Review: Mass Effect 3

2007 was a great year to be a gamer.  Infinity Ward was set to release a modern Call of Duty title with an advanced multiplayer suite, Bungie was going to conclude the Halo trilogy and Valve decided to bundle up all their recent achievements and release them in a pack called The Orange Box.  There were plenty of great experiences to be had but hidden amongst the crowd of assassins, underwater cities and police crackdowns was an RPG from a developer whose previous game had become near legendary last generation.  Bioware, having come fresh off of a fantastic Chinese mythology RPG title called Jade Empire, released Mass Effect, a sci-fi epic that had you exploring alien worlds, meeting new sentient species and fighting against an unknown, extra-galactic threat.  It was released to rave reviews and fans eagerly awaited its impending sequel.

Fans got it just a few years later in 2010, and while some design decisions put gamers at odds with one another it was still one of the best experiences to have that year.  Over a year’s worth of downloadable content kept gamers coming back to Mass Effect 2 for more but what gamers really wanted was the epic battle for the galaxy and the conclusion to the series we have all come to love.  The final journey of Shepard and the crew of the SSV Normandy is now upon us and the anticipation for it couldn’t be higher.  Does the conclusion to the Mass Effect trilogy deliver us unto salvation?

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Assuming Direct Control

Six months after the destruction of the Alpha Relay during the Arrival DLC in Mass Effect 2, Shepard finds himself on Earth, court-martialed for his actions in the destruction of the relay and the subsequent annihilation of a Batarian colony.  Ordered before a frightened admiralty board, Shepard realizes that the day he has spoken frequently of to deaf ears has finally come: the arrival of the Reapers.  Humanity’s fleets are decimated in a matter of minutes and before the board can even react, the galactic menace lands in Vancouver.  Shepard barely manages to escape aboard the Normandy and is given one last order before he leaves the planet by long time friend Admiral Anderson: bring together the species of the galaxy and take back Earth.

Uniting the various races in this galactic war is no small task and it in and of itself will be a task almost as large as fighting the Reapers alone.  Long standing divisions are your biggest obstacles to overcome and with the Reapers attacking every sector of the galaxy each race has to sacrifice their own worlds in order to bring together their collective firepower.  To convince them to do so, Shepard has to solve long-standing issues and do his best to build up enough resources to insure a strong fighting force for retaking Earth.

One thing that absolutely has to be mentioned is the overall nature of the game’s story.  To put it mildly, Mass Effect 3 is a dark game.  Death is all around you, comrades you’ve grown to love will die for the cause and you’ll be left to ask whether their sacrifice was truly worth it.  Shepard himself is haunted throughout the story by the image of a child he tried to rescue but ultimately was killed as he was attempting to escape Earth at the beginning of the game.  Having to abandon Earth alone eats at Shepard as the game goes on and your eventual return is just as devastating to his character.  Many of the decisions you make can also have a significant effect on entire races, possibly leading to the downfall of entire civilizations.  In several cases there is not right call to be made at all so you have to live with the consequences no matter what direction you go in with them.

Given the controversy raging throughout the gaming community I fear that it wouldn’t be prudent to not address Mass Effect 3’s ending.  Though I will probably go into the details of the ending in a later post I would like to say that the way Bioware chose to end this fantastic trilogy is certainly a ballsy way of doing so. The impact of your decisions has never hit home quite as strongly as your choice in the ending and there is no one right ending to choose.  By comparison (and not to put too fine a point on it), the endings present feel a lot like those the player is forced to make in the Deus Ex series as your choice will affect the galaxy as a whole, not just your allies and the survivors fighting on Earth.  While it isn’t what many people would feel is the proper, best way to end Shepard’s story, it can be said with absolute certainty that it’s an ending that you will be talking about for a long time to come.

Regardless of your choice of conclusion, Mass Effect 3 is a fantastic, desperate story of struggle against an almost insurmountable foe.  If you weren’t already a fan of the series you will be by the end of the game.

Salvation through Destruction

Mass Effect 3, like its predecessors, is a galaxy hopping, exploration-focused epic that takes you everywhere you didn’t know you wanted to go.  From the ruined battlefields of occupied Earth, to the home planets of the Turians and the Asari and even the refugee-laden docks of the Citadel, Shepard will travel to every known corner of the galaxy to help destroy the Reapers.  Many of the places you had only read or heard about can be or is visited throughout the course of the story so for those who have wanted to visit and see what the worlds of various races look like (albeit at war time) you certainly get your chance in Mass Effect 3.

The overall experience is not unlike that which you got in Mass Effect 2 as the combat remains the same with the addition of several new abilities and smarter AI for both your enemies and your teammates.  Your teammates seem to be even smarter this time around and rarely seem to be knocked out in battle.  Many enemies, such as some of the more powerful Reaper creatures, offer significant challenges to overcome in a game based on cover-based combat as they will charge you ruthlessly.  Still though, ME2 veterans will find themselves right at home with the core ME3 combat mechanics.

Two new additions to the combat system make for an interesting twist.  Melee, only briefly feature in the previous games, actually gets a proper reworking in Mass Effect 3.  You (as well as your teammates and enemies) can utilize heavy attacks using your omnitool which are particularly devastating, all but killing most of your lower tier foes.  Players can also deploy explosives to the battlefield in the form of mines and grenades.  Coupled with biotic powers such as Pull or Throw Shepard can easily clear an area of enemies in a way that biotics couldn’t.  These explosives are mighty handy when faced with a horde of enemies such as Cerberus or Geth troops in tight conditions and can be a great equalizer at the right moment.

Like the structure of Mass Effect 2, Shepard’s final mission hinges on a certain aspect you are supposed to be doing throughout the entire game.  Whereas ME2 had you focus on collecting allies and upgrading the Normandy for the suicide mission, ME3 has you collecting what are called War Assets.  These assets range in number and diversity from personnel to tools, equipment, soldiers and even entire fleets of ships in your struggle to take back Earth.  War assets tie directly into the number of endings you have available at your disposal as well as just how these endings play out.  Your war asset count is also affected by the Galaxy at War multiplayer component which I will get into in a moment.

