The first Army of Two had some issues trying to find its tone. On the one hand all it wanted to do was bro-out, offering fist bumps, air guitar and “pimped” out golden weapons to fire. While on the other side of the spectrum it dealt with seedy private military corporations in real-world conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan, and some oddly-placed conspiracy theories about 9/11 and America’s reasons for going to war in the Middle East. The two sides never really gelled, and the co-op gameplay got repetitive far too quickly for Army of Two to ever really sustain any interest. Army of Two: The 40th Day, has toned down on its frat boy protagonists and kooky conspiracies for a much more focused campaign, but it remains to be seen whether the gameplay has seen the required improvements to elevate the franchise to a higher tier.

This time around events are moved to Shanghai as Rios and Salem quickly find themselves caught in a large scale terrorist attack that decimates half of the breathtaking city. It’s an interesting premise, and the destruction of the city is spectacular, with explosives and aircraft knocking down some of the tallest and most impressive skyscrapers in the world. However, the story quickly takes a backseat to the action as you’re shunned into the unknown. Your antagonist doesn’t reveal himself until the very end of the game, and the only way to gauge what’s happening is to collect radio logs spread throughout each level and listen to them in the pause menu. It’s a poor way of storytelling, but the narrative is easy enough to ignore if you just want to focus on the action-heavy combat.

Though there are still some issues with the tone of the game as it once again struggles to find any sort of consistent identity. The story is fine – taking a simple, linear path with its typical action fare – but on each mission you’ll come across a few moral decisions. They seem out of place with the rest of the game, but offer certain rewards depending on your choices. For example, towards the beginning of the game you can choose to execute an ally you’ve just worked with for some extra cash from your employers, or you can let him go for free – since you’re supposed to have formed some kind of bond in the 10 minutes spent with him. If you choose the “good guy” option your reward will come later on, but for some instant gratification you’ll have to kill him then and there. It never really works as intended since you normally have more than enough cash and weapons to never need to go down the dark path, though if you choose the right path the outcome always has a negative conclusion so there’s little incentive to swing that way either. The message is clear, but it’s a flawed system, and when it brings up controversial issues like rape and child murder, it doesn’t work when the rest of the game deals with playing rock, paper, scissors and discussing how Rios has sex with endangered pandas.

Luckily this moral compass doesn’t have an effect on the gameplay since the shooting isThe 40th Day’s strongest aspect. There’s a nice range of weaponry available with pistols, assault rifles, sub-machine guns, shotguns, sniper rifles and so on. And, once again, you can customise each weapon you buy or find with a range of attachments and improvements, whether it’s swapping out new barrels and grips or adding a laser sight and silencer. There’s a hefty rate of gear in each category so customisation is high on the agenda, and in the end it all factors into the returning Aggro system. Like before, one player can attract the attention of all enemies by firing a large, loud weapon, allowing the other person to flank around the sides for some easy kills. It works well, built on teamwork between two players, or one player and the AI, though it’s not always required since you can down most enemies in one or two shots. The only exceptions are the heavies, who you’ll need to flank in order to hit the weak spot on their backsides.

It’s a competent shooter, best played with a friend. The AI does its job, earning a decent amount of kills and generally staying out of your line of sight, but it does have its flaws. Oftentimes when you’ve gone down he’ll drag you into the open before trying to heal you so there are some unnecessary deaths. And I found that sometimes he’d wonder into the open himself and get killed even when ordered to hold his position. You see, you can give him three specific orders, to regroup, advance and hold position. For each of these you can also render him passive or aggressive, tying into the Aggro meter. It’s easy enough to make him advance or hold his position on aggressive, allowing you to flank the enemy positions with a silenced weapon, virtually unseen, while he gets all the attention. It works well and is probably the best way to play with the AI.

The downside is you’ll be performing this manoeuvre over and over again throughout the campaign’s short five hour runtime. There’s no real variation to any of The 40th Day’s seven missions; each one funnels you down a linear path as you engage in one shooting gallery after another. It looks good, particularly in the character models, but past the opening destruction of Shanghai the rest of the missions look like any old war-torn environment with the zoo being the only exception. When there’s no variety to the gameplay, and relatively little inspiration in the environments, it begins to get repetitive way before the miniscule five hours are up.

It’s just a shame that the solid fundamentals laid out by the original Army of Twocouldn’t be built on in this sequel. The story is an improvement only in its “less is more” execution, but the gameplay has remained mostly the same with no improvements to the systems already put in place or the design of its missions. It gets far too repetitive far too quickly so Army of Two: The 40th Day should be viewed as a rental at best. With a friend it can be fun for a while, but anything else and it outstays its welcome.

Are you bored of modern shooters and their emphasis on the latest high-tech weaponry, Middle-Eastern conflicts; the brutality of war and plot twists you can see coming from a mile away? Well,Serious Sam HD: The First Encounter might just be the game for you. There’s no story, no characters to care about and most certainly nothing that could be considered sophisticated. The emphasis is purely on shooting as many things as possible with as much absurd weaponry as Sam “Serious” Stone can handle.

