Resident Evil Redux

This isn't a review of the game. Its just me enjoying one of my favourite games of all time. Taa.

When thrash metal emerged melodiously rabid from the metal scene in the early 1980s, this young (as I was then) metalhead was there to greet it, moshing right down to my denim studs. Ditto the action movies, that saw the likes of Rambo and The Terminator come stomping out of Hollywood. And just in case I was still bored, the videogame thing happened. Oh yeah that. An industry that from the silicon bowels of Atari, Nintendo, et al, rose to become the multi million behemoth that it is today. And that behemoth owes a lot to PlayStation and what many would call the birth of a new genre: survival horror.
When the original Resident Evil dropped onto Sony's grey box of tricks in 1996, gamers' collective jaw dropped. After rolling a dice for either Chris Redfield or Jill Valentine and heading to the mansion on the outskirts of Raccoon City, it felt like we were in our own personal horror movie (complete with hammy acting that served as the games intro). Cut a long story short, Resident Evil was utterly brilliant. Guns, gore and zombies. Videogame fans had been given our first taste of a future dipped in bloody entrails. Delicious.
Fast forward two years to 1998 and the inevitable sequel shuffled into being. Resident Evil 2 ticked all boxes (and ticked a few more we didn't know existed). It was a game dripping in suspense. Players knew the moment they entered the Raccoon Police Dept. and the camera panned across the marble floor, that bigger and better nightmares awaited in the shadows.
I bought Resi 2 on launch day, and remember going to the local Blockbuster, grabbing a copy and loaded it up with a bottle of Southern Comfort (no coke). I'll be honest, I wasn't mad keen on the box cover art at first, the black "squashed" zombie face looked cheap and homemade but it did have a touch of menace about it (which is probably why I have grown to like it more as time goes by). The game was an instant love for me; it had an atmosphere that I had never experienced in games before (even topping the first game) and together with that beautiful, eerie music which played as you picked through the mutated horrors of Raccoon City pulled me in and never let go. And as someone who has played and completed Resident Evil 2 well over fifty times (true story), I can say it with authority.


Hellooooo Mr Babycakes


A Return to Nightmares

When Capcom announced a remake of my beloved game, my heart said, "yay! Lets do this!" but my mind said, "wait a sec buddy, this could be bad." Call it lazy or greedy, we live in a world where every man and his (zombie) dog is getting a reboot, and we know from bitter disappointment that they have a high risk of going wrong. A sloppy reboot of a much loved classic is sacrilege. When I heard Resi 2 was getting a fresh lick(er) of paint, I tried hard to dial down the excitement, avoiding the previews and first look videos on Youtube lest they ruined my fanboy buzz. I needn't have worried, and the brilliant Resident Evil 7 ought to have been a sign Capcom was hitting the high times again.
By the time I had sunk my teeth into the one shot demo, all fears for a clumsy reboot disappeared. Capcom it would seem, are on a roll and this is good times indeed for zombie fans. Resident Evil 2 looks and plays ace. And the atmosphere of the original? That constant feeling of dread and overwhelming odds? Back in spades, thanks mainly to the hulking Mr X, a stony faced brute who stalks both Leon and Claire throughout most of the game and cannot be stopped (for long) with puny bullets and grenades. He is a genuinely terrifying presence and the "stomp, stomp," you hear as he searches for you in the police station multiply the panic ten fold, especially if you play on higher difficulty. True, you can use methods to try and keep him at a distance but for me personally, its the not seeing him that is more frightening, when I can see Mr X at least I can use evasion tactics.

Game of the year?

I am going all in here. Yeppers, Resident Evil 2 is already my game of the year. There is nothing I can see currently that is going to have even a sniff of knocking it off top spot and that's including titles like Red Dead Redemption 2 (good game but outstayed its welcome for me). The Resi games never do this, you can finish RE2 in around 4 hours easily if you know where you going and plan the inventory accordingly.
There are two scenarios per character so its still a sizable slab of survival horror gaming.

Resident Evil 2 Remake

I don't usually get excited over current gen videogame remakes but here I am happy to make an exception. You see, Resident Evil 2 is one of favourite games of all time. I bought it on launch day back in the heady days of the original Playstation after the first game set a benchmark for survival horror and put it on a course that would make Resident Evil one of the greatest videogame franchises.

