Ten years ago Midway made waves with Hydro Thunder. The speedboat racer was not only a hit in arcades, but in living rooms everywhere after getting ported to the Dreamcast and ultimately to the N64 and Playstation. Now, more than a decade later, Vector Unit is breathing new life into the classic with a full-fledged sequel.

The original was well-known for its high tech boats and zany tracks (arctic circle, flooded New York City). Vector Unit is promising to bring back what fans loved “with top-notch visuals, brand new over-the-top themed environments and dynamic water-based racing”. Does it deliver?

The Story

No story here. This game focuses strictly on racing. The moment the title screen surfaces, you hit start, pick your track, pick your boat, and begin racing. There is no sissy introductory race–you jump right in. It’s probably for the better. Imagine trying to carve out a story based on speedboats which race on super unrealistic tracks.

The Gameplay

Hydro Thunder Hurricane plays out like a classic arcade racer. The controls are fairly shallow, allowing you to steer, hit the gas, jump and boost.

There are four main modes to the game. Race speaks for itself. You always start in last place (16th) and must work your way into the top three. Ringmaster (newly added mode) will have you racing around your favourite tracks with the goal of driving through rings. Miss a ring and you’ll have time added to your overall completion time. Gauntlet (one of the more exciting modes) throws explosive barrels into the water. Hit one and your progress around the course will be delayed. Finally, Championship mode chains together two or three of the modes back to back. Complete all the races thrown at you and see where you come out in the standings.

Winning an event gives you points. The more points you earn, the more boats, tracks and events you unlock. You start with almost everything locked so you will have to win a few events before progressing further in to the game.

The boats each have their unique properties. Fans of the original title will recognize a few (Damn the Torpedoes, Miss Behave) as Vector Unit brought back a few fan favorites from the original title. Some have fast acceleration, some are slower but handle better. If you’ve played any generic racer before, you’ll be quite familiar with how it all plays out.

Each boat can perform what’s known as a “hydro jump” (simple jump up out of the water for a split second). Driving in the wake of another boat will give you a boost–so will collecting icons around the track.

The courses are what really make this game shine. They are an absolute blast. From a river that winds through a canyon (which gets bombed from up above by an angry biplane) to an Amazon river infested with giants crocs and other reptilian monsters, the environments make this game lots of fun. Each course has a ton of secrets and hidden passages; each time you play through you may discover a slightly different route to take. The game’s water physics only add to the enjoyment, giving you the feel of racing on real water.

The Graphics and Music

Hydro Thunder Hurricane looks good. Incredible detail has not only been given to the boats and most of the courses as well. Throw in some cool looking creatures and incredible racing environments and you have an impressive looking package. It may not be as colorful as the original but as they say “times change”.

The music is upbeat but fairly generic. While it’s quite good, I wouldn’t say it’s memorable by any means.

The Downsides

My one beef with this title has to be how you are forced to play the same tracks over and over in order to open up new ones. It takes quite a few points to open up some of the earlier tracks. That means one of two things. You can either race the same track over and over, or you can play some of the other modes in the game to amass more points. It kind of feels like grinding for XP in a role playing game. Okay, maybe not that bad, but if you’re tired of the tracks you’ve already opened you’ll begin to lose interest.

The Bottom Line

Hydro Thunder Hurricane is an enjoyable pick-up-and-play-racing-title. The game doesn’t have a lot of depth, but it was never intended to. You can play for as little as you want or as long as you want and feel satisfied with your experience. Completionists will have fun trying to find all the hidden items while others will simply enjoy the thrill of the race. A great arcade-style racer.

The Good

Simple controls
Amazing courses
Fun new racing modes
4 player split-screen or 8 person online multiplayer

The Bad

Not enough tracks
Grinding for points to unlock new tracks and race modes

]]> http://www.thereviewcrew.com/reviews/review-hydro-thunder-hurricane/feed/ 0 http://www.thereviewcrew.com/news/hands-on-sony-ericssons-xperia-x10-mini/ http://www.thereviewcrew.com/news/hands-on-sony-ericssons-xperia-x10-mini/#comments Fri, 23 Jul 2010 00:38:32 +0000 Mike Yawney http://www.thereviewcrew.com/?p=18196

Sony Ericsson is trying to build on the successful launch of the Xperia X10. The follow-up? A smaller, more elegant version of the popular handset. We got our hands on the X10 Mini to give you an idea of how it compares to the original.

As the name would suggest, the X10 Mini is significantly smaller than the original Xperia X10. At 3.3 x 2.0 x 0.6 inches it is slightly smaller than a credit card. Sony Ericsson claims it’s the world’s smallest smartphone. In fact, the original Xperia X10 seems giant when you place them side by side! The phone fits nicely into the palm of your hand. Yes, it seems small, but not too small that it seems unusable. As for weight, the X10 mini (88grams) weighs almost half as much as the Xperia X10 (135 grams).

Sony Ericsson's X10 Mini (left) next to the original Xperia X10 (right)

The 2.5 inch screen on the X10 Mini (240 x 320 pixels QVGA) is quite nice. Despite its small size it’s bright and text is easy to read. It is a touchscreen which means all data input, whether its punching in a phone number or surfing the web, is done with your finger directly on screen. Since the screen is so small a full on-screen qwerty keypad is not available. Instead you will be using a T9 keyboard. The Pro version (likely on its way in the near future) will have a sliding keyboard, so if you hate typing on an on-screen keyboard, this phone will not be for you.

The user interface consists of pages which slide left or right with a swipe of your finger. This is clearly done to allow for single-handed operation of the phone. On the main home screen you have access to the phone (yes, it does that too), contacts, music and email. Sliding up unlocks the full menu which continues over four pages. The touchscreen is very responsive making navigation a breeze.

Like its bigger counterpart, the Mini X10 has three physical buttons on its face which include menu, home and back. At the top of the face a notification LED, speaker, proximity sensor, and light sensor to determine when the screen brightness. The right side of the phone has the camera key along with volume controls. The top simply has the power button while the bottom of the phone holds the connection for micro USB cable, 3.5mm headset and strap hole. As for the rear, an additional speaker, camera lens and the camera’s flash.

The backside of the X10 Mini

The X10 Mini has a 5 megapixel camera built-in with LED flash. The camera relies on auto focus but does have a few different smart modes to help you get decent pictures including an auto, macro, twilight and sports mode. You can also manually turn off the flash if you feel the conditions are bright enough. All photos can be geo-tagged which is a nice touch as well. You can take a look at a few pictures we snapped on our demo unit below.

Apple shot in auto mode (no flash)

Apple shot in macro mode

Apple shot in macro mode with flash

I should also mention the phone is capable of recording video as well. You even have the option of turning on the LED light on the rear of the phone to help record in low light. The small LED flash is bright but, surprisingly, the light doesn’t travel very far. I suppose it can be used in a pinch, but most will want to avoid using it when possible.

The back of the phone can be removed by prying it off. The phone comes with two swappable backplates (lime green and a pink) to change the colour of your phone. Removing the backplate gives you access to the SIM card slot and microSD card slot. The X10 Mini uses regular sized SIM cards. As for the microSD, you can use a card that is up to 16GB. An interesting thing to note about the battery is that it’s non-removable. If you need to replace the battery you’ll have to get a hold of Sony Ericsson.

