Review: Just Cause 3

It’s a crime that it’s taken nearly six years for a new Just Cause. Exploding (figuratively and literally) onto the scene in 2006, the series quickly came into its own with 2010’s Just Cause 2. Refining practically every issue with the first title, Just Cause 2 is a game that can be enjoyed for a indefinite amount of time. Sadly another last-gen sequel wasn’t meant to be and Square Enix instead waited two years into this console generation to once again unleash the madness. With most of developer Avalanche’s Sweden studio focusing on the development of Mad Max, their New York office took on the Just Cause 3 development and hired numerous ex-staffers of Criterion Games to round out the team and boy does it show. This is the most ridiculous, over the top Just Cause yet, designed solely around a single element: blowing $#^! up.Just Cause 3 takes place several years after the events of Just Cause 2, with protagonist Rico Rodriguez severing ties with The Agency and heading out to his homeland of Medici, a fictional archipelago that has been seized by the brutal dictator, General Di Ravello. The General has turned Medici into a military state, installing a sizable amount of military bases and oppressing its population wherever possible. Rico won’t stand for this, so he teams with past allies like Mario, Tom Sheldon, Dimah and more to overthrow the violent dictatorship. That’s about as deep as the story gets, with most of the interactions and cutscenes simply excuses to set up an absurd action climax, but that’s just fine. Just Cause has never been about story, but rather simply causing chaos, a conceit Just Cause 3 fully embraces.Just Cause 3 takes place in the giant open world of Medici, encompassing over 400 square miles. It’s ultimately up to the player on how to tackle it all, but there is a campaign comprised of main missions. Much like Grand Theft Auto, as fun as simply tooling around in the world is, these missions highlight everything great about the game and are set up for maximum destruction. Mission variety is high and all sorts of things are accomplished, but expect to do things like destroy giant convoys of pursuing military vehicles whilst standing on top of a speeding truck or taking out multiple targets whilst plummeting through the air after jumping out of a plane.

As enjoyable as the main missions are, practically everything else is a blast as well. One of the main side activities to accomplish is liberating enemy bases and towns. To accomplish this, Rico simply storms through the gates and (surprise, surprise) starts blowing up everything in site. Certain things must be blown up (like radars, satellite dishes, transformers, etc) and a certain amount of overall destruction must take place to liberate a military base. With so much to destroy and plenty of firepower and gas tankers standing by to do it, these moments are where some of the most ludicrous levels of destruction take place. It’s sometimes possible to destroy nearly the entirety of bases at once, conjuring enough fire to burn down the entire island. Towns are liberated more liberally, with the goal being to bring down all the propaganda including billboards, speaker systems, statues and more. Upon liberating either, vehicles and weapons are unlocked for Rebel Drops. These supply drops take the place of in-game currency and allow players to snag any weapon or vehicles at any time provided a beacon is available. Don’t think this makes things easier, however, as enemies match firepower (which can lead to some ridiculous firefights).Liberating oppressed towns and bases also unlock numerous challenges including Land/Air/Sea Races, Shooting Gallery, Destruction Frenzy, Crash the Bomb and more. These challenges are almost all a blast and thanks to the asynchronous multiplayer, leaderboards with best times are constantly displayed to compete against. These challenges are completed for more than just bragging rights, however, as they unlock Gears which can then in turn be used on Mods. Believe it or not, Mods make things even more outlandish as they unlock things like rocket-propelled planted explosives, a Spider-man-like Re-Reel ability, nitrous and much more. These can be toggled off after unlocking to keep things more realistic (ha), but some of these result in some moments of pure euphoria.A world so big is going to take multiple ways of traversal and thankfully Just Cause 3 has these in spades. When we’re talking about in-game vehicles, we’re not talking about mere tanks or cars. No, we’re talking about friggin’ cargo planes, assault choppers, bomber jets and naval destroyers. The scale of vehicles (or more accurately weapons of mass destruction) is large and allow matters to be taken to the land, air or sea. As great as it is island hopping in a jet, however, the wingsuit is the real star of the show. Ever since wingsuits broke through the mainstream several years ago, it’s been impossible not to be captivated by their gracefulness. After all, since the days of Copernicus, man has dreamed of flight and this is now possible in Just Cause. By utilizing the wingsuit, parachute and grappling hook, it’s possible for skilled pilots to fly around for minutes at a time and see everything the item has to offer. It’s a beautiful and freeing experience in a game so full of such wonted destruction and also an efficient means of transportation. For those who don’t feel like flying around for some reason, fast travel can be utilized to instantly arrive at destinations at the cost of a flare.

Closing Comments:
The adjective “ridiculous” has been used several times in this review as it’s the most apt available. Just Cause 3 is a ridiculous, over-the-top experience that wants so hard for you to blow it up. Playing around its 400 square miles, it’s almost as if the game can be heard yelling “OH MAN, THAT WAS SICK” in the background. It’s hard not to feel like a complete badass as you fly around the island dropping grenades and vaulting enemies into the air; in fact, you basically have super powers. There’s hardly an ounce of originality in Just Cause 3; it cribs its features from a myriad of different games before it (including racing games), but it positions everything primitively great about video games into a single explosive package. Horrendous loading times, a lack of synchronous multiplayer and optimization issues hold it back from pure bliss, but Just Cause 3 is an absolute blast, an experience equivalent to a shot of adrenaline straight into the heart.

Rating: 4/5

Reviewed By: HardCoreGamer

Review: Assassin’s Creed Syndicate

There’s a reason why Assassin’s Creed Syndicate hasn’t received any fanfare, despite being the next entry in one of gaming’s biggest franchises. Let’s go over some of the first thoughts that pop into a gamer’s mind when the words Assassin’s Creed are uttered in 2015. Fatigue. Could use a couple of years off. Profit-hungry. We’ve grown into people who think more about the lack of respect that this franchise has received than what it offers from an entertainment perspective, and for good reason. Sure, there are massive fans of this franchise floating around out there, but that doesn’t excuse the fact that Assassin’s Creed has become the most iconic example of the perils of annual release plans. Gone are the days where we gush over its spectacle, its mysticism and its fun-factor; try counting the amount of sighs that you hear from the gaming media whenever another Assassin’s Creed is announced. This might seem like the start of an exaggeration, but now that Assassin’s Creed Syndicate has established itself as a firm talking point in the conversation surrounding the issues with this series, it’s getting more and more impossible not to notice some of the inherent flaws with Ubisoft’s flagship IP.After the awkward faux pas that was Ubisoft’s statement on the lack of playable female characters in the disappointing Assassin’s Creed Unity, it was great to see the massive publisher take a big step forward with the inclusion of Evie Frye in Assassin’s Creed Syndicate. Merely one year after basically saying that it’s not worth creating a female protagonist due the need for increased development resources, Syndicate gives us one of the better Assassin’s Creed characters in recent memory. The thing is, there is such a staunch dichotomy in the level of character quality between her and her twin brother Jacob that it brings up a major question that will likely never be answered. Some might be afraid to ask this question, but it needs to be brought up in some capacity: did Ubisoft create a dynamic female lead character in Evie only to backtrack and give her a playable twin out of fear of public backlash? At the end of the day, the answer to this question doesn’t necessarily matter anywhere outside of comments sections and message boards, but the fact of the matter is that Jacob feels like little more than an Industrial Revolution era dude-bro, while Evie is a smart, dynamic character who adds to what is largely a story without a true hook. Assassin’s Creed Syndicate‘s twin mechanic comes across as a half step towards a bold narrative choice, a flaw highlighted by its bland main story.

