Thoughts on The Last of Us

This afternoon, I finished watching the Two Best Friends playthrough of The Last of Us, one of the most talked-about games of the summer, and what looks like one of the last big hurrahs for the Playstation 3. This article is relatively free-form, and will not follow the same formula typical of my full game reviews. There is, after all, a difference between playing a game and watching someone else play it. I simply want to go over my own thoughts on The Last of Us – its high points and its low points. Fair warning: this article treads deep into spoiler territory, so if you have any intention of playing the game to completion, I suggest you close out of the browser window.

Allow me to begin by saying that the game does a phenomenal job at immersing you in a world where humanity has few choices as a means for survival – stay in a quarantined zone that is kept under martial law and deal with the problems that can arise with soldiers who abuse their power or rebels who seek to violently overturn the system in place, scavenge for supplies and live off the land in either a colony far-removed from the big cities or as a nomadic group and run a significantly greater risk of being infected by the fungal Clickers, Bloaters, etc. The graphics, though clearly outshined by those on Nintendo’s new Wii U and the trailers teased for all of the PS4 and Xbox One up-and-comers, still look really good due to a notably high degree of detail that draws everything it can from the hardware. Naughty Dog does a masterful job designing environments that bear unique assets, allowing abandoned record stores, snow-covered lodges, and off-kilter skyscrapers to plant a distinct image in your mind, as these are places you will only come across once in your travels.

Guns are intelligently prevented from becoming too powerful by limiting the upgrade options to the kickback, reload speed, firing rate, and clip capacity. There is no option to boost the firepower of your gun (save for perhaps one), because it would be too easy an option. There’s also a limited number of parts Joel can discover, forcing you to be very picky with regards to which upgrades you select. The ability upgrades behave in a similar fashion, as Joel will only locate a set number of pills over the course of the game to increase the effectiveness of his health kits, allow him to pull out a shiv on a Clicker in the event that he gets caught in a bad situation, and so on. While the makeshift tin can bombs and molotov cocktails do their jobs just fine, I fail to see the point of the smoke bombs. Why bother distracting your enemy with those when you can simply toss a bottle or a brick and conserve your resources?

Sticking fourteen year-old Ellie with Joel to play with his trust issues and sadness over the death of his daughter seems, frankly, an obvious decision. But what really makes this pair so entertaining and engaging is the fact that they have such different personalities. Joel is a father who lost his whole world, his whole reason to be, when his daughter died, and has simply been surviving for the twenty-odd years since. He’s a shell of his former self, and is seemingly just going through the motions up until he is paired with Ellie. She is a child born after the fallout, with no firsthand experience of how everyday life played out before cityscapes were overgrown with vegetation and the threat of infection was real. She has an obsession with comic books, is unable to swim, and constantly wants to prove herself as highly capable to Joel in order to gain his trust and friendship. In a lot of ways, both her hobbies and her demeanor remind me of Yorick, lead protagonist from Y: The Last Man. Yorick and Ellie both try to find the positive angle of the worst situations, but very much recognize the real danger they are constantly in. They have geeky hobbies that they are highly devoted to, and they are both strangers in strange company – Yorick being the last human with a Y chromosome walking the Earth, and Ellie being something of a miracle child who was infected but never turned into one of the rabid fungal beasts.

Around the halfway point, I really began to question what the point of throwing the infected into the mix really was. I understand that it frames the story’s introduction as chaotic, terrifying, and tragic, as things quickly escalate and we see firsthand how the world went into a state of decay. It’s clear that everyone (tough and gruff Joel included) fears the infected, and the prospect of death at the hands of these mushroom zombies drives some groups or individuals to behave in drastic, sometimes crazy ways. Beyond that, however, there’s not a whole lot of justification for them being in the game. Combat sequences between infected and humans play out almost identically, save for certain weapons being more effective against one foe and vice-versa. The infected and the problem they present never evolves or plays as large a role as I expected it would, and it certainly isn't rectified by game's end. This wouldn’t be so upsetting if it seemed like Naughty Dog was really trying to push the idea of ‘man is the most terrifying of beasts’ routine more than they actually do. When it boils down to it, the only two characters who we see portrayed as animalistic or beastly are David, with his cannibalistic culture, and Joel’s last moment run-and-gun, kill-everyone-of-those-Firefly-sons-of-bitches rage. They could have made it a scenario wherein animals become infected instead of humans and it would have left the same basic impact.

Which brings me to the issue of the game’s last hours. Everything’s going swell (for the player, at least) when Ellie and Joel take on David’s gang from separate fronts. It’s arguably the darkest territory the game visits, and also the most important, as Joel’s coming in to stop Ellie from further mutilating David’s face with the machete is the first time we see their care for one another physically manifest. It’s the moment where we know for certain that Joel truly care for this kid he’s been escorting for months, as he halts her actions, as he doesn’t believe the whole ordeal is something she ought to see nor be involved in. The whole scene of Joel and Ellie storming David’s camp town is a very carefully executed segment that places emphasis on stealth, though combat is an option for the more brave and well-stocked.

The hospital segment where Joel goes apeshit on the Fireflies is not unexpected – I was fully prepared for the Fireflies to have questionable intentions practically from the start of the game. But it does feel choppy and rushed - a couple short segments of Joel wrecking the Fireflies and busting Ellie out of the hospital to save her life, and then we suddenly jump forward to the finale. Sure, we get a flashback to understand how Joel got his hands on the truck and how no one followed them outside of Salt Lake City, but it’s presented in snippets that bounce back and forth in a rhythm that is incredibly fast when compared to the rest of the narrative.

And then, of course, there is the final scene where Ellie asks Joel for the truth about what happened in the hospital while she was unconscious. Joel flat out lies to her to retain her trust and not worry her, which is fine in the context of the story, because it is indicative that he has sort of adopted her – or rather, that they have adopted each other as partners. Joel was never looking for someone to replace his daughter, and Ellie never set out to become a daughter figure. I would never say the finale is bad. Thankfully, it doesn’t pull a Bioshock Infinite and deliver some stupid line of dialogue that conflicts with everything that preceded it. But The Last of Us feels underwhelming during its last few minutes. There’s this whole expectation that something is going to go wrong or that there might be some bittersweet conclusion – the scene of sunlight shining down on a hilltop covered in wildflowers as Joel and Ellie head toward what appears to be Uncle Tommy’s compound is so unexpected for a story like the Last of Us, that it doesn’t feel quite right. I think having them voluntarily part ways would have been stupid and incredibly out of character for either of them, but the ending we get is almost too perfect when compared to everything that preceded it.

