Final Fantasy XIII

I heard a lot about this game before I played it. I saw very good previews and lots of material promoting its release, but I didn't buy it when it was first released. I always planned to and I was embarrassingly quoted in the Official Playstation Magazine (OPM) declaring my excitement on Facebook... I can't remember the exact phrasing but it included a reference to me wetting myself. Anyway, I didn't buy it, because I was busy and penniless and there were other games etc. This turned out to be a good thing. I heard so many negative comments about the game that I was quickly beginning to lose interest in the game. I knew that I would get around to it eventually, but the horrible things people had told me about it gave me no reason whatsoever to rush.

I had heard that the story was ridiculous and unengaging, the characters were stupid and weird (look at what you're buying people, its Square Enix!), the battle system was a step in the wrong direction and most frequently I was told that the game was linear. Obviously all of these points escaped the mind of the OPM reviewer, but how was I to know who to listen to? Usually I find that the reviews I read are accurate, but the previews are extremely unreliable. I don't think that previews are deliberately misleading, but more naively hopeful in regards to a game's potential. One game springs to mind... AVATAR!!! Amazing ideas, amazing previews, amazing story to work from and what did we end up with?! It was like going downstairs on Christmas day, pulling the ribbon from a gigantic, shiny, colourful gift box, opening the box and.... seeing another box, slightly less pristine, more weathered. Inside this one there's another shabby box... Several smaller, dirtier boxes later you end up with a tiny greasy matchbox in your hand.. you clutch it, knowing that this is the last box and your long awaited gift will finally be revealed. You slide back the outer sleeve of the box to reveal.... a little crusty gerbil turd. Introducing Avatar the Game.

Ok. Back to Final Fantasy XIII. The dilemma I had (very lengthily dramatized above) was that the previews had been very flashy and exciting, which is what geared me up for the release. This was all fine, but as soon as I heard negative things about the game from others, I was immediately doubtful. The ugly, dysfunctional, mentally ill ghost of Avatar hung over me as a reminder that I'd been betrayed once before. Long story short, I never got around to buying the game, but someone else did that for me. Thank you Emily. A good 50+ hours of gameplay later, here I am with my verdict.

'Misfits' is putting it gently

It's true, it's true, the first 6-8 hours of the game are prescriptive and you can't choose your team or your direction. This is obviously what caused people to brand the game as linear. It is. If the last Square Enix (previously Squaresoft) game you played was Final Fantasy VII then you won't find a similar open ended, world map experience. You might get a bit of de ja vu including a blonde soldier, a black gunman and a train, but you won't get a world map. The story line is much the same as always, a group of misfits brought together by fate and forced to go on a journey to save the world. However, the fact that 99% of the dialogue in this game is actually dialogue and not a blue text box means that it is possible to follow the cutscenes and conversations without needing laser eye surgery afterwards. The story is confusing and the twists and turns don't always make much sense, but to me that felt like part of the game- your characters had no idea why they were fighting, but they just went with what felt right. When new information was revealed, a new course of action began, which made the sidebars in the story crucial to the main plot. All in all, the story is enough, I think, to get you through to the end.

Next on the agenda is the way this game looks. This part is going to be very short, because frankly, it is immense. The cutscenes are beautiful and dynamic, the locations are varied and colourful, the characters have finally been successfully lip-synced to English dialogue and the monsters and enemies are visible before you enter battle, looking just as exceptional before as they do during battle. I cannot complain about the visuals in this game. Along with the soundtrack, sound effects and dialogue, the flawlessness of the graphics makes this game unbelievably immersive and actually breathtaking. (I know how cliched that sounds, but play the game, go to Pulse and stand on the edge of a cliff- you will be back here commenting on how much you agree.)

Pulse- This doesn't even do it justice

The gameplay, in terms of battles and clearing different areas can be repetetive, but by the time you've spent an hour or so playing, you'll know how you feel about that. I think that because of the new battle system and the ranking system based on time, the pressure to kill quickly and efficiently means you are always thinking and engaged, rather than leaning a lamp on the X button while you make a cup of tea. The linear nature of the game, while being a shock to the system, does fit perfectly with how the story unfolds. Your character has no idea how long they have left before they fail their quest, so it always feels like a race against time. This understandably means that pratting around with sidequests is not high up in the priority list. The treasure hunting and sidequests do open up after the main portion of the game is finished, so any die hard Final Fantasy perfectionists can still master everything (and will have to if they want all the trophies/achievements.)

