Opening Statement:
From Sega, and developer of cult-RPGs, Obsidian Entertainment (Neverwinter Nights 2) comes a new take on the action RPG. Forget outer space and fantasy kingdoms; Alpha Protocol is the world’s first tactical espionage Role player. Will it manage to successfully infiltrate your collection? Or will you be disavowing any knowledge of its actions.

"Who are you calling GENERIC!?"

Facts of the Case:
Michael Thornton has just been recruited by Alpha Protocol, an organization of rogue agents who operate outside the proper government channels and use whatever tactics they can to ensure global stability while furthering American interests. Mike’s inaugural mission takes him to Saudi Arabia in search of missing experimental missiles, one of which was used to knock down a civilian airliner. It’s up to Thornton to unravel a conspiracy involving terrorist groups, politicians, and the worlds largest weapons manufacturer, and with a mole inside the organization, he must trust no one in his search for the truth.

The Evidence:
I’m not sure what exactly it is that plagues Obsidian Entertainment. Born from the ashes of Black Isle, a name whispered with reverence amongst old school PC role-players, their output would never suggest they were responsible for legendary titles like Fallout 2, Icewind Dale, and Planescape: Torment. They’ve spent the majority of their time clinging to the coattails of Canadian RPG powerhouse, Bioware. Hitting first with a sequel to Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic, which saw its final act completely and savagely gutted to make a Christmas release date. They followed that up with an ambitious sequel to Neverwinter Nights, which arrived a technical mess, and still remains barely playable on cutting edge hardware. Whatever circumstances surrounded these noble misfires, be it Lucasarts’ aggressive development schedule, or Atari’s floundering fortunes, the guys at Obsidian seem unable to catch a break, unable to flex their ample muscles to the fullest. Perhaps with Alpha Protocol, their first attempt at a new IP, with Sega at the publishing reigns, their prospects could change?

No, not really. I’m really starting to think that Obsidian either has serious product management issues, or is otherwise under some unbreakable voodoo curse. Alpha Protocol comes out of the gate feeling like a collective of great ideas poured into a mold, and then cracked open before the clay has had the time to dry. The game, as a whole, feels raw and unfinished, like the developers reached the stage of development where a game is considered “feature complete” and then proceeded to dump the code to a gold master without any bug-squashing or quality assurance testing whatsoever. The game is hardly what I would call terrible, but for every idea that works, there’s an idea that is heavily compromised.

"Just call me Fisher!"

The gameplay, in a nutshell, is Mass Effect in a new skin. Built on the same engine, it’s as though Obsidian got their hands on the source code for Bioware’s Sci-fi RPG epic and replaced all of the art assets. Many of the faults that people addressed in that 2007 megahit are present here as well, and are considerably less forgivable almost three years on. The biggest bone of contention is no doubt the RPG-derived shooting mechanics, which rewards a bumped up weapon skill rather than a steady aim when it comes to landing headshots. Your targeting reticule could sit on some poor bastard’s forehead, only for the shot to whiz past him by several meters if your dice roll comes up “1”. For an international super-spy, Michael Thornton shoots more like an Imperial Stormtrooper.

Some will be able to rise above the crappy shooting, particularly those who stick with Assault rifles and pump their skills accordingly, but others will be immensely frustrated by their inability to hit a target, and pistol fans (like myself) will be tearing hair out in frustration as their silent killer is about as useful as a fart in a warm breeze. Hell, every weapon in the game outside of assault rifles is a useless effort. Shotguns are crippled by the fact that you have to be right next to a target, which makes it impossible to aim, and the sub-machine guns (which are duel-wielded for some unexplained reason) look stupid, and just spew forth a wall of lead that very slowly chips away at the health of even the lowliest of terrorist underlings. Sniper rifles pop up on occasion, but are usually a stationary affair that precludes you finding a lofty sniper perch and ventilating skulls. Once or twice I came upon a stationary sniper rifle only to find that I had no bitches to pwn.

Alpha Protocol doesn’t always rely on gunfights, thankfully. There are other alternatives, typically the stealth approach. Sadly, the stealth mechanics are about as weak as the gun fighting. Enemies seem to randomly be able to detect you on a whim (probably a result of comparing numbers under the hood like a bad guy’s perception vs. your stealth). Different body armour and load outs can make you a little tougher to detect, and if you can get close enough, there’s a neat option that allows you to either silently take down a baddie or otherwise knife his larynx out. Sounds great on paper, yes? Unfortunately, your silent take downs may randomly alert some dude in the adjacent room, separated by 10 inches of concrete, while dudes in the same room, mere meters away, remain oblivious to your presence, even while looking in your general direction.

What if Rambo were a Bond girl?

Yes, Alpha Protocol’s artificial intelligence is wretched. Whether you’re up against Arabic terrorists, CIA field agents, SWAT teams, private military bad-asses or fellow covert agents, they all follow the same set of arbitrary instructions: Run in circles, shoot, and die. Occasionally they dive behind cover, but it’s a pre-canned routine, they’d do the same thing if you were standing right behind them. Enemy awareness is busted, it’s as though everyone is wearing blinders and listening to Bell Biv DeVoe on their iPods while waiting for the one guy in the vicinity who actually has some sense of purpose to find you and raise the alarm, or otherwise get shot in the face/stabbed in the larynx by a covert agent. It’s as though every character in the game is hooked to a switch that has two settings, “docile” and “aggressive”. It’s the kind of “sneak n shoot” gameplay we got in 1998 with Syphon Filter on Playstation One. When you do raise an alarm, and oh, you will, it seems like everyone is automatically locked onto your location, and they come running like bees to honey. This in and of itself isn’t much of a problem, on easy and normal settings, bad guys are target practice, if you play on the hardest difficulty, shots are fired at random from bad guys who may or may not be in the room with you, and they will end your life in unspectacular fashion. After that, your corpse may either bounce around unnaturally or pass through a wall, floor, ceiling, or randomly placed shrubbery.

No, the technical limitations do not end at lousy henchman AI. Alpha Protocol is chock full of stiff animation, and technical glitches that have people passing through walls, walking on air, and otherwise defying the laws of gravity, physics, and common sense. On several instances, my Assault rifle magically belched brass shell casings even when it wasn’t being fired. Even after my still corpse hit the earth, and I sat slowly waiting for the prompt to reload from the last checkpoint, those 7.65mm shell casings kept ejecting from my rifle as though I were still standing upright in full on “Rock N Roll” stance. It doesn’t help that these stray bullets also clip through Mike’s body while he’s stuck in a run animation.

From a presentation standpoint, we’re looking at a mixed bag for sure. Menus are bland and utilitarian; they get the job done, but only just. The interface is likewise rather dull; full of nondescript icons that don’t always give a fair representation of your abilities. The game’s art design is bland and uninspired, with a bunch of plain, boring looking enemies that either lack any manner of personality, or have borrowed their charm from some crappy spy movie. Honestly, the character designs range from yawn-inducing to absolutely ridiculous (The pink-haired Russian commando or the Emo-teen hitman complete with running mascara come to mind). Michael Thornton is about the most boring frontman i’ve seen, and the miniscule customization options you’re given don’t help him improve any, at all. Then there’s the texture pop in that never ceases to make its presence known when you decide to hit menus in order to switch up an outfit or alter facial features.

Respect the beard!

