Bioshock Infinite Review

Video Review

Intro

Arguably 2013's most anticipated game is finally upon us, that game being Bioshock Infinite.  The original Bioshock revolutionized gaming with it's unique atomospheric based story-telling; along with having a mind-blowing plot-twist towards its finale.  While Bioshock got a sequel a few years back, that was adequate.  Infinite is the game that got fan's wishful.  Wishful that Infinite could live up to the ridiculously high standards set by the first Bioshock, along with being able to recreate the magic gamers experienced during their first playthrough into the dark twisted depths of the underwater city of Rapture.  Irrational games in this new game set their sights to new heights, quite literally seeing as this time around players explore a new city placed in the sky known as Columbia.  I myself was skeptical on whether or not a change in scenery would be enough to top it's predecessor.  Now having completed the game I find my skepticism surrounding this game to have been wrongly placed, because not only did they manage to recapture the magic; somehow they managed to completely blow the original Bioshock off its pedestal.  This is managed through some of the best storytelling I've ever seen done in a video game accompanied with a more refined yet similar combat system.

Well I guess if they're offering what's the worst that could happen?

Story

Story, undeniably is Infinite's strongest quality.  I really want to delve into all the things that make the plot so intriguing, but that would involve spoilers.  So, instead I will simply give a summary of the basic plot.  You play as Booker Dewitt, a roguish man with a mysterious past.   All the player really knows from the get go is that Dewitt gambled his way into a very generous debt.  One that is promised to be payed should he travel to Columbia, retrieve the girl (Elizabeth) and bring her to the man who hired him.

It becomes obvious early on that Booker is a hardened man, one who has seen and done more than any man should in any lifetime.  Basically he's got a lot of baggage, but more or less he has come to terms with the man he is.  His mind is hard-wired to completing his mission, and showing no remorse.  Or at least that was his plan prior to meeting Elizabeth, who he fairly quickly develops a soft-spot for.

Listen to the note DeWitt

Elizabeth the girl Booker is hired to retrieve has spent her entire life locked away in a tower by her father Comstock (we'll get to him later).  Her only company being the Songbird (basically a very large robotic-like bird) who acts as her friend as well as her warden.  Naturally Elizabeth feels very cooped up and aspires of being free and traveling to Paris of all places.  Obviously being trapped in a tower day in and day out Elizabeth has a lot of free time.  Which she claims is the reason for her being able to create tears in the universe.  A tear essentially is matter in a specific area being ripped apart revealing a gateway into another world, one that is both similar yet different to the one they're currently in.

Girl's got skills

 The dynamic between Elizabeth and Booker is an interesting one.  On one hand you've got Booker, a tortured man who understands the necessity of killing under given circumstances than on the other you've got Elizabeth who has been shielded from the darkness in the world and still clings to hope.  As the game progresses you see the two of them beginning to learn from each other, grow, and begin to become loyal to one another.  Elizabeth gives Booker something to care for again and she realizes the world isn't as it seems in hundreds of books she read.

Give me a high-four and a half

Comstock is the main antagonist in this game he is the Prophet, the founder of Columbia.  To the people he is their savior, their leader, and they would follow him to the end of the world.  He picked up the name Prophet, because he is credited with being able to see the future.  He foretold the coming of a False Prophet (identifiable by the marking of the letters AD on his hand), a man who would lead the lamb astray from her destiny of taking Comstocks place as leader after his demise.  If you hadn't pieced this together yet Booker is the False Prophet which is why everyone and their brother is trying to kill him, and Elizabeth is the Lamb.

The story is told primarily through simply playing the game and seeing everything for yourself, but there is the occasional cut-scene.  Cut-scenes in this game are all in-game and have the same quality of graphics as the game play itself.  The cut-scenes are scripted, but generally the player still has control of looking around and occasionally further interaction is necessary.

Alright well uhhh... let me just pull this outta your spine

Voice acting in this game is top-notch, to be honest it doesn't get much better than this.  Particularly Courtney Draper who voices Elizabeth.  She really brings Elizabeth to life delivering loads of emotion, and her performance never falters.  Elizabeth is further brought to life through some very realistic looking facial animations.

Just like the original Bioshock this game has one of those "Wow" moments woven into the games plot where everything comes together. When I was getting close to the end I wondered how they could possibly tie everything together in a satisfactory way.  I knew something had to happen yet I was still surprised when it did. Talk about some awesome plot twists, the games finale was well above my expectations, it's one of those ending that leaves you thinking and will remain memorable for years to come.  Take note that there is a little extra scene at the end of the credits so be sure and stick around for that.

Elizabeth!.. you're into some kinky stuff

Presentation/Design

Infinite is absolutely gorgeous to behold, it remains true to the artstyle of previous Bioshock games, but due to the new setting the color palette has changed drastically.  Columbia offers just as much atmosphere as Rapture did if not more.  In the beginning before being exposed as the false prophet the streets of Columbia were bustling with people to watch and eavesdrop on all there amusing conversations.  Even after being known as the false prophet there are still areas where the player can see NPC's going about their daily routines and such.  Instead of waiting for trains like we do in our world in Columbia the citizens have to wait for different segments of the city to "connect" and allow for people to cross, seeing as the city is suspended in individual bits.  The return of Audio Diaries, along with other forms of media further assist in bring the world of Columbia to life.  Audio Diaries allow the player some extra information, most of the time relating to the main plot, but also offer a personal perspective into different characters opinions and motives.  The Audio Diaries are collectibles that are actually worth picking just for the extra back story they offer.  Listening to them is convenient now seeing as with a simple tap of the D-Pad it will automatically begin playing your last Audio Diary picked up.

World in the sky!

The game is set-up very similarly to past entries.  Technically the game is linear, but the levels are expansive along with all being apart of the one city.  Due to these expansive areas there is plenty of exploration offered for the player.  Which teases the player into feeling like the game is open-world even though it's not actually a truly open-world game.  There are different districts in the city, and typically when travelling between these districts the landscape changes quite a bit.  These different districts could be seen as level changes.  For anyone confused as where to go players can activate a way-point that points them in the direction of their current objective.  This is a handy little addition although it's not nearly as perfectly implemented, such as the one in the Dead Space series.  At times the way-point acts a little glitchy along with only appearing for a few brief seconds, and offering only a vague direction opposed to an exact one.  This is a minor complaint, because it does it's job well enough.

