Dragon Age: Inquisition Gameplay Features – Choice & Consequence

 

By Sam Coles:

The finally gameplay video that introduces us to the world of the latest instalment of Bioware’s epic fantasy RPG. The trailer introduces to the social elements of the game with NPCs and your party members, this rang from what gender you are, what race you are such as if you are a human you’ll be welcomed to most places but on the other hand if you are elf you maybe meet with resistance. Party members are very important in this instalment and if you do something that your party member disagrees with then he or she may leave your party.

Dragon Age Inquisition release on the 21^st of Novemeber on PS4, PS3, Xbox One, Xbox 360 and PC.

Legend of Zelda Majora's Mask is Coming to 3DS 2015

By Sam Coles:

So after so many years from demanding fans my favourite Zelda game Majora’s Mask is getting the remake treatment for 3DS in a similar vain to the Ocarina of Time version on the 3DS. The game has been given a massive graphical overhaul from its N64 counterpart. The dark and gritty game will be hitting 3DS in spring 2015.

Grand Theft Auto V: PS3 to PS4 Trailer.

By Sam Coles:

The power of the PS4 is really shown through this latest trailer from the guys at Rockstar Games where you see the transition from the PS3 to the PS4 and the beauty that you’ll witness in this trailer is truly awe inspiring. New wildlife from dolphins to hammer head sharks, to the subtle differences where the trees sway in the wind with the added flora to the environments of the lush forests of San Andreas. You’ll see denser traffic along with better reflections and high end detail on vehicles.

Grand Theft Auto V will be released on PS4 and Xbox One on the 18th of November and later on PC on the 27th.

The Evil Within – More frustrating than terrifying?

 

By Mina Summers:

 

Twitter: @KamikoKid

Facebook: Kamiko Kid Gaming

Youtube: Kamiko Kid 

 

Pros:

·         Classic survival horror gameplay

·         Can be very scary and unsettling

·         Fractured narrative keeps you on edge

Cons:

·         Hideously  frustrating

·         Poor performances and patchy visuals

·         Assorted technical issues

·         Cheesy dialogue

·         Completely ridiculous storyline

 

The Evil Within isn’t everyone’s most anticipated title, but for the most ardent fans of Resident Evil it’s a massive deal. Bethesda’s horror game is directed by Shinji Mikami, who first created Resident Evil. In short, this is the man who invented the modern survival horror game in 1996, then came back to reinvent it nine years later. Can he do it again another nine years on?

To raise excitement levels further, The Evil Within is widely seen as a spiritual successor to Resident Evil, taking survival horror back to the good old days before the second-rate Resident Evil 5 and the wildly incoherent Resident Evil 6 that all but wrecked the series. The Evil Within has been seen as a return to slow-burning tension and lurking fear after those more action-oriented titles.

SOME OF THE STORY

Shinji Mikami’s latest blood-drenched action horror, throws you straight into the action. While investigating the scene of a gruesome mass murder at Beacon Mental Hospital, Detective Sebastian Castellanos, his partner Joseph Oda and “rookie” Detective Julie Kidman encounter a malevolent and powerful force. After seeing the slaughter of his fellow officers by a man wearing a white hood and covered in burn scars, Sebastian is ambushed and knocked unconscious. After awakening you’ll be given the task of escaping the hospital alive. I won’t tell you more for fear of spoiling The Evil Within’s many curveballs, but it soon becomes clear that all is not what it seems.

 

Along the way we get a tour of horror idioms, ranging from slasher movies and the torture porn of Saw to the creepy hospital corridors and rusting barbed wire of Silent Hill. Nor is Mikami averse to rifling through his own back catalogue. The over-the-shoulder viewpoint and general controls stink of Resident Evil 5 – basically Resident Evil 4 but with movement while you’re shooting.

 

GAMEPLAY

The big idea with Resident Evil 4 was to mix survival horror with action. Here, it’s to mix survival horror action with stealth. You’ll spend a lot of time sneaking around in The Evil Within, trying your best to sneak past or behind enemies and dispatch them quietly with sneak attacks. You can spend hours in some chapters scoping out the area, investigating houses and doing your best to put some weaponry together.

 

In the early stages of the game you’re pitifully weak, consigned to hiding under beads and in lockers in order to survive. Running away can also be a good option, but Castellanos seems to suffer from some respiratory malady, to the point that after two or three seconds of sprinting he has to stop and take a few deep breaths.

The enemies meanwhile, are not so weedy. Even the most basic zombie monster takes two shots to the head or more to go down. Melee attacks aren’t so much last resort as an utter waste of time. Bigger boss enemies soak up damage like a luxury, super-sized sponge. The combination of Sebastian’s all too human weaknesses and the toughness of the enemies can make for a fiendishly challenging proposition.

Life never gets any easier for our hero, as he plunges into an ever-evolving nightmare spread out among poorly lit mansions, insane asylums and forests while caught in plot that will leave psychiatrists and biochemists scratching their heads.

This unnerving dark ride combined with a “Hostel” group of enemies (disfigured humanoid creeps looking to butcher for pleasure) infects 15 chapters of action as a player is immersed in roughly a 20-hour killing spree.

