Is Far Cry 4 worth its weight in Himalayan Salt?

For the record, I completed Far Cry 3 and didn't want to shag that bitch who wanted to kill you after a night of hot sex. For my sins, the Ubisoft came out with Far Cry 4.

FC3 was a fantastic game. Simple to understand and with enough slaughtering  to keep even Idi Amin in a coma entertained. To live up to that expectation isn't going to be simple so does FC4 deliver?

Gameplay is more of the Same?

I have no problems with the story line, I really do not care if AJ is a mix breed with Asian blood but he sounds the same as the character you play in FC3—Jason Brody. His voice is the same too, and you could have sworn he can't be totally Asian...so onward to Nepal....ahem....Kyrat. The Kingdom where wild elephants don't get altitude sickness.

Pagan Min is your foe. For his part, he's just a bad ass drug dealer dictator which you need to get rid off. The gameplay is more of the same, where you traverse this strange land which bears a huge resemblance to the landscape in FC3. Too bad there are no gun boats on the lake, or for that matter sharks for the taking.

I don't mind developers reusing the code for the landscape but the fun factor is sorely lacking. For example, there are far fewer outpost in the first half of the game than expected. In FC3, the first half was roughly 70 percent of the game, for FC4 it's 50 percent. The game itself is broken down into 3 segments which opens up once you complete the required mission. Bummer.

The take downs, sniping, killing softly without being heard with a knife or Kukri is now the pillar of the FC franchise. This has defined the game but how much of that is pure genius versus stupidity depends on the size of the game. It has gotten bigger thanks to the variety but much of the parameters in which you execute your bloodlust are restrictive. The mythical Shangri-la challenges aren't much in terms of gun play so let's leave that one out. Aside from that, the killing doesn't really deliver the same sense of relish one gets from FC3.

It's Not Open World

No matter how open world the game proclaims itself to be, the missions are all linear. You can't progress unless you complete the necessary missions and you're locked into the Southern part of Kyrat and the game won't let you progress past the King's Bridge in the norther part. And there are so many side missions that don't quite appeal to you but you have no choice but to do it.

You have to slaughter your way to the north. Earning cash has become far easier as you can virtually kill animals and sell the skins for a good price. But guns and ammo are only available to you when you liberate more telco towers. This is where most of the problem lies. You don't get enough of them to have all the choices open to you.

Too many of the missions are tied to conventional and often dumb pretences. For example there are a few missions where you are not to be seen, of for that matter can't be seen by any of your enemy. This sort of bullshit makes the game very restrictive and shows that the developers were running out of ideas. Previously, FC3 made restrictive use of weapons for some of these side missions. That was enough but when it comes to the main mission, you get agitated as not being seen can mean you can't attack them from the air. Flying is cool. I hate driving as I have to put up with the gawd awful DJ and music on the radio. Turning off permanently would be cool but you can't do that. So the driving experience is annoying. You have to remember to turn off the radio each time you get into a vehicle or get subjected to the evil ranting of an Asian DJ.

There is lots more variety in the game and you go around rescuing hostages, making deliveries and killing the odd Royalist for better Karma.

There are more skirmishes on the roads, and attacks by Royalist on outpost you have captured. Defending them is really up to you but in the end, the gameplay suffers as each of these become very superficial. You can replay the outpost takeover with the Outpost Challenge which pits you with the Royalist once again for points. You can even commander an Elephant to help with the attack, a feat which you must earn in the skill tree.

All this means there is a lot more to do but the weakness here is that each outpost becomes relatively boring to attack. This is where the developers thought of the Fortress. This is suppose to be heavily fortified and before attacking one, you are warned that you risk being wiped out if you don't play it in coop mode with a friend. This is utter rubbish of course, as I sauntered into two of these fortresses in my pyjamas, told them to clear out....which they didn't and proceeded to attack me with choppers and mortars and they in turn felt what middle age angst was all about—with bodies piled high and me smoking a cigar after I was done. Unfortunately, there are only 4 Fortresses so you don't get to exercise your blood lust that often.

More attention is being given to side missions, where you rescue hostages, take on delivery challenges, speed around for an action cam sequence and kill some exotic beast for a fashion quest.   The taking down of the Towers or telco towers is no big shakes as there are far less of it in the first half of the game.

This restrictive gameplay makes this a non Open World concept. FC3 had better gameplay in the first half than all of FC4.

Weapons let Down

I was mildly disappointed that the developers used the same weapons as in FC3. The AK47, SVD, M700 and all its ilk are all there. This time around, they have given you more signature weapons, which are in most cases derivatives of the main weapons.

