Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts Review

 

Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts, available only on the Xbox 360.

If you grew up in the late 90's and you liked video games, chances are you had an N64. The Playstation definitely ruled the 5th generation in terms of overall sales; but to the adolescent American boy, the N64 was king. You played platformers, shooters, fighters and puzzle games, and you had a blast. However, out of all the games there were to play other than Goldeneye 007, there was one which probably left the biggest mark on you, and that game was Banjo-Kazooie.

Banjo-Kazooie was like Super Mario 64 on crack. It was fun, filled with with humor, had great graphics, tight controls, and was absoutely brimming with things to do and places to explore. It really was the greatest platformer ever made at the time. In fact, it was so great, and so successful, that it sold over 3 million units and even spawned a sequel, Banjo-Tooie (released in 2000), which sold very well in its own right.

Fast forward now to the year 2008. Banjo and Kazooie, the two titular characters from the wildly popular series, had not seen a true entrance to the gaming world for over 8 years. Rare, the company that developed the series, decided to bring them back on the Xbox 360 with a new game known as Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts.

Now, the thing that makes this particular game noteworthy is that it defied everyone's expectations. While the original two titles were straight-up platformers that focused on fighting and exploration, Nuts & Bolts completely overhauled that design and became a vehicle-centric creation game based around the concept of designing and manipulating machines of your own design.

Needless to say, when the game was released, reception was quite divided. Banjo-Kazooie purists were upset by the drastic changes that had taken place. Gone were the days of flying around Treasure Cove or stomping ants at Mumbo's Mountain: this was a new type of Banjo game, and it was not welcomed by most of the gaming community.

As a result of all this brouhaha, the game was not rated particularly well by most publications, and the game failed to meet the sales expectations set by its predecessors. It sold little more than a half of a million units, and garnered a 79% Metacritic rating. Times were not looking good for Banjo & Kazooie.

However, despite all of this relatively negative reception, I find myself open to the changes made in the series. While it is true that Nuts & Bolts does not really play like one of the Banjo-Kazooie games that I enjoyed so highly in my youth, it is nevertheless a fun romp through an absolutely beautiful game world filled with funny characters and situations. Though it may not possess similar gameplay to the games that came before it, it has every bit as much soul, and even though I know its easy to dismiss a game for taking such radical chances, I can honestly say that in this case it works, and if you give Banjo-Kazooie Nuts & Bolts a try, you might find that you really enjoy it.

Gameplay

Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts isn't very much like its predecessors, as it features vehicle-based combat and exploration over traditional platforming. To complete tasks, you will no longer rely on Banjo and Kazooie's physical abilities but rather vehicles which possess similar skills.

The lack of any special powers is not the only thing that is missing from Nuts & Bolts. Perhaps the greatest shift in gameplay comes from the new focus on "challenges". Challenges are essentially timed events that are initiated by speaking with characters in the world. These tasks will usually revolve around racing, collecting items, shooting down enemies, or any number of different things. By completing these challenges, you will receive golden jigsaw pieces known as "Jiggies", which are used in opening up new worlds for you to explore. Unfortunately, the whole process just isn't all that fun. After competing in a race for the 10th time, the novelty of it will wear off, and you'll quickly find yourself wishing you could collect Jiggies in the ways that you use to.

Luckily, the challenges are not the reason you're going to want to play Nuts & Bolts. Instead, you're going to be spending most of your time with the game's brilliant vehicle creation system. Using this robust tool, you can create almost any vehicle you could possibly imagine with the use of over 100 unique parts, ranging from jet engines to flotation devices. The sheer number of things you can build is just incredible, and you'll derive a lot of enjoyment out of thinking up new machines to create.

Even though the game is heavily focused on the use of vehicles, don't think that you won't see any of the old gameplay. When you're not exploring various game worlds and completing the challenges hidden within them, you'll be spending most of your time in a hub area known as "Showdown Town". Showdown Town is a large, sprawling city which you can traverse either on-foot or with the assistance of a small buggy. The town acts as not only a way to access new levels, but also as an environment which you can explore in search of items known as "Mumbo Crates". These crates are valuable in that they house new vehicle parts for you to use, and by bringing them back to a shop in town known as "Mumbo's Motors", you'll be granted access to what they hold. While its definitely very addicting and fun to search the town for these crates, especially since most are only accessible by foot, it would have been nice if some crates were also hidden within the game worlds themselves, as it would have provided more incentive for players to revisit levels.

Speaking of levels, Nuts & Bolts features 6 massive worlds. Many of these worlds, such as "Nutty Acres" and "Logbox 720", are entirely new to the franchise. However, some like "Banjoland" are obvious homages to levels from the older games- but this is in no way a bad thing. You'll be visiting a lot of exotic locales, and they are generally very fun to explore because they have multiple sections. In the case of Nutty Acres for example, the environment is home to grassy fields, a volcano, a farm, multiple mountains and cliffs, a gigantic rock pool, an entire ocean, and multiple islands to compliment it. It's unfortunate that all of this ornate beauty and mastery of design goes to waste simple because there aren't enough challenges or secrets in each world to make the level worth exploring. As previously mentioned, the inclusion of world-based Mumbo Crates would make individual areas a lot more fun to revisit, but outside of the semi-secret "Jinjo" challenges, which are really just rehashes of regular challenges, there isn't much reason to come back once you've cleared a world of the tasks it offers.

