The Story

Over the river and through the woods, to the enemy's house we go!

As mentioned, the game takes place in the Majesty universe. The story is rather simple in that you are King and you find yourself under attack from an undead enemy. You join forces with various characters/groups throughout the game and march across the land trying to figure out the source of the undead problem and how to rid your world of it. Through the single player, you are guided by an aid that sounds a bit like Saturday Night Live’s parody of Jeopardy Sean Connery, giving a light and comical feel to the game. The game’s visual design matches this tone nicely. Soft warm colors paint the various landscapes. You’ll find yourself marching through city streets, open country sides, labyrinths, beach sides, swamps, and more; each one with its own distinctive art style.

Gameplay

Why, Grandma! What big teeth you have!

The overall goal of each round is to protect your castle while attempting to destroy your opponent’s castle. Gameplay centers around 2 parts running simultaneously.

Part 1: Tower-Defense. You’re able to  construct various towers, each with their own strength and weakness with damage, speed, distance, durability…etc…etc. Positioning of your towers plays a key role in strategy. Not only can you block various paths the enemy can take, but certain spaces on the map gives various perks. While you build up your base, your opponent is doing the same so you often must act quickly to beat an opponent to certain spaces.

Part 2: RTS-Style Assault. This is the offensive side of the game. Currency, in the form of recharging mana, allows you to build up credits which can be used to launch various units. Once the unit is selected, you unleash a wave of them that set forth toward your enemy’s castle. Like towers, you have your various flavors of units. Fast and light armored, slow and strong, some that can fly, some that can attack other units or enemy towers, etc…

You'll encounter a wonderful blend of environments and enemies and even take on mother nature herself.

There are times in this game where the combination of these two parts work really well together. It creates events where it feels frantic, but in a good way, as you rush to think on multiple levels. Sadly though, these bright and fun moments are few and far between moments that aren’t so shiny. The single player campaign feels like a large tutorial for the online play. Every mission seems to give you a new tool or element of game play to work with. Most of the time though, the new element isn’t explained well or you’re not given proper time to learn about it. For example, one level introduces a new tower you can build. The game forces you to build this tower and does not allow you to do anything else until you do. However, you’re unable to build the new tower until a long monologue by your guide is completed. As you sit there waiting to go, you realize the game has already started and your enemy is already moving and you can’t do anything about it till the AI shuts up. This happens several more times throughout the main campaign. Even if a few enemies make it to your base because of this, it’s not a major set back due to the length of the matches usually gives you enough time to recover. Yet the length of the matches soon becomes another issue.

More often than not, matches in both single player and online go on for far too long. Combined with the fact that the key to victory is mostly through a “rinse and repeat” action through sending wave, after wave, after wave, after…(you get the point), creates games that drag on past being fun and become a large repetitive wheel crawling slowly forward. Perhaps the saving grace of the single player is the fact that the enemy AI is not given a “Repair Base” power so enemies cannot extend the length of a match any more than it has to. Multiplayer is another story. All players are given the repair function causing matches to last up into hours. One game in particular I had to forfeit even though I was winning, but winning at such a slow pace that I could tell after 45 minutes of game play, I would have needed an additional 30-60 minutes to win. The matches did improve when able to play with a friend and it was agreed to not use the repair power.

I don't know why, but I just can't shake this feeling that I'm being watched.

And speaking of the online community, it needs to be noted that the number of players available online currently is slim at best. Most of the time, the servers are empty for both PC and 360 and the only way to get a game started is to schedule one with a friend in advance.

There is a lot of potential for this game and it has some great concepts. It is definitely worth checking out if you are an avid Tower-Defense player and are looking for a new twist to the genre, but I highly recommend checking out the demo first and trying it before buying it. Defenders of Ardania is available for PC and Xbox 360 Live for $14.99 (1200 Microsoft Points). There is also an iPad version available for $4.99 (iPad version not included in this review).

30 Second Review

(+) Fun and addicting combination of anagrams and strategy.
(+) Charming and colorful presentation with a lot of little touches.
(+) Excellent value for the price.
(-) Minor bugs.
(-) Customizable options would have added a nice touch.

Gameplay

The concept of Quarrel is rather simple. It is one part word puzzle and one part strategy game. In the game, you are pitted against up to 3 opponents on an island that is divided into territories. The object of the game is to conquer all the territories and be supreme word master. On each territory there are a number of troops at your disposal. You use these troops to either attack a neighbor territory or to reinforce your own pieces of land. If you decide to attack, you enter into an anagram battle.

I'm pretty sure Quarrel's dictionary is better than my phone's auto-correct dictionary.

Each player is given the same 8 random letters to work with and must form a word using these letters. After you and your opponent have selected a word, they are displayed against each other. Each letter has a different value and the total sum of your word will be added up. The player with the highest value word gets to beat their opponent senseless by hurling the letters at them. If you are the attacker and win, your troops move in and take over that space. If you are the defender and win, you keep your space and reduce your attacker down to one soldier. Pretty simple, right?

