Last summer saw the release of Hydro Thunder Hurricane, the sequel to the Dreamcast speedboat arcade racer, Hydro Thunder. HTH received the thumbs up from Tom Wallis here on the site. A year on, and the mobile version of the game has arrived, the aptly titled Hydro Thunder Go. But does it maintain the simple arcade pleasure of its console cousins?

Controls in HTG are incredibly simple and intuitive. Tilting the device turns the boat left and right. Swiping upwards with a thumb or finger causes the boat to jump. The boost is activated by tapping the onscreen button. The tilt controls are finely tuned and respond just as expected. I’m often skeptical about tilt controls, but Pixelbite Games have implemented them perfectly. Even the tightest corners can be taken with ease, without fear of having to turn your phone upside down.

The game itself follows a similar structure to the console version; a range of tracks are presented to you, each with three classes (Novice, Expert and Pro). Each course and boat is unlocked by hitting specific credit milestones, with credits being awarded for placing in a race. The game rarely presents you with grinding situation; the credits you earn just by playing the game through will unlock most of the courses with ease. There’s definite replay value in trying old courses, employing each different ranking of boat. You can earn trophies for each category on each course, which gives a total of 27 trophies to obtain.

There's a great range of courses to race on

Graphically, HTG is something of a mixed bag. The boats themselves all have nice models, with the transformations being a high point. The water and accompanying physics are very impressive, with waves being formed as you race, dynamically affecting your boat. The scenery on the shore however feels static and flat. The cliffs and forests you race by can often resemble cardboard cutouts, and the 3D models feel outdated and blocky. It’s probably something you won’t notice that often, since you’ll normally be hammering through the levels at a rate of knots, but when you do, it’s a somewhat jarring experience.

The tracks featured might not stretch to Norse Gods, but provide a nice variety of non-sensical speedways. A few courses are circuits races, requiring two or three laps, but the longer, straight races are much more exciting to play. The series tradmark shortcuts make a return, and allow you to really get one up over your AI opponents. The set pieces range from the epic, like a kraken attack to the downright ridiculous, such as the fleet of UFOs assaulting the canals of Venice. Each track features a unique visual style, which breaks up the different races nicely.

There does seem to be one omission from Hydro Thunder Go; multiplayer. The game does allow you to download ghosts of your friends to race against in Time Attack, but it would be a great addition to see some four player multiplayer action. I’d imagine this was left out due to simple fact that multiplayer gaming on phones isn’t quite there yet. A sudden loss of signal can lead to a dropped game, causing frustration all round. Asking players to be in the presence of a Wi-Fi connection is an option, but since more often than not this is within their homes,  it somewhat undermines the point of mobile gaming.

Review Round Up;

Graphics: 3/5 A mixed bag of shoddy textures and nice boat models, you probably won’t notcie as you go past at 300kph

Sound: 2/5 The music is suitabley generic, the explosions and splashes are all fine, and the commentater is suitably annoying.

Story: N/A Do a speedboat race. Repeat.

Gameplay: 5/5 Fantastic controls, simple mehcanics and a good variety of courses provide excellent, and more importantly enjoyable gameplay

Longevity: 4/5 The range of boats and courses provide plenty of replayability, as well as a time attack mode. Multiplayer would have been a great addition

Overall: 3.5 hidden shortcuts out of 5

Hydro Thunder Go is everything a mobile game should be. A simple pick up and play control scheme, replayability in besting highscores and a good balance between performance and graphically quality. The lack of multiplayer is a disappointment, but it doesn’t stop HTG being a must-buy game for Windows Phone owners.

- Ed Johnston

Half Life 3

It’s exactly the same every year for Half Life. About two weeks before E3, someone will leak a mock up of an Episode 3 poster, then Valve will down right deny it, and everyone will go, “Yeah, of course they’d say that, it’s this year! IT’s THIS YEAR!” Then Valve will show up at E3 and announce something we already knew about. Or Left 4 Dead 3. Then we’ll all be mad at them for not showing off Half Life 3 and they get to go; “We know. That’s what we said.”

But this year is definitely the year.

Assassin’s Creed 3

Assassin’s Creed 3 will probably be announced soon and shown off for the first time at E3, so I guess we’ll be finding out what part of history we’ll be jumping into hales bales in soon. Whilst I want it to be a female Assassin in the age of Aztecs, I know it’ll probably wind up being the French Revolution, which is bound to be fun and not in anyway exactly the same as Assassin’s Creed 2 and Brotherhood. Of course Ubisoft might pull a fast one and actually have Desmond doing some actual work, as opposed to having a nice cofortable sit whilst Danny Wallace flirts with a rock chick and Sarah Marshall. Here’s hoping.

"Ou-est l'assassin? Il n'est pas ici!"

