Dark Void, Fantastic First Impressions, but was it enough?

Having potential means to have possibility or capable of being but not yet. This is how I would best describe Dark Void. The game jets in with a fantastic first impression by blasting you into the sky in control of a jetpack wielding hero weaving between cliffs and tearing down enemy saucers but after an exhilarating start, Dark Void fails to take things further, leaving you to wallow in the shallow waters of what Dark Void could have been.

So Who is your bloke in Dark Void?

You play as Will Grey in Dark Void, who is voiced by none other than Nolan North (Uncharted 2), a pilot who while flying through the Bermuda Triangle is sucked into the Void during a massive storm. He finds himself in a transitional jungle world which is inhabited by both humans and a hostile Alien race called the Watchers. With some grounded ties to real world history and Tribal Alien worship, Will finds himself in the middle of a war to save the world. If Uncharted married a sci-fi geeky girl, Dark Void would be their baby.

DARK VOID ◄ Xbox 360 Game ► New & Sealed
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DARK VOID ◄ PS3 Game ► New & Sealed
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BIONIC COMMANDO & DARK VOID (PS3 GAMES EXCELLENT COND)
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Who is trying to kill you in Dark Void?

The Watchers are robotic entities controlled by slug like creatures that make a deadly first appearance by coldly snapping the neck of a human solder. This is and will be the only time you will feel fear of a Watcher. That are heavily armored being robotic but they are not very bright and killing them involves nothing more than waiting for them to stand still and firing at them until they explode. Tech points are collected like XP for kills and can be used to upgrade weapons as you make your way through the void.

War is waged both on the ground and in the air. On the ground it the gameplay is much like a Gears of War/Uncharted style of cover and shoot. Will can also jump over obstacles and melee Watchers which ironically is a one hit kill move. The game also introduces a new innovative vertical cover mechanic which tilts the camera to face right up or right down depending on whether you are climbing or descending a cliff. It’s something we’re all yet to see in game before and it works really well. It shifts the ground game from a horizontal perspective to vertical one, taking the combat to a whole new orientation.

Dark Void now you’re in control of the man with the pack!

Dark Void really comes to life when Will fires the boosters of his Nickola Tesla(yes, he is in stuck in the void too) designed jetpack. It’s not all that surprising given that the games developer Airtight games brought us Crimson Sky’s: High Road To Revenge only a few years back. The flying is great, weaving through mazed cliffs and taking down enemy craft with the jetpack mounted machine guns is thrilling. The combination of Will’s leather jacket, boots and helmet made me think of the 1991 Rocketeer film only now in Dark Void you’re in control of the man with the pack.

The fun of flying is negated by the terrible control transition from ground to sky and sky to ground which was probably my main cause of my death through out the game. It helps to set the y-axis controls the same for both ground and flight but it does not solve the problem entirely. Although being able to fly is a great feature in the game it’s rarely used for nothing more than taking down the enemy saucers or slowing your fall into a big hole. It would have been really nice to be able to use it more freely during battles and as an alternative to climbing but sadly the wonky controls prevent any kind of pinpoint control.

Dark Void Story?

The storyline takes a back seat to the endless drones of Watchers that you find yourself up against. There are many things that are never explained and the narrative is driven by no more than the odd cut scene and in game dialogue which seems rushed and incomplete. It feels like a story told with only a fraction of the original script. The games score however, rings with a breath of fresh air, superbly composed by Battlestar Galactica’s Bear McCreary and in all fairness would have been better off accompanying a better game.

The games frame rate was extremely choppy and on more than one occasion the gamplay kicked into a slow-mo, dreamy state that could only be rectified by restarting the game. Restarting was not only required to get it running smoothly again but was forced onto me by numerous system freezes. This added with the painstakingly long route through the menus to get it running again was a big frustration.

