Format: Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, PC, PSP | Genre: Action | Publisher: Disney Interactive | Developer: Propaganda | Release date: 07/12/2010 | Price: £44.99

Brendan Caldwell smashes the system in TRON: EVOLUTION.

WITHOUT SEEING the movie counter-part, it is hard to say whether Tron: Evolution is a faithfully realised prequel to the computerised world presented in the cinema. However, having played it all through, it is easy to say whether it is a good game or not.

Tron: Evolution is not a good game.

The story will have to be ignored for this review because, as I’ve said, I haven’t seen either film of the franchise. I was born in 1988. Even by that time, Tron looked… kind of terrible. I avoided it. Maybe I will rectify that someday. For now the result is that it is impossible to understand what is going on because they don’t take the time to explain much in the game’s cinematics.

This isn’t really a complaint. It is clear that this game is a cash-in, designed to be marketed at cemented fans and younger converts born from Tron: Legacy. It wasn’t designed with newcomers in mind, which is fortunate because newcomers cannot – and will not – enjoy this. They would sooner make arrowheads from the fragmented disk with which to shoot themselves in the thigh.

DOS Hell

Though baffling in their command of  the narrative, the cinematics are at least very pretty. They are the one good thing about Tron: Evolution, importing the sequel’s visual style and replicating the actors well. All the voices are the original actors and the dialogue is well-delivered. The facial expressions are surprisingly human, except for those of your character – a “Monitor” program who stays behind a helmet the entire time as if he has a cold sore and is all out of Zovirax. He never speaks either, and this is even referred to a couple of times in the cutscenes, providing a refreshing burst of humour. Quorra, your female accomplice, begins a sad monologue. She asks for your advice. The Monitor stares blankly ahead, forever mute. “No,” she says, “Don’t say it. I know already.” The Monitor shrugs, as if to say… well, nothing.

Sadly, this is where the praise for Tron ends. Begin to actually play the game and you’ll discover clumsy movement controls, imprecise combat, an irritating camera and seemingly endless repetition.

The game models itself as a free-running combat game, something in the vein of Prince of Persia: Sands of Time. But it lacks that PoP elegance. Running along walls and hoisting up ledges is never graceful or intuitive. For instance, to reach a high ledge you have to scurry up the wall, right? But holding down the sprint/free-run button and running upward isn’t enough. It looks enough because your hands are mere inches from the ledge. But no. No dice. The awkward solution that applies (and it applies to almost every high platform) is to jump directly into the wall. The Monitor somehow retains his momemtum, gives all laws of physics a big V-sign, and runs even higher up the wall, making it to your goal.

Running along the side of surfaces is similarly ungainly. And whereas the Prince had the joy of an instant rewind to reduce any gathering frustration, the Monitor has nothing of the sort. Too often you have to track back over the same boring ground because of a badly animated shortfall. In one area, I fell down to an earlier section of the level. It was actually quicker to go find a bottomless pit and kill myself so that I could restart from a random checkpoint than it was to climb all the way back up.

All this headless chickening about is only made worse by the camera. For most of the game it is obedient and responsive as any good camera should be. Have a snack. Well done. But at intermittent points the game will wrestle it from you and fix in one place. This is fair enough, in theory. After all, it does a similar thing in PoP or Assassin’s Creed, when the perspective changes to highlight a free-running route. “Oh, look at this pair of walls you are between, player. How will you ever get up that? They are very close together, mind. Hmm!”. Ubisoft were at least canny enough to alter the controls of your directional movement to match the changing camera angle, however.

Continues…

Format: PSP | Genre: RPG | Publisher: Atlus | Developer: Atlus | Release date: 09/11/2010 (USA)/TBA (EU) | Price: $29.99

Peter Willington embraces his hardcore JRPG side with KNIGHTS IN THE NIGHTMARE.

PUT PLAINLY, Knights In The Nightmare stands for everything I hate about video games culture. It is unsocial. It is insular. It is unwelcoming. A port of the DS original, this strategy-shooter role-playing game from Atlus and Sting Entertainment tries to blend the projectile evasion of a shmup such as DoDonPachi, with the tactical play of an isometric strategy title from Japan such as Front Mission. While it largely succeeds at this impressive blending experiment, everything around these core mechanics is so brutally abrasive, so exclusionary, that what could have been a remarkable alternative to Disgaea or Valkyria Chronicles is lost amongst a sea of depressing Otaku bullshit and highly abrasive assumptions of the people playing the game.

