Marathon: Durandal

Developer: Freeverse
Publisher: Microsoft Game Studios
Released on: August 1, 2007
System Xbox 360
ESRB Rating: Mature
Review based on: Xbox Live Arcade demo

The Scoop: Halo's grandpa springs out of the retirement home to lay down some old school smack.

Hitting Start...

• Some folks on the 'net are claiming that this game gives them motion-sickness. Pfffft...sissies!
• Great music at the title screen; I like it! We're off to a good start already.
• According to the loading screen, this game offers 7-player co-op in the single player campaign(!?) And to think we got all excited about the announcement of 4-player co-op in Halo 3. Eat it, Halo 3!
• Argghh—everyone's shooting! I spin around randomly and unload my pistol into the nearest wall.
  
• Suddenly I'm all alone. Were those guys in the gray pj's friends or foes? I'm confused already.
• Mmmm, boy. You gotta love them old-time textures.
  
• I move into a big square room. Water, water everywhere...
• The sound of the water in this room is making me want to pee!
• As I move into another section, I spot a big alien carrying a spear and wearing a dress advancing towards me. Due to its slow speed, and two-frame walk animation, I'm not sure if it's friend or foe. I choose foe and open up with my pistol. First rule of video games: always shoot first and press A to talk later.
• I feel a slight twinge in my stomach. Although, it could just be the beef n' bean burrito I had for lunch.
• Encounter with another dress-wearing alien—this one attacks first! I love the animation—it's either stand up straight or lunge forward with spear. How deliciously retro!
• Moving through another room. More aliens and more dudes in gray pajamas shooting at each other. I get nervous and immediately attack the nearest inanimate object. Everybody dies (no thanks to me.) So, is there any other weapons in this game besides "lame pistol" and "spiky-hand"?
  
• Do not underestimate "spiky-hand"! I kill an alien with one well-timed blow and send it's pixelated carcass sliding back into a wall. I suddenly feel like Chuck Norris.
• Starting to feel a little queasy here. I laugh it off.
• According to a computer terminal, there's trouble with the water purification system (I guess that explains all the water). Ah-ha; this must be a clue to my first objective!
• I'm beginning to see why Mac users back in the day considered this game superior to Doom. And all these years I figured the reason why they clung to that statement was to hide their anger and frustration at buying an inferior Macintosh computer.
• I'm going to get hate mail for that Mac comment, aren't I?
• Unusual Feature #1: Hitting X or Y snaps your character's view 90 degrees to the left or right. The reason for using this feature escapes me.
• My surroundings look oddly familiar...oh cripes; I'm back where I started! Great, now I'm lost. :(
  
• Want to make yourself sick? Hit X and Y multiple times in rapid succession...
  

...and I'm puking!!!

Am I impressed? I was...until I started to dry heave.
How come? Great FPS action from the 'golden days' of PC gaming. Young whippersnappers will scoff at the graphics and gameplay, but it'll be a big hit with the nostalgia crowd. Just get your hands on some Gravol® before trying to play it.

Just Cause (not just because!)

Developer: Avalanche Studios (SE)
Publisher: Eidos Interactive
Released on: September 26, 2006
System: Playstation 2, XBox, 360, PC
ESRB Rating: M (17+)
Review based on: Full retail version I purchased used at EB

Official Website

The Scoop: Antonio Banderas takes a GTA approach to fixing another country in turmoil

Hitting Start...

