Batman: Arkham City - Review

Batman: Arkham City is the superhero sequel to what many believe to be the best Batman game of all time. Going some better than Arkham Asylum, developer Rocksteady Games has crafted a sequel that somehow manages to top it. Stephen Ebert visits Gotham to check out potentially the best superhero game ever.

Where its predecessor Batman: Arkham Asylum had the Dark Knight fighting criminals within the tight confines of a prison, Arkham City gives players full freedom of a city turned home to no-gooders. In doing so, Rocksteady has equipped players to live out the life of a superhero in a way few such games do. In Batman: Arkham City, you really do become the bat.

Following on from the past events of Batman: Arkham Asylum, the neighbourhood around the Asylum has been transformed into a most macabre maximum-security prison that doubles up as the backdrop to the events of Batman: Arkham City. Left to their own deplorable devices, violent turf wars routinely break out between gangs headed up by some of Batman’s most vile, recognizable foes (most of which we won’t spoil here).

The good

Even without laying a finger on a control pad – Batman: Arkham City looks like a Batman game should. Rocksteady has clearly been taking tips from the Tim Burton-directed Batman movies of old. Settings are delightfully grim. The dark alleyways, menacing and the architecture, typically Gotham-like. It’s the Batman look spot-on. Players will find masses of it to explore. And no more does the player feel like Batman more than when grappling from building to building, before perching on the edge of a high-rise and gliding down, wings spread out before landing two size 10s in the faces of Gotham’s thugs.

Even from the beginning, players will already find themselves equipped with Batman’s tools of the trade. It’s as if Alfred knew the player was coming. By putting the bulk of Batman’s weapons at his disposal from the beginning – it’s easy for players to instantly feel at one with the bat. You’re a deadly superhero from the start.

But there’s still plenty to look forward to. Killing more of the cities baddies will earn XP, to unlock special combos, upgrades to gadgets and moves such as the Bat Swarm that sends a flurry of bats swirling around enemies, disorienting them whist you lay down the law. Batman: Arkham City only gets better.

Combat remains slick, and not too dissimilar to that of Arkham Asylum, with an emphasis on picking of enemies one by one wherever possible when sneaking around like in the movies. The basic punches and Batarang moves are still there, but so are new actions, and counters. Players can get away with tapping a button on the pad, but the real joy comes when stringing together perfect combos, many of which can be learned in the way mentioned above. Even without them, airborne take-downs, grappling enemy guns off them before battering them, and plenty more besides makes playing as Batman feel as it should.

We’ll say little of the campaign to avoid spoilers, but we will say that Batman fans are in for one heck of a thrilling treat. Batman: Arkham City improves on the original so much so that the experience is one of being physically transported into Gotham. Familiar baddies make an appearance. You’ll see The Penguin, Two Face and The Joker to begin with. Of course there are others – you’ll just have to find out who.

And when you’re finished with the main campaign, there are scores of side missions, which players are feel to explore at any time. A nearby phone box might call, or someone may scream for help asking for assistance. Riddler trophies are on hand once again, scattered throughout the city waiting to be scooped up with open arms. Some are easy to attain, while other require puzzles to be solved. Batman: Arkham City will have players playing long after the campaign is over.

The bad

Rocksteady’s vision of Batman is such that there’s are few negatives to consider. However, a lack of tutorial-based help when it comes to learning the early ropes of Batman’s combat repertoire is likely to leave those new to the franchise a tad left out. Although by the time you’ve beaten your first enemy to a pulp, the initial confusion soon fades. But even so, there’s very little to seriously nit-pick over.

The bottom line

Batman: Arkham City is the best Batman game ever. Rocksteady loves making Batman games, and it shows. The British developer has taken everything its learned from the original, and refined it to deliver a title worthy of superhero status.

Batman: Arkham City is out in stores now for PC, Xbox 360 and PS3

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Call of Duty: Black Ops 2 - Review

Call of Duty is unquestionably the biggest home console game franchise on the face of the planet. Each instalment breaks fresh records and destroys challengers such as EA’s Medal of Honor in terms of earnings. Of course, as we all know, popularity and overall quality sometimes don’t go hand-in-hand, and sooner or later Activision’s monstrous cash cow is going to come a cropper. Is that time now? Grab your rifle, soldier – we’re sallying forth to find out.

