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A Welcome Return to Rapture

by Armando Avila

Back in 2007 Irrational and 2K games took us into the world of Rapture for the first time and exposed us, through the eyes of an airplane survivor named Jack, to this wonderfully morbid underwater dystopia. Two years later 2K Marin takes us back to Rapture, but this time from the perspective of the first Big Daddy. As the undertaking begins there is a sense of familiarity since we are visiting Rapture again, so it isn't an entirely new experience in that sense, but seeing the world from the eyes of the first Big Daddy helps to create a new perspective to enjoy. An issue I have with the game though is that it doesn't seem like much of an improvement was made in terms of graphics and how this game looks. It doesn't ruin the experience in any way, as the game still looks good, but one would think that the textures wouldn't be as fuzzy as they were two years ago. 

When I first heard news of a sequel I was in the camp that cried "Blasphemy!" since I didn't see the need for a continuation to the story of the first finely crafted game. But as I soon learned that, while this sequel may be unnecessary, it is still very much a fun romp through the world of Andrew Ryan's Rapture. As I just mentioned that the first game's story is so unique, that I was skeptical about a sequel. And I was right in that sense that because the story, while still very good, isn't anywhere as near as enthralling or memorable as the first's. A new antagonist named Sophia Lamb has created a cult following among the surviving inhabitants and makes things difficult for you by sending splicers your way to create trouble. All the while you are trying to figure out what your connection is to all this.  

In order to fend them off you are now capable of dual wielding plasmids and weapons, which is a very welcome addition to the gameplay. It's one of those things that I just didn't think about beforehand, but now that it's there, I couldn't go without it. I'm also the type of gamer that hates escort and protective missions like a passion, but you are forced to protect the little sisters if you want to gather more ADAM to be more powerful. So I "knew" I was going to hate these segments too, but I was pleasantly surprised at how much fun it was to protect these little girls from the splicers coming at you from all directions. Especially knowing that a big sister fight was possibly coming after harvesting ADAM and taking the little sisters back to their tubes, I found this to be a very tense experience since I wasn't sure if I'd have enough. Though, with a little strategy, I was able to conserve enough resources to give the big sisters a tough fight.  

Though the story may not be as shocking, I found the pacing to be much better. Granted the first few hours may take some pushing to get through, but once it gets going it really doesn't stop. There's a sensation to keep going and find out who this Sophia Lamb person is and how exactly it is that you're the first Big Daddy and what connection there is between you, the little sisters, and, a formidable new foe, the big sisters. 

Speaking of little sisters, there is a segment towards the end of the game that parallels the big daddy segment of the first. While many gamers loathed that portion in the first, one would be happy to find that the segment in part two is vastly superior and very engaging. The gamer is offered the chance to see Rapture from a rose colored, yet twisted perspective. Now this is a portion that occurs late in the game and while I'm on the topic of the end of the game, the ending is much more satisfying than that of the first. I actually felt some sort of closure this time around. 

So while Bioshock 2 doesn't break new ground, it doesn't do anything bad, but it improves on certain gameplay issues from the first which is all anyone can expect from a sequel. And the story isn't as memorable either, but it is told in a better fashion and I found myself on the edge of my seat more often in this game. The protective missions aren't nearly as bad as I would have thought, but rather very enjoyable and tense. In the end, this may not have been a necessary sequel, but I still recommend you to take a dive in a bathysphere to return to the world of Rapture.

 By: Armando Avila

For those of you not familiar with Peggle it's a game where you shoot a ball at pegs and try to eliminate all the orange ones in the level to advance. Once you let go of your little ball you no longer have control of it either and yet it is one of the most addicting games I've played in recent memory. I bought it for X-Box Live and my iPhone and can't get enough of it. So I was excited to hear that the expansion Peggle Nights was coming to X-Box Live (Don't worry Playstation because it's available there too). The expansion consists of a new adventure mode to go through consisting of new levels, alternate versions of the already current roster of character, new challenges and even a new character. But is it worth the 400 Microsoft Points? Yes. Yes it is. For an expansion it's quite full of content and easily worth the money. Especially if you are a Peggle fan. 