Don’t get me wrong, I love elements of Japanese culture; the incredible cuisine, the warm embrace they afford technology and the attitude of the populace towards interactive entertainment in wider society. I relax with some Shibuya-kei every now and then, I watch animé, I read manga, most of my favourite games this year have been from Japan, I like a lot of what Japan has to offer the rest of the world. But can we stop with the cutesy bordering on disturbingly sexual Shōnen already? Do we have to have another story centred on young teens finding themselves amongst a selection of other painfully stock characters? Are there any back stories available for JRPGs that don’t involve phrases like “a darkness fell upon the land” and “only those guided by the light could prevail” and “in the shadows of an evil curse”? Exactly how did humanity survive for long enough to evolve to a stage that they could wield magic, when so many creatures looking to shiv you at any opportunity practically litter the world around it? The narrative feels so trite, so over used in modern games and KITN does nothing to change to that. It does nothing to change that and it flings up a peace sign with a wink while it does it.

Arguably though, no one comes to Final Fantasy Tactics for the story, so let’s focus on the jumbled mess of ideas that are the rules and procedures that govern progression here. Pay attention however, things get mighty contrived…

A bumpy ride

You control a Wisp (a white dot on a screen), this Wisp performs the majority of your actions in game. Using this Navi-like avatar you must activate allied units (who are not in play at all until you have done so) in order to make them attack enemies on a small map made up of individual squares with differing properties such as stat buffs and hidden items. These allies have a limited range to their attacks and can be equipped with different weapons (again with their own stat alterations), which again need activating and equipping before use. These items add extra damage modifiers but use up MP, gained from defeating foes and collecting the crystals that sprinkle off of them when hit. Your Wisp is used to scoop these up, but be careful, the Wisp is liable to be damaged by enemies as they fire at you, so you’ll need to avoid their artillery (hence the shmup element) by weaving in and out of gun fire, lest you come into contact with their fire and lose seconds from your countdown timer.

Continues…

Format: PSP | Genre: Sports | Publisher: Konami | Developer: Konami | Release date: 29/10/2010 | Price: £29.99

Jon Beach discovers the portable beautiful game with PES 2011.

THE BEAUTIFUL game has looked decidedly ugly in recent weeks, hasn’t it? Whether we’re being treated to snaps of gargoyle Wayne Rooney and his delightful wife lapping up bubbly in Dubai while we’re all falling under the wilful axe of the government’s new spending cuts, or reading of FIFA bosses selling votes, or Youtubing that Nani goal against Tottenham…it’s been enough to give even the most hardened footie nut a sour taste in their mouth. The sport has definitely had a noticeable image problem of late, and although these stories won’t do too much to dent the feverish popularity of our national game, they’re still worth noting.

Promises, promises

Regardless of whether the sport is losing credibility and taste, football games are still very big business. FIFA titles maintain a regular position in the charts throughout the year, have gradually improved in quality since the 2007/2008 editions. The franchise’s main competitor, Pro Evolution Soccer, has done quite the opposite; and has lost its reputation as the hardcore kick-a-bout of choice – partly down to minute improvements in the game engine, visuals and general playability over the years. Year in, year out, Seabass and his team at Konami have promised to overhaul the engine, revamp the graphics, and bring players an online experience they deserve; free from lag and slowdown.

However, the annual updates to the Pro Evo titles almost always fail to live up to expectation. The cult following the series once enjoyed has subsequently been seen jumping ship to FIFA, which is now offering a more rounded, ‘professional’ experience – accentuated by fantastic visuals, fully licensed teams, and a great online community. FIFA is hardcore again, but still manages to appeal to the masses. The way the tables have turned on this industry tournament is quite remarkable, and it all comes down to the effort EA have put into making FIFA the more immersive, playable and authentic football experience. That’s why this year, the series has enjoyed midnight openings across the country, and glowing reviews across the board. It’s what the people want, after all.

Hardly a Messi affair

The whistle has been blown – the annual updates to our two most beloved football game franchises are here again; and while the two titles battle it out for the big bucks on the big consoles, developers have also slipped out portable updates. The subject of this review is the PSP version of Pro Evo 2011, and in terms of offering a decent representation of where Seabass has taken his team this year, it’s as good a platform as any to take a look at. It certainly carries a FIFA aping swagger – the player is greeted by the trendy jangle pop of Vampire Weekend on the game’s title screen, and it’s a slickness resident throughout the game’s comprehensive menu system. The quality of the production on this latest update is clear to be seen, and it resonates onto the pitch itself, the towering stadia and intricately human player animations and likenesses. Visually, this is one of the most realistic portrayals of the game on a portable system – players limber up in the tunnels with more visible tension ever before, and the model Fabregas’ and Messis are quite uncanny in their similarity to real life counterparts. The PSP developers have clearly worked up a sweat to ensure this is a powerful game in terms of visuals, and whilst it obviously doesn’t hold a 60fps candle to its hulking big brothers, it’s still an effectively good looking game. Coming off the back of Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker – arguably the best looking game on the system -the animation and level of detail here are still decent.

