Showing posts with label review. Show all posts
Showing posts with label review. Show all posts
Tuesday, March 17, 2015
Uncharted 2 Among Thieves Review
In the world of gaming we have third person shooters and then we have the Uncharted series of games. If you have not played an Uncharted game before it is a hybrid third-person shooter that mixes platforming, puzzle solving and cinematic gameplay all in one package. Uncharted: Drakes Fortune was a very ambitious game and showed glimpses of what was capable of the PS3 hardware. Nevertheless it wasnt perfect yet this gave Naughty Dog the experience to refine the gameplay and fully utilise the hardware to the limits for the next game in the series which is the birth of Uncharted 2: Among Thieves. Its one of those games that make you go WOW, OOOH, and AHHHH. Its a technical masterpiece with an immersive story and the most cinematic experience you can find in games to date. That only describes the single player and the other half is a highly addictive online multiplayer that will only drain hours of your life away.
Story:
You are once again Nathan Drake and it wouldnt be an Uncharted game without a massive treasure hunt. So this time around you meet some old colleagues and find out someone is looking for Marco Polos lost fleet. Without giving away too many plot details you find out this bad guy Lazaravic is after the Cintimani Stone which is assumed to still be in the lost city of Shambhala. The main motivation of Nathan Drake is to find the stone before Lazaravic gets his hands on it. So with the help of his friends Chloe, Elena, and Sully he tries to find clues throughout various parts of the world to find Marco Polos trail back to Shambhala. The story is very well written and has a great pace throughout the entire game so that it doesnt get irritatingly boring and holds a decent amount of humor to keep the player entertained. Cinematics dont plague the game because they are short and get to the point, also at the same time many of the cinematics are interactive that they are integrated seamlessly into the gameplay itself which is awesome.
Graphics:
The game is beautiful looking from top to bottom. It clearly is the paragon of a PS3 game utilized to the full potential of the hardware. The game uses allot of motion capture so the character movements are very life like and the facial animation is some of the best in the games business. If there is anything to nitpick it would only be that it 1080p isnt fully supported and maybe Chloes eyes because they are too sparkly blue.
Gameplay:
Uncharted at its core is a third-person shooter that uses a cover system extensively. Although you can probably run and gun your way through the game at easier difficulty levels, cover is almost essential to use at hard and crushing difficulties. The most improved aspect of the game over its predecessor is that it is now easier to sneak around in cover and then grab an enemy while they are not looking and taking them out. If you’re clever enough you can skip long waves of enemies just by getting through certain areas using stealth attacks only. You can grab enemies around the corner, enemies near ledges, enemies behind and it all feels natural without being a headache for players to perform. The platforming portion is also improved from the first game because there are portions of the game that are moving dynamically whether it be a moving train or death defying ledge jumping on moving gears. The puzzles are not terribly hard but they are also bigger in scope as they can span an entire large room in a level. The AI is good and enemies will flank the player quite often from multiple sides so you can’t just camp enemies for easy kills in one spot. Hand to hand combat is also a bit more refined and enemies can counter the player for a dynamic button melee sequence to determine the winner. Having all these mechanics together in one game may be a nightmare for any developer to create a control scheme but Naughty Dog has made controlling all these actions very simple and effective because the player can focus more on the game rather than clunky controls which complements the total experience of playing the game. If the story itself is not enough for you then you can hop on multiplayer and duke it out with other players using almost all of the abilities you gain in the single player campaign.
Sound and Music:
The dynamic music scores and atmospheric sounds give the game an almost epic feel throughout the game. The voice acting is superb; Nolan North gives another A+ performance in portraying the trials and tribulations of Nathan Drake to life. Every action and interaction with objects and other characters seems real and some of that is due to real live action performances caught with motion capture to bring this game to life.
Multiplayer:
This is a new addition to the series and a welcome one it is. Everything that is great about the single player game is almost intact here in multiplayer. The game has various different multiplayer modes which are competitive multiplayer, co-op story, and co-op survival. In competitive multiplayer you can play with 10 other players in 5 vs. 5 matches in team deathmatch, elimination ( I call it the counter-strike mode), plunder which is similar to capture the flag but with a treasure as the focus, chain reaction which makes player capture certain points on the map before they can proceed to the next one first team to control all five win, turf war which players battle to take over three areas of the map in order to score points, and king of the hill which randomly selects areas of the map that need to be controlled to score points. During these matches you gain money for medals you obtain and money will rank you up while at the same time allow you to purchase new multiplayer skins, weapons, boosters, and even taunts. Boosters enhance your character and can either increase your accuracy with certain weapons or let you move faster with treasures or heavy weapons. You may only have two boosters at a time to enhance your character but give you some sort of customization to work with. If that is not your cup of tea then there is co-op for you to try. In co-op story mode you can play with a friend to get through a side mission which gets pretty intense as you have to get through a level with waves of enemies coming at you. Then there are the co-op arena modes where you waves of enemies keep coming at you and then they get progressively harder after each round. These modes are all very fun and great to play with friends. Multiplayer is definitely not perfect, the matchmaking can use some tweaks and the playlists need to be a bit more segregated to allow people to play what they really want to play(plunder hah). Some people may also be turned off by the ungodly amount of punishment the characters can take before they actually die. The multiplayer is definitely good enough that it is almost a separate game and I would possibly rate it an 8 on a scale of 10 if that were the case.