The X10 Mini comes with two swappable backplates to change the look of your phone

Although we’ve only played around with the Sony Ericsson’s X10 Mini for a few hours, first impressions are it seems to be a decent phone with some nice features. The T9 on screen keyboard may be an issue for some, but if you can live with that, this is a phone worth considering. Expect an updated review to come once we have a chance to use more features of the phone.

It’s the eerie black and white puzzle-platforming adventure that has gamers buzzing. Right in the middle of the summer gaming drought, Playdead is getting ready to unleash Limbo to the Xbox Live Arcade community. It looks unlike any other title we’ve seen before. An eerie grey shaded puzzler with morbid humour thrown in for good measure. But is the gameplay itself as good as the game looks? Let’s just say you’re in for a treat.

The Story

Limbo doesn’t start out with a fancy cinematic introducing the story. White font on black screen with the simple instruction to press start is all you’ll get. That’s it. Developer Playdead must assume everyone knows what the game is about because if you play through from beginning to end you really won’t have a good idea about what’s going on.

The underlying story is your sister has disappeared. You’re trying to find her. That’s it. Simple story. Enough said. Time to play.

The Gameplay

Limbo is a side-scrolling puzzler adventure. You explore a deliciously creepy black and white world full of strange creatures, traps and puzzles as you try and find your sister.

Your character (who doesn’t have a name) can run, jump and manipulate objects. Holes must be jumped, crates must be moved and levers must be pulled to make your way through this strange world. But you’re not alone. Other creatures also live here and you’ll run into them every so often. Some will help you, others will try to kill you. It doesn’t take long to figure out you are the most vulnerable soul in this world.

The puzzles in Limbo can be tricky, but they aren’t impossibly hard to figure out. This isn’t Myst or Riven here folks. It may take you 10 minutes or so to figure out some of the trickier puzzles, but at no point did I throw my controller down in frustration. All the puzzles are well designed, the sign of a good game.

While the game is kinda cute (in an eerie way) I do want to warn parents there is some dark humour peppered throughout the game. This mainly has to do with the death scenes. Quite often you’ll see your little head get chopped off and a little black fountain of blood spurts from your neck. Other times you’ll watch as your neck breaks after falling down a large ravine. It’s kind of fun to watch in a sick way. I know, I’m morbid.

The Graphics and Music

I absolutely love the look and feel of this game. While everything is in shades of grey, the world is quite beautiful. Bulrushes and tall prairie grass often blow in the breeze in the foreground just out of focus, while fog and steam rises up in the background. Even the more industrial backdrops are beautiful with ultra bright sparks from grinding metal wheels light up the grim atmosphere. This game stands out among all others in terms of unique presentation.

As for the music, Limbo really doesn’t have much of a soundtrack. Most of the time you’ll just hear your footsteps as you run through the world. Sometimes the silence will be broken by the sound of a mysterious creature which you may or may not encounter on your adventure. Music is introduced every so often but typically during a heated moment where split second thinking is required in order for you to survive. It’s well played out and beautifully designed.

The Downsides

No explanation of background story. Not only that, when you do come to the end of the game… it just ends. Roll credits. As I previously mentioned you are expected to know what this game is about from the get go. If you begin to play without reading anything about this Xbox Live Arcade title then you will be lost as to what is going on. True, you don’t need to know the story to play but it sure makes the experience that much more enjoyable.

My other disappointment has to be the game’s length. It’s just too short! You can easily whip through this game in 3 to 4 hours. Of course it will take you longer if you get stuck on the numerous puzzles. For a game I enjoyed so much, I was very sad when it came to such an abrupt end.

The Bottom Line

Limbo is one of the most enjoyable and solid XBLA titles I’ve played in a long time. The entire package is so well put together. The puzzles are smart, the gameplay is a blast and the look and feel of the game is unlike any other. I just wish it lasted longer! But the ultra-tough achievements do give you reason to go back and play again but I definitely wish Limbo lasted longer. So close to a perfect score.

The Good

Amazing art style
Clever puzzles
Beautiful soundtrack (when there actually is music)

The Bad

Too short
There’s a story here?

]]> http://www.thereviewcrew.com/reviews/review-limbo/feed/ 6 http://www.thereviewcrew.com/reviews/review-crackdown-2/ http://www.thereviewcrew.com/reviews/review-crackdown-2/#comments Tue, 06 Jul 2010 04:34:27 +0000 DM Le Bray http://www.thereviewcrew.com/?p=17493

Four years ago, we entered the world of Crackdown–an open world third-person shooter that follows the exploits of a high-jumping, car-chucking Agent as he brings tough justice to the criminals of Pacific City. Think of it as a super-powered Grand Theft Auto.

From the hands of a new development studio (Ruffian rather than original developer Realtime Worlds), the sequel takes us back to the City. But this time our agent is dealing with a metropolis descended into anarchy jointly overrun by terrorists and zombies. Set within a comic book visual style with a bunch of guns and cars, you can’t go wrong, right?

Wrong.

The Low (Score) Down
Before the flaming beings, let me state for the record that I played through the full game, participated in “races”, collected orbs, built up my character stats, and played multiplayer and co-op for 12+ hours. Many people loved the original Crackdown and I wanted to give it more than a fair shake. The game had so much promise that I felt the urge to keep playing just to make sure I wasn’t missing anything that might redeem the game that was constantly vexing me.

Yet, after the final cut scene (one of only two in the game) I was left confused. Was that all there was? Had I played a 10-hour demo by accident? No plot or characters? There are really only just a few things to do in this big open world?

Crackdown 2 was a frustrating experience that teases but never delivers. Rather than being filled with cool, over-the-top comic book action, it annoys with repetition and cartoony, nonsensical violence.

Perhaps there’s a place for Crackdown 2, but that place is not my game library. But, let’s get to the details, shall we?

Chain explosions for extra carnage

The Story
I should start by saying that the story clearly doesn’t matter. It’s as though the development team at Ruffian felt obligated to have some semblance of a reason to put a super-powered cop into a city on the brink of ruin. There is still a plot, but it seems much cooler in concept than execution.

In a nutshell: 10 years after the events of Crackdown (in which you, the agent, helped the power hungry Agency to take control of Pacific City in the first stage of a bid to rule the world) the peaceful dictatorship of the city is threatened by a terrorist threat called Cell and a mysterious infection that’s causing citizens to turn into zombie-like “freaks” that can be destroyed by UV light and punches.

Naturally, Cell has taken over various points around the city, but that’s not really your problem since your main concern (as a no name, mute, personality-removed, super-powered clone Agent) is activating 27 “absorption units” and nine “beacons” that will then activate a massive beacon for the purpose of cleansing the city of zombies. That is your mission… that is all.

I'd discourage driving your car near an explosion, because cars blow up too, you know.

