Welcome to this new feature for Method to Madness, where I conveniently archive the top new tech, tutorials, and combo videos under one roof for your leisure, my fellow fighting game fans.
You can find all of these videos in the specified character sections of each of the following titles in The Arena section.
Keep in mind that I know some of these videos are a bit dated, but I have not updated these sections properly in a few months now.
Super Street Fighter IV: Arcade Edition v2012:
Gilley's new Guile tech -- Autocorrecting Flash Kick and escaping 1f unblockables
Klei Entertainment, the team behind Shank and Shank 2, developed this exclusively for Xbox Live Arcade and Microsoft Windows at the end of 2012. I managed to pick it up during Xbox Live's Spring Cleaning Sale this year, along with Dust: An Elysian Tail.
I'm usually pretty skeptical when it comes to these XBLA exclusives, so I figured my fellow gamers would appreciate to know if Mark of the Ninja is worth their precious MS points or not.
The Plot: (Full Spoilers)
The game's story begins with an attack by a heavily armed force on the dojo of the Hisomu ninja clan. The unnamed ninja protagonist, resting after receiving an extensive irezumi tattoo, is awakened by a female ninja named Ora. Gathering his equipment, the protagonist is able to defeat the attackers and rescue his sensei, Azai, as well as several other members of the clan. Azai tells him about the power of his tattoo and the legend surrounding it, explaining that the ink comes from a special desert flower and grants greatly sharpened senses and reflexes when absorbed slowly into the body, but will ultimately cause one so tattooed with it to descend into madness. To receive the Mark, a ninja swears to commit seppuku once the madness takes hold.
After the protagonist receives his second tattoo, he and Ora are tasked to take revenge on the PMCs responsible for the attack on the dojo: a corporation called Hessian, run by a ruthless Eastern European plutocrat named Colonel Karajan. Meanwhile, the horishi artist Dosan expresses concern over the tattoo ink's quality and promises to learn why Azai has not procured a fresh supply. The protagonist invades Hessian's East Asian regional headquarters and murders Corporal Kelly, the Hessian employee who lead the attack on the dojo, and, using a stolen GPS tracking unit, stalks Karajan to his castle in Eastern Europe and horrifically slays him. Upon returning home, the protagonist and Ora see that their clan has stolen a great deal of high tech military equipment from Hessian, leaving them to realize that Azai's plan had been to rob Karajan and replace the old Hisomu Path with a modern, technological approach to espionage. Instead of committing seppuku, the protagonist flees with Ora to find Dosan, who had left a message indicating that he had personally gone in search of the mysterious desert flower.
Following his trail, the protagonist and Ora discover that Dosan has been captured by bandits, who are holding him hostage in a war-wracked Middle Eastern city and demanding that he Mark them with his remaining supply of the sumi ink. Upon being freed, Dosan explains that the flowers from whose leaves the sumi is produced have died out, and appear to have been dead at least since the last fresh supply of the ink was taken by the Hisomu clan. As revealed by hidden scrolls recounting the history of the clan, Azai himself had failed to defend the flowers when the devastated region to which they were endemic was taken over by vicious bandits. Thus dishonored, but for the sake of the clan's survival, Azai hid his failure and had planned the Hessian heist in order to supply the Hisomu with cutting-edge equipment now that the unique source of their strength had been extinguished. Finally, he ordered that the last of the sumi ink be used to Mark one final ninja, whose strength would enable the heist and save the clan itself from extinction at Hessian's hands. Dosan uses the remains of the sumi to give the protagonist his final tattoo, shortly before some of Azai's high tech ninja stalkers ambush them and shoot Dosan to death as he and the protagonist attempt to escape.
Having left his equipment behind during the hasty retreat, the protagonist, now obviously hallucinating, uses the almost superhuman reflexes afforded to him by the final Mark to evade death at the hands of both the bandits and the Hisomu stalkers, and travels back to Japan with Ora, who recommends he kill Azai for the dishonor of failing to maintain the traditional Hisomu way. The protagonist uses his almost preternatural abilities to infiltrate past Hisomu-jo's new sophisticated defenses, and confronts Azai in his garden.
When Ora arrives and commands the protagonist to slay Azai, Azai claims to be unable to see Ora, and, suggesting that she is a symptom of the protagonist's creeping madness, insists that he satisfy honor and kill himself before he slips too far beyond reason. Suddenly uncertain, the protagonist is reassured by Ora that Azai is lying to deceive him, and she urges him to murder Azai and purge the dishonorable Hisomu clan who followed him. Upon retrieving the ritual sword, the protagonist experiences a brief psychotic fugue state, in which he symbolically relives the events of his life subsequent to taking on the Mark. He finds himself in a courtyard opposite both Ora and Azai, who kneels and places his own sheathed sword on the ground, awaiting the protagonist's choice. -- via Wikipedia
Gameplay:
Mark of the Ninja consists of stealth-oriented 2D platforming. The character is required to sneak through a series of environments while staying out of sight of guards and performing silent assassinations. Levels are divided into areas of light and darkness; the player character is visible to enemies in the former and invisible in the latter, though passing within a certain immediate distance of an enemy's face results in the player being spotted irrespective of lighting. Sounds such as running may also give away the player character's location and are represented visually by a rapidly expanding circle. Unusual for a platformer, Mark of the Ninja employs a line of sight mechanic, meaning that enemies which would be invisible to the character are also invisible to the player, though their sounds are represented on screen in the same manner as the player character's.
Death from above
By approaching enemies undetected, the player character is able to execute a one-hit kill. To facilitate this, the player can extinguish light sources, hide behind objects and pass through narrow grates and shafts inaccessible to enemies. If detected, they must evade their enemies and remain out of sight for a set period of time, after which enemies will return to their original patrol routes and one-hit kills on them will once more be possible. Although fighting hand-to-hand with the goal of quickly disabling an enemy is possible, doing so risks being killed or disabled in turn, as well as alerting nearby enemies with a noisy scuffle. Enemies respond to their environment and one another; they will sound an alarm if they unambiguously spot the player character or find a body, which will alert all enemies in the area and prevent them from returning to their previous patrol routes. If they hear a sound or get a glimpse of the player character they become suspicious, displaying a question mark over their head and actively searching for the player character until they are convinced he is not actually present. They are also subject to terror tactics, and the player can learn to kill and display enemies in a terrifying manner, such as leaving a strangled enemy dangling from a perch or throwing a dead body at an unsuspecting live enemy, causing them to display an exclamation mark over their head, scream, stumble, and fire wildly at anything which scares or startles them.
Taking out the trash
The player receives points for executing a variety of tactics such as silent kills, passing by enemies without being detected, successfully preventing the discovery of bodies, terrorizing opponents to cause them to fall into disarray, and achieving optional goals such as recovering artifacts and a series of haiku which tell the history of the ninja clan. This score is reduced when an alert is sounded by enemy guards. Depending on the player's performance on the stages, they earn honor and complete seals that are used to buy or upgrade skills and weapons and also unlock alternate costumes. Players get honor by reaching a specific score on each stage, collecting the secret scrolls, and completing the special objectives present in each stage. Some of the scrolls are obtained through secret challenges, where the player is transported to a room to solve a puzzle.
Before each mission the player is taken to an upgrade screen, where they can spend their honor in three sections: Techniques (passive upgrades and skills such as new one-hit executions), Distraction Items (such as smoke bombs and firecrackers) and Attack Items (such as caltrops and poison-tipped darts). The next screen allows the player to select any unlocked costumes and equip items. Each costume (except the starting one) gives special bonuses, but also a side effect in order to balance its power, and must be unlocked by completing a number of seals in the form of optional goals related to the specialty of that costume (for instance, optionally terrorizing enemies in specific ways to unlock a costume which improves the ability to terrorize). Completing the game once unlocks a New Game Plus mode where the enemies behave more intelligently and can kill the player with only a single bullet or hand-to-hand strike, the player's line of sight is limited to a cone aimed in whatever direction the player is facing (preventing players from seeing what is behind, above, or below them unless they turn to look), the player is unable to see the enemy's line of sight and must intuit it from the direction an enemy's face is pointed, and the player can no longer detect the radius at which their actions will be heard by enemies. -- via Wikipedia
The Verdict:
Without a shadow of a doubt, this is definitely the best stealth-action game that I have played in a very long time. While I do enjoy other ninja-themed games, such as Ninja Gaiden, Shinobi/Nightshade, Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance, or the Tenchu series, they never get the concept of being a ninja down completely. Finally, we have a ninja game where you ACTUALLY act and play like a ninja, sticking to the shadows and avoiding being detected at all costs.
