Amid a sea of Resistance 2s, LittleBigPlanets, Dead Spaces and Mirror's Edges it's easy to miss out on some real gaming gems. Titles that don't immediately spring to mind when you think of 2008's must-have games, but which are nonetheless worthy of your attention. Valkyria Chronicles is one of those games and I'm putting my cards on the table in this, the review's intro paragraph, so that there's no ambiguity; Valkyria Chronicles is an amazing game. Here's why.
Valkyria Chronicles is a Japanese Strategy RPG set in a fictional Second World War. You take control of Squad 7 of the Gallian Militia in order to prevent the evil Empire from invading your home country. The game places a lot of stock in its story, with many cutscenes throughout.
The first thing you'll notice about the game is how beautiful it is. The overall anime style may be familiar to you, but you've never seen it done like this before. A textured overlay makes the game look like a watercolor painting on stretched canvas. An effect heightened by the very edges of the screen, which have been left blank and uneven. As if the artist has not painted all the way to the edge.
It's very rare to pick up a game and think to yourself "this is the beginning of a new genre." But, that's exactly what Mirror's Edge is. It wasn't too long ago EA and DICE unveiled the game with a stunning gameplay trailer that had us all asking: "is this really possible?" The answer is a resounding "yes."
Mirror's Edge has almost everything going for it. The innovative first-person parkour gameplay, meshed with a distinct high-contrast style, makes it look and play unlike anything before it. To think, only a generation ago, we touted Metroid Prime on Gamecube for its ability to successfully present first-person platforming. Mirror's Edge goes even further, offering a system that's far more complex, but at the same time, deceptively intuitive.
Almost two years ago, during my vigil outside the Sony Wonder Technology Lab in New York City, I awaited the chance to buy a PS3. At that time, I wasn't thinking about a game like LittleBigPlanet. In terms of future titles, my friends and I were anticipating the next Final Fantasy, the next Gran Turismo or the next Tekken. None of us knew that a game like LBP was poised to become what Sony expects to be the biggest PS3 game ever. Naturally one would want to know; does it live up to the hype?
Dead Space is a survival horror title developed by EA's internal Redwood Shores studio, a new IP from a studio with (and I say this with no malice intended) a mediocre pedigree. The odds were stacked against Dead Space being a good game. Instead, it emerges as one of this year's must-have gaming experiences.
From the moment Dead Space begins, you're thrust into a highly stylized and great-looking game. The opening cutscene sees you, Isaac Clarke, and your team respond to a distress call from mining vessel USG Ishimura. As the Ishimura comes into view, the light from a nearby sun bounces off it. The use of color is stunning. This is the first of Dead Space's "wow" moments.
From the get go, my graphical expectations of the game were raised -- and Dead Space doesn't disappoint. The texture work is excellent, lending to the creepy atmosphere with blood stains and wall scribbles. "Cut off their limbs" and "evacuate this area immediately" appear to be scrawled in blood. The Ishimura is well realized thanks to this level of detail. For example, every door has an LCD ticker above it, telling you the next room's name. Character models look good and move well, with impressive animation throughout.
The PS3 has firmly entrenched itself as not only a games console, but a fully fledged multimedia device. It features blu-ray, media streaming, a web browser and image viewing and printing. Now, with PlayTV, the PS3 adds television to its repertoire. Sony could easily have released a simple TV tuner with only the most essential features, but instead they've developed a product that's incredibly feature rich and integrates itself into the PS3 experience seamlessly.
Setting up your surprisingly light PlayTV box is simple and painless and requires nothing more than plugging an aerial in one end and a USB cable, connected to your PS3, into the other. Once this is done you need only load up the accompanying disc software, which will install the PlayTV client onto your XMB and guide you through the simple setup. After this, you'll have a new "TV" section on the XMB. PlayTV takes advantage of Freeview in the UK, a set of free TV channels and radio stations. Load up the client and you're off.
The emphasis has clearly been placed on being user friendly. The first time you enter any section of the software a splash screen will show you the controls. These can be reviewed again in the help section, along with more in-depth guides. If you'd rather use a remote control than a SIXAXIS controller, your Blu-ray remote will work just fine and PlayTV even comes with an overlay which can be stuck on top to show which buttons do what.
It's amazing to see how far Buzz! has come. The popular PS2 quiz game makes an incredible leap onto the PS3, with great success, in Buzz! Quiz TV. Quiz enthusiasts and newcomers alike will find a lot to appreciate about Buzz's first outing on the PS3. The intelligent organization of topics, new online functionality, quickened pace and very easy-to-use wireless buzzers all make Buzz! feel like a new game in the "next gen."
