Max Payne 3

Its been a while since Max Payne was a popular video game.  The first two games were creative influences in many genres.  Max Payne has its signature time perception altering mechanic, and its harder edge storytelling which proved popular years ago.  Rockstar has brought Max back now, kept some ideas, brought in a bunch of new ones and polished it up to a blinding shine.  But is it still fun?

For my money, the answer is 'not really'.  As a complete package, Max Payne 3 is mechanically clunky and thematically jarring.  Max is convincing as a down and out cop, taking bodyguard work - a fresh setting, and interesting plot and the themes are  kept in tact by Rockstar's deft touch.  There's wonderful attention to detail in the graphics, and the characters look fantastic.  Voice acting is excellent.  Little touches are applied all over which show such care for the final product - just the way Max holds his weapons, or interacts with the environment are superb.  

However, the gameplay is where it falls apart for me.  The sheer amount of slaughter in this game is not just ridiculous but vaguely insulting.  At every turn Max is gunning down an order of magnitude more enemies than would make any sense in the plot.  He more or less single handedly takes down 

(1) 3 gangs, 

(2) a private security force 

(3) an entire police station and 

(4) an militarized airfield.  

There's no subtlety, no pacing, just and endless horde to butcher and move through.  The effect kills any sense of storytelling and removes all weight from Max's noire style soliloquies on how useless and pathetic he is.  He's the deadliest man with a gun the world has ever seen!  He should be getting paid millions to speak at NRA rallies.  

Ultimately, we have to conclude that the gore is all there for us to enjoy, since jumping around in bullet time, using cover, and contextual cinematics are supposed to be such fun.  But, on normal, the game is so hard that you have to give up on most of the freedom of movement and just methodically cut down your foes to move on the next stage.  

I tried for a while to think of it as a GTA style satire on violence, but it doesn't hold up - so much has gone into creating this twisting noire plot of secrets, lies and things gone horribly wrong that the action sequences just don't mesh.  Either would have been possible, but not both at once, at least not here.

In the end, this game isn't terrible, there are fun moments, and as I said above, it is amazingly well polished.  Its just disappointing how close it came to something really interesting.  

J

Spec Ops: The Line

In the off chance that you are actually reading this blog looking for opinions on video games, I submit that you should purchase and play Spec Ops: The Line at your earliest convenience.

Spec Ops is a console shooter, 3rd person, and uses a modern military setting.  It is made by a fairly unknown company Yager Interactive.  So far, nothing special - but here's the thing:  the campaign is incredible.

Why is it incredible?  Is it the gameplay - nope.  Spec Ops takes the tired gameplay settings and techniques which have become so common now (special forces team vs. incredible odds, turret sequences, helicopter sequences, helicopter crashing sequences, move forward and attack gameplay, hold and defend gameplay, pick up intel, whatever - the whole menu of ideas which are in everything.  Also - control airborne unit which fires upon enemies with incredible power from an infrared style view, sigh...)  Ok, that list is depressing, back to the reason you should play it - all these elements are in there, but its connected with a story that works these sequences in a way I haven't experienced since Bioshock.  The whole game plays out as this downward spiral in which some part of the way through you realize is going to end terribly for everyone and you just keep playing to find out how far down it goes.  And the icing on the cake is that throughout the game you participate in a series of interesting, non-repetitive decisions or actions which truly make you question the nature of the character you are controlling.

Case in point - you are mislead at one point in the game and cause the destruction of some pretty important humanitarian supplies.  The person who mislead you is trapped under a burning truck.  You can't free him, so he asks you to be merciful and kill him before he burns.  What you do matters here.  I started to walk away, then returned, felt bad, started to leave again - heard him screaming and shot him.  I still feel uncomfortable with the whole sequence, but I'm not sure I would change it or how I could make it any better.  The fact that a game in this genre even tries something like this is a gold star in my book.



