Editorial | Halo: An 18 year legacy.

By Sam Coles:

These days people tend to think that the Halo franchise has stagnated, due to the last game Halo 5 being okay but nothing that lit the world on fire but it wasn’t inherently awful either as I enjoyed it for what it is. However it was the series that put Microsoft’s Xbox on the map and is a franchise that I love and fond memories of, where I could play with my friends as I play those long humid summer nights away. I want to look back at Halo as the franchise turns 18 years old this year, where I took a look at why it is special.

Halo was first announced at Mac World before the turn of the century and initially it was going to be a Mac exclusive, and at first it was not a first person shooter. Halo in its conceptual stage was an RTS, however a few programmers at Bungie played around with the camera by zooming into the back of a soldier, then it blossomed into a third person shooter. Then one thing lead to another and it became an FPS, but it was not destined to be an exclusive to Apple’s Mac but instead Microsoft’s answer to Nintendo and Sony with their own console.

When Halo first launched in 2001 I don’t think people were expecting much, however what we got was something we have not seen on a console before. Its level design was huge in scope, with big wide open spaces that were similar to Epic Games’ Unreal. The beautifully (at the time) rendered world of the titular ring was something to behold, as you ramp a Warthog through the rolling green hills to frost laden valleys. Not only that there are tightly designed indoor sections, but that is one of the criticism from both fans and critics as they tend to repeat and I agree.

The gameplay is what really stands out in this game nearly 20 years later; it really holds up and defined the next wave of console shooters where it excelled what Goldeneye laid out. By this point dual stick controls in console FPS were the norm, where a little unknown game on the PS1 Alien Resurrection laid down the foundation, where you move and strafe witht the left stick and control where you look with the right stick. It may sound trivial to praise this these days, but it was a very new control scheme back in the early 2000’s, where you had the stiff controls of Medal of Honor still being used.

The weapons were unique such as the UNSC weapons that were somewhat standard but had a unique look to them. Such as the assault rifle which was good for taking down Grunts, the shotgun, rocket launcher and of course the god tier pistol which was the cause of many arguments in multiplayer. The Covenant weapons are great with the Needler which can cause a chain reaction when you fire multiple shots resulting in a pink mist, to the plasma weapons which are good against shielded enemies.

The enemies are fun and unique such as the commanding presence of the Elites, the cowardly Grunts who run away when you emerge from the shadows to the imposing force of the Hunters as they destroy your shields with one hit. All have there strengths and weaknesses, where you have to utilise your arsenal to full advantage especially on Heroic difficulty and above.

How can I not include the music when I talk about Halo, I know the term epic is used beyond redundancy but Halo happily wears that title with its orchestral score. It even begins in the main menu, as you have that Nordic choir singing the main theme, which to this day still makes the hair on the back of my neck stand up! Or one of my favourite tracks “Pale Rider” which compliments the action perfectly during the Assault on the Control Room level. It starts off subtle with violins building up the tension of the action, then a full orchestral sweep comes in as the action intensifies. I don’t think I can praise the soundtrack enough in Halo, it’s one of the main reasons why the series is truly iconic and is still regarded as one of the best games ever nearly 20 years later.

Halo is a series I love, yes it has had a rather rocky journey in recent years with such debacles like the Master Chief Collection, but it still has a special place in my heart. I recommend anyone to go back and play the original Halo and experience where the titular ring’s legacy started.

Editorial | Abe's Oddysee's Atmosphere: "Follow me. Okay".

By Sam Coles:

If you know me on Twitter or in person you would know I love atmosphere in video games, it’s a major factor for my enjoyment in certain games whether they are horror, RPGs or even first person shooters. A game that sticks in my mind even 20 years later is Oddworld: Abe's Oddysee. It’s a game that even over two decades later still holds up with its visual style, gameplay and atmosphere. It’s a game that I had played a lot as child and I remember it scaring me. Now of course that is different now as I’m a grown man and games don’t scare me (for the most part), but I want to talk about the atmosphere in this game.