Biomutant trailer

The game that has got me most excited for is Biomutant by the developers who brought us the brilliantly fun Mad Max. The idea of playing as an overgrown gerbil with Bruce Lee fighting skills in an open world RPG where John Woo is God is just too much aceness to pass up. I also really like the idea of having a tree of life where you encounter bosses at the roots and depending on karma, you can either protect the planet or let everything go to hell.
Mad Max had a lot of mixed reviews with most criticism coming from the repetitive nature of the game, it was mostly brawling and driving (which is what Mad Max is all about surely?) and yes it was pretty basic gameplay but it was fun because I got the feeling the devs didn't take it too seriously, and Biomutant looks more of the same. I was a big fan of the Mad Max videogame and if the feeling in my water holds, this looks like a blast also.

Far Cry 5 trailer released

Its finally landed! Happy t see I wasn't a million miles out with the Waco cult vibe, and good thing too because it suits the world of Far Cry. Its also a personal favourite of mine, I love the weird cultist going crazy theme, its both comical (at times if done well) and terrifying and if this game lives up to what I'm already imagining, it will be one of the best in the series.

Skyrim Remaster

It was only a matter of time but the eagle has landed (or to be more accurate, the dragon). I know, I know, a lot of gamers complain about the current gen's remasters, myself included, but admit it, SKYRIM REDUX IS WANT! And the best thing? It hits the shelves 28 October. Ace, hopefully it comes without the glitches that stained the previous gen consoles (though this is Bethesda so i'll whisper it).
It looks pretty damned tasty in the video (above( and this time us lowly console owners are getting mods that featured in Fallout 4. Its looking pretty win win but pricing is going to be the main issue for most. Anything over £30 will be a tough sell considering its now 5 years old and I cant have been the only one who bought it twice when the Legendary edition was released. £20 would be a day one insra buy for me.

Fallout 4: Love Shack, Baby

As anyone who isn't living in a real nuclear wasteland knows, the mighty Fallout 4 was unleashed yesterday, sent to run riot in the wild like a ghoul strung on Jet. To non gamers this news was a mere passing trend on social media, but in the gaming world it landed on shelves like...well like a mini nuclear blast of its own and if you happen to be a fan of Bethesda's games you are no doubt still feeling the aftershock.
Its been a while since I splurged on a special edition but that Pip Boy edition was always going to be mine and I had it on preorder for months. Aye, its nothing more than plastic tat that will gather dust on a shelf but who cares right? Right? Only live once and all that jazz.
Now anyone who has played an Elder Scroll or Fallout game (especially on consoles) are well aware that as far as bugs and glitches go, Bethesda titles have been plagued by them In fact I replayed Fallout 3 to fuel the hype and the game still freezes so when I slid the disc into the PS4 last night, I didn't have the usual excitement big releases usually bring (which is kinda sad because being gamers the hype is part of the ritual.)
So imagine my surprise when two hours into Fallout 4, digging through the ruins of Boston, I had no issues. None. Nada. In fact it felt the complete opposite and played smooth as mammoth cheese (oops, wrong game that's Skyrim.)

FF 3 days

I don't want to be 'that guy' or anything, but still no bugs and I play a good few hours of an evening. Sure ive read about floating shacks and companions getting stuck or lost but Fallout 4 has been buttery smooth whenever I boot up (PS4).

Teh Nerdgasm

Face it, Fallout 4 is harder than FO3 and New Vegas and if you are going to stay alive then you'll be needing skills/perks. Here's what ive been topping up as priority skills.

Become Shadow

Like I said, this game is harder than previous games and early on your rookie ass would be better off avoiding Fallout's happy campers like raiders, Super Mutants, Ghouls, Mirelurks and and... look just everything okay. Invest in some sneak skills, your pretty ass will thank you for it believe me.

Gun Nut

There are times when stealth just doesn't cut it and your club footed guy/gal WILL kick off a floor trap or worse a landmine. So either be ready with a stockpile of stimpacks and chems, or learn to shoot. Fast.

Physician Heal Thyself

Some gamers think firearm skills more important than medicine but the wise man knows better. Nobody is getting help if you have more holes than Swiss cheese, so lap up those medic skills.


So, Any Downers ?

