Review: Injustice: Gods Among Us

Injustice: Gods Among Us
Wii U, PS3, Xbox 360
RRP: AU$79.95
ACB: MA15+

As a comic book fan, I am drawn like a moth to a flame when I see my favourite characters in a game. Sure in most cases it's a disappointment but sometimes you get Arkham Asylum. Buying Injustice: Gods Among Us was basically a no brainer as I love both Mortal Kombat and DC comics, but how good is it? Well isn't that why you're here? I'm sure you've already read and watched the reviews but have you read one that covered the PS3 & Wii U versions? You will now thanks to the help of my best mate who got the PS3 version while I gambled on the Wii U version. Read on, all ye who enter thy corner of the internet.


Injustice: Gods Among Us is a fighting game made by the guys who make the first good Mortal Kombat since Mortal Kombat Trilogy, NetherRealm Studios. That noise you just heard? That was the sound of millions of fanboys cheering. Before I get into how it plays, I'll go back to routine and start with the story.

The story is oozing with comic book writing juices... which is to say it's bat shit crazy! Comic book fans will get it while others will feel confused because "COMICS ARE WEIRD!" as quoted by Bob Chipman aka Movie Bob. The Joker tricks Superman to kill Lois Lane and his unborn child with some kind of drug and her death triggers a nuke that blows up Metropolis. Superman kills the Joker and the world's finest heroes... are... trying to stop the Joker nuking... Metropolis? WHAT?! Then Aquaman, Batman, Joker, Wonder Woman, Green Arrow and Green Lantern are caught in a huge burst of light and end up in Metropolis... only different. Then it just keeps getting confusing further in and I'm going to stop there before I'm responsible for giving you an aneurysm. The story is more or less targeted at comic book fans instead of movie or T.V fans of the characters then you'd expect.

As a fighting game, this one is classically designed. 2D fighting games have been perfected over the years and this one shares a bit with the 2011 Mortal Kombat game. All the special moves are simple to execute, but hard to master chaining them. Every button has a purpose and the starting tutorial covers them clear enough to help since game manuals have died off in recent years, even though there's this thing called recycled paper that exists and is easily available! >;(

The game has a beefy single player for a fighting game. The game has a 4-6 hour story mode(depending on how bad you play certain characters) to get you started. In the Battle menu there are a variety of modes with varying conditions to challenge yourself against the computer. There's a Single Fight option for just a quick fight against an opponent you select and makes a great training partner to learn how to react to certain moves. There is a Practice mode for you to use to get used to how the game plays and you can revisit the tutorial if you forget anything. Finally, Mortal Kombat 9's challenge tower returns as S.T.A.R Labs with a boat load of challenges to complete and some of them can be really frustrating.

There are only 24 characters in the game, all unlocked out of the box with more to come through penny pinching DLC. Each character has their own unique power to either power up a stat, change fighting styles or even damage an opponent. It does add a little variety to the combat but you'll quickly find your best character or default to a "top tier" character and ruin peoples time.

During combat you can interact with object in the stage... but this can be used to turn the tide of battle or abused by the more experienced players. Each type of character interacts with them differently, power characters will destroy objects while the others will leap of them or detonate a bomb on it with a small few they can throw. There are some background objects you can knock enemies too but they are hard to pick out. Each stage also has a transition sweet spot that you can sent an opponent to a different area of the stage and deals damage to them as they pass through. Pausing the game will also give you a quick guide with special moves so you don't need to wade through menus but combos and other stuff require the menu mining to find them.

Multiplayer menu is where you go to verse real people. Versus is your local couch fighting mode to play a friend or sibling. Unfortunately you can breeze through the 24 character roster pretty quickly so don't try and make a day of it. On the plus side, pausing the game shows the special move lists for both players.

The compulsory dick measuring online multiplayer is a whole other kettle of fish. There are ranked 1 Vs 1 matches for heavy chest pounding grunt competitions and player 1 Vs 1... that also gets rankings for some reason. As for the 2-8 player modes, there is a survival and king of the hill mode... that I can't seem to play properly due to the small population on Wii U, especially in Australia and constant disconnects. I've seen similar things on both the PS3 and Xbox 360 versions happening too but I haven't experienced it on them since I only have the Wii U version. One of the biggest problems is actually connecting to a game! Even if you do get one, after about 7 seconds the "Ending Game" screen comes up unless you get lucky enough to play someone in your country but good luck!