I feel as though I've been a bit defensive in this post. I love this game and I would recommend that any Final Fantasy fan or avid gamer at least give it a try. I heard many negative opinions about various aspects of the game, but none of them stuck with me after playing it. The most detestable opinion I encountered was that the Leona Lewis song 'My Hands' didn't fit with the feel of the game and its conclusion. I denounce this opinion to the ends of the earth and hold you nay sayers in utter comtempt... you know who you are! I love almost everything about it and my only regret is that I don't have enough time to finish all of the side quests. There is one feature that irritated me beyond belief however... the death of the player character means Game Over, even if the others survive. Oh and another rubbish feature of the game... Sazh.

DannyDarko

Also if you want to check out some of the negative points I talked about... watch the review by Zero Punctuation: http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/zero-punctuation/1569-Final-Fantasy-XIII

Digimon World... it's Marmite

By Jyggalag






With my lack of funds preventing me from purchasing the much coveted Dragon Age 2 and PokeMon White, I have instead sought to satisfy myself elsewhere until such a time comes when I can get my greasy mitts on the aforementioned games. Thus came along Digimon World for the PS1 as recommended to me by Mr Darko (I'm sure anyone giving a shit enough to read this knows who he is). Now, he first recommended this game to me when discussing my little nostalgia piece and I argued that the only reason he wanted to play the game again was because of his nostalgic feelings towards it. Yadda yadda. Mr Darko searched the web until he found a cheap copy of the game from a respectable seller and then waited frantically at the letterbox (I'm being quite literal here) until his coveted game arrived. Didn't see much of him for the next few days after that, except for whenever I went to make a cup of tea. Eventually I caved and decided to play the game as well.

Now, we all know what Digimon is. We all watched the cartoon as a kid... well at least most of us did. There was always a big argument at the table during school dinner times as to which was better, PokeMon or Digimon. So even if you didn't watch it because you were "too cool" (but of course back then it WAS cool, so don't try denying it you dirty little liars) or you're a backwards hick raised in the middle of nowhere, you'll certainly know what Digimon is.
My first thoughts of the game were lukewarm, to say the least. I'll admit to being a bit of technology whore and if a game ain't flashy, it rarely impresses me. Now released in 1999 I wasn't expecting anything fancy but to be quite honest, there was a certain charm to it that only Japanese game developers can pull off.

I didn't pay much attention to the game's opening. For some reason a tiny child is dragged into the Digital World. Rather conveniently his mother has "nipped out" and left this small child home alone, so at least she doesn't have to get into a panic about her missing boy. But you know... plot devices and all that. Anyway, all a manner of crazy shit is going off in the Digital World and its up to the small boy to help rebuild and repopulate File City. With the help of a wise old creature named Jijimon the young boy is partnered with his first Digimon (I got Gabumon, which was always my favourite) and sets out on his adventure.

Gabumon: What's not to like?

For an old game, the game world is pretty expansive with dozens of large areas to explore, littered with quests, tasks and monsters to battle. The game is pretty much an RPG, you have to raise and "level up" your Digimon's stats in order to get them to Digivolve and depending on their stats depends on what they Digivolve into. Unlike PokeMon however, the evolution of your monster is much more complex. Whilst the game encompasses all the basic functions of an RPG, it also serves as a sort of... tamagotchi-like game. Your Digimon need to eat and if you train them too much they become exhausted. They need to sleep, they age and even die and if you don't take care of them properly their life expectancy will shorten. They also shite an abhorrent amount (or "go potty" as the game itself puts it). How you take care of your Digimon effects what they Digivolve into. The game tried to reinforce the idea that taking care of your Digimon is the best thing to do... however to get some of the best Digivolutions you have to have certain conditions, and some of the conditions include "care mistakes" where you purposely mistreat your Digimon. So naturally, I wanted these much better Digimon and rather cruelly unfed my partner and let it shite all over the floor to its heart content.