I love this game's art style. For a 2D side-scroller it really helps make the environments stand out beautifully. I wish From Software could revamp the Tenchu series in a similar fashion as this. That series could benefit from the sheer amount of depth this title brings to the table.
While most titles in this genre tend to have absurd and borderline idiotic narratives, Mark of the Ninja actually delivers in that department. The plot actually affects the gameplay near the end of the game, swapping out the thugs and henchmen you have grown accustomed to for even deadlier adversaries.
I have read other reviews on this game where it was frowned upon on it's difficulty but for me, that was the true beauty of the game. You MUST remain undetected for the most part. You have little margin for error as your attacks do little damage after being detected and it doesn't take much to kill you from enemy attacks, especially gunfire. Throughout the entire game, I never felt like deaths or game overs were at fault of the game being "cheap" instead I blamed my own recklessness for my approach to that situation. There is always an easy way or a hard way to approach every objective in the game. The last few missions of the game were my favorite because you are stripped of your sword and you are forced to rely on your wits, your very limited supply of ninja tools, and the environment to dispose of your foes in a strategic manner.
My only gripe with this game is the introduction of the dash/teleport ability near the end of the game. By the time they give you this skill, you should already know several means to get to point A and B, plus you are detectable during this technique so there is little use for it outside of maneuvering around hazards and traps. At that stage of the game, it just felt like a mediocre addition to your already stellar bag of tricks.
The entire campaign runs for about 7-10 hours, depending on how you approach each stage. Then there is New Game Plus to conquer where you keep all of your equipment and items, but the enemies are more intelligent and are scattered in different layouts/positions than before. Plus, your field of vision is severely limited this time around. I'm still working on NG+ myself and I must admit that it's a blast.
The game was 600 MS points when I got it on sale, but currently retails at 1200 MS pts. If you have the points to spare, then I humbly suggest that you definitely pick this one up, you will not be disappointed. Otherwise, wait until another XBLA special or Steam sale comes along to snatch this up on sale as I don't get why XBLA games are retailing more than $10 or 800 MS pts. nowadays. I'm giving this a 4.75 out of 5.
I hope Klei Entertainment doesn't disappear into the shadows and neglect to develop something spectacular for the Xbox One launch...
Okay, I finally caved into the hype and I wanted to see what's the big deal about this new fighter on the market. NetherRealm Studios, the folks who brought us the acclaimed revival of Mortal Kombat that was a huge success, has returned with a new fighter. Instead of a sequel to Mortal Kombat, this time NetherRealms are focusing on the heroes and villains of the DC Universe.
Is this another success like Mortal Kombat 9, or is it a stinker like Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe?
The Plot: (Full Spoilers)
In an alternate reality, the Joker has destroyed Metropolis and has tricked Superman into killing Lois Lane and his unborn son. In retaliation, Superman murders the Joker in front of Batman in a fit of rage and establishes a new world order. A battle ensues between the forces of Superman's Regime and those allied with Batman's Insurgency. The Insurgency discovers the Justice League's universe where the Joker's plan did not succeed and transports several of its super heroes (Wonder Woman, Aquaman, Green Arrow, and Green Lantern, with Batman and the Joker being caught up in the transfer by accident) to theirs in order to help them defeat the Regime.
Since NetherRealms refuses to show you what
Supes did to Joker...
Having arrived in this world, attempting to learn what has happened, Aquaman travels to Atlantis to research the archives while Green Lantern goes to recharge his ring. After discovering Raven and Cyborg torturing Deathstroke, Green Lantern faces Sinestro and his own counterpart under the identity of Yellow Lantern. He escapes with Wonder Woman and Green Arrow, subsequently meeting the Batman of this world. Learning that Atlantis has agreed to a treaty that puts Superman in near-total control of Atlantis' army, Aquaman rejects it, defeating the Flash, Shazam and his own counterpart before Ares appears. Acknowledging that he is weakened by the lack of conflict, Ares sends Aquaman to join the Insurgents, which includes a Lex Luthor who was never a criminal. Batman explains that he has a kryptonite weapon that can defeat Superman in the Batcave, but it requires DNA samples from the other four heroes to unlock, as Batman wanted to ensure he could not make the decision to stop Superman by himself. The heroes from the other universe became required when Green Arrow died and the other three aligned with Superman.
Accidentally transported to this world along with the other heroes, Batman is captured by the Regime and the Joker allies himself with the Harley Quinn of this world. After Harley's gang is attacked by Regime forces led by Nightwing and Hawkgirl, they are rescued by the heroes, who travel to the Batcave to recover the weapon. Meanwhile, Superman, the Flash and Cyborg attempt to recover their comrades, but their attempt accidentally sends Cyborg to the alternate reality. Cyborg overhears Lex Luthor and Deathstroke discussing plans to defeat Superman, prompting a brief clash before the other displaced heroes explain the situation to him.
With Cyborg and Deathstroke having taken control of the teleportation system on the Watchtower, the heroes stage a break-in on Stryker's Island and rescue the displaced Batman from his planned execution, but Luthor's attempt to use the kryptonite weapon against Superman fails, resulting in his death. Overhearing humanity's newfound fear of him, Superman decides to destroy Gotham City and Metropolis to demonstrate the chaos that would arise in his absence, but when he kills Shazam for questioning him, the Flash realizes that the heroes have gone too far and defects to the Insurgents. With the kryptonite weapon useless, the dimensionally-displaced heroes suggest recruiting the Superman of their world to stop this one, only to be interrupted by a Regime attack on their hideout.
During the fight, Wonder Woman is contacted by Ares after she is teleported to Themyscira, who reveals that Superman's plan will be carried out by an army of Amazons. He desires to stop this plan, as Superman's victory will mean an end to the conflict that empowers him. Accepting his advice, Wonder Woman defeats Raven and her other self before convincing the Amazons to return to their former role as protectors rather than conquerors. As the battle begins, Batman convinces his counterpart to have faith in their Superman just as he had faith in the other displaced heroes. Superman arrives in this world in time to defeat several members of the Regime while Wonder Woman's Amazons hold back the armies of Atlantis.
After defeating Doomsday in the Fortress of Solitude and trapping him in the Phantom Zone, Superman faces his counterpart, rejecting his other self's attempt to defend his actions as enforcing authority over an unworthy humanity and informing him that Lois would be afraid and disgusted at what he has become.
With the other Superman's defeat, the rest of the Regime are either rounded up or turn themselves in, and the other Superman is placed in a prison where he is exposed to red sun radiation, negating his powers. The displaced Superman acknowledges that he could have become his counterpart under the same circumstances, but Batman merely grimly notes that he hopes Superman never has to learn what he could be capable of while vowing to be there if Superman ever falls that far. The final scene shows a close up of the other Superman in his prison cell, his eyes glowing indicating he still has some degree of his power.
Gameplay:
The gameplay for Injustice: Gods Among Us involves one-on-one matches within a two-dimensional plane, although characters and backgrounds are rendered in a three-dimensional fashion. Each match consists of one round; however, each player has two health bars. The game uses a four-button control layout of light, medium, and heavy attacks, alongside a "character trait" button that activates a unique ability or attack designed to showcase each character. For instance, Superman's trait provides a temporary stat boost, while Batman's trait summons a swarm of robotic bats. Ed Boon, the creative director of NetherRealm Studios, stated that characters roughly fall into two categories: power characters, who rely on brute strength and innate abilities, and gadget characters, who use weapons, items, and other external mechanisms to win.
This NEVER gets old...
The stages, based on locations such as the Batcave, Watchtower, and Fortress of Solitude, feature interactive environments and multiple tiers. Successfully connecting a heavy attack near the edges of the stage will launch the opponent into another part of the level. Each arena contains objects that the characters utilize differently depending on their class. For example, a gadget character like Batman can attach a bomb to a car to cause an explosion, while a power character like Superman can pick up the same car and smash his enemies with it. Players have the option to turn off interactive elements.
