Okami HD video walkthrough!

Hello everyone, hope you're all doing well. I'm pretty disappointed with myself that I didn't get around to posting this on Friday, but unfortunately a few unforeseen interruptions meant I didn't finish the video in time.

I really wanted to start video game guides, but I didn't want to upload general playthrough footage. I personally find it quite annoying, you just want to know where to go or how to defeat a boss and you end up wading through hours of someones so-called guide. They're not walkthroughs: they're "Let's Play" videos.

Enter the ABC guides! (as I've so far titled them) Each guide is a heavily edited and narrated video detailing all the main hurdles of the game. Lost? Don't know where to go, it's clear in the video. Not sure how to defeat a boss, look up the video, I'll offer you some tips. Now, before I go blowing my own trumpet, this is still very low key amateur affair. I'm still finding my voice and looking to improve the content of the videos. 

I'm the worst person for saying "um" and "ah" in general conversation or going off on a tangent. So, I had to try and train myself to not do those things. Unfortunately, a few "ums" got in there, and when I watched the finished video I cringed every time I repeated a word so soon after I already said it, or I said the word "actually". I'm sure once I settle in to this new activity my narration will become more relaxed and natural, but that's for another video.

Regardless, I hope you enjoy the video and if you're currently playing Okami, I hope you find it useful if you so choose to view it.
I really enjoyed the experience of doing this guide and I'm already on my next one (Final Fantasy 7 New Threat guide!) I'll still be uploading to the blog because I love to write as well. The game guides will definitely remain a side project for now. 

Hope you all have a great week and as usual, if you liked the video or this blog hit the "+" button and follow the blog. 

Thanks for reading!

Xbox One Elite Controller: A perfect present.

Hey everyone, I thought I'd wrapped this week off with a small piece about a little bit of kit I have been playing with for a year now. I received the Elite Controller for last Christmas and I have to say it's one of the best gifts I have ever had.
So I thought I'd tell you a bit about what you get in the box, how it feels, some of the features but before you even read what comes, you have to know, it's possibly the best peripheral I have ever had for a console, ever.

First let me tell you, everything about the controller oozes quality. It's has some weight that gives a sense of durability. I love the way it feels in your hands, there's a velvety smoothness to the casing. The sticks are solid and responsive, the triggers are light and the paddles feel sharp, depressing with a positive snap.
You can tell that Microsoft have spent a lot of time and money on refining this controller, it is aimed primarily at pro-gamers as a competitor to the Scuf controllers so if you compete it comes with a handy carry case which is rigid and has plenty of storage for the controller's adaptors, so when you travel you needn't worry about it being damaged.

The triggers have built in switchable stops, so if you're playing a game like Call of Duty and you use a lot of semi-automatic guns, the stops really do help speed up your firing rate. Then when you go back to say, Forza you can flick the switches and regain full travel. It's a neat little feature that's no fuss.

Attachable paddles are perfect for busy fingers, they can give you a huge advantage in certain games. I used the paddles extensively in Infinite Warfare, the ability to jump without moving my thumb off the analogue stick really helped my reaction times and accuracy. 
The paddles aren't just useful for jumping in shooters, you can customize what button the paddles will bind to in the consoles built in menu. 
You can create two button maps that are stored onto the controller and switch between them on the fly with a single switch on the controller face. I personally never used this, as I find the standard button layout is fine the majority of games.

You also get three pairs of analogue sticks, two standards, two extended and two convex sticks. I found the extended sticks to feel quite uncomfortable when used in conjunction, but use one on the right analogue stick was good for improving aiming finesse in shooters.
I have yet to find a use for the convex sticks, I think that's just something for personal preferences but I was glad to see you can swap between a standard d-pad and what I call the "toffee" d-pad. I prefer my d-pad non-toffee. 

I like how the interchangeable parts connect, it's all magnetised and once it's connected it's solid. I never experienced any slack in the sticks or paddles which just shows the quality of the product.

It does come with some double A batteries, which is the weakest element of the whole package. Instead of buying overpriced charge packs I just purchased some suitable Energizer rechargeable batteries. You can buy some very competitively priced batteries and the ones I use last weeks with regular use. 
You do get a plug in USB cable. It's got decent length if you're connecting it to a PC or laptop, but a comfortable distance from a TV, maybe not so. 

