Uncharted 4: A Thief's End - Review

I recently finished the Drake's Uncharted Collection, so what's next?  Well naturally I need to test the power of the Playstation 4 & a great way to do that is to play the conclusion to the Uncharted Series. I remember the E3 trailers & watching some of the gameplay thinking, damn I want to play that.  For the most part I have enjoyed the Uncharted series, lots of great action, entertaining story & some great visuals.  That being said Drakes Deception really soured things for me,  not as much with regards to the story but the gameplay I felt was rather weak & was hoping a Thief's End would not make the same mistake.


Who likes pizza?  Everyone that's who.  When it comes to pizza I think its hard to have an out & an out bad pizza, mediocre sure but truly bad I don't think so.  Even a plain cheese pizza has it place especially if you have some sides with it.  Then there are truly awesome pizza's like Duck Hoisin. The pieces of meat are soft & both moist & dry, smothered in hoisin sauce, sprinkled with spring onion & cucumbers, even the thought of it makes my mouth water.   So playing Uncharted 4 I had to....sorry I will be right back I wanted to see if there was any Duck Hoisin pizza left from last night. No, no there was not, might have to go to the shop later, hmmm.   Anyway back on track, I had to decide while playing Uncharted 4: A Thief's End was I eating a mediocre pizza or one cover in duck, hoisin sauce & other goodness.

So, let's discuss the story a bit.  Two words; yes, yes - that is all.  Alright fine I will offer a little more detail.  The story is fantastic & as a whole is as close to perfect as you can get.  This time around the games focuses on Nate's past which deals a lot with his family.  The intrigue & mystery that is Nathan Drake's life is revealed more than it ever has before & really helps to answer some questions I had.


After a loss early in the game we see Nate 15 years later working for a salvage company, for lack of a better word he is now retired from his adventurous life.  We get to see what regular life looks like for him playing the chapter 'Normal Life'.  I found this to be great not only because of the story but it also gave you time to enjoy some the visual details that normally running around may cause you to miss.


As you can imagine Nate gets dragged back into the fray.  Unlike previous times it is not just about the glory, but how much is he willing to sacrifice in the process?  Nate is on the hunt for Henry Avery's treasure but he won't be alone,  I can't say much more than that as it would spoil the story for you.  The new bad guy is Rafe Adler, the problem I had with him is that he acted like an insolent child through out the game which made me really dislike him.  Being fair I think that was the idea but I guess I like my bad guys to be more....bad.


The story has a nice sprinkling of comedy from all characters especially from Nate himself & as we all know; once a wise ass always a wise ass.  Overall there were only a few minor bumps along the way.  I really liked the ending, including the epilogue.  Right, that's all your getting from me, story wise anyway.

Where do I begin when discussing the visual masterpiece that is this game?  The back drops are amazing & often breath taking.  The lighting & attention to small details is simply inspiring.  While I expected it to be better visually than Uncharted 3 I did not realise simply how much better it would be.


There are so many great things to discuss about the visuals, let's take for example the scuba diving chapter.  As you majestically traverse the ocean floor schools of fish pass you buy, the coral feels like it is bustling with life & as you glide over the seabed the sand is kicked up around you in a cloud.  It all looks so fantastic.  I really loved the art style used for the opening credits, watching it reveals the adventures Nate has had so far & made me feel nostalgic.  Madagascar was so visually impressive, the mix of terrain was beautiful I could barely believe I was playing a video game.


Normally I worry about revealing too many details about the story in my reviews but being honest this time I worry about discussing too much about how great the game looks.  If you own a Playstation 4 & haven't played it yet go out & buy it now.


This time around Henry Jackman helmed the musical score.  I think as a Thief's End was the conclusion in the series the studio wanted something more epic, well they got it.  Jackman has worked on many scores & has also worked closely with the legendary Hans Zimmer.  His works include; Captain America: Winter Soldier, Captain America: Civil War, Kong Island & the Kick-Ass movies.


There is heavy use of strings & horns to help create an action packed score.  Listening to the music again I could certainly hear the influences of some of the larger film scores Jackman has worked on.   Some of my favorite pieces included; 'A Thief's End', 'Lure of Adventure', 'Cut to the Chase', 'The Twelve Towers', 'New Devon' & 'Nate's Theme 4.0' which is a beautiful piece with some great piano work.


Additionally there is some music used during the Auction House mission which was really good & is described by one character as European Dub Step.  I have seen many posts online asking why it was not included on the soundtrack but perhaps they will add this in the future to a definitive edition.


There are some great sound effects in the game, my favorite is example of this is when Kid Drake is sliding down a roof & kicks a shingle loose.  The sound it makes when sliding down the roof & the breaking as it hits the ground is amazing.  These sound effects help give the game a very rich atmospheric feel.


I found the score to be truly enjoyable & is easily my favorite score of the year so far, it has an epic sound accompanied by some pieces that are simply beautiful.

Onto the awesomeness that is the gameplay.  How would I best describe it?  Balls out I think, think of Uncharted 2 but with so many extra balls you could fill 6 meatball foot long subs & still have balls left over.  That is how much balls the gameplay in A Thief's End has.


A lot of the issues I had up to this point with the series & more specifically with Uncharted 3 Drakes Deception have been well & truly quashed.  This time around Kid Drake's movements don't feel over exaggerated &  he even needs help from time to time getting to areas which feels more realistic.  The hand to hand combat is what it should have been previously; balanced, brutal & fun.  The journal this time felt useful & was actually used like one rather than being tacked on there for the sake of it.


There are new weapons & accessories including a grapple hook.  This is great not only for swinging across large areas but also for climbing, dragging objects & looking cool while shooting.  Switching weapons looks realistic & the aiming system is a lot more accurate.


While the gameplay overall is fantastic there are a few standout areas like; during the heist at the auction & the driving sequence in Madagascar - enter the unstoppable armoured truck.  There are less puzzles then before which I feel is a good thing & the ones that are there are much more enjoyable than in previous installments.