Sure! Fallout 4 is not the perfect game we all hoped it would be. Granted everyones opinions differ but for me? The inventory system can be very fiddly, especially when facing a crew of psycho raider scum. If you aren't ready then prepare thy doom (its worth noting Fallout 4 is harder than previous games too). Then there is the map. It feels smaller than Fallout 3 despite wandering the wilds and discovering loads of new settlements. I just don't get the same wow! This game is huge feeling. Of course this might be down to 'sandbox fatigue', play enough open world games and they all shrink due to not being fazed any more.
Settlers camps>. When I first saw Preston Garvey (current leader of the Minutemen) I thought he'd be a badass like Isran from Dawnguard, the Skyrim DLC. He's not. Indeed from the moment you set him and his chums up at Sanctuary, he begins to irritate. All settlers do. Bunch of whiny, demanding yoghurt knitters looking to me to help them survive. If they helped, I wouldn't care but the basttards leave everything to me. If the game allowed it, I would have killed them all long ago.

Anyway, im heading back to the wilds of Boston and kill more sh!t. Lock and load.


Fallout Onesie? I'll Take Two

Fallout 4: You're Special!

With Fallout 4 due to drop in early November (and yes, my preorder ace looking Pip-Boy edition is reserved), the hardcore Wastelanders among us have already started to think about our first character build. The skills and perks are many and each one will help you create the type of character YOU wish to make. Love shooting stuff? Grab some gun skills. Want to be more efficient in patching yourself up after one Deathclaw meeting too many? The medicine/science skills await. Sticky fingers? Ah, you'll be needing the sneak and lock pick perks. And so on.
Newbies to this might be starting to have doubts because on paper, creating your very own Fallout hero/villain sounds a bit naff. Right? Wrong! Once it falls into place, starting out anew is strangely addictive, so much so in fact that Fallout fans regularly start new characters. Its even got a name on gaming forums: restartitus.

SPECIALO is the acronym standing for skills: Strength, Perception, Endurance, Charisma, Intelligence, Agility and Luck. You get limited points to load them with so use wisely.
I find 6 Strength, 6 Perception, 5 Endurance, 7 Charisma, 7 Intelligence, 6 Agility and 5 Luck suits the type of build I use.

Murdered: Soul Suspect

When Murdered: Soul Suspect was originally announced, it it barely made a blip on my gaming radar (truth be told, there was no blip at all. Not even half of one). I'm an action kinda guy, more at home shooting bad guys in BioShock than trying to solve violent deaths (even if that violent death involved my grizzled old self). So imagine my surprise when I saw Murdered: Soul Suspect in a December PSN store sale on PS4 and found myself putting it into my digital basket without second thought. (Though I must be honest, if it was more than the £12 I paid, I probably would have clicked on by). Luckily the timing (and price) was right and I was on the hunt for something different, and Airtight Games had the solution with Murdered: Soul Suspect.
The game takes place in Salem, Massachusetts, and you play Detective Ronan O'Connor, a former petty criminal turned cop. (And before I forget, tattoos look pretty cool on ghostly skin. This game is very easy on the eye).
Det. Ronan is on the trail of a serial killer known as the Bell Killer, a rather vicious, hooded killer who sadly for Ronan is strong and brutal and ends up throwing the detective out of a window before pumping his dying body full of bullets. You know, just to make sure the lawman is dead. Then something weird occurs as officer O'Connor 'wakes' up wondering how he has survived his attack. And then (here comes the odd bit), he realises he didn't survive at all and finds himself looking down on his bloodied corpse. He meets his long dead wife who explains to her ghostly spouse that he can't join her in the Afterlife until he clears up the unfinished business he has in the living world.
And this is where the 'fun' begins. Walking through walls, possessing cats (you read that right), playing poltergeist, jumping into living bodies and reading their minds and executing glowing demons who truly are quite terrifying, especially when you get too close to one and it screams in your face. Basically you acquire the abilities we all imagine ghosts have (apart from the cat possession thing, although it would explain why cats seem to have different rules to other animals).
Murdered: Soul Suspect is one of those games that pop up now and then, leaving you wondering where it came from, and how it slipped under your gaming radar. Mind you, it was released around the same time as bigger, more well known videogames so perhaps there's no mystery there. But make no mistake, Murdered: Soul Suspect is well worth your dosh. The puzzles aren't the obscure types found in games like Silent Hill and its very satisfying when pieces of the puzzle all come together to help track down the Bell Killer. There are other side missions to tackle as well as the main campaign but I won't spoil them here.