Dark Void weighs in at around 6 hours and for a relatively short game I expected a lot more bang but the game fails to deliver that magic spark. The jetpack flying is great and Airtight succeeded in delivering a great new game mechanic but with the failed support in the departments of gameplay, story and overall stability, what could have been a great game gets chopped down at it’s knees and added to the pile of “had potential”.

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* Playstation 3 Game * DARK VOID * PS3 O
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It’s difficult to believe anything in Assassins Creed II as every event and every word uttered is drenched in deception and conspiracy. Having said that, there is absolutely no deception in saying that Assassins Creed II is a much better game than its first incarnation. Assassins Creed 2 takes all the intrigue and adventure from the first one and delivers an action packed and consistently enjoyable sequel.

The most notable change from the first one is the snappy pace of gameplay that the Ubisoft Montreal developers have injected into it. While the first one had a great start to the game and then slowly drifted off into what some might call the doldrums of gaming, this one starts strong and continues the exciting pace through cleaver improvements in the mission design. Ezio, the games protagonist can go from following a target to a secret meeting spot whereby he’ll proceed to dispatch the entire group with the silent grace that is an assassin. He’ll then proceed to his good mate Leonardo Da Vinci for a friendly chat and new weapon. There are also plenty exciting side assassination missions that are left entirely up to the players discretion.

ACII follows two parallel story lines the same way the first one did. Desmond in the present time and Ezio who resides in Desmond’s DNA, accessed through the Animus. The story picks up with Ezio when he is only an adolescent in the midst of his youthful shenanigans, completely unaware of his mysterious ancestry. It follows him along a path of revenge and discovery as he becomes a deadly assassin. Where ACI followed Altair within a story, AC2 takes a different route making Ezio the story and by establishing a personal connection between him and the player, Ubisoft has created a more engaging story.

The game is set in Italy and the developers have undoubtedly done an excellent job of creating an authentic and inspiring reincarnation of what it was like in the 1700′s. You will explore city’s like Venice and Florance and mingle with the citizens as they go about their daily lives. Attention to detail is staggering and added with Ezio’s prowess to scale almost any vertical surface it creates an entirely new dimension to traversing the expansive maps. While climbing and leaping from ledge to ledge is nothing new to AC, it has been polished and almost perfected in AC2.

The Montreal team have also brought more life an purpose the citizens of the cities. Ezio can seamlessly blend into any crowd of four, hire lustrous ladies to distract stubborn guards as well as purchase items from merchants who operate store fronts across the different locations. What was particularly notable is that Ezio can visit a tailor to have his clothes dyed in order to alter his appearance which is a welcomed change from the assassins deathly white robes.

If Atair’s skills as an assassin were a glowing light bulb, Ezio’s skills in comparison are bright flood lights. He can assassinate two enemies at once using his hidden blades, one concealed on each arm, he can now wield axes and spears along with his knifes and swords and take an enemies weapon to in order to use it against him. Ezio can also secretly administer poison to unsuspecting enemies to create a distraction, eventually ending in his unsuspecting victims death. He can use a Ninja like smoke bombs to flee potentially fatal confrontations. The game allows you to be creative in so many ways that in the end, the way Ezio’s target dies is left entirely up to your imagination.

The developers have also toned down the frustration levels that many experienced in ACI due to control errors and insanely capable climbers on the enemies side. ACII has prompts all over the place that help guide you along the right path and the controls are tighter and shinier than before. Very seldom can one blame death on the controls not behaving as they should. Another welcomed improvement is they way the enemies have been toned down in terms of their pursuit skills. It’s now much easier to get away from a blood thirsty mob by climbing a building and finding a place to hide, giving you more time to enjoy the missions rather than playing a continuous drone of escape.

Graphically the game sits up there with the best of them but whats more impressive are the new animations Ezio has acquired. His climbing actually does not looks as effortless as Altair’s in ACI which is a good thing because it’s not. His body moves as it should and the result is that it’s more realistic and enjoyable to watch. Ezio is a master at hand to hand combat and he posses a bunch of deadly moves, each one resulting in a glorious spray of the enemies blood and even though they are repeated from time to time, they are always a pleasure to watch.