The big downer for me was Scotland, nothing against Scotland but some of the gameplay was not great, especially all the unnecessary sliding.  It may seem a small thing to complain about but when the rest of the gameplay was so great it really stood out as the weak link.  All in all though the gameplay was amazing & I am sure I will revisit the game at some point in the future.





So after 15 hours plus of the main campaign & finishing the final chapter in the series what did I think?  I thought it was fantastic & inspiring, it was all I could want from a sequel & more.  I am sad that this will likely be the last adventure I will have with Nate but we will always have El Dorado, Shambhala & Ubar.

Uncharted The Nathan Drake Collection - Review

After months of saving I finally bought the Playstation 4 PRO.  A few people have asked me why I waited so long to buy one as they know how much I love games, the honest answer is that I was happy with my XBOX One & had enough games to play on it.  However, over the last 4-6 months there have not been enough good exclusives to keep me occupied, whereas the Playstation 4 has so many.  I easily have 15 games that I already really want to play on the Playstation 4.  Bottom line, YAY!


So, you buy one of the most powerful consoles on the market & the first game you decide to play is Uncharted The Nathan Drake Collection, why?  Well, I really want to play a Thief's End & wanted a bit of context for the game as I have only really played Uncharted Golden Abyss on the PS Vita.  I also feel playing the other games would help give me a greater appreciation for the not only the series but for the new game as well.


I'm sure at this stage you have got used to me comparing food to video games, I sometimes wonder what that says about me?  Anyway here goes, while playing Uncharted The Nathan Drake Collection I had to ask myself was I eating a tasty KFC meal including sides & a drink or was I eating a kid's Happy Meal?

This time I have decide to do the review a little different, I'm going to discuss the highs & lows of each of the games but instead of giving final thoughts on each title I'm going to do one overall one.
It only makes sense as I am reviewing this game as a collection rather than just three separate games.
Let's get the ball rolling with Drakes Fortune.

How best to describe Nathan Drake (also known as Nate)?  He is a lovable rogue, mixed with parts Indiana Jones, Lara Croft, Prince of Persia & Nathan Fillion.  His partner in crime is Victor Sullivan better know as Sully.  He comes across as a little cold & ruthless to start with but slowly you see a different side to him & you get to see what Nate might become in the future.  Then there is the spunky reporter Elena Fisher, who is fishing for her big story (see what I did there...forget it) & is hoping that Nate' search for Sir Francis Drake's treasure will give her just that. She never shy's away from danger & is never afraid to wade into the thick of things.


The opening scenes show Nate & Elena finding Sir Francis Drake's coffin but what do they find inside?  Is it a body?  No, instead there is a notebook that indicates not only did Francis Drake fake his death but also seems that he may have found the City Of El Dorado.  Que bad guy Gabriel Roman who seems to be looking for City Of El Dorado too.  He is calm, collected, ruthless & British.


As always I wont reveal any more about the story but I will say this, it starts out interesting & full of promise but near the end it wains a lot.  Overall a promising story that become a little boring.

I won't be over critical of the visuals as the game is almost 10 years old but being honest it doesn't look bad.  The environments are interesting & colourful but sometimes lack detail. Some of the character movements look a little off, this is especially noticeable when Drake is swimming.  On the plus side the character designs & lighting effects look great.  I also really like how on occasion loose leafs will blow across your path. This may seem like a minor thing but it really helps make the environment seem more organic.


The music is composed by Greg Edmonson who has worked on movies & TV series including; Martian Law,  Lucky Town, Bounty Killer, King of The Hill the animated series & hold your breath, Firefly.  Him being a part of Firefly already makes him awesome, if you haven't watched the series & you like the idea of space bandits/cowboys/pirates then you will love the show - also watch Cowboy Bebop & Outlaw Star.


While listening to the soundtrack again the other day I could definitely hear the influence of Firefly. There is nice use of brass & pipe sounds to give a jungle like sound, it also helps to create a great feeling of action & exploration.  My favorite pieces included; 'Nate's Theme', 'Uncharted Island', 'Plane Wrecked', 'Drowned City', 'Treasure Vault'

Onto the tasty meat that is the game play.  I really liked that there were so many difficulty options to choose from, it reminded me some of the old school games & immediately made me think of replaying the game through at a later date on higher difficulties.


The weapons were fun but I wished there had been a greater variety of them. Grenades were easily my favorite weapon.  Explosions looked awesome & I love how enemies are often launched into the air from the force of them. While it may seem like a minor detail I really liked that some cover was destructible, I felt it added an intensity to the gameplay.  I liked the over dramatic deaths especially when enemies throw themselves in different directions.


There were however some negatives to the gameplay. Some areas looked climbable but aren't & often made the game feel very restrictive & linear.  Shooting while driving the jet ski I found to be a giant pain in the behind & was very happy when those sections were over.  As a whole though some very solid gameplay & I genuinely had fun.

by XMenouX on Deviant Art

The sequel doesn't pull any punches & had me hooked straight away, from the opening scene it's clear to see that Drake is already in a bad state.  Of course misery needs company & Sully returns, this time he feels a lot more fleshed out, he can be wise cracking & seems like he is a bit of ladies man. The bond between him & Drake is much more apparent than in the first installment & helped me invest in both characters more.  New comer Chloe Frazer help adds to the team dynamic; sassy, cheeky & maybe a little untrustworthy.  Of course I couldn't not mention Harry Flynn, who provides Nate with an offer he cannot refuse.  He is overly confident & I found him no where near as likable as the other characters.


This time you are on the hunt for Marco Polo's lost fleet, but why?  Well it's turns out Marco might of found the city of Shambhala (also known as Shangri-La) & perhaps may have take the Cintamani Stone which is a really massive sapphire - who doesn't want one of those?  Naturally Nate is not the only one looking for it, our bad guy this time is Zoran Lazarevic a badass to the extreme & makes Gabriel Roman look like a teddy bear by comparison, a really small one not those six foot tall ones, they are scary.


