PS3 Archive

Review: FIFA 10 (PS3)

Words by

Jamie Butcher

Posted on October 7, 2009

It’s the time of year when console gamers who love their football are divided. You’re either die hard Pro Evolution Soccer or die hard FIFA and it’s difficult to move from one to the other. Maybe not this time round.

EA’s latest instalment of FIFA completes their resurgence from second rate game to the leader of this genre, the position where they were 10 years ago until Pro Evolution upped their game.

Everything about this game is smooth, flowing and easy to use. Additions like 360 degree dribbling have broken down the barriers of what you’d expect from football games, players can literally go in any direction. FIFA has created a game that’s as close to real football as we’ll ever see (until virtual reality suits… or until next years FIFA!).

On to the gameplay itself, this is the smoothest FIFA so far. The movement of the players is now much more fluid and that’s a big compliment as last years’ instalment was great. One touch passing has improved as well as the ability to play cross field passes. Depending on your standpoint, it could be seen as positive or negative but goalkeeper AI and ability has also been improved.

A point also has to be made about the commentary – the ‘dream team’ of Martin Tyler and Andy Gray is about as good as you’ll ever hear on any football game. Rather than the same generic commentary game in-game out, they offer extra words of wisdom on derby matches like United against City, or Spurs against Arsenal and even Nottingham Forest against Derby. Moments like this make you appreciate how far FIFA now are ahead of Pro Evolution.

There are still frustrating moments when your team-mates won’t run where you want them to run and there will still be countless times when you push the tackle button so many times in a row that once you’ve made the tackle you’ll just pass the ball out of play but those are things that you get used to. There is no question that this game has improved immensely. Set pieces are also a little easier than before, you can either place your shot or just blast it Ronaldo style, both provide success when performed in the right way!

There are several different modes for the game alongside your usual exhibition, cup & leagues, all of which have been improved. We’ll start with the manager mode, as a manager of a team your progress is assessed by stars (five being the highest) and the board are now more involved making comments after every game. Transfers aren’t as easy as they used to be either – players now deciding not to move to your club for specific reasons such as the player looking for a mentor and an inexperienced manager not helping the players progress. The manager mode now has a lot more depth than before.

The next two modes tie in nicely together – Be A Pro, is still an integral part of the game after its introduction last year, but it now blends in with the Virtual Pro mode. Be A Pro is almost the same as the previous version in its layout, there are a couple of minor improvements with the way that you ask for the ball and players will pass to you a little quicker but as before, after 6 or 7 games in a row the mode can become quite frustrating and tedious, especially when playing against good opposition.

Virtual Pro is the crowning glory of the game. This mode is basically the create a player mode from last year except with some amazing additions. EA now allow you to go on to their website, use their software to upload a picture which will then be sent to your PS3 (as long as it’s online) and create a much more realistic version of your face. This is a huge step forward – the idea of using your home computer to make things more realistic on your PS3 is an avenue which I think will be exploited in the next year to really make use of its potential.

Once you have made your photo realistic character, in previous versions you’d instantly make them as good as humanly possible. Not any more! You now have to earn your spurs (pardon the pun). Your player’s stats are now increased by fulfilling tasks in gameplay with them. For example, in the arena mode where you are when the game first loads, by scoring a penalty your characters shooting & penalty stats are increased. To find out how to build your player up there is a very nicely presented sticker book which explains how to accomplish each statistic increase, these range from scoring from 30 yards to performing each different celebration. Completing these mini challenges also unlocks features to change the look of your character like different boots or accessories. This modes icing on the cake is that you can use the character in exhibitions, Be A Pro or manager mode to complete these challenges so there are no restrictions on needing to be constantly in Be A Pro which I think is an inspired idea.

Another addition to this new version of FIFA is the introduction of an online shop, where game updates will be made available and also extras to download. Upon release the Bernabeau stadium is free to download as well as boosts for your virtual pro (which will cost you!).

Overall, FIFA does exactly what it says on the tin. They took last years’ game and sensing a last minute winner pushed forward with improvements and has now completely overtaken Pro Evolution. I’ve played the demo of Pro Evolution 10 and from that alone the game feels sluggish compared to the fluid smoothness of FIFA. This game should cement FIFA 10’s and EA’s rightful place at the summit of football games – and this is coming from a former die hard Pro Evolution fan.

