Eric Schabel

Red Dead Redemption

June 2, 2010

Have you ever wanted to be a cowboy vigilante, hunting beasts and people alike in the untamed deserts of the Wild West? If so, you’re in luck, because Rockstar’s Red Dead Redemption allows you to do just that. And even if being a cowboy doesn’t happen to be your thing, Rockstar’s latest epic endeavor is still one hell of a ride. Redemption is the spiritual successor to 2004’s Red Dead Revolver, but unlike Revolver it is an open-ended sandbox style action adventure game in the same vein as the GTA titles. In Redemption, you play a character named John Marston who has a troubled past that he is being forced to atone for. Marston will embark on numerous adventures both large and small throughout the game, and all of them are thoroughly entertaining.

Red Dead Redemption is an epic game; the combined map size of the three regions John Marston will travel through is twice the size of San Andreas—it is massive. Unlike the GTA titles, Redemption’s environment hardly contains any large buildings or crowded streets at all, but thanks to an abundance of side quests, animals, and gorgeous terrain, traversing on horseback through the Wild West is every bit as engaging as cruising around Liberty City, if not even more so. Redemption’s dynamic game engine makes sure that there is never a dull moment as you travel from town to town; be it a bear attack, a hanging, or a good old fashioned shoot-out, you are never idle for long. When you combine the story missions with all of the side missions and challenges, the amount of time it takes to complete Redemption is far into the double digits, and while you will definitely see some mission types repeating themselves fairly often, the game as a whole never gets stale.

Redemption’s story also shines. John Marston is an interesting, morally ambiguous fellow with a dark past and an even darker future. All of the voice acting in the game is top-notch and many of the scenarios and characters are as interesting and entertaining as any you will find in the movies the game was inspired by. Players will be able to gain both fame and honor for Marston as they travel the land, and both of these stats work in tandem to govern the way people react to Marston. More honor means more respect from lawmen and less trouble for committing minor offenses, while fame translates into more chances for side quests as people recognize Marston and ask for his help. The honor system feels a bit like the morality scale found in games like Mass Effect, though it is less pronounced. Capturing a criminal and hauling them in for cash is worth more honor than killing them, while committing evil deeds will earn you negative honor. None of this influences the game’s story directly, but it does make for variable gameplay all the same.

Combat in Redemption is fun and plentiful. Marston has dozens of different guns at his disposable, from six shooters and double-barreled shotguns to sniper rifles, and they all pack a punch. The enemy AI is decent at finding cover and a good shot too, so Marston must also take cover in order to survive any prolonged gunfight. That said, Marston does have one thing his enemies do not: the Dead Eye. Early on in the game, triggering Dead Eye mode will slow down anything moving around Marston to a crawl, allowing him to aim and take out his opponents before they have time to blink. As the game progresses, the Dead Eye will change slightly in functionality, and it can be a life saver in a fierce gunfight, allowing Marston to take out multiple bad guys in one fell swoop when the odds are stacked against him.

Graphically, Red Dead Redemption is about as good as it can possibly be. While character models aren’t terribly impressive, the environment is gorgeous and expansive. Considering how much stuff is going on at any one moment, Rockstar has done an admirable job of pushing the consoles to their limits. Parking your horse on the edge of a cliff and watching the sunset is a beautiful sight that Rockstar pulled off perfectly. The framerate does dip noticeably on rare occasion, especially when there are a lot of particle effects going on, but this almost never takes away from the fun. Something should also be said of the sound design, which is handled perfectly.

The online multiplayer aspect of Red Dead Redemption is fairly robust; featuring a free roaming online hub with up to 16 players as well as more traditional deathmatch and capture the flag style affairs. In Free Roam, players can level up their online personas and join up with other players to form posses which can then take part in events such as raiding gang strongholds to rank up, or launching into competitive online play. Getting a group of friends to join your posse in free roaming mode is a great way to spend a few hours. Alternatively, players can choose to go it alone and just cause mayhem, which isn’t quite as fun. Although there is not much cooperative play to be found outside of Free Roam posses and team-based matches, Rockstar will be releasing a free downloadable co-op pack in the near future.

