Dead Space Review.

Developer:   Visceral Games
Platform:       PS3/Xbox/Pc
Release:        October 2008


Plot: Dead Space takes place in the year 2508 aboard the USG Ishimura, a planet cracker that went silent. You are Isaac Clarke an engineer dispatched aboard the USG Kellion along with your team. When you arrive it is not possible to hail the Ishimura's bridge and one emergency landing later you are aboard the ship and it is clear something is not right. You become separated from your companions and you are on your own against a horde of Necromorphs.Armed with only the tools of his trade your fight for survival and escape begins.

Gameplay: The gameplay of Dead Space is one of the most immersive experiences of my life. Dead Space uses no heads up display and accessing your inventory does not pause the game. These two elements alone help the player lose themselves in the terrifying atmosphere of the Ishimura. Dead space uses a over the shoulder perspective. The Health bar is on Isaac's back and the ammo counter is a hologram that appears when aiming. 
Issac is in a large engineering suit called a RIG. This is his only protection from the Necromorphs and while the suit is a blessing its weight affects Isaac's mobility in a big way. 
There are a number of weapons in the game but by far the best is the trusty Plasma Cutter.
The way to kill Necromorphs is not the common headshot but the key to killing them is strategic dismemberment. Necromorphs are made of tough stuff and in some cases can become a much larger threat without a head. 
The RIG and Isaac's weapons are upgradeable by collecting or buying "Nodes". Credits can be found on dead enemies and in containers. these can be used to purchase weapons, better armor and ammo.
Being a survival horror ammo is rare especially during Impossible mode.
The scares can become predictable after a few hours but the feeling of isolation and vulnerability is always there.

Design: Simply put, Dead Space is a Masterpiece of design. The darkened corridors mixed with the haunting audio and music really make for a claustrophobic experience.
The graphics are brilliant, the Gore is realistic and the Creature design makes it very convincing that the necromorphs were once just ordinary crew members. The lighting works well, there are always a few dark corners to be aware of and on occasion the lights cut out and you are left with just the flashlight on your weapon. The Audio is superb, the background noise of the ship and debris hitting the ship aswell as the ship computer whispering to itself. 
The Design is critical to the immersion of the game. My one complaint for the whole game is the physics engine. when walking over a corpse it will cartwheel around your view. But this is only a small tarnish on an otherwise brilliantly designed game.

Story: Issac's tale is well written one. His girlfriend was aboard the Ishimura and he longs to find her safe. His primary objective seems impossible and as you guide him through it things get worse before they get better. The two member of your team Kendra and Zach keep in contact but they are in other corners of the ship. Isaac uncovers clues as to why the Ishimura was so far out in deep space and what happened to her crew. While Isaac remains largely silent throughout the game. Kendra and Zach's sanity mirrors Isaacs. The story is well written and unfolds well with a great ending and set up for Dead Space 2.

The Good

• Unrivaled Atmosphere
• Well designed creatures
• Clever use or environment
• Scares the crap out of you on high difficulty

The Bad

• Terrible corpse physics

The Verdict: Dead Space is my favorite video game on the ps3 and I think everybody should give it a go. Being 3 years old now the price tag is noting compared to the experience you will have playing it. There is replay value if you have it in you to play the impossible difficulty.

 

inFamous Review

Developer : Sucker Punch Productions

Platform:     PS3 exclusive
Release:      May 2009


Plot: inFamous is set in the fictional Empire city, the game begins immediately after a huge explosion consumes the city. You play Cole MacGrath, a courier who uses his newly discovered control over electricity on his quest to unlock the secrets of Empire city's destruction. 

Gameplay: inFamous is an open world game. the movement and climbing controls are reminiscent of Assassins Creed. Cole starts the game with only a few basic powers, as you progress in the game further new powers and abilities are unlocked, these can be upgraded using xp earned during gameplay, during the later levels the enemies are much stronger and if you balance your power upgrades you are pretty safe.
Fights in infamous flow well, the melee attacks leave a lot to be desired but Cole's electricity attacks are designed to be his strong point anyway.
The three gangs within Empire city; 'The Reapers','The Dust men' and 'The First sons' all have separate attacks and some prefer up close and personal while the majority prefer to keep their distance.

inFamous' karma system grants the player different power sets depending on their karmic state.
The evil powers are much more damage orientated while the Good powers tend to be more balanced between damage and non lethal attacks.

