Up until now I have not said much about Guitar Hero Warriors of rock. I suppose a lot of the attention has been diverted away by the unveiling of Rockband’s ‘real’ guitar controllers’ whose somewhat shiny if not a little controversial appearance would be enough to distract any hardcore fan. Still, I think its time to put realism aside for a second and change this. After-all, we are talking about a game here and not a virtual music lesson. It has been common knowledge for some time now that in contrast to Rockband’s attempt to bring music gaming closer to reality, the guys at guitar hero have decided to take their new release back to its roots. But how will this affect the set-list, story and gameplay?  I think its time to take a look at what we know now…

Set list update

Taking guitar hero back to its rock roots is to me largely dependent on two things. Number one, an epic (if slightly tacky) story line. Think guitar fights, fire, lightning and maybe even a dragon thrown in there and your on the right track.  Number two, a very loud Rock/Metal set-list. Think back to the glory days of battling rock stars and slaying the devil in Gh3 and you start to understand what I am looking for. So how is Warriors of Rock shaping up? Well fortunately I have found a nice Video which gives a glimpse of what to expect for the Warriors of Rock set-list. Stick with it people, there is something for everyone if you wait nicely…

So there you have a taste of the new set list. I suppose there shouldn’t be much to say after that…but then again when was I ever lost for words. Watching this Vid I coudn’t help but make a few small observations. The first observation was that though there is a fairly diverse mix of music, this set-list does seem much more reminiscent of Gh in its early days. Aside from the odd what were they thinking song, this taster video contains a good mix of modern hits, metal, some cheesy classics for good measure, epic monster marathon songs as well as a fair dose of the all important classic rock. In addition to this the choice of set-list feels much more like it has been chosen to incorporate the whole band, something which some previous Gh titles have missed a little.

Now for my second important point to take away. With the amount of song repetition going back and fourth between Gh and Rockband I was starting to worry the world may be running out of songs. I know, I know, there are a lot of songs in the world, but after hearing the same old stuff on multiple disks you do start to wonder if the world may simply have run out of Rock music. Thankfully this vid contained much less song recycling than we have seen in previous games, and has ever unearthed some old forgotten classics which I must admit made me smile. I suppose the lack of repetition will depend on what Rockband has chosen this year, but I for one am vaguely (if not a little naïvely) hopeful that the “I want what he’s got, his has sprinkles…” copycat nature of these games may be wearing off. Well…I can dream…

Oh and Dragonforce is back. This will be fun…

Story update

Now for a quick story update, well I say quick, it will probably go on forever but never mind.  Time for video number two. In this Vid we not only get to see Alex Lefeson and Geddy Lee (Rush) talk about their love of guitar hero, but we also learn a little more about the story as well as getting a better look at the Gh characters new Warrior looks.

So there you have it. The story of Warriors of Rock will be inspired by the music of Rush, the game will include the whole 2112 album and Geddy Lee loves guitar hero. In addition to this we now know that we will be soon embarking on a quest to find the Legendary guitar, re-discover the prohibited practice of rock music and awaken the Demi-God of rock. Nice.

Aside from the inventive new portrayals of the characters, and the story-line itself what interests me most is the level to which a single band has affected the games theming. With Rush included quite prominently into the game, it at first seems unusual that this game is called “Guitar Hero Warriors of Rock” and not “Guitar Hero Rush”. Despite the title claiming that this is more than another band add on game, it would appear that the story line, imagery, and locations are all inspired however loosely by a single band. So what makes this title different? Well for a start it is clear that this game does more than simply chart a bands rise to stardom. Instead Warriors of rock uses the music to create a fantasy, fictional story, which though is based largely on the music of a single band is not an actual representation of the band members lives. Warriors of rock seems to encourage us to lose ourselves in the imagery created by the music, and to me this is what music is really about, losing yourself. I’m not saying that the story line won’t be tacky, nor that this game will have the impressive realism that Rockband seems to be offering. Instead I expect quite the opposite, and will be very disappointed if I receive anything else.

Oh, and its my birthday today. Lovely.

Until next time

24

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Guitar Hero Warriors of Rock

Due for release September 2010

Have you ever played a Spider-man game and thought, hey one dimension just isn’t enough for me? Well if you have its your lucky day as Spider-Man shattered dimensions is here.

Based on multiple comic book adaptations Shattered dimensions offers us a completely new perspective on the Spider-man universe. For a game with four completely different dimensions the basic story seems really quite simple. The tablet of order and chaos has shattered, sending its pieces flying off into four very different universes. Being the hero type you must fight as Spider-man across each dimension in order to recover the pieces and restore order once more. Easy eh? Shattered dimensions moves away from the old sandbox style amazing Spider-man games and instead offers us a new level based experience. Impressively each universe is set to have its own styling, levels, combat style and story line. Want to know more? Then please, come with me and take a first glance at four very different Spider-Men and four very different worlds.

Amazing spider-man Universe

In the Amazing Spider-man universe we find the most familiar incarnation of our favorite web spinning crime fighter. It is easy to see that in this universe a definite effort has been made by the creators to ensure that the art style mimics the colorful, defined styling of the original Amazing Spider-man comic books. Not only do you wear the old school red and blue suit, but everything from the characters to the special moves seem exaggerated adding to the retro comic book feel. In the Amazing universe you will encounter enemies such as Kraven, whose desire to become the worlds greatest game hunter has lead him to chase the biggest trophy of all. Yes, you guessed it, Spidey himself. In order to defeat Kraven and the other enemies of this world acrobatics, agility and web combat must all be mastered as key skills. Unlike previous spider man games which were entirely City based in Shattered dimensions you will also be given the opportunity to play and fight in other environments such as the jungle. To me this looked a little too unfamiliar at first, but I think it will be interesting to see how this feels when put into context within the story of the game.

Noir Universe

Set in the 1930’s the Spider-man Noir universe looks set to be the darkest and most sinister of the four. All of the levels played in this universe are played at night, giving the game a distinct dramatic film noir feel. In this universe you will have to use your skills of stealth to hide in the shadows for covert take downs, giving the Noir levels not only a darker feel but also a definite change of pace. Here you will face enemies such as Hammerhead and the Goblin as well as an array of armed citizens just waiting to shoot on sight. On a personal note, stealth killing in games has never really been my thing. No, I tend to prefer the run in and shoot anything that moves approch. Despite this, the dark atmosphere, twisted characters and sinister story-line look like they may just have the potential to sustain me though the Noir levels. I suppose we will just have to wait and see.

2099 Universe

Next we move onto the most futuristic of the four dimensions, Spider-man 2099. Set in a futuristic adaptation of New York in this universe everything is more technologically advanced including your surroundings, your suit and of course your enemies. Here you must use your speed and agility to fight futuristic enemies such as a very scary looking neon Scorpion and the new and exclusive Hobgoblin. The combat in this universe looks set to be very fast paced and close range, making great use of the sharp talons included on the most futuristic looking spidey suit. Its also worth mentioning here that at certain points in the game you will be able to engage your enemies in close up first person combat, making for a slightly more cinematic experience. This universe also promises an intriguing free falling level style which cannot be not found in the other dimensions. In this feature you are falling  down though the city from great heights, dodging obstacles and even engaging in mid air combat. This style of level looks not only very fast paced, but also allows you to appreciate the scale and styling of the futuristic neon city.  And oh yes, in this universe the suit is very cool people, very cool.

Mystery Universe

Sadly the final universe is still to be confirmed. Anyone want to guess what its going to be?  Come on now don’t be shy.

Final thoughts

I have a feeling that Spider-man shattered dimensions has come a long way from the original Spider-man sandbox titles on the PS2. It would seem that like much of the gaming world I found the most entertaining part of the old games seemed to be to jump off of the empire state building and catch yourself with a web as close to the floor as possible (or not) and to finally have something that differs from this is is certainly a relief. On a different note I also can’t help but feel that this game may be trying to mimic the success of Batman Arkhm Asylum, perhaps not so much in gameplay but instead more in objective. There definitely seems to be a desire here to re-invent the games making the spiderman character darker and more intense than previous portrayals. Weather it will be a sucess or not we have yet to see.

Until next time,

24

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Spider-man Shattered dimensions

Due for release on Nintendo Ds, Nintendo Wii, X-Box 360 and Ps3.

