Watch Me Play The First Hour Of Watch Dogs PS4

The first hour of Watch Dogs the first main campaign mission plus some random side missions and hacking peoples bank accounts.

Red Dead Redemption REVIEW

It's been a while since my last post (almost a year!) So I thought I'd post a quick review of Red Dead Redemption- written in one go without a read-back.



At first I expected this game to be almost a carbon-copy of Grand Theft Auto, replacing the towering buildings with quaint wooden houses, the trendy bars and clubs with saloons and the hookers with... Well, hookers.

But really, in essence, Red Dead Redemption was much more.

The best comparison would be with GTA4, and although I've never completed GTA4 (I got to the final Island about a year back with a mate before getting bored and moving onto Saints Row 2 [a truly fantastic game]) I would say RDR comes out on top.

The similarities between Niko Bellic and John Marston are by the book- characters from a foreign land (one geographically, the other chronologically) torn between doing good or bad- often forced into doing bad deeds due to the sinister past that they endeavour to leave behind. Each character is also bland enough for the player to project themselves onto- something which makes these games hugely enjoyable. The first difference that struck me, however, was how much more captivated I was by RDR then I ever was for GTA (4, or any of the predecessors).

At first there seems to be a wealth of things to do in RDR- play poker, blackjack, liars dice, hunt, sell animal pelts, pick flowers, train horses, take hostages, kill innocent people, protect the weak, duel, collect bounties, inane challenges involving shooting birds, hunting animals and saving/robbing carriages etc...

But soon enough you realise that that's basically all there is. Sure, there are various challenges and yes you can watch a cartoon and get drunk- but really there's not much to it. What really captivates you is the mentality of being a cowboy.

In GTA you can kill as many hookers as you like, have high speed chases down the street, eat a burger at a humorously tongue-in-cheek restaurant, but after an hour or so you can get bored of this... The mentality of a gangster is too cheap. A cowboy, however, is something different. There's a certain amount of freedom attached to the term “cowboy”- something that is instantly appealing to almost everyone.




One aspect of the game that was lampooned by people who doubted the game before its release was the hunting. I'd like to say that it's something that you don't have to do throughout the game but I'd be lying. Aside from being the best source of income (a commodity that is basically redundant by the end of the game from the amount of animals that you'll undoubtedly kill) it was also a key aspect of a cowboys life. This means that there are missions that indeed call for the slaughter of animals (a rare choice of target given the frenzy of pro-human killing games out there.)

The life of a cowboy in the game seems almost lackadaisical at times. I often found myself simply killing hours hunting deer at sunset, picking flowers under the light of the stars and herding buffalo come sun-rise. It is, at times, a very relaxing game.

A big buzz around games in the new generation has focused on the “morality choice” systems- games which make you decide whether you're good or bad. Most games, often against their original intentions, often boil down to Hitler-hailing evil or God-gobbling good. The morality choices in RDR, however, don't have a real bearing on the story, and therefore becomes an actual choice of morality. That said, the higher your honour (granted though good deeds) the more discount you have at shops, therefore you often feel inclined to do the good thing- something I think makes the morality system truly work. Instead of blowing open a hookers head because it's funny you realise that there are real consequences to those actions- and if you're willing to live up to those, then have fun! And if not? Then you can still have the same amount of enjoyment. A good example of this is in duelling. You can either gun down your foe with great skill and blood-shed, before looting his body and gaining some soiled cash, OR you can disarm your foe by shooting his gun (and maybe shoot off his hat for added enjoyment) to gain some honour. Either way, your fame will go up.

The story itself starts as something quite generic- the government have captured your wife and son in order to coerce you into hunting down and killing your old gang members. It works for a while to simply move along the plot- get you from A to B nicely. However, somewhere along the line I found myself actually caring for this family I've never met, and hating the captors I've never seen. The story telling it something quite impressive, something that works perfectly with the type of game-play it's complementing.

SPOILER
SPOILER

SPOILER
SPOILER

This segment talks about the ending. I'll clearly mark when it's over, so don't read these bits in italics...