During combat, players charge their character's super meter by performing combos or getting hit by the opponent. Portions of the super meter can be used for performing enhanced special moves or countering enemy moves. With a full meter, players can unleash their strongest special attack, dubbed a Super Move. Players may also expend meter to compete in wager battles, dubbed the Clash system, which combines individualized cutscene cinematics with the process of betting meter. A clash may be used to interrupt an opponent during a combo, and each player can only use it once after losing their first health bar. During the sequence, both players commit portions of their meter in secret, with the highest bidder winning the clash.
The story mode is split into several chapters. As the narrative plays out, the player swaps between different characters. Minigames are also incorporated into the story. The outcome of minigames can impact an upcoming battle, such as giving the player a health advantage over the CPU opponent. Additional features include Battle Mode, Versus Mode, Training Mode, and S.T.A.R. Labs, which includes 240 character-specific challenges of varying difficulty. Online multiplayer modes include King of the Hill, a setup that allows up to eight players to spectate a match while waiting for their turn to fight, and Survivor, which carries over the current winner's health bar and character selection over each match. Playing through any of the game's modes, including online matches with optional goal objectives, will net the player experience points that may be used to unlock alternate costumes, music, concept art, and other rewards.
Downloadable Content:
Additional Characters:
The additional characters to this game are free as long as you have purchased the Season Pass ($14.99 extra, but does NOT include all of alternate costume DLC), but you can purchase them separately. The Season Pass includes 4 DLC characters free of charge and the Flashpoint alternate costumes for Aquaman, Deathstroke, and Wonder Woman.
These are the first two released so far, with NetherRealms saying with more on the way.
Lobo
Batgirl
Alternate Costumes:
Red Son (Superman, Solomon Grundy, Wonder Woman)
Flashpoint (Batman)
The Red Hood (The Joker)
The Killing Joke (The Joker)
Bad Girls (Catwoman, Harley Quinn, Wonder Woman)
Blackest Night Zombies (Batman, Wonder Woman, Superman, Harley Quinn)
Teen Titans (Deathstroke, Cyborg, Raven)
Arkham City Skins (Pre-Order Bonus Exclusive to Wal-Mart/Currently Available as DLC on Xbox 360 for 240 MS pts.)
Time to lock and load...
The Verdict:
If you asked me my opinion of this game after the first weekend of renting this, I would have told you that I absolutely hated it. This is coming from a guy who hasn't even touched Mortal Kombat 9, but only watched tournament footage of it from EVO and various other majors in the past two years. After some considerable advice and tips from a friend who is much more seasoned at NRS's work than myself, I began to enjoy this title more and finally felt like I could write a fair and honest review on this game.
Guns are ready, sword is sharpened...
First things first, let's talk about the Story Mode. Even though I'm a Marvel guy any day of the week over anything DC Comics-related, unless it deals with the Bat Family (Batman and his fellowship of friends, allies, and villains), I had to admit I enjoyed what was offered here. My biggest issue with the story is that as much as they drive the point home that Evil Superman is so corrupt and rogue, why don't they allow us to see how violent he has become? I know DC Comics are trying to go for PG rating here, but seriously, why are you having the MK creators do your damn game for you if you DON'T want to show violence and gore? I think the story would have been cooler if they didn't go with the alternate reality/parallel universe plot. DC Comics seems to be doing that angle almost every other week nowadays. Plus, if you have seen the Justice League Unlimited/Justice League cartoon, the plot is essentially the Justice Lords storyline with a few extra swerves and curve balls. Nothing really original or shocking to blow comic book fans out of their seats. It's your typical Superman goes rogue worst case scenario and of course, Batman has a plan to stop him. NetherRealms does get mad props for investing a lot of time into the single player campaign though as it is VERY rare that we see this much effort go into a fighting game storyline. I have been told that they gave MK's revival the similar treatment.
Someone really needs to take NRS over to Capcom and teach them how to weave a narrative. Not everyone is going to drop into Training Mode and do FADC to Ultra on Day 1. I wish Capcom could have done an in-depth story like this for MvC3/UMvC3 but I suppose that's a topic for another day...
Okay, I'll admit it... Deathstroke is F'N awesome
in this game!
Battles mode is pretty much this game's answer to your typical Arcade Mode of previous Mortal Kombat games and other fighting games. Clearing Classic Battle unlocks individual character endings, while a multitude of other Battle variations can be unlocked via the Archives with different stipulations, handicaps, and various difficulties. In typical Mortal Kombat fashion, it starts off easy but the difficulty really spikes up as the CPU can defeat you in mere seconds tops if you don't know what you're doing.
Let's talk about STAR Labs mode. This mode has to be hands down some of the stupidest shit I have seen in a fighting game in recent memory. The mode is set-up as a series of spin-off stories for the in-game roster, but what it turns into is series of retarded matches and minigames that range from insanely easily to so difficult that you toss your controller against the wall in frustration. For what it's worth, the tutorials on characters in the first few missions is pretty reliable to get the grasp of each of the individual characters' strengths, learning a few basic combos, and how to use their traits properly, but it fails to cement those skills into the player's head as playing cheap or lame rewards players more than style and skill in this mode.
I found it to be rather idiotic that NetherRealms forces you to play these missions in sequential order, instead of allowing you to skip around and try out the characters you were most interested in first. Instead, you are tasked with playing these out in the order the game wants you do. Plus, the next set doesn't unlock until you finish roughly all of the ones prior to the set of 10 missions per character. I had to endure this mode up to about 50 missions in for Green Arrow, then to the 70's for Deathstroke, and finally a whooping 200+ missions before I got to try out Wonder Woman's missions.
This mode does get props for the array of cameos and appearances from other villains and heroes from DC Universe, such as Isis (Catwoman's pet feline), The Atom, Atrocitus (Red Lantern), Two-Face, Penguin, The Riddler, and Trigon (Raven's demonic father) to name a few.
Very stupid and lazy game design here as the later missions lose the originality of the earlier missions as the objectives and goals are recycled over and over. How many times do I have to fight Lex Luthor with an one-hit KO satellite laser/shield that reflects damage back at me? How many times do I have to mindlessly knock down incoming rocks being tossed at me from offscreen? How many times do I have to fight Aquaman underwater? It's just so damn repetitive and stale. The worst of the bunch are the gauntlets against Doomsday, Grundy, and Bane back to back though as the CPU spams their super armor special moves and untechable command throws.
While we are on the topic of bad game design, I must frown upon NRS using some recycled animations from Mortal Kombat. I can understand that this is their first truly original title that is stepping out of the box from what we have all come to know from MK, but at the same time, they don't have to recycle those same animations. It's really noticeable when you defeat an opponent and they fly across the screen and fall down, only to stand back up and fall back down as if they were waiting on you to perform a Fatality.
Regardless of how much this mode pissed me off, I managed to clear all 240 of these missions, with my only reward being Kryptonite Suit Lex Luthor... That was pretty damn weak. Yeah, yeah. I know Elseworld Flash is the reward for getting 3 Stars on all 240 of these missions, but you got to be high to unlock that. Most casual players will more likely stop playing this game before they do.
The unlockables in the Archives are a bit of hit or miss, with concept art, music, backgrounds, and alternate costumes available for purchase. I'm possibly in the minority here, but I found a lot of the concept art and sketches for characters to be better than the costumes and attires chosen for the final result in this game.
Call me spoiled from the Marvel-themed Capcom games, but I thought NetherRealms could have done a LOT better for this game's character models. I get that they are going for that dark and edgy vibe since it's Superman's spiral into darkness, but come on. Compare DC Universe Online's character models to this game's own:
DC Universe Online's character models...
Injustice: Gods Among Us' character models look
like this... Yuck.
Yeah... Raven looks like a damn dude with that man-shaped jawline. At least in DCUO, I can tell that Power Girl is supposed to be a woman. With Raven in this game? Not so much. She looks like The Shade in drag honestly. Wonder Woman's jaw is a bit manly too, but it's nowhere near as frightening as Raven's face. I get they are going that she's been taken over by her father's demonic power but at least let her somewhat resemble a woman. Sheesh. For the sequels (as I'm sure they are going to do another one), I humbly suggest that NetherRealms get Jim Lee and his team from DCUO onboard for designing the character models.