Many of these resources you gain are earned or even multiplied by the characters present in the game.  Almost every character you have encountered in the two previous games makes an appearance here, many of whom you probably forgot about, and your interactions with them help determine whether or not you earn new war assets to help fight the Reapers.  Characters that died in Mass Effect 2 will not appear if a save is imported but a replacement character will take that role over.  These replacement characters will not join your party though and, beyond their initial appearance, aren’t necessarily memorable and don’t yield as strong a war asset count as you’d get with the core characters they are filling in for.

Importing your Mass Effect 2 save data into the third title yields far more benefits and consequences than what was done between the previous two games.  Whereas only eight decisions in ME1 carry over to ME2, nearly a thousand decisions are counted and calculated when imported into Mass Effect 3.  Many of these decisions you won’t remember even committing to but simple ones like rescuing the crew of the Normandy immediately in ME2 can yield significant benefits like retaining old crew members and even aiding refugees at the Citadel.  Your skill level is retained if you import your save and for those wanting to try a new way to play you can change your character class as well.  There are even incentives for players to go through the story a second time as your character level, skills, credits, armor and weapons are all ported into your next playthrough.  This also applies to your reputation which gives you access to new Paragon/Renegade decisions that you previously couldn’t choose from.

On a disappointing side note though (at least to me) a Mass Effect 2 save that saw Shepard dying at the end of the suicide mission cannot be imported into ME3.  This is understandable as the main character is dead but I’d have loved to see how Shepard would have been brought back to combat the Reapers.  Clone?  Rebuilt again by Cerberus?  We’ll never know but it certainly would have made for an interesting twist.

We Fight Together or Die Alone

Bioware is well versed in creating a masterful singleplayer story (despite their design controversies with some of their recent games) but their experience with the multiplayer realm has, up until now, been quite limited.  Mass Effect 3 changes this as it introduces multiplayer to the universe for the first time.  Called the Galaxy At War, it is a four player cooperative experience that sees you playing as a member of an N7 Spec Ops squad sent on missions to secure resources in the galactic war against the Reapers.  While N7 distinctions are primarily reserved for humans, the Spec Ops nature of these unofficial operations allows for any of the primary races to be played as.  This includes Asari, Turian, Krogan, Human, Drell and Quarian so for those who were hoping to play as a badass Hanar, Elcor and any of the other races I’m sorry to say you’ll be disappointed. For the rest of us however we have a variety of characters to choose from across all six classes, though each race will only correspond to their appropriate class (ie. Asari Adept, Quarian Engineer, etc.).

The multiplayer part of Mass Effect 3, as previously stated, is a cooperative one and not a competitive one in nature.  Much like that of the Gears of War horde mode, Galaxy at War pits you against ten waves (and one extraction wave) of either Reaper, Cerberus or Geth enemies in one of six locales seen in the singleplayer experience.  Players earn points for kills and assists in eliminating enemies and completing objects which, in turn, level up your character in the same manner the player would upgrade Shepard in the main game.  Participants also earn credits to spend in the multiplayer store which purchase packs of randomized weapons, items and characters to use in combat.

Perhaps the most interesting (and controversial) part of the multiplayer is its relevance to the singleplayer.  For the first time in recent memory, the multiplayer component actually has a strong influence on the singleplayer campaign.  As you complete N7 missions and level up your character your galactic readiness in each sector of the galaxy rises, starting at (and never going below) 50% and rising depending on the circumstances of the mission.  This percentage acts as a multiplier on your in-game war assets which, if left untouched, can significantly alter Shepard’s mission to retake Earth.  This all but forces you to actually play the multiplayer instead of leaving it alone, something that can be an issue to some players who simply want to experience Mass Effect 3 alone.

This would have been an even bigger issue in people’s eyes had the multiplayer turned out to be crap.  I’m happy to report however that this is anything but the case as Bioware has yielded a surprisingly interesting and fun component.  Combat is fun, mission objectives are randomized to insure different experiences every time and enemies are tough yet exciting to fight.  Each race of enemies has unique minions to combat and can drastically change your battleplan going in based on what they choose to spawn.  In short, the multiplayer is never boring and with a little more fleshing out could be a remarkably interesting experience to come back to in a genre that is, more often than not, sees players playing only once through and then never again.  A couple more pieces of DLC and a few refinements and the multiplayer could be just as celebrated as the singleplayer is.

The Vanguards of Our Ascension

It was clear from the start of the series that Bioware wanted to craft the Mass Effect universe into one that both they and their customers will love.  Three games in and five years since players first got to play as Commander Shepard, the game still looks as remarkable as it did before.  While the Unreal Engine 3 has been showing its age as of late Mass Effect 3 still looks fantastic and has some of the best looking character and object models in the industry to date.  Faces still look great, animations seem to have been improved over what we saw in the previous games and particle effects and still wonderful eye candy.

One noticeable thing players should be made aware of is the setting of the environments.  While Mass Effect 1 and 2 were about putting the combat of the game in the moment and focusing the player in on it this series-ending entry takes that focus and de-blurs the rest of the world, allowing you to take in far more.  Whereas in the previous games you saw yourself as the focus on the conflict going on Mass Effect 3 allows you to see that you are but one small (if very important) part of the war as a whole.  In several missions of the campaign you will be able to look around and see Soverign-class Reapers landing and destroying a city, fighters desperately trying to evade pursuing Reaper Harvesters and even entire starships being blow to smithereens.  You really get the sense of being in a losing war against a merciless, nearly omnipresent foe and it makes you feel both enthralled as well as intimidated.  Kudos to Bioware for taking the blinders off this time around.