Now although the vehicles in Nuts & Bolts generally work very well and the game controls excellently, there are definitely some issues when it comes to driving land-based machines. Unlike boats, planes or anything that floats on air or water, ground vehicles can be very annoying to drive simply because the ground is often too bumpy and there are far too many objects in the environment. If you wanted to make a sports car for example, one that moved in a fast, silky way- you can probably forget about it. The land is literred with trees, boxes, and a whole other series of different objects which seem to have no purpose other than to annoy you. They will get in your way, cause you to crash, prevent you from turning correctly, and basically just make the entire experience a chore. This problem would have been very easy to fix by simply giving the vehicles more grip and making the environments flatter.

Despite its new focus on vehicles and time-based challenges, Banjo-Kazooie retains all of the humor and lore of its previous installments. If you grew up playing the N64 games and are fond to once again revisit such characters as Bottles the Mole or Mr. Fit, you'll be pleasantly surprised, as almost all of these characters reprise their roles and are filled to the brim with funny anecdotes and stories- many of which feature references to the older games, or to other Rare-made games entirely. There are definitely a lot of laughs to be had, and some of the situations the characters find themselves in are hilarious. However, one thing I very much disliked about the whole experience of interacting with the game's characters was that everyone seemed washed up and uncaring. Throughout the majority of the adventure, and particularly at the end, the characters constantly break the fourth wall and talk about how this might be their last game. They are also typically cast in an unfavorable light that makes them seem like archaic, has-been video game characters that no one could possibly love- when in reality, they are some of the most beloved of all time. All of this contributes to a somewhat depressing mood which gives off an "end of an era" vibe that I just don't like.

All in all, Nuts & Bolts features some great gameplay. The worlds you can visit are gigantic and filled with imagination, Showdown Town is just begging to be explored, there are plenty of funny characters to talk to, and the vehicle creation tool is perhaps one of the greatest custom content systems ever made. It's just unfortunate that a series of repetative challenges, poor-vehicle controls and an overall depressing end-game mood are what holds Nuts & Bolts back from true greatness. Regardless, the game is still fun, and if you're someone who enjoys creating things, this is about as good as you can get on the Xbox 360.


Presentation

Unlike its gameplay which is a balance of extremely fun and sometimes frustrating, the visuals and audio of Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts is neigh-on perfect in almost every way. It looks great, it sounds great, and the art design is fantastic.

The most noticable thing about Nuts & Bolt's presentation is how amazing everything looks, particularly the environments. The worlds you explore are so gigantic that some seem to stretch for miles. Every little nook and cranny is filled with detail and is complimented by lighting and texturing that looks like it shouldn't even be possible on a console this old. Nothing looks washed out or seems subject to a designer's laziness- these graphics were truly a labor of love.

More impressive than the technical quality of the graphics though is the game's art style. In keeping with the "creation" motif that the game supports, many of the areas in the game are inspired by industrial designs. Trees will be made out of planks and big, green, metal balls, the sky will be filled with big cast-iron clouds that are rotated by a giant set of gears, and the ground looks like patchwork. While this is not always true, as different levels will feature different themes, this same level of imagination is prevelant throughout. One area that is particularly impressive would be Banjoland, which is an amalgamation of different levels from the original Banjo-Kazooie. It has a desert, a dock, a gigantic snowman, a little soccer stadium- even its own lake. It is just incredible, and fans of the series will no doubt experience heavy nostalgia at the sight of it. The only thing that mars the whole presentation of this particular level and ones of similar scope is the frame rate. You'll often find that when in a very large area populated with lots of moving parts or enemies, the game will start to chug, and you'll begin to understand its limits. Regardless though, this doesn't happen enough to make any serious impact on your experience, so its nothing to worry about.

In addition to the amazingly beautiful landscapes that you will explore, all of the game's characters look fantastic- particularly the ones that you've come to know and love. While the randomly generated, non-descript NPC's that wander about Showdown Town aren't nearly as impressive as the others, there is no doubt in my mind when I say that every character really does look good. They have lovely texturing, great animation, and look very unique and interesting.

Of course, none of the game's beauty would be relevant if it weren't complimented by equally amazing sound design. Thankfully, Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts features some of the best in the business. In a word, the soundtrack is infectious. While it mostly recycles older songs from the original two games, they have been updated and given orchestral treatment. They are memorable, catchy, and a joy to listen to. If you aren't impressed by the diversity and soul of the songs, you probably just don't like music in general.

The sound effects are no slump either. When cars crash, they make a realistic sound, or when something explodes, it really booms and shakes. Everything sounds as you would expect it to sound, particularly the characters. If you are a fan of the original games, you'll definitely remember how the characters spoke in gibberish as opposed to actual language. While this was cool for awhile, it got very annoying because you'd hear the gibberish throughout the whole conversation. Seeing that as relatively annoying, Rare has fixed this problem in Nuts & Bolts by giving each of the characters a relatively brief sound before their respective dialogue in a similar way to the Ocarina of Time.

When it comes to comes to presentation, Rare has always been the king. Throughout the N64 years their games were known for sporting incredible sound tracks and having graphics that defied the expectations of what was expected. Thankfully, Rare hasn't lost a single bit of talent in this department, and they are better than ever. Aside from the occasional frame rate stutter when exploring large areas, there is really no way in which Nuts & Bolts needs technical improvement.

Value


Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts packs a lot of content- some of which you might enjoy, some of which you might not. Unfortunately, because the challenges are generally very boring, collecting all 131 Jiggies is probably not something you're willing to shoot for. If you're a completionist, or if you actually enjoy all of the races and events you'll have to go through to get collect everything, then you'll have a lot of replay value here.