It hails from the run-really-fast-backwards-whilst-shooting school of game design. A throwback to classic first-person shooters like Doom and Wolfenstein 3D; only the craziness has been turned to 11 and the tight corridors have progressed to vast, open spaces crammed full of respawing enemies. The foes Sam will come up against have no other attack pattern other than to shoot you, charge at you, or both. Their character designs are completely nonsensical, from screaming suicide bombers with no heads to six-armed monsters and giant scorpion-men equipped with mini-guns – there’s no rhyme or reason to any of it. As a result, gameplay is consistently hectic and nerve-wracking as enemies jump at you from all angles as you make a desperate dash for that last health vile. The amount of wacky foes Serious Sam HD can throw at you at any one time is staggering, although this does lead to some slowdown in the latter stages when the character count must be near the hundreds.

Of course, if you want to survive against such mind-numbing odds you’re going to need a hefty arsenal of weaponry. Sam’s come prepared with myriad shotguns, rocket launchers and machine guns as well as some more explosive firepower, like a handy laser gun and a cannon that fires giant cannonballs. Shooting is satisfying with enemies exploding into red paste upon death, and the controls feel tight and intuitive despite the jump from mouse and keyboard to controller. The level design is nothing to write home about, often locking you in an area and spawning enemies until you’ve defeated them all. Their basic attack patterns and your constant need to run backwards and fire eventually get tedious, despite the games short playtime. It’s still fun, but the frenetic pace and monotonous shooting is rather tiring, especially when you’re killing the same character types over and over again. You can draft in three friends for co-op but this strains the frame rate even further, and the competitive multiplayer options from the PC version have been removed here.

The new and improved HD visuals don’t add all that much to the original 2001 game. Weapon details are improved and everything has a nice new sheen to it, but a lot of the textures are still fairly poor with shadows often flickering in and out. On the sound side Sam’s plethora of cheesy one-liners are hilariously good, and the heavy metal soundtrack is as enjoyable as ever if that’s your thing. Its the sound effects that come out on top, though. A lot of the enemy noises are essential to knowing where they are and what kind of foe you’re up against. It’s surprising for a game like this to place such a big emphasis on sound when it comes to gameplay, but it works fantastically well.

In the end, Serious Sam HD: The First Encounter doesn’t warrant its 1200MP price point. There aren’t enough new features to cater fans of the series and the gameplay just doesn’t hold up for newcomers. It can still be a lot of fun, with large scale battles against multiple foes being a highlight, but the old school game design is showing its age, if it was even relevant to begin with. There just isn’t enough variety in the locations, enemies and basic gameplay to really recommend it.

Late last year when downloadable content was announced for Assassin’s Creed II I was definitely excited. The second game in the franchise was a vast improvement on the original in nearly every way, and earned its place as one of my games of the year for 2009. Both pieces of DLC, Battle of Forliand Bonfire of the Vanities, will slot into the vacant spaces for memory sequences 12 and 13, filling out blanks in Ezio’s story rather than expanding upon the events at the end of the game.

As a result, the story in Battle of Forli is difficult to understand if you haven’t played Assassin’s Creed II since its release back in November. Picking up straight after the close of memory sequence 12 it carries on as though nothing has happened, so if you don’t remember the specifics it’s going to be hard to follow. Your main task boils down to helping Caterina Sforza, who you helped on your way to Venice during the main game. Her castle is under attack due to some late story implications, so you’re tasked with helping her and her children, as well as fulfilling some of your own needs. Battle of Forli also fills in some late story blanks, such as how Ezio got a hold of the codec map, or why Leonardo da Vinci ended up at the villa. Only small details, but they at least pad out the story a little more.

The gameplay is essentially part of the main game so there’s nothing new to see here. The majority ofBattle of Forli consists of large scale battles with a miniscule degree of sneaking and climbing towards the end. Anyone who’s ever played ACII before knows that crowded battles were never the game’s strong point so it’s disappointing that it’s basically all Battle of Forli consists of. Even Niccolò Machiavelli, one of the most well-known and influential men in history, is reduced to a combat-hardened sidekick. It would have been nice to give him a bigger and more respectful role, much like da Vinci, but at the moment he’s a killer just like you.

At around 40 minutes Battle of Forli is also an extremely short piece of DLC. The cheap price of 320 Microsoft Points can justify it, but for such a small amount of content and the same gameplay we’ve already spent 15 hours playing, it isn’t really worth it. Newcomers will get the most out of it since it fits in with the rest of the game as though it was always there to begin with – arguably like it should have been – and those wanting to pick up the flying machine Achievement without going back to play the rest of the game will be pleased with its involvement. But as a stand-alone piece of DLC Battle of Forli is significantly lacking in all areas. Hopefully sequence 13 can remedy things, but I have my doubts after this underwhelming effort.

From April 2008 to October 2009 our time in Liberty City is finally over. We’ve led the life of an Eastern European immigrant in search of the American Dream and a chance at revenge, to the rough and tumble biker just trying to keep his gang – or should I say ‘family’ – from the brink of annihilation. We’ve experienced the seedy underworld of this sprawling city, and now it’s time to hit the high life; full of expensive clubs, fast cars and lots and lots of gold. The Ballad of Gay Tony is the third and final chapter in this incredible journey, finally completing The Holy Trinity and ending our time in one of the best, most realised open-world environments in video game history. Does it go out in style, or on a whimper?

