Gamespot's Site Mashup

Written By Kom Limpulnam on Senin, 28 Oktober 2013 | 19.51

Gamespot's Site MashupBatman: Arkham Origins opening weekend sales half of Arkham City in the UKWWE 2K14 ReviewNew Releases: Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag, Battlefield 4 and Football Manager 2014!

http://auth.gamespot.com/ Gamespot's Everything Feed! News, Reviews, Videos. Exploding with content? You bet. en-us Mon, 28 Oct 2013 05:40:03 -0700 http://www.gamespot.com/articles/batman-arkham-origins-opening-weekend-sales-half-of-arkham-city-in-the-uk/1100-6415803/ <figure data-align="center" data-size="large" data-img-src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/mig/2/2/1/6/2052216-710575_20130823_001.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2052216" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/mig/2/2/1/6/2052216-710575_20130823_001.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2052216"><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/scale_super/mig/2/2/1/6/2052216-710575_20130823_001.jpg"></a></figure><a style="line-height:1.625;" href="/batman-arkham-origins/" data-ref-id="false">Batman: Arkham Origins</a> sold half as many copies in its opening weekend in the UK as predecessor <a style="line-height:1.625;" href="/batman-arkham-city/" data-ref-id="false">Batman: Arkham City</a>, sales tracker Chart-Track has reported.Sales of Arkham Origins were similar to the original Arkham Asylum, but the prize for the best-selling opening weekend of a Batman game is still held by <a href="/lego-batman-the-videogame/" data-ref-id="false">Lego Batman</a>, Chart-Track adds.<a href="/grand-theft-auto-v/" data-ref-id="false">Grand Theft Auto V</a> was second in the UK charts, followed by FIFA 14 in third and Skylanders: Swap Force in fourth.Pokemon X and Y were fifth and sixth, respectively.New in the chart this week was the latest Moshi Monsters game in ninth, and Rocksmith: 2014 Edition in 15th.For more information on Batman: Arkham Origins, <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/reviews/batman-arkham-origins-review/1900-6415506/" data-ref-id="1900-6415506">check out GameSpot's review</a>.<div data-embed-type="video" data-ref-id="2300-6415631" data-width="100%" data-height="100%"><iframe src="/videos/embed/6415631/" width="100%" height="100%" frameborder="0" webkitAllowFullScreen mozallowfullscreen allowFullScreen></iframe></div> Mon, 28 Oct 2013 05:06:00 -0700 http://www.gamespot.com/articles/batman-arkham-origins-opening-weekend-sales-half-of-arkham-city-in-the-uk/1100-6415803/ http://www.gamespot.com/reviews/wwe-2k14-review/1900-6415512/ Who's the greatest showman of the 20th century? Michael Jackson? Harry Houdini? Or maybe you're partial to Ted Danson. These are all fine choices, if you like going the obvious route. How about someone who transformed the flashy fisticuffs of professional wrestling into an art form? Enter Randy Savage. No one else could have made sequined robes seem like the perfect attire for a burly man. And it's not like my high opinion of Savage is because of my hazy memory. His gruff, stilted speech and deliberate mannerisms enthrall me just as much today as they did so many years ago. The Macho Man was a theatrical genius, and the embodiment of everything that makes professional wrestling so compelling.When the wrestlers of my youth faded into the sunset, so too did my interest in the WWE. But the nostalgic flame of yesteryear still burns inside me. All of those old feelings were rekindled in WWE 2K14. There's a mode called 30 Years of WrestleMania that focuses on the history of wrestling's Super Bowl. I got a warm glow in my chest when I replayed some of these classic matches. Remember when The Ultimate Warrior and Hulk Hogan exchanged clotheslines in the center of the ring? Oh, how thrilling it was to see these two titans go toe-to-toe to settle whatever feud they had. By the end of the fight, Warrior's face paint had chipped away, and we could finally see what the real man looked like. And then there was the time Andre the Giant callously tossed hundred-dollar bills after triumphing over Big John Studd. Such a blatant and hilarious disregard for money!<figure data-ref-id="1300-2355884" data-img-src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/725/7253563/2355884-wwe+2k14+-+savage+vs+ricky+-+2013-10-23+11-23-1605.jpg" data-size="large" data-align="center" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/725/7253563/2355884-wwe+2k14+-+savage+vs+ricky+-+2013-10-23+11-23-1605.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2355884"><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/scale_super/725/7253563/2355884-wwe+2k14+-+savage+vs+ricky+-+2013-10-23+11-23-1605.jpg"></a><figcaption>Randy Savage will always be a champion.</figcaption></figure>WWE 2K14's celebration of its prestigious history is very well done. We expect entrance themes and costumes to be ripped from the archives, but the game goes even further than that. By completing historical objectives within each match, brief cutscenes are cued up that mirror what happened in real life so many years ago. Have Hulk initiate a grapple outside of the ring against Andre the Giant, and watch the galoot from Grenoble headbutt the ring post just as Hogan ducks away. These scenarios are so expertly crafted that they drew me in completely to the main event. And even when I had never seen the match in the first place, I was still roped in to the drama because of how well it's presented.<blockquote data-align="right" data-size="medium">By the end of the fight, Warrior's face paint had chipped away, and we could finally see what the real man looked like.</blockquote>Before I realized that wrestling was scripted, I would recoil when one of my heroes would take a chair to his back or have his head forcibly slammed into the ground. But even once I knew their tricks, I would still wince. My emotions would overwhelm my senses, and I would think how much it would hurt to be thrown to and fro. Have you ever slammed your elbow into a ring after missing a flying leap off the top rope? It must be at least a little painful. WWE 2K14 communicates the dramatic punishment of professional wrestling. Most hits have serious impact, so much so that you wonder how someone could possibly survive some of these moves. Thunderous sound effects and elaborate wind-up animations make you grimace despite yourself.If only strikes carried as much weight as other moves. When WWE 2K14's wrestlers mimic bar-room brawlers by throwing haymakers, the game's relationship to reality crumbles away. The wrestlers punch and kick so quickly that there's no weight behind them. And considering how often you perform these moves, there's an odd separation that makes matches feel imbalanced. Furthermore, the core action is so reliant on counterattacks that it's closer to a sequence of quick-time events than a body slam ballet. Instead of rewarding positioning or smart tactics, victory goes to the wrestler who taps a button first. This strips away much of the appeal of competitive matches because the same tactics can be used to win, no matter who you are or who you play against. After participating in one clunky, awkward match after another, I longed for the fluid choreography of the real thing. Absent WrestleMania's finest moments, the matches are dry affairs that do little to spark the imagination.Such issues cut even deeper when more than two men enter the ring. The utter chaos of multi-man bouts never comes close to being captured in WWE 2K14. What should be satisfyingly crazy turns into a series of clunky one-on-one battles with no one quite sure what's expected of him. Really, all of the non-traditional fights lack the excitement that should exist when rules are shaken up. Escaping a steel cage, for instance, requires you to tap a button at the optimal position to go faster. Cramming your main objective into a simple minigames is oddly disconnected from the core action. And if you should climb to the top of a Hell in a Cell cage, don't expect to be able to recreate the infamous match between Mick Folley and The Undertaker. You can neither toss your opponent off nor fall through the cage, and the awkward animations preventing such disasters look hopelessly cartoonish. Stick to traditional fights in WWE 2K14 unless you want to see just how limited the combat is.<figure data-ref-id="1300-2355889" data-img-src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/725/7253563/2355889-wwe+2k14+%28360%29+-+the+shaun+method+-+2013-10-25+03-40-3606.jpg" data-size="large" data-align="center" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/725/7253563/2355889-wwe+2k14+%28360%29+-+the+shaun+method+-+2013-10-25+03-40-3606.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2355889"><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/scale_super/725/7253563/2355889-wwe+2k14+%28360%29+-+the+shaun+method+-+2013-10-25+03-40-3606.jpg"></a><figcaption>An abomination only possible in the character creator. You should see his feet.</figcaption></figure>If you ever wanted to be Vince McMahon (minus the ridiculous walk), Universe mode lets you tinker with the behind-the-scenes drama. Create feuds between wrestlers who used to be best friends and shake up the calendar if you've ever wished that Raw would air on Tuesdays. Universe mode is certainly interesting if you've ever dreamed of crazy scenarios, but it doesn't make up for the lackluster wrestling once you step back in the ring. At least there's one element outside the ring that anyone could enjoy. Creation mode let's you design an unholy monster to be your champion, which is absolutely riveting if you have a maniacal disposition. Make someone with teeny, tiny legs and cross your fingers that his femur doesn't snap in the middle of a bout. Or maybe you want his bones to break. Whatever floats your boat.It's a shame the wrestling isn't up to par in WWE 2K14 because the elements surrounding it are so interesting. Though not nearly as captivating as Randy Savage, The Undertaker has a mode dedicated to his undefeated record in WrestleManias. You have the option to knock him from his lofty perch with a willing participant, or fend off everyone clamoring for your throne as The Undertaker. It's a neat mode that embraces one of the iconic personalities in the sport, but none of these activities have lasting appeal because fights are so dreary. When WWE 2K14 does work, its because of its recreation of history. For anyone who grew up loving professional wrestling, be prepared to be swept away in a tide of nostalgia. If only the core action could have been as compelling. Mon, 28 Oct 2013 05:00:00 -0700 http://www.gamespot.com/reviews/wwe-2k14-review/1900-6415512/ http://www.gamespot.com/videos/new-releases-assassin-s-creed-iv-black-flag-battle/2300-6415768/ This week on New Releases, we talk about Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag, Battlefield 4, WWE 2K14, Sonic: Lost World and Football Manager 2014. Sun, 27 Oct 2013 12:00:00 -0700 http://www.gamespot.com/videos/new-releases-assassin-s-creed-iv-black-flag-battle/2300-6415768/

