Gaming Update

Although I thought Dragon Age 2 was utter bollocks, I’ve decided to give Inquisition a spin. I’ve been watching a lot of videos and what I’ve seen looks promising. Plus, there’s nothing else coming out that interests me right now, and I’m craving something I can sink a ton of hours into.

What little interest I had in AC:Unity rapidly faded when I heard of all the technical issues and bugs. But even without those problems, who thought adding micro-transactions into the series was a good idea? Or forcing players to use a companion phone/tablet app alongside the game? That can f**k right off. Also upcoming from Ubisoft, Far Cry 4 looks like Far Cry 3.5 so I really can’t get too excited about it.

I was a little tempted by the new CoD having not played a title in the series since MW2. I saw a lot of praise for the new mobility and verticality of its MP. Ha! Watching videos of it only made me want to go back and play some Titanfall. If people really want fast paced mobility and verticality, TF is the place to go.

I put together a run and gun kit of an SMG with the stim ability and extended wall running and it’s like playing Sonic the Hedgehog on speed. They also added some new game modes – Frontier Defence is a players vs bots mode (which is something I actually suggested way back in my review). It’s pretty good fun, but it really depends on the map as some are way too easy to beat. There’s also Marked for Death, which is a neat twist on TDM, and the recently released ‘floor is lava’ mode. Once again, it really depends on the map, but it can be very fun.

The Titanfall player base may have dwindled but I never have trouble finding a game. It’s likely I’ll grow tired of it again after a few weeks, but it’s great to see these updates and improvements, all of which have been free.

Now Playing: Gone Home

It’s 1995 and you are 21 year old Kaitlin Greenbriar. You return home from a trip abroad on one dark and stormy night only to discover the house deserted. Where are your parents? Or your sister, Sam? Gone Home is something of an interactive mystery house. Entirely at your own pace you can explore, find clues and figure out what happened.

So far, so intriguing. When I first entered the house it reminded me a lot of Shenmue, which may seem like an odd comparison. But one of the first things you can do in Shenmue is walk about your own house, opening drawers and cupboards and rifle through people’s personal possessions. And that’s what you’ll be doing throughout Gone Home. You’ll be walking through this house, poking about, searching every drawer and examining all sorts of (mostly mundane) items. Like a toilet roll! Why? Because maybe there’s a clue in the roll! (Tip – there’s not!)

I actually really enjoyed this aspect, although I’m not sure I was supposed to spend so long making piles of assorted junk in the entrance hall. Of course, this exploration and examination is more than just cosmetic. Certain items you find will trigger ‘journal’ messages from your sister. As you progress and find more of these recordings you’ll piece together exactly what happened. And this is really the main story of Gone Home – what happened to Sam.

But there are other stories in this mystery house, full of secret passages and hidden rooms. By reading various notes and letters throughout (as well as discovering particular items) you’ll gain an insight into the lives of Kaitlin’s parents and their relationship with Sam. There’s also a little side plot about the previous owner of the house. This is something Gone Home does pretty well – building these narratives through your own exploration.

So far, so good. The game looks nice and builds a good atmosphere with some great lighting and sound. The attention to detail is also great and as someone who was a teenager back in 1995, I loved a lot of the details. It does feel (mostly) like a real place where people live. Although alone in the house you come to feel that Sam is your companion, guiding you through from one clue to the next. Her VA is fantastic and adds a lot to the game.

So where does Gone Home go wrong? Well, although the freedom Gone Home grants the player is great, it can result in you stumbling across something that might break the flow of the narrative. About 20 minutes in I found a ‘secret’ area and realising I probably wasn’t supposed to go there yet, I backed out. Which was lucky, because if I had followed it through I’d have ended the game barely as it was getting started. Which would be a shame, because exploring the house, opening up new areas and finding each successive journal entry is extremely enjoyable and rewarding.

My other concern is that the side narratives are rather undercooked and don’t really lead anywhere. I was expecting a little more from them. This, sadly, is also a problem with the main story and my primary issue. There was a point about an hour and twenty minutes into Gone Home where it felt like things were really getting interesting. I was enjoying it a lot, far more, I must admit, than I was expecting. And then it just ended, incredibly abruptly.