Anyone who logged on last week will know that my last contribution was a rather excited outburst giving you a sneaky look at the newest Guitar hero controller. I will not lie. I will always be a guitar hero girl. I was hooked at Gh3 and never looked back. I do however acknowledge that there are a lot of Rockband aficionado’s out there and it simply wouldn’t be fair to talk about the new guitar hero hardware without also having a nosey at the newest offering from the Rockband music room. I am usually a Gh girl through and through, but believe me when I say that this time the guys at Rockband really have turned it up to 11…

For a while now there have been rumors of a complete Rockband instrument overhaul, but I must admit I was initially skeptical. On completion of the online demo, Greenday Rockband showed a small but significant teaser in the form of a keyboard symbol. At this time it was easy to assume that this would be largest change made to rockband this year, however after what we have now seen at E3 it is clear that the keyboard was merely the start of the Rockband re-design.

With this I am calling all Rockband Guitarists, Drummers, Vocalists and Keyboardists to listen up and listen good! In honor of E3 week here is my very special (and perhaps slightly sketchy) summery of some of the features the new rock band hardware. Clear out your virtual music rooms, its time for an overhaul.

Keyboard
I am of course obliged to start with the newest member in the Rockband family, the keyboard. For a while now we have pondered over the appearance of the new keyboard controller, but we need ponder no more because here it is.

Is it a Keyboard or a Keytar?

Looking like a cross between a keyboard and a keytar the Rockband keyboard seems, well kind of unsurprising really. More interesting perhaps is the way the keyboard appears on screen. From what we have seen so far the keybord appears on screen in a similar way to the guitar and drums, but with a twist. Due to the sheer number of notes, instead of having a static runway strip the on screen instructions for the keybord will scroll from left to right allowing players to see only three colored sections of notes at a time. Arrows will indicate when the runway is about to move from left to right, and as the songs get more complicated the movements will become faster and more frequent.

A little fuzzy granted, but you get the idea

In another interesting twist it seems that there is going to be the possibly of using a small patching unit to connect a normal keyboard so that it can be used within the game. Though the unit itself will obviously cost money the idea of being able to use your existing instruments is very creative, and will more importantly save space. Space which you could use to buy…say maybe a new guitar…

Pro-Guitar
This brings me conveniently onto the new Pro-mode Guitars. Not only because in website team band sessions the guitar is often the most popular instrument, but also because out of the classic instrument set it is the guitar which has had the most attention.

If this one isn't real enough for you...

At this years E3 two new models of virtual guitar have been unveiled, both more advanced and awe inspiring than ever before. The first, the ‘Mustang pro’ guitar shown seems to be kind of a half way house between a classic Rockband controller and a real guitar. Though this guitar still has buttons along the frets, it has ditched the strum bar completely and replaced it with a set of 6 playable strings. I should also take the opportunity to now mention that as well as using these new controllers to play pro Guitar, it is also possible to use them to play Pro Bass. This means that Bass players will not be left out of the instrument based excitement, bless their cotton socks. Back to the topic of the Guitar itself  I may be a Gh girl at heart, but even I will admit this is exciting. Though this new controller is massively more advanced than anything we have seen before, it could be easily argued that impressive though it may be this is still not a true representation of a real guitar. To start with the strings are fixed to the body and do not continue up the neck, and further to this it only has 17 frets as opposed to the standard 22. This doesn’t really bother me, but if you are the type to be disappointed by this lack of realism don’t worry. Enter the second pro guitar.

...then how about this one

Check out this little beauty. In addition to the upgraded standard guitar Rockband were also seen showcasing a fully game compatible Fender Squire stratocaster guitar. Unlike the standard Pro guitar this nifty bit of kit has a full fretboard and fully functional strings. If you like the idea of realistic rocking out this one is for you, I for one doubt it will ever get more real than this.

At first glance it is easy to get distracted by the impressive good looks of these guitars, but do not let image distract you from the bigger picture. The effect they will have on the gameplay runs far deeper than a set of strings and a shiny scratch plate. It is clear that with the stunning level of detail and realism that has gone into creating these new guitars the aim of this mode is no longer to simply play hit songs and beat the games career mode. No, to the guys at Rockband its clearly not about this anymore. Pro mode claims to teach you the basics of how to play a real guitar, using real chord formations and finger placements to teach you as you play. Because the guitar has so many buttons the classic on screen system no longer works. In the new on screen layout instead of simply having 5 colored lanes representing varying individual notes, we now have 6 lanes each representing a string. In addition to the colors each note you are asked to play now has a tiny number above it corresponding to the fret you are supposed to play the note on. A bit complicated no? Anyone good at maths? In theory by playing pro mode guitar you are supposed to be able to transfer the skills you learn in the game onto a real guitar and thus become a guitarist. Though this is undeniably an impressive use technology, I am starting to worry that Rockband is moving a little too far away from the original point of the game.

Not really related to what I am saying I know but we all like more pictures of guitars

I play games to have fun and unwind. If I wanted to learn to actually play the guitar I may as well spend my money on my dream guitar, learn to play it from tab and have the rest of the Plus-Xp team stand behind me holding up cardboard stars and occasionally throwing glitter at me to mark my progress. Ok so this may sound a little bit silly but my point remains the same. So far the rrp of these new guitars has not been mentioned but I am assuming that they will not come cheap. Then even if the price is not enough to put you off I am betting that the complexity of the new on screen instructions in conjunction with the sheer number of buttons will leave many players more frustrated than entertained. I hate to be pessimistic about all of this as new guitars are very aspirational and exciting, however the way I see it a lot of the appeal of Rockband is that you can play it with friends and share the experience. In all honesty behind all of the excitement and Guitar lust I fear that to many players the new guitars run the risk of being more off putting than inspiring, and in a game originally designed to be played together this is not necessarily a good thing.

I still want a go one one though…I can’t help it… its just so epic… let… me… at… it…

Drums
Now to the drum kit. As an enthusiastic (and thats putting it mildly) Rockband drummer I was pleased to see that the Drum Kit has also had a Makeover. In addition to the 4 classic drum pads three new symbols have been added to the kit, making it more true to life and just generally more shiny.

Shiny, Shiny

The three new symbols aim to mimic the set up of a Standard basic rock kit by adding a high hat, plus crash and ride symbols to the existing three toms and snare we are all familiar with. Though I expect the game will continue to be, well lets just say ‘creative’ with which pad makes which sound, these new symbols will almost certainly make the drumming experience more realistic, more challenging and therefore more fun. Oh and I should also say that from what I have seen so far it looks like these symbols will be available to buy as an add on to an existing kit saving us money and effort. Nice.

Vocals
Not much to say here I’m afraid. I suppose there is a limited amount you can do with a microphone really… Perhaps the singers will just wear a hat and feel special that way, it may work. Not to leave the vocals out completely I will mention the fact that Rockband three will be including multiple harmonies Harmonies as seen in the beetles Rockband. I suppose this is nothing very new and exciting, but its all I have.

Now thats what I call full band play baby!

Thats it really, everything I know about the new rockband kit in one neat little post plus my added musings on the guitar. Ok, so perhaps the post wasn’t that little, but just one more quick footnote to finish. I wouldn’t be surprised if after reading this some of you find yourselves peering hopelessly into your tragically empty wallets with a mixed look of both great excitement and vague dismay on your faces. It would after all be nieve to imagine that these sorts of kit upgrades would come cheap, however there is hope for all you skint little guys. As well as showcasing all of this new kit the guys at Rockband have also made it very clear that the old instruments will still be compatible with the Rockband three content. You won’t be able to play pro mode with your old instruments, but you will still be able to play all of the same songs in the older, much more familiar Rockband format. There have also been whisperings form the team about new content for the original instruments, meaning that if you prefer your old controllers you wont be left out.

Thats really it now…No more footnotes…I want to buy more plastic guitars…

Until next time,

GuitarGirl24
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Who wants new instruments?

I had no plans to write anything tonight. If anything I was ready for a quiet night in with my duvet and a good dvd…AND THEN I SAW THIS….

Its just so shiny....

Yes people, its official. I returned to the country today to find that the internet has been littered with images of a guitar made of what can only be described as the heaviest of heavy metal. Well actually no, its still plastic, but you see what I mean. Looking like some sort of axe of the gods, it not only has an entirely interchangeable body but also claims to be the biggest controller yet. Oh and they have removed all of the extra stuff like the slide bar and unnecessary buttons, a decision which wins my instant approval. In my opinion the bigger and scarier they make the controllers the better the game and I in all honesty can’t wait to get my hands on one.

