Rocksmith 2014 (PC, PS3, XBOX, Mac)

From the plastic-instrument-littered graveyard of the rhythm game genre rose the original Rocksmith, a game that took the familiar note-highway interface of the Guitar Hero series and applied it to the full scale-length of a proper guitar. Using that same impressive note-recognition technology, Rocksmith 2014 makes for a much smoother learning and practicing experience thanks to its effortless presentation and more flexible approach to player progression. It’s always going to be a long way to the top if you want to rock and roll, but Rocksmith 2014 makes it a heck of a lot easier to sit back and enjoy the ride.

The “2014” moniker may suggest a merely incremental upgrade from the original game, but Rocksmith 2014 has benefited from quite a significant overhaul to all facets of the experience. Most readily apparent is the completely revamped and non-linear menu navigation. Everything you need at any moment is right under your increasingly calloused fingertips. You can swiftly hop in and out of technique lessons, chord charts, songs, and the wonderfully retro Guitarcade mini-games; it never really gives you enough of a pause to put down your instrument.

Gone is the regimented and repetitive Journey mode, and in its place is the new Mission mode that takes you by the hand rather than pull you by the nose. You’re constantly provided with aptitude appropriate tasks to complete, such as learning a new scale or beating a certain high score in the Guitarcade, but these objectives never become roadblocks; you can decide entirely how you want to progress, and which areas you want to focus on.

There’s been a variety of tweaks across the board to Rocksmith 2014’s actual gameplay, most notably the new visual cues for things like tapped notes and harmonics, along with a fingerprint overlay for chords to ensure smoother playing transitions. But by far the biggest game-changer is the revamping of the Riff Repeater. This ability to isolate, slow-down, and vary the difficulty of a song section is buried in its own separate mode in the original Rocksmith. In Rocksmith 2014, you can activate it at any time - making it much easier to learn more complicated phrases such as solos on the fly and therefore much faster than before.

When you eventually start to nail every note and chord in a song, Rocksmith 2014 automatically switches to Master mode and the notes just fade away. It’s at these times it’s at its most powerful, creating Zen-like moments when you're flush with a genuine sense of accomplishment that no Achievement Unlocked or Trophy pop-up could ever match. It’s like having your training wheels suddenly explode off your bike and freewheeling it down the highway. It’s truly exhilarating.

Some songs will certainly take longer to master than others, but the tracklisting also feels far more considered this time around. While there’s no accounting for taste, the 50 on-disc tracks available feel satisfyingly comprehensive when it comes to technique, spanning a skill range from the simple power-chords of the Ramones’ Blitzkrieg Bop and Jack White’s Sixteen Saltines; to carpal tunnel-inducing metal tracks like Iron Maiden’s The Trooper and Mastodon’s Blood and Thunder; to the technical tour de force that is Joe Satriani’s Satch Boogie. If you own the original game you can import its entire track list too (for a one-time fee), and any DLC also carries across - with all of the back catalogue tracks supporting Rocksmith 2014’s new gameplay features.

Of course it’s not enough just to play like your favourite guitar heroes; you need to sound like them too. The actual guitar tones in Rocksmith 2014 are more authentic than ever thanks to the official emulation of big-name amp makers like Marshall, Orange, and ENGL. You can play through virtual recreations of such lusted-after rigs as Marshall’s JCM800 or the Orange Tiny Terror, and while they’re never going to blow your hair back like the real thing, they provide near enough approximations to serve as a sort of try-before-you-buy service. Considering that Rocksmith 2014 costs less than most small practice amps, the new amp modelling alone might make it appealing to bedroom guitarists tight on space, like perhaps those in college dorm rooms.

 Aside from the entirely new list of songs to learn and amp models to customise, there’s a suite of new Guitarcade mini-games that are essentially a fun way to forget how otherwise mundane it can be to practice scales. Not only are there more of them this time around, but they’re also meatier and better presented. For example, the 2D beat-’em-up inspired Scale Warriors - in which you pummel street thugs by hitting corresponding notes in alternating scales - is set across multiple urban environments, each linked with stylish 16-bit inspired cutscenes.

But my favourite addition to Rocksmith 2014 is the innovative Session mode, which is honestly like nothing else I’ve ever experienced in any game or piece of musical software. You pick the instruments in your four-piece backing band, customise settings such as the scale and tempo, and then you can basically go nuts all up and down the neck with the band reacting dynamically to the intensity of your playing. Not only is this a great way to explore the fretboard and experiment with new scales, but it’s also an invaluable tool for honing your improvisational skills - you can even play it with a friend for some guitar solo face-offs (or face-melting-offs). It’s a great vehicle for coming up with riffs of your own too, which makes it a slight shame that there’s no in-game recorder to capture your ideas with.

