resetgaming

[resetgaming]

PlayStation 4 Exclusives, Top 5

Yeah it's been a few years and yada yada yada, but with the advent of the ps5 I feel it's about time to dust off this relic and give a rundown of my personal highlights of the ps4. Just for context, if you look up ps4 exclusives on Wikipedia vs xbone, it's a whopping 73 to 12. Just saying. Anyway.

1. Bloodborne

C'mon, anyone that even vaguely knows me should know that this is a given. Slathered in atmosphere and eldritch horror with an updated and redrafted version of the mechanics that made Dark Souls the series everyone loves and fears, Bloodborne is a nigh on perfect game. With scenarios that go from Victorian towns to literal nightmares, werewolves to the unexplained, guns, knives, katanas and everything in between to play with, Bloodborne is a game that everyone should experience. And if you have the gumption to stick with it, it has probably the best dlc of any game that for once I can say is probably worth double the price.

2. Spider-Man

As a comic book fan (or nerd, whatever) I can legitimately say this is the best representation of Peter Parker in all media. Breaking down everything about his character into a tight, concise game juggling his relationships, family and crime-fighting perfectly with web-swinging that makes Spider-Man 2 blush , it's seemingly effortlessly fun and it's Insomniac's best game thus far.

3. Persona 5 Royal

Oozing style and improving on not only the previous iteration, but also improving on the nearly incomparably Persona 4 Golden for the top spot of JRPG that everyone should play, P5R is a legitimate masterpiece. With a magnificent soundtrack by Shogi Meguro, P5 steals your heart and drags it into the centre of Japan, allowing you to run through the streets of Tokyo and into the minds of its citizens, as a faithful and beautiful celebration of its culture. P5R adds new characters, locations and mechanics that allows even the people that spent hundreds of hours on the original (myself included) to appreciate the game all over again.

4. Until Dawn

Taking a gameplay style that was perfected and then run into the ground by Telltale (and then into bankruptcy) and adding well-needed benefits such as graphical quality and a game engine that didn't constantly fall apart, Until Dawn is THE horror game that everyone needs to play. Accessible, engaging and well acted, as well as being, frankly, gorgeous, Until Dawn is an experience that you can enjoy by your lonesome with the lights off and doors bolted, or with a group of friends trying to figure out which decision is the least painful for all the characters you have to juggle.

5. God of War

Kratos, to me, in the original GoW series was a terrible character. Straight up, he made bad decisions and blamed everyone around him for them. PS4's GoW took him to a new location, gave him a new mythology to deal with, new stakes to handle with the addition of BOI, and graphics that would make your mother weep. Add to that characters that are both hilarious and truly three dimensional, with exceptional acting by Christopher Judge, Jeremy Davies and everyone else involved, GoW went from a character action game that was third behind DMC and Bayonetta into something truly special.

Special Mention: Nier Automata

Let's face it, this game was Game of the Generation. The only reason it's not in the top 5 is that it later came out on other consoles. Written by the straight-up genius Yoko Taro, developed by goddamn Platinum Games (Bayonetta, Wonderful 101, Astral Chains, Metal Gear Rising and started by motherfucking Shinji Mikami and Hideki Kamiya), and featuring a soundtrack that will bring you to tears by Keiichi Okabe and Keigo Hoashi, Nier Automata is a perfect, beautiful masterpiece. I could go into the story and whatnot, but just go play it if you haven't. And if you have, play it again, you're welcome.

Cool, see you in 2023.

[resetgaming]

Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes

Publisher: Konami Developer: Kojima Productions Released: March 20th 2014 Xbox 360/Xbox One/PS3/PS4 (xbox 360 version reviewed)

I crouch silently in the shadows, hiding behind a crate with the rain a constant torrent over my head as my heart leaps into my throat. I have a mission, a specific goal in mind but all that is overpowered by a desire for the guard walking towards me to have not seen me crawling towards my location. The darkness and weather my only hope, when my fellow mercenary Miller calls me across the radio, nonchalantly telling me to be careful not to catch hypothermia. I chuckle, but it doesn't alleviate my fear. This is Metal Gear Solid: Ground Zeroes.

I've been a fan of Metal Gear Solid from all the way back in 1998, when the series first appeared on the PSX. That's 16 years of love for a series, and that's no small thing. I've seen fans blow up at having to play as Raiden, then becoming hyped the second he appears in MGS4, and then cutting a bloody swathe through anything in his path. I've been through Snake's desperate battle against his past, Liquid Snake (and Ocelot), and the Patriots. And I've seen the shock of playing as Naked Snake, the man who one day became Big Boss, and his history and battles through to this point.  I've loved the wild and imaginative characters that have been in the games previously. I've loved the settings, the stories, the battles, and the stealth, and it's all been amazing. Up until this point I've supported everything about MGS, and seeing Ground Zeroes, despite it's length, was truly exciting to me. I expected that, yes, it was short, but it would be like the Tanker chapter in MGS2. I thought, "oh, it'll be short but we'll a few hours of gameplay, some cool sequences, and a boss fight somewhere in there and then we'll have a nice set up to The Phantom Pain."  Unfortunately, for the first time in the Metal Gear series, I was left disappointed.

First of all let me talk about what works well. The stealth, as expected from the Metal Gear series, works like a dream. You will find yourself crouched or crawling through 90% of Ground Zeroes' campaign, hiding from enemies and using your (impressively deep) CQC combat to take out people in silence and hiding bodies. Using lighting such as guard posts to your advantage, you can create shadows in areas that you need to get to as a tactical advantage. Given that and the new marking mechanic (useful, but seriously, what game doesn't have marking now?) you can plot your route carefully to avoid combat wherever possible. Also you can now pick up enemy weapons, meaning that you can swap in the field and find the right tool for you, but beware, not all weapons are silenced, meaning finding a sniper rifle is a good feeling, but using it isn't quite as enjoyable. Because of even higher guard awareness (something that MGS has always excelled at) you'll find them changing routes, using vehicles to mix things up, and generally being more of a nuisance than ever before. While I don't want to spoil much, or anything for that matter, about the plot to Ground Zeroes, I will say that it's done a very good job of setting up The Phantom Pain, and introducing such a mysterious character as Skullface and the XOF, it does genuinely make you feel excited to see what will happen in the future.

And with this I can segue nicely into one of the biggest problems with Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes, which unfortunately is unavoidable, and that's the simple fact that just not many people have played the portable Metal Gear Solid Games (Portable Ops and Peace Walker). This is a problem as this game is a direct sequel to Peace Walker, meaning many people playing just don't have a clue what characters are talking about, or who they are for that matter. Ground Zeroes makes a lot of mention of Cipher, Mother Base, and ZEKE, and your main goal is to rescue Paz and Chico, two important characters from the previous game.You're given catch-ups on what happened, and this isn't the first time the series has done something like this (Metal Gear Solid on the PSX had many players knowing nothing of Big Boss, Frank Jaeger (Gray Fox/ Cyborg Ninja)). It's been a long time since the last numbered title in the series came out, and it feels like the story may be a little inaccessible to the layman. This, added to the length makes it a hard sell.

In terms of graphics, Ground Zeroes is an undoubtedly beautiful game. Enemies all have unique facial features, weather impacts the gameplay, with the sound of your wet footprints being covered by heavy rain, and basically everything is perfect and exactly what I expected. What I didn't expect, however, is how much I truly dislike Kiefer Sutherland as Big Boss. In the days after getting Ground Zeroes I went back and completed MGS3 again, and all I can say is David Hayter IS Big Boss. Making such a dramatic and sudden change is incredibly jarring, and I just can't be convinced of the voice believably matching the character. It's not that I dislike Sutherland either, I bloody love him, I'm looking forward to 24 returning, but he's not the Snake I know, and I feel like Hideo Kojima made a mistake. Yes Snake is older, but if you're going to use this excuse there's only one counter: Hayter voiced Old Snake in MGS4.  

Despite being what can only be called a disappointment, I still desperately want to play The Phantom Pain. I'm glad this world has returned and when we get to see it for real it will be something incredible I'm sure. In the meantime we've been left with what can only be compared to as an expensive VR mission, not even a Tanker segment like in MGS2, and while it was an amazing teaser and a must for all mgs fans, I feel it should have been a downloadable extra, or just left completely and included at the beginning of Phantom Pain. Because let's face it, they're going to do that anyway.

Review brought to you by TheMercurialMan.

[resetgaming]

Reset's Game of the Year 2013

As with every year, we at Reset have spent a lot of time playing games. It's our business to, our desire and just flat out hobby of ours to consume all that we can in the world of incredible games, and this year has had a lot. From DmC and Tomb Raider, to Bioshock Infinite and Assassin's Creed IV by way of Rayman Legends and of course, the mighty Grand Theft Auto V, there's a lot of contenders for game of the year, be it whether they made a defining mark on the games industry or just because we thought they were fun as all Hell, it makes no difference, but one question remains: what did we think was the BEST? The one that impressed us the most, the one that game us the adventure of a lifetime, and most importantly why? The answer is not a simple one, and it wasn't easy to decide on, the here we are nonetheless.

I avoided pretty much everything that was said about The Last of Us leading up to it's release, or at least as much as I could. I didn't do this because I didn't like Naughty Dog or anything, or that I didn't think it would be good. I did it for the simple fact that my PS3 had suffered from the horrible yellow light of death, and I knew I wouldn't be able to buy it anyway, so I avoided the pain of not getting it and the disappointment of hearing how amazing it was. However I did see screenshots, but I didn't really read anything in the way of plot, so I managed to avoid anything in the way of spoilers and thankfully, when I would finally come to play it I would have a completely clean slate. Thankfully also, a friend picked up a copy of the game and I was fortunate enough to play through it with him.