Look! Interchangeable bodies

Apart from tempting us with leaked images of a snazzy new axe the guys down at GH headquarters have remained relatively quite about their new release. So far only 2 of the 90 new songs promised seem confirmed, and though there have been rumors of new modes no official details seem to have been given as yet. Though the lack of solid information is quite evident my excitement at these new images is no less intense. It is obvious from the title, trailers and new controller that this game is taking the guitar hero series back to its almost comical rock/heavy metal roots and I am very hopeful that a lot more will be reviled about this title at E3 next week. Until then a final treat for you all. After a bit of light digging I have been able to turn up a pretty cool trailer. Being a guitar hero geek I watched this and got so excited I almost nerdgasmed, because of this I think everyone else should watch it too.

Guitar Hero characters turning into heavy metal beasts? I’ll take some of that…to go…with fries…I should eat something…its all just too much…

Until next time,

GuitarGirl24

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Guitar Hero Warriors of rock is set for release in September 2010. Until then watch this space.

Well its been three days since the MCM expo now and I think its due time for my first expo related post. This years Expo was a busy one, with a truly epic turnout larger than any previous expo. With a crowd over 40,000 strong it was surprising that we were able to battle through the crowds to get our hands on what the game section had to offer, however with true drive and dedication we fought on to bring you the news. Between interviewing cos-players, queuing for the cashpoint and a lot of shopping I dared to brave the crowds in order to find the Nintendo DS stand, where I took the opportunity to try the latest addition to the Warioware family, Warioware D.I.Y.

Years ago, many long hours spent in our old school common room with a borrowed copy of ‘Warioware touched’ made me somewhat of a warioware fan, and so given the chance to try the latest offering in the warioware series I was eager to see how it compared. As a ‘Touched’ fan to me Warioware was all about one thing. Killing time. It was the kind of game I could pick up when I had a cheeky half hour between lessons and jump right into, no strong story, no commitment just addictive, colorful, erratic fun. Though I cannot deny that I loved Warioware touched, when reading about this game in my pre-expo prep it seemed quite obvious that Nintendo have decided to move the Warioware series along just a teeny bit. As well as offering a host of new mini games, Warioware D.I.Y also boasted an impressive array of what I can only describe as customizable content. The game not only offered the chance to customize existing mini games, but also the chance to create new characters and scenery, create your own virtual comic books and even write music your own music. Was this to be the little big planet of the D.S? With such an impressive array of features you can see why I was eager to try the game.

So, did warioware D.I.Y live up to its online claims? Read on to find out…

I must say that despite the impressive claims above my true first impression of Warioware was one of confusion. The opening screen gave me 5 options: D.I.Y shop, Warioware Inc, D.I.Y studio, Distribution Center and Options garage none of which I really knew what to do with. I eventually worked this out by trial and error, and though I suppose the confusing start screen is a little irrelevant once you have played the game a couple of times. Nevertheless I do feel that the game could have benefited from a large button which simply said PLAY NOW just to make the game more instant. Once I had successfully negotiated the menu screen I soon found my way to the part of the game I was most eager to try, the game creator. In my opinion it is the game creation/editing ability which makes up the true meat of this game. The D.I.Y studio gives players the ability to draw, animate and create their own characters, scenery and music, in effect allowing you to create your own unique mini games.

Creating your own characters appeared easy enough. To help you get started the game has a number of pre-set images which can be dragged onto your game space, either as scenery, characters or whatever takes your fancy really. In addition to this once you get more confident you can also use the stylus as a brush to paint your own unique characters providing infinite possibilities for game theming and really helping to give your mini games unique character. The game then gives you options which allow you to animate the characters you have created. These options vary in relation to the type of game you are aiming to create, but examples include such options as determining which type of movement you would like you character to have, defining the areas in which your character is to move and assigning commands to on screen buttons.  I am not sure that everyone will be using this paint and animate your own character feature in the innocent way that the game suggests, but whichever way you choose to use it it looks like a lot of fun.

As the resident music and rhythm game specialist here at PlusXp it is not surprising that the music making feature of this game also caught my attention. Like the Game creator the music creator allows you to either edit existing tracks, or create entirely new ones which can then be assigned to your mini games. The music creator gives you 5 tracks to play with, along with a variety of instruments allowing you to lay down beats and create harmonies adding depth to your music. In order to create music you must first select your instrument, and then build your song by placing a series of dots along a grid which sort of resembles a scale. Helpfully there is a small keyboard to the left of the screen which allows you to see which note you are playing, and a series of vertical lines which will help you to give your song a basic sense of rhythm. Though the music creator is essentially quite basic, I found the simple layout extremely easy to understand and play with leaving me free to get crazy and creative with my 5 tracks. I don’t expect anyone to write a masterpiece with this, but adding your own music definitely adds an extra dimension to this game, allowing for even more creativity and experimentation.

Now its time to talk about the comic book creator this game has….Oh wait….I didn’t get time for that….Oh never mind, you will just have to find that one out for yourselves!

I only had a brief go at the D.I.Y elements of the game but from what I saw I do get the feeling crating your own games from scratch may take a little getting used to. Helpfully Warioware DIY not only allows you to create entirely new games but also has a feature where you can edit existing games. This feature not only makes creating your own games a lot quicker, it also helps you to become accustomed to editing tools more easily making it much easier to create your own games in the future. On top of this if you still can’t figure the editing studio out good news! In researching this article I found the warioware website to be full of online video tutorials just waiting to teach you anything you could possibly want to know about this game in colorful attention span holding video glory. Even if you still don’t understand the animation, if your anything like me the music behind the various trailers clips and tutorials will be enough to keep you amused for a fair while…now thats what I call entertainment.

Oh, and I almost forgot. As well as allowing you to make your own mini games D.I.Y also gives you the ability to share your creations with friends. The fact that you can share the games with friends (or complete strangers, whatever floats your boat) means that the game has almost infinite possibilities for new downloadable content. Games, music and comics can be shared either by transferring locally to other D.S consoles, or Via web upload. If you choose to transfer your games online you can also upload them to your Wii console and play your creations on an even bigger screen. All mighty impressive, no?

In addition to the D.I.Y features, Warioware D.I.Y also has 90 in built games which you can mix up and play using what it calls the game blender. I found these games a little hit and miss, with some having the true warioware eccentricities and others just being a little too normal. In addition to this the game blender lets you chose to an extent which type of game you would like to play, which to me takes some of the fun out of the Warioware experience. One of my favorite thing about warioware was that you would spend a good half an hour battling your way through mini games getting faster and faster only to be hit with something you didn’t quite understand seconds before beating your all time record. Though this was undeniably frustrating, it was also extremely compelling and after playing D.I.Y for a short time I am starting to wonder weather in having the ability to chose your own games and practice them to death, it may risk losing the sense of crazy urgency I used to love about the older games. I am not sure of this as yet, but I suppose time will tell.

All is not lost though, there are still some truly random gems to be found. For example my favorite mini game has to be “Keep your bow on to impress boys” in which you have to tap a large bow on the back of a girls head to stop it falling off. Completely random, completely pointless but completely brilliant. Another game I enjoyed playing (more for the gameplay this time, not the crazy title) was a memory game which involved memorizing Wario’s face for a couple of seconds before having it disappear and having to re-compile it out of random mr potato head style pieces within a set time limit. I know that this is not a particularly innovative concept for a game, but it was harder than it looked and quite addictive. I found myself having to give the various types of eyes and noses on offer names and shout them out in order to help me remember them. Looking back it must have been a little strange for expo passers by to be confronted with me shouting ANGRY, BEADY, PURPLE, TRIANGLE!!! But hey, it worked!

So how would I sum up this game? Well to be honest for me the standard mini games were nothing that new, but the ability to create and share mini games to me has great potential. Although the game creator seemed a little complicated Nintendo seem to have done a good job at creating tools to help us to get to grips with it, leaving me confidant that even the least creative gamers will be able to understand and experiment with this game.  Though I cannot deny that in adding structure and choice to the gameplay this game has lost a little of the wackiness which the earlier warioware titles had, I like to think that maybe the mistakes made whilst getting to grips with the animation tools will lead to more interesting games. It seems that this time it is us who must put the random factor back into Warioware. I for one accept the challenge, as soon as I get my copy I’m going to make a game all about throwing slices of toast at Nuns. Anyone like to join me?

Warioware D.I.Y. is on sale now.