Gameplay

The core Infinite game play is almost identical to that of the previous Bioshock games, instead of changing what worked well they decided to just add on to the existing structure.  This time around instead of using Plasmids the player is granted with Vigors.  Vigors function the same as Plasmids did.  There are 8 Vigors given to the player slowly throughout the course of the game.  Each Vigor is completely original, even if some have similarities to past Plasmids.  My personal favorite Vigor is called "Return to Sender" it acts as both a defensive and offensive move.  It allows the player to absorb bullets shot at him with the palm of his hand, and then shoot the bullets back towards his enemies.  The player can swap between a max of 2 equipped Vigors with a tap of a Left Bumper.  I thought it was kind of weird to only allow 2 Vigors to be equipped at a time.  I would've thought 4 or so would've been ideal.  Not that it's a huge deal because swapping Vigors in and out of the slots is pretty quick and simple.  All one has to do is hold the LB and use the Right Stick to put a new vigor into the selected slot.  But, I still found my constant need/want to swap Vigors kind of a nuisance because each time I did it took me out of the natural flow of combat.

Your hands seem a little dry...Would you like some Lotion?

I experienced a similar complaint when it came to weapons.  Just like Vigors only 2 weapons can be equipped at a time.  There is a large variety of different weapons in this game.  I was actually rather impressed with how many the developers decided to incorporate.  You've got multiple machine guns, shot guns, carbines, a chain gun, rocket launcher, type of grenade launcher, sniper rifle etc.  Unlike Vigors though you are unable to carry every type of weapon with you and just manually swap between them.  Instead it functions like your typical FPS you must swap weapons out as you find them on the map.  I think it would've been ideal if I could have at least carried 3 weapons with me at a time.  But, since First-Person-Shooters rarely allow more than two weapons to be equipped at a time I can't really complain.  I just feel that if I could have had more weapons at my disposal at all times I would've been able to feel better equipped and allow me to chain weapon kills together.  There were ton's of areas in this game where I would initiate a battle and realize that I really wish I wouldn't of traded out my sniper or man I could really use a carbine right about now.  I feel that if the developers would have allowed a weapon wheel accessible at anytime for weapons you've picked up, one that functions how the Vigor wheel does, than the combat would have benefited from it.  Along with preventing some annoying deaths where I couldn't find a new weapon and had low ammo on all my currently equipped weapons.  For the most part though weapons are found plentiful around the battle grounds, and some of the time the developers tried to place weapons that the player might find advantageous against the upcoming battle.

He didn't feel a thing...I Promise

There are some very smart additions added into the game play that truly help in making the combat more intense, and fun.  The best of these additions is how Elizabeth is handled during the game play.  Elizabeth despite being gorgeous knows how to take care of herself.  She will accompany you, through the games entirety, minus the times where the two of you become separated.  Elizabeth sets a new standard for companion AI.  Most companion AI's hinder the player more than aide, and typically will get in the way.  Elizabeth on the other hand is the complete opposite, she truly fulfills every promise one hears when developers talk about how awesome their companion AI are.  She will throw you ammo, health, money, and salts (salts are used up when performing Vigors think of them as your Mana).  She also picked up the art of lock picking from her years of solitude in the tower.  Along with all that she will point out things for you collectibles, and such that you may have otherwise missed.  As I mentioned she is not helpless, you don't have to protect her, and you don't have to help her across areas. She will follow you wherever you go.  Generally when it comes to female companions they need a lot of help crossing gaps and what-not, with Elizabeth this is not the case at all.  The best part of Elizabeth is somehow despite always being by your side, never manages to get in your way.  Plus since she is your trusty companion there is plenty of emotional chatter, and bantering between her and Booker.

Possibly most unique thing regarding Elizabeth is her ability to open tears up for you during combat.  These tears range from giving you cover, to granting you friendly turrets.  This extra little add-on is yet another thing that makes the combat so engaging.  The only thing that some people may find annoying is Elizabeth seems to be able to only have one tear open at a time.  But, I suppose it would be unfair for the enemies if she could open all the tears at once.

Remember Just Breathe

Another clever addition was that of Sky-Rails.  Sky-rails are used as a form of transportation across all of Columbia.  Early on Booker is given a device that attaches to his hand, which allows him to hook onto these sky-rails.  While hooked on the player can dictate how fast or slow Booker grinds along.  While this feature functions as a means of transport it also can be utilized during combat.  The player can shoot from these rails and also perform an attack where when aimed at an enemy whilst within range can jump off and perform an execution on said enemy, that sends them soaring.  Booker's nifty little gadget also acts as your melee attack, and can be activated with the Y button.  When enemies are low on health the player can hold this button to activate one of many gruesome executions on them.

Perhaps the past Bioshocks most unique quality was the brilliance behind the big-daddy and little-sister dynamic.  Personally I adored the relationship between the two.  Slightly underwhelming is the replacement of the Big-Daddy in this game.  In this game the Handyman acts as the substitution.  While the Handyman lacks the intrigue and emotional impact created by Big-Daddys and Little Sisters, he makes up for it in combat.  Fighting him is both intense and challenging, the AI behind him anticipates and reacts to your movements and attacks very well.  It doesn't help that he has the ability to wipe out your health rather quickly.  Sadly my first encounter with him was not near as epic as the first time I fought a Big-Daddy.  Strangely there isn't much reward for killing a Handyman either.  Every time I killed one the only thing I looted from him was health, salts, and cash.  I think it would've been nice if they at least would've given me some better equipment.  Luckily there are plenty of other unique enemies in the game that help balance out the Handyman's shortcomings.

Longevity/Upgrading

The game is a decent length taking between 7 and 12 hours to complete depending on how much exploring the player partakes in.  Honestly I believe that the length is just about perfect.  I feel that if it would've been extended any it might have began to feel dragged out.  Luckily though that didn't happen.  This is the first game in a long time where I couldn't put it down.  I never once felt bored during my time with it, and as soon as completing it all I wanted to do was start it back up and immerse myself back into the world of Columbia and experience everything I missed out on during my first playthrough.

