Batman: Arkham City

PLANS ARE GOOD, AREN'T THEY? I'd planned to cover the UKs premier gaming events in full, but only covered Modern Warfare 2.5. It could've been massive. Ah well. Onwards, eh? Let's review a game that's been out for a couple of months...CUTTING EDGE

It's been just over two years since Batman: Arkham Asylum stunned the world by turning out to be one of the, if not THE, best superhero game ever committed to disc. It won huge applause and many caps were doffed as it walked by. It was, even, the runner up in "game of the year" category at the prestigious Tommy Awards in 2009.

The problem with it being THIS popular, and THIS brilliant, is that, if you're going to do a sequel, you need to make sure what you put out is every bit as good as the original, and then some. The Force Unleashed II is a good example of how NOT to do a sequel. Arkham City is a good example of how to get a sequel spot on.

Taking place roughly one year after the events of Arkham Asylum, Arkham City (literally) throws Bruce Wayne in the big house. The inmates of the asylum have been transported to a sectioned off part of Gotham City. As Batman, you must track down various Batman Villains, solve various puzzles blah blah blah...You basically do what you did in Arkham Asylum. BUT, the storyline is much tighter, and much more believable. The actions and the motifs of the villains are much deeper than that of The Jokers in Asylum, thus allowing the player to understand them on a deeper level.

Mark Hamill reprises (for the final time, he says) his role as The Joker, and Kevin Conroy returns as Batman. The cast as a whole is well above par, and the villains are voiced so well, it's not inconceivable that they're all potential main villains in the inevitable sequel. The one sour note comes from Nolan North, who voices The Penguin. He goes for a cockney accent, but, in practice, it's comes off more Australian. And, considering the man's voiced more video game characters than I can name, that's not really good enough. The Penguin is quite a sinister character, with an appaulingly dark back story, and he goes for a faux-cockney voice.

Batman starts City with a lot of the gadgets he ended Asylum with, with only a handful of new additions to his arsenal. And for this decision, I praise Rocksteady. It gives the impression of real development in Batman as a character, and allows veteran Arkham players to transfer their skills into the sequel seamlessly.

Content-wise, City is filled to the brim. Over 400 Riddler trophies and riddles scattered across the map, plus some very, very fun sidequests, PLUS several Riddler challenge maps, PLUS New Game+, as well as the 10-12 hour story mode, BatFans are going to be very, very busy.

A lot of fuss was made over the Catwoman missions at E3 and so on. Well, they aren't that great. they're slow, they take you out of the action entirely, and, ultimately, all they're only there because it's another character to tick off the checklist. AND they come on a FUCKING ONLINE PASS CODE. Don't hype up a game mode, allow it to fall flat on its face, then force the player to buy it (if they went preowned) just for the achievements! Online codes are the epitome of all that is evil, and i want them dead. The only companies that aren't going with that are Nintendo and Activision! LEARN FROM THEM!!!

Enough of that, though. IT'S THE CONCLUSION.

Arkham City is a graduate of the Assassin's Creed II school of "how to be a brilliant sequel". It takes the framework of Asyulm, and builds straight up. And keeps going. It improves on pretty much every aspect of Asylum, and adds things you didn't even know you wanted. In a year of big blockbusters, I wonder whether or not it'll be able to stand its own. But, if it does go down, at least it'll go down with several other games. This is a superb video game, one that not even the weight of expectation can crush. And I look forward to the sequel.

*DISCLAIMER: No actual sequel has been confirmed, this was Tom being trying to be hilarious. He's deeply sorry if he's mislead you. It won't happen again. Until the next review NO, DON'T SAY THAT.*

9.8/10

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 Preview

After a spirit breaking 90 minute wait, the Gohma team finally got into the sectioned off Modern Warfare 3 booth at GAMEfest. Interest in the game was at an all time high, considering it had the largest booth by a mile, and was the focal point of advertising for the event. The Call of Duty francise is bigger than Jesus at the moment, and it was time for the fabled Modern Warfare trilogy to meet its end.

Upon entry, we were welcomed by a 65" screen playing various trailers, getting the attendees pumped for what was in store. Moments later, myself and Sam Veasey were playing spec ops survival mode.

Forged in Gears of War and popularized in Call of Duty: World at War's Zombie mode, The "survival mode" has become what multiplayer options once were; a tick on the back of the box checklist.