Don't treat your Digimon right and you'll end up with this turd-eating beauty

Now, for a game that is obviously trying to tell kids to take care of animals, this sends a somewhat mixed message. Each Digimon has a Happiness and Discipline bar and depending on your actions these change. After my Digimon had taken the last dump it needed to be unhappy enough to Digivolve I actually began to feel awful. I just looked at the Happiness bar (which now had a little red angry face next to it) and was half expecting some Digi-equivalent of the RSPCA to turn up and take my Digimon from me. But they didn't.

After a few more hours of playing and finally getting my Digimon to reach Ultimate Form, much to the contradiction of Mr Darko, I had become completely obsessed. I must have only explored three or four areas and I was determined to see more. I'd recruited several Digimon to work in File City and my Digimon was at last was happy with me. Everything was going great and I could see why Mr Darko had waited so eagerly for this game. But then the worst happened. My Digimon died. He had reached the grand old age of 20 (in-game 20 days, which is only a few hours in real time). After moving some dirt from a tunnel for some giant furry testicle with a horn on its head my Andromon just laid on the floor and died. I was gutted. I'd worked the little sod from when he was just a rookie into the big, metal monster he was then and he just died... just like that. But apparently 20 is a good age for your first Digimon so at least I could take comfort in that.

Now, Digimon world only sold around 250,000 copies in Japan which isn't great (at least by today's standards) and the game was only ever given an average rating by most critics. Apparently it's a game for certain types of people. If you loved the Digimon cartoon then Digimon World is just for you, if not, then you'll hate it. The game's greatest strength is probably its greatest weakness. It is such a deep game, but that's the problem. Unless you're following a guide you won't know what the hell you're doing. Now I'm one for exploration and to learn by yourself, but some people don't like that. Some people just want to know what to do straight away. That's why games like Call of Duty are so popular. You shoot people. That's all there is to it and its such a great and fun game.

Digimon World is game that requires a lot of effort and is probably why it never really took off in the first place. Sure there are plenty of people who love the game and Digimon World has become very popular amongst file sharing. It's pretty much the only reason anyone downloads a PS1 emulator these days. But that is where it ends. The Digital World isn't big enough to impress anymore.

Pokemon White

Yes. Another post about Pokemon. I decided two days was long enough to wait after release and bought Pokemon White. Every one of the Pokemon games has had more than one version and each time one has been much more successful than the other for some reason or another. This time it is White that wins. Not sure why, but it sold 13000 more copies than Black. Maybe because the black pokemon on the front looks stronger (it's a dual type dragon/skinhead by the look of it.) Anyway, the figures are in and in one day 1.08million copies sold altogether in the US, which I think we can all agree is crazy!! Enough said about numbers... let's get to my reaction!

Very wary of the changes to the look and the new pokemon, I prepared myself to be disappointed, but I couldn't help but hope my gut feeling was right. I might be alone on this but when I played Pokemon Blue when I was 8 I couldn't stop playing. My friend Paul and I would sit together in his garden, playing side by side (when we played at home we organised specific checkpoints which we'd reach in preparation for the next session.) The feeling of wonder and total absorption in the game is something I haven't felt since then. I didn't think I could recapture that kind of immersion without revisiting old titles like Pokemon Blue, Monster Rancher or Digimon World (All adventures with Paul!)

Well, I didn't look quite this bad... but very close

What am I banging on about? My point is that this is the feeling I'm getting with Gamefreaks newest offering! I actually caught everything I saw because it was cute or interesting or looked strong. Knowing nothing about the new world and the new monsters makes me as inexperienced and full of wonder as the 8 year old me obsessively raising my Pidgey on my original Gameboy back on Paul's garden swing.

I imagine that this game might appeal to newcomers a lot more than the previous versions have, but for me it's all about the nostalgia. The pixellated close up of your pokemon's rear is quite dissapointing and I feel like the pace of battles is a little slower than I would have liked, but overall I can't really complain. There are plenty of new pokemon to get to grips with and the story is much more engaging (so far.) The Team Rocket/Magma/Aqua/Galactic equivalent- Team Plasma- seem to be less of a joke and the issue of animal rights has finally been brought up like the giant Donphan in the room! (Looks like an elephant.. No? Give me a break, I'm tired)

Ok so they LOOK ridiculous

I do apologize for raving on about it like a giddy 8 year old, but honestly, that's how the game makes me feel. It's horrifying to write that because it makes me sound like a grade A loser and general freak, but I can't help being taken back to my first encounter with the pokemon games when I play Pokemon White. I do take comfort in the fact that at least one person will share this feeling of childish joy with me and refrain from discretely deleting me from Facebook. Thanks Neil.

