Gears Of War: Judgment Review

Change. That word "Change" is the word that comes to my mind after playing Gears Of War: Judgment. The main campaign isn't your sequel to Gears Of War 3, but rather an entirely different story that takes place before the very first game. On top of a different side to the Gears story there are also many positive changes to the campaign that we was once used to, but lets just leave it at that for now. Multiplayer boasts all new modes (Except one classic) which will all be talked about in detail in this review. Lets see if Judgment can hold up to the past Gears games.

The campaign is based on a group known as the Kilo Squad which is made up of four characters, two of these characters are familiar faces (Damon Baird and Augustus Cole who is better known as "The Cole Train") and two of these characters are newcomers (Sofia Hendrick and Garron Paduk) The Kilo Squad are accused of treason by Colonel Ezra Loomis after a battle against the locust in Halvo Bay. The Kilo Squad are sent to trial as each member tells their side of the story, each side of their story is also one whole chapter. After 5 chapters (Baird gets 2 chapters) we go back to present day at the trial. That is all I can say about the story/plot of Judgment as this is a non spoiler review.

Brand new to the Gears Of War series is the stars system. During each section of the game (Sections vary between 6-8) you can earn up to 3 stars, the stars meter is located at the top left of your screen, and they need to be fully filled in to earn each star. Star progression is earned by doing certain things in the campaign, these actions can earn star progression, completing a declassified mission (More on that later), head shots, earning ribbons, executions and also you can lose star progression by being "downed" by an attacking enemy. Stars aren't just some random bragging rights/earn some achievements feature, they are very big feature of Gears Of War: Judgment as you have to earn 40 stars in campaign mode to even unlock "Aftermath" (Again more on this later) Stars also unlock other items like new multiplayer characters and character skins.

In my opinion the biggest addition to the campaign is the Declassified missions, the missions give more life to the campaign and offer a greater challenge to the campaign (They also boost up star progression) Declassified missions are totally optional, and can be accessed by examining the Gears logo that are painted on walls. Accessing a declassified mission again like stars isn't just a bragging rights feature, it actually unlocks more dialogue from characters who are retelling the story at the trial. Missions range from tasks like completing a section with just one certain weapon, A section that has tons of dust in the area so enemies are hard to see and also destroying certain things, these are just a few of the many different declassified missions.

The campaign itself was pretty solid, I liked how the story was a retelling of the events rather than playing as if it was happening right now because it was different, and I think this is what Epic Games was going for with this whole game which is being different from what we are used too with Gears Of War. Sadly the campaign wasn't all positives for me as I felt the campaign was pretty short compared to past Gears Of War games, sections in each chapter ended way too short, and it caused the campaign to suffer from too much stopping and starting.

The A.I can shaky at times too, when your character is "downed" by an enemy your own team mate walks past you or doesn't even come to save you at all, thankfully it wasn't all the time but it needed to be noted. Other than a few problems here and there I found the campaign fun to play, but maybe stick to human CO-OP if you're going for the harder difficulty. Sometimes in the campaign there will be parts of survival mode (More on that soon) inserted in to the campaign as you have to survive waves of enemies and use fortifications (Fortifications are already automatically placed for you) it's a nice change of pace from the usual campaign we get. I have to applaud the efforts for some real change in the campaign.

Once you have earned 40 stars in the campaign you unlock "Aftermath" which is a lost chapter of Gears Of War 3. This brand new campaign sees a much older Cole and Baird reunite with Paduk. Aftermath only has one chapter with seven sectionst, but the campaign is in Gears Of War 3 style so each section lasts much longer compared to Judgments sections. With it being in Gears Of War 3 style this means that the stars system and declassified missions won't be making an appearance in this lost chapter. It's a nice little 1 hour addition to the game, and I am glad it was there rather than being a paid DLC.