The good

Considering the millions of dollars of development budget thrown at Call of Duty each year, the end product is bound to look a bit special. But Black Ops 2 is a particularly stunning game. The visuals are almost peerless on home consoles, with detailed characters, complex and realistic environments and a surprisingly smooth frame rate. Facial animation is also unnervingly impressive – not quite as uncanny as it was in LA Noire, but damn close.

Once you get over the eye candy, what you’re left with is a game that’s equally strong for solo soldiers or in multiplayer. Single-player mode retains the brevity of previous instalments – you can finish it in a day if you’re dedicated enough – but the addition of branching pathways and alternate endings means you could finish it several times over without seeing everything. The engaging storyline – which skips skillfully from the 1980s to 2025 – keeps you interested during repeat playthroughs, and the addition of cool futuristic weapons makes this feel fresh against its series stablemates.

Of course, most seasoned Call of Duty veterans will immediately head for the online mode, which is a solid advancement of what has gone before. The all-new ‘Pick 10’ mode is a novel way of dealing with the age-old character class question; instead of forcing you to pick a class and therefore a set load-out, you can select 10 different items to customise your avatar, and ultimately your combat experience.

Once again, Treyarch has worked wonders with the multiplayer map designs, with really varied layout and scenery. None of the levels feature any unstoppable ambush points, yet they’re logical enough to commit to memory after a few hours’ play. Sadly, neither Activision nor Treyarch can conjure up any solution for the hordes of irritating, potty-mouthed teenagers you encounter online. But that’s just part-and-parcel of multiplayer shooters these days.

The bad

Despite its futuristic backdrop, kinetic script and amazing polish, Black Ops 2 is still quite a conventional shooter at heart. The core principles remain in place; you move from one part of the map to the other and trigger set-pieces at various points. It’s painfully clear that you’re not engaged in a multi-faceted conflict which encompasses thousands of soldiers – simply speaking, you’re the only person on the battlefield that matters. The game flows through you and only moves forward when you hit predetermined points on the map or achieve a certain objective; stand in one place and everything grinds to a standstill. To be fair, it’s an issue which impacts pretty much every FPS that alludes to create a cinematic experience, but it seems particularly apparent here.

Indeed, during the single-player portion of the game the need to constantly hit scripted points quickly becomes tiresome – especially when the game’s own structure begins to break down as you play. In an early mission you’re tasked with avoiding the attention of some guards by skulking through some tall grass, following an AI-controlled ally as closely as possible. The first time we attempted the mission, our friendly buddy walked us right up to a waiting enemy soldier, who was presumably in the wrong place during the scripted sequence. He sounded the alarm and we had to restart – annoying, to say the least.

There are similar examples in the game which almost border on being trial and error; you do exactly as you’re told but fail the first few times, forcing you to cook up another solution to get around the poor signposting. It really gets in the way of the storyline.

While the multiplayer mode is almost beyond rebuke, the frankly needless Zombie mode has completely outstayed its welcome. Introduced a few years back, it has become a hallmark of the Call of Duty franchise, despite the fact that the joke has worn thin and it’s now little more than window-dressing. It’s time for Activison – and the industry as a whole – to shelve its obsession with adding the undead to games which blatantly don’t need them.

The bottom line

For all of its faults, Black Ops 2 remains a solid piece of entertainment. The clever time-switching single-player mode feels surprisingly fresh and new when compared to the overwrought terrorist-bashing of the Modern Warfare sub-series. It also lets the developers have a bit of fun with all the crazy new weapons they’ve dreamt up. The multiplayer mode is robust and entertaining, and devoted fans will love it.

We’re sure that Call of Duty’s reign at the top will come to an end some day, but when the entries are as refined and bombastic as this, it’s hard to see it happening anytime soon. It’s unquestionably dumb and lacks subtlety, but Black Ops 2 delivers.

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Call of Duty: Ghosts - Review

Call of Duty: Ghosts, otherwise known as ‘Yep, it’s that time again’, is here.The best-selling first-person shooter series of all time, Activision’s Call of Duty is a video game blockbuster in every sense of the word, offering staggering production values, intense action and a Hollywood-style storyline. The franchise has enjoyed commercially-successful yearly updates for quite some time now, but with the next-generation looming and EA’s Battlefield 4 breathing down its neck, can it perform the same trick again this year? Suit up, solder – we’re going in.

