REVIEW: Tomb Raider (2013)

After a series of rather mediocre and god-awful (Tomb Raider: Angel of Darkness) games over the past decade, gamers were beginning to wonder if Lara Croft would return to her peak as one of the queens of bad assery in video games.

The newly formed partnership between Crystal Dynamics (pretty much what's left of Eidos Interactive) and Square Enix has cherished this reboot of the beloved Tomb Raider franchise. This tale acts as an origin story of sorts for a much younger Lara Croft, as players will be experiencing the events that mold her into the heroine that we know and love.

What do I think of Lara Croft's return to gaming? Read on to find out.

Note: This review ONLY covers the single player campaign. If you're looking for coverage on the multi-player modes you will have to look elsewhere. 

The Plot (full spoilers): 

The game begins with Lara setting out on her first expedition about the ship Endurance, with the intention of finding the lost kingdom of Yamatai. By her suggestion and against Whitman's advice, the expedition ventures into the Dragon's Triangle, east of Japan. The ship is struck by a violent storm and split in two, leaving the survivors stranded on an isolated island. Lara is separated from the others when she is captured by a strange, savage man and trapped in his cave home. She manages to escape while her captor is killed as the cave collapses around them. As Lara tries to locate the other survivors, she finds more evidence that the island is inhabited, complete with strange carvings, dead bodies, and ritual sacrifices of animals. She eventually finds her friend Sam and a man called Mathias, who claims to be one of the passengers. As Sam tells Mathias the legends of Himiko, Lara falls asleep; when she wakes, Mathias and Sam are nowhere in sight.

When Lara finally reunites with the other survivors, she and Whitman decide to break off from the main party and search for Roth, who is still missing, while the rest of the group (Reyes, Jonah, Alex and Grim) set out to find Sam and Mathias. As Lara and Whitman explore, they discover that the island's inhabitants are worshiping Himiko, confirming that the island is, in fact, Yamatai. Upon discovering a shrine erected in Himiko's name, they are captured by the islanders and taken to a settlement along with several other survivors of the Endurance wreck. When the survivors attempt an escape, the captors turn on them, hunting them down and killing them. Lara is separated from Whitman and tries to hide, but is found by Vladimir, one of the leaders of the inhabitants. Vladimir attacks Lara, but she fights back and is forced to kill him to save her own life. She fights off the remainder of the inhabitants as she desperately works her way up the mountainside to meet up with Roth. Eventually, she locates an injured Roth in a nearby abandoned village. Using Roth's equipment, Lara sets off for a communications relay at the very top of the mountain, in hopes of contacting the outside world and calling for aid.

After successfully hailing a plane that was searching for the Endurance and setting a signal fire for them to follow, Lara witnesses a fierce storm materialize out of a clear sky and strike the plane down, accompanied by a mysterious voice saying "No one leaves" in Japanese. Feeling responsible for the fate of the pilots, Lara is powerless to stop the island's inhabitants from killing them. Lara is contacted by Alex and Reyes, who reveal that Sam has been kidnapped by the island's inhabitants, a violent cult known as the Solarii Brotherhood. Lara, who is closest to Sam's position, tries to rescue her, but is foiled by Mathias, who orders her killed. Lara is saved by the intervention of strange samurai-like creatures—referred to by the islanders as 'Oni', demons in Japanese folklore—and taken to an ancient monastery in the mountains. Escaping again, Lara stumbles onto a ritual chamber, where she learns that a "fire ritual" was used to choose the successor of Queen Himiko as part of a ceremony called the "Ascension". A terrified Sam manages to contact Lara and informs her that the Solarii intend to put her through the fire ritual, which will burn her to death if it is unsuccessful. Lara makes for the Solarii fortress, with support from Roth, but as she tries to infiltrate the palace, the Solarii threaten to murder Grim unless she surrenders. Grim attempts to overpower them, but is killed in the process. This allows Lara to venture into the palace, where she witnesses Mathias putting Sam through the fire ritual. Lara interrupts the ritual by trying to save Sam, but she is overpowered by Mathias and his men. The ritual continues, but Sam is not harmed by the flames, which are extinguished by a great gust of wind, marking her as the rightful successor to the Sun Queen's throne.

Lara narrowly escapes captivity once again and doubles back to help her friends, whose attempts to reach Sam have resulted in their capture. Aided by Whitman—who has managed to negotiate some degree of freedom with the Solarii—Lara returns to the palace to rescue Sam as Roth commandeers a helicopter to get them out. Having witnessed the storm that forced the search plane to crash, Lara sends Sam to escape by land and tries to force the pilot to land as a second storm brews up, striking the helicopter and forcing them to crash. Lara is nearly killed in the accident and is revived by Roth. However, Mathias and the Solarii arrive, and Roth is killed by a tomahawk meant for Lara. While mourning over Roth, Lara accepts that the storms are not natural, but are somehow connected to the Sun Queen and designed to prevent anyone from leaving the island. She meets up with the other survivors, who have evaded the Solarii long enough to secure a boat and escape the island, provided that it can be repaired. They are joined by Whitman, who claims to have escaped, though Lara begins to suspect him of working with the cultists. Lara and Alex head for the wreck of the Endurance to salvage the tools needed for Reyes to repair the boat. They find what they need, but they are attacked by the Solarii and Alex is trapped under wreckage. Alex decides to trigger an explosion and sacrifice himself so that Lara can escape with the tools.

Finding an account of a Japanese military expedition to the island that sought a way to harness the power of the storms as a weapon, Lara decides to explore an ancient tomb on the coast, where she finds the remains of a high-ranking samurai who committed seppuku. It is revealed, in a message he left, that he was the general of the queen's Stormguard, the Oni that defend the monastery, and that the Queen's successor took her own life rather than receive the Sun Queen's power, leaving the Sun Queen trapped in her body after death, and her rage has manifested in the form of the storms. Lara realizes that the Ascension is not a ceremony to crown a new queen, but rather a ritual that transfers the Queen's soul into a new body, and that the process will destory the host's soul. Himiko's spirit wants to escape its current body, and Mathias plans to offer Sam as a new host. Lara returns to the survivors on the beach to find that Whitman has betrayed them, abducting Sam and handing her over to Mathias.

Lara, Jonah and Reyes give chase, heading up a river to the monastery. After fighting her way through the queen's guards, Lara arrives at the top of the monastery in time to see Mathias start the Ascension ritual. She works her way to Mathias, confronting Solarii and guards alike. Lara kills Mathias when she shoots him from the roof of the monastery, sending him plunging into the abyss below, before destroying Himiko's remains to save Sam. With the storms dispersed, Lara, Sam, Reyes and Jonah leave the island and are picked up by a cargo ship. As she and her friends sail home, Lara decides that there are many more myths to be found and resolves to uncover them, stating that she isn't returning home just yet.

NEW Lara vs. Classic Lara

This new face for Miss Croft was modeled after model Megan Farquhar. Finally, Lara Croft is down to reasonable proportions instead of raiding tombs looking like something straight out of a Playboy magazine. I think we can leave the slutty tomb raiding to Tia Carrere in Relic Hunter right?

I got to say, Lara's come a LONG way from being a set of breasts with arms and legs to finally actually looking like a real person after all of these years.

Gameplay:

Lara can scan her environment for helpful clues with her "Survival Instincts" that many players will find reminiscent to Detective Mode in Batman: Arkham Asylum and Arkham City.

Gameplay is divided from platforming reminiscent of the Uncharted series or Castlevania: Lords of Shadow, with QTE (quick time events) to react to the action going on in the staged set pieces, to stealth sections (no penalty for being discovered other than the area turning into an overwhelm fire fight) and bit of duck and cover gunplay, like that found in Gears of War.

Everything that Lara accomplishes in this world nets her experience points that lead to Skill Points that players can use to improve Lara's survival prowess, brawler, or effectiveness with weapons. Searching the corpses of dead savages and animals allows Lara to obtain salvage that can be combined with parts found throughout the game to upgrade Lara's weapons to various degrees.

Lara's adversaries range from the animals in the wild (wolves, boars, etc.) to undead samurai warriors to the variety of savages occupying the island. Each encounter will be different from the last as enemies look to for multiple opportunities to flank Lara and expose her from beneath cover in battle; often times tossing Molotov cocktails, grenades, and dynamite to her location.