And in case you were wondering... Snivy

DannyDarko

The Evolution of Pokemon: 1996-2011

Pokemon appeared on the scene in the 90s and became a global phenomenon. There was a T.V series, a trading card game, a bunch of toys and teddies and about four hundred thousand movies (Who gives a film the subtitle "The First Movie"?!) I'm sure every 90s kid must remember the Pokemon card ban at schools, the illegal trading in the playground and the ultimate confiscation of your shiny Gyrados. Bad times... Anyways... Moving on. You could get just about anything with a Pokemon theme, but it all began with a game- well, two games actually: Pokemon Red and Pokemon Green on the original Gameboy.

Told you you could get a Pokemon
 version of just about anything...

Released in 1996 in Japan, the games were very successful and a third version, Pokemon Blue was released. In Japan, these three versions sold a total of 10.23million copies. Since the release of these three games, they have been sold across the world as well as the following versions: Yellow, Gold, Silver, Crystal, Sapphire, Ruby, Emerald, Fire Red, Leaf Green, Diamond, Pearl, Platinum, HeartGold, SoulSilver, with Black and White due for release this March. There have also been a series of spin off games, but I will stick to the main series for the purposes of this post. Put simply... There are a tonne of Pokemon games and their popularity doesn't seem to be shrinking!

 There were originally 151 Pokemon and I often hear people say how they wish no more had been created because it just got silly or too complicated. There are 649 Pokemon now which means that for an avid player such as me there are almost limitless possibilities in terms of squad combinations and replayability. This is the big selling point- the fact that you can restart these games so many times and experience them in a different way depending on the Pokemon you choose and the way you raise them. BUT... every version so far has had the same storyline and driving plot: a simple country boy happens to obtain a Pokemon via someone's generosity and decided he/she wants to fight and win the 8 Gym badges required and challenge the Pokemon League. Along the way you always somehow become an inspiration to others and general legend. So if I've paid £25-35 every few years to play basically a newer-looking version of the same story, why I am ok with it? Am I even ok with it? I'm not really sure. 

Pokemon SoulSilver



Pokemon Silver



There has to be a reason that there have been two sets of remakes in this series. People obviously want to play these games again and again. This would be a brilliant business boost for any company, but the fact that Nintendo sells these games means it's just another day at the office- slap some better graphics on it and send it out the door, they'll lap it up!

Too cynical?... Ok..

While the basic story stays the same, certain elements are changed with each new offering. New features have included: a visible Exp. bar, improved sprites and animations, new stats, new moves, new types, new pokemon, new evolutions, new items, new environments, double and triple battles and obviously better graphics. It's a difficult thing to actually name what feels wrong about this series and its returning story, but if the basic premise of the game did change, would it even be the same game? As one of the GameFreak team said in an interview with Nintendo Magazine, you wouldn't remove dribbling and allow travelling in basketball in order to make it more fun, because that would suck.


The different sprites of the player. They look different, but they all share
 a love of hats- except number three. He's rocking an 80s headband thing...


There are plenty of opportunities to experience the Pokemon world from a different angle with a different gameplay mechanic and story; Pokemon Stadium, Pokemon Pinball, Mystery Dungeon, Pokemon Snap!, Pokemon Ranger. So with so many choices and such an in depth development of each of these branches, what could anyone have to possibly complain about? You know what you are buying if you purchase one of these games, so obviously people aren't rushing out to buy Black and White hoping for a totally new game that they don't recognise. By the look of things this time, however, that might be just what they get. This change seems to me to be the biggest so far, with 156 new Pokemon and no inclusion of the familiar ones until the Elite Four is beaten.

Easy now...

In the end it seems that the Pokemon games have evolved much like creatures in the natural world have- very subtle but crucial changes that creep towards the perfect construct. There always seems to be a way to improve them, but you never know it without hindsight and you never feel like it was missing in the first place, until it was there.

DannyDarko

Nostalgia: A good or bad thing?

