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.

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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.

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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

Via: Razer Taipan review being ambidextrous has never been so sexy

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