With a little help from my friends

16-player online multiplayer is still here, stripped down to Deathmatch, Team Deathmatch, Race, GTA Race and Free Mode. The new weapons – including the P90, auto-shotgun with exploding rounds and stick bombs – are all available to use, along with nitrous in races and, of course, the parachuting. Disappointingly, though, there’s no basejumping-centric mode, so it’s the luck of the draw whether it crops up or not. It’s still enjoyable but it would have been nice to see a few more modes thrown in.

The style is definitely here in abundance. The aptly named Gay Tony is the owner of two of the biggest gay and straight clubs in the city, so all the big money, dance music and club life harkens back to the old days of the ever-popular Vice City. However, it may surprise some that you don’t actually play as Gay Tony; he’s just your boss. You take control of his bodyguard and business partner Luis Lopez, who you may remember from the bank heist mission and diamond storyline from GTAIV and TLAD. The Ballad of Gay Tony does an excellent job combining each chapter of this trilogy together, so you’ll constantly find yourself in similar situations from an alternate point of view; and tons of characters from this universe regularly crop up, often times showing a different side to their personality. The dialogue is fantastic as always and the majority of new characters add even more personality to this city, especially the hilarious Yusif Amir – voiced by Omid Djalili.

Sadly the story isn’t quite as good. The title should give you some indication that Luis isn’t a particularly endearing main character. TBOGT occasionally dips into the troubles of his past but never ventures further than that, so it feels like there are a lot of loose ends that could have been explored to flesh him out a bit more. Although the biggest problem is that the stakes are never against Luis, he’s always just doing work for Tony, trying to keep him out of danger. Luis ends up feeling like a secondary character in his own game so it’s hard to feel involved in what is a fairly basic story to begin with.

It’s not all bad for Luis, though. He’ll be remembered for the crazy shenanigans he gets up to in TBOGT. GTAIVwas often criticized for taking the series in a more serious direction, throwing out the ridiculousness of the earlyGTA games; but TBOGT is bringing it all back. You’ll be stealing helicopters and using them to blow up yachts; then you’ll skydive from said chopper, parachute onto a building before killing its inhabitants and parachuting out of the window to land on a moving truck below; until you eventually make your way along the roof of a moving train, taking out Police attack choppers with the stupidly powerful automatic shotgun with explosive rounds, until another helicopter picks up the carriage and flies it away. The craziness rarely ever lets up, so fans of the GTA of old will feel right at home here and it’s certainly a change of pace from what we’ve seen before.

However, GTAIV is beginning to show its age. With recent games like Uncharted 2 upping the ante on player movement and cover, TBOGT feels dated and clunky. It’s not too bad, but it can hinder the experience when in hectic firefights, trying to manoeuvre between cover without being blown to pieces. It’s just too slow and awkward to fiddle around with.

Going for 100%

Upon completion of the game you’ll have the ability to go back and retry any mission in the game. This isn’t just for fun, though, because after each mission you’re giving a score based on completing specific objectives; be it time taken, number of headshots, damage sustained and so on. Having a replay function is already a welcome new feature but adding the scoring system on top of it – and Achievements for completing them all above a certain percentage –and it turns into a brilliant move that adds a whole lot more replayability to the game.

So it’s a good thing there are plenty of new things to do in Liberty City this time around. As you can probably tell from the mission descriptions, there’s a big emphasis on basejumping in TBOGT. The sky’s the limit, as they say, as the heights you can soar to have been extended allowing helicopters to fly high above the clouds before you eventually jump out like a madman. Packing a parachute you can glide to safety, and there are even 15 basejumping missions to take part in. These have a degree of variety, normally depending on the height of the drop. If it’s from the top of a building then you’ll usually be asked to land in the back of a moving truck, but if it’s from a helicopter high above the city there will normally be rings to glide through before landing on a circular target on the ground. The basejumping is an excellent distraction from the main story and waiting till the last second to open a chute is an exhilarating thrill ride.

There are also some drug wars to tackle – much like the gang wars in TLAD – and new races, as well as a fairly basic golf mini-game and some cage fighting. The fighting mechanics aren’t great but there’s some challenege to be had reaching the last rounds so it can be quite enjoyable. If you want to take it down a notch another new feature is club management; although this isn’t particularly exciting. Luis just stands around the club, looking tough, occasionally throwing out potential trouble makers. It’s pretty boring and will probably only be attempted once. Luckily there are plenty more enjoyable things to try in the clubs, like getting drunk or even dancing. Dancing’s simple, pushing the joystick in time with the music, but completing it can unlock a pleasant surprise from your lady friends or go into a big dance routine with everyone on the dancefloor. It’s not something you’re going to spend hours with, but it’s funny and a nice little way to spend some time.

Particularly when the music’s so great. There are new tracks to fit with the club setting – so plenty of funky, dance music – although the new Vice City FM is exclusive to the disc based Episodes of Liberty City. A disappointment for all you downloaders.

