Review: Gundam Breaker(Japanese import)

Gundam Breaker
Hack 'n' Slash
PS Vita, PS3

Oh boy... this ones going to be tough to review. Despite the fact I love of Japanese made games... I don't understand the language and Gundam Breaker is 90% in Japanese. This game has been a trial to get through the language barrier, but I managed. So... was importing this Gundam game worth the language barrier?


First off, I have absolutely no idea what the story in this game is. I get the whole Virtual Reality Gunpla(Gundam plastic models) battle thing, but everything else... nope! All I could grab were words like Gunpla, GGF, Gundam... and that's it. Wikipedia says... absolutely nothing either since it has no article for the game! So yeah, you want story? Learn Japanese... sorry.

The gameplay is your classic hack 'n' slash style with close range melee attacks and long range shooting. It's very easy to pick up and play, which is a bonus for non Japanese speaking people like myself. The game's basic 2 button attack scheme works fine but there's more then just that. Your jump button also acts as your boost button while holding it. There's a kinda limit break system called G.A.I.O.S(no idea what it stands for) which puts you into a hyper state that increases your speed and attack strength while also giving you health regeneration during it's duration. Special attacks known as EX Attacks that range from healing, long range and close range attacks and these recharge over time during each mission and can be changed in the customization menu to see what suits your play style and weapons.

The game is mission structured and the main reason for it seems to revolve around it's multiplayer focus in Japan. There are 100 missions to complete with simple goals to achieve ranging from survival, team attack, defend, area raid(capture territory) and the normal clear which is just destroy the main Gunpla at the end of the course. If playing solo, you sometimes get A.I partners... and they are rubbish! The A.I. partners are suicidal and keep dragging you down and will fail missions for you... probably to encourage online play.

Speaking of the online multiplayer, the multiplayer is Co Op only for up to 4 players and unfortunately... the menus are only in Japanese... so the language barrier really punches you in the gonadular region here. Unfortunately I never found a translation guide for this and had to figure it out myself. There are 2 options, search and create room. Search is easiest to use since you just go to the big button at the bottom of the screen and let it search for all rooms and find a room that isn't locked or says Japanese only. Create room on the other hand is trickier to grasp and the biggest problem here is prejudice... and I mean that! For some reason a lot of Japanese gamers avoid your room if you have the audacity to type in English and since more of them play the game... it can be very lonely. Seriously Japan, Japanese Only rooms and avoiding English written rooms? What's wrong with you?

Now onto the complicated part... customization! Yes, this is more complicated then the online menus! This can be very difficult to understand without a translation guide and thank God one exists for the various stats involved. While building Gunpla can be so much fun, it can be a constant struggle of looks Vs practicality. There are a whole bunch of stats to consider when building Gunpla and taking your play style into consideration can help if you're not too fussed about looks. I highly recommend you find a translation guide, write down each stat and use it to help influence your builds. The only slightly simple part is the modules you use that influence a variety of things and can range from stat boosting to buffing effects... just remember to bookmark translation guides to help.

Think customisation sounds daunting? It's about to get worse! To get parts, you need to buy them from the shop with the money(GP) earned in missions and find them in stages... and you only unlock certain models in the shop after earning a certain amount of parts for the model in missions... and that's for starters! During missions the parts( which are called runners) have different colours to indicate rarity and they come in 2 different sizes, 1/144 scale(HG) and 1/100 scale(MG). It's kinda obvious that bigger is better, but rarity is key. The colours are simple to understand but will force a lot of grinding once you've found the parts that look good or you want the most powerful Gunpla parts. You may spend hours just grinding for a specific part so I hope you enjoy repeating the same mission over... and over... and over again!


I personally love Gunpla and Gundam Breaker is a dream come true for Gunpla builders like myself. Being able to customise a Gunpla that looks awesome is great and the experimenting to see what parts go well together is so much fun and you can even just rebuild you favourite Gundam from the anime too if you're imagination is lacking. The gameplay and mission can and will feel very repetitive but playing with that perfect Gunpla makes it feel like its worth it. Yes it's grindy and yes, playing online can be hard to comprehend but if you're into this stuff in say... World of Warcraft, you'll feel right at home... you just need to be a Gundam fan. Pretty much if you love the Gundam anime's and especially love Gunpla, this game is well worth importing... or you can just badger Namco Bandai Europe and America for an English physical release.

Score 4/5

Review: Super Mario 3D World

Super Mario 3D World
Plaformer
Wii U
ACB: G
RRP: AU$79.95

This game... this game... is EVIL! The Angry Video Game Nerd thinks Super Mario Bros 3 is possessed by the Devil... if that's true, then Super Mario 3D World is possessed by the Omega Devil! This game trolls you with a whole bunch of fun levels... then it gives you harder versions that punish you... then the final world makes you go crazy and goes out of it's way to not just piss you off... but make you want to kill the Nintendo level designers! Question is... despite this, is it good?


The story has been slightly changed from the norm. Bowser this time kidnaps the Sprixie princesses and Mario, Luigi, Toad and Peach... yes... Peach, go to the Sprixie Kingdom to save them. Funny thing, we finally see the Mario Bros do some "plumbing" and repair a busted clear pipe.

You may have noticed from the trailers that the game looks a lot like Super Mario 3D Land... well the game was built on the same engine yes, but unless you have a 3DHDTV it's going to be tougher. This game plays a little like SM3DL but with 5 different characters to use, it comes out feeling so different.

The 5 characters have their own strengths & weaknesses. Mario is the middle stick, Luigi slips about but can jump high, Toad is the fastest but can't just to save his life, Peach is slow but can float for a short period of time and Rosalina has a spin attack and can jump high... but she's a slow character. You'll probably stick to your favourite or one that suits your play style best, but I wouldn't get too comfortable with them.(epic foreshadowing!)