And now for a spoiler…

The game hints at epic revelation and change–maybe even creating character and offering a choice–but it never pays off. Even after learning the terrible secret of the Agency (which we pretty much assumed lacked ethics in the first place) and having the freedom-fighting Cell leader plead and beg with your character for decency in the wake of wanton violence, you just keep on shooting like a good clone. Why? Because that’s what this game is about. The story is just for show–a reason for the world where you jump high, throw heavy objects and kill whatever you want.

So if you do buy the game and find yourself playing through because you want to know that happens next, stop yourself from your pointless journey and shoot a pointless terrorist in their pointless face.

To be fair, Ruffian has scattered the story in tapes you can pick up around the city. So, yeah, if you want to be entertained by some sort of plot, you’ll have to look for it. Really… you’ll have to search it out.

So we have the absence of a compelling protagonist. Fortunately, we’ve been paired with a voice from the Agency to guide our actions. As an early-game mentor and tutorial lead, he’s not bad. As a constant companion who likes to repeat himself about stuff you already know, he needs to die. His constant reminders to “make them pay!” and “civilians are not to be harmed!” and “this is going to hurt us as much as it hurts you!” quickly moved well beyond annoying and into the canker sore-irritation realm.

Yeah, I get it, I shouldn’t have accidentally punched out that person in the middle of a massive wave of zombies. I also can’t pick up the car skills orb when I’m on foot. Likewise, I can’t pick up the co-op orb while playing solo. I figured it out the third time you told me. By the 15th time, I’ve had enough.

For a character that does the bulk of the speaking in the game, it would be nice if the voice of the Agency had a greater variety of lines. In irony of ironies, I was launching yet another beacon to destroy another zombie hoard (my sixth time possibly?) only to hear the voice say once again (for the fourth time, possibly?) “man, that never gets old!” Yes, in fact, it does get old. It’s like the developers are trying to convince me this isn’t repetitive gameplay by telling me to my face… again… and again.

Zombie! Quick, shoot it with--uh--light.

The Gameplay
Speaking of gameplay…

Crackdown 2 has a lot of potential. As I’ve said, a super-powered cop in a sandbox world with hostiles everywhere is practically the definition of a fun idea. You start the game with only mediocre powers (jumping, speed, strength), a small set of weapons (guns, explosives) and a vehicle that can quickly improve and grow in number as you find orbs scattered around the city and take actions like killing people with guns, punching out zombies, and driving your car over terrorists (but not civilians because that’s somehow bad).

The game is certainly meant to be simple, and there’s obviously an appeal to that. You can pick up the controller and just start jumping, punching and shooting. It makes for easy co-op play without any need for significant tutorial. If you just have a half hour to kill and you don’t want to think about what you’re doing, this is the game for those 30 minutes.

Go any longer than 30 minutes and the repetition starts to hit you. I mentioned the 27 absorption units. These are essentially the same platform with bad guys scattered throughout the city, and all of the beacons are the same UV bomb that you must protect through waves of zombies. The first few absorption units were fun: jump up and take the location, killing anything that moves. Now repeat… and repeat… just so you can move this non-existent story along.

More of the same

But it’s an open world, surely there must be more to do? Sure, there are time trial races in your car or on by the rooftops. Unfortunately, these feel like they’re just there because, well, why not? We have lots of vehicles and your character can jump and run, so we might as well have races. Except you’re not “racing” against anyone but the clock (unless you’re playing in co-op multiplayer mode). If I really wanted the achievements so bad, I guess I’ll put myself through that.

I know, here I am talking about the gameplay as if there should be more to it–as if I somehow expect this game to be something other than a repetitive shooter of wave after wave of aggressive no name bad guys against your aggressive no name hero. Perhaps I expect too much.

But, you know, I do expect more from a $60-70, full-length game. So many of its sandbox contemporaries have raised the bar. To just offer me a nonsensical shooting gallery is something I expect from a reduced-price downloadable game on one of the console networks.

The Multiplayer
The best way to improve a boring game is to inject a bit of real-world character in the form of another similar-looking (you can choose from four colours and four generic faces) clone Agents piloted by up to three of your online friends. This is notable strength in Crackdown 2.

You don't all have to shoot in the same direction, but it helps.

Multiplayer co-op play lets you inhabit the same Pacific City where you can choose to help or hinder their progress while you improve your own stats. I think it says something about a game when the ongoing battle against the same old enemy is made better by having some random asshat show up and shoot you in the back.

I guess going through the “story” together and cooperatively is not unenjoyable either.

Crackdown 2 also offers multiplayer battle modes such as deathmatch and rocket tag. But these games quickly degenerate into melees of hopping and shooting Agents. There is no variety in the types of characters you can play in multiplayer nor is there that much variety in the type of game. With a game like this, I’d expect multiplayer to be the great saviour, but it falls flat.

The Graphics
Bingo! Now here’s where Crackdown scores points: by using the same distinctive art style as its predecessor–not that there’s anything wrong with that.

I personally like the comic book art style that is created through cel-shading graphics. It worked really well for last year’s Borderlands and it still works here. There’s a graphic novel feel to Crackdown that fits the super-cop narrative and helps you to reconcile the ridiculous activity that’s occurring in the game.

You can't deny the charm of the cel-shading art style

Unfortunately, there’s nothing fancy in the weapon and death animation. You simply shoot or punch a character until it goes rag doll and gives up its orbs and weapons. And driving through people either make them rag dolls or red (human) or green (zombie) mist. If we’re going for ridiculous comic book violence, it seems like a missed opportunity too.

The Downsides
At this point, I’ve spoken to many of the most significant failings of this game. It’s a mess of missed chances and uncompleted promises. Sure, it’s a good game for being completely open and allowing you the opportunity to do whatever you want without having to follow the sham of a story, but that doesn’t mean the world is automatically filled with things I actually want to do. Instead, I find myself bored in the middle of a city where everything would sooner kill me than give me a second glance.

And if you could really do anything, you wouldn’t have the voice of the Agency reminding you over and over again about your prime mission and that you’d really be having fun if you raced on a rooftop more and that you should stop being a jerk and help the police fight the–oh hell, who cares.

Your relationship with the helicopter is a little choppy

The Bottom Line
I had a hard time figuring out Crackdown 2. In a time when all the top shooter adventure games have stories, characters and an element of complexity to the weapons and powers, Crackdown 2 forgoes all those elements. Therefore, it’s best to compare it to the 2D side-scroller arcade shooters, but in a 3D environment. You’re just a man who can jump and shoot things and there’s no more that you need to know.

So, I guess that Crackdown 2 succeeds as a generic shooter that you can easily pick up and put back down again without a second thought. If you just want jump and shoot and drive–and perhaps join a friend for a quick multiplayer in that world–then this game is for you.

But praising a game for being generic and mediocre is sad.

The Good
Open world multiplayer
Easy to pick up and play

The Bad
Easy to put down and forget
Repetition, repetition, repetition
The voice of the Agency needs an off switch
Feels like an over-priced, extra-long demo

The original Lego Star Wars games were completed in my household–I mean, completed like 100%-done-every-brick-in-the-game-found completed. There was something magical about combining Star Wars, Lego, and finding every collectible in the game. And after those games, there wasn’t a new franchise that really captured my interest. Either the franchise didn’t lend itself to the format (Indiana Jones) or the gamplay felt derivative of earlier games (Batman). But now we have Lego Harry Potter Years 1-4, no doubt to be followed by Lego Harry Potter Years 5-7, and then the inevitable combo pack. And I have to say, I was looking forward to this game because the world of Harry Potter seems perfect for a Lego game. Lots of action, spells that are practically force powers, and beloved characters to collect.