GTA V

Do you remember all those GTA V rumours from a while ago? You know, the ones that climaxed when apparently the Parrot from Alladin was going to be voicing the main character? Yeah, well I reckon this year, Rockstar will announce GTA V and I’m going to be pissed off again because it won’t be set in the UK. Look guys, how hard would it be? You’ve done like six games in the USA, and nobody can remember GTA London anymore. I think I can safely say that most of us are tired of the same four character archetypes showing up in Generic American City, as we steadily rise from the bottom of society to the big cheese of the criminal world. Why not set a game in the UK?  You can have some kind of chav hunting mini-game. It’d be awesome.

Wii II

Whether it’s the Wiiii or “Project Café”, rumours of Nintendo’s next console are bouncing around the internet like Charlie Sheen, so it’s more than likely we’ll be seeing something at E3. Recent images have shown controllers with HD screens built in, as well as claims of it being “more powerful than the PS3”. Clearly one of these is crap and I’m giving no prizes for correct answers. I’m not really sure what I want to be doing with a screen on my controller as well. With the DS they’re next to one another but I don’t think I can force my eyes to focus on entirely different distances. It’s like Nintendo didn’t cause enough eyestrain with 3DS. Oh Christ, it’s going to be the Virtual Boy all over again.

Is this accurate? Probably not.

Motion Controls

It’s been a year since Microsoft and Sony launched Kinect and Move respectively and as a general rule, most gamers have been busy playing ACTUAL GAMES. Perhaps this E3 we will see the return of motion controls and some software that we can really get excited about. I reckon we might be seeing the return of Milo, but perhaps not in his “I watch you while you sleep” creepy way. I think the technology is incredible and would make a game like, for istance, LA Noire, that much more involving. Imagine interviewing a suspect and actually being able to threaten them with the tone of your voice. Incredible. On Sony’s end… Oh, I dunno, I’m sure they’ll find something exciting to do with those colour-changing Wiimotes.

Press Conferences

Nintendo will be wheeling out the regular faces, although at least that smiling bitch Cammy has gone now. It’s always fun to see Reggie and Iwata on stage and I would hazard a guess that Miyamoto might turn up to show us what he’s done to Mario for his 3DS incarnation (hint: I bet it’s new powerups).

The Microsoft press conferences are also very flashy but tend not to have much substance. I think that we might get a few surprises and Peter Molyneux will probably talk about something none of us particularly understand, but apart from that it’ll be the same old song and dance.

I don’t think I’ll be watching the Sony press conference because Jack Tretton is a smug bastard who likes to tell lies about the PSP and Move. However, if they want to do their sales figures presentation in LittleBig Planet like they did in 2008, I’d be all for that.

Jack Tretton is either an unashamed liar or he lives in an ivory tower far away from us mere mortals

So there we are. I’ll inevitabley be proved wrong, and I’m hoping by mentioning that Half Life thing I might actually invoke its reveal. Fingers crossed. But until June 7^th, I guess it’s down to speculation.

Stay tuned to The Newb Review for all the pre-E3 build up.

- Eddie Johnston

Game: Fable Coin Golf
Format: Windows Phone 7
Developer: Lionhead Games, Ideaworks Studios
Publisher: Microsoft Games Studios

When the Windows Phone 7 was revealed to feature Xbox Live integration, Microsoft was quick to point out the potential for gaming across platforms. Complete a certain objective on your phone and be rewarded with a certain item. After a few months, we’ve begun to see these sorts of games appear with Crackdown: Project Sunburst and Full House Poker. Now it’s time for one of Microsoft’s flagship games to take a turn, with Fable Coin Golf.

Coin Golf is exactly what it sounds like. Using a coin you navigate increasingly difficult course to win the hole. You receive points for picking up the numerous coins that are strewn about the courses, as well as killing enemies and building bridges. Every shot you take removes another hundred points from your score, and your final score determines whether you get a bronze, silver or gold medal.

The courses start off simple enough, asking you to bounce around some trees and a few mobile enemies. After a few levels, the game throws power ups into the mix. The first is the sword, which allows you to defeat enemies which would otherwise remove points if touched. The second is the lumberjack ability, allowing you to knock down trees and create new paths around the course. The final upgrade allows you to create bridges across water. You can only have one of the power ups active at a time, and the game often gives you two paths to choose from. It adds a good element of choice to the game that I didn’t expect.

The game actually features small amounts of dialogue between levels. If you’ve played Fable 3, you might remember a quest involving three wannabe heroes whom you assisted in playing a dungeons and dragons style table top game. The trio return to provide a frame for the coin golf, having the whole scenario taking place as another of their roleplaying adventures. The story boils down to banter thrown around between the three of them and whilst some of it might raise a laugh, it seems out of place in what is not a story driven game.

