Game Review: UFC Undisputed 2010

Game: UFC Undisputed 2010
Console: Xbox 360
Developer: Yuke's
Release Date: 28th May 2010

With the UFC and MMA as a whole becoming ever more popular thanks to greater promotion and well publicised characters coming to prominence in the mainstream, it's interesting to look back at the games made before this new wave of popularity. This isn't to say that the sport didn't have its fans 6 years ago but there's a lot more scrutiny of the newer games given both the renewed interest and new generation of games consoles.

The game features a large selection of fighters, many of who will be familiar to those who are current fans of the sport, and even more fighters recognisable for more seasoned fans. The game features Create a Fighter, Career, Title and Title Defence modes as well as Classic Fights and Exhibition modes. This is an impressive selection and pretty much everything you could want from the game in terms of things to do.

Fighting feels generally good; it's not so powerful that instant knockouts are commonplace, but it's also not realistic enough to model fighters with a good chin. While fights in the real world often go the distance of 3 or 5 rounds, most fights in UFC Undisputed 2010 end in the first round by TKO. The clinch and grappling system is a little complex with right analog stick waggling deciding who has the advantageous position, and submissions seeming essentially random to the uninitiated.

In this respect, it might as well be a kickboxing game for those not using grappling; I did try and master it a few times in the tutorial mode, but as soon as my fighter was taken to the ground, the fight was almost as good as over. I'll admit that it's difficult to accurately model MMA fights, with many different approaches to the standup and ground games, and many different types of fight occurring regularly, but all fights seem to play out similarly within the game.

Career Mode is interesting and offers players a chance to work their way up to fighting in the UFC from smaller promotions, and the balance of training for a fight and focussing on different aspects of their fighting style. Fights don't play any differently in this mode, although players get some choices of response for their post fight interview and things feel a little more like a WWE Career mode. There's little else to do outside of climbing the rankings and so there's little replayability here.

Other modes vary in their levels of interest, but the most frustrating mode is by far the Classic Fight mode where players must repeat past feats of other fighters. The issue here is that you'll be challenged to win in a specific manner; such as by decision or TKO in the 4th round, which given the ease of winning in the first round involves a lot of time wasting.

Graphically the game looks good; the fighters are recognisible and the octagon and general surrounds are aesthetically almost exactly as seen on tv. The animations and movement featured in fights is smooth and only grappling looks a little awkward. Commentary and sound effects too are realistic and contribute to the whole experience resembling a television broadcast as many sports games aspire to.

Overall UFC Undisputed 2010 isn't a perfect video game representation of MMA due to its complex and hard to understand grappling system and the temptation to resort to a hail of punches, ending most fights in the first round. Nonetheless there's fun to be had with its variety of modes and the ability to create an original character (or more modern MMA stars, of course). If you're a fan of the sport it's a good approximation of combat but not a perfect representation.

Rating: 63/100
Grade: C

250th Game Review Special: Sonic The Hedgehog (2006)

Game: Sonic The Hedgehog
Console: Microsoft Xbox 360
Developer: Sega
Release Date: 14th November 2006

For my 250th game review, I wanted to do something special; something universally known and understood as a video game. Released in 2006, Sonic the Hedgehog is universally known and understood as a bad video game, originally intended to revitalise the entire series and make a good start for HD consoles. With various problems plaguing the game's development from the outset (including the fact that Sonic Team were forced to split in two in order to produce this and Sonic and The Secret Rings for Wii), Sonic The Hedgehog is believed to have had very little in the way of quality checking before its rushed release.

Players choose from 3 storylines; Sonic, Silver and Shadow, and are able to control a total of 9 characters throughout the course of the game, before the "Final Story" which attempts to resolve the plot. Though each story focuses on one of the three main characters, there's still a large amount of switching between characters, which can disrupt the flow of stages somewhat. Each of the characters has a different control scheme, meaning that it can also be difficult to get used to those used for only a short period of time.

