Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon Online review

Just like the predecessors in the franchise, Ghost Recon Online adapts an over-the-shoulder third-person shooting perspective. Running around the map is fairly simple given its standard PC control set up. You have the ability to walk or run when you’re standing up as well as choosing to crouch or go prone. The game is all about tactical positioning and maneuvering and it encourages to do that. All of the maps have some sort of nook and cranny to hide yourself behind if you want to go prone. In addition there are various objects on the map to crouch behind as well. Movement overall feels very solid.

If you’re running throughout the map you have the option to click the space bar which will make your character dive forward and if there is cover in front of you, immediately hide behind it. This diving mechanic saves lives and really keeps the pace of the game fluid, with no odd transitional movements or extra stuff bogging you down from, “Oh I gotta run all the way and click another button to take cover.” Taking cover is a fairly interesting concept in GRO as it gives you certain stats. While moving around and shooting will give you much larger recoil, precision of bullets, and critical hit rates - bonus damage - shooting behind cover will minimize those effects. This encourages less run and gun and more of that tactical positioning. It also prevents players from zerging to objective locations. Rather, it requires teammates to slowly push forward using cover. It’s much more engaging to know that you’re moving across as a team than being a mindless force pushing ever onwards. 

To further promote that team effort, GRO has an extremely useful mechanic which groups nearby teammates. There will be blue imaginary lines that come out and extend to nearby friendlies. It will reveal their position and their health even if i you can’t see them. Additionally, if the ally that is connected to you spots an enemy you can see the outlinings of the enemy running across the map, even if there are obstructions blocking your view. This quintessential mechanic makes group play very exciting as well as intriguing. It creates a new breed of coordination and teamwork as the best group will exploit this system to have no blind spots and keep an eye on their teammates. Numerous times I was able to hunt someone down with my teammates and corner them because someone else saw the enemy. 

Despite all of the tools that GRO gives to the player for their usage, it’s extremely limited in other aspects of the game. There are only four available maps at the present moment and they all have a built-in mode: Conquest or Onslaught. Conquest is a fairly simple gametype wheretwo teams vye for a capture point. Once one team has captured a point, they will move forward to the next zone while the team that lost the point will be pushed back. Essentially it’s a tug of war in which two teams must compete for the most captured points at the end of the round, and subsequently the end of the game. Onslaught is similar in that one team is defending and the other is on the offensive. The latter team must capture point A and B. After these are seized they will unlock point C, which must also be caught to win the round. The former team must prevent these from happening and succeeding to do so will win them the round. The following round the two teams will switch roles and whoever wins the best two out of three wins the game. 

Via: Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon Online review

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Transformers: Fall of Cybertron review

The Autobots and Decepticons are still at each other’s throats, with their home planet, Cybertron, in a dying state.  All the Autobots want to do is leave in a cosmic Ark of sorts, while the Decepticons, vying to get their hands on some precious Energon, want to crush their foes flat.  The campaign mode will give you the opportunity to control various characters from each side, including familiar faces (Megatron, Optimus Prime), more obscure robots (the Combaticons, Cliffjumper) and even a few new faces coming into the story for the first time (Bruticus and, of course, Grimlock).

Though the campaign is fairly short, it’s lots of fun, especially when certain parts of it come together so well.  One great stage involves an assault on a mega-sized bridge, with the Combaticons taking out gears collectively while destroying enemies on the ground and in the air.  The introduction of Grimlock is awesome too, as he starts swatting away at Insecticons in robot form before he finally shows them what he’s really made of in his T-Rex form, complete with flamethrower breath.  He truly is king.

The gameplay as a whole is mostly solid, but not perfect.  While playing as small cars, maneuverability can be slippery when using the turbo booster, as we learned trying to escape from a stage midway through.  But you’ll still be transforming between robot and vehicle forms with ease for the most part, using all sorts of firepower, including plasma cannons, a corrosive goo gun and missile launchers.

Once you finish the campaign – which should take you a few hours – you can move on to the multiplayer modes, which are quite satisfying.  Escalation is a four-player survival-style mode where you face 15 waves of growing enemy waves, unlocking new perks and weapons with the currency you collect.  It’s hardly original (hello, Gears of War 2?), but a good time nevertheless.

Competitive multiplayer is even better, as you get to choose between four various classes, each with their own special abilities on the battlefield, as you fight between Autobots and Decepticons.  Leveling up in this mode is addictively fun, and you can even give your robots a special design, including a metallic finish.  What’s more, each robot transforms almost effortlessly, a true feat that shows High Moon’s dedication to product.

But they try a little too hard at times.  And you’ll see that in some cases with the graphics.  The Unreal Engine 3 technology really goes a long way here to introducing more sprawling areas of Cybertron, from a harvesting factory to a battle underneath a lumbering, super-sized bulldozer.  However, sometimes there’s too much going on, and the frame rate can take a hit, what with enemies coming at you and lighting happening all at once.  Still, it maintains for the most part, and that certainly beats not working at all.  Plus, some of these animations are really cool, like when Grimlock takes a bite out of his enemies.  CHOMP!

The audio fares much better.  The music is excellent, typical of Transformers standards, and the sound effects add a great mixture of effects, including wicked plasma blasts.  But it’s the voicework that really kicks the product into overdrive.  Peter Cullen is once again masterful as Optimus Prime, and we’re thrilled to hear Gregg Berger again as Grimlock.  Not to be outdone is Nolan North, who voices Cliffjumper and Bruticus to great effect.  His exchanges with Troy Baker (voicing Jazz) are probably the most entertaining ones in the game.