Besides this, The Ballad of Gay Tony is a great way to say goodbye to Liberty City. The story isn’t as strong as the other chapters in the series but some of the new characters are fantastic and the writing is still as good as ever. What sets it apart is the return to the craziness of old, with a large emphasis on extreme helicopter stunts and basejumping from immense heights. It’s an eight hour thrill ride with only a few poor missions and GTAIV’s dated gameplay holding it back. For the relatively cheap price it should be a must buy for any GTA fans, particularly those with a fondness for either Vice City or San Andreas.

There was a lot of excitement leading up the release of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Turtles in Time Re-Shelled. The original “Un-Shelled” edition was a big hit in the arcades back in ‘91, and later on for the SNES in ‘92. For a long time I shared this excitement, but a few levels into this remake I came to the realisation that this was purely because I hadn’t played the original in so long. Games have come a long way since the early 1990s and Turtles in Time is the perfect example of this if there ever was one.

The arcade classic was never a particularly complex game. Following the likes of Double Dragon and Streets of Rage, it was a simple brawler designed to eat up quarters down at the local arcade. Sadly that style of gameplay doesn’t translate well to current-gen systems, and you’ll find yourself bored stiff within minutes of booting up Re-Shelled. There are a limited number of attacks available, with basic and special attacks, and jump and throw moves. These moves can be mixed together to kill the same enemies over and over again, but it’s easy enough to mash your way through the game’s relatively short run-time by hammering on the X button, even if it requires a breather after each level.

It’s an archaic approach that could have easily looked to recent brawlers like Castle Crashers for inspiration. Instead, the only new addition to the gameplay is the ability to attack diagonally – a minor enhancement. A game like The Secret of Monkey Island: Special Edition can afford to be re-released with no gameplay changes because the classic gameplay remains relevant today. Turtles in Time isn’t in the same boat and has nothing going for it other than nostalgia, which probably won’t be enough for most people. It can still be fun, getting together a party of four and playing through the story, but after two or three levels the repetition will become too much. Back in the day it was a blast, but it’s just not up to today’s standards.

Luckily the visuals have received a brand new face-lift - Re-Shelledhad to mean something, right? The new character models do a competent job and the animations are impressive; however, the backgrounds are generally poor with some muddy and low quality textures throughout. On the whole it’s not a bad package, but there’s one glaring omission. While other recently released re-makes include the ability to switch back to the original game on-the-fly, Turtles in Time misses out. It’s always a fantastic experience transitioning between the jazzed up new visuals and the old retro style, so it’s a severe disappointment that it’s left out here. For 400 Microsoft Points you could easily sell bucket loads of the original arcade game, so the extra 800 for this Re-Shelled edition doesn’t seem worth it.

If you’re a massive fan of the original Turtles in Time then those fond memories should remain as memories. Re-Shelled doesn’t bring enough of the nostalgia factor to the table and the gameplay is in a similar predicament. It may have been fun back in the 1990s but now there’s just not enough depth to gain any sort of prolonged enjoyment out of it. Short bursts in multiplayer can be mildly enjoyable, but for 800 points it’s simply not worth it. It’s crazy to think they were originally going to charge 1200 for what is a bare-bone remake. The Turtles should stay in their shells for this one.

A few levels into ‘Splosion Man you’ll find a rather large scientist with a particular fondness for doughnuts. Upon picking him up and using him as your own human shield, an original song about doughnuts, and how much everybody loves them, begins to play that could very easily rival the greatness of Portal’s galvanizing hit, Still Alive. This is just one example of one of the many moments in Twisted Pixel’s ‘Splosion Man that will bring a massive smile to your face; along with many that will turn that frown upside down as you struggle through its fifty, or so, frantic, sensational and frankly explosive levels.

It’s the perfect way to kick off this years Summer of Arcade as you take control of a giddy little experiment-gone-wrong who loves nothing more than exploding. Every face button on the controller makes him ‘splode, and it’s your job to guide him through each of the game’s 2D levels, utilizing his special ability in a variety of different ways. Whether it’s ‘sploding up ledges, ‘sploding off walls, ‘sploding the evil scientists, and even ‘sploding barrels; I think you get the picture. Essentially, in its most basic form, ‘sploding works as a jump and an attack. When jumping you can perform three explosions before running out of juice and needing to rest a bit to recharge. This means you can make it across large gaps, or use the wall jump to make it up to higher levels. It’s basic platforming 101, but ‘Splosion Man throws in plenty of wacky ideas to mix up the formula.

Throughout the game’s first stage you’ll learn the basics to each mechanic, from ‘sploding off barrels to propel yourself higher, to using switches, dealing with moving objects and capitalizing on the different items you’re given – including Mr. Doughnut Lover. It’s easy to learn how everything works and how you need to use them to progress through the game, and the learning difficulty is just right so that once you become accustomed to the basics it will throw in some new ways to use them and shake up the formula. By the end of the game the ante is most definitely upped and you’ll need all your skills to succeed as impending doom is nearly always on your tail. It may come in the shape of deadly spikes, rising water or acid, laser beams or even giant robots, and the only way to escape is to hit a succession of inch perfect jumps with no leeway for the slightest of mistakes. It may sound and look impossible, but the learning curve is so good that you should feel comfortable by the time you reach the third and final stage, with only a few of the game’s most outlandish obstacles causing any amount of difficulty.

