Tales of Vesperia is a JRPG from Bandai Konami. Much like the more well known Final Fantasy series the tales games are all stand alone titles, occurring in different worlds, with a different cast, and different mechanics. So the good news is you don’t have to read a refresher to understand “the story so far”. Like all JRPGs it’s the story of a crazy group assembled to fight some impending doom. This time round you you fill the boots of Yuri Lowell a citizen of the imperial cities lower quarter, and former knight wannabe. Having quit the knights because he felt they all to often neglected to help the people we find him lounging around watching as the lower quarter is flooded. Before long we’re chasing after a blastia thief, wanted for crimes, and generally having an all out adventure.

Although the setup might be slightly cliche, the story develops into something quite deep and philosophical. In many cases the game refuses to take sides, yes the story is linear, but it raises these issues and often admits there are no golden solutions. This depth had me coming back for more and more, and never seemed in your face, instead choosing to subtlety playout within the context of Yuri’s world.
Yuri is of course joined quickly by a whole list of characters, and although some feel like they are copy paste jobs from any other JRPG (yes I mean Estelle) most seem to have a new enough twist to feel fresh and interesting. There is a fifty fifty split between voice acted segments and purely text based bits, for the most part this was fine but on occasion I did wonder why certain bits hadn’t been voiced. The voice acting is surprisingly good considering some of the JRPG’s we’ve endured, in fact I’d go as far as saying it’s really good.
Perhaps the most striking part of the game are the visuals. Tales is highly stylized, wearing a shell shaded Manga book look. The only let down here, unless you hate this look, is the optional extra story scenes which occur in thumbnails of each character, that feel more hand drawn than the rest of the game and do jarr the experience slightly. All in all though I’m a big fan of the look.

So the story’s good, the game looks and sounds good but how does it play?
The core to any JRPG is… Combat and the combat here is really quite exceptional. The only fault I have, is that I’m not a fan of the standard layout, as I find it favors continual attacking rather than the attacking and blocking which is intended. The core principals are the same as in most games that have a live battle system, you can run around the battlefield attacking, using abilities and magic or blocking. The system here is really deep, allowing for parrying, counter attacking, special finishing moves and customizing the strategies you use. In general the system is both simple enough for casual gamers and offers enough depth that it should entertain hardcore strategists and gamers. Another high for me is they don’t simply dump the combat system on you. Throughout the game they slowly reveal and unlock more and more technics. Every time I got used to the combat system it would evolve with some new technique.

On the character customization front it’s not bad but it’s not as good as I’d hoped. First of all the good news, the weapons you equip will change on the avatars in game. There are even character titles and augments that let you change their appearance more drastically. However the bad news is the titles system, which offers no other benefit, feels limp. Having worked out why it was there, I found out that none of the titles I’d amassed had any effect. Several hours later this was rectified, but it felt a little patronizing to unlock something that in essence was a tittle no one would see.

Like most of it’s ilk, there is an attempt at a minigame (Dice gambling) but this felt flat. With no depth to the game, it was purely a game of chance, and to be honest I avoided it after my first few forays. Along similar lines if you’re worried about your gamer score, than Tales offers only minor rewards once you’ve considered the time you’ve invested in unlocking them.

All in all Tales of Vesperia is a really strong title, that was close to faultless. Most of my points are nit picking, and simply regret that some systems aren’t as well developed as they could be. The game is however a masterpiece, and comes close to toppling Final Fantasy VII as my favorite JRPG. There is the same feeling of wonder that I first experienced with FFVII. However there are just a few too many tweaks that were left out, it’s still one of the best JRPG’s I’ve played in the last ten years though. So if you’re itching for final fantasy XIII, or just generally looking for a JRPG this should be top of your list… At least until Square enix has it’s say.

Some games play by the rules, some games break them, and some games redefine what the rules are. The question here is what  type of game is mass effect? A ground breaking adventure, a frankenstenien creation that never should have seen the light of day,  or maybe something in the middle…

Now Mass effect has been around for a while to be perfectly honest, and many people reading this will already have played it, or  in some cases decided not to. In the light of the announcement of Mass Effect 2, a direct sequel to the first adventure of  Commander Shepard, the time is ripe for another look at this game.