Now it's time to talk about the other half of Gears Of War: Judgment which is the multiplayer, except Team Deathmatch every multiplayer mode is new to the Gears Of War series. The first multiplayer mode you should see on the main menu is the Survival Mode,  Survival is similar to Horde Mode with some new Overrun mode added to it. The object of Survival is to stop all 10 waves of enemies from opening up the E-Hole, you have 3 chances at beating the 10 waves of enemies, but after them 3 chances it is all over. You can pick between 4 different classes of characters, and they are engineer, medic, soldier and scout each come with their own perks like health or a repair gun. I have to say that this mode for me was really difficult, and during my 10 different games of Survival, I only got up to the 6th wave. Fun mode? Yeah,  but you have to trust your team mates and also make sure they are going to be good enough to survive all 10 waves.

Overrun is basically Survival mode expect it's now 5 vs 5, and you can play as the enemies, another fun mode that really needs no more explanation. There is also a Free For All mode which supports up to 10 players, the player wins by being the first to reach 25 kills. Domination is a 5 vs 5 mode with the object being you have to capture all 3 rings, and keep them so you earn points with the first to 250 points winning. Finally there is Team Deathmatch which the classic 5 Vs 5, first to reach the certain kill score wins. On the subject of multiplayer, the maximum level you can earn is level 50 but you can start over again which is pretty much similar to Call Of Duty prestige.

The maps for online in my opinion are pretty good, there are some cool maps that have some map specific environments that can be used to your advantage like for example in one map you can get in this helicopter and fly around the map while shooting at the players on the ground (Trust me it's really fun. Finally you have the character set up mode for your online player, this includes choosing between 9 characters (Half need unlocking), choosing your weapons skin and also character skins. The most interesting part of the mode
is the brand new prizeboxes, prizeboxes range from normal to rare to epic, and each one has their own prize like XP or character skins for example.

The Final Verdict

Gears Of War: Judgment was another great entry to the Gears Of War series, it had some problems which was mostly due to the campaign, but nothing so negative that it is worth lowering the final score even more. I liked how Judgment was a change in direction compared to past Gears games content like the campaign adding these welcomed new features. Also props for not just adding a separate campaign to be used as a DLC. Multiplayer was really fun too, and while I am writing this review I just want to go back to the game and level up some more which shows you how much I liked this game.  If you were unsure before reviews whether to get Gears Of War: Judgment or not, I say to them people "Get this game!"

+Stars System
+Declassified missions
+Lots of content
+Fun multiplayer

-Campaign felt short
-Squad A.I is unreliable

Final Score

8.5/10 

Gears Of War: Judgment was reviewed with a copy supplied by Microsoft Studios

Sleeping Dogs - Year Of The Snake DLC Review

More Sleeping Dogs? That should be a good thing? Right? Of course it is, Sleeping Dogs was one of the best games releases of 2012 in my opinion, and when you get more of this game it should automatically be good. Lets see if the new Sleeping Dogs DLC can keep the praise for Sleeping Dogs coming.

The new DLC named "Year Of The Snake" takes place after the main story and also takes place around the time of the 2013 Chinese New Year. After his actions as an undercover cop which ended up causing tons of damage and costs, Wei Shen has been given a much lesser rank at the Hong Kong Police Department. Once known as the heroic undercover cop, Wei is now dealing with small time crimes as well as doing street patrol around Hong Kong. During one of Wei's street patrols he sees a car driving recklessly causing Wei to hunt down the dangerous driver but little did he know that he would be in for much more than he first expected.

Wei catches up to these suspects, and ends up finding out that these people are actually apart of a cult group who are guaranteeing the world will end on Chinese New Year. Wei does some detective work, and ends up finding out that this cult group are making bombs that are being planned to set off very soon. That's all for story talk as this is a non spoiler review. This leads us to the next major part of the DLC, and that is the missions. The missions are a little bit more varied compared to Nightmare At Northpoint's nonstop fighting missions. Wei will once again have to go undercover at one point to eavesdrop on people at a nightclub, there are bomb threat missions where Wei has to retrieve a bomb to give to the bomb squad in time and finally you get the fighting missions which this DLC seems to have pretty frequently. I thought the missions being a little bit more varied was a good change compared to the past DLC.