Yet for all of its features and encyclopedic approach to chords and scales, there is a ceiling to the skills Rocksmith 2014 can provide you with. It stops short of teaching you advanced techniques such as sweep-picking or more extreme two-handed tapping, but it isn’t really aiming to be the be-all and end-all of guitar and bass tutelage. It’s not meant to be played in a vacuum devoid of other instructional influences - you should still absolutely watch videos on YouTube, buy tablature books, jam with friends or even seek out more formal teaching if you really want to master the fretboard.

Lastly, it would be remiss of me not to mention the audio latency levels. The developers claim that they’ve tightened up the latency at least in terms of the software, and certainly when I played the PC version of Rocksmith 2014 or the console versions with the audio fed into a separate home theatre system (via analogue cables), the audio latency was truly imperceptible. However, when I ran the audio via HDMI straight into the back of television, there was still a noticeable delay between when a note was struck and when it sounded out of the TV speakers. So for those of you who have no external devices to output the audio to, be mindful that it may have a negative impact on your enjoyment with the game.

The Verdict

What makes Rocksmith 2014 such a great companion for any guitarist or bassist is its power to incentivise: it’s capable of sparking new passions or rekindling old ones in players of all skill levels via its successful gamification of common guitar-playing techniques. It’s smooth, flexible, always encouraging, and makes practicing a pleasure rather than a chore. Whether you’re a fretboard virgin or a would be virtuoso, Rocksmith 2014 deserves a place in your daily practice routine.

Source: ign.com

Ratinng: 9

Fifa Soccer 14 (PC. PS3, XBOX)

Initially, most of FIFA 14’s innovations appear superficial. The way players move and shoot have both been dramatically improved, and there’s a new level of realism to the animation on the pitch (cutscenes look a bit robotic in comparison). But the longer I played, the more I realised these additions subtly affected how matches played out, and the style in which I played. 

And though it’s tricky to separate them out – it’s really a cumulative effect – I think it all starts with the more natural way players move and interact, with each other and the ball. They’ve become much more physical entities in the last few years – evident in tackles and collisions – but now that’s finally seeped in the way they move. Players transfer their weight convincingly when they suddenly change direction, they have a sense of momentum once they’ve built up speed, and they caress the ball with the inside and outside of their boot when they pivot or cut inside. It looks great, making games much more attractive to watch, yet it also shapes the general style of play.

Given the improvements made to animations, it’s slightly disappointing that the overall graphics haven’t been improved, though. On the pitch, it looks like it has for the last few years, and it’s on the verge of becoming stale. That said, the overall presentation continues to improve. The pre-match build up is impeccably directed, doing a great job of imitating the the spectacle and glitz that’s synonymous with modern sports broadcasting.

The improved animation has a deeper impact. FIFA’s dribbling has been something of a work in progress, improving incrementally over the last few years, but Precision Movement (that's how EA's referring to the new animation system) really feels like the missing piece of that puzzle. It’s more liberated and expressive than ever before. You can really skin players on the wings, and the ball has more distance from the player, making running with it feel much faster and mercurial. Dribbling also works well in tandem with the new ability to protect the ball manually using the left trigger or L2. It helps you retain possession in key situations – if the opposition tries to pick your pocket, you can hold out an arm to fend them off. But I found myself using it more productively in attacking situation, since it’s perfect for turning defenders when bearing down on goal.

Improvements have also been made to shooting. Pulling the trigger now produces a range of different shots – balls dip at the last minute, gradually rise into the top corner, or are thumped low and hard. Combined with the improved ball physics, I found myself scoring types of goals that I never saw in FIFA 13: there are more rebounds, more balls falling marginally over the line, more deflections, more venom. It adds pleasing visual variety, but it’s ultimately determined by factors largely out of your control.

Meanwhile, passing definitely feels like it’s in need of some attention. It’s just not as clean or as precise as it is PES. Playing a cross-field pass should feel more graceful than it currently does and close, one-touch passing should be faster. It’s never really been as central to the style FIFA has tried to recreate, and this year it definitely feels a touch behind its other fundamentals.

My favourite aspect of FIFA 14, though, is unquestionably the improved AI of teammates. When going forward, I always had plenty of options. Players intelligently run into space, demanding the ball played into their feet or down the line. I’ve always been a fan of the lobbed-through ball, and in FIFA 13 I obstinately use it to no great effect. But in FIFA 14 there’s someone there, making the run I always wanted. And I find putting them through just as satisfying as scoring a goal. This intelligence is also present when defending (players don’t get sucked towards the ball so easily), but I definitely found it more useful going forward. Perhaps it’s a consequence of having a more inquisitive forward line, but I experienced more dubious offside decisions than in previous seasons.

 Of late, FIFA’s tried to encourage thoughtful, build-up play, but the improvements made to the movement of your fellow teammates really foster more end-to-end, thrilling encounters. It’s the side of football FIFA has always excelled at portraying: taking early leads, a frantic tempo, and plenty of last-minute goals. That’s not to say there isn’t a tactical element, but it’s not FIFA’s real strength, and this year it feels like it’s more comfortable with that identity.