Oddworld takes place in a world that has been gripped by capitalist greed, where a corporation called Rupture Farms have almost butchered all animals towards extinction. Abe is a worker at said farm, but there is one catch he is a slave and works long hours with no breaks. It’s one evening when he is cleaning the floors he stumbles on a meeting, it turns out they are running out of animals to farm, Abe being naïve thinking they have plan (which they do) doesn’t think anything of it. That is until it is revealed that they are planning on killing Abe and his race, where they want to turn them into meat lollypops. Understandably Abe flees the scene and tries to escape, making himself a wanted criminal in tandem. The story for original PlayStation standards is rather engaging, yes it’s dark but there are scenes of levity where the game can swap out the serious mask for a more humorous outlook.

Gameplay is slow, intentionally slow as it encourages you to take your time as Abe has the durability of a block cheese left out in the hot sun as he can take as many hits as asthmatic bong user.  The point of the game is to take your time and be methodical about your approach, as stealth is key as well saving your fellow Mudokons.

Gameplay is not the discussion of this editorial; I want to talk about the environments and atmosphere from the different areas, sound design and music. The environments are what truly stand out in this game, even over 20 years later these pre-rendered backgrounds hold up really well. The different areas you explore are varied, oppressive and sometimes beautiful, from the blood soaked and rusty floors of Rupture Farms to the ever stretching trees of the forest of Paramonia. Each area is distinct from one another, and these can fill you with dread or make you relax it is truly is a testament of how creative the level design is in this game.

The music and sound design is something that has stuck with me throughout the years; it even begins before the game starts. As the game loads you get a noise which I can assume is being made by Abe, then the ominous main theme slowly chimes in and you see Abe’s adorable face appear greeting you with “Hello”. Honestly as a child this main theme scared me a bit, it was due its unnatural sounds with that deep bass note in the background constantly droning. It’s something that carries on throughout the game, from the industrial and metallic tones of Rupture Farms to other worldly realms of the temple of the Mudokons.

Sound design is something that haunted me as a child as well; the team at Oddworld Inc. did a fantastic job with sounds. This can be the more comedic sounds of sneaking around, which sounds like someone to trying to break in a pair of rubber pants to the heavy breathing of Sligs as they sleep. The sounds that get to me to this day are from the wildlife, the hisses that the Paramites make as they defend their nest truly get to me or the Slog’s barking and growling as they chase me down left me in a state of panic. Speaking of panic, the noise that Sligs would make when they spotted you terrified me, coupled with when I’m running away I can hear their mechanical legs getting faster and louder as they chase me down.

It’s easy to see why people still talk about this game in a good light, even over 20 years later people reference it whether be certain lines, noises or the soundtrack. Abe’s adorable little face has been solidified in gaming history, which it makes me want more from the titular Mudokon. If you haven’t given this game a play, I would recommend the original as I think the art style is better but the remake is also good.

Editorial | How I became a video game blogger/journalist.

By Sam Coles:

Video games have always been a part of my life, but I didn’t really see their inner meaning until around 7^th generation of consoles when I got an Xbox 360 in 2009 for my 16^th birthday (oh my god nearly 10 years ago). It was here where I fell in love with video games all over again but for a different reason, I was introduced to new worlds, which could tell well written stories, have characters I care about and different realities I could get lost in. So much so it inspired me to start writing about video games in a professional capacity.

When I first received my Xbox 360 for my birthday in 2009, I thought Yes a new video game console to play, however I was introduced to a new world and that world was Mass Effect. Mass Effect was something I was unaware of at the time because believe it or not I didn’t keep up with gaming news at the time, and I was enamoured with what I had played. I was introduced to this vast galaxy of alien races and worlds, coupled with a well written story with betrayal and romance. It’s something I hadn’t seen before in video game and it was glorious!  