With 3D Mario games I have a love/hate relationship with them...I LOVE them, but the camera hates me and it carries on to this one. Unlike Super Mario Sunshine you can't control the camera properly and it goes out of it's way to screw you over as much as possible. The camera is limited on how you can move it and it can usually be unhelpful, even on a different angle.

The game has a world map that looks like any other recent Mario games, but you can navigate it completely and not along a scripted path. This doesn't really add anything to the experience, but you can hunt for coins, lives and secret pipes so there's something. You can also warp between the worlds easily and anytime using the map option which is a great thing to have.

The levels are very imaginative in their design. You can tell while while playing them they were designed with a lot of flexibility with the players in mind. The main levels in the game are designed to reflect the world they're in and aren't too challenging but after the credits roll, the end games levels are a whole other ball game... but I'll get into that later.

The gamepad isn't used very much in the game. The main levels it's used for are some explorer Toad levels. These will have you blowing into the mic and turning the camera to help navigate the obstacles. These levels are definitely a highlight of the game but feel like they were designed with 3D in mind and can be hard to beat. There are a few normal levels that will use the touchscreen and mic to get through it but there aren't very many of them.

A fair few of the classic power ups have come back from SM3DL but there are a couple new ones too. There's the cannon block that lets you shoot cannon balls, a goomba hat that makes things ignore you, a potted piranha plant that eats everything in sight and the star of the show... the cat bell that turns our heroes into a cat that can climb walls, swipe at enemies and do a dive bomb attack in the air.

The game has a heavy multiplayer focus, but is still a great single player experience. Before you ask, no... there's is no online multiplayer because Nintendo don't like it. Playing with other people is less irritating then in the New Super Mario Bros series and can lead to some fun shenanigans. Multiplayer can also be exploited by the solo player too since each player can can score an item to stash away and everyone has access to them, just use 3 Wiimotes to score the items and away you go. The multiplayer in this game is the most fun with others I've had in ages.

This game is also the best looking game Ive ever played, better then the original Crysis on a high end PC in my opinion. Well detailed environments filled with vibrant colours pepper the game and that soundtrack! The music is top notch and is the best in the Mario franchise to date! Visually and musically, this game is just beautiful.

The boss fights in this game outside of the returning Boomber and female Boomber are kinda unique. Kicking soccer ball bombs at Bowser on a car is my personal favourite. All the bosses still work on the 3 hit kill style as before, so nothing new there. You'll have a bit of fun playing through these fights... but lets face it, they're not very challenging.

Now onto the EVIL part of the game... the end game levels! Once you beat the main game, more worlds open up. From World Mushroom and World Flower you get remixed versions of stages designed to be harder and more irritating, but they are nothing compared to World Crown! World Crown is a completionists nightmare and is pure EVIL! It only has 3 levels but they are the hardest levels ever conceived in a Mario game... ever! The hardest one is World Crown-Crown aka Champion Road. This level will eat up 100's of lives and to make matters worse... if you're a completionist it has to be done with EVERY CHARACTER! This will drive you insane and may lead to physical violence against inanimate objects like a coffee table or the controller itself... you have been warned!


So yeah, Super Mario 3D World is a fantastic game and should be under your Christmas Tree... but it's a completionist's nightmare. Great level design, great music, fun throughout the main portion... but beware the endgame levels! I mostly had a lot of fun with the game... still have a headache thinking of Champion Road though. This is just such a great family game and it's the 2nd reason to own a Wii U with Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker HD being the main reason and The Wonderful 101 the third reason. Go buy it!

Score 5/5

Review: Assassin's Creed IV Black Flag

Assassin's Creed IV Black Flag
Action Stealth
PS3, PC, Wii U, PS4, Xbone, Xbox 360
ACB: MA15+
AU$89.95

Another year, another bloody Assassin's Creed! I know, I know, it's starting to wear thin... or is it? Has Assassin's Creed IV managed to rejuvenate our love of stabbing people? Or has it made us wish it'd hibernate for a couple years?


The story is set in the golden age of piracy... not the early 2000's but the early 18th century. We delve into the life of Edward Kenway, another one of Desmond Miles ancestors but here's the thing... Desmond's dead! In the present you play... a silent worker for the game developer... Abstergo Entertainment! You're just a drone playing in Desmond's salvaged DNA to find content in Edward Kenway's life that'd make an awesome game. As for Edward's story, he becomes a pirate to make money for a better life with his wife, kills an assassin & gets entangled in the centuries long war of the Assassins & Templar's.

With the story based in the age of pirates, you'll get to meet a few of the famous pirates of the time throughout the game like James Kidd, Black Beard & Black Bart to name a few. This also means that the navel combat introduced in Assassin's Creed III returns along with sailing... & that's the main premise of this entry. Sailing EVERYWHERE!

For those coming back, Assassin's Creed IV plays exactly like the last one, but this time... we have a likable character. You'll be stabbing your way through the regular ensemble of missions but with more that take you aboard Edward's ship, the Jackdaw... I don't like that name to be honest.

The Jackdaw is used to traverse this vast largest world in the Assassin's Creed series to date. The ship can & will need to be upgraded as you progress through the game by sinking & capturing other vessels for materials. This can be a fun time waster between missions. I probably sunk(Humour!) at least 12 hours into just sinking & capturing ships alone in this game!

Hunting also comes back in this game & is less important then ever! Why? You can buy all the skins & bones from the general store to avoid hunting all together. Sure you can hunt the animals for the items, but it's easier to just buy it & save time. The harvested materials are used to upgrade your armor & ammo capacity, so it has it's use... just doesn't justify killing whales.

To break up the fun part of the game, you play as silent Bob in the office. All you do here is hack some computers & listen to conversations. Hacking does yield some awesome info that expands the Assassin's Creed universe, but the office portions are just so... BORING!

The game has some online functionality for stupid things. The same online multiplayer mode we've played before is back but with a co op mode that's not very different. If you love the old multiplayer but want new skins, then this multiplayer is for you. The other online feature is in the single player because deh herp de derp! An extra feature called Kenway's Fleet requires the internet to do exactly what you did in the previous games with assassin recruits. In short, the online features are pointless!

