Content Announced for the Destiny Final Release

The Destiny beta for the PS4, Xbox One, PS3, and Xbox 360 is now finished, but the Bungie Community Manager David “DeeJ” Dague has been answering some questions about what will be included when the 9th September global release comes around. 

On a recent 2old2play livestream, Deej confirmed that each planet will have one location to explore when the game launches - much like the section of Russia we saw during the last couple of weeks.

“We’re calling them destinations. You go to Mars, you go to the moon, you go to Venus, you’ve got Earth,” DeeJ explained.

“We’ve revealed everything that you’ll explore in the first version of the game,” he continued. “You’ll be [going to] Earth. Your story takes you from the wastes of the Cosmodrome, which was essentially our Cape Canaveral of the Golden Age. It’s where we launched off as a global society, where we rushed out into the solar system to colonise and use what the Traveller gave us.”

Even though there’s only one area to explore per location, the beta showed that there is a large amount of area to cover on Earth alone. As most of you are aware parts of Old Russia were blocked off by barriers or by Fallen and Hive enemies that were "immune" to combat or much higher than the level 8 cap of the beta. In the brief 2-hour period that the Moon was made available in the beta on Saturday night we were able to explore deep into the Hellmouth for almost an hour before hitting these same barriers so we're very excited about what is included within these "sandboxes".

In all, there are seven different “destinations” in Destiny for players to explore — the Earth, the Moon, Mercury, Venus, Mars, and The Reef (a part of the asteroid belt), plus the Crucible multiplayer maps. DeeJ also confirmed that the areas seen in the Crucible maps for Mars and Venus during the beta will be part of the regular destinations for the single/coop section of the game as well.

It's also be found, by Reddit user DestinyDB, through data mining some more information about the missions and destinations. This is by no means everything, or at least we don't believe it is, but even so it's a lot of information and therefore missions to take part in (and remember there are also "harder" versions of most assignments too).

Warning: The below could be considered spoilers so avoid direct eye contact for safety if you're worried....

Earth Story Missions
Old Russia, Earth – The cradle of humanity – a world of ancient glory, waiting to be retaken.
A Guardian Rises (level 1)
Restoration (levels 2, 5)
The Dark Within (levels 3, 6)
The Warmind (levels 4, 7)
The Last Array (levels 5, 8)
Earth Story Challenges
The Queen’s Wrath (Kill Order; level 24)

Earth Strikes
Nightfall: The Devils’ Lair (levels 22, 26, 28)
The Devils’ Lair (levels 6, 8)

Moon Story Missions
Oceans of Storms – An ancient evil stirs beneath the shattered surface of our moon.
The Dark Beyond (levels 6, 9)
The Sword of Crota (levels 7, 10)
The World’s Grave (levels 7, 10)
Shrine of Oryx (levels 8, 11)
Chamber of Night (levels 8, 11)

Moon Strikes
Nightfall: The Summoning Pits (levels 22, 26, 28)
The Summoning Pits (level 12)

The Reef Story Missions
The Reef, Asteroid Belt – Dare to strike a bargain with the ruthless Queen.
The Awoken (level 10)
A Key Awaits (level 12)

Venus Story Missions
Ishtar Sink – The jungles of Venus conceal great treasures – and terrible power.
A Stranger’s Call (levels 10, 12)
Ishtar Collective (levels 10, 12)
The Archive (levels 11, 13)
Scourge of Winter (levels 11, 13)
Eye of a Gate Lord (levels 12, 14)

Venus Strikes
Nightfall: The Nexus (levels 22, 26, 28)
Nightfall: Winter’s Run (levels 22, 26, 28)
The Nexus (level 14)
Winter’s Run (level 14)

Mars Story Missions
Meridian Bay – In the sandswept carcass of a lost city, dark forces gather for war.
Exclusion Zone (levels 15, 17)
The Garden’s Spire (levels 16, 18)
A Rising Tide (levels 17, 19)
The Buried City (levels 17, 19)
The Black Garden (levels 18, 20)