The game is definitely worth your gaming time, and it looks darned good on PS4. Personally ive had more fun playing this than Watch Dogs, a game im playing alongside Soul Suspect (though not at the same time obviously). And were I talking scores here, its easily a 4/5.

Uncle Salty Crabs

So the Hong Kong crime caper, Sleeping Dogs, is coming to Playstation4? Well you know what? Amidst all the negative nancies complaining about there being too many remakes emerging for current gen consoles, I for one am pretty excited about this one. It plays like movie classic Hard Boiled with you as a karate  kicking cop yer Crissakes! What's not to love? GTA Japan anyone?
Actually (and this is only my opinion of course), but Sleeping Dogs is better than that. "Better than Grand Theft Auto?" You ask. "What could be a better sandbox game than GTA?" Well the setting for one. My personal love for Japan aside, Hong Kong is the perfect backdrop having plenty of 'flavour' from the East to make it exotic while still having a fair dose of Western culture to keep it familiar. Sure you'll hear Japanese music on the radio (beautiful it is too), but flick a few channels and you can hear everything from Mozart to Black Stone Cherry.
There's nothing ground breaking about Sleeping Dogs but what it does, it does well and is a welcome break from creating mayhem in California. Comparisons with GTA are inevitable and while vehicles are lacking, (petrol heads will be disappointed),  it makes up for in other, some would say cooler ways. Side missions and things to do when not killing folk for example. In Grand Theft Auto the player can relax with a round of golf or do yoga (yes YOGA). Reports of a knitting circle are unconfirmed.
Sleeping Dogs has much more suitable past times for a career criminal however. Maj jong poker on a private ship. Kung fu brawls that would make Bruce Lee happy. Oh and cock fighting. Controversial perhaps but no real roosters were harmed during the making of this game. It all fits so well.
I've played some great videogames recently, including the mighty BioShock Infinite (easily in my gaming top 10), but Sleeping Dogs is the one that revved my thrill clock to the limit. I had a f**king blast on it, so much so that I will be visiting Hong Kong again pretty sharpish. And the fact it reminds me of classic Shenmue is bonus.
I'm not saying the game is a stellar 10\10 gold, and it does have some (minor) niggles but nothing that ever comes close to spoiling a wonderful experience. Every gamer should play Sleeping Dogs, and I'm in raptures over the fact it is being rebooted for PS4.
The only thing I can imagine some being upset about is the map. Its fairly small when compared to say Red Dead Redemption but then again, that can be a blessing too. After all who wants a huge map filled with nothing to do?  This is just me of course but after completing the missions in GTAV, I wasn't in a hurry to get back to Los Santos. Like I said, yoga isn't exactly laugh a minute (no offence to yoga loving hipsters reading).  But the whole Hong Kong city vibes hooked me in proper and I loved just wandering the markets listening to food vendors (the pork bun man is legendary) sell their wares, and seeing dodgy DVD sellers tell you they have the latest movies.
A big mention is the hand to hand combat which makes fighting in other open world games feel boring. It does a good job of making you feel like a martial arts master and even getting surrounded by 10 thugs you never feel too worried (in fact the more the merrier).
To cap it all off, Sleeping Dogs is like being in 80s movies American Ninja and Remo Unarmed and Dangerous. And for a guy growing up back in those neon tinged glory days when Commodore and Spectrum ruled the games world, this is indeed good news. (There's also a cool retro DLC pack).
So a reboot for PlayStation 4 is very welcome news for this gamer. I have a feeling these current gen consoles are just what the game needs because machines have the 'oomph' to bring Hong Kong truly alive. Whisper it, but I reckon it could do better than the GTAV reboot. You read it here first.

Mighty Abe....King All Odd

Abe's Oddysee HD, New N' Tasty interview with Stewart Gilray and creator Lorne Lanning.


New n' Tasty dropped on Playstation4 a matter of weeks ago now, so this blog post, while slow on the news front (think of us as the BMX powered Paperboy who appeared in videogame arcades of the 80s. YEPPERS! We might be guilty of using the slowest Elum to bring you this article but don't chuck us down the Glukkon meat grinder just yet.
We present a giant Scrab cake filled with praise, toward the lovable, wimpy Frankenstein who has returned from death in 1997 on PS1, to be reborn (a word we're fast becoming used to with current gen consoles).

