Quantum Conundrum PC Review

Puzzles are usually made by making portals as in the game "Portal", maybe by giving you powers just to survive in the game as in "WARP", but the game i played recently beats all odds of physics where human beings like us would have dreamt of having them.


Presenting you with Quantum conundrum. QC is inter dimensional first person puzzle based game. Though much like portal, QC has this inter dimensional thing where we need to shift dimensions in order to solve puzzles which is quite exciting. 

You play as the 10-year-old nephew of Professor Fitz Quadwrangle, a scientist whose experiments with inter dimensional rifts have gotten him trapped in the dimension where our lost socks, cell phones, and all the other things that mysteriously disappear on us end up.Much like in portal where GlaDos guides you, here it is professor Quadwrangle who pretty much mocks you rather than guide you. But one should not be ignorant of his blabber cause sometimes he gives a hint which will help you in solving the puzzle. As the nameless kid, you must venture through the outrageously impractical Quadwrangle Manor, whose wings are crammed with dimensional experiments run amok. Professor Quadwrangle's stately voice is provided by actor John de Lancie, and though his dialogue is rarely laugh-out-loud funny, his smug yet jocular attitude makes him a pleasant presence throughout your journey. There's an appealing simplicity to the game's visuals, and the lighthearted sense of humour--the way paintings change to reflect whatever dimension you're currently in, for instance--keeps your predicament from ever feeling like a burden. 

The IDS device responsible for the dimensional shift.

Once in the manor uncle provides you with a glove called IDS device. To progress through the manor on your impromptu rescue mission, you must make smart use of four alternate dimensions in addition to the "normal" dimension we all call home. You can be in only one dimension at a time, and the dimensions you have available to you depend on a number of factors, like which part of the manor you're in and which dimensional batteries have been placed in the nearest receptacle. There's this creature called "Ike" which helps you in giving batteries, which is not much of a help though. But he is really cute, so i wouldn't blame him. However, after you complete the game in the main menu there is DO A THING button where i dint quite understand the purpose. It was about Ike so i thought i would mention it.

A generous and cute lab-assistant

The change in dimension-pocket to fluffy.

The first dimension introduced to us is Fluffy dimension. As professor says and i quote " It is embarrassingly adorable but one can any object ". The game is divided into 3 major wings-blue,yellow, red wing. In each wing you will introduced to a new dimension. Fluffy makes objects weigh 10 times lighter, Heavy does the exact opposite making 10 times heavier. Slow time and reverse gravity are the other dimensions present in the game.


The next dimension you gain the ability to enter and exit is the slow-motion dimension. Here, time slows to a crawl; lasers that normally shoot forth at imperceptible speeds can now be outrun, and you can give yourself ample time to leap onto that footstool you just threw over a chasm and ride it to safety, which feels like a spectacular feat. Slow motion is common enough in games, but this is slow even by slow-motion standards. You can toss an object from one room into another, slow down time, and then run into the next room and have seconds to spare before the object arrives. The numerous enjoyable applications of this dimension will have you wishing you could carry it with you out of the game and back into the real world.


In the final dimension you gain access to, gravity is reversed, and anything that isn't bolted down (except you) flies up toward the ceiling. With this ability, you can use safes as elevators and trigger switches on ceilings, among other things. Much of the time, Quantum Conundrum crafts clever puzzles around these four dimensions. Getting through a chamber is rarely a simple matter of using just one dimension; rather, you typically need to make use of the properties of two or three or four dimensions to arrive at the exit, and objects such as drinking birds (those toy birds that dip their heads periodically) are also sometimes essential to your success.

Prof Quadwrangle- Mastermind and quite a mocker

Blue wing is easiest wing to play. Contrary to that, yellow wing requires some brain skill to solve the puzzles. Well the last wing -red- is a pain in the ass. No whatever so skill in solving puzzles is required in this dimension except a lot of patience. I found the game quite frustrating in the end where i needed to commute between two places while using reverse gravity-real pain in the ass..i say :P . 


Though one solves puzzles using that IDS battery, ultimately it is the generator one needs to activate. Also the puzzles are in labyrinth of rooms, similar in looking. Though many of the puzzles may have you stumped for a bit, the solutions are always logical and fair, abiding by the observable properties of the dimensions you have available. As a result, the epiphanies that hit your brain like lightning strikes when the confounding suddenly becomes clear will have your inner mad scientist hopping with glee.

Dint understand the purpose of these so called 'hints'

Although puzzles seems logical, sometimes we need to be adroit and sometimes perform stunts to achieve what we want. QC is at its best when it requires brain, rather than your reflexes, to do the heavy lifting. But these flaws are always present in a game, particularly the ending. The ending was quite easy and not satisfying. 


Keeping the flaws aside, QC has much to experiment with, that dominates this quest makes putting up with its foibles worthwhile, and the twisting, puzzling halls of Quadwrangle Manor are substantial enough to justify the $14.99 price of admission. It doesn't always play to its strengths, but the clever ideas and confounding brainteasers of Quantum Conundrum make it a mostly enjoyable journey.