Mars Strikes
Nightfall: Cerberus Vae III (levels 22, 26, 28)
Cerberus Vae III (level 18)
Dust Palace (level 18)

Confirmed Crucible Maps
Earth
Twilight Gap
Rusted Lands
Exodus Blue
Moon
First Light
The Anomaly
Mars
Bastion
Firebase Delphi
Blind Watch
Venus
Asylum
Shores of Time
Mercury
The Burning Shrine

Read More

Game with Gold - August 2014

Microsoft’s free game offerings for Xbox LIVE Gold members as part of the Games with Gold promotion has regularly been criticised when compared to Sony’s PS Plus options. Thankfully, for Xbox owners, it seems like August may be the month which changes that.

Starting 1st August we'll see two new games for 360 gamers and an additional two for Xbox One owners.

The free offerings for the Xbox One will continue the trend of the next-gen consoles solely receiving downloadable titles for now. The library of retail releases for both consoles is not yet large enough to support giving them away yet.

For Xbox One you'll see Strike Force Zero after two weeks of Crimson Dragon. 

The last generation will see Dishonoured first followed by Motocross Madness.

It looks like we're all in for a treat, especially if you never got the Bethesda action game the first time round (because it's great). The entirety of the Rajakaru team loved the Gothic setting and the fantastic combat system - this is definitely the game to download this month. 

What do you think of August’s selection of free games for the Xbox One and Xbox 360? Has Microsoft upped its game? Let us know in the comments section below.

Read More

Destiny Beta Overview

The Destiny Beta is now opened to everyone and the Rajakaru team have been playing through the content over the past few days (none of us own PlayStation consoles so we’re a bit behind). The application gives, in most cases, gamers the first chance to see a generous slice of Bungie’s long awaited sci-fi FPS since they left Halo to 343 Industries.

I’ve now played about 10 hours exploring the Cosmodrome and have taken part in everything the beta has to offer – as such I felt it would be good for you all to see a rundown of what is being offered this week. Which, by the way, is now open to everyone – no codes necessary.

After choosing whether to play as a Titan, Warlock or Hunter (see Fighter, Rogue and Wizard) you’re going to be treated to an introduction session of how to play and what to pay attention to. There are also three options on race but as far as we can tell this is aesthetic only. The opening cinematic is quickly followed by an introduction to your new AI Ghost; voiced by the fantastic Peter Dinklage. Whom, for those that care, is far from the terrible audio many had lead me to believe.

You get to run through a section of the game that, if you’ve seen the video, will be very familiar. After discovering your ‘ride’ for the beta zones you’ve shipped offer to the traveller and it’s hub before being allowed to explore in the PvE sandbox (which fantastically doesn’t include any loading screens despite a substantial offering).

In fact you’ll get 4 full story missions that introduce the different enemies scattered through the lands, a handful of flavoursome weapons and even the Sparrow hover-bike to zip around on. The foes come in various different sizes and the Fallen are the first to be introduced. The Dregs are similar to Halo’s Grunts, easy to take down, while their counterparts the Vandals put up a fight similar to that of Jackels. There are also some tougher foes which can be linked to Elites and Brutes.

After a while you’ll also get treated to the Hive – a bit like the Flood, again from Halo (can you see where I’m going here?). They aren’t nearly as annoying but again come in forms that are easy to take down and go up to Elite standards.  Finally, and for the life of me I can’t remember at what point, you’ll also come up against Shanks that are little floating robots; they only take a few shots to go down but they can be nimble and catch you from a vertical height too.

The Hive and the Fallen aren’t the best of friends and you’ll often see firefights between the two parties. Each race has a specific set of ‘special’ enemies too which you’ll see sporadically through the story missions and also in free-roam (where short missions and bounties are optional).

Between missions you’ll be able to explore The Tower, Destiny’s central hub that acts as a place to buy upgrade, make friends and exchange glimmer – the in game currency – for new armour and emblems.

