Upcoming Review Schedule

Hey there everyone!  It looks like the winter/spring 2012 release lineup is finally starting to heat up, and the G4F crew is busy playing as many of the latest console releases as possible to clear out our backlog.  March and April will be very exciting with some of the most anticipated titles of the year dropping, but I thought it would be good to let you all in on the G4F review schedule for the next few weeks.  As we have mentioned in the past, our reviews are not likely to come out on launch day.  We have to wait for most titles to release publicly like the rest of you, but we like to think we give titles their due by playing them for a week or more before rendering our decisions.

At any rate, I wanted to put out a list of upcoming games we plan to review and their release dates.  We are sticking with console titles exclusively for now until we get enough funds together to build a capable gaming PC, but we will try to include titles from every current console if possible.  If you read the list below and don't see something you think we should include, sound off in the comment section below with your suggestions.  I will update the list every few weeks to include more future releases, but for now here is what we will be working on in March.

• Street Fighter X Tekken (Launch 3/6)
• Mass Effect 3 (Launch 3/6)
• Ninja Gaiden 3 (Launch 3/20)
• Resident Evil: Operation Raccoon City (Launch 3/20)
• Dragon's Dogma (Launch 3/27)

There are a few gaps in there between releases, but some of these games promise to take a bit of time to burn through (I'm looking at you Mass Effect 3).  Also, we will be working on putting together some gameplay videos and other nonsense to get us through to April.  We are also all about revisiting past titles, so there may be a bit of that going on at G4F as well. 

Until then......VIDEO GAMES!!

~KGB

Syndicate Demo Impressions

In four short days, the full version of Syndicate will launch, but in the meantime, EA has graced us with a playable version of the 4 person cooperative online mode which showcases some of the game's mechanics.  There is only one playable stage available for exploration, but the demo does a good job of demonstrating the general control scheme and the overall feel of the available weapons. 

From what I have gathered so far, the co-op mode features up to 4 players who are pitted against computer controlled opponents as they attempt to complete the stage specific objectives.  As players move through the stage, points are awarded for kills, kill assists, team support actions (revives/reboots), and other skill based activities.  Those points then show up in a running lobby leaderboard which tracks your stats in comparison with your allies as the mission progresses.  Teamwork is encouraged, but not in the same way that you would find in competitive multiplayer matches in other FPS titles.  Players are given the option to choose from a limited number of customizeable class loadouts before the map loads, but most players that I have come across abandon their preset classes some time after the beginning of the match. 

There are several unlockable player abilities that allow for a degree of character customization, and will likely have more impact in the full version of the game, but a majority of the unlocks are unavailable for the demo.  Weapons are customizeable to a degree but not to the extent that you would find in COD or in Battlefield.  Weapon perks seem to focus more on proficiency than aesthetics in this regard.  

Syndicate's default control scheme most closely resembles COD's current control setup with the exception that the shoulder buttons are mapped to your given character's equipped abilities.  Other than that, console FPS veterans will likely feel right at home with this one.  There is an option to adjust the sensitivity of the X axis and the Y axis independantly rather than one all encompassing sensitivity control, which makes sense.  However, no matter how much I tweaked these settings, it seemed like there was a bit of input lag that I haven't experienced in most modern shooters.  I found this to be an issue with both online and locally hosted one player matches, but I doubt it is indicative of how the final product will play out.

I also took issue with the overall menu navigation of the demo.  The layout is somewhat cluttered for my taste, and I found some of the scroll over prompts to be misleading when cycling over certain menu options.  Transitions from one menu to the next feel a little sluggish at times as well, but perhaps I just wasn't in a patient mood while playing the demo.

Overall, the demo feels slick, but somewhat lackluster if the one playable mission is indicative of how the rest of the finished co-op mode will run.  I also found that most of my allies simply wanted to rush headfirst into most confrontations without exploring all of their tactical options first, and there doesn't really seem to be any noticeable penalty for doing so.  Perhaps there will be a difficulty curve to some of the later missions, but I'm betting that the single player campaign is where most of the meat will be found in this title.  That's not to say that co-op will have nothing to offer, but the demo doesn't really have me pumped to jump online on launch day.