Some may be tempted to label Redemption as a GTA game in a different skin, but that is not really the case. While there are certainly similarities between the two franchises, the world Rockstar has created for this game is so unique and alive that players will invariably find themselves lost in the simple joy of riding a horse through beautiful backdrops, and that is not something you would find in crime-ridden urban sprawl of Rockstar’s famous fictional cities. I can’t really say enough good things about Red Dead Redemption; it is a thoroughly enjoyable adventure into the Wild West of the early twentieth century that must be played to be appreciated. If you enjoy epic action adventure titles, Redemption is the game for you.

Pros: Huge beautiful open world, entertaining story and characters, numerous side quests and challenges, superb sound design

Cons: Occasional framerate drops

Plays like: Some kind of mix between GTA and the overworld elements of Zelda games

Plain Sight

April 21, 2010

PC / Reviews / by Eric Schabel /

Exploding robot ninjas, flaming swords, Robozilla…why oh why is this title from Beatnik Games named Plain Sight? Personally, I would have gone with something like, oh I don’t know, Super Robo Jet Fighter Ninjas, but I guess there is something to be said for simplicity. Plain Sight is a downloadable PC game that re-imagines multiplayer ninja deathmatch gaming. Okay, so maybe it isn’t a very crowded genre, but the point is that Plain Sight looks and feels like nothing you have ever played before.

The concept behind Plain Sight is pretty unique: you are a little robot ninja armed with a katana that must destroy other mini robot ninjas in order to build up energy. When you’ve built up enough energy, it’s time to explode, hopefully taking out as many of your enemies as possible in the process. The more energy you have stored up, the bigger the explosion. Self destructing doesn’t just kill your foes, though—it also banks the points you have gained from taking out opponents, which you can then spend on upgrades. On the other hand, if you are killed before you can explode yourself, you gain no experience points. There are several categories that you can spend your upgrade points on, including run speed, jumping, and boost strength, among others. All of the upgrades are useful and they provide a good reason to keep on playing— the more you play, the stronger you get. Boosting is your only non-suicidal method of attack in Plain Sight; after you have locked on to a target, you simply hold down the left mouse button to charge and let go when you are in range to attack, hopefully turning your opponent into a pile of scrap metal. Sounds simple on paper, but there’s a lot that can go wrong in-game.

The first few times you play Plain Sight can be downright disorienting, thanks to the speedy gameplay and crazy variable gravity planetoid-based maps (think Super Mario Galaxy). Attacks can come from any and every direction, and you have full control of the camera at all times. In other words, players must constantly keep on the move, surveying their surroundings, in order to survive. The levels themselves all look really trippy, featuring various types of floating landscapes, with each piece of land on the map having its own gravitational field. Some of the maps are straightforward, while others are littered with planetoids and obstacles that make traversing them something of a puzzle in and of itself. Leaping and dashing through these levels is really fun and feels great once you get the hang of things.

While the main deathmatch and team deathmatch modes will undoubtedly prove to be the most popular ones in the game, there are three other modes that mix things up a bit. Capture the Flag isn’t really anything new, but “Ninja! Ninja! Ninja! Robozilla!” is a neat take on cooperative combat that has mini ninjas working together to destroy a giant player-controlled dinosaur robot with a flaming sword. Finally, “Lighten Up” is a mode that pits players in a race to gain energy and detonate themselves on top of a specific structure on the map, with the biggest explosion determining who wins the match.