Oh. I don’t want to get too much into the story stuff because I really don’t want to spoil it for people. All I can say is that the ‘ending’ just fell totally flat for me. I just sat there and thought ‘is that it?’ It’s not such a case of expecting some grand, dramatic finale or anything like that. It simply feels like the story took a great leap. As if we’d jumped from the middle of the tale to the very end. It wasn’t very satisfying and left me feeling like I’d missed out on a lot of stuff.

Only I hadn’t. I had all the journal entries so I certainly hadn’t rushed anything. But the ending of Gone Home did feel rushed. I was getting swept along with the story and then suddenly it wraps up in the space of a couple of minutes leaving me feeling rather deflated. It felt like there was a lot more story to these characters, especially the parents and their involvement.

Overall though, I liked Gone Home. Like The Stanley Parable, it’s something I’ll probably spend a few days debating internally whether it’s a ‘proper’ game or not before remembering that I don’t really give a f**k. It’s an experience, one I enjoyed and ultimately that’s all that really matters. Like Stanley, I’d recommend it to those who want to try something a little different. It’s neat, but it does feel a lot like eating half of a delicious meal before the plate is suddenly snatched away.

Work in Progress: QOTSS

Parts 1 and 2 of QOTSS are now complete. Normally when I’m about half way through writing a book, I begin losing that early enthusiasm, but because of the way I’ve structured QOTSS that’s not really happened.

I think I mentioned before that the book is split into multiple parts, four in all. The first three parts all take place in different locations with completely different characters (aside from the MC). They each have their own little story arc, antagonist and resolution. The fourth part will then tie everything up, bringing all of these characters together.

It’s been an interesting way to approach a story that I’ve not really tried before. The potential downside, of course, is that secondary characters may not have the necessary time to develop to any great degree, as each part is relatively self-contained. That said, this is a story very much focused on the journey of the MC over several years. Each part of the book represents another stage of her journey.

I suppose I could have told this story in a more straightforward manner, but where would be the fun in that?

Now Playing: Shadow of Mordor

Shadow of Mordor or ‘Orc Murder Simulator 2014’ is what happens when you take the Assassin’s Creed and Batman: Arkham games and mash them together with a complete edition of The Lord of the Rings. It’s a game about killing orcs. Lots of orcs. It’s probably the best orc killing game ever made. You can put that one on the box, guys.

The game is about a guy called Talion (I think?) who sets out on a mission of revenge because nobody could think of a more interesting motivation. The story of Mordor is one of its weakest components. Talion is a bland, humourless sod, accompanied by a dead elf who pops up on occasion to say something in his serious voice. You also meet a dwarf and some woman, oh and some other bland guy. I don’t really remember. Honestly, the story and characters of Mordor are completely forgettable. Well, that’s not strictly true. The human story and characters are, but I’ll elaborate more on that later.

So let’s get stuck into the best thing about Mordor – the combat. Which is fortunate, because the combat is about 99% of the game. The combat, on a base level, plays out just as it does in Batman. You have attack, evade, stun and counter buttons. Every hit counts towards a combo, and once you chain a few hits together you’ll be able to perform special moves. The combat animations are great, and the fights are bloody and brutal. As you progress you’ll earn experience and skill points which can be used to unlock new abilities. These include the standard health/ammo/focus (slow-mo) upgrades, plus a selection of new or enhanced powers.

Once you’ve unlocked all of these, you’ll have a wide and varied selection of tools at your disposal to murder your way through as many orcs as you please. It’s satisfying and very, very enjoyable. Combining your different skills and abilities, tearing your way through an orc stronghold and watching them flee never fails to amuse. The problem, of course, is that it’s all too damn easy.

But before we get into the difficulty issue, let’s look at the Assassin’s Creed element. Direct combat is a big part of Mordor, but there’s a focus on stealth too. You can sneak about, scale walls and buildings and perform stealth kills. Amusingly, Mordor made me feel more like an assassin than any of the Assassin’s Creed series ever really did, especially when you factor in the ‘intel’ aspect as you uncover information about your target and use it appropriately to give you an edge in a fight.

