"Titanfall" Review

Prepare to be Amazed With "Titanfall"

If you’ve become weary of modern shooters such as “Call of Duty” and “Battlefield,” “Titanfall” may be the answer to your woes.

With “Titanfall,” Respawn Entertainment brings something new to the table — the change that gamers and the gaming industry needed.

In “Titanfall,” you can either play as free-running pilots or operate giant mech-style machines — Titans — to complete team-based missions. The two teams are called the Interstellar Manufacturing Corporation and the Militia. However, keep in mind that this game has no single player, so if you buy this game looking for a good story, you will surely be disappointed.

At the beginning of each match, all 12 players choose their pilot types and are dropped on the map. A timer provides a countdown to when a Titan can be deployed, a time that can be reduced by killing other players. Once the Titan is deployed, it is protected by a force field for 30 seconds, giving players time to get into the Titan without having to worry it about being destroyed or stolen by other players.

There are three different Titan styles: the Ogre, the Stryder and the Atlas. The Ogre, a conglomeration of weapons and sheer power, is slow and bulky, but packs a punch. The Stryder is for those who like mobility: it is agile and fast, making it difficult to get a clean shot. The last but most popular is the Atlas, which is a mixture of the two, making it the best overall option.

“Titanfall” is great in terms of gameplay. I’ve never played a game that plays this fast without things getting too complicated — it’s just plain fun. The pilots are extremely agile, and wall running has never felt any better. One thing that worried me before playing this game was the lack of balance between the pilots and the Titans, but Respawn Entertainment did a better job than I ever could have imagined.

There is a solid balance between the two opponents: Titans don’t rule the map while the pilots hide from them. Instead, the pilots’ mobility allows them to attack the Titans by climbing atop of them. But Respawn Entertainment again allows the Titans to counter the pilots’ attempts, making the gameplay more complex in a positive way.

All of the maps in the game adapt well to each of the game’s modes. The maps and environments come in many different varieties, and are detailed in a way that makes the game modes fun, interesting and intense.

Something that disappointed me about this game was its lack of different game modes. For most of the time, people play the Last Titan Standing mode, because it is the most common and familiar. Hopefully this problem can and will be fixed with a few patches in the near future to add a wide variety of game modes. Also, modification in this game is rather scarce.

If you are looking for a game with a strong storyline, or any story at all, look elsewhere. However, the game does have one of the strongest multiplayers I have seen in a long time. If you like fast-paced action and fun, as well as exciting maps, then you’ll be sure to love “Titanfall.”

8.5/10
+maps
+balance between pilots and Titans 
+fast gameplay
-lack of game modes
-no story

"Thief" Review

Not Such A Sly Thief After All

Back in 1998 a game named Thief: The Dark Project came to PC’s all across the world. This game was widely loved and managed to produce two more sequels. But the attempt to reboot the series comes as a failure as it leaves fans with disappointment as it strays away from the formula that made the original series great.

Thief is set in a victorian fantasy world inspired by steampunk aesthetics. It follows Garrett, a master thief, who returns to his hometown ‘The City’ to find that it’s controlled by an oppressive ruler named ‘The Baron’. A plague has swept across ‘The City’ and the rich live with much fortune while the poor struggle daily for survival. Garrett follows the Robin Hood way of life and helps the poor by stealing from the rich.

For starters, this game isn’t bad. Something that Thief does well is make you use your head. This game requires you to think before you steal, whether you should use this shadowy path or if you should go head on and use brute force against the guards. These types of scenarios made the game worth finishing while the uneven story and excruciating dull characters provided nothing to the game.

Something else that made this game enjoyable was your ability to control the difficulty. You can play through the game as a true thief with levels being near impossible, to playing the game where all of your enemies seem oblivious to everything. Playing through a master-level with auto-save, crosshairs and focus turned off makes this game incredibly difficult, and long, giving you the bragging rights you deserve.

Story was always an important factor for the Thief series, but in the reboot there’s nothing there. It’s all the same; go steal this, go steal that, it eventually becomes a mundane process that leaves you asking why? What’s the motive behind all of this? Along with the disappearance of a story there is also the lack of interesting characters, even Garrett himself doesn’t seem like a the proper thief that he’s supposed to be.

