FIFA 13 Review

One of the new additions to Fifa 13 is the Match Day feature. The Match Day feature (Which can be triggered on and off) updates the players stats from the each team to how they played recently so if in real life a player isn't doing so well he will lose stats along with this you will be alerted with a red icon telling you they have gone down. Not only can players lose stats but if they had a good match in real life their stats will be higher and you will be shown with a green icon telling you they have higher stats.

Not only does Match Day change up players stats but it also has an affect on commentary. The commentators will mention what place both teams are in their league which really impressed me because it added that realism factor that they was trying to hit this year. Not only does commentary mention things about both teams they will actually update the players with false scores for other matches that are being played at the same time. You will see the scores in the top right corner with the updated score during the match.

Another new feature to Fifa 13 is the Skill Games. Skill Games is a playable mode in the game, and can also take place before a match instead of the previous years just shooting at the keeper. Skill Games can be a way to help you improve at Fifa as well as being a mode to play fun challenges. You can improve on many different skills needed to be a good player like shooting, dribbling, crossing, free kicks and passing are just some of the many skills you can learn.

Each skill has different objectives and obstacles in your way. An example of one of the objectives in the game is in Advanced Shooting were you have to shoot the ball over some boxes and try and get the ball to hit the target for big points or at least get the ball in the net for some small points. Each Skill Game also has bronze, silver and gold versions of the challenges were you have to get the set score to progress to and unlock the next level.

Customisation is still huge in Fifa 13. There is so much to customise in this game like creating your own player, editing current players, adding your own menu music, adding your own fan chants for teams and it doesn't just stop at that before starting a match you can edit lots of different settings like match half, difficulty, what stadium you want the match to take place in, weather, time, season, pitch, game speed and you can even change what football you want to use in the game. Although its the same as previous Fifa games its still worth mentioning and praising all the customising in the game.

Gameplay has some additions as well. The first addition is the first touch controls. First touch controls are a very good addition to the gameplay because it makes gameplay unpredictable, and also you have to be much more careful when receiving the ball. Gone are the days were you can run at the ball full speed during a pass and still have the ball because this year when you run at the ball during a pass it is likely that you will lose possession of the ball to the other team. Other improvements you can expect is tighter gameplay, improved physics and A much smarter AI.

Fifa 13 is stacked with content, and I mean STACKED! Game modes include Be A Pro (Keeper and Player), Tournaments which include real life ones like the F.A Cup and you can even create your own tournament, there is a career mode where you can play as a player or manager where you will have certain goals and tasks you have to achieve and this mode can be played a real life player or you can use your own created player and finally the most popular mode in Fifa returns and that is Ultimate Team mode. Ultimate Team mode is pretty similar to previous years but this year it has the addition of Fifa Points.

Finally there is online mode where you can play against friends or random people and test your Fifa skills against them to see who is the better player. Along with normal online matches you can play Seasons. In Seasons you have to reach the target points within 10 online games or you go down a division if you hit the target you get a promotion to the next division.

I also dusted off the Kinect and tried out the Kinect features in the game,  I was impressed. The Kinect can recognize voices very well and adds a funny feature were you can swear at the ref and get booked for it. Other Kinect features include calling for substitutions and switching tactics in the game. You can also act as a manager and shout things out to the players on the pitch.

The Final Verdict

Fifa 13 impressed me the most with its new Match Day feature. Match Day was a big surprise and really managed to push Fifa's TV presentation to new heights. Customisation in the game is crazy with so much to change and do in the game and the amount of game modes in the game will keep you coming back for more until Fifa 14 comes out.

+ Match Day
+ Presentation
+ Gameplay
+ Amount of content

Final Score

9/10 

Borderlands 2 Review

When Borderlands was released in 2009 it ended up being one of the best games of the year. After releasing some very good quality DLC we wondered "When would we get more Borderlands?" and last year we got the answer when Borderlands 2 was confirmed for 2012, and I was very excited to see what they could pull out the hat with Borderlands 2. Let's see if Borderlands 2 managed to be the same quality game that was released 3 years ago.