The work on the game’s sound and music was really hit home as well.  Though Jack Wall, the composer for the previous two games, did not return for Mass Effect 3 his replacement, Clint Mansell, does just as good a job.  Though Mansell’s soundtrack doesn’t have much in the way of Wall’s electronic soundtrack (save for the classic galaxy map track) he does deliver a power, brass score that sells the chaos-ridden struggle against the Reapers excellently.  His inclusion of piano work conveys a sense of loss and sacrifice explicitly well and all but demands that you put some money down on the soundtrack when it is eventually released.  This might be Mansell’s first foray into designing music for video game but if this is typical of his future works then I look forward to what he’s going to bring to the table.

Breaking the Cycle

Mass Effect 1 was an RPG of exceptional caliber.  Mass Effect 2, despite having fierce competition and launch in January, went on to be one of the best games of 2010.  For all the controversy Mass Effect 3 has landed itself in though it still garners the outstanding praise its predecessors enjoyed.  It’s an epic conclusion to a groundbreaking trilogy whose campaign is immensely memorable and whose multiplayer is very well done for a first effort such as this.

With this generation of games more than likely coming to an end next year Bioware’s epic saga is one that deserves to be heralded as one of the pinnacles of the last seven years.  This wonderful game more than worthy of your hard-earned cash for series veterans and for those who have yet to put their feet in the boots of Commander Shepard it is all the more reason for them to sit down and find out why this series is so remarkable.  I’m Chris Davis and, only three months into 2012, this is easily my favorite game on the Citadel.

Review: Syndicate

Science fiction stands as one of the backbones of fiction, interactive or not.  The line between near future and distant future science fiction seems to blur every decade or so when the amazing gadgets of today’s movies and games become the tools we use every day only a few years later.  This is the area where the cyberpunk setting used to thrive with pieces of entertainment such as Blade Runner back in the 80s and 90s but was all but subsequently overthrown by the fantasy and modern settings we see far too often in video games.  Thankfully it is making a return as of late with Deus Ex Human Revolution leading the way.  Syndicate, a series long beloved by PC strategy fans in the 90s, is the next in line to restore this genre to its proper place in gaming.  Few studios are qualified enough to restore such a proud series and bring it up to speed with today’s game design paradigms but luckily Electronic Arts chose well, assigning the task to Swedish studio Starbreeze.

With a pedigree of titles like The Chronicles of Riddick and The Darkness behind them, does Starbreeze’s effort to reboot this almost forgotten franchise bear fruit worthy of plucking?

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The Man/Machine Gap

Today, man and machine are fundamentally separate entities whose integration is only experimental and usually out of medical necessity.  In Starbreeze’s look at the world of tomorrow however this pairing is far from uncommon.  In Syndicate, the world’s first neural enhancement augmentation, the Dart chip, is released in 2025 by Eurocorp, creating a dataverse that makes most devices like PDAs and cell phones all but obsolete.  Knowledge and tools are now readily available on demand for anyone augmented with the Dart chip and the social revolution that follows redefines the meaning of the term ‘being connected.’  Governments dissolve and megacorporations known as syndicates take over, offering their wares and whole lifestyles to people.  In just a few short decades over half of the human population is chipped while the remainders are considered outcasts by society, abandoned by the syndicates.

By 2069 Eurocorp is set to release the Dart 6 chip, the latest and greatest neural enhancement which has the potential to all but corner the world market.  As Miles Kilo, an agent for Eurocorp, you are one of the test beds for the Dart 6.  As an agent your job is maintaining corporate security and committing espionage against other syndicates to help secure Eurocorp as the dominate force in the world.  Embarking initially on a standard espionage mission against a rival syndicate, what evolves is the beginnings of a major power shift in which Eurocorp may not necessarily come out on top.

The story Starbreeze put together for Syndicate, while interesting at the start, becomes a bit of an unfortunate confusing mess.  This is especially an issue toward the last third of the game when a predictable plot twist occurs.  While the story as a whole is enjoyable I found myself a bit upset at the quality presented to us in Syndicate: it simply isn’t on par with the developer’s previous efforts.  Given how long Project Redlime was in development I was hoping for more but this final product, while better than most of the other stories in shooters these days, doesn’t do enough to garner the word ‘good.’  I have to commend Starbreeze for not leaving us with an ending that screams “sequel me!” but at the same time I wish the story had been more satisfying.

Hostile Takeover

Like the rest of their pedigree, Starbreeze’s newest title is a shooter with an emphasis on combining tight gunplay with unique gameplay mechanics.  Whereas The Chronicles of Riddick had a strong stealth element and The Darkness gave you supernatural powers, Syndicate gives you a technological advantage over your opponents.  The Dart 6 chip, one of the driving plot points of the singleplayer story, also serves as the primary tool in the game.  Augmenting the already good gunplay, the Dart 6 includes three primary functions: suicide, backfire and persuade.  Suicide hacks your enemies’ neural chip and causes them to, well, end their lives, usually taking their friends out with them thanks to a grenade.  Backfire causes a number of enemies weapons to explode in their hands, knocking them to the ground and making them quite vulnerable (and weaker) for a moment.  Persuade, the last ability you gain, tricks an enemy into fighting on your side before subsequently terminating himself.  Each ability comes in handy when in a squeeze against a large enemy force but suicide becomes nearly useless in large, outdoor environments.

Each of the abilities can only be used once however before they need to be recharged and this is done by acquiring adrenaline.  In a similar manner to the point-grinding systems of games like Bulletstorm, you accumulate points to recharge your abilities by killing enemies fast and in a variety of ways.  Creating and mixing up combos will result in higher adrenaline gains and thus allowing you to earn your abilities faster.  Given the nature of the cover-loving enemies you confront in the game though you won’t find yourself reusing the same ability more than twice in any firefight.  The accumulation of adrenaline is also one of several stats that are calculated at the end of a level.  Your performance is graded and encourages replay value for higher scores but outside of achievements it is almost irrelevant.