The online netcode is decent for the most part. I experienced little to no lag while playing against several friends and randoms online. Ranked Match's matchmaking leaves a lot to be desired though. It takes forever for the game to find you an opponent as it seems that most people are not even touching this mode at all. I'm sure most people will be sticking with Player Matches as a result unless the community decides otherwise.
Last but not least, let's talk about the overall gameplay. Roughly everyone has the same inputs for most of their basic combos, so if you feel comfortable with one character, you're going to do fine while handling others for the most part. The game offers the option to toggle between traditional MK-style inputs or Street Fighter-oriented inputs for special moves and combos, but I found myself reverting back to the MK inputs after realizing it's much more work on your thumbs doing SF inputs.
Interactive objects in the environments never get old, but I wish NRS put a little more balance on that for the gadget users. While it's cool that superpowered characters like Superman can toss cars and other objects with ease, it would have made sense to allow non-powered characters like Batman use a projectile to blow up the car or other object before it's used against them to devastating results. As it stands, it's either hit or miss with the usefulness to environmental objects being useful to your character of choice.
This game could use an indicator to gauge how far you have to be before you can get launched into a stage transition. There were moments against the CPU where they would launch me from at least 1/3 of the screen's length from the corner and it would still trigger a transition.
I wish this game had the option to skip the damn long as fuck victory animations at the end of every battle. It gets really repetitive to see Batman say, "Stay down." Then camera cut to him perching on a building for about a minute before the Next Match/Mission, Rematch/Retry, or Quit options show up. I know that this is a minor issue but it slows down the pacing of bouts between friends.
Despite all of these faults, this game still manages to be fun. It's very simplistic and easy to pick up. Newbies to the genre will be able to jump right in while veterans of the genre (especially those familiar with NRS's work) will find enough depth for the long haul with the diverse roster of characters. Plus, with regular patches and updates, NetherRealms aims to keep this game alive for the long haul, much like their treatment of Mortal Kombat 9. I only suggest buying the DLC content if you really can't wait (or regularly attending and competing in tournaments for this game), as I'm positive that NRS is going to do a "complete" edition of this game, much like they did with MK9 with all of the DLC and costumes. So I wouldn't stress myself out if you can't acquire the pre-order bonuses and iOS unlockables as NRS are striving to make that content available to the masses at a later date.
Here's the moment that you guys have been waiting for. I'll admit, I have been straying away farther and farther from fighting games as of late, but despite of the rocky start, I really did have fun with my two week rental of Injustice. I'm giving this a solid 8.25 out of 10.
There's more than enough content here to keep single player fighting fans busy and even more for multiplayer chaos online and offline. Capcom, please take notes - this is how you satisfy both sides of your customers' interests.
NetherRealm Studios have managed to remedy the previous mistakes that made MK vs. DCU a flop and have renewed interest for DC's heroes and villains in the fighting genre. I'm anxious to see what's next for this franchise.
Today, May 21, 2013, Microsoft finally pulled the curtain back and revealed their successor to the Xbox 360, simply dubbed the Xbox One. I know, silly name.
Since the press event roughly 2 hours ago, the Internet has erupted into a ton of speculation - as usual. I'm here to offer my first impressions on the console.
Slot-loading Blu-ray drive? Check. HDMI in and out? Absolutely, considering the Xbox One is meant to play a central role in the living room. There's an octa-core processor based on AMD's Jaguar design and 8GB of RAM to go up against the Sony PlayStation 4, plus USB 3.0 ports, 500GB of hard drive storage, WiFi Direct for communicating with the new controller and other devices, and a humungous amount of silicon to drive it all: no fewer than five billion transistors, which compares to 1.4 billion in your average Intel or AMD chip (although Microsoft may be included other processors and DSPs in that count). And just in case you're wondering, the switch to an x86 PC-style architecture will indeed preclude backwards compatibility with 360 games.
As for the box itself, well, it looks rather a like a little HTPC with black and silver case and a big Xbox logo -- a visage with actually tallies with the fact that's running a PC-like x86 architecture inside. There's a full list of specs after the break, which we're continuing to build out as more details pour out of Microsoft's Xbox One ongoing launch event.
Processor and graphics: as rumored, a heavily customized AMD chip that combines an eight-core CPU, a GPU tailored for DirectX 11.1 graphics and 32MB of high bandwidth embedded ESRAM memory. The 28nm chip will consume around 100 watts, which is slightly higher than current Xbox Slim and PS3, but Microsoft promises noise from the cooling fans will be "four times quieter."
System memory: a Sony-rivaling 8GB of RAM, although it'll be DDR3 instead of the PlayStation 4's GDDR5.
Audio and video: 1080p and 4K both supported; 7.1 surround sound.
Kinect: This will be bundled with the console and contain 250,000-pixel infrared depth sensor as well as a regular 720p web cam.
Storage and media: a 500GB hard drive of unknown speed plus a Blu-ray / DVD combo drive that will be used as little as possible. We're told disc-based games will be ripped to the HDD automatically.
Connectivity: HDMI 1.4 output and passthrough; a "few" USB 3.0 ports; gigabit Ethernet; plus, three separate 802.11n radios to allow the console to communicate with its controller (over a form of WiFi Direct) as well as other devices (such as perhaps other Windows-based phones and tablets) without losing its connection to the internet. At other times, two radios could be used to maintain a stronger WiFi signal.
If the spec you're looking for isn't on this list, that's likely because Microsoft hasn't revealed it yet. We've requested further details and will update as and when we hear more.
The Xbox One, unlike the Xbox 360, requires Kinect to function. This makes it likely that the console will ship with Kinect 2 as standard.
Kinect seems to be deeply integrated into the systems of the Xbox One, and allows users to browse using voice and gesture commands through the Xbox One User Interface.
Examples of the Kinect 2 in action include saying 'Xbox: On' to activate the system. The console will then remember what the user was doing previously and return them immediately to that screen.
Harvey Eagle, Microsoft's UK Marketing Director, was quizzed about the Kinect 2 integration by IGN.
"Kinect does require to be connected to Xbox One in all cases, yes," he said. Asked whether the Xbox One will accommodate people who perhaps play in their bedroom rather than their living room, Eagle replied: "Yes, absolutely. We use the living room almost as a moniker - that's where we assume the best screen is in the house. But if you like to play in any other room in the house, the Xbox one will deliver the same quality of experience whatever the environment."
Kinect 2 will feature an integrated 1080p camera, 30FPS colour, Time of Flight (TOF) technology and microphone arrays. It is said to be able to detect even the slightest of movements, such as the rotation of a wrist or shoulder.
Gamerscore Porting
Achievement hunters rejoice! Microsoft has confirmed that users will be able to port across their Gamertag, Gamerscore and your Avatar will port from the Xbox 360 directly to the Xbox One.
Harvey Eagle, head of Microsoft's UK Marketing division, said:
"Your hard-earned Gamerscore will port over, so yes you'll take that with you. "You'll also take your Gamertag, your identity, with you. Whilst we're making a much bigger bet on natural identity with the camera, Avatars will also feature as well. All of the gaming identity that you have on Xbox 360 will be there on Xbox One as well."
Backward Compatibility
Unfortunately the Xbox One will not be able to play Xbox 360 games, including Xbox Live purchases.
It is rumoured to charge a fee for users to play used games on the system, although clarification on this remains to be given.
Evolving Achievements
Since Xbox One will be cloud-powered, Microsoft has stated that it gives developers the potential to modify both the game experience and the way in which achievements work 'over time.'
They cited the highly popular 'Arrow to the Knee' meme from Skyrim as an example - if this technology was in the Xbox 360, Skyrim's game developers could have went back in and changed the achievements or game to reflect this joke.
The redesigned Xbox One controller features similar layout to the Xbox 360 controller, with the Y, X, B and A buttons, triggers, analogue stick placement and d-pad in similar positions
Looks like the original Xbox S controllers...
It also includes two buttons in the center which may or may not be the Start/Back buttons or something different.
The Xbox 'X' logo is also present at the top of the controller and should function in a similar way to how it did on the Xbox 360.
CM Punk is not amused...
III. My Thoughts
Much like Sony's reveal for the PS4, I'm much like CM Punk here - I'm not impressed. I can understand that the purpose of this reveal was to show off the hardware and features, but it's apparent that the so-called "future" of next-gen gaming is pretty much turning your game console into what the VCR was back in the 80s - the focal point of your entertainment center in your household.
