Tag Archives: review

Revisted iReview – SHADOW COMPLEX REMASTERED

Posted on by
Reply

SHADOW COMPLEX REMASTERED

Publisher: Microsoft Game Studio and Epic Games
Developer: Chair Entertainment and Epic Games
Platform: Xbox One
Availability: Xbox 360, Windows, Xbox One, PS4

I played the original release of ChAIR’s Shadow Complex back in 2009 as an Xbox 360 Arcade title. The title at the time  broke the mold as far as 2D side-scroller action games were considered. The world is actually fully three-dimensional but the player can only move on the 2D plane. Mixing up the genres, the player can shoot in the 3RD dimension as some enemies will be in the background. Luckily the game’s shooting mechanic are pretty forgiving in these instances, knowing that the enemies are actually in the background, and will assist the player when aiming. Now Epic Games has remastered it and released it for the PC, Xbox One, and PS4 in the summer.

///

The game is a 3rd-person action platformer and follows Jason Flemming and his new girlfriend Claire. They’re out on a camping expedition and stumble across some caves that lead to a hidden underground base filled with enemy soldiers and futuristic technology. Claire is captured and we are tasked with navigating the complex to save her and uncover the story behind the massive complex.

shadow-complex-2

The whole game takes place in the underground facility, and mountainous region directly above. As the player progresses through the game, we start to get access to some of the future tech, starting with a jump pack to allow us to double jump, then grenades, and assault rifle. We then find an advanced suit, a foam gun, missile launcher and hook shot. The player’s flashlight will highlight objectives and colour-coated hidden areas. Each weapon allows the player to advance into new areas:the gun can shoot through yellow grates or floor panels, grenades can blast through green walls or rocks, the foam gun can freeze or explode purple paneling, and the missile launcher explodes through red blast shields. Each unlock is staggered throughout the facility while exploring, but will also encourage re-treading the map and exploration later one when everything is unlocked to find all the game’s many collectible collectibles. The hidden key cards are required to unlock the suit’s last upgrade – however this is not required to complete the game.

The gameplay and visuals really stood out at the time, for a 360 Arcade title, and it still stands up today. The remastering has brought brighter colours, and some better lighting and textures – Jason’s face especially. Claire has not seen that same upgrades though -maybe it’s true that men age more gracefully. The facility textures have been upgraded too, but with that, the land above in the mountains have not seen the same attention. There are still some hiccups in frame rate when a cut-scene initiates or in an especially large area with a large number of enemies.

ShadowComplex_Screen06.0

The game has a diverse set of enemies from the foot and rocket + shield soldiers and special ops with a hook shot of their own. Then there are some mechanized walkers and a few spider tank bosses, and a huge bi-pedal boss with a shield.

*spoilers ahead*

The bulk of the story is only revealed at the end. The whole time in the facility we get the impression that this base is meant as a staging ground for something bigger, but our main focus is tracking down Claire and escaping. When we finally get the chance to do so, Jason lets Claire escape and we go back to shut the operation down. The final section concludes with a large airship leaving the base as we confront the leader, and find out that they’re going to invade San Francisco. Having unlocked all the suit’s perks and weapons, we attempt to survive the final stage while taking down the airship with some programmable nuclear warheads and shooting them at the airship – that the base has active warheads, and the player is able to initiate their launch notwithstanding.

The COBRA-esk villain approaches Jason threateningly, and in turn ends up with a bullet in his head thanks to our returning friend, Claire. Turns out she’s NSA and used us as a cover to infiltrate the base. She killed the boss in an attempt to save us from killing him in cold blood. Are you kidding me? The game tallied it up for me: I killed 798 soldiers to save you and the world! But thank-you Claire, my conscience is clean. I’ll sleep easier.

“LUCKILY THERE ARE PLENTY MORE FISH IN THE SEA”

///

The controls are smooth and intuitive, and aside from a few visual glitches the Remastered Edition is just as fun as I remember the original being. My only gripe is some inconsistencies in the enemy AI. In some of the larger stages, enemies off-screen will see the player without being provoked and start shooting immediately, before we can even see them, but other cases the player can walk up to enemies completely unaware, and do a stealth take down.

hglool5kn3bv2qgskjfy

The game should be lauded for its gameplay: it’s built around the idea that you can infiltrate the facility with minimal weapons and perks a la Metal Gear Solid, so there are a lot of sneaky paths and creative ways to attack each section. Or you can go in guns blazing, removing every foe in your path. Choose your own adventure.