The good

While EA’s Battlefield concerns itself with modern-era military actions, Call of Duty isn’t afraid to dip its toe into the future every now and then. Ghosts’ opening level sees you taking control of a soldier in space who has to defend an orbital laser cannon when it comes under attack by the villainous Federation (think Cold War Russia, but based in South America instead). This opening mission is pure Call of Duty; it’s epic, awe-inspiring and sets up the dramatic storyline perfectly.

From that point onwards, you’re very much the underdog. America is in ruins and it’s up to you to take the fight to the invading Federation. When your back is against the wall you’ll take any help you can get, and in Ghosts, that includes the four-legged variety. Much has been made of Riley – the first combat dog to feature in the series – and his addition does genuinely add to the gameplay. Although his involvement is largely scripted, it’s nevertheless enjoyable to see him leap onto an enemy during a gunfight and turn the tide in your favour.

Outside of the single-player campaign, Ghosts has the usual multiplayer options. It’s here that you’ll probably spend most of your time, thanks to the streamlined matchmaking services and large selection of maps. Activision smartly hasn’t tampered with the controls – it nailed them long ago.

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The bad

Despite the bluster and massive explosions, this year’s Call of Duty outing has a tired feel to it. Perhaps it’s the strain of having to perform the same trick year-in, year-out, but Ghosts feels like it’s lacking in new ideas. The solo campaign – despite its promising opening and the introduction of Riley – is one of the most tepid the series has seen so far. Visually, the game suffers from the same issues which plagued Battlefield 4 – the engine is clearly built with the next-gen in mind, and as a result the current generation offerings end up looking a bit rough in places.

Multiplayer isn’t as captivating as we’d like, either – largely because we’ve recently experienced Battlefield 4, with its deformable maps and fleets of tanks and other vehicles. Online has always been Call of Duty’s jewel in the crown, but this year it feels decidedly tired and lifeless compared to the excitement of EA’s challenger.

The bottom line

Call of Duty had it coming – there’s no realistic way that Activision could maintain the same degree of quality with each yearly update. What we have here is a decent-looking game which gets the pulse racing occasionally and sometimes impresses with its storytelling, but for the vast majority of the game you’ll be wondering exactly what has changed for the better since last year. The answer is very little – in fact, Ghosts feels second-rate when compared to last year’s Black Ops 2. As the next generation looms over us, it’s time for franchises like Call of Duty to reinvent themselves, or they run the risk of becoming totally irrelevant.

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Battlefield 4 - Review

Just as FIFA and Pro Evo Soccer battle it out for the title of best football video game, EA’s Battlefield and Activision’s Call of Duty have now fallen into the habit of competing with each other to be considered the best military FPS entry. This year, the stakes are higher than ever as Battlefield brings its Frostbite 3 engine to the table, while the emergence of next-gen systems lends these sequels increased significance. However, many people will be playing Battlefield 4 on their 360 and PS3, which begs the question: how good can the game be when the developer’s vision is being held back by aging hardware? Let’s find out.

The good

Battlefield 4 seeks to improve on every element of the game, from the single-player campaign mode to the online element which has made the series so popular over the years. Going solo means you’ll get to enjoy a typically tense romp through various international locations as Tombstone Squad attempts to avert a global war. Packed with set-pieces and boasting some entertaining shoot-outs, the campaign is much improved over the one that shipped with Battlefield 3.

However, as any seasoned Battlefield fan will tell you, it’s the online portion which really gets the pulse racing. There’s the usual selection of deathmatch modes to enjoy, but developerDICE has gone the extra mile with new features. The most notable is “Levolution”, which involves dramatically altering the map to change the pace of the battle. The first time you see an entire building collapse or a damn explode is sure to cause your jaw to drop, but it’s the way in which these events alter the way the map feels and plays which is the most impressive thing.

Commander Mode – which returns from the original PC-based versions of Battlefield – is another innovation. You can control and influence the turn of battle using a tablet device, calling in airstrikes and assisting your troops. It’s even possible to play this mode when you’re away from your console, bringing a new dimension to the concept of “second screen” gaming.