However, if you're like me and you don't enjoy the repetitive challenges, you'll have the most fun by creating your own vehicles. Thankfully, due to all of the parts you have at your disposal, creating almost anything you want isn't impossible, and for this reason, the tool is essentially limitless. You can make cars, trucks, planes, helicopters, hovercrafts, bouncing vehicles, or even a combination of everything. You're even able to color each and every part of the vehicle in the way that you want, so you can make something very unique.

Creating these vehicles would be basically pointless if you had no reason to use them though, but luckily they are useful for completing any challenges you might wish (specifically ones you actually enjoyed) and trying to get a better score for a better reward, or you can bring them into the test-o-track and try them out on a nice, flat surface with plenty of ways to perform tricks and measure the abilities of your machine.

Of course, if all of this still doesn't appeal to you, you have about 60 different Mumbo Crates to search for in Showdown Town, as well as secrets, Notes (which are used to purchase new vehicle parts at a special shop), and there are various sidequests to do.

Though a relatively minor aspect of the game, there is a multiplayer mode in Nuts & Bolts. It features typical matchmaking and some interesting game modes, but nothing revolutionary. The only real reason to play it is for the opportunity to use your created vehicles against your enemies- which really is fun. Unfortunately, there aren't many people on the game these days, and finding a match can be hard. Still, it's nice to have the option.

Without the inclusion of the vehicle builder, there really wouldn't be any reason to come back to Nuts & Bolts once the game was finished, seeing as every aspect of the replay value is based around the idea that you can collect new parts and create new machines out of them. Thankfully though, you can create your own vehicles, and this is where you'll find the most fun. However, as mentioned, there are other options, specifically searching for secrets, crates, and quests, so it's not like the game is totally one-dimensional. All of this is assuming you'll even want to continue playing however, as the main game will take you between 20 and 30 hours to complete, mostly due to the fact that you'll spend a large amount of time in the shop tweaking your creations.

When you think about everything you get with Nuts & Bolts, there's definitely no reason to cry foul. You get an extremely long single-player mode with lots of extra items to collect after its done, a robust vehicle builder, somewhat fun multiplayer, and lots of interesting secrets to uncover. While some of this content will no doubt appeal more to some than to others, you can't complain, as there really is something for everyone.

Conclusion

In its day, Nuts & Bolts never really got the critical or commerical acclaim that it deserved. However, despite a few problems, namely with its character's social atmosphere and its land-vehicle controls, Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts is, in my mind, one of the best games available on the Xbox 360. It is absolutely beautiful, it has an amazing sound track, there are many funny and wonderful characters to ineract with, a ton of things to collect, and best of all, a creation tool which is unmatched across the platform. If you are a fan of Banjo-Kazooie, creation games, or platforming games in general, you'd definitely be doing yourself a favor by picking up Nuts & Bolts. It's definitely worth it.


Final Score: 8.5/10

Brink Review

 

Brink, available on Xbox 360, Playstation 3, and PC. 

Sometimes we are attached to things despite their flaws. Sometimes we see the good in something, even if there is a veneer of bad on the outside. It could be falling in love with someone who has a bad temper, or it could be holding on to your first car even when you know its old and rusty. Indeed, there are many times that we will find ourselves in situations like these, and in fact, I am in such a situation right now with a game called Brink.

Now let me clear things up for you a little. Brink is a first person shooter video game available on the Xbox 360, PS3, and PC. Early on in its development, it was hyped as being the end-all-be-all of class-based shooters. Brink was going to take the core, fundamental values of  PC class-shooters like Team Fortess or Enemy Territory and smooth them out with pretty graphics, slick interfaces, and streamlining all around. Brink was going to be the best of its kind.

Unfortunately, things didn't quite go as planned. Upon its release about two months ago, Brink was almost universally panned by critics. The reasons behind this sudden surge of unpleasant reviews were many, but among them, the idea that Brink delivered a very mediocre package was chief. Everyone started talking about how laggy the game was, how the textures took forever to load, how the objectives weren't dynamic, and how there weren't enough maps. People made it seem like the game was some kind of rush-job that had absolutely no redeeming qualities whatsoever, and to be frank, this is just not true.

I will admit, that in some areas, Brink does lack. However, these faults are almost entirely contained within the visual aspects of the game, and in truth, they do not hinder the experience all that much. While there are areas in which Brink needs improvement, the truth of the matter is that Brink is the class-based shooter you have been waiting for, and if you can just look past a few problems in its execution and design, you're also going to find one of the most rewarding gaming experiences of the year.

Gameplay

Brink is a multiplayer, class-based shooter in the vein of Team Fortress 2. Your sole purpose in the game is to secure a series of ever-expanding objectives that have some relevance to the overall story. To complete these objectives, you'll utilize one of the 4 distinct character classes, those being "Soldier", "Engineer", "Operative", and "Medic". Each of these classes has their own distinct set of abilities which you can use depending on the situation you're presented with.

In theory, this set up is extremely similar to many other games of this type. The idea of picking a specific class with unique traits and using that class to complete objectives along with your team mates is almost as old as online gaming itself. However, where Brink finds it niche is in its execution of these concepts. As mentioned earlier, Brink seeks to make this entire process feel smoother and more intuitive, and it does this by not only providing a very sleek and easy-to-read interface for you to interact with, but also by giving you unlimited options for how you want to customize your gaming experience.