The ending for me was another spectacular moment of the game. While protecting your family on the farm, John Marston is gunned down in cold blood by the very same government officials that hired him. At first I couldn't believe it. I opened up the wiki page just to make sure it wasn't because I fucked up in some way... It wasn't. He was supposed to die.

Then as the image looms over his grave, we are transported a few years later, after the son you struggled to bond with has grown up into a young image of yourself.

At first- I was gutted. I didn't want to be this young impersonator- a shadow of the man I've grown attached to, with his feeble beard and wussy voice... Eugh.
And then you embark on your final mission- to seek vengeance upon your fathers killer. Although it was a short mission, I quickly became the son- writhe with anger over the death of John Marston, desperate for revenge.

Then, after a short duel, the deed was done. And I was relieved. The credits rolled, and I felt for-filled.

END OF SPOILER
END OF SPOILER

END OF SPOILER
END OF SPOILER

So, in essence, I thoroughly enjoyed the game. Sure, it does seem to be lacking at times (like when you have to tediously round cattle or tame horses) and there could be a bit more (like a real reason to herd cattle or tame horses... Or pick flowers most of the time) but it's a fantastic game. I've yet to play it online, but I've heard it's equally as fantastic.
Critics always say that games must stand on their own single player before even consulting multi-player and I must say- this game stands strong.

...Unless you're on a horse in cougar country- then you're fucked.



--Biznitch

Review- Batman: Arkham Asylum

I've been awaiting this game for a while, ever since I heard that they were scrapping the idea for a "Batman: The Dark Knight" game. To date I can only think of ONE successful film-to-game adaptation that worked- "Spiderman 2". That game was brilliant, it had everything; free-roaming, sandbox web-slinging that was amazing fun, fighting (although that needed some work) and a story that worked for not only those that had watched the film but also for those that had never seen it, by not solidly following the story of the film. Instead the game decided to not only feature the film's story line, but to include other plots lines by including characters from the cartoons and comics that have never featured in the films (in fact, I played the game before seeing the film and felt the film lacked what the game had... And the Bruce Cambell narration didn't hurt!)

Most people felt that as the focus was entirely on a new game, then final product could fall incredibly short of the standard that "The Dark Knight" had set. These people had clearly never played a computer game in their lives.

Although "The Dark Knight" was a great film, (one of my personal favourites) this game is in a different league. That's not to say it's better or worse, just different... But brilliant never the less.

The game starts as the Dark Knight himself leads the Joker to prison- namely Arkham Asylum, where Gotham's greatest and most psychologically interesting Villains call home. The opening plays much like the recent boom of "Playable Movie" games (to which I have a soft spot for) such as "Metal Gear Solid" or "Call of Duty 4" in which you simply walk alongside joker as he is dragged into the depths of the insane asylum. Along the way you pass a few of the inmates, such as Killer Croc, all of whom swear to "someday soon" wreak vengeance upon Batman.

Once the Joker reaches what he decides to be his final destination, beyond Batman's grasp, he inevitably breaks free and unleashes his insane and ingeniously complex plan onto Arkham- letting loose all of its inhabitants along the way.

The whole game is set on the island of Arkham and it's safe to say that the game designers managed to get a lot of mileage out of this one island. After completing tasks in certain areas you often wind up back tracking later in the game after acquiring new technology and gadgets to access new areas. In most games this would become very tedious very quickly, but in Batman they managed to keep it interesting by adding new enemies in each area or obstacles to over come, forcing you to take new and interesting routes.

A good example of this is at one point in the game Poison Ivy escapes and the island becomes overgrown with deadly pant life. A building that you had previously cleared of Jokers goons was now filled with leafy obstacles, with the floor covered in poisonous red gas, forcing you to find new ways across each room.

One thing that that I really liked about the game was how well it has been placed within the "Batman Universe". There is a real sense that this game takes place in a mere snippet from Batman's (and for that matter, Gotham's) life, constantly suggesting that things have happened before the game and will continue after the game has ended. The game also tilts its hat to many of Gotham's most notorious Super Villains- from famous film foes such as Mr. Freeze and Two Face, to the more obscure, perhaps unheard of bad guys like Humpty-Dumpty and Prometheus. This was done in a variety of ways, from dotting memorabilia from the villains around in display cases (such as the Penguins umbrellas and the Cats claws and goggles) to newspaper clippings on notice boards and in some cases stumbling across their prison cells (in one instance you battle several foes at once, right next to a holding cell surrounded in ice...) Another nice touch was including unlockable biographies for Gotham's most notorious criminals, as a non-Batman fan-boy it was great to learn a bit more about these imaginative criminals.

