Tales From the Wasteland #2

     The road to Primm is a short one, but not without its dangers. It was here I was introduced to some of the new enemy types such as the Gecko (that come in many forms, like “young”, “hunter” and “golden”), they are dispatched easily enough, but when I am tricked by a lone wastelander (damn my quest for good karma!) into wandering straight into a Gecko nest it becomes apparent that the Mojave Wasteland holds more danger up its sleeve than its Washington DC counterpart; a horde of 7 or 8 of the lizards swarmed out of their lair and attacked me. I was nigh-on overwhelmed, and there’s only so much damage my little 9mm pistol or varmint rifle (both examples of the multitude of new weapons on disposal in this title) could deal out. I managed to get by with a handful of bullets and a slither of health remaining, so took a swig from a bottle of Sunset Sasparilla (this game’s answer to Nuka-Cola, though that’s back too – just rarer) I had picked up back in Goodsprings. Health boosts from food and drink products regenerate over time now, with the 25HP provided by the beverage I just drank taking 25 seconds to build up – this, I find adds a fun layer of realism and strategy to the combat.

     It was at this point that the tricky wastelander reappeared; dismayed at the fact I was still breathing and not ready for looting. He turned on me but I switched into V.A.T.S. and blew him away before he even had a chance to draw. Good riddance, the sneaky bastard.

     Now, where were we? Ah yes, on the road to Primm, and it’s at the gates to this town I find myself being shot at from atop the rickety old wooden roller coaster that towers over the casino there. A soldier emerges from a make-shift camp on the opposite side of the highway and recommends I get on the other side of the road if I wish to remain bullet-hole free. This is my first encounter with one of the main factions in the Mojave – the New California Republic, a government from the west coast who strive to bring order and a pre-war sensibility to the wastes. They tell me that the town has been overrun by escaped convicts from a nearby prison and to go in would be suicide. But, having already practically died once, I decide that finding out what happened to me is far too important to allow some brigands to stop me.

     So, waiting for the cover of nightfall, I attempt to sneak into the settlement and the casino where the populace are all holed up. Needless to say, with a low sneak skill this does not go well and I end up in a gruelling gunfight – the intensity of it again going to show how much more brutal this game is compared to its predecessor. On the plus side, this gives me access to more ammo and better weapons and armour – a much needed luxury.

     Arriving at the casino, I tracked down the man I was looking for; the head of the local branch of the Mojave Express. Asking him about the package I was delivering and if he knew who attacked me, he tells me I was carrying a solid platinum chip from the Lucky 38 casino, and that while he doesn’t know the name of the man who shot me he does know that he headed south from here and down through Nipton and onto Novac.

     I thank him for this information and ask if there was anything I could do to repay him, and he tells me there is: find Primm a new sheriff since the last was murdered by the invading convicts. With this new task in mind, I return to the NCR camp and ask if they would be interested in taking the town under its wing as protectors, using my high speech skill to tell them of the benefits, such as bigger political influence and safer trading routes. They agree, but only if I head south to the Mojave Outpost – the NCR-controlled border crossing – to bring in the extra troops it would require.

     As it’s on the way to Nipton, I head towards the outpost; first spotting its two giant statues of NCR troops shaking hands with the local rangers from miles away. I convince the commanding officer into lending a few hands for Primm’s security by clearing the trade road between the two locations of my most DESPISED enemy of Fallout 3 – God. Damn. Fire. Ants. They’re still as persistent as ever, and this time they seem to like to attack in packs. LARGE packs. But none the less, I cleared them out and escorted the troops back to Primm to set up a new law enforcement before setting off to Nipton.

     And Nipton was not a pretty sight. Here, the second of New Vegas’ most prominent factions and one at war with the NCR reared its ugly head: Caesars Legion. They had burned down the town and its residents along with it, as well as crucifying the remaining survivors. Was this mindless, unmotivated violence? Not in their eyes – the leader of the present group told me that this town was a cesspool of decadence and it needed to be cleansed by fire. He orders me to leave and take with me the message of the Legion: “The fires will spread across the Mojave.” This is a message I have not yet passed on – my good-karma wills me not to pass on the message of such tyrannical beasts.