FIFA 14 is even more tightly stitched into the rhythms of the real-life game. Stats continue to be updated, using information from the most recent round of real-world fixtures, and pundits again single out players experiencing a patch of good form. Yet it's all integrated much better this year, with the commentary less crowbarred into the opening of matches. This year it even extends to the presentation prefacing games. For instance, when I played as Real Madrid, the pre-match buildup focussed closely on Gareth Bale, following his recent record-breaking transfer. They’re little touches, but together it raises the level of presentation and ensures that FIFA stays relevant for the duration of the season.

It also has unparalleled variety for a sports game. There are just so many different ways to consume it. From one-off fixtures to ongoing seasons, online friendlies, a selection of that week’s games, a career mode, and skill games (there’s a whole new suite of addictive mini-games to grapple with). And that’s all before we get to Ultimate Team, which is increasingly the most popular way to enjoy FIFA. There are lot of minor but very welcome additions – online Single Matches thankfully return after last year’s absence, meaning you can contribute to FUT even if you’re pressed for time and without the pressure of a season-long campaign. And the number of divisions to scale has been taken up to 10, making the challenge even greater.

Furthermore, this year’s fresh interface – a series of tiles reminiscent of the Xbox dashboard – really comes into its own when playing Ultimate Team. It’s clean, inviting, and highly functional. Nowhere is this more keenly felt than when trawling the transfer market. It’s easier than ever before to search for players or filter the market depending on what your team needs. It might sound like a minor improvement, but I’m eternally grateful.

 The really big change to Ultimate Team is Chemistry Styles, which introduces lite RPG elements into the sport. Chemistry links in FUT have sometimes felt a tad opaque, but now you can determine the style of your players. You can assign each player a different class, which slightly changes key attributes. So “Artist” accentuates a players passing and dribbling, while “Sentinel” enhances defending and heading. They’re essentially skill trees, with the stat boost being heightened over time. They can also be mixed and matched to really capitalise on the style of your team. It’s a neat addition, adding more sophistication to the chemistry system. If you’ve never ventured into the life-absorbing world of Ultimate Team, FIFA 14 provides the ideal moment to jump aboard – though I really wish EA would consolidate XP, Coins, and FIFA Points into one in-game currency.

 

The Verdict

FIFA 14 isn’t a major landmark for the series in terms of innovation. Unlike recent iterations, it doesn’t ask you to relearn key skills. But the changes have made FIFA more attacking, fun, welcoming, and attractive, and ultimately it’s a stronger experience. PES presents a credible alternative in terms of gameplay – FIFA can’t replicate it’s artful passing style – but when it comes to exciting gameplay, impeccable presentation, and a generous year-long experience, FIFA is still in a league of its own.

 Source: ign.com

Rating: 9

Diablo 3: Reaper of Souls (PC)

As someone who was there, Hot Pockets in hand for all the midnight server issues, and other heartbreaks of Diablo 3’s PC launch, it’s difficult to imagine a larger turnaround than Diablo 3: Reaper of Souls. Not only has the game it’s built upon been markedly improved by the recent Loot 2.0 patch, but the excellent new content in this expansion is exactly in line with what I wanted for the series. Its world is darker and more dangerous-feeling, its bestiary more varied, and its brilliant new adventure mode gives Reaper of Souls the sense of long-lasting reward that Diablo 3 sorely lacked.

While the saturated colors and occasional rainbows that punctuated Diablo 3’s rendition of Sanctuary were pretty to look at, Reaper of Souls tosses all of it aside and splashes the canvas with charcoal shades, and deliciously dreary landscapes that harken back to the Diablo of old.

The streets of Westmarch, where the new Act 5 kicks off, are bleak, and filled with scripted events and side-quests that effectively set a tone of hopelessness. Corpses are piled high in cathedrals, civilians run futilely through the streets before being possessed by evil spirits, and civil unrest stirs as it becomes clear that Westmarch’s King is unfit to protect his people. The tritely written plot doesn’t successfully carry these ideas for long, but the atmosphere remains thick to the end, resulting in a world that feels imperiled, and more in need of a hero than the first four acts.

Despite staying on the darker end of the spectrum, Reaper of Souls shows an impressive level of diversity in both its locales and monster designs. Only one quick encounter borrows art from Diablo 3, so the rest of the five-ish hour-long campaign is flush with exciting new sights to see and ever more impressive demons to smite.  In one single act, Reaper of Souls exhibits almost as much variety as the entirety of Diablo 3 before it.

The new content in Reaper of Souls really helps give Diablo 3 a longer tail than it previously enjoyed. One of the biggest factors is the new Crusader class, which ably fills the role of Diablo 2’s Paladin. They hit with holy authority, but they also sport an array of defensive, and support abilities that can be useful when playing with friends. Particularly when equipped with a massive shield in one hand and a normally two-handed weapon in the other, Crusaders exhibit a presence and physicality that effectively sets them apart from the other classes, who have new active and passive skills to pick up on the way to the new level cap of 70. You’d be surprised how much that one extra passive slot opens up build possibilities.