Lara starts the game off with no equipment other than her wits at first, but quickly obtains a bow, which will literally become the focal point of most of your exploits of this adventure. While Lara acquires a handgun, rifle, and even a shotgun over the course of the game, but the bow is the weapon that most players will gravitate towards the most. When you first acquire it, it's just an ordinary wooden bow, but Lara quickly upgrades it with parts found scattered across the island and it later acquires the ability to shoot ropes for Lara can climb down or use to pull enemies off cliffs. By the end of the game, this thing allows you ascend ropes with lightning speed, fires flaming tipped, grenade tipped, or even armor-piercing arrows at your foes for devastating results. Lara pretty much makes The Hunger Games' Katniss Everdeen look like wuss in comparison.

Not to take away from the other weapons, but players will be upgrading their favorite weapons to their hearts' desire, as parts are scattered across the island to bring each weapon to their maximum potential. Unfortunately, these upgrades cost a lot of salvage points so players will be hunting for every collectible and completing every challenge just to acquire them all.

Lara can take breaks from the main campaign and embark on exploring the seven optional tombs scattered across the island. Unfortunately, these optional tombs can be completed in roughly 5-10 minutes with minimal effort. On the bright side, all of these collectibles, challenges, and side quests are available to Lara after clearing the game as the entire island opens up for players to freely explore with minimal concerns from the island savages.

The Verdict: 

I want to start this off by bringing up the HUGE controversy that seems to be just swept underneath the rug by all of the reviews once this game hit the shelves. 

During an interview with Kotaku, executive producer Ron Rosenberg stated that during the game, Lara Croft "gets taken prisoner by scavengers on the island. They try to rape her, and- [...] She's literally turned into a cornered animal. And that's a huge step in her evolution: she's either forced to fight back or die and that's what we're showing today." The suggestion of a possible 'attempted rape' in the game soon caused outrage and controversy. 

Studio manager Darrell Gallagher later denied the 'attempted rape' suggestions, stating that one of "the character defining moments for Lara in the game, which has incorrectly been referred to as an 'attempted rape' scene is the content we showed" where "Lara is forced to kill another human for the first time. In this particular selection, while there is a threatening undertone in the sequence and surrounding drama, it never goes any further than the scenes that we have already shown publicly. Sexual assault of any kind is categorically not a theme that we cover in this game." The creative director Noah Hughes later further clarified that they "wanted to create an emotional investment, to draw people into Lara and her point of view. We wanted to draw you in, make you care, put you in Lara's shoes and have this be an intense moment you were experiencing with Lara, not from an outsider looking in perspective." 

In an interview with story writer Rhianna Pratchett, she explained that the scene wanted to show Lara's reactions, rather than her assailant's actions. Pratchett was critical of the way the game's trailer cut out Lara's reactions to focus on the attack rather than the aftermath, and that when seen in context, the scene took on an entirely different meaning that was originally intended. Pratchett also expressed dismay that, as a female protagonist, Lara had been misrepresented as a victim of a sexual assault. -- via Wikipedia

No means no, fellas.

Mind you, this alleged scene has been removed for the most part but after that first encounter with the savages of the island where Lara helplessly struggled against this overpowering threat and had to resort to violence to survive, I couldn't help feel that was the reaction intended for players - between the lines, in a sense - to feel in that situation. Throughout the entire game, I couldn't help but shake off that feeling that something could jump out at any moment and this poor young woman wouldn't be able to handle herself. As a result, I got a sense throughout the game that it was up to me, the player, to protect her from what harm may come her way.

Before I get a shitstorm of bad press on that comment, you can't help but feel this way concerning Lara in this game when almost every 'dynamic' encounter ends up with a male conveniently positioned on top of Lara's body (i.e. look to the gif on your left here). Mind you, Lara doesn't come off as weak as Samus Aran did in Metriod: The Other M in terms of how the narrative portrayed that heroine in that game, but one can distinguish the change in her own confidence of her own abilities from the start and after the adventure has ended. Lara Croft makes a transformation throughout this tale, gone from the clever, yet weak unsure girl to becoming a confident, versatile, and resourceful woman.

Crystal Dynamics did an excellent job with weaving the tale of Lara's origin story in this game, but my biggest complaints came in two flavors. First of all, the moment where Lara is urged to kill someone for the first time. As emotionally powerful as it was, the impact was diluted the moment the game switches into a traditional shooter mindset (rewards for headshots and killstreaks) and automatically expects the player to be cool with killing. Sure, players have been shooting stuff for decades now in our gaming careers, but for Lara, I would have expected another stealth section or two while she gets over her emotional shock of killing. She's not a hardened soldier like Solid Snake, a child psychopath turned samurai like Raiden, nor is she a war veteran like Master Chief. It's debatable that drawing out her shock would have made her seem more weaker, but it would have made that moment when Lara finally decides to kill regularly more significant.

Lara and Sam seem a bit close... a bit MORE than
just "friends" ya know?

Secondly, I have an issue with Lara and Sam's relationship. While Lara grew into her role as the team of the Endurance's "savior", Sam depended on Lara to save and rescue her at every opportunity instead of stepping up to the challenge like the other members of the crew. She only serves as Lara's cheap damsel in distress mechanic to drive the story onward. You can expect her to possibly reprise this role in a sequel as it seemed that the Queen "marked" her and the end of the game. I could be wrong, but still that majority of the dialogue between Sam and Lara goes like this:

Sam: Lara!
Lara: Sam!
Sam: Lara, help me!

I'm not even joking here. That's roughly 90% of their dialogue in the game there.

On a positive note, this game is gorgeous. It looks great on Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3, but most PCs will die trying to run this at the best graphic options. From the rendering on Lara's hair and character model detail, from her outfit to the blood covering her face and body from her multiple injuries throughout this tale to beautiful environments, Crystal Dynamics and Square Enix have created a world that rivals even those found in the realm of Final Fantasy in the sheer beauty and the realism that could be on par with the Uncharted series.

As cringe-worthy as they were, I wouldn't be doing this review justice if I didn't mention the death scenes in this game. I have to say some of these are up there with and in some cases, better than the death scenes in the Resident Evil and Dead Space, making you curse your mistakes as a player and allowing these gruesome fates to become of the lovely Miss Croft. Each one of these fatal measures are more extreme than some of the death sequences in the original series, but I can't say much about the newer entries in this series since I haven't touched a TR title since Tomb Raider 2 on PC and PSX when I got past the infamous Opera House and the underwater levels and my memory card went corrupt. Long story short, that single frustration caused me to deter from this time-consuming series. Just fair warning, this is EVERY death scene in the game and I do not recommend those who are faint of heart to watch the following video:

With the frantic duck and cover gun play, Lara is highly responsive in long-range combat, but my biggest issue with the combat is her lack of melee options until near the end of the game after investing a lot of skill points in the Brawler category. At the beginning, Lara merely shoves nearby foes away from her until later she uses her ice pick to deliver fatal strikes. Ironic that Crystal Dynamics to take her fears and emotional growth into account in combat but not as much when she adjusting to killing. Lara's scramble move is decent for the most part, but it is not at it's best until coupled with execution upgrades later into the game. Most players can avoid this issue altogether by just avoiding close-quarters combat - that is until near the end of the game when Lara is faced with mostly melee-oriented foes.

Despite these minor flaws, Crystal Dynamics has revived Lara Croft onto her pedestal of greatness as one of the queens among gaming's heroines. From start to finish, Lara's adventure spans about 10-15 hours, leaving players at the edge of their seats from start to finish. Without a shadow of a doubt, this game is definitely an early Game of the Year candidate. Unlike most titles on the market with stellar single player campaigns, Square Enix has confirmed that there will be NO additional single player DLC, so players can sigh in relief that they have the complete package from start without any additional cash coming out of their wallets. I'm giving Lara's latest adventure a 9.5 out of 10. Lara's revival on current generation consoles could not have been any better than this.

REVIEW: DmC (Devil May Cry) - Vergil's Downfall DLC

A month after the release of DmC (Devil May Cry), Ninja Theory gives players a reason to return to Limbo as the promised pre-order bonus DLC (720MS points/$8.99 on PSN or Steam, if you didn't pre-order) is now available on Xbox Live and PlayStation Network for download. Downfall picks up right after finale of DmC and you might want to stop reading now if you haven't beaten the game as spoilers follow.

