Beyond Good & Evil is well known in the gaming world as one of those games which received critical acclaim but was under-appreciated when it came to sales. I recently managed to get this game as part of the Ubisoft promotion on Steam recently where they sold four games (BG&E, Far Cry, Dark Messiah of Might & Magic and Il-2 Sturmovik) in one package for just USD10. A pretty good deal by any standard!
The game itself is an action adventure game where you take on the role of Jade, an intrepid reporter. Jade lives on the planet of Hyllis which is under attack by the DomZ. Hyllis is protected by the Alpha Sections, another alien race, although the battle is not going well as the people of Hyllis are slowly dwindling. However, there is a sinister secret behind the Alpha Sections which our intrepid reporter hero is determined to root out. I'm sure it'll come as no surprise for you to hear that the Alpha Sections are not what they seem (partly because of the foreshadowing in the paragraph and partly because this element of the story is widely publicised).
The game itself can only be described as an action adventure game. Although no particular element stands out as being exceptional, the game manages to mix together combat, stealth, hovercraft racing, fighter combat and platform elements into an extremely fun and engaging package. The disparate elements of the game, which differs so much from the 7 seconds of fun repeated ad infinitum model of shooter games, somehow come together really well in to a fun package. In this case, the whole really is greater than the sum of the parts. It also makes the gameplay hard to describe in a nutshell although I think the best description comes from the IGN review which says "It's Zelda for grown-ups, without the annoying fetch-quests."
What does stand out is the level of intelligence, humour and charm that permeates the game. During the course of the game, you will have one of two different companions with you to offer you assistance. The interactions between Jade and her companions are really quite funny and the developer must have had a great time poking fun at different action hero cliches.
My only real complaint against the game is that the controls and gameplay are really more suited to a gamepad than to a mouse and keyboard. Unfortunately, I don't think the developers put a lot of effort into the PC port as the game really shows its console roots.
Other than this minor gripe, this really is an excellent game and well worth checking out. A definite thumbs up from the Meister.
Sunday, April 19, 2009
Saturday, April 11, 2009
GRAW 2
Another game which I got on the cheap recently is Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter 2. GRAW 2 is another tactical FPS in the Tom Clancy franchise. The Ghost Recon series is based on the premise that you are a soldier in an elite squad of special forces unit called, surprising enough, Ghost Recon. As a member of the elite Ghosts, you are generally sent behind enemy lines on missions where utmost secrecy is required (hence the Ghost designation). What makes the GRAW series different from earlier Ghost Recon games is that GRAW is set sometime in the future which opens up funky new technology for your elite units.
Storywise, the game picks up right after the events of GRAW. In short, Mexico and the USA are about to sign a joint security agreement which will allow the US to officially send troops into Mexico. Certain rebel elements aren't happy about this and try to disrupt proceedings via the use of some stolen nukes. The US aren't going to let anything disrupt the signing of the joint security agreement hence the Ghosts are sent into Mexico on a black ops mission to deal with the rebels and the stolen nukes.
Like Rainbow Six: Vegas, GRAW 2 is very much focused on tactical gameplay. If you want to succeed, its important that you move your team into position before opening fire on the enemy. And just like R6:V, this equates into great gameplay particularly when you evaluate the situation and successfully plan out how you and your squad will attack the enemy. Although this is a good game, there are a couple of issues which prevent it from becoming a great game.
First off, GRAW 2 is surprisingly easy. Even on the hardest difficulty setting, I found myself breezing through the singleplayer campaign. Provided you take your time and play strategically, the enemy just doesn't provide much challenge. In fact, the only time I found myself challenged on the singleplayer campaign was when I was replaying the game and trying to get headshots using minimal number of shots fired for a higher score. The extra time it takes to aim for the head and not miss means that I'm exposed for longer and hence more likely to get shot.
The other problem with the campaign is that it is unbelievably short. Granted, this is just a guess, but I estimate I completed the singleplayer campaign in six hours or less. This is frankly piss poor considering most other FPS games are in the region of 8-12 hours. To be fair, I knew this going into the game as most reviews did comment on how short the campaign is.
The third problem is the multiplayer. Just like with R6:V multiplayer, the multiplayer portion of GRAW 2 is disconnected from the singleplayer. However, for GRAW 2, the disconnect is different in nature. The problem with R6:V multiplayer was that it felt like a different game from the singleplayer campaign as it devolved into a run and gun game. The problem with GRAW 2 multiplayer is that it is literally a different game.
You see, the problem arises because the multiplayer portion of the game was developed separately from the singleplayer portion. And it really shows. For example, cover is a hugely important part of the singleplayer campaign. But in the multiplayer mode, the cover mechanism is missing. Another example are weapons with sniper scopes. In the singleplayer campaign, you need to hold your breath to aim properly. In multiplayer, again, this mechanism is missing.
The problem with this is that the gameplay in multiplayer feels completely different from the singleplayer. Having said that, you have to give credit to the developers of the multiplayer portion as, unlike R6:V, despite the differences from the singleplayer mode, multiplayer doesn't feel as much like a run and gun game. The biggest reason for this is probably the fact that the maps in GRAW 2 are relatively large and not set indoors which means that a proper strategy is still more important than a fast trigger finger.
Despite the above problems, I do have to say that this is a good game. Considering that I got it for only $120 (second-hand), the fact that it has a short singleplayer campaign isn't such a problem. Overall, a thumb's up from the Meister - but only if you can get it for cheap!
Storywise, the game picks up right after the events of GRAW. In short, Mexico and the USA are about to sign a joint security agreement which will allow the US to officially send troops into Mexico. Certain rebel elements aren't happy about this and try to disrupt proceedings via the use of some stolen nukes. The US aren't going to let anything disrupt the signing of the joint security agreement hence the Ghosts are sent into Mexico on a black ops mission to deal with the rebels and the stolen nukes.
