Alice: Madness Returns

A sequel to creepy cult PC title American McGee’s Alice, Alice: Madness Returns is an upcoming sequel set in the world of Alice in Wonderland – albeit with an older Alice that’s believed to be clinically insane. Due out this June, Madness Returns gives a much darker look at Lewis Carroll’s universe which may be more than a little disturbing… Check out the official site, or else take a look at the trailer below:

Or alternatively… follow @thewhiterabbit on Twitter. If you dare.

Castlevania: Lords of Shadow: Reverie DLC due out soon

Previously, it was announced that the first story-extending DLC for Castlevania: Lords of Shadow - entitled ‘Reverie’ – would be released in February. Sadly for most (albeit lucky for me with too many things I need to play already), the DLC has been delayed until this month – due to the team wanting to make sure it’s 100% complete before release. I know it sucks when things get delayed – but be glad that they made the choice to perfect their work rather than shovel out a rushed job. The following DLC ‘Resurrection’ was said to be due for April – but I expect we might be seeing similar delays for that, too. ‘Reverie’ will see Gabriel Belmont returning to the Carmilla’s castle to face up against an important foe, and also give players the chance to play as Laura, although her differences in gameplay are currently a mystery.

Duke Nukem Forever receives it’s ERSB rating

It was never going to be pretty. With all of Duke’s innuendo, his attitude toward women (or should I say ’babes’?) and his general love of shooting enemies into bloody chunks – Duke Nukem Forever was never going to be an “Everyone” title. Recently, the ERSB gave their official rating information – giving the title a solid “M” for Mature, and listing it’s adult themes as “Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, Mature Humor, Nudity, Strong Language, Strong Sexual Content, Use of Drugs and Alcohol”. So a little bit of everything then. In the full description, the ERSB goes on to talk about “aliens getting stabbed in the head or impaled; a human soldier bursting into bloody gibs after being tossed through propeller blades“, strip clubs and sexual scenes, and also “the ability to urinate in toilets or urinals and/or pick up feces from toilets and throw it against walls.” Sounds like those years of development went into some quality material, then. Check out the site yourself, if you’d like to see what is perhaps one of the longest lists of possibly offensive material I’ve seen about a single game.

First Marvel vs Capcom 3 DLC up for download

It’s been two weeks since the release of Marvel vs Capcom 3 now, and Capcom have now begun to start releasing the DLC which will improve and expand upon the game over the course of the year.

First off, we have the first Shadow Mode pack. Shadow mode adds a new menu to game, consisting of single battles against teams set up by various staff and important people from the Marvel vs Capcom 3 development team. Pack 1 gives you the first three shadow fights – against the game’s Producer, Assistant Producer, and a QA Tester. Depending on the skill level of the person the team represents, the harder the AI is to beat. It doesn’t add a lot to the game – just a couple of extra fights to do (each with a title to unlock), and I’m not sure how well the idea will take off. However, it’s FREE – so why not?

The other DLC available is the first Alternate Costume Pack. These packs are set packs of alternate costumes for six characters at a time – the first being Dante, Ryu, Chris, Thor, Iron Man and Captain America. For 400MSP, some people may find the tag a little steep (as with the costume packs in Street Fighter IV), and beware that you only get a single colour for each alternate costume – not four-colour variants as with the default costumes. However, there’s definitely some nice content here - Dante sports an alternate costume of his father Sparda, complete with Force Edge sword, Ryu dons a look based on his original Street Fighter 1 design, and Chris comes with his classic S.T.A.R.S. gear. On the Marvel side, Iron Man wears his Iron Patriot armor (which looks better than I expected), Captain America has a maskless look complete with alternate shield (that I much prefer to his cheesy classic design), while Thor comes with his classic comic design - though personally I barely notice the difference from his default look. No doubt they’ll release a cheaper bundle of all the costume packs by the time they’re all released – but it’s there if you want it right now.

No downloadable characters yet though - the already announced Jill Valentine and Shuma-Gorath won’t be available for around another two weeks. There’s also word of an announcement to be made next Tuesday – though it could be anything MvC3 related.

-Leon

It’s been a little while since the excellent Castlevania: Lords of Shadow was released, and there have been words of DLC floating around for a little while, with no real solid information. Well that’s all now changed – as we can proudly announce some real info on what players should expect.

There are two bits of DLC planned for 2011 - and both will expand upon Lords of Shadow‘s already lengthy plot – entitled ‘Reverie‘ and ‘Resurrection‘, also adding new areas and enemies to the game. Read on – but beware, while major spoilers are kept secret, there are one or two minor spoilers for those of you who like to know absolutely nothing before playing a game, and have yet to play the main game.

Reverie

Firstly, Reverie will see Gabriel returning to the castle of Carmilla, where the child-vampire Laura still presides. Unknown to Gabriel, a powerful evil lurks within the castle and with Carmilla gone, it has been left unchecked for too long. Looks like we’ll be seeing the return of Laura, and undoubtedly a new boss or two. Reverie is currently dated for February 2011.

Resurrection

While Reverie sounds like a nice addition to the title, Resurrection looks to be even more impressive – and will supposedly be longer than Reverie, as well. Set directly after the game’s ending, players will continue Gabriel’s journey, giving us some much-needed insight into the game’s jaw-dropping epilogue. Also – we’ll apparently be seeing a “final showdown with a notorious enemy”. Excited? Resurrection is dated to come to be released in April 2011.

So there you have it - a two month wait till Reverie, and then another two months till Resurrection. There’s currently no pricing for either pack, but I’m expecting we’ll get a decent bang for our buck. I’m hoping both packs will give us a good couple of hours of additional gameplay, and continue to keep Lords of Shadow fresh for 2011. That is, until we start hearing news about the sequel that’s already in the works!

-Leon

While it’s always good to be up to date with the latest games, sometimes gaming can be quite a financial burden – with new games costing around £40 a pop, it’s easy to get swamped when trying to keep up with all of the new releases. But for when £40 seems like a little too much, that doesn’t mean you need to stop gaming. There are a number of gems out there, all just waiting to be played for under a tenner. Sure, they’re cheap – but most of them I would consider amongst the best classics out there. So here are my top ten games for under £10

10. Street Fighter Alpha 3 MAX – PSP

Portable fighters are something rarely done well – often watered down from their console counterparts, or tricky to handle. While it’s true that it’s almost always better playing on a console, fighters are good for short bursts of gameplay when on the move. Street Fighter Alpha 3 MAX is a great port of Alpha 3, the 2D graphics working well on the PSP screen, and with a ton of characters it’s easily one of the best fighters on the PSP. Definitely worth being part of any PSP owner’s collection.