Assassins Creed II captures the true essence of a sequel, it remains true to the original, builds on it and improves it in almost every way. If you were a fan of the first one, you will love ACII and if you did not enjoy you will almost certainly change your opinion. Escape to a world that is Assassins Creed for a true gaming spectacle.

Assassins Creed 2 - Xbox 360
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Pro Evolution Soccer 2010 Playstation 3

If you had walked into a store just two years ago (2007) and asked the sales assistant for a copy of Pro Evolution Soccer, he would have first looked at you with a confused look on his face and then recommended Fifa 07, all the while wondering why on earth you would have asked about PES in the first place.

Things are a little different now, with some substantial improvements to the games online action and an eager return to its roots, PES 2010 does it’s absolute best to hold it own against Fifa 2010.

Delving into the gameplay you will quickly notice the that the speed has been slowed down substantially making it feel more like a simulation than its arcade predecessors. Touted as the start light feature in this iteration is the ability to 360-degree dribble which is suppose to make the player feel more in control, it works and shifts the feel of the game into a new space, away from 2009.

Taking a step in the right direction, the developers have added team style and player style cards which allow you to customize settings in up to eight different categories. You can tweak the defensive style and attacking style of your team for instance allowing you to execute your paying strategy right down to the smallest detail. If you are like me and not an adjustment man the good ol’ default settings will work just fine.

Pro Evolution Soccer 2010 Online and Multiplayer

Konami have flexed all their muscles in the online multiplayer department to build a soccer game that is truly community focused. The game allows a bunch of friends to get together in a party of up to 32 players and play the competitions and tournaments of their choice. Players can choose to play individually or team up and play against other teams, while the game keeps track of individual players performances. It is implemented well and works a charm. This is arguably the best part of the entire game.

Online gaming in PES 2010 has been taking seriously and Konami have streamlined the process from launching to jumping strait into some online multiplayer action. The lag which was one of the drowning factors of PES 2009 has been substantially improved. However, living on the tip of the world, like us in South Africa is not going to help with the lag and online matches should be kept local whenever possible.

Pro Evolution Soccer 2010 Price Comparison UK

Pro Evolution Soccer 2010 Graphics

The games graphics have been notability taken up a notch and dare I say that it looks ever so slightly better than Fifa 2010. The environmental effects are spot on and in rainy games it’s becomes a pleasure to watch the little splashes that the ball makes with it hits the turf. The game menus look great and navigating through its many options is smooth and slick.

The footballers are extremely well modeled and look very realistic close up, Konami’s team have done a great job of transferring the real life players likeness into the characters that we see running around the screen. This likeness is not limited to visuals, each player in the game behaves just as he would in real life with the example of Rooney, who likes to run back and help with defense when it’s needed.

The good however does come with the bad. The games animations are rather stinted and have not been improved much from the previous generations bad animations.

The commentary is so repetitive and off the mark that at some point while playing the game, most players will curse at it’s sloppiness and wonder why developers never added more than the seemingly five line range they included.

Pro Evolution Soccer 2010 Conclusion

If you’ve been a fan of the franchise you will enjoy the game but if you’ve been feeling frustrated with it, it might be a good time to move on to the competition. PES 2010 has seen improvements made to it but they are not enough to warrant it as your first choice. If Konami continue their efforts to make improvements to the game, perhaps, one day they will regain the crown of best soccer game hands down.

Pro Evolution Soccer 2010 for Mob, PC, PS3, X360, PS2, PSP, Wii

PES 2010 PRO EVOLUTION SOCCER PS3
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PES 2010
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Dante’s Inferno Animated Movie is on its way!

If you where planning on diving into the depths of hell to save the one you love, you’ll be happy to know that you can do it twice come February 2010. Dante’s Inferno: The Animated Movie will launch along side EA’s gaming title and will be available on both Bluray and standard DVD formats.