Despite staying on the darker end of the spectrum, Reaper of Souls shows an impressive level of diversity in both its locales and monster designs. Only one quick encounter borrows art from Diablo 3, so the rest of the five-ish hour-long campaign is flush with exciting new sights to see and ever more impressive demons to smite.  In one single act, Reaper of Souls exhibits almost as much variety as the entirety of Diablo 3 before it.

The new content in Reaper of Souls really helps give Diablo 3 a longer tail than it previously enjoyed. One of the biggest factors is the new Crusader class, which ably fills the role of Diablo 2’s Paladin. They hit with holy authority, but they also sport an array of defensive, and support abilities that can be useful when playing with friends. Particularly when equipped with a massive shield in one hand and a normally two-handed weapon in the other, Crusaders exhibit a presence and physicality that effectively sets them apart from the other classes, who have new active and passive skills to pick up on the way to the new level cap of 70. You’d be surprised how much that one extra passive slot opens up build possibilities.

Back in town, the Mystic artisan can transmogrify your gear to give it a more cohesive overall look, and with enchantments, you can reroll a single modifier on a piece of gear until you get what you need, for a price. Enchanting is handled really intelligently, allowing you to see what the possible outcomes are, and letting you either choose one of two new results, or stick with what you originally had. It leaves just enough to chance to feel exciting when you get that perfect roll, but controlled enough that I never felt cheated when things didn’t work out.

But the crown jewel here is undoubtedly the new Adventure mode, which gives you unrestricted access to every waypoint across all five acts. Random side missions called bounties litter the map, offering progressively greater rewards as you go. Complete enough, and you’ll earn items that grant you passage into a Nephalem Rift. These randomly-generated dungeons of varying size are absolutely teeming with mobs pulled from every corner of the game map, making for some the most intense, varied battles I’ve ever fought in an action RPG.

The new content in Reaper of Souls really helps give Diablo 3 a longer tail than it previously enjoyed. One of the biggest factors is the new Crusader class, which ably fills the role of Diablo 2’s Paladin. They hit with holy authority, but they also sport an array of defensive, and support abilities that can be useful when playing with friends. Particularly when equipped with a massive shield in one hand and a normally two-handed weapon in the other, Crusaders exhibit a presence and physicality that effectively sets them apart from the other classes, who have new active and passive skills to pick up on the way to the new level cap of 70. You’d be surprised how much that one extra passive slot opens up build possibilities.

Back in town, the Mystic artisan can transmogrify your gear to give it a more cohesive overall look, and with enchantments, you can reroll a single modifier on a piece of gear until you get what you need, for a price. Enchanting is handled really intelligently, allowing you to see what the possible outcomes are, and letting you either choose one of two new results, or stick with what you originally had. It leaves just enough to chance to feel exciting when you get that perfect roll, but controlled enough that I never felt cheated when things didn’t work out.

But the crown jewel here is undoubtedly the new Adventure mode, which gives you unrestricted access to every waypoint across all five acts. Random side missions called bounties litter the map, offering progressively greater rewards as you go. Complete enough, and you’ll earn items that grant you passage into a Nephalem Rift. These randomly-generated dungeons of varying size are absolutely teeming with mobs pulled from every corner of the game map, making for some the most intense, varied battles I’ve ever fought in an action RPG.

Different tilesets and environmental effects are anarchically tossed together too, turning each rift into a freshly insane fever-dream. Slay the boss at the end, and you’ll be treated to a huge lootsplosion that almost always includes a legendary. Essentially, Blizzard has created a framework that handsomely rewards us for doing exactly what we want to do after completing the story anyway: log on, do runs, get paid, and log out. Brilliant.

Each of these new elements benefits from the many system changes Diablo 3 has seen in recent months. Though you don’t need to buy Reaper of Souls to experience the joys of Loot 2.0, the revamped Paragon system, or the end of the auction houses, it all adds up to a much greater sense of choice and ownership over how your character looks and plays despite the lingering over-simplicity of the stat system beneath it all. Modifiers that buff specific skills roll frequently, finally making it feasible to gear around specific skill builds. Legendaries drop more often too, and being able to use enchanting to swap useless stats for more relevant ones means you’ll be more likely to use what you find, and keep grinding to find more.

The Verdict

With Reaper of Souls, and the recent round of content patches, Blizzard has transformed Diablo 3 into something far more akin to what long-time fans like me wanted all along. It still requires that annoying always-online connection (which has behaved itself), but it’s more sinister in tone, more rewarding to play, and more maddeningly addictive than it’s ever been. I’m looking forward to many more hours in search of that perfect legendary drop.

 Source: ign.com

Rating: 9.1

Trials Fusion (PC, PS4, XBOX)

In today's age of broad design intended to reach the widest possible audience, games like Trials Fusion are a precious rarity. Its simple, yet uncompromisingly precise mechanics cater beautifully to staunch perfectionists. But for as technically demanding as it is, it still provides enough character, freedom, and rhythm to entertain on a moment-to-moment basis. Though some of its course designs err on the side of the sadistic, the pain melts away every time you nail one of the many colossal jumps.

