Fallout is a 2.5 dimensional point and click RPG game. It is the first of the series of Fallout spinoffs which has a since-fiction post nuclear storyline. The adventure begins when the fallout shelter which has been keeping them safe, Vault 13, faced a water supply problem due to a broken filter. The main character controlled by the player is the one sent out to the outside world of wastelands to find a solution.

Interestingly enough he encounters mutated creatures such as odd looking two-headed brahmins which are relatively harmless unless provoked by an attack.

Even by attacking a innocent passerby might provoke the entire community of villagers against you whereby you will either have to fight them or retreat to a different location. All your actions will depend whether you will be a goodie or baddie, determined by the Karma level attained as you progress in the game. A very low Karma (such as being known as 'Childkiller') will set a group of bounty hunters against you. However a good reputation such as being known as a 'Champion' will enable you to converse with people more easily. Experience points is still awards for all successful combat acts carried out. Stealth can be used to avoid combats.

Zombies or rather, mutated inhabitants roaming around.

Red circles under the creatures indicate that they are initiated in combat against you. The red dots in the lower screen is the action point system calculating the number of moves you have.

Since it is a turn based game which uses an action point system. This means certain moves will take up more points to carry out and when your turn is done, it's the enemy's turn to make a move in combat.

The protagonist is given the PipBoy 2000 which is a device that can toggle between maps, objectives and bookkeeping of past events and skill levels.

You can 'spend' accumulated character points to upgrade the skills of your choice.

One anoying aspect of the game is the night time mode when darkness falls on the wasteland and sight is limited to within a short circumference around the character and also inhabitants will retreat to their homes which becomes inaccessible at night.

The game also has hilarious conversation with NPCs which keeps it entertaining such as trying to bed some of the female characters.

Despite being a predecessor of the 3D Fallout 3, this game gives a significantly different experience from the newer series.

One of my all-time favourite, Time Crisis II!!

Gameplay
Time Crisis II was released utilizing Namco's System 23 arcade board in 1998, and was ported to PlayStation 2 (with enhanced graphics and polygon textures) in 2001. The game utilizes the foot pedal system, just like Time Crisis, where players can shoot or hide from enemy fire. One modification to the hide and attack system was the "crisis flash" system which alerts the players whether or not the enemy attack would cause a direct hit, a feature not present in its predecessor, Time Crisis.

 
When a player presses the pedal, he or she comes out of hiding, allowing them to shoot the enemies. Releasing the pedal places the player in hiding; during this time, players cannot shoot, but are safe from harm. A player must defeat all enemies before moving forward. The player's gun magazine contains 9 bullets (though occasionally a machine gun is available, which contains unlimited ammo for the remainder of the scene). Releasing the pedal also reloads the gun.

 
When the player fails to release the pedal after he/she spots a "crisis flash", one life is lost. The crisis flash system fixed much of the unexpected life losses that rose from Time Crisis, though seldom unexpected life loss problems still remain. Each scene has a 40-second time limit, but unlike Time Crisis, in which seconds kept on running out even during wait animations, the timer only runs down when the battle is ensuing. The timer is reset to 40 and/or freezes when the player(s) are on "wait animation".
 
The time limit system is much more lenient than Time Crisis, as players only lose one life if time runs out instead of losing the entire game. Also, players can continue from the point their current position, as opposed to the Playstation version of Time Crisis, which required players to restart from the beginning of a section.

Plot
Neodyne Industries, LTD, has successfully completed a network of 64 satellites called the "Starline Network". Starline is supposedly a communications system which NDI claims will unite the world. Nevertheless, the covert agency VSSE discovers that Starline is actually part of a plan to launch a nuclear satellite into space.
Christy Ryan, the agent responsible for uncovering the corporation's hidden agenda, attempts to escape NDI captivity and report the details of the plot to VSSE HQ, but is detained by Jakov Kinisky and his bodyguards. VSSE sends agents Keith Martin and Robert Baxter to shut down the Starline Network and rescue Ryan.
Christy has already been taken away before Martin and Baxter are able to reach her, however, and Kinisky and his minions attack the agents inside Ryan's apartment. After a gunfight in the streets and a boat chase in a nearby river, Keith and Robert manage to recapture Christy's laptop, which reveals that the satellite in question belongs to the military. The agents proceed to NDI's train depot, only to have the satellite airlifted away before they can reach it.
Inside NDI headquarters, situated on an island, CEO Ernesto Diaz and the mercenary Wild Dog begin preparing the nuclear satellite for launch from a sea-based site when the VSSE agents arrive. The agents encounter fierce resistance, but are able to defeat Wild Dog and rescue Christy, who escapes by raft.
Upon reaching what appears to be the final preparations for the satellite, however, the agents learn that the "satellite" is a decoy and the real one is about to be launched into space. The final battle between Diaz in the decoy satellite and the VSSE ensues, with the agents successfully killing Diaz. The falling debris from the destroyed decoy satellite damages the rocket's thrusters, causing it to explode on launch and eliminate the real satellite.

