Review: Persona 4 Golden (PS Vita) - An absolutely addicting RPG

Persona 4 Golden is perhaps one of the best games I've ever played, and I was actually hesitant to pick this game up! I'd never played any other Persona game, but I'd heard a lot of people rave about it and JRPG is one of my favorite genres. All that said, Persona 4 Golden just seemed too Japanese-y for me.  Eventually, I took the plunge and picked it up. 

Yes, it was heavy on the JRPG quirks, but it was constantly enjoyable and had an interesting story. Most of all, it presents a diverse cast of characters that each feel so vivid and real. If you like stories with character development, then Persona 4 Golden is the game for you.

Be warned, Persona 4 Golden is not a shallow game. My first play-through was upwards of 60-70 hours. The game rarely feels this long, which speaks volumes to the compelling story. It takes a little while to build to the combat, as the first hours of the game are filled with narrative and exposition. The game has save points frequently accessible so you are generally able to play at your own pace, regardless of whether its a matter of minutes or hours. That said, I found it impossible to put the game down.

The story revolves around your protagonist, a high school transfer student in the small town of Inaba, and your investigation into a series of paranormal murders. Along with your new friends from school, you balance your school life with your adventures into a TV World to chase down the culprit and rescue other victims.

Does it make any sense? If not, don't worry - that's how it is supposed to be. The game is built around unraveling what the heck is really going on with the murders and the TV world. 

Persona 4 Golden is a very immersive game. Your character is a silent protagonist, you have a real sense of ownership of the decisions and dialogue choices. Moreover, high quality writing and voice acting helps the game to flow very naturally. It doesn't feel forced, despite the crazy and outlandish things that happen. There are even times that your companions will vocalize what you're currently thinking.

As you investigate, the game falls into two main spheres: the TV World and the Real World. Throughout the game, you end up juggling these two components.

Battles are fast paced, while still offering strategic depth.

In the TV World, the game is a fairly traditional dungeon crawler. You navigate through randomized dungeon floors, looking for loot and battling against a variety of monsters, called Shadows. Combat is triggered by contact, so there are no random-battle frustrations to be had. In battle, you control your character in a classic turn-based RPG formula, where you choose to attack, cast spells, use items, etc. You can choose to control your party directly, or let the AI take the wheel. I chose the former, but the AI seemed to be okay from what I saw. I found dungeon crawling to be very fun and engaging - battles flowed smoothly and offered a fun balance of simplicity and strategy.

Character customization is a bit of a hybrid between Final Fantasy and Pokemon. You choose specific pieces of equipment to boost attack and defense, whereas your stats and
abilities are determined by the Persona, magical alter-egos, that are equipped. The protagonist has access to multiple different Personas, whereas your party members are fixed to a single one. In choosing Persona and party combinations, the game encourages customization and strategy since each one has different strengths and weaknesses. New Personas can be acquired as battle rewards, or they can also be created through a fairly deep system called "Fusion." By combining your existing Personas, you can create entirely new ones with different stats and abilities. Although, every now and again you can experience anomalies that completely change your end result...which drove me up a freaking wall. That aside, the mechanics of the game were a blast to work with - it reminded me a lot of how you could customize your character's abilities in Final Fantasy VII.

Persona fusions are involved and fun, challenging you to think of new
ways to build out your character.

My first play-through was on Normal difficulty, and I noticed that the battles eventually got to be almost too easy. Once you knew their weaknesses, most enemies dropped like bowling pins. There were a few exceptions to the norm, like a few enemies that could instantly kill you if you aren't prepared. It was still very fun, but it just lacked lasting challenge. I'm replaying it again on Very Hard, however, and it seems to be a much more balanced experience thus far.

In the Real World, the game plays like a Life-Sim. You attend classes, hang out with friends, work a part time job, etc. Story elements, both relating to the mystery or characters' lives, are dispersed throughout each of these, so it fortunately never feels like a chore like it would in reality! 

