Mutant Mudds brings us back to the old-school retro style look, and it's a game that should be played by all seasoned players! This one was supposed to be released as a retail title on Nintendo DS as Maximilian and the Rise of the Mutant Mudds, but sadly, that didn't happen. The project was then moved to Nintendo's DSiWare service, but ended up not going there either. The game eventually found a home on the Nintendo eShop and PC, under its current name today. It's been a long time coming, but it has been worth the wait!
This game is developed by Renegade Kid, the team that worked on popular games such as Dementium and Moon for the Nintendo DS, and is lead by Jools Watsham. Mutant Mudds is an old-school platformer, where your objective is to eliminate the invasion of Mutant Mudds that have landed on Earth!
The player controls Max. Max is equipped with a jet pack, allowing him to hover across areas he can't do by just jumping alone (which is very similar to Gargoyle's Quest on the Game Boy). Also equipped is a water cannon to help eliminate enemies. There are 40 levels spanning across 5 worlds in the game, which includes main, secret and boss levels. Each main level has 100 jewels, and a water sprite in all levels to collect. Mutant Mudds difficulty is harder than first expected. The level design is done extremely well, and the environment of the enemy's moves takes a while to get used to. There are warp panels that allows Max to further away or closer towards you, which may alert some players like myself of where you are and where you're actually going (believe me, I got tricked at a couple points near the end of a level because I thought I was touching the water sprite, but really wasn't!). Also, each level has to be done on a time limit, which may put some pressure on players to get everything in that level. Each level has a secret area, which is marked either G-Land or V-Land. These secret level doors actually has an influence to the Game Boy and Virtual Boy. Fortunately, when you enter these secret doors, the time resets. If you die in these secret areas you immediately go right back to the beginning of it without having to start at the beginning of the main level itself. In terms of collecting things, you only need to collect the water sprite itself. However, that doesn't mean you will go without a challenge, as the secret areas may be harder than the main areas, bringing veteran players to the test.
Mutant Mudds has great usage of the 3D feature, with at least three layers put into it. The 3D fits quite well with the colourful, retro layout. Another thing that gave me quite the appreciation is the chiptune music, which is an added bonus! Going to the game over screen a lot of times usually is frustrating, however with this one, the music really touches my heart and is one of the most memorable tunes I've heard in a long time!
If there is any complaints about Mutant Mudds I have, it's the lack of items and objects. There is only three available right now, which is not much. If it had a variety of weapons and/or objects of such like in the Mega Man games, then players would have the ability to pick the weapon of their choice.
Conclusion
Renegade Kid has made Mutant Mudds is a game that can't be missed. It's clever level design and its difficulty makes this a must download purchase. Although, the initial game is fairly short, there will be extra levels added soon. If you're a fan of these types of games, or someone who is looking for something new to play, go download this now and experience this terrific retro-style platformer!
When I first started to play Limbo I wasn't sure what to expect. Reputed to be one of the best and most commercially successful indie games of all time, it had a lot to live up to. Vaguely aware of the game's art style due to stills on gaming websites, I loaded it up, but was completely unprepared for the game that came up before me. Because what stills of the game and reviews fail to encapsulate, is how much of the appeal and experience of Limbo lies in the atmosphere created by the animation and sound (or lack thereof). On the surface, Limbo is standard platformer, pretty much as simple as they come. There is nothing in the way of story within the game itself; Playdead only gave the game the tagline: Unsure of his sister’s fate, a boy enters the unknown. But it is this simplicity and ambiguity wherein lies the genius of Limbo.
On starting a new game the screen transitions from black to a dark forest in which the boy lies. The graphics are in greyscale, images in the forefront and background are out of focus, only the playable area is sharp. The screen flickers like an old black and white movie but nothing happens. I waited for my player to move, or for some indication that the game had begun, but until I pressed one of the arrow keys, the boy remained flat on his back. Upon hitting the key, the boy's eyes light up and he slowly got to his feet before waiting again for my command. This was the first indication that Limbo was not the usual spoon feeding game, that would offer instructions and hints in order to help the player solve a puzzle. The game required the player from the first instance to be proactive and learn how to control the boy themselves.