On the surface Mass Effect is an action role playing game, with a few twist on the norms of the style. Although neither of these are  ground breaking, it is refreshing to see a game that wants to separate it’s self from the “middle earth” like fantasy setting, so common for this genre, as well as a third person camera that is more reminiscant of games like Gears of War. Instead the game throws you into the action of this Sci-Fi future letting you play the part of Shepard cutting to cinematic camera angles during conversations that generally feel very right.

The game starts like so many games, with a character creation tool. Your last name will be Shepard, whether you like it or not, otherwise there are a good number of options. Male or Female, you can make your character look unique, and customize the way they’ll play. Despite this system being relatively deep, it’s really difficult to not be slightly disappointed after having played games like Oblivion. The one shining point is a combination of two sets of questions. One defines, where you came from, not in terms of race but in terms of whether you grew up in space, on a colony, or on earth. The other defines why you are exceptional, I chose to be a war hero. These two options then come up in conversations throughout the game, which although might not be a critical feature is a nice touch. Hearing from a random passer by that you helped save their colony, is if nothing else a little heart warming.

Once you’re character is created you’re thrust into the world of Mass Effect, or more aptly, the Galaxy. Unlike most games which keep your feet firmly planted on a single world, mass effect let’s you hop between many different fully explorable worlds. On the surface this sounds a little overwhelming, however, not all planets are explorable. Most planets simply pop up a message explaining what you found. Even with this eating into the experience, there is still a massive amount to see. The galaxy holds numerous systems, with at least one planet being explorable in each.

Mass Effect takes it’s story and universe to new levels of depth. Beyond the massive scope of worlds to visit is an entire encyclopaedia of information waiting to be read. Each planet, weapon, company, building, race, clan etc… has an in depth entry in your codex. This means that if you want you can read up on every aspect of the universe of commander Shepard. Taking your understanding of the events to new highs, this is a nice touch, which isn’t necessary for most people, but there for those that really want to sink their teeth into this game.

In regards to story, it’s an immersive adventure with numerous twists, and they all depend on how you play. The story mainly driven through voice acted interactions between characters, where you almost always have the right dialogue choice for your given situation and mood. The voice acting is for the most part competent, with only a few lines standing out for being either badly delivered, or poorly written. The musical score is well handled, helping to evoke the right emotional queues. Sound effects, like the weapons fire, or doors are all well chosen. Like a most films this is a universe where people will hear you scream, but unlike most of those films this sits out like the original Star Wars Trilogy for the fact that it’ll sound right.

Perhaps the biggest let down with Mass Effect then is the graphics, which to be fair are amazing… most of the time. The one big chink in this games armour is perhaps how long it takes textures to load. Also there are some odd visuals during some of the dialogue sequences… That aside though and the graphics look good, and do a good job of creating diversity in the vistas of space.

Gameplay is fluid with the exploration dynamics easy to use. During combat the game shines, giving you a comprehensive basic commands system, that can be expanded on by directing your alies to use specific Bionics and Techs. A great addition for this style of game is a working cover system, that in conjunction with unit commands and special abilities, allows for many different play styles.  Your team while ok, could have spent a little longer at school, as at times they do ignore immediate threats, instead choosing to fire at some one off in the distance. Ennemies on the other hand seem not to suffer from this lack of smarts, as they work well at out flanking you or throwing a well placed grenade or power behind your cover at opportune moments.

All in all this is one hell of a strong title, of course there are things that could have been better like faster elevators, or a few more biotics and engineering skills. These are minimal and in general this is a game that doesn’t just make you want to explore space, it lets you. This is a game that tears up the rule book for action RPGs , and tells the industry to try to beat it… I can’t wait to see the second instalment.