Trials Fusion borrows elements of platforming and motocross, then injects a concentrated shot of highly believable physics. Each bike, and the one ATV, has a distinct weight to it, and you’ll feel the differences every time you feather the throttle. The lightweight, powerful Pit Viper will lurch right out from under you if you pin the accelerator from a stand-still, and the acrobatic Fox Bat tumbles through the air end over end at your slightest suggestion. Each input translates smoothly and accurately through your bike and rider, creating a rare sense of direct connection.

The physics behind the riding implies a simulation, but the dystopia-tinged tracks look and play like something straight out of an arcade quarter muncher. You’ll ride over the backs of blimps floating high above skyscrapers, barrel through overgrown jungle ruins, and skip lithely from one set of solar panels to the next. Despite the variety of climates and locales, there’s a real sense of place here, a sense further emphasized by the quips of the two AI announcers, whose well-delivered voice overs provide a darkly humorous context for why anyone would ride, repeatedly, into near-certain doom.

And oh is your doom ever certain. Fusion starts simple enough, with laid-back jumps comfortably separated by long, mellow ramps. By about midway through, sticking landings on the downslope of a jump and getting your rear wheel down first become minimum requirements, and the last two sets of tracks are on another level entirely. Intricate understanding of bunny-hopping, momentum, and weight distribution are needed on nearly every checkpoint. This can lead to either ecstatic celebration when you reach the next waypoint by the skin of your teeth, or crushing heartbreak when you wipe out inches shy of the finish line.It’s rare for any game to reward this level of comprehension and mastery.

But while that’s commendable, it also makes for some slavish track designs. The sense of spectacle eventually gives way to an endless series of small scale, highly technical challenges that break up the rhythmic sense of joy that defines the experience until then. It’s oddly anti-climactic for the later levels to feel smaller, and slower than what precedes them. Fusion’s high difficulty kept me engaged, but I wish those later levels had retained the big thrills while ramping up the challenge.

Besides nailing its core mechanic, Trials Fusion also offers scads of content. In addition to over 40 standard tracks, and the assortment of enjoyable skill games like Triathalon and Krank, there’s also a bunch of of tracks specifically designed to use the new FMX trick system to its fullest. You’d almost never want to pull one of these slickly animated grabs and holds off  in a timed run (unless you want to show off in local multiplayer), but they’re a fun addition that calls on the detailed physics just as much as the rest of the riding does.

Every standard track sports four medals to grab, in addition to three optional challenges that require you to perform tricks, no-fault runs, or find paths so well-hidden, I honestly never saw one. All of it gives you money and XP to unlock cool new looks for your bikes and riders. Perfecting my runs, and finding ways to shave seconds off my time became an obsession, especially with leader boards so readily accessible. Topping it all off is a powerful track creator with an incredible number of objects and options to tweak. It’s not exactly user-friendly, but it should ensure a constant stream of new tracks to master for some time to come.

The Verdict

Trials Fusion is at once mercilessly exacting, and regularly thrilling. It allows you to exert an impressive level of control over your rider, and leverages that control to create nuanced, challenging tracks that beg to be run, and re-run until perfection is attained. The later levels lose some of the over-the-top fun of the earlier ones, but overall, Trials Fusion offers a fun, deeply challenging experience with lots to see and do.

 Source: ign.com

Rating: 8.2

Mercenary Kings (PC)

Mercenary Kings -- a fun side-scrolling, old-school shooter -- pays reverence to many corners of gaming's past without being half-baked or derivative. For as much as I love the grittiness of a modern first-person shooter, the frights of a contemporary survival-horror adventure, or getting lost in the sprawling open-world map of a western RPG, I have a soft spot for old-school-inspired games that look dated, yet feel at home in today's gaming landscape, that pay homage to the past while staying relevant in the present. Mercenary Kings is one such game.

SNK's storied Metal Slug franchise is probably Mercenary Kings' single biggest inspiration both aesthetically and in terms of gameplay, though there are shades of Monster Hunter, Contra, Mega Man, and much more here, too. The Monster Hunter association is most important, however, simply because Mercenary Kings isn't just a linear shooter, but a mission-based one rife with tons of loot drops that, in turn, can be used to craft stronger gear.

The loot system is Mercenary Kings' greatest draw, and the focus of its identity. For as fun as it is to play, Mercenary Kings' addictive quality comes from the never-ending need to collect and synthesize. That's not only uncommon in side-scrolling shooters; it's virtually unheard of. Running through its 100+ levels, killing tons of enemies, and gathering what they leave behind is essential if you want to survive, and with a jaw-dropping amount of weapons, components, armor, and much more to create and equip, there's no shortage of reasons to stay engaged. It's a game that's almost impossible to rush through.

