Blood Dragon

Take Far Cry 3 and rip its heart out and you have Blood Dragon its an FPC, C for cyborg set in a doomed Jurassic Park playground swarmed with an army of Daft Punk clones, Death star laser operators, enough neon lights to give a moth an esoteric orgasm and mini Godzilla's that will send you frantically running for the nearest bunker hands flailing hairs up on end. And its all swamped in hilariously refreshing nonsensical humour. As your stamina is infinite you will find yourself dashing about like a cyborg from Blade Runner ripping your victims hearts out as you go and feeding them to dragons like some sort of sacrifice but more omg-here-eat-this-and-not-me-run-agghhhh-shit!

You play as Rex Power Cult a cyborg commando armed to the teeth constantly finding yourself at the good end of a rail gun that sounds like a chorus of snare drumming turbo charged hummingbirds while getting the low down from a husky and single minded sarge or the always pleasant Doc with just enough self respect to readjust ones crotch while doing so. The tempo is gun-ho, the soundtrack is intoxicating and the imagery is of a dance floor of cyborg steel charm with neon lights and explosions on explosions in a pit of terrifying rampaging dinosaurs. Despite all this the balance in the gameplay and pace could possibly not be better even when you get the most powerful weapon  (and sacred) in the game. The ominous thickly clouded sky, the massive pillar like beams of light shooting into the sky, the bolts of lightning, the reloading gun-slinging tricks, the fluidity of the Blood Dragons, the 80's pop culture references, the f button for flipping the bird, the cheesy one liners, the who cares just do it anyway it will be fun attitude, the list goes on and on this game oozes character its infested with it, I mean they have red barrels the size of elephants!

There are a few reminders of Far Cry 3 and two thankfully being the functionality and well thought out health system but thankfully that's about it; this game does its best to stay well away from its original shell and gives you a setting that is so much more surreal and yet so much more real and unreal at the same time. I think the difference is apart from the setting that the story is never far from your main objective that is always your prerogative there is no crafting, or nagging interactions that distract the gameplay and exploring is your own choice and not one that is lightly undertaken mainly because its just so damn dark and terrifying with cyborg animals with fangs the size of couches.

Its like the Far Cry team just went to town on this one and threw everything out the window in exchange for fun which transfers to the players experience. Sure the context your given is something along the lines of dubious bio-weapons in the future of 2007 where America nuked Canada to stop the Russian invasion and for some reason Australia was invaded as well but after all is said and done in this dystopian 80's disco of subterfuge all that matters is punching your fist into things and putting the psychos away. You kinda realise for once that the scariest thing in this game is you although you are out to save humanity... Its the most I have ever wanted to talk about a game, happy hunting soldier.

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The Incredible Adventures of Van Helsing

Not so incredible in fact boring, I didn't get very far and apparently it does get better so here is a review by someone that bothered. I mean when did it become the games objective to waste ones time... It has an intriguing art style and although the price is about right I still regret playing it.

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Natural Design

This article is in response to Critical Distances Blogs of the Round Table.

Nature in the literal sense has not much to do with gaming but making game environments seem more natural is more in the players acceptance of rather than just straight "oh that looks natural". In the words of Ian: "games have become pointless grinds, absurd hamster wheel exercises meant only to produce their own continuance, to offer just enough novelty to imbue players with curiosity sufficient to press on in the pointless art of clicking on... another object." this quote gives a glimpse of what the definition of what Unnatural Design is and it shouldn't be taken as cynical as we are talking from a design point of view.

Warning non mainstream opinions a plenty: Dead Space 2 not 3 because I didn't buy 3 because I thought number 2 resembled a sewage pipe that sometimes flushed in which case you sometimes got to float about in it. In talking about my distaste of Dead Space 2 I am not a so much talking about what we constitute as natural: existing in or caused by nature; not made or caused by humankind or not artificial.

I can remember a few games that were a little less artificial in design than Dead Space 2 they felt more "natural" in the sense that their environments lent themselves well to immersion and suspension of disbelief, games so good that they gave the impression they were not made by anything but our own imaginations and investment of oneself. Worlds like Turok: Dinosaur Hunter 1, 2, and 3 or Shadow Man (but not 2) these games: the soundtrack, game-play, interaction, environments, sound, art, story, emotional triggers, level design, etc saturates you in a potent goo of a believable world i.e. a natural one.

Achieving Natural Design as opposed to unnatural is something that must require great art and cohesion in all fields that the game is likely to require and seems to me to be complex as these games I compare to Dead Space 2 are much more inferior visually yet their combination of effects provide a much more vivid experience. Take a typical FPRPG (First Person Role Playing Game) and now take the medium of literature and so you're looking at the pages of a book reading as you go but all of a sudden you are pulled into this world; possibly not so much the story but the world at least. What happened here? Now that its a game where does the story stop and or how does it occur? That's the beauty of gaming the story is your own or at least is played out to be with every medium working cohesively to tell a story through every aspect.