In preparation for the PS3 game, we familiarized ourselves with the earlier PS2 versions of the game. While they were fun party games, we hated the frustrating process of detangling all the wires from our PS2 buzzers. Thankfully, we're able to get rid of those tacky peripherals with this new package. Simply open the Buzz! box, insert the wireless dongle into the system and put AA batteries (not included) into your buzzers. What we really appreciated was how quick the installation process was. The buzzers are already synced to the system, making it quite possible to start a game within just a minute or two of opening the box. When you want to jump into a party game, that kind of speed is quite important.
There's been a lot of buzz around WipEout HD. The headlines of the game's epilepsy-inducing delay, combined with its genuinely good looks have created the perfect environment for hype to thrive. The long-delayed futuristic racer is the PlayStation franchise's first foray into the current generation, and it looks absolutely stunning. The bargain basement price point of $20 makes it an easy purchase, especially for those on the fence.
However, we wonder who WipEout HD is trying to target. There are three types of people in this world: those that love WipEout, those that are horrible at it, and those that simply haven't tried it yet. For those that love the franchise (us included), WipEout HD is perhaps, a bit too familiar. True devotees of the franchise have already played the sublime PSP games, Pure and Pulse. To find that every single track and every single song in the game comes from these two titles is a little disappointing. They're certainly great choices, but the wondrous effect of nostalgia doesn't kick in so soon -- Pulse came out less than a year ago. Instead, we're left with the feeling of "haven't we been here before?"
The second group of people -- those that are horrible at futuristic racing games -- won't find WipEout HD any different than previous iterations of the franchise. And the third group of people -- those that haven't ever played a WipEout game -- may very well find themselves displaced to the second group once they get their hands on this ferociously fast and relentlessly difficult racer. Sure, the new Pilot Assist feature will help beginner players steer away from the walls, but without the honed reflexes of a veteran, the game's learning curve is surprisingly steep.
We have to applaud the fine folks at Insomniac for trying something new on the PSN. Somehow, they've managed to bring out a brand new Ratchet game, just one year after the release of the first PS3 incarnation, Tools of Destruction. Quest for Booty is a direct continuation of the previous game, but can be played without any experience with the franchise at all. The developers have promised 3-4 hours of gameplay, at a budget price of $15. However, is Quest for Booty worth your hard earned cash? Depends on how much you like the Ratchet franchise.
Although it may have a budget price, the presentation easily matches any full-priced console game. The visuals of Quest for Booty are actually superior to the ones found in last year's game. The water, for example, looks far more captivating in this installment. The lighting seems to be enhanced, and the lush color palette found for most of the game really looks quite stunning in HD. The voice actors all make their return, and Ratchet and friends are animated just as sharply as they always have been.
Gallery: Ratchet and Clank Future: Quest for Booty
Watch your head. You may get hit by one of the many 10s Metal Gear Solid 4 has earned from the critics. Here are a selection of reviews for Kojima's latest. We're not half-way done with the year, and already there's two incredible GOTY contenders on PS3.
1UP (A-) - "It is, in short, precisely what the grand finale of a legendary franchise should be: grand, final, and thoroughly steeped in its own lore."
Game Informer (100/100) - "With the series' last breath, Hideo Kojima's defining opus does more than just surpass the previous Metal Gear titles – it creates a landmark gaming experience that continually astounds with its variety, depth, and intelligence. Metal Gear Solid 4 is a masterpiece."
GameDaily (80/100) - "This is one of the most important games in history and you'll dig its cool boss battles, at times witty dialogue and unrivaled sneaking mechanics. Just be sure to keep a magazine handy when those cut scenes get ridiculous."
GamePro (100/100) - "This is video game storytelling at its absolute best, and represents a new high watermark for the craft, easily surpassing the superb BioShock and the subversive Grand Theft Auto IV."
IGN (100/100) - "Is it possible to give a game an 11? If so, this would be the game that would merit that score. Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots is a title that exceeds all of the hype that was attached to the title."
Developed by Free Radical, the ex-Rare employees responsible for the excellent Timesplitters series, Haze has been a long time coming. The game has suffered from multiple delays as well as exclusivity confusion over the last year. Haze promised to deliver an immersive story, balanced multiplayer and seamless online and offline co-op play. It was also backed up by some excellent live-action trailers.