Thankfully, getting into the nitty-gritty of Mercenary Kings' impressive equipment system doesn't mean you have to play a subpar, boring, or ill-executed shooter. Quite the opposite, in fact. Running and gunning through various environments -- abandoned caves, sprawling complexes, sewer systems, and more -- is a lot of fun, especially when you begin to learn its nuanced controls. Its active reload-style gunplay -- ripped straight out of the likes of Gears of War -- means that you have to be thoughtful during firefights. You can't reload constantly and expect to have any success. Likewise, enemies tend to do an inordinate amount of damage. All of this creates a sort of digital ballet, a careful dance of crisscrossing bullets, artful rolls and dodges, and tons of pixelated blood. 

Speaking of pixelated blood, I adore the way Mercenary Kings looks and sounds. Games using pixel art are a dime a dozen today, but Mercenary Kings has style. Character designs are unique and appealing; your base camp is littered with memorable characters, and the game's bad guys are archetypal, yet charming. There are a ton of enemies to do battle with, too, from gun-and-knife-wielding humans to robots to beasts and more, though there's a fair bit of palette-swapping to be found. As for the soundtrack, let's just say this: it's one of the best gaming soundtracks I've heard in years. Track-in and track-out, I was stunned by Mercenary Kings' attention to audio quality and fidelity. I just wish its long-winded story was more interesting. I found myself skipping every cutscene after only an hour of play, just so I could get back into the action.

While I'm making wishes, I wish Mercenary Kings had tighter controls. For the most part, everything works as you'd expect, but there are certain issues that stand out. Pressing down to shoot from your belly doesn't always work, jumping can be finicky, and occasional split-second freezes interrupted my flow. But part of conquering the 20-plus hour campaign is in overcoming certain perceived deficiencies. It's weird to say, but in this respect, it has that true old-school spirit. It's like playing Castlevania with its crazy midair collision kickback, or Dragon Warrior with its random, out-of-left-field ass-kicking enemies. This is what Mercenary Kings is; figuring out how to work within its rules is part of the fun.

Mercenary Kings' more modern elements come from its rank-based play, sprawling maps, and online components. Stages are unlocked one rank at a time, and groups of stages must be completed to move on to the next group. Missions will take place on many of the same maps -- and I definitely wish there was a greater variety of locations -- but your tasks on each map, and the time you're given to get through each mission, will vary significantly. On one map, you may be given 30 minutes to rescue 16 hostages from every corner of a complex. But you may go back to that same complex with a focus on a particular section of it, with 10 minutes to clear a certain amount of enemies.

If you want to play with your friends, you can absolutely do that, whether locally or online. Mercenary Kings allows for up to four people to play at once. Local play isn't ideal because it cuts the screen up, but online play is a great way to ease Mercenary Kings' grueling difficulty if it starts to cramp your style.

The Verdict

Mercenary Kings is a slick old-school inspired shooter that has one foot in the past, and the other firmly planted in the present. Its high level of difficulty, catchy tunes, and pixelated graphics meld nicely with its emphasis on loot, customization, and online play. While some control issues get in the way, it comes highly recommended to those looking for a fun side-scrolling shooter to play, or folks simply looking for a taste of the games of yore.

 Source: ign.com

Rating: 8

FTL: Faster Than Light (iPad and PC)

There’s something special about a game where you can choose to reroute power away from the vital life-support system to the weapons and coax one last shot out of your crippled, flaming wreck of a spaceship. It’s the kind of desperate, so-crazy-it-just-might-work move James T. Kirk or Han Solo would attempt to reverse his fortunes and save his crew. And even though it doesn’t always work – or perhaps because it doesn’t always work, and sometimes everyone dies and you have to start again – it’s those moments when it does that make FTL: Advanced Edition one of the most memorable and replayable games I’ve ever played.

 FTL is a story generator more than it is a game of skill. After countless hours of the PC and iPad versions, I’ve effectively mastered its amazing ship-to-ship and somewhat weaker hand-to-hand combat systems – it doesn’t take too long, as it generously allow you to pause at any time and consider what to do and where to move your tiny crewmembers. (That makes it an excellent fit for the iPad’s touch controls, too.) But because it involves so many random factors, from whether a missile hits its mark to if your crew can rescue a space station from giant spiders in a miniature text adventure, FTL is often cruel to the point where a few bad jumps can render a playthrough effectively unwinnable. That’s the joy of it: you never get to feel safe.

Combat seems rudimentary at first, since both 2D pixel-art ships sit still on the screen trading blows, but its wide variety of offensive and defensive options give it surprising legs. The many ways in which multiple versions of blasters, beams, flak, missiles, ion blasts, teleported bombs, attack drones, boarding parties with six distinctly different races, and mind control interact with shields, cloaking devices, defensive drones, engine speed, medical bays and cloning facilities, reinforced doors, and more is endlessly interesting. Success in battle involves timing your most powerful shots to hit when their shields are weakest, which effectively creates some great “Fire on my command!” moments.