Verdict
8.5/10 pure adrenaline as if you are really on a top secret mission. The bustling all round action keeps you on your toes throughout the game. It keeps you excited all the time. You have to be composed throughout the level if you want any sniff of going to the next level. The arcade version is harder as it is in their mechanisms to want you to die so that you will plant more money into their machines. However the playstation version allows you to set the difficulty level. But the calibration between tv sets should be better enhanced as sometimes our shots do not really shoot. All in all, the arcade version is better as its worth the while when dozens are looking at your progression in anticipation to see you clear the game. That kinda feeling, priceless.

Wokays Review 12!!

(Recess week not counted right?!)

Okay anyway!

I decided to try this game this week.

Personally I have a phobia of all these ghost nonsense.

So I try not to play any creepy games.

Or games that would freak me out.

But this week I decided to 'challenge' myself.

And try something new.

Okay ah this game that I reviewed this week is not necessarily scary or creepy!

But still.... 

Okay so let's start with the review already:

Objective of the game:
It's pretty simple.
You are a ghost hunter.
And you visit a 'haunted' place.
You are to accomplish a list of things.
Some include taking photos of certain objects.
Some include finding certain things.
Some include decoding certain cases.
Main thing: Unravel the mystery behind this haunted place.


What makes this game compelling?

1) Okay first it's a web-game:
I like web-games because they are basically no-strings attached games.
You don't need to download anything, maybe just wait a bit for it to load but that's it.
Simple use of mouse to control movements and actions.

2) Interesting storyline:
I know there are similar 'mystery' games out there.
But since this was my first try at this genre, I thought that it was pretty interesting.
The whole 'ghostly' theme and scary effects played off pretty well.

3) Content of the game:
As mentioned above, good storyline.
Also, the objects that you were supposed to pick up & things that you have to do were in sync with the game's theme.
The many areas that you can explore also made the game fun.
I spent an hour playing this game!

4) Aesthetics & Sound:
As always, I like to play games which have nice aesthetics.. don't we all?
I thought Ghostscape2 had a right look for it.
I also thought the pop-ups while you're clearing the tasks were very helpful.
The black and white feature made players focus more on the game this time.

Sound-wise was okay. It fitted the theme.
However I thought it could be more creepy-sounding.

5) Level design:
Since this was a one-level game, I thought the way the game was divided into parts was interesting. It was made in a way that you have to remember where you went. And what have you found in those places. Miss one place and you might miss finding things at that area.

6) Mystery:
I think the major attraction for this game was the mysterious factory.
It attracted me based on my curiosity to find out what was the ending and how to get there.
I think this game has achieved what most games want to achieve: to get a player to stay and play it till the end.

Play Ghostscape2 HERE.

Developer: Tecmo
Platform: Playstation 2
Year: 2003
Summary:
You follow the story of two twin sisters,Mayu and Mio, who find themselves trapped in a village cursed to forever replay the day of a failed ritual. As Mayu becomes possessed by the village's spell, it is up to Mio to solve the mystery of the village, find her sister and then get themselves out of the village.

What is this:
The second installment of the Fatal Frame series which is a survival horror game. During the game, player have to explore the curse village and solve puzzles while at the same time survive attacking ghosts. These ghost can be defeated however by a special antique camera, Camera Obscura. Taking pictures of the ghost will allow you to exorcise it. There are various ammunition that can be found collected and used in the game which gives the camera different power. The camera can also be customized by special items found in the game which would help the player during battles with the undead. The filament of the camera also turns red when there is a hostile ghost around, a good indicator to start running or prepare to fight.

(smile for the camera)

Is it hard:
Not for the the faint hearted I'm afraid. As you have to take pictures of the ghosts in order to defeat them, you are really meeting them face to face. Sometimes you have to let the ghosts get near to you in order to deal a lot of damages. The boss battle can be tricky as well sometimes. What you do in the game can affect the ending which you get in the game. So if you want to achieve a certain ending, you better check if your the conditions done right. Player can choose the level of difficult at the start of the game of if they are starting the game again. But trust me when I tell you nightmare difficulty is called nightmare difficulty for a reason.

For beginners, it will take some time to get use to the camera. Most of the time you will lean towards the 'take as much pictures as you can' strategy. This thus leads to the player not making full use of the camera's function. But once you get use to it, the gameplay will get easier.

(don't turn back... don't turn back...)

Artwork:
The game is in 3D and there are some scenes which are done very realistic. The cut scenes are something to look out for. They really look as if they could be used for a horror film instead.

Audio:
Hauntingly chilling. The music they used for the ending theme is actually pretty nice though. Would leave you in tears especially when you hear it after getting the true ending of the game. Won't spoil it for you but the ending is really amazing...