Here’s the catch, the size of your word depends on how many troops you have on the territory.  If you only have 5 troops, your word can only be 5 letters long at most. This is where strategy comes into play and takes Quarrel from being just a plain anagram game to an addicting and challenging Risk-style strategy game. The more players you add, the more complicated and challenging your strategies will need to become. Even against simple AI opponents, I found myself heavily debating on what move I should do next. Continue my conquest but risk spreading my troops too thin? Play defensive but miss out on the bonus of eliminating another player? The combination of strategies, risk-reward, and head-to-head battles really provides an exhilarating feeling.

Size doesn't always matter. Even with fewer characters, you can have close matches.

The game has a pretty in depth tutorial to help get you up to speed and understand how the game works. After the tutorial you’re ready to take on either AI opponents or real online players (sorry, no local multiplayer but for very obvious reasons). If you choose to take on the AI opponents, the game does a great job of giving you a wide range of competition to match your dictionary IQ. There are 9 AI opponents in total, each with their own IQ, personality, and playing style. In addition, there are four modes to keep you busy. You have Custom Play, Challenges, Domination, and Showdown modes. While each one is slightly different, it really does boil back down to anagram challenges giving a little bit of “been-there-done-that” feeling.

The presentation is extremely colorful and cartoony, giving the game a charming appeal to it. Everything from the soldiers, to the island, to the music, seems to have a quirky bounce about it and can be contagious. While this can become slightly annoying after a while, it’s not very noticeable and the gameplay action will easily distract you from paying too much attention to it. There are a few other issues with the game such as brief audio glitches and a possible bug where you are always “randomly” drawn last during order selection before the game begins. But again, these are very minor

I wonder if FUS RO DAH is in the Quarrel Dictionary?

There are a lot of little touches to this game that make it very enjoyable to play. When playing against multiple opponents, you don’t just sit along the side lines waiting for the battle to be over. You are given the same 8 letters as the two players and have a chance to craft a word earning you bonus points which can later be spent on calling in reinforcements. It’s a simple, yet wonderful addition to help keep you in the game. Another example is that after each battle, a scroll bar on the bottom of the screen will display the true anagram (the full 8 letter word(s)that could have been made) as well as the definition of the words used in the battle. One thing I do wish was added was the ability to customize your troop selection. There are several different types of troops ranging from soldiers, ninjas, robots (oh my!) and several more. They are randomly assigned to you when you turn on the game. While they don’t have any special abilities or behave any differently than the others, being able to select your own troops and even customize them would have been an awesome touch. But not having a customizing option doesn’t limit the game by any means and does not detract from its value.

Final Verdict

Overall, Quarrel is a fantastic game. Whether you’re looking for a short 5-10 time killer match or a 30 minute or more round, this game delivers. If you’re a fan of word-based games or strategy style conquests, this game is right up your alley. Quarrel is currently available on Xbox Live market place for 400 points ($5.00 USD) and is well worth the value!

[Side note: iOS users, there is also a mobile version of this game that came out in 2011. I have not played it so cannot tell you how it differs from this review]

The Story

Dungeon decor 101: dim lighting always sets a torturous mood!

Dark Souls is the spiritual successor of From Software’s 2009 hit, Demon’s Souls. Demon’s Souls was praised by many for its insanely challenging and difficult gameplay and much of the same carries over into Dark Souls. This third-person RPG dungeon crawler starts with your character cursed and imprisoned as a hollow, a doomed soul not allowed to rest after death in the land called Lordran. You are merely a shell of your former self, but there is hope. Rumors whispered in the dark speak that there is a way to regain your humanity and no longer be a shadow of your former self. Of course they’re not going to make it easy on you. Standing in your way are legions of undead soldiers, giant minotaurs, dragons, and other creatures that make the darkest nightmares look like teddy bears. You soon find yourself freed from the prison and the quest to regain your humanity begins.

Though beautiful, very deadly.

After a brief tutorial and orientation, you are shoved into the world on your own. Unlike most games, this game does very little to hold your hand. It gives you the minimal knowledge needed to play the game but after that, everything you learn is from trial and error (with heavy emphasis on the error). This creates a sense of self discovery and makes you feel like a true adventurer. There is a large variety of locations to explore including dark forests, abandoned castles, dungeons, poisonous swamps and more. And there are an equal many number of enemies to take on at each location. Even more impressive is that all areas are seamlessly joined together. There are no loading screens in between maps or painted backdrops for locations. If you look out and see a bridge in the far distance and head in that direction, you will most likely come to that bridge and be able to cross it.

Gameplay

Maybe making your mother-in-law angry wasn't the best idea after all.