The alternate characters are nothing to really scream and shout about, but it's fun to see it and their "story lines" are amusing at least. The new levels are a blast to play and even a little challenging too. There were a couple of times where I would have to re-do a level because I just couldn't beat it. There are some slight additions as well with the levels such as certain pegs moving up and down or spinning around. Now this may sound kinda lame but it adds a little spice to the levels and keeps the variety of them flowing so as to not grow stale. Every level is different too in it's structure so you don't feel like you've already done this previously. The new challenges are as the name implies challenging. And quite so. It even lets you know from the get go that they aren't gonna be a walk in the park since the first one has you clearing the first level again, but with half the amount of pegs to do it in. Not too easy of a feat. So for only 400 points I say this expansion is well worth your time and money. 

A Worthy 8/10

 By Armando Avila

  Games based on movies usually don't fare too well in the fun department. And usually for good reason because they are rushed, have a bad license or it seems that the team doesn't care about what they are making. Thankfully X-Men Origins: Wolverine seems to fall into only one of those categories. 

The first thing that one is gonna notice is how visceral this game is. Which is a good thing considering the character. If I'm playing a game as Wolverine I want to to be able to put those claws to good use and boy howdy, do you. You easily tear through enemies like they were butter. The combat is really where the entertainment of this game lies because when you go into an area you run into battle and lay waste to those around like Wolverine should. Raven studios really makes you feel that they cared about the charter enough to give you the experience that you are this wrathful animal. In fact one might even think that they would just let you run through the game hacking and slashing everything in sight. And you also have the option to mix it up by having a good amount of executions to perform. Whether it be by doing a variety of them depending on the enemy or using the environment to your advantage by impaling them on a tree branch or other sharp object. 

But the combat isn't without it's flaws either because while there is a good variety of ways to take out the countless soldiers, bosses don't adhere to those rules. In fact the best (read: only) way to defeat a boss is to jump on it's back and hack away until it's life hits zero. On top of that I found them incredibly frustrating because since this is the only way to do away with them you have to look for open opportunities to do so. Often it will be while he may be rushing at you or in the middle of an attack, yet the bosses must have a mutant power that enables them to read my mind because it will quickly catch you in mid-air and slam you to the floor. Since they all require the same strategy I get to thinking "Didn't I just do this?"

From a story telling aspect I didn't really have much clue as to what was going on because it is so convoluted. There is so much going back and forth in the timeline of the story that it made my head spin. At some point in the game I was transported to the mid-west, but it didn't bother to tell me where in the timeline I was. But in all honesty this isn't really to be played for a great story either so I can't bash it too much. 

Lastly, this is a decent looking game. Some good textures and environments are to be found. A neat little graphical touch was that when Wolverine takes damage you can at times see his bones and then the flesh heal above it. My main gripe though is that the textures won't fully load by the time the gameplay will kick in. I also had a few moments where the cut scenes would skip, but thankfully that problem never transferred when I was actually playing so it didn't ruin the experience completely.

So while it's flawed in some ways the combat in X-Men Origins: Wolverine is fun and can overshadow the other imperfections. And given that this being a movie based game I'm sure Raven studios had to get it out to coincide with the release date for the movie, but it never feels completely rushed. And they certainly give you the feeling of being a ravaging animal so claw right in. 

A solid 7/10 

1995. Sony just released their first home console and I was following it, but being the Sega fanboy I was at the time, my heart was set on a Saturn. I was extremely excited once I got to play it at a neighbor’s house. My first memory was some racing game and to me it was the best thing ever. That is until my friend rented a PlayStation and we where blown away… by Battle Arena Tonshinden. Yeah I know of all the games, one of the worst fighters ever created is what blew me away? Yes, even with that crappy game you could tell that the PlayStation was just going to be better. Fast forward about a year and half. I get home from school, my mom tells me she has groceries in the trunk and asks me to take them out. She hands me the keys, I open the trunk and what do I see? A PlayStation with Twisted Metal! This was the beginning of a grand era for me. Over the years with all the great releases, I grew to love not only my PlayStation, but also Sony as a company. It seemed they could do no wrong. The PS2 was released in 2000, my buddy and I waited in line for hours to get ours on day one and my love for Sony would only escalate. I loved my PS2 more than my PSOne. At one point my collection was well over 100 games strong.