The boy's first challenge is climbing off of a tree trunk. It is completely simple, requiring only that he drops or jumps down close to the edge so he lands safely on the sloping ground below. From the top of the tree trunk it is impossible to see the ground and requires the boy to make a leap of faith. If the boy takes a running jump off of the trunk he will fall to his death, teaching the player early on in the game that being overly confident and taking action without thinking will get them nowhere. The player continues with care and trepidation, adding to the tense atmosphere instilled by the soundtrack.
It is difficult to underestimate how eerie a game without sound can be. The sound of footsteps, the rustle of trees, the crack of bones: this is Limbo's soundtrack, at least in the earlier stages of the game. The distinct absence of sound in the initial stages, makes the louder sounds in the later levels all the more significant. The violent snap of the animal traps sent me flying about a foot in the air and shocked my system with adrenaline.
By now, the reader has probably sensed a strong sense of fear from this reviewer. This is due to the fact that (bear in mind I am a massive fan of the survival horror genre) Limbo is the most terrifying game I have ever played. The boy stumbles across dead bodies in cages, floating in pools of water and littered on the ground. Seeing the spider creep silently behind you as you run away is far more affecting than any overproduced megaboss with frantic music of a Triple A title along the lines of the Legend of Zelda, Metroid and selected bosses of the Metal Gear series. The other boy figures who attack the player with dart guns and swinging traps make the outdoor area feel like Lord of the Flies without the cheery beginning, giving the game very sinister overtones.
The boy never gains any skills or power-ups, in this way the gameplay is very pure. Like other popular indie title Super Meat Boy, the difficulty of the game increases as new mechanics are introduced in each level. The boy must learn to time jumps, destroy body-possessing brain slugs and use anti-gravity switches in order to progress. There are stages in which the whole level move and rotates (once in semi-darkness) which require great concentration on the players part, other levels which require different switches to be pressed quickly in order for the boy to reach the next level. The gameplay is innovative and the controls easy to use, with only two buttons: jump and action. Taking everything back to basics allows Limbo to offer something original and atmospheric. The game doesn't last very long, you will finish it in a couple of hours, but if you are looking for something a little bit different and whole lot of dark I urge you to give Limbo a look.
A welcome less-'Serious' & over the top shooter in the age of gritty realism:
In "The First Encounter" Sam "Serious" Stone had to battle his way through vast hordes of enemies to prevent alien races from taking over the universe. As this is a direct continuation the story follows the same path however so does the gameplay.
Largely "The Second Encounter" is exactly like the first in the series just with a new environment and a couple of extra weapons and enemies so going into the game thinking there will be a whole lot more will leave you disappointed. I however was expecting exactly what I got and it definitely was not a bad thing.
The game starts with Sam crash landing in South America, conveniently close to the object he is now trying to obtain. The player is stripped of all weaponry collected in the first game which makes sense seeing as there will be players who start with this game and it is the beginning of a new part of the story. What didn't make sense to me was how the game reintroduced about half the arsenal within the first couple of stages along with three new weapons. Although the armoury felt more complete with a chainsaw, flame-thrower and sniper rifle to use, the pacing that the game used for their distribution felt rushed.
As ever Serious Sam does not hold back and throws everything it can at you right from the off however within the opening minutes you'll be facing enemies which weren't introduced until much later in the first game. This may be the reasoning behind including so many weapons in the very early stages of the game but it may be a little overwhelming to newcomers. With those two points out the way, alongside the old enemies are an array of new ones including chainsaw pumpkin men, alien soldiers and winged demons. This new cast of cretins adds a small but welcome variety to the enemy ranks waiting to get blown to pieces.
There are three scenarios throughout the game, South America, Persia and Medieval. Each has a unique look and different level layouts which is a lovely contrast to playing through a mostly yellow coloured campaign in the shape of Egypt from the first game.
An annoying feature is that you lose all collected weaponry at the beginning of each scenario, not just the first one. And each time you are quickly re-introduced to the lovely collection you had to leave behind. Again, it makes little sense to me.
In terms of core gameplay, it is largely the same as the first game but with different level structures. Puzzles are still no more complex than "find button, push button, kill an army equivalent to the population of the Earth and continue" but the game uses them well. The boss encounters are a lot more exciting than simply fighting another horde of enemies as this time three main bosses are included, one for the end of each scenario. Although they largely follow the same structure in terms of how to kill them, it felt good to have a finale style battle.
