LOCK-ON: THE “MUST HAVE” GAMES

BY PETE HOGAN – EXCLUSIVE TO RONTHINK

Going through my catalog of 60 or so games, I started thinking about which titles I would never trade or sell. Here’s the list!

The games that made the cut are those that I have the most fun playing and find myself constantly returning to. If you haven’t yet experienced these games, they are definitely worth your time. If you are new to console gaming, these titles should be among the first you add to your library. Either way, they are all back catalog options which means you can get them at a great price. Give them a shot and let me know what you think!

NOTE: CLICK ON ANY IMAGE BELOW TO ORDER FROM AMAZON.

Yes, it got a ton of bad press, so curse me all you want for having THE FORCE UNLEASHED on my list. No matter! Being a STAR WARS fan, I find myself popping this game back in my Xbox whenever I want my SW gaming fix!

The story takes place between REVENGE OF THE SITH and A NEW HOPE. The action revolves around Starkiller, Darth Vaders’ secret apprentice, whom you control. Things obviously don’t go as planned while you are jerked around between the light and dark sides of The Force…yadda, yadda. The story is actually pretty inconsequential and landed with a resounding critical thud.

What is important is that you have a freaking lightsaber and Force powers (yes, even as a Sith)! There’s just something oddly cathartic about using Force lightning to fry a stormtrooper or Force choking someone then lifting them in the air and tossing them to their death or lopping off a persons’ arm (or head) with a  lightsaber! All the Force powers are here and they are extremely well done. The game is also impressive graphically and uses the original film score, which any STAR WARS fan knows is a must.

THE FORCE UNLEASHED does have its flaws. The levels get somewhat repetitive and there is an extremely frustrating Star Destroyer sequence. If you’ve played the game you know what I’m talking about. Those annoyances aside, there’s just something about this game that keeps calling me back. 

THE FORCE UNLEASHED II is also available but the game is so short it should have been a DLC add-on rather than a full release.

PLATFORMS: XBOX 360, PS3, WII, NINTENDO DS, PSP, PC & MAC

In RED DEAD REDEMPTION you play as John Marston, a former outlaw who is now seeking, you guessed it, redemption. This is a massive open world game from the makers of the GRAND THEFT AUTO series. It’s an absolute blast to play because there is so much to do.

The main campaign will take you 30-40 hours to complete and there are tons of side missions (including cattle rustling, duels and poker games). The combat is very easy to pick up and the "Dead Eye" feature, which essentially slows the environment down and lets you target multiple people at once, is one of the gameplay highlights.

RED DEAD REDEMPTION also integrates a very cool honor system which goes up and down based upon the choices you make while playing. This also causes the AI to adjust accordingly. Ride into town with a low honor rating and people run and hide, shops close, etc. Make positive choices and people are much more forthcoming and helpful. This feature increases the replay value of the game because you can change the outcome of events every time, depending on the mood you’re in!

If you’re a fan of open world games, check this one out.

PLATFORMS: XBOX 360 & PS3

In BIOSHOCK you are Jack, a guy who discovers the underwater city of Rapture after crash-landing in the ocean. Built by tycoon Andrew Ryan, Rapture was supposed  to be an underwater paradise. That plan went horribly awry thanks to the discovery of ADAM plasmids. These little beauties give people superhuman powers. Unfortunately, they also fry brains. A whacked out populace eventually results in Rapture becoming a dangerous wasteland. Your mission: escape from the city.

Along the way you gradually learn what happened to Rapture and encounter the Little Sisters, young girls infected with the ADAM plasmids. They are protected by the Big Daddies; essentially men in diving suits on steroids. These baddies are well armed, with weaponry that runs the gamut from giant rivet guns to flamethrowers and a really big drill. Take out a Big Daddy and you then have a choice to make: save the Little Sister or harvest their ADAM, which kills them. Your decisions will dramatically change the way the story ends.

Combat is pretty standard, at least as far as weapons go (pistol, tommy gun, flamethrower, etc). What makes the fighting extremely fun is injecting yourself with different plasmids. Doing so gives you a range of additional powers; everything  from being able to set people on fire to putting things into a deep freeze. You will also need to arm yourself with specific plasmids at specific times in order to gain access to key areas and progress through the game.

Graphically, BIOSHOCK is stunning. The underwater city has a cool “Art Deco meets Captain Nemo” feel to it. This is a must have for anyone who enjoys a great FPS. You won’t be disappointed!

