PS3 Demo Impressions: Dante's Inferno + Bayonetta

DANTE'S INFERNO: You’ve undoubtedly heard of Dante’s Inferno now. You know, the ultraviolent action game by EA and Visceral Games that butchers a piece of classical literature in the name of swinging a scythe around hacking shit up. The demo was just released for it on the PSN yesterday, and my friend and I took it upon ourselves to download that shit and give it a spin.

I’m going to come right out and admit, on my first play through, I did not enjoy it a whole lot. It’s not that there’s anything wrong with the game, per se. From the moment I took up the controller I knew that the game played almost EXACTLY like God of War. I mean, I knew it, we all knew it, it was fairly obvious that the game was basing itself heavily off of God of War, but once you start playing and seeing everything in action, you realize that it’s…well, it’s TOO MUCH like God of War. I feel weird about it, because if more games were like God of War, there would be fewer shitty games in existence, but at the same time it feels almost like outright plagiarism and, being a fan of God of War myself, I felt kind of dirty. And while I want to judge it on it’s own level as a game, you cannot help but make comparisons unless you yourself have never played the God of War series.

The controls are virtually the same (albeit a wee bit slower since you‘re swinging around a big scythe), the Quick Time Event bits are virtually the same, there’s very little difference between the soundtracks, you gain health and magic through fountains much like how Kratos uses treasure chests, and fuck, even the spirits that come out of destroyed objects and slaughtered enemies used to gain new attacks and abilities are identical with the exception of a color swap. My first time through the demo, I kept thinking, “man, I could just be playing God of War 2 right now and probably be having more fun.”

So is any of this a really bad thing? Not necessarily. Controls are tight, the action is, erm, visceral (ugh), the Crucifix is a nice touch, and the graphics are brain-meltingly spectacular. A lot of time, effort, and money has gone into this game, and it shows very clearly.

What REALLY bothers me, however, are little nagging things concerning the cinematics and a lack of, how do I put this, thrills? which God of War provides. The first time we see Dante in the opening cinematic, he’s sitting by a fire in the middle of the forest, sewing a red fabric cross to his fucking chest. Why? I have no clue. Then we cut to strange-looking 2D animation of the crusades, and then it goes straight into the gameplay. I had no real idea where I was, what was going on, or why I was really killing these people. Then in the most anticlimactic, boring fashion, someone shoves a dagger in Dante’s back, Death shows up, and you two throw down.

Should Death really be that much of a pushover? REALLY? It’s such a dull fight too. Think back to the beginning of God of War: You’re jumping from ship to ship fighting the motherfucking HYDRA. Here, however? You kill a bunch of generic dudes and then have a boss battle against Death, and it just feels like something is not right.

But that’s not just it. Dante, to me, is not an endearing character. We don’t hear him speak much, he’s alarmingly quiet, and the cutscenes are so very convoluted that I have no real idea why things are happening. His motives are clear after he finds Beatrice dead, sure, but before that? I was lost. I just don’t really feel connected to this guy.

But I’ll probably still get the game, just not on day one or anything like that. If only because the shots of Hell that you see at the end of the demo are extremely disturbing and enticing at once, and I want to see that shit, even if I don’t care about the story or characters and even if it feels too damn derivative of God of War.



BAYONETTA: Ah, now here is my favorite of these two demos. Bayonetta has been getting quite a bit of attention. Developed by Platinum Games, the former Clover guys responsible for Madworld on the Wii (which you may recall I reviewed). Much like Dante’s Inferno, this demo fails utterly at letting you know what the fuck the story of this game is about and doesn’t let on much about who the characters are.

However, strangely enough, this time around I don’t really care. Bayonetta herself oozes personality, not just in her off-the-wall design, but in her behavior as well. One of her taunts is, I shit you not, “I have a fever, and the only cure for it is MORE DEAD ANGELS!”

Yes, my friends, you’re playing as a tall, sexy, bespectacled witch with guns on her feet, and the enemies you face are angels. Very vicious and slightly disturbing looking angels, might I add. Why? Who knows, but it beats hacking up a bunch of generic guys with swords, doesn’t it?

