Crash Team Racing: Nitro Fueled Review - The 90's are back!

By Sam Coles:

The kart racer was once a genre that dominated the mid to late 1990’s, this mostly stemmed from the success of Super Mario Kart in the early 90’s. Other developers tried to replicate Nintendo’s formula, but most were unsuccessful however Naughty Dog threw their hat in the ring with Crash Team Racing in 1999 and almost beat Nintendo at their own game. Fast forward 20 years later and we have a full remake of the game, and I have to say it is a truly faithful remake coupled with extra content that they didn’t have to add but they did anyway. Is a worthwhile remake for current fans and new comers? Absolutely, let’s get into it.

Crash Team Racing has a plot, but it’s not anything particularly complex just something to set the adventure mode up. An alien called Nitros Oxide wants to take over the world and turn it into a giant car park, but he gives the characters of the Crash Bandicoot universe a chance by racing him. He wants to race the fastest driver on the planet, and if they win they stop him from turning the planet into a large multi-story car park. The plot is completely unnecessary, but the voice acting is fantastic and it doesn’t take itself seriously and got a couple of chuckles out of me.

Gameplay takes certain ques from the Mario Kart series; however it puts its own spin on the formula to differentiate itself from the plumbers racing escapades. For one as I mentioned in the plot synopsis it has an Adventure Mode, what this entails is that you complete various races to unlock trophies, to race bosses and eventually to race Nitros Oxide. However that is not all, you can go back to various stages and complete various challenges, which can consist of collecting crystals, CTR tokens while winning the race at the same time and general time trials, nothing particularly out of place for a Kart Racer.

Crash Team Racing’s controls compared to other kart racers rely on speed and momentum; you have to chain drifts and jumps around corners which can make it a tricky game. I never felt that I was miles ahead of my opponents; races would be very close every time I would cross the finish line where they are nipping at my ankles. The controls are so tight that it feels immensely satisfying to throw a kart around a corner with a drift, to then accelerate with lighting speed with a boost.

Like most kart racers there are power ups, they tend to share similar properties to similar games in genre but in CTR they are thematically appropriate to the Crash Bandicoot universe. You have items such as TNT crates, rockets and masks that make you invincible for a short period. However these items can be increased in power, how you do this is by collecting crates filled with wumpa fruit which also increases your overall top speed. This keeps things fresh and players on their toes, as it can tip the odds in the favour of a losing racer, all the races are always very close due to this.

Visually this game is absolutely stunning, like the Crash Bandicoot remakes from 2017 it looks like a Pixar movie that you can play. Yes it is clear they have reused assets from the Crash Bandicoot N.Sane Trilogy such as character models and certain animations, but that is not a bad thing as they look great and is a good way to cut corners to focus on other things. All the characters look amazing with individual hair strands rendered with exquisite detail, coupled with the bright and colourful race course to compliment them.

The game does have some issues which bring it down, first are the loading time they are unbearable. I thought this may have been an isolated issue for the Xbox One, but no I asked PS4 and Nintendo Switch users and they have the same issues. The other problem is that the A.I. opponents can be extremely aggressive even on normal difficulty, now some will probably say this is intentional but this is ridiculous when they are miles ahead because you are not pixel perfect with driving. It led me to almost throwing my controller; it’s extremely annoying and a bit of a dampener on what is a great game.

Crash Team Racing: Nitro Fueled is a classic brought back to the current generation of gamers, it’s colourful, challenging and has lots of content to keep you occupied. Yes it has some technical issues, but that doesn’t get in the way the fact that it is a fun and light hearted game, this is a game I highly recommend just get ready for the challenging adventure mode.

Editorial | Duke Nukem: Forever - A relic from the past.

By Sam Coles:

The term worse game of all time is often thrown about within the gaming community where it loses all meaning, where I want to introduce the word hyperbole to them. This term is often used for the game Duke Nukem: Forever a game that was notorious for its long development cycle, where the forever in the title was rather appropriate by the time it came out. Was it as bad as people said it was back in 2011? No, but it’s not exactly a good game either, but there are worse games out there, I would just say it is mediocre more than anything.

Announced back in 1998, Duke Nukem: Forever was a direct sequel to Duke Nukem 3D, where at first in the concept stages it was pitched as a platformer, however they decided to make it an FPS due to the success of 3D. It was announced then silence, then in 2001 a trailer showing off gameplay in a new engine appeared which wowed people with its interactivity, with the tag line at the end saying “It will come out when it’s done”. Then after that it went completely quiet, the problem was with this project they kept scrapping it and starting again, mostly due to George Broussard seeing new engines every five minutes and going “I want that”. What he failed to see you can’t take what existing work you have in one engine and transfer it to another, that is not how it works.

