The Last of Us Review

The Last of Us is a game that was developed by NaughtyDog for release exclusive for PlayStation 3 in 2013.

The Last of Us is an incredible game that has such a gripping story that really pulls you in, you can go through many different emotions while playing such as sadness, fear and also humour. The game follows the story of a man named Joel who is experiences an epidemic in which people become “infected” and turned into zombie-like creatures that have taken over the world. Joel has a daughter who upon trying to escape ends up getting shot by the army in fear that she has also been infected and they want to contain the infection. Pan 20 years into the future and we see Joel in a city that is completely run down with broken buildings that reminisce the end of the world. Joel is a rogue who sets out for tasks hidden from the military just to live. Later in the game Joel meets a young girl named Ellie who is immune to the infection, he treats her much like a daughter and protects her.

This game is played very much like other games from this franchise such as the Uncharted series in the perspective of the game. The game is third-person and is heavily action based.  Most of the game you will be playing either full action or incredibly stealthy to move your way through certain areas and you will use objects like bottles and bricks to create distractions to allow you to run past without being spotted.

Graphically The Last of Us is phenomenal, for the age of the PlayStation 3, the fact that this game looks so beautiful is amazing. You can’t fault it. The way the landscapes are created to look like a broken world look amazing, and the characters in the game all look incredibly high detailed in combat and just exploring.

The OST for the Last of Us is another masterpiece, everyone song is fitting to the time and you really feel immersed into the game throughout. The voice acting throughout is also fitting and the characters are believable and likeable.

I really enjoyed my experience my with the Last of Us and I would recommend it to anyone.

Madden NFL 25 Review!

Madden NFL 25 is the latest game in the series and was released for Xbox 360 and Playstation 3 in 2013, however it was later released onto the Playstation 4 and Xbox One and it is definitely recommended that you play the newer version as it is much improved.

Like many sport games, there isn't a story to this game, instead they solely focus on graphics and gameplay and it is clear that the designers of Madden NFL 25 hit his one directly on the head. The graphics are fantastic and you can see how much detail went into every pixel, the realism of the game is looking great.

If you haven’t played an NFL game before you will have a steep learning curve involved in the game. It isn't a game that you can pick up randomly at a friend’s house and immediately be able to play it straight off the bat, however if you have a brief knowledge of the games or rules of NFL then you are already a shoe in for knowing what to do.

The OST is very fitting for the game and it looks and sounds like you are watching a live game of NFL, they have included voices of professional commentators and it just gives the game that official feel when playing, It is true to the sport.

Like with any online game, the competitive play is what makes this game so replayable. Madden              NFL 25 certainly doesn't disappoint in this area and there is no better feeling than playing a game you have no previous idea of an ripping apart the enemy team.

The style of game isn't typically one that I would run out and buy on launch, I've never been a fan of real-life style games because I always thought I could just go outside and do that, however this title does real-life well, it’s fun and you will give it a lot of playtime!

I give Madden NFL 25 7.5/10

Call of Duty Ghosts Review

Call of Duty Ghosts is the tenth title to hit the franchise, and the first of the series to break into the transition to the next generation. The game was developed by Infinity Ward and published by Activision for release on all current consoles.

The game was in a weird state for a while, somewhat of a limbo, it was released for the past gen but with an anticipated release onto next gen. This put the title in a place of not very good sales for a Call of Duty game, but at the same time it was also a success because many people were actually waiting for the Xbox One and Playstation 4 releases. I don’t think I’ve ever seen titles in this situation.

Call of Duty Ghosts is set in the future in which South America have set up a federation to launch an invasion upon the north. In the game the character you control targets one of the senior members and you pursue this with the help of the elite group the Ghosts. However much like many other games from this franchise most of your play through is basically causing mass destruction.

The game is visually beautiful, I played the game on the Xbox 360 which in its already long-life to see such pleasing graphics is outstanding, the developers really outdid themselves. There isn’t anything I can point out in particular that I found to be bad visually the game is fantastic.

If you have played almost any previous game in this Franchise, or any first person shooter actually, nothing much changes the controls have been done and seen before, however, I don’t find this a negative, you’ll be able to jump straight in and have a feel of what you need to do without ready through monotonous tutorials.

The audio throughout the game continues to be what we are used to. The futuristic feel of Ghosts is a nice change however and one of the opening scenes is very interesting visually and audibly. It makes for a great feel overall and becomes very immersive.

I’m not a huge fan of the Call of Duty series as a whole, they just aren’t games that I’d consider buying personally. Ghosts however seems different in a way, I found it very inviting to play and I really enjoyed the story.

I give Ghosts 8/10

Sonic Lost World Review!

Sonic Lost world is the latest installment in the Sonic series which was released for the WiiU and Nintendo 3DS in October 2013. Sonic Lost World was released only for Nintendo consoles.