About a year later a little game you may have heard of it Red Dead Redemption came out, and I was in love with the setting and characters, even nearly a decade later the writing still holds up. When looking deeper into this game I thought about how I can convey my feelings about games, so I drafted a reviews and writing. Bear in mind that at the time I was a bit of a grouch when it came to social media for some reason, but I chanced it and emailed my local newspaper. Luck would have it that they accepted my proposal and I started to write concise reviews that were anywhere between 250-500 words long, a task that was hard and sometimes tedious but I managed in the end.

It was around 2011 I took a bit of a hiatus from it all to focus on my creative media and production diploma, but I picked up again in late 2012 when I started writing for a website called n3rdabl3.co.uk. Here I started to develop my analytical writing and it was where I started to make a name for myself, as this is when I first found the wonderful gaming community of Twitter. It was at this time I started to really take in video game narratives with titles such as Max Payne 3, where games are more than just playthings they can rival films and even books with their writing. 

In 2013 still writing for the same website I was finishing off my media course and through the summer I carried on with the writing, however it wasn’t until late August things would change for me. In late August of 2013 I got two noteworthy emails, one from Blizzard Entertainment and the other from Rockstar Games. What they were offering was something I would never thought I could achieve, they asked me plainly “Do you want to play our games early for review”? Me being nervous but excited accepted, but with some trepidation as I have never been in this situation before. It was this moment forward that I knew what I wanted to do and my reputation began to move forward.

In 2014 I left the website I wrote for a lack of better terms due to creative differences, with all the contacts I had built while writing their I pondered on what I can do, so I went to blogger and started a blog about games. Now my early work was a bit spotty in terms of writing, but it was a great way to convey my feelings about the industry with no restrictions or shackles as I had full control. It helped that I had contacts in the industry to get hold of early copies of games, as Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare was a one the first games that was mainstream I reviewed on it. However it wouldn’t take long for a website to recognise my work, and this solidified me as Bristolian Gamer.  

It was when a local online magazine called 365bristol picked me up is when my reputation started to skyrocket somewhat. They had a larger audience than, and they wanted to start a gaming section so they tasked me to review games there. I had the tools at my disposal to gain access to higher profile games, so I getting sent games from bigger publishers such Sony, Microsoft, Capcom and so forth.

To this day my writing has evolved and I’m still learning, it’s not perfect but what is in life. I can’t believe I’m at this point; I have met and conversed with people in gaming, the blogging community and just journalists in general. It’s something that takes time and hard work but the payoff is immensely satisfying. I hope I can keep bringing you content that you all want to read.    

Editorial | The dark tunnels of the Metro.

By Sam Coles:

Sometimes humanity needs to start at square one, where and atrocity grips the planet. This is what happens in the world of Metro, where a global conflict brings the world to its knees where society needs to go underground and rebuild. Some try to stick together and survive, while others try to bring old values that destroyed the planet in the first place with dictatorship and fascist ideas.

Metro is about survival and rebuilding society, you play as Artyom a man who is a part of the Rangers who are a peace keeping force who act as a neutral party in the tunnels. However there are other forces that are trying to resurrect old values, such as the Reds who want to restore Soviet values of communism and the Nazi’s which do I really have to explain what they want. Not only that they all share a common threat of mutants in the metros, and of course “The Dark Ones”, which sounds more racist every time I say it, but I digress.

The tunnels are where you spend most of your time in the Metro series, where there is nothing more than the darkness with little light sources minus your torch and lighter. Like most good survival horror games Metro is very minimal with its music, it relies on the distant hums of pipes, the gargling mumbles of mutants as they snack on their prey and quiet whispers of people trying to survive. It’s these moments that the game truly shines, as some may try and play it like a traditional shooter but the game will punish you for that as you are better off sticking to the shadows.

What I like about Metro’s atmosphere is that when you are explore the titular tunnels you can see a glimpse in previous society, you see train carts abandoned with discarded notes from loved ones or employers. You see decomposed corpse sitting when they were living their everyday lives before the nukes drop, or seeing loved ones embracing each other one last time. It’s this sort of glimpse into the past that made me realise just how fragile life is, at any moment some fool can press a button and our very existence and way of life is extinguished. Now it may be a tad hyperbolic to have this sort of outlook on the game, but life is fragile and we could all die tomorrow at the expense of some else’s mistake and Metro shows the extreme version of that outlook.