The darker story of the sequel is balanced well with light hearted moments & comic relief from the characters.  The story is very engaging & has a pretty good ending apart from the slightly annoying boss.

Without a doubt Among Thieves is a lot more visually impressive than Drake's Fortune.  This time around you get to experience Mountains, Jungles & Nepal.  The character designs look more refined, the snow looks realistic as you walk through & it is one of the many details like this that really make the game immersive.  It's hard to believe that Among Thieves was only released just two years after the original, the improvements on the visuals is remarkable.


Greg Edmonson brings his musical talents back for Among Thieves & this time with a more broader sound.  I found the music to be more noticeably present than in the original but this is not bad thing especially during action sequences.


The music this time around often had a more serious & somber tone which works well with everything that is happening in the story.  I really liked the heavier use of strings used this time around which was great for creating different atmospheres in the game.  My favorite pieces include; 'The City's Secret', 'Reunion', 'The Monastery' & the 'Gates of Shambhala'.

The game play was much improved over Drake Fortune, Nate is in the thick of it from the beginning & the action is definitely more frequent. The paths that can be taken aren't as obviously highlighted as before, handholds for example don't look as artificial & look more part of the background.

This installment focuses more on stealth & tactics, sometime this work really well, other times...not so much.  At it's core Among Thieves is an action adventure game.  I found the melee combos were more polished & the combat flowed a lot better. There is much more variety with weapons this time around, they also feel & handle much better.  The new running sections are a lot of fun along with feeling pretty intense.


There were not too many bad points but one of the biggest I felt was Nate's notebook. For the most part it seems pointless, I would prefer they either remove it as a feature or have Drake utilise it more.
While it seems a strange thing to complain about I just don't like things that seem pointless or under developed.  All in all though some great gameplay & a great improvement over the original.

by Nanaga on Deviant Art

This time around you get to see & play as kid Nate & you find out how he first meets Sully.  I like the way Naughty Dog have focused on the relationship between these two characters because in my mind there is no Nate without Sully.  There are familiar faces who return for the third installment there are also a few new ones.  Charlie Cutter is one of my favorite new characters; a geezer, a hard man & he doesn't like small spaces.  Nate opposing force this time is Katherine Marlowe & her right-hand man Talbot, they also seem to have a small army at their disposal.


The story this time returns to Sir Francis Drake & his secret Voyage to Arabia to find the lost city of Ubar.  Nate looks to follow in his foot steps but this time he seems to be more driven & slightly obsessive, something that those around him aren't afraid to point out.  Nate's struggle & need for answers seems more real than in the previous two installments, he isn't just doing it for thrill of it, he needs to do it.


There were some negatives to the story, I felt overall the the bad guys motivations seemed a little weak although they did help to flesh out his back story.  I also feel while it is not always necessary to answer every question it would have nice to see what happens to some of the other characters in the game.  The story is good but I felt Among Thieve did it better.

The visuals in the Uncharted series just keeps getting better & better, it makes me really excited to see what the next installment looks like.  Drake's Deception has even more varied backgrounds than previous installments & the desert areas looking fantastic. While the game looks great there are two areas that really showcase how impressive the game looks. One area is through a set of caves, it looks amazing the way daylight comes through at certain points & some parts are just jaw dropping. The second is later in the game & features a ship graveyard, I won't mention anymore that that but wow just wow.   Once again another visual spectacle.


Greg Edmonson returns for Drake Deception & with a new sound direction.  It is hard to fully put my finger on it but the score this time definitely sounds more deserty? Is that a word? Sounds likes a word.  It feels more fast paced & intense than the games were previously & utilises a more varied arrangement of instruments.


Some of my favorite piece were; 'Atlantis of the Sands', 'Badlands', 'Iram of The Pillars', 'Arachnophobia', 'Sink or Swim', 'Shootout'.  While it was a great score I couldn't help feeling Among Thieves was better.

Hmm what I can say about the gameplay?  Well it wasn't awful but certainly felt like a slight step backwards.  The fighting felt very loose, no real power in the movements & the close up camera angles helped to draw attention to this.  While there are more actions you can preform I didn't feel they greatly improved melee combat.  Kid Nate's movements felt wrong, he almost seems to be able to move faster & jump greater distances than his adult counterpart.  I know what you are thinking 'that is only natural he is a kid', the issue I had is that Nate's movements as an adult were often overly aggregated so the kid version came across as a little ridiculous.  The puzzles are a little annoying, in the previous games they were far & few between but now there is an over abundance of them that just feel unnecessary.  I feel maybe Naughty Dog took a lot of flack about the first two not having many & over compensated in this one.


While there are quite a few negatives there were many positives. Killing enemies stealthy or in close quarters results in a slight slow-mo & Nate stealing the enemies weapons or pulling a pin on their vest & kicking them out of harms before they blow up.  There are a number of new weapons that look & feel great, they have also improved the other weapons.  The drug sequences are pretty cool & are very trippy.  The chapters containing ships are fantastic, not only from an action perspective but also from a visual one.


Overall it was a mixed bag with the gameplay, the parts that were good were really good & the parts that were bad were, well really bad.  Not an unpleasant experience but I was hoping either for more of the same or more improvements but definitely did not expect to go backwards.

by JokerSyndrom on Deviant Art

So after 40 hours plus of playing I came to the end of it all & what did I think?  If I take it as one complete game then I would say that it was really good, with many great characters, stunning visuals, some great musical pieces & for the most part great gameplay.  However if I measured them as individuals games I don't think I would have been so kind.  As a whole the series has gotten better, aside from a few missteps & I'm certainly looking forward to playing A Thief's End.