The Darkness 2 Review

Jackie Estacado is back in full force with this year's sequel to the Darkness, and after spending a week with this game I can confidently say that this is one roller coaster ride that you don't want to miss.  Despite the fact that The Darkness 2 is a basically linear, story driven first person shooter, it proves to be the most entertaining new release that I have played in 2012 so far.  Let's pick it apart though, shall we?

Story/Visuals 

If you didn't play The Darkness, there's no need to feel like you are out of the loop.  The Darkness 2 does a very good job of bringing you up to speed on the history of Jackie E. and his cohorts through in game dialogue and a few flashbacks that don't hit you over the head with rehashed plot.  Even though The Darkness 2 is a direct continuation of its predecessor, Jackie and the ever present "Darkness" have been pitted against a new enemy and the story stands up on its own without much help from the original.  The in game dialogue and chapter end vignettes are very well scripted, and the voice work is convincing despite the fact that most of Jackie's mob buddies sound a bit like canned, Italian stereotypes.  However, when someone mentions "this thing" of Jackie's, they don't mean the mafia.

I was just admiring the.....AHEM......art style.  Yeah....that's it.

Of course, The Darkness 2 follows the lore of its comic book counterpart, and the presentation style does a better job of pulling this off than most video games or even movies have managed to do before.  The world that Jackie lives in is gritty and visceral, and the depths of his own psyche are even more dangerous.  The Darkness 2 is not without its plot twists and turns, and the story will often leave you scratching your head, but don't let that dissuade you from playing it through to the end.  Eventually, everything makes complete sense.

In keeping with the comic book presentation of Jackie's story, The Darkness 2 is rendered with the cell shaded, hard outlined visual effect that many other titles have used in the past.  At first I was skeptical about what effect this would have on the immersion effect of TD2, but it really works for this game.  All of the hard edges are softened somewhat by the textures and lighting that are used to build the game's environment.  It never felt like the game looked too cartoony or that the color palette betrayed the darker tone that the game was trying to convey.

The art style did tone down the effect of the extreme brutality a bit which isn't really a complaint.  Most games put too much emphasis on making viscera too realistic while abandoning any sound reason for including such gratuitous imagery in the first place, but TD2 finds balance in this area.  TD's animation system helps tie things together nicely by keeping things reasonably realistic, but by adding a bit of visual flair that ratchets up the entertainment value at the same time. 

Gameplay

It um......doesn't end well for this guy.

TD2 is technically just another linear FPS, but having the "Darkness" on your side adds a dimension to the control scheme that other titles lack.  As you progress through through the story mode, every kill builds Jackie's essence pool which can be used to buy attributes or level up existing abilities.  TD2 uses an attribute wheel that is broken into 4 sections.  One section essentially builds your attack powers, another increases the amount of health or ammo you are awarded for specific kills.  The other two sections either augment existing powers or open up style techniques that increase essence output. 

Jackie's darkness tentacles are responsible for adding the most variety to the way TD2 plays as they provide three dimensions of attack during any battle.  The left tentacle is used to grab enemies or environmental elements that can be thrown or manipulated.  The right tentacle is assigned for melee functions and executions.  The combination of the tentacles with Jackie's ability to dual wield a variety of weaponry brings more excitement to every battle sequence.  Also, TD2's dual wielding function is probably the most effective use of the mechanic that I have experienced in an FPS since Halo 2.  Whether you are toting dual 9mm handguns, twin SMGs, or a combination of both the results are more than satisfying.  On top of that, Jackie moves the pistols around and even crosses his arms after prolonged gunfire further enhancing the coolness factor.

