Ten of the most respectable game developers

Recently in light of Destiny’s release I talked about the developers who have lost their high reputations in the eyes of the gaming community, so I thought it was time to look at the other side of the coin, at the developers who have kept their integrity and professionalism intact over the years or have simply risen to become a top company in the industry. As before, this list is all about companies who are still in business today and possess reputations that other developers should strive to reach.

1. Valve Corporation

After they first broke into AAA standard with the original Half Life in 1998, Valve has grown to become perhaps the biggest juggernaut in the PC space. Their games are often revolutionary, immaculately produced and thrill gamers the world over, they’re incredibly efficient at adapting to changes and developments in the gaming industry but perhaps the biggest contribution they’ve made to their specialty platform was Steam; one of the most recognisable and widely used digital distribution services in all of gaming. For eleven years, the software distribution platform has offered the most effective and accessible service for downloading games. Recently it was revealed that Steam has reached over 100 Million active users with over 3700 games available to download; add to this the countless deals and special offers given out and you’ll understand why it’s the number one service for PC gamers. The only problem with Valve? They really do love to tease us with Half Life nowadays; make it happen Gabe!

2. Bethesda Game Studios

Bethesda (the game studio, not the publisher) has built its name on acquiring franchises and elevating them to gaming greatness. Their two biggest franchises are The Elder Scrolls and Fallout which both found new life under Bethesda’s banner. Fallout 3 brought Interplay’s series into full 3D and in doing so, established and enhanced a palpable post-nuclear atmosphere which other developers are judged against. And for The Elder Scrolls, a series which had been confined to dungeons and arenas through the nineties, Bethesda went a step above by embracing open world gameplay with the third entry in the series, Morrowind in 2002. This formula was then refined and improved upon in Oblivion in 2006 and Skyrim in 2011, resulting in some of the most expansive, compelling and popular RPGs ever made. Skyrim in particular has proved so successful with gamers that modders are still crafting new content for the game two years after it was first introduced to the game. While Bethesda’s games may have given them a somewhat unfortunate reputation for releasing buggy games, they have never let the community down over the years.

3. CD Projekt Red

Polish developer CD Projekt Red is a rising star in modern gaming. Releasing their first game in the form of The Witcher in 2007, the company has gone on to become one of the most well-known and beloved PC developers in the industry. 2011’s The Witcher 2 did more than just improve on the original in every way; it made CD Projekt a force to be reckoned with in the role-playing genre. The Witcher 3 has risen to the top of multiple “most anticipated of 2015” lists and the company has become so popular that they have become a national symbol for Poland; a title no other game developer can claim to possess. The company has also become quite the ambassador for good practices in gaming lately; they are openly against DRM and are working with GOG (Good Old Games) to make a fairer digital service for gamers the world over.

4. Rockstar Games

You only need three words to describe Rockstar in a nutshell, Grand Theft Auto. Since the series began in the nineties, GTA has become the biggest and arguably the most popular franchise in gaming. Rockstar, whether you’re talking about their North studio in the UK which bestowed gamers the main entries in the GTA series, their San Diego studio in the United States which produced Red Dead Redemption or their other studios worldwide, gamers are forever confident that Rockstar, along with Naughty Dog is a studio that can always and consistently meet and often surpass all expectations and hype when it comes to developing a product. There is no better proof of this than the constant critical acclaim and humongous sales figures that come in every time one of their games comes out and the way their games outlast and survive the controversies thrown around them by the mainstream media and society. The company has also been known to take time and care with its titles, ensuring that each new release pushes a franchise forward whilst also being enjoyable and intuitive to play. With Grand Theft Auto 5, the company has produced its biggest game yet, a success which will be built upon with likely expansions and a next-gen port.

5. Rocksteady Studios

Rocksteady started out quite small in the development scene, making the moderately successful Urban Chaos: Riot Response in 2006. But then they came out with Batman: Arkham Asylum three years later; a game which single-handedly changed the perception of super-hero games forever. No longer did games from this genre have to be mediocre and lazy cash-ins; instead they could be absorbing, intense and lovingly-crafted to take full advantage of the source material. The company did just that with Asylum and elevated the series to super-stardom with its sequel Arkham City in 2011. After a mixed response from the prequel Batman Arkham Origins (which was developed by Warner Bros Montreal and failed to push the series forward the way City did), gamers know now more than ever that Rocksteady is the one developer who can handle Batman better than all the others and fans eagerly await the final game in the trilogy, Arkham Knight.

6. Insomniac Games

Having been in the industry for twenty years now, Insomniac Games has produced a range of quality titles which sustained Sony’s PlayStation for three generations. Spyro pushed the limits of 3D platforming on the PlayStation with its vibrant environments and smooth gameplay, Ratchet and Clank enthralled thousands of fans on the PlayStation 2 and 3 with its charm and an addictive mix of platforming and shooting and finally Resistance brought the company back to the realm of the adult with gritty action and horror elements that set it apart from all the other shooter franchises that dominated the market in the HD generation. Of course what everyone knows Insomniac for is its wild creativity; crazy weapons and fun gadgets are their specialty and this is set to continue with the crazy and colourful Sunset Overdrive later this year, a game which will mark the studio’s debut on the Xbox platform.