I'll begin with Sonic's story as it's the main focus of most people's attention, and the only thing available to play at the beginning of the game. The first thing players will notice when starting Sonic's story is that the graphical quality of the opening cutscene is very high, especially for 2006. After that high note, the quality of the visuals noticeably decreases as gameplay begins. The very start of Sonic's campaign features a tutorial of sorts, and some very easy free-roaming before any action stages which may well annoy fans of games like Sonic Adventure 2 where players are dropped straight into the main game.

Once inside of the the action stages, the controls and overall gameplay take a turn for the worse (although it's probable that players will have already noticed whilst freeroaming that things aren't quite right). Sonic often gets stuck on the smallest of obstacles, walls and other surfaces, has some trouble locking onto the things you want him to, and makes even the "classic" style 3D Sonic stages difficult to play.

Another type of gameplay that frequently features in Sonic's stages is the snowboarding sections, which prove fairly difficult to control as Sonic gets stuck on patches of ground for no reason, jumps inconsistently and requires precision jumping between rails. The final type of gameplay are the "Super Speed" sections which are probably the worst; Sonic runs automatically and players must dodge anything and everything in their way whilst trying to get an idea of exactly where the game wants them to go. Both of these additional types of gameplay are far less enjoyable than the classic 3D platforming, broken as it is in many parts of this game.

Another issue whilst playing levels is the loading screens between sections, inside of the level. Not just a couple of seconds, but a full 30 second loading screen after 1 or 2 minutes of play to load the next section. Considering that there's 3-5 sections in each level, that's a lot of loading screens to sit through, not to mention those endured after dying from glitches or poor level design. In fact, there's one point in Sonic's story which features a difficult trial, from a set of 3, in which players accept the challenge, wait for the game to load, hear a single sentence from an NPC, wait for the game to load again, inevitably fail the challenge, wait for the game to load a third time, and then repeat the process.

As well as Sonic's gameplay, his levels feature Tails and Knuckles (and Silver, oddly) completing certain sections. Tails can fly, and send out a blast of fake rings as his attack, and Knuckles glides and punches objects as well as being able to climb. While these sections have their own issues, related to those mentioned about Sonic's control and level design, they can be a nice break from the main gameplay and are definitely preferable to giving the support characters their own storylines as in Sonic Adventure.

Bosses that feature in Sonic's story are of varying quality, ranging from the frustrating and frankly unfair fight with Silver the Hedgehog to the Egg Genesis and Wyvern fights which (if players can stand to get that far) are reminiscent of Sonic Adventure bosses. With only 5 boss fights in total, the main emphasis is on the action stages and completing the option town missions. In terms of things to do in Sonic's story, the game has good variety even if it's choosing between two substandard experiences.

The game's plot seems to take a lot of criticism for featuring a love story between Sonic and a human princess, but besides this it's pretty standard for a game in the Sonic series. Dr. Robotnik's trying to take over the world, there's some stuff with chaos emeralds and Sonic and buddies have to save the day. There's various plot holes and horrendous voice acting (as always), but if players expected any different from a Sonic game by now, I'd be surprised.

Other than the issues I've mentioned above there's also various camera problems which can lead to players plummeting to their deaths, framerate issues that see the game shudder into slow motion if anything exciting is happening onscreen, and my least favourite part of the controls; the fact that Sonic can't be moved forwards after jumping/being launched into the air. Unless players perform a homing attack, he'll land exactly where he took off from, which makes several sections of the game needlessly difficult.

Although I didn't play through Silver and Shadow's stories as comprehensively as Sonic's (which I managed to 100%), I got a good idea of what they were like. Shadow's levels are most similar to Sonic's in playstyle, but with the addition of a combo attack used by pressing A several times after the homing attack. This makes it harder to attack with precision, but easier to do massive damage to stronger opponents. Many of Shadow's stages also feature vehicles which can be driven or flown to access new parts of levels.