A look at remakes, sequels and reinventions
By Jyggalag

Now I don’t know about some of you, but I certainly remember my first gaming experience. It was on the megadrive and it was one of those very popular and very common vehicle games where you took control of some type of flying vehicle and went through various top-to-bottom scrolling levels whilst shooting the crap out of everything that moved. You know the sort of games that you can get now on mobile phones. I’ve got one such game on my current phone, which might as well be a brick that needs charging every now and then. I think the only reason I still play the game on my phone is because I remember the similar games I used to play and enjoy when I was younger. Still, it’s weird to think how the once pinnacle of gaming technology is now replicated on small hand-held devices, which aren’t even supposed to be used as gaming platforms to begin with. But I digress.

It’s this nostalgia that I think is really important in modern gaming. I doubt I’m the only one, but whenever I play a game I’m always comparing it to something I’ve already played and how it reminds me of this and that. Developers are also well aware of this sense of nostalgia, which is probably why there has been an increase in game remakes over the years.

Like film remakes, these have not always gone down well. One only has to look at the piss-poor attempt to remake Space Invaders to see how badly remakes can be done. Some of these remakes however have been received well, Tomb Raider: Anniversary and Metal Gear Solid: The Twin Snakes being two prime examples. The games were praised by critics and they introduced many new fans to both series’. But for some traditionalists (like myself) something about them wasn’t quite right. Now don’t get me wrong, it was nice playing the first game again with visual improvement. In the Twin Snakes Snake actually had eyes instead of lines and in Anniversary I could happily oggle at Lara’s perfectly rounded assets because I no longer had to question if it was weird to perve on a woman with triangular tits. But still, something about them both didn’t sit quite well with me. I think it was because, to me, the first Metal Gear Solid and the first Tomb Raider were such perfect games. I wasted away hours of my life sat at the tv screen playing them over and over again. And then these remakes came along, as if stating that the first games weren’t good enough and they needed improvement. Perhaps I thought it was insulting. That something I felt was perfect others were saying needed changing and making better. In truth though I think my xenophobia attributed to my disliking on Anniversary. After all, it wasn’t a British company that was now at Lara’s helm, but an American one.

One of the first games I purchased for my PS3 was Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots. I am an absolute Metal Gear fanboy and this game was a must-have for me. During the fourth chapter of MGS4 you (as Old Snake) return to Shadow Moses Island (the setting of the first game) now on the verge of sinking because of global warming and the base that you used to spend hours trying to infiltrate stealthily is now derelict and abandoned. For me, this was far more exciting than playing The Twin Snakes ever was. In the remake I’m just playing the game again and any nostalgic feelings I may have are virtually unnoticeable. But with MGS4, I was revisiting the old game, rather than simply replaying it. The character was older, I was older and things had changed. During this chapter there are chances to show “flashbacks” if the player presses a certain button at a certain time. When viewing these flashbacks and traversing through the abandoned Shadow Moses facility I didn’t remember my more recent play through of The Twin Snakes. Instead I remember being nine years old (yes I was that young, but that’s a WHOLE other issue) and playing the original game for the first time. This is true video game nostalgia and I think more developers would be wise to follow in Kojima’s footsteps and incorporate similar themes in their games.

Another game I want to discuss is Final Fantasy XIII. Now this game has been praised by numerous critics receiving awards of 9/10, 39/40 and 10/10 by Official Playstation Magazine (UK), Famitsu and GamesRadar respectively. However many fans of the old games criticized the game quite heavily and I myself will admit to being sceptical about it. All I heard from other fans was that it no longer felt like a Final Fantasy game and that there had been too many changes. I was told the game felt linear, the AI of the new battle system took away player freedom and there weren’t even any blue text boxes! Not only that, the trailer for the game had proven quite controversial amongst fans. I didn’t like it. For me, the music of Final Fantasy was always a mix of opera, melodies and various heavy rock and experimental metal tracks. Instead we were presented with a western song sung by a western pop star whose voice often drowned out what the characters were saying in the trailer. It just didn’t feel right to me. It wasn’t Final Fantasy. A close friend of mine however loved the trailer and thought that the Leona Lewis song was just right. And he has been a Final Fantasy fan just as long as I have. Combining all this, I was put off from buying the game and avoided FFXIII with earnest. It wasn’t until recently that I discovered it was truly a good game and that despite the changes, it was still Final Fantasy at the core and it has so far proven to be just as much of an emotional rollercoaster as the previous games. My love and nostalgic feelings for what (I thought) made a true Final Fantasy game caused me to miss out.

