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Batman: Arkham Origins (2013)
Most Cinematic Yet Least Innovative Game of the Series
Batman: Arkham Origins was a game that I wasn't really expecting from last year. Naturally, I got excited for this game when it was first announced but I realized that this isn't developed my Rocksteady Studios but instead by WB Montreal & Splash Damage. Instead of continuing the Arkham franchise, this game decides to explore the beginnings of Bruce Wayne as Batman. While the game itself isn't a bad game (if you haven't played any of the Arkham games), however it feels that it is a rehashed version of the past Arkham games and nothing new isn't brought to the table with this entry into the Arkham games. I can say it's the most cinematic of all the Arkham games, the gameplay lacks innovation from Arkham City and feels like a re-skinned version of city than it's own thing. While Arkahm Origins is still a solid experience on its own, it lacks to build whatever is from the previous entries of the Arkham games.
First thing to get out, the original cast of Kevin Conroy as Batman and Mark Hamill as The Joker are not here to reprise their role (Oh yeah, I forgot the Joker makes an appearance in this game). Instead they are replaced with both Roger Craig Smith as Batman and Troy Baker as the Joker. Both actors do their jobs well as they both sound a lot younger compared to their older counterparts in the previous Arkham games. For myself, I believe that Mark Hamill should pass the ever blazing torch of who gets to voice the Joker over to Troy Baker. You can hardly tell that it is Troy himself which is pretty unbelievable.
Within Arkham Origins' presentation, it does surprisingly well as it is what I call the most cinematic Arkham game so far in the series. Even with the presentation and story itself, in terms of gameplay is where the game starts to fall off making it the weakest of the Arkham games. Gameplay hasn't been changed for the most part: combat remains fluid as ever, predator mode is still fun, and exploration is relatively the same. While it's nice to have things remain the same, you might as well wish for something different in the end. The one feature that is new to the Arkham games is the experience system. Basically every combat, predator or auxiliary challenge, you are rewarded with experience and the more efficient you are, the larger the multiplier of the experience points. The assassins' battles are also entertaining to partake in and for the most part makes the experience more intense (even though two of them ended up being side missions instead).
I have to admit WB Montreal does less with the game and that's disappointing for me. The standard argument with that is that it's a prequel, so Batman isn't going to have those gadgets in this game. I just call that lazy because the developers didn't push the game that extra mile which would've made the game great on its own. Even a lot of the gadgets are the same from Arkham City. For example, remember that ice grenade you got in Arkham City, well here you get a glue grenade which has the exact same properties that the ice grenade does.Also a lot of the mission structure from City is replicated a lot in Origins, which makes it kind of lazy in that sense. Another thing that disappointed me was how easy the extras are. In the game you collect these Enigma packs for one of the side missions and to my dismay, they are extremely easy to trace and obtain. Okay, I admit there were a couple where I had to figure out how to get but for the most part all you need is a specific gadget to get them (or in some cases they lay right in the open
.). Compared to Arkham City, that game made you work for the extras and obtaining them makes you feel accomplished at the end. Here in Arkham Origins, there isn't much joy in collecting them, almost makes it feel like a grind.
There is replay value if you're up for it: new game plus is a game mode that puts you in a new game with all your gadgets and upgrades with more challenging enemies. If you beat that mode there is a even challenging "I Am The Night" mode where it's one death you start from the very beginning. Challenge Mode is back and strangely enough for me, a lot of the maps feel very bland. I guess its the colour scheme that they were aiming for but for me it's not as entertaining as Arkham City challenge maps (hell, I feel like going back to Arkham City after playing Origins). An odd addition to the Arkham games is a multiplayer mode for the first time. The multiplayer is pretty standard of what you expect from multiplayer content in single player content based game. It's basically a form of 3v3v2 with Joker's and Bane's men fighting for control while Batman and Robin try to take down the rest of the gang members. The multiplayer in all honesty isn't much to keep you invested like Uncharted or Grand Theft Auto Online.
