Game BAFTA's 2012

My opinion on the winners of the Game BAFTA’s for 2012.

*Best Game: Dishonored

Happy with this. Dishonored is very good, not my pick though (mine’s Mass Effect 3 and I place 7 others ahead of it, 8 if you include the XBLA release of Sonic Adventure 2)

*Online Multiplayer: Journey

I don’t agree with this one. I know the game is supposed to be all about random co-op play meaning something but I’ve had more meaningful co-op experiences elsewhere. You didn’t need limited controls and communication for that. My choice would be Halo 4, very good co-op and competitive play, and you get a lot for a single game.

*Game Design: Journey

Hell no, is lack of anything a design now. There is literally nothing in this game. My choice is Sega Racing, 3 well designed playstyles, 20 well designed tracks

*Artistic Achievement: Journey

Fair enough, Journey is art far more than a game

*Original Music: Journey

Happy with this. Although I much rather prefer a more pop/rock orientated soundtrack such as Sega Racing or Lollipop chainsaw

*Audio Achievement: Journey

Happy with this, although I would’ve picked Mass Effect 3

*Mobile & Handheld: The Walking Dead

Bit of a cheat, the Walking dead is available on everything. Exceptional game though so I’m happy with this, although Virtue’s Last Reward should’ve taken this one.

*Story: The Walking Dead

Like the Handheld category this is a good choice but I would’ve gone with Virtue’s Last Reward

*Game Innovation: The Unfinished Swan

Not played but sounds a bit like Epic Mickey, meaning not so innovative. Honestly I don’t know what could win this award. Maybe Sega Racing for successfully combining three distinctive racing styles, implementation of World tour, four player co-op in racing and much balanced weapons. Hopefully Sega Racing will influence future Kart titles. Or ZombiU, which could possibly influence future WiiU games, and even PS4 and the next Xbox game if Tablet Integration becomes a big thing.

*Debut Game: The Unfinished Swan

Not played can’t judge. Fez would probably be my choice out of what I’ve played but I’m not sure if that’s a debut.

*Action: Far Cry 3

Not played so can’t judge but it’s got plenty of good marks all round. My vote would be for Mass Effect 3

*British Game: The Room

Nope, Sega Racing 2. Go Sumo Digital

*Performer: Danny Wallace - Thomas Was Alone

Not played. My vote goes to whoever played Clementine or Kenny in The Walking Dead.

*Family: Lego Batman 2

Not played. My vote would go to Sega Racing 2.

*Strategy: Xcom - Enemy Unknown

Not played but I hear good things about this. Can’t think of anything that I’ve played that would fall in this category. Maybe Catherine.

*Ones to Watch: Kind of a Big Deal – Starcrossed

Don’t know these guys but I’m showing an interest towards Futurlabs, if only because a friend works for them now.

*Online Browser: SongPop

Really don’t care about this award.

*Sports/Fitness: New Star Soccer

Not played any sports games unless you count Sega Racing

*Fellowship: Gabe Newell

Go Gaben, now about Half-life 3… (or “any valve game” 3)

Game of the Year 2012

Thought I posted this earlier but it looks like I didn't get around to it. This is my list of games released in 2012 ordered by the amount I enjoyed them, starting from the worst to best with some additional awards at the end. Note there are still some big games released in 2012 that I still haven't played but in many cases own, such as Farcry 3, XCOM and Borderlands 2.

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24 Ninja Gaiden 3 (X360)

Quite simply the worst game I have ever played.

23 Journey (PS3)

Are games Art? In Journey’s case you should be asking can art be games. There is no denying that Journey is a wonderful piece of art but as a game it is sorely lacking. Forced online co-op play with randoms is never a good idea even if that is the whole point of the “game”. A strong example of style over substance.

22 The Simpsons Arcade Game (XBLA)

Be careful what you wish for. I remember playing this wherever I could and has been one of the arcade games I’ve wanted most to appear on home consoles. It finally happened and I was left underwhelmed. Still fun but has aged terribly.

21 Soul Calibur V (X360)

As solid as any other Soul Calibur and the character creation is as strong as ever. Just not much of a single player experience and the new characters are nowhere near as interesting as the original cast. Quick battle mode replicates the online experience offline quite well.

