Batman:Arkham Origins

Batman Arkham Origins

 

Batman Arkham Origins is an action adventure game released around the world in 2013. It follows the 2011 game Batman: Arkham City and is the third instalment in the Batman series. Even though it may not be as popular as the other two games it is still a great game and is arguably one of the games of the year.

Released on October 25^th 2013 worldwide, the game received positive reviews from critics. Game Rankings and Metacritic rated the PlayStation 3 version 73.59% and 76/100, they gave the Xbox version 73.14% and 74/100. The Wii U version got a decent score of 70.60% and 70/100 and the Microsoft Windows version got a 73.57% and 74/100. Critics said that Arkham Origins handled the genesis of Batman’s relationships with his adversaries and allies and its question of whether Batman’s presence enhances crime in Gotham city as the game’s best asset. The gaming world was well received for its number and variety of side missions and great main story missions.

The story of Batman Arkham Origins is based in the time before Arkham Asylum and Arkham City. The story begins with Batman intervening in a jailbreak at Blackgate Penitentiary which is orchestrated by Black Mask. Batman soon wins but finds out that eight of the world’s deadliest assassins are in Gotham City to claim a $50 million bounty placed on his head by Black Mask. The Joker is also a prominent character in this game as he tracks the Joker to the Gotham Royal Hotel, where he discovers that the Joker has filled the hotel with explosives and has murdered the staff. This is one of the many ways in which the Joker shows his sadistic nature.

Death stroke is also available as a playable character for the DLC content. The Death Stroke pack which is available as a preorder bonus, this includes two alternate outfits and two challenge maps.

During its first week of sales in the UK, the game was the number one selling game on all platforms. It was the eleventh bestselling boxed game of 2013 in the country. It was also the top selling game on Steam between October 20^th and the 26^th 2013.

The overall gameplay for Batman Arkham Origins is crisp and smooth, and is just as fluid as the other two previous Batman games. New equipment was given to Batman with the likes of the new Remote Claw, this allows Batman to target two objects and pull them together. The shock gloves allow Batman to block electric attacks and disable enemies and stun shielded enemies. The Concussion Detonator is capable of stunning a large enemy group.

Overall the game is a great game to play and does the Batman series justice with its smooth and fluid fighting motions. The characters are enjoyable as always with the likes of Black Mask being introduced and memorable characters like Death stroke it makes the game even better.

8/10

BulletStorm

BulletStorm

 

 

Bulletstorm is a first person shooter game created in 2011 by a Polish developer called People Can Fly and Epic Games. This was also published by Electronic Arts for the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and Microsoft Windows. This game shows the great humour which can be implemented into games.

Released in Europe on all platforms on February 25 2011, the game received positive reviews from many critics. CVG gave the game a 9.1/10 and IGN gave the game a great score of 8/10. Game Informer praised the game’s degree of character control, which is very much similar to Mirrors Edge. They also said that the storyline was dark and humorous, saying that it is goofy and a great sci-fi romp that doesn’t deserve to have its cut scenes skipped at all times.  But the sales didn’t display these great reviews, as the game sold just under a million which means that they didn’t turn a profit for this game. Even though the sales were bad, there has been a cult following in the recent years, and many say that this game is one of the most undepreciated games of all time.

 

 

 

BulletStorm is set in the 26^th century, where everything is run by the confederation of planets. Sarrano who is the general for the confederation sends his black ops team who is led by the main character called Grayson Hunt to assassinate those who Sarrano believes to be criminals when in fact they are innocent people, but Grayson doesn’t know this and soon decides to fight back against Sarrano. Ten years later Grayson takes revenge on Sarrano, he does this by colliding his ship into a ship called Ulysses and then the story kicks off from there.

BulletStorm uses the combat great with a mixture of firearms and melee attacks, melee attacks can vary from sliding into your enemies and kicking them into the air, the leash allows Grayson to pull enemies towards him so he can deliver a killing blow. Weapons consist of pistols, rifles and cannons that can shoot bolas weighted grenades. Every weapon has an alternate fire modes which uses charges, the assault rifles alternate fire is one single blast of bullets which can literally destroy everything in its path. Points can be used to purchase different things at the drop kits, the drop kits allow you to purchase guns, and will allow you to look at your gameplay statistics.

