PS3

 

Racing games are difficult. Track design, opponent AI, and event variation all need to be handled very well because if any one thing isn’t right the entire experience falls flat. Fortunately, Midnight Club: Los Angeles delivers a great replica of the Los Angeles area and a good variety of race events. It stumbles, however, in its single player gameplay because of overly aggressive rubber band AI and opponents who always have the money for upgrades and the ability to beat you off the line when real vehicle stats say they couldn’t. 

Midnight Club has never been about realism, though, and Los Angeles is no exception. The replica of Los Angeles isn’t a perfect street for street translation, but the experience is better for it. LA is, by and large, boring to drive in. By compressing the city a bit Rockstar was able to get recognizable landmarks closer together and create routes that are more exciting to race on than the city’s primarily grid-based layout should warrant. Second, vehicle handling lands closer to arcade controls than simulation controls. The big difference here is handling. You’ll be relying more on slides than precision braking to execute turns. 

Midnight Club: Los Angeles conveys an incredible sense of speed. Nowhere is this more apparent than in pickup highway races. You can speed up to a potential opponent, flash your lights, and take off down the highway while weaving through traffic. The high speed feel can make it easy to miss the plumes of smoke that denote event start locations, but the in-game GPS view more than makes up for it. When you bring up the GPS instead of bringing up a menu with a simulated GPS screen the camera zooms out to a bird’s eye view of the city and lays GPS information over it, with all effects from the game world are translated to the GPS view – including weather. 

It pays to learn the courses as events start at random places on the city map instead of preset tracks chosen from a menu, and until you learn the routes you can count on missing turns and losing races because of it. After you learn the routes you can count on losing races because the AI is absolutely brutal. Regardless of what the AI is driving, it will be better off the line than your top-of-the-line sports car, and it will never lag very far behind. Midnight Club: Los Angeles makes you work for your victories, and it definitely isn’t for the easily frustrated or the chronically unlucky. 

Where Midnight Club: Los Angeles really shines is in its multiplayer. Rockstar takes full advantage of the current crop of console’s online capabilities and offers standard races, capture the flag keep away, and many more. Getting into an online match is simple, too. Taking a page from GTA IV, all multiplayer is handled via the cell phone. Either invite your friends or accept invites on the in-game phone, and you’re ready to participate in events with your buddies online. Occasional pop-in was observed during 16-player multiplayer, but it only happened once, and it certainly didn’t make the races less fun. 

Midnight Club: Los Angeles is a great racing game with just a few little sore spots. The cars handle believably, Los Angeles is a blast to drive around in, and the GPS menu is amazing. Earning enough reputation to unlock parts for purchase is a good system in theory, but the punishing AI serves to frustrate a bit, and it gets even more frustrating the further into the game you get. Thankfully the online multiplayer is great and fair, since a skilled player can actually pull ahead of the pack and a minor mistake doesn’t guarantee a loss. Fans of street racing are certain to have a great time speeding around Los Angeles, but don’t expect to come in first right off the bat. 

ESRB: T for Mild Suggestive Themes, Mild Violence, Strong Lyrics – no worse than a Need for Speed title

Pros: great GPS, authentic sense of speed, fun multiplayer

Cons: especially difficult single player

Plays Like: Need for Speed, Test Drive Unlimited

 

Silent Hill Homecoming

October 30, 2008

For the sixth installment of the Silent Hill franchise, new mechanics on new platforms help reinvigorate the series while maintaining a solid feel of the previous games. Everything you have come to love about Silent Hill is still here, so for those who adore the series, they will be pleased with the updates, but for those who don’t, there may not be enough of a difference to warrant giving it a spin.

Alex Shepherd is a recently discharged army veteran who is suffering from nightmares about his younger brother. When he returns to Shepherd’s Glen he discovers a town in a perpetual fog and nasties lurking around each corner, and upon returning home his Mother tells him of the disappearance of his Father and Brother. Determined to find them, he must unravel the mystery that links his family to the horror that is Silent Hill.

The single biggest difference in this title is the combat. Long gone are the weak protagonists that don’t know the working end of a gun, in Alex you have a capable fighter who effectively takes the worry out of combat. This will work for or against certain gamers as some will say it takes an edge off of dealing with the enemies, but for me I welcome the increased accent on fighting as the game seemed to balance this with an increased amount of baddies. Fighting now has the option of light and heavy attacks that can be strung together for combos, or dodging and rolling out of harm’s way to avoid the previously unavoidable enemy attacks. And with a simple flick of the analog stick, you can quickly switch targets ensuring multiple enemies are not a problem to deal with. Firearms are similarly in capable hands with Alex, as aiming is more precise and deadly, although the game once again balances this with scarce ammunition through the early stages.

