Persona 4: Golden

I’ve grown quite fond of 2D fighters this generation. Super Street Fighter IV and Blazblue alone have really shown me what the genre can bring, but even so I was a little bit hesitant to pick up Persona 4 Arena. The reason being I had no experience with the Persona series, and I was worried the game would be all about a world I wouldn’t understand without playing at least one entry in the series.

I decided to take a chance on it since it was done by Arc System Works, the people behind Blazblue and how much Atlus impressed me with Catherine. Almost immediately I fell in love with the characters and by the end I was hungry for more. I picked up Persona 4 Golden and I’ve gone from not knowing anything about this series, to watching concerts of the music on YouTube and picking up the recently released Anime.

I’m hooked on this world and I can see why it’s growing in popularity. It’s looking like Persona 4 is doing for the Persona/Shin Megami Tensei series what Final Fantasy VII did for Final Fantasy. This is in no small part due to the incredible cast. You feel like you could be great friends with any of them and they all feel really human.

Persona is all about not shying away from your insecurities, instead embracing them and accepting they’re part of yourself (well Persona 4 Golden and Arena are anyway, I’ve not played the first 3 yet). The first two thirds of the game will focus on facing the cast’s “shadows”, the dark side of themselves they don’t want to admit exists, and helping the cast battle their own demons. These all feel somewhat relatable real life, such as the guy who’s into cute childish stuff acting all tough so people won’t think less of him.

It’s a refreshing change for the genre which is usually all about saving the world from corrupt governments and great supernatural evils. Overall your goal is to track down a murderer and it all makes for a pretty decent murder mystery.

The bulk of the gameplay is split into two. Persona 4 is part JRPG and part Social sim. It takes place between April 2011 and March 2012 with the game progressing through each day. Each day is broken down into 3 sections, Morning, After School and Evening.

Morning sets up the day. Often you’ll be asked a general knowledge question that you’ll be tested on later when you do exams. Your friends will also approach you if they want to hang out with you (which build up your social links, more on that later).

Evening gives you more time to build social links and stats, earn money through jobs, spend time fishing or reading, or preparing lunch to share with someone the next day.

After School is where the main game takes place. Here you can build up social links or go into the TV world and explore the game’s dungeons. There are also other activities such as shopping and fishing.

The Majority of the game’s characters develop social links with you. By hanging out with a particular character you will improve your social link with them. In the case of Party members improving a social rank will give them abilities that will help you in battle. Early on these will be picking up party members that have been knocked off their feet.

At higher ranks they will pretty much take a bullet for you, which is good because annoyingly Persona 4 is one of those JRPG’s where if the party leader gets knocked out it’s game over. A little more annoying is how the game handles failure. At lower difficulties failing a battle will just lead to everyone being fully healed and you continuing the fight where you left off. This offers no challenge. At the other end of the scale failure can mean restarting a dungeon floor or reloading a save. This is really annoying when you opened a few chests, beaten a few enemies and generally cleared a floor only to be beaten by a self-destructing enemy in the last fight (and there are quite a few of those, even in the first dungeon).

In other words it’s either too easy or too punishing. It would’ve been better if you could just retry that fight you lost. I guess not every game can deal with failure as well as Xenoblade does.

The world inside the TV is the JRPG side of Persona 4. You explore dungeons, fight enemies and eventually fight the boss. Dungeon floors are mostly randomised but all follow the same basic pattern, find the stairs to move onto the next floor. There are usually around ten floors with one or two mid bosses before facing off with the main boss. Monsters are visible but as anonymous black blobs (or red to indicate tougher enemies), you won’t know who you are fighting until the fight starts (except for the rare golden hands, which give high exp and money rewards).

Typically attacking the blobs first will give you an advantage, with the enemy getting an advantage if they attack you first. Combat is all about finding and exploiting elemental weaknesses, but those kinds of weaknesses also apply to your party. Hitting a weakness downs (but does not defeat) an enemy and gives that character a follow up attack. This is also true for the enemy; they can down a party member and get an extra attack if they hit a weakness.