You see, the classes in Brink are more than just pre-made characters with certain abilities, they are templates which you can use to expand your play style in the way that you want. If you want to be stealthy, you'll be an Operative, or if you want to assist players you might be a Medic. So on and so on. However, by choosing a class and sticking with it, you open yourself up to a tree of skills for that individual class which can be further honed and refined. If, for example, you play as an Operative, you aren't stuck using a bunch of silenced pistols and some C4. If you please, you can do away with everything and just focus on hacking and spying abilities to get the job done. Or, you could specialize your skills so that you are more adept at close-quarters combat rather than hacking, explosives, weapons, or anything else. You really do have unprecedented control over your character's uses and the number of options and sub-classes you can forge are simply astounding.

The customization aspect of Brink doesn't end there, however. To further compound on the class and skills you've chosen in shaping your character, you can even modify your character's looks, body style. First and foremost, you can edit your character with a vast number of different clothing options which serve as both an anchor for your unique identity in the game's world, and also a strategic option. You might choose to outfit your character with dark brown clothing rather than bright green so as to blend in more with a particular map. Or, perhaps, you'll choose light clothing over large, hulking armor as to decrease your chances of being hit. Better still is the fact that you can choose between having a light, medium, and large body style, each with their own benefits. The light body style will provide you with near unlimited movement options at the cost of health, whereas the large body style will strip away all of your athletic ability in favor of a massive health increase and the ability to wield larger weapons, and the medium body style provides some of the advantages of both without being too intensive in any one area.

Better than all of this, though, is the fact that you can customize your weapons, and this feature will most likely end up being your most valuable asset. To begin with, you'll have access to dozens of different weapons, ranging from SMG's and assault rifle's to shotguns and pistols. Once you pick your two default weapons, you can customize them with even more attachments like the Reflex Scope or Drum Magazine. What's interesting about this creative process is that you'll never gain a complete benefit from modifying your weapon- there are always upsides and downsides to what you attach. While a totally blank weapon may not have any fancy gadgets, putting lots of scopes or gadgets on it could make it harder to aim or reduce its damage. It's all part of a trade-off, and all part of Brink's focus on choice and strategy.

Once you have your character outfitted with everything you desire, its time to hit the battlefield. Now once you actually get playing, things start to seem a little more familiar, as you'll be spending most of your time capturing or defending objectives, assisting allies, and mowing down baddies- just like any other class-based shooter of this kind. However, yet again, Brink differentiates itself from the competition by offering two significant innovations: the command wheel, and the "S.M.A.R.T" system.

First let's talk about the command wheel. In many games, you'll find a system where you can push a button and it'll bring up all of the commands or abilities that are accessible. This is particularly common in console games where fewer buttons dictate the need of an easy way to access many different options on the fly. Brink too has this same system, but the way it handles it is makes the process feel natural and fluid. Some of the skills you outfit your character with are active skills, such as ones that allow you to throw a Molotov cocktail or lay down a proximity mine. You can only map three of these skills to your command wheel at any time, but seeing as there aren't all that many usable skills to begin with, you shouldn't have a hard time picking the ones you want to use often.

The most unique thing about the command wheel does not lie in its easy-to-use design though, but rather its function for accessing objectives. Unlike most games of this type which only have a single objective to work on at any given time, Brink presents the player with a whole range of different goals to complete, which not only adds to the replay value, but also allows players to participate in a way that they feel comfortable with. The process is very simple: you simply press and hold the up button on your d-pad (or whatever key is designed for that purpose on a PC), and a large blue and yellow wheel will pop on to your screen. From here, you can just rotate through the objectives that the wheel presents, and pick the one you want. By doing so, the area that the objective lies in will be outlined in yellow on your screen, and a small marker will indicate how many meters away from it you are, so you can quickly and easily approach.

Now, once you actually happen upon these objectives, things start to get a little less intuitive. While the basic concept of completing these goals is perfectly fine, the problem lies in the reward the game gives you for doing so. To unlock new weapons, outfits, etc, you must earn credits in the game by performing tasks. Credits will be given to you for almost everything you do, whether its protecting an objective, shooting an enemy, or what have you. Normally, you would think that protecting the objective would yield the most points- but this is not always so, as it depends on the activity surrounding it. If you are swamped by enemies who are trying to penatrate the goal, you'll start receiving little credit bonuses of, say, 75 every few seconds. This is a very large and generous number of credits to receive, and if you're able to stay alive long enough, this can yield very serious rewards. However, if there is no direct threat, you could actually receive as little as 7 points every few seconds for just standing in place and doing nothing. Conversely, you can easily receive upwards of 30 points by killing a single enemy, or even around 200 by engaging in a full-on firefight. While I understand that its all relative, and that you shouldn't need to defend the objective if its not under attack, it still would have been nice to receive a more balanced set of credit rewards. After all, if you're only getting 7 credits for doing nothing, you might end up trekking half way across the map to someplace else, only to find that all of the enemies suddenly have run to the now-empty objective, captured it, and caused your team to lose. It's just not a proper design.

Now, the command wheel is really only one part of the whole experience. As I mentioned before, another defining feature of the game is the "S.M.A.R.T" system, which stands for "smooth movement across random terrain". While its actually just a fancy way of describing parkour-like movement, it works incredibly well, and there's really nothing else like it in video games. The system essentially allows you to move quickly and easily over a diverse series of obstacles without having to perform any complex button combinations. You could, for example, run through a hallway, run on a wall at the end, jump across a few boxes, and then pull yourself up on to a ledge, and do it all by just holding down the sprint/S.M.A.R.T and pointing yourself in the direction necessary. While there are times that the system does not work, and can be somewhat aggrevating if you're in a hurry, I'd say that around 90% of the time it will do exactly what you want, and will really make traveling easier.

