Mutant Storm Empire

Platform: Xbox 360 Live Arcade, 800MS Points.
Verdict: Squelchy, shooty stuff.
Rating: 4/5
When all attention is turned towards the stars in search of new and wondrous, imagined forms of life, there lies plenty of undiscovered ickyness in the depths of our oceans. Things you could only dream of flit by in the darkened abyss, nightmarish in their composure, sickening in their alien nature and possibly closer to us genetically than any creationist would ever admit. Such globular, squelchy, tentacled spawn is also what makes Mutant Storm Empire so great.
Sequel to Mutant Storm Reloaded, Empire scurries across familiar ground using the ever so popular twin stick controls to shoot independently of movement. The same organic monstrosities are there, this time accompanied by some mechanical beasts and the same frenetic action is present, this time made all the more tense by gameplay changes.
To warrant the sequel’s existence beyond feeding the mouths of hungry programmers, Pom Pom Games have evolved Mutant Storm by cross breeding it with some classic shooters. Removing the all powerful smart bomb (replaced by a super directional attack), Empire also introduces colour based combo chaining (think Ikaruga) and replaces the abstracted series of rooms with a coherent, seamlessly loading world (like Smash TV).
Fusing these ideas from other shooters into one neon soaked gloopy hue, Empire manages to redefine itself with a new play style, initially unsettling Reloaded veterans yet inspiring new challenges and techniques.
Colour based combos up the difficulty for score chasers while the lack of a smart bomb removes an easy get out clause for the novice - things may sound tougher but a multiple lives system that replenishes at the end of each area eases the pressure somewhat, creating a chaotic shooter that can be blasted through with little grace or played like an artiste with pin point accuracy and a thirst for the razor’s edge and topping the online leaderboard.
Full of aquatic character, Empire has some of the best audio design this side of an amplified petri dish and is made all the better by the inclusion of an online co-op mode, which is just what you need when the going gets a little too squishy.

Scene It? Lights, Camera, Action

Platform: Xbox 360.
Ostensibly the 360’s mimic of the PS2’s Buzz! Hollywood, Scene it? comes with four wireless big button pads for that ‘i’m on telly in a real quiz show’ feeling.
Featuring 1800 questions, Scene it? is rammed full of trivia to challenge the film buffs out there and keeps track of which ones have been asked to keep things fresh on repeated playthroughs.
Game types range from innovative Pictionary style questions to plain dull ‘guess the order of release dates’ for films you’ve never heard of.
At this point it becomes clear that Scene it? isn’t an ideal family game as many questions go over the heads of the young or casual film watcher although memory based quizzes using film footage help level the playing field.
7/10

The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass

Platform: Nintendo DS.
Sequel to the lovely Wind Waker on the Gamecube, Phantom Hourglass continues with the cartoonish style and sea faring adventures.
Showing how things should really be done, Nintendo have bestowed Phantom Hourglass with sublime controls and the perfect example of how to use the DS’ features without making anything feel forced or unnecessary (ok, so being required to shout at the DS may not be desirable when you’re gaming on the go).
With perfect, touch screen controls and charming presentation it’s a synch to lose yourself in the princess rescuing adventure. Puzzles may be too easy for some but it’s an adventure aimed at the younger generation with the added bonus of reduced frustration for those of us with adventure in our hearts.
9/10

Call of Duty 4: Modern Combat

Platform: Xbox 360, also PS3 and PC.
Going head to head with shooters like Halo 3 would leave many games trembling in the dust but CoD4 merely shakes the mud from its boots and soldiers on, bringing it’s own brand of chaotic realism to the mix.
As the suffix suggests, CoD4 is set in the present day, with a close to the bone fictional story of terrorists and nuclear bombs.
Ditching the bolt action guns of WWII for state of the art weaponry, CoD4’s action is refined yet retains the chaos of previous iterations.
Undoubtably one of the best looking games around, the battlefields are awash with smoke and bloodied inevitability with the FPS action claustrophobic and tense.
The tale may be a relatively brief affair and the endlessly respawning enemies a blot on gameplay but the addictive, RPG laced online modes more than make up for it.
9/10

Super Mario Galaxy

Nintendo Wii
After the disappointment (for some) of Super Mario Sunshine, Galaxies is Nintendo’s long awaited true sequel to the ridiculously good and rightly revered Super Mario 64.
Topping perfection is an unenviable task and while Galaxies doesn’t have the jaw dropping switch from 2D to 3D that Mario 64 revelled in, it certainly attempts feats of the same magnitude.
Set in space, in and around tiny planets and wildly imaginative worlds, Galaxies takes the notion of up and down and throws it into a blender with some dysfunctional laws of gravity. The result is a game full of mind bending, upside down platforming and pure reaction based gaming that shows the world Nintendo can still make proper games and that Mario is undoubtably still king of the Mushroom kingdom castle.
10/10

