Fifth Game Review - Need for Speed: Undercover

The fifth and final game i have chosen to review is Need for Speed: Undercover the 12th installment in the popular racing game. Need for Speed: Undercover was released in Europe by EA on the 21st November 2008 on various platforms such as Xbox 360, PS3, Nintendo Wii, PSP and the Nintendo DS. The plot of the game is, the character is a police officer who goes undercover into the criminal underground of Tri-City. Which is a fictional city where the game is based in. The character has to complete dangerous jobs' and compete in races if you are to infiltrate the members of the illegal street racers and car thieves. After so long the character continues to prove himself as a brilliant street racer and wheel man. The further you get into the game the more you have to take out different criminal "friends".

Gameplay

This game features a new open world map that has a 100 miles of road and a large highway system that makes it the largest EA has created so far. The game has four environment's that consist of Palm Harbor, Port Crescent, Gold Coast Mountains and Sunset Hills. Them four boroughs all make up Tri-City. The longer highways make it more realistic. Also, unlike previous Need for Speed games, the whole map is open from the start of the game. In the game, the police system is similiar to what it was like in Most Wanted and Carbon. The bar graph that moves between blue and red which mean "Evade" and "Busted". Police tactics such as "road blocks" and "spike strips" all feature. The damage system also returns in this game and it's similiar to ProStreet. The only difference is the damage is only seeable but doesn't affect performance and is automatically repaired after every police pursuit or career race. The customisation of the cars is also quite similiar to ProStreet but the graphics and detail have been enhanced. The character can also earn reputation as they progress through the game by doing side missions or doing manuevers in a police chase.

Graphics

As soon as i started playing Undercover the first thing i noticed was the terrible frame rate in a game that's had a dependable series. I also noticed while driving through the city, it was bathed in fog and parts of it will suddenly appear as if it had just been teleported. In general the city is boring and that includes the design. Full Motion Video is used in the game but the acting is rather over the top by Maggie Q who plays Chase Linh in the game. Their acting in this game as if their expecting an award of some sort.


Sound

Undercover does boast a very good soundtrack in the game. Well known music artists such as Nine Inch Nails, Pendulum and the Prodigy all have songs featured on the soundtrack. So the strong soundtrack that has plenty of variety for everyone. Although if you're playing the game on the Xbox you can always just use your own music which is probably the best option for some people. The sound effects are good with all the car sounds such as squealing tires to the engine revving at high speed. However the sound effects for collisions are pretty much silent as if their not dangerous. The little voice over work that is done, mostly from police dispatchers and police who radio for help is pretty good.


Conclusion

If you like racing games in general then this game is worth a rental at least. In my opinion there's too much to do and is probably missing something that could have made this game one of the best around.

Fourth Game Review - Sonic the Hedgehog

The fourth game i have chosen to review is Sonic the Hedgehog the flash game based on the hugely popular game for the Sega Mega Drive. Apart from the flash version of the game, it can also be played on platforms such as Game Boy Advance, Xbox Live Arcade and the PC. In the game you can chose 4 possible characters and 2 secret characters to unlock in a single player game. The characters are Sonic the Hedgehog, Miles "Tails" Prower, Knuckles the Echidna and Cream the Rabbit. The game features a password saver so you don't have to start the game from the beginning all the time. The main object of the game in Sonic's perspective is to prevent Dr. Robotnik from collecting six of the Chaos Emeralds in order to rule South Island. You must go through six zones that each has three stages or acts until he confronts Dr. Robotnik for the last time in the Final Zone.

Graphics

The side-scrolling levels in Sonic the Hedgehog are very vibrant colourful. The characters, in general, are good sized although due to the graphics they have been cropped to account for the small screen dimensions. The frame rate is also OK. Overall the gameplay is satisfying and easy to get into. The levels aren't that hard to complete but collecting a decent amount of gold rings is also a good challenge.

Interface

As its a flash game the controls are very simple to remember. The left and right keys are to move, to make Sonic jump you use the space bar on the keyboard. Also, to spin dash you have to press and hold down the arrow key and then press the space bar.

Gameplay

The game play is satisfying and easy to get into although the graphical issues do break it which is to expect as it is only a flash game version. As you need high scores to access the bonus levels the framerate struggles to keep up and it's impossible to enjoy the design, visuals and the music because you keep losing lives due to it not being able to keep up.