7. Kojima Productions

It may have been founded in 2005 but the real beginnings of Kojima Productions stretch back to the late 1980s where a young Hideo Kojima came up with an idea that eventually spawned a whole new genre; the use of stealth rather than blunt force. The original Metal Gear and Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake were huge hits in Japan which then led on to Metal Gear Solid for the PlayStation, which turned the series into a worldwide success. With Kojima at its centre and a significant amount of quality titles under its belt, Kojima productions has become one of the biggest powerhouses in stealth gaming. The company is currently polishing up what could be the final Metal Gear Solid game; The Phantom Pain which will release in 2015. If there’s one misstep Kojima’s company has taken in the business it was Metal Gear Solid: Ground Zeroes; such a short game really shouldn’t have been sold as a full priced demo, but when you consider the vast library of games the company has put out, plus the enormous success and critical acclaim of the Metal Gear franchise as a whole, it’s easy to overlook this mistake.

8. Turn 10 Studios

Turn 10 was formed in 2001 by Microsoft and was given an incredibly difficult task to accomplish; to oust Sony’s Gran Turismo as the definitive AAA racing series whilst also providing a strong exclusive franchise for the Xbox platform. In the thirteen years hence, the studio has more than lived up to this investment. Each and every one of the six Forza games across the three Xbox systems have been equally excellent and compared with Gran Turismo, which has continued to undergo a slow release cycle, the series is still going strong with Forza Horizon 2 set to release towards the end of this year. Whilst the studio hasn’t strayed from the franchise since it started up over a decade ago, they nonetheless remain a key component of Microsoft’s strategy for the Xbox.

9. Naughty Dog

Established in 1989, Naughty Dog started off making games for the PC, Sega Genesis and 3DO. But then they were acquired by Sony and that’s where things really got interesting for the company; beginning with Crash Bandicoot on the PlayStation in 1996, Naughty Dog has been on a constant, continuous and unstoppable rise, never have they made a lacklustre product and never have they disappointed. With each new console generation, their development prowess has grown exponentially, with the equally popular Jak and Daxter on the PlayStation 2 and Uncharted on PlayStation 3. Now that they have reached an ultimate peak with The Last of Us (which won over 200 Game of the Year awards), gamers are wondering whether they can possibly soar any higher with the upcoming Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End. Suffice it say that Naughty Dog stands as not only one of the best developers, but could also be considered the finest exclusive developer in the business.

10. Nintendo

A company which has had a longer journey than any other company on the list, Nintendo (who are celebrating their 125^th anniversary on this very day) may be hobbling along with the Wii U right now, but it’s impossible to deny the impact they have had on the industry for over thirty years. Without Nintendo the video game industry wouldn’t be nearly as popular as it is today; it all started in the 1980s when the company rescued gaming from the North American market crash with the Nintendo Entertainment System, on which Mario, Zelda and Metroid made their 8-Bit debuts. From there, Nintendo moved up to the Super Nintendo (SNES) where they showed everyone, including their primary competitor Sega, how to best upgrade franchises from one console generation to the next. And when the 3D revolution came about in the nineties, Nintendo was at the forefront of this change, delivering masterpieces such as Super Mario 64, The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time and Goldeneye. Over the years they’ve always embraced new ideas, which were highlighted by the motion controls of the Wii and despite being right up there with Microsoft and Sony as one of the biggest companies in the world; they’ve kept fun factor at the centre of their games and have refused to adopt bad practices that plague many modern games. As a hardware manufacturer, they’re struggling, but as a game developer, Nintendo remains one of the best out there.

Disney's Tarzan Movie Review

Disney has been no stranger to updates over the years, what was once traditional animation placed against painted backgrounds has now turned to fully computerised worlds, such as the one seen in Frozen. Disney saw a creative renaissance through the late eighties and nineties and at the end of it all, we were gifted with Tarzan, which is most definitely up to the standard Disney had at the time.

For those unfamiliar with the story, Disney’s adaptation (based on Tarzan of the Apes by Edgar Rice Burroughs) follows the titular hero from boyhood to adult. After his parents are killed by a leopard, Tarzan (Played by Alex D. Linz as a young boy) is taken in as a baby by the gorilla Kala (Glenn Close) who coincidentally lost her baby to the same leopard. But when the adult Tarzan (Tony Goldwyn) stumbles across members of his own kind in the form of Jane (Minnie Driver), her father (Nigel Hawthorne) and their guide Clayton (Brian Blessed), he struggles with the challenges of not only fitting in but also figuring out where he belongs. It’s this central struggle that forms a huge amount of heart around the overall package. Just as the jungle swinging action is frenetic and engaging, so are the more poignant moments emotional and come with the right impact. It’s a quickly paced film, flashing between the two and a mix of mild comic relief to keep the audience engaged at all times. The only problem, which will ring more true for adults than children, is that the villain is super obvious from the moment he’s introduced, but even he gets some laughs to keep him from becoming completely stale. Tarzan’s plot is a healthy mix of emotion, action and comedy, sure to entertain audiences time and time again, no matter the age bracket.