Probably the most enjoyable section of the beta, for me, was the Devil’s Lair Strike mission. If you’re lucky enough to get up to a suitable level this quest is designed for cooperative gameplay and clocks in at around 20-30 minutes in length. You’ll fight against various enemies in large volumes and a lack of communication will end in failure (grab some like-minded friends). This is, I believe, the only chance you’ll get to face off with a Devil Walker (a Fallen tank).

When that’s all said and done you’ll be able to start again with another character or explore the Cosmodrome some more. Some areas are impossible to traverse (with immune enemies to ensure you don’t get outside the available areas) but you’re almost never stuck for options. If you can see if, generally, you can go there. You’ll see other player, fight in momentary one-off tasks, and find new weapons and armour to try out. The beta peaks at level 8, which took me around 4 hours to reach but that didn’t stop my drive to continue playing one bit.

You’ll also get one PvP section at level five carefully titled, The Crucible. This is a three flag conquest style game-mode with teams of 6 facing off. There is only one mode but the beta does come with four very aesthetically distinct maps.

Unfortunately there isn’t any news yet on whether you can transfer progress into the final game – due for release globally in September – but if you’re playing at 9pm GMT on Saturday night then you can expect something cool to be handed out to you when the final release comes around (no news on what this is though)

The beta closed on 27^th July so you all have a few days to enjoy it.

Let us know what you’ve thought of it, or leave us a question, in the comments section below.


------------------------------------------------------------

You can follow Richard on Twitter by clicking here.
You can follow Rajakaru Games on Twitter by clicking here.

Read More

Crysis has a Crisis

Crysis, the first-person shooter series made by Crytek, should be fortunate it doesn’t have a third-person perspective. And we should be forever grateful for that too.

Why? Because this is what happens when you mess with the perspective of video games. It’s a little terrifying and certainly lets us know that we should stop playing around with finished titles. As it’s an FPS, there isn’t any head on show, so you’d never see this mind bending acid trip otherwise.

You're never supposed to see any of this.

 

You can follow Richard on Twitter by clicking here.
You can follow Rajakaru Games on Twitter by clicking here.

Read More

Watch Dogs Review: Hack-a-lacking

I’m going to break this review down into a single questions – it’s the one on everybody’s lips – “Is Watch Dogs as good as the hype suggests?”

 

Frankly its neither the tragic failure some expected nor the introduction to a 'proper' next-gen others craved, Watch Dogs is instead best thought of as an open-world sandbox: Chicago Edition. As with other titles from the publisher – Far Cry and Assassin's Creed being the obvious examples – it is almost compulsively appealing, thanks to Ubisoft Montreal's tried and true onslaught of collectibles, missions, sidequests and other bite-sized reward loops.

 

The gameplay is as fluid as the best parts of Assassin’s Creed where the systems complement the player rather than hindering them. I’ve played around 20 hours of the title so far, and honestly haven’t made it to the end, so feel I am in a strong position to tell you that I haven’t been bored yet. Sadly, I haven’t been thrilled very often either.

Watch Dogs is set in a fairly large, populated, sandbox but doesn’t catch the intrigue of Creed or the appeal of Far Cry – instead feeling like the love child of GTA and Driver. Critically the title is let down by not feeling like a living “breathing” world. NPC’s walk the streets but seem, largely, like robots out for a stroll in a world they don’t really understand. Thankfully, this is somewhat saved by the titles focus on giant corporations and social inequality; which the world does very well to diversify in its five moderately different districts.

Probably the strangest element, and the one most people are interesting in, is the fact the Hacking plays a relatively small part in the proceedings. The morally dubious activities undertaken by Aiden are a stark contrast to the main storyline and the abuse of power he deals with in it. The interface for interacting with the city is exciting, at first, but quickly fall’s foul of Watch Dogs own marketing features. You’ll blow out lights, hack road signs and lift bridges but it never gets any more involved than that. It’s like the bonus perks of GTA with a little but more spice added in.

At some points you’ll hack the bank accounts of the very people you are looking to “help”. It’s a strange decision that’s made worse by the fact that every action has a negative quality to it and it makes Aiden less enjoyable to play as.