Sonic Lost World in one word is marmite. You'll love it, or you'll hate it. Unfortunately for me, I am not a huge fan of this installment, and as a huge Sonic fan I can't help but be somewhat disappointed. The game as a whole is actually quite fun, if you play the first few levels, some are well made and showcase the WiiU's capabilities, after that the game just feels awkward, it is difficult to control Sonic and he doesn't respond well to the movement of the game... It feels as if the levels want Sonic to go super fast, and Sonic.. well he just doesn't move anywhere fast, and if you do happen to built up some kind of speed you will soon be blacked out by falling off the thousands of cliff hazards or random robots EVERYWHERE. Which after  about 5 times of getting "TRY AGAIN" you pretty much will want to throw your very expensive WiiU game pad into your very expensive HD television.

The story is strange. It doesn't feel like Sonic... I can only compare it to Mario Sunshine, the huge attempt into bringing Mario a story that the game really doesn't need. With Sonic we know what we are expecting, and we loved that. The deadly six are nothing but childish. It is obvious that any Sonic is targeted towards younger markets but it seems like in this installment any enjoyable Sonic style or gameplay has been thrown out and you will definitely find yourself wanting to firmly plant your palm into your face.
The boss battles are lackluster. I can't help but think Mario, every time I have faced a boss. They don't have much skill to them, you just have to jump on their head after missing a few objects. The levels don't bode much better, they are clunky and awkward. I can't help but think the level designs are pages ripped out of the "not used in Super Mario Galaxy" scrap book. The game is just too similar and poorly executed.

The game has its positives however, visually, the game is beautiful, it is so colourful and happy, the colour palette is extremely high, which does give Sonic a really awesome appearance, the new enemies are very well designed and it is nice to see some old faces through the game, the animations are smooth, which for Sonic games is a huge achievement because if you have played any of the Sonic Adventure line you'll know what I mean. The sound in the game is also awesome! The soundtracks are very enjoyable and something that I wouldn't mind downloading and listening to on my iPod! You'll find yourself humming along which is the sign of a great soundtrack. It is memorable. The voice acting is damn awful though and Amy Rose sounds like she just got rejected from Micky Mouse Club House. We wont go into much detail there though as it neither gives or takes anything from the game as a whole.

I have been very harsh on this game, and rightly so... I am a dedicated Sonic fan, and I will continue to purchase the games, however this particular game will be forever destined to go into the bag of Sonic games we no longer speak of next to Sonic Racing and Sonic 06.

I give Sonic Lost Worlds 6/10.

Pokemon X & Y Review

Pokemon X and Pokemon Y are the latest installments in the Pokemon franchise and were developed by GAMEFREAK and licensed by Nintendo for release worldwide October 12th 2013, making it the first Pokemon game to ever have a worldwide launch on the same date.

If I could go back to my 7 year-old self when I was first bought my own Pokemon game - Pokemon Yellow Version and I could dream up exactly what Pokemon "could be". Pokemon X & Y is exactly that. Over the last 17 years Pokemon as a franchise has evolved into something that I'm not entirely sure anyone anticipated when Red and Blue were first released. After 23 main-series titles and a huge amount of spin-offs the game is still going as strong as it did back when I was a child. The game as a whole is still the traditional game we all know and love, but there is something different about X and Y, something that just feels exciting, for years the franchise has fell under attack for "releasing the same game" and I can to some extent agree, but as a fan of the series I willingly accept anything that they throw at me because I for one love to learn about the stories and competitive scene, its something that excites me. X and Y give us what seems like a joke of a story with the new team "Team Flare" a fashionable and quirky take on the traditional "team rocket". Not everything is "flare" and they have a much darker purpose which took me for complete surprise as I didn't know what to expect. There are a couple of "facepalm" moments as expected, for example the king that is 3,000 years old who brought his Floette back to life.. But I guess this is the world of Pokemon and we can't really expect complete reality. But none of this matters as we can now sit on benches. BENCHES!

Graphically the game has taken a mammoth leap forward into the future giving us for the first time on hand-held versions of the games fully 3D Pokemon Battle and awesomely made 3D models. However, the game is still very much behind in the terms of graphics if we look at the likes of Beyond: Two Souls and the Fable series. Pokemon wouldn't be the same if it looked like this though, and I personally see the graphics now how they should be, and I fully enjoy the new look! The 3D only effects the in-game fights which to me personally is great. I don't really get the whole 3D-hype and after the initial shock of the 3D on my 3DS I turned it off never for it to make a reappearance, however I appreciate that for some people who really enjoy the 3D this may seem like a cheap cop-out for Pokemon not to be 100% 3D, considering it is a 3DS title...

Not only has the game evolved, but the whole soundtrack to Pokemon has changed too, we are no longer restricted to the polyphonic sounding music that we previously experienced in the games, but are not treated to some wonderfully created fully finished soundtracks. The cut-scenes in the game also use the music extremely well, without spoiling anything there is are a couple of scenes in the game that involve the 3,000 year old crazy man that are very moving, especially with the added soundtracks it makes for a nice package.

Pokemon always has, and always will have a huge replay ability factor, with the huge number of Pokemon, closing in on 800 you have so many choices, with the game becoming more and more online, the competitive scene is thriving and you can pick up a random wi-fi battle almost instantly no matter what time of the day. I completed the game in 33hours game time and I have recently just hit 100 hours post-game raising various Pokemon and testing out new ideas, and I am sure people around the world do that and above. It is incredible how a game that is completely the same in concept can go on to remain a household name and can create the same excitement for each release. For me personally a Pokemon release date has become a calender date and I ensure I have no other plans. For me X and Y deserves no less than 10/10. However I am biased, but I don't care.