With a varied and infectious plot, the characters rise to match its success. Both Linz and Goldwyn do a brilliant job of conveying the confusion and fascination present in Tarzan’s mind which gets the audience to care about his struggle right from the offset. Jane fits the classic archetype of Disney’s damsel in distress but her character is set apart from the other Disney heroines with her endearing clumsiness and a hint of Victorian authenticity, making her instantly likeable. Kala and her mate Kerchak (Lance Henrikson) are also very strong with the latter bringing an intense level of intimidation to match the disdain the alpha male gorilla shows towards Tarzan. The comic relief characters including Rosie O’Donnell as Tarzan’s gorilla cousin Terk and Wayne Knight as the paranoid elephant Tantor are fairly amusing, but they never interrupt the emotional proceedings that are sprinkled throughout the main plot. When the main cast is so strong, it’s a shame that Brian Blessed’s performance as Clayton feels quite basic by comparison; there isn’t really that much depth to his character and he doesn’t develop much over the course of the film, but when the rest of the cast is so strong it’s a mere drop in a lake of solid characterisation.

Tarzan was made at a time before fully 3D computer generated animation became the norm and it makes some of the best uses of the technology before it was eventually replaced in the 2000s. While it may seem dated nowadays because of its static painted look, the jungle environment is nonetheless lush, colourful and green which works hard to transport the viewer into the film’s setting; the painted environments also coalesce nicely with the animated characters. But where Tarzan really makes an impression is through its cinematography; the set piece moments are all incredibly thrilling and tense and they take the hero far beyond just swinging on vines; the chase scene involving the baboons is brilliant to watch because of the way the camera spins and twists to brilliantly capture the wild nature of Tarzan’s life in the jungle. And then there’s the soundtrack featuring songs by Phil Collins; one of the most riveting orchestrations ever seen in an animated film (I’m serious; “Son of Man” and “Strangers like me” deserve to be right up there with Frozen’s “Let it go”). It’s fast and furious in the action sequences and it also finds time to calm down for the more emotional moments; it’s simply the perfect complement to an already fantastic animated film.

Tarzan is heartfelt, breathless and exhilarating and it stakes its claim as one of the best animated films of the nineties; quite ironic considering how it was the last of the Disney Renaissance films (which lasted from 1989 to 1999). For adults it’s easy to nit-pick some of the more light-hearted moments and blindingly obvious villain, but you’ll be so enthralled by the film’s brilliant animation and set-piece moments that you won’t mind one bit.

Rating: 4.5/5 Stars

Ten developers who have fallen from their once lofty reputations

Destiny has just been released; with so much money poured into the project and so much anticipation having been built, it’s been met with good but not excellent reviews, considering Bungie’s long-standing track record on the Xbox platform, this has led many (including myself) to call it the first major dud that Bungie has put out. This begs the question, how far can a company fall in terms of reputation? There are plenty of studios who once held a high reputation of the eyes of the gaming community but have since fallen on hard times. To make the list a gaming company, specifically a game developer must still be in business but their reputations have been significantly lowered in modern gaming

1. Gearbox Software

Gearbox has taken a beating over the past few years. After starting off with making Half Life expansions and eventually making the wildly popular Borderlands series, Gearbox’s name has been tarnished by two futile undertakings that ended up severely hurting the company after years of waiting. The first was Duke Nukem Forever, which Gearbox picked up to finish development after 3D Realms let their developing team go in 2009; what was a legendary piece of vapourware  that had been in development for over twelve years became a critically panned and thrown-together mess of a game, something which was made worse by Gearbox’s marketing. 3D Realms even attempted to sue them for unpaid royalties to the game (which was eventually dropped in September 2013).

But it didn’t stop there; Gearbox went on to enrage another large aspect of the gaming community with their poor handling of Aliens: Colonial Marines, which had also been in development for a long time beforehand. The backlash that began on the game’s release last year was and still is enormous; ACM stung gamers even more than Duke Nukem Forever did because Gearbox (and their publisher Sega) outright misled consumers by showing off a demo that wasn’t included in the final product, not to mention outsource the game to multiple studios who ended up degenerating the game into a generic Call of Duty clone. Multiple lawsuits were filed against the two companies with Sega paying out 1.25 million dollars for false advertising. Gearbox has claimed many times over the past year that the debacle was not entirely their fault but nonetheless their reputation has been heavily diminished, perhaps more than any other company on the list.

2. Bioware

Bioware had been an incredibly successful company and one of the defining companies in the realm of the RPG, some even called them the Pixar of gaming at one point; Baldur’s Gate, Neverwinter Nights, Knights of the Old Republic and Mass Effect were all incredibly successful titles both critically and commercially, so what happened? The answer lies in 2012’s Mass Effect 3; whilst the game scored and sold well, the community went ballistic at the game for all kinds of reasons. They disliked the practices for DLC; they showed their disdain for the new characters that got in the way of the proceedings but most of all the fans were furious about the ending, something which ended the trilogy on such a sour note that fans even made petitions and gave to charity to demand a new ending for the game. It was a huge incident for Bioware which seemed to trigger their ultimate downfall in the eyes of gamers the world over. The company is currently working on Dragon Age 3: Inquisition, but with such a huge backlash still in the minds of gamers, the company just isn’t taken seriously anymore, something made worse by the departures of co-founders Ray Muzyka and Greg Zeschuk and Casey Hudson earlier this year.