The Orange Box

Platform: Xbox 360, also PS3 and PC.
Verdict: The future’s bright.
Rating: 5/5
Now that my belly is fat with cake and my thumbs blistering from the excessive list of quality pre-Christmas games, it’s time to kick back and catch up on those titles I missed. They’ll handily help fill the gaming drought in this most depressing of months too.
With plenty of great games for Santa to choose from, The Orange Box was the most conspicuous omission from last year’s reviews, especially as it should have been one of my top 5 games of 2007. Time to make amends then.
The Orange Box isn’t a collection of citrus flavoured chocolates or some ill advised Dragon’s Den ‘innovation’ but a rather fine compendium of Valve made games. Included in this bumper package is the seminal Half Life 2 (the game that defined physics based puzzling) and its two highly rated episodic sequels. As if that wasn’t enough you get Team Fortress 2 (a super stylised multiplayer game) and Portal (a mind melting, space bending FPS puzzler) thrown in too. Both of which are inspiringly innovative in their own right and juicy, brandy soaked cherries on the already sumptuous cake.
For such AAA generosity there must be a catch right? Wrong. Unless you have some guilty complex that makes you insist on paying full price for every game in the (orange) box. Instead, pay your £30 and be glad Gabe Newell has seen fit to deliver his quality slices of prime gaming beef at a discount price. Be very glad.
So, you might have guessed I like it. You’re wrong (again), I really like it. I want to hug it, buy it presents and take photobooth shots of us on our perfect day. If that was any day in particular it’d be the day I finished the regrettably short Portal - the most perfect slice of gaming pie there possibly ever has been. Innovative, perplexing, amusing and downright marvel at the infinite vastness of space, mind bendingly brilliant. All in the pursuit of cake too.

Looking ahead to 2008

With the surprising 2007 behind us this year should hold some tasty new treats and plenty of revisits to franchises, for better or for worse.
Amongst the Fifa Streets there are some long awaited sequels on the way - Fable 2 attempts to introduce emotional ties through man's best friend, Advance Wars: Days of Ruin controversially replaces cute characters with gritty visuals and GTA IV attempts to reinvent the genre it created.
Each console has exclusives to tempt gamers to its cause - with Final Fantasy XIII (PS3), Ninja Gaiden 2 (360) and No More Heroes (Wii), the choice is difficult but multiplatform titles like Fallout 3 and Devil May Cry 4 help ease the pain.
Those awaiting the recently announced Street Fighter IV can take respite in the hand drawn HD reworking of Super Street Fighter II while Soul Calibur IV will be back with exaggerated cleavers and cleavage.
I've still to play recent delights like The Orange Box due to the Christmas glut and with so many great games still to come i'm starting to panic! Sheesh, it's a hard life as a reviewer, especially with this five on the way -

Too Human - Xbox 360
Melding Geometry Wars style twin stick controls with a full blown multiplayer RPG, this sci-fi take on Norse mythology might just be the best thing for friends since Gauntlet.

Halo Wars - Xbox 360
Real time strategy games have had a checkered history on consoles yet this attempts to trump all previous attempts with intuitive controls. Prequel to Master Chief's trilogy, this is Halo as it was originally envisioned.

Super Smash Bros. Brawl - Nintendo Wii
Nintendo's chaotic 4 player beat em up comes with online play and a whole host of guest characters - now those Sega vs Nintendo playground arguments can finally be settled as Sonic faces off against Mario.

Metal Gear Solid 4 - PS3
With an aging and disillusioned Snake up against an army of nano augmented soldiers it looks like his last stand might be his best. Stealth action to the power of ten.

Alan Wake - Xbox 360
The makers of Max Payne deliver the long awaited, gorgeous looking, psychological thriller about a horror novelist with insomnia trapped in a nightmarish town of his imagination. Just don't look under the bed.

2007 in review

My 2nd year on this column has no doubt been the most eventful - 2007 has seen the rapid acceptance of gaming in the mainstream via Nintendo's phenomenal success as the casual gamer’s gateway while the undoubtably geekish Halo 3 smashed the first weekend takings of any Hollywood film this year. Times are indeed changing.
Once again the 360 has been my console of choice with a steady supply of quality titles like Crackdown and Forza 2, backed up by strong online support. If only the Deadly Ring of Death wasn’t such a blight on its facade.
The Wii has surprised with its success yet hasn't received the games it deserves. Recent titles like Super Mario Galaxy are indeed painting a brighter future while the same goes for the PS3, just without the stellar sales. A £300, feature reduced version and Uncharted: Drake's Fortune has certainly helped though.
The DS has been a trusty companion over the year with the likes of Pokémon Pearl while my PSP has remained covered in dust, awaiting the arrival of Loco Roco's spiritual successor.
Stinker of the year goes to the hideous Hour of Victory for being everything Call of Duty 4 thankfully isn't. On that note here's my top five (selected to complement fellow reviewer Paul Drury's top five)...

Call of Duty 4 - Multiplatform
Paul actually reviewed this but the hours i've put into CoD4's multiplayer are significant. The single player is short but oh so sweet while multiplayer introduces an addictive system that unlocks new features the more you play it. As a raw and gritty companion to Halo 3’s cartoon violence it has its very own online niche.

