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It's been a while. My next review will be on Destiny :)

Mass Effect 3 Review

It's raining Reapers.

MASS EFFECT 3 - REVIEW

After a couple hours of slugging through banking and capital markets, I need some form of creative release. Therefore, here's a review of Mass Effect 3.

Pro's

Game play in Mass Effect 3 is a massive plus over it's two predecessors. Combat is smoother and more refined, with better enemy AI and variety of styles. If you've played the first two Mass Effect titles, you know that you can choose multiple 'classes' for your character - Soldier, Vanguard, Infiltrator, Adept, Engineer and Sentinel. Where Mass Effect 3 has improved is that all the classes have very clear advantages that, if used properly, can make the game easier (by contrast, in the first two games the classes had very obvious disadvantages).  

I'll use the Vanguard class as an example. Vanguard is a mix of an Adept and a Soldier - you have decent weapon proficiency and health, but you can also use a limited range of 'biotic' powers; the most notable (and fun) being the 'Charge', allowing Commander Shepard to instantaneously charge into an enemy from any distance. In Mass Effect 2, once you charged, you often found yourself exposed, surrounded by multiple enemies and running for cover/dieing. 

 In Mass Effect 3, however, a Vanguard comes with a variety of moves to counter this excessive drawback. To the left you can see the ability 'Nova', allowing Shepard to draw on their shields and release a tidal wave of energy surrounding him, either killing or throwing enemies asunder. There's also the much improved 'Shockwave' ability to go with it. The MOST improved combat feature, in my opinion, is the introduction heavy melee. Soldier Shepard has an 'omni-blade', a sword like contraption that appears from his arm and literally stabs the emeny in the face. 

Soldier Shepard overcompensating

How do I intend to kill you? With Magic. Motherfucker.

Vanguard Shepard, however, uses the heavy melee as another counter move, releasing a huge surge of powerful biotic energy from his/her fists and obliterating the enemy. It is a master stroke by Bioware and also makes combat a lot more enjoyable. 

On to the other stuff. The player mechanics are a lot smoother than other games, the introduction of the combat roll is a lot of fun to do and makes it possible to dodge those pesky homing missiles and bullets. There is now a much larger selection of weapons available for Shepard, and they can be customised and improved. There is also a knock on effect of carrying weapons: the more weight you carry, the more time it takes for your powers to recharge. If your anything like me, you'll want those powers, and thus will usually only carry around 1 weapon. Although this makes sense physically, it almost defeats the point of having so much choice in weapons. Playing as a soldier, I pretty much stick with the same assault rifle for 2/3 of the game, and as a vanguard I rarely even used weapons. 

Another decent pro of this game is the musical score. While there are several contributors, the biggest name was perhaps Clint Mansell, who is best known for his work scoring the movie Requiem for a Dream. Check out the title track for the game, it's rather good.

There is a wide variety of music that seems to fit almost perfectly to it's given situation. My actual favourite 'mission' music is the track 'Sur'Kesh' (it seems to fit perfectly to charging around as a Vanguard punching people!). The mission music is often quite electronic with varied paces, but the other tracks like the title track above and the romance theme are beautiful and melancholic, adding so much to the scenes and helping to invoke the player's emotions. This is really the end of the true 'pros' of the game.

Also, the big pros are the character relationships, especially if you carried on the same relationship through all three games (I have to say, playing as a Male Shepard I went with Liara all the way, and as a FemShep I started off with Kaiden, but want to Garrus, and Garrus is awesome). The friendships Shepard has made throughout all three games still hold true (as long as you haven't gotten them killed) and provide a sense of humanity and warmth to the game and to the downtime between missions. There is very decent character evolution - Liara has become Shepard's top Lieutenant, Garrus is a loyal and amusing as ever, whilst Ashley/Kaiden is older and more experienced, and it shows through their interactions with Shepard. The unsung hero of the game is, without a doubt, Mordin Solus, your favourite Gilbert and Sulliven singing Salarian Scientist. While not available in your party, he is a key character in the story and by far the deepest and most developed (the video is from ME2, and Mordin singing is awesome). 