20 Sonic 4: Episode II (XBLA)

Better than Episode 1 but still just OK. Easy to list problems. It’s too short for a full priced game, boss intros take too long and are unskippable and you’re too zoomed in. Some interesting ideas but still fails to deliver

19 The Last Story (Wii)

Decent enough RPG with some good ideas but held back with some big problems. Only having one town was a bad move. Tries to come off as very tactical but ultimately comes down to taking cover and using a same move a lot. Short for a JRPG too.

18 Resident Evil 6 (X360)

Capcom need to decide whether it wants resi to be a survival horror or a full blown Third Person shooter. It does neither well. For a survival horror they need to return to a non linear twisted location, with puzzles and limited ammo (enemies should stop dropping shit). For a third person shooter it needs a better cover system. Pretty meaty campaigns though and Agent hunt mode was a nice addition.

17 Street Fighter X Tekken (X360)

Another games that has interesting ideas but poor execution. Horribly unbalanced (play online to fight a sea of Ryus and Kazuyas) with none of the polish that made Super Street Fighter 4 so amazing. Great level of customisation though.

16 Asura’s Wrath (X360)

An interactive anime. Some interesting ideas with QTE’s but still they’re still QTE’s. Enjoyable but nothing special. Non QTE combat could’ve been deeper.

15 Uncharted: Golden Abyss (PSVita)

Impressive scaled down Uncharted. Gunplay is still its weakest element but at least this one has some puzzles, unlike Uncharted 3. Addition of motion controls ruin it slightly.

14 Theatrhythm (3DS)

Pretty solid Bemani game focused on Final Fantasy’s awesome music. Great for short bursts but becomes repetitive in longer sessions. Fun, cheap and perfect for a handheld Theatrhythm doesn’t do much wrong and is a must for anyone who likes Final Fantasy.

13 NiGHTS into dream (XBLA)

Pretty solid remake that takes me back to the Sonic Team of old. This was when they were at the most original and most brilliant. NiGHTS remains genreless and one of the best score attack games out there. It’s missing Sonic into dreams and it is over too quickly, but it’s fun while it lasts. The XBLA release also includes Christmas NiGHTS which is a nice bonus.

12 Lollipop Chainsaw (X360)

Well made beat-em up with Zombies, cheerleaders and a giant chainsaw, everything a growing gamer needs. Add in Suda 51 craziness and some memorable dialogue ranging from the awesome to the very funny and you have one of the highlights of the year. Very replayable and with an awesome soundtrack, the only let down are the difficulty spikes you get with the mini games. There’s a special place in hell for the person who came up with the Gondola Achievement.

11 Gravity Rush (PSV)

Another new IP that makes owning a Vita worthwhile. Utilises a fairly unique mechanic of giving you complete control over gravity. Plenty of challenge and a decent length. Let down by some minor issues here and there, like the camera for example.

10 Dishonored (X360)

An excellent steampunk version of Deus Ex. Great stealth game but could’ve added more interesting non-lethal abilities. Always nice to see a new IP on the market.

9 The Walking Dead (X360)

Videogame story telling at its finest. Telltale are the masters of point and click genre and TWD is definitely their best so far. The choices you make come back to haunt you, even the best intended ones. Felt a better connection to the characters than the TV show. Can’t wait for season 2.

8 Catherine (X360)

It’s been a good year for new IP’s with this one being the most surprising. On paper is sounds horrible but it actually ended up being very addictive. The game challenges both your skill and intelligence very well and is the perfect break from the mass of shooters that have flooded the market. There is plenty here to keep you going for a long time without overstaying its welcome. It’s a shame the multiplayer isn’t online, I hear it’s actually quite good although I’ve yet to play it myself, it’s even got a place at EVO.

7 Fez (XBLA)

On the surface Fez is a fairly average platform game. Dig deeper though and you’ll find a world of puzzles that will have you getting out your notepad to break codes. That is always a plus in my book. Some of the puzzles are brilliant and a work of genius. Let down by its poor platforming and the occasional bug. Fez is original, brilliant and perfect if you’re in the mood for a more chilled gaming experience.

6 ZombiU (WiiU)

A much needed return to form for survival horror. This mixes Dark Souls with Left 4 Dead and places it in London. Excellent use of the WiiU’s gamepad, tough difficulty with harsh punishments for failure and a decent enough length. The Arena was the only low point, and sadly it was a very very low point.