Ok... the mandatory comparison paragraph... yeah. What are the differences between the versions? First off is that visually, the PS3 version looks best with better shadowing, cutscene quality and colours. Loading is slightly better on the Wii U if that matters to you. PS3 & Xbox 360 actually have DLC. Wii U has the distinct advantage of play off T.V. mode if you need to go to the toilet or something. PS3 and Xbox 360 versions can connect to a WBID to unlock a New 52 Flash costume(this is good since the other costumes don't looks as good for the Flash). The PS3 and Xbox 360 has more then enough players to get a match online. PS3 has better controls since it has a segmented D.Pad which makes executing commands so much easier. Which is better? Neither really. Each is as good as each other unless you're big on pissing contests and if so, get the muddy looking Xbox 360 version since Xbox Live is the biggest hosts of wanking competitions.


So... buy or pass? Hmm... constant disconnects online aside, it's a good fighting game. If you're not a comic book fan it's still worth a look but this game is more for the people who spend more then $100 on comics a month and likes DC comics. It's a little more niche then mainstream but I'm sure there's a large enough audience to make it successful. I say buy it if you love DC comics and Mortal Kombat.

Score 4/5

Review: Bioshock Infinite

Bioshock Infinite
PS3, Xbox 360, PC
ACB: MA15+
RRP:AU$89.95

My first review for 2013... took a while huh? Long story short, poor and not sure when it will turn around. Well I just had to buy this game on release because of the fact it's the true sequel... well prequel to the original Bioshock and because Destructoid's review by Jim Sterling convinced me, even before I saw his score for it. No his review has not affected my decision in my review before you ask. Well, time to review this sucker.


Bioshock Infinite is set in 1912, 48 years before Rapture's adventure. A man named Booker DeWitt journey's to the floating city of Columbia, a city that seceded from the U.S. because it wasn't happy with the direction it was going and is run by a "Prophet" named Comstock. He is sent to retrieve a young woman named Elizabeth to settle his debt to an unknown debtor and obviously everything goes tits up and you have to fight through hordes of guards and robots. I'm not going to say anything more because I don't want to spoil it.

First off... this game is full of racism for the emphasis on the setting and time period but it's not offensive because it's showing the simple mindedness of bigot's of the time period. Secondly, this game will be kinda familiar if you played the first Bioshock during the opening moments but then sets itself apart from it really quickly.

The world of Columbia is bright and vibrant with colour unlike most FPS today. The familiar start showcases the scope of the world and as you traverse the streets during the opening moments of the game you get a feel for the type of place Columbia is until you showed up. It's also nice to not have to worry about the entire place wanting to kill you unlike in Rapture and it's a breath of fresh air. The tone does change later in the game but I won't spoil how and why but they do it so well.

Gameplay is nothing new for the most part. If you've played the first Bioshock and I certainly hope you have, everything feels and plays about the same. The controls are simple and don't feel awkward. As for new stuff there is a new melee weapon/mode of transportation called the Skyhook(no relation to the 80's band that Red Simmons was a part of... what? I listened to lots of crap as a kid and so did you.) that allows you to traverse Columbia's sky railway and hooks, plus you can fight with it and execute weakened enemies. The Plasmids are also now called Vigors and have two firing modes to shake up combat, trap and direct.

Like in most FPS' this game has a lot of guns. You get your standard array of hand guns, shotguns, rifles, sniper rifles, machine guns, grenade and rocket launchers, all period designs. Unlike the rest of the generic genre, you can dual wield the guns along side the games pseudo magic abilities called Vigors. Vigors can be used in a variety of ways to shake up the strategy of combat. While that sounds awesome, you can only quick select 2 Vigors and carry only 2 guns at a time. Kinda sucks but Vigors can be changed on the fly and guns are everywhere in Columbia... I mean it! I think there are more guns in Columbia then there are in the U.S.A!

Vigors as mentioned before are like magic to use in the game. They have two modes of fire for traps and direct attacks and some can be combined to deal more damage or look cool... like a flaming murder of crows! There are 8 Vigors in the game admittedly but it isn't overkill or being to spoiled for choice. Vigors are mainly used in combat but some are used for a couple extra uses like mugging vending machines for cash or opening certain doors.

To add the smallest mention of RPG elements, the game has upgrades for your guns and Vigors that can be bought from vending robots for extra power among other upgrades. You can also find gear that gives you special effects and work like the Tonics of Bioshock. On top of this there are stat upgrades that can be found called Infusions that allow you to select whether you want to increase your max health, salts(for Vigor use) and your shield... yeah, a shield... shocked me too... he he, shock... Bioshock... no?