Throughout the game Batman is treated to a sort of running commentary from the Joker via the security speaker system. When I first heard about this I thought that it could get slightly tedious after a while, but it's safe to say- it doesn't. Mark Hamill does an exceptional job voicing the Clown Prince of Darkness, I even found myself hanging around areas just to hear what he had to say!

But Joker isn't the only Super Villain to talk to Batman, the Riddler makes an interesting cameo, adding an on-going puzzle solving element to the game. Not far into the game the Riddler starts communicating to you in similar ways to the Joker, giving you lists of riddles to solve and hidden items to find in each location. These puzzles and collectibles aren't necessary to completing the story, but I found them incredibly fun. I often spent hours in certain locations hunting down each puzzle, determined to solve them all before progressing to the next area, long before realising that most puzzles can only be solved later in the game after acquiring the right equipment. This really played well into Batman's character building, which at first you wouldn't think about because, lets face it- he's Batman, every knows him! But what the films often gloss over is that he isn't a super human fighter, deep down he's simply a detective- and a damn good one at that.

The main object of the game is to use Batman's detective skills to hunt down Joker and any other escaped convict. Tapping L2 opens up "Detective Mode" in which everything turns slightly blue and key elements are highlighted in orange such as breakable walls, ventilation ducts and security panels. With this on you can also see bad guys through walls, as well as seeing whether or not they are armed which is crucial as running head on with a group of armed guards will more often than not end in death. The Detective Mode changes throughout the game as Batman uses it to track down finger-prints, tobacco trails and even the trail left from the whiskey on someones breath! As great as this mode was there was one crucial flaw with it- it was so good, I never wanted to turn it off. I went everywhere with it on, so that I could see bad guys a mile off, find trophies, find secret areas, everything was made so much easier.

This was a shame really as the graphics without Detective Mode on were superb. The attention to detail was astonishing, making the game incredibly atmospheric. Most "atmospheric" or "gritty" games these days often just end up being dimly lit games that are primarily gray and brown, but Batman goes beyond this. The colours in the game are fantastic, from the bright red mist that surrounds Poison Ivy's plants, to the bright green Joker graffiti and even the crude face-paint upon some of the inmates, all the while keeping up a very dark and brooding atmosphere.

The story itself is very immersive as Batman works his way through Arkham trying to put a halt to Jokers plans, often causing him to walk directly into Jokers traps, set up by his side-kick Harley Quinn. Throughout the story you are also stalked by The Scarecrow, as he slowly pumps his mind altering gasses into the buildings of Arkham causing Batman to periodical hallucinate, bringing his deepest fears to life. This can happen at any moment meaning that one minute you could be walking through a corridor before it slowly starts to morph into an alley way, leading you to your dead parents. It is a brilliant aspect of the game, one which often leads you to question Batman's sanity yourself.

The variety of "Boss" characters, such as Killer Croc, Bane and Poison Ivy was great, constantly keeping Batman on his toes. One criticism that I could make though was that each Boss battle seemed quite anti-climactic. It was nice to not have to simply have a stand-off fight with each boss, taking down Super Villains in different varieties was quite interesting, but it never felt challenging enough. I remember feeling incredibly nervous entering Killer Crocs liar, but ultimately there has no imminent danger from the 11ft monster.

My favorite element of the game was easily figuring out new ways to take down the groups of enemies on the island. Running into armed guards head on would leave you dead in seconds, so having to climb to the rafters and pick them off one by one was always fun. Setting traps for inmates, luring guards over to some explosives, distracting one guard so that you can quietly pick off the other never became tiring. However, on those occasions when there was a group of unarmed bad guys, running in to face them all in hand to hand combat was always great fun! Trying to string up high combos with the "Free Flow Combat" system was heaps of fun, which lead me to playing a lot of the Challenges.

