BioShock Infinite... ly harder...

So, enjoyed the BioShock series so far but just feel a bit like it was maybe lacking challenge?

Do you long for the halcyon days of “proper” difficulty levels?

Missing the sense of fury with yourself you used to get back in the “good ol’ days” when you got stuck in a gaming dead end?

Worry not fellow masochist, for Mr. Levine et al are here to save the day!

BioShock Infinite’s new “1999″ mode will return you to the cold-sweated fear you used to feel back when it’s great, great-grandfather, was stalking the futuristic corridors in the form of System Shock 2 (which was released in… … 1999).

Unforgiving, brutal, tense, worrying, panicky, fraught, desperate… just some of the terms I expect, nay guarantee, when you read the first reviews of this game mode upon the game’s release.

Whilst you will still be able to “save & load” the bygone days of; Death -> Vita-Chamber -> Death-> Vita-Chamber -> ad infinitum will be but a distant memory if you actually choose to ensure 1999.

Of course this will only be an option, with the usual, “ENH” (Easy Normal Hard) modes still also available.

Indeed the game’s creators are so concerned at the effect of introducing new players to this “old school” level of difficulty that 1999 mode will be “hidden” in the menu system by some cunning device… (I vote for requiring pipes to be laid out so that fluid can flow from one side to the other before the mode is available, or even better still something involving hacking & ICE?)

Anyway, this can only be a great move for all involved… well balanced “standard” gameplay modes for sane people, augmented by not only a “hardcore” mode for us “old school” fanboys of the series, but a “hidden” hardcore mode… oooooooooohhhhhhh…..

- Richard “Rax” Burley
@Raxous

We all have our reasons for playing video games. For some it is simply for escapism, and for others it can be for pure fun and enjoyment. It can be a social retreat or even a pure test of will and determination. Rarely do games instill genuine emotion in us, but every now and again something will come a long that will bring many a gamer to tears, or take them to nirvana… and sometimes absolute hell.

That’s where the survival horror genre steps in, screaming at you with the demonic eyes of Satan himself. 

1. Amnesia – The Dark Descent

You could say that Amnesia is the new kid on the block, but Frictional Games have been making frightful survival horror games for a while now. Their first was Penumbra, a first person puzzle solving adventure through a deserted and insanely creepy scientific research facility in Antartica. It’s rich with zombie dogs, dead people who have mutated into alien-like forms, and lots and lots of darkness.

Amnesia presents more of the same gameplay, but an entirely different setting with a delicious graphical update and of course a major upgrade as far as creepiness and scare factor is concerned. In Amnesia you play as a man who has amnesia, as the title suggests. You’re on a survival horror journey through what could be the most fear inducing castle known to man. It’s deeply atmospheric, immersive and should only be played on dark stormy nights with the curtains closed and the lights off.

You’ll explore the castle, solving puzzles and trying your best not to get killed by the monsters that lurk within, monsters so grotesque in form that fellow newbreview writer Mr Kieran Roycroft can’t even bare to look at them. Plus you’re unarmed, there are no weapons in this game, if the monsters see you you’ll have only one option, RUN AWAY AND HIDE IN A CLOSET LIKE A LITTLE GIRL. The game’s physics engine can be utilised to barricade doors with other items of furniture or boxes you can find strewn about the place, but eventually THEY WILL GET YOU. The only thing you’ll have is a lantern and a torch, the sweet embrace of it’s light is your saviour.

The game is all about keeping your sanity and many players have lost theirs in trying to do so, some being reduced to tears, many losing control of their bowels and the odd few have even DIED! Well… not really, but Amnesia regularly brings you pretty close to the point of having a heart attack. In fact if you’re interested in any way what a heart attack might actually feel like I suggest you run out and buy it.

2. F.E.A.R- If you want to make a game to scare people what better title than F.E.A.R (as in First Encounter Assault Recon) a game that Monolith Productions designed from the ground up to be a seat stainer. During production they went as far as asking the community to divulge their worst fears so that they may be included in the game.

Released in 2005 the game has done surprisingly well for itself, being one of the highest ranked FPS games money can buy. You play as the point man of a F.E.A.R squad, a government funded paranormal investigations team with some of the coolest firepower available. Normally it would seem wrong to give a bunch of testosterone-fueled soldiers guns to simply go ghost hunting, but this isn’t exactly your typical episode of Britain’s Most haunted: something has gone terribly wrong at an underground research facility and a lot of people are dead because of a menacing phenomenon in the form of a little girl. As Japanese film making has proved there’s nothing more scary that a little girl.

Throughout the game you’ll venture through a number of interesting but sometimes bland environments, blowing everything up and shooting anything that moves because you’re always on edge with this game. Floors will turn into rivers of blood, dead bodies dropping from the ceiling, and evil spirits play havok with your senses. The game is crammed full of references to great horror  films and other stuff that will completely mess with your head. I believe this game falls under the category of total mind f*ck.

It’s an enjoyable game, the super powers the protagonist has, including the ability to slow down time, make sure of that.

3. Dead Space- Dead Space has quickly  become one of the most popular games of this generation of consoles. It has won multiple awards for its fear inducing sound design and atmosphere that has left many copies of the game collecting dust on shelves because gamers can’t bring themselves to even turn the game back on so they can finish it. Yes, it’s that scary. And if there was ever a better setting it’s in space, where nobody can hear you scream as you get ripped into shreds by former shipmates who have mutated into grotesque monsters with blades for limbs and a taste for flesh.

You can’t rely on a trusty firearm either, this is a spaceship, the USG Ishimura to be precise, or rather it was a spaceship before it got near enough destroyed thanks to Necropmorphs. Despite playing the role of an engineer there’s no way your fixing the ship, so grabs your laser cutters, your nuclear powered chainsaws, your futuristic chainsaws and your sonic screwdrivers and man the hell up cuz there be monsters to kill. Don’t forget to aim for the limbs!

