Review: Call of Duty Black Ops Multiplayer (360/PS3)

The seventh game in the Call of Duty series, Call of Duty: Black Ops, hit shelves November 9th. With everyone having such high expectations of this game, I couldn't help but have a gut feeling that this game wouldn't live up to the hype. Luckily, my gut feeling was wrong.

To be honest, my only initial interest in getting this game was for the zombie mode, because who doesn't love slaughtering zombies? Imagine my surprise, then, when I found that I enjoyed the rest of the online play as well. In fact, it seems a bit better than Modern Warfare 2's online play, with a lot of changes and added features. Some of these are admittedly the same, just with different names though. One that particularly stands out to me is the Second Chance feature, which gives your teammates the opportunity to revive you once you unlock pro... as long as you aren't a team killer or anything, in which case you might be out of luck. Clan tags, titles, and emblems are now all fully customizable, with the ability to create your own from a variety of icons to choose from. Unfortunately, all this customization isn't free, and like all the guns and equipment, have to be unlocked and purchased. Fortunately, the new Wager Match option, which allows you to bet on the outcome of your games, makes it easier to acquire the cash for all these new things.

While there are a lot of changes and new additions, there are unfortunately some things that got taken away. The biggest example of this is the lack of Commando Mode, which is unfortunate for all you knifers out there. In addition, the knife is actually much harder to wield in general in this Call of Duty than any of the other games in the series. The nukes are also gone, and have been replaced with... dogs. Yes, dogs. They are back, and they are harder then ever. Both dogs and gunships require an 11 kill-streak to acquire, which is now the highest streak available in the game, down from 25 in previous installments. While that is a bit of a shame, it fortunately does not take away from the game's fun factor.

Overall, I'm really enjoying this Call of Duty, and even the single player campaign has been a blast so far, with a story that seems much better than the games in the rest of the series. It really is outstanding, so much so that I don't want to spoil anything for you. You'll just have to pick up a copy of Black Ops today, if you haven't done so already.

Submitted By: Layanie Ahlers (Employee)

Preview: Uncharted 3 (PS3)

'Uncharted' Exclusive: Your First Look At 2011's Must-Play Videogame 'Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception'

by Jeff Jensen at Entertainment Weekly

If Indiana Jones or Robert Langdon is your definition of treasure-hunting action-adventure, then either you watch too many movies or read too many books — or you haven’t met Nathan Drake, the hero at the center the blockbuster videogame franchise Uncharted, exclusive to the PlayStation 3 platform. Last year, Uncharted 2: Among Thieves garnered widespread critical acclaim, bagged bunches of major videogame industry awards, and sold over 3.8 million copies worldwide. Hollywood’s a fan: A feature film from Columbia Pictures — adapted by helmer David O. Russell (Three Kings), produced by former Marvel Studios honcho Avi Arad and rumored to be starring Mark Wahlberg, the headliner of Russell’s forthcoming Oscar-baiting drama flick The Fighter – should be shooting just as the next game in the series, entitled Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception, hits stores late next year. EW recently visited the Santa Monica, California offices of Uncharted’s developer, Naughty Dog, for a sneak peek at the sequel, and we returned wishing “late next year” was right damn now.

Here’s what we can tell you: First off, obviously the title is not “Uncharted 3: World of Deceit,” as has been rumored here and there on the Internet. Still: Good guessing with the “deceit” thing. According to Naughty Dog’s creative director Ann Hennig, the theme of deception plays out in multiple ways throughout the threequel, from Drake doing the deceiving to Drake being deceived to some mysterious deception about Drake’s very identity. The story focuses on the hero’s relationship with his mentor and father figure, fan fave Victor “Sully” Sullivan, and has him searching for a legendary lost city that will ultimately take him to the Arabian Peninsula and the vast wasteland of the Rub’ al Khali Desert, also known as the Empty Quarter. (Said legendary lost city has been known by various names, including “Iram of the Pillars” and the “Atlantis of the Sands".)

Uncharted likes to keep one foot (or at least a toe) grounded in history (Nathan’s ancestor is the British pirate, explorer and Navy officer Sir Francis Drake) and the plot of Uncharted 3 draws more from Drake’s exploits as well as from the life of T.E. Lawrence – not from his militant days as the fabled “Lawrence of Arabia,” but rather the Brit’s early years as an archaeologist. The inspiration for the story, says Hennig, came from Naughty Dog’s desire to take on the challenge of conceiving and building out gameplay scenarios within a desert locale — “challenge,” because organic elements like water, fire and sand are technically difficult to credibly render with animation. Says Hennig: “When we first came up with the idea of sand, you see everyone’s eyes light up here and go, ‘Yeah, that’s going to be really hard — let’s do it!’” Adds Naughty Dog co-president Evan Wells: “We’re a bunch of nerds. We just look forsomething that will be a technical, artistic challenge, and allowed us to push into an area of the world and history we’ve never tapped into before.”