With Wei now being apart of the Police Department he now has some new Police skills added to his combat. Wei can now have the option to arrest people during a fight in the story missions or he can be a much more ruthless cop who is not satisfied until his attacker is out cold. Other cop skills Wei gains in the new DLC is the stun gun attack, when Wei has an enemy attack him he can grapple the enemy and press X/Square to now use a stun gun instead of punching in the grapple. Due to these additions I checked what else Wei can now do as the local cop, Wei will now show his badge, and say something along the lines of "Hong Kong Police!, I need this vehicle" when steal... Lets just say "borrowing" a car. Other than that Wei keeps most of his character the same like during fights he can still use environmental finishes and can still leap from car to car, and steal the car without warning.

Along with the main story you will also additional clothing, weapons, side mission jobs and a brand new batch of collectibles to find which is just evidence. The main story is pretty short sadly as it only runs for about 1 hour and 30 minutes, add maybe 20/30 extra minutes for the side mission jobs to boost your game time to around 2 hours in total. It's a shame the story is so short but I wasn't majorly surprised due to the price of the DLC. If you wanted to play a big new chunk of Sleeping Dogs you will be very disappointed with this DLC but if you wanted a nice short ride then this DLC is for you. I actually was really enjoying the main story of the DLC too, and it deserves some praise but the DLC felt like it was ripped away from me way too soon. Once I finished it I needed more Sleeping Dogs so I just hope that a Sleeping Dogs 2 is on the way.

The Final Verdict

The Year Of The Snake DLC was easily the best DLC offering from Square Enix for Sleeping Dogs. Although the DLC had some flaws, it still managed to be a pretty good (As well as fun) DLC release. Missions are handled a bit better this time around, lot more additions compared to other DLC's, and the story itself it quite fun to play too. The story is sadly pretty short but the price isn't too bad so I would still recommend the DLC if you loved Sleeping Dogs but if you thought Sleeping Dogs was just "good" then maybe you might want to give this DLC a pass or wait for a price drop.

+Found the DLC fun to play
+Good story
+More Sleeping Dogs is always a good thing

-Too short

Final Score

7.5/10 

Mass Effect 3: Citadel DLC Review

 So here it is, the last ever content in the Mass Effect 3 DLC. Due to it being the last one Bioware went all out with this DLC by bringing back old faces from ME1 and ME2 as well as a new place for Shepard to hang out but this is just a small part of what comes with this massive 4GB DLC! Let's see if the Mass Effect trilogy can go out on one last good note.

At the start of the DLC Shepard gets a message from Anderson saying Shepard has been given Anderson's apartment that is located at the Citadel. Once you are there have a look around your new place. You then get an invite from Joker inviting Shepard for Sushi but there is a problem with this. Joker never sent this message, and this is when the story of the DLC starts to kick in as Shepard must fight a new threat.

Compared to the other Mass Effect 3 DLC's this one feels like it has more rewards for the players. Omega had potential to be one of the best Mass Effect DLC's of all time but shortcuts and lack of content killed any thoughts of it being up there with the best Mass Effect DLC's. The Citadel DLC is the opposite of Omega as the DLC is free from the shortcuts so that means you can take any of your squad on missions while the Omega DLC had to use a pretty lame excuse for the fact that EA/Bioware didn't want to pay for more voice overs in the DLC. So I was happy to see that the DLC let you pick who ever you wanted this time round.

Other new features players can look forward to is being able to go to the casino and play games for credits. These casino games include roulette for example. You can expect to gain brand new weapons during the playthrough of the DLC as well. You have been given a nice new home so why don't you improve it? Because you can in this DLC as you are given the option to change some of the things around your new home. For example you can get remodel your house and also add new furniture. You can also use the combat simulator were you can go up against enemies of your choosing while trying to rack up as much points as you can. You might like to hear that you can use old squad-mates from the trilogy to help you. There are also some new side quests to complete.