So does the game cast a magical spell over this video-game loving Muggle?

The Story

The stories in the game hew very closely to the movies. In fact, many of the shots from the cutscenes are taken right from the movies (just now in Lego form). Remember the end of Prisoner of Azkaban? Harry’s riding on his new Firebolt and the film ends with a freeze frame on his face filled with joy. Exact same shot in Lego Harry Potter. Perhaps cheesy and cheap? It’s also a sign that the development team wasn’t able to add much more to the game. Many of the gags are straight from movies, albeit a bit Lego-ier. It’s disappointing Traveller’s Tales wasn’t given leeway to put their own spin on the story like they did with Star Wars. It could be Warner Bros. wanted to ensure the world they envisioned for Harry and co. is portrayed the same no matter the location: movie, video game, or theme park.

And if you aren’t familiar with the movies or the books, you’ll be confused on the storylines. The cutscenes give the barest outline of the plot, while missing total aspects of the story. Playing this game with my husband (who’s even read the books and seen the movies), I had to fill him in on the details.

But are we really here for story when it’s the gameplay we’re interested in?

Cornish Blue Pixies, deadliest of all the Blue Pixies

The Gameplay

Yeah, there’s the storylines you can follow but the real gameplay highlight is exploring the world of Harry Potter. You can stroll down Diagon Alley, Knockturn Lane and Gringotts, but the best is Hogwarts itself. All house rooms, classrooms, the surrounding grounds can all be explored. And I like that Traveller’s Tales realize that players will want to explore amidst the storyline and have included Nearly Headless Nick as a guide. You can follow him or his trail of ghostly studs (which are worth 1000 if you find and buy the red brick upgrade that allows you to collect them) to the entrance of the next part of the story. It’s a great way to acknowledge that players will want to explore Hogwarts and not punish them for stepping off the quest path.

Lego Harry Potter retains the same game mechanics as the previous Lego games. Collect studs, solve puzzles, and fulfill an completist’s dreams by finding every damn house crest and character. One new feature is the use of spells. You cycle through the spells using the top shoulder buttons. Each spell has a job to do but each one can blow stuff up real good. The spells are pretty much Jedi powers in disguise. I did like that you could “build” small Lego structure using Wingardium Leviosa.

Lift with your wand, not your back

However, the spell targeting is rubbish. It’s especially apparent with the Dementors. You have to be quick with Expecto Patronum to dispell them lest they suck your soul but when pressing B (or triangle) to trigger the spell; more often than not, my spell would target some unknown target offscreen. It’s annoying and makes the wizards look like they’re bumbling fools.

The split screen is back from Lego Indiana Jones 2 and it makes the co-op play less of an argument trigger between friends. But sometimes I found the split screen wasn’t working great. It’s especially noticeable when one character is going to the extreme edges of an environment, like a player floating really high on a broom. The game tries to provide perspective for both players but ends up cutting off too much viewing area. However, the split is an acceptable alternative to yelling at your partner to come back to where you are. I predict fewer people will be yelling “Get the hell over here” the world over.

There’s also more collectibles within rooms. Things like: light all five lanterns and some gold brick appears. It’s fine if you’re playing on your own and can futz around all you want. But if you’re playing with someone else–especially if they’re not a completist–they can easily dash into another room and you’ll have half-finished mini-quests like that all over Hogwarts.

They game also involves 10 puzzle levels for you to solve. And like Indy 2, you get to build your own levels.

Oddly, the gameplay improves as the game progresses, much like the movies. I found years 1 and 2 repetitive while years 3 and 4 were blast dealing with werewolves and dragons.

The Graphics

Every aspect of Harry’s magical world is lovingly recreated in Lego form. However, the trouble comes when Harry has to venture out of the well-lit areas and into dark nature.

Expecto patronum! EXPECTO PATRONUM!

I didn’t realize how much action of the earlier books takes place in dark places: caves, underground snake dens, shacks. And wow, it is dark. I had to jack the in-game brightness to the max just so I could see where to go next and what I should do.

The Lego look works best when it’s in an environment that can be recreated easily with blocks. So a place like Gringotts looks like it’s an animated version of the Lego playset while the Chamber of Secrets looks out of place with its rock walls and floors.

The Downsides

I think we’ve reached the endpoint of Lego aesthetics. Due to the limitations on the minifigs, it’s impossible to accurately recreate most of the characters. While this isn’t a problem in any of the previous Lego games since everyone’s hair or clothing is very iconic, it’s a major problem for Harry Potter. For example, the torso on the minifig doesn’t allow for skinny, fat, or tall body types. So Neville looks the same as Crabbe who looks the same as the tall Weasley Twins. And coupled with the fact that the majority of the characters wear school uniforms, it’s often impossible to tell the human characters apart.

That's not a rat, it's Peter Pettigrew! Get him!

I know that Harry, Hermione, and Ron come with a bunch of outfits to make them unique but it’s not enough to compensate for the fact that part of the charm in a Lego game for me is collecting my favourite unique character. But it’s definitely diminished when the characters look the same.

Another problem is the bugginess. Most of my experience with the Lego games has been crash-free but with Lego Harry Potter, it crashed twice and extremely frustrating bugs occurred. I had to collect a record–kids go ask your parents what that is–from an island to play on a gramophone. Unfortunately, I missed a lily pad and ended up in the pond. Normally, the record I was holding would respawn at the normal position allowing me to start again but it didn’t. All I could do was restart the level, erasing all the progress I made. This was not my only experience like this while playing through the game. Not fun.

The Bottom Line

I think this is the last of the Lego games I’ll play. The over-repeated procedure of collect studs, blow up stuff, build stuff, and solve puzzles is made only enjoyable by the world of Harry Potter. If this was any other franchise in Lego form, I’d leave the game on the shelf.

Traveller’s Tales has done a good job of creating the atmosphere of Harry Potter. The fact that we get to explore all of the hidden places in Hogwarts is a ton of fun. I’d just wished they’d been more creative in their interpretation of the events in the books and movies instead of copying directly from the movies.

The Good
Lots of rooms to explore in Hogwarts
Using Nearly Headless Nick to guide players from plot point to plot point
Co-op play is still fun and aided with the split screen
Collect and collect ’til the cows come home

The Bad
Glitchiness in game could have used a Reparo spell or two
Lego representation of characters doesn’t lend itself to people’s unique features
Same game mechanics are boring after the seventh Lego game

For years Mario and his pals have sat in the pole position when it came to Kart Racing. Sure a few have made heroic attempts to dethrone him. We’ve seen Crash Team Racing, as well as Sonic  & Sega All-Stars Racing, but no one has captured the same spirit as Mario. But Sony has something up its sleeve. A new Kart racing game that goes beyond what Mario has been capable of delivering in the past. But does it dethrone Mario as Kart racing champ? Hit the video review below.