The camera has been revamped as well, giving control to the player in a manner similar to the PSP release Silent Hills Origins. Here it is worlds better than previous Silent Hill entries with their fixed camera angles, but it still could have used some tweaking to get it closer to perfection. Instead, you end up fighting with the camera a little as it invariably zooms too close to you as you fight, neglecting to show that faceless enemy about to bite you from behind. The menu system was updated to allow for easier access to guns, ammunition, puzzle pieces and health items, by holding the L1 or R1 you can quickly swap out items in the heat of battle with little to no worries. And finally, the addition of a health bar on the left side of the screen is heaven sent. Why did it take them so long to add that?

For those familiar with the series, the rest of the gameplay follows the standard formula: walk around, get scared, find a puzzle, find solution to puzzle, continue. This wash and repeat formula may get old for some, but it is the atmosphere and ambiance that make it all worthwhile. Sound is just plain excellent in setting the tone, leaving you on the edge of your seat as you are constantly anticipating the next shock which may or may not happen around the corner.

Graphically the game does okay. I was a little disappointed in the overall quality, as secondary characters and environments seemed washed out in the constant darkness, fog and otherworld scratchy film effects. Alex himself and the enemies are particularly well done, giving good emotional responses in the form of Alex, and surprisingly disturbing images in the form of skinless dogs, faceless nurses and other amalgamations I can’t even begin to describe. 

Fans of the Silent Hill series will generally agree that Homecoming is a move in the right direction. Double Helix solved my biggest complaints about the series with the better camera and especially the improved combat, but if you already found the rinse repeat gameplay formula annoying, there isn’t much here that will convince you to come back to it.

ESRB: M for Mature, dead bodies, gross bad guys, seriously disgusting fights

Plays Like: Updated Silent Hill with more robust combat

PROS: Everything Silent Hill is famous for plus improved combat, loading and camera

CONS: Everything Silent Hill is famous for, if you don’t like SH, you won’t like this

 

 

 

Wall-E

October 22, 2008

Being the tie-in video game of a movie is tough. Add to that being the tie-in of a movie that doesn’t feature much action and you get mixed results, and WALL-E is no exception to the rule. Based off of the movie of the same name, you take control of the eponymous robot of the popular Pixar movie as you maneuver him around a garbage encrusted Earth. All is well until his life is changed by the arrival of another robot, EVE. Captivated by her, WALL-E follows EVE into space as they work together to bring proof of the healing Earth to the remaining humans.

The game starts out as an average if not mediocre platformer; you pilot WALL-E around the environment, following an essentially linear path by opening low difficulty puzzles. By using one of three different types of garbage blocks, you energize doors or weigh down levers to open up the next area while collecting various artifacts that unlock extras. The PS3 version includes the use of EVE once she arrives, and while controlling her for a short time helps stir up the mix, the level you use her in is contrived and too short to be memorable. Together WALL-E and EVE add long jumps and blasting to your puzzle solving repertoire, but it ultimately feels even more contrived. Even the blasting of enemy robots aboard the spaceship doesn’t give much value to the game, as it feels like the developers were stretching to find as many different ways to attempt to make the game action-packed.

The graphics and sound are decent for the most part, as the Earth levels show a lot of detail. Unfortunately, you can tell that this game was rushed to completion with glaring inconsistencies that pop out occasionally. Most notable was the sandstorm effect which I almost thought was a joke the first time I encountered it. This carries over into the cut-scenes as well with well rendered models of WALL-E and EVE interacting, followed by horrible rendering of the human captain of the spaceship.

Controls are adequate, matching the difficulty of picking up the game with its target audience: children. Unlike the movie which appeals to adults, this game doesn’t even attempt to pander to the older audience. Completionists may rejoice as there are hidden objects scattered around each level that unlock concept art and the occasional multiplayer map. But as the multiplayer is limited and just not fun, and the art is just a minimal reason to explore, I lost interest in even finding these objects early on in the game.  

WALL-E falls into the same pit-falls of every other movie related game out there, and while there are some fun things to take away from the game, it just isn’t as inviting as the movie is. If you must absolutely pick up a copy, then I would send you to the PS2 version of the game that is tweaked down a little bit, but is pound for pound a better experience.

ESRB: E; it’s WALL-E, after all
Plays like: a typical, simple platformer
Pros: easy fun that follows the movie of the same name
Cons: weak multiplayer

The Bourne Conspiracy follows superspy Jason Bourne as he fights good guys and bad guys alike to reclaim his identity. While based in the Bourne universe, the plot serves only as a backdrop to what this game is really about: Combat. Fisticuffs and third-person shooting are the bread and butter of this game, but just like Jason Bourne himself, hand-to-hand combat is heavily favored.

Using only two buttons for light and heavy attacks and a third for blocking, 3 hit combinations can be strung together to maximize the damage. As simple as that seems, this control scheme provides a great deal of satisfaction due to the addition of an adrenaline gauge that allows you to pull off some very visceral and visually stunning finishing moves. With enough adrenaline built up, these finishers can be used on multiple enemies taking out a small crowd of would-be assassins in a movie-like burst of action.