I’ve heard this game draw comparisons to Devil May Cry, specifically because this is directed by the same dude, but I’ve never played DMC, so I have no idea how similar they are. I can say, however, that this demo is incredibly fun and stylish. Bayonetta kicks, shoots, and punches (or slices, if you switch to her katana) her way through foes with grace and power as hyperactive Japanese piano-heavy music plays. Get your magic bar filled up and you can do “Torture Attacks” to enemies, which involve fun torture devices. The only two I’ve witnessed are an Iron Maiden which Bayonetta kicks them into, and a guillotine. She’ll actually spank the enemy while they’re in the guillotine until the blade drops.

Yes, it’s all so very over-the-top and wild, super-fast paced, and just all kinds of fun. This is a game with its tongue planted firmly in its cheek. While Dante’s Inferno is trying to be super serious and heavy, Bayonetta is light-hearted colorful. The graphics are beautiful, with all kinds of colors and the enemy designs are just as imaginative and crazy as Bayonetta herself. It’s a hell of a lot more thrilling, too, when a giant angel has grabbed the bridge you’re standing on and is swinging it around as you’re trying to fight the damn thing.

I confess, I had a bias for this from the very beginning. This is a game coming from the makers of some of the best damn action games that no one ever played on the PS2, not to mention Madworld. I can see elements of their former games in this demo alone, the ability to grab enemy’s weapons and use them is almost right out of God Hand and Madworld, as is the fact that you cannot block, only dodge, for example.

I cannot wait for this game to come out next year, yes.

(NOTE: These impressions are from the PS3 demo. I hear the 360 Bayonetta demo is actually a little different)

[Brett]

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 (Campaign Only)

WAR. UH. WHAT IS IT GOOD FOR? ABSOLUTELY NOTHIN'. SAY IT AGAIN!

Last month, the highly anticipated Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 slammed headfirst onto the shelves, awaiting the grubby hands of the hardcore and casual alike. A new edition of a Call of Duty game typically delivers what fans want, and in this case, much more.

In Infinity Ward’s latest installment of their Call of Duty franchise, you again assume multiple roles, first beginning your violent journey as U.S. Army Ranger Joseph Allen, instructing new recruits how to fire a weapon in Afghanistan. This, and a quick time trial serves as your tutorial and difficulty gauge. After replaying the time trial a few times to freshen up on my first-person shooter skills, I headed off into the campaign under the Normal difficulty setting.

You begin game proper taking an Afghan municipality from a group of terrorists, where you do so well that General Sheppard enlists you into his elite counter-terrorist unit, Task Force 141. Meanwhile, veteran members Gary “Roach” Sanderson and “Soap” MacTavish are retrieving a important piece of tech from a downed satellite. Allen’s first mission, as part of a CIA spec ops assignment, involves becoming one of Russian terrorist Vladimir Makarov’s right hand men.

You, Makarov, and two other of his closest buddies proceed to commit one of the most heinous acts ever put forth in a video game. Armed with automatic rifles, your new friends mow down hundreds of unarmed civilians and TSA agents in a Russian airport. Fortunately, you are only required to keep up with Makarov, not necessarily pull the trigger on the innocents. But as you watch others crawl for their lives, behind benches and coffee counters, and as you listen to the screams of terror you are enabling, you really feel quite the emotional impact of such an event. Once the act of terror as been completed, it’s revealed Makarov knows you are an American and kills you at the scene. The Russian government finds you, believes the U.S. was in support of this massacre, and subsequently launches a full scale invasion upon the East Coast, evading U.S. early detection systems. As Army Ranger Ramirez you trek the streets of the Virginian suburbs and Washington, D.C., battling the invading Russians. As Task Force 141 operative Roach you seek to find Makarov and expose him as the true mastermind behind the Russian airport slayings.

This guy is a douche. Like, biggest-douche-in-the-universe douche.