My rating is 8.5..

Read More

EA: Dead Space 3 got co-op because Dead Space is too scary to play alone

Speaking to Gamasutra, Miele described how EA's market research teams have switched from pigeon-holing players in terms of favourite genres or features, to categorising their tastes in terms of mood, situation or time of day.

"It was common for companies to segment the marketplace," she told the site. "Like, there's an Xbox 360 shooter consumer, or you have a PS3 sports fan consumer. And I knew that's not how people were consuming content."

EA's new approach shows that consumers routinely think outside the boxes publishers construct for them. "We went into people's homes," Miele went on. "I went on a couple of these trips, and we asked 300 consumers across the globe to take all their games, place them on the floor and sort them... not a single consumer organized them by platform or genre."

Her findings helped give rise to Visceral's new direction for the Dead Space series - apparently, the first two games enjoyed limited success because they were too scary to play alone. "That's how co-op was introduced. Cooperative play was the ticket; that is the key need and motivation for consumers.

It's not just a question of mimicking competitors, then. "I genuinely believe that there's a deep strategy that isn't just about a checklist of, 'this game did quite well and it had co-op in it, so let's put co-op in this.'"

As comparatively enlightened as Miele's approach seems, we do have caveats about what it bodes for Dead Space in particular. Sure, it's easier to play a game that doesn't terrify you, but many of those who bought Dead Space 1 and Dead Space 2 did so for the chills - chills which, I suspect, won't be quite so chilling with another player around.

Visceral claims the new Dead Space mixes balls-out action with suspense, but what we've seen of it suggests that action gets a larger share of the pie. Will returning fans be convinced? Look out for a preview in a forthcoming issue

Read More

Criterion Details Autolog 2.0 for Most Wanted

Criterion has released details of Autolog 2.0, a network that connects online friends allowing them to compete in head-to-head races and easily compare their stats. The service first shipped with Criterion's take on Hot Pursuit in 2010, and the service will get lots of new features when Need For Speed: Most Wanted launches later this year.

Autolog 2.0 will record everything you do in the game, and it will broadcast this in the form of a 'Live Feed' that "pulls all the biggest news from your friends' games and invites you to do better". The service automatically highlight your greatest victories on your friends' Autolog Walls.

There will also be a greater degree of personalisation, allowing you to target which of your friends you really want to beat and customise the recommendations it makes. You can even turn down "the volume on a particular friend and focus the action on someone you absolutely must beat."

Autolog will also be more integrated into the game's open world environment. As you drive around the city, Autolog will inform you of your friends' current records and the times you have to beat.

For a full list of Autolog 2.0 features check out the official Need For Speed website.

Need For Speed: Most Wanted is out on Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and PC on November 2 in Europe and October 30 in the 
US

Read More

DIRT Showdown- PC Review

And Codemasters Racing do it again. But this time with more car-nage than before. Dirt showdown is an action filled, full contact alongside with the ecstasy of destruction you would love to get. Codemasters retain the familiar Codemasters aesthetic, complete with crashing option overlays and smooth transition between menu levels.
As far as the story is concerned one shouldn't bother much really. Instead take a super heavy vehicle and head out for rampage. Isn't that fun?
You play as a pro level player from the beginning with two events unlocked. The cars are nicely detailed and accumulate muck and dust as the races progress. The environments are raging with spectacle and bursting with fireworks, and the tracks themselves are peppered with destructible objects. It’s a good looking racing game, no doubt, with the kind of visuals for which Codemasters has earned itself a reputation.


Gameplay 
While Dirt Showdown doesn’t really have a narrative, the game keeps you hooked on its various experiences by ramping up the difficulty across multiple competitions and always keeping things from getting stale.


There are four difficulty levels- pro,All stars,Champion, Legend. As the game progresses, the difficulty level increases, AI become much stronger and sharper and the game starts to become more fun. Well i wouldn't agree with this point entirely though, you will find out why. 


Dirt showdown has gone a long way if compared with previous release from codemasters-Dirt 3. Talking in terms of gameplay mechanics, style of presentation and mainly the types of events available for us to play. 


Although the gameplay has gotten better, the commentary can make you frustrated. The commentary is usually of very few words, intermittent and boring. Also the game becomes repetitive as it progresses. Also the customisation present doesn't really serve the purpose. Only three options-strength, power and handling making us think the developers did not put much time in making the game.


Events 
They are many type of events starting with usual Race-off to Destruction mania events. Certainly the events are fun to play, and to play demolition events it is quite gruesomely awesome and ecstatic. 


Each race has about 8 players with the AI players giving quite the required edge making it more fun. As you progress, AI players never leave a stone unturned to take out and wreck your car out giving you a stiff competition. 




Of course, one of Dirt Showdown’s biggest claims to fame is the introduction of demolition derbies and various other destruction-based events. These can take place either in the classic bowl-like arenas or on elevated platforms from which you can push your opponents and score big points. There are also reversal events called Hard Target, where you need to avoid getting crashed into for a certain time.


