S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadow of Chernobyl + Call of Pripyat, Metro 2033: I’d like to go home, I’ve mined the graveyard of unpublished poems

здравствуйте! As an American watching too many Hollywood films for one lifetime and being surrounded by events such as outsourcing, everyday judgments about foreign lands lean to the side of mostly harsh and are much easier to find than free chocolate for a hungry woman.  So when a company comes around from a land that would take a very long plane ride to reach, it’s easier to dismiss and distrust than even give the game and company half a chance.  Now compound that with a former foreign political party that forced the popular duck and cover movie that our parents or grandparents enjoyed thinking while trying to sleep produces even more happily earned motivation to buy anything coming from the CCCP.   

As an American with a specialized background, I’ve been forced to sit through training dealing with one of the worst industrial accidents in the last century: Chernobyl.  Within the stacks of paperwork there are plenty of videos such as this one and this one, etc, all bringing the events of the disaster to a very eerie realization.  The nearby town Pripyat for example, was created to give workers of Chernobyl a place to call home but has remained abandoned since it was evacuated a day after the accident.        

With all that smile friendly news enters the company GSC Game World from Kiev, Ukraine.  After running some searches of games developed in Ukraine the overall list seemed smaller than Mega Millions winners from the Midwest.  And it wasn’t too long ago that a Russian speaking company pushed my typical easy going nature to the edge of “bad touch” boundaries.  But the strength of persuasion can come from many avenues even those that are less expected.  Irrational Games’ podcast was the first place to drop not only GSC’s name but a very specific game that influenced Bioshock. 

That game Irrational mentions on multiple occasions is S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadow of Chernobyl for the PC.  At first glace, minus for those coming out of their Y2K bunkers in time to resupply for 2012, one can easily see that S:SC was released back in 2007.  But before brushing off what looks like a dated game compared to today’s standards there is hope.  An additional free download (considered a mod but is more like a total overhaul) is available from a large group of freelance developers here.  After updating this three year old game to visually mimic today’s games, S:SC begins to play a sly game of unravel the mystery.  But do not go into S:SC thinking it’s a typical “your a good guy, here’s some bad guys, go kill and we’ll fill you in on why later.”  S:SC in fact has lot of depth, girth, berth and whatever other awkward synonyms for wideness you can muster up when it comes to its central theme.

There are some core elements from a few different places that become interlaced within S:SC.  The first chunk comes from a 1979 (prior to Chernobyl) Russian movie called Stalker.  Skipping over the need to watch the entire movie, Stalker was about three characters intent on trying to reach a place called “the room” within a quarantined wilderness because of its rumored ability to grant any wish to those who enter it.  A very interesting side note (according to wikipedia) is after filming this movie, some of the cast and crew died from various types of respiratory disorders which they had believed to have come from a scene filmed near a discharge river used by a nearby chemical plant as it was said to have been snowing in summer.   

The second piece of S:SC’s storyline comes already aforementioned accident of Chernobyl and that part may be a bit obvious just from reading the title of the game.  So yes, S:SC is set in the “area” of today’s Chernobyl where the military will stop any random civilians from gaining access to the highly irradiated and dangerous area.  With Chernobyl comes all the abandoned buildings and power plant itself to be explored along with the frequent need to watch the old Geiger counter. 

And the third puzzle piece of the central theme is the sc-fi book Roadside Picnic.  Going straight to the cliff notes, Roadside Picnic is about the concept of a messy family going on a picnic in the woods.  They arrive and animals scatter and hide to and fro while the family stays for a while, eats, and then blazes off leaving all sorts of trash behind.  The animals then slowly come out to inspect what was left behind, objects foreign to them, each having different dangers or benefits.  For example a half eaten sandwich is consumed like any other food, but a mostly empty can of motor oil when sniffed and licked makes the animal very sick.  Roadside Picnic is that same concept only with aliens and people.  A group of visitors come to Earth at various locations, stay just long enough to be noticed and then quickly take off.  People then begin to explore the areas to find strange artifacts left behind.  Some are very dangerous while others have very odd benefits.  Once this is realized, the areas become exclusion zones guarded by respective militaries.  A group of known as stalkers, once again, are the only ones who venture purposely into the zones in hopes to find artifacts to bring back to sell.