Never before have I played an action war title that felt so real. Maybe it has been a long time since I played what the industry has had to offer for war games, sticking close to futuristic titles like Halo and Half Life, but there was something peculiar about defending the front line in a shopping plaza of a Taco ToGo (Taco Bell), Burger Town (Burger King) and a sports bar and grill that looked an awful lot like TGI-Fridays. I swear, I felt as if I could have been fighting in front of a Publix, the place of my employment. The missions found out of the country didn’t strike as hard of a chord, but they were still bone shatteringly real, and the fire fights required some amount of tactics, instead of the usual run and gun of aforementioned titles. Maybe I'm just happy I'm not fighting the German's again, and in the 1940s.

Watching the Russian viciously attack the homeland made me actually angry, and I played the game with a vicious emotion. I really wanted to kill the attackers. They violated my territory, and I felt a strong tie to my task of defending what was ours, even though it was all in a virtual world. The same can be said for the task of finding and revealing that bastard Makarov.

The atmosphere and environments were top of the line. Everywhere I went, I was enthralled in the game. Nothing was so jarringly “video game” that it violated my experience. My only gripe would have to be how some of the homes you must venture into are a bit unrealistically spacey and large. My perception might be skewed, but houses, even those owned by the wealthy, aren’t usually like that. There is always an amount of clutter or tight spaces, even if it’s minimal.

The game play is something to behold. There is an even mix of “Holy shit, this is dumb” hard, where there’s a particular wall of enemies that you seem to repeatedly get trampled by, and “TAKE THAT” instances where you enact great moments of kick-assery. The game doesn’t stick to only gunplay, taking brief breaks to let you scale an ice mountain, drive a snow mobile, pilot a speed boat, and more. Some of my favorite sequences were breach and clear opportunities. You and your squad mates bust down the doors of a room, and, in bullet time, take out all the enclosed enemies. Another is using the remote controlled Predator drones, your rocket friends in the sky, to aim and fly into your biggest targets or simply a large foot team of opposing soldiers.

Shooting from the hip, what one typically does in every other first person shooter, is mostly ineffective. Instead, the game prefers you stop, aim, and fire, making for a more realistic war experience. You have to hunker down, in a trench, behind some wood, and strategically take out your foes.

Proper "hunkering down" pose.

The loading screens in-between missions were passive, because the story progressed while you waited, listening in on conversations and tactical strategies of your next task. Also, I was very pleased to see the missions progress without stopping to load the next environment in the middle of them. In game ambiance, and sound effects were brilliant. The score, main theme provided by Hollywood great Hans Zimmer, was incredible. The story, overall, was written quite cohesively and strung the campaign together nicely.

This installment of Infinity Ward’s favorite child was given so much gamer and media hype. I firmly believed it deserved every bit of it.

Oh and I’ve also heard good things about the multiplayer.

Albums I Won't Ever Shut Up About: Of Natural History (Sleepytime Gorilla Museum)

"And let us dream now, the impossible dream of a math professor..."



You know them as: That band I bring up when someone says they listen to "anything but country/rap".

Sounds a bit like: An art-house metal Broadway show about how much human beings suck

Sometimes, you want something different. Sleepytime Gorilla Museum is different. And then some. With an anti-humanist theme, some intensely Satanic and apocalyptic overtones, and an almost schizophrenic musical style that seems not to know whether it wants to be metal, children's rhyme, Broadway musical number or religious hymn, Of Natural History is most definitely not for everyone. Lead vocalists Carla Kihlstedt and Nils Frykdahl each bring their own bizarre and wonderful flavor to the table—Kihlstedt with an almost childishly innocent wailing, Frykdahl alternating between harsh screaming voice and melodramatic Broadway lead. The instrumentation is...varied. The band members craft custom instruments to play on both the studio album and live performances, which creates an interesting experience no matter how you're listening to it ("frontman" Nils Frykdahl playing on a tiny children's piano is something that must be seen (if only on Youtube) to be believed).

It's not as avant-garde as some of the stuff out there (LET'S JUST MAKE A DRONING NOISE FOR THREE HOURS WHILE WEARING MASKS), but it's definitely weird.