A tumbleweed blows across the dusty path. A coyote barks in the distance. Your leather duster is blown by a hot wind as you sit atop your horse. The land stretches on before you for miles and above it is a ceiling of amazing colour–a desert sunset like an animated oil on canvas. The stillness is beautiful but things need doing. A spur to your steed and you’re off. Blood–yours and theirs–will be spilled under the stars and half-moon tonight.

Welcome to Rockstar’s Red Dead Redemption. It’s good, very good. But let me tell you more…

The Story
In 1911, the American wild west was about to become much less wild with greater migration and the interest of the federal government to impose its law from sea to sea. You are former outlaw John Marston–a self-styled Robin Hood of the west–who has settled down with his wife and child. But when federal agents kidnap Marston’s family, he’s forced to hunt down his former friends and gang-members so he can return to his pastoral life on the open plain.

It’s a simple story, but, when placed within an expansive sandbox filled with a fully-formed true-to-period world, RDR becomes an epic of the western genre.

I’ve given over hours of my life already (with more to come) to follow the story of Marston and the many side-quests. Much like Rockstar’s Grand Theft Auto series, RDR uses the main story as an anchor but then supplies the player with so much more to do that they many never want to leave. Sure, I can continue to make my way through a massive landscape to track the bad guys, but I can also play 5-card stud poker, dice, blackjack or horseshoes. I can hunt down outlaws for the law or help a roving band for raiders steal from a wagon of travelers. I can track cougars in the snowy highlands or solve a mystery of serial-killing cannibal roaming the desert. Oh and there’s more… so much more…

Bounties from the Sheriff are great ways to collect cash.

While you may be creating your own legend of John Marston as a lone gunman on the range, Rockstar is doing an expert job of capturing the tone of a gritty and realistic adventure story. The writers pull liberally from the classics of the genre with its characters and dialogue but only in a way that makes it feel authentic and not derivative.

There are a lot of characters in this game, but each is given real attention by the writers. I found myself truly creeped out by the grave-robbing treasure hunter and intrigued by the political justification of the Mexican military leader. Even the main character is so much more than a vessel for the player to control. Marston is a sympathetic man with a clear sense of conflict about his own history of violence and his desire to escape his past. While I enjoyed all the “other” things I could be doing in this world, I found myself always wanting to come back to the main story because everything about it was so darn fun to watch and participate in.

Rockstar must be commended for capturing the tone and pacing of a good western story. This game is serious, dark and mature. It has humour, but doesn’t resort to ridiculous caricatures and over-the topic satire to get a laugh. RDR is still action-filled and violent like the GTA series, but it is slower and more adept at creating tension in the silence and stillness of the wilderness.

For you western nerds, this shot references The Searchers starring John Wayne. Parallels can be drawn between that movie and RDR.

The story builds to multiple crescendos of intensity, but knows how to bring the audience/player back down again to a satisfying denouement.

For example, as you race a runaway train picking off Mexican rebels along the way and eventually jumping on board the iron horse from your live one, you eventually make it to the engine just in time to pull the brakes and save the train from plunging into the ravine from the downed bridge. And when all the violence and action is over, you are left alone, in the night with just yourself and your horse. It’s peaceful… the type of peace for which Marston is fighting.

The Gameplay
RDR is an open-world third-person shooter. Marston has a selection of era-appropriate weapons and targeting and attack is easy to do thanks to a direct pull from the GTA games.

The main mode of transportation is your horse (I recommend you save your money and get a good one as soon as you can–once you have a quality steed broken and paid for, you can use it forever) and it is simple to ride and shot from. There are also a few types of wagons (riding shotgun with a good driver is a wonderful thing) and you can even hop the train.

There's nothing like the rush of chasing down and jumping on a steam engine.

Combat involves either riding or running and shooting. Running will ensure you live longer because you’ll be able to slide into cover. RDR has an excellent cover system from which you can pick off the nasties across the way.

A key feature of RDR is the “dead-eye” targeting system that is essentially western bullet-time. This seems to be a staple in the western game because it allows you to get a gunslinger feel and RDR does it well. As you go through the plot, this system changes from being a basic way to shoot multiple enemies faster to a detailed targeting system letting you select what to shoot in the next few seconds. Disarming and taking out the knees of four surrounding bandits never gets old. Never.

Once again, this game isn’t just about doling out violence in your favourite frontier town. You can also do things such as lasso and break wild horses (they show up available for purchase), herd cattle, test your shooting skills, hunt and play games. There’s a lot of variety to keep you occupied in Rockstar’s wild west.

The Multiplayer
Now take that open world and throw 16 players into it. You can still explore the world, but now there are unpredictable outlaws and do-gooders just like yourself roaming with you. One moment you could be galloping across the boggy wetlands making your way toward a gang hideout, and the next moment you’re face down in the mud as a dastardly sniper shoots your horse out from under you. Seconds later, you respawn.

This wilderness ain't big enough for the 16 of us.

There are a number of team-based and free-for-all shooting games (variations of capture the flag and deathmatch) that you’d expect from a shooter multiplayer environment. But, I am a particular fan of the “free roam” that lets you put together a posse to do what you will in the world–be it clear out an NPC gang or track down another posse in the world.

Multiplayer also includes a character-development element where you can get experience points for all actions you take in the world. Be prepared to start as a pathetic Sancho Panza-esque character with your ugly mug, “greenhorn nickname”, lame guns, and–wait for it–donkey. There’s nothing sadder than reporting to your first posse trotting up on your trusty ass. Fortunately, it doesn’t take long until you can get enough XP to outfit yourself with a passable horse and select a more bad-ass-looking avatar.

Rockstar will launch new, free story-based co-op downloadable content for multiplayer called Outlaws to the End later in June. I’m already killing hours of time in multiplayer, giving me more that I can complete with friends is like another serving of sweet, sweet candy.

The Soundtrack
Judge me if you will, but I’m listening to the soundtrack right now. That’s right, I purchased it on iTunes because it’s that good.

The sound and music of the classic western movie is such an important element, and Rockstar made the right choice to score the game with original cinematic-quality music compaded by Bill Elm and Woody Jackson. Moreover, the music is brilliantly directed with subtle ambiance during the quiet moments of travel through the wild and upbeat scoring during periods of action. Track changes are seamless and so natural that the scoring must be considered a key part of what makes this game so engrossing.

There are a few key moments in the game when the music takes a front seat and a song with lyrics is added over the action. At the risk of gushing, the choices by the development team were spot-on making the game even more epic.

Some days you hunt the cougar; some days the cougar hunts you.

The Graphics
RDR is a beautiful game. There is a amazing detail put into this world with many textures and colours. And while each landscape from desert to marshland to deep canyons (and more) is a great-looking environment, the sky plays just as important a role. Sunsets and rises, storms and clear blue days, bright nights with a canopy of stars–the sky can make you drool.

The attention paid to the environment (an interactive environment, to boot) is so great that RDR seems to be a love letter to the American southwest. It is even more motivation for Marston to succeed in finding the peace he craves.

Character faces are also quite detailed and the lip-syncing is tight. There are a lot of cut scenes in this game and the character design helps rather than hinders.