Gamespot's Site MashupBatman: Arkham Origins opening weekend sales half of Arkham City in the UKWWE 2K14 ReviewNew Releases: Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag, Battlefield 4 and Football Manager 2014!

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Gamespot's Site Mashup

Written By Kom Limpulnam on Sabtu, 26 Oktober 2013 | 19.50

Gamespot's Site MashupDeveloper Tips for Success at Batman: Arkham Origins MultiplayerReview in Progress: Lego Marvel Super HeroesBatman: Arkham Origins Blackgate Review

http://auth.gamespot.com/ Gamespot's Everything Feed! News, Reviews, Videos. Exploding with content? You bet. en-us Sat, 26 Oct 2013 05:39:11 -0700 http://www.gamespot.com/videos/developer-tips-for-success-at-batman-arkham-origin/2300-6415771/ Splash Damage Creative Director Alastair Cornish gives MANvsGAME host Jayson Love some tips for success during a multiplayer session of Batman: Arkham Origins. Fri, 25 Oct 2013 19:47:00 -0700 http://www.gamespot.com/videos/developer-tips-for-success-at-batman-arkham-origin/2300-6415771/ http://www.gamespot.com/articles/review-in-progress-lego-marvel-super-heroes/1100-6415794/ In spite of the fact that it was "Unofficial Batman Week" around the GameSpot offices last week (MANvsGAME's Jason Love ran a marathon livestream session of the three console Batman games, Batman t-shirts abounded and a small canine in a Batman costume wandering around…), the Marvel universe has my attention at the moment. Lego Marvel Super Heroes has arrived.And it shipped with a free Loki keychain.You can't argue with a free Loki keychain.While a full review is in progress for Monday, I've been playing the game for the past couple of days and having a great time, TT Games having lovingly crafted a sumptuous meal for Lego and Marvel fans alike. With roughly 150 characters to unlock and play as--including side characters such as Aunt May, S.H.I.E.L.D. agent Phil Coulson and pop culture tropes such as Howard the Duck (who comes equipped with a rocket launcher)--there appears to be something for everyone here.<figure data-align="center" data-size="large" data-img-src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1197/11970954/2351055-legomarvellaunch_003.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2351055" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1197/11970954/2351055-legomarvellaunch_003.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2351055"><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/scale_super/1197/11970954/2351055-legomarvellaunch_003.jpg"></a></figure> This, and the pleasure of exploration, make for the joy of this game. Granted, this isn't the brainiest title you'll pick up this year, nor will it be regarded as subtle or nuanced (the game's relatively simple plot centers around preventing Doctor Doom and cohorts from collecting cosmic bricks to build Doom's Doom Ray of Doom), there's an undeniable joy in what can be called the "Lego Formula." In the Lego Formula, you'll readily jump into the level, smash or blast everything destructible around you, battle your enemies, see what Lego pieces can be picked up, what machines can be assembled or what superpowers can be used to solve the on-screen puzzles and move on from there. Yes, it's an established method and the Lego franchise has long done this, but you're fully immersed in the Lego-ized Marvel universe as you do this, unlocking more and more content in the process, and it's still as rewarding as it ever was.<blockquote data-align="center">Superb attention to detail shows what a Lego variant of a Marvel world can truly be and for every landmark, location or item that you ever loved in a Marvel movie or comic book.</blockquote>Where Lego Marvel Super Heroes truly shines is in its warmth and attention to detail. The game's humor is light, playful and genuinely fun, the writers reveling in the implied cheesiness of the comic book genre and the super hero characters therein and hamming up the dialogue to make the cutscenes enjoyable. Background jokes such as Lego workers trying to sweep up the destruction from the last level's epic battle, S.H.I.E.L.D. agent Phil Coulson constantly bringing Nick Fury and other heroes snacks and the Hulk growing frustrated with a computer that he winds up smashing, keep the mood where it needs to be. Superb attention to detail shows what a Lego variant of a Marvel world can truly be and for every landmark, location or item that you ever loved in a Marvel movie or comic book (such as the Helicarrier, Asteroid M, downtown Manhattan, etc.), there's usually a Lego version of it that catches your attention and proves fun to explore.It's been fun to see the Lego games grow over the last decade and Lego Marvel Super Heroes is no exception. Improved modeling, lighting and details make the game visually inviting, responsive controls make the simple act of moving around enjoyable and improvements in the combat engine have turned what seemed to be two Lego figures slap-fighting in the early Lego games into a genuine fight between the two characters being shown on screen.<figure data-align="center" data-size="large" data-img-src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1197/11970954/2351054-legomarvellaunch_002.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2351054" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1197/11970954/2351054-legomarvellaunch_002.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2351054"><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/scale_super/1197/11970954/2351054-legomarvellaunch_002.jpg"></a></figure> Unfortunately, a few glitches have interrupted my fun. A small, unexplained black square briefly appeared above my characters' heads towards the end of the game and a graphical glitch showed both the dead and alive versions of the Thing on screen simultaneously, the protocol calling for a dead character to explode in a shower of Lego bricks, disappear and come back again a moment later.Between the visceral joy of pounding your opponents into dozens of exploding Legos, unlocking every character you can and taking down a set of flying Hulkbuster armor via the Iron Man 3 "House Party" protocol (wherein half a dozen Iron Man suits fly in to assist you), there's always something fun to do in Lego Marvel Super Heroes. This is the blend of Lego and the Marvel universe you've been waiting for, a joyously geeky concoction worthy of your attention.I'll have the full review come Monday.Now, if you'll excuse me, I have a Lego version of Carnage to unlock and frighten a metropolitan populace with… Fri, 25 Oct 2013 17:48:00 -0700 http://www.gamespot.com/articles/review-in-progress-lego-marvel-super-heroes/1100-6415794/ http://www.gamespot.com/reviews/batman-arkham-origins-blackgate-review/1900-6415507/ Batman: Arkham Origins Blackgate should, in theory, be amazing. The recent pair of Batman games from Rocksteady Studios are the best featuring the caped crusader in years, if not decades, and mixing the constants of the Arkham games with a bit of Metroid-inspired design sounds like a winning formula. The prequel to Arkham Asylum, set after the console version of Arkham Origins, pits Batman against three familiar faces: Joker, the Penguin, and Black Mask. Each villain has taken control of a section of the Blackgate prison, amassing small armies along the way. Of course, only Batman can quell the uprising, but not without a little help from Catwoman, whose inside info is the key to identifying important locations within Blackgate. After the two penetrate the front lines, you're off to the races, free to tackle the three sections of the prison in any order you wish.Blackgate does have a lot in common with its older siblings, but everything is presented in 2.5D rather than full 3D. Despite the change in perspective, close-quarters combat remains fluid and simple; relentlessly attack enemies, and press the counter button when a warning icon flashes above their heads. It's a straightforward dance that's effortlessly strung together in a simple but satisfying way. You aren't controlling every facet of the action, but you are performing complex combo attacks and acrobatic takedowns with ease. Occasionally, advanced enemies with weapons or increased defenses appear, and you may have to stun them with your cape or leap over them to attack from behind, but overt button prompts make it easy to keep things moving right along.