The Film has been brought to life by the awesomely creative teams behind some of our favorite Anime films of all time including; Ghost in the Shell, Blood the Last Vampire and Samurai Camploo. Directing this animated trip to the fiery dungeons of hell is Victor Cook who brought us “Hellboy Animated: Blood & Iron” while Brandon Auman (“Iron Man: Armored Adventures”) is at the helm of the writing.

Even though now, that there exists more than one road to hell we do not recommend going there unless of course you are ready to loose your eyebrows and kick some seriously evil butt.

Order Dante’s Inferno

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DANTES INFERNO ◄ Sony PSP Game ► New & Sealed
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DANTES INFERNO ◄ PS3 Game ► New & Sealed
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Dantes Inferno Death edition Xbox 360 game
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DANTES INFERNO ◄ PS3 Game ► New & Sealed
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DANTES INFERNO ◄ Sony PSP Game ► New & Sealed
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DANTES INFERNO ◄ Xbox 360 Game ► New & Sealed
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Win an Exclusive Uncharted 2 Press Pack

Every once in a while we manage to get our hands on an awesome prize at Curiousonion. We have an extremely limited Uncharted 2 Press Pack to give away to one lucky winner. The press pack comes wrapped in old looking material and contains information as well as printed rare concept art from Uncharted 2. The whole thing has been treated to look like Marco Polo’s diary and will require some detective work on your behalf to appreciate it fully. The press pack does not include the game, only a demo of the game and a disk with a tone of awesome hi-res Uncharted 2 screens and art. We have a gallery of the press pack below.

After been inspired by Onelargeprawns Modern Warfare 2 competition we are moving away from our usual “pick a random winner” style of running competitions. In order to win this awesome press pack you are actually going to have to play Uncharted 2.

To enter you must play at leased 4 hours of Uncharted 2′s multiplayer game but before you begin you’ll need to head over to Naughty Dogs stats section and take a screenshot of your stats. Once you have completed your four hour tenure head back there and take another screen shot. We are going to need both these screens so that we can verify your play time and you total points earned in that play time. We are then going to calculate your kills per hour and the person with the highest kills per hour takes the press pack.

If you would like to play more than four hours you are most welcome to and because we are working ratio’s and it wont make a difference to your end score, unless of course you play badly in those extra hours. We have chosen to make the play time 4 hours in an attempt to eliminate freakishly lucky scores that could only be accomplished in short play times, four hours should be a better reflection of skill.

The competition is going to run for three weeks (close December 8) and you can attempt a four hour play as many times as you like, just be sure to take a screen shot of your stats before and after each attempt so that we can verify you entry and remember we are measuring your skill and not your final kill score at the end. You can send your screen shots to competitions(at)curiousonion.com

This competition is open to South African residents only.

Best of luck to all entrants and if you have any questions please feel free to comment below.

This completion is now closed.

A big congratulations to Yusuf with 195 kills an hour

[View with PicLens]

Uncharted 2 Among Thieves for Sony PS3 (BRAND NEW)
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Firmware 3.10 made its debut this week and it brings with it a host of changes, some of which more needed than others but non the less, its an update that does bring some welcomed improvements.

New:

• Photo’s are now shown in a grid format as opposed the one line approach used before.
• The Friends List has been aesthetically updated.
• Facebook integration.
• Shortcuts to on-demand European websites

The new grid layout for photo’s is a nice improvement and it will certainly make photo browsing on the PS3 more convenient but without a doubt the single most consequential improvement is the friends list. Sony have done away with the horrendous grey boxes that once contained every friends name in the list and have now opted to contain only the active friend in a box. While the grey box remains, it is a fairy significant improvement in the overall aesthetics of the list. Along with these changes we now have the option to customize the colour our own box.

Facebook sees integration into the XMB and offers the gamer the option to inform his/her friends of his recent trophies and game purchases. Why on earth they would want to do that is beyond me but the integration is there.