In terms of multiplayer, "The Second Encounter" includes a co-op mode and a death-match mode, which return from the first game, as well as a new survival mode. I managed to play all three this time around, if only for a short while however, I did gain an opinion on all three.
The cooperative model is the one people have hyped up for me. It allows for up to 16 players to battle side by side through the games campaign missions with unlimited re-spawns and what I visualised as full-on carnage. Sadly, I was disappointed. I paired up with around 5 others and played through a level midway through the game however with the firepower of 6 people it was ridiculously easy, let alone 16. I can see how people may find a thrill to having that many people play at one time against a mass onslaught however winning isn't fun if it's too easy and there is practically no way to lose.
There is a version of the co-op campaign which limits the team to three lives per level which means players actually have to be careful. This provides a much more tense and fun experience in my opinion.
The deathmatch mode was fun from what I played however I got booted from every game for playing the game as it's meant to be played; get kills, don't die. That aside, the arenas were nicely designed and the "Quake" style of play worked well. There are several other game modes however deathmatch was the only one with players.
The last mode, survival, was the most fun I had outside the solo campaign. It is very similar to Horde mode from the Gears series or the Firefight mode from the Halo series however instead of multiple waves there is one never-ending one with timed enemy spawns. It was great fun to play, shooting everything in sight until you simply couldn't hold them back anymore. After you die, your time of death is logged and counts as your score. This provides a contrast to the L4D survival in which team time is awarded.
Overall I enjoyed the multiplayer aspects of the game but I personally feel a greater sense of achievement if I beat something really difficult on my own and when there is a way to lose.
I can imagine playing all of the different modes would be fantastic if playing with people you know as it always adds a greater element of fun than playing with or against random people.
Although it has flaws, "Serious Sam HD: The Second Encounter" was ab enjoyable experience. I'd have to recommend it over "The First Encounter" as it's practically the same game with simply more stuff added. The new enemies, weapons, power-ups and some truly wonderful secrets compliment the new campaigns to provide an intense, full-on old school fps.
For those who played the originals, you already know what the games are like, however, if you didn't get a chance to play it back in the day (like myself), give this remake a go. You may be pleasantly surprised.
Developer: Croteam
Publisher: Devolver Digital & CDV Software Entertainment
Publisher: Devolver Digital & CDV Software Entertainment
Platforms: Steam (reviewed) & Xbox 360
Genre: FPS
Release Date: 24 November 2009
Price: £6.99
In today's market it is fairly unusual to find a first person shooter which doesn't try to overload the player with a "meaningful" story line, a more realistic experience or numerous customization options for practically anything the player can think of. "Serious Sam HD: The First Encounter" is an exception which takes the player back to a time where the rule was "shoot everything you see, no exceptions" and although this doesn't take much thought it provides a fun and oddly refreshing experience. "The First Encounter" is set in Egypt with the plot revolving around collecting elements in order to travel back in time, a truly flawless storyline! Though the game may be lacking in the narrative department it makes up for it with the intense, non-stop gameplay which requires the player to stay focused if they want to stay alive.
Staying alive provides a challenge with the game launching wave after wave of enemy forces at every turn. Enemies consist of horse-like skeleton creatures, soldiers with saw blades for heads, giant walking robotic brains with laser cannons, scorpions with machine guns and headless kamikaze soldiers, who comically scream as they charge towards you, and this is only naming a few.
Sam is however well equipped to take on the variety of ludicrous enemies with an equally varied arsenal including shotguns, machine guns, lasers, canons and rocket launchers. Though there is about sixteen weapons in the game I found myself sticking to about four, with the others becoming more and more redundant as the game progressed. A lack of ammunition wasn't a problem for me however I can see it causing issues on the harder difficulties in the game.
The game, however simple it may be, is most definitely not easy. The continuous bombardment from every direction requires quick reflexes so the player doesn't get overloaded by enemies who can deal fairly large chunks of damage at a time. Trying to deal with enemies as soon as they spawn is the best plan of attack however they spawn so frequently that the player can often be overrun. On a couple of occasions I found myself being literally thrown around by countless charging bull type enemies leading to my inevitable death.