<figure data-align="left" data-size="medium" data-img-src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1406/14063904/2354400-2013-10-22-153735.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2354400" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1406/14063904/2354400-2013-10-22-153735.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2354400"><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/scale_medium/1406/14063904/2354400-2013-10-22-153735.jpg"></a><figcaption>Solomon Grundy wants love, too!</figcaption></figure> Unfortunately, it's not all good news. One of the few problems with combat occurs when you're dealing with a variety of enemy types. Quite often, fights take place on two planes, but you don't have control over which plane you're fighting on. Instead, Batman attacks the closest enemy regardless of whether the opponent is in the foreground or background. Following the simple attack and counter formula works well enough when against common enemies, but that which makes multi-plane combat easy, however, breaks any attempt at strategy when fighting complex enemies. Stunning one enemy, only to attack a different enemy on another plane by accident, for example, is an all-too-common occurrence.As you might expect, you eventually encounter well-known villains from the Batman series, and these boss fights come in two flavors. Mid-boss encounters, such as Bronze Tiger and Solomon Grundy, largely stick to the pattern of counter and attack found in typical fights, but the three big bosses are puzzle oriented in nature. These somewhat complex scenarios typically have strict conditions for success and extreme punishments for failure. A single misstep against Black Mask or the Penguin leads to near-instant death. Tackling these puzzles requires a trial-and-error approach, which doesn't work well with near-instant deathblows. Worst of all, you have to wait through an extended loading screen and start over a room or two before the boss fight. Until you know exactly what to do, it takes longer to get back into a boss fight than it does to fail.When you aren't fending off clowns and thugs, you spend the majority of your time exploring the prison depths in search of the villainous trio. A sprawling map, filled with hidden passages, dangerous obstacles, and encrypted security panels, represents each of the game's three sections. Catwoman points you in the right direction, but once you're inside, you have to rely on the map and Batman's detective vision to find your way around. Entering detective mode by tapping the Vita's touchscreen reveals an X-ray-like representation of your surroundings. Perches, enemies, and other common elements are highlighted to stand out, and you can analyze each object's properties by touching them for a few seconds. It's important to search the screen for hidden objects that weren't immediately recognized in detective mode, and it's the most common way to not only discover solutions to environmental puzzles, but also the locations of secret rooms and items.<figure data-align="center" data-size="large" data-img-src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1406/14063904/2354402-2013-10-22-204254.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2354402" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1406/14063904/2354402-2013-10-22-204254.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2354402"><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/scale_super/1406/14063904/2354402-2013-10-22-204254.jpg"></a><figcaption>I don't know about you, but I prefer maps that don't keep track of where I've been.</figcaption></figure>With mostly enjoyable combat and the discovery-driven model of exploration, Blackgate looks great on paper. However, the implementation of the latter feels rushed and chaotic, often leading to frustration with the level design, and most critically, the map. This is, for the most part, a side-scrolling experience, but you're often driven into an air duct in the background, around a corner, or onto an elevator, deviating away from the typical side-on perspective. This shouldn't be a problem, but thanks to the top-down map, and a constantly-shifting relationship with your surroundings, it is.The map is, by far, the most frustrating element of Blackgate, because it fails to provide the kind helpful information you'd expect to find. In a multistory environment with complex webs of air ducts, grapnel points, and hidden rooms, a map that fails to indicate what floor you're on is next to useless. Quite often, you're told to go to a specific room, but even if it appears that you're within the boundary of said room according to the map, you may in fact be floors and a complicated journey away. You may even need to come from an entirely different entrance to the building, but you won't figure any of this out until you spend lots of time analyzing every inch of your environment, chasing trails that lead to dead ends, and eventually stumble upon a hidden path that doubles back to the goal, albeit a floor above where you started. Then, nine times out of 10, when you finally make it to the goal, you have to head to yet another far-away location to briefly interact with an object to restore power to a generator, disable a security device, or something similar.Essentially, your journey is as follows: make your way from point A to point B, fight some enemies, head to point C to interact with an object, then return to point B to fight a boss. This pattern is common, and it's also frustrating, due in no small part to weak pathfinding and an utterly confusing map.<figure data-align="right" data-size="medium" data-img-src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1406/14063904/2354405-2013-10-22-203454.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2354405" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1406/14063904/2354405-2013-10-22-203454.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2354405"><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/scale_medium/1406/14063904/2354405-2013-10-22-203454.jpg"></a><figcaption>Prepare to analyze everything in sight, constantly.</figcaption></figure> When you've grown tired of the typical mission, you have plenty of opportunities to seek out hidden objects, represented by a question mark on the map. Most of these are out of reach until you've acquired the proper tools: the batarang, line launcher, gel launcher, and batclaw. All of these tools are used to interact with objects and, with the exception of the line launcher, act as variations on the same principle: impact another object and apply some kind of force upon it. With the line launcher, you can create zip lines that allow you to fly across the environment, and even use it as a tightrope to reach areas overhead. Since Batman can't jump, the line launcher and the starting grapnel gun are your only means of vertical movement.The Metroid-inspired world design, where tools are the key to reaching certain areas, is a welcome element, but the rewards for your explorative efforts are deflating. Most of the time, the items you find are one component of a four- or five-part object. It's a disappointing experience after struggling with the inadequate map and the need to endlessly analyze your environment. If you could analyze your environment while on the move, maybe the process wouldn't feel like such a chore, but as it is, you have to stand still to scrutinize your surroundings. In all, you spend far too much time stopping and starting, when all you want to do is solve puzzles, fight, and grapnel your way through the world.And this is the major conflict within Blackgate's design. When you're making forward progress, interacting with your environment, and occasionally fighting, it's a simple but enjoyable gameplay experience, but once you're forced to wrestle with the map while backtracking, and attempt to collect enough pieces to assemble a new batsuit, things start to fall apart, and Blackgate becomes a slow and frustrating slog. There is a New Game Plus option to explore after beating the game, in case you want to tackle the main villains in a different order, but there are too many frustrating elements to make that an attractive option. The first few hours of Blackgate provide an exciting glimpse of what might have been a great game, but it slowly falls apart, hour by hour, villain by villain. Fri, 25 Oct 2013 00:01:00 -0700 http://www.gamespot.com/reviews/batman-arkham-origins-blackgate-review/1900-6415507/