5 Sonic Adventure 2 (XBLA)

I don’t care what anyone says this is still one of the best games ever created. Even after ten years the pitch perfect ranking system, varied gameplay and awesome music make a brilliant package. Hunting is still a bit too luck based and chao raising could’ve been better (at least let me link to my Sonic Adventure chao Garden).

4 Halo 4 (X360)

Exceptional campaign that fits nicely with a series we all thought was over. It feels great being the chief again and it all seems to be building to something. Looks amazing and sounds great. A lot of thought has gone into multiplayer too offering a pretty substantial co-op experience. With the standard theatre and forge modes making a welcome return, Halo 4 is probably the most substantial package of the year.

3 Sonic and All Star Racing Transformed (X360)

One of the best Kart racers available. Right up there with the best Mario Karts. The transforming aspect is well implemented. The weapons are all balanced with skill playing a much bigger part than just luck. World tour mode adds more than just Grand prix racing leading to a more substantial single player experience. Roster and all-star moves aren’t as good as the first sega racing but the courses and soundtrack more than make up for that.

2 Virtue’s Last Reward (3DS)

This has been the year I have been exposed to the Zero escape series. After playing Nine hours, Nine Persons, Nine Doors I immediately began anticipating its sequel. I was not disappointed. Pretty much every problem with 999 got resolved. While there is a lot of text most can be skipped instantly on subsequent playthroughs, as can the escape rooms. The story is one of the best written for games at the very least, offering twists that would leave m. night Shyamalan in awe. I eagerly await Zero Escape 3, with the series filling in the hole Phoenix wright has left behind (still waiting on Ace Investigations 2 Capcom)

1 Mass Effect 3 (X360)

A fitting end to one of the highlights of this generation, all except the actual end of course. It made me laugh, cry and want to high five/fist bump/hug every single member of the Normandy crew. Filled with a great mix of awesome and moving set pieces with some polished third person shooting and some incredible visuals, I knew as I was playing that it was probably going to be my GOTY and it is! The incredible single player experience is joined by an unwanted but equally awesome horde like multiplayer. The ending has left a pretty sour taste in my mouth, even after the extended cut but as a whole Mass Effect 3 was an incredible experience.
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Exclusives:

Best Wii/WiiU Exclusive: The Last story, the only Wii game I’ve played.
Best 360 Exclusive: Fez
Best PS3 Exclusive: Journey, the only PS3 exclusive I’ve played
Best 3DS/DS: Theatrhythm
Best PSP/VITA: Gravity Rush
Best PC: N/A (Not played any PC exclusives)

Game Elements:

Soundtrack: Lollipop Chainsaw, good mix of original and licenced tracks
Honourable mentions go to Sonic and All-Star Racing Transformed and Catherine

Individual Song/Track: Ocean View (S&SASRT). Perfect mash up of two classic song tracks. Perfect way to kick off probably the best Kart racer ever made.
Honourable mentions go to Blue bird Lamentation. Lovely moving track, perfectly fitting for one of Virtue’s Last reward’s most sad endings.

Use of Sound: ZombiU. Excellent Survival horror, helped immensely by its use of sound.
Honourable mentions: Mass Effect 3, Halo 4

Visuals (Technical): Halo 4
Honourable Mentions: Mass Effect 3

Visuals (Stylish): Dishonored
Honourable Mentions: Gravity Rush, The Walking Dead

Story/Dialogue: Virtue’s Last Reward. Loving the Zero Escape series.
Honourable mentions: Lollipop Chainsaw (funny), Mass Effect 3 (besides the ending), The Walking Dead (lots of difficult meaningful choices and an excellent set of characters)

Other:

Originality: Catherine
Honourable Mentions: Fez, ZombiU

Disappointment: Ninja Gaiden 3. What the fuck happened to this series?
Dishonourable Mentions: Journey (Work of art, not much of a game), Street Fighter X Tekken (unbalanced), Resident Evil 6 (poor choices)

Surprise: Virtue’s Last Reward (played both 999 and VLR this year and I’ve fallen in love with a series I knew very little about)
Honourable Mentions: Fez, Catherine

Jawdropping moment (Highlight see Spoilers): Virtue’s Last reward
*SPOILERS highlight to see*
Take your pick. That you were an old man all along, that you were Zero, that Tenmyouji was Junpei and the Old woman was Akane, the K was sometimes Akane, that Luna was a Robot
*SPOILERS*