Plot: (Full spoilers)

After being defeated, Vergil retreats and makes it to his mother's grave, where he finally collapses from the wound Dante gave him. He suddenly wakes up in a strange dimension, where he is guided by the voice of Eva to "head toward the lights". Vergil, having already been weakened by his wounds, also discovers that his amulet is lost. Vergil reaches the light area, which is the gate to his old home. However, he is stopped by an illusion of Kat and Dante, who stabs him again with his sword. Vergil collapses again, and then wakes up in a desert, where he is greeted by a hollow version of himself. Hollow Vergil pulls out Vergil's heart, which then shows 3 wounds. Vergil is then given a "second chance".

He is teleported to an area where he finds Kat being chased by a large demon. Vergil follows them, killing many demons along the way. As Vergil reaches Kat in a church-like area, the demon then runs off into a portal. Kat, however, begins to taunt Vergil for having betrayed her and Dante, before turning into a demon. Vergil kills the demon, which also heals his first wound in the heart. Hollow Vergil then tells him to become "the son of Sparda" by killing off Dante. Vergil is then teleported to an area where he chases after Dante, while the latter constantly taunts him. Vergil manages to wound Dante midway by crushing him with a bus,and finally kills him with his own sword at the end. Vergil also takes Dante's amulet, and then proceeds to meet his mother, Eva. He reaches her just in time before she is killed by an 'Imprisoner' demon (the same demon that gave chase to Kat earlier). Vergil saves Eva, but then laments on how she has always loved Dante more than him. He throws her Dante's amulet, then leaves her behind.

Having healed all the wounds, Vergil now has a thirst for power, and he demands Hollow Vergil to give up his amulet. After a long fight, the hollow is defeated, and Vergil absorbs him as well as takes his amulet back. Having become more powerful than ever, Vergil returns to the area he was teleported to in the first place, and makes his way back to "the light". As he steps through the gate, Vergil wakes up at Eva's grave, where he finds his wounds fully healed. An army of demons approach him, but as his eyes begin to glow, the demons bow before him. Vergil, knowing he is no longer the man he once was, becomes the leader of the demon army.  - via Wikipedia

Gameplay:

Much like Dante in the original game, Vergil acquires the means to use his katana, Yamato, in both Angelic and Demonic modes. Demonic properties grant Yamato with powerful, yet slow attacks, while Angelic grants him faster, crowd-clearing attacks.

Vergil even has his own variations of Angel Lift/Demon Pull mechanics as well, allowing him to traverse the environment much like Dante could, even though I feel that Vergil would have benefited more with an air dash or a few more mobility options than Dante to distinguish him from his twin brother.

From here, this is where the similarities between the twins end. Instead of an evade, Vergil is equipped with a teleport to maneuver around enemy attacks. This teleport also replaces Dante's double jump, so many players will find it to be a bit cumbersome to get used to at first. Instead of firearms, such as Dante's pistols or shotgun, fans will see the return of Vergil's iconic Summoned Swords as Vergil's preferred projectile of choice.

Finally, Vergil acquires the Doppleganger ability after defeating the boss of this DLC episode. Series veterans should remember this ability from Devil May Cry 3, which allowed another player to control the clone one-screen for tag team combos with style. It was primarily used solo for the most part though, allowing players to deal double damage with their shadow mimicking their every move. In Downfall, it seems to function a bit differently. It consumes its use from the Devil Trigger gauge, but Vergil is allowed to command it independently via commands on the d-pad. I'm intrigued to see what insane combos the folks at Devil's Lair cook up over time with this very interesting mechanic.

One thing players will notice right off the bat that the Stylish meter is tweaked a bit in this mode. While I was easily ranking up S, SS, and SSS ranks with Dante, I could only get A's or barely even B's consistently with Vergil until I got to near the end of this campaign. I thought the change was for the better as it was mindbogglingly easy to score S, SS, and even SSS consistently on this game with Dante. As one would expect, Vergil's 'style' requires a bit more finesse and variety than his show-off of a brother.

The DLC includes roughly an additional two hours of gameplay to the main game's narrative, offering four difficulty modes and a few new enemy types. Unlike the retail release, majority of this story is told in hand drawn cutscenes. I'm not sure if that's everyone's cup of tea as Asura's Wrath pulled that same stunt for their first few episode DLCs and was frowned upon for it. At least it's not still images like those found in Soul Calibur V's story mode...

My thoughts exactly, Vergil...

The Verdict: 

Much like the review on the full game, this was a VERY hard review for me to write up. As a fan of the entire Devil May Cry series thus far, plus with Vergil being my favorite character without a shadow of a doubt, I can't really say that I like this version of him.

In terms of the plot, his path down the dark side seemed a bit forced, especially with all of this "Mommy and Daddy loved Dante more!!" crap. Where did that come from? Wasn't Vergil the one who raised by a wealthy family, while Dante was bounced around from orphanage to orphanage like a toy nobody wanted? So shouldn't Dante be the one who should be jealous? Despite the fact that Kat choose to stay with Dante over Vergil, she still begged Dante not to kill him. I just really don't see where he got all of these diluted thoughts from that everyone is against him. My only guess on the huge shift on his character is maybe he was 'poisoned' by Mundus when he absorbed him during their final battle. I get that he showed hints of being tainted before then, especially when he killed Lilith's unborn child, but one can simply dismiss that as revenge for what Mundus has done to their parents. Plus, Phineas did say something on the lines of balance between the two worlds, Mundus must have a successor after he is defeated. I guess Vergil was groomed to be that new king all along. I will admit that I did enjoy the fact that the plot here is straightforward and lacks the political agenda propaganda that the main story thrived upon.

In terms of gameplay, this iteration of Vergil is a bit inferior to his Devil May Cry 3: Special Edition version. He lacks his wide arc of range and length to the bulk of his attacks, plus it annoys me to no end that his teleport lacks the invulnerable frames from DMC3SE to dodge attacks properly. This headache can be relieved somewhat by using Rapid Slash's invulnerable frames though. After experimenting, you can rule out using his Demonic style almost entirely to an extent as well. You can expose shielded foes with the Demonic Pull, then launch them into the air and still deal great amounts of damage to them with the much safer Angel attacks. You can see for yourself some of Vergil's gameplay here as you can watch me struggle to play Vergil effectively in this DLC boss fight.

I found it difficult to fire Summoned Swords and perform attacks simultaneously - another staple tactic that is unique to Vergil. Back in DMC3SE, this is was a bread and butter technique to help rank up to higher stylish grades. Finally, we have the Doppleganger technique. Like previously mentioned, I'm anxious to see what the pro players at this series can do with that thing, but as for the average player, it's a bit useless. There should have been an option to switch between normal Devil Trigger activation or Doppleganger. These frustrations are amplified from the one of the main issues with the core gameplay already - the lack of a lock-on button. As a result of these blunders, Vergil comes off as a mediocre alternate to Dante.

At the end of the day, this DLC serves it's purpose - it answers the question of what happens next after the credits roll and it leaves the door open for this re-imagining of the Devil May Cry franchise to continue. While I don't agree with paying for this add-on in the least - it could have been easily the main story's epilogue or unlockable bonus chapter, but if you can obtain it for free then be my guest and go ahead to try this out. Everyone else is better off just watching a video walkthrough of it on YouTube or Dailymotion, unless you are really looking for something new or extra to do with DmC after clearing the game with Dante. As far as add-on DLC goes, this isn't the worst and it's definitely far from the best. I'm giving this a 3 out of 5. 

REVIEW: DmC (Devil May Cry)

Dante has returned folks, thanks to this re-imagining of the franchise by a joint venture from both Capcom and Ninja Theory.

This new look for Dante and the world of Devil May Cry has been meet with a mixed reaction by long-time fans of the series. I won't deny that I absolutely hated this new look for Dante, but I still managed to play through the game in its entirety to garner an opinion instead of completely forsaking it like the most of the players who hate it just to be cool.

Is this game worth the hate and negativity surrounding it? Let's find out...