You’d think a game with a ranked scoring system would provide for hours of longevity, but even I was surprised at how swiftly I managed to get a gold medal on all the courses. I completed the game first time round in about two hours and then spent around another two going over some particularly tricky courses. However, the real draw for playing course over is the link with Fable 3. For every coin collected, you receive 100 coins in Fable 3. As you may well know, in the second act of the game, money plays an absolutely vital role, so the bonus gained from the rounds of coin golf could end up saving the citizens of Albion. The amounts gained from FCG are actually quite substantial; after my playtime, I’m sitting on about a quarter of a million gold, so it really could make the difference.

Review Round Up

Graphics: 3/5 - The models on the board don’t exactly blow you away but nevertheless are pretty to look at

Sound 3/5 – It’s got the Fable theme (which if you’ve played any game in the series for more than five minutes, you’ll recognise instantly) and some nice ambient sound effects keep the game fresh

Gameplay: 4/5 – The power-ups offer up multiple ways for course to be resolved which prevents them from become stale later on in the game. The control system is tight and rewards careful shots.

Longevity: 3/5 – Whilst at first glance you’d think there would be a lot to come back for, you’ll be probably have gained all the gold medals in a few playthroughs. The gold link up with Fable 3 might have you coming back for more though.

Overall 3 Holes in One out of 5

Fable Coin Golf offers a fun distraction that both casual and hardcore gamers will enjoy. It’s a shame that the first big game to feature cross-platform interactions is literally just a sideshow, but it does show the potential for the future. Whilst I might have preferred, say, a third person Fable adventure on WP7, the fun of Coin Golf is enough to hold me for now.

- Eddie Johnston

I’ve never really understood the title “hack and slash”. To me, hacking and slashing are very much the same movement. But Torchlight is very much of this genre, where you will hack, slash, shoot, laser, explode, shout and drop meteors on a whole range of fantasy creatures all in the name of fame and fortune.

The company behind Torchlight comes from a strong action RPG pedigree; Runic Games features staff who worked on the original two Diablo games, with the game’s development being led by the designer of the cult hit Fate (which Torchlight owes much to).

The plot of the game is minimal but still worth noting. You play one of three adventurers; The Destroyer, a melee warrior class, The Vanquisher, a ranged attacker, or The Alchemist, a wizard-cum-engineer. All three of the characters come to Torchlight for the same reason; fame and fortune. The city is built on top of a vast supply of a magical material known as Ember and it is this material that drives the story. There’s your typical evil character who has become corrupted, and his former student who must take him down. The story is nothing to write home about but it isn’t supposed to be; the real star of the show is the gameplay.

You can map two spells or attacks to your right mouse button, whilst the left is used as your vanilla attack. You can also put your potions and other spells, like summoning a group of skeletons to help you fight, along the number keys. Ultimately the combat boils down to clicking and switching between moves. It is likely that you will favour one move over most others. Playing as the Alchemist I found myself almost relying on the Ember Lance move to cut through swathes of enemies. This isn’t exactly a problem, since I never stopped enjoying blasting away weird lizard monsters, but the range of other moves at my disposal felt neglected.

Getting your armour to match is a VERY important part of the game

Another one of the games selling points is its use of procedurally generated dungeons. Every adventure you have in Torchlight will be different which, when combined with the three different character classes, adds quite the incentive to give the game at least one more playthrough. The dungeons always feel new, and whilst you will start to recognise the same set pieces popping up in each dungeon section, it’s not jarring enough to make you stop playing. The game also features entirely random weapon drops, and the wide range of weapons available is staggering.  One moment, you’ll find a glove made of bone, the next a quadruple barrelled pistol. Conveniently, you can share armour between the different character classes in your game through the use of a shared treasure stash.

Torchlight has a very distinctive look, coming somewhere in between World of Warcraft and Diablo. The characters are all sat in the “cartoony” region, but are well-defined and well-realised. Each set of floors of the dungeon has its own theme, from the early abandoned mines, to the fallen cities of lava and the waterlogged, overgrown ruins, which all also carry a specific theme of enemy. Whilst it’s fun to battle huge rooms of tiny enemy cannon fodder, sometimes this can get a little overwhelming, and you lose track of where you are. Of course, this is nothing a little hand laser can’t solve…

"BY THE POWER OF GREYSKULL!"

On release, this game garnered an awful lot of criticism for having no multiplayer functionality, and even as a long time anti-multiplayer proponent, I can see the point people were making; Torchlight would be fun to play with a friend. However this doesn’t stop the game itself being an awful lot of fun on its own. I can’t help feeling, in some situations, having another person running around with you would just make the whole thing far too confusing to be enjoyable. Anyway, the game allows you to summon robots. That’s far better than a human meatbag running around with you.

Review Round Up

Graphics: 4/5 A nice graphical style gets everything across, with a neat UI that borders on the right side of cluttered

Sound: 3/5 Some nice tunes, but nothing particularly noteworthy. Voice acting minimal, but still nicely done.