The Challenges were basically one of two mini-games; either "Fight all of these guys" or "Try and take down these armed guards without being seen". Although they were both very fun at first, as the difficulty curve went up my interests waned. We PlayStation owners were also treated to exclusive playable Joker content, which let you face most of the challenges as the Joker. This was far more fun than I expected as the Jokers movement and style of combat was more interesting and different from Batman's, more so than I was expecting.


All in all I would definitely recommend buying this title, especially for the PS3 as the exclusive Joker content is great (for a while at least). Extra content aside, the main game is superb. The story telling is excellent and the characterisation of each, well, character is spot on. Deciding exactly how to take down a group of inmates never got boring and solving each riddle was much more enjoyable than I had expected. The only down side that I can think of really is that the boss battles were some what anti climactic. Another thing I noticed was that a lot of the gadgets were slightly redundant. You are given an array of different weapons to take down foes, but in the end you will simply throw a batarang and jump straight in while they're knocked out leaving gadgets like the sound activated explosives sat unused in the inventory. It would have been nice if there were moments when you were forced to use some of the more complicated gadgets, or even a bit more variety (I didn't see a single can of "Shark Repellent"...).

But all in all, these are minor flaws. I would still thoroughly recommend this game, one of the best, if not the best, titles released this year. Definitely the best comic-to-game adaptations to date. It is polished to a shine with brilliant level design, great graphics and the best Villains you will see in any game this year. I could go on for hours about this game, but that would just delay you even further from buying it!

So go! Go now! Arkham Asylum needs you! (It's always good to end a review with the cheesiest thing you can think of... Adam West would want it that way...)

--BIZNITCH--

Trash Panic (Review)

TRASH PANIC

Readers of my Top Demo lists may already know that after playing the Trash Panic demo over and over, I eventually decided to bite the bullet and splash out a whole £3.99 for the full game. The Student Loans company would be so proud of me.

You may also be aware that I've embarked on an extremely frustrating and time consuming endeavour of playing every demo I could find on the PlayStation Store. Although some demos are true gems, sometimes even inspiring me to buy the full game, the process as a whole has basically felt like excavating lumps of crap out of the PS Store... But it's ultimately worth it for the games that really stand out.


But we're here to talk about Trash Panic, aren't we?
First thing I have to say about Trash Panic is- download the demo. I'll wait.

Done? What did you think?

After recommending it in an article, a few people got back to me with their opinions- pretty much mixed reviews all around. Some people felt the same way as me, a fairly good game and quite addictive. On the other hand, some people thought it was a pointless waste of time, so this game really does depend on your taste of games. The way I saw it though was if the full game could give me even a little bit more fun then it would be worth the mere £3.99 I would pay for it. It's safe to say it didn't disappoint.

The full game has a variety of modes. Well, 3 modes really. There is "Main Mode", "Challenge Mode" and "Versus Mode".


MAIN MODE
In the Main Mode you play 5 levels of varying difficulty. Each level increases in size but pretty much stays the same, by which I mean the objects, as well as the bin, get larger, making it a more cosmetic change than anything.



The first level is a waste bin in a bedroom, therefore the objects are smaller, such as cups, dumbbells, lighters, pencils etc. The second level is set in an office, with filing cabinets, office chairs and such. The third level (the level from the demo) is set in a waste disposal site. The levels get increasingly larger scale until the final level has you throwing entire countries and islands into, well, a giant bin.

The levels are great fun as different objects have different properties, things can be set on fire, broken up, decomposed etc, so there is a fair bit of skill needed to complete each level. Changing the difficulty makes each level longer and adds a special "Boss" item at the end of each level- an object that is much larger and tougher than the others which you have to destroy in 10 seconds.

The main problem I had with the game was how frustratingly hard it is. I didn't want to write this review until I had completed the main mode, which has taken me a fair while now... On easy. There is no save option, which means that if you want to complete it you have to do all 5 levels in 1 sitting which, believe me, is much harder than it sounds.

If you just want a quick game you can simply select a level to play and have a bash. However, annoyingly all the levels aren't unlocked from the start. To unlock a level you have to complete it in the main mode. Which means to play the last level you have to play through the entire game, start to finish- which as I stated earlier can be EXTREMELY frustrating.