Not all is bleak and horrible within the metro there are safe havens for you to rest, where you can kick your feet up and enjoy a nice drink while chatting with other survivors. This is a great contrast to the oppressive atmosphere of the dark tunnels of the metro and irradiated wastes of the surface. It’s a great juxtaposition from the rest of the game, as people are not terrified of monstrosities human or not, they can be well…. People. They can relax knowing that nothing is going to kill them, unless they live in the more oppressive regions ruled by the Communist Reds or Nazis. It just shows even in dyer straights that we as a species can come together, laugh and relax because when you are in a situation like this the best medicine is laughter and company from your fellow man.

Metro is a series that shows what happens when everything is wiped out, and where we have to rebuild society from scratch. It veers its ugly side as you have people who want to dig up old values that have caused atrocities in history, but most want to survive and be with their loved ones.

Editorial | The World of Spyro the Dragon.

By Sam Coles:

Childhood is something that is very important, where it shapes you into the person that you are today. There are certain pieces of media that you associate with your childhood, whether it is films, television shows, books or even video games. When I was around 5 years old my father bought us a PlayStation, there was a game that came with it and that game was Spyro the Dragon. What made this game stick with me over 20 years later? Is it the characters, the environments or the gameplay?

Spyro the Dragon starts off innocent enough, where the dragons of the Artisans world are being interviewed on television. The main antagonist Gnasty Gnorc is not favourable with the snarky comments thrown at him, so he turns them all into the crystal statues minus the small purple titular dragon. The story is not special by all means, but it does offer some humour with the quips and jokes.

What makes this game stick in my mind nearly 21 years later? Well let’s start off with the worlds. People often say that the original Spyro is bare bones and lacklustre, but to be fair it is the first game in the series and honestly it is my favourite out of trilogy. I think the original game has the best set of environments, as it sticks to the high fantasy environments that are inspired to a certain extent from Tolkien. From the Artisans home world, the Magic Crafters to the boggy swamps of the Beast Makers all the worlds are memorable and unique which have stuck with me all these years!

The first time I entered the Artisans World I was greeted with a beautiful soundtrack, coupled with rolling green hills that even today the original graphics are impressive considering the hardware. I remember exploring each nook and cranny looking for secrets, while I experimented with Spyro’s abilities and movement while I collected gems. I remember being intrigued by the various portals dotted around the world, and when I entered them I was excited to be transported to a different world from the twilight of the Dark Hollow to the peaceful and open spaces of Stone Hill. All have their music, themes and enemies for you to combat which some would scare me as a child due to the crude depictions of the limited hardware with their polygonal look.

The music is truly a standout, if you were to play any track from this game without telling someone where it came from they would know, even people who don’t play games know the music. That is because it was expertly crafted by the former drummer of The Police Stewart Copeland; he played through each level to get a feeling for the environment and would write the musical score at the same time. What we got with the end result are catchy and sometimes atmospheric tunes, from the upbeat Magic Crafters to the haunting tones of the damp swamps of the Beast Makers.

Speaking of audio the overall design of the sounds is something that is iconic in its own right, with aspects such as collecting items, enemy noises and feedback when you break boxes etc. They are sometimes subtle such as when you just miss a gem where your dragonfly friend Sparx picks it up; you get this pleasant and satisfying buzzing. The audio feedback when you break boxes is always fantastic, where you head-butt metal crates with a metallic twang with an eye piercing shatter. Spyro’s fire breath is satisfying to use, this again is because of the excellent sound design where you hear the wooden boxes explode into charred splinters, where there is nothing more than embers and gems.

Spyro is a game that will stick with me for another 20 years, and I think that is most people’s attitude if they grew up playing it like me. It was fantastic of Activision last year to remake the games in one collection, where I got a feeling of being a child again as I explored the world of dragons.