Gameplay: 4/5 Hack, slash and repeat but it’s a formula you can’t hate. Executed perfectly, and great fun to master tactics

Longevity: 5/5 With procedurally generated dungeons, epic amounts of loot and three different character classes to get to grips with, you could be playing forever.

Overall: 4.5 enchanted swords out of 5

Torchlight has an awful lot going for it; a sturdy combat system, a clever dungeon mechanic and an ultimately enjoyable storyline. A lot of action RPG fans dismissed it as a Diablo Lite, only good to fill the gap until Diablo 3 comes out, but it’s not the case; Torchlight could be the next big thing.

Stay tuned to The Newb Review as we will be featuring our review of the revamped Xbox Live Arcade version of Torchlight on Friday 4th March.

-Eddie Johnston

Game

It’s often said you shouldn’t judge a book by its cover, and with games that saying holds true. Graphics aren’t the be all and end all in games, which is one of the reasons going back and visiting classic games is so great. However, wouldn’t it be nice to go back and play the game in shiny new HD graphics, with all new voiceovers? Monkey Island 2 Special Edition does exactly that.

Following the success of last year’s The Secret of Monkey Island Special Edition, MI2:LR SE (phew) follows suit by applying a new lick of paint to a classic point and click adventure. For the unaware amongst us, MI2 follows mighty pirate Guybrush Threepwood as he sets out on a brand new adventure to find the lost pirate treasure of Big Whoop. Along the way he’ll accidentally resurrect his arch enemy LeChuck, cheat in several different contests, get arrested, dive for a shipwreck and put a dog in his jacket for some reason.

Immediately going into the game you’ll find the choice between to control styles. You can opt for a classic point and click interface, but the addition of a new direct control method using the left stick for walking and the right stick for pointer navigation feels a much more natural fit for consoles. Although it takes some getting used to fully navigate a 2.5D environment, it’s relatively easy to get used to moving around. When an object is highlighted the appropriate verbs pop up, allowing you to select them. Whilst this does add the benefit of convenience, it somewhat removes the concept of working out what to do with the objects. Of course, if this seems unappealing, you could always use the classic control scheme.

The new artwork looks fantastic and is a perfect tribute to the original. Beautiful backgrounds fit perfectly with smoothly animated character models, which have been improved dramatically. Guybrush’s walking animation is noticeably smoother, as well as having a brilliantly designed character model (no foot-high quiff in sight). As expected, you can switch back and forth between the two art styles, giving you the option to experience the game in its original pixelated glory. This time round, the option to keep the new voice work with the classic art style exists, although in my opinion, the two don’t seem to work too well together.

The help centre at Disneyland gets worse every year...

The music and voice work are both worthy of note. All the classic voice actors, from Dominic Armato to Earl Boen, return to play their appropriate parts, and do so with an appropriate amount of pirate gusto. There really isn’t a weak actor among them, and Phil LaMarr gives a fantastic performance as Captain Dread. The music has been entirely rescored and really adds to the atmosphere of the game. The iMuse system, which moves the song into a variation specific to a certain location, is still present and works even better with the new music. The main theme over the end credits was fantastic, but did most definitely not bring a tear to my incredibly manly eye… Honest.

There is a true bonus to be found, especially if you are playing the game for a sense of nostalgia. Progressing through the story unlocks concept art, will be a joy to look through for fans of the series as it features not only concept art for the updated edition, but also classic sketches for locations by Steve Purcell. The game also features a fantastic, and sometimes hilarious, commentary track by the games’ three creators; Ron Gilbert, Dave Grossman and Tim Schafer. It’s a great little feature that I’d love to see implemented into more games, and really gives a reason to play the game out a few more times.

The hints feature makes a return, as well as a new object highlighting system, which illuminates interactive objects on screen. Whilst many players will have played the game before and will know exactly what to do with the cheese squiggles, it’s nice to see that there’s a helping hand for anyone slightly confused by the games’ sometimes twisted logic (I always thought that sign was just a sign)

Review Round-Up

Graphics: 5/5 – From backgrounds to character models to animations, it’s all beautifully presented with a HD shine.

Story: 5/5 – Possibly one of the greatest stories about pirates ever told;: definitely the funniest.

Gameplay: 4/5 – The new control scheme can take some getting used to, but with the option to switch, it’s still smooth to play.

Longevity: 4/5 – Once you’re done, you’re done, but the commentary is definitely worth a second, or even third playthrough.

Overall: 4.5 Loogies Hucked out of 5 – At the end of the day, if you’ve played Monkey Island 2 before, you’ll probably have loved it, and so playing the Special Edition is a great way to relive the experience with some added extras. If you’ve never played it before (and you really REALLY should have) it’s a great opportunity to experience one of the greatest adventure games ever made.