4. Silent Hill 2- When talking about scary games its only fair to mention the Silent Hill series. It takes the creepiness level to an entirely different dimension, dragging the player to a town where it snows ash, walls are made from barbed wire, and blood and guts decorate the hallways like a cannibal Christmas party. Not all of the Silent Hill games were a major success (at least not over here in Europe) but Silent Hill 2 is widely considered to be the best in the series. Evil spirits,witchcraft, necrophilia, torture, murder and a butt load of mind games are all present in this maddening adventure, accompanied by a superbly eerie soundtrack.

The game’s atmosphere has just as tight of a hold around your neck as the story, with the constant threat of Pyramid Head lurking in the shadows, waiting to pull your skin off and devour your soul.

You play as James Sunderland, a man who receives a letter from his wife letting him know that she is stuck in Silent Hill. The only problem is that she has been dead for years! You set off to the titular town in order to find out what is going on, and find yourself going on a terrifying journey through your own psyche, full of psychotic perverts, and deformed monstrosities. Perfect night time entertainment.

5. Left 4 Dead- These days it seems Valve can do no wrong and there’s no better formula for success than zombies + shotguns x gore = win. Everyone loves a zombie, especially the killing part. Left 4 Dead was (and still is) an incredibly popular team based survival game, and it’s certainly right at the top of the kangaroo scale when it comes to making you jump in a frenzied panic. The game is LOUD!

The zombie menace will come at you thick and fast, screaming at the top of their lungs, and you’ll be flailing whatever weapon you can find wildly, knocking off five or six heads at once. If that wasn’t enough the threat of super powered zombies, such as the insta-kill witch or (heaven forbid) a gigantic muscle-bound tank, lurking around the corner is ever present, leading to some severe brown trouser moments.

There’s just as much tension in-game as there is between your teammates. Each level builds up to a thrilling climax as you fight off wave after wave of zombies as you wait for a means of escaping at the end of each stage… that is, assuming you make it there without your three compadres betraying you for ammo or health kits, or even just for laughs.

6. DOOM 3- The Doom series is one of the grandfathers of FPS gaming and back in 2004 id software decided it was time to reboot the franchise, so they disregarded the storyline from 1&2 then made 3 and holy hell was it scary. Unfortunately scientists have made another boo boo and have accidentally opened a gateway to hell while conducting teleportation experiments in a research facility on Mars… as you do. An army of demons has come through, killing everyone they find, and have completely ruined your vacation because now, as one of the best space marines on Earth, you’ve been called in, along with a rag tag bunch of army buddies, to sort it all out.

Doom 3 has some of the best lighting effects ever: it’s a dark game, a very dark game, and your trusty flash light soon becomes your best friend. You can’t hold a gun and the flashlight at the same time, so you’ll progress slowly and cautiously. If videogames have taught us all anything it is that space is a really dangerous dangerous place and if we’re ever lucky enough to perfect intergalactic flights to other planets we should probably leave it alone. Stay the hell out of space and for god’s sake don’t ever got to Mars because that’s where the devil lives.

7. Resident Evil- If we’re going to talk about scary games it’s only fair to mention Resident Evil, the franchise was one of the driving forces pushing the survival horror genre out of the dark and into the public’s delighted, yet terrified, eyes. Again it’s the scientists who are to blame, bio engineering viruses that bring the dead back to life was never going to end well now was it? And to make matters worse you’re stuck in a huge mansion that was built by a crazy architect who liked to put spikes on the ceiling and secret doors everywhere.

The voice acting is laughably bad by today’s standards (in fact it was pretty by the standards of the time as well) but Resident Evil never lost its charm. It’s one of those games from the golden age of Playstation that almost everyone played. It is a game that is crammed full of so many memorable moments: the first time you see a zombie (oh I had so many nightmares about him) and the first time those zombie dogs come jumping in through the windows… it gets me every time.

8. Dino Crisis- And from one Shinji Mikami game to another:  Dino Crisis was an attempt to spawn a new sub-genre of “panic horror” with more of the same Resident Evil style gameplay, this time we’re swapping out zombies for an even more terrifying menace, those goddamn Dinosaurs. I’m pretty sure everyone is born with a pre-programmed fear of dinosaurs, therefore this game has widespread appeal as a dinosaur killing simulator, just in case an eccentric billionaire actually goes and brings dinosaurs back from extinction.

It’s a thrilling game overflowing with suspense especially when those quick time events kick in. Weapons and ammo are hard to come by, but thankfully when there’s puzzle solving to be done, the dinosaurs will leave you be. If you need another  reason to face your fear of dinosaurs, how about playing as a feisty redhead? While not being as popular, or as influential, as Resident Evil, Dino Crisis is still a genuinely frightening game that has the capacity to fill your underwear with little brown packages.

9. Bioshock- Now I don’t know about you but I’m scared of the water. I’m not a good swimmer, never have been and likely never will be. Eccentric billionaire Andrew Ryan didn’t feel that way, he liked the sea so much he decided to build an entire city underneath it and it was named Rapture.

In Bioshock you play as Jack, a man whose plane crashes in the ocean and leaving him as the only survivor, and sets him off on a course with destiny in this strange and eerie underwater city. Soon it becomes clear that not all is right in the city of Rapture. The entire population has seemingly gone insane, while murderous little girls and mechanical drones stalk the flooded hallways and, of course, the entire city is in a state of disrepair. Worst of all there are the Big Daddies, a foreboding and deadly menace with a drill for an arm and guns big enough to take down a elephant, who are tasked with protecting the aforementioned creepy little girls. They’re pretty scary, especially when you piss them off and what better way to do so than killing a small child so as to extract their very DNA? Why these big daddies have chosen to be full time baby sitters remains a mystery.

10. Eternal Darkness: Sanity’s Requiem- Although not a commercial success, Eternal Darkness received widespread praise, it’s one of the best games on the late great Gamecube and one of the scariest games of all time. It’s a psychological horror game where you play as Alexandra Roivas, a smart, attractive young girl whose grandfather unfortunately passes away. She spends a dark stormy night in his mansion in Rhode Island, a mansion that contains a terrible secret, one that could unmake all existence as we know it.