Overall, the game is solid if this is your first Arkham game, but for the rest of us this is an okay addition to the Arkham series. With strong inspiration from various works of Batman to create the Arkham Origins story, the gameplay suffers with lack of innovation, repeated elements, and the simplified extras that makes this game lack challenge. Arkham Origins is a good game with very noticeable flaws, so I would recommend buying this game at sale price.
Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014)
The Best of Phase Two & the Highest Stake Marvel Film so Far.
There was a moment where I though I would quit my continuation with the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), I always felt that after phase one the series for me had more of a direct audience appeal towards kids with films like The Avengers, Thor: The Dark World and even Iron Man 3. However, Marvel's most recent release, Captain America: The Winter Soldier directed by Anthony & Joe Russo is one of those movies I never really expected out of universe from what I've seen so far within the MCU. Focusing on more conspiracy and espionage related themes within, Captain America: The Winter Soldier is something fresh from what Marvel has to offer and in this humble reviewer's opinion: the best out of phase two so far.
For starters, Marvel had to know that this was going to be their riskiest film to date because a lot of these films are mostly catered towards a younger audience. Captain America: The Winter Soldier is probably the most mature, dark and sinister film to date in the MCU. Themes such as trust and conspiracy are thrown around really giving that feeling that any of the characters can turn against you. Instead of a straight up action film like a lot of these Marvel movies are, the film has a more espionage feel to it, basically think of it as Captain America meeting "The Bourne Ultimatum".
The film as a whole, mostly focuses on Steve Rogers' adjustment to the new world that he was brought upon and he's trying to come to grips with it. He shows that he isn't used to the customs within the modern era like his disagreement with SHIELD's idea of freedom and security saying that it is instead fear and oppression. I would say that Chris Evans does an excellent job at making Captain America a better character in this film than the previous Marvel films. He has a more logical and involving role than in The Avengers with him just jumping over cars, doing gymnast moves and does something cool with his shield every now and then (if others can be critical of Man of Steel, I can be critical of The Avengers). I feel that with Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Cap's role is given reason and helps establish his presence throughout.
Another character that has been developed surprisingly well is Nick Fury. I could say that this was also Nick Fury's story as much as I can say this is Captain America's story. Black Widow's back and she's great as ever in this film with the arc of conspiracy and her being a spy there is some conflict that goes on between Steve Rogers (also the visual appeal of Scarlett Johansson is always a good thing, let's all be honest here). They also introduce Anthony Mackie as Sam Wilson aka. The Falcon. He's an amiable character and all around dependable guy within the story and the action. A surprising favourite character that I didn't really expect to like in this film is Robert Redford as Alexander Pierce. he gives a captivating performance as the head of the World Security Council and his presence gives that espionage feel when you first see him on screen. (I'm sure this is just me, but still he's my favourite). He creates a lot of the uncertainty with Captain America with Nick Fury and S.H.I.E.L.D because they haven't really been that trustworthy when first experiencing the film. The Winter Soldier in my opinion is probably one of the most intimidating individuals in the MCU. Every fight when the Winter Soldier is involved you feel that the action going as you're watching it, also the design of the Winter Soldier is just awesome.
In terms of the action in this movie, there's far less CGI type action in this film than I expected. Judging from the trailers prior to the release of the of the film there were a genuine amount of scenes that were computer generated (especially the helicarrier parts). To my surprise there isn't much, most of this movie takes place on the streets with more practical effects and the fights scenes are really fast paced and well-choreographed overall. A lot of the large scale action is near the end of the film.
Even with all great things about Captain America: The Winter Soldier, there are still some gripes that bothered me in this movie, and them involving the Winter Soldier himself. While he is a cool looking character, they try to make you care for the character with certain flashbacks which should create some emotion with the audience. The problem with this is that the flashbacks aren't that effective as it should be and would require a viewing of Captain America: The First Avenger in order to do so, however going into more detail here would be entering spoiler territory. The final thing I want to note is that to understand The Winter Soldier, watching Captain America: The First Avenger would help you understand the flow of what is in the Winter Soldier. Even with all this, I still recommend Captain America: The Winter Soldier as its own stand alone film for the MCU just like the first Iron Man in phase one.