Our nostalgic feelings for the good games of old may be the only reason that those games are considered good. If we went back to an old game and started playing it again now, would it still be as good? Now, whenever I go back to an old game I still find it fun. I recently cracked out my copy of Tales of Symphonia for the Nintendo Gamecube. The last time I played this game I was fifteen and had an unhealthy obsession with anime and JRPGs. I’m now more inclined to western, “grown-up” RPGs such as The Elder Scrolls and Dragon Age but I still found myself enjoying ToS. The humour was immature, the storyline not all that original and even though there was character development it was far from brilliant, with almost all of them fitting the JRPG stereotype. But I still loved it and I can safely say that Tales of Symphonia is still my favourite game. However, despite the gaming industry only just finding its feet, Tales of Symphonia is still a fairly recent game and if we’re talking nostalgia for the old classics we’ll have to go back further.

We haven’t had an official “Golden Age” of gaming yet. There seems to have been one for almost everything else. Detective Fiction, Hollywood, Comics, Cartoons and even Porn! To me the “Golden Age” of gaming is before my time. Arcade games like Pacman, Space Invaders and Grand Prix were what “set the standard”. Everyone knows what Pacman and Space Invaders are and I can guarantee (go out and ask if you don’t believe me) almost everyone will describe them as “classics”. Some might say the same of Sonic the Hedgehog and Mario, but seen as how those game franchises are still going strong I’m not going to talk about them. Plus those two games bring up the whole issue of “selling-out” which isn’t what I’m discussing here.

Looking back at Pacman and Space Invaders with a modern viewpoint, what was so special about them really? A gluttonous, fat, yellow ball that spent its entire life (which varied depending on monetary issues) gobbling up pixilated dots and “ghosts”. And Space Invaders was nothing but “pew pew” shooting of weird-shaped, extra-terrestrial invaders. But you can still find them in arcades to this day, and they still bring in players. Also original arcade machines for these games sell for thousands over the internet. I still can have hours of fun playing Space Invaders and Pac Man and so do many others. But is it because the games are genuinely good or is it because these games are “classics” and there’s this collective nostalgia associated with them? Do we convince ourselves that they’re good because of their status as “classics”? You see it all the time with films and books. The Catcher in the Rye is considered a classic (despite controversy, which in truth it’s not even bad) and I’ve lost count of the amount of times I’ve read or heard it described as brilliant. Yet I found it incredibly boring.

What I’m trying to say is that perhaps nostalgia isn’t always a good thing. In sequels for example I believe it works well (as in MGS4) and fuels enjoyment of the player experience. But it can also ruin a player’s experience and leave their opinion rather skewed. Try to think of it as a big cake. It’s nice to have a little piece, but too much is bad for you.

But of course, the cake is a lie...

Jyggalag

Would you kindly?

Hopefully if you've played this game you won't need telling what it is... of course it is Bioshock. Released in 2007 on 360 and PC, but joyfully appeared on PS3 the following year (joyfully because how would I have played it otherwise?) Just to jog your memory: you play as Jack (apparently) although I don't remember ever being informed that your name is Jack. After being in a plane crash, you swim to the surface and discover Rapture. Rapture deserves a new paragraph because it is amazing.

 

Make sure you pack your Speedos



Andrew Ryan... bit of a sexist?

  Rapture is an underwater world and a gamers dream come true. Created by Andrew Ryan, this underwater city has 'NO GODS OR KINGS. ONLY MAN' which is interesting because the inhabitants of Rapture are more than human, they have been genetically altered through the use of plasmids. Andrew Ryan created this world on the basis that the inhabitants could shape their own future and 'with the sweat of your own brow' you can live the way you want and shape your own future. The idea of leaving the laws and morals of the real world and creating your very own is a very seductive, but dangerous one. Bioshock shows this perfectly with a city in ruin, leaking all over the place and falling in on itself. The only inhabitants left are all absolutely crazy and deformed from abusing the power of plasmids. They dedicate their lives to their search for the drug they need, which is ADAM. Only Little Sisters have this so obviously that's who the splicers are looking for- trouble is there's a Big Daddy in the way most of the time. That's where you step in: you have to fight off the wierdo masked splicers and the drill-armed, grate-faced, size-58-shoed Big Daddies. All this for a chance to have your morals tested by a creepy little girl.



