Review - Chronicles of Riddick: Assault on Dark Athena

Developer/Publisher: Starbreeze Studios/Tigon Studios/Atari
Release Date: April 7, 2009
Available On: Xbox 360, PS3, PC
Genre: Stealth shooter
Number of Players: 1-12
Strong Points: Excellent value for the money; Butcher Bay presents a challenging experience with few flaws; voice acting is top notch; Butcher Bay conversion looks and feels like an Xbox 360 game, rather than a port of a five-year-old game; story through both games is captivating and compelling
Weak Points: Dark Athena strays too far from franchise strengths; shooter segments are average and unsatisfying
Technical Score: A
Artistic Score: B+
Final Score (not an average): B
Moral Warnings: Violent and blood run rampant throughout; profanity is featured heavily in the game; brutal one-on-one combat a major part of game play; sexual references to rape and masturbation in both games

In 2004, right around the same time that everyone in the gaming industry had seemingly lost hope for movie tie-in games, “The Chronicles of Riddick: Escape from Butcher Bay” hit the original Xbox. Unlike many games related to movies where the player is asked to play through the events of the film itself, “Riddick” asked players to play a prologue of sorts to the films that had starred the character, Richard B. Riddick. The game did this by throwing the player into a “slam" (a prison), throwing away the key, and then taunting: escape.


Riddick’s subsequent escape is chronicled in “Escape from Butcher Bay,” the first and strongest part of “The Chronicles of Riddick: Assault on Dark Athena,” and its sequel, the eponymous “Dark Athena.” Much like “Thief” before it, “Riddick” is a first-person stealth game with an initial focus on brutally disabling both guards and fellow inmates. This is “Riddick” at its finest; the shooting elements, while solid, tend to be frustrating and more twitch based than anything else, detracting from the real strengths of the game.

Sadly, this also means that the latter half of “Dark Athena” isn’t what it could be. Once the player gains the SCAR, a remote detonating mine launcher, the game turns into something resembling a weak run-and-gun shooter. This disrupts an otherwise methodical game, replacing the basic risk and reward mechanic with trial and error, something that may work well with the likes of “Doom,” “Quake” or “Painkiller,” but most definitely does not play to the strengths of the developers here. That’s not to say that developer Starbreeze doesn’t know how to make a game with shooting as its focus, however. For example, their previous effort, “The Darkness,” featured shooting game play more prominently than it is here, but then that game also gave you an adequate health system, along with enemies that weren’t overpowered. In this case, the elements of what makes for a good stealth action title don’t equate a quality first person shooter, and herein lies “Riddick’s” main problem.

Beyond that, “Riddick” is a stunning success. Adding to the already well-implemented stealth game mechanics are adventure elements, requiring conversation but little finesse. Characters give side quests and scant background information, and that’s about it, but where that would be a shortcoming in other games, it works to the benefit of the game here, adding some depth without breaking up the flow of the game itself. “Riddick” is also hard, recalling “Butcher Bay’s” original release, and in itself indicative of the way that difficulty has been toned down in the five years since the game first came out. In “Butcher Bay,” the challenge is rewarding; in “Dark Athena,” it becomes something along the lines of prohibitive.

First person combat is one of the most intriguing and well-implemented aspects of “Riddick.” Not gunplay; I’ve already established that leaves something to be desired. Instead, I’m referring to fist fights, which are far more common in “Butcher Bay,” but still integral to “Dark Athena.” From stealth take downs to simple one-on-one brawls, impacts and attacks sound real and carry weight when they connect. This alone places “Riddick” in far more brutal territory than many M-rated games, its only comparison in brutality — but not depravity, since the “Riddick” universe does have a moral center, and a defined one at that — being the “Manhunt” series of games.

“Riddick” is also one of the more visually inconsistent games released to date on either the Xbox 360 or PS3. This is mostly due to “Butcher Bay’s” status as a polished port. Both games are good looking, and unless you were previously aware, you wouldn’t know that “Butcher Bay” was a port. Even so, “Dark Athena” holds the edge here simply because it looks smoother and the animation — and consequently, the characters — feel more realized and lifelike.

Enemy AI is a problem, proving to be both stupid and hypersensitive. Relying partially on line-of-sight and partially on extrasensory perception, the enemies in both “Riddick” games automatically discover the player when out of cover or in light, and otherwise haphazardly rely on line-of-sight, which enables the player to brutally kill the enemy. However, unlike other stealth games, such as “Splinter Cell,” where the player must hide the bodies of the dead or unconscious, here that never really comes into play, although it’s suggested. There’s just no real reason to hide the bodies. The guards aren’t smart enough to do anything about it if they find a body, and unlike other games, there’s no varying levels of alert or awareness to hinder the player’s progress and make their job harder. This does not, however, make the game play any less exciting or visceral during the stealth segments; it simply surprises me that such a basic element of stealth gaming could be left out of the equation, though with how solid the majority of the game is, it’s more a disappointment than anything else.

Of course, this wouldn’t be a big-budget action game without excellent voice acting, and here “Riddick” does not disappoint. In the first game, Vin Diesel, Cole Hauser, Xzibit and Ron Perlman all turn in top notch performances, only to be handily outclassed by the voice cast of “Dark Athena,” which includes Lance Henriksen and Michelle Forbes.

Much of the problem with the content with Riddick lies in the language that’s used by the various characters on display. Enemies use the full-range of profanities normally featured in an R-rated film, from variations of the f-word to lesser profanities, including blasphemies. One character drops the c-word twice and then mentions raping a female character that Riddick is helping out. Every word in the book is used during the course of both games, possibly — improbably — more in “Dark Athena,” a game not even set in a prison. In “Butcher Bay,” occasional references to prison rape are made. “Dark Athena” also has an inmate masturbating with his back to the player. Blood and gore splatter the walls, and enemies display wounds from attacks that they’ve received. Both games encourage players to hunt down and disable enemies, which can include brutal weapon disarms, unarmed kills and armed kills, all of which showcase Riddick’s particular brand of bloodlust.

“The Chronicles of Riddick: Assault on Dark Athena” comprises the best value seen in games since “The Orange Box,” and also contains one of the best Xbox games ever made. It is a testament to the fact that good movie games can and do exist, if the developers care about the project enough to implement quality game play. However, with that recommendation comes a warning: both “Riddick” games are astoundingly brutal, profane and dark, unrelenting in the atmosphere of oppression and captivity that they convey. This is a game based on an R-rated film franchise and is not for children; those mature enough and willing to venture into a prison and slave ship will find a rewarding, disturbing experience very much unlike any found on any system to date.


-Drew Regensburger (drew@revolve21.com)
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Review - Dead Space

Developer/Publisher: EA Redwood Shores (EARS)/EA
Release Date: October 14, 2008
Rating: M for Blood and Gore, Intense Violence and Strong Language
Available On: Xbox 360, PS3, PC
Genre: Action-Horror
Number of Players: 1
Strong Points: Strategic gunplay forces player to pick their shots; effective creation of atmosphere that permeates game world; strong story drives player along; plenty of replay value
Weak Points: Game tends towards easiness; boss battles are inventive, though not challenging; game seems too short (10-12 hours long); unlocked items cannot be carried over to a new save at a harder difficulty
Technical Score: A
Artistic Score: B
Final Score (not an average): A
Moral Warnings: Combat revolves around dismemberment of enemy limbs; blood spray hits everything and coats the player character; profanity shows up every once in a while, from “f***” to “s***”; imagery throughout tends to be very disturbing and is designed to unsettle the player in an effort to create an effective atmosphere


Imagine taking two of science fiction’s best horror movies-Alien and Event Horizon-throwing them into a blender with Resident Evil 4, and then sprinkling in elements strongly reminiscent of Scientology. Dump that goop onto a pan, throw it in an oven, and what comes out should be Dead Space.

Dead Space is one of the "new" EA’s first forays into something called the original IP, an experiment that has brought new life with games like Mirror’s Edge, Spore and Skate. These are unlicensed games, unestablished properties, and they are not necessarily going to bring in as much revenue as, say, a Madden or Call of Duty title would.