I could talk about the setting (Dubai - isolated after a cataclysmic sandstorm), or that the game is inspired by Apocalypse Now,  but you can read that anywhere and the game does a good job of explaining everything.  For this genre, there isn't a huge requirement for plausibility so I won't judge it based on that.

Other notable features - great use of music, good voice acting and dialogue between teammates - their responses change depending on your setting and (get this) as your collective situation becomes more and more horrible their responses to your orders become more and more insubordinate.  The character models of all the main characters changes to reflect all the nastiness they've endured, by the end you look like a walking corpse.  Good controls, the usual assortment of weapons but good flow from one sequence to the next.  A few tricky spots but nothing too bad.  There's a whole sand mechanic in which it can be dumped on people, blind them and occasionally you get caught in sandstorms which mixes things up.  Enemy AI is OK and controls are decent.  Also, load screen quotes are fantastic and compliment the story and mood.  Finally, there are multiple endings which will really stick with you.

All in all, I hope this makes you interested in picking this game up.  I feel that the publisher and developer need to be rewarded for taking so many risks with this game. I don't want a sequel, but I want this type of game to continue and to influence the development in this genre.

Thanks for reading, hope you decide to check it out.

J

Battlefield 3: Multiplayer

Battlefield 3 multiplayer is a well crafted experience which is always enjoyable and occasionally reaches truly amazing heights of entertainment.


BF3 begins by taking many of the best elements from the Bad Company series and tweaking them slightly to add new gameplay dimensions.  There's a huge round of improvements from sound, to visuals, to level design, to in game options such as vehicles, weapons and abilities.  There's no reason to run through the list of improvements here, but it is suffice to say that everything has been improved to the point where the console hardware definitely appears to be straining to keep up.


This is an easy multiplayer game to recommend.  The classes, vehicles, maps, abilities and unlocks all come together here.  There are so many ways to participate beyond being the best with a given weapon - players can revive, heal, replenish ammo, and spot for each other, or they can pilot vehicles and support or transport their teammates into combat.  Special weapons talents like the mortar, sniper rifle or gadgets like remote respawn points or bomb diffusal bots can all aid in the effort.  The game rewards teamwork and encourages players to work together but not overtly requiring it.  Those that work together will simply find the game deeper and more varied than those that don't.

Add to this some well crafted maps (particularly the Karkland maps), the building destruction mechanic and the simple yet effective rulesets for games like conquest and rush.  Put all those things together and setting the physics to play just a little south of realistic and somehow  DICE manages to make it all work beautifully.  


The final ingredient is only to play with a friend or two and the output becomes a regular payoff of what can only be called 'Battlefield Moments'.  Anyone who plays this game for more than a few hours will begin to experience them - a Battlefield Moment is just when some sort of unscripted and truly insane moment spontaneously occurs.  They are unique to each player and to each game but they occur again and again and  act as hook to keep the player coming back. 


Watching two planes clip wings in midair while rolling into battle on the back of a Humvee; smashing your APC through the wall of a enemy strong point; single handedly reviving and healing your squad while they hold out against the last tickets of a determined enemy onslaught are jaw dropping.  The best way to describe it is to say that those favourite scenes from a movie or toy soldier game from when you were a kid which other games try to capture in scripted sequences happen here - totally unscripted and so much more thrilling because of it.  It has to be experienced to be fully grasped.


Battlefield 3 multiplayer is highly recommended (particularly with friends and voice chat).


J

Deus Ex: Human Revolution

Film noir and steampunk come together in interesting ways in Deus Ex: Human Revolution.  This game from Eidos Montreal has many positive credits to its name, but none more so than to say that it is a worthy successor to the Deus Ex legacy.


This time, the player is Alex Jenson, a man who finds himself gradually "augmenting" himself with more and more advanced abilities while pursing leads in a web of murder and corporate warfare.  The setting is a distopian near future where society is gradually fraying as people either embrace or resist the new possibility of bio-mechanical enhancements.  As is key to the genre, Alex rapidly learns that there are no innocent parties and no one can be completely trusted.