Throughout the game you’ll play from the perspective of twelve different characters across multiple time periods, all of whom have crossed paths with an ancient book known as the “The Tome of Eternal Darkness”. Puzzle solving plays a big role in this action adventure and there’s plenty of mind games to boot, thanks to the games most interesting feature, the sanity meter. The sanity meter has some interesting effects, under certain conditions in game the sanity meter is reduced causing walls to bleed, enemies to walk on the ceiling, horrifying screams from women and children to fill the air, skewed camera angles, and heads randomly exploding. When your sanity metre is depleated the game even breaks the forth wall by turning your TVs sound down, popping up with error messages, or tricking you in to thinking that your save file has been corrupted.

Needless to say this game left a lot of gamers confused and doubting their own judgment upon playing it for the first time. I know I asked myself “Is this really happening in game, or am I seeing things?” on numerous occasions. It’s an original and scary game, and we haven’t seen anything like it since, but you never know, a sequel could be on the cards, seeing as the developers have shown interest in expanding the series. Fingers crossed they’ll do so and hopefully it’ll sell twice as much and be twice as freaky.

- Adam Radcliffe

MP3 Download / iTunes / RSS Feed

With that in mind, when it was revealed that Bioshock 2 would focus more on the Little Sister protection, it would be an understatement to say that many were sceptical. Having said that, those that read our review for  Bioshock 2 would know that the teams that worked on the game achieved the impossible by making the protection sections thrilling tactical battles.

Despite these sections being fairly enjoyable, I was disappointed to learn that the first piece of single player downloadable content, The Protector Trials, was not going to be a continuation of the story but more of a score attack based combat mode in which you have to defend your Little Sister from wave after wave of Splicers.

I was so disappointed that, even though I downloaded the Protector Trials on release day, I did not actually get round to playing it for about a week. So you can imagine my surprise when I found that the Protector Trials are actually quite a lot of fun.

The premise of the Protector Trials is simple; you are an Alpha series Big Daddy that is working for Dr Tenenbaum. Your task is to protect a Little Sister while she collects Adam, the energy that keeps Rapture going, and stop the followers of Sofia Lamb from taking any for themselves. There are six levels, with each level being based on an area in the main game such as The Adonis Bath House or Simon Wales’ Church. Every level has three trials that get increasingly more difficult; completing each trial awards you with a star rating and will unlock more levels to play in.

Protecting The Little Sister is the aim of the game.

You are unable to choose your own weapons or plasmids, as each trial has its own unique weapon/plasmid loadout, which goes a long way towards creating an element of challenge, especially when you are only armed with some of the less useful plasmids. However, completing all of the trials in every level unlocks a final bonus round for each level in which you can choose your own combination of weapons, plasmids, and gene tonics.

Before the onslaught beings you can wander the level in order to get the feel of the land and hack vending machines, health stations, or the odd gun turret. When you are ready to begin simply place the Little Sister near the specified corpse and prepare for all hell to break loose. Killing Splicers gives you money which you use to buy more supplies from the vending machines.

Once the Little Sister begins her task a small metre will appear on screen indicating how far along she is in her gruesome work. If the Little Sister is able to work without being interrupted by a Splicer then you are awarded with a multiplier which will increase the amount of Adam she will harvest for you. If a Splicer does manage to get through your defences the Little Sister will shriek and give you a few seconds to take care of it before your multiplier disappears.

Enemies range from basic grunts to the more advanced Alpha Series Big Daddies

Completing each trial awards you with a gold star, and a grade depending on how much Adam your Little Sister was able to harvest. The entire add on revolves around the collection of Adam, not some arbitrary score that is awarded by completing certain tasks, and as such once you have completed each trial there is not really any reason to play it again, barring the lust for achievements.

You could be forgiven for thinking that the add on would get boring, but the fact that your weapon and plasmid load out is different for each trial keeps things fresh. One trial in particular takes away all of your weapons, and does not give you any money, meaning you are unable to purchase any health packs. This challenge was a highlight as it really plays with the Bioshock’s combat formula, forcing you to play in a completely different way.

Completing the trials and earning all of the stars unlocks concept art and animatics (cut scenes that were cut out of the main game, made up of the storyboards) that give some insight in to the direction the main game’s story was originally going to take. One of the best animatics is a more fleshed out origin for Subject Delta, complete with full voice acting.

Preventing Splicers from bothering the Little Sister is the key to gaining more Adam.

The only way I could see them improving the experience was if they included some sort of points system, with online leaderboards, that awarded points not only for the Adam you collect, but the number of Splicers you kill, or the ways in which you kill the Splicers, for instance. This would potentially bring some extra replay value and some much needed competition between friends and rivals alike.

Review Round-Up

Graphics: 4/5 This game is pure Bioshock through and through. Every level manages to look familiar, but different at the same time.

Gameplay: 4/5 The developers of Bioshock 2 have done the impossible; they have made protection missions fun! Sure, you can simply stand there and gun down your enemies, but the only way to get a decent amount of Adam is to set up traps and use your plasmids carefully. Having no choice in your weapon/plasmid selection adds a real element of challenge.

Sound: 4/5 The only new dialogue to be found is a short introduction by Dr Tenenbaum, at the start of each level, and as you progress through each trial you will hear messages over the intercom from Sofia Lamb commanding her forces to strike you down. Voice acting and sound effects are as high quality as you would come to expect from a Bioshock game.

Story: 2/5 While there technically is no story, the inclusion of deleted scenes fleshing out the back story a bit more proved to be very interesting.

Longevity: 3/5 Most of the trials are easy enough to complete, even if it means you will get a mediocre score. No matter how you perform, so long as you survive to the end then you will still earn your stars. Letter grades that are also awarded are only of any importance if you want the achievement/trophy for getting at least an A on every level.

