Dead Space PC Review

I know its late to review Dead space now, but i will be reviewing complete dead space series by end of this month (hopefully) so you can get the feel of series. Since its a been a long time Dead space was released, i may as well include some spoilers. Those of you who dint play it yet, watch out!! :D








Dead space is a sci-fi horror survival game starring the protagonist Issac Clarke. Issac Clarke is a ship systems engineer who is deployed on USG kellion to answer the distress call sent by USG Ishimura. So basically mankind has exhausted all the resources present on earth, but has mastered space travel and created some really cool weapons. Crew from earth is sent to answer the distress call by Ishimura. Landing on Ishimura, hell breaks lose.

Issac Clarke

When the crew lands on the ship, they find out that most of the systems failed in the ship. When the crew enters into the main deck of the ship, deadly beings called Necromorphs attack some of the crew members. The player gets separated from the crew (and for the rest of the game we are alone) and in due course of the game we find out that most of the crew members are dead. Then we realise that the distress call is more to it than meets the eye. As game progresses, players find out that there is something called 'The marker' which is sending out hallucinations which is hypnotising some people to kill themselves, coagulating the dead peoples' body parts to form deadly beings called Necromorphs. Issac Clarke comes to assist in this mission mainly because of his girlfriend, Nicole, thinking of rescuing her in case she hasn't turned into one of 'them'. Interestingly the story takes superb twist at the end of the game, revealing Kendra's true intentions.

Gameplay
Dead space is a third person over the shoulder perspective game. Most of the story is conveyed through spacial holographic 
projections, rather than cut scenes. We play as Issac Clarke. Issac Clarke is not your typical survival kinda hero or has some specialised military training. As mentioned before, he is a systems engineer dispatched by maintenance crew. When i first played the 
game, i really underestimated the plethora of options that can be possible during the gameplay. Issac can project beam kinda of thing onto the floor stating or guiding to your objective. 

Weapons--Plasma cutter

Player wields up to four weapons. Basic weapon player equips is plasma cutter. Plasma cutter projects a beam mainly used for cutting limbs or tails. Oh by the way...almost forgot, dead space features what is called as 'strategic dismemberment'. It means the enemy can be dismembered off its limb which deals with maximum damage. This is very useful and a new strategy employed by the developers. As we progress, we buy newer and better weapons. I particularly liked the plasma rifle. Weapons can upgraded and the game boasts of new type of upgrade system. Basically upgrade system is made like its some kinda of tree which has many branches. Each branch has nodes which can be only filled when the previous node is filled and adjacent to the node being filled. Upgrade is done by collecting or finding 'power nodes' and by visiting the 'Bench'. 

Different kind of upgrade system

There are places called 'stores' where the player can buy things in exchange with credits (maybe their currency). Player are able to collect items like air cans, med packs, credits, line racks, etc and can exchange or sell them to get money to buy new items. Hell! we can even store the items in a vault. This feature is really useful. 

Player can even move a object or slow down a fast moving object using stasis or kinesis feature.This enables to clear off the road 
blocks and player can take their time to neatly dismember the enemy by using stasis. However stasis get depleted after usage which again can recharged at stations.

There are numerous save points where one can save their game. The game also has zero gravity areas where the player can float and 
travel to any point. This feature although depicts the reality possible during the era in which game takes place, it is really frustrating. For example it not really possible to travel to any point. And also one 
wouldn't know which is the ceiling or floor. 

The game is said to take place in year 2508 but the elevator takes like forever to get to the next level/floor. Also Issac is really rigid and the controls are not fluid enough. He runs like he is carrying a bag of rice behind him. Also zero gravity feature can be really frustrating sometimes.

Enemies are gruesome and really gross looking. There are of different kind. One who carries a huge glowing sack, one who can regenerate, one who is really tall like slender etc. At first enemies can be easy to get through, but as players progress in the game and 
hallucinations become worse, enemies become very fast and stronger. 

Enemies are gruesome!!