Street Fighter Alpha 3 MAX can be found on play.com for £9.99

9. Sonic the Hedgehog Classics - XBLA/PSN

If you haven’t downloaded Sonic 1, 2, 3 or Sonic & Knuckles already, I’d ask why not? If you’ve never even played Sonic, I’d ask where you’ve been for the last couple of decades. Still, there’s no doubt that the Sonic games are timeless classics, and for only 400MSP a pop (240 for Sonic & Knuckles!), they are excellent for low-cost titles, with pick-up and play gameplay, and will keep you coming back for more. The only reason that they’re not higher on my list is that there’s a high chance you’ve already got them.

The Sonic games can be found on XBLA and PSN for around £4 each.

8. Prince of Persia: The Forgotten Sands – Xbox 360, PS3

Who says cheap games have to be downloaded or portable? While XBLA and PSN are brilliant for cheap gaming, that doesn’t mean you can’t get hold of some full games at equally cheap prices. Prince of Persia: The Forgotten Sands returns to the Prince from the PS2 POP games, with his time-manipulating powers - and some new elemental powers to boot. The title’s gameplay delivers, although it’s a little short – however, at a bargain price you’ll still get a decent bang for your buck. A Wii version is also available, but as it is a completely different game I can’t vouch for its quality.

Prince of Persia: The Forgotten Sands can be found on Xbox 360 and PS3 for £9.99 on play.com

7. Pinball FX 2 – XBLA

Zen Studios are a bit misleading with this one, advertising the “Full Game” of Pinball FX 2 as a free download on Xbox Live Arcade. This isn’t strictly true, however, as it’s simply the hub for the Pinball games that you get for free – you can sample a timed version of various pinball tables they have for sale. However, at 200MSP per table, you can easily get a nice selection for less than £10. Unfortunately some of the tables must be bought in a set of four, but there are a decent selection of individual ones up for download (such as Excalibur, and Street Fighter II Tribute). FX2 is an excellent pinball simulator, with great visuals and realistic physics. Even better, each table notifies you of your friends’ scores and challenges you to beat them as you go. Definitely addictive, “just one more go”-type gameplay and it’s easy to expand your collection over time. Since you can test any table before purchasing, you really can’t go wrong as you know exactly what you’re buying.

Pinball FX 2 is available for download on XBLA, with each table at 200MSP or 800MSP for the 4-table collections.

6. StarCraft + Brood War Expansion – PC

I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again – StarCraft is a great RTS. It’s straightforward, addictive, and has plenty to do. With the Terran, Zerg and Protoss races all offering a balanced, yet unique style of gameplay, there’s a lot of fun to be had with the game. StarCraft II has been released recently, but to be honest the original has everything you need, and even better – it’s pretty much guaranteed to run smoothly even on a cheap Netbook. StarCraft is my favourite RTS, and it’s a bargain title, too.

StarCraft (including the Brood War expansion) can be found on both amazon.co.uk and play.com for around £5

5. Brütal Legend – Xbox 360/PS3

Things are really heating up now – we’ve had some awesome titles but it only gets better from here. Brütal Legend (or Brutal for those who don’t want to mess around with strange characters) is truly an epic game. Featuring the talent of Jack Black (and plenty of celebrity musicians including Ozzy), the game is a tongue-in-cheek adventure in a world formed by the essence of metal (and by that, I mean the music type, not girders). The real brilliance of the game comes in the envisioning of the world, the humour, and the soundtrack. While gameplay does consist partly of free-roaming around the excellent landscape in Eddie Riggs’ car and battling opponents, don’t be fooled - it’s not advertised well that the game has some pretty heavy RTS style sections, which involve building up a stage and various metal-related troops to take down the opposing stage. It might not be everyone’s cup of tea – but still, the characterization, the world and the music make this game unforgettable.

Both the PS3 and Xbox 360 versions of Brutal Legend can be found on amazon.co.uk for £9.99

4. Castlevania: Symphony of the Night – XBLA

When I think of Castlevania, Symphony of the Night is perhaps the first that springs to my mind. A platformer/RPG, Symphony of the Night stuck to its 2D roots on the PS1 while most developers turned to 3D titles. Following the vampire Alucard, the game involves exploring Dracula’s vast castle, fighting bosses, collecting weapons, items and relics as you go. With a lot of secrets and items to find, as well as multiple endings, it would take a long time to truly discover everything Symphony of the Night has to offer. Supported by one of the best soundtracks of its time (if not of all time), Castlevania:SOTN is one of the series’ best games.

Castlevania: Symphony of the Night can be found on XBLA for 800MSP

3. Assassin’s Creed II – Xbox 360/PS3

Assassin’s Creed was an average game, and while it can be found for under £10, it’s good points were a little spoiled by repetitive gameplay. However, Assassin’s Creed II took the fun parkour and assassination elements from the original title, and fleshed the game out into a vibrant and enjoyable game. Following Ezio as he trains to become a master assassin, the game gives the player free-roam over several regions of Italy. With a good story, plenty of side quests, new armour and weapons to obtain, and even a small town that you can upgrade, Assassin’s Creed II has lots to do, and would be a must-buy even if it wasn’t available for a measly £9.99.

Assassin’s Creed II: Game of the Year Edition (Xbox 360) can be found on play.com for £9.99. The PS3 version of Assassin’s Creed II can also be found for under £10.

2. Mass Effect – Xbox 360

If you’re looking for a game to keep you busy, Mass Effect may be the one for you. I was initially unsure what to make of the game, but it’s definitely one that grows on you the more you play. A sci-fi RPG with 3rd Person-shooter style combat, Mass Effect gives you the opportunity to take your own crew of humans and aliens into space to fight an enemy that threatens every species in the galaxy. Although I’m not a huge fan of Star-Trek style sci-fi, Mass Effect does a great job at dialogue, with compelling characters and a decent plot. While the game’s main story can be beaten rather quickly, the sheer amount of side-quests available fleshes the game out into something much larger. With dialogue offering different choices, and being given the opportunity to make several important decisions as the game runs it’s course, Mass Effect really gives you the feeling that you are playing through your own storyline. Better yet, the choices you make carry on into Mass Effect 2, which is also a brilliant game (although not quite reaching that under £10 mark just yet).

Mass Effect: Classics Edition can be found on both play.com and amazon.co.uk for £9.99, and includes the Bring Down the Sky DLC.