Plot (Full Spoilers): 

The story takes place in Limbo City, a modern-day city secretly controlled by all-powerful demons, manipulating humanity through the comforts of life, with the demons themselves living in a parallel plane called 'Limbo'. Living on the fringes of the brainwashed society is Dante, a young man at odds with the demons who constantly hunt him and the civilian authorities they control. The game starts with Dante waking up after a night drinking and having sex with a couple of girls he picked up at a local nightclub, then being warned by a mysterious young woman that he's in danger. After being pulled into Limbo, dressing and avoiding the clutches of a 'Hunter' demon, Dante is guided through the Bellevue Pier's carnival by the girl, who addresses herself as Kat, a psychic who can see into Limbo. After recovering his sword and his twin pistols, Dante defeats the Hunter, but is left confused when it calls him "Son of Sparda" as it dies. After returning to the human dimension, Dante is asked to join Kat in heading back to speak with her boss. Reluctantly, Dante accepts.

Along the way, Kat explains that she is part of "The Order", a rogue vigilante group led by a masked man intent on exposing the demons and releasing the world from their control. The leader of the Order introduces himself as Vergil, who tells Dante that he is exceedingly important, and with his help the Order can bring down the demons. Dante scoffs at the idea, but Vergil pleads with him, saying he will show Dante their shared past. Vergil, Kat, and Dante arrive at Paradise, a dilapidated mansion outside of the city that seemingly holds the key to Dante's past. While exploring, Dante's sees apparitions of his youth, including playing with a young Vergil, showing that the two are brothers, pictures of his father Sparda and his mother, Eva, and their mansion being attacked by demons. Escaping from the mansion, Dante requests more information from his brother.

Vergil, in an old playground, reveals that Sparda and Eva were demon and angel respectively, forbidden by their peoples' war to fall in love or have family. Despite this, they did fall in love and, going into hiding, bore Dante and Vergil: Nephilim who were capable of killing the cruel Demon King Mundus, Sparda's former ally. Afraid that the Nephilim children would indeed be used against him, Mundus attacked the family and killed Eva. He then condemned Sparda to banishment and eternal torture after the former demon General spirited his sons to safety, wiped their memories for their own protection and gave each a sword (Rebellion for Dante, Yamato for Vergil). After this, Dante resolves to help Vergil bring down Mundus and his regime.

Dante, with help from Kat, gradually takes down Mundus' operations: the Raptor News Network, which brainwashes the public with its propaganda, and the Virility Plant, which manufactures a soft drink which keeps the people of Limbo City docile. After destroying the Virility Plant’s controlling demon, Dante is contacted by Phineas, an elder demon imprisoned by Mundus. In return for helping the demon escape, Dante is gifted with the ‘Devil Trigger’ a powerful form of attack that makes him invulnerable for short periods. In taking down the Raptor News Network, Dante sees that the Order is being massacred. He returns and finds Kat and Vergil alive. While Vergil escapes with his brother, Kat is brutally captured by SWAT troops.


Hoping to get Kat back, and against his brother's advice, Dante kidnaps Mundus' demon concubine, Lilith, who is pregnant with Mundus' heir. He offers to exchange Lilith for Kat (as opposed to Mundus' own offer of her life for Dante's). However, Vergil kills Lilith and her child, triggering a firefight from which the three allies only narrowly escape an enraged attack by Mundus from his stronghold in Silverstack Towers. Kat, recovering from torture, tells them of a way into the Towers. With the remnants of the Order, Dante and Vergil infiltrate the Towers and confront Mundus, who is drawing power from the Hellgate, a portal to his realm within his office. The Demon King tries to kill Dante, but Vergil closes the Hellgate and stabs Mundus in the back. But, far from dying, Mundus form a new body for himself and attacks the brothers again. Mundus is eventually defeated, and with him the shield keeping demons across the world invisible dissolves, leaving the demons visible to humans and fusing the human world and Limbo together.

As Vergil, Kat and Dante look at the ruined city and consider the future, Vergil reveals his true intentions: with Mundus gone and their family avenged, Vergil intends to rule humanity, with Dante by his side. Dante, who has grown to care for humanity and is appalled at Vergil's callous attitude towards humans and especially Kat, refuses. The brothers fight and Dante, going into his Devil Trigger state, comes close to killing his brother. Kat begs him to relent and Vergil, seriously wounded and disappointed in Dante’s resolution to protect humanity but let them rule, leaves through a portal. Dante and Kat are left standing in the ruined battlefield, with Dante’s hair turned white by the Devil Trigger and his eyes shining with demon power. The game ends with Dante questioning his identity, and Kat comforting him by replying "I know exactly who you are. You are Dante, nothing more, and nothing less."

Gameplay: 

Defeating your foes nets players unique grades and scores on DmC's trademark Style Meter that grades player performance in battle from D ("Dirty" - being the worst) to SSS ("Smokin' Sick Style!!" - being the best). Using a multitude of attacks and not being hit allows Dante to garner massive amounts of Style points from battle. This game also rewards players for keeping enemies juggled in the air as long as possible without touching back down to the ground. Compared to the Style ranking in the original series, this one is VERY forgiving. I found it rather easy to acquire and maintain S and SS ranks easily in battle rather consistently by simply stringing together the same few attacks over and over again. By the time most players acquire all of the weapons in the story, they will be raking in SSS ranks on foes in roughly every encounter consistently with relative ease.

Replacing the Devil Bringer from Devil May Cry 4, are the Angel Lift and Demon Pull mechanics. Angel Lift drags Dante to his foes' location with an air dash of sorts, allowing for easier positioning in battle for follow-up attacks, while Demon Pull can yank enemies towards Dante or snatch away enemy shields for counter-attacking. Some players may argue that Demon Pull is better than switching to Demon Weapons to disarm shielded foes. I personally prefer that method as you don't have to risk them counterattacking during the slow start-up of those attacks.

Dante's commando roll from yore is absent in this game, replacing it is a simple Evade button. With ability upgrades, you can add the Angel Perfect Evade that distances Dante further from his opponent after a perfectly-timed evasion, or acquire the Demon Perfect Evade that boosts Dante's pending attack after a perfectly-timed evasion.

Players are encouraged to spend skill points at their leisure as there is no penalty on buying skills as you can try them out then refund your currency if you don't find that ability to fit your particular playstyle. DmC takes a page from Bayonetta, offering players with a Training Room of sorts to practice timing of stringing together Dante's attacks and juggles to devastating results.

Much like any Devil May Cry title to date, Dante is armed with a variety of toys to take down his foes with in this game:

Demon Weapons:

Rebellion - Don't let the label fool you, this weapon functions as your 'middle ground' in terms of combat. It's neither demon or angel-oriented so you can keep this weapon as your primary weapon of choice in roughly every encounter in this game. Much like it's past iterations in the series, it suits a multitude of playstyles.

Series veterans will be sad to learn that Dante's trademark Stinger attack doesn't have as many uses as it did in previous entries of the series here. In this game, it serves primarily as ground combo ender.

Arbiter - This is the first Demon weapon that Dante will acquire throughout the story, specializing in destroying enemy shields. Many players seem to favor Eryx over Arbiter, but I find Arbiter to be vastly superior in more situations. For example, it's Flush (Towards, Towards + Y) attack easily kills most standard foes by tacking this move at the end of most combos. It serves as an excellent option on crowd control as well as this weapon can easily launch multiple foes into the air.

Eryx - Slower than Rebellion, yet faster than Arbiter, these flaming gauntlets are reminiscient of Beowulf (DMC3) and Ifrit (original DMC), allowing players to charge up their attacks for devastating results. The fully charged variations of attacks can stop/interrupt enemy attacks, leaving even Titans stunned. But much like Arbiter, this weapon is rather slow to get going. Several bosses are highly susceptible to this weapon's attacks.

Angel Weapons:

Osiris - This is the first Angel weapon you obtain in the story. In terms of attack speed, it is faster than Rebellion, but deals slightly weaker damage to foes. This is the first of Dante's many crowd control options. When coupled with Rebellion, this weapon can keep foes airborne in juggles for lengthy periods of time on the ground AND while airborne. This weapon also has the ability to grow stronger from feeding on the energy from defeated foes, allowing its attacks to become even more powerful over time.