Many of these story elements come in the form of Social Links, the friendships that you form with other characters. Like I mentioned before, the character development in this

Building Chie's social link.

game is amazing, and Social Links serve a dual purpose. On one hand, developing a Social Link yields gameplay bonuses, such as Persona Fusion bonuses or new combat skills. Additionally, as you grow a Social Link you really learn more about what makes a character tick. You learn about the things they like, the things they hate, and the things they struggle with. This is where you forge your protagonist's friendships and kindle relationships. The writing and acting is top notch, so I found myself constantly wanting to learn more about characters like Yosuke or Naoto.

Anime cutscenes usually are a cue that it's
 about to hit the fan.

The game's soundtrack is also excellent. Each track is a perfect fit - whether you're wandering around Inaba, navigating an eerie castle, or battling a boss. Moreover, the music does a great job of fitting the moment. One of my favorite memories of this game came in the middle of a boss battle, where a familiar jingle was reused with different instrumentals, completely changing turning the conditioned emotional response on its head.

Overall, I absolutely loved this game. Persona 4 Golden is one of the most enjoyable games I've ever played, ranking way up there with Gravity Rush, Mass Effect 2, and Bioshock Infinite. Between the fun gameplay and the addictive characters, I found myself conflicted between playing more and dreading the inevitable ending to come. That said, the game has a lot of replay value, both for the sake of being a completionist and for reliving the game's most charming moments.

Pros
Immersive story
Interesting and compelling characters
Engaging RPG combat mechanics (Final Fantasy meets Pokemon)
Great writing and voice acting
Big bang for your buck - 60+ hours of gameplay
Solid replay value
Amazing soundtrack - able to elicit an emotional response

Cons
Can get really easy in the back half of the game
Anomalies in Persona Fusions may make you want to throw the Vita

SCORE: 10 / 10 

Game Advertising Fail - Remember Me

Today, there's a great looking home page takeover on IGN.com to promote the release of the adventure game Remember Me. Published by Capcom, the game explores a dystopian "Neo-Paris" in the year 2084 where memories can be uploaded, shared, and augmented. Sounds cool, no?

Unfortunately, alongside the game's advertisement is the unfortunate placement of IGN's review of the game (which was a "mediocre" 5.9 out of 10) with the title suggesting that Remember Me is "best forgotten." Ouch...

If you decide you do want to remember Remember Me, it is available now on PC, Xbox 360, and PlayStation 3.

Review: Unit 13 (PS Vita) - Portable warfare

A few weeks back, I found myself with an itchy trigger finger and an opportunity to take my tactical combat on the go with Unit 13 on the PS Vita. I was intrigued, truth be told. I'm a huge fan of third-person and tactical shooters, even if they are over-saturating the gaming industry nowadays. There are lots of options available to these genres on the PS Vita, especially with its unique with mobility and control options. With my curiosity tickled, I decided to pick up Unit 13 and see what it has to offer.

PROS

Cover is your best friend, especially since it's bulletproof!

If you're looking for a tactical shooter, Unit 13 has that aspect locked down on all fronts. Across the board, gameplay is mostly buttoned up. Most of the mechanics are pretty stable. You have your basic movement and shooting controls combined with some touch screen integration for jumping over obstacles, disarming explosives, and picking up objectives. For combat, you have the triggers assigned to aiming and shooting as expected, as well as a button activated melee attack. Additionally, you tap a touchscreen icon to reload or toggle first person aiming mode (with optics, scopes, sights, etc.). Your grenades, claymores, and other equipment are also triggered via touchscreen.

Different characters have different skill bonuses and stats

Unit 13 facilitates the option to build out your characters to fit your playstyle. As you level up different characters, you unlock their attachments for use with the others. For example, leveling up the Commando (Animal) unlocks the ACR assault rifle and the ACOG scope attachment for the other classes. As you start unlocking weapons and attachments, you are really able to tailor your classes to your liking. Additionally, the game rewards your playstyle (whatever it is) by granting you bonuses based on your performance. These bonuses are awarded for a variety of actions, including stealth kills, remaining undetected, chaining headshots, and building a killstreak (just to name a few). To add an additional layer, different classes receive a score boost to certain types of actions. For example, the stealth character (Ringo) gets bonus points added to any stealth action.