Whereas Unity manages to flesh out exactly what motivated its protagonist, the vast majority of Syndicate‘s story operates under the assumption that Jacob and Evie Frye have rock-solid reasoning for their actions. The male Frye twin is driven by the idea of a liberated, Templar-free London, while Evie sees the acquisition of a Piece of Eden as the key to society’s well-being. The previous sentence would be impossible to write without that understanding, and Syndicate certainly manages to spell that out subtly, but a blatant lack of backstory makes for a campaign experience that wants you to beat it simply for completion’s sake. We get glimpses of how horrible the main villain, Crawford Starrick, is, and we definitely can tell that Jacob and Evie want to take him down, but this tale simply isn’t fleshed out enough to be much more than standard video game fare. As a result, Assassin’s Creed Syndicate gives off the impression that it’s catering to an audience that wants another Assassin’s Creed game rather than an audience that wants a stand out gaming experience.While certain new additions like battles on top of moving trains and the opportunity to drive horse-drawn carriages serve to break up some of the monotony, the fact of the matter is that Assassin’s Creed Syndicate has the same mission design issues that gamers have been complaining about for years now. While you won’t necessarily be listening to enemies outside of a given area while crouching during every third mission, there are a fair amount of escort missions and basic fetch quests present to overshadow the handful of outstanding missions. Unity‘s largest strength was its inclusion of sandbox assassinations, and those return in full form in Syndicate in a big way. If you play through the main story in chunks, you’ll probably wind up playing through one of these assassinations during every sitting, so the campaign certainly has its highlights. Being able to find entry points and complete one or two small tasks in order to make killing your target easier does increase a level of dynamism to these missions that the franchise itself largely lacks. The thing is, these missions do not make up the entirety of the main campaign, which means that there’s definitely a whole lot of good old fashioned filler. Whether you’re driving a carriage, slinking across rooftops or just walking down the street, you’re going to have to follow a ton of characters very slowly, so be prepared.

Other than Evie being a compelling character, the clear star of the show in Assassin’s Creed Syndicate is its locale. While Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag may always stand out as the title with the most iconic location in franchise history, the darker 1868 London sports an intriguing dichotomy between modernization and old-time sensibility. Sure, the open-world itself might not feel like the most dynamic place in the world, as a great deal of the non-player characters are simply environment-filler, but there’s something that simply feels cool about this location in this time period. The more modern time period by franchise standards also gives rise to perhaps the best addition to Assassin’s Creed‘s core gameplay, period: the grappling hook. To be fair, this is totally The Legend of Zelda‘s Hookshot put in a more realistic package, but the idea that you can scale any building in mere seconds, as well as cross gaps between buildings through the use of a horizontal zip-line makes for a less obnoxious parkour experience. There are bound to be more Assassin’s Creed games in the future, and not including a gadget like this in those future iterations would be criminal. After all, this is a device that allows you to bypass what are easily the loosest control mechanics out of any Assassin’s Creed game this generation.Assassin’s Creed has always been known to have some level of control unresponsiveness. There are endless videos and memes floating around the Internet that poke fun at the fact that, at any given time, you can rocket up onto a ledge or get stuck on geometry in some irrational way. Assassin’s Creed Syndicate often feels like it takes this clunk-factor to the next level, as nearly every move your character makes feels like its subject to a noticeable input lag. From the way that Jacob and Evie, who largely play similarly despite what the tutorials tell you, seem to instantly move at full speed with no ramp up to the fact that you often can’t move in the direction you want to due to what seem to be inconsistent invisible barriers all over the place, this is a title that will not be kind to those who enjoy tight controls. It would be quite the accomplishment to be able to play through the entirety of Assassin’s Creed Syndicate without your character or the environment finding a bizarre way to impede your progress or cause you to fail, which speaks to the overall level of polish present here. Never has it been more evident that Ubisoft needs to start from scratch in updating Assassin’s Creed‘s controls, as they are directly at odds with player enjoyment here.

With a much lower NPC density than Unity, Assassin’s Creed Syndicate does not suffer from nearly the same amount of frame rate drops (minus those that frequently arise when driving) and pop-in as its predecessor. Unfortunately, Syndicate‘s smoothness does not make up for what often feels like a glaring lack of polish. During one mission in particular, I was tasked with defending an ally riding in a horse-drawn carriage from two enemies in horse-drawn carriages while driving my very own horse-drawn carriage. One would think that defending an ally would mean guiding them to safety, so the fact that only one of the enemies was actually killed shouldn’t necessarily matter if our dips and dodges wound up losing the other enemy in the crowded streets of London. It turns out, by letting that enemy stay behind made him completely freeze 450 meters away from Evie and her ally, and the next portion of mission would not trigger until this glitched-out enemy was thwarted. After travelling to this frozen foe and murdering him, the mission immediately failed itself due to the distance between Evie and her ally. Combine this with an unrivaled number of awkward climbing animation hitches, the fact that certain zip-line routes might cause your character to freeze in mid-air and the early reports of straight up invisible carriages, and it’s clear that Syndicate can be painfully frustrating in its own right.Yes, the story is a bit lackluster, the controls make The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt look like Bayonetta, and it suffers from some jarring polish issues. Still, if you’re looking for a massive open world game to dig into, and you’re not into Fallout or Metal Gear, then there is certainly a lot of content to enjoy. Thanks to a number of microtransactions that are conveniently located right next to, and inside of, your crafting menu, you’re going to do a fair amount of grinding if you hope to upgrade all of your equipment to Master Assassin levels. Combine this with a separate progression system for Jacob and Evie and the addition of a Far Cry-style enemy faction system, and it’s clear that Assassin’s Creed Syndicate is not starved for content. There are a great deal of side missions present everywhere you turn, and even though a great deal of these feel repetitive almost immediately, the fact is that this is one game where you won’t complain about not getting enough things to do. Whether or not those activities are actually fun is another question entirely, but at the very least, you’re going to have your schedule booked for a while if you hope to 100% this one.

Closing Comments:Assassin’s Creed Syndicate is emblematic of everything that this franchise has become. After being one of the most revolutionary new IPs of last generation, Assassin’s Creed has gone from producing consistent hits to being a series that has started to spit out average experiences. There are far too many exciting games coming out this fall to make this a priority unless you are a massive fan of Assassin’s Creed, as even those who have never played a game in this series before would be better suited picking up Black Flag on the cheap. With every release, the same issues that Ubisoft has been rolling over year over year seem to have compounded themselves to a point where the entire package winds up suffering. Sure, this isn’t the broken mess that Assassin’s Creed Unity was, but in some ways it’s more of a blemish than its predecessor. After all, this is a functional game that simply isn’t all that fun to play, which is far more damning than any technical glitch could ever be.

Rating: 4/5
Reviewed By: HardCoreGamer

Review: Call of Duty: Black Ops III

Activision has hit the sweet spot with Call of Duty when it comes to annual franchises. Unlike some series which have the same development team scrambling to make the next game within a year after the last released, Call of Duty now has three studios to rotate between: Infinity Ward, Sledgehammer Games and Treyarch. This means that Treyarch had three years to work on Call of Duty: Black Ops III, during which time Call of Duty: Ghosts and Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare were released. This is exactly the right amount of time a major studio should have to make a major game and it shows with Black Ops III, which has a wealth of content included out of the box on day one.Black Ops III boasts undoubtedly the strangest story of the entire franchise. Set in 2065 (forty years after the events of Black Ops II), players take the role of a soldier who is gruesomely injured in combat. Not sure what has happened, he suddenly wakes up on a train where Commander John Taylor (played by the fantastic Christopher Meloni) explains that he’s actually in a hospital bed and they’re virtually living out an event in the past where a bomb was placed on a train and detonated killing everyone on board. Instead of reliving this, however, you’re tasked with rewriting history by finding who made the bomb and stopping it from blowing up. Sound familiar? That’s because it’s nearly exactly the same as the plot of the film Source Code. While he’s in a simulation and not actually being placed in the body of a living person as in Duncan Jones’ film, it seemed almost certain that the plot would revolve around him stopping these virtual crimes for “training,” but soon find out he’s stopping them for real and actually being led by the antagonists. Instead of going down this route, however, this plot abruptly shifts gears and becomes something else entirely — namely incomprehensible.

