Digitally Blonde

It sucks not being Master Chief

Written by @simon294uk

The opinions expressed here are those of the authors only. They do not necessarily represent the views of Carol Zara and/or DigitallyBlonde.com

Step aside Spartan; it’s time for a new hero. Apparently.

Halo 3: Orbital Drop Shock Trooper, quite the snappy title I might add. If you’ve ever played a Halo game before, you’ll know that the Master Chief is that kick ass Spartan guy in the shiny green suit and that he’s the closest thing you can get to an immortal.

And in the first Halo game where you don’t play as a Spartan, you’ll very quickly realise, it sucks not being the Master Chief.

I’m not saying that makes this a bad game. It just doesn’t feel like a Halo game. Well, other than the music, weapons, vehicles, covenant bad dudes and buildings. You start the game getting dropped into the streets of New Mombasa where the story of the game runs prior the events of Halo 3. The basic setup of the game sees you play a character, only known as Rookie, exploring the streets of New Mombasa and searching for “clues” explaining the whereabouts of your team. Each time you find a “clue”, the game triggers a flashback where you play out a level as one of the ODSTs, and in doing so, reveal part of the story.

The streets of New Mombasa is an openworld environment. So after you find the first clue, you can explore the city and tackle the campaign levels in whatever order you want. Fighting plenty of Covenant along the way of course!

The most important new feature of ODST is the VISR interface. Just press the X button and your HUD changes to highlight your enemies in red and raise visibility in the dark. Which is handy as the New Mombasa streets levels are set at night. If you imagine how the Terminator sees things, that’ll give you a rough idea of how the VISR interface works.

The thing that was so much fun about Halo games before ODST, was your ability to charge into any situation like a crazed commando with a deathwish, sweeping aside hordes of aliens with the pull of a trigger. Like I said before, you are not the Master Chief and you have no recharging shield and health. Which makes the gameplay much more tactical and a little slower paced than other Halo games.

The game features a stamina based health system. Which basically means; after you take so many hits, you start to lose health…. permanently. Health can only be replenished by finding a health pack. Also, getting around the city between levels can be a slow and tedious task until you can find yourself a vehicle. So when you find a vehicle, treasure it!

Unfortunately, the campaign is somewhat on the short side and I don’t feel that the game’s battles are as epic in scale as those in previous Halo titles. Despite the free roaming city being on the large side, most aspects of the game feel really compact and linear.

On a more positive note, the game comes with a bonus disc featuring all 21 multiplayer maps and a fully functional version of the map editing Forge.

I don’t feel the game quite lived up to the hype or the Halo tag. I would still highly rate this game, but think I would rate it higher if it didn’t have the expectations of such a huge franchise weighing it down.

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Batman: Arkham Asylum. Game of the Year?

Written by @simon294uk

The opinions expressed here are those of the authors only. They do not necessarily represent the views of Carol Zara and/or DigitallyBlonde.com

A lot has been said about Batman Arkham Asylum recently. Potential game of the year, was one thing I’d heard.  The game being shorter than Frodo was another. Ultimately I parted with my “hard earned” cash to see what all the fuss was about.

It didn’t take much playing to realise how good this game is. The loose breakdown of the story is that The Joker breaks free in Arkham Asylum to wreak havoc in his unique and jovial manner. The success of this game revolves around The Joker.  Voiced by Mark Hamill, better known to me and you as Luke Skywalker.  “Luke” is quite the expert with video game vocals, and this game is his masterclass.  In fact all vocal talents throughout the game are well done and really make the game a more complete experience.  The visuals and audio make this very atmospheric and feels like a proper mad house. How come all movie asylums look like Arkham? Surely it’s not the ideal place to rehabilitate the most deranged criminal masterminds in the world.  Just a thought!

The actual game play is very solid.  You get to do just about anything Batman can do in the movies. In a room full of armed guards you must use your wits and patience to strategically eliminate your foes. Staying in the shadows you can use the full array of bat-gadgetry, including the classic Batarang and Batclaw.  I take great pleasure swinging about the rafters from the, albeit conveniently placed, gargoyles, preying on my victims. Parts of the game require you to use a “detective mode” which gives a sort of x-ray view and allows you to see things hidden to the naked eye and solve various puzzles. But it also allows you to see the mental condition and heart rate of all the bad buggars roaming the asylum. As you pick off the asylum inmates, the others start getting more jumpy, and end up literally shooting their own shadows.  If you’re not going the stealthy route, the more direct and gung-ho hand to hand approach is another appealing option. The so-called “free flowing” combat allows you to swing from target to target with thumping satisfaction.

If you’ve seen any clips of the game, you’ll know it looks and sounds good. But having a slightly obsessive attention to detail, it’s the small things that make this game for me. I noticed that as the game progresses, you slowly pick up more cuts and scrapes on your suit. Not that it has any effect on the game, but it’s the attention to detail that impresses me. The asylum, being surrounded by water, provides a few opportunities to “pop for a swim”. Whereas in some games, if you fall in the water, you’ll die (not very superhero-ish really). Should you unfortunately drop into the water, a very short cutscene ensues showing a slightly more miffed Batman climbing out looking a bit more soggy. You cannot really die in this game. Should you fail or get knocked out, regular checkpoints will ensure you don’t have to do too much again.

As far as the game being to short, I have to agree. I completed the story mode within two days of average playing. That being said, there are plenty of extras to find, provided by the Riddler. 240 to be exact. Plus there are various challenges to unlock as you solve the Riddler’s puzzles.

For the die hard fans, there are plenty of familiar faces like Poison Ivy, Killer Croc, Scarecrow as well as a few others. As you progress through the game and find hidden objects, you’ll unlock bios chock full of information on various characters. Plus there are plenty of nods to absent characters like Two Face and Mr Freeze hidden throughout the asylum. And of course the Batmobile and Batwing also make their appearances in the game.

The game is well paced, and in my opinion, has great replay value.  The game is so engrossing and you’ll hardly notice the hours passing you by until you look at a clock and realise its 3AM and you’ve been playing five hours straight. It looks and sounds brilliant and the gameplay is superb. Plus listening to Mark Hamill’s Joker is a real treat. Lets put it this way, you’ll probably never look at Luke Skywalker in the same way again.  I’d strongly recommend you to give the game a go; you can quite easily get the demo on Xbox Live or PSN.  A real contender for game of the year.

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