The Beatles Rock Band

The Beatles Rock Band (Harmonix)

Only 5 more days until Dead Rising 2 is in my posession! Until then I've been playing some games I've already purchased and some Downloadable Content for Mafia 2 and Call of Duty: World at War. The Beatles Rock Band is just one of those games I can keep going back to if I'm bored or I just simply wanna pretend I'm Paul McCartney strumming to A Hard Days Night. But that's not the only reason why I love it.

Story
With Music and Rhythm games there's never really a story. This is because there's not really any need for one. With The Beatles Rock Band a small bit of story has been incorporated into the gameplay in the way that you play through The Beatles career from The Cavern Club in 1962 all the way to the Rooftop Concert in 1969. After each chapter a short video is played to introduce the next using photos (Some unseen) and some recorded words from the boys.

The Ed Sulliven Show 1964

Design
The Beatles Rock Band contains many of the same game modes as other games of the same franchise except Career Mode is Story Mode and is more of a documentary rather than an actual story. Others including Quickplay, Tug of War and Score Dual, can be played locally or online with friends. From the beginning of the game you already have the 45 songs available to play. If you're a big Beatles fan you'll be happy with the songs included but dismayed at the many others missing such as Help!, Hey Jude or She Love You. Harmonix met the fans half way by releasing 3 downloadable albums which are Rubber Soul, Sgt Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band and Abbey Road. As well as the single "All You Need Is Love". Since it's release on September 9th 2009 there have only been those mentioned available for download (Unfortunately). There is also a vocal harmonies training mode. Playing through Story Mode unlocks some great treats for Beatles fans in the form of photos and footage of the fab four.

One of my favourite features is during certain songs in the Abbey Road studio you get a psychedelic dreamscape.

Gameplay
Like other Music and Rhythm games, The Beatles Rock Band's gameplay consists of hitting the appropriate coloured button to the right coloured note scrolling down the screen. When hitting white notes without missing any you build up a bar that when flashes allows you activate Beatlemania. This increases your score and doubles your point multiplier. The points you get contribute to making stars (out of 5) appear in your final score. By playing a song on Expert and hitting every note you get Expert Gold stars. Playing a song on professional has its challenges but as they say "practice makes perfect" and although The Beatles music is more melodic than finger twisting guitaring, there is a Training Mode available. In this mode you can select certain bits of the song and even slow it down to work on the parts that your fingers and eyes just can't keep up with. Great for learning guitar solos. The Beatles Rock Band adds 3 part vocal harmonies which is something new from previous Rock Band games. This can be achieved through one microphone enabling up to 6 players all together including a Bass player, Drummer and Guitarist. The 3 part harmonies I feel is crucial to the feel of the Beatles because some of their most powerful moments in their songs come from the harmonies.

   

Presentation
The Beatles Rock Band I feel could not have in any other way been presented so perfectly. It really pulls you into the world of those four boys from Liverpool. The use of colour is one of the key things I found in this game. I was not around in the 60's (sadly) but from what I've heard about it being a colourful decade this game is the closest you'd get to it. Although it's difficult to take in the visuals whilst you are concentrating on the coloured notes, part of playing any Rock Band game is waiting for your turn whether it be a gap in the playing or you're playing with friends and you're the one sitting out. So you will see just how spectacular the surroundings are. The intro itself is something I really enjoy everytime I see it. Taking you from the mop tops to the psychedelic and artistic nature of Paul, John, George and Ringo.  Something that a simple screenshot could not show.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hSLLxRmR3nY&feature=related

If you already have a Rock Band game then presumably you have a guitar and possibly drums if you bought the original Rock Band bundle. However The Beatles Rock Band gives you a special treat and is the only game of this franchise to have instruments specially designed for! When you buy the bundle you get a Hofner Bass Guitar as used by Sir Paul McCartney and with the drums you get a Ludwig bass drum skin with the Beatles logo on it. You also get a mic and for those who want a challenge a mic stand to hold the mic in place whilst you play an instrument. This I felt was a great way to add realism of being a Beatle.