Silver's controls revolve around his mind control powers and being able to levitate. His levels are far more puzzle based than the other two, and as a result are somewhat slower to play, unless you know what you're doing. Both Silver and Shadow's levels feature segments with other characters, for example Rouge appears in Shadow's first and second level, searching for keys in a Sonic Adventure 2-esque style, though there's no proximity indicator which doesn't help things. Another issue with Shadow and Silver's levels and bosses is that they're essentially in the same locations, and fighting the same characters as in Sonic's story, meaning more repetition than replayability.

Though it's often a frustrating and broken game, Sonic The Hedgehog isn't devoid of positives. There are often multiple paths through levels, giving players a choice of where they want to go (though I mostly discovered these thanks to the game not doing what I wanted it to). There are also a few references to moments in earlier games, especially Sonic Adventure, and as previously mentioned some of the bosses give off a classic 3D Sonic vibe.

Overall the difficulty comes mostly from poor controls and level design choices; super speed running sections and other slightly obtuse level sections make gameplay harder than it needs to be at points, and often trial and error plays a large part as players press on through the game. At various points, players are given hints for somewhat easy parts of the game and it feels like there's a poor balance between not getting help when it's needed, and being given hints when it's blatantly obvious how to progress.

Graphically the game features a mix between fairly impressive visuals in its pre-rendered cutscenes and the lower detail gameplay with its frame rate issues. It's also worth considering that Sonic tends to disappear completely at times, get stuck on kerbs whilst vibrating violently and Shadow's feet actually go through the floor in most levels. I'm not quite sure how to sum the visual side of the game up; perhaps it's best to say that 'It's good, when it isn't being bad'.

Musically the game is good, though not as good as other Sonic games in some places. There are some odd choices for music in some levels; a techno piece in the snow level, and more orchestral pieces than I'd have liked mean that the classic Sonic style hard rock that Crush 40 made a trademark of the series is difficult to find. The voice acting is particularly poor, and many of the cutscenes were unintentionally humourous.

Overall I'm on the fence as to whether Sonic '06 deserves to be quite as hated as it is. Once players are past Sonic's first stage and somewhat used to the brokenness of the game as a whole, there are glimpses of fun every now and then, between the frustration and swearing at the game. Although much of the stage design is generic and uninspired, and the locations are reused throughout the game, The three stories, and final uniting story seem like a mix of the Sonic Adventure games way of doing things, with appearances from many of the supporting cast, but also defined and character specific plots. While the overarching plot is fairly weak, it's not surprising for the Sonic series, and gives players enough incentive to continue, even if the gameplay doesn't particularly.

Obviously this isn't the best game in the Sonic series, in fact it may well be the worst (though there's plenty of candidates for that title). Had Sega taken the time to fix all of the glitches and bugs in the game, it might have been acceptable but the overall control and camera issues in the game are unforgivable. The glimpses of fun are just too few and far between to be significant and the game adds very little to the Sonic series as a whole, besides more doubt in Sonic Team's ability to produce good games.

Rating: 40/100
Grade: E

American Sports Masterpost (Excluding NBA)

Game: All Star Baseball 2003
Console: Sony Playstation 2
Developer: Acclaim Sports
Release Date: 26th February 2002

To begin my round-up of American sports, I thought I'd begin with perhaps the most foreign sport to those outside of the USA (myself included). I know quite a few NBA, NFL and even NHL fans here in the UK, but baseball is something that we don't seem to appreciate. After playing All Star Baseball 2003 however, I concluded that this may well be for a good reason. The game of baseball itself is fairly boring. 9 innings per match, where most innings consist of no home runs doesn't sound like the most appealing concept. I won't be holding this lack of interest against the game too much however, at least until the end of this review.