That’s right, this is an Unreal 3 powered game, and about the only sign that alludes to that fact is the texture pop-in that plagued pretty much every Unreal 3 version 1.0 title. Lighting is rudimentary, the framerate is sluggish, textures are basic if serviceable, and everything is built with a minimal amount of detail, making for some mighty clunky looking characters and objects. Alpha Protocol may as well have been built on Unreal 2 technology. No, it’s not quite ‘Xbox’ ugly, but it definitely looks more like something that might have graced the 360 or PS3 in their early launch days. There are a few isolated incidents where Alpha Protocol comes close to matching some of the lesser U3-powered games out there, and on one or two occasions i did notice some genuinely sweet looking environments and effects. The biggest problem is that the whole thing suffers from screen tearing like a stray dog suffers fleas. Any panning of the camera results in disorienting tears as the “v” struggles to “synch”. If anyone were to want for a sample of the screen tearing issue that’s become pretty prevalent in this generation, Alpha Protocol is the new poster boy. Overall, if Midway’s WWII shooter, Hour of Victory didn’t exist, Alpha Protocol would probably take the ‘ugliest game powered by Unreal 3 Technology’ trophy.

Rebuttal Witness:
After all of that rampant negativity, you might be surprised to learn that does manage to get a few things right at the core.

For one thing, the game’s touted ‘Dialogue Stance System’ really works well, and as advertised. Again, think of Mass effect, but replace general comments with attitudes or emotions. Depending on the subject you’re conversing with, you can choose to be suave, professional, hostile, or courteous, and each Non-player character in the game reacts differently based on the stances you choose. Some characters have zero tolerance for bullshit, while others appreciate a hostile, stand-offish tone. The relationships you build throughout the game also play off of each faction you run into, and characters within each faction; become too close to one character, and you may find another won’t give you the time of day. Many of these characters become handlers for future missions, and depending on who’s got your back, mission parameters, storyline, and outcomes can change. It gives the game a sense of fluidity, characters who serve a major role in one player’s game may be mere footnotes in another. There’s really a sense that here, more than ever, your choices as a player really do have an effect on the outcome.

"Don't you ever call me Gabe Logan again!"

There’s an economy at work as well, that allows you to access a black market arms merchants and information brokers. Weapons are highly customizable, and different modifications do allow for a slightly more entertaining time when the guns come out. The intel you buy opens up new avenues for progressing through some of the games tougher levels. You can acquire weapon drops while in the field, or get rid of some of the more heavily armed foes in a region. It all feels authentic and logical, and here, Alpha Protocol really does a fantastic job of getting you to think like a spy. The espionage angle is taken that much further with a detailed e-mail and dossier system that gives you all sorts of tools and info. You can e-mail contacts (using the same stance system you use in conversations) and gather intel on factions and individuals that provides insight on how to deal with people when you run into them in the future.

When the game trades action for espionage, it actually succeeds rather brilliantly. There’s a significant amount of difficult choices, dialogue sequences, and safehouse shenanigans present in the game to really help take the sting out of the crummy action bits, and based on how you go about things, you may have less and less action to deal with. Play more like a spy, and less like Master Chief, and you’ll have a much better time with the game.

Closing Comments: There were many rumours circling around Alpha Protocol before its release, not the least of which was that Sega pulled support from Obsidian and basically put the brakes on development. Then they promptly delayed the ‘finished’ game for six months (possibly out of fear of Modern Warfare 2). None of it really makes a lot of sense, as given a bit more time in the oven, Alpha Protocol could have been a legitimate contender. As it stands, I want to love this game a hell of a lot more than i actually do, and I have no doubt that I won’t be alone. If you’re what one might call a hardcore RPG player and you’re looking for something a little a little off the beaten path, you may enjoy this trip through the world of international espionage.  However, it will almost certainly test the limits of your patience with some insufferably frustrating combat.

The Verdict:

Platform: Microsoft Xbox360, Sony Playstation 3, Windows PC(Playstation 3 version reviewed)
Developer: Obsidian Entertainment
Publisher: Sega
Release Date: June 1st, 2010
Rated: M(17+) for Mature

For racing game fans, getting a digital fix comes in three flavours.  Hardcore simulation; along the lines of Gran Turismo or Forza Motorsport , Arcade racers such as Burnout; with faster paces and much looser physics, and Kart racers; which deal out Mascot characters, and crazy course layouts. While at heart Split/Second, the newest racer from Black Rock Studios; the developers of last year’s phenomenal Pure, is very much of the arcade variety, it possesses qualities which blur the lines that separate it from the other two.

Last place is nothing a well-timed cargo container drop can't fix

Split/Second is a title seeming designed to elicit as many hoots and hollers out of an average gamer as humanly possible.  It is lovingly engineered with the ability to make us lean forward, out of our seats, our bodies synchronized with the controller, leaning and swaying like we’re in the midst of a fever dream.  The entire game is accoutered with the type of mad-cap explosive pandemonium that would seem more fitting a car chase in a Jerry Bruckheimer production.  It features all the accoutrements of a successful arcade racer; ludicrous speed, heavy emphasis on drifting, and all-around aggressive driving.  However, the game-changing arsenal of power-plays, and slightly more realistic physics than one would assume for a title this filled with pyrotechnics set Split/Second apart from the competition.

"I wonder if the diner has cherry pie?"

Drifting around turns, riding an opponent’s draft, and taking jumps fills a three-level power bar on an ingeniously designed in-game HUD .  This time however, the power isn’t used for a nitrous speed boost, rather to detonate one of the multitudes of explosive set pieces which populate the track.  One segment of the bar can be sacrificed for a low-level effect such as a parked vehicle exploding, or a section of overpass dropping onto the track.  Or, if players are feeling especially destructive, the full bar can be flung upon the altar for a much more potent effect.  These category 3 power-plays offer up spectacular visuals with vastly course-altering results.  It’s never anything short of cataclysmic, and it always leavers racers scrambling at the wheel, struggling to swerve around the likes of a collapsing building, capsizing aircraft carrier, or even an incoming plane.  Detours will become available, taking racers across rooftops, through the exposed guts of a toppled office building or blasting underneath a series of dropping freight containers.  Learning how to time these attacks, as well as how to survive being on the receiving end (and unlike the majority of Kart racers, there is always a way out in Split/Second, all it takes is skill) is a big part of the game play.  And while the cars don’t feel quite as slippery as those from the Burnout franchise, drifting is as easy as tapping the brake and releasing the gas for a hair; allowing gamers of any skill level enjoy the buttery smooth racing action.  The point I’m trying to make here, is that Split/Second is literally a thrill for every second of playtime.

Five cars! That's like Tyrannosaurus Wrecks!!

The play modes available are pretty much standard fare ranging from straight up 8-car races to an elimination race that explodes the last-place car at regular intervals to a ferocious, vengeful attack helicopter that dogs racers in two separate modes, bombarding the track with volleys of lethal rocket fire that increase in size and frequency as the race wears on.  Besides all this, there are a couple of real standouts that are expeditiously proving to be as much fun as the crash mode in 2003’s ‘Burnout 3’ that claimed countless hours of mine and my wife’s lives.  First up is the manic Detonator event, which challenges a single racer to beat a time trial, all while every threat on the track automatically goes off as soon as the car enters its proximity.  Next at bat is the endlessly entertaining Survival mode.  Imagine racing down an aqua duct, dodging a pack of wild “hunting dog” cars all while a malicious big rig fishtails about in front of you, raining explosive barrels onto the road in a murderous attempt to derail you.  Points are awarded for each truck that is overtaken.  This is a galvanizing moment in a game that bucks trend and is much more fun than it has any right to be.  What’s even better is the fact that all these modes are available to play online.  Though competitive gamers may want to burn through the single player campaign, as the only cars available are whatever has been unlocked through game completion.  Keen (or pathetic) action junkies will note the three major car manufacturers in Split/Second (Ryback, Cobretti, and Hanzo) take their names from action movie protagonists.

