The JPEG doesn't exactly flatter Flower's appearance

I’ve had some mixed responses to supposedly “medatative” games in the past.  Some games I’ve found can really support a relaxed atmosphere for the player, while others seem to make being calm as a challenge that must be acquired competitively.

Well Flower, a indie title from ThatGameCompany, is simultaneously both of these and somehow neither.  It’s one of a very small collection of games that manages to be more about the experience than the goal, and probably a member of an even smaller group of games that can make a convincing argument for the “games as art” debate.  Flower carries itself with a relaxed sense of style, and is capable of conjuring up some of the most beautiful imagery to grace gaming in a long time.

It’s even got me talking wishy-washy.

As the title suggests players take the role of a flower.  Or, perhaps more accurately, a flower petal.  From the moment it is plucked from it’s home, this petal simply wafts on an invisible breeze until the player gives it a direction to move in.  From here, your petal must collect petals from surrounding flowers, which open and begin to shape the landscape around them.  Opening a whole collection of certain flowers is greeted with an explosion of colour, as brown grass turns green and more and more petals fly up into the air.

(more…)

I hear the Standard Edition is even rarer than the pictured "Limited Edition"

Albert Einstein once famously said: “I do not know with what weapons World War III will be fought, but World War IV will be fought with sticks and stones”.  It’s a pity the brilliant mind didn’t live into the 21st century, because video games lately have been trying their hardest to answer the first part of his statement.

I’m reviewing Battlefield: Bad Company 2 this week, the latest mutliplayer shooter from DICE designed to spirit away our time online.  I specify multiplayer shooter because, like many of it’s current-gen peers, Bad Company 2 is an enthralling online experience with a single-player campaign thrown in.

In many ways, the great action game has come to reflect the great action movie.  Over-the-top, espionage based plots, set against exotic locales with sufficient big explosions to satisfy your average Michael Bay fan.  Bad Company 2 certainly delivers in all these regards, although it appears to have adopted a slightly more serious tone than the original game.  Sure, you’re still treated to some amusing banter here and there, but essentially much of B Company’s previous personality has gone AWOL.  In fact, anyone who hasn’t played the original could easily be forgiven for assuming the squad of military insubordinates were just regular soldiers with a sassy sense of humour.

(more…)

Before you ask, no, he doesn't kill people using origami

Low Level Spoiler Alert: While Heavy Rain can be quite easily ruined by someone telling you about plot elements before you get the chance to experience them first-hand, it’s almost impossible to give you my impressions without stating the situations to which they apply.  To this end, this review will bring up a few in-game situations characters find themselves in, but I’ll keep the character names and motives to a bare minimum.

I’ve found myself a little confounded at how best to explain Heavy Rain to anyone who hasn’t played it.  Quantic Dream’s new “interactive drama” for the PlayStation 3 manages to confound a great many base assumptions about games and on what level we judge them.  It’s probably easier to rule out a few things that Heavy Rain isn’t, rather than try to explain what it is.  It’s not an adventure game, as most problems that the game presents to you need little in the way of working out.  It’s not, in the traditional sense, an interactive movie, as characters rely on the player for both physical and psychological guidance.  It’s certainly not as revolutionary or as innovative as Quantic Dream head David Cage would have you believe, either.

Nor is it, as Sony head Jack Tretton may have you believe, completely unique style of game.  To better prepare myself with David Cage’s body of work before trying Heavy Rain, I purchased and completed Indigo Prophecy (also known as Farenheit) a few weeks ago to get myself in the mindset.  For anyone who wants to find out if they’d like Heavy Rain without the hefty price tag, I’d suggest doing the same.  For those of you who have played it, Heavy Rain is easily described as Farenheit HD.

(more…)

I just wanted to make this joke before anyone else did.  In other, less hilarious news, your original PS3s asplode…

Piggybacks are fine, Little Sister, just don't ask for a helicopter

The 2010 sequel season (sequelganza!) continues it’s unstoppable march with the release of 2K Games’ BioShock 2.  The highly-anticipated “Deco ‘n Daddy” shooter has been a long time in the making, suffering delays in 2009 and requiring no less than five game studios to bring to fruition.  Has the result proved to be worth the wait?  Or does the sequel fall prey to the high expectations carried over from the original?

It’s been almost three years since we last descended into Andrew Ryan’s Rapture, and from the moment you stumble to your feet in BioShock 2, you’ll feel like you never left.  In-game, however, it’s been ten years since the events of Jack Ryan’s return and Fontaine’s fall, events for which our new protagonist was, for all intensive purposes, stone dead.  Subject Delta is an early model “Protector” Big Daddy, who’s line was genetically bonded to a single Little Sister to increase the effectiveness of the pairing.  Delta’s Little Sister is Eleanor Lamb, daughter of Rapture’s new leader Sofia Lamb.  In the game’s prologue Sofia gains control over Delta and forces him to commit suicide, reclaiming Eleanor in the process.  Ten years later, Delta falls out of a Vita-Chamber and discovers that he’s regained his free will.

From here Delta must make his way back to a now teenage Eleanor and effect an escape from Rapture’s grasp.  Along they way you’ll meet both new and familiar faces, and discover a whole new side of Rapture in the process.

(more…)

Enemies trust a mock surrender from Rios' giant soulful eyes

“Let’s do the math on whoever screwed us later, and concentrate on getting the hell outta dodge…”

This line, spoken by Rios near the beginning of their latest title, Army of Two: the 40th Day, borders on a prescience that John Edward would probably kill to achieve. With this one simple line, he’s not only accurately encapsulated the entire game’s plot, but also predicted the reaction most gamers will experience by the time they finish. It’s probably close to the most succinct review I could give of this game, so if you want to save yourself ~1000 words of reading then by all means take this as my official sentiment too … you lazy bastard.

