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Batman: Arkham City (PC)
by Wobby
If you are looking at this review, I assume you have played Batman Arkham Asylum. If not, go get it, come back, read this review and get Batman Arkham City.
Batman Arkham City (B:AC) is the best Batman game I have played. Hell, its one of the best depictions of Batman aswell in my opinion.
The story for B:AC is ... flawless. From the moment you step into Bruce Waynes shoes it is a non stop adventure through the game, beating up bad guys and saving people. The world is full with references to various characters in the comics, both good and bad, ones you know and ones you might not. But regardless of whether they are your favourite or not, every character looks amazing, especially The Joker (Who is voiced by Mark Hamill, who many consider to be THE voice of The Joker).
Gameplay is great, the combat is smooth and the missions are varied. At some points you swap from playing as Batman to Catwoman, which I actually didn't like and I found unnecessary. She has pretty much the exact same abilities as Batman, so what's the advantage of playing as her? Aside from running around Arkham City in a ultra skin tight leather suit. If that's your thing. As I said before, combat is great. Its a great feeling when you manage to take on 30 armed guys using nothing but your fists, and you manage to not get hit, which results in a high combo, which results in lots of points.
While Arkham city isn't that big in comparison to other games maps, it is still big enough for you to feel like you are The Batman, using gadgets to swing from roof top to roof top, gliding down to beat up some bad guy. But the world seems a bit empty. A bit to empty.
The graphics aren't the most realistic, but I don't expect realism from a comic book game. All of the characters are amazing detailed and you can really tell they looked to the comics for inspiration.
Batman Arkham Asylum is a great game, its not the best but it is definitely the best comic book game I have played for a long time.
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Fallout: New Vegas (PC)
by Wobby
In my opinion Fallout New Vegas is a superb game. Set in a 1950's styled nuclear wasteland, Fallout New Vegas puts you in the shoes of "The Courier" the unnamed protagonist who travels around New Vegas and the surrounding deserts fighting psychotic raiders, hideous mutants and malfunctioning robots in an attempt to make a ... living in this vast, unforgiving setting.
Fallout New Vegas is a game that is almost perfect. Almost. Unfortunately there are a few mistakes with the game that you just cannot ignore.
The atmosphere in the game is amazing. Strolling through a nuclear wasteland while listening to Frank Sinatra is something you can do in no other series of game apart from Fallout. It really does give you the feeling of being alone in this massive world, with nothing to protect you apart from your trusty revolver. Or Laser Gun. However the same cannot be said when you reach the only significant remnant of pre-apocalyptic America, New Vegas. When you go into the various casinos or bars you will find them practically empty aside from a few loyal patrons sucking on a Nuka Cola. Its not that impressive for a city that people from all over post-apocalyptic America try to reach.
The gameplay is great. If you have ever played a First Person Shooter (FPS) or a Roleplaying game (RPG) before, it should be simple to pick up. If you haven't, I suggest trying to play it on a lower difficulty. The combat gameplay is essentially an FPS, you aim at the enemy, shoot and with enough hits they should die. But the underlying RPG elements make it more interesting. While it might not complex enough for hardcore RPG fans, it is simple enough for someone new to RPG's to pick up while indepth enough for most RPG fans not to get bored. The missions given to you by various Non Player Characters (NPCs) are varied and interesting, so you won't get bored. There are also various factions that you can side with in New Vegas, but if you side with one to unlock new missions, others will stop talking to you and may even become hostile. This adds replay value, so each time you can try playing again but this time making different choices.
While the storyline isn't as good as some games, its the characters that really make this game memorable. From a mexican gun-totting ghoul (A human with its skin melted off by radiation), to a 8 foot muscled mutant with the mind of a loving grandma, to a gang of thugs who all dress like Elvis out of respect for "The King", New Vegas really is full of weird, wonderfull and downright insane characters.