Graphics and sound 
As needed by horror type of genre, game is really gross. I mean in a right way. Loads of dead bodies throughout the ship, blood spilled 
over at some places, limbs or other parts of body flying in the air during the zero gravity really brings out the reality of situation the 
player is in. 

Graphics in Dead space

Sound as we know plays an important role in horror games. Sometimes there is no sound giving you a lonely feeling, sometimes there is sound of creature moving towards you, sometimes its just you walking. I am not able to exactly tell how i felt when i played but trust me, Dead space delivers right amount of sound or horror required by its genre. 

It took about 12-13 hours for campaign. I really wish i played multiplayer. Well its definitely is a great example of the horror survival genre and is an awesome way to launch a franchise. Awesome job by EA and Visceral games. God!! I can't wait to play the sequel now. Will start Dead space 2 as early as possible. Watch out this space for Dead space 2 Review. Coming up next!!! :D

My rating is 7.5/10....

+ New concept   
+ Story is believable 
+ Weapons

- Zero gravity is frustrating sometimes
- Controls are not fluid enough

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DmC PC Review

Dante is back!! He's badder than ever. 
Capcom and ninja theory's new addition to the Devil may cry's series brought a new feel to the game. Stunning visuals, sick combos will instantly quench your thirst for action filled adventure/thriller. 









Story 

I love the new Dante!!

Its all about revenge. Dante, son of sparda, is a nephilim (half demon,half angel). Sparda falls in love with an angel, giving birth to twin brothers-Vergil & Dante, whose animosity is as old as DmC 3. Felt betrayed by Sparda, Mundus kills Dante's mother and sends his father into exile where he faces hell. Filled with revenge, Vergil and Dante plot to bring down his 'empire' by destroying his factory and his only child. To assist in the plan, Kat helps in bringing down Mundus. Much to the so called planned 'plot', story at the end takes a interesting twist. 

Gameplay
After trying to play stealthily in Hitman absolution, getting back to action filled adventure is certainly inviting. Gameplay doesn't change very much as in previous games, subtle changes introduced in gathering, travelling or progressing in the game make a huge impact in the overall gameplay of the game DMC. Dmc features some of sick and deadliest combo moves i have ever seen in dmc series. One does not simply mug up the combo moves and try it one after the other. Developers made sure the game rewards only to players who try different combos. Combos are the best part of the game. Dante wields 8 weapons at once. Unlike in previous editions the sword transforms into angelic mode or demonic mode depending on the requirement of the player. Each weapon has its upgrades which can be achieved by killing demons stylishly and of course, brutally. Hell yeah!! :D.

Talking about enemies/demons, there are many and of different kinds. Each one requires certain type of weapon to defeat them. At first combos may seem little unnecessary but later it becomes very essential. DmC not only requires the player to master combos but also requires the player to have skill to execute the correct combos in particular order to achieve maximum style points.The rewarding dint change much from the previous game in the series. 

Training session

For beginners, after the mission is completed statistics appear on the screen consisting of style points, completion time, completion of the in-game items and no of deaths. It is important the player optimizes the above in order to achieve maximum points. Ranks are given depending upon the number of points the player achieves. Ranks are divided into SSS,SS,S,A,B,C,D.(SSS- being the highest).

Boss fight!

If there's anything to comment about the game, its the length of the game. Each mission seems like they are checkpoints of the overall plot. When i played it happened so fast credits started rolling after 8.5 hrs. Sad :(...i miss all the fun!! 

Graphics and sound
The first thing one encounters is the stunning graphics. Most of the time the game is in limbo and its always
incredible. Blend of gorgeous red, yellow and orange and sometimes blue colors simply is mind blowing. 

Stunning graphics

Soundtrack is given by dutch band 'Noisia' and Norwegian electronic band 'Combochrist'. The “Devil May Cry” series has always had an interesting history, musically. The first two games’ soundtracks were notoriously difficult to obtain, with Capcom not officially releasing them until 2004. “Devil May Cry 3″ and “Devil May Cry 4″ soundtracks were easier to obtain and featured a distinctly “heavy” sound. Which is why it was surprising when Capcom revealed that the series reboot, “DmC Devil May Cry” would be composed by Dutch electronic band Noisia. This was certainly a change of musical pace to go with the story’s overhaul, but whether or not you enjoy this will depend on your feelings on Noisia’s breadth of electronica. 
(courtesy: Forbes). The music genre being electronica is a correct addition for a game which requires so much energy and enthusiasm. 