Overall 4 Wrenches to the Skull out of 5

[starreview tpl=16]

The Protector Trials offers up a surprisingly fun series of challenges, which force you to think tactically and potentially change the way you play Bioshock forever. The Protector Trials is currently available to download on Xbox Live Arcade for 400 Microsoft Points (about £3.20) and on Playstation Network for £3.99.

– Luke Mears

In part 1, Tom sits down and has a chat with Kieran about what he got up to at days 1 and 2 of GamesCom, live from Cologne.

However in a special guest hosting slot, part 2 of this week’s podcast is presented by Mary Mears as she’s joined by husband Luke, Adam Radcliffe and Richard Burley to tell you guys what they’ve been up to and take you through this week’s community feedback.

ENJOI

MP3 Download / iTunes / RSS Feed

It’s a phenomenon that has existed for years, but is becoming more and more common as the games market expands. I am of course talking about expensive Collector’s Edition copies of the latest new release.

It seems every developer these days is releasing a high priced “limited edition” complete with in-game bonus items, books, soundtracks, short making of DVDs, and little action figures.

Until recently I loved them; my home is littered with all sorts of crap that I have picked up over the years through purchasing limited editions. In my Bedroom you could find Bayonetta’s Gun, a plastic Batarang, and a pewter Big Daddy statue (to name a few examples) cluttering up the place.

It is clear that publishers and developers have realised there is a very strong demand for Collector’s Editions, especially if they come with “exclusive” content. I don’t think it would be too unfair to say that the average hardcore gamer, the sort of person that jumps at the chance of buying the latest games on release day, has some geeky tendencies in him/her.

Average game. Below average Collector's Edition.

The words “limited” and “exclusive” are banded about when describing these products, and are probably enough to get any fanboy’s pulse racing, fearing that this rare treasure may soon disappear. Deep down that’s exactly how I feel when I read the details of the latest Collector’s Edition version of a game I’ve had my eyes on.

However, more often than not, these collector’s editions are released at a premium price, but come in exceptionally poor quality packaging with mediocre additional content at best.

Of course, every now and then a collector’s edition comes along and makes everything better again; take for instance the recent Alan Wake Collector’s Edition. The package included the game, a 100 odd page book that filled in some of the back story behind the events of the game (including samples of Alan Wake’s own writing), a making of DVD that also unlocks developer commentary mode in the game, two premium themes for your dashboard, Avatar awards, and the soundtrack, all wrapped in a hollowed out book. For the price I paid, a mere £40, it was completely worth it.

A Fantastic Bargain at £40

And yet, for every Alan Wake Collector’s Edition there are about half a dozen Red Dead Redemption Collector’s Editions. Now don’t get me wrong, I love the game as much as anyone else out there, but the Collector’s Edition, which I foolishly purchased, was the text book definition of a waste of money.

For £50, it shipped with a download code that entitled you to three pieces of downloadable content: Golden Guns, which increase your fame slightly, the War Horse, a steed that has better stamina regeneration, and the Deadly Assassin outfit, which refills your Dead Eye Metre a little bit faster.

Also included is a download code for the game’s Soundtrack. Let me reiterate; a download code. They couldn’t even be bothered to put it on a CD and slip it in the case. And yet it cost £10 more than the plain old regular version of the game.

If that wasn’t bad enough, I discovered that half of my downloadable content is not available right from the get go; in fact, in order to unlock the Deadly Assassin outfit you have to meet a number of in-game goals, and progress through the story beyond a certain point. It’s not the end of the world, but it is an irritation.

I don’t mean to single Red Dead Redemption out, they are not the only ones releasing crappy Collector’s Editions that fools such as myself keep buying; who can forget the “special edition” Dead Rising, with the only special feature being that it came in a tin case at a £10 premium, or the infamous Batman Arkham Asylum special edition that came with a bonus challenge map, a 10 minute DVD, a short book with character designs in it, and a cheap plastic Batarang on a stand.

To make matters worse, the copy of the game itself was packaged in a flimsy cardboard box, with a faux wooden finish, almost as if they wanted to emphasise how cheap it looked.

A Fantastic Game, But An AWFUL Collector's Edition

Of course no one is forcing people to buy these Collector’s Editions – it’s not like burley men in black kicked down my door and dragged me to my local retailer, forcing me to hand over my hard earned cash for some rubbish downloadable content. But at the same time I have to wonder, how long can this last? How long can Publishers, Developers and Retailers expect to rip people off before they start getting wise to what constitutes a good deal?

To play devil’s advocate for just a brief moment, it cannot be easy for Publishers and Developers trying to find good content for their Collector’s Editions. I would imagine that most game developers are too busy working hard to get the game out on time to spend time sitting in front of a camera talking about how wonderful their game is going to be.

When you take in to account things like Electronic Arts’ Project $10, which offers everybody that buys a new copy of one of their games about $10 worth of free downloadable content, what else do they have the time to make and cram in to the special editions? These DVDs and books don’t just magically turn up out of nowhere, they cost money, and people have put in time and effort in order to craft these bonus items.

A Very Good Collector's Edition For A Not So Great Game

Calling for a blanket boycott of all Collector’s Editions will do little else but deprive Publishers of much needed extra income. Having said that, however, there are a number of ways in which things could go in the future if we stopped buying the bad Collector’s Editions. The best case scenario is that the involved parties take a good hard look at their product and strive to put out better Collector’s Editions.

On the other hand, the involved parties may decide that Collector’s Editions are not profitable and they stop producing them all together. It’s not going to happen overnight, but one day maybe we won’t even have the option of buying expensive variants of our games that come with a load of old tosh. And that would be a real shame.

–Luke Mears–

Disillusioned with the usual choice of parties in Parliament? Then why not make your vote really count by voting for The Newb Party, a newly formed party with one core belief at heart; we can learn so much from video games! With all our policies taken from the best ideas from the world of video game entertainment, where could we possibly go wrong? Just take a look at some of these fantastic policies…

The Economy

With most of our countries banks in severe debt right now, the only way out is to get the rest of the country owing them as much money as possible. Taking a leaf out of Animal Crossing’s book, all houses in the country will be subjected to mandatory extension, which will triple the owner’s current debt.