Years and years went by with no word about the project, where Take 2 Interactive started to get very impatient with 3D Realms where they ended up suing them for incompetence. George Broussard wasn’t exactly professional about the situation, telling them to shove it where the sun don’t shine, but after that most of the 3D Realms staff left and the project was put in the ground, or so we thought. It was revived again in late 2010 where Gearbox Software picked up the project, where it released in May of 2011 and it was met with a resounding….. Meh.

Now does it deserve the backlash it got back in the day? No, but it is not a good game so don’t read too much into that statement. The problem was is that the game felt very dated, in terms of visuals, gameplay and Duke’s humour in general.

Let’s start with the gameplay; there was something that was just off with the aiming and movement in this game. It felt clunky and very floaty, now I wasn’t opposed to the regenerating health with Duke’s ego bar, I thought that was rather fitting as you had to increase it by doing “manly things”. No the gunplay just lacked impacted, where at certain points outside of the shotgun I wasn’t sure if I was hurting the enemies. All the guns were there from Duke 3D, but they didn’t have the same weight or impact, the Ripper Cannon sounded pathetic, it was like you were firing paper clips out of it. The only gun that felt good to use was the shotgun, because enemies reacted appropriately when you shot them. The game was also bombarded with gimmicks, with vehicle sections and mini games that barely worked with the floaty physics, I’m looking at you pinball mini game!

Visually this game wasn’t that great looking even for 2011; visuals are muddy and are lacking any sort colour with brown and grey hues that look like Modern Warfare and not Duke Nukem. It has really bizarre haze as if someone slapped Vaseline on the camera lens, which come to think it was like that with most games during that year *cough* Call of Juarez: The Cartel *cough*. It really didn’t look like a current gen game (at the time), it looked like a PS2 game in HD, now I know that is a hyperbolic thing to say but it did look that bad.

Now Duke’s personality is what really stuck out in this game, what may have been funny in the 90’s may not translate as well in the early 2010’s. You see fans of the old Duke games at that point had grown up, maybe started their own families the juvenile and outdate humour just didn’t stick the landing. Where he would make fun of vastly superior games, such as Halo and Valve titles, yes this was when Valve was still making games. His humour and personality just failed to move with the times, and he just came across as a relic which ironically enough the President of the US in the game calls him that.

Duke Nukem: Forever will be remembered in video game history for all the wrong reasons; was it a terrible game as some would let you believe? No, but I’m not saying it’s a good game, but it is not as abysmal as some would let you think. With a long development cycle, coupled with the fact by the time it did release it felt dated with level design, gameplay and humour that was about as funny as a monkey throwing its own faeces at a wall, which ironically you can do in game.

Rogue Warrior Review - Do you talk to your mother that way?

By Sam Coles:

Sometimes I wonder what board members are thinking when it comes to greenlighting projects in the games industry, which was my thought when I played Rogue Warrior for the first time. This game is so bad that it is amazing, it is entertaining for all the wrong reasons but that is what makes it special. Originally released in 2009, developed by Rebellion and published by Bethesda (yes really). It’s a game that I expect that Bethesda want to eject from their portfolio, now is it a 1 out of 10 like IGN rated it back in the day? No, as I found that rating rather ridiculous and hyperbolic as the game is functional (mostly), but it’s worth it for the dialogue alone. Let’s get into it!

Based loosely on the book of the same name and I will say loosely with the biggest quotations that Microsoft Word will permit. It follows the escapades of real life Navy Seal Richard Marcinko who is called Dick for short, which is rather appropriate considering the game’s tone which I will get into. He is tasked to investigate North Korea, as there are hints of them hiding weapons of mass destruction for the Soviets. Like with most military shooters of the time it is rather stock standard, but that is not the reason to play the game as absurd amount of profanity that is out of context coupled with the performance from Mickey Rourke is what makes this game amazing.

Gameplay is a first person shooter, which is functional for the most part; you point and shoot where they reliably die. It takes ques from the Rainbow Six: Vegas games where it has third person elements, what I mean by this is that you can snap into cover and it will bring the camera out where it turns into a cover based shooter. This system works somewhat, but there were moments where I was clearly in cover and yet I was still taking damage by someone who seemed to be able to curve bullets like an assassin from Wanted. The other issue I have with the gameplay is that you die insanely fast; it only takes a couple of bullets before you resemble a human shaped clarinet. On the other hand you do regenerate health just as fast, so you could look at that as a silver lining.

