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Left 4 Dead Review

Left 4 Dead is a multiplayer survival horror set in the modern day. The first person shooter involves co-operative gameplay allowing you and three other friends to fight off dozens of zombies moving through the campaign and other game types such as versus & single player. It’s available for both the PC and Xbox 360.

First impressions

We began to move vigilantly across the street, back to back and covering every angle. Having picked up more ammo we all felt we had a better chance of reaching the safe room. Edging closer to the station, I suddenly heard two gun shots ricochet down the street, setting off car alarms and shattering shop windows. Instantly the cobbled surface of the sidewalk began to shake. Heart throbbing and fingers twitching I could sense what was about to happen. The terrifying sight –hordes of zombies became reality. All I could do now was shout down the mic “We’re F***ed! RUN!”.

When I first installed the game I decided to jump right into the action, this was pretty easy to do by clicking on quick game in the main menu. I and three random people on line began blasting our way through zombies. Whilst going through the game all four of the characters are constantly making comments about everything going on around them which can be quite funny but also irritating when they keep saying the same thing! Blood splattered and out of ammo I came to the end of the level, unlocking a few achievements and taking down a boss was pretty fun. The game had so far lived up to what I wanted it to be, fast paced, zombie filled levels, pretty easy to get used to and very addictive!

Gameplay

Gameplay for me is the most important part of a game. Everyone seems to go mad about a games awesome graphics or cut scene material but for me I always want playing it to be the most fun. Left 4 Dead is awesome for the average zombie loving maniac like me. The game types are generally the same apart from the versus mode where you get a chance to play as the infected or a survivor.

As expected the game has the same feel as Half Life 2 and Counter Strike Source as it was built on the Source engine. I thought this would be a bad thing as I’ve never been too keen on the in game movement of CSS not to mention how the hit boxes react. To my surprise though the movement is very smooth and the hit boxes are quite accurate and funny at times when you’re able to hit a zombie about 30ft away with a shotgun.

Loading times are generally pretty quick in game but online loading will vary depending on which server you connect to. The servers set up officially by the developer prove to be the smoothest and only the odd time you see a player warping around the level like his on a hover board.

Graphics

All the graphics and animation in game are pretty awesome. Dozens of different looking zombies are included so you’re always confronted by a new looking corpse! The layout of the levels and lighting are quite spectacular as their set in the night time. When inside a building half the time, you only have the light of your torch to provide a path to see where you’re actually going. This adds extra tension to playing the game as you’re always unsure of what’s going to pop out next.

Game menu’s / in game HUD

The first menu you come to when starting the game is very simple to navigate and use for whatever you fancy doing. A feature I quite like is that it shows you which of your friends are online and playing as well as giving you the option to join them in game if you please. When starting a new game on campaign or versus mode you will be placed into a lobby whereby players can join and choose their character. Here a text box is included to type to each other or voice can be enabled to chat as well in lobby.

In game HUD is very easy to use with information showing your weapons, ammo, any extras your carrying plus information on the rest of your team such as their health & if they are carrying a health pack.

Multiplayer

In the multiplayer versus mode you are given the chance to run about as either a survivor or flesh eating maniac. You are able to choose who you would like to be, once in the in-game lobby and your choice consists of any one of four survivors or one of the three zombie bosses available. Choosing a survivor generally goes on the fact if you like playing as a woman, bloke with loads of tattoos or if you don’t fancy them, just pick one of the others! They are all as good as each other really. This also goes for the zombies as they have different pros and cons, depending on how you play in game, putting them to good use. Racking up points as a zombie gives you a chance of turning into a Tank for a while also. Not a an army Tank but a huge muscular zombie capable of ripping the ground up and throwing it at the victims or killing a survivor with one swing!

The versus mode continues through four maps and everyone gets a go on each side. Unlike other online games you are unable to pick which server you wish to play on and therefore don’t know its location and how smooth the gameplay will be.