The myriad of combat and stealth options are fantastic, allowing you to approach every mission in a variety of ways using a wide pool of abilities. It’s a lot of fun, and I never really grew tired of it. However, as I’ve already said, the difficulty is a serious issue. In my 22 hours of game time (you can probably blast through the main story in about 10-12, but you’re looking at about 20-25 if you want to 100%) I only died three times. THREE times.

Right from the start, you’re practically unstoppable in a fight. And as you level up and unlock new skills and upgrades, you only ever grow more powerful. You learn lots of new ways to kill things, which then unlock even more new ways to kill things. By things I mean orcs. Lots of poor, poor orcs. It’s fun, but extremely easy. Even the Warchief fights, which you think will turn out to be really tough ‘boss’ type encounters, aren’t all that hard, even early on. Hell, I killed all 5 in the starting area when I was only about 6 hours in.

Another problem is the lack of enemy variety. There are three, maybe four types of orc in terms of weapons, tactics and type of attack, but they can all be killed in exactly the same manner. If you’re looking for a little more tactical play, like we had in Batman – with different foes requiring different gadgets and approach – then you’ll be disappointed. In Mordor, you can mass execute your way through everything with ease.

So the story is a waste (with a terrible final ‘boss’ fight too) and the combat, although fantastic fun, seriously lacks in challenge. But Mordor has another component, something unique and quite interesting – the Nemesis system. As you progress through the story you’ll gain the ability to ‘brand’ orcs and make them your slaves. There’s this whole system of orc Captains and Warchiefs you can brand and manipulate. It creates new side quests that allow you to play one against the other, or push your own personal ‘favourite’ orc right up through the ranks. It’s enjoyable to mess about with and it’s where the orc personalities really shine.

The human characters of Mordor may be forgettable, but the orcs are great! There’s a lot of different orcs that can pop up, all with unique names, features, weapons, abilities and weaknesses. The VA for them is also great, giving each a distinct personality. Some you ‘kill’ may return, perhaps missing an eye, seeking revenge. You’ll grow attached to some of them and come to loath others. You’ll build your own stories within the game through your interactions with these orcs, which is fortunate considering how dull the actual story is.

But whilst the Nemesis system is certainly interesting, there’s not a lot of depth to it. Once you’ve played one of its side quests (I think there are about 5 types in all) you won’t really want to keep doing them over and over again. It’s also not that hard to get your chosen orcs into the Warchief positions. And when you have a few Captains and Chiefs on your team, it becomes even easier to enslave/kill the rest. And once you’re in full control of the orc ranks, then what? I guess you could kill them all and start over, but what would be the point?

The Nemesis system is also disappointing in the sense that it never really leads anywhere or has any real influence in the story. You’re told several times that you’re ‘building an army’ but you never get to actually see it. Towards the very end of the game you’ll be joined by the Warchiefs you’ve branded, but no Captains or common soldiers. They do very little in a couple of very small fights and then just f**k off. Thanks for the help, assholes.

Imagine for a moment if the Warchiefs were directly tied to the orc strongholds in the game, and by controlling a Warchief you also controlled the stronghold. It could lead to a very cool strategy mechanic whereby you could order a Warchief to assault a rivals stronghold. You could then help the assault by taking down defenders, opening gates etc. Sadly, the most you can do is start a ‘riot’ between two Warchiefs in a little skirmish. I was hoping at the end of the game I’d be involved in a seriously big battle with all my Warchiefs, Captains and all the orcs under their command being involved. It just doesn’t happen. So although the Nemesis system is enjoyable to tinker with, it’s also completely bloody pointless.

Graphically, Mordor looks very good, although some environmental work, particularly in the first area, isn’t great. There are two open world areas, but neither is that interesting to explore or look at and both are mostly the same thing – one just has more grass than the other. In addition to the main story missions and the Nemesis stuff, you have 30 side challenges relating to your three weapons – sword (combat) dagger (stealth) and bow (ranged). Some of these are quite fun, but the majority are quick and forgettable. There are also two types of (worthless) collectibles to track down. Well, one type does give you some text to read, at least. As in Assassin’s Creed, each area has towers (high points) you can scale to reveal collectibles and side missions.