In this instance, the experiment is largely successful: Dead Space is a game that, while never exactly adventurous with its game play elements, does what it sets out to do very well. Everything here is borrowed from another game. The camera and game play, from Resident Evil 4; the way that the story and environment mesh, including presentation of certain story elements, from Bioshock; these and many more influences litter the halls of the USG Ishimura, a place dense and claustrophobic with the newly dead and newly reanimated.

You control Isaac Clarke, an engineer who, along with the crew of a repair ship, has been dispatched to help the crippled vessel called the USG Ishimura. Clarke has a personal stake in the mission, however; a woman named Nicole Brennan, Isaac’s ex-girlfriend, is a doctor stationed aboard the ship. Upon docking (sorta) with the ship, it soon becomes pretty apparent that there’s something very, very wrong with the Ishimura, and that maybe repairs aren’t going to cut it. The crew is missing. The halls are darkened, and the walls splattered with blood. And there are... things roaming the halls, things that don’t seem to die. It is through this that Isaac must traverse to figure out what went wrong, to save the repair ship crew, and to save Nicole.

Things aren’t going to be easy on that front. Dead Space introduces an element to the game play that challenges the player to pick their shots, and pick wisely. Enemies don’t go down by headshots, and they don’t go down from hits to the body, at least not very easily. Instead, the developers force the player to aim at the extremities: it slows down the target, and, for some reason, enables the player to kill enemies (called Necromorphs) far faster than if the player shot at the head or the body. This slows down the pace of a game that could have been a sci-fi reimagining of RE4, and also makes the game much gorier. It also encourages ammo conservation since, like many horror games, ammunition becomes more difficult to come by in the later stages of the game.

Dead Space has twelve missions in it which generally last an hour each (less if you don’t take your time). Each of these missions tends to have a very simple structure - the player receives orders, tries to fulfill said orders, has to clear out a ton of enemies, maybe has to solve a puzzle, and then returns to mission start. A tram that transports the player around the ship connects all missions, and through this most areas are revisited once or twice, though never for reasons that are illogical. The developers wisely chose to have you revisit an area if a reasonable item was there. If you have to search a dead body, check the morgue; if you have to reactivate the engines, you go to the engine room, etc. Nothing is out of place, and the progression always makes sense.


Game play variety is where Dead Space falters. Most of the time, the game has you running from point A to pick up an item at point B, with a couple of monster closets and rooms to best along the way. This isn’t exactly boring because Dead Space manages to be consistently entertaining throughout the length of its ten or so hours. But it isn’t exactly varied, either. Variety comes into play in two areas: zero gravity and zero oxygen sections. Since you’re traversing what is essentially a crippled freighter floating dead in space, you’re bound to run into areas on the ship where external repairs have to be made or internal malfunction has caused some sort of gravity or oxygen deficiency. These sections of Dead Space add some more flavor to the mix, and they tend to be executed quite well with the exception of one ridiculously unnecessary asteroid shooting segment, a set piece that has controls so terrible that they reminded me of the worst parts of the N64 game Shadows of the Empire. That is to say that they’re loose and unresponsive, spurring multiple attempts to complete the segment should the player be compelled to do so.

Graphically, Dead Space is gorgeous. The Ishimura, where most of the game takes place, is a varied environment, not all gray corridors and atmospheric lighting. No one area on the ship looks the same, which is great for the progression in the game. Texture work on both character models and environments is right up there with the best of them. Lighting is phenomenally impressive and animation is the same. All of it lends credence to the idea that you, as Isaac, are really on the ship and really experiencing the horrors that might be lurking behind every door and around every curve. On the other hand, any printed text in-game tends to be too small on an SDTV; I got a headache a few times after playing too long, which is a problem.

Side story bits, inventory, and the on-screen map are handled through a pop up menu since the game does not actively pause (except for when you press the Start button) for pretty much anything. All of this adds to the game but is essentially optional and not required to complete the game. Upgrades for weapons, new weapons, and suit upgrades are all handled like this, too, except through collection of valuable items as the player travels the ship. Upgrades are handled through a workbench feature which is much like leveling up, RPG-lite style, while new purchases and suit changes are handled through a store that you can generally access around tram stations.

The audio is, likewise, amazing. From sound effects to voice acting, everything rings true to the genre and never comes off as cheesy or misplaced. All of the music in-game adds tension and contributes to the ominous atmosphere that the developers were going for. Add in the excellent use of surround sound, and at times it really does feel like you’re surrounded by the enemies that populate the ship, fighting for your life.


Gore is prevalent in Dead Space. The entire combat system is based around the player strategically dismembering enemies. Blood often splatters the walls and floor and, sometimes, Isaac’s body. There’s also a ton of frightening images strewn throughout the game from imposing boss enemies (three of them, I think) to standard, disturbing horror fare (bodies being autopsied, an apparent suicide, etc.) meant to unnerve the player. Profanity doesn’t tend to be a problem, which means that it’s not featured throughout the game, though there are some instances of curse words, one or two of which is the f-word. A major facet of the story deals with a cult-like religion; some of the religious concepts that the followers believe in are detailed for the player, though there’s not much exposition on that front.

Dead Space is easily one of the best games that I’ve played in the last year. It’s not perfect, and it’s certainly not original, but it’s a great example of what happens when a good idea meets strong execution coupled with a compelling story and universe. However, while Dead Space is certainly well done, it’s definitely not frightening, and hardly creepy. The atmosphere, while set up well, isn’t exactly successful in creating an ominous tone; I can honestly say that I was only mildly creeped out once or twice during the game, and those times were due to incidental happenings in the game world, only one of which I’m sure the developer had anything to do with. That said, those going in expecting an excellent story and a great game can’t go wrong here; those expecting to be scared like they were playing Silent Hill 2 should maybe rent Dead Space first.

-Drew Regensburger (drew@revolve21.com)
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Review - Street Fighter IV

Developer/Publisher: Dimps/Capcom
Release Date: February 17th, 2009
ESRB Rating: Teen for Alcohol Reference, Mild Suggestive Themes, Violence
Available On: Arcade, Playstation 3, Xbox 360 (version reviewed)
Genre: Fighting
Number of Players: 1-2 (local and online)
Strong Points: Fantastic return of a long-loved series; great visual direction; very likable and diverse characters; extremely well-tuned fighting engine that rewards study and practice
Weak Points: That same reward system keeps the game from being something that anyone can simply pick up and play with favorable results; character stories told through sub-par anime sequences are completely lacking; online play lacks the lobby system seen in other Street Fighter releases
Technical Score: A
Artistic Score: A
Final Score (not an average): A
Moral Warnings: Gameplay revolves around beating opponents into a knock out using fists, feet, throws, and special attacks; "damn," "crap," and "hell" are used in the game; some female characters are moderately immodest in attire; many characters have vaguely supernatural powers


Hadouken! Fifteen years ago, you would likely hear a game machine screaming something just like that when entering an arcade. Though Street Fighter found its start in the late 80s, the Street Fighter II series was in full effect in the early 90s, gathering attention from masses of people who would vie for the honor of being the best player in a given arcade or region. That series, with its fast pace, heavy use of strategy, and complete removal of chance as a factor for winning, drove competitive gaming forward. The Street Fighter name has well earned its praise and undying devotion from countless people around the world. With nearly ten years between us and the last title that wasn't a repackaging in some way, Street Fighter IV has potential to be a series reboot and an opportunity to bring competitive fighting games back to the foreground among gamers.

Before I get into what sets Street Fighter IV apart from (and above) other games in the genre, let's take a step back to look at some of the basics of the series in case if you're starting at square one. As mentioned above, the Street Fighter series is about competition. On the most basic level, you can view the game as two people trying to physically beat each other to a knock out, which is as too many untrained eyes would see it. However, the series is so much more than that.

When other games moved into the realm of 3D graphics and movement, Street Fighter stuck with (beautifully) hand drawn sprites on a 2D plane. When other games brought in ridiculously over-the-top special attacks and combos, Street Fighter kept the basic options simple and direct. When other games wanted to give everyone, regardless of how long he or she had been playing, a fairly equal chance of victory, Street Fighter focused on rewarding practice, strategy, and raw skill.