Watch Dogs does take a lot of pointers from Ubisoft’s other titles and fills the world with many enjoyable activities for the player to enjoy outside of the main quest. Side-missions and activities are fun to complete and are the right length that they don’t get boring before you get to try something else new. The only nuance to this is the relatively samey main quests as the drive/hack/escape dynamic can only last so long without feeling repetitive.

The online portions of the game work exceptionally well. The hacking and tracking gameplay is interesting but can get a tad tedious when you are on the receiving end for any length of time. Patience is a virtue here and sometime just playing the “waiting game” holds more than its fair share of rewards. It also has a nice twist on the Assassins Creed multiplayer ideas and if you are a fan of that set-up then you’ll certainly find a lot to enjoy here.

In practice the game works: it’s fundamentally interesting, at times looks amazing (especially the water effect on the next gen system), has good shooting/cover gameplay and AI that seems to learn your movements. The problem with it is that we have seen most, if not all of, this before. It hits the high benchmark we expect from AAA titles but it doesn’t push the boundaries in any directions.

6/10. Good, but not Great!

Read More

Rajakaru Games' Favourite DLC

I’ve been going back over my old (if you can call it that) stash of Xbox 360 games. While I know the last generation is slowly falling behind us, it seems justified to create a list of DLC you should play now before the new generation fills in the void.

In fact I’ve basically decided to write this after I came full circle with the recent release of BioShock Infinite's much anticipated DLC Burial at Sea Part 2. It's clear to see that DLC is gaining a higher profile than ever before and developers are really starting to experiment with creative and enjoyable content. Therefore, I thought I'd take a look at some of the best single player DLC there is out there.

Honourable Mention: Far Cry 3 Blood Dragon

While it isn’t a true DLC piece for the original title the lasers, dinosaurs, cyborgs and 80s music creates a spectacular list of awesome things. It’s such an ironic plague on your sense that it makes you want to go back and play even more retro titles. It has nods to all our favourite titles of yesteryear and knows exactly what it is trying to accomplish. If you enjoyed the full Far Cry 3 title then this will be right up your street.

5. Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim - Dragonborn

When the dreaded “Horse Armour” hit our download stores back during the Oblivion era we were worried that Bethesda wouldn’t provide anything substantial for the acclaimed Elder Scrolls series. Thankfully they have become one of the best content providers on the planet producing a completely range for their titles; including Shivering Isles, Broken Steel and Old World Blues. However, the only one that allows you to fly dragons is that of Dragonborn for Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim.

The immense amount of content that came alongside this piece gave players multiple additional hours of content, a couple of fresh new areas to explore and several enemies that should really have made the original cut. Bethesda listened to fan feedback and delivered on every area that we – games – wanted to do or see. For a game that I had already plugged 100 hours into this made, what was already, a great game outstanding.

4. Mass Effect 2: Lair of the Shadow Broker

One problem with single player DLC is making it matter in regards to the main narrative. Many developers opt for DLC that explores sub-plots but BioWare made the difference with this offering, They managed to successfully separate and impact on the overarching storyline for the whole trilogy.

Throughout the first two Mass Effect games we had heard about The Shadow Broker and were intrigued by the mystery surrounding them. In this DLC we finally got to meet them in dramatic fashion. It’s a fantastic success story for single player DLC and changed the dynamic of what would shortly become a trend for other titles.

What's great about this DLC is not just the excellent story and gameplay, but the fact that you can return to the Lair of the Shadow Broker and gather information on your enemies and your allies, absorbing us more into the delectable lore of Mass Effect.

3. Bioshock 2 - Minerva's Den

Bioshock 2 will forever be overshadowed by the both of the home developer options despite it excellently refining the gameplay and being just as good. However, the problem with Bioshock 2 is that many would have overlooked the amazing DLC that is Minerva's Den, as it was released several months after Bioshock 2's initial release and after some pretty standard multiplayer DLC which was a terrible design choice anyway.

Minerva's Den is standalone story in the world of Bioshock 2 that once again puts you into the shoes of a prototype Big Daddy. This time however you're taking out a sentient intelligence known as The Thinker. Not only does this DLC offer up more of the great gameplay that the title refined, but it tells a captivating story that is arguably more moving than that of the original game.