Until next time,

24

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Before the review an apology. I love Bioshock. Forgive my reminiscences but I feel compelled to tell you that when descending into rapture for the first time in Bioshock 1 I was completely unprepared for what I was to find. I expected gore, I expected fear, however to be met by the scene of a splicer being brutally drilled through the stomach left me feeling three distinct emotions. Firstly fear at the thought that at some time in the future that drill was probably meant for me, secondly disgust at the sheer brutality of it all and more prominently an overwhelming compulsion to delve deeply into the twisted, brutal word that was Rapture. I suppose I would say that in a disturbing way it was love at first sight and ever since then that twisted little post disaster utopia under the sea has both haunted and thrilled me. Imagine then if you will, my delight when Bioshock 2 was announced. Another voyage into the depths Rapture? The chance to be a Big Daddy. Duel wielding the classic BD drill with the plasmids. As you can see I got just a little excited…

Why then am I apologizing? Well in short, I intended to bring you this review sooner. The truth is that whilst my heart, head and fingers screamed ‘Buy!’ my bank balance had different Ideas. So a little later than expected here is my full review of Bioshock 2. I hope you enjoy it.

The story

Set around ten years after the original Bioshock game it is not surprising that in Bioshock 2 the underwater world of Rapture has fallen even further into a state of moral and physical disrepair. In the time since Jack and the little sisters departed the city has fallen under the control of Dr Sophia Lamb, who has done all in her power to re-build Rapture under her own cruel design. Not only has Lamb recruited a new army of Little Sisters, she has also managed to turn the now much older remaining Little Sisters into Big Sisters who act as all powerful guardians over her new society. Unlike Bioshock 1 you play through the game as ‘Subject Delta’ the original prototype Big daddy who has been awoken in the midst of the chaos. As with all Big Daddies your primary objective is simple, to protect the Little Sisters. However being a prototype Big daddy (and the main protagonist) it is of course not that simple. Unlike the other Big Daddies you are bound to only one Little Sister, who ten years ago was stolen from you and taken into the depths of the city by Professor Lamb. Bound by your genetic urge to protect, and guided by plasmid expert Augustus Sinclair you embark on Rapture with the soul purpose of finding and reclaiming Elanor, your only true little sister.

Spoilers

As far as the story goes I have merely given a taste of what is waiting for you in Bioshock 2, however I do feel that this is enough. As with Bioshock 1 to tell the whole story would most likely ruin this game, and so instead I have devised a cunning plan. Instead of telling the story and spoiling your fun I will describe for you my top 3 moments in Bioshock 2 and why I love them. If you have already played the game please feel free to reminisce along with me. If you want it all to be a surprise please look away now.

1-Top moment number 1 comes for Siren Alley. You are sent to Siren alley when your path through Rapture is cut off by flooding in Dionysus park. In order to drain Dionysis park and continue on your journey to find Elanor you must go to Siren Alley where you can access a pumping station to clear the flooding. When you reach the pumping station however you are confronted by the calm yet insane Voice of Sophia Lamb, who in a bid to cleanse rapture decides to flood the Alley drowning all. Now I have never before feared drowning, but hats off the the Bioshock 2 team because this flood was excited perfectly. During the flood scene you are forced to run through almost the entire length of the level. Water pours through the ceiling and walls, pipes burst around you and once functional staircases become deadly waterfalls blinding you with a torrent of icy water. Amongst all of the visual chaos you are also being bombarded with messages from Sinclair telling you to run, whilst simultaneously being heckled by an extremely self righteous Lamb. The flood is exactitude with such precision, detail and urgency that I found myself forgetting all tactic and logic and simply running for my life. This scene is made even more effective by the calm that follows. The water eventually claims the entire level, submerging Siren Alley. This leaves you free to wonder amongst the floating dead bodies and sea-life in eerie silence looking out over a landscape both strikingly familiar and at the same time completely different. A dramatic end to a level I will not be forgetting in a while.

2-Top moment 2 is slightly less dramatic, but in its own way quite brilliant. Skipping ahead in the story your ongoing search for Eleanor soon takes you to new, even stranger areas of Rapture. One of these areas is Fontane Futuristics, where plasmids were originally created, trailed and showcased. As expected things do not go smoothly here either. In this level you are lead into a large darkened room, and in classic computer game style the doors snap shut behind you, leaving no opportunity for escape. As you move forward into the room it all becomes horribly clear. You are in fact standing on a flooded stage, originally meant for showcasing new plasmid technology and surrounded by an audience of dead splicers. As you walk further forward towards centre stage (or try to run, take your pick) the whole grizzly show begins. In true circus style the dead audience is invited to roll up and participate in the ‘show’ and soon it becomes apparent that the presumed dead audience actually consists of a lot of Houdini splicers who are quite happy to ‘participate’ in the effort to kill you. Now though this battle was far from epic, something about the whole theatre/circus set-up really tickled me. It was as if approaching a battle in this twisted, childlike scenario somehow captured the true essence of the Bioshock story. To me the decent of rapture has always been strongest when centered around the idea of innocence corrupted, and this scene embodies that essence perfectly.

3-Top moment 3 comes nearer to the end of the game, and is perhaps my favorite moment of all. I will not say how you get there as it will spoil the game, but I could not review without mentioning the horrific beauty of this scene. In the final level Persephone you are actually able to take control of a Little Sister, seeing the world through her eyes. Seeing Rapture through the eyes of a Little Sister for the first time is both incredibly beautiful and completely unnerving at the same time. Whereas everyone else sees Rapture as a place of fear and decay, the Little Sisters see only beauty and light. It is as if the Little Sisters see Rapture as it was before it became corrupted, with golden sunlight bursting through every window and beauty in the place of decay. The twisted metal in the walls is seen as magnificent drapes, the floor is littered with flowers and candles. It is all so beautiful, and yet knowing what was being masked by all of that beauty did make me feel quite uneasy. Even the splicers which to us have always appeared to us as deformed monsters are now kindly handsome men in dinner suits offering a friendly hand of guidance, a hand which we all know in reality would almost certainly have only offered only a gruesome death. It soon becomes apparent why the Little Sisters refer to the Adam infused bodies as ‘Angels’ as if the worse something is, the more beautiful it appears to them. I couldn’t help but wonder weather this scene was simply a play on the innocence of a child’s eyes, or a hint at how intensely the Little Sisters had been brainwashed by Lamb in order to fulfill their purpose. Somehow I think it was both, but either way it added a whole new dimension to the way I had previously viewed the game.

Morality

As with Bioshock 1 on your journey you are faced with several moral dilemmas as well as the classic choice of harvesting or saving the Little Sisters. These acts in turn vary the ending of the game, adding a sense of greater meaning to your otherwise insignificant actions. Once key levels have been completed you are presented with a situation where your enemies are cornered leaving you with classic choice of mercy versus revenge. Feeling that the theme of fatherhood is key in this game (Big daddy etc…) I chose to be a good role modal and show mercy to my enemies. By doing this I was granted not a happy but at least a peaceful end to the game, however if you chose revenge there are once again multiple, more grizzly endings to be found. I don’t really think it is that important which ending you get, however I think that it is great that once again in Rapture your actions will always have unforeseen consequences.

Weaponry

Now for the fun stuff. Weapons. I must be honest it was the new weaponry which really made this game for me. Unlike Bioshock 1 where you are forced to switch between melee weapons, guns and plasmids the duel wielding abilities in this game make it truly exciting. As a Big Daddy your primary weapon is a large drill which you can use to smash through walls, splicers and well pretty much anything you want. Its only a slight upgrade from the classic melee weapon the wrench… oh who am I kidding its awesome! Not only is the drill powerful, but it can be upgraded via gene tonics to incorporate plasmids making it my weapon of choice when facing larger foes. In addition to this your right arm also carries your guns. As you progress through Rapture you gain access to all types of guns including a shotgun, machine gun, hack tool, rivet gun, spear gun and most fun of all a rocket launcher with heat seeking missiles. Nice. In addition to having the armory in your pocket we once again see the return of the classic plasmids from Bioshock 1. Plasmids let you genetically alter yourself allowing you the harness the power of such forces as fire, ice and electricity as well as gaining new skills such as telekinesis. These abilities have not changed much from Bioshock 1 and if I am honest it would have been nice to have a couple of new plasmids. In fact in the whole game there is only one new plasmid to be found and I told you what this plasmid was was I would spoil the ending. Despite the lack of new plasmids with a massive drill on one arm and the ability to burn all in sight on the other I defy anyone playing this game not to feel powerful. I certainly did.