The game does emphasise stealth, but this is works just as well as trying to eat a bowl of soup with a folk it just doesn’t work. What has clearly had a lot of work put into it are the executions, according to some sources there are 25 of them and I very much believe them. They vary from the usual slicing someone’s throat open, to the more “creative” where he stabs them in the neither regions and the delivers a right hook. The stealth doesn’t work really because as soon as someone spots you there is no way to revert back to a non-alert status; you just end up pulling out an automatic weapon where it is business as usual.

Now what is the saving grace of this game? Well it is the dialogue, which is voiced by none other than Mickey Rourke. He clearly knew what sort dross he was working with so he hammed it up with his performance; it’s so over the top where he uses four letter words like Tic-Tacs. If I had a tally chart counting the amount of times he accused someone sampling male genitalia in a firefight, I would probably go through an entire stationary draw of pens. It’s the absurd amount of profanity is what makes this game so good, it is always out of context and he sounds like a rambling old man sat in the corner of the pub shouting at the youth. If he ran out of ammo I’m sure he could swear the North Koreans to death, which honestly if a bearded man ran in a room and started to shout nonsensical profanity at me I would probably be scared too.

The game is not particularly good looking, and don’t give me the excuse it’s from 2009 because even for 2009 it wasn’t visually impressive. The textures are muddy, blurry and look like they come from a PlayStation 2 game, rubbing excrement in your eyes would be more appealing compared to this visuals of this game. Also the game doesn’t run well, especially on the consoles. I played this on the Xbox 360 and the framerate stutters like a politician dodging a sensitive question, especially at the start of the game where it would almost reach single digits where it almost made me feel sick. Although after the first level the framerate stables out, but not by much as it performs as well as Goldeneye on the N64 which is not acceptable for a 2009 game.

Rogue Warrior is a game that everyone should play at least once; it is unintentionally hilarious with Mickey Rourke’s over the top delivery. The game is not great by any stretch; however it is not a 1 out of 10 as many mainstream outlets would have you believe at the time of its release. Now let me preface in this conclusion that it is not a good game either, but if you want to laugh so hard that water will spray out of your nose, then this is well worth the £1.50. Sometimes all need to do is laugh and Rogue Warrior fulfils that quota, plus it is not that long, it only took me 2 hours to finish and that is as long as it needs to be.

Etherborn Review - The beauty of loneliness.

By Sam Coles:

It is summer time (as of writing) the birds are sing, the sun is out and the current releases are about as baron as my dinner plate after a 40 mile cycle. Anyway this is a time where I get to indulge myself with older games on previous gen consoles as well as indie titles, this time I got to check a game called Etherborn a month in advance and I have to say it is beautiful.

I know platformers are ubiquitous in the indie scene especially pixel art platformers, however Etherborn has an interesting and unique art style coupled with anti-gravity platforming mechanics. It’s a game that one must take their time and examine the environment, there are no time limits the game lets you go at you own pace as you explore the empty abyss you inhabit. The world is empty yet beautiful, but that doesn’t mean it is not treacherous where you can fall to your immediate death, as you hear is the wind intensify and then a thud as you land.

As I said this game is a puzzle platformer which tend to be the norm in the indie scene, but this game puts a different spin with the anti-gravity elements where you can find yourself upside down as you solve the various challenges the game throws at you. Each level is thematically different with music, challenge and just aesthetics in general so you don’t get fatigue as you play each stage. These puzzles aren’t particularly hard, however it can be rather obtuse about where you are supposed to go and what you are meant to do, but you do eventually get those “Ah-ha” moments when you figure it out.

Each stage you have to collect glowing orbs to help you progress, these generally activate platforms to you help you move forward. However just because you have used them that doesn’t mean you won’t need them again, no in later stages you do have to keep shifting them around to gain new access points. This can cause a lot of back tracking in the later levels, which honestly did start to get a tad tedious but it did feel immensely satisfying once everything clicked together.

Presentation wise this game is beautiful yet haunting, it has this other worldly atmosphere that where it has these bright yet desolate landscapes where you are alone with no one to help you. Geometry may come across as simplistic, but it is the lighting that really brings each stage to life with bright colour hues that standout from the washed out abyss. Coupled with that is a beautiful musical score that can evoke relaxation, beauty and sometimes creepy undertones it’s classical music at its finest and I want to own it in my musical collection.

Overall Etherborn was a nice change of pace from the fast and quick action violence I usually review; it’s beautiful, serves up a decent challenge and has an excellent score. It can be rather cryptic at times, but it is all the more satisfying when you finally piece the puzzle together to continue the adventure in the isolated environment. If you are looking for a slow paced puzzle platformer I highly recommend it, it is available on the PS4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch and PC.