But it doesn't end there. The Beatles Rock Band is potentially a 6 player game. This means 1 drummer, 1 bassist, 1 guitarist and 3 part hermonies. So Harmonix released 2 other guitars. These are the Rickenbacker 325 as played by John Lennon and the Gretsch Duo Jet as played by George Harrison.

Unless you are a hardcore Beatles fan I don't see why you'd need to own the entire collection because you can only have one guitar on screen and that's lead guitar. Rhythm guitar has only recently been added on Guitar Hero 5. Other microphones can be added too instead of channeling 3 voices through one making it sound awful and difficult for it to register who's singing in which pitch.

The Beatles Rock Band is one of my favourite games I've ever played. I've never bought a Music and Rhythm game but when Paul and Ringo helped unveil the debut trailer for this back in 2009's E3, I knew I HAD to get it. It was released on 09.09.09 along with all The Beatles albums remastered. Needless to say September 2009 was a very expensive month for me. My only disappointment used to be just a dismay of some of the songs not featured in the catalogue (although I was relieved that Hard Days Night was included). The trouble with making a Music and Rhythm game based on such an iconic band is you can't fully please everyone. I myself would love every song from all their albums featured in this game. The point where my dismay turns into disappointment is since the beginning of this year we've still only had 3 downloadable albums. I would love the entire Hard Days Night album or the entire Revolver album or the White Album or Let it Be or Help! or... you get the idea.

I give this game an easy 10/10. Long live The Beatles!!

Resident Evil

Resident Evil (Capcom)

Having purchased no new games since Mafia 2 and Dead Rising 2 still a few weeks away I thought I'd go back a few years to the 2002 remake of the 1996 classic, Resident Evil. And after seeing the newest movie, Resident Evil Afterlife TWICE in one day, I'm in the mood for some Zombie nostalgia. The reason I chose the Gamecube remake (Now on the Nintendo Wii too) is because it truly brings out the survival horror that had me dreading to walk round a corner or open a door.

Story
July 24th, 1998. A series of bizarre murders have occured on the outskirts of Racoon City with people being attacked by a group of people. The victims were apparently eaten. The Racoon City Police Department's Special Tactics and Rescue Service's (S.T.A.R.S) Bravo Team were sent in to investigate and shortly disappeared. When the RCPD lost contact with them, Alpha Team were dispatched to search and if need be rescue them. Whilst Alpha Team were flying round the forest they spotted smoke rising in the distance. Upon landing and approaching the smoked area they found Bravo Team's helicopter. No one was on board save the pilot who was dead. The team fanned out and searched the area. Joseph Frost called out to the other team members when he made a discovery of a human hand still attached to the gun but not the body. These were his last moments as a group of creatures came from the shadows and attacked him. His screams alerted the other members of Alpha Team, Chris Redfield, Jill Valentine, Barry Burton and Albert Wesker. As they opened fire on the creatures which turned out to be mutilated Dobermans it was too late as they had already started eating Joseph's corpse. Now the dogs attention turned to the remaining members who started to run for their helicopter only to find their pilot Brad Vickers had taken off. In their desperate escape they head for a house up ahead which as they approach turns out to be a Mansion. They escape into the mansion, where they thought it was safe. Yet...

They were confronted by their worst nightmare!

Depending who you play as the game and story varies. You have the choice of either Jill Valentine or Chris Redfield. Whichever one you choose another character goes missing. If you're Jill then Chris goes missing and after a brief time of investigating gunfire with Barry, Wesker disappears too. Where as if you're Chris then Barry goes missing and after about 5 minutes of gameplay, Jill too along with Wesker.

Whilst searching the mansion, guardhouse, sewers and laboratory, the hero of your choice will solve various puzzles and fight off a varity of undead humans, dogs, a giant poisenous snake, giant spiders, hunters, a giant plant called Plant 42, Lisa Trevor (a human test subject) and finally the Tyrant. And throghout the game you will find members of Bravo Team alive or dead. Anyway you play the game, Wesker will always turn out to be a traitor. Depending on how you play the game there are a number of endings where you excape alone or with other team members. However to this day Capcom have never explained what the true ending is due to them having no high expectations when they released the original in 1996. Why this was never fixed seeing as it's now released several more titles is beyond me.