Like many other sports games, ASB 2003's main mode allows players to guide their team through a seasons of between 29 and 162 games. There's also a mode for creating an expansion league team, and developing their roster for as many seasons as players want. Other than these modes however, only exhibition, practice and high score hitting style modes are included, though I'm not sure what else could be done within the baseball concept,

Controlwise, the batting has a choice of two modes; regular mode allows players to control where they wish to aim the bat, whereas simple batting means that every swing will be a hit if timed correctly. Pitching is fairly simple too, with a choice of throw types and aiming options. The fielding could have shown a little more depth, but its adequate when there's a stray ball or something to catch. Overall there's a narrow range of gameplay which fits well with the simulation baseball theme of the game, but might put off more casual fans.

Graphically the game is good for its time; the ballparks, players and other features are fairly detailed; only the faces of individual players could use a little work. The announcing and sound effects can get monotonous as play goes on, but I can't think of a sports game of this kind where this isn't an issue. Overall if you're a big baseball fan looking for the ultimate simulation of the sport then this is definitely something to look into. If you're not up for sitting through 18 innings worth of baseball per match for 162 matches per season, then perhaps a game with an arcade style approach would be better.

Rating: 58/100
Grade: D

Game: Cyberball
Console: Sega Mega Drive
Developer: Tengen
Release Date: 1990

Moving onto games based on American Football now, my next two games are fairly similar and great examples of how less serious sports games can work well. Cyberball is based on an Atari arcade game of the same name. Set in the year 2072, robots play a destructive sport which is fairly similar to American Football. While I'm not perfectly familiar with the rules of the game, I think it's fair to say that the removal of the goalposts and move from "downs" to the ball heat meter are the most significant changes to be made.

The basic objective of the game is to score points; this can be done by scoring touchdowns, making conversions after touchdowns, or forcing a "safety" while in defense. In order to achieve these point scoring plays, players must choose which plays they'd like to make while in offense and defence, and execute them accordingly to score. The offensive team have until the ball reaches "critical" heat level to either score, or defuse the ball back to "cool" level. Each time a play is stopped by the defensive team, or an incomplete pass in made, the heat level of the ball rises. The game is fairly easy to pick up, even for players with limited understanding of American Football.

Controlwise the game is intuitive but still takes a little getting used to; different robots have different roles to play and thus a different set of moves for each button. It's still possible to get by without having a detailed understanding of each position though. After a few games most players should be able to make their team move as they'd like.

Choosing plays can be a little daunting for those who don't follow American Football, but it's a fairly crucial part of the game. Personally I went for the ones which had players running out wide in an attempt to get past the defending team while pushing forward, and short formations whilst defending. This combination seemed to work well, and seems to prove that you don't have to be an expert in strategy to enjoy these type of games.

Graphically the game is fairly simplistic, although that's unsurprising as the Mega Drive hadn't been out long. When there's a cluster of robots on the field, it can be difficult to make out exactly which of them has the ball, and there's not a huge amount of excitement in the animations when a touchdown is made. The game is accompanied by a track which gets faster as the ball's heat status increases. Conceptually this is a good idea, although it can get repetitive due to the lack of other tracks.

Overall Cyberball is a fun game for American Football fans and non fans alike. There's the choice to play an entire season with save passwords, and upgrade options for your robots based on how well the team do, and the general gameplay is pretty interesting although the removal of goalposts may have hurt the overall scoring options for players.

Rating: 73/100
Grade: C

Game: Mutant League Football
Console: Sega Mega Drive
Developer: Electronic Arts
Release Date: 1993

Designed using the Madden '93 game engine, Mutant League Football allows players to take control of 19 teams, each made up of aliens, skeletons, robots, trolls and more. Once again there are a few rules changes from American Football in real life such as the ability to bribe or kill the referee, kill players on the opposing team, and place bombs and mines on the playing field to stop opposing players.

Compared to that of Cyberball, the gameplay here is more similar to real world American Football, with 4 downs before a turnaround (unless the offensive team gains enough yards) as well as field goals and extra point conversions in addition to touchdowns, regular conversions and safetys as scoring methods. Player movement is also much more akin to the real sport, with tackles, dodging and dives.