CHALLENGE MODE
Another mode that seems necessary in all puzzle-type games is the "Challenge Mode". This features an array of different challenges to complete, including "Small Bin" in which you play a level with a bin half the size, "Ring the Bell 108 times" in which you battle the raging, non-existent elements to strike said bell with all your might (108 times) and... I don't know the others. That's right, this mode suffers from the same Achilles Heel as the main mode in which you have to do the previous challenges to unlock the rest. At least I assume so, I've yet been able to ring that damn bell more than 90 times.

I really can't understand the reasoning behind this system of unlocking the games I want to play. I paid for this game with the tax payers hard eared cash, the least the game should do is let me play it. It feels like a strange and redundant method of prolonging game-play, adding longevity. But puzzle games shouldn't need that. They're specifically designed to pick up when bored and put down after a few games- hence the simplistic gameplay and low price tag. To force people to play sections of the game they find frustrating or even simply not fun is quite frankly absurd. I enjoy a good challenge and working towards unlocking extra levels and features in games- but not to have to play every challenge just to unlock the next. Perhaps if there were 10 challenges and you had to play all 10, or at least 8 or 9 of them to unlock the next 10. That would make more sense, giving the gamer more choices, getting the most out of THEIR GAME.


VERSUS MODE
I'll be honest, this is one of the main reasons I bought this game. The versus mode sounded like it could be heaps of fun and although it is fun for a short while, doesn't have the longevity to make it the tipping point for buying the game. It's quite simple, you and a friend each have a bin half the size of of the regular bins, and battle it out not to lose. The only real competitive element is trying to fill up your bin faster than the other player, as when it reaches the top, your bin is poured into your competitors.

Matches don't tend to last too long and normally just end up being decided by whoever can mash triangle (throwing the rubbish into the bin faster) the quickest. Say that, it is fun for a while and it is something I will continue to play people on it- without fully explaining the rules, just to give myself that small edge...



All these criticisms aside, I'd still fully recommend this game. It's a new twist on the traditional Tetris style puzzle game which I still enjoy playing, even after all those frustrating moments. The fire and decomposition aspect of the game works really well and can make or break a level.

It's a game designed to sit patiently on your virtual gaming shelf for that moment in time when you've just finished a challenging title, or simply want to wind down and not have to worry about keeping up with some sort of ridiculous story line (I'm looking at you- EVERY GAME from Japan!).

And for £3.99 you will most certainly get a fair few hours out of it, considering it costs about £6 to see a 90 minute film at the cinema- this game is a bargain.

-- BIZNITCH --

Skate 2 Review (and a cameo from the Fresh Prince of Persia)

Biznitch- Sunday, 01:09am

Hello out there all the avid readers of PlayStation Blogger UK!
The one-man-band leading this whole operation has stretched out his hand to ask other for input on this fine website- so here I am!

I've written some stuff about gaming (mainly mindless rambling) so I am now here to inform you all about some of the games available for the PS3- and hopefully help you stay clear of the bad ones.

I thought the best way to start on this blog would be to talk about the games I've been playing recently, those being PRINCE OF PERSIA and SKATE 2.
I got the games from Amazon.co.uk when they had a PS3 sale, so snatched them both up for around £30.

So what follows are my initial reactions to the games and how they held out....

First up-

Skate 2-
HARD. I'm slowly getting the hang of it, then it tells me to do a "Revert to pop shuvit" and I couldn't figure out how to revert. It's not on the trick menu and I presume its no longer the good ol' "R2 on a half pipe" like back in the day when Tony taught us all.....
Each time I play I find myself getting better, but then a simple sounding challenge comes along that makes me realise just how terrible I am. Another instance came up after finally learning the controls and attempted a "S*K*A*T*E" challenge. I knew al the moves, but sadly it appears the omputer players do too... As far as I see, its impossible.