Now, don‘t get me wrong, ‘Splosion Man certainly presents a challenge – and there’s definitely some frustration – but it never feels like the game is overly hard and cheating you out of progressing. It’s your own skill stopping you from completing the level, and thankfully, if you’re finding it too hard, there is an option to skip ahead if you end up dying too much. For those that persevere, you’ll find a game that encourages trial and error, with each death teleporting you back to the last checkpoint – of which there are many – with no load screens in sight. You’re meant to experiment and try difficult sections over and over again until you get comfortable and are ready to go back and attempt to set a time in the time trials. It’s like a retro game but without the annoyance of limited continues giving you the game over screen every few deaths. Old school gamers can appreciate its approach, and new players should enjoy the high intensity action it offers.

Although you wouldn’t think this action and focus on precision jumps would transfer well to multiplayer, it does so surprisingly well. You can play with up to four players in a separate campaign consisting of another fifty levels. Here the gameplay changes a tad, consisting more of puzzles that rely on teamwork. Each player can ‘splode off of each other to get big jumps, so it’s a case of working together and getting the timing right to hit each jump successfully. It’s a lot of fun and the extra set of multiplayer specific levels adds longevity to what is already a relatively lengthy experience. For only 800 Microsoft Points, ‘Splosion Man provides plenty bang for your buck.

‘Splosion Man himself is certainly one of the characters of the year. Just like Twisted Pixel’s other effort, The Maw, ‘Splosion Man has a brilliant sense of humour. Its protagonist has an odd love of Arnold Schwarzenegger quotes, and he runs about the place like a kid overdosing on sugar. He’s not happy unless he’s exploding and he’ll let you know it, yelling out random phrases and spreading his arms out like he’s trying to fly. He’s a lunatic but it fits the Saturday morning cartoon style perfectly. It’s just a shame there’s a distinct lack of narrative because the other characters – however few they are – maintain the humour even in their brief appearances.

If you’re looking for a new Arcade game you can’t go wrong with‘Splosion Man. It has a certain charm you can’t help but love and the precision based, high octane gameplay is one you’re going to keep coming back to. The boss battles disrupt the pacing and the lack of a narrative is disappointing when you consider the added comedy value it could produce, but the gameplay far outweighs any of its faults. Some may find it too difficult but you’ll want to persist to the very end just to see one of the greatest endings in a long, long time. Trust me, it’s truly genius.

It might be hard to grasp but back in the ’90s LucasArts were at the forefront of the adventure game genre. They may not have always received the commercial success they deserved, but critically, and amongst fans, LucasArts created some of the greatest games to ever grace the genre. The puzzles were inventive, challenging and quirky, and the writing was of another level; hilarious, witty and with plenty of heart and honesty. There was rarely a negative aspect leveled at the classic point and click adventure games LucasArts developed during that golden era, and the Monkey Island series was always the spearhead of their popularity and quality. Now, after almost a decade lost at sea, the classic series has finally returned to port – much to the tremendous jubilation of aspiring swashbucklers everywhere.

While Tales of Monkey Island progresses the story of mighty pirate Guybrush Threepwood, The Secret of Monkey Island: Special Edition takes the classic franchise back to its roots with some added polish for the HD generation. Essentially this is the 1990 classic all over again, so if you still have fond memories of that game then there’s plenty to love here. Back then it was one of the most hilarious games you could ever play and the majority of the humour remains just as relevant and funny today. Of course now there’s also another dimension to the humour never seen or heard before that makes this entry one you‘ll want to spend your 800 pieces of eight on. This is a special edition after all and that means updated visuals, sound and functionality to give The Secret of Monkey Island a refreshing new facelift with it’s improved production values and streamlining.

Right off the bat the most obvious change is the new visual style. Updated for next-gen systems, the new art is stylish, smooth and highly detailed. It fits in with the look we’ve seen from the more recent entries in the series and it works well. Some characters look a bit odd, but overall this is an impressive update that adds plenty of grandeur to this classic adventure tale. Although, if you’re not a fan of the new look you can always switch back and forth between new and old on the fly. With a simple press of the back button you can travel back to the early 90s and play through the original game with all the same pixelated goodness you remember. Entering a new area for the first time and being able to see what it originally looked like is always a welcome site to behold, and it just shows how big the new changes are in adding to the whole experience. They aren’t large enough to stray away from what made the game so brilliant in the first place, just subtle nuances like the light of a full moon glistening off the water at the pier, or the new high detail revealing things that were a little too difficult to notice first time through. The updated visuals should be good enough to impress and please everyone, but for those not too fond it’s excellent that you can just switch back to the original at any time and carry on from there.

Although if you did that you’d also be missing out on the all new sound design. The original music remains intact but on a much larger scale. It’s easily recognisable and the added quality given to each track really helps give the music much more prominence within the game. However, the biggest change is the inclusion of voice actors. The original only featured text, so giving voices to these characters easily ups the comedy value and immersion in the experience. Most of the cast will be recognisable from other Monkey Island games, and the new additions are perfectly cast in most places. Hearing these characters come to life makes The Secret of Monkey Island that much more hilarious, and the quality of voice acting actually manages to add new jokes to the original script purely with subtle tones and changes in pace. The original was a complete riot to begin with, so now imagine that with a performance thrown on top. Fantastic.