I would have appreciated better planning for the game instead of reusing the code from FC3 but hey, it's profit before anything else. Each weapon introduced has to be redesigned and its game mechanics coded. So this cost money. Why not reuse the code right? Enough said.

The only noticeable change is that the game opens up in coop mode after the first act. This means you can play with friend in real time. You get to have your partner sit shot gun with you in a mini helicopter to mow down the enemy while you fly and avoid incoming fire.

Embellishing your weapons with upgrades would seem like a good idea, like maybe use an AK 47 with a silencer or extended magazine. But that doesn't happen. Coding is expensive.

In any FPS game, the gun play makes an important consideration in any attack. That's why they call it an FPS? But that concept has been lost with Ubisoft. For example a range finder scope could be used to determine the effectiveness of a particular type of weapon over a distance, but that's too much code to consider in a game like this. Instead they give you range finding between your and your mission objective. If you can be precise...then why not for your choice of weapons?

Conclusion

I am not entirely sold on the gameplay. For that it gets dumbed down a notch. The enemy AI isn't smarter either. They run around more but they often run pass you like they were blind in one eye. The linear type gameplay spoils the game as not everyone will appreciate the variety. For me, taking on an outpost and liberating towers in FC3 did it for me. The story telling in FC3 where you explore the Rook Islands was far more engaging too. In FC4, you seem to be on the receiving end of beggars as everyone has a sob story to share and want you to be part of it.

The border delineation between Royalist or Rebel territory has also gotten murky. You find Royal army personnel patrolling the same roads as the Rebels so it gets a bit jaunting when you see one up the road from the other. This also makes placing mines for difficult as in FC3, the militia versus the native forces are clearly marked by territory you have gained. They don't patrol areas that have fallen. If you kill the rebels in mistake, you get penalised in Karma points.

The only good thing that came out of the developers was the seizing of the Propaganda stations where you need to destroy the base along with everyone in it. This to me was the winning formula for any FPS die hard. You get to place mines, explosives and take out the enemy as the come round to rescue their own. Unfortunately you don't get a lot of that in the game either.

The Pagan's Wrath side mission is hopelessly easy...and stupid too as you only ambush three propaganda vehicles without them calling for back up. So if you have three C4 charges places correctly, you can take them out all at once.

The introduction of the Mercenary Ticket is utterly useless. For a fee, you can summon a mercenary to help you attack a convoy but they can't help in a main mission. Even if you do summon them, the chances of them getting shot in the first five seconds of a fire fight is extremely high and you can't call for more back up coz you're too busy controlling the situation at hand.

This game is too focused on the story telling, which to me gets rather dull towards the end. The alternate endings where you get to kill everyone and spare Pagan Min is probably comparable to what you get in FC3. That said, it was never the ending but good gameplay that gets people coming back for more. The diverse gaming landscape also detracts from its FPS roots, a point often lost in reviews on the game.

I am not totally convinced Ubisoft has done a good job in continuing the successful legacy of FC3. They tried to make it more challenging with more variety but end up messing up that successful formula.

Rating

Categories: far cry 4, fps, open world, Ubisoft

Weapon Up! Borderlands The Pre-Sequel

Pandora's most lovable warlord, Handsome Jack, is no more after Borderlands 2 so someone has to invent a new storyline. Enter the Pre-Sequel. 

To cut to the chase, all you need to know is that the whole game happens on the moon of Elpis, which brings us to the evolution of the entire gameplay. Here you have zero gravity and no air, so for air-breathers, you are pretty fucked when you don't have a canister of oxygen on hand. 

Fortunately, there are plenty to be had in the form of enemies. Picking one up is as easy as killing them. Well, that said, you gotta kill quite a number of them to shore up your oxygen supplies. 

Now, the characters aren't new. All of them featured in this game were Non-Playable in previous Borderlands titles. Athena, Nisha, Wilhelm and, Clap Trap the Fragtrap (no it doesn't kill only gay enemies). This time round you play the role of the bad guys, who aid Handsome Jack in his quest to control Pandora...well on the way to control is as he's nothing but a lowly programmer working for Hyperion. 

How do you kill?