If you know someone who loves their Xbox, you couldn't go wrong with an Elite Controller as a gift. It's like getting a pair of really nice leather driving gloves for your vintage sports car, it's a small thing that lifts the whole experience up.  
It's like going back to the stone ages using the original small, plasticy controller that just doesn't compare. 
The price tag starts at £119.99, over double the price of a standard controller, but its worth every penny. 
You won't disappoint your loved one this Christmas with an Xbox Elite Controller.

That's all this week, but we have some exciting games coming out next week! Resident Evil 7 Gold comes out on the twelfth, along with Okami HD and Axiom Verge. Three games that if you haven't played yet, your seriously need to!

As always, have a good weekend everybody! 

Call Of Duty WW2 Review: Old feels new!

Hello everyone! Well Call of Duty WW2 has been out for a little while and I've already dedicated most of my evenings to it! Poor old Infinite Warfare received huge unwarranted backlash when it was announced, but little did the wider world realise that Activision had already commissioned a return to COD's roots and stopped Sledgehammer creating a sequel to Advance Warfare. Instead putting them in charge of the first COD game to go back to the world war since World At War in 2008! 

"Let's not beat about the bush and get straight in to talking about the multiplayer: it's not fantastic."
  Let's not beat about the bush and get straight in to talking about the multiplayer: it's not fantastic. Not to write the whole affair off, but there a two components that WW2 critically hasn't done well. The first problem is the maps: I don't know what happened in the meeting when they were talking about map design but they were very much mistaken. WW2 continues the trend of three lane maps of small to medium size, but where it goes wrong is pathways. 

Let's remember Black Ops 3, (the best multiplayer since MW2 in my opinion). Three lane, mid-sized maps. Localised spawn locations at either end with some cover, two flanking routes and the larger middle route. Normally the flank routes had one interconnecting pathway into the middle route, otherwise they connect back up near the spawn hubs. 
This meant that the designers had great control of player movement around the map, which means it's easier to place  strategic cover, reduce camping spots, improve spawn logic and give the players a better understanding of the map. 

WW2 however, chooses to have lots of interconnected pathways from the flanks to the central map area. Which in turns makes it much more difficult to predict player movement for the designers and the players. For a designer it means a bit of head scratching where to appropriately put strategic cover and for the player it means a headache when deciding how best to flank the enemy team and where to expect another player may approach from. 

The issue is further compounded by the fact that aesthetics have taken some precedent in the maps this time, so yes they look more prettier but it's just stuff that gets in the way of sight lines and movement. There are pointless bits of cover littering some of the maps and makes them feel a bit maze like. 
I'm not sure at all why they decided to do things this way, I don't remember anyone complaining of not having enough pathways? Sure, not everyone likes mid-sized three lane maps but WW2's maps are just a headache.

When I played BO3's multiplayer, I was able to predict enemy movements around the maps without using the minimap. The maps were that well designed you could get into a flow, but I can't in WW2. There are two many pathways to look down if you're rushing and it feels like you're flipping a coin as to which route an enemy player may come down. Unless you've got a recon plane or something going on, it's very difficult to predict player movements.

 "yes, quick scoping is still here."

The next critical flaw is weapon balancing, it's pretty bad here. LMGs are a waste of your time for instance. The movement penalty, general low magazine count, recoil and long reload times makes them pale in comparison to anything else. Rifles have a far better damage profile, quicker fire rate and quicker reload times. Their clip sizes are also pretty modest. Apart from some specific occasions there's just no reason to choose an LMG over an assault rifle.

Sniping is pretty beastly this time around and yes, quick scoping is still here. Anyone using the Mountain division (more on them later) gets aim assist when aiming down sights, and the assist is pretty strong. Far more than any COD I've played since MW2. The result of this is most lobbies have multiple snipers using the one shot kill Enfield, either amazingly or pathetically. Obviously one of the issues with having sniper rifles so effective is that in the right hands it's a laser beam of death at all ranges. Some snipers can outgun shotgun users, as the sniper rounds have no damage drop off range where the shotguns can have pretty strict ranges.