After going through your virtual training, you awake (for real this time) to find that you’ve been augmented with mechanical limbs and cybernetic abilities. The timeline then suddenly shifts four years into the future, during which time you’ve become the world’s resident badass stopping terrorist groups left and right. While even though the plot was derivative of Source Code, this is a disappointing shift to the “take down the generic terrorists” angle, but (thankfully in this case) the jarring tonal shifts don’t stop there. Somewhere around the mid-point, the plot goes completely off the rails and delves into a number of bizarre subjects, becoming wholly convoluted in the process. While this all sounds bad and the ingredients for a disaster of a campaign, surprisingly it’s not.With the exception Black Ops II, most every Call of Duty has had a generic story. None have been bad and most are cinematic in execution, but they tend to result in “take down the crazy bad guy.” Black Ops III has a lot of dialogue and story for a relatively short FPS and while most of it doesn’t make any particular sense, it’s riveting. The entire experience ends up feeling like a psychedelic drug trip (which perhaps is purposeful given that Jefferson Airplane’s “White Rabbit” closes out the game) that takes us through multiple realities that make you question existence itself. Even though Treyarch wasn’t able to accomplish something as profound as they probably wished, having a challenging and surreal story is much preferable over throwaway generic military jaunt. The core of the problem is that the ideas at work are too large to be expressed in a short action game. Perhaps the campaign is something to be studied and experienced multiple times, but even in an incomprehensible state, it’s a breath of fresh air for the franchise.

Outside of the (likely highly-divisive) story, however, the campaign’s core gameplay is some of the best of the series. Even the best Call of Duty campaigns tended to have sections that felt like they were getting repetitive or dragging on, but Black Ops III is perfectly paced. Thanks to its existential campaign, multiple locals, time periods and even realities are visited ensuring that it never stays stagnant on the same environment. There are huge open-area engagements sprinkled throughout the campaign that are large enough to allow players multiple ways to progress through them without feeling scripted. There’s also a bevy of cybernetic modifications (dubbed “Cyber Cores”) available that include abilities like the remote hacking drones, sending a flood of cyber insects at enemies and disabling a robotic enemy (of which there are many). The entire campaign is also designed to be played with up to four players cooperatively online, although there’s not a single part that feels like it’s slighting solo players to accomplish this. Suffice it to say, this is a campaign worthy of experiencing regardless of your affinity with the multiplayer.Of course, this is a Call of Duty game and multiplayer remains the main attraction — and for good reason. Black Ops III features a new momentum-based chain-movement system that allows players to fluidly move through the environments with the help of thrust jumps, power slides and fast-mantling capabilities. The much-touted guns-up philosophy is evident and there’s rarely a time where a finger won’t be on the trigger waiting to fire. In practice, everything feels similar to last year’s Advanced Warfare, which is far from a bad thing. While there will always be a place for more old-fashioned boots on the ground based multiplayer, Advanced Warfare did a great job reinvigorating the franchise and making the multiplayer more fast paced and enjoyable. Black Ops III carries this legacy on and hopefully it’s one the series will adhere to for the foreseeable future.

The most notable feature of multiplayer is the Specialists system that introduces nine elite Specialists to choose from, each with their own skillset. For example, Ruin has Gravity Spikes (electrocuted spikes that are rewardingly slammed into the ground to create a shockwave) and Overdrive (grants a burst of speed), Outrider has Sparrow (compound bow with explosives) and Vision Pulse (tags the location of enemies within range), Spectre has Ripper (twin blades that dissect enemies) and Active Camo (invisibility) while Firebreak has Purifier (flamethrower) and Heat Wave (thermal charge that stuns nearby enemies). Every Specialist also has their own challenge-based unlock progression system, which are in addition to global and weapons XP. The abilities of all the Specialists are unique in execution from one another and add another dimension of strategy as players have to figure out which is best suited for which situation and how to properly utilize them. Most importantly, it’s simply a blast to unleash superhuman abilities.Besides devastating foes with giant spikes, one of the most rewarding aspects to the multiplayer is the exhaustively-revamped customization. With the new Gunsmith system, any weapon can be customized with multiple models for each attachment, custom emblems and distinctive camos. Up to five attachments plus an optic can be added to weapons, unleashing multiple combinations. More still, the Weapon Paint Shop lets players create custom graphics to display on their guns with up to 64 layers and 3 sides to design. Finally, there’s the Black Market where players can redeem Cyrptokeys earned in multiplayer for Black Market supply drops that include new wares, reticles, weapon camos, calling cards and more. All of this adds up to a ton of personalization and strategizing that goes beyond simply learning the basics of maps and gunplay and makes the affairs more accessible for beginners and more challenging for experts.Thankfully, there’s plenty of modes to unleash all of the personalization in. Fan-favorite modes like Search and Destroy, Capture the Flag and Hardpoint return, joined by the returning Uplink (the addictive Football-esque mode where players have to bring a ball across the map). A new mode Safeguard makes its debut, which tasks a team of players with defending a drone as it moves into the other team’s base. The defending team can disable the robot by attacking it, upon when the attacking team must wait for it to reboot before they can continue escorting it. Much like Uplink, it’s an addictive concept that refreshingly adds another mode that’s not just about an all out firefight.

Of course, what would a Black Ops be without Zombies, something Treyarch once again brings in spades. Shadows of Evil is Black Ops III’s offering, which has players take the role of one of four characters — The Femme-Fatale, The Cop, The Boxer and The Magician — as they blast their way through the 1940s film noir-inspired world of Morg City. This is basically a standalone game, with a distinct storyline, full XP-based progression system and a impressive roster of talent including Jeff Goldblum, Heather Graham, Neil McDonough, Ron Perlman and Robert Pircardo. Shadows of Evil is incredibly hard and it will likely take all but the very best players hours to even reach past wave five. What’s neat about the mode, however, is that it’s similar to Edge of Tomorrow in that something new is learned every time the instance is experienced (there’s no FAQ or instructions). So while one might have been viciously killed on the last run, perhaps a powerful weapon was discovered hiding and can be picked up next time to fair better. This gives the mode a lot of replay value and many players could easily sink more than ten hours into it without getting bored, experiencing a completely different outcome every time.Not only does Call of Duty feature basically three standalone games in Campaign, Multiplayer and Zombies, but there’s two more standalone games packed inside as well. Dead Ops Arcade II is an entertaining arcade throwback that features a bizarre plot of a killer space ape out for revenge. The core of the gameplay is an endlessly fun twin stick arcade shooter (similar to Robotron: 2084), but every so often it switches gears and features a mini-game set in another arcade universe, most notably Off-Road. Much like the campaign itself, it’s a surreal experience that could easily stand on its own as a PSN or XBLA downloadable title. Finally, there’s Freerun, which although predominately a tutorial on how to freerun, features multiple courses with leaderboards, challenging players to complete each course in the smallest amount of time possible (simple but addictive for the most competitive among us).