Each character has a special ability and for Athena, she has a shield which can absorb damage and used as a killer frisbee. Nisha is by far, the least gifted as she is just a sheriff with a taste for hunting (reminds me of Zero in BL2 with a totally useless talent). Wilhem has the ability to summon drones, Wolf and Saint. Now Wolf attacks enemies while Saint heals and protects. Lastly, you have Clap Trap. If you ever choose this character from the beginning to play with, the game will ask you "Are you sure?"...TWICE just to deter you from taking it on and there is good reason. Claptrap is the best and most powerful character in the Borderland universe. Its ability range from not having to worry about breathing oxygen (fuck yea...I am a robot) and can summon various subroutines to deal damage to enemies like having a missile turret back you up in a firefight to a Doppelganger Victoria Secrets model of himself with fiery wings that flies against and damages enemies. It can also go into a 'berserker' mode where you do combat arm to arm with a sickle. 

Gameplay

No gravity and no oxygen. Those are the two biggest changes to the game. Aside from that, everything is the same. You get the same open world concept of play, and the game story is like a puzzle where you complete each mission to reveal more of what is ahead of you. 

Along the way, the game is spruced up with a wicked sense of humor. Entertaining nonetheless and a huge distraction when you make your way around Elpis (which rhymes with Elvis...the inspiration for Brick from BL1....geddit?)

Is it fun? Well only if you play with a pal. Most of the missions require you to kill someone or get something. Playing alone will take time and it is far more difficult to do this alone. What's more, you start off with only two weapons on hand and you have to get points to increase the number of weapons you can have at your immediate disposal. Weapons classes are the same, you have pistols, assualt rifles, sniper rifles and sub-machine gun so those familiar with this have no problems selecting what works best for you. 

What are you In for?

Those of you who hated Borderlands previously will not like this one bit. This FPS shooter isn't linear. It's not COD or Halo. It's not about going from point A to point B but rather exploring the terrain to find your mix of missions. The gameplay remans one of the most unique and there is no reason to doubt that 2K Australia could not have pulled this off. 

Story scripting is nothing sort of remarkable, and the whole game will keep you playing for hours on end. 

Of course there are the same annoying aspects of the game such as having the same enemies pop up whenever you re-enter an area which you had previously cleared. This deja-vu gaming is probably the most distracting but you have to remember that every single enemy you kill is rewarded through points and once you get enough of it, the skill-tree opens up many upgrades. 

Co-op play is best. I can't think of a better way to take on this game as some of the missions are very difficult to complete alone. There are no levels of difficulty to choose from as everyone starts off as a neophyte with puny weapons and a immature skill tree. Working your way up to the point where you have access to better weapons is probably the only goal you have in your cross hairs as you take on the big bosses in later missions. 

Borderlands is a great game. It might not be the billion dollar hit of COD but as an FPS, it deserves a place in the top 3. 

rating

Categories: 2K, Borderlands, fps, PS3, Xbox 360

Sniper Elite 3 is as mediocre as it gets

So you like to play a sniper who goes after his enemy without them ever knowing you were around. Sounds like fun but did you play any of the Sniper Elite games? You have? Then there is nothing new to tell you. Let's get to the jist of this before my fingers fall asleep. 

Sniper Elite 3 takes place in Africa during WWII. Not a fun place to be but it has its moments. There are no rogue camels to shoot or recalcitrant Arabs wanting to declare Jihad on you. All you get are Italian and German troops. I have nothing against Italians or Germans in Africa. I am here to kill them so let's get on with it. 

Now I didn't know that I had completed the game after playing it. That's how bad it was as you meander around the desert landscapes hoping your enemies won't hear your gun shots. The game is surprisingly short for starters. You could order a pizza and finish the game when it's delivered to you. Ok, I am being cynical. I hate the game. 

Why I hate the game is clear. It offers nothing new to the third person shooter genre. What's more it suffers from sloppy story telling. Like the part where you go out to rescue a bunch of English servicemen, and instead of running out of their jail cell, they just stay there and tell you to move on while the have a wank. The lost transitions that connect the story together is very badly written. The cut scenes are no better, it just feels very messy. 

Another problem I had was the load outs are restricted to just your sniper rifle, a Welrod bolt action pistol and a Stern gun. God sakes, those were the guns I got in the previous Sniper Elite. Where is the variety? This has to be a joke. When you up your experience points, you get to choose only from three types of weapons for first, secondary and third. There is no knife for you to melee your enemy so walking close to them would only lead to more fart attacks. 

You are allowed to carry one rifle, which can be upgraded once you have scored enough points to take the Gewehr 43, which remains my favourite rifle of choice. The game hasn't evolved but devolved since the last instalment.  Completely dumbed down for an idiot. You can't melee your enemy while being confronted head on and the only choice is your guns. If you ran out of ammo for all three weapons, you might as well do a river dance to distract them. 