Just looking at the hardware specs for both the PS4 AND the Xbox One has me a bit underwhelmed. Most desktops and some laptops have better tech than this underneath the hood. Still, I hope this Cloud software means that the Xbox One can be regularly updated and patched as necessary for we won't have to buy another console for at least another decade.
Being able to swap between the Internet, my current game, and the TV isn't really a big deal for most people. Currently, it just requires more work with the use of the TV remote or multiple monitors. So, I doubt that's going to be a huge selling point for a lot of people. For those who don't know, Comcast was the TV service used during the presentation. I have to wonder, what satellite and cable TV providers are going to be compatible with this thing?
Is it just me, but doesn't the new controller look like those incredibly awesome S-Controllers from the original Xbox? My biggest issue with both the PlayStation 3 and 360's controllers is that they are TOO light and feel like they would break if you drop them, especially with Sony's. Those damn S-Controllers had a bit of weight to them and didn't feel cheap in the least. Plus they had a MUCH better d-pad than the 360 controller. I really hope they went back to that standard.
Unlike everyone else, I'm not surprised that the new console is NOT backwards compatible. The PS3 (later versions) wasn't backwards compatible, the Xbox 360 did it and it was hit or miss as a result. So why waste time and resources on the past? Plus let's be real here. You're going to buy a brand new console only to play last generation games on it? That's as stupid as buying a Wii U just to play your old NES games. Simply keep your current gen consoles and quit bitching about it.
While I applaud Microsoft on their decision to allow your Gamerscore and Achievements to carry over to the new console, I really hope they clarify the "used game" issue. Both Sony and Microsoft are constantly dodging that question (and several others here) and I doubt we're going to get a solid answer before E3 when both top dogs reveal their price tags for these high-end Blu-ray players. I will be honest though, if both consoles charge a fee for used games, you can count me out of this console war completely as I'll just invest into PC gaming.
I wonder how they will handle your Xbox Live purchase history though on the new console? Offer you a giftcard equivalent to repurchase that content again? Some lame bonuses at launch? Who knows at this rate...
Much like Sony's reveal, they did catch my interest in the increasing efforts that both companies are putting into capturing gameplay and sharing that content with friends. Looks like Microsoft and Sony are looking to put all of those independent capture card companies out of business. Being able to capture gameplay, edit it freely, and stream/share it with friends right out of the box is a big deal. I'll give both companies props for recognizing that feature will be a huge asset in the long run as eSports and especially fighting games are trying to get more exposure among other media outlets.
Microsoft seemed to just gloss over the so-called improvements to Xbox Live. With the new partnership with NFL and this upcoming premium Halo TV series (I'm getting to that in a second...), I'm sure Microsoft isn't going to fold and give consumers Xbox Live Gold for FREE. I was hoping for an announcement that would reveal that Gold would be improved upon and offer more features (like freebies for those members who pay for Sony's PlayStation Plus service) to make long-time customers feel like they got their money's worth.
With Microsoft's growing focus with television for the Xbox One, they dropped a nuclear bombshell by revealing that Steve Spielberg will be in charge of creating a Halo TV series, exclusive to this service. Boy, I bet Peter Jackson is hating himself that he never agreed to creating that Halo film a few years back. If it's anything like Falling Skies, the Spielberg may have another hit on his hands. Still, is this worth getting a Xbox One alone? Hell no, you know someone is going to have that shit ripped onto YouTube and DailyMotion. Microsoft would be stupid NOT to share the episodes on Hulu Plus or Netflix too.
One thing that was a minor announcement spoke volumes to me: 8 out of the 15 titles in development for Xbox One are brand newIPs. I think this current generation of gaming has seen TOO many sequels and prequels for my taste honestly. It's about time that gaming strove for some new breakthrough hits and start taking risks again with relatively unknown properties.
Last but not least, Microsoft couldn't resist without ending with another overhyped FPS for their new console: Call of Duty: Ghosts. Call me nuts, but that looks almost just like Ghost Recon: Future Soldier -- sans the future technology and arsenal, just with better graphics and few more bells and whistles. I will give them props for the inclusion of the very realistic looking dogs as an AI companion. Still, they could have saved this reveal for damn E3 in 3 more weeks...
As it stands, I honestly don't think I would buy neither the PlayStation 4 nor the Xbox One at launch or at all period. Neither console is offering enough "wow" or bang for my buck to warrant a purchase. Plus, unlike most people, I haven't become fixated on all of this touchscreen and voice technology that I have to run out and buy every new thing related to it like a crack addict.
As we continue to speculate over the next few weeks about the Xbox One, I have to wonder how the landscape and gamers' opinions will change on both Sony and Microsoft's fronts when E3 is over and done with after we finally see what these consoles are capable of first-hand.
Hot off the heels of Marvel Studios' success of The Avengers last summer, fans and moviegoers alike have been anxiously awaiting the next chapter in the Marvel Cinematic Universe that would kick start the road down Phase 2 that will lead to Avengers 2. That brings us the return of Robert Downey Jr. as Tony Stark in Iron Man 3, chronicling his personal events as he copes with the aftermath of what happened in Avengers.
How does this third outing in the Iron Man film series (seventh installment in the Marvel Cinematic Universe) fair compared to the blockbuster that was The Avengers?
The Plot: (FULL Spoilers Below)
In a flashback, Tony Stark recalls a New Years Eve party in 1999 with scientist Maya Hansen, inventor of Extremis, an experimental regenerative treatment intended to allow its users to recover from crippling injuries. They are approached by crippled scientist Aldrich Killian, who offers them a place in his company Advanced Idea Mechanics, but Stark arrogantly rebuffs him.
In the present day, some time after The Avengers, Stark's experiences during that film are causing him great anxiety, and he has built several Iron Man suits, creating friction with his girlfriend Pepper Potts. Global tensions also run high in the wake a string of bombings by terrorist the Mandarin, which have left intelligence agencies bewildered by their lack of forensic evidence. When Stark Industries security chief Happy Hogan is caught in one such attack, Stark overcomes his stupor and issues a televised threat to the Mandarin, who responds by destroying Tony's home with helicopter gunships. Pepper and Maya, who had come to warn Tony, survive the attack. Tony then finds himself in rural Tennessee after his artificial intelligence JARVIS follows a flight plan from Tony's investigation into the Mandarin. Tony's experimental armor lacks sufficient power to return to California, and the world believes him dead.
Teaming with Harley, a precocious 10-year-old boy, Tony investigates the remains of a local explosion bearing the hallmarks of a Mandarin attack. He discovers the "bombings" were triggered by soldiers who had been subjected to Maya's Extremis virus, which in its still-imperfect state causes certain subjects to explosively reject it. After veterans started growing unstable and exploding, their deaths were used to cover up Extremis' flaws by manufacturing a terrorist plot. Tony witnesses Extremis firsthand when Mandarin agents Ellen Brandt and Eric Savin attack him.
With Harley's help, Tony traces the Mandarin to Miami and infiltrates his headquarters using a variety of home-made weapons. Inside he discovers the Mandarin is actually a British actor named Trevor Slattery, who is oblivious to the acts carried out in his name. The Mandarin is a creation of Killian, who appropriated Maya's Extremis research as a cure for his own disability and expanded the program to include injured war veterans. Killian reveals he is the true Mandarin and has kidnapped Pepper and subjected her to Extremis, intending to infuse her with superhuman abilities and turn her against Tony as leverage to gain Tony's aid in fixing Extremis's flaws.
Killian has also manipulated American intelligence agencies regarding the Mandarin's location, luring James Rhodes — the former War Machine, now rebranded as the Iron Patriot — into a trap to steal the armor. Tony escapes his captivity and reunites with Rhodes, discovering that Killian intends to attack President Ellis aboard Air Force One. Remotely controlling his Iron Man armor, Tony saves the surviving passengers and crew but cannot stop Killian from abducting Ellis. They trace Killian to an impounded oil drilling platform where Killian intends to kill Ellis on live television. The Vice President will become a puppet leader, following Killian's orders in exchange for Extremis to cure a little girl's disability.