Is it fun:
It really is. What actually drew me was the story inside the game, the tragedy of some of the characters (yes, they're ghosts but they were people too!). The game is more fun if you're playing together with an audience. One, for the thrills. Two, for the chills. Three for... well when you hear your friends scream when a ghost suddenly pops up unexpectedly.

 

 

Developer: Crytek

Platform: PC

Release: 2007

When it comes to graphics in a first person shooter, nothing beats Crysis when it was first released late 2007. Actually, even till now 3 years later, only a handful of big budget titles are coming close to matching the fidelity of its graphics. 

Crysis is set in the near future and in the game you take on the role of one of the US special force operative. The story begins by having the character transported to a North Korean controlled tropical island on a secret mission to extract the US scientists who had uncovered alien artifacts. The story slowly expands along the way as you move from one objective to another.

What I really enjoyed was the first half of the game. There is really just one level in the game. The whole of the tropical island is the level and it is huge. It will take you hours just to get from one end to the other end of the island. The reason I enjoyed the first half of the game is because I am able to roam around the island anyway I want and can decide when I want to complete the objective of the game. Only when you meet the objective of the game does the story continue onwards.

Destruction is also what made this game really fun. Crysis features an advanced physics system and almost every object in the game can be interacted one way or another. As the game took place in a tropical island, there are shrubs and trees everywhere. Trees in the game broke off at the point where you shot it and even after they fell, they can still be further broken apart by shooting at it. It is possible to clear out an area of trees by wasting your bullets on them. Houses fall apart realistically if you decide to destroy the supporting beams, certain objects will float while others will sink depending on their mass, vehicles can be broken apart on different levels and the list goes on and on. It is always fun to fire at the gasoline tank of the jeep and then drives it down enemies’ path and jumping off before the whole vehicle explodes.

Vehicles are also very fun in the game and there are quite a few to choose from. Some vehicles sport mounted guns which allow you to fire and drive at the same time. The vehicles are found throughout the island and they are not limited to land vehicles only. There are boats that you can hijack if you decide to steer clear of heavily patrolled land. A couple of aircrafts are also found in the game though they are more limited in their usage.

The game plays similar to other first person shooters except for one special gameplay mechanic. In the game, you donned a special suit which allows you to have a temporary powerup for a limited time period before recharging takes place. It allows you to choose from having more strength to jump higher and have stronger melee attacks, more speed, more armour to take in more damage or a cloak feature whereby you turned invisible. The game balances this mechanics by making you extremely weak during the recharging period. There are plentiful of weapons to use in the game and they are customizable with different parts such as a silencer or a scope. The AI for the enemies in the game is also extremely clever. The enemies are able to coordinate with each other in groups and will hunt for you in the open world based on sight and sound.

Like I said earlier, I only enjoyed the first half of the game. The second half of the game became more linear in which the game would force you to move in one single path. You suddenly lose all the freedom you got used to in the first half and the whole game played like a generic shooter. The epic boss battle at the end did make up a little for it though.

The graphics for this game is breathtaking when played on a high spec pc. Some parts of the game look as good as TV quality CG. Performance though is a little flaky as even the top spec machines today will have trouble in certain areas. Sound is equally good for this game.

Crysis is still one of the most technological advanced pc game and despite that did not sacrifice the gameplay as it provides hours of enjoyment for me.

Rating: 9/10

Weiwen

Bit. Trip Core

Website: http://www.commandervideo.com/
Developer: Gaijin Games
Platform: WiiWare

Bit. Trip Core is the second in the Bit. Trip series of retraux rhythm-action games. The title is a reference to the crazy visuals in the game that look like they were inspired by an acid trip. The gameplay of the Bit. Trip games are very minimalistic and especially so in the 'Nether' modes where the visuals are completely stripped to the core elements in black and white, even the sounds are reduced to blips.

The controls for Bit. Trip Core are simple: the d-pad controls the direction of the beam while the 2-button shoot the beam. The objective of the game is to hit the tiny square bits with your beam, which can be aimed at four directions starting from the center of the screen. It's a rhythm game like Guitar Hero, so listening to the music and timing your button presses to it helps a lot. The music is retro GameBoy ear candy.

The game utilizes a rather unique system of 'health'; the game ends when your health hits zero. There are four realms, from the lowest: Nether, Hyper, Mega, Super. If you do well by hitting all the bits, you've moved to a high realm and the sound and visuals become more complex which is rewarding but also distracting (but that is intentional by the designers). When you miss a bit, your health depletes and when it is fully depleted, you move to a lower realm. You know you're in trouble when you hit the Nether realm; the visualizations in the background disappear to help you concentrate on the bits.

It's fun to see how the game developers come up with new ways of animating the bits as the game becomes progressively harder. The best part is you could play along with another person. Bit. Trip Core is an interesting take on rhythm games. It's like the genre distilled into its very essence and mixed into a rainbow. Fun and experimental.

More screenshots:  http://picasaweb.google.com/wiitower2008/BitTripCoreWiiWare

-- Benjamin