Continues…

Format: PSP | Genre: Fighting | Publisher: THQ | Developer: Yukes | Release Date: 17/09/2010 | Price: £34.99

Fighting from half guard is Daniel Lipscombe as he takes on UFC UNDISPUTED 2010, but in handheld form.

THIS HAS been quite a tough review to write. I’ve spent quite some time staring at a blank document for a couple of days, lacking the words to express an opinion on the PSP version of UFC Undisputed 2010. The reason for the apparent writers block is that it would be wholly easier to point you in the direction of our Xbox 360 review of the same game and say, “well, it’s like that but on a smaller screen and the lack of Hi-Definition graphics”.

That is, of course, a compliment to Yukes as they bring the heavyweight title to handheld. To say that they are similar is not only true but rather unbelievable. The fighters are here, the career mode is intact and even the title and title defence modes are present and correct. Each of them still retain the strengths they had on the home consoles and all are as enjoyable as ever.

Ultimate conversion?

The career mode allows you to develop a custom made fighter from the dingy training gyms to the largest casinos and arenas, the world over. Everything from allocating their stats to designing their fighting style is possible. Title mode gives you an opportunity to select a fighter, either custom or existing and take on a string of opponents in an attempt to win the world title. This, in turn, leads onto the title defence mode – where you then defend your belt against a number of ultimate fighters.

So, it’s all very much the same. But, of course it isn’t a picture perfect conversion of the game. Back in May this year I scored the game a nine out of ten, saying that it was wonderfully in depth and captured the sport precisely. I can’t, however, say that with as much gusto regarding this outing. There are a few hiccups, that don’t spoil the game, but they do present a small barrier to overcome.

Firstly, the graphics are, as expected, rather blocky compared to the hi-def outings. This is understandable given the power of the PSP, but much of the knowing features of these famous brawlers are left behind in a world of jagged edges and pasty complexions. I hate to use the phrase “it looks good for a PSP game”, but it does. Unfortunately it just doesn’t deliver the same punch as the 360 or PS3. Bloody noses just look like a patch of dark red pixels and many of the fighters all look a little too similar to each other.

Looking past the graphics the visuals still suffer in the form of skipping animations and the occasional moment of clipping, where the fighters seemingly move through each other. To be honest it’s rather forgiveable in this form. So, the game isn’t the prettiest, but then it’s not a pretty sport and it’s easy to look past these issues.

Sore thumbs

Another minor concern is the control system. As the PSP lacks a second thumbstick certain moves feel cumbersome. As you use the D-Pad to move the fighter, many of the moves are performed using the analogue nub below it. This often means thinking several moves ahead as shooting for a takedown means leaving your fighter motionless for a second or two as you readjust your fingers. This isn’t a concern on the lower difficulties but as you go up to a tougher opponent it can be an irritant.

If you are looking to buy UFC 2010 on PSP as a companion to the ‘other’ versions then you won’t be disappointed, if you’ve never played a home console version then you’ll be thrilled. Once the controls are nailed down the combat is smooth and works very well and if you can find some rose tinted glasses then even the visuals won’t let you down. It’s a competent outing for the UFC on PSP, it may not be the champ, but it’s surely a contender.

8/10

What does this score mean?

Who’s That Flying!? gets release date, trailer

SIDE-SCROLLING superhero shooter Who’s That Flying!? is being released on PSN from October 12 for £3.99, developer Mediatonic announced.

We’ve mentioned WTF!? before briefly but in case you missed it players take control of the Guardian of Earth who has to fight his way through waves of enemies and defend his name in court against an intergalactic charge of gross negligence.

Straight from the mouth of yonder PR:

“His steely eye and HYPER-POWERED LASER ARM have kept the citizens of Earth safe for generations… With all his awesome TALENT and FLAIR, surely it would be IMPOSSIBLE for a sudden and devastating invasion of colossal Doom Beasts to descend on the Earth’s cities and cause havoc without his knowledge? No, it’s not.”

