VideoGamer.com Plays
What we've been playing this week.
Tom Orry, Editor - Mafia 2, Xbox 360, PS3 and PC
I really wanted to love 2K Czech's take on mafia life, but at times it's such a slog that I found myself desperate for a bit of mindless shooting. It's worth sticking with, as the story and characters are among the best in any game released this year, but the tedious tasks you're forced to do definitely grate after a while. Driving is part and parcel of the open-city genre, but I can't remember having to do it for the majority of a game before. A little more of Mafia 2's best bits would have made this an absolute must-buy, instead of the budget purchase it sadly is.
Neon Kelly, Deputy Editor - Kane and Lynch 2: Dog Days, Xbox 360, PS3 and PC
I genuinely don't know what to make of Dog Days. It's really not a very good game, whichever way you look at it: it's extremely basic in it's approach to third-person shooting, it's largely devoid of tactical options, and it's hugely repetitive. The early weapons are so inaccurate that they barely seem to work at all, and most of the game simply consists of you blowing away wave after wave of angry Shanghai gangsters. It's a bit duff, in other words – and yet somehow I felt the need to complete the thing over the course of two days. In retrospect, I think the game's visual style has a lot to do with this: the whole hand-held shaky cam thing works really well, and it results in a genuinely gritty feel. Kane and Lynch are nothing but thugs really, and the whole "story" is nothing but a parade of gun-based murder. Kane and Lynch 2 is gaming equivalent of a video nasty; I can't say that's a good thing, exactly, but it's so nihilistic that it feels quite unique. I can't exactly recommend it, though.
Martin Gaston, Staff Writer - Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light, Xbox 360, PS3 and PC
Other than the stunning voice of Keeley Hawes, I haven't really felt much love for the recent Tomb Raider games. But Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light is something else entirely: it uses the tone of the franchise to set up its own isometric universe of traps, puzzles and combat, wrapping it all up with an agreeably nostalgic bow. Levels are good by themselves, but the whole game opens up considerably when you go back to try and challenge yourself on time and score attack modes. Crystal Dynamics should leave the blockbuster theatrics to Nathan Drake and focus on this - it's easily the best game they've done since the original Soul Reaver.
Emily Gera, Staff Writer - StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty, PC
If you've been clamouring for a sensible reason to spend all of your time in front of a computer screen until your muscles atrophy and become a kind of paste, then look no further. The entire world has already spent the better part of a month going on about StarCraft 2, but I can vouch that there is no better feeling than coming out with the perfect Build Order and then realising that you haven't eaten in about six hours because you were too busy trying to create a giant wall of marauders outside your base.
User Comments
South_East_Jedi
WhoIsThePresidentNow
It's total *****e and Spiderman is the worse superhero period!!!!
draytone
Fuzzynutz
cousinwalter
Finshed: Red Dead, Boarderlands and over the weekend Prince of Persia
Lovefilm have sent some duffers this week though so its a choice between: Silent Hill: Homecoming and Prototype
scaz2244
just restarted and completed the dlc for alan wake- which is awesome in everyway.
just downloaded limbo and trials HD so hoping they will be good and fill my bank holliday up with good gaming
reynoldio
El-Dev@ Neon-Soldier32
I understand the criticism of there being too much driving and it was mildly annoying but the music on the radio was awesome to listen to, the city was vibrant and I found some of the cars quite entertaining to drive so it didn't bother me as much as it might bother some.
Neon-Soldier32@ El-Dev
El-Dev
Neon-Soldier32
I love this game so much at the minute. I have been playing it for over 3 weeks, with not laying any other games. There's only been two days where I haven't played this badboy. I absolutely love it. Even better than Mass Effect 2 and... Bioshock 2! I'm itching for another game to take my attention away!
Stegosaurus-Guy-II
Woffls
It was only a matter of time until I liked JRPG's I guess. I've tried before, with Eternal Sonata and Blue Dragon atop my to-play pile for a few years, but I've never really been hooked by any until FFXIII. It might have originally just been wanting to wade through enemies to watch the next glorious cut scene, but now I want to level my characters up and improve their equipment, and take on the tough enemies. It's one hell of a long tutorial, and I feel like after 12 hours it has still not yet finished, but it makes the combat feel so approachable and straight-forward. I intend to finish this game, but I fear that there will be some extraordinary difficulty spikes, and that has stopped me playing a game many times.
Also some Guitar Hero as usual but that's actually it for this week. [edit] OH actually I've also been playing a little bit of:
Modern Warfare 2
I've got another year of XBL and a replacement headset so I'm back on Call of Duty online. Actually did pretty well in my first session back but the next day I was frustrated with it almost instantly and I didn't even finish my 3rd match. It's really a love-hate relationship with that game, and at the moment I'm just not so good at dealing with things that piss me off. So, if I'm playing badly I'll turn it off and play another day; a much healthier solution.
mydeaddog
I'm currently about halfway through Mafia II. It's a bit of an odd one, in that it's great in the bits that work and rather dull in the bits that don't. As Tom said in his review, there's a huge amount of driving that arguably doesn't need to be there, and it's also rather slow to get going. It's clear that the devs have tried to create a plot that's comparatively realistic and not too over-the-top, but Tom's bang-on when he says that the game needs a few more shoot-outs - at least in the first half of the story (as I say, i've not seen much of the second yet).
When it does build up to speed, I think the action's pretty good. Gunfights are satisfying: the weapons sound dangerous, and when someone gets hit it looks like it actually hurts. If you shoot someone in the leg while they're in cover, they'll wince and stumble out, for example.
The voice-acting is largely great, and the script has a lot of nods and winks to Goodfellas, which should please film buffs. There's also loads of detail in the world, and the period atmosphere is perfect... I just think it's a shame there isn't more to do. 2k Czech has always argued that Mafia II isn't an sandbox game, but I think if you give people the freedom to explore their environment, it's natural that they'll expect things to do.
Overall i'm disappointed, but it's still a decent game. If you're a fan of gangster stories and you're patient enough to deal with the slow pace and relatively infrequent action sequences, you'll have a good time with it. If you own a meaty PC i'd suggest getting it on that, as the graphics will look particularly good, and you get the full range of swanky physics effects. The console versions still suffer from occasional screen-tear, which is a bit shameful given how long they've had to smooth things out.
@rbevanx
I'd rent it, to be honest. The game's short enough that you can see the whole thing in one or two sessions, and that means if you hate it then you won't have dropped too much cash. The main thing Dog Days has going for it is that it's completely nihilistic, but I doubt that will encourage you to play it over and over. It's extremely repetitive, so you'll probably have had enough after the first run-through.
El-Dev
It has quite a few nice little touches as well that show a great attention to detail.