The main story takes place 5 years after the original events of Borderlands as we are introduced to a man called Handsome Jack who is the leader of the Hyperion Corporation. Jack rose to power in Pandora after taking credit for the original vault hunters actions. Hyperion Corporation finds a new vault in Pandora which contains a powerful creature called "The Warrior". The original 4 characters are out of here and in their place are four new characters called Salvador, Maya, Axton and Zer0. All of these characters have their own personal perks and abilities that we will talk about more later in the review.

Handsome Jack ends up seeing you as a threat to him, and leaves you for dead. The four new characters must team up to put an end to Jack. While trying to put an end to Jack's plans you will run into many of the characters from the previous Borderlands games which includes the four original characters. Along with past characters you will meet new characters as well. These new characters are all very likable and some are very humorous. That's all the main story details I am going to talk about because this is a non spoiler
review, and obviously you would like to read this review unspoiled. I can tell you though to look out for some shocking storyline swerves and some awesome cutscenes that will make your finger move far away from that skip button.

You will find yourself finishing the main story at around 30 hours. Yes you read that right you will finish the game at 30 hours!! 30 hours not enough? Well its going to take you even more hours to finish all of the side missions in the game. The side missions are pretty fun too and range from the normal kind of side missions like giving this item to someone but some of the missions are very, very different like having to find human body parts for a robot so he can become a human, organising  a party for claptrap or solving a murder. I must also say that some of these missions will have you laughing out loud which is something I rarely do while playing a game. Along with these side missions your final gameplay hours will total way past that original 30 hour mark.

One of the many positives in Borderlands 2 is the voice acting. The voice acting is awesome because all of the voice actors actually do their job very well. I mentioned before how there is a character called Handsome Jack and he is a big jerk, and I feel his whole bad guy character is well done because of the awesome voice acting. The voice acting doesn't only work for the bad guy but it works really well in funny moments in the game (When you play the game you will know what I am talking about)  I got to say Borderlands 2 voice acting is up there as some of the finest voice acting in video game history.

The graphics are decent but there are some noticeable hiccups with the graphics at times mostly during parts of the game that had lots of action in it. Other than the few hiccups the whole scenery in the game looks very detailed and there is a variety of different environments in the game.

Customization in Borderlands 2 has been upgraded a little from the original game. In this game you can have new player skins for your character and you can also edit the hairstyles of the character you have chosen. I talked earlier about the perks that the new characters can get well you get them by using the skill tree that has even more skills you can upgrade than the first game. Also in the game are badass points that you get when you fill up the badass meter. The points can then be used to increase certain stats in the game like maximum health and gun damage for example.


The Final Verdict

Borderlands 2 is pretty much Borderlands 1 with the heat turned WAY up. I love this game it is up there with the other 2012 greats for the 2012 Game Of The Year. There is many reasons why I love this game like the amount of content you get with your purchase is insane you could easily have a save with side missions at 40-50 hours long (That should keep you busy) I hardly found any flaws with the game except some minor graphic problems and other bugs, and the story is pretty solid as well. You can't go wrong with a Borderlands 2 purchase for sure. I just hope we get more Borderlands 2 via DLC with the same quality as the first game.

+Amazing voice acting
+Very funny and laugh out loud moments
+Very long main story with additional side missions

-Some minor bugs

Final Score

9.5/10

Jet Set Radio HD Review

Jet Set Radio is the next classic Dreamcast game to recive the HD remake treatment after such other Dreamcast classics got the HD treatment like Sonic Adventure and Crazy Taxi in 2010. Jet Set Radio was one of my all time favorites on the Dreamcast, and I still play it on the Dreamcast in the year 2012 so you should know how excited I was for the HD release. Lets see if Jet Set Radio still holds up well in 2012.