I think the ending is what caught me off guard the most about The Last of Us – it’s surprisingly short compared to what I expected. Or maybe the pacing is just odd during the last few hours. I fully expected another hour or two of gameplay before the jump to the Fireflies headquarters. Joel and Ellie went through a lot of significant trials during their encounters with David’s gang, and I fail to see why Naughty Dog didn’t include a segment or two designed with the primary focus of having Ellie and Joel cement the dynamic of their now fully-developed or full-evolved relationship post-Winter. It seems like a huge missed opportunity, and I find it hard to believe that Ellie would still be holding on to the emotions she experienced when she was held captive by David’s men two or three months after the fact. Any normal person having gone through that traumatic an experience would have opened up to their friends or family and let them in emotionally at least a little bit (and Ellie only has one person to turn to). They were both there, they saw the same things (albeit from different approaches) – the whole jump to kick the ending out the door in time really dragged down the immersion for me, something that the game had otherwise done a consistently high-quality job at.

Though The Last of Us incorporates plenty of stealth and action elements with a little bit of survival-horror, the narrative is arguably the most memorable portion of its makeup. I consider The Last of Us as much of an interactive story as a video game belonging to any one of the aforementioned genres, and a hell of a lot more compelling one than, say, Heavy Rain, because The Last of Us never tries to push the ‘interactive story’ shtick. It just does its own thing and manages to pull a lot of winning punches in the process. It’s an interesting combination of gameplay elements familiar to other big-name releases, and I would consider the sum to be more original than its parts. It’s just highly unfortunate that it ended on a note of such lesser quality than I had hoped for or expected.

Wii U review: ZombiU

ZombiU is survival-horror in the most literal sense. You are dropped into post-zombie outbreak London with little more than a cricket bat to bash in the skulls of the infected, a flashlight with a slowly draining battery that must take a few seconds to recharge after it hits zero, and a single pistol. While you can find submachine guns, shotguns, a crossbow, and a sniper rifle out in the various locales you’ll visit, the ammunition for any of these is extremely limited, and aiming at any part of a zombie’s body that isn’t the head won’t do you much good. You’re going to have to be tactical and conservative if you want to stay alive, and the game does provide you with quite a few options, be it the slow-and-steady routine of taking out one zombie at a time, or being gutsy and using yourself as bait to lure a group of zombies into a tunnel or other confined area before tossing a grenade or moltov cocktail into their ranks. ZombiU hones in on the story of the survivor and the narrating/instructing character known as the Prepper, and thus does not lose itself in trying to explain a larger world beyond the plague that hit London.

There are two single-player variants you can choose from. The more challenging mode gives you one shot to make it to the end of the game without being killed. If you are taken down by the infected, that’s all she wrote - you will have to start over from the beginning, regardless of how far into the campaign you made it. The standard settings are a bit more forgiving, putting you in the boots of a new survivor in the event that your current character becomes one of the infected. However, ZombiU still gives you something of a slap on the wrist - all the weapons, ammo, and health items you were carrying at the time of your unfortunate demise are still being carried by your previous character. To retrieve them (which is highly recommended), you will need to trek back through previously explored territory and kill the now-infected survivor. Any zombies you managed to kill before your previous character joined their ranks will stay dead, but your former self will put up more of a fight than any run-of-the-mill zombie.

As you progress through the game, you will be able to upgrade the pad that acts as both your radar and ranged hacking tool, and can eventually use it to pick up secret codes written on walls and decipher archaic messages left by the Ravens of Dee. Dispatching stronger zombies that emit red fumes from their body will reward you with one of four upgrades to your weapons, which can then be applied to whichever weapon you see fit at a workbench located in one of the safehouses. The gamepad can also be used as a scope for long-range weapons, and can zoom in to 2x and 4x distances. Occasionally, the game will also import other ZombiU players or individuals from your friends list as zombies that can reward you with a decent trove of supplies.

There are a little over a half dozen locales you’ll visit as you scour London for the CCV boxes, Letters of Dee, and so on. Each is quite wonderfully realized, though some are significantly smaller than others, due to their context in the plot. One of ZombiU’s greatest strengths is the presentation of places like Buckingham Palace, the Brick Lane Flats, and the Tower of London, due to the unique assets found within each. One flat includes a bathroom and bedroom with one body reclined in a bathtub, another individual lying on the floor next to the toilet, and three more figures piled onto a single bed, providing some insight into how others might have spent their last moments before the plague hit. The one-time use of objects like marble statues, a nursery playhouse, and a single accessible boat docked in the river really help define the experience and identify these areas as unique. The fact that few environmental objects are recycled shows that the ZombiU development team put a lot of love and care into the final product.

ZombiU may not be terrifying 24/7, but is spooky and tense throughout. That said, when the game wants to make you jump, it will do things like force you into incredibly tight quarters or have some outside factor cause your radar to drop out completely and be replaced with loud, nerve-wracking static. Traveling through areas like old city sewers, will cause dust to gather at the corners of your screen, and bright sources of light can obstruct your field of vision, a couple of nice additional touches on the part of the development team. Curiously, a brief Metroid-style segment wherein you are temporarily stripped of nearly all your gear is easily the game’s weakest point, and follows almost immediately after one of the game’s most challenging and brilliantly-executed segments. ZombiU does not have many low points, thankfully, and the aforementioned segment is but one blight on an otherwise exceptional eight-to-ten hour experience.

My rating: 9 (out of 10)

ZombiU journal - entry two

Now that I’ve gotten through scouring Buckingham Palace, I have to say I am even more impressed with the environment designs in ZombiU. While I won’t spoil any of the plot, I will say that there is part not long after the quest in Buckingham Palace that requires you to visit an apartment complex. While some rooms are blocked off or barricaded, the ones that you are allowed to enter are strikingly different in their layout and décor.