• Ok I'm smashing buttons but nothing is happening! Oh wait that is because it’s a cinematic cut scene giving me the who, what, where and why's of the game in 2 minutes or less.
• Ah that voice... I know that voice… it’s Antonio Banderas! Cool big name actor lending his voice to the game. It’s been done before but it is always a nice touch.
• From the cut scene I've deducted I'm a kick ass special agent for the CIA or some other type of US agency. I've got the story down and I'm ready to rock!
• The cinematic comes to an end and I'm jumping out of a perfectly good airplane! Very cool I'm parachuting down into a nice Hawaii type island far below.
• I can use the joystick and buttons to control my ascent and even free fall, I like :)
• I land short of the flashing red arrow where I was supposed to land (I assume) and now I'm swimming slowly to shore. I no like.
• After what seems like a very long slow swim where the odd boat passed me I'm on shore and there is a gun battle going on with some baddies and a guy from the cut scene who I assume correctly is on my side
• I run around and shoot a few guys - targeting is easy and blasting the guys is dead simple I like the auto target and shooting so far.
• A new jeep flies onto the beach and more baddies jump out blasting. My new pal and I quickly dispatch them and he jumps into a jeep with a howitzer attached in the back of the jeep
• The big gun is for me and I jump in the back and take up the beast and continue blasting as my compatriot guns the jeep away.
• The gun is responsive and works like the hand guns for auto targeting - nice and easy
• The driver is all over the road and the action is ramped up with jeeps and now helicopters coming in from all over at horrendous speeds. I'm shooting like a mad man; stuff is blowing up all over the place. I like
• I finish blasting a few more helicopters and jeeps and we drive like crazed drunken teenagers over a bridge that is blown up by some fighter planes called in to assist. It reminds me of the movie True Lies and it happens in real time, there are no cut scenes the action doesn't skip a beat.
• With the bridge blown my driver takes us down the road (and off road) to a motor home in the jungle, I see a motor bike I can ride, some guns and some power ups like health I can use as well as a handy save point.
• I see another large flashing red arrow over the motor home showing me where I need to go next but I don’t have to which is cool.
• I jump on the motor bike and go ripping off driving all over the place until I try to drive up a sheer cliff which doesn’t work at all. The controls are very arcade like reminds me of Grand Theft Auto (GTA) in that you are free to do what you want.
• I see that I can do a lot of different things just playing around on the joystick and running around. In the space of 30 seconds I jumped off my motorbike and pulled my chute launching me into the sky, I landed from the chute onto the hood of a moving car, I then kicked the driver out of the car and began driving it, after which I jumped out of the car while it was still going, out of the drivers seat and up onto the hood again and then jumped onto the hood of another car driving the other direction… very cool it appears I can do a whole lot that you can't in GTA.
• I see all my messing around has caused trouble and some law enforcement types are driving at me at high speeds so I drive back to my bike and rocket back to the red arrow I see in the distance showing me my next check point or area to advance the story.
• I zip away on the bike and lose the pursuing police / army and I’m soon back to the motor home again where I found the bike. The bike is a lot of fun, loose controls but in a good way.
• I wander around to a shed which has a first aid kit on the wall. Touching it and pushing the A button regains all my health
• I see 2 guns in a barrel floating close by and like the health by touching them and hitting A I pick them up and with ammo boxes close by I can do the same to refill my ammunition for all the weapons I have on my person.
• I walk by something that looks like a mini ATM machine that is a satellite uplink that allows me to save my game. I save and continue
• I walk into the motor home and a new cut scene begins.
• A new character – a beautiful strange woman is introduced and after she slaps my character I guess she isn’t a stranger but that story isn’t elaborated on other then to imply my Antonio character is a heathen womanizer (oh my!)
• The cinematic continues to go into why we are on this island and the job we’ve got to do and how we are going to do it
• I’m itching to get out of the cinematic and get back on my dirt bike and see what else I can do… I’m hooked

Am I impressed? Yes

How come? The game is very easy to control and is fun. It looks big and diverse Does it remind me of GTA? You bet it does but in a good way and I want to play.

Heavely Sword Demo

Developer: Ninja Theory
Publisher: Sony Computer Entertainment
Released on: July 27th, 2007
System: Playstation 3
ESRB Rating: Rating Pending
Review based on: Demo download from the Playstation Network
Official Website

The Scoop: A little bit God of War, a little bit hack-and-slash brawler and a whole lotta red hair.

Hitting Start...

• A cut scene starts the game with our heroin and her sister who has a thousand yard stare and something to say that I don't pay attention to, I wanna go kill something because my time is limited. I hit whatever buttons I need to hit to advance...


• I can now run around for a bit and get used to the controls in a safe area; a shiny thing on the ground marks where I can move on to the next area and start playing. After a poking around the controls a bit (which seem nicely responsive) I hit the button to move on.


• Off we jump onto one of four huge ropes and rail-slide down it like it's Jet Set Radio future.


• Here's where the "cineractives" start, the camera cuts down to the bottom of the ropes and the bad guys yell out 'cut the ropes' so now we have to react to on screen prompts as we slide. Left, right, left.... and one last huge jump onto the top of a huge stone spire littered with bad guys.


• I played this bit as a hack and slash since I don't really know any of the controls yet (there's no tutorial) but my buddy is telling me about the flashes of colors the enemies make and about stances, combos and special attacks. I don't really care because button mashing seems to be kicking some ass.