1. Final Fantasy VII, VIII, or IX – PSN

Final Fantasy games are renowned for being some of the best RPG’s out there – and there’s a reason for that. With good stories, lovable characters and exciting battle systems, the games offer exciting storylines that have a good length, and plenty of things to do on the side. The three PS1 titles, VII, VIII and IX are all available on the PSN store, and better yet, downloading them will allow you to use them on both the PS3 and PSP systems with no extra cost. While they’re definitely worth playing in their own right, the added portability factor really sweetens the deal, making for some of the best portable games money can buy. Which one you get really depends on personal taste – many regard VII as the best in the series, following Cloud’s battle against the psychotic Sephiroth, while I personally prefer the more medieval style of IX, with its lovable characters and mix of humourous and serious content. Either way, all three games are guaranteed to keep you busy for a good 30+ hours at least, and much, much more if you really get into it.

Final Fantasy VII, VIII and IX can be found on PSN for £7.99 each

So there you have it. Got a craving for some gaming but a lack of cash? There’s always something good you can find without having to splash out on something brand new.

-Leon

The epic clash between the Belmont Clan and Dracula is amongst my favourite plotlines in gaming. It’s not complicated, it doesn’t pretend to be more than it is – at its very core, Castlevania is about the struggle between light and dark, good and evil, with plenty of monsters to slay along the way. Given that the name ‘Castlevania’ itself refers to Dracula’s castle, Lords of Shadow isn’t really about the castle at all. Being a reboot for the series, you can probably understand why I was initially a little wary about the game - it’s always a little difficult to accept that the creators want to work with a blank slate, cutting off all of the previous titles in canon. However, since Castlevania has a rather simple overall plot, it’s not a huge change – a few plot points are a little different, but since most Castlevania titles feature new heroes and plotlines I didn’t feel as though the series had been completely altered for a new audience – in short, it still feels like Castlevania, even with the new gameplay style.

Now, one thing I do want to mention is this; while the game is a reboot, I did have certain expectations for the plot. I expected that sooner or later, Dracula would emerge as the mastermind behind the evil, Gabriel would go to Castlevania, and he would take Dracula down as the Belmonts always do. This isn’t the truth – and while the ’vania fan inside me had hoped it would end that way, Lords of Shadow has an original plot that doesn’t just end up returning to old habits and ending with a showdown with Dracula. It’s got an excellent plot – but I just wish I could’ve known from the start, rather than constantly wondering when he would obviously turn out to be behind all the evil. So cast all previous knowledge of Castlevania behind you, and prepare for something new. Just let me say this – they didn’t ditch Dracula as the villain for the sake of it, and in hindsight I am happy with their decision, even if I do still crave a current-gen battle with the Dark Lord!

Lords of Shadow revolves around Gabriel Belmont, the first in his line, and a member of the Brotherhood of Light, a holy order who fight to protect innocents from malevolent forces. Set in 1047, the world is on the brink of collapse as evil has been taking over, threatening humanity. The world “cut off from the heavens”, the spirits of the dead are trapped in limbo, Gabriel’s wife amongst them – having recently been murdered by one of the evil creatures. Coming to him in a dream, his wife’s spirit spurred him to on a quest – his eyes set on destroying the three factions of Lords of Shadow, who hold the key to obtaining the God Mask, a powerful relic said to have the power to resurrect the dead.

As the story is a bit more plot driven than most Castlevanias, there are a few more characters and plot points than usual, such as the involvement of Gabriel’s mentor, Zobek (voiced by Patrick Stewart), and Pan, the Guardian of the Lake, who often offers his advice and assistance throughout the game. With Robert Carlyle taking the role of Gabriel, the game is well voiced and works very well, although Patrick Stewart is perhaps a little too recognisable to believe Zobek’s character, also taking up the role of pre-level narrator. Overall, the plot is simple yet effective, and offers enough twists to keep the game interesting.

As for gameplay, the title is a drastic change compared to the earlier titles. While the old titles were mainly 2D, and the 3D titles were non-linear RPG titles, Lords of Shadow plays more like God of War or Devil May Cry with an emphasis on linear action-based levels. Wielding the Combat Cross, an extendable whip (which is customary for Belmonts), the game can draw a lot of comparisons to God of War, yet unlike titles such as Dante’s Inferno, it doesn’t feel like a knockoff, Mercurysteam doing an excellent job with an engine that easily contends with some of the best. He also has access to grab attacks, which require timed button presses to perform, and a few sub-weapons which he obtains throughout the game, all limited in supply – restocked by picking up items found by smashing objects and such.

While Lords of Shadow uses the Combat Cross as it’s only main weapon, that’s not to say the game lacks variety. Defeating opponents nets experience, which can be used to unlock new combos and abilities, performed by mixing up light blows, heavy blows and jumps. As you progress through the game, you find new relics that open up new abilities – such as greaves that allow you to dash, and these also can open up new attacks which involve the new relics. Also important to the gameplay are the Light and Shadow magics, which are two separate gauges filled by absorbing souls dropped by defeated foes. By activating either magic, Gabriel temporarily enters Light or Shadow mode, granting him the ability to heal or deal more damage by attacking opponents – with some special abilities also only available in these modes. The game offers plenty of options in combat, and the relics help to freshen it up now and then, adding new abilities into the mix. By replaying earlier stages, new abilities can also grant you access to a few new areas where you can find upgrades (usually gems that increase your Health, Light Magic, Shadow Magic, or capacity for a subweapon).

One of the main things I was worried about, with LoS being a reboot, was that the enemies would lose their Castlevania feel. The series has been well known for its huge range of mythological beasts – werewolves, vampires, ghosts, medusa heads, animated axe-armors – pretty much everything has been covered at some point. While the game obviously doesn’t have hundreds of different enemies like the old 2D titles, Lords of Shadow manages to have enough variety of enemies to keep it interesting, and I felt that it covered all of the important opponents. Werewolves and vampires are common, while the game also throws in the odd skeleton, sword spirit, spider or goblin now and then. Most of the more ‘Castlevania’ specific enemies such as Medusa Heads and Fleamen don’t make an appearance, but they weren’t really missed. Perhaps the biggest change is the image of vampires, the lesser of which have a more batlike appearance, the game having a bit of a “Van Helsing” feel. I didn’t feel that this was a bad move though – as “higher” vampires are still able to have humanoid appearance, so it doesn’t mean the more classic vampires are gone to the series altogether.