"The Mountains of Man Shall Burn"

Vending machines make a return in this new entry.  Vending machines allow for ammo, health, and salts to be purchased, but also allow weapons and Vigors to be upgraded.  Audio Diaries are not the only thing that player can find strewn throughout the game, but also infusions which can be used to permanently increase health, shield, and salts.  On top of that the player can also find gear that can be equipped to Booker.  Each piece of Gear adds a unique ability to Booker.  For instance one piece of gear makes it so that after your shield is depleted the player will automatically move quicker which helps when needing to make a quick getaway.

Conclusion

Bioshock Infinite is above and beyond any expectation I had going in.  In my opinion it is an all around better game than the first Bioshock.  This new entry tells one of the best stories ever told in a Video Game, and it does it in an interesting way that allows for the player to never feel taken out of the game.  Infinite has some brilliant plot twists, and perhaps one of the most epic endings of all time.  Somehow the game manages to tie everything together in a more than satisfactory manner.  I completed the game two days ago, yet I still find myself mulling over its conclusion and I believe this story will stick with me for years to come.  The game has raised the bar in Video Game storytelling.  Elizabeth is an absolutely brilliant character that is brought to life both in voice and in animation.  She is the best companion AI I've ever seen in a game.  Combat is fluid, fun, intense, and engaging.  Vigors, Skyrails, new enemies, and weapon types are all great additions.  The game is gorgeous, and the world of Columbia bathes in atmosphere. I have no real complaints with this game at all, and any small issue I mentioned in this review was more me just nitpicking at perfection.  To be honest, no game will ever be truly perfect there will always be a small flaw, texture pop-in, glitch, or graphical hiccup in every game.  Bioshock Infinite though is about as close to perfection as games get.  A gem as fine as this game only comes along maybe a few times every console generation.  With that in mind, all that's really left to say is "Would You Kindly Buy this Game".

Pro's

+ Awesome Conclusion, an ending that doesn't disappoint
+ Plot twists
+ Elizabeth is brought to life and is an emotional master-piece
+ Elizabeth Redefines Companion AI
+ Combat is fast, fluid, and epic
+ The City of Columbia arguably tops that of Rapture
+ Might just be the best game I've played this entire console generation
+ An Instant Classic!

Con's

- Handyman could have been more intriguing
- Being able to equip more Vigors at a time would have been nice
- I wish they would've implemented a weapon wheel similar to the Vigors wheel
- Way-point system could use some fine tuning

Gears of War Judgment Review

Video Review

Intro

The trilogy may be over but that doesn't mean that the franchise has to be.  Gears of War Judgment is the first title in the series developed in part by "People Can Fly" the studio behind the not-so-serious Bulletstorm.    After taking into account the switch of development along with this not being a numbered Gears, instead acting as a prequel.  Gamer's feared that this Gears may turn into a bit of a cash-in, and less of a "true entry".   To my utter dismay this fear has become a realization now having played the game for myself.  The core Gears of War mechanics remain, but it lacks the heart of the previous entry's.  It also does not help that majority of the new design choices worsened the game rather than improving it.

So much red

Presentation/Story

Alright so let's get to it.  This game being a prequel focuses on supporting protagonists Baird and Cole.  Upon first hearing this I assumed that this game would sort of be a humorous misadventure tale with some great character banter.  An opportunity to flesh out some extra back story for the two characters, and allow for some growth seeing as they have the spotlight this time around.  Unfortunately they completely missed that opportunity.

New Characters

Accompanying Baird and Cole are two more characters, Sofia and Paduk.  The game opens with our band of misfits in custody being taken to trial, in order to plead their case before Col. Loomis (a real asshole of a guy).  Which causes for the story itself to be told primarily through flashback sequences as each character takes their turn telling a piece of the story leading up to their current predicament.   On paper I could see this concept sounding kind of cool, and perhaps it could have been if handled differently than it was.  Anyway you play the game while the current speaker is occasionally narrating what is happening.  Honestly, this narration becomes more of an annoyance than anything.  Perhaps this is because majority of the narration fails to intrigue and takes away opportunities for the characters themselves to have meaningful or humorous dialogue among-st themselves.  Also being a constant reminder that what you're doing has technically already happened, so the outcome of you're actions is predetermined.  Which made me just want to hurry up and get back to present day so something new could take place.

I Plead Not Guilty

Another strange decision was that of extremely spaced and limited cutscenes.  Very few cutscenes are used during the flashback sequences, instead they are used primarily to transition between who's speaking in present time.

Graphically this is probably the best looking Gears so far.  Only changes I noticed was possibly more vibrant colors along with the game seeming more shiny and less gritty.  Otherwise this game has your classic Gears theme, exaggerated characters, and excessive amounts of blood.

Gameplay/Design

As mentioned briefly before this game attempted to incorporate some new design features, if implemented better these features could have refreshed the franchise.  Instead they just made me miss the older games more, simply because they played so much better.  The first new feature is the addition of a ranking system.  The system judges the player on how well they complete each section, rating them on a 3-star setup.  3 being the best, and 1 being the worst.  I could definitely see where a rating system could be addicting and give the player further incentive for playing better.   Bulletstorm had this same rating system, and it did all of those things quite well.  For some reason I can't say the same for Gears perhaps it is because the rating system seems half-assed.  It works well enough but the way it judges you is not nearly as in-depth as the one incorporated into Bulletstorm.  This rating system feels more tacked on than it should.

In order to compliment this rating system the developers included Declassified missions.  These optional objectives can be activated via a glowing Red Skull symbol painted on walls typically at the beginning of a section.  Most of these Missions are directly in your path, and majority of the time I found myself accepting them.  All they really do when accepted is change the encounter of the enemies you're about to fight in someway.  Typically in a way that hinders the player further, and makes the battle more challenging.  A few examples of declassified missions would be a time-limit for completing the mission, making health not regenerate, making enemies hordes stronger by changing wave patterns or increasing health, and sometimes the missions can be rather amusing like one particular mission that forces the player and his companions to only use Meat Cleavers.  The only real reason for wanting to activate these missions aside from linked achievements is that when the missions are active they make stars accumulate faster.