After a little bit of progression in the story you meet Elizabeth, who becomes your partner in crime. GOOD NEWS, everyone! She doesn't need babysitting! Elizabeth is the best partner... EVER! She takes care of herself and will occasionally throw you ammo, money and recovery items. Elizabeth also has the ability to pick locks to gain access to secret areas and safes(there are a lot of them) or to progress further.

The world of Columbia's level design is extremely well done. It doesn't feel like it was designed as a game, but like a real town. All the sky rails feel like the were set up for transportation more then for game progression and you can leap from rail to rail, attack from the rails with your guns or even leap onto an enemies from it for a little fun too. Some things in the environment are actually stuck in another dimension... guess who has another use? Elizabeth can manifest a variety of things from cover, to items and even allies like the robots you fight and turrets.

Speaking of the robots, the enemies in the game are numerous in quantity. You'll fight cops, soldiers, resistance fighters... I should have just said humans, robots called Patriots and hulking cyborgs called a Handyman.The humans are easy to kill... mostly, depending on the weaponry and armor they carry and one even teleports using a murder of crows! The Patriot robots are dumb and usually just blindly shoot in your general direction and take a lot to kill, Handymen on the other hand take forever to kill and deal a lot of damage but the don't show up very much in the game. There are robotic turrets in the game, both stationary and flying that attack you but they are more of a nuisance then a threat.

Like in the other games in the "shock" franchise, audio logs(called Voxophones here) are peppered throughout the game. Like before they fill in the back story and the main players within it. Along with these are a few little movie players called Kinetoscopes that show propaganda videos to give you an idea of what the people of Columbia believe in.

The game is linear despite all how open it feels but a structured game with some side tracking for item hunting is better then an open and bland world with too much to do(*cough* Skyrim *cough!*). There's a boat load of collectibles to find(as mentioned before) and it's so great to get lost and take in the sights of Columbia... oh wait...you cant' get lost! The game features a nav point beacon like in Dead Space to help you find your way if your lost or forgot the mission objective with the push of a button. It's a welcomed feature to have to prevent unwanted faffing about.

The PS3 version of the game has the option to play using the PlayStation Move. Assuming you have it, it actually makes the game feel a lot more fluid then the clunky controller. The aiming with the PS Move is similar to other PS Move and Wii FPS' and by thrusting it you can melee and twist to execute an extremely low heath enemy with a gruesome finisher. I highly recommend playing with the PS Move if you play the PS3 version because it's similar to PC controls.


So what's the verdict? Well the game has a great story from start to finish and is hard to put down. It has a protagonist NOT voiced by Nolan North which is always welcome, the characters don't piss you off and most importantly is the fact that in the most generic and stagnant genre, the game is fun and fresh. The trip to Columbia is well worth the admission and if you don't like this game and love Call of Duty, please surrender yourself to a lunatic asylum and remove yourself from the rest of society so we can get better. This game is fantastic! I love it a lot!

Score 5/5

Been a while & yes I still live.

Hey guys... assuming there is more then one of you. I've been neglecting my blog a lot for a variety of reasons. Mainly been spouting my stupidity via Twitter & every time I come up with an idea for a post I spewed it on Twitter & forgot all about it. As for game reviews... been a bit lazy on that because of a variety of reasons... like money. Yeah, I've been a bit short of cash due to needing new glasses & fancy clothes for funerals... I mean weddings & engagements.

I will bring reviews again soon to the blog once I actually can finish the current ones I'm playing... once Australia actually starts to cool down. Only problem is that you'd have already read the pompous professional reviews of the same games since those over privileged twats don't need to buy the games & get payed to review them.

I will do a piece on PS4 with all my opinions & what it could mean for gaming at some point & maybe even in parts too just to draw it out if I feel like a douche. There is a lot to talk about when it comes to the PS4 admittedly & once E3 has rolled around we'll have even more to look at.

Looking back at the Wii U & even though I only own one game on it thanks to Fist Of The North Star: Ken's Rage 2 being digital only(which means I rent it until they remove it from the store & not reimburse you for it), I still love it. I highly recommend restarting old Wii games on it to experience them in HD via a HDMI cable because it can make them clearer to see & games like The Last Story, Xenoblade Chronicles & Pandora's Tower look great in HD. Also WIND WAKER HD! Seriously, that's just Awesome!

If you didn't already know I am still angry with Square-Enix for a variety of reasons like another Final Fantasy XIII game, no Kingdom Hearts 358/2 days game in the HD collection & only it's cutscenes, more delays in Final Fantasy Versus XIII among others BUT at least we now know that Final Fantasy X HD is actually the Final Fantasy X HD Collection on PS3 & each HD game will be sold separately on PS Vita.