Street Fighter has always been about using a combination of punches, kicks, throws, and super moves to effectively crush your opponent. Though most of the attacks are straightforward, the special moves change things up by adding in various projectile attacks and moves that can be used in the air. This basic gameplay design has remained true throughout the series, and continues to remain true in Street Fighter IV.

By no means should you think Street Fighter IV uninspired or unchanged, though. I've heard it said that "if it ain't broke, don't fix it." Really, honestly, Street Fighter IV could have been yet another repackaging of an existing sub-series, and it would have been a well-tuned, highly addictive, highly competitive fighting game. Fortunately, Capcom wanted to outdo its past with Street Fighter IV.

Better yet, in nearly every respect, Capcom succeeded in this goal. Capcom decided that hardcore fighting games were getting to a point that "human beings couldn't play them any more," so they opted to take the series back to its roots, found in Street Fighter II. To go with the game's return to the simpler and more accessible II series (instead of the more technical Alpha and III series) in gameplay direction, the game also pays homage to its roots by including 15 of the 17 characters found in the series. The game also has six completely new characters in addition to four characters from the Alpha series (sorry, III series fans, none of those exclusive characters have made the roster this time out). For those of you (like me) who want to know how many characters that adds up to without doing the math, we're talking about a large roster of 25 playable characters.

Before we look into the intricacies of the new fighting system, along with its big changes, let's take a brief look at the diversity of the roster. One of the great things about it is that every character is truly unique even if there are misleading similarities on the surface. Sure, Ryu and Ken look a lot alike and have similar movesets, but the way that they are used often varies greatly.

Some characters are designed to give emphasis to attacking from a distance with fireballs and other attacks; some characters are extremely quick, allowing you to try and overwhelm an opponent with a flurry of attacks; some characters are designed with heavy emphasis on grappling and throwing in mind; and some characters are best used attacking from the air while others are best used against foes in the air. Then again, these things are more like multi-dimensional spectrums that any given character falls somewhere closer to the middle of than at a complete extreme. As if these spectrums were not enough to consider when deciding on who to play as, characters also range in difficulty of use. For example, Zangief, the Russian wrestler, is extremely powerful but more difficult to use effectively than many other characters. All the same, Capcom is a master at its craft, and no character guarantees victory or defeat; even the seemingly weakest characters can beat the strongest. But I can talk character specifics another time. Let's get back to talking about what sets Street Fighter IV apart.

The first, and arguably biggest, addition to the fighting system is the Focus Attack system. Focus Attacks serve a number of purposes on the basic level, and there are countless ways to implement them. The Focus Attack is a move that can be charged up. Depending on how long you charge, you will execute a different level of the Focus Attack; each level improves effectiveness, and the attack will break through a block at the highest charge level. Better yet, the Focus Attack allows for parrying incoming attacks. During the charge time of the Focus Attack, you can absorb a single hit. If your opponent lands a second hit before you can release the charge for a counter attack, your guard will be broken, and you will be left extremely vulnerable. However, if you succeed in landing the counter attack, your opponent will crumple over (as is the case in most successful Focus Attacks and in all successful counter attacks) and be exposed long enough to fire off your character's Super or Ultra Attack.


Super Attacks and Ultra Attacks are mostly original to Street Fighter IV. Super Attacks have been around in some form or another for the series for quite a while. In many cases Super Attacks are kind of like glorified, multi-hit special attacks. Super Attacks are executed by building your Super Combo Meter. This is simply done by attacking and guarding. Different attacks add different amounts to your charge meter, but it will usually take a little while to build it up enough to execute a Super Attack. The Super Combo Meter is broken up in four segments. Having at least one full segment segment will allow you to execute an EX attack, and having two segments available will allow you to use an EX Focus.

I'll get back to Ultra Attacks in a moment, since it makes more sense to explain EX Attacks and EX Focus now instead of leaving you wondering. An EX Attack is a supercharged special attack. Typically, these attacks do more damage and hit an enemy more times. Ken's fireball, for instance, does a chunk of damage upon contact when used regularly. When used as an EX move, Ken will flash yellow during execution, but the attack will otherwise look like a regular fireball. EX Attacks are more useful for strategy than doing damage, though.

Remember what I said about being invulnerable to a single attack during the charge portion of a Focus Attack? The EX move will blast right through a charging opponent. But even more useful for strategic purposes is that an EX fireball will cut right through a standard fireball by absorbing the opposing fireball with the first hit. Since fireball wars are all too common on Live, having this option available is a huge asset. And what about those EX Focus moves? EX Focus allows you to cancel out of a special move. If you set up for a heavy special attack only to have it blocked, you can EX Focus to hop back to a defensive state instead of leaving yourself vulnerable. On the other hand, if you have enough charge for an Ultra Attack and an EX Focus, you can special move an opponent to get a hit in and set up a combo; from there you can EX Focus, hop forward, and launch your Ultra Attack.

With that, let's talk about what the Ultra Attack is. The Ultra Attack is the pinnacle of Street Fighter IV's new Revenge system. The Revenge system is a pretty simple concept: take damage and get angry to store energy in your Revenge Gauge. Once your Revenge Gauge is at least half full, you can execute your character's Ultra Attack. In many cases, the Ultra is a lot like a modified Super. Control input is usually the same with the only difference being that you have to hit all three punch or kick attack buttons instead of one. Successfully pulling off an Ultra is not the easiest thing ever, and whiffing an Ultra will leave you very vulnerable with little life left. Successfully landing an Ultra is no guarantee for a comeback, but it will give you a much better chance at coming out ahead.

Still, even though the Revenge system is nice to have for times of desperation, it is far more ideal to beat out an opponent without taking enough damage to make it usable. This brings me back to the game's true focus: strategy. Though being able to consistently throw a fireball or use a Focus Attack is important, spamming special moves will only get you so far. Attack combos and strategies for both the next second of gameplay as well as the entire round quickly become necessary if you want to hold your own on a competitive level. So strategy-driven is the game that I even wrote a staff blog comparing it to chess.

But I guess now would be as good a time as any to point out that Street Fighter IV, as amazing and deep as it is, is not a game for everyone. Even though Capcom wanted to make the game accessible to newcomers without alienating veterans, there are very high demands that you will have to meet if you want to compete seriously. Capcom did simplify the system down from the Alpha and III series, but it still rewards those who actually work to improve. Because of this, those who simply want a pick up and play game will rarely hold their own against people who play regularly. If you're one of those people, I'm going to do something I rarely do and advise you to stay away from the game. Then again, as part of Capcom's desire to make the game more accessible, they've included a very useful Challenge Mode that will walk you through a number of any character's special moves and powerful combos. Being able to work through these tools (which give even experienced players trouble at times) will not promise you victory in tournaments, but it will definitely help you as you develop your skills and personal fighting style.

On the subject of game modes and options, Street Fighter IV is full of them. In addition to Arcade and local and online Versus modes, there are a ton of Survival, Time Attack, and Challenge Mode options. There is also a basic Training Mode with the ability to record your own attack series to practice against and a host of other options to toy with. One nice thing about these modes is that they all reward you for progression. In any game mode, performing well will unlock Titles and Icons that you can use to customize your presence online; they may not add a lot, but the extra bonus is nice.


On that note, there is a ridiculous amount of stuff to unlock. There are probably hundreds of Titles and Icons to unlock. There are also alternate colors to unlock for your characters and some other minor customization options, too. Additionally, though it is both rewarding and bothersome, a third of the game's characters have to be unlocked before using them. The characters in particular are unlocked in Arcade Mode. Conveniently, this can be done on the easiest game difficulty.

Inconveniently, even on the easiest difficulty, the game's computer opponents can be devastating at times. On the easy levels, beating a number of the opponents won't be too hard, but somehow seemingly impossible attacks will be landed on you. In my experience, this is especially true with grappling characters that seem to grab and throw me while I'm in the middle of an attack. It's definitely aggravating, but it's not impossible. Fighting in these situations can even be good training, but it ultimately won't compare with playing against real opponents.