Brendan Caldwell

Format: PSP | Genre: Action RPG | Publisher: Square Enix | Developer: Square Enix | Release Date: 10/09/10 | Price: £34.99

Daniel Lipscombe wishes upon a star and hopes his dreams are fulfilled with KINGDOM HEARTS: BIRTH BY SLEEP.

I WAS rather excited when I was asked to review Kingdom Hearts: Birth by Sleep. As an avid Disney fan, a Square Enix follower and general Kingdom Hearts bore, I was in my element. There’s something about the franchise that brings back the bygone days of childhood, the series is akin to a fairytale for grownups. And releasing the latest iteration on PSP fits into that mantra, as I settle into my sofa, as if reading a good book.

A series that has been with us for eight years and one that has spawned a number of spin offs, it’s safe to say that my excitement abated a little after some time with the game. There’s nothing inherently wrong with the title other than it’s just more of the same. Same old convoluted story, similar environments and too many spiky haired protagonists.

Starting off you must choose one of three characters, Aqua, Ventus and Terra. Upon choosing a member of the cast, it’s then time to journey through their personal story. It’s actually a very nice idea, to begin with, but much like other areas of the game (which I’ll come to) it becomes a flaw. According to the developers, the game should be played in a certain order to fully appreciate the story; this seems rather silly after creating such a unique way to play the game in the first place. My biggest issue with this structure was that it became a little boring to follow just one character, particularly the less than enigmatic and horribly voice acted, Aqua.

Once upon a time…

So, here we are again. There’s plenty of darkness about and it’s up to the wielders of the Key Blades to save the day. And off we jaunt to many wonderful and colourful worlds to interact with more Disney characters than you can possibly imagine. This is possibly the first time I’ve ever wanted a Kingdom Hearts game to revolve solely around Walt’s creations.

The animated sidekicks are marvellously animated and even voiced very well. There’s such a connection with the likes of Cinderella and Mickey Mouse that there’s a pang of sadness when they leave the screen. Moments with our leading cast feel stilted and lifeless, almost as if they are getting in the way. But it’s a testament to the Disney world that Square Enix have created.

Each planet (yes the space travel is back, but it’s bearable this time) is themed to the character that you will meet there, such as a vibrant forest for Snow White or the wacky colours of Disneytown when meeting Pete the cat. Sadly the environments are rather sparse. In fact if you took away the enemies there would be very little to interact with, at all.

There are two large problems with Birth by Sleep, one of which I have just mentioned. The emptiness of the worlds is like seeing behind the scenes of ‘It’s a Small World’, suddenly the magic is losing its grasp. The second issue is that this is a PSP game. I really don’t want to knock the handheld but the hardware gets in the way of some of the enjoyment.

As an example: the battles are fantastic and the system is flawless. Using ‘command boards’ to structure your abilities and magic works well. As you unlock, say, Fira you can attach it to your command board to use in a fight. Starting with only a few and then working up to a long list of spells. But herein lays the problem – to select a spell while fighting you must remove your thumb from the analogue nub and select your spell via the D-Pad. This leaves your character standing still as you accidentally press the button one too many times and miss your desired action.

Continues…

Format: PSP | Genre: Hidden Object puzzler | Publisher: PSN | Developer: Sanuk Games | Release Date: 01/09/2010 | Price: £3.49

Peter Willington delves into the murky world of REAL CRIMES: JACK THE RIPPER.

REAL CRIMES: Jack the Ripper is a hidden object game…

..still here? Well now that 90% of potential readers of the words herein have left this article to go and read Daniel Lipscombe’s spot-on Halo Reach review or Greg Giddens’ fascinating discourse as to whether games can teach here at Resolution Magazine, the more casual minded can really rap as to whether this is one to add to your collection.

If you’re one of the even smaller minority of readers who are merrily consuming these letters and punctuation marks but aren’t aware as to what the genre consists, HOGs are the 21st century equivalent of Where’s Wally? albeit slightly more diverse in so much as there are several items to be found per scene, not just a hapless burke and his dog wandering through increasingly incredible scenarios.

Players are provided a list of things to find, some relevant to the grim, real life, fact based plot of the murder of five women in London – such as case notes, bones and knives – plus some a little less relevant and often downright goofy, which somewhat jars with the fairly serious context of the world in which RC: JTR is set. It’s all well and good providing variety in this kind of title, but when you’re on the search for a fish at the scene of a vicious murder, it all seems a little distasteful to the memory of the handful of human beings that met a gory death at the hands of Britain’s most famous uncaught killer.