These three concepts make up the backdrop for S:SC.  The game takes place in Chernobyl, a true exclusion zone, and you play a S.T.A.L.K.E.R. who is found by a merchant on the edge of the zone.  Awaking with a bit of amnesia you find a message on your PDA saying to kill a fellow S.T.A.L.K.E.R.  The merchant gives you a slight introduction into the zone telling you to be on the lookout for artifacts that hold powers to be sold for high prices.  From there the game is a sandbox FPSer where quests are given with specific times by which they must be completed and it is the players choice to solve the mysteries of S:SC or run around randomly in the name of democracy to put a bullet in anything sounding Russian. 

And everything in this game does sound as Russian as this folk song.  Even when choosing to play this in English, many of the NPCs are not translated in the random small sayings as they wander by or some of the dialog text.  As you stand by allies within a camp, one will on occasion pull out a guitar to sing a song to make you feel like Kansas is oh so far away. 

This makes for an interesting environment as it gives a foreign land feel but some smaller parts of the game stay lost in translation.  The initial learning curve of the game is high since much of what is going on starts and stays mysterious but at the same time adds to the ongoing element of horror with its little explanation.  One such problem with translations and storyline I encountered was that I was never able to find the main person to kill and yet was able to end the game a different way.  This disconnect was slightly frustrating but with the aid of our old pal The Internet, the second time through made more sense. 

The horror element is what Irrational Games pointed out as a key piece to what makes a this a memorable game.  True to their word S:SC is one of the scariest games I have ever played.  When it’s 3am with all lights shut off and a few too many cold ones the scary portions of any game will be enhanced because of the surrounding environment the game is played in.  S:SC does not need any enhancement.  Other games such as Resident Evil, FEAR or even Eternal Darkness use very standardized, flashy Hollywoodish, or unique out-of-game scare tactics.  S:SC uses an indirect method with heavy attention to the lack of sounds or focus towards a person’s ability to recognize the cause of a sound.  This is compounded by the fact that S:SC is a survivor oriented game constantly leaving the player with limited ammunition, hunger, bandages, weapon durability, overall health, and a small carry limit.  Additional mods can be applied to S:SC bringing the survivor portion to a more post-apocalyptical standard possibly forcing the player to kill a fellow ally for his food in order to suppress life threatening hunger.  The horror portion is also shadowed by the background of Chernobyl.  GSC Game World took a lot of extra time in researching and even visiting the exclusion zone to ensure the player is given a real and dangerous place that many know about but develops into an even scarier place they more intimately familiar they become with it. 

The general aspects of S:SC (as long as the complete mod is installed) are run-of-the-mill for today’s standards.  The graphics with weather effects and time of day changes are visually stunning.  The sounds and music are very unique to S:SC due to its origin but are nonetheless high quality.  The controls are customizable and aiming is strong due to the mouse/keyboard combination of PC games.  The combat realism is quite astounding as bullet trajectories matched with proper caliber and gun choice as well as only having iron sights or limited scopes are again an effect of S:SC being a survivor based game.  The multiplayer is more muted due to its age but this is an unnecessary addition as the emotional ties are focused within the single player direction.  The AI is well done  being accurate and tactful.  Overall difficulty is quite high and only gets higher with additional mods but this added challenge is a welcomed one from the simple quick fix FPS games of today.  The storyline is also unique and is directly derived from the previously mentioned core elements but is not coupled with many cutscenes compared to most games of today.     