Though somewhat flawed in the graphics and shortened campaign department, Transformers: Fall of Cybertron is a splendid sequel that outdoes last year’s somewhat rushed Dark of the Moon by a long shot.  What’s more, its multiplayer really gives you a lot to do, whether it’s surviving with your friends or taking on all comers and leveling up like a bandit.  It'd be cheesy if we said, "It's more than meets the eye"...but it really is.

[Reviewed on Xbox 360]

Via: Transformers: Fall of Cybertron review

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Sugar Cube: Bittersweet Factory review

Grids fill up the screen in each of the levels. It's up to you to guide the sugary protagonist from the start of a level to the far-off goal. Platforms, springs, and other elements are hidden within every level, and by passing by or around them, you can reveal the hidden path. In order to reach the goal, you have to flip tiles to open up platforms and other paths. Sugar Cube can get tricky, and it does a good job of providing an ample challenge.

You collect different abilities as you travel through the game's five worlds. These abilities are specific to certain levels, and they require you to approach the puzzles in different ways. For example, one power-up turns our cubed star into a superhero of sorts. While donning this costume, he can "flip" the level and reveal platforms and paths that weren't open before. There's also a pick-up that lets you flip tiles that are above, below, or in front of you. It can get a bit confusing, but with a little trial and error, you should be able to tackle the game's more confusing puzzles.

Speaking of trial and error, Sugar Cube is saturated in it just like a bag of obscenely sweet candy. Oftentimes, you don't know exactly how to progress through a level, and it's very easy to send the walking sugar cube into the abyss. If you pass through a platform you already opened up, you'll cover it up once more. It can get frustrating having to deal with the finicky tile-flipping mechanics because you end up failing often. You have the option to hold down the Shift key to refrain from flipping grids, but it's easy to forget about that when you're just trying to get to the goal.

I wish this setback was only a minor flaw, but it's not. It plagues a lot of the experience, and Sugar Cube suffers for it greatly. As you get further into the game, you'll discover more unpleasant quirks. Sometimes, having the ability to flip tiles below you ends up costing you because you flip all the platforms underneath you, which means you eventually have nothing to land on. Additionally, several levels require precise timing to get past an obstacle, enemy, or boss. This is especially annoying when levels require you to do that multiple times, because even if you get past that first baddie, you might accidentally touch another one afterward just because you mistimed a jump by one-tenth of second.

Sugar Cube's presentation is a mix of pleasant color and bland sound. The levels have a cutesy appeal to them that's kind of nice to look at. Nothing will blow you away, and the game could have definitely featured a bit more inherent charm, but it still looks pretty good. The music, however, is a miss for the most part. None of the themes in Sugar Cube are remotely memorable, and because there's one track per world, you can expect to hear the same songs for long periods of time.

If you're looking for a fun little puzzle platformer, Sugar Cube definitely has what it takes to satisfy your desire, all the while making you want to snack on some chocolate chip cookies. The game is priced at $5, so it's affordable, and it will last you an evening or two, depending on whether you get a bit bored of it. Ultimately, Sugar Cube provides a few hours of entertainment coupled with frustration. This isn't a game that people will talk about for years to come, but it does a good job of challenging, satisfying, and even annoying players.

For a bunch of indie game and burrito talk, follow @thesanchezdavid on Twitter.

Via: Sugar Cube: Bittersweet Factory review

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Counter-Strike: Global Offensive console review

There aren’t more intense shooting games around than Counter Strike. With realistic damage, quick rounds, and purchasable weapons and gear, this game will get your blood pumping. Counter Strike’s main game mode doesn’t feature respawns which makes every move you make matter that much more. One bad move and your turn is over until the next round. The game is based on a money system, do good and you can buy better weapons, armor and grenades. Do poorly however and you’ll be relegated to using pistols and flashbangs.

Counter Strike: GO has 4 different game modes, Arms Race, Demolition, Classic Casual and Classic Competitive. Classic Casual and Competitive are the same game mode with different rules and variants. In the competitive variant, friendly fire and team collision are turned on and you have to buy armor and bomb defuse kits. These are also best of 30 rounds, perfect for displaying your dominance. The casual version turns friendly fire and team collision off, gives you more money to buy weapons, and gives everyone armor and bomb defuse kits. These games are also much faster, only being best out of 10 rounds.

You'll take sides as either the terrorists, tasked with planting a bomb and covering it before the other team can defuse it, or the counter terrorist team, trying to eliminate their opposition without allowing them to blow the place up. The Demolition game type is similar to the classic mode except you don’t buy weapons; you earn them in the beginning of the match.

Arms Race is a new game type in which you get a new weapon for each kill you get. Think Call of Duty: Black Op’s Gun Game. You get the new weapon instantly and there are instant respawns, the only game type to offer that. This is also a team-based game where friendly fire is enabled so you have to be careful and not shoot at everything that moves. The game is over when one person on either team gets a kill with all of the weapons.

This version of Counter Strike runs off of Valve’s Source system, which gives the graphics a much better look, even though the Source engine is quite dated. Counter Strike was never known for its graphics, but they do look polished. Hit markers also seem perfect, which means if you were aiming at someones head and missed, you have no one to blame but yourself. Game play was also lag-free playing with full teams, which is always nice on launch day.