Enemy A.I hasn't changed either. The lot of them you face up to are tone deaf. If you pack a Luger 08, and took a shot at them, it has the same effect as a silenced Welrod. Go figure. 

If you care to look around, the gameplay borrows heavily from Hitman. You crawl around hitting your targets in the most silent manner but even if you don't play that way, the tone deaf enemies you are facing won't know the difference. You can blow up a truck nearby and the guys won't even hear a whisper or bother to check out what the loud explosion was all about. Which lead me to think either they are very lazy or Buddhist. 

The slo-mo sequences where the bullet enters the heard, heart or balls are all there. I don't know why people get turned on by such fetishes but it is a utter turn off for me. And this gets extremely annoying in a action packed sequence, the last thing you want is to see how you blew that guy's left kidney in slo-mo when there are heaps more shooting at you. 

Trusted that you should play this game slowly or risk dying quickly doesn't really apply at all. Instead you have morons who shoot when they are shot at and even if you created a ruckus outside their camp won't even ring a bell for them. 

There are so many ways the game could have improved over Sniper Elite 2 but Rebellion, the coders behind the game didn't think you want them. The lack of firearm choices is one deafening omission. You get to pick a Panzerschreck as a secondary weapon which you know won't work against troops. Creative liberties like this spoil the game experience for the gamer. Also missing from the equation is the anti tank sniper rifles used during WWII. These can be used effectively against a half track but in the game you need the Panzerschreck to snuff out a truck. I do like the idea that mines only damage a Tiger tank, but should dynamite be used to blow it up? Hey, I could write a better game outline than that mute they have who produced this crap. 

There is also the use of trip wires to blow oncoming enemy. Stupid really when they don't really come after you in the first place. The idea of this game is that you shoot them from afar and even if they do come after you. You won't be expecting a huge onslaught. They come at you one at a time, as if ordering pizza.

Ammo is another problem as you pick it off the dead. Now as far as I know, you can't possibly pick off Welrod ammo from a German but in the game you can. I would have preferred that the player discharge all his ammo or pick up Axis gun and ammo instead. There are very few intense moments and your only fear on the field is another sniper with his sights on you. But in the game, even an enemy with a MP40 machine pistol will do you damage from a long distance. Come one! Can't you throw in a Stg44? Was this famed assault rife so difficult to render to the point you had to reuse the old design of the MP40 from the previous Sniper Elite?? 

Conclusion

Being a realist, and an avid vintage gun fan. More attention should have been given to gun dynamics and gameplay. The game's landscaping is beautiful and breath taking, you can't help but admire the talent behind them but the game itself is a huge disappointment.

How many ball busting shots do you have to make before you get tired of the shooting? Or for that matter, the morons who you battle with who have the IQ equivalent of their shoe size?

Morally, the developers have done a huge injustice to the game and they can't deny this rushed effort just to appease the crowds who were happy with their previous instalment. Sorry but I don't buy such crap.


rating

Categories: action, snbiper Hitman, third person shooter, WWII

Call of Duty: Advance Warfare

With a billion dollar franchise to boot, you can hire just anyone so why not a two time Oscar winner Kevin Spacey?

However the question everyone has on their lips is does the game deliver? Does it in any way revitalizes the FPS genre? It's got a spiffy new HUD for display....wow.

After COD Ghost, every terrorist organisation has been done to death. Thus COD Ghost was a sharp departure from the previous COD storyline as it does not in anyway resemble old world sensibilities. We are introduced to modern warfare where technology plays a part in deciding the fate of man.

So here we have Advance Warfare, a sci-fi take on the FPS genre that has no invading aliens but man's greatest enemy...himself. Activision has hired Kevin Spacey, to reprise his "House of Cards" role in the form of a power mad Jonathan Irons. As for you the player, you get to play a loser soldier without an arm called Jack. That's all you need to know buddy as you sit back to take the ride.

Iron's character borrows heavily from post-911 CIA/NSA self deluding goals. He's the power behind the intelligence and he lets things happen so that more wars are fought.

So what does Advance Warfare bring to the FPS genre? Plenty. No more puny weapons, we now have Exo Skeleton suits and Gundam like armor. The war is not fought in space but on Earth. The weapons have gotten way more intelligent to appeal to the typical iPhone owner. Thus the game pad experience is somewhat limited to pushing this or that button at the correct moment. Beyond that, it's just aim and shoot.