This is balanced however by the game’s gunplay.  Unlike their previous titles which lagged a bit in this department, Starbreeze’s effort on Syndicate has resulted in an enjoyable, fast-paced shooting game.  Weapons feel strong and each one has an alternate fire mode allowing for a little more variety despite being confined to only having two weapons at a time.  At several points during Syndicate the game attempts to reinforce just how dangerous an agent is by giving you access to a heavy weapon such as a minigun or a flamethrower.  These brief sequences are nothing short of wonderful as you are beset upon by waves of angry, moronic enemies who subsequently get slaughtered by the player, leaving you with the same “I am the destroyer of worlds” mentality the player gets when earning a jetpack in Warhammer 40k: Space Marine.  The only downside to the combat comes in the form of grenades which unfortunately find themselves in a position to where they don’t have a dedicated button on the controller and thus have to be selected manually.  Grenade handling is sloppy as well so it might take you quite a few tries in order to figure out just how to throw them at the right trajectory.

Keeping with the game’s original roots, Syndicate also have a leveling system.  As you go throughout the game you will find various chip upgrades to augment your character.  Players can choose their upgrades from a map but you can only activate these new attributes if you select an adjacent one.  There’s plenty of variety to be had in upgrading your character but the convoluted approach all but forces the player to choose a higher upgrade at the beginning of the game and work their way to it over the course of its entirety.  Given that you only get a handful of upgrades throughout the game you won’t find yourself really creating a supersoldier like you want to.

Riding High on Stock

For all the talk about Syndicate that’s been made since the game’s initial announcement just a handful of months ago the most prevalent topic of debate has been the games art style and visual presentation.  It’s hard not to talk about Syndicate and not draw comparisons to Eidos Montreal’s work on Deus Ex Human Revolution.  If anything, these comparisons are apt as, for all intents and purposes, the game appears to be a brighter, more vibrant version of Eidos’ effort that was released last August.  It’s curious to see two titles, long in development but virtually unknown to each other having such similar visuals but the results are visually impressive.  Fans of Human Revolution’s presentation will find themselves enjoying Syndicate’s.

 One thing I found particularly enjoyable was the game’s choice in voice casting.  Though I appreciate prolific voice actors like Nolan North and Jennifer Hale it’s refreshing to hear new voices in a games.  Starbreeze’s history with Vin Diesel must have had quite a bit of clout as they were able to get Rosario Dawson, Michael Wincott and, surprisingly, Brian Cox to play the three primary characters in the game.  Each provide a convincing and entertaining act that, while not quite worthy of being remarkable, is still memorable.

A Shift in the Market

When Syndicate was announced back in September I was almost instantly worried about the title.  A shooter reboot of an almost forgotten franchise has the potential to provide a layer of depth and intrigue to old fans and newcomers alike but the suddenness of the announcement with a quickly approaching release date made me fear that Starbreeze would not be able to bring an exciting experience to the table.  After having played through the campaign however I only feel marginally better about it.  Don’t get me wrong: Syndicate is a fine game but, in a year that will see such exciting titles as Mass Effect 3, Assassin’s Creed III, Halo 4 and dozens of others I fear that it will become lost in the crowd as the game simply doesn’t have the voice to rise above it.  It’s well worth a look in terms of universe and presentation but if you play it and feel that this should have been the Perfect Dark sequel that should have been then you are not alone.  It’s a good start but Starbreeze needs to bring more to the table if a Syndicate sequel wants to truly stand out.

State of the Slacker: Plans and Review Schedule for 2012

We're just about through with January and I'm still coming to grips with what kind of a year 2012 is going to be.  Sure, 2011 was huge, but the amount of games on the horizon will be an exciting yet financially devestating year for everyone.  As such, I've begun to compile my purchase/review list for the year and the results, as you will see shortly, may require me to get a new shelf to hold my games.

This past year has been an interesting one for me.  A week after going to E3 2011 I had to move out of my apartment but, due to financial difficulties and a higher-than-a-kite rental market here in Austin, I was forced to move in with my father.  I got the raise I was hoping for in August and was just about to move out when a friend of mine contacted me looking for a roommate.  We've known eachother since elementary school so I thought 'yea, what the hell.'  We had to wait until January to move but we've finally settled on a new place.  We move in during the first half of March so now that I have my living situation figured out I can start to plan my 2012 activities.

This year I plan on attending E3, Quakecon, PAX East and PAX Prime.  For E3 and Quakecon I will most likely be representing Hooked Gamers while both PAX events will be done for 4Player Podcast.  I'm still working out the details of these various events but, barring an act of holy spite, I'm going to all of these.

As for my review plans for 2012: I have ambitious plans.  Last Fall I almost succeeded in review every title I bought save for Dead Island and Battlefield 3.  This year I plan on reviewing double the number of games I did in 2011.  This is no small order of action considering what I plan to purchase this year.

The following list contains my entire purchase/rent list for the year.  Titles that will be reviewed for certain are in bold while the rest are subject to time and availability.

February

• The Darkness II
  
• Syndicate
  
• SSX
• Asura's Wrath

March

• Mass Effect 3
• Resident Evil: Operation Raccoon City

April

• The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword (leftover review from not playing it in 2011)

May

• Sniper Elite V2
• Ghost Recon Future Soldier

July

• Darksiders II

TBA Release Dates

• Bioshock Infinite
• Prey 2
• Tomb Raider
• Hitman Absolution
• Metro: Last Light
• Aliens: Colonial Marines
• Far Cry 3
• Medal of Honor 2
• Resident Evil 6

All of the games you see above, as well as ones not mentioned that are subject to announcement, will be played and reviewed this year.  I hope to stay true to this list but you never know...

That's what I've got lined-up so far.  I'll probably post an update as the months roll on.  In the mean time keep an eye out on the blog for my review as well as my random thoughts.