The Oddworld games that started it all(minus my lovely legs)


Remakes, remasters, reboots. I don't particularly mind what we're gonna call them, and im not intending to loose my beauty sleep over it either. And readers here would be wise to follow me too because regardless of how many gaskets get blown, or how many game subscripions are threatened during the faux outrage toward videogame rehashes. I think its a cool thing and once the pitchforks simmer a tad, other fans will chill too.

Rambo Trilogy Game Trailer

Bring on the explosive bows!

Yo 1980s action movie fans, here's something to tickle yer guns! Bad ass Green Beret, John J. Rambo is coming to a current gen console near you next year (Jan 17th) thanks to British publisher Reef Entertainment. And despite all the naysayers predicting the game to be a sloppy and average affair, I personally think its going to be a blast. Admittedly im a Rambo fanboy who regularly cracks open one of the movies (even Rambo III) to accompany my Saturday night drinks, so I will be easier to please, but come on! Watch the video trailer avbove, even grumpy old Col. Trautman would think this game looks decent.

Craig Lewis, commercial director at Reef said: "We have big ambitions for Reef and the Rambo IP is the first step in establishing us as a worldwide player. Rambo will be a triple-A title on PS3, Xbox 360 and PC and will capture the gritty atmosphere and full-on action which made the Rambo movies so successful."

Let us hope so mate, I am positively drooling at the thought of being to able to play through the meatier bits of the Rambo trilogy, while guzzling a few (too many) brewskies. Hunting cops through dense forest? Raining down those explosive arrows on hapless soldiers in Vietnam? Pass the bandana and elephant sized survival knife, let's do this!

The Wolf Among Us

Bufkin on the lash

Wishing to live "happily ever after", the Fables, well known characters from folklore, are all living in the Bronx in a hidden community called Fabletown. Humans cannot see them because using magic spells called Glamour, they are able to live below the radar, and stay out of the clutches of the prison-like Farm. A good thing for both them and us. Im not sure how happy the average New Yorker would be living knowingly alongside the Big Bad Wolf, Snow White and Beowulf's Grendel. Now before you start thinking I had LSD for breakfast, this is the world of The Wolf Among Us, a game recently released by Telltale Games for Playstation 3 and Xbox 360. And jolly great fun it is too!
If you ever played their previous offering, The Walking Dead, you will know the tune. Its a point-and-click affair, released in bite sized episodes and bathed in very stylish cel-shaded visuals. You'd better believe it, The Wolf Among Us, looks bloody gorgeous. And it plays pretty well too. So both thumbs UP then.
Unlike zombie mayhem however, this is a fairy tale murder mystery based on the Fables comic books written by Bill Willingham but because the characters are from stories like Little Red Riding Hood and the Three Pigs, it all feels instantly familiar even if you've never picked up Fables. You take on the role of ciggie loving, perma-stubbled Bigby Wolf, aka 'The Big Bad Wolf'. He's now sheriff of Fabletown, ordered by Snow White to keep the peace among the mythical creatures of this curious little world. That will be the 'Wolf Among Us' then. It reminds me of L.A. Noire, only the concept of this game is infinitely cooler. QTE's (Quick Time Events) pop up throughout fights in The Wolf Among Us but the jewel of the gameplay is being a detective and using the multiple choices on offer when questioning the colourful cast. Stay sharp wolfie, because the outcome of your Q+A can leave suspects having it away on their toes, or worse dead.
The Fables remember too. For instance if you act an azzhole to landlord Mr Toad (formerly of Wind In The Willows) his help will become limited. You may well have been the infamous Big Bad Wolf in a previous life but do you really want to behave like a dick now that you are supposedly reformed? Exactly. Mind you, there can be no denying there is something very satisfying about coming over all Dirty Harry at times. Its part of the fun.
The only grumble I have, and to be fair, its a minor one and not really worth fretting over, are the QTEs in fisticuffs. It feels too scripted and I would have preferred a more 'free' fighting method. Perhaps wading in like Grand Theft Auto? Quick Time Events can feel overly fussy, especially during insanely fast parts. And I like QTE as a rule. Its not awful, in fact you feel heroically smug after pulling off a flawless button mashing, its just that...well I fancied giving my old nemesis the Woodsman an old fashioned pasting like we were in a scene from Tekken. But as I say, this is just small fries compared to the big, meaty juice-fest burger that is the rest of The Wolf Among Us.
Of course the doubters will say that this title doesn't have the emotional impact of The Waking Dead with Clemy and Lee but I beg to differ (as always). There is a fairy tale serial killer on the loose for fudges sake! Someone lurking in the shadows and bumping off much loved childhood characters. Now come on, tell me if that doesn't tug on yer heartstrings just a wee bit? What kind of abominable evil would seek to kill Colin (Three Little Pigs) or Bufkin (winged monkey from Oz tales, now working as Fabletown's librarian)?
Of course reviewing a game after only one episode feels awkward because there is still much to do and see, and there is always the nagging doubt that things could go boobs up a few episodes in (which would be a major disappointment after such a stellar start). But I will live dangerously and predict that The Wolf Among Us will continue to drop jaws. The characters are brilliant, the game world fascinating, and its all woven into a wonderfully crafted story filled with potential. It would take a maggot of epic proportions to spoil this apple. Plus as a final deal breaker, each episode costs a mere £3.99. Four quid for roughly two glorious hours in an exciting new world! I am hooked as is my line and sinker. Pass the drinks Bufkin.

