PC News and Game Reviews

It’s been a while since my last Blog, and I knew it would take something really big for me to get the finger out and put pen to epaper.

I was a huge fan of the Thief series. The first game created the genre “First Person Sneaker”. The main character was excellent, and the story was compelling with amazing depth. When Looking Glass Studios went the way of the dodo, I was genuinely upset that this excellent franchise would never see the light of day again.

But thanks to a mere rumour it looks lie Garrett may be climbing through windows again in the dead of night, with a blackjack in his hand and a grin on his face. Eidos-Montréal has begun to recruit for what they are calling a “AAA” project, with the biggest hint being that the title of the new game begins with “T”. Fans of Thief seem to have taken the above as proof of life for another Thief game, and frankly so do I

It makes perfect sense to revive what was and still is an excellent set of games. My only complaint was the creation of a 3rd person view for Deadly Shadows. It was horribly evident it was to appease the button mashing console masses, and introduced a dynamic that took away the heart pounding feeling the first person view gave. You could now pivot the camera to see around corners. This for me is an unfair advantage for a thief to have!

With today’s technology a new Thief game COULD be excellent. I would urge the developers not to change too much (if its not broke don’t fix it). Obviously taking advantage of dynamic light and new particle effects would only further immerse you in Garrett’s world.

I hope this game comes back…praise the builders if it does…

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Well the most hyped game of all time has come and gone in a few short days!!! Crysis, the proud creation of German Developers Crytek had promised to “Bring PC Gaming Home”. Flaunting “next-gen” graphics and an action packed story line….is this the PC game to rub in the faces of the console masses…..well the short answer is yes!! I have no doubt we will see Crysis on the consoles….but it just wont be the same

Plot

At this stage here I think if you were living on Mars you would probably know the plot for Crysis. You play through the game as the super hard “Nomad”, clad in a high tech Nano Suit. You are sent as along with some other Delta Force operators to a remote tropical island in the pacific to investigate an alien crash site. The problems for Nomad start very early, with the Island being completely overrun by the North Korean Army. The situation quickly develops into all out warfare with the Koreans…..before turning very “alieny”. To avoid spoilers….lets just say the aliens and the US forces recently arrived do not get on very well!!!!

I will say that half way through Crysis you kind of loose the freedom of choice that the earlier levels present…and you switch to a more Half Life 2 experience as you battle through a scripted story line. This was disappointing but unavoidable as at the end of the day Crytek are attempting to deliver a story of some sort! Allowing complete freedom to the player would never work. Might just mention that STALKER is the only game that came close to the delivering the above, other developers have a lot to learn from this buggy but excellent game.

Graphics + Sound

Next Generation…..Yes. To shoot from the hip I would say that on medium settings, Crysis looks far better than Bioshock (another graphics poster boy). Will it make smoke come out of you computer……Yes. I was getting blue screens as I tried to over clock my machine to play on “High”. I had to settle for most settings on high, with 1280 X 1024 resolution with 2x AA (Plus my computer is not even a year old!!!!). At this resolution the game still looks fabulous. Graphics however do not make a game good……they just make it pretty. Luckily for us Crytek also paid quite a lot of attention to the other elements of the game!!!

The sound is not found wanting. Some great ambient noise in the Alien Craft certainly raised a few hairs on my neck. The Nano suit voice is something you will come to hear quite often…as you frantically switch between stealth, strength and cloak!!!

Game Play

Crysis is an honest to god FPS. You can equip an array of weapons ranging from pistols to “a damn minigun”. The choice of weapon, or more to the point weapon modifications, greatly effect the game play. Remove your silencer to do maximum damage…but run the risk of alerting the whole island to your presence. Attach a silencer and go for the quiet kill? The weapon mods are an interesting feature of the game, but certainly not novel.

The nano suit on the other hand is the one item that effects how the game plays out for you most. You will find that using stealth early on is the way to go. As the story “narrows” your options you will find that you will use stealth less and less as you are forced to follow the story line.

Another great element of game play are the vehicles and the amazing physics engine that tie it altogether. It is really satisfying to smash a tank through a building and see it crumble….with the occupants crushed. Crysis is the first game to pull this off….and it gets my vote just for that!

Conclusion

I really enjoyed the story. It was well thought out and executed well . I like the freedom of the early levels, however felt a noticeable decline in the freedom after the aliens showed up. From that point on however the experience was so well delivered that I am willing to forgive Crytek…..as either way there is only so much sneaking around you can do in the jungle

My one complaint is this (POSSIBLE SPOILER), the last chapter “Last Stand” is buggy and confusing. Simply Google “Crysis Tac Launcher will not lock on” and you will see the utter confusion some gamers encountered at this late stage of the game. Having just secured the Tac Cannon I rushed out to see the Hunter crawling up the deck of the carrier.
I just “assumed” that I had to use the Tac Cannon on the Hunter, as after all I had just went to the trouble of getting it. It took me a while to figure out it was about 20 SCAR clips and a bunch of rockets I needed to use!!!!!