 

 

The fun factor in this game is great, with the fact that you can leash enemies towards you and kick them away in a violent fashion is great for the player. The humour in the dialogue is funny as dialogue can be, the relentless use of swearing makes the dialogue even funnier, but I would not recommend this game for anyone under the age of 18 as some of this game could offend people. The game has the same feel as Gears of War, with its use of blood and the overall game play, it’s a good thing that I’m a fan of Gears of War then.

Overall this game is great, and I would recommend this to everyone over the age of 18 as the humour makes the game fun and the endless amount of violence make this game a thrill ride which you don’t want to miss out on.

9/10

Call Of Duty: Ghosts

Call Of Duty: Ghosts

Call Of Duty: Ghosts is a first person shooter game created by Infinity Ward in 2013. It is the tenth installment of Call Of Duty and the sixth developed by Infinity Ward, with it being Call Of Duty is is once again a popular success and is known as one of the best in the series.

Released on Microsoft Windows, Playstation 3, Xbox 360 and the Wii U in Europe on November 5th 2013, and then released on Next Gen on the Playstation 4 on November 29th 2013 and on the Xbox one on November 22nd 2013. This game received positive reviews from the critics, with the majority of people saying that the multiplayer is the strongest aspect of the game. IGN praised the game saying that it breathed new life into the multiplayer aspect, Video Gamer praised it saying that it seems more fun than Black Ops 2. Its sales empathies' its success by shipping $1billion worth of units worldwide.

 

The campaign of Call Of Duty: Ghosts is told through the eyes of Logan Walker, you are able to play as several different characters throughout the game but is mainly as Logan. The game with you and several other family members sat in the desert land or city. Soon a earthquake begins, and you are immediately took up to space about 20 minutes before hand of the earthquake, where you are controlling a astronaut who is on project Odin. Odin fires on Phoenix where Logan is situated and the whole story takes off from there.  

The Multiplayer is the biggest aspect of this game, as is through most of the Call Of Duty games. Maps now have areas that can be destroyed, you can now call on Odin strikes to neutralize your enemies. On October 3rd, a new multiplayer type was revealed called squads. This allows a squad that you can build and face other squads around the world with. Your squad can also be leveled up allowing that RPG element into the game. But for me Call Of Duty should be about the story and that's what I fell in love with.

The fun factor in this game is great with your accurate level of violence, with not too much gore that people can't handle. The campaign is action packed as always, but my only concern is that they are focusing way too much on the Multiplayer nowadays, even though the graphics to look great on next gen consoles by the way.

 

Overall the game is great and smooth to play, but with the game focusing on the multiplayer element, Call Of Duty does lose that spark for me, and is the main reason why I stopped my interest in this game. Just think of the old days of the Call Of Duty 2: The Big Red One, then you will realise what you are now missing.

7/10

Knack

Knack

Knack is a platform beat em up game created by Sony Computer Entertainment and developed only for the PS4 on its release. Since its release it has become one of the most popular games of this current generation.

Released in Europe on November 29 2013 Knack received mixed reviews form several different websites and companies. Game Rankings and Metacritic gave the game a score of 58.21% and 56/100. Which is quite low for a next generation game. But Game Informer gave the game a good score of 8.25/10, stating that the game is not the most innovative or the most visually dazzling game but will wanting more by the end of it. Which is what we all want from our games at the end.

 

The game play is very simple as well as the mechanics, Knack is able to discover abilities which then lets him incorporate Ice, Metal and other substances onto his body allowing him to use these elements to his advantage. It has touches of Crash Bandicoot placed into the game, and since I'm a big fan of Crash Bandicoot, I can't see that being a bad thing. Multiplayer is rather lacking in this game also, as with only being able to follow Knack it does rather take the multiplayer feel away from the game.