It is in fighting enemies this game really begins to shine. The game is extremely combat driven and is done very well. You simply can’t go running into a group of enemies swinging your axe like a mad man (well, you could, but don’t expect positive results!). Boss battles are truly epic and pit you against giant powerful beasts that will test your skills. These boss battles are the true heart of the game and are usually a blast to battle against.

Whether you are facing a common skeleton soldier or a Boss the size of a three story house, each battle requires strategy and timing. One wrong move could easily kill you. There is much precision in this combat. The majority of the times I died were due to my own mistakes of not paying attention or not making the right move at the right time. However, the controls aren’t 100% perfect. Currently, there is a bug in the game that randomly causes a delay in performing any magical attacks while holding up your shield. This has caused me to die a few times (out of the hundreds), but like the rest of the game, it is a factor you soon learn to account for in combat.

Simple battles can become nail biters when your souls are on the line.

Make no mistake though, this game is extremely punishing. As you defeat foes you gain souls. These souls serve as a currency for everything in this game. Whether it be for leveling up your stats, upgrading weapons, or buying new items, souls are what you need. There is a high risk of trying to bank too many souls. If you die, you drop all souls and pieces of humanity you have collected at the spot of your demise. You get one chance to go back to the place you died and collect your souls. Die before that and all your hard work is lost. Additionally, check points are few and far between making it very challenging at times to make it back to a place you just were. Because of the difficulty at times it does feel you earn these souls through sweat, blood, and tears making it extremely stressful to die and even more so to die again before reaching your souls. But, it is this same mechanic that provides a level of tension and fear rarely experienced in most games.

All this is not without some problems. This game is plagued with choppy low frame rates that happen randomly in certain locations. The frame rate can become so poor that it almost seems like you’re watching a stop motion video. Thankfully it rarely gets that bad. And while the majority of frame rate dips is noticeable, it doesn’t affect game play that much.

Multiplayer

Why, granny, what big te….AAAHHHH RUUUUUNNNN!

While the majority of the gameplay will be spent as a single player game, if you’re not connected online you’re honestly missing out on half the experience. Dark Souls offers a community based experience unlike any other game I have played before. As you play, you will see ghostly outlines of other adventurers playing in the same area. Orange markings will also appear on the floor of your world offering messages and tips from other players. Some can be extremely helpful and others…well, not so much. You can even leave your own messages for others to find.

You can even join other players by laying down a summoning sign. Like the orange marks, white summon signs will appear in other players’ worlds and allow them to summon you to their world for help. But not everyone out there is playing nice. You can invade other worlds. As the name implies, you will invade another person’s world and must hunt down and kill that adventurer. Never had my heart dropped and adrenaline pumped so much in a game as when the first time the words “You are being invaded” filled my screen. All this doesn’t even begin to cover what you can do in Dark Souls multiplayer!

While there is a lot you can do with other people, if you think you’re going to get together with your friends and chop off a few gargoyle heads, think again. This game is not friends-list friendly. There is no easy way to invite your friends to play in your world and vice versa. Only way to play together is through a combination of dumb luck, being in the same area, on the same server, with the similar stats, and being lucky enough to have your summon signs appear in each world. On Xbox 360 you’re not even allowed to be in a Party Chat while playing the game (you still can private chat with someone). This makes no sense since you can’t talk to those you join in the game and it’s ridiculously hard to play with friends. For being a great game, it would have been even better if you could have more easily played with friends.

**If you’re not able to connect online, never worry! There are scripted events throughout the game that will allow you to experience most of these multiplayer features with NPCs.

Final Verdict

Perhaps not the best time for a dramatic photo opportunity Indie.

This game certainly is not for the faint of heart nor for those lacking patience. It is hard. It is unforgiving and will punish you. It will eat you up and spit you out without a second thought. All these things sound like they would make a terrible game, but in the case of Dark Souls, they don’t. The huge world, numerous epic boss battles, and creative unique community experience will leave a lasting impression on those brave enough to battle through it.

The first big game that we have for this month is Rocksmith. It was released on October 18th for PS3, Xbox 360, and PC.

This game looks like it’s going to be one to buy for anyone who just wants some fun, or even for those of you who want to learn, or are learning how to play guitar. The easiest way to learn something is to have fun while doing it and this is the way to go.

I’m probably not going to be picking this one up anytime soon, I’ll probably put it on my Christmas list this year and give it a shot around the Holidays!

Next up, we have a game that is being released cross-platform again, so for anyone on the PS3, Xbox 360, or PC, you’re going to want to check out Kingdoms of Alamar, Reckoning.

The projected release date for this one is on February 7th, 2012, so we have a little time between now and then, but this game looks like another well done RPG that I will put on my maybe list for if I have extra time.

The way this game has been put together, it has been created and aimed at those of us who are avid RPG players and it’s made to skip the things that we already know and allow us to get right into the meat of the game, which is what we all want anyway!

Everybody loves a good classic game that’s been around for ages, so get excited because Soul Calibur V is due to be released on January 31st, 2012.