Rarely does a game three years old peak such a late interest now that Microsoft, Sony, and Nintendo are well enough established with this generation’s consoles.  And sadly this summer was a busy one for me and therefore this review comes at a conflicting time with the upcoming heavy hitting holiday releases instead of during the summer when nothing outstanding was released.  But if anything, S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadow of Chernobyl should stay in the back of your mind like an amazing commercial that sticks in the craw the next time there is a lull in your gaming life.  It is a one of a kind creation that deserves the title of classic and is worth not just one but a few plays through. (Available on Steam)    

Rating: 9.5 {on a scale of –10 to 10}

Three years later (skipping Clear Sky due to known bug issues) a direct sequel called S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Call of Pripyat was released by GSC Game World.  Much of the gameplay, horror and survival aspects are the same as S:SC but of course some improvements have been made.  This time you are a military agent posing as a S.T.A.L.K.E.R. to investigate the disappearance of lost helicopters that were flying over the town of Pripyat.  The town and surrounding rural areas are again realistically imported as the play environment including one of the most famous Ferris Wheels in the world.  Not long ago Modern Warfare 1 included Pripyat as part of its story allowing you to make your way through some of the abandoned buildings but its graphical engine made the town gleam instead of the grimy reality that S:CP paints. 

The graphics of S:CP are a step up over the original (unmodded) as well as the continuity of the story and translations with NPCs.  Gun and armor modification as well as an RPG interface with stats are good improvements but overall the game doesn’t connect on the same level as S:SC.  A majority of the game is spent outside of Pripyat and once the player arrives, exploration of all the visual landmarks comes mostly from player’s curiosity instead of being driven there by the main story. 

The disconnect may come from the simple fact that GSC made it rain in S:SC by letting you waltz all the way into Chernobyl and then expects you to be overjoyed by making it rain with scratch tickets in the abandoned neighboring town.  The mighty dollar rains and reigns better so if you decide to play S:CP, you’re rolling the dice on finding the same amount of pleasure that you can get out of S:SC. (Available on Steam)

Rating: 4.0 {on a scale of –10 to 10}

The latest and vastly different game released by THQ and 4AGames (founded by former developers of GSC) after S:CP was called Metro 2033.  This release was more of an accessible horror/survival game in order to reach a broader audience than the previously mentioned games being released on consoles as well as PC.  The play environment is again Russian based taking place very near Moscow yet most of the player’s time is spent underground as its title hints at.  In Metro 2033 you play the child of a survivor after a terrible apocalypse ravaged the world’s surface. The survivors of Russia have hid themselves within the nearby metro tunnels of Moscow scraping by with their trusty thirsts being quenched by whatever little vodka they can find.

Changing from a sandbox game to a very linear one, Metro 2033 still focuses much of its gameplay within the horror genre.  A very dark game graphically forces the player into the same realm of Doom 3, Resident Evil, Silent Hill, etc, where most of the scares are caused by visual panic from enemies having the same working distance as a dance partner.  A unique feature in Metro 2033 is a flashlight with what seems like the shortest battery ever but can be recharged by hand.  This creates situations where in the midst of battle, time management of the player’s visual aid must be taken into account.  Another unique feature is managing a needed gas mask’s chemical cartridges in order to stay on the surface or within oxygen deprived tunnels.  The player’s breathing becomes the ambient noise when the mask is on and adds a new source of tension as changing situations shift the rate.

The story is a bit interesting but has a very odd ending not causing any type of beckoning to replay Metro 2033.  A single play through is all that’s really necessary and can be done in about 10-12 hours based on difficulty chosen.  Most of the game is very close combat forcing gun preference toward shotguns over assault rifles or long range sniper weapons purely for spread fire room clearing.  In all the FPS games over the years, Metro 2033 takes the cake as far as keeping the buckshot flying.  I used so many shells that for the next few games that I played I swore off the sound of an empty shell hitting the ground.  The controls are simplified and sometimes slightly awkward on the console as everything is jammed onto a controller.  The AI is good at flank techniques yet not impossibly difficult when they outnumber.  