This is a compelling setting and an excellent plot.  It is well realized through great voice acting and solid pacing.


The game mechanics give the player a variety of ways to interact with the environment.  Sneaking around via hacked computers or helpful air vents permits the player to learn more about the goings on by reading email or other documents.  There's an excellent persuasion mechanic which plays out during verbal confrontations and is much more integrated and functional than the similar methods in LA Noire.  When all else fails, combat is well supported but is challenging enough to be used a last resort in most situations.  Each of these areas can be deepened by investing in augments which provide new or improved options.  However, in the end, none of the mechanics function precisely as well as one might hope and occasionally dip into frustrating territory (particularly 'boss' battles or early stealth/hacking where few augments are available).  A hybird approach is usually the best path to a smooth game experience.


There's also a number of interesting side quests throughout the game, which help expand the world and are well written.  My only regret was that there wasn't more of such content or it wasn't more blended into the background of each location Alex visits.  I found that most of content was presented directly to the player - there was little need for going off the path or talking to unnamed NPCs.  As mentioned above, there's are usually a choice of sneaky or strong arm ways of getting something done, but it often seemed like these options were a little too apparent.  There was always a vent or a sewer leading to where I needed to go, an never one that didn't lead to something useful.  There's always a huge number of PDAs lying around with important passwords on them and guards endlessly walk in easily predicted patterns.  It seemed as though the world just needed more 'noise' to make finding the right path feel more like a discovery than an inevitability.


This quibble aside, Deus Ex Human Revolution is a very entertaining game and well worth the asking price.  Strongly recommended.


J

Dark Souls

Dark souls is one of the best games to ever be released.  At the same time, it breaks convention with so many established elements in the RPG genre that on paper one would expect it to be an instant failure.


It demonstrates that by establishing a strong game world and excellent mechanics it can create a new relationship with the player.  Most RPGs give the player an immense game world, an epic story, huge amounts of side content and some player agency in the sense of morality or choice.  These mechanics are built into dialogue trees and into the NPC reactions to make the player feel more immersed and influential in the game world.    


Dark souls strips out many of these things - there's still a large world, but excellent level design can make getting from place to place relatively quick. 


There's almost no side content and no baked-in morality.  Instead, players carry out their own morality by taking on the roles of watchful defenders, merciless avengers or opportunistic griefers.  The game's currency of souls is offered in large quantities to anyone willing to take on these roles - and more souls lead to better equipment and abilities.  There's no need for side quests, when players create their own by persecuting invaders to the Darkroot garden, or helping each other battle the screen filling bosses.  And no preset game element or enemy AI can achieve the timing or surpass the thrill of actual other players interacting within these mechanics.


There's no epic story here either.  More like an odyssey, Dark Souls is the single journey of the player  trying to undo their own state of undeath.  Its not about saving the world, just saving yourself.  And this journey takes the player to some truly memorable moments and environments.  There's an dark and oppressive underworld, a decayed and crumbling castle, a shining city and a suffocating tomb all awaiting the player.

Unlike any other game, Dark Souls empowers the player base to take the task of instructing each other on how to get through the world.  The player learns about their world by reading notes left by their predecessors, watching the phantoms of the living or dead flit past briefly and by participating in each other's quest.  Directly and indirectly one player passes on to the next knowledge about builds, secrets, paths, weaknesses and items and all participants are rewarded in the processes.  


Weapons, spells, armor and abilities are all interlinked in an ingeniously deep system of character customization.  Everything can build on or compensate for other elements so it is possible to develop thousands of viable end game characters which are then influenced by the preferences and gameplay style of the person actually holding the controller.  There is no one best build, nor one best weapon.


In the end, Dark Souls is a game made for people who play games.  It one of the most memorable, challenging, engaging and refreshing titles this or any generation, and is a must play for all gamers.