Enemies appear on your mini-map at all times

The game consists of a series of missions that you gradually unlock. Some missions are thematic and require a certain playstyle. For example, Covert missions require the player to avoid detection and complete objectives including assassinations and stealing data. Meanwhile, Deadline is a timed mode that encourages you to go loud and hard with light machine guns or shotguns. My personal favorites, however, are the Direct Action and Elite missions. In Direct Action, you have a variety of objectives to complete and droves of enemy patrols and choke points to work your way through. Your playstyle, however, is completely up to you. Elite missions are similar, except your health regeneration is disabled. These missions tend to be more difficult and require an additional layer of planning and execution. There are also a series of assassination missions that send you after high value targets. They're fun, and often times challenging.

CONS

While Unit 13 is a competent shooter title, there are several shortcomings that detract from the game's overall quality. I mentioned that controls were mostly polished earlier- the "mostly" is due to some pretty severe control issues that can be caused by the touchscreen button placements. The touchscreen buttons that trigger actions like zooming in or jumping over cover are placed right next to the thumb-sticks. While, in theory, this is convenient placement, the big problem is that you will find yourself accidentally jumping over cover or scoping in when you don't want to. Best case, this is just a small nuisance. More often than not, however, this will cause you to jump right into enemy fire or fall to your death. Poor tactical placement of these major tactical buttons.

Unit 13 features online Co-op

That said, the game's biggest weakness is that it just feels incomplete. One cause of this is that while there are several different game modes and dozens of missions, all of them take place on the same few maps. If you find yourself wondering "Haven't I been here already?" it's because you have been there - there are only about 8 to 10 different maps. The only differences are that the player and enemy spawns are changed and that different doors may be opened or closed. That's about it. Additionally, the enemy AI also seems unfinished. They'll shoot at you and run to cover, sure, but don't expect them to really work together or make it a challenge. More often than not, you'll snipe one bad guy and then his buddy will run to his body and wait for you to shoot him too. 

If you're looking for an interesting story to make these faults worthwhile, you will be sorely disappointed. Yes, there is an enemy organization that you're fighting and running counter-terror operations against, but that is about as deep as it goes. There's no plot, no story, no character development. -it's just a straight up shooter game. Mission start, shoot some bad guys, complete objectives, shoot more bad guys, head to the extraction point. Fortunately, the shooter aspect of the game is pretty well done, but the lack of even a basic Counter-Terrorism plot is disappointing.

OVERALL

Score: 6 out of 10

Unit 13 shaped up to be a decent shooter game, but that is all it shaped up to be: decent. 

The shooter element of the title is well done and fairly polished, but the lack of the story or innovation makes it hard to stay interested in the game for very long, especially given how many different cookie-cutter shooter titles there are in the market.

There's just nothing new or ground-breaking going on with this title, even though the Vita brought many unique possibilities. For example, why not have the first-person aiming feature be controlled by motion control? Imagine how fun it could be to move the Vita around in an attempt to line up your perfect sniper shot. At the end of the day, Unit 13 feels like just another mediocre shooter. That's not to say it isn't fun, because it definitely can be... if that's what you're looking for. Just don't expect it to be a memorable experience.

Review: Gravity Rush (PS Vita) - Gravity Hasn't Been This Cool Since Newton

I'll be blunt on this one. Gravity Rush is perhaps one of the most fun games that I've played in a long time. That's not to say the game is perfect, because it's not. However, playing Gravity Rush was so enjoyable because it delivers innovative gameplay coupled an intriguing "zero-to-superhero" story.

The game throws you into the heels and one-piece of the mysterious girl, Kat. Unfortunately for her, she wakes up with amnesia in an alley in the floating city of Hekkesville. On the bright side, she's not alone thanks to her strange cosmic-cat that gives her the power to shift gravity around her (hence why she is referred to as a "Shifter" by the city's denizens). As any good amnesiac would do, she decides to use these powers to help the people around her  and become a monster fighting wonder-girl.

Now that the spoiler-free synopsis is out of the way, let's take a deep dive into the Pros and Cons of Gravity Rush.