Controlwise Mutant League Football is a little more simple than Cyberball; in offensive situations, the C button is used to initiate plays, and then to dodge once a receiver has the ball. The A and B buttons are used for passing and selecting special plays. Sometimes the handling of players can feel a little slippery, especially when they're knocked back by the defensive team but it doesn't impact on the action too badly.

In terms of difficulty, each team has a "skull rating" out of 5 which determines the skill of their players. When starting a season in the game, players can adjust the difficulty by choosing a team with a better or worse rating. Another option that can be adjusted is the brutality of matches, which determines how often players can be killed by tackles and challenges.

Graphically the game looks much more like a 16-bit title than Cyberball; the level of detail is much higher, the animations are better, and the player sprites are bigger overall for better ease of play. The strategy selection menu is also straightforward and easy to use. Musically the game features some exciting tunes which suit gameplay well, with enough variation to remain interesting for the duration of matches.

Overall Mutant League Football is a slightly better and more enjoyable game thanks to improvements in gameplay, rules and graphics. I'm also confident that it's more fun than Madden '93, as despite being based on it, the ability to throw bombs, drop mines and kill the referee definitely add excitement to the experience. If you need an American Football game on the Mega Drive, this'd be my pick.

Rating: 77/100
Grade: D

Game: Madden NFL 12

Console: Microsoft Xbox 360

Developer: EA Sports

Release Date: 30th August 2011

For a simulation American Football experience, there's never been much further to look than the Madden series. Named after the veteran commentator and beginning in 1988, the series has had annual instalments for the past 22 years. With such a wealth of games to choose from, spanning many console generations, it'd be inefficient to review all of them, so I decided to go for a more recent instalment and see how it plays. 

As with the preceding American Football games, gamers who aren't fans of the sport probably won't enjoy this too much. It's by far the closest you'll get to actually playing in the NFL with a controller in your hands, and although I had some questions about the rules of American Football before I started playing the game, after just a few games I knew most, if not all of what was going on, without any real need for a tutorial, and was able to make my players perform as I wanted and win games. 

The modes offered are as you'd expect for a sports game of this type; Exhibition match, Versus, Season and Be a Pro style modes are all available. Players are able to choose their team through the draft in a very detailed way in season mode, and can manage the running of their team in the off season. It's also possible to simulate matches you'd rather not play, and skip through to the Superbowl. In addition to these offline modes, there's also the option to go online and compete in matches.

Graphically the game is impressive in most parts; facial features and body modelling are the only real areas which could be improved. The game is mostly presented in the form a TV broadcast, with commentary and analysis appearing onscreen between plays. Although you'll hear the same comments over and over again, this is almost to be expected from sports games of this type. Overall this is everything you'd want from a simulation of American Football on a modern console. It's pretty clear that fans of American Football should also be fans of Madden 12.

Rating: 74/100
Grade: B

Game: NASCAR 98
Console: Sony Playstation
Developer: EA Sports
Release Date: 1997

NASCAR 98 is a strange game. For starters it doesn't seem to bear much relation to the 1997 season of NASCAR, featuring 6 fantasy tracks which weren't on the calendar. Also it has adjustable sliders to control how realistically the cars handle and opponents drive. There are arcade and simulation default settings, but neither of these seems to provide a configuration that makes the handling or racing enjoyable. Finally the overall action is fairly unexciting in that there's only music to accompany racing, with no real sense of achievement or disappointment wherever players come in the final standings.

Racing games as a whole can have many unique aspects which make them enjoyable. I can understand EA's decision to try and spice up the available tracks from "just ovals" to some actual GT style tracks, but to leave the racing handling as strangely and inconsistently as it does means that there's no real unique selling point for NASCAR 98. It doesn't realistically simulate the speed or experience of NASCAR, and at the same time it fails to stand up to other racing games because of the hard to beat AI and lack of main game mode, save for playing an entire season.

Graphically the game is sub-par with blocky cars and textures all round. Although this is typical of the 5th generation of consoles, many games managed far better visuals. Musically the game features a frustratingly small pool of generic rock style tracks to accompany gameplay which don't fit the action particularly well.