And playing against real opponents is key to Street Fighter's success. Thankfully for all of us, home technology is at a point that online play is not only possible, but it actually tends to work out well. Online play is by no means perfect, but Capcom's netcode is fairly effective at hiding lag even on my weak internet connection. Finding people to play against is pretty easy, but having friends with the game helps. The only thing that upsets me about online play is the lack of a virtual arcade/lobby system that was included in the Xbox Live version of Hyper Fighting and in both version of HD Remix. Interestingly, Capcom tried to recreate some of the arcade feel by giving you an option to accept random challenges from the internet even while playing the offline Arcade mode. Thankfully, you can turn this option off if you simply want to progress through Arcade without interruptions.

Aside from the lack of the virtual lobby/spectator option, the troubles with online play are hardly the fault of Capcom; they're a result of people who cannot accept a loss. On the other hand, if you play with friends, this becomes much less of an issue. Then again, even the quality netcode won't replace playing against friends in person, so it's great that Capcom included a fully featured local play option.

Before pressing on, I think now is a good time to bring up something else about the game's difficulty. While the AI can be brutal, and it will take training to be able to hold your own against people who do train, one of the most brutal things of all actually has nothing to do with the game itself. Though the Playstation controller gets along with fighting games fairly well, the 360 controller is not very useful for fighting games at all. Due to the placement of the D-pad, it's uncomfortable to use. Using the analog stick is possible, and what I do when I have to play with a gamepad, but it is not as accurate and easy to use as the controls for a fighting game should be. The overall design of the controller complicates the game. Then again, I will say that Capcom made the right decision by keeping a traditional control scheme. When Capcom added Easy Operation controls to some of the console ports of Capcom vs. SNK 2, the game was no longer the same and not for the better. All that being said, you can play the game with the stock controller, and you can play decently, but you will probably want to pick up an arcade stick if you want to play the game seriously.

Really, I could talk for days about the gameplay, characters, and strategies, but I'm guessing that you will want to go on with your life at some point, so let's move on and look at what makes Street Fighter IV even more special: the new graphical direction. As I'm sure you've figured out by now, Street Fighter IV has shifted the series away from the 2D sprites we're so familiar with over to 3D character models and stages (something that had only been done in the less popular EX sub-series of games previously).

Now, I'll be the first to admit that I was quite opposed to the shift in direction when I first heard about it. I probably even went so far as to say that the 3D models would kill Street Fighter. It took me until the last few weeks leading up to the release to even begin to warm up to the new visuals. As I started to pay more attention to the details of the new graphics, I began to see how amazing the result of the change was. Somehow, in spite of moving from hand-drawn images to computer-generated models, the artists were able to retain the charm of the characters. Not only are the characters charming in their own ways, but they are also extremely detailed. In technical terms, the polygon counts are high and the texture maps leave nothing lacking.


But technicality without execution doesn't mean much to me. It's one thing to have exceptionally detailed characters, and it's quite another thing for them to move, act, and react in a lively fashion. Fortunately, Street Fighter IV looks even better in motion than it does in screenshots. With strong attacks, your character's face will show the intensity going into the attack. When faced with an opponent's Super Attack or Ultra Attack, characters' faces show their shock and horror at the thought of the pain that will follow if the move is not blocked.

On that note, Supers and Ultras are in some ways the height of something that the entire game oozes with: style. To highlight the personalities of the characters, and to add dramatic effect to the attacks themselves, the gameplay comes to a halt while the camera zooms in on the attacking character. Assuming that an Ultra attack connects, the camera will take dramatic twists to show off punishing effects of move.

But that's just one example of the style. The Focus Attack comes with style all its own. While charging, the appearance of black ink will surround your character. When releasing the attack, the ink will disperse dramatically. It may not add anything to the gameplay, but things like this add to the already strong visual appeal of the game. Of course, it helps that the ink effect bears similarity to the game's intro video which was broken into parts for the sake of hype-building trailers prior to the game's release.

I think I should point out that the intro video is no mundane thing added merely because intros are expected. Make no mistake, this intro video is one of the most impressively stylish things I've ever seen in a game. It is exceedingly dramatic and dynamic, but it's the combination of rival fighters doing what they do best in a ridiculously beautiful and cool animation direction. It's not altogether common for me to be wowed by style, so it's no small thing that I'm this impressed.

I just wish that I could say the same about the anime sequences at the beginning and end of every character's quest through Arcade Mode. The quality of the animation itself isn't terrible, but the so-called stories are incredibly weak. If knowing the Street Fighter canon is important to you, the videos could be nice if not for the fact that some of the videos seem to contradict themselves. In most cases, you'll simply want to skip the videos since they add nothing to the game. Then again, it's hard to be that bothered by the lack of quality in these videos since they're so peripheral to the game as a whole.

Fortunately, where it matters, Street Fighter IV constantly comes through. Returning for a moment to the visual department, the regularly used special effects are quite effective. Special moves like fireballs look great as they launch, soar, and collide with an opponent or another fireball. Dust effects and the like look good, too.

To round out the visual side of things are a variety of stages to fight on. Functionally, they're all pretty much the same. Visually, most of the stages have cheering onlookers that react to the fight. Other things, like the tearing of a sheet over a doorway and the shaking of a boat after forcefully knocking someone to the ground are also examples of how environments come to life and react to the fights. We may not be talking about interactive environments here, but these subtle things add to the overall production quality of the game.

In case this theme of high production qualities hasn't been obvious enough (anime sequences notwithstanding), I'll say it again: Capcom's production qualities for Street Fighter IV are ridiculously high. As you have seen, this is true of the gameplay and visual directions, and it is also true of the sound department.

All of the characters are fully voiced, and most of the voice acting is decent. However, Capcom saw fit to give us a very nice bonus feature. Not only did they choose to give us access to the Japanese voices, but they also gave us the ability to pick and choose which characters are given which region's voices. A nice gift to those of us who are particular about our voice actors. Basic attack and defense sound effects are effective in their roles, but there's not much more to be said about that.


The music is an interesting like it or love it affair. With the partial exception of the opening/main theme, the soundtrack pays homage to the series' roots much like everything else in the game. Most of the songs range from soaring guitar leads to techno beats to traditional Chinese music. The opening theme, which begins like a classic Street Fighter theme, quickly turns into a catchy pop anthem that can get stuck in your head for hours. The majority of the songs are well written. Whether or not you like the songs will be a matter of preference, but Capcom's choosing to continue paying tribute to the series' origins with the music was the right decision.

Also true to the game's origins is the unashamedly violent nature of the gameplay. While bones don't break, and wounds don't bleed, fighters take a lot of abuse. Some attacks would kill a real person if they could somehow be done, but at least those attacks are portrayed as being over-the-top. Still, everything from strong punches and kicks to backbreaking throws to supernatural energy attacks is put to use while trying to knock out opponents (there are no deaths in the gameplay). No matter how you slice it, though, the gameplay revolves around constant combat. Beyond the violence, there is some usage of mild profanities (some characters say "damn" and "crap," and the announcer often says before a match that it "is going to be one hell of a show"). The ESRB refers to "alcohol reference," but it must be small since I can't recall it. Supernatural elements are in effect, but are pretty tame. Many characters have a rather undefined source of energy used for fireballs and the like. Akuma is a character consumed by a dark form of this energy. Rose has attacks loosely based in magic and soul power. Seth, the final boss, is a part of S.I.N. and has a sphere resembling a Yin-Yang symbol in place of his stomach. Finally, some of the female characters wear revealing clothing. The most extreme examples of this would be Cammy's costume resembling a one-piece bathing suit and Crimson Viper's modified suit that reveals both cleavage and midriff. Additionally, there are female stand-ins in some of the stages that wear revealing clothing. Fortunately, in contrast to many other fighting games, sex-appeal is hardly a point of focus here.