Sound

There isn't much to say concerning the sound apart from the music and sound effects are identical to the actual game. The jumps, explosions and rings are all the same and the music is still the same from Green Hill Zone to Scrap Brain Zone to Dr. Robotniks theme. Only difference is the sound effects on the menu screen.

Conclusion

Overall the flash version of this classic is well worth playing. It's just as enjoyable as playing it on the Sega Mega and it will bring the memories of playing this brilliant game all back.

Third Game Review - Street Fighter 2

The third game that i chosen to review is Street Fighter II the flash game based on the popular computer game for the Sega Mega Drive that popularised fighting games and ruled its genre at the time and dubbed the greatest fighting game of all time. The original game was released by Capcom in 1991 sequel to the very first Street Fight in 1987. Aside from the flash version Street Fighter II can be played on platforms such as Game Boy Advance, PS2, Xbox and the Nintendo Wii. There were 8 orginal characters to chose from in the orignal Street Fighter with another 4 added in SF2. Another character "Akuma" is also avaliable in the Japenese version of the game and he is in the flash version. The name of the game is to fight, punch, kick, roundhouse your enemy and beat him to reach the next level. The game is single player against the computer, or 2-player against a friend using the same keyboard.

Graphics

The player graphics for this flash version are pretty good and they look like they've been taken from an arcade version. Although in my opinion the background graphics are bad at least the ones that i
saw.

Interface

The interface is relatively easy as the keyboard is the controller. Arrow keys are to move and, A, S and D are to punch. Z, X and C are to kick. Overall the keys are relatively easy getting the hang of it should be very quick.

Gameplay

The game is pitched in a 2D environment. The characters of Ken and Ryu are very similiar in the game as the only main difference between the two was a throw. In general the gameplay is fine it's just simple one on one fighting that's easy getting the hang of after a while.

Characters

Ryu (Japan) - Karate style fighter, star of the original SF game, specials include a fireball, hurricane kick, and the Dragon punch.

Ken (USA) - Karate style fighter almost the exact double of RYU move wise although Ken has some double hit moves (which have been reduced to one hit on Ryu while increasing his power), and possesses the same special moves as Ryu.

E.Honda (Japan) - Sumo fighter, 100 hand-slap move is very effective and only requires the hammering of the punch buttons, also has a torpedo, and sumo splash/drop combo.

Chun-Li (China) - extremely fast and agile, she can bounce of the back of the screen for a higher jump, moves include the spinning bird kick, a fire ball, and the 100 kick move.

Guile (USA) - Marine with kickboxing style strikes, moves include sonic boom (fireball), and jackknife, also has a decent selection of throws.

Blanka (Brazil) - Mutation victim, is sort of half human, half beast and can channel electricity, moves include vertical and horizontal cannonball, and electricity.

Zangief (USSR) - Russian wrestler, very slow but powerful, his spinning piledriver move is strongest in the game. He also has spinning punch which allows him to move through fireballs, and a wide selection of throws and slams.

Dhalsim (India) - Yoga master with stretching limbs, fireballs, yoga flame and teleport moves. Tricky character to use but once mastered very difficult to beat.


The 4 Bosses (also playable)

Balrog (USA) - Boxer obviously modelled on Mike Tyson. All his moves are punches (plus a head butt), and specials are all various charging punches.

Vega (Spain) - the Spanish Gypsy fighting champion is the fastest character on the game. With a metal mask and a freddy krugger like claw he looks fierce, his moves involve a rolling claw strike which can hit up to 5 times if done right, and 2 jumps off the wall (or the fence on Vega’s stage) with a swan dive or suplex at the end, he can also bounce of the wall for a higher jump.

Sagat (Thailand) - Although dubbed as a Kickboxer he's obviously a Muay Thai Fighter by the move set and the fighting shorts, with a large selection of kicks and knees, a tiger uppercut, and high and low fireballs Sagat can be a good character. He's easily the tallest in the game which can be a hindrance. Boss in original SF, and was scarred across his chest by Ryu's dragon punch.

M.Bison (Unknown) - Final boss, fast and powerful Bison is a powerful character. With his head press, scissor kick and 'psycho crusher' he has an effective array of moves.