One such apartment handles this masterfully, the trash and bodies left behind offering a glimpse into the actions of what others were doing when the plague hit – specifically, there are disco lights dancing off the walls, trance music breaking the eerie near-silence otherwise perpetuated throughout the game, one body reclining in a bathtub, three piled on to the same bed, and one zombie left crawling on the bathroom floor. While that last one was likely the developers having fun with the idea of a zombie mimicking some guy drunk off his ass, the other bits are great little additions that the ZombiU team didn’t have to put in the game, but they did anyways and it made the experience all the more engaging.

Another aspect of the game that I absolutely love is the random imports of other players and people from your friends list as zombies. I was minding my own business earlier this afternoon, exploring Buckingham Palace, when I noticed the online moniker a friend of mine uses displayed above the head of one of the infected. While it took a few extra swings of my cricket bat to bash his head in, the rewards made it well worth it. Each of these uniquely identified zombies that I’ve encountered has carried with him/her a random assortment of ammo, food, health kits, and barricade materials that allowed me to stock up quite nicely before taking on the now-rather-sizeable hordes of infected. I may be getting to explore larger, more detailed (and by association, more exciting) locales now, but the game certainly isn’t apologetic in keeping the challenge up.

ZombiU journal - entry one

So it took me a little while to really get into the mood to play ZombiU, but now that I’ve actually made a bit of progress with the campaign, I can say that it’s classic survival horror in the most literal sense. It’s been quite linear so far, sure, but there’s a tense atmosphere about it, thanks to a number of factors. First off, you cannot save wherever/whenever you like. You have to find a sleeping bag, your main save location being the subway safe house you will return to after each mission. However, in Metroid fashion, you can also locate small safe houses set a little out of the way in the otherwise zombie-filled streets of London. Saving at these spots can save you a solid chunk of time that would otherwise be spent performing the trial-and-error process of retracing your steps through zombie territory.

The limited number of slots in your backpack and the fact that you have to pause the game in order to swap out items in your immediate inventory add to the tension. You’ll need to smack each zombie a few times with the cricket bat before they are dead, making it more ideal for one-on-one encounters than fighting off a group. While you can scavenge for ammo, grenades, and moltov cocktails, these are few and far between and you’ll want to reserve them for large groups.

The game looks quite good overall, too. Some of the textures aren’t great and certain in-game objects don’t appear to have a significant step-up on games from last generation’s consoles. But the environments are fantastic in both scope and presentation. Whether it’s specks of dust obscuring your vision ever so slightly, moonlight shining down through grates into London’s old sewers, or a downpour streaming off the sides of industrial crates, ZombiU’s various areas are both interesting to take in and highly successful at immersing you in this contemporary apocalypse. It certainly doesn’t hurt that there are unique assets in abandoned apartments and grocery stores to help set them apart from traditional barricaded areas, abandoned vehicles, broken fences, etc. The controls really aid the immersion as well, and I’m glad to see that developers other than Nintendo are doing great things with the gamepad so early on in the Wii U’s life cycle.

DLC review: Fallout: New Vegas - Dead Money

After your Pip-Boy picks up a new radio signal, you are granted access to an abandoned bunker formerly used by the Brotherhood of Steel. Moments after entering, gas fills the bunker and you pass out only to awaken in the courtyard of the Sierra Madre, a first-class casino that never got a chance to see its glory days thanks to the nuclear war. You are instructed by Father Elijah to seek out three others who will participate in a heist with you, and he informs you that - thanks to the explosive collar around your neck - you have no choice but to cooperate. The first stretch of your mission has you rounding up your partners-in-crime - a split-personality super mutant named Dog, a mute human named Christine, and a former musical star Ghoul named Dean Domino. While Father Elijah comes across as a demanding prick, these three prove a colorful cast amidst the hopeless backdrop of the Sierra Madre.

From the moment you set foot inside the Sierra Madre Villa, you are denied use of anything and everything you might have gathered during your adventures in the Mojave. Your weapons, apparel, aid, and bottle caps have all been taken by Father Elijah. While the Sierra Madre Villa is a decent size, there isn't much of anything to explore. There is a hologram merchant who can sell you a few useful items, but you'll have to sell other things that you find in the area, since you have no caps on you. Certain areas are blocked off by toxic gas, though Dean Domino grants you a perk that allows you to walk through it unharmed. Far more frustrating are the numerous traps inside of seemingly every building and the speakers that set your collar on a timed countdown. Some speakers are easy to spot and can be destroyed, saving your life. Others cannot be destroyed at all and you must find a nearby computer terminal in order to shut off the speakers and save your brain from being splattered all over the walls. The DLC does not bother to differentiate between the two types of speakers, and thus it is up to you, the player, to be extra cautious anytime your collar begins to beep.

Dead Money introduces two new types of enemies, the first ones you encounter being the various rankings of Ghost People that inhabit the Sierra Madre Villa outside of the actual casino. The Ghost People place an interesting spin on traditional combat, as they are capable of jumping incredible distances as they dodge your attacks. They bear a creepy visage by wearing gas masks and hoods, and they will only fall unconscious when their health bar reaches zero. If you do not follow this up by hacking their limbs off, the Ghost People will rise back up and continue fighting. However, combat as a whole proves rather frustrating, as only a very small number of stimpacks can be found in the Sierra Madre. Access to food is also restricted, as the vast majority of it is accessible only through vending machines that require you to collect Sierra Madre chips. And as most of these chips are found in areas crawling with Ghost People, the result is zero-sum as you've fought long and hard to spend your chips and end up using all of your food to heal the wounds that you earned fighting to get those chips in the first place. To top things off, once you've completed the first leg of your trials in the Sierra Madre Villa, the game sends a horde of Ghost People to throw spears and gas bombs at you while your struggle to make your way back to the central fountain so that you can continue on to the casino portion. Hologram patrols await within, and they can strike you down with a just a few ranged hits. Combat is incredibly unforgiving, even if you are playing with a fully leveled-up character, and this entire approach seems poorly planned.

