Medal of Honor Beta Impressions

Once the announcement of the revitalisation of the Medal of Honor series hit, First Person Shooter fans waited with baited breath to see how the veteran would hold up against the young pretenders of the modern shooter genre. Here, we get a sneak peak at what the team at DICE are offering to compliment the highly-hyped single player campaign of the tier one operators. The beta has you picking which mode you want to play, you can stick with the more traditional team deathmatch, now known here as Team Assault, or the objective-based mode known as Mission. Team Assault is played on the brilliantly designed map Kabul City Ruins, offering a variety of gameplay styles for any player style. Windows to hide in if you're a sniper, lots of flank routes and shortcuts for the run and gunners and plenty of cover for the more defensive style of player. The Mission mode offers a more objective orientated mode. Much like Bad Company 2's Rush mode, an attacking team has to destroy or capture a number of objectives while the defending team has to defend them. Playing on the attacking side feels like you're a part of a massive tidal wave, flooding over any defences that may stand in your way. This is due to how the spawning works. On the attacking side you can spawn on any one of your team mates providing they're alive, whereas on defence you have to make do with a spawn delay, as well as spawning a fair distance from your main objective. While fun on the offensive side, the defence side was difficult to play; feeling like you're constantly dying and running backwards is not a fun way to play an FPS and I certainly hope this gets addressed later in the beta/full game. While doing all this respawning, you're going to get the option to choose from one of three classes: your Assault class, which gives you an M16 or an Ak-47 (dependent on your faction) with a pistol and an underbarrelled grenade launcher; the Spec Ops class, giving you an M4 or an AK-74u with a pistol and a rocket launcher; and finally the Sniper class, giving you a M21 or a Dragunov with a pistol and C4. Each have their strengths and weaknesses, however, from my play time a large majority of players stuck with the Spec Ops or Assault classes. I can see why though, as someone who greatly enjoys sniping at all ranges in FPSs, the sniper rifles are hard to use with such a small dot sight attached to them. While it may help in closer situations, trying to aim at range is extremely difficult, especially when you're getting shot at or the target is moving. With successful use of this red dot sight though, you will unlock better sights to use. This is true of all of the classes, allowing you to pick scopes and sights to customise your gun to your leisure. So now we have set out what you play and what you play it with, how do you play it? Well, the movement feels great. Slow enough to make running around like a headless chicken suicide, but fast enough to quickly aquire targets whether aiming down your sights or not. The controls, too, are basically copied straight out of the CoD playbook, meaning players of both CoD and the similarly-controlled Bad Company 2 will be able to convert their skills straight into this game once they've adjusted to the slowdown/speed up of their movement and aiming. Shooting is often a series of spray and pray events or hiding and being defensive to ensure you build up a healthy KDR (Kill Death Ratio, n00b). Now, as this is a beta, it would not be complete without a series of bugs and glitches. There are two major ones that I experienced though; the first being when you get shot, your game instantly freezes meaning any attempts to adjust your aim to counter-fire, or any attempt to avoid the fire is thwarted because you're frozen in place. It's highly frustrating to have such concise controls and then for them to instantly freeze up on you. The second glitch is the highly common PS3 insta-freeze while in-game. I was lucky enough to only have two during my time playing up until now, but one of them was during a six kill streak so heaven knows what other people have had freeze on them during their playtime. To finish on an upside while we're on the subject of killstreaks; rather than unleashing a barrage of death from above like in MW2, Medal of Honor gives you the choice to use an offensive reward, like a mortar strike, or a a more team based award, such as a UAV. These aren't merely limited to obtaining kills though, as assists, headshots, objective completion/defence will help raise your meter until you can choose what you want to do with the power. Do you go greedy and unleash all artillery-based hell on your enemy or play as a team and supply your allies with the ability to find their enemy, ultimately leading to a victory shared amongst your compatriots? The choice is a masterful one combining lone-wolves and team players into one system where they can fully choose their options. That's another example of how you can choose between a gung-ho, lone-wolf style or a team-based squadmate style. Much like Call of Duty and Battlefield, right? Ultimately, if you squint real hard, Medal of Honor shows the potential to bridge the gap between the two warring mainstream FPS franchises, finding a happy medium. It removes the niggles of Call of Duty but retains enough of the lightness to the controls to keep the action quick and fast paced, alongside including the team work and tactical play of Battlefield which ultimately deepens the gameplay. Whatever allegiance you fight for on the internet, you should be excited about Medal of Honor. That is, if they iron a few niggles left in there.