Posse up!

The Downsides
From the legends of the wild west came books, then movies and now a game. RDR captures the feeling of the western so well, but it seems to miss opportunities to go even more cinematic in its storytelling. There are many opportunities for a quick cut scene or slow motion alternate camera angle, but RDR neglects these in favour of maintaining the same perspective over Marston’s shoulder.

Maybe this is a directorial choice to steer clear of the overt action cinematography of the GTA games, but it would have been nice to see a more epic camera shot as Marston jumps a horse out of a burning barn or shoots a man off a cliff into a rushing current.

Such a massive, multi-option world lends itself to the odd glitch here and there. I played on mission where I escorted a vengeful rancher against a gang, but as I was taking out the gang, the rancher got stuck behind a boulder never to emerge and I couldn’t complete the level. Another character just stopped following me… time to restart and try again. These weren’t major, but they give the impression that the game can be fragile and that the slightest thing could force you to restart a mission or leave to do something else hoping things are fixed by the time you get back.

Grand Theft Wagon

I know that the sandbox game isn’t for everyone. I can understand how some people might like a tight story rather than a sprawling world with a story tucked inside. So, if people don’t like that, then this game is likely not for them; they might even call it boring or a waste of time because no one wants to stop the action to play a round of dice. I’m not one of those people, so (for me) that’s not a downside.

Oh, and one more thing: Marston can’t swim. He’s the most bad-ass outlaw in the west and any significant body of water is an instant kill. Is it just me, or is that ridiculous?

The Bottom Line
Red Dead Redemption will be the game against which all future western games will be judged. It should be part of your game library.

Last year, we asked the Crew what single game we would take with us if we were stranded on a desert island. Back then I said GTA: San Andreas. RDR has now taken that spot.

As a stand-alone, single player story, it’s a great tale of a man seeking to bury his past. As a world filled with seeming limitless encounters in multiplayer and as a lone man in the wilderness, it offers hours upon hours of gameplay.

Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have a train to catch.

The Good
A classic western experience
Engaging story, dialogue, and characters
Beautiful, vast world
Movie-quality soundtrack
Multiplayer that’ll keep you going

The Bad
Missed opportunities to be more cinematic
Some glitches that halt progress
Marston needs water wings in the pool

Hard to believe it’s been almost three years since Mario last took to the stars. Super Mario Galaxy was a huge success for Nintendo, so it really didn’t come as a surprise to hear at last year’s E3 that a sequel was in the works. Now, one year later, we finally get our hands on the latest Mario game. Does it live up to our expectations? For the most part, yes.

The Story

Bowser has kidnapped Princess Peach! Like you didn’t see that one coming. The King Koopa has taken the Princess deep into space, and it’s your job to once again rescue her from his clutches.

Okay, so the story line isn’t exactly original, but what is new this time around is your sidekick. You won’t be heading out on this adventure alone. Your faithful companion (no, not Luigi) Yoshi will be joining you along the way as you planet hop from galaxy to galaxy to  hunt down Bowser and reclaim your Princess.

The Gameplay

For those of you who have played the original Super Mario Galaxy, you’ll be feeling right at home. The gameplay is virtually identical. You hop from planet to planet collecting power stars. The more Power Stars you collect, the more planets you unlock to explore, and the closer you get to rescuing the Princess.

Gravity plays a major role in gameplay. Some of the smaller planets you explore have a gravitational force which keeps you grounded as you run around in circles. If you jump high enough the gravitational pull of another planet will pull you in, helping you progress through individual levels. Gravity plays less of a role on the larger planets where your platforming skills become more of a priority to reach the goal.

While the game plays primarily in a 3D environment, there are times when the camera will swivel and gameplay turns to a 2D side scroller. The 2D scenes have a nice feeling of depth, so they almost feel 3D. The camera angle switch is a neat little trick that keeps the game interesting because it happens when you least expect it.

Despite a whole slew of new power-ups, (more on that in a bit) Mario can once again interact with animals. In Super Mario Galaxy you got to ride a Manta Ray, this time you’ll befriend a bird who can glide through levels.

Two player mode also returns. A friend can join in as Luigi and point the Wiimote at the screen to collect star bits that can be used to purchase items or open new planets to explore.

The PowerUps

There’s a reason Mario is  referred to as Super Mario. It’s all about the power-ups, and there are plenty of them. A few familiar power-ups make a return such as Bee Suit Mario which enables you to fly for short periods of time, and Boo Mario which turns him into a Boo Ghost. New ones have also been added to the mix. We now have a Rock Mushroom which turns our hero into a spinning boulder that can flatten enemies or break obstacles. The Cloud Flower will give Mario the ability to create temporary cloud platforms which will help you get access to higher ground.

Even Yoshi has a few power-ups of his own. When Yoshi eats a blimp berry he is able to catch some air. And then there’s the hot pepper which gives our little dino buddy a powerful burst of speed which can be used to run up steep hills or walls.

The Graphics

Super Mario Galaxy 2 looks sharp. The colours are bright, the enemies well animated. It’s like a pop-up story book came alive in your living room. Does it look much better than the original game? No, I wouldn’t say it does, but that’s not a bad thing because the original game looked solid.

Music plays a big role in Super Mario titles. While most of the game’s music is brand new, there are still a few throw backs to past games in the series. Remember the music that plays on the donut lift stages in Super Mario World? It’s back, along with a few other memorable tunes. Players will also recognize some of the classic sound effects we’ve grown to love, including the little “Yoshi” squeal your dinosaur buddy lets out when you jump on him. The feeling of nostalgia hits you like a ton of bricks.

The Downsides

The game is rock solid, there’s no denying that. If I had to get picky (and I will) it would be that this title may seem a bit too familiar. The game was originally supposed to be an expansion to Super Mario Galaxy, but Nintendo was able to scrounge together enough new content to warrant a sequel. At times this shows. Some will say this is not a bad thing as the original game was so good, but some will feel disappointed and question if this is simply a rehash.

The Bottom Line

Nintendo knows how to make a good platformer, especially when it involves their prized mascot Mario. There’s no denying Super Mario Galaxy 2 is top notch, from the graphics down to the gameplay. Sure, some will criticize the game feels too much like its predecessor, but the bottom line is it’s fun and that’s what gaming is all about. Another win for the Nintendo camp.

The Good

Fun gameplay
Beautiful, colourful graphics
Cool new power-ups

The Bad

Have we played this game before?

The Story

Seems a bit odd to have a “The Story” category for a racing game review don’t you think? Well there really is a story to this game. You are on a new fictional reality show known as Split Second. It’s a live racing show unlike ever seen before. The goal of each show is to be the first to cross the finish line while taking out your opponents through whatever means it takes. We’re talking setting off explosives, launching missiles, even bringing entire buildings and bridges down on your opponents. Only the fastest will survive to continue on to the next season.

The Gameplay

The game is divided into 12 television seasons, each season containing 6 episodes. Different episodes have different goals. Elimination for example will have players race against a clock. When the clock hits zero the person currently in last place gets eliminated. The counter continues to reset and start again until only one car remains. Other Episodes will have helicopters blasting missiles at you as you make your way across the course, while other episodes will challenge you take take out your opponents by creating PowerPlays which set off explosions and cause the environment to literally crumble around your foes, bringing them to a screeching halt.