The overall game is fun but an unnecessary one to play through unless one is a large fan of the genre.  Rent it if slightly interested, but skip it over S:SC if time and cash is limited.  What Metro 2033 does do indirectly is point out that GSC Game World and 4AGames should be around for years to come making quality games from across the back pond.  Even if they are bloody reds they do know how to make a good horror/survival game.  (Available on Steam)       

Rating: 4.5 {on a scale of –10 to 10}

Menomena – Dirty Cartoons

Album Version

Splinter Cell: Conviction + Alpha Protocol: Your will to speak clearly exposed too much, unsung once too often could not rub off

A spy game is a challenge all on its own by having to mix entertainment, reason and sensibleness with a pinch or two of mystery.
Comparisons using different eras of Ian Flemming's James Bond movies, the quality of a "spy" game can mimic the suaveness of Sean Connery, be over the top ridiculousness of Pierce Brosnan, the straight professionalism of Roger Moore, or become the slick modern spy of Daniel Craig.  Some games utilize their spycraft in unique ways that seem plausible while still maintaining dignity but others are so outlandish and confusing they are thrown to the wayside quickly.  Recently two titles have been released, one being a sequel to a long series of stealth and gadgetry and the second being a newcomer from a company with an interesting history.

The first, Splinter Cell: Conviction from Ubisoft, was released back in April of this year and is the fifth game in the series.  A continuation of the storyline is the core of this series and yet this game branches off in a vastly different direction from its predecessors with regards to gameplay.  Where previous SC’s were very stringent on plausible deniability, this title cares little for consequence when leaving piles of bodies and yes up to Drowning Pool amounts of bodies may hit the floor.  Your average security guard or even U.S. solider can be given a headshot with no recourse.  Bodies no longer have to be hid or cameras bypassed to help keep the stealthy approach rolling since most alarms only create more roadblock targets instead of game over failures.  This guiltless pleasure and freedom to its possessor works in two different ways.  It steps away from what this series was known for to create a more accessible game to the casual gamer yet breaks the continuity of the previous four games to a slightly unreasonable or illogical approach.  But yes, one must accept the rules set forth by their creators. 

But don’t spend so much time dwelling on those five orphans you’ve just created, because it was done so using a new feature in SC:C called ‘mark and execute’ where previously flagged enemies can be simultaneously taken down with the push of a single button.  SC:C also adds a new feature where storyline and checkpoints are illuminated on the walls of your current surroundings instead of breaking the action with loads of cutscenes.  Graphics are pristine for a 3rd person shooter while the sounds and music are present but nothing special much like your favorite television parents Jon and Kate Gosselin.  The controls are slightly awkward like all SC games using odd default button arrangements.  The overall difficulty is no where near the previous games since guns blazing is a more viable option sending stealth to the achievement playground.  This ease may be a warm welcome to veterans of SC but with very little reloads or respawns, the game can be accomplished quickly (less than 12 hours).  The addition of a Co-op only portion of the story is a bonus but unnecessary to accomplish the single player game.      

The story plays out as a nice continuation but is somewhat predictable in its entirety.  Where the good spy novel or movie presents its story in the fashion of an enigma, SC:C’s story would only feel that way to someone new to the spy or even suspense genres.  For the player that’s new to SC, the story will give slight confusion until it reaches its fruition and for fans of the previous games, will feel almost as if the story is now complete.  Obviousness like the alter egos of Bruce Wayne or Edward Nigma aside, the presentation flows well with the gameplay.  The pre-mission customization of equipment is great but the preference for silent weapons versus the tornado siren of an unsilenced one keeps the choices limited. 

Overall, Splinter Cell: Conviction is a handful of changes, steering the series in new directions that are a big step away from the original.  It is a very short ride like some rounds on the Bill Paxton pinball machine but none of the new features make this title in the Splinter Cell series one that is unforgettable like the first.  It is worth a single play through, especially for fans of the previous games, but this is definitely not a game that will be missed and doesn’t drive the need to replay or compel a player to spend time on other single player modes or even bother with the multiplayer mode more than once.  And where does this fit in the realm of comparisons to spy movies?  Splinter Cell: Conviction is probably the typical Roger Moore spy of a game so rent it if it tickles your fancy.