On the platform, Tony goes to save Pepper, and Rhodes saves the President. Tony summons each of his Iron Man suits, controlled remotely by JARVIS, to provide air support. Rhodes secures the President and leads him to safety, while Tony discovers Pepper has survived the Extremis procedure. However, before he can save her, a rig collapses around them and she falls to her apparent death. Tony is forced into confronting Killian and traps him in an Iron Man suit that self-destructs, but fails to kill him. Pepper, whose Extremis powers allowed her to survive her fall, intervenes and finishes Killian once and for all.
After the battle, Tony orders JARVIS to destroy each Iron Man suit remotely, as a sign of his intention to devote more time to Pepper. The Vice President and Slattery are arrested. Pepper undergoes surgery to remove Extremis, and Tony to remove the shrapnel embedded near his heart. He pitches his obsolete chest arc reactor into the sea, musing he will always be Iron Man, even without his armor.
In a post-credits scene, it is revealed that Stark has been recounting his experiences to Dr. Bruce Banner, who awakens, having fallen asleep at the beginning of Tony's story.
The Verdict:
What can I say, Robert Downey Jr. never ceases to amaze me with his uncanny charm and natural fit into the role of Tony Stark. Without a shadow of a doubt, you're going to get a ton of shits and giggles from the comedy stretched out across the film's first hour before any of the action starts. By the time the second half of the film kicks off into motion, the film begins to drag along, much like Iron Man 2.
If I'm completely honest, I thought Iron Man 2 was a complete bore, save for it's final 30-45 minutes. Iron Man 3 falls into a similar pattern. The first half of the film is lackluster and only held together by Downey's humor and charm, while the plot struggles to move forward. At this rate, we all know what to expect from RDJ as Tony Stark. There's no need to force his humor down our throats every 3-5 minutes. It's starting to feel like a Seth Rogen or Adam Sandler film where you're expecting to hear a dick joke every few minutes, except in Downey's case, you're expecting a sarcastic remark every other sentence.
Gwyneth Paltrow continues to look stunning as Stark's love interest, Pepper Potts, while the alluring Rebecca Hall acts as Stark's old fling, Maya Hansen. I have to feel sorry for Paltrow in this film as her character has not shown any sense of growth since Iron Man 2 and the same can be said about Don Cheadle as James Rhodes as well. I personally thought that casting Ben Kingsley as The Mandarin was a questionable choice until I saw the film first-hand. Kingsley is a definite shoe-in for a menacing Bin Laden-like terrorist figure in the film and plays the part to an exceptional degree.
I can't believe I'm actually saying this but I honestly felt that the Ironman: Armored Adventures episode titled "Extremis" handled this subject manner far better than this film did. Anyone who knows me personally can easily tell you I hated that cartoon with a passion, but they handled this storyline, which is regarded as one of the best Iron Man storylines of all-time, in a manner I was looking forward to see this film to strive for. Not imitate it completely, but at least do it in a way that makes it Marvel Studios' own.
The moment when everything in the film really went downhill for me was when Killian killed Maya. That decision seemed premature and like a knee-jerk reaction at that stage of the film. If Killian was going to kill her then why the hell he didn't kill her when he found her with Pepper moments earlier? It just really wasn't well-thought out at all.
I know I'm talking about the Extremis comic book storyline a lot here, but if you haven't read it and want to read a summary of it yourself, look no further than here.
Here's MY version of the last 30-45 minutes of the film: I thought her and Tony would have gotten together to finally perfect the Extremis formula to cure Pepper and the other super soldiers under Killian's control. Alternatively, I was half-expecting Stark to get into a pre-mature battle with Killian or Eric Savin, who ends up critically damaging his arc reactor that is keeping him alive. To save his life, Maya injects Tony with the perfected Extremis that they have been working on together. It bonds to his DNA, repairs his heart and grants him the ability to communicate to all technology with his mind, instead of the lame remote control method that seemed to be never completely explained throughout the narrative. This allows Tony to remotely summon his entire armory of Iron Man armors Mark 7 through 42 to his command. This in turn makes the last fight sequence a bit more of a spectacle to behold as it's Tony's incredible mind behind all of the armors as if he is inside all of them at once. Plus, this removes the tacked on 'treat' of Pepper beating the fuck out of Killain for Tony at the end. Talk about removal of masculinity there, Tony... Seriously, if they wanted Pepper to help out in the action they could have had her in armor as Rescue for another cheap nod to the current comics. Hey, I'm just saying.
Lastly, I'm going to attempt to answer some lingering questions about this film for my fellow film goers.
What was the point of re-skinning the War Machine armor? Oh wait, it was a cheap plug for Norman Osborn's Iron Patriot armor worn during Marvel's popular Civil War storyline in the comics. Nothing more. On second thought, I guess America does have to have something waving it's colors when going into battle against Osama Bin Laden -- err The Mandarin. You cannot deny that symbolism there when Stark made things personal after Happy Hogan was put into the hospital.
Why the swerve/trolling with The Mandarin? I personally think that Marvel Studios didn't have the balls to attempt to pull him off accurately in a single film. We can't deny that he really exists in the Marvel Cinematic Universe as it was hinted in the original Iron Man film that references him from the terrorist group called "The Ten Rings." It really killed my buzz for the dynamic of the film when they revealed that The Mandarin was just a ploy to give terrorism a face to the masses. A bad one, if I may add, that comes off as cheesy and cliched as Bane did in The Dark Knight Rises.
My humble suggestion would have been that the rings of Makluan that he wields could have been mysteriously activated after the arrival of the Chitauri in Avengers. After what Stark did to The Ten Rings in the original Iron Man it would be easy to imagine that the terrorists would want to take the fight to him.
Why did they tie Killian to the Advanced Idea Mechanic? Simple, A.I.M. does business with every shady individual in Marvel Universe, from Doctor Doom (commonly through Lucia Von Bardas as his representative for transactions) to The (REAL) Mandarin to common terrorists and lesser super-criminals. Marvel Studios can easily have A.I.M. continue shop with another figurehead in future films.
My best bet is that A.I.M. and HYDRA will be the major antagonists in Captain America: The Winter Soldier and the SHIELD-based spin-off TV series, pulling all of the strings from behind the scenes.
Why was there's NO SHIELD involvement in this film after their hands-on approach for all terrorist activity throughout Iron Man 2, Thor, and Avengers? No idea on that one. I'm assuming they have their hands full with whatever is going on during the course of events in Captain America: The Winter Soldier. I'm sure the horny fanboys missed seeing Scarlet Johannson's goods as Black Widow in this film. Don't fret. She'll be back as a main character in Captain America: The Winter Soldier.
Does this film serves a proper follow-up to Avengers and encourages viewers to be anxious for what's to come on the road down Phase 2 towards Avengers 2? No, not at all. This film gives that same lackluster vibe that The Dark Knight Rises gave off in its finale. The hero puts all of his toys away and rides off into the sunset, thinking that they can sleep quietly at night while evil still waits out there while the hero act nonchalant about it - clearly ignoring their responsibilities as hero. Yes, I'm going with that old school Spider-Man mantra. We, the viewers, are not given anything to chew on in terms of substance to hold us over as the plot unfolds for Avengers 2. I'm not going to sit here and believe that Stark's just going to sit back and not don the armor again as we all know what's on the horizon for Avengers 2, but the ending just seems to pull the curtain down on Downey's role as Stark. For those that don't know, Downey is reportedly ending his tenure as Iron Man after Avengers 2, so if this is send-off then I look forward to seeing who will pick up the role in his wake if this is the redundant and lackluster mark he is leaving on the Iron Man series.
Downey is not entirely to blame for this film's shortcomings as it's the writers who are the blame more than anything. I wish more time was put into the narrative instead of crafting a few cheap nods to Warner Brothers' The Dark Knight Rises instead. You have to have an idiot to not see the similarities in the hijacking airplane sequence and similar approach to terrorism as that film from last summer. Lastly, let's not forget Stark's detective work that can be easily compared to the Caped Crusader's handiwork. While I understand that this is a film about Tony Stark coming to grips with the events that transpired in Avengers, it's pretty strange to say this is a film called Iron Man, but we rarely see Tony suited up in the armor at all until the film's finale.