In order to pull off the so called “PowerPlays” you have to fill up your PowerPlay gauge. This is done by pulling off stunts, drifting, following an opponents draft, or catching air time. Partially fill up your gauge and you can set off minor events around the track to knock your opponents off course. You can trigger helicopters hovering above the race track to drop explosives on your competitors, or cause gas tankers sitting along side the track to to explode. You are given cues on when these events can be triggered, yet they must be timed perfectly. It’s easy to get anxious about a PowerPlay and miss your target all together because you set off the explosion too early. Your opponents will also have the opportunity to knock you off course using the same means.

If you’re able to fill up your gauge completely you get access to a much larger PowerPlay. These events will have cruise ships crashing through piers, towers collapsing and jet liners exploding as you race under their wings. These events are spectacular to watch and even give you the option of an instant replay once it’s pulled off. Once again you have to time your PowerPlay to knock out as many opponents as possible at the same time.

Besides taking out your opponents, PowerPlays can also be used to alter the course. Short cuts can be opened up by triggering explosives or structure collapses at key times. These shortcuts can help you when your lagging behind and can entirely change the outcome of the race. Finding these shortcuts takes time and patience as not all are apparent right away.

As you progress through the seasons you’ll be awarded points. These points will open up new vehicles. The vehicles can customized to some degree such as changing their colour but you don’t have the in depth upgrading of vehicle parts as seen in other racing games.

The Graphics

Split Second looks beautiful. While the cars are not as detailed as we’ve seen in other titles such as Gran Turismo, the game is still graphically impressive. The tracks look great, the lighting effects bang on, and the explosions are picture perfect. The game is pure eye candy. Add to this the movie quality soundtrack and you can see just how much work went into creating this title.

The Downsides

Split Second may be nice to look at and a blast to play but a few downsides became apparent after playing through course after course. You can definitely see why the game is called Split Second. There’s always someone on your ass. You never win by more than a second! While it’s a rush to beat your opponents across the finish line by a hair,  it becomes a bit ridiculous after a while. You always have to have a near picture perfect race if you want to end up in top spot. One bad move and you’ll be giving up first, second, even third place. You’ll find yourself racing on tracks over and over again hoping you don’t goof up. Maybe we’ve been too spoiled by Forza Motorsport’s rewind feature which is not in this game!

The only other flaw may be the lack of in depth customization. Sure you can make a few tweaks to your vehicle, but it lacks the deep customization of Forza Motorsport, Gran Turismo and even Need For Speed for that matter. However, some may see this as a feature rather than a flaw.

The Bottom Line

For someone who’s not a big racing fan I must admit I really enjoyed Split Second. This arcade style racer gets the heart racing, and will have your eyes bulging. And that’s just the single player mode! Hop online and play some multiplayer or even split screen with a friend and you begin to realize the game’s full potential. It may not be the heavy duty racing simulator that is Gran Turismo, but it’s not intended to be. Split Second is a sadistic adrenaline-filled ride which breaths new life into the racing genre.

The Good

Beautiful graphics
Movie quality soundtrack
Outrageous PowerPlays

The Bad

Opponent AI is a bit far fetched
Lacks deep vehicle customization

]]> http://www.thereviewcrew.com/reviews/review-split-second/feed/ 0 http://www.thereviewcrew.com/reviews/review-alan-wake/ http://www.thereviewcrew.com/reviews/review-alan-wake/#comments Wed, 19 May 2010 00:15:01 +0000 DM Le Bray http://www.thereviewcrew.com/?p=15414

Back in 2001, Max Payne became the ONLY game I played for a solid month. The noir action, well-executed bullet-time effect, and graphic novel storytelling enthralled me.

Now that same developer–Remedy Entertainment–has released Alan Wake, touting it as the next big cinematic action thriller on the Xbox 360. The game has already generated its share of buzz and is poised to be a big deal in terms of action thriller storytelling. But can it possibly live up to all the hype it has received? Read on…

The Story
You are Alan Wake, a crime novelist with writer’s block on vacation in the idyllic, waterfront small town of Bright Falls. Together with his wife, Alan is seeking escape from the pressures of deadlines and the New York City lifestyle. And maybe there will be a bit of inspiration in Bright Falls to help him out of his current creative lull.

But Wake soon finds himself in a waking nightmare where his wife (and a week of his life) is missing, his manuscript (you know, the one he doesn’t remember writing) is becoming reality, and things possessed by “darkness” are trying to kill him. This isn’t blood and guts survival horror; rather, it is a psychological thriller where whatever is “taken” will try to kill you with their axe, scythe, or chainsaw.

And that’s Episode One–a thriller cliché that is good romp but nothing new to the genre, and Remedy knows it. Nods to Stephen King, Twilight Zone and Hitchcock ensure: winks from Remedy telling us they’ve read the books and seen the shows. The story progresses with plot details doled out through each episode. Like a good thriller, there’s a mystery a-foot, and we won’t have all the puzzle pieces until the final scenes.

The plot always thickens when an eye patch is involved.

But beyond the story of Mr. Wake, Remedy is doing something unique to video game storytelling. Where Max Payne distinguished itself by using a graphic novel approach, Alan Wake is pushing video game narrative takes its cues from The X-Files, Twin Peaks and 24. Broken into “episodes” that tell a television series-style story arc, we’re encouraged to come along on with a writer trapped in a terrifying world that may just be of his own making.

Unlike games that feel like blockbuster movies, Alan Wake is designed to be a comfortable “tune in next time” TV series. Fortunately for us, it’s like we’ve picked up the Season 1 DVD, so we can watch it all in one marathon go.

The Gameplay
Alan Wake a third-person action shooter. The controls are easy to pick up and the cinematic actions just as easy to execute. The simplicity of gameplay makes way for the story; Alan Wake is more about progressing the plot of this action thriller rather than combo attacks, character upgrades and XP grinding.

And the action is pretty straight-forward: run, dodge, point flashlight, shoot, drop grenade, repeat.

Early in the game, this pattern of action makes great cinematic fun. With every dodge of a knife (easily done with a button push) you get a slow-motion camera move that is massively satisfying. Followed up with a shone light (to burn away the “darkness”) and a couple of swift shots from pump-action shotgun, and you’re an everyman killing machine. Drop a flash-bang grenade and watch a group of foes disintegrate into nothingness. More please!

Normally you want to run toward the light. This isn't one of those times.

And yet, after repeating that approach over and over again with every new group of Taken that you encounter, the action becomes a tedious. “Dodge, flashlight, shoot” becomes just another “block, parry, kill” from my favourite game of last year, Assassin’s Creed II. Sure it looks cool, but after doing that 100 times I’d like some more flavour.

The promotion of Alan Wake has made much of the light versus dark theme and related gameplay mechanic. Your trusty flashlight has an important role to play and is often more important than your traditional weapons because the light destroys the evil that possesses both people and objects. Of course, you can’t have unlimited light at your disposal and we can easily run out of batter power, especially at more challenging levels. The real frights in this game come from a dying flashlight that sputters out as the Taken advance with pointy weapons poised.