Obviously, being an action title, the game has some tougher boss opponents. These come in all shapes and sizes – opponents barely bigger than Gabriel, or much larger opponents. These can be fought using the regular attacks and combos, but obviously take a little more strategy than your regular opponents. They are often quite challenging, but thanks to checkpoints you shouldn’t find yourself having to repeat any long sections. While the game claims to have “no Quicktime events”, there are often grab attacks you can perform on them, requiring you to time button presses with on-screen rings in order to succeed (thats a QTE in my books). Sometimes these attacks are needed to finish the boss, and while cool, it can occasionally break away from the realism when you have to repeat the exact same animation if you fail the first time. Mainly, though, they’re all fun, exciting, and each one unique in its own way – I don’t want to spoil them, of course, but a lot of them referenced Castlevania lore, such as the Lycan Cornell – which made me feel warm and fuzzy with nostalgia.

There is one other type of boss, and these are the “Titan” battles. These creatures are huge bosses, obviously taking inspiration from Shadow of the Colossus. Rather than attacking them directly, the idea is to latch onto them, and climb up their huge frames in a more platforming style – finding and smashing circular weak points, which allow the fight to progress to the next step, before finally ending the creature. These fights are good fun, but you need to be patient – if you don’t react fast enough to grip on by holding the RT/R2 button, you’ll find yourself being flung to the ground, having to climb back up again. Luckily there are only a few of these fights – enough to be enjoyable, without being overdone.

This leads me onto one of the other things I wanted to talk about - the platforming. Taking some inspiration from Super Castlevania IV, Gabriel’s whip can also be used for swinging and rappelling across surfaces, which combined with his Prince of Persia-like climbing skills means you’ll often find yourself leaping from surface to surface, latching onto walls and swinging across gaps – any flashing object can be grappled onto with a simple press of the RT/R2 button, and it works very fluidly. There were one or two times where dodgy camera angles meant some jumps were a little awkward, but mainly the platforming was enjoyable and helped to break up the fighting sections.

There are also a variety of puzzles, that arrive in the form of riddles or unexplained devices that you need to understand before you can progress. These often revolve around pulling switches in certain orders, or rotating circles to line them up, for instance. This was one thing I thought was done really well – for if you search the area for fallen Brotherhood knights, you can find a scroll with a brief description of the puzzle. The beauty of it is that while I enjoy having my mind tested now and then, you may always choose to forfeit the puzzles EXP prize in order to reveal the puzzle’s solution – so if puzzles aren’t your thing, you’ll never find yourself stuck because of one.

Since the game doesn’t take place within Dracula’s castle this time, there are a variety of different locations to traverse – from jungle-like areas, snowy cliffs, gothic stone buildings and a hedge maze amongst others. While all of the areas are done well, the indoor sections were where I felt most at home – however, the camera angles while traversing the outdoors and climbing walls often show off some really nice vistas, feeling akin to God of War’s epic landscapes. As for the interiors? They’re chock full of breathtakingly detailed gothic design that’s definitely worthy of a Castlevania title.

The only real area that I feel the game lacks is in terms of unlockables. While recent Castlevania’s (both 2D and 3D), have offered unlockable characters, items, or gameplay modes, Lords of Shadow offers only a harder difficulty and artwork. There is a lot of artwork, and while I really appreciated the fine quality of the concepts, I couldn’t help feeling that the game could have offered more in terms of replay value. Perhaps it’s because the game is more story-driven, but I would have really liked to have seen a way to spice up the gameplay a second time round. That said, the game is a decent length – I just hope that this isn’t the start of a new trend for the series.

When all’s said and done, Castlevania: Lords of Shadow is a solid title. While the genre has been radically changed, the new engine works well, and the inclusion of a Belmont and familiar beasts made me feel somewhat at home, being a fan of the series. With a fairly long plot, the game kept me busy for a while, it’s story compelling and giving the occasional surprise. With DLC on the way to expand upon the game’s epilogue, and a sequel already planned, I can only hope that Konami keep on supporting Castlevania, and do all they can to just keep making it even better.

-Leon

When the news came to my ears that a brand new 2D Castlevania for an actual home console was on the way, my heart leapt – aside from a couple of ports and remakes of classic titles it’s been two years since the somewhat disappointing Order of Ecclesia on the DS, and a whopping thirteen years since the last release of a non-remake 2D ‘vania on a home console – Symphony of the Night. While the GBA and DS titles were generally amazing on the whole, I’ve long since hoped for a full-blown 2D title to grace this generation of home consoles, with HD graphics and brilliant 2D gameplay in a metroidvania style.

However, I was disappointed to hear that Harmony of Despair would not be the title I’ve long since dreamed of – rather a co-op based title allowing for 1-6 players in a more arcade style experience. As a Castlevania enthusiast, I wouldn’t let my disappointment stop me from buying the new title – my ‘vania collection is amongst my largest, and I was still intrigued to see what exactly the game would be like. Alongside my fellow ‘vania fan Ray, we got ready to team up for the first time in the series’ history and take down the vampiric castle for oh, the 15th time or something.

Harmony of Despair plays somewhat inbetween the styles of the older ‘vania titles. While level-based - more in the vein of the early titles – each stage acts as a sort of mini-free roaming castle more in the style of Symphony of the Night and it’s predecessors. However, unlike normal Castlevania titles where each room is loaded separately, you can instead see the entire castle loaded on-screen at once. Although I was unsure at first, this style works well as you can zoom in for a more normal view (with no loading at all between the seamless rooms), while being able to zoom out to various magnifications, as far as showing the entire castle on-screen at once. Although this has never been done before, you can quickly see why it’s been done – with up to six players moving freely around the castle at once, it allows you to keep track of the others’ movements more easily, whilst also keeping an eye on the location of the mission’s boss – and there’s even a few extra little features, such as portraits that teleport you to other areas of the castle, and special boss attacks that can span huge areas, as far as attacking you on your way to the boss itself.

The way HoD plays is quite simple – all of the players are placed in the castle (sometimes at the same point, others at different areas of the map), and are charged with taking down that level’s boss together to complete the stage. However, getting to the boss can prove to take a little work, as you often need to activate various switches and such to open up new routes for yourself and your comrades. While it’s possible to beat the stages solo, sadly it feels as though you miss out on things due to a fair amount of co-op style puzzles such as “person A stands on switch while person B walks through gate”, so it doesn’t really have that feel of a single player game even if you wish to play it that way. On the plus side, however, it does feel as though Konami have done a good job at making Castlevania co-operative, with players able to roam at their leisure, together or apart.