Summary

Overall, I really like this game. Most people may be thinking….’This is just another silly zombie game right?’. Wrong! The fact is that this is completely different, unlike any zombie mod or game that has been released. The zombies actually run at you plus the gamer never normally gets the chance to play as a zombie. Especially a boss that can spew over survivors causing hordes of zombies to flocks towards them or pounce from 50ft above the survivor, then ripping their flesh apart once landing onto them. its truly gory and makes a mess but who cares about mess when it comes to stuff like this!

Every part of the game keeps you on the edge of your seat, the levels are made so you can’t mince about with your back against the wall. Instead you better make sure your team mate is there to watch your back. Ive played many games and mods including zombies in this way including the new feature within COD:WAW but nothing can live up to what Left 4 Dead has to offer. If your a zombie fan or perhaps into horror then this is a must buy for you. If not, give it a go! It’s bloody awesome!

Official Site
Fan Site

Silent Hill: Homecoming Review (Spoiler free!)

Silent Hill: Homecoming has been out in the US for a siginificant amount of time now, so being the Silent Hill fanboy that I am, I decided to import it before it’s initial UK release on February 27th. It was definately worth it!

I am not going to give away any of the story, so I’m going to keep this short and sweet and stick to the mechanics of the game. The game keeps up with Silent Hill tradition and is VERY atmospheric. Although you don’t start off the game in Silent Hill, you are in a very similar town, and it’s still creepy as hell. The movement is fluid and the controls are handled very well, with inventory screens being opened by holding the L1 or R1 buttons and a map (seeing that you have found one) being opened with Triangle. Combat controls are also very easy, with Square being heavy attacks and X being quick attacks, combo’s are put together quite easily. Gun controls are what you would expect with L2 being used to aim and R2 to shoot.

Graphics wise, the game is good, but not what it could have been given the PS3′s full potential. Since the game is mostly set in fog or darkness you can put that aside though. The area’s look great, and so do the character’s. The enemies are looking as good as ever, and are getting even stranger, and harder to kill. Although the Feral’s look strangely similar to those in Resident Evil.

Overall, Silent Hill: Homecoming sits in a very good position in the Silent Hill series and is a great debut on this gen of consoles. The graphics are good, but not to what the PS3 is capable of (Siren: Blood Curse, Dead Space). The cutscenes are excellent, and the story is spot on. Controls are easy to pick up, and this overall is a very enjoyable experience for Silent Hill fans and newcomers alike.
The game is Trophy free at the moment, with possiblilty of a patch from Konami in the future.

8.5/10.

Lord of the Rings: Conquest Xbox 360 Review

When I purchased Conquest, I was expecting very good things. The idea seemed awesome, and the demo was excellent, especially online. It’s just a shame that it stopped there.

The first level is probably the best level you will get to play (the same as the one in the demo). Slashing up orcs is great for half an hour, but once you realise that all the other character classes apart from Warrior suck, then the game starts losing it’s appeal. The gameplay is very dull and repetitive, especially when all the enemies seem to do is block. The level layouts are designed horrifically basic, and often have you ending up dying by accident by falling into water (yeah, you can’t swim!) or falling off a cliff because your flame attack throws you that way. There is nothing to explore, just a linear path with some open area’s in the middle. The missions range from destroying things, to killing a main character with another main character, even though half the time you die and have to do it with a normal class.
The concept is amazing, especially the Rise of Sauron campaign where it plays as though Frodo didn’t destroy the ring. It also pieces together parts of the film to make it go with the story, which works very well. It’s just a total shame that the gameplay cannot back it up.

The graphics in Conquest are nothing compared to what the Xbox can, and has pulled off before. Maybe if this was released in 2006, it would have been overlooked, but living in the times of graphically superior games like COD4, Mirrors Edge and even Burnout Paradise, you would expect Conquest to be brilliant, especially where the Lord of the Rings world is so mind blowing in the films.