3. Crytek

Crytek was once a household name in gaming for its technical prowess; the original Far Cry and Crysis were technical marvels in their day that backed up their excellent technical presentation with some brilliant gameplay, but after the release of Crysis 2, things started to go downhill. Crysis 3 was met with a significantly lowered critical reception and 2013 saw Ryse: Son of Rome put the nail in the reputation coffin with its repetitive and mindless gameplay. Legions of gamers just haven’t seen Crytek the same way since then and their newest projects are now free-to-play titles, a sizeable step back for a once renowned company.

4. Rare

Rare Ltd has been in the gaming business for a long time yet ironically many would argue they fell down the furthest over the years. The company started off making games for the Nintendo Entertainment System in the eighties. Titles such as Battletoads and R.C. Pro-Am were very popular for the system, establishing the company as a prime developer in the 8-Bit space. From 1994 to 2001, Rare’s partnership with Nintendo led to their greatest hits including Goldeneye 007 and Banjo-Kazooie. But then the 2000s came along and once Microsoft acquired Rare in 2002, things really started to go downhill. After Rare’s reincarnations of Conker (Live and Reloaded in 2005) Banjo Kazooie (Nuts and Bolts in 2008) alongside their other titles failed to gather a large audience on Microsoft hardware, the mega-corporation assigned them to work on Kinect titles instead and as a result, most gamers who played Rare’s games in the eighties and nineties just refuse to support them anymore, given the poor reputation Kinect possesses in the community. Whilst Kinect isn’t a primary focus for Rare anymore, several staff members have recently left the company, leaving its future in question.

5. Infinity Ward

A vast majority of the gaming community knows Infinity Ward as the creator of Call of Duty and the company who made the seminal Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare, a game which arguably changed and moulded the entire gaming landscape into what it is today. After the game’s release in 2007 and the vast amounts of money the series started to pull in year after year, everyone wanted to be Infinity Ward, everyone wanted to be the franchise that raked in millions each year. But after a hugely successful sequel with Modern Warfare 2 2009, things began to change in the company. After the studio heads Jason West and Frank Zampella left the company, half of the work force followed their lead in 2010; after this, the company underwent a reconstruction with Sledgehammer Games being brought in to work on multiplayer for Modern Warfare 3 in 2011. Now that Sledgehammer has become a full time developer for Call of Duty, Infinity Ward has become by many accounts, a shadow of its former self; what was once the best developer of Call of Duty has sunk to become the worst. This was proven by the release of Call of Duty Ghosts last year, which many believe was a lazy and downright pitiful effort to debut the series onto the newest generation of consoles.

6. Capcom

Capcom is a huge and long-standing Japanese game company but judging from recent events and multiple failures, many have suggested that they could well be on death’s door, ready to sell most of their assets in a bid to stay in the business. This is down to many things, most notably failing franchises. Resident Evil 6 in 2012 was a colossal critical disappointment with reviewers stating that the series had lost its way by devolving into mindless action over horror. Mega Man has been dormant since 2010 and when his creator Keji Inafune left the company, it became hard to tell when or if the Blue Bomber will make a full comeback. The Devil May Cry reboot in 2013 didn’t help much either as the game was met with abysmal sales after Capcom failed to listen to the fans who hated the new design of protagonist Dante. Add to this the controversial On-disc DLC restrictions and we have a company that could end up sliding over the edge if they don’t get their act together soon.

7. Square Enix

As the oldest company on the list, Square Enix is the creator of Final Fantasy but has since moved to acquire Tomb Raider, Hitman, Deus Ex and Thief in modern gaming. Final Fantasy, a series as long-running as the company itself was once the biggest powerhouse in the genre. From the Nintendo days through to the PlayStation the series captivated gamers the world over but once the PS3 and Xbox 360 came along, the series fell off its perch. Thirteen turned out to be the unlucky number for the franchise as it was heavily criticised upon its release in 2010 for being far too linear and stripped down from previous entries in the series. From there things continued to go downhill with the MMO Final Fantasy 14 being a catastrophic failure which still haunts the company and more recently the new Thief reboot not being as big a success as Square had hoped for. Square has made headlines for choosing to take Crystal Dynamics and the upcoming Rise of the Tomb Raider and make them Xbox exclusive, a move which infuriated gamers everywhere. The company who was once known as the “King of RPGS” has most definitely lost its majesty in the HD era of gaming.

8. Sega

Sega was once the primary competitor to Nintendo through the eighties and nineties; since retiring from hardware development in 2001 they’ve still been in the development business and haven’t been doing too bad; the sales are still solid, a fair few of their published titles get by with decent scores but as a developer, they’ve constantly had one fundamental flaw that has dogged them ever since the 3D generation began. Their primary franchise, Sonic the Hedgehog has never managed to properly transfer to 3D, many of the mascot’s games over the past fifteen years or so have been met with mediocre to bad reviews, leaving fans confused as to why Sega just refuses to go back to the 2D sidecrolling greatness that Sonic was once famous for. It’s true that Sonic the Hedgehog 4 in 2010 and Sonic Generations in 2011 have captured a bit of that nostalgic magic but nevertheless, Sega really aren’t the powerhouse they used to, especially seeing as how Sonic’s original titles were able to stand up to Mario’s when they were first released.