Brat score 5/5

Great Videogame Deaths

1. Sniper Wolf's death (Metal Gear Solid)



2. Lisa's death (Silent Hill)



3. Iwao Hazuki's death (Shenmue)

Itchy. Tasty...Evil 2

Pass the ketchup

Resident Evil 2 is one of my favourite videogames of all time. Even the rats gnawing on Mr Zombies leftover bones know this. I must have played it easily over 50 times (I went through a phase of playing it on a 'loop' once) but even though I have squeezed every possible ounce of thrill and enjoyment out of Resi 2, and know every alleyway and hidden secret better than the back of my hand, I can still pop it into my Playstation 2 or Dreamcast on any given moment and BLAM! I am hot for the undead hoards once more.
Playing Resident Evil 2 for me is like revisiting an old childhood park; a place which holds many cherished memories, suspended among the rusted iron, rising up from the warm gravel, waiting for me to get drowned in that comforting glow of the distant past. And no, im not exaggerating, this is really how it is for me. Its more than a game, its an experience and replaying it always sends me spinning back to a time when I had fewer responsibilities and those dear to me, who have long since passed away, were still here. Closer to boy than the man life forces one to become (some can be lucky mind.)

Resident Evil 2 memories:

1. Meeting creepy Chief Irons in his office, with the mayors dead daughter slumped on his desk.

2. Lighting the flare after coming off the sky tram and trying to get a last glimpse of the police station you'd fought so hard to escape from. I don't know why but this always shakes something in me.

3. Birkin "G" monster walking past/above you and Sherry in the sewers **shiver**

4. That pesky T-103 Tyrant stalking you throughout the game.

My PS2, Dreamcast copies & guide



Chief Irons has it under control...kinda

inFamous

Baaa!

inFAMOUS (Playstation 3) is a great videogame, no doubt about that. Granted I was late to Cole MacGrath's party but when I saw it for a mere £5 in Game I snapped it up. Glad I did too because playing as a normal guy who suddenly finds himself with badass superpowers, able to leap around skyscrapers like Spider-Man and shoot powerful electricity from his hands, is tons of fun (and for a fiver I have no f**king business complaining anyway). The Reapers (the games bad guys) are cool too; faceless, hooded maniacs who plunder Empire city like psychopathic demons on a mission of utter carnage.
At first you start with minimal powers but as you progress they get stronger and you can also buy better superpowers to unleash total devastation on anyone fool enough to attempt to get in your way. Fancy a cyclone of electricity to the face? Can do! Or how about we suck the guts out of you with a bio-leech? Believe you me, playing Cole can be a very satisfying experience. But alas it can also be pretty frustrating due to the controls and considering how great the controls were in Sly Raccoon, another of developers Sucker Punch games its disappointing. Sure he climbs like a gibbon on amphetamine but whereas in Sly Raccoon you felt sure footed and confident in making high leaps, with inFAMOUS you don't. I often find myself unable to drop down for a few seconds and when chasing thugs across rooftops Cole occasionally decides to face a different direction. Like I said, frustrating! Especially as some of the missions are annoyingly timed affairs (hate timed missions) where every step is critical.
Thankfully these niggles are not game breakers and I can definitely see myself replaying this game as evil Cole. Yup that's right, you can either do good deeds like help injured citizens or be a total prick and mess up their day BIG STYLE (as if it wasn't already messed up enough thanks to those lunatic Reapers everywhere.) And these Good/Evil deeds have their own Karma points and ranks; on the Good side you rise from Guardian to Champion to Hero, while on the Bad, Darth Vadery side of the fence Cole goes from Thug to Outlaw to Infamous. There are different powers in both camps too so I will be needing to see what 'delights' being evil will bring. (Im actually shocked that ive not chosen the evil path on my first playthrough because in other videogames like Skyrim or Oblivion I find it difficult to be anything other than bad *cackles evilly* )