PLATFORMS: XBOX 360, PS3 & PC

I collected comic books growing up and BATMAN was one of my favorites. Unfortunately, most superhero videogames fall short and end up being little more than thrown together tie-ins for the next summer blockbuster. BATMAN ARKHAM ASYLUM is that rare exception. It is easily one of the greatest superhero games ever!

The action begins after the capture of the Joker. Batman delivers his nemesis to the Arkham Asylum only to discover that the Joker wanted to be captured all along. He takes control of the facility and sets the inmates free, a number of whom were put there by Batman himself. Now trapped inside Arkham, with the inmates literally running the asylum, Batman must fight to restore order using everything at his disposal. Weapons include his own fists as well as a host of great gadgets in that famous utility belt.  Everything from the grappling hook to various Batarangs are at the ready.

Gameplay is incredible. You can use a grappling hook for a climb to the rooftop and then go into "Detective Mode" via a filter on Batman’s cowl. This allows you to assess the movement of bad guys before attacking. You can then use your cape to jump and glide for a surprise landing behind thugs.

Facing down multiple enemies in hand to hand combat is also a blast. You can string together attacks with the push of a button and take the baddies out. It makes the combat seamless and gives the proceedings a movie-like feel.

BATMAN ARKHAM ASYLUM looks amazing. Particularly effective are the levels where Batman is injected with a hallucinogenic drug by The Scarecrow. What pushes this game over the top is the amazing voice talent of Kevin Conroy as Batman and Mark Hamill, who steals the show as The Joker! Both did the voices for the animated BATMAN series and it was great to see them brought into the fold for the videogames.

The sequel, BATMAN ARKHAM CITY, is also worth mentioning here. Given a choice, ASYLUM is the hands-down winner. ARKHAM CITY is more open world and, while a great game in its own right, loses something by getting so big in scope.

PLATFORMS: XBOX 360 & PS3

ALAN WAKE is the closest thing to video game version of a Stephen King novel. You play the title character, a successful horror novelist. During your vacation in the town of Bright Falls, WA your wife mysteriously vanishes. While trying to find her, you discover that the unfolding events are actually the plot of a novel you don’t remember writing. The town, some of its citizens and the local wildlife have been taken over by “The Darkness.” It’s a nasty predicament which renders those affected both insane and almost invincible.

Armed with a flashlight and various firearms, you must first burn the darkness away with the light. Only then will you be able to attack and kill your enemies. Sounds simple, right? Wrong! The flashlight runs on batteries and will go dead if you don’t keep your eye on the power meter and make a quick change to a fresh set. Not doing so means a pitchfork through the head or some other ghastly demise. This flashlight/weapon combo elevates simple combat into an immersive and nerve-wracking experience.

There are numerous twists and turns along the way. Given that most of the game takes place at night, there are also some genuinely creepy moments. The action is divided into six episodes, each with end credits and a “previously on ALAN WAKE” opening. There are also TV screens placed randomly throughout the game which, when turned on, show episodes of a show called “Night Springs." It's no coincidence that this the same show Wake was a writer on at the start of his career. The TV sets make for a cool pit stop and welcome respite when you need a break from being attacked by possessed town folk!

ALAN WAKE was critically well received but, initially, didn’t perform that well at retail. The fact that it was released day and date with RED DEAD REDEMPTION, a strategic blunder on the part of Microsoft, gets the lions share of the blame. Slow start aside, the game has amassed a major cult following and spawned AMERICAN NIGHTMARE, a recent DLC “sequel” that is worth buying! 

Rumor has it a legitimate ALAN WAKE sequel is coming with the next gen Xbox console. I hope this is true and can't wait to see where the story goes!

PLATFORMS: XBOX 360 & PC

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REVIEW: DEFIANCE [SYFY]

IN TWEET: A SOLID CAST AND SOME SHARP WRITING ALMOST SAVES THE SHAMELESSLY DERIVATIVE AND MUDDLED “DEFIANCE,” A NEW SYFY ORIGINAL SERIES.

Every time SyFy launches a new scripted series there’s a tiny ember of hope that reignites inside me. Will this be the show that picks up the mantle of great science fiction television? One that has been laying dormant since BATTLESTAR GALACTICA wrapped in 2009. Keep the dream alive because DEFIANCE is not that show.

Behind the camera, there are some direct connections to the BSG mythos. Executive producers Michael Taylor and Kevin Murphy both worked on the dreadful prequel series CAPRICA and Taylor was a supervising producer and writer on BSG beginning with the third season.