Rating: 5.0 {on a scale of –10 to 10}      

The second spy game first needs to have its company established to give a proper background.  Alpha Protocol was released by Obsidian Entertainment on June 1st, an offshoot of Interplay.  Obsidian Entertainment has created games like Knights of the Old Republic 2 and Neverwind Nights 2 and the soon to be Fallout 3: New Vegas.  Why they have been allowed to create entire standalone sequels with the same title made by Bioware should start to perk up ears and make itchy heads since franchises, especially very successful ones, tend to keep high amounts of money flowing by making their own sequels.  Quite simply, Obsidian was formed from a group of employees that Interplay laid off: Black Isle Studios at the time.  Bioware purchased some rights to games like Fallout while Obsidian maintained some rights being they were from the original company that produced Fallout.  It’s all confusing as far as intellectual rights are concerned but understanding that Alpha Protocol is a 3rd person action spy game with RPG elements created by a unique company that has been on the cusp of outstanding RPG titles is important.

Alpha Protocol created a lot of possibilities and hopes as it was a new venture by creating a new crossover of genres.  No other company has attempted to mix RPG storytelling and customizing with an action spy game.  There have been plenty of other action games but no RPGs centered on the idea of espionage.  The only other RPGish spy game that comes to mind is Super Sneaky Spy Guy which contains no action while you stare at real photographs to unravel the mysteries of an empty cruise ship.   

Cutting the fat before I drag this out, Alpha Protocol is not a game for very many people.  There are three distinctive portions of this game:  The 3rd person action, the storytelling system, and the RPG elements.  Few people will enjoy AP due to large problems that truly are surprising for a company that has had their act together in the past.  To put it bluntly the action parts of AP have a lot of issues; Graphics look old, the physics, combat, and camera control feel like riding a classic willy’s jeep on a rough road, the music and sound are so so, bits of the voice acting sound worse than local radio commercials, extremely linear paths for each level, and the AI enemies when not alarmed by your presence patrol rigid paths making 180 degree turns faster than a blink of an eye.  It all adds up quickly to a pile of annoyances much like a long trip to the bathroom with only a creepy Celine Dion Anne Geddes book to pass the time.  These problems do not make the game unplayable, but instead give obtuse glares from the shadows while gremlin laughter can be heard but not seen.  

At the same exact time where this game begins to fail, it also dabbles in something great.  KOTOR and other Bioware titles use a very simple system of RPG dialogue unfolding the story in various directions while the player makes choices on what type of character to be.  AP takes this a step further removing the scripted choices.  AP instead forces timed attitude responses on the fly that are reactive to the current dialogue.  For example, if a mysterious new character enters a scene and says to leave this town or die, your choices can be sarcastic, professional, or aggressive in nature with the actual responded dialogue unknown until after you’ve made a choice on the type of response.  The choice made can affect your relationship with that person in a neutral, positive (I like you), or negative (I loathe you) direction which also affects how much of the story is revealed from that character and future conversations with other characters.  This system is slightly overshadowed by awkward voice acting at times but ignoring the spoken word and focusing on the written subtitles will keep an RPG lover enthralled.  This system is very interesting and creative, working excellently in the spy genre and makes for a unique presentation of storytelling.  The ‘true’ story in AP is a well kept secret hitting on the unpredictability of a Robert Ludlum level of storytelling for a game.  Hopefully this will be implemented into future games (aka future Fallout games) because there is truly nothing else like it.    

The other RPG elements are tiny glimmers of hope even if the visual portions were slightly lacking.  Customizable guns and equipment (even if all weapon mods are identical looking), unlockable attribute bonuses, a competitive black market of equipment and intel, and an in-depth stat system that records all of the fatherless children you’ve created are among some of the high points of AP.  Sadly all of these RPG pieces are interlaced in the 3rd person action and errors and bugs become easier to focus on than successes.  The black market, for example, contains intel items such as maps or dossiers on characters yet options like maps are unnecessary since all levels are linear in nature.