On the day the debt is paid off, houses will be further extended, again renewing the debt at an even higher price. Not only does this solve the bank’s financial problems, but housing will no longer be an issue, with most houses predicted to be six storeys tall by 2020.

Education

Education is definitely a priority for The Newb Party, and we have taken our cues from one of the best. By instituting a level system similar to that found in the Fallout games, children will be able to level up by doing the most mundane of activities, such as collecting cola, finding new locations and even making bootleg alcohol out of bizarre fruit.

The best part is that regardless of the skills used to level up, the children can invest in whatever new skills they desire. A vote for The Newb Party ensures a future where children who spend hours hitting small animals with tire irons will be able to talk their way out of any situation.

Medical Research

Stem cell research is a hot topic and the ethics around the situation prevent any real progress in the area. Other parties might skirt about the issue, but The Newb Party? We say send ‘em all to the bottom of the Ocean! Just like in Bioshock, we plan to send the best and brightest scientists to a retro-futuristic city under the sea and let them meddle with things that should never have been meddled with to their hearts content.

Although there is the slight chance that the whole society will collapse, leading to wide spread murder, we feel it is worth the risk to give scientists the chance to unlock the secrets to being able to fire bees from your arms.

Defence

In a world where war is always changing (or never changing depending on who you ask) it is important to keep ahead of the game. That’s why under The Newb Party, the army will undergo a radical transformation named Project Metal Gear. All funding for vehicle research will be diverted into developing mechs, ranging from enormous water-firing super robots to semi-organic jumping tanks that moo for some reason.

We will also be using nano-machines to improve the current soldiers. By linking their minds together they will be ale to execute overly dramatic attacks that they will have almost no control over. Some may claim this is all unnecessary and that there is nothing wrong with the current soldiers; to them we say that mechs are clearly awesome. Unfortunately one of the side effects of these changes is that the recruitment process leaves many trainees with nothing to do for several months but sit and watch, but we are working on it.

Healthcare

One of the key issues facing government today is healthcare, and The Newb Party has just the solution; abolition of the NHS and all private medicine practitioners. Instead, a new policy will be introduced, referred to as the Crouch and Wait scheme.

Video games have revealed that staying out of harm’s way for a few moments and catching your breath is often more effective than seeing a physician. Many soldiers have reported that by ducking down out of site for a few moments, they can recover from anything, be it bullet wounds or grenade blasts. The next time you have a cold, why not just crouch and see what happens?

Taxation

This is the hardest part of any parties’ manifesto, but The Newb Party has by far the best taxation policy. Essentially, all possessions are taken once a year, including money, and laid out in a field. It is then the job of the individual to roll a sticky ball over all of their worldly goods and try and gather as much as possible within a three minute time limit. At the end, anything not collected becomes property of the government, and anything on the ball returns to the original owner.

The Katamari scheme for taxation provides a much fairer way to decide how much of your property the government owns, there’s also the added benefit of life being a lot more exciting.

A vote for The Newb Party is a vote that will help build a better tomorrow. Would you kindly cross the ballet paper next to The Newb Review logo and drop it in the ballet box…

Game:

Going back to a place you love can be hard. Looking back on past events through the rose tinted glasses of nostalgia can often lead to a skewed perspective on things, making them seem bigger and better than they really were. This is often the case in the world of videogames, where the rapid pace of developing technology and advancements in gameplay can make old favourites seem more stale and flat than that old pair of socks that has been at the bottom of your washing pile for the last six months.

Yet in our minds, they still remain as wonderful as the first time we ever played it. In an ideal world, we should love the sequels of our favourite games. After all, a videogame sequel should take all of the best bits from the last game and make them better whilst cutting out all the bad parts. However, not every sequel manages to get this right, just look at our recent review for Army of Two: The 40th Day for instance. So what of Bioshock 2? The much anticipated sequel to a game that received universal acclaim. Read on to find out…

Before getting to the finer points on Bioshock 2, some back story needs to be established. Both Bioshock and Bioshock 2 are set in the 1960s in the underwater city of Rapture, built by industrialist Andrew Ryan, where things are not going well. Originally designed as a haven for intellectuals, the residents have been driven mad by gene altering drugs called Plasmids which bestow powers such as the ability to shoot lighting from your finger tips or set things on fire with your mind.

The key ingredient for the Plasmids is a substance called Adam, which is harvested by insane mutated little girls called Little Sisters. Protecting the Little Sisters are hulking man monsters named Big Daddies, who look like old fashioned divers on steroids, armed with a massive drill. A key part of the original was making the decision whether you would kill the Little Sisters and steal all of their Adam for yourself, or if you would rescue them and gain less Adam leaving you more vulnerable. The events of the first game lead to the death of Andrew Ryan, and either the salvation or the destruction of the Little Sisters, which sets the scene for Bioshock 2.

Taking place 10 years after the events of the first Bioshock you control Subject Delta, a prototype Big Daddy that has been designed to have a physical dependency on being in close proximity to his Little Sister. Waking up in a pool of water deep in the bowels of Rapture, you set out to find your Little Sister.

The first thing you notice when playing as the Big Daddy is that this prototype is far faster than the original lumbering big daddies. Another key point is that you can duel wield plasmids and guns, something that was lacking in the original. Before long you are introduced to the new addition to Rapture, the Big Sister; grown up versions of the Little Sisters suitably attired in Big-Daddy-like armour, with incredible agility.

During your first battle with the Big Sister she shatters the glass wall causing the ocean to come flooding in. Fortunately, your armour is air tight and allows you to walk underwater unhindered in search of a way back into the city. Underwater exploration is fairly limited and linear, but the visuals are impressive, particularly the sweeping view of the city itself.