Editorial | Mirror's Edge: Run as fast as you can.

By Sam Coles:

2008 was a great year for video games; we had games that were landmark titles such as Grand Theft Auto IV, Metal Gear Solid 4, Devil May Cry 4 and the overlooked title Mirror’s Edge. Before DICE were just used as a well-oiled machine to make Battlefield games, they were allowed to experiment with games. Mirror’s Edge is a wonderful experience, with slick controls and visuals even 11 years later still stands out. I want to talk about it for a few paragraphs and maybe I can persuade you to play it.

Mirror’s Edge takes place in an Orwellian society where you are constantly being watched, and each foot step is monitored. You play as Faith who is a runner; they act as a courier service for the criminal underworld. However her sister Kate, who happens to be a police officer, is framed for murder of a political figure. Honestly the story is not that great, the voice acting is pretty good but there are a few lines where it just sounds as if they are reading off a medication list.

No Mirror’s Edge is not praised for its narrative, as it is known for the gameplay it brought forth in the late 2000’s. The game is a first person platformer primarily, now if you grew up with mid to late 90’s shooters that premise may make you throw up in your mouth a little, as platforming in those games were ubiquitous. However it is the main focus of Mirror’s Edge and executes it flawlessly, as it feels like you are controlling a human being and not a floating camera with a gun for a hand.

Faith feels great to control she has weight to her, where you feel every tap of her feet, the wind coursing through her hair and the thump when she lands a high jump. The parkour controls feel fast and fluid (mostly), where it feels immensely satisfying to string moves together in quick succession without losing momentum. The feeling of drop kicking a door down without losing speed as you flee from your pursuers is so fun and makes you feel unstoppable. The game is all about finishing levels as fast as you can, which is a speedrunner’s wet dream. If you get the chance I implore you to look up speedruns for this game, how they get through levels so quickly is almost inhuman.

There is combat in this game, but let me be honest and say it’s not very good but that is because it is not the main focus. Let’s start with the hand to hand, it can work sometimes but I had moments where my punches just don’t do anything. You can perform disarming grabs, but again the timing is eerily precise with nothing more than the enemy’s gun turning red to guide you. Shooting feels clunky and lacks impact, most of the time when I shoot at someone I’m not sure if I’m hitting them, as there is little visual feedback on their part. Combat is mostly optional; however there are segments where they force you to fight which become cumbersome and frustrating. Fortunately they are not too frequent!

For game that came out in 2008, this is still a visually stunning game and I’m playing this on a PlayStation 3. The vibrant colours really stood out at the time, which you have to remember the industry was dominated by the brown and grey hues of realistic tones. Mirror’s Edge has bright whites, reds, greens and oranges that really make it stand the test of time, although the bloom can get rather absurd at times especially in the final level in the interiors of the shard. However overall visually it still holds up even on the dated hardware of the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3.

Mirror’s Edge was game that was long forgotten in the annals of times, however it did get a sequel in 2016 but again that game just went under the radar. If you can take some time out to play this 2008 classic, it’s beautiful with fun platforming mechanics that will have you coming back over and over again!

Editorial | Minecraft: 10 years of crafting.

By Sam Coles:

People often forget that fame is not an instant thing one must work for it to make a name for oneself; this was the case for Minecraft. It started as a small little project by Notch back in 2009, but thanks to exposure on Youtube it exploded onto the scene where it would expand into a survival game icon with various releases across console and PC. I want to talk about my experience with the game and how even 10 years later I’m still playing it.

In 2009 I had started my A-levels at sixth form and I made lots of friends, it was one morning I saw a friend of mine messing around on his Mac Book playing this blocky looking title. Me being narrow minded at the time said “The graphics are rubbish”, I was foolish back then as I didn’t really play games unless it was triple A, I know stupid if you know me today. It wasn’t until I did a bit more research into the game that I understood what the fuss was about, and it wasn’t until 2012 that I got into the game properly due to the release of the game on the Xbox 360.

Now yes the Xbox 360 version of Minecraft was neutered to put it politely, but I was immediately enraptured with it due to the limitless possibilities with what you could create. When I first played Minecraft I like many was lost with what I was supposed to do, yes even with the console version with the tutorial world it definitely helps to have the Wiki open as this is very much a community driven game. However when I got to grips with the basics, I fell in love with the survival mode where I would craft (no pun intended) my second home in this blocky world.