PROS:

There were two things that really made me fall in love with this game: 1.) fun, innovative controls, 2.) the rich yet simple story.

The controls and handling in Gravity Rush truly are superb and polished. You have your traditional buttons and thumb sticks that provide you with your basic functionality. You run, jump, kick, interact, and do all the other things that you'd expect to be able to do in the year 2012. In addition to the norm, Gravity Rush also utilizes the functionality of the PS Vita's Sixaxis to motion control the camera angle while Kat manipulates gravity.Additionally, the touchscreen is heavily utilized to initiate the "gravity slide" ability, which lets you slide across your surface (ground, walls, ceiling, you name it) at high speeds. You'll also find yourself tapping the touchscreen during boss battles to initiate your flashy superhero finisher moves. As I mentioned earlier, each of the control features are quite polished, and I seldom found myself experiencing any difficulty driving Kat as she adventured through the city of Hekkesville. There's a bit of a learning curve when it comes to successfully managing the gravity slide ability, but its not terribly steep. This fluid and accessible control scheme made it even easier for me to engage with the story.

Gravity Rush spins a tale that always keeps you curious to find out more. The secret sauce, in my opinion, is that the actual story is very simple. That said, the world that the story takes place in is robust, rich, imaginative, and sometimes confusing. Take the original Star Wars trilogy as a comparison: a cookie-cutter "good vs. evil" story combined with a cast of interesting characters and a robust setting. That's the type of dynamic present in Gravity Rush, it's a basic superhero origin tale that is successful due to its cast and setting.

Kat (left) and Raven (right)

There's a solid variety of characters who each bring their own flair to the story. On one hand, you have simple and quirky characters, like detective Syd and a few other denizens of Hekkesville. On the other, you have intriguing and complex ones like Raven, your rival, and the sinister Alias. Additionally, you have the Nevi, which serve as your primary enemies in Gravity Rush. These are strange monsters that are terrorizing the city of Hekkesville. They're enigmatic, to say the least, and you find yourself constantly wondering what they are and where they came from. This combination of intrigue and mystery lends itself well to Kat's superhero tale.

It's hard to build a superhero story without the setting: Batman is just as much about Gotham as it is about Bruce Wayne. Gravity Rush is no different. The vividly imagined city of Hekkesville is divided into four floating districts that each have their own atmosphere and personality. In addition to this, you travel to other places in (and out of) the world, but telling you any more would leak some considerable spoilers. Overall, it is pretty entertaining exploring each of these places just to see how the world is imagined.

CONS:

Like I said, Gravity Rush is not perfect. In my opinion, the reason for this is that aside from the main story missions, there's really very little to do. There just are not many side-quests for you to pursue. On one hand, you have several challenge missions that you can do (race modes and time-attack battles), as well as a side quest that has you looking for a dimension-displaced couple (say that ten times fast). Beyond that, though, there's nothing to do after beating the game unless you download the DLC mission packs.You're pretty much left to explore the city (which is actually quite fun). Additionally, there are no enemy encounters outside of the story missions, challenges, and level replays. It's actually a little strange since the game puts so much emphasis on Hekkesville being besieged by Nevi. The lack of open-world enemies takes away from the "world in peril" vibe that the story gives off.


OVERALL RATING: 9 out of 10

Despite having a few flaws, Gravity Rush is a very positive experience and is perhaps the best PS Vita title on the market to date (for what that is worth). Sadly, being on the Vita could be this game's major downfall. I could easily see this becoming a niche title because of its sole distribution on the PS Vita platform. 

I hope this is not the case, as I would love to see future installments in the story. The game's ending definitely hints at a Gravity Rush 2 - an idea that I hope comes true. Right now, there's so much parity in the gaming industry that a unique title like Gravity Rush is a breath of fresh air that reminds you what gaming is truly about: having fun.