Small sections of the game take place under water

During the 10 years between the two games, Rapture has descended further in to hell. The residents have continued to splice themselves and mutated even further. Rapture itself is also more degraded, with leaks springing up all over the place. Following Andrew Ryan’s death, one of Ryan’s political rivals named Sofia Lamb has filled the void as Rapture’s leader. Rather than following Ryan’s belief in the strength of the individual and their own genius, Lamb favours a more left wing approach, expousing the virtues of the collective rather than the individual.

While most residents are completely insane and show hostility towards you, there are still some friendly characters that will help you, such as Dr Tennenbaum and Augustus Sinclaire. As you travel Rapture you come across audio logs left behind by citizens of Rapture, which fill in a lot of the back story. Overall the quality of voice acting in the game is exceptional and does an excellent job of fleshing out the world around you.

Duel weilding Plasmids and weapons is a welcome addition

There are a number of small changes made in this game that improve the overall experience. In the original you could only perform a melee attack if you had the wrench equipped. Now you can press the B button at any time to bash someone with whatever weapon you have equipped. Your default weapon is the Big Daddy drill, which is satisfying to use on your deranged foes, although it can only be used if you have enough fuel.

Fortunately fuel is abundant and can be purchased from most vending machines, as well as found in crates that litter the surroundings. All weapons can be upgraded by finding hidden Power to the People machines, granting them larger damage, more ammo, and a final bonus, such as an electromagnet on the drill that deflects bullets.

The Big Sister is the deadliest thing in Rapture

As well as the drill, Big Daddies can use a Rivet Gun, Machine Gun, Granade Launcher, Spear Gun, and the new long distance hack gun. This new gun allows you to fire a dart at hackable machines, such as security cameras and turrets, enabling you to turn them to your cause from a safe distance. The hacking sub-game from the original Bioshock, in which you had to link up a series of tubes, is replaced by a simple reaction game in which you must press the A button whenever the needle on your metre hits a green area.

This will be good news to some people, but I found it a little disappointing, as the hacking game from Bioshock was one of the features I liked the most. Each gun has three types of ammo, ranging from explosive rounds, armour piercing rounds, and proximity mines. The camera that was used to research your enemies has also been upgraded to a movie camera. Once the camera starts to roll you have to attack your enemy in as many different ways as possible in order to gain more experience. Fully researching enemies not only grants you damage bonuses against them, but also improves your abilities.

Since the official ending of the first game had the majority of the Little Sisters being rescued, the Little Sisters that you discover on your quest are children that have been abducted from the surface. Much like the original, when you find a Little Sister you need to dispose of the Big Daddy that is protecting her before you decide what to do with her. You can either harvest the Little Sisters in exchange for a quick pay out of Adam, or you can now adopt the Little Sister and help her harvest more Adam from dead bodies spread out around the city.

The addition of the Little Sister protection is one of the strongest new features in Bioshock 2, adding a new level of strategy. Before setting her to work you can place a number of traps for the army of residents that will try and take out your Little Sister. These include hacked surveillance cameras, turrets, explosive rivets, and security drones. Once you set the Little Sister down, dozens of enemies will descend on you and try to kill the Little Sister. Each Little Sister can harvest two bodies before they need to be returned to their home, a hole in the wall, and at this point you can either choose to cure them of their condition, or harvest them for an even bigger amount of Adam.

Multiplayer takes place before the original Bioshock.

The biggest addition is multiplayer, developed by Digital Extremes independently of the main game. To say that Bioshock 2’s multiplayer is influenced by Modern Warfare would be an understatement. Each kill awards you with a set number of experience points. There are 40 experience levels each of which has their own unique unlocks, such as weapons, Plasmids, and Gene Tonics, which are essentially the same as the perks in Modern Warfare.

While there are only a few new Plasmids in the story mode, there are a number of new Plasmids exclusively in the multiplayer, such as the dash plasmid that grants you extreme speed for a short amount of time. Also included are a number of challenges, such as getting X amount of kills with a certain weapon or plasmid, in order to unlock more experience.

Where the game really stands out from Modern Warfare is the utilisation of hacking turrets and cameras, photographing your dead opponents to gain a damage bonus against them, and the Big Daddy suits, which randomly appear and, once collected, turn you in to a Big Daddy for a set amount of time. Between matches you can return to your in game apartment to customise your appearance and listen to audio logs that you have unlocked.

There are several modes, including death match, team death match, protect the little sister (which is Bioshock’s version of capture the flag), and harvest the Adam (essentially king of the hill mode). So far the Multiplayer has been surprisingly impressive, with minimal lag and a decent number of players online, even before the game was officially released and, despite some initial hesitation, is a welcome addition to the game.

Review Round Up

Graphics: 4/5 The graphics are much clearer than the original game. Rapture is now a vibrant and distinctive location, even in a complete state of disarray. The fantastic art deco style of the city, ranging from the architecture and the propaganda posters, remains intact.

Sound: 5/5 The soundtrack, including songs by Ella Fitzgerald, Billie Holiday, and Artie Shaw, makes the game feel authentic for the time period. Most of the voice acting is brilliant, with expressive and clear voice acting.

Gameplay: 4/5 Bioshock’s slightly wonky first person controls are improved in the sequel, with better handling of the weapons. While the first few hours of the game feel very familiar to players of the first game, the addition of the Little Sister protection sections does a lot to make the sequel stand out. The Multiplayer mode, taking influences from Modern Warfare, is surprisingly good and an awful lot of fun.

Longevity: 4/5 The game features a number of moral choices beyond the typical “should I kill the Little Sister, or rescue her” which have an impact on the ending of the game. The Multiplayer mode is a lot of fun and could potentially add a number of hours to the game so long as there are enough players sticking around in the future

Overall: 4 Electroshocks out of 5. While the story is a lot more conventional and straight forward than the original, it is consistent with the Bioshock universe, and truth be told a lot more even. Playing as the Big Daddy adds a new level of strategy to the game, and the Multiplayer should keep people coming back for a good while to come.