If you bought the PS3 version(like I did) you'll get an Aveline DLC exclusive mission. She's from that game only a few of us played that would corrupt it's save data if you were a completionist. It's short, it's linear, it's ok. You'll breeze through it rather quickly so who cares right? It add nothing to the game or Assassin's Creed Liberation either.


Pretty much, if you played Assassin's Creed... it's more Assassin's Creed. Unlike Assassin's Creed III, the story & protagonist are almost Assassin's Creed II quality, but not quite there. It's the best Assassin's Creed game since Brotherhood & it's fun. I recommend it highly but if you don't already own it, maybe get it on PS4 or Xbox One... that or buy on a currently owned console you know works. I personally would like another game with Edward to be honest. I like him & feel more games would be good with him. Also why not make a game with Haytham Kenway?


Score 4/5

Review: Dragon's Crown

Dragon's Crown
Beat 'em up RPG
PS Vita, PS3
ACB: M
PS Vita: AU$44.95 PS3: AU$59.95

This game's been on the review block for a while but I have had other, better games get in he way... you heard me! So... how good is Dragon's Crown? Well...


For those who haven't read the reviews... why are you here? Dragon's Crown is a hybrid game of old school beat 'em ups & dungeon crawling RPGs. Yeah, think Final Fight crossed with Diablo.

The story is a little simple for an RPG. You play as one of 6 classes as a mercenary/adventurer in the land of Hydeland. You are on a quest to hunt down the Dragon's Crown & prevent the destruction of the land. Simple premise, but enough I suppose.

The 6 classes all have unique moves & difficulty to them. There's the Elf who fights with a bow, a dwarf who's a heavy hitter and can throw enemies, a knight who's a balanced character that can actually guard, a wizard that casts the spells that makes the peoples fall down, a sorceress who can buff the party and the Amazon that just looks disturbing. They all play similarly to each other, but it's the special moves that separate them.

The structure of the game is basically get quest, go to dungeon, beat dungeon, lather, rinse, repeat... always repeat! There are sidequests too but they can be cryptic & difficult. In the dungeons you'll find items & gold in chests that require the thief npc to open & it's the only way to earn equipment too! There's also runes on the wall that can be combined with ones you have to summon all sorts of buffs & other weird things & while it can be fun to see what they can be, most are locked to a specific outcome.

As for the equipment you find in dungeons(since tedium is the spice of bland) you'll need to appraise it to use it & that costs money & top of it off, it needs to be repaired! This is where 90% of your gold will go to & it's really annoying when you're broke. Even if the loot bug bites you, it'll wear thin pretty quickly.

Throughout the dungeons you'll also find piles of bones that can be revived for npc teammates. They are randomly generated characters with preset equipment & stats. What's bad about this is they don't level up & their equipment can't be changed & breaks, forcing you to keep wasting more money reviving new ones constantly.

The game does support a multiplayer option too. PS Vita has ad hoc multiplayer while PS3 supports the superior local multiplayer to get friends on the couch. Online multiplayer has the advantage of a fair few people to play with, but it goes from a co op multiplayer experience... to a competitive loot grab! You're better off playing with friends or with the npc's in my opinion.

The art & music are fantastic though. Sure the art is riskay & controversial, but damn it's beautiful to look at! The music is well composed & helps frame the world with classic medieval flare. These are probably the best things about this game sadly.


If you love the idea of the game, it's not bad... just mediocre. It starts off fun but it just devolves into a grindy bore if loot drops don't excite you. If the equipment could be bought & the story was on par with other Vanilliaware titles, I'd shout from the rooftops to buy this game. It's not a bad game at all... just not what I'd have hoped for. It's more fun with friends in local multiplayer then it is in single player though. Best description of this game is that it's extremely niche. Also the better version is the PS3 version overall so consider that one over PS Vita.


Score 3/5

Review: The Wonderful 101

The Wonderful 101
Wii U
Action Platformer
ACB: PG
AU$79.95

Damn! This has been on the back burner for months! I promised I'd review it, now hear it is! Sometimes, too many games worth owning come out at the same time & constantly over a period of months. This year it happened & this one got wash away in a sea of great games. Now finally... here's a review of The Wonderful 101.


Let's get this out of the way, yes it looks like super hero Pikmin & yes, it does share similarities but it's got a personality of it's own. The story has you playing as the global super hero team, The Wonderful 100! An alien threat known as the Gethjerk are invading Earth & it's up to our heroes to stop the alien threat from taking over the world by using the team's special ability, Unite Morph! The story does feel heavily inspired by Japanese super hero TV shows.

The game has you fighting enemies by turning your group of heroes into a variety of weapons. Each weapon is also required to defeat certain enemies & also has puzzle solving properties too. There are plenty of extra moves to learn to assist in battle as well as help with some of the puzzle solving. The puzzle solving may sound scary to the average gamer who has earned the Tea Bagging achievement in every FPS, but they aren't to frequent or difficult... combat on the other hand isn't that easy, but at least you get infinite continues.

The stages contain missions like Bayonetta(made by the same company Platinum Games) where you get locked in an area until you defeat every enemy in there and get graded on your performance & a couple them require you to solve a puzzle. You'll most likely see the consolation prize most, so don't be discouraged, enough practice & replaying the missions can net you the Pure Platinum... but it will take A LOT of skill. Switching between the before mentioned weapons is done by drawing the corresponding shape on the gamepad's touchscreen or with the right analog stick. You can also spam weapons in combat by pressing the team button instead of the attack button & trust me, you'll need to do it in a lot of battles!

On top of the gamepad being used to draw the Unite Morph shapes, it's also used in a couple of sections in the game as part of a 2 screen experience that can be... disorienting. These sections have you using both screens to solve a puzzle or navigate a section or even in one instance, fight enemies in a cockpit of a ship while also piloting it to destroy other ships & it gets really disorienting in that one! It's an interesting experiment but man... be prepared for a dizzy spell if you move your head too much!