Aquila - Dante wields two shurikens and throws them at opponents at high speeds. This is Dante's only melee weapon that allows him to attack from long distance. This weapon is mainly used for destroying Witches' barriers, allowing Dante to collect collectibles easier. Dante's trademark attack, Round Trip, is available with this weapon alone, allowing Dante to lock down his foes by charging up and hurling the shuriken at any foe while they are shred to pieces. This allows Dante to keep other foes preoccupied while focusing on more deadlier foes.

I personally find it to be a bit overpowered that you can spam Round Trip almost endlessly without consequence. You could simply fire this thing back to back into a mob of enemies and clean house with little effort afterwards. You have to stupid for NOT abusing this technique. I personally found it hard to go back to Osiris after making that little discovery.

Firearms:

Ebony & Ivory - Dante's signature pistol that automatically target an enemy when fired. Like previous iterations of the series, Dante can still use these to juggle opponents and to "bullet hover" (slow his descent from falling from the air). Outside of that, these weapons are useless for the most part in this game.

Revenant - Dante's shotgun that is acquired about halfway into the game. This weapon is recommended for crowd control, but I suggest using it as your primary firearm of choice. This weapon does massive damage up close to foes while it charged ability gives it the ability to stick time bombs to your adversaries.

Kablooey - This weapon fires up to 6 darts that must be detonated manually. The more darts you stick onto one target, the bigger the explosion and damage. This weapon is good for smaller enemy encounters as you won't have the time to fire all of the required darts in larger crowds of enemies. I personally would have preferred for the return of Kalina Ann (Bazooka from DMC3) or the grenade launcher (original DMC) to make a return in some form.

Later into the game, Dante acquires the Devil Trigger ability, which allows him to regain health while all onscreen opponents (all enemy types with the exception of bosses) are launched airborne by the sheer force of the release of his demonic power. Dante's attack strength is amplified while being in DT state as well. They maintain airborne as long as Devil Trigger is activated. This is a rather shocking change to the DT state of the older series as this gives players an easy combo and juggle opportunity. Unfortunately, this marks yet another sequel in the series where the fan favorite DTE (Devil Trigger Explosion) is unavailable. In DMC3, you could 'charge' your DT gauge and instead of transforming, you could release your DT as a powerful explosion that dealt massive damage to any opponent crazy enough to be nearby when you released this attack.

Enemy types are diverse and never boring in this game as the game always mixes things up to keep players on their toes. Foes with shields and particular adversaries only weak to either Angel/Demon weapons give combat a bit of a Megaman-style approach as players have to experiment to see which tactics and weaponry work best.

By default the game offers 3 difficulty settings: Human (Easy), Devil Hunter (Normal), and Nephlim (Hard). Most players should get by fine on Devil Hunter after getting used to the controls, but DMC veterans may prefer Nephlim difficulty at bit more on their initial playthrough as the enemies are more brutal and unforgiving on this setting. After clearing the game you unlock Son of Sparda mode, but there's still Dante Must Die, Heaven or Hell, and even Hell and Hell modes to conquer. DMC purists will be playing this for a LONG time conquering these difficulties, collecting all of the collectibles (Keys & Lost Souls), and clearing the Secret Missions scattered throughout the game. Those features alone should keep most players busy for well over 20-50 hours of gameplay, honing their skills and mastering the combat system. Sadly, the single player campaign can be completed in roughly 7-10 hours tops.

After clearing the game, players unlock "classic" Dante, complete with his iconic white hair and red trench coat. Players can purchase other skins via DLC, but by the end of the game, I was personally fine with this Dante's 'transformation' of sorts, so I felt the alternate skins weren't really needed.

Bloody Palace Mode (FREE DLC)

The infamous Bloody Palace mode is a free add-on for DmC fans can enjoy in this newest entry. The Bloody Palace is a bonus mode that made its debut in Devil May Cry 3: Special Edition. It is the series of challenges for any Devil May Cry player, forcing them to endure 100 floors/rooms of enemy hordes without the use of items - only Dante's arsenal and abilities.  After every 20 floors, players must defeat a boss from the story mode. Unfortunately, this version is timed and lacks the option to skip/jump ahead several floors in succession. Players can score more time by scoring high stylish rankings, but completing this mode doesn't unlock anything for the player. Your exploits won't show up in the Stats menu either. It's really a complete waste of your time unless you just want to grind away against enemy mobs, earning experience for buying out all of the available abilities and special moves.

Also, players who download the Vergil's Downfall DLC will be disappointed as he is NOT playable in this additional mode.

Sound: 

If I didn't give a rave for the guys at CombiChrist for this game's stellar soundtrack, I would feel bad for it later. CombiChrist did an excellent job of bringing the world of DmC to life through its music. At times, I felt like the soundtrack told a better narrative than the actual cutscenes and voice acting. Here, take a listen for yourself. 

Other than the sounds from CombiChrist, Ninja Theory managed to make every impact, explosion, or gunshot echo throughout battle, so there isn't an instance that you don't doubt that the frantic action isn't chaotic in the least.

If I could, I would replace DMC3's soundtrack for this game's in a heartbeat.

The Verdict: 

I have to admit, that writing a review for this game has been one of the hardest tasks that I have had to do in recent memory as far as my experience on critiquing games goes. I'm not part of the majority that simply hates on this game for no apparent reason, nor am I part of the minority that loves it over the rest of the series to date either. I'm in that middle ground on my reception of this game.

In terms of the narrative, it borrows far too much from Bayonetta's lackluster story for my taste, but at the same time, I give Ninja Theory a nod of approval for taking the time to distinguish Limbo from Bayonetta's Paradiso realm. Limbo is an ever present threat in DmC as players (on their first playthrough anyway...) will be on the edge of their seats wondering how the world will warp and deteriorate around you as it bends to Limbo's whim. 

Rush Limbaugh... err Bob Barbas 

The narrative seems to force a political and media message between the lines as they control the masses with a mask of lies, claiming to protect the masses, when in reality they are true evils of the world. Then you have The Order looking to expose the 'truth' as if they are the video game equivalent of Anonymous, which can't be any more obvious in the plot that you literally fight Rush Limbaugh (Bob Barbas) at Fox News (Rapture News).  Plus, with the game having a British setting, you have to sense that they were going for a V for Vendetta type of conspiracy story here. While we're mentioning it -- Ninja Theory, you don't have to point out in roughly every cutscene that the game is in Britain by showing off the flag on Dante's coat...

"The Union Jack patch on the arm of Dante's coat was Ninja Theory's small way of adding in a nod to themselves as their offices are based in the UK." - via DmC Wiki

Yeah, whatever...

Back to the narrative... The game spends more time discussing this corruption to society by these evils, but little on The Order itself. Am I the only one who found it to be a bit strange that the group only is essentially, Vergil and Kat until they recruited Dante? Sure, we see the other members when they are gunned down near the end of the game, but there is little emotional attachment to be had for those nameless individuals in The Order when the player has no previous opportunities to become attached to these characters before hand. No fucks were given when those nameless people died.

Much like this image, Kat is always stands in the foreground
in this story, while everyone else is in the background.

Speaking of characters that we are attached too, I have to say that Kat (voiced by Sage Mears) stole the show on this game's narrative. If it's one thing that Ninja Theory does right throughout their gaming careers, then it's motion capture. I admired their talent for it in Enslaved: Odyssey to the West (seriously, PLAY this game if you haven't... it's a rare gem!) and Heavenly Sword, but it really shines through here. Kat bounces from the role as Dante's (and Vergil's) lifeline of support to damsel in distress throughout the story, but out of all of the characters in the story, she is the most memorable. Every action and subtle movement is captured and put on display through the game's cutscenes and in the process, expressing every emotion racing through her head as you progress through the game. Most of the game I found myself paying attention more to her than anyone else in the story, even when she was in the background at times.

Sadly, Kat only represents the good for females in this game. The others? This game is up there with the God  of War series on being derogatory to women. Every woman in this game is either killed, beaten up, verbally abused, or forced to degrade themselves to the sexual satisfaction of this game's primarily male audience. The game literally opens with Dante getting a lapdance followed by a blowjob and threesome from some strippers he met at a local bar. Shortly into the game, Mundus is banging Joan Rivers (Lilith) over his desk for what could have been implied instead of shown for the most part. What happened to strong females in this series like Lady and Trish, who didn't take shit from their male co-stars? Oh yeah, did I mention that this game features an abortion too?