Halo Wars 2 - Review

When the first Halo Wars was released I bought it without a second thought,  I even got the Special Edition (which I still have).  There are two reasons I bought it; first I really enjoy the Halo series & second I really like Real Time Strategy games.  I always felt like it did not receive the praise it deserved, I think a lot of that came from the studio changing from the standard First Person Shooter format to a Real Time Strategy format & not everyone liked that.   I think the game worked well & when I heard Halo Wars 2 was being released I didn't check; trailers, images or any other source of information I just bought it on instinct.


Who likes Noodle Houses?  I think they are great, the food is healthyish, tasty & often comes in those little noodle boxes.  One of my favorite places to get them was Noodle Box in Cork City,  I loved the staff & the owner who would always pour me a green tea even if I was getting take out.  Alas, they are now closed due to a short term lease, I really hope they open up somewhere else in the future - anyway I digress.  Has anyone ever tried a frozen noodle boxes you buy in a shop?  I have. Apparently, they offer the same great taste as you would get from a noodle house - this of course, is a lie.  Even if you heat it up for the right amount of time you might bite into a piece of ice, it tastes sloppy & while there is a hint of taste that reminds you of real noodles from a real noodle house it is not the same - not even close.   So naturally playing Halo Wars 2 I had to ask myself - did it taste like authentic noodles from a noodle house or a poor substitute?

Halo Wars 2 is set 28 years after the first Halo Wars.  The crew of the Spirit of Fire have been in cryosleep taking a well-earned rest.  Of course, there is nothing worse than being rudely awakened to find you are at a giant installation called the Ark & someone is sending out a distress signal. I mean come on you at least need a coffee first before dealing with all of that. Naturally, Captain Cutter sends some of his best people who are so awesome they don't need coffee, to investigate the source of the signal.  Enter Spartan Jerome-092, Spartan Alice-130 & Spartan Douglas-042.


As always I will be sparing with the plot details but I will say this, the villain in the game is called Atriox.  He is so badass that his strength & the army he commands are a scourge even to the Covenant themselves.  For those of you not sure who the Covenant are, they are a powerful collection of alien races all fighting under one banner to eradicate humanity through the use of ancient weapons. They are well trained & highly fanatical.


One thing I really like about the series as of late is how the AI's are becoming more self aware, more feeling & more alive.  In some cases, this has created a protective ally & in other cases, well not so much.  I feel as the series progresses this will play a bigger part in shaping the Halo Universe.

Graphically speaking the game looks good & is a big improvement over Halo Wars,  that being said it is does not look as sharp I would have liked.  While some parts are lacking others really shine, especially when it comes to the smaller details, for example; the building animations or the way when a Hornet passes over a body of water it parts below them.  Some of the level designs in the game look really cool especially some of the night missions.   The cut scenes look great as always but don't quite have the same beauty as those in Halo 4 or Halo 5 Guardians.


The music used in the game has a very militaristic sound & makes heavy use of brass & strings. Then there are pieces used that sound really epic & remind me of music used in some super hero movies, I don't mean this in a negative way in fact totally the opposite.  The overall result works well & helps add to the atmosphere of the game.  There are three composers who worked to create these sounds:


Gordy Haab - who worked on; Star Wars Battlefront, Star Wars The Old Republic, The Walking Dead: Survival Instincts & lots of music for shorts.

Brian Lee White - who worked on; Massive Chalice & also Halo 2 Anniversary.

Brian Trifon - who has worked on many titles including; Halo 2 Anniversary, Assassins Creed 2, Assassins Creed Brotherhood & Borderlands.


There are some really great pieces of music used in the game, some of my favorites were; 'Catastrophic Failure',  'Recommissioned', 'Incision', 'Isabel's Awakening', 'Arise, Good Child', 'Symbiotic', 'Empathy' & 'Steel Hand, Gloves Off'.  As a whole I felt it was a good soundtrack but not as high caliber as some of the others games in the series.

The gameplay, where to begin? In short it was fantastic but I should probably be a bit more specific than that.  Let's start with some of the units.  There are the Hell-Bringers, flame throwing troops who work well as part of large group & who all sound Scottish.  Hands down my favorite unit in the game are the Snipers, very powerful & if you combine a small group of them with a Spartan then you have an excellent covert team who are unstoppable.


Each mission features optional/bonus objectives & while it is not necessary to complete them they really add to experience.  I found I played harder & often more tactical just to try finish as many as possible.  In the end I finished over 70% of all optional/bonus objectives & I plan on trying to get 100% of them.


I did not feel there were any weak missions but there were some that stood out to me. Two of my favorite were; 'From The Deep', where you try to stop a beachhead invasion.  It felt intense, challenging & victorious when finally winning.  'Under The Dark' was probably my favorite mission as is not only introduced the Sniper unit but also you have to use three Kodiak units to help destroy an objective & reminded me of a mission from Command & Conquer Tiberian Sun (which is a game I really love). All missions were great to play & some were really tough even on Normal difficulty especially if you are trying to complete all the objectives.  The campaign was great & I look forward to revisiting it again in the future.


There are number of game modes in Halo Wars 2 including Blitz.  Any of you who know me know that I'm not big into multiplayer, but I just had to talk about Blitz.  Basically it's a slight twist on Domination; you need to capture two of the three points on the map to gain points, first to 200 wins.
What really sets this aside from the standard domination modes I have seen in other games is that you build a card deck & play cards to summon units.  To play those cards you need energy which can you collect from energy cells on the map or by holding points & destroying enemies.  There are two ways to gain cards & build your deck; buy them or play the main campaign.  Additionally all cards can be leveled up by collecting multiples of the same type.  You can play private matches, standard quick matches or play against the A.I.  Also the spectator is as awesome as he was in Halo 3, my favorite saying are; 'Killtacular', 'Kilimanjaro' & 'Untouchable'.