Since the game encourages multiplayer, it introduces perhaps the most exciting part of the title – the option to choose between five different characters from the Castlevania series. In order of the menu, the protagonists are: The soul collecting Soma Cruz from Aria/Dawn of Sorrow, the good vampire Alucard best known from Symphony of the Night, the young vampire-killer wielding Jonathan Morris from Portrait of Ruin, the beautiful glyph-bearing Shanoa from Order of Ecclesia, and magic-toting partner to Jonathan - Charlotte Aulin, also from Portrait of Ruin. There’s a decent mix of characters in there, but I was a little disappointed that there wasn’t a single Belmont character in the line-up to represent Castlevania’s pre-Symphony characters. However, there’s a possibility of extra characters as DLC, and the selection that’s available is still pretty good.

One of my biggest concerns with the multi-character idea with HoD was that since each of the characters had different ability styles and methods of playing, and that Konami would spoil their unique styles by giving them all dumbed down move-sets and ignoring their previous styles. However, I’m pleased to say that the game actually manages to retain their unique aspects rather well. While all characters access their equips from the same menu system, consisting of Offensive Gear, Defensive Gear, and (in the case of Jonathan) Martial Arts, all of their abilities have been mapped into this new menu system to work in the same way as always. For instance, Alucard’s weapons are equipped in the Offensive Gear menu, whilst Shanoa uses the same option to equip her weapon runes. Soma still has access to his three types of souls, such as the blue souls which are assigned to the RB button, and Yellow souls are equipped as a passive equip. Likewise, Alucard’s transformation abilities are instead mapped to the RB button, while Jonathan uses that button to access his unique Martial Arts skills. Perhaps most importantly, every character can equip four offensive abilities, mapped to B, B+Up, B+Forward, and B+Down. These abilities take the form of sub weapons, bullet souls and Alucard’s magic while allowing you to equip four at once – while most of the original titles allowed for only one to be mapped at a time. Not only are the various abilities assigned in their unique ways, but the ways they are obtained are also keeping close to the original format – Shanoa still gains glyphs by absorbing magic spells by holding the Up direction, and whenever an enemy is defeated it has a chance of releasing a captive soul for Soma to collect. It’s pretty cool, too – since Soma can also collect the souls of enemies his allies kill!

While I do think the characters are done well, sadly one of my other worries did come to realisation – the lack of a decent plot. Due to the game’s somewhat arcade feel, the mish-mash of characters and the possibility of six player co-operative mode, the game doesn’t really bother with much of a story. The general idea is something to do with a magical book that creates different incarnations of Castlevania each with its own master – nothing exactly riveting. While Castlevania isn’t the most plot-heavy series in the world, games such as Dawn of Sorrow and Symphony of the Night (from which the characters originated) had some good dialogue at times that gave the characters some good personality, and even a few decent plot twists here and there. It’s a shame, but it’s just a different style of game, really.

As the title scraps the more modern EXP system from recent Castlevanias, there are only a couple of ways to increase your stats – one being the various weapon and item equips, which can be found in various chests around the stages, or bought with gold obtained in the same way, or by selling said objects. The other way is by powering up your various sub-weapons, through usage or collecting multiple of said ability to power it up, your base stats growing as your powers do. The various chests, along with the switch puzzle elements to the stage, make up the core exploratory stages of the castle, each Castle loosely based on a certain theme. In terms of graphics and enemies, there’s little new content – most of the castles and enemies recycled from various other Castlevanias. Although this does work in some areas – I particularly love the “Gallery” style stage based on Portrait of Ruin, some of the areas feel a little thrown together and don’t quite have the atmosphere seen in previous titles and feel a little mashed together. The game’s music is nice, with a very Castlevania “rock-orchestral” feel, with each stage having one or two tracks that plays throughout that level.

Overall, I’d say Harmony of Despair is a must-buy for Castlevania fans, but I’m not sure about new players to the series. While the game certainly has a very nostalgic feel, and it’s quite fun playing as the various characters, I can’t help feeling that I wouldn’t find the game quite as enjoyable if I didn’t already know all of the cast, enemies and Castlevania references littered about. Plus – if you’re not a fan of the series, I definitely wouldn’t reccommend going solo, as the game is quite tough, especially if you don’t already know what to expect from some bosses. If you’ve never played Castlevania, I highly recommend downloading Symphony of the Night instead, or even picking up Aria of Sorrow or Portrait of Ruin on the GBA/DS respectively – where the characters and gameplay are shown to their real potential. Still, I was pleasantly surprised, finding the game quite enjoyable as an opportunity to co-op with fellow Castlevania fans, playing as some of my favourite characters, it’s just not the real 2D Castlevania I’m still hoping for.

Leon

Losing their 2D roots, most of these have converted to 3D formats – Sonic and Castlevania opting for third-person perspectives, Metroid’s Prime series turning it into a first-person perspective, and others doing a mix of different styles, with the occasional 3D-graphic platformer such as Megaman X7 or Super Mario Bros Wii. Even Street Fighter has stripped itself of it’s 2D past, opting for a 3D look. However, as I play the GBA version of Megaman & Bass on my DS, I mourn that the day of the 2D game has come to an end.

As the DSi loses its GBA functionality, and strips the console of the majority of its 2D gaming, the 2D genre consists mainly of nothing but the odd flash game or downloadable arcade title on the major consoles. With the focus turned toward polygons and realism, it seems the platformer genre itself is endangered, the FPS and third-person 3D titles taking the lead roles in gaming today. However, do people really not care about 2D gaming any more? Is the love for Sonic based solely on nostalgia and a few fans of the mediocre 3D titles?

I don’t really think so. However, seeing as FPS and third person titles do well, I believe that producers see the good sales and decide to continue churning out more of them – however, with no real focus, the platformer seems all but forgotten. Yet, those old Sonic games still sell when they are released for download, since people still enjoy them to this day. Megaman 9, which was a brand new title created with the old NES style released for download last year was accepted with open arms, the fans ever there to accept the 2D game, if only they are still created. True, I would have preferred to see a Megaman game in the vein of the SNES incarnations, but it still shows that people are still interested in the genre.

The game producers do know this, though – with countless Sonic collections being released on all consoles, Castlevania titles for download on Xbox Live, PSN and Wiiware, among a whole horde of other retro games, the fans have proven that they still love these games, yet they don’t seem to think creating new titles in the same vein is a good idea. Why? The first Sonic games continue to sell well to this day, while 3D titles such as Sonic the Hedgehog 2006 and Sonic Unleashed score pitifully in reviews, receiving marks that average around the 40% mark. However, suggest to people that 2D gaming should return and many are hostile, telling me that it’s not good enough for today’s gaming market. I don’t believe a word.

