MOST WANTED – E3 2018 EDITION

As 2018 continues to race on, we find ourselves with another E3 just around the corner. It’s the time of the year that the gaming world fills with rampant speculation and expectations soar.

So it seemed as good a time as any to take a look at which titles I’m excited to see more of at the conference in early June.

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BORDERLANDS 3

I was a big fan of the previous Borderlands games, their mix of stylised graphics, humour and sheer volume of weapons made for a fun experience that you could shape for yourself, depending on how you upgraded your character. So I’m looking forward to seeing what Gearbox reveal – the gaming landscape has changed massively since the last time Borderlands hit the shelves, might the new title even be a ‘games as service’ type affair?

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NEW DRAGON AGE

It may have taken me until last year to finally finish Dragon Age: Inquisition but the game originally landed in 2014 so we are long overdue some fantasy, tactical RPG goodness. Confirmed to be in development but not officially announced, I’m hopeful we might get a teaser or some sort of update at the EA conference this year.

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LAST OF US II

The last footage we saw of Last Of Us II was harrowing and pretty disturbing. In lesser hands I might’ve been concerned but Naughty Dog’s track record speaks for itself and I suspect, in context, the violence will be in line with the tone and feel of the game and world. The first title was a game changer and, after the amazing Uncharted 4, I can’t wait to get my hands on this one.

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GHOST OF TSUSHIMA

I’ve been saying for years, we need a new Samurai game! I thought it would be the history-hopping Assassin’s Creed that would deliver but instead it’s Sucker Punch, of Infamous erm… fame, that are bringing some Katana action to our living rooms. For all their faults, I enjoyed the Infamous games and I think Sucker Punch could really deliver something special with Ghost Of Tsushima.

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DEATH STRANDING

Ah Death Stranding, three trailers in and still no sense of what this game is actually going to be. From the creator of Metal Gear Solid, it appears you’ll be playing as a character attempting to protect a baby from supernatural forces in a post apocalyptic world. Or is it all a Dallas-style dream? Who knows? It has all looked great so far though, now I’m hoping we get to see some actual gameplay on stage.

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CYBERPUNK 2077

We still don’t have many concrete details about Cyberpunk 2077 but E3 2018 looks set to change that. The makers of the successful Witcher series have a large presence planned on the showfloor – could this mean a playable demo? Or is it too early? Details are sparse but we’ve been told the game may take some cues from Deus Ex and is set to take place in Night City, an existing location in the Cyberpunk pen and paper RPG game on which this title is based. The biggest game at E3 this year? Quite possibly.

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So those are some titles we already know about but where’s the wild speculation I mentioned earlier? Oh ok, here are a few ‘long shots’ – not completely random but games that are probably very unlikely.

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DISHONORED 3

It might be too early for this announcement but as a fan of the last two games I’d love some more Dishonored. The universe is so rich and different to anything else around, it’s a real pleasure to explore, not only the city itself but also the game mechanics and different ways of interacting with the world.

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NEW GUERRILLA GAME

I loved the Killzone series and Horizon: Zero Dawn knocked it out of the park last year. So what are Guerrilla working on now? Well I’d really love to know, so fingers crossed for at least a tease at E3. I suspect it might be more Horizon, given it’s success but something new – or even something Killzone – would be most welcome.

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NEW SKYRIM

Skyrim came out over six years ago. Six years! And it’s now available on every platform possible. Surely it’s time to bring us some new adventures, potentially in a different region of the Elder Scrolls universe. It would be amazing if we got a glimpse of something new at E3 – fingers crossed!

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THE ORDER 1887

This is probably the longest shot in here, given Santa Monica studio only recently wrapped on the well received God Of War reboot. The Order was a game with a phenomenal look, some great acting and a decent story. At times it played well but for the most part the combat was rote and it descended into moving from one ‘shooting gallery’ to another. If they revamp the combat and design more interesting combat encounters, a new Order game could be amazing. It’s time may have realistically passed but I would be really happy to see a sequel.

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So, there you have it! Early June is right around the corner, I can’t wait to see what surprises are in store.

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Top 100 Single Player PS3 Games: Part 3 (80-71)

Welcome back folks! Time for the third instalment of my Top 100 PS3 single player games. We are hitting the 70’s this week.

Please bear in mind this list doesn’t take into account multiplayer aspects of games, it’s based solely on single player experience.

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80. Driver: San Francisco

John Tanner returns to the Driver franchise, along with Tobias Jones (his partner). The villain of Driver 3, Jericho, finds himself locked up in prison in San Francisco. He is being transported from prison when he escapes and Tanner ends up chasing him in his car. Just as he is about to catch him, Jericho rams Tanner’s car into the oncoming path of a truck – leaving Tanner unconscious.

This plot device leads to the introduction of the ‘shift’ mechanic – a means for Tanner to zoom out of the vehicle he is in and select a different car to ‘shift’ back into. Much like Quantum Leap everyone else still sees the original driver of the car rather than Tanner, leading to some great comedy moments.

Driver: San Francisco is by far the best game in the series for a long, long time and it’s one you should definitely give a spin. It’s a bit bloated in terms of length but the driving is good and the story is fun as well.

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79. Resistance 2

After saving England in the previous installment Hale is back in business to rescue the U S of A – since his incapacitation the Chimera have launched a full attack on America and Hale, as part of the Sentinal squad (made up of soldiers injected with the Chimera virus but kept under control), have to step in and stop them in their tracks.