Musing: The Twelve Games That Will Define 2012

Looking back at the year we departed from just a handful of days ago it’s hard to suggest that 2011 wasn’t a great year for gaming.  From shooters to RPGs, from new beginnings to dramatic conclusions, from the return of classics to exciting new universes, there was something for everyone to love.  Most of us are trying to get around to playing even half of the games that were released this past quarter, let alone finish such great games as Skyrim and Skyward Sword.  And yet, while we still reel from having so much to play from this past Fall we have entered 2012, a year that has an exciting list of new games that will do their best to reduce our productivity to all-time lows.

The following games are in no particular order of popularity or priority but most assuredly deserve your money, if not your attention.

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Hitman Absolution

The Hitman series was one of last generation’s best, providing an entertaining sandbox experience that lets you kill your targets the way you want to.  The last Hitman title to be released was 2006’s Blood Money which was the most refined title in the series to date.  When SquareEnix announced a new entry in the series last year many of us were excited at the possibilities.  At E3 though it was the first title I got to see and I have to say it was one of my favorite games of the show.

You can read my preview of the game below but probably the most exciting thing about the return of Agent 47 is exactly how different it wants to be from its predecessors.  The demonstration wasn’t a traditional Hitman level (though Eidos has said that the game will contain them) but what it did show was something no Hitman title has ever done: transitional levels explaining how and why you go from one mission to the next.  The demonstration felt quite fluid and the universal comparison to Splinter Cell Conviction isn’t without merit, nor should it be condemned for it.  Absolution looks great and you should definitely look forward to its appearance at E3 2012 if not beforehand.

Prey 2

2006’s gravity-shifting, Native American on alien-focused shooter from Human Head Games had been in development in one form or another since 1995 having only be surpassed as one of the longest development times for a game by Duke Nukem Forever.  Human Head’s “Turok meets Quake” title was a nice demonstration of what the Id Tech 4 engine could accomplish on a console but as good as it was it wasn’t destined to be able to stand in the face of other shooters like Call of Duty that would go on to become juggernauts in the industry.

Prey 2 is another E3 2011 premiere but the game is a far cry from what we expected.  Abandoning the linear focus of Prey along with its protagonist Tommy, the new game takes place several years later on an alien planet that looks quite similar to the classic sci-fi film Blade Runner.  Playing as a bounty hunter that was abducted by aliens years before, you have to regain your memory while trying to adapt to the hostile megalopolis filled to the brim with every species but your own.  The game showed off both a surprisingly great amount of parkour gameplay that occurs in a very non-linear environment.  The amount of weapons and tools you have on hand ensure that you can have a remarkably different experience from anyone else as your targets can be taken in alive or dead and even then will sometimes be of more benefit to you narratively speaking in one form or another.  Prey 2 definitely hits the sweet spot in a space that desperately needs a sequel to Mirror’s Edge and is a title that has an outstanding amount of potential.

Devil May Cry (DmC)

Ninja Theory over the past few years has become one of my favorite developers, bringing already good stories together with fantastic deliveries from believable characters.  2007’s Heavenly Sword and the despairing quest of protagonist Nariko dazzled players with its combat while 2010’s excellent Enslaved: Odyssey to the West was one of the year’s sleeper hits.  Their latest project, a supposed reboot of the Devil May Cry franchise, has been the target of controversy for its redesign of main character Dante and will good reason: up until the most recent trailers he hasn’t looked or acted a thing like what we remember him to be.

Since the game was announced at 2010’s TGS every single trailer shown has been progressively better in showing off the game’s capabilities and just how similar, rather than different, it is to the core DMC titles.  The combat looks smooth as silk and all of the aspects that make a DMC title what it is appear to be there.  Will this new vision of Dante be what the people didn’t know they wanted?  We’ll find out later this year.

Bioshock Infinite

A lot of things can be said about the Bioshock series but I don’t think any word other than ‘captivating’ properly conveys what the series does to its audience.  The previous games in the series took us under the ocean to a city in the midst of a civil war over Plasmids, addictive genetic enhancements that inevitably turn its users into warped, insane mutants.  Bioshock Infinite takes us beyond Rapture to a city in the sky called Colombia in the early 20^th century.  As a former Pinkerton agent, Booker DeWitt is hired to rescue a woman named Elizabeth from the city who has become the most-wanted figure of power for its warring factions.  What lies within the conflict is anyone’s guess but given the accomplishments of the series thus far it’s sure to be one hell of a ride.

Infinite has easily been one of the most desired games any of has have seen in recent memory with an intriguing concept of bending the fabric of reality while being hunted by Elizabeth’s giant jailer known as The Songbird is sure to stir the same feelings you had when met your first Big Daddy in Bioshock.  Beyond that Elizabeth is a character that you genuinely care about and want to protect above all else.  Bioshock Infinite looks fantastic and I couldn’t pick a better title to begin the closeout of this generation of game consoles.

Aliens: Colonial Marines

Ridley Scott’s incredible film franchise was destined for video games the moment Aliens was released to theater goers back in 1986.  Over the years gamers have experienced a monotony of titles based on the series, the most prominent being the Aliens vs. Predator titles whose most recent iteration came out almost two years ago.  Those titles however look to pale in comparison to this new Aliens title.

Developed by Gearbox Software, the creators of the Brothers in Arms and Borderlands series, Colonial Marines has been in the works for a long time, its initial announcement dating back to early 2008.  This new entry takes place shortly after the events of the Aliens film as has you traveling back to LV-426 along with a battalion of marines to discover what happened to the rescue team Ripley lead into Hadley’s Hope and beyond.  Beyond having an authentic feel to the universe, the game will feature four player drop-in, drop-out cooperative play.  Gearbox is determined to make this an authentic Aliens experience filled with action and horror and This looks to be THE licensed title of 2012 and given that Gearbox is the developer you can rest assured that there’s going to be something great about it.