If you've actually read this whole review, I'm pretty impressed. Street Fighter IV is a ridiculously deep game, and to try and do justice to the game in any less detail can't really be done. But all things must come to an end, and this review is no exception. At this point, I'm going to hazard a guess and say that you fall into one of three groups. You could find the game's surface emphasis on violence to be off-putting and choose to avoid the game because of that. Otherwise, the game's extremely deep fighting system with heavy focus on practice, strategy, and competitive play will send you in the direction of loving or hating the game. There is a lot to love, and the depth of the system along with the variety of characters can give the game a ridiculous amount of replay value for those who do love it and can put the time into the game to get good. However, those who have little to no desire to work at a game in order to hold their own in competition will probably hate the game because of the way it rewards those who do practice.

Still, a game should not be criticized for rewarding those who work hard to gain their skills. With that in mind, Street Fighter IV is an absolutely fantastic game in nearly every respect. Whether or not it is able to bring serious competitive fighting games to the foreground of the industry can't be seen just yet, but the potential is here. If by chance you're still on the fence about the game, I would highly recommend a rental to find out what you think for yourself. If you land more clearly in any of the above groupings, I recommend you either waste no more time and buy the game or stay far, far away from it for the sake of your sanity or conscience.

-Kenny Yeager (kenny@revolve21.com)

Second Spin by Drew Regensburger

Street Fighter IV, as Kenny said, is a beautiful game; there's no doubt about that. Animation is smooth, environments and character models lean towards gorgeous and the backdrops are all captivating. Combine that with the depth and flexibility of the game's engine, and I have no qualms about calling SFIV a masterpiece of the genre. Five years ago, I would have been stunned by the game, knocked on my back and would have proceeded to work at getting good at the game for hours and hours, until my thumbs were blistered and my eyes red. These days, however, I have less time, and can't devote the free time I do have to a game that demands the practice and discipline that this one does. Coupled with atrocious controls on a standard game pad (the 360's spongy d-pad is worse than the Gamecube's, which is saying quite a bit), and you have a game that not only makes it difficult for newcomers but requires a bit of a steeper price tag than a "normal" game would, simply because of the necessity of a decent arcade stick. For those among you with the time, interest and funds to make this worthwhile, go for it; you'll be rewarded with a deep game and a compelling community. For those among you like me, or even those that enjoy more casual gaming than I, I'd recommend staying away, since you'll be summarily stomped within ten minutes of putting the game in the system. Not a bad thing by a long shot, but not for everyone.

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Metal Gear Solid 4

Developer/Publisher: Kojima Productions/Konami
Release Date: June 12, 2008
Rating: M
Available On: Sony Playstation 3
Genre: Stealth action
Number of Players: 1
Strong Points: Engrossing story; graphics, animation and sound are all as good as they come; superb stealth system; combat feels fluid and natural
Weak Points: A few of the cutscenes may be too long for some players, though they can be either paused or skipped
Technical Score: A
Artistic Score: A
Final Score (not an average): A
Moral Warnings: Violence is used throughout the game, with some blood; certain female characters show cleavage, and the camera also gives the option to zoom in on it; playboy magazines can be seen and looked through in the game, though no nudity is present; some strong language peppered throughout the campaign, including f- and s- words; Old Snakes smokes… a lot

Fans of the Metal Gear Solid series have been anticipating the fourth installment for quite a while now. Kojima Productions, the developer behind the fourth game in the series, has gone all out in polishing the game technically, trying to give it the most immersive experience seen yet in gaming. However, even with excellent graphics and superb playability, a game needs more to it than pretty explosions, resounding gunshots and good controls to make it something to remember; that is, the story, the most important aspect to any single player game, is necessary, and through much work and sweat, Kojima Productions manages not only to give the game a fantastic story (which, incidentally, manages to tie up all loose ends left dangling in previous games), but also gives it such a presentation that it will be remembered for generations to come.

The story of Metal Gear Solid 4 is actually quite simple to grasp. The game’s protagonist, Solid Snake, now codenamed Old Snake due to the premature aging occurring because his “clone” engineering is breaking down, is tasked with going into the Middle East and taking out Liquid, one of the game's main antagonists. Liquid is thought to be raising an army to take over the Sons of the Patriots organization. Sons of the Patriots, or SOP, is a nanomachine system used mainly by the PMCs to enforce the loyalty of their soldiers and to track them. The nano bots are injected into all soldiers, and can be used for many purposes, one of the most beneficial being silent talk. This lets soldiers of the same company talk and think as one, without so much as opening their mouths. If Liquid were to control Sons of the Patriots, he would have total control over anyone injected with the bots which would make him near unstoppable. Thus, Snake and company have reason enough to take him out. While I cannot say too much about the story without spoiling it, I will say that throughout this epic tale, you will come into contact with many old friends and foes previously seen in earlier Metal Gear Solid games.

Metal Gear Solid 4’s narrative, which in truth just boils down to having to take out the bad guy and save the world, has been seen elsewhere in other games of its ilk. However, the way in that it's told hasn’t been seen before. Truly the most amazing part to the game is the way that the narrative is told. It grabs hold of you and won’t let go until the very end, which, incidentally, is one of the most amazing moments in all of gaming. What makes it so unique is that the cutscenes, many of them ranging into the half hour-hour mark (they can be paused for breaks, though), are directed in such a way that they don’t feel like a game. When one of those epic scenes starts, it automatically feels like you’ve been put into a movie. One of the most notable reasons contributing to this effect would be the ‘flashbacks’ which occur during some of the movies. These flashbacks take place when you complete a certain button press (usually tap X repeatedly) that will appear in the upper left-hand corner of your screen. However, this also means you don’t want to put the controller down and relax completely during the movie scenes, because doing so may cause you to miss one of the prompted button presses, making you miss a flashback, which added quite a bit to the movie feel of the game.



However, this is also Metal Gear Solid 4’s biggest downfall: some of the movies may be too long for certain players. If you’re seeking an action story and nothing else, know that this game is probably not for you. Yet if story is irrelevant to you completely, the scenes can be skipped totally.

Metal Gear Solid games have always been about sneaking around behind enemy lines, avoiding detection at all costs, usually to retrieve a certain item or take out a certain person. Combat has never been the primary focus of the series, due mainly to tricky camera angles and buggy shooting controls. With Metal Gear Solid 4, that changes. Kojima Productions has tuned the combat so well that the game can, if desired, be played as a shooter. The aiming mechanics will feel familiar to anyone who has played Gears of War or the like, with L1 bringing up your weapon and R1 firing it. Or you could, if preferred, fight from the first person point of view. First person is triggered by holding L1 and clicking Triangle, and you’ll revert to the regular third person perspective once L1 is released. Those two control schemes open the game up to players wanting an action experience, whether as a shooter more as to the likes of Halo or third person action game similar to Gears of War.

Gun-and-duck cover taking is also a major aspect to the fighting, since Snake will take damage extremely quickly when in the open. You can take cover behind nearly any surface in the game, though some items will make better choices than others. For instance, you could jump behind the nearest fence when you begin to receive fire, yet bullets will pass through it if it isn’t thick enough. This has been seen before, yet in a game where every bullet you take could very likely mean the difference between life and death, it adds a considerable amount of strategy to the overall experience.

Early on in the campaign you will come across a weapons dealer named Drebin. Through him you will be able to purchase numerous weapons; you’ll find everything from a sniper rifle to a submachine gun to a rocket launcher in his shop. However, he doesn’t take money. What he takes is a special kind of points, called none other than Drebin points. These are collected in the field by picking up enemy guns. If the gun is already in your stock, it’s automatically sent to Drebin, minus the ammo, and you’ll be awarded precious Drebin points for your trouble. However, the points are good for more than just adding another gun to your inventory. Drebin will also supply you with explosives, ammo and weapon upgrades. And to add to the ease of use, Drebin’s shop can be accessed through the menu screen at any point in the game using the Mk. II, which will ferry items and weapons between you and Drebin.