"The First Encounter" seems to have a fairly even difficulty curve by which I mean it starts by sending multiple enemies at you and ends by throwing everything including the kitchen sink. However this onslaught or enemies can be tackles in a group of up to 16 players in co-operative play and although I didn't get to try this feature due to no-one being online, I can imagine it being amazingly good fun.
The game takes most elements back to root level with health and armour packs dotted around each level as opposed to health regeneration found in most fps games today. Level layouts are largely liner with any tasks simply requiring the player to push buttons or find a key in order to progress. The fast paced "shoot on sight" gameplay takes centre stage however it does run the risk or feeling largely repetitive. Impatient gamers shouldn't be put of by this though as the game is one that you can simply dive in and out of at will.
By the midway stage in the game the player will have seen practically ever enemy the game has to offer which does get boring, creating the feeling that you're merely fighting clones. Waves of enemies can become tiring when locked in a room or arena to do battle with the same enemy for minutes on end. However this is a HD remake much can be forgiven.
The visuals in the game are impressive, especially when you look back to the original, which has not aged well, it shows what a good job the developers have done. Everything now looks bright, crisp and colourful which is exactly what you want from a HD remake.
Serious Sam The First Encounter (2001)
Serious Sam HD: The First Encounter (2009)
As with the co-operative play, I was unable to play the deathmatch mode due to lack of online users so I can't really comment on it. I imagine it would be very like unreal tournament or quake online and if the opportunity arises I'll definitely give it a go.
As a newcomer to the series I would recommend "Serious Sam HD: The First Encounter". The old-school gameplay provides a solid adrenaline fuelled experience and though it is very simplistic and short in comparison to modern fps games it definitely holds its own. If you are looking for relentless action or simply just want to shoot things until they explode "Serious Sam" will deliver.
Blizzard have revealed that Diablo fans will get their hands on Diablo 3 on May 15th 2012. Blizzard are allowing people to preorder and preload Diablo 3, exactly two months prior to release.
The World of Warcraft Annual Pass promotion is still running and will be running until 7:01 A.M. GMT on May 1st, 2012. The Annual Pass consists of buying a one year subscription of World of Warcraft and with this pass you will then receive a free digital copy of Diablo 3.
Diablo 3 Opening Cinematic
With Diablo 3 landing on May 15th, it will be clashing head to head with Rockstar's upcoming game Max Payne 3. Two popular game series that both started out on PC. Will you buy either of them or both? Leave a comment telling us which you're most looking forward to below.
Saturday, March 10, 2012Michael JohnsonNo comments
Earlier this week, rumours were floating around, about Valve announcing a next-gen console to compete with the Wii U and Next Gen Playstation and Xbox. The marketing director of Valve, Doug Lombardi put these rumours to rest yesterday, confirming Valve aren't developing any hardware in the near future.
Kotaku columnist, Stephen Totilo, interviewed Doug about the possibilities of Valve ever making a Steam based hardware.
Totilo: "What you're saying is, there's definitely nothing coming any time soon,
nothing at GDC or E3, but what you're not ruling out is the possibility
that, hey, maybe some day Valve would make hardware,"
Will Valve ever enter the console market? And will they succeed? It's not an impossibility though it appears very implausible at this time with no Steam based hardware due in the near future.
Saturday, March 10, 2012Michael JohnsonNo comments
EA have announced at the Games Developer Conference that the return of Maxis' Sim City franchise will return in 2013 with "SimCity" for PC and Mac.
“We’d like to thank the millions of fans who have helped make SimCity
synonymous with the city-building genre. This is a franchise that means
the world to us at Maxis and we’re happy to be bringing it back home
where we are reimagining it for an entirely new generation of players. Using our proprietary GlassBox Engine, SimCity for PC will
equip players with the tools to play the most sophisticated simulation
of its kind. We are dedicated to making sure the experience – no matter
the platform – has the fun, flavor and playability that has been
intrinsic to the franchise since its birth.” - Lucy Bradshaw, senior vice president at EA-owned Maxis, told attendees at the Games Developers Conference.