The bad

Battlefield 4 is a visually appealing game and the massive online battles are truly impressive, but it’s clear that the Frostbite 3 game engine has been designed with the next-gen in mind. There are times when the visuals look slightly rough and muddled, and some of the environmental detail is lacking. It shouldn’t really come as a shock to learn that a PS3 game released more than half a decade since the console’s launch looks a bit rough around the edges, but we’ve seen some amazing current-gen titles lately and Battlefield 4 isn’t quite as polished as we’d like.

The bottom line

With some critics suggesting that Call of Duty is past its best, 2013 is the year where Battlefield has the most to prove. To a certain extent, it does that – the game engine is impressive and the online mode is simply breathtaking. You won’t find a more exciting FPSexperience on any console, with massive pitched battles, destructible locations and loads of cool vehicles to drive around in.

It’s just a shame that Battlefield 4 on current-gen feels like a second-rate experience, but that’s the price you pay for being able to play it on a console that isn’t the Xbox One or PS4. It may be a less impressive version, but it’s still worthy of your attention all the same – especially if you’re looking for top-notch online play.

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Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag - Review

Ubisoft’s historical action series has investigated the Crusades, romped through renaissance Italy and trudged the blood-soaked battlefields of the American Revolution, but its latest outing is possibly the most unique yet. Instead of stalking the shadows, you’re tasked with captaining a pirate galleon on a quest which is initially driven by a desire for personal gain, but ends with world-shattering consequences. Does the Assassin’s Creed series still have enough ideas to make this journey worthwhile, or is this yearly cycle having a telling effect? We hope you’ve polished your cutlass and re-coppered your hull, because we’re about to set sail and find out.

The good

One of Black Flag’s most impressives facets is its setting. Cast in the role of bloodthirsty and greedy pirate Edward Kenway, you start the game a million miles away from the honour-bound heroes of previous instalments. Kenway becomes an assassin entirely by accident, and starts the adventure with nothing but gold and booty on his mind.

Once you get your hands on a ship, the game world opens up alluringly before you; you can sail anywhere, explore any island and generally perform all kinds of pirate-style deeds against passing ships. Transitioning between on-foot combat and ship-based battles is near-seamless, and you feel in control at all times. We witnessed massive contests between ships of war in Assassin’s Creed III, but in Black Flag they’re even more gripping.

Fans of the original Assassin’s Creed titles will be pleased to learn that although this nautical sequel brings a lot of fresh ideas to the table, much has remained the same. You can still skulk through the shadows and take down enemies one by one, proving that stealth is still a bit part of the game’s appeal. However, the more open environments allow for a greater variety of tactics; you can achieve some of the game’s objectives without harming a soul.

It’s also worth mentioning how amazing Black Flag looks, even on current-gen hardware. With the PS4 and Xbox One just around the corner, it’s amazing to think that the existing consoles are now coming to the end of their extended lifespans, yet can produce visuals as amazing as these.

The bad

When you’re creating a world as large and detailed as the one seen in Black Flag, it’s almost inevitable that some issues are going to arise. Previous Assassin’s Creed games have been subject to game-breaking bugs and this is no different; there are a few moments where the game simply falls over – usually when you’re attempting to safely anchor your ship before heading to land – a victim of its own incredible scope.

It’s also worth noting that the different styles of gameplay don’t necessary meld as well as you might expect; the bluster of the naval battles feels curiously at odds with the softly-softly approach required when performing close-quarters combat. The rooftop-running that has become the hallmark of the series since it was conceived also feels curiously out of place at times; the towns in Black Flag lack the grand scale of those seen in Assassin’s Creed 1 and 2, and therefore there’s less incentive to scale tall buildings to appreciate the view.

The bottom line

After Assassin’s Creed III, many critics fully expected the series to fall into a pattern of safe sequels which added little to the core experience, but thankfully Black Flag – despite coming just twelve months after its prequel – avoids this issue. It’s packed with new ideas and exciting locations to explore, and feels different enough from what has gone before to be labelled innovative.