Advance Warfare copies the skill tree from Borderlands to poor effect. Each level you complete gets you points to which you can redeem to up your capability. More grenades, and even more battery power for your exo-suit. Everything is good to go and there is even a cloaking device which you can become invisible. Spiffy. Now is there a story behind this? Well yeah. It reads more like Michael Bay movie.

The game play doesn't change, it has very intense moments and a blockbuster feel to it. The action is fast...gets almost as boring as COD Ghost but avoids it by proper story pacing. I hated flying the jet planes, and the drone controls don't make sense. I happen to use RC controllers in Mode 2 and there is no choice for taking that up. You just have to relearn the controls.

With the FPS concentrated on technology, it does get monotonous. Unlike Battlefield 4, you don't have a choice of load outs before every campaign. And the guns in Advance Warfare, feels very artificial. The gun play itself is pretty boring. It has none of the challenges of COD: Modern Warfare 2 in terms of repeat play. You can pare down the recoil in the Skill Tree and that might sound awesome but trust me, it's no great shakes.

The token black dude in a block buster game is back!

The game's sandboxing is very annoying to say the least. There are times where I want to hide in a corner only to find that outside the boundaries of the sandbox. It was as if the programmers got careless and didn't bother with gamer's experience. There are places where you can jump which they don't allow you to and for the Exo-suit's varied capability, the features are locked before the start of a new level so you don't get to choose the features you want.

The story telling is better this time round. The COD Ghost borders on the ridiculous so with a sci-fi storyline thrown in for Advance Warfare, it paces very well. I must say that in the end, when Jonathan Irons tells you why he has declared war on the US for all its excess, you can't help but rally in and support him. Politically speaking, he might just be right but your job isn't to support him but to kill him in the end. How I wish I had a choice of which side to take on because I really do feel for Irons by the end of the game. That is probably one reason I won't chase him down in the end. The other reason is that you don't get to use your good arm to beat him into a pulp as your Exo suit is disabled. This takes the fun out of fighting and to some extent, poor story telling from the producers. Your character is nothing more than a one arm gun slinger at this point. Once you expend all your ammo, you have a knife. Enough said.

The entire COD franchise suffers from Deja Vu. You have seen it all before an for some reason you can't help but think if there is life on Mars half way through the campaign. It certainly be more fun if we invaded them for a change. So who knows? That might just be the case for the next instalment.

Conclusion

Advance Warfare is a polished piece of work and though lacking in repeat play, it would satisfy the FPS player immensely. The graphics rendering has improved by leaps and bounds and if you are in for a ride, there is no going wrong on this. I didn't have the chance to check the multiplayer mode's side features as I felt it was a waste of time. Multiplayer options will be nice if you have a good internet connection but mine just pure sucks.

I must say Advance Warfare has none of the excess of COD Ghost. It still is a bit way off from Battlefield 4 in terms of repeat gameplay. For me at least, the repeat play is inherently destroyed by the sand boxing of the levels. You step out a bit too far you get a warning that the game will end if you don't return to it. The concept of repeat play is lost among the designers who like to pigeon hole your gameplay to a strict route. This takes the fun of having a go again with a different tactic or weapon, hence you don't get a choice of weapon loadout.

As a stand alone game, Advance Warfare is a much better game than COD Ghost. If that is the only motivation you need to buy the game, then you will enjoy it.

rating

Categories: advance warfare, call of duty, Co-op, fps

Diablo 3: Reaper of Souls Ultimate Evil Edition

'We each are our own devil, and we make this world our hell.'.

When the initial news of Diablo 3 appeared, I was highly skeptical that Blizzard could deliver a product that would exceed the greatness of the previous 2 games.

Lets face it. Diablo 1 created a brand new genre that took the very best elements from some of the greatest games and fused it into an awesome success. The sequel didn't just take things a step further, it transcended all expectations and took the game to an entirely new level.

With all the improvements and innovations delivered in Diablo 2, it was exceedingly hard to imagine being able to top such a monster hit. And with the advent of so-called 'new gen' games which saw some of the worst titles ever released for more than a decade, one would be forgiven to pass judgement on Diablo 3 even before it hit the stores.

How wrong I was.

I was ashamed to make such a hasty call on a company that only had 3 franchises on their portfolio. And all three were immensely popular due to Blizzards minute attention to detail & creative innovations.

Diablo 3 was, in fact, a highly addictive romp through familiar plots and landscapes. The oldest story ever told, didn't seem to get gamey after all these years.