Trophy syncing seems to be a common problem with this firmware update. There are many people reporting incomplete syncs which has the side effect of not allowing you to view you trophies as well as change your box colour. Retying the sync in off peak time (early morning) has been proposed as a solution but almost one week later, this has still not worked for me.

The problems don’t end at trophy syncing; I’ve experienced problems with my mic comms and controller pairing since the update which has forced me to restart my system at leased three times already. I’ve also experienced my first ever XMB freeze since I’ve owned a PS3 that did disappoint me.

A firmware update is always welcomed and we have to commend Sony on continually improving the PS3 system but more than one bug seems to have crept through their quality tests on this one. In the future we would like to see more functional updates like “Party Chat” and less of the “keep up with the competition” updates like Facebook.

What would you like to see in the next PS3 firmware update?

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Ratchet and Clank: Crack in Time Review

Ratchet and Clank: Crack in time will exceed all your expectations and you will delight in the stunning visuals and breath taking level design, you will fall in love with Ratchet and adore Clank but most of all you’ll be enchanted by a wonderfully humorous story.

Ratchet and Clank: Crack in Time is the most fun that I’ve had in a game in a long time, so much so, that Modern Warfare 2 remained unwrapped until I finished it. The game is absolutely action packed from beginning to end and what surprised me most was that at no point did killing thousands of robots become mundane.

As the game progresses so to do the challenges which brings a really weighty depth to the game. It lobs in a mix of puzzles, platforming, gun-play and even space ship combat into a game that is not entirely linear.

In Crack in Time we get to play as both Ratchet and as Clank. Insomniac have done a great job at separating the two characters game play styles while keeping the controls much the same.

Ratchet is a gun slinging, acrobatic Lombax who loves to break things, in fact, breaking everything in sight will reward Ratchet with bolts which can be used to purchase weapon upgrades.

Ratchet is also very good at platforming and using his Rocket boots he can ramp over massive spaces or glide circles around his surrounding enemies.

Clank, Ratchets robotic best friend has been superbly crafted down to the finest detail. Clanks gameplay is predominantly time-puzzle based with a few snail like enemies along the way. He can glide across chasms using a propeller that folds out of his head and slow down time with special time warp orbs that come in handy when he is surrounded by enemies.

Clank also wields a special time weapon that he uses to defend himself as well as to reverse time and repair broken bits of the clock. Brain wrestling Clank’s time-puzzles is fantastically rewarding and they are the best I’ve seen in a game in a long time.

Visually the game is absolutely stunning with huge open landscapes and spectacular explosions. There was often a time where I found myself just staring at the stylized smoke that looks like round shaded bubbles overlaid on top of one another. Each on of Ratchets many weapons produces a different explosion and each as beautiful as the next.

The attention to detail is immaculate and one of my favorite things in the game was watching the way Ratchets furry ears moved depending on what he was doing. From a slow flop as he runs to a speedy shiver as he boots hundreds of meters through the air, the detail is there.

Insomniac have managed to cram an awful lot into this game. There are tones of weapons to choose from and each is more elaborate from the next, with names like Mr Zurcon, a weapon which spawns a hovering robot sentry to protect you and the Grooveaton glove which drops a hovering disco ball that causes nearby enemies to breakout into spinning dance moves allowing Ratchet to pick them off one by one.

The levels work on a horizontal and vertical plane and some require the use of Ratchets hovers boots to boost him along a speedy track. There are levels that take place in space where Ratchet must pilot the Aphelion, his space ship through asteroid belts and battle enemy saucers.

Clank must solve time based puzzles and repair the great clock and just the moment when you think you’ve seen it all, something new and wonderful dazzles you.

On top of a game that is super fun to play, Insomniac have written a really entertaining and funny story. Every corner of the game is filled with laughs that compliment the a riveting tale beneath. The cut scenes are supremely executed and well placed in the game and believe me when I say that you will be replaying them over and over again.