Closing Comments:
Call of Duty: Black Ops III was created in a three-year development cycle and it shows. This is basically five standalone games wrapped into one deep package. While it will have DLC released for it, there’s enough content out of the box to keep players busy until the next Call of Duty and probably some time after that. The campaign is perfectly paced and entertaining throughout, the multiplayer is rich with customization and Zombies is refreshingly challenging. The only real black mark is a story teetering on the on the brink of pretension, but the existentialism of it is undeniably fascinating. Jam-packed with meaningful content, Black Ops III is the Call of Duty you’ve been waiting for.

Rating: 4/5

Reviewed By: HardCoreGamer

Batman: Arkham Knight Will Be Re-Released On October 28th, Incoming Patch

Rocksteady has announced that the PC version of Batman: Arkham Knight will be re-released on October 28th. The game will also receive a new update on that date that it will bring it – for those already owning the game – to its latest version. This basically means that the PC version via this update, the game will be fully up-to-date with content that has been released for console

As Rocksteady stated:

“This means that next week, all PC players will have access to Photo Mode, Big Head Mode, Batman: Arkham Asylum Batman Skin, and character selection in combat AR challenges.”

Just Cause 3 is Ready to Explode All Over Us

When Avalanche Studios announced that they were working on Just Cause 3 in November last year, it brought immediate excitement. After all, it had been almost five years since the release of the critically acclaimed Just Cause 2. In that time, no other game has quite reached the same levels of ridiculous, over the top, action-movie madness that Just Cause 2 brought to players. Since the announcement late last year, Avalanche have been slowly releasing information to the eager masses as we get closer to its December release. Following along the same vein as the first two games, Just Cause 3 looks to take on a whole new level of explosive, action packed, grapple hook madness.We once again take control of series protagonist Rico Rodriguez, an agent of the…uh… Agency. Codenamed Scorpio, Rico has a lot of experience in taking down harsh dictatorships, having done so in each of the previous two games. Again, he will draw upon this experience to combat yet another dictator in Just Cause 3. This time on Medici, a 1,000 km2 Mediterranean island under the rule of General Di Ravello.

This time, however, things are different…sort of. It turns out that Medici is Rico’s homeland. The place he grew up. Parents, friends, origin story stuff, you get it. As such, Just Cause 3 is leaning heavily on the well worn used trope of “This time, it’s personal.” With that said; if it works for Die Hard and Buffy the Vampire Slayer, then it should work for Just Cause…right?Thankfully, the developers of Just Cause 3, Avalanche Studios, don’t seem to be taking themselves too seriously. They do want to inject a little feeling into the game, but they aren’t letting that take from the ridiculous action the series is known for. In a recent interview, Just Cause 3 Game Director Roland Lesterlin commented on the subject. He said “As a kid I was inspired by quite a lot of the films that Spielberg did; especially things like Indiana Jones, where they can take such an over the top world and still have characters that are interesting and have soul.”Apart from changes in story depth, players will have some new gadgets and abilities to help them tear Medici from Di Ravello’s grasp.Along with the perennial parachute, Rico comes equipped with an all new wingsuit. No longer limited to the parachute-grapple hook combo, players will reach new speeds in the air while once again using the grapple hook to maintain momentum and speed. This upgrade seems a natural one. In the previous games, the parachute was a great tool, although somewhat limited. With the new wingsuit, Rico has the ability to move through the environment in a more urgent manner, allowing players to string together some really nice action sequences without the drop of pace the parachute has previously been responsible for.

In a more grounded change, the much loved grappling hook has received some interesting buffs. Now with the ability to tether multiple objects simultaneously, it can also retract upon command, giving unprecedented potential for all manner of chaos and tomfoolery to be had.Oh, we almost forgot to mention the unlimited C4. Yeah. That’s right. Rico now has an unending supply of C4. Do we really need to say more?Destruction and physics have taken a big leap forward, seemingly inspired by titles such as the Red Faction series; the environment breaks in what feels like a natural way. Towers and bridges crumble, walls explode and statues facepalm themselves into oblivion (by way of a well placed grapple hook and retraction); all contributing to the action to give Just Cause 3 an incredibly high impact tone. Debris flies past Rico as he detonates a batch of C4 before gliding between crumbling radio towers as they fall in a destructive cascade, shattering a bridge below in a chain reaction of sweet, sweet destruction. Did we mention unlimited C4?Lesterlin comments on the dynamism of the environment in Just Cause 3, saying “The destruction is a joyful response of reactivity in the world”. Although perhaps overly poetic, the point is clear. The world reacts, stuff explodes and we get to have a good time. Sounds pretty good to me.

Enabling creativity is a central focus of the development team for Just Cause 3 with Lesterlin recently expressing the team’s focus on the sandbox experience first, even if it means neglecting other aspects of the game. For instance, a solid multiplayer mode; a staple of current gen game releases has been completely disregarded. “It’s tough to make it fit with the Just Cause IP,” Chief Creative Officer at Avalanche Christofer Sundberg said when asked in a recent interview. He went on to explain Avalanche’s thoughts on subject in relation to the modding community “We were taken by surprise with the Just Cause 2 multiplayer mod, and we hope they’ll look at JC3 the same way. Obviously we’re more…prepared this time, and we can offer more support to the community. We love them.”

Just Cause 3 seems like the next logical step for the much vaunted series. Possessing more grapple hooks, explosives (UNLIMITED C4!!!) and all around more awesomeness; Just Cause 3 looks insanely fun.

Review: Uncharted: The Nathan Drake Collection

Nintendo has Mario, Microsoft has Master Chief and Sony has…a rotating cast of characters. Even though the PlayStation has been a classic since its debut twenty years ago, it’s never really seemed to have found a mascot that’s stuck. There’s been Sweet Tooth, PaRappa the Rapera, Jax, Ratchet, Sackboy and Kratos just to name a few, but none that have completely encapsulated the PlayStation brand. At least, not until Nathan Drake came along. Since the dashing adventurer’s debut eight years ago, he’s traversed his way into many a gamer’s heart to the extent that he’s likely now become the first character imagined when the word “PlayStation” is said. Celebrating his legacy and prepping a new generation of gamers for the upcoming Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End, Sony has bundled the first three games together and given them an HD makeover.Uncharted: The Nathan Drake Collection includes all three PS3 games: Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune, Uncharted 2: Among Thieves and Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception. Unlike, say, The Master Chief Collection, Sony has it a bit easier as they’re only having to jump a generation up. Even still, instead of recruiting Naughty Dog to polish the games — who are currently swamped with Uncharted 4 — they’ve brought in Bluepoint, who’s done a fantastic job porting PlayStation games including Metal Gear Solid HD collection, God of War Collection and The Ico & Shadow of the Colossus Collection. Suffice it to say, Drake is in safe hands.Although anybody with a PlayStation 3 has likely already played these games (and shame on those who haven’t), let’s quickly go through what each has to offer. When Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune debuted in November 2007, it was a minor miracle. After the tepid launch titles anchored by the one bright spot in Resistance, Drake’s Fortune was the system’s first true killer app. There wasn’t anything revolutionary about it; it borrowed quite a bit of its gameplay from Tomb Raider and quite a bit of its vibe from Indiana Jones and Romancing the Stone, but what it did it did well. The shooting was tight, the platforming was solid, it was arguably the best looking console exclusive to that point and the story was charming. The plot revolves around Nathan Drake recovering the coffin of his ancestor Sir Francis Drake which points him to find the treasure of El Dorado. Unfortunately, Drake becomes stranded and hunted by mercenaries, trying to survive while he locates his treasure and unravels the secrets of the island.