The game can be completed in vastly different manners, ranging from not killing a single person in the whole game (using tranquilzer rounds), to ensuring all beating hearts become bleeding ones.  Regardless of picking a full, empty or somewhere in between kill-count, stealth or disregard of stealth can be chosen much like SC:C but in AP’s case affects the outcome of the game as well as the difficulty and speed of completion.  Guns blazing, this game can be finished in ten hours or less and the stealthy reserved approach pushes completion time beyond ten hours to about fifteen.  Either way the only reason this game would be replayed (I finished it from start to finish twice) is to change all of the hefty dialogue choices and outcomes to better grasp the story yet this is probably unnecessary for anyone who dislikes punishment. 

All in all, Alpha Protocol seemed like it was originally created from a dialogue and storytelling system that will rival future games to come but became a laughing stock of action games for this generation of games by poor implementation of a 3rd person shooter portion.  A great reference point for the future, AP was a heavy disappointment in what was either a publishing, time pressure, and/or gross oversight during testing error.  Because of this the only James Bond era AP can be compared to is George Lazenby’s uniqueness of starring in between Connery’s films and that’s about it.    

Rating: 1.0 {on a scale of –10 to 10}              

Helmet - Unsung  

Just Cause 2 Demo: It was a holy shaking earthquake and you were stuck up the tree

Never getting to play the first and somewhat intrigued at screenshots for the second, Just Cause 2 from Eidos and published by, of all companies, Square-Enix is due out March 23rd.  Not as disappointing or typical as most other demos tend to be, JC2 is a 3rd person delight at times, and at others a frustration and copycat of another famous series. 

The first installment was released late 2006, a year after it’s direct predecessor, Mercenaries: Playground of Destruction where the gameplay is sandbox style.  And ok, Mercs was just a mimic of GTA but the changes made it worthy to separate the two games.  Where GTA focused on driving and the city, Mercs focused on destruction and the country.  JC is very similar to Mercs.  Very.  And with this game the differences between Mercs and JC aren’t enough to separate the two.  Lots of explosions, vehicular manslaughter, and equipment air drops, not to be confused with log drops, are all quite fun the first, second or third time through or get old just as fast. 

If you’ve never played GTA, Mercs, or JC1, the concept is quite simple.  Take on some missions while the rest of the world is open to destroy or just breeze around in lusciously stolen vehicles and take in some various scenery.  In JC2, you are a black market merc aiding in an overthrown of an evil dictator on an island in Southeast Asia.  And the way in which any evil dictator is overthrown in the modern world is to create random chaos.  And why?  Just Cause.  Yep.  Tagline. 

What JC does really well, better than Mercs or GTA, is entrancing the player with beautiful graphics in the world you explore.  Where the console versions may be stuck at a set resolution, the PC version can be forced to FarCry or Crysis levels of beauty.  Exploring the world can be done at quick rates without vehicles with the addition of a grappling hook in JC2.  This allows you to grab trees, buildings, vehicles or even the ground and zoom quite quickly from here to there like Curious George on speed.  Base jumping is made easy with an unlimited amount of parachutes making falling out helicopters and Boeing 737s a breeze.  So the exploration and transportation is done well. 

What isn’t done as well is the aiming system.  Precision aiming can be a bit of a pain on the fly as well as the AI aiming that gets increasingly accurate as time progresses after initiating a battle.  When things are pulled off to your liking they do look amazing as the destruction system is somewhat a step up from most action games.  Vehicles lose parts and pieces, buildings crumble, and Bob working the fruit stand seems to not mind you running over his business time and time again.  Quest progression does seem a bit random and listless but might be overshadowed by the open world environment.  Control of some of the vehicles is sometimes difficult to grasp, ie the piper cub planes, but what is interesting is the responsiveness of the vehicle chosen and where you are using that vehicle does yield a nice change.  For example, riding on a sport bike on the streets is pretty easy to accomplish but once you take it offroad, the bike realistically feels sloppy and almost uncontrollable. 