Important decisions are everywhere. Do you target their shields first and make them more vulnerable to your next attack, or try to knock out their weapons with the first volley and spare yourself the repair bill of having to take some hits? Do you concentrate on raw firepower, or throw in some ion weaponry to quickly disable enemy systems, drones that can attack or defend, or send over boarding parties and use mind control to turn the enemy crew against each other? Or try to power up your FTL drive and run? Whatever you decide, no plan survives contact with the enemy, and FTL does a great job of throwing unexpected and unlikely attacks at you to force you to pause and reconsider. 

The one spot that could use some work on the iPad’s touch interface is the weapon panel. As the most frequently accessed part of the UI, it’s almost always either covering up vital crew health information or constantly needing to be reopened to target new enemy systems. On PC, that’s not an issue.

As you’re driven forward through the five-sector map of randomized navigation points by an unstoppable rising tide of Rebel ships, it forces still more decisions. While you never know exactly what’s waiting for you at each point, I’m always tempted to explore as much as I can and upgrade my ship as much as I can before I reach the extremely tough battle at the end. Sometimes that backfires, and I have to bite my nails as I desperately limp to the nearest repair shop, hoping there’s not a heavily armed pirate waiting to exploit my moment of weakness.

Every jump is just as likely to land you in a well-written miniature text adventure that often feature interesting moral choices. Should fool an alien into joining your crew by telling him you’re a god? Or abduct docile aliens to sell on the black market? Those moral choices almost never have direct good/evil consequences, so there’s no one judging your actions but yourself. Some of your options will change depending on your crew composition and equipment, like if you send your robotic Engi crew member into a quarantine zone, and that keeps them fresh for replaying. Some even turn into quest chains that unlock new ships for your next playthrough.

Those ships can dramatically change the way you play. Playing as the armored Rock cruiser, for example, makes me less afraid to take a few hits, and more inclined to send over boarding parties while using flame weaponry to kill the crew (since Rock crewmen are immune to fire). The same goes for the ship augmentations, which can change your viable strategies by giving you nearly infinite drone parts or allow you to fire your weapons once without waiting for them to charge.

The free Advanced Edition update (the only one available on iPad) added a new eighth race called the Lanius, which drain oxygen from any room they occupy, making them good for deterring boarding parties and for attacking drone ships. There are a ton of other additions as well, and even after dozens of hours I’m still discovering new quests.

The Verdict

FTL: Advanced Edition is an incredibly replayable game, and each run gives me something memorable and rewarding – even the ones that end with my entire crew dead. The excellent iPad version has just become my go-to mobile game, since it includes all of the tense decision-making and unpredictability that make it endlessly entertaining on PC. Though I still prefer the speed and accuracy of the PC’s controls, the iPad version is very smooth and a close second.

Source: ign.com

Rating: 9.6

 

The Walking Dead: Season 2 - Episode 3: In Harm’s Way

By the end of The Walking Dead: Season 2 -- Episode 3: In Harm’s Way, I had one inescapable thought.

What have I done?

As the credits rolled, I wondered if I should have been less forgiving, less brash, less compassionate. If I had been more willing to do things differently, would more people till be here? Probably not. Contrary to The Walking Dead’s previous episode, I had no interest in reliving the events to find out. 

They unnerved me too much.

In Harm’s Way writer Pierre Shorette forces many of The Walking Dead’s characters to their physical and mental breaking points. The scenes in which they’re each tested are memorable, excellent, and effectively unpleasant, in a way that is uniquely Walking Dead -- to acknowledge you have enjoyed them is to submit to your own sadistic sensibilities.

Yet there is no glee during the unpredictable story told during In Harm’s Way. Clementine’s new family is imprisoned by Bill Carver, the quiet maniac who debuted in Episode 2: A House Divided. Clementine and company’s overnight escape plans put everyone at risk, and the way In Harm’s Way builds to its devastating climax had me anxious and uncomfortable in all the right ways.

The Walking Dead explores what that means to players while putting them on a hopeless road for Episode 4. In Harm’s Way is about as bleak as this franchise has ever been, and what little optimism exists is only here to remind you how easily it can be used against you.

Bill Carver is Telltale’s vessel for that fear and distress. Carver escalates from a man whose subtlety is scary to someone whose unpredictability made me dread every interaction with him.

Sociopaths in video games usually exist to motivate the player’s violence. Their mental instability absolves you of any uncertainty or guilt when you do something terrible to them. They’re “crazy” -- just kill them. Bill Carver is a different kind of sociopath. He made me play Clementine differently than I had been, but in quite the opposite way of most games. My cold, bitter Clementine warmed to those around her, even those she didn’t fully trust, because of Carver. Yes, I wanted him dead -- he is likely the first person Clementine has ever truly hated -- but that was secondary to protecting those who suffered because of him.

What have I done?