     With the town and any possible evidence of my attackers burned to ashes, I head to Novac. It is a small town named after the broken ‘No Vacancy’ sign at the gates to the motel. The town’s centrepiece is a giant wooden dinosaur – Dinky – that serves as a sniper post. I asked the lookout if he had seen any smartly dressed men passing by lately, and he promises to tell me everything he knows if I aid him in a Ghoul related problem he’s having. I agree and head back into town.

     On my way down a man stops and asks me to meet him up at the lookout once his shift starts at 9pm before going on his way. Looking at my watch, I decide to rent a room at the motel to rest after my long journey.

     Upon the stained mattress, Roland Deschain falls asleep.

     Up next: The first companion, invisible Super Mutants and the road to New Vegas!

Tales From the Wasteland #1

     With the soothing sounds of Frank Sinatra floating out from one of the casinos, we find ourselves in the shining jewel of the Wasteland; New Vegas. However, this tale is not one filled with glitz, glamour and gambling – at least, not for now – no, this story has a much more tragic beginning.

     On a hill overlooking the Mojave Wasteland, the Vegas Strip gleaming in the distance, a suave individual wearing a chequered suit steals the package I – a courier – was carrying and shoots me square in the thinker.

     Now, ain’t that a kick in the head?

     Awaking after being dug out by a pseudo-cowboy robot and being patched up by a friendly local doctor, I find myself confronted with the instantly familiar character creation screen. This handles exactly the same as Fallout 3’s creation process, in both the good ways and the bad. Aesthetically, there are enough choices and customisation options, but it’s still on the difficult side to make a character that doesn’t look totally deformed. The series’ S.P.E.C.I.A.L. system is back, this time using a vigour metre to set your character’s Strength, Perception, Endurance, Charisma, Intelligence, Agility and Luck.

     When it comes time to put points into your desired skills, the good doctor asks you a few questions such as if conflict is in your nature to determine what skills your character will be good at – you can of course redo this selection once the process is over. Finally, this time you get to choose up to two traits (“perks” that you get at the start of the game and that always come with a downside), this requires a bit of tactical thinking on your part; do you want a character good with firearms? Sure, but that’ll come at the cost of your speech ability. You can choose to have no traits, but do you want to forgo that skill bonus? There’s one trait entitled “Wild Wasteland” that gives neither bonus nor penalty to your skills, instead it enables certain easter eggs within the game world that can give you some pretty nifty items – it warns that “serious players” should not take this trait, but when I found out that some of these secrets include a skeleton in a fridge with an Indiana Jones hat (take that George Lucas), I just had to take it.

     In the end I settled for a charismatic male character that can definitely hold his own when in a firefight, named – in a western style game, what else – Roland Deschain.

      The doctor told me to head south to a town called Primm to talk with the head of my courier service – the Mojave Express – about my missing package and the guys who attacked me. Emerging from the doctor’s house and allowing my eyes to adjust to the light, I find myself standing in the town of Goodsprings, an old and dusty frontier village named for the radiation-free water source in its surrounding hills. Upon entering the outside world, it’s worth noting that the graphics are not really improved over Fallout 3, with them using the same engine. They look somewhat better to me, but that’s because I only played 3 on the PlayStation 3, and apparently the Xbox 360 versions – which I am now playing - of both games are supposed to be a lot sharper.

     I was instructed to venture over to the saloon and talk to a woman called Sunny Smiles, who could show me the ropes of living in the wastes. It was here I was introduced to one of the most sought after inclusions to the game – iron sights. For a game primarily played from a first person perspective, Fallout 3’s regular shooting mechanics were pretty dire, ending up with most players using the targeting system known as V.A.T.S. to make most of their kills. Not so in New Vegas, now the first person shooting aspect of the game has been greatly improved, especially with the ability to now look down the sights of the gun, and I now tend to use that more often than using V.A.T.S., thanks to improvements of the latter now making it more dependent on your stats and not just “God-Mode” in disguise.

     Another new feature Sunny Smiles taught me was the ability to craft items, such as healing powder, at a campfire as long as you have the right ingredients and a good enough survival skill level. This works in exactly the same way as the workbenches from the previous game. There’s also the inclusion of reloading benches, which I believe is where you craft new, special ammo types (I haven’t tinkered with any yet). Yes, there’s now more than one type of ammo for any given weapon. Found a Super Mutant wearing armour with a damage threshold to high for your weapons to normally penetrate? Equip armour piercing rounds and see that health drain away.