[starreview tpl=16]

Run. Jump. Couldn’t be simpler… or more addictive, as it turns out.

Canabalt is another game which began life as a free-flash game, and made a very fast conversion when it set the net on fire with its amazingly addictive nature. The App version takes all of the features of the web based game, and somehow manages to make it even better.

The concept of the game is simple. Your character runs across the screen and the goal is to leap from building to building, trying not to die. Jumping is controlled by tapping anywhere on the screen. The game procedurally generates every level, so you will never be able to learn the course; this is a test of reaction time and coordination. The game also throws falling buildings and debris into the mix, meaning you always have to stay on your toes.

What makes Canabalt so fantastic is the way it executes its addictive gameplay. The art style uses a basic greyscale, which may seem quite dull. However, the way the animation brings the art to life is truly a wonder. Although it will take a few turns to start noticing the surroundings, once you do, you quickly realise what a beautiful game it is.

Run run run run run!

There’s an interesting subtlety to Canabalt. There’s not a lot of story to it short of “run”, but the background in the game gives hints to something massive occurring. It’s never really explained why your character is running, but it probably has something to do with the giant creatures destroying the city behind you…

There is one point that needs to be mentioned; the music. Although the game only features 2 tracks, both are fantastic and fit the game like a glove. The game would not be half as good without Danny Baranowsky’s incredibly cinematic tunes.

Review Round-Up

Gameplay: 5/5 Addictive gaming and simple control scheme make this a perfectly executed game.

Graphics: 4/5 May not blow your mind graphically, but a wonderful art style that doesn’t get tired.

Longevity: 5/5 For £1.19; it guarantees hours of entertainment.

Sound: 5/5 If anyone ever meets Danny B, buy him a drink for me. I promise to reimburse you fully.

Overall: 5 death-defying leaps out of 5. A fantastically designed game, Canabalt is a perfect example of an iPod game; simple, enjoyable and addictive. A must-buy.

[starreview tpl=16]

Final Fantasy XIII going gold

Are rythmn games killing the games industry?

and SonyMotion Controller delayed to Autumn.

We also have all your e-mails, our terrible pokemon impressions and the debut of Dialogue Hard with a Vengeance.

If you want to get in touch with the podcast please e-mail; podcast@newbreview.com

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Crush the Castle is the mobile version of Armor Games’ smash flash game of the same name. It costs £1.19 on the App Store. But is it worth the money? Well let’s take a look…

If you’ve never played CtC before (and you really, really should have) the concept is simple; fling rocks from a trebuchet at a castle and try to kill all of the occupants. There are four levels of weaponry available, small, medium and large rocks. Each can be fired as singles or clusters. There are also bombs, which can again be fired singularly or in a cluster.

The concept has been more or less left untouched for the iPod version. You tap the screen once to start the swing of the trebuchet and then tap again to release the payload. The physics engine works incredibly well on the iPod, with only a few occasions where the frame rate dropped; and even then, this was slight. It takes a few turns to get used to the swing and the curve of the rocks, but once you do you can really enjoy smashing down castle walls.

Oh man, this is gonna get messy

The game features 50 levels, which have a smooth difficulty curve in line with the new levels of weapon that are unlocked. Some levels require some thinking and strategy, although many can be solved by just flinging a bunch of rocks at the target.

The game also features a medal system, which rewards you for taking down all the occupant of the castle in the fewest turns. It is incredibly addictive to try a level again and again just to take down that last knight who refuses to die.

There’s also a hidden weapon in the game that is only unlocked once all 50 gold medals are gained. I won’t ruin it for you, but it is mind-warpingly fun to use.

One slightly disappointing feature is the level editor. Having struggled to use the editor in the flash version of the game, I found it almost impossible to use the iPod editor to make anything substantial. Pieces of the castle would often move by accident, and the pieces actually move each other when bumped. A lack of accuracy makes the editor completely user unfriendly.

Review Round Up:

Graphics: 3/5 Nothing majorly impressive but you can still see everything that’s going on.

Sound: 2/5 Only one piece of music in the whole game and it’s only on the menu screen. Although this is on your iPod, ao use your own music.

Gameplay: 4/5 It’s fun to knock stuff down. ‘Nuff said.

Longevity: 3/5 There are all the medals to get, as well as the secret weapon to mess around with. Skip the level editor though.

Overall: 3 crushed castles out of 5. It’s a good conversion of great flash game and has a lot to play through. The level editor is a bit broken however.

UPDATE: a new update for the game has just been released, with a bunch of new levels and weapons. Unfortunately there appears to be a loose screw at Armor Games headquarters, because two of the levels are actually impossible to beat. Thus it’s impossible to unlock any of the later levels. Let’s hope for an updated update soon!