///

The remastered edition also brings with it a slew on new achievements encouraging playing the game in creative ways, collecting all the collectibles, and killing the bosses in different ways.

–For those that like remastered games, 2D Metroid/Castlevania/Mega-Man Games, or those that wished they could abandon the princess half-way through the story.

Notable Achievements
Status Update: Single (Complete the game by abandoning Claire to her fate) – 30G
Hook, Line, and Sinker (Kill an enemy with the Hookshot) – 20G

-iRogan

 

 

iReview – VALIANT HEARTS: THE GREAT WAR – Hand Drawn War

Posted on by
Reply

War makes men mad.

Valiant Hearts: The Great War

Publisher: Ubisoft
Developer: Ubisoft Montpellier
Platform: Xbox One, Xbox 360, PS4, Ps3, PC, iOS, Android
Reviewed On: Xbox One

Valiant_Hearts_art

I don’t know a lot about World War I other than it might be the focus of EA’s next Battlefield game. I do know that it hasn’t been the focal setting of many games, whereas World War II has been heavily played out. The developers at Ubisoft Montpellier strove to change this fact – those behind Rayman Legends and Child of Light – and have brought us an artistic title that takes place in 1914 as Germany declares War on Russia.

///

Valiant Hearts is a game about War, but not a War game. The story follows the path of four characters: the Frenchman Emile, his German son-in-law Karl, American soldier Freddie, and a Belgian nurse named Anna. The main focus of the story is Karl, as he is deported from France, separated from his wife Marie and child, and then drafted into the German army. Marie’s father, and Karl’s father-in-law Emile is drafted into the French army. What follows is a tale of Karl and Emile fighting the war on opposing sides, crossing paths occasionally, and trying to survive. Freddie, an American soldier who volunteered to join the French army fights alongside Emile, and they all cross paths with Anna, a Belgian student / battlefield nurse, and Walt, a Doberman Pinscher dog, throughout the tale.

The game is broken up into 4 different parts, and each part consisting of 6-7 chapters, each following the path of the different characters interwoven through the different stages of the war. The tale concludes in 1917.

///

VALIANT HEARTS IS A GAME ABOUT WAR
BUT NOT A WAR GAME

Valiant Hearts is a 2D animated puzzle based game. Before progressing through each chapter, the character we’re playing needs to complete certain objectives. These puzzles generally involve obtaining certain items needed for that situation and delivered to the correct people or used to open a new stage. There is little to no dialogue in the game, and the NPCs in the game will just display a picture of the object or action required. In the wartime segments of the game, the player has to survive gunfire segments from enemy soldiers or planes, bombing runs, and stealth levels where the player has to avoid the patrols of enemy soldiers, by hiding in shadowed areas.

unnamed

Some of these segments are really when done, for example when running through the fields at night during a bombing run, to avoid enemy signs, you need to run when the sky is dark. When the bombs hit, they will light up the stage, so you need to make sure you’re hidden.

There is no gunplay during the game, but there are times the player needs to use a melee attack to knock out an unsuspecting guard. The player will need to punch through debris that may be blocking the path or throw dynamite to clear areas or throw an object to break a window. Each character that we play also has different traits. Emile has a shovel, and can dig through soft dirt to avoid gunfire or planted explosives, Freddie carries shears to cut through barb-wire barricades, and Anna is able to treat injuries, which is done through quick-time events.

CARTOONY, BUT NOT-FOR-KIDS CARTOONY

Another example is a stage where we’re stuck inside a house that has been the focus of a chemical attack. We’re wearing a gas mask, but inside, all that’s visible is the green smog. We need to find windows and smash them to help vent the gas so that we can see then next area.

The dog, Walt, is also utilized throughout the campaign. He can be commanded to fetch objects or activate switches. The enemy soldiers ignore him, so he’s utilized to grab items behind enemy lines.