     Before I headed on my way, I was drawn into a feud between the locals of Goodsprings and a group of convicts known as Powder Gangers (named after their affinity for things that explode) over a man named Ringo hiding out in town who had gotten on their bad side. I talked to the guy and found out what really happened; his caravan was attacked out in the wastes by the Powder Gangers with provocation and he managed to kill a couple of them before getting away. Asking me to help him get rid of the Gangers once and for all, I used my high charisma and speech skills to rally some of the townspeople into revolting against them. After a gruelling firefight – again, mostly using non V.A.T.S. gameplay because it’s actually fun this time – the townspeople emerged victorious with no casualties.

     At this point a message popped up, which deals with another new feature – this time an expansion of the karma system from 3. Now, each town and faction within the game has an individual opinion of you depending on how you interact with them; help them out and you’ll be accepted and eventually idolized, but piss them off and you’ll be vilified and attacked on sight. At this moment in time, I became accepted in Goodsprings, bringing with it benefits such as local shop discounts, while understandably vilified by the Powder Gangers.

    With Ringo free to return to his travels and the town of Goodsprings now free from the Powder Gangers, I set off on my travels south, following the highway down to Primm. Walking through the wastes allowed me to reflect on my experiences so far. To this point, Fallout: New Vegas seems like much more of the same from Fallout 3, but with the inclusion of new features like the ones mentioned above it feels like a much smoother and fuller title. The writing and story is a marked improvement over Fallout 3’s somewhat lacking script and main quest – I feel a lot more interested in discovering why my package was stolen and who attempted to kill me for it than I was when finding out why my dad had disappeared for no reason. The introduction is also a lot more engaging than the drawn-out ‘growing up’ stages of the last title in the series. So overall, a double thumbs up from me and I cannot wait to see where my journey takes me.

     Hearing distant gunfire and seeing smoke upon the horizon, in the next instalment Roland Deschain attempts to save the town of Primm from the now vilified Powder Gangers, and meets the two warring factions: the North California Republic and Caesars Legion.

Blog Update -- Fallout: New Vegas, and other things!

Hi all,

Well we've finally reached the first BIG release week of 2010's gaming season, with what is probably one of the most anticipated games of the year dropping into stores - Fallout: New Vegas, and not forgetting Vanquish coming in alongside it.

With a game as expansive as Fallout, it takes a lot of time to really see what the title can offer and get a real feel for it, and as I'm just an average Joe who purchases and plays games at the street date just like everyone else, without getting a review copy, it could be weeks - if not longer - before I may feel like I knew enough to write a cohesive review. And let's be honest, reviewing a month old game is pointless.

So what I propose is this:

Starting this Friday or Saturday (remember, I'm in the UK!), I will begin posting a daily or bi-daily series called "The Wasteland Chronicle" which will act as somewhat of a review-in-progress, as I post my thoughts and opinions on what I have done throughout my time playing to that point. Will I do a final review once I finish it? Probably.

I'll also be checking out Vanquish, but I'm not sure if that'll be this week or later.

Finally, I have a review for Enslaved: Odyssey to the West half finished and I intend to give my thoughts on the new Pure Reason Revolution album, but have really been struggling to play through games, watch movies, etc. and review them while doing university work at the same time - so try and bare with me!

See you around,
BR

Game Review: Halo Reach

        So here we have it; Bungie’s last ever Halo game. What’s that? “ODST?” No this is really the last game. Really.

Regardless of whether this is indeed the studio’s last foray into the Halo universe, Bungie have clearly attempted to go out with a bang in what is undoubtedly the most complete, well-rounded and polished entry into the series to date.

            In a surprising move, for what was to be the final Halo instalment the developers decided upon a prequel to the events of the main trilogy that follows the journey of Master Chief and humanity’s last stand against the alien Covenant forces. Anybody familiar with the lore of the franchise will instantly recognise Reach as the human planet that came under attack - and eventually decimated - by the Covenant and that the Pillar of Autumn ship was escaping from at the opening to the original Halo: Combat Evolved, as well as being the place both Master Chief and the A.I. Cortana originate from.