Each stage has people to rescue... by temporarily recruiting them as heroes to add to your pool for Unite Morphs. Along with them, scattered across the stages are more members of the Wonderful 100 to find. Some are very well hidden & will require all your skills to find them all. Admittedly, they all are just there to fill the pool of heroes to use and their weapons are the same as the main characters that you get the weapons from, still finding them means more at the start of each stage.

There are plenty of collectibles to find throughout the game. Some are found with the skills you learn, others through special missions & some are found by squishing a bunch of heroes in a toilet... I'm kidding on that one... I hope! Completionists will enjoy hunting them down but if you just want to finish the game, they can be easily ignored.

Boss fights in the game range from epic, to frustrating & some switching between the two during the battle. Battles have strategic patterns to learn, so you'll need to pay attention to reduce you chance of dying... although the quick time events will beat you like an abusive parent. Yeah... just like Bayonetta, we get QTE's to aggravate you if you're not a fan of them. There are also some mini bosses too throughout the game that help add to the action, but some do become normal enemies later in the game.

The game does support local multiplayer, but it's not exactly... fun. Yes it can be "fun" if you're playing with someone else who's about as skilled as you, but it's just a better single player game then it is as a co op game. Also it's hard to keep track of who's who on screen.

There is a challenge mode call Wonderful Missions that extends the playtime past the story mode. These can be a nice challenge if you want more from the game, but I honestly prefer replaying the story mode. The challenges can also be frustrating too so don't go in thinking it'll be a cake walk!


So is The Wonderful 101 as wonderful as it's title? Well, yes in some ways. It's a fun and challenging game with a lot of character to it. The difficulty can be daunting for some, especially younger gamers but it's so much fun! This is a game that makes owning a Wii U worth while. Just buy it now before it becomes a rarity like other great classics.


Score 4/5

Review: Pokemon X and Y

Pokemon X and Y
3DS
AU$59.95
ACB: PG

It's been years since I last played a Pokemon game. The last one I play was Pokemon Diamond and I felt the game was lacking in inspiration in comparison to the superior Pokemon Ruby & Sapphire. So playing Pokemon Y was on an almost clean palette... and it was a great idea! So let's grab our Pokeballs, clean our badge case and explore the Kalos region.


Veterans know the basic story off by heart. You wanna be the very best, like no one ever was. To catch them is your real test, to train them is your cause. You will travel across the land, searching far and wide. Each Pokemon to understand, the power that's inside! Pokemon, gotta catch 'em all! Yes I know that's the first verse of the classic Pokemon anime theme... I'm old, sue me!

Anyway the story proper. You just moved to Vaniville Town of the Kalos region(Poke France!) and you have a famous mum who races on a Ryhorn. No sooner you've moved in, you're asked to join 4 other kids on a quest to explore Kalos and fill up a Pokedex and become a Pokemon trainer. Along the way you collect gym badge and run into Kalos region's evil organization know as Team Flare, who want to kill every living thing on the planet except for a selected few(insert Nazi Germany reference here). Yeah the story resembles previous games in the series with a couple of changes, like a dark and tragic legend of the region.

Gameplay is no different... or at least not different enough to notice. Sure you get the occasional horde of 5 wild Pokemon to battle and there's the Mega Evolutions but it's essentially the same turn based combat running on a rock, paper, scissors style deep combat system we know and love. Simple to learn, hard to master and someone is always better then you. I suppose the biggest difference is the ability to move in  8 directions and use roller skates.

The visuals this time around are in 3D! Yeah, we finally get a full fledged 3D Pokemon game... and the selling feature of the 3DS is restricted in the game to Pokemon battles and certain area... because kids and other stupid reasons. That doesn't matter anyway since the 3D effect is crap in the game. On the plus side, after 18 years(wow, has it really been that many years?) we can finally BE the trainer and customise them with various clothing, colour contact lenses and hairstyle options. Probably the best thing in the game is crafting the perfect look for your trainer that reflects you... or just looks good.

The Pokedex has been separated into regions of Kalos. They cover 450 out of the 718 total in the national Pokedex. To fill that Pokedex you'll need to do a lot of trading with people or if you have the older games and the Black and White DS games, you can transfer them to the new service called Pokebank(not available until 2014) and you got to pay for the service too. Personally I just say complete the Kalos Pokedex first, then transfer the Pokemon mid 2014... or leech the other Pokemon from people who choose to use the Pokebank. I'd choose leeching but that's me.

EV(event value) training has now been made easy with the new Super Training option. I never knew about EV Training until a week before Pokemon X and Y launched. In shorts, it helps boost the growth of stats to make Pokemon stronger. People will EV train for different stats to either strengthen it's dominant stats or make up for it's short comings. The Super Training is a shooting mini game where you use the touchscreen to shoot soccer balls(real footballs!) into goals that appear on a Pokemon shaped balloon. Playing these boost the associated stat and will earn you punching bags that also assist in the training as well. Super training has it's benefits, but unless you plan on battling online or at competitions... also don't battle with kids adults unless your Pokemon are not EV trained!

Along with Super Training, there's Pokemon-aime. It's essentially Nintendogs for Pokemon. There are benefits to playing this mode that affect battle so it's worth doing if you want a small advantage in battle. These benefits are Pokemon being able to cure themselves of status ailments, confusion and sleep have a shorter duration, dodge more frequently and score critical hits more frequently too. I personally don't use it very often because I'm not too fussed by it but if you want to play competitively, it's worth considering.