Lisa Trevor's scream and groans really make this game truly eery.

Design
The original Resident Evil on PS1 invented a new genre called 'Survival Horror' where the player must save ammo and health for bigger fights throughout the game. In these types of games it's possible to get so far by the skin of your teeth only to find you can no longer proceed further if you haven't planned properly. Resident Evil uses fixed cameras in all areas. This means you cannot look around your surroundings and see what's up ahead in a dimly lit corridor. When it comes to fighting the action is not so advanced like other games. You hold a button to aim and press a button to shoot. You can aim up and with certain weapons pull off a head shot and you can aim down for a floored creature. The use of auto-aim helps with the fixed cameras. Although it may sound simple or even boring, Resident Evil pulls it off quite well and the eventful story and atmosphere keeps you drawn into it to find out what happens next or what's coming after you. Although technically it's not a free roam game, you can explore the environment several times either for back tracking to further the story or to look for ammo and health items. When venturing around the different areas you will be limited in some cases by a locked door or a puzzle. You also need to save the game every so often using a typewriter and an ink ribbon because if you die you start back from where you saved. I once got so far without saving and had my head knocked off by a Hunter and had to restart the entire game.

The fixed camera allows you to see all in this shot but not what might be lurking behind you.

Gameplay
Set in third person view, Resident Evil offers a number of corridors for you run round only to find the camera changing and you're confronted with if not already in the grasp of a zombie. By shooting them you can kill them (again). The number of shots fired to take them down vary. You can pull off a lucky headshot with the pistol which takes their head off or they can fall down and when trying to run past them thinking they're finished they can grab your leg and make things unpleasent for you. If they stay down with a pool of blood around them then they won't get back up. Or will they..? In this remake some zombies get back up when you return to that area later in the game. Except where as before they were slow, now they are faster and stronger with longer nails that can deliver a viscious blow and can even break through some doors. They become known as Crimpson Heads. If a zombie falls to the ground with no pool of blood you have the option to burn their corpse. This insures they will not return.

Crimpson Head

As you progress through the game other creatures will appear and other weapons will be available to help you. Including a shotgun, magnum, bazooka and flame thrower. If you're unfortunate enough to run out of ammo you can use your trusty knife but it takes a considerable more amount of hits and involves getting close to the infected.

A key part of the game are the puzzles. Some can be to find an item, some to proceed further and some to avoid instant death. If a puzzle leads to an item you may find that you cannot carry it due to not having enough space in your inventory. If playing as Jill this is rarely a problem because she has 8 item slots and Chris has only 6. When playing as Jill, Barry supplies you with a lock pick. This enables you to unlock certain doors and cupboards without a fuss. This counts as her 'Special' item that is on her at all times and doesn't take up a slot. For Chris you have to find 'Small Keys' for cupboards or just one of the main keys in the game to get through a door.

This makes Chris's playthrough the most difficult out of the two playable characters. Or in my view simply more challenging.

Presentation
This remake was made only one generation up from the original and the visuals, sound and overall differences are amazing. The original has no dimly lit areas and not really that much atmosphere. At the time I was about 11 years old and to me it was pretty freaky. But the remake doesn't contain too many well lit areas and the thunder and lightning flashing through the window not only lights the room for a seconds glimpse at a zombies deformed face, but it makes you jump out your seat. The music was a good eery factor in the original and remains the same in the remake. Due to the graphical advancements the monsters look more frightening and believable.

Original (1996)

 

   

Remake (2002)

Besides everything being upgraded rather than just upscaled, the game has some new areas such as a garden shed and a spooky graveyard. It also contains new items that replace some in the classic. Instead of getting 4 Crests to get out into the Guardhouse you need 4 Deathmasks. Some of the puzzles have been changed up too. The classic portrait puzzle where you flick switches under them in the right order of age has been replaced with a mixing colours using lights puzzle. And many others.

The boss fights remain virtually the same except they look even more terrifying. The only added boss fights are the encounters of Lisa Trevor and a giant shark. The shark is in the original but after draining the water it can be shot or stabbed once and it dies. The remake involves a lot more brain work in order for it to be defeated.

