Control - Review

Remedy Entertainment has been making great games for years, classics like the Max Payne series, Alan Wake and Quantum Break.  When Control was released I knew I had to play it, even before I knew much about it.  I recently picked it up and could not wait to try it!


Something I tried in the last couple of years is Portuguese Custard Tarts.   They are exactly what they sound like, sweet and tasty (unless you don't like custard). They are small yet so satisfying and filling.  Playing Control I found myself was this the small perfect sized treat I needed?

Story

The game has you take control (no pun intended) of  Jesse, a woman who has walked into the Federal Bureau of Control to find her brother Dylan.  Strangely the building is oddly quiet and very quickly she goes from trespasser to Director of the Bureau!  This happens all in the first fifteen minutes and it gets a lot crazier from there.  The duty of the Bureau is making sure that certain powerful artifacts are kept under lock and key, sort of like the TV series Warehouse 13 but way more intense.  That's all you are getting.


Overall the story is fantastic, with many twists and turns and would be very curious to see if Remedy will do a sequel or not.

Visuals


The visuals in Control are great...kind of.  The world feels cold and dark and this is amplified being sent in an old building with old technology.  The building is not always as seems and can shift, sometimes without warning.  There is a sprinkling of art deco style visuals with some really cool supernatural backdrops.  It is worth noting that I played this on the XBOX One, I found the frame rate and general refresh rate could be quite poor at times which was very jarring and pulled me out of what is generally quite an immersive world.


Overall the visuals were great but could have vastly been improved by increasing the frame and refresh rate.  I am generally not overly picky about things like this but was bad enough that I had to mention it.



Music


There was no doubt at any point that I was playing a supernatural style game, especially when it came to the music.  There are eerie and often unnerving tracks that helped put me on the edge of my seat. The soundtrack was composed by Finnish composer Petri Alanko (Alan Wake, Quantum Break) and Danish composer Martin Stig Anderson (Young Blood, Tomb Raider, Wolfenstein, Limbo).


There is over an hour of music, my favourite tracks included; 'counterfeit', 'portam ad inferno', 'voces ignotas', 'and soror et frater'.  Overall it was a good soundtrack that helped create a creepy supernatural feel.

Gameplay

I have always enjoyed the gameplay in Remedy games but it feels like this time they really pulled out all the stops.  Jesse uses a special gun that, through upgrading, can morph back and forth and you never need to collect ammunition, which is pretty handy.  Each of them feels distinctly different and can be more or less effective against certain enemies.  Each of them can be modded and upgraded quite easily using items you collect naturally through playing.


The weapons are good but the abilities are even better.  My two favorites without a doubt were launch and levitate, they do exactly what they say on the tin.  Combining these two abilities along gun variants is so much fun, there are also skill trees to help improve them further.


The enemies are varied which helps stop the game from feeling repetitive, some are a lot easier to kill than others.  The difficulty never seemed unbalanced or unfair no matter what was being thrown at me.


The game map is quite large so making use of control points is key otherwise you will spend a lot of time running.  The map can be a little awkward to work out at times but as a whole, it works.


There is not only the main story to focus on but a slew of side missions wish to offer a little break from the main dialogue with some great rewards.


Overall there is little to nothing to complain about in relation to the gameplay, I enjoyed myself and can see myself replaying Control in the future.





Final Thoughts

Well, after fifteen hours of playing how did I feel?  Pretty damn good.  The story was strong and interesting, the visuals were good but a little more of investment could have made them great. The music was exactly what it needed and the gameplay was fantastic.  Overall this one gets a solid 4 out of 5

My Friend Pedro - Review

I initially played My Friend Pedro last year when it was an online flash game.  I had so much fun playing it I hoped it would become a full-fledged game. After a little checking, I found they were, in fact, working on a full game and earlier this month it was released by Devolver Digital.


I like bananas - not every day, but I like them.  I like banana flavored drinks and sweets but what I love is Banoffee.  If you have never had banoffee pie you are missing out, it contains bananas, toffee, a biscuit base and cream.  I have had really really good ones like the one I had in Scoozi's earlier this week but I have also had some awful ones.  Playing My Friend Pedro I found myself was this is a really good mouth water banoffi or did it have me reaching for the toilet?

Story


How do I even being to discuss My Friend Pedro's story?  You wake after taking a knock on the head, floating in front of you is a talking banana called Pedro.  He helps guide you out of the meat packing plant you are in and provide guidance and some cheesy and sometimes dark humor.  The story starts by feeling a little all over the place to start with but quickly turns into you trying to stop the Dictator of the Internet (the internet is actually a real place).


Overall the story is crazy, outlandish and never takes itself seriously, all of which helped in making the game really fun through my time playing.

Visuals


There is an interesting variety when it comes to the visuals in My Friend Pedro, there is everything from industrial, abandoned buildings and futuristic buildings, to a sprawling highway, and the sanctuary where a sentient banana goes to relax. The visuals in some ways can be jarring but it works.  Sometimes you are walking through a bunch of derelict buildings, then you are falling out a high rise head first killing floating bad guys.  Other times you get to hang out with a banana and use his uncle propeller hat to fly through the air.


Overall the game has a rich variety of visuals which are not only fun but help you keep you on your toes when enemies are nearby, which is always.




Music


The music in My Friend Pedro combines elements of electronic, industrial and chillout-style music which suits the kind of game it is.  The music was composed by Naive D, Nounverber, Noisecream and Marks_SF.  Nounverber worked on Hotline Miami 2: Wrong Number and released an album called Midnight Album and Noisescream released an album titled Bananas. Unfortunately could not find any information on the others.