The casino portion is relatively short - less than an hour if you have decent stats in lock picking. You will interact with your three partners briefly, in scenarios that test your abilities to sneak and play defensively. As you explore the upper floors of the Sierra Madre and the vault beneath, the loudspeakers come back into play, though it is (once again) frequently unclear if the speakers in the immediate area can actually be destroyed or if you simply need to high-tail it to a nearby safe zone (usually a secluded corner or hallway between rooms). What should be a relatively short distance to travel ends up taking the most time out of anything in the casino, and frequent saves are recommended.

In the end, you don't earn as much in the way of special items or equipment as you do in the other Fallout: New Vegas DLC packs. Those weapons that are exclusive to the Sierra Madre prove mediocre when compared to the high end of what the Mojave can offer. The presentation of the Sierra Madre incorporates an atmosphere along the lines of action-horror, which is an interesting and welcome spin on the adventure-RPG formula already established. In many ways, Dead Money feels like more work than it's worth, and can be thoroughly frustrating in large chunks. It is not uncommon for the early DLC packs for a game to feel weaker than those that follow, but it seems counter-intuitive for Bethesda to have released the most challenging one first.

My rating: 6 (out of 10)*

*(rating applies solely to downloadable content, not its inclusion with the content on the original game disc or other downloadable content)

Ada gets her own campaign in Resident Evil 6

Capcom recently announced that a fourth campaign will be included as an unlockable bonus in Resident Evil 6. In the style of Resident Evil 4's Assignment Ada or Separate Ways, the story will follow Ada as she crosses paths with the main cast. The graveyard gameplay footage below would indicate that Ada's levels may place emphasis on classic horror.



Also announced was a new gameplay mode known as Agent Hunt. It appears to be a zombies vs. humans mode, with emphasis on group tactics to take down the game's heroes. Over time, players can mutate and upgrade their zombie character, providing a variety of tactical approaches in order to gain the upper hand.

Resident Evil 6 E3 gameplay trailer

The female antagonist has now been confirmed to be Ada Wong, which makes sense in the grand scheme of the Resident Evil story. The environments highlighted here look even cooler than the ones we've seen in previous trailers, due in part to the fact that they provide dynamic gameplay. The plane tilts back and forth as Leon shoots down infected passengers, while the bodies littering the underwater area look delightfully creepy. Prior to this trailer, we had a general idea of where the story was headed and who the heroes were, but this one focuses more on the villains and different enemy types.

Pre-E3 trailer for Tomb Raider

Last year Square Enix and Crystal Dynamics showed off their vision for a new Tomb Raider. It featured a younger Lara Croft instead of the seasoned adventurer from the older games. This new trailer continues that theme with a look into the fear and anxiety Lara experiences as she and her party and trapped on an island and are kidnapped by some unknown group of people. While last year's reveal trailer made it seem as though this new Tomb Raider would be heavy on the action and adventure elements, this new gameplay trailer seems to imply that some survival-horror elements may also be at play. I love the environment designs shown thus far. I never played many of the older Tomb Raider games, but the atmosphere in this one really appeals to me. That said, I could do without the amount of screaming and crying that Lara exhibits here. I'll have to keep my eye on Tomb Raider it as more information is released.

Get More: GameTrailers.com, Tomb Raider - E3 2012: Exclusive Crossroads Trailer HD, PC Games, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360

3DS review: Resident Evil Revelations

Acting as a bridge between the events of Resident Evil 4 and Resident Evil 5, the highly-anticipated Resident Evil Revelations primarily follows Jill Valentine and her new partner Parker Luciani as they investigate the terrorist group known as Veltro. Jill and Parker are informed that their director, Clive O'Brien, lost contact with Chris Redfield and his partner Jessica in the middle of the ocean, onboard the cruise ship Queen Zenobia. As Jill and Parker soon discover, the ship is infested with zombies that look very different from those in Raccoon City. These infected individuals, known as Ooze, are a grey-blue shade and their skin has been layered over with what looks like putty or clay. Jill and Parker must move quickly if they are to find Chris and Jessica, and unravel the mystery of who is the face behind Veltro as well.

The touch screen menu acts as a sort of simplified take on Resident Evil 4's attache case. You can stock up on herbs and grenades all you want, provided you can find them as they tend to be sparse in the many areas of the cruise ship. There are only three slots for firearms, and players will have to choose an approach that best fits their style, with handguns, rifles, machine guns, shotguns, and magnums all being obtainable over the course of the game. Any guns not on-hand can be stored in a case which can be accessed in certain rooms spread throughout the ship. The resource management aspect is a large part of what perpetuates this Resident Evil's sense of tension, and players will be wise to explore areas off the beaten path to make sure they all well-prepared for the increasingly difficult horrors that lie in wait.

New to Revelations is a scanning device which allows players to detect otherwise-hidden items and ammunition, as well as a few difficult-to-locate enemies. Its primary purpose, though, is to grant players a chance to scan enemies, rewarding them with another herb if they manage to scan a sufficient number. Scanning live enemies will speed up this process considerably, but also has the potential to place Jill in temporary danger, since the scanner's range is limited. It proves a useful means for stocking up on herbs when the count is low, but the potential seems largely untapped. The stylus is also used in a few puzzle sequences that lead the gameplay to feel a bit more varied and interesting.

Enemy designs appear as slight variations on the same general zombie early on, with a standard enemy being followed up with one that is lethal at close-range and another that fires projectiles. As new areas become unlocked, new threats are presented. In partially flooded sections of the Queen Zenobia, Jill and Parker must be wary of fish-like monsters that will lunge out of the water to kill them almost instantaneously. During flashbacks to the Terragrigia Panic (a key plot point that is referenced a number of times), Hunters charge in packs as players provide cover for wounded allies. The boss fights divide into two categories: the legitimately scary and incredibly tense, and the epically-scaled with a higher degree of challenge. It would be a shame to spoil the best of the bunch, but I think it fair to say that the environment can make all the difference in taking on these more powerful baddies, and subsequently having the crap scared out of you.