On top of this, the camera angle is so low that when you pick up speed you hit that jump you've had your eye on, your characters monstrous arse takes up so much of the screen that it becomes no more than a guessing game. Then if you hit the jump you still have to time your ollie just right. It very quickly becomes a trial and error effort- the same jump over and over and over again until you finally nail it and move onto the next jump/trick/sequence that you have to try over and over until you ask yourself "Why am I still playing this?" It feels like more of a chore at times than a game.
"Easy to pick up, life time to master" -> But missing out totally on the "Easy to pick up." Its almost as if the game doesn't want YOU to play. This isn't for you, its ours.... It's an exclusive party. But for some reason, the more I play, the more I want in. Why?!

However, the developers seem to have foresaw this inevitable tediousness of the game by adding an incredibly addictive mini-game. "The Hall of Meat". Basically, every time you bail it shows you your fall in slow motion and gives you points on how much you managed to cripple your character. Beautiful. Now, every time you get frustrated when you can't get that "Boneless to 360 spoon fuck" you simply throw yourself off a building, curl into a ball and aim for a passing car. And if your friend isn't any good in 2 player, let their downfalls become an advantage and play them at this instead!


Physics faults aren't common, but are HILARIOUS! (NOTE: ALL VIDEOS ARE MADE IN GAME)


FRUSTRATION soon lead me to try the other game-


Prince of Persia-
GOD AWFUL. As a fan of the previous instalments I was foolishly stricken down by something called "expectations". Dialogue is horrible, slap googly eyes on the characters and they look like they belong in a pokeball and the old fashioned smooth free-running from the old games?
OVER.
The Prince's new claw slows things down hugely- instead of running up a wall you jump-claw-jump-claw, assuming you haven't fallen asleep before you reach your destination- assuming some more that you haven't stabbed a knitting needle through your ear just to silence that TERRIBLE dialogue.


I know the video is crap- but imagine a whole game of THIS DIALOGUE!

On top of this the camera angles changes incredibly sporadically. It proves to be extremely irritating when you try to jump from a wall-run and the camera cuts to an "Uh-oh, you're falling down a hole!" above angle, as if the game itself is mocking you for almost failing. This then means you have to guess your jumps towards the end of the wall and I can tell you now- Blind Faith, although a fine name for a disabled Christian rock band, is a terrible idea for a free-running game as it breaks flow.
I stopped playing, promptly.



The next day however the strangest thing happened- I woke up and really wanted to play SKATE 2. It frustrated me so much, but I was getting better.
The day after I took a look at my games collection- SAINTS ROW 2, MGS4, LBP etc... And all I wanted to do was play SKATE-BLOODY-2.

It seemed that the more I played, better I got. The better I got, the more I wanted to play. It's actually great to find a game that you struggle with at first because eventually, once you finally master that move that's been taunting you for so long you actually feel a sense of accomplishment. And the rag-doll physics of throwing your skater from the highest building was tremendously, and eerily, relaxing!
The 2 player version of this brilliant too. Eventually everyone with a game like this becomes "That Guy" that no-one can beat because they've played it more. But with the "Hall of Meat" means that the worse your mates are at this game, the better chance they have! (Today I was actually beat by my 3 year old niece.... TWICE!!!)


So I think now is the time to wrap this little (little?!) review up. So, what have we learnt? Well, nothing really, but if my opinion is anything to be listened to I recommend people STAY AWAY from PRINCE of PERSIA. Although, if you really think it looks good and you REALLY love cell-shading (the EASY way out of graphic designing) then I say try renting it for the weekend.

And as for SKATE 2- well... Go for it! Or at least download the demo. Give it a chance. A friend asked me if they should get it after I first played it. I said "No! But try renting it..." and now I honestly think it's essential in a collection (I actually have it on pause now!) at least for variety if anything. It's a challenge, and although aspects are bad (one of which being the terrible off-board physics) the positives are great (the ability to move ramps/environmental objects off board and the sound track) and eventually brilliant (the on-board physics and the option to edit your own skating videos with ease- very fun!).

I recommend it. That's all I can say really.


Thank you for your time and please tip your waiters.


-- BIZNITCH --

New Blog Writer

I'm pleased to announce that Playstation Blogger UK now has another writer other then me, who goes by the name Biznitch so keep an eye out for some very interesting reviews from him.

Also if you would like to write a review, a piece of news or even your opinion on gaming please contact me by clicking on the contact button near the top of this site.