The major draw of any Pokemon game is the catching and raising of Pokemon. If you decide to play like Ash Ketchum(I did) and use region exclusive Pokemon... you only have 69 new Pokemon to work with and only about 50 you can use without trades. I played like this but still had a diverse enough team to beat the Pokemon League first go with only 1 Pokemon fainting... poor Aegislash, got nuked by the Mega Gardevoir the Champion used. If you however play like a normal person, there are plenty of old Pokemon here to satisfy you. Lots of returning favourites are here and you can even download a Torchic from the Mystery Gift via the internet(available until January 15 2014).

The biggest new selling point is the Mega Evolution. Mega Evolution is... we... I'll let this sentence say it all. Charizard digivolve to... Mega Charizard! Yeah, Mega Evolution is essentially digivolution straight out of Digimon. You can temporarily mega evolve certain Pokemon with a corresponding stone once per battle into a Mega form with boosted stats or in some cases, new abilities and types. Mega Evolution can change the tide of battle, but don't really matter much against a diverse enough team.

These games have online features up the wazoo! So much can be done online that it's crazy! Online trading, battles, blind trades just to get started. There are O Powers that can boost a variety of things and you can use them on yourself or share with people online. You can sync you game to your PGL(Pokemon Global Link) if you have one. To be honest, a lot of the online features will probably not be used, especially since you won't know what they do. If you know and can use all the online features, then have at it. I'll stick to trades and online battles.


Man this seems to be getting long. Pokemon games have so much in them to talk about. Well Pokemon X and Y are very similar to the previous games. Veterans will enjoy the few new changes and newcomers can come into it, without being too overwhelmed... but kids will need an adult to help them through. As usual, Pokemon remains a great RPG for young and old. The online features kinda screw people over with slow internet connections(*cough* Australia *cough!*) and people with not no interent connection what so ever. Regardless, anyone can enjoy Pokemon and the new entries are well worth playing, maybe even more now then previous entries. If you feel too old for Pokemon however, there's always Dragon Quest, Mistwalker JRPGs like The Last Story and Lost Odyssey, pre Square-Enix merger Final Fantasy's and well... any JRPG really... especially Chrono Trigger! In my opinion, you're never too old for Pokemon and if you have kids, you should play it with them and share the experience with them like any good parent should.

PS. A patch was released and can be downloaded via the eShop that fixes a save data bugs that corrupts your save data when saving in Lumiose City. Remember to do it as soon as possible and save elsewhere to be on the safe side.

Score 4/5

Review: The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker HD

Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker HD
Wii U
ACB: PG
AU$79.95

I love the Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker! When I heard a HD remake was coming out on Wii U, I was both excited... an sceptical. Luckily, the HD version doesn't disappoint. There are a few tweaks to this game and none of them are unwelcome... unless you're using the original Prima strategy guide with the giant see chart that I have.


The story of the Wind Waker is a little different from other Zelda titles. It's Link's birthday! You celebrate you birthday by visiting your nan, getting your sister's telescope for the day and rescuing her from a giant bird. The first half is the quest to save your sister from Ganon and the second half is the quest to power up the Master Sword and quest to find the Triforce of Courage.

The game is mostly unchanged from the Gamecube original.Touchscreen menus are nice and you can switch items without pausing the game(though you can if you'd like) and being able to have the map on the gamepad is also great to have and is probably the best use of the gamepad in my opinion. The addition of a Swift Sail speeds up travel time for those who don't enjoy sailing on the Great Sea for long periods of time. The Triforce piece quest has been condensed to 3 charts to find and 5 pieces you can find where their original sea charts were located. There are some mechanical tweaks too to speed up things and none of the changes detract from the original experience.

The biggest change however are the Tingle Bottles. Gone is the Tingle Tuner that was used to find Tingle Statues and hidden treasures and replaced with the ability to pollute the Great Sea with messages from other players. Pretty much, the Tingle Bottle allows you to put messages and Picto Box images into bottles that are thrown into the ether and wind up randomly in the middle of the Great Sea or near the coast of the islands in other players games. Be prepared for thousands of selfies with dumb messages... even from me. I kinda miss the Tingle Tuner and wish both were in the game but I guess Nintendo wanted to experiment for future games here.

Gameplay is the same as the Gamecube version, but the gyroscope in the gamepad can be used for aiming projectile weapons like the hookshot and bow. Along with that the touchscreen can be used for the Wind Waker if the right analog stick doesn't work well enough for you. You can use a Pro Controller if you want for a more classic feel... but it's kinda pointless and I'd have used one if it was designed like a Gamecube controller. Pretty much, it play like any 3D Zelda and newcomers get given enough tutorials in the gameplay to not get overwhelmed all at once.

The HD visual upgrade has improved the lighting and clarity of the visuals but you can still see the sharp edges in the 3D models. If you are a graphics snob this may bug you, but it is less noticeable if you play on the SD gamepad screen if you'd prefer. The sound has also been updated with new samples that are clearer then the originals but still use the original arrangements. Hearing better quality music in a game that already had great music may will bring a tear to your eye...unlike what Square-Enix has done with Final Fantasy X|X-2 Remaster when they butchered the original music without caring what the original composer or the fans think.

The game can be short or long, depending on how you attack it. There are only 5 major dungeons in the game, but there's so much extra you can do to extend the time. If you play like I do, you can extend the time by leaps and bound to over 50 hours. There are sidequests, treasure charts and heart pieces to go hunting if you wish and can help survive later points in the game much easier. If you want to maximize play time, go to every island after getting each new item and play without a playguide if you love exploration like I do.

The world in Wind Waker is huge if you take the sea into consideration so travel time takes a while, even with the Swift Sail. Thing is, the islands are pretty small. When you think about it, it's no different to the fields of other Zelda games. There are tons of secret caverns throughout the world, so exploring the world is well worth the travel... or you can just use the Song of Gales like we used to abuse in the Gamecube original.