Tac Cannon “No Target Locked” Bug

That done I then suffered the “No Target Locked” bug (The solution BTW is: You can only lock the last baddie, not the hunter (spider like thing = hunter)…so stop trying. Shoot the 4 turrets off the last guy and then and ONLY then can you lock the two arms on the far left and far right!!! If this fails read on!!!)…..which was really annoying as it meant re-loading a save game. I hate when this happens as the sense of immersion is hopelessly smashed!!

That said one cannot ignore the achievement. Is this game better than Half Life 2, I think so. I know PC Gamer won’t think so as Valve are secretly bank rolling them Crysis has to get 9 out of 10. I deduct one point for the debacle above. Great game….buy it…..but make sure you have at least a GeForce 8800 GT / GTS / GTX or one of the beefy Radeon cards….otherwise you will be seeing about half the frames you should be seeing!!!!

Crysis wood physics bug

At the moment i’m playing my way through the full game, and im happy to report I have not found any physics bugs like this in the final release of the game. So far I have only seen a gun get stuck in a wall and make a really loud crashing noise?!?

This video was recorded using fraps and shows a crazzy piece of wood in the pre-release! Have a look below:

It’s been known since Valve announced the release of Half Life Episode 2 and Team Fortress 2 that a new type of game “Portal” would make it’s presence known. I got the orange box only the other day and I am amazed at what they have done.

Plot

Aperature Science is the name of a company which throughout the course of the game you see has direct links to Black Mesa. You are a test subject which wakes up in a sealed laboratory and asked to conduct tests under the scrutiny of Aperature Science technicians.

A monotonous voice tells you what to do and provides limited reassurance but also is quick to point out that damage to life can occur if the correct procedures are not followed. Lovely! The atmosphere is very clinical, sterile and cold. After a brief introduction to the magic of “the portal” you get your shaking hands on ‘the device’ that has turned our game world askew. And now for the next 19 chapters you get to unlearn what you think you know and re learn the laws of portal physics! Woo-hoo!

Graphics

Since this has been spawned from the Half Life world you can expect Source Engine graphics, nice textures, ruthless levels and merciless things that kill you. Because this is “Aperature Science” everything looks slightly different to City 17 or Black Mesa. For example the turrets have been revamped and have an eerie child like voice. Mechanisms like lifts and doors all look slick and clean in this laboratory. Because portals can be created on 80% of the surfaces in the game, there will be times when you see yourself. Although your body has not been rendered in the game, your character has, so you can see a limber female test subject from time to time.

Setting

As I said above the game is set in a test Lab but there are times when you’ll stumble across an unfinished piece of construction that will lead you to a dank area behind the scenes, this to me is brilliant as it reminds you that there is a world outside the shiny walls of Aperature Science. Towards the end there is an amazing piece of storytelling from the guys and gals in Valve which I won’t tell you about now as it is a spoiler.

All I’ll say is, the game’s not over until the fat lady sings. This game although not as ‘open ended’ as the Half Life episodes, it has endless potential, if that makes sense? I like to think that Valve could have kept “making” this game till the end of time and still find uses for Portals, but obviously they had to put a lid on it at some stage so all we get is 19 chapters. I bet there will be a Portal 2 or something to that affect in the next episode of Half Life.

Game Play

In this mod/game Valve have added in a nice section which gives the game some life. Simply called Achievements, it’s a collection of things you can do or unlock in the game, it will give you a goal to aim for if when completing the game you feel like playing some more you can try and succeed in the tasks in this section.

Using portals to jump 300ft for example or using the infinity portals to fall 30,000ft. The list goes on.

There are some bonus maps which are unlocked on game completion and they are 6 maps from the game itself which are much more difficult with certain things removed and more dangerous things added. I really don’t want to tell you too much about the game, just trust me when I say it is well worth it. It’s a very well made addition to the Half Life universe and it has opened another few avenues(or portals!) which Valve can use for producing another mind blowing game down the line.

Conclusion

I love it, I played it through in 2 sittings I think so it is a short game if you love Half Life as much as I do. The good thing is Portal was only released and some diligent level builders had custom maps already made for it! So there is some additional content out there that can keep you going in the Portal building universe.

Plot:

I think at this stage we are all well aware of the Plot of Crysis. This game has had an enormous amount of media hype, which is reflected by the huge amount of video game play footage that has been released to date. Suffice to say at this stage 99% of gamers are well aware of the story behind Crysis….but for those of you who are not….read on. Island in the middle of the Pacific. Alien craft crashes on the Island. North Koreans get to the Island first and seal it off. Americans send in elite Nano Suit clad Delta Force Operators to investigate!!!