[starreview tpl=16]

By this game from our Amazon shop and help support this site:

Game:

Bioshock is a first person shooter set during an alternate history in 1960. Playing as Jack, the sole survivor of a plane crash, you must explore the underwater dystopia of Rapture whilst battling against mutated beings and mechanical drones that populate the city. Originally released on the Xbox 360 and PC at the end of 2007, the game took until October 2008 to be released on the PS3.

“So why haven’t you reviewed it yet?” I hear you ask. Well, with the sequel finally upon us, the staff at The Newb Review thought it was high time we gave you our thoughts on this intriguing title. Read on for the full review from our very own tom01255…

The FPS genre has been largely filled, and mostly dominated with war games, most notably the Call of Duty franchise. The sci-fi FPS titles that do reach us certainly contain some absolute classics (see 2007s Half Life: Episode 2), but these are few and far between in comparison to the many open warfare based games. With the world-wide acclaim this title has achieved, I was fairly confident that I had an impressive and memorable gaming experience to look forward to, but I got so much more…

The opening of the game lets you get to grips with both the time setting (you begin with a lit cigarette on a cross-Atlantic flight) and the eerie location. From the ominous opening of surviving a plane crash, to stumbling upon the supposed intellectual haven on the sea bed, there is a feeling that real care has been taken to bring this world to life. The loading cards and 60s setting are somewhat reminiscent of the Fallout franchise; however this seems a lot darker and more surreal than Fallout would dare to be.

Welcome to the sprawling underwater metropolis of Rapture

As an FPS, there are some problems with the gameplay. Whilst ammunition reservation for the few guns you find through your journey adds a delightful tactical element to gameplay and a real sense of survival, the ability to play this game as a pure FPS is somewhat hindered. Gunplay is solid enough, but creeping through in a crouched position, which is vital when sneaking up on enemies, causes the camera to lurch uneasily from side to side, and can even induce some motion sickness if played for prolonged periods.

Throughout the game, role playing elements are slowly brought in to enhance and increase your abilities. Primarily, these come in the form of Plasmids: the same genetic enhancements that have caused the populace to go insane. There are a set amount of Plasmid slots. Whilst these can be increased throughout the game, the limited number of slots brings a tactical element to gameplay as you must decide which of your abilities will be of more use in upcoming battles.

Injections of Eve allow you to use Plasmid abilities

Despite the impressive Plasmid abilities and solid-enough shooting mechanics, both are let down by the lack of capability to dual wield. Abilities are fired off using the left hand, and guns from the right, however you must fully put away your gun in order to use abilities and vice versa. Whilst this is clearly an oversight, it does begin to grate and you’ll find yourself under-using the abilities in favour of the various guns.

Graphically the game is superb. The various creatures you meet along the way are beautifully realised; even though they are, for the most part, horrific and mutated. The setting feels suitably desolate, with certain narrative twists causing parts of the city to collapse in epic fashion. The Playstation version does have a few minor lighting issues that should have been caught in testing, but these are far from game changing and don’t detract from the overall experience.

Aftercare at the cataract clinic was a little bit ruthless

The sound enhances the graphics to a tee. The city groans and heaves in a surprisingly realistic manner and played in a suitably dark surrounding, the sound really heightens the tension of the narrative. There is a real feeling that death could be lurking around every corner. Voice acting is equally as robust. Everything from the non-playable characters you meet to the recorded logs you pick up along the way establish characters well and help paint a realistic picture of how this vibrant city went so wrong. Particular highlights include the dual voice of the Little Sisters; a trait that makes them unbelievably creepy.

The main narrative clocks in at around 10 hours, which may seem a little short. However, this is a title concerned with quality over quantity. Also, with the sequel having been launched already, you can pick this up at bargain prices. If you’re at all enticed by the advertising of the new game, I implore you to pick this up first and have a run through. This satisfying classic is not to be missed.

Review Round Up:

Graphics: 5/5 – From the very beginning you are thrown into a vibrant and dazzlingly desolate setting. The graphical quality doesn’t let up throughout the adventure.

Sound: 5/5 – The groaning of the city makes you really feel like you’re hundreds of feet underwater. Voice acting is superb and the fantastically creepy enemies really add to the overall aesthetic.

Gameplay: 3/5 – The FPS style is strong enough, but problems with aiming and moving whilst crouched really take away from the experience. Not having the ability to dual wield the abilities and a gun is cumbersome and a severe oversight.

Longevity: 3/5 – At around 10 – 15 hours this runs a little on the short side, but at bargain bin prices you can’t really complain. There is no multiplayer and the morality choices add little incentive for multiple playthroughs; although three possible endings may persuade you, they are far from fundamental to the narrative.

Overall: 4/5 – A must have for any gamer. If you haven’t checked this out yet then you really must. Go on, go and get it now. You won’t be disappointed.

[starreview tpl=16]

Everybody loves achievements, right? Be they the achievements on Steam, World of Warcraft, the Xbox 360, or the Achievements covered in tin foil that are known as PS3 Trophies. The concept of the high score is nothing new to gamers, any one that spent their youth hanging around arcades trying to get on the leaderboards of games like House of the Dead, Street Fighter 2, or Crazy Taxi can attest to that.

With the release of the latest generation of consoles, and the introduction of achievements, the entire concept of the high score has changed. Now rather than just showing off how good we are at one game, we get to show how good we are at games in general, and can compare scores with not only our friends, but the entire world. So yeah, achievements are great. But achievement farming can be a real chore, and there is nothing sadder than playing a bad game in order to get those precious easy achievements – trust me I’ve been there! So, in light of the season, and to follow up on tom01255′s “Confessions of a Trophy Whore”, we here at Newb review thought we would share with you, our beloved readers, a list of games that have easy achievements/trophies, that are also a lot of fun to play. Because while achievements are great, having fun while playing is more important than anything else.