Foes

Let talk enemies. Now with the added physical advantages of being a Big Daddy it is not surprising that the other inhabitants of Rapture have also upped their game. As with Bioshock 1 the first enemies you encounter are the splicers. Splicers are the original human inhabitants of Rapture, who as a result of all the genetic enhancements have gone mad and started killing each other in a bid to gain Adam, the life-blood of Rapture. As well as the familiar Thuggish, Leadhead, Spider and Houdini splicers Bioshock 2 has a new addition to the splicer family, the Brute splicer. Built like a human tank on acid, the bruits are stronger, faster and more lethal than any other splicer you will find in Rapture. These splicers are resistant to most weapons, and I found the only ways to dispose of them swiftly was either with a rocket launcher or to once again run at them with the drill and shred them. I warn its not pretty, but its effective. In addition to tackling the splicers in order to progress through the game you will at times be required to battle your fellow Big Daddies in order to steal their Little Sisters. Once you have a little sister you can use her to gather vital adam from certain glowing corpses (or angels as the Little Sisters call them) which in turn will allow you to upgrade your abilities and become stronger. The Big Daddies have changed very little from Bioshock 1, and though they are still challenging I found them much easier to defeat with your new heavy duty weapon set. Cue Big Sister. Now the Big Sisters may look like stretched Big Daddies but don’t be fooled, they mean business. Armor plated with unlimited plasmid power and a giant needle (used both for gathering Adam and impaling enemies) once a Big Sister has your scent they will hunt you relentlessly. Their pure power and impressive speed combined with their teleport ability makes them all but impossible to outrun leaving you with no choice but to stay and fight them. Scary as the Big Sisters are I do have advice. Electrobolt to stun, ice drill to the face. Works like a charm.

Up to this point I have spoken only of the good in Bioshock 2 however as always there were some disappointments. Writing this article as a Bioshock fan I am blessed with a lot of additional information which someone new to the games may not necessarily know. For example, most of my information about the initial story line came mainly from the trailers and most of my understanding of Rapture came from Bioshock 1. When I first viewed the online trailers for Bioshock 2 I was truly enthralled, however somehow this excitement and horror seemed to be missing in the start of the game. Once you get into it the story of the game is actually very good, so why it was decided to make the opening explanatory cut scenes so short is a little beyond me. If I am honest I wanted more. In addition to this I felt that someone playing this game who had not played the original Bioshock may be quite lost with the concept of Rapture. Though a lengthy explanation of what had gone before may have bored diehard Bioshock fans, a short catchup wouldn’t have hurt and would probably have made this game accessible to many more gamers.

Lastly the thing which upset me the most, something so shocking I urge you to sit down. The circus of values machines no longer say ‘Welcome to the circus of Values’ in the creepy voice we all know and love. Its a travesty. I may never get over it.

Summery

With the original Bioshock game being named ‘Game of the year’ in 2007 it is undeniable that Bioshock 2 had a big reputation to live up too. The success of its predecessor combined with a change in developing house had left many Bioshock fans doubting weather the game would be a worthy sequel to the celebrated future classic. My advice on this matter is simple. Bioshock 1 created and first encouraged you to explore the world of Rapture. It not only created scenery in the form of the art deco underwater city, but a vast classic array of enemies, a unique story-line and a few moral dilemmas to boot. Though Bioshock 2 could never replicate this achievement it does successfully build on the foundations of Rapture expanding and embellishing a great concept. Bioshock 2 takes advantage of the fact that most gamers already know the history of Rapture, and almost immediately offers tasty upgrades such as new and improved weaponry, the ability to duel wield and more challenging enemies such as the Big Sisters. Though I was first disappointed with the slow start to the story I promise that it does pick up, and by the end of the game I was truly hooked. If your thinking about buying this game I encourage you to do so, after-all the ability of duel wield the traditional Big daddy drill with the plasmid of your choice is not one to be missed. Trust me.

I loved Bioshock 1. I love Bioshock 2. Please play Bioshock 1. If you do not own Bioshock 1 please buy Bioshock 1. Then please play Bioshock 1. After you have played Bioshock 1 and only then please play Bioshock 2. This will make you happy. I promise.

Until next time

24

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However, if you haven’t played the old games, there’s a fair amount of plot to catch up on – with the two PS2 titles, and the PSP title as well. Of course, I would probably suggest to you that it would be worth getting hold of them and playing them all – but it’s likely that some people simply won’t have the time, money or simply would rather just have a bit of a sum-up or review (if they’ve played it before).

Therefore, I decided to write this article to do exactly that – to sum up and cover the God of War story so far, covering all the important points you’ll need to know before you pick up the fourth installment in the dark series.

Obviously this will be riddled with SPOILERS, so read onward at your own risk…

CHAPTER 1: BEFORE THE GAMES

Well, these parts are covered during the course of the three current games, but for the sake of clarity I’ll cover them first.

In ancient times, the Titans ruled the earth – huge creatures that controlled the elements and dominated the land. One such Titan was Cronos. Prophecy foretold that he would one day be overthrown by his own son – and when he bore children with the titaness Rhea, he devoured them all in order to avoid his fate. However, overcome by motherly love, Rhea tricked Cronos – saving their child Zeus and feeding Cronos a rock wrapped in a blanket as a decoy. Zeus was raised by the Titan Gaia, and once reaching manhood – returned to Cronos. He freed his siblings from Cronos’ stomach, including his brothers Hades and Poseidon, and forced Cronos to forever hold Pandora’s temple upon his back as punishment. He then proceeded to imprison and punish each and every other Titan, and thus began the reign of the gods.

Around a decade before the start of the series, Kratos was once a proud captain within the Spartan army. His brutal but effective tactics gained him respect very quickly, gaining a small army under his command. Despite warnings from his wife, Kratos continued on his warpath, eventually leading him to a fateful battle; overconfident, Kratos waged war against a huge army of barbarians and vastly underestimated them – leading to the fall of his army, the Barbarian King towering above the defeated Spartan, poised to land the final blow.

However, Kratos’ pride was too much, and no price would be too high for him – he called upon Ares, the God of War, and pledged his life and soul to him in order to win the battle. Accepting the opportunity, Ares turned upon the barbarians, destroying them without mercy. Granted great power, the hell-forged Blades of Chaos burned into his very flesh, Kratos beheaded the Barbarian King and emerged victorious. However, he was doomed to spend his life in servitude to the God of War. He served Ares for years, growing armies ever larger, slaughtering in the name of Ares without mercy. He was willing to pay any price for victory – all, but one. whilst razing a village to the ground, Kratos’ blind violence had him tricked into slaughtering his own wife and child, not realising who his victims were until it was too late. Ares hoped to sever Kratos’ ties to the mortal world and turn him into the perfect killer – but to Kratos, this was too much pain to bear. The ashes of his wife and child bound to his very skin, the “Ghost of Sparta” was born, and Kratos was haunted by dreams of his actions from that day forth.

CHAPTER 2: CHAINS OF OLYMPUS

Kratos continued to work in service of the gods, his battles attempting to appease the gods, whilst keeping his mind as far from his haunted past, Kratos had just fought off an army of invading Persians and the mighty Basilisk when an ominous event occured – the Sun sinking from the sky casting a dark shadow over the world. Athena warned Kratos that this was the actions of a titan – Atlas – who had captured the sun god Helios and the sun along with him, the darkness allowing Morpheus, god of dreams, to sink the world into a dark mist and send the gods into slumber. Sent on a new mission, Kratos set out to recover Helios from his captor, and stop the titan’s dark plans. As he set off, Kratos was haunted by a haunting melody which felt somehow familiar. He continues to Helios’ temple, and is urged by the sun god’s sister, Eos, to continue upon his quest, granted artifacts to help him along his way. Awakening Helios’ flying steeds, Kratos allows them to lead them toward their master.

Heading down into Hades, their power is lost and Kratos finds himself hurled into the depths of the underworld. Charon, the ferryman of the Styx, tells Kratos that he recognises similarities between Kratos and himself, both in servitude of the gods. However, Charon denies Kratos passage, and defeats him – throwing his unconcious body down into the depths of the Styx. Ever resiliant, Kratos battles his way out of the styx once more, witnessing the broken chains that had once bound Atlas, questioning who would release such evil upon the world.