The type of events present in the game are 
RACE-OFF-Usual sprint -***


ELIMINATOR-With the time split of 14sec, the player in the last gets eliminated-****


KNOCK OUT- This is my favourite. In this event the player has to stay on the platform while scoring points by demolishing other players and throwing them out of platforms-****


HEAD TO HEAD- Well this race gives goose pimples. In this event, the player is asked to do as told. It can get fun if you master the track and the cars first. :P-**


TRICK RUSH- This event is all about scoring points and finishing your way up to to the first-***


8-BALL- Well this is new?!! And so much fun. Race tracks in this event cross each other giving a new possibility for mass destruction. This maybe fun at start since the drivers in the start aren't much competition but in the end it gets better and destructive-*****


RAMPAGE-Well if this isn't about carnage then what is? This is one of my favourites. Just pick your best muscle car and get out on the platform to destruct. 
I find this one very cool-*****
(The stars indicate the rating out of 5 i would like to give them)


Well these are some of many events available in the game. Events are certainly fun to play. 


" All's well need NOT not end well" Wondering what this means? 
Although the diversity, slick presentation and a good competition from AI is definitely are strong points for this game, but as you progress the number of laps increase and types of events remain the same leading to repetitive gameplay. It becomes boring once you in a lead in 8-lap race and noway your opponent can catch you. While the destruction events are quite fun, the scoring is all over the place because there isn’t that big of a difference between scoring crashes in the low hundreds and scoring over 1,000, even if you use boost.


Keeping the bugs and boring at bay, Dirt Showdown marks the return of Gymkhana competitions, although this time they’ve been refined and tweaked for a less annoying experience, while being renamed into Hoonigan events.You can enter experiences where you drive head to head 
against another driver on special courses designed to get you to execute all sorts of manoeuvres, from drifts, to donuts or jumps. There are also Smash Attack events, which challenge you to do things like smash items of different colours in quick succession, as well as Trick Rush ones, which are the most reminiscent of the Gymkhana from Dirt 3, as you drive around an abandoned compound and do whatever tricks you want.


Graphics and Sound

Very slick Graphics...simply superb

Dirt Showdown may not look that much different from Dirt 3, but this isn't a bad thing as Codemasters' Ego engine once again shines and recreates some really satisfying crashes without any bit of a slowdown.




Cars look great and the whole visual design of the experience makes the game stand out from other racing titles. Throw in some impressive level design complete with different types of weather depending on your location and Showdown will definitely delight your eyes. The menus look great with blocks falling from above.

Menus look great

Your ears, on the other hand, are in for a mixed experience. The soundtrack is filled with progressive rock, rap and quite a lot of dub step, which may not be everyone's cup of tea. Throw in the awful commentator who feels the need to keep you up to speed with what's going on the screen by shouting corny one-liners and you might want to play your own music while experiencing Showdown. This is too bad, as the sound created by engines and crashes is quite satisfying.


Conclusion
Dirt Showdown delivers a decent racing experience. Showdown may look heavy on options from its bombastic menus but ultimately it just feels like a narrow slice of Dirt 3 with some destruction derbies tacked on. While the destruction theme may not be pulled off perfectly and the Hoonigan events can still be a bit frustrating, racing fans who are looking for a bit of fun, both offline and online, can't go wrong with this one.


My rating is 7.0....

So...what are you waiting for ? Be there, be the winner..:D

Read More

WARP-PC Review

If its one thing to experience to be on the side of humans fighting against aliens like in "Crysis" or "Borderlands" etc or any other sci-fi games..its another thing to be as a alien. This experience provided by Trapdoor( their debut game ) is well...i should say is a homogeneous mix of cuteness and dark humour evolving into puzzle based stealth game. So here it is, let me introduce WARP.


Warp is a puzzle-based stealth action game where you play as ZERO,  a lovable-yet-lethal orange alien with a big score to settle! Captured by the villainous commander and imprisoned in his underwater facility, Zero must plan his ultimate escape using his arsenal of abilities--Warp,Frag, Echo,Swap and Launch.


The goal of the game (and of zero) is to get out of the facility where the experiments take place. The story starts off with a couple of humans taking zero into a research facility( i guess :P). After a while zero is tested by those callous scientists by conducting various experiments. As you progress through your way, you find a energy source and zero shows his true power and its where the fun part begins.


The game progresses with the character zero warping into various labs and rooms trying to escape the facility. Warping or teleportation is a basic power of zero and its pretty much very useful. But Teleportation isn't the only trick these aliens are capable of. You'll gradually gain the ability to create decoys of yourself that will distract the guards, launch projectiles in order to push far away buttons, and more. This is not a repetitive game -- each small victory brings new enemy types and new powers to play with, even late in the adventure. 