Gamespot's Site MashupDeveloper Tips for Success at Batman: Arkham Origins MultiplayerReview in Progress: Lego Marvel Super HeroesBatman: Arkham Origins Blackgate Review

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Solstice Arena - Stunning Victory, Crushing Defeat Gameplay Movie

Written By Kom Limpulnam on Jumat, 25 Oktober 2013 | 19.51

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Batman: Arkham Origins Blackgate Review

Batman: Arkham Origins Blackgate should, in theory, be amazing. The recent pair of Batman games from Rocksteady Studios are the best featuring the caped crusader in years, if not decades, and mixing the constants of the Arkham games with a bit of Metroid-inspired design sounds like a winning formula. The prequel to Arkham Asylum, set after the console version of Arkham Origins, pits Batman against three familiar faces: Joker, the Penguin, and Black Mask. Each villain has taken control of a section of the Blackgate prison, amassing small armies along the way. Of course, only Batman can quell the uprising, but not without a little help from Catwoman, whose inside info is the key to identifying important locations within Blackgate. After the two penetrate the front lines, you're off to the races, free to tackle the three sections of the prison in any order you wish.

Blackgate does have a lot in common with its older siblings, but everything is presented in 2.5D rather than full 3D. Despite the change in perspective, close-quarters combat remains fluid and simple; relentlessly attack enemies, and press the counter button when a warning icon flashes above their heads. It's a straightforward dance that's effortlessly strung together in a simple but satisfying way. You aren't controlling every facet of the action, but you are performing complex combo attacks and acrobatic takedowns with ease. Occasionally, advanced enemies with weapons or increased defenses appear, and you may have to stun them with your cape or leap over them to attack from behind, but overt button prompts make it easy to keep things moving right along.

Solomon Grundy wants love, too!

Unfortunately, it's not all good news. One of the few problems with combat occurs when you're dealing with a variety of enemy types. Quite often, fights take place on two planes, but you don't have control over which plane you're fighting on. Instead, Batman attacks the closest enemy regardless of whether the opponent is in the foreground or background. Following the simple attack and counter formula works well enough when against common enemies, but that which makes multi-plane combat easy, however, breaks any attempt at strategy when fighting complex enemies. Stunning one enemy, only to attack a different enemy on another plane by accident, for example, is an all-too-common occurrence.