///

The art is all hand drawn and animated and cartoony, but not-for-kids cartoony, and it’s evident that Ubisoft has put a lot of love into the art and design of this game, and invested time to tell a tale about survival, sacrifice, and friendship. The game is inspired by real letters written during the events of World War 1 and throughout the game the player unlocks facts about the history of the War, and collectibles with their own unique history.

maxresdefault

The campaign is a fairly lengthy affair, for a game of its type, and it does play a bit slow. Some of the wartime segments are completed through trial and error, but the puzzles are fairly straight forward. The game even has a hint system in place if you get stuck at a certain segment for too long. As well, the narration between chapters can be a bit dry, but that comes with telling a sombre tale of War.

Perfect for those that like illustrated games, World War narratives, or playing fetch with the dog.

 

On the achievement front, the game is very generous. There are some story related ones that can’t be missed, and some for collectibles. The others are for completing a segment perfectly or going beyond the call of duty, and these are almost too generous, considering the difficulty of the game. The issue is the XBOX One’s default 1000G per game regardless of their triple A or indie status. Some of these achievement are miss-able, and you’ll need to restart that chapter.

Notable Achievements
Brothers’ Keeper (Save your entire platoon during the battle of Somme) – 70G
King of the Hill 145 (Shoot the German flag with the cannon at Vimy’s Ridge) – 55G

-iRogan

 

 

iReview: MIDDLE-EARTH: SHADOW OF MORDOR – Like Assassin’s Creed But Different

Posted on by
1

This would be the definition of a late review, but that’s only because I review ‘em as I play ‘em.

Middle-Earth: Shadow of Mordor

Publisher: Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment
Developer: Monolith Productions
Platform: Xbox One, PS4, PC
Reviewed On: Xbox One

shadowofmordorgroot

When you first start playing Middle-Earth: Shadow of Mordor and takeoff traversing the world, climbing up towers or cliff faces, you might consider you’re actually playing an Assassin’s Creed title. Or when you discover an enemy group and initiate the gruesome dance of death, you might even think you’re playing a medieval Batman title, by Rocksteady. But you’re actually not, however alike they may look or feel.

Monolith Productions has taken these two great franchises, and lifted the foundation mechanics from both, and used them as the two pillars for their game: Middle-Earth: Shadow of Mordor. It’s a good thing too, because when you strip those away, what’s left is a dull revenge story.

///

Shadow of Mordor takes place between the events of The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings. We play Tallion, who is a ranger that dies at the outset of the story. A great start for any game. Tallion watches as his whole family gets murdered by the Black Hand of Sauron. We are then introduced to Celebrimbor, an Elf Lord who also died by the hands of Sauron, only he was cursed to remain undead. Celebrimbor’s spirit merges with Tallion’s body allowing him to remain alive but dead or dead but alive? Together they try to avenge the death of their loved ones.

What follows is a fairly lengthy campaign that see’s Tallion meet and help other locals and leaders fight the ever-increasing shadow of the Dark Lord, and his army of Orcs. Some small bands are just trying to save their captured friends and family, some bigger missions involve infiltrating Orc strongholds and eliminating key enemies.

///

It’s obvious that a lot of research into the world of Middle Earth was done, as the two maps are very believable. The character designs from Tallion to the humans, the Elf Lords, and Orcs are all fully realized, are unique, and fit right in. The garrisons and strong holds, enemy camps, and even the wild animals and goblins all play a part. There are a couple key enemy camps throughout the two large maps, that are usually commanded by a Warchief, and then there are the smaller camps run by Orc Captains. Littered around the world are small bands of orcs who are controlling the human slaves. These three tiers of enemies can make stealth a little bit tricky if it’s a mission requirement, but otherwise, they don’t really care too much about your presence if you’re just running through the area. They feign interest for a bit, and chase you, but give up quite quickly.

Traversal of the world comes very naturally to Tallion, as he is a Ranger after all. He can run and vault over obstructions in his path fairly smoothly, and has the ability to climb sheer walls and cliff sides. He can also jump off any height without injury. His abilities don’t have the same fluidity of an Assassin’s Creed title, but the world is not nearly as detailed.