Enemies are usually humans and robots (and of course a scientist who buzzes the alarm :P). The humans initially start with a gun and trying to shoot if seen on sight. As they find out that water is major weakness (where all powers are rendered useless), they try to shield themselves with water for protection increasing the difficulty. Robots unlike humans are agile and fire everything that moves.


The game is very well planned out. Obstacles can often be overcome in multiple ways, giving players the chance to assess the situation and proceed as they see fit. well it is fun to get into human body and explode them like a bomb, believe me its thoroughly enjoyable and cold-hearted. :P :D. But the game encourages exploration where you need find these pink coloured meat or something (which zero consumes). Finding these unlocks the upgrades making you a better alien. Though sometimes it becomes a arduous task to find and consume them. grubs are limited in number so it becomes mandatory to find almost all of them to upgrade your powers. Well taking about powers there are of three types-warp,echo,swap and launch.


Warp is a basic teleportation power. Echo creates a ghost image of 'you' and can become thoroughly enjoyable if known how to use it. Swap basically allows you to swap into objects and humans after creating a echo. Launch basically allows you to launch yourself into objects at high speeds. Combination of swap and launch technique or upgrade is very deadly and allows gruesome kills.


The game has challenge mode with time trial kinda--start from one point and finish at other point, frag kills etc. Completing these challenges awards you with grubs. After you play the challenges you can send the stats into leaderboards. 

Warp tracks all kinds of data to feed its leaderboards, everything from distance travelled to enemies killed to the number of times you've warped. When you reach a milestone your progress will appear onscreen, measured against those of your friends. It's a really cool way of making a single-player game feel like a communal experience. 

It becomes frustrating to pass this level.

Sometimes it feels the puzzles are like its kinda trial and error and it becomes really frustrating to start over.Warp doesn't boast the highest production values and you can tell where corners were cut -- one voice for all the scientists, everyone wears a mask to hide their individual faces, and the one face you do see has lips that don't move. But the game is so much damn fun, all of that can be overlooked (even that terrible final boss fight).


Closing Comments
After portal 2, I would vote this game as a one fun game to play. Brainy and amusing, Warp is highly recommended stealth/puzzle fare, despite some hiccups right at the end. From a humble, enticing premise -- an alien that can teleport needs to escape a laboratory -- layers of gameplay variation are neatly introduced until you've warped your way through a rich, satisfying adventure. It does just the right amount of hand-holding so that you always know what needs to be done and where to go but often leaves the "how" up to you. Perhaps most importantly, it lets us do something we haven't done before -- bring our enemies' insides to the outside. And that's something I'll remember.


My rating would be 8.5

Read More

Borderlands-PC Review

OMG!! 87 BAZILLION GUNS...???? IS IT REALLY TRUE?? FIND OUT FOR YOURSELF.

As the first title in an all-new sci-fi action franchise, Borderlands combines the best elements of Gearbox Software's first-person action titles with player customisation and vehicular combat. Borderlands features a unique content generation system allowing for near-endless variety in missions, environments, enemies, weapons, item drops and character customisation. Borderlands is a cooperative experience, allowing for multiple players to share the same game experience simultaneously online. Players can freely join or leave each other’s games at anytime, or choose to play in the full single-player mode. Borderlands features life-like character animations, impressive real-time physics, and customisable vehicles.


Presentation

Stunning Visuals

The world of Pandora combines cartoon like art visuals and distant environments look stunning and amazing. It has a dusty, run-down feel, yet it manages to be vibrant and eye-catching at the same time. The art style features black-line borders and a colourful palette that give the game a not-quite-comic, not-quite-cel-shaded look.well it certainly leaves a memory for us to remember.

Eye catching 

About the game
On the hostile, bandit-ridden planet of Pandora, there is one thing that draws off-world attention: The Vault. This mysterious alien structure is rumoured to hold treasures of fantastic power and wealth, and so it attracts fortune-seeking corporations and individuals alike. In Borderlands, you are one such individual, but the satisfaction of unlocking the Vault's secrets pales in comparison to the rollicking good time you'll have on your way there. Borderlands is all about the journey, not the destination, and like most trips, this one is much better when you have some friends along for the ride.


You'll start out with rusty weapons that look as though they've spent a better part of their existence at the bottom of a bog and it won't be long until you find new weapons that not only look better but have improved functionality. As you progress through the game you'll find shotguns, sniper rifles, submachine guns, handguns, and rocket launchers that glow with elemental effects like fire and lightning and can eat enemies alive with corrosive effects or hit with such an impact that it pulps a target into a gruesome mess. There are even more bizarre and powerful alien weapons towards the later stages. Moreover, as you use a weapon, you'll become more proficient with it, further enhancing the sense that your character is gradually but inevitably becoming a ferocious fighter who can shoot, shatter, and burn all obstacles in the way. 