When playing the game online, I found it frustrating that it was only possible to get a kill by either luck, or being the asssassin and becoming invisible. The game modes are okay at best, the Deathmatch mode is boring, even the Capture the Ring mode sucks, and that’s what I was looking forward too most. Most of the matches were laggy, and had characters jumping around everywhere, which caused me many times to just take out the game and punch it, repeatedly.

The game was such an awesome idea, and had me excited about it since it was announced. It’s such a shame that it was obviously a rushed, money making attempt at making one more Lord of the Rings game. The gameplay is rubbish and stressful, and the graphics are laughable. The online play is not even worth looking at, and will probably be dead within a couple of months. If you want a half decent Lord of the Rings game, you’re better off trying the film tie-ins on the PS2…99p on eBay!

4/10

Prince of Persia Review

Developer: Ubisoft Montreal
Publisher: Ubisoft
Genre: Action/Adventure
Available on: Xbox 360/PS3
Reviewed on: Xbox 360
Official Site: http://prince-of-persia.uk.ubi.com/
Fan Site: http://poplegacy.planets.gamespy.com/Links.php
Release Date: 12/12/2008
Reviewer: Dave (Rand0mpanda)

I had never played a Prince of Persia game before this one, so I was not sure what exactly to expect from it. I saw it up on Play.com for £17.99 and decided to give it a go, and I’m actually quite glad that I did.

From the first cut scene of the game, I thought the storyline would be another generic “Muscly guy chases good looking girl to impress her and get in her…” I’ll stop there, but you get my drift. I was actually right, but was actually quite surprised at how good the game turned out. Although it is quite confusing hearing the voice of Nathan Drake on the Xbox.
Prince of Persia is a very simple game to play, jump, climp, attack (all more or less with the same button combo’s). The game has a pretty simple layout; explore the land, get to your destination, have a fight, heal the fertile ground and repeat. With this aside, it is still really fun and strangely addictive, plus the storyline is actually pretty good and immersive, even if it may be a little generic. It is basically; Guy (Prince) finds damsel in distress (Elika), finds out her Father is trying to free an evil God (Ahriman) from imprisonment, attempt to save the world and make everything okay again.
Some annoying points (of which I found there are a few) is when you have to keep pressing the L trigger to talk to Elika, when most of the time the same dialogue is repeated over and over. And of course the sexual suggestions from the Prince (Sigh). Also jumping from one object to another can be very frustrating when the game decides not to listen to you and gets distracted by something else, throwing the prince to his death, only to have Elika grab his hand EVERY TIME. I guess not being able to die in a game is a good thing, but the thing is, you do it so much in this that the Prince seems ike he’s taking advantage of the poor woman, and you end up wanting him to plunge to his doom. Well I did anyway.
I really enjoyed the combat in the game (unlike alot of people), it’s smooth, fluent and the slow motion moves bring a more cinematic feel to it. There are quick time events, which I know alot of gamers hate, but thankfully you do not have to use them too often, unlike The Force Unleashed. This game introduces Power Plates into levels, which you must climb up to so Elika can use her magic and fly the both of you to another part of the level. The flying is very linear since the player does not control where they go, only moving up, down, left and right to avoid objects. They can be quite irritating at times seeing as you can hit something so very slightly, and still fall off and have to start the whole thing over again. They can be quite fun though, when you get the hang of them. Unfortunately, one of the major parts of the game involves something i personally can’t stand, which is item collecting. Just like the flags in Assassins Creed, the Orbs in Crackdown; you have to collect “Light orbs” in order for Elika to regain her strength and to even progress to later parts of the game. 1001 of them to be exact. Eeep.

The new Cel-shaded graphical style gives the game a new edge compared to many others, and make the scenery look rather stunning (especially when you get the Assassin View acheivement…look it up). On the subject, it is evident that Ubisoft has based a small part of the game around Assassins Creed. They gave away a free Altair costume to download for the Prince to wear in-game, which is a little pointless, but still quite cool for fans of AC, like me. The environment looks good when the area is infected with dark blue and black “Corruption”, but when it has been healed, it looks amazing. The brightness and cartoon/reality detail definately brings a whole new unique look to the game.