Overall NASCAR 98 seems to have been released a little too early to be a good game. Thanks to the circuits featured it doesn't accurately allow players to simulate the NASCAR experience, as more recent games would do. The graphics aren't anything special and the handling isn't good in any of the preset configurations. Even for NASCAR fans this is one to avoid.

Rating: 40/100
Grade: E

Game: NASCAR 06: Total Team Control
Console: Sony Playstation 2
Developer: EA Sports
Release Date: 30th August 2005

8 years later and EA's NASCAR series was still going strong; this time the main game mode feels like something out of the ToCA Race Driver series, signing contracts to race in different forms of NASCAR including the Whelen Modified and Truck series in an attempt to progress through the ranks and eventually race for your own team in the major NASCAR series. Other modes allow players to race through an entire season, play classic race challenges, and set up their own exhibition races.

With licenses for all of the NASCAR tracks and cars, this instalment definitely feels like it models the NASCAR experience more accurately, although the game feels like it has less variety in its track selection. Another slightly frustrating feature is the fact that there are only three settings for driving aids; full, limited or off. On full, the game brakes for players and essentially all they have to do is steer around the corners, on limited it's hard to tell quite which assists are on or off and the car's pretty hard to handle well. Finally, with all of the driving aids off the car is like an untameable beast, which I assume accurately reflects the real life machines.

NASCAR 06 changes up the controls from earlier instalments of the series, implementing L2 and R2 as brake and accelerate instead of the X and square buttons. There's also a team-control system which players can use, centred around the right analog stick, but there doesn't seem to be much point in using it at any stage of the game. Graphically the game is passable, though rather low quality at points; the frame rate is especially bad when there's a lot of cars on track.

Overall NASCAR 06: Total Team Control was always going to be a game which appealed to NASCAR fans predominantly. Many other racing games have more interesting tracks and car choices, but disregarding this fact the control, handling and overall presentation of the game is fairly mediocre. Luckily for fans of the sport, there's been plenty of other NASCAR games released over the years, so finding a good one shouldn't be too hard.

Rating: 59/100
Grade: D

Game: NHL 06
Console: Sony Playstation 2
Developer: EA Sports
Release Date: 6th September 2005

The final game I'll be looking at today is NHL 06, the only modern hockey title I own. As with most EA Sports games of the time, there's the basic set of modes which allow players to lead a team through a single game, season or even more hockey. A nice addition to the normal options is the inclusion of NHL '94 as a playable game from the main menu. Despite lacking the usual polish of modern sports games, it's still totally worth a go.

The gameplay featured in the main mode of the game is fast paced and fairly exciting; it seems a little too easy to hold onto the puck at times and winning face-offs seems to take a lot of luck, but overall it could be much worse. Controlwise though things aren't so good; perhaps its just the difficulty of skating, but trying to make players move and shoot where you want them to is a chore, and actually scoring is near impossible, even on easy mode.

Graphically the players and rinks are impressive for a PS2 title, though the crowds and some other features are still a little lacking. Playing with a top to bottom view instead of side to side is also offputting, despite having worked well in NFL titles. The music included with the game is a strange selection of licensed tracks; some good, some not so good. I can appreciate that it's difficult to pick songs that'll go well with a hockey game though.

Overall NHL 06 is a little disappointing, if only because it doesn't simulate playing the game of hockey quite as well as the Madden games simulate NFL, or the FIFA games simulate football. This is perhaps owing to its fast paced nature and location on an ice rink, rather than being the fault of the developer, but it's still an issue the game faces. Perhaps I'll check out some later hockey games another time and see if things have improved at all. For now I think I'll stick to Blades of Steel on the NES.