So,Its not late guys!! . Stunning graphics, very sick combos, new Dante's satires and more deadly demons doesn't get in the mood of playing this game, i don't know what will? 
Its bad bad world out there, start slaying demons now!! :D

Gamesbuzz's game of the month-January

+ New Dante                     - Short
+ Gorgeous graphics
+ Pretty sick combos
+ Great controls

My rating is 8.5/10

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Mark of the ninja PC Review

 I always wanted to be ninja and see what its like. I am not a joking, its on my bucket list. Well, Mark of the ninja took care of that now. :D 
Well if it isn't a pretty game?? Its all about ninja!! Cool, right? We play as..eh..i don't know, we are not told about who we are!! He has all these tattoos printed on him. They are not just tattoos. They are powers.To be frank, there isn't much to talk about the game. The game is very similar to shank and is a trade mark of KLEI entertainment-The art of scrolling games. And trust me, this stealth based game is the best i have ever seen of 2012 in this platform. 
The game mostly features stealth approach. The character is required to sneak through a series of enivronments while staying out of sight of guards. There are various type of guards. Intially the guards are basic men with guns, later as we can progress, guards/enemies become more deadly and can easily find you and catch you. 

Guards get alerted when the player makes a sound.

As all ninjas would do, we need to be silent in our approach. If we run, guards can make out the sound and start shooting at us. Ninja has to be in darkness so as not to comprimise his position. Player has arsenal of 'ninja' weapons at his grab. Basic darts are very useful and allow you to do many weapons. Also there are attack items like spike mine, catacombs etc to enhance our kill strategy. All these at our disposal, one can still get caught by the guards. If detected the player has to disappear from the sight of the guards till the time runs out after which the guards will return to their original position.

Some guards have the ability to pinpoint your last known location!!

The game at first is all about different ways of killing the people. But as the player progresses, he can use environment kills. Although we ourselves might into the same trap. 
The rewarding systems seems very satisfying. There are specific objectives for each level in the game. If upon completion the player receives what are known as honor points. Using these honor points the player can upgrade his skills. Before each mission the player is taken to an upgrade screen, where they can spend their seals in three sections: Techniques (passive skills and more types of stealth kills), Distraction Items (such as smoke bombs and firecrackers) and Attack Items (such as spike mines and caltrops). The next screen allows the player to select any unlocked costumes and equip items. Each costume (except the starting one) gives special bonuses, but also a side effect in order to balance its power. Completing the game once unlocks a New Game Plus mode where the enemy AI is smarter, the line of sight is more limited and sounds produce no expanding circles (aside from enemies' footsteps). Most  useful skills i found were the twilight, spike mine, brief shadow. Also there are scrolls we can find on the way or we need to complete a challenge in order to achieve them. These too count in getting honor points.

There isn't much about the plot or story. The ninja clan gets attacked by some people who are wealthy. Azai, Master of clan seeks revenge on those who attacked the clan. I wouldn't want to reveal cause that be would be a spoiler. 

These dogs are real bottle necks to stealth killing...they can sniff you
if you are in their domain.

The graphics are the usual comic style. The cutscenes are also in cartoons. I like it when in the game it rains, or when there is a sandstorm. Cause that definitely spell bounds you. 

Although there are some levels where the player can get frustrated cause the ninja sometimes on the surface and doesn't let go, or doesn't jump far enough etc, i would suggest you play this wonderful game. The ending was unexpected. I am not saying its bad, its just i am surprised.
KLEI has again done it. It certainly is becoming a pioneer in making such scrolling games. Looking forward to "Don't Starve" -another new IP from KLEI releasing in early 2013. Stay tuned!! 