The level design in Thief is at times good, but when it’s not good it’s really not good. The level design in Thief is very linear and simple forces any thought of creativity to fly out the window. Thief is a hard game to begin with and with there only being one way to complete most levels it becomes incredibly difficult. You’ll find yourself saving and reloading the game constantly as you have to keep forcing yourself to push head first through the level.

I’ll be honest, Thief isn’t worth it’s $60 price tag, if you still really want it wait for the price to drop down. Inconsistent is the word to describe this game and everything, for the most part, it stands for. When Thief is good it’s really fun but this feeling of enjoyment is quickly washed away with the boring level design, choppy story and awkwardly lame characters.

5/10
-weak characters
-weak story
-weak level design
+good difficulty settings

Bioshock Infinite

   Bioshock Infinite, a game that has been under development for over six years, is everything that was promised plus more. When many games are only under development for two years at a time, Call of Duty and Assassin's Creed as a few examples, this game was under for six and boy does it show. From the shining city of Columbia to the well written and well executed story, Bioshock Infinite delivers in all aspects possible. I found that it was hard to stop playing this game, and I kept coming back for more even after the story was finished.

   Bioshock Infinite is without question a beautiful game. At the beginning when you break through the clouds and see the city with your own eyes for the first time, it's visually stunning. Walking through the city of Columbia is a real thrill, the details that are put into every corner of the city leaves me in awe. The character animations are fantastic and the colors stand out and help bring the game to life. 

   Nothing bad can be said about Bioshock Infinite's gameplay, now that being said nothing has changed either. Back in 2006, the first Bioshock was released and the game play was excellent, this time around Irrational Games decided to not change anything. I can say that I was slightly disappointed while playing Bioshock Infinite because no risks were taken to change the gameplay. On another note the Sky-line in this game is just pure fun. The Sky-Line provides the breath taking rush of adrenaline that this game needed to stand out from the other games.

   Now the real star of the game are it's characters. Troy Baker voices Booker Dewitt, a former Pinkerton agent that's has a sketchy past, is given a picture with one simple message "Bring us the girl and wipe away your debit". The girl in that message is the lovable Elizabeth, who has never truly been able to experience the world. She young, innocent, and strong. One feat that Irrational games managed to complete is the ability to show Elizabeth's every thought and emotion. This was a smart move for this allows the players to feel more involved in the story.

   Bioshock Infinite is a fantastic game that was worth the six year wait. This is a game that a milestone for great story telling in video games. I would recommend this game to anyone who loves a good story with a twist at the end that no one will see coming 

9.8/10

+ Graphics 

+ Story 

+ Characters 

- Same Ole' Gameplay  

The Last of Us Review

   As a fan of the Uncharted series, I can honestly say that when I first found out about The Last of Us I was slightly disappointed that it wasn't a new Uncharted. But once the game finally came out my opinion completely changed. The Last of Us is a breath of fresh air that Naughty Dog needed, to give their devoted fans something new. The Last of Us is a dark and gloomy game that shows the horrors of fighting for survival when the world slowly comes to an end. Every minute playing Naughty Dog's new adventure had me immersed into the story, environment, and the characters as they all develop and change as they continue through their journey. I found it easier to call The Last of Us a movie rather than a game.

 
   In The Last of Us the players take control of Joel(voiced by Troy Baker), a man that has been through enough for him to know that there's is no good or evil in the world, just survival. Joel agrees to watch over Ellie, a smart mouthed brave kids who looks at the positive side of life, and joins her on a quest, for she is humanities only hope for survival. As this grim story continues we find that the relationship between Joel and Ellie grows into something more than just mutual partners. The father/daughter relationship grows so much to were Joel would commit acts for Ellie that many would consider horrible, but only because he wants the best for Ellie.
 
   At one point in the game, Ellie experiences something that affects her emotionally. Through out that chapter the players and Joel could tell something was off. Joel would constantly make desperate attempts to cheer her up, none of which are successful until one time when they ar
e walking along the roof tops of a city when they spot zoo animals walking across an old worn down baseball field. This is one of the most beautiful examples of emotional story telling in any video game.