Well what is borderlands? Its RPG combined with FPS. Ha ha isn't it fun? In Borderlands players take on the role of one of four characters who, like many others, have come to Pandora searching for, among other things, the riches rumoured to be in the Vault. Before trying to attempt this however, they'll first need to pick up some weapons, equipment, and most importantly experience. Labelled by developer Gearbox Software and a Role Playing Shooter, Borderlands contains all the hallmarks of a first person shooter with in-depth role playing elements. This includes experience, levelling, skills, and abilities that enables the player to customise the characters to their liking. The gamble to add this much RPG elements to a FPS pays off and works excellent without sacrificing the action packed nature of a FPS.


Cast of characters
There are four different characters to choose from in Borderlands, each with their own set of skill and abilities that can be mixed and matched to provide a level of character customisation seen mostly in computer RPGs. (hence the labelling of the game as a Role Playing Shooter). Each of the four characters also has their own unique back story and three skill trees to choose from. Borderlands even allows you to reallocate your skill points if you're character isn't turning out how you envisioned.
The four characters include Lilith "The Siren", Mordecai "The Hunter", Brick, and Roland "The Soldier". Each character has their unique strengths and weaknesses but for the most part the skills and abilities surround one basic premise. To cause damage.


What about the enemies in borderlands?

Having some friends on your side makes things a lot more pleasant, given that about 99 percent of life on Pandora is your enemy. Human enemies range from bandits that are smart enough to wear shields and take cover to psychos that light themselves on fire and sprint toward you, screaming about rending your flesh from your bones(ha ha). The local wildlife is universally hostile and includes skags (toothy dog-beasts), spiderants (armoured insect monsters), rakks (raggedy death bats), and scythids (wriggling prehistoric grubs). Like guns like enemies.in borderlands you come across varying type of enemies.each time you return back to the same place you encounter a different type of enemy( i mean you face a more skilled enemy) Every type of enemy appears in various incarnations, ranging from young and weak to badass and on fire. These variations are generated anew during each encounter, so even when you kill a clutch of enemies in that same gully for the fourth time, it will be a different bad-guy load out. 
You'll fight hundreds of each enemy type throughout the game, and the fact that groups are varied goes a long way toward staving off repetition. The two-seater vehicles also offer some locomotive variety, and many of the areas are much more fun to traverse on four wheels than on two legs. You can conjure the lone vehicle type from the many Catch-a-Ride stations. The touchy handling takes some getting used to, and you can run into some exaggerated physics problems when crashing into rocks. However, there's nothing quite like vehicular homicide to stave off bandit-killing fatigue. In or out of a vehicle, the simple act of killing enemies is pretty fun, and since you're constantly reaping loot and experience rewards, even repeated encounters have some incentive attached to them.
I felt the presentation of bosses really different and funny ha ha.
There’s a core campaign which is playable in single player and in co-op. It's fully open to exploration and bespeaks a design that fluctuates between preferring the single player and multiplayer approach. Huge portions of the game are as straight and narrow as a state border, allowing very little variation in a co-op approach, while some battles are difficult enough to almost require a second, third or fourth player.


Character abilities
The most important difference between characters is the action skill, which is a special ability that can give you an edge in combat. The Hunter can release a vicious bird of prey, the Soldier can throw down an automatic turret flanked by shields, the Siren can turn invisible and speedy, damaging all enemies in the vicinity, and the Berserker flies into a damage-resistant rage and delivers brutal punches to his enemies. You unlock these abilities after playing for a short while, and not only are they all fun to use, but each one can be customised in a couple of strategically distinct ways. You can tweak and upgrade your ability by investing skill points in appropriate skills. So, for example, upgrading the Hunter's bird of prey not only can increase the amount of damage it does, but can make it attack multiple targets, steal health from them, slow them down for easy sniping, and cause them to drop more loot. Expanding your action skill makes you more deadly in combat, and it's one of the most rewarding parts of leveling up. Killing enemies, finishing quests, and completing in-game bonus challenges earn you experience points, which in turn earn you a new level. Leveling up boosts your overall fortitude and grants you a precious skill point to use however you see fit.


You can also spend your skill points on other improvements, and each character has three different skill trees that highlight different tactics and abilities. So the Soldier can essentially become the team medic by developing the skills that allow him to shoot teammates to regenerate their health and that make his turret create a healing radius. Or he could choose to become more deadly, increasing his turret damage and combat rifle performance. Though your weapon proficiency improves based on how much you use a given weapon type, different characters have skills that favour different types of guns, so it's to your advantage to play to your character's strengths. The Berserker can certainly become proficient with the sniper rifle, but his melee-focused action skill and preference for rocket launchers make him a better choice for wading into the fray. Though the branching skill trees offer intriguing ways to specialise, your initial character choice has the biggest impact on how you'll go through the game. Fortunately, each character is fun and deadly in his own way, so you can't choose poorly, and you'll probably want to experience what each one has to offer. Playing cooperatively allows you to enjoy and benefit from the other characters' abilities, something you don't get to appreciate when playing solo, unless you start a new game.