Get it if: You're actually looking to broaden your musical palate; you want to freak your parents/grandparents/religious aunt out; you're extremely pretentious.
High Points: "The Donkey-Headed Adversary of Humanity Opens the Discussion", "Bring Back the Apocalypse", "Gunday's Child"

Albums I Won't Ever Shut Up About: The Fall of Math (65daysofstatic)

Sssssssssixty-five...



You know them as: "Playing Gears? Let's plug in my iPod..."
Sounds something like: The soundtrack to the end of the world, as played by ancient robots who secretly lament the fall of humanity

If any band exemplifies the term "post-rock", 65daysofstatic is it. "Post-" not only in terms of evolution but also in terms of feel, The Fall of Math is a discordant, layered masterwork that is a musical accompaniment to Armageddon. It might blow your mind. It is this band and this album that informed me just how broad the musical landscape was out there, and that there was a Promised Land in it for anyone willing to explore its lonely wilds and vast subterranean catacombs. At once rocking, haunting, and beautiful, The Fall of Math makes good use of heavy guitar and electronic samples with a smattering of piano, backed by some of the most insane drum structures you'll hear outside of the IDM genre...all without any distracting or out-of-place vocals. The drums, both live and programmed, really move the music, putting power and urgency into each and every song.Every track, the world is ending. We're losing the fight, or winning it. Something is going on.

Oh, and as you rush to the dropship, remember to reload your assault rifle so the angels guarding the landing zone have some covering fire.

Get it if: You want a soundtrack for Fallout, Gears of War, or Half-Life 2; you like drums but dislike vocals
High Points: "Retreat! Retreat!", "I Swallowed Hard, Like I Understood", "The Fall of Math"

(Note: their second album, One Time for All Time, features "Await Rescue", hands-down one of my favorite songs ever and an exquisite battlesong.)

http://www.65daysofstatic.com/

DJ Hero Review

Put ya hands up, here comes my DJ



I entered into a shaky alliance with dark forces to procure a DJ Hero bundle. I'm sure many of you shared my sentiments earlier in the year when this title was announced by Activision, something of a cross between an exasperated sigh, an incredulous "Really?! Seriously.", and that expression your dog has when he hears your voice coming out of the voicemail machine. I saw this, however, and was immediately sold.

What DJ Hero brings to the table is the charm, fresh gameplay and new method of experiencing music that the first Guitar Hero did. Pressing buttons in response to colored gems flowing down that familiar highway is still a basic staple, but more than enough has changed around that tried-and-true rhythm game mechanic to set it apart from its band-driven cousins.



The real challenge of the game comes in scratching and crossfading. You scratch by holding down a button and moving the "record", sometimes in a specific direction. Scratching feels solid and, I can only assume, fairly realistic (in the same way that holding a plastic guitar and strumming feels realistic). Crossfading is somewhat difficult to grasp at first. Using your other hand, you flick the crossfader to switch between the left track, both tracks combined, and the right track. There's also an "effects dial" that distorts certain portions of the song and doubles your multiplier, and also selects between sound clips that can be triggered during red "freestyle zones". Once you get the hang of it, it's every bit as fun as playing Guitar Hero or Rock Band—that is, if you enjoy the music.

What Freestyle Games have done musically in this title is nothing short of astounding. Nearly every song in the game is a mashup between two songs, oftentimes from completely different genres. Artists as varied as 2Pac, David Bowie, Rihanna, Beck, Marvin Gaye and Paul van Dyk contribute songs, some of which are mixed by some of the biggest names on the DJ scene, including DJ Shadow, DJ Z-Trip, and the late DJ AM. Grandmaster Flash and DJ Jazzy Jeff are also present, bringing some old-school flair to the proceedings. But even though there are more famous turntablists represented than you can shake a needle at, it never feels forced, especially with special setlists presented by all the real DJs in the game. The fictional characters are also some of the most interesting seen in a music game (Cleetus Cuts alone deserves his own adventure).