9. ID Software

The makers of the FPS, ID was once the king of the shooter; Wolfenstein was the one of the first games to properly put you in first person perspective of the character which was followed up by Doom and then Quake through the nineties. ID set the rules for both the genre and its multiplayer and they still kept up their name in technology with the release of Doom 3 in 2004. But ten years later with the releases of the not very successful Quake 4 in 2005 and Rage in 2011, ID seemed to have become irrelevant compared with all the modern shooters that had risen to take their place. The Doom reboot is on the way, but with the departure of John Carmack last year, ID just isn’t as well-known as they used to be.

10. Bungie

After four years of development, Destiny finally came out on September 9th 2014. It’s made five hundred million dollars in a single day and has been declared the most successful new IP ever made. But lost amidst all this celebrating from Bungie and Activision is the fact that the game itself just isn’t that memorable, and has been branded a title that isn’t really next-gen and has failed to live up to the hype. While the game certainly looks the part and has the infrastructure to sustain the game for a long time to come, reviewers have been quick to point out the non-existent story and shallow gameplay design that bogs the game down from beginning to end. Buyer’s remorse might soon become rampant amongst the thousands who bought the game and as such, this could be the beginning of a slow decline for Bungie, a company who were once world famous for creating Halo, one of the best FPS franchises of all time.

Far Cry 3 Game Review (PS3)

Since it first started with Crytek in 2004, the Far Cry series has prided itself on offering versatile and varied FPS gameplay placed against backdrops of excellent technical prowess. The latest game in the series, Far Cry 3 is no exception, offering one of the best single player campaigns seen in recent memory.

Far Cry 3 is all about Jason Brody, a rich kid on holiday with his friends; after a brief spot of skydiving his group is kidnapped by the sadistic Vaas and his band of pirates to be auctioned off as slaves. After a narrow escape Jason is taken in by Dennis and the Rakyat tribe who train him to rescue his friends. But as things go on a question arises; just how far will Jason let go and journey deeper down the rabbit hole? It’s this trait amongst prominent themes such as insanity, drug addiction and tribal tradition rather reminiscent of the 1979 classic Apocalypse Now that sets Far Cry 3’s story apart from previous entries in the series; whilst Jason and his friends aren’t the most interesting bunch, the story is still intriguing because over the course of the game you’ll see Jason transform from an ordinary scared survivor to hardened killer. It's often a very grim and dark story too with numerous atrocities committed that reminded me a lot of 2008's Rambo. Ironically it is Vaas and the other supporting characters that make the biggest impressions; each villain you’ll face is insane in their own way and their detailed and impactful monologues relayed to Jason over the course of the game will both fascinate and disturb you, making them some of the best villains ever conceived in a modern first person shooter.

Far Cry 3’s island setting is vast and expansive with a plethora of things to do; as has become common in recent Ubisoft titles, gameplay facets such as climbing to reveal the map (in this case radio towers), hunting wildlife and clearing out strongholds (Pirate camps) have made their way into the game, but where previous titles from the publisher didn’t properly flesh some of these out, Far Cry 3 makes a real effort to make everything you do worthwhile. The hunting has a proper purpose as you need the skins and pelts of different animals to craft all kinds of worthwhile items such as weapon holsters, ammo pouches and wallets; this goes hand-in-hand with “Path of the Hunter” missions where you must kill legendary animals to craft special versions of each item. Strongholds are given extra replayability with stealth; by taking out all the pirates in the area without being spotted or tripping any alarms nets you earn much more experience points than you would just running in guns blazing. In addition, there’s also “Wanted Dead” where you must eliminate a pirate general and his platoon, missions where you have to ferry supplies within a time limit and “Trials of the Rakyat” which pit you against your friends on online leader boards. There’s even collectables to find, adding even more incentive to explore the island. Just about everything you do in Far Cry 3 feeds into a new skill tree system; by gaining experience points you gain skill points which can be spent under heron, shark or spider which grant Jason new abilities. Heron is all about weapon handling; Shark is based on brute force and Spider homes in on stealth and you’ll be dishing out points into all three, feeling a great sense of progression as more skills show as tattoos on Jason’s arm. The story missions are often brilliant, taking you into crumbling Japanese bases to eliminate pirates and even underground temples to search for long forgotten secrets; most of these missions also incorporate both combat and stealth whilst also throwing some memorable set pieces moments into the mix. But because these missions are so strong, other elements can feel weak by comparison; the side missions seem really basic, only tasking you with going to an area and intimidating a target or finding a certain item. The economy is also quite unbalanced; over the course of the campaign, you’ll be purchasing and customising weapons from vendors; but because climbing radio towers makes weapons free to purchase you’ll end up having a lot of money in Jason’s wallet, but little to spend it on. These issues may be troublesome but all told the length and scale of Far Cry 3’s campaign more than makes up for its shortcomings.