From a technical perspective, it’s awe-inspiring, and once again suggests that the forthcoming upgrade to new console hardware could be slightly premature. Like the swarthy pirates it showcases, Black Flag possesses a relentless and dogged character, and will captivate you for many hours.

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Pro Evolution Soccer 2014 - Review

It’s that time of year again – the time when EA and Konami push out their latest signings in the hope of scoring a pre-Christmas victory and lifting the illustrious soccer simulation trophy. With FIFA 14 offering a very similar experience to last year, it’s down to Pro Evolution Soccer – also known as PES – to steal the ball and score that decisive winner. Does it have the fitness and talent to pull it off? Let’s find out.

The good

PES 2014 has seen a pretty extensive visual upgrade this year, thanks to Konami’s use of the Fox Engine – the same game engine which is powering its next Metal Gear Solid release. This lends the game improved animation and some impressively accurate player faces, and generally makes things look a lot better than they did 12 months ago.

Of course, graphics are only one part of the equation in football titles – a game isn’t worth anything if it looks realistic but plays badly. Thankfully, PES has skills to back up its shiny appearance, offering a staggering amount of tactical depth and a control system which makes use of all the buttons on your PS3 or 360 pad. Wily players can utilise feints to fool opponents and get a clear shot on goal, while defensive masters can pull their keepers into play or make their rear guard hold firm in the face of attacks.

All of these situations are enriched by an improved physics engine, which not only impacts the flight of the ball but also ensures there is more robust contact between players – you can’t dance through opponents like before and consequently have to plan your dashes to avoid clattering into the last defender en route to goal.

Add in the famous Master League mode and extensive solo and multiplayer options, and you’ve got a very attractive package for soccer lovers.

The bad

PES 2014 may have worked hard in training, but it’s still a bit flabby in places. When compared to FIFA it feels slightly less appealing; while the enhanced realism is wonderful, the lack of high-scoring action can sometimes dent your enjoyment. This is almost inevitable as developers strive to replicate the sport as closely as possible – not every game can have a score in double figures – but by limiting the number of 30-yard screamers and making attacks harder to pull off, Konami has made PES 2014 a difficult game to shine with unless you’re an incredibly skilled player.

Another annoyance is the fact that many of the stats in the game are out of date, but this has more to do with the fact that EA locks down many of the licences long before Konami – and shouldn’t be too much of an issue unless you’re incredibly pedantic about the right player playing for the correct team.

The bottom line

The constant battle between PES and FIFA has been raging for years, with each contestant exchanging control on a regular basis. However, recently EA’s thoroughbred has dominated Konami’s plucky challenger, and that situation remains in place for 2014’s entries. PES 2014is much improved over last year’s version but FIFA’s lead is so impressive that even with a fairly static instalment – as FIFA 2014 certainly is – Konami can’t quite catch up. Still, it’s a fantastic simulation of the world’s most beloved sport that is well worth picking up if EA’s brand of footy doesn’t quite meet your expectations.

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Grand Theft Auto V - Review

In some ways, Grand Theft Auto V is a swan song for Sony and Microsoft’s current consoles. Rockstar’s open world adventure game is one of the last blockbuster releases before the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One arrive in November – but it’s also a reminder that next-generation gaming isn’t about swankier graphics or new buttons on a gamepad. True next-generation gaming is about scale, scope and imagination, and by that definition, GTA V is very much a next-gen game.

The good

With Grand Theft Auto V, Rockstar returns to the California-esque setting of San Andreas, reimagined on an truly epic scale. The city of Los Santos and miles of surrounding countryside are yours to explore, in beautiful HD.

Best of all, it’s all available to you from the start: as soon as you can jump in car, you can hit the highway and start exploring, ignoring the story missions for as long as you like (And if you pre-ordered the game, you can even call up a blimp and go on a sightseeing tour). That’s Grand Theft Auto V real next-gen selling point: there’s so much to see and do you might never want to leave. You can play golf or tennis, take flying lessons, even compete in a triathlon. Just sticking the radio on and hitting the coastal road is an experience, where you might get bored of traipsing across a large map in any other game world, and a testament to the studio’s craft.