Honourable Mentions: Mass Effect 3
*SPOILERS*
Curing the Genophage with Mordin’s Sacrifice (someone else might’ve gotten it wrong), Resolving the Geth/Quarian war, Thane saying a prayer for you even though he was about to die.
*SPOILERS*

Horrible Moment: Mass Effect 3 – The ending
Dishonourable mentions: The entirety of Ninja Gaiden 3, the unskippable boss openings in Sonic 4 episode II, Lollipop Chainsaw’s Mini games (fucking Gondola achievement)

Sonic and All-Stars Racing Transformed

Since the very first Mario Kart there has been one undisputed king of the Kart Racing genre. Mario Kart broke the racing genre rules focusing on fun, weapons and fan-service over realism, lots of cars and seriousness. Many have tried to at least match Nintendo at their own game and very few have come close.


Enter SUMO Digital who in 2010 released Sonic and Sega All-Star Racing. Offering a large number of racers, a more in depth single player with a new mission mode and a unique all-star power-up system, it came closer than any other Kart racer to matching Mario Kart. Being Multi-format also helped giving us an online mode without friend codes and HD visuals.

Inevitably though comparisons to Mario Kart were made and the overall conclusion was that Mario Kart was still king. The 3 level, “keep drifting to get larger boost” system led to lots of long turns and for all the worlds in SEGA there was too much emphasis on Sonic.

With Transformed SUMO have come back strong and not only match Mario Kart but in many ways surpasses it. Some may consider this a stretch but I honestly believe this could be the greatest Kart racer ever.

As a single player experience Transformed is untouchable. Mission mode has been replaced with the new World Tour mode. Added to the races are a selection of challenges ranging from standard races to ones were boosting stops a countdown, or you have to navigate through traffic. Unlike mission mode where you were graded on your performance over a single difficulty, World tour has four difficulties per challenge with the hardest offering a real challenge for even the most hardcore gamer. Completing a challenge will give you a number of stars ranging from 1 (completed on easy) to 4 (expert), which unlock new challenges, characters and mods.

This is all in addition to the standard Single Race, Grand Prix and Time attack modes. With the exception of time attack all modes can be played in 4 player local co-op (5 on WiiU). SUMO also worked on expanding Time attack slightly offering 4 ghosts to beat at different difficulties ranging from really easy to damn near impossible. The ghost for 10th Place in the world rankings also appears unless of course you’ve managed to do better than that.

While the stars of the show with the first Sega Racing were the characters this time it is definitely the tracks. Each stage belongs to a different SEGA universe with only Sonic getting more than one stage, and even then it’s only three. These Range from the expected like Jet Set Radio and Super monkey Ball to the obscure like Shinobi and Panzer Dragoon. Each stage looks incredible and often has an excellent remix to go with it. Typically the soundtrack is amazing.

Unfortunately the character roster is a step back. There are some brilliant new additions like Vyse but some dull ones like Meemee and Pudding. Also to work better online the All-star moves have been scaled down. No transforming into Super Sonic this time round.

Speaking of power-ups though, Transformed has the most balanced set of power ups ever seen in a Kart racer. One of the biggest problems with Mario Kart is how it bombards you with weapons when you are doing well. You can race perfectly only to find a last minute blue shell has taken you from 1st to 4th. This doesn’t happen in transformed. The new Swarm power up does target those far ahead of you and is effective in slowing them down, however it can be avoided with skill. All-star moves also help those who are struggling but not in a way the completely influences the race.

Going back to the characters each gains experience as you use them which unlocks mods. Mods change the stats of your chosen character, for example some may bring down acceleration for better handling. There are around 7 mods per character multiplied by 25 playable characters gives you 175 mod/character combinations. If someone has picked your favourite character another character might have the same stats on a different mod, allowing you to play almost identically to how you normally would (there are still some slight differences, Sonic’s 6 speed mod seems to be quicker than Vyse’s 6 speed mod).

SUMO knew what they wanted from Sonic Racing Transformed and not only pulled it off but far exceeded anyone’s expectations. As a single player experience it has more depth than any other kart base racer and as a multi player experience brings a good selection of modes, with 4/5 players able to play most modes together. Balanced weapons, brilliant track design, three distinctive styles of racing and a killer soundtrack all add up to an incredible experience.