The NPCs react differently to Cole based on his actions. They cheer him on if he steers towards good karma while they hurl rocks at Cole if he has been a bit of a dickhead.

Design: inFamous' environment looks fantastic, the buildings are well designed and mix it up a bit to give a more realistic urban look. The streets are strewn with debris and the toll of the explosion is evident. The character design is good, Particularly in the Elite enemies and bosses. The reapers could have used a bit more work however.

Cole's powers are realistic and their effect on the environment is a nice touch.
One fault that got on my nerves was while Cole is grinding on power lines or train tracks, no matter what speed you slow down to, on hitting solid ground he performs an over exaggerated roll. This becomes a serious annoyance when navigating Empire City.
Another design fault is injured NPCs rendering incorrectly, as you approach an NPC he/she may fall to the ground for no reason. This is not as much an annoyance as a silly oversight by the developers.

Story: The story of infamous is very well written. Cole is a likeable character even during evil gameplay. You really feel for him when his world falls apart around him.
The cast are a bit one dimensional and their dialogue could be better written.

The comic book style cut scenes really add to the superhero feel of the game and fit well with the story.The plot twists are unexpected and clever and the door is left wide open for inFamous 2.

The Good

• Well written story
• Enviroments and characters well designed
• Fun fight and movement controls
• Great original concept for powers
• Comic book style cutscenes

The Bad

• Grinding physics broken
• One dimensional supporting cast
• Injured NPCs rendering wrong

The Verdict: inFamous is an original game that towers over most superhero games, the karma system works well and the environment and Character design in impressive. Besides a few silly oversights by the developers, this game is fun and challenging. it's well worth its price tag for a good few hours of gameplay with small replay value (if you're a trophy whore like me :) )

            

[PROTOTYPE] Review.

Hey guys, Welcome to my first review.

[PROTOTYPE] is a sandbox action game developed by Radical Entertainment, It was released locally on June 12 2009. 

PLOT: The game is set in New York City. You take control Alex Mercer, a Gentek employee infected with the Blacklight virus which wipes his memory and makes him an incredibly powerful shapeshifter intent on unlocking the secrets of his past and enacting his revenge on those responsible for his plight.

GAMEPLAY: Mercer (codename: ZEUS) has an impressive array of weoponry at his disposal and each power has abilities to unlock as the game goes on. He can run up the side of buildings and drop off the top of them unscathed. He alters the shape of his arms into everything from razor sharp claws to a Whip like appendage with some serious range. His powers are very reminiscent of Carnage from the Spiderman comics.

The switching between the different powers is very flowing and with a bit of practice you can always be ready for the fight ahead. Mercer has enemies on all sides. From the Military and Blackwatch forces to the fellow infected mutations. The Gameplay can simply be summarized as Chaotic. You can often get pinned down by the relentless attacks of Military vehicles and Elite Infected. And while playing on the hardest difficulty a lot of retreat and heal comes into play. While you can navigate the city quite quickly the flow of movement suffers from the necessity for Alex to move at speed.

Design: While the Character design is quite immpressive, the enviroment is quite bland. Buildings are very dull and there are few reminders that you are playing in New York City. The render distance is quite near and with lots of pop up. Sometimes while gliding or piloting a Helicopter you can actully outrun the enviroment rendering. I frequently had issues while running up the side of a building I would do a back flip and fall down the way I came, Killing the flow of the game. 

Story: The main storyline is very fun and has some interesting plot twists and turns. While not an open ended game, you can see the effects of your actions on your enviroment. However Alex Mercer is not a Hero. His actions are selfish and his quest for revenge hurts the city a lot. He is simply out to get even and anybody in his way is left a stain on the pavement. Even while using his powers to fight his enemies you can see innocent civilians getting minced in the crossfire. While I love playing the Antihero and even the evil character. Anybody looking for a superhero game should look elsewhere because Alex Mercer ain't in it for the Glory.