Counter Strike has always had top-notch gameplay and the console versions don’t disappoint. Using the Dualshock 3 controller felt natural for Global Offensive, which is impressive for a game known for using a keyboard and mouse. Speaking of, the PS3 version lets you use a keyboard and mouse against people using the standard controller, a feature not available on the Xbox 360 version. Yes, you read that right, you're actually able to play using a mouse and keyboard on your PS3. Mind blown.

Aside from being available on Steam, Counter-Strike: Global Offensive is available on both PSN and XBLA for a mere $15. For this price, Counter Strike is a must have if you were either a fan of the original, or just love death. This game offers multiplayer that rivals Call of Duty for 1/4^th the price. If you’re a fan of first person or tactical shooters, you owe it to yourself to download this immediately.

[Reviewed on PlayStation 3]

Follow me on Twitter at @AlexEqualsWin and Gamezone at @Gamezoneonline

Via: Counter-Strike: Global Offensive console review

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The Walking Dead Episode 2: Starved For Help review

Following up on the events of A New Day, the first chapter that was released at the beginning of the summer gaming season, Starved For Help once again puts you in the shoes of Lee Everett, a felon who escapes police custody and finds himself as the leader of a group of survivors in a ramshackled fortress that used to be a motel.  Several of these folks are dependent on your decisions, such as how you’ll ration out food or who you’ll play “favorites” with.  Among these are Clementine, a young child who you stuck with throughout the first chapter of the series, as well as others, including the militant Lilly.

Episode 1 really paved the way when it came to decision-making, forcing you to make harsh choices and side with certain characters, while turning a cold shoulder to others in your hopes of surviving the onslaught of the undead.   But in Episode 2, you really see how these decisions shape the course of your adventure, as some of your fellow survivors opt to take matters into their own hands.  It’s here where you really learn what it takes to survive such an event.

Leave it to Telltale Games’ team to once again shape a truly nerve-racking zombie experience, right up there with Robert Kirkman’s comic book novel.  You’ll have your fair share of undead encounters, but the real twist of the knife here comes in the drama that unfolds between survivors, and the consequences behind some of your actions.  Someone who you put your trust into could easily be the worst person possible, while someone you were counting on can easily turn their back to save their own hide.  It’s mesmerizing watching how your choices go down.

That said, there is a slight bit less gameplay and puzzle solving in this chapter, as Telltale wanted to focus more on the decision-making this time around.  So if you’re expecting plenty of zombie-shredding moments, you might have to go back to Episode 1 to get your fill.  That doesn’t mean this isn’t a compelling game experience, because it is, but this isn’t one of those games where you’ll want to mash buttons just to see where it goes.  You’ll miss the point of it that way.

Though the general gameplay time is roughly just over a couple of hours, you can go through the experience again and see where your decisions take you.  You might even be tempted to go back to Episode 1 just to see how things shape up.  Very rarely do you run into a game that gives you a reason to revisit its roots.

As far as presentation goes, Episode 2 has some slight blemishes with character design and lip-synching, but the surroundings are still quite stirring, and the zombies look more haunting than ever before.  Some of the human reactions are a bit startling as well, especially if you catch some poor sap off guard with food rations.  Likewise, the audio is top quality, with a strong voice cast and ideal musical cues working in the right instances.

We won’t have to wait long to see where the third chapter of this series, Long Road Ahead, takes us, as it’s due for an August release.  That’ll give you enough time to explore Episode 2, though.  Starved For Help is the best episode to date, one filled with multiple options and choices that show you just how harrowing a zombie apocalypse can be – and all without continuously wielding a shotgun, at that.  We can’t wait to see how the rest of this series shapes up...even if we're not entirely prepared for it emotionally.  (Hey, that's a good thing.)

[Reviewed on Xbox 360]

Via: The Walking Dead Episode 2: Starved For Help review

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Anna review

The story of Anna portrays a recurring nightmare, in which you always see a house in a beautiful forest, bathed in sunlight. It's not until you step inside of the house when you realize it's the polar opposite. Dark rooms with only a few lit candles, creaky floorboards, eerie paintings and a generally gloomy atmosphere make you feel completely isolated and paranoid. It's in this atmosphere that Anna completely succeeds at immersing you in a state of fear and paranoia.

Anna actually plays out a lot like the Paranormal Activity movies. As you're exploring the house, two phases occur. In one phase, which I call the "generally safe phase", the music plays in the background, which lowers the volume of the creaking floorboards, and instead gives you a sense of protection. The song is entirely soothing, as it starts with some smooth guitar eventually ending with a relaxing yet still eerie female voice. It's when the music ends and you're left in complete silence, that a sense of dread comes over you.

In the second phase, the game always plays out a sound cue (also identical to the movie) which signifies some sort of paranormal actions happening around you. While this freaked me out in the game initially, in the later half of the game, I've just grown to expect it. And while there were generally freaky moments at times, they never rose to the quality of scares of games like Amnesia for example.

Anna at its core is a straight up point and click adventure game however. You'll be solving puzzles through its entirety, literally from start to finish. That wouldn't be a terrible thing, if some of the puzzles actually made sense. I'll be the first to admit that I'm generally not great at puzzle games, and they do take me a while to solve. However after solving them in other games, I always have that "Oh yeah!" moment of realization. Anna has some puzzles that even after you figure them out by chance, or with the assistance of the in-game help, you'll just go "What the f*ck?!" Seriously, I don't want to spoil anything here, but just know that the seed bag puzzle, is in no way apparent, nor does the game even indicate what you're supposed to do with it.