Review: PlayStation Vita - A lot of potential

Due to luck and my wife being a vault of random knowledge, we were able to win a new PlayStation Vita. For anyone who hasn't been keeping up with it, the Vita is Sony's latest venture into the handheld gaming space and is the successor to the PlayStation Portable (PSP) system. Think of it as a PSP that had a sweet, sweet love-child with an iPod touch or a tablet. The Vita boasts two thumbsticks, a multi-touch touchscreen, rear touchpad, Wi-Fi (optional 3G), front and back cameras, microphone as well as several other goodies.

I don't get all that giddy over tech specs, so I'm going to dive right into the Pros and Cons of the system. If you're interested in reading about the rest of the Vita's specs, check out the detailed product page here.

Pros

Off the bat, the wife and I were impressed with the quality of the graphics that the Vita can put out. To date, I've played through the Welcome Park tutorials, Unit 13 demo, Uncharted: Golden Abyss demo, a few PSP titles, and the Super Stardust Delta demo... and wow they really do look good for a handheld. Sound quality is also pretty good, both on the actual games, as well as music and video playback. For a handheld device, the volume actually goes up very high and I find myself typically playing on 20-30% volume most of the time. 

It's actually pretty comfortable to hold, despite the size

Another thing that the system has going for it is the integration of the different control options. The touchscreen and rear touchpad are easy to use and are very responsive. For example, you can use the touchpad to manage the zoom of your sniper rifle in Uncharted:GA, use flashbangs in Unit 13. Sixaxis also makes an appearance, and works well based on my experience with the Welcome Park and Super Stardust Delta demo. Even with touchscreen and button control, the Vita is very comfortable to use. Button layout is close enough to the touchscreen that you don't feel like you need ape-hands to use it, and it rests in your hands pretty well, considering the size of the device.

When it comes to gaming, you've got options galore. For hard copies of the game, the Vita can only play Vita games. However, you've got a whole range of titles to choose from on the PlayStation Network. For example, there are many Vita titles and demos that are available via download only. There are also a plethora of PSP and PS Minis titles available for download. In essence, it's sort of backwards compatible (more on this later). Pricing for these games crosses a wide spectrum, with many of the Minis being available for under $10, PSP titles under $30, and Vita titles anywhere between $9.99 (i.e. Super Stardust Delta) and $49.99 (i.e. Uncharted). It is important to note that there are games across the spectrum, but you should expect to pay a bit more for the bigger "blockbuster" titles. You've definitely got some options to keep you occupied.

A very practical app that uses the camera system

In addition to the gaming capabilities, the Vita also offers several extra elements. The web browser is intuitive and allows for you to open multiple windows, save bookmarks, and track your history. As is to be expected, you use the touchscreen for selection, typing, and other assorted activities. Additionally, on a Wi-Fi connection, the Vita's browser has fairly speedy load times for most pages. Beyond web surfing, you can also download apps from the PSN for entertainment and social networking. Your entertainment apps consist of Music Unlimited and Netflix, and your social networking apps include Skype, Facebook, Twitter, Foursquare, and Flickr.

While there are several great aspects of the Vita, there are also a few flaws that potential owners should be aware of.

Cons

While the control layout is comfortable and responsive, users with big hands might find themselves nudging the touchscreen while trying to use the thumbsticks, or accidentally triggering the rear touchpad while holding the device. While this is certainly not a crippling flaw, it might cause you to accidentally trigger your sniper zoom while in a close quarters firefight on Unit 13 (speaking from experience).

My other complaint is in regards to backwards compatibility. I mentioned that you're able to download select PSP titles off of the PSN. There is intentional emphasis on the word select. There are a lot of titles that have yet to be released on the PSN for the Vita. While there will certainly be more games coming out over the next year or so, it is a little disappointing to know that there's a bunch of already released games that you'll be missing out on in the short-term (including Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker and FFVII Crisis Core). Additionally, PSOne Classics are not available on the Vita (yet). Here's to hoping that they become available, as I'd love to have Final Fantasy VII on the go.