Strangely, only the SMG's get silencers this time, but playing covertly isn't as big a deal this time around partly due to the map design as I said before predicting player movements is a lot trickier now. Their damage profiles are also pretty strict and there doesn't seem to be a big movement bonus over the rifles and so for a better damage profile most people go with a rifle. 

Lastly shotguns get beefed up like they did in BO3, and so in the right hands they can be pretty devastating. But the rate of fire for them is pretty poor, so if you fail to nail that one shot kill you're just sitting duck even in close range. 

"the pick 10 system is gone!"

I mentioned the Mountain division earlier, that's because the pick 10 system is gone! Instead you choose between five divisions that are designed around each of the weapon categories. You can level the divisions for additional perks, so for instance in the expeditionary division, if you equip a shotgun as your main weapon you can load incendiary shells into it. But only if you run shotgun as your main weapon, you don't get this ability if you main any other category of gun.

The perks you obtain as you level a division are the main rewards and do apply to any other weapon you equip as a main. For instance in the expeditionary division, as you rank up you can equip a tactical and lethal grenade at once, next rank you throw further and while sprinting and finally at the last rank you can resupply grenades off dead bodies. So the divisions are quite potent and choosing the right one for your playstyle is important. It is wise you evenly rank them up as depending on the game mode a division can help you succeed. It's also clever to mix a division with a different weapon category. Mountaineer division get stealth perks which are perfect for a rush class rather than a sniper.

Maxing out a division nets you a new weapon in it's respective weapon category and then prestiging a division rewards you with a basic training skill which are basically a perk. 
There are lots of basic training skills, over twenty. They're a mixed bag of useless, half useful and useful perks. I think they really could've chopped these down or allowed us to pick at least two at once, but only choosing one out of twenty just means only the crutch trainings get chosen. There's not a whole lot to sing about the basic training perks as most of them are perks from previous games.

I like the divisions, they're a good idea. Not wholly implemented well though as some of the skills are pointless. Like a bipod for an LMG. Reduced recoil and faster reload rate, what's so bad about that? Well you cannot move, they keep the damage profile and every map already has minigun emplacements which have a better damage profile, faster fire rate and also infinite ammo! 
I could go on nit picking all the strange design decisions in the multiplayer but then this article will go one for ages!

"War's maps are amazing!"

Now I want to be positive, and to be honest this is a big positive, so big I wish this mode had more maps and was the main part of the multiplayer experience and I'm talking about the War mode.

Those maps that I mentioned aren't good? Well War's maps are amazing! The maps are designed around attack and defend and the attackers are always positioned at a disadvantage, but it works!
So, to give you an idea of how the War mode works and how the maps flow let me tell you about Operation Neptune, a Omaha beach themed level. 

Allies start on the beaches and have to charge up to Axis lines and plant charges to get access to the cliffside. 
The Axis get to stay in the bunkers atop of the cliffs and using minigun emplacements they get to tear up the beach. 
To help the Allies there are NPC soldiers running around keeping Axis players preoccupied. 
Once the Allies breach the shoreline they can build ladders to scale the cliff and/or breach the lower bunker and gain access to a trench that leads up into the bunkers for additional flank routes. All the while the Axis players will be rebuilding any defenses and patrolling the trenches around the bunkers. 
All the allies have to do now is sit in the bunkers to capture them like a domination flag. If the allies accomplish this then the Axis are forced to retreat to bunkers further up the hill. 
In this stage of the battle the Axis have to defend radio equipment in a large bunker, and the allies have to breach the bunker and destroy the equipment. Sound simple but this bunker is easily defensible. However if the Allies destroy the radio equipment then the final phase of the mission is initiated.
Again the Axis have to retreat before the timer counts down and mortar fire commences. This last stand is at two flak cannons that the allied players must destroy by planting three bombs on each cannon and the Axis naturally have to prevent them. This last push is the hardest section of the map, once one cannon is destroyed a tank arrives to help the Axis troops and it becomes much more frantic.