Conclusion:
Uncharted 2 is the total package and if you do own a PS3 this is a game that you definitely do not want to miss playing. It is probably one of the most epic single player campaign’s that you will ever play and the multiplayer holds its own with games more focused on the multiplayer department. Buy it or rent it, either way just do it!
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Story:
You are once again Nathan Drake and it wouldnt be an Uncharted game without a massive treasure hunt. So this time around you meet some old colleagues and find out someone is looking for Marco Polos lost fleet. Without giving away too many plot details you find out this bad guy Lazaravic is after the Cintimani Stone which is assumed to still be in the lost city of Shambhala. The main motivation of Nathan Drake is to find the stone before Lazaravic gets his hands on it. So with the help of his friends Chloe, Elena, and Sully he tries to find clues throughout various parts of the world to find Marco Polos trail back to Shambhala. The story is very well written and has a great pace throughout the entire game so that it doesnt get irritatingly boring and holds a decent amount of humor to keep the player entertained. Cinematics dont plague the game because they are short and get to the point, also at the same time many of the cinematics are interactive that they are integrated seamlessly into the gameplay itself which is awesome.
Graphics:
The game is beautiful looking from top to bottom. It clearly is the paragon of a PS3 game utilized to the full potential of the hardware. The game uses allot of motion capture so the character movements are very life like and the facial animation is some of the best in the games business. If there is anything to nitpick it would only be that it 1080p isnt fully supported and maybe Chloes eyes because they are too sparkly blue.
Gameplay:
Uncharted at its core is a third-person shooter that uses a cover system extensively. Although you can probably run and gun your way through the game at easier difficulty levels, cover is almost essential to use at hard and crushing difficulties. The most improved aspect of the game over its predecessor is that it is now easier to sneak around in cover and then grab an enemy while they are not looking and taking them out. If you’re clever enough you can skip long waves of enemies just by getting through certain areas using stealth attacks only. You can grab enemies around the corner, enemies near ledges, enemies behind and it all feels natural without being a headache for players to perform. The platforming portion is also improved from the first game because there are portions of the game that are moving dynamically whether it be a moving train or death defying ledge jumping on moving gears. The puzzles are not terribly hard but they are also bigger in scope as they can span an entire large room in a level. The AI is good and enemies will flank the player quite often from multiple sides so you can’t just camp enemies for easy kills in one spot. Hand to hand combat is also a bit more refined and enemies can counter the player for a dynamic button melee sequence to determine the winner. Having all these mechanics together in one game may be a nightmare for any developer to create a control scheme but Naughty Dog has made controlling all these actions very simple and effective because the player can focus more on the game rather than clunky controls which complements the total experience of playing the game. If the story itself is not enough for you then you can hop on multiplayer and duke it out with other players using almost all of the abilities you gain in the single player campaign.
Sound and Music:
The dynamic music scores and atmospheric sounds give the game an almost epic feel throughout the game. The voice acting is superb; Nolan North gives another A+ performance in portraying the trials and tribulations of Nathan Drake to life. Every action and interaction with objects and other characters seems real and some of that is due to real live action performances caught with motion capture to bring this game to life.
Multiplayer:
This is a new addition to the series and a welcome one it is. Everything that is great about the single player game is almost intact here in multiplayer. The game has various different multiplayer modes which are competitive multiplayer, co-op story, and co-op survival. In competitive multiplayer you can play with 10 other players in 5 vs. 5 matches in team deathmatch, elimination ( I call it the counter-strike mode), plunder which is similar to capture the flag but with a treasure as the focus, chain reaction which makes player capture certain points on the map before they can proceed to the next one first team to control all five win, turf war which players battle to take over three areas of the map in order to score points, and king of the hill which randomly selects areas of the map that need to be controlled to score points. During these matches you gain money for medals you obtain and money will rank you up while at the same time allow you to purchase new multiplayer skins, weapons, boosters, and even taunts. Boosters enhance your character and can either increase your accuracy with certain weapons or let you move faster with treasures or heavy weapons. You may only have two boosters at a time to enhance your character but give you some sort of customization to work with. If that is not your cup of tea then there is co-op for you to try. In co-op story mode you can play with a friend to get through a side mission which gets pretty intense as you have to get through a level with waves of enemies coming at you. Then there are the co-op arena modes where you waves of enemies keep coming at you and then they get progressively harder after each round. These modes are all very fun and great to play with friends. Multiplayer is definitely not perfect, the matchmaking can use some tweaks and the playlists need to be a bit more segregated to allow people to play what they really want to play(plunder hah). Some people may also be turned off by the ungodly amount of punishment the characters can take before they actually die. The multiplayer is definitely good enough that it is almost a separate game and I would possibly rate it an 8 on a scale of 10 if that were the case.