+ NINJA
+ Beautiful comic style graphics
+ Wide range of weapons and deadly appoaches to killing

My rating is 8.5...

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Guide to Far Cry 3

In this post i want to give some tips about how to survive in the dangerous island of Far Cry 3 and make it more interesting. This is kinda my survival guide to the game. :D


1. So firstly try and liberate outposts. By doing this we can get multiple save points and fast travel locations on the map-easier for starting over again near the desired place in case you die.

2. Try poaching lots of animals and different varieties of them. This will enable to craft more syringes and a pathway to additional powers on the "Tatau". I crafted all the possible pouches,wallets etc before the game progress was 15 %.

3. Game progress is entirely dependent on the player. It can either go slow by exploring every possible location, doing challenges, doing animal hunting etc or fast just by completing missions. I suggest one opts the former approach. Cause this will enable us to be ready for the next mission which might require additional powers and certain important weapons which BTW will unlock by doing side missions.

4. Gain more Xp by doing story quests, trails of Rakhyat, or by finding relics, letters of the lost which give big xp boost. This will unlock more skills and a better Jason brody. :P 

5. Finding relics, letters of the lost unlock signature weapons which are way better than normal weapons but are not customizable.                ( though paint jobs :P) 

6. Liberating outposts: Almost every outpost can be liberated silently, giving additional 1000 xp boost. Try and watch for cages where the animals are kept. Release them, and the animal will finish the pirates,cool ain't it? So don't spoil your hands :D. If there ain't no animal, try to have sniper ( preferably silent one ) and a Molotov  flamethrower for creating fire on the houses. The pirates treat this as a natural disaster and in panic, they start shooting each other. 

7. Climbing radio towers will unveil the map. Climb all of them to have a look at what is present where. 

8. Keeping variety of weapons in hand is very useful. I carried a sniper, SMG, Assault, Flamethrower in 4 different slots. Doing this will make the gameplay/fighting easy. 

9. LOOOT!!! Loot as much as you can. Don't worry if you cannot craft anything out of animal skins. They also can be sold. Pirates carry lot of money with them. Try unlocking 'grab 25% more money' skill. 

10. Try taking down multiple targets at once. I find Knife throw take down, heavy take down, death from above particularly useful. 

Trust me, its a bad bad world out there on rook's island. Only trust yourself. Vaas and Hoyt are unpredictable and very dangerous. They should taken out cleverly. So if you wanna fight them you will need these tips. Remember "Exploring is rewarding", and bust every body's ass :D 

Happy gaming ~GamesBuzz~!!

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Far Cry 3 PC Review

Whoa if it isn't how insanity should be defined?? I never played far cry 2 completely, but i got the theme of how Far Cry 3 would not be less than badass. 

It improves a lot from its prequel in gameplay, graphics etc.
We can literally do anything in Far Cry 3. Hunt animals, play poker, be a true Rakhyat by completing challenges, explore the jungle, play knife darts etc etc. I would be joking if this is all we can do in far cry 3. The map is huge and exploring is very rewarding. Unlike Darksiders which has a large map but exploring is a lot of pain and not much rewarding, far cry 3 allows players to liberate outposts of pirates to use them as fast travel locations. 

The characters are very well developed. We play as Jason Brody. Although i dint like  his character at first, who is in fact very timid and scared all the time, but as game progresses he gets to become more and more badass. Well it is required to do that just to survive in the jungle. I love the character vaas. He is funny, unpredictable, and very very dangerous. After our escape from Vaas' camp, we are introduced to a tribal warrior Dennis who is more friendly and go-'get'er type of guy. And there is the hottie of the jungle 'Citra' whom the Rakhyat treat her as jungle goddess. She is very sensuous and hotter than my girlfriend(Liza). The game also portrays other friends who have been captured but enough justice to their roles is not done, although every character is very important. If you thought is badass, then you gotta meet Vaas' boss, Hoyt, who is beyond badass and devilish. 

