05th May2013

‘Worms: The Revolution Collection’ Review (Xbox 360)

by Phil Wheat

Worms: Revolution, the latest game in the classic turn-based strategy series, is fully loaded with exciting new features and beautiful 3D graphics but still retains the classic 2D gameplay that fans love. Introducing dynamic water effects, exploding physics objects and four different class acts to choose from and customise your game! Worms Revolution brings a whole host of anarchic additions – more single player missions, more puzzles, more customisation and… more worms!

Worms: The Revolution Collection contains this latest game (previously available as a downloadble title) in the best-selling turn-based series, plus all three DLC packs – Mars, Funfair and Medieval Tales – and as an added bonus Worms 2: Armageddon and all five of its DLC packs – including the previously sold separately Battle, Puzzle,Forts, Time Attack and Retro.

Who would have thought that worms were psychopathic little killers who love to go to war? If you don’t know by now they have quite a history of blowing each other up, in a game of course, you won’t be going out into the garden at night to see World War Worms taking place. Worms: The Revolution Collection brings back the underground soldiers to the Xbox 360 in all their explosive glory.

The first thing noticeable about Worms: Revolution is that the graphics have had an overhaul; the worms themselves have more detail to them, more animation in the way they die and have more personality. They also have more weapons with which to kill each other, ranging from the more ordinary missile launchers, shotguns, air strikes and proximity mines to such moves as the Shoryuken from Street Fighter II there are plenty of ways to kill off your opponents. The game features plenty of little homages to other games and movies if you take the time to look for them; which is of course part of the fun. Also worthy of note is the added life in the background of the levels, for example in the training missions the giant rat in the background who goes on living his life while your little worms find the best way to blow each other up.

Worms: The Revolution Collection is split into single player player missions (32 levels) and a further 20 puzzle missions to keep the more lonely player entertained. For those worm enthusiasts who want to play with friends there can be up to four players in Deathmatch, Forts and Classic mode. There are also four different variety of worm (Soldier, Scout, Scientist and Heavy) all with their own customisable clothing and additional objects.

Worms: The Revolution Collection is out now for the Xbox 360 from Mastertronic.

Category : Reviews, Video Games
Tags : , , , , ,
0 Comm
25th Apr2013

‘Dead Island: Riptide’ Review (Xbox 360)

by Phil Wheat

Oh my god… Just when you thought Techland’s Dead Island couldn’t get any worse, along comes the sequel!

DI-Rip

I think it’s safe to say gamers were severely burned by the original Dead Island – after all the original filmic trailer bore ZERO resemblance to the finished product, which itself was full of bugs, glitches and issues that rendered the game almost unplayable. Those that did persevere with the game weren’t rewarded for their patience either. So now comes the sequel, Dead Island: Riptide, which developers Techland promises is a much more polished affair.

They lied.

Dead Island: Riptide continues on with the same abominable problems as the first game,  including terrible collision detection that seems to have a mind of its own, ropey graphics complete with tons of screen tear (even in the cut scenes for christ’s sake!), and what look to be unfinished graphics in both the zombies and their surroundings. Of all the problems, the collision detection is my biggest bug-bear with the game. The completely unpredictable way in which you can one minute be hack your way through crowds of zombies with ease, and then suddenly have your weapon literally pass through the same crowd of zombies WITHOUT DOING THE SLIGHTEST BIT OF DAMAGE is so frustrating it puts a damper on any “good” the game may do.

The game sees you once again (following a fantastic first few scenes set on a ship) wandering around the beautiful locale hacking and slashing your way, FPS-style, through hordes of zombies whilst trying to complete various missions, level your character up, build new weapons and basically survive. There have been changes to how the leveling mechanic works but it still takes too long to build up a decent cache of weaponry (the early guns not included). Fair enough, you do get a crowbar in the early stage of the game but the fact you run out of “power” whilst wielding it does absolutely nothing to help bolster any confidence is the combat system.

Characters from the first game are brought back for Dead Island: Riptide, alongside new character John Morgan – whose only admirable character trait is a hefty new kick mechanic that can make close combat and melee situations a little more even-sided. You can, as I did, import your already levelled up character from the first game. But fat lot of good that will do you  when the collision detection is so bad… Although I will say some of the zombies in this game are so ” dead” they have no clue you’re in the vicinity until you lump them on the head with the crowbar! Which means you can, if you choose to, run past all the games stupider zombies.

I can’t stress this enough. Dead Island: Riptide does not correct ANY of the mistakes of the original. If you didn’t have any fun playing the first game, you really won’t like this one either. My advise? Rent or borrow this. Definitely not worth buying, which is probably why Techland/Deep Silver are still offering the controversial “zombie torso” collectors edition for sale – to tempt suckers!

