Andrew Passafiume

Bioshock 2

February 21, 2010

Reviews / Xbox 360 / by Andrew Passafiume Make a comment! / Tweet it!

BioShock 2 returns us to Rapture once again, and this time puts us in the shoes of a Big Daddy. Rapture is still familiar, but there is enough unfamiliar territory that makes this return journey something pretty exciting on its own. A lot has changed, but at the same time, a lot has remained the same. 

The story follows Project Delta, one of the original Big Daddies trying to get back to his daughter, who had become a Little Sister. Delta had supposedly been presumed dead, but he awakens back in Rapture. And with the help of a mysterious man named Sinclair, he tries to stop the new leader of Rapture, Sofia Lamb, and get his daughter back. The story has a few interesting twists and turns, and while it is not as powerful as the story found in the first game, it is still excellent. 

Rapture is as beautiful and as haunting as you remember it, with amazing visual effects put to good use, as well as excellent sound design. The soundtrack itself still fits the game’s 1950s environment well, and the voice acting is top notch. However, as impressive this game is technically, Rapture still feels like the same old place we remember from the first game. This removes a lot of the mystery, and leaves us with new locations that still feel incredibly familiar.

Gameplay wise, there have been some much needed changes, but there is still a lot that is present from the original. You have a bunch of new guns, including the Rivet Gun, and instead of a wrench, you are equipped with the standard Big Daddy drill. You still have plasmids as well, most of which are from the original, but with some minor improvements. You still use your weapons and plasmids to defeat the same enemies from the first, with a few notable additions, like the hulking Brute Splicers.

The guns and plasmids handle exactly how they did in the first, and despite playing as a Big Daddy, you tend to forget you are one after a while. The hacking mini-game is much improved and now in real time, and you can now turn Vita Chambers off from the start (instead of waiting for it as DLC). But this game is more difficult than the first, so it might be recommended to leave them on your first time through the game.

You still fight other Big Daddies to get to the Little Sisters they are protecting, but instead of simply choosing to save or harvest them, you can now pick up the Little Sisters and have them harvest Adam for you from dead Splicers. Of course, when you put them down and they start harvesting Adam, you must defend them from incoming Splicers. These parts were pretty annoying and became tedious after a while, but thankfully are not required if you wish to save the Little Sisters. 

And once you deal with all of the Little Sisters in an area, a Big Sister appears; she is a much more formidable foe than the Big Daddies. These enemies move fast, have tons of plasmids to combat you with, and can take you down quickly if you aren’t careful. However, unlike the Big Daddy appearances, the Big Sister fights are scripted and you will know when they appear. It ruins the surprise of running into one in a level, as you would a Big Daddy. The fights themselves are intense, but they are also poorly implemented.

Overall, the single player portion of BioShock 2 is excellent. Gameplay wise, it is a huge improvement over the original, but at the same time it still falls short of the original. And then there is the multiplayer, which is surprisingly fun. Not as deep as the multiplayer you would get from Modern Warfare 2, but still a way to spend some time in Rapture after the credits have rolled. The unique thing about the multiplayer is it is a prequel to the events of the original BioShock, during the civil war that tore the city apart. It is a unique approach to multiplayer, and gives it a more interesting dynamic.

As for modes, you have your standards, such as deathmatch and team deathmatch, and a capture the flag mode called Capture the Sister. And every so often, a Big Daddy suit will spawn, giving the team who gets it a nice advantage. The multiplayer is a solid portion of the game, and while it might not have staying power, it still is a good time. 

BioShock 2 is a sequel I wish did not exist. Not because it’s a bad game, but because it’s an unnecessary game. However, as a sequel, it does a great job of returning us to Rapture almost exactly as we had left it a few years prior. 

Pros: Great story; beautiful and haunting environments; excellent sound design, soundtrack, and voice acting; gameplay is overall a huge improvement over the original; fun multiplayer

Cons: The mystery found in the original game is lacking; Big Sister fights are poorly implemented; Little Sister gathering missions are still tedious

 

Darwinia+

February 14, 2010

Reviews / Xbox 360 / by Andrew Passafiume Make a comment! / Tweet it!

Darwinia+ is essentially two games in one. It’s a console port of the original PC title, Darwinia, with a few new additions and tweaks. And it’s also a console port of Multiwinia, the multiplayer version of Darwinia. While Darwinia on the PC was an excellent game, the Xbox Live Arcade port holds up incredibly well on its own as what I consider the best version of the game so far.

