Prototype 2

I finally got my grubby mitts on a copy of Prototype 2! As a self proclaimed biggest fan of Prototype I was expecting big things from the sequel. You play as James Heller a bad ass sergeant with serious rage issues and a potty mouth, kudos the voice actor Cornell Womack. Again as the prequel the story line is nothing ground breaking and hardly grips you. Your wife and daughter have apparently been killed by Alex Mercer... revenge... blah blah blah! The game world is slightly bigger than the first games, 3 island, the largest of which is the map from the first game, this time with more dilapidated buildings obviously.

Graphically the game is pleasing, vast improvement on the prequel, if you actually spend time walking around the citizen safe zones you will appreciate the attention to detail on the slightly rusted corrugated iron used as roofs, and the almost patchwork looking scraps of wood used to build the shelters. Its nothing outstanding but when pretty much all of the game is spent zooming from place to place or your eyes are too busy keeping up with mental paced combat, nice aesthetics is all cherry. I was worried when seeing the first game play shots of the game by how good it looked, I was certain some of the pace of the game would be sacrificed to make it prettier, for once I am happy to say I was wrong!

Game play is near enough the same. This time you can equip 2 powers at once and use them in a single combo creating the opportunity to use a bit more strategy, counter attacks with your shields, my favourite new ability is pack leader, allowing you to summon brawlers and set them on targets of your choice, watching one pounce straight through a chopper from the roof of a near by building is highly rewarding! Some moves have been taken out, such as the cannon ball. My favourite thing about the prototypes is the movement/free roaming/exploring, I had all the collectables found by my second sittings of the game, something that most other open world/free roaming games lack in is the ability to keep me entertained between missions, Prototype 2 doesn't offer many side quests and I completed the game 100% achievements and all, but still went back for another blast within a couple days of putting it down! On the downside, you no longer charge your jump as with the prequel, now you jump instantly and the longer you hold jump the higher you will go, even after getting used to this, which is not as easy as you may have thought, I still prefer having to hold then releasing actually perform the jump, it was easier to get around smoothly I feel, I understand why this was done though, timing your jumps has been taken out of the equation giving the player less to think about. Heller is less acrobatic than Mercer too, not in a way that would disadvantage him in a race, but in a stylish way, Heller doesn't flip and twirl in the air like Mercer did. Honestly I think if Heller did move like Mercer it just wouldn't seem right with Heller having more of a brutal personality but style is part of what made the original game so good.



There a massive sense of 'am I missing something here' when playing the game, Mercer's character has changed so much, you didn't get too strong of a hero or villain vibe from him in the first, but by the second game he's a classic antagonist, no transition or explanation. I have since completing the game found out there are comics/graphic novels that go deeper into the story of Prototype.

Overall the game is not too difficult, but does offer at least a couple of challenges. The trick is to keep moving as much as possible. This is the first game I've 1000g'd, and I was only 4 shy of all of them when I had realised how many I had gotten so easy picked for all the gamer score whores out there. I cant decide which of the 2 games I prefer, which is good as sequels of great games usually let me down, especially when they are made prettier, probably due to my high expectations.

Since the release of Prototype 2 it has been announced that Radical Entertainment will no longer be producing original games and will be a support team for Activision. You only realise how heart breaking this is once you look at their back catalogue. I for one will miss their great work!

Kung Fu warrior iPad-

Kung fu warrior is available from the app store on iPad (poss iphone too.... I didn't check). Simple with only 6 control button in total left, right, jump, heavy and light attacks then the special move. Beautiful with vibrant colours and a cartoony style, you play as a Bruce look a like on a map that's about 1.5x the size of the screen so there's some scrolling and nice 'just off screen' action from enemies from time to time, which is great at creating excitement as u tap away hoping you making hits and not allowing the enemy time to strike you! You'll be right at home here if you, like me, is a fan of games such as Castle Crashers.