J

Warhammer 40K: Space Marine

Warhammer 40K: Space Marine puts the player in the role of Captain Titus.  In the violent and fantastic future of the Warhammer universe, the space marines are the tip of the spear in the human war effort.  They are huge, beefy, near-immortal, ultra violent and undoubting in their own righteousness.  A perfect avatar for a modern action game.  


Outside the game, the Warhammer universe is a melting pot of all things science fiction and wargaming.  But the dedication of its designers and a huge fan base has kept it engaging and current.  The main complaint with this game is that it hasn't embraced this enough.  There's around a dozen playable factions in tabletop Warhammer or in the Dawn of War series - only 4 make and appearance here, and only 2 are playable (one being a reskin of the other).  In the  Space Marine chapter itself, there's a unnecessary absence of some of the most iconic elements such as dreadnoughts and terminators.  

The game itself establishes the core mechanics and demonstrates that there's more than enough room in the crowded 3rd person shooter market.  Innovative mechanics and interesting changes are spread throughout the game and it plays out smoothly.  Combining healing with melee is a novel mechanic which is mostly successful here, as is the various weapon mechanics and jet packs which pop up from time to time.  The story does an adequate job of establishing the crusader mentality of the marines but the major traits of their bloodthirsty opposition, but little more.  


Overall, the game feels like a solid effort to begin building a new franchise, but that is also its main detraction - it sticks too closely to the mainstream of the genre and fails to tap into the most captivating and interesting parts of the warhammer fiction.   Much like the Dawn of War titles - Relic has only played a small part of the universe here, giving itself lots of room for future sequels. I can't help but feel that this strategy is wrongly timed - at the end of the console cycle, in a crowded genre and with a strong fan base already established I would have liked to have seen a lot more here.  Space Marine appears thin compared to similar titles and difficult to justify at the same price.  


I recommend this game for anyone interested in a new take in this genre and at a more appropriate pricing.  Established fans will have something to enjoy here for now and we can all hope for a strong sequel to this debut.

The Witcher

On the surface, The Witcher is a game set in a fantasy world, about a mysterious, gifted warrior who battles evil forces.  


Look deeper and the fantasy races are just different classes of society, the gifted warrior is  someone who doesn't quite fit in with anyone; a necessary but unsightly hero and those forces of evil seem to be present, but perhaps not quite where you expected.  In short, the Witcher is a game about challenging expectations and about that grey area which is so often overlooked yet so much more interesting than the black and white of most fantasy games/fiction.

We follow Geralt.  A man who has undergone mutations to become an adept at dealing with monsters.  An absolute necessity in a place where dark creatures prowl at night, graveyards are haunted by the restless dead and the forest looks back at you from a dozen different eyes.  But, as men civilize the world, there's less and less room for goblins and elves.  They are driven to the edges, sometimes forgotten.  The Witcher becomes an unwanted reminder of a different time.  Slowly their place in the world is receding as well, but they're not quite gone yet.


Having lost his memory, Geralt slowly puts the pieces back together as he follows a quest to hunt down some men who have stolen the last things of value to the Witchers, the secrets of their mutations.  The main story takes its time developing, letting Geralt learn about the world and rediscover his relationships with past allies and friends.  He picks up odd jobs as he travels, remove some ghouls here, a spectre there.  But sometimes the monsters at the crossroads are men, driven by lust and greed.  How does Geralt deal with them? Or when monsters beg for his need his mercy and even assistance?


Geralt's dealings with his world build over the course of the game, like a pot slowly coming to a boil.  There's a feeling of containment everywhere: items are derived from fallen enemies, weapons are improved by friendly smiths, books teach Geralt about this world leading him to new areas, everything leads him further on, but nothing seems forced.  Friendships are forged, tested and altered.  Politics moves everyone, motivations sometimes only hinted at.   


At first, Geralt must balance between these forces and then eventually, inevitably things come to a boil and Geralt must make difficult and costly decisions.  At the end, things are different, peace is restored but one expects that things have only been postponed.  The players have shifted, nothing more.


A must buy.


J