Returning to Charon, he exacts his revenge and seizes the ferry, riding it to the light of Helios that illuminates the furthest regions of the underworld. However, he is haunted by the eerie melody once before, and then recognises it as the music of his own daughter, Calliope, playing a flute that Kratos himself had given her in life. Following her, chasing an opportunity for forgiveness and happiness, he is lead to the temple of Persephone - where he meets the goddess herself, the unwilling wife of Hades who had been tricked into joining him in the underworld. She tells Kratos that Calliope had gone to the fields of Elysium, a sort of ‘heaven’, where he could join her by relinquishing his power into the Forsaken Tree to gain entry.

His greatest wishes to be re-united with his family, Kratos feeds his power into the tree; and enters Elysium as a mortal to join Calliope. However, Persephone enters and reveals her true aspirations – she had tricked Kratos into rendering himself harmless in order to allow her to exact her revenge upon Zeus who had failed to raise any objection to Hades’ actions in abducting her. She had unleashed Atlas, and planned to destroy the world – and Olympus with it – by using the power of the Sun to destroy the pillar that supported the world. Realising his mistake, Kratos made one of the hardest decisions of his life and left Calliope, retrieving his powers to stop Persephone. He defeated the goddess, but her demise brought the pillar crashing down. However, Kratos took immediate action and chained Atlas to the base of the world, forcing him to hold the world on his shoulders for the rest of eternity, a greater punishment than even Zeus had subjected him to. He leaves Kratos with the ominous words that he would one day come to regret his actions upon this day.

Leaving the underworld, his mission complete, Kratos ends up unconcious on the cliffs overlooking the Aegean Sea. Athena and Helios stand by him, and remove the powerful artifacts he had acquired during his journey (the Sun Shield and the Gauntlet of Zeus), leaving him to awaken alone, Athena stating that Kratos shall live.

CHAPTER 3: GOD OF WAR

Ever haunted by the nightmares of his past deeds, Kratos heads to Athens on a new mission – defeating the mighty Hydra that attacks his ship along the way, in a favour to Poseidon, God of the Sea. His sleep once again ruined by his horrific memories, Kratos pleads to Athena to finally repay him for his deeds and stop his nightmares. Athena promises him that soon, the gods will forgive him, so long as he carries out his next task. Ares, the god of war, had turned upon his fellow gods and was causing terrible destruction to the world, at that time rampaging through Athena’s city of Athens. By Zeus’ decree, the gods were unable to directly battle each other, so Athena believed the only way to defeat Ares would be to sent a mortal trained by the gods themselves to do the deed.

Kratos fought his way through Athens, which was under assault by Ares himself. He soon met the city’s Oracle, who told Kratos of Pandora’s Box, a powerful relic held within Pandora’s temple, that could grant him the power to defeat a god. Kratos travelled to the Desert of Lost Souls, where Cronos was doomed to wander eternally chained to the temple. He fought his way up to the temple, and through various trials set out for challengers who would attempt to lay claim to the box. Eventually perservering, Kratos found the box, but at that moment, Ares knew that Kratos had succeeded – and killed him before he had an opportunity to unleash its power.

However, not even death would stop Kratos. Fighting his way out of Hades, he returned to the world, where Ares had claimed Pandora’s Box for himself, and had declared victory upon the gods. Kratos caught him off-guard, and broke open the box – it’s power making Kratos grow to the size of a god. On a more equal footing, the two did battle – Ares proceeding to try and break Kratos’ spirit by sending him to a strange reality where he had to protect his family from clones of himself that were sent to kill them. Victorious, Ares seized control of Kratos’ blades, stripping them from him and killing  his family before him for a second time. Returning to reality, a broken Kratos is given new hope as he finds the Blade of the Gods within his grasp – which had previously served as a giant bridge when he had been the size of a mortal. He took the blade, and after a final battle, killed Ares once and for all.

His mission complete, Kratos returned to Athena. The goddess offered the forgiveness of the gods as they had promised – yet informed Kratos that they could never relieve him of his memories; they would be his to bear for the rest of his existence. Believing he had lost all hope, Kratos attempted to commit suicide by hurling himself into the Aegean sea. However, the gods had other plans – and saved him from the fall, rising him back to the cliffside where Athena awaited him.

She informed Kratos that with Ares dead, a new throne was open on Olympus – and offered him the role of the new God of War. He took up the role, and gained many followers, his brutality and combat skills knowing no equal. Athena granted him new weapons as a replacement to the one’s Ares had given him: The Blades of Athena.

CHAPTER 4: GOD OF WAR II

As the new God of War, Kratos was brutal – his new role feeling less like power, rather just another method of the gods leaving him in servitude under their watchful eye. Frustrated and angry, Kratos waged violent war against all, his armies merciless, attacking the cities of the other gods in an effort to conquer Greece. Athena warned him that Olympus would not tolerate his actions much longer, yet he angrily continued, the city of Helios his next target.

The gods could not stand idly by, however – and used their power to reduce Kratos back to the size of a mortal, bringing life to a colossal statue of Helios to defend the city from his assault. Still maintaining his godly powers, and believing the betrayal to be that of Athena alone, Kratos fought his way through the city, and is sent the Blade of Olympus from Zeus – apparently able to gain great power if Kratos is to drain his power into the blade itself. Foolishly he does so – using the blade’s great power to destroy the Colossus from within. Victorious, Kratos emerges, only to be wounded by the falling ruins of the statue. The sword flung from his hand, Kratos tried to retrieve it, but Zeus emerged and took the blade himself. Rebellious to the end, and unwilling to bow to Olympus, Kratos fought a losing battle before Zeus finally impaled Kratos on the blade, killing him for ‘the good of Olympus’ – before decimating the Spartan army with a godly slash.

Taken by the hands of Hades, Kratos is saved by the Titan Gaia, who had been watching over him for years. She proposed an alliance, the Titans wanting revenge against Zeus for his punishment, every Titan having been condemned for the actions of a sole individual – Zeus’ father, Cronos. Seeing an opportunity for another chance and a shot at vengeance, Kratos agreed; leaving Hades for the third time.

Kratos rode Pegasus, a gift from Gaia, and intended to head straight to Olympus to take down Zeus. However, Gaia knew better, and instructed Kratos that he would have to beseech the Sisters of Fate; in order to go back and change the events before his death at the hands of Zeus. Along the way, Pegasus was trapped by the Titan Typhon, and Kratos lacked the strength to release his grip from the horse. Kratos encountered Prometheus – an ex-Titan bound in human form by Zeus, his punishment to be eternally pecked to death by a giant bird, chained in torment for eternity. He pleaded for Kratos to end his suffering - but Kratos lacked the means to do so. Venturing back to Typhon, he ripped Typhon’s Bow from the eye of the Titan, and returned to Prometheus where he used the power to cast the ex-Titan into the Flame of Olympus, which ended him once and for all. In return, Prometheus’ ashes were bound to Kratos, granting him some of the Titan’s strength – allowing him to free Pegasus and continue his journey.

He soon arrived at the temple of the sisters, and on his journey encountered various figures. He first encountered Theseus, who fought for the gods to stop Kratos – but was defeated in a dramatic battle, beaten to a pulp, his key stolen and granting Kratos passage. Cronos talked to Kratos by means of a magica hologram, giving him a gift of magical power to aid him. Upon progressing deeper into the greener areas of the sisters’ land, Kratos found himself assaulted by a familiar enemy – the Barbarian King, the first victim of Kratos’ Blades of Chaos, returned from Hades to exact revenge upon Kratos. His vengeance went unsatisfied, however, Kratos beating him to death with his own hammer, and claiming it for himself.

Jason was also in the sisters’ territory, but is devoured by Cerberus. Kratos fought the beast to the death and retrieved Jason’s Golden Fleece, a valuable item of protection. Kratos next met Eurayle, a gorgon who seeked vengeance for Medusa (whom Kratos killed previously), but ended up suffering the same fate – her head ripped off, and kept to be used as a weapon that could turn enemies to stone. He continued, his next victim Perseus – on a personal quest to save the fate of his beloved, and believing Kratos to be a challenge sent to him by the gods. Next came Icarus – who claimed he would use his wings to reach the sisters; Kratos however had other ideas, lauching into Icarus and engaging in airborne combat. He ripped the wings from Icarus’ back, but they had fallen a long way – Icarus fell into the depths of Hades, and Kratos used the wings to save himself at the last moment.

He found himself face to face with Atlus – still bound and angry at Kratos for having chained him there years ago. He attempted to crush Kratos in vengeance – before Kratos convinced Atlus that he has left the service of the gods, and seeked to destroy Zeus. Atlus granted Kratos a gift of his remaining magical power, and allowed Kratos passage back to the Temple of the Fates, where Kratos continued his quest to reach the sisters.