TOOLS AND GEAR

Sebastian eventually carries a pistol, shotgun, crossbow (with constructible bolts that explode, freeze and poison), matches to burn bodies, and grenades. He is always short of health and ammunition, as he spends an inordinate amount of time crouching in the face of unimaginable horror.

 

The player learns quickly the delicate choice between fighting off difficult-to-kill, mutated humans (often wielding weapons), and simply hiding or running away after watching Sebastian get brutally murdered over and over again. It’s a game that challenges the gamer to the point of insurmountable frustration even while set on a “medium” difficulty mode.

SCARE RATING

There are a few jump-out-of-your-seat scares within some beautifully constructed environments, but The Evil Within ultimately takes its cue from Resident Evil 4, and is more about the slaughter. I was hoping more for the scare here rather than shock. Those looking for these types of grisly encounters — absolutely not for the squeamish or anyone under the age of 17 — simply need turn off the lights and get ready for a blood-soaked journey into a virtual hell. Specifically, the player can see characters stumbling upon a field of zombies and getting ripped apart, sliding down a chute filled with entrails and lined with blades, being eaten alive, blowing off parts of enemies’ heads, skewering creatures with harpoon bolts and routinely being electrocuted to upgrade skills.

The Evil Within has enough moments to make for an irresistible Halloween treat but relies too often on bloody kills to satisfy. Unfortunately, for this gamer who loves scares, Sebastian’s survival offers little resemblance to the days when Mr. Mikami’s original Resident Evil chilled a player’s bones.

MY VERDICT

The Evil Within is a good game, even if it feels a little old-fashioned with its claustrophobic over-the-shoulder camera that artificially makes it difficult for you to see enemies. It remains endlessly surprising and inventive from beginning until end, it rewards exploration, and apart from some moments of frustration (probably caused by the camera) it stayed fun all the way through for 14-19 hours of gameplay. However the technical problems, poor storytelling (welcome back to the ’90s folks!), lack of satisfying level progression and the gradual ditching of stealth in favour of shooting drags it down. Some people will hate it completely, but I’m not one of those. If you like the idea of Resident Evil 4 crossed half-and-half with Silent Hill then The Evil Within is the game for you.

3 ½ / 5 STARS !

Grand Theft Auto V Goes First Person.

By Sam Coles:

Grand Theft Auto V hits the PS4 and Xbox One in two weeks and a new trailer showing off the stunning city of Los Santos on the current machines keeps getting better and better. The trailer in question comes with a twist; the long speculated first person mode for GTA V has finally come to life which is exclusively to the current gen machines and PC. At first I thought the mode was going to be clunky with the Euphoria engine but it actually functions like a decent first person shooter with elements such aiming down sights etc.

This stems from a fan made mod from GTA IV on the PC where some made it so you can play the entirety of GTA IV in the first person, the mod was clunky and it could have done with some tweaking but was a vision of the future with the next instalment.

Grand Theft Auto V hits the PS4 and Xbox One on 18^th of November and hits the 27^th of January on the PC.

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Retro Sundays: Grand Theft Auto Vice City Stories (PS2).

By Sam Coles:

I’m starting a new segment called “Retro Sundays”. Why Sunday you ask? Honestly it’s because I use to play all sorts of games on a Sunday especially on a rainy one, from old to new because I have the time to relax and play games for a long period.

Let’s start with a game that I don’t think gets enough appreciation and that’s probably because it was on the ill-fated PSP originally and I’m of course talking about Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories.

You step in the shoes of Victor Vance you may recognise the surname of this character if you played the original Vice City back in 2002 and that’s because he is the older brother of Lance Vance. What I like about this character is that when you start off he is not a criminal he is an honest man trying to start a career in the army until he gets involved with a corrupt sergeant who is delves in drugs and illegal fire arms trades.

 

The gameplay is very similar to the original Vice City game, but also borrows elements from San Andreas such as being to recruit followers if you have taken over a business and also your followers can do drive bys out the window of the car. The only problem I have with the game is the aiming is unpredictable in a gunfight and you’ll end up aiming at a random pedestrian rather than the person who is trying to kill you.

 

Unlike some games in the series you must take over businesses from enemy gangs to help you gain income, how you do this is that you must start some commotion by blowing up their cars or killing their fellow gang members outside and you‘ll start an attack. What you have to do is that you must defeat all the members outside the business and then enter the premises and take out the remaining members.

 

After you have cleared up the place you can then shape what you want your racket to be from drugs to prostitution, but be careful the enemy gangs will fight back and attack your rackets and try and take them back, so you must defend them. This feature kind of reminds me of the Godfather games where you had to do the same thing by intimidating shop keepers for money. Each racket adds to your weekly income that you accumulate from business and this happens every in game week.

 

Graphically its looks pretty good for something that was ported from the PSP and yeah it does look dated but what do you expect for a game that was released on the PSP and then PS2 so it’s understandable. It still looks nice with the little details from the sun setting over the blue sea on Washington Beach as you cruise along with some 80’s metal, to the reflections on your car and on the road when it rains which is really impressive for the hardware.   

Overall Grand Theft Auto Vice City Stories is still an enjoyable game and I would recommend if you have a PS2 or PSP if you are willing to look past the frame rate issues on the handheld. It’s very cheap and easy to find these days so if you have a bit of change in your pocket I would recommend buying it I picked it up for £3.99 in my independent video game shop.