However, the same cannot be said for the new interface. The various options took up half the screen in the original so you’ll be pleased to know that they’ve been hidden behind the shoulder buttons in the Special Edition. It’s probably the best way to use it with a controller but it can still feel too clumsy and clustered. There are so many options to chose from that navigating through them and your items is always a slow process, especially when attempting to combine different items to solve a particular puzzle. It’s not ideal but it’s one of the problems that comes when converting a game like this to a console and controller setup. The only other problems arise from the games old design. It’s to be expected from a game nearly 20 years old, but some objects are often quite hard to make out, particularly on the overhead maps. You’ll often find things by chance, just by hovering the cursor over an area and seeing the text pop up. As you can imagine it can be hard to find what you’re looking for at times. I know they wanted to maintain everything from the original game with updated sound and visuals thrown on top, but it would have been nice to see some objects highlighted to improve the games functionality.

Luckily the new hints system goes some way to pointing you in the right direction if you ever get lost. By holding down the X button you can reveal three stages of hints. The first will give you a general idea of what you may need to do; for instance, it may say “maybe you should talk to the prisoner”, or “look for a sword” and so on. The other subsequent stages give you bigger hints until eventually giving you giant arrows to follow. It’s a great system that eliminates some of the frustration that comes with the adventure game genre, and also stops you breaking the experience by searching online for FAQs. You may find yourself relying on it more heavily than you would imagine, but you just need to fight your own willpower in those instances.

It may have been a long time coming but Monkey Island is finally back and just as good as we remember it. It’s disappointing that LucasArts have taken this long to go back to their adventure roots but the quality of product on offer more than makes up for it. The Secret of Monkey Island is still one of the greatest games of all time and this new Special Edition presents it to a new audience with its fantastic production values and hilarious dialogue. There are some problems with the old game design and animation, but the subtle new additions like the hints system make it an easier experience for new players to enjoy. For the old fans that played it back in the day this is the game exactly as you remembered it. There is absolutely nothing stopping you from setting sail once again, so get your crew ready and remember to bring a helmet. Ahoy!

Your knuckles are bloodied and bruised, there’s broken glass littering the floor; people are screaming, including yourself. Is this the scene of an unfortunate bar fight? No, I‘m afraid not. Because those knuckles are in agonising pain from where you punched the wall in furious anger; and the broken glass covering your room is actually from your expensive HDTV that, in a split-second of madness, you decided to throw your 360 controller straight into.

No, this is not the aftermath of drunken, human fisticuffs, but rather the battle against an evil alien empire known as the Bydo. A force that has provided gamers with more frustration than any other iconic enemy in existence. This is R-Type Dimensions, and it’s as good as ever – just pad your room with pillows first.

Consisting of both arcade classics, R-Type and R-Type II, Dimensions offers two of the greatest retro shooters to hit the Xbox Live Arcade. Both games remain completely unchanged from when they hit the arcades back in the late eighties, as Bydo in all shapes and sizes clutter the screen, reigning down death from every possible angle. It’s overwhelming, intense and extremely difficult; a game the hardcore, nostalgic fans will adore from the get-go.

But that doesn’t mean there isn’t anything here to attract in some newcomers. Like Bionic Commando: ReArmed before it, Dimensions offers both games in glorious 3D. The change is astounding as you use Y to switch between 2D and 3D on the fly – a feature that every retro game on the XBLA should implement. R-Type is known for its excellent enemy and level designs, and here the step-up to 3D improves the experience tenfold. It looks sleek, crisp, highly detailed and down right beautiful at times. It might not be a giant step up, but when you see how much the original titles have aged, it’s definitely a lot more pleasant to look at.

And that’s not all. There’s also a whole host of other presentational options to take a gander at. Most apply to the 3D mode, with a new “crazy” viewpoint moving the camera to an angle just to the left of the screen; and some funky 8-bit filters, giving everything a washed-out look. But perhaps the most novel of all is the arcade camera for use with the original 2D mode. Here you’ll play on the tiny screen of a 3D-rendered arcade cabinet. As the ship moves so does the screen and joystick on the arcade unit. It’s fun to watch, but those susceptible to motion sickness may want to stay away. It may be gimmicky, but those nostalgic fans will get a kick out of it – and the small screen can ramp up the difficulty even further.

But for those of us that don’t want to die every three seconds, there’s the Infinite Mode. Rather than start with a measly three lives – like the classic mode – you’ll be given an unlimited amount. It makes the game extremely easy, and you can complete both games in around thirty minutes; but at least it gives you the option to do so, rather than never seeing past the first level.

Of course, you can always get a friend to join you, which should made the task a little more doable if you want to attempt the insanely difficult classic mode. Whether it’s offline or online, the co-op is a lot of fun. It can get a little too hectic with two people, and you’ll often forget which ship is yours, but a lot of laughs are guaranteed and it goes some way to justifying the high 1,200 points you’d need to be willing to pay for Dimensions.