The third feature added, well it's more of a change than feature, happens to how weapon swapping is handled.   This change bothered me a lot, probably because there was no reason to do it in the first place.  All it managed to do was make the controls less fluid..  So, instead of your weapons being handled by the D-pad like every other Gears game they decided to change weapon swapping to the "Y" button.  This change makes absolutely no sense and causes the control layout to take a step back instead of forward.  Before the player was able to swap between 2 main weapons, a pistol, and a grenade, fluidly with a simple tap of the D-Pad.  Now the player is restricted to tapping "Y" to swap between 2 main weapons which is fine, except you no longer always have your trusty back-up pistol. A pistol is considered a main weapon in this game, so it will take up one of your two slots.  Also because of the change in weapon swapping the grenade had to be mapped to a button.  Since Gears had always pretty much used every button on the controller the developers decided to map grenades to the left bumper.  Previously the LB was used to pull up a display that highlighted teammates and objectives.  So, after all of these layout changes the D-Pad previously smartly used to it's fullest extent is now in charge of pulling up that one little display.  It takes quite awhile to get used to this adjustment.  To be honest I'm still not really used to it and I've played the game well over 10 hours, yet I still find myself accidentally hitting the D-Pad for weapon swapping now and again.  The only benefit that one could argue came from this layout change is that grenades can now be thrown quickly and easily.

Buddy Where'd you go?

The game mechanics are basically identical to Gears of War 3.  Only additions aside from the control changes are a couple new weapons and a new enemy type known as the Rager, who well rages when provoked.  None of the new weapons are amazing, but they are nice additions that fit in well with the existing arsenal.  Only issue I found was with the Markza.  This new gun functions as a single shot rifle with a limited scope.  When scoped in I found that my bullets fired occasionally would hit the object close to where I was shooting instead of actually going where I was shooting.  This flaw happens often in third person shooting games, it's just a bit of a nuisance for the player. I'm assuming it has to do with perspective when scoped in it appears your shot won't hit anything but in reality when the gun is fired there actually was something in its path that isn't noticed when scoped in.  That or it's just some bad collision issues.  Either way it's not a big deal just makes the game look bad when it happens.

The campaign as I've stated handles the story in a strange manner, sadly the game play also is handled in a similarly odd manner.  It becomes obvious early on that this Gears lacks the dramatic set pieces and action sequences found often throughout all the previous Gears games.  This causes the game to become a bit repetitive along with giving the game an overall underwhelming feel.  But, it is the level design that causes this game to fall into complete and utter tedium.  Every level in the extremely short 4-5 hour campaign is overwhelmingly linear filled with boring enemy wave sequences.  While it's kind of cool in the beginning to come to an area and be able to fortify a defense against the impending waves of enemies, giving a nice nod to the horde modes of past Gears.  Generally you're only defending against 2-3 waves of enemies, so fortifying becomes less necessary.  Even the segments that are not wave based give the impression of it, due to the poor unimagined enemy spawn layout mixed in with lame enemy AI.  For some reason in this game the enemies majority of the time will always rush you instead of using any kind of cover strategy.  This constant rushing of enemies turns the gameplay into a dull repetition where the killing becomes at times a chore.  The rushing also can cause you to become overwhelmed by enemies all trying to run into you while shooting which can result in some annoyingly stupid deaths.

Put me Down

On top of everything else I noticed a couple more small issues.  First one is not really a huge issue, but the friendly AI in this game are not great.  They will get in your way, and occasionally you will catch them in the act of stupidity. whether it be running back and forth for no reason or running into an object.  They are not even close to the worst AI I've seen but they're also not up to par most of the time.  The second issue I encountered I'm unsure whether it was purposely done or an accidental glitch.  When you get downed in this game the normal locust will not kill you.  I don't understand why but they will literally run away from you when downed in order to let you live.  The only locust I found kill me when I was down was a Mauler, and honestly that might have been a accident.  I have only beaten the game on Normal difficulty, so I'm unsure whether the enemies continue to do this on the higher difficulties or not.

Online/ Aftermath/Rewarding

There are three things in this game that in my opinion save this game from being a "bad" game.  First of those things is a bonus mission called Aftermath unlocked after obtaining 50 stars.  Aftermath is actually intertwined within the Gears of War 3 story.  It could have been included on the Gears 3 disc and not felt out of place at all, but when placed on the Judgment disc it does feel out of place, but in a good way.  It plays so much different, and is better than the Judgment Campaign in every way.  It plays so much better because it actually feels like your playing Gears of War 3.  There are cut-scenes placed throughout the course of the mission along with the characters being humorous and having some of their classic bantering.  The level designs are much more interesting, the enemy spawn points compliment the flow of the game, and are strategically placed.  It's pretty sad that this one hour bonus mission felt more epic than the entire Judgment campaign.  Part of me wonders if this mission was already developed by Epic for Gears of War 3 and scrapped or originally planned as DLC, but instead wound up on the Judgment disc.  I only say that because it plays so much different than the Judgment campaign, it really doesn't feel like the same people who made Judgment did Aftermath.  Another clue is that the Declassified Missions and 3-star rating system are strangely absent from the Aftermath bonus mission.  Let me put it this way based on the 3-star rating system this game uses the Aftermath mission would get 3-stars easily while the Judgment campaign would struggle to get 1-star.

Just Saving the World

The second thing that acts as a savior to Judgment is the addicting yet simplified online, combined with its rewarding unlockables and in-depth stat trackers.  The online has 4 game modes, Deathmatch, Team Deathmatch  Domination, and Overrun.  Deathmatch is my personal favorite simply because I've never much liked team-based online modes particularly the large-scale ones.  I'm more old-school and like a simple everyone for themselves death match on a small close quarter map without too many players.  To me this enables for the most intense matches.  But, I know a lot of people now-a-days actually prefer team games and the most unique option for them would be the new Overrun mode.  In overrun teams take turns defending or attacking as the COG and Locust.  The Locusts always being the attackers attempting to retake areas on the map.  The Locust combat like they did in beast mode from Gears 3 just more refined.  When playing as the COG you can only choose predetermined classes to defend against the constant Locust attack.  This will likely be the most popular online mode for Gears of War Judgment, and that title is well deserved.  This game is extremely rewarding with ton's of extra weapon/character skins given through leveling up.  These customization options and rewards given create much more incentive for the player to continue playing.