Darwinia is a strategy game in which you try to rid a computer from a plague (or a string of viruses) from destroying what little of the mainframe is left. Inside of this computer are little programs known as Darwinians, and it is your job to protect these programs and destroy as much of the virus as possible in each level.  

The game has a very nice look to it with an amazingly catchy soundtrack, both of which complement each other perfectly. It adds to the atmosphere of the game, and it truly feels like you are inside of a computer trying to protect this “world” from being destroyed by the virus. 

Gameplay is pretty basic at first; you start out with two basic types of troops: you have the soldiers and the engineers. The soldiers are your main fighters, the ones who can do direct damage to the viruses you see in each level. The engineers pick up particles left behind by the destroyed (or perhaps deleted) viruses and use them to create new Darwinians. As you progress, you get new abilities for your soldiers and engineers, as well as other helpful tools that make it easier to take out the bigger viruses. 

The Darwinians themselves are the key to each level. Most levels have an objective which tells you to lead a certain number of Darwinians to a safe point in order to progress. You can assign a Darwinian leader to order them around and lead them towards safety, but it’s not that simple, as the Darwinians may get ambushed at certain points and can be destroyed rather easily. You have to continue to protect the Darwinians while also trying to clear out the rest of the level from the virus.

This game may seem simple at first, but as you go from level to level, the challenge ramps up significantly. Luckily the game translated incredibly well to a console, and the controls have been simplified so you can switch from one unit to another or even just navigate the map very easily. It will keep you from losing track of your Darwinians and your other units. But as the game increases in difficulty, it also becomes more and more addictive. 

Once you finish Darwinia, you can move onto Multiwinia, which is the multiplayer game that allows you to face up to three other teams of different colored Darwinians. You have six different modes, including Domination (teams go at it until one of them has full control of the map), King of the Hill, and Capture the Statue (which is the Multiwinia version of capture the flag). With the right group of friends, you can have a lot of fun with this mode. 

The problem I had with it is I could barely find anyone online to play with. I found one match with another person, but he dropped out shortly after the match started, so I resorted to having to play the computer A.I. to try out a lot of the modes. It’s still a fun time waster, but without real people to play against, I don’t see this being as enjoyable as it should be.

Darwinia+ is two great games in one $15 package. It contains an incredibly deep and truly addictive single player strategy game, and a fun multiplayer mode to keep you busy long after the single player ended. I recommend picking this up for Darwinia alone, but having Multiwinia is a nice added bonus. 

Pros: Unique graphical style; incredible music; addictive gameplay; multiplayer is a blast

Cons: Hard to find other people to play multiplayer with

 

Mass Effect 2

February 10, 2010

Reviews / Xbox 360 / by Andrew Passafiume Make a comment! / Tweet it!

This generation has been very hit and miss for RPGs, with a lot of them becoming very forgettable for most gamers. Although as time goes on, Western developed RPGs continue to dominate the market, very few have actually made their mark as successes, with the original Mass Effect being one of the sole exceptions. And despite its many gameplay flaws, the original game had quite a fascinating story and fantastic world to explore. How does Mass Effect 2 stack up? 

In short: Mass Effect 2 takes everything that was great about the first one, removes what didn’t work, and puts it all together into a very streamlined RPG experience. This game could bring together shooter fans and RPG fans in a way that has never been done before, and it does so in a way that both satisfies fans of the first game while appeasing to a new crowd.

The story follows Commander Shepard once again as he (or she) is nearly killed in action and brought back to life by a shady organization known as Cerberus. He is recruited to bring together a special team to stop a group of hostile aliens known as the Collectors. Those are the very basics, and if you import your save file from the first game, your actions carry over into the sequel and impact certain pieces of the story. It’s a well crafted an excellently told story supported by an amazing cast of characters.

The game looks brilliant, and none of the technical problems that were present in the original are found here. The framerate is steady throughout, there are no graphical hiccups or texture pop-ins at all, and everything just looks more polished. What hasn’t changed is the voice acting, which is as excellent as ever, with an all-star cast of actors joining in, as well as returning actors from the original.

The gameplay is broken into two sections, the story portions and the action game portions. The story portions, in which you interact with characters and pick from a dialog tree, is just as enjoyable as in the first game. You basically have three options during conversations: a Paragon choice (for the heroes), a neutral choice, and a Renegade choice (for the anti-heroes). Also like the first, your choices will determine how things in the story play out.