It really is a shame, since retreating back into my 2D days I realise that there is a large void in my gaming life that has been left unsatisfied for all too long – I mean sure, there’s been the odd DS Castlevania game, and the rare title such as Braid, but it really feels as though there’s not been a single title recently given the pure love and attention of the designers of games such as Metroid and ‘vania.

Even today, going back to such titles I can’t help but admire the quality – aside from the odd blocky part it’s obvious that the creators cared about their titles, the use of colour and imagination flourishing into something artistic – and even today I believe they look and play brilliantly, Sonic still feeling as responsive as ever – looking back at some of my PS1 titles, I hardly feel the same.

Fans of Castlevania will know all too well of Symphony of the Night, with its vast castle and numerous enemies, many rooms offering unique artwork – paintings, environments, huge demons, all drawn by skilled artists. As we turn to polygons I can only feel that manufacturers are sticking with the easier, less risky 3D genre – now, thats not to say that I don’t appreciate 3D games, the realism can be immersive, but I believe theres a place for everything. I mean, people didn’t stop painting pictures when the sculpture was invented, did they?

As today’s technology grows and improves all of the time, I can only dare to dream what kind of games could be produced with the right minds and skilled creators – I believe that a game like Castlevania: Symphony of the Night with clean, HD graphics and a castle many times bigger could really impress people – in the past, the limitations were not the skill of the creators, rather the limitations of the console itself. Now, the bar raised ever higher, just imagine what those people could do today, given the chance. No more pixellation, or blocky animations, just pure HD quality shine.

As much as I do dream to see the day when they create a new home console 2D platformer, I only feel like an old fool that dreams of days gone by, the new generation making its mark and taking things in its own direction. But I will continue to dream, and maybe, one day, I’ll see what I’m waiting for. Project Needlemouse (the new 2D Sonic game in the making) could be something to please me, but I’m expecting it will be a 3D game with 2D gameplay, rather than going back to pure 2D glory. Nevertheless, I can only hope that it will pave the way for creators to realise that the days of the 2D gamer have not yet come to an end.

-Leon

The story is fairly simple and negligible, basically a man called Aeon (with powers to influence time) creates a rift to bring all of the characters together, and tells them that if they pass his ‘trials’ they shall get what they desire – the trials consisting of battling it out with the rest of the game’s cast. There are characters from a wide mix of the series, such as fan-favourites Simon Belmont, Trevor Belmont, Alucard, Maria Renard, Death and Dracula, and some more obscure characters such as Cornell from the second Nintendo 64 Castlevania title, Carmilla from Circle of the Moon, and “Golem”, a monster sharing a name with some of the series’ previous enemies. Maria appears as her child form from Rondo of Blood, but strangely Eric Lecarde appears in child form also, as opposed to his adult form in Castlevania: Bloodlines.

Sadly some of my personal favourite characters have been left out of the mix – such as Soma Cruz from Aria of Sorrow, Leon Belmont from Lament of Innocence (the first Belmont in the timeline) – and Richter Belmont from Rondo of Blood/Symphony of the Night, but I assume this was chosen in order to mix up the cast a little; the Vampire Killer is already used by both Simon and Trevor so Leon/Richter’s move sets would no doubt have been too similar. Shame about Soma, though – he had a lot of potential.

The gameplay itself is reminiscent of Soul Calibur, albeit slightly more simple, and its also possible to run around the arena more freely. Characters have access to several basic combos, harder-hitting Charge attacks, and ultimate attacks called Super Finishers which require a full Skill Gauge to execute. It’s also possible to jump in order to evade and pull of aerial attacks. Characters can also guard, and perform a guard-breaking attack by attacking whilst in a defensive stance.

Some of the game’s finer details include the ability to interact with certain objects in the arena (such as throwing a barrel at an enemy), and the use of various sub-weapons that require hearts to use – which can be found in destructible candles and boxes around the arena, alongside items that heal you and others that grant you the ability to fire sub-weapons at a faster rate. There is also potential to master the game to a degree, with some more advanced techniques such as jump cancelling, so there’s some room for growth if you really get into it.

The game can be played with the Wii’s motion controls, using the Wiimote and Nunchuk’s motion sensors to attack and dodge by waving them respectively. Holding the B button on the Wiimote will allow you to perform Charge attacks by waving the remote, and Z and C on the Nunchuk are used for guarding and jumping. Pressing the D-Pad on the remote (when your Skill Gauge is full) will activate the character’s super attack, which will dash at the enemy, and – if it connects – will perform a cinematic move that will usually take about half of the enemy’s health bar. The game does a fairly good job at using the motion controls, but thankfully it also offers full support for both the GameCube and Virtual Console controllers, with various control layouts – so if you are like me and prefer to play in a more tradition way, the option is there. One small problem I did encounter, however, was in some it could be a little hard to see what you are doing when the enemy blocked the camera occasionally, but it wasn’t game breaking as such.

Characters have some of their traditional moves implemented into the game; Alucard’s “Summon Spirit”, mist (for evasion) and Sword Familiar are all used for various moves, whereas Maria uses the various powers of her animal friends to grant her several magical attacks. Some of the lesser known characters have been given more original move sets, however, such as Carmilla who takes a form with close range attacks and a grappling hook to pull opponents to her.

The game’s graphics aren’t bad for a Wii title, all of the characters with a new design made specifically for Judgment. Alucard looks a little younger than in Symphony of the Night, whereas Simon has been given a complete re-design loosely based on his appearance from the Castlevania Chronicles art, with shoulder length crimson hair, tattoos and some interesting armour. Some of the female characters, specifically Carmilla, have been given very ‘anime’ style appearances, with overly-large breasts to match. Dracula looks very much the same as ever, while Death has lost his robe and adopted a much more skeletal look. The characters have been voiced well, although the children (Maria and Eric) have typical anime-style voices which can be a little annoying after a while.

The arenas very much remind me of Soul Calibur, with a medieval tone – church-like areas with stained glass windows, castle courtyards, and dank stony passageways, but it does have elements which give it a more Castlevania feel – such as a giant zombie shark that leaps out of the water in the background of one arena, or spike traps and pendulum blades inside the castle that can hurt you if you accidentally make contact with them. Many of the stages include various hazards, such as poisonous water and molten lava that must be avoided, and it is possible to be beaten instantly if you are knocked off of the arena on some stages with a Ring-Out. Some classic ‘vania areas also return, such as Dracula’s throne room, the Clock Tower, and Crystal Caverns. The game also has a great soundtrack which compliments it well, using various Castlevania tracks such as the Vampire Killer theme, and recognisable tracks from other games including Symphony of the Night.

