Hitman Absolution review – If you were a real Assassin you’d SUCK!
Hitman is a game with what I believe is a great pedigree. The most recent game before Absolution, Blood Money, was praised and lauded by just about everyone so with that sort of background Absolution has both a lot to live up to and a lot of fans to please. Made by IO Interactive you play as the bald but awesome assassin Agent 47 (awesome because he is always SUITED UP!). The game plays out as a 3rd person shooter with a heavy focus on stealth, but it still manages to remain an intense and convincing shooter.
In this game Agent 47 at the start is sent after his own handler who has, I understand in the previous game, betrayed the agency that 47 works for and so 47 is sent to kill her. After the intro mission in which you do indeed kill Diana the game follows Agent 47 as he tries to protect a young girl who, for some reason explained later in the game, everyone wants their hands on. As the primary people who want Victoria are the very same agency 47 works for he has to go against his boss and his own company and goes rogue to protect the girl.
Party of Sin – Wrath. Definitely Wrath.
Party of Sin by Crankshaft Games is a side-scrolling platforming (described as a puzzle-platformer) game set within the battle between Heaven and Hell. You play as the anthropomorphic personifications of the 7 Deadly Sins: Wrath, Envy, Lust, Gluttony, Sloth, Greed and Pride who have been very naughty sins indeed and have thus been punished by imprisonment in the depths of Hell. The game revolves around the escape from Hell and subsequent roaming around the depths of the Underworld, even making your way all the way to Heaven. Meanwhile the forces of Heaven and Hell, angels and demons, are duking it out around you and you have to go into the midst of the war in order to show them who is really boss. 'Cause it ain't Mr. Floaty-Beardy-Robe Guy I tell you that right now!
Antichamber review – Antibrainer!
Antichamber is something I only recently caught wind of, which is pretty damn surprising consider the amount of awards it has been nominated for and even won. Seriously, head over to the official website and check out the awards listed at the top it's absolutely insane and has won awards as far back as 2009. Well it was recently released on Steam and we were lucky enough to get a copy from creator Alexander Bruce.
The game is an experimental and "psychological" first-person puzzle game in which you, the silent and unknown protagonist must traverse a series of increasingly complex and mind bending puzzles to finish the game. The game itself doesn't really give much more away than that and indeed there is absolutely no story (or at least, not one I picked up on) and so essentially it leaves you in a large, completely seamless map with a mind-boggling array of puzzles and says "well, there you go. Have at it!"
Bioshock Infinite review – Part of the Mile High Club!
I was looking forward to Bioshock Infinite since it's announcement and the début trailer all the way back in 2010. With three years of build-up and hype it wouldn't be surprising if a lot of people were left disappointed, life and games have a way of doing that to you. This is especially true with Bioshock considering just how good the first two games were (with Bioshock 2 admittedly lacking some of the magic of the first). However, it's pretty safe to say, judging by the reviews already done of the game, that Infinite has both met and surpassed people's expectations and I am indeed amongst the ranks of those who absolutely bloody loved the game. It felt new, exciting and awesome and it was still very much Bioshock with all the trappings of gorgeous graphics, intense combat and tense atmosphere that were present in the first.
Set approximately 50 years before the previous Bioshocks, Infinite is set in the flying city of Columbia, a theocratic dictatorship underneath the iron fist of the Prophet Zachary Comstock. You play as one Booker DeWitt, previously a US Cavalryman and Pinkerton, and you are sent to Columbia to retrieve and rescue a girl called Elizabeth to "erase the debt". If you are unsure what any of this means essentially if he was the sort of man to have business cards (which he ISN'T) they would say: "Booker DeWitt P.I. and Certified BADASS". I went into the game thinking, like the previous instalments, that as soon as Booker set foot in the flying city he would find it a hazardous dystopian world where everything is broken and everyone is messed up. Instead, after arriving through the clouds you arrive in a surprisingly utopian city in which everything appears wonderful and happy. My second expectation, quickly following from the eradication of the first, was that the first hour or so would be a showcase of the city: a near blissful tour where Irrational Games would get to show off their wondrous creation before having things go wrong. Instead, after a short look around (which was indeed pretty blissful and wondrous) you are suddenly thrown head first into the action as things go from good to awful big-time-stylee. So with two of my predictions smashed right off the bat I would say that Bioshock Infinite was already surprising me.