///

Equipped with a sword, a dagger and a bow, and a weird ghost who embodies him, Tallion is quite adept in the art of killing Orcs. With the swordplay, attack and deflect is a lot like a Batman title, press attack in the direction of an enemy, and press block, when they start to attack you, and then watch Tallion flow seamlessly through each action. Again, not nearly as complex or smooth as the perfected Batman titles but it’s sufficient. The attacks and execution kills are brutal, with lots of blood and gore, and limbs flying. With the bow, you can slow down time and shoot “light” arrows or do a short transport to the enemy in your sight. These abilities is what Calebrimbor bring to the table when he inherited your body. You can also brainwash Orcs you have caught and hold hostage, taking over their weak mind, and having them fight for you.

Middle Earth Shadow of Mordor First 30 Minutes Gameplay-4

The fights can get quite hairy quite quick when you’re infiltrating a stronghold, and the enemy has raised the alarm. You will become very quickly surrounded, and the Spear or Archer Orcs will not hesitate to attack you from a distance when you’re trying your best to keep your head attached among the melee sort. It will get intense quick, and you’ll likely die quite often.

///

Dying in Shadow of Mordor can be frustrating, but you don’t really lose much ground, aside from the current mission you were on, if you were in one. Otherwise, you just respawn at the nearest Tower and resume your attack. This is where the Nemesis system comes into play, and it is the best feature of the game. The enemy AI will remember if they’ve killed you.

Coming across an enemy who has ended your turn will call you out, and some may taunt you, saying they’ve killed you once, another time shouldn’t be too hard. Some might be more fearful of you since you’ve returned. Each Captain or Warchief will get a little focused introduction with their name when they hit the battlefield near you, and the Nemesis system makes these encounter memorable. Even dying multiple times to the same Orc will raise them in rank in the Orc Rule. They’ll start as a Low Captain and slowly progress towards Elite ranks and then Warchief.

My-Great-Capture-Screen-Shot-2014-10-11-12-56-16

The Nemesis system also allows you to get more information about each Captain and Warchief – their fears and strengths.

When you brand a Captain, you can start internal wars by calling out other Captains and helping them win their way to the top and challenge a Warchief. This system works really well during a difficult mission, as you can call on your followers in the heat of a battle to help your side.

///

middle_earth_shadow_of_mordor-wallpaper-640x960
Throughout, Middle-Earth: Shadow of Mordor is a solid game. It looks good on the Xbox One, and plays smooth. The story missions are nothing worth writing about and Tallion as a Ranger is not wholly interesting. The two character’s revenge stories are tied into one, and we learn the story of Celebrimbor as we progress. Some of the side missions tell a little bit more story involving Golum and the One Ring, and a Hunter story arc takes us into caves to fight goblins and cave trolls. But the combat and stealth is satisfying, and having brain-washed orcs fight your battles is a fun spectacle.

Achievements in this game are nice and diverse. There are the collection types, and regular campaign missions achievement, which are commonplace, as well as being rewarded for trying out each gameplay mechanic. The interesting ones are where they take the Nemesis system into account, and the interesting ways you can use your branded Orcs to fight your war.

For those who like Middle Earth, Assassin’s Creed, or thought it would be cool to play as a Ranger, like Aragorn, descendant of Isildur and rightful heir to the thrones of Arnor and Gondor, but figured a no name dead guy would suffice.

Notable Achievments

The Spirit of Mordor (Start a Riot by commanding a Warchief to attack another Warchief) – 20G
Stinking Rebels (Brand 5 Bodyguards of a Warchief turning them against him in combat) – 20G

 

 

iREVIEW – Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain

Posted on by
Reply

Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain

Publisher: Konami Digital Entertainment
Developer: Kojima Productions
Platform: Xbox One, Xbox 360, PS3, PS4, Windows
Reviewed On: Xbox One

  

I’ve probably started and re-started this review half a dozen times. Not knowing where to even begin describing a game like Metal Gear Solid, but also not wanting to disappoint. Intimidated, I suppose, would be the best way to describe my feelings towards this review. Intimidated. I’ll briefly touch on the story, but I’ll be spending the bulk of the review discussing what mechanics worked and what didn’t.