There is no option for online Multiplayer for the game, although Ubisoft has announced various downloadable content will be released in the near future through the XBL Marketplace and Playstation Store.

Overall, this game is definitely worth a purchase if you can get it for around £20. Newcomers to the Prince of Persia series, like me, will be happily surprised on how the game turned out. Although many old PoP fans seem to shun the game because of it’s new visual style and simplistic control scheme, if you want a simple action game, this is definately for you. The graphics are awesome, and the gameplay is solid enough. I give this game a 7/10.

Quick Review of The New Xbox Experience (NXE)

The NXE finally went live on Wednesday 19th November, and the sad thing is, I was actually really excited about getting home from work to download it. It took about 5 minutes to download and install the whole thing, which then led to a nice looking, (but kind of pointless) intro video, which loaded straight into the avatar creator.

You get to pick from a group of avatars as a starting point, but then change everything about it. I decided to actually do things right and make mine look like me, well as much as i could anyway, if i could get my beard that straight i’d be superhuman. The choice of clothing is actually a little limited for the time being, but there still is something for everyone there. With Microsoft now announcing that clothing packs are going to be free for the first few weeks of releases, I’m sure the avatars will get to grow more individual over time. Yet I will still probably be sad enough to pay for clothes anyway!

The dashboard itself is alot nicer to look at, easier to you, and smoother flowing than the blade system was. The ‘My Xbox’ section has everything you

need, from your profile and gamercard along to the console settings. The Marketplace is also alot better organised now, and easier to brows Demo’s/Themes/Gamerpics and the such, with a simple Ipod style cover flow design.

The friends list is alot better to use now, as it shows which friends are online by showing their avatar and a picture of which game they are playing. If they are in a party it groups all the members avatars together and makes them a little group (which stands and does mexican waves at you).

The new ‘Photo party’ application is pretty cool, as you can share photo’s between one party of friends, and even better, i could plug my phone straight into the Xbox and view them from there.

Eight way party chat is probably my favourite thing to come with the NXE, as you can talk to up to eight friends at one time, no matter what game you are playing. Which is so much better as

1. It drowns out the American kids.
2. You can help each other out in Seach and Destroys in COD after one of you has died
3. It drowns out the English kids.

There are some cons though, like with everything. Whenever I go onto my friends list and view a profile, when I try to exit it, it can freeze for up to 20 seconds, which is quite annoying. Also, when playing online, and you are in a party, it likes to throw you out of it quite alot. Although it tells me the other members have left my party, I have actually left theirs, for no reason! Hopefully these bugs will be fixed in the upcoming weeks with a patch, or a slap maybe.

Overall, the NXE is pretty sweet, and gives the Xbox another breath of fresh air (not that it needed one in the first place). It is alot easier and fun to use than the old blade system, and avatars make your profile and online experience a little more personal than just a name in a list with a gamerscore. Alot of people don’t like the new avatar system but I think it’s a great idea, especially since Microsoft are planning on releasing new games in which to use them(Kindom for Keflings) and implement them into old ones (UNO). There are a couple of annoying bugs, but hopefully they will be ironed out in the coming weeks, as I’m sure Microsoft are planning even bigger things with it

random panda

Gears of War 2 Review

I’ll admit first and foremost, I was sceptical about buying this game. After playing Gears of war (1) on Insane, I was left scarred. It took me two years (yep!) to complete it, and even then I still only completed it on hardcore with a friend through co-op on Xbox Live. That doesn’t mean that I didn’t love the game though, Gears 1 is one of the best games on current generation consoles in my opinion, although I have honestly never been a huge fan of it’s online multiplayer, mainly because i suck at it. I finally decided to order Gears 2 on the Wednesday before it was released, just because I was looking forward to the campaign, and the new “Horde” game mode.