Avoiding the sophomore slump, Uncharted 2: Among Thieves was heralded as one of the best action games to that point. Like what The Dark Knight was to Batman Begins, Among Thieves keeps the vibe of Drake’s Fortune intact, but ratchets every part of it to 11. Besides an annoying and unnecessary stealth mission to kick things off, everything that follows is a heart-pounding tour through some of the best designed set pieces in gaming. The scale of the title is massive, seeing Drake head around the world as he runs away from barreling trucks, fighting through a speeding train and avoiding deadly helicopters. The plot sees returning favorites like Elena and Sully along with newcomers Harry and Chloe, as Nathan attempts to track down the Himalayan valley of Shambhala.Influenced heavily by Lawrence of Arabia, Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception sees our explorer foregoing the temples and jungles of old in favor of sprawling deserts. Searching for the Atlantis of the Sands, Drake treks into the Arabian desert and find himself pitted against a clandestine organization, again having to fend for himself as he locates treasure. The most cinematic of the trilogy, Drake’s Deception boasts the most mature storyline and features a great antagonist in Katherine Marlowe. There’s some slow segments, but the sheer scale and incredible sequences like fighting out of the back of a cargo plane more than make up for them.

Even though its games aren’t particularly old, the Uncharted series hasn’t aged as flawlessly as one might assume. There’s far too many mindless “go into an area, take cover, shoot all of the enemies, find the way out and repeat” segments. By far the worst offender is Drake’s Fortune that has full levels of repetitive shooting and platforming that even in 2007 wasn’t up to snuff. Uncharted 2 and 3 also suffer from this throughout, but the level design, story, pacing and scale help disguise their issues. If anything, playing this series in 2015 shows how rapidly the gaming landscape has changed. Compare any of the games to the Tomb Raider reboot, for instance. While that game doesn’t match the scope of the latter two Uncharted games, it does practically everything they do on a better, grittier and less repetitive scale.In general games have become more open and persistent, with titles like Shadow of Mordor seeming like a living, breathing world and even ones that have stayed linear, like Naughty Dog’s own The Last of Us, feature poignant stories and dynamic design even in a straightforward format. One only needs to look at third-person shooter The Order: 1886 to see that linear third-person shooting has quickly grown past its prime. That all being said, however, while some in this genre have rapidly become dated to the point of unpleasantness, all three games are still undeniably great and the latter two are practically the pinnacle of their kind.

So now that we have the basics of the trilogy and how they hold up in modern (as if 2007 is ancient) times, the big question is what’s changed. Not much, actually. It must be remembered that these titles are not that old, still look great and don’t have a lot of leeway for additions. As such, Bluepoint has honestly done what they could to gussy them up. The most noticeable change is that all three games are now in 1080p and target 60fps. Throughout Drake’s adventure, there wasn’t any sign of frame rate hiccups or resolution dips. For those who look to HD remasters like upgrading from DVD to Blu-ray, this collection offers that base appeal. Purely from what they’re able to do with the games on PS4, it makes the collection the definitive way to play moving forward.Besides that, character models have been improved with more skin shaders and better hair for Nathan, more wrinkles for Sully and a slightly altered face for Chloe. Gone are her plump lips and sparkly eyes, replaced with more realistic (but still similar) facial features. Besides that, the enhancements are fairly negligible. Any screen tearing has been removed from Drake’s Fortune, environmental lighting is improved, the draw distance is increased and the texture resolution is bumped up and smoothed out. All three games look fantastic on the PlayStation 4, but then again, they’ve always looked fantastic.As far as what’s new, there’s most noticeably three new games modes. The incredibly punishing Brutal Difficulty has been added and is unlocked after beating Crushing Difficulty, players can now Speed Run through all three games with a persistent timer showing and tracking times against friends and there’s Explorer Mode for beginners where difficulty is significantly reduced. Other than that, a photo mode has been added, trophies have been adjusted, new skins and renders added and the soundtrack has been remastered. All minor additions, but again, there’s just not a lot that can be done in that department.

Closing Comments:
Comprised of the three games that most define the PlayStation 3, it’s nice to be able to experience the trilogy on current hardware. There’s not a lot new here, but all three modern classics are presented likely as good as they’ll ever look. None measure up to what we’ve seen from Uncharted 4, but all three shine in 1080p and are right at home alongside other PS4 exclusives. With such a rapid advancement in the industry, the trilogy hasn’t aged perfectly (especially Drake’s Fortune), but all three still hold up and are some of the most cinematic experiences to grace the format. Anybody who’d like to replay the series or experience it for the first time before the looming release of Uncharted 4 have no reason not to pick up The Nathan Drake Collection; it’s simply the best way to experience three great games.

Rating: 4.5/5

Reviewed by: HardCoreGamer

Far Cry Primal - Official Reveal Trailer

These are all the included leagues in FIFA 16

EA has confirmed the full list of leagues and teams included in FIFA 16.

Over 30 leagues and 650 teams are playable in FIFA 16. Today, EA has revealed the entire list. This number includes 12 Women’s National Teams, Brazilian teams and series staples such as Barclays Premier League, Ligue 1, Bundesliga, Serie A, as well as collection of other leagues.

The full list of teams is massive, so we’ve only included the leagues list.

[Argentina] Primera División

[Australia] Hyundai A-League

[Austria] Ö. Bundesliga

[Belgium] Pro League

[Chile] Camp. Scotiabank

[Colombia] Liga Dimayor

[Denmark] Alka Superliga

[England] Barclays Premier League

[England] Football League Championship

[England] Football League 1

[England] Football League 2

[France] Ligue 1

[France] Ligue 2

[Germany] Bundesliga

[Germany] Bundesliga 2

[Italy] Serie A TIM

[Italy] Serie B

[Korea] K LEAGUE Classic

[Mexico] Liga Bancomer MX

[Holland] Eredivisie

[Norway] Tippeligaen

[Poland] Ekstraklasa

[Portugal] Liga NOS

[Rep. Ireland] SSE Airtricity LeagueRest of World

[Russia] Russian League

[Saudi] ALJ League

[Scotland] Scottish Premiership

[Spain] Liga BBVA

[Spain] Liga Adelante

[Sweden] Allsvenskan

[Switzerland] Raffeisen SL

[Turkey] Süper Lig

[USA] MLS

Men’s National Teams

Women’s National Teams

The Last of Us 2 Accidentally Outed in Naughty Dog Stream

Naughty Dog appears to have accidentally confirmed the existence of The Last of Us 2 during a livestream focused on the upcoming Nathan Drake Collection.First noticed by Gamepur, during the livestream featuring community strategist Eric Monacelli, writer Josh Scherr and lead animator Eric Baldwin, Scherr seemed to all but confirm a second Last of Us game is indeed on the way."All the facial animation in the Uncharted series was led up by Eric, here," he begins, "and [on] the first The Last of Us. Uh, did I say the first The Last of Us?”Though it's not an official confirmation, if you watch the video above and note how flustered Scherr becomes, repeating himself several times and tripping over his words, it certainly seems like he realises he's slipped up. It's possible he's referring to the original game rather than the Left Behind expansion, of course, but this seems unlikely.This isn't the first time we've heard mutters about a sequel to The Last of Us. Earlier this year voice actor Nolan North claimed The Last of Us 2 is being worked on at Naughty Dog, though Troy Baker (the man behind Joel) was quick to say things remain up in the air.We know ideas for The Last of Us 2 have been kicked around, but currently the studio's primary focus is on finished Uncharted 4. With that in mind, if you're hoping to hear something official about Naughty Dog's next project, don't expect anything before next year.