I won’t be discussing Kojima’s falling out with Konami, as I’ve written about it enough already, and I don’t want it to tarnish the review.

“Started from the bottom, and now we’re here”

///

Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain is a sequel to 2014’s Ground Zeroes. Ground Zeroes as a game was very short, and acted very much as a tech demo, or introduction to the full-fledged release. Really it was just released to whet our appetite, and to stop our complaints about the widening gap of time between MGS 4 and 5.

At the end of Ground Zeroes, Punished “Venom” Snake’s base of operations is attacked and destroyed after an ex-filtration mission, and the captive we extracted during said mission was a bomb in disguise. These simultaneous events have left Snake broken, and in a coma for nine years. The opening of MGS V: The Phantom Pain has us waking up from our coma, coming to terms with the aftermath of the events from nine years ago, and escaping the hospital during an assassination attempt on our life.

“WE HAVE NO TOMORROW, BUT THERES STILL HOPE FOR THE FUTURE”

We establish a new base of operations and begin our revenge story, going after those that came close to killing us in the prequel.

///

Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain, like its predecessors, is a game that works really well on so many levels. Hideo Kojima in the realm of attention to detail, has no equal. Doing the game no justice at all, it would best be described as an open world action stealth game, and Kojima’s most ambitious project to-date, but the game is so much more, so deeply detailed, so mechanically sound, so engaging.

As the MGS series creator, director, writer, and designer, Hideo Kojima tried something very different with the latest outing. Prior MGS games were solid in gameplay, but relied heavily on story and lengthy cut-scenes to tell the tale. With MGS V, these cut-scenes are pretty much completely eliminated, with the player left to tell their own tale through the open world missions and exploration. Granted, there is still a ton of voice-over narration, and audio tapes to be listened to.

The open world is broken up into two locations, Afghanistan and the Angola – Zaire border region of Central Africa. Afghanistan being very dry with desert terrain, and sand storms, and Africa more lush, with jungles and rain storms. Each area has significant, key enemy bases and small towns related to the story missions, connected by dirt or muddy paths, and the rest of the map is peppered with small enemy outposts. The third area is our operating base, which is an off-shore oil rig. This is our base of operations where there are multiple platforms attached, each catering to a different type of support group. There is the Command Platform, Combat Unit, R&D, Resource Development, Support, Intel, and Medical. Upgrading and expanding these throughout the game gives us access to more advanced tech, mission intel and assistance, and weapons. The fourth and final area is our helicopter, which acts as our transport between the base, and either Afghanistan or Africa. The helicopter also acts as a mobile operating base, where we can upgrade our equipment or initiate the next mission.


While in the field, we can extract enemy soldiers or equipment to help bolster our off-shore base. This is through a device called a Fulton, which is basically like a parachute that picks up the soldier and shoots them up into the sky to be picked up by our helicopter. The enemy soldiers get placed into the teams that suit their skill set and extracted vehicles and weapons can be used in later missions.

MGS V is not a true open world game, and its world not entirely seamless like a Grand Theft Auto or Far Cry. The game is broken up into missions and side missions. Missions need to be selected from our iDroid, and in a means to progress the story, we need to stop back at the off-shore base to check in. When selecting the mission, we can pick the drop-off point, and select our gear and buddy for the trip. At any point during the mission we can select weapon or vehicle drops, or exchange buddies. Before the mission can be completed, an extraction is necessary, either by means of helicopter or exiting the conflict area. Just call the helicopter from our handy iDroid, and meet up at the nearest drop point, and mission complete. We then get the mission’s spoils, and notification of the next mission.

Between the main missions, there are side missions, which can be initiated at any time, in any order. Completing some of these is a requirement before advancing the story, but the rest are available to help grow the base’s resources or involve an especially skilled soldier that needs extraction to help with the bases future upgrades. These missions are less strict and can be started from the ground through the iDroid, and are completed by just finishing the objective, no extraction required.

The downside to MGS V’s mission structure design is it ruins the seamlessness and immersion of the story. For example, some of the later story missions end with a cliff hanger and “to be continued”. And then we find ourselves back in the helicopter, ready to pick the next mission and load out. We can go back to our base, or explore the side missions. But then re-initiating the story where it left off, everything is hectic once again, as if there was no interruption.