Tomb Raider

The adventures of Lara Croft have been one of mixed feelings for gamers over the years.  While many veterans fondly remember the classic PS1 titles in the series the more recent titles have been somewhat mediocre.  SquareEnix and Crystal Dynamics made a real splash however in 2011 when they announced the new Tomb Raider, this one taking us back to Lara’s origins and giving us a stark shift in both gameplay and focus.  Trapped on a hostile remote island, Lara has to fight to survive in a gritty presentation that has never been associated with the series.

This new vision of Lara Croft not only gives you an entirely different experience in comparison to the previous games, it also shows her beginnings as she transforms from a young naïve adventurer into the strong, wise treasure hunter that we know her to be.  The gameplay dynamics and overall presentation look to make Tomb Raider one of the most exciting titles to date and perhaps could be just what is needed to revitalize a series that has been in need of a refresher more than any other.

Mass Effect 3

It’s hard for me to accept that Mass Effect 2 was released two years ago this month.  While I really enjoyed Mass Effect its sequel was a wondrous thrill ride for me that had me play through it twice, a rare occurrence for me when it comes to RPGs.  Not only did it have a strong and smart DLC service that produced new content for over a year, it also allowed you to kill off the entire main cast, something that you never see in a game these days.  It told an epic story and was easily the best RPG experience to have in 2010.

Mass Effect 3 is due to arrive this March and looks to be a more intense game than the previous titles combined.  Whereas Mass Effect 1 & 2 were about preparing for war with an invading alien armada this new title is about the war proper, seeing the Reaper invasion of the galaxy (most notably Earth being a primary target) as it happens and the race against time to stop the assimilation of all sentient life.  Mass Effect 3 will reincorporate many of the elements featured in the first game that weren’t in the second and the combat looks even faster and more responsive, pushing the boundaries for what an RPG can be.  There’s no doubt that this conclusion to Commander Shepard’s story will be a great one and you don’t need to do any calibrating to see that.

 

Diablo III

Twelve years was a heck of a long time to wait for the next Starcraft title for Blizzard fans but the anticipation for a third entry in the Diablo series has been just as tumultuous.  Hinted at for years, Diablo III was a title that was announced in 2008 and only recently was publically playable in the form of a beta.  This classic isometric dungeon crawler returns to the world of Sanctuary twenty years after Diablo II and sees the rise of new heroes to face the impending invasion of the armies of the Burning Hells.

There’s so much to offer in a Diablo title that it’s hard to even list them on a single page.  Five classes to choose from, an online auction house, PvP arena matches, even a hardcore mode offers unique challenges to the player whether they play alone or cooperatively.  Diablo III will easily be one of the biggest titles on the PC this year and you shouldn’t be surprised if a home console port is released in the back half of 2012, if not early 2013.

Grand Theft Auto V

Finding itself in the “everyone saw this coming” category, Rockstar’s biggest franchise announced its return this past November to universal excitement.  The 2008 release of Grand Theft Auto IV was easily one of the most hotly anticipated titles of this generation and its possible that GTA V may exceed it.  This new entry takes us from the ragged streets of Liberty City to the glamorous scene of Los Santos, Rockstar’s take on Los Angeles and one of the three cities from 2004 title San Andreas.  We haven’t even met the main protagonist yet and we here at Hooked are already excited.

What’s probably more exciting than the game itself is the speculation everyone is putting to the title.  Is the main character really a father figure?  Will we see the return of classic characters like CJ from San Andreas?  There are lots of questions that need answering and you can be certain that Rockstar will answer them later this year as the windup to E3 2012 begins.

Dishonored

Hidden amongst the titles you read about above, Dishonored is a game that has come out of left field and looks to fill in a gap that hasn’t been properly tended to in years.  In development at Arkane Studios, the studio responsible for 2006’s Dark Messiah of Might and Magic, this new IP looks to combine the player capabilities and plot intrigue of Bioshock with the parkour elements of Mirror’s Edge.  If that combination doesn’t do it for you then you should be concerned for your mental wellbeing.

Set in the retro-futuristic steampunk-esque city of Dunwall, you play as royal guard turned assassin Corvo who is imprisoned after the Empress was murdered.  This tale of vengeance that aids in the liberation of the city from the Lord Regent who has taken power in a game that has you altering the events of the world based on your actions therein.  Dishonored not only stands out as one of the most visually unique titles of 2012, it also serves as representative for all those titles who deserve far more attention than the next inevitable Call of Duty title.  It’s also the only title on this list that can only be described in word right now as there is no video content currently available to the public so I highly encourage you to read my preview of the game from Quakecon.

Far Cry 3

After Crytek went on to make what would eventually become the graphical juggernaut title Crysis during the last generation of consoles, Ubisoft retained the Far Cry title and published a series of ports to the Xbox and Xbox 360.  In 2008 it released a sequel to the game whose only relations to Jack Carver’s adventure were in both name and scope of the world you play in.  Though Far Cry 2 did well commercially and critically it didn’t scream that it needed a sequel.  So, for myself and many others, it came as quite a surprise at E3’s Ubisoft Press Conference this past year when Far Cry 3 was presented to the world.

Returning to the tropical setting, this new Far Cry has the player attempting to escape from an island chain with crazed inhabitants.  The game retains the open-world nature the series is known for as well as the gunplay and first-person actor characteristics that made Far Cry 2 a hit but also seems to tie in a RPG-esque leveling system like that seen in Borderlands.  The game definitely gives off a sense of danger and excitement at every turn so if you want a shooter that doesn’t pit you against the Russian army this may be the one to get this year.