Dante and Vergil's bromance falls flat in a lot of areas, but I did find myself laughing at their banter before the epic clash against Mundus near the game's finale. "...But my d*ck is bigger." I don't get where all of this hate comes from for Dante's voice actor, but I thought he did well for the most part. I blame Ninja Theory more on the shitty dialogue they cooked up for him. The man did the best he could with what he was given. It could be worse - we could have Ichigo (Johnny Young Bosch) again as the main character. I'll go on record saying that I hate Nero a thousand times more than this Twilight reject that they made Dante into.

***WARNING*** Ending Spoilers in the video below!!!

The video above is the perfect example of one of this game's biggest issues in terms of gameplay - the camera. The player has manual control of it, but very often during gameplay, that's not good enough. Enemies warp or move out of your field of vision and you're literally screaming, "Where the fuck did he go!!??" as you're in the middle of combat. This issue is even more apparent on higher difficulties, where this game's other issue comes to surface - the lack of a lock-on targeting feature. Dante does not always target the most threatening adversary in an encounter and more times than not, he ends up hitting the wrong enemy altogether or nothing at all as your attacks whiff completely.

That being said, when the camera isn't against you and your attacks hit their intended target(s) that's when this game truly shines. Despite all of the doubt prior to release this is still the chaotic, yet stylish over-the-top action that we have come to enjoy from this series. To say that Ninja Theory is a company known for their storytelling and jaw dropping graphics, rather than actual gameplay, this was a quite a shock that they didn't completely blow it in that department.

The inclusion of the MetroidVania-esque platforming was hit or miss for me at least. One thing this series is NOT known for is its environments, but Ninja Theory did a fine job leaving their own unique mark on Dante's world. Each stage isn't lackluster and full of boring cathedrals and crypts like the ones scattered throughout the original series, instead each stage is an unique sight to behold on its own. My favorite was the Limbo-warped game show realm that set the stage at Lilith's nightclub. With Ninja Theory at the driver's seat, I can see that Devil May Cry can learn to be known for something more than just its stylish combat. Ninja Theory can assure that the environments can be just as stylish as Dante himself.

I would be lying if I didn't have a blast in combat with Dante, but if anything turned me off was the lack of boss encounters. The gap in combat from the first boss fight to the second was long distance in time and I was a little depressed that they didn't take the opportunity to scatter several boss fights throughout the story. Without a shadow of a doubt, the fight versus Bob Barbas was the best and the interesting usage of Angel/Demon Pull against Lilith and her unborn child takes the pick as the second best boss encounter. The climatic clash against Mundus was a huge disappointment, but at least it wasn't a clusterfuck like that "Savior" boss near the end of DMC4... The final boss fight here was a bit lackluster as well. It was a lot easier than I expected it was going to be, save for the end phase when he starts using Doppleganger, but still, nothing most of us who have faced him in DMC3 can't handle.

I know I have discussed this game from both sides of the coin in-depth here from my own experiences with the game and I still don't see where the bulk of the excessive hatred and disgust comes from. I honestly feel that players would be singing a different tune about this game if it was just another original IP from Ninja Theory and did not carry the weight of continuing the legacy of the Devil May Cry franchise. Devil May Cry is a series that a LOT of us in the gaming community has come to love for many, many years. That was the series that was my sole reason for begging my parents for PlayStation 2 in middle school and it was the main reason I decided to pick up a Xbox 360 a few years ago. We all necessarily don't like to deal with change, but it's just a part of life and we have to learn to deal with it.

In a lot of ways, DmC (Devil May Cry) exceeded my expectations after my initial impressions of it and playing the demo last year. In other areas, such as the plot and character development, it fell flat on completely. But does that make this game the absolute worst in the series? No, as many DMC fans tend to forget about the mistake that was Devil May Cry 2. When the original Devil May Cry debuted on the PlayStation 2, that game was originally modeled to be a sequel to the Resident Evil franchise and barely made it's mark as it's own unique title. With polish and further sequels, it stood out on its own as the beloved franchise we hold dear today. I see the same thing here with this game. It's not perfect, but it's far from the worst in this series. It manages to correct some of the mistakes made in Devil May Cry 4 in terms of gameplay and offers a few unique twists of it's own accord. Is it better than our beloved Devil May Cry 3? Nowhere even close.

Much like the narrative this title presents, this game is a lot like this new version of Dante. It exists in a realm that hates and loathes him with extreme prejudice - while this game, like Dante, struggles with finding what it is and where does it fit in this world. I'm not asking my fellow Devil May Cry fans to like this game, but just give it a fair chance. Newcomers will definitely feel at home as everything is dumbed down, but veterans will find enough to satisfy them until the campaign ends. After a lot of thought, I'm giving this an 8 out of 10. The lack of a lock-on targeting button and the camera issues really hinder this game from getting a higher score from me. 

REVIEW: WWE '13

UPDATE: I totally forgot to publish this article months ago. Forgive me, guys. Huge blunder on my part.

It's that time again, my fellow wrestling fans. THQ releases another annual dose of the WWE Smackdown vs. Raw franchise, which is currently dubbed WWE '13 now. Mind you, I didn't pay much of WWE '12 last year due to the fact of the sheer amount of glitches and bugs I experienced playing the retail version during a span of 20 minutes in my local Best Buy store. How does this year's game measure up? Let's find out shall we?

PRESENTATION:

WWE '13 brings all of the bells of whistles of the WWE experience to life. THQ has even managed to capture audio from live WWE events to use for actual crowd effects during matches. From the moment you load up the game at the title screen to the main menu, you're greeted by a VERY high-res render of CM Punk himself. Oddly enough, his Cobra and Pepsi tattoos have been altered due to licensing issues, but still that's a rather awesome image to be greeted to every time you start up the game.

In Attitude Era Mode, the WWE events truly come to live as WWE '13 recreates all of these classic moments in history (more on this later). Excellent archive footage clips and in-game cutscenes weave a powerful tale that any WWE fan can get behind and enjoy - either those that have been long-time fans or newcomers to the sport. Much like the tales of the tape crafted for WWE All-Stars, WWE '13 delivers the similar treatment for revisiting the Attitude Era. Pure uncensored audio and visuals from these events, as even the actual commentary and crowd reactions are captured and presented during gameplay in this mode.

Quick camera cuts and angles highlight the action going on in the ring at all times, but from my personal experience it leads to some disorienting moments as the camera switches angles and you're on a different side of the ring where you thought you were previously. Fortunately, this feature can be switched on or off in the match options.

Several Superstars have stellar entrance motions, such as Brodus Clay is accompanied by Naomi and Cameron (who are both oddly absent from actually being playable in-game) while The Godfather is accompanied by The Ho Train (sadly there's no Victoria as the lead Ho LOL).

Other entrances fall flat and look poorly executed in comparison, such as Alberto Del Rio's lacks Ricardo's Spanish introduction as he walks down to the ring. It's properly executed in 1-on-1 matches, but Ricardo just stands there looking stupid when you pair him as Alberto Del Rio's manager in a match.

THQ seems to lack the technology to render hair properly as it annoys me to no end to see it float around and hover in place like the Superstars and Divas are walking through the void of space. I would kill for THQ to get the folks who do the visuals for Saints' Row to offer some assistance in these games. Look at Beth Phoenix's hair, it looks like Play-Doh!

CONTROLS:

WWE '13 features the new "Predator Technology" that allows players to target specific body parts to wear down their prey systematically like technical machine or submission artists are properly allowed to do in this sport. No matter which Superstar or Diva you select in the game, this feature is universal in all of the characters' movesets. In turn, this aids in making the game more accessible for casual fans and doesn't force them to learn all of their favor Superstars/Divas' movesets. It's hit or miss in this title, as roughly the entire roster has the same few moves in this section to select from so it's going to get stale to watch in the long-run. It does benefit from seasoning your opponent properly for new Breaking Point submission mini-game that decides where Superstars/Divas are going to give up or submit from the pain inflicted. Much like the submissions in the last few WWE titles to date since SvR '07, these moves are once again - hit or miss. A lot of technical moves that one would think that would be listed as Breaking Point submissions are not labeled as such at all. As a result, creativity goes out the window where only the 'popular' submission holds are labeled as Breaking Point submissions.