The Queen Zenobia is comprised of many different areas, from the atrium that basks in a golden glow, to the casino with its flashing lights, to the industrial piping of the lower levels. Most areas are interconnected in some way, and while there is some backtracking to be done, it is never in the style of Metroid. Each area is designed with at least one room to act as a sort of central hub, and though it may not strike players as obvious right away, this saves a lot of time in revisiting old areas in order to access new ones.

Chris shares the spotlight during a sizeable portion of the latter half of the game, while the rest of the cast is comprised of almost entirely new faces. The company of Parker's former trainee Raymond Vester is most welcome, while FBC chief O'Brien fits into his shoes as a commanding figure well enough. The odd couple, Quint and Keith, only play a significant role during a very few key moments. While Quint's obsession with computers and quirky mannerisms can come across as annoying, his behavior is a welcome break from the general 'evil mastermind' or 'heroic badass' formulas that the series has gravitated toward so frequently in the past. The only character in the lineup likely to annoy the hell out of players is Jessica Sherawat. She is obsessed with two things for the duration of each stage of her mission: Chris, and her own existence. She constantly talks about her fit figure and a desire to follow Chris through treacherous areas, then complains when enemies attack. Also, she downright sucks when it comes to providing any sort of assistance. On the flipside, Revelations does well to avoid cheesy one-liners, with only a very few exchanges interrupting the flow of an otherwise well-written dialogue.

Outside of the main story is Raid Mode, a new take on the arcade-style bonus game that Mercenaries was bred from. Instead of managing ammo and items as enemies attack in waves, Raid Mode foregoes any and all emphasis on chaining combos in order to maintain the focus on survival. One enemy after another must be defeated as players make their way through the halls of the ship. Defeating all the enemies in an area will unlock the key needed to access the next section, and ultimately the end goal. The same enemies from the campaign await players, with some variants mixing up the predictable. Smaller enemies might not be able to take many hits before they fall, but their speed and stature can make them difficult to hit. Large enemies move slowly but can take many hits before they are defeated. Players can choose from Jill, Parker, or Chris at the outset, and will unlock new characters as they level up with each new area completed.

While the cast and new T-Abyss virus hold ties to the games that precede Revelations in the Resident Evil timeline, it stands strong as its own individual narrative. With key twists and turns along the way, the story plays out in a very suspenseful manner. Whereas Resident Evil 5 aimed more toward the action side of the spectrum, Revelations presents a balance of the survival-horror and action in the same way Resident Evil 4 did; there are some sections that will require players to stave of hordes of the infected, but by and large the game is concerned with having its characters explore the narrow passages of the Queen Zenobia. The lighting effects and hauntingly gorgeous soundtrack set the creepy tone immediately, and from graphical standpoint Revelations is easily one of the best looking games on the 3DS, if not one of the best looking handheld games ever made.

A few shortcomings hold this handheld Resident Evil from achieving perfection, such as the confusing nature of how the dodge mechanic actually works (even by the end of the game it seems like luck holds greater influence over Jill's ability to dodge enemy attacks than a quick response from the player). The frame rate tends to drop noticeably, if only for a few seconds, when loading new areas of the ship via the connecting hallways. But taking into consideration the polish over nearly every other element of this ten-hour experience, Revelations is a title that puts many a full console retail release to shame.

My rating: 9 (out of 10)

Resident Evil 6 Captivate Trailer

A new trailer for Resident Evil 6 has been released, and it highlights the ways in which the three main characters' paths will cross. I'm glad to see that my speculation regarding the previouly-unnamed third protagonist (now know as Jake Muller) was not too far off, though that does seem like a rather significant plot point to reveal in a trailer this early on. Hopefully there will be plenty more twists and turns saved for the actual release date, which has been bumped up from November 20th to October 2nd.

Resident Evil 6 speculation

There are only a couple of things I am going to be covering at present, but they deal with two plot points that I assume will be relatively important in the grand scheme of Resident Evil 6’s story. This will follow in a similar style as my speculation toward The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword, and anyone reading this should keep in mind that what I am saying here has in no way been confirmed by Capcom, nor anyone else. It’s just me presenting some theories on what might be. (Warning: spoilers regarding Resident Evil Revelations below.)

Resident Evil 6’s reveal trailer highlighted three playable characters. While I was quite pleased to see the return of Leon and not particularly surprised (though rather indifferent) toward Chris’ return, there was a third character who struck me as a pleasant surprise. This character currently has no name, though I can only imagine we will find out more about him in the coming months building up to RE6’s release. In the trailer, this newcomer is shown fighting one BOW in particular, and most of his combat is physical. While Leon and Chris have been known to punch and kick enemies at close-range, they generally rely on guns to dispatch the infected. This guy, on the other hand, displayed some impressive physical prowess as he dropped a few enemies with a low spin kick and hurdled his way over rooftops and scaffolding.

There is a line in the trailer where this new character indicates that the world is only interested in his blood, implying that it is a valuable asset and perhaps some sort of vaccine to whatever new virus has been unleashed. Taking these two elements into consideration, this newcomer seems to bear some similarities with Albert Wesker and may share some of his attributes. While it has been previously stated none of the Wesker children beyond Albert survived, perhaps someone created a new batch of them (or at the very least, a single new Wesker child). This would also help to explain why this character appears so much younger than Albert.

The second point I wanted to bring up relates to a line Chris says in the reveal trailer, when he asks one of his squad members, “How many of our men are dead because of that bitch?” The teammate then corrects Chris by informing him that while he is upset by whatever turn of events took place, he does not think Chris’ “personal vendetta” should get in the way of their mission. The conversation, though brief, implies one of two things: either A) Chris lost a great number of people whom he was very close to, or B) he knows the person responsible for the death of his troops on a more personal level than some new face on the list of Resident Evil villains. If it is indeed the latter, the only female antagonist still currently alive post-Resident Evil 5 is Jessica Sherawat. Since she took the T-Abyss virus following the events of Resident Evil Revelations, it is possible that she helped to further its research to create a new virus, one that will be seen in Resident Evil 6. If Jessica is indeed tied to the events of Resident Evil 6, I see no reason that Raymond and Parker could not make appearances as well. Perhaps Resident Evil Revelations will serve not only as a bridge between the events of RE4 and RE5, but also as buildup to the events of RE6.