Unfortunately, it becomes apparent whilst playing the game that, while the team at Free Radical may have reached for excellence, they have either fallen short or made some bad decisions with regards to the execution of many aspects of the title. Haze isn't a bad game and, despite some shortcomings, can be enjoyable and thought provoking. But is it as good as the hype suggested? Frankly, no. Read on to find out why.
Many PS3 gamers are excited for Haze, the PS3 "exclusive" FPS from Free Radical. Since the launch of the playable demo, opinions have been mixed: some loved the instant-action multiplayer offerings, while others were underwhelmed by the core gameplay mechanics of the game. While these initial reviews aren't necessarily representative of the critical mass, they do point towards a less-than-favorable outcome for this anticipated game.
IGN (45/100) - "While their previous work was quite excellent, Haze is anything but, coming across as a middling, generic first-person shooter with bland visuals, a weak plot and laughable characters."
GamersHell (65/100) - "Haze is still sitting in the wake of Call of Duty 4, and falls into that category of being just another FPS. The game tries to include different content with Nectar abilities and rebel dynamics, but a confused story, lacking gameplay elements and technical bugs bog the game down from being a stellar PS3 exclusive."
The A.V. Club (C+) - "More narratively cohesive than the Halo trilogy, but less inventive and compelling than Resistance: Fall Of Man ... too bad it's paired with one of the more pedestrian FPS games to come along in recent years."
Editor's Note: This review was published earlier, before the reviewer completed all the license tests. We pulled the review, acknowledging it was an inaccurate representation of the game. The reviewer has completed all the license tests and has provided a new, edited review.
Before gamers ever really got to play it, Gran Turismo 5 Prologue was already slapped in the face with accusations of being nothing more than a glorified demo. Branded with such a stigma, many gamers had turned away from Prologue and decided to wait out until next year when the "real" GT5 races out. Are these people vindicated in their racing abstinence? Or are they missing out?
Gran Turismo 5 Prologue does continue the tradition of maintaining the most realistic driving sim out on the market. It does this with stunningly gorgeous visuals while at the same time playing like a charm. A rigid online mode does drag the title down a bit, but overall, Prologue will leave you well satisfied. This is one PS3 exclusive that'll definitely make you proud to be a PS3 owner.
With Grand Theft Auto IV hitting store shelves this week, the reviews have finally started to pour in. We haven't seen such universal acclaim for a title this generation. From the looks of things, no matter which version you get (PS3 or Xbox 360), you're in for quite a ride:
IGN(100/100) - " For those wanting to know which version looks better, the edge goes to the PS3 ... Grand Theft Auto IV is one of the best games we've ever seen ... The only thing you need to know is that you have to play this game. Period."
1UP(100/100) - "The PS3 version has the slightest visual edge, plus motion-control support ... Liberty City is no longer just a place you explore outdoors, looking for stunt jumps or the thrill of a six-star wanted level after riling up the LCPD during missions. I spent hours of my week-long review session checking out the game's indoor attractions."
GameTrailers(98/100) - "Rockstar always has a knack for choosing just the right songs to set the tone of its games, and once again it's hit a homerun with Grand Theft Auto IV."
The game of golf is all about precision, patience, and looking swank in plaid. Unquestionably, this checklist of golfing requirements was on the developers' minds when they started designing Hot Shots Golf: Out of Bounds. If we take those three terms and translate them into the context of videogames, it would sound something like this: precision comes in the form of an intuitive yet complex gameplay; patience describes the progressive difficulty and the game's longevity; and lastly, plaid symbolizes a stylish design. Well okay, plaid isn't that stylish, but you get the point right?
As Hot Shots Golf: Out of Bounds introduces a new style of play, it still is more or less true to its roots. We've enjoyed the game immensely and we've got to clap our hands together for Clap Hanz. Nice shotto!
At one point in Rocketmen: Axis of Evil, the main character sighs, shaking his head, wondering "why do I have to do this?" At that one moment, I drop my controller -- it was then that I felt like the game had starting talking to me. Yes, you're right, game! Why do I have to play you? Why must I struggle through level after level of insipid, uninspired game design? How long will it take for me to finish you, so I can write a review and inform our PS3 Fanboy readers to avoid this at all costs?
Paying $10 for a game like Rocketmen is an insult. You're essentially paying for a student project -- however, college professors get paid thousands of dollars to play and critique such amateur work. This is no joke: but at one point, I actually fell asleep while playing the game.
There are a number of things Rocketmen does wrong -- impressive, considering how simple the genre of the dual-analog shooter is.