The Last of Us

Naughty Dog is a studio that is capable of tremendous things and has been demonstrating this since the last generation of consoles.  With the seeming conclusion to the core Uncharted series for the inevitable future, the team from Santa Monica has decided to create a new IP and looks to venturing into a genre gamers are all too familiar with: zombies.  Playing as Joel and Ellie, you survive in a world that has seen a deadly fungus wipe out most of the human population, the remainder of which either became infected, murderous cannibals or, to a far lesser extent, fight to survive in a world that sees nature taking our homes and cities back years after the world has ended.

Zombie games are nothing new and have thankfully begun to slow down in appearance and popularity over the past year or so but a Naughty Dog-developed title may be just what is needed to keep this declining genre shambling along.  Naughty Dog is well known for their storytelling capabilities as well as smart, engaging gameplay and the potential for stealth and survival mechanics is definite possibility.  The only thing you can’t be sure of is whether this game will find itself a 2012 release date but given the game’s wonderful announcement trailer we can’t wait to see more.

There you have it: the twelve titles destined for this year that deserve your attention.  Some of these will be guaranteed purchases for you but others you may not even have been considering, let alone heard of.  Sure, there’s the inevitable return of annual franchises like Call of Duty or that remake of that classic franchise but each of these are either new IPs or revitalized sequels that don’t come along very often.  2011 was a great year for gaming but, as hard to believe as it is, 2012 may be even better.  Keep an eye out for on my personal blog as well as my articles on Hooked Gamers and 4Player Podcast.  I failed this past year to review every game I played but I'm hoping to rectify that this year as a New Year's Resolution.  In the mean time, gird your wallets people.

Review: Assassin's Creed Revelations

Looking back at the six years it has been since this console generation began many things have happened that have helped change the way game development is done.  Amongst the creations of things like the regenerative health system, cover-based combat and online cooperative play at home the gaming industry has, above all others, been the victim of an almost undesired innovation: sequelitis.  With the rising cost of video games seemingly taking Moore’s Law seriously it is dangerous for a developer or publisher to take a gamble on a new IP.  Should it fail it could possibly cost them the entire studio it was made in.

Despite this Ubisoft rolled the dice in 2007 with Assassin’s Creed, a time-bending title whose brilliantly secretive marketing campaign and remarkably unusual storyline drew fans into the fray stronger than most would have imagined.  It was two years before we saw a sequel to that flawed title but with it came massive improvements and the series’ woven story, like a knitter that doesn’t know when to stop, turned from a blanket into a tapestry of conflict and revenge.  Its sequel last year, Brotherhood, took protagonist Ezio Auditore da Fierenze to Rome to battle the infamous Borgia clan.  Ubisoft didn’t think that Ezio’s story was quite done however and as such we have Assassin’s Creed Revelations, the final chapter in his life.

But does the boy who we watched grow into a Master Assassin have what it takes to murder the competition?

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Nothing Is True, Everything Is Permitted

Shortly after Desmond Miles and company discovered and retrieved the Apple of Eden he fell into a coma after being forced to end the life of his mentor and partner Lucy Stillman.  Fearing for his life he was placed in the Animus.  Desmond awakens trapped in the Animus, stuck on a construct island designed to test the system’s ability to recreate the world of the past.  On the shores of this computative consciousness he finds out that the machine is having trouble differentiating his memories from both Ezio Auditore and Altaïr Ibn-La'Ahad and until he can defragment himself from their memories he won’t be able to awaken in the real world.  Seeing no alternative, he dives right in.

Desmond finds himself in the shoes of Ezio once again, this time further along in his life than he or his Assassin team had seen before.  Five years have passed since he ended Cesar Borgia’s life and hid away the Apple of Eden and in 1512 Ezio, now in his fifties, finds himself questioning the life that chose him and what could have been different.  In search of knowledge, Ezio undertakes a journey to Masyaf, the birthplace of the Assassin Order, only to be overtaken by a Templar trap.  Barely escaping, Ezio finds the entrance to a hidden library left behind by Altaïr.  The door is locked and requires five keys, each of which were hidden in Constantinople long ago.  Determined, Ezio leaves for the Crossroads of the World.

The best analogy one can give about the Assassin’s Creed series is that it is the videogame equivalent the popular television series Lost.  Every episode, every cliffhanger you experience in the previous games eats at you until you know more.  It is almost addicting the way Ubisoft has been able to draw players in with its wonderful conspiracy-laden epic and Revelations is only partially different.  Unlike Assassin’s Creed II and Brotherhood there is a lot less focus on revealing the truth about the secret war that has spanned over a thousand years.  Instead what we have here is a far more personal story that tells of Ezio Auditore’s final days as an Assassin as well as what happened to Altaïr after the death of Al Mualim.

It is Altaïr’s tales that most Assassin’s Creed fans like myself are interested in almost more so than Ezio’s.  Despite having PSP and DS direct sequels to the original game that detailed his journeys after retrieving the Apple of Eden, it felt like Altaïr was shoved by the wayside in favor of Ezio.  Perhaps this was done so the mystery could be deepened but the absence was notable especially after Brotherhood was announced and that Ezio would be returning for not one, but two games.  Luckily our original hero gets his just dues in Revelations.

Throughout the story of Revelations you’ll collect the five Masyaf keys and each time you do so a part of Altaïr’s story is revealed, each one chronologically showing the various events in his life that both could and could not be shown through the traditional use of the Animus.  These vignettes, though short, are actually quite sweet in content and tell you quite a bit about the man who nearly ended the Third Crusade.  For a franchise fan like me it was great to step back into his boots and I’m sure my compatriots will feel the exact same way.

What you might be disappointed by though is the overall length of the game.  In roughly fifteen to twenty hours a series veteran can complete the main story as well as most of the side quests that pop up.  Despite this however the ending is a perfect lead up to next year’s title and is a must experience for fans.

The Apple and the Eagles

Ezio may no longer be the young man he was when he sought revenge for the death of his father and brothers but he still has what he needs where it counts.  In fact, it is fair to suggest that he is an even more capable warrior than when he was starting out thanks to a motley of new weapons, items and enhancements.  Revelations’ combat system, building on what was used in Brotherhood, keeps the killstreak ability while adding the ability to steal from the enemy in the middle of a counter move.  Ezio can also move and use his Eagle Vision at the same time now which is something the series has long since needed.