Mario Kart is now lagging being Sonic Racing after being hit a killer blow. It’s going to take something very special for Mario Kart to come back now. Your move Nintendo

9/10

Ninja Gaiden 3

I’ve been gaming for over 20 years. I’ve played a great range of games from the exceptionally good through to the legendary bad. Even games like Sonic 2006 had some saving graces. Resonance of Fate has some interesting ideas but was overwhelmed by a large amount of bad. But nothing can compare you to just how shit Ninja Gaiden 3 is. It sets a new standard for poor and is now my worst game of all time.


Graphically it is very basic and you’d expect it from the start of the generation. The sound and Soundtrack are so plain and boring it barely works as background music. I’m getting sound and visual out the way first because as bad things go this is nearest to mediocre.

The demo should’ve been enough to convince me to stay away from this trash like the plague but I stupidly had hope that the rest of the game picked up. It does not.

The first few seconds of gameplay should tell you immediately how poor the gameplay is. Playing NG3 is like playing Bayonetta with the Masionette on. The simplest of button presses will perform a complicated combo you have little control over. But this game is in no way easy. I jumped into Hard so I expected a challenge but nothing like what I got.

The game is not just hard it is unbelievably unfair. Even on the first level you are greeted with enemies with multiple rocket launchers. By the second you come across enemies with multiple unavoidable attacks that take half your health a hit. By the third the shuriken spam will annoy you so much you’ll want to throw your controller at the TV. There are no learning defensive techniques, using the right combo or targeting certain enemies before others, just keep trying until you get past the area.

If after 5 attempts you still don’t know what you are doing wrong or what you can do differently to get past a section it is generally the game’s fault. With NG3 you’ll still be clueless after 50.

To make matters worse Ryu’s all black costume not only blends well into most backgrounds but most enemies also wear mostly all black. Just identifying Ryu can be a pain in the arse. And the camera can be just as much of a bitch, often obstructing your view entirely.

I’m seriously struggling to find anything good to say about it, even something that was above mediocre. There was a section in the first level which had you sneaking around fog quietly disposing of enemies which was probably the highlight as you felt somewhat like a ninja, but it’s short-lived and only that one time.

Story typically is nonsense focusing on how Ryu kills without mercy and facing up to his murderous ways, but then you don’t exactly get a choice on the matter. There is a horrible section after the first battle where a guy pleads for his life, drops all his weapons, bursting into tears and you have to kill him. In today’s world there is no excuse not to make that a choice.

The lack of choice follows onto your weapons and your ability to explore. Exploring is none existent. There are no secrets or split paths. You are also stuck with only three weapons, your pointless shurikens, a bow and arrow and a sword. There’s no levelling up the weapons so it’s the same attacks over and over again. There are no health items with your health automatically restoring itself after every cleared fight. You’re essentially as strong as you’ll ever be from the start.

Even death is more frustrating as usual due to the game’s excessive need to change your difficulty. I hate it when games essentially say “you suck, try an easier mode” and with NG3 you’re going to get that a lot.

Ninja Gaiden 3 is an example of what not to do in games design. Everything is wrong and horrible and I’m embarrassed to have it on my Gamercard. Team Ninja hang your heads in shame. Thank god I didn’t buy this one, I just feel sorry for the next poor sap who gets the copy I got from Lovefilm.

Ninja Gaiden 3 is what gamers will be forced to play in Hell.

1/10

Resident Evil 6

Oh Capcom what have you done to one of my most beloved of Franchises. Master hunter came from Resident Evil so seeing it steadily move away from what made the series great is aggravating to say the least. However despite the series moving in a direction I don’t like, I don’t hate Resident Evil 6, in fact I liked it. For all its flaws it somehow works.


The game is split into three campaigns with a fourth unlocked when you completed those three and two bonus modes including the much loved Mercenaries. Each Campaign has its own features and feels different from the others, but still familiar enough that the changes don’t become overwhelming.

Each campaign is split into five chapters, with each chapter rarely overstaying its welcome. Long enough to keep you entertained but short enough to be replayed. Since there are 20 of them completing them all will take some time. With Mercenaries and the new Agent hunt mode there is plenty to keep you going at least.

Each chapter is filled with fantastic set pieces that wouldn’t feel out of place in a Michael bay movie. Not really a good fit for the genre but still fun and exciting. The Monsters are also original and unique to the series. There’s now an enemy that can summon a Zombie horde by screaming and one the shoots poisonous gas out of pores scattered across its body.