Need for Speed Delayed to Spring 2016 on PC

Sorry racing fans, there will be no Need for Speed for you this holiday season. EA and Ghost Games have announced that Need for Speed will not arrive on PC until spring 2016.In a blog post, Ghost Games explains the situation, saying that they need more time to deliver a stellar PC experience. The team is also taking the time to add additional graphics options, such as an unlocked framerate and superior graphics, to the PC version. Considering a few recent PC ports, this delay might be for the best.“At Ghost, we’re united by one common passion… to deliver the best Need for Speed™ experience possible. And at every step of the development process we’re guided by our community. Whether that’s reading your comments on Facebook or Twitter, watching your videos on YouTube, or joining in with the discussion on Reddit, the conversation we’ve been having as fans of Need for Speed is enormously important and we’re working to reflect it in the game we’re building.“Part of the conversation includes hearing from our PC community that an unlocked frame rate in Need for Speed is a massive priority for you, and we fully agree. To deliver this, we’ve made the decision to move the PC release date to Spring 2016. Our PlayStation 4 and Xbox One release dates will remain the same, starting November 3, 2015 in North America and November 5 worldwide.“This decision on PC gives us the necessary development time to increase the visuals that we can deliver on PC. We will also include content updates that will have been released on console up to that time, making them available to all PC players from day one.”Need for Speed is out November 3 on PS4 and Xbox One, and spring 2016 on PC. EA and Ghost Games are holding a beta on PS4 and Xbox One, which will take place sometime before release.

Experience the Mortal Majesty of Swordplay in For Honor

Combat has evolved substantially throughout human history. Our tools have changed, becoming deadlier and easier to wield with each iteration, but nothing has ever quite surpassed the sword in terms of sheer lethal elegance. It’s a weapon that requires immense skill and focus to master, giving those who do the power to bend entire battles to their will. Ubisoft Montreal’s For Honor is built around this very concept, pitting two teams of five players against each other in a battle for territory framed around fierce, calculated duels.The battlefield is flooded with colored units, some on your side but most from the opposition, and those computer-controlled pawns can be dispatched with basic light and heavy attacks without much thought. For Honor feels very much like Dynasty Warriors in these moments, as you and your teammates fight back hordes of weaklings to capture a piece of territory. Dynasty Warriors actually has a significant advantage in attack variety in comparison to For Honor, but what it doesn’t have is its tactical PvP duels.

When you get another player in your sights and lock on, your fighter will immediately raise his sword in preparation for the approaching clash of blades. He’ll wield his weapon in whichever direction you flick the right stick, either left, right, or up. Matching your opponent’s stance will block their strike, while moving your blade to a position your foe has left open creates a chance for a light or heavy attack, depending on which button you press. Players can also dodge and break their opponent’s guard, often opening up opportunities for lethal counterstrikes. For Honor‘s duels are tense, tactical encounters, but they’re only a portion of the game’s broader battlefield clashes.Ubisoft Montreal’s game is first and foremost focused on the acquisition of territory, and teams must work fluidly to push back enemy units and isolate opposing knights. Working in pairs seemed to be a successful strategy during my time with the demo, especially when we faced up against a single enemy knight. Part of the tactical aspect of For Honor is keeping tabs on the overall state of the battlefield and fighting wherever you’re most needed, instead of blindly swinging your sword at every enemy you see. The game rewards you incrementally for maintaining a streak of small victories, tallying the soldiers you kill and unlocking special abilities, like rallying your troops for a time or unleashing a barrage from a catapult. These perks once again emphasize the strategic element of For Honor, teaching players that it’s perfectly acceptable to run from a fight if they need to regroup and maintain their advantage long-term.

Falling to the blade of a foe sends you back to the point you spawned from without tolling more than your time, but once your opponents start to overwhelm you in territory control your team loses the ability to respawn, making each death more costly and raising the stakes exponentially for the players left alive. Though the pressure is high in these moments, the battle is not lost; your team can level the field by recapturing crucial pieces of territory, extending For Honor‘s tug-of-war gameplay until one team bests the other definitively.The demo only offered knights as playable units, but in the final game players will also have access to warriors from the Viking and samurai factions. You’ll be able to choose from a variety of weapons, classes, and even customize your armor, and take to the battlefield online with your friends or in a campaign designed to welcome players to For Honor’s unique, culturally blended world. Ubisoft looks to have a truly unique and exciting new IP on its hands, and we can’t wait to see more ahead of the game’s 2016 release on PS4, Xbox One, and PC.

Assassin’s Creed Syndicate is One to Get Excited About

After last year’s embarrassingly buggy Assassin’s Creed Unity, Ubisoft has to deliver with Assassin’s Creed Syndicate. Many fervent fans were burned by Unity’s disappointing launch, and if another sub-par game follows it up, it could spell the end of the Assassin’s Creed franchise altogether. Luckily, Syndicate looks like one of the most promising entries in the series yet, boasting a more modern setting, more refined stealth and combat mechanics and a year’s worth of practice on current-gen consoles.Assassin’s Creed Syndicate features a number of significant changes from past games in the series, none more striking than its 1868 London setting. The industrial Revolution brings with it an array of new weapons, tools and environmental features, most notably a rope launcher that allows players to rappel up buildings and zip-line across rooftops, making moving about unseen easier and more enjoyable than ever. The entire core of Assassin’s Creed feels more refined this time around, with significantly faster combat and more fluid traversal. Syndicate‘s other touted feature is its twin protagonists, a first for the series.

Jacob and Evie Frye both fight to provide for the poor of London, but they have drastically different methods. Jacob is an outspoken brawler, always ready for a fight, and he prefers building up his street gang and rolling deep than working solo in the shadows. Evie, on the other hand, is a more traditional assassin, most comfortable in the dark and an expert in silently extinguishing life. Players will control both during their time with Syndicate, in story missions designed around the traits of one or the other. Having said that, however, you will also be able to tailor the twins to your personal preferences, perhaps specializing Evie in combat and making Jacob more of a typical assassin, or vice versa. During my recent hands-on demo with the game, I got to know Evie on a mission to kill a templar by the name of Lucy Thorne. Ubisoft challenged me to play the same mission twice, each time taking a different path towards the same goal.The first time through I rappelled up the courtyard walls and swung in through a window, unsure of the how I should approach my target. I stumbled upon a captured constable, who I liberated and followed outside. Grateful, and sharing my same distaste for Ms. Thorne, he lent me a legion of guards who I could call at my leisure to assist me in neutralizing any annoyances that cropped up on my way to her chambers. It involved a lot of blood and little stealth, which isn’t quite Evie’s forte. Her strengths lend her well to meticulous planning and deliberate distribution of death, and her bespoke chameleon ability, which renders her invisible if she stands still for a few seconds, making her an obvious candidate for sneaky operations.

Determined to act more assassin-like during my next attempt on Ms. Thorne’s life, I chose a more deceptive route on my second pass at the mission. It first involved me silently terminating a group of Templars disguised as guards, culminating in a crafty plan with one of Evie’s acquaintances. Posing as a guard, he pretended to apprehend Evie, bind her hands and deliver her to Ms. Thorne. It was a refreshing change of pace after the frantic violence of my last plan, and made me feel much more like an insidious assassin, hiding in plain sight. At least until I walked too close to a guard in Ms. Thorne’s abode, and he sounded the alarm. Then I got right back to the stabbing and shooting. But hey, it was good while it lasted.Admittedly, I was skeptical before playing Assassin’s Creed Syndicate. Innovating a series year after year is a big ask, but Ubisoft seems to have made a number of small but substantial tweaks to its established formula, and I had a blast. Refocusing on the single player experience is an intelligent decision and 19th century London looks to be an exciting setting full of firsts for the franchise. Only time will tell if Syndicate can live up to fans’ expectations and launch smoothly, but one thing is certain: it has our attention.