As you might expect, you eventually encounter well-known villains from the Batman series, and these boss fights come in two flavors. Mid-boss encounters, such as Bronze Tiger and Solomon Grundy, largely stick to the pattern of counter and attack found in typical fights, but the three big bosses are puzzle oriented in nature. These somewhat complex scenarios typically have strict conditions for success and extreme punishments for failure. A single misstep against Black Mask or the Penguin leads to near-instant death. Tackling these puzzles requires a trial-and-error approach, which doesn't work well with near-instant deathblows. Worst of all, you have to wait through an extended loading screen and start over a room or two before the boss fight. Until you know exactly what to do, it takes longer to get back into a boss fight than it does to fail.

When you aren't fending off clowns and thugs, you spend the majority of your time exploring the prison depths in search of the villainous trio. A sprawling map, filled with hidden passages, dangerous obstacles, and encrypted security panels, represents each of the game's three sections. Catwoman points you in the right direction, but once you're inside, you have to rely on the map and Batman's detective vision to find your way around. Entering detective mode by tapping the Vita's touchscreen reveals an X-ray-like representation of your surroundings. Perches, enemies, and other common elements are highlighted to stand out, and you can analyze each object's properties by touching them for a few seconds. It's important to search the screen for hidden objects that weren't immediately recognized in detective mode, and it's the most common way to not only discover solutions to environmental puzzles, but also the locations of secret rooms and items.

I don't know about you, but I prefer maps that don't keep track of where I've been.

With mostly enjoyable combat and the discovery-driven model of exploration, Blackgate looks great on paper. However, the implementation of the latter feels rushed and chaotic, often leading to frustration with the level design, and most critically, the map. This is, for the most part, a side-scrolling experience, but you're often driven into an air duct in the background, around a corner, or onto an elevator, deviating away from the typical side-on perspective. This shouldn't be a problem, but thanks to the top-down map, and a constantly-shifting relationship with your surroundings, it is.

The map is, by far, the most frustrating element of Blackgate, because it fails to provide the kind helpful information you'd expect to find. In a multistory environment with complex webs of air ducts, grapnel points, and hidden rooms, a map that fails to indicate what floor you're on is next to useless. Quite often, you're told to go to a specific room, but even if it appears that you're within the boundary of said room according to the map, you may in fact be floors and a complicated journey away. You may even need to come from an entirely different entrance to the building, but you won't figure any of this out until you spend lots of time analyzing every inch of your environment, chasing trails that lead to dead ends, and eventually stumble upon a hidden path that doubles back to the goal, albeit a floor above where you started. Then, nine times out of 10, when you finally make it to the goal, you have to head to yet another far-away location to briefly interact with an object to restore power to a generator, disable a security device, or something similar.

Essentially, your journey is as follows: make your way from point A to point B, fight some enemies, head to point C to interact with an object, then return to point B to fight a boss. This pattern is common, and it's also frustrating, due in no small part to weak pathfinding and an utterly confusing map.

Prepare to analyze everything in sight, constantly.

When you've grown tired of the typical mission, you have plenty of opportunities to seek out hidden objects, represented by a question mark on the map. Most of these are out of reach until you've acquired the proper tools: the batarang, line launcher, gel launcher, and batclaw. All of these tools are used to interact with objects and, with the exception of the line launcher, act as variations on the same principle: impact another object and apply some kind of force upon it. With the line launcher, you can create zip lines that allow you to fly across the environment, and even use it as a tightrope to reach areas overhead. Since Batman can't jump, the line launcher and the starting grapnel gun are your only means of vertical movement.

The Metroid-inspired world design, where tools are the key to reaching certain areas, is a welcome element, but the rewards for your explorative efforts are deflating. Most of the time, the items you find are one component of a four- or five-part object. It's a disappointing experience after struggling with the inadequate map and the need to endlessly analyze your environment. If you could analyze your environment while on the move, maybe the process wouldn't feel like such a chore, but as it is, you have to stand still to scrutinize your surroundings. In all, you spend far too much time stopping and starting, when all you want to do is solve puzzles, fight, and grapnel your way through the world.

And this is the major conflict within Blackgate's design. When you're making forward progress, interacting with your environment, and occasionally fighting, it's a simple but enjoyable gameplay experience, but once you're forced to wrestle with the map while backtracking, and attempt to collect enough pieces to assemble a new batsuit, things start to fall apart, and Blackgate becomes a slow and frustrating slog. There is a New Game Plus option to explore after beating the game, in case you want to tackle the main villains in a different order, but there are too many frustrating elements to make that an attractive option. The first few hours of Blackgate provide an exciting glimpse of what might have been a great game, but it slowly falls apart, hour by hour, villain by villain.

19.51 | 0 komentar | Read More

Witcher series sales climb to six million

More than six million Witcher games have been sold to date, CD Projekt Red announced today on the franchise's sixth birthday, up from 5 million in February. The original Witcher was released on October 26, 2007.

The franchise expanded in May 2011 with The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings. The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt will be released in 2014 for Xbox One, PlayStation 4, and PC.

CD Projekt Red also released an infographic to mark the occasion, revealing various statistics about how the series has evolved during its lifetime.

In addition to The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, CD Projekt Red is working on next-generation role-playing game Cyberpunk 2077 and a "smaller" unannounced game at its new office in Krakow.

Filed under:: The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt; The Witcher; The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings; Xbox One; PlayStation 4

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Gamespot's Site Mashup

Written By Kom Limpulnam on Rabu, 23 Oktober 2013 | 19.50

Gamespot's Site MashupBase Defense Returns in XCOM: Enemy WithinKaz Hirai giving CES 2014 keynoteGlare Review

