inFamous 2
by Adam on August 21, 2011
I came to New Marais, I saw the need for a hero, I conquered all enemies. But was it fun?
inFamous 2 didn’t really deliver on my request for shades of grey when dealing with moral issues. Instead, in the sequel, it’s more or less business as usual: save the civilians, or kill the civilians. What these clear moral choices offer is the opportunity to really exaggerate the qualities of good or evil on your play through. I suppose this sits well with the comic book feel to the game, but I believe gamers are ready for an experience a little more nuanced.
Buy games cheaper with the InvisibleHand
by Adam on June 18, 2011
Feel like you’re paying too much for games? Then you probably are. If you’re popping into your local HMV, Game, or supermarket then you are almost definitely probably paying too much!
Sure, you may get a good deal in your supermarket or local entertainment store if they’ve got a particular game on offer. However this tends to be the exception to the rule. So what’s a thrifty gamer to do?
One option which is a particular favourite of mine, is if you can hold off on buying a game, then do so! If you wait a few weeks to a couple of months games can fall significantly in price. Yet this doesn’t help the thrifty gamer who needs their wallet saving from a day-one purchase, or a game that’s recently come out.
Hands-on with Age of Empires Online
by Adam on May 29, 2011
I can finally talk about the game I’ve been playing for the past few weeks as the non-disclosure agreement has been lifted. It turns out that Age of Empires Online was the secretive project that Robot Entertainment had been working on, originally called Project Spartan.
Any fan of the series will immediately be able to tell where Age of Empires Online gets its pedigree from. Looking at gameplay and the historial period covered, Age of Empires Online seems to be a hybrid between the very first Age of Empires game released and Age of Mythology except with a few twists and many refinements.
You can also see heavy inspiration taken from Age of Empires III with the concept of a Capital city and plenty of gameplay additions from that release. However, whereas Age of Empires III was criticised for slowing down the gameplay, this has been rectified in Age of Empires Online. It almost feels as fast as the great classic, Age of Empires II.
- Of course PSN developers are hurting. Especially PSN-exclusive developers such as Q Games (responsible for the PixelJunk series). In some instances it’s their only source of income! Comments Off #
2011 is another great year for gaming
by Adam on April 23, 2011
I’ve got to get my skates on. I’m still wading through Red Dead Redemption which I’m still loving (but it’s huge!) and that’s not to mention Undead Nightmare that I’ve yet to touch.
Meanwhile PixelJunk Shooter 2 is going in the sin bin. Permanently. So for now I’m just going to highlight a few select games that are going to be epic this year and what I’ll be hoping to play:
Portal 2
As I write this, the game is on its way in the post. I wasn’t originally going to buy it until it had come down in price, but it’s been a combination of not wanting to stumble across any spoilers, the fact the game is three times larger than the original, everyone’s freaking out about how good it is and that the PS3 version is the definitive version… of course I’ve had to jump on the bandwagon and offer up a few notes to the guys at Valve in exchange for a copy of the game. I couldn’t resist.
inFamous 2
This one’s going to be a pre-order as I absolutely loved the first game. That alone justifies its inclusion on this list. Let’s just say that improved graphics, storyline, new abilities, and tons more gameplay sweeten the deal? Access to Uncharted 3′s multiplayer beta seals the deal!
Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception
If I could only choose to buy one game this year, it would be Uncharted 3. From Uncharted’s humble origins in 2007, to worldwide anticipation in 2011- each game simply oozes quality. Beyond simply being ‘just another franchise’, so much love, blood, sweat and tears go into creating each game that they’ve become more than just games, they’re masterpieces (my opinion).
Assassin’s Creed Brotherhood gameplay
by Adam on March 29, 2011
Seen as I’ve been playing quite a lot of Assassin’s Creed Brotherhood recently, I thought it would be the perfect game to show my latest addition to the blog: videos!
The following video has something for everyone: avid online gamers can watch my epic fails as I (admittedly) struggle through a couple of multiplayer games of ‘Wanted’, those wanting some action can watch as I lay waste to a large number of guards in the city of Rome, and my fan club can wince as my dulcet tones are compressed through a sub-standard microphone. Enjoy!
Edit 18/04/11: The video no longer exists thanks to Vimeo (boo, hiss), and so I’m now working on alternative videos for YouTube (yay).
http://www.vimeo.com/21625481
I’ll post some in-depth details about the video on Sleight of Hand soon, but put briefly- I’m learning and yes, there’s a lot wrong with the video itself. It runs for about 40 mins which is way too long but I wanted to push the HD content, the running time, and the file size to the limit.
What do you think?
Update 30/03/11: For reference the post, ‘How I record gameplay from my PS3‘ is now up on Sleight of Hand.
The Da Vinci Disappearance
by Adam on March 22, 2011
I previously covered Assassin’s Creed Brotherhood on the blog way back in December 2010. Towards the end of my review I said:
As for whether Brotherhood is significantly shorter than it’s predecessor, well, it’s definitely shorter, but not by much. I have completed the main story mode with a smattering of side missions in about 16 hours. 100% completion in AC II totalled a good 30 hours. To achieve the same in Brotherhood I’m estimating around 20 hours as a ballpark figure. So that gives you a game 2/3 the size as its predecessor.
‘When in Rome: Assassin’s Creed Brotherhood single player‘
It turns out that I underestimated the sheer amount of content the developers packed in to Assassin’s Creed Brotherhood. In fact, I’ve notched up 37 hours of gameplay within the historic walls of Rome. And that’s still just the single player.
So, what does this have to do with The Da Vinci Disappearance? Well, we’re talking about DLC that adds more gameplay to a game already fit-to-burst with content. The DLC itself isn’t anything particularly remarkable. If you’ve played through a good chunk of Assassin’s Creed II and/or Brotherhood, then there’s nothing new to see here.
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