If stealth is your preferred style of play, the game can still be played from that perspective, even with the large steps taken by the developer to bring in the action crowd. Old Snake has many gadgets which make sneaking about undetected in an enemy camp extremely fun. The OctoCamo suit is the most useful of them all. What this body armor does is blend Snake in with whatever the background. If you were to lie up against a white wall, your suit would automatically turn the exact shade of white as the wall. This works for any obstacle in an environment. The Face Camo, which you’ll discover a few hours into the game, is nearly identical in effect to the OctoCamo suit. It’s a mask that will blend into any background, making you even harder to detect.



Another asset to the stealth system is the Mk. II. This recon robot is used for exactly that: recon. Using its invisible cloak, you are able to sneak about quickly and avoid detection. The Mk. II can be used to stun enemies and pick up items, and it also serves as your contact between both Drebin and Otacon.

Graphically speaking, Metal Gear Solid 4 is one of the most beautiful games out there. The environments, to start off with, are gorgeous. The blades of grass and weeds will sway individually if a gust of wind should happen to disturb them, and they will crunch under foot or belly if Old Snake is crawling around within them. Smoke effects are another well done part of the graphics package. If a spray of machine gun fire runs along the ground, you’ll notice how the dust kicks up above the holes left by the bullets, and floats away, diminishing with longevity from the cloud it was to scant dust particles. However, even with how well done the environments are, they pale in comparison to the facial animations found in this game. Characters in Metal Gear Solid 4 portray emotions with such uncanny effect that you will likely think the faces on screen are that of real actors, and not computer generated images. It truly has to be seen to be believed.

Equal in class to the graphics is the audio quality in MGS4. The greatest reason for this is the voice acting, which is, honestly, Hollywood worthy. Snake sounds like a man in agony when he’s supposed too, and certain villains will likely creep players out with their eerie, albeit mechanical, voices (although the enemies in question are part robotic). Besides the exceptional voice acting, other sound effects, like gunshots and explosions, sound great, especially when paired with surround sound. Musically, Metal Gear Solid 4 has an extremely memorable score. It suits the game perfectly, adding even more emotional feeling where needed.

Morally, Metal Gear Solid 4 has several things hurting it. First off, and most notable, is the violence found within the game. The object of the game comes down to, in essence, having to kill the bad guys. However, the violence used is more like that found within a game like Call of Duty than that in, say, Gears of War. There is some blood, though it's kept mostly to cutscenes, and there is no gore to speak of. However, I can’t say the same for the language found throughout the campaign. Everything up to and including the f-word is used, though the worse of four letter words are infrequent, especially considering they namely appear in cutscenes. There is also some “potty humor” in Metal Gear Solid 4, though nothing explicitly “dirty”. For instance, at one point during a firefight, a friend of Snake's craps his pants, with complete sound effects and groaning. The “Suggestive Themes” rating on the back of the box refers to several things. The most chiefly noticeable reason for that rating would be the Playboy magazines that can be used to distract enemy soldiers, causing them to become totally oblivious to anything but the pages they are flipping through. Old Snake can also look through the magazines, though all the women in the magazines are in swimsuits; there is no nudity. That rating also refers to some suggestive comments made by certain characters, and the cleavage shown off by some of the female characters (which, during certain cutscenes, you are given the option to zoom in on). The last thing that should be mentioned in this section is Snake and company smoke frequently.

Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots is, without a doubt, a game that will be remembered for generations to come. Through its impressive graphics, amazing story presentation and epic characters, the game amazes in all areas. While some may be put off by the unusually long cutscenes, those numbers will be few; the game in between those story sequences more than makes up for having to sit through an hour long movie scene, compelling the player to proceed through the game by offering up amazing gameplay. So, if you own a PS3, there should be nothing stopping you from picking up this game today. It’s just that good.
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Review - Fallout 3

Developer/Publisher: Bethesda Game Stuidos/Bethesda Softworks, ZeniMax Media
Release Date: October 28th, 2008
ESRB Rating: Mature for Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, Sexual Themes, Strong Language, Use of Drugs
Available On: Microsoft Xbox 360 (version reviewed), Sony Playstation 3, Windows PC
Genre: Role Playing Game
Number of Players: 1
Strong Points: Fantastically realized post-apocalyptic world; gameplay blends real-time combat with mathematical mechanics of traditional RPGs; astounding production qualities
Weak Points: The Wastes are so barren that it's possible to feel like wandering around aimlessly when traveling; no voice acting from the player's character.
Technical Score: A
Artistic Score: A
Final Score (not an average): A+
Moral Warnings: Extreme violence that includes limbs (and heads) being blown apart upon death; violence is dealt through a variety of weapons (from hand-to-hand to explosives); the game's freedom allows you to kill anyone (of adult age) and anything you so choose; cannibalism is an option to evil characters later in the game; profanities up to, and including, the f-bomb may be heard throughout the game; it is possible to hire a prostitute (though sexual dialogue is avoided, and nothing visual takes place); questionable (and medication) drugs can be taken for boosts and may lead to addiction; slavery (including implied sex slavery) is present in the game.


Fans of the Fallout series have been waiting a very long time for Fallout 3 to arrive. The game series has been set in an alternate timeline where technology continued to improve, but society held true to the ideals and forms of the atomic age. In the game's universe, nuclear war in the late 21st century destroyed much of the human population and radically changed the earth (from the animal life to the water sources, everything biological has been affected). The humans that survived did so by retreating to Vaults. It is in Vault 101 that this game's protagonist begins his/her journey some 200 years after the bombs had dropped.

Previously, the game series came in the form of an isometric turn-based RPG. Even more importantly is that the series was was developed by another company, Black Isle Studios. When development of Fallout 3 was announced to be placed in the hands of Bethesda, known for the Elder Scrolls series, and that the game would shift to using an engine similar to that of the Elder Scrolls games, longtime fans trembled. The rest of us, who never managed to play Fallout in the past, quickly became giddy with the idea of "Oblivion with guns in a post-apocalyptic world." A great number of people in both camps have walked away from Fallout 3 thoroughly impressed, but not all of them got what they expected.


The first thing to note about Fallout 3 is that it absolutely is not Oblivion with guns. The graphics and physics engines may bear similarity, but that's largely it for common ground in terms of gameplay. So, if we can do away with that preconceived notion, let's talk about what Fallout 3 is instead of what it isn't.

At its most basic level, Fallout 3 is an experience of epic proportions. From the opening act of the game (which is a cleverly veiled character creation and basic control tutorial) to its conclusion, you can tell that the game is designed with a scope that few others come close to. The story picks up with you finding Vault 101 in a state of panic. Your father, for reasons unknown, has left the vault with no explanation or note. The chaos that followed his disappearance has resulted in the deaths of many of your fellow vault dwellers. Before you even escape Vault 101, you will be faced with a number of moral decisions to make.

These moral decisions, which fill the entire game, do a great deal to set Fallout 3 even further apart from games that could be considered its contemporaries. Any moral decision made (be it in the form of conversation or in explicit action) results in good or bad karma. Your karma affects the way the rest of the game can be played. If you opt to play the game with heavy leans towards good, shady characters in the game will not trust you. Without spoiling anything too surprising, your actions can greatly impact the game world around you (adding even more to the huge scope of the game). So great an impact do you have on the game world that an entire town can be destroyed by your hands. The inverse is true if you play with an evil bent. The game also allows for party members to join you in your quests. Your karma directly affects which party members will actually choose to join you. In many ways, the game encourages you to be rather moderate in your morality, but the moral decisions (in practically every instance) are entirely yours to make. Karma also guides character development in that it decides which Perks you can apply to your character.


Which leads us to a look at Perks and the other elements of character development. As a full-fledged RPG (don't let the real-time, gun-based combat lead you to believe that it is anything short of an RPG), you are given a great deal of control over your character's abilities. Characters have seven base stats (known in the game by the acronym SPECIAL). Each of these stats affects the effectiveness of your character's skills and base attributes. For instance, a character's Charisma stat influences his/her ability to deal in marketplaces, Endurance impacts how much life the character has, and so on. Beyond the base stats are a host of skills or abilities. Skills include things like Medicine, which determines how effective healing items are; Small Guns, which include pistols, rifles, and the like; and, among many other skills, Sneak, which allows you to get past enemies undetected. To add one more layer to the complexity of character building, Fallout contains Perks. You can choose from a list of available Perks once every time you level up. A Perk is a permanent addition to your character. Some Perks raise statistics or skills, others open up new topics in conversations, and others increase the amount of money and ammo you find in fallen enemies and boxes. There are more Perks than these, including the Bloody Mess perk (which raises the explosive nature of the violence even more), but this list serves as a basic overview of the benefit of Perks.