I must admit even though I only just finished them game I'm really tempted to start it again, so many thing still left to do.  Hmm, might start it again after I finish off here.

So what are my final thought after 15 hours playing the main campaign & another 5 playing multiplayer? I liked it, I liked it a lot.  The story was good, as were the graphics & music.  The gameplay was fantastic & I really hope they make a Halo Wars 3.

Mafia 3 - Review

I don't want to start off this review negatively (meaning I almost definitely am going to) but when Mafia 3 was announced I was not very excited.  Why?  Well, I was just not convinced Louisiana was a great setting for a Mafia game.  When I think of Louisiana, I think of the Dixie Mafia rather than the traditional Italian Mafia.  It's might sound strange I would dislike it for that especially considering I really like the TV show Justified which centres on exactly that.  Outside of that, the game was not exactly stunning looking for a Triple-A title,  based on all that information you might be wondering why I played it - I was waiting for Halo Wars 2 to arrive.


I like Chips but I am not as pushed on French Fries, depending on what country you are from & how you view each of those things it may sound confusing.  I see French Fries as potatoes cut into thin strips, fried lightly in oil & cooked with a lot of salt.  Chips are potatoes cut into chunky shapes & cooked heavily in oil.  While playing Mafia 3 I had to ask myself was eating French Fries or Chips?

The game is set in 1968, in a version of New Orleans.  You play as Lincoln Clay who has just returned from the Vietnam War.  Clay returns home to his adopted father Sammy & his brother Ellis.
Before Clay left for war he, along with his family were part of the Black Mob.  All Clay wants to do is be a good man, get a good job & leave his bad ways behind.  Unfortunately Clay is too loyal for his own good & quickly falls back into bad ways to help his family.


One of the strongest parts of the game is definitely the story.  It's not just simply the story but also the method used to tell it.  The introduction is told in flashback format which I really liked.  The part I really loved was the documentary style story telling.  I found it interesting listening to different people's take on Lincoln Clay,  the characters showed real emotion when speaking on camera.  I felt this, along with the story helped make the world & characters seem more real.


As always I won't spoil the story for you but I will say two things; first I was shocked & excited that there are multiple endings you can pick, two after the credits role this a little extra story which was just epic.

Visually speaking the game is very underwhelming especially for a Triple-A title,  I would not go as far to say it's awful but all the same it's not great.   While I know a game is a lot more than just what it looks like I do feel it let it's self down in a big way because of it.   When it came to look of the main characters they looked quite good but world itself seemed dull & almost out of focus. The documentary scenes looked quite well & I loved that it looked purposefully grainy to make it seem like old footage.  A friend described it best to me, the games looks like it is 8-10 years old.  If Mafia 3 was released back in 2007 visually it would have been considered to be really good but nowadays it just isn't really acceptable, especially from a bigger studio.  But I digress & will move onto some of the better aspects of the game.


The soundtrack in the game is split into two parts; the score & the music, both are equally brilliant. I will start by talking about the score, the two composers responsible for it are:


Jesse Harlin - who is a composer for Lucas Arts & has worked on; Star Wars Republic Commando, Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith & Force Unleashed.

Jim Bonney - who worked on; BioShock Infinite, Mortal Kombat Armageddon & Perception.


The music is a blend of Cajun, Blues, Rhythm & Zydeco.  It fits the setting of the game well & I found it hard to pick any fault with it.  My favorite pieces included:

New Bordeaux
No One Is Untouchable
Boy Becomes A Man
Crush N Shuffle
Devil In The Woodpile
5 Years, 3 Months, 18 Days
Hard Fought & Hard Won


The second part of the soundtrack featured many great artists & songs from the era, some of my favorites were:

Animals - We Gotta Get Out of This Place
Canned Heat - On The Road Again
Creedence Clearwater Revival - Bad Moon Rising
Elvis - A Little Less Conversation
Johnny Cash - Folsom Prison Blues
Ottis Redding - Sitting on the Deck of the Bay
The Avengers - Paint It Black
The Rolling Stones - Sympathy for the Devil


Overall a pretty much flawless soundtrack featuring work from some great composers & artists.  Well worth a listen even if you don't plan on playing the game.

Right, on to the meat - the gameplay (also I really want some meat).  Lincoln Clay is a big guy & moves like one, this may come off sounding like a bad thing but it isn't.  By having him move realistically it makes him feel more powerful, you can really feel the benefits of this when using melee attacks.  The game may lack a few thing things but violence is not one of them, it is intense, frequent & awesome.  Taking down enemies feels good especially if you go for the more brutal attacks.  The guns for the most part felt good & the cover system worked well, some cover was also destructible which helped make the gameplay more intense.


There is good selection of cars & for the most part they behave as they should.  I generally found myself using a sports car to get around as they were fast & handle very well. The boats were okay but I tried to avoid using them most of the time as I found they did not handle very well.  Being honest though there is not a great need to use them if you focus on the main story.


Wiretapping is a feature in the game which was a cool idea but the novelty wore off quickly, the only real benefit of doing it is to find collectibles.  The collectibles include;  Album Covers, Communist Propaganda Posters, Hot Rod Magazines, Playboy Magazines, Repent Magazines & Vargas Paintings.


The city is vast & you can't take it all on by yourself so you need some help.  Enter Bourke, Cassandra & Vito.   Each time you take over a racket or district you get to pick who will run them.
Each character offers you something different for giving them a racket or district,  I found myself favoring Vito a lot of the time as I liked what he offered the best.  It is important to keep all three happy otherwise...well I will let you find out.  Each Under Boss provides you with kickbacks which you can increase further by performing some very repetitive missions.  Money as a whole seemed a little pointless in the game as once you had one or two good weapons & upgraded your car there was nothing else to really spend it on.  It would have been nice if you could have invested some of your earnings into something like real estate.


