Reviews by AlCoHoLiCa87

Sacred 2: Fallen Angel (Xbox 360) review

RPGs have never really translated well from the PC to games consoles, usually the lack of buttons on a control pad which make for a frustrating and “dumbed down” experience. However, Sacred 2 has made the journey from PC to 360 with much more success than you'd expect. The controls are well thought out, the inventory and maps easy to navigate and the world is rich with detail. Althouh, Sacred 2 isn't the game it could have been thanks to many unfortunate short-comings. Sacred 2: Fallen Angel is set in a fairly typical fantasy world called Ancaria which contains orcs, elves, undead and all other creatures you'd probably expect to see there. Running through Ancaria is a magical energy source called T-Energy (not to be confused with Lost Planet's T-ENG) which the High Elves have harnessed to become the dominant race. However, the other races want the Iraqi, err I mean Elven Oil... I mean T-Energy, sorry... which leads to conflict. Because of the fighting the T-Energy has become unstable and mutates the creatures of Ancaria into evil beasties which make the whole situation worse. You play as one of six races in either dark or light campaigns in order to bring peace (or chaos) to Ancaria. The first major stumbling block is Sacred's lack of storyline. Well, there is a storyline, although its so deeply hidden behind just about everything else in the game you'll be forgiven for thinking each quest was a relative orc-fart in the grand scheme of things and does nothing for the game play. In addition to the "quests" you are given there is also an assortment of side quests (which often seem more meaningless and arbitrary than the main quests) to keep you occupied. Despite the quest's lack of direction and purpose, that isn't to say that they are pointless, but I'll come to that later. The graphics in Sacred 2 are respectable and they serve to create a vast and detailed world which, at times, feels genuine and life like. Although this is where we come up to one of my biggest gripes with the game – enemy spawning. Ride from one town to another on horse back for any period of time and you'll know that this operates as the most effective enemy magnet known to man. As you gallop down the many paths and roads of Ancaria (there is over 22miles to explore) you'll see every enemy in the area lining your path in order to bite chunks out of you. For those who enjoy a good hack and slash, this might not be a bad thing, although if you have to stop to access a dungeon or complete a quest you'll be inundated by all the nasties you can imagine. The first few times this is alright as the combat system in Sacred is pretty good, after a while though, this becomes tedious and at times ridiculous as its hard to believe that every evil creature from Rat to Undead Warrior all want to kill YOU and only YOU. Luckily, inspite of the premise and lazy enemy spawning, Sacred revolves around its best feature – levelling up. As in all RPGs the goal is to gain experience in order to to improve your stats and you combat arts (spells/abilities). Because levelling in Sacred doesn't take too long (there are so many enemies to harvest XP off), you'll find yourself bounding through the levels in no time. Each enemy drops money, armour, weapons and even new combat arts for you to learn. Once you've learnt combat arts you can improve aspects of each one depending on what areas you want to specialise in. This all works towards what is a pretty deep and often rewarding system which will have you saying “just one more quest” if only to gain that next level. Sacred 2 does contain a lot for the quasi-serious RPG gamer who likes a bit of punishment now and then, with the six characters each having two campaigns you can play through the game 12 times and get a varied experience out of it. In addition to this though there is also an online multiplayer system which has players connect to your game and help you progress through the storyline. You'll get 20+ hours of play easily if you can put up with Sacred's lesser points, and there are some great moments to be had. However, it does seem that it falls in the “its good for a console RPG” category, and the cracks begin to show if you look too closely.