Some of the boss encounters here are epic – even the opening is grand in scale and you feel a great sense of achievement getting through some of the battles ahead. Graphically the game is good, no slowdown – even with tons of enemies on screen – and they have gone for a sort of comic book realism which sits well with the content matter.

A hard hitting but fun first person shooter.

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78. Borderlands

Borderlands has a distinctive cartoon, tongue in cheek style that is perfectly suited for the game and while the story isn’t particularly amazing, the colourful characters will have you chuckling along.

Borderlands is all about the loot. The game creates random weapons as you go along so it’s unlikely two people will ever get the same set of weapons throughout a playthrough, which is pretty cool.

It’s one of the longer games I’ve played recently – clocking in more towards 20 hours for a first playthrough – but it’s definitely a universe that should be experienced.

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77. Mortal Kombat

After a fair few lacklustre versions, culminating in the widely derided Mortal Kombat Vs DC, Nether Realms Studios decided to go back to basics for this, the ninth Mortal Kombat game.

For the first time in a long time the storyline of a fighting game ties together nicely. Rather than choosing a fighter and playing through their story, in Mortal Kombat you play as various characters (usually for 3 or 4 fights each) as the story progresses.

This is a great idea. Firstly because it means the overall story is the focus as opposed to one character, and secondly because it forces you to use characters you may never have chosen and therefore before a better all round player. Recommended, even for people with only a passing interest in fighting games.

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76. Army Of Two: 40th Day

In Army Of Two: 40th Day we still follow the exploits of Salem and Rio, picking up a few years after the first game ended. This time they are in Shanghai as the city burns around them having been invaded by a terrorist force.

The story is pretty nonsensical and at times I had no idea what was going on. One nice touch were the Morality Decisions where you had to make a choice on how to deal with certain enemies/characters. These often played out differently than expected which was a welcome twist.

Unfortunately the game has several issues which hold it back – mainly poor AI and terrible checkpointing. Army Of Two: 40th Day isn’t a great game but is most definitely great fun, especially if you like blowing things up.

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75. Infamous: Festival Of Blood

Having thoroughly enjoyed both Infamous and Infamous 2, I was really interested in seeing what Sucker Punch would come up with for this stand alone downloadable game. Festival Of Blood tells the story of Cole’s night as a vampire. The story is told by Zeke, Cole’s friend, as he looks to keep a woman in a bar interested in him.

The game takes place during ‘Pyre Night’ a festival held in New Marais every year as a way of warding off vampires and celebrating the death of ‘Bloody Mary’ – a vampire allegedly burnt at the stake long ago. If you’ve played either of the Infamous games previous to this you’ll find yourself in familiar territory as Vampire Cole parkours his way across the terrain of New Marais… but there is a nice twist in traversal because Cole can now transform into a swarm of bats to travel extremely quickly over the city.

Clocking in at under 4 hours and with a price tag of £7.99, I’d recommend this to anyone. Obviously it’s not as long as a full Infamous title and one of the main elements (player choice re: Karma) is missing but Infamous: Festival Of Blood is well worth a playthrough.

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74. Resistance: Fall Of Man

Another Resistance title graces the Top 100, just ahead of the game that followed it.

Resistance: Fall Of Man was probably one of the best launch titles the PS3 had. The game was impressively graphically but it was the inventiveness of the weapons – the Bullseye in particular that struck me. The Bullseye had a secondary fire mode whereby you could ‘tag’ an opponent. If you hit them with the tag you could fire you gun in any direction and the bullets would redirect straight at the target – brilliant.

The storyline was cool and the gadgets you got were fun to use, generally an interesting and fun game.

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73. Fight Night Champion

It was one of those announcements that prompted a double take – EA Sports latest instalment of the Fight Night series would contain a Rocky-esque story mode in which you take on the role of Andre Bishop, a former Gold medalist who finds himself wrongly sent to prison.

Story-wise, it’s a nice little tale – if a bit predictable – with some good voice acting and writing. The story mode isn’t just straight up fights all the time, it will also throw you into various scenarios (only use one hand, defend your cut eye etc) which helps add to the drama and spectacle. Well worth a play through.

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72. Shadows Of The Damned

In Shadows Of The Damned you take on the role of Garcia Hotspur – demon hunter – as he attempts to rescue his girlfriend Paula from the clutches of a demon in hell.

My main problem was the marmite humour – it’s very much a case of lowest common denominator. While there were a few funny moments the fact that one of his weapons is called ‘The Boner’ says it all really.

The actual story was interesting and eventually asked some great questions – which I’m guessing we’ll now never find out about due to the poor sales of this title.

And that is a sad state of affairs – Shadows Of The Damned might not be the best game I’ve played this year but it was something different and by the time I got to the end I would’ve been tempted to pick up a sequel had one been announced.

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71. Mercenaries 2: World In Flames

Mercenaries 2 takes place in Venezuela and sees you take control of Chris Jacobs, Jennifer Mui or Matthias Nilsson. It’s only a cosmetic choice as the story/dialogue all remains the same. You’re tasked with taking down Ramon Solano, the man behind the current military coup.

While this game has a few glitches (one a game breaker unfortunately) it remains a resolutely fun experience. Being a Mercenary you can call in all kinds of crazy weapons and firepower.