The cutscenes and voice acting were remade very well compared to the original where it was... well... cheesy. Although at the time seemed very cool and 'in'. Most of the lines from the script from the original were kept the same but said more believably and in a better made cut scene.

The Resident Evil franchise is something I hold dear to my memories and heart. Whether it be game, novel or movie. Wesker will always remain my favourite character and the mansion will always be my favourite area in all Resident Evil games. I remember being 11 and going to Grandparents house to watch my uncle play the original. Infact he was the person who introduced me to it. And since then I've carried on fighting the undead and making Survival Horror somewhat of a profession of mine. Resident Evil 1 remake or original is one of my top 10 all time favourites and always will be. I give it a solid 10/10.

Mafia 2

Mafia 2 (2K Games)

Still being within the 'no mans land' of gaming where all the big titles are still lingering on the horizon, I by chance gave the Mafia 2 demo a go and wouldn't you know it, I was intrigued enough to buy it! And this is what I thought...

Story
Set from 1943 to 1951, A refugee by the name of Vito Scaletta immigrates from Sicily with his family to Empire Bay (the name is a reference to New York's state nickname "The Empire State" and San Francisco's "City by the Bay".) But life is not a luxery and to get by immagrants had to do what they could to survive for money. Even if that means embarking on a life of crime. Vito joins his close friend Joe Barbaro to rob a jewellery store. During the robbery they get caught and Vito is faced with either Prison or the Army. He enlists in the army and takes part in Operation Husky, the freeing of the Sicilian people in 1945 with the help of Don Calo, the resident Mafia boss. This is where you first take control of Vito. During the mission Vito gets injured and sent home to Empire Bay.

From here on Vito will come across many jobs and choices in this rags to riches story. I don't wanna spoil the whole thing. You'll just have to play it.

Design
Mafia 2 is a sand box action game. Similar to games like Grand Theft Auto and Saints Row. One of the first things I noticed was even the smallest detail was a great one. A lot of detail has gone into this game. The way snow settles on cars and when they move gradually blows away like a powder. When you brake to slow down the brakes squeak. People calling out trying to sell newspapers. Even the way a cat leaps onto a window ledge just seemed very realistically done.

Like GTA and Saints Row, the things you do in Mafia have consequences aka the Police. The original reasons for them coming after you remain the same such as crashing into them, running over pedestrians, shooting pedestrians and stealing cars. But in Mafia, 2K added some new rules that give it more realism such as speeding and even hitting other pedestrians' cars. But as with other games like Mafia the Police have to catch you in the act. And even when they do you have the choice to get away on foot or on wheels. But even when you outrun them (if you outrun them) you'll be 'Wanted' and by driving past Police in the same car or your same outfit you will spark another chase.

The cars in Mafia are obviously very retro. But don't let that put you off driving. They handle very well (I'd say better than the cars in GTA4) and you can customize them to go faster or look more stylish. This can be done in the various garages dotted around Empire Bay. In these garages you can change the colour, wheels, paint design and registration plates. You can also repair any damages to your car. Upon doing this you can lose your 'Wanted' status. But really all you have to do is change the registration plate if you're in a hurry or you're just low on cash. You can also upgrade the tuning of the car to Sport and Supercharged. If your car is already a fast one then once you supercharge it you can reach speeds of up tp 250mph. But even with a high speed car (that kills you on impact) the Police can still catch you by uping the wanted level from 1 star (for arresitng) to 3 stars (shoot to kill with pistols) to 4 stars (machine guns with your name on it). In which case your driving skills best be top notch as they are pretty good at aiming. Although if you have enough money, when arrested on a 1 star you can choose to bribe the officer and lose your 'Wanted' level.

Other design details include the weather. In the snow cars take a little longer to get going once you start them up. It's also very slippery and if you're not careful you will lose control of the vehicle. The sunshine is kinda the default setting where cars run fine and there aren't any big differences. It also consists of rain and like snow the roads are again slippery although the snow only appears at the beginning and the rain at the end. 