Graphicwise, the Soul Calibur series has always been on the front lines leading the the gaming industry in graphic amazingness and I don’t think that Soul Calibur 5 might disappoint in that area!

The overall customization in this game is extremely impressive and it’s always more fun when you can create a player that looks exactly like you, facial shape and all, so this is going to be a good one for those of you who need another fighter to fill some space on your shelf.

For anyone who owns a Playstation 3, February 12th, 2012 is a sacred day that must be marked on your calendar immediately, because this is the day that Twisted Metal returns to the Sony platform and you are not going to want to miss this game!

I will put this on my to get list and it might even make it to my launch day purchase list depending on how many other games are being released during that time frame in February.

I really don’t think that I need to say a whole lot about Twisted Metal, as it’s been around since the Playstation 1 days and if you seriously don’t know what it’s all about, you need to wake up and open your eyes!

As for all of you Xbox 360 owners out there, don’t worry, I didn’t leave you out on this one, because you have The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings to look forward to sometime in Quarter 1 of 2012.

This is another RPG to add to the already overflowing ocean of RPG games that are being released so often these days, but as far as I can tell, this is being ported from the PC and already has a thriving fan base that is looking to be expanded to the console platform.

There is already some news of DLC that will be released for The Witcher 2, so there’s no way that this game is going to get old too fast, unless the game itself is just a failure.

Personally, I won’t be purchasing this game as it’s for the Xbox 360 and also because there are so many RPG games being released now-a-days that my plate is already full, so I would suggest that this might be one to skip for you.

This wraps up this overview of the November Update 2011, so be sure to enjoy the Holidays with family and friends and you will hear from me next month!

30 Second Review

(+) Playing as different aerial units provides fun break from standard dog fighting.
(+) Battle sound effects do a great job making it feel like a real sky battle.
(+) Dog Fights can provide brief moments of satisfaction.
(-) AI teammates are useless most of the time.
(-) Dog Fighting Mode and other gameplay mechanics become very repetitive.
(-) Constantly being reminded you’re not in control makes it feel more like a movie than a game.

The Story

All locations are based in real locations and are constructed beautifully.

The story for AH is your typical plain Jane war story. Rogue Russians with a bad attitude and personal vendetta for USA want to play war and kill just about everyone. You follow a U.N. Task Force team comprised of several different squadrons, but the majority of the game focuses on the main protagonist, Lieutenant Colonel William Bishop (Call sign: Warwolf 1). While most of the game is spent playing as Bishop, you do get the chance to see and play as the other squadron members. One mission you’ll fly gunner seat of a black hawk, the next you’ll be piloting an apache helicopter covering a ground troop invasion.

The story is set in real world locations which is a change from the usual Ace Combat formula. Previous Ace Combat games have always taken place in fictional locations and are usually farther into the future. In AH you’ll fly over places such as Dubai, Miami, Moscow, and Washington D.C. The details to both the planes and levels are done very well but while it is really cool to fly through the couple of sky scrapers of Miami, most of the action will take place in the extremely open skies above and not serve much of an obstacle while flying making these locations feel more like scenery than actual parts of the level.

Gameplay

Dog Fighting Mode will get you up close and personal.

The gameplay is filled with huge explosions and heavy combat every step of the way. While this sounds impressive at first, the explosive action becomes so standard it eventually fizzles out. One new feature to the game is the Dog Fighting Mode (DFM). While flying your jet, you can get behind an enemy and initiate the new mode. This will lock your plane in a zoomed in “on-the-rails” style dog fight (you will have to move and adjust your speed somewhat to keep on your targets six, but for the most part it’s on rails). Be wary though, the hunter can easily become the hunted! Enemies can start a DFM with you forcing you to try to out maneuver them. Get into the right position and you can initiate another quick time event that will place your plane behind your pursuer. Pulling off one of these moves and then lighting them up with a rocket is immensely satisfying and gave me a smile almost every time I pulled it off. However, the game relies too heavily upon this mechanic and soon almost every battle becomes about entering DFM mode whether you’re targeting a Mig-6, Bomber plane on a bombing run, or a cruise missile. You can always try making things more challenging by not using DFM, but the game seems to discourage this since enemies are loaded with unlimited flares and are extremely hard to target with your gun outside of DFM mode.  

It is this concept of making players do the same thing over and over again that seems to drag down the entire game. While the game is filled with variety of planes to choose, different modes to play, and various objectives to accomplish, everything seems to boil down to a “rinse-and-repeat” format. Flying a helicopter may be very different than a plane, but in the end it is basically the same concept. Additionally, the first half of the game suffers from pacing issues and the missions tend to drag on a little too long. It’s cool to sit as an invincible gunner in a black hawk and mow down targets for a little while, but not for 15 minutes straight. There is a reason popular FPS games only have you do something like this for two to five minutes. Luckily the pacing does improve after the first half but you still find yourself doing the same thing…over…and over…and over.