Truth be told, it's a pretty standard affair. You start with a pistol, and earn point for every kill you get and every round you survive. You can then spend that money on new weapons, upgrades for said weapons, ammo, perks ect. As the game progresses, the enemies grow in numbers, become much stronger, and you even come up against packs of dogs, and the hallowed juggernaut.

In the heat of battle, when the pressures up, when people in the queues are watching you, judging your skills, it's a strangely exhilarating experience. When you've got the headphones booming, your team mate barking orders at you, and you're just trying to survive the round for ammo in the next, it's quite the experience.

The biggest flaw is that it will always be compared to Zombies. Where Zombies has taken an incredibly deep, easter egg hunt driven route, this is much more old fashioned, straight up survive.

In all, then, it's typical CoD. You run, you gun, you walk away satisfied. Survival is a worthy addition to the plethora of online options available to CoD fans currently, and will no doubt ensure people come back to Mod3 time and again, much like the past. This is another sure fire hit, and one I personally look forward to picking up at some point. Maybe not release, but certainly at some point.

EXCITE-OMETRE SCORE: 7/10

GAMEfest and Eurogamer Expo 2011- The Aftermath

Both event have finished, I spent some time reflecting on my experiences and collating my thoughts. I'm trying to figure out a way to deliver my coverage of the events, so I guess in the forth coming weeks and potentially moths, I'll do a piece based on every game I played, giving a comprehensive hands on report of each of them. Stay glued to the blog for a preview of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3, which will be the game that kicks off the season of previews. I'll post a list of what games I'm (and possibly other people) previewing soon, if I can be bothered. So, stay glued or whatever I said.

GAMEfest and EuroGamer Expo 2011; WHAT DO YOU WANT?!?

In the next two weeks some of the biggest games of the year will be tossed to the proverbial wolves that is the gaming public. Being the well respected journalist that I am, I'll be at both, looking for interviews, playing games and that. Any way, EVERY SINGLE GAME either myself or the indie developer I interviewed Bobby Bailey  will receive a full on preview report type. So, I want to know what games you want to read about. Obviously there are certain games I'll play just for me (HELLO SKYWARD SWORD), and even they will get the reports they deserve. Imma leave links to the line up of each expo below, and if you'd be so kind to leave what games you want to read about. Also, QUESTIONS FOR PETER GARZA. Peter Garza is the overseas producer for Team Ninja, the group that are developing Ninja Gaiden 3, and will be available for interview at EuroGamer Expo. The only problem is, I've never played a Ninja Gaiden game in my life. If you have, and want to get the inside scoop on the game, leave your questions in the comments section. END.

GAMEfest Lineup: http://events.game.co.uk/gamefest/exhibitors/

EuroGamer Expo Lineup: http://www.eurogamer.net/expo/whats-on#show-floor

Interview With Bobby Bailey

I recently interviewed Indie Video Game developer and self proclaimed expert Bobby Bailey to discuss the state of video game release dates. Here's the results...

Bastion- Xbox Live Arcade

There's no question, really. Bastion makes other XBLA titles pail in terms of quality and enjoyability. Bastion a bewitchingly beautiful, enchantingly intense experience that no other arcade title can come close to. Bastion encapsulates everything a service like the Xbox Live Arcade should offer. Bastion is the perfect download title.

By all accounts, the world is ending, thanks to an event known as "the calamity". The Kid (the main character. great name, I know.) awakes to find the world of Caelondia lying in ruins around him. Instructed by the voice of The Narrator, The Kid makes his way to The Bastion, the area that serves as the central hub for the game. From The Bastion, The Kid must travel to various locations to collect cores to fuel the power of The Bastion, and return Caelondia to its former glory. Obviously things don;t go quite according to plan, but I feel you ought to experience it for yourself rather than me tell you exactly what goes down. Suffice to say, you meet a handful of characters, learn The Kids backstory etc etc.

As straightforward as the story sounds, it isn't so. The story, including The Kid's actions, and various observations, is told entirely through The Narrator, who, while having an insanely cool, albeit creepy, voice, does tend to become part of the background noise after a while. This game requires concentration. And in this high speed era we live in, my concentration is no where to be seen. It's story telling in its simplest form. But it isn't story telling in its best form.