The frequent boss battles give you ample opportunity to perfect your hand-to-hand skill, allowing you to play around with different combos to find what breaks through your adversaries’ defenses. Here the environments play a greater part of the finishers, as you can steer your enemy up to a brick wall and execute a finisher to knock their head brutally against it. Almost anything is possible, as random items become weapons in the hands of Bourne.

Finishers even play a part in the third-person shooting although with less effective results, as the cinematic of an enemy being shot from a distance doesn’t hold a candle to a good twisted broken arm. Here, standard duck and cover and a slightly sluggish shooting mechanic make gunplay the less desirable aspect of this game; too often you find yourself in a mission where you are faced with gun-toting enemies and not enough cover and the game seems to just slow down. In this case, finishers are excellent for getting rid of enemies so you could move on, but if at all possible you would still opt on running up to the bad guy and automatically force the gun from their hand so you could fight them like a man.

Visually the game strives for a movie-like experience and mostly succeeds, but due to the fact this is a multiplatform release, the PS3 engine never really gets pushed past an average graphic level. The well-executed finishers bring a needed pop to the game that seamlessly blend in with the action, but it is the sound that puts the experience over the top. The sounds of bullets whizzing by and especially the gratifying sound of fist on flesh are so well incorporated that this is one of the best sounding games out there. Every punch and head slam sound brilliant and only heighten the action quality of the fighting sequences.

The Bourne Conspiracy is a detail rich action adventure games that combines an amazing hand-to-hand combat system with a standard third person shooter to obtain mixed results. If you favor shooting over melee then you might look elsewhere for your thrills, but if you like punching the snot out of enemies in new and various ways then you have found something to revel in.

Originally released on the Xbox 360 and PC, Overlord quickly drew attention to itself for its tongue-in-cheek wit, and outside of the box gameplay similar to Pikmin. After a successful career and an expansion later, the PS3 is lucky enough to get the complete package and extra dungeons in one game that features a few tweaks to presentation.

Raised from the dead, you are the Overlord, a Sauron wannabe who finds his tower in ruins and his peasants less than respectful. What you do have is the undying affection of your faithful minions who will die for you while making you laugh all the while. These imp-like creatures follow your commands like a flock of cockroaches, enabling you to take down your enemies, drive fear into the locals hearts’ and help you rebuild your tower to your suiting.

From your dark tower you start out with a minimal set of brown minions and teleport about the countryside gaining life-force for more minions, power-ups, tower upgrades, and eventually the use of different types of minions. Each minion type represents a tactical combat strategy and a puzzle element in one. For example the blue minions serve as healers during combat and are the only minion type that can go through water while reds use fire-based attacks and can walk through the same unscathed. As you progress, your tower goes from ruins to luxury with your dungeon for refighting past enemies and an armory for upgrading weapons; just toss more than a couple of your willing minions into the smelting pot and you can upgrade your helmet.

Overlord’s controls are unique in that it has you controlling your group of minions to solve puzzles, ransack villages, collect loot and generally destroy everything in your path. Mostly a hack-and-slash with a small dose of strategy involved, you move your minions around using the right analog stick while moving yourself with the left. Not having the right analog to move the camera around was my biggest issue to get past as I had to effectively use the L1 to maintain an over-the-shoulder view. As you gain more types of minions the controls begin to get complicated, as you order one group to stay, one group to advance and others to try to sweep around behind the enemies to climb on their backs, your fingers definitely get a workout trying to maintain all of that at once, but it is more than gratifying seeing a swarm of minions widdle down an enemy effectively.

Like a twisted version of Tolkien, Overlord is teeming with humor and quick-wit that pokes fun at nearly everything available to it. Crass comments are always available from your trusty mentor-minion Gnarl or your mistress of the tower that encourage you to be as evil as you can be. Similarly the visuals take an almost cartoonish feel that begs not to be taken seriously, with absurd looking peasants and colorful environments that make it pleasing to look and listen to. The graphics mostly hit the mark, but it is almost blaringly apparent that the polish from a year-old 360 title doesn’t quite clear the bar set by games designed with the PS3 in mind.

Multiplayer similarly seems like an after thought. It is nice to have head-to-head, co-op Survival and contests available, but the online play doesn’t really take off and offer anything new to die-hard online gamers. The true reason to play is the single-player mode, hands down.

Despite my nits against the game, it is a solid, seriously fun and blatantly funny game that works on so many levels. Where else are you going to find this style of gameplay? If you already own the game on the 360/PC with the expansions you don’t need to upgrade to Raising Hell. Even with the addition of a mini-map and a smattering of new areas, the core game is essentially the same. But if you haven’t played it before, the PS3 version is now the best one available and should be checked out.