There are several modes to the game; Story mode is fairly simple, consisting of one-round matches that progress in a set way, with a small introduction paragraph to each character, and some short dialogue between the characters before a couple of the fights. There are also some special Monster Battles where you must fight a small group of traditional Castlevania style enemies such as zombies and armours, followed by a larger enemy such as the heavy-hitting Minotaur (copied from Curse of Darkness). These battles add an interesting mix to the progression and give the game a more ‘Castlevania’ feel. To begin with, only Simon and Alucard are available in Story mode, so you must beat their stories to unlock more characters stories to play. The game also offers a standard Arcade mode, which allows you to set the amount of rounds and face off against random opponents in a traditional fighter style. The third main mode is Castle, which offers a grid-like map which you must clear, by meeting the requirements of each panel to move around the castle’s rooms. Challenges include fighting regular opponents, collecting hearts around the arena whilst being attacked by enemies, fighting Monster Battles, or defeating opponents in specific ways (such as finishing them with a Super Finisher move). Dotted around the castle grid are save points which act as checkpoints to your progress – unlike the Arcade style modes, failure means Game Over so it’s worth saving when you get the opportunity. Castle mode isn’t perfect, but it gives the game more play value which is never a bad thing.

The game also offers traditional Survival and Training modes, and a Tutorial to play when you first start the game. It also supports Versus mode, both 1 and 2 player – with the inclusion of online play if you have an internet connection. Also, Gallery mode allows you to access various bits of character art, voice clips and music files which can be unlocked in the main game.

It is also possible to unlock various Accessories to equip to the characters – one item can be assigned to each body part of every character – to each arm, the torso, the face and the head – including items such as glasses and hats. This is purely aesthetic, and you cannot change characters’ main clothing, but it adds a degree of customisation.

Lastly, the game offers a ‘Connect to DS’ function, which allows you to connect to the DS with a copy of Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia in order to unlock two characters in Judgment, and a mode or two in Ecclesia. However, both games offer alternate methods to unlock the same content without using this feature, so you won’t miss out if you don’t own them both.

All in all, Castlevania: Judgment is a fairly laid-back game to play if you fancy something casual. The game’s engine probably doesn’t stand up to fighters such as Street Fighter or Soul Calibur, but is one of the better fighters on the Wii at the moment. The game’s plot is fairly simple and has no real relevance to Castlevania’s overall plotline, but it offers a range of characters from the series and plenty of references to the series’ castle elements, enemies and music. The motion controls work well, but Konami have made an excellent move in allowing alternate controller choices – meaning the game doesn’t in any way force you to use awkward motion controls that feel tacked-on for the sake of being ‘innovative’. If you are a Castlevania fan, the game would be a welcome addition to the collection, and the cast of characters should keep you entertained for a while, but you might want to try a rental before buying if you’re not a big fan of the series, since all the references would be lost on you – it’s clearly a game made to target the fans.

Although I do play a wide range of games and try to keep an open minded view towards new concepts and titles, there will always be some games that have a special place in my heart – one of them being Castlevania. The straightforward tale of the epic struggle between the Belmont clan and the infamous Lord Dracula, that is so simple yet so spellbindingly fantastic. A tale that spans hundreds of years, Dracula always finds a way to return and the Belmonts are always there to take him down once more.

The series was originally a 2D platformer, chronicling the battle between Simon Belmont and Dracula, released in 1986 on the Famicom in Japan. Since then, the game was re-made a few times and some other basic platformer ‘vanias were released on the Sega, Super Nintendo, even Game Boy. Come the generation of the Playstation and Sega Saturn, Symphony of the Night, sequel to Chi No Rondo (Rondo of Blood) changed the face of Castlevania forever – adding large RPG aspects to the series such as levelling up, items and equipment. Since then, this has been incorporated into into the newer titles, mainly on the GBA and Nintendo DS – such as Circle of the Moon, Aria of Sorrow, Dawn of Sorrow and Portrait of Ruin.

Over the years, there have been a few 3D castlevanias – two on the Nintendo 64, and two on the Playstation 2. Sadly, I havent yet been able to get my hands on a copy of either of the N64 titles, but I have completed the two PS2 titles – Lament of Innocence and Curse of Darkness. Although these titles were acceptable games, they paled in comparison to the 2D titles, with a lot of bland environments and clunky combat – and as a 3D title felt poor compared to other 3D titles such as Devil May Cry and Onimusha.

At E3 this year, Konami unveiled their latest title – Castlevania: Lords of Shadow. Hearing that it would be a 3D title, I was unsure how to feel due to my past experiences with 3D vanias, but I have been surprised at the look of it so far. And even more surprisingly, Konami have got Hideo Kojima  (director of Metal Gear Solid) having some input into the title, and its looking good.

Lords of Shadow currently has no known place in the Castlevania timeline, its year unclear – set in the “end of days”. The world has been overrun with the malevolent souls of the dead and dark creatures, the Earth’s Alliance with the Heavens threatened by a mysterious force known as the Lords of Shadow. A descendant of the Belmont clan, Gabriel, fights the dark forces as part of an alliance known as the Brotherhood of Light, protectors of the people. Brutally killed by one of these demons, Marie - Gabriel’s wife - has her soul trapped between the realms of life and death. Aware of some deadly threat, she guides Gabriel to his destiny to save the world from the darkness. Central to the plot are also two masks – relics known as the God and Devil masks – one of which can supposedly ressurect the dead. So far, the antagonist hasn’t been revealed, although I wouldnt be surprised (nor disappointed) if we see a certain pointy-toothed dark count making an appearance somewhere in the course of the plot.

Konami have announced that the title is to be a ‘reboot’ of the series, so unlike Lament of Innocence and Curse of Darkness, they have created an entirely new engine for the game. Appearing somewhat like God of War, its looking good – with what appears to be a good mix of combat, platforming and puzzles. Combat is looking fluid with the use of Gabriel’s “Combat Cross” which is some sort of retractable whip-like weapon which can be used for both short and long range attacks. Gabriel will also have access to other weapons such as knives and holy water, perhaps not unlike the “sub-weapons” of the older titles in the series. On the platforming side, Gabriel’s whip can also be used for various actions such as scaling walls and swinging across gaps, which is sounding like a good addition so far. Not much has been shown of puzzles so far, but I would assume these will likely use the whip in other ways also. Gabriel will be able to upgrade his weapons, although so far the extent of this feature is unknown, save for that one of the features will be able to turn his Combat Cross into a type of Stake that can assumedly be used for dispatching vampires.