Enagaged in a battle in the darkness against an unseen opponent, Kratos finds himself accidentally killing one of the last remaining Spartans, who warns Kratos that Zeus had destroyed Sparta – and had come to seek the sisters himself to change the fate of his city and people. Enraged and full of loss, Kratos is attacked by the Kraken but refused to fight – screaming out to the gods to challenge them, and was almost killed as the Kraken constricted him, awaiting his own demise. Gaia intervened, however, warning Kratos that losing will leave him in an eternity of torment – promising him that he will have the opportunity to kill Zeus.

Slaying the Kraken, and fighting his way to the sisters, Kratos finally met Lakhesis. However, she told Kratos that the sisters would not help him – and Kratos proceeded to attack her. A gruelling battle ensued, interrupted by the second sister Atropos who attempted to stop Kratos by sucking him into a mirror to the past, where she could destroy the blade that Kratos would use to kill Ares – leaving him vulnerable and unable to win the fight against the God of War in the first place. She failed however, and Kratos murdered both of the sisters before heading to the remaining sister - Clotho, in the chamber of the Loom of Fate - finally driving a blade through her head.

Free to manipulate the loom of fate for himself, Kratos used it’s power to create a portal back to the time where Zeus drove the Blade of Olympus through his chest. Taking back the blade and using it against Zeus, a long battle took place with Zeus seemingly winning – Kratos laying down his blade as a gesture of surrender. Zeus took the opportunity to try and finish Kratos, attacking him from behind with the Blade of Olympus, but Kratos reacted quickly; grasping the blade, pinning Zeus down with the Blades of Athena, and driving the sword through Zeus’ chest.

Athena interrupted, though, saving Zeus and giving him an opportunity to run. Kratos drove the sword at a fleeing Zeus – but Athena took the blow, saving him. When questioned of her actions, Athena tells Kratos that she fights to save Olympus. In her dying words, she reveals that Kratos is actually Zeus’ son (and therefore her brother), and Zeus aimed to kill Kratos to end a cycle whereby the son would always overthrow the father, as he had done to his own father, Cronos. When Kratos told Athena he seeks only Zeus, not to topple Olympus itself, she claimed that Zeus is Olympus, and that to kill Zeus would be to oppose Olympus itself. Full of rage, Kratos declared war upon the Gods, with the words “If all on Olympus will deny me my vengeance, then all on Olympus will die!”

Travelling back to the Loom of Fate, he used it to travel back to the Great War between the Gods and the Titans, where Gaia stood amidst a losing battle. She claimed that she had been expecting him, but the Titans were not strong enough to win the war. With the power of the loom in his hands, Kratos shouts to Gaia: “All on Olympus tremble at my name! Zeus is weak, Ares and Athena are dead, and I wield the blade. We can win the Great War, but not in this time! Together, we can destroy the petty gods and we will see Olympus crumble before us! Come with me Gaia, return to my time…Victory awaits!”

In the present, Zeus and his followers – Hades, Poseidon, Hermes, Apollo and Helios are meeting on Olympus – with Zeus urging them to unite against Kratos, rallying them as a single force. Olympus began to shake, and Zeus looked down over the balcony to see the Titans brought to the present day by Kratos, climing up toward Olympus itself. Kratos shouted up to his father from the back of Gaia:

“Zeus! Your son has returned! I bring the destruction of Olympus!”

And that is where the series currently ends… to be continued in God of War III.

It’s truly an epic tale, and I can’t wait to see what happens next. I hope this has been informative to anyone who wanted a summary, or recap, of the series so far!

-Leon

When I was younger, I also used to watch a lot of cartoons with strange humour (most likely bought on by Monkey Island and the ‘Quest’ games), but there was one cartoon I loved in my youth, but never saw again for years, the Sam and Max: Freelance Police cartoons. Now, a couple years ago, I had a Point and Click revival, wherein I became massively addicted to point and click games again, replayed all the Monkey Islands, sought out Day of the Tentacle and Sam and Max Hit The Road, and have also, in recent times, played through Full Throttle (fun, but short), Grim Fandango (fun, but incredibly difficult to play on a post-windows’98 computer), Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis, and The Dig (which I very recently bought and completed). Now, this is probably all sounding quite irrelevant right now, but this is where Telltale games come in.

Telltale Games: Holy light and halo sadly not included... yet...

A few years ago, they bought the license to Sam and Max, and to date, have released 2 seasons of episodic games for the rabbit and dog duo, reviving the point and click genre almost single-handedly. Since then, they’ve also given the episodic gaming treatment to Wallace and Gromit and the cult internet icon Strong Bad.

Then, in one of my all time favourite things about 2009; Telltale games made Tales of Monkey Island, an episodic adventure bringing back one of my all time favourite series of games. I was ecstatic, and I wasn’t disappointed, either. For this, Telltale stand as one of my all time favourite developers.

As well as this, Telltale care a lot about their fans, offering free episodes to customers, often putting their series on sale, talking to their fans in the forums, and actually taking on board and reacting to fan feedback. Now, this is where everything I’ve talked about starts to, in some way, come together. Telltale, in their most recent newsletter to their fans, offered a coupon for 15% off a series of their games, if I answered a questionnaire, which would give them feedback to their games so far, but would ask several questions about their upcoming series of Sam and Max, which promises to be their most ambitious series yet, with another storyline spanning all episodes, monsters and foes across time and space, psychic powers (which alone instantly attracts me to your game, so you know), and more of the humour we’ve come to love. After questions gauging my interest on what they plan to bring to the new series, a couple of questions afterwards piqued my interest, so much so, that they shall now appear below:

“21. If Telltale were to develop new games based on an existing series, which below would be of greatest interest to you? (Select top 3)

Sierra Quest series (Kings Quest, Space Quest, Police Quest)
Gabriel Knight
Other LucasArts adventure series (beyond Monkey Island, Sam & Max)
Leisure Suit Larry
Myst
Infocom series (e.g. Zork, Planetfall)
Broken Sword series

22. If Telltale were to develop new games based on another previous LucasArts game (beyond Monkey Island, Sam & Max), which below would be of greatest interest to you?

Maniac Mansion
Day of the Tentacle
Full Throttle
Grim Fandango
The Dig
Zak McKracken
Loom”

If these questions are anything to go by, then in future, Telltale games may try and make some more games based on previous, unused franchises by Sierra and Lucasarts.

However, if they did, which ones would be best for the company to revive (and not in the “HD Remake” way, sorry)?

Because I unfortunately do not know anything about Myst, Maniac Mansion, the Infocom series, Zak McKracken, or Gabriel Knight, and I’ve barely played LOOM, so I can’t completely endorse their revival, sorry about that.

Full Throttle and the Dig had pretty concrete endings, that wouldn’t do so well to open up to a sequel. As good games as they were, I feel the impact of the stories would be lost a bit if they were continued. However, a prequel for either could be great ideas; learn more, or even experience the downfall of the alien society before you visit it for real in The Dig? Learn more about the rise of the main character of Full Throttle into the leader of the gang, before the real story starts? The worlds are open to explored more, but the stories of their characters reached a good ending, so unless the games were another part of the world, or before the games they’d be reviving, I don’t see much point in them being revived.

“What is it?” “Some Kid on the internet thinks we shouldn’t get a sequel” “...What’s the internet?”

The Quest series would be a more interesting one to take on, seeing as there were many different ‘Quests’, so anything between King’s, Space and Police could be invoked, and they could do practically anything with the stories, as far as I’m aware. It’d be interesting, but I always thought those series were famed for their extreme difficulty, as well as their humour, and they would most likely be too difficult for some modern gamers (myself included), and changing the difficulty drastically would probably annoy the original fans too much.

Leisure Suit Larry would be a weird one for them to tackle, as well. Leisure Suit Larry, while it was a very funny game, is one that is quite adult (the objective of the games are to get laid, basically), and in recent years has suffered a massive downfall (Box Office Bust? More like its title than it thought). While Telltale could no doubt bring it back to its former glory, the series is probably just a bit too adult, and would be difficult to encourage more people to play, especially considering its adult nature and recent failures, and of course, any fans of the series will get very annoyed if it’s made a lot less explicit.

Larry, you’re guilty of making it harder than it should be to find a picture from any of your games that don’t include scantily clad women.

