Bodycount Review

Well I don't have too much to say about this FPS aside from well, its different...? Bodycount didn't really click with me and I typically enjoy hectic first person shooters and from the scores it received from multiple other reviewers I don't think it really "clicked" with many people at all. I'll still evaluate the good and bad as objectively as I can while offering some insight of my own.

The Good: Fast paced, lots of enemies, ability to shred through most terrain, somewhat imaginative transitions between levels/enemy types.

The Bad: Clunky controls, poor aiming system, almost non-existent story (somewhat typical of shooters in general), limited array of weapons to choose from.

I really hate bashing games in general just because I know someone put a lot of time and effort into making it and I really do love all kinds of games but my honest opinion of Bodycount is not a very good one. I couldn't really bring myself to play the whole game through, partially due to not wanting to and partly due to college life being busy. But from what I did play of Bodycount I found the controls to be quite unresponsive...to clarify what I mean by that, I love to get headshots and move with precision in my playing of shooters and Bodycount encourages a more "spray bullets at all dem dudes" kind of style which really doesn't revolve around tactical positioning and aiming but rather running and gunning. Bodycount's main advertised quality was its destructible terrain and the idea that there is "nowhere to hide" but typically in any given environment you'll be able to find at least something to take cover behind, such as a cement wall or steel pipe (bullets did not seem to work at all on these more solid obstacles). However when you try to take cover within houses or other various areas you are vulnerable to attack from outside enemies or enemies within the same building but in a different adjacent room. I didn't find this aspect of the game to be particularly appealing or really do anything specific for the gameplay other than make it so you take extra stray bullets every so often.

As the game progresses you receive random upgrades as you complete levels which you can activate on the fly as the special gauge refills over time. A few examples are adrenaline which makes you impervious to bullets for some reason, and explosive rounds which increase your damage against all targets. Theses upgrades are given to you unceremoniously, you don't have to find them or buy them or really do anything at all. The weapon system works in the same way as you receive a new one or two after each level. This takes a bit of the fun out of games like this as it makes it so you don't have to work for any of the upgrades they are just dolled out to you like cheap candy from a questionable van.

I didn't find time to give the multiplayer a try but I felt that the game's mechanics wouldn't support a very entertaining experience in a competitive environment like that. That just about wraps up what my experience was with Bodycount, I remain unimpressed and a little agitated.

Next week I'll be talking about either Dead Island, Disgaea 4, White Knight Chronicles 2, or one of the other games on my gamefly queue.

Thanks for reading

-Fest

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Deus Ex: Human Revolution

Alright here we go, I've been pumped for the new installment of the Deus Ex series and I was not disappointed in any way.

Although I had no previous interaction with the older Deus Ex games, I still enjoyed the crap out of this new one (I also downloaded the other two on Steam :D). Its a completely solid stealth action game outfitted with various FPS elements as well as a well made stealth system. Coolest thing for me was the sheer number of ways you could 1. Build your character and 2. Complete each mission/the entire game. I'll go into detail later but here's the rundown on Deus Ex: Human Revolution.

When the game starts you are put into the role of Adam, hes a tough talking, very confident, head of security for the biotech corporation, Sarif Industries. You're quickly introduced to the main characters who are interesting in their own respects but you really don't need to worry about them just yet because...you get attacked by augmented (term for humans who have had part/parts of themselves augmented with cybernetic technology) terrorists who pretty much beat the tar out of you and everyone around you. They also shoot you in the head. You may think..."Well I didn't think games started with the main character's brains all over a wall" well you're not living in a time where getting shot in the head means you get to become a badass cyborg. So they rebuilt you in a sort of robo-cop way and you get cool built in sunglasses and lots of other robot stuff that you get to abuse people with for the entirety of the game.

So. To sum this up so far, highly trained ex-cop turned super robot has his entire network of friends and loved ones slaughtered and is then turned loose in the unfortunate city of Detroit. You're essentially robot batman now and you're given various quests related to the main story as well as bunches of cool side-quests. I loved the side-quests, they were typically quite lengthy and provided me with a good way to obtain ammo(very important), practice various things, and level myself up without having to proceed to the harder plot related quests. These side-quests also rewarded you with money as well as weapon upgrades which are both a useful commodity. The game rewards you for doing various things in any mission which yield bonus exp and extra cash. One example is the "Ghost" reward which is given if you complete any mission without being detected even once. Another nice thing about how the game works in regards to the missions is that there are multiple completion paths which doesn't lock you into just sneaking or hacking your way in without being detected. There is also the method I found myself using a lot which involved getting annoyed with the talking/sneaking/hacking route and going and shooting everyone in the face and disappearing back into the shadows or a vent till the heat cooled off...then systematically ganking everyone else. All the options you're given does two things, 1. It opens the game up to a larger playerbase, since it can either play like a stealth game, an action game, or a mix of both depending on what you want and 2. Huge amount of replay value since the various paths are vastly different and will provide you with a completely new experience. Despite the options you're given you can tell the game wants you to do certain things, namely, hacking.