Razz Time: The Last Of Us

Downtown

Stand by for a fair bit of drooling and sickly praise because of having played The Last Of Us since its release, I am to add to the already bulging interwebs sack of praise. Honestly, Santa's sacks won't have anything on this one (ooer!) Ive even made a couple of videos for you dear readers, in the hope that you might hear some of the excitement in my voice. (Sorry about the quality, I still record vids the caveman way from television to phone.)



Fall



COMPLETED!

Metal Gear Solid V

First, check out this awesome spanking brand new trailer of "Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain". Oh Hideo Kojima, you have created such a strange but beautiful beast! The Metal Gear Solid series can be summed up in one word: ACE. It kicked off before its debut on the Playstation 1, but its on Sony's little box of tricks that it hooked me in to its kooky (not to mention dangerous) universe.
So as a big fan, the release of this trailer has certainly brightened up my day. One thing though; David Hayter is NOT the voice of Snake. Can it be? To fans, Hayter IS Solid Snake. I don't know about you guys, but im going to be taking this bit of news with a mega pinch of salt. Afterall, it could be merely smoke and mirrors from Hideo Kojima. He's quite fond of smoky mirrors.

Resistance: Fall Of Man

Fight them on the beaches!

The Chimera are aliens who have not come in peace. Nor are they looking to phone home. All the fanged terrors want is to invade earth and eradicate all human life. Bugger. Oh and they have deadly automatic pulse rifles and other highly advanced weaponry to aid them in their dastardly mission. Double buggery.
The first game in the series, Resistance: Fall of Man (2006) takes us back to 1951 Britain as Sgt. Nathan Hale and troops attempt to stomp Chimera ass and send them packing. Afterall humans and 9ft tall murderous aliens are never going to make it work. And thus begins a spiffing trilogy (so far*) of First Person Shooters (FPS) games for Playstation 3. Ashamed to say im late to this party and have only recently got around to buying the first two games but better late than never and on the plus side I did manage to snag both for a bargainous £2.80! (When PS3 first arrived on the scene I was busy playing third person action stuff.) Ive always had a weird relationship with FPS games in that Ive never been their biggest fan but in spite of this been hammering them since Alien Trilogy and Medal Of Honour on the original Playstation donkeys years ago. Also if you were to look at one of my game shelves and see the amount of FPS titles I have in my collection, you would think I was the biggest fan. Weirdz huh?
Im not a total Resistance virgin, I played the demos and from those I knew I would be taking the longterm fight to Chimera sooner or later in the full games because lets not mince words here: these games f**king rock! Who the hell wants to be plugging terrorists in Call Of Duty when you can be lobbing Hedgehog Grenades into the angry faces of lizard extra-terrestrials? Sign me up for some of that shit quick as you like!
In fact thats one of the things which attracts me to Resistance so much. I really like the humans v alien scenario, pitting our primitive 50s weapons against superior alien technology. In the early part of the campaign before you get your hands on the baddies stuff, gunfights often feel like you'd be better off using a peashooter or catapult against Chimera. And you know what? Its awesome! David versus Goliath but always Mankind has spirit on our side.


*Following the release of Resistance 3, Insomniac left the series with studio head Ted Price stressing that they felt Resistance had "reached its logical conclusion in terms of the story that we wanted to tell".


School sweetheart