Rating: 61/100
Grade: D

Game Review: Portal [Spoilers, but come on, it's been out like 7 years]

Game: Portal
Console: Xbox 360
Developer: Valve
Release Date: 9th October 2007

Unless you've been living under a rock for the past 7 years, it's likely you've at least heard of the video game Portal. Released to much critical acclaim in 2007, it quickly gained cult classic status with its inside jokes and memes becoming popular. With all of this excitement and buzz around the game, I thought it'd be good to take a look at the game now that all the praise for it has died down, and assess whether it truly is a game for the ages.

The objective of the game is very simple; navigate various puzzle/platforming test chambers within the Aperture Science Enrichment Centre, and escape from the compound with your life. Initially it seems that players are only taking part in a scientific experiment to test out portal guns, but as the levels progress it becomes increasingly more obvious that the cake promised to subjects at the end of testing is in fact, a lie.

Although initially the player's ability to create portals is limited, pretty soon it's possible to create both an orange and a blue portal using each of the triggers. Walking through a portal of one colour enables players to come out of the other one, wherever it is placed. Momentum is conserved through portals allowing players to jump higher and higher easily with clever portal placement and technique.

Other than creating portals players can also pick up, put down or use objects with the right bumper button, jump with the A button, and obviously move around and look with the analog sticks. While these controls might seem rather basic, the game's overall simplicity works to its advantage as there's always a creative way to solve problems with at least one of the available actions.

There are 19 test chambers to complete in total, followed by a short escape sequence and a final boss. The first 15 or so chambers are fairly easy to complete once you understand the concept and application of portals. After this the difficulty ramps up significantly, but not to a degree where there's too much thinking involved in solutions. After trying various ideas, the correct strategy can usually be worked out.

While I enjoyed the experience of the whole game, I found that the final levels really brought something special to it. The narrative and setting are given a much larger role by the revelation that subjects are not intended to survive the testing process. Escaping through various control and machinery rooms, players are able to see how much of a pawn they were in Aperture Science's tests. Finally discovering GlaDOS, the computer system that's been guiding them through the tests, players must put their skills to the test with the portal gun in order to escape and win the game.

Graphically the game is simple but generally impressive; everything has a simple and clinical feel due to the game's location in the Enrichment Centre, but whilst breaking out of the facility and at a few other times in the game, there are interesting backrooms which allow for a more detailed look behind the scenes. There's not a whole lot of music featured in Portal, but the music which is featured is atmospheric and adds to the experience. Also, the credits song for the game is one of the catchiest tunes in gaming, so check that out.

Overall Portal is an initially simple game which becomes increasingly more challenging in line with its plot to offer an exciting mechanic based platforming puzzle game with great level design, control and consistent physics. Although it can be completed within 3 or 4 hours pretty easily, the game doesn't feel lacking in any respect, and lends itself to being replayed every now and then because of this.

Rating: 89/100
Grade: A

Game Review: Crackdown

Game: Crackdown
Console: Xbox 360
Developer: Realtime Worlds
Release Date: 20th February 2007

As I recently acquired an Xbox 360, I thought that my first review should be an exclusive for the console, and something that's been almost universally recommended to me by other 360 owners. Crackdown is a free-roaming sandbox style game which tasks players with cleaning up the three gang-infested island regions of Pacific City. To do this, high ranking members of each gang must be discovered and eliminated to increase the chance of success in taking out the kingpins.

Taking on the role of a genetically enhanced agent of justice, players work alongside "The Agency" in tackling the gang infestation. Once players are close to the location of a gang boss, they'll receive an agency briefing on the exact whereabouts, skills and job role of the boss in question and can decide whether attempting to eliminate them is a good idea. Also dotted around the map are "supply points" to be discovered and used as respawn points.

As a genetically enhanced agent of justice, there are 5 key skills which can be improved. The first is agility; improved via finding agility orbs scattered around the rooftops of the city, completing rooftop races in a fast enough time and making kills from height. This skill proves to be important from the outset, as scaling buildings and jumping up to 30 feet in the air make fighting gangs far easier. Driving skill can be improved by running over and killing gang members, and completing checkpoint races, but I didn't find cars to be a particularly effective method of getting around in the game and ignored them if possible, in favour of jumping everywhere.