At times you won’t believe the destruction you can wreak on the world around you – whether it’s guns, cars or helicopters you’ll find yourself smiling insanely as you blow up as much stuff as possible. Not a great game then but certainly a fun one.

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So there we go! As we edge towards the Top 50 the games are coming thick and fast!

As always comments are welcome, look forward to hearing what you guys think.

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GREAT GAME OPENINGS (VOLUME 1)

A strong opening can define your experience with a medium, whether that is a film, a book or indeed a game.

What follows here are some of the best openings in games I have experienced. That could be an opening cinematic or even the beginning of the game that you play through.

This is volume 1 as, quite frankly, I could’ve had a ton more in here but will do a follow up blog at some stage in the future with more additions.

These are as spoiler free as possible athough obviously bear in mind some sequels may recap the events of the first game!

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Dead Space

One of my favourite ever openings. A great start to a great game. Just watch it 🙂

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Bioshock

This is one of those openings that stuns you completely. The game paces it perfectly, taking minutes where others would take seconds, and provides you with the rich setting of the world you’re about to inhabit for many hours to come.

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L.A Noire

L.A Noire spent so long in development that we wondered whether the game would ever actually make it out of the door and onto shelves. Eventually we got our hands on Team Bondi’s great work and while it certainly had some issues, I don’t think anyone can deny it’s a game that all gamers should at least try. The opening sets the scene and helps to create that feeling of a time gone by.

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Borderlands

Borderlands was one of the more surprising games in the year it came out – having played it a bit at Eurogamer the previous year I wasn’t blown away but the game turned out to be great when you were getting inolved right from the start. This intro sums the game up perfectly – big, brash and fun.

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Prototype

*WARNING CONTAINS SCENES OF FAIRLY EXTREME VIOLENCE*

This doubled up as a trailer as well as an intro video for the game – looks amazing and gives you a good idea of the carnage you can cause in the game itself.

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Killzone 2

Ah Killzone 2. I must’ve watched this a hundred times. Graphically one of the best looking intros on this list, the tone is set early with Visari’s speech and the great music enhances the overall experience. One of my personal favourites.

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Uncharted 2: Among Thieves

Drake’s adventures continued in Among Thieves, with the game blowing away most of the competition when it was released. This should give you an indication of why – we hadn’t quite seen anything like it.

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Battlefield: Bad Company

The first time we were introduced to Bad Company and immediately we fitted right in – “the new guy’s dead?” 😆

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Grand Theft Auto: Vice City

Grand Theft Auto: Vice City remains my favourite of all the GTA games. The 80’s setting and a memorable (if not *entirely* original) story were high water marks in gaming style. This opening gets you in the mood to take a trip back to the 80’s.

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Resident Evil 2

This is one of those openings that doesn’t quite look as good as you remember when you see it now but the punch it packed remains the same, especially as at the time we were expecting a more sinister, slow paced game.

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Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons Of Liberty

As Snake walked across the bridge, I remember thinking that rain couldn’t look more realistic. As he got himself onto the boat it was the character animation that stood out for me. Metal Gear Solid 2 remains a fantastic game and if you were interested in playing it a Metal Gear collection of games on one disc that features this title is coming in February 2012.

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Red Dead Redemption

As a way of setting the tone this is top notch from Rockstar – managing to cram in some thoughts/beliefs of the time all the way along the train journey John Marsden finds himself on him.

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Medal Of Honor: Frontline

As an opening to a game this cut and paste of Saving Private Ryan, while not original, caused gamers to sit up and take notice. A truly immersive experience at the time.

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Homefront

*WARNING CONTAINS SCENES OF VIOLENCE*

While the game failed to live up to the hype this opening remains a slightly unsettling watch. If only the game could’ve carried this feeling through it might have been something special.

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So there we have it – hopefully if you haven’t played some of those games the clips above may give you enough of a taste to give them a try. (Though maybe skip Homefront 😆 )

As I said at the start of this, I’ll be doing a follow up piece with more great openings at some stage so feel free to suggest your favourites (spoiler free please :smile:) and I may add them in.

Top 50 Single Player Games: Part Two (40-31)

So here we go with Part Two of my Top 50 Single Player Games, appreciate the comments on the first part (which can be found here) so keep ’em coming. As I said before I’m mainly focusing on good story based experiences, so things like Gran Turismo 5 won’t be appearing on the list.

Let’s get started:

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40. BIOSHOCK 2 (NE)

Bioshock 2 brings you back 8 years after the events of the first game (1968) to take control of a Big Daddy who has no memory of the last decade and wants to find the Little Sister he was originally paired with.

A sequel to such a unique title was always going to be tricky to pull off. However 2k Marin have done well to recreate the atmosphere of the original game while keeping it different enough that you can tell time has passed.

At the end of the day this is definitely a title that revels in the world created for it by the previous game. You don’t have to have played the original to enjoy this game but you’ll probably get more of it if you have.

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39. BULLETSTORM (NE)

Telling the story of Grayson Hunt, a space pirate in the 26th century, who crash lands his crew’s ship on an alien planet following a (failed) drunk attempt at revenge on a huge spaceship. As you try to battle your way off the planet all hell breaks loose, with various factions taking each other on as well as fighting with you.

The game mechanics work well and some of the ways you can dispatch foes have to be seen to be believed.

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38. BORDERLANDS (24)

Borderlands has a distinctive cartoon, tongue in cheek style that is perfectly suited for the game and while the story isn’t particularly amazing, the colourful characters will have you chuckling along.