Outside of its many customization options, objective system, and use of S.M.A.R.T movement, there really isn't much more to Brink. However, this is not a bad thing, because in reality- how much more could you really ask for? You have an advanced character creation system, a weapon modification system, an enourmous amount of classes and skills to choose from, and all of it is wrapped together in fun gameplay. In truth, there really isn't anything all that bad in Brink's gameplay. Outside of the sometimes annoying parkour moves and the unbalanced credit rewards, Brink is a game filled with fun, class-based action. It's got a little bit of Team Fortress, a little bit of Call of Duty, and a whole lots of its own unique flavor;  and for that, I commend it. While you shouldn't go in expecting some kind of popcorn shooter that you can pick up and play after 3 minutes, you'll find that if you put in the requisite time and learn all of the game's many complexities, you're going to love playing it. Brink is one of those games that will always put out what you put in, and I happen to think it plays great for it.


Presentation

While most aspects of Brink's game play are good, the presentation is not for many reasons. However, let me just get something out of the way first: were it not for its annoying graphical bugs, Brink would be a great looking game, and luckily, the art style is truly just awe-inspiring. However, I'll save more praise on that end for later, because right now, we need to delve into the many problems Brink has.

First and foremost is the blurriness of the game. Whether this was intentional or just a fault of the design I do not know. What I do know though is that it is (at first) very, very annoying. While everything close to you will seem perfectly clear, as you look into the distance, characters will seem blurry, pixelated, and distorted. This can be helped by disabling the "Camera Bob" option available in the setup menu, and in truth, you'll grow to care less and less about it. But, the problem is still there. No matter what way you slice it, it was just a bad idea to let such a visual flaw ship with the game. I'm not a programmer, but you don't see many games with such aliasing problems these days, so it can't be that hard to change.

Next comes the lag. Now don't get me wrong, changes have been made by the developers to improve the stability of the online play, but further measures need to be taken. There are times when the lag is almost entirely absent, but then there are other times when it will seriously screw your game up. You'll be running along when all of a sudden, your screen will seem jerky and contorted, characters will fly by, and you'll just instantly fall down dead. The connectivity issues of a 2001 PC game shouldn't be present in a 2011 shooter, especially one on an advanced network like Xbox Live.

Last but not least, there's the texture loading. Of all the problems in Brink, this is the most significant. Not because it seriously impacts the gameplay, but because it strips away the visual fidelity of what would be an otherwise good looking title. Instead of walking through a corridor and looking at all its shiny splendor like any other modern game, in Brink you'll be wading your way through areas with constantly-loading textures. Walls will gradually look smoother, the trash-littered ground will appear in pieces, and objects will start out very low-res and eventually fade in to clarity. Frankly, it just looks bad. I kid you not when I say that there are times when Halo 2's textures outclass Brink- it can get that bad. The good news is, because the game is generally fast and you'll be moving through the environment quickly, you won't really have time to stand around and notice this happening, and it only happens frequently in cetain areas. However, this is really just my petting of a serious problem in the game, because even though it is tolerable, it only serves to ruin the experience by stripping away the unique art style that is so prevalent throughout the game.

While all this bad news regarding the graphics can seem a little depressing, at least there's a bright side: Brink's art style is just incredible. If you can imagine a dystopian, hyper-realistic environment bathed in clean, metro-inspired designs and contemporary attributes, you'll have a good idea of what the game looks like. Everything is smooth and rounded and looks like it was ripped straight out of a European airport. Everything tends to be very bright and white with certain areas contrasted by rich shades of blue, green and red. To say that the visual style is unique would be an understatement, as its definitely one of the coolest looking games out there.

Not only are the environments styled though, but the characters and menus. All of the inhabitants of the game have been given a somewhat exaggerated look, almost like Team Fortress 2. You'll see a lot of tall, long, lanky builds on the battle field, as well as lot of unnaturally big, stocky ones as well. These are also complimented by a vast array of interesting outfits. Better yet, the menus in the game are pretty cool as well. Everything has a very "polished" look to it, with nothing seeming jagged or unnatural. It's very pleasing to the eye, and navigating everything is a cinch.

Thankfully, unlike Brink's visuals, the audio doesn't leave much to be desired. While there isn't much actual music in the game, what's there is good. It fits the futuristic theme very well, and while none of the tunes are of the kind you might find yourself humming, there's no doubt that they sound good.

Another impressive feat in the audio department would be in regard to the sound of the firearms. According to developer diaries, all of the guns in the game are supplied with sounds from real-world weapons, and it definitely shows. Careful attention was paid to the sound of each individual gun, and even small things like the falling of shells upon the floor have an eerie realness to them.

The only flaw I can find in Brink's audio is with its voices. Every time any significant event takes place during a match, such as the procurement of  an objective or the loss of a command post, an ally will comment on it. While this battle-chatter is definitely cool to begin with, it starts to get very, very old after you listen to it for a few hours. This feature can be disabled fortunately, but I would have enjoyed being able to keep the feature on- I just wish they could have found a way to make it less annoying.

All in all, Brink's audio-visual display is relatively poor. The game has great art design and sound, but when it comes to everything else, it falls drastically short of its mark thanks to lag, distance blurriness, and texture pop-in. This is not one you'll be playing for its good looks.

Value

Overall, Brink offers a pretty nice set of features. You've got 8 maps that can be played through two different modes, and will probably take you around 20 minutes to conquer each time. Furthermore, you can experience these maps through a structured campaign, a "FreePlay" mode that lets you tailor the game to your liking, or you can take the fight online and battle against people all around the world. Unfortunately, due to the fact that objective locations never change, you might find the gameplay to get a bit repetitive if you end up playing the same maps a lot. It's best to play something different every time, and try to mix up your play style a little bit to keep things from getting stale.