I find listening to 80's music helps improve my flight skills.

Finally, I want to address the fact that this game does a terrible job at trying to give you the illusion that you are in control and that your skill actually matters. The game plays more as a cinematic movie, moving from one big explosion to the next, rather than playing as a game. During cut scenes, you’ll have moments where you’re watching the scene and are suddenly prompted into an out of place single button quick time event. Not only does this take you out of the game (several times I had placed my controller down thinking it was the end of the level), but you aren’t rewarded with grand spectacles or death defying feats. Instead you are rewarded with events like (and not even joking) pumping your fist into the air.

Even more frustrating are moments where the rules of the game change and you’re not told. You can be the best ace pilot in the skies and shoot a dozen rockets into an enemy aircraft but the aircraft won’t die. Why? So they can take you into a cinematic sequence of your enemy crashing kamikaze style into a ship. Not once but three times. No matter how good or how much damage you inflict, those planes will crash into that ship. I’d rather just have the game go to a cut scene. You’ll find moments like these all throughout the game and like the quick time events make you feel detached from the game rather than immersed.

These moments combined with almost every action in the game being turned into an “on-rails” moment make you feel like you’re in a theme park watching a video of a roller coaster instead of actually riding one.

Multiplayer

The game offers a very wide range of colors to customize your bird in the sky. May I suggest Hot Pink?

The saving grace of this game lies in the multiplayer. This is where the fun really takes off. Multiplayer offers several different modes and styles guaranteed to please almost everyone. If you’re looking for competitive play, you have your standard “Deathmatch” where it’s every pilot for themselves. Entering into DFM here is fun and exhilarating since actual humans tend to be more unpredictable and more of a challenge. “Capital Conquest” is another mode which puts you onto one of two teams and you must work as a team to acquire points on the map and take out your enemy’s base. Here you can choose from almost all vehicle types including fighter pilots, bombers, and helicopters. Each vehicle has its strength and weakness and adds an excellent level of strategy to the game. “Domination” is your standard “King of the Hill” game for planes and is equally as fun as the other modes. Finally, “Co-op Mode” allows up to three of your friends to join you on eight modified mission campaigns. Enemies here have increased difficulty and provide more of a challenge for you and your friends.

Final Verdict

Overall, it seems this game is trying too hard to be a First Person Shooter in the air. It’s not a bad idea but wasn’t well implemented. The mechanics and concepts they tried putting into the game just don’t’ stick and make an air combat game feel very clunky and out of place. In the end, this game seems to be one big roller coaster of big and flashy explosions but little substance behind it. This isn’t saying it’s a terrible game. If you’re the type that enjoys the big explosions and the high speed chase scenes and don’t mind doing repetitive actions again and again, then you may enjoy the overall experience. But those looking for deeper, more involved action may find it best to overlook this game for now.

The best way that I can describe Beat Hazard Ultra is to take Super Stardust HD, put all your favorite dance/electro/dubstep music behind it and put thousands of music strobing lights on the screen at the same time.

When I first looked at a gameplay video of this game I couldn’t even keep track of what was going on, but soon after I downloaded it, I was already playing on Suicidal and it was pure fun!

Overall, graphics-wise I would say that it was pretty well done. I would have liked to see a little more detail on the various ships and bosses, but by no means does this deter me from playing Beat Hazard Ultra.

One thing that did draw me into this game was the fact that you could import your own music and Beat Hazard Ultra would create a level based off of your songs. As far as I could tell, it seemed to be unique for every song that I imported, so it didn’t get repetitive.

Also, as most of you know, I’m a huge multiplayer fan and I was extremely pleased to know that Beat Hazard Ultra supported multiplayer and not only on the same console, but it also has online multiplayer capabilities!

Overall, if I could improve one thing on this game, I would probably put a higher difficulty mode on it. I found that even though Suicidal Game Mode was by no means easy, I was able to jump right into it after just a few play-throughs on some of the lower difficulty settings.

One other thing that could possibly improve or destroy this game, would be to add the 3-D world around it, such as in Super Stardust HD. I think this would allow for a lot more difficulty and also an even more insane user experience regarding all the things that could be done with the strobing effects.

After all this being taken into consideration, I believe that if you love music and you’re a gamer, Beat Hazard Ultra is worth looking into. Not only do you have the option of playing through to beat your high scores, but there is an infinite mode, where you can just relax and listen to your music and destroy thousands and thousands of spaceships and asteroids coming from every direction without the pressure of trying not to die.

The best way to describe Atlus’s latest puzzle game, Catherine, is to say it is not your typical game. It’s certainly different than the standard game players will find on store shelves, but it’s different in a good way. On the outside, this game may seem simple, but brave through the nightmare and you will find an interesting and unique experience awaiting you in Catherine.