The third EP on DEFIANCE is Rockne S. O’Bannon, well known in science fiction circles for his work on series like SEAQUEST DSV, FARSCAPE and the criminally underrated re-boot of V which aired on ABC.

Is DEFIANCE a bad show? Not really, especially considering how much junk fills the SyFy schedule these days. Still, big chunks of the pilot are a slog. Too much convoluted back story and not enough action. You know you’re in for a dry patch when the opening five minutes is a rambling VO that raises more questions than it answers. While it doesn’t make your eyes and ears bleed nearly as much as that interminable Princess Irulan opening in David Lynch’s big screen poo pile DUNE, it is a painful experience nonetheless.

In short: DEFIANCE takes place in the near future. Our planet has been decimated by the “Pale Wars” which were fought between humans and alien visitors. Known as Votans, it’s a seven species collective that now lives on a mostly dry roasted Earth, along with what remains of the human race. The Votans came in ships called Arks which circled the planet until 2030. That’s when the fleet mysteriously went BOOM in the “Arkfall Event.” Massive chunks of these ships rain down on Earth from time to time, creating problems for the unfortunate souls they land on and opportunities for scrap hunters who earn a living by stripping the debris. Blah, blah, blah.

After the opening lecture, we settle in with our two main protagonists: ex-Marine Joshua Nolan (Grant Bowler) and Irisa Nyira (Stephanie Leonidas), an annoying, bratty Votan and Nolan’s adopted daughter (don’t ask). During a scrap run, they are intercepted by some baddies that look like rejects from a MAD MAX film. Daddy and daughter eventually end up in the fortified city of Defiance, run by newbie mayor Amanda Rosewater (Julie Benz).

There’s a bunch of aliens and humans running around the city but the ones that really matter are Votan big wig Datak Tarr (Tony Curran), his wife Stahma (Jaime Murray) and their human rival Rafe McCawley (the always excellent Graham Greene). Think of the Tarr and the McCawley clans as the Hatfields and McCoys of DEFIANCE.

In fact, quite a bit DEFIANCE seems oddly familiar because it “borrows” so liberally from other sources. The look of the series runs the gamut from steampunk to post-apocalyptic to WILD WILD WEST with a garnish of hybrid plant life courtesy of THE FLINSTONES movies. There’s a ROMEO AND JULIETesque romance between teen members of the Tarr and McCawley families. The wise ass doctors from various entries in the STAR TREK franchise are re-born here in the form of stipple-faced Votan Doc Yewll (nicely played under heavy make-up by Trenna Keating). There’s those aforementioned MAD MAX-like denizens and a whole gaggle of aliens in crappy rubber face masks that resemble cutting room floor toss-offs from the cantina scene in STAR WARS.

The most egregious lift, in fact, comes from STAR WARS. The storyline and relationship between the Joshua Nolan and Amanda Rosewater characters looks and feels very Han Solo/Princess Leia. Bowler and Benz do some nice work here but what starts as a “wink-wink, nudge-nudge” homage to the George Lucas classic, turns into a near constant that ends up flirting with intellectual property theft. There’s even a scene where Nolan is loading his reward money onto a transport while a Death Star-like hoard of baddies is bearing down on Defiance.

There are some spurts of rousing action and moments of smart humor but, they’re few and far between. In fact, the entire pilot is like that; a two hour exercise in fits and starts that arrives at a conclusion you can predict 15 minutes in: Joshua and Irisa will decide to stay in Defiance. Along the way, we get special effects that aren’t much better than a cutscene in an Xbox 360 game. Battle sequences are  so dark and muddy it’s difficult to discern what is going on. It also bugged the crap out of me that Defiance is actually what remains of St. Louis but, for some reason, the city now sits in a valley surrounded by very tall, craggy mountains on all sides. Um, have you checked out Google Earth? I can’t find a mountain range ringing The Gateway to the West.

Ultimately, DEFIANCE thinks it’s deeper and more ambitious than it really is. The two-hour pilot feels much longer and, for some reason, SyFy chose to use bumpers in breaks that pretty much give away the outcome of every pre-commercial cliff hanger. Duh! There is a twist at the end that intrigues but, like so much of the rest of the episode, it’s haphazardly presented and feels more like a throwaway.

Perhaps we’ll have to wait until later this year for the next great SyFy original. That’s when HELIX debuts, the new series from BSG creator Ronald D. Moore. You can check out the HELIX teaser trailer below and CLICK HERE to watch the full pilot episode of DEFIANCE online.