            The campaign mode of Halo: Reach puts you in the metallic boots of Noble Six, a new recruit to the elite Spartan squad known as Noble Team. You are called out to investigate a downed communications relay, but what starts out as a basic investigative operation quickly turns into a fight for survival when it becomes apparent that the Covenant have made it to Reach and begin their attack. The story is probably the best so far in the series, with a lot more emphasis on characters and their emotions over its 6-8 hour run time, and that ever-looming sense of dread in knowing that at some point the planet is going to be overrun and the battle lost can get pretty intense towards the end, especially in a fantastic after-credits sequence. This is helped by graphics upgraded heavily from Halo 3: ODST and another superb musical score by Martin O’Donnell, just don’t expect it to hold up very well against the storylines and narrative presentation of titles such as Heavy Rain or Metal Gear Solid.

Anyone who has played Halo games in the past – or any FPS for that matter – will feel right at home gameplay-wise here, with many of the game mechanics remaining the same as previous titles, just sporting some extra polish. However, what new features are available go a long way to make this a highly enjoyable and somewhat fresh experience. The most prominent of these are armour abilities, which are power-ups that can be used to aid you in the heat of battle. They range from sprinting, to bubble shields, to jetpacks, and most of these are very useful and very fun to use, especially online, but there are a couple that leave a fair bit to be desired. Namely, Armour Lock, which prevents you from taking damage while you try and allow your shield to recharge but usually just ends up with an awkward moment where your enemy – be it human or A.I. – hovers around you waiting to strike. Sprint also seems like a bit of a cop-out, as most shooters allocate the ability to sprint to its own button that can be used at any time, so being restricted like this seems like a step back from the competition; the same can be said for the lack of iron sights.

Another new feature, and probably the most anticipated, is the inclusion of space battles. About halfway through the campaign, you find yourself strapped into a space fighter and launched into Reach’s orbit in an effort to take down a super-size Covenant battleship. This section is fun and a welcome change from the usual FPS gameplay, and while some people have complained at its brevity, I feel that it is just the right length and would become stale had it gone on any longer. Unfortunately these battles do not appear in any multiplayer capacity, and one can only hope that this is rectified in future downloadable content.

Campaign is really just the beginning to the full Halo: Reach experience, with returning modes like Firefight and Forge (now with a huge open-world to play about in) bulking up the package, but multiplayer is where the true meat of the game lies, with potentially hundreds of hours of gameplay to be had. There are countless modes here, from the familiar Slayer, Team Slayer and Capture the Flag to the borderline absurd Oddball and Head Hunter. For the most part each of these are highly enjoyable, but there are some that I found to be more infuriating than anything else. Most notable of these is SWAT, which involves two teams running around with infinite ammo DMRs and permanently enabled auto-aiming headshots; as you can imagine there’s not a lot of skill needed in this game type and it becomes quickly annoying due to how luck-based it is. This wouldn’t be so bad except that this mode is included in the same playlist as all the Slayer-type matches, so it is nigh-on unavoidable if it is voted for when you attempt matchmaking in that list.

You will be playing these matches over thirteen different maps, which are all well designed, but thirteen is a rather small number when you consider that some of these are remakes of older Halo stages. Also, there are a few new weapons like the excellent Needler Rifle that add to the fun, and they (unlike the armour abilities) are all welcome additions.

A major change to the multiplayer aspect of the game is the rank-progression system. The “get so much experience, gain a rank” mentality is built upon, in that experience points are replaced with credits that not only accumulate to rank up but can be spent to purchase new armour pieces, unfortunately this only for aesthetic value and adds no extra stats to your character. Credit earning is not restricted to online play either, and you will find yourself being awarded credits for every little thing you do, from completing levels in campaign to watching a movie in theatre mode. There are also now daily and weekly challenges that can be completed to win huge credit bonuses, which add major replay value.

With a relatively long campaign compared to most FPS games, hugely in-depth multiplayer and the best aspects of the series’ gameplay all brought together and given a polish, this is the definitive Halo experience that no one with an interest in shooters should pass up.