2. Red Dead Redemption - Undead Nightmare

Rockstar knows how to make DLC, but with Undead Nightmare for their cowboy epic they really excelled themselves. While the original title was excellent, this standalone single player DLC blended horror and comedy perfectly. At the time Zombies had become a really big area for media titles everywhere and this showed us just how well they could be implemented in Video Games.

Headshots were a necessity that changed the gameplay dynamics immensely. It was refreshing to see zombies posing a really danger as it was instant death if you go overrun. In fact the title was so successful that Rockstar ended up releasing it as a standalone game which showed how great the title was. John Marston and the wild west was the best setting for this DLC “dream” – excuse the pun.

1. BioShock Infinite: Burial at Sea (complete saga)

I know I have Minerva’s Den in this list but the BioShock series has excellent when providing us with something extra to play. Having just finished off part 2 (the Rajakaru Review is due shortly) I felt a deep sense of satisfaction I haven’t experienced since the finale of Final Fantasy IX. It is a massively rewarding piece of storytelling that ties up every loose end the franchise put in front of us.

In fact, Infinite feels a little incomplete if you haven’t played Burial at Sea (as does the entire franchise). Burial at Sea is the most import single piece of DLC on the planet and deserves top spot for bringing something completely fresh to an ageing series. One that has sadly finished forever now Irrational Game has closed.

Ken Levine will always be remembered for his fantastic story telling techniques and the studio is respected in every corner of the industry. 

So what do you think is the best DLC? Have I missed any classics off my list? Let Rajakaru know in the comments below.

Read More

Assassins Creed IV: Black Flag - Video Review

Dave has been playing a lot of the new Assassins Creed game, you should see what he thinks about it.



You can follow Richard on Twitter by clicking here.
You can follow Rajakaru Games on Twitter by clicking here.

Read More

Plants vs. Zombie Garden Warfare - Video Review

Dave has been playing a lot of the new Plants vs. Zombie game, you should see what he thinks about it.



You can follow Richard on Twitter by clicking here.
You can follow Rajakaru Games on Twitter by clicking here.

Read More

The Theories and Lore of BioShock Infinitie and the Story of Burial at Sea

**Spoiler Alert - In this article I will be talking about the full BioShock Sage so far and specific story point. Anyone who has not completed this series of games should not read on any further**

A few weeks ago marked the return of the Burial at Sea DLC, for BioShock Infinite, in the form of a trailer specifically set created for Episode 2. Episode one featured the relationship of Booker DeWitt and Elizabeth again but - in a contrasting environment to the sky city of Columbia – the underwater dystopia of Rapture.

The trailer shows what most imagine will be the opening three minutes of the game and brings back characters of old. In true Irrational style the trailer adds more questions than answers as a ‘downed’ Elizabeth interacts with the scheming Atlas. Or, to be more specific, I’m assuming its Frank Fontaine posing as Atlas.

The gameplay will take a different turn to the ‘shoot-everything’ style of the main game (and Episode 1) in the fact that you will take over the role of the weaker Elizabeth. Her story will be driven by stealth; although we still haven’t seen this in action.

When watching the trailer, the questions arise almost immediately when a ‘ghost’ of Booker – similar to that of Caprica Six only seen by Gaius Baltar in the more recent rendition of Battlestar Galactica – guides Elizabeth through a series of hairy verbal exchanges. Almost certainly saving her from death.

The story appears as though it will, at least, begin with Elizabeth helping Frank Fontaine (“ATLAS”) return to Rapture. Atlas, posing as Fontaine, was banished from the city by Andrew Ryan, some time before the beginning of Episode 1, in exchange for the safety of Sally (the Little Sister that provided the focal point for the last instalment).

Although details of the upcoming episode are minor, (however we now know the release date should be 25^th March) we can expect to get some explanations into what’s going on while also seeing the whole content play into the strength, and lore, of the BioShock franchise.