Online is Fast-Paced

The final thing added into this game that saves it is the addition of Horde's Spiritual Successor Survival Mode.  Survival mode while not being as fun or addicting as Horde mode is unique enough to entertain.  Survival Mode functions pretty much identical to the online Overrun game mode.  The only difference is that you're always playing as the COG, and trying to prevent 10 waves of increasing in difficulty, AI controlled Locust from pushing the COG all the way back and overtaking the map.

Conclusion

Gears of War Judgment still retains the core Gears game play mechanics, but makes a considerable amount of changes that were mostly for the worse.  The story while being told in a unique way, was poorly executed and takes away from the games overall experience.  Cutscenes in this game are too distantly spaced, and used in a boring manner.  Tons of missed opportunities for character banter, and some extra back story.  Enemy spawn points and attack patterns were poorly designed.  Both friendly and enemy AI could have used some fine tuning.  The 3-star rating system fails to be addicting and lacks much needed depth.  The Judgment Campaign is a measly 4-5 hours in length, yet it becomes so repetitive that the end couldn't come soon enough.  Changes to the control layout seem like a waste, because the new layout feels less intuitive. On the plus side the game includes some decent weapon and enemy additions that compliment the existing content nicely.  The developers might be on to something with the whole Declassified Missions concept. I wouldn't mind seeing that concept further polished and transitioned into another game in the future. The bonus Aftermath Campaign makes up for Judgment's shortcomings, by showing everything Judgment did wrong for the player to witness even if it is only an hour in length.  Aftermath ties the Gears 3 and Judgment story-line together through recurring characters.  The game has an addicting and rewarding online with some unique game modes that help save it.  This obviously is the worst Gears of War game out of the 4, but that doesn't mean it's a bad game.  It simply tried to be unique by switching things up as any addition into a franchise should do.  Sadly majority of these additions did not turn out the way in which they were intended.  I still recommend any fan of the series to give it a try, but don't expect a lot going in. No pun intended when I say this, but this newest entry fails to be as "Epic" as the previous Gears of War Games.

Pro's

+Aftermath Campaign pays homage to past entrys
+Online is addicting and Rewarding
+Overrun is a unique and welcome game mode
+Survival is a decent spiritual successor to Horde
+Enough content and replay ability to justify a purchase
+Declassified missions, extra weapons, new enemy type were all good additions

Con's

-Judgment Campaign is boring and honestly kinda sucks
-Storytelling while being unique comes across as rather dull
-Missed opportunities for character back story and much needed character bantering
-AI and spawning flaws
-New Controller Layout is unnecessary and makes no sense
-The rating system is a clever new feature but lacks depth causing it to fail in becoming addicting
-Cut-scenes are poorly utilized

God of War Ascension Review

Video Review

Intro

God of War Ascension is actually the first one in the series I have finished, having only played bits and pieces of some of the others in passing.  I assume it's a good place to start seeing as this one acts as a prequel to all the rest.  I only rented this game and was unable to obtain an online pass, so I will not be including the multiplayer in this review.  From what I've heard it isn't that great anyway so no huge loss there.

Must be that time of the month again

Story/Presentation

On the graphics front I really can't complain, 97% of the time I was overly impressed.  The game truly is gorgeous.  It's really hard not to be impressed, the environments and enemies have a very stylish look to them, and their smooth as butter animations really bring them to life.  The stunning lighting effects this game has mixed in with its vibrant colors definitely help too.  The 3% of the time I wasn't impressed was during the few small glitches I encountered (nothing major just your typical enemy freezes and collision issues), along with a few character models that appeared a little rough around the edges.

The distantly spaced cut-scenes in this game are an absolute treat to the eye, and their transition between the gameplay and the scenes are virtually unnoticeable.  Which, works to the games favors considering majority of the games scenes require the player to participate either through Quick-Time-Events (QTE's) or the newly introduced button-less prompts.  By button-less prompts I mean exactly that, the game just sort of assumes that you'll catch on that you need to interacting with Kratos still despite appearing to be in a cutscene.  Basically they're QTE's without the buttons shown for you.  I found this feature to be quite unique, and it finally manages to create a purely seamless experience for the player.  One that allows the player to control the character who appears to be a puppet to a cut-scene, without just having to tap the random buttons on the screen while the character does the moves for you.  Personally I wish that they actually would've included more of these instances, and less of the QTE's.  The times you do get to experience this new feature consist of dodging and attacking an enemy based on their moves during an execution, along with simple things such as walking toward and pummeling bosses to death.

Well it beats Liposuction 

If you hadn't caught on yet this game unsurprisingly puts the player in control of the war-torn, blood soaked Kratos on his seemingly endless quest for vengeance.  Kratos this time around is attempting to sever ties to Ares by killing the three furies.  Only complaint I can really think of is that the game starts off a little slow in the cinematic department, but it picks up the further you get into it.  From a story perspective there's nothing mind-blowing going on here.  It's rather restricted which causes it to be predictable, but the constant action and gore keep it interesting.

Fury

Now I know everyone viewing this review is curious whether or not this game includes the traditional sex mini-game.  Disappointingly no it does not, although it does have a little seduction scene towards the beginning of the game which has a considerable amount of perfectly formed nude women.

Gameplay/Structure/Longevity

From the little I've played of previously God of War games this one remains fairly similar in terms of gameplay.  It has a plethora of complex, fun, and rewarding puzzles.  Actually I was very impressed with this games puzzles. I actually got stuck on a couple and they required me to do some thinking.  Something that didn't happen when I played the new Tomb Raider Reboot.

Along with puzzles this game has some intuitive platforming segments which occasionally offer a little challenge.  Majority of the time you'll be wall climbing which is far too automatic to offer much of a challenge, but the sliding segments which blend jumping, swinging, and dodging are quite enjoyable along with being intense.  Overall I was very impressed with how well this game blended puzzles, platforming, and combat.  It added diversity and had just the right amount of each gameplay element to stop the game from ever becoming boring.