** For the purposes of simplicity I will be mainly talking about the Xbox 360 achievements, however in most cases they are the same for the PS3 trophies and Steam/Games For Windows Live achievements**

BATMAN ARKHAM ASYLUM (PS3/360/PC)

Arkham Asylum may be a horrible place filled with all of Gotham’s most terrible villains, but there’s also a fantastic game with a number of easily achievements. The majority of the achievements are awarded for playing though the story mode and discovering the Riddler’s riddles, which are all easy enough to find when switching on Detective Vision. There are very few challenging achievements in the form of earning all of the Medals on the combat challenges and beating the game on the highest difficulty. Even when playing on the highest difficulty there was only one instance where I had some difficulty in proceeding. The simplicity of the achievements are only made sweeter by the fact that this is such a well designed game, with a well written story and excellent voice acting to round it all off.

EASY ACHIEVEMENTS: Approximately 500 achievement points are awarded for game completion on Normal Difficulty, with a further 160 points for solving all of the riddles. There are a number of other assorted achievements that you will earn during the single player which will easily bring your total close to 800 points.

DIFFICULT ACHIEVEMENTS: Earning all medals on the combat challenges will take a lot of practice, as will performing a combo that utilises every move in Batman’s arsenal. Once you achieve this, beat the game, find all Riddles, then you will earn the 100% completion achievement.

ASSASSIN’S CREED 2 (PS3/360)

Taking place in the near future, you control Desmond Miles a man who has been placed in a machine called The Animus, which allows him to relive the memories of his ancestors. This time Desmond controls his ancestor in Renaissance Italy, Ezio Auditore, as he seeks revenge on those that betrayed his family. It is a little convoluted, sure, but does that really matter when it is such a well put together game? What makes this sweet game even sweeter? Easy achievements.

EASY ACHIEVEMENTS: On my first play through the game I unlocked a whopping 930 achievement points without putting too much effort in. Most of the achievements are unlocked through playing the game, although there are a few side ones that you should be able to unlock pretty easily.

DIFFICULT ACHIEVEMENTS: Collecting 100 feathers that are strewn out through the world is more time consuming than hard. Once you find all 100, you earn a special cape that is required for unlocking another achievement. Finding all 20 glyphs in the game may take up a little time, but it is not particularly difficult.

FALLOUT 3 (PS3/360/PC)

Bethesda’s post apocalyptic RPG may seem a little dated to some, but it is hard to argue against the game’s quality in terms of achievements! With the release of 5 add ons (Operation Anchorage, The Pitt, Broken Steel, Point Lookout, and Mother ship Zeta) the game now has a total of 1550 achievement points on the 360. If you do not already own the game then it might be worth picking up the Game of The Year edition, which includes all of the add ons. Check with your favourite retailers to see if they have a decent deal for it.

EASY ACHIEVEMENTS: The majority of the achievements are earned through completing missions, with a few achievements awarded for killing set numbers of enemies, and hacking computers or picking locks. Essentially, you just need to play the game to unlock most of them. Having said that, this is a game where it is possible to clock up over 100 hours of play time.

DIFFICULT ACHIEVEMENTS: The hardest achievements in this game are the collection achievements, particularly the Vault Tech Bobble Heads, as a number of them can only be obtained at a set time. If you miss them, then that is it, you cannot get them again without loading up an old save. Which really, really, really, sucks.

BIOSHOCK (PS3/360/PC)

Venturing in to the deep sea city of Rapture, overrun with mask wearing disfigured junkies, can be a frightening experience at times, but these easy achievements will more than make up for any frights you might have. With the addition of a free piece of downloadable content, the game has a total of 1100 achievement points available, with the vast majority of them being pretty easy to obtain. On the PS3 there is a challenge mode downloadable add on that will add about a dozen bronze trophies that seem to be reasonably achieveable.

EASY ACHIEVEMENTS: At least 300 points are awarded to you just for playing through the story missions, with a good 250 to 300 points that you will probably unlock just through playing the game. The other achievements revolve around photographing your enemies enough to learn everything about them, which is not really particularly challenging.

DIFFICULT ACHIEVEMENTS: There are a number of 100 point achievements that you earn for completing the game without using any Little Sisters, and for beating the game on the highest difficulty without using a vita chamber – which essentially means beat the game without dying. It’s not as hard as it may sound – all you need to do is save regularly, and if you die load up an old save.

FABLE 2 (360)

The latest game from British industry legend Peter Molyneaux, Fable 2 is a game where every choice you make has a consequence, be it a change in your own appearance, or the economic fate of a town. As well as being an entertaining fantasy game with light role playing elements, the game also features a ton of easy achievements. Two downloadable add ons have been released which bring the achievement total to 1350. If you purchase the game of the year edition, which includes both add ons, then you are potentially looking at a big pay off from playing this game.

EASY ACHIEVEMENTS: There are dozens of simple achievements that award 5 or 10 points each ranging from shooting rabbits to making love 25 times. Beating the story mode without playing any more side missions than necessary will earn you approximately 400 points, but it would be almost impossible not to pick up a few other achievements along the way. You do not even have to do the achievements yourself in most cases, all you need to do is play a co-op game with someone and have them perform the necessary deed, and the act of witnessing it alone will grant you the achievement.

DIFFICULT ACHIEVEMENTS: One achievement in particular is especially difficult, the doll catcher achievement requires you to trade online in order to own all six in game collectible dolls. Each profile can only unlock one doll and in order to trade you will need an Xbox live gold account. It is incredibly frustrating without first making the proper arrangements online in forums or what have you. The game also includes achievements that are rewarded for destroying 50 gargoyles (and find their hidden treasure), collecting 25 silver keys, and earning all abilities, pet tricks, and expressions, which may take a long time.

And there we have it! A small selection of decent games that will (hopefully) increase your gamerscore as well as bringing you extreme joy. This is of course just a small selection of great games with easy achievements, so if you have any other games to recommend then feel free to leave a comment below. Let us share the love.