On top of its single-player campaign, Ubisoft saw fit to include multiplayer which is competent but ultimately not very memorable. In competitive player, teams of pirates and the Rakyat tribe battle each other on fairly small infantry only maps with fairly standard gunplay seen in countless other modern shooters. The mode also includes the usual level-up and class creation systems. There are a few good ideas here such as a fully featured map editor, humiliation moves at the end of each match and a decoding system which gives timed rewards during your time online but you won’t be that interested for very long. Cooperative multiplayer fares a little better; whilst it doesn’t carry the same gameplay versatility as the single-player, it’s still quite fun to take on the hordes with three other friends. The mode has an arcade style to it with certain activities (such as a race to see who can collect the most dynamite to blow up an obstacle) coming into play. Its novel for a little while but when the campaign is far more enjoyable, you’ll just end up ignoring the coop altogether.

Far Cry 3 continues the series tradition of blending first person action with more intimate stealth and the game is successful in this regard. Stealth is defined by a detection meter which allows Jason to perform executions on his foes and once the ability to drag bodes out of sight is unlocked, it’s really enjoyable to use. Jason can also use his camera to mark enemies and in series tradition, throw a rock to distract enemies which goes far to alleviate frustration. The shooting is relatively intuitive though Jason’s inexperience with weaponry means that it won’t always be an easy ride. The enemy AI is quite good no matter which approach you take; if they see a dead body, they’ll become more cautious and if Jason is spotted they are quick to swarm and raise alarms in a stronghold. The combat as a whole is intense as you eventually have to put up with heavily armoured mercenaries, kamikaze melee pirates and large numbers of foot soldiers all at once. The same holds true for hunting; often times you’ll come across predators which can be a help or hindrance depending on how you use them. Jason might suddenly be attacked by a tiger when infiltrating a stronghold or he could release one from its cage to wreak havoc amongst the pirates. It’s this unpredictability that gives Far Cry’s combat its edge and this is only enhanced by the syringes you can craft and use to heal yourself, reduce fire damage or enhance Jason’s perception. All is not perfect though; the drive for realism and immersion has resulted in some overzealous fall damage which forces players to waste healing syringes many times over the course of the game. The in-game prompts could have used some tuning up as well; this may seem like a nit-pick but often times you’ll go to execute a takedown on an enemy, only to flail at nothing and meet the butt of an assault rifle instead. The fast-travel screen suffers from a similar problem where the icon has to flash up rather than just letting the player hover over and select it, resulting in a few tedious moments. Aside from some fiddly moments the gameplay in Far Cry 3 is commendable for its versatility which adds to the detailed open world setting.

The island setting of Far Cry 3 is simply one of the best looking open worlds in modern gaming; it not only represents how far we’ve come from the original Far Cry but highlights that shooters should be more than just dank grey corridors. From beginning to end, the game looks stunning and every time you climb a radio tower or pilot a hang glider over the scenery, you’re constantly reminded of that. The game also makes big strides for immersion with animals grazing and fighting each other as you explore as well as some great animations of Jason traversing the environment. The music features some pulse-pounding tracks that play during combat put against more tense notes whenever the villains are on-screen, as well as a special number for the story mission “Kick the Hornet’s Nest”. The game runs fluidly, despite a few glitches here and there which have become the norm for open world games. Overall the technical presentation of Far Cry 3 is just as extensive and detailed as the open world it illustrates.

Far Cry 3 does stumble in a few areas but regardless this is still a solid and all around enjoyable title that is easily the best in the series. The the islands of Bangkok might be filled with pirates, dangerous creatures and endless peril but Far Cry 3 will draw you in with its deep open world and polished gameplay.

Rating: 8.5/10

Call of Duty: Black Ops 2 Game Review (PS3)

Call of Duty is one of the most successful (and often most disliked) franchises in gaming; every year it rakes in millions without really making big steps forward with its gameplay and design. Treyarch has aimed to defy this convention with Black Ops 2 and the result is a game that is worth a look, even for naysayers of the series.

The story of Black Ops 2 carries on from the 2010 original and begins in the 1980s; operatives Alex Mason, Frank Woods and Jason Hudson are on the hunt for Raul Menendez across Africa, Afghanistan, and Panama and beyond. But after several critical mistakes and botched operations, the villain escapes, vowing to exact his revenge. Flashing forward to 2025, Mason’s son David (codenamed “Section”) faces the forefront of a new cold war between the USA and China, which is compounded by the re-emergence of Menendez and his plan to use the nation’s high-tech military hardware to throw the world into chaos. Penned by Dark Knight writer David Goyer and flashing between the two time periods, Black Ops 2’s plot is by far the most detailed yet seen in the series, filled with twists, turns and shocking moments. A good majority of the characters go beyond your typical action game clichés and receive a sizeable amount of development throughout the campaign, especially Menendez, who as an antagonist ranks close behind some of the best seen in modern first person shooters. To top it all off, Black Ops 2 is the first game that offers player choice which in turn will impact events at certain points in the game, be it allies that come to your aid or the overall ending. Black Ops 2’s story is both deep and engaging, perfectly complimenting the campaign mode where previous stories were only a box to fill in.