Weeeee!

The combat is actually where I found the most issues with this game.  Kratos is limited to his Blades of Chaos, along with whatever world weapon he has picked up to slice, stab, gouge, behead, dismember, and disembowel his enemies.  The only variety offered with the Blades of Chaos comes in the form of the different elements that can be attached to it.  During his Journey Kratos will be granted with different elements such as the Souls of Hades, or the Lightning of Zeus.  Sadly these elements really only offered a visual change and not much beyond that.  By that I mean the move set remained almost identical regardless of having a different element activated. The only change offered in form of moves is the special attacks unlocked through upgrading, sadly these special moves really aren't that well special. Along with that the different elements didn't seem to have any advantages/disadvantages on different enemies which seemed like a waste.

There are a few different world weapons that can be picked up, which enable some slight variation to the combat.  Sadly, these world weapons don't offer much beyond one attack.

The issues I had with the combat aside from the limited offense is the frustrating, and challenging defense.  Perhaps this is because I am new to the series and am not used to the clunky inconsistent dodging and parrying mechanic this game possesses   Dodging is done through Kratos being able to roll from enemy attacks via the Right Joy Stick.  The roll itself is a fine animation with a decent amount of distance to it.  What bothered me is that Kratos is a bit sluggish in his rolling.  It takes him a second to recoup in-between rolls which can cause for the player to get hit by another attack after dodging the first attack.  The blocking while functioning well, and being dictated by a press of the L1 button works against a majority of enemies attacks.  What isn't quite as smooth is parrying which is done by tapping X while blocking.  The timing on the parrying is not very forgiving along with being unable to parry an enemies second or third attack when they're in the middle of a combo.  Basically if you miss your opportunity on their initial attack, but block it you are unable to do anything except block until their combo string is complete.  This defense works well when there aren't many enemies to combat at a time.  There were quite a few segments in this game where you are battling too many enemies to keep track of, and you'll be too busy getting frustrated with Kratos's sluggish defensive moves to find much opportunity to attack which will cause for some annoying deaths.  When things begin to get too hectic I found myself spamming my magic ability which is activated with the Right Trigger.  After 2 or 3 Magic attacks most enemies are opened up to be grabbed and finished with the R1 button.  Luckily finishing enemies in this manner grant the player with more magic or health which can be vital in certain battles.

Another intriguing feature this game has is 3 special items that are given  to the player during the plot.  The first item enables the ability to freeze an object, and either Heal or Decay that object.  The ability also can be used during combat to stop an enemy in his tracks for a few seconds.  It has to be recharged after each usage shown by a meter next to the players health.  The second special item creates a decoy that takes over what Kratos was doing at that specific time whether it be standing on a platform or pulling a lever, allowing Kratos to advance.  In combat this decoy jumps around the map flinging enemies into the air.  The third ability simply breaks illusions that the Furies are ever so fond of making.  These abilities compliment the combat nicely, along with being cleverly utilized for puzzles.

Handyman

The player is slowly given all these extra abilities, elements, and powers throughout the course of the game.  Which is fine because it allows the very limited combat to grow into something a bit more acceptable over time.  I just wish that the elements changed the Blades of Chaos move set more than it actually does.

Boss fights in this game are both abundant, epic, satisfying, and most of the time fun to battle.  Even on the more lackluster fights the bosses gorey death scene at the end make it all worthwhile.

My biggest complaint about this game is how they handled the camera angles.  This game has fixed camera positions and movements that the player has absolutely no control of.  Which if done properly isn't much of an issue because you wouldn't ever notice it.  This game is a completely different story.  The camera will zoom out far away from you despite you being in the midst of combat, I'm assuming to create a spectacle by showing all the pretty environments, and set pieces the battle is taking place on.  Which for the person watching, and not playing might enjoy because it does look pretty damn good.  Although this can become a hindrance for the person trying to see their speck of a character amongst all the other specks trying to kill him. Parrying and dodging becomes virtually impossible, because you're simply too far away from the actual combat to attempt to time much of anything.  Luckily the funky camera angles only happen during the more dramatic portions of the game.  Something for the developers to look into in the future, that wouldn't hurt are some closer camera angles.

So uhhh where's my character at?

Audio/Longevity/Rewarding

The game sounds great, with some gut wrenching dying noises accompanied by some orchestrated background music.  There really isn't much dialogue in this game, the dialogue that does happen is more than acceptable for the game.  Obviously no one really expects a guy like Kratos to have many ground-breaking emotional moments.  No he's a hardened, mostly silent protagonist filled with a regretful past.  The times during the plot where Kratos was supposed to display some emotion came across as a little corny, but come on it's a little hard to take a guy who looks like he's covered in white and red body paint seriously (yes I know it's not actually body paint). All jokes aside though, I was pleasantly surprised by the length of the campaign  I clocked in at just under 13 hours game time on my normal difficulty playthrough.  Although this may be a little high seeing as I stepped away from my Playstation multiple times.  Plus I had some trouble with a couple of some puzzles and one particularly nasty segment in the game known as the Trial of Archimedes.  This segment seemed very out of place to me, because the difficulty spike for this one segment of the game is about 10 times as hard compared to the rest of the game.  Also the rest of the game is very generous about checkpoints and health/magic chests yet for some reason these trials force the player to face three lengthy battles with absolutely no checkpoints or health/magic chests.  I have heard rumors of a patch incoming that is supposed to make this part a little less stressful, because I'll be perfectly honest this so called trial made me yell at my TV quite a bit.  After taking all of that into account I think its safe to say that this game offers more along the lines of a 10 hour campaign which in terms of games nowadays is quite long.

What a big softie

There is a fairly simplistic upgrade system along with a new game+ mode to keep players coming back.  New Game + is playable after completing the game on any difficulty.  Strangely New Game + disables the ability to unlock trophies, and only allows the player to choose a difficulty matching or lower than the one they've already beaten.  So, really the only purpose of New Game + is to give the player a fun stress free play through.  Along with being able to wear the different outfits and use the artifacts collected which when activated either aide or hinder the player.  If your looking to use New Game + to make your Hard or Titan play through easy then I believe that you are out of luck.  I messed around a bit on Titan difficulty and it definitely is hard, but I think it's fairly doable for God of War or hack 'n slash veterans.