* 1/5

Category : Reviews, Video Games
Tags : , , , , , ,
0 Comm
06th Apr2013

‘Bioshock Infinite’ Review (Xbox 360)

by Phil Wheat

Bioshock-Infinite

Let me start off by saying I’m not the greatest fan of the first two Bioshock games. Whilst I appreciate their playability and their stories I always felt like there was something missing. Something I hoped I would find in the the game in the series, Bioshock Infinite.

And I was right.

BioShock Infinite puts players in the shoes of U.S. Cavalry veteran turned hired gun Booker DeWitt. Indebted to the wrong people and with his life on the line, DeWitt has only one opportunity to wipe his slate clean. He must rescue Elizabeth, a mysterious girl imprisoned since childhood and locked up in the flying city of Columbia. Forced to trust one another, Booker and Elizabeth form a powerful bond during their daring escape. Together, they learn to harness an expanding arsenal of weapons and abilities as they fight on zeppelins in the clouds, along high-speed Sky-Lines, and down in the streets of Columbia, all while surviving the threats of the air-city and uncovering its dark secret…

In all my years of playing video games there have only ever been a few titles that I have ever eagerly played through, staying up late to finish one last level or passing up on another activity to keep playing “that” game: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and Super Mario Bros 3 on the NES; Alien 3 (yes, Alien 3)on the Sega Megadrive; Super Mario World 1 and 2 on the Snes; and more recently Uncharted 2 and 3 on the Playstation 3. All games that I have played as much as humanly possible, given the number of hours in a day, to completion. If I tell you that Bioshock Infinite now joins those ranks it should give you some idea of just how damn good this game is. Especially if I also tell you that my relationship with FPS games has always been a strained one…

I was a huge fan of the Doom/Hexen/Quake era of FPS games but fell out with them after the release of Quake III: Arena (which we used to play over the works LAN back in 2000). I lapped up Painkiller when it was released in 2004, but everything else left me a little cold. As for the likes of the Battlefield and Call of Duty franchises – no thanks! So imagine how surprised I was to find Bioshock Infinite rekindling my love of FPS games and that long-forgotten”must-play” itch.

Besides the obvious FPS trappings, what makes Bioshock Infinite such a great game is the attention to detail. From the story, to the graphics to the absolutely astounding sound, 2K and Irrational Games should both be commended for sticking with the game, even at the expense of pushing back the release date, to make sure that the finished product was the best it could be (even if I did find a bug in the game that had me fall infinitely *groan* from Columbia). The quality seeps from every pixel and the love put into the development translates perfectly into the finished game.

This is, in the end, a surprising game. One that touches on religion and racism of America in the early 20th Century; has elements of classic steampunk, whilst blending in magic and demonlogy; is colourful and vibrant, yet feels as creepy and eerie as as the first two (darker) games. It’s a blend of contradictory elements that all come together to form one of the best games released, so far, this year.

Bioshock Infinite is available on PC, Xbox 360 and PS3. And it’s a must-buy.

***** 5/5

Category : Reviews, Video Games
Tags : , , , ,
0 Comm
26th Mar2013

‘Razer Chimaera 5.1 Wireless Headset’ Review

by Phil Wheat

Originally available in a stereo iteration, Razer’s Chimaera 5.1 Wireless headset has had something of a makeover, adding 5.1 Dolby surround sound in the process. Billed as the “ultimate surround sound gaming headset for the Xbox 360″ the Chimaera headphones are however the latest in a long line of overly-expensive and over-specced headsets packed with technology that, in essence, isn’t really needed for most of the time.

Possibly the largest headset I have ever used, the Chimaera’s aren’t exactly built to look good. They’re not exactly the most comfortable either, being a little on the weighty side to be wearing for long gaming sessions. Fair enough the well-padded fabric cushions mean the headset sits well on the ears, but the overall weight of the headphones does provide some unwarranted discomfort.

Besides having a cumbersome name, the Razer Chimaera 5.1 Wireless headset also has a most cumbersome setup. Supplied with an optical cable for connecting to the Xbox 360, the headset also comes with a 2.5mm to 2.5mm stereo cable for connecting the headset to the 360 controller and a 3.5mm to 3.5mm stereo cable for connecting the headset to the base station for local team communication. Speaking of the base station – I know these are becoming defacto for gaming headsets but I can’t help but feel that they are an unnecessary addition that only really serve to bump up the prices of gaming headphones.