Developer

It took me awhile to purchase this title as the previous Battlefield Console only game ‘Battlefield 2: Modern Combat’ was a poor game that didn’t really convey what Battlefield game play involves, Bad Company changes all that and improves ten-fold. The main game play mechanic in Bad Company is destruction, 92% of buildings can be blown apart and trees fences and walls do not stand a chance against a casually thrown grenade or tank round. This actually improves the pace of a game because you can no longer count on
hiding in a house or behind walls for cover, you have to keep moving as your cover could go at any moment.

The single player story is very light hearted from the way the squad takes to each other and the in-game cut scenes that are played throughout the game. The story revolves around hunting for gold that a merc group called ‘the legionnaires’ carry with them as payment for there services. The story is well thought out and introduces you to all the vehicles and weapons of the multi-player and is a definite improvement of bot matches from previous BF single
player outings. The maps are pretty huge and they give you a lot of freedom to accomplish your goals with added achievements for finding gold and new weapons throughout the level. The only downside is that there’s only one mission you get a helicopter as it finally easy to fly a helicopter in BF and very enjoyable.

The Multi-player is as always the reason for buying a Battlefield game and it is as addictive as previous games, the new game type ‘Gold Rush’ is a great improvement to ‘Conquest’ and is worth playing time and time again. There are five classes Assault, Demolition, Recon, Specialist and Support. They are all very balanced against each other and feel useful in a match. The game supports 24 players on PC-Dedicated servers so there is virtually no lag at all. As stated before ‘Gold Rush’ is the new game type and the setup of the game is an Attackers vs. Defenders scenario. The eight initial maps are Harvest Day,
Over and Out, End of the Line, Ascension, Valley Run, Deconstruction, Oasis, and Final Ignition, each with destructible environments, certain atmospheres, and vehicles. One team must defend two crates filled with gold while the other team attempts to destroy the crates. Once the crates are destroyed, more of the map is available to fight on with new crates appearing, along with added reinforcement numbers. The attacking team has a limited amount of respawns to achieve their goal of capturing the 3-5 gold stashes either by setting charges or simply destroying the 2 crates of gold at each base. The defending team has an unlimited amount of respawns available, but their goal is to exhaust the attacking teams respawns. To aid the teams are many Vehicles ranging from a main battle tank to a golf cart. As with previous BF games, players can earn ranks and awards as they play through the multi-player.

Age old battle of Tank vs Helicopter

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Is BattleField Bad Comapny worth buying?

Accessibility – 85%
It is easy to pick and play the learning curve is very gradual through most of the
single-player but with multi-player you will find it easier if you are a PC gamer playing on
a 360/PS3 but if you have never played any of the BF games on a PC you will find it
difficult at first.

Sound – 90%
The effects are brilliant from walking over different surfaces to your ears going partially deaf
as an explosion goes off near to your location. The music is well done with a nice remix of
the Battlefield theme in the main menu.

Graphics – 91%
Some of the animations on the buildings as you blow them up and the fact that a window
explodes when you melee it, Is the only downside to a very good looking game. Even when all
24 players are fighting with explosions going around there are no noticeable drops in the
frame rate. The Trees and Landscape are great to look at and the player models look great.

Reliability – 95%
with hidden gold bars to find in the single player and a great multiplayer this game will
keep you coming back for more and more.

Overall – 90%
Well worth the purchase if you own a 360 or PS3 and makes me want to buy Bad Company 2 for
the PC when it is released. It is a great alternative to other Modern Combat shooters such
as Call of Duty 4 among others.

Developer: THQ

Publisher: Relic

Score: 8.5/10

Released: Sep 24 2007 (US) / Sep 28 2007 (EU)

Company of Heroes: Opposing Fronts is the next instalment in the successful Company of Heroes series, this time bringing in the British and the fearsome German Panzer Elite. New specialized units, with beasts such as the King Tiger and the lethal 105mm Priest Artillery sets up for hours of fun.

Company of Heroes: Opposing Fronts was released just about a year after the official launch of Company of Heroes itself. For those that haven’t played the series at all (shame on you), it’s all about WW2 tactical RTS combat at it’s very peak. The AI introduced, along with the graphics, was extremely well done at it’s time, there’s still very few titles to this date that can match the quality of this over two year old engine.