Critical hits also down enemies. Progressing a party member’s Social link will let them randomly ask you whether to let them follow up your attack with a special strike. These are at the expense of any extra turns you’ve earned by downing opponents, and are usually critical hits (one character even instant kills an enemy). When all enemies are down you’ll be given the option of a powerful “all-out” attack, which does a high amount of damage to all enemies but will bring any undefeated enemies back onto their feet.

If all this exploiting elemental weaknesses while avoiding your own is sounding a little like Pokémon then that’s because Persona is a little like Pokémon. The Main character can bring a number of Personas with him, each with their own abilities, resistances and weaknesses. They all share the same HP and SP as the main character so it’s more like equipping a weapon than having extra party members. The other party member’s Personas are fixed. There are a number of Personas to collect, either as loot for successful battles or by fusing the ones your currently hold into new more powerful ones. You can only create new personas that match your level, however your social links will give them bonus exp after fusing usually pushing their level a few higher than yours. Each persona has an Arcana type with matches a particular Social link arcana type. For example Yosuke’s arcana is “The Magician”, the higher your social link with him the more bonus exp a persona of “The Magician” type will earn after fusion.

While there is nothing particularly unique with the combat system it is a good solid turn based system, which becomes second nature early on and offers some scope for strategy. Unfortunately I found more often than not the solution to a difficult section was to level up. I’d rather it be about tactics.

A session in the TV uses up both your after school period and your evening period. Leaving the TV to heal therefore brings you one day closer to your deadline and leaves less days for social link building. Early on you’ll find it hard to keep your SP up and it can be tempting to leave to rest up and continue fresh.

Persona 4 is really about time management. What days you set aside for your current objective inside the TV, What days you use for Social Link building and what days you use for other things. Gameplay wise there’s nothing really special here, it’s just a good solid system with an emphasis on developing relationships with other characters.

What is special about Persona 4 are the characters and its overall presentation. The main 8 characters all have strong personalities which shine through throughout the game. By the end you’ll want more of the story just to see what happens to them. Persona 4 probably has the strongest cast in all of gaming. Voice acting often gets a bad rep, particularly in JRPGs, but they did a really good job here.

It’s also probably the funniest game I’ve ever played. It’s like a good sitcom with excellent timing and delivery, with plenty of memorable scenes. The soundtrack is infectious and sits proudly amongst the other great videogame pop/rock soundtracks, alongside the Sonic Series, Blazblue and Jet Set Radio.

Disappointingly the visuals let the whole experience down a little. I know it’s a PS2 port but I’m sure I’ve seen the PS2 deliver better visuals than this.

For those that played the original Persona 4, Golden offers a decent amount of new stuff and tweaks that validate a second purchase. I never played the original but I do know it has two new Social links, one for a brand new character, an extra dungeon with comes with its own twist, more events including a Ski trip, an extra ending and epilogue. It also includes an extra’s mode called “TV listings” which includes concept art, trailers, a quiz mode and videos of live performances of the series’ music.

Overall Persona 4 is a very strong JRPG that incorporates some well implemented Social link building mechanics. It has some flaws, with a bad difficulty spike early on. Although once you get over the initial hump you’ll be left with one of the most funny, stylish and awesome experiences in all of gaming. While the visuals disappoint the soundtrack is flawless.

If you have a Vita, Persona 4 Golden is an essential purchase, unless you really hate JRPG’s. Even then I reckon it still has a shot at converting you.

9/10

Ni No Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch

I’ve sort of lost interest in the Pokémon series. Game Freak rarely seems to want to expand on the series. They have their blueprint and have stuck with it for over 15 years. You get your first Pokémon from Professor “Tree”, where you choose either a Fire, Grass or Water type. You get a rival early on who chances are you’ll fight as the final battle. You’ll go through 8 Gyms with dungeons along the way, with Team “Something” distracting you with some diabolical scheme. You will then go through a very tough cave to face four elite trainers before you final battle with the champion. Essentially it’s all getting a little too predictable.

So why am I talking about Pokémon, this review is about Ni No Kuni? Well within five hours of playing Ni No Kuni you’ll see why. Ni No Kuni shows that it could be possible to take Pokémon into a radical new dimension and that is probably the best thing about NNK.