///

The story missions are a little boring or repetitive at times. There are a few spread out across the two part campaign that are one hundred percent story dedicated, either boss fights or missions that truly drive the story. The rest are either infiltration or extraction based, or intel gathering. These missions provide little tidbits of story and background information, but are more purposed towards learning the world and mastering the game mechanics, both action and stealth.

As stated, the campaign is split into two parts, part one being the bulk of the story, and part two feeling like it was tacked on, meant as an expansion. But part two is where the story concludes for each of the secondary characters, and has the final mission, which is a replay of the game’s first mission. Part two is primarily composed of replay missions from part one, just augmented to play a specific way: mandatory stealth, no load out, extreme difficult, etc. These are not a requirement to complete the story, and are just for those who want to test their skills in a tougher field.

Part two just felt messier, incomplete. The story is solid but the presentation feels raw. Possibly at this point Kojima was already on his way out and was feeling the pressure from Konami to wrap it up and ship the product. There’s even an incomplete chapter cutscene on YouTube, a cut ending.

The game’s mechanics are truly its strongest feature, and this has been the case throughout the entire series. I can’t stress this enough. In MGS V’s case, it’s especially notable due to the open world. The player is left to their devices when infiltrating an outpost. Snake is more nimble than ever with his smooth transitions from stealth to action poses; gone are the days when we were tied to a rigid camera.

Our mission buddies include D-Horse, D-Dog, or D-Walker. Or we can have Quiet, a story character, available later on in the campaign. D-Horse is primarily used for navigating the vast terrain, D-Walker is a small mech that we can ride, and is helpful with navigating and is useful when engaging an outpost gets hairy, D-Dog and Quiet are good for stealth engagements and highlighting enemies and objectives, and at any time we can swap out one for another.

However the player wants to attempt a mission, that option is available, full assault or sneaky, and the game permits many a failures before its game over – reload checkpoint?

“YOU’RE FACE TO FACE WITH THE MAN WHO SOLD THE WORLD”

If you get spotted, the game time will slow down, allowing the player to locate the threat, and eliminate the threat before they announce your position, alerting the base. If you get spotted, or an enemy thinks they’ve spotted you, they will then alert the base through their radio, and they will check your last known position, or call for backup. Assuming you still have your wits about you, you can take out any enemies quietly, or vacate that area and hide. The enemy will eventually give up, and continue their routine, just on a higher alert. Its only when you’ve alerted the whole base to your position, and you are unable to escape, and end up getting killed, that the mission will end in failure. The game is very forgiving. That said, the enemies will adapt to your chosen gameplay style throughout the campaign. You’ll start noticing more helmets if you’re adept at headshot, or night vision goggles if you prefer excursion under moonlight; the enemy will even start setting up dummy soldiers to reinforce their numbers.

“WORDS CAN KILL”

Your intel support team back at home base will suggest you scope out a town or base prior to infiltration. Find a high spot, and use the binoculars to tag enemies to watch their route. You can even advance time while in-game if you prefer daylight to night, or reverse. Guards will finish their shift and go to sleep, but others will likely take their place. I didn’t have the patience for this feature, and instead would always infiltrate at my earliest convenience, and roll with the punches as they came. Just note, when extracting a prisoner, sand storms are your friend. On numerous occasions I was able to infiltrate a base completely unseen without removing any enemies, and extract my target. I’ve also had missions go so sideways that enemy helicopters were searching for me with troops on the ground. Its instances like these where a mission can play out so different each time, that makes the Metal Gear Solid game what it is – unmatched free-roam, free-form experimentation.

///

The weirdest feature in the game has to be the ability to play a mission as any of your Combat Unit’s staff. Male or female. They’re just Boss. Everyone you meet thinks they’re Boss, and will treat them as such. Boss can literally be anyone.

And the infamous cardboard box is back, and better than ever. It’s tougher, and has a more robust feature set, including allowing the player to stand while in the box. A funny feature with the box is the ability to attach a guard image poster to the top and standing in front of enemy guards. They will salute you as their commander.