Though I've seen Anna compared to games like Amnesia, I actually think it has more in common with Dear Esther. You learn about the story and about yourself as you go through the house and solve various puzzles. It's a grim story for sure, but you won't learn it unless you get the "true" ending. This is where I found a big fault in the game.

On my first playthrough, whenever something abnormal happened, I would tend to run away from it, fearing it, as a person who believes in, and is fearful of ghosts would. However, during that playthrough, I've never descended into madness enough to get further in the game, and I got the worst ending. During my second playthrough, since I already knew some of the occurrences that would happen, I actually approached them, which in my opinion is something that someone who doesn't believe in, and is not fearful of ghosts would do. The game however perceives it as the opposite and therefore drives you more mad, eventually leading up to a much more satisfying ending.

The problem here is how Anna sells itself. During my three playthroughs, every scare was the same, even though I tried playing differently. This was a letdown since I figured the selling point of the game was that it would know how to use your tells against you. The only thing indicative of this actually working was that I stared at a bunch of cans on the floor. These cans eventually started to fly across the room to hit me when I would least expect it. Sure it scared me at times, but I'm not sure how focusing on a can laying on the floor meant I was afraid of it. So when I said that the game is pretty much a test of patience, it just means you have to wait out for the paranormal to happen, and not solve the puzzles as quickly as you can.

With that said, Anna is still a good game. Regardless of some of the insanely difficult puzzles, I still recommend it to anyone who enjoys psychological horror games. The true ending does explain the plot, even though you can still draw some of your own conclusions from it. At only $9.99, it's a fair price for about a three hour experience, which can be extended if you want to see all the endings.

Via: Anna review

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Penny Arcade's On the Rain-Slick Precipice of Darkness 3 review

Aside from being informative, a lot of the narrative in Rain-Slick 3 is also brilliantly comical. If you've played Cthulhu Saves the World or Breath of Death VII: The Beginning, then you're aware of just how clever the writing in Zeboyd's titles really is. Whether the characters are poking fun at each other or simply being observant about their current situation, most of what they say is really funny. You'll find yourself not only chuckling, but laughing a hearty laugh at some of the things Gabe, Tycho, and company have to say.

The writing isn't the only thing that stands out in Rain-Slick 3. The whole design of the game is absolutely offbeat and witty.  One level, for example, features portraits of the monstrous Cthulhu, paying homage not only to Zeboyd's previous RPG, but also to Lovecraft's brain-child. Additionally, the enemy design in Rain-Slick 3 is extraordinarily wonderful. Evil mimes and suit-wearing dinosaurs are just the beginning. There are countless awesomely bizarre baddies in the game to keep a goofy smile on your face while you play. Oh, and the enemy descriptions during battle sequences? Pure gold.

Despite the comical overtones throughout the entirety of the experience, the battle system in Rain-Slick 3 is no joke. Though it certainly has a retro style to it, Zeboyd has thrown in some deep and refined gameplay into this RPG. Most of this depth revolves around the different class systems. Rain-Slick 3 features traditional RPG classes such as mage and brute, but there are some odd types among the bunch, as well. For example, there are dinosaur and hobo classes, which offer their own advantages and disadvantages. And before you ask, yes, the dinosaur and hobo classes are as weird as they sound.

You've got physical and magic attacks at your disposal, as well as MP that depletes with every attack. MP cost is higher or lower depending on the strength of your attacks, and sometimes you need to hold off from using commands that waste a lot of MP so you can stock up for the major damage-dealing offensive moves. There's a tactical edge to Rain-Slick 3 that really makes you think before you attack often. And while you can most certainly get away with dishing out the same moves at times, that won't work out throughout the entire game.

The level of challenge in Rain-Slick 3 fluctuates throughout the course of the experience. Most of the time, everything flows smoothly and you'll be able to get through battles by making smart decisions and choosing the right moves. There are a handful of bosses, however, that are pretty brutal. It can actually be a bit frustrating if you're trying to breeze through these bouts as if they were any other battle. That said, if you plan out some smarter strategies — proper healing, powering up certain characters, knowing when to sacrifice an attack in order to stock up on MP — you'll be able to conquer any challenge. Oh, it'll still be tough, but it'll at least be doable.

Previous games in Penny Arcade's series of RPGs featured polygonal graphics, but with Zeboyd at the helm, Rain-Slick 3 looks a lot more like something you'd see on the SNES. You know, something like the awesome Earthbound, which I mentioned earlier. If you dig retro-style RPGs, you'll probably like how Rain-Slick 3 looks. It really is a nice tribute to classic 16-bit RPGs. The same can be said about the sound design, which features some awesome themes, as well as chippy sound effects, all of which are highly welcome.

As cool as the positive aspects of Rain-Slick 3 may be, there are a few things that aren't all that great. The writing, while clever, can drag on a bit during certain sequences. Yes, there's a lot of funny dialogue in the game, but there are a few instances were characters — mostly enemies and sometimes Gabe and Tycho — just go on and on about the end of the world. Additionally, while I personally enjoyed the challenge in Rain-Slick 3, there were a few difficulty spikes that felt a bit cheap and unnecessary. Despite these few complaints, there's a level of quality here that's simply outstanding, and these minor warts don't take too much away from that.