The Good: 

• The game never lets up on the action, You are never safe from attack and so it never gets boring.
• Mercer has some awesome Powers and abilities and impressive Animations to go with them.
• The chaos of the game can lead to some awesome fights and challenging boss battles.
• You can run up the side of the Empire state building and elbow drop a tank from hundreds of feet above to some fist pumping results.

The Bad: 

• Terrible environment design, it looks like a 3D rendering of a Map.
• The immersion shattering controls, there are some button combinations required that force you to check your finger placement to get the critical mass attacks that mean the difference between the progression of the game or the bitch-slap back to the start of the boss fight.
• A lot of the side missions become very repetitive and in my quest for the Platinum trophy I got extremely bored of them.

And after the Dust has settled....

[PROTOTYPE] is a extremely fun game which you will enjoy playing a lot, there is not a lot of replay value but for the price you can get it for these days it's a Bargain...

Stick around for a review of [PROTOTYPE]'s arch nemesis, Infamous later this week.

Thanks for reading.

John.

Hello and other pleasantries

Welcome,
The name is John, I am a Gamer for 15+ years.
I have a Huge passion for video games and always wanted to do reviews, this is my attempt at this, I am a first time blogger so bear with me and I hope you Enjoy.
But first...a little about the Author
The platforms over the years I have owned in Chronological order are....


Philips CD-i: This was my fathers, I played such treasures as Sandy's Circus Adventure, The Jetsons Meet the Flintstones, Dark Castle and The 7th guest (which scared the hell out of me at 6 years old). Voted one of the worst gaming platforms ever, I simply cannot critique it as it was my world at that age.

PC: I moved onto PC gaming when we got our first computer, by todays standards it was a calculator but it was amazing to me, I played games like Tomb Raider, Rollcage and Gex as well as countless other games I cannot even remember, the later years of PC gaming for me were games like Thief, Morrowind, and Medal of Honor.

PS1: I played the old PS1 between the two periods of PC gaming and I absolutely loved it, this lead to my love for Console gaming, the simplicity of it as well at the comfortable controller in comparison to the Keyboard and Mouse, my two absolute favorites on this platform were Resident evil and Medievil.

Xbox: Christmas 2001, I remember it well. after nagging my parents for months about the new Microsoft console, they convinced me I got a VCR instead, I sulked as I opened the wrapping only to be confronted with the beg green "X", I got Driver 3 with it and I played it to death, Then I Got Morrowind (again) and Call of duty:Big red one, I loved the new shiny Graphics, it absolutely blew me away... unfortunately in true american style...it broke.

PS2: With my first weeks pay in the Galway omniplex I bought myself a PS2, it was out dated of course, the PS3 had arrived but it really set in stone my love for Sony, I remember My two housemates and I playing God of War, all of us engrossed in the story they helping me with the puzzles. Such fantastic games back then.

Xbox 360: A few months later I bought a 360 elite, it was my foot in the door with next gen consoles and I could not believe the graphics coming out of it, even on a old tube TV games like Oblivion, Fallout 3, C.O.D 4 and Gears of War popped. Though I loved the console, I had to part with it sadly to
pay rent. I got back half what I payed for it after only 3 months from new. A little advice: NEVER sell your console back to the shop, I was gutted.

PS3: And here we are, after a year gameless, save my old PS2. I got myself a 120gb Playstation slim, And I absolutely love it, I will never cheat on you again Sony, I swear!. It is my baby, it's an entertainment centre that works very, very, very well. I have a substantial amount of games and the games I will be reviewing will be on this platform.

iPhone(kinda): I have a lot of games on my iPhone but I only really play them when I'm on the move, but if a game I really like pops up, I'd be happy to review it, I'll take suggestions :).

So I have set up this blog to review games from my own collection and games I buy in the future, I will also be announcing gaming news if I hear it.

Apart from gaming, I am a huge movie and music fan and I keep a baby Red Iguana.

Hope you guys follow me, I will be setting up a Facebook page to like, so i can share posts there without using my personal profile, feel free to give me recommendations on games to review.

My first Review will be [Prototype] which i will write up A.S.A.P.

Later.