It's a solid setup, but not without its shortcomings. The weight of the turntable controller combined with a lack of stability in most scenarios makes it difficult to perform certain scratch patterns, especially on the faster scratch-centric tracks. The buttons, too, suffer from some inaccuracy at higher levels of play, where one has to press buttons almost ludicrously fast. Really, though, it is only during these few songs that you will feel as though the controller is working against you. Another minor complaint is that though the title boasts over one hundred mixes, there aren't enough unique songs. While many songs are in fact sampled multiple times—"Disturbia" by Rihanna and Gwen Stefani's "Hollaback Girl" each appearing in no less than three separate mixes—the fact remains that the overwhelming majority of the music is excellent.

The game does feature a few multiplayer modes, including play over Xbox Live. The mode that I'm sure many followers of the game have been itching to try out—where another player straps on a Guitar Hero controller to accompany the DJ—is solid, if a little flat. The only issue here is that the guitar songs are far too repetitive to be any real fun, and my cohort and I have yet to return to it. DJ vs. DJ was not reviewed, as I hate other people and have chosen Xbox Live Silver as my self-imposed exile, and also neither one of us has another turntable controller. A final mode, while not multiplayer, allows you to set the game to play itself, basically becoming your own personal VJ. With the great background presentation that's actually fun to watch even when you're not playing and the option to jump in at any moment, it's a great mode for parties (so long as no one spills Jack and Coke on your precious turntable).



Having said all of this, I know those of you considering a purchase are still worried about the clincher: the $120 price tag. While I absolutely love the game, I have to say that for a brand-new franchise Activision is trying to launch with the shortcomings it presents, it's too much. Not grossly so, but I think perhaps ninety would have been sufficient (as that's what Guitar Hero II for the 360 cost at launch). One could argue that Activision is cautious about the profit margin and figures if less people buy it they may as well get a bigger cut from those who do, but if someone with no desire to buy it in the first place sees the price, I think it might deter potential new attachers, especially since so few retailers have a demo station set up.

In short, the game is a great first entry in a new franchise which represents a new direction for Activision's massively popular music game/peripheral market. Though a bit pricey, the bundle is a lot of fun so long as you dig the music.

Borderlands: A First Look

  Listed as a FPS RPG this game at first sounds like it wouldn't work well. To many the style of RPG makes them think of Dungeons and Dragons and turn based combat and the FPS genre springs to mind face paced non-stop action shooting at anything that moves. To some these are things that cannot be combined, yet if you look at a lot of games nowadays you will notice that many genres are often cut up to combine other games.

Borderlands takes the experience and skill models from RPGs and puts them in the world of an FPS. You find guns instead of swords with various powers and strengths. This model works amazingly well and to (and The Captain) holds a feel similar to an MMO with a persistant world and enemies that respawn a while after they are killed. You find quests around the world and earn xp boosts completing them. I have only played through the first couple of bosses so far but the model works very well. The characters have an ability to recover if they manage to kill a monster after they are injured to near death allowing you to solo some of the tougher areas without dying too much. The game also has a revive system that deducts a specific amount of money as a penalty for dying.

I enjoy this game and plan to make a full review after I have completed it. 

Halo 3: ODST

WARNING: I am a shameless, unabashed Halo nerd. I love the universe, the characters, the plot, everything. I love it. I will make no attempt to conceal that for the duration of this review, but I will try to be as objective as possible. Then again, this is HA, and we do what we want.

Halo 3: ODST - My Xbox 360 refused to function last Monday. It displayed 'System Error: E 74. Contact Support.' I've been without it ever since, but fortunately was granted almost a week with ODST and it's accompanying Mythic disk before I shipped the console off to the repair center.



ODST is the fifth installment in the Halo game series, chronologically (in-universe) taking place in between Halo 2 and Halo 3. The series' preceding entry, Halo Wars (reviewed previously on HA), was a departure from the formula of the first three games. Replacing first person shooting with real time strategy, and the Master Chief with an entire stable of other characters, it was met with mixed reactions from the Halo fanbase. That aside, it was a solid game with good mechanics, and did take steps toward furthering the mythos of the Halo universe. Introducing new locations, scenarios and plot points, Halo Wars filled in a few blanks and gave players a look at another side of the Halo saga.