With a brilliant story at its centre the campaign structure also adopts new features; you’ll still get the usual linear levels where you go down a set path to reach your objectives but even these have unique twists that have never been seen in the series. You can crack open certain gates or locks to get access to new weapons and equipment, choose and customise your gear at the start of each mission and in the future portions you can often take command of drones and other technology to mix up the standard gunplay. The newest addition to the campaign though is strike force missions; these missions will pop up for a limited time and challenge you to command a whole unit of forces to complete a set mission, such as defending a base or rescuing an important individual. These are an intriguing new addition and can often get quite intense as the timer ticks down, though they don’t really rise to meet their full potential; the satellite controls for controlling every unit at once are quite fiddly and often times you’ll find yourself switching to a ground soldier and doing most of the work yourself as the friendly AI isn’t up to par. The mega-popular multiplayer has also undergone change, most notably the create-a-class system. Rather than being constrained to choosing weapons and perks, Black Ops 2 introduces the “Pick Ten” system; each item, be it a weapon, perk or piece of equipment carries a point cost, meaning you can completely remove the perks to focus on weapons, or pack in more perks by carrying less equipment; it’s a really flexible system that turns customisation on its head. Even Zombies has received upgrades with the new Tranzit mode (where players hop on and off, building items as they go) serving a bridge between multiple maps in a single game. There are also custom options for matchmaking and a mode where teams of two try to outlast each other against the approaching horde. At almost every turn Black Ops 2 challenges the status quo with its design, bringing new mechanics to each of its game modes to form an excellent package all around.

The design facets of Call of Duty Black Ops 2 form around a tried and true gameplay formula; you’ll still be doing the usual fast paced aim-down-sights combat against enemies and human opponents but this time there’s much more interactivity in both single and multiplayer modes. The drones and other futuristic technology afforded by the futuristic setting are all very intuitive and fun to play around with, whereas in multiplayer, the customisable kill streaks, such the deployable AGR can be set to either follow you or be controlled manually. While the game is still fast, frenetic and easy to get into, some areas haven’t really taken many steps forward; the enemy AI in particular is still quite incompetent, often just standing in one place waiting to be taken out and this problem does impact the strike force missions quite badly. Because the enemies don’t adopt any new tactics, you’ll pretty much know how the missions will play out every time, damaging their replayability. Despite these issues, Blacks Ops 2 sticks to what works, leaving the extensive design improvements to carry the game.

Call of Duty’s IW game engine was starting to show its age with Modern Warfare 3 and Black Ops 2 doesn’t do too much to alleviate this issue. It’s still a competent looking piece of software; the explosions look fine, the blood and gore effects still look suitably grotesque and the increased emphasis on cut scenes and rendering people has resulted in some acceptable facial animation but all told the series that rakes in the most money of each year hasn’t aged too well over the years. Whilst the technical aspects haven’t moved forward, Black Ops 2 maintains the series blazing fast sixty frames per second performance; the game will never lag (aside from internet connection) or slow down at all during gameplay, be it campaign or online. While the game does run well, it’s a shame that the technical aspects have taken so long to receive proper improvements.

Call of Duty Black Ops pushes the series design forward whilst also setting itself apart from every other game in the series at every turn, making it by far the best game in the series in seven years. My hat goes off to Treyarch for really innovating with this title, a trademark which the other developers of the long running series really need to consider in the future.

Rating: 8.5/10

Sin City: A Dame to kill for Movie Review

In 2005 Frank Miller and director Robert Rodriguez delivered the popular film-noir comic to the big screen; with its unique aesthetic and absorbing stories, it was a huge hit. After a nearly ten year wait, the belated sequel has finally arrived, with mixed results.

Like its predecessor, A Dame to kill for tells three separate stories that transport the viewer back and forth through time. This time around there’s the story of Dwight (Josh Brolin) as he struggles to free himself of the seductive Ava Lord (Eva Green), Johnny (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) who runs afoul of the corrupt Senator Roark (Powers Booth) and Nancy Callahan (Jessica Alba) who is struggling with the death of Detective John Hartigan (Bruce Willis) in the previous films. All three stories begin well enough with the monologues again getting you into the perspective of each character, but there’s no denying the fact that each story has its own problems that put them in the shadow of the first film. Dwight’s story is riddled with senseless contradictions and reversals, not to mention an overzealous performance by Eva Green, making it the least enjoyable plotline in the film. Nancy’s story takes a long time to get going and when it does in the final act of the film, it seems quite rushed and whilst Johnny’s story (which was written just for the film) is the best of the three, it has an unsatisfying conclusion that brings all the momentum to a halt. This is down to an irregular pace which stands at a contrast to the previous film which paced each of its stories alongside each other seamlessly, A Dame to kill for focuses too much on Dwight’s story for most of its run time and the other stories get neglected as a result. Furthermore the plot doesn’t do a very good job of filling in the gap between films; A Dame to kill for launches straight into the action without any meaningful context to the original, leaving those who didn’t see it quite confused.

Sin City: A Dame to kill for presents the same simple character archetypes that veer towards a camp and cool style. Of all the new actors present in the film, Joseph Gordon-Levitt is definitely the best addition with his assuming smile and smooth mannerisms. Josh Brolin and Mickey Rourke are also great as returning characters Dwight and Marv, who put across internal struggles and likeability respectively. Unfortunately while these characters work well, the others fall just as flat as the stories they populate. Eva Green in particular overacts so much in her role that she becomes comical rather than enjoyable to watch and Jessica Alba, despite being one of the main characters in a story, seems more content with dancing at the club rather than properly developing her character until the film’s final moments. The biggest problem with the characters in A Dame to kill for though is the inconsistent balancing; just as the plot homes in too much on Dwight’s story, certain characters become underused at best and somewhat pointless at worst. Christopher Lloyd is barely in the movie, which is disappointing given his interesting role as a heroin induced doctor and Bruce Willis just stands there as a ghost, not contributing anything to the overall plot. The characterisation of Sin City: A Dame to kill for has ultimately taken a pretty sizeable step back from the original.

