. It really is something wild to perform these flashy executions on a foe and see the excruciating agony painted across his face as your blade carves through his flesh and spills his well-rendered blood. Realism can be disconcerting and shocking. The game runs very smoothly at almost all times with only minimal slowdown occurring when high-res fire effects are spammed onscreen. One thing I really must nitpick about is the strange lack of different enemy skins, as most enemy types come in only one or two flavors of hairy man and more armored hairy man; giving the impression the player is fighting barbarians with cloning abilities. That might make for an awesome sci-fi premise, but it does somewhat hurt the game's atmosphere when these beautiful environments are populated by soldiers who have the exact same face as the guy standing next to them. Now putting that aside, Crytek have managed to show us how great a launch title can look on the Xbox One, which bodes very well for the visual fidelity of the next wave of games we have yet to see. The future looks gorgeous here.

Another batch of soldiers won't be collecting their health benefits it seems.

Gameplay

          Ryse is a button-masher first and foremost, its combat systems designed to allow battles to flow as smoothly as possible. Hacking away at your opponents is simple enough and blocking works wonderfully, the addition of heavy attacks and shield bashes only adds more variety to the many skirmishes you face; but the real star here is the gloriously hyper-violent executions. Once an opponent has been significantly weakened a little icon will display above their head, signifying their weakness to an execution attack. Once initiated you will be locked into a set animation where you must match your button presses to a color corresponding with either your sword arm or shield arm. There are different ranks of executions and the higher you score on one the greater the health, experience, and focus gain shall be. While many complain the game is extremely repetitive, I instead see an effort by the developers to see you master these systems to become a truly ferocious fighting force. Most enemy encounters usually involve being surrounded by different classes of opponent, but some allow you to man miniature ballista turrets to fend off against massed waves of barbarians. These sections are mainly meant for you to admire the scenery and revel in the slaughter of your foes, but they do provide a nice little distraction from the near constant executions you will be doling out. Every now and then you will be able to shout at the Kinect to control your fellow Romans, who can be tasked with defending certain areas, providing helpful arrow volleys, and forming a Phalanx formation to advance on a heavily fortified position. A would loved to have seen this better fleshed out and used for more tactical instances, but one can see that Crytek is testing the waters of hopes to be a better implemented feature next time around. There are many collectibles to find throughout the campaign, though the focus is still mainly on the well-crafted combat system that never hesitates to throw you back into the bloodletting. I honestly would have liked more weapon variety as you are really only given a shield, gladius, and a pillum; though this complaint is rendered somewhat moot in the multiplayer section that I will cover later. For a launch title Ryse is impressive to behold and almost equally fun to play; however its over reliance on scripted events and linear pathways will no doubt miff some gamers.

The blue outline is your cue to use your gladius.

Sound

          Crytek's audio artists really had a blast with this game, as the music and ambient sound effects are almost exactly what you would expect to hear in war-torn Rome. Swords clang off another, shields crack against skulls, blood splatters messily as it impacts the ground, the roar of unchecked fires rage as they spread, and the cries of hatred and anguish almost become music of their own in the heat of battle. There is no weak voice acting throughout the campaign from what I can tell and it seems you need only go a few paces before someone is shouting at the top of their lungs and displaying acts of bravado. Marius is a strong character and having a strong voice only lends further credence and believability to his role as an unmitigated badass. The music is your typical ancient Roman affair with a fare share of trumpets, horns, and orchestral tracks to keep your blood racing. It really is a treat to experience when the music itself improves the overall gaming experience.

Such ghastly possibilities await.

Multiplayer

          Ryse takes a somewhat more conservative approach to multiplayer than most other triple A games. There can only be two human players fighting in an arena at any given time, with plenty of A.I. opponents to provide as fodder and challenge. Using such a minimalistic player count is definitely bold, and it allows the developers to create an atmosphere of brotherhood between the two gladiators as they fight their way through randomly selected arenas that literally pop out of the depths of the colosseum. With no one else to rely on other than your lone ally, the two of you will be heavily encouraged to cooperate and combine your divine gifts in order to proceed forward. A myriad of objectives await you in each environment, even some randomly generated ones are thrown in to spice things up as you hack and slash your way through the barbaric tides. The combat system is almost exactly the same as it is in the single player portion with only one key difference: Divine gifts. Before you both plunge into the action, you will be asked to choose from one of four Roman gods. Each of these gods provides a powerful ability that can be activated for a heavy Focus cost, changing the tide of a battle quickly. They can range from calling down bolts of lightning, exploding flame novas, a gust of powerful winds, and a blinding flash of light. Each of these abilities triggers a temporary passive boon, so use it at your discretion and do not waste them. Once you've beaten enough rounds with a particular god you will unlock a special item that can be equipped in your inventory screen. These items are unique and contain stat boosts that you won't find until much higher tier items, so commit to one god before moving on to another later. Remember that putting in your time will result in greater rewards later! Speaking of rewards, each completed round nets you experience and gold. Experience levels you up and allows you access to greater item bundles, whilst gold enables you to purchase said bundles for random loot! This system is very similar to that employed in Mass Effect 3 and is a great way to get players hooked, speaking from experience. Once you reach tier 4-5 items your gladiator will look incredibly pimped out and powerful, but this does require a significant time sink in order to achieve, so its up to you to decide how long you wanna stick around in the arena. Overall I'm impressed with Ryse's unique approach to multiplayer in its first outing, it takes a lot of risks and provides an exceptionally enjoyable online experience.

Rome has never looked so damn good...and ruined.

Conclusion

          With an engrossing story and enough blood to satisfy almost any gorehound, Ryse makes a strong first impression on gamers looking for a bloody good time. Though hampered by its own repetitive nature, the interesting characters, bombastic story, and purely addictive multiplayer component definitely gives this game teeth to compete against other launch titles. I'm sure I'm not alone when I say that I can't wait to see what direction Crytek takes their newly established franchise in the inevitable sequel. 8.5/10 (Xbox One)