Boss Fight

Expanding your abilities and leveling up is one of the main ways that Borderlands consistently rewards you. Loot is another. Loot can be found in containers, dropped by enemies, or given to you as a quest reward. It includes money, ammo, shields, mods that boost and alter your grenades, mods that boost your skills, and, of course, guns. Guns are classified in familiar categories: pistols, submachine guns, shotguns, combat rifles, sniper rifles, rocket launchers, and so on. Each class feels distinct, and the shooting mechanics are well tuned and satisfying, which makes it fun to blast baddies. Base damage, clip size, fire rate, accuracy, and bullet spread are just some of the variables within each class, and some guns have more exotic features, like bladed pistols that increase melee damage or a shotgun that also shoots rockets. They can also do elemental damage, which comes in a variety of flavors that put a special kind of hurt on and can even do damage over time. Equip an incendiary gun if you want to burn flesh, or a corrosive gun if you want to deal extra damage to creatures with tough hides.


A real danger for this type of game is having all these items, all these methods of customisation, and all this content, and then giving you nothing interesting to shoot at. That's not the case with Borderlands. Amongst your enemies, you'll start off against basic bandits who shuffle between cover spots and fire back at you. Some larger bruisers are more aggressive and carry bigger weapons, and others charge directly at you, sometimes while on fire, to hit you with sharp, rusty weapons. Smaller bandits carry shotguns and get thrown onto their backs whenever they fire, some snipe from a distance, some have shields and others don't, and the way they all move around as fights progress keeps the action fluid, frantic and exciting. Occasionally you'll wind up in absurd situations where you're unloading a string of head shots while standing toe-to-toe with foes and still not bringing them down, but such is the nature of games that favour health bars over realism. 


Missions & Quests
The missions and side quests can be quite rewarding in Borderlands and allows characters to score all sorts of loot and weapons to help them accomplish the game's main objective. I was a little sceptical when reading the pre-release press about Borderlands and the "bazillion guns" available but after playing the game my scepticism was proved wrong as there's a virtual limitless supply of guns. Guns of all different shapes and sizes; scores of different pistols, machine guns, rifles, shotguns, bazookas that vary based on rate of fire, accuracy, damage and more.


While the missions and quests are fun to play through for the loot and experience that's earned, they do become somewhat repetitive. There's not a lot of variety and the technique of taking down certain enemies becomes second nature to the point where you feel like you're going through the motions just to get to the loot. With that said, Borderlands does a nice job of keeping the missions challenging enough by leveling up the creatures and encounters as your character increases in level and ability. The final mission and boss fight are a little disappointing and fairly easy to beat, but that should not leave you with a deflated feeling as the rest of the game is simply too much fun to think otherwise.
There's this something called fast travel. Using this you can travel from one part of the map to the other part of the map. Though this is quite useful and time saving,i couldn't help but notice there aren't many of these devices in the map. Man that can quite frustrating at times as you have to travel a lot in foot.
At times i found that in some places the vehicle station( where you can get vehicle from this location) are also quite scarce. Well if you like exploring and killing enemies to gain xp you might find it better to travel than go for ride.


Borderlands Co-op!

Multiplayer-Really an adventure....

Man, is this one of the best multiplayer i have ever played? WOW. In fact I feel one should play this game in co-op for maximum fun as it is meant to be played that way. While the single player campaign has the same storyline it's nice to be able to have a teammate there to back you up or help you on a tough mission. Also, being able to share in the experience of the game with others is sometimes half the fun. It's inevitable that there will be times when one player wants the same piece of loot. While there's nothing to stop anyone from just grabbing a piece of loot, there is nice a conflict resolution tool built into Borderlands that can be used to help mediate things. Players can enter an arena and fight it out in duel mini-game, with the winner taking the spoils, so to speak. Technically the duel doesn't force anyone to give up a piece of loot but it's nice to Honor the premise behind the system. The pleasing rhythm of killing enemies, gathering loot, and cashing in is punctuated by fighting bosses, completing quests, and leveling up. As a solo merc, this rhythm is slow and methodical, but as a team, the pace quickens to an invigorating clip and pretty soon you've spent hours having a riotously rewarding time.


In the multiplayer co-op mode up to four players can choose any one of the characters and play through the same single player campaign. Where you are in the story is driven by the person hosting the game, but experience, leveling, weapons and more transfer and are persistent back to the single player mode and other multiplayer co-op sessions. You don't have to worry about earning all these rewards in an online game only to have to re-earn them in another online session or single player. Bottom line. To cause damage.


Borderlands has so much to offer in terms of game play, rewarding missions, loot, and fun multiplayer that once you start playing you won't want to stop. The game's minor drawbacks of an underwhelming finish and the repetitive nature of some quests are only a minor bump in the road for a game that is going to rank up there with the year's best.


Why the anticipation and success?
It’s a co-op centric game. It has “87 bazillion guns”. Despite the comparisons to a Halo and Diablo, it's these statements which have really bought Borderlands oodles of anticipation. The game also provides other type of fun by having you to compete with your friend online or LAN gaming in places called arenas. It this where you can see who's best.