Metal Slug Anthology (PSP) review

Metal Slug Anthology - for any one who isn't aware - is a collection of some of the most frantic and fun side scrolling shooters ever made, released to mark the 10 year anniversary of the SNK franchise. It contains Metal Slugs 1 through to 6 and Metal Slug X, which means you get 7 games in one – its a lot of fun/frustrating game play to store on a UMD and this becomes apparent from when you start playing. The intro screen is plagued by a large loading time, then selecting your game isn't exactly speedy, followed by another long loading time to get into it, a loading time between selecting different characters, and then – yes there's more – if you try and select a character within the game it has to load again... oh yeah and it loads between levels too, a lot of loading all around. Whilst this is disappointing, especially when there are some really decent SNK collections which don't take this long to load, it thankfully doesn't effect the game play all that much. If you haven't played Metal Slug before there are several words which can be used to describe it, all except for easy. No, Metal Slug is far from being an easy game, to illustrate this, if I'd have completed Metal Slug 4 on an arcade machine it would have cost more in credits then it would have to buy the collection on PSP 5 times over! I will admit I'm no expert at Metal Slug, but it really is that difficult. However, you do get unlimited continues which stops the whole thing getting that frustrating. This, on the other hand does also make your life feel cheap within the game, dead again? No problem! Just continue and carry on. Sadly this can take away any sense of achievement you get from completing a boss, or even the game. However, if limited to say, 10 continues – a very low amount indeed – you'll probably find getting half way through the first level is almost impossible. Metal Slug Anthology does look and sound great, making great use of the PSP 3000s display and stereo speakers. Although, you'll want to play through the game on the 4:2 aspect ratio as the wide screen setting looks far too stretched and the original ratio is too small. In fact it seems that Metal Slug has found a new home on the PSP over the more powerful consoles, because of its smaller screen, which stops it feeling pixelated, old and therefore rubbish. Although, as I mentioned earlier, its still plagued with loading issues which really takes the shine off the whole package. In short Metal Slug Anthology is a lot of game in a small package and is well worth a look if you're a fan on the series. The games have been rendered well, and are largely done justice to by the PSP. However, the loading times might be too much for some who are used to playing the game in a seamless, frantic fashion. Those who haven't played the Metal Slug games shouldn't be put off by the difficult game play, however they better be patient and willing to push through some of the most fun and intense side-scrolling shooter action that has ever been made.

Resistance: Retribution (PSP) review

Whilst the PSP has seen a lot of the third person shooter, none recent have been as high profile as Resistance: Retribution, released along side the much awaited Resistance 2 on the Playstation 3; it clearly had a lot to live up to. On first impressions it seems that Sony have done a great job, Retribution's graphics are at a high standard and the sounds are crisp and deep, a very tight package indeed. The controls are always a contentious point on the PSP, some work well (for example Syphon Filter) and some don't (SOCOM: Fireteam bravo). Thankfully Retribution's controls sit more towards the former rather than the latter. At times you'll find yourself dodging gunfire, running from cover to cover despatching the Chimera as they bare down on you thanks to the game's forgiving auto-auto system. On other occasions you'll find yourself aiming at a wall or some vague point in the distance, when really your attention should be elsewhere; this is due mostly to the fact that you used the PSPs face buttons to aim – a system which didn't really work on Golden Eye the N64 and one which unfortunately doesn't do a lot better today. Whilst enemies are within your auto aim box on the HUD you'll find yourself despatching them with ease, however if they stray from that – which they'll do from time to time – or find yourself using the scope on the sniper rifle – where you don't have auto aim – things will feel unprecise and sluggish, which will take the shine of such a highly polished package. With the occasional control issues aside, Retribution does offer some good ol' intense shooter action which is combined with a decent story that pushes you through each mission. The voice acting is of a high standard and you do believe that James Grayson, the game's main character, is a bitter, grizzled, French-hating, Chimera-hating SOB. The Slaughter of Chimera forces is often punctuated by fairly clichéd, sardonic quips you'd expect from someone who watched their brother die at the hands of the Chimera and then went on a murderous rampage killing everything that moved. In the midst of action you'll find yourself relating in Grayson's sociopathic nature due to the satisfying weapons which Retribution hands you. Whilst there isn't a huge amount of originality in your arsenal, each have their own strong points which you'll need to learn in order to progress through each encounter with the Chimera without being shot to pieces. There are a large variety of environments in Retribution, ranging from claustrophobic catacombs to hostile trenches, enough to stop you from getting to bored with any one level. However, not all the levels feel that 'real', you'll often find yourself thinking that some levels feel a little bare and on some occasions, over-designed in the formulaic “press switch to open door” fashion. The saving grace for Retribution is that its strong game-play and storyline are more than enough to distract you from what ever issues you may have with its design. As well as Retribution's respectable single player campaign, it also supports an 8-player infrastructure multiplayer mode which contains all the game modes you'd expect from an online shooter these days. Getting a game online took a little longer than you'd like due to a lack in players - those who are left are either first time players or veterans – so don't expect a lot from it. Retribution's party trick though is in how it interacts with the Playstation 3; just connect to it using a USB cable and you have the option to 'Infect your PSP!'. Unlike many infections nowadays, this is one which you'll actually quite like as it supplies you with another way of playing the campaign – as 'infected Grayson'. You'll have the ability to heal and breath underwater as well as have access to the HE .44 Magnum, explosive bullets! Whilst by no means perfect Resistance: Retribution is a game with a lot to offer if you can see past its few quirks and annoyances, made even better by its unlockable content which sweetens the deal. You won't see anything desperately new or innovative, however you'll find a game which is rewarding and well worth a look for any shooter fans.