Uncharted 3 — which aspires to be an “interactive cinematic experience,” says Hennig, marked with character-driven storytelling — will also make more expansive use of motion-capture filmmaking techniques (think: the way James Cameron shot Avatar) that will enhance the quality of character performance. (In fact, Naughty Dog’s new Santa Monica digs includes its own mo-cap studio.) The execs at Naughty Dog walked us through one of the game’s levels, and while we can’t tell you anything about the locale (it actually wasn’t the desert), we can tell you that it was quintessential Uncharted, marked by dynamic camera work and gameplay that requires you to jump and climb through treacherous spaces that are in an almost constant state of change — or in this case, catastrophic collapse.  Innovations? Several, including enhanced backward climbing and the ability to fight multiple baddies at once. Finally, Wells stressed that much time and effort is being lavished upon expanding Uncharted’s online multiplayer and co-op capabilities, too; expect more details to come in the coming months. Doing so gives the consumer more value for their entertainment dollar — especially in a weak economy, and esepcially among videogame consumers more prone to buying just a few games a year. It also creates a market for additional downloadable content for purchase (Uncharted zombie maps, anyone?), and cultivates an avid community of what Wells calls “evangelists” that can help create buzz future products. “We want to take on the big boys of the multi-player genre,” says Wells, no doubt alluding to multiplayer giants Call of Duty and Halo. “It has become something here at Naughty Dog that will become an important part to all our games.”

Naughty Dog is remaining cagey about the release date for Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception, but expect it to drop around the same time that the first Nathan Drake novel, Uncharted: The Fourth Labyrinth, hits next fall. (According to Wells, 2011 marks the beginning of Naughty Dog’s push to make Uncharted a “transmedia” entertainment brand, with high quality, mythology-managed storytelling extensions of theUncharted universe created for various entertainment media, i.e. Star Wars.) That said, Uncharted 3′srelease date could be announced in the first trailer for the game, scheduled to air during the Spike Videogame Awards on Dec. 11.

Review: Donkey Kong Country Returns (Wii)

Starring in his first platforming game in five years, Donkey Kong…well…RETURNS to try and dazzle audiences once more. Does Retro’s latest collaboration with Nintendo impress? Or is it one banana short of a bunch?

If you’re not familiar with how Nintendo platformer plots work, here’s a brief overview: something of value gets stolen from the hero, and they set out on a barrel-busting, platforming-jumping, head-stomping quest to get it back. Donkey Kong Country Returns is no different, as the massive monkey is out to retrieve his stolen hoard of bananas from a group of mysterious mind-controlling Tikis. Like previous games in the series, the plot serves little purpose other than to give a reason for the game’s existence, and in that respect, it does its job. One thing that the “Country” series has been known for, however, is its cutting-edge graphics, but while the watercolor world is easy on the eyes, it’s also plain to see that none of the Wii’s processors are getting pushed to their limits running this game. There are exceptions, though. The presentation is at its best when the background, foreground, and the scenery itself are all playing a crucial role in how you get to that next platform, not to mention the stunning “silhouette” levels, where you can only make out the outline of everything on screen. It’s a shame that these concepts weren’t used more often or at least in more creative ways.

Nobody comes to a Nintendo party for the atmosphere, though. They come for the booze (the gameplay) and the chicks (the fan service), and this bash does not disappoint in either of those areas. Moving Donkey Kong around is easy and responsive. If you ever wondered how they could improve the controls of the original, this is it. Little things like automatic running and lightning fast barrel-tossing fit this game snugly into the “easy to play, difficult to master” mantra, with an emphasis on DIFFICULT. Like its predecessors before it, this game demands lightning-fast reflexes and impeccable skill if you want to make it past the sonic-spewing bats, turbulent tidal waves, and monkey-munching spiders. This is especially true if you try to collect all the 'KONG' letters in each stage, which, by the way, are needed to access the extra stages in each world, which in turn all need to be beaten to open-up a special bonus after the final boss is introduced to your fist. Add this to time trials, hidden puzzle pieces, and even boss challenges, and it all means that if you plan on collecting absolutely everything, you’ll be spending more money on parrots than a pirate with a hoarding complex. Where this is most frustrating, however, is in the “on-rails” sections of the game, which would be an absolute blast if not for the collectibles slowing you down. Take my advice and forget about the extras the first time through so that you can realize how awesome these sequences are BEFORE becoming incredibly frustrated with them.