As simplistic the game may appear it is a beautiful game, there is something wonderful staring into the distance as you see the square shaped sun slowly sink into the horizon. One who is narrow minded may scoff at the visuals, but to be honest they look timeless, coupled with the relaxing piano soundtrack that I can listen to for hours. I think that is one of the reasons why Minecraft stands out to this day, and this due is to its art style the blocky nature screams Lego coupled with the fantastic lighting from crimson sunsets to the dark moon lit nights.

What also caught my attention was the exploration, now there are many open world games on the market these days but Minecraft released when they were not as saturated like people with clipboards in a busy city centre. The game doesn’t tell you to go anywhere specific as it leaves you to your own devices, it tantalises you with a cave where gives you a slight nudge where it almost says to you “there is treasure in there, go in and find it”. It’s this hands off approach that Minecraft has is why people are so in love with it, it’s not just the creative side but to almost craft a second life/schedule is rather engrossing. Managing a farm, smelting iron or gold each day as you clock in may come across as mundane, but it’s a routine that we humans thrive on and that’s the hook of the game.

It’s not just a solo experience, how can I forget to mention that you can play it with friends. I have had some of the best times in gaming playing this game with friends, we would build settlements together, kill monsters and explore to our hearts content. With the extra bonus of multiplayer it doubles the fun and exploration, as you have to coordinate with each other to get things done, that or you act like an idiot and grief your mates and dump lava on them for the 50^th time.

Minecraft is truly a wonderful experience with friends or if you want to be on your lonesome, its simple aesthetic is deceiving as there are multiple layers of depth to it. It’s mindboggling to me that this game is 10 years old and people are still talking about it, it is truly a landmark in gaming and is something that is enjoyed by both adults and children where it brings people together.

Editorial | Ezio Auditore: Naive teenager to an old and wise assassin.

By Sam Coles:

There are characters that we form attachments to in video games, where we share the emotions that they go through whether it is sadness, anger or general happiness. Ezio Auditore is one of the best characters from the Assassin’s Creed series, a video game franchise that is generally met with mixed reception these days. However from 2009 to 2011 it was at its best, with a trilogy of games set in Renaissance Italy and 16^th century Turkey which tells the story of his life from his teens up to an old man. 

We first see the charismatic Ezio as a teenager, with his wisecracking demeanour as he antagonises a rival family which devolves into a scrap. It’s at this point of his life where he is rather immature, but he has a good life as he is a son to a very powerful and influential man in the city of Florence. Ezio spends most of his days, causing trouble, copulating with various women and drinking much to his father’s disapproval, but he gives him the benefit of the doubt as he can deliver letters for him in a quick manner.  

However it is one pivotal moment where Ezio starts to grow up, and that is unfortunately the death of his two brothers and father. It’s this moment that Ezio finds out that his father was part of the brotherhood of assassin’s, which he then takes on the mantle all in the name of revenge, as well as foiling the Templar’s plans. He trains over the years in Assassin’s Creed II, we see go from naïve teenager to a strong young adult as he has to take on the responsibility of taking care of his sister and mother.

In Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood we see Ezio struggling with the fact that he is getting older, as he is not as spritely as he once was when he sees a doctor he says to him “You should be more careful at your age”. This is spawns a motivation for him to form a new branch of the Brotherhood in Rome, for him to oversee everything as well as enlisting help to takedown the Borgia family. It’s in this game we see him start to slow down as he is not getting any younger, plus he keeps losing people who he loves due to his endeavours to stop the Borgias and his quest to secure The Apple of Eden.

Fast forward years later we see Ezio travel back to where the series started, the fortress based in Masyaf. It’s here he is in search for the fabled vault of Altair, which holds secrets about the assassin order. At this point Ezio is an old man, he sees that he can’t keep fighting and that he needs to settle down at some point. Fortunately he does, as he finds a beautiful woman who happens to be Italian in Constantinople. It’s here that Ezio does a bit of soul searching, as he realises that he is getting old and he may not have long left in his life but life can be funny that way and he ends up pushing back Templar oppression in the city. When he finally finds all the keys to Altair’s vault, he can finally rest easy in his old age knowing what happen to the fabled assassin where he then recites his legendary line “Requiescat in pace”.

Ezio is a character that I felt I had bonded with as I followed his chronicles of his life from 2009 to 2011. I saw him fulfil his character arch from wisecracking teenager to an old and wise assassin passing his skills on to a new generation. His biography is a tale of happiness, love and tragedy, if you haven’t you owe yourself to experience his life story in Assassin’s Creed II, Brotherhood and Revelations. Plus it is very easy these days as these games are in one pack on the Xbox One and PS4, so there is no excuse.