EA Origin has released the minimum system requirements for the game:
Processor
AMD Athlon 64 X2 Dual-Core 4000+ or better / Intel Core 2 Duo Processor 2.0GHz or better
Operating system:
Windows XP/Vista/7
RAM:
1.5GB (Windows XP)
2GB (Windows Vista / Windows 7)
2GB (built-in graphical chipset)
Graphics card:
ATI X1800 or better*
nVidia 7800 or better*
Intel 4100 Integrated Graphics or better*
(*Minimum of 256MB of on-board RAM and Shader 3.0 or better support)
DVD-ROM:
8x or better
Many features from the previous games will be present in this tittle, with updated graphics under a new engine could potentially take SimCity to another level. Look forward to managing your metropolis in 2013.
Saturday, March 10, 2012Michael JohnsonNo comments
The ever so friendly Gabe Newell seems to be worth a fair bit these days according to Forbes. Newell, co-founder and managing director of Valve Corporation is estimated to have a net worth of $1.5 billion. Forbes has ranked Newell as the 854th richest person in the world.
Newell couldn't have achieved so much if it wasn't for his extremely successful video game company Valve Corporation. Which last year skyrocketed. Valve's digital distribution platform Steam doubled sales for the seventh year in a row. As well as hitting 40 million users. Valve's big release last year, Portal 2, sold four million copies world wide in the first four months. Valve Corporation is now expected to be worth over $3 billion dollars.
Valve has started to see increasing competition with Steam's main competitor being EA's Origin service, which has received a lot of flak from the community, and other services such as Good old Games, Direct-2-Drive and Desura. Digital distribution is becoming more and more popular in recent years with advances in internet technology resulting in faster speeds, making downloading multiple gigabyte games less tedious.
Now if only Mr. Newell would reveal when Half Life 3 will be released.
Saturday, March 10, 2012Michael JohnsonNo comments
Earlier this week Square Enix unveiled their official cover art for their upcoming game Hitman: Absolution.
There is an ever so slight difference between the 360 and PS3 covers they both also have been cropped to allow space for the Xbox 360 and Playstation 3 logos, cutting off the top of the assassins head. None the less all three covers look interesting.
Hitman: Absolution is the fifth instalment of the Hitman series and is due to be released later this year.
With May being just around the corner, Rockstar have released the official cover art for Max Payne 3. The cover looks brilliant, with the sun in the background overlooking the city, of what seems to be São Paulo. Also shown on the cover is the protagonist Max, a terrorist and a female character that has yet to be identified.
Max Payne is set to hit shelves on the 18th of May for Europe and Australia and two days earlier in North America on May 16th. The PC release is set for May 18th in Australia, May 29th for North America and June 1st for Europe.
You know, at times it’s a curious thing being a classic gamer. I get a little excited any time a game is announced that opts to nix the third dimension - it is, after all, a pretty uncommon event these days. I’ll admit to you that it doesn't generally matter what the game is, either; if it takes place on a 2D plane, it’s got my full attention. So while I fancy myself some kind of gaming purist (retro-whore is probably more accurate), in truth it’s a very rare game indeed that manages to blow me away completely. Rayman Origins is that game.
Now, Rayman Origins is a whole lot of things, but one thing it’s not is anything new. If you’ve played a 16-bit platformer, you’re going to feel right at home. You run, you jump (and shoot), and that’s it. You do this for 60-odd levels. Sounds like an exercise in repetition, but the genius of the design ensures your experience is anything but. The game plays like a mix of the best elements from Genesis classics Sonic the Hedgehog and Dynamite Headdy, a little bit of Super Mario Bros., and “the other SMB”, Super Meat Boy. I don’t intend to make it sound derivative, but rather emphasize the kind of pedigree we’re dealing with here.
Rayman can walk, run, punch in the four cardinal directions, shrink (altering attack properties), catch ledges, bounce, float, swing, run along walls or ceilings, swim, and even pilot a giant mosquito. By the latter half of the game, you’ll be utilizing all of his abilities to make it to the end of each stage. If that all sounds overwhelming, rest assured it couldn’t be simpler – the entire game is played with two face buttons (for jump and punch), with the right shoulder buttons dedicated to running, which keeps your thumb from working too hard. With a smooth difficulty curve, you’ll be mastering all of Rayman’s abilities in no time. And it’s a good thing too, because this game is no pushover. Rayman Origins is a tough little platformer, but unlike the aforementioned Super Meat Boy, its goal is not to be a grueling test of skill and reaction time, but rather a game of options. This is where the sheer brilliance of the level design really becomes apparent, as the layout of each and every stage can be tackled in a variety of ways. While it’s relatively easy to just blow through the game, if you want to master all of its challenges, be prepared to muster all of your platforming skill.