Bioshock Infinite: the Siren

The fourth and final of the heavy hitters from Bioshock Infinite has been revealed, and I have to say, I find it the most interesting concept of the four. I love how Irrational Games decided to tie this enemy class closely with the culture of the time period. The Siren looks melancholy, sad, and somewhat creepy. But her design seems to aim more towards 'haunting' and less toward plain old 'scary'. Again, I'm really excited to check out the Siren and the other heavy hitters come Fall. My only complaint with this trailer is the minimal gameplay footage it provides of the Siren in action.

Resident Evil 6 Mercenaries mode wishlist

With Resident Evil 6 launching this Fall, I’ve lately found myself spending a fair amount of time revisiting the Mercenaries modes in RE 4 and RE 5. While it was never a big selling point for me when I first picked up Resident Evil 4, Mercenaries mode has become one of my favorite bonus gametypes of any video game I’ve ever played. I love the intense, arcade-style time-sensitive play style, and I feel just about every one of the levels is designed quite well. Admittedly, I’m a bit partial to the characters available in RE 4, though I think as a whole the Mercenaries experience plays out much more smoothly in RE 5. There has been no confirmation as of yet if Resident Evil 6 will include a Mercenaries mode. But if the bonus game types that were included in Revelations and Operation Raccoon City are any indication, I’d say it’s a pretty safe bet that RE 6 will include something similar to Mercenaries mode.

So far, the reveal trailer has shown us the three main characters of Resident Evil 6, Leon S. Kennedy, Chris Redfield, and one unnamed newcomer. Assuming Mercenaries mode is included, it’s a pretty obvious conclusion that each of these three will be playable in the aforementioned bonus game type. But who else might be thrown into the fight? Resident Evil 5 granted players some flexibility with different weapon loadouts and costumes for characters, but for the sake of this list, I’m only going to be focusing on the characters I think could make for strong additions to the Mercenaries roster.

Ada Wong - At the end of Resident Evil 4, Ada took off with the plagas sample to deliver it to Wesker. Now that Wesker is presumed dead following the events of RE 5, I think it’s safe to say that Ada will play some role in RE 6. It’s difficult to guess as to how directly involved with the events of RE 6 Ada will be, but frankly I was a bit surprised her name wasn’t even mentioned in RE 5.

In RE 4’s Mercenaries mode, Ada was fast and agile. She let her stilettos do the talking when it came to close-quarters attacks, and was granted a sniper rifle, TMP, pistol, and incendiary grenades. Ada was a character designed for players who were more concerned with being able to move around quickly and put some distance between themselves and the encroaching hordes of the infected. Why not bring that same style back for RE6 - I mean, if it isn’t broken, don’t fix it, right?

Hunk - Probably the most difficult to master from the RE4 Mercenaries lineup, Hunk relied heavily on his TMP and grenades. I think the explosives-oriented character type is one that, when placed in the right hands, can produce some impressive results. I don’t think there needs to be much of a change from Hunk’s RE4 incarnation, though perhaps he could be granted use of a few of the trip mines from RE5.

Rebecca Chambers - Rebecca is another character that caters to a very specific crowd. She’s quite heavily stocked up on health supplies, while her default weaponry is rather basic. The approach with Rebecca is one that requires a lot of patience and well-placed shots. But again, she is one of those characters that, when placed in the right hands, can rack up significant combos.

Claire Redfield - Capcom has focused largely on three characters as the poster children for the Resident Evil franchise – Leon, Chris, and Jill. Jill’s role has become increasingly prominent through RE5 and Revelations. That said, I think Chris would be at too much of an advantage within the story mode to have Jill at his side the entire time. And it’s been a while since Claire got play time outside of the Chronicles games and most recently Operation Raccoon City. Claire’s inclusion would be in keeping with the likes of Barry Burton in RE5’s The Mercenaries Reunion, and might cater to some of the old-school fans, regardless of what her loadout is.

? - I don’t know which face to put with this last one. In RE4, Krauser was absolute power house for those who knew how to use him properly. In RE5, Tribal Sheva could prove to be a force to be reckoned with, a bow and grenade launcher in her arsenal. I could care less if their RE6 equivalent is granted use of an actual bow or not. But what I am concerned with a character that is something of a heavy-hitter. Someone whose loadout is limited to one or two weapons, but has one distinct means of attack that can spell imminent destruction for the infected. Now, I do feel the way Krauser was handled in RE4 proved a bit more balanced with the rest of the cast than Tribal Sheva did in RE5. And that has to do with the fact that his mutated red arm can only be used a few times per match. Whether this heavy-hitter’s most noteworthy attack is time-sensitive or activated after a set number of kills have been chained, the more careful planning is required when playing with such a character, the better.

Bioshock Infinite: Heavy Hitters

Lately, Irrational Games has been teasing the upcoming Bioshock Infinite with a series of behind-the-scenes looks at enemy designs from in the game. I loved the Big Daddies and Splicers from the first two Bioshock games, but Infinite's baddies take creativity and weirdness to a whole different plane. And I love it. The most recent enemy revealed is the Boy of Silence, but you can also check out the Handyman and Motorized Patriot below.

Boys of Silence:



Handyman:



Motorized Patriot:



There's a number of reasons that Bioshock Infinite is one of the games I am most excited for this year. The enemy designs are only a part of that equation, but they have not failed to impress me yet, so here's to looking forward to more trailers!

DLC review: Resident Evil 5 - Desperate Escape

While Lost in Nightmares focused heavily on the classic horror aspects of Resident Evil, Desperate Escape does the opposite, presenting a short side story brimming with the tense action that Resident Evil 5 is so frequently noted for. It's also a considerably shorter DLC package. Whereas Lost in Nightmares had a slow pacing centered around solving puzzles and defeating a few particularly strong enemies for more than an hour, Desperate Escape runs for approximately forty-five minutes (depending on the difficulty setting).