Anyway, this is still my favourite Legend of Zelda game and the changes make it slightly better then the original.Well worth buying a Wii U for and regardless of you already owning a Gamecube copy or new to Zelda games, it's a must have. It's a fun game with a cartoon like design that gives the characters more personality then any other Zelda made. I can honestly say that playing this game again, made me cry tears of joy.
Score 5/5

Review: Tales of Xillia

Tales of Xillia
PS3
ACB: PG
AU$89.95

Oh my god, reviewing JRPGs can take a while! Seriously I could have just thrown one together, but I thought I'd dump more time into it and get a better feel for everything. Well it's been over a month since I got it so I'd say it's about time.


Story for this one is split into two perspectives. The main story isn't different, regardless of who you choose... but some parts will focus on whichever character you chose. Anyway the story is about Milla's mission to destroy the items known as Spyrix and more specifically, a weapon known as the Lance of Kresnik. Jude gets dragged into her mission by accident and continues to follow Millia... obviously he is attracted to her and follows her around like a lost puppy. Along the journey you'll meet the lovable and mysterious Alfred, a little girl with powerful artes called Elize and a strange living doll named named Teepo who bites Jude's head, Jude's childhood friend and token Tifa character named Leia and finally Rowen, the elderly man who's wise and a gentleman. I'll stop the story recap there because... spoilers are kinda jerky. Besides, I'm sure a lot of you have already bought the game and maybe still playing through it.

Well joy of joys! Unlike Tales of Graces f, the gameplay has returned to the classic styles with a couple changes for the better. There are a few tweaks to talk about and all are given tutorials that can be referred to at anytime in the menu. The combat has a new linking system which allows you to partner up with a party member to pincer attack a target and support you. While linking you fill a gauge that allows you to perform linked artes and when it's completely filled, you can chain linked artes and go into Over Limit.

Your attacks are restricted to a certain amount per cycle, but each cycle is as quick as the normal "Tales of" games unlike Tales of Graces f. Its so much better then Graces f since you can get skills that increase the maximum amount temporarily by performing a certain number combo and they can keep stacking as you fight. Also, the fact that it's cycle is the same as say... Tales of Symphonia makes combat fast like Tales of Vesperia, but more enjoyable since you can rake up really high combos... like maybe a 627 hit combo like I did with a minimum damage skill.

As for the leveling system, they've borrowed and improved the Sphere Grid from Final Fantasy X. They essentially played with it in a way that's easy to grasp and can actually be filled at the max level. Each level earns you points to use on the Lilium Orb(this games Sphere Grid) and you chose which direction to go on the varying paths of the spider web. Filling a complete segment will earn you a skill or arte and each node is a stat boost. It's simple, easy to use and each character's Lilium Orb are unique to each character.

Speaking of Final Fantasy X, the progression of the game is the same. No more boring world map! It's travel the world on foot... with a fast travel option to get around to previous locations. Despite that, it also isn't linear like Final Fantasy X and XIII are. I feel this style has improved the game and makes the journey feel more important and epic like all those helicopter shots from The Lord of the Rings movies. I love JRPGs in general and this game really nailed the adventure for me.

The game has a whole bunch of sidequest/sub events to keep you occupied between story events, though some can and maybe even be missed during your first playthrough. The sidequest are the usual styles of kill this, get that item, deliver that and extra story events to flesh out the characters. I'd suggest trying not to miss any because they really do help fill the back story of the characters and get to know them better.

To top of the sub events to flesh out characters, Skits make a return to do the same. Skits have always been a thing that draws me into the interactions of the characters and no other JRPG does this disappointingly. There are so many story based skits to enjoy and a whole bunch that require a prerequisite to see. If you care about the characters of a narrative, you'll want to get as many of these as possible.

The title system is different in this entry. The title system has been downgraded to an achievement system with some giving you trophies... yay, but they also earn you grade points for reward after beating the game. The rewards are worth it in the end for the unique advantages you can unlock and some of the titles are worth getting for the joy of proving how good you are. You will need to replay the game to unlock all the titles but it's totally worth it.

Random loots litter the roads, towns and dungeons throughout the game. These range from money, enemy drops and other items. The items you find in random loot are used to upgrade the stores... yeah, you can fund the shops with the junk you find to unlock more gear and better items. This is a must if you want the best gear and you may even get better equipment before you really need it. Best thing, all the shops share the stock so there's no need to back track to other towns just for specific items.


Overall, this is one of the best games in the "Tales of" series. A great story coupled with great combat and really great music and visuals, makes it a great experience. With an improved combat system and no world map travel to slog through, this game is more accessible then ever. I highly recommend this game to both veterans and newcomers alike. Personally I still like Tales of Symphonia more than this for story, but this game has the best combat of the series and it's worth replaying at least twice.

Score 5/5

Review: DuckTales Remastered

DuckTales Remastered
Wii U eShop, Steam, PSN, XBLA
Price: AU$19.50 and up
ACB:G

I was going to review Tales of Xillia today, but this got in the way. The retro gamer in me demanded I buy and play this while the reviewer in me wanted something easier to review than a JRPG. I will get to my Tales of Xillia review soon but you know what they say, "Life is like a hurricane." Woo-ooh!


If you are a little young, DuckTales was an 80's cartoon from Disney before they produced all those pathetically crappy live action TV comedies that they spend too much money on. In 1989 a game for an old gaming console called the Nintendo Entertainment System(made by Mattel, the same guys who made Barbie dolls) based on the cartoon came out that gamers still praise today. Flash forward to today and WayForward, Capcom and Disney have revived the game to fit into modern gaming with a HD coat of paint, redesigned levels and nerfed lower difficulties for greenhorns to get used to it. They also added a map in the pause menu too, though not really needed in my opinion.

This HD remake of the NES DuckTales has now adapted a story to a game with a vague plot(Hey Nintendo, take notes from the guys behind this game). Basically Scrooge Mc Duck's money bin gets attacked by the Beagle Boys(a family of thieves) and after thwarting their assault, finds a treasure map that leads to 5 rare treasures. The duck pensioner has nothing better to do so he goes out to hunt them with his nephews(Huey, Dewey and Louie), Launchpad Mc Quack(his pilot) and other members of the DuckTales cast.