Review: Carnivores: Dinosaur Hunter

Developer: Beatshapers Publisher: Beatshapers If you've seen Jurassic Park, you know the thrill that hunting (or being hunted by) dinosaurs can bring. The velociraptor hunting-be-hunted scene was particularly nerve-wracking and was one of the many personal highlights of that movie. So when Carnivores: Dinosaur Hunter came around onto the PlayStation minis service, I was hopeful that it may bring back a few nostalgic moments of my insides squirming with fear. You play as a multi-billionaire in the distant future who has paid the "Dinohunt" corporation for the privilege to hunt on a planet untouched by man and full to the brink of dinosaurs. And that's it. Despite the simple premise, C:DH hides a lot of depth. You start with a basic pistol, a basic landscape and a small choice of dinosaurs to hunt. Your choices cost points and cost more the more complex or difficult your landscape/weapon/prey is. Earning points will unlock better guns, better terrains and more dangerous dinosaurs to make extinct. Again. You earn points by killing these dinosaurs and the more you kill on each haul, the more points you'll end up with to unlock more things to then kill more things on each haul. These dinosaurs have 3 varying stats: hearing, scent and sight. These are countered by applying certain "boosters", if you will. Scent is countered by applying "Cover Scent", sight is covered by "Camouflage" and hearing is countered by good old fashioned walking slowly. While the former two are useful, they will cost you a percentage of the points you gain from that haul. Additional boosters come in the shape of a radar which will show all the dinosaurs as green specs on your vast map, and being able to put tranquiliser rounds into your gun, gaining 25% more of your earnings. However, any dinosaurs you do hunt with the tranquiliser will not go into your trophy room. While the statistical side of things is very deep and compelling, the actual gameplay isn't. You use the face buttons of your PSP to control your character and the analog stick to control your aim. Aiming in particular is a problem as you cannot adjust your sensitivity. Instead, you're stuck with a sluggish aim speed that even a three-legged Stegosaurus could outrun. This causes problems should you accidentally run into one of the lightning-quick, one-hit-kill predators, as you can't turn around quick enough as you hear their rumbling footsteps behind you. The actual hunting of dinosaurs without the radar is horrible too. You can deploy a dinosaur call to hear if there any dinosaurs nearby. However, unless you're wearing a surround sound headset, you won't know where the sound came from. You'll then pretty much run around like a headless chicken, mashing the "Dinosaur Call" button over and over until you eventually get to it. Or just give up. This can potentially be very rewarding, providing you have the patience, but if you are expecting short, sharp doses of intensity from a minis title, that's something a radar-less C:DH doesn't deliver on. Graphically, the game doesn't deliver much either, with low-resolution textures in places and blocky scenery. Providing you can stick with the game past the "I'm fighting dinosaurs with a measly pistol" phase and build up some points, the depth and fun in C:DH will make itself clear. Despite this, the game doesn't particularly provide much in the way of fun, but more a calm, paced form of gameplay fun that will cater to those who like to not have enemies blasting them with bullets every second like most other first person shooters. Pros: Huge areas to explore. Game gets more interesting after ranged weapons unlock. Cons: Graphics are poor. Hard to locate your prey. Poor controls. [nggallery id=12]