Accompanying all this is a perfectly orchestrated soundtrack that brings a sense of adventure to the game and the combination of the two whisked me away in much the same way Star Wars did.

Ratchet and Clank: Crack in Time is a game not to be missed. It will introduce you to weapons that you’ve only ever dreamed of, you will be taken through a world that is absolutely beautiful and feel an immense rush of satisfaction when you complete the imaginatively crafted levels.

You will blow up more robots that you could ever count and witness a true friendship that not even galaxies could break. I for one have fallen in love with Ratchet, the last known living Lombox in the universe.

Ratchet and Clank: Crack in Time On eBay

Ratchet and Clank - A Crack In Time - PS3 game
	GBP 10.50 (15 Bids) End time: 2010-07-30 21:17:43

PS3 Ratchet And Clank A Crack In Time
	GBP 9.99 (0 Bid) End time: 2010-07-31 10:47:02

Ratchet and Clank 'A crack in time' PS3 Game for Sale!
	GBP 5.50 (7 Bids) End time: 2010-07-31 14:59:48

Ratchet and Clank: A Crack In Time (PS3)
	GBP 5.51 (6 Bids) End time: 2010-07-31 15:49:28

ratchet and clank a crack in time ps3
	GBP 13.00 (0 Bid) | Buy It Now End time: 2010-07-31 18:15:12

PS3 RATCHET AND CLANK CRACK IN TIME BRAND NEW SEALED
	GBP 9.99 (1 Bid) End time: 2010-08-01 16:25:22

RATCHET AND CLANK (A CRACK IN TIME) PS3 GAME BNIB
	GBP 10.50 (9 Bids) End time: 2010-08-01 18:10:51

Ratchet and Clank Future: A Crack in Time
	GBP 0.99 (1 Bid) End time: 2010-08-01 18:42:38

Ratchet and Clank a crack in time PS£ box but no sleeve
	GBP 5.00 (0 Bid) | Buy It Now End time: 2010-08-01 19:22:26

Ratchet and Clank A Crack In Time - PS3
	GBP 0.99 (0 Bid) End time: 2010-08-01 19:44:27

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Let’s face it; we knew Uncharted 2 was going to happen. The moment we started Naughty Dog’s 2007 hit, Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune, and given their track record of creating trilogies, it was obvious that a sequel would eventually turn up. And believe us when we say, it did so in a big way!

Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune was in many ways a big victory for early adopters of the PS3. In the skillful hands of Naughty Dog they really showed us what the PS3 was capable of in terms of graphics but also successfully recreated the feeling of a summer blockbuster, becoming almost the game equivalent of an Indiana Jones film. In fact, Uncharted bears more than just a passing resemblance to the aforementioned (not to mention the protagonist’s adventure seeking, always-getting-into-trouble personality which could easily find its home there). The game wowed many with its beautifully recreated jungle locations and kept gamers entertained with well scripted sequences and top class voice acting delivered by Nolan North, Emily Rose and Richard McGonagle. It was a short game, but an excellent experience from start to end and became one of the best reasons to own a PS3.

In Uncharted 2: Among Thieves the cast is back to yet again bring you the exploits of our favorite fortune hunter Nathan Drake. This time he’s on the search for the lost treasure of Marco Polo after its doomed voyage from China. Teaming up with two new, but just as eager (and devious, as you will find out) comrades Harry Flynn and Chloe Frazer, they set of to Istanbul to steal an oil lamp that might point them in the direction of Polo’s lost fleet. Their hunt sends them to Borneo and many other exotic locations, encountering his old friend Victor Sullivan (McGonagle) and ex love-interest, Elena Fisher (Rose) along the way. The plot follows Nate’s journey of adventure, deceit, love and almost supernatural dangers in his quest to uncover the mysteries surrounding Marco Polo’s journey and the fabled Chintamani stone.