There’s no doubt that Sin City’s film noir is at its gritty and stylish best for the sequel. The digitised set of the titular city is every bit as detailed and immersive as it was, from the dark streets to winding roads. Colour and the saturated black and white mix to maintain the distinctive style that sets the comic apart from all the others. The music is once again brilliant, adding to the moody atmosphere that hangs over the city. There’s also some solid cinematography at work here with all the fight scenes and other set piece moments being framed very well throughout. A Dame to kill for has the looks all sorted but really the movie can’t be sold on this merit alone.

Sin City: A Dame to kill for may have the distinctive style and look that made the first so memorable, but the plot and characters fall too flat to make an impression. After such a long wait, it’s hard not to be disappointed and even disinterested in what’s going on which speaks volumes about how audience interest can lower over the years. If you watched the first film, you’ll get a bit of enjoyment from the film but most will choose to ignore it.

Rating: 2.5/5 Stars

Five ways The Raid and The Raid 2 put modern Hollywood action films to shame

As you may have read previously, I was not very impressed with the recently released Expendables 3; despite a half decent final fight, the film fell flat because the action was so ho-hum and the characters too under-developed and minuscule. But then I bought the Raid 2 and was absolutely blown away by the movie and how it places itself above almost every other modern action film out there. Rather than a double review, I decided to do a simple list explaining why this foreign action series will win you over.

5. The editing is pitch perfect

Editing can make or break an action film and many Hollywood action movies range from competent to almost unwatchable (looking at you Transformers!) depending on how they have been shot. The Raid films just don’t suffer from this problem; it’s quite astonishing how the camera provides a crystal clear view of the action even in more tight areas such as a close combat sequence in a car in The Raid 2. Because the film’s action is so stellar, the filmmakers don’t feel the need to shake the camera constantly or film from repetitive angles to make the film seem more action packed. The films also make their mark on action cinema by refraining from cut-aways to show every inch of the combat on display.

4. The films have proper characters rather than basic stereotypes

Characterisation seems to have been thrown out the window with most action flicks. At a stark contrast with the flicks of the eighties which put effort into defining characters to make the audience care about their fates, today people go to see films based simply on who appears in the trailer and other advertising material or the subject material. It’s a marketing tactic which has allowed uninspired action flicks to still be successful even when their action sequences are so one-note. In The Raid and its sequel, the characters are strong and simple, with 2 giving plenty of detail to their struggles. If anything, the characterization in the two films is proof positive that The Raid shouldn't be judged by western audiences on the fact that its cast is made up of Indonesian actors, and later adding Japanese actors for the sequel; it adds to the authenticity of the film's setting and the martial arts portrayed therein.

3. Each scene is important and memorable

Countless action movies today fall into the trap of having throwaway scenes which really don’t contribute anything to the overall plot; instead they serve to force-feed the audience annoying comedy or try to put across the most basic kind of character development. Often times these scenes only serve to pander to the mainstream and pad out the film’s length to an overly-inflated level, but the Raid doesn’t suffer from this problem. By concentrating entirely on the plot and layering the action accordingly, the films become that much more engaging to watch, particularly Raid 2 with its deeper story of crime and corruption.

2. The combat is the complete opposite of desensitizing

In action movies nowadays, there’s always an obligatory fight scene where a group of protagonists get into a fight with the opposing force or the hero and villain slug it out towards the end of the film; we’ve seen it so many times that it becomes second nature and as such, these scenes become less memorable as a result. But with The Raid's superb implementation of the pencak silat martial art, the films always makes an impression. The hand-to-hand fighting is so visceral, brutal and impactful that every audience will be stunned and amazed by what’s on screen time and time again. Rather than being desensitized, you cringe and gasp whenever a foot, hand or knife strikes the body and this only adds to the tension the movies consistently carry.

1. The action is simply the best ever seen in a modern action film

The biggest reason of all though is that both movies provide action that is new, refreshing and maintains the tension throughout. Particularly in the second Raid film, there’s a variety of memorable sequences including car chases, martial arts, and gun battles which always keep audiences on the edge of their seats. Somehow Gareth Evans and company found a way to make the action genre fresh again; there’s never a single scene where we’re bombarded with endless explosions and computer generated effects and rather than the hero being an over-powered force, in both films Rama often finds himself outmaneuvered or outmatched by the villains he faces, making the plot much more unpredictable than your average flick. Above all else, the films keep you engaged across their run-times; the way the films are paced, meaning that there’s not a boring or samey action sequence in sight.

Now you know why The Raid movies are simply unstoppable in their pursuit of action movie stardom, I implore you, DON’T go and see The Expendables 3 and instead buy The Raid movies; they’ll blast you back in your chair like no other action film can.