Grand Theft Auto V is so breathtakingly large that you could easily forget about the single player storyline, though Rockstar’s done its best to make sure that’s unlikely, crafting a winding story and laugh out loud script that takes in three main characters, no less. You can switch between all three on the fly (small time gangster Franklin, retired criminal Michael, clearly modelled on Tony Soprano, and psychopath Trevor), and sometimes you’ll have to in order to complete a mission, which provides an interesting twist on Rockstar’s now finely tuned formula.

The same is true of the controls, which will come as no surprise to gamers – other than slightly tweaked shooting mechanics (drawn from last year’s excellent Max Payne 3) – they’re the same as they ever were. That leaves you to concentrate on taking in everything in the game world around you – and what a world it is.

The bad

You don’t need us to tell you that Grand Theft Auto V is violent – if you’ve ever played a game in the series before, or even picked up a newspaper in the last week, you’ll know this. That may be an issue for you, but that’s also the reason is has an 18 certificate – and it’s not any more gory than previous installments. What is disappointing to see is that GTA V is no less puerile than its predecessors: it’s rude, crude and unpleasantly misogynistic on occasion, and we can’t help but feel Rockstar missed a trick by not making even one of its three leads female this time around.

GTA V is also rather familiar. While the later missions up the ante and then some, there’s an awful lot of ‘go here, steal X or kill Y, return home’ missions early on, which play out in exactly the same way as Grand Theft Auto 3 did 12 years ago.

Even with a glorious soundtrack, that starts to grate. As it stands now, despite its vast scope, Grand Theft Auto V feels remarkably like 2004’s San Andreas, updated for PS3 and Xbox 360. We’d love to see Rockstar branch out a little next time: why, considering the game is developed in Scotland, does Grand Theft Auto always have to be set in a fictionalised US city? It’s great to see Americana rendered in even more impressive detail this time around, but there’s so much potential in moving the series away from the freeways, factories and skyscrapers of the US coast.

The bottom line

Grand Theft Auto V is crass, hyper-violent and sometimes repetitive. And yet, it still excels: this is the most ambitious game world you’ll have ever played in. All of those concerns melt away when you find yourself in the middle of another Michael Bay inspired action set piece, tearing along the highway on the roof of a truck, or even just teeing off on a quiet round of golf. There’s so much to, see, do, explore, jump out of and blow up that it even puts The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim to shame – and that’s all before the multiplayer mode arrives next month. We can’t wait.

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The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker HD - Review

Nintendo’s Zelda series is packed with solid-gold classics, and few come as big as 2003’s Wind Waker. One of the GameCube’s best titles, it’s just been resurrected for the Wii U in glorious HD for the benefit of an entirely new generation. Is this remaster worthy of a full-price retail release, or is it now badly showing its age? We hope you’ve washed and ironed your green suit, because you’re coming with us to find out.

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The good

The GameCube release of Wind Waker was arguably one of the best-looking games of its generation and its cel-shaded animation still looks impressive today, even in standard definition. In HD however, the title really sings; everything looks sharper and more striking, and the improved lighting effects produce a game which is as visually stunning as any other title from the PS3 and 360 generation. Few games from a decade ago could ever achieve such a feat purely through a high-def facelift, but Wind Waker is one of them.

Like the graphics, Wind Waker’s captivating gameplay has aged incredibly well too. The first title in the franchise to take to the high seas, the sailing elements will appeal to anyone who delighted in exploring the world around them as a young child. There are dozens and dozens of small islands and outcrops to discover, and Nintendo has thankfully included an improved sail which not only makes travel faster, but also removes the need to constantly change the direction of the wind with the titular Wind Waker wand.

Add in complex and compelling dungeons, excellent music and brilliant use of the GamePad’s screen for inventory management and you’ve got one of the best Wii U games yet.

The bad

Those of you who lived and breathed the GameCube original 10 years ago may well be wondering if any new content has been included here. While Nintendo has made some tweaks to make things more enjoyable, there aren’t any fresh levels or dungeons to explore – this is essentially the same adventure you played back in 2003. While a decade is plenty long enough for veterans to visit this world again, it’s a genuine shame that there are no new surprises waiting for them.

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The bottom line

It may be a pretty conservative remaster, but Wind Waker HD is video gaming of the very highest quality. Newcomers will be gifted with what is arguably one of the best action RPGs ever made, while series stalwarts should be able to overcome their disappointment at the lack of new content and appreciate an epic tale that is worth returning to several times over. If any game can bolster the fortunes of the flagging Wii U, this is it.