The game is a classic 2D platformer... duh. It's a golden age game! Well the plays like a Megaman game and the original was actually made by Megaman team members. It's now been given a HD 2.5D makeover and cutscenes are now added even in the stages themselves. Scrooge uses a cane to defeat enemies by whacking blocks or rocks into them or pogo jump on their heads and pogo jumping can also be used to jump to higher platforms too.

The game follows a non linear path with a level select screen for the 5 main stages but also features 2 new levels that serves as a tutorial for newcomers and a new final level to replace retreading through the Transylvania stage. The 5 main stages(Amazon, Transylvania, African mines, Himalayas and the Moon) all feature item hunting to progress, a boss fight and tons of loot to nab.

Veterans will be glad to know that the controls feel just right and Hard difficulty comes close to the brutal NES difficulty we know and love and removes the map.. If you beat Hard mode you'll unlock an Extreme mode designed more for us and it's definitely worth it. You can also toggle between pogo settings to have it old school or holding a button but I welcomed the one button approach.

The major differences between this version and the original NES version are the 2 new levels, redesigned classic levels, the story cutscenes that make it feel like a lost episode of the cartoon, extra hearts in the normal and easy difficulty and new boss patterns. None of these are deal breakers to retro fans wanting to relive their childhood.

To complement the game, a gallery has been added that's filled with artwork and even the music from this and the original game are their to enjoy. All the money you collect in the game can be used in the gallery to unlock all those goodies and encourages replaying the game to see all the gallery has to offer. It's like a virtual artbook and soundtrack CD!

Visuals in the game will be a mixed bag to some. The 2D graphics look magnificent, but cutscenes don't have the sprites mouths move. The 3D graphics on the other hand look like they came out of Kingdom Hearts on the PS2. Personally I liked both the 2D and 3D graphics and I feel they work well together. The music is tantalising to the ears and the sounds and voice acting are perfect. Yes, the 8-Bit music tracks have been recomposed and keep the original melodies while the surviving cast of the original cartoon bring the classic characters back to life.

The Wii U version of the game brings off TV play for when you have to share your TV or continue on the toilet and the touchscreen can be used for the map instead of pausing. Playing on a Nintendo console will feel better to some retro gamers too and the gamepad feels better to play this with than a PS3 or Xbox 360 controller... at least to me it did.


There's such a great satisfaction to finally be able to dive into the money bin and swim around after all these years. The game retains it's retro roots while making small tweaks to make it more accessible to newcomers. When you stuff up in the game you feel like it's your fault and not the games which is a nice change from more modern glitch fill beta version games we pay full retail for. It's a cheap game well worth the price, heck I'd pay double for a physical retail copy! Whether you're seeking nostalgia or desiring a well done platformer, DuckTales Remastered won't disappoint despite what Gamespot says. Go buy it and lets hope DuckTales 2 gets remastered too!

Score 5/5

Review: New Super Luigi U

New Super Luigi U
Wii U/eShop
RRP: AU$59.95/AU$29.95
ACB: G

Well... this is a change. Me reviewing DLC? Well... technically I am and aren't doing that. I bought the retail version for double the price of the digital DLC for New Super Mario Bros U, so it's a stand alone game. Confusing huh? Well here's a review of New Super Luigi U... a retail game and DLC.


Let's get one thing out of the way. Plot is the exact same as New Super Mario Bros U, only Mario has been removed. Mario games have never been about complex narrative... or narrative in general. Beside we don't play Mario games for story, we play for fun... or in this games case, masochism!

The game/DLC has a few differences to New Super Mario Bros U. Luigi controls radically different then he did before and now... he controls like a shopping trolley(shopping cart to the rest of you). Luigi controls similarly to how he did in the NES classic Super Mario Bros 2 so he can jump higher, stay airborne longer and has a problem stopping precisely.

Nabbit has been added to the game to take Mario's place and he seems to be designed more for newer players since he can't be killed by enemies and doesn't gain power ups from items... this means he can steal power ups so other players can't use them... making Nabbit a troll character. I personally think it was a bad choice to add Nabbit as a playable character, but that's mainly me hating getting screwed over by my cheeky nephew.

Even though it uses the same map as New Super Mario Bros U, each stage is designed differently and is shorter with a 100 second timer. This also means that the difficulty has been ramped up to NES level difficulty... like Ninja Gaiden 2 on NES difficulty! Speaking of difficulty, it seems to have an erratic and inconsistent difficulty curve that has some earlier stages being harder then some of the later ones. This difficulty could be a deterrent to newcomers, so get newbies used to New Super Mario Bros U first.

Hidden within each stage are "hidden Luigi's" and they don't do anything at all. They come in various designs from retro to modern and vary in size. Despite the playguides have hidden Luigi locations, they are only there as blatant Easter eggs.

Gamers who hate the Wiimote will be glad to know that with an update to New Super Mario Bros U, you can use the Wii U Pro Controller and the retail version of New Super Luigi U supports that out of the box. If you play the games with the kids, I say keep them on Wiimotes since they can burn energy shaking it. Using the Pro Controller is exactly the same as playing with the Gamepad in single player so it'll be an ergonomic choice to use it. 5 player co op is still the same in case you were wonder but I've honestly never heard of anyone ever playing with 5 players outside of events.


Well this was shorter then expected, but it's better then repeating my New Super Mario Bros U review. The game is punishing, but fun... until you put your hand through a coffee table.. my hands still hurts from that. It's a great game/DLC and gives us more Mario goodness but it's difficulty will make it more of a veterans only territory. I definitely think it's worth your money but go retail is my recommendation despite the price. If you do go digital, make sure if you have a white Wii U that you have an external hard drive first. Regardless, it's well worth the money but kids may get frustrated with the difficulty before you or veteran gamers do.