• I failed to make one of the button pushes during the cineractive, so I have a mini-mini-boss on this platform to contend with too. All head-on attacks seem useless, but I execute a special attack on some guy where I slam my sword into his crotch and everyone goes flying! Woot!


• Since I'm flailing a bit I'm also taking on a bunch of damage, but I can't tell if there is a health system like Virtua Fighter or like Rainbow 6 or whatever, it doesn't matter though when you get the camera to zoom in on some special attack like the crotch annihilator.


• Everyone on the platform is dead and the next cineractive starts as you ride the huge crumbling spire (that was held up by the ropes) down to the ground. If you time the button click you land nicely like a cat or like a bag of rocks, I land like a bag of rocks.


• Now it's time to dispatch a few more bad guys, and then three more, obviously tougher baddies run thru the doorway at you and you think "All right, a tough fight!"


• And the demo is over, just like that...

"...and I want more, now!"

Am I impressed? Pleasantly.
How come? Even though the demo is utterly short, and I had only enough time to play thru it twice, I found myself thinking about the game several hours later, wanting to play more. I want to learn how to use the various move and stances and I really like the environments shown in the demo. The scale of the world shown to you at the beginning is huge for a game played on foot, so to speak. There's a lot of verticality and it looks like there's a ton of ground to cover.

The only concern I have right now is that it might be an ultra linear game where you just move from arena to arena and fight faceless enemies. The demo doesn't show you anything more than that unfortunately.

Tomb Raider Anniversary

Developer: Crystal Dynamics
Publisher: Eidos Interactive
Released on: June 5, 2007
System: Games for Windows, Playstation 2
ESRB Rating: Teen
Review based on: Games for Windows (Downloaded from Steam)
Official Website

The Scoop: Lara Croft returns to her roots in this re imagining of the original Tomb Raider story.


Hitting Start...

• Someone wants to hire Lara to find a mysterious artifact. Something about the lost city of Atlantis. I'm not paying the best attention though because Lara is rendered much better than she was in the 1996 original.
  
• We are whisked away to a snowy mountain top in Peru. Poor Lara must be freezing in her now famous short shorts and blue tank top. You would think all the money she makes looting the riches from ancient tombs would afford her the comfort of a parka and some sensible boots.
• Hey look at that. Lara has her very own Sherpa. At least he had the sense to wear a jacket and some mukluks.
  
• The duo come to a large stone door in the mountain side. Numerous ledges and outcroppings dot the cliff surrounding the door. In classic Tomb Raider fashion it looks like I've got some work to do.
• The gameplay is solid. Climbing and jumping from ledge to ledge isn't frustrating even if you don't always make it the first time. It's made even easier with a Xbox 360 USB controller. If you intend to go the PC route with TR:A I recommend trying it over the mouse and keyboard.
• Finally I've guided Lara to a ledge over the door where the magic button is located. I push it and the large stone doors swing open. Ahhh victory.
• Cutscene: three wolves waiting on the other side of the door spring out and kill my Sherpa. Those bastards. I tried to stop them. But it was too late. They're already gaging on the soles of his boots. If only he were smart enough to dress for action like Lara he might still be alive! ( Funny how hindsight works sometimes ain't it! )
• The wolves dispatched and doors open Lara heads down into those deep dark caves one more time.
  

...I can't wait to see whats next.


Am I impressed? absolutely
How come? Crystal Dynamics provided the CPR that the Tomb Raider franchise needed last year with Tomb Raider Legend and it continues here. The gameplay is solid. The puzzles are tough but never impossible. And even though the graphics seems to be leaning more toward last gen than the current cycle there are still some really nice touches. It feels more like the Tomb Raider of old with the focus more on puzzles and acrobatics with the occasional firefight when you run into the animals and creatures lurking in the caves and jungles.

The Darkness

Developer: Starbreeze Studios
Publisher: 2K Games
Released on: June 25, 2007
System Xbox 360, Playstation 3
ESRB Rating: Mature
Review based on: Demo downloaded from Xbox Live.
Official Site

The Scoop: "Sopranos" meets "The Exorcist". Based on the comic book that I didn't bother to read.

Hitting Start...