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Inazuma Eleven 3 - Review

Football RPG Inazuma Eleven may not be as familiar to westerners as some of developer Level 5’s other outings – Professor Layton and Ni No Kuni to name but two – but in its native Japan the series is popular enough to have its own line of merchandise and even a TV show. European DS owners have already enjoyed two instalments, and this third entry – which was released on the DS in Japan but has been upgraded to the 3DS here – promises to be the most action-packed yet.

The good

As you’d expect from the storytelling experts at Level 5, the plot and characters in Inazuma Eleven 3 are first-class. While this is a game that is aimed at younger players, there’s a surprisingly deep and varied cast of characters to familiarise yourself with – many of which were your opponents in the prequels.

The core gameplay remains the same as in Inazuma Eleven 1 and 2 – you explore the overworld in RPG segments and take part in football matches where the action is controlled by the touchscreen. These sections are the best bit about the game, allowing you to score goals with incredible special moves which play out in 3D on the 3DS console’s upper display. Your team grows in power and skill as you progress through the game and although it’s nowhere near as nuanced as FIFA or PES, the level of involvement you feel is arguably much greater; there are moments of high drama which rival anything that EA Sports and Konami’s teams can muster in their respective franchises.

The bad

As we’ve already mentioned, this is actually a DS game which has been promoted to the 3DS. While the 2D overworld sections look fine, the 3D elements which play out during the matches tend to be a little rough around the edges. There’s nothing here that pushes the host hardware and it’s a real shame that Level 5 couldn’t have spruced things up some more.

Also, if you’re buying Inazuma Eleven 3 in the hope that it will provide the same level of tactical depth as a traditional football simulation, don’t bother. While the action is undeniably exciting, there’s much less freedom on offer and the majority of the game is based largely around plot twists and off-pitch events rather than the acts of skill that happen during a match. It’s worth noting as well that Inazuma Eleven 3 has taken a leaf out of Pokémon’s book and has been released in two different versions – Bomb Blast and Lightning Storm. Both offer the same basic game, but each has unique content. If you want to experience the full story, you’ll need to buy both games – which is pretty costly.

The bottom line

Inazuma Eleven 3 is a perfectly decent RPG with a welcome difference – the sporting focus makes it feel unique when placed alongside its swords-and-sorcery stablemates. However, it’s impossible to shake the feeling that this is a last-generation experience dressed up in this season’s 3DS kit; visually it’s not a match for recent games on the console, and series stalwarts may even be a little disappointed with the fact that the gameplay hasn’t really moved on a great deal. Even so, there are hours of gameplay on offer here, as well as some truly gripping matches to play through.

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Dead Island: Riptide - Review

Dead Island: Riptide might look like an idyllic zombie-fest, but it's little more than a frustrating mess of half-baked ideas and repetitive combat.

It starts promisingly enough: a mad dash off a sinking ship, a military coup, and a zombie horde just aching to be shown the business end of a shotgun. And then, just like that, the promise is taken away. Dead Island: Riptide teases far more in its opening minutes than it ever manages to deliver across its lengthy campaign. There's no drama, and little excitement. Instead, there's a rehash of old ideas, combat that's fun for all of five minutes, and a seemingly never-ending slog of repetitive missions filled with characters that have the emotional depth of a wet sponge. If there were ever a video game equivalent of smacking your head against a brick wall, Riptide would be it.


The story--and that's using the word generously--is filled with the sort of terrible dialogue, hammy voice acting, and cliches you'd expect to see in an awful zombie spoof, or at best, a trashy B movie. But there's no sense of humour or self-awareness here: to Riptide's detriment, it takes itself very seriously. And that seriousness is hard to swallow when you have to look after a bunch of shallow, argumentative characters who utter irritating swears every few minutes and prove so unlikable that you're willing them to be torn apart by the zombie horde, just so you can have some peace and quiet. Then there's the plot itself, which endlessly meanders between government conspiracy, sci-fi, and human interest, without even the slightest sense of direction.