NNK is a JRPG from Level 5; known for their B to A tier JRPG’s like Rogue Galaxy and Dragon Quest 8. This time they’ve worked closely with famous Japanese Anime studio Studio Ghibli, who are almost like a Japanese version of Disney. From the first moment this shows, the characters are all polite and well behaved, the worlds are filled with Magic and Wonder and the light comedy is all made so that young children can understand.

But then at its core it does cover a very grown up theme, the death of a loved one and how you deal with it. You play as Oliver, a young boy who is dealing with the recent death of his mother. In his grief his tears bring his most cherished childhood toy to life. In a glorious Welsh accent his toy announces himself as Drippy, Lord of the Fairies, and that he can bring his mother back from the dead by travelling to his world and finding her “soul mate” (so pretty much in the denial phase).

This becomes a common theme for the plot as you travel between Oliver’s world and Drippy’s world matching soul mates between worlds and dealing with their broken hearts. Oliver becomes a wizard, with the intention of finding his mother’s soul mate and stopping the great evil destroying everyone’s hearts.

For the most part the story nicely blends the mature theme of handling a death with a world that is light and can be appreciated by a young audience. Although the final 10% is something different and feels more like extra story after a satisfying ending.

But enough about the story, NNK plays a bit like Pokémon which is why I brought it up. Typically you’ll come across many kinds of monsters which you can capture and train just like in Pokémon. While the way you capture and fight your “familiars” is different, NNK shares that Gotta get them all feeling Pokémon has.

You can either fight with Oliver’s magic or switch to one of three familiars. As you party expands you can select other party members and their familiars. With a full party you’ll have 4 party members and 15 familiars, of which you’ll use 3 party members and 9 familiars.

Movement is in Real-time, and you select commands to attack, each having their own cooldown period before you can use them again. Timing your attacks to attack your opponent before they can attack you cancels their attack leaving them vulnerable.

Like most JRPG’s an MP gauge stops you abusing the stronger attacks although this leads to one of Ni No Kuni’s biggest problems. Your AI teammates will happily abuse their stronger MP draining abilities, particularly Esther, to the point where they will soon be left with nothing. This becomes a problem with boss fights where towards the end you will be relying on their healing skills only to find they have no MP.

What’s more annoying is that their MP isn’t displayed on your HUD, which makes maintaining control of your party more difficult than it should be. Add to that the low frequency of MP recovery items and their high cost in the store means you have to carefully monitor your teammates MP frequently.

NNK’s other problem is how it handles monster collection. Unlike Pokémon monsters are caught by serenading them with a song. This can only be done when a monster is impressed by you skill. This is shown by hearts being displayed, but the frequency this happens is too low. Even when fighting the weakest enemies the ability to capture monsters become a test of luck and patience rather than skill.

On the plus side the Dungeons are a nice length and the side quests are really good. It is also probably the best use of Cel-shading so far only not as big a jump as it was to see Tales of Vesperia for the first time. The soundtrack is only merely adequate with only the boss theme being a stand out track.

Ni No Kuni is a lot of fun to play but it does have some problems. The way your Teammates burn through MP is a constant worry and a patch to increase the monster capture rate wouldn’t go a miss. The world is beautifully presented and full of life, with a good number of side quests to compliment the nicely paced main quest.

But above all Ni No Kuni shows not only is a full 3D Pokémon possible but offers it’s own way of handling things which I hope is inspiring Game Freak for future Pokémon games.

8/10

Anarchy Reigns

I don’t think SEGA cared much about Anarchy Reigns. Delaying it for months and releasing it at £20 show SEGA don’t think this will sell. After all despite critical acclaim, Platinum’s offering with SEGA haven’t been the biggest money makers. Madworld, Vanquish and even Bayonetta all suffered poor sales even though they range from Good to absolutely brilliant.

Anarchy Reigns marks the end of this partnership (it seems, SEGA will probably have some involvement in Bayonetta 2, they own the IP after all) and it seems to have gone off with a whimper rather than a bang.

AR is a 3D beat-em up designed with multiplayer in mind and it shows throughout. The Single Player campaign is short, a few hours for each side at best and it rarely picks up from a relatively dull start. Each of the games characters is thrown into the campaign but outside of the main 7 their involvement seems arbitrary. Take the crimson dragon sisters for example, they appear, fight you, then run off and never come up again. They have nothing to do with the main plot they are just there.