• A cutscene introduces my character: I'm Jackie, I'm Italian, and I'm a mobster. There's one racial stereotype that just won't die.
• I'm in the backseat of a car driven by two of my "crew" who yak on and on about something I should be paying attention to (but I'm not). Just shut-up and give me my damn Darkness powers already!
  
• "COPS!" Wha~! Where!? I can't turn around and look behind me! Is my character in a neck-brace or something?
• I'm given a shotgun and told to use it. On what? Oncoming semi-trucks? I don't think that will get them out of our way.
• The high-speed chase ends with our car being flipped. I get the same result every time I let the wife drive.
• The demo skips ahead to level 3 (I think), a graveyard. I still don't have any Darkness powers yet, but at least I have a couple of gats! (That's what the kids call them, right?)
• Attacked by hitmen—a lot of hitmen! I go down in a blaze of gunfire. Now, Darkness powers! Unleash your anger and avenge me!
• Nope, no such luck; I'm just respawned back to the beginning of the level. :(
• Hitmen attack again! Damn; Jackie aims like he's in the middle of schizophrenic fit! I go down again in a blaze of gunfire. It's not me; it's the controls!
• New strategy: charge the hitmen with both guns blazing. It works! Bah, taking cover is for wimps!
• Tip to remember: you can change weapons with the D-Pad. I imagine the shotgun is more effective at shooting fleshy targets, as opposed to the four-wheeled variety.
• I somehow jerk-walk my way into a bathroom that is home to a bum. "This place smells like Satan's bunghole!" proclaims the bum. Heh, heh; I'll have to use that at the next office Christmas party.
• I make my way back to the graveyard only to find more hitmen waiting for me. But what's this? Darkness powers unleashed! Finally!
• So now I have demon-snakes growing out of me. "Consume the darkness to recharge your powers". What the hell is that supposed to mean?
• Okay, I'm an idiot. "Consume the darkness" literally means stand in the shadows and your snakes will eat the darkness. Yeah, I know; it sounds dumb even as I type it.
• I'm supposed to guide my snake through a grate so it can kill a guy in another room. Sounds cool...if only I could control my snake! (There's a joke in there somewhere.)
• "Press A to devour heart". Sure, why not? It worked for my last girlfriend. Ba-zing!
• My snakes are now eating hearts with reckless abandon. But for what purpose? I know not. But according to a pop-up counter, I have consumed 37.
• I wasn't paying attention, but somehow I can summon demons that will attack my enemies. I really should get checked for Attention Deficit Disorder.
• Okay, I figured it out. Arise demons, and attack!
• I find the sight of my demon sawing off the head of my enemies with a hacksaw both disgusting and compelling at the same time.
  
• More enemies! Demons attack!...I said attack! What the hell—where'd they go? These things part of a Union or something?
  
• Killing these enemies is starting to get monotonous, and my Darkness powers aren't the impressive "force to be reckoned with" that I thought they would be. Not to mention the stiff controls—I wonder if the retail game is this bad....

...and I'm quitting!

Am I impressed? Not really.
How come? Poor controls, washed-out graphics, and a story that I did not find very compelling, no matter how many hearts I ate.

News: Four-Player Co-Op Confirmed for Halo 3?

Source

According to www.insidegamer.nl, it has been confirmed by Bungie and Microsoft that Halo 3 WILL include four-player cooperative in the single player campaign over Xbox Live.

Translated from the article:

"Microsoft and Bungie confirmed at a press conference in, that's right, Amsterdam, that Halo 3 is playable via Xbox Live with four people at a time. That way four players can compete via Xbox Live with each other or against each other. With Halo 2 this was possible with only two players."

Condemned: Criminal Origins

Developer: Monolith Productions
Publisher: Sega
Released on: November 15, 2005
System Xbox 360, PC
ESRB Rating: Mature
Review based on: Demo downloaded from Xbox Live.

The Scoop: Investigate crime scenes with high-tech forensic tools—just like Grissom from CSI! And you also get to bash in the skulls of crack addicts with a lead pipe (not like Grissom.)

Hitting Start...

• I like the intro; it reminds me of the movie "Seven". Nice way to set the tone of the game. It's grabbed me already!
• The game is an FPS and it starts with my character talking to a couple of fellow cops in an abandoned building. Oh boy, my first crime scene! Ok let's see; there's a woman lying on the floor...I'll say, she's dead? Open and shut case!
• I have to examine the body to determine cause of death. Using a cool-looking infrared camera doohickey reveals a fluorescent blob on the victim's neck. I focus in and take a snapshot, which is then sent to the lab (via my cool cell phone) for immediate analysis. Ah-ha! Death by strangulation!
  