The shooting mechanics in the first game felt off, and never really provided the player with satisfying gameplay. The developers tried too hard to balance both the RPG elements and the shooting elements, and it did not feel like either genre; it was more along the lines of a poor blend of the two. Mass Effect 2 changes this completely, and feels just as good as the best third person shooters, if not better.

So yes, this game plays a lot more like a shooter than an RPG, but that is far from a bad thing. Some people may not enjoy how streamlined the experience is, with less focus on RPG elements and learning different skills and more on the core shooting mechanics. This is far from a bad thing, as it suits the game perfectly and feels like an excellent mix of both genres more so than the first ever did.

Instead of a cumbersome inventory, players now have a smaller selection of weapons, and if they pick one up that is stronger than the one they have, it is equipped automatically. The weapons can all be upgraded too, as can your armor, thus removing the equip screen completely from the menu. It’s a much needed change and it makes the game move at a much faster pace instead of bogging it down unnecessarily.

To do any upgrades for your weapons, armor, and the ship itself, you need to mine for minerals on different planets. This mining mini-game feels a lot like a chore than something you would want to do for fun, but it’s not such a huge part of the game that it ever bogs the experience down.

Also, the galaxy itself feels more open for exploration, and while most planets you can visit offer nothing more than minerals to mine for, some offer different side quests that are generally very fun and never get tedious. You’ll feel the urge to explore every planet and galaxy before you move on in the main story, which is an accomplishment in of itself.

You will recruit a total of ten people in the main story, and they all are incredibly likeable characters that will truly feel like a part of your crew. Tali and Garrus from the original return and can be recruited again, but the rest of your team is comprised of new characters, each with their own unique abilities. Unlike in the first game, you won’t feel compelled to stick with one main party, as each mission may require different squad members with different abilities.

Also, as you get to know each person on your team, loyalty missions will come up that allow you to explore the character’s past, and if done correctly, will impact the final mission of the game for the better. Although certain characters are more fleshed out than others, you’ll feel that they all fit in perfectly in this universe.

Overall, Mass Effect 2 is a stunning achievement that will be remembered as one of the best RPG experiences of the past decade, if not of all time. It certainly is the best RPG I’ve played in the past five years. And it continues to prove that BioWare knows exactly how to not only improve from their mistakes, but they also know how to make some of the most compelling games of all time. This is a must own game for any gamer.

Pros: Excellent story; brilliant cast of characters; truly imaginative and open world; amazing presentation; the gameplay is streamlined and incredibly fun; a huge improvement over the original in every way

Cons: Mining mini-game can become tedious

Sky Crawlers: Innocent Aces

February 3, 2010

Reviews / Wii / by Andrew Passafiume Make a comment! / Tweet it!

The Sky Crawlers: Innocent Aces completely surprised me. I was expecting a somewhat decent flight action/simulator following the story of, or at least taking place in the same universe as the Sky Crawlers anime. What I get is an excellent flight combat game with engrossing gameplay and controls that suit the Wii perfectly. It has the right balance of arcade style combat and tactics. It’s hard to expect anything less from the same team behind the Ace Combat series. 

On a technical level, The Sky Crawlers is impressive. The planes themselves are incredibly well designed, and the game is just nice to look at. In terms of the voice acting, a good cast delivers each line with the same kind of emotion and exuberance you would come to expect from an anime, or an anime-based game no less. It’s all good, with some enjoyable (although slightly overplayed and sometimes overdramatic) music to round it all out.

If you enjoyed the story of the anime, or at least could appreciate it, expect to be disappointed here. This game doesn’t exactly follow the same story as much as just take place in what seems to be the same universe at around the same time. Its connection (or lack thereof) might be disappointing to some. But how does the story in the game fair? It’s pretty weak, and characters are introduced so frequently you find yourself not caring about any of them. It’s a shame, considering the story in the Ace Combat series is generally very good (if not a little farfetched).

Gameplay-wise, Sky Crawlers is a blast. If you’ve ever played any game like this, you’ll know what to expect. You have a set of missions to complete, a lot of which have different objectives that you are briefed on before the start of the mission. These objectives usually consist of taking down specific targets, escorting an ally or two (which isn’t as bad as you may think), and a few other surprises along the way. 

You get a wide range of planes and special weapons to select from, which continues to expand as you complete more missions. And at the end of each mission, you are debriefed and given a rank based on a few factors, including your time, how many enemies you took down, and your TMC. TMC stands for Tactical Maneuver Command and it is a neat feature that sets this game apart from the other flight games out there.