Borderlands is all about the loot. The game creates random weapons as you go along so it’s unlikely two people will ever get the same set of weapons throughout a playthrough, which is pretty cool.

It’s one of the longer games I’ve played recently – clocking in more towards 20 hours for a first playthrough – but it’s definitely a universe that should be experienced.

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37. MORTAL KOMBAT (NE)

After a fair few lacklustre versions, culminating in the widely derided Mortal Kombat Vs DC, Nether Realms Studios decided to go back to basics for this, the ninth Mortal Kombat game.

For the first time in a long time the storyline of a fighting game ties together nicely. Rather than choosing a fighter and playing through their story, in Mortal Kombat you play as various characters (usually for 3 or 4 fights each) as the story progresses.

This is a great idea. Firstly because it means the overall story is the focus as opposed to one character, and secondly becuase it forces you to use characters you may never have chosen and therefore before a better all round player. Recommended, even for people with only a passing interest in fighting games.

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36. VANQUISH (NE)

From the makers of Bayonetta, Vanquish tells the story of Sam Gideon, a member of the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), who is tasked with rescuing a scientist that was working on the O’Neill Cylinder Space Station when it was hijacked by Russia. Russia are holding the USA to ransom, destroying San Francisco and targeting New York next unless the Americans comply with their wishes – total surrender.

Got all that? Right now forget all about it and SHOOT THOSE ROBOTS! 😆

Vanquish is certainly an experience I’d recommend and for a few sessions of a couple of hours each it is a blast to play. It doesn’t quite have the same depth as Bayonetta with regard to the characters but it can hold it’s head high in terms of a single player experience.

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35. RED FACTION: GUERRILLA (23)

Red Faction: Guerrilla is a bit of an underrated gem. It’s your basic David vs Goliath battle with the Red Faction resistance (you guys) taking on the evil Earth Defence Force who have taken advantage of their position in power on Mars.

But the main part of the game is the destruction. Buildings fall realistically and weakening them structurally can often mean a delayed collapse.

I heartily recommend Red Faction. It’s not massively difficult but it has a good solid story and is insanely fun. You can pick this up for about £15 pre-owned in most places and it will be money well spent.

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34. RESISTANCE 2 (22)

After saving England in the previous installment Hale is back in business to rescue the U S of A – since his incapacitation the Chimera have launched a full attack on America and Hale, as part of the Sentinal squad (made up of soldiers injected with the Chimera virus but kept under control), have to step in and stop them in their tracks.

A hard hitting but fun first person shooter.

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33. MAFIA II (NE)

Mafia II tells the story of Vito Scaletta, a returning war veteran who comes home to find life has changed while he’s been away and soon fins himself mixed up in the world of the Mafia.

This game is an interesting beast, as during a lot of the promo leading up to its release we were led to believe it would be open world (ala GTA) at least in some parts. In reality this is a very linear experience and that has led to some negative feedback.

Personally while that discovery came as a disappointment if you can look beyond it then you will find a strong, solid single player experience with a well crafted and immersive story.

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32. JUST CAUSE 2 (NE)

Just Cause 2 is like the evolution of Mercenaries 2 – it excels in many ways and also has the added bonus of the carnage you can create with Rico’s grappling hook, which can hook enemies as well as grappling to walls etc.

With a story featuring rebels and dictators, Just Cause 2 doesn’t tread any new ground in terms of narrative but you probably won’t care as a mountain of explosions gather behind you. As well as the main story missions you’ll need to complete lots of side missions to create as much Chaos as possible.

As an example of how crazy this game is one of the side missions involved me stealing a fighter jet 😎 and then using it to shoot down a recently launched SPACE SHUTTLE 😯

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31. MIRROR’S EDGE (21)

Mirror’s Edge wowed everyone with it’s crisp, clean graphics and it’s unique first person perspective. The view takes a while to get used to and it had a few really annoying parts where it was difficult to time jumps etc because of the view but Mirror’s Edge is certainly worth playing through as it offers a style of gameplay that is totally unique in the current games market.

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So there we go, another part down and we’re hitting the Top 30 next!

As always thanks for reading and feel free to leave a comment on the games so far and whether you’d have placed any of them higher/lower.

GregHorrorShow’s 10 Games That Should Be Announced For The NGP (PSP2)

With the official announcement of Sony’s NGP (Next Generation Portable – a working title if ever I heard one :lol:) the gaming world (mainly) rejoiced at what appears to be a gaming handheld for the hardcore market.

Regardless of whether you’re looking to your handheld to extend your PS3 experience or not, you can’t deny that a line up featuring original games (not ports of existing titles) from the universes of Uncharted, Killzone, Resistance and Call Of Duty to name a few is targeting a specific market.

For me there were immediately a whole host of game series swimming around my head that I’d love to see on this new device.

And just to clarify I’m not talking about ports of existing games – what I want to see are fully fledged spin offs or games that bridge the gap between a PS3 game and it’s sequel.

In no order whatsoever –

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BORDERLANDS

Borderlands was a fantastic game. With it’s cell shaded style and outrageous weapons you couldn’t help but be impressed. I know Gearbox has released a whole heap of DLC for it so some people may have had their fill but I’d love to see a version on NGP.