The story missions were often quite fun but the racket missions got old fast,  I wished there had been a little bit more variety with them. Some missions take place at night but if you are driving to the mission during the day the game quickly transitions to night & looks really cool - it's only something small but I liked it.  While the gameplay was pretty good I found that the game crashed way too often for my liking, the only bonus is that the games auto saves fairly regular so I never really found myself losing much.





So how did I feel about the game overall?  I was going to say the game was meh because of the disappointing visuals & some of the missions were repetitive but after some contemplation I have decide to say it was a good game.  I still much prefer Mafia 2 overall but I feel both games shared the potential to be more if only they had just tried a little harder - maybe Mafia 4 will do the series the justice it deserves.

Unravel - Review

When Microsoft first announced the XBOX One they showcased a number of games that would be available on launch including Unravel.   The game looked like a fun puzzle platformer with a cute protagonist called Yarny.  I didn't buy the XBOX One on release & ended up forgetting about the game until recently.  I decided last week that I had waited long enough to play it & so started my journey with Yarny.


I like to make comparisons between foods & the games I have played.  Smaller games always feel like snacks to me, some of them leave you wanting more while others remind you why a proper meal is better.  While playing Unravel I had to decide was it a tasty treat like GÜ Millionaire Flapjacks (which for some reason Tesco no longer stock & I wake up in cold sweats wanting them) or a Twinkie that seems okay at the time but after you have a had a few you think 'meh, there not that great & now I feel horrible'.

Unravel follows the story of a little red creature called Yarny.  His mission is to help recover memories of a families almost forgotten past by collecting badges.  This is achieved through entering photos in the house & traversing that moment in time.


As you explore these memories you see many happy ones along with some very dark painful ones. One of the main themes of the game is family & how important it is.  The other is nature, it's beauty & how it's destruction is so devastating, not only to people but also the environment.


Unravel may appear like a simple story at first glance but is actually full of depth, emotion & heart. As always I won't reveal anymore about the story as it's an adventure you need to experience for yourself.

The game looks stunning & proves once again you don't need to be a big studio to produce high-end visuals.  There is just so much detail in every area of the game, the background is just an impressive & important as the foreground.  There were times when I was playing that I would just stand still & admire the beauty of the game.


As is my way when discussing games I won't go into much details about the various levels, that being said I would like to mention one of my favorites.  Mountain Trek was my favorite part of the game for so many reasons.  It features outside areas & caves, scary enemies, magic mushrooms & you get to ride a fish.  In case you wondering is riding a fish as cool as it sounds yes, yes it is.


The music used in the game was very interesting & has a very Nordic sound.  Violins & pianos feature heavily in the soundtrack which help create homely & folksy sounds.  There are two composers who worked on Unravel, they are:

Frida Johansson; who is from Sweden & not only composes but also plays music, mainly violin & piano.  She has worked on music for radio, theater & has featured on many other musical collaborations.

Henrik Oja; who is also from Sweden & has been part of multiple groups including Spacious Mind.
who are; David Akerlund, David Johansson, Jens Unosson, Niklas Viklund, Thomas Brannstrom. Their albums include; Take That Weight Off Your Shoulders, Sailing the Seagoat, Organic Mind Solution & many more.


Some of my favorite pieces included: 'Yarny's Theme', 'Mountain Trek', 'Snowfall', 'The Sea (parts 1-4)' & 'Credits'. The music has a very distinct rich sound that works really well & adds the already impressive atmosphere in the game.  Overall a solid soundtrack that helped make something good into something great.

At first glance Unravel looks like just a fun & entertaining game but at closer inspection you see it for what it is truly is, a masterpiece of emotion, character, feeling & depth.  I think the game would have been better suited to be called 'Yarny' because without him the game wouldn't be the same.  You could argue some other character could have filled his place but I would have to disagree.  The game is visually impressive in it's own right but I feel it is Yarny who is the really makes the game.


I found myself emotionally connected with Yarny in the early parts of the game.  He is bursting with personality.  For example the first time a butterfly appears he jumps with surprise but also looks in wonder & awe.  Like with Sonic if you take no action he starts to get bored or will cross his arms looking contemplative.  Throughout the game you see him get; scared, inquisitive, happy, sad & so much more.  As you move along the level his body unravels & the smaller he gets I found myself panicking looking for more yarn to save him.  To put it simply Yarny is amazing, powerful & is highly memorable.


Yarny's key tool to solve puzzles is the lasso & for the most part it works really well whether you need to; climb to a higher area, swing across somewhere, create a bridge or any number of things. Random animal encounters are not only cool but can help you navigate areas or try to attack you (feckin' birds).   The hedgehogs were one of my favorite animals not only from a visual stand point but they just acted so cute.


The gameplay I felt overall was strong with one main exception & a few minor ones.  The main one was on the level Last Leaf.  I found that when dragging the lantern it was not always successful & seemed to get stuck on something invisible.  I restarted the level a number of times & each time I did I got a little more frustrated. In the end I clearly the stage but with significant perseverance.  The minor exceptions were that some puzzles did not always work on first try even if the solution was correct & Yarny's lasso sometimes failed to work as intended.





So after over 8 hours gameplay how did I feel?  Overall I really enjoyed the game & Yarny feels like a truly magical character.  While there were some flaws in the game it was never enough to make me give up.  I would say the game is great & I like forward to future projects by the studio.

Resident Evil Biohazard - Review

January is over & I thought to myself  'I deserve a new game', so I decided to pick up Resident Evil 7 Bio Hazard.  I remember seeing some of the early gameplay & thinking 'damn that looks freaky'.  It seemed more intense than a lot of the other games in the series. Generally speaking, I am not the biggest horror game fan but I was more than willing to give it a go due to how much I enjoyed some of the other games in the series.  This is the first big new release title I played this year so was pretty excited to play it.