I fully expect the story to tie into the original BioShock and in particular to the fall of Rapture itself. If Elizabeth succeeds in helping Fontaine return to the main part of the city then this could lead us into an interesting circle – especially as the fall of Rapture begins on 31^st December 1958 and this is the date shown on Bookers calendar within his office at the start of Part 1.

At the end of the first episode Booker discovers Sally, the missing child, and as he attempts to extricate her from one of the Little Sister vents he has a flashback. It quickly becomes apparent that Booker is actually an alternate universe version of Comstock, but his attempts to kidnap baby Anna ended in a very different fashion. Instead of a finger the dimensional window closed around her neck – decapitating her – killing her instantly.

As Booker starts to understand what has happened the Lutece twins and Elizabeth explain that he asked them, Robert and Rosalind, to help him escape into Rapture so he could forget these terrible actions at which point he is killed.

This obviously leaves several strange questions for us to ponder:

• How did this version of Comstock survive the culling that occurred at the end of BioShock: Infinite?
• Why was Elizabeth present at the kidnapping of Anna that we see at the end of Part 1?
• Are we confident that the Elizabeth, the key companion in Part 1, is the same one from Infinite?
• If so, why has she suddenly gotten so vengeful and gone so ‘dark’?
• How long has Comstock been in Rapture and where did he come from?

The second part of this content is obviously due to answer some of these questions but it’s starting to become a confusing mess again….

The biggest question we have to deal with is how Comstock “escaped” from the culling at the baptism. The end of Infinite ‘Prime’ confirmed that Booker’s self-sacrifice at the baptism was designed to cut off the timelines for any further Bookers who managed to reach the same point in their own timelines. Meaning all of the subsequent ‘Bookers’ would drown at this constant point in time…..

Therefore… never becoming Comstock, so, as Booker doesn’t live this also means Anna is never born.

At the end of BioShock Infinites main story we see the different Elizabeth’s fade from existence, Back to the Future style, while Booker dies. Except we then see the troublesome scene after the credits where we are back in Booker’s office and he goes to get Anna from the other room. How could this happen if Anna has been erased from all timelines?

So my ‘theory’ is that the “Burial” Elizabeth, and potentially this Booker/Comstock, has followed a completely “exceptional” path. Potentially at the kidnapping this version of Anna did not suffer any physical harm during her encounter with the ‘tear’. Perhaps she really does become the Seed of the Prophet that attacks New York. Perhaps during this fight she realises the error of her ways (or never really wanted to go through with it anyway) and tries to stop the events – only to find that it is too late anyway. Obviously this is all speculation.

It would then stand to reason (if you could go that far) to say that the Lutece twins had always been attempting to find an “Exceptional” Booker to finish the mission set during Infinite Prime. In fact they may have failed to find one of these Bookers during the first 122 attempts. It’s not until they manage to get back to the original dimension Anna came from (potentially by complete change) that they find the “Exceptional” Booker they require. This would be the Booker, we control during Infinite, whose innate connection to “Prime” Elizabeth allows him to succeed in the mission. And in the process of doing so, he drowns his “Exceptional” Comstock, and then sacrifices himself, closing the loop and leaving nothing left over.

But now we know that it wasn’t true. There are other sets of “Exceptional” Bookers and Comstocks, one of which we find has absconded to Rapture in Burial at Sea. In fact the links are there when you look over them…. when Comstock moves over to Rapture through the tear, his memories are wiped in the same fashion that the “Exceptional” Booker’s are when he moves into the Infinite Prime timeline (as we see this happen during the final sequence of the main game). Hence he has no sense of who he really is until the very end, where his attempts to pull Sally out of the heating vent and his memories flood back to him.

Elizabeth needs to make sure he dies to finally close the loop. And therefore she needs to make sure she is there to see it and make sure that nothing stops him from dying.

ROBERT: You turned to us to solve your problem

ROSALIND: To provide a place to go where you might forget

ROBERT: Where there never was an Anna in the first place

ROSALIND: Comstock was never one to own up to his errors, was he brother?