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EA SPORTS

Football? Yep. Hockey? Yep. American Football? Yep. There was no point trying to choose a specific sport here – needless to say with twin analogue sticks sports games should be able to step up to the next level on NGP. (Also on a side note… EA surely must be supporting the NGP and yet there was no sign of them at the announcement? Perhaps there will be a big EA reveal at some stage – I certainly hope so.)

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DEAD SPACE

The Dead Space universe is well fleshed out with books and films as well as the games. I would love to see an NGP game with an existing character that somehow ties into the main game series. There is certainly enough material to work with.

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BATTLEFIELD

With Killzone and Call Of Duty confirmed the shooter genre is fairly well covered on the NGP but that doesn’t stop me hoping to be able to play Battlefield on the go. C’mon DICE tie it in nicely with Battlefield 3 and we’ll be up and running!

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FOOTBALL MANAGER

 

As much as I love Football Manager on the PSP it is pretty limited and the makers have said they have reached breaking point on the current hardware. I’d love to see you be able to run a full reserve team, work on your team’s ground and have more detailed interactions with the media/fans/players. The developers recently said they were looking into making a console version of the game so I’m crossing my fingers.

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FALLOUT

Can you imagine a game like Fallout *in the palm of your hand* Probably nothing else would get played as I ploughed hour after hour into it 🙂 With the games being as buggy as they are anyway surely they’d be no problem bringing a new tale from the Capitol Wasteland or New Vegas to the NGP.

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ASSASSIN’S CREED

Yes, yes after two games in two years (and another one in 2011) some of you will be sick of stabbing people with the hidden blade but there is real potential here for a full Assassin’s Creed spin off with an entirely new ancestor instead of Ezio or Altair. Sheesh I’d even take a modern day take with Desmond that features proper action/stealth. Maybe breaking into Asbergo etc.

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SYPHON FILTER

Syphon Filter was a great little PSOne title that spawned a sequel or two and then branched further on the original PSP with two more games. Held back by the lack of duel sticks and some questionable A.I could the NGP see the return of Gabe Logan?

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BIOSHOCK

I’m talking Bioshock Infinite as opposed to Rapture, despite the fact I enjoyed the first two games. It would be great to have a handheld game that could maybe set up some of the story for the forthcoming game. I wouldn’t object to a title set in Rapture (perhaps during it’s heyday?) but that world needs to be done a little differently to avoid feeling stale.

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BATMAN (OR SPIDERMAN/INSERT HERO NAME HERE)

Come on you know you’d love to see this. At this stage I’d even take a Robin spin off 😆 After Arkham Asylum and the upcoming Arkham City, Batman is definitely back in vogue and perhaps a darker grittier version of another classic hero (Spiderman? Superman?) could also work. There are a wealth of comic characters out there if the feeling is that Batman has been over saturated.

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So there you go – food for thought on the NGP front. Would welcome any comments or games you guys would like to see on the NGP. Or even just to know if you’re gonna pick up an NGP?

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Fragged Out: Is the FPS genre reaching saturation point?

 

Having watched some of the recent trailers for upcoming first person shooters Medal Of Honor and Call Of Duty: Black Ops I was struck by the realisation that I may be suffering from some kind of FPS burnout.

Despite both titles looking decent I’m finding it hard to get excited about them.

I already have Battlefield Bad Company 2, Killzone 2 and MAG to keep me entertained and if I fancy something completely different there’s always Borderlands.

Just a brief look at upcoming first person shooters in the next 6-9 months throws up the following list:

– Medal Of Honor

– Call Of Duty: Black Ops

– Killzone 3

– Brink

– Bulletstorm

– Bodycount

– Duke Nukem Forever

– Crysis 2

– Homefront

– Rage

From that list only Killzone 3 is a given as I’ll be trading up from the second game.

                                                                   Homefront’s tale of an occupied US makes for something different.

I also think Homefront looks interesting and everyone who has seen/played Rage is tipping it for Game Of The Year so that’s one I’m keen to check out.

Apart from that the others will more than likely be titles I’ll try at some stage but I’m not greatly excited by the majority of them, especially in terms of multiplayer.

So is this feeling of disinterest a sign of a lack of innovation in the genre? I’m not sure if that’s case – Bulletstorm certainly looks like shaking things up, although at its core it’s essentially the same as any other shooter.

                                                                                   Call Of Duty: Black Ops – good enough to see a switch from the games we are playing now?

Am I the only one out there that’s feeling this? Perhaps it’s a personal preference in that I feel Battlefield Bad Company 2 has pretty much nailed multiplayer for FPS.

I’m watching footage of Medal Of Honor and Call Of Duty: Black Ops and just thinking am I actually going to play this over Battlefield or Killzone? The answer currently is ‘no’ and as time has gone on other titles like Crysis 2 and Brink have lost their appeal.

I was relatively impressed with both of them early on but the more information I’ve seen on them the more generic they seem.

                                                                            Brink brings the new S.M.A.R.T movement system but is that enough?

The main culprits though are the current period warfare titles – Medal of Honor in particular. All of these titles seem to be merging into one from a multiplayer perspective but I’m still looking forward to the single player campaigns.

We’ll see I guess. Maybe I’ll be proven wrong and the multiplayer sections of these games will be unique and different. I certainly hope so because as it stands I’ll be sticking with what I have.

Top 30 Single Player Games – Part One (30-16)

A huge amount of awesome single player games over the last 18 months or so has meant that my Top Single Player Games list has become a bi-annual feature for the site.

Despite the boom in multiplayer online play sometimes you just wanna kick back and enjoy a decent story on your own.