The biggest new addition to Ezio’s arsenal comes in the form of his new hidden blade: the hook blade.  Functioning exactly like a traditional hidden blade, this new version allows for both combat and movement enhancements.  For example, one can use it as a tripping tool when charging at an enemy, effective when attempting to knock down, but not kill, a fleeing enemy.  It also serves as an aid while climbing and jumping between ledges which make for faster free running.  Throughout Constantinople you will also find ziplines that you can use your hook blade on which is especially handy.

Also new to your arsenal are bombs.  Functioning much like grenades, you are able to concoct a variety of different bombs using shells, gunpowder and additional ingredients.  These resulting effects can vary strongly, from being able to make a loud pop that draw away guards to being able to wipe out a whole squad.  The only downside is that you can only hold three of each type before having to buy or construct more of them but they are still quite useful.

As a Master Assassin Ezio is one of the few who are capable of expanding the Assassin Order via territory control and recruitment.  Revelations builds on the already great Order creation system this time by allowing you to recruit both random victims of guards as well as specific members who already are skilled such as thieves and the like.  Constantinople is divided into a series of districts in the same way that Rome was divided in Brotherhood but unlike the previous game you don’t simply burn down the control tower.  Instead, you take it over.  These Assassin Dens you can get throughout the course of the game allow you to decrease Templar influence in the surrounding area as well as purchase shops and real estate.

You never had to worry about retaining your territory in Brotherhood after you had conquered it but in this new game it can be one of your biggest worries.  If you draw too much attention to yourself and don’t have a den locked down (which can only be done by leveling up the den’s assassin to master level) the Templars may just attack.  This triggers what is called Den Defense, a tower defense minigame in which you must hold off waves upon waves of attacking Templar conscripts.  During these events you collect morale by killing Templars with assassins from both rooftops and on the ground.  You can also set up barriers as well as call in a air strike from a nearby cannon to wipe out large groups of enemies.  The result is a fun yet tense mode that, while a small diversion doesn’t happen very often to cautious players, is something you will want to keep coming back to play.

One final item worth mentioning is Desmond himself.  Fans have demanded for years that Desmond be given a more important role in the Assassin’s Creed series and Ubisoft partially delivered in Brotherhood last year.  This year however, instead of exploring his capabilities you learn more about who Desmond is.  By collecting Animus data fragments scattered throughout Ezio’s world you can unlock memory segments from the base construct world.  These levels, five in all, give you more information about Desmond’s upbringing leading up to his capture by Abstergo before the beginning of the first game.  These levels are told from a first person perspective and are actually large puzzles that have you constructing and maneuvering using large blocks through areas that reflect what Desmond relates in his monologue that spans them.  These levels get increasingly harder as you go along but there is no cost to attempting them and you might find them quite informative.  If anything they are a refreshing break from the grind of climbing, exploring and killing.

The Blood of a Templar

Assassin’s Creed Brotherhood introduced us to multiplayer for the first time in the series and while it seemed initially to be an almost shoehorned in gameplay element the end result last year was a flawed but promising and entertaining experience.  Revelations retains much of the same Turing Test multiplayer experience we had last year albeit with strong improvements.  No longer does the game encourage conga lines of death: you will find a much more balanced experience here.

New to the experience are several modes that help to balance out the hide-and-seek oriented gameplay we’ve previously played.  Artifact Assault is a take on classic capture the flag in which each time attempts to retrieve the opposite’s First Civilization relic.  Treasure Hunt functions much like a traditional domination gametype but probably the most interesting is Deathmatch.  Much like how you would have first envisioned Assassin’s Creed multiplayer to be, Deathmatch nixes replicated NPC skins in the world as well as your compass.  This forces you to rely on your observation skills and the result is quite fun.

There’s more to find than just new maps and modes though: the entire experience has been overhauled.  Matchmaking seems to work faster and better than it did previously and players will now be rewarded points if they die should they attempt to stun their attacker.  You can now unlock and choose different primary and secondary weapons to use in addition to the various perks you could use before.  Players call also build clans (called guilds) for organized competitive play.  An entire profile can be built now and expanded upon by spending cash earned in-game based on your performance.  It is clear that the system is built to last but given the amount of competition the game is facing it is questionable how long it will hold your interest.

Probably the most interesting integration to the multiplayer is its focus on being more narrative driven.  Periodically as you increase in rank a cutscene will play before a match begins that sees Warren Vidic, the series’ main Templar antagonist, talking to you and informing you of the Templar’s plans for the world.  Some of the characters from the multiplayer actually appear in Ezio’s story as well so you can now understand more about how Abstergo is able to train their forces.  The integration of the multiplayer more into the overall experience is a nice touch but the addition of singleplayer explaining, in part, the characters in the multiplayer is quite intriguing.

Overall the multiplayer seems much more enjoyable than it was with its freshman outing so for those looking for an alternative to traditional run-and-gun gameplay this might just keep you coming back.

Victory Lies in Preparation

Assassin’s Creed is a series that we are four games into in the span of five years.  Several series can lay claim to such a statement but few still can say they are AAA, story-driven experiences.  Ubisoft is already hinting that a new game awaits us next year and while the series doesn’t seem to want to be an annual franchise the past three years have been yielded quite a bit of evidence to the contrary.  Regardless of this Revelations serves as a departure for two well known and enjoyed characters and if the great ending’s indications are proven true then next year’s title may just be the Assassin’s Creed III we’ve wanted since 2009.  In the mean time however Revelations is a great singleplayer experience that, while not exactly newcomer friendly, is still a great time to be had for those looking for a god story.  It is the best title in the series to date and a must own for series veterans.