Oldweek News – Seb’s Top 5 from the past
Hey everyone! THIS IS NOT THE ENDWEEK NEWS! In fact I probably shouldn't even post this... This was a news post I started work on for the last week in February. It was going to contain an apology for not keeping up with the news, despite my promises to myself and to you guys that I would. Even with the new "Seb's Top 5" system I haven't been bothering to write a news article at all. This is something I need to deal with and I am currently looking into the possibility of turning it into a weekly video instead, to try and MAKE myself do it.
ANYWAY. The reason I am actually posting this is because I had all of what is below here written and sorted for about two months and it just didn't seem quite right to simply delete and throw it all away. However, it IS now two months old and so doesn't really count as news any more. I just didn't want what I have to go to waste and so I am posting it anyway. Hopefully it's still entertaining enough that it might make for a good read.
Video Mondaily – Headshots and Trenches in Heroes of Stalingrad
Well here's a game we haven't heard from in a while, but it's back and on Tim's Twitch channel no less. Yes it is that toughest of World War 2 shooters, Red Orchestra 2: Heroes of Stalingrad. Since we reviewed it way back in 2011 none of us at MMGaming have really played much of Red Orchestra 2, which is a shame because it is indeed a fine game full of intense combat which has nowhere near the publicity or spread it really deserves.
Tim has now rectified this by having a streaming session with the realistic FPS created by Tripwire Interactive and has even saved a couple of the best moments of his time spent playing it for your viewing pleasure. If you fancy a quick laugh and a quick example of gameplay why not check after the jump to watch a surprising amount of ownage in what is a ridiculously difficult game!
Video Mondaily – A first impressions of Impire
Hey look! We're still not dead! Somehow...
Anyway this Monday's video comes at us courtesy of Paradox Interactive and Cyanide Montreal. The game I am playing here is their recently released strategy Impire and giving both me and you guys a first impressions look at it. Having never played the game before I had no idea what to expect going in except that it was an RTS and you play as an evil imp (hence the name).
Check after the jump for the two videos so that you can have a look at some of the gameplay and at the style of the game! Remember if you do enjoy the video to head over to the Youtube Channel and send us some feedback. We always like to hear back from people!
Anodyne – The Dungeon Sweeping Simulator
I've been able to find a few moments in my busy academic schedule to take some time and write something for you to read about Anodyne, a relatively recent release by Sean Hogan and Jon Kittaka who call themselves Analgesic Productions. And no, I have no idea what the title of their studio is supposed to mean or if there is some sort of deep meaning behind it. But that doesn't matter, because I can talk about their game... so follow after the break to see what I think of this little indie game.
Katawa Shoujo review – Oh, Japan…
Most games I tend to hear about either via friends or gaming news websites. I don't particularly claim to be an expert (although you should probably treat me as such... You may call me Professor Sabor117 from now on...) but I do consider myself pretty clued up on the goings on of the Gaming world. So when I heard about Katawa Shoujo on an online image board (because I am indeed a denizen of the internet) and nowhere else I admit I was intrigued.
Even more intriguing, and indeed surprising, was the general reaction of the internet to the game. It's a common thing on the internet to find a post which people can claim "gave me a feel" and usually the feel in question will be one of sadness or depression. Something which essentially evokes the following reaction: "Lie down. Try not to cry. Cry a lot." Katawa Shoujo apparently gave so many people feels that the whole internet was abuzz for a fair amount of time about just how wonderful the game was, how the stories (or some of the stories in particular) spread feels about in every direction with no regard for manliness or lifting ability. And fresh from the truly heart-wrenching experience of The Walking Dead I was more than ready to pull out my handkerchief again.
The Banner Saga: Factions – Impressions
The Banner Saga is described as a role-playing, turn based strategy created by Stoic Games. The single player game is actually still in the process of being developed by the team at Stoic and utilising Kickstarter as a means of obtaining funds. As a basic description of the gameplay it appears to be an interesting and relatively unique style of RTS in which you choose a team of Viking-esque soldiers and then utilise your team on a grid-battlefield, moving a unit per turn switching between both sides.
Currently, as I say, the singleplayer has not been released. However, the free-to-play online multiplayer portion of the game: Factions has recently been released and is available for download from both Steam and the game's official website. Tim has now taken the opportunity to give us a look at the gameplay and style of The Banner Saga in an impressions video which you can find after the jump. With a rather nice graphics style and a pretty cool gameplay mechanic (not to mention it's free) The Banner Saga: Factions is certainly worth looking at in our video!