Sound

The music fits in very well in the game. It might not be good now but going back when it first came out, it was good! The voice acting for the fighters call is decent but they often get mixed up in the you win/lose announcement at the end of each round which makes it difficult to make out.

Conclusion

Overall for a flash game based on a popular console game i would recommend playing it although more dedicated fans would rather play it on the console rather than the flash game. It is relatively easy and there's too much of the same thing as performing the same move over and over again will easily defeat your opponent. There is also some minor bugging issues as in one case i tired to select Ryu , but the game for some reason selected Dhalsim and then showed me Guile's moves which was weird. Apart from that PLAY IT!

Second Game Review - Resident Evil 5

The second game i have chosen to review is the latest installment of the Resident Evil franchise, Resident Evil 5. The latest installment features similar game play to Resident Evil 4 with sensitive controls and dynamic cut scenes. The main player (s) controls of Chris Redfield and/or Sheva Alomar are also similar to how the player controlled the character Leon S. Kennedy in Resident Evil 4 with the same over-the-shoulder perspective. The game's environment plays a significant role. It features a new type of enemies called "Majini", which means evil spirit in Swahili. These new enemies possess human-like intelligence and awareness. The enemies in this game are different from the previous ganados in Resident Evil 4.

The Story

Ten years after the destruction of Raccoon City, former S.T.A.R.S. Alpha team member Chris Redfield is an agent of the B.S.A.A. This paramilitary anti-bio-organic weapon organization travels the globe to seek out and destroy Umbrella's creations, which have fallen into the hands of terrorists following the collapse of the multinational pharmaceutical company. When Chris gets a tip that a known weapons dealer will be making a big deal in the remote African nation of Kijuju, he heads there to put a stop to it and learn what he can about the mysterious doomsday project known only as Uroboros. Chris is joined by Sheva Alomar, a local B.S.A.A. agent, and together they battle wave after wave of infected villagers, horribly mutated monsters, and even series arch nemesis Albert Wesker.

Game play

The main combat actions havn't changed much since Resident Evil 4 with the action still unfolding with the over-the-shoulder perspective. Certain fights/cut scenes are accompanied by brief quick time events. Mobility is slightly gained with being able to walk sideways and the game's gun play and slow movement takes time getting used to but it isn't really an issue as the enemies attacks can dealt with via a cool head.

The addition of the second character gives it a different feel in my opinion and is necessary when your up against enemies who are more powerful than others. Changes have been made to the inventory management system. The immersion breaking briefcase is gone from the previous game also. Each character can also store up to nine items at once. The new system works well and it's almost vital to trade items with your partner and keeping a eye on who has what. Being prepared goes along way.

Sound

The sound in RE in my opinion especially the voice acting is very well done. And comparing it to other RE games it doesn't feel as stilted. The music also adds a bit of intensity to the action which is also good but as you get further into the game you will notice it by repeated over and over again.

Graphics

The character models in Resident Evil 5 are pretty good and well animated especially the main protagonists, the enemies and the bosses are also pretty frightening in their appearance. The surrounding environment is constantly bleached with sun which gives it a good feel but strays away from the "haunted mansion" setting of previous games. The new style of zombies who can use weapons and posses intelligence and ability at the same time. Some scenes in the game are phenomenally done, one in particular is shooting weapons from the back of a moving vehicle while speeding the outback of the area. Overall the graphics are pretty amazing especially its from Capcom as it does have a very high reputation regarding this area.

Interface

The controls won't be everyone's cup of tea. You have to stop, aim and then shoot. The controls arent going to let you do things like run backwards while shooting dead the oncoming enemies. While possibly swapping items in the inventory or just changing your weapon, the game is not paused which gives the game a bit of consistency.

Conclusion

Resident Evil 5 has definitely moved away from the survival horror style, like RE 4. This doesn't make the game bad as their is plenty of action, content, guns and zombies. Game play is solid, graphics are probably best of its generation. The game can be very addictive but in my perspective i tend to get frustrated a lot and take breaks from the game. One flaw however is in my opinion the game drops in energy half way through the game as some of the later missions are generic and aren't as fun to play as early missions. I chose to review this game because Resident Evil 4 was well received and their was alot hype surrounding this game and overall in my opinion the game was amazing.