Plain Sight is a fun ride, even if I do have some small issues with it. The auto-targeting cursor system, while necessary, is limited and often makes it difficult to lock on to specific players that you want to attack. Servers can support over 20 players, but I found that playing with so many other people in standard deathmatch can sometimes be an exercise in frustration, especially on the smaller maps. With so many enemies flying around, it is often impossible to evade attacks for very long, meaning it is a struggle to rack up enough points to upgrade your ninja early on in the matches. Or it could be that my robo-ninjutsu just isn’t strong enough yet. There is also a complete lack of a soundtrack in the game, other than the enjoyable menu music. Either way, Plain Sight is a fun and refreshing multiplayer title that is worth taking a look at, especially if you have grown tired of offing your foes with a gun and want to try something a little different for a change. Did I mention the game also looks damn good for an indie title?

Pros: Unique concept, fast and furious gameplay, nice visuals

Cons: The limited targeting system, no soundtrack

Plays like: Chibi-Robo meets Super Mario Galaxy with katanas…and robot dinosaurs.

Pokemon HeartGold Version

March 19, 2010

DS / Reviews / by Eric Schabel /

Pokemon is back, and this time it’s in the form of a remake of what many people consider to be the best installment in the core series, Pokemon Gold and Silver.

Even if you have never played the original Gold or Silver on Game Boy Color, HeartGold will still feel very familiar if you have ever played through any other titles in the series. You still start off your adventure in a small lazy town with one of three starter Pokemon, you still battle your way from city to city collecting gym badges, and you still cut, surf, and fly your way through numerous locales. The battle system in HeartGold is the same glorified turn-based game of rock-paper-scissors (perhaps I should say fire-grass-water) of the previous Pokemon titles as well. In other words, HeartGold follows the same addicting formula that GameFreak has been using since 1996. That said, even if you have never picked up a Pokemon title before in your life, HeartGold will still do a great job of easing you into the experience gently.

Okay, HeartGold is similar to every other game in the core series, so what’s new? Game Freak usually does a good job of revising their Pokemon formula with every new installment, and HeartGold is no exception. Perhaps the most helpful improvement in HeartGold is the revised menu interface; everything is located completely on the bottom screen of the DS, meaning that pretty much every menu in the game utilizes touch controls. Navigating your inventory or trading with a friend online has never been quicker. In the same vein, battles in HeartGold also unfold at a quicker pace, with less lag between button presses and action than we saw in Diamond and Pearl. These small quality of life revisions may not sound like much, but they definitely add up when you’re playing a massive game like this one.

If there’s one obvious new addition to HeartGold, it’s the PokeWalker. The PokeWalker is a device that comes bundled with HeartGold and SoulSilver that is designed to allow you to take one of your pocket monsters with you wherever you go in…what else…your pocket! The PokeWalker communicates with the game via a small infrared strip on the top of the HeartGold cartridge, and it is quite simple to transfer one of your Pokemon over from the main game into the little Pokeball-shaped pedometer. For the most part, the PokeWalker is just a simple way to level up one of your monsters while you are too busy to actually play the main game; you simply walk around with the device in your pocket and it does the rest for you. However, you can also play some simple mini games on the PokeWalker that might score you some useful items or even allow you to catch a new Pokemon that you can then transfer back to HeartGold. The PokeWalker is a neat but largely inconsequential addition to HeartGold, but it does, along with the fact that your lead Pokemon follows you around as a sprite in-game, help you feel a little more attached to your creatures, as nerdy as that might sound.

Pokemon HeartGold is a huge game; most Pokemon titles feature eight gym badges to collect, a few rare legendary Pokemon, and then a battle with the “Elite Four,” a group of bosses that stand between you and becoming the next Pokemon Champion. Usually, all of this takes place in one large region. In HeartGold, there are two regions, Johto and Kanto. That means that there are 16 badges to collect in all, and a staggeringly huge number of Pokemon and trainers to encounter. When all is said and done, most people will probably spend at least 60 hours completing HeartGold, and that is not including any time devoted to online trading or battles and a host of other side activities such as the new “Pokeathlon” mini games, which happen to be quite fun on their own.