Rating: 4 out of 5

Game Preview: Vanquish

            Being punched in the face is not normally a good sensation, yet I found myself thoroughly enjoying the metaphorical equivalent in the newly released, super-quick paced demo for Platinum Games’ upcoming ‘third-person action shooter’ game Vanquish.

           

            From the outset, Vanquish looks like the lovechild of Gears of War’s or Uncharted’s third-person cover-based shooter mechanics and Halo’s sleek sci-fi, space marine sheen – a combination that has seen many people dismiss it for being “just another shooter”. However what this game truly has to offer makes it a breath of fresh air in an otherwise stagnant, over-saturated market. This game is Gears of War on ‘roids.

            You take on the role of Sam Gideon, a battle-hardened military man who is the brains behind a new, experimental piece of battle armour – the A.R.S. (Augmented Reality Suit). Gideon, along with his suit and a whole battalion of marines are dispatched to a space station that has fallen under attack from Russian forces. Platinum Games have always been one for surprisingly western storylines considering their Japanese origin, and the meshing of this narrative with the absurdly crazy and slick gameplay and art design Japanese developers are famed for lends for a truly unique and enjoyable title.

            The demo is presented similarly to the one Platinum put together for their last release, Bayonetta; featuring two parts of an early level (in this case, ‘Act 1 – Level 3: Giant’). The first section introduces you to the core gameplay elements of running, gunning and covering.

All basic stuff, right?

Wrong. One press of a button and you find Gideon blazing across the battlefield thanks to his rocket-propelled mech suit. Start shooting while sliding and you enter Augmented Reality mode; where the world around you grinds by in slow motion as you pick off enemies one by one with deadly accuracy. The action in this game is fast – and that’s an understatement. If you don’t keep moving, you’re going to find yourself coming under heavy fire from the very smart A.I. of the enemies and visiting the game over screen often. Thankfully, the NPC allies are also smart enough to look after themselves and not get in your way.

The second part of the demo is a boss battle against a giant robot that puts even the most epic of Bayonetta’s foes to shame. I found myself zipping around the arena-like level avoiding an endless onslaught of attacks, trying to wear down the enemy’s armour until its core revealed itself to the business end of my sniper rifle. This process was both fluid and an enjoyable challenge – taking me the better part of twenty minutes to take the behemoth down!

One major worry many have had while observing the development of this title has been whether or not the frame rate could hold up or the graphics remain looking so sharp with so much happening on the screen at once, what with the two army factions going head-on with bullets, missiles and debris filling Gideon’s field of vision. However, while playing I noticed not one moment of lagging or graphical inconsistency at all and it appears the PS3 won’t be getting shafted like it did with the terrible port of Bayonetta, as the console is being used as the lead to design the game and the demo appeared as smooth as could be.

There were a few issues I had with the demo, such as the camera not being quite quick enough to keep up the insanity of the action, which hopefully will be fixed before release. The voice acting, too, seems very over the top. Yes, we understand that characters are bad ass space marines here to blow sh*t up and be done with it, but it appears Platinum Games wanted to make extra sure we knew it – the two leading males’ voices could be likened to Solid Snake talking in unison alongside Christian Bale’s Batman, with extra gravel shovelled down their throats. Oh, and not forgetting the button solely assigned to lighting up a cigarette in the middle of the battlefield!

This brief look at Vanquish and its world elevated this release from a possible low-price pick up, to a potential day-one purchase for me. Everything seems to be in place for an exciting deviation from the run-of-the-mill shooters that litter the gaming market these days, and with promises of varied missions, countless collectables and high replay value, the final product looks set to vanquish the competition (pun!).

The demo is now available on both the PlayStation Store and Xbox LIVE Marketplace, with the final game set for release on October 22^nd (E.U.). Expect a full review around that time.

Movie Review: Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World

            I am a gamer. The ideas of health bars, 1-ups and enemies bursting into coins are not alien to me; they are ones I grew up with. That makes me, it seems, the kind of audience Edgar Wright’s latest film – Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World – is aiming for, which is both its biggest strength and greatest weakness. It is filled with so many references to not only classic video games but also television, comics and movies, that it becomes something of a pop culture cocktail that will have would-be nerds salivating into their popcorn, though it may find the uninitiated’s interest waning at what seems to be a meaningless mess of bright lights and flying fists.