I only downloaded this as the title had Kung fu in its name, fortunately it hasn't put me off the theme. Even though the game is repetitive with not many different enemies, moves and un-lockables few and far between compared to most other small iPad games, you don't find your self getting as board as you may have thought when playing through the VERY quick tutorial. Its very smooth and very responsive (not sure if that's thanks to the iPad it self or the creators of the game) so there is not much to get frustrated with. The animations are charming and brought a grin to my face as the character pops his Bruce Lee style pose at the end of a combo.
From the load screen you can tell this is not something that you'll have trouble putting down, but once you start time will fly by without you noticing. Nothing new, unique or intuitive, but plenty of fun.
6/10

Mirrors Edge iPad

BIG fan of mirrors edge on console, it was a game I waited months on for release and loved the game more than I ever thought I would. People who know me will all agree if you have a chick pulling ninjaish moves or slicing up enemies with katanas I'm there, Mirrors edge obviously feeding the first of my fetishes.

Mirrors edge is a game based around free running, with a political edge to the story. Mostly set on roof tops of a typical metropolitan city, high rise buildings and such. No first person view, no gun play, not much combat, not much like the original at all! If I wasn't being biased due to my love of the original I'd describe the iPad version as a glorified building runner game, but is that a bad thing anyway? Building runner games have you trying and trying again for extended periods of time... no? 2d game play in a 3d setting, a winning combination. Visually its a slight let down, I expected more after seeing EAs stamp all over it but it's nothing that puts you off. The story.... I couldn't tell you much about the story, I restarted the game to play through paying attention to the story side of things, but found myself dropping that aspect of the game very early on, the story is put to you at the loading sections only and has you reading quite a bit of star wars scrolling affect text which just isn't appealing. Most importantly as the game requires quick reflexes the controls are smooth and simple. Stroke up to jump, down to slide, left and right to move in that direction and tap to stop, simple. There are a few tweaks that have you double stroking up to wall run and such, nothing the game requires you to pull off could ever be described as difficult really. Combat has only three options, slide to take out, stroke towards to disarm and jump and stroke towards to fly kick, as the game is even less about combat than the original the opportunities for combat seem a little bit of fun, rather than something that's lacking. Your aim is to get from one side of a map to the other avoiding the obstacles and enemies bullets, multiple routes to each level and collectables that are not that too challenging to reach, just as the original you'll sometimes need to just stop and think your moves through to reach where it is you want to be, but nothing that made me want to throw my tablet across the room. It took me about 2 hours to get through the main game and that's with a little exploration for those collectables.

My favourite things about this game is the same as the original, sleek, stylish, quick paced its simple. There's a slight proud elation to launching the character through the air and jumping into and then back out of a wall runs to reach a slightly more hard to reach path. As there's not allot to the game I don't think Its something I'd revisit any time soon, but definitely something I'd recommend to anyone that owns a device it plays on.

Infinity Blade

So I got an iPad, and being a gamer I had to try Infinity Blade, I have never before getting the device even looked into gaming on an iPad, but still had heard good things about this game, and for once it wasn't just nice visuals that created the buzz about it. I was a bit sceptical heading into the game, it would be the first Ipad title I've tried since getting the tablet, I don't even like touch screen only phones let alone touch screen only gaming devices (I know the pad is not a gaming device, but bear with me for the purpose of the review... thanks). I find it difficult to build muscle memory when using touch screens for anything, but getting used to the controls here was no a problem after I had found the option to adjust the size of the buttons.

Its clear that the game isn't trying to be too complex, I'd say it's just a little above simple but the stunning visuals, which rival some console titles, make up for this. The aim is to beat several middle earth/fantasy styled enemies in one on one duals using your handheld weapons. Use left, right or central buttons to dodge or block in the prospective directions, and the rest is just poking and slashing at the screen in a fruit ninja fashion to swing your sword about or cast spells. Time and direct your slashes correctly to parry enemy attacks sometimes leaving them open for multiple attacks and stabs. Plenty of weapons, armour and magic upgrades to keep you going, but not so much that it turns into a violent dress up game. I managed to complete main the objective of the game (will explain why I didn't just say finish in just a mo) without even viewing the stats of around 70% of the items, let alone try them all, there are multiple courses through the game also. Plot wise... NOTHING! Your just some guy out to seek revenge for his fathers defeat.... even if your father won.