Final Fantasy XII - PS2
I never had the 100 odd spare hours to see the game to fruition but what I saw of Square Enix’s last adventure was enough to appreciate the reinvention of the turn based wheel and be in awe of the PS2 being pushed to its limits in an epic swan song for its final years.

Halo 3 - Xbox 360
Despite not quite matching up to it’s multimillion dollar overhype, Halo 3 delivered a feature rich package that refined a much love series to perfection through a polished campaign and a peerless multiplayer service. New maps and the Forge community will keep it alive well beyond you finishing the fight.

Bioshock - Xbox 360
Another 360 game, another FPS most people thought, yet Bioshock was like no other. Eschewing FPS clichés for an alternate history, Bioshock recreated the art deco of the 1930’s and twisted it into a neon nightmare with a disturbing story and sumptuous art direction.

The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass - DS
I haven’t reviewed Phantom Hourglass yet but i’ve been playing it regularly and it’s proven to be an absolute delight. Utilising the DS’ touchscreen controls to perfection, it's a wonderful game full of charm and seafaring adventure, continuing the tradition of Zelda with some neat gameplay twists.

Mass Effect

Platform: Xbox 360.
Verdict: Stars and wars.
Rating: 4/5
Conversation has never been considered a skill of the stereotypical slack jawed, square eyed gamer. With our Grandparents adopting gaming through the likes of Brain Training, that mistaken cultural perception is thankfully on the way out. For those that still need convincing, perhaps Super Deluxe Conversation Simulator can help, otherwise known as Mass Effect.
Created by Bioware, the highly respected developers who made one of the only decent Star Wars games (Knights of the Old Republic), Mass Effect is a similarly epic Sci-fi, telling the Solar System spanning tale of civilisation’s stand against an ancient robotic nemesis.
With a state of the art spaceship and the fate of the solar system on your shoulders, you can travel galaxies as you choose, investigating leads, battling robotic monsters and talking your way into or out of situations.
Trading the light sabres and space cowboys of Star Wars for a cleaner aesthetic and emphasis on guns, Mass Effect still treads similar territory as George Lucas’ modern mythology while borrowing from 3rd person shooters like Ghost Recon.
With squad based gunplay and cover based mechanics, Mass Effect differs through its use of under the bonnet RPG elements. As well as levelling up through experience and upgrading skills, action can be paused at any time to issue Biotic and Tech commands (otherwise known as Jedi powers).
Touting a much hyped conversation system, Mass Effect allows you to talk (almost as much as shoot) with a convincing degree of flexibility. Although it can rest a little too much on friendly/neutral/aggressive branches, the freedom to choose if you’re a Luke or Anakin provides satisfyingly different results.
As engrossing, epic Sci-fi goes, Mass Effect ticks all the right boxes at creating a living, breathing universe through sublime art direction. Unfortunately it’s ultimately let down by a graphics engine that struggles to keep up with the action, some frustratingly placed restart points and combat that doesn’t quite work as well as it should. Still, there’s plenty to talk about.

Kane and Lynch: Dead Men (18)

Platform: Xbox 360, also PS3, PC.
Verdict: More bark than bite.
Rating: 3½/5
The standard genus hero of videogaming’s short and accelerating history has been that of the unflinching beefcake of justice. You know the type - chiselled jaw, gruff voice and bullet proof skin with the ability to drop cliched catchphrases at the exact hour of cheese o’ clock. Admittedly some shooters have played the anti-hero card but they usually involve leather attire and nu-metal. Kane and Lynch’s over stated direction flys in the face of all that by introducing two ‘heros’ who are anything but.
Meet escaped convicts Kane and Lynch, one a mercenary heading for the chair for mass murder, the other a medicated psychopath prone to seeing pig faces. Freed by The 7, an elite mercenary group who want their stolen money back from Kane, Lynch is thrown in as his unpredictable watchdog and together they must fight to get the cash, save Kane’s family and avoid being killed by The 7, or most likely - each other.
Playing much like Io’s previous Freedom Fighters, Kane and Lynch mixes basic squad based mechanics with daring heists and the unpredictable nature of Kane who can flip at any moment and kill a room full of hostages at the whiff of bacon.
The story is initially executed with considerable flair as Kane and Lynch argue their way through the tourette filled missions, but regrettably becomes hum drum as quickly as their banter begins to tire.
Multiplayer avoids the me-too crowd with Fragile Alliance which pits you and online friends as a group of robbers after some cash. With loot separated evenly between the fellow criminals, it’s possible to turn on your friends at any point, kill them and take their stash. It’s admirable in it’s intentions but games can quickly turn into an unsatisfying scrap.
Unfortunately the high production values and obvious effort that has been poured into the single player script are dashed against the rocks of accolade by the element most essential to get right - gameplay. With clunky, counter-intuitive controls and a glitchy cover system, Kane and Lynch is reduced to mediocrity in one foul swipe. Perhaps Kane should have got the chair after all.