Gameplay
Unlike the GTA series, Mafia 2 has a set storyline that is done in chapters. Every chapter has a set goal and target destination. Where as in say GTA you have different job oppertunities for different people scattered around the map and can be done in any order you wish. This isn't the case for Mafia 2. However if you buy the PS3 downloadable content 'The Betrayel of Jimmy' then it has the GTA and Saints Row job choice feature.

The missions consist of shooting, driving and even hand to hand combat. They're good fun to play and all together there's about 10 hours of gameplay with 2 hours worth of cut scenes. Which is not a lot of gameplay. I suggest going through on Hard mode for a more challenging experience. Even on Normal the missions can be a bit of a struggle. The use of taking cover and shooting round corners is a good touch. The use of hand to hand is rare and when up against 5 gangsters with Tommy Guns is pointless. But the control system for it is easy to get the hang of including counter attacks and brutal finishers after you've warn them down.

For a fairly large map there's not much to do in Empire Bay besides the story. You can rob stores and drive round looking at the scenery but there's really nothing else to do. There are several collectables scattered about including Wanted Posters (159 to be exact) and Playboy Magazines (50). Of course there is the classic thrill of taking on the Police and seeing how long you can survive. That and the length of the story are the two points of disappointment for me. With 15 Chapters at the most half hour long each, the Hard mode play through idea seems the best choice. I surprisingly like the idea of the car having fuel and when nearing empty having to stop and refill. Although there have been confirmation of DLC such as Jimmy's Vendetta (and hopefully more in the future), it's not yet available so I have no comment on it.

Presentation
Graphically Mafia 2 is top notch. Cars look authentic and when you have an impact into another or lampost the car's damage looks different to other games. The bonnet crumples and the paint chips away. The cut scenes are entertaining with a lot of comedy and X rated language and the voice actors play their parts very well. Realistic sound effects like the sound of cars smashing into things sounds different from other games. The metal sounds heavier like the older cars and stealing them gives you two options. 1. Smash the window. 2. Pick the lock. Although it seems at least 7 times out of 10 the Police conveniently show up out of nowhere. One thing that I personally loved about this game is the music. Starting the game in the 40's the songs are very much like the songs from 2K's other game franchise 'Bioshock'. But what impressed me a great deal was after a certain chapter, a certain amount of time passes and you hit the 50's featuring great hits such a Little Richard - Long Tall Sally and Let it Snow by Dean Martin was a great tune to hear in the snow (Although 'Let it Snow' is only heard in the 40's unfortunately). Being chased by the Police with Little Richard's 'Keep A Knockin' is a personal favourite of mine too.

By collecting Wanted Posters and Playboy magazines you unlock art work at the main menu. You can also replay chapters on the difficulty of your choice. But when finally finishing the game, free roaming is not available unfortunately. So if you wish to find these hidden collectables it's got to be done during a chapter before a big part of a mission starts.

Unfortunately Mafia 2 doesn't include a multiplayer mode. Some games need it and some don't. In my view games like Uncharted do not need multiplayer but with something like Mafia 2 it'd be a great feature to play with your mates online in a free roam mode taking on the law together.

Overall I thoroughly enjoyed Mafia 2 and recommend it to anyone who liked Grand Theft Auto or other sand box games. I also feel that the next GTA has a lot of competition on their hands. This game has great potential to make my top 10 games of 2010 which I will upload January 1st. I give it 8.5/10.

STAR WARS The Force Unleashed (PSP)

"Do not forget that you still serve me." - Darth Vader

Anyone who knows me knows I love STAR WARS. They'd also know I love video games and when you put the two together it's like a pizza with all your favourite toppings at Pizza Hut.

Being a big time gamer I like to take games on the move. Whether it be on the way to, from and even during work. For that I have my trusted companion, my PSP. After playing the PS3 version of The Force Unleashed a year or so ago I thought I'd try throwing Stormtroopers left and right on the handheld version.