What Dreams May Come

In Catherine, we follow the story of Vincent, a regular guy who’s happy with the status quo of his life and would love nothing else to leave it that way. However, his long time girlfriend, Katherine upsets that quo by beginning to pressure Vincent into marriage. Vincent grapples over the notion of marriage, commitment, and eternal bondage later that night by himself over a drink at his favorite bar. Then along comes Catherine. No, you’re not crazy and that’s not a spelling mistake. The game has two “Catherine”s. One spelled with a “K” and the other with a “C”. Despite a close association by name, similarities stop there. Where his girlfriend Katherine with a “K” is grounded, disciplined and focused on the future, Catherine with a “C” is care-free, spirited and vicarious. With Catherine’s good looks, youthful charm, and a little bit of forward flirting, it’s barely a fair fight for slightly drunk Vincent. The next morning, Vincent awakes to find Catherine still with him in his bed thus starting a long nightmare of a love triangle that carries over into Vincent’s dreams.

These puzzle make you think outside the box…and up, down, and all around it too!

It is in these dreams you tackle the majority of game play that makes up Catherine. Vincent finds himself in a nightmare world similar to Dante’s inferno where he must climb blocks to get to the top. To climb, you must pull and push blocks to create steps up to the next level and must do so quickly since the floor is rapidly falling beneath you. This adds a great level of suspense and gives a well balanced tension to the game causing you to climb as high and fast as possible. The towers become progressively more challenging and cause you to find a solution from a “top-down” perspective. While at first it may be difficult to think of different strategies, the game does a good job of presenting new techniques and ideas on how to climb throughout the game. There are quite a few techniques demonstrated for you, but you don’t need to worry about memorizing all of them. Majority of the puzzles can be figured out using the basic block techniques figured out early on in the game.

While the controls feel smooth for the most part, there are a few problems that can be frustrating. The controls are a bit “twitchy” at times and it is all too easy to push a block away when instead you wanted to pull it. Luckily, it’s a forgiving game which allows you to undo a move on the lower difficulty settings. The game’s camera angle can also be troublesome and limiting. This is especially made apparent when you go behind a set of blocks and there is no way to see yourself or no where you are making moving around difficult. It’s a minor complaint though and won’t greatly interfere with your game play.

Top down thinking is harder than it sounds…especially when the ground beneath your feet keeps crumbling away!

This puzzle climbing makes up the majority of the game play and while it seems like this would become repetitious and boring, the game finds ways of making each level interesting by increasing the complexity and the variety of blocks. New blocks are constantly added to levels which cause you to change strategies and rethink the rules on climbing which adds refreshing and changing game play. For instance, you have blocks that will crumble and fall apart after stepping on them so many times, or blocks that are made of ice causing you to slide until hitting a non-ice block. Boss levels also add a change of pace and variety. Still, there were times where I did feel the climbing segments did become monotonous and repetitious but these moments were usually short lived and broken up by the games cinematic presentations and interactive intermissions.

Little Lost Sheep

The Stray Sheep, a place where everybody knows your name.

The second half of the game consists of these interactive intermissions with Vincent at the bar which serves as a nice break from the puzzle climbing. The best way to describe this part of the game is it’s an interactive RPG-ish socializer. You get text messages from your two Catherines and can choose to reply to these messages in a variety of ways. You also can chat with your friends as well as fellow bar members giving more character depth to both Vincent and those around him. Not only do these interactions provide more story, but how you choose to respond to people will affect the outcome of the game. There are also quite a few treasures one can find while spending time at the bar for those willing to get up and explore the quaint little pub.

And once you beat the game there are still plenty of reasons to come back to Catherine. Not only are there 8 potential endings to the game but there is a multiplayer feature that is unlocked during your initial play through of the single player. The multiplayer is local based only but gives you two modes: co-op and competitive. Also unlocked as you go through the game are additional puzzle challenges with online leader boards showing best times and highest scores.

The presentation style is unique and gives an interesting and different atmosphere to the game. Much of the game’s story is presented through a blend of 2D anime sequences as well as 3D cell shading. If you’re a fan of anime then this style of story telling will feel like a natural fit. One possible downside is the length of these sequences in between game play. They can range anywhere between 2 minutes to almost 10. While they can get long, I definitely recommend sticking through them. The voice acting is fantastic  and the scenes are well written and provide plenty comical and suspenseful moments.

Overall atmosphere is spectacular as well. The use of neon lights and shadows creates a bright but edgy atmosphere in the bar. Nightmare levels are filled with torturous machines, cries of fellow trapped souls falling to their doom, and moody and creepy music creating a dark and twisted atmosphere definitely leaving the feel of living in a night terror.

Something More Than Just Sex

Despite it’s strong sexual theme, the game isn’t about sex! Make no mistake, this is a mature level game that you do not want to play in front of your kids! However, while the game is very sexually themed and there are some scenes which demonstrate this, nothing graphic is ever shown (with maybe the exception of some of the bosses) and nothing seems out of line or overly done as some games tend to do. The story goes deeper than that and becomes more about relationships, maturity, and self discovery. Combined with it’s unique presentation and game play, Catherine offers an enjoyable and different experience than most games being released.