Conclusion:
Uncharted 2 is the total package and if you do own a PS3 this is a game that you definitely do not want to miss playing. It is probably one of the most epic single player campaign’s that you will ever play and the multiplayer holds its own with games more focused on the multiplayer department. Buy it or rent it, either way just do it!
Friday, March 13, 2015
Assassins Creed 3 Review Conor a brave new hero
Genre : Action - AdventureDeveloper : Ubisoft Montreal
Publisher : Ubisoft
Platform : PC, PS3, Xbox 360
Web : assassinscreed.ubi.com
Most of the gamers know Assassins Creed series, even people who are not related to that series. But there are some reasons for that. A story that based on the history, a big open world to explore, stealth, action, Venice, Rome, Istanbul, the unique outfit which is identified with heroes of the game... How many of you remember the excitement of climbing the highest building in the city and jumping down?
This time Assassins Creed III has bigger areas to explore with a completely new character. Main story missions are based on collecting information, following and killing important people that we meet during the game. Also there are a lot of side missions. If you want to take a break from main missions, you can sail to open seas with the ship that is under your command and fight, you can collect Benjamin Franklins almanacs, go out hunting, explore the open world, climb to the trees and rocks, etc. You can enjoy the freedom. But freedom comes with a price and all these things that you can do freely get you out of the main story sometimes. You will realize that some side missions are not relevant to the game.
Have you ever thought that why Ezio was the most popular character in the series? We have witnessed the adventure that begins in his youth, his relationship with his family and brothers, his enemies and even his love. We explored Venice, Rome, Istanbul together. We were Ezio. This time Ubisoft introduce us a new character. His name is Connor.
He is also known as Ratonhnhaké:ton. He father is British but he is raised by his Mohawk mother. We take the conrol of Connor from his childhood and control him almost a lifetime. Neither Americans nor British are your friends. You will fight both of them. The game takes place in American Revolution but this is not your fight. Connors fight is to take his revenge from who took his village and mother from him.
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| We are taking control of Connor(Ratonhnhaké:ton) from his childhood. |
The Prologue part takes 4-5 hours. That means we got a long-lasting game here. Also that means you have to play a long time to completely take control of Connor. I started the game to take Connors revenge but sometimes I felt like I was doing errands for American Revolution.
The game contains many changes like animation technology and graphics. In the first mission, you will notice the changes of graphics. Lighting effects, environment design and details are much more realistic. Also main characters face designs and movements look better in this game. When you are in New York, you will feel like you are in a real living world with crowds in the city.
Unfortunately there are some problems and bugs in the game. First of all, game freezes at the loading screen which is very annoying. Also some people and animals suddenly dissappear sometimes, textures load after you get close, invisible walls and more. This game has more bugs than other games of the series. But dont worry, there is a patch that you can find on the internet. It fixes most of these bugs. But believe me, Assassins Creed 3 without a patch is a headache.
So what are the most enjoyable parts of the game? Of course free running/climbing and fighting. Free running/climbing part is much more easier now. You can run and climb easily just by holding a button. Also rocks and trees are climbable in this game and its easier than climbing a building.
Animus interface is more clear than previous games. If there is something around to interact, it seems like a spider web. You can change the settings about things that you want to see on the screen.(Health, incognito, weapons etc.)
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| Trees and rocks are climbable now. Enjoy the freedom! |
There are some changes about fighting system too. In previous games, multiple enemies didnt attack you at the same time. Now you can fight with two enemies. All you need to do is pushing the counter attack button with a good timing and then pushing the attack button. When you do that correctly, you will see Connor killing enemies with a good animation. So you cant counter by pushing one button, you have to block an attack first. Connor is in a war and you will eliminate a lot of people with him. You will focus on killing and fighting in this game more than others.
Assassins Creed 3s multiplayer is also fun and there is a new multiplayer mode, Wolf Pack. Its a co-op mode and your purpose is to kill enemies with your friends to get a high score. Assassin mode still exist and you must eliminate a NPC before you were killed by other players. Assassins Creed III gives us new informations about Abstergo and Animus as we play multiplayer. That makes players spend more time in multiplayer mode.
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| The best way to piss Redcoats off is taking their rifles from them. |
As I said before, you have to spend a long time to be completely free. Because game doesnt let you to explore the world freely at the beginning. This is a little annoying. After you take control of "assassin" Connor, the real fun starts. You can join sea wars and hunting clubs or you can team up with some assassins and fight the templars. I suggest you to take time to complete the side missions.
Assassins Creed III is one of the best games of the year for most gamers. It does a good job with quality main story and the freedom in the game. But some graphical bugs might be a little annoying. Also there are some unnecessary missions in the game. But these things dont annoy you becasue this game is so much fun. Assassins Creed III is a bit under my expectations but still a very good game. Its the end of the series. Do not miss out!
Here is an Assassins Creed 3 gameplay trailer:
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