Enter 2005. Sony as a company was very strong. The PSOne and PS2, sold over 100 million units each worldwide and Sony looked primed to continue that dominance with the PS3. Nintendo by this time had shown their successor, which was not really meant to compete with Sony. Microsoft was rushing to get their successor out before Sony hoping that would be a blow to them. Sony very confident in their brand name and past success didn’t seem to care and didn’t rush to get the PS3 out at the same time as the 360. They created the most complete packages ever for a console. High def gaming machine… check. High def movie player… check. You could store pictures and do slide shows to show them off. You could store movies on the HDD, browse the internet and much more. The PS3 seemed like the greatest console ever! However, these robust features may have been their first mistake. When the price was announced the whole gaming world was floored. $600 for a console? Had Sony gone mad? The 360 was $400 and the Wii was $250, just over the price of the PS3 combined. Microsoft even used that as a marketing tag line/jab at Sony. Even I was left with my jaw dropped and tears in my eyes. Once it launched in 2006, I was not able to get it day one because of the price tag. As badly as I wanted one, I just couldn’t see myself paying that much for a console. So I bought a Wii (well, Jr and I split the cost of the Wii, which I subsequently sold my half of the ownership later for a PSP). When I finally got my PS3 about 6 months later, I loved it. But Sony was having major problems getting them into homes. Why? Surprise, surprise! The price was just too high for a console. Now it’s 2009, they have dropped the price all the way to $400, but Microsoft has dropped the gimped 360 (no HDD) down to $200, which is even lower than the "non competing" Wii. Sony has actually done quite well, but they still need to sell more consoles. They have refused to drop the price and rumors run rampant about price drops at every gaming conference only to leave us disappointed. The PS3 Slim rumors also indicated an imminent price drop, but we have yet to see or read anything solid about it. Sony has even had the manufacturing costs cut down 70%  and still no price drop. Now why am I mentioning all these things about price? Won’t games be Sonys savior? The first year Sony struggled with third party support and even their first party development houses where taking a while to pump out games. However, the last couple of years, quality games have not been a problem. Last year in 2008, they had Metal Gear Solid 4, Resistance 2, Motor Storm Pacific Rift, Little Big Planet, SOCOM Confrontation which are just some exclusives. 2009 is shaping up to be even better! So what’s the problem? The price! As consumers we want a price drop right now, but we do need to understand Sony’s side of it. They were losing tons of money when the PS3 first released and only now have to cut cost. They obviously want to make a profit off the console especially considering that it doesn’t seem that they are making tons of money off of peripherals like they did in previous generations. They are also not making tons of money on software because the games don’t sell was well as they do on the 360 and even the first party games don’t sell well initially like Gears of War or Halo, but some seem to have legs. Microsoft, although they seem to be slowing down, has been extremely successful. Their strategy of releasing first worked gaining a big lead and the trust of third parties. Nintendo went a different route catering to the casual crowd a bit more and trying to appeal to everyone. This strategy has been genius and a moneymaker for them. So what can save Sony? They have the games and really seem to have reacquired the trust of third parties. Really, the only thing that can save them is a price drop. But the question is: is it too late to make up the lost lead? Is it too late to make the PS3 the monster of a success that the PSOne and PS2 were? Is it too late to make the PS3 into the centerpiece of the living room like they hoped? We’ll just have to be patient and see what happens in the next few years.

Edwin

Second opinion:

While it's true that Sony isn't the power house it once was they still have a plenty of things to be excited about. Their fall line up is looking mighty impressive with titles such as Uncharted 2, Modern Warfare 2, Beatles Rockband and a whole lot more, but first they need to send Mr. Iwata a fruit basket for proving to the video game industry that you don't always need bigger and better be a success. Sure, not every console is going to be a game changer nor is every console going to be the market leader.What you can do is cater to your audience, Sony has seemed to forget that the people that made them such a wild success bought their console once it was bargain priced. Once the PS2 and PSone reached the sub $179.99 price the systems blew up to astronomical proportions sending the install base sky high and as a result made it easier for developers to make money on their platforms. It's almost as if history is repeating itself. The PS3 is in many ways Sonys N64, coming off two successful platforms while taking their sweet time putting the third into stores and at the same time making hard for developers to make money on their respective platforms. That wasn't Nintendos only problem but we'll save that for a different article. To answer Edwins question, "Is it too late for Sony to become dominate?" The answer is an obvious "Hell yes". If Sony wants to make money on this console and their next console they will need to become a lot more creative with their pricing and console R&D in the future. We will discuss this along with many other video game and sports topics on our weekly podcast. Stay tuned.

Jr.