Zombies are back but are not the only enemies. There is also the J’avo who act more like the enemies in Resident Evil 4. They can mutate into other stronger enemies. There are no real classic monsters like the Hunters, Lickers or Bandersnatchers so, while I missed those monsters, it was nice to fight a whole new set of creatures.

Mercenaries is as strong as it’s always been but it’s the new Agent hunt mode than seems the most interesting. Here you are put into someone else’s game as a monster with the goal being to kill them. The odds are highly stacked in their favour so actually getting a kill is difficult but it’s cool to play as the monsters for a change.

Though Resi 6 has more than its fair share of problems. Firstly it was made with online co-op play in mind and constantly pushes for it. Ignoring the stupidity of having co-op in survival horror (I have never been a fan of this), needing to switch to offline mode every time you want to play on your own is an unnecessary hassle. You’ll also need to play offline to pause the game.

Next is the cover system. Resi 4 heavily influenced Gears of war, it’s a shame Capcom didn’t return the favour and borrow their cover system. While taking cover in a survival horror seems just as ridiculous as co-op play, they need to get it right it they intend to use it. Locking onto cover and peaking round to shoot by pressing LT to aim would’ve worked better. The current system is needlessly overcomplicated and gets in the way more than anything else.

While Resi 4 changed the series for the better there are still a couple of things Resi 4 introduced that messed everything up. Sadly like Resi 4 and Resi 5, Resi 6 is just as linear offering little to no room to explore. Enemies also drop items leaving less emphasis on finding ammo hidden throughout the game. If you’re running low on bullets, you can melee your enemies to get more, completely contradicts the survival aspect the game should have.

Puzzles are few and far between meaning the only obstacles are the numerous enemies. It almost feels like the last five chapters of Dead Space throughout, as every room you manage to reach is filled with monsters. I do miss the days of finding keys in one area to open a door in another and having to juggle keys with ammo and herbs. This was always key to survival hence the limited inventory, which remains despite never being an issue until you have more ammo than you need.

The direction the series is going in is not one I agree with however I can’t deny that Resident Evil 6 remains a decent enough game, just with some noticeable major flaws. Resi needs to decide what it wants to be. If it wants to be a full blown Third person shooter it needs to work on providing a decent cover system and drop the limited inventory. If it wants to become the King of Survival Horror again it needs to tone down the action, go back to exploring a place you’re trapped in and lose the enemy dropping items mechanic.

For those that stick with it despite its obvious flaws there’s a wealth of content waiting for you, broken down nicely for hour long bursts. The new monsters will test your reflexes and skill in new ways leading to a good blend of new and familiar.

Don’t expect the resi you know and love as this isn’t it. But if you keep and open mind you might find yourself really enjoying it.

7/10

Catherine

Romance is not a genre you see much in gaming. You might have the occasional romantic subplot but it has never been the core of a game, outside of dating simulators which are often dodgy hentai games anyway. Catherine quite nicely blends Romance with horror and the supernatural to provide an experience with very few rivals.


You play as Vincent Brooks who is in the middle of a long term relationship with his Girlfriend Katherine. She starts pressurising him to take their relationship further with talk of marriage and settling down. Vincent typically isn’t reacting to this all that well and at the same time starts having nightmares. To make matters worse a young seductive blonde named Catherine wakes up next to him one morning.

You spend the game juggling both girls and trying to conquer his nightmares where you have to climb walls filled with deadly traps, while being chases by manifestations of Vincent’s troubles.

The game is split into two, the bar stages and the nightmare stages. The bar stages are safe areas where you interact with other characters, check and reply to phone messages, play mini games and drink alcohol (which helps you in the nightmare stages). This is to set you up for the Nightmare stages which are the bulk of the game. The bar stages feature an interesting mechanic which allows you to reply to text messages by selecting phrases. How you respond to texts are up to you and play their part in what ending you get.

The Nightmare stages see you climbing large walls of blocks by pushing and pulling blocks to create stairs. These walls hover over the dark abyss below which eats at the bottom row of blocks every so often. You have to climb the wall before the row you’re on gets swallowed by the darkness. As you progress more hazards are placed in your paths and it gets harder to create stairs. Hazards include weak blocks that collapse as you stand on them, Ice blocks that make you slip as you walk on them and trap blocks that kill you if you spent more than a second on them.