Now hacking up the last boss isn't the end of the game with Infinity Blade, once you've done this you'll just be back at the start playing as your previous characters son but you keep all your upgrades and stats from the previous game, this also happens if you lose to him, which could be why there is no major sense of completion. The final boss is level 50 and I managed to beat him for the first time on level 15 and it took me about 3 hours including breaks, to   do this.

Its a pretty easy game, once you've seen all of the enemies attacks a couple of times you'll know exactly when and where to dodge, block or parry, strangely though it doesn't get boring. There's a menacing satisfaction in attacking wildly, pulling off the harder hitting attacks, or dodging a full string of attacks perfectly. The climax of the game leaves you wanting more, not because you must know what happens next, but because you just want to keep slashing away, but by now you should want a bit more of a challenge. Luckily Infinity Blade II does not disappoint!

Prototype

In honour of the coming Prototype2, I'm here to explain why the first Prototype is one of my favourite games to date. I don't think Prototype is a game you can easily apply a simple out of 10 score to, there is so much on offer from this game but most of it can be, and in allot of cases has been, overlooked or just not used during game play.
You play as Alex Mercer, in a predictable story, which has you awaking at the start finding you have mentally insane uber powers. You obviously don't know why, how, who or when, and set off to find the answers. The game has you slicing clean through enemies, launching them stupidly long distances with so much force they'll splat if they meet a surface on their travels, jumping of buildings with mutated hammer fists first towards the ground utterly obliterating whatever should be within radius of where you land. Going through the list of powers at your disposal is too long winded for someone like me to do, so here is something I scraped of Wikipedia;

Offensive powers include the large and powerful Blade, fast razor-sharp Claws (which can also erupt large spikes from the ground), the telescoping Whipfist, Musclemass that augments his strength, and the slow but powerful Hammerfists. Defensive options consist of a large shield for blocking ballistic attacks that needs to regenerate after excessive damage, and full body armour that exchanges agility and speed for toughness in hand to hand combat; both will allow Alex to plough through most obstacles when active. Vision modes include thermal vision, which allows Alex to see enemies through smoke and other obstacles at the expense of a decreased vision range, and Infected vision, which highlights those infected with the BLACKLIGHT virus as well as military units
And this doesn't include the insane running speed, jumping even the Hulk would be in awe of, gliding, brutal general strength... and so on and so forth.  

Yet another roaming game set in a New York'esq setting, probably because its easiest to design and work on/with this type of setting, but the game could have easily been set in any type of surrounding and terrain and have been a solid title, perhaps the city environment didn't do the title justice? The game looks and slightly feels too much like the early roaming Spiderman titles (I'm assuming it’s the same engine, but cba to research it), which is not a terrible thing, it just doesn't keep you engaged for too long. Hardly any variation in settings either, just heavily congested with pillars of buildings or a bit more open.  
Visually the game is lacking but not by enough to let the whole thing down. Anyway you can’t have a game the moves as swiftly and with as much action as this AND have beautiful visuals... that's just greedy. Personally Id go with better game play over visuals any day. Don't worry there is enough detail in there for you to get the sweet sense of satisfaction after brutally smashing someone/thing to a bloody pulp. Alex Mercer himself... BADASS! Assassins Creed'esq hood, not much expression of emotion, menacing grin, modern clothing... All adds up to fan boy and girl worthiness.

Back to my initial point, the fact this game has so much going on can make it seem desperate and can also can also be quite intimidating if you’re not looking to get chin deep into a game, especially one that on first appearance doesn't look very fulfilling. Plenty of varied civilian and military vehicles and a small range of weapons to use, ample special powers and abilities which are all upgradable BY CHOICE, hand to hand and weapon based combat, story lines that follow each the main character and the company you fight, side missions and challenges with a nice mix of difficulties that varies the game play nicely, exploration that, once you've gotten to grips with the game, is fun for hours a time, tons of collectables (think crackdown)... With so much going on and so much to potentially do, how to best play this game, but once you've mastered the controls, navigation, and combat this game can be picked up and put down however many times is called for, which to me is what makes a great game.