Boss battles are few and far between in TD2, but the sheer number of varied enemies you confront in later parts of the game fills the gap nicely.  The bosses you do come across will test your mastery of the "Darkness" as most of them know about your aversion to light, and the arenas force you to choose your plan of attack carefully at higher difficulty settings.  The only weakness that I found in this area was that by the time you reach the end of the game, your darkness powers will likely be leveled up to the point that later boss battles won't feel as challenging as the earlier ones.  In fact, the final boss battle provided little to no challenge when compared with most of the normal enemy confrontations throughout the campaign.  Then again, I suppose this reflects Jackie's growing mastery of the "Darkness" itself.

Final Thoughts

The Darkness 2 is just what gamers need to spice up the otherwise dull winter 2012 release schedule.  The combination of solid storytelling with multi-dimensional first person gameplay goes a long way toward making this title a tough one to top for this year's release lineup, but TD2 is far from perfect.  I didn't experience any frustrating glitches or frame rate hiccups, but TD2's hangups come from its own action's fluctuating peaks and valleys.  During the first few chapters of the game, players are encouraged to explore Jackie's powers, and while enemies are challenging they never felt overwhelming.  As a result, TD2 gives you a chance to experiment and acclimate yourself with its control scheme.  In later parts of the game, it just felt like there were so many enemies in various points that you are more likely to hack and slash wildly to survive the onslaught rather than playing strategically. The effect is short lived, however, as the game's ending resets the pacing for the last few chapters. 

Nonetheless, The Darkness 2 provides everything I look for in a worthwhile FPS campaign.  Jackie isn't your typical silent protagonist, and it is clear that the game developers want their audience to connect with the struggles he is experiencing.  The story mode takes around 7 or 8 hours to complete if you take the time to collect all of the dark relics hidden throughout, and the ending suitably ties up the story while leaving the option for another sequel wide open.  The game does feature a multiplayer mode called "Vendettas" that allows players to play through co-op missions, but I haven't had the chance to dig into this mode yet.  Expect to see a gameplay video that highlights Vendetta mode later this month.  It's also nice to see that once the game is completed, you have the choice to select a "New Game +" option that allows you to play through the game with all of the abilities you unlocked at the expense of erasing your existing save file. 

Long story short, The Darkness 2 is one game that I'm glad I didn't pass up this season.  Although TD2 may seem like a vanilla shooter on the surface, there is a level of potential depth here that will keep you coming back for more darkness time and time again.

It ain't easy having hair like this.

Overall Score: 9/10 (Great)

Look for reviews of Syndicate and Asura's wrath in the weeks to come.  Also, we should be posting some gameplay videos in the near future. Until then, keep your thumbs limber my friends.

~KGB

UFC : Undisputed 3

UFC Undisputed 3 gets ready to drop in a few short hours. Many have played the demo few the full game as of yet. I am one who did get the chance to play the full game. Let me tell you this game is more polished than its predecessors, while still keeping the basics intact with a few minor tweaks.

One of the great additions to this game is the expanded weight classes giving you pretty much anyone you want to fight with a few fighters that can go up and down in weight class. Pride mode is a welcome addition to the game, but the only real downfall is that you can only play with fighters who have held a fight in Pride (checking on this it has been brought to my attention there might be a way), making the pickings very slim in the overall division. On the bright side it holds true to the actual competitors and who doesn't like soccer kicking Rampage in the face?

The overall striking detection and sway response has gotten a huge overhaul, and it doesn't feel clunky to stand up and bang. If you go for a round house and miss completely you now can over spin and be taken down and give up your back instantly. They have also made a change in the submission game which i feel is a huge upgrade.  Instead of having you spin the stick as fast as you can and having the superior submission expert pull off the tap almost instantly in the fight you now must keep away from your opposition submission bar as shown below.

I have yet to begin the camp mode, and have just been messing around with friends, or playing title mode and title defense. I can say if you're a fan of the others this one will surpass and live up to the hype a lot of other sites are giving this game. The game play is pretty flawless especially with simulation health (you gas faster the more you throw) hit detection is pretty much spot on i have not run into any problems. Graphics are outstanding giving out the old eye vagina is really satisfying in this game as you can see the extent of the cut.