One of the methods is staying away from stating the obvious which can also be said of good writing and film dialogue, take Turok for example it throws you in the deep end most of the time which actually works by creating a sense of mystery and engenders that all important sense of adventure and intrigue a method that worked exceedingly well for Journey. In Shadow Man the premise is very strong and clear from the beginning before it plonks you into the game world, a seemingly simple introduction yet so much more engaging and giving a strong sense of purpose and emotional investment. Level design one of the more obvious aspects of Natural Design plays heavily on how the game chooses to encapsulate the player like Far Cry 3 for example where the main story line is almost separate to its world but why make a world at all as it wasn't that much fun to romp around in this seemed like a waste of time to me or on the other end of the scale you can take just about any Zelda game and see how level/ world design can be an intrinsic part of the gaming experience.

There are actually allot of hum drums involved with unnatural design some not so obvious one of which is programmers and in effect monetary costs and just plain ignorance but also the small things which affect the way one interprets what is Natural Design. My previous reviews like Far Cry 3 point out a lot of these and I will include some examples at the bottom for further interest and so lets move onto the problem with programmers. I once heard it said by a developer that creating games needs to be hard in order to filter out the "unskilled", this is not so and is just used as an excuse by those in the gaming business already to discourage people from making them. Its common gamer knowledge that opening up the making of games is a good thing for the medium you only have to look at modding to see this. Making the making of games more accessible specifically in the area of better work flow would allow Indies and alike to be able to hire more people not just programmers, that have skills in say anything pertaining to Natural Design. Not that programming doesn't tie into this far from it.

Well I could ramble on forever but I would rather end it here I think I have said plenty... and given you something to think about so lets. Natural Design is what helps us get close to what is Nature by providing delicately presented worlds that form the players experience with premise engendered and/ or told letting you make the story your own letting us suspend our disbelief willingly and whole heartedly being not only swept away but inspired. But we won't ever get close to it because the big names out there have never milked a cow before at least not in the literal sense.

Unnatural Design: Far Cry 3 e.g. bad environmental design through plants that stick out like iridescent pink elephants - Guild Wars 2 map creation streamlined by dividing it into rectangular sections instead of having a natural cohesion to landscapes. Prince of Persia 2008: worst premise ever I was mind blown at how bad this was and not even bothering to build the bond between the two characters yeesh, nice duo mechanics though psychological tricks aside.

Natural Design: Assassins Creed 3 landscapes: just amazing so good we are getting there thanks Ubisoft - Monster Hunter Tri: Brilliant environmental context everything in this game feels real despite its cartoony look - Its a personal favourite but I have to recommend Shadow Man 64's premise so good and everything about that game even the loading screen is very good.

Dawn of Fantasy: Kingdom Wars

DoF is a massively multiplayer online real-time-strategy set in a medieval high fantasy setting with additional: singleplayer campaign, castle wars and a scenario editor. Its an Indie title and a Greenlit one so this review has ended up being a list of rights and wrongs, goods and bads so lets get on with it.

The Bad: very basic path-finding and macroing, most of it has a very unpolished look and feel, the combat sounds are so loud its like they have stuck your head in a dishwasher from hell: the volume cant be adjusted but the sound effects are actually adorably quirky and comical. The narrative is a bit heavy on text, the interface is in general visually unpleasant and unintuitive. The extra game modes feel a tad rushed as they haven't quite mastered the gameplay yet and there isn't much consistency between the available modes given the online mode has an almost stagnant minion economy and the offline campaign has an automatic trickle economy. The other modes consist of castle scenarios which range from hard to very hard due to the almost vertical learning curve and seemingly brilliant Ai. I did like the accentuated narrative touch however: "Twould be both kindness and cleverness to train a horse cart". Back to negatives and I have nothing more to say because I have too much to say because for the most part I still think Reverie World Studios have a game hear. Reverie have possibly focused on providing too much of everything and should be focusing on what works and what works is what I wouldst like so very much to move onto.

This game works! Given the raw indie-ness of this game its impressive that it has actually been compiled. There are now 12 core developers and a long list of contributors in its credits so far and its all been done a budget as small as that of thy courts jester. The level design in this game is actually beautifully detailed and has a very strong aesthetic to it. Its music is also charmingly primordial both these elements combined are very original which makes the fantasy setting all the more potent and alive. The loading and cut-scenes have a lot of character and charm but the zigzagging camera that shows them off can be a little nauseating. The combat works just fine and your Humans, Elves or Orcs have some very interesting abilities for you to use but it all falls short if you want to command your army to do several things at once, which is one of DoF's biggest let downs. Its not like any other player would have any better controls then you online but it does mean the NPC's can actually out maneuver you incredibly well.

I found it hard to write this review there is just so much to like and dislike its not a finished game but a work still in progress. So I am going to cut this one short I like this game but its last-ability is about 2 days: the on-line mode is a great option but the pace is slower than a snail with no slime or peasant with no pickaxe. The steep learning curve encountered when navigating the UI takes up a lot of your time its also visually unappealing and there is no tutorial on how to use it. That said the basic tutorials that are there are excellent if a little loaded with text at times.