I'm not going to go on about describing the plot of the game because if you haven't played it yet I wouldn't want to spoil it for anyone the same way I wouldn't want anyone to have ruined it for me, but what I will say is that despite all of the conflicts, violence and fear that surrounds the game the most important part of it is the sweetness. The relationship between the protagonist, Joel, and his ward Elle, the way he protects this child he barely knows and becomes a father figure too is comparative to that of Lee and Clementine in the Walking Dead game. The game spans over several seasons, spacing out the game and allowing the relationship to grow over this time, giving a mature tone to the game and more emotional depth to the relationship itself. While this idea of companionship was explored in other titles out this year, particularly Bioshock Infinite and Beyond: Two Souls, The Last of Us succeeds where these other titles feel slightly rushed, or just fail respectively thanks to superior writing and voice acting. Looking at themes of sacrifice and loyalty, and how the world has become a more harsh environment since the fall of mankind, you feel like you're a part of the game, not just playing it.

The Last of Us succeeds in its high ambitions by giving the illusion of time, of distance and of openness. While in fact many of the settings are a series of enclosed areas with covered, stealthy battles, the way it's presented alongside cutscenes helps it all feel seamless, making the journey feel absolutely complete and totally your own. By using limited resources that you have to scavenge yourself either from bodies or just in the environment, and the way in which almost all times you feel overwhelmed by everything around you The Last of Us plays more like a truly terrifying survival horror title than anything I've personally played in... well, twelve years, since the release of Silent Hill 2.

Be it the emotional resonance of the story, the relationship between Joel and Elle, or the heart-racing gameplay, or the breathtaking scenery, The Last of Us is a game for everyone, with something that will appeal to all audiences, and from the first moments you play the game all the way to it's conclusion you'll be gripped, like a loving hand round your throat, keeping you playing until it's credits roll.

[resetgaming]

The Walking Dead Season Two: All That Remains

Producer: Telltale Games Developer: Telltale Games Released: 18th December 2013 Xbox 360/PS3/PS Vita/Windows/Mac/iOS/Ouya (Xbox 360 version reviewed)

The curtains are drawn, the lights are off, the wind is howling through a crack in the window, blowing an ice cold breeze as the rain pours outside. A sombre piano tune plays, and I press 'Start'. Terror grips my heart as I read one terrifying line; "import season 1 save". What if I made the wrong choices before? Shall I go back and replay before continuing this story? What world have I created?  I shrug the feeling off, with no other choice I coyly press "OK", As I'm given a 'previously in', I regret some of my choices, I was violent and angry, but I did it out of loyalty. Protection for a little girl that didn't even exist, I was profoundly attached to this well crafted, realistic character that I'd go to any length to keep her safe. And ultimately I did all I could. But what is she left with? All that remains.

As the chapter begins you're quickly and harshly taught, as the Walking Dead as a whole generally teaches you, that zombies aren't the biggest problem in this new world. It's the people and the desperate, awful things they do to survive, through fear and aggression. Without giving any of the story away, because the story is the crux of the game, this lesson is a huge part of what makes the introductory episode of this season so good. In this world, set sixteen months after the events of the first game and therefore sixteen months into the outbreak, you quickly understand that while walkers (lurkers, geeks, zombies, whatever you want to call them) are a significant threat to mankind, it's the people that you should fear. Who can you trust? Are they people that you even want to surround yourself with, especially when you're in the shoes of a young, hardened but still naive girl? Is it worth risking your own safety to be around these people even with the dangers outside? These are all things I asked myself as I played through the episode, and my end result was simply that I'd be safer on my own. Clearly this isn't an option for a story driven game, but if I were Clementine I'd get the hell away from people and stick to my wits.

Given that Telltale has had time to hone their skills on this type of game through the first season and also the hugely underrated Wolf Among Us, they've managed to hugely improve not only on the controls as a whole, but also the focal point of gameplay, the quicktime events. Granted combat may not be as intense as Bigby pulling off a monsters arm, but it still feels heart-pounding and desperate. The idea of using your wits, keen eye and timing to survive makes it seem all the more real and frankly scary in a way that the first season never quite managed.

There are still a few issues that are prevalent in Telltale games. The frame rate is still a bit of an annoyance, as is the loading time, which virtually crawls to a stop when unlocking achievements. These are annoyances though, instead of full blown issues with the game, and can be easily overlooked.

The biggest question you have to ask yourself when going into this season is, is Clementine an enjoyable character to play as? I loved Lee, I thought he was a character that exuded determination, literally putting everything to one side to look after this little girl he barely knows, and grew to have a strong, fatherly bond with. But these games have always been Clementine's story in all honesty, and taking control of her adds a new layer and shows the end of the world from a completely different perspective. You're more fragile, weaker, and maybe quicker to trust people. You're a child in a horrifying world, and Telltale shows this perfectly. So yes, Clem is a brilliant, terrifying character to play as, and the best, most logical step. This first episode has had some incredibly unsettling and uncomfortable scenes that make you fearful for Clementine's, and by extension, your own life, and I truly cannot wait to see what happens to her throughout this season.

Reset Rating: 9/10 Review brought to you by TheMercurialMan

[resetgaming]

Grand Theft Auto V

Producer: Rockstar Games Developer: Rockstar North Released: September 17th 3013 Xbox 360/PS3 (Xbox 360 version reviewed)

On October 29th 2004 I was 17, under the legal age to purchase or play Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas. However I had already rinsed every other title in the series and I wouldn't let something like that stop me, so I did what every other underage gamer did at the same time; me and my friend begged my mum. And it was worth it, ridiculously so. Upon hearing that the GTA series would be touching down again at Los Santos International Airport, my excitement overwhelmed me, I loved this world, the vastness and hugeness of it, the unfathomable level of exploration available, the ridiculously awesome story that was brilliantly accompanied by ludicrous characters and amazing missions. I was overjoyed. However, at the same time I was terrified; what if it didn't live up to my huge expectations? What if the world didn't transition well into the arena of high definition? What it the characters were awful, the story was boring, the missions were lacking everything I wanted? In the simplest way of putting it, my mind simply asked, what if it was disappointing?

I’m not going to go into a great deal of detail on the story as I don’t know about you, but if anyone had spoilt any of it for me I would have had to put my fist through their face… but anyway. You play as three separate characters in the game: Franklin is the youngest and most inexperienced of the three, he’s a gangbanger with dreams of making something of his life after his girlfriend leaves him and he tires of his life going nowhere. Michael, a former career criminal turned retired slob, doing nothing with his days other than watching old movies and drinking, while his family take advantage of his fortunes and generally spend their time being obnoxious. And then there is Trevor Phillips. Trevor is a psychopathic, murdering, drug dealing, weapons exporting, possibly cannibalistic lunatic, but he’s also possibly the greatest character in the history of video games, exhibiting complete insanity, clarity, monstrosity and sad vulnerability all at once, he’s easily Rockstar’s most complex character, and one that will hopefully be remembered for a long time to come. As the game progresses these characters find themselves thrown together through heists, assassinations, kidnappings, murders and mayhem, all the while meeting more and more unsavory, disreputable, insane characters along the way in typical GTA fashion, only better. For as far back as I can remember I have always been impressed with Rockstar Games, the level of detail that goes into their work and the depth that goes into their stories is something that is honestly unmatched, and I thought that with having three different stories that GTA V wouldn’t flow as seamlessly as other entries into the series, however by dividing attention between characters it allowed each one to have their own fully realized worlds. Each character has their own life, their own connections and their own way of doing things, and the way that while they do have a lot of their own plots and missions, they can all tie together at times to have the characters all work together for a united goal is something unexpected and great to see, and from corrupt FIB agents right down to aging movie producers, the characters they interact with are all unique and interesting, and totally fit into the world perfectly.

In regards to gameplay, everything you expect from the game is there: Driving, shooting, flying, and boating are all there for you to enjoy, but they’re joined by extra things for you to do in the world. For example, you can compete in the local triathalon, or go for a round of tennis, or play some golf, or go scuba diving and hang around in a submarine, investigating the unknown depths. All of the mechanics have either been completely overhauled or touched up to feel more fluid and controllable for the player. Cars and bikes move smoothly across the road, and you can weave in between traffic at top speeds with little trouble at all. Flying and boating are much like previous entries but more controllable and enjoyable. And shooting has taken tips from Rockstar’s  previous outing, Max Payne 3, in terms of aiming and the swiftness of how you can run into a room and murder everyone in a completely satisfying manner. Also making a return from Max Payne 3 in some ways is aspects of the new ‘special’ system, giving your character a unique ability to give them the upper hand in situations, with Michael slowing down time a la the staple mechanic of MP, Trevor having what could be considered a berserker mode where he absorbs more damage like a sponge, and then Franklin’s ability can be used in a car, allowing for even swifter movements and tighter turning, giving you a huge advantage in races or chases. All of your skills such as driving, shooting, stamina, strength etc can be improved by performing said act over and over, or in cases such as flying or shooting you can go to schools or ranges to practice in controlled environments to beef up your favourite character’s stats, and believe me it will happen.

Graphically the game is just exquisite. Instead of featuring the entire State of San Andreas, you are given Los Santos and the outlying Blaine County to be your playground, but each area is so unique that you wouldn’t need more. In Los Santos you’re given the glitzy, glamorous Vinewood area to investigate, complete with film sets, piers, fairgrounds and up market shopping districts, as well as the more poverty stricken slumlike areas of downtown Los Santos, which is basically the ghetto. Blaine County is a vast, more natural area with rolling hills and huge forested areas, as well as desolate deserts. All of these settings looks completely unique and natural, the perfect world for you to lazily investigate areas, or crazily speed through on the back of a bike, or hell, helicopter through and parachute towards.

I could spend hours discussing all the ways of how the game is a remarkable achievement, in terms of my own expectations, Rockstar’s portfolio, or just games in general, but nothing I can say will compare to the first moments you spend playing it. As you travel through the area, seeing the entire glorious world spread out in front of you, with new characters to meet, strangers to kill, and adventures to have. Playing a game like Grand Theft Auto V puts a lot of things into perspective in terms of what I personally look for in a truly brilliant game, the level of work that has been put into it alone makes it shine through as something on a completely different level to anything else before it. And at the end, when the story is over, and those credits roll, you will be overcome with sadness for the simple fact that you’ll realize the main story is over, and you won’t see what these characters do with their lives afterwards.

Reset Rating: 10/10 Review brought to you by TheMercurialMan.