To get started with the Razer Chimaera 5.1 Wireless headset you first set up the base station, connecting it to your Xbox 360 and to a power socket (which means yet another plug in and around the TV!). The base station features a number of control buttons – a standard on/off power switch, a switch that toggles between Normal, Bass and Treble modes or turn on/off the Dolby Headphone mode and there’s a button that allows us to switch between the sources and also allows us to pair the base station with the headset. The base station features a 5.8GHz wireless transmitter, which apparently means the headset is interference free. Also built into the base station is a charging facility for the headphones – which is undoubtedly the best part about the base station – allowing the headphones to sit securely on top of the base whilst charging.

As the headset is wireless there are no in-line controls, instead the Razer Chimaera 5.1 Wireless headset has control buttons on the side of the ear cups. The left cup has a mute button for the microphone, a standby button and volume controls for the microphone, which is slightly flexible to allow positioning closer, or further away from your mouth. The right ear cup, which houses the battery unit, features a further buttons: one to switch the mode between Xbox Live and local team communication and one that mutes the audio volume and pairs the headset with the base station.

In testing out the Razer Chimaera 5.1 Wireless headset we put the device through it paces, playing games and watching movies through the Xbox 360. And whilst we didn’t test out the local team communication feature (where you connect a number of base stations together via the 3.5mm jack on the back of the unit, for lag-free audio during LAN play) we did try out voice chat in-game, the results of which were incredibly positive, with crisp, clear voice reproduction and minimal background noise pick-up. The sound quality of the headset has to be commended – it’s incredibly satisfying to play and FPS like Call of Duty and hear all the noise around you in Dolby 5.1, it’s more of an immersive experience than traditional 2.0 headphones (the sound of multiple gun fire across the playing field is actually quite incredible to hear). Watching movies was just as pleasurable an experience, with crisp, clear sound reproduction and a clean split between music and voice; and even in the most explosive scenes actors voices were still clearly audible.

Whilst the 5.1 sound quality has to be commended, I can’t see how anyone can justify paying nearly twice the price of a stereo headset for playing games – especially when the headset isn’t the most comfortable out there. But if you MUST play your games in Dolby 5.1, the Razer Chimaera 5.1 Wireless headset is available to buy from Razer’s online store, RRP is £189.99

Category : Products, Reviews
Tags : , , , , , ,
0 Comm
22nd Mar2013

‘Giana Sisters: Twisted Dreams’ Review (Xbox 360)

by Phil Wheat

Manufacturer: Sega
Specs: Xbox Live Arcade (now) | PSN (April)
RRP: 1200 MS Points
Rating: 3/5

Originally funded through Kickstarter and Steam Greenlight, Giana Sisters: Twisted Dreams is the home console debut of the stars of The Great Giana Sisters, the classic Commodore-era “bootleg” version of Super Mario Bros; and a duo whose second game, merely titled Giana Sisters, bizarrely saw an official release on Nintendo’s flagship DS handheld in 2009 – despite, if memory serves me correctly, Nintendo threatening legal action against the original title back in 1987!

Giana Sisters: Twisted Dreams sees gamers play as two very dissimilar sisters on a journey to a fantastic world in which the sisters’ different abilities are the keys to solving puzzles and defeating terrible monsters. Giana transforms herself with lightning speed to solve puzzles or make use of special abilities. With each transformation, her reality changes, and only players who skillfully apply the right strategy can complete tricky levels and defeat nasty end-bosses.

One of the first things I noticed about Giana Sisters: Twisted Dreams after booting up the game was the soundtrack. Chris Hülsbeck, who scored the original game back in the 80s is back once more for this redux, along with the band Machinae Supremacy – and it sounds like they’ve brought the score out of the 80s with them! Soaring guitars, uplifting synths – it actually sounds at times like you’re listening to the final “love theme” from a John Hughes movie. Yet at other times the soundtrack sounds more ominous, with more of an 80s metal vibe. And it’s the soundtrack which, when all’s said and done, remains the highlight of the game…

The dichotomy found in the music continues throughout the game as you jump between realities, and sisters, to complete each level and collect all the available jewels in what is essentially a three-dimensional 2D platformer. Don’t get me wrong, Giana Sisters: Twisted Dreams is a great entry into the series, yet at the same time I think it takes away from what made the first two games so great – the fact that they were *traditional* 2D side-scrolling platformers. Of course updating the graphics (which look superb by the way) and the gameplay for the Xbox 360 and PS3 was a necessity and, of course, it helps to remove some of the “SMB clone” stigma attached to the franchise, but I can’t help but feel a little nostalgic for the previous games whilst playing this one. Now where’s my DS?

Giana Sisters: Twisted Dreams is out now on Xbox Live, with other formats to follow. You can find more information about the game at www.gianasisterstwisteddreams.com

Category : Reviews, Video Games
Tags : , , , ,
0 Comm