Puzzling mysteries

In addition to finding pictures within a picture, the game also has a few other types of puzzle to provide a bit more variety to the guts of play, you’ll play ’spot the difference’, a shape arranging mini game and, god save us, a sliding tile puzzle number amongst others, but it’s all very standard stuff. It’s entirely possible to essentially ‘game’ the game, that is to say that you can move the cursor around the screen hammering the X button and you’ll most likely find every object required with no penalty. While this means that, should you not be able to find an object due to a lack of clarity on what the title is asking you to find – does ‘brush’ mean ‘paint brush’, ’scrubland bush’, ‘instrument to clean the floor’? – it also rips out any challenge there might have been.

The case itself is presented reasonably well, with elements of the case proper shown to the player through a series of well drawn still images, atmospheric sound effects and text, with a few good quality transitions between scenes and, on a technical level, the game runs smoothly and boots quickly whether on your PS3 or PSP, perfect for whenever you have a few minutes of play at your disposal and are in the mood for something simple.

Real Crime: Jack The Ripper’s simplicity is its greatest asset, never trying to blow you away with any aspect of its presentation or gameplay and in doing so is left to concentrate on hitting the key beats required from its audience, namely a you-know-what-you’re-getting, no nonsense picture puzzler. It doesn’t try anything new, but what it does do it gets right and ultimately, that’s what anybody still reading this wants, isn’t it?

6/10

What does this score mean?

Mafia II retains top spot in charts for third week

MAFIA II kept its title as the don of the UK charts for a third week, despite competition from a few new releases.

Tom Clancy’s Hawx 2 jets up to second place from tenth (punshot!) while Kane & Lynch 2: Dog Days claws on to third (double pun!)

Multiplatform title Spiderman: Shattered Dimensions webslings into the charts this week at sixth position (triple pun!) and Kingdom Hearts: Birth by Sleep for the PSP snoozes at seventh (puntacular!)

Even irrelevant acronym strategy R.U.S.E. failed to outflank the enemy, breaching the charts in eighth place.

(Overpun!)

Brendan Caldwell

Lots of blue in TRON: Evolution gameplay trailer

TRON: EVOLUTION gets another trailer today, this time focusing on gameplay. Propaganda Games have previously announced the game’s release for November 19, to coincide with Disney’s new movie TRON: Legacy.

The game is set between the events of the two films and will be released for all platforms in some shape or another.

Brendan Caldwell

Format: PSP | Genre: Arcade | Publisher: PSN | Developer: Grip Games | Release date: 06/07/10 | Price: £2.49

Christmas already? Daniel Lipscombe is living it up with 5-IN-1 ARCADE HITS.

DO YOU have £2.49? If so, go down to your local Poundland and buy yourself a box of Christmas crackers. Once you’ve pulled them all, collect up the toys and hopefully you will have a sliding puzzle with a pretty picture of a tiger or a lion on it and some playing cards. Once you have solved the puzzle, won a game of solitaire and played a round of pairs… you’ll have experienced three fifths of this Mini PSP game.

In fact while you are surrounded by party hats and jokes, collect them all up and sort through them. “What do you call a man with a spade on his head? Doug” There you go, that joke was infinitely more fun than this “game”. Let us take a look at each of the games included in this compilation.

The sliding puzzle has to be one of the most annoying and lifeless games in real life, so why would anyone want to waste their precious battery life on this one? And there isn’t even a pretty picture of a tiger, just numbers 1-15, or at most, a basic cartoon picture. Then we move on to solitaire, the game that everyone plays while Facebook is down and the office is quiet. Again, why do we need to pay for this game when we could fire up Windows. To make it worse you’ll soon get bored of pressing, up, up, up, right, right, right, down , down, to place your card rather than just click a mouse button.

And so it goes on…

Here comes pairs, remember that one? Where you flip over cards to find a pair of matching cards. You can’t really complain too much about the game itself, it’s more the fact that this is an “arcade” compilation and there isn’t one driving game and there are no fag ends littering the soles of my shoes. So, what else do we have? Pool, which is far too basic to be enjoyable and an Arkanoid clone which, while fun, is overshadowed by the umpteen other clones out there.

It’s such a simple compilation, with simple games and a simple menu. But it’s all too simple, too basic and that sucks the life out of the collection. If you’re a fan of any of these mini games, then the chances are, you already own them. Remember those Christmas crackers you bought? Well pop on one of the crepe paper hats, sit on the floor and play solitaire with your wife/husband/life partner. It’s much more fun.

Seeing as this review has been so negative, I’ll finish with another joke. “What has one wheel and flies? A wheelbarrow full of shi…” maybe not, eh?!

3/10

What does this score mean?