The higher scores and ranks come from climbing the walls quickly and collecting the various coins scattered across the wall. Catherine will test you Skill, Intelligence and your patience to their limits even on Normal difficulty but rarely feels unfair.

What does need work however are the controls. Sometimes you think faster and react faster than what Vincent can. This can leads to moments of frustration when a misstep occurs such as standing on a block when you just want to face it, or pushing a block when you wanted to pull because the controls didn’t register the switch from up to down quick enough.

By far the worst offender is the camera which gives you the option to look around the wall, but not far enough. You can climb around the back but you do so without being able to see where you are going. On the Hardest difficulty in particular there are instance where you have to go round the back and this becomes a bit unfair when you can’t see where you are going.

Between each Nightmare stage you are asked a random question which moves the meter the determines your ending either left or right. For some of these questions it can be obvious which choice will sway the meter in which direction, but for others it can be very vague. For example you are asked “which is better Boxers of Briefs?”, while there is no wrong answer, when you go for a particular ending it needs to be clear what answer will lead where. Although Catherine does record what people say and gives a pie chart after each question showing what people answered first time around, which is pretty cool.

The story is a nice length and made for multiple playthroughs. The challenge and multiplayer modes also expand its life and it has a nice lengthy mini game that will take sometime to finish (which obviously inspired the nightmare stages). So there’s plenty of life in the game. It’s a shame the multiplayer mode is offline only though, would’ve been interesting to see if it could take some of the share away from more popular online titles.

Overall Catherine is a quirky, different and above all challenging game that will test your skill, intelligence and patience in a way that most games should. It has some interesting ideas that don’t always work but it’s always nice to see a developer try something different. Barring some noticeable control and camera issues there isn’t really a lot wrong about Catherine. It all works well for what it is even though it’s unlikely to win any GOTY awards. Then again this year hasn’t been the best for games, not compared to last year anyway.

8/10

Journey

Are games Art? It’s practically impossible to talk about a game like Journey without this old argument being brought up. I would always say yes and add the likes of Ocarina of Time, Ico, Shadow of the Colossus, Killer 7 and Okami to my list of examples when making my argument. May as well add Journey to that list because there is no way this game could not be considered Art.

Journey is presented beautifully and would hold its own against any work of art. But then there seems to be a problem with games that are Art. Ocarina and Okami aside games which are considered to be Art seem come up short as games in my opinion. Journey is no exception to this.

I’m going to start by comparing Journey to Shadow of the Colossus. Awesome as SotC is it is nothing more than 16 glorified boss fights on a dull, empty landscape. The only reason to explore is to find collectibles and there is very little stopping you. There are no basic enemies, no dungeons, no platforming, it’s just you on a horse following a beam of light to the next boss.

What does this have to do with Journey? Well set SotC in a desert and take away your horse and the 16 bosses and what are you left with? A dull, empty landscape devoid of anything to do but find collectibles. This is sadly Journey in a nutshell.

Essentially my problem with Journey is there is no challenge, no real puzzles, no road blocks to get by just practically empty desert ruins. It almost seems like there might be a threat but it’s so easy to avoid you never really put yourself in danger. There is no risk, only what the developers intended as a reward.

It is very good at letting you work out where to go but that’s only because you can’t do much else. Trophies bring a couple of challenges to do but most are centred on completing the journey, interacting with random people and finding collectibles.

There is only one part that sticks out in my mind as being a challenge and that is ruined by Journey’s other big problem. When you load up you are asked to agree to some terms and conditions. This is to allow you to interact with other players that are randomly dropped into your game.

There are two problems with this. One not everybody wants to play with random people online and two there is no way to turn this off once you accept. If you are signed in online people will be dropped into your game, whether you want them or not.

Back to that challenge one of the trophies asks you to cross a bridge without restoring it. You can jump higher and longer the more collectibles you pick up. Restoring the bridge is relatively simple and anyone in your game can do it.

This becomes a problem when a random stranger restores the bridge while you’re going for the trophy. You don’t get told who it is, there’s no way to communicate with them, you can be screwed out of a trophy (which is one of only three that are a challenge) through no fault of your own, purely because the game forces random people in your game.

Seriously options are not a bad thing, there’s no excuse for a stop people joining your game option.