What The Narrator's inclusion does offer, however, is a different level of immersion. While it can feel like, at times, he's droning on and on, and your mind wanders from thought to thought, at the odd times you catch him narrate on you actions, you do, strangely, feel at one with The Kid. To hear "The Kid rages for a while" as you smash the hammer into some market stalls is a little bit exciting somehow.

Bastion is a stone cold stunner. Each location you visit is filled with vivid, vibrant colours that burst out of the screen. Bastion has the finest art style of any game I've played on the Xbox 360. I'd say it's like a painting come to life, but that's far too cliched and obvious for my liking. BUT I'LL SAY IT ANYWAY. Bastion is like a painting come to life. Everything in the world has a colourful glow about it. Even the enemies The Kid encounters have this aura about them that makes it regrettable to pound them for XP.

Bastion plays like any standard action RPG released this side of the millennium. You're given the option of a selection of melee and ranged weapons, and can carry two at a time. Weapons can be upgraded at the forge, depending on whether or not you have the correct upgrade item, and enough XP. When you level up, you can go to the distillery, and select a drink which increases The Kids attributes in some way. Combat is button mashing, basically.

Now, that's fine, but when The Kid starts to walk off the edge of the level when I look away for a second, that's where I draw the line. That bugs annoying, dammit. I want it gone.

So, Bastion. It's beautiful, it's bold, it's an excellent debut from SuperGiant games. It's a brilliant way to kick off the "summer of arcade" promotion, and an even better addition to the already impressive XBLA arsenal. It's a game that I recommend very highly, one that any self respecting gamer must experience. Bar a few bugs here, and a couple of hiccups there, when all is said and done, Bastion is an exemplary title. One that, for the price of 5 Call of Duty maps, is well worth the plunge.

9/10

E3 2011: The Microsoft Conference

It's over. Weeks of speculation, leaks and anticipation. And for what? 4 days of reveals from some of the biggest developers in the gaming industry. This is what the World Cup is to football, the Superbowl is to...that other football. This is E3. And THIS is my take on the greatest show on Earth.

So it all kicked off with the Microsoft Conference, showing off the future of the Xbox 360. What we expected was a Kinect driven show with room for the hardcore. What we got was...to be honest slightly underwhelming. Hours before the clock struck 9.30 (in L.A.), the interwebs were alight with rumours that Microsoft had not only dropped the ball, they'd thrown it to the ground, danced on the shards of its very being (I'm assuming it's a discoball), and swept it up with the tail of a greyhound. All their big announcements were posted to www.xbox.com, including the biggest of them all. If whoever posted that is reading this; click off this tab and get back to jobsite.com.

The show started slow as ever, with New York getting blown up. PUT THAT PHONE DOWN! I was talking about Modern Warfare 3, this ain't real life...

But, yeah, it looked nice. When you consider it's running off the same engine as Quake 3, it's really quite impressive what Infinity Ward have achieved. You can bleet on all day about how much better Battlefield 3 will be, but you know and I know you're gonna buy it. It looks like it'll be another popcorn title.

Tomb Raider. The developers would not shut up about Lara Croft being 21 years old in this one. We get it. Middle aged developers get off at the idea of 21 year olds being put into perilous situations, where they make, for lack of a better word, crudely adult grunts. I mean it looks quite pretty, yes, and it looks quite exciting, yes, but the focal point, it seemed, was the fact that Lara Croft was getting all dirty in a cave. And THAT is why I'm not completely sold on this reboot.

Got a Kinect? No? Then you're SCREWED for the rest of this overview. Because once those two titles were shown the door, we were greeted with the "KinectKonveyuerBelt" (if anyone says that, I'm sueing them. I thought of that name, it's MINE). FIFA 12, Madden NFL 12 and Tiger Woods PGA Tour 2013 will all be "Better With Kinect". The mind races at the thought of what EA plan on doing with FIFA. I'd imagine there's be some form of penalty shootout mode, or Avatar Exhibition mode (ala Mii Footaball), but, for now at least, it's an interesting concept.

Mass Effect 3 is now also "Better With Kinect". Not combat. Voice recognition. You now say the options in conversations, and can command your team using your voice. "THANE. MOVE UP." That;'s how it'll be done. Like I predicted when it was leaked a few weeks ago. Ghost Recon Future Soldier falls into that BwK group, but only for a single mode. "Gunsmith" will allow you to use your arms to create your perfect weapon, and try it out on a testing range using Kinect. Yes. They've done it. Shooting mechanics on the Kinect. Your left arm is your iron sights, your right is your trigger. You open your palm to fire, you close to stop. It looked really cool. I'm excited.