Army of Two: the 40th Day is the sequel to EA Montreal’s firefights ‘n’ fist-bumps co-op shooter Army of Two. The “just good friends” duo of Tyson Rios and Elliot Salem find themselves in Shanghai, employed to complete a simple mission that unfolds into the city’s complete destruction and occupancy by the enigmatic 40th Day Initiative. The 40th Day is commanded by an ex-military soldier called Jonah, a fact that will possibly escape you all the way up until you decide to kill him.

The majority of the game follows Salem and Rios’ attempt to escape the city. While I can appreciate what the developers have attempted here, to recreate a somewhat realistic military situation based on lack of information and rapidly changing situation, the result is less than impressive. The open nature of the plot strips most of the purpose out of the combat, which means the combat feels somewhat dull. (more…)

Zombies improve everything. It's science.

It was only a short time ago we got our hands on the RPG-shooter Borderlands, and we’ve been loving it ever since.  So naturally when it’s first DLC chapter, The Zombie Island of Dr. Ned, was released I automatically put up the points to buy it.  Why?  Well most likely because I’m a good little consumer who’s been deeply ingrained with the compulsion to hand over his money.  But that aside, what’s the best way to make a great game even better? Why you add zombies, of course.

Once downloaded, the new chapter isn’t too hard to access.  Jakob’s Cove, where the action takes place, can only be accessed via a New-U station’s fast travel menu.  It should be noted that you can travel there before even technically activating the fast travel service in the game’s plot.  I suppose this early availability is required, however, as Jakob’s Cove is a completely stand-alone area (hence the “island” part of the name), and the only way to enter is to fast travel.

Once you’ve made your way to the island, you’ll be greeted by the local Claptrap, who wants you to take care of this rather bothersome zombie apocalypse they seem to be experiencing lately.  He points you in the direction of the camp’s doctor, Dr. Ned (who totally isn’t Dr. Zed, as the game keeps reminding you) and from here on inwards you’ll be up to your armpits in undead minions.

(more…)

Every now and then a game crops up that gains so much love that we can’t agree on who gets to write it up.  Assassin’s Creed 2 is one such game, and both Mark and Matt want to have their say.

It would probably be classified lower if it wasn't for all the Italian swear words

Mark says: Ubisoft Montreal have seriously broken the usual stigma regarding sequels.

Assassin’s Creed 2 has you once again playing as modern day assassin Desmond, who in turn plays Ezio Auditore di Firenze, a decendant of previously played assassin Altair.  Yeah, I think that’s about right.  I had to try and explain the concept of the game to a friend who isn’t down the Assassin’s Creed 1 backstory.  It was … trying.

Okay, so the run down.

Set for the most part in 15th century Italy, you’ll be playing as this Ezio Auditore di Firenze fella. Standard sob story; your family gets knocked off by this dude, and you are out to settle the score.  But revenge doesn’t turn out to be a simple as Ezio might have expected.

Well, you could sum it up that way, but that kind of makes Assassin’s Creed 2 sound like an 80′s cop film, which doesn’t exactly do justice to the awesome writing that’s gone into this series. The game opens with Ezio facing what essentially is his boyhood enemy, Vieri de Pazzi, who is naturally a coward and hence, must eventually be stabbed in the face in the middle of the night. Beating up his posse leads you into a beautiful vista of Firenze, standing next to your brother on top of a church, exclaiming how life is kind of ace, and that things should never change.

And then they hang your father, older brother and younger (sissy, feather collecting) brother.  It was the plot twist that absolutely no-one saw coming from nine miles away (or 14.4 kilometers away, if you’re in the EU/AU).

(more…)

Obviously we're not talking interactive Parkinson here

Sony announced the launch of its very own television recording device in Australia this week for use with the Playstation 3 and they’ve called it… *drumroll please* …the PlayTV.

This probably isn’t surprising news to our readers outside of Australia – the device has been available in the UK for over a year. But we’re catching up at least, and it seems we get the device ahead of America (due to NTSC adaption issues) and with the same name.

Sony expects to sell 150,000 of the imaginatively-named units by Christmas in Australia, making it a major competitor with established names like TiVo as well as newcomers like Telstra’s T-Box. OK, so maybe Sony aren’t the only ones choosing obvious names for their products.

The PlayTV box with cost $169 on its own, or you can pick up a PS3 bundled with PlayTV for $599.

Read more optimistic quotes from the Sony brass about expected sales at The Australian.

We! Are! Faaamily!

Some of my fondest gaming memories from when I was younger involve the finger-crippling madness that was Tekken 3. For a group of dirt-poor students who barely had enough money to eat, the amount of time we’d end up drunk in front of our friend’s PSOne mashing buttons at one another could be referred to as “disturbingly frequent”.

So now I should say that up until Tekken 6 landed in my lap last week, Tekken 3 was indeed the last installment in the series I’d played. Although I’d always found Tekken‘s control scheme to be perhaps the best layout in fighting game history, I’d been cruelly woo’ed by Soul Calibur and it’s offspring ever since I’d obtained an Xbox.

So I’d built up a lot of personal anticipation for giving Tekken 6 a try. From what I could read, not a great deal had changed in the Tekken timeline since the end of Tekken 3 anyhow, so that wouldn’t cause any problems. Most of the characters I knew were still in it (what is Heihachi now, like 400 years old?) and the controls were the same as they’d always been.

Now Tekken, for whatever stage in video game technology it inhabited, has always been a good looking game, and T6 is no exception. Character models, environments and FMV are all beautifully sharp and well detailed. The detail put into the animation is also off the scale, and is clearly making good use of the hardware that the PS3 was throwing behind it.

(more…)