http://auth.gamespot.com/ Gamespot's Everything Feed! News, Reviews, Videos. Exploding with content? You bet. en-us Wed, 23 Oct 2013 05:17:09 -0700 http://www.gamespot.com/videos/base-defense-returns-in-xcom-enemy-within/2300-6415682/ Spoiler Alert: Maxwell and Aaron give you the lowdown on what to expect in this life-or-death encounter at XCOM HQ. Wed, 23 Oct 2013 05:00:00 -0700 http://www.gamespot.com/videos/base-defense-returns-in-xcom-enemy-within/2300-6415682/ http://www.gamespot.com/articles/kaz-hirai-giving-ces-2014-keynote/1100-6415728/ <figure data-align="center" data-size="large" data-img-src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1179/11799911/2352301-sony.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2352301" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1179/11799911/2352301-sony.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2352301"><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/scale_super/1179/11799911/2352301-sony.jpg"></a></figure> Sony president and CEO Kaz Hirai will deliver the opening keynote address at the 2014 Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas, organizers have announced.Hirai's speech will take place at 8:30 a.m. PDT on the first day of the show, January 7, and will touch on his perspective as it relates to "insights about the latest innovations occurring at the intersection of content and hardware."His CES address is part of the Tech Titans keynote series. Other speakers announced so far include Intel Corp. CEO Brian Krzanich and Audi chairman of the board Rupert Stadler.CES 2014 will be held January 7-10, 2014 in Las Vegas, Nevada. By that time, Sony's PlayStation 4 will have been on store shelves for almost two months, though it is not clear what role--if any--gaming will have in Hirai's speech.Sony is reportedly working on an Oculus Rift-like virtual reality headset for the PS4. A <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/sony-to-launch-own-vr-headset-for-playstation-4-report/1100-6413971/" data-ref-id="1100-6413971">past report</a> suggested this technology could be announced in 2014, making CES 2014 a possible venue for the reveal.Hirai was <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/sony-names-kaz-hirai-president-and-ceo/1100-6349542/" data-ref-id="1100-6349542">promoted</a> to president and CEO of Sony last February.He originally joined Sony in 1984 as part of its music group. In 1995, he transferred to Sony Computer Entertainment America, where he was instrumental in launching both <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/qanda-ps3-launch-endgame-with-kaz-hirai/1100-6160205/">the PlayStation 3</a> and <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/kaz-hirai-playstation-playmaker/1100-2464390/">PlayStation 2</a>, and he eventually became its president and CEO.In <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/sony-shuffles-senior-execs/1100-6162507/">a 2006 management shake-up</a>, Hirai replaced Ken Kutaragi as president of Sony Computer Entertainment International, where he helped turn around the then-money-losing PlayStation business.<div data-embed-type="video" data-ref-id="2300-6409698" data-width="100%" data-height="100%"><iframe src="/videos/embed/6409698/" width="100%" height="100%" frameborder="0" webkitAllowFullScreen mozallowfullscreen allowFullScreen></iframe></div> Wed, 23 Oct 2013 04:54:00 -0700 http://www.gamespot.com/articles/kaz-hirai-giving-ces-2014-keynote/1100-6415728/ http://www.gamespot.com/reviews/glare-review/1900-6415494/ You are the Shiner.The Shiner is a powerful guardian with a single objective: to obliterate the darkness that has recently begun encroaching upon the galaxy. Armed with magical light that allows you to push away foul mist and nasty creatures, you advance through a series of treacherous environments set on mostly barren planets, banishing all that is murky.Glare is in many respects a conventional 2D platformer, meaning that you're called upon to perform many precise jumps. The unique hook in this case is your ability to cast a bright beam on enemies and the world around them, often while airborne. You must master that skill to thrive. At first, you use the dazzling beam to repel projectiles and push away the floating purple aliens and skittering nasties that crowd your space, but the beam's use soon grows beyond such basic utility. Shadowy plant life in the background is brought to the foreground when you shine light in the right spot, allowing the vegetation to propel you toward higher ground. Switches can also be activated, producing zip lines and other helpful means of navigation. Early on, you gain the ability to fire bullets, but you must often choose between illumination and firepower. In tough spots, controlling crowds of strange beasts means alternating. If you are being swarmed by gliding enemies that suddenly emerge from a portal, it's easy to become overwhelmed until you clear out a safe path.<figure data-align="center" data-size="large" data-img-src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/416/4161502/2349114-0005.png" data-ref-id="1300-2349114" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/416/4161502/2349114-0005.png" data-ref-id="1300-2349114"><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/scale_super/416/4161502/2349114-0005.png"></a><figcaption>Sure, aim for the sky! It's not like you have to worry about running out of batteries or anything.</figcaption></figure>You start your tour of the galaxy by exploring a verdant forest environment known as Tree World. From there, you go on a voyage through the expected environmental tropes, traversing desert, rock, ice, and lava. The locations feature detailed foliage, intricate rock formations, and sparkling ravines covered in ice and snow--familiar but attractive locations in which background beauty and foreground dangers are easily distinguished. Each new environment introduces a couple of new monsters, but you generally deal with the same four or five critters.<blockquote data-align="center" data-size="large">Glare offers an inventive mechanic that could have given rise to a memorable adventure, but then fails to build meaningfully on that early promise.</blockquote>Monsters roam in the alien environs, but fights against these beasts are just an afterthought. Your most fearsome opponent is the generous supply of spiked vines that flourish on each planet. Brushing against the razor-sharp barbs spells instant death, even if you have taken no prior damage. Sometimes, those vines seem cheap in areas you're forced to hurry through, with you running or falling into a pit of spikes you couldn't have seen coming, but for the most part, stages are designed in a manner that avoids producing such frustrating circumstances. Even when you stumble across an exception to that rule, the levels benefit from a generous checkpoint system. There are a few cases where checkpoints are more frugal than normal, but you rarely lose much ground when monsters or spikes produce an unpleasant death.<figure data-align="right" data-size="small" data-img-src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/416/4161502/2349946-glare.png" data-ref-id="1300-2349946" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/416/4161502/2349946-glare.png" data-ref-id="1300-2349946"><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/scale_small/416/4161502/2349946-glare.png"></a><figcaption>Hanging around spikes all the time can be bad for your health. Didn't Buffy teach you that much?</figcaption></figure>Glare's controls are every bit as responsive as they should be in a game of this sort. You begin with the ability to jump long distances, bound up walls in narrow vertical shafts, and rush down slopes. Special pedestals you come across in each level grant access to additional moves, but a lot of those enhancements don't require direct player input. For instance, you gain the ability to dash along certain slopes to build speed that allows you to clear wider gaps, but you don't have to do anything more than run along the appropriate path to enjoy the benefits.Mild puzzle elements provide occasional interludes, but such moments are too traditional to be interesting. They typically require you to find a missing piece to a machine that allows you to open a locked door. In this case, you press a switch to make the piece appear and rush forward so that you can nab it in time. Once you grab it, you easily place it where it needs to go, and the door opens. A more successful attempt to vary the tempo comes elsewhere, when you ride winged creatures across fields of spikes while blasting enemies out of the air. In another case, you ascend a wide vertical shaft by fashioning makeshift ledges out of fragile bubbles. The game could have used more inventive moments like these.<figure data-align="left" data-size="small" data-img-src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/416/4161502/2349116-0007.png" data-ref-id="1300-2349116" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/416/4161502/2349116-0007.png" data-ref-id="1300-2349116"><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/scale_small/416/4161502/2349116-0007.png"></a><figcaption> It's always better to jump over this fellow than to face his charge.</figcaption></figure>At least the bosses keep things fresh. Most of them briefly turn the game into a twin-stick shooter along the lines of Geometry Wars. You float around an enclosed chamber, chipping away at the boss's armor so that its weak point appears and you can blast it. The foe at the end of each successive stage becomes more difficult than the previous one, but the process is never overly frustrating, and those encounters are a nice change of pace from the standard platforming segments that lead up to them.Glare is satisfying as it goes--it just doesn't go far enough. There are only six stages in all, and the first and last ones can be cleared quickly, especially once you are familiar with them. The first five areas each contain hidden artifacts that lie well off the beaten path, but there's no obvious benefit to finding them, and you don't get to use abilities gained in later stages when you head back to early ones. Securing a better time isn't really motivation to return, unless you're the sort who particularly enjoys speed runs: there's no way to easily share your triumphs with friends or rivals.Glare offers an inventive mechanic that could have given rise to a memorable adventure, but then fails to build meaningfully on that early promise. This is an entertaining pit stop that can tide you over on your journey to a bigger, brighter galaxy. Tue, 22 Oct 2013 18:16:00 -0700 http://www.gamespot.com/reviews/glare-review/1900-6415494/