Killzone Liberation (PSP) review

Without meaning to sound cynical, games which often appear on the handhelds under the same franchise as on consoles are often "simplified" or "watered down" and are sold by the hype surrounding their older brothers rather than on their own merit. The most obvious example which comes to my mind recently is Spore, a long awaited title only released on the PC and DS, soon to make an outing on Wii. Aside from it being a disappointing game on the PC, it was even worse on the DS with only the vague premise being kept with everything else replaced by a cheap, childish aesthetic. This is such a regular occurrence within gaming, when a younger brother of a “AAA” title is announced a collective moan can be heard so loud that it is bested by the complaints about lazy movie tie-ins. When Killzone was released on Playstation 2, the resulting offspring which followed a few years later - Killzone Liberation on the PSP - was also met by the same cynicism, yet it seems that Killzone Liberation is a lot more than a lazy cash-in. Before you even start liberation it is immediately apparent that Guerilla have changed the fundamentals of the game by placing it in third person, rather than first person view. It is no secret that the PSP's lack of a second control stick makes playing first person shooters painfully difficult, an experience that leaves the majority of gamers wanting - so Guerilla can be forgiven for this early deviation. The birds-eye camera we are treated to in Liberation is reminiscent to that of Commando and the game plays much more like it the pant-wettingly difficult PC title than Killzone on the Playstation 2. The story of Liberation picks up where Killzone left off and we follow the majority of the original characters as the game progresses battling with a selection of firearms that shooter veterans will be familiar with. However, Liberation's story is a bit on the 'lite' side and you'll be forgiven for not paying attention to it, instead you'll be focusing on the intense tactical shooter action which will have you pressing the 'restart' button more times than you'll care to admit. Earlier I said that Liberation was reminiscent to Commando, the way that you have to carefully plan each situation, make sure you have the right equipment and time your attacks just right, if you choose to ignore this you and Liberation won't get along. This is not a run and gun game, in fact in some situations it punishes you with its clunky strafe system in order to stop you simply circling the Helgast with your finger on the trigger. Strafing works by pressing the L button which fixes you facing in one direction, so the left and right buttons then act to strafe you left and right. In practice this sounds simple although you have to be facing the enemy you want to shoot before strafing, failure to do so often ends up with you facing the wrong way and receiving buckshot to the spine! Strafing aside though, Guerilla have really played to the PSPs strengths when making Liberation; navigating Templar through the games levels, ducking and diving between cover and occasionally popping up to shoot the Helghast feels natural and satisfying. In fact almost everything about playing Killzone Liberation feels right, the graphics are crisp and the level design well thought out; The sounds are clear and make full use of the PSPs stereo, you'll often hear Helgast yelling commands or alerting others to your presence. A common criticism is that the game is too short, one which is mostly true. In addition to campaign which lasts for around 5+ hours depending on difficulty and your experience, Liberation sports a challenge mode which, on successful completion, rewards you with upgrades for the main game. Also you get an Ad Hoc and Online multiplayer (if you download the update which also provides you with one extra mission for the main game too) in addition to the option to play the main game in co-op mode. I think the complaints about longevity are more based on the “its so good we don't want it to end” feeling rather than getting short changed, despite its short single player mode and sometimes clunky controls. Killzone Liberation represents a significant step in PSP gaming, a game built especially for the console, one which any gamer would enjoy rather than the tide of “it's good for the PSP” titles which fill our shelves. The story itself will leave most players wanting/needing more, however if you are Killzone veteran the will be something in it for you. Most importantly, Liberation isn't a lazy port cashing in on another game's success, it's a really good game, one which every PSP owner should consider playing. 4/5 Stars