And, obviously, that price will be the sticking point for a lot of people. It makesDimensions one of the most expensive games on XBLA, so even though it’s been made more accessible, it will probably only really attract in the hardcore fans. Those that will stick with the classic mode and spend countless hours trying to better their scores to extend the longevity of the game.

For the rest of us, the Infinite Mode makes the game way too easy and short, so there won’t be a lot to go back to other than the co-op. So really it depends on whether you’re willing to fight through the classic mode to try and justify your purchase. Those that do will enjoy R-Type Dimensions despite it’s horrendous difficulty level. There’s been a lot of effort and love put in to keep it from being just another retro game on the Arcade. The new presentational options differentiate it from that group, but I still don’t think it’s enough to warrant the high price point. The hardcore fans looking for nostalgia will definitely get the most out of it by far. It still maintains the classic look, sound and gameplay that made it such a hit in the first place. It’s just not for everyone, despite all the new bells and whistles that may attract a more casual audience.

RORSHACH’S JOURNAL. MARCH 14TH, 2009

Played a game today. Watchmen, they call it. Tie-in for a film, twenty years in the making. Originally a book. I wouldn’t know, no time to read about such gratuitous life/death struggles. Opinion is mixed though. Some say game should not be made, source material does not suit it. Hard to tell, difficult to play with face on. Fights are full of violence and the violence is full of blood. Should please some, not all.

Good joke. Everybody laugh. Roll on snare drum. Curtains.

ROSHACH, MARCH 14TH, 2009 .} {.

And back to reality. If you didn’t understand what any of that, rather awkward, fan-service-intended opening meant then you’re in the wrong place. Watchmen: The End is Nigh is of course a tie-in to the much anticipated movie adaptation of Alan Moore’s classic graphic novel, Watchmen. A book that elevated the superhero genre to new heights with its adult take on the flawed and troubled life of a superhero in an alternate 1980s America where an impending nuclear war looms on the horizon.

Developers Deadline Games have taken a wise design choice, opting to set The End is Nigh a few years before the events of the graphic novel and film. The source material could never in a million years translate well into a game; hell, fans continue to claim that the graphic novel is unfilmable even as it hits cinemas this month. So Deadline Games chose the right option and drafted in original talent with Watchmen’s editor Len Wein, and artist, Dave Gibbons, to pen the story, while they were at it.

And their talent goes to good use. Whilst not matching the extreme heights of the original tale, The End is Nigh still manages to entertain as the detective-style story plays out in some gloriously hand drawn cut scenes that capture the graphic novels style. It’s great fan service that elevates the game’s story even more so; managing to imbue an extra ounce of back story into these deep and thought-provoking characters.

Something the gameplay falters at is in its approach. You see, while the story focuses on telling a crime solving, detective story in line with the original graphic novel, the gameplay takes a completely different angle, borrowing more elements from arcade classics such as Streets of Rage and Double Dragon than its source material – which many believe would be ideal as a point-and-click adventure title.Watchmen: The End is Nigh is a straight up brawler, plain and simple. Playing as either Rorshach or Night Owl, you must make your way through six chapters of pummelling guys from head to toe. Each chapter is set in a different location, from the dodgy back streets of a dreary New York, to the city’s sewage system and dock yard. You’ll fight your way through the underbelly of the Big Apple, taking on the scum of the streets in all shapes and sizes.

And, surprisingly, it’s a pretty competent brawler; basic in design, but fun, nonetheless. You have your heavy and light attacks as well as a dodge move and special attacks depending on which crime fighter you’re playing as. Rorshach’s the more visceral of the two, he’ll charge in like the psycho he is, smacking bad guys left, right and centre. When he gets particularly angry his rage meter will fill up allowing you to go into overdrive and unleash some deadly, bone-breaking moves. Nite Owl, on the other hand, is a little more conservative. His moves have a hint of grace about them, and he’ll use technology to defeat his foes with night-vision, electric shocks and grenades all at his disposal.

But ultimately, there’s not much of a difference between the two. Sure, they have their own unique abilities, but you’ll end up playing the game the same no matter who you choose. Luckily there are quite a few combos to unlock as you make your way through the game. They’re easy to pull off and you’ll discover a much more rewarding experience with The End is Nigh if you utilize them properly. Some are just shorter or stronger versions of combos already in your repertoire, so it does get repetitive eventually, but it’s certainly more enjoyable than some action games I’ve played over the past year.

The special moves are especially exciting. When the moment calls for it you can press a button to unleash a devastating finishing move. There are quite a few to see but it’s all random so you never know what you’re going to get. They’re all very satisfying though, especially Roshach’s brutal approach to finishing off his foes – just when you think it’s over, he’ll come back with another gut wrenching blow. It might shame the graphic novel with its approach, but there’s no denying how cool it is to see these characters execute moves like this.

Sadly, though, there’s just not much else to it. You’ll enter a room, a wave of baddies will run in, you’ll beat them up, rinse and repeat. The only time the combat is broken up is when some video game clichés are introduced. From lifting up gates, to pulling switches and turning levers; it’s all here and it’s all as boring as you can imagine. You can see they’ve tried to put some emphasis on co-op play by occasionally splitting you both up, but it never lasts for long and seems like something that was thrown in last minute in an attempt to spice things up.