Gamespot's Site MashupBase Defense Returns in XCOM: Enemy WithinKaz Hirai giving CES 2014 keynoteGlare Review

19.50 | 0 komentar | Read More

Gamespot's Site Mashup

Written By Kom Limpulnam on Selasa, 22 Oktober 2013 | 19.51

Gamespot's Site MashupNintendo hints at a Pokemon game where Pikachu mimics facial expressionsThe Wolf Among Us: Episode 1 Review - Testing My FaithHouse of Horrors - SCP: Containment Breach

http://auth.gamespot.com/ Gamespot's Everything Feed! News, Reviews, Videos. Exploding with content? You bet. en-us Tue, 22 Oct 2013 05:16:45 -0700 http://www.gamespot.com/articles/nintendo-hints-at-a-pokemon-game-where-pikachu-mimics-facial-expressions/1100-6415698/ <figure data-align="center" data-size="large" data-img-src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1493/14930800/2350664-9491170899-Ash_S.png" data-ref-id="1300-2350664" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1493/14930800/2350664-9491170899-Ash_S.png" data-ref-id="1300-2350664"><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/scale_super/1493/14930800/2350664-9491170899-Ash_S.png"></a></figure>Nintendo is working on technology where Pikachu can mimic facial expressions using the 3DS' internal camera.<figure data-align="right" data-size="medium" data-img-src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1493/14930800/2350668-2323110937-profe.gif" data-ref-id="1300-2350668" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1493/14930800/2350668-2323110937-profe.gif" data-ref-id="1300-2350668"><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/scale_medium/1493/14930800/2350668-2323110937-profe.gif"></a></figure>Japanese TV channel NHK (<a href="http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=693829" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">via NeoGAF</a>) showed a teaser of the title, with more information scheduled to be released next week.Screenshots of the broadcast show the title using the 3DS camera to capture the movement of a user's head, eyes, and mouth, and then map the changes to a model of Pikachu. The software is said to also capture a 3D model of a player's head.The end result of the technology will be featured in a TV interview with Pokemon Company president Tsunekazu Ishihara, to be broadcast on October 28.Pokemon X and Y, which was released for 3DS on October 12, <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/pokemon-x-y-sells-4-million-in-two-days/1100-6415582/" data-ref-id="1100-6415582">has now sold over 4 million copies worldwide</a>.<div data-embed-type="video" data-ref-id="2300-6414543" data-width="100%" data-height="100%"><iframe src="/videos/embed/6414543/" width="100%" height="100%" frameborder="0" webkitAllowFullScreen mozallowfullscreen allowFullScreen></iframe></div> Tue, 22 Oct 2013 04:32:00 -0700 http://www.gamespot.com/articles/nintendo-hints-at-a-pokemon-game-where-pikachu-mimics-facial-expressions/1100-6415698/ http://www.gamespot.com/reviews/the-wolf-among-us-episode-1-review-testing-my-fait/1900-6415497/ Over many years and many intellectual properties, developer Telltale Games has honed its aptitude for creating player-guided, story-driven games, culminating with last year's critically acclaimed series, <a href="/the-walking-dead-a-telltale-games-series/" data-ref-id="false">The Walking Dead</a>. Now it has introduced player agency to another comic series, Fables, which proves to be an uneasier fit. The bold artistic style and lively characters bring creator Bill Willingham's world to life vividly, but giving you control over a strong personality in this rich universe has a diminishing effect on both.I own the first trade paperback in the comic series, titled Fables: Legends in Exile. It had been a few years since I'd read it, but when I started playing The Wolf Among Us, it all came flooding back to me. The premise: colorful characters out of fables and fairy tales have been forced out of their magical homelands and now live in modern society. Bound together in a secret community, they must face the troubles of mundane life as well as a few challenges unique to them; nonhuman folks must constantly maintain a costly glamour spell in order to appear human, lest they be sent upstate to the farm where conditions are less than desirable.<figure data-align="center" data-size="large" data-img-src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/416/4161502/2309293-wolf+among+us+360+-+wolf+among+us+-+2013-10-07+07-44-1626.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2309293" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/416/4161502/2309293-wolf+among+us+360+-+wolf+among+us+-+2013-10-07+07-44-1626.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2309293"><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/scale_super/416/4161502/2309293-wolf+among+us+360+-+wolf+among+us+-+2013-10-07+07-44-1626.jpg"></a><figcaption>There are centuries of viciousness behind that snarl.</figcaption></figure> It's an immediately intriguing setting, one that drew me in as effectively in the comic as it does in the game. Affinity for beloved characters from my childhood mixed with empathy for their unhappy exile and made me yearn to learn all I could about their plight. The Wolf Among Us is quick to introduce a great example: Mr. Toad. Once the quirky, wealthy owner of the stately Toad Hall, Mr. Toad is now the landlord of a run-down tenement house that is currently playing host to a violent domestic dispute. His brusque cynicism speaks volumes about his change of fortune, and there's an undeniable charm in having an adversarial conversation with a cranky, bipedal toad. As the Big Bad Wolf (call him "Bigby"), you have a part to play in this dialogue. You're the Fabletown sheriff, and you have to respond to the ruckus in Toad's building, but not before confronting him about his conspicuous nonhuman appearance. Whether you give him a hard time or let it slide this time is up to you, and you can choose your dialogue responses from among four choices (one of which is usually to remain silent). To keep things moving, you have a limited amount of time to choose your response before the scene moves on, and this can urge you to be a bit more instinctual with your choices, as opposed to letting you carefully deliberate as long as you like. Dialogue choices are the beating heart of the gameplay experience in The Wolf Among Us. By taking a substantial degree of control over Bigby's lines, you take on an active role in shaping his character and, by extension, the story. Having a part to play in the story makes you an active participant and is meant to make you more invested in the characters, events, and world of the game. Many narrative-heavy games have been immensely enriched by this kind of investment, including <a href="/beyond-two-souls/" data-ref-id="false">Beyond: Two Souls</a>, which I had finished a few days earlier and found utterly engrossing. Telltale's previous tales have benefitted greatly from giving the player control through choice, but The Wolf Among Us is poorer for it.