Why wouldn't you want to
save this cute little face?



Basically the story revolves around the Little Sisters and the way you interact with them. You have to bust up a Big Daddy if you want to get to them, but once you do you can choose to harvest them for their ADAM or save them by removing the slug inside them. There are greater rewards for harvesting them, but you get a warm fuzzy feeling if you save them. Anyone that knows my gaming habits will know that I love a good choice and that I obviously saved them (being the devout and pious being that I am) but the choice does hang there throughout the game and the extra rewards for harvesting them are just enough to make a budding sociopath see reason in slaughtering a child for more drugs. Seriously though, I love me some moral dilemmas and this game delivers there. The game has different endings depending on whether you're more Gary Glitter or Ghandi and I can say with no shame (well, minimal shame) that I shed a single tear when I got my ending.

With one of the best settings I've encountered in a videogame, I would say that Bioshock sits up there with my favourites. The mix of first-class gameplay, a stylish and consitent in-depth setting and a brilliant, shocking and genuinely affecting storyline makes this a perfect choice if you want to play something complete and contained. There is a downside to all this glorious underwater heaven- apparently the sequel is turd... I'll have to test the waters (see what I did there?) Now would you kindly comment and click the "Follow" button?

DannyDarko



Heavy Rain: SLIGHT SPOILER WARNING (only slight... live dangerously)

I know it's been a while since it was released, but I just finished playing Heavy Rain. The number of questions this game raises in terms of ethics, immersion, genre and appropriate content is insane.

Let's start with ethics: this game actually made me think before I killed someone!!! I remember playing GTA2 at the age of 10 and delighting in a kill frenzy involving a flamethrower and some pedestrians. I used to park vehicles in a row so they would blow up in a chain! I must have (virtually) killed more people than Stalin in my time, but I have never given it a second thought until I played Heavy Rain. When the game presented me with a scenario that potentially endagered my partner- detective partner... behave yourself- I couldn't decide what to do and ended up being unable to move. This was incredible because I didn't care for either guy, it was just the thought of taking a random human life that stopped me. How many times has that happened in your videogaming life?

Immersion is unlike any other game. I will admit that the opening of the game doesn't really help with immersion because it feels so wierd, but perhaps that is necessary to estabish controls before the good stuff begins and immersion is essential. I literally panicked like mad when I had to try to save my son... after I had made a difficult choice my head fell into my hands and I second guessed myself. When I found out who the killer was I was so angry and upset. Basically immersion like no other!

Genre is a strange one in this game. Is it an action/adventure? Is it a really long QTE (Quick Time Event)? Is it a detective game? Is it even a game? It could be described as more film than game, but then again don't be fooled into dropping the joypad and sitting back- that got me punched in the face by a drug dealer. It's not going to satisfy people who just have a pure and simple bloodlust, but then again its not going to be like anything that you've played before, so the only way to know is by playing. There's a demo on the PSN store for free (but it doesn't do it justice).





The final point I want to mention is the content issue. There was a bit of media fuss over the nudity and violence in the game, because it's quite real. Yes the lady gets naked and yes you see her chesticles, but if any one of you reading this seriously got anything from seeing that then please leave a comment so I can berate you accordingly. The way that nudity was used in the game was quite mature, I thought. Madison needs to be established as an attractive, but troubled woman and by stripping away the layers (excuse the pun) and showing her at her most vulnerable in her first scene, we get past that and can get to know her better- or so David Cage argues anyway. I didn't get that from the shower scene, I just felt uncomfortable, pervy and curious about the morals of the designer who created Madison's nipples. Fun fact: although we never got to see it all, Ethan Mars was fully developed and intact... probably for the best that we didn't see it.



Overall, an amazing game. I stayed up all night playing it and finished it in one sitting 9pm-8am. It is the only time I've ever stayed up all night without realising it and the only time I don't regret doing it. Everyone should play this game- if you don't own a PS3, find someone who does and play it!

DannyDarko