Conclusion

God of War Ascension boasts a lengthy campaign, satisfying puzzles, and platforming.  The game looks gorgeous, and has some awesome yet brutal interactive cut-scenes.  For the most part the combat is fun, but is held back by a clunky defense mechanic, and restricted attack options.  Personally I am not a huge fan of how they handled the Blades of Chaos offering more visual flair than move-sets.  This is my first God of War game, so maybe I just need more time with the series for it to grow on me although out of curiosity I downloaded the demo for God of War III and the combat seemed considerably different.  God of War Ascension is a visual masterpiece that creates a decent back story to the franchise even if the plot isn't as grand as I would've liked.  Poor camera choices that favor spectacle over play ability is in my personal opinion unforgiving, although looking at the larger scope is more of a minor frustration.  Ascension is an obvious purchase for any God of War or hack' n slash  fan.  Even if you're neither of those it's a good entry point into the series, so why not give it a go.

Pro's

+Breathtaking environment
+Detailed enemies with life-like animations
+Gorgeous, Satisifying, and Gorey Cut-scenes
+QTE's and new Buttonless Prompts are brilliantly handled
+Awesome Puzzle and Platforming segments

Con's

-Plot lacks scope
-Blades of Chaos elements are a tease and more for visual pleasure instead of offering varying move sets
-Clunky dodging, parrying needs to be fine tuned
-Bad camera design choice that focuses on spectacle rather than playability

Tomb Raider (2013) Review

Video Review

Intro

Crystal Dynamics developer of the Tomb Raider franchise since Tomb Raider Legend, set out to reboot the franchise with the youngest most inexperienced Lara we have seen.  From a logical standpoint it makes since to start fresh from the beginning, in order to show how Lara turned into the voluptuous-adventuress we know and love.  Simply titled Tomb Raider, this game sets out to redefine the franchise, not only through gameplay, but also Lara's portrayal in general.  While this game succeeds to create a unique, and interesting spin on the series which is expected in a reboot.  That doesn't mean it's done without flaws.

I see youuu

Presentation/Structure/Story

As mentioned this game is meant to be Lara's first "real" adventure.  The one that hardens her, and addicts her to a new lifestyle.  It's obvious from the get go that this new Lara is meant to be more realistic, enabling the viewer to connect with her more as a person, and less of a glorified sex figure.  This is also is shown in her very noticeable breast reduction.  Something that I seriously hope is corrected in this games sequel should it have one.  I mean I definitely wouldn't mind, say if Lara decided to visit a plastic surgeon after this little Island Adventure.  Although I suppose the female gender will be happy that Lara Croft is no longer flaunting a well endowed upper body, poisoning the minds of their boyfriend's into having higher standards when it comes to everyone's favorite "Lady Curves".  All joking aside though this Lara remains my favorite dual pistol wielding, British Accented girl.

Wow! your boobs really are smaller

Graphically this game is a bit hit and miss.  On the plus side it's the best looking Tomb Raider so far.  The reason I say it's hit and miss is because the environments in the game stand-out along with the many explosions.  No, seriously it's almost like this game was directed by Michael Bay because you can't go 20 minutes without an explosion, or some other high octane action scene. The downside of the graphics is mainly seen in the character models, while Lara herself most of the time looks good.  Well, as good as a girl covered in dirt and grime can look.  It's the secondary characters that stand out for their lack of added detail particularly when Lara herself is standing next to them.  Overall I don't really have any issues with the graphics, they're more than acceptable for the game.  At the same time though don't expect this game to as gorgeous as some of the other triple-A titles on the market.  Oh, and occasionally this game did have some graphical hiccups.  Mainly just some collision issues between Lara and the environment.  Where some of Lara's body would enter objects, along with the rare literally going through set-pieces.

Are you sure Michael Bay didn't direct this game?

Dirty Girl

Tomb Raider is set on an Island where Lara, and the rest of the crew winded up ship-wrecked.  Lara must survive on few resources,  while trying to unravel the mystery behind the unnatural storms which caused the characters to become stranded.  I don't feel like the story ever fully came together, despite the intriguing characters, and for the most part good voice-overs.  It probably seemed this way because the ending, was not as satisfactory or mind-blowing as it should've been.  Instead it just came across as a rushed, lame tie-up of the plot.

As I said the game is set on an Island, and this is the location for the entirety of the game.  Which, causes the game to become an extremely cinematic open-world design.  Opposed from the globe trotting, mission based structure which was the foundation of previous installments.  This is a reboot though, so change is both a risk, along with a necessity in order to tread a new path that differentiates from the previous games.  I've never been a huge fan of the open-world design.  I believe this game handles it fairly well though.  The island is split up into different segments, which the player is able to fast-travel between.  New segments of the island are opened up when following the main story.  The story itself is completely scripted, and linear so don't go expecting any real choices to make. The game averages between 6-8 hours on the normal difficulty assuming you do most of the exploring after completing the plot.  By that I mean once the story is finished the player can continue the game with the ability to explore all of the island in order to complete the hidden tombs, find the various collectibles, and kill various random enemies that remain.

BRAAIIIIINNNNSS

The only real issue I had with how the game is set-up has nothing to do with it's new open-world design.  Actually some people may not find it to be an issue at all.  To me it just sort of seemed like the whole game was just too cinematic, with far too many scripted breaking environment segments.  I mean considering this game kind of was trying to be realistic, Lara is the most unlucky girl alive.  Literally everything she touches breaks.  Every time she grabs onto a piece of the environment or passes a certain point, a scripted event will occur.  Whether it be bits of environments breaking from her touch or an explosion to occur.  I mean I'm all for the intense action sequences, but until this game came along I had never seen it so over-used or realized it could become repetitive.  Along with that it seemed like this game used cut-scenes a little too much.  I'm all for cut-scenes I just felt this game didn't need all these short little cinematic moments every 10 minutes.  Some people will love how this game blends all these cinematic moments in with the game play to create more of a movie experience.  Which in turn makes it more pleasurable for whomever may be watching you play the game.  Personally I just felt this game was a little too much of an interactive movie with some game play instead of just large segments of game play.  Like I said though some people are bound to love this, and will be confused when I say it seemed a little excessive.

