Hiatus, schmiatus!

Hey G4F'ers!  That's my new nickname for people who visit GF4 Production's sites, and I hope you like it.  I thought I would just drop by and do a little status update since things have been a little bare around here for a while, but rest assured things will get rolling along nicely again soon.  Despite the sparse spring lineup, we are actually working on a number of title reviews, and video content to post to the blog, and we are still plodding along on our way to getting the stand alone site launched.  My partner in crime recently had an unfortunate accident regarding his gaming consoles, thereby leaving me solely in charge of reviews.  Hence, things have been a little slow in the going in the article department for the last few weeks until we can have his equipment replaced.

We are also working on getting a premium PC built to handle high spec PC releases so we can cover more platforms, but that may not be for a while yet.  Suffice it to say, things are slowly going back to normal, and we have not been deterred from venturing into the world of games journalism.  Some of the titles we are picking up this week are Resident Evil: Raccoon City Chronicles, Ninja Gaiden 3, and Sniper: Ghost Warrior 2.  We currently have a copy of Mass Effect 3, but I'm not so sure we want to get involved in all of the negative press this thing has been receiving by posting a full review, but we may do some game play videos or something for those who are still undecided. 

I'm currently working on a review of Binary Domain, a game that I feel has been desperately under appreciated, but writer's block has delayed me yet again.  Nevertheless, we are still here and we are still working on building our repertoire.  Stay tuned for more content soon!

Syndicate (2012) Review

I'll spare the comparisons between this version of the game and it's 1993 counterpart for this review given the fact that I didn't play the original, but Syndicate 2012 has been out for about two weeks at this point, and players have expressed mixed feelings about the game.  The winter 2012 release schedule has been fairly uneventful as of yet, but Syndicate adds a little bit of flair to an otherwise dull season.  Immediate visual and mechanical comparisons can be made to last year's Crysis 2, or Mirror's edge (both also published by EA), but aside from the futuristic setting and the now standard control scheme, this linear FPS stands on its own as a uniquely interesting piece of work.

A game featuring voice work by Brian Cox?  Yes please!

The future is bleak in Syndicate's 2069, as corporations are the new super powers, and most of modern society has embraced electronic integration in the form of neural implants thereby rendering many electronic devices obsolete.  You play through the single player campaign as an "agent" of one of the leading neuro chip manufacturers or "syndicates" who is basically responsible for carrying out acts of industrial espionage or counter intelligence against other corporations.  However, corporate terrorism has become far more public than in our current day, and war is carried out by militant syndicate units rather than nationalist armies.  There are underlying tones representing the effects of consumerism and corporate manipulation of the public, and the whole thing is tied together by some scarce but superb voice acting by the likes of such celebrities as Brian Cox (The Bourne Supremacy) and Rosario Dawson (Sin City) who add a little bit of something extra to the story's credibility.

The single player mode starts out slowly with tutorials and backstory that help lead players into the mythos that has created this dismal future, but things quickly ramp up through the middle chapters as the plot reveals more about the silent protagonist and the history of the syndicate wars.  The whole story presents its share of plot twists and moral dilemmas, but the linear nature of the game leaves little room for the negotiation of Syndicate's ultimate outcome.  There is always the feeling that the game is drawing you to some predetermined conclusion, but the narrative never hammers you over the head with this innevitability to the point that a second play through the campaign would be impossible.  The game action never feels "on rails" like other popular FPS titles on the market, but it would be refreshing to see more choice and consequence interactivity with action titles like this. 

The story is not completely unique, but the presentation style and the quality of the writing, although sparse, is worthy of most successful Hollywood science fiction efforts.  Mechanically, Syndicate is perfectly polished, and nothing aside from a few difficulty spikes felt frustrating or clunky as you move through the game environments.  Some arenas do look a bit cut and pasty at times with repetitive achitecture, but then the game throws you for a loop by moving things to dark slums where the advance of technology has been rejected.  The geographic dicotomy is not necessarily mind blowing, but it offers just the right amount of variety to keep things interesting. 

There is plenty of weapon variety to be found in Syndicate, and most or your arsenal has a secondary function that provides the right amount of balance as you plan your strategy.  For example, on assault rifle features a full auto mode with a red dot reticule for close quarters, and a secondary ACOG scope for ranged encounters.  Each weapon has its own unique weight and recoil that set them apart from others.  There are also several power weapons to be picked off the bodies of tougher enemies that are insanely fun to use like the mini gun which slows your running speed, but tears through most enemies handily. 

DART overlay.....an agent's best friend.

Your most valuable weapon, however, is the DART chip which allows you to hack or "breach" enemy implants.  Throughout the campaign, you learn new abilities that allow you to compromise your enemies' hardware on the battlefield thereby increasing your own tactical options.  Each time a new ability is learned, a tutorial session launches to help learn how to use the ability effectively, but taking a break from the in game action to do so felt forced and obligatory rather than helpful.  The DART chip also allows you to enter a DART overlay mode which reveals enemy signatures even if they are behind cover.  Overlay mode also has a time slowing effect which makes it easier to aim shots to dispatch foes more quickly. 

Your breaching abilities also allow you to interact with a number of environmental objects throughout the game such as lifts or pressure valves that you can use to gain a tactical advantage.  There were a few puzzle solving sequences during the campaign that required the use of breaching, but it would have been great to see the DART chip utilized for more puzzle manipulation.  However, the focus on action seems to trump environmental navigation in this title.