Beyond: Two Souls Review

Beyond: Two Souls is a highly immersive action adventure game developed by Quantic Dream for exclusive release on the Playstation 3 in October 2013, The game has big names involved including Ellen Page and Williem Dafoe alongside a large variety of different star actors.

Beyond: Two Souls is incredibly story driven, it is a game that you are going to find yourself incredibly immersed in. You will follow the life of the main character Jodie, a young lady who has a mystery entity attached to her, you will begin her story from a young girl and as you progress through her life you will have the ability to choose her fate, every choice you make will influence the area and people around you, which is not only incredibly fun and interesting but also makes for an amazing experience. There is a very memorable scene in which Jodie is locked under the stairs at a party where she has been bullied, she uses her entity to get herself out of it, after doing so you have the choice of leaving as soon as possible or completely terrifying the other guests, and i'm pretty sure if I had just been treated the way Jodie had been then I definitely know what I would do... Jodie's character develops so much more than I have ever witnessed in a game before, this is something that feels new and different on the games market.

The graphics in Beyond: Two Souls are nothing short of fantastic, something in which you would likely see in a feature film production, I couldn't find any fault in the design in character or the animations that they have used. You can appreciate the time and effort that has gone into every single detail, from large furniture, to tiny little pieces like remote controls or knives. The scenes flow almost effortlessly and whether you are watching a cut scene or taking part in a quick-time event it always feels like you are watching a movie.
As stated before, Beyond: Two Souls comes with an incredible roster in its voice acting corner, but it doesn't only have awesome actors it also has a beautifully created soundtrack that is not only fitting, but alluring, it sets the mood and immerses you in the game much more than you expect, you feel Jodie's pain as she develops in the story and almost feel sorry for her.

The game strives to create replay-ability. Although there isn't much action-packed combat or huge online multiplayer communities, Beyond: Two Souls has it's niche. The story. You will find yourself playing the game over and over against just to see what "could" have happened. It prides itself in the "what if" and it knows that the human mind wants to explore the u known. It achieves this in a way no other game ever has and for that reason alone I have no other choice but to give this game a huge 10/10

Pikmin 3 Review

Pikmin 3 is a game developed by Monolith Soft and is an exclusive to Nintendo and the WiiU. Pikmin 3 is the third instalment of the real-time strategy based series 'Pikmin' following Pikmin 2 which released in 2004 for the GameCube to be later ported to the Wii.

The game is finally everything it aspired to be, with the wonderful motion controls the WiiU enables Pikmin 3 to use, it allows for a much smoother and realistic experience allowing you to take in all the wonderful HD graphics the game has. The game itself is by far the best WiiU game to date, which considering how much of a niche market the Pikmin series has, it is actually quite a big achievement, however there really isn't anything that it competes with right now it also isn't that much of a hurdle crossed.

You'll enter the world of Pikmin much like any other Pikmin game, the spaceship you are travelling on is going to crash into a "unknown" planet that seems abandoned and you will come across some strange but incredibly cute creatures known as Pikmin! This game is different however as you won't be controlling the well-known Ollimar... for some reason Monolith thought it would be a good idea to scrap the main character who is well known and a mascot for Pikmin in other Nintendo titles such as Super Smash Bros, and instead replace him with three likeable but incredibly forgetful characters. Perhaps I may just be bitter... but as a big fan of the franchise as a whole a phrase "don't fix what ain't broke" comes to mind. However there is something charming in this story and the ability to switch between the three characters and join up on where they are in the story is a nice touch and was a new concept until GTA5 did exactly the same idea and got called revolutionary for it... which somehow doesn't seem all that fair.

If you have played Pikmin before, not much has changed, you still play a heavily based strategy-adventure game where your mission is to collect various different spaceship parts and find out what happened to your friends. There is never too much bulk of mind numbing story in these games and it works that they don't include that. With a strategy game you want to be able to get straight into it. A nice touch to the this game is that instead of treating like you played Pikmin 1 religiously and throwing you into the deep end like Pikmin 2 did, they'll give you a very good playing tutorial to ensure you learn as you play which I found to be very comprehensive instead of blocks of unwanted text.

The graphics are visually beautiful and they have looked into every detail from shading to proportions. This coupled with the very fitting and peculiar OST Pikmin uses gives you the familiar Pikmin feel in an incredibly improved game.

Pikmin as a whole is a very single-player heavy game that requires focus, it isn't a game you'll be wanting to play around a bunch of people and once you complete the game there unfortunately isn't much else you can do, it hasn't got the same replay ability as fighters or huge online multiplayer games. But it has its charm and you'll remember it for a long time.

Pikmin 3 isn't going to be winning any award for revolutionary gameplay or incredibly immersive stories but it will definitely keep you captivated in its little world for hours. Everyone should give the game ago at least once because I'm sure everyone would enjoy it.