So here is another updated list – extended from 20 to 30, with added games and also a reassessment of some of the titles already in there.

Previous chart positions are included in brackets and you can click on the titles of the games to read my full reviews (where possible).

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30. BATTLEFIELD: BAD COMPANY (14)

Chock full of explosions and with some really impressive destruction of buildings etc, Battlefield: Bad Company is like a huge big budget Hollywood blockbuster.

It’s a great, mindless blast of a game. Add some memorable characters into the mix and you’ve got yourself a very enjoyable, and playable, package.

 

29. ASSASSIN’S CREED (12)

In Assassin’s Creed you play through Desmond Mile’s repressed ancestrial memories as Altair in the Medieval Holy Land (with brief interludes as Desmond struggling to find out what is going on in the present day).

You will need to research targets and carry out assassinations using a variety of options – sword, hidden blade, knife etc.

This game is great fun and definitely one to check out.

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28. ARMY OF TWO

Salem and Rios are guns for hire – private contractors that go in and sort out the crap that the army or whoever can’t deal (or can’t be seen dealing) with.

There is convoluted conspiracy theory plotline but to be perfectly honest the story isn’t really the main attraction here – it’s all about the carnage.

Army of Two is like playing an ultra violent cartoon and overall I would say this game is a fun 5 or 6 hour blast. While it does become repetitive at times it makes no excuses – in fact Army Of Two is likely to hand you a  rocket launcher, spawn 20 new enemies and tell you to ‘get the f**k on with it.’

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27. THE SABOTEUR

The game takes place in and around Paris in the 1940’s with the Nazis occupying the majority of the city and it’s surrounding areas. You control Sean Devlin, an Irishman, who gets involved with the French resistance following a traumatic experience at the hands of the Gestapo.

The Saboteur is a game that I feel should be played but if you are looking for a high quality experience, this isn’t it. The odd bug here and there and a general unfinished feeling hamper the gameplay but if you’re willing  to give it a shot The Saboteur is worth a playthrough.

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26. LITTLEBIGPLANET

While often thought of as a multiplayer experience, LittleBigPlanet is just as much fun when played solo.

Sackboy has become a wonderful mascot for the Playstation 3 brand and this game really shows why. Customising your character and playing through the various crazy levels (loved Uncle Jalapeno!) is great fun.

*Shameless Plug* My created level is called ‘Kitchen Kaper’ by GregHorrorShow. Had a lot of complaints it’s too hard, let me know what you think.

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25. PROTOTYPE (20)

In Prototype you take on the role of Alex Mercer as he awakens during his autopsy ,wondering what the hell is going on. He quickly escapes, realising he now has various superpowers.

Mercer needs to find out what the hell has happened to him and why New York is infected with a virus that has turned half the population into zombies.

Prototype is definitely a game worth playing despite it’s various faults – it was a blast to play through if a little frustrating at times.

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24. BORDERLANDS

Borderlands has a distinctive cartoon, tongue in cheek style that is perfectly suited for the game and while the story isn’t particularly amazing, the colourful characters will have you chuckling along.

Borderlands is all about the loot. The game creates random weapons as you go along so it’s unlikely two people will ever get the same set of weapons throughout a playthrough, which is pretty cool.

It’s one of the longer games I’ve played recently – clocking in more towards 20 hours for a first playthrough – but it’s definitely a universe that should be experienced.

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23. RED FACTION: GUERRILLA

Red Faction: Guerrilla is a bit of an underrated gem. It’s your basic David vs Goliath battle with the Red Faction resistance (you guys) taking on the evil Earth Defence Force who have taken advantage of their position in power on Mars.

But the main part of the game is the destruction. Buildings fall realistically and weakening them structurally can often mean a delayed collapse.

I heartily recommend Red Faction. It’s not massively difficult but it has a good solid story and is insanely fun. You can pick this up for about £15 pre-owned in most places and it will be money well spent.

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22. RESISTANCE 2 (19)

After saving England in the previous installment Hale is back in business to rescue the U S of A – since his incapacitation the Chimera have launched a full attack on America and Hale, as part of the Sentinal squad (made up of soldiers injected with the Chimera virus but kept under control), have to step in and stop them in their tracks.

A hard hitting but fun first person shooter.

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21. MIRROR’S EDGE (18)

Mirror’s Edge wowed everyone with it’s crisp, clean graphics and it’s unique first person perspective. The view takes a while to get used to and it had a few really annoying parts where it was difficult to time jumps etc because of the view but Mirror’s Edge is certainly worth playing through as it offers a style of gameplay that is totally unique in the current games market.

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20. RAINBOW SIX VEGAS (17)

If you like your first person shooters with a bit of brain behind the brawn then Rainbow Six Vegas may be the game for you.

With a good old fashioned SAS vs Terrorists style plot and lots of fun set pieces Rainbow Six Vegas is definitely worth a shot.

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19. RESIDENT EVIL 5 (16)

For all it’s faults Resident Evil 5, taken as a whole, is a brilliant game and one that I would recommend. Graphically it’s stunning and while it isn’t a hugely difficult game you’ll enjoy playing through and unravelling the story.

It survives the huge expectation of following Resident Evil 4… just. This is a game that everyone should play as Resi comes to the new generation of consoles.

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18. DRAGON AGE: ORIGINS

Dragon Age: Origins sees you create a fantasy character to take on an epic journey – starting with your very own prologue.