When you are in range of an enemy plane, you can press the A button on the remote to perform a TMC. This maneuvers your plane directly behind the enemy, which allows you to get quick take downs. There are three levels of a TMC, and the longer you stay in range of an enemy, the higher the level increases, and the higher your chance of getting a direct hit after performing the TMC increases. This is an interesting dynamic that keeps dogfights interesting and more intense than you may expect.

There are two main control options, both of which work incredibly well. You can play the game with the classic controller, which is fine, but you can also use the Wii remote and Nunchuk, which takes full advantage of the motion controls. With that control scheme, you move the Wiimote up and away from the TV to accelerate, and back down to decelerate. The Nunchuk is used for maneuvering your plane, and together they make a very easy to learn and truly enjoyable control scheme.

With excellent controls, incredibly fun missions, and a truly exceptional game with plenty of challenge, The Sky Crawlers: Innocent Aces is a success. And for its budget price, it is very hard to go wrong with this game if you are a fan of the genre. This may be the best project from the Ace Combat team to date. 

Pros: Excellent motion controls; all control options work well; incredibly fun and varied missions; plenty of planes and weapons to choose from; great voice cast; fun interaction between the characters

Cons: Weak story

 

Army of Two: The 40th Day

January 17, 2010

Reviews / Xbox 360 / by Andrew Passafiume Make a comment! / Tweet it!

The original Army of Two truly made for a fun co-op experience, and the sequel improves upon that in many ways. While it is incredibly similar to the first game, it does enough to differentiate itself from the original while keeping the things that did work the same.  

On a technical level, the game is pretty impressive. The environments are incredibly varied and the amount of destruction is shown off amazingly. This is one thing that stands out about this game over the original; each level feels less generic and full of unique things that help them stand out. The destruction feels overdone at times, but it is a nice touch in certain levels.  

The game’s story is pretty basic, although it takes itself a bit more seriously than it did in the first game. Shanghai is nearly in ruins, and both main characters (Rios and Salem) are trying to get out of the city alive after a job goes bad. Along the way, there are morality choices that can be made that impact the game’s story and inevitably the ending. With three possible endings, these choices definitely make the story seem less tacked on and more involved this time around. 

Gameplay is pretty much exactly the same as in the first game, with a few added things that improve the game a bit. The gunplay is excellent and truly satisfying, and it never seems to get old. The controls themselves are solid as well, giving the player enough options without feeling convoluted. One small problem with the controls is the A button, which is used to do too many things. You could try to revive your partner, but end up jumping over cover and getting shot down my enemies. It leads to many frustrating moments. 

Like the first, co-op is huge in this game, being the main selling point and all. You can play through the entire game by yourself with an A.I. partner, or in co-op. The A.I. is actually really good at handling itself and does fairly well in combat, but the main draw is the co-op. Playing through this game with another person makes it a completely different experience, and although it still is a lot of fun solo, the co-op makes it a lot more enjoyable (and quite addictive). 

There are many moments in which teamwork is important. To tie in with the morality system, there are moments when you can (or have your partner) take a bad guy hostage from behind which signals the other guys in the room to put their guns down. From there, you can either execute them or tie them down, which works in with the morality system. And if there are hostages involved, you could try and save them to boost your morality. All of this plays into the game’s story, as mentioned above.

And then there is the multiplayer, which is pretty generic. You get a handful of modes, most of which never stand out or leave any kind of impression. The one mode that does stand out is Extraction, which needs to be downloaded separately and is only available to those who have pre-ordered the game for the first month. This mode plays like Horde mode in Gears of War 2, or Firefight in Halo 3: ODST. You need to try and survive as long as possible facing off against wave after wave of increasingly difficult enemies. It can be very fun with the right people and will test your skills at the game immensely.  

One downer is the game is incredibly short, like the first, but it does have a lot of replayability. Those who want to get all of the endings have plenty to do in multiple playthroughs, and once again, the co-op makes the experience almost feel entirely different.  

Overall, Army of Two: The 40th Day is a truly enjoyable action game that, while not original in any way, is still a ton of mindless fun. And sometimes, all you need is a friend and a mindless action game to waste the day away.  

Pros: Incredibly satisfying gunplay; solid controls; addictive co-op; plenty of replay value; fantastic level design and set piece sequences; Extraction mode is a blast 

Cons:  Aside from Extraction, the multiplayer is generic; can be finished in 5-6 hours; having the A button do almost everything is annoying

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