Opposing Fronts introduces two brand new armies to the game, the British and the Panzer Elite, both which are highly specialized armies that more or less lacks the bread and butter units like the US Riflemen squads and German Grenadier squads. What they lack in versatility, they gain in sheer fire-power and even more nasty surprises for careless enemies.

The Panzer Elite is focused heavily on mobility, with the initial squads being able to both repair your damaged armour, as well as packing quite a heavy punch against other infantry units. The strength with this army lies in movement, you rarely see a Panzer player ducking behind cover and taking up a defensive role. Their strength really lay in their mobility, usually raiding behind enemy lines and taking down any US or British foes that are stupid enough to go behind their lines.

This is not the case of the British player though, the Brits are extremely capable of setting up defensive positions, much thanks to the new trench building, and the awesome power of their 17-pounder Anti-Tank cannons which easily turns any German panzer unit, beside the Jagdpanzer and the King Tiger, into a pile of twisted metal within seconds. If that weren’t enough, they can also build the heavy 25-pounder Howitzer Gun to make German infantry caught in its blast fly sky high.

Factions

The new factions are both leaned towards veteran players, since they require a whole different playstyle than the regular armies, but the rewards for mastering one (or both) of them is so rewarding it’s well worth the hours spent honing your skills. There’s rarely anything as satisfying as steam-rolling into your opponents base with dozens of heavily armoured units leaving a trail of destruction in your steps, or on the other hand, watching the same convoy get massacred by a fortified British position.

Two new campaigns will easily keep you hooked for another good 15 hours of play, and when you’ve finished them both, it just takes a matter of minutes before you can start rocking out in the superb multiplayer part of the game – just be careful not to go in over your head, it’s quite easy to get overwhelmed at the beginning by experienced players.

Jens “Bonius” Albonius

AllUPlay

2008-09-01

This replaces the shotgun which depending on how you play could be unforgiveable in some situations . It goes into a taunt style animation when you eat for apparently 4 seconds although it doesnt seem that long. You regain 120 health while you much away happily. It is unlimited and you can spam it. On some maps its not required medics should be there, you can just die and respawn or head to one of the many medikits on some maps.

Its real strength is in competitive play where dying and respawning is not an option because the enemy scouts will take half the map in the time you do. Or in arena play, last night i played heavy a bit in arena and the sandvich saved my life on a few occassions, once to kill Impen which obviously makes it worthwhile.

KGB (The Killing Gloves of Boxing)

These are slower than your usual melee, they seem to crit a bit more than usual but i dont think thats intended. They are simply an upgrade on your usual gloves in my opinion i can see no reason why you wouldnt take them. The heavy is slow, if you get a chance to box someone its because they are not looking at you so getting 5 seconds of crits is great. The only annoying thing is that switching to your usual gun and starting it up cuts off nearly all your time, youd maybe get one kill max. These could work really well with a shotgun although i havnt tested it yet.

Natascha

This is a tricky one for me, I was sure you ran quicker with it but after a race across the bridge in 2fort with Bon we have decided not. It feels different to Sasha and has different noises which is a nice touch. Its slowing ability isnt amazing it slows for a pretty tiny amount of time per bullet and we all know the minigun at range isnt that great accuracy. Its damage really screws you over in heavy wars. (Lots of them around at the moment) You cannot really outaim another heavy due to both of your slow movement speeds. I think its real advantages are people bouncing around infront of you like scouts, you catch one in midair and it interrupts their jump basically leaves them for dead at that range. Medics running around corners its good for too.

My recommended Heavy set up :

Sasha // The Sandvich // KGB

I think this gives you the best solo play and general damage, you might get a couple of kills go past where Natasha might of got the kill but i do not think the -25% damage is worth that. Snipers or soldiers at range are just worth running away from but I dont use the heavy for this anyway, I use it as a uber charge front man guy, wrecking pyros and other heavys leaving the battle then open. I would really consider using heavy more often in arena due to the Sandvich which is a brilliant tool and hilarious

Well i hope this has given you a bit of insight into the new update, ive still got to try all the maps hopefully someone could write up a little review of those.

Good luck comrades!