The story picks up with Sheva's longtime friend Josh Stone finding Jill Valentine not long after she was rescued from Wesker's control device. Jill has some valuable information for Chris regarding Wesker, while Josh has a contact with a helicopter that can provide them a lift out of the area, which is crawling with Majini. The two will have to fight their way through the plagas-infested horde to get to safety, and each area layers on to the presentation of an uphill battle (both figuratively and literally). Despite the sizeable number of Majini that appear in Desperate Escape, this feat is quite easy. Only a few sections present noteworthy difficulty, adding turrets and a handful of the stronger Majini into the mix.

This DLC is entirely devoid of any puzzle elements. Any keys players need to acquire will be placed immediately preceding the door they unlock. However, certain gates are barred shut and players will need to temporarily leave their partner behind to unlock them. But only one of these is presented at a particularly tense moment, leaving the rest to seem somewhat trivial. The element of challenge best represented in Desperate Escape is supply management. Players will need to determine who gets what weapon, and what ammo they are going to use as there is not an abundance of health or ammo throughout.

A new character named Doug is introduced early on, a friend and colleague of Josh's. He serves primarily as a plot point, being the pilot of the helicopter that is en route to pick up the two lead characters. Near the end of the DLC, Capcom tries to draw some emotional connection between Doug and the player, which ultimately falls flat due to the fact that the experience is so short.

Desperate Escape is an interesting experiment on Capcom's part. In many ways, the tense atmosphere of this DLC is reminiscent of The Mercenaries mini-game. But as a side-story to Resident Evil 5, it is significantly lacking in a few areas. The whole scenario presents an adrenaline rush, but not a single scary moment. It's also not that difficult, though Capcom might have been able to mask the lack of a challenge by including quick-time cutscenes - again, these are entirely absent, though there are a few segments that practically beg for them to have been incorporated. Given the fact that Josh and Jill's run to safety is territory that was more familiar to fans of Resident Evil 5 than the incident at the Spencer Estate prior to the release of the DLC, Capcom did a decent job. But it is just that - a decent job; nothing outstanding here.

My rating: 7.25 (out of 10)*

*(rating applies solely to downloadable content, not its inclusion with the content on the original game disc or other downloadable content)

25 Days of Villains - #3: Albert Wesker

"The right to be a God... That right is now mine."

A product of the Umbrella Corporation, Albert Wesker was the standout member in the Wesker children project. He spent many years as part of the Umbrella team, before transferring to the S.T.A.R.S. division of the Raccoon City Police Department. As Umbrella began experimenting on animals and people, Wesker began to lay out plans for his own rise to power.

During the Mansion Incident, Wesker duped his S.T.A.R.S. team into believing he was their ally and commanding officer. Faced with the mutated plants and animals that infested the mansion, all but a few of the team members died. While Chris Redfield and Jill Valentine stopped the Tyrant, Wesker led them to believe he had been killed by it. In reality, Wesker had injected himself with a chemical provided to him by former colleague William Birkin, and his body was resurrected, now with superhuman abilities.

Years later, Wesker sent Ada Wong into a remote region of Europe to retrieve Plagas samples. Ada crossed paths with Leon S. Kennedy a number of times, and though Wesker was likely aware of the aid she provided Leon, did nothing to interfere. He was prepared, however, for Chris Redfield to come looking for him following the Kennedy report that Leon followed after his eradication of the Los Illuminados.

Wesker then travelled to the estate of Ozwell E Spencer, who revealed to Wesker that he had been the one in charge of all the experimentation and bio-organic weapons. Spencer had hoped to use these to force the next phase of human evolution, but with both the Plagas and the Progenitor Virus at his disposal, Wesker informed Spencer that he would assume that role and shape the world to his own ends. As Wesker killed Spencer, Chris and Jill entered the room and engaged him in combat. Despite their skill with firearms, the duo could not compete with Wesker's inhuman physical strength and speed. Wesker leapt from the window, taking Jill with him. This led Chris to believe her dead, when in reality Wesker had taken her prisoner, attached a control device to her chest, and commanded her as one of his underlings.

Eventually Chris and Wesker met again in the Kijuju region of Africa, where he and his new partner Sheva Alomar took on wave after wave of Plagas-infected Majini and wildlife. These proved stronger than those Leon had encountered five years earlier, but the two manage to track down Wesker through Ricardo Irving and Excella Gionne. Wesker revealed to them his plans to unleash Uroboros worldwide by spreading it into the atmosphere, as well as the fact that Jill was still very much alive, albeit under his control. Chris and Sheva struggled to free Jill, but eventually succeeded. Afterwards, Chris and Sheva followed Wesker to his jet, fighting him in mid-flight until the aircraft crashed into a volcano. Furious with the duo for having foiled that which he had waited so long for, Wesker unleashed his own mutated form. While he nearly killed Chris and Sheva, he was forced into the lava and blown up by an RPG round as Jill and Josh Stone came to the rescue.

Throughout all the Resident Evil games, Wesker carried himself with a cool confidence. Despite the fact that much of his achievements were met through manipulation and murder, he did have a hand in much of the research he ended up taking for his own use. His idea that humans needed to be saved through a forced evolution into something monstrous and controllable, as well as he desire to be akin to a God shows his delusional mindset. And it is because of this that he shows little to no restraint in just how evil he can be.

Boss theme:

DLC review: Resident Evil 5 - Lost in Nightmares

Lost in Nightmares allows players to experience firsthand the events that led to Jill Valentine going MIA. Jill and Chris Redfield are sent to investigate the estate of Ozwell E. Spencer, former president of the Umbrella Corporation. For the sake of better explaining the DLC, I am going to assume anyone playing Lost in Nightmares has already completed Resident Evil 5. If not, fair warning: some spoilers lay in store.

As some of the flashback cutscenes in Resident Evil 5 indicated, Jill and Chris encountered Wesker at the Spencer estate immediately before Jill's disappearance. So players will already know the ending of the Lost in Nightmares story before going into it. It might seem a bit odd of Capcom to build DLC around this, but the final product is actually quite well-polished and provides an interesting look into the transitions that take place from the early games to the more recent installments. Notes lying around the estate provide insight from both Spencer and his butler, exploring their plans for Umbrella's research and concerns about Wesker.