VideogameUK verdict: 8.5/10

Review: Bomberman Ultra (PS3)

Words by

Billy Withers

Posted on October 5, 2009

Hudson Soft’s mascot Bomberman is a lot like Nintendo’s Mario in the way that when you look over the past 15 – 20 years or so through the vast array of titles featuring the main character, it always goes back to what he did best that has the fans grinning again. The chubby plumber is heading to the Wii in his first major home console “left to right” platformer since Yoshi’s Island in the New Super Mario Bros. title later in the year, as you may already know. When you look at the big headed, slit-eyed Bomberman, you can also see with him that throughout his history he’s been in all sorts, from Baseball to 3D platform action, but no matter what else he gets put into, the single screen explosion fest always feels like home and suits him well.

For those who don’t know, Ultra is an all-singing, all-dancing version of the 360 Live one, which incorporates all the extra expansion packs, allowing for a 14 level piece of cartoon carnage. It is, in essence, a party game and always has been, with the only major difference this time being the opportunity to blow up people online rather than up to 8 people sitting in a room laughing, drinking fizzy juice and staying up until the sun rose again (or the SNES and Mega Drive era for those not old enough to remember).

For anyone who has been stuck in a leather jacket and bound in a padded cell, let me give you a brief idea of what you have to do. You are protagonist number 1, who must eliminate the other members of the battle arena with your bombs, which can be enhanced by additional collectibles as you play.

The game itself maintains a very similar layout to Bomberman titles of old. The single screen, bird’s eye view is back and the object is as simple as ever. It looks good enough, with a style that doesn’t stray too far from the original ideals, but manages to stay fresh enough to keep the doubters and new age soothsayers away. Don’t get me wrong, it doesn’t have the massive finesse of something like Fat Princess or ’Splosion Man on the Xbox, but it has a certain charm, which few will find hard to like. The explosions are as punchy as they need to be without looking like something that needs a mushroom cloud to look authentic.

There is most certainly a revamped, yet retro feel to everything involving the game, even the music has a mix of cheesy drums and C64 SID chip, which although fun and quirky, like most of the sound in the game, can begin to become increasingly annoying after a while. You may well feel yourself running for your iPod and just keeping one ear plugged with your earphone to at least tell your brain that it’s not all bad. Normally tunes don’t get so irritating, but due to the short round times and treading the same old ground often, this can safely claim the mute button all to itself.

Repeating yourself in a game can be one of the more negative things to say about them, but in the case of Ultra (and Live to be honest); it’s exactly what is needed. This was always going to be and has been a party game in origin, plain and simple. For all the 2 or 3 minutes per round you have, there is enough to keep you occupied and the strategy element is always there when it comes to working out just where and when to strike that killer blow.

It comes as a shame that one of those important feathers in the cap of goodness has fallen out and needs ruffled and placed back properly. I’m referring to the online mode and its apparent lack of stability. After trying for two evenings to try and get a decent game, I can safely say I’ve failed, as I only managed one game out of the 10 or so times I tried (and even at that is was EXTREMELY lag ridden and it died off after 30 seconds anyway). For a game that pretty much relies on this to bring about the classic gameplay that us older players know can be had is a bad thing indeed and unless it gets fixed in the next few weeks, it could well hurt it badly.

Being a gamer of many years it’s hard to look at something like Hudson Soft’s new take on an old friend and not feel a tad nostalgic about the whole thing, as you still feel an urge to get people round and go through those long sugar-rush powered sessions again with your mates. I know we live in a time where online is king and Call of Duty or Halo would hold more interest than anything seen on the PSN or XBLA, but the ability to have a gameplay mechanic that, although getting on a bit, can still keep a group of people interested for an evening has to be good, especially for £8.

You may well be able to fully customise Bomberman in many different outfits and costumes and shiny new heads to give him a bit of a facelift, but it’s really just a gimmick. Even so, the core gameplay element is still there, but the lack of consistent internet games really does let it down a lot. I’m lucky to have this on Xbox Live and when you get to play against other people online it can be an absolute joy, not to mention it makes time disappear like a politician’s reputation. As it stands, I cannot have it pass with flying colours until this is fixed as it holds it back from being as good as it could be, much like putting a limiter on a car engine in that you know it can be better, but the restrictions take away from the enjoyment slightly. It’s a shame because the rest of the game is still as polished as it ever was and Bomberman can still keep a room full of people happy for quite some time. Just don’t take it outside the comfort of your own home.

VideogameUK verdict: 7/10 (8/10 if they fix the net problems)

New Modern Warfare 2 “Infamy” Trailer Hits The Internet

Words by

Russell Maher

Posted on October 5, 2009

New Modern Warfare 2 “Infamy” Trailer Hits The Internet

The new Modern Warfare 2 trailer, entitled “Infamy”, has hit the internet. Action packed, and will have us all drooling some more in anticipation of the games actually release.