3 hours to go until some epic online battles.

Ill say 9/10 the additions to this game have made this fighter simulation that much better.

~Casual

KoA: Reckoning

Today were going to take a look at KoA: Reckoning. KoA to me is a hack and slash style of RPG, a cross between God of War and Elder Scrolls it was it screams the most. I have probably about 10 hours worth of play time put in so far as a mage (which i have never played in an RPG).

There are a only a hand full of races to select from that each have there own racial awarded bonuses. Much like the traditional RPG. You may wanna research the following races before rolling your character in KoA so you can decide which path to take from warriors to casters the choice is yours.
     Almain (Human)
     Varain (Human Nomads)
     Ljosalfar (Light Elves)
     Dokkalfar (Dark Elves)

The quest icons in KoA remind me of World of Warcraft as the are displayed on the map as an exclamation point and when the quest is filled and ready to be returned the quest giver has an arrow above his head. On the min map your quest will appear as a gold circle. Make sure you check all buildings for quest if you dont like to miss side quest for easy gold and experience.

The game play is pretty basic as you can combo with your melee weapon, or combine buttons such as LT and X to do longer but more powerful attacks. Casting consists of holding RT and pressing A,B,X,Y to your mapped spells. That makes the ability to cycle through your spells while others are on cool down excellent. But it also causes a frustrating problem for console users because you can only have 4 spells mapped at once, to switch you must go into your abilities menu and map a different one. It might be a good idea before you hop into a dungeon to know what your enemies weakness is.

There are 3 basic skill trees in KoA they are Sorcery, Might, and Finesse. Going back to your race you may want to pick a race that goes well with the tree you are going to build on. I only have experience in the sorcery tree i have yet to expand into the others but i would imagine tree has skills for melee combat, medium range combat, and long range combat.

KoA is a challenging game on Hard Difficulty, i have encountered a few Dungeon Bosses that have given me some fits so far with having to juice up on potions to running away to break there attack aggro. One thing that will help you get through your boss battle is to save your Energy called Fate, with this attack it will allow you to bring the fight into slow motion and also have higher chance to stun. When you knock out your enemy in fate mode it goes into quick time mode where you mash a botton to gain up to 100% more XP.

Overall this game has lived up to the hype, it may not be as big and tedious of Skyrim, but its just what the doctor order.

9/10
Ill keep you update if anything changes but this game just meets the requirements for an RPG, and has a bunch of cool and relaxing features at the same time.

~Casual

Soul Calibur V Review

Soul Calibur V is yet another addition to the long catalogue of 3D fighting games out on the market, and it continues the course of the "Soul" series established back in the fledgling days of the original Playstation console.  However, does this latest title add anything to the series that challenges the standard of what 3D brawlers have come to be?  Let's take a look at how the base elements stack up.


Play Modes


SC5 is a continuation of the popular franchise set nearly two decades after the events of its predecessor, and as such there are very few changes to how most of the standard modes of play have been hashed out.  It's all about the basics here with a short story mode, arcade challenges, online and offline multiplayer, quick play matches, a "Legendary Souls" mode which pits you against CPU controlled opponents of increasing difficulty, and an obligatory training mode.  


Story mode was perhaps the most disappointing of these game types due to the fact that most of the plot revolves around the actions of no more than 3 main protagonists throughout its 20 chapter span.  Rather than giving each playable character his or her own unique story line, SC5 strictly follows the story of Patroklos and Pyrra Alexandra whose fates are tied directly to the Soul Calibur and Soul Edge swords.  Many of the other characters make appearances throughout the main campaign, but they are used either as opponents or as minor support devices. 