The Axis players can win by halting the allies within the time limit and naturally the attacking side has the greater obstacles to overcome, but the imbalance in the maps is what makes this mode so interesting and makes the maps so playable. No more spider web pathways! These maps have such focus that they're design is just sublime and they're a real joy to play. There are only three maps currently, but I really do hope they put out more than one war map per map pack, because War is the saving grace of WW2's multiplayer. 
I wish more shooter games included modes like this, it sort of takes me back to playing counter-strike, having the attack and defend dynamic.
The worst thing to say about War mode is it's very frustrating when your team don't use tactical grenades like the smokes when it comes to completing objectives and grenade spam is very present and it takes a long time to rank up the Armoured division for it's flak jacket buff.

Now I do understand the hardship in designing maps that must be suitable for team deathmatch, domination, hardpoint, search and destroy and capture the flag is pretty immense and it's no wonder that they get it wrong from time to time. Ultimately, something has to give so that all those game types can function in that map space. Because the War maps only have to accommodate one game mode they get to be refined and well balanced, WW2 really shows the weakness of having multipurpose maps.

"I found the Final Reich mission was really newbie friendly"


Nazi zombies returns again, (I guess this is now the official co-op COD mode) and I was pretty surprised by it to be honest. Infinite Warfare's spin on the mode was enjoyable and was easier to get in to for newcomers (traditionally this mode is tough as nails) and WW2 follows suit. You can play a little prologue that explains the basics as each iteration has some tweaks to the formula but I found the Final Reich mission was really newbie friendly and unlike previous games where each "easter egg" was so vague and long winded to activate, you can actually do a fair few of the objectives in the Final Reich without reading an FAQ.

One thing that does really help is you get a lot more points from zombies this time around and the cost of weapons and stat bonuses isn't extortionate. You can also choose a class which affords some passive bonuses and an ability that you can charge up before activating which add to your arsenal and are a welcome addition.
If you like COD zombies you'll be happy here as there is plenty to get your teeth into and it never gets old watching your character remove a zombies head with a shovel.

"I don't get how people can say COD games don't look good!"

Finally the campaign, I was unsure what to expect going in. The European theatre has been done to death in games and movies so was unsure how engaging WW2's campaign would be but I've got to say I was really impressed. 
It looks gorgeous, that's the first thing that hit me. The character models, the environments and set pieces it's all wow, wow. I don't get how people can say COD games don't look good! They must have vaseline on their glasses or something, I mean it isn't going to have the fidelity of Battlefield but then COD runs at 60 FPS instead of 30.
And the sounds, the guns have a real grunt to them. They sound powerful, the noises really pop in your ears and the sounds of explosions all around is an audio treat. WW2 grabs your senses and throttles them, never letting go. 

It plays as good as it looks and sounds, too. The Nazi AI on the normal difficulty is engaging, the level design is very good and you never spend too long doing the same thing. There's some great pacing here and I like that you don't always shoot your way out of a situation. Nazi's can be forced to flee or even surrender! It just keeps things fresh and interesting and adds humility to the game. 
The campaign also sports a very interesting level called Liberation where the player infilitrates a Nazi garrison in Paris and you have to find your Nazi contact whose helping you bring down the garrison and liberate Paris. It's a really clever level and I won't go into too many details and spoil it for you. It's not quite as perfect as All Ghillied Up but it's certainly pushed the bar when it comes to interesting COD levels.


The story is nothing to write home about, you do get involved in some historical battles including The Battle of the Bulge which was a highlight for me. The characters are one dimensional and the dialogue is cheesy, it's like a 90's movie full of macho bravado. The story tries to go somewhere dark but ultimately COD knows it's not the platform for such things and nips things up very quickly. 

WW2 changes the health system that's been in use for so long now and brings back a health bar and health packs. Your life does not recharge at all! You do have a teammate that will give you a free health pack after you kill enough Nazis but I never found myself too often bereft of health packs. (You can hold up to four). But I have to admit I prefer the old recharging life bar, in a COD campaign it's an interactive movie and it seems odd to have to concern yourself with this one bit of resource management.
All your allies actually have abilities that charge as you fight, one can highlight enemies for a while, another will resupply your grenades. But I was generally only fussed with the health packs as ammo is plentiful regardless.

Expect the campaign to last around six to seven hours, add a few more if playing Veteran and you could easily hit around twenty hours if you're a trophy hunter or completionist as there's quite a few hidden collectibles. So hidden I maybe found two of a possible thirty three!