Final Verdict

For me Catherine is one of those games that you’ll either love it or hate it. It is a game that will take you by surprise if you let her. Surprisingly deep at times with fun and challenging puzzles with interesting atypical characters. The fact that the game is not centered around saving the world or rescuing damsel’s in another tower, but rather about an average guy with personal relationship issues trying to fight his own nightmares makes for a refreshing change as is the puzzle mechanic of the game. As mentioned before, it is a game that breaks away from standard norm and takes a risk…take a chance with Catherine and you might find plenty of reward waiting for you.

Story

You really don't want that spotting you.

The story in Homefront poses the question as to what if Korea took over most of the United States.  You play as former Marine helicopter pilot, Robert Jacobs, and in the beginning of the game you are sent off to a reeducation camp because you refuse to cooperate with the occupation forces.  However, things go sideways on your trip and you become rescued from a group known as The Resistance.  They believe you can be a great help to them acquiring fuel in San Francisco for the U.S. Military, given your background as a pilot.  I thought the opening sequence of you being transported on the bus was very well done.  Without giving anything away, some of the things being seen were pretty shocking compared to some of the other shooters out these days, and gave it quite the wow factor.  Sadly enough, the game doesn’t continue to wow you with great cut-scenes but the Homefront story is something the game does nicely, considering most of the other shooters in comparison put a well told story at the bottom of the list.  I’ve always loved it when games can emerge me into a really good atmosphere and Homefront has a couple of nice set piece moments and even gives you that feeling of fighting a warzone in your own “backyard”, which I believe was Kaos Studios exact intentions.  Some of my favorites were battling it out on a baseball field, that looked like something  you would have played on as a kid.  Also the mission at the Golden Gate Bridge I thought was done well.  Personal places like these is something that was quite different than some of the other shooters, but unfortunately were shot down way too fast.  The Homefront campaign is a very short one.  I finished the game in about 4 hours on the normal difficulty and was shocked that some of the best missions were 15-20 minutes long.  It seemed at times I was playing a demo to get a taste of whats to come, but that isn’t the case at all.  While I did enjoy the story and atmospheric locations of Homefront, it came to an abrupt end way too early.

Gameplay

You will see a lot of this.

No matter how well a story is told in a game, the controls and actual gameplay is obviously the most important part.  This is where Homefront separates it self from the big boys, and not in a good way.  First thing you will notice is how the game looks, at times the environments and the character models look flat out awful and outdated.  In my opinion the other most important part when developing a shooter is making sure the guns sound like they should.  Other games like Medal of Honor and Call of Duty did an amazing job making the guns sound real.  This is something I usually pay very much attention too because I really am picky when it comes to audio in video games.  The weapons in Homefront sound very depressing, and at times made me feel like I was the kid from A Christmas Story firing a BB rifle.  Even the knife and reload animations were laughable.  Framerate issues at times also hindered my experience with the game.  It wasn’t a continuing problem but an annoying one at that.  Especially nowadays, its inexcusable.

I don’t want it to sound like I’m totally hating on the game, because it’s not the worst I’ve played.  The game’s A.I. felt right,  even on the normal difficulty I found it being quite a challenge.  Even if some of the deaths were cheap ones.  It’s not a surprise, nor do I blame developers trying to copy other games that have been a huge success.  But Homefront just falls flat in comparison, and with the amount of competition, you have to beat the best, to be the best.  Homefront is the perfect example of a game that needed more development time.

Closing

After reading everything I’ve said, you may be wondering why you should even play this game.  I still believe it’s a game you should experience so you can see how the story unfolds.  I’ve also been told the game’s Multiplayer is enjoyable, when you can actually connect and get into a game.  But as the campaign clocks in around the 4 hour mark, I really cannot recommend it as a purchase.  It is perfect if your looking for something to play on a rainy afternoon, but above that I say wait for the bargain bin.   I really think Homefront could of been an amazing game if just given a little extra time.  Kaos Studios will no doubt have their work cut out for them next time around.

This review was based on the Xbox 360 version of Homefront.

You play as space pirate Grayson Hunt who is followed by his best bud Ishi Sato.  After finding out they were tricked into killing innocent civilians by their commanding officer General Sarrano, in which Hunt and his crew believed they were killing murderers and other scum of the world.  So it is no surprise that Hunt and Sato want their commanding officer dead.  Years later Hunt and Sato’s plane crashes on a planet called Stygia. Which is run by ruthless disgusting mutants that look like something out of the Hills Have Eyes movies.  After the crash, Sato is injured pretty bad and Hunt must track down a energy cell from an escape pod to put into Sato’s brain to save his life.  I’ll let you experience the rest to find out what happens, but the story is not whats going to make you keep coming back to Bulletstorm.  It’s the ridiculous extreme gameplay that awaits you after you arrive on Stygia.