Character development takes place in true RPG fashion. Experience points are gained in order to level up. Experience points are gained after any successful use of a skill or death of a foe. Sneaking around does not gain experience (since there is no way to confirm success or failure), but picking a lock or hacking a computer does result in an experience boost. Still, the majority of your experience will be gained through combat.

Fortunately, the combat in Fallout 3 is beyond excellent. People who play first-person shooters will find the basic combat fairly comfortable. Move, aim, shoot, reload. Simple enough on the surface. However, in practice, you are not so very likely to play the game as you would a conventional shooter. Considering that the game truly is an RPG, hits are determined by mathematical probabilities that are computed behind the scenes instead of by pure aiming skill. Because of that, impossible shots that could potentially pulled off in a conventional shooter are not likely to be pulled off in Fallout. More importantly, though, Fallout includes what is called V.A.T.S. (Vault-Tec Assisted Targeting System).

VATS works by pausing the gameplay, zooming in on a targeted character, and allowing you to select a certain body part to aim for before firing. VATS provides you with the computed probabilities mentioned before, which helps in deciding whether to go for a headshot for maximum damage, a series of body shots for greater hit potential, or sniping the missile launcher out of the foe's hands. The computations shown on screen reflect hit probability, resulting damage, and the amount of AP (Action Points) that firing will use. See, VATS requires AP to use. Fortunately, AP regenerates quickly while playing, but this limits the use of VATS. The result of this is a balancing act of tactical positioning, run and gun tactics, and the precision of VATS.

Of course, Bethesda seemed to want to continually drive home the fact that Fallout 3 is a legitimate RPG. To prove the point, ammunition is limited in every non-melee weapon and, more importantly, weapons break down over time. As weapons break down, their effectiveness is quickly reduced. Naturally, this means that you're going to need to have your weapons repaired. You can pay to have weapons repaired at a dealer, but money is somewhat hard to come by in the game, so another option was made available: You can repair the weapons yourself. Your ability to repair weapons is limited by your Repair skill. Additionally, repairing a weapons means sacrificing another weapon of the same kind for parts. Thus, that Laser Rifle you just used to the point of failure will need you to have another rifle of the same kind in your possession in order to repair it. This mechanic requires you to decide whether or not to sell that third rifle you picked up on your last excursion.


The combat in the game is amazing in concept, balance, and execution. Few games are this ambitious in their combat systems, and fewer yet are able to reach their goals with such masterful skill. Still, for as much fighting as you'll do in the game, I would have a hard time truly calling it the game's focus. No, the game's focus is the unfolding of a tale that will determine the fate of the remnant of humanity. The narrative is carried out through exploration of the Wasteland and many junctures with significant characters and some scripted events. Still, there are few times in which the narrative is forced upon you after leaving Vault 101. For the most part, pursuit of game objectives is left to you. If you would rather go adventuring through the Wastes to see what is out there, the game allows for that and even rewards you with powerful items and experience. There are also a good number of optional side quests in addition to the main quest for you to go on. Each of these quests carries its own story with it.

The main quest is fairly lengthy. I walked away from the main quest a little bit in my playthrough, but I would estimate that the narrative spans 20-25 hours of gameplay for those who rigidly stick to it. Still quality is far more significant than duration when it comes to the narrative of a game like this. It is a good thing then that the narrative is interesting and engaging. I found myself caring about what came next, as well as figuring out who/what I needed to track down to continue. The fact that many of the significant characters carry their own lives and backstories with them adds to the pull of the narrative. The ability to twist the narrative by your moral actions make it even more interesting to watch unfold.

Beyond the narrative aspect of the exploration is the atmosphere the game carries with it. If the story isn't compelling enough on its own, the design of the game world serves as the clincher. It's easy to play the game and assume that a nuked DC would look quite like the world of Fallout. The ruins of residential areas, the rubble strewn about the remains of the subway, the barely standing Washington Monument, the remnants of civilization that have pulled together to survive the harsh environment, it all adds up for a result that is both devastating and beautiful.


And the game is beautiful not just in artistic direction, but also in technical prowess. By and large, the world is highly detailed in polygon count (resulting in character/object smoothness) and texture maps (resulting in fine details). Likewise, the special effects are largely appealing. Lighting is handled excellently. Really, though, words fail to capture the visual beauty of the game, so I can only recommend viewing more screenshots and watching some videos to appreciate the quality of the visuals. There is, however, a significant shortcoming: Animation, while smooth in terms of framerate, often seems bulky. This is especially noticeable when playing the game in the third-person view. Still, it is an offense that is relatively minor and easy to overlook in the grand context of things.

In terms of audio, everything except for player dialogue is spoken. The voice work in the game is largely good. A few voice actors seems somewhat uninspired, but the majority actually add a bit to the gameplay and narrative. Of course, the presence of Liam Neeson and Ron Perlman on the voice cast is sure to help make the narrative that much more appealing. Similarly, the audio effects, from gunshots to the sound of footsteps, suit the game well and really place you in your character's shoes.

The also game features a one-two punch of licensed music from the early Atomic Era and masterful original music by Inon Zur (who has composed music for a host of other games and some movies). Though the visuals may be credited for setting the atmosphere of the game, I would say that the licensed soundtrack is what sets the game setting in stone. Who would have thought that music from the 1940s could actually accentuate over-the-top post-apocalyptic violence and questing?

Ah, but there is that matter of the over-the-top violence. Make no mistake, Fallout 3 absolutely earns its Mature rating from the ESRB in every respect. The violence alone is over-the-top. Headshots on enemies typically result in decapitations. These decapitations are pretty gross, and the can be amplified further with the acquisition of the Bloody Mess Perk (at which point heads and limbs can be blown into further fragmented pieces). The game demands violent behavior to progress (whether you kill in cold blood or for survival is up to you). For the most part, you can kill anyone and anything in the game world. A few select characters will only be rendered unconscious since they are needed for the game story. Additionally, children cannot be killed in the game (except for one small piece that is a simulated world within the game). Depending on how you choose to play the game, you can become a contract killer or a mercenary. It's possible to become a cannibal. On a larger scale, it is possible to blow an entire town away in a very explosive sense.

Beyond the violence (which will likely turn many away) there is a lot of profanity in the game. Some characters are more prone to cussing than others, but profanities up to, and including, the f-bomb can be heard (and even used by the player) throughout the game. Sexuality is a mixed bag. Immodesty is scarcely an issue (some of the female Raiders are underdressed, but not horrifically so). It is possible to hire a prostitute. However, little-to-no sexual talk takes place. Hiring her results in following her to a room where she literally falls asleep on top of the bed and you can do likewise to regain health (as you would in any other bed). Beyond these moral issues, it is possible to take drugs (both medication and illicit) for stat boosts. In taking these drugs, it is possible to become addicted and require more drugs or formal treatment to keep health moving. Slavery is also an issue in the game. There are a couple of instances where sex slavery is implied but not explicitly stated. To match the freedoms present in the game, you can fight slavery, or you can use slavery to turn a profit (enslaving everyone from criminals to children).

In the end, however, it is impossible to deny that Fallout 3 is not only an amazing game, but it is also a strong contender for game of the year. In terms of gameplay, it is masterful. In terms of production quality, it is absolutely top notch. In terms of narrative, it keeps you playing. In the way that freedom is so unhindered, and the ability to become as good or evil as you would like, it is astounding. In every respect, Fallout 3 has lived up to, if not surpassed, the hype that has been building around it for the last year. Morally, however, it is messy to say the least. For those of you who are remotely likely to be put off by the violence or language in the game, I cannot advise you to go against your conscience. For the rest of us, the game is practically a must have.