Empathy is the greatest success of In Harm’s Way. It focuses on people, features very little environmental exploration, and doesn’t bother with puzzles. Contextually, this is a human episode, so there’s little room for the more involved “play” aspects of this adventure game. Despite having less interactive portions than previous episodes, In Harms Way has tension, discomfort, and character development that’s among the best of them.

I have no idea what Clementine’s future holds. That’s unnerving. But, like Clementine, I’m focusing on getting these people to a better place than the people I left behind.

The Verdict

Speaking with friends around a campfire, or fighting zombies to save their lives, humanizes The Walking Dead’s cast better than most games characterize their protagonist. My dialogue choices reflect what Clementine and her friends need, rather than what I stand to gain as a player. In Harm’s Way deepened my empathy for characters I’m legitimately worried will die, or worse.

Sometimes, I made choices in hopes that I could stop that from happening. I put others before myself, and that got a lot of us hurt, Clementine included. Maybe these were the wrong choices. I don’t know. I’d rather not think about it -- but I can’t stop.

Source: ign.com

Rating: 9

Sportsfriends (PC, PS 3 & PS 4)

Sportsfriends is the most exciting local multiplayer game since Wii Sports set your parents’ living room on fire in 2006. That’s not the remarkable thing about Sportsfriends, though; what’s remarkable is that it manages to bring four disparate styles of gameplay together into one cohesive package that caters to casual partygoers and committed players alike. The rather demanding hardware and space requirements might limit which games you can play, but your living room will be filled with raucous laughter and yelling just the same.

Sportsfriends’ four games mostly walk the fine line of being simple enough to learn quickly--for optimal controller exchanging at big parties--while offering an incredible amount of depth for the ultra-competitive. This point is driven home especially well by Johann Sebastian Joust and BaraBariBall, Sportsfriends’ two best games.

Johann Sebastian Joust reminds me of the playground games of my childhood, feeling like a blend of tag and musical chairs. It ditches the TV altogether, and instead has you moving around in real space trying to shake your opponent’s Move controller enough to knock them out of the game. Fully enjoying Johann Sebastian Joust isn’t easy thanks to needing Move controllers for every participant (you can use the less-responsive DualShock 4 controllers, but it isn’t recommended) and plenty of space to run around, but it’s entirely worth the trouble. 

Carefully grasping the glowing Move controller while attempting to knock your opponent’s around is like a calculated game of chicken, where moving in to attack also leaves you vulnerable. The controller becomes less sensitive when the music speeds up, urging you to attack, and intelligently injecting a dose of frantic urgency. With jousters encircled by spectators waiting for their turns, it also looks entertainingly similar to a Michael Jackson music video.

Back on the couch, the other standout is BaraBariBall. which has up to four people beat the crap out of each other as they try to toss a ball into their designated section of water beneath the level. I found the immediate chaos to be incredibly fun, but soon, strategies began to develop. Moving, attacking, and throwing became precise as I found better ways to score without giving my opponents time to intercept the ball. The depth of play is amplified by the three different playable characters, each with its own unique stats and abilities, and the variety of stages that require distinct planning. I wouldn’t be surprised to see competitive BaraBariBall played at fighting game tournaments. It really is that deep.

The final two games are fun in their own right, but its hard for them to escape the looming shadow of Johann Sebastian Joust and BaraBariBall. Hokra is a super-abstracted game of two-on-two basketball that seems straight forward at first, but becomes incredibly competitive as you master the ability to bank passes to teammates off of walls. Super Pole Riders’ analog stick controls take a few matches to get comfortable with, but once you master using your pole to block opponents’ movement, and nudge the ball out of your opponent’s reach, knocking opponents off their poles; there’s plenty of freedom to playfully troll your friends.

The “s” on the end of Sportsfriends is of importance; these four minigames are much better with a group than a single friend, and one, Hokra, even requires four players. Additionally, none of Sportsfriends’ games have options for a single player. There are no AI opponents, online matches, high score challenges, or any other type of mode for the friend-challenged. This means you’re going to need lots of people and controllers to really get the most out of it. Super Pole Riders and Hokra try to bridge the gap with an option for two players to each share a controller, but it proves to be rather unwieldy.

 

Oh, and if you own both a PS3 and PS4, go with the PS3 version. The PS4 version only supports up to four bluetooth devices at once, where the PS3 handles seven.. Four players is certainly enough to have a good time, but the more players, the more fun and chaotic Johann Sebastian Joust becomes.

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The Verdict

Sportsfriends is one of the most dynamic and addictingly deep local multiplayer games I’ve ever played. Each of the four games provides its own unique rules and fun, and Johann Sebastion Joust and BaraBariBall are each strong enough to be sold on their own. Between DualShock controllers, Move controllers, groups of players, and ample space, the hurdles to fully enjoy Sportsfriends are high, but clearing them gives way to an incredible party game full of yelling, celebrating, fist-pumping, and innumerable expletives; the combined cornerstone of all great parties. 

Source: ign.com

Rating: 8.7