Who else here like's burgers?  Juicy, tender, meat-filled burgers, so many toppings & condiments to choose from the possibilities are almost endless.  Outside of your standard meaty goodness, you have some alternatives like spicy bean burgers.  I find it hard to consider them burgers as they are so different to what I'm used to.  That being said they have their place & can be a nice change from the heaviness of meat.   Playing Resident Evil 7 Biohazard I found myself wondering am I eating another tasty meat-filled burger or some spicy veggie alternative?

The story starts with our protagonist Ethan receiving a message from his wife Mia.  She has been missing for three years with no word until now,  so naturally, he is pretty excited to find out she is still alive.   Ethan's destination is a house located at an old plantation in Louisiana, so it's time to take a road trip.  It's terrible but when I think of Louisiana I find it hard to picture anything else but swamps, swamp boats, old beaten up wooden houses & people sitting on porches giving everyone the stink eye.  Basically, it's the perfect setting for a horror game.


The games start out dark & clouded in mystery. Why was Mia here? Where was has she been for three years?  Who would live here?  Very quickly you find Mia who is a little worse for wear & is scared because of Daddy.  Who is Daddy & what does he do?  He freaks you out & tries to kill you every chance he gets.  The rest of the family is even worse, Mommy is a scary old lady who likes bugs & then there is their son Lucas who is just completely insane.  Things don't get any better or any easier for Ethan but like any good protagonist he doesn't let anything keep him down.


Ethan's mission, should he choose to accept it is to explore a creaky old house, take on a crazy family & save his wife Mia who may have gone a little nuts after three years.  This Resident Evil game is so very different to the others in the series that I found it hard to draw any comparisons between them.
There are sprinklings of the Resident Evil Universe scattered throughout the game but overall there is very little tie-in. That's not to say the story is bad,  in fact, it is really good from start to finish I am just unsure as to why they found the need to use the Resident Evil name.

Visually speaking the game looks fantastic & there is no real difference between cut sequences & gameplay.  The attention to detail is amazing & disturbing, for example in the kitchen there were old plates of food with maggots squirming in them - ewww (slightly shivers).  Initially, I found Ethan's movement's to be a little disorientating as it really feels like you are looking through someone else's eyes.  The look & feel of the game makes it really immersive, I would love to play the VR version as I can only imagine how intense it would be.  When it comes to visuals this game does not disappoint.


There are many composers that helped create the Resident Evil 7 Bio-Hazard soundtrack, they include:

Akiyuki Morimoto  - who worked on; Monster Hunter 3, Lost Planet 2 & Resident Evil 6.
Miwako Chione - who worked on Monster Hunter 4G.
Satoshi Hori -  who has a fantastic self-titled album that I highly recommend listening too.
Brian D'Oliveira - who worked on; Spirits of Spring, Tearaway, Little Big Planet 3.
Cris Velasco - worked on Mass Effect 3, Overwatch, The God of War Series.

Some of my favorite pieces in the game were; 'Atmosphere - Swamp Encounter', 'Main Hall', Into Madness', Welcome to the Family', 'Garage', 'Molded I', 'Safe Room', 'Tatari', 'Apprehension' & 'The Beast'. At times I felt like the music was almost crawling up my spine. Strings feature heavily in many of the pieces helping to create an almost claustrophobic feeling. Overall it a very eerie, well-crafted soundtrack & listening to it all again made me realise how integral it was to the game.

The game offers a few difficulty levels; Easy, Normal & Madhouse - the last one unlocks once you finish the game on normal.  I would not describe the overall gameplay as hard even though some of the puzzles did have me scratching my head, often because I had missed something small.


There are so many details big & small that make this game feel amazing.  It looks to freak you out as often as possible, have you ever seen a chain link fence with lots of baby dolls attached them or a ball bouncing past you but yet there is no one in the room - I have.  The game never wants to make you feel safe & even in the save room I always felt on edge.  I loved the way your character opened & closed doors, in many games you just run through a door without thinking about it.  When Ethan comes up against a closed door he will cautiously open it which always leaves you in a state of suspense.  Most of the time you have nothing to worry about but other times, well other times you get a horrible surprise.  I died a number of times in the game & some of the deaths were pretty dark.  I won't go into specifics too much but let's say getting cut down the middle is pretty damn gruesome. While most of the game you play as Ethan occasionally you will get the opportunity to play through someone else's eyes.  These are available in the form of VHS movies, each one of them helps give the game even more depth.  I would say my favorite one featured a birthday party, not the nice kind where you have fun, but that's not to say there isn't cake.  These side stories not only give an insight into other characters but can also help you work out ways to get into a previously inaccessible area, solve puzzles or find new items.


Resident Evil games have always been a little scary but this one is truly terrifying & the Baker Family are a big part of that.  They are creepy, crazy strong & are a pain in the backside when they attack you. Lucky enough you have a small arsenal of weapons, my weapons of choice were buckshot & blades.  As a whole I had little to complain about with regards to gameplay, I was constantly on guard & never felt relaxed.  This works really well in a horror game but I would not recommend playing it before bed.

So after 12+ hours of gameplay how did I feel? Freaked out.  A brilliant game, with a great story, impressive visuals & an unnerving soundtrack.  It is hard to pick fault with the game, the only stand out one is that it just not feel like a Resident Evil game.  I wish they had released this as a stand-alone game rather trying to loosely tie it into the Resident Evil Universe.  Overall I would have to give a big thumbs & recommend it to any horror game fans.

Halo 5 Guardians - Review

Still in January & still need a game to play so I turned to Halo 5 Guardians.  I forgot I had bought a copy last year & thought now was a great time to play it.  I remember getting goosebumps seeing the teaser trailer for it back at E3 2013, unfortunately when it was released I did not have the XBOX One & by the time I bought one it just slipped my mind to buy it.  I will be up front with you guys the review covers the campaign mode only not the multiplayer aspect.  As many of you know I am just not that into multiplayer.