It's fun factor is big with the ability of punching your way through enemies and with its funny dialogue, it's great for the family and friends. But if you're a hardcore gamer and you want to earn them Playstation trophies this game probably won't satisfy your thirst for success. But with its challenging levels, and if playing on a high enough level when you're dying after one hit the end of the game will feel rewarding none the less.  

The plot is basic to understand as there's not much to it to be honest. The game starts out with the production of the Knack character, the doctor is showing of Knack to several other people and you controlling Knack, it's a great way to do the tutorial and show the basics of the game. Further on you are tasked to rid the troll or ogre infestation from the land and this is quite tricky as there are many obstacles guarding your path which you need to get rid of. These can be enemies or cliff faces which can all be a danger to your character, and as I have previously mentioned it doesn't take much to kill knack.

 

Overall the game is a fun game to play for the family. But with mechanics and overall game play lacking, this would not attract the hardcore gamer, and with hardly any multiplayer experience this game doesn't wow the new next gen players.

5/10

Ryse: Son Of Rome

Ryse: Son Of Rome

Ryse is a third person action game set in Rome, which was recently released onto the Xbox One, because of its slash and hack mechanics it is highly regarded as the best game to come onto next gen consoles.

Released worldwide on November 22 2013 onto the Xbox One it has had some great reviews by most critics but received mixed reviews by some. On Metacritic the game received a 60 out of 100 mainly because of its repetitive combat mechanics.  Electronic Gaming Monthly praised the game but only gave it a 7.5/10 which seems quite odd since they did give them a decent review. Good Game gave the game a score of 8.5/10 which compared to some of the other reviews is relatively good.

Ryse tells the story of a young Roman soldier called Marius Titus who was involved in the brutal murder of his whole family. You begin the story by defending and attacking a siege of barbarians who don't exactly want to wine and dine you, in this opening sequence the game gives you the basic controls but also some of the amazing killing sequences which we get onto later. From then on Marius tells his story of his life in the Roman army which at the time was an honor to join but the chances of you getting killed was very high and more than likely to happen, but since you are controlling a soldier then the outcome is completely up to you. I won't go onto too much detail about the story or else I'll probably ruin it for you.

The game play is one of its highest points especially with its amazing killing sequences, the moves will be highlighted with a colour and you have to correspond with that colour by tapping the button on your controller. The moves are quick and deadly, you can unlock new moves in the upgrading menu where you can not only improve on your moves but improve your health and many of your attributes. Players can also control their legion of armies with the kinect voice control or you can simply move them about with your controller, you can mount walls and arm catapults with your army, this also gives the game a sense of tactics and visionary and will test your gaming skills to stop  barbarians from taking Rome.

The best thing about the game which I like is the killing sequences, the kill moves are slick and deadly and when you're watching Marius chopping some guy's arm off you kind of feel bad for him but at the same time it gets your blood going. The only thing I would recommend on improving this game would be to focus more on changing the mechanics up a bit as many critics say that its too repetitive.  

To conclude I believe that this game is a great way of starting the next gen consoles and for Microsoft's future. This game gets a 9/10 from me.

The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker HD

The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker HD

The legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker is the remake of the 2003 Nintendo GameCube version, it was to mark the ten year anniversary of Zelda, and is widely known as one of the most popular Zelda games.

The game was released on the Wii U in Europe on October 4th 2013. On its release it received excellent reviews by some harsh critics. Metacritic gave the game a 90/100, and Game Rankings gave it a 90.29%. The better graphics in comparison to the 2003 version does help in its corner but it wasn't only just that but the story was also met with positive remarks, as many critics said that it keeps with tradition of memorable Zelda games. Not only the story and graphics but the combat mechanics also got rave reviews with critics saying that it is the best feature of the game.

On the first week of its release, in Japan 30,000 copies were sold and in the following week in the UK, sales of Wind Waker and the Wii U increased by a whopping 685%. With the independent saying that Nintendo hasn't had the best of times recently, but with increased sales, Nintendo can take some comfort in it's very recent success.