The gameplay uses the same basic mechanics of Resident Evil 5, though the setting aims more for the spooky nature of the original Resident Evil. The Spencer estate is host to a number of puzzles and traps that players must overcome - or in some cases use to their advantage. The shooter mechanics remain intact, though there isn't a lot of ammunition lying around and the few enemies players do encounter are able to take quite a beating before they go down. The final boss fight is a triumphant payoff, though some may find it to be a bit lengthy.

The moody lighting and stormy weather outside the estate emphasize the more classic horror theme of Lost in Nightmares. Guardians can be seen slinking off in to dimly lit areas of the estate's lower levels. A piano can be heard, but when Chris and Jill go to investigate, there is no longer any sound, nor anyone playing it. Aside from these thematic elements, though, there are a number of carefully-planned adrenaline rush scares. Enemies will come crashing through walls, while the acquisition of certain items will trigger a trap that players must rescue either themselves or their partner from.

Lost in Nightmares will take a little under an hour and a half to complete, depending on the difficulty setting and how long players spend searching for treasure and key items. The only drawback to this is that the DLC does not offer a save feature. It's a very well-written piece of the larger Resident Evil universe, even though it doesn't throw any major twists at players. For those who wants to extend their Resident Evil 5 experience, or for anyone who enjoyed the Resident Evil games of yesteryear and wants a quick fix, Lost in Nightmares is a worthwhile investment.

My rating: 10 (out of 10)*

*(rating applies solely to downloadable content, not its inclusion with the content on the original game disc or other downloadable content)

Xbox 360 review: Resident Evil 5

With his former partner Jill Valentine missing in action (and presumed dead), Chris Redfield heads to an area in Africa known as Kijuju to investigate bio-organic weapons smuggling as part of his assignment with the BSAA (Bioterrorism Security Assessment Alliance). Once there, he meets his new partner, Sheva Alomar, and things quickly go south for the two as hordes of plagas-infected locals begin attacking them. Making their way deeper into Kijuju, Chris and Sheva make capturing B.O.W. smuggler Ricardo Irving their primary objective, as evidence of Tricell Laboratories' involvement with the plagas breakout begins to reveal itself.

The story of Resident Evil 5 is well executed, following a progression of events that feels very natural. While most of the early missions lay the groundwork for what is to come later on, things are kept interesting through the other BSAA groups that assist Chris and Sheva. And that's one thing that really stands out about Resident Evil 5 when compared to just about every other game in the franchise - you aren't alone for the majority of the game (at least, with regards to the story and cutscenes). Even with zombies running rampant throughout African cities, the chatter from allies and occasional assist from a friendly helicopter help make the events in Kijuju seem that much more feasible. The game as a whole does a good job of closing the book on the main Resident Evil story that started back in 1996, while still leaving enough doors open for future games.

Much like the story, the gameplay is more heavy on action than survival-horror. The core of the gameplay is rooted in third-person shooter mechanics, but a lot of the time the game will require players to complete puzzles while being chased by enemies and at the same time allotting them only so much ammunition. Some areas throw in vehicular action, which is a nice break from facing down hordes of enemies on foot. It also presents an interesting exploration into how Plagas differs from the T-virus.


The game's biggest problem, however, stems from an inconvenient item management system. In Resident Evil 4, the game would pause each time players needed to switch up ammo or heal themselves, which worked wonderfully. But as the development of Resident Evil 5 placed heavy emphasis on cooperative play, this element was not carried over. Players can still change up weapons and heal themselves in the midst of a mission, but must do so while enemies are still swarming around them. Also, each character is only allotted nine slots, and while a shotgun may take up one single slot, so does an herb. When playing solo, players can use Sheva as a support character if they so choose, stocking her up on herbs and lighter weaponry. Another aspect that lessens the frustration of this item management system is the fact that Sheva does a decent job in helping fight off enemies.

Resident Evil 5 isn't a particularly scary game, at least when compared to its predecessors. Some of this is due to the fact that the setting is in the wide open plains of Africa, and that much of the early missions take place in broad daylight. But it is also largely due to the new control and gameplay styles adopted in Resident Evil 4 (and carried over to Resident Evil 5). For those who have played the fourth title, expect that many of the enemies will have some counterpart in Resident Evil 5. Majini are essentially Ganados, while the Ndesu is a slight variation on the El Gigante. Even the Uroboros Test Subject - the first boss encountered in the game - bears some similarities to the Regenerators. That said, new enemies such as Lickers and the mutated bat-like Popokarimu are thrown in the mix and require players to use a trial-and-error system in combat.


While the Majini are the most basic recurring enemies encountered in Resident Evil 5, there are a number of variations on them. Players must adopt slightly varying strategies in order to dispatch them, whereas Resident Evil 4 simply skinned them over with new appearances for each level. Most of the boss fights are both fun and challenging, presenting a variety of enemies and strategies for taking them down. These are often the most tense portions of the game as well, so players will need to be attentive and stay on their toes as much as possible. And while many of the boss fights certainly play out on an epic scale, those who have played Resident Evil 4 will recognize that they have fought each of the major bosses before - if, perhaps, with some minor differences.

Mercenaries mode makes its return, with little change - which is perfect, considering how well it handled in Resident Evil 4. There are still only four characters to choose from, though each has at least two different loadouts and costumes to choose from. The different levels players can choose from range are all larger than those from Resident Evil 4 - some only a bit larger, while others offer a significantly larger playing field. Some are more open, while others are comprised of narrow halls and multi-leveled platforms, so each will require a different strategic approach.

A wide variety of environments are presented throughout the game, ranging from narrow city streets, to underground temple ruins, to swampland, and even the deck of a cargo freighter. The graphical style aims for a fairly realistic depiction of Africa, but the lighting effects add an extra level of oomph to make the game that much more visually appealing. The soundtrack plays to both the dark and gloomy parts of the game, as well as the tense epic battle sequences, presenting a nice contrast in style but still retaining a consistent identity. Though it may not be as scary as its predecessors, Resident Evil 5 presents a fitting conclusion to the story of Chris and Wesker.

My rating: 9.0 (out of 10)