-Kenny Yeager (kenny@revolve21.com)
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Review - Super Street Fighter II Turbo HD Remix

Developer/Publisher: Backbone Entertainment / Capcom U.S.A.
Release Date: November 25th, 2008
ESRB Rating: Teen for Mild Blood, Mild Suggestive Themes, Violence
Available On: Xbox 360 (version reviewed), Playstation 3
Genre: Fighting
Number of Players: 1-2 (local), 1-2 (online)
Strong Points: Fantastic and rewarding fighting engine; well re-imagined graphics and music; excellent online play
Weak Points: Frame count has not increased in a decade; difficult for newcomers to get into when playing against seasoned opponents
Technical Score: B
Artistic Score: B
Final Score (not an average): A-
Moral Warnings: The game revolves around physical violence; violence is harsh, but is devoid of broken bones and any gore (some attacks result in blood squirts from the face); images of the bloodied faces of the loser of the fight are shown after defeat; characters have access to energy-based supernatural attacks (like fireballs); one character has Yoga-fueled fire attacks; one female character, Cammy, wears a revealing swimsuit-like costume and shows her back to the screen after some victories.


Super Street Fighter II Turbo HD Remix is the most recent rendition of the longstanding Street Fighter II brand from Capcom. For those who feel the need to get caught up to speed with the branding, Street Fighter II has been around in some form or another since 1991, when it took the gaming arcades by storm. Street Fighter II took competitive gaming to an entirely new level; the characters in this new fighting game were varied, balanced in their focuses of skill, and highly detailed (for the time) in their hand-drawn appearance. The intensely competitive game became an instant classic and spawned more modifications, rereleases, updates, and semi-sequels than I care to count. Each release tweaked the battle system, character selection, character balances and attacks, color palettes, and many other (sometimes) subtle modifications.

Which brings us to HD Remix. This release spent quite some time in development and refinement in order to become the definitive version of Street Fighter II. With completely redrawn (high resolution) character art, totally rebalanced characters, all 17 characters seen previously, a fresh soundtrack from the great people over at Overclocked Remix, online play, and the ability to play with all of the original arcade settings (balancing, visuals, and sound) for longtime fans. So, without further adieu, let's look at what makes this fighting game so significant.


As a rule of thumb, fighting games survive on their gameplay above all other factors. Because of that, let's take a look at the fighting engine within HD Remix. For those of you who have never experienced a Street Fighter game, we'll start from absolute ground zero. Street Fighter pits two players against each other in an all-out martial arts fight with attacks ranging from simple punches and kicks to spinning grappling moves to fireball throwing, and anything in between. Attacks are employed via three punch and three kick buttons (that is, three levels of attack strength), combined with directional inputs on the pad or stick. Various motions on the control stick combined with certain attack buttons allow players to use special moves (such as the fireball).

And so the basic controls work. It sounds simple on screen, but unlike most modern fighters, Street Fighter doesn't reward you for just hitting buttons rapidly while hoping for the best. The gameplay is in no way about having the flashiest special moves or the most devastating attacks. No. The gameplay is all about being able to read your opponent, planning and reacting with speed matching that of blind instinct. Indeed, the game is designed so that you will need to practice and improve in order to succeed in competition with other gamers.

Fortunately, Street Fighter II (even with all of the upgrades of HD Remix) has never been about expansive move lists. Each character has a fairly intuitive basic attack arsenal and a few easily remembered special moves. Thankfully, most of the characters are extremely diverse not only in how they were designed to be played, but also in how they can be played. Ryu, for example, has quick strikes and ranged (fireball) attacks. Zangief, on the other hand, has slow attacks without a lot of range, but he is a brutal grappler when played close to an opponent. And so on with the other fifteen characters. Fortunately, especially in light of the adjustments made in HD Remix's character balancing, no character has a built-in advantage over another; this further drives the focus of the game on the player instead of the player's character decision.

For all that HD Remix does do right in gameplay terms, it does lack in one aspect. The game is designed through and through with multiplayer in mind. The single-player experience is limited to an arcade mode that simply challenges you to a dozen fights followed by a brief victory story and a very simple training mode. The arcade mode can be fun for a little while, and it can very much provide a challenge, but it really isn't the intended experience at all. The training mode is useful only for mastering the timing of special moves and working on new combos. But the good news is that the single-player probably isn't why you would want to pick up HD Remix in the first place. Nope. The multiplayer is where your time will be spent, and it will be time well spent. The local multiplayer provides that personal touch that playing in an arcade years ago did. The online multiplayer (where most of us who lack fighting game fans among our friends) is phenomenal for a fighter. You are not given a host of different online modes (limited to ranked, unranked, and tournament matches), but the execution is nearly flawless. Even on a slower connection like mine, lag is hardly ever an issue. Add in voice chat, and this is probably the closest thing to the arcade experience we in America will ever see again.


As an added bonus, Capcom took seriously the "HD" part of HD Remix. Graphically, the game flies in the face of today's highly realistic 3D models by sticking to hand drawn sprites. HD Remix has retained all of its original style, but it now carries with it fully redrawn images crafted in high resolutions. Longtime fans should be thrilled by this faithfulness to the source material. However, newcomers will likely notice quickly that character animations are not very fluid. In other words, there are not a great number of frames within the animations. To be fair, this couldn't be changed without changing the entire fighting system (as the frames are directly linked to the points of contact for the fighters). On a positive note, the graphical effects that were added, limited in number as they are, are actually rather good looking. For instance, the fireballs have a nice glow about them.

Also nice is that Capcom ran with the "Remix" part of the name, too. In a move that could be considered bold, Capcom outsourced the music creation of HD Remix to the popular community for video game music remixes, Overclocked Remix. What we have here is a soundtrack that keeps much of the vibe of the original games while bringing in some modern flair in addition to greatly improving the actual sound quality. Granted, most of the time spent in fights will be so focused on the fight itself that the music will not be easy to really appreciate or enjoy; however, some tracks (especially the main theme) ooze with that drive found in early 90s video games. Even now I have the main theme stuck in my head, and I have no complaints whatsoever about that. The sound effects, however, don't carry a great deal of life with them. Simple voice samples are used when executing special moves and at the end of fights (just like in earlier versions). Sound effects made during strikes are functional, but nothing to write home about.

Of course, morally, the game presents a few challenges intrinsic to serious fighting games. First and foremost is the fact that each match focuses on beating an opponent (through whatever means available) until his or her life bar runs out (resulting not in death, but in collapse). Blood and gore is largely a non-factor (occasional blood/spit squirts happen with certain hits to the face). The most graphic element of the violence is seen after the completion of a fight when the losing opponent's character is shown beaten, sweaty, and bloody. Granted, even this is not really extreme at all. Some characters have supernatural abilities (generally this means energy-based fireballs and similar attacks). One character, Dhalsim, stretches his body and spits fire with the power of Yoga; he also wears three skulls around his neck. Unlike most modern fighting games, HD Remix is fairly tame in regards to unrealistically proportioned female fighters in very skimpy clothing. The biggest concern in this regards is that one character, Cammy, wears something similar to a one-piece swimsuit that reveals a bit of her bum, which she occasionally flaunts as a victory pose. Additionally, one stage has Vegas-like showgirls walk back and forth in the background

Understandably, the violent nature of HD Remix may keep it out of the hands of kids, but it is not really a game that will appeal to most kids due to its highly technical nature, anyway. And, on the whole, HD Remix is a very solid package. The challenge is that it simply will not appeal to everyone. In all reality, only a rather select audience will truly enjoy and appreciate this game. Then again, even after a decade and a half since its first form, Street Fighter II can still hold its own against the Soul Caliburs and Dead or Alives of today. When push comes to shove, few fighters can come close to matching the rock solid engine found in HD Remix. For fans of fighting games, as well as competitive games that are not called "Halo," it's fairly easy to recommend spending $15 on this one.

-Kenny Yeager (kenny@revolve21.com)
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