You have a number of basic goals beyond reaching the finish line: There are Lums to collect (the game’s version of coins or rings – if you’re looking to master the game, you’ll want to finish each stage with 350 Lums or more), secret cages to find and times speed runs to beat if you expect to see everything Rayman Origins offers. The time challenges (and special chase stages) in particular are sheer genius and truly showcase the meticulous attention to detail Rayman’s level designers brought to the table. These stages are all about momentum, route planning and precision jumps and attacks, and represent some of the finest platforming sequences I’ve ever experienced. Bring your A-game if you want to complete this one 100% - and trust me when I say your efforts aren’t in vain, as you’ll need to earn enough badges to access the ten treasure chase levels, which in turn will earn you the ten “Skull Teeth”. Collecting all the teeth unlocks the game’s true final level (and boss). The treasure chase and final stage (“Land of the Livid Dead”) are the highlights of Rayman Origins, so while they’re optional, please consider them mandatory. You won’t regret it. As if the rock-solid platforming weren’t enough, Rayman Origins masquerades as a shooter from time to time. One of the most pleasant surprises in the early game for me was when I first hopped onto my little mosquito buddy to jet over to the next island. Scrolling shooters (Shmups) are my favourite kind of game so it was a real treat to see another homage to a marginalized (nigh extinct) genre that was once the king of the arcades. While the shooting stages don’t hold up to the best examples in the genre, they break up the action nicely and show, once again, just how brilliant the stage designers are; none of the shooting stages are particularly difficult, but memorization, aim and precision movements are going to be required if you expect to collect enough Lums to nab all the medals. The team responsible for the shooting sections clearly understand the appeal of these games and it shows when you aim for the best possible score by the level’s end.
Boss fights, while sparse (five platforming bosses, two shooting bosses), are all unique, challenging and utterly hilarious. I don’t want to ruin anything here so I’m going to keep things vague but if you've ever dreamt of fighting the horrors of acid reflux in a very literal sense, Rayman Origins has you covered.
As if this just wasn’t enough for Ubisoft and brainchild Michel Ancel, the entire game is playable with up to three other friends (offline only) at the same time. While it won’t be the preferred way to achieve your best times and scores, you’d be crazy to avoid the slap-tastic mayhem playing with friends offers. There are benefits to cooperating, as friends can help you obtain some of the difficult to reach jumbo coins found in each stage, but it’s so much fun slapping your friends around that you’ll be hard pressed to get anyone to settle down and coordinate. Of note, while this mechanic may appear to work much like the cooperative perks in games like Little Big Planet, co-op is not required to obtain all the goodies in the game. With about two-dozen characters to unlock (the vast majority simple re-skins of Rayman/Globox/Teensies), it’s generally very easy to keep track of who is whom on screen. Seriously, if playing with friends doesn’t put a huge goofy grin on your face, you may want to ensure you still have a heart.
What should be obvious to anyone who’s seen screenshots or footage of the game, Rayman Origins is absolutely gorgeous. The completely hand-drawn artwork, simultaneously stunning and bizarre, is executed with as much care as the level designs and represents some of the most consistent art direction I’ve ever seen in a video game. This is a game that proves graphics can indeed make a game better. There are layers upon layers of parallax scrolling, plane changes, an incredible colour palette and crisp, detailed definition between objects and obstacles, all running at a consistent 60 frames per second, with no frame drops or slowdown, even with four players on screen. The UbiArt Framework (the game’s engine) is a technical marvel and deserving of accolades in its own right. While currently proprietary, industry reports indicate Michel Ancel is pushing to make the technology open-source. If he succeeds, all of us will benefit. Seriously folks, unless the Wii is your only means of playing this game, I beg you to purchase this one on PS3 or Xbox 360. Playing the game in standard definition would be a borderline tragedy.