Players who’ve played the previous game should be familiar with the gameplay of Uncharted 2. Most of the controls have stayed unchanged, save for a few tweaks and improvements. For one, the Sixaxis grenade control from the first game has been turned off by default in favor of an analogue stick aiming. The gunplay mechanics have been tightened up quite a bit, obviously with the newly added multiplayer mode in mind. Most noticeably are the

melee and stealth combat additions. When engaged in close combat, the enemy can now grab Nate, prompting a button press to dodge and counter attack. Nate also has a few new moves up his sleeve, especially with the wealth of new stealth take-downs he can execute. Also, the cover system has been improved, making it easier to get from one point of cover to the next, and also moving around corners while sticking to a wall. It works well in both the singleplayer and multiplayer, and becomes a vital part of surviving, especially when playing the game on Hard and Crushing difficulty levels as well as playing against skilled players. Overall, the controls feel tight and responsive and the context sensitive button presses (helping an ally climb up a ladder, or holding open a stone gate) has been kept simple yet effective.

However, let’s get to the good part: the graphics. As I’ve said before, the original Uncharted set a high bar in terms of what third person games should look like. In our Uncharted 2 beta impressions, I’ve mentioned that the game still looks excellent but it wasn’t until I started playing the singleplayer campaign that I really got to see what Naughty Dog has cooked up. And by golly, the game looks gorgeous!

They’ve really upped the ante with Among Thieves in every way. Everything from the facial animations, to the beautifully realized locations feels real and looks astounding at all times. The combination of Havok driven physics and prescripted events bring the flow of the game’s visuals to life. As soon as a big event ends (imagine shooting your way through a collapsing building) you wish you could go back and see it again just to appreciate how incredible everything looked.

The first game was obviously an excellent platform to start from. It’s clear that every minute of the development time was used to create as much detail in every part of the game to reach an almost creepy level of realism. Each corner of each level is unique and it hardly ever feels like any texture or polygon was reused. At times I had to force myself to stop just and look around at the absolute beauty that served as the setting for this game.

The game totals in at around 10 – 12 hours of playtime and in this time you’ll hardly ever stand still. The pacing is superb, driven either by wonderfully acted and voiced cut scenes, action packed gunfights or tense stealth sections. The only parts that might be considered “filler” are the treasure hunts. The relics and items are sometimes in clear sight and shouldn’t be a problem to find for the careful observer, but a few are quite well hidden, forcing you to look in the most obscure locations. Luckily the treasure hunting is hardly an essential part of the experience but does serve as a good incentive to explore and appreciate your surroundings.

Elena Fisher, last year’s model.

Uncharted 2: Among Thieves has captured the spirit of adventure from movies such as Indiana Jones or Pirates of the Caribbean. It’s about the best example of a game trying to do this and it passes with flying colors. Thanks to the excellent writing and wonderfully delivered voice acting you become emotionally invested in each of the characters. In fact it wouldn’t surprise me if a few tears have been shed during one or two of the cut scenes in the later stages of the game. Though, the game’s script has a rather lighthearted tone and some scenes are downright hysterical.

In the end, as the credits roll I felt a feeling I seldom do when completing a book, movie or game: an utter sense of satisfaction and content and it was almost sad to realize that it had to come to an end. There is nothing I’d add or take away from Uncharted 2 yet the game isn’t entirely perfect. One could nitpick that you are sometimes respawned in an unfamiliar place or that Chloe’s eyes are way too shiny but honestly, these rarely remove you from the excellent experience that is Uncharted 2.

This is GOTY material right here. Even without the multiplayer component (which stayed mostly unchanged since the beta), Uncharted 2 has ensured that the series has been cemented into the action-adventure genre and made its mark in game history. For fans of the genre or not, this is a game not to be missed.

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They say that the quality of an event can be judged by the quality of the catering. If you take that logic and apply to AAA game releases the same can be said for a games quality judged by the quality of it’s press pack.

