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Tom Orry, Editor – Crysis, Xbox 360 and PS3
I loved Crysis on the PC when it was released all those years ago. It felt like a game from the future, and the thought of it running on a console seemed quite unlikely – or at least that was the case until Crysis 2 managed to run decently on Xbox 360 and PS3. As soon as Crytek got its latest engine up and running on consoles, rumours of a Crysis port were everywhere. Thankfully when it materialised it was pretty, pretty good. Sure, the frame rate isn’t quite smooth, but overall it’s a fine port of a game that at one point blew everything else so far out of the water, it was in a league all of its own.
Neon Kelly, Deputy Editor – Dead Rising 2: Off the Record, PC, PS3, Xbox 360
Earlier this week I finally got around to taming Snowflake the Tiger, something I never quite managed in the vanilla version of Dead Rising 2. It’s just as well that I’ve not been attacked by a big cat in the intervening period, as I’d have been utterly helpless. Now, however, I know how to handle this life-threatening situation: you throw three steaks at the killer moggie, and the minute it eats the third it’ll become your friend for all time. I’m going to make a point of carrying fresh meat with me everywhere I go from now on.
Sure, my clothes might start to stink of blood and beef juice, but it’s a sacrifice I have to make. It’s only a matter of time before David Cameron closes all our zoos to save the national economy, and when that happens there are going to be big cats everywhere. Probably.
Martin Gaston, Previews Editor – Batman: Arkham Asylum, PC
Few games hold up as well as Rocksteady’s Batman: Arkham Asylum. It’s chuffing amegamazing. I’ve been reading Batman comics for most of my life, and this is probably the first time I’ve ever played a game where I think the developers really understand the character past what’s shown in the movies.
The reason it works, though, is because it’s a bloody good game as well as a knowing recreation of the character. I didn’t actually realise how good a game it was until I tried (and succeeded, thankyouverymuch) to get all 1000G in it this week, forcing myself to learn the intricacies of the combat system in order to bosh off the challenge rooms. I’m glad I did. Once you’ve worked out the moves, there are very few games that can boast combat as bone-crunchingly satisfying as this.
Jamin Smith, Staff Writer – Dark Souls, Xbox 360
You need an iron will and the patience of a saint to get any enjoyment out of Dark Souls. It’s totes like the game is trying to make you quit, like it wants you to eject the disc and snap it in half. Once you realise this, however, and are able to find ways of defying this intent, it becomes increasingly enjoyable. The fact it’s such a bastard of a game only spurs you on to play it more; you’ll keep going out of sheer bloody-mindedness. I’m telling myself I’m going to do just that – keep playing in spite of the pain, anger and frustration just to say I’ve done it. Whether this will actually happen is another story entirely. It’s blates a no though, teebs.
Emily Gera, Staff Writer – Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood, Xbox 360
Well, the multiplayer specifically, anyway. You’ve got to give it to Ubisoft to take an idea that’s been largely ignored since The Ship and Spy Party, and run with it. In a world littered with Deathmatch and Capture the Flag, Creed’s multiplayer wanders away from the obvious and traditional mode types, attempting a more subtle, stealth-oriented affair in which you try to convince other players you are an NPC. The multiplayer is entirely about restraint – something you rarely see in gaming. You move slow, run only when necessary, and act as a non-player character would to avoid being caught out. Really worth a go.