Overall, WW2 is a good package but your mileage will definetly vary depending on how well you get on with the multiplayer maps and if you like the War mode.
I personally will be bingeing on War mode, well at least until I start playing Battlefront 2 but don't let my Star Wars bias dissuade you. There is fun to be had here but those maps are definitely going to be crux of whether you'll keep this game or move on. Stick to War mode, you won't regret it.

Hope you enjoyed the review and if you did, then please give a +1 and follow the blog. Have a great week everybody!
   

The Playoff! Dead Space 1 vs Dead Space 2!

I'm a massive fan of Dead Space! I genuinely miss the series and every now and again I get teased with hints of an elusive fourth title. It's been over four years since Dead Space 3 was released and with the horror genre regaining it's former popularity, surely it won't be long before we get to grasp that plasma cutter and dismember some more Necromorphs?

But I digress, I want to spar off Dead Space 1 with it's direct sequel Dead Space 2 and decide which is the superior game of the two? Will it be a case of getting stronger or just a reskinning of the original? Let's find out!

I'm going to choose three categories I feel are relevant to the two Dead Space games. I will be omitting plot as DS1 is actually quite light on having it's own unique plot and is more a sort of amalgamation of homages to other sci-fi and horror titles.

It's only from DS2 that the series begins to develop it's own story and brings the Unitology organisation into the forefront.
DS1 is tentative with it's story and gives little in the way of plot other than Isaac needs to get off the Ishimura. So without further ado I will start with perhaps one of the most essential ingredients of a horror game.

ROUND ONE - SCARES!

It cannot be a horror game and not be scary and atmospheric. Dead Space would seem to have the advantage from the off if we look at things from memory. Wandering the cold, desolate halls of the Ishimura for the first time is a nerve racking experience. When Dead Space 2 rolls along we're prepared, we know the score and we know what to expect. The enemy is no longer unknown.

But I'm going to be as objective as I can. DS1 is a slower paced game, it urges caution as you delve deeper into the ever degrading Ishimura.
Necromorphs can be heard clambering through the vents before bursting out and attacking and a lot of the time you'll hear them but you won't see them, until it's too late.
Many Necros play possum and appear dead until you step too close and they spring into attack. That's right, Dead Space was doing this long before The Evil Within.

DS2 on the other hand is a more action and story related affair. Unlike in DS1 Isaac isn't actually primarily concerned with surviving. When he learns there is a Marker on the Sprawl he commits to destroying it.
The Necromorphs become more obstacle and are presented to you in cinematic ways or spawn into well crafted combat environments.

When I play DS2 I don't feel tense throughout, sure there are moments. (Hate those charging Necros that peek around corners, eesh!) But playing through DS1 is a generally unnerving game. Necros often flank you in any given combat scenario and the sense of claustrophobia is palpable. Blood written scrawling on the walls begging for help and nothing is more creepy than when you exit the transit and there are pearly white body bags littered all over the place, surrounded by dimming candles and a chilling rendition of twinkle twinkle little star starts up. It's creepy as hell!

DS2 doesn't really do this, I mean the creepiest location in DS2 is the Unitology centre and that's due to those creepy Stalker Necros as mentioned before. The rest of the game has more in common with Resident Evil 4 in how it plays than DS1.

Ultimately, I always tell people; "Dead Space 2 is to Dead Space 1, as Aliens is to Alien."
The creepy creatures are still there but the atmosphere is less isolated survivor and more one man army blasting through the hordes.
It's not even a bad thing, it's just not scary so...

WINNER - DEAD SPACE 1!

Next on my list is weapons! Dead Space has quite an interesting array of weapons, unlike say Resident Evil or Silent Hill or any other horror game of the time. Isaac primarily utilises engineering equipment to destroy Necromorphs.
Unlike zombies and the whatnot, Necros vulnerability lies in their limbs. Severing them apart is how you ultimately destroy them. Blasting ones head off is little more than an irritant to the monstrous creature!

WEAPONS

Unlike the previous segment which, lets be honest. Is relative, this a direct blow to blow. Who has more and who has the best/most satisfying to use.