It also doesn't hurt that the game is retina bleeding gorgeous

The cake topper for Split/Second is the absolutely drool-worthy presentation.  The drop-dead gorgeous environment and explosions fill the screen with life.  What the cars themselves lack in crazy detail is offset by its simply stunning sense of scale and massive appetite for destruction.  Since purchasing my big screen TV back in March, I’ve searched for a game to blow my mind with this level of kinetic beauty.  Sunsets rain down awesome lighting effects without ever blinding the gamer’s vision; building collapse and fall apart in blizzards of particle effects and brilliant fireballs.  Mud and rubble is kicked toward the screen everytime a car makes a narrow escape.

The soundtrack was meant to be roared through a nice surround sound set-up and never fails to impress, as it features the best music to not make it into the car chase scenes in the last two James Bond movies.   Be it the Action film score, or the lively sound effects.  Split/Second wows in just about every aspect.

Rebuttal Witness:

Despite being an absolute must-play for racing fans, regretfully Split/Second is over far too quickly.  There are a total of 20 different vehicles, and 11 tracks to race them all, making the game feel a little stunted once the initial “Ohmygodthisisawesome!” effect has worn off.   The final couple episodes in particular feel less thrilling than the rest of the game, as everything has already been unveiled, and the only change is a ramp in difficulty.  It’s a little deflating when Split?Second explodes out the front gate at a break-neck pace, and stumbles in the final lap.

The game’s concept, that of an impossibly budgeted reality TV show in which case an entire city has been emptied for the sole purpose of blowing up during these races is jocular, but with it only being mentioned in the game’s menus, the brief mention at the start and end of each episode and optional instant replays of crashes, it’s not examined in near enough depth to really make a difference.  Perhaps some commentary would help with the immersion a little.

Imagine Mike Goldberg doing play-by-play on a building collapsing

Closing Statement:

Split/Second is an amazingly gratifying video game escapade, albeit one that starts to lose its lustre once the tracks and cars have all been uncovered.  Hopefully this instalment will prove entertaining enough that another season of Split/Second will bring the goods and ambition to match the games potential to be an exciting new franchise.  If the films of Michael Bay had a tryst with a copy of Burnout 3, this would be the awesome that they spawned.

The Verdict:

Platform: PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, PC (PS3 version reviewed)

Developer: Black Rock Studios

Publisher: Disney Interactive Studios

Release Date: May 18th, 2010

Rated: E 10+ for Everyone 10 and Up.

The Charge

In case you wanted yet another gem-breaking puzzle game.

The Case

Puzzle Chronicles is an RPG/puzzle hybrid game that combines some light skill progression and even lighter character customization with fairly engaging gem-breaking puzzle gameplay.

Players begin by creating a character, naming him or her and jumping into a boilerplate fantasy world that is seemingly built around the concept of finding randomly strewn-about artifacts and keys to open up new stages that contain even more randomly strewn-about artifacts and keys.

In short, it’s like any role-playing game! (RIMSHOT) Actually, there’s not much of a story going here, just your standard-issue Save the Kingdom scenario. It won’t win any writing awards, but the narrative is suitable enough to tie the puzzling and item-hunting together.

Not that the storyline is the big selling point for Puzzle Chronicles, of course. Nope, this is more about the Puzzle and less about the Chronicles and the good news is that the focal gameplay component is worthwhile enough to keep the game afloat. In the interest of full disclosure I’ll say that I’m not a big puzzle guy, having played my fill of Meteos on the DS and that goofy Mortal Kombat puzzler from Armageddon way back when. Noob that I am, I still found Puzzle Chronicles mechanics amusing.

Like most puzzle games, it’s all about strategically stacking jewels and clearing them out. There are basic colored jewels, detonator jewels, and special “attack” jewels, which, when broken, push the game board divider closer to the opponent, giving him less space to work with. Each enoucnter has your character on one side and the bad guy on the other. First one to run out of space and get stacked up, loses. Presuming you come out the victor, that means gold and XP, which you can use to advance stats and purchase special abilities that can be used in game (e.g., modifiers on the jewels).

The puzzle department is certainly crowded on XBLA/PSN/PSP/DS and hard core players may find themselves swamped as it is with the offerings, but I enjoyed Puzzle Chronicles. It has a nice feel, attractive graphics, a deep puzzle mechanic and enough stats to keep players juking.
The Verdict

Not Guilty

The Charge:
In darkness, fight with light.

Opening Statement:
It’s been near a full 7 years since Max Payne last graced us with his presence in 2003. Remedy have finally returned, bringing with them a new protagonist in Alan Wake. Trading rain soaked New York streets for fog enshrouded pines, and two-fisting colt 45’s for heavy duty Maglites and road flares, does Wake live up to Payne’s pedigree?

Facts of the Case:
Alan Wake is a writer. He’s had several hit novels, and is generally a well regarded Stephen King-like figure. Unfortunately Alan is suffering from some severe writer’s block, and his public image is less than perfect. Alice, Alan’s wife, takes him to the sleepy little Midwestern town of Bright Falls, her plan is to get Alan’s creative synapses firing again. Unfortunately for Alan, Alice has disappeared, he’s missing a week, there’s an FBI agent in hot pursuit, and he’s awakened behind the wheel of their crashed vehicle with one hell of a nasty bump on his noggin. On top of that, he’s finding pages from a manuscript he supposedly wrote, and the weirdness on the page has a way of bleeding into reality. It only gets stranger from there.

"I wonder if the diner has Cherry Pie?"

The Evidence:
Hype is, without a doubt, the most double edged of swords in the video game industry. All too often, games with years of pent up fanboy hype explode onto the scene and vanish in a whirlwind of nerdrage and biting negative critiques. When something is trumpeted as the next big thing, and arrives as anything but, hype can kill an otherwise solid (or even excellent) game and turn it into a social and critical pariah. Alan Wake arrives at the tail end of a hype train that has long since left the station, perhaps a little too long after to completely capitalize financially, and perhaps it’s for the better. Y’see, Alan Wake is not the mainstream blockbuster that Microsoft’s E3 press conferences from the last few years would have you believe.

First and foremost, unlike many of its peers, Alan Wake endeavours to tell a good story, and for the most part it succeeds. The twisted tale is one part Stephen King, and one part Twin Peaks. Wake narrates our tale, and his dialogue is superbly written stuff. You can tell that the guys at Remedy put a lot of focus on telling their tale, and outside of one or two side roads that serve more as distraction or padding (damn kidnapper subplot), everything remains pretty effective throughout. Sure, some of the notes the plot hits are predictable to those who’re familiar with the game’s inspirations, but everything is handled with finesse.

Alan Wake pours on the style with its TV series style presentation. Each level is treated as an episode, complete with series recaps and title and closing sequences. Each episode ends on a great sort of reveal or cliffhanger that drives you forward into the next chapter, and there are some great music choices capping each episode. The menus are simple but elegant, and the games HUD doesn’t eat much screen real estate, and works well.

"Welcome... to... Silent Hill? Who put that sign there?"