(All picture’s courtesy of TheMercurialMan’s Snapmatic account, taken in game) (Online review coming soon)

[resetgaming]

Grand Theft Auto V Achievement List and Online Trailer

So the GTA V achievement list has been cropping up all over the internet recently, but if anyone has missed it you can check it out below:

Solid Gold, Baby! (50 points) – Earn 70 Gold Medals on Missions and Strangers and Freaks.

Career Criminal (100 points) – Attain 100% Game Completion.

San Andreas Sightseer (30 points) – Explore all of Los Santos and Blaine County.

All’s Fare in Love and War (10 points) – Purchase Downtown Cab Co. and complete a private fare.

TP Industries Arms Race (10 points) – Purchase McKenzie Field Hangar and win the arms race.

Multi-Disciplined (30 points) – Attain a gold medal in all applicable hobbies and pastimes.

From Beyond the Stars (15 points) – Collect and return all spaceship parts.

A Mystery, Solved (15 points) – Solve the mystery of Leonora Johnson.

Waste Management (15 points) – Purchase the old dock and collect all nuclear waste.

Red Mist (20 points) – Complete all Rampages.

Show Off (30 points) – Complete all Stunt Jumps.

Kifflom! (30 points) – Complete your path to enlightenment… or not.

Three Man Army (20 points) – Survive 3 minutes on at least a 3 star Wanted Level with all three characters together off mission.

Out of Your Depth (5 points) – You’re gonna need a bigger boat…

Altruist Acolyte (5 points) – Deliver an unsuspecting victim to the Altruist Cult.

A Lot of Cheddar (20 points) – Spend a total of $200 million across all three characters.

Trading Pure Alpha (10 points) – Make a profit over your total investments in the stock market.

Pimp My Sidearm (10 points) – Fully mod a weapon.

Wanted: Alive Or Alive (10 points) – Deliver a bail bond target alive.

Los Santos Customs (10 points) – Fully mod a vehicle.

Close Shave (20 points) – Complete all Under the Bridge and Knife Flight challenges.

Off the Plane (5 points) – GTA Online: Complete the Introduction.

Three-Bit Gangster (10 points) – GTA Online: Reach Rank 25.

Making Moves (30 points) – GTA Online: Reach Rank 50.

Above the Law (80 points) – GTA Online: Reach Rank 100.

Numero Uno (20 points) – GTA Online: Obtain first place in all competitive game types.

The Midnight Club (20 points) – GTA Online: Use custom vehicles to win 5 races.

Unnatural Selection (20 points) – GTA Online: Complete all 10 waves of a Survival.

Backseat Driver (10 points) – GTA Online: Direct a driver to 1st place as co-driver in Rally Mode.

Run Like The Wind (20 points) – GTA Online: Survive for a day with a Bounty on your head.

Clean Sweep (10 points) – GTA Online: Finish a Gang Attack without dying and kill at least 10 enemies.

Decorated (50 points) – GTA Online: Earn 30 Platinum Awards.

Stick Up Kid (10 points) – GTA Online: Hold up all 20 Stores.

Enjoy Your Stay (20 points) – GTA Online: Participate in everything Los Santos has to offer.

Crew Cut (5 points) – GTA Online: Complete a Job as a member of a Crew.

Full Refund (10 points) – GTA Online: Kill the thief that mugged you.

Dialling Digits (5 points) – GTA Online: Call for gang backup for the first time.

American Dream (10 points) – GTA Online: Own an Apartment, Garage and an Insured Vehicle.

There are also a few secret achievements, most likely story-related, but it's a good list, it's nice to see that rampages are making a return too.

And for anyone that hasn't yet seen the reveal trailer for GTA Online, check it out, maybe we'll arrange a Reset GTA night to play with all of you's online if you'd like, because let's face it, who wouldn't want to pull off a bank job with TheMercurialMan and Uriel? Comment section people....

[resetgaming]

E3 2013 - Day One Summary

As with last year we figured we'd give you guys a daily round-up of the announcements and news from the world of E3, just in case you're not keeping up with it to the obsessive extent that we are.

Microsoft

We'll start with the current generation, as Microsoft has announced yet another redesign for the Xbox 360, making it smaller and quieter as well as in keeping with the aesthetics of the Xbox One. Also as a treat for Gold subscribers, Microsoft will start providing them with free 360 games until the launch of the Xbox One, starting with Assassin's Creed 2 and Halo 3, as well as Fable 3 (which we reported yesterday, available now).

 The Xbox One will launch in November in 21 territories priced at $499/ 499 euros/ £429.

Xbox Live will be doing away with Microsoft, allowing people to buy games and the like with actual money, which I imagine will make life easier.

There will be a number of Xbox One exclusives such as: Ryse, Killer Instinct, Sunset Overdrive (which looks, honestly, amazing), Forza 5, Minecraft: Xbox One Edition, Quantum Break, D4, Project Spark, Crimson Dragon, Dead Rising 3, and of course Halo 5.

Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain will be coming to the Xbox One, and will the trailer can be found at the bottom of the page with in the trailer gallery. It looks AMAZING.

EA

New games include:

Star Wars Battlefront, coming from Battlefield developer DICE.

Mirror's Edge, originally thought to be a sequel but in fact is a remake/reboot of the series.

Plants Vs. Zombies: Garden Warfare.

The next UFC title, which will apparently be 'brutal'.

Other games showcased were Titanfall, Battlefield 4 and the 64-player multiplayer, NBA 14 and Dragon Age: Inquisition.

Ubisoft

Ubisoft was on fine form, providing new footage for Assassin's Creed IV and Watch_Dogs, as well as showing off The Division, The Crew and Rocksmith 2014.

Sony

Last, but definitely we have Sony's presentation, beginning with the console itself.

Along with showing off the console itself, it effectively spent the presentation letting the audience know how it is the superior console to Microsoft's Xbox One, featuring none of the issues the latter possesses. The console will have no online authentication requirements, only needing Playstation Plus to be able to play multiplayer games, and no used game restrictions. Also the console will be significantly cheaper at $399/ 399 euros/ £349. One more little bonus is the fact that the console will be region-free. Along with these awesome features they also spoke about focusing on indie titles with Oddworld's New n' Tasty and more, their remaining focus on the PS3 with GT6 and more, and announced the likes of Kingdom Hearts 3, The Order: 1886 and The Dark Sorcerer. All in all Sony and the PS4 continue to impress with their focus on gaming and consumer focused planning.

Also, The Elder Scrolls MMO will be coming to both the PS4 and the Xbox One.

Trailer Gallery:

[resetgaming]

A Few Thoughts on the Next Generation of Gaming

With the current generation of games consoles we’ve seen a number of great and unique innovations. With the three major players in the field (Nintendo, Sony and Microsoft) all going in separate directions to pull in buyers with unique selling points. The Nintendo Wii focused on playing games in a totally different way with novel motion sensor technology, paying less attention to increased graphics and technical prowess. Sony’s behemoth focused purely on power, bringing in the big guns with, at the time, brand new blu-ray technology powering the console and providing an additional reason for consumers to pick up the Playstation 3. Microsoft’s Xbox 360 fell somewhere in between, providing a console for the everyman, one that didn’t have the blu-ray drive but still had more than competent and, let’s face it, equal graphics, as well as a more affordable price to boot, and a thriving online community thanks to Xbox Live and XBLA.

With the advent of the next stage in games evolution, we are hearing a lot of things about the eighth generation of consoles, with the PS4 and Xbox One (sidebar: Stupid name) coming soon to a store near you. Specs are being released, we’re learning that there will be new ways for the common man and woman to play their games, it’s interesting and exciting and I’m sure a lot of people are having a hard time which (if they have to pick just one, because, y’know, they will be pricey) they are going to go with.

The WiiU has already come out as a way to signal the beginning of this generation, but I have to ask an honest question: How many of you actually know someone that owns one? I’ve heard interesting things about their games and I like the additions they’ve made, but not enough to own one. The only games I have interest in are one’s I already own, and the extras they’ve added aren’t enough for me to slap down my hard earned money to purchase again, with the only one peaking my interesting being Bayonetta 2, but one game is hardly worth a console for. At this point, it seems that Nintendo is nothing more than an afterthought or something that parents would buy their kids due to the constant flow of Mario titles forever flooding the market.

But the PS4 and the Xbox One, these are the big dogs. We know that both have their own unique selling points and equal problems due to lack of specific intel being released. 

The PS4 has promised the ability to suspend gameplay and instantly carry on from where you were, as well as playing games remotely thanks to the Vita, as well as being given the option to download a new Playstation app that can function as a second screen. You’ll be able to run multiple apps at once, and be given recommendations from the new PS4 menu, as well as playing digital titles as they download, implying that there will no longer be a need to install titles. Via Ustream you will be able to broadcast a live stream of your gameplay to allow others to see your progress, and thanks to the DualShock 4 controller you will be able to share screenshots and gameplay footage to your Facebook feed. Additionally, there has already been a large amount of PS4 exclusive titles announced such as Infamous: Second Son, Killzone: Shadow Fall, and DriveClub, along with 149 development studios and publishers already having committed to supporting the PS4. While things sound good for Sony’s new console there’s still the simple fact that we haven’t actually seen it yet, granted this is only a small issue, as even if it’s a horrible looking thing the fans will still buy it, and there’s always the inevitability of Sony redesigning the thing a year or so down the line, as they have in the past, also in Sony’s favour is that it will not require an always-online internet connection.

While Sony seems to be taking a more focused attitude towards community interaction and sharing the gaming experience with friends, Microsoft is touting its own console as “the ultimate, all in one home entertainment system”. By connecting the console to a cable or satellite set-top box users will be able to watch live TV, this feature will also include the new ‘Snap Mode’, allowing users to run multiple programmes simultaneously on the same screen. This effectively makes it possible to mix gameplay with movies and television, or applications such as Skype. While this seems to be a step towards making the Xbox One a multimedia system rather than a straight games console it’s important to note that the TV service will only be available in the US at time of release.