Dead Space 1 has seven weapons. Starting with the humble but deceptively overpowered Plasma Cutter all the way up to Necro eradicating contact beam.

Some highlights of the arsenal are the Ripper, which in it's primary firing mode levitates a rotating saw blade in the air for a set amount of time. It's a gory weapon as you walk the destructive blade into Necromorphs and watch their limbs blast off in visceral beauty!
It's secondary is a more cautionary attack which simple blasts a blade at full speed across the room and isn't nearly as satisfying!

I'm also a big fan of this game's shotgun - The force gun! It fires out a kinetic blast that literally rips enemies apart and even if it doesn't outright kill an enemy, it'll at least knock them down for followup attacks. It's secondary attack launches a grenade that detonates a powerful kinetic blast with similarly great results!

There are a couple of turkeys in the mix here and one is the plasma rifle. You'll be punished for relying on shooter favourites here. The plasma rifle eats ammo and isn't as useful in dismembering limbs as other weapons.

The last lame duck is the flamethrower that seems to do next to no damage and doesn't even cause Necros to flinch! You're completely vulnerable whilst using it! Not very good for Necro slaying.

Dead Space 2 has a grand total of twelve weapons, if you include the secret handgun weapon. (which is a foam hand that destroys anything you point it at... told you DS2 isn't as scary).
Most weapons return from DS1 with balancing, but a couple of the new guns are very delectable when it comes to Necro hunting!

Of the new guns, I really like the javelin gun. It's quite strong and it's secondary function is an AOE attack of chain lightning that effects surrounding Necros. It's good for dealing extra damage against larger Necromorphs also. It does takes some skill and practise to optimise it for limb detachment though.

Something that requires less skill is the detonator, which fires proximity mines that do devastating damage. It's the perfect weapon for slow Necros or the Stalkers, specially on higher difficulty settings. As a bonus it's secondary function is it disarms all placed mines for retrieval!

There are still some turkeys unfortunately, the pulse rifle is buffed up and now enjoys a secondary function as a grenade launcher but unfortunately the flamethrower is still pretty meh. The new addition the rivet gun is pretty underpowered  however and is just surpassed by so much else available.

The plasma cutter is still beastly and more than capable of being your sole weapon through the main game. But then again, would that really be much fun?
Having extra weapons adds to the variety and therefore fun factor. Coupled with the weapon balancing of all the existing weapons returning from DS1 prove that DS2 has the superior arsenal with even more ways to rip Necros apart!

WINNER - DEAD SPACE 2!!!

We're on to the third category now and it's the real stars of the show; the Necromorphs!

The hideously mutated humans and animals of the Dead Space universe are collectively known as Necromorphs and they come in various forms with differing methods of killing.
Stalkers are your most standard Necro and attempt to flank Isaac at every opportunity, either by sneaking up behind him or bursting from nearby vents.

Other notable Necromorphs are the twisted Lurkers, infected toddlers really, that sprout three tendrils and fire barbs at you. Dead Space 2 introduced Pukers that well... puke at you! And did I mention their gastric insides have sunken down into their left leg! Last but not least, we have the Regenerator and it's DS2 equivalent the Uber Morph! Nothing is more terrifying than a Necro that regrows it's limbs!

One of my personal favourite Necromorphs is found in DS2 and it's the Tormentor!
This Necromorph is encountered several times in Dead Space 2 and it has one of the best intros of all the games bosses in my opinion!
Isaac falls into one of the Sprawls many maintenance tunnels and is immediately set upon by the Tormentor! It chases you up the tunnel as you blast open the maintenance doors and then bam! The Earth Gov attack craft appears and blows a hole through the colony! Isaac and the Tormentor get sucked out into the vacuum of space! It becomes almost silent, only the sounds from within Isaac's suit can be heard.
They crash into the craft, the Tormentor's powerful claws grasping for Isaac! It begins inadvertently pulling missiles off the craft and Isaac cunningly shoots one point blank in the Necros face destroying the creature and the Earth Gov forces in one blow.