On the Fence

The Story: Everything but the final 15 minutes (I'll get to that later) is, to a certain extent, a result of the character's action in the previous two games. HOWEVER. I feel like, although the story was decent, if Bioware had more time, better writers and a better sense of direction, the story could have been the greatest ever told. In it's most basic form, Commander Shepard's warning of the Reapers have finally been realised - they are invading the galaxy and seem intent on wiping out all advanced life. Sad Face.

As a long running fan of the series (I bought the original on Xbox in 2007) and of Bioware going back to the first Knights of the Old Republic game, I have come to expect top notch writing and storytelling from Bioware. Since selling out to EA, however, I noticed the early signs of decline of the integrity of Bioware's writing, starting with it's sub par title 'Dragon Age 2'. Mass Effect 3, I'm sad to say, has suffered the same fate. The storyline was tailored so as to cater both to newcomers to the series and to try and keep the existing fans happy. From a business perspective, I understand. From a gamer's, this is sacrilege and compromises the entire history of the story. The fans were promised that Mass Effect 3 would be decided solely from the outcome of your actions in the previous two games, but I saw very little, if any, effect the previous two games had on the outcome of the story. A prime example is in Mass Effect 2 there is a choice Shepard must make - to destroy or reprogramme the Geth 'Heretics'. Now, you'd think that taking the 'renegade' option of destruction would be the right option, since reprogramming would allow the existing Geth to inherit the memories of the heretics and thus be more likely to join the Reapers. BUT, later in Mass Effect 3, you find out that the Geth, and more specifically Legion, Shepard's friend and shipmate, have joined the Reapers anyway, regardless of your previous actions.

Legion is an absolute BADASS

There are parts of the story that make no sense because they are not addressed by the writers - for instance - why was Earth attacked first and hit the hardest? Now, in the previous title we know that the Reaper called 'Harbinger' (implied as their leader) has a personal feud with Shepard. It is also implied that the Reapers fear humanity the most because they are the only true race of individuals on the galaxy who can adapt to beat them. But, there is just no mention of Harbinger's feud with Shepard, nor any form of contact between them. This ties in very much to the Reaper's motivations and structure - we are lead to believe that they are a super-intelligent race of ancient AIs that come every 50,000 years to wipe out all intelligent life in the galaxy because without the 'cycle', as it is called, organic life will be wiped out by synthetic life. So, by killing everyone and restarting the technology tree, it re-sets organic life's extinction.

Harbinger does not like Shepard.

 .......WHAT? Come on Bioware. You can do better. And even though that story arc makes sense and we know why the Reapers are killing everyone, we don't know the real 'WHY' - their actions are paradoxical - machines serving organics to forstall other machines wiping out organics entirely. Who made them? Why are they programmed? Who leads them? Unanswered question after unanswered question. 

Even as I say all this, however, when the story is viewed by itself, it is still very very good and definitely gets the player involved in the fight for the galaxy (that is all I'll say, don't want to spoil it). Whilst the writer's failed to answer a lot of questions, one thing that the game does extremely well is to build up the player's hopes of winning against impossible odds. Shepard knows the situation is hopeless, but he also knows that everyone looks to him for hopes of victory, so he must make himself believe he can win.

This brings us to the Ending. Even if you haven't played this game, you may have heard about the controversy this ending has caused. Some are OK with it, most people hate it. Personally I was very disappointed with the ending, not least because it was unoriginal and vague, but because it DID NOT MAKE SENSE. There are just too many inconsistencies - Shepard getting up when Coats is proclaiming everyone dead over the radio, the mysterious appearance of trees and plant life found in the valley that was just straight up lasered by a Reaper Capital Ship, the infinite ammo in his pistol, how did Anderson make it up before Shepard, he's literally only 5 feet ahead of you when you talk to him over the radio, why can't you see him, how is your radio even working, how on earth has the Illusive Man become able to control you, who the hell is that child, why hasn't anyone ever discovered the GIANT CHAMBER filled with light and energy in the Citadel in the previous 37 million years.......I can't believe Bioware, of all developers, would fuck it up so badly. If they're smart, they will take this very smart and plausible explanation in the DLC they are releasing this summer: (the video is really good, well worth watching, but NOTE: it gives away the whole ending, so don't watch if you don't want to know)

The ending really is the game's biggest con. 