Xbox Live will be granted a huge overhaul to include cloud functionality, as well as advanced matchmaking options. The cloud will be used to learn from players and evolve as you play, even letting you play against your friends’ shadows. Achievements will be revolutionised, you will be able to record events leading up to the unlocking of achievements with the console’s new DVR feature, allowing you to upload them to YouTube and show off your skills. The official website also claims “Xbox One’s all new achievement system has richer detail and spans across your games and experiences, which means achievements are no longer confined to a single game”, which at the very least sounds interesting, if a little vague. Technically speaking the console has a lot of similarities with the PS4, with a blu-ray drive, no backwards compatibility, wider motion control with the Kinect 2, as well as second screen options thanks to SmartGlass. While there has been many rumours as to whether the Xbox One will need an always-on internet connection it looks like that has been vastly exaggerated, however reports are that it will need to be connected every 24 hours, but as there hasn’t been a definitive report of this yet it’s all speculative. Another controversy with the Xbox One is the claim that there will be additional charges when buying a pre-owned game due to DRM licences, however according to Eurogamer it seems that it will be the store the used title is bought from will be the ones that will have to fit the bill for the additional charges, meaning the consumer will not be punished for wanting a cheaper game. At this time it seems Microsoft’s main problem and reason people are worried about what they should expect from the new console is the lack of clarity. Microsoft came forward with the Xbox One and the innovations they’re planning to make in terms of entertainment but they need to tell the consumer plainly what they should expect if they want to generate sufficient excitement. Saying that, the console is reportedly pre-selling above the PS4 right now, so who knows?

In basic terms I couldn’t say at this juncture which console will win the war in the new generation, the consoles are fairly similar in terms of specs, and with E3 coming soon a lot of the controversy is bound to be cleared up, with anything that isn’t will be by the time the release of the PS4 and Xbox One comes around. For all the bells and whistles the new consoles boast of I intend to make my decision the only way I think is smart: Look at the games, get the one that has the games I want, because as I said, they’re video games consoles. But give us your opinion, comment and let us know which one you intend to be getting.

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Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon

Publisher: Ubisoft Developer: Ubisoft Released: May 1st 2013 XBLA/PS Network/PC (XBLA version reviewed)

Your name is Rex “Power” Colt, this is 2007, and this is the future.

The game starts on a single premise, an interesting one that no other game company has had the courage to even attempt before: Take a game that has been considered by more or less everyone as a critically acclaimed hit, such as Far Cry 3, and completely turn it on its head for a combination of sheer fun and fan appreciation, and that’s what’s happened here thanks to some mad genius at Ubisoft.

Set against a backdrop of 80’s themed nostalgia and sci-fi B-movie excellence Blood Dragon gives the player the same stand-out gameplay that they either have already or would experience from Far Cry 3, but cleverly removes itself completely from the controversial storyline and expansive setting to give gamers a more concise, enjoyable experience than they would have received from the full game. Placing players in the feet of Rex Colt, a Mark IV cyber commando with training and skills for days, the player no longer has to worry about slowly acquiring skills and weapons to be able to succeed in the title, they already have them. This in turn cuts down on hours of scene setting and time wasting and lets you get down to exactly what you came here to do, and that’s blast people in the face with your semi-auto machine pistol and throw shurikens in peoples’ faces, and you can. To fit in to the aesthetic of the title you’re given much of the same gear as Far Cry 3 but here it all comes with a twist: Instead of throwing rocks to distract guards you’re given a D20 dice, more or less saying that this is a geeks dream from the start. Likewise your camera has been replaced with a cyber eye, part of Colt’s cyborg tech and helping largely with recon, along with making you feel like you’re in Terminator or Robocop. You still have your bow, sniper rifle, machine gun and pistol, but they’ve all been given a retro sci-fi twist to make them all the more awesome. Equally, almost all weapons have the ability to be upgraded, meaning your shotgun will in no time become a sawn-off quad-barrelled flame-shelled death-bringer. Everything in the game is catered to not only fitting the aesthetic and creating a world of incredible 80’s sci-fi action, but also making the game just damn fun at the same time.

While much has been kept, everything from collectables and animals has been given this same retro over-the-top make-over, meaning that now you will be collecting VHS video rentals and CRT TV’s, all the while the game mocking the likes of Far Cry 3 and Assassin’s Creed with its dependence on collectables. Animals themselves are mutated and cybernetically enhanced to fit the visuals and generally just make it harder to defeat them, with the Blood Dragons themselves being the toughest and most enjoyable things to battle in the game, charging head first into you, clawing you and shooting lasers out of their goddamn eyes to obliterate you. These beasts can also be used to your advantage though. If you collect cyborg hearts from the dead you can toss them in to a group of enemies and the dragons will run in, attacking everything and anything in sight for your amusement.

As well as these inclusions, Blood Dragon still features the levelling system from Far Cry 3 but instead of a branching system that lets you chose your own skills it simply has a linear levelling system, giving you treats such as more health or the ability to swim without losing your breath, which you can improve from killing things and doing Predator or Rescue missions, which involve… killing things. Perfect for a cyborg killing machine.

As expected the games graphics are incredible, a neon splashed pallet swap of the already beautiful Far Cry 3 under a burning, wartorn sky. Enemy factions fight in the open world, laser signals guide you to nearby garrisons to be taken over, and off in the distance you see battles raging in the streets, frequent explosions of orange mushroom clouds catch your glance every now and then. To every person that grew up on 80’s movies of dystopian futures, cyborgs and laser guns this game is a dream come true. Likewise the cutscenes play out in perfect pixel art style, complimenting perfectly the over-the-top brilliance of the dialogue.

And as we mention it, sound is possibly the biggest accomplishment the game has to offer. With Michael Biehn perfectly cast as badass cyber commando Rex Colt, throwing out incredible one-liners left and right after almost every kill, I can’t think of a better hero of 80’s action you’d want to play as. Equally the game features a frankly mindblowing soundtrack by Power Glove, channelling the essence of Terminator to perfectly compliment the games style and aesthetics.

Ultimately Blood Dragon gives you the action of Far Cry 3, only ramped up further, along with a nostalgic 80’s vibe that only enhances the game. Combine this with a perfectly B-movie narrative and enough side-missions and exploration to keep you playing well past its 7-8 hour storyline, and what you have is one of the most impressive, nostalgic, and just plain enjoyable downloadable titles I’ve played in a long time. Perfect for those that want the action of Far Cry 3 without the time they would have to devote to it, and a passion for 80’s excellence.

Reset Rating: 9/10 Review brought to you by TheMercurialMan.

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Bioshock Infinite

Publisher: 2K Games Developer: Irrational Games Released: 26th March 2013 Xbox 360/PS3/PC/Mac (Xbox 360 version reviewed)

There was always a lighthouse, always a man, and always a city.

These three central motifs stand at the crux of the Bioshock series. Games that encompass grand philosophical ideas going from the very basis of free will to the rights of the common man while at the same time seamlessly weaving science fiction elements into the story line to create not just another first-person shooter (great ones, in fact), but to enrich the title and lead to something that is not just focused on who to shoot in the face, but something that you can come back from and remember, debate with friends about, and feel that you’ve learned something from. The first Bioshock stood as a testament to this, from its decimated ruins of a once great debauched art deco city to its shocking conclusion, it will live on in the hearts and minds of those who played and loved it for a long time.

Bioshock Infinite was introduced as another rip-roaring adventure in another strange city, taking players to somewhere unique and unusual with a simple plot at its heart; rescue a girl and escape with your life. It’s presented this way but it’s something so much more intricate than this. You’re introduced to the world of Colombia as a burgeoning metropolis, thriving from its independence from the United States of America, finding its own values and belief system and working well, but as you delve deeper you discover it’s anything but this. Run by Zachary Hale Comstock, who the populous consider a “Prophet”, the city of Colombia takes the idea of American Exceptionalism, viewing the foundations of America as a religion and holding a view that they must protect the “purity” of their nation. Due to this, the nation has become a hotbed of racism, segregating anyone who isn’t white and American, leading to a strong and rigid class system maintained by various factions such as The Fraternal Order of the Raven, a Ku Klux Klanesque group that worship John Wilkes Booth. As Booker DeWitt, former Pinkerton agent-turned private detective you’re tasked with bringing back the mysterious Elizabeth from Colombia as a way to clear a debt, along the way coming across and butt heads with the Founders who enforce these ideas of “purity”, as well as the Vox Populi, a rebel group standing up for the common man against the Founders of Colombia.

As well as these various factions Colombia is also filled with an enemy class known as the “Heavy Hitters”. Some of these will be more common and appear in different levels such as the Handyman or Patriots, animatronic versions of George Washington and Abraham Lincoln armed with gatling guns. Others are more setting specific and create truly horrifying, heart attack inducing moments, specifically the unusual Boys of Silence.

Like previous entries in the Bioshock series you will have an arsenal of various weapons, the biggest the series has seen in fact, ranging from different types of hand guns all the way to sniper rifles and RPGs, as well as Vigors, which play a similar role to Plasmids that fans will have come to know and love. An interesting addition to the game is gear, which is represented by four different types of clothing, this gear gives the player bonuses to combat and the Skyline rail system, gifting you with perks such as lighting enemies on fire when meleed, or spreading the effects of your electricity ability. While gameplay may seem fairly similar to what you should expect, the biggest impact is your companion, Elizabeth. While in games when you’re given a companion it usually seems like more of a chore, having to protect your ward and make sure they don’t die, it’s the complete opposite of Elizabeth. She tells you early on that she can protect herself, and she does this with aplomb, using her unusual ability to create temporal “tears” in the fabric of Colombia and pull things through to aid you in combat, which can take the form of machine gun or rocket turrets, cover, health, ammo, or hooks to reach higher areas. In addition to this she will collect items that you may need, and when the time is right toss you the odd health kit or coin. Instead of giving you a weak character that feels like a burden Irrational Games have given you someone that you think of more as a team mate with their own motivations and personality, someone that will protect you when you need it.

While the world of Rapture felt fairly claustrophobic and tense, Colombia is an island in the sky, a sprawling world with open city streets, markets and gardens, giving the player opportunities for more open, epic feeling battles against a larger amount of enemies than before. In terms of sheer visuals the city of Colombia looks majestic, spiralling towers and vast structures will casually float by you, and the style is pure steampunk in nature. It feels alive, with citizens going about their day to day affairs, shopping at fairs or watching giant displays bob past gently, people sit on the beach, casually sunbathing without a care in the world, children play in arcades, everything just feels natural and real, from the lives of the people down to the promotional propaganda you find littering the streets. Colombia feels real even with its science fiction elements and prejudicial beliefs.