Review: Dead Rising 2: Case Zero

Developer: Blue Castle Games Publisher: Capcom Mindlessly killing mindless zombies is always fun. Whether it was in CoD: World at War's Zombie mode, Resident Evil's scare-fest or in the original Dead Rising, zombie entrails flying up the walls was always entertaining. So in the build up to the latter's highly anticipated sequel, Dead Rising 2, Capcom have released a prelude to Chuck Greene's grand trip into Las Vegas as a standalone download on XBLA. In Case Zero, you play as Chuck, three years before the events of Dead Rising 2. You and your daughter, Katy, stop in a small town on their way out of Las Vegas, where you will be murdering zombies, finding Zombrex (the drug that stalls the zombification process) and completing tasks before the inevitable countdown that made the first game so unique. The initial concerns from the Las Vegas trailer of Dead Rising 2 were that Chuck didn't look like a good character. Despite the character having never spoken in the trailer, people were quick to call him out as a tough biker dude with no heart or soul. While this may have intrigued some and dissuaded others, I can certainly say thanks to Case Zero that this is not the case. The relationship between Chuck and his daughter is a heart-wrenching one. The lines delivered by both are heart-felt and cause you to care greatly for your character as well as what happens to his cute daughter. The game plays pretty similarly to its former entry into the series: you find silly weapons and batter zombies with them. On the way, you collect survivors, of which, the A.I. has been much improved from the DR1's survivors, who often chose to make sure they ran straight into that pile of zombies lurching for their sweet craniums. Now, the NPCs are quick to shrug off the threat to their minds and chase after you to sanctuary. You'll also complete tasks to build a means of escape, which leads to a thrilling finale, as well as using the new combine mechanic at various workbenches scattered around the small town. Now you can stick together (using duct tape, no less) the wacky weaponry you find to make even wackier weaponry. For example, you can attach chainsaws onto the two ends of a kayak paddle, giving you two ranged chainsaws that slice through zombies with the most satisfying revving noise while the zombie meat is ground. This new system doesn't just make you outlandish weaponry, though, as combining beer with a hard hat (for example) leaves you with a funky beer hat that gives you double the amount of beer to heal yourself with. You can also find food and blend it to make better food to heal yourself with, try on some new clothes, play on the slot machines in the casino, buy a moose head, put it on and run down the street barging zombies out of the way with your antlers, the list goes on. For such a small game, there is a bewildering amount to do. It would take you multiple playthroughs to find all there is to see in Case Zero. Other issues from the predecessor have been addressed too. There is now a three-slot save system, replacing the, you-love-it-or-you-hate-it single-slot from DR. Your character's speed vastly improves throughout the five levels you're given in Case Zero, whereas Frank only really got going when you got him to about level twenty. Although the load times have been improved, they're still way too long and often break up the gameplay or cutscenes a little too much in most cases. There has also been a graphical upgrade but the game suffers from frame rate issues and pop-in from time to time, especially when there is an explosion or two and a lot of zombies in the same spot. Case Zero is without a doubt one of the best games on the Arcade right now. Its sales figures are through the roof and with good reason. For a very small four hundred points, you're getting a retail quality game. The notable improvements over Dead Rising, a great game in it's own right, are reason enough to experience the thrill of shredding the undead with outlandish weaponry. Fans of the original should be extremely excited for the game's full release in a few days, I know I am. If you had any doubts on whether to get Dead Rising 2, I highly suggest you try this and watch the smile broaden across your face and your fingers find the preorder button on your choice of gaming retailer. Pros: Killing zombies is fun. Combining crazy weapons to make crazier weapons. Great, compelling storyline for such a short game. Cons: Very short, story wise. Load times can be tedious, especially in a cluster of cutscenes.