The actual main story for the DLC is good but some fans might be thinking "Really?" at some of the major plot points in the DLC. I don't want to spoil anything in the DLC so I hope you can assume which parts I am referring too. The DLC's main story has a surprising comedic edge to it rather than the DLC being super serious. At one point Shepard and the crew make reference to Shepard's "I should go" line that he says almost every time a conversation ends in all 3 Mass Effects with the scene being a sign of (funny) things to come. I guarantee if you are a long time Mass Effect fan you will probably have some fun playing the DLC just because of some of these one liners and moments in the DLC.

You will find yourself finishing the main story at around 2 hours but don't worry that is just the "1st half" of this DLC. After the shooting and combat is over it's time to party! Literally! As you can invite certain past squad-mates from the trilogy for a party at your new home. This party is stacked with conversations, and easily took me around an hour to see/hear all the moments from this big party. The party part of the DLC is probably the reason for the large amount of GB as you can have a totally different party compared to a friend as parts of the party depend on certain factors like romances, squad-mate deaths, past choices, renegade/paragon, and who you decided to invite to the party. I already thought the DLC was pretty decent but the party really pushed the DLC up in the final score.

The Final Verdict

The DLC was pretty fun to play, and it also brings a ton of new content with it like the combat simulator, weapons, side missions, new HUB area with a casino and arcade as well as the great party "mission" that might honestly be the most fun I have had playing Mass Effect. The main story could have ran a little longer and the story itself was a bit meh but it's nothing too bad. I also liked how the DLC had a much more comedic side rather than a serious side as it was a change of pace to normal Mass Effect missions. I am happy to say the Mass Effect trilogy ends on one final high note, and what a ride that trilogy has been.

+Stacked with content compared to Omega DLC
+The party will leave you with a big smile on your face all the way through
+Nice end to the Mass Effect trilogy

-Story could be better
-For the price the main story could be longer

Final Score

8.5/10

Tomb Raider Review

Tomb Raider wasn't a game I was planning to get last year, and to make this review even more unlikely that it was going to happen, I had never even played a Tomb Raider game before. After hearing the hype about this game I decided to buy the game and see what Tomb Raider is like. I can say that my first experience with a Tomb Raider game was awesome. There was many things I liked about the game which I will talk about in this review. There are also some things I didn't like which will also be addressed.

Tomb Raider starts of a little slow with Lara not even coming in contact with an actual enemy for about 45 minutes in to the game. The first little part of the game is about survival, and doesn't feature any big shoot em up gun fights that normally happen within the first 2 minutes of a game. After getting out of a mysterious cave, a wounded Lara will need to find a camp and food to eat. Once the objective is done we start pushing towards the more action route of the game. During this time period of the game Lara will find different weapons like a bow as well as a gun. She will also find tools to help her survive like a pry axe to help open doors which when used triggers a QTE that shows a pry axe meter that needs to be filled to open the door.

I talked earlier about how early in the game Lara had to find a camp. That was not a one time thing as there are many different camps scattered across the map, and these camps have a much bigger purpose than keeping Lara warm. Once you activate a camp you will have a new menu pop up with three different options, Skills, Fast Travel and Gear. Skills are earned in separate points, and to earn these points you must do certain things in the game to gain XP to fill the XP bar. Once the XP bar is full you will gain a new point. You have two different upgrades to choose from. The upgrades you can choose from are Survivor Upgrades and Hunter Upgrades. Some Survivor Upgrades you will come across will be things like Animal Instincts which makes hard to find animals and food sources glow in the distance or you can earn extra rewards when looting. Hunter Upgrades include more ammo and a steadier aim.

When you pick Fast Travel you can choose between different camps you have found to make it easier to travel for the player. Then you have the final option, and that is the gear option. In the gear option you can upgrade your weapons and also survival gear you have earned during the game. To upgrade your items you have to find units of salvage which you can find in crates scattered all around the map or you can loot it in dead bodies. Once you have enough salvage you can use it in exchange for better weapon/gear perks.