[starreview tpl=16]

Game: Mass Effect Galaxy
Format: iPod touch/ iPhone
Developer: BioWare
Publisher: EA

Mass Effect Galaxy is an iPod touch/iPhone game that roughly takes place between the events of Mass Effect and its soon-to-be-released sequel. The main character, Jacob, and his female accomplice Miranda play a role in the upcoming Xbox game. Although, BioWare have said that playing through Galaxy isn’t required to understand what’s going on in Mass Effect 2.

Galaxy features top down shooting action, in which the shooting is controlled automatically. Jacob locks on to targets, which can be changed by tapping on different enemies, and then fires at them. The player then tilts the iPod in the desired direction to make the character seek cover and avoid enemy fire. You can also select when to fire a grenade, break the enemies’ shields or temporarily paralyze them.

The combat is reminiscent of a tactical shooter, almost an RTS. The movement feels floaty and often, at least in the case of the iPod touch, the particle effects in combat cause the game to judder, making it difficult to enjoy the combat. None of the enemies provide a massive challenge as health, shield and weapon power-ups appear frequently. The few times that provided a challenge were because the game annoyingly begins the combat section whilst still loading, so enemies are free to blast the main character in the back whilst he’s focussed on a really exciting piece of wall.

It’s not all bad though. As with Mass Effect, the narrative sections are more enjoyable than the combat sections. Although not all of the lines are voiced, the qualityof those that are is certainly high. Whilst the game is quite short, the plot is interesting and has some good cut scenes. Don’t be put off by the simple graphical style; this is still Mass Effect (admittedly with no optional sex scene, apologies to Fox News). There aren’t any full motion cut scenes here, bu the style works for the game and conveys the story suitably.

Review Round Up:

Graphics: 3/5 The combat graphics might be simple, but it wins some points for having a good art style and fluid cutscenes

Sound: 2/5 A mix of uninspiring tracks, and repeated death shouts, although the few voiced lines are well acted.

Gameplay: 2/5 Nothing revolutionary, and a few glitches hinder enjoyment. Most of the time it works, but it’s still nothing to write home about.

Longevity: 2/5; You could play it through a second time and try a few different responses in conversations, but there’s no real replay value here.

Overall: 2 dead batarians out of 5. The combat isn’t fantastic, but can still be enjoyed. Whilst this game might not be for everyone, ME fans will enjoy the story and the tie-in to the upcoming sequel. And at £1.19, it’s worth a pop at least.

EXTRA: Registering the game with EA rewards you with something in-game in Mass Effect 2. Go for it fanboys!

[starreview tpl=16]

If you want to send us any questions, comments or suggestions please email podcast@newbreview.com

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For anyone who has never played a side-scroller Metroid game, the gameplay is relatively simple; run around a large map collecting upgrades and furthering the story, normally by defeating large bosses. The upgrades to your weapons will often provide you access to new areas previously rendered inaccessible. This formula is used in Shadow Complex, and works perfectly. Starting off with nothing but a flashlight, you slowly work your way up through weapons and armour until you become some kind of unstoppable cyborg ninja, capable of disintegrating people with a punch. Seriously.

The story in SC is actually inspired by a novel, written by science fiction legend, Orson Scott Card, but isn’t particularly well implemented into gameplay. You take on the role of Jason Flemming, a guy who decides to go cave-exploring with his girlfriend of two days, Claire. However, when said girlfriend is captured by home-grown American terrorists called the Progressive Restoration, Jason decides to risk life and limb going to save her, killing several hundreds of people in the process. I don’t know about you, but I feel that one day isn’t enough time to get to know someone well enough to then commit multiple homicide to save them. Despite this strange plot setup, it’s a relatively good story line, but some of the cut scenes seem unnecessary and at times the dialogue is downright stupid. The game also features a ridiculously obvious plot twist, which most will see coming after about ten minutes in.

But what makes SC different from other games? Well for one, it’s visually impressive. The realistic graphics work well with the gameplay, and it also allows for some incredibly cinematic sequence, such as the first encounter with a quadrupedal tank, or the climatic screen filling showdown at the end of the game. There are also some more artistic sections. For example, at one point you battle your way through a section to face a boss. After defeating the boss, you return back through the same section, only this time, it has become completely flooded with water, meaning you have to swim back, brushing past your fallen foes and other debris. These sections, although few and far between, make a nice change of pace from the constant gunning down of foes.

Where SC lacks slightly is in its consistency. At the start of the game, you are armed only with a pistol, and have to use the environment to your advantage to get the drop on your enemies, and pull off stylish headshots, and at first this feels brilliant. You feel totally badass dropping down behind a guard unnoticed, then punching him off a ledge. But towards the end, the game drops these steal kill moments in favour of hordes of enemies. Whilst it’s true you have immobilizing foam and missiles by this stage, it seems strange that it turns into such a run-and-gun affair. SC also features a levelling up system, where you gain experience for killing enemies and discovering new portions of the map. Each time you level up, you are told that your accuracy, precision or agility is increased, but I honestly could not detect anything particularly changing. I was the one doing all the aiming and jumping, so if anything, my gaming skill was getting better. Shocking, but plausible.