First Game Review - Fallout 3

The first game I have chosen to review is Fallout 3 for the Xbox 360. Fallout 3 takes place in the year 2277, 36 years after the setting of Fallout 2 and 200 years after the nuclear war that devastated the game’s world in an alternative post-World War II timeline. The character starts off as an inhabitant of Vault 101, a survival shelter which is designed to protect a limited number of humans from the nuclear fallout. The player, when chosen lives with his/her widowed father James (who is voiced by the actor Liam Neeson). In the game, the player’s father disappears from Vault 101 and from there the player is forced to escape from the Vault as the Vault Overseer becomes suspicious and orders his men to kill the player. This forces the player out into the ruins of Washington D.C. which is also known as "Capital Wasteland" to track him down. In the game the player also comes across a number of human survivors of the nuclear fallout and must fight against a number of enemies such as the Brotherhood of Steel, who are a group of technology-coveting survivors from the American west coast, the Outcasts who are a group of Brotherhood of Steel exiles, and the Enclave, the elitist and genocidal remnant of the U.S. government that inhabit “the wasteland”, during this you also complete numerous missions a total of a 100 hours of game play to be exact. Fallout 3 is a typical action role-playing game but also has elements of first-person shooter game but can also be played as a third-person shooter.

Game play

Attributes and Karma

The main character creation occurs at the start of the game. At the beginning, the character in the game reads a book entitled “You’re SPECIAL”, after reading the book the player can set the character’s main attributes or which are Strength, Perception, Endurance, Charisma, Intelligence, Agility and Luck. The skills are similar to the previous Fallout games, skills can be assigned up to a maximum of 100. For example if the Lockpick Skill was increased, the player will be able to access doors that are locked. The maximum level the player can achieve is 20. After each level/gaining experience, a new perk can be selected which offers advantages of quality and form.

Health and Weapons

Your health is reduced as you would expect when damage is taken through combat, although it can be restored by sleeping, using medical equipment that is available, or eating food that isn't contaminated. There is also other health factors such as radiation poisoning from the viewing environment or contaminated food or water as well as addiction to drugs. Some of which will blur the characters vision. Weapons and armor that are used and damaged in combat become less effective the more their used. Firearms do less damage although you can repair your weapons at work benches, but for this your repair skill has to be at a certain level to do this. Players can also create their own weapons using various items found while exploring the wasteland.


V.A.T.S. [Vault-Tec Assisted Targeting System]

This feature plays an important role during combat. VATS pauses real time combat and the action is played out by various different camera angles giving you a percentage on specific body areas to inflict the most injury towards. These actions cost actions post which limits you during each combat.


Graphics

The graphics play a big part in fallout 3 like most other games. When you leave Vault 101 after escaping, you will notice your eyes having to adjust to the glare coming from the sun. Once your out you will be surprised by the size of the environment around you, and all of it you can travel to! Your viewing distance is also very good, everywhere you go you can almost see the Washington Monument and the Capitol Building. One negative however, the graphics for fallout 3 on the Xbox 360 are slightly bland as everything is either light yellow, grey or brown. And having looked at the graphics on the PS3 for fallout, some textures look better whilst others look broken. Colours on the Xbox 360 look vibrant while others look washed out. There is some bugs in the game regarding graphics, when walking through the wasteland, all of a sudden a building will come into view in front of you. This can be a little annoying!

Sound

The sound on fallout is quite mixed. You have your PIP-Boy 3000 which enables you to listen to the radio, which they are only 3. Enclave Radio, Galaxy News Radio and Agatha's Station. Galaxy news is the best in my opinion as it plays real music and the DJ Three Dog informs you of the latest going on around the wasteland. I was slightly disappointed with the gunfire as most of the weapons sound like cap guns. The biggest disappointment is that the character voices become a bit repetitive as more than one character has the same voice, this also gets a bit annoying and gives you a feeling as if their are no unique people out there. Another thing, there is no emotion with the characters when they talk, they don't move apart from their mouths.

Interface

The interface is extremely easy to navigate between weapons, ammo, aid, your map etc. Overall in my opinion Fallout 3 is immense. It's up there with the best RPG games i have played. I would recommend to anyone who is a fan of RPG games to play Fallout 3 as its truly is one of the best games ever made.