Tomb Raider also uses QTE's very heavily in the game. They are used for all kinds of moments in the game like opening doors or during an encounter with an animal (Like a wolf for example) or a normal human enemy. I thought the use of QTE's got a little annoying after a while because it was so heavily used, and also during encounters I died quite a lot because of QTE's (Look out for the Triangle/Y button QTE because it can be a pain) While on the subject of annoying things it should be noted that Lara can be quite annoying too with her groans during fights. After a while though the you learn to ignore the annoying Lara grunts and groans.

The gameplay itself is very solid, and reminds me a lot like the brilliant Uncharted series. You will start to notice the similarities when Lara is climbing up wrecked objects and doing the big leap of faith jumps. This isn't to say Tomb Raider is a rip off of Uncharted at all as Tomb Raider separates itself from Uncharted by having moments where survival is more important than having a gun fight. It's also nice to just relax at a camp after a big moment during the game to regroup, upgrade some weapons, and then start off again. To sum it up, first you will think of Uncharted but soon after you will think of it as Tomb Raider with Uncharted elements on the side. Confrontations with enemies are very well done and the combat is extremely fun. There are a decent amount of ways to get through enemies like stealth kills, all out shoot em up gun fights and you can even sneak past enemies without even killing anyone. The way you fight is up to you.

The story of the game is decent too. I liked how they made Lara regret killing for the first time, and it felt like Lara had to kill to survive even if she hated doing it. Some may find the way it's all done to be a bit uncreative as after Lara kills her first victim with such a huge regret you can go and shoot everyone else straight after with no regrets from her at all but again this depends on how you play. You can try and never kill someone again because it's possible. As this is non spoiler review I can't go in to much detail about the story except saying it's decent and worth playing to see the end.

Tomb Raider boasts some very sharp looking graphics. The scenery in this game is amazing to look at when you are just hanging around and also just looking around. The start of the game takes place in a forest and it's also for me when the scenery of Tomb Raider is at its best. The games characters also look graphically solid as well as cutscenes looking very sharp too. Tomb Raider has some very good voice actors too that can and will be added to the list stacks of positives.

The Final Verdict

Tomb Raider is an excellent video game, and also most important to me a very fun game to play. I had a blast playing through the game and must recommend it to everyone. What's not to like about this game? You get great gameplay, fun combat, survival elements, stealth elements, quality graphics and good voice acting. It's a complete game. Main Story will take around 10-14 hours to complete depending on different factors like if you want to do other things in the game or if you want to steam through the game. Tomb Raider is a solid start to what looks like an amazing March of video games.

+Fun combat
+Gameplay
+Graphics
+Voice acting

-QTE's used a little too much at times
-Annoying sounds at times

Final Score

9/10

Assassin's Creed III: The Tyranny of King Washington - The Infamy DLC Review

In the first episode of The Tyranny of King Washington (Of 3 episodes) we see an entirely different Assassins Creed 3 universe. Connor is well.... Never was actually Connor, and is known as Ratonhnhaké:ton like he was in the first few sequences of Assassins Creed 3. He was never apart of the assassins and is now dressed in a pretty cool looking wolfskin suit. George Washington has become in possession of the Apple Of Eden and has become corrupt with power. Washington has been doing awful things to the people like burning down villages, and now it's up to Ratonhnhaké:ton to save the day by killing Washington, and put an end to his madness. He can't do it as his current self though. He has to gain different powers (More on that later) Let's see what's in store for this DLC adventure.

While playing the DLC there is a noticeable twist to this alternate universe as Ratonhnhaké:ton who isn't Connor the Assassin still has memories of this other life which is also known to us as Assassins Creed 3. To make things worse no one has any idea about this other life he speaks of. I think we will be hearing more about this in future episodes. At the start of the review I talked about how the player has to keep gaining powers and you might be thinking "How does he do that?" well Ratonhnhaké:ton drinks a special tea which in return allowed him to meet different animal spirits. I liked the idea because it rewarded us with alterations to the gameplay in the DLC. I feel the twist was to freshen things up which I think was necessary.