View the trailer at InfinityWard.com or in HD at YouTube.

Review: Guitar Hero 5 (PS3)

Words by

Jamie Butcher

Posted on September 21, 2009

It’s no secret – I’m a Rock Band fan, I’ve always favoured their tracklists on games & their presentation as well as graphics. Until now.

Guitar Hero 5, with its 83 songs, is a welcome revamp & serious step forward in their series with only a few flaws.

It makes sense to start at the beginning with the brand new idea of its party mode. The idea being that a song is playing in the background before you’ve entered the main menu – the ingenious little feature is that you can drop in or out of the song that’s playing on any instrument. An ideal thing to leave on if you have a lot of friends round with Guitar Hero available if people want to play it.

The career mode has finally dropped the strange empty stories which they used to use, you remember where you’d start off in a fast pace cartoon and work your way from a small venue and end up in hell? Well they are now a thing of the past, replaced with beautifully crafted venues complete with realistic pyrotechnics going off at relevant moments in songs, a very small but notable addition.

Neversoft have also moved away from the cartoon feel which dominated all of their previous releases and have now moved alongside Rock Band with their much more realistic feel in the videos which are vastly better than any of its predecessors.

Now onto the million dollar question… the soundtrack. FINALLY, the developers are moving away from the traditional heavy metal stereotype. They have finally realised that it isn’t just metal music lovers who want to play these games; the tracklist on this game features some unusual but really great songs (whoever decided that Stevie Wonder’s Superstition should be in the game deserves a promotion and a hefty pay rise). The point is, there is something here for everyone, Gorillaz, Kings of Leon, Elton John, Iron Maiden, Nirvana, Johnny Cash… the list goes on.

The basic gameplay hasn’t been altered except for the loss of the distracting little notes which used to pop up telling you that you’d made a ‘hot start’ or you’d reached a ‘200 note streak’ which as you looked at the note abruptly ended said streak. Minor changes which make a big difference – a sign which shows that developers are listening to their consumers which is always a sensible idea.

Now, it’s time to be a little picky, there are small aspects of the game which really irritated me and it may be a personal opinion but during songs like Coldplay’s ‘In My Place’ or previously mentioned ‘Superstition’, while playing guitar I found myself strumming the piano or brass instrument parts. This is guitar hero, not trumpet hero. I’d rather sit and wait for another guitar part to come along and enjoy the superb videos in the background than play the background instruments. I know it’s a small flaw but it really took away that feeling that you were playing the song.

As for longevity, the game introduces a new feature in the career mode which really extends your gameplay. For each song, as well as trying to achieve five stars, you now also have a mini challenge for each song which involves you either maintaining a score multiplier for a certain amount of time or hitting a certain amount of kick drums throughout the song. If you can complete these mini tasks (which aren’t as easy as they all sound) you unlock more clothes for the create a rocker section or instrument accessories.

Moving onto the create a rocker section, it has been expanded from Guitar Hero World Tour – you can change almost every aspect of your character with so many more options than before. Now that the game has moved away from the cartoon feel the characters have a very realistic look to them which allows you to make characters really look like you or even your favourite rock star.

On the subject of favourite rock stars, once again Guitar Hero has pulled out all the stops to bring in some famous characters, Matt Bellamy from Muse makes an appearance alongside Johnny Cash but the coup de gras is the inclusion of the late, great Kurt Cobain. Seeing a digital Cobain rocking away to ‘Smells Like Teen Spirit’ really captures what the game is all about and attempting the vocals on this song is always fun.

The multiplayer aspect of the game has also been altered. The fun battles where you could break opponents’ strings or increase their difficulty has been sadly removed and replaced by new battles like ‘Momentum’ where your difficulty starts on medium and the more notes you hit the more your difficulty increases. It’s a nice idea but loses the fun of the old battles. The best addition to the new multiplayer is the elimination section – where 4 guitars can be set up to play at once and as notes are missed that person is eliminated distinguishing the true guitar hero between you and your friends.

The studio section of the game is also present which allows players to make their own songs. In all honesty, unless you play guitar yourself or work in a studio this aspect of the game becomes boring after about 5 minutes of playing different chords which sound terrible when put together. However, with 83 songs on the game and a countless amount to download from the integrated online music store who needs to make their own songs?

With The Beatles Rock Band dominating recent headlines Guitar Hero really had to bring out a game which wouldn’t slip under the radar or allow itself to be beaten hands down and although the Beatles game is truly beautiful in all aspects, if you’re not a Beatles fan then it’ll be lost on you. Guitar Hero 5 has a diverse soundtrack with songs that everyone will like, new features which will keep most players entertained for much longer than they normally would be, and a career mode which you’ll want to play again on each instrument to unlock all the rewards… Could you ask for any more?