This all makes it so very hard to care about anything that happens in Riptide. By the time you drag yourself through to the disappointing ending, apathy has taken over to the point where you wouldn't bat an eyelid at even the most grand of revelations. And that's only if you can muster up enough energy to make it that far. Riptide's sandbox island of Hanoi isn't filled with the fun zombie-killing adventures you might expect. Instead, there are fetch quests: lots of fetch quests. And within those fetch quests are yet more fetch quests.

Nearly every single one of the main missions and side quests requires you to head over to a part of the island, find an item, and bring it back to base. Often, before you can retrieve said item, the game makes you fetch something for the person who holds the item, thus creating a fetch quest within a fetch quest. What's more, the narrative reasoning behind each quest is questionable. Why some stranded villager might be after a few measly bucks when the entire island has been overrun with flesh-eating zombies that threaten the very existence of humankind is puzzling.


To make matters worse, the combat that ties the whole thing together remains largely unchanged from that of Dead Island, which is to say it's massively frustrating. The focus is on melee weapons, ranging from blunt objects like baseball bats and shovels, through to blades like carving knives and sickles. Most can be upgraded using items scavenged from around the island, with hidden blueprints giving you access to wilder designs. And initially at least, bludgeoning a zombie to death with an improvised, nail-covered baseball bat is amusing, thanks to the resulting blood splatters, severed limbs, and grisly sound effects.

The limitations of the combat soon become clear, though. Attacking zombies still feels wildly inaccurate, slow, and very dull, making it difficult to truly master. The result is that the combat quickly deteriorates into a repetitive mess as you kick a zombie backward, flail randomly at it, back off while it attacks, and then repeat the whole process ad nauseam. A stamina bar ensures you can't just spam an attack--particularly when you're using heavier weapons that drain the bar faster--but rather than giving the game a more realistic feel, it just further enhances the dull combat.

The vast majority of the zombies you face attack in the same way, rushing towards you until you knock them back with a kick to start the dull attack process. There are some special zombies that remain unchanged from those in Dead Island, including charger, spitter, and boomer types; they have slightly different movesets here, but you end up tackling them in exactly the same way, because your options are so limited. For a game so focused on combat, it's galling that you spend most of your time wanting to avoid zombies, just so you can spare yourself the resulting tedium.


Using a vehicle to get around takes some of the edge off of that tedium, because ploughing through groups of zombies in a jeep or cutting through them in a rickety old boat is far quicker than melee. Inevitably, though, you're still forced to engage in hand-to-hand combat once you reach your destination. Guns do arrive much later, but the weedy, inaccurate shooting isn't something to look forward to. Neither are Riptide's few horde missions, where you must protect your base from an onslaught of evil zombies. You can put up fences, lay mines, and take on a few side quests (of the fetch variety, naturally) in order to strengthen your defences, but it's all moot: just repeat your trusty "kick, swipe, back off" pattern a few hundred times, and the job's done.

Your reward for the hard combat slog is experience points, which are used to level up your character and unlock new skills, such as increased weapon accuracy and faster recovery times. Not that they make a whole lot of difference to the way the game plays, mind: it's all about keeping your level up to that of the zombies around you so you can fetch those items for other characters. Fortunately, levelling up is swift thanks to generous XP allocations, frequent checkpointing, and a death system that gives you unlimited lives, with the only penalty being the loss of cash you may have earned during missions or scrounged from the environment.


Riptide's role-playing game elements mean that as much as you might want to, you can't avoid combat entirely. But then, even if you did, what you'd be left with is a shallow husk of a storyline and an irritating cast of characters that you'd much rather see turned into a bloody mess than offered rescue. Not to mention that if you played the original Dead Island, there's not much new to see here. There's so little to like in Riptide that mustering up the enthusiasm to reach the lacklustre ending is a challenge for only the most hardcore of zombie fans to take on.


And don't try enlisting a few friends for some four-player co-op: it doesn't make the game any more exciting. Sure, having a few friends around makes those hordes disappear a little faster, and there are some extra quests you can take on, but the core experience remains as glacial as ever. Riptide is dumb, and mind-numbingly slow, and somehow manages to make the art of zombie-slaying feel like utter tedium. And if slaying zombies isn't fun in a game that's all about slaying zombies, why bother?

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