The only other side content in Mordor (and unfortunately the bulk of it) is the Outcast Rescue missions, 24 in all, but once you’ve played one you’ve really played them all. They are repetitive and dull, and will feel like a real grind if you intend to work through them. And that’s about it for side content.

Wow, it sounds like I’m really taking a dump on Mordor, but despite all my issues with it, I still had a lot of fun playing it through. The story may be bleh, the open world dull, the side content repetitive and the combat lacking in any sort of challenge but despite all of that, I never got tired of cutting my way through 50 or so orcs, watching their heads fly as I zipped about between them, totally untouchable like some crazy ORC GOD OF DEATH. Combined with the Nemesis system, the combat creates some fantastic, organic experiences in the open world. It’s just a shame that so many of the supporting components totally fall flat.

6/10

Return to Rome 2

With the release of the Emperor Edition update, I decided to return to Rome 2 to see what was new. I’ve played it on occasion since release, usually to test a new patch, but this is the first time I’ve gone back to the game and completed an entire campaign. Actually, it’s the first time I’ve completed an entire campaign – period. But more on that later.

So let’s start with the technical stuff. The game is in far better shape than at release. I didn’t have too many issues with the release version, at least not for the first 20 or so hours, but over time they began to grow increasingly apparent. I’m pleased to say that Rome 2 now runs extremely (and consistently) smoothly, even during some large 40v40 siege battles. If you zoom into a mass of troops fighting in a battle of that scale it can still drop rapidly in terms of FPS, but it’s certainly not unplayable, and the typical 20v20 battles that make up the bulk of a campaign are completely fine.

There also seems to have been some slight graphical tweaks, although I’m not entirely sure. I played on Ultra settings (Extreme didn’t really seem to add anything noticeable other than a FPS drop) and it still looks great, but it feels more sharp than at release, with more vibrant colouring. Bugs! In about 60 hours of play, I don’t think I saw a single bug, so that’s certainly an improvement.

But what about the AI? Battle AI is now consistently solid, although on release I’d see more of the AI holding back units in reserve, and that’s something I didn’t really see at all this time around. That said, the Battle AI does its job. It holds formation, uses its units fairly appropriately and flanks where it can. But ultimately, unless it outnumbers you in terms of numbers and/or quality you won’t have too much trouble defeating it.

Siege AI has probably seen the biggest improvement given that on release it would just stand still a lot of the time and do nothing or, on occasion, it might blindly decide to run its entire army through a wall of spears. I’m glad to say that neither of those things happened during my time with this update. Path finding seems much improved, and enemies sensibly attack at multiple points rather than just try to charge through a tiny kill zone. Campaign AI is a lot better. It seems to manage its economy far more effectively and puts together far more sensible army compositions (as opposed to 90% slingers).

There have been a few changes to the campaign map in terms of building mechanics, but the political system has had the most significant overhaul with new info screens, making it far more clear how the civil war mechanic is playing out. In the release, civil war was pretty much inevitable, but now it’s possible to avoid it entirely (as I did in my campaign) by managing the political side appropriately. It’s still not exactly particularly exciting or in-depth, but it’s much better than how it was presented at release, although I did find it very easy to re-balance the power struggle whenever I needed to.

There’s quite a bit of free new content that’s been added to the game in terms of units and factions, plus an entirely new campaign, in addition to other mini-campaign DLC. I played through Caesar in Gaul, which was a neat, self-contained little campaign, and then through an entire Grand Campaign. I haven’t yet played the Hannibal campaign or the new Augustus campaign. As I said, this was the first time I actually played a Rome 2 campaign through to completion.

I’d played a few, 3 or 4 in fact, since release, but I always stopped before hitting my victory conditions. Why? Because I felt, and still do, that the conditions are a little too excessive. The easiest to obtain is the Military Victory, but it requires control of at least 90 regions. And the fact is, once you hit about 50, you’re pretty much unstoppable and there’s very little fun to be had in steam rolling the rest of the map for another 8 hours or so.