Ratonhnhaké:ton needs to keep acquiring different powers in each episode to stop Washington's reign of terror. In this episode he is looking for the powers of the wolf which will give him new wolf related perks. These perks include the ability to call a small army of wolves to Ratonhnhaké:ton's aid (Very similar to calling Assassins in previous games) he will also gain the wolf cloak. The wolf cloak allows Ratonhnhaké:ton to become invisible for a certain amount of time and will help the player during the stealth missions in the DLC. Gaining these powers did feel different to the Assassins Creed I have been used to. Props though for changing things up with the new DLC.

Although I did say the DLC feels a little different to the usual Assassins Creed games it does still keep many of its old ways. You can expect to be doing similar missions to AC3 in this new DLC as well like eavesdropping for example.The episode overall was decent and I felt it did a good job of building up to the big finale already. The first episode also does well to get the player wanting more as this is how I felt once the episode was over. When it was over I wanted to power up Ratonhnhaké:ton and become the hero who puts a stop to Washington. You get about 2 hours of gameplay in the DLC which is lacking for the price being asked (800 points/$10)

The Final Verdict

To put one word on this DLC it would be... Disappointing. Not because it is bad (It's actually pretty solid) I find it disappointing that it's in episodes as I think the DLC would have come off much better as one neat 6 hour package. I am looking forward to see how this story unfolds and I am looking forward to EP.2 next month. In my opinion though I would wait for all 3 episodes to come out before purchasing unless you really need more Assassins Creed in your life right now.

(All three episodes will be put together for one overall review in April)

+Leaves the player wanting more
+Decent story
+Cool new perks
+Feels a little different to other Assassins Creed adventures

-Pricing
-Don't like it being in episodes
-Too short

Final score

6/10

Dead Space 3 Review

 I've been a big Dead Space fan since the very first game was released in 2008. I will admit I was worried with the release of Dead Space 3 because of the addition of multiplayer as I am not a big fan of CO-OP in games (Resident Evil being one of them) and it also looked like the game would be focusing more on the action rather than the horror and scares. Lets see if Dead Space 3 can be a satisfying end to this great game series.

Dead Space 3 continues the story of Isaac Clarke and his on going battle with the Necromorph infestation. In Dead Space 3 Isaac wants to stop it once and for all. The game takes place after the events of Dead Space 2, and is mostly set on the snowy planet of Tau Volantis. The story brings back old characters like Isaac and also Ellie Langford from Dead Space 2 who plays a big role in the 3rd game. Now this is a non spoiler review so there won't be much more discussion about the story so you can all have a fun (Non spoiled) game. Isaac and Ellie end up getting split up en route to Tau Volantis and this is when we meet new comer John Carver who will be your CO-OP partner in Dead Space 3.

Overall I thought the story was another solid addition to the Dead Space series with the first part of the game being a bit slow to kick in but soon after the game really starts to kick in and show what a story should be like. I said before it is a non spoiler review so if you are interested in playing through another solid story by the Dead Space series then pick this up but just remember the first part of the main campaign starts pretty slow and takes a while to really kick in.

One of the bigger additions to Dead Space 3 was the new weapons upgrade system. Gone is the store from the previous games in the series. Upgrades now take place on a weapons bench and can be used to have upgrades like more ammo and damage added to your guns. This is only scratching the surface for what this good old handy bench can do. Weapons can be taken apart and you can use the best parts from one gun and add it to another to make an even more powerful gun. You can also even craft your own gun by looting different resources around the Dead Space 3 world. Looting is a very important feature in Dead Space 3 if you like to craft your own weapons so remember to search high and low for these resources as well as in dead bodies, lockers and crates. Now that the store is gone from Dead Space currency needed to be replaced and that is what you are getting with the looting resources feature. There is so much to do at the weapons bench with so much endless possibilities that make for a great feature.