VideogameUK verdict: 8.5/10

Review: Punisher: No Mercy (PS3)

Words by

Billy Withers

Posted on September 14, 2009

Remember how I mentioned in the review for Batman: Arkham Asylum that it was the comic book game to drag the rest of the series away from the mire it had left itself in? Well, here is another game that does the exact opposite and almost single-handedly managed to sink it back in and plug it pretty deep.

What the reason was to get this game out is beyond me. It’s not that it’s a bad game to look at; in fact there are some really nice touches, such as the lighting and texturing to create a nice, gloomy environment to kill things willingly, but the rest of it is just so below par that it should take up professional golf.

The Punisher: No Mercy follows Frank Castle as he battles not only some of his most well known foes, like Barracuda, Microchip and all, but he is also fighting his inner demons, but the story line really feels more like a bolted on extra, mainly because there are only 4 chapters, which are only there to show you the different game types available. Deathmatches are obviously the main part of the FPS diet, but there is also a horde-like Survival mode, where you must go on for as long as you can while constant waves of enemies come at you.

The music is fine, thumping out the dark guitar riffs you would associate with something of this style, but the audio will drive you loopy by the end of it. The Punisher himself sounds like he’s Christian Bale with a head cold and the rest of the vocal talent don’t sound too hot either. It’s almost like someone took rejects from a cartoon series and offered them money to talk nonsense. Strangely enough though, this isn’t the funniest thing for me. Call me crazy, but when there is music playing through a level, even on First Person Shooters, like Unreal Tournament for example, you don’t expect the tunes to take a break while you’re selecting your weapons and then suddenly jump back in when you hit the battlefield again. Its little things like that which gives the game a disjointed, almost rushed out feel.

The most chronic part of the whole thing is the gameplay, which borders on criminal, which in an ironic way seems to befit a title involving the extermination of convicts. In these modern days of gun games getting churned out with almost calculated efficiency, you expect the AI to be of a good quality and be able to fend for themselves up to a point. We don’t ask for much, just enough to make things interesting by spicing them up a bit. This is as spicy as a stale loaf, with the computer controlled opponents just mincing about like even THEY don’t want to be there, which is bad enough. The fact you then have to start the chore of killing these makes it worse. There is just no soul or character here. I understand that the game costs a lot less than some of the major players in the market in this genre, but when you can pay an extra three pounds for something like Battlefield 1943, which, to be frank (although based on this game, who would?) pees all over it.

I do get the feeling that many people will heed warnings to keep away, mainly because of the one other horrendous aspect of this, the online aspect. I waited and waited for someone, ANYONE to come and join a game, while the PS3 tried constantly to find me someone to battle against. Five minutes passed and I didn’t even get a sniff at a match, which shows me that even people who went out and bought this don’t want to play it over the web. The fact the single player is so dull probably made people wonder if it was even worth the effort.

Then you also have the fact that pretty much all the weapons are locked until at least halfway through the annoying single player campaign, which means that even if you don’t want to play it any other way than against human opponents, you’re going to HAVE to if you want a decent gun of any description. Even some of the code is just so bad it’s funny. If you’re playing survival, don’t be at all surprised if the match announcer starts telling you that there will be a next wave in ten seconds and then proceed to not only be unable to count from that point down to one without missing numbers, but as you’re waiting and refilling armour and health that some straggler from the last wave is already getting a head start and killing you without you even realising.

To sum it up, this is seven pounds worth of tripe that I wouldn’t even feed my dog. The AI is awful, the layout dull and the story is readable on the back of a postage stamp with it being so short. You could really put that money to better use on the Playstation Network, with one extra pound getting you one of the most loved RPG’s of all time, Final Fantasy VII. Why on earth when you have stuff like that waiting on the store would you go for this instead?

Zen should stick to the pinball side of things, which is where they truly excel, instead of being involved with something quite as daft as this. If you’re a big comic book fan and can spend extra money, buy Batman: Arkham Asylum. If you can’t afford to spend any extra, go out and actually buy a comic. If you have the money and aren’t a true fan of the genre, go and buy something else on PSN and enjoy it more, but whatever you do DON’T buy this, as it is the most boring, monotonous shooter I have played in many a moon. The game name is spot on at least, as it’s punishing me for playing it and showing no mercy as it gloats after taking my money. Avoid.

VideogameUK verdict: 4/10