Reaper of Souls is a long anticipated expansion set that follows the grand tradition that started with Diablo 2. This expansion brings forth a slew of improvements, additions and tons of fun.

First is the addition of a whole new act which continues the story after the end of Diablo 3. Act 5 introduces brand new territory along with a new collection of demonic denizens.

Next is the introduction of a new playable character class, the Crusader. This holy warrior bears some resemblance to the Paladin class of old but is designed for medium and long ranged battle.

The voice acting for the Crusader is rather exceptional. Its skill tree a balance between aggression and buffs. The Crusader is a lone warrior who makes a fabulous addition to co-op game play as much as it can fend on its own. It also has a range of class specific weapons that are a thrill to play with.

New locations are strewn across all 5 stages in the new Act. There are no assets being reused from the vanilla edition. Overall, the graphics have been improved and everything simply looks better.

In addition to the awesome additions in this ultimately evil edition is the inclusion of a new mode of play. Adventure mode allows gamers to play in randomly selected maps with specific goals to meet. Some maps may require for players to defeat all enemies or fight with a special boss. The rewards are more than worthwhile but its best left for the players to find that out.

A new loot system has been included. Now players are awarded valuable class specific drops after defeating a certain number of enemies or boss fiends. New souped up monsters will make their appearance after certain conditions are met introducing a brand new element of surprise for the returning stalwarts.

The challenge has also been overhauled with the inclusion of new levels of difficulty that will tax even the most battle hardened veterans. The Paragon system has also been revamped with a new level cap to accommodate the new degree of challenges.

Diablo 3 Reaper of Souls is indeed a massive expansion that delivers more fun, action and an excuse to be whisked away to that old twisted,  menacing world once again.

I, for one, shall never again be so quick to pass judgement on Blizzard. They have truly outdone themselves.

Categories: blizzard, Diablo 3, reaper of souls, ultimate evil edition

WAGS : Shadowrun Returns

A return to Fallout's Turn-Based Tactical Combat 

Currently on a Midweek Madness Sale on Steam is Shadowrun Returns for only RM7.75* (around USD 2.39. Normal price RM31 or USD 9.56)! Originally I was going to post a review for another game, but this mad deal took precedence. Honestly, the things I do for you people even though I'm not getting paid.

If you've missed turn-based tactical combat simulators like the original Fallout series, or the much less gritty Final Fantasy Tactics, Shadowrun Returns is, well, a return to form. Quite a simplified one too, as it turns out.

Graphics and Sound

Shadowrun Returns is clean and simple from top to bottom, except for the maps which are appropriately gritty and generally unclean - you are, after all, in a dystopian setting. Neon bright colours are the norm and clear iconography makes it pretty clear what each button does. 

It's like Vegas out there

In-game, the information you need is laid out clearly for you to find, and all else is found by pressing the giant power button on the top-left or pressing the Escape key. In it, you'll find your character screen, inventory, and menu functions.

The background music is pretty standard stuff. It sets the mood appropriately with an unobtrusive synth and fade of dark rock. Most times you won't even notice it, and even if you do you could do your laundry or cook a meal with it playing in the background. You might even be more attentive and wary while doing so and not miss the piece of paper in the back pocket of your jeans that will eventually get shredded by the washing machine.


Character Creation

The game is honest enough about the fact that what you choose isn't set in stone, with a "meh, I'll pick my own skills" option. Each class is really a low-level preset that you can override later in the game anyway.

Character creation is almost purely cosmetic (except for race that gives you a small perk for each), and you'll even be given an option as to what sort of demeanour you portray. Letting you choose between options such as academic, cop, or gang member does next-to-nothing to your dialogue choices except for specific instances where it might be useful (helpfully greyed out so that you'd just wish you had chosen to go at it like a cop. As far as I can tell there aren't any side quests or missions that become intensely tricky without the right attitude, so go ahead and choose something you'd likely find useful once or twice in the game.

My choice of character stems from my desire for a glorious beard

Abilities are a lot more useful, and don't fret at the amount of Karma you get at the beginning, Karma is quite generously given to you as the game progresses. Contrary to it's name you do not get (much) more Karma from being nice as far as I can tell, so go ahead and do feel free to be a dick to the few NPC's that you meet.

Gameplay

Perhaps referring Fallout and Final Fantasy Tactics at the beginning was a little misleading, because Shadowrun Returns is not an open-world for you to explore, it's a story that you play out. As such there is no back tracking to previous stages or places so that you can fully explore the place or complete side quests, not that there are many. It's quite a shame because the maps are decently sized and full of graphical detail.