What a buzz! What a thrill! DS2 is full of these heart pumping set pieces but that's not what we're here about. We have to decide who has the best roster of Necromorphs. It's undoubtedly going to be Dead Space 2. There's more bang for your back here, the Puker alone is a major boost for both disgust and horror. The chilling macabre children that chase Isaac on mass, I mean DS2 showed some truly grisly iterations of the Necromorph species. So thus...

WINNER - DEAD SPACE 2!!!

So Dead Space 2 looks the clear winner but I'm giving Dead Space 1 a chance with the wildcard category:

WILDCARD - IS IT REALLY SURVIVAL HORROR?

Here's a strange one and you may be thinking "huh"? But both games are listed as Survival Horror, which is a broad term to say the least. One of the biggest criticisms for either game is that in standard difficulty they're both pretty easy. Ammo is quite plentiful, both games challenge you to finish them using the one gun and it's quite easy!

Health pickups are also prevalent in both games and by the end I had shed loads of surplus items stored up.
It's evident we're not going to find survival in either game's default difficulty so it must lay in the harder modes. Both offer a hard mode but it's actually not that big a difference! Damage received is higher sure, but it doesn't take much more ammo to obliterate your foes and some guns are so overpowered you can laugh in the face of Necros.

However, DS2 sports a fourth mode: Hardcore. It's a perma-death mode, one fatality and it's back to the start and also affords you only three saves! It's pretty tough, in the easier modes death is virtually weightless with so many checkpoints saving you from repeating long sections.
Hardcore mode is the closest the Dead Space series gets to survival horror, truly upping the stakes. And so without further ado...

WINNER ALL ROUND - DEAD SPACE 2!!!

Sequel syndrome is a miss here, Dead Space 2 truly expands on the original and takes the series further. More and better weapons, more Necros, tighter gameplay controls and better combat scenarios all add up for one amazing rollercoaster ride that is damn near perfection. At least in my opinion any way.

Both games are worth your time and if you've never played them I urge you do. They're not as intense as other horror games like say, Resident Evil 7 or some of the Silent Hill games but definitely a joy. If you like Alien and The Thing then this is the game for you!

I hope you've enjoyed this article as much as I enjoyed writing it and remember, if you like what you read then please follow me on Google+

Thanks for reading and have a great weekend!

Gears of War 4: a new studio takes the reigns!

I'm fond of the Gears of War franchise, the original was released very early into the life of the Xbox 360. Epic Games had high hopes of creating a franchise to rival Halo and was a console exclusive for the Xbox 360. 
Epic also chose to have Gears of War show off the Unreal 3 engine which at the time produced some amazing visuals that we hadn't seen before.

Since then the series has refined itself visually and mechanically. Gears of War 2 introduced some huge improvements with a more cinematic story and a greater variety of weapons, locations and superior pacing. It was a blast to well, blast with Marcus, Dom, Baird and Cole.

Gears 3 was a tonal shift, opting to portray a darker and even more bleak world than before with humanity on the edge of extinction, due to the Lambent creatures multiplying. 

While it was a well paced and enjoyable game it lacked the punch of previous titles, losing some if it's identify with it's serious tones of extinction. 

So we had Gears of War Judgement finally by Epic, that I personally see as the peak of the series. Baird being the comedy element of previous titles was put front and centre as the main character. 

He's on trial and is in the process of disclosing his actions to superiors whilst the city is under bombardment from the Locust.

It introduced a really fun mechanic where the game gave the player to choose which "truth" Baird will tell regarding individual skirmishes. So we could choose to fight a horde of Locusts with just shotguns rather than tell them we had all our usual weapons. 

It worked very well and was an intuitive method of making a prequel.

Epic Games then sold the IP to Microsoft, that assembled a developer called The Coalition with, I'm assuming, the aim of creating more entries into the series.

It reminds me of the Halo franchise; sold to Microsoft when the developer has finally tired of the making that one game series and wants to branch out. Much like Halo, I feel that Gears of War has gotten off to a shaky start.
Like Halo, Gears 4 begins ahead into the future. Not as far as Halo 4 mind, it's just 25 years and we play as Marcus Fenix's son; JD.

JD joined the COG like his dad but at some point left to join the outsiders; people who decided to live without the protection of the COG (which stands for Coalition Of Governments).
As outsiders they raid fabricated COG settlements for resources and all seems well until JD and his friends are attacked at full force by COG robotic soldiers, commanded by Minister Jinn, who claims JD and the outsiders abducted her people from the settlements.