///

The game’s whole presentation is near-perfect. The story, while lacking focus at times, tells an emotional tale of loss and recovery, of deceit and love. Kojima’s storytelling and direction has never been better.  While some of the missions seem tedious, the actual story driving missions are powerful and will truly keep you engaged. Kojima has a way of including current events and melding them into his fictional worlds. Last generation is was micro technology and private militaries. This generation child soldiers in Africa, nuclear warheads, war-time interrogation techniques, and the diversity of language around the world.

“I WONT SCATTER YOUR SORROW TO THE HEARTLESS SEA, I WILL ALWAYS BE WITH YOU”

Kojima has created two believable, living, breathing areas filled with enemy encampments and wildlife. He’s placed us in the center of these war torn countries and given us a home base to manage, that requires resource and staff management far too detailed and involved than it ought to be. He’s given the tools to play out the missions with freedom and experimentation. He’s made a sand-box world, given us Snake, and told us to go play – be nice or be deadly. Kill or extract. Snake even has a shrapnel horn stuck in his forehead that will grow to mimic a demon if you’re evil enough.

And the game is gorgeous looking to boot, with Afghanistan’s hard rocky valleys at sunset even surpassing Red Dead Redemption’s brilliant vistas.

///

In the realm of achievements, considering the unique type of game, and imagination of Hideo Kojima, the achievements are pretty unimaginative. There are those dedicated to completing the main missions, some side quests, and completing the bond with your three breathing buddies. The rest are completionist – bleh.

For those that like stealth incursions, horses, e-cigs, or snake. Snake? SNNAAAAAAKEEE!!!

Notable Achievements
To the Rescue (Extract a female prisoner) – 15G
Man’s Best Friend (Raise bond with D-Dog to the maximum) – 15G

-iRogan

Revisted iReview – BEYOND GOOD AND EVIL HD

Posted on by
Reply

Beyond Good & Evil HD

“The weak, the wimps and the wussies still have three seconds to get the hell outta here, and get back to their knitting!”

Publisher: Ubisoft
Developer: Ubisoft Montpellier
Platform: Xbox 360 reviewed on Xbox One Backwards Compatibility
Availability: Ps3, Xbox 360

Playing older games is like visiting old friends. Those that you haven’t seen in a few years, but still think about from time to time, or come up in conversations when visiting others. It’s a great feeling to reminisce, but a greater feeling to actually see that friend again, and catch up.

In somewhat of a personal new-games rut, I settled and gave the Xbox One Backwards Compatibility a try. Since Call of Duty Black Ops 2 has yet to be made available, I booted up Ubisoft’s Beyond Good and Evil HD remastered release.

Beyond-Good-and-Evil

I played the original back in 2004 on the Playstation 2, and it’s always been a mainstay on my list of great games I remember having played during that generation. In 2011 a HD re-mastered edition was released on the Playstation 3 and Xbox 360 which included improved textures and character models, as well as an updated soundtrack, achievements and leaderboards.

///

Beyond Good & Evil is an adventure game about an alien invasion and the conspiracy surrounding the involvement of the planet’s military dictatorship. In the game, we play as Jade, a photojournalist and caretaker of a home for orphaned children. Jade, I believe, is the primary reason I fell in love with the game eons ago. She’s a character with a lot of heart, but can hold her own when pressed. Her character design was very spunky, with her baggy pants, white tank top, jet black hair with a headband and green eyes and green lipstick. If one could fall in love with a video game character… Alongside Jade is her uncle, and guardian figure, Pey’J, who is a boar-like creature. Only Jade is playable, but large portions of the game have Jade being paired up with another character to solve puzzles and help in combat situations.