And, really, it doesn’t work as well when there’s no online co-op anyway. Being an Xbox Live Arcade game where two characters are always present, it’s a major oversight that online co-op couldn’t be incorporated. There’s still split-screen, but there are no excuses, especially with the high price point.

Luckily the production values are through the roof. Visually, The End is Nigh is stunning. This is the largest download on XBLA and you can see why. There’s some exceptional texture work here and the lighting effects are superb. Character models for both Rorshach and Night Owl are done extremely well, although the other characters didn’t get quite the same treatment; and while the animation is great, there are some choppy transitions between certain moves. Regardless, this is by far the best looking game on the Arcade, and it could definitely match up against some retail games.

And work in the sound department is just as impressive with talent from the movie reprising their roles with Jackie Earle Haley and Patrick Wilson voicing Rorshach and Night Owl, respectively. They both do an admirable job, and on the whole, the brutal blows of combat sound top-notch throughout.

Watchmen: The End is Nigh is a game that probably shouldn’t have seen the light of day. A brawler is not something you expect to see these characters starring in, but it’s not as bad as you might imagine. However, for 1600 Microsoft points (the same price as The Lost and Damned, to put things into perspective) it’s ludicrously overpriced for what is a three to four hour basic street brawler. Repetition begins to set in eventually, and there’s not much to go back to other than co-op. Sure, it’s an enjoyable romp that some fans should enjoy thanks to the faithful design and story, but there’s not enough substance to make it last more than a few hours.

Another World War II game? Most people grudgingly sigh when they hear “World War II first-person-shooter”.  For all of the great experiences had in games like Call of Duty and Medal of Honor, there have been a slew of horrendous games just trying to cash in on the lucrative formula.  One of the more successful franchises in the shooter genre are the Battlefield games, which have a robust online community that keeps the games strong years after they’re released. Battlefield 1943, the latest installment in the franchise is a game that deserves your attention. As the true-sequel and a homage to the classic PC shooter Battlefield 1942, this game is fast-paced, addicting, and a superb value at $15.

Battlefield 1943 got off to a rough start. The Xbox 360 version in particular had server outages which did not allow many people to play through the first weekend after the game’s release. In addition, the game’s voice chat features and squad systems seemed glitch ridden. Yet DICE worked diligently to add more servers and correct some other problems joining matches with friends. Upon sitting down to play the game it seemed as though it finally gained some momentum.

Battlefield 1943 keeps the formula pretty simple—three classes and maps all built around one gameplay variant.  Players will play conquest matches as members of the Japanese Imperial Navy or US Marines on three of the most iconic battlefields from the Pacific theater of World War II. Wake Island, Guadalcanal, and Iwo Jima were sites of intense fighting during the war and are all compromised of vastly different topographies.  What Battlefield 1943 is missing in numbers, it makes up for in diversity and substance. Wake Island’s unique boomerang shape, Guadalcanal’s hills and valleys, and Iwo Jima’s fortified Mount Suribachi (the site of the iconic flag raising) all play differently enough that player’s strategies will have to be significantly amended from map to map.

Strategy comes through choice of classes and vehicles. Players can choose from infantry, scout, and rifleman classes. All of the different classes have their strengths and weaknesses but certain classes seem to be a bit stronger than others. Unbalanced classes are not overwhelmingly apparent but I found that the sniper rifles and machine guns were weaker than the rifles. Players take a lot of damage before they are killed regardless of which weapons are utilized, something that leads me to believe that lower powered weapons were a design choice. This design mechanic creates a game that plays differently from other more realistic shooters but doesn’t dilute the enjoyable aspects of the game.

Where the game has a more arcade feeling among the shooting elements, the vehicles often time feel like a complicated simulator. During a loading screen, the game warned me that the planes were incredibly hard to use, something you discover immediately after takeoff. The game uses a very complicated control scheme for flying planes which will result in many unintentional suicides.  Practice makes perfect but after the flying has been mastered the underpowered explosives replace the controls as the most frustrating element. Planes and tanks have explosives as one would expect, however, they are enormously underpowered when facing soldiers. The explosives small damage radius is the problem. In order to kill an enemy with explosives you have to hit them almost directly, an almost impossible proposition when facing a fast moving target.

It is important to realize that these problems do not ruin the fun. This is because there’s an entertaining experience to be had regardless of what role you take on your team. One quickly realizes that not everyone is going to be an ace pilot or sharpshooter but that every player will find a position that’s fun even if it’s derived from defending a flag. Although reviews tend to highlight the negative sides of games, I want to stress that Battlefield 1943 is one of the most enjoyable and addicting online games I have played of late. Of course, some of my enjoyment of the game is because I was a fan of Battlefield 1942 (I have to admit that I got goosebumps after I heard the theme music again) but the beauty of downloadable games is that everyone can try the trial. There are some bugs within the games, particularly in the Xbox360 version’s graphics and leaderboards, but the underlying entertainment value is not diminished.  For a $15 downloadable title, Battlefield 1943 is an amazing value which will definitely provide hours of entertainment and hopefully be supported by additional downloadable content.