Each level has three main missions and three optional missions. Each of which is ranked based on performance. Missions are unlocked one at a time by getting points from completing missions. Getting Platinum medals will pretty much guarantee the next mission will unlock while a lesser rank will require you to replay the mission (or kill a lot of the infinitely respawning enemies).

Missions range from fights with the other characters and clearing waves of the weaker basic enemies, to completing five laps of a course in one of the game’s vehicles or escorting a weak NPC to safety.

Primarily though you’ll be fighting something. For this you have a two type of attack normal and Killer weapon attacks, with each having a light and a heavy attack. Killer weapon attacks are much more powerful but require one or two bars of a four bar meter. You fill up this meter by using standard attacks or getting hit. You can also grab opponents. Mixing light/heavy attacks and giving slight pauses between attacks, as well as jumping attacks also add to your arsenal.

So there’s a good selection of moves. Problem is that it’s the same for everyone. There is very little difference between the characters. Character choice will more than likely be cosmetic rather than strategic. Platinum could’ve done more to offer more individuality to the characters.

AR also suffers for a few little things that all add up to one big thing, like how you start missions. You can bring up a list of missions for that level by pressing back but you still have to move to the mission marker to start them. Once there you have to wait a second for a prompt to appear as pressing back before the prompt will open up the mission select screen. This gets annoying fast.

As does the lack of a restart function. Whenever I play any game that has ranked missions I like to be able to restart them from scratch when I fail, or can tell I’m not going to get a high rank. Annoyingly you have to fail or quit the mission, then go through the wait at the marker for the prompt thing I mentioned above to try again.

Also the main missions cannot be repeated until you finish the game. Getting Gold instead of Platinum and not being able to replay the mission straight away is another small annoyance.

It’s not all bad though, while it doesn’t look all that great it sound fantastic, with an excellent soundtrack. The multiplayer also have a good range of modes including a horde like survival mode, and a mode that behaves a bit like Grifball meets American Football meets Hockey. There’s also a good level of humour with the usual Platinum silliness we’ve come to expect.

AR feels like an idea they had that they saw through to the end that just didn’t feel right when it was finished. It’s still a fun game but it lacks the magic we’ve come to expect from a Platinum game. Unique but only really competent and solid, rather than ground breaking and amazing, AR is a bit disappointing but only by Platinum’s own ridiculously high standards.

7/10

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

Nine Hours, Nine Persons, Nine Doors

2010 saw the release of a bit of a marmite game called Heavy Rain. Some people, like me, loved the game but even the most blind fanboy couldn’t argue that it didn’t feel like a game, a common criticism from the hate camp. It was true, it wasn’t much of a game more of a choose you own adventure movie. In my eyes this wasn’t a bad thing, I loved the whole experience and remains my only Platinum (I’m more of a 360 gamer).

When I think about it though most point and click games fall into this category too. What I mean they are games that behave more like other things and as a game they leave much to be desired, but as an experience they are amazing. Take for example the Phoenix Wright games, or more recently Ghost Trick.

The Import only (well if your live outside of Japan and North America) Nine Hours, Nine Persons, Nine Doors (or 999 as it will be referred to as from now on) is another one of these games. There is a lot of text, to the level were some of the descriptive text is a little over the top. At times, particularly early on it feels more like a book than a game.

If you can get over this fact 999 will offer you a fantastic experience to rival any game. If not I strongly suggest you try anyway. After 6 playthroughs I am hooked on the story, trying to second guess where it is going and constantly being surprised.

You play as Junpei who find himself on a sinking ship. You meet up with 8 other people who, all except one, are complete strangers. Each has a bracelet and due to mistrust use a codename to refer to themselves. Someone who announces themselves as Zero states you have 9 hours to escape the ship. To do so you must find a Door with a 9 painted on it.

So you have Nine hours to get Nine People through Nine Doors, hence the name. Everyone has a bomb inside them that will go off if they go through a door incorrectly.