Explosives skill is improved by killing enemies with explosives and gives greater power and range to rocket launchers and grenades used by players. The strength skill is improved by killing gang members with your bare hands (or feet), and can be very useful as a means of quickly taking out opponents, once your agent is strong enough to kill gang members in one hit. Near the end of the game, I'd often kill kingpins by kicking them to death, rather than gunning them down because it seemed to be far more effective. The final upgradable skill is firearms, which is improved via making weapon kills and helps with accuracy and damage done with guns.

Bosses and Kingpins are usually hidden in some of the more unique buildings that the map has to offer; an oil rig, building site, and the tallest building on the map are just some of the more memorable locations. Players must work their way to the boss's location through much resistance from gang members and eliminate the boss, without losing their health. Luckily player health and armour regenerates when they're not being attacked and in the event of being killed, players can respawn at the nearest supply point to give it another go, almost immediately.

Pacific City itself has some interesting buildings and scenery across its three islands; most offices and tower blocks can easily be scaled by a player with enough agility skill, and swimming to boss locations for a better vantage point is a common tactic. As the game cycles through night and day, the amount of gang members on the street changes, but apart from this there's not a lot of variation in events. I'd have liked to have seen a few more touches like these to give the population of Pacific City personality as a whole.

The game's overall plot relies heavily on the simple fact that players are helping the agency take down gangs by taking out their key figures and kingpins. No external plot events occur; the game's story is comprised of players eliminating the gang members. Similarly there's no character development or interest in the player character or even the bosses and kingpins really, as we're only told basic information about them.

Although Crackdown controls fairly well after a little while playing the game, the driving and shooting mechanics aren't as polished as they could be. I found it difficult to complete road races due to the poor handling of most vehicles (even with upgraded vehicle skill). I also had difficulty with the aiming system early on in the game which seems to pick targets randomly, as well as being frustrated when bombarded with enemy rockets later in the game which resulted in my character being thrown from rooftops like a ragdoll.

The AI which features in the game often feels below par; there were several occasions where I'd be standing next to a gang member without them even noticing, yet enemies several buildings away could get a clear shot on me. Another example of poor AI is evident when above any roadway watching traffic; within a few seconds there's typically a huge vehicular pileup for seemingly no reason. My final complaint of the AI are allied agents, who will target the player after any minor mistake that results in injury to an agent or an innocent. As it's fairly easy to drive into either, players must deal with being hunted by The Agency as well as gang members fairly often. These problems give the game a less polished feel overall and can lessen the immersion.

There are a variety of weapons featured in the game which can be swapped out once acquired and taken to a supply point. While the game didn't make this particularly clear, upgrading your weapons is a great help in being able to do more difficult hits on gang bosses. It's surprising that there's not a hint to tell players this, as throughout the game the agency's boss constantly provides informative, but often irrelevant hints. After around an hour players will have heard every hint available, but they continue indefinitely and can't be turned off without taking away all speech from the agency boss.

Graphically Crackdown features elements of both realistic and cartoon styles; character models have shading and outlines which look distinctly animated when compared to some of the building and landscape details. On the whole the game's style and world as a whole contribute to its character and mood. Alongside this is the music from the in-game radio which features a carefully chosen selection of many lesser known acts with a dark electronic/dance style, giving the cities a real sense of being overrun by crime and gangs.

Overall while I have many minor complaints about Crackdown; including the constant hints, interruption to gameplay from Agency Briefings, the driving and shooting mechanics and its very simple and predictable plot and ending, it's still a game which is a lot of fun to play and complete. For me the sense of free roaming was somewhat held back by a lack of things to do other than rooftop races, road races and killing gang members, all of which are core elements of the game. Despite this, I'd recommend Crackdown as an enjoyable sandbox game with RPG style levelling up elements and a great sense of fun.

Rating: 77/100
Grade: B