NOTE: YOU SHOULD BE ABLE TO VIEW THIS VIDEO FROM ANY DESKTOP OR LAPTOP BROWSER. SOME MOBILE BROWSERS, HOWEVER, DO NOT SUPPORT VIDEO PLUG-INS. IF THAT IS THE CASE, CLICK HERE FOR A LINK TO THE VIDEO AND OPEN IN YOUR YOU TUBE APP.

DEFIANCE airs Mondays at 9pm ET/PT on SyFy.

LOCK-ON: ELECTRONIC ARTS SHARTS

IS ELECTRIC ARTS THE WORST COMPANY IN AMERICA? NO, BUT…

Times are tough at ELECTRONIC ARTS (EA) these days. CEO John Riccitiello, not what you would call a fan favorite out there in gamer land, ankled in March. The company is still without a CEO and, today, confirmed that it will be gifting an unspecified number of employees with pink slips.

In between those tragic bookends, EA also managed to get itself voted “Worst Company in America” in an online poll by Consumerist. This is the second year in a row the company has achieved this dubious distinction. Does EA deserve the “honor” bestowed upon them? Not really. In the grand scheme of things, there is no shortage of companies far more deserving of the crown. Just take a look at numbers 2 – 4 on the Consumerist list: Bank of America, Ticketmaster, and Comcast!

As a gamer who has owned an EA title or two, I can certainly understand why people have piled on. Personally, I’m a console guy who doesn’t venture into the world of PC gaming. Still, it doesn’t take a keyboard jockey to understand the epic fail that was the launch of SIMCITY last month.

The PC-based franchise re-launch was plagued by massive server issues that caused crashes, long load times and loss of saved game data. The requirement of an “always on” internet connection and prohibiting offline play, didn’t go over well either. On the list of “Top Ways To Royally Piss Off PC Gamers,” EA didn’t miss one. To make matters worse, the company seems incapable of learning from the mistakes of others. Similar problems plagued DIABLO III when it was released in May 2012.

EA continues to nickel and dime consumers at every turn, requiring in game purchases in order to enjoy a game fully. They also have a woeful track record of “been there, played that” development.

For example, I’m a sports fan and have owned installments of both the MADDEN NFL and TIGER WOODS PGA TOUR franchises. An exclusive licensing agreement with the NFL has convinced EA that they can release pretty much the same game year after year with only minor improvements in game play.

It’s a cynical mindset that assumes those who want the “true” NFL gaming experience will line up like lemmings and shell out $60 for the privilege. Well, this lemming stopped nibbling in 2010. That was the last year I purchased a MADDEN NFL title. Maybe if EA spent more time on game development and less time on silly contests to determine which player would make the cover of the game, I might consider purchasing again.

TIGER WOODS PGA TOUR 14 does offer some definite improvements in game play, such as the addition of the Masters Tournament, flashback play on historical courses and the ability to play as or against PGA legends like Arnold Palmer or Jack Nicklaus. Of course, this being an EA product, getting to the good stuff still requires in game purchases of DLC to unlock courses, etc. Not only does this bring things to a grinding halt, it essentially drives the price of the game from $60 to north of $100 when all is said and done.

Botched launches and technical glitches are easier to forgive when you don’t feel like a company forces you into “highway robbery mode” in order to enjoy the most immersive levels of game play. This is the thing about EA that most gamers take issue with. I own many titles for my Xbox 360 and EA products are the only ones that consistently require additional in-game purchases in order to get a full experience. DLC on most titles is a stand alone enhancement which adds things like extra missions, levels, and avatar gear but, is not required in order to enjoy the game you purchased.

In his official resp0nse to the results of the Consumerist poll, Electronic Arts COO Peter Moore  did acknowledge fumbling the release of SIMCITY and admitted the obvious: “We owe gamers better performance than this.”

Rather than stopping there, Moore couldn’t resist playing a few rounds of the blame game, pointing his fickle finger of “not our fault, theirs” at some interesting targets. His rebuttal listed everything from online mailing lists urging people to vote against EA because they disagreed with the choice of cover athlete on MADDEN NFL to a flurry of post cards and emails from hate groups protesting the ability to create LGBT characters in their games. While I don’t doubt things like this happened, I’m pretty sure these weren’t the reasons EA received the majority of votes in the Consumerist poll! CLICK HERE to see how Consumerist responded to Moore’s missive.

Continuing to ignore real problems, like releasing poorly developed games or use of blatant DLC money grabs, positions EA for a three-peat, with a return to the top of the worst list next year.

Here’s how the bracket style polling shook out. CLICK HERE or on the graphic below to read full coverage of the entire polling process from Consumerist.