What no screenshot will show you is just another dimension of the game that deserves mention -if not an entirely separate article: The soundtrack. As bizarre and beautiful as the visuals, Rayman Origins’ audio experience is absolutely sublime. Peppered with adorable, helium-infused vocals, the score is a masterful blend of Country, Big Band, Jazz, Hawaiian and Rock, if they all met up at their local auditorium backed with a full symphony. It’s whimsical-but-epic, glorious-but-understated. It brings me to my only noteworthy gripe: There is no sound test option. A score this exceptional stands on its own and it’s a shame it isn’t possible to enjoy the individual tracks without having to fire up the game and hop into a given level. Of course, when the gameplay is this much fun, it’s hard to sell that as anything but a superficial niggle.
Rayman Origins is a bonafide masterpiece. A package so loaded with content and so immaculately presented that I can’t help but gush over its sheer magnificence. Gameplay and controls have been honed to a razor’s edge. The stages present incredible variety, both in terms of level design and scenery, as well as methods for gamers to tackle the challenges. Multiplayer, collectibles and unlockables offer fantastic replay value, and the visual and audio designers have managed to elevate an expertly crafted game into a sublime orgy of platforming bliss.
Buy it, play it, love it. Rayman Origins is not only one of the best games released in 2011, but is perhaps the finest example of the Platformer genre ever created. I’m not willing to label anything as perfect, but this is as close as it gets.
What happens when one takes a game from the platformer genre, keeps gravity intact, and takes away all jumping whatsoever? Why EDGE comes out of course. EDGE is a game on both iOS and Steam created by the studio Mobigame; the Steam version was published by Two Tribes. Two Tribes are responsible for the popular egg collecting game, Toki Tori.
Edge consists of navigating a flashing cube across various obstacles to reach an end point. This is done by “rolling” the cube, in a sense, through grey and white alleyways, tunnels, and labyrinths, among other pathways; this is the core gameplay, but Mobigame throws in quite a few twists and turns to keep the game interesting, and above all, entertaining. The first of which is thrown in is the most obvious, shifting platforms, the staple of all platforming games. In this title, platforms will on their own, slide, ascend, descend, or follow predetermined paths. Most of these actions are automatic, the other case of these events are through the use of buttons strewn throughout the entire game. These buttons will trigger a variety of events which ranges from the simple one directional movement of a block to a completely orchestrated set a pathways in which the player must traverse. Along the way, the player will also pick up small cubes called prisms, which, in conjunction with a good time will display mastery of the stage.
Through all of this mayhem, the player must learn to master a skill that will be persistently appearing in the game, and that is, as the name implies, edging. Edging is when the player moves in a direction and keeps the flashing little cube between falling back to rest and ascending to the next height. Haven’t mastered the concept yet in the game, or don’t know when to use it? Fear not, because the game offers hints through floating question marks that will show a ghost image of your cube and guide it through the given obstacle.
The controls in the game are very simple, and incredibly solid. On a keyboard, they consist of the up, down, right and left arrow keys. This can prove to be a bit confusing at first since the game is in an isometric view, but one should be able to pick up after getting their bearings within the game. If the default of up going northeast is too troubling, in the options, up can also be set to northwest. The title also supports the use of an Xbox 360 controller as well.
The game offers forty-eight stages which the player must trek through, in which the difficulty will ramp up gradually in which there won’t be an incredibly difficult challenge until about stage 20 or so, and up. It’ll begin with the moving from point A to point B with little to no trouble. The game will gradually add more twists and turns, such as timing when to roll onto a platform to continue progress. Buttons will also be added in gradually, but it’s not the general use of buttons which can prove to be difficult, but what they trigger. They can be as simple as pushing you in the direction of the goal, however, they can be downright nasty, and trigger a set of blocks to push the cube off the edge and the player will have to think fast and move swiftly in the hopes of not falling off.
All in all, the game is a great package, now with an “extended” set of levels to keep the entertainment going after beating the initial forty-eight stages, and this title will sufficiently entertain those needing to burn about a half hour.
The highly anticipated Mass Effect 3 demo was released on the 14th of February and included the fantastically fun Multiplayer beta, so let's take a look at it shall we? The Mass Effect series up till now has been entirely a single player experience, for obvious reasons. The game is set in a hugely immersive galaxy teeming with life, and it's really something you can only experience fully on your own rather than dragging teammates around with you. This originally made the idea of multiplayer in ME a rather strange prospect and a little worrying for those who are diligent fans of the series. But now that it's been put out for us to see I can wholeheartedly say that it's brilliant.