Rain-Slick 3 isn't some massive 60-hour affair. This RPG is less traditional as far as its lasting value is concerned, and you can get through the game in about 10 hours. In those 10 hours, however, there are countless laughs to be had and a deep gameplay system that will challenge you. Sometimes it'll challenge you a bit too much, and it's hard to ignore the sometimes-tedious narrative sequences. Even then, Rain-Slick 3 is still a worthwhile experience for fans of the series, RPG aficionados, or someone like me who's just happy people are still making great games like this.

For a bunch of nonsensical gibberish, follow @thesanchezdavid on Twitter.

Via: Penny Arcade's On the Rain-Slick Precipice of Darkness 3 review

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Sins of Solar Empire: Rebellion review

The general concept of Rebellion is that each of the three factions also have a ‘rebellion’ faction.  These rebel scum play quite similarly to their loyal or parent faction but with some major differences.  As someone who likes spreading culture in strategy and RTS games, I tend to flock towards the Advent.  The original Advent faction still focuses on culture while the rebels focus on more combat related tech.  While I still prefer the original Advent, with the rebels I can still play the Advent I’m similar to but am able to be far more aggressive.

The more options and variety added to RTS games, the better.  While people may argue that the three new factions in Rebellion aren’t really all that new – they are new enough to make you want draw up some new war strategies, tech order, or even expansion means.  With all the tech and different ships you can build in Rebellion, there are near endless options on how you want to play your faction.

While the focus of Sins of the Solar Empire: Rebellion is on multiplayer aspects, you can play against vastly ranging AI opponents.  I like pairing against AI to try ‘creative’ strategies against.  Sadly there is no campaign setting even though I feel like the lore and story are screaming for it.  This isn’t upsetting if you keep your mindset focused on what does matter – which is head to head competitors. 

                

Besides the new factions, the big changes are new classes of ships.  The ‘Corvettes’ are small fighters that cost near to nothing as far as resources go.  Mix and match combinations of these light ships to give your fleets extra 'oomph' and use in dogfights.  On the other side of the spectrum are the ‘Titan’ class ships.  These are your big daddies with equally as large resource costs.  These ships support your fleets and add some awesome fire power.  For example, the Advent’s titan could permanently mind control enemy ships into joining your faction and could convert entire planets to your side with their ultimate ability; not too shabby.

For $40, this is an incredible pick up for any RTS, Sci-Fi, or fan of the previous Sins game.  I’d say in every way, Rebellion is an improvement on its predecessor.  If you start up a match vs. a human player make sure you have the timetime, as games can become lengthy.   Due to all the variations in the game, Sins can be quite overwhelming for new players.  My suggestion would be to load up an easy AI opponent and learn the basics before taking someone on.  If you are willing to take the time to learn the game, the payoff is extremely worth it.

Via: Sins of Solar Empire: Rebellion review

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Dead Island: Game of the Year Edition review

Dead Island takes place on the island of Banoi, which is suddenly struck with a zombie outbreak. You play as one of four characters who are stranded on the tropical deathtrap. Your character is immune to the virus, so because of that, the other survivors on the island think it's best to just send you out to do their dirty work, run their errands, and scavenge for supplies. Hey, makes sense, right? I know I'd be sending out the guy who won't turn into a zombie if he gets bitten. Unfortunately, the story is largely uninteresting, and the characters aren't very likable. There are a few interesting moments, but overall, you shouldn't go into Dead Island expecting some gripping tale.

The bulk of what you'll be doing on the island of Banoi is looting and, obviously, killing hordes of zombies. Combat is satisfying and brutal, and I can't stress enough how good it felt using a nail hammer to bash a zombie's face in. Weapons are an integral part of survival in Dead Island, and throughout the course of your quest for survival you come across everything from flimsy wooden paddles to powerful machetes. Along your journey you come across different weapon mods, and by combining seemingly useless items you've looted (duct tape, wire) with some of the sturdier weapons you come across, you can create something as impressive as a nail bat or an electric crowbar.

As much as I enjoyed the idea of the crafting system in Dead Island, there were a few times where I would create a powerful weapon only to come across an unaltered mace or machete that was much stronger and more durable than what I had concocted. Speaking of durability, that's one of the elements that shines in Dead Island. You can't just create a weapon of mass destruction and breeze through the game. The more you use a weapon, the more of its durability you expend. You can fix up your items at workbenches, but you need to be mindful of their condition as you go on quests, which is absolutely brilliant because it keeps combat interesting.

The most fun I had in Dead Island was during the first few hours. Collecting weaker weapons and having to dish out punishment to take out zombies was a lot more satisfying than simply severing their heads off with the modified ripper weapon, which features spinning blades and looks really cool. Personally, I like the fight, and having to work for survival was more intense. Aside from that, encountering human antagonists was also remarkable, as these bouts featured some heavy gunplay that required patience and a steady trigger finger. Additionally, the RPG elements that allow you to level up and enhance different skill trees add a nice touch to the experience. And for gamers who want to play alongside others, Dead Island's co-op is still intact here.

The Game of the Year Edition features all of the cool gameplay that was released last year in the main game, warts and all, but it also fixes the glaring bugs and features some neat DLC extras. The aforementioned ripper mod, for example, was originally released as an add-on, and now it comes bundled with this edition of Dead Island. There's also the Bloodbath Arena, which is a new area that allows you to take on hordes of zombies and hack your way up a few levels. It's not the most amazing distraction, but it can be fun when played with others.