After playing the backstory your character is enlisted to become a Grey Warden – an elite group of fighters whose main role is to destroy the Darkspawn – evil creatures that have begun to overrun the world.

I really enjoyed the storyline of Dragon Age: Origins and it was nice to see characters develop over such a large amount of time – of course I understand that this may be the norm for you regular RPG players but for me it was a nice change of pace.

This is a mammoth game (over 25 hours) but it is certainly worth your time if you’re willing to lose yourself in it.

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17. KANE AND LYNCH: DEAD MEN (15)

You take control of Adam ‘Kane’ Marcus, a criminal on his way to death row for crimes committed in Venezeula. Kane is busted out of his prison van by a mysterious group called The7 who he worked with previously. They think Kane stole the money from their last job and stashed it somewhere.

If he doesn’t get them the money back in three weeks his wife and daughter will be killed. Kane claims he doesn’t know where it is but he does know who took the cash and will hunt them down. And so begins a thoroughly enjoyable ride into the desperate life of Kane…

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16. BATTLEFIELD: BAD COMPANY 2

The single player campaign is a wonderful blast through several impressive set pieces and the feeling of being in ‘B’ Company really adds to the experience.

That sense of community and closeness to the characters is a big bonus and probably the main reason Battlefield’s campaign stands head and shoulders above Modern Warfare 2.

Clocking in at around 8/9 hours it’s also almost double the length of Infinity Ward’s offering but it occasionally lacks the polish of Call Of Duty – perhaps down to the fact that everything is destructable in the environment. Overall though this is a great single player experience.

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So there you have it the first part of the run down, the remaining 15 games will be hitting the site next week!

Let me know if you think any of these should’ve been higher up in the chart 🙂

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Borderlands – Review (PS3)

I was a bit sceptical of Borderlands at first – touted as a mix of RPG and FPS I just didn’t see what it could do differently to Fallout 3 to justify buying it.

Then I played it in split screen at Eurogamer and really enjoyed it. This was followed by positive reviews almost everywhere I looked. So I bought it.

And boy am I glad I did.

I’ll start by answering my own question – Borderlands is similar to Fallout 3 only in mission structure, and in so far as trying to take on a mission you are levelled up for is almost suicide.

One big difference is that Borderlands actually gives you a guide of what level you should be for missions rather than just letting you try and fail. I prefer this as it gives you a chance to weigh up whether or not you want to take a shot at a mission or not.

Fallout 3 is all about the story – the characters you meet and the side missions. Borderlands is all about the loot. The game creates random weapons as you go along so it’s unlikely two people will ever get the same set of weapons throughout a playthrough.

How awesome is that? I’ve probably got weapons no-one else will ever get!

Borderlands distinctive cartoon, tongue in cheek style is perfectly suited for the game and while the story isn’t particularly amazing, the colourful characters will have you chuckling along.

It’s one of the longer games I’ve played recently – clocking in more towards 20 hours for a first playthrough.

As good as the single player is, the main draw for the game is the four player co-op where you all take your levelled up characters online to complete missions.

This is a great idea and is wonderfully executed. You just party up and then can get on with whatever missions the host has to do. Or you can challenge each other to a duel, which is fun. I did have a few connectivity issues and also some problems with headset use while in multiplayer but on the whole it was a positive experience.

Overall, despite what I would class as a fairly weak ending, Borderlands is a game you should definitely play. Even if you plan to just play the single player it’s a worthwhile experience though the online co-op will keep you coming back for more.

Rating: 8/10

Eurogamer Expo 2009

Wow! What a fantastic gaming experience.

First of all a big shout out to everyone who put this Expo together – it was one of the smoothest run I’ve been to.

I got to see and play so many upcoming games it was a well spent £6. 🙂

Only disappointment was not playing Assassin’s Creed 2 as it was rammed all day. That meant wait to play it or skip it and probably play 2 or 3 other games.

Left 4 Dead 2 (XBox 360) and Tekken 6 were also extremely busy but I could take them or leave them so didn’t mind missing them too much.

Was surprised to see Army Of Two: 40th Day only have two TV’s showing the game and then be taken away well before the end of the day – would’ve liked to have given that a spin.

But there is a hell of a lot of stuff I DID play to get through, so let’s get to it…

 

ALIEN VS PREDATOR

I’ve been looking forward to this game (and Aliens: Colonial Marines) since it was announced.

The hands on was multiplayer only, with the choice of Marine, Alien or Predator. With words of Private Hudson ringing in my ears “game over man, it’s game over man!” I chose Marine. 😎

Mainly to see how the game plays compared to other FPS’s but also because I wanted to try my luck against the more fancied non-human characters.

I’m glad to say it holds up very well indeed and being a Marine isn’t as weak as I expected. You land a round of fire on a Predator he’s going down, likewise with the Alien but he’s so quick landing a round on him is an achievement.

They have captured that sense of panic you feel for the Marines in the film really well and it will be interesting to play the game without the background noise of an Expo going on! 😆

 

BATTLEFIELD: BAD COMPANY 2

Totally didn’t expect to see this at the Expo but it was a very pleasant surprise.

I’m looking forward to this more than Modern Warfare 2 (meh, so sue me fanboys) and this hands on has increased the feeling this could be a special game.

Again it was multiplayer only and at times I had trouble finding the opposition but Battlefield Bad Company 2 looks astounding and plays really well.