Score 4/5

Review: Resident Evil Revelations

Resident Evil Revelations
Wii U, PS3, Xbox 360, PC 3DS
RRP:AU$59.95
ACB: MA15+

Another Wii U review? Are you mental? No I'm not, I just like the Wii U and this version is almost identical to the 3DS version so it made sense to me! I never got to play this on 3DS version so I'm glad this HD reskin was made. Any who, lets get this review on the road.


The story of Resident Evil Revelations is set between Resident Evil's 4 and 5, so it's a prequel... sequel... whatever! You mostly play as Jill with some guy named Parker searching the cruise ship Queen Zenobia for fellow BSAA agent Chris Redfield and info on the terrorist group Veltro, Chris is teamed with a woman named Jessica looking for Jill & searching for Veltro and 2 guys who shouldn't really be out in the field named Quint and Keith doing guess what? Looking for info on Veltro. There's drama about with betrayal, conspiracy and loss. All that's missing is a pregnancy and a love triangle. Well... that's Resident Evil for you!

Game plays just like Resident Evil 5 for the most part with a dedicated healing and grenade button. Wii U has most of the stuff mapped to the touchscreen just like the 3DS(I have seen reviews for it and screenshots). The game has adopted Resident Evil 3's dodge mechanic and it's as finicky as ever! You can choose a classic and shooter style control scheme to suit you but I prefer the classic because of familiarity. Another thing, the lack of a laser pointer SUCKS! Sure a crosshair is more "accurate" but at least with a laser, I know if it's on the target properly or not!

The gamepad for the game does feel a little awkward at first to use because of it's size, but you soon forget about it. As mentioned before it's touchscreen mirrors everything the 3DS one does and that means bigger map, a touchscreen unlocking mini game and items that can be quick selected from it. If you're crazy, you can just have the touchscreen mirror the TV and lose the bigger map and touch controls or just use a Pro Controller and convince yourself that the AU$70 you wasted on it was a worth while purchase. You can play off the TV if you'd like but if you are, it's not worth it in my opinion.

Resident Evil Revelations has a bit in common with Resident Evil 4. Visually it's on par with the HD upgrade of Resident Evil 4 and the atmosphere is a lot like it and the older Resident Evil's too.When using the classic controls you're anchored to the ground... unless you hold the strafe button but forget that exists if you want a more survival oriented experience. I think they really nailed the atmosphere in the game to be honest.

The game is split up into 12 episodes, each with parts where you switch to different teams and moments in the story. A new feature they added has the game recap what's happened in the previous episode every time you load a game or start the next episode so you never get lost in the story. As you'd expect... it's cheesy. Kinda like Days Of Our Lives crossed with Dragon ball Z, but with mutant zombie things.

Like more modern Resident Evil games, the guns can be customized. Instead of using cash, you find upgrade parts throughout the game. Each gun can only hold a certain amount of parts and some will only work with specific types of gun. You also only carry a small amount of ammo for each gun but ammo capacity upgrades can be found throughout the game and they are a welcome find, trust me!

The game has a unique item though. It's called a Genesis scanner. "What does it do?" you may ask, well it's a scanner... duh! Well, it can be used to scan the environment for hidden items and is extremely useful when low on ammo and you can scan enemies to fill a % gauge to earn healing herbs. You can also use it to find hand prints for an achievement... oh yeah, this game even on Wii U has achievements... yuck!

The enemies in the game all kinda look alike for the most part with slight differences with the exception of Hunters and zombie wolves. The enemies are kinda grey versions of the creatures you'd expect to see in Silent Hill and are always swaying about, no a bad thing but it can get annoying considering the low ammo you have throughout the game. The boss type monsters are some serious bullet sponges though, one even plays Nemesis with you and keeps coming back.

The story mode will last roughly 12 hours and like in newer Resident Evil games, it sports a New Game+ mode where all your upgrades and guns carry over to the next playthrough as well as any unlocked from achievements. Yeah... talk about backing you into a corner with those huh?

The crown jewel of the game, surprisingly is Raid mode. In this mode, you select a character and play through parts of the game you've played in the story mode but with the goal of earning BP to buy stuff and exp to level up... yeah, big online focus there. Raid mode is playable both online and solo offline. I wouldn't recommend playing it offline because it's hard solo and the extra gun/meat shield comes in handy. As you run through each gauntlet of a stage, you'll find ammo, health and upgrades like in the story mode but here's the sucky part... your ammo and herbs carry over! Yep, you'll need to restock between stages when low on ammo just to survive... which happens a lot!

Raid mode does have a shop to buy weapons, herbs, upgrades, expanded weapons storage and capacity upgrades. Funny thing about the shop, the items change each time you visit. The currency used is BP, which I assume means Battle Points. How do you earn BP? By playing the game... seriously you just play the game and you earn it in story and Raid mode. The amount earned is dependant on your results, medals shot/collected and extra points earned by killing certain enemies or with the Metal Detector upgrade.

While playing Raid mode online I hardly had any lag surprisingly from the Nintendo Network or games that have been disconnected. Another thing, don't cycle through the shop when playing online since it annoys the other players and the may boot you from the game because of it. I love this little feature when playing online, you can use the inbuilt mic on the gamepad to communicate with other players instead of shelling out extra money on a headset. If you do decide to use it I recommend using a set of headphones so you can hear them clearer , even though the sound can be heard from the gamepad's speakers.

So... worth your time? At AU$60, most definitely! I'd say any version, even the 3DS one is worth it. Just get the version for the console you have but I recommend the Wii U version for a more original experience or the 3DS version because it was the original. I also forgot about the buttons that were mapped because using the touchscreen was so intuitive for me. It's more of a Resident Evil game then both Resident Evil: Operation Raccoon City and Resident Evil 6 and shouldn't be missed if you're a diehard Resident Evil fan. I love this game more then Resident Evil's 5, 6 and Operation Raccoon City put together... but still not as much as Resident Evil 4 Wii Edition.

Score 4/5

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