The hottie i was talking about

As we make progress, we earn skill points. The skill points can be used in three different ways-heron, shark and the spider. Each skill set gives a edge to hunting, combat, fighting and surviving in jungle. We can view in 'tatau' how many skill points we have earned. 

Story 
As far as story is concerned, i can split it into two parts-rescuing our friends and taking revenge. Any minor detail other than this would be a spoiler. So i would like to keep it that way.Six friends travel for a vacation who in their blithe moments are captured. We as Jason Brody will have to rescue our friends. Story is decent, but its the characters that make the story exciting and make unexpected twists and turns in the playing. 

Awesome graphics

Gameplay
As i said, there isn't anything we can't do. we can explore the island, liberate outposts, climb radio towers to reveal the map etc. The game runs smoothly but with some glitches. To start off, radio towers are very tough to climb in second half of the game. When we stand in front of the stairs, the player is unable to climb the stairs , we need to jump for him to move forward.
Far cry 3 features variety of weapons each of which is unique in its own way. Also there are signature weapons which unlock after completing certain stages. We can collect plants and animal pelts/ skins to craft various medicines and items like for example- increasing our pouch capacity, having extra health etc.

I would like you to play this awesome game. This game is definitely as Vaas defines it-'Insanity'. I am not adding any other detail cause that will only spoil the game-play. Now play this game and have fun...:D

+ story                                      - climbing radio towers
+ graphics                                 - poor engine
+ exploring is rewarding
+ characters
+ weapons
+ hunting 

Badass-o-meter rating is 9.0/10....:D

( My first game which i completely played with Xbox controller and it felt great :D :D)

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2012: A year of best gaming sequels and new IP's!!

Hey there gamers!! how r ya??!! How did 2012 fare for you ?? As the year comes to an end, i would like draw and conclude some important events that happened in this spectacular year. Firstly i would like to call this year as "The year of sequels". This year saw some of the best sequels down the line. 
My favorite were :

1. Max Payne 3
2. Far cry 3
3. Mass effect 3
4. Assassin's creed 3
5. Darksiders 2
6. COD Black ops 2
7. Shank 2
8. Witcher 2: Assassin of Kings
9. Torchlight 2
10. Total shogun 2: Fall of samurai
11. Diablo 3
12. Crusaders kings 2
13. Darkness 2
14. Sid meyer's civilization V
15. Guild wars 2
16. Planetside 2
17. Orcs must die 2
18. Sims 3
19. Doom 3
20. Fable 3: The journey
21. Left for dead 2: Cold storm

Well there are many other exciting games which may not be considered as sequels but were very much anticipated and gained world wide whooping response like Hitman absolution after waiting for ages came out this year, and there is The walking dead series which became big hit, bigger hit than TV series i think :P. One cannot miss epic FIFA which releases every year before the year even commences. BTW did u screw around with the police, then you must have definitely played the " Most wanted 2". 

Not only sequels have scored points this year but also some of new IP's have caught the gaming community's attention. 

1. Dishonored
2. Xcom:  Enemy unknown
3. Forza horizon
4. World of warcraft: Mists of pandaria
5. Mark of the ninja
6. Quantum conundrum
7. Inversion
8. Vessel
9. Botanicula
10. Rayman origins
11. Alan wake
12. Dear esther
13. Spec ops : The line
14. Sleeping dogs

The list of awesome games of this year goes on, but due to lack of space i could only fill in the best ones here. Each game in the above list is of different genre and have done very good in the market too. 
Although i wanted to write only sequels and how 2012 has been, on an another thought i would like to give points to certain games in some particular fields. There are as follows: 

Best story : Spec Ops the line

Best co-op Multiplayer: Borderlands 2

Best campaign : Far cry 3

Best graphics : Assassin creed 3

Best puzzle game : Quantum conundrum

Best high octane killing : Darkness 2

Best high octane destruction : Dirt showdown

Best shooter : COD Black ops 2

Best stealth game: Dishonored and Absolution (well its a tie :P)

Best drama series: The walking dead

Best sports game : Fifa 13

Best 2D scrolling game : Mark of the ninja

Best ending sequel : Mass effect 3

Best racing game : Most wanted 2

Best new genre : Sleeping dogs

Best strategy : XCOM : Enemy unknown

Best horror game : Slender man

So these are my choices for their respective fields. What about yours?? Post your comments in the blog's official facebook page Gamesbuzz

Well that's that!! But what will be the use of writing this post without declaring Game of the year ??. :D Well what do you think??? 