999 as a game is a bit of a mixture between Phoenix Wright and Another Code. Each door leads to two rooms where you have to seek a way through each of them by solving puzzles. Say the key is locked in a safe, to get the code to open the safe you have to translate a piece of paper, the piece of paper is stuck in a piece of frozen meat but you’re in a kitchen, etc.

You investigate a room much like a crime scene in Phoenix Wright, picking up useful objects, examining them and solving puzzles. You also come across Another Code style puzzles like entering a code in a briefcase or playing keys on a piano in the right order.

While you may not get the ability to interrogate the other mysterious members of your party, and while the puzzles are not nearly as clever as Another code, it still all works really well to create a tense atmospheric game.

The story is gripping; the characters all superb and the experience will leave you hooked for a long time. As I type this I have been through the game six times and got 4 different endings. Two more endings are implied and I need little encouragement to seek them out.

Visually it is excellent and it uses its sound and soundtrack to create a tense and nervy atmosphere, all helping towards an addictive experience you will go back to again and again until all 6 endings are found. Even when you find out who the killer is, or who certain characters are more questions arise.

If you can get over the large amount of Text and the fact the Gameplay part has been done better in other games (but is still very good), 999’s plot, setting and characters will leave you hooked to the point where you are taking notes and trying to find the answers even when you are not playing.

A fine addition to any gamers collection and one worth importing (it’s on the DS so is region free).

8/10

Deus Ex: Human Revolution

I have a confession to make. As well known as it is I have never played Deus Ex. I have always been a console gamer and so big PC titles like Deus Ex often got ignored. After playing Human Revolution I have since downloaded the original Deus Ex from Steam and aim to play it sometime soon (Although my personal backlog is quite big).

With all the Game of the Year accolades and its surprising and sudden price drop I picked it up despite having no knowledge of the series. I’m glad I did as while it is not Game of the Year it is still an excellent game, deserving of a place in any gamers collection.

You take the role of Adam Jensen who is in charge of security for a major corporation called Sarif Industries. It’s set in the future and science has lead to people being able to use robotics to enhance themselves. These Robotics are called Augmentations and can range from enhancing speaking skills to boosting jumping ability and speed.

You start off in the middle of an attack on Sarif Industries and as you try to save the lives of Sarif’s employees Adam and his lady friend Megan are killed by the attackers. Adam is saved through a heavy amount of Augmentations and as soon as he is able he starts tracking down the people responsible to find the truth of what happened.

Gameplay is a mix of stealth and first person shooting with some RPG elements. DE:HR’s greatest strength comes in it’s ability to let you decide how to handle situations from being able to talk your way out of trouble to shooting everything that moves. The game tends to favour stealth and there are all sorts of multiple routes throughout the levels and hub worlds.

For example you may need to hack the keypad lock of a door or into a computer to continue. Jensen starts with basic hacking skills that you can improve as you progress. Or you could find who has the password/code, knock them out and steal their pocket size device that tells you the information.

You also choose whether to kill, knock out or completely avoid your enemies. Each way has its own advantages. Non lethal weapons allow only one shot at a time so aren’t very good and taking out multiple opponents. Lethal weapons are usually loud but hold more bullets per clip. You can obtain stealth camouflage to sneak past enemies undetected but it uses up energy which is used for taking down opponents in CQC.

The RPG-ness comes in your ability to upgrade Jensen’s abilities. You do this through “Praxis Kits” that are obtained in three ways. Some well hidden ones can be picked up, Some can be bought for a high price and you also get a kit every time to level up.

You gain experience for levelling up by completing challenges, hacking doors and computers, getting through areas undetected, winning arguments through persuasive speech and taking out enemies.

How you upgrade your abilities should relate to your play style. If you aim to sneak past everyone you’ll want to upgrade silent movement and stealth camouflage augmentations. Going all guns blazing works better if you focus on armour upgrades and aim assistance.

Unfortunately one of the most common criticisms is that the bosses, particularly the first one, are much harder if you have focused on stealth based upgrades rather than combat ones. You’ll always want at least one heavy weapon so you have a chance against the bosses, even if you won’t use it for anything else. Also without a boss gauge meter it isn’t easy to work out whether a strategy you’re using is working or not.