As I'm not going to touch upon the single player aspect of the demo, I'll just quickly mention some of the newest aspects in Mass Effect 3. The graphics are excellent, and have definitely been polished up since the previous games. The visuals have always looked delicious, but I look at them now and wonder how they could possibly get any better. The controls also feel as though they have been tightened up to compliment the combat and action. I never realised until recently playing back on the first Mass Effect game just what a huge improvement there has been. One thing that was a really pleasant surprise was the hit marker that comes up when you successfully get a shot on someone, like in Call of Duty. The tiny X pops up on your reticule and you get a little vibration in the pad... It might sound a little weird, but if you've played the COD games, you'll probably understand what I mean.
Multiplayer Trailer
The basic premise of the multiplayer is styled around a horde mode, like Gears of War; but in my opinion a more refined and fun experience (not to mention with a lot less drab colours...) You and up to three other players can pick from six uniquely different classes to team up and try to complete the mission. All the classes are in the single player game already, so there's no unfamiliar powers or abilities that you'll have to get used to. Customisation is available as you choose from the different species: Humans, Asaris, Krogans, Turians, all the wonderfully absurd alien types that populate the galaxy. Along with choosing the armour colours and arranging the perfect loadout of powers and weapons for your mission; there's a nice amount of things to get done for your character/s. You'll have individual characters for each class you pick, so you can have two Infiltrators with different abilities, or two soldiers with different weapon kits. Once you get everything organised and start upgrading and levelling up all the different characters; you'll have a small squad of troops ready for almost any situation.
So, now we move onto the actual gameplay: You'll be given the task of defending against ten waves of increasingly difficult enemies, whilst completing small objectives along the way. Objectives such as: hacking a data bank, or taking out specific targets amidst the hordes. It certainly spices up the action and when the objective is thrown at you at the start of a wave, you'll have a specific time limit to get it done, or the mission will be aborted. You'll have to cut a path through the many groups of assault troopers: the powerful rifle wielding Nemesis; the shield-toting Guardians; the agile ninja-like Phantoms; and the huge mechanical Atlas if you want to reach the end of the mission and get all the sweet experience points and credits. There is a nice level of variation between all of the enemies that really do require some strategy in taking them all out efficiently, all depending on how your four man squad is built. To best take out the Phantoms, you'll need a class that can cut through biotic barriers or you'll end up grating away slowly at them with bullets, which I can tell you is no easy task. A sniper rifle would be best suited to the typical Assault troopers for taking them out easily, as well as the Guardians who only offer a small area to breach in their shields. It all requires good teamwork and some variation between each player rather than simply hoping to clean it all up with bullets, which was my original plan of action. Suffice to say, upon chopping and changing, you begin to find some really good tactics that work best in every different situation.
The two levels offered in the beta are a good idea of what's to come: one having tight areas for you to try and not become trapped in and the other with larger gaps to navigate and move around in. There are also three varying levels of difficulty: Bronze, Silver and Gold. If you want to move further up and get a bigger challenge, you'll need to upgrade your characters and unlock better weapons using your earned credits or you won't last two minutes on Silver, let alone Gold. Regarding the actual multiplayer experience overall; it's certainly a lot of fun and the beta hasn't become boring yet, with so many different character abilities and styles to level up and try. With a lot of online games recently, I found my matched partners quiet and longing for a lone wolf gig instead of truly following the idea of the game mode. Playing with friends has been the most enjoyable course of action, but you could say that about most games. A few things need to be fixed of course, but it is only a beta after all. You can't expect perfection from it, but it actually does work very well in most areas. The only major complaint is that in the pre-game menus, everything feels a little clunky. And in regards to matchmaking, there should be some better options for getting you and your friends into a room to make a full game.
I look forward to playing the full Mass Effect 3 multiplayer experience when it comes this March. The multiplayer modes actually help your single player campaign, by helping your 'Galactic Readiness' that will appear as you begin the fight for the galaxy. All the credits you earn in multiplayer supposedly will be sent over to single player too, which is a great bonus. If you haven't played the beta yet, download it and give it a shot. If you haven't played any of the Mass Effect games yet, then go out and buy them too! It's never too late to start the galactic RPG series.