Day of the Tentacle is going to be a hard one to justify, seeing as the ending to that one is also a sign that everything’s going to be okay. But, there’s nothing to say that it won’t be okay, and remember, in a game which employed time travel, there were only two different time periods unlocked, and not nearly any of the cliché time travel locations we’d normally see. Sam and Max, while exploring Time Travel in “Chariots of the Dogs” may impact this one a little, but as with the Day of the Tentacle characters, there’s so many different ways and places that the characters could fit into that’d work out brilliantly. All they have to do is find a way to justify travelling through several locations in time, and with the same characters as Day of the Tentacle, how hard can that be?

This now leaves us with Grim Fandango and the Broken Sword series. And you know what? If Telltale can get them, they’d be fantastically silly not to take advantage of them. Both games would be absolutely perfect for Telltale. Grim Fandango has one of the best worlds in a Lucasarts game (Monkey Island takes the crown), with some of the best characters, and despite its concrete ending, it’s still a game that would work with a sequel, and is the most deserving of a sequel and a revival than any Lucasarts game listed in that question. Broken Sword 1 and 2 were fantastic games, with amazing characters and great puzzles (the less said about 3, the better, and I’ve yet to find a copy of Angel of Death anywhere). They’d also be very easy for Telltale to write new adventures and stories for, and if anything, the episodic structure would be almost perfect for the series (as it would Grim Fandango, which was split into distinctive parts anyway).

I’m here to collect some Broken Sword characters who were killed during that last paragraph?

So my appeal to Telltale games is this: If you’re able to get the rights to Broken Sword and Grim Fandango, and make an episode series for them, please, please do it. Both series would be playing to your strengths, and they’re the two series that you’d make the most out of, and do the most justice to.
And if you don’t? More Sam and Max & Monkey Island is just fine

-Edward.

What do you think? Which series do you think Telltale (or any other company) should revive, and how?

Leon: Thank you for agreeing to answer these questions, David. Hugo’s House of Horrors was one of my first childhood games, and more than likely influenced my choice of games for the years to come. As game design has changed radically in the last couple of decades, I was wondering if you could tell us more about your personal experiences.

Firstly, I was wondering if you could tell us where you picked up your knack for game design – was it related to your career, or something you picked up on your own?

David: I think it was more a love of mystery and adventure stories. As a youngster I remember being a fan of Agatha Christie (Hercule Poirot, Miss Marple books) and this came out big time in the Hugo Whodunit? episode. Generally the villain was more often than not someone who was mentioned early on and then mostly sidelined until the big denouement and I think I followed this idea. The initial spark for this episode came after finishing Hugo’s House of Horrors and then for the sequel trying to find some clever rhyme or alliteration for the name Hugo and it was a toss up between Hugo Whodunit? and Hugo’s There? I thought that pun was too awful so chose the first. The plot followed from that choice.

In terms of career, although I was working in underwater military defence at the time it’s true to say I saw computers merely as a great way to write games. Games tended to be way more challenging (and therefore more fun) to write than the scientific applications so I think my bosses tended to indulge me, up to a point. Writing a game is also a fantastic way to learn programming as you really stretch the language, the computer and your own abilities.

Leon: Were you a big fan of gaming before you started making HHH?

David: Of course! Although we’re talking 1980’s and it was a tiny fledgling industry compared to today. I was really drawn to the early Sierra graphics adventures which were an inspiration for the Hugo game.

Leon: How many people worked on the first Hugo game? Was it a solo project, or were there any other people involved?

David: Nope, just me. I recall being astounded at the seemingly endless list of credits at the end of Leisure Suit Larry and thinking I could do it all myself. Let’s see, the programming was Microsoft Quick C, the graphics were Z-Soft Paint and the music (well, series of beeps) was transcribed by hand.

Leisure Suit Larry was aimed less at children, though

I also did the second episode (Hugo Whodunit?) myself but after that I realized that I needed help with the graphics. I found Gary Sirois who lived near me in Massachusetts and asked him what he was good at drawing. He said leaves or trees or something so I decided to set the third episode in a jungle. It was supposed to be the Amazon jungle although Gary pointed out some major inconsistencies (something to do with elephants I think). Geography was never my strong point so I wasn’t too bothered.

Leon: How has HHH influenced your life? Did it earn you a living, or was it more of a side-project that earned you a little extra?

David: Utterly changed it. At its peak it was making twice my day job (coding networks) so I quit it and have been self employed ever since. I deliberately started writing games to become self employed. The reason was that in a big company you could be doing a great job and still the whole department could get canned. This lack of control over my own destiny was the driving factor.

Leon: Seeing as the Internet wasn’t a major source of advertising and distribution to the general public at that time, how did you go about getting Hugo seen and played by the masses?

David: I didn’t really do anything other than upload the game to some local bulletin boards, the equivalent of today’s web sites. Then, mail-order catalog companies found it and started selling the games on diskettes. Then other companies sprang up and started selling these games in stores, on diskette and then CD. These distributors basically found the games they wanted to sell.

Leon: I have heard that HHH was largely influenced by the Leisure Suit Larry games, picking up on it’s text based style and humorous feel – however, were there any other games that were particular influences to your game’s design?

David: Yes, Captain Comic by Michael Denio. This was the first computer game I saw with large cartoon like characters that moved fluidly and I tried to emulate it. Prior to this all the computer games seemed to have such tiny sprites. I think having larger characters on the screen helped the original game’s popularity as it appealed more to younger players. When I did the Windows point and click port, I was influenced by Beneath a Steel Sky.

Captain Comic

Leon: For it’s time, Hugo had quite a lot of possibilities – many a time I found myself typing in strange ideas to see how Hugo would react to my suggestions – and there’s quite a lot of humorous dialogue that isn’t necessary to the game’s progression – how long did it take you to complete every possible response people could possibly find?

David: I don’t remember, I think the whole game took only three months from start to finish. I can tell you that it was the most fun to second guess what people would type in and I really enjoyed that. A big inspiration for this was remembering having played the Adventure and Dungeon games at work, where some of us used to disassemble it and look at all the phrases the designers had put in.

Leon: Out of interest, are there any areas or puzzles in the game that particularly stand out as your favourite, and worst parts?

David: I think some of the bugs stick in my mind. For example, the bat on the opening screen in front of the moon seems to flap its wings but that’s actually a bug, I have no idea why it does that. Inside in the meal room the waiter sometimes gets on top of the table and gets stuck there. That was due to the awful boundary design that tries to keep characters in certain areas. The waiter sometimes finds a way to break through his boundary. I enjoyed the “Throw chop” puzzle where the doggy eats you if you get it wrong. There was another bug there as well. I think if you repeatedly “get chop” “throw chop” you can get infinite points. I also enjoyed setting a trap with the dog whistle. I imagine a lot of people blew the whistle as soon as they got it. The number 333 on the mirror came from our PO Box address. The number was going to be 666 but my neighbor advised me not to use that number in a children’s game. I was very naive then.

Leon: I have already mentioned your personal influences to the original Hugo – but are you aware of your creations influencing any other games in particular?

David: There have been some fan inspired re-writes of both the Hugo and Nitemare games. I request that the developers do not sell them commercially as we are still selling the original games and the re-writes would create confusion. I’m not aware of any influences on mainstream games. I do get a continuous trickle of requests to write more games in both series but my stock answer is that it’s not viable today without a Hollywood budget.

Leon: Aside from your latest project, Jigsaws Galore, do you have any particular gaming interests nowadays? Are there any major titles that you play, or anything you would recommend?

David: I get addicted to games so badly so my policy now is to not allow myself to get hooked into them and use my leisure time otherwise. As a result my influences are now totally driven by my children’s! So my son is into things like Empire Total War, Age of Empires, Imperial Glory on the PC and Call of Duty, Medal of Honor on consoles. My daughter is into The Sims and all kinds of stuff and has recently started taking an interest in game design.

Leon: Thank you for your time, David. It’s been a pleasure talking to you.

David currently hosts a website where he sells his most recent project, Jigsaw’s Galore, and you can try Hugo for yourself if you check out the retro gaming section of his site.

I hope you’ve enjoyed reading, this was somewhat one of those “childhood hero” things for me!

-Leon

Mark Boss tackles Mod War 2 (hardend) on release day through a 11 hour parade of bullets. This time was spent on both single player and multiplayer gameplay, but only single player footage is shown here.

11,657, 32 bullets fired that day.

www.youtube.com/gamersuniteTUBE

Music by Eminem and Nate Dogg- Till I Collapse