Like Rainbow Six: Vegas, GRAW 2 is very much focused on tactical gameplay. If you want to succeed, its important that you move your team into position before opening fire on the enemy. And just like R6:V, this equates into great gameplay particularly when you evaluate the situation and successfully plan out how you and your squad will attack the enemy. Although this is a good game, there are a couple of issues which prevent it from becoming a great game.
First off, GRAW 2 is surprisingly easy. Even on the hardest difficulty setting, I found myself breezing through the singleplayer campaign. Provided you take your time and play strategically, the enemy just doesn't provide much challenge. In fact, the only time I found myself challenged on the singleplayer campaign was when I was replaying the game and trying to get headshots using minimal number of shots fired for a higher score. The extra time it takes to aim for the head and not miss means that I'm exposed for longer and hence more likely to get shot.
The other problem with the campaign is that it is unbelievably short. Granted, this is just a guess, but I estimate I completed the singleplayer campaign in six hours or less. This is frankly piss poor considering most other FPS games are in the region of 8-12 hours. To be fair, I knew this going into the game as most reviews did comment on how short the campaign is.
The third problem is the multiplayer. Just like with R6:V multiplayer, the multiplayer portion of GRAW 2 is disconnected from the singleplayer. However, for GRAW 2, the disconnect is different in nature. The problem with R6:V multiplayer was that it felt like a different game from the singleplayer campaign as it devolved into a run and gun game. The problem with GRAW 2 multiplayer is that it is literally a different game.
You see, the problem arises because the multiplayer portion of the game was developed separately from the singleplayer portion. And it really shows. For example, cover is a hugely important part of the singleplayer campaign. But in the multiplayer mode, the cover mechanism is missing. Another example are weapons with sniper scopes. In the singleplayer campaign, you need to hold your breath to aim properly. In multiplayer, again, this mechanism is missing.
The problem with this is that the gameplay in multiplayer feels completely different from the singleplayer. Having said that, you have to give credit to the developers of the multiplayer portion as, unlike R6:V, despite the differences from the singleplayer mode, multiplayer doesn't feel as much like a run and gun game. The biggest reason for this is probably the fact that the maps in GRAW 2 are relatively large and not set indoors which means that a proper strategy is still more important than a fast trigger finger.
Despite the above problems, I do have to say that this is a good game. Considering that I got it for only $120 (second-hand), the fact that it has a short singleplayer campaign isn't such a problem. Overall, a thumb's up from the Meister - but only if you can get it for cheap!
Sunday, April 5, 2009
World of Goo
The second indie game I've been playing recently is World of Goo. I purchased World of Goo on Steam several weeks ago for a pittance during one of the weekend deals (quick aside - I love that Steam gives a heavy discount to a different game every weekend!). As with all the best indie games, World of Goo is a puzzle game (in my experience, the best indie games are generally in the puzzle genre where creativity can make up for less resources to spend on flashy graphics and special effects) based on physics and was highly rated according to metacritic.
The objective of the game is to guide your Goo balls through the level and, in most cases, to the waiting pipe at the end of the level. The difficulty is that between you and the waiting pipe are a host of hazardous traps which are instantly lethal to your Goo balls. Your only advantage is the uncanny ability of your Goo balls to shoot out strands of Goo which they can use to stick to each other. The end result is you trying to build gravity defying structures with your Goo balls in an attempt to get them to the waiting pipe.
After a couple of levels, the game starts to introduce special Goo balls with different abilities. Some Goo balls can be picked up and repositioned after you place them down while others can float. Some Goo balls will stick to surfaces like glue while others have a hard body and won't be destroyed by spikes.
To be honest, World of Goo is so unlike every other game that its hard to describe this game in words. If you really want to understand what this game is like, your best bet is to jump onto Youtube and scope out some videos of the game in action.
What really makes this game stand out is the incredibly creative situations and puzzles you find yourself facing over the course of the game. Unlike Braid, the game never feels too challenging in that you rarely ever get completely stuck. Very often, even when you fail and your Goo structure collapses upon its own weight, you learn enough to try again using a slightly different structure or technique. And even if you do get completely stuck, the game offers you 12 level skips so you can just keep going even if you do have trouble with the odd level.
A fantastic game which is well worth checking out if you like stretching your grey matter when you play games.
The objective of the game is to guide your Goo balls through the level and, in most cases, to the waiting pipe at the end of the level. The difficulty is that between you and the waiting pipe are a host of hazardous traps which are instantly lethal to your Goo balls. Your only advantage is the uncanny ability of your Goo balls to shoot out strands of Goo which they can use to stick to each other. The end result is you trying to build gravity defying structures with your Goo balls in an attempt to get them to the waiting pipe.
After a couple of levels, the game starts to introduce special Goo balls with different abilities. Some Goo balls can be picked up and repositioned after you place them down while others can float. Some Goo balls will stick to surfaces like glue while others have a hard body and won't be destroyed by spikes.
To be honest, World of Goo is so unlike every other game that its hard to describe this game in words. If you really want to understand what this game is like, your best bet is to jump onto Youtube and scope out some videos of the game in action.
What really makes this game stand out is the incredibly creative situations and puzzles you find yourself facing over the course of the game. Unlike Braid, the game never feels too challenging in that you rarely ever get completely stuck. Very often, even when you fail and your Goo structure collapses upon its own weight, you learn enough to try again using a slightly different structure or technique. And even if you do get completely stuck, the game offers you 12 level skips so you can just keep going even if you do have trouble with the odd level.
A fantastic game which is well worth checking out if you like stretching your grey matter when you play games.
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