One day I too will open a bar called Tail and Ale

It's rare that you will find open lockers or random rooms where you find extra cash or sellables to pick up and hawk to the merchants you'll find along the way. In fact there is no sell function at all. Bought something you regret and there's nothing you can do but let it rot in your stash where it'll live out it's unfulfilling life till you visit it again (probably 2 minutes after never). Thankfully your stash is infinite. Most of the pickups you'll find come from the handful of pick up points (helpfully highlighted with an icon so that you can't miss it) or from wearing out dialogue options in things you'd need to look through anyway.

Turn-based combat is almost exactly as you'd expect it to work, except in general most actions cost 1 AP and most turns you get 2-3 AP. So firing a rifle and smacking someone in the head costs the exact same amount of AP. As such, I haven't found a reasonable advantage of having a handgun except to save on reloads (which, admittedly, is actually great tactical advice).

Perk - ammo is unlimited. The downside is that melee combat is effectively advantageless. It costs the same amount of AP and there is no minimum range for ranged weapons so you can unload your clip into an enemy right in front of you and not worry about losing accuracy.

Narrative

The main story is a film-noir crime solvency with guns and magic, a recipe for potential disaster and nerd-gasms alike.  Thankfully, the people who wrote it knew to tread lightly.

Unlike Fallout, there is no false-pretense for sex, because there isn't any, period.

The writing of the franchise is solid, especially so for this game. If you're not the reading type this game may not be worth the full price of admission to you, but if you are be prepared to be immersed. Characters are believable and somewhat endearing as much as they are sometimes stereotypical, but the melting pot of cultures is quite something to behold. It's not an epic thriller, but it's engaging.

Plot wise, however, it's somewhat simplistic. While I'm not suggesting that it's weak, it isn't anywhere close to the bone-chilling revelations of Andrew Ryan. It's not terrible, just linear enough that your cries of "I totally saw that coming" will be met with "everybody else did". The reveal is also quite lack lustre, but at least the story is believable and entertaining in it's own right.

Replayability
That being said, re-playability is not necessarily an issue with a thriving online community of modders and writers. The Steam Workshop and shadowrunners at large create downloadable content that seem to be of pretty good quality. It obviously takes a bit of time and an eye for these sorts of things, but considering that most, if not all, of these additional stories are free, I'd say Shadowrun Returns is definitely a very replayable medium that storytellers can make use of.

"How could you not like a girl like that?"

Verdict
If you're a fan of narratives as I am, Shadowrun Returns is certainly something you could use to pass more time than you could possibly imagine. Despite certain gameplay quirks and a lack of any real trade I could see this being a worthwhile purchase even if you miss the Midweek Madness sale.

4 Stars

Vinsant Huang is every bit your hardcore gamer, or at least he was until corporate life tied it's bitter noose around his neck. His highest achievement is attaining Ambassador in World of Warcraft, and it involved countless hours of grinding and coffee. To be honest, he's not that proud he did it.

* Steam recently introduced pricing in Ringgit Malaysia, and I've not been able to figure out how to change it back to see if they round up or down. It doesn't matter either way. In general  USD 5 hovers around the regions of RM15, so a little give or take doesn't and shouldn't mean too much.

Categories: 2013, fallout, Shadowrun, turn based, Vinsant

WAGS : Project Root on Steam

(Weekly Affordable Games on Steam)
A game of lasers, reflexes, and a story that you won't care about

I discovered Steam through their incessant sale pitches, indie games, and a wide plethora of cheap games from new and small developers to the big boys of the gaming business.

For this ultimate gaming exercise I will (try to) be buying and reviewing games on steam that are under 5 USD (about the price you'd pay for a pirated game DVD) so that you can figure out if you should buy it or spend it on a Grande frappucino at your local Starbucks.

And off we go!
We kick off with Project Root (was* on sale for USD 2.49, normal price USD 9.99 – which is still not a lot) a top-down, side to side scroller arcade shoot-em-up similar to Raiden and Skyforce, married to a freedom of mobility to explore and shoot up the available maps in each quest.

Graphics and Sound

Project Root is pretty. Graphics are neat, menus are spiffy and created clearly with consoles in mind. PC Gamers don't lose out much in the looks department, although the game will graphically show that you should press the ABXY buttons. Pressing these on your keyboard does nothing but make you question your life's choices.