With all the talk of narrative, you might be forgiven for thinking Alan Wake is a slow moving title, geared around exploration and fear, but in truth, at its core, it really is built on an action game framework, and the action is every bit as tight as the storytelling, save for a handful of driving sequences that aren’t completely terrible, but don’t serve much purpose. The majority of the game finds you alone in moody forests, with a flashlight in one hand and a weapon, be it a revolver, shotgun, or a hunting rifle in the other. The game’s enemies are impervious to harm until you use whatever light sources are at your disposal to burn the dark murky shadows away from their shifting forms. Action will usually consist of flashlight torching using the left trigger, followed by frantic trigger pulls with the right. It’s really a pretty brilliant mechanic, made all that much more brilliant with the use of road flares (which you can carry around with you to repel the baddies, or drop on the ground at your feet to create a temporary safe zone), and flare guns (which are about as effective as any rocket launcher). When more than two or three of the possessed locals comes out of the treeline, things will get quite intense. Ammo, while fairly common, is also not something you want to waste, as I’ve found myself running for my damn life on more than one occasion with not a bullet to be had and crazy axe wielding maniacs on my arse. Speaking of these axe-wielding maniacs, they are a potent crew, capable of making short work of you, and oftentimes they have a knack for popping up right behind you. To say that the action is intense is an understatement. It is white-knuckle, chest-pain inducing suspense that will leave you sweaty and swearing. The fact that there’s a lot of it also means you may want to keep some pills, or a defibrillator handy.

The mechanics of using light as a weapon is at the very core of Alan Wake, and the lighting effects in this game are easily it’s biggest star. I’ve never seen lighting this good, from the beam cast by your flashlight (which also cleverly serves as your crosshairs) to the eerie porch lights of nearby buildings shining ominously through fog enshrouded trees. The shadow effects match up perfectly, with deep pools of black that respond amazingly realistically to the light sources. Combining the amazing light and shadows with some incredible environmental animation, and Wake definitely makes for a damn beautiful first impression. It is a gorgeous looking game (with some issues – see below) that creates a wonderful feeling of dread. The first time the wind comes up, and you see shadows cast by clouds moving rapidly over the forest floor, while pines sway and swing in amazingly realistic fashion, lets just say you may want to stay out of the woods after dark for a while. Sound is up to the challenge as well, with some great voice acting, ominous noises, and excellent music. I tend to find myself cranking the volume a bit when I’m playing this one.

"This tweed jacket sure does fit the country aesthetic!"

One final note about the Collector’s Edition: More often than not, Collector’s Editions are full of superfluous fluff and knick-knacks that serve no real purpose other than taking up space. Alan Wake, on the other hand, is a gorgeous package that fits the game enclosed very well. The outer packaging is a faux hardcover novel that contains the customary soundtrack CD and making of DVD, both of which are welcome and well made extras, but the real gem is a hardcover book called “The Alan Wake Files”, which is a collection of evidence gathered by FBI Agent Nightingale regarding the Alan Wake case. There are some interviews with the residents of Bright Falls, some background info on Wake, and even some samples of his fiction (including the first short story he ever had published). It’s a great, sharp looking collection of goodies that’s both well thought out and well executed. If you have the extra cash, i strongly recommend ignoring the bare bones version of the game and splurging for the Limited collector’s edition, even if it’s something you wouldn’t normally do.

A look at the (awesome) collector's edition

Rebuttal Witness:
There are some issues, albeit minor ones lurking beneath the hood of Alan Wake. While the lighting and environments are incredible things to behold, character animation, both in game and in cut scene, is definitely substandard. Facial features are cold and robot-like, and lip synch is pretty much terrible throughout. If the game had been released in 2006, this probably wouldn’t be an issue, but after amazingly life-like characters have made appearances on both consoles in the last few years, it does leave the game’s cast as looking a little Alone in the Dark-like. Stiff hand gestures and floaty movement definitely take one out of the game, but the game’s strong atmosphere and excellent writing often compensates.

"Forget Maine... next year i'm going to Oregon!"

Beyond that, once you hit the later episodes, a certain sense of “haven’t we been here before” starts to set in. The action scenes begin to all run together, and while the story continues to ramp up, and definitely works a narrative propellant for the player. You’ll essentially be looking at the same collection of spooky lighting, clouds, and wind blown pines. It seems like nit-picky stuff for sure, but maybe a 9-10 hour experience with a little less trudging in the first half might have played out a little better than a 12-15 hour trudge through the same mossy forest trails.

In truth, while these may sound like serious flaws on paper, they are hiccups at worst, tiny little potholes on an otherwise scenic road trip through heebie-jeebie town, USA.

Closing Comments:
It’s been far too long since a game really and truly gripped me with fear. Alan Wake does so, and does it effortlessly. It’s not often that a half a decade of hype results in a satisfying conclusion for gamers, but thanks to some fantastic technical merits and wonderful writing, Alan Wake shatters expectations. It not only soundly thumps all previous efforts (Max who?) from Remedy, but it carves a large chunk out of the ‘horror niche’ for itself, earning a seat of honour above peers that have long since fallen into mediocrity or obscurity. I’ll remember this one come December, when everyone starts kicking around top 10 lists.

The Verdict:

Platform: Microsoft Xbox360
Developer: Remedy
Publisher: Microsoft
Release Date: May 18th, 2010
Rated: T (13+) for Teen

The Charge:
Defining Online Warfare!

Opening Statement:
The world of Military shooters has always been a tumultuous one. Excursions into World War II have always butted heads with the latest and greatest techno shooters and Tom Clancy terror thrillers. Somewhere along the timeline, the mainstream WWII shooter converged with the modern man of action, and one franchise rose above the ranks to seize the crown. Hardly content to take their ‘distant second’ ribbon and wallow in complacency, EA and Dice have fired the opening salvo in the quickly building war against Modern Warfare 2.

"Are we shootin people today?"

Facts of the Case:
‘B’ Company has had a reversal of fortune as it were. After the events of the original Battlefield: Bad Company, the group of throwaway misfits has earned themselves a rep as a squad that can get things done. When a rogue Russian general with some past history with the company gets his hands on a powerful weapon left over from World War II, it’s up to ‘Bad’ Company to defuse the situation before the Russkies kick off World War III.

That’s only a part of the Battlefield: Bad Company 2 package. Take the game online and prepare yourself for an intense 24 player experience that pits East against West in intense firefights all over the globe. Squad based combat allows for an unparalleled level of teamwork in several different game modes, complete with Battlefield’s signature air and land based vehicles and intense back and forth infantry fighting.

"Activision Executives flee as disgruntled developers blow the crap out of Infinity Ward HQ"

The Evidence:
The main draw for many will probably be Bad Company 2’s extensive multiplayer mode, and draw you in it most certainly will. Maps are determined by gametype, and consist of everything from tightly packed areas, perfect for some team and squad deathmatch to the sprawling landscapes that lend themselves to awesomely paced Rush and Conquest modes. Conquest is the good ole fashioned point control stalwart that has entertained Battlefield players since 1942 (not literally!) and rush mode splits players into attackers and defenders, where attackers attempt to destroy frontline bases by blowing up two of the defenders N-COM stations, while defenders kill the hell out of the attackers until their reinforcement pool drops to zero.

"We cool.. We Bad-asses. Blah blah blah blah blah..."

DICE’s frostbite engine has proven to have the horsepower to push some high quality visuals on games like Mirror’s Edge, the original Battlefield: Bad Company and the download-only Battlefield 1943, and Bad Company 2 follows suit with visual panache and rock solid framerate. Whether looking at stunning vistas in the single player or watching buildings crumble while dust particles swirl and tanks shudder realistically in multiplayer, the game remains a visual standout. Explosions look fantastic, buildings collapse in convincing fashion, lighting is great, and character animation is tight all around. The multiplayer holds up its end as well, and never falters. There is a bit of weirdness going on with the shadows, but it doesn’t detract from the overall experience. This is a great looking shooter.