Now when someone says "PSP version", you get that small message sent from your ears to your brain that translates that to "Inferior version". Well with the TFU this isn't so. But it is neither Superior. In my opinion it's surprisingly on par with the next gen version. You play as a Sith code named "Starkiller" (real name Galen Marek), the secret apprentice of Lord Vader. It's your goal to hunt down some of the remaining Jedi in the Galaxy and destroy them using your amazing and somewhat over the top Force Powers that not even Master Yoda could pull off. This and the next gen version share the exact same story that fits into the SW canon inbetween Episodes III & IV.

So how is this version different from the console one?

Well obviously the graphics do not match that of the PlayStation 3's sharp Blu-Ray picture or the 360's... whatever. But for something as small as a UMD (Universal Media Disc) it packs more into the game than all other versions! Although it portrays the same story, it is told with more levels including a trip to Nar Shaddaa (where you find Master Rahm Kota instead of Bespin) and the ruins of the Jedi Temple on Coruscunt. Although the 'A' Jedi Temple level is downloadable from the PS Store or the X-Box Marketplace it is not the same. You visit it 3 times in the PSP version each with a different boss fight at the end. Besides story mode, it also gives you the choice of "Force Unleashed" mode. This mode gives you 3 game types to play.

1. Force Dual. This mode involves 10 stages, each where you fight a different Jedi or Sith or even 2 Jedi or 2 Sith. You can pick a character to fight as out of a wide variety that include characters from the films such Luke Skywalker or even Darth Maul (Although he uses a one sided Lightsaber and the hilt is Obi Wans). As you progress through each stage you unlock the character you are fighting. You also unlock arenas for when fighting in multiplayer.
2. Order 66. There are 24 waves of enemies in 3 different stages. You start in the control room of a TIE Factory then progress into the collesium on Geonosis and finally a hangar in the Death Star itself. You have 3 lives and can again use a variety of different characters. This is all about survival. If you lose all 3 lives there are no continues and you have to start all over.
3. Historic Missions. This is my personal favourite mode. As the title hints you play through missions or "scenes" rather, from the SW movies including Luke vs Vader in the Carbonite Chamber from The Empire Strikes Back, Anakin vs Dooku from Revenge of the Sith, The Pit of Carcoon from Return of the Jedi and Geonosis Collesium from Attack of the Clones. Each feature audio lines from the movies themselves (Including a rather embarrassing take on the "I am your father" scene). What makes this mode my personal favourite is you can use all the Force Powers you aquire in the story which gives you the freedom to rewrite the fight. (Using Force Lightning as Vader against Luke never gets old).

"Obi Wan never told you what happened to your father..." - Darth Vader, Episode V, The Empire Strikes Back

Another difference I particularly liked about this game is not only can you change the colour of your Lightsaber blade and power enhancing crystal, but you can change the hilt you use too. There are 10 to find in story missions. The only thing that I was a tad disappointed about was you have your 5 basic colours to choose from (Red, Blue, Green, Purple and Yellow/Orange) like in the console version, you could not aquire a black blade unlike the console version. Although only a small feature in the console version it does carry a HUGE sense of awesomeness!

But because so much was jam packed onto a small disc there are some and were some problems I came across. One being the loading takes fair bit of time inbetween levels and even cutscenes. Also I'm not sure if it was just my copy of the game I ordered (Although on forums others had this problem too) when I put the PSP into Sleep mode (turning it off and turning it on later enabling you to resume where you left off), turning it back I noticed some of the dialogue went missing. The subtitles were there and some lines were spoken but most were unfinished. Resarting the game from the XMB (CrossMediaBar) soon fixed this and I could enjoy hearing Lukes embarrassing "No... that's not true... that's impossible!" (seriously! In the movie it went well, in the game something just got lost in the translation. Could be that Luke's face looked a bit like Gollums due to the graphics). 

All in all I give it 8.5/10. A lot of fun when on the move if you liked the next gen version and fun to show off to all the kids holding Nintendo DS's at the train station or on the bus. I liked the idea of collecting Holocrons throughout the levels that unlocked artwork from designers concepts. Studying to be a games designer myself it's always good to see other designers work for inspiration. It's unfortunate that the Force Unleashed 2 has been scrapped for the PSP. I would have enjoyed giving that a go when I should be working.

Maris Brood

Master Shaak Ti