Start the mission and the ugliest part of the game appears, the cutscenes that deliver the dialogue. At best it is the fuel and catalyst that inspires each of us to hit skip as many times as necessary to never have to read it again.

How do you fit those boobs in that outfit? Science.

Once you're in, though, the game rapidly fixes your perception of it's graphics. It's not gorgeously rendered, but it looks good and is smooth on my budget rig. Lasers, bullets, and missiles are colourful and pleasant to look at (until you remember that you're supposed to dodge them). The music doesn't change much and soon just gets lost in the heat of your dog fighting.

If you ever have quiet moments in the game, the repeating music will simply make you want to hunt down more enemies to kill, anything to take your mind off it - which may have been the point.

Have I mentioned the explosions? They're glorious. Even Arnie movies should take inspiration from these Bayesian wonders.

I don't even care that it's unrealistic. It's pretty!

Narrative Quality (or lack thereof)

To be honest, I still have no idea what the background of the game is. Remember the monologue? Well I don't. Something about a big corporation and you - the badly drawn man with vengeance on his mind. The story is given to you in the afore-mentioned flatly coloured story panels and unnatural facial expressions, and you're supposed to read the boring dialogue that comes up for a sense of it. I'm normally intrigued by narrative and will read to understand the characters. I gave up after the first mission to preserve my sense of self.

A lack of voice acting also means that you're given contextual dialogue in a small box in the lower right of the screen. Mostly comprising, "come back to base. No wait, go check out that odd reading on the radar", or "His death won't be in vain". Thing is, most of this dialogue happens in real time, which means you have to choose between reading the torrid dialogue and surviving (hint: It's not a hard choice, honestly).

"Not now, woman! Holy Fuuuuuu-"

You know what? All this doesn't matter, I assume, as your objectives are always clearly presented to you in the top right. Plus, story isn't why you're buying this game – action is.

Gameplay

Controlling your craft is a little bit of a science. Since it's a top-down shooter you have to master strafing and changing direction in a similar fashion with the old school game Asteroids to avoid the deluge of bullets that will be trying to murder you from all sides. This is confounded somewhat by the fact that you can't see what's behind you, which I don't have too much of an issue with considering that in an actual craft you can't really see behind you either.

Another realistic aspect is the difference between shooting down aerial foes and ground targets. The game assumes most enemies that are engaging you in the air are level with you, so accuracy isn't paramount. Once you've gotten the hang of aiming where the bullets should be vs where the enemy is, it's quite easy to just strafe and pray it eventually hits something.

Once you get to ground targets, that becomes a little more tricky. Since you're not level with your ground targets, accuracy becomes more important. Your bullets (missiles? lasers?) will hit only where you aim, and since you and your target could be moving at differing speeds, it becomes more challenging to nail them down. It adds a level of difficulty to the gameplay that you won't get in many other games.

I died at least twice to take this screen grab. The tank was fine. You're welcome.

This is further confounded by the fact that most of the special weapons you can pick up are Air only weapons. So you could clear the skies around you with a couple of charges, but unless you have the missiles that hit everything, ground enemies can still shred you to pieces.

So far, I've clocked 2 hours of game play and I've died more than my fair share. You get a set amount of lives each round and there are powerups that grant you extra lives, repairs, and energy shields to prolong your life just enough. A small annoyance is the insistence that you can only have one special weapon at a time, but it's negated by the fact that they appear fairly often.

Addictive Replays?

It's a little hard to be talking about replayability considering that I haven't even come close to finishing the game, but with increasing difficulty, repetitive movements (there really are only so many ways you can dodge bullets on a 2D plane) and very little by way of ship upgrades for you to choose from (there aren't any other ships you can buy, you can't buy different weapons, you can't even opt for a different paint job), I can't see this being a game you'd come back to on a daily basis if you have finished the game. Get your achievements, if you can**, and maybe you'll pop in once or twice a month for some gloriously exploding fun.

Verdict

Project Root is a decent game to pass time. It's visually attractive (except for the story panels), and very certainly a challenge you'll find yourself eager to power through, at least for the first few missions.

Rating

*Apologies. Due to this being my inaugural post, some delays were to be expected due to editorial constraints. At 2,.49 USD, this wasn't a bad purchase. For USD 9.99 there are better games out there.
**At the time of writing, Project Root has problems communicating your achievements to Steam. You'll earn them in game, but Steam won't know about it. I hope they fix that soon.

Vinsant Huang does Business Development from day to day when he's not being sucked into a narrative in some way or form.

Categories: Project, Root, Steam, Top Down, WAGS