Size does matter

One of the first things you’ll notice right away is how beautiful the game looks.  The environments and lighting truly looks stunning, and I was quite surprised.  Bulletstorm also does a good job of changing up each section of the game, so that you never get tired of seeing the same scenery over and over.  Aside from the eye candy, Bulletstorm is a very fast paced game.  You will constantly be blowing stuff up and kicking your way to the next area of mutants.  The variety of blood thirsty enemies you face will also change up quite a bit as you make your way through Stygia.  Some guys you can take down with a couple blows, while others will make you think in more creative ways to take down.  But the combat in Bulletstorm is the games bread and butter.  The game feeds on collecting Skillshots.  Skillshots are points that you collect by killing enemies in gruesome and unthinkable ways.  For example using your surrounding environments is a good way to collect points.  Some areas of the game will have things like cactus’s or flesh eating plants that you can kick those ugly buzzards into to gain some serious skillshot points, and not too mention saving some ammo.  Fairly early on in the game you come across a device that slips on your hand called a Leash.   Its basically just like it sounds, if you point that at a enemy it will shoot them towards you in slow motion and will allow you to do whatever you want with them.  You can simply shoot them and move on, but it is much more fun and recommended to think of creative ways to take them out.  This is some of the most fun the game has to offer.

In a game where brutal gun firing combat is what you’ll be spending much of your time on, the weapons would be a pretty important part in a game like Bulletstorm. You will be allowed to carry up to 3 weapons at a time.  Your always equipped with your basic assault rifle that really resembles a Lancer from Gears of War minus the chainsaw. One of my favorite weapons in the game was the Flail gun.  It’s a chain that shoots out thats equipped with two bombs at each end that wraps around your enemy then with a single press of the RT, it rips most bodies in half.  I found this to be extremely useful during some of the tougher enemies in the game like some of the bigger bosses.  The drill bit weapon was also a blast to use, that will instantly implode your enemy into the nearest wall, killing them with one hit.  But the shotgun is the weapon I had in my arsenal throughout the entire game.  It was great for close quarter shootouts and it was equipped with 4 barrels instead of 2 and as you would imagine it literally tore people in half and made for a nice rack up in Skillshot points.  There are a total of around 8 different weapons you can use in the game, and you upgrade each weapon with the points you collect with Skillshots.  Each time you come up on Dropkits, you can buy ammo for your guns, add a secondary fire onto them or swap out one of your guns for something new.  But whatever your weapon of choice may be, Bulletstorm is sure to have everything your sick little mind desires.

Let the plant do all the work

But Bulletstorm has more than just a campaign mode.  If you played the demo, then you got a little taste of the Echoes mode.  These are levels pulled from the single player that last anywhere from 4-6 minutes, and basically all your trying to do is get through each section not so much quickly, but how many Skillpoints you can accumulate.  At the end of each level you are graded on how well you performed.  It also has a leaderboard attached so you can see how well your friends did during their run.  Echoes mode isn’t the highlight to Bulletstorm, but it does make for some fun if you just want to hop on for 20 minutes or so, and anytime you can compete against your friends, it always adds for some replayability.  Anarchy is the cooperative multiplayer mode in Bulletstorm.  It pits you and three of your buddies against 20 waves of enemies, and as you would guess each wave increases in difficulty.  To complete each wave you have to rack up enough skillpoints to advance.  Anarchy will have the most lasting appeal because it’s the mode that you can play with your friends.  If you can get 3 of your buddies together, you will no doubt have an absolute blast.

By no means is Bulletstorm a “perfect” game.  One example is the games controls.  I am not saying they are bad, in fact after a little while you will pick up on them fairly quickly because of how much they resemble Gears of War.  But if your like me who’s brain is wired to the Call of Duty controls, it will take some time before you are running, sliding, and pulverizing your enemies in a smooth manner.  I also had instances of getting stuck onto objects which is very annoying when your under heavy gunfire.  At one point it happened during a pretty intense boss battle and I nearly almost died because of this.  I would say it only happened maybe two or three times but it always seemed like it came at the worst of times.  The game’s story and characters is also not much to write home about.  You will really care less about both as you make your way through the 6-8 hour campaign, depending on what difficulty you play on and how many times you die.

At the end of the campaign I was satisfied with my time with Bulletstorm.  The single player is a decent length and with the Echoes and Anarchy mode on top of that I would justify this game being a 60$ purchase, not too mention having a chance to jump in the Gears of War 3 Beta early.  But if the single player is the only thing that interests you, I would say give it a weekend rental.  But definitely give it the time of day, Bulletstorm puts some of the fun back into the FPS genre.

This review was based on the Xbox 360 version.

Keep your eye out for more news and screenshots over the next couple of days.

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