            Scott Pilgrim, played fantastically by Michael Cera, is a charmingly awkward slacker from Toronto who finds himself falling in love with the girl of his dreams (literally), Ramona Flowers (Mary Elizabeth Winstead). Yes, this is Cera playing yet another clueless, hopeless romantic, but having read the series of graphic novels the movie is based on I find it hard to imagine anybody else stepping into the shoes of the nerdy layabout – he captures the geeky nature of the character perfectly. And this is a character that is well fleshed-out; he is a flawed individual and his actions are not all one-hundred percent honourable, making for a surprisingly interesting hero to follow. Other characters are also brilliantly realised in their transition from print to big screen: newcomer Ellen Wong puts in a great turn as Scott’s initial high school girlfriend, Knives Chau, and Alison Pill as drummer Kim Pine is divinely sarcastic, providing a great launch pad for much of the film’s humour, while Jason Schwartzman gives us a terrifically loathsome villain to hate upon.

            Even though the rest of the cast are stellar in their performances, none of the characters bar Scott’s nearest and dearest are fleshed out anywhere near as much as they should be. It is disappointing that a roster of such fantastic characters in the graphic novels suffer from such neutered development, though any film attempting to fit a series of six books into a two hour slot was inevitably destined for severe cuts, and in all fairness the movie works wonders with the runtime it has, but one can’t help wonder how much more gold could have been mined out of the source material had the story been split across two or three instalments.

            The time Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World does have is spent primarily on action. Scott must defeat his new girlfriend’s seven evil exes if he wishes to keep dating her, and this is where the true meat of the film lies. Essentially being a romantic comedy, it was very surprising to see how well choreographed the fight scenes turned out. These were some of the most stylish, frantic and down-right absurd battles to grace cinema screens since this summer’s blockbuster Inception or even the past decade’s Matrix trilogy, with the entire cast involved being very convincing in combat. Who knew Michael Cera could be such a bad ass?

This is also where the heavy-hitting video game references come into play, with health bars and hit points flying into the air, oversized weapons being pulled out of nowhere and enemies bursting into coins. This isn't taking into account the plethora of sound bytes from games such as Zelda, Super Mario Bros. and Sonic the Hedgehog, as well as a Sims-like “pee bar” that appears when Scott visits the bathroom. Realism certainly is not top priority in this film, but Edgar Wright implements them in such a way that by the time the movie has reached the first ‘boss battle’ everything falls into place and even the most over-the-top moments flow naturally from the narrative. Video game fans will rejoice at moments like these, while others may get the joke or miss the point completely.

            The editing also deserves major praise. Little moments like whenever Scott’s hair is mentioned and he is suddenly shown wearing a hat in the next shot or having conversations take place over numerous timeframes and locations go a long way to give the film that comic book feel without seeming overtly gimmicky.

            The final piece of this epic puzzle is the music. Bands play a huge part in the graphic novels and this adaptation is no different. Scott’s band Sex Bob-Omb (yes, that’s another gaming reference!) sound exactly like I imagined they would when reading the book; absolutely terrible but great and infectious at the same time. The other numerous bands throughout the film all have great songs written by real musicians like Beck and Metric and they fit the feel of the film perfectly. Not forgetting the excellent score composed by Nigel Godrich featuring 8-bit style tracks that really completes the atmosphere, the best example possibly being before the movie even begins: an 8-bit rendition of the Universal Studios theme and logo.

            Despite poor character development and a somewhat rushed second half, Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World is a fantastic movie that is the best possible adaptation of the graphic novels any fan could wish for, as well as being a great stand-alone experience that anyone who enjoys being entertained will love. Some may be turned off by the frantic pace and the tidal wave of pop culture references – it is certainly a piece for the MTV generation – but I have no problem recommending it to anybody willing to give it the chance it deserves.

Rating: 4.5 out of 5

Am I Dreaming?

I just dreamt you read this. Is that weird?

"No... No. It's just, like, this really convenient subspace highway happens to go through your head. It's like three miles in fifteen seconds..."

Oh.

Anyway, as you're here... Welcome to my blog, where you'll get an insight into what's going on in my head. I'll mainly be posting reviews of movies, albums and games as well as some entries on whatever happens to be going through my thinker at any given moment.

I hope you enjoy your stay!