The game is set on a group of islands on a sea called the great sea, Link of course being the main character is struggling against Ganondorf for the control of a relic called the Triforce. Link during the game spends most of the time sailing between islands and travelling through dungeons and temples to gain the power to kill Ganondorf and then rescue his younger sister Aryll. Well that is the basic story of the game, but throughout the game you can also explore these different islands and discover new things which will immerse you even more into the game.

The game play is very much the same to the original version, however with the new graphics and several new features it makes the game even more exciting. The Wii U GamePad's touch screen is used as a map interface and a inventory screen. The player is able to use the motion controls to control the Wind Waker, weapons like the bow can be used by using the GamePad's gyroscope. The game also offers off-TV play which allows the player to play the game only on the Gamepad. Since this game is HD then the game has been updated since the 2003 version with 1080p graphics, and you can clearly see that the game is quite a bit lighter.

The best thing I like about the game is the quirky and bright graphics and characters, of course everyone loves Link but to see the remake of this game in HD is brilliant. And is what many Zelda fans have been calling for years now. But the only problem I have with this game is the fact that Nintendo haven't got with the times and have decided to go back to a game from 2003 and not come up with another game idea. But in my opinion the positives outweigh the negatives and this game receives a

 9/10.

Dead Island - Riptide

Dead Island - Riptide

Dead Island Riptide is an action survival horror game, where the player has top survive the onslaught of zombies and make their way through each segment of the game. Because of it's funny attributes and a great killing of zombies, it is one of my favorite zombie games.

Released in Europe on April 26 2013 on Microsoft windows, Xbox 360 and Play station the game received mixed reviews, Metacritic gave the Play station 3 version a low score of 61% out of 100 and on the Xbox 360 version it was given again a low score 60%, but IGN's Greg Miller said that the game is great gory fun, and to be honest I have to agree with him, even though the game didn't receive the greatest reviews and scores, it is still a great game.

Now let's talk about the story of the game... Riptide takes place just after the ending of the first Dead Island, the 4 immune survivors land on a military ship where they are taken prisoners by the Australian Defense Force. When the survivors and your character depending on who you picked to play as at the start of the game, pass out from the sedatives but when they wake up the ship they are have been overrun by a zombie horde. Even though I am slightly confused from where they came from, because I assume they can't swim since they are zombies. You must fight your way through the ship and find your fellow survivors, when the ship crashes into a rock, probably taking the concept from Titanic. The survivors are washed up on the beach of Palanai and are found by a woman researcher, but a zombie horde has again took over the area which you are situated, and you can already guess that you have to fight your way through the island but you also meet several other people who will also help you on your journey throughout the game.

The characters in the game are brilliant, even though the speech doesn't seem to match their mouths, the rapper Sam B is the typical black stereotype where every sentence has the F bomb in it. The other characters consists of an ex American football player called Logan Carter, a waitress called Xian Mei and an ex police officer called Purna which is quite a weird name. I don't believe that the game was trying to be funny, but in most parts it is.

The game play in the game consists of smashing zombies heads wide open with a crowbar, or if you are the rapper then you can literally punch the heads off their shoulders. In my opinion the game play is a bit like Saints Row 4, where you learn most of it just by playing it and having fun exploring the wonders of zombie brutality.

There are a couple of things I like about the game, one is the fact that you can upgrade weapons and customize them, you can turn a simple baseball bat into a nail bat of hell. The 2nd would be that you can just go to town on these zombies, the fact that you can roundhouse kick them every time they close to you is brilliant and kind of reminds of Left 4 Dead. The bad bits about the game is that the story isn't the best, so hopefully in future games they can improve on that. And finally it's the fact that these zombies compared to other games take ages to kill unless you have a really powerful weapon or if you're an expert at zombie dodging.

To conclude... This game is great and who doesn't like punching off zombie heads, but the only downfall will be the lack of story. But who cares when you've got thousands of zombies to destroy. Dead Island Riptide gets a 8/10 from me.