The most notable inclusion in the Game of the Year Edition is the Ryder White Campaign. This DLC will take you roughly three hours to get through and offers a different perspective on the tale of Dead Island. That said, because the story in the base game was never that enthralling to begin with, it's hard to care about the plot here. Still, the Ryder White Campaign does feature a lot of awesome shootouts. There were also a few cheap moments where gangs of running zombies ambushed me, and as you can probably guess, those sequences weren't very fun ... unless I had an assault rifle to mow 'em all down.

Dead Island: Game of the Year Edition is a nice package for gamers who want to destroy legions of undead monsters. Is it worthy of the title Game of the Year? That's debatable. But at $30, it's tough to pass this game up. You get a 20-hour main campaign rife with side quests and fun albeit flawed gameplay, a powerful weapon mod, an arena where you can level up and kill even more zombies, and a brief add-on campaign. At the end of the day, Dead Island is a really fun time, and you should definitely check it out if you've got that zombie huntin' itch.

[Reviewed on PlayStation 3]

For a bunch of nonsensical gibberish, follow @thesanchezdavid on Twitter.

Via: Dead Island: Game of the Year Edition review

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Razer Taipan review being ambidextrous has never been so sexy

The first thing that you will notice about the Taipan is its sleek contours, black matte finish, the two LED areas (one of them being the well-known Razer logo), and simplicity. There's not buttons everywhere. It's just a simple, good design. Then you'll want to touch it. Since it's symmetrical, you'll get the same comfortable hold with either hand. There's a rubber thumb grip on both sides that makes it feel great in your hand, and the two thumb buttons are perfectly placed. Those with bigger hands might find it a little dainty, and you might even find your pinky finger not having a place on the mouse to rest. While these things didn't bother me, it might bother some other gamers that aren't used to it.

The Razer Taipan comes with nine programmable buttons (though two of those probably won't be used depending on which hand you use). One little thing that annoyed me was clicking in the scroll button; it could be a bit finnicky at times. And instead of Razer putting in options for changing the weight of the mouse, they just got feedback from pro-gamers on a weight, shape and balance that would be perfect for multiple users. The Taipan's cord is sleek, with its braided black wire that never snags. The whole package is just so aesthetically pleasing to look at.

Looks are nice and all, but PC gamers want to know how it handles. Let's just say the Taipan is more than capable of handling any game you're going to use it for. The Taipan sports an 8200dpi 4G Dual Sensor System. Sounds fancy, right? What it means is that it uses a laser and an optical sensor to calibrate the mouse to whatever surface you're using. And with Razer Synapse 2.0 (which I'll touch on later), you can even calibrate to specific mouse pads or surfaces you're using. Now you might not notice a big difference with the dual laser/sensor, but just go back to whatever mouse you were using before and you will feel a difference. It might not make you instantly better at whatever game you're playing, but the responsiveness is definitely improved. I definitely noticed a big improvement battling liftoff while playing Battlefield 3.

And this might not seem like a big deal for a lot of people, and it probably isn't, but with the top two buttons, you can instantly switch between pre-set dpi settings. It'll even show on-screen what dpi you're at. That's big for me considering I switch depending on what game I'm playing, and my wife also messes with it when she's using my computer. It's just a nice ease-of-use thing that Razer is known for.

If you're going for a high level of customization, the Razer Taipan makes full use of Razer's new Synapse 2.0. Synapse allows you to save your mouse settings over cloud storage. In Synapse, you can change DPI, liftoff, polling rate, and even calibrate the Taipan to whatever surface you're using it on. It allows for precise settings that each user will like.

The Razer Taipan is an excellent all-around mouse that can really shine no matter what game you're playing. I've played it from Battlefield 3 to League of Legends to Guild Wars 2 beta, and with minor settings adjustments, it continued to be exactly what I needed. It has a simple and sleek design that'll catch the eye. While it's comfortable, the ambidextrous design and what is essentially a seven-button mouse might not be what some gamers are looking for, especially with the ring and pinky finger placement. But one thing's for sure, the Taipan has sunk its teeth in me.

Specs:

You can follow Movies and Culture Editor Lance Liebl on Twitter @Lance_GZ

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Max Payne 3 Local Justice DLC review

While the aforementioned extras are all nice additions to the multiplayer experience in Max Payne 3, it's the new maps that really make the DLC. Local Justice includes three maps: Imperial Palace, 55th Battalion HQ, and Departure Lounge. These three areas are taken straight from the last few chapters in the game, and they're absolutely incredible. Imperial Palace is a massive rundown hotel. The map consists of crumbling walls and piles of debris. There's plenty of cover to be found and high areas for picking off enemies from a distance.

Easily the most complex map of the three, 55th Battalion HQ is a huge collection of maze-like rooms, twists and turns, open spaces, and walls perfect for getting cover and ambushing your enemies. Combat in this map can drastically vary depending on what area you're in. For example, being in the jail often results in players engaging in melee attacks and close quarters combat. But when you get to the more open areas, there's no option other than letting loose with your best guns. It should be noted that 55th Battalion HQ is the only Local Justice map that supports Gang Wars mode, and it's damn near perfect for the objective-based component.

Last is the sprawling Departure Lounge. This map offers a bit of what the two previous areas feature. There are a lot of tight spaces, high areas, small rooms, and a massive central zone. Departure Lounge is a huge, multi-level map that's just plain fun. There's plenty of cover for high-pressure shootouts and ambush spots for sneakier players.