Looking forward to Prototype2, I can see already that the visual side of things has been addressed, far glossier looking and better detailing, but I hope this does not mean the pace of the game will be slower. A new power I'm excited about is the ability to infect enemies and use them as various kinds of weapons. We shall see...

SoulCalibur

I’ve been a fan of the soul series since Soul Edge, but its thanks to too many 3 hours plus sessions, and one good opponent on SC4 that it found a permanent place in my faves list. One of the best fighters and arguably the best weapons based fighting games available on console, but remember there is not allot of weapon based fighters so we can’t be giving to much cred for that! Soul Calibur offer something for all types of gamers, speed, power, range, technique, cheap/cheat, defensive, combos, and you're not limited to picking a style with certain characters and sticking to it. Unlike most other, if not all other, fighters that have a type of player they lend themselves too. You can be a casual gamer and still pull of the bad ass stuff; you can be too sick and know each combo and special but still get beat by a newbie! Does this happen with Tekken, Street Fighter or Mortal Combat? Blue moon type stuff. The control system can have you tapping, holding, rolling or sweeping your fingers over the controls at any time. I believe SoulCalibur has the versatility all other fighters I have come across lack.

SC5 has been the longest wait for a console since the original Soul Calibur on Dreamcast at 4 years if I'm correct. One thing about this latest release I noticed was the lack of hype. It was back in my school days that SC4 was released and I remember people I know for a fact never was a, will be a, or will ever understand a gamer, raving about it. It was all over gaming media, maybe thanks to the Star Wars fighters, but unless you looked for it you may have completely missed the run up to SC5, well compared to SC4 anyway. What makes me wonder this so much is that, SC5 is better, perhaps much better, than SC4...

I was a hard core SC4 player, and (no exaggeration) saying I’m good is a UBER understatement. You would think I would be displeased at any changes, but in fact even though the 2 major changes I have notice in the hour or so I have played disadvantage me, I'm preferring it! The first thing you notice is the slight slower pace, but this I think is due to you having to be slightly more calculating with your attacks. Imagine the Star Wars movies, the older made ones have slower more rigid looking saber fight scenes, but the attacks are less wasted, in the newer made moves you see the Jedi’s jumping and spinning all over the shop, looking as flashy as possible, SC5 is more like the older Star Wars... MORE like, NOT like. If you prefer to charge in attack crazy, you will still get on with the game, but it seems SC5 is aimed towards experienced gamers if not experienced SC players. The special attacks are far easier to pull off in SC5, and the controls have been changed slightly to make it easier for pad players to pull of those awkward moves, e.g. X+B (Xbox), instead now having to press a single shoulder button. Ring out physics seem more realistic, I'll be honest, I will ring out if needed, and I'm danm good at it too (yes... IT IS A SKILL), I haven’t yet decided if this is better or no. Combos are still there for you to pull off, but you don’t feel as if you’ve consciously input the command as much, maybe this is due to me not having enough game time yet? At times I've found myself stood there wondering what to try next, if the controls are over 95% the same why is this happening? There is nothing new that makes you think wow after 15 minutes of playing, and Ezio could have been a little more badass, that have got his stance just slightly off, but Ezios stand is part of what gives him so much badass...ness? No more handicaps or unlimited times rounds, even in 2 player. It really does seem that Project Soul have tried to please the more experienced players of the series. Ill probably be back to let you know how that goes.

Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep

First KH title I'v played on handheld. If you've played the ps2 titles and haven't tried Birth by Sleep because you think the PSP may take away from the KH universe, you'll be happy to know it doesn't. Its not a major piece of the KH puzzle, but far from a let down. Set years before the events of KH1, the story doesn't answer any major questions posed by previous titles, but rather just expands your KH experience. Character design again by Tetsuya Nomura so gamers that like to feel emotion form the characters will be happy. Players find them selves playing as one of 3 specialised (power, magic, speed) main  characters, plus an extra unlockable character, that is in no way too hard to unlock.
Experienced KH'ers will have no problems playing this one after the first few minutes of real game play, the PSP controls lacking a second analogue (BRING ON THE VITA) is to blame for this, but as all handheld gamers know, this is not too horrid to get used to. The action side of things is not as fluent as one would like, but considering how graphically impressive this title is for the PSP I have no problem looking past this. Once I had the timing for the attacks down the combat became almost second nature. Lots of attack variations, and multiple 'super modes' which activations depend on the latest elemental attack you used which is something I haven't seen before. The RPG side is pretty basic, the more you fight the more your skills improve. you are able to 'meld' your abilities and skills, which is just combining them to create new skills, not too indepth but the alchemy fan in me was pleased.
When you tire of the main story (if you play in 8 hour bursts like me, it will) there are a few mini games which surprisingly work well! Board based, an extreme version of volley ball with fruit (only way I can describe it simply), and racing (think Mario kart 64).
TBH it was hope of new revelations in the KH universe that made me play the game. There wasn't anything too, jaw dropping in that sense, found. Even though I know I will eventually play this to 100%, even if the game was a fail, I feel its a solid game. Nothing new or too exciting happening in a critical context, but masses of that Kingdom Hearts/Disney magic if that's what your after. KH BBS is good.

I Am Alive

I remember first coming across this game around 2 years ago, a trailer showing the aftermath of an earthquake I believe it was. It stood out, and I made a conscious note to keep an eye out. Originally by Darkworks (GRAW), news on this game was sparse until last year when development moved to Ubisoft Shanghai, who seem to have pretty much started from scratch on most of the game but the concept.
Set in the not too far future after a major calamity, the game sees you play as one of the remaining survivors. So a set up we see more frequently in movies. The backdrops I have seen in screenshots and videos/trailers looks amazing. A devastated new york'ish looking city (Original plan was for the game to be set in Chicago, now a fictional city  the lighting has been done well making outdoor settings seem vast and welcomley mysterious, as your explore for essentials such as water, fuel, cigarettes etc. Whereas the darker and indoor settings have a tense serious feel. I can easily see me playing through these parts cautiously and slowly as if constantly on your final life.
I have seen game play that makes you think assassins creed; climbing around the tall remains of the crumbled city, every now and then another part would break keeping you on your toes. Here is where we see the stamina feature. You wont be able to just launch yourself at a structure with a climbable surface and figure your way up as you go, as you would with creed (probably). Even as you hang there looking around, your stamina will still slowly deplete, and then at a faster rate when climbing, you can sacrifice a larger amount of stamina to throw the player for increased reach, or to get across a gap. This I imagine would have player planning out the routes, so we know this is not supposed to be a constantly fast paced game. The rest of the game play seen makes me think of Elder Scrolls or Fallout. I am not the biggest fan of either franchise, as I feel the game play is simply too slow paced and rigid. There is something added to this that I have not seen done in such depth before. Approaching other survivors in the game you have the option of using different tactics to pass them, if needed. you can use stealth to kill from the shadows with a bow, or sneak up for a one hit machete kill, you can bluff and surrender, and wait until the perfect time to strike your enemies if more than one corners you, you can even brandish you gun to intimidate them, but if your ammo is less than theirs they might not hesitate to take you out! Keeping you on your toes. This could be the twist RPGs have been needing to break up the game play, yes RPGs have done this, but none to this extent.
developers explain they don't want this title to feel RPGish, having your scroll through endless menus and memorising endless quick keys/shortcuts, but still have the depth.
The biggest concern is its reported to be an XBL and PSN title, NO HARD COPYS!?
What I remember most about the screen shots and videos I have seen is the emotion. You almost feel the desperation of the player. If this is also felt whilst playing the game we could be in for a winner. Might be the moody colours used, or the lighting styles. or the feasible setting for the game, but from the looks of things this is one of those titles that will have you immersed in its world.
Will definitely be looking out for this.