First Impression Review
It seems today that most games tend to follow the mainstream of gaming, the Call of Duty series could be perhaps blamed for this. Not only does this game stray from this cliche' form of gaming, the developers even made a parody of MW2 as you probably heard of, Duty Calls. Did this game live up to it's motto, "Putting The Fun Back In The Gun." Indeed it did and it also brought back the nostalgic moments of kicking stuff in Duke Nukem and bringing in it's own original ideas like the grapple. Not only did they revive the great aspect of retro gaming, they combined it with new ideas, modern game mechanics, and really turned it up a notch.
Visuals: 10/10
Textures: 9.5/10
Models: 10/10
Effects: 10/10
Optimization: 10/10
Statement: The game itself isn't hard to run although when I do crank it to max settings my computer does tend to drop a bit under 60 fps which so far is the only game I've struggled to keep above 60 other than GTA4 and Arma II. As for the visuals, it adds a nice theme that takes you to a familiar place yet a bizarre land you've never seen. While you may see modern technology of the high rising skyscrapers, the post-apocalyptic feel, and the ranging environments from vast canyons to large mining facilities. Textures took a small hit though because it seemed as if the characters' faces lacked detail along with some other important things. Then again it could be understandable judged by the ridiculously large environments that the game must render. Overall, the general theme to this game takes you to a whole new place which most games fail to do now-a-days.
Gameplay: 10/10
Single-Player: 10/10
Multi-Player: ?/10
Story: 9.5/10
Statement: So far I have pleasantly been pleased with the campaign and it is turning out to be a long but non-repetitive adventure. The game understands that you can only shoot stuff for so long which introduces the whole scoring mechanic and environmental combos you can unleash. Even though you're not into the whole scoring system, you'll find yourself gripped into seeing how long of a chain you can keep. Not only is the score visually satisfying to see, it acts as currency in which you can purchase upgrades and ammo. The two shining gameplay mechanics in this game is both the grapple and kick feature. You'll find yourself intrigued by grappling an enemy towards you, kicking him back, shooting his head off, grappling him back again, then kicking his corpse into a cactus. This allows you to add insult to injury to your opponents as you unleash hell onto them. The game will also throw in exciting moments without overkilling them such as controlling a robot to decimate savages with lasers ranging from escaping hordes of enemies on a train car. The weapons are very unique and offers a lot towards one's playing style although I was heavily disappointed with the shotgun. It seems that in order to do any damage you can get close to the point where your barrel is up their ass before pulling the trigger. Surprisingly though, the game redeems its arsenal with the sniper rifle. Once you fire a bullet, it will slow down time allowing you to control the curve of the bullet. Oh big deal it's been done alright, right? Indeed it has but this did it RIGHT. Instead of slowing down instantly, the bullet travels at a high velocity only to slow down once the bullet nears the target. NOT ONLY THAT, the target will actually begin to dodge the oncoming bullet allowing you to torment him as you curve the bullet right into his head. The story itself is interesting but seems underdeveloped at times and the characters are likable not because they're goody-two-shoes but for their starfish-ness, and flaws. Sadly I have not been able to try the Multi-Player yet but I will eventually.
Final Statement: Although sixty dollars is quite pricey (especially loving Black Ops, the bastard still hasn't dropped in price.) this is honestly one of those few games I could say that it's worth the money. I have only played through a portion of the game so far (like chapter 2 act 3 or something like that) it seems that the game can only get progressively better and they have the set-up to progress an excellent campaign. Buy it, you won't be disappointed.
Aftermath Review
Coming Soon
