Hot damn that looks like fun.

The last Spiderman game I played was the original Spiderman for the Xbox (I think). It wasn’t exactly amazing but this seems to hark back to what I loved doing the most in that game, finishing a web-swing then planting two feet into an enemies face. That’s how I started every combat, it’s still how I start every combat in Marvel Nemesis: Rise of The Imperfects when I play as Spidey. I really hope they don’t include a “web meter” which is a bit like a sprint meter or some such. I hope it has infinite web and judging buy the amount you seem to use in the combat, it’d better have or Parker is gonna end up being scraped off a New York sidewalk.

I’m definitely looking forward to this game and I hope it stays as good as it looks. Though getting better would be preferable. Go dev team! :D

P.M.

Fortunately I’ve bought it for the PC, which makes it immediately better. However, since Microsoft is run by a team of idiots that’s large enough to inhabit the moon, they had to bring their own brand of cocking it up to the table. They had to bring in the “Game(s) for Windows - Live” malarkey. Honestly Microsoft, why do you have to take a good idea and turn it into a device of Satan. The “Windows - Live” part of this game actually screws up one of the most important bits, the main menu. A game should not crash on the main menu, it should crash when there’s a bit too much happening at once, not while it’s just sitting there.This is one of few complaints I have about GoW but it’s probably the biggest. I really hate it when Microsoft do things like this, why can’t they do it like everyone else and just have simple accounts with simple server lists, it makes so much more sense.

Anyway, I should really get to talking about the game rather than about the idiots who published it.

In GoW you play a character called Marcus Fenix who’s been slung in the joint because he disobeyed orders at the beginning of the war against the Locust (who are surprisingly humanoid). Thankfully you’re broken out of jail by your good buddy Dominic Santiago and are quickly pressed back into military service. You’re mission for the first half of the game is to deploy a device called “The Resonator” which will map all the underground Locust tunnels. The objectives in the second half of the game are a little fuzzy and the story seems to meander around for several levels which is a bit disappointing. Of course, you probably didn’t buy/ weren’t thinking of buying this game for the story, you just saw a guy in armour and a gun with a chainsaw on the end of it and there you were, at the counter with the game in one hand, thirty quid in the other and a happy little smile on your face.

The gameplay in GoW is actually pretty refreshing, even now. The third-person perspective was a great idea and so was the interactive cover. You can hide behind practically anything in this game, and you actually properly hide. One quick push of the Space Bar and Marcus is up against a wall like a cheap hooker, though without the lady parts. A little thing that bugs me about the whole “One button to rule them all” thing is that if you’re “Roadie Running” (sprinting) and you pass too close to a bit of cover, Marcus will suddenly stick to it and you’ll either have to waste precious seconds getting him off or be killed by something large and ugly. Like most action games, Gears of War also contains a shitty vehicle section which can get pretty infuriating when you play it on your own and it’s almost as bad when you’re with a friend but it’s only one level so it doesn’t spoil the game too much.

Unfortunately I seem to be running out of things to say about this game. I guess it’s because I last edited it on June 4th, it’s now June 13th 0_o Oh well, lets talk about whether I enjoyed this game or not. Truth be told I did enjoy it but at only 18 to 20 hours of gameplay it’s a little on the short side, especially if you play it solid for a couple of days. The multiplayer isn’t as fun as it could have been with a pitifully small amount of servers with most of them being spawn-camp-tastic. There really needed to be larger multiplayer modes with a focus on more players, you really need more of everything in the multiplayer for it to become interesting. The Co-op campaign, which can be played online or offline is a fun aspect though as it means you can kick ass and take names with a buddy rather than just playing with yourself. The A.I. isn’t exactly smart so bringing along a friend is a better way to play the game and you can always chat or have little competitions like “Who can stick the most grenades” which can end in hilarity.

Overall, a good game with a weak story but fun gameplay. Also, be prepared to get pissed off by the Windows Live part of things, if you can survive that then you’ll probably do alright in the game. Buy it, if only to tide you over till a release your really looking forward to.

P.M.

I was a little dubious at first about this fourth instalment in the Indiana Jones series, mainly due to George Lucas’ poor attempts at finishing off the Star Wars saga using only CGI and Green Screen. Fortunately, Steven Spielberg has managed to keep Lucas on a short leash and there’s minimal use of CG in this film. It’s a good thing too since most films that are released now consist of mostly fake backgrounds that are a little hard on the eyes.

When the film finished I was left a little confused and I think this was due to the fact that I haven’t seen a film in this style for quite a long time. Crystal Skull actually went on a journey across half the world, there are always new environments and situations for the characters to encounter, not just the same stagnant places. There was actually an interesting story to follow and all the characters had their own motivations for being there, though the story could have been a little stronger.

The acting was great by everyone, except perhaps Cate Blanchett who’s accent slipped from Russian to English and the end of some of her lines which kind of impacted on her character and didn’t make her seem quite so evil. That was the one thing that irked me about this film, the baddies weren’t as dark or as evil as they could have been, there wasn’t the same sense of malice from the Russians as you got from the Nazis in the originals. Ray Winstone (Mac) kind of steals the show from Blanchett as the main evil character, though his motivation is purely selfish he just back-stabs so well. Harrison Ford has lost none of the charm that fits so well with Indy and the fact that he’s still doing all his own stunts brings more realism to the film. Shia LaBeouf was a great choice for the role of Mutt Williams and does much better acting than he did in Transformers. Karen Allen makes a return as Marion Ravenwood from Raiders though doesn’t add too much to the film.

Overall, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull is a good film, it’s not quite as good as the originals but then sequels never are. It’s a solid addition to the series and isn’t the total let-down that some critics said it was. Apparently Lucas wants to make more Indy films, though I think they should quit while they’re ahead. I’d recommend Crystal Skull but only if you’ve seen the other three as you might be left a bit confused by its return to “classic” sort of film making.

P.M.