Gamesugar

July 29, 2010

The [Sign]al

Filed under: Editorial Rants — Tags: , , , , , — Jamie Love @ 2:13 pm

Alan Wake The Signal
As far as DLC doses go, The Signal strengthens my belief that Alan Wake is skirting the edge of something blissfully chaotic and overdue, exciting for the danger it represents to the active player versus the passive consumer of media as a simple plastic by-product of corporate sustainability.

Admittedly I’m six times sucker sweet for words. From Calvino to Canetti, from poetics to the loving lure of the way words connect and flow, of simply crafting sentences that linger and expose pleasure in the cellar door that tingles on the edge of the tongue.

If you’re into that sort of thing, well then read on my fellow fluoroscopic opal rubes.

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July 12, 2010

Review – Transformers: War for Cybertron

Filed under: Reviews — Tags: , , , , , , , , , , — Brad Johnson @ 8:38 am


My familiarity with High Moon Studios is only through my unpleasant collision with the demo for their previous effort, The Bourne Conspiracy. With that product failing to resonate with me in any way despite my almost physical yearning for a Bourne game (later satisfied by Splinter Cell: Conviction), the discovery that these were the minds behind War for Cybertron was somewhat ominous.

It was encouraging to hear them speak on that game; it filled me with confidence and finally made the reality of the product that much more bitter. If you’ve followed the material released for War for Cybertron, then you may have experienced a similar swell of confidence: they speak as fans, and as you fire up the disc (or immaterial Steam delivery, as the case may be) there is no doubt as to their honesty. To my infinite relief, this release has been calibrated with great care for the Transformers follower, much in the way Arkham Asylum was a love letter to Batman adherents. While War for Cybertron does not quite reach the heights of the latter effort, it represents the game Transfans have long deserved.

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June 26, 2010

Review – Alpha Protocol

Filed under: Reviews — Tags: , , , , , , , , , , — Brad Johnson @ 9:04 am


With Alpha Protocol, Obsidian Entertainment has opted to take a break from their usual routine of producing sequels to established high-profile franchises in the hopes of establishing a lucrative IP all their own. Despite drawing quick comparisons to Bioware’s Mass Effect, Alpha Protocol is clearly it’s own game, though this is as often to its detriment as it is to its credit.

You control Michael Thorton, agent of the eponymous Alpha Protocol, who quickly becomes embroiled in an international mystery that’s equal parts deep and deeply confusing. You’ll be required to employ stealth and brute force to complete your missions, while, more uniquely, using your wit to navigate the conspiracy in which you’re entwined. The game offers a number of intriguing innovations designed to immerse players in the espionage experience, and many of these are admirable attempts—but a critical lack of development and numerous design flaws leave the experience awkward and unsatisfying.

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June 18, 2010

Review – Mass Effect 2 “Overlord” DLC

Filed under: Reviews — Tags: , , , , , , , , — Brad Johnson @ 3:31 am


Latest in the ongoing series of DLC releases for Mass Effect 2 is the Overlord add-on, which has Commander Shepard battling a rogue Virtual Intelligence. Bioware has again approached their downloadable content with an eye to quality, including an excellent new soundtrack and some great visuals—but this package seems to have also been designed to test new designs for planet exploration following the demise of the Mako and the revision of galaxy exploration in Mass Effect 2.

Each DLC pack has offered a gameplay experience unique from the retail release, if often a brief one—the Stolen Memory DLC presented a sharply designed adventure mission, with Sherpard infiltrating the home of a prominent crime boss, and the Firewalker pack introduced Hammerhead vehicle sequences. Overlord provides a much less combat-intense experience, focusing on the reintroduction of vehicle exploration and the delivery of the dark science-fiction elements that have helped make the Mass Effect universe distinct.

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June 14, 2010

Dead Space 2: Electric Boogaloo

Filed under: News Feed — Tags: , , , , , , , — Brad Johnson @ 7:12 pm


Footage from EA’s press conference is presently being dispersed throughout the internets, and one of the items to filter out is the impending Dead Space 2. What’s obvious is that Visceral would actually like you to use some of your weapons this time around; whereas in the original game your plasma cutter was the only weapon you ever needed—and often the most efficient, too boot—this footage emphasizes the efficacy of some of your other options. The largely combat-ineffective kinesis module from the first game has been revamped; we can see the player sever a bladed enemy limb with the plasma cutter, snatch it up with kinesis and launch it back for an instant kill, quickly and efficiently.

The demo begins with Isaac in a decorative church, a far cry from the strictly function halls and chambers of the Ishimura, and goes on to feature a fantastic view of the Sprawl, the massive space-based city in which the game takes place. If you had your fill of cramped corridors in the original, Dead Space 2 looks to offer superior variety with the same exceptional design. See for yourself after the break.

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June 12, 2010

Review – Lost Planet 2

Filed under: Reviews — Tags: , , , , , , , , , — Brad Johnson @ 6:16 pm


Whether you’re a fan from Lost Planet: Extreme Condition or a new player drawn in by videos of clashing mechs and monsters, response to Lost Planet 2 probably has left you hesitant to render any sort of purchasing decision. I am here to offer you some relief: I can tell you that the calculation can be refined to one variable. That is, precisely how much suffering are you prepared to endure for tremendous action?

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May 31, 2010

Review – Split/Second

Filed under: Reviews — Tags: , , , , , , , — Jamie Love @ 11:28 am

Split/Second
Racing around the track while a helicopter launches waves of missiles, which toss the car into a constant series of emergency drifts, I finally put a name to what Split/Second had first reminded me of when I’d tried an earlier build last year.

The arcade flavor of the game – that’s the part requiring players to dodge a near endless chain of explosions while trying to stick to the track – took me back to the first time I played the 2001 revamp of Spy Hunter – a game where the mission action often played second fiddle to controls that made whipping around levels more enjoyable than using the spy toys strapped to the frame.

The Michael Bay minded challenge modes are merely extras that Split/Second adds to break up the pacing of its televised Death Race sans the skulls and inmate motif. Every stage within the game feeds on the central premise of a track wired to explode at every turn like a starving man, and what this creates is a game where even something as simple as a time trial engages the player with a racing experience where survival is a victory in itself.

Mind you, crossing the finish line first is still high on the to-do list.

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