REVIEW ROUND UP

Graphics: 5/5 Save the world whilst in nice surrounds, even if the surroundings are an underground maze filled with armed terrorists

Sound: 2/5 As much as I love to hear the same Hollywood soundtrack over and over again… I actually don’t.

Gameplay: 4/5 Should probably be marketed as some kind of badass simulation, at least for the first half.

Longevity: 4/5 Absolutely tons for the completionist to find here, from gold bars, to armour upgrades, to pass keys.

Overall Score: 4 shadowy headshots out of 5

Bottom Line; A modern take on a classic gameplay style done well, with enough to keep you coming back for some time.

[starreview tpl=16]

Mode 7 Games are a small indie developer based in Oxfordshire, and are currently working on their latest game, Frozen Synapse. I caught up with the guys to find out what it’s like to develop games in the UK, and how their current game is shaping up.

LavalampBamboo: Your first game was Determinance, a third person sword-fighting game.  What inspired you to create this and what did you learn from making it?
IAN: I love games and I wanted to make one.  I’d always liked the idea of a freeform fighting game and then I fell in love with Tribes 2 so I added flying to the mix.  I can’t even begin to list the things I learnt making it… that’s like asking me what I learnt at University.  It’s not just the standard stuff – the specifics of coding and managing – but it’s also growing as a person. Determinance was a second undergraduate degree for me.
PAUL: I had never been involved with making a game before, or even with any kind of software development project, so I learned exactly what needs to happen to create something! As I have production role, it’s good that I now have a basic handle on what the hell is happening.
More importantly, I learned some absolutely vital lessons about game marketing – specifically that you need to actually do some!

LavalampBamboo:  As an indie developer working in the UK, how would describe your experience within the games industry?
PAUL: We’re very much on the fringes of the games industry proper in this country: if I go to Develop it’s not like I know 80% of the people there. I like the fact that as an indie, it doesn’t really matter where you’re based – everything is determined simply by the strengths of your game and your marketing.

I have to say, I think we’ve had better experiences with the gaming UK press than we have with other members of the UK industry itself.  Don’t get me wrong, there are some amazing and brilliantly nice people out there who have been very helpful to us, but there are also a lot of boring self-interested types too: that’s the nature of any media or entertainment industry.

IAN: Yeah, I spend very little time thinking about “our place in the industry”. Being an indie is about making your game and hoping lots of people like it. Industry events seem to be more about working in a large company than they do about games. I don’t work in a large company, so it all goes above my head. Or below my feet. One of those.
LavalampBamboo:  Some readers might not be aware of Frozen Synapse, so let’s imagine I’m not either. Tell me about the game.
PAUL: Frozen Synapse is a sci-fi strategy game, which is comprised of short matches that can be played very quickly. You can move your units anywhere, coordinate attacks and use cover: it focuses on raw tactics rather than unit management.

You know that bit in the movie where a SWAT team storm a building and there’s a guy outside in a truck looking at a tactical display and giving them orders? We want you to feel like that guy. Except you’re not in a truck. There are no trucks. Trucks are not in the remit.
It’s the indie game which will see us make our first real mark on gaming. It’s aesthetically very strong: we’ve been having great comments about our graphics from an early stage, and people seem to be excited about it, which is very gratifying.

IAN: Frozen Synapse is about having the most fascinating mental battle between two people you can imagine. It’s about being different every single time you play. It’s about taking as long or as little a time as you feel like playing a game for.
LavalampBamboo: You describe FS as “the ultimate strategy game”, with games being both “bite-size” and “hardcore”. How did this unique take on the genre evolve?

IAN: It started by me and a mate playing a lot of Laser Squad Nemesis on holiday in France. I loved the core concept of “Simultaneous Turn Based”, but hated how long games would take; how an early mistake could ruin the entire game; and how the games always started in the same way.  Then I played a lot of the STB mode of Chaos League, which was fast and interesting but wasn’t, in the end, all that deep. Those two games kind of created an idea for a game in me, which grew over years, and finally became Frozen Synapse.

PAUL: Again, we wanted there to be modes where you can play super-quickly. There’s a genius mode that Ian came up with called Secure, where you basically bid on defending an area of territory. Matches are over quickly but can still have really interesting twists, and as soon as you’ve played one, you want to play another.

LavalampBamboo: FS uses an interesting art style throughout. Can you talk about how this came about, and what or who influenced it?

PAUL: I did the art direction for this game, but we used some very talented freelance artists to get the look we have now. Originally, the game was going to be from a “side-top” perspective (Canner Fodder-style!), but as things developed we knew it had to be top-down. Top-down looks rubbish with anything other than very abstract graphics, so we set about trying to find an “interface-style” look which would be acceptable.