ROBERT: Never comfortable with the choices he made

ROSALIND: Always seeking someone else’s life to claim as his own

We shall see. There’s still the second half of Burial at Sea to be played (where we’ll be taking control of Prime Elizabeth herself, which should be a rare treat),

Sadly, any I’m sure we’ll find out soon, if I am right there could be many “Exceptional” versions of Booker and it may even suggest the ‘Jack’ from the original game is actually a ‘Booker’ too…. Oh god by head hurts.

Have you got any theories on the BioShock universe, specifically those on Burial at Sea? If so please let us know in the comments below.

Read More

The Best Xbox 360 Games - 'A Golden Generation'

We’re nearly there; a new console generation is now less than a month away (at least the Xbox One is). After 8 long years the current console lifecycles are coming to an end. The Xbox 360 was released way back in 2005 and the hardware has definitely had a fascinating journey.

There’s been drama galore – the implementation of non-controller gameplay, online multiplayer through Xbox Live, application offerings and the meltdown of the console during the plague ‘red ring of death’. Microsoft are now focused on hitting the ground running with their new system, and with a handful of weeks to go, now is the time to rundown the top five games of this generation.

[To be honest – I started this as a top five with a specific order but they are all as good as each other – and I also ended up including franchises that really need to be played together in order to get the full experience]

Mass Effect

The entire Mass Effect trilogy is a must for everyone to play – however the second instalment is the crown jewel of the series. It streamlined the inventory issues of the original, improved the combat mechanics and has set the bar for all third person shooters that have been released since. Of course, what makes Mass Effect so great is the story, the characters and the personal investment that you get out of choosing how Shepard will react and interact with others. Not only can ME2 work as a standalone title if it must, but it also serves to connect you to the new and returning squadmates at a much deeper level than the first Mass Effect. It is the ‘Empire Strikes Back’ of any trilogy released within the last few years. In fact the only real disappointment within the whole franchise is the not-quite-what-you-expected ending.

Skyrim

The Elder Scrolls series has always been a favourite of mine and the fifth incarnation – released on the 11^th November 2011 went a long way to creating the ultimate sandbox. Bethesda created a living, breathing ecosystem for you to explore. Within the barren ice caps, the fern tree mountain and the soggy marshland where many fascinating caves, villages and ruins to explore – each with their own sense of individuality. It was a grand feat in itself and the dynamic quest system allows the game to continue for hundreds, if not thousands, of hours after the main questline is completed. Plus who doesn’t get a kick from bringing down a dragon?

Bioshock

It’s hard to argue that Rapture isn’t the most thought provoking and interesting location from any Video Game ever created. The underwater city was dedicated to scientific research that pushed the boundaries of what civilizations and governments would allow – and eventually broke into one of the creepiest, confined and disturbing locations many players have ever stepped foot in. BioShock may not be the best shooter in existence, may not be realistic at all but drew the player in through a variety of interest set pieces, clever storytelling ideas and detailed imagery. Ken Levine has an eye for aesthetic pleasure and gave us a similar taste when he created the floating city of Columbia (for BioShock Infinite) earlier this year. You owe it to yourself to play all of these games – even BioShock II housed an interesting and thoroughly enjoyable tale; despite clearly being the weakest instalment.

Fallout

This is one of those franchises that had a hardcore set of followers that had all but lost their fight for a return to the series when Black Isle died. Bethesda picked up the ownership of the series and their first outing Fallout 3 marked a return to the post-apocalyptic settings. Ok, maybe not in the way the long term fans would have hoped for as the coined the phrase ‘Oblivion with Guns’ but the commercial success of the title did lead to Fallout: New Vegas that brought back a lot of the original enemies and humour that the third instalment missed. There really is a true sense of discovery in this franchise; reaching the crest of a hill can unveil a small settlement devoted to some bloke called ‘Dave’, a wander through demolish underground train tunnels can reveal complicated physics based tire wire traps and adventures onto the Vegas ‘strip’ can leave you walking out a millionaire (be it in bottle caps). We would all own a PitBoy if we could and these very human takes on the nuclear apocalypse are even more interesting when you put it into ‘Hard Mode’. Sleeping, eating and rehydrating has never been so rewarding.