It's difficult for me to choose a favorite among the three new maps. The fact of the matter is that each new area offers something special and rewarding for fans of Max Payne 3 multiplayer. Imperial Palace, 55th Battalion HQ, and Departure Lounge have some noticeable similarities in terms of their features, but they're vastly different as far as structure and design are concerned.

As much fun as the three new maps may be, it should be noted that there are some hindrances. It's not that the levels themselves are limited, but getting to them can be. During the pre-match voting sequence, almost everyone is still always voting for Branco HQ. It makes sense that people love that map because it's so well designed, but come on, people! Give the new maps a chance, too! I mean, you paid money for them, damn it! Despite that minor gripe, if you really want to engage in some multiplayer fun on the new maps, there's a DLC option that lets you play randomized modes on the downloaded stages, so they're not entirely out of reach.

Local Justice sports a $7.99 price tag. For three maps, an item, and a gun, that can be a bit pricey, so I would highly recommend you shell out the $29.99 for the Rockstar Pass if you intend on sticking with the multiplayer in Max Payne 3 for a long time. At least that way you'll be sure to snag the follow-up content automatically once it launches.

Ultimately, the Local Justice Pack is for people who want more Max Payne 3 multiplayer. For those people, it's definitely one hell of a content boost. While the extra items and faction are good extras, the three new maps are the shining additions and are definitely worth paying money for. Max Payne 3's online multiplayer component just got even more addictive.

[Reviewed on PlayStation 3]

For a bunch of nonsensical gibberish, follow @thesanchezdavid on Twitter.

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Resonance review

Even with the learning curve, the game had an interesting enough plot to follow revolving around a mystery with a touch of sci-fi flavor thrown in – it starts out with a series of explosions being frantically reported from around the globe, leaving the populace in a state of panic. The game then flashes back three months before this cataclysmic incident and introduces the team of four protagonists that you’ll use throughout the game – a detective, a reporter, a doctor and a mathematician. They’re drawn together by a city-wide blackout and a suspicious lab accident that leaves a man dismembered, the ragtag group must work together to unravel the mystery with plenty of science and intrigue along the way.

Juggling each of the four characters for the game’s various scenarios is fun, and adds a cool spin to the flow of the adventure. It’s interesting to watch how the characters interact as they push towards the truth of the story – quirky, off the cuff dialogue helps with that, especially with the level of quality in the voice work which really brings the characters to life.

The one problem with having this many protagonists that are spread out throughout the city solving different puzzles is they all have separate inventories, leading to points in the story where you can get turned around rather easily. The game really sticks to its retro roots in that it never holds your hand, which for purists is awesome, but makes the game all that much more frustrating when you realize the key item you needed is on another character who is all the way across town, and you now need to backtrack all the way back to their location. However, when you are on the right track, the party management system adds a nice layer of depth – just be ready to have a FAQ on hand to make sure you don’t go off track, as a simple oversight can completely stall your progress.

Resonance also features an interesting memory system, in which important conversation points or events are stored in each character’s inventory and can be used in conversations with other characters or to give hints about the puzzle you’re currently attempting to solve. There are two forms of memories: Long term and short term. Long term memories provide useful hints pulled from snippets of past events each character encounters and you can use them in conversation. The Short Term memory bank lets you grab memories of pretty much any interactive element you run across by dragging them from the environment like an item. You can then pull these memories into conversation slots or onto people to trigger certain dialogue sequences. The system is fun to use, and definitely a nice touch – a change of pace from other adventure games that would just use branching dialog options.

Puzzle difficulty in Resonance is varied – it can range from the straight-forward and intuitive to the needlessly complicated. More than once, I had to refer to a FAQ to figure out what to do next. Whether this was from my own inexperience in the genre or the game’s design, I’m not sure. Just know that approaching the challenges in each scene requires taking the skills and personalities of the four main characters into consideration. You sometimes have to spend a bit of extra time fiddling with things before you get the solution right, the solution feels doubly rewarding as a result.

The only other complaint I had about Resonance was that sometimes the game’s low res graphics made it difficult to see vital objects in the environment, especially if it was the same color as the background. However, this is a personal gripe and may not have the same effect on all players.

Resonance harkens back to a time when games did not always hold your hand and show you the solution. A slick presentation and challenging puzzles define the game and despite the game’s overly complex systems at times, we still cannot recommend passing this one up.

Dustin Steiner is GameZone’s eSports Correspondent! Follow him on Twitter @VGHC_Deitis, and check out Video Gaming Hard Corps, a South Florida Competitive Gaming organization he helps run!

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Astro Gaming A50 wireless headset review

Like the A40’s, the A50 headphones are built with comfort in mind.  They fit over the ears and can be adjusted with ease.  But Astro went a step further and decided to put everything in reach for the user, rather than having them fiddle with some attachment that comes plugged into it.  Stuff like the master volume knob, the voice chat/game volume settings, the EQ switch and the USB/Xbox Live cable plug-ins are all located on the headset themselves, and while those of you used to the previous A40’s will need some getting used to with this, it really is quite better.

For instance, with game and chat volume adjustment, you merely need to tap on one of the speaker pads and choose which level you’re comfortable with.  A beeping noise will indicate whether you’ve reached the very end or not, though that’ll take a few taps to do.  Also, it’s worth noting that the battery within the A50’s will last a good 10-12 hours on a charge, and also provides a helpful beep when it’s running low on juice.