Until Dawn Review

The Butterfly Effect is an abhorrent film, but an interesting concept. A part of chaos theory originally coined by Edward Lorenz from observing weather patterns, the phrase has since entered the cultural lexicon to describe how slight decisions can effect major parts of history. Ray Bradbury popularized the concept in his fantastic short story A Sound of Thunder (not to be confused with the terrible film A Sound of Thunder, which brings into question why every movie about this effect has been so detestable) and when applied to everyday human life, the butterfly effect is fascinating. We make frequent seemingly insignificant decisions that could set us down a completely different path. Leaving your house a minute later because you had to run back in for your briefcase, for instance, could make it so you end up being hit by a red light runner simply because it altered the timeline of when you made it to that intersection. Deciding to stop at a bar on whim could lead to meeting a future spouse, radically changing the timeline of both parties. In fact, the odds of your mere existence are nearly incalculable as not only are your parents meeting likely spurred by a series of nominal events, but they could have easily have had a child that simply wasn’t you. The randomness of life is spooky when one puts thought into it and enough to bring out neurosis in even the most stable individual. Until Dawn is an experience that not only preys upon our basic fear of what lurks in the dark, but also our basic fear of life itself.Until Dawn puts players in control of ten friends — Sam (Hayden Panettiere), Mike (Brett Dalton), Jessica (Meaghan Martin), Ashley (Galadriel Stineman), Chris (Noah Fleiss), Matt (Jordan Fisher), Emily (Nichole Bloom), Josh (Rami Malek) and his twin sisters, Hannah and Beth (Ella Lentini) — as they head up to Blackwood Mountain Ski Lodge for their annual winter getaway. Hannah has long had a crush on Mike and some of their friends decide to take advantage of this knowledge and play a prank on her, having Mike invite her to his room as they lay in hiding watching and laughing. Hannah realizes this deception and is devastated, running out of the cabin and into the snowy woods. A distraught Beth chases after her and while they eventually reunite, they’re chased off a cliff by a mysterious figure. Although searching for weeks, Hannah and Beth are never found.A year later, Josh decides to go forward with the annual getaway in memory of his sisters and invites all of his friends back up to the mountain. This time around, however, things simply don’t seem right. Not only is there a storm brewing, but the group continues to discover alarming things like a wanted poster for an escaped murderer, missing weapons and items out of place. Things continue to devolve as the night continues until (depending on how the events unfold) people start dying or disappearing. Now it’s up to the player to stay alert and survive until dawn.

Until Dawn has a bit of an identity crisis as it ends up being two fairly unrelated stories rolled into one. Things begin like a typical teen slasher film. We’re introduced to group of good looking teenagers/young adults who’ve inexplicably ventured to a spooky cabin where their friends died; there’s the jock, the nerd, the bombshell, the bookworm, the cheerleader, etc. If the player makes the “wrong” decisions, events will unfold in the normal slasher formula where they are picked off one by one predominantly due to poor decisions. One of the first playable scenes, for instance, tasks players with controlling Mike as he ventures through a storm (and numerous threats) with Jessica to a remote cabin to have sex with her. This isn’t an exaggeration, one of the most groan inducing lines in the game is literally “are you really that upset with me and Mike that you’re going to ruin our fun? Well guess what, you can’t ruin it because Mike and I are going to screw. That’s right: we’re going to have sex. And it’s going to be hot, so enjoy because I know we’re going to.” Why they have to venture to a remote cabin to screw when they are staying in a gigantic ski lodge with plenty of private rooms is one of the many tropes Until Dawn seems to proudly wear on its sleeve.Even though it follows the teen slasher genre to a T, clichés and all, it’s an expertly plotted slasher. The atmosphere is well-crafted, the characters are developed enough to care about them and the plot unfolds at a neat pace. A little over halfway through, however, the proceedings do a complete 180 and swap from teen slasher to paranormal monster movie. It’s a tonally jarring shift that while connects to the slasher parts well enough to work, falls short of the original intention of the title. Until Dawn would have been a much tauter experience if developer Supermassive Games had stuck to making it feel like a single (ultra long) interactive slasher film, but instead it feels like it has a bit of an identity crisis. Regardless, the story is ultimately still effective (although it ends too abruptly) and will keep players hooked until the credits roll.

Until Dawn was a different beast when announced over three years ago. Originally conceived as a PlayStation Move release for PlayStation 3, the game had players navigating through the world in first person with the help of the PS Move controller. From what we’ve seen from the original version, most everything else was the same as the final release, but the gameplay changes had been drastic. For its PlayStation 4 release, Supermassive has essentially swapped out the gameplay. Instead of venturing through the player controlled story parts manually in first person, they unfold through QTE filled cutscenes. While QTEs have their detractors, they are much preferable over the original first-person segments. What we saw of the original game looked clunky, with the player simply running through an environment in chase. The exploration parts of the game, however, seem relatively the same with swapped viewpoints.Outside of the QTEs, the rest of the gameplay rests in either decision making or wandering around the mountain. The environment is predominantly broken up into three areas: the ski lodge, an abandoned mine and a sanatorium. Why would anybody go to this hellish blender of a mountain is anybody’s guess, but it does make for an unnerving setting. All three of the main areas are well designed and do a great job ratcheting up the tension. The self-exploration parts are basically designed to trigger a jump scare before giving players a small amount of time to regain their bearings and get spooked out by the atmosphere before delivering another jump scare. While most of these jump scares won’t be predicted, that’s because there are far too many of them and most of them are far too cheap. I attempted to keep track of how many there were and tallied forty-three. That’s a lot of jump scares for what amounts to around a nine hour experience and far too many of them are random yelling ghouls flashing on the screen that aren’t explained well enough later on.Until Dawn is scary and will have your heart racing, but it would have been much more effective if the jump scares were cut in half saving only the most clever and more focus was placed on atmospheric horror. Supermassive did an impeccable job crafting a dread-filled atmosphere and that’s true horror. Sure it won’t make you jump, but wandering around an abandoned sanatorium unaware what lurks around the corner is the kind of atmosphere that has you looking over your shoulder as you sit on your couch.

Until Dawn’s ace in the hole is of course its butterfly effect system that allows players to alter the course of events. Instead of decisions that trigger plot alterations being predominantly major things like shooting somebody in the head or not (although this does actually happen), most of the decisions are insignificant such as going left instead of right. The game is drastically altered, for instance, based on who you select to pick up a flare gun halfway through. It seems like a rather inconsequential decision that there’s no clear right answer to, but it completely alters the future of multiple characters. Some will be in awe of seeing a live demonstration the butterfly effect, while others might be frustrated that they killed two characters simply by making an everyday decision with no clear answer. Until Dawn is designed to be replayed, however, allowing those with the time to go back to individual chapters to rethink their decision after the first playthrough.Visually, it’s nigh impossible to tell this began as a PS3 game. It looks fantastic through and through with realistic environments and characters. Framerate can be an issue as it doesn’t stay constant, but it’s hard not to be impressed when you’re not too busy jumping out of your skin. The assembled cast did a fantastic job bringing the characters to life. As motion capture was used to actually render their movements and appearance, everything seems quite natural. Rami Malek, who currently stars in USA’s Mr. Robot and is rapidly approaching“somebody just give this guy an Oscar for something” territory, is especially impressive. This is a guy who treated Until Dawn like an Oscar caliber film and clearly spent time trying to understand and get into the head of his character. Hayden Panettiere is also quite natural, but it’s perhaps Peter Stormare who steals the show. Stormare plays “The Analyst” who appears between chapters to gauge what scares the player most to help tailor the most effective experience. Although it’s simply Stormare being Stormare, the surrealism of the character bolster the overall worth of the experience and end up being one of its most unnerving elements.