I know I have been quite negative throughout this review, but don't let it discourage you, because Mass Effect 3 really is a very cool game to play, and with the promise of further ending downloadable content the ending will hopefully be a little more clear come summer time. 

On a final note, Bioware put in a multiplayer element to the game. Although I was very sceptical at first, after trying it I got hooked very quickly. It is very fun and heart pumping, especially on the higher difficulties, and if your not careful you'll spend an entire day on it when you should be reading law textbooks (whoops). 

Final Rating: 8.5/10. If the ending had been better, it would have been a 10.

"NO! MY SUMMER HOUSE!!"

Max Payne 3 - Review

MAX PAYNE 3 - REVIEW

First of all, welcome to my first post on this blog! I've decided to give my first review a go, and the subject will be the most recent video game I've completed-->

First of all, let me start off by praising the trilogy as a whole. Max Payne 1 was a violent, dark, drug fuled escapade of fun, whilst Max Payne 2 got the player seriously invested in the story of our favourite self loathing, pill popping cop. They say sequels are never as good, but Max Payne 2 bucked that trend. That was my first question when starting out: how could Rockstar progress the fantastic second instalment enough to make it not only equal to, but better? 

In short, the answer to my question was answered within the first couple hours of playing the game. Gone was the dark noire atmosphere of the first two games, the cut scene graphic novel presentations of the story,  and the rain (those who played the first two know it was always raining), and in was a brilliant mix of old and modern presentation. Max Payne has always been at it's core half about gameplay and half about the parts between, the real story behind it all. In Max Payne 3 there are numerous cut scenes early on setting out the character and plot (which some gamers may be frustrated with as it interrupts the shooting, but I love it). 

Max's sidekick stating the obvious

What is BRILLIANT about them is that all the cut scenes are set in Max's world, seen through his eyes, and effects are used to make the player seem as though they are seeing everything through Max's eyes too. There are frequent lens flares and colour flashes used to simulate Max's current level of drunkeness, important words and phrases occasionally pop out of the dialogue into bold, white words on the screen as if they are emphasized in Max's brain, and the comic style split screen of presentation is a joy to behold. 

I felt the effects drawing me more into the story as the game progressed, but also made me feel like drinking a bottle of KONG whisky (Max's favourite; I assume because it's only strong enough for him and King Kong) and like I had stepped into Max Payne's shoes. The vibrancy resonated within me, and I could feel myself become more gruff and hardboiled as the day went on. 

Taking cover has helped with Max's pill addiction

Now on to the other half of the game - the actual game play. This is where I think Rockstar really got it right.  They recognised that they had a winning system already, why try hard to distinguish it from past titles? The only major change is that Max can now take cover. However, instead of pawning off that change on the current tactics in gaming, the idea of taking cover has been explained by the developers themselves: Max realises he's getting older, fatter, slower and more fucked up, and can't take on the odds he used to (he repeatedly calls himself an "old, fat gringo") He HAS to take cover occasionally! 

"That's right Neo. I can dodge bullets"

Also, Bullet Time is back in all its glory and has undergone a subtle upgrade. This feature is the one that really sets Max Payne apart from our other graphical heroes - Max's uncanny ability to slow down time. Again, Rockstar has taken Max's ever increasing age into account - bullet time doesn't last as long as in previous games and it recharges slower. However, the 'shootdodge' is still all well and good. Even if your bullet time is empty, Max can still pull off a slow motion dive through the air in whichever direction you choose and casually pump his foes full of bullets. However, even shootdodge has it's drawbacks - you end up on the floor, and once you're there you can't just pop back up like Max could in his last adventure; he takes a few seconds to struggle up and get his gun aimed, allowing those pesky villains precious time to end our adventure prematurely. 