Anyone in the house like steak? I love a good steak especially if it's cooked to perfection with a side of chips or mash, corn on the cob with a generous serving of pepper sauce.  Even just the thought of it gets my mouth wet.  However if you end up getting a piece of meat that has more fat than it should or is a little tough it can really spoil the meal.  That being said it's steak so you will still enjoy it but not as much as you would have liked to.  That's the dilemma I faced with Halo 5 Guardians, was it a really good steak dinner or just a so so one.

The Halo story is vast & intricate, as normal I will try to keep information on the story light to avoid giving away spoilers.  At the end of Halo 4 Dr Halsey (semi mad scientist & creator of the Spartan program) is being held by the Covenant (collective of aliens bent on ruling the universe).  Fire Team Osiris is tasked with extracting her & taking out one of the Covenant Leaders.  The team is comprised of:

Locke - leader of the team & before becoming a Spartan was previously part of ONI & he was basically a government assassin.
Buck - easily one of my favorite characters, not only because he is in Halo 3 ODST but also because he is voiced by Nathan Fillion who is just awesome for so many reasons.
Tanaka - smart & general badass, she also one of the few people so survive the destruction of her world.
Vale - the most cultured of the group, not only having a deep knowledge of Forerunners & the Covenant but can also speak Sangheili (the Covenant language).


Off somewhere else you have Blue Team trying to secure an abandoned ONI research station, unfortunately the Covenant show up & you have to get the hell out of dodge.  While all this is happening Master Chief receives a message from an old friend, determined to find out what it all means he & the teams goes AWOL.  Blue team is comprised of:


Master Chief - the most legendary Spartan & kicker of alien asses, he is still reeling after the lose of the AI Cortana.
Linda, Kelly, Fredrick - I won't lie these characters are not very fleshed out in the game especially by comparison of Fire Team Osiris.  It would have nice if they developed these characters, the team felt like it was comprised of Master Chief & the three interchangeable Spartan's.


This is the basic story but as I mentioned I don't want to give much away regarding the story.  There are some really great characters in the game including;  Rowland (UNSC Infinity AI) who is not afraid to speak out. Spartan Palmer, who in my opinion is one of the best characters & the best female character in Halo 4 & Halo 5 Guardians. Captain Laskey commander of the UNSC Infinity, a well rounded character who I felt they should have used more in Halo 5 Guardians after they developed him in Halo 4. If you have not watched Halo Forward Onto Dawn I would highly recommend it as it reveals more about Laskey & features Master Chief.


While there are many great elements to the Halo 5 Guardians story for me there was something missing.  Perhaps it was the pacing or some of the characters but I felt the story at times to be weak. This was especially true with regards to the ending & it really felt like they held back because they knew there would be a Halo 6.  I felt the story in Halo 4 to be much stronger.

Visually the games looks fantastic, everything for the level designs & characters to the cut sequences themselves.   One of my favorite cut sequences was the opening one, not only because it looks visually impressive but it also really shows how badass the Spartans are.  Seeing them in action really made me want to watch Halo Legends again.  One of my favorite levels was planet Genesis it is covered in trees & plant life.  Additionally I loved the detail, for example the insects running around the place that move away as you get close.  Being honest I really could not fault the game graphically speaking.


The composer for Halo 5 Guardians was Kazuma Jinnouchi who also worked on the additional music on Halo 4.  War is a large theme of the game & the music definitely was created with that in mind. Some of my favorite pieces include; 'Light is Green', 'Scavengers', 'The Trails', 'Sentry Battle', 'Walk Softly',  'Dominion','Osiris Suite Act 2'.   Jinnouchi weaves the classic halo music into his own to create new pieces that work really well. The soundtrack was often pulse pounding & really helped create a tense atmosphere.


For many people they felt the direction of the music was much improved over Halo 4 but for me I would say they both sounded great.   If I had a Spartan Laser to my head & had to chose I would say the music from Halo 4 wins out - marginally.

Running around like a tank on legs is always a lot of fun, throw in an arsenal of weapons, some vehicles (including an actual tank) & you have some truly fun gameplay.  I am going to mention some of my favorite parts below.


I loved the spartan charge, whether you are breaking through a wall, knocking into an enemy or jumping across ledges it's just feels good.  The executions are not a new feature in Halo but does not make them any less fun.  Even if you manage to mess up an execution  killing an enemy by smashing them in the back of the head never gets old.  AI team mates assist you in battle, follow your directions & pick you up if you get knocked down.  It may sound strange but I had a love/hate feeling for this. The team element could be a lot of fun & knowing they had your back was great, but at the same time for me Halo was always about you against the world, almost isolated from everyone else which I kind of missed in this game.


There is so much more detail in the character designs then ever before, one of the many examples of this are Unggoy.   For those of you who are unfamiliar these are the little guys who often run round panicked & screaming.  This particular alien is unable to breath outside it's own planet without a gas mask & tank.  Naturally shooting these tanks are a lot of fun, in some cases the little guys go flying away from you, other times they spin around in front of you.  I won't lie I laugh each time I do this & feel bad at the same time as they usually cry out - not sure what that says about me.


The conversations between the Covenant can be hilarious.  Elites will often mock the grunts for being lesser & sounds like a big brother picking on a little brother.  Grunts will often talk amongst themselves saying if they were in charge the war would have been won.  I would sometimes hold off attacking just to hear what they would say.


Overall the gameplay is solid but if you have played other games in the series it will not offer you much that you would not have experienced before.  That all being said if the Warthog ain't broke why fix it?

The main campaign took me little over 10 hours to complete which I felt was a good length for a first person shooter.  The story could have been stronger & the gameplay while solid offered little in the way of something new.  The visuals & music were the highlights of the game for me.  It was a steak dinner but not as tasty as I would have liked, I'm sorry to say I would have say the game overall was; meh, meh, meh, meh, meh, meh, meh, meh, meh, you can't hear inside my head but I'm doing that to One Final Push from Halo 3.