I worried before playing the game that it wouldn’t live up to the hype that I’d built up for it, the sheer weight of such a seminal title such as the original title behind it seemed like too much to live up to, but my worries were quickly quashed. Bioshock Infinite delivers a game that not only gives you hours of enjoyment in terms of its gameplay, but once again rewards the player with a strong story that engages and leads the game fantastically. There are plenty of moments in the game that I literally exclaimed “oh my God”, from the first time I saw the majesty of Colombia in all its glory right up to the ending that I guarantee will leave players discussing for months, maybe even years to come. Ken Levine has possibly accomplished what many didn’t think he would, and has surpassed the haunting world of Rapture.

Reset Rating: 10/10 Review brought to you by TheMercurialMan.

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Tomb Raider

Publisher: Square Enix Developer: Crystal Dynamics Released: 5th March 2013 Xbox 360/PS3/PC (Xbox 360 version reviewed)

Many of us were introduced to the famous English rose, Miss Lara Croft, way back in 1996, when we found her she was experienced, fearless, and sassy as hell, with an air of nonchalance about everything. We met her as a fully formed character, a full personality and backstory already vaguely set up, back then we didn't need more than this, being presented with beautiful 3D environments and dinosaurs. However that was before, and with the way the Tomb Raider series went we needed something new, a heroine that not only has the attitude and self-reliance but also someone we can empathise with, someone who we can not only understand could become such an unparalleled badass, but also see it play out before us. In terms of the way the series as a whole has gone a reboot is the only route it could have taken. Considering the number of soft reboots and subtle changes in story over the years, and taking into account not only the reverence but also the respect that the series and character in general deserves. And Crystal Dynamics understands this completely. With Tomb Raider you're plunged headfirst into the heart of darkness and given two options; fight or die.

Set on the island of Yamati, an island in the Dragon’s Triangle off the coast of Japan, Lara Croft’s story starts quickly and violently. Aboard the ship Endurance in the hopes of finding archaeological evidence as to the proof of the sun God Himiko, or at least evidence of her worship, the Endurance hits heavy storms, violently splitting the ship in half and crashing onto the island. Waking up swinging helplessly after being captured by a strange, savage man and having to fight to escape pain is one of the first things Lara discovers. The game plays on this, with Croft being stabbed, shot at, burnt, and pushed to her limits both emotionally and physically. In shaping Lara Croft the developers understood the importance of this harsh and destructive beginning, with every injury incurred to our heroine comes with a valuable lesson, a vicious truth that she must learn if she has a hope in hell of surviving the fate that has befallen her. Despite the fact that this is her first expedition she’s a quick learner, and the deeper Lara Croft gets into the heart of the jungle the more she realises that her moral compass needs to be seriously readjusted if she can gain the skills necessary to get out. This all comes to a head in possibly the most emotionally intense scenes in the game. While I don’t intend to spoil it for anyone that has yet to play the game, the severity, and the desperation that revolves around Lara’s first human kill sends shivers down the spines of the player. As Lara Croft breaks down, heartbroken at what the island has made her do so does the player, feeling her pain. Granted by the end of the game you’ll be capping enemies without a moment’s thought with anything from your trademark hunting bow all the way to machine guns, but at the same time by this point Lara is PISSED.

Combat is handled extremely well, with the player being able to upgrade and customise every weapon they uncover through the use of collected scrap laying around the island. This means that you may start with nothing other than your trusty bow, but it soon becomes one of the most deadly weapons in your arsenal. The game also effectively implements an upgrade system, through the collection of experience points gathered through combat and investigation the player is not only able to get more effective weaponry, but also more advanced tactical and survival moves. Before long Lara will effortlessly be dodging enemy attacks before diving her climbing axe into the skull of her savage attackers.

Perhaps most impressive, however, is the climbing aspect. With said climbing axe Lara is able to masterfully and confidently navigate the world around her, causing that heart-racing moment when the player thinks they may not make it, and yet they do. Add to this the new “Survival Instinct” vision you’re able to carefully survey your surroundings and find those hard-to-reach areas and collect treasure you may not have found otherwise in your surroundings.

And what surroundings they are. Throughout the game you’re presented with truly breathtaking vistas; ancient cliff side temples, abandoned World War II  camps, and mines overrun with vicious bandits are all magnificent treats on the eye and you will spend hours carefully investigating each area, amazed at the beauty of all that is around you as Lara herself would too. Then there’s Lara herself, gone are her days of being a buxom pixelated image and she has evolved into a living, breathing person. Using the full range of facial recognition and motion sensor technology the character is incredibly brought to life through the model Camilla Luddington, who also contributed fantastically to the voiceover work. Lara impressively articulates a full range of emotions from anger and fear all the way to joy through facial expressions. When she comes to an ancient ruin you can see the curiosity, the intrigue spread across her face, and that as much as the discovery itself is a joy to behold.

More or less the only complaint I can think of for the reboot is the simple fact that for a game called Tomb Raider, there’s a shockingly small amount of tombs to actually explore. Granted, there are several dotted throughout the island but they play no real role in the game and are only added as a hidden extra for the completionists out there to discover. For a series that focused so much on exploration and the navigation of vast and intricate mazelike tombs this is a large departure, with the game focusing so much on combat. But at the same time this is a game about introducing the character, and it does it with aplomb, so hopefully this will be rectified in the sequel I expect to be made.

I didn’t have a huge amount of expectation for the game, I remembered loving the series in my youth but didn’t expect it could again reach such heady heights, but this game has left me literally blown away. Compared to youthful upstarts such as Nathan Drake, Lara Croft proves herself to once again be the queen of the action adventure genre, with this game being a truly masterfully made title, leaving me with a desperate desire to see where the series goes next.

Reset Rating: 8/10 Review brought to you by TheMercurialMan.

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Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance

Producer: Konami Developer: Platinum Games Released: 22nd February 2013 Xbox 360/PS3 (Xbox 360 reviewed)

Before Minecraft, before Devil May Cry, before Hitman or Skyrim or Mass Effect or any of those iconic or just plain exciting games that I’ve spent hundreds of hours of my life playing, way back in 1998 there was a game that came out, and a subsequent series that captured my imagination and my interest in a way no other has before, or for that matter probably since, and that was Metal Gear Solid. I know well and understand to an extent the complaints people have with the series and me and Uriel have sat down and discussed them at length. This is a series of games that, while trying to incorporate excitement and fun for the player have a deep, deep, involving and intricate backstory that players must understand to fully appreciate them. The series may be a stealth ‘em up in nature but it does more than that, trying to educate the player on political and philosophical themes, usually in the form of wordy and lengthy cutscenes that people may not have the time or inclination to sit through, and that’s fair enough. If that’s not for you then I’m not going to sit here and tell you that clearly you’re wrong and the games are awesome, that’s your choice, but this is the Metal Gear I’ve loved for a long time. And when I saw the latest title in the form of Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance, I panicked.

Metal Gear Rising takes place four years after the events of MGS4 and the insurrection led by Liquid Ocelot. Raiden now works for a PMC by the name of Maverick Enterprises, training armies and protecting VIP’s as a way of raising money for his family. Along the way Raiden comes into conflict with members of Desperado Enterprises, a rival PMC connected to terrorist attacks, in particular a splinter group going by the name of “Winds of Destruction”, who serve as the main antagonists of the game. Throughout the game you will find out more information into the backhistory of Raiden and his dark inner psyche that manifests itself as “Jack the Ripper”, a nickname he acquired as a child soldier in Liberia. Compared with other titles in the Metal Gear Saga Revengeance has made a noticeable change in direction in terms of story. While in others the story took the forefront in comparison to gameplay (some may argue this, but count how many hours the cut scenes clocked in), it’s been relegated more to the sidelines, letting Raiden’s badassery and swordplay to be the focal point.

Speaking of which, the biggest and most overwhelming change of pace for the series is the gameplay. While Metal Gear Rising has been noted to take place outside of the main storyline of the series (while remaining canon), Platinum Games and Konami have made this truly evident from changing the slow and stealthy sneaking pace of the MGS series. Taking the idea of Raiden’s incredible action scenes in Metal Gear Solid 4, Hideo Kojima took a simple idea, that he wanted people to play a game like those scenes, and make it a reality. Basing the swordplay on the zandatsu philosophy, or “cut and take”, and the history of awesome cyborg ninja’s in the Metal Gear series, players are given the freedom to run headlong into battles, high-frequency blade drawn, and literally slice the hell out of any living thing with precise and prideful accuracy. Not only can players gracefully parry more or less every attack from enemies (given that the player has the skill, obviously), and string together elegant and exciting combos, but players can also use the Blade Mode system to slow down gameplay, accurately slicing off enemy arms, legs, tops of skulls, or simply slicing them right down the centre and taking their energy sources, giving yourself an extra boost of health when necessary. You’re able to use other weapons such as rocket launchers and grenades, and even weapons taken from fallen enemies, but honestly I spent much of the game with my high-frequency blade in hand, and all I felt was a gut feeling that this is how I should be playing it, samurai style. As a series staple the game gives you various boss battles to play through, and generally stays in keeping with the Metal Gear style. You come up against a group of advanced enemies, in this case you take down Desperado one by one, and while the bosses aren’t as supernatural or unusual as previous entries they stay more in keeping with the games aesthetics. I’m not going to spoil anything for anyone, but all I will say is that the epic sword fight to the death with Desperado’s Samuel was one of the most gratifying, exhilarating, and flat-out tough as hell fights I have encountered in gaming.