The majority of the game's content however are actually in its unlockables. In Brink, you have thousands of different outfits to think up, dozens of different weapons (all of which have attachments for every part of the gun you could want), multiple body styles to choose from, and different ways to truly customize your character through skills and classes.

While it's not going to take you more than a few hours to see all the maps and play through the campaign, the fun of Brink lies in both its customization options and very fun multiplayer. Even though you may have played a certain map a million and one times, if you're playing with friends and competing against a good team, the combat will seem visceral and entertaining regardless.

Conclusion

Even though Brink does so many things right, it is, unfortunately, still bogged down by tech that can't realize its potential. Were it based on a steadier engine, and were the online play a little more stable itself, Brink could be one of the better shooters on the market. But, the problems are here, and they aren't leaving any time soon.

The good news is, despite a few odd design choices in the gameplay department and the obvious graphical flaws, Brink is still very much a good game. Its intuitive, its aesthetically impressive, and best of all: its just fun. So, don't let the bad reviews or mucky graphics turn you off- if you can get past the flaws that Brink has, you'll see that it really is a fantastic game worthy of both your time and money.


Final Score: 8/10

Goldeneye 007: Reloaded is going to rock.

 

While I love the likes of Halo and Call of Duty, there has always been a special place in my heart for games in the Goldeneye lineage. Whether it was Perfect Dark, Nightfire, Timesplitters or even Quantum of Solace, games that seek to build upon the framework of the original through sequels, spiritual or otherwise, just seem to speak to me. Perhaps its the smart combination of stealth and in-your-face combat, maybe its the (generally) slick graphics and interesting, European environments. Who knows. All I can really say is: I love a good Bond game.

When I owned a Wii, the thought of eventually have the original Goldeneye 007 remake in my hands was one of the only things holding me back from selling it. While I did eventually sell the console, and never got a chance to play that game, you can imagine my extreme joy when news of a remastered version was announced.

This is not just reason for me to be excited though- everyone should be excited. For those who aren't in the know, last year's Wii title was hailed by many as not only the best shooter available for the system, but one of the best shooters of the year across any platform. It stands to reason then, that if this new "Reloaded" version is simply the same game but with better graphics, better controls, new game modes, and more overall features, then its set to be as good if not better than the original. I don't think its going to disappoint.

While there is no concrete release date yet, and information on the game is currently scarce, there's no doubt that we'll learn more as time goes on, and if current knowledge is anything to go by, Goldeneye fans have a lot to be excited about.

Nintendo 3DS gets a price drop, but is it worth buying yet?

After being on the market for 5 months and seeing only lackluster sales, Nintendo recently announced that their less-than-popular 3DS handheld gaming device would be marked down from the dubious price of $249.99 to a gentler and more approachable $169.99.

Now, while I definitely think this is a step in the right direction for Nintendo, I can't help but feel as though  there's still not enough incentive to purchase one yet. To be frank, I see the 3D aspect of the device as a complete, worthless gimmick that adds nothing to the overall experience and only serves to stress your eyes. Additionally, the lack of truly quality titles on the system is something of a downside, but hopefully this will be remedied in the near future.

The good news is that all DS titles are backwards compatible on the system, so it's not like there's nothing to play at all. Regardless though, there are some definitely some areas of the 3DS that need to be improved before it can go toe-to-toe with the likes of the iPhone, PSVita, and even its older brother the DS. If Nintendo can just iron out the kinks and fill the platform with some truly awesome games, they have a winner on their hands, and at that point, I may even consider buying one.

All of this aside, no matter what your opinion of the 3DS is, if you ever intend to buy one, this price drop can only signal good news, and with time, the device may prove itself worthy of purchase.

Halo 3: ODST Review

 

Halo 3: ODST, available only on the Xbox 360. 

Of all the games which people hold near and dear to their hearts, the Halo series has to be up there. While titles like The Legend of Zelda and Super Mario Bros. hold a certain nostalgia that isn't easy to match this day and age, Halo provided an entire generation of people with something that most other games haven't: a reason to play together. Whether it was in competitive online duels or action-packed split-screen battles, Halo has never failed to deliver a visceral multiplayer component.

Despite its success though, one area which Halo has typically been criticized for is its single player mode. Outside of the original, the series has always taken heat from the press and fans alike for presenting a campaign that, while fun, felt a little too similar from entry to entry.

However, after years of waiting, it is with great joy that I present to you a Halo game that boasts not only the same, fantastic multi-player experience you've enjoyed for years (and then some), but an absolutely magnificent single-player element as well; and this game is called Halo 3: ODST.

ODST began its life as a simple expansion pack to the already wildly popular Halo 3. However, during development, Bungie decided to use ODST as a way to both tide over fans in their anticipation of Halo: Reach, and also introduce a lot of new concepts to the series beforehand. As a result, the game would no longer be shipped as simply a minor side-project, and it was clear that more content would be necessary to justify its $60 price tag, so Bungie went hard at work on creating a Halo experience unlike any other- and in this case, that's a very, very good thing.

Gameplay

When you open up ODST for the first time, you'll find two discs in the box. The first disc is labeled "Campaign", and it contains all of the story missions, as well as a brand new multiplayer mode called "Firefight". Now, what makes ODST's story mode different from many games in the Halo series is its subdued, lonesome environment that tends to put the player into situations that wouldn't normally be found.