Retro proves once again that they know what made Nintendo characters famous to begin with, and that they embrace it wholeheartedly. This may come as no surprise, but look past the shallow setting, and you’ll find a fun, challenging experience that keeps giving and giving for a long time. If that sounds like your cup of tea, then swing by Donkey Kong Island, and tell Cranky I said “Hi”.

Submitted By: WhatTheFnu (Customer)

Review: PlayStation Move Sports Champions (PS3)

When the PlayStation Move was first announced, my first thought was “Oh God, not another Wii.....” I admit I am not a fan of motion controls; at least, that was until I got my hands on the Move. I had seen tech demos and gameplay, but I was still very skeptical about the whole motion control situation. Finally, I tried out a demo of Sports Champions (similar to Wii Sports in a sense), and I was pleasantly surprised to find out how responsive and precise the controls were. I went through and played everything from bocce ball to gladiator battles, and they all had the same level of precision and responsiveness. However, the place where this game truly shines is when you have two of the motion control wands. In the archery game, for example, you hold the bow in one hand and the arrow in the other, and it's actually similar to doing the real thing. The gladiator game also uses two controllers, as you hold the sword in one hand and the shield in the other. This one actually had me working up quite a sweat, as you have to really move to do well against the computer opponent. I soon found myself jumping around and swinging my arms in order to win, totally immersed in the game. While I enjoyed the games that used two controllers the best, this is not to say that the other games aren't fun as well. Bocce ball, ping pong, frisbee and golf are all playable with a single Move controller, yet they still feel very real to play and really immerse you in the experience. Also, all of the games in Sports Champions are multiplayer, which only adds to the fun.

All in all, Sports Champions, along with the PlayStation Move, was a very enjoyable experience and in my opinion has much better control and gameplay than the Wii. I will be looking forward to when a bigger variety of games come out that really make full use of the Move hardware, such as Killzone 3 and Resident Evil 5. I would absolutely recommend the PlayStation Move to anyone who wants to truly immerse themselves in the experience, or possibly even to get fit. I know the gladiator game sure burned off some calories for me.

Submitted By: Tom Ferko (Employee)

Review: Enslaved (PS3/360)

Enslaved: Odyssey to the West is a bold 3D adventure that not only dares to give you great gameplay, but also an enthralling story. However, does the lack of replay value make you want to sit this journey out?

Enslaved follows the story of two unlikely partners trying to survive in post-apocalyptic America. Trip is the unwilling captor of Monkey, a man with incredible strength and the power she needs to make a safe journey back home. The story is gripping, but the thing that will truly make you want to find out what happens next is the incredible emotion the characters display. The legendary motion capture work of Andy Circus pays off in dividends for Ninja Theory, as the subtle facial movements and body language these characters exhibit instantly sells you on their humanity, and it makes the game stand out, even when compared to other top-shelf games.

Gameplay-wise, Enslaved does just as good a job. Jumping from platform to platform as Monkey is as easy as it comes, without the fear that a misguided button press or the fact that you were mistakenly holding the wrong direction on the analog stick will send you helplessly hurdling into the nearest bottomless pit. Combat, on the other hand, is a love-it or hate-it system. Players weaned on combo-heavy action games like Devil May Cry and God of War may scoff at the simple light-attack-or-heavy-attack formula offered here, but there is no denying the charm of a system that’s as easy to pick up instantly and enjoy as it is difficult to master. Puzzles also play a part, being sprinkled throughout the world in a thoughtful, caring manner that doesn’t feel out of place. While basic, these sequences provide a nice contrast to the combat, and with the two being balanced so well, neither element gets boring very quickly.

What may stay your wallet, though, is an altogether waste of potential. Enslaved is a real treat the first time around, and without giving anything away, the ending WILL blow your mind, but once you’ve seen the credits roll, you realize there’s not much to come back to. Sure, you can scour levels for the collectibles you missed the first time, but this is only really appealing to trophy hounds. Another missed opportunity is Trip, herself, who despite having the ability to distract enemies and help in solving certain puzzles really feels rather useless. She’s certainly a step up from Ashley from Resident Evil 4, but you still can’t shake the nagging feeling that she could have brought a lot more to the table.

Enslaved is a whirlwind experience in a setting that manages to feel fresh and new (no doubt thanks to the addition of colors other than gray and brown). If you own a PS3 or 360, be it a rental or a buy, you need to play this game. The fresh takes on old gameplay standards make Enslaved stand out, and Ninja Theory deserves every dollar they can make for this effort.