The use of vehicles is a great touch and well handled, while the weapons had a reassuring kick to them as well. Could be massive online.

 

BAYONETTA

Not being a big fan of the Devil May Cry has meant that Bayonetta hasn’t really been on my radar other than a few trailers I’ve seen here and there.

Having the chance to play through a couple of levels has seen my interest rise but I get the feeling this would be more of a rental than a purchase.

However if you liked Devil May Cry you will probably want to pick up a copy.

  

BORDERLANDS 

Again, Borderlands was a game that I thought looked quite interesting but didn’t get when it was released a few weeks ago.

I feel that was the right decision – not because of how the game played, it was really good, but because this game has to be played in online co-op.

So for that reason, in the crowded pre-Christmas schedule, I won’t be picking this up.

However come the new year (or even the traditional summer drought) I’ll be persuading a few mates to get it and we’ll blast through it together.

  

DANTE’S INFERNO

As you’ll see further down the list, God Of War III was also on display at the Expo and unfortunately for Dante we played Kratos’ demo first.

There is absolutely nothing wrong with Dante’s Inferno – this is a game that looks good and has some varied imagery on display.

However there is also A LOT in this hands on that is lifted directly from God Of War III. 😦

Having played both if I had to pick it’d be God Of War but hopefully Dante’s Inferno’s story will be gripping enough to warrant a playthrough.

 

DARK VOID

This one was my biggest disappointment on the day.

It wasn’t exactly clear what we were supposed to be doing and there seemed to be a bit of an issue with the vertical climbing and cover system not quite working.

As this is a demo and is also probably a few months old I will give Dark Void the benefit of the doubt but from that hands on it reminded me of 50 Cent: Blood On The Sand just with a jetpack.

 

GOD OF WAR III

We kicked the day off with a playthrough of God Of War III and what a start to proceedings!

Graphically lush and with some great new visual effects, this is a game that manages to be even more brutal than the previous instalments.

Blood gushes everywhere, including all over Kratos himself, and stays wherever it’s landed – adding a touch more realism to the mythological world.

This will be a must have for any PS3 owner (who’s over 18 :lol:)

 

HEAVY RAIN

Much has been made of Heavy Rain and how amazing it could be. Everything I’ve seen of it points to something special so I was desperate to give it a go.

It took a while to get used to the controls (best described as like a driving game – R2 moves you forward and you use the left stick to dictate which direction) but it was a triumph when you did.

Graphically it was stunning, though the Junkyard level didn’t look as good as the Shop level.

What we enjoyed most about the demo was that for both parts we had different outcomes. 😎

The fact that it isn’t game over if you don’t make it through a sequence in one piece is awesome and the amount of options/choices for you means the game should have strong replay value.

I think Heavy Rain could be something very special if it can live up to the promise shown in these demo levels.

* ‘HEAVY RAIN’ : GREGHORRORSHOW’S BEST IN SHOW – Eurogamer Expo 2009*

 

M.A.G

M.A.G is one of those games that I was undecided on going into the Expo.

256 multiplayer sounds amazing but all the footage I’d seen so far hadn’t been overly impressive.

However having actually played it I can confirm it’s great fun and well worth playing.

Sure we had no context of the squad depth or anything like that – just a set of objectives – but the actual gameplay itself was really strong.

Recoil was massive (may be realistic?) which meant you had to really aim you shots or you end up firing at the sky.

Definitely one to pick up and get involved in come January 2010.

 

THE SABOTEUR

Another game I was looking forward to that didn’t quite live up to the promise shown in the trailers.

I do think The Saboteur will be an absolute blast to play (pardon the pun) but people looking for a polished, deep gaming experience may need to look elsewhere (Heavy Rain perhaps? :smile:)

Coming from Pandemic I expect this to be more in the vein of their previous title Mercenaries 2 – which is no bad thing, I really enjoyed that title.

The main problem here is that the AI seemed completely moronic. It shatters the illusion of getting past them in disguise when you can stand in front of them in your normal get up, aiming at a gun at them and they do nothing.

So, judging from the hands on, if you go into The Saboteur expecting a masterpiece you may be disappointed but if you’re looking for a fun title to blow some stuff in – then this could be the one for you.

 

SPLIT/SECOND

Was not expecting this at all.

Thought I’d check Split/Second out as I liked the idea from the trailer of destructable scenery etc.

This game was an absolute blast – a cartoon style rampage through an airport race track in the style of Mario Kart but with stunning HD visuals.

From what I could gather you fill up your ‘special’ bar by driving fast and drifting around corners. Once the bar is full you have two options.

If you’re directly behind someone you can press X to trigger a more personal takedown, or at certain points trigger a short cut. If you prefer the bigger showpiece you’ll also have the option to press O at specific points on the track to trigger a major event, like the control crumbling and smashing down onto the tarmac. 😮 😎

Can see this being awesome fun in multiplayer.

* ‘SPLIT/SECOND’ : GREGHORRORSHOW’S MOST PLEASANT SURPRISE – Eurogamer Expo 2009 *

So there you have it – a monster round up of a fantastic event. Having been lucky enough to play through the games of the future I think it is an amazing time to be a gamer.

And with a lot of great stuff being PS3 exclusive we’ve got a lot of brilliant games to look forward to.

With inFAMOUS and Uncharted 2 already impressing you can add MAG, God of War III and Heavy Rain to the list.

Good times. 😎