I've also gotten really into comics lately too. Yeah... I'm into everything nerdy aren't I? Admittedly this is also interfering with getting games but I do need a break from video games & well... Batman & Spider-man. No I hopefully won't start reviewing comics but it's obvious why... I don't read every comic!

As for retro gaming I have been doing that a lot during the hotter months in Australia & even picked up a few gems too & need more. Feel free to recommend games & send video links of gameplay to me via Twitter to play since I have missed out on a lot of the old games as a kid. Need more for retro reviews!

Well I can guarantee a review for Review A Great Game Day but I won't spoil my controversial choice. As for future reviews... we'll see how it goes I suppose. I do hope you'll follow my idiotic rambling on Twitter & hopefully I'll add more crap to the blog. And no, I will not do video reviews because I'm camera shy & can't edit videos on the relic of a PC I use. If I knew how to do a thing like Yahtzee I'd do that but I don't have the skills or even recording equipment for my voice. Anyway that's all from me for now & hopefully I'll start doing something again real soon.

Review: Ragnarok Odyssey(Import)

Ragnarok Odyssey
PS Vita
RRP: US$39.99
ESRB: T

 Once again, I've had to import another bloody game because the PAL region always gets a middle finger when it comes to Japanese and Asian games in general with a few exceptions(usually crap like the PS3 Atelier games!) Well the big question is whether or not this is worth the import or not... or in the America's case whether they should buy it. Well, here's the review.


The vague story of Ragnarok Odyssey is that you are suppose to be a new recruit for the Sundered Land fortress and you'll need to explore areas to prove yourself before fighting the bigger threats to Rune Midgard... or something like that.

The games has been compared to Monster Hunter a lot in those big boy reviews everyone reads instead of mine, and it is a hell of a lot like Monster Hunter. You play a variety of missions with the same goals you see in every MMO and action RPG these days where you kill X number of monsters or gather Y amount of a certain item. As for how you play, it's a 2 button combo based system and all the special skills are tied to the combos. You can jump, dash step and sprint to dodge or attack from a different angle or height.

 The game has 9 "story" chapters and an extra chapter and as you clear each story chapter you are rewarded with a permanent stat boost. You can play all the missions in both single player and in multiplayer via Ad Hoc(if you can even FIND another person with a copy of the game, let alone a PS Vita) or online with up to 3 other players. Word of warning though, it's extremely laggy online since it never got a PAL region release and almost no one in the PAL region has a copy.

Welcome to the team... your doing all the work!

Game sounds simple and boring right? Well this is a Monster Hunter clone after all. Like Monster Hunter you'll spend a lot of time crafting and upgrading weapons and making outfits. On top of that there's hunting for weapons with better skills and stats and hunting cards for skills to make combat easier.

Cards you say? WTF? What madness is this?! Well instead of getting armor in the game you equip cards to your outfits to boost stats and/or gain abilities to make combat easier. Your outfits can only carry 8 cards or a set value of cards, yes each card has a value cost set by the level and number of skills on the card. Finding the right cards to suit your job class is tough though.

Speaking of job classes, there are 6 job classes in all. The Sword Warrior is your balance class, Hammersmith which is all power and nothing else, Hunter for ranged but weak combat, Assassin's are fast attackers with low strength, Clerics are the self healing noob class and the Mage for suicidal masochist but has high mage power with low... everything! I suggest find a class that suits you and stick with it I went mage so I'm crazy.

Fighting is what you do best.

 During the game you will get to fight against giant monsters, though you fight giant monsters normally but these are colossus sized ones. These fights can be epic and happen every once in a while... and are tough as HELL! This is were 4 player is AWESOME! Seeing 4 people attack a skyscraper sized monster is so cool and taking it down in a pack is just so epic! This is where the game shines in my opinion.

As mentioned before there is no armor. You instead get outfits to choose from so you can look the way you want. This is complemented with a series of hats and both can be dyed 4 different colours(depending on the item in question). Along with these your appearance is customisable from the start and can be changed any time in the game after a certain point. I like being able to build an identity but once you see an exact look-a-like you become disappointed by the limited options.

Playing with others is better... even with lag.

The game does feature some mandatory touch controls but thankfully they aren't intrusive... unlike Assassin's Creed 3: Liberation. You can open you map, express emotions, use items and type with the touchscreen but it never feels stupid. This minimalist approach to touch controls is exactly what developers should do instead of going gimmick crazy... like Assassin's Creed 3: Liberation or Uncharted: Golden Abyss.