The demo deals with this initial insertion of you and your fellow delta force players by HALO (no not the game of the same name, High Altitude Low Opening) parachute jump. The cut scene rendered in the Cry Engine2 is amazing. The characters look far better than anything I have seen to date. You leap from a transport plane and for the first time you are given control. As you speed towards the ground you deploy your parachute only to be hit by “something”. It’s all very cinematic but basically I’m gathering that an alien hits you just before you hit the water!

Thanks to your nano suit you easily survive the fall and emerge onto a beach at night time. A short walk though some caves and you encounter your first North Koreans, who are easily dispatched. The focus now turns to rendezvousing with your other Delta Force Operators. You soon meet one who was caught up in some trees, and with him you go to find a third team member. This is the second cut scene of the demo and is really well done. Think Predator, when Billy first stumbles upon the commandos skinned alive in the trees! You come into a clearing to find about 4 North Koreans mutilated…and then see a large pool of blood on the ground…….you then find a third Team-mate “Aztec” hacked to pieces and suspended in some form of web. Very well done and very good at creating a sense of dread at what the hell you will be facing later in the game!!

The demo now transitions into day time, with you getting your first “oooooo….ahhhhhhhh” moments as the Cry Engine 2 dazzles you beyond belief. But alas there is no time for sunbathing as you need to crack on! Your first task is to take out a jamming device, to allow communications with your base. Once done you investigate the North Koreans command post and download their logs for inspection. You are then called to rendezvous with the rest of the team. It is here you see the third and final cut scene of the demo. This is a well know piece of internet footage at this stage but it was still nice to see on my screen! You turn a corner to kind a frozen ship! As you debate just what the hell is going on a huge alien bursts out of the ship and rips one of your men up…….demo ends.

Game Play:

Nano Suit: This must be mentioned; as it is the one thing you will rely on most in Crysis. The nano suit gives you the unique ability to channel energy around your body to increase your attributes. You can increase your strength, speed or armour. You also gain the ability to cloak in a predator like light bending effect. These abilities are amazing as they themselves can dictate how the game unfolds. For instance take the first major encounter with the North Koreans. You need to take out the jamming radar. I played the demo several times and each time I took it out differently. The first time I snook up while cloaked and simply switched it off. I was able to time the passing of the guards and switch it off. The second time I simply shot it from the hill about until it exploded. This approach however brought the wrath of the North Koreans down as they came in a hummer to search for me.

The speed attribute I found I used the least, as even on hard setting I did very little retreating. However it is good to get out of dodge quickly if an MG is trained on you! The strength attribute I used far more. I really did have fun smashing houses to pieces and punching through walls!!! This brings me on to what I see as the most significant step forward that Crysis introduces.

Destructible Terrain and Buildings: We have all seen the videos of Crysis, as buildings explode into pieces…but I got a genuine surprise at how well the physics is handled in Crysis. Below are a series of screen shots taken using fraps, they demonstrate just how “destructible” the buildings are in Crysis!!!

• The shack, untouched
• Frag Out, grenade in place!
• Boom, building ripped to pieces
• Debris litters the place, the structure is gone

Crysis offers a frightening level of detail. It is this level of detail that makes this game great. The fire fights are intense and dynamic. Trees fall down around you are bullets fly!!! The total physics offers a new element to FPS game play. On another play through I killed all the Koreans in this shack by smashing through it wlth a Hummer from the other side of the building. I then jumped onto the roof of another hut, punched a hole in the roof and dropped a grenade into it……blowing it to pieces. Similarly I could have used my cloak ability and bypassed the entire outpost, thus saving my ammo….but I was never going to do that!!!!!

Graphics + Sound:

If you have looked at the screenshots then you know what the graphics are like. They are bordering on photo realistic. Crytek have gone to a huge effort to make things look real, and it has paid off! The sound is not found wanting, and the Koreans speak in their native tongue which is excellent, as on easier levels they speak English which is….well…just silly as they are North Korean. You should not know what they are saying, so please don’t waste your time and play it on hard!

Conclusion:

I have to give this demo 9 out of 10. I take off one point as this is a demo!!! This demo is excellent. If this does not draw you in then nothing will. The physics and the freeform level design move Crysis well away from the “shooter on rails”. You can approach the level from a number of different ways, either sneaking your way around or running and gunning! On top of this you also introduce the ability to use your suit to smash entire buildings down….of throw barrels around taking enemies out! The weapons are excellent and each can be modified with a number of enhancements (silencer, grenade launcher and better sights). I’m looking forward to this one, I just hope there is not a bug in sight when it is finally released!!!Excellent!