Just Cause 2 was a very fun game to try, the demo allowing for anything available in the full game being at your fingertips within a 30 minute time period.  If you enjoyed GTA, Mercs, or JC1, Just Cause 2 deserves you to try at least the demo.  As for forking over the cash for the full game, you would have to really love the sandbox environment genre or not have spent money on any of the others before it as you can attain the joy of open world mercenary work by playing some of the older games for a cheaper price or waiting for one of those special Steam clearance weekends.  Sorry Rico.

 

 

The Middle East – The Darkest Side

Wet: These days I seem to think a lot about the things I forgot to do

Paying heed to predecessors such as the "you can't take yourself this serious" The Matrix in 1999 and 2001's Max Payne not to be confused with the Marky Mark version, Wet on Xbox 360 and PS3 by A2m is quite a replay on previous successful ideas. Focusing on slow motion 3rd person action with over the top violence, Wet is a great game for that quick one time fix.

You are an Uma Thurman (Kill Bill) style contract killer for hire that brandishes a sword alongside dual wielding firearms. The story is presented in a 60's B-movie approach using a melting reel, for example, when you die. Cutscenes have gritty scratchy overlays and levels are sometimes separated with old theater videos reminding you to visit the lobby for refreshments. It makes for a very stylistic presentation reminiscent to the cold, dark Max Payne's comic book scenes or snowy silent winter.

The story is so-so for an action game, expected plot points and outcomes are prevalent. The gameplay action is where the fun is found. The slow motion fighting is a blast to watch and play through as level design is based around it, but can get old very fast. Three buttons make up the slow motion action (run along walls, slide on the ground, or leap through the air) and after a few environment changes and pushing the 3 in different orders the game becomes a race to reach the end.

Your main weapons include what look like .44 magnum six shooters which can be emptied in a matter of 2 seconds and since reloading would break up the action Wet decides to kindly forget the theory behind reloading. Accompanying your revolvers is a Hatori Hanzo sword but sadly Sonny Chiba is not the presenter. The sword which is an amazing addition to this type of game is pretty limited in its usefulness unless you manage to find a locked door or can evade gunfire enough to get within 5 feet of your opposition.

Kills offer points used to unlock new moves or weapon improvements but are not necessary and only make the game slightly easier. Some of the action sequences have guess the button much like the Resident Evil series and most bosses are finished in this manner. Thankfully they are much easier than the RE ones that always seemed like they put you in the middle of a Press Your Luck show. At other times you are given a very bloody face which in turn enrages you enough to go into a red and white mode to start chain killing people giving additional bonuses for keeping the chain rolling.

The controls are easy to negotiate and the action flows well as the sounds of guns and explosions enhance the experience. The music selections are a perfect fit since all are fast tempo southwest style songs. Much of the music gives the feeling of wanting to brandish a ten gallon hat and empty whiskey bottles into your tummy which is only bad if you are playing this while driving. And yet it would still be safer than texting and driving.

A full clear of the game takes near 15 hours depending on the difficulty chosen and since it has a very repetitive nature, does not give the desire to be played over again. The love of the fighting in the Kill Bill movies, Max Payne or the Wachowski Brothers films is probably a good indicator that you will enjoy this game, just intend on setting aside a few days for a rental instead of bothering to dent the wallet buying the game.

Rating : 3.5 {on a scale of -10 to 10}

Resident Evil 5: Zombie no go go, unless you tell am to go, Zombie no go stop, unless you tell am to stop

"Now lets all just stay calm and hopefully we can take care of this 'Zombie' problem in a civilized manner"

Who knew a pregnant woman who barely plays video games with a hardcore gamer would both squirm with anticipation of getting through a normal work day to be rewarded with a zombie-blasting-fun-shotgun-reloading-handholding-good-old-time? For all your marriage needs Resident Evil 5 for PS3 and Xbox360 from Capcom is there fulfilling all that marital bliss people talked about you having after exchanging vows about sickness and genetic altering viruses and boy, was everyone right on about it all being worth it.