• Further investigation of the crime scene reveals that the suspect is a known serial killer. I really like where this game is going. The atmosphere is great, and it's done a great job of pulling me in so far.
• The killer is still in the building? Time to bust ass! Wait, I have to stay here and restore power to the building while the two cops chase after the bad guy? Awww....
• Boy, my character is one ugly dude. :(
  
• Armed with my gun and flashlight, I venture into the dark building. As I start making my way down a dark corridor, I see movement!
• "Come out peacefully or I will use deadly force!" Hey—I plan to use deadly force either way!
• Bum-rushed by a crack-head! He eats a slug from my sidearm and crumples to the floor, his blood splashed all over the wall. I don't know what it is about this game, but it has a very 'realistic' feel to it. I like it!
• Venturing further, another crack-head. This one didn't even get a warning. Police brutality, anyone?
• I hit Y to reload my gun, only to realize that it doesn't actually get reloaded. Instead, my character checks the amount of rounds in the gun. According to the game, I'm limited to the ammunition that is found in weapons. Hmmm...I'm going to have to be a little bit more conservative with my ammo and quit hosing down these perps with a steady stream of lead. Very interesting game concept...
  
• Okay, I found the fuse box, but flipping the switch caused me to get blown off my feet. The killer took my gun! Joke's on him—I had only one round left! Ha!
  
• I'm on my feet now armed only with my flashlight. The game is telling me to rip a 2x4 or pipe from the wall and use it as a weapon. For real?! This game is crazy!
• I rip a lead pipe from the wall; now I'm ready for action! Hit RT to swing, LT to block. Okay, got it. Bring on the psychos!
• It's really dark in here and my flashlight keeps flickering. I keep hearing people running around, but I can't see anything. What's that?! A box just fell over and I hear running footsteps! Great use of audio and lighting—I'm normally not a wuss, but I'm actually quite freaked out now! (Okay, I am a wuss.)
  
• Another crack-head leaps out from around a dark corner and attacks me with a 2x4, giving me a slight heart attack in the process. I swing my pipe, and with a sickening wet "thunk" sound, I send him sprawling. I've never been in a pipe-fight with a crack-head before, so I can't speak from experience, but I'm going to go out on a limb here and say that the developers did a great job of recreating the brutality of burying a pipe into someone's noggin. Hey, the details matter!
• Why did I choose to play this game with the lights off? :(
  
• Another nut case jumps out of the shadows and attacks! I think I've soiled myself. I finish him off, but not before I take several good shots from him. I've realized that you can't just keep the block trigger held down; you have to time it just right.
• Okay, I think I got a good rhythm going here: block, swing, block, swing—seriously, it's more intense then it sounds!
• "Press A to move object". Sure, why not. Moving an old file cabinet reveals a pump-action shotgun. Cha-ching! A quick check of the ammo reveals three rounds; gotta make 'em count.
• Hey, I can toggle between firing the shotgun, or using it as club! The developers thought of everything!
• After burning through my shotgun rounds, I rip a piece of conduit off the wall. Shopping at Home Depot will never be the same after this.
• I notice that each time I pick up a new hunk of board or pipe, a little pop-up window appears, displaying the weapon's stats (speed, power, block, etc.) It seems like each weapon has its pros and cons.
• It's slow, but I pull a fire axe out of the wall to use as my next weapon.
• I get jumped from behind, but I whip around and flatten the scumbag with a well-placed axe swing. Buddy hits the ground dead. Hey, he AXED for it! Ha!
• What the hell, the serial killer gets the jump on me and sticks a gun in my face! "...don't mess this up for us. We are on the same path of righteousness." Considerings all the people I just axe-and-pipe murdered, he ain't that far off!
• My fellow cops arrive to save me....and are promptly shot by the killer. Hey wait a second...my gun had only one round in it!
  
• The killer punches me in the gut and then throws me out a window. I land on parked car, and the demo comes to an end. What an intense 20 minutes! I left a big grease stain on my couch...

...but I want to keep playing!

Am I impressed? Very!
How come? Great atmosphere; the sound and visuals do an excellent job of immersing you into a dark and gritty experience; intense, edge of your seat hand-to-hand combat; the CSI tools are fun to use!