As good as the visuals are; it’s the sound that really shines. This game features the best sound design I’ve ever heard in a shooter, hands down. Gunfire booms across the soundstage with gusto, and echoes in the rear soundfield realistically. These echoes and reverbs change based on your environment, whether you happen to be indoors or out, and explosions are deafening. If you have a home theatre, play this sucker loud! The music is of the generic “military-thriller” variety, but it does the job well enough, and the voice acting is as good as it gets without throwing random Hollywood talent into the mix.

I guess the real question is; Can Bad Company 2 and Modern Warfare 2 peacefully coexist in someone’s video game collection? Sure, I guess they could, but where’s the fun in that?

Rebuttal Witness:
Battlefield: Bad Company 2, much like Modern Warfare 2, is a brief single player game. The campaign lasts slightly longer, clocking in at an average 6 hours or so. While there is definitely variety, and more than a few awesome scenarios, malaise does occasionally rear its head. There’s not really anything new here, but what’s here is presented well and feels great, even if the level of chaos and anarchy never quite reaches the heights established by the last few Call of Duty titles. Nothing in the single player campaign approaches the very best moments of its Infinity Ward and Treyarch developed competitors, but taken as a whole, the experience tends to be more entertaining, and suffers less from the lows. While there’s nothing as awesome as ‘Snowblind’ in here, there’s nothing as lame as defending a Burger Town from the entire Russian Army either. Graphically there are moments of sheer beauty that rival the very best that military shooters have to offer, including the awesome intro stage set during the Pacific campaign of World War II, or the downriver trek in the jungles of Central America, and a stunner of a final level that I won’t spoil here.

It’s really a more uniform experience, and while many may miss the sheer spectacle of Modern Warfare or Modern Warfare 2, the more controlled chaos and level headed approach definitely makes for a more enjoyable experience, if not a more memorable one.

"Take from them nothing... give to them... wait... that ain't right... let me start over."

Closing Comments:
It’s hard to talk about Battlefield: Bad Company 2 without comparing it to Modern Warfare 2, it’s fiercest competitor, and I don’t think the guys at DICE and EA would have it any other way. The end result really depends on how you like to play, and in truth, there is no clean cut victor in this modern combat deathmatch. That said, my own tastes give Bad Company 2 the edge, be it ever so slight.

The Verdict:

Platform: Sony Playstation 3/Microsoft Xbox360/Windows PC
Developer: DICE
Publisher: EA Games
Release Date: March 2nd, 2010
Rated: M (17+) for Mature

Opening Statement:

Playing Cave Story (Dōkutsu Monogatari for you hopeless purists out there) on the Wii will most likely conjure up strong feelings of nostalgia within gamers who were around in the 8-bit era.  It’s like discovering a great NES title for the first time, or stumbling across a slice of fried gold long since missed.  The only difference being that Cave Story is no retro throwback title, it’s not a series relaunch, or a cheap cash-in on the success of Mega Man 9 or Dark Void Zero.  Cave Story, if you must know, was doing the old school thing before old school was even in vogue.  This game is a labour of love, crafted by a single gamer back in 2004.  It enjoyed cult success as a freeware PC title, but does that mean it’s not worth forking over 12 bucks to play it as an actual console title?  That’s a question for Will Smith.

Awww Helllllll NAW!

Facts of the Case:

Cave Story is the tale of a long forgotten robot, a race of rabbit-like creatures, a mad scientist and evil witch seeking to enslave the world, and a loveable toaster named Balrog who has a penchant for making Kool-Aid Man styled entrances.  If you’re not already sold on the toaster, it’s also only twelve bucks.

If this screenshot doesn't charm the pants off of you, you're probably not wearing any pants.

The Evidence:

Why would any gamer in a lucid state of mind pay even a miniscule amount of money for a game that has been available free for six years?  It’s not as if developer Pixel (the charming pseudonym of Daisuke Amaya) and the port team at Nicalis have completely rebuilt the game from the ground up, fine-tuning the presentation with slightly updated visuals and a completely reworked soundtrack.  It’s not like they’ve thrown in new difficulty levels, or a challenging boss rush mode, or a brain-tickling time-attack that pits gamers not only against the clock, but also against a maze of truly insidious design.  Hell, at the very least they could’ve given gamers the ability to play through the game as the protagonist’s spunky love interest.  Not to mention the complete failing at not only offering up all this new goodness alongside a pixel-perfect translation of the original title, with its three different endings and hours of fun game play completely untouched.  Gamers who have played through it before also share the knowledge of a great side-quest that ramps up the difficulty if they should choose to resist picking up a powerful weapon, only to face a devious stage underpowered for the promise of a greater reward.  The sort of whispered game secret we used to gleefully talk about at recess.

This is oddly what my dreams look like.

Cave Story feels and plays like an ode to older titles like the Metroid franchise, or the long-forgotten NES gem, Blaster Master.  The entire game is spent spelunking around treacherous subterranean caves, participating in a metric ton of precarious platforming.  It plays exactly as it should, feeling like a delightful romp through an era long since past.  Weapons are upgraded through a scaling experience system that dances a fine line between awesome and cruel, ramping up in power as glittering gold triangles are picked up from fallen foes, but losing its bite if the player takes too much damage.  The weapons are all a blast (props for the Macross-nod on the cluster missiles and the use of the heavy machine gun’s recoil for boosts), and the jet-pack is the most fun I’ve had platforming since King Arthur first learned to double jump on his SNES debut.

He fights and he smites with repulsor rays!

Rebuttal Witness:

If there is a single complaint to be had with Cave Story, it would be the fact that gamers have been able to enjoy it for free since 2004.  Sad fact is, most of the hardcore gaming set (the target audience of titles such as this) aren’t stricken with much disposable income, and therefore plan long and hard about what games they are willing to spend their hard-earned cash on.  Regrettably, that sometimes means developers like Pixel go long unrewarded for crafting labours of love like Cave Story.  Pickier players may very well find Cave Story a little too linear for an adventure title.  The level design lacks the complexity of a Metroid game, with the exploration coming in bite-sized chunks.  And the control at times takes a little getting used to, as the player character, Quote, possesses a very floaty jump mechanic, and follows the same momentum rules as Super Mario.   The controls are very tight, but unlike anything most modern gamers will be used to.  Oh, and there have been some reported instances of missing percussion tracks from the remixed soundtrack, but this is promised to be corrected in an upcoming patch.

Looks hectic? Just break out a little of that Mexican Judo.

Closing Statement:

Cave Story is a shining collection of kick-ass gaming memories that most of us have never experienced before.  The thrill of using the monstrous recoil of a fully-powered machine gun as a make-shift double jump is the type of moment that can bring a smile to even the most jaded gamer.  It’s as if the unsung best game of the early 90s was re-released two decades later, only not.   Pixel’s little indie game that could is a whimsical tale filled with endearing characters, some heart-wrenching twists, and the same sort of high octane, giggle with glee game play that is all too infrequent these days. It deserves a measure of success.  Tight controls, a fun retro vibe, and a level of polish that defies its meagre origins, this is one cave that begs to be explored.

Toasty!!

The Verdict:

Platform: WiiWare

Developer: Studio Pixel

Publisher: Nicalis

Release Date: March 22nd, 2010

Rated: E10+ for Everyone 10 and up.

The Charge:

Dual FX Engines!!  Parallel Hyperbit Interface!!