Like how this looks? Expect to pay a bit more for it

The Vita can also be a bit pricey. Memory cards, which are required to do just about everything on the Vita, are range from 4GB for $19.99 to 32GB for $99.99. If you anticipate being an avid game downloader, then you might consider going for a 16GB or larger memory card to make sure you have enough room. This decision will cost you at least an extra $59.99 dollars. Also, some titles are kind of expensive as well. For example, Uncharted: Golden Abyss is $49.99. I understand that the game has a higher quality than your typical portable game, but I personally find it a bit sour that I'm going to pay that much for a handheld game. I might as well get a console game with better graphics and performance for just $10 more. It's worth noting that this is a personal objection and should be ignored if you have no problem with that price tag.

Summary

Overall, I give the PlayStation Vita a pretty high rating of eight out of ten points. It's an innovative piece of technology that successfully combines elements of a tablet with those of a handheld device. Many of its flaws can be easily updated by new apps and software updates (I'd love to see some sort of YouTube app!). A brief summary of the pros and cons is listed below, for those who jumped right to the end of my review.

Ultimately, the Vita will live or die based on the content released for it. The selection of launch titles is fairly dismal, with some entertaining games and a few decent games. However, decent doesn't justify a $250+ purchase in my mind. That's the downside - the bright side is that there's a lot in the pipeline with a good amount of potential. Gravity Rush is looking to be a phenomenal title, and PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale may be an interesting title. Moreover, things can only get better as more PSP and PSOne titles are made available.

Overall rating: 8.0 / 10

Pros

• Crisp graphics and sound
• Smooth integration of touchscreen, touchpad, and Six-Axis
• Backward compatable (sort of)
• Web browser and several handy of apps (Netflix, Skype, Facebook, etc.)
• Several affordable games
• Comfortable to use

Cons

• If you have big hands, it's easy to accidentally nudge the touchscreen when using the thumbsticks
• No flash plugin, no YouTube
• Not entirely backward compatible, lots of PSP/PSOne Classics games that you can't play yet
• Memory card system is a bit pricey
• Some titles are as expensive as a traditional console game
• No launch titles that really pop out

Review: Lonesome Road DLC - Exciting, but very linear

Lonesome Road, the final story DLC for Fallout: New Vegas is out and, as a Fallout nerd, I am obligated to weigh in on it.

Lonesome Road brings the Courier face-to-face with the mysterious Ulysses, the original Courier 6 who rejected the job so that the player would carry the Platinum Chip and get shot in the head. Those who have been keeping up on the preceding DLCs know that Ulysses has been a central, yet unseen figure in all of New Vegas' DLC to date.

The adventure begins when Ulysses sends you a message that "invites" you to find him in the Divide, an area ravaged by storms and warfare. Along the way, you will encounter the residents of the Divide and uncover how you and the Divide share a shocking history. Ulysses will contact you frequently during your adventure and you will have an opportunity to match wits with him on subjects such as your history and your current faction affiliation. I'll stop there, as we might be risking spoilers if I share any more!

The Pros

Lonesome Road features an extremely captivating story that answers so many of the questions that players have had since before Dead Money was even released. From Ulysses' back story to his master scheme, players get pulled into this epic tale that is a fulfilling end to the story line.

Moreover, the DLC features extensive level design. The Divide truly feels post apocalyptic as you weave your way through the broken roads, collapsed buildings, subterranean tunnels. On top of that, it is a much more dynamic experience than any of the previous DLCs as you never know what you will find lingering among the debris. New and old enemy types make an appearance in the Divide and they are more difficult than ever! There is a significant increase in scripted events, and each of them lends well to the atmosphere of the Divide and the dangerous reputation that it has. Expect surprises from enemies, traps and an abundance of nuclear detonations.

The Riot Armor makes the NCR Rangers look like powder-puffs

Lastly, the Divide houses a plethora of new weapons, armor and consumables that players can get excited about. First, there's finally a version of the Ranger Combat Armor without the NCR Faction attached to it! On top of that, there's several redesigned versions of armors from the main game that look excellent and truly fit the ruinous environment. The new weapons are off the wall, such as a fully automatic, long range rocket launcher, a flare gun, and flash bangs! These are just a few of the goodies available.