Is the game more action and less horror? Well in my opinion it is a little bit more going down that route. The game does have its fair share of jump scares and what I like to call "That Dead Space feel" but at times the game can feel like a big shoot em up style game. Older Dead Spaces used the suspense of enemies while Dead Space 3 kind of depended on the amount of enemies coming at you to up the suspense level. Like I said Dead Space 3 does have its fair share of scary moments but doesn't really touch the older games suspense and horror. To add to the down play of suspense and atmosphere some of the environments in the game just don't have that feel of horror anymore. The new direction the game has taken is pretty disappointing in my opinion but I still had a sigh of relief that the game did still have its "Dead Space moments" and didn't turn out like Resident Evil 5 2.0 with the game becoming what it isn't.

Now another controversial subject is the addition of multiplayer while it is optional and as much as I hate playing CO-OP in games I still will talk about it and review it just like any other game. CO-OP does what was expected to happen the horror is almost non existent in CO-OP as games are just not as scary when you are all alone with no one to come and help you. Necromorphs increase in numbers during CO-OP which adds to the whole "more = scary" it doesn't at all it just turns the game in to one big shoot out with your friend. Although it is cool that you can now play CO-OP with a friend and also good that you get to see a whole other side of the story with John Carver, Dead Space just doesn't feel "right" with CO-OP but honestly it doesn't ruin my single player experience with a horrible A.I character like Resident Evil 5 (Okay I promise last time I mention Resident Evil. Sorry!) so I don't hate it as much as could of done had it been forced upon me but still CO-OP isn't my thing and I am not fan of it. At least CO-OP fans should have some fun with this new addition.

Sound in video games doesn't really get as much praise as it should do in my honest opinion. Sounds/Music can really make a moment that much better and it happens with Dead Space 3. The music really helps you get in to this Dead Space world and really brings it alive. There is also praise for the lack of sound at points to really turn that creepy/worrying feeling up. I mentioned before how music can help make a moment while lack of sound can also be as much as effective in a type of game like this and it works very well with Dead Space 3. Along with great music, Dead Space 3 also boasts some pretty amazing voice acting to again draw us in to the game. The game along with some awesome sound has some solid graphics too.

Dead Space 3 also has some new enemies to fight in the game and these are the Unitologist soldiers who unlike the Necromorphs act like Humans... Well obviously? Well that means you can expect them to be taking cover and popping back up from cover to try and shoot you with some grenades flying around as well. Soldiers will also turn into Necromorphs that can also carry guns. Their aim is terrible and isn't much difference between the too. Necromorphs also return and can at times be a tough challenge while at other times can be pretty simple to beat. There are also some boss fights too.

The Final Verdict 

Dead Space 3 was a solid video game release. Although it was a little bit of a let down compared to previous Dead Space releases. The scares and atmosphere are still there but are noticeably toned down.The story is awesome in my opinion. I really enjoyed the story so much that I just didn't want to put the controller down and stop playing. That shows how much I liked the story although the start is a little weak it picks up in a BIG way mid way through the game. CO-OP is meh and not needed and the new weapons upgrade system is pretty well done and a welcome addition to Dead Space. I think the game is worth a purchase but it should be noted some people could find themselves feeling let down if they are big fans of Dead Space. Still worth a purchase for me.

+Great story
+Weapon customizing
+Great use of sound and music/Voice acting is top quality

-CO-OP
-Horror toned down/more action

Final Score

8.5/10

Hitman HD Trilogy Review

Hitman Absoultion was the very first time I played a Hitman game and it amazed me. Amazed me so much that I bought the HD trilogy within minutes after finishing Hitman Absoultion because I wanted more Hitman and also a chance to play these games in HD. As I am writing this part of the review I am also looking at the case and can just see content dripping from it. It looks stacked with 3 full games (In HD!) at a very, very reasonable price. If you don't know already in this package you will be getting Hitman 2, Contracts and Blood Money. So lets see if it is worth buying the Hitman trilogy.