Final comments
Gearbox's Borderlands is without a doubt a slick, satisfying hybrid title for those who know what to expect. If you're a shooter fan curious what the world of Pandora is all about, then you should know that this is a product built on a foundation of statistical progression, character customisation, and one that holds item acquisition high above interesting quest structure and narrative. At the same time, it plays like a shooter, requiring twitch skills to dominate the droves of enemies that stand in between you and your search for a mysterious vault. With the opportunity for up to four to join together for co-operative play, four character classes, a dizzying array of firearms, around 20 or so hours of content for a single play through and the option to restart with stronger enemies and loot, there's plenty of content here.The game is very big in terms of map area and it can frustrating at times to travel to get to the destination. Though there is isn't much of a story you need to stitch the tid-bits of missions to understand what you are doing. 
Also i dint actually like the climax part( involves killing "The Destroyer"). If i may suggest some points to improve i really would like to have some story and also include many vehicle and weapons stations :P (i am just jokin). i would like to suggest more better and varied character skills as in here skills do match somewhat. Well one thing is for sure though this game has suffered some minor bugs or glitches in story/character development etc etc i found it exciting to play. It's a thoroughly enjoyable journey that offers a steady stream of rewards that remains convenient and accessible. It's something action role-playing game fans looking for an experience more up-close and brutal than genre entries of the third-person variety should have a blast with, and one of the more memorable products of 2009. Well what are you waiting for? Grab those tons of weapons and start shooting.....


My rating would be 9.0

Read More

Devil May Cry 4-PC Review

Its Back....again..


Smashing demons with flashy, extended combo chains has been Devil May Cry's draw since the original came out on Sony's PlayStation 2 back in 2001. For any PC gamers out there, you probably haven't been following along since then. Devil May Cry 3 did come to the PC in 2006, but the game didn't exactly make a smooth transition to the platform. With Devil May Cry 4, which came out on PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 this past February, Capcom has done a much better job bringing the franchise's blistering action gameplay to PC with smooth graphical performance, a new difficulty setting, and a turbo mode to speed things up even more.


Gameplay
Gameplay in Devil May Cry 4 is similar to previous games in the series. The player must fight through levels called "missions", occasionally solving puzzles or gathering items.The game's overall structure isn't all that complicated. You walk into a room, the exits are blocked, and enemies spawn in. Your job is to use all available offensive options to deplete their health bars and snag the orbs that drop once they're vanquished. The higher the difficulty setting, the more damage they can absorb. Stringing together combos without taking damage, completing levels quickly, and snagging as many orbs as possible increases your score at the end of a level, giving you more points with which to buy additional moves and combos. 


Performance in a mission is graded from D being the bottom grade through C, B, A, and S being the highest grade. Grades are based on items used, Red Orbs gathered, time taken, and the amount of Style Points accumulated. Each Style Point grade has its own tag-word. The stylish grade shows up on the side of the screen and starts at "Deadly"(D); progresses through "Carnage"(C), "Brutal"(B), and "Atomic"(A); then, progresses through one last bar of grade containing the phrases "Smokin'"(S), "Smokin' Style"(SS), and lastly "Smokin' Sick Style"(SSS). Stylish combat is the main focus of the game, which is conveyed through unbroken combos of varied attacks while avoiding damage. The player must avoid enemy attacks to continue performing combos, often by memorising attack patterns.The Devil Trigger is a super state that enables the player to become more powerful adding a slow but steady health regeneration, with increased damage done. Devil Trigger can be activated by pressing the button to trigger it when the minimum amount on the gauge is filled.

Dante is back and is much tougher than before....

Some changes introduced into Devil May Cry 4 are the presence of two playable characters, Dante and Nero, and a slight modification to the shop system. A new currency, Proud Souls, is used to buy new abilities while Red Orbs are used to buy items. Proud Souls are rewarded at the end of missions and the amount varies depending on how well the player performed. Cost of abilities also increase with the purchase of other abilities, though all abilities can be sold back for the original price.


The player plays as Nero throughout most of the game. He starts and ends the game with his Red Queen sword, Blue Rose revolver, and the powers of his Devil Bringer (his demonic right arm). The Red Queen features an Exceed Gauge that can be charged up, allowing for subsequent attacks that are more powerful than regular slashes, until the gauge empties.
Nero also has the powers of his Devil Bringer, and can use it to pull himself towards enemies or vice-versa. The Devil Bringer may also be used for context-sensitive throw attacks, leading to high damage and various effects depending on the enemy.


The player plays as Dante through seven missions, taking over halfway through the game. His gameplay is similar to that of Devil May Cry 3, with him having access to multiple melee and ranged weapons which he gains after boss battles, and being able to cycle through them freely in combat, being no longer limited to equipping two weapons of each type as he was in the previous game. Dante also starts with his four styles (Trickster, Royal Guard, Sword Master, Gunslinger), each of which grants him different abilities. He also gains the Dark Slayer style near the end of his appearance. Styles must be upgraded like other skills in the shop screen in between missions or at statues. Dante can also enter Devil Trigger; in his Devil Trigger he gains most of the benefits that Nero's Devil Trigger has, though, as he does not have the Devil Bringer, he gets animation and property changes on some of his normal attacks instead.