With a heavy heart, I have to give this film a 8 out of 10. It's not as much of a snooze fest as Iron Man 2, but there's too much of that "been there, done that" vibe to get too excited about. Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying this film was a bad one, it's just that Marvel Studios left a lot to be desired here. After last summer's Avengers, Fox's The Wolverine around the corner, and with Snyder's Man of Steel on horizon, I thought Marvel Studios would have pulled out all the spots on this one and really knocked it out of the ball park to set the bar high for super-hero films this summer.
Oh yeah before I forget... Mad props for the end credits teaser. I know that's exactly how I felt if someone told me this movie's plot from start to finish.
Irrational Games' latest addition to the BioShock franchise has arrived in the form of BioShock: Infinite. After being pushed back and delayed throughout 2012 and finally settling on a 2013 release date, players can finally rejoice that they can finally play this spectacle first-hand.
Was this title worth the wait and does it hold up to the legacy of the BioShock franchise? Read on to find out.
The Plot: (FULL Spoilers)
In 1912, Booker DeWitt is taken by the Lutece twins to an island lighthouse off the coast of Maine; the structure houses a rocket silo which transports Booker to Columbia, with the mission to "retrieve the girl and wipe away the debt".
Booker's presence in Columbia goes unnoticed until a citizen identifies the letters "AD" branded on Booker's hand, a sign of the False Shepherd that Comstock prophesied would corrupt Elizabeth and bring about Columbia's downfall. Now a wanted man, Booker fights his way to Monument Island where Elizabeth is held within a tower, discovering along the way a large device at its base called the Siphon. After freeing Elizabeth, Songbird attacks and destroys part of the statue, and Booker and Elizabeth narrowly escape with their lives. The pair work towards the aerodrome, planning on taking an airship to Paris, a city Elizabeth has always wanted to see. When Booker directs the ship to New York City with the intention of delivering Elizabeth, she knocks him out. He awakes to find the airship under the control of Daisy Fitzroy and the Vox Populi. Fitzroy offers to return the ship if Booker recovers a shipment of weapons from the slums of Columbia.
Booker rejoins with Elizabeth and they venture deeper into the city. While Elizabeth uses her ability to manipulate tears to aid their journey, she grows disturbed by the physiological and psychological consequences of manipulating reality on Booker and the other citizens of Columbia. One tear leads them to a world where Booker has become a martyr for the Vox Populi cause, leading to open warfare between the Vox Populi and Columbia's Founders. This universe's Fitzroy believes that this Booker undermines her Booker's sacrifice, threatening to weaken the Vox Populi cause, and so turns her forces against him. Elizabeth is forced to kill Fitzroy when she threatens to execute a Founder boy.
As they prepare to leave Columbia by airship, Songbird attacks and they crash back to Columbia. While continuing their search for escape, they begin to unravel a conspiracy behind the founding of the city. Comstock had taken Elizabeth as his adoptive daughter to groom her as the city's leader. He had the Lutece twins construct the Siphon to subdue her powers before plotting their murder along with that of his wife to conceal the truth, and blamed their deaths on the Vox Populi. Elizabeth is captured by Songbird and taken to Comstock's mansion. Booker follows but is drawn into the future by an elderly Elizabeth who has suffered decades of torture and brainwashing in Booker's absence; she has inherited Comstock's cause and wages war on the world below. She reveals that Songbird would always stop his rescue attempts in the past, and implores Booker to stop this future from coming to pass by offering him the means to control Songbird.
Booker returns to the present and rescues Elizabeth, and the pair pursue Comstock to his airship. Comstock demands that Booker explain Elizabeth's past to her, and why Elizabeth is missing a finger. Booker becomes enraged and drowns Comstock. Booker denies knowledge about Elizabeth's finger but she asserts that he knows, but does not remember. Booker decides to destroy the Siphon so Elizabeth can access her full power and learn the truth. With Songbird under their control, the pair fend off a Vox Populi attack, before ordering Songbird to destroy the Siphon. When the device Booker used to control Songbird is destroyed, it attempts to attack him. Elizabeth opens a tear, transporting the three of them to an underwater city; Booker and Elizabeth remain safe inside, but Songbird appears outside and is crushed by the immense pressure of the ocean.
Elizabeth takes Booker to this reality's surface and lighthouse. They travel through the building's door to a place outside space and time containing countless lighthouses and alternate versions of Booker and Elizabeth. Elizabeth explains that they are within one of an infinite number of possible realities both similar and drastically different due to choices that have been made. She shows that on October 8, 1893, Robert Lutece approached Booker on behalf of Comstock, requesting that he "give us the girl and wipe away the debt," referring to Booker's infant daughter, Anna DeWitt – Booker's "AD" branding. Booker reluctantly agreed to sell Anna but soon changed his mind. He arrived too late to stop Comstock escaping through a tear; the closing of the tear severed the child's finger. Comstock subsequently raised Anna as Elizabeth, his daughter. Due to the severed finger, Elizabeth exists in two realities at once, giving her the ability to open and create tears at will. Later, Robert, angry at Elizabeth's treatment and Comstock's betrayal, convinced Rosalind to help him bring Booker to the reality where Columbia exists to rescue Elizabeth.
Elizabeth explains that whatever actions Booker makes against Comstock, Comstock will still remain alive in at least one of these universes; the Luteces have tried to enlist a Booker from different universes numerous times to end the cycle. The only way to break the circle is to prevent Comstock from being born in the first place. Elizabeth transports Booker to the place he went to be baptized and cleansed of his sins after his actions at the Battle of Wounded Knee. Booker avoided baptism at the last moment, while in another universe he took the baptism, found religion, and became Comstock. Comstock, aware of his identity to Booker, engineered Anna's abduction to provide him with a blood-related heir for Columbia, as he had become sterile from exposure to the Luteces' technology. Booker and Elizabeth are joined by alternate versions of Elizabeth from other universes. Booker allows them to drown him, preventing his choice from ever being made and stopping Comstock from ever existing. One by one, the Elizabeths begin to disappear, the screen cutting to black on the original.
In a post-credits sequence, a Booker awakens in his apartment on October 8, 1893. He calls out Anna's name and opens the door to her room before the screen cuts to black. -- via Wikipedia
Gameplay:
Like BioShock and BioShock 2, BioShock Infinite is a first-person shooter with role-playing elements. As Booker, the player moves around Columbia both on foot and by using a grappling hook on a series of railways connecting the buildings called the Skyline. The player will gain weapons which can be used in numerous ways, including on the Skyline, although the player is only able to carry two weapons at once. Booker gains powers and abilities by using Vigors, the equivalent of BioShock's plasmids and tonics, and wearing gear, all scattered around Columbia. Vigors grant activated powers such as telekinesis, electricity manipulation, and animal control (as shown by the manipulation of a flock of crows in the gameplay demo); gear grant passive abilities that can improve the player's strength or damage resistance. Vigors require Salt, the equivalent of magic points or BioShock's EVE, for powering their abilities. Vigors have upgrade paths that can be purchased from vending machines, and alternate-fire capabilities. With gear, the player only has four available slots, and has to make decisions on which combination of offensive and defensive capabilities work for them.
Once reunited with Elizabeth, the player must work with her to escape Columbia. Elizabeth stays out of battle, scavenging the area for ammo, health packs, Salt, and other items, and tossing them to Booker as needed. She can also use her tear-opening powers to aid the player, bringing in weapons, health, Salts, environmental features such as cover or a ledge for higher ground, and automated defense units. Only one tear can be opened at a time, making the player decide between the available options to suit the battle. The player will not directly control Elizabeth, but instead she will react to the player and the current situation in a manner similar to the AI Director in Left 4 Dead, according to Levine. The player will need to protect Elizabeth, but will not need "to babysit and hand-hold" her through the game. Levine has stated that "in no way, shape, or form is this an escort mission", noting that players reacted negatively to a late-game stage in the original BioShock in which they were tasked with protecting a Little Sister.