Overall DoF's poor usability and lack of player engagement in gameplay and progression can make one become very sour. Dawn of Fantasy is... missing its horizon.
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Far Cry 3

The entrance was quick except I was tied up in a cage in the very heart of a pirate base. I had to escape in pitch dark, it, I mean me whimpered quite a lot I thought even the way it held a gun and ran was wimpish/ possibly realistic. So this is what I had been designated I wish it could of just made me focus on another wimp of an NPC it wouldn't of taken me out of the moment. Although I was a wimp I was told I could fix this by killing animals to grow tattoos but first I set out to collect some plants for crafting and after gathering a bunch a boar ran at me from some long grass and killed me after a hectic scuffle. I restarted having to go collect the plants all over again then a crocodile bit me... It was telling me to mash c I did but died. Full circle it happened again but I was ready I must have mistaken the c button for the space bar I now mashed the space bar and won. The crocs carcass was lost in the rivers murky waters and with it a prised leather hide, so I climbed out of the river only to look back thinking they had tried to maybe make it look a little to real as it looked too detailed and unreal but amazing all the same much like most of the Rook Islands; beautiful.

 I went on my first ambush crawling around and into one of the many enemy camps only to be pulled up with notification spam on my screen I didn't quite know what to do I mashed escape eventually it left me alone. I noticed a crouch icon telling me I was crouching I grew to ignore it as did I the swollen and neglected mini-map. After defeating the pirate encampment with much satisfaction I collected a quest to kill some rabid dogs with a shotgun that barely fit in my hands: I completed it satisfactorily escaping being mauled by the ravenous pack and noticed down the hill to my left there were three pirates. Bandaging myself up I crept in close and took them out systematically like cans on a shooting range only to be shot from behind whilst I was looting their corpses by a straggler. In one minute in one encounter this games gameplay had taught me everything it was trying to all along: this was survival. As for the levelling and crafting I didn't like it it felt almost tacked on and is just another mechanic nagging at me to play more and achieving that goal but leaving a somewhat bitter taste. Sometimes these things just don't fit and but they have gone to far down the road turn back.

Even the loading screen with its flashing flaccid symbolism gives me a headache. The tacked on crafting/levelling and overall unfullfilling story experience are the two things that trouble one of the best functional FPS I have ever played and as they slash it with their maniacal pandering and stomp on its beautiful corpse I cant help but wonder maybe its just me. I keep playing. I have been told you need to let it grow on you... which points out its main flaw its presented unfinished but after you "happily" unlock everything it gets better! Oh what a drudgery...

Once you get used to and familiarise yourself with the way Far Cry 3 operates it does get better much much better there is truly a brilliant game here, its in the sense of omnipresent caution and awe you experience in your engagement with the world in general. You feel a worldly sense of gravitas, if only they would make a Jurassic Park like this oh joy! Grr I hate the horrible stalked prey icon that looms over animals u have targeted its just not hunting; I imagine my prey stopping to stand there holding up a shoot me sign instead. I guess it is nice to have a tactical edge seen as it usually is 1 vs 8 or even triple that when engaging the enemy: Plan A, B, C and grenade launcher on standby!

There isn't much I can say about the story other than it has wonderfully (I use the word wonderful lightly) rich characters and mature subject matter that suits just about every context of the game. The plants you craft are scattered in the wild and have an iridescent like skin which is so obvious it makes you feel as though you should be wearing a bib its not as if they didn't look distinct enough already they also show on the mini-map like singing oompaloompas in a gothic horror its just not quite working for me. I thought one of my quests was broken where I was supposed to meet up with a negotiator I heard his screams coming from the jungle I started running and upon arrival I found his body strewn across the ground in a pool of blood a pack of Komodo Dragons got him the real mission it turns out was keeping them off the carcass, its things like this I don't mind, I don't mind at all.

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Forge

Forge is a great game but is one that fails to capture that capability of transitioning our interaction from a physical world to a virtual one i.e. it really needs a control pad... There is a lot of depth to your champions abilities, pretty much on par with the likes of Bloodline Champions. You may find a bit of a hurdle trying to get to know how to play this game well which is also going to be a hurdle for its popularity and unfortunately its not like its a single player game.  There is a lot of detail in this game both visually and mechanically which make it enjoyable. There is no doubt it could be brilliant I mean if PvP style arenas work in mmos why not stand alone? Why this hasn't been done sooner is perplexing or maybe there is something behind it... Unfortunately Forge doesn't have a large enough community to make it a popular game but oddly enough this hasn't stopped it from being a viable one and although it is compared to its counterparts a bit lacking in last-ability its overall indie and fun appeal is what keeps it afloat, that and the constant stream of updates from its developers and awesome community.

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Kingdoms of Amalur

Kingdoms of Amalur is one of the most emotionally compelling games I have ever come across it just has this feel about it like your in a fantastic fantasy book and there is a reason for this: R. A. Salvatore and Todd McFarlane were involved :) but I dont want to say to much yet its such a big game and I have only scratched the surface so far so I had better get back to it! <Post awaiting further updates>

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