Boss Fights

Berial Boss Fight.

To break up the routine slaying is the occasional boss fight and some light platforming and puzzle sequences, and not all of these work as well as the standard DMC monster killing action. While the boss encounters are entertaining and can vary depending on difficulty setting, with a few you wind up fighting the same creature three times, and considering they're all behaving according to pre-set patterns, the experience loses its appeal rather quickly. 


Fighting Dante is really tough and exciting. The puzzle sequences aren't all that complicated, but they are annoying in some cases (fountain maze, disappearing platform section, mist warping in the forest), preventing you for no good reason from engaging in the much more enjoyable combat. some times it becomes frustrating to solve puzzle and the scarecrows (which are the like pests) turning up can make you lose your patience. 


Nero over Dante
Nero plays quite a bit differently. Like Dante he brings swords and guns to battle, but his most unique feature is Devil Bringer, his glowing blue arm. With this thing he can snatch enemies from afar and perform powerful grab moves which differ depending on the enemy type. Standard scarecrow enemies are simply body-slammed but some, like the game's ice demons, are flung around and smashed into the ground several times, damaging others in the area and acting as a sort of impromptu shield.
Another technique useful for Nero is his sword's charge-up ability, called the Exceed system. By hitting the right button just after a sword swing you can increase the sword's damage output, and with the correct power-up you can even max out the charge. So, theoretically, if you're good enough it's possible to have a fully charged Red Queen for nearly every swing. Good luck getting that timing down, though. It's not easy. If you really get in trouble, you can also activate Devil Trigger mode for added damage and a slow health regeneration effect. 


Instead of Dante, Nero's the star of the show this time around. He gets wrapped up with the mysterious Order of the Sword, a religious group with suspect intentions, chases after his love, Kyrie, and battles demons for around the first half of the game. Then things transition over to Dante which, given how differently he plays, is a little jarring.I myself took a lot of time to get used to his controls :P.
But then Dante was way much better than Nero.


Presentation/Graphics
DMC4's visual presentation is also fantastic, in higher resolution on the PC and in DX9 or DX10 modes.Sometimes you just want to enjoy the visuals around you. In addition to the action, you're also treated to some fantastically directed in-game cut-scenes that flesh out the story and show off slick, stylish action sequences. 

For sound, you'll mostly hear grunts, item pick-up effects, gun shots and sword clangs during gameplay. Character voice-overs are generally well done, but why oh why does the battle music have to be so awful? With every fight you're assaulted with trashy electro-rock that really just needs to go away. 
Sometimes this is really frustrating.


Wait....?!! Is it really good?
Well, if its a game one can always find some bugs in the game or story.
The level design in the game is strange, which basically forces you to retrace your steps in the second half of the game(by Dante), bringing you back to the beginning. You fight through the exact same arenas twice, which is, in addition to a painful dice game sequence near the end, what accounts for all the repeated boss encounters. Devil May Cry 4's story doesn't feel much like a quest at all in this respect; it's more like a tumultuous shopping trip. And at the end it becomes frustrating as you have to fight boss three times and they are much stronger than before. After playing as Dante you will realize that you actually played to get back from where Nero left off. As Dante is much better you may regret as you are not given many missions to play as him. You might feel like he was just used to complete the story. Well also final boss is also defeated by Nero, while Dante is much deserving.


It's also unfortunate that Nero is the focus here, as he's nowhere close to as strong a character as Dante. By the end he comes off more like a kid chasing a stolen juice box than a fearless hero in pursuit of his girlfriend. When Dante steps into the action, he's so endearingly arrogant that he even manages to soothe some of your concern regarding the challenge ahead. 


And now onto some of the particulars of the PC version. With a game like this so focused on twitch elements, control is a primary issue. With DMC4, you basically have to use a game pad. There's really no way around it. The first time i played i didn't find controls really easy and stopped playing it but who can stop when someone has a thirst for games ;).


CLOSING COMMENTS
So are you going to enjoy Devil May Cry 4? People who are expecting different action every time they play aren't going to care as much about the wrap-around level progression and repetitive encounters as they'll likely be busy replaying stages for the highest ratings.  If you're one of those who are just looking for a one-shot action experience, then you should probably enjoy this franchise. Regardless of how much weight you put on each category, the action gameplay is accessible and possesses quite a bit of depth if you're willing to put in the time. The higher-resolution graphics on the PC shine and flow smoothly, and the fact that a game pad is the best way to go shouldn't turn you off. This type of game couldn't really work any other way. So while it's not without flaws, it's still one of the better pure action experiences on the PC platform. 

My rating would be 8.5

Read More