Thankfully, allies count towards your victory count, and that’s how I finished my campaign this time around, by simply signing alliances with every other major power. Even so, it still felt like a bit of a slog towards the end. I wish they’d reduce the conditions to something more manageable. For example, I hit every condition for the Economic victory save for income per turn. I was about 60 thousand short. Plus, you need to maintain 15 trade partners, which in an ever shrinking map of expanding empires, isn’t easy to do.

Overall though, I have to say Rome 2 has finally won me over. I enjoyed my campaign a lot, played most of the battles (at least until the very end) and found myself getting quite addicted due to the ‘just one more turn’ quality. Is it still disappointing? Well…yes, but I think that’s mostly because the release was such a disaster and it’s hard to shrug that feeling off. But if I had to review it again now, based on what it’s become with a year or so of patches and support, I’d probably give it a solid 7/10. It’s slowly transformed into a worthy entry into the Total War series. But seriously, guys – don’t let this happen again.

Now Playing: Alien Isolation

Alien: Isolation is a first person stealth/survival horror title inspired by the original Alien. Set 15 years after the events of the film, you play as Amanda Ripley, joining a mission to the Sevastopol Station to retrieve the flight recorder of the Nostromo. As you can probably guess, things don’t exactly go to plan.

The first thing that strikes you about Isolation is how damn authentic it is to the original Alien. The attention to detail is tremendous, and everything in the game feels meticulously hand crafted and placed with the utmost care. Visually, Isolation is a fantastic looking game. Lighting, shadow and smoke effects are particularly excellent – static images really don’t do it justice. Isolation also has outstanding audio design. From the sounds of the station to the dynamic soundtrack, this is one component of isolation which is practically flawless.

Isolation has quite the slow paced opening, introducing you to the world, characters and mechanics of the game. The opening hour or so essentially serves as a tutorial section. It is, I must admit, a little tedious to sit through, and as a result I was initially somewhat underwhelmed by the game. I think this is partly due to the fact that although Amanda may not know what lurks within the station – we do, and we’re all waiting for the star of the show to arrive. But the developers certainly like to tease, and you won’t encounter the alien fully until nearly two hours in. But when you do…

Isolation is a game primarily of stealth. You can run (not generally advised) walk or crawl. You’ll be crawling a lot. Under desks. Under beds. Into lockers and cabinets. But this isn’t a stealth game like any you may have played before, and that’s all down to the alien AI. You have various tools to assist you – the motion tracker, flashlight and flares plus an assortment of craftable items and weapons. Yes, weapons. Because there’s actually far more action in this game than you might expect. It certainly surprised me, but in a good way.

A lot of the items you can craft are used primarily for distraction, to lure the alien or other opponents away from where you need to go. But some can be used offensively too. There’s a certain risk/reward system at play. These items can be extremely helpful, but you must use them with caution and restraint. It should also be noted that you have to find the blueprints for these items (and upgraded versions) yourself. Although they can usually be found in areas you’ll need to visit, the game, refreshingly, doesn’t spoon feed them to you.

The game is, aside from a couple of sequences, brilliantly paced, continually varying up the gameplay and environments. If you’re concerned that Isolation is a game entirely of hide and seek – don’t be! During the early stages of the game, when you’re rather under equipped, it most certainly is, but as you progress and unlock new weapons and tools you’ll learn that ‘aggressive stealth’ is the best way forward. Hiding for too long in one location can actually be dangerous in Isolation, as the alien as well as other enemies will eventually sniff you out. There are also moments when you can disregard stealth almost entirely and adopt a rather liberating ‘guns blazing’ approach. These bring a welcome change of pace and sense of relief after some extremely tense cat and mouse segments.