There is no getting around the fact that HeartGold is an epic game, even compared to the other lengthy Pokemon titles. When all is said and done, HeartGold doesn’t do much to change the core Pokemon experience, but that’s not what the game was made to do. Since the beginning, Pokemon has been a fun and addicting series, and HeartGold exists just to provide more for people who love it. HeartGold is the most refined and epic Pokemon game to date, and a wonderful way to either revisit the series or take your first step into the world of Pokemon.

Plays Like: Every other core Pokemon title

Pros: Huge, lengthy game; menu interface improvements; PokeWalker implementation

Cons: Wasting move slots on your Pokemon for those annoying HM moves

Pokemon SoulSilver Version

March 19, 2010

DS / Reviews / by Eric Schabel /

Pokemon is back, and this time it’s in the form of a remake of what many people consider to be the best installment in the core series, Pokemon Gold and Silver.

Even if you have never played the original Gold or Silver on Game Boy Color, SoulSilver will still feel very familiar if you have ever played through any other titles in the series. You still start off your adventure in a small lazy town with one of three starter Pokemon, you still battle your way from city to city collecting gym badges, and you still cut, surf, and fly your way through numerous locales. The battle system in SoulSilver is the same glorified turn-based game of rock-paper-scissors (perhaps I should say fire-grass-water) of the previous Pokemon titles as well. In other words, SoulSilver follows the same addicting formula that GameFreak has been using since 1996. That said, even if you have never picked up a Pokemon title before in your life, SoulSilver will still do a great job of easing you into the experience gently.

Okay, SoulSilver is similar to every other game in the core series, so what’s new? Game Freak usually does a good job of revising their Pokemon formula with every new installment, and SoulSilver is no exception. Perhaps the most helpful improvement in SoulSilver is the revised menu interface; everything is located completely on the bottom screen of the DS, meaning that pretty much every menu in the game utilizes touch controls. Navigating your inventory or trading with a friend online has never been quicker. In the same vein, battles in SoulSilver also unfold at a quicker pace, with less lag between button presses and action than we saw in Diamond and Pearl. These small quality of life revisions may not sound like much, but they definitely add up when you’re playing a massive game like this one.

If there’s one obvious new addition to SoulSilver, it’s the PokeWalker. The PokeWalker is a device that comes bundled with HeartGold and SoulSilver that is designed to allow you to take one of your pocket monsters with you wherever you go in…what else…your pocket! The PokeWalker communicates with the game via a small infrared strip on the top of the SoulSilver cartridge, and it is quite simple to transfer one of your Pokemon over from the main game into the little Pokeball-shaped pedometer. For the most part, the PokeWalker is just a simple way to level up one of your monsters while you are too busy to actually play the main game; you simply walk around with the device in your pocket and it does the rest for you. However, you can also play some simple mini games on the PokeWalker that might score you some useful items or even allow you to catch a new Pokemon that you can then transfer back to SoulSilver. The PokeWalker is a neat but largely inconsequential addition to SoulSilver, but it does, along with the fact that your lead Pokemon follows you around as a sprite in-game, help you feel a little more attached to your creatures, as nerdy as that might sound.

Pokemon SoulSilver is a huge game; most Pokemon titles feature eight gym badges to collect, a few rare legendary Pokemon, and then a battle with the “Elite Four,” a group of bosses that stand between you and becoming the next Pokemon Champion. Usually, all of this takes place in one large region. In SoulSilver, there are two regions, Johto and Kanto. That means that there are 16 badges to collect in all, and a staggeringly huge number of Pokemon and trainers to encounter. When all is said and done, most people will probably spend at least 60 hours completing SoulSilver, and that is not including any time devoted to online trading or battles and a host of other side activities such as the new “Pokeathlon” mini games, which happen to be quite fun on their own.

There is no getting around the fact that SoulSilver is an epic game, even compared to the other lengthy Pokemon titles. When all is said and done, SoulSilver doesn’t do much to change the core Pokemon experience, but that’s not what the game was made to do. Since the beginning, Pokemon has been a fun and addicting series, and SoulSilver exists just to provide more for people who love it. SoulSilver is the most refined and epic Pokemon game to date, and a wonderful way to either revisit the series or take your first step into the world of Pokemon.