Since we’re dealing with a game that’s focused on its story, the gameplay must be linear. Remedy demonstrates that good pacing requires rails and not a sandbox and it employs that here. The clear directions (executed smoothly, and almost naturally, through the character’s internal monologue) ensures the game moves as it should. This is a clear strength, but it also presents a weakness: eliminating any desire for replay. When you’re telling a story like this, though, replay isn’t a concern.

The Graphics
Alan Wake gets nearly perfect marks in this area with realistic set pieces and fully-realized environments. Sweeping scene-setting pans over mountains or through valleys have a great cinematic quality that are wonderful to watch. Directorial choices about camera shots are top-notch.

Remedy excels at creating powerful ambiance within these environments that heighten the emotion of fear or anxiety. As the “evil” gets closer, the fog starts to close in with a depth and texture that makes the moonlit forest much more menacing. As with the plot, Remedy was clearly paying close attention when writers like Stephen King describe a malevolent mist. Sprinting through a forest thick with fog with gun and flickering flashlight in hand as you try to escape certain death is as exhilarating as it should be.

Amazing set pieces in the deep, dark woods.

The flashlight is one of my favourite visual elements and this game would have a serious problem if it didn’t work properly. Fortunately, Remedy has captured the image of the light that cuts through the darkness, diffused around the edges. This is not a game about big guns and a multitude of weapons, so the flashlight has to be brilliant and it does a great job of helping to create claustrophobic environments. I particularly love the lens-flare effect of the light as it illustrates how much of the darkness you’ve burned off of a Taken.

One notable problem with the graphics seems to be a weird lack of syncing between mouth and voice. It seems all the more obvious because the game really does look quite good and most action is well-choreographed.

The Downsides
Remedy’s created a solid game that deserves good marks, but it is not without its flaws; flaws that may pop out even more because the rest of the game is so enjoyable. But there still are downsides to Alan Wake. (Warning: this is where DM gets a little artsy fartsy with his criticism.)

While I may rave about the pacing of the game, it is prone to too many expository scenes that just have one character walking from point A to B to C as they listen to other characters talk about the situation in the town. Every episode starts slow and builds to a crescendo, but the slow parts can be so numbing after a great action sequence. No, I don’t want to drive the truck down the dirt road so I can jump out and listen to the radio in cottages along the way. A scene change, well-produced cut scene, or in-action exposition will do just as well. Don’t lull me to sleep with a walk through a trailer park as Mr. Yokel tells me about things I won’t care about later.

Speaking of Mr. Yokel, who’s name I clearly don’t recall, there are so many characters in this game that are ridiculously one-dimensional and clichéd that I just couldn’t give a damn about them. Many are just there to share more exposition or shuttle the plot along. The high-strung-city-slicker agent, the honest-but-suspicious-sheriff, the awe-struck-naive-small-town-waitress. Maybe that’s the point. This is a thriller after all, but if that’s the case, let’s cut their screen time to a minimum.

Why is it always a sleepy little town?

In a world where there is rarely anything “new” in art, we have to understand that everything derives from something else. In Alan Wake, Remedy pulls liberally from existing horror and thriller stories with a few tweaks of its own. The editorial nod to true craftspeople of the genre is important because it lets the players know that the writers know their stuff–they know they’re pulling directly from King and Hitchcock. And in a video game environment that’s not done that very well up until now, Remedy can be forgiven for rehashing old stories. But… but, I just wish the writers had been more creative and original in the story, setting and characters. A quick description of the plot and you’re already thinking that it must be an adaptation of some book or movie or radio play that’s already out there. It’s one thing to acknowledge that we’re all familiar with the source material and build a story from there, but it’s another thing to just rehash old stories with which we’re all familiar. That said, perhaps Remedy isn’t interested in creating new plot when it can put us in the middle of an already existing scary story, but the clichés weigh heavy with me.

Being a tale about a writer with a pre-written book that seemingly controls the story, the manuscript has a role to play. As Wake makes his way through the sequence of events, he picks up pages of the manuscript that either foretell future events or elaborate on the thoughts of other characters or activity happening off camera. While the glimpse into Wake’s future (e.g.: chainsaw baddie coming up or get ready to dodge train cars) adds to the suspense and goads you to play on, pages of copy that tell me about what other characters are doing just feel lazy in visual story telling. I don’t want to just read that the FBI agent is an alcoholic–I want to see it.

Trust me, it's always better in the day time.

And now, apropos of nothing, I ask the question: why are there demonic miners in the abandoned mine?

The Advertising
A few reviewers have already picked up on the obvious product placement that appears in Alan Wake. Some brands of note include Microsoft Sync (in Wake’s car), Energizer (all those batteries you need) and Verizon (the wireless provider for Wake’s smartphone).

Do they add to the story? No. Do they make sense? Sure, they appear in context. Do they upset me? No.

Product placement is hardly new in broadcast, but it is only a couple years old in video games. Many players don’t see it often (if at all). If Remedy could get extra dollars to make their game that much better, I absolutely support the choice. But, it has to be done well and in context. Remedy does a fairly competent job, but a lingering product shot can still ruin a scene by taking me out of the game. This in-game advertising certainly doesn’t lose any points for the game, but it could have if done poorly. But as long as you don’t make me sit through a commercial for Dove soap in your horror game, I’ll be ok.

The TV Aesthetic
I forgive the faults of Alan Wake because I adore the television series approach to video game storytelling. Breaking a story into self-contained episodes hooks me into the game. It forces the developers to have good pacing and craft a plot with digestible chunks that has the player hungry for more. Even if I didn’t quite care for Episode 3, it had a great “finale” that made me want to continue on to Episode 4 right away.

This is the X-Files game I always wanted to play. Battling the paranormal, running through the woods with a flashlight and a gun, eluding federal agents… it’s the type of escapism a fan of the genre loves even if it is derivative of so much other existing material.

Get in the rusty cage to go over the ravine. What could possibly go wrong?

I also want to point out that Remedy is able to create good thrills without the over-the-top violence of other survival horror games (although, arguably, this is more thriller than horror). As Wake shoots a Taken, it evaporates into dust like vampires in the television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Even if a character gets an axe to the head, the gruesome details aren’t shown but just implied. While these choices may just be to get a lower rating (ESRB: T), they feel just like choices made by television producers to accommodate a primetime audience–and, in my opinion, that’s much more frightening.

The Bottom Line
Alan Wake is an important game. It demonstrates a new way of video game storytelling that will likely be copied in the near future. Downloadable content has proven that people are willing to pay for games in smaller portions and Alan Wake proves that putting those episodes together in a slick “season” can make for a great game.

Alan Wake isn’t particularly scary or thought-provoking but it looks great and makes for a fun ride if you allow for a few slow expository scenes. Remedy has given us one of the most engaging ways to enjoy a playable thriller and they should be commended for it.

The Good
Thrilling episodic pacing
Truly creepy environments
Easy to control cinematic action
The X-Files game I never had

The Bad
Plot and characters lack creativity
Little replay value
Annoying lulls in the action