Without saying all the same stuff again about the love of zombie in all of its forms (Previous Review of RE5 Demo) I'm going to just stick to my reaction of RE5 after finishing the game with my diamond in the rough on a par 4.

A quick synopsis for this game will remind you of any RE typical virus problem creating zombies that must be dealt with.  After zombie after zombie are destroyed you take arms up against the person in charge of distributing the virus.  This RE takes place in a fictional African country as this makes for a great 'test' site for the newly created virus without the fear of a military superpower intervening.  Instead, you and your partner are a part of a small group that investigates biological terrorism around the world and is assigned to this lovely country after rumors start of people making meals of other people.

RE5 is everything I'd hoped for with a little extra gravy on the side.  It makes for a very hard decision when comparing to its predecessor, RE4, on which is better. The shock value on what a huge step forward RE4 was made for a high bar to live up to but with the addition of the Co-op mode, the beauty of this generation of consoles, and sticking with all that worked previously, RE5 has at least matched RE4 in greatness.  

The solo play is quality as the AI of your uncontrolled partner has the aim of a true champ and avoids death fairly well.  Your AI companion however, does not understand what it means to conserve ammo and will blow through just about every bullet you hand them.  For anyone who's played any of the RE games, you know that ammo is scarce and is one of the things that will make or break your survival as zombies attempt to chomp on your pooper and neck alike.  In some instances your AI buddy will be such a good shot that it almost feels like cheating.  This makes the game a bit easier than I prefer but others may appreciate all the help they can get.  

The Co-op mode is one of the best 2 person Co-ops I have ever seen. The overall game is so fun that even someone that is typically not enthralled with gaming can start to play RE5 and notice smiles appearing on their face.  After completing the game with my wife I realized that this game's development was actually centered around the idea of you playing with someone and making the experience of two people better than just one.  Many of the fights in the game are meant for you to coordinate times to reload, when to take shots, exchanging of equipment, and covering one another from all directions which is best done with a real partner and not a skynetty one.  The controls are easy enough for anyone to pick up and quickly learn as they are identical to RE4's 3rd person over the shoulder shooting controls.   

Hopping right into playing with a partner isn't the fastest thing to do as RE will save all of your progress no matter who's game you are joining and no matter where they are in the story.  What is nice about this is all the extra unlockables that are bought with a how-smooth-was-success based point system is saved to your account and not just the person's story you are playing.  

The cutscenes and storyline are solid and mesh very well to make the experience a complete one.  There is still some of the extra unnecessary unusualness that RE/Capcom likes to have such as extreme physical attributes (punching through a person) and over the top characters.  Even with this strangeness, the voice acting is done very well and the music and sounds of the game also make for a seamless movie played out as a game or game played out as a movie depending on your half full/hall empty outlook.  Different pistols sound like their real counterpart and the ooga-booga zombie sounds still have the same old scariness that comes from when you know damn well it's in the shadows somewhere.

Completing the game just like RE4 unlocks some extra modes of play but not as many as RE4.  RE4 had a very difficult extra storyline that could be played after the game was completed and RE5 is missing something like that.  I'm going to guess that since the new trend of games now is to have to purchase extra expansions, they will probably release something like this at a later date.  

Lots of head disintegrating action, smooth transitioning cutscenes, fun gameplay, and an opportunity to make a real life partnership even stronger make Resident Evil 5 a game everyone should take the time to find a partner to play it with.  Yeah, it being RE5, I think...   

Rating: 9.0 {on a scale of -10 to 10, 5 being a must play}

Fela Kuti and the Afrika 70 - Zombie (video is only 10 min of the full 12+ min song)