My biggest gripe on this series since SvR '07 has been the targeting system. No other WWE title has executed it as well as the original WWE Smackdown! vs. Raw did it back on the PlayStation 2. Manual Targeting relieves the problem somewhat, but it's never quite on the person you intend to be focused on. Also, it was bad game design to make manual targeting the same damn button you have general movement with. Auto Targeting becomes a clusterfuck in matches with more than two competitors and it's even more of a mess in 4-6 Man matches among all of the pending chaos. I'd honestly be happy with them scrapping taunts for a decent lock-on/targeting system.

GAMEPLAY:

Gameplay will be broken up into several chunks as I cover everything that WWE '13 has to offer.

I. Attitude Era Mode

This is THQ's core selling point for this year's title, allowing players to relive the best moments of infamous "Attitude Era" that was ushered in as a result to counter the ongoing threat in the battle of ratings against WCW. Any seasoned WWE fan can tell you that a LOT of these events are NOT entirely accurate, such as The Rock vs. Triple H Ladder Match, where Chyna is nowhere to be found in the final result of that match. Of course, a lot of key players are absent in these events and the game altogether due to some bad blood with Vince McMahon and WWE altogether, so naturally they would be left out. Regardless, this is a great look back at some of the key points that made these Superstars of yore into the Legends that they are today, but it is by far NOT a means to base your knowledge as a WWE fan.

My main concern though is that there is NOTHING to give props to, nor establish any merit to the current generation of the WWE roster. Sure, CM Punk is lucky to have graced the cover of the game, but other than that, he contributes nothing else to the title. This goes back to my main concern about today's product in mainstream wrestling - dependence on the past to garner revenue instead of establishing new Superstars and Divas for the future.

That being said, this mode manages to capture the rise of Stone Cold Steve Austin, Mankind (Dude Love & Cactus Jack respectively as well), The Rock, D-Generation X (Triple H, HBK, Road Dogg, Billy Gunn, and X-Pac are all that represent the faction) and The Bros. of Destruction (Kane & The Undertaker), each with their own core pivotal moments in this place in history touched upon here. A few moments are absent here, such as the 'sacrifice' of Stephanie McMahon to The Undertaker, Paul Wight (The Big Show) turning on The Undertaker, and the rise of popularity of WWE's key tag teams (Team Xtreme, Dudley Boys, and Edge & Christian) but of course, licensing issues got in the way of that.

The difficulty can be adjusted but I personally found this mode to be quite enjoyable, but honestly, it's not as long as the early reviews made it out to be. I finished the entire thing in about 2 afternoons with a lot of breaks in-between matches. Early previews were acting like this was going to take about 30 hours of gameplay here. Don't believe that shit for an instant. Once you get a hang of things it's not that bad. The core amount of your time is going to be going for the bonus and hidden objectives in each match if you hope to unlock EVERYTHING if you didn't buy Fan Axxess - add an additional $19.99 to that $59.99 price tag if you picked this up at launch new.

Much like everything else with this game, there's a few occasional freezes and hiccups in this mode. I encountered a nasty glitch during the Mankind vs. The Rock title match during his chapter where the game kept freezing up after the last objective was revealed.

After clearing the main chapters, you unlock the "Unscripted" chapter that features a series of loose matches that aren't related but feature the other Attitude Era staples in some popular matches. Some of these matches are hit or miss, with some of them being extremely inaccurate (The Rock as special referee to Lita vs. Stephanie, whereas he counts EXTREMELY slow for Lita), to others leaving you wondering why the fuck they included some of these matches in the game at all.

Just a LOT of the roster selections for Attitude Era were very questionable to me. It still disgusts me to see two versions of Lita in but no Essa Rios at all if they couldn't get the Hardyz in this game. Then don't get me started on the waste of having T & A Trish Stratus in this game, yet no Albert (Lord Tensai DLC doesn't count) nor Test (RIP Andrew Martin) in this game.

II. Online Modes

I'm happy to say after my disgust with WWE Smackdown! vs. Raw 2011's online that was nearly unplayable, that WWE '13 is actually enjoyable. I've only dabbled in Player Matches among friends, but the connection is stable enough to be able to reverse/counter consistently and kick-out of pins/submissions properly. There are still a few hiccups here and there, such as my friends ending up with several different outcomes to concluding matches and occasional slowdowns, but it's an acceptable online environment. Trust me, vanilla MvC3 was a LOT worse than this.



Another welcome addition to online matches is the ability to include AI bots to fill up remaining spots for an online match, rather than waiting for the room to become full with participants. Ranked Matches feature a "Fair Fight" option that removes all customizations to the default Superstars and Divas and reverts them back to their default retail on-disk versions. So, if you're looking for a fair online competitive environment where you can filter out the spammers and hackers with Create-a-Finisher movesets with the infamous "Bearhug of Doom" or the "Infinite Toe Kick" then you have that option this time around. Custom Arenas can be used online as well to your liking. That also means that you don't have to go through the hassle of uploading all of your creations on Community Creations first before getting into the action online.

Community Creations is exactly what we have come to know as the standard for all things User Created Content, and that doesn't stop here in the least. This year's entry in the series allows the option to re-upload created content so users can collaborate on creations to add even more creativity to the creation suite.

So far, the servers have been VERY fast, but with a few slow days and occasional freezes. I think another patch in the future would remedy these minor issues. Also, kudos to THQ to actually giving the servers properly scheduled routine maintenance as well.

UPDATE (3/21/13): I can't speak for the PSN side of things, but it's either hit or miss with CC working on the Xbox 360 end of things. It just depends on the time of day - after midnight (EST) there's little to no issues with navigating CC for content, but it's a totally different story throughout the rest of the day.

III. Exhibition Modes

Since I kinda skipped '12, I don't know if this is a new feature or not, but Exhibition mode isn't tied down at the hip by Universe Mode. So what matches you cook up with your friends or against the AI do NOT contribute to your goals and storylines in Universe. Thank you, THQ for listening to the fans about how stupid that was in the previous games.

Custom Fight Options allow you to cook up your own set of rules and stipulations, ranging from "first to hit a finisher", Best 2 out of 3 Falls, TLC, Inferno, Elimination, and even crazy Cage match combinations. You can really go nuts with the options here. Interference is an option too, but much like previous entries in the series, it is very unlikely that anyone would interfere unless they are in an intense feud with your character(s) in My Universe or tied to you via stables/teams.

Contrary to popular belief, you CAN challenge for championships in this mode. Just go into the Speciality Matches tab and select whatever title you wish to challenge for and go nuts.

IV. Creation Tools

Create-a-Superstar is the same creature that we have come to know since SvR '11, and which is pretty sad. Most of the same parts are still unchanged from that game as well as the same mold from WWE '12 as well. Most formulas (if you've been savvy enough to write down your creations down over the years) carry over into this game with minor to no tweaks at all. There are a few new parts for Superstars, namely inspired from Jeff Hardy, John Morrison, and few masked independent luchadors, but Divas got the short end of the stick as usual, with little new additions outside of a few additional hairstyles (Why they don't have any black female or other hairstyles for minorities in this game? Sheesh, I swear THQ is racist...). Custom coloring for skin tones are back, along with transparency and patterns for SOME items, and the newest notable feature this year is option of layering custom kickpads over your creation's footwear. There's only 5 possible options, but it's better than nothing. I was hoping that it would have been possible with more footwear options than just the most generic looking of boots.

If you want a more detailed look on what's new look no further than the video below:

Create-a-Entrance is the same from previous outings as well, but at least they have limited that awkward cut/transition between moments on advanced entrances. There's a few glitches here as well, such as entrance props/extras are not appearing until you literally preview the entire entrance in a real match environment. The audio for tracks and crowd is either a hit or miss here - with some occasions where the crowd effects are louder than the entrance music itself. Hey, THQ, some of us actually LIKE to hear the music...

Otherwise, this mode is still the exactly same from what we have come to expect over the years.

Create-a-Arena gets mad props from me. From the sheer amount of negativity that I heard about this mode from WWE '12, it seems that THQ took that feedback and really turned it around. There's TONS of set pieces from the stellar PPVs and live events from WWF/WWE, WCW, AWA, and even ECW history that can recreated here. Indoor and outdoor arenas can be made too for those who want to try their hand at indy arenas or a Tribute to the Troops-style arena. Paint Tool logos can be applied here and you really can go nuts on creating your own Custom Arenas to be used for your custom shows in Universe and/or Exhibition Modes.