Starting the game, I whacked it on Normal difficulty and decided to “train the rook” seeing as I’m such an achievement whore and wanted the extra 10 points, and even in the intro and the training mode the development of character from the rookie Carmine (Carmine from Gears 1′s younger brother) is amazing, and the relationship that opens up between him and Marcus. Also at this point we find out about Dom’s emotional side with the introduction to his missing wife, Maria, who he is determined to find.

I won’t go into every single aspect and cutscene that the Campaign mode has to offer, but it includes some amazing cutscenes, and even a quite moving story, not only from Dom’s point of view, but Marcus’ aswell. There were some scenes in the game which did actually shock me; after being introduced to new character Tai, and actually believing he was “invincible”, as Carmine put it, seeing his self inflicted demise after being kidnapped and mentally and physically tortured by the Locust actually left me speechless. The same goes for the conclusion of the Dom and Maria sotry aswell, but I won’t go into that for the people reading who have not played the game yet.

The controls are very fluent in the game, and still exactly the same as they were in the first. You no longer get the annoying glitch that would not let you switch guns, which I’m very happy was fixed as it caused me to get chainsawed/beaten/crushed many times.

Level design of the game is pretty amazing aswell, ranging from the inside of a giant worm and having to chainsaw the arteries connected to it’s heart to kill it (before drowning in it’s blood), to the sinking of the city of Jacinto and riding a Brumak into the undeground Locust tunnels, whilst blowing shit up left right and center.

The new enemies introduced in the game are sweet, but can also be terrifying at the same time. The first time I heard a Ticker confused the hell out of me, and before I knew it i had been blown up by what looked like alightbulb/spider creature that was on fire. Also another character worth mentioning, mainly the last main boss fight in the game, is Skorge. I’ve got to say, he is much more awesome than RAAM ever was, he even has dreadlocks (kinda reminiscent of Predator).

The whole campaign took me about 8 hours to complete on normal difficulty, without conciously collecting all of the 41 collectable items. It was an amazing experience even it was on the second from easiest difficulty setting, but I am planning on going back and playing through it again on Insane on Xbox Live with a friend, which in my opinion, is a main part of the whole experience of this game, teamwork and experiencing it together.

The new Horde game mode is definately worth a mention, as this is what will really help build you up to get that Seriously 2.0 achievement (100,000 kills). It is a very fun game mode, which has wave upon wave of different Locust enemies attacking you, on the map of your choice. It is great to play with a friend online, but nearly impossible to complete by yourself. But always worth a try eh?

A new feature I didn’t want to mention until now, is the Chainsaw Battles. To be honest, I used it no more than two times in the Campaign, because i knew that it would only really have an impact in the online multiplayer, anyone can beat AI by repeatedly tapping B, but going up against hardcore Gears gamers is another thing, and actually leaves you feeling satisfied once you’ve cut a real human in half
All editions of the game came with a code to download the “Flashback” map pack (and a Golden Lancer for the special people who buy the special edition), which is a collection of maps from the original Gears, which is a great addition to the game, so you don’t actually have to get used to the new maps straight away. The online games modes are “Guardian”, which sets one player as the teams leader, and once he/she has been killed by the opposing side, your team loses the chance to respawn once they have died. There is a “Submission” game mode which puts players against each other trying to capture a “downed” character controlled by the games AI, and using it as a meat shield whilst transporting it to a certain point on the map. Other game types include Wingman, Warzone, King of the Hill, and Annex. It even includes an option for players to take screenshots of the online action while they are spectating, which is a great idea, although quite Halo like, not that that’s a bad thing.

Overall i give Gears 2 a 9/10, it delivers everything you expect and more. It’s not exactly a game you can just pick up and play for half an hour before you go to work, because you would not get anything out of it. It needs sessions of between one and three hours, because otherwise the experience is not the same.It has an amazing, yet rather short Story, but definately has replay value through Campaign co-op, Horde, and the online multiplayer. Even the achievements in this game are addictive, and will make anyone who plays it aim to get the full 1000. (I WILL get seriously 2.0 ).