The major difference I saw in these games compared to Hitman Absolution is that the games are not supposed to be played like a 3rd person shooter. This isn't a knock at Hitman Absoltuion but in that game if you were caught and crowded by enemies you could get rid of them in a 3rd person style shootout. If you mess up in the trilogy games don't expect to shoot your way through everyone and that's it. Plan your attack before you start, look for different ways of possibly killing the target and finally take your time going through these levels. Use the trial and error technique to get through the level. So if one technique doesn't work and gets you killed find optional ways to eliminate your target because trust me there are going to be a whole lot of ways of killing your target.

These earlier Hitman games feel quite a bit more open and also feel like there is more freedom while Absolution didn't have as much freedom. Again not a knock at Absolution but just a slight comparison. While it's great that it's open there seems to be some problems with the older games that were polished in Absoultion like the disguise system. The disguise system is kind of similar to Absoltuion but if you have never played any Hitman games before here is a brief description of disguises. While roaming around each level in the games you will come across disguises that 47 can wear and also use to his advantage thus making his job just that little bit more easier but like I said before it comes with problems as disguises are pretty broken. For example you are in disguise and you can randomly start being shot without warning. I will give credit to Blood Money though as that system was much better and didn't get as much problems with the system. Problems like this make the games start to show their true age.

I enjoyed all three games but I was asked "What is your favourite of the 3?" and I thought Blood Money was the best of the 3. Blood Money for me had the best and more creative levels out of the 3 games. One of my favourite missions in Blood Money was called "A New Life" I really liked the whole suburb surroundings in this level it felt different to the normal surroundings we see in Hitman games. Another cool mission that takes place in Blood Money is called "You better watch out" which takes place at a party and also happens to contain one of the funniest kills in the Hitman series when you shoot the Jacuzzi floor (Which is located 70 feet above ground) making it crack/break which causes the target to fall 70 feet to his death. Trust me it is pretty funny. While these two stand out there are also plenty of other amazing levels that you are just going to have to play to find out how awesome they are.

At the start of the review I talked about the game dripping with content and this is no lie. This game is full of content. You get 3 full games which combined has a total of 75 hits and over 40 levels! This trilogy should keep you entertained for multiple hours just for the fact that there is so much to play (At a very reasonable price I might add) What will bring up the hours with these games is the different ways you can complete a level so say if you hated how a level went or you just wanted to kill a target a different way which happened to me quite a bit. Well then that is another reason to play the games even more. There are also new achievements/trophies for each game so if you bought these games in the past you will have a reason to re buy them for the HD visuals and also to get the achievements  to show if you can still be that same killer you once was a few years ago.

The new HD visuals which have been added to game does make the old levels and surroundings a little bit more sharper and better in terms of picture quality but you have to also remember that these games are ageing quite fast and like Hitman 2 for example has showed its age for the worst but again it's an old game and it's to be expected. It's still an improvement from the old quality so that's good.


The Final Verdict

Rewind to October 2012. I have no idea what Hitman was except maybe seeing the old games cover while buying games at best. Never played a single Hitman game and now here we are in January 2013 and I have now played nearly all the Hitman games and Hitman has become one of my top games to play. The fact that the HD trilogy (While it has aged a bit) can still hold up today is outstanding. Some of the levels in these games are not to be missed at all by new fans of Hitman so after reading this review you need to get the trilogy and start enjoying some classic Hitman. It must be said though to new players that the controls and gameplay will feel awkward at first but you will get used to it and should have a great time playing this. Old fans should get this to revisit the classic in HD visuals and see if they can still be that Hitman they once were. I said it a few times and I will say it again the price of this game can't be argued at to say how much you are getting in this package so buy now!

+Very open levels
+Blood Money itself deserves a +
+Some of Hitmans all time great levels are in this game

+/- While the visuals look better than the originals they still are not up to standard

-Controls can be awkward
-Disguises are broken at times

Overall Rating

8/10