First Impressions: Halo: Reach

Unless you've been living under a soundproof boulder, you should know that Halo: Reach, Bungie's final foray into the Halo universe, is released tomorrow. Luckily for me, I've got my hands on a (legitimate, we despise piracy) copy and have played through the first three missions on normal difficulty. Needless to say, I am coloured impressed. Starting off as new Noble team member "Noble 6", you are quickly introduced to the rest of the team, each with their own unique traits and stereotypical accents. Your squad leader informs you that the "gung ho" stuff you did back in your training is over and that you now work as a team. These words are unbelievably true, as running off alone is akin to signing your death certificate. Your squad's A.I. is incredibly adept, as each will use their own skill set to their advantage when under the right circumstances. While under heavy fire from an enemy ship, my comrade deployed the Armour Lock ability to distract the ship while the heavy gun man laid down suppressing fire for the rest of the squad to pick off the ground Covenant forces. It was an awesome moment and one that made sure I was never too far from anyone on my team. Unfortunately I've only had the opportunity to play with the Sprint ability and the Armour Lock so far, but both work well when used properly. I often chose to use Sprint to get away from fire once my shields were down, while I activated Armor Lock to distract enemies and generally absorb heavy attacks. They're also great fun to use, and help break up the gameplay from the usual fire, melee, grenade, grenade, reload routine that is common in previous Halos. In a rather poor way of describing it, the weapons of Halo: Reach feel different but have a sense of familiarity to them. The DMR feels exactly like a combination of the Magnum and the Battle Rifle from Halo 3. The Magnum in itself now has an ability to scope in, making it a much more viable weapon and a handy secondary to have. Despite the minor changes, the weapons are still balanced and work well. Grenades explode with a satisfying bang and cause a disorientating ringing in your ears should you get too close.The sticky grenades still make that satisfying noise as they land on their target, just as they scream at their inevitable doom. The enemy A.I. is fully aware of these new improvements and is vastly more intelligent to counter it. I don't think I've managed to land a grenade close to one of the Elites just because they're so damn agile. Not only that, but they're tough too and quick to be a pain in the butt by hiding in cover at the first sense of danger. This really gives you a welcome challenge because you need to aim and be precise with your shots. They will use this agility offensively too. If you see one with an energy sword, you best hope you've weakened it a little before it gets to you. The Grunts are their usual cowardly selves, running at the first chance to get away from danger, but are just as satisfying to headshot as previous Halo games. The final element I haven't touched on is the credit and Armory system. From the start you're asked to make your own Spartan and the level of customisation is immense. You're given a basic amount of credits to start him (or her) off with a new helmet, knee pad or whatever you like. There's the usual plethora of colour and emblem choices to choose from and you can even customise their aura or voice. However, if you want a few of the more spectacular ones you best start saving those credits from the start. Halo: Reach has me hooked so far. The world you're playing in is distinctly gritty and guns have a real kick to them, with the squad mechanics and abilities adding extra depth unseen in previous Halo games. These combine into a solid start that I hope will continue and improve throughout the remainder of the campaign and my time in the other modes.