Create-a-Finisher is the same creature since it's previous iterations. I'm just still saddened by the fact that THQ has not bothered to add in all of the moves that were periodically extracted from this series over the years, especially since WWE Smackdown! vs. Raw 2006. Hey THQ, I want my Kung Fu Straight Punch back in dammit.

One notable difference this year in CAF is that these moves can be registered as ANY of your Superstars/Divas/CAWs, 2 Signature or 2 Finishing Moves. So you can have an original creation with all original Signatures and Finishers. That's definitely a step in the right direction on giving the players more freedom on making this world their own.

Create-a-Moveset is quiet the whopper now. Constructing movesets from scratch can take literally hours to complete for a single Superstar/CAW as moves are divided up in multiple categories and situations now. It is intriguing to have this many options at your disposal, but at the end of the day, a LOT of these categories are not diverse enough, nor offer enough variety that one would expect. The Predator Technology Limb Targeting moves are few and lack any variety and roughly everyone in the game uses most of the same moves in this section.

It's 2012 (going on 2013) and we still lack the option to completely turn off the ability to climb the top rope for super-heavyweights, turning off diving moves entirely for strictly mat-based grapplers, and an extensive arsenal of submission techniques found in this sport. Call me spoiled from the PS2 era's Fire Pro Wrestling Returns, but these should be some staple features now on the next-gen platforms. Hell, we can't even customize nor adjust the individual roster's AI Logic thoroughly like that game.

Of course, we have AI Sliders in the menus, but at the end of the day, the game still goes from Grapple Jesus  (meaning the AI reverses everything like a god) to not-so-Grapple Jesus. Sorry for getting off-topic, let's move on shall we?

Create-a-Championship is back, but long time fans will be disappointed in the long haul. You can ONLY customize and edit current championships and rename them to give the illusion of original belts. Like always, I can imagine this feature being fully explored and expanded in later entries of this franchise. As lackluster as this feature is in its current form, players can only be grateful that they brought this feature back at all.

V. My Universe Mode

My Universe is essentially what we have come to know in these games since it's debut. You can either go with the default roster, and play through (either as any Superstar or Original CAW on your console) an endless array of storylines and feuds for all of the coveted championships in the game.

I'm not saying this mode is great, as I didn't buy WWE '12 last year, but it's not much different than the one in WWE Smackdown vs. Raw 2011 either. By now, WWE fans should know exactly what to expect from this mode. Love it or hate it, it's there for your leisure.

This year's newest feature is to create your own trademark brand, with custom championships and unique roster. E-Federation fanatics would love this mode for setting up their own all-CAW shows and storylines to be uploaded via Community Creations.

Most of my tenure in this mode has been toying around with the custom brand feature, but it saddens me on how rare injures occur in this mode. I'm not asking for this thing to be as realistic as the seasons in Madden 13, where players can suffer career ending injuries and could be out for multiple years within that said season. Instead, I'm asking for possibly a meter that shows how close Superstars and Divas are to becoming injured from working hurt/fatigued. This dynamic could force players to book their shows more diverse and experiment with jobbers and mid-carders to possibly boost their status in popularity to transform them into main eventers over time. That feature alone would add tons of replayability to a fan-favorite feature.

VI. Downloadable Content

WWE '13's DLC started right off the bat with the Attitude Era Pack, which included Attitude Era Superstars Rikishi, Scotty 2 Hotty, Grand Master Sexay, Gangrel and Val Venis (available for $0.99/80 Microsoft Points each) and the Accelerator: enables players to unlock all in-game items, as well as customize individual WWE Superstar attributes (available for $1.99/160 Microsoft Points).

Not a bad start for the Attitude Era, but I'm still disappointed that other Attitude Era favorites, such as TAKA Michinoku, Funaki, the Holly Family (Hardcore, Crash, and Molly), Steve Blackman, Jacqueline, Terri Runnels, Sable, Sunny, or Ivory didn't get into the game via DLC.

The DLC for the month of December was the WWE Superstars Pack, which included WWE Superstars Tensai, Ryback, Drew McIntyre and Yoshi Tatsu and WWE Divas AJ Lee and Natalya (available for $0.99/80 Microsoft Points each), Undertaker "Ministry of Darkness" alternate attire (free), and the Championship Title Pack: 10 new championships from WWE, WCW, ECW and AWA (available for $1.99/160 Microsoft Points). 

This was the main draw for Diva fans, and I can see why as AJ Lee and Natalya's character models are top notch, but their entrance moves were really half-assed. I felt the same way about Ryback, McIntyre, and Yoshi's but you can't really complain if  you're getting these technically free with Fan Axxess. The Undertaker's Ministry of Darkness attire was a stellar addition for the Phenom, but I'm puzzled on why it takes up a separate character slot on the DLC menu on the character select screen. I thought he was going to be an alternate costume, not an entirely new character. 

Antonio Cesaro hits the Neutralizer on Santino. 

Last but not least, there's the You're Welcome in Five Languages Pack released in January, which includes WWE Superstars Damien Sandow, Antonio Cesaro, Jimmy Uso and Jey Uso and Attitude Era Legends Brian Pillman and Chainsaw Charlie (available for $0.99/80 Microsoft Points each), WWE Diva Layla (free), and the Moves Pack: 20 new moves, including the Lionsault made popular by Chris Jericho and the Kimura Lock made popular by Brock Lesnar (available for $1.99/160 Microsoft Points).

This last DLC pack acted as the last breath of fresh air for WWE '13. The new moveset pack helps make most of the Attitude Era and big name current era Superstars feel complete in a sense now that most of the proper signatures and finishers are in the game now. I was sad to see that Tamina was not included with the Usos, especially with her push in WWE last year, or no Aksana with Cesaro. At least we got Layla, who was Women's Champion when this game's roster was first announced. Fortunately, her character model is top notch like AJ Lee and Natalya's so I can't complain too much about that. Sandow and Cesaro aren't bad at all in comparison to the Superstars added in the last DLC pack, but the Usos' entrance audio is a bit off. These are minor headaches that perfectionists can easily fix in Create-a-Entrance though.

FINAL THOUGHTS:

I've waited this entire review to say this, but I'll say it now. I FREAKIN' hate Otunga's theme with a passion after hearing it come up after every other track on the menus. THQ, or rather Take-Two, PLEASE take the time to get some legit tracks instead of looping entrance themes over and over for WWE '14. The menu tracks alone made me mute the TV roughly 95% of the time playing this game.

If you've been a long-time fan of this series for the last few years, then there's no doubt that you are going to enjoy this title. Now if you haven't played these games since the PS2/N64 era of wrestling titles then you're better off sticking with those. Attitude Era Mode is cool to relive some of the golden days of WWE programming, but you are better off with a rental if that's all you are interested in.

For creation mode purists, this title is literally WWE '12 with a bit more options for your creations that I discussed above. Personally, I enjoyed having all of these options, but at the end of the day, it's not worth it when both Created Superstars and the AI both fight matches in a generic, often times in a retarded manner, than anything like their real life counterparts. I would love to see this series implement an in-depth AI Logic editor like those found in the Fire Pro Wrestling series, allowing players to edit and program EVERYTHING from how their wrestlers behave (taunts, restrict/enable particular move usage frequency, etc.) at any stage (varied by the opponent or the wrestler's own stage of health/damage inflicted) of a given match.

We are in 2013 now. From my standpoint, this series is still so far behind than I can dream where it could and should be. As a fan of wrestling, I'm going to continue to try to support these video game endeavors, but at the same time as a gamer, it is my responsibility to strive for more satisfying experiences from the developers that I continue to give my hard-earned money to. I have to wonder how much better these games would be if THQ had annual competition from another rival developer on market. For the love of God, can someone give the Fire Pro Wrestling/Wrestle Kingdom a budget to do a next-gen wrestling title like those gems?

If the devoted fans to this series would neglect to buy the next title, I'm positive that THQ would take drastic measures to improve this series for the better. Don't get me wrong, this title isn't the glitch-filled mess that I played on the Best Buy kiosk last year. It's what WWE '12 should have been last year, if THQ did things right the first time. It's not the worst that THQ can offer, but it's definitely far from their best efforts. I'm giving this a 7.75 out of 10.