Plays Like: Every other core Pokemon title

Pros: Huge, lengthy game; menu interface improvements; PokeWalker implementation

Cons: Wasting move slots on your Pokemon for those annoying HM moves

Polar Panic

January 13, 2010

Reviews / Xbox 360 / by Eric Schabel /

Polar Panic from Valcon Games is an XBLA puzzle game about a polar bear cleverly named Polar who must overcome an evil corporation run by the heartless and equally cleverly named Mr. Big in order to save his arctic homeland and his bear friends. How will Polar combat this corporation all on his own, you ask? By crushing his enemies with blocks of ice, of course! Polar Panic may have a cute cartoon presentation, but don’t let that fool you—the game can be quite difficult.

Polar Panic features three main single player modes: the story campaign, Puzzle Mode, and Survivor Mode. No matter which mode you play, each map is composed of tiles and is displayed from an overhead isometric perspective. In Story Mode players will find themselves facing off against numerous trappers that Mr. Big has sent out to stop Polar in his tracks. Story Mode spans ten chapters and 50 levels, and features boss fights at the end of every other chapter. The over-arching goal of each level is to defeat all of the trappers on the map, but there are also secondary objectives such as rescuing your fellow polar bears and destroying igloos or snowmen. In order to eliminate his enemies, Polar needs to make use of the many ice blocks covering each map, pushing them so that they slide into and squish the trappers. However, there are several different types of trappers and some of them, such as those toting flamethrowers, cannot be attacked head on because they will simply melt the ice blocks. On occasion Polar will also be able to make use of dynamite crates and special “freeze” power blocks to dispatch multiple baddies quickly.

Trappers, even the ones who throw sticks of dynamite, are not the most difficult obstacle you will face in Story Mode, and neither are the boss fights where you face off against Mr. Big in one of his many machines. No, the worst enemy in this game is the time limit that constantly ticks away as you play. Although it is usually simple in most levels to finish off all of the trappers and get to the exit tile within the time limit, if you wish to complete secondary objectives and receive a good rating at the end of a level, the game becomes almost a little too unforgiving. In other words, the difficulty curve in Polar Panic is steep; in later levels it becomes almost impossible to earn an A rating without multiple attempts, even on the easiest setting, all because of the timer. Story Mode has some fun levels, but it really could have been balanced better.

I actually enjoyed Polar Panic‘s other two modes, Puzzle and Survivor, more than the main story campaign. In Puzzle Mode, you have to make your way through 50 maps that challenge you to plan out your moves in advance before attempting to clear the levels. Puzzle Mode does not feature any trapper enemies, instead mixing things up by using special blocks and tiles to block your path. As with the story mode, you are graded at the end of each level, but in Puzzle Mode your grade is based on the number of moves you executed before getting to the exit. In Survivor Mode, you face wave after wave of trappers until you run out of lives. Survivor Mode is probably my favorite mode of Polar Panic; it is really satisfying to squish multiple trappers with one block of ice, and even more so when you manage to blow them up with a crate of explosives. It can get pretty frantic when the map is crowded with trappers trying to off poor Polar. Both Puzzle and Survivor Mode benefit greatly by challenging the player without having to resort to a constantly ticking clock.

Polar Panic is a fun but frustrating XBLA puzzle game. The game doesn’t really bring anything new to the table, but Polar Panic is worth checking out, especially for the Puzzle and Survivor modes. The Story Mode has respectable length, but it is unforgiving and not as fun as it could have been with some tweaking. If you have a craving for some puzzle action, you might want to consider downloading this game, especially if it happens to be on sale.

Pros: Puzzle Mode and Survivor Mode

Cons: Unforgiving difficulty curve in Story Mode, no online play

Plays Like: Pengo, Bomberman

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