Battlefield 3

This particular choice may leave a few people annoyed – I’m talking to you Call of Duty fanboys (and girls) – as this is neither the most popular wartime FPS nor the most perfected but it is definitely the franchise to watch. DICE have done an outstanding job of building their own empire from a very saturated COD market. A little over 3 years ago everyone played Call of Duty and no-one thought twice about the alternatives – now people wonder whether Activision, who publish the series, will ever do something new to reinvent their title. Turns out these ‘reinventions’ are ideas already perfected and heavily in use within the Battlefield series. Ghosts is a little over two weeks from release on the current generations, will sell a tone of copies, but has only been selling itself on the destructible environments (and added Dog partner)  - otherwise it’s pretty much a repackage of what we all saw last year. DICE however are constantly improving their online offerings, adding in a solid single player campaign, and slowly breaching (excuse the pun) the market more and more. In five years you’ll look back and know the Battlefield 3 shaped the online modern warfare titles more than anything that came before it. The only downside is the server creations that pretty much allow admins to play the worst competition possible to make themselves feel good at a title they otherwise suck at.

I know a few of you won’t agree with the above assessments, or would have chosen a different franchise, and that is exactly the reason of the comments section below.

Read More

Grand Theft Auto V - It's Not A Review It's a Homage

Grand Theft Auto V is just one day since release and already the interweb is flush with spoilers and end game footage. It’s a bit of a shame, considering the amount of time Rockstar spent keeping the storyline under wraps, but then again it was pretty inevitable.

I won’t be writing a review for the title itself, as I’m sure you’ve seen all the ‘honest’ high scores that the major publications have been setting and for once I can honestly say that their opinions are valid.

The experience is fluid, interesting and immersive. Each of the three main playable characters has unique skills and stories that web together in clever ways. An early scene, which you probably couldn’t class as a spoiler, sees Michael point out the location of a building to Franklin even though they haven’t actually ‘come together’ at this point.

Unless you're in a mission, you can switch to any of the three characters at will. That doesn't mean you can drop any of the three characters into any point in the game, though. Each character has his own missions and switching between them moves you to wherever that character is as you join his life, which is already in progress.

As you switch between characters their life is already in play; Trevor may be waking up in the middle of the desert, wearing a dress; Michael might be smoking on the pier; and Franklin may be leaving a coffee shop. It's a good little trick that gives the illusion that these characters are off living their lives, even when you aren't directly controlling them. It also helps make each character's personal story make sense.

One of the major steps forward is the world itself, stunning to look at with interesting spots around every corner; the whole island is a joy to explore. Substantially bigger than anything the franchise has offered before, this depiction of Los Santos is the definitive sandbox for all you wannabe gangsters.

My only gripe, and it’s a minimal one, is the car handling. Taking to ease the transition of inexperienced players, you glide around corners and passed oncoming traffic with little difficulties. Personally I liked the hard mechanics of the previous titles where a four star wanted level meant you had to have a bit of luck on your side to escape an arrest.

It’s a bit unlike me to pick up this sort of game, I didn’t really enjoy GTA IV as much as I thought I would and Saint Rows, which most state is a ‘cheap knockoff’, is always a mile from my radar.

The game offers a lot of options outside of the main missions. There are movie theatres to visit with short, pre-rendered "films" for you to watch. There's a golf course, complete with a passable little golf game; as well as a fairly additive tennis mechanic.

You can also use your phone's (each character having their own phone design that mirrors the iPhone, Android or HTC browser style) built-in web browser to invest in the stock market. Adding to this is the chance to complete a series of assassination missions that allow you to influence this market a little more directly.

I tried a little bit of everything and found a lot of it to be distracting and largely unnecessary, given the quality of the main story, but if you're going to make an open world game, you might as well fill it up with a bunch of different optional events.

Overall Grand Theft Auto V will leave you wanting more, as you invest time you become glued to the very lifelike world around you. It’s a great escape from the tiresome yearly instalments, without any noticeable improvements, of COD or PES (which is indirectly mentioned in the story). I would have no problem recommending this to anyone.

Read More