In the classic Halo games, you play as Master Chief, a super-soldier who is almost like a god of war. He can jump many feet in the air, he can soak up bullets like a sponge, he's hardly damaged from falling, and he can even dual-wield weapons with ease. Because of this, the series has never really required stealth. In ODST, however, you don't play as the Chief, you play as a nameless, faceless character called the "Rookie". The Rookie is still a powerful, highly-trained operative like the Chief, but unlike him, the Rookie is much more human in his abilities, so when you play as him, strategy is of the utmost importance if you wish to survive.

Instead of rushing into battle guns blazing, you'll often find that stealth is the best option in ODST. Many of the weapons you are provided have been altered from their Halo 3 counterparts, such as the SMG which now features a scope and a silencer. These kind of changes reinforce the concept in ODST that you're supposed to fight smart, not hard.

While a game like Halo 3 is renowned for its simplistic, over-the-top battles and design, these are mostly attributes which are positive in a multi-player setting because they allow people of all different skill levels to compete and still have fun. When playing the campaign mode though, these same attributes tend to hurt the experience, because they limit what your options actually are. This is why ODST is a refreshing entry in the series: it allows you to choose whether you want to just spray and pray, or actually use stealth and wit.

As a huge fan of the James Bond video games, which tend to emphasize brains over brawn, I am immensely happy with the changes that Bungie has made to the Halo formula in ODST. Instead of introducing another dull kill-fest (which they could done just as easily), they finally explore concepts outside the normal Halo comfort zone- and in my opinion, they succeeded.

The story mode is only one facet of what makes ODST such a great experience though- and in fact, it's probably the least important. The main draw of the game lies in the other mode that comes packed on the "Campaign" disc, and that is FireFight.

If you have ever played Horde Mode in Gears of War 2, or Nazi Zombies in Call of Duty: World at War, you'll get the basic concept of FireFight. Essentially, you and a few friends get to go up against ever-increasing waves of classic Halo enemies. While this might seem like a pretty standard concept, what makes this particular mode fun is that it's just crafted so perfectly, and the addition of small things like "Skull" modifiers makes the experience all the more entertaining.

The amount of options is staggering; you'll get to choose between one of 10 different maps to play on, then you'll get to choose a character, a difficulty mode, and finally, you'll even get to use different modifiers to effect the game. These "Skulls" as they are called, effectively change the way the match is played. Some Skulls will cause the enemies to throw lots of grenades at you, or perhaps dodge more incoming attacks than normal. What makes this system particularly interesting is that while you can create a custom FireFight match and pick your own Skulls, when you're playing normally, Skulls will automatically activate one by one as you continue to kill enemies. So, after a few waves are killed, you might end up with 5 or 6 different Skulls modifying your game- and this drastically changes the pacing. Where you might have started off fighting a handful of Grunts with little excitement, you'll soon be facing mountains of different enemies hurling grenades at you, flying above you, firing rockets, and so on. It's really a sight to behold.

Now, while the story mode is excellent and the FireFight mode is simply amazing, that's not all there is to ODST. As mentioned before, there is a second disc included in the box, and this is labeled "Multiplayer". Contained on this disc are all of the multiplayer options and features found in Halo 3, including the Theatre, Forge, and more. In fact, every single DLC map released for Halo 3 is compiled on this disc as well, and you even get 3 all new, never-before-seen maps too. Even though this may not be too exciting for anyone who already owns all of the DLC, it's still a great deal for those who don't own it, and hey- you still get those 3 new maps to boot.

Overall, ODST is just a fantastic experience. Whether you're playing the story mode, FireFight, or the excellent Halo 3 multiplayer, you're going to be having fun. Some may criticize the game for being too different from older Halo games, but I find no such problem- if the series didn't evolve with time, there would be no point in making any sequels at all. Halo 3: ODST sports some of the greatest gameplay around, and even if you don't like the campaign, chances are you'll at least find something to love in FireFight or multiplayer, because this is one title that has something for everyone.

Presentation

When Halo 3 was released in 2007, it was an extremely good looking game. However, sporting the same graphics engine, Halo 3: ODST is beginning to look a little dated. This is not to say that it is a bad looking game, not by any means, but compared to the heavy-hitters of today's industry like Uncharted 2 or even Bungie's very own Halo: Reach, there is definitely room for improvement.

Overall, the graphics just aren't very impressive from a technical point of view. Textures are good from a distance, but blocky and washed up-close. Environments are big and have perfect draw distance, but there is no complex geometry that just makes you go "Wow". Character models are nice and still animate with the same fluidity and grace as before, but there's still a roughness to them that just doesn't look quite right.

Indeed, Halo 3: ODST is not the most impressive looking game around. It is definitely good- just not great. Where ODST shines though, is in its artistic qualities. In keeping with the darker and more stealth-oriented tone, everything in the game is much more gloomy and aural than before. Pitch black streets are speckled by bright red lamps, dead bodies reflect off the glow of a crashed police car's spinning lights, and futuristic walkways are illuminated by an eerie orange glow. It's almost as if the designers were shooting for a sort of Neo-Tokyo, Blade Runner look that focused on contrast between bright monotone colors and dark areas. Surprisingly, it works very well, and I'd have to say its definitely the most unique and interesting looking Halo game to date.

Another thing which further improves the dark, brooding ambiance of ODST is the use of the Rookie's visor. Because things are typically so dark, your character has been provided with a special visor that illuminates everything by casting a glow around it, and highlighting it with colored lines. While this definitely has a significant and welcome impact on the gameplay, the most astounding thing about it is just how it makes everything look. Enemies are outlined in bright red, weapons in blue, building in orange, and so on. It looks and feels really cool.