Opening Statement:

My lifelong affair with Capcom’s stalwart Mega Man franchise is by no means a well kept secret.  I’d go as far as to say it occupies the throne that is my favourite gaming franchise.  Since the heady times of its heyday, there have been close to 120 titles released that bear the Mega Man moniker, more than both the Street Fighter and Resident Evil franchises combined; and during my career in gaming, I’ve owned close to 40 of them personally.  That can mean only one thing, I’m totally the perfect candidate to review Mega Man 10, Capcom’s latest return to the series that built the foundations of their house.

This level has more to do with Windows 95 than Sheep.

Pikachu! I choose PAIN!

The Evidence:

Back in 2008, I positively gushed about the non-stop fun that was rampantly on display in Mega Man 9.  And while I still feel it was a glorious throwback to the 8-bit era of gaming, once my rose coloured glasses were back on the shelf, I noted several elements that could have been improved upon.  There was a collection of little nitpicks that began to taint my feelings towards MM9.  Thankfully, Mega Man 10 addresses most of these issues, and while it lacks the advantage of being the Blue Bomber’s big return engagement, in my opinion at least, it is a much more solid title.

He's even turned Frosty against us, DAMN YOU WILY!!

The presentation of MM10; tricky to pin down as I’m sure many of us gamers cannot appreciate the art of recreating the original Nintendo Entertainment System’s 24 out of 48 displayable colours and rather limited but distinct sound chip.  Developer Inti Creates, now Mega Man veterans with 7 of the more acclaimed titles since 2002; has finally succeeded in replicating Capcom’s signature look and feel.  While MM9 certainly was a bright spot in the franchises spotty history during the last decade, there were a lot of recycled sprites and level designs, and a couple of the bosses looked like pixel diarrhoea rather than game characters (I’m looking at you, Plug Man).  It was exactly what we all wanted at the time, a throwback to 1988’s Mega Man 2 (considered by most to be the original series’ pinnacle).  MM10, marks Inti Creates third attempt with the old 8-bit series style (following a bonus level in the DS release, Mega Man ZX Advent, and MM9), and their first complete success.  Here they’ve created imaginative boss and enemy sprites (try not to giggle when Strike Man pounds his fist into his mitt before throwing a pitch), colourful and creative stages, and music that may lack the high energy tempo of its predecessor, but is filled with a much more robust and inventive sound.  Bleeps and bloops haven’t sounded this harmonious since 1993.  Don’t believe me?  Try to resist whistling Solar Man’s theme music for the rest of the week.

Pictured: Not Solar Man's stage.

You want a closer inspection?  Unfortunately, with a title such as ‘MM10’, the only way to truly review is to compare with what came before.  Mega Man 10’s level design is insidiously clever, eschewing the greatest hits feel of the ninth entry in favour of new stage gimmicks and new raps, such as coloured platforms that begin to vanish once touched, taking all similarly coloured platforms (and any power ups littered around) with them.  There are stages where treadmills are used to power platforms, or make a seemingly indestructible mini-boss tangible and weak.  There’s a level where vicious sandstorms can either carry gamers into cruelly placed spike walls, or if they’re feeling foolhardily brave, carry them across the stage at high speed; but only if they can time those precarious jumps properly.  Each of the 8 bosses gives a weapon (franchise standard), and this time each and every weapon is useful, provide the player is creative enough to think around their limitations.  There’s an awesome spreading weapon, a high powered bomb which does nearly triple damage if enemies are caught in its blast radius rather than hit directly, even a wall climbing saw blade that can scale obstacles WITH the player.  I’m still amazed that Mega Man 10 has the first shield weapon which is meant to be used offensively.  There’s even a second playable character that brings the series later contributions like evasive slides and a charge shot to the table.  Plus an additional third player robot available for download in early April.

The man, the machine, Street Hawk!

The newly structured challenge mode, borrowing a great idea from the PSP only MM: Powered Up, offers gamers a collection of 100 short levels, each with a specific goal to accomplish, be it navigating an array of spiked tunnels, or simply destroying a collection of enemies.  Some challenges are even unlocked by playing through the game itself, bringing a great assortment of boss rushes into the mix.

Not that a boss rush mode would make you any tougher, Pump Man.

Rebuttal Witness:

12 levels?  One set of castle stages?  C’mon Capcom, we want more!  Inti Creates are clearly using MM2 as their blueprint to building a great 8-bit game, but I know a lot of gamers who would be happier if they’d broaden their vision just slightly and begin offering the game length of later titles in the series.

Closing Statement:

Mega Man 10 is everything a fan of the series could hope to ask for, especially for ten bucks.  Its one weakness is the fact that Inti Creates’ strict adherence to the game structure of Mega Man 2 stifles its scope, limiting the amount of levels once the first 8 have been vanquished.  That being said; the new challenge mode, and promised downloadable content are sure to keep Mega Maniacs like myself coming back, and the rather difficult game play should give today’s youth a great taste of what games were like in the days before respawning and tutorial levels.  This is pure game play on display, a potent formula that hasn’t needed to be changed in over two decades.  Now of you’ll excuse me, I’ve got a mad scientist to bring to justice.

The Verdict:

Platform: PSN, XBLA, WiiWare (Wii version reviewed)

Developer: Inti Creates

Publisher: Capcom

Release Date: March 1st, 2010 (Wii), March 11th, 2010 (PSN), March 31st, 2010 (XBLA)

Rated: E for Everyone.

The Charge:

Opening Statement:
The latest from French Developer Quantic Dream (Indigo Prophecy) has been hyped and heralded as a boon to the PS3’s growing library of top-drawer exclusives since it was first announced way back in 2006. Does this latest experiment in cinematic gameplay deliver an experience worthy of two thumbs up?

Facts of the Case:
In a terrorized city, the hunt for a missing child will lead four disparate people to ask the question: How far would you go to stop a killer? Heavy Rain puts you in the shoes of each of the four characters as they piece together clues and attempt to track down the latest target of The Origami Killer, a ruthless serial killer who abducts young boys and drowns them in rainwater, before he becomes another casualty.

The Evidence:
The first thing you need to know about Heavy Rain is that it is as far removed from your typical triple-A console selling exclusive as it gets. This is not Uncharted 2 or Gears of War. There is no cover mechanic or on rails vehicle segment, and there is no 16 or 24 player online deathmatch. There is no horde mode. What there is, is a totally riveting, near flawlessly executed blend of video game and movie that will appeal to casual players and anyone who enjoys a great single player experience.

The “interactive movie” moniker has been being kicked around since the golden age of the Cd-Rom, where horribly compressed live action video clips passed as vaguely interactive video games with point and click interfaces. The medium was all but dead and buried until Quantic Dream’s ambitious and well received experiment, The Indigo Prophecy (or Fahrenheit for those outside North America) hit the PC and last gen consoles in 2005. Heavy Rain represents the evolution of that concept.

The gameplay is simple enough; you move one of four characters around a 3D environment and interact with your surroundings using a series of on screen prompts, and the story unfolds over 7 or 8 hours. What makes the game so special is the level it immerses you into the action. You’re never passive in Heavy Rain. This isn’t Metal Gear Solid, where the story unfolds over mammoth cutscenes, and there’s not a single moment where the game lets you set the controller down and watch. On screen prompts pop up at a moment’s notice, you may have to hold a button or several buttons. You may repeatedly mash a few buttons or shake the controller (making great use of the seldom implemented sixaxis feature), or push analog sticks in various directions. Pretty much every button, knob or doo-dad on the controller is implemented in ingenious fashion, and while it may sound an awful lot like a game full of the dreaded “quick time event”, it never degenerates into random button slamming. Every prompt feels intuitive and logical, and a lot of thought went into making the actions of the player suit the action on screen. Even better is the complete lack of a ‘Game Over’ screen. You’re not required to hit every prompt or succeed in every scenario, but bad things can happen if you are too inclined to failure. The game never out and out halts or punishes you based on your skills though; the plot seamlessly steams along at full speed. It’s really an amazing thing to behold. The nature of the game’s progression makes it difficult to near impossible to put the controller down once you start in. Like watching a great movie, you just want to progress and see what happens next. It doesn’t help that the game doesn’t feel as though it’s broken into chapters or levels. Be prepared to marathon this sucker.