One thing I can heavily critique the game for though is the choice of music throughout. While Metal Gear Solid as a series generally had a soundtrack that would for the exact right reasons, at the exact right times tug at the heartstrings in a way I have never found before, I found the choice for Metal Gear Rising to be nothing more than grating. I understand that Uriel was a big fan, and different strokes for different folks and all that, but at the same time listening to the same monotonous metal riff over and over just really started to grind my gears. At the same time the dialogue, while not a hugely important part of the game in comparison to the awesome action left a lot to be desired, and Quinton Flynn’s Raiden was less emotive and more whingy, instead of him meaning to sound like a bloodthirsty murderer, especially after his ‘Jack the Ripper’ character turn he comes off more laughable than terrifying. At the same time graphically the game is a work of art, the level of design is astonishing, and Platinum do a wonderful job of creating an intricate and polished world that you’ll love tearing apart.

I’ve been a huge fan of hack and slash action games for a long time, I grew up on Golden Axe and seeing that transform into intricate games that I’ve adored along the lines of Bayonetta have been a dream come true. I always thought the genre reached its pinnacle with Devil May Cry 3, and since then that has only been replaced by my love of the reboot, DmC. And while I can’t say Metal Gear Rising will have the same level of longevity for me that DmC does, I can say that it is easily as good, and the level of technical ingenuity that have come from Platinum Games and Konami is a truly wonderful thing. In taking a series of games that have long been considered slow, stealthy and tactical in nature and turning it into a truly magnificent action game is something I didn’t think possible, but it’s happened. Raiden is the perfect basis for a different genre of Metal Gear, and with Rising I hope very much to see at least one sequel, because one Metal Gear Rising just isn’t enough. Although when you get to that final boss I can promise you you’ll be screaming at the television. A lot.

Reset Rating: 9/10 Review brought to you by TheMercurialMan.

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Aliens: Colonial Marines

Producer: Sega Developer: Gearbox Software Released: February 12th 2013 XBox 360/PS3/PC (Xbox 360 reviewed)

I've always been a fan of the Alien series, from its dark, hauntingly horrific origins all the way even to that shambles of a forth film. There's a rich mythology behind the films, the genealogy of the species, their connection to the outer reaches of space, their flat out terrifying nature of kill and spread, their adaptability, a physical representation of a fear of the unknown, it all adds together to create a rich tapestry ripe for mining for inspiration. At the head of this is Aliens, James Cameron's iconic sci-fi horror action masterpiece, which, with all of its bravado and gung-ho awesomeness gives you a greater understanding of the character of Ripley, a foundation for her protective nature to the wild-eyed, innocent Newt, and an ingrained hatred for her alien nemeses. Along with a wonderfully varied cast of unique characters and a kick ass cast this film was one of the first to get me loving the sci-fi genre in general.

But this isn’t a love letter to the awesomeness of Aliens, and for all that poignancy and motherly protection of the film this is a god damn computer game. A first person shooter no less, and your enemy is a species of vicious, murdering space beasts wanting to rip your face apart and plant babies in your chest cavity. This is a game about Colonial Marines, the best of the best, the toughest, meanest badasses around. This is that game that should make you feel like an absolute boss as you laugh and blow aliens into wet, acidic chunks with a plasma rifle. This is a game that’s been in the making for roughly five years now. And after all that waiting, all that anticipation, this is a game that is ultimately a huge disappointment.

Taking a place in the official continuity of the Alien franchise you play the role of a titular Colonial Marine, Corporal Christopher Winter, on a search and rescue mission with your team to investigate the USS Sulaco, which fans of the series will remember as the ship from Aliens in which Hicks, Ripley and Newt, along with the android Bishop have their iconic battle against the alien queen, and subsequently enjoy a nice cryogenic sleep in before being ejected to the prison planet of Fury 161. Events take place during or just after those of Alien 3, meaning Ripley, Hicks and Newt are all absent from the wreckage, but along the way players investigate the abandoned, now infested Sulaco, as well as the derelict alien spaceship and of course LV-426, all of which return from Aliens. All of these locations are impressively recreated by Gearbox and there’s a wide array of fan service to those lovers of the films, from finding the lover half of Bishop’s android body strewn across the deck of the Sulaco in a puddle of its own milky robotic blood from the fight with the alien queen, all the way to visiting Hadley’s Hope and finding recordings of Newt and her mother, and on the way finding Hicks’ legendary shotgun. Lifelong fans of the series will relish in these moments, and others along the way such as picking up a flame thrower and burning nests of alien eggs. At the same time, these moments don’t add up to make a solid game, they just help to bring about a feeling of nostalgia to the audience.

This is all well and good, and if anyone is up for some nostalgia then it’s me, although at the same time you can throw all these different aspects at a player to make the soul of the game, but what matters if you’re expected to actually play the thing is the backbone, the gameplay itself, and with Aliens Colonial Marines you find this truly lacking. Yes, there’s the thrill that comes with having the motion sensor, those early moments when you’re in a darkened, terrifying corridor and all you hear is that constant, quickening beep signalling that there’s something, somewhere, close, wanting to kill you, but at the same time after these early moments you’ll come to understand that these moments are unnecessary, because before you can bring out the sensor the xenomorphs will be out in the open, making themselves clearly known, lacking any of the finesse, the stealth, the sleek beauty that comes with this breed of sophisticated killing machine. Aliens will obnoxiously lumber at you, instead of using intelligence to try and take you out, they’ll pounce, landing directly in front of you to allow you to blast them effortlessly in the face. Same with the Wayland-Yutani faceless PMC army that comes from I know not where, with only the basest sense of self-preservation when fighting you and your Marine buddies, who for the record are useless. Given the near non-existent enemy AI you would think that Gearbox would at least go to the trouble of limiting your weaponry, right? Help increase the tension and fear of the game by giving you little to work with and a terrifyingly low amount of ammo? You’d be dead wrong, instead they look at games of the current generation that have a believable load-out (for example, a handgun and a shotgun, or something), and instead think “nah, let them do what they want”, giving you every weapon under the sun. Not that any of this will ever matter, the shotgun is so ridiculously overpowered that you’ll seldom even find yourself bothering with another weapon anyway. Saying that, the game does at least attempt to provide the player with something interesting, such as a levelling system that allows you to upgrade your own weapons, and the rare moments when you use the power loader (which, to be fair is a laborious and boring addition anyway, fan service gone too far maybe?). This is all well and good but for a game that’s single player campaign lasts a mere six hours it seems a little unnecessary. There is a multiplayer option that allows the player to run through the campaign with a friend, that proves to make the game a little more enjoyable, but at the same time takes away the last shred of horror the game possessed.

While the list of failures for Gearbox’s long-awaited Aliens sequel is already noticeable, there’s one thing that we can’t ignore, and that’s the graphics. For a game that, as we mentioned, have been in production for upwards of five years now, the graphics are, simply put, laughably bad. Textures look horribly low resolution, environmental aspects will glitch out nearly on a whim, moth characters and xenomorphs look horribly basic. While lighting is admittedly on the upper end of bad, it’s still a disappointment and for a game that has been put back time and again for what developers have described as “the opportunity to make sure the game comes out more polished and up to a higher standard” I can’t help that either they forgot along the way, or we as consumers have been lied to. Moreso, if you compare the difference between the video walkthrough demo released long ago, and the game itself (see HERE) you’ll have to question why the game came out the way it did at all.

I’ve been wanting this game for a long time, to the point that I was almost definitely going to buy it, but thankfully I had the opportunity to actually play it beforehand. The game may be the canonical sequel to a film that I have loved for a long time, but all that aside the production is frankly abysmal, the game is too short, and overall you will come out from the experience with nothing but disappointment. From Gearbox, a company that has given us such glowing first-person shooters in the form of the Borderlands series you feel like you should expect more, but when you realise they were also the company that decided Duke Nukem Forever was also a game that should ever see the light of day you have to question when they’re going to go from being a hit-and-miss company to one that can bring out consistent successes, and if they’re capable of reaching such heady heights.

Reset Rating: 5/10 Review brought to you by TheMercurialMan.

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Dead Space 3

Producer: Electronic Arts Developer: Visceral Games Released: February 8th 2013 Xbox 360/PS3/PC (Xbox 360 reviewed)

In an age when Resident Evil was moving further into the world of being yet another generic clunky third-person shooter series and Silent Hill was moving further towards, well, just being a sham of its former self, Dead Space came along as something of a messiah. The second coming of good survival horror was signalled by this sci-fi piece of pure unadulterated terror, every corner was once again a place of fear, every hallway a blood covered, poorly lit hell, and every gamer playing it’s heart was beating four times faster and bathed in panic.

Although I’m sure we’ve all heard the story of Dead Space 3 even before the game came, we’ll just catch up those that haven’t: Four years after the events of Dead Space 2 and all that occurred on the Sprawl, Isaac Clarke is living in a city straight out of Bladerunner, trying to get on with his life the best way he can. After being recruited by survivors of a Necromorph attack, Clarke is sent on a rescue mission to Tau Volantis. This frozen ice world sets the stage not just to a dense backstory of a 200 year old lost colony and Ellie Langford, survivor of Dead Space 2, but also the end of the Necromorphs as a whole.

Although Tau Volantis plays an integral role in the game as a whole, you don’t actually arrive on the planet until around a third of the way through the story. Until then you’re treated to callbacks to the first title, only this time you expect almost every monster that you come across. This is fair enough though, because while the game is understandably less terrifying than previous entries it makes up for this in a way the Resident Evil series never could, it ups the action in a big way, but at the time this callback to other series entries shows that it still retains and truly respects its origins. By including huge, awe-inspiring set-pieces in one scene and reverting back to its standard horror-filled corridor shooter roots it marks a gradual, understandable evolution to the series while still managing to keep fans relatively pleased with the change of pace. Saying that, there is one change in gameplay that is more than a little annoying: The drop-in, drop-out multiplayer to the campaign mode. It’s not even the actual multiplayer that’s the problem, per say, it’s the fact that you can only play it online. This means a lot of people that want to sit and play with their friends, in the same room, are being punished because of this fact, more or less, because Visceral Games didn’t want to put in a split screen. This is more complaints about the modern state of multiplayer gaming and the focus on online rather than a grievance with Dead Space 3 in general, but it still grinded my gears when I wanted to give it a try with a friend, in turn missing out on valuable insights into the motivations and inner workings of the respective characters you can play as.