And this may just be me but I wasn’t a fan of the constant switching between first and third person. Holding LT while near cover will bring you into third person, aiming while in third person is tricky but it is the only way to shoot from cover. It may have been better as a third person over the shoulder shooter rather than one that switches between perspectives constantly.

Another thing that disappointed me were the visuals. There is a stylish golden glow throughout which is nice, but a lot of stuff fells very last gen. In particular the character models are very poor featuring many square heads. Compare to something like Mass Effect and you will definitely see a difference.

The plot remains mature and gripping without taking over too much of the game. The Sound and soundtrack are great and make up for the shoddy yet stylish visuals. The level of choice for most of the game is excellent even if it does bit you in the arse whenever you face a boss. An excellent game let down by some slight flaws.

8/10

DIary of a Summer of Sonic veteran - SOS2012

Friday 6th July 1pm

Hotel booked, Sat Nav fully charged, everything packed, ticket printed, just to fill my car with petrol and I can start the 8 hour drive to Brighton. Here we go.

Friday 6th July 4pm

Fuck! more traffic jams, more rain, more 50mph speed limits. This trip is taking even longer, Thank Fuck for iPods.

Friday 6th July 8pm

Finally reached M25, can’t be much further. Sat-Nav won’t find GPS signal so I’m worried it’ll take forever to find the Hotel.

Friday 6th July 10:30pm

After all the traffic jams and finally getting my Sat Nav to work 20 minutes from Brighton I managed to park up and check in to my Hotel. Feeling hungry I get a BMT from Subway and check the local area. Hove Centre is literally just down the road from the hotel. Think I’ll aim to leave the hotel at 9, get some breakfast and join the queue.

Friday 6th July 11pm

Open up my Laptop. Internet isn’t all that good, frequently goes on and off. Wait what’s this, Urgent update to all Summer of Sonic attendees. I’ll just check this E-mail. Change of Venue! What the fuck. ARGH where is it now, Brighton Centre? Where’s that? Oh it’s OK, just a bit further down the main road, maybe 10-15 minute walk. Stick to the plan.

Saturday 7th July 12am

Alarm set, clothes laid out, time for bed.

Saturday 7th July 9am

Right I have my bag packed, using the same orange bag we got at SOS 2010, let’s head down the main road. Hopefully it’s not that far and I can get something to eat before the queue gets too long.

Saturday 7th July 9:30am

Arrive at Russell Road. Queue is already pretty big, haven’t had breakfast so I’ll find something once I’m inside. Turn 3DS on, gets plenty of Streetpass hits early on. Doors don’t open until 10 so there is a bit of a wait.

Saturday 7th July 10am

Ok why the fuck aren’t the doors open, come on, I’m waiting.....

Saturday 7th July 10:05am

There we go

Saturday 7th July 10:15am

Wow that was quick. Cool cloth tote bag, wait this room doesn’t seem all that big. All I see is the stage and a load of TV’s with Sega Racing Transformed. Oh there’s an upstairs, ah there’s the merch table and food. Ok breakfast time. More Streetpass hits.

Saturday 7th July 10:30am

Let’s see what’s in the bag. Sonic Universe comic, already have this one but hey it’s free can’t really complain. Sonic Generations on PC for Free, awesome. Sonic branded Stick of Rock, I’ll save that for later. Let’s check out Merch table. T-shirts, T-shirts everywhere, only go up to XL, oh well didn’t expect them to do bigger to be honest. Disappointingly no soundtracks.

Saturday 7th July 11am

Show officially starts with a tirade from Eggman, thwarted by Tails Doll and Marine. Yay it’s the Boozerman cartoon! Loved it. Said hi to Siriku but he seemed busy, said well talk later. Queue for Transformed was short, figured I’d get an early play. Picked Vyse on the panzer dragoon stage. Was pretty good, can’t wait for the finished product.

Saturday 7th July 12pm

Time for Buzzbombers. Excellent show, highlight being an unintentional joke about Elise crying. Can feel Aircon but it’s still getting pretty warm. Go get a drink from the food table, Sonic Paradox cartoon plays on the TV but there’s no sound. Fuck! It’s finished by the time I go downstairs.