Uncharted 2 comes with a pretty sweet press pack. Just holding it in my hands makes me feel like Drake, the adventurer himself. Other than the LittleBigPlanet press pack, Uncharted 2 is the best one I’ve seen yet. It came neatly wrapped in a worn looking material with a red ribbon holding it closed. The covers both back and front are embossed with a Tibetan design and its filled with watercolor styled painting of shots from the game. The paper looks old and oddly, smells old to.

My best bit is the hidden Uncharted 2 logo that gets revealed when a red tinted, transparent page placed over the last page in the pack. See images below.

[View with PicLens]

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If you are a Quintin Tarentino fan. Imagine if Mr. Tarentino directed a game. Imagine Kill Bill Volume 1 was that game. Imagine how awesome that game could be. That in a nutshell, is what WET is like.

You play Rubi Malone. A chick that does not take any grief from anyone, who knows how to shoot and swing her sword with the best of them. Your main mission is to hunt down a wealthy man’s son who has gone awol and return him to his dearest pops. Like any good game. This is easier said and done. You will be spending a lot of time shooting, diving, jumping and running up the side of walls to give yourself an edge over the goons you try to kill.

There are numerous great points to WET. Look at the shooting for example. When you enter into a shootout, one of your guns will automatically target the nearest person while you have free control over the second. The entire game slows down in this period to maximise your chances of getting as many shots in as possible or getting a headshot. This isn’t a cut and dry situation either. The AI has been bumped up to a point where the goons will still try to avoid being killed. It will be easy in the first few levels to hit a headshot, but it does get harder as the game progresses.

Another thing is that this game is not really a run and gun game. Sure you could do that. But you wouldn’t last long. We would recon it’s more a “dive, roll and slide” type of game. Reason being that you will be jumping, diving, rolling and sliding to maximise your shots. The great thing with this is that you have a full 360 degree control of Rubi so you could slide on your knees and take out a goon behind you while looking really cool.

On every stage you will reach a point where you will have the opportunity to complete a challenge. In this section you will be required to take out the goons and build up combo whilst avoid being killed. The goons will continue spawning until you take out a marked item to prevent the goons from spawning anymore. The challenge will continue as long as you like, so if you want to get through the stage and continue the story, you just head straight to the mark and take it out. If you want to try and rake up some high points, you can try and take out as many spawns as possible. We love that you get the option to either take the quick route out or try and build up a high score.

One interesting edition to the game is a feature called Rage. This can only be accessed on certain levels. Rubi literally see’s red. The entire level is then played in a view of Black and Red, except the killed goons who leave a splash of white on the red “canvas”. It takes a big getting used to, but once you get the hang of how everything looks with the dramatic change, it adds another layer to an already impressive game.

Developers these days need to try and maximise the value of a game by adding in as much as possible to try and add more value to their games. What better way to do that than to add little items that you need to collect on each level. Bethesda is a pro at this already as they have done this sort of thing numerous times in some great titles. There are little toy monkeys scattered across each level that you need to try and find. Now, you don’t need to find these to complete the level. This is if you are after the trophy/achievement. We at Curious Onion say bring it on, as we love searching every nook and cranny.

Coming back to Mr. Tarentino. You must be completely puzzled to wonder why we would make such a daft statement. It’s really simple actually. From the camera style which is very “jagged” and following behind the action, through to the look of the game as if it was recorded with an old 8mm film which has been treated to a razor blade. Any person that is a fan of Quintin Tarentino’s movies will know exactly what we mean. Heck even the cut scene’s between completed levels and loading sections like when you in an elevator scream Tarentino.

All in all, Bethesda has made a great game which has a great sense of personality and some really interesting characters. If you a fan of Bethesda (Fallout, Elders Scroll) and Quintin Tarentino (Reservoir Dogs, Pulp fiction, Kill Bill), you will absolutely love WET. It’s a well rounded game with some easy searching for items through to intense battles and challenges which will keep you entertained for quite some time.

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