ODST continues this trend, but also returns to the series' roots. There is no resource management or population cap to be found here, but instead the classic, polished FPS formula which has made the series so famous.

The Master Chief is neither seen nor mentioned. Neither are any of the other Spartans, for that matter. Instead of the genetically and cybernetically enhanced super soldiers, we step into the boots of a team of Orbital Drop Shock Troopers. ODSTs have been a part of the Halo universe for quite some time, but this is the first opportunity we've been given to play as them (unless you count the ODST armor variants in Halo 3's multiplayer, but I digress).

To summarize the protagonist, you play as an unnamed ODST known only as "The Rookie". As the Rookie investigates the ruined streets of New Mombasa, you play through flashback sequences wherein you discover what happened to the rest of The Rookie's ODST squad, and play as each member respectively.

It should be noted that ODST can almost certainly be considered the greatest example of storytelling within the Halo universe, at least as far as the games are concerned. The dialogue is well written, and delivered to the player via such voice talent as Nathan Filion (!!!). The plot is more subtle, and less straight forward than previous entries. Instead of the standard, "Shoot the aliens because they are bad so save the humans okay?" formula, ODST raises questions at almost every turn. From the start we know only one thing - something has gone horribly wrong in New Mombasa, and the player can hope only to salvage what remains of The Rookie's squad and make it out alive. The art style of the game will remind players of some of Halo 2's early sequences, wherein The Master Chief did battle through New Mombasa, but this is a setting far more polished, and far more human that it's predecessor. It is also far darker, as New Mombasa is no longer the sprawling metropolis it once was, but rather a ruined, burning city. Audio diaries found throughout the map help to flesh out the realism of the story, as well as graffiti scrawled on the walls of derelict buildings, and the bodies of dead UNSC soldiers. This is a gritter, less space-operatic look at the Halo universe. Empathy for the characters is an easier thing to harbor than it was for the faceless Spartan 117, and the wise cracking marines which never made it to the end of a level in the first three games.



This is not, of course, to say that the teeth-gritting action of the early games is not present. Not all of the player's time is spent skulking around in alleyways and side streets. The flashback scenes in particular have the player mowing down wave after wave of Covenant enemies, piloting vehicles, throwing grenades and circle-strafing just like we're used to. If you like Halo's gameplay formula, or ever have, ODST is worth trying out. If you're one of those you simply can't stand it, then you're better off playing something else.

I could probably go on and on about everything I love about this game. As stated, I am a shameless fanboy, and it's unlikely that anything with the Halo moniker on it will fail to impress me. ODST in particular however takes serious steps, and makes a visible attempt at innovating within a series that has followed roughly the same formula for the past eight years. Make no mistake - This is Halo, but it's also something new.

The game's new multiplayer mode, Firefight, will appeal to fans of Gears of War 2's Horde Mode, or to anyone with a taste for co-operative gameplay. Firefight pits up to four players against endless waves of Covenant enemies in a closed off arena, with increasing difficulty at the end of every wave. Difficulty multipliers are activated automatically as you progress, adding a layer of challenge and breaking up some of the monotony. The arcade like point-scoring system encourages competitiveness between players, as well as creativity in how the player scores kills (different weapons yield different points values). It's a nice addition to the Halo universe, and one that Bungie will hopefully expand upon in the future.

All in all ODST is a worthy addition to the library of any fan of first person shooters, and an essential for any Halo fan. I count myself among both groups, and enjoyed nearly every minute I spent with ODST's 6-8 hour campaign. A bonus disk including every Halo 3 map to date, as well as three new ones, and Halo 3's matchmaking system is included. It's also worth noting that with the launch of Halo Waypoint on November 5th 2009, ODST will be one of only three games which (as of that date) supports Avatar awards on the Xbox 360.