LOCK-ON: TOMB RAIDER

EDITOR’S NOTE: THIS IS THE DEBUT OF LOCK-ON WITH PETE HOGAN, A NEW REGULAR FEATURE. LOCK-ON COVERS EVERYTHING GAMING; FROM NEWS AND REVIEWS TO PREVIEWS AND SNARKY OPINION. PLEASE JOIN ME IN WELCOMING PETE TO RONTHINK. -RJH

TOMB RAIDER (REVIEWED ON X-BOX 360. ALSO AVAILBLE FOR PC & PS3.)

I’ve been a fan of the TOMB RAIDER franchise since the first installment was released in 1996 for the Sega Saturn, PC and the original PlayStation (my console of choice, back in the day). The gameplay combined the best elements of a shooter with challenging puzzles. TOMB RAIDER could keep you stumped (and engaged) for hours, running from one room to the next searching for a hidden lever, etc.

Though Lara Crofts’ boobs got bigger with each successive installment, elements that made the first game great, unfortunately, began to fade into the background. Each new chapter started feeling more like a rehash of the one before. Same game, different locale. That’s why I was excited to learn about an overhaul and reboot of the franchise when it was first announced in 2010. The road from development to release took a bit longer than expected but, it was worth the wait. The new TOMB RAIDER is easily the best in the series since the original.

Developer Crystal Dynamics decided to make this installment an origin story and it’s the breath of fresh air the franchise desperately needed. Once a heroine with basketball-size boobs and bravado to match, Lara Croft has been re-imagined as her younger, more vulnerable self. Not only does she bleed and cry, the character actually shows a full range of emotion! The make-over also replaced the the comic book-esque proportions of her upper body with something far less salacious.

Without giving too much of the story away, the game begins with a shipwreck that leaves Croft and her traveling companions stranded on a mysterious island. Of course, they’re not alone. Croft gets separated from her group and is captured. She eventually escapes and is thrust into the dual odyssey of learning to survive on her own while also trying to reunite with her ship mates.  As the game progresses, we are with Lara Croft during her gradual transformation from terrified victim to hardened survivor. Being part of this personal evolution is what makes TOMB RAIDER such a blast to play.

The first hour of the single player campaign is pretty much dedicated to a tutorial of the basic game controls and allowing players to get familiar with the lay of the land. Both are executed in clever ways so that neither process ever gets boring

Things really start to heat up fast just as you’re getting acclimated to the world of the game. The combat system is easy to use. At any given moment you have several weapons at your disposal but, the bow and arrow is where it’s at! You’ll have so much fun silently stalking and dropping enemies with a well placed arrow to the head,  you’ll never want to use a gun! 

The single player campaign took me 10-15 hours to complete and there are plenty of optional achievements to extend your playing time and amp up the replay factor. 

The game is wonderfully presented and one of the best I’ve seen on the Xbox 360 platform. The lighting and fire effects are particularly well rendered. Camilla Luddington (GREY’S ANATOMY, TRUE BLOOD) does impressive voice work as Lara Croft. The rest of the cast, not so much, though it’s a negative that never detracts from the game.

TOMB RAIDER is billed as open world but, it’s not on the same level as FAR CRY 3, for example. Though there are side missions and tombs to raid, these are completely optional and don’t affect the outcome of the game. In all honesty, I didn’t find the puzzles challenging, making this the only disappointing part of the TOMB RAIDER experience. I give them a pass on this simply because  the origin story is the real focus here and it’s so well done!

Given the record-breaking sales of the game, the re-boot appears to be a commercial success. I’m hoping the next installment will spend more time on the tombs and the puzzles. Still, if you’re a long-time TOMB RAIDER fan like me,  you should be quite happy with the state of the franchise. If you’ve never played a TOMB RAIDER game, this is a perfect way to start.

The tagline for the new TOMB RAIDER is “A Survivor is Born.” Thanks to the care and creativity of the TOMB RAIDER team at Crystal Dynamics, it’s also safe to say that a  franchise has been reborn!

PETE HOGAN IS AKA SKUNKAPE30 ON XBOX LIVE.

NOTE: YOU SHOULD BE ABLE TO VIEW THIS VIDEO FROM ANY DESKTOP OR LAPTOP BROWSER. SOME MOBILE BROWSERS, HOWEVER, DO NOT SUPPORT VIDEO PLUG-INS. IF THAT IS THE CASE, CLICK HERE FOR A LINK TO THE VIDEO AND OPEN IN YOUR YOU TUBE APP.