<blockquote data-align="center" data-size="large">Instead of feeling like I was molding my own character in the game, I felt like I was diminishing a character from the comic book.</blockquote>So why did this technique work so wonderfully with The Walking Dead yet falter here? The difference and the disconnect lie in the nature of the protagonists. In The Walking Dead, you played as Lee Everett, a character created specifically for the video game adaptation of the comic series. Though his past is eventually fleshed out, he begins the episodic series as a largely blank slate. This leaves a lot of room for his character to develop and, more importantly, a lot of room for you to create his identity. With each choice you make, you are claiming parts of Lee's personality for yourself and becoming more invested in his struggles.The same is true for Bigby Wolf; with each choice you make, you are claiming parts of his personality for yourself. However, while playing as Lee is like filling a role, playing as Bigby is like taking one over. With every dialogue choice, you are imposing your personality on a strong character; Bigby has a dark past that he has tried to escape in his new life, and the struggle between his reformed attitude and his true nature is a gripping one. It's not that any of the dialogue options feel wildly out of character, because they don't, and the sharp writing throughout strikes a great grim tone with a few welcome beats of levity.<figure data-align="right" data-size="small" data-img-src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/416/4161502/2311569-wolf+among+us+360+-+wolf+among+us+-+2013-10-07+08-32-1308.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2311569" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/416/4161502/2311569-wolf+among+us+360+-+wolf+among+us+-+2013-10-07+08-32-1308.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2311569"><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/scale_small/416/4161502/2311569-wolf+among+us+360+-+wolf+among+us+-+2013-10-07+08-32-1308.jpg"></a></figure> Rather, the issue is that in shaping Bigby's responses, I really just wanted to know what Bigby would do rather than choosing myself. By choosing sympathetic, indifferent, or harsh options, I felt like I was shutting off other parts of his personality that might be truer or more interesting than the ones I was choosing. Bigby's strong persona was already well established in this world, and I felt like an interloper. Instead of feeling like I was molding my own character in the game, I felt like I was diminishing a character from the comic book.This feeling nagged me throughout the game, but I was still eager to see this first of five planned chapters through to its conclusion. Encountering other characters, like the boozy flying monkey or one of the three not-so-little pigs, was a regular treat, and interacting with the hard-working Snow White and the hard-drinking Woodsman left me even more sympathetic than I'd been to begin with. Bigby's investigations lead to some startling discoveries and hint nicely at the conflicts to come (though how much those conflicts diverge from arcs in the comic series, I couldn't say). With strong dialogue and interesting characters, The Wolf Among Us tells a stimulating tale. There are spikes of action as well that lend some extra drama to the proceedings and offer provocative peeks at what happens when Bigby lets his claws come out. These scenes rely entirely on those double-edged swords: quick-time events. While these scripted skirmishes are exciting and nicely choreographed, the large button prompts tend to draw your attention away from the action, though one type of prompt does counteract this by making you look at environmental elements. Beyond: Two Souls had similar fight scenes, but instead of looking for a prompt, you had to take your directional cue from the protagonist's body language by paying close attention to the dramatic action taking place. I felt invigorated as I closely watched my character's movements, while in The Wolf Among Us, I felt enervated as I waited for the on-screen prompts.<figure data-align="center" data-size="large" data-img-src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/416/4161502/2311564-wolf+among+us+360+-+wolf+among+us+-+2013-10-07+07-44-1661.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2311564" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/416/4161502/2311564-wolf+among+us+360+-+wolf+among+us+-+2013-10-07+07-44-1661.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2311564"><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/scale_super/416/4161502/2311564-wolf+among+us+360+-+wolf+among+us+-+2013-10-07+07-44-1661.jpg"></a><figcaption>It's hard out there for a pig.</figcaption></figure> Certain conversations were also plagued with a similarly draining mechanic. Intermittently, the game displays a message in the corner of the screen informing you how a character reacted to something you said or did. Lines like "Snow White is still skeptical of you" or "Toad will remember that" are meant to be teasers of consequences to come, but they feel like placeholder captions for sentiments that should be expressed through animation or dialogue. The Wolf Among Us conveys a range of emotion through the natural flow of the game, making these messages stand out like so many sore thumbs. After the few hours it took to complete this chapter, I wasn't certain I how I felt about playing the next chapter. The characters and the world of The Wolf Among Us create a strong draw, but I couldn't shake the feeling that I was somewhere I didn't belong. The world of Fables is so rich and so intriguing, is there really room for player agency? In The Walking Dead, zombies are a variable that allow for flexible dramatic staging. In Fables, the fairy tale characters are constants on a dramatic stage that is already set. Without an inherent narrative flexibility, The Wolf Among Us makes an awkward fit for the winning Telltale formula. Mon, 21 Oct 2013 17:01:00 -0700 http://www.gamespot.com/reviews/the-wolf-among-us-episode-1-review-testing-my-fait/1900-6415497/ http://www.gamespot.com/videos/house-of-horrors-scp-containment-breach/2300-6415681/ Zorine and Jess have trouble with the phrase "cervical fracture" and walk backwards for a very long time while trying to outsmart creepy SCP monsters. They also die a lot. Mon, 21 Oct 2013 17:00:00 -0700 http://www.gamespot.com/videos/house-of-horrors-scp-containment-breach/2300-6415681/

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