Gameplay/Fun Factor

This Reboot still retains all the core Tomb Raider aspects but I can't help, but feel that their new cinematic approach.  Along with being more action oriented caused a few of the more fundamental Tomb Raider trademark qualities to be neglected.  First I'll go over the game play elements this Tomb Raider excels at.  That would unsurprisingly be the action which is created through gun-play.  Obviously this game is played through a 3rd-person perspective and the aiming is completely free aim, meaning no lock on button whatsoever.  Lara by the end of the game will become very well equipped in terms of weapons and gadgets. It's got your typical Pistol, Shotgun, and Machine gun that can all be used to decimate your foes.  Possibly the best weapon this game has is the extremely handy bow that can be used to silently incapacitate enemies, along with functioning as a type of grappling hook.  The bow can be used to attach rope to certain areas in the environment to allow Lara to shimmy across chasms, she otherwise couldn't cross with her very impressive distance jumping.  When entering areas where you are undetected by enemies you will be able to choose to approach the game as Sam Fisher approaches every situation, with stealth.  This game has a very basic yet surprisingly satisfying stealth abilities.  It's extremely entertaining to dispatch the natives through well placed arrows.  For those who like their encounters a bit more bloody and personal have the option via Lara's handy little climbing axe which is typically used for, well climbing.  Lucky for Lara though it function very well in the killing department.  She is also able to sneak up behind foes and use the bow for a silent finisher where she strangles her opponents with her bow string.  Everything about the combat is fairly smart and smooth.  There's sort of a built in cover system where Lara automatically crouches behind and hugs walls.  It also has a dodge function that allows for the timing blessed to perform counterattacks on enemies.  Lara's movements at times can feel a little loose during the gun fights, but that doesn't stop the encounters from being any less enjoyable.

Hurry Shoot!

This game is very smart about slowly dishing out the extra equipment for Lara.  Which is something I believe every game should do because it allows the player to constantly gain new toys to play with which makes for a less chance of becoming bored.  Seeing as anytime a player begins to feel tedium, kicking in they are granted with a new piece of equipment.  It also helps that the player can loot bodies and specific objects to gain salvage that can be used for upgrading any weapon.  Each weapon has quite a few upgrades which makes the salvage ability, something the player actually wants to do.

Sadly, not every part of the game play was perfected.  As I mentioned before I feel as if certain areas were a bit neglected.  Sadly these neglected portions used to be extremely fundamental to the whole Tomb Raider experience.  First is the platforming, which in my personal opinion felt way too limited and easy compared to its predecessors.  Platforming in older Tomb Raiders used to feel more free which allowed the certain jumps to be a little difficult.  Now, the path you're supposed to take is very easy, and limited.  Along with majority of the jumps fell as if the game kinda guides your jump.  This makes every jump seem automatic, like there's no risk that your not gonna make it.  To further prove the point I'm trying to make on certain jumps Lara is allowed to jump further then what her normal jump would be.  Showing that Lara's jump distance differs on certain jumps make me believe that they dumb-ed down the whole platforming experience.  Feels kind of like they casualiz-ed most likely to compliment the cinematic approach they had for this game.  I don't want you to think that the platforming is bad, just don't expect it to offer much challenge.  The further you get into the game the better the platforming gets, so keep that in mind also.

The other part of the game play I had an issue with rested in how the so-called puzzles are handled.  I used to feel that Tomb Raider had some of the best puzzles of any game.  I always thought they were cleverly designed, implemented, and also challenging to solve at times.  In this game all of the puzzles are extremely easy with very few exceptions.  They also tended to pretty much all be physics based.  I suppose some people who aren't real fond of puzzles won't really care either way.  Generally I'm not actually a huge fan of puzzles myself in games.  For some reason though I've always really liked puzzles in Tomb Raider, so after having played this game I was a little disappointed.  The best puzzles in the game are actually the ones found in the seven optional hidden tombs.

Puzzles

Online

Aside from the story the only additional content comes in the form of Tomb Raiders lackluster online.  It's quite evident that the online was tacked on simply so they could say they supported an online mode.  The online has 4 separate game modes (all pretty typical), along with a ranking system.  Nothing about the online will make people want to come back for more.  It's a good time waster for about 2-3 hours, and that's all most people will need before moving on.  To be perfectly honest this game shouldn't of even bothered with the online feature, and instead focused all their attention to the story.

Conclusion

Tomb Raider manages to create an interesting spin on the franchise, but doesn't succeed in capturing some of the important fundamentals of previous entries.  The game creates an extremely cinematic, action oriented experience.  This is the most emotional young and relate-able Lara Croft we've seen.  I believe that this is an  excellent attempt at creating a Lara Croft origin story.  One that excels in terms of gun play, slowly dishing out content, and giving the player an extremely satisfying stealth feature.  Various characters combined with their motive makes for an interesting plot, even if it never really fully comes together. The game fails to live up to the standards set from other Tomb Raider games in terms of platforming, puzzles, and *cough*  breast size.  I don't think I'm fully convinced on the direction of this Tomb Raider reboot, and it fails in becoming my favorite Tomb Raider game.  I do think it's a very interesting spin on the franchise one that everyone who has ever been a fan of Tomb Raider should at least try.

Pro's
+ Interesting twist for the franchise
+ Excellent gun play, and  Stealth
+ Realistic Emotional Young Lara is intriguing and creates a much needed origin story
+ Characters and dialogue are well done
+ Great set of equipment and smartly (slowly) dished out to the player
+ Never really got boring
+ Nice implementation of open-world along with extra content at the end

Con's
-Breast Reduction (jk sorta)
-Simplified puzzles (too easy)
-Simplified platforming (too casual)
-Too cinematic with an excessive amount of scripted events (actual becomes repetitive)
-Lackluster Ending, Plot that never fully comes together
-Boring unneeded online