   The Last of Us is all about survival, so the actions that Joel makes are dark, questionable, and purely based on quick and bitter judgement. Violence in The Last of Us is everything but scarce, in fact it occurs often and it's gruesome. The violence is tasteful as it depicts the harsh realism and horrors of survival.
 

   When keeping the idea of survival in mind, Naughty Dog did more than an excellent job in providing game play that, at times, give the players a desperate need to find resources. Also through out the game players learn to be more resourceful in how they use they're ammo or if they should even use guns at all. Many different skills, weapons, and items are up gradable as you continue through the story, providing players something to strive for.

 
   Something that surprised me is how beautiful a run down city can look. Naughty Dog put heavy detail into everything from the glass in a broken window to the giraffe walking across an overgrown community baseball field. The Last of Us is without a doubt one of the best looking console games of 2013.

    Multiplayer in The Last of Us if surprisingly fun and entertaining. While not the best multiplayer out there, it is still leaves you wanting to continue playing it especially when you have many character up grades. Naughty Dog provides the players with many different game types and maps allowing entertainment for many hours.
 
   The Last of Us isn't a game for everyone. With it's dark themes and gritty violence it's hard to have a positive out view, but some how this game manages to shine a bright light in even the darkest of places. Naughty Dog has yet again made another great game...no, another masterpiece.

10/10
+ Incredible Story
+ Emotional Characters
+ Fitting Game Play
+ Breath-taking Graphics
+ Fun Multiplayer
   

Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception Review

    Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception is the reason why I play and love video games. Naughty Dog has yet again created another cinematic roller-coaster that leaves you on the edge of your seat from start to finish and never once does it let up. From the astonishing visuals, smooth gameplay, and the heart wrenching story, Uncharted 3 has managed to climb to the top of my list for best games of all time. Not only do I consider Uncharted 3 to be one of the best games ever made, if not the best, but a huge mile stone for entertainment.

    In Drake's Deception, Naughty Dog improves upon everything that was wrong in Uncharted 2 and makes it damn near perfect. This time around, hand to hand combat is greatly improved and no longer are you button mashing but rather fighting in a fluid fashion making it look more cinematic. Also another improvement is the cover system and gun play, although similar to Uncharted 2, both the gun play and the cover system benefited with new additions such as the ability to throw back grenades. Multiplayer was first introduced to Uncharted 2 that kept me playing for hours on end even when I was finished with the story. Uncharted 3's multiplayer is far more advanced than Uncharted 2. This time, the amount of perks and how they level up with you gives you more of a reason to continue playing and doesn't leave you with a "time wasted" feeling even when you lose.

    Now where Uncharted really shines, is in the visuals. The Uncharted series has always been know to be far ahead of it's time when it comes to visuals, and this is very apparent in Uncharted 3. There's a scene where Drake finds himself in the desert surround by sand. This scene is one of the prettiest examples of graphics that I have ever seen. From Nathan Drake trying to climb up a sand dune and sliding down as the sand below him gives way, to every grain of sand you can see in each of his foot steps.  Scenes like this make you realize the time that Naughty Dog has put into making this a beautiful breath taking experience. There's no argue that Uncharted 3 has the best console graphics to date.

    Something that I personally think is the most important aspect of a good video game is the story, and this time Amy Hennig has outdone herself. The story in Uncharted 3 is much less predicable than that of it's predecessor, which in turn builds the story and has you wondering "what's next?". Like usual, the cast is amazing. Nolan North as Nathan Drake leads the show with his quick witty remarks. But what really makes the story is the relationship between Drake and Sully that you learn about throughout the game. The chemistry that both Nolan North and Richard McGonagle have, makes this to be a believable story and has you caring for both of them. Sully's mentor role is shown not through how they proceed through their adventure but rather through the advice he gives Nathan about Elena Fisher, giving Sully a big brother/father figure.

    Uncharted 3 stands for all that is good in video games. Rarely do games, or even movies, convince me to be worried about the characters, but in Uncharted 3 I was. I felt the pain and fought the fight with Drake as he was walking across the desert. Every fight for survival I felt, and that was possible through the amount of detail that was put into the game's story and game play. Uncharted 3 is an example of not just a good game but a marvelous game many developers should learn from.

10/10
+ Great story
+ Great characters
+ Graphics
+ Gameplay
+ Multiplayer