This sort of experiment would be all for naught if the storyline wasn’t interesting, and it’s here where Heavy Rain really triumphs. Much has been said in the past about games like Halo or Assassin’s Creed or especially Uncharted, and how their storylines could make for awesome cinema. In truth, these games are snippets of narrative stuck together with video game glue. Large chunks would have to be carved out, and narrative would have to be invented. Not so here. Heavy Rain bridges the gap between film and videogame like nothing else before it. The script is an incredibly well written and mature affair with a three-act structure that mirrors film, complete with dialogue and plot turns that don’t pander to a ‘gaming’ audience in any way, it’s one part Zodiac, one part Saw, and one part Seven with just a minor hint of Twin Peaks. Beyond that, the developers have seen fit to include multiple branching paths that allow for some incredible variety and some pretty stark differences depending on how you go about things throughout the game, including a multitude of different endings. The game quickly becomes a discussion piece when you run into others who’ve played it, talking about how drastically different your experiences were, just within my own social circle of five or six people, we all encountered different chains of events, and no two endings were identical.

On a technical level, Heavy Rain is a stunner in motion. The same level of motion and performance capture we’ve seen in games like Uncharted 2 is employed here to great effect. Environments look realistic and well planned out, even if textures occasionally appear a little flat, and the weather effects are fantastic at setting the gloomy mood of the game. Facial textures and facial animation are amazing and wonderfully emotive. The voice acting pales a little by comparison, with a few foreign actors trying desperately to nail that American style movie accent, but the excellence of the writing more than compensates. The music, fully orchestrated and recorded at Abby Road Studios in London is phenomenal, and demands a dedicated soundtrack release.

Rebuttal Witness:
There’s no such thing as a perfect game, and Heavy Rain doesn’t break that particular mold. The biggest issue is undoubtedly the clunky control scheme. The tank-like movment and static camera angles occasionally recalls the classic Resident Evil titles, and on occasion you may find yourself constantly correcting your position in order to properly interact with the environment. In a traditional action-adventure game, this would be a fatal flaw, but Heavy Rain is anything but traditional, and while occasionally frustrating, I doubt the controls will diminish too much from your enjoyment of the title.

More serious are a handful of plot issues that pop up here and there. When there are so many puzzle pieces floating around in the air, you can probably expect a few to go missing, or fall into the wrong place, and as a result, you may encounter one or two plot holes and logic gaps as you go. One thing myself and the three or four others I talked to who finished the game had in common: One VERY LARGE plot hole hits as you careen into the third Act. I won’t get into details; suffice it to say you get a plot revelation and the game shifts characters, with the new character magically knowing the information you just gleaned. It was distracting, and a real stand out sore spot in a game that had otherwise been fantastically plotted up to that point. One or two other lapses in character logic do crop up in the final third, but they aren’t near as distracting.

Closing Comments:
Bottom line, Heavy Rain is not a game in the traditional sense, it is an interactive experience. The narrative is the closest to films that video gaming has ever come, and is riveting throughout. The game is a technical marvel, and in spite of some control misgivings that twitch gamers may take umbrage with, it is an accessible title that will appeal to hardcore and Mature casual gamers alike. Those people who bought their PS3’s to serve principally as Blu-Ray players; let’s just say your first game purchase has arrived. Heavy Rain is a game you NEED to play. It’s one of the very best games on this or any console in this generation, and in years to come it will be one of those games that is fondly remembered whenever the Playstation 3 comes up in conversation. It’s destined to be a classic!

The Verdict:

Platform: Sony Playstation 3
Developer: Quantic Dream
Publisher: Sony Computer Entertainment America
Release Date: February 23, 2010
Rated: M (17+) for Mature

The Charge:
Hunter. Survivor. Prey.

Opening Statement:
Everyone’s favorite extra-terrestrial Cuisinarts are back, and as per usual, mankind is caught in the middle. Can Rebellion, the studio behind the original PC classic, manage to get it right this time around?

Facts of the Case:
The Weyland-Yutani Corporation has found something beneath the surface of BG-386, a discovery so valuable that even Karl Bishop-Weyland (Lance Henriksen, of course!) has taken an active role in the excavation. When the planet side colony goes silent, the USS Marlow is dispatched on a search and rescue mission. The Marlow however isn’t the only ship in the stars above Freya’s Prospect; a group of Predators has made one hell of an explosive entrance. They’ve got some time to kill, and more than enough prey (of the soft meat and hard meat varieties) to keep them occupied.

"Let's ROCK!"

The Evidence:
It has been 10 long years since Rebellion graced PC-owners with the original Alien Versus Predator, 15 for those who remember the superlative 2D Atari Jaguar outing that one-upped the original Doom. In the interim, neither of Fox’s big creature franchises had much of a presence in the video game world worth talking about. Alien fans got a few shooters that ranged from passable to excrement, while Predator fans got a wretched 3D action adventure title, and both races would square off in an ill-conceived Real-Time-Strategy title before descending into crap portable and mobile phone game hell.

Rebellion has suffered a similar fate, their post AVP resume consisting of low rent ports and poorly received shooters and movie tie-ins, with only one or two notable exceptions like Namco’s Sniper Elite or the slightly better than average Rogue Trooper;. Their most recent offering was the abysmal Rogue Warrior, which currently stands with a whopping metacritic score of %27 (though in all fairness, that dud was handled by the recently shuttered ‘Core Design’ team). It’s pretty safe to say that, based on the pedigrees of the developer and franchises in question, that the odds would be pretty stacked against Alien Versus Predator.

The first thing the devs did right was follow their own game. AvP features three disparate campaigns, one each for Human, Predator, and Alien, and each campaign’s narrative interweaves into the other, making for a decent, well-told plot that fits soundly into the Aliens universe. The lion’s share of the exposition comes from the Human side, and I recommend that that one should be your first stop, while the ET campaigns give you alternate perspectives and provide a little fleshing out of events. To be frank, AvP could have included the Human campaign as it is and it still would have been one hell of an exceptional, if brief shooter. Every minute of the action is perforated with a sense of impending doom and tension that feels directly ripped from James Cameron’s Aliens. The derelict colony of Freya’s Prospect feels lived in and logical, and your trip through darkened corridors and dank tunnels eventually leads to a sparse jungle and some varying terrain that feels fresh. While the shooting mechanics do lack some of the core features that have been present for the last decade or so, like aiming down sights and crouching, the gunplay never feels old or stymied as a result. There’s a degree of melee combat included as well, it’s a last ditch effort as a Marine, a brutal alternative as the Predator, and your only option as an Alien, but it always feels solid.

As a human, the gameplay is essentially linear progression with some light backtracking. The model most closely resembles Bioshock, though there’s considerably more focus on intensity. Also borrowed from Bioshock (or maybe even Doom 3) are audio logs that are found scattered throughout the environments that help to further shine a light on the chain of events that occurred before you set foot in the formerly bustling colony.