Review: Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker

Developer: Kojima Productions Publisher: Konami Ever since the genius that is Hideo Kojima revealed two more games to add to the Metal Gear Solid series, there has been a lot of attention to see how the game dubbed "A true MGS sequel" would hold up on the tiny PSP platform. A true sequel the game most certainly is; set in 1974, a whole ten years after the events of my favourite game of the series, Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater, and four years after the event of the previous PSP game, Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops, Peace Walker chronicles the events that turned Big Boss from the super soldier we know from MGS3 to the big baddie we know in the very first game that started it all, Metal Gear. I'm terribly sorry if that was a little confusing to you, but it is necessary to explain how the game links into the rest of the timeline. A cheap spin-off this is not. Peace Walker has a full-blown story that will move you just as much as any of the other MGS games, providing you've played MGS3. Even if you haven't though, the move to PSP has removed the lengthy cut scenes and replaced them with interactive, to the point events with a beautiful art style. This gives those who were maybe not so much a fan of the lengthy story the opportunity to get involved with the MGS universe. Fans of the marathon cut scenes and constant twists and turns need not despair though, as there are plenty of briefings to hear and lots of twists packed into all those mini-cut scenes. One thing that most certainly hasn't changed from the console games is the stellar soundtrack, employed at the perfect opportunities to build tension, tug at your heart strings or to make your fingers scramble for all the right buttons as an intense action scene is played out. At the start at the game (Don't worry, no spoilers!) you're a given a small place to establish a base for Big Boss' Militaires Sans Frontieres (Army Without Borders). Expanding on the recruitment of soldiers from Portable Ops, the player can knock out enemies and send them back to this base before assigning them to one of the many roles soldiers can take up there. The men and women you recruit will have specialities in five different areas: Combat, Research & Development, The Mess Hall (Food), Medical team and the Intel team. Your combat unit will obviously be participating in combat; this gives you GMP, the currency you use to spend on researching better weapons and equipment, which will be needed against tougher enemies. Your medical team will help you develop better tranquilisers and heal any wounds your brave soldiers receive, and your intel team will provide you with information before your missions. An army is only as strong as its stomach though. If your army isn't fed, their morale will drop and they will eventually leave your base; keep them well-fed and they will perform above their normal parameters and produce better equipment, fight harder, find more out before a mission, and so on. While it sounds complicated, the game explains it perfectly and brings each unit in slowly, making sure you're comfortable with each before moving on and combining them to create some very wacky and elaborate stuff. And this is important, how you co-ordinate your work force around this base will eventually establish how Big Boss goes through the entire game. Do you go research heavy and make sure you're outfitted with the latest gadgets? Do you have your intel team as the highest priority to prepare for all your missions ahead? Or do you make sure your army is well-fed so that they outperform themselves, making your whole system stronger? It is a true credit to the developers that they have managed to make such a huge game element so deep and yet manageable in seconds, giving you an overlay of your whole base and allowing you to adjust it how you wish in no time at all. This isn't the only thing though, you can send out your army to help resolve conflicts elsewhere in the world in a small modified version of ?RISK?, view and research your equipment, use wireless access points to recruit new soldiers and complete a whole host of extra operations ranging from destroying weapon caches to defeating souped up bosses. You can view a whole host of stats, trade your staff with other players and even develop your own super weapon, but I won't spoil that surprise for you. In a bid to try and keep this review concise, I haven't gone too deep into these as they're fairly self-explanatory, but they're important to how your base turns out. So we've got the back story and some of the background gameplay, but how does controlling Snake feel? Well, of the three control schemes on offer, I personally found the shooter type to be the best, but even then not having a right analog stick can make aiming with the face buttons a terrible pain. This alone is enough of an incentive to play stealthily and slowly, how an MGS game is meant to be played, but there are times where action is forced upon you and the flaws in the controls are shown. Even while sneaking, trying to hold the stick in place so that your footsteps remain quiet can also be troublesome. While this is the only major problem the game suffers, it does have a few other minor flaws, like the originality of some of the boss battles. Without spoiling any of them, all of the boss fights are roughly made up of the same type of enemy, so to speak. MGS1 has Psycho Mantis, MGS2 had Fatman and Vamp, MGS3 had The Sorrow and The End, and all of these reeked genius and originality, as well as a keen mind to get around the boss and eventually defeat them. Peace Walker's boss fights are pretty one-dimensional and will only challenge how well you can adapt to the controls to defeat them. This kind of problem will only effect the die-hard fans of the series who have come to expect genius everywhere we look, though. The third and final problem is also another minor one but ironically one of Peace Walker's greatest strengths. Being able to play co-op is great fun and opens up a host of new ways to play the game and ultimately makes the game easier. Peace Walker has no difficulty settings and is designed with co-op in mind, so should you be wanting to play all the way through on your own you may have a tough time, but it certainly isn't impossible. You just may end up replaying a few bits because you don't quite have the right equipment or the right amount of firepower necessary for the mission at hand. Despite these very minor complaints, Peace Walker is a brilliant game that every PSP owner should have. This game could easily be on a home console, and destroy a large majority of the games on any one of those consoles, but the fact it works so wonderfully on the PSP means you'll be taking Big Boss' adventures wherever you go. Whether it's the story, the man management, the strategy of how you build your mercenary group up or just sneaking through brilliant environments, you will love Peace Walker.