In a presentation sense, the story mode is primarily illustrated through a series of manga style story board pictures with character narration.  Some scenes were delivered by way of game engine animated CG vignettes, but these felt few and far between given the emphasis on the static images that comprised the majority of the story's delivery.  The combination of both forms was not particularly impressive or stylistically unique in regard to Japanese fighting games, but they adequately drive the action forward.

Regrettably, the plot was too weak to warrant a stand alone effort, and the lack of variety left me wanting after using the same characters over and over for nearly three hours (including cutscenes and dialogue).  Arcade mode offers some respite in this regard for players who want a progressive opponent based challenge that allows you to sharpen your skills with a given character.  Story mode seemed bent on confining the experience to just a few characters for the sake of continuity, but the weakness of the plot made this move superfluous.

Arcade mode is interesting as it pits players against 6 consecutive CPU controlled opponents and then reports the time that it took to defeat them.  That score can then be reported to a leaderboard or to your friends list for a bit of friendly competition.  Of course the meat of this game can be found in the competitive multiplayer mode which can be played either online or offline against friends or a CPU opponent.  The character gallery provides enough variety in terms of play style and character design that most players will be able to find a niche that fits their own play style.

The character creation tool is another way to tailor the Soul Calibur experience to your liking as it provides a way for players to customize their own fighter's appearance, fighting style, and weapon selection.  There isn't as much customization available as in the creation tools found in Skyrim for example, but it's still a cool way to leave your own mark in online matches.  A character's height and build does factor into his or her level of strength and agility, however, so a four foot tall fairy sprite swinging a two hundred pound battle axe won't necessarily do as much damage as a seven foot troll would.  It should also be noted that the fighting styles available for character customization are limited to those used by existing characters in the multiplayer catalogue.

Final Thoughts

3D fighting games have grown somewhat stagnant lately as many of the mechanics that made them unique in the early days of arena fighting have become so common place across the full spectrum of game developers.  Soul Calibur doesn't necessarily cater to the hardcore skill player culture in the way that past Virtua Fighter or Street Fighter titles have, and it lacks the creativity in multi layer set design that Dead or Alive provides.  The result is that SC5 fails to recapture the spark that 3D fighters set off in the late 90s.  That's not to say that the variety found in SC5's character gallery isn't impressive or rewarding, but the fact remains that this game's basic formula is a bit overplayed for today's market. 

SC5 is ripe with acheivements and trophy opportunities, but none of them really lead to areas that make playing the title feel fresh or fun.  The online multiplayer runs as smoothly as can be expected, but input lag is frustrating and can often be game breaking if either party has a weak connection.  Offline multiplayer is still fun, but I can't see myself pumping hours and hours into it like I did with past games.  I also found the lack of any multiplayer game type tweaks to be a bit of a let down.  Most modern games employ some sort of tag team mode or 4 player mode, but SC5 is devoid of any of these conventions. 

The verdict here is that SC5 may not be a sub par fighting game, but it doesn't really do much to advance or challenge the current state of 3D arena fighting games in any way.  It's nice to see that this title stays true to it's loyal fan base by preserving Soul Calibur's core gameplay.  However, it would have been great to see things mixed up a bit more.  The game play is solid on this one, but I think more should be expected from 3D fighters in order for the genre to continue to be successful.

Overall Score: 6/10 Average

Never Dead

This one is going to be short and sweet. I basically checked this out to see if it was worth all the bad reviews I have been seeing. This game has a few interesting concepts. Your player will get dismembered and you must roll over your body parts to reattach them. Or roll your head back on to your shoulders to stand up again.

I cant say i spent more then 15 minutes on this game, i can say that this is not a game you will want to drop $65  on you will regret it. Rent it if you wanna check it out, wait until you find it in the bargain bin for $5. The aiming system is easily forgettable, and when you shoot its like your playing paintball. I cant give it an accurate grade because i never finished it, But i wouldn't give it above of 5 / 10 even if i did.

On to something bigger and better, I'm off to play KoA which is set to hit shelves tomorrow. I have 6 hours into the game and I'm loving every minute of it.

Stay Frosty
~Casual