The soundtrack runs a little over two hours, while the start of it is slow it quickly finds its rhythm.  There are a number of stand out tracks my favorites being;  'Cave Crawl', 'Sambafellas', 'Low Life on the Highway', 'Sink Drip', 'Stop and Watch', 'Most of Rage', 'Pendulum', 'Overshadowed' and 'Starselect'.


Overall a solid soundtrack for the game with a number of really good tracks that work well with the game.

Gameplay


The gameplay is...hmm, how best to describe it.  Imagine if Max Payne and TV show Happy! made a game, that game would be My Friend Pedro.  At its core, the game is a shooter but it is so much more than that.   Ever kicked a frying pan into the air and shot at it so the bullets deflect off it and kill enemies around you?  I have.  Have you spun gracefully in the air while shooting two pistols killing enemies and avoiding a barrage of bullets? I have.  This is just the tip of the iceberg with My Friend Pedro.


The game allows players to shoot, dodge and slow down time to get many many kills and avoid certain death.  There are two objectives in the game, the first complete each mission the second is to complete it with the highest possible ranking.  This can be achieved by avoiding getting shot, using a skateboard to roll past enemies in style (while killing them) or dropping a barrel on an enemy's head.  There is so much fun to be had with when killing.


Each level is broken into small sections that can be completed in between one and three minutes.  At the end of each level, Pedro gives you a rank between S and C. S is for silky smooth,  A is for Aww Yeah, B is for Bravissimo and C is for Come On.  There are variations on each these which often made me smile.


Overall the gameplay was a lot of fun and is a great example of, easy to learn hard to master.  It is game I have no doubt I will revisit in the future if nothing else than to get praise from a sentient banana named Pedro.




Final Thoughts


So after fours of play how did I feel?  I felt like my experience was short lived and was looking forward to playing more.  The story was bizarre and fun, and I quite enjoyed it.  The visuals were often exciting and sometimes crazy, the music suited the game well and help intensify some of the gameplay.  The gameplay was lots of fun and already look forward to improving on my next playthrough.  Overall My Friend Pedro gets a solid 4 out of 5

Hong Kong Massacre - Review

I recently got back from a few days away at the coast, it was great. Watching the ocean, walking through fields and getting to experience wildlife you just don't see in the city.  It's nice to be back though as my hands were itching to play the new game I download, Hong Kong Massacre.  The game caught my attention a couple of months, it basically combines Max Payne with Hot Line Miami.


While I was away we ate good wholesome food.  My favourite meal was a part boned, part stuffed chicken thigh with garlic baby potatoes and a splash of chicken gravy.  It was simple, hearty and tasty.  Playing Hong Kong Massacre I found myself asking was this simple, hearty meal I needed or was it just a mess?

Story


The game is set in Hong Kong in 1992 and spans over fours days.  The game provides little story but from what I pieced together you are Detective that recently lost their partner.  After you both make one of the biggest drug busts the Triads become a little unhappy and kill your partner.  The story is about revenge, not only for your partner but from other lives who have been affected by the Triad.


The story is broken up into multiple chapters with names like, 'Bang, bang, feels good to be back',
'Vengence is my only friend', and 'No one else is safe until you're dead'.  While the story is fairly simple I didn't find this to be a bad thing, at the end of the day it's a story about revenge, no need to over complicate it.

Visuals


Throughout the levels, smoke hangs thick in the air which creates a moody and hopeless feeling.  The areas you visit often have discussed and run down look to them. Two of my favorite level designs were The Red Dragon and Kung Fang restaurants.  There was just something about the beaten up kitchens and dark alleyways that gave the feeling of old cop movies.  One of the smaller details I like is seeing papers flying up into the air, similar to John Woo's classic use of doves.  The downside with the visuals is that sometimes distinguishing the environment can be tough and sometimes that wall is actually a window.


Overall the visuals are great and have a real feeling of an old cop movie from the eighties and nineties.  While some of the environments aren't always the easiest to work out it never really stopped my enjoyment of the game.


Music 


The game combines electronic and dance music with sprinklings of old retro games similar to the ones you would have found on the Sega Megadrive and Genesis. The music is produced by Professor Kliq an American composer and musician.  He has released a number of albums including, Wire and Flashing Lights, Guns Blazing, and Scientific Method Volume Three.


The soundtrack runs a little over an hour and has features some great tracks.  Unfortunately, as of writing this, there is no official release of the sound.  Because of this, I can't provide names to any of the tracks.   Overall Hong Kong Massacre has an interesting soundtrack that fits in perfectly with the game.

Gameplay


Hong Kong Massacre was created by Vreski is a small independent studio based out of Sweden. It is a top-down game that is Max Payne meets Hotline Miami.  The gameplay is challenging and you will need to dodge, duck, dip, dive, and dodge to survive.  The game has bullet time like Max Payne and features Hotline Miami's 'one bullet and you're dead' system.  These two together work really well.


There are four weapons, pistol, shotgun, SMG and rifle, all of which can be upgraded.  While they all have their benefit my favorite was the pistol, especially once I unlocked unlimited ammo.


The game has more than thirty levels and even a handful of boss fights.  Some of the levels can feel a little samey, and unfortunately, the bosses have a rinse and repeat feeling with no real decipherable difference between them.  If you are not finding the levels tough enough you can try to complete the challenges.


Overall the gameplay was a lot of fun, the levels can be challenging and while there is a little bit of rinse and repeat it still holds up pretty well.





Final Thoughts

So, after a little over five hours how did I feel? Pretty pumped.  The story is about revenge plain, simple and effective.  The visuals are very atmospheric and while there is a slight lack of variety the gameplay helps pick up the slack.  The music is well suited to the game and helps tie everything together.  Hong Kong Massacre gets 4 out of 5