Even if the game wants you to hack stuff you can pretend you can't program a VCR and still advance through the game just fine since all the plot relevant stuff will be hack-able with the basic level of hacking. I would strongly advise using hacking to its full potential as it is quite rewarding financially as well as a good source of experience.

Alright so just an overview of a couple things now. First of all I should probably say something negative here so there is something other than praise being sung here. The story was a bit weak for me, their plot devices were kinda cliche and I won't spoil anything but when you find out how they classify the bad guys it was a facepalm moment for me but I guess it could work for some people. Even so, the game itself is fantastic and the plot is only the scaffolding that guides you while you experience the game as you choose. Next is the weapons. You have access to all the basic weapons you'd expect to see in a game like this, pistols, rifles, shotguns and all the like. You also find heavy weapons like rocket launchers, heavy rifles, and sniper rifles occasionally, however, the inventory system is the attache case kind. Basically this means you'll be using your big weapons in one situation then tossing them out because how much of your case do you think a full sized, shoulder-mounted rocket launcher takes up? Yeah, its like almost 50% of the un-expanded case. It does get mildly annoying when you need to ditch certain weapons to make sure you have ammo for the ones you use more often. There are also a lot of cool high-tech weapons you get access to later on, I won't say exactly what they are except for the laser rifle just because its so damn cool. If you upgrade your smart vision you can see people through walls, if you have the laser rifle, you can shoot through walls...catch where I'm going with this?

Overall the game was a huge hit with me, I love it to death and I highly recommend it for fans as well as non-fans of the series just due to the nature of the game being undeniably fun. The amount of variation that this game brings to the table is scarcely seen anywhere else and its a huge selling point for a game in this genre. I could rant for much longer but I'm already way past what I thought the length of this review would be! Thanks for reading, I highly recommend picking this game up as soon as possible!

-Fest

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Bastion

So on my never-ending quest to find new things to play my friend mentioned a little game on Steam that just came out and suggested I try it out to quell my boredom...well that little game was Bastion and solve my boredom it did...at least for a while. Bastion is an India Action RPG, it’s a very well rounded game with nice visuals (a rustic painted kind of imagery), engaging combat that will keep you on your toes with many different types of enemies, as well as a plethora of secrets and challenges for you to complete if you desire something more than just the main story. While all of what I just mentioned is great, Bastion's main selling point is its story. But it goes a little beyond what you'd expect from a game like this, the entire game is narrated in real time by another character from the game which acts both as a guide through the levels as well as your source of back-story and information about what is happening around the main character. Seeing something like this in a game that only costs 15 bucks was pretty impressive, it’s one of the games that you know the developers put their hearts into and that always helps.

As I mentioned earlier, Bastion is incredibly well rounded with a lot of things to do and challenges to complete. You're given free reign over how you'd like to gear up the "kid" and there are many weapon combinations available to upgrade and pair up so you can find the style that fits best for you. In addition to the numerous weapon combinations you're allowed one "perk" every time you gain a level. These perks take the form of spirits (booze?) which you can equip to give the kid various abilities and passive bonuses like boosting your critical rate when you drop below 30% health or just something simple like boosting your maximum hp. When you're given this many options it boosts the replay value immensely since depending on what you choose can completely change how you experience the game.

The game's story is rich with back-story and things left to you to discover along the way involving the "calamity" which is the problem that the kid's world is faced with. You're even given several choices regarding how you handle the other plot related problems which include other survivors of the calamity and the remnants of a war that ultimately gave birth to the calamity and the progressive destruction of the world. For a game you only have to spend 15 dollars on, you certainly get your money's worth with Bastion. While the story isn't incredibly long there is enough content to keep you coming back for more I'll probably try to upload a game play video of one of the challenge arenas next week for anyone curious to see how it works! Thanks for reading!

-Fest

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