I was influenced by the film and TV graphics work of Mark Coleran, who used to do almost all of the computer interfaces you see in the background of movies. Aside from that, things like Tron and Ghost in the Shell. Actually, the Mission Impossible movies got mentioned a lot – there’s bits in all of them where you see an interface with guys moving through a building, so that was something that came up.

At the moment, I’m looking around at other games to see what they’re doing with things like lighting and explosion effects – there’s some really creative stuff out there. It’s old hat now, but I still love the way Geometry Wars looks, so don’t be surprised if you see some coloured wireframe type stuff creeping in later down the road.

LavalampBamboo: FS is a PC title, but did you ever consider any other platforms for the game, either consoles or handhelds?

PAUL: We actually started out with Frozen Synapse as a Nintendo DS title, but we realised that it definitely needed to be developed on PC first, just from a creative standpoint. It would have been an XBLA Indie Game too, but that’s now completely unviable because of the pricing structure. Once the game is ready to demo to publishers I will definitely be looking for options on all the other platforms: it would still work VERY well as a handheld game.

LavalampBamboo:  Of what I’ve heard so far, the music in the game is very fitting, and sounds great. Could you describe the creative process behind the music, as well as how you make it suit the game?

PAUL:  Thank you! I started out by playing the game and working on a palette of sounds I thought would be appropriate: we wanted a very polished sound, but I also wanted to try and avoid film soundtrack-style cliches.

My concept was “high-tech meets low-tech”, so I have things like very complex layered synthesizer patches rubbing up against really nasty, dirty samples I recorded with a Gameboy using LSDJ and a GBA running Nanoloop. I also wanted to get a bit of glitchy stuff in there, so there’s lots of lo-fi samples of me slamming doors, hitting pots and pans: all the “found sound” stereotypes! I love the idea of the musicality of data and computers – I’ve always found that very romantic – so, I always go for quite emotive melodies combined with very obviously digital sounds.

It’s really, really, really important to me that I can prove you don’t need a million dollars and a huge library of custom-recorded string articulations to create an amazing soundtrack. For those guys doing that, that’s brilliant, but I want to show that, while you need compositional and sound engineering abilities, it’s really all about the effort you’re able to put in.
In terms of making it work with the game, I’m ready to do anything that needs to happen – we’re still working on it.
LavalampBamboo:  What kind of promotion will you be doing for the game? Any upcoming events?

PAUL: We already do a weekly podcast called Visiting the Village, which is a discussion of the week’s weirder gaming news, and also looks at indie games quite a lot. That’s ongoing and is helping to bring people to our site – http://www.visitingthevillage.com . Anyone interested in us should check that out. There’s also bi-weekly blogs on our ModDB page http://www.moddb.com/games/frozen-synapse/.

We’ll be kicking off our marketing proper with a big event at Gamecity in Nottingham at the end of this month: we’ve set up an event to challenge the general public to beat us at the game, and we’ve got some immense prizes to give away. There should hopefully be videos, podcasts and blogs from that, so people who aren’t going will get a flavour of it. It’s on Friday 30th, 10am-5pm in the Market Square, if you’re in the area.

After that, we’ll be working towards our first proper trailer and I’ll be hitting up every single news site I can possibly find with that.

That should start to build a community around the game, and from there we’ll continue putting out updates as we work towards release. I’ll be instituting a big PR campaign to get previews as widely as we can, then possibly a beta (we’re still undecided about that) and onwards through the organisational nightmare that is the review phase.

Finally, we do plan to advertise the game online when it’s ready to release – we’re taking advice about that from other indies and planning out our strategy right now.  I want to get a lot of video content up there for this game – we’d really love to have a feature which allows you to export game clips to YouTube (I’m only making this public so that I can pressure Ian into actually coding it)!

As I mentioned before, we didn’t put the marketing effort in ourselves for Determinance for a variety of reasons. This game will be different: I want it to be one of the best-promoted indie games of all time

LavalampBamboo:  When will Synapse be released, and how will we be able to get our hands on it?

PAUL: I’m not going to make a commitment on this yet: we hope early-ish next year. You will definitely be able to buy it from us direct via http://www.frozensynapse.com . We’re also going to be talking to all the major online distributors if we can bend their ears! As far as retail goes, it’s something we’re looking at: if it’s viable I would love to get the game to worldwide retail, but for a small indie studio that’s all about finding reliable partners.
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You can find out more about Frozen Synapse at www.mode7games.com, or alternatively visit http://www.moddb.com/games/frozen-synapse

You can also tune into “Visiting The Village”, Paul and Ian’s weekly show which looks at some of the quirkier game news stories, and also how the game development is coming along. Check it out at www.visitingthevillage.com .