I was buying both games anyway, but this has increased my level of excitement for both titles. I look forward to them with one eyebrow raised.

Remember in 2007 when the blades disappeared, and your dashboard transformed into something more accessible? Yeah, in a few months that's going. The "New Xbox Experience" will become something that resembles the tiles thingy on Windows Phone 7. It looks really clean and will suit those with Kinect more than what they've got now. But I'd imagine it'll become really awkward for non-Kinect users. Only time will tell. Oh, and YouTube, Bing and Live TV will be coming to your 360 with the update. Yeah, they're partnering up with more stations or whatever to bring you a tv experience on your Xbox. and YouTube also. And Bing.

Sticking with the live tv thing, you'll now be able to order UFC fights on your Xbox. Something about it being pretty popular, and Microsoft having a lot of money. While watching the fights, you can check fighter stats and other cool things you'll use once and never use again.

Cliffy B and Ice-T played Gears of War 3, giving the Xbox conference the title of "Microsoft: Year of the Three-quel." It looks like a Gears of War game. I don't play Gears of War, so I was left unaffected, but I'm sure fans of the series will enjoy it plentifully.

Crytek's Ryse had a teaser trailer. Set in Rome, you'll fight off attackers. I was all ready to crown it the new Sparta: Total Warrior (the most under-appreciated ever), when i was revealed to be BwK. ENOUGH KINECT! WE GET IT! IT EXISTS!

So, 10 years ago a little game called Halo: Combat Evolved was released. It's getting a HD remastering, with 4 player online co-op, and 8 multiplayer maps. Halo: Anniversary is set to be released for this Christmas, and we're all very excited. I never got to play this game, so I'd like to see where it all began. And it's a budget title. So happy days all round.

Forza 4. Sequel to the "best driving game ever". World tour, rivals mode, voice recognition and head tracking...yep...it's better with Kinect. It's got the Top Gear test track in it, though, so I guess fans will be well happy with that one.

Leaving no franchise alone, Kinect comes to Fable, in; Fable: The Journey. Which looks like a slow, boring, on rails shooter. Is this the mode that was meant to be in Fable III? Because if they're creating a £40 game for something that was meant to be a single mode in the last game, I will not be pleased.

MORE BLOODY KINECT. Minecraft, Disneyland Adventures, Kinect Star Wars (which got a few 'woop's from the crowd), Sesame Street: Once Upon A Monster, and Kinect Fun Labs were all announced. I'm not going into detail on for any of them, because they're all essentially the same. You wave your ams around, stuff happens.

Time to wrap it up. Kinect Sports: Season 2 announced. The big Rareware title. That company is wasted at Microsoft. It's hard to believe these people made Donkey Kong Country, Banjo-Kazooie and Viva Pinata. Forced to slave endlessly at Avatar stuff and Wii Sports rip offs.

Dance Central 2. Now with everything you expected from Dance Central. Like multiplayer. and and online mode. But, you can import your songs from Dance Central 1 onto Dance Central 2. Ala Rock Band to Rock and 2, and Rock Band 2 to Rock Band 3. I really liked Dance Central, so I'll probably get this.

BIG REVEAL TIME! It's Halo 4. The Cheif is awake after his nap, and ready to kick some futuristic ass. Apparently. The trailer lasted about 40 seconds, and was just a CGI thing. If this wasn't leaked, it would've been as big as the Twilight Princess announcement in 2004. We've got to wait for anything that big to come along again...

So that was Microsoft. What did I think? I was really impressed. I saw games I'm excited for, I saw Kinect support where there wasn't any before (the core gamer market), and I liked the new dashboard. I think it was a hardware announcement away from greatness, but, as it is, it's a very very good, professional conference.

Tomorrow I'll cover EA and Ubisoft, so stay plugged to the Gohma gaming Blog, and The Mercurial Anecdote.

Welcome

So, yeah. Welcome to the Gohma Gaming Blog, named after the infamous boss on every single Zelda game. First review will come tomorrow, when I cover LA Noire, but keep tight, and follow. Or whatever.