Syndicate also features and online multiplayer suite that matches you with as many as four other players for cooperative missions.  There are no competitive multiplayer modes to be found here, but co-op feels satisfying nonetheless.  Every mission has an overlying objective that you and your fellow agents must complete as you face a variety of AI controlled opponents and boss enemies.  Multiplayer takes most of its cues from the single player campaign, but adds some depth by adding a ranking system, and a weapon upgrade system for those who like to customize their player classes. 

Cooperative goodness.

Each player accumulates points throughout each mission that are based on team interaction and on how enemies are dispatched.  As each round commences, a running point bulletin runs in the corner of the screen so you can see how you are doing compared with your team mates.  The scores are then tabulated on the game's online leaderboards for bragging rights.  Despite the addition of the leaderboard, the multiplayer never feels overly competitive, and most players play well as a team.  However, if you don't want to play with randoms, you have the option to form syndicates with your friends to set up private matches online.  You also have the option to try playing through each mission alone at varying difficulties, but I wouldn't recommend it.  The enemy count quickly becomes overwhelming, and most people would find it difficult to last more than a few minutes before they are overrun. 

Overall, Syndicate exceeded all of my expectations, especially for a title that I hadn't heard much about until a few months before its release date.  The futuristic title is not without its faults, but the single player alone is definitely worth a play through.  The multiplayer suite left me wanting a bit, but I have nothing against the cooperative format chosen for the game.  However, it would have been interesting to see some more modes of play that pit squads against each other in some way.  For example, there could be a sabotage mode where opposing squads are working for objectives while the other sets traps ala Splinter Cell"s mercenary mode, or something similar.  Fighting against bots is fun, but it's not really enough to hold my attention indefinitely.

Something about this title really strikes a chord with me though, and it reminds me of how I used to get excited about games before multiplayer became so popular on consoles.  The story slowly builds, and then before you know it you are hooked and want to know what happens next.  I wouldn't say that the writing is the best effort out amongst other popular titles, but this game absolutely lives up to its potential and in some ways exceeds it.  No individual component felt out of place, and Syndicate is solid all around.

Overall Score: 8/10

Asura's Wrath Review

Asura's Wrath is a difficult project to define.  In fact, I'm not so sure that I would qualify it as a video game at all as much as it is an interactive and heavily scripted video experience.  Most people who pick up a copy of this title will immediately draw game play comparisons to Quantic Dreams Studios' title Heavy Rain since Asura's Wrath is laden with quick time events, but stylistically the two endeavors couldn't be more different.  Asura's Wrath is best described as an episodic, interactive anime with interspersed action sequences, and even this comparison falls somewhat short of the mark. 

If this doesn't scream ANIME, I don't know what does.

Asura's Wrath follows the story of the demigod Asura who is one of the 8 demigod generals tasked with suppressing the spread of the impure gohma that are plaguing their homeworld.  However, things go awry when Asura's fellow generals betray him, frame him for the murder of their emperor, murder his wife, and kidnap his daughter.  Asura himself is killed and sent to purgatory only to be resurrected by the power of his own rage 15,000 years later.  Upon his awakening, Asura wages war against the remaining demigods who are harvesting human souls to irradicate the gohma, but by doing so pose a greater threat to the survival of the planet than the demonic creatures they seek to destroy. 

If there is any way this story could be more convoluted I would be interested to see how, but the way the plot unfolds is worthy of the praise any traditional anime would receive.  AW's progression is action focused, but it would be misleading to call this an action game.  I would also refrain from making too many comparisons to titles like Heavy Rain due to the fact that there are no diverging paths for the story line to follow based on in game choices.  The path Asura takes is strictly scripted, and the only thing the player has any influence over is how quickly each sequence is completed.  AW is broken down into literal episodes complete with mid action breaks and end credit previews of the coming action.  Each episode is a small part of a larger chapter which breaks the game into 3 chunks demonstrating the 3 phases of Asura's existence. 

Crazy action and absurd violence aren't necessarily bad things.

Make no mistake, the majority of this game revolves around the story being presented here, but there are portions of the game where you are in partial control of what is going on.  Quick time events are the most prevalent form of interaction, and players are thrown into short battle sequences.  There's not a lot of depth to AW's combat mechanics though.  Attacks are basically broken into light hits, heavy hits with a cool down counter, and a few charged power attacks.  Asura also has the ability to shoot energy from his mechanical fists, but you must remain still to do so.  Asura must finish each battle sequence before his own health depletes, but enemy characters don't typically have an energy or health bar.  Instead, every battle is completed once Asura lands enough blows to build his rage meter thereby unlocking "burst" mode.  This triggers a cinematic finishing move or another sequence of QTE events that are visually dazzling, but not very difficult to complete. 

Asura's Wrath may not be for every audience, and the $60 price tag may dissuade many gamers from buying what is essentially only 1/3 game, and 2/3 computer generated anime.  However, I wouldn't say that AW is completely without merit.  I played through the entire game in around 2 sittings, and walked away satisfied with how things played out.  The game doesn't hold much replay value since there aren't any collectibles or side quests to be found here, but individual chapters can be selected and played through to achieve a better rank at any time.  At any rate, Asura's Wrath warrants a rental at least to experience the craziness that ensues here, but doesn't provide enough real content to justify the full retail price mark.  At the very least, this game is a visual spectacle that is certain to please any anime fan, but the lack of any real strategical substance makes AW more of a novelty piece than a true action game.

Overall Score 6/10: (Rental Worthy)