Overall Captain America: The Winter Soldier is strong entry in the MCU as it holds together as an alright standalone film, it is also the highest stake and riskiest film that Marvel has attempted so far. Great performances by the main cast, great action and also a great story all tying in to make Captain America: The Winter Soldier an awesome film.
8/10:(Awesome)
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Beyond: Two Souls (2013)
Playstation 3's Potential Final Year Ends with Greatness
What happens after death, what is there in the beyond? These are the questions that Quantic Dream's new title tries to ask. Beyond Two Souls is an incredibly beautiful game with a very beautiful and emotional storyline with a few surprising twists thrown into the mix. Is this game really worth your time? Well... it really depends on what your looking for these days in gaming. If you expect some AAA gameplay in this game, its not here (The Last of Us is a great alternative of storyline and gameplay). Also if you hated David Cage's previous title Heavy Rain due to the QTE's and slow gameplay then chances are you won't like this title either, this is stuff you should expect in a Quantic Dream game.
Beyond tells a story of girl named Jodie Holmes through her life ages 8 23. All her life she is attached to an entity named Aiden that protects her throughout the entirety of her life she tries to understand her entity's purpose here and understanding more on what lies beyond. This game is purely made for its story and the story here is exceptional, in addition, the performances by Ellen Page as Jodie Holmes and William Defoe as Nathan Hawkins are both amazing. The storyline here doesn't have as many plot holes like Heavy Rain does so that's relief. The story is very emotional and even more so with Heavy Rain and touches on a lot of sensitive subjects such as death, losing loved ones, and reconnecting with those we have lost (which I'm sure will make many shed some tears, I sure as hell did). It has an awesome plot that will keep you hooked for hours until the very end. However the only problem I had with the story was the way it is told. The game starts out in medias res and from there the story starts to jump around the place. For example, you would start out with Jodie in her childhood then jump into her in the military, then back to a kid, then teen and then suddenly you're wanted by the police. I kind of understand what kind of direction David Cage is going for doing a Tarantino style of direction, but all that does is make the story a little bit inconsistent. The connections between the story line is comprehensive yet I feel that the story being told in a linear format would've been a lot concise.
Beyond Two Souls was meant to be played as an experience and not for its pulse pounding gameplay which I'm not sure why people expect this from someone like David Cage. You have everything you expect from a game like this: linear structure, QTE's and button prompts to do certain thing around you. My favorite addition and mostly everyone else's favorite addition to the gameplay has to be Aiden. You are able to switch between Jodie and Aiden at any time during the game and as Aiden you are free to travel through matter, move objects, possess things and even suffocate people. This leads to test your morales in this game, for example, I was given a choice to get back at some kids that were bullying me. You have the option to get revenge or simply stay out of it. I chose to get revenge, while it was power inducing at first, let's just say there were a couple fatal and unfortunate events that have occurred. Even with Aiden's freedom you can't travel too far or else it hurts Jodie because of the entity connection and all that (I guess everything had its limits, right). Also the quick time events have been changed, everything has been moved to the right stick of the controller. The scheme is that you follow Jodie's movements with the right stick. At times it is hard to tell where Jodie is moving at time and can be frustrating for some but it didn't bother me the least because even if you fail all the QTE's the story still goes on. Since this is a Quantic Dream game, your actions can affect the entire story so there is some replay value within if you're interested in finding out what happens in another way of playing the game. There are also confirmed 12 different ways you can end this game (which is the same amount in Heavy Rain) and if you're a trophy hunter, good luck with a lot of playthroughs and grinding.
If you pre-ordered this game at Gamestop (or wherever you pre-order your games) you were promised to receive extra content, right. Yes we did let's list what we got: Additional gameplay, PS3 Theme, Avatars, and a Soundtrack (containing four songs, umm....) kind of a lackluster pre-order if you ask me and the soundtrack while beautiful and haunting but really...only four songs. I remember in heavy rain there were at least sixteen songs and that's four times the amount than in Beyond. I expected a bit more from my pre-order other than a steelbook case.
Overall, Beyond Two Souls is well polished game with only a few bugs and texture pop-ins that isn't enough to break me out of the experience. Amazing and emotional story, memorable characters and haunting score. If you love games with a rich emotional story, I recommend Beyond Two Souls.
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