And the Gamesbuzz's Game of the year goes to.....

Far cry 3 

Well, what is your game of the year ?? Comment below...:D

Almost forgot...wish you happy new year 2013.. Hoping to play as many awesome games as possible!

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Assassin's Creed III PC Review

The much awaited game of the year of one of my favorite series is here---Assassin's creed 3! Assassin's creed is a completely different genre of story altogether. I felt it was one of the best assassin games of this year next being absolution. 

AC 3 portrays Connor who is half British and half Mohawk. Born and raised in a tribal village he develops skills required by that of a hunter. The setting of the game dates back to American revolution. Connor with his undeveloped skills seeks help of an old person who helps him to seek revenge of the person who destroyed Connor's village. As the story progresses, much is revealed and questions are answered. The story is perfect balance of convoluted twists and turns and some temporary moments of happiness. 

Naval missions are pretty good!!

Gameplay and design of the game
The gameplay in AC 3 is much more developed than its sequels. The combat is much more deadly and fluid. The combat with the British shows the typical British style of line firing of the target. The player plays many characters in the game. Starting from Haytham to young man Connor the game develops and shows the important events happened in the life of Connor and of the American revolution. Advancing from tree to tree is so fluid as if we were walking on the road. Its really difficult to lose grip and fall down as Connor is fast and agile while travelling through trees. 

These kids are frustrating!! Arrrr...

Connor has arsenal of weapons stuffed in his robes. Way many than the Ezio or Altair  He can dual wield weapons. One can wield hidden blade, sword/Ax, gun, bow while wielding tomahawk on the other hand. But not at the same time. At first i found the gun's reloading time was longer and frustrating but then i understood its a game set in a ancient period where the weapons were not well developed and also its not a shooter game :P. I find the hunting feature introduced as welcoming gesture. But the hunting techniques are as not that well developed. Also the animals don't change tactics to evade. The game does not have any mission which us money to upgrade our weapons or buy new items instead one should rely on hunting and other side missions which produce just sufficient money. 

Improved combat

Desmond missions are too easy. But at the same time frustrating and glitchy. Particularly i hated the ending video and play where we need to find the key for the apple of Eden  There is no objective marker nor a map to set path where we should go.

The game has many glitches. One major glitch is when Connor jumps into cart filled with hay he immediately jumps back out. Which again is frustrating cause when guard finds out optional quest of 'do not get detected' fails. Also i dint like the children who beg as they wont leave you and can be really frustrating if triggered a open conflict. The game presents wide range of enemies starting from the ones who brawl to heavy grenadier with Ax. The game has about 200 species of animals and many missions to gain experience. 

There is lot to do in the game. In leisure time one can simply open and choose homestead missions or thief missions or simply hunt animals and sell their parts for money or help others or attack convoy or just admire the beauty of the game. 

Graphics and sound
Whoa isn't AC 3 a spectacular delight in every way. Those lively environments, animals in forests, live oceans---simply mind blowing  Its better to witness it rather describing it. Sounds play important role in AC 3. Rugged sound of carts, neighing of horses, growling of wolves, all these make us feel as if we are actually in that place.
The seasons change and it really makes difference in the game. Leaves shed in winter and more wolves are present for hunting whereas during sunny season beautiful grow alongside the path. 

Lively town of Boston!!

To sum up, it was a pleasure and its playable again and again. If not for those myriad of glitches and tricky optional quests it comes close to Game of the Year (GOTY). A gorgeous game!! 

+ Improved combat                                  - Many glitches
+ Gorgeous graphics                                    - Tricky optional quests
    and lively environments
+ open world-good for hunting
+ setting of the story
+ Lots of side missions 

My rating is 9/10...

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