JD eventually enlists the help of his dad; Marcus when the outsiders he'd grouped up with are kidnapped in the night by strange creatures.
With the aid of his Dad, JD and crew repel Jinn's chasing forces and head to a mass burial site, where the COG had disposed of all the crystallised Locusts from Gears 3.
Turns out the ultimate weapon that was supposed to kill off the Locusts had only actually sent them into a state of transformation; similar to a cacoon.
Now the Locust re-emerge as The Swarm, who are kidnapping humans so that they can transform them in to more Swarm to bolster the ranks.

It's a shame that The Coalition couldn't really think up a way to expand the threat to humanity other than more Locusts and in a way that feels really half baked.
But that's a sentiment to the whole game really, I'm currently at the end of Act 3 (of 5 acts), and this game suffers from some poor pacing and poor scenario designs.
All the improvements to the Gears game by Epic have been put to the wayside and it's like The Coalition have gone back to square one.

Graphics are beautiful, the colour palette has been expanded further but it's suffered majorly in gameplay. I don't like to be overly negative but it's so sad to see a growing franchise take a step back and here is my issue with the gameplay scenarios.
Repetition with minimal variation. We all know shooting games can get repetitive, especially these days. Most shooting games are more concerned with how they look than how they play, thanks to a misguided understanding of what made games like Call of Duty so successful.

Call of Duty is effectively a repetitive game, but the way the developers design each combat scenario, feels unique and the series has some of the finest pacing around. Players are never doing the exact same thing for too long in the exact same place, which is essential when your gameplay boils down to a shooting range.
COD gets the presentation and the pace right to keep the player engaged. It's one of the reasons their campaigns can be enjoyed over several playthroughs.

Gears 4 does little to change pacing or what you're doing. Even when they introduce new enemy types they do so little to mix things up. It really does feel like a corridor shooter.
Environments don't feel organic and the game intersperses the obvious shooting areas with obvious transfer corridors, that funnel the player to a slightly different looking location and offer a chance for game to offer some exposition.

For a game that has multiple enemy types they're just not utilised well. The Deebee robots are very easy and straight forward to fight, serving more as bullet sponges than anything else.
There are small ball droids and they behave like Tickers from previous games and can be dealt with in the same way and lastly there are aerial drones with shields, that end up as just another type of bullet sponge.

It's a further disappointment when The Swarm appear, they act like the Locust we've seen before but the variety between them has been diminished. Differing enemy types feel shallow and don't require any distinct shift in tactics to deal with other than: shall I rush with a Shotgun or hang back with Lancer.

Speaking of the weapons there are a few new ones, but the interesting ones such as the Saw Blade don't appear too often. Otherwise you'll likely end up using the Lancer and Gnasher as both deal with any and all threats just fine.
The combat scenarios you face don't really change either so you don't really feel a need to experiment outside your comfort zone to achieve success in any encounter.

At one point the game gives you a "fabricator", a box that can assemble any weapon you want on the fly and later it's used to create defenses, but it doesn't last long and it just doesn't reach it's full potential. Even in the stage where you use it to create defenses it doesn't especially shine as such defenses cost far too much, are far too flimsy. I was barely able to afford more than two turrets and some barbed wire through all I think 5 waves.

Gears 4 really struggles to change the pace of it's game and in the odd sections it's done, they're far too short lived. You will blast through hundreds of robots over and over in level layouts that don't encourage experimentation or even exploration.
It really does upset me when a new developer focuses on the elements of a game franchise wrong and sacrifices other more interesting elements.
I remember Gears 2 specifically, it moved at an incredible pace and just mixed up those enemy types so much more. Locust behaved in more interesting ways and each Locust type felt unique in how you interacted with it  and conversely how they interacted with each other. I'm just not getting this in Gears 4.

I've still got a ways to go before the end, but I sure hope it picks up. And if it doesn't then I hope The Coalition find their feet with the next Gears game and really show me what they can do.
You have the visuals down, the enjoyable banter is back, but the gunplay is weak. I'm rooting for you, and I look forward to what will come next.