This set comes with a useful headstand that you can put together with ease, where you can hang the headphones overhead while sitting the separate MixAmp (included in the $300 package) in the tray below.  Connectivity with the MixAmp is very easy, as you simply need to hold down the power button on each unit to align them, as you would Xbox 360 accessories.

Now, we’ve talked about the product itself, which is sturdily built and, again, stores easy after use.  But what about the quality?  Well, the A50’s support Dolby Digital 7.1, and on two of the three sound settings we used, it was nothing short of awesome.  We could hear every bullet whizzing past us in Call of Duty and even the smaller effects in Deadlight with perfect ease, even with small volume adjustments.

Now, there’s a trick with the EQ settings.  Like I said, two out of three aren’t bad, but it almost feels like the third one wasn’t quite balanced right.  That’s not to say it’s useless, but you’re likely to use the other two more.  The main one is “flat”, which you’ll activate when it comes to undistorted, straight up game or entertainment audio.  The second, “Astro”, is more aligned for the hardcore gamer in mind, worth cranking up the volume with when it comes to action stuff like Mass Effect 3, or, even better, survival horror like Silent Hill: Downpour.  Now, the third, “media,” is supposed to be for general movie playing, but three out of the four movies we tried to test it with just came back booming too loud for our own good.  Some action lovers might get a kick out of it, but, really, “flat” works just fine.

One other thing – this is the first Astro Gaming headset as of late that doesn’t use the customary “tag” speaker covers that worked so well on the A40’s, like Battlefield 3 and Saints Row: The Third.  The reason for that, as Stan told us, is the technology going into the headset, but still, if you’re expecting to add this touch, you won’t be able to.  On the bright side, the black and red built is sick-looking.

For $299, the A50’s are one of the top-of-the-line headsets out there, and they don’t quite push too much beyond what the A40’s can do, outside of the hardcore “Astro” settings.  So some of you might consider awaiting that upgrade till you have some extra cash.  However, if you don’t mind spending a few extra bucks and really want something that makes your game experiences thunder into your ears, the A50’s really are the way to go.

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Razer Naga review

Enter the Razer Naga, the self-proclaimed  "expert MMO gaming mouse". And when they say expert in the MMO department, they mean it. I'll admit, my extensive knowledge on MMO gaming mice is limited, but from a consumer/gamer and first time Razer-owner standpoint, I can tell you it did not disappoint.

At first glance, the Naga mouse can be a little intimidating. With the left and right mouse buttons, a clickable scroll wheel, two additional buttons on the top of the mouse and a full 12 key number pad for your thumb, the Naga has 17 fully customizable buttons that, at first, take some time getting used to, but with some practice begin to feel just as natural as the traditional 1-0 keys on the keyboard - and in the end, more comfortable.

As someone who grew up with the keyboard shortcuts it was a bit of an adjustment using just the mouse for all of my hotkeys. While extremely useful, the closeness of the 12 side buttons made it difficult to press the correct hotkeys by feel alone; I often found myself glancing at the mouse to ensure I was pressing the right buttons. With some practice, however, I got a nice feel for the placement of my thumb in relation to the 12 numeric keypad buttons, though the 3rd and 4th rows always remained slightly out of comfortable reach.

While the Naga mouse clearly caters to traditional MMOs with tons of hotkeys, I found the Naga particularly useful with League of Legends - a game with six item slots that you can click on to activate item abilities. With League of Legends being a fast paced game where action happens quickly, the ability to hotkey the six item slots to the six side buttons proved extremely useful. League of Legends is all about reaction time and I can safely say that the Naga mouse improved my ability and speed in reacting to certain situations with the right press of a button.

For me, the 17 buttons were a bit overkill, but the traditional top mouse buttons coupled with six side buttons are easily enough to make a noticeable difference in gameplay. Even with traditional MMOs, the most important abilities were hotkeyed to the first few keys making the Naga extremely useful. With the other abilities that aren't as often used, the bottom rows of the Naga keypad work just fine with some practice - even for the slower gamers like me.

Another nice feature, especially for me since I tend to do a lot of my gaming with friends at their house, is the Razer Synapse 2.0 software which allowed me to remap any of the buttons directly to the Naga mouse and save those keybindings to the cloud for easy access when playing on another's computer. This allows me to easily access those customizations from anywhere rather than having to rebind the hotkeys - what could be a painstakingly long process when you take into account the sheer number of macros MMOs use these days.

Let's get right to the point, a lot of these gaming mice companies like to use a lot of technical jargon to sound impressive. The Razer Naga has a 5600dpi 3.5G Laser Sensor, 1000Hz Ultrapolling/1ms response time, and 200 inches per second max tracking speed. What does that all mean?

In short, it means this mouse can basically do anything you need it to outside of getting you dressed in the morning. And if it doesn't do it all coming out of the box, Razer's Synapse software provides more than enough customization options to adjust the mouse to your liking. For FPS enthusiasts, you may prefer really high sensitivity, but I personally find an overly sensitive mouse annoying. The easy-to-use Synapse 2.0 software made navigating the different settings simple and easy to understand.

From sensitivity and acceleration to keybindings to changing the color of the little Razer logo to the three interchangeable side panels, everything about the Razer Naga is easy to manipulate and adjust to your liking. The 17-buttons may be the Naga's selling point, but for just $80, this mouse offers so much more to gamers than the ability to set more macros.

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