Saturday 7th July 1pm

Jun comes on stage for his first show Jam with Jun. Plays some songs with some people from the Sonic fan community. Some Excellent performances all round. Gameplay videos on the screen become oddly compelling and for some reason draw my attention from the stage. I don’t seem to be the only one. Weird.

Saturday 7th July 2pm

Caught Sumo’s Q&A halfway through. Was part of the crowd chanting the Infamous “SEGA” opening used in Sonic games. Here’s hoping they got a good recording like the “Happy Birthday Sonic, Woo!” we did for Sonic Generations last year. They also did something I wanted to see at SOS for a while now, an exclusive reveal. The NiGHTS stuff looks amazing.

Saturday 7th July 3pm

Things started to quite down a bit. Upstairs was the cosplay contest with all but the final hidden away for some reason. Some of the costumes were great. Worthy winner, the top four in particular were excellent. The Banjo Kazooie costumes made me think of Ronan and Mumbo. Iizuka’s Q&A was good, crowd seamed to respond favourably to Chao Gardens making a return. With WiiU, SmartGlass and PS3/Vita the technology exists again to support proper chao gardens again. Managed to get my copy of SEGA racing signed by the guys at Sumo. StreetPass stopped getting hits for some reason.

Saturday 7th July 6pm

Club Sonic was excellent. Seemed like more people were really getting into it this year. Throwing lots of Plushies and badges into the crowd was a good idea. Got a 20th Anniversary pinbadge. Crush 40 were very loud but still incredibly awesome. I guess what I like so much about Crush 40 besides the whole Sonic link is that I’m an optimist and pretty much all their songs are optimistic, feel good songs. Refreshing change from the long list of artists who think depressing you is the only way to go.

Saturday 7th July 7:30pm

So ended another Summer of Sonic. I collected my Jacket from the Cloakroom and briefly discussed the after party with Siriku. For some reason I hadn’t thought much about what I was going to do after the show, I intended to go to whatever afterparty was going on. Assumed it was near the venue, Station bar near Hove Station….Where the fuck was Hove Station? Raced back to my Hotel, picked up a free map, literally just up the road, about five minutes from where SOS was originally meant to be held. Woo Panic over.

Saturday 7th July 8:30pm

Changed out of my sweat drenched clothes into some new ones and headed out to find the bar. Was pretty easy to find in the end. Got asked for ID, could’ve been the space invaders T-shirt I was wearing, but I’m 29 for fucks sake. Got there didn’t recognise anybody just knew they were Summer of Sonic attendees (lots of Sonic and Crush 40 T-shirts)

Saturday 7th July Afterparty

Joined Foreversonic’s table which turned out to be the “Brony” table. No I don’t watch it but I couldn’t care less what other people thought of it. Discussed the Zombie run with Siriku, would love to see him join us. More subdued this year compared to last, don’t know why, last year was excellent. Nice to see SOL from Sumo join us for a drink, I wonder why more of the guests don’t come out with us.

Sunday 8th July 12am

Finished the night hearing T-bird talk about becoming a doctor next year and his nights out in Tokyo with Jun. We all slowly left as we were kicked out of the pub. I said Goodbye to Siriku and headed back to my Hotel. The receptionist was kind enough to let me have a pint of water at the bar (to prevent a hangover next morning, usually works). Went to bed

Sunday 8th July 10am

Checked out of the hotel, loaded up my car, got some breakfast and set up my Sat Nav. It couldn’t find a signal so I couldn’t find the petrol station I had intended to use. I drove around trying to find A) the way out of the Brighton and onto the A23 and B) a petrol station I could fill up my tank with. Eventually found one and started the long journey home at 12pm.

Sunday 8th July 7:30pm

Finally arrived home, except for the time spent driving around Brighton the trip back home was a lot smoother than the trip down to Brighton. Unloaded the car, updated my Sat Nav (needed a GPS update, I’ll make sure I check that next time I go on a big trip) and checked my photos. About half of them are too blurred to upload unfortunately.

Some rough stats:

Total time spent 54.5 hours

Covering 800-ish miles

Hotel for 2 nights £140

Parking £18

Petrol around £100

Other stuff including food around £90

Total cost around £350

Mii’s collected via Streetpass: Around 100, covering around 5 new regions

With around 50 new Generations 3DS missions collected via Streetpass