The Graphics are an issue for me. While the terrain looks amazing, the weapons look original and the buildings look great, the Character Models and the animations for them really do let the whole game down. Don't get me wrong, they don't look terrible but there is just something not right about their faces. This is just my opinion, but I really do think Bethesda (Developers and Publishers of Fallout New Vegas) really do need to work on it. The animations also look stiff sometimes.
New Vegas also suffers from a fair amount of glitches, some are harmless such as dead bodies flailing around because they are stuck to a rock, but some are game breaking, such as falling through the ground. I also encountered one that ruined my save. About half a minute after I saved, my reputation for a faction turned from friendly to hostile. I was in their head quarters at the time, surrounded by them. Needless to say they slaughtered me. When I reloaded, it happened again, there was no way to stop it. So I had to start again. But this is a rare occasion, and most glitches have probably been fixed by now.
Seeing this is the PC version, Mods are a definite must if you get this game. Not only can they fix any glitches that were not fixed by Bethesda, you can also dramatically change the game with them. From adding new weapons and armour, to making a farting rainbow unicorn follow you around the wasteland as a pet.
Note : Mods are made by the public and not by the developer. There are some mods that are not 100% bug free and there are some mods that are not suitable for sensitive people.
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Assassin's Creed Revelations (PC)
by Wobby
Let me start off by saying that I have played Assassins Creed games on consoles before, this was the AC game I played on PC. Also because this game is part of a series I will assume you have played the previous games.
Assassins Creed Revelations picks up a good number of years after the events of Assassins Creed Brotherhood. ... Now the leader of the Assassins, Ezio Auditore travels across the ocean, to Constantinople (Istanbul in the modern day) to retrace his ancestor, Altairs final days.
The gameplay of Revelations is essentially the same as previous Assassins Creed games. Using free running, you sprint around the rooftops of Constantinople avoiding the guards. You receive missions to hunt down and kill various targets with the multitude of weapons and gadgets you receive while playing. The two main additions to gameplay features are bomb making and a different way of capturing districts from the Templar Enemy. Making Bombs gives you more tactical options, with smoke bombs to hide in, shrapnel bombs to damage guards and bombs that splatter fake blood to confuse guards. In Revelations, now when you capture a district you are required to play a "Tower Defence" styled minigame. While its an interesting feature, it soon becomes boring and repetitive.
One difference between console and PC versions of revelations is obviously the controls. At first it was frustrating to use keyboard and mouse rather than a controller to move Ezio around, I soon became used to the concept and by the time I had completed Revelations, I actually preferred using a keyboard and mouse to using a controller.
While there has not been any massive changes in the graphics in comparison to Assassins Creed 2 and Brotherhood, the difference between Assassins Creed on Console and Assassins Creed on a high end PC was surprising. As always the models and facial animations isn't the best, but the view of a Constantinople from one of its highest landmarks is amazing. And as always I am astounded by how many individual NPCs (Non Player Characters) can be on the screen at once, without a drop in the games performance.
I have mixed thoughts about the story. Ezios story is well told and I feel that it is a fitting conclusion and wraps up enough loose ends. The same goes for Altairs story. However Desmonds story is a bit confusing and the only part of it that really matters is the final few minutes. I also have mixed thoughts about the characters. Even though they were interesting at the time, I felt that many were forgettable simply because I did not care about a character that only makes an appearance in this game. Why should I when I know this is the final game that is focused on Ezio and Altair? They will never be seen or heard from again, so why should I develop any emotional attachments?
Unfortunately I cannot tell you much about the multiplayer of Revelations. I did not enjoy the multiplayer of Brotherhood and this is much of the same. If you like that then I am sure you will love it but it is simply not my thing. Assassins Creed will stay a singleplayer game for me.
My final thoughts on Assassins Creed Brotherhood are this, if you are a fan of Assassins Creed, get it. Because of various major plot elements, you will be lost at the beginning of the next game without playing Revelations. However if you have never played an Assassins Creed game before, I suggest you start with 2. Even though the game features characters from the first game, it is not required to play it, you will understand what is going on, especially if you read up online first.
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