The Predators are here to protect an ancient artifact that the humans have inadvertently uncovered. You play a rookie on his first hunt, and you’ll have to contend with an army of space marines and aliens alike, all swarming around your sacred grounds with little care or concern. Going toe to toe with the marines is out of the question, but taking the high ground and picking them off one by one is a ton of fun, particularly when you have all of the Predator’s wonderful gadgets reproduced brilliantly. When the dual wrist blades come unsheathed, however, know that the predator’s melee game is the strongest of the trio. Things are going to die horribly.

Then there’s the Alien campaign. Running around as one of these suckers is extremely fast paced, and the lack of any real long range strikes turns the Alien game into an up close stealth kill and retreat scenario that contrasts very sharply with the Marine’s nonstop struggle for survival and the Predator’s mix of stealth and brutality. As an Alien, every surface is your plaything, and when your skitting down narrow corridors at blinding speeds whilst scaling walls and ceilings, everything clicks, and at times, the goings on resemble the first person camera sequences in Alien 3. You play as 6, a captive chestburster with a clever mind, raised to adulthood under the watchful eye of human masters. When the opportunity to escape is given, you take it. The rest becomes a mix of chase and avoid gameplay that is pretty fresh feeling, and almost, dare I say it, evokes memories of the stealth missions in Batman: Arkham Asylum.

As good as AvP’s gameplay is, it’s backed up by some great, though hardly cutting edge visuals. The levels range from grimy and industrial to ancient ruins and, of course, the Alien hives, and all look great. The “lived in” look of the settlement of Freya’s Prospect, with windblown sandy streets and dank, wrecked interiors all feel great, look great and really capture the vibe of the Aliens future. The environments are complemented with awesome lighting effects that really add to mood and the tension of the gameplay. Pools of pitch blackness are everywhere, and oftentimes the marine’s piddly little flashlight is his best friend. The character models and animations, particularly where the Preds and Xenos are concerned, are fantastic stuff, and look great both in still frame and in motion. The marines come off a little chunky around the face, but their weaponry and gear is replicated near perfectly from Cameron’s Aliens. Last but not least, the juicy bits of gore that permeate the Alien and Predator stealth kills are extremely visceral and satisfying.

The sound design is also fantastic, with impeccable use of the 5.1 soundfield (DTS on the PS3). The sound design in these films is ported over flawlessly, from the machine like patter of the marine’s pulse rifle to the Predator’s auditory snikts and swooshes. The Aliens also hiss and roar just as they have on screen for the last 2 decades. Every element of the awesome sound serves to engross you further into the game. Voice acting is solid as well, with Lance Henriksen leading the charge. This is a game you’ll want to play with the lights off, and with the stereo cranked.

For those who crave Multiplayer, Aliens versus Predator definitely has you covered. The multiplayer suite is well stocked, with several modes and a full ranking system to satiate the experience point hunger. Rewards aren’t anything special, usually multiplayer skins, but the game modes are designed to fit the nature of the game, and they do so quite well. I had the most fun with co-op survivor, which pits up to four marine players against swarm after swarm of AI controlled Alien hordes. It’s Gears of War 2’s Horde mode for Aliens fans, and it works almost as well here as it did there. You also get several forms of deathmatch (including interspieces), and interesting game types like Infestation, where whomever bites the dust respawns as a Xenomorph. AvP doesn’t bring about any multiplayer paradigm shift or anything, but it plays well enough to be engaging, and the robust selection of options keeps things interesting.

"There's something out there huntin' us, and it ain't no man..."

Rebuttal Witness:
While AvP’s three campaigns do have a wildly varying feel to them, each is pretty brief. On the hardest diffuclty, the Marine campaign will end in 6 hours or less, with 4 – 4.5 hours being the more likely completion time for seasoned vets (about the same time it takes crazy people to go through Modern Warfare 2). The Predator and Alien campaigns are shorter (considerably so for the Alien). All told you’re probably looking at about 10 hours of single player gameplay if you stretch things. The multiplayer definitely picks up the slack, but for those who’s focus is single player, 10 hours and you’re done. It’s actually pretty generous for a shooter these days, but with that 10 hours split between three separate campaigns, the illusion of super-shortness may leave you feeling cheated.

Aliens versus Predator gets tough, particularly during the Human campaign. We humans are fragile meatsicles, and there were several points during the campaign where any kind of forward momentum ground to a screeching halt amidst a wave of black, acid-blooded death. Going toe to toe with any more than two or three aliens without something like a smart gun or plenty of rifle ammo in your arsenal is an incredibly brutal prospect, even on ‘normal’ difficulty. When you encounter a Predator, be afraid, be very very afraid. For some, the scripted nature of the game’s encounters may feel like a first person throwback, particularly when they have to repeat one section seven or eight or nineteen times because those hissing bastards are relentless. It wasn’t really an issue for me, but it bears mentioning.

Slightly more serious are control issues that pop up in the Alien and Predator campaigns. The Predators have the ability to jump some pretty outlandish heights, but the ability is linked to specific hot spots on a given level. There are times when the first person perspective makes it a chore to notice and navigate to and from these spots. It gets difficult to stalk prey by jumping from tree to tree when you keep missing your jumps. There are also a few instances where logic dictates that you should be able to leap to a specific point, but you just can’t.

Meanwhile, the Aliens, skittish little bastards that they are, can get a little squirrely when you’re zooming around floors and ceilings in cramped quarters. It gets tough to navigate when up is down and down is up. There were also a few times that I had trouble navigating through vents, as you have to line yourself up just right and wait for the button prompt to pass through. There’s an option in the menus to enable “auto transition” for the alien campaign, and that should be your first stop. Without it you have to press a shoulder button to get your critter to skitter to the fullest. With it enabled, movement from one surface to another becomes a smoother affair.

These issues will frustrate some more than others; for the most part, the fun I had with the creature campaigns far outweighed the minor infrequent annoyances I had with the controls. More often than not, everything clicks, and your careening down the roof of a low tunnel at breakneck speed with some human refuse waiting to take a tail to the eyeball, or you’re silently watching a platoon of marines, just waiting for some hapless bugger to separate from his squadmates so you can drop down and separate his spine from his body.

Slightly more serious issues are found in the multiplayer setup, which relies heavily on the now standard console matchmaking scheme. I could hop into 360 games pretty effortlessly, but the PS3 matchmaking was often slow to respond, and on at least one occasion I was waiting over five minutes for a match to begin. I won’t get into the shortage of multiplayer maps, as what’s included works pretty well, and therea re apparently more coming to DLC markets in the very near future (they’d better be free too).

The PS3 version also does “feature” some flicker and aliasing that I didn’t notice on the 360 version. It’s hardly a dealbreaker, and the games are close to identical on both machines, but I felt I should bring it up for those with both consoles.

"Game over man! Game over!"

Closing Comments:
Aliens Versus Predator is a suprisingly great effort. It not only trumps every other game that’s ever featured an Alien or Predator logo, but also proves that Rebellion is still capable of incredibly wonderful things in spite of their recent output. It is an unabashed love letter to fans of either franchise (though especially Cameron’s 1986 film); with three great (if brief) campaigns that bring equal parts terror, adrenaline, and awesomeness, an excellent complement of multiplayer modes, and the technical muscle to impress. I love it!

The Verdict:

Platform: Sony Playstation 3/Microsoft Xbox360/Windows PC
Developer: Rebellion
Publisher: Sega
Release Date: February 16, 2010
Rated: M (17+) for Mature