The whip may apparently be controlled in some way using the right analogue stick, although it isn’t clear if that will be the case for most whip actions or only certain ones – or whether or not the combat will be controlled at all in this manner, yet I have heard that the Square and X buttons will be used to do short and ranged attacks respectively, which suggests that the mostpart of the combat would be performed using these buttons. Supposedly, Circle will be assigned to the secondary weapons, and the X button will be jump (These controls are actually identical in configuration to that of the older PS2 Castlevanias).

The enemies range in shape and size, so far we have seen enemies such as humanoid monsters a similar size to Gabriel, large werewolves, huge trolls and a giant Ice-Titan type enemy, which is rumored to have some platforming elements in the vein of Shadow of the Colossus. Gabriel is also shown pulling larger enemies with his whip, perhaps in a similar way to Kratos’ Blades of Chaos in God of War. From the little that has been seen of the combat, it’s looking very fluid, and the upgrades and sub-weapons should help keep it interesting.

The game also has some well known voice actors – such as Patrick Stewart and Jason Isaacs, although personally I think this wont necessarily add anything to the title – as long as the characters are casted suitably I would be happy – so far it’s sounding good, although I can’t help but picture Captain Picard when I hear the voice of Zobek. Apart from Gabriel and Marie, the rest of the cast remains a mystery as to their place and purpose in the storyline, although the names Claudia, The Sword Master and The Lady of the Forest have been revealed.

Castlevania: Lords of Shadow is announced to be released sometime in 2010, although nothing more specific has been said. So far, its looking impressive so hopefully it will break the mould and be the first 3D title to rock the series. Check out the trailer below.

-Leon

Castlevania: Lords Of Shadow Trailer

Castlevania: Lords Of shadows

A new castlevania game has been announced. This is going to be for the PS3 and xbox 360. Leon will fill you in on more information in a separate post but lets just take a minute and take in the graphical beauty!

The Milo Project.

I have put off hearing about this because I thought it wasn’t going to be special. But as i have seen more of project natal I(and will be doing a full post about the gadget in he next couple of days) i bit the bullet and looked into the creator of fable’s new project.

It looks too good to be true to me. Words cannot describe at the moment so here is a video. Im still quite speechless.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WD0jo8-Jud8]

Final Fantasy XIV

In an interview it was hinted it might go multi platform but nothing is confirmed as yet. The words “all options are being considered when it comes to platforms” have been used.

Alan Wake

After my new found love in psychological horror by playing FEAR2. Alan wake has caught my eye. A psychological thriller by the team who made the original max payne games. The demo was on at E3 on day 3 and to be honest it is set to b a great looking 3rd person game.Ever wandered what would happen if you were trapped in your own horror novel? Alan Wake will show you.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=auw3_z9EyRg]

News from lucas arts

Something that caught my attention. As you may know that monkey island has been remade and is making its way to Xbox Live Arcade. Lucas Arts said if the game was a success they will consider remaking other classics such as Grim Fandango and Maniac Mansion. If day of the tentacle comes with that i will be happy!

Garv!

The only games that have managed to keep me entertained to the point of playing till the bitter end are:

Crisis Core: Final fantasy VII: Although this is not a traditional battle system for an RPG and the combat itself is a bit randomised with the DMW (digital mind wave). The game Kept its appeal mainly for the great story of how sephiroth became evil, and the story of jenova. Also  cut scenes were good and the learning curve wasn’t hard at all. All in all a great game and the only reason why my PSP is to this day still in my possession.

Kingdom Hearts I: There are two types of people in this world. The ones that play Kingdom hearts and love the fact Disney and final fantasy have made a eye burning lovechild who likes to throw keys around. And the people who gauge their eyes out at the very thought of the idea. For me I like this game how i like marmite Its good and perfectly playable but at the same time i still think why the hell am i really playing this. I didn’t survive kingdom hearts II. So what did appeal? I think it was the battle system again. I like the real time battles. Makes you think on your feet more. I also liked the inclusion of Cloud And Sephiroth. And i liked it because it was different to what i have played. It seemed fresh.

Golden Sun I: One of the first turn based RPG i got into and it still remains one of the best for a hand held IMO. Thing is i don’t own the thing i only borrowed it. What i loved? Use of Synergy?hell  yeah! The awesome summons you can do? you bet, (gotta love ragnarock) But what i really loved was the dijnn system. Picking up small elemental creatures and combining them. It made the game have endless possibility’s (to an extent). Its a shame i never really got into Golden Sun II. Probably buy them both off eBay at some point.

Fable I and Fable II: Real time battle system strikes again. And from the start you pick up the controller you can automatically tell that this is a British game at its finest. The story was simple but very compelling, the good and evil system is a great way to customise and personalise your character, and the amount of weapons to use especially in Fable II. If your looking for a simple run of the mill real time RPG grab Fable II.

Castlevania Series: Only recently come to my attention. This game is on the border of adventure and RPG but i thought it was worth a mention. Aria of Sorrow is my all time favorite Vania at the moment as t lets you collect the souls of your enemies, therefore making the customisation of your character that much more in depth. The variety of weapons is great also and the game is not as liner as some RPGs i have listed which is awesome. And there are vampires. Yay!

Fallout 3: Having played oblivion and not liking it (flinches at the oblivion fan boys as they ready their weapons with +50 blunt damage) I was a bit sceptical when it came to fallout. But Oh my god it is a fantastic game. If i were to pick a favorite RPG i think fallout would just come above Fable. For a start again real time battle system. But as are probably well aware i am an avid First person shooter fan. And believe me FPS coupled with RPG may sound a little strange but Fallout 3 has got it to a tee and i love it.

So back to my original question. What makes a good RPG? (in my opinion) Having typed all that out i have come up with these elements:

Real time battle system: I like it because you think on your feet and you have to do it fast before you die. Also I’m one of these all guns blazing types.

Variety and customisation: I like my character to be unique to me and far from generic as possible

Reasonable Learning curve: Most RPGs have this these days. Ease the player into the game there for making the experience far more enjoyable.

As you can see im quite picky when it comes to RPGs. But once they are done right i cannot put them down.