It's true that the graphics in Halo 3: ODST are somewhat of a mixed bag due to its combination of old tech and great art direction, but there is one place that doesn't fail to disappoint: the sound. The sound design in ODST is absolutely phenomenal. The guns sound powerful and the enemies give off satisfactory squeals and squeaks as you rip them to shreds. Additionally, the main characters in the game are voiced very well and come across as convincing as any Hollywood actor ever could.

More impressive than the sound effects is the music though. It would not be an stretch of the imagination to say Halo 3: ODST has the best sound track in the series. The composers were obviously fearless in their interpretation of the environment's mood, blessing every stage with something that is different and unique, but feels entirely well placed in context with the events of the level. When you're exploring the black streets of New Mombasa at night, you'll hear lonely, discordant jazz riffs. Are you to traverse the same areas at day, you'll be greeted with futuristic, techno-inspired tunes. Even though the genres are entirely different, all of these songs just seem to fit perfectly.

While it's a shame that the audio/graphical presentation couldn't be absolutely stellar all around, Halo 3: ODST is still a good looking game, and an even better sounding one. It's clear that the developers took the engine as far as they could with the time they had, and they attempted to craft something that as much of an experience as it was a game, and for that I commend them.

Value

Even though the game debuted with a $60 price tag, you can find it these days for under $20. However, even if you had to pay $80 for it, I would still completely recommend the purchase. When you buy Halo 3: ODST, you're not just getting some lackluster little bargain bin title, you're getting a whole lot.

On disc one, you have a 6 hour campaign with multiple difficulty settings and co-op support. You also have FireFight mode which in and of itself could be a game with more than 10 different maps, a dozen or so Skull modifiers, selectable characters, and 4 difficulty modes.

If that wasn't enough for you, you get the entire Halo 3 multi-player experience on the second disc, complete with the Forge, Theatre, Custom Game, and Matchmaking modes. Additionally, you get all 21 maps and even 3 brand-spanking new ones available only in ODST.

No matter what way you look at it, this is a good value. Were each of these components, namely FireFight, Campaign, and Multiplayer, sold as separate games, a $20 or $30 value could be justified. But, the fact that you can snag all 3 for less than the price of a single dinner makes the whole package even sweeter. There is no reason to avoid buying this game because of any lack of content because this game is filled to the brim.

Conclusion

Simply put, Halo 3: ODST is one of the finest Halo games ever made, if not the finest. While it will never sit in the annals of history as a defining game in the series due to its strange timing and change in perspective, that shouldn't keep you from enjoying this game to its fullest. ODST is different, but its wildly fun, engaging, and interesting, and with the inclusion of FireFight and an entire disc devoted to multi-player, there is absolutely no reason you should second-guess buying this game. Do yourself a favor, go buy Halo 3: ODST right now.

Final Score: 9/10

The Good News Regarding Impulse Technology and the Kinect Debacle

Isn't interesting how every time one company creates some kind of "new and revolutionary" technology, another company claims that they are infringing on their patents? We've seen it happen before with big names such as Apple and Nintendo, but most recently this has effected Microsoft and their Kinect peripheral for the Xbox 360.

A company known as "Impulse Technology" claims that Microsoft, and, consequently, any developers who take advantage of the Kinect hardware, are infringing upon its patentst. They say that the peripheral violates patents for "System and method for tracking and assessing movement skills in multidimensional space," and "Education system challenging a subject's physiologic and kinesthetic systems to synergistically enhance cognitive function."

Now, while this isn't terribly surprising, what is somewhat interesting is that Impulse Technology is seeking not only compensation for this alleged infringement, but also to entirely prevent Microsoft from further distributing the peripheral in the United States all together.

In truth, nothing much will probably come of this, as these sort of things happen all the time in this industry. However, I find something of greater interest in this news: what if it actually went through, and what could the good news be?

Don't get me wrong, the chances of this lawsuit preventing a gigantic company like Microsoft from selling something like Kinect is slim to none, if not non-existent all together. Regardless though, I would like to examine the positive attributes in such a turn of events.

Now, you might say, if this actually happened, how could this be interpreted as something good? Wouldn't Microsoft lose a ton of profit and have to rework their entire vision of the Xbox brand? Yes. They would. And while this isn't a good thing for Microsoft, I firmly believe it's a good thing for gamers. You see, the gaming community is moving towards a more casual approach in development and design. Products like the iPhone and their small, cheap apps will soon replace more conventional handheld gaming devices like the Nintendo DS, and I think we're currently witnessing the same thing happening to home consoles. While modern controllers and games will still be around in some form for a long time, the drastic shift from hardcore-centric gaming to casual is something that is definitely occurring.

If the Kinect peripheral, IE: the current driving force behind this shift, were eliminated from the market, Microsoft would probably have no choice but to begin focusing on the hardcore crowd once again- something they have neglected to do in the last two years.

Now, don't get me wrong, I don't want to make it seem as though Microsoft's Xbox 360 has become some HD Wii rip-off, nor do I want anyone to think I'm not impressed by what they have done with the Kinect, and what its possibilities are. However, as someone who has grown up with conventional video games, I find the sudden focus on the casual gamer to be disheartening. I have been a hardcore Xbox fanatic since 2006, and now, after 5 years of loyalty, I can begin to see a dissolving of the brand as the hardcore console of choice.

So, while I am almost entirely positive that this lawsuit won't go through (and even if it did, it would probably eventually get over-turned), I still find the prospects interesting. Think of how different the gaming world might become as a result. The possibilities really are endless.

[Sources: Joystiq]

Welcome to Matt's Media Blog

[Will Edit Later]