I played Isolation through on Hard in about 18 hours. Although story progression is linear, you’re free to explore the station mostly at your leisure, although certain areas remain locked off until you gain access to various tools. You’ll find the typical audio diaries and computer logs allowing you to build a picture of events prior to your arrival, as well as collectible ID tags and crafting components. On Hard, Isolation presents an extremely rewarding and satisfying challenge. You save your progress at terminals dotted about the station, a system that may be a little frustrating for those who have grown too accustomed to extremely forgiving checkpoint systems.

Isolation is distinctly old-school in many aspects of its design. It doesn’t really hold your hand, tell you exactly where to go or what button to push. And it will punish you for failure. That said, it never feels unfair, and the save stations are fairly generously placed. It just takes a little patience and planning as you approach each area.

In addition to the alien you’ll be dealing with hostile human survivors and androids. The humans are probably the weakest part of Isolation. Human animations are oddly stiff and awkward, and their AI is very hit and miss. Thankfully, they don’t show up very often. The androids on the other hand are one of its best features. They are creepy as hell, walking just fast enough so that you can never quite outrun them, often making polite conversation just before they crush your throat or stomp on your face. They remind me a lot of the exploding service robots of System Shock 2. In fact, a lot of Isolation in terms of design reminds me of that title. In many ways, it feels like the sequel to System Shock 2 we never received.

Which brings us onto the star of Isolation – the alien. Unlike other stealth games, the alien has no set patrol patten. Although clearly scripted to appear at certain moments, once it enters the environment it runs entirely on its own AI. An AI designed to relentlessly and ruthlessly hunt down any prey. Yes, that means you. As a result, the alien is unpredictable. It may decide to stop, turn and head back the way it came. Or it may decide to wait behind a door, motionless (and therefore won’t be picked up by your tracker). Or it may hide in a vent, waiting for you to pass underneath.

This unpredictable nature means the alien genuinely feels like an actual, living creature hunting you. If it gets the sense you’re in an area, it will search it – thoroughly. And don’t think hiding under desks or in lockers makes you invisible – if you’re in a clear line of sight, it will catch you, and it will tear you out of any ‘safe’ hiding place. Over time, you will begin to understand the behaviour of the alien in terms of its ‘moods’ from the sounds that it makes, but you can never entirely predict exactly what it will do or how it will react. Oh, and it also ‘learns’ over time, so if you keep trying to use the same tactics against it, say by distracting it with a flare, it won’t be fooled.

I can see this unpredictable nature being frustrating for some, because in some areas, especially the first time you encounter it fully, it’s hard to shake off and you’ll die. A lot. But this almost serves as a rite of passage as you learn the best way to ‘manage’ the threat of the alien. Over time, fear of the alien will slowly turn to respect. So many games are about making the player feel powerful and in control. Isolation is the exact opposite. One thing the game does brilliantly is continually make you feel like you’re just starting to take charge of the situation, only to pull the rug out from underneath you, leaving you feeling powerless once again.

The story of Isolation is good, but it’s nothing surprising if you’re familiar with the films. It has a few twists and turns here and there, and there is some stuff I really wasn’t expecting to see, which came as nice/nightmarish surprise. I won’t say any more because I don’t want to spoil anything. Amanda is a good central character, not simply a carbon copy of her mother, but an individual in her own right. I hope we see more of her in the future.

In terms of other criticisms, I think a few sequences towards the end could have probably been cut, as it gets a little silly. Isolation also comes with a single map for its ‘Survivor Mode’ which plays like a surprisingly enjoyable ‘speed run’ mode. More maps will come as DLC. There’s also a couple of DLC missions based on events in the original film. Not exactly necessary for the main game, but great if you’re an Alien fan.

Oh, and did I mention the tension? I can’t remember the last time I played a game this tense. Isolation can be draining at times. There were moments I had to step away and take a break. One section in particular I just had to stop playing and take a breath. It’s horrible but also amazing. When the ordeal was finally over, it felt like a great relief. And yet, I wanted more.

Alien: Isolation initially struggled to win me over, but when it did, I was completely hooked. It’s an incredible piece of work and in many ways, it’s amazing it was made at all, given how risk-adverse AAA games have become. Isolation certainly isn’t going to be a game for everyone but I think a lot of people will come to adore it, despite its imperfections.

9/10