Setting up multiplayer games works on a simplicity first basis. You can search out rooms that suit what quest you want or create a room with the purpose of clearing missions that you want to do and you can restrict who enters. Communicating with each other through text is a pain but thankfully you can emote with physical actions and emote bubbles for all the basics and leave text for detailed communication. Luckily communication isn't really needed. As for headsets... not sure if it works.

So was it worth the import? Well if your into repetition and Monster Hunter then yes, if not then run for the hills! I never really liked Monster Hunter myself but Ragnarok Odyssey at least has a sense of purpose and permanent stat boosting. It's also a very addictive game that is hard to put down. I can't really recommend it like I can say... Final Fantasy IX or The Last Story, but I'm sure if you like this type of game then you'll enjoy this. One thing's for sure, it's better then Assassin's Creed 3: Liberation and the DS Ragnarok game.

Score 4/5

Review: Ratchet & Clank: Q Force(Full Frontal Assault)

Ratchet & Clank: Q Force(Full Frontal Assault)
PS3, PS Vita, PSN
RRP: AU$24.95 retail $23.95 digital
ACB: PG

Hoping to get the bad taste out of my mouth left by the mediocre Ratchet & Clank: All 4 One, I jumped at the chance to play this game but surprise, surprise... it's better than All for One but still doesn't hold a candle to the others. Well, find out why by reading my review.


The story for the campaign mode has a former Quark fanboy named Stuart(last seen in Ratchet & Clank 3: Up your arsenal if I remember) out for revenge because Quark has disappointed him on numerous occasions. He does this by taking down the planetary defenses of a few planets, which in turn allows the Grungarian marauders to invade these planets. Now the Q Force has to turn the defenses back on a defeat the new menace.

First thing I need to address is the humor... it's still a funny game but not as much as any of the other games... small game, small amount of humor... but smaller then Quest for Booty. Secondly, cross play with the PS Vita and a free PS Vita copy with the PS3 retail version is brilliant! Finally is that I'm glad they made it a retail and digital release so the lazy can download it and the smart can have a REAL copy.

Gameplay is what we've done about 10 times over the last 10 years now. If it moves... shoot! Well there's more to that but I don't feel the need to go over that because it's hot in Australia at the moment and I assume by now we've all played at least 1 Ratchet & Clank game, so I'll go into the new. Q Force is a tower defense game. The story mode and online play a little different to each other but is similar at the core.

Story mode has you protecting a base and turning on the planetary defenses for the most part. You go out and unlock weapons pods, build base defenses and take down enemy defended key nods to gain access to the planetary defense before defending your base from a final onslaught while it powers up. Your base will get attacked every once in a while while exploring but that's what building defenses are for. You win each level by keeping at least one base generator operational after defeating the Grungarian barrage during the planetary defenses powering up sequence.The story mode is easier with a partner but you can only play with PSN friends or a couch friend. The story is also criminally short, sure it's a downloadable title but I need a REAL Ratchet & Clank game again.

Unfortunately this game's main focus is online multiplayer... ugh! The thing I'm never fond of had to be the focus didn't it?! Online you can play 1 Vs 1 or 2 Vs 2 and you fight to destroy the other teams base. The online game works in phases. The first phase is Recon and you hunt down bolts and nodes to unlock weapons and buy defenses. Phase 2 is Squad and you build your invading force during this phase with the bolts generated by the nodes you've captured. The third phase is Assault and during this phase you attack your opponents base or defend yours. These phases will cycle over and over again until one team is victorious. During any phase you can build defense but be warned... they don't stop the other players, just their Grungarian marauders.

The flow and outcomes of online matches will take time and a good internet connection to get used to. Once you've learned the maps and play with people in your own country, it can be fun... sorta. One thing that pisses me off is the lack of a local competitive mode! I mean come on, the PS3 supports 4 players and most people own TV's that are 40 inches or more in size so why not?

So what's the point of this Ratchet & Clank game? Experimentation would be my guess. I mean look at it, big name game series with a new play style. It's not the first time it's happened with a big name franchise and it won't be the last, though it's kinda sucky when it happens.

So what's the verdict then? Well it's a good game for what it is but flawed and the story feels rushed and it's short. The tower defense style of gameplay is an interesting take that needs to be a little more flesh out. The lack of local competitive modes royally sucks but it's online competitive can be fun if there's no lag in the connection... which never happens for the most part. It's a game that's pointless if you want a decent single player game but if your looking for an alternative to online military shooters then it's pretty good, although most won't stay for long. Either way for AU$25 it's good value for money.

Score 3/5