The main objective of the game is to tag your own grafatii in certian parts of the maps while also on a time limit. You think that's it? Expect some run ins with the police and their tear gas as well as other gangs are in the area to look out for. The stages are still fun and also challenging (Mainly because of that time limit) I still find some the "boss" missions annoying. For example there is a mission were you have to tag the rival gangs, and it can be extremely difficult to catch them in the right position to tag them. Although I said its annoying its still a good challenge.

The soundtrack is mostly left untouched which is a good thing because the original soundtrack for the game was awesome, and  still is today. Normally in remakes almost all if not ALL of the soundtrack from the original is removed so its good to finally see a remake have its original soundtrack. The new HD visuals are very well done and the artistic graphics look even better than they did in the original game. You might be asking "What is new? Or "Is there anything new in the game" and the answer is yes. Added to the HD remake is an online leaderboard and some achievements for the main game. Although not much its still cool to have.

The Final Verdict

Jet Set Radio still managed to hold up well in my eyes, and maybe took it a step futher with the brand new HD graphics. Having the original soundtrack really helped me like this remake as well. Gameplay is still as fun as ever. Some of the missions in the main game are as frustrating as they was over 10 years ago. Jet Set Radio only costs 1200 points which is a steal for such a classic. People who are new to this game should love it and people who played it many years ago will have a blast of nostalgia in their face.

+Fun gameplay
+Soundtrack
+Addition of online leaderboards

-Some levels can be annoying and not as fun
-While the graphics look nice there is still some noticable problems
-Physics

Final Score

7/10 

Tekken Tag Tournament 2 Review

Tekken games have always been up there as my favourite fighting games. I love the fighters, the music, the gameplay, the fun/crazy side of Tekken games and many other things. Now I am happy to say that I feel that same way with this game the fighting gameplay while can be tricky for new comers is pretty solid once you get the hang of things which you might do this year with some of the features added to this game. Lets see how I thought this Tekken was another solid entry to the series.


Added to Tekken Tag Tournament 2 is the much needed Fight Labs. In Fight Labs you play as a robot called Combot, and play through crazy and fun missions. By completing the missions not only do you learn more about the basics of the gameplay you also earn money and experience which can be used to purchase moves and abilities for your own Combot. Your Combat can also be used in any of the offline other game modes. There is also the familiar training mode that can teach you the many different moves and combos in the game.

The customisation in TTT2 is unbelievable. Every fighter on the roster can be customised to your liking, and when I said unbelievable I mean unbelievable you can turn any of the fighters in to some of the craziest things you can think of. You can customise the fighter to the point where you can't even recognise the fighter anymore. The customisation of the fighters was one of the biggest positives in the game for me.

Now you know about the training, Fight Labs and the customisation lets get in to the real meat of this game and that is all the game modes on offer. In TTT2 you can play such modes as Arcade, Survival, Team Battle and more. The game really has been packed with content with all these modes, and I found all the offline game modes to be fun and addicting to play. Arcade mode is what you expect it to be (Including a tough boss) when you beat the final boss you are treated to a one of the many different endings in the game but with the amount of fighters in the game it's going to take you a while to finish arcade with all of them.

The online in the game is solid. I had no problems connecting to fights or problems during the fights it all ran very smooth and very well. It should also be known that TTT2 has a feature called "World Tekken Federation" which records all your online fights so you can look back and see some of your best moments or worst moments and learn where you went wrong so you can improve in those areas. I think this a very good feature to added to game.

On top of all this that you are getting with TTT2 you can also look forward to some pretty awesome looking graphics, a very good selection for a soundtrack and finally some creative arenas to fight in.

The Final Verdict

Tekken Tag Tournament 2 is a solid fighting game although it does have some noticeable flaws in the game you can't argue that it isn't full of content, has awesome looking visuals, catchy themes and other positive features that make this game so good. Normally a fighting game wouldn't be one of those games you actually called "full of content" but this I can say is full of content. You will be spending most of your hours competing online, unlocking many different unlockables, customising fighters and the most important thing is you will be having fun playing this game. I defiantly recommend you buy this game.

+Customising fighters
+Solid graphics, music and arenas
+Fun

8.5/10