Graphically the game shines through more in terms of its vast, intricate landscapes, skylines and dingy, horribly run down wreckages. From the futuristic, glistening city you start the game in, with cars flying through the sky effortlessly, right the way to the immense, cold beauty of Tau Volantis, each vista you visit is a feast for the eyes. The same, however, cannot be said for the character designs. After such leaps in graphical facial rendering with the likes of LA Noire and, well, a lot of games that have been out in the past year or so, characters just don’t make a lasting impression. Likewise for a game that has such a good history with impressively grotesque, terrifying creatures the design for these are equally underwhelming, you’ll spend a lot of time fighting the same old generically tiresome zombies over, and over.

All in all the game, while not being as groundbreaking or exciting as previous entries in the series it still manages to entertain and excite audiences. Considering the draw of the series is the focus on terror and fear it’s interesting to realise that while this does become repetitive and tired rather quickly in Dead Space 3, what keeps the player in the game is the bigger focus on action and huge environmental action, which is the complete antithesis of what we’ve come to know. This is a good sign for the future of Dead Space. Considering the change in focus was a death knell for the Resident Evil franchise, and the popularity of the Dead Space series, this new change in the tried and tested formula of the games could in fact inject some fresh blood and help improve the longevity of the series.

Reset Rating: 7/10 Review brought to you by TheMercurialMan.

[resetgaming]

DmC (Devil May Cry)

Released: 14/1/2013 Publisher: Capcom Developer: Ninja Theory

To begin I think you, as the reader, need to understand the depth of my love for Devil May Cry prior to this reboot. I have played every version religiously, from its origins through to its peak at Devil May Cry 3: Dante's Awakening (in my humble opinion) and back to the slight disappointment of 4, but never once losing faith in Dante as he is and always will be one of my most beloved characters and heroes. I even own a model of him on display at my desk just to remind me of those glorious afternoons battling beasties and bad guys all with an epic size grin on my face..

To hear that a reboot was on the cards angered me in many ways, but I was willing to give Capcom the benefit of any doubt and see what the folks at Ninja Theory could achieve given a fresh outlook. Instantly noticeable is the death of the Gothic style, this new reboot lives, breathes and evolves in the modern urban environment seen in today’s games, aiming more for gritty than grandeur, when dragged into limbo said world remains but with an eerie veil of red mist surrounding everything and sections of what I can only describe as gloom, with a tar-like black substance stopping you from progressing at select points till enemies are defeated, the projection in Limbo from the real world of your helper is that of a ghostly figure also communicating with a ghostly echoing voice and vice-versa of you projected back all giving the game a fantastically shot look and feel.

The destruction around you in the world of Limbo will influence the real world, for example upon returning from an epic battle against a Hunter you find yourself surrounded by destruction in what used to be a seaside amusement pier and your home and is now no more than a desolate destruction site. The weapons have had an overhaul with Ebony and Ivory taking on the shape of 1900's western pistols shooting high firing/high calibre rounds and Rebellion the trusted sword returns longer, sleeker and more bad-ass.

The games fight sequences are reminiscent of those from the original Devil May Cry games with the simple hack and slash control system easy to pick up and the simple switch to gun fire remaining, choosing your target is easy using the right analogue stick and the tutorial guides you through what no doubt most of us have already established. The hidden items return in the form of lost souls that need freeing from their eternal entombment within Limbo via your trusted sword, while hidden Keys used to unlock doors to a battleground where upon defeating your foes your rewarded accordingly, abilities again gained by upgrading at shops and new moves purchased similarly.

Overall the game brings a fresh approach to the beloved DMC universe, the look and feel of the world Dante fights in is exactly what I as the player wanted with settings being simple but beautiful at the same time, and within the first chapter Capcom/Ninja Theory pay homage to the original Dante with a loose wig dropping onto new Dante's head with him checking himself out in the mirror swiftly followed by a quick one liner, removal of the wig, and back into battle, all of which brings a sly smile to an original fans face. The rock music selected brings a good battle beat to the game with tunes pairing nicely with in-game action and the overall feel of the game.

I’m very impressed overall with what Ninja Theory and Capcom have done with this game, as stated I was very sceptical about what needed changing, if anything, but after experiencing those changes in full swing I can see why they were implemented, the original Gothic feel was good, at the time, but everything changes. Sometimes for good reason.

Reset Rating: 9/10 Same old Devil May Cry shoot and slash fun with a new grittier feel, very good indeed. Reviewed By Uriel101

[resetgaming]

The Best and Worst of 2012, Reset Style.

This year has been big for gamers and the industry as a whole. We had the first of the new generation of consoles in the form of the WiiU, as well as hints at what we could be looking at for the next step of graphical evolution with the likes of the glorious looking Watch Dogs. And then of course we had those such as Call of Duty: Black Ops 2 and this years Fifa, continued staples of our yearly releases to appease the masses. On the other hand though we’ve had current gen titles that have instantly gone down in the annuls of history as guaranteed classics, and this post intends to focus on those titans that made us proud to be gamers.

5. Mass Effect 3 (Bioware, Xbox 360/PS3/PC/WiiU)

We all knew this would be on my list of the best of 2012, let’s face it. The perfect end to what could well be considered the perfect series, Mass Effect 3 was everything I could have hoped for. Giving the series a definitive ending, Commander Shepard’s fight against the Reaper threat has ended, his war is won, and it was a pleasure to be a part of. A series that magnificently was able to continue each and every individual choice and character interaction by the player through each game to make a series entirely their own, not only making a glorious story but also a truly personal one. With each issue Shepard had to face, you were playing it too. For each character you had to align with, defeat, or help it wasn’t just a choice for Shepard, it was something you had to face the consequences for. Bioware have made something truly special with this series and although Shepard’s story may have ended, there’s more to come from the Mass Effect universe, and I for one cannot wait.

4. Far Cry 3 (Ubisoft, Xbox 360/PS3/PC)

I’m going to be perfectly honest here, I really did not like Far Cry 2. I thought it was boring, I didn’t care about the storyline, factions or characters in the slightest. There was little in the way of true fun about driving from one side of the map to the other, attempt to shoot someone and have your gun jam and run out of ammo, and the entire thing turned more or less into a test of how much tedium I could put up with. Saying that I played about two thirds of it and the fire was pretty. And saying all that, it’s hard to understand what they did to make Far Cry 3 so damn good, because I feel completely different about it. The characters are all unique and complex, the storyline is incredible and enthralling, and graphically the game is absolutely stunning. From the beginning you’re engaged by the world around you, and are given a plethora to play with and enjoy. You’ll skip playing the missions for hours on end just to hunt one more tiger, crouched in the jungle with your enhanced bow and arrow like Rambo. Add to that a levelling system that makes your gameplay experience totally your own and you will have endless fun playing in the world of the Rook Islands.

3. Dishonoured (Arkane Studios/Bethesda, Xbox 360/PS3/PC)

Another game that slipped up on me completely unawares, I was expecting Dishonoured to just be a fun little game, an FPS stealth-em-up that would give me a few hours fun and that would be it. On the other hand I should have realised when it had the name ‘Bethesda’ attached to it that it would be a little bit more complex than that. Set in plague-era Dunwall, you play Corvo Attano, bodyguard to the Empress, framed for murder and forced into a life of assassination and revenge in this politically motivated, complex tale. Focusing on stealth and the plethora of different directions you can take in missions, the game is an interesting, highly enjoyable title that stylistically does to steampunk similar to what Bioshock did for the art deco style in 2007. While it may be fairly short I can’t recommend the game highly enough, and if you were to play it you’d be hard-pressed to put it down yourself, a must have for all budding assassins and stealth enthusiasts.

2. FEZ (Polytron Corporation, XBLA)

Developed independently by Phil Fish and his company Polytron Corporation, FEZ stands as a developmental landmark of an individuals vision and how smaller titles can prove as enjoyable and exciting as those huge, big-budget titles the likes of COD. FEZ has a simple premise, a 2D game with the ability to explore the world in three dimensions, rotating the world at 90 degrees. Throughout the game you must collect 32 cubes before the world is torn apart. While it sounds simple the game is beautifully created, not only being graphically astonishing but also emotionally gratifying all at the same time, and simply put it’s something that everyone should play and enjoy. I looked forward to the game for a long time, and it was nothing but a pure joy to behold.

1. Minecraft (Mojang/4J Studios, XBLA)

Okay, I’ll be the first to admit that this could be technically classed as cheating, but I’m going to let it pass. Originally released for the PC in 2011, I never managed to actually play the game until its release on XBLA, and from the first moments I did so I was hooked. The concept, as you all know, is painfully simple; you mine resources, and then you build stuff with said resources. You’re given nothing in the first moments, you have to find what you can and hole up for the dangerous nights while beasties try to slap the life out of you, or blow you to tiny pieces. I’ve been on the same map since the game came out and I’ve evolved it with every update that’s been released, and while every dungeon may have been found, and every block may have been mined, there’s still something that keeps bringing me back. This is the simple fact that no matter how much I do, I haven’t finished my world. I started out with a small house, that turned into a garden, which evolved into a small town, and now all across the map I have farms, mansions (including a scale replica of Wayne Manor), minecart tracks, shops, castles, futuristic areas, feudal Japanese villages, and even a pyramid. Minecraft is the most enjoyable game for a simple reason that the only limitation to the game itself is your own imagination; you’re given the resources and tools to make what you will with it, for some this may limit your playtime considerably, but for others, the world is your oyster, and with an open mind and an inquisitive nature, you will be hard-pressed to stop playing it.

Honourable Mention: Punch Quest (iOS), MANOS: Hands of Fate (iOS), The Organ Trail (iOS), 1Bit Ninja (iOS), Trials Evolution (XBLA), Dust: An Elysian Tail (XBLA), The Walking Dead (XBLA/PSN/PC/Mac/iOS), Assassin’s Creed 3 (XB360/PS3/PC/WiiU), Lone Survivor (PS3/PC/Mac), Borderlands 2 (XB360/PS3/PC)

And so we've had the best of 2012, those which we will forever hold in high esteem as landmark titles to the genre of gaming, those with take what has been laid before them and created something new and exciting, something beautiful and different that can be enjoyed by all. But let's take a look at what Reset Gaming has defined the lowest point in gaming this year, that which is the complete antithesis of what we look for, not just a bad game, but a complete disappointment. 