6a00e398244402883300e552a813a68834-800wi

The story of Beyond Good & Evil takes place on a small mining planet called Hillys, with its population a mix of humans and anthropomorphic animals. The local town has been under attack by aliens called the DomZ, who have been abducting and enslaving the civilians. The planet’s military, Alpha Section, has promised to defend the population, yet have been unable to stop the alien attacks thus far. An underground resistance group called IRIS Network believes that the Alpha Section is actually working with the aliens, and are working towards uncovering the truth. IRIS enlists Jade’s photojournalist skills to reveal Alpha Section’s true motivations. Once proof has been obtained, IRIS will provide the evidence to the Governess and create promotional material to gain favour with the citizens and help overthrow the military dictatorship. On the side, to help fund her adventure, Jade is also a freelance photographer, taking pictures of all the species on Hillys for a science museum. This photography gameplay mechanic is part collection, finding all the species throughout the game, but also provides the player with currency, allowing them to buy health restore items and upgrades.

“ITS A GOOD THING I’M HERE, OTHERWISE THIS WHOLE PLACE WOULD FALL APART”

The majority of the game takes place in a small floating town built around canals, and small surrounding islands. Primary mode of transportation is a hovercraft that allows the player to navigate the open, but modest, world. The main city serves as the hub, where we meet vendors, and visit the Akuda Bar which is the headquarters for IRIS. The Alpha Section’s many headquarters are also found in the city, and can be unlocked and accessed throughout the game for more collectibles. The city also hosts 2 hovercraft races.

The closest island boasts a lighthouse, and is our protagonist’s home, where she lives with her uncle and orphaned kids. The game starts on this island as the focal point of the initial alien attack, and jump starts Jade’s adventure. Other nearby islands include caves and a volcano, and the final large island is the slaughter house. This final island also hosts 2 more hovercraft races. Each area gets unlocked as we progress through the story and unlock new items for the hovercraft.

FeaturedImage-beyond-good-and-evil

Aside from taking a break and admiring the local beaches in said hovercraft, Beyond Good & Evil’s other two gameplay mechanics are Combat and Stealth. On our missions to unlock the truth we come across many different types of creatures while exploring the islands, some are not so friendly. Jade is equipped with a staff to help her in fights, and more often than not, paired with a companion in Pey’J or an IRIS operative named Double H. With their help we can fight off any baddies that come our way. They will also aid with navigating the islands’ inner workings and cooperative puzzle areas. The other bad guys we stumble upon are the Alpha Section’s elite. Most of these sections require stealth to navigate around, as this enemy has strength in numbers and Jade is ill equipped to deal with them on high alert, especially later on in the story when breaking stealth is an instant fail.

The pacing of the game is its notable weakness. There are only a few proper missions involving the Alpha Section investigation, and these are quite bloated, but afterwards we always have to run back to the town to turn in our findings. We then have to re-explore the town and its new available areas to collect the required amount of Pearls (in-game currency to upgrade our Hovercraft) to advance. It feels like, as Jade, we have to do a lot of unnecessary leg work just to help the resistance complete their story of corruption. They’re very thankful for our assistance, but I don’t feel that we are properly compensated, aside from a few donated Pearls from the resistance supporters.

11488-beyond-good-and-evil-hd

Story gripes aside, the game is just as enjoyable as I remember, if not a little weak on the writing – some of the one liners from Pey’J are groan-worthy. The HD re-mastering is also not a huge leap forward in visuals, but the game is much brighter and more colourful. The water reflections are most noteworthy, as some times it looks like we’re hovering across glass.

The camera was my biggest complaint. When piloting the hovercraft in tight corridors, or as Jade when in a combat situation or hugging the walls in stealth, the camera was very difficult to wrangle into the ideal direction, and sometimes left me turned around, or having to restart the segment.

I did also notice a few points where the game hung between gameplay and cut-scene and quite a few instances where the dialogue audio was not synced with the character’s facial animations. These could be chocked up to the HD re-mastering with new frame rates, or even the Xbox One Backwards Compatibility emulation.

The game is still fun to play, the puzzles fairly smart, and since it’s been 16 years since I originally played it, everything felt fairly fresh.

///

Achievement-wise, the game is quite light, as it was released as an Xbox Arcade game. So it only had 200G worth, mostly item collection oriented, and the standard “introduction” and “beat the game” achievements.

-For those who talk to animals, enjoy photography, or always fall in love with the first video game female they meet.

Notable Achievements
Wildlife Photographer (Take 6 film rolls of animal photos) – 20G
Racing Champion (Score 1st in all 4 hovercraft races) – 20G

-iRogan