The Cons

You might get sick of looking for these

Traveling the Divide is a very linear experience in a small map. Don't get me wrong, it is one heck of an adventure that truly makes use of the space. However, players will not be able to explore numerous unique locations like they could in Honest Hearts or Old World Blues. To this affect, Lonesome Road has missed the mark on one of the major highlights of the Fallout experience - the exploration. There are a few stray buildings and sewers that you can enter, but they are small cells with little to do besides pick up weapons or find posters of a pre-war TV called "Ralphie".

Lonesome Road is also virtually devoid of side-quests, another staple of the Fallout experience. Instead, players can occupy themselves with finding Ulysses' audio recordings, detonating the stray warheads, ED-E upgrades, and finding RALPHIE posters. Aside from looking for the ED-E upgrades, none of this is particularly rewarding beyond farming achievements and trophies.

Ulysses' "unused" face

Lastly, the physical character design for Ulysses is quite disappointing. His unique appearance comes from an equipped breathing mask that covers his mouth and gives him his unique hair. However, there is no reason for him to be wearing a breathing mask in his particular area. While there is a fully textured face beneath the mask, it is not used because his mouth and lips are not animated for speech. This seems like an extremely lazy omission that really sells short the quality voice acting of Roger Cross provides for such a significant character. There is a great deal of build-up to the meeting Ulysses and it is a little bit of a letdown when you can't actually see much of his face.

Overall Reaction: 7.5 out of 10

Summary
Lonesome Road is an exciting, engaging and fun way to end off Fallout: New Vegas. It features an exciting story, a vividly imagined atmosphere and several new toys for players to use. Nonetheless, it is not perfect and suffers from some design flaws, including a character design and heavily linear game play that offers little in the way of quality exploration that the Fallout series is so well regarded for.

Ulysses waits for you in The Divide

Gears 3 Reviews are Rolling In

 

With Epic's Gear of War 3 coming out this upcoming Tuesday (9/20/11), the reviewers have started releasing their thoughts on the the final installment of the story arc. Below are just a few of the ratings released thus far.

Game Informer gave the game a 9.5 out of 10, calling the game a "blockbuster finale" that fans have been craving. In the review, they emphasized the high quality of the graphics and audio content of the game, as well as some handling improvements for the cover system. The reviewer asserts that, while the game does not do anything "radical" or new, it is still a top notch game that you'd expect from a large, talented development crew and "bottomless budget." The reviewer doesn't pay as much attention to the game's multiplayer, but emphasizes the wealth of options available including traditional online, co-op, Horde mode and Beast mode.

The Escapist gave Gears 3 a 4 out of 5 stars. The reviewer asserts that while the game is an "excellent third-person shooter" with an interesting story, it suffers from problems in character development. For example, he argues that Cole is the only character whose lines are not "interchangeable" with all the other soldiers. He also mockingly states that the game really only had "two moments of genuine human emotion." However, he also emphasizes the wealth of tactical gameplay that Gears 3 offers - both in its campaign as well as in its co-op and Horde/Beast modes.

Now Gamer gives Gears of War 3 a 9.6 out of10,  calling it "simply the best Gears of War game in existence" and giving it their Violence, LOL and Multiplayer awards.The reviewer argues that the game has a "compelling story" full of deep motifs, but all those get pushed aside by "evisceration and a never-ending hail of hot lead." That certainly sounds like the Gears series to me! According to the reviewer, the game features a "vastly improved enemy AI" and several elements that make staying in one place an ineffective strategy. He also asserts that the game looks "bloody gorgeous" and has more "creative flair" than its predecessors - not to mention a frame rate that "never lets up." He also goes on to describe the how the Horde and Beast modes are addictive, but require intense amounts of teamwork - especially when you find yourself fighting the games protagonists in Beast mode. As for traditional multiplayer, the review praises the superb balance and the addition of the enemy-spotting system.

While each reviewer seems to emphasize a different part of the game, they seem to affirm that the game has in fact lived up to its hype. To say the least, it definitely appears the Epic's next epic installment has something to offer for all kinds of players.

With Gears of War 3, Battlefield 3, Modern Warfare 3, Skyrim, and many more big budget titles coming out, this holiday season definitely seems to be one of the most dynamic that the gaming industry has seen to date.