Closing Comments:
Until Dawn will likely be forever mistaken as part of Quantic Dream’s oeuvre. That’s high praise, however, as the French studio has come the closest to making a game that truly feels like an interactive movie. The area that Until Dawn fails to measure up to Quantic Dream’s efforts, however, is in its plotting. Everything is rather straightforward and cliché and while it’s easy to care for the characters, there’s a noticeable lack of poignancy. It could have been a near masterpiece if not for the tonal shift halfway through and if Supermassive committed to either going in the over the top Cabin in the Woods direction or delivering a taut and intelligent slasher like the original Black Christmas. Still, Until Dawn is gripping through its nine-odd hour running time and never lets off the gas. It’s scary — although sometimes cheaply so — and does a great job illustrating the butterfly effect. What Supermassive has accomplished so early in their tenure is impressive and something all horror fans should experience.

Score: 3/5

Reviewed BY: HardCoreGamer

Mad Max Review

Out of the many high-budget games released in the past few years, none feels more like a AAA title than Avalanche Studios’ Mad Max. It’s a testament to the commercialization of video games, as it feels like it encompasses every anti-player mechanic imaginable without sacrificing a base level of entertainment. For every smile-inducing moment in Mad Max, there seems to be a matching instance of design that doesn’t seem to take fun into account. Nowhere is the problem with this particular game better illustrated than in its single biggest draw: upgrading the Magnum Opus, your ultimate battle vehicle. Sure, it’s exciting to level up your car and see the results of your efforts translated into an awesome in-game item, but the sheer amount of busywork that goes into earning these upgrades simply isn’t fun. With a gorgeous open-world filled with busywork sporting intriguing characters in an abysmal story, Mad Max is about as hit or miss as it gets.Within the open moments of the campaign, the titular main character finds himself left for dead in the middle of a barren wasteland after the ruthless Lord Scrotus (son of Mad Max: Fury Road‘s Immortan Joe) beats him down and steals his car, The Interceptor. Max is left to pick up the pieces of his humble life and, with the help of a bizarre hunchback mechanic known as Chumbucket, sets off to get his car back and seek revenge. This initial opening cinematic is about as close to a MacGuffin as a plot-moving device can get without actually being one (being that this has the framework of a revenge story), as the overall narrative is told in the franchise’s traditional minimalist manner. The thing is, even though Max’s car being stolen forms some sort of a reason for him to continue his journey, as the story moves forward, it feels as though Avalache’s writing team forgot to give him tangible reasons to care. Nowhere is this more evident than in the final third of the main quest-line, where Max basically obtains a pseudo-family that he deeply cares about without players witnessing any of the moments necessary to establish a bond of that level. In aiming to weave a story that’s largely based upon atmosphere, a few basic tenants of narrative design seem to have fallen by the wayside here.

It’s a real shame that Mad Max‘s narrative is such a disaster, as the sheer number of fantastic characters in this fascinating world are seemingly left to rot. Naming and describing every interesting character in Mad Max would likely create a long-form article on its own, being that literally every major and minor character outside of Max and his aforementioned adopted family, Hope and Glory, are interesting in their own right. Max’s blandness and stoicism can be easily explained away considering that he’s a battle-hardened survivor, but inserting a stereotypical damsel and a child whose personality could be described as, well, childish, into a world rich with intrigue completely weakens what Mad Max is going for. From the amazing visual design of the self-proclaimed immortal Lord Scrotus to Chumbucket’s quips in the back of the Magnum Opus, there is something to love about nearly every character present here. Some of the more bizarre characters, including a Warboy whose only duty is to provide blood for transfusions, are so cringe-worthy and bizarre that their insertion into one of the most by-the-books open world stories around feels like a massive letdown.In regards to the world that Avalanche has created, things are far more positive. While the environment pretty much comprises of desert landscapes and nothing more, there’s a tangible sense of desolation and wonder for players to lose themselves in. For a game that’s almost entirely some shade of brown, this environment finds a way to make every area feel unique thanks to a number of awesome landmarks. One of the best looking games to come out all year, Mad Max truly makes you feel like you’re trying to navigate a world trying to kill you. The overall atmosphere of the world is so wonderfully realized that it completely diminishes the shoehorned-in survival mechanics, which require you to maintain fuel levels and use water and food (read: dog food and maggots) to regain health. The thing about this particular wasteland that’s truly a shame is that it would be able to stand on its own as a fun place to explore, granted with interesting mission design, without having bland, repetitive activities splattered across it, but sadly for players that’s exactly what they’re going to find when they hop in.

Mad Max, for all its mediocrity, is at its absolute worst when it comes to its mission design. If you were to take every standard open-world quest trope, namely endless scavenging and repetitive base captures, and stuff them into a single game, you’d likely wind up with something resembling Mad Max. A campaign that would be roughly seven or eight hours long is nearly doubled by progress gates that require you to complete numerous side missions (read: chores) until you’re able to continue on your journey. This is perhaps the single biggest sin one can commit in creating an open-world game, as players should be driven to complete side activities on their own rather than simply being forced to in order to lengthen the experience. The worst part about this is that none of the side missions are particularly fun. From demolishing towers that decrease the threat level of a given area to capturing bases that feel completely linear, unlike the amazing Outposts in the Far Cry series, every activity in Mad Max feels like homework rather than genuine fun. Even the campaign missions leave something to be desired when you’re not fighting other vehicles in the Magnum Opus, as these encounters largely amount to fetching an object after defeating hordes of enemies using watered down Arkham combat. Those seeking a video game that will entertain them simply by assigning them tasks will find themselves captivated by Mad Max, but those who want their content to be meaningful should probably run far far away.Combat in Mad Max is fifty percent awesome, fifty percent bland as it gets. Whenever you’re in a car ramming into enemies, engaging in chases and firing harpoons at enemies, there’s a tangible sense that you’re playing a dynamic action movie. If any part of this particular game feels like Mad Max: Fury Road, this is it. Upgrading your car, though cumbersome due to the sheer amount of scrap you need to scavenge, drives players to do more and more, as the better your car gets, the more fun combat becomes. The thing about the car combat system that makes it exciting is its novelty; outside of the Twisted Metal franchise, we haven’t necessarily seen vehicular combat that feels this exciting. Compare this to the ground combat, which basically amounts to the standard X-Y combat of the Arkham series without any of the dynamic combos, and it’s easy to see why Mad Max falls flat on its face whenever you leave the Magnum Opus. It’s also worth noting that this bland combat system, which is definitely starting to get stale and long in the tooth, goes from boring to awful as soon as you get into enclosed spaces, as the camera finds a way to lose its mind here every single time.In terms of the PC version of Mad Max, it’s a testament to how to optimize a AAA game for this particular platform. On a rig sporting a GTX 970 and an i5 4690k, the only times that the framerate dropped below 60 FPS on max settings was when I received a Steam notification signaling my download of Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain was complete. If you have the means to play Mad Max on PC, and you’re not dissuaded by its mediocrity, you’re going to want to choose this particular platform. After the debacles that were the PC versions of Arkham Knight and Mortal Kombat X, it’s such a relief to see a WB-published game that feels perfectly suited for PC play.

Closing Comments:
While Mad Max avoids being the disaster that the development hell storylines surrounding it suggest that it could have been, it’s an absolute testament to mediocrity. Its characters and the world itself provide a great deal of intrigue, and they will keep some players interested, but there are too many flaws to consider it a solid video game. From its bland quests and progress gating to the fact that it uses a weak clone of the standard Arkham combat system, Mad Max feels like a AAA studio attempted to make a AAA video game and nothing more. For this particular game to have truly shined, we would have needed to see a much better narrative and a more varied set of missions. Unfortunately for gamers far and wide, Mad Max is far more likely to frustrate than entertain.

Score: 3/5

Reviewed BY: HardCoreGamer