The gameplay is immensely exciting and a huge amount of fun, as it always has been, and is very mechanically sound. The levels themselves are so varied throughout the game (another upgrade over previous Max Payne games). Environments range from the open planned football stadium, a crowded nightclub shootout, Max's journey through the Favela, a (seemingly) abandoned hotel that Max may or may not destroy, police stations belonging to corrupt cops and the magnificent ending level in the airport. The game never gets 'tired' of itself' each level is different and will require different tactics and weapons. 

The music used throughout, however, is without a doubt the game's BEST feature. For the title Track and a lot of in game tracks, Rockstar contracted out to Los Angeles based band 'Health'. Their combaination of melancholic, dark and moody tracks really fit well into the general atmosphere of the game WHEN it is supposed to feel like that. The title track, called 'Tears', is fantastic, and used in the final level to great effect. In the Favela however, is a combo of Health and tracks by Brazilian rapper 'Emicidia' and fit effortlessly into the foreign atmosphere Max is forced to confront. However, the best tracks in the game came from Trouble and Bass, the American mixers who released exclusive tracks for Max Payne. The music throughout the Nightclub level is absolutely fantastic and is by far my favourite use of music in a video game this year.

Question One - Answered VERY positively. The gameplay is so immersive and varied that its enough to keep you going for the whole 12 hours straight of the campaign. The nightclub is a particular favourite of mine, with Max dramatically throwing himself - throw motion - through a window on to the dance floor to protect his charge and the shooting whilst dangling from a helicopter particular highlights. The cut scenes fill in effortlessly between the intense violence, and allow the player to almost become Max Payne.

This leads me to my second question - how would Rockstar continue Max's personal story, and would I have the same feeling for him as I did in previous games? Again, the answer is YES.

James McCaffrey reprises his role as the voice of Max Payne - another brilliant move by Rockstar. Max's voice is a huge part of the game - hoarse, gruff, deep, tortured. McCaffrey, combined with the top notch writing and story telling, really got me involved in Max's story more so than the previous two games (which is saying something). 

A shot glass would just get in the way

We are presented with a man who is a drunk, an addict, suffering from severe depression and who doesn't give a fuck about himself any more. He's at the bottom of the barrel, with no intention of climbing out. We know he's still torn up about his family, that he couldn't save them (less so about Mona Sax though). At the beginning of the story, Max's motivations are clear - he needs money to retire and drink himself to death. 

However, there is a point, at the end of Part 2, where Max realises the story has changed, that the plot has twisted. As a player, you've been so involved with Max's story and his perspective that you find that, although in the back of your mind you knew it was happening, you and Max aren't quite prepared for it. 

This is where the third instalment separates itself from it's predecessors': Max Payne 1 was about his first steps into demise. Max Payne 2 was a film noire love story that secured the fall of Max Payne. All the time you felt you knew what Max was doing, and why. BUT, depending on how you view things, the third instalment is about either the redemption or destruction of Max Payne; you never quite know of his motivations at the end. In my view, Max finally had enough of his pity party. If he was going to die, he was going to go down fighting, and if his death wish ultimately brought him some measure of redemption, so be it.  The character development in game is quite astonishing, and the plot of the game isn't so much about the kidnappings and murders of the people Max is supposed to protect, but rather how it affects him and his emotions and motivations. Unlike it's predecessors, Max IS the story, and it is fantastic to be a part of. 

All in all, the game is a solid 10/10 for me, easily 2012's Game Of The Year thus far, and has surprisingly good replay value. 

Highly Recommended. 

Max felt his choice of attire would allow him to fit right in