Several different human forces are at work opposed to the player's progress within the city, including forces representing the Founders and the Vox Populi. Furthermore, the player and Elizabeth are chased by Songbird (sometimes simply referred to as "Him"), who attempts to snatch Elizabeth from the player after being her guardian and companion for the last twelve years. Four types of larger mechanical enemies created by the Founders, dubbed "Heavy Hitters," act as mini-bosses throughout the game, demanding new tactics from the player. One type of such enemies is named Handymen, so named for their large porcelain doll-like hands; they are robotic-like monsters housing a human heart and head, with the ability to jump far distances and easily throw player- and non-player characters alike. A second class is the Motorized Patriots, once used as tour guides for the city, decorated in patriotic colors and wearing a wax mask of a Founding Father of the United States; they assault foes with a "peppermill" automatic machine gun. The Boys of Silence are men in foppish outfits locked into a metal helmet with giant ears; the humans inside are blind but, due to their helmet, have super-human hearing and act as Columbia's security system, requiring the player to choose carefully between stealth and a direct assault, whereupon the Boys can scream to call in backup. Finally, the Siren is a mysterious, completely enshrouded female figure, based on the Spiritualism movement near the end of the 19th century, that can revive defeated foes during combat, requiring the player to decide whether to concentrate attacks on the Siren or the newly revived enemies. The player has several options of approaching the Heavy Hitters, such as by using stealth to bypass the encounter, or to hack into the machine and take control of the units.
The Skyline is a rail-based system (originally designed for moving cargo around Columbia but later used for personal transport) similar to the concept found in the Ratchet & Clank games and described by Levine as "a roller coaster, over another roller coaster, over another roller coaster"; players activate a wrist-mounted tool that Booker and enemies wear to jump and hang onto the self-powered tracks. Players can jump onto, off of, and between Skyline tracks at any time, and may face enemies that use the system to attack; the player can use one-handed weapons in Booker's free hand while using the Skyline. Freedom of movement along the Skyline allows for several varieties of combat, including flanking, cover, and area-of-effect attacks through creative uses of the system. Levine considered the Skyline to introduce new options in combat, in the same manner that the use of jetpacks in Tribes or the vehicles in Halo had done, which had helped make those games unique entries in the first-person-shooter genre.
Irrational Games has stated that the game's set pieces are not heavily scripted; they made this statement in response to reaction to a gameplay preview video released during the week of September 21, 2010, which, within ten minutes, demonstrated numerous elements of the game. The development team called the game's pacing "like BioShock 1", and that while there will be some scripted set pieces, the developers want the player to be able to explore Columbia at their own pace. Unlike Jack or Delta, the silent protagonists of BioShock and BioShock 2 respectively, and who are guided by radio commands from a third party, Booker is a vocal character, with dialogue designed to aid the player in leading Booker to complete his mission. Players in Infinite will revisit areas from earlier in the game, in the same manner of BioShock. However, to create a better narrative, the Irrational team borrowed ideas from Batman: Arkham Asylum, a similar open-world game in which players, on return to previous areas, would find new elements that would advance the plot and gameplay.
In addition to the normal game mode, BioShock Infinite includes a "1999 Mode," so named for the release year of System Shock 2, a game worked on by Levine and several other Irrational Games developers. 1999 Mode is a more challenging version of the game, requiring the player to make mutually exclusive specialization choices, such as choosing Booker's proficiency with certain weapon types, which may make later parts of the game difficult to complete and may require the player to reload from earlier saved games to manage his/her resources more efficiently. -- via Wikipedia
The Verdict:
First of all, I have to admit that I'm pretty green when it comes to this series. I only watched my old college roommate complete the original BioShock and haven't touched BioShock 2 at all. I'm a sucker for the AI companion component in gaming since the days of Ico and Shadow of the Colossus back on PlayStation 2. Seeing Booker and Elizabeth together in the early builds of the game reminded me of the partnership dynamic between Monkey and Trip in Enslaved: Odyssey to the West. Hoping to see a powerful partnership in another gaming narrative in the current era of gaming perked my interest into giving this game a shot.
Before I talk about anything else about the game, I have to talk about Elizabeth. She has to be the most compelling AI companion to date in gaming. And to think I thought motion capture couldn't get any better than Kat from DmC (Devil May Cry). From her beauty (Props to Irrational Games to not giving her an overly exaggerated figure as well. She is truly believable to being a genuine, life-like person) to the extremes of her motion capture. She nervously glances at you in the beginning of the game as Booker earns her trust before being confident and content in his company. In breaks between combat, she takes a moment to sit down and catches her breath, often times by sitting down after pulling out a chair or leaning against a nearby wall. Elizabeth's realism is a sight to behold firsthand, but at the same time it gets borderline creepy. Much like this article points out, it seems a bit focused most of the time. She's always in your field of vision when you are looking around and she never seems to get lost out of your scope, except while in combat where she is safely watching from a distance.
Gameplay-wise, the game functions like a traditional first person shooter, but its the various Vigors that makes this series stand out on its own. My biggest gripe about the Vigors are that you never seem to have enough Salts to power them from start to finish for a single mob of enemies, then you are forced to rely on Elizabeth to supply you with more Salts to power your magical offenses and defenses. Another thing that I found to be odd was that the game doesn't inform you how to switch up the various Vigors to your liking. Once you find a new one, it replaces one of your older ones, removing it from further usage throughout the game. That is until I figured out near the end of the game that you could hold down the LB button (or L1 on PlayStation 3) and a wheel of available Vigors come up to select from. It would have been a lot more of asset to let me know about that at the beginning of the damn game, Irrational Games... I mainly blame that shortcoming on myself since I'm still fairly new to this series.
Gotta love the Lutece twins...
Now, I know there's a few idiots out there that see this game as racist and anti-Christian. I have played this game from start to finish and I have to disagree entirely. Given this game's setting in 1912, it is to be expected that African-Americans are still depicted as slaves in Columbia's society. From a religious standpoint, this game is nowhere anti-Christian. Comstock is seen as a radical prophet of change and not once did anyone utter the name Jesus Christ in this game. Prior to the game's ending, both Elizabeth and Booker discuss the "wrath" of God for their actions, so if you STILL think this game is anti-Christian, then you are Grade A retard.
That being said, these enemies you encounter are not your garden variety tools you face in every other FPS on the market. These guys will attack you from every angle and opt to flank you at every possibility. There multiple occasions where I found myself overwhelmed and had to retreat to safety to get my bearings and stage an alternate means of attack other than "Ramboing" your way through the masses that seems to work in every other FPS nowadays. Factoring the Vigors into combat forces the stale and true run-and-gun gameplay of the traditional FPS into a more intelligent means of combat. Elizabeth's assists in the form of opening tears to supply you with more firearms, health, mechanical allies, or even the means to gain a better vantage point in combat were hit or miss for my taste. Either the enemies take out your support allies as soon as she summons them or they are not around to be much use in battle. The Skyline sequences add a bit of flair to the combat as well as riding the rails and dropping down with Skyline Strike onto a helpless victim never seems to get old. I'm one of the few gamers out there who is getting rather bored with this fascination with the FPS craze over the last decade, but I found the combat here to be breath of fresh air.
Last but not least, let's talk about the narrative. "Bring us the girl, wipe away the debt." I enjoyed this method of storytelling as the game moved the narrative throughout gameplay rather through long drown-out cutscenes. The usage of scattering propaganda throughout the environment was a nice touch as well, along with the old school movie machines that offered tidbits on the ongoings on this world as well. I was glad to see Elizabeth not reduced to a mere damsel in distress as she proves to be quite formidable when pushed too far. Unfortunately, Booker manages to fall into "macho man" hero cliche that most of the protagonists of this genre tends to fall into. Irrational Games took a huge risk implementing a time travel/multiple universes paradox into the narrative, but for the most part it works. The game's ending threw me for a loop at first before I watched it again on YouTube the next day. Without any spoilers, mindfuckery is the word that best describes this game's ending. The ending works, but at the same time, when you introduce the infinite possibilities and outcomes of the quantum mechanics, you're going to have nerds arguing this game's ending until the next game (or DLC) comes out.
Oh yeah, for those of you who cleared the game you got to see this translation of that letter that Elizabeth receives at the end of the game.
From start to finish, BioShock: Infinite was definitely worth the wait and a magnificent journey across the fictional city of Columbia. As a newcomer to the series, I found this to be a great starting point as the story serves as prequel of sorts to the other games but not tied to them so strictly that one would be lost if they have not played the previous iterations. The story clocks about roughly 10-12 hours, with a ton of replayability for collectibles and experiencing the game again on harder difficulty settings. For what it's worth, BioShock: Infinite is one of those games that players will be talking about for duration of the year as they anxiously wonder what is next to follow-up this brilliant narrative in the series. I'm giving this a 9 out of 10.