Submitted By: WhatTheFnu (customer)

Review: Nier (PS3/360)

Nier is an action RPG developed by Cavia and published by Square Enix. It was honestly one of the best gaming experiences that I've had with a "modern RPG" in a long time. Many of the role playing games released nowadays seem repetitive and short to me, so this was really a pleasant surprise. The combat system, though not intuitive, is very enjoyable and easy to use once you learn it. The same can also be said for the magic system, which allows you to have up to four spells equipped at one time, one to each of the shoulder buttons. It's a very simplistic system, but it can be said that the limitations imposed upon you add to the strategy you have to employ in battle.

The world in which the game takes place is almost 'sandbox' in nature, as in addition to being able to roam freely, many quests are able to be completed at any time during the main story, at your leisure. These quests are plentiful and rewarding, with most giving you huge cash rewards that you can then use to upgrade your armor and weapons. The land itself is fairly expansive, paying tribute to games like Legend of Zelda, where you travel from place to place through connected plains and fields. However, it is not so expansive that it takes more than a few minutes to get from place to place, which in my mind makes it the perfect blend between expansive and manageable.

Graphically it's not the prettiest game in the world. The textures throughout the game are pretty bland for the most part, and the character designs for all the random villagers and people are heartbreakingly boring. This is especially obvious when compared to the uniqueness of the main characters. Nier, who shares his name with the game, is an incredibly hideous man. While this would ordinarily not be much of a recommendation, he is a nice change from the 'pretty boys' usually populating Japanese RPGs. His sidekicks, Kaine and Emille, are also refreshingly unique, both in design and personality.

The music throughout the game is also very well done, both haunting and relaxing at the same time. I found it to be just amazing, and it's one of the few soundtracks that I made it a point to go out and buy afterwards. The voice acting is also top notch, and the only thing that stops this score from being absolutely perfect is that the sound effects are rather repetitive and bland.

As far as stories are concerned, it's one of the best I have seen in a long time, and it blew the pants off of Final Fantasy 13 in my opinion. It starts out as a simple 'father seeks daughter' story, but by the end, all the twists and turns change it into a much more epic and resonating tale of revenge and betrayal.

Overall, this was one of the most enjoyable RPGs that I've played in a long time. It kept my interest throughout the hours I played it, and it actually turned out to be a bit of a challenge as well. Too many times I have sat back after playing a game that was entirely too easy, and been left feeling empty, as if I had wasted the time I put into it. I did not feel that way at all after Nier; it was just challenging enough to make me feel as if I had accomplished something by the end, and even make me want run through it another time. I highly recommend this game to anyone who is looking for an RPG of moderate length, who wants something different and fresh from what has come before it. I promise you won't be disappointed.

Submitted By: Tom Ferko (Employee)

Import Review: Last Window The Secret of Cape West (DS)

Three years ago Nintendo released “Hotel Dusk: Room 215”, an incredibly atmospheric 'point-and-click' style adventure-mystery game and probably my hands down favorite game for the DS. I am absolutely thrilled that a sequel has been released, called “Last Window: The Secret of Cape West.” Unfortunately, for reasons that only make sense to executives at Nintendo, the game is not being released outside of Europe. But fear not, the DS's lack of region lock-out and the fact that “Last Window” is entirely in English, make this game 100% import friendly!

“Last Window” is set in Los Angeles during 1980, and takes place one year after the events in “Hotel Dusk.” However, it does not require knowledge of the previous game to be enjoyed, as the game stands completely on it's own. The storyline once again follows the investigation of Kyle Hyde, a former New York detective, this time as he attempts to solve the mystery of Cape West: a former hotel which has been converted into the apartments in which Kyle now lives. Eventually the story also entangles you in a mystery involving the murder of Kyle's father and his secretive past, both of which are somehow tied to the mystery of Cape West.

Just like “Hotel Dusk”, the player holds the DS vertically, like a storybook. Using the stylus, you engage in conversations with the residents, interact with environments, and solve puzzles. The conversations you have with the various residents can take many twists and turns, so beware: one misstep in a conversation can result in your failure to solve the mystery of Cape West. Thankfully, the game uses a very liberal system of check points so you won't be in too much of a bind when this happens to you, as it will, guaranteed. The game's puzzles also make full use of the DS features, including the microphone, as well as a wonderful puzzle involving the sleep function of the DS.

One of the great additions to “Last Window” is that every time you complete a chapter of the game, that chapter is then adapted into a novel, which can be read at anytime. This means that you not only get to enjoy the captivating gameplay, but a great novel at the same time too. The novel also acts as a hint section, directing players to certain characters should they have missed a certain clue or conversation.

This game just oozes atmosphere thanks to its film noir feeling and great mystery storyline, which is enhanced by beautifully animated character sketches and an excellent jazz soundtrack. It's no wonder that it is so easy to lose yourself in this story. If you find yourself longing for a great mystery adventure game, track down a copy of “Last Window” and enjoy it for yourself.

Submitted By: Aaron McKeever (Employee)