Finally the journey itself is really short and can be completed in a single sitting. There is little incentive to do it again besides finding all collectibles.

Really Journey is a game that is all style and very little substance. A fine example of a work of art but as a game it leaves much to be desired. I also can’t get over the forced co-op play.

5/10

The Last Story

Last year my Game of the Year was Xenoblade Chronicles. I was blown away by its scale, beauty, complex yet simple Gameplay, awesome soundtrack and remained in Awe by the technical achievement or fitting it all onto one disc with minimal loading times. I believe it is safe to say the Xenoblade is the best JRPG since Skies of Arcadia.

Xenoblade is one of three games that have been released in Europe with no American release planned. Well that was true in the past, thanks to Operation Rainfall they got all three anyway (Yet Earthbound still hasn’t found its way over here outside of Emulation. Thanks Nintendo).

The Last Story is another one of these Rainfall games. It’s a JRPG made by the people behind Final Fantasy. So everything is pointing to being an amazing JRPG and a fitting Swansong for the Wii.

Sadly it’s not nearly as good as Xenoblade. Out of these Rainfall games it seems that Xenoblade is the only truly amazing one of the three (with Pandora’s Tower also being disappointing apparently, I have yet to play it).

To its credit The Last Story does experiment with some interesting ideas. It aims to combine the fluid combat of real time with the strategy of turn based and in some ways succeeds in this. You control Zael for most of the game, a Mercenary desperate to become a knight.

Fights occur in real time and unlike many real time RPG’s you have the ability to take cover behind chest high walls (Yes Gears even infects JRPG’s now). Zael has a special ability called Gathering where after a single button press the majority of enemies target him alone.

This is a simple way of taking heat away from your allies but leaves you vulnerable. Unfortunately like Final Fantasy XIII if you lose your leader you lose the fight. Each character is given five lives that are restored in between battle. Using Gathering you can revive a fallen comrade before they use a life, but if you leave it too late they will run out of lives and only one character can bring them back. Taking cover while being chased by enemies will blindside them allowing you to make a powerful attack in their confusion.

Magic also works differently. Magic users cast a circle on magic on the floor, standing in that circle allows you to attack with that element, i.e. standing in a fire circle allows you to make Fire attacks. Using another of Zaels special moves you can diffuse a circle to get their effects. For example Diffusing an Ice Circle cause enemies to slip leaving them vulnerable. You can also diffuse enemy circles to stop their effects.

While it does offer a unique fighting experience I am unsure whether or not if offers a good fighting experience. Despite claiming to be tactical there doesn’t seem to be much strategy involved. Most of the battles seem to be pretty easy with only the occasional boss causing problems, although the last boss may require some grinding.

Some bosses do require the right strategy to beat them and this is how it should be. Others, particularly the final boss show just how limited the combat is for strategy. The best RPG’s never rely on grinding to win, but I found myself under levelled for the final boss and could find no strategy to beat him.

Fortunately grinding is really quick and easy but I will always mark a game down when you are required to reach a certain level before a boss, and this is not achieved without grinding.

Outside of combat The Last Story has some real problems. There is no real over world, Just one town and castle and some dungeons. Neither are particularly big and leave little room to explore.

Progression is very linear. While you can play groups of chapters out of order, and even skip some optional ones, progression through them sees you going down corridors and following a single path throughout. Like the town and castle they offer little room for exploration.

Barring some funny dialogue and some good characters, the overall plot is pretty clichéd, to the point where you can guess who the real villain is halfway through. Their motives also seem dumb at the end meaning his actions just seem pointless. They could’ve ended it one boss earlier and it would’ve worked better in my opinion.

It’s also very short for a JRPG, clocking in at around 20 hours with nothing in place to expand its life. There are barely any side quests waiting for you post game, you’ll finish it and that will be that. Perhaps the Multiplayer may help extend its life but it never seemed to interest me.

It does look superb for a Wii game and I did enjoy customising my parties clothes. I thought that was a nice feature but not enough to give it a really high mark.

The Last Story feels like they have decided to experiment with new ideas and see what happens. Unfortunately these ideas never really work and they don’t seem to bring any real benefit. It’s nice to see a developer dare to do something different but not at the expense of other things. The world is far too small and it’s all over far too quickly. It’s all just a unique but shallow experience, some good ideas overshadowed by a some really bad ones.

7/10