Resident Evil 6 (Capcom, Xbox 360/PS3/PC)

This isn't a review, I just have to get that out the way now. Reviews are concise, objective, factual, critical, and fair. I will never review resident evil 6, not because I don't think I can be all of those things to it, but because I don't feel that the game even deserves the time and eloquence that I could commit to giving a review. There is not going to be any summing up of narratives, or talking about what worked and what didn't. I've written about bad games in the past and still managed to do this, but with resident evil 6 all I found was bitter disappointment and anger when I turned on this rushed, storyless piece of garbage that all I can think is an appropriate response is to vent about it.

It's hard to think where to start with. I've done retrospectives of the Resident Evil games, looking at what made the originals great, and I think it's clear really: horror. Obviously if you look at the original Resident Evil now it's a schlocky, cliche, poorly scripted game with bad graphics but beyond that it's still bloody terrifying. We all remember that moment when we first encountered a zombie, or our old teammate recently turned, or a hunter, or perhaps most chillingly the iconic journal of the animal keeper, reading his records as he chronicles the slow descent into zombification and that last, horrifying entry: "Itchy itchy Scott came ugly face so killed him. Tasty. itchy, tasty" This is what resident evil should have always been, this is the tone that the series started with and made people realise 'shit yeah, games can be terrifying'. Resident Evil 2 carried on this trend perfectly, it had two everyday people fighting for their lives against a decimated city overrun with the undead, introduced elements of survivor psychosis in the form of the creepy nutjob police chief, and made the story 100% more professional and engaging. Resident Evil 2 kept everything you wanted and made it better in ways you couldn't imagine, in my mind the series peaked beautifully with this title. While Resident Evil 5 wasn’t the worst in the series, it definitely signalled the death knell for the franchise as a whole. From its daylight setting, to its focus on multiplayer elements, all the way to its complete disregard to its horror roots and insisting on just being another poorly made action game it was an all-around disappointment.

None so as much as the diabolical shambles that is Resident Evil 6. A game so lazy that it doesn’t even have one cohesive playthrough, instead focusing on multiple short scenarios, each with their own ‘unique’ styles and focuses, each being a muddled, pointless excursion. Whether you’re taking the role of Leon, or Chris, or the new character that no one cares about this late in the series by the name of Jack Muller, the end result is the same: disappointment. I originally had high hopes for the title, I saw it as a return to its roots to close the series with a triumphant bang, instead it’s just another game that I wish I could forget about.

[resetgaming]

Assassin's Creed III

Publisher: Ubisoft Developer: Ubisoft Montreal Released: 31st October 2012 Xbox 360/Ps3/PC (Xbox 360 reviewed)

Well we’ve closed in on the Christmas season once again, that time of year that gives us more AAA titles than we can shake a stick at, and how can we, the mere consumers, decide which deserves our attention and more importantly, our money? It’s not an easy task, and I don’t presume to be the one to tell you where to spend your hard-earned moolah, but what I can tell you is this one simple thing, before we even begin our review today: Assassin’s Creed III is the goddamn bomb.

Assassin’s Creed has always been something of a divisive series even from its first title. AC introduced superb freerunning and parkour, and interesting strategy to take down your enemies, as something of a next-generation Hitman, however after the first few missions it became an exercise in repetition, and something of a let-down despite all its accomplishments. ACII went a huge way to rectify all the issues of the original title, giving the player a new character, era, city, story and world to play in, it made the gameplay more freeing and less constrictive in its mission structure, the assassinations themselves felt more natural and improvised, and all in all became the pinnacle of freeroaming mass murder. The only way ACII really failed, if you think about it honestly, would be with Brotherhood and Revelations, not because of the gameplay, or story, but just because Ezio’s story had felt like it had been told. Understandably, if they were to change the setting and character for one of those titles they would have had to turn that into ACIII, and of course finishing a trilogy that soon would have been less... well, financially beneficial… to Ubisoft. But regardless, in making those four titles, although it may have been a long time for a series to continue before getting the dynamics just right, Assassin’s Creed III has finally got every single aspect just right, or as close as possible for the series. And it’s worth it.

We’ve battled the Knights Templar during the Crusades, we’ve battled the corrupt officials of 15th century Florence to help the world and fight the powers of evil, and now, in Assassin’s Creed III we travel to the New World, during the height of the American Revolution, taking on the colonial threat by playing the role of Ratonhnhaké:ton, a new native American/British character who, while initially looking to protect his village and avenge the death of his mother becomes embroiled in the greater conspiracies prevalent in the AC series, and the large amount of betrayals and underhandedness during this era. With Ratonhnhaké:ton, or Connor as he is more commonly known throughout the game, you have a more emotional, single-minded and focused story line, it’s obvious that the character wants to help however he can, but his ultimate goal is this seek of vengeance and protection, and in this way I feel we first begin to see that the title differs from the series. Altaïr ibn-La'Ahad, the Syrian Assassin during the Third Crusade was an assassin throughout his entire life, he was born into and lived the order, and it was his main concern. Ezio Auditore da Firenze, while initially starting out as a vengeful Italian nobleman, was a child of an assassin, and led the order to a great renaissance, becoming their leader after years of diligence and hard work. Connor, on the other hand, stumbled over the order, and while he took the training and did his part for the assassins, the order itself doesn’t play a huge role in the title. While this is disappointing, it actually adds to a more cohesive, poignant storyline.

In terms of actual gameplay Assassin’s Creed III is a complete reworking of what we have come to expect from the series as a whole. While the game engines, controls and graphics engine have only really been slightly tweaked since ACII for Brotherhood and Revelations, Ubisoft have made a completely new engine referred to as Anvil Next, built from the ground up for the title. In this way the game looks more crisp, and at the same time combat and, well, everything has been completely upgraded. In terms of Connor’s movement, his parkour has become so much more seamless than you’d expect. When moving, Connor can effortlessly and gracefully jump over fences, climb up to higher points and, in a revolutionary move to the game, climb trees, which may sound like a simple addition but it’s not. Taking the characters Native American background and his closeness to nature and his environment, you can now climb up trees, jump from branch to branch and effectively, while in the nature areas of the game, get from place to place without ever having to actually land a foot on the ground. Equally Connor’s combat abilities are streets ahead of his ancestors Altair and Ezio. While on the surface it looked like you were doing great things, in reality when you got those two into actual combat you’d realise that 90 percent of what you actually do was nothing but countering, and it was far too easy. Gone are those days with Connor. With the completely revamped combat system you can still counter with ease but that then effortlessly continue to chained kills, switching weapons midway through, and wiping out an entire Colonial troop while feeling an absolute boss. Not only is this aided by the new game engine, but also the much more interesting arsenal of weapons at your disposal. I was a little unsure at first about the inclusion of the classic trademark of the Native Americans; the Tomahawk. I thought the weapon would be more cumbersome and aggressive than the simple elegance of a sword featured in the previous iterations, but I was wrong. Not only is the inclusion of such a weapon absolutely badass, making a glorious amount of damage while still looking incredible, but the game gives you such freedom that you wouldn’t have to use it once if you didn’t want to. Same with the newly added flintlock pistols, if you like me think that the common handgun is a little too easy and tactless for an assassin but you have to take out enemies from a distance then you’re presented with the bow and arrow, a tool that is deadly as it is glorious. Add to that the sheer amount of other weapons and traps you’re given and you have all the choice in the world.

Speaking of traps, with the New World, new game engine, and new combat there’s a much simpler, more believable way for you to get money to upgrade your arsenal with: Hunting. Yes, Connor, the Native Indian with infinite skills in tracking and stealth can implement those skills into taking out anything from raccoons to black bears (the latter, however, triggering an unnecessary QTE). Once you’ve picked up clues to find the animals’ location, eating area and patterns you have the opportunity to plant traps and wait for your moment to strike, or alternatively blow a hole through it with a musket. The choice is yours, but the less damage you do to the animal in your sights, the more money you get from it. Not only is it useful, but it also happens to be a hell of a lot of fun, and you’ll easily find yourself in the woods for three straight hours before remembering that you actually have some place to be.

The Assassin’s Creed series has always been known to be graphically astonishing. From those first moments you stepped into Jerusalem in AC, admiring the rundown areas of the slums, or basking in the beauty of the rich district. This continued in ACII, Brotherhood and Revelations, but visually, by the end they were showing their age, it was all a little tired. Thankfully with Assassin’s Creed III and Anvil Next, the game looks actually astonishing. Be it the sprawling cities of New York or Boston, or the broad snowcapped vistas of the open forests, no place looks the same, and you will spend your time admiring that not only is a game this beautiful, but also the reaction to weather on the character. If it’s snowed you’ll sink in, with it coming up to your knees, Connor will struggle to move and everything will feel heavier until the land flattens out. Not only is the game a visual wonder, but the seasons come to impact the game significantly.

Of all the glorious things about the game itself, the most disappointing aspect is the one that is often the most overlooked: Desmond. You remember him, the true main character of the game. Throughout these five titles we’ve played the lives of Altair, Ezio and Connor but all this has been to tell the tale of modern day reluctant Assassin Desmond Miles. He’s been kidnapped, he’s learnt skills and the history of these assassins through his work with the animus and he’s been working to stop something many of us forget about when playing these games, the end of the world. Assassin’s Creed III is the last game in Desmond’s tale, and while I don’t intend on spoiling anything for anyone, the way his story ended was… anticlimactic. It was a disappointment, it may have done that which many game series fail to and end the series before it was a recycled cash-cow, but it’s a shame they couldn’t have thought of something more dynamic to happen at the end, especially when in this iteration Desmond's elements are actually enjoyable to play through.

All in all Assassin’s Creed III promises a lot of great things and it’s nice that it followed through with them. It delivers an interesting story, fulfilling gameplay and visual joy, and I can’t really recommend it enough, even to those that aren’t fans of the series as a whole. ‘Nuff said really.

Reset Rating: 8/10 Review brought to you by TheMercurialMan.