TRON EVOLUTION

Tron; a name that so many people know and love but what of Evolution and why was it so overlooked? The Tron Legacy movie in 2010 saw a lot of mixed reviews and while it grossed a massive amount of money in the opening fortnight across the world, there many people who thought the story was lacking and the overall plot was weak. Right around the time, the game Tron Evolution came out on the current generation consoles and given the hype surrounding the movie you would have thought the game would have been a great seller but unfortunately given the games quiet release and being overshadowed by the movie and Christmas blockbusters it didn't receive the praise it was expecting. Now here's what I think went wrong... 

The movie is a direct sequel to the game which is a sequel to the original Tron from 1982 and almost everybody didn't know this. Despite this the movie, I thought, still made perfect sense and story and characters were great, it was exactly what I wanted and was expecting. But after playing the game a few months after the movie's release, everything made a lot more sense. All those questions people were asking in the movie were answered for me so my appreciation for the Tron world and characters grew even greater but for those who hadn't played the game still had those lingering thoughts which brings me to this crucial point; the game should have been released at least six months prior to the movie! Gamers would have played it, told their friends and some word would have at least got around about the overall plot idea behind the coming movie.

Now for those people who haven't seen a Tron movie or know about the franchise here is what I can tell you without spoiling anything. The franchise primarily takes place in the digital world of The Grid, a world which exists within our computer systems. Obviously since the first movie The Grid has seen an update or two hence the very vibrant neon look. Kevin Flynn (Jeff Bridges) is a User, a regular human who can traverse to and from the computer world and one of the few who knows of its existence. Prior to the second movie Flynn and the people of The Grid co-existed with a newly found race, the ISO's, however Flynn's computer created copy Clu didn't share his passion for co-existence and staged a coupe to wipe out the ISO's. All of this takes place during the game which leads directly onto the movie. Now this is a lot of information and back story so it's no wonder viewers of the second movie were a little confused. Sure it's mentioned in the film but only briefly to drive the plot and here is where I feel it dropped the ball a little. I love the Tron franchise, the whole idea of a computer world and the futuristic neon jumble of buildings is eye candy me. 

The Tron world is rich with lore a history and it's a perfect place to look to for a great intuitive game and TV show. In Evolution you played as Tron's assistant, a Monitor called Anon, it's probably wise at this point for me to point out that Tron was created by Kevin Flynn to protect The Grid when Flynn was not there. The events in which you play as Anon cover a hefty amount of backstory right up until and including the fall of the ISO's. Something new and interesting which is introduced is the virus program Abraxas, who was created by Clu to wreak havoc on the populous of The Grid and wipe out the ISO's. Abraxas was a great character in the game and had a very sinister aura about him. Throughout the game Anon would encounter recognizable characters from Tron to Clu and even Quorra, still voiced by Olivia Wilde. It was Anon's goal to purge The Grid of the virus Abraxas was spreading and destroy Clu, and if you've seen the second movie you'll know he only got half of this job done. 

The game itself plays somewhere between Uncharted style play forming and hack and slash action adventure. Utilizing your disc in combat is fluent with various upgrades adding interesting mechanics to the game. Switching between offensive and defensive combat is smooth and the level of moves you can use is plentiful so combat doesn't become too repetitive. While the game had great combat mechanics, light cycle sequences and a cool soundtrack it still went relatively overlooked by the gaming community which is unfortunate as it is a lot of fun. Now it's not the greatest game ever, there are still a few bugs and sometimes the surroundings can become a bit repetitive but it still has a special place in my heart. Considering what it was trying to do and what the game had to work with I'd say it did the best it could. So for those Tron lovers out there looking for a fun little experience that offers a great deal more story behind the Tron franchise then I reccomend giving this one a crack.

Tron Evolution teaser trailer:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ZLONRreKAI

Disney's Tron Uprising TV show still has to be the best animated show I think I've ever seen and that's saying something considering I've seen and still love a lot of cartoons. The level of character development and rich story seen in each episode is remarkable. The show itself takes place after the events of the game but before the second movie in the distant city of Argon. Following the destruction of the ISO's, Tron enlists Beck, a program who shares his vision for freedom across The Grid. Beck then dons Tron's infamous suit and sets off to free Argon of Clu's control. The series of events that follow are somewhere between awesome and epic, the show is an absolute blast! Only one season has been made so far and Disney doesn't have a second one in the works which makes me very upset as I want to watch more. I strongly urge everyone to watch it and tell Disney just how awesome it is. I hope you've all enjoyed this lengthy Tron fest and endevour to save The Grid and give the game a chance, it will definitely change your mind about the movie of you ever had any doubts. Until next time, have a great day!

Tron Uprising Disney Webite:
http://disneyxd.disney.com/tron-uprising

Genre: Action / Adventure Platformer

Platforms: PC, PS3 PSP & 360

Score: 8.9 / 10

OCULUS RIFT DEVELOPMENT KIT

Recently I had the pleasure of being able to play with the Oculus Rift courtesy of a friend and the one word that keeps coming back to me again and again is 'Wow'. The experience of mind blowing! Never has a piece of technology allowed me to experience such wonders, I am still speechless. Having been following the development of the Oculus Rift for a while now I was quite intrigued as to how it would all feel and work, I never thought I'd be able to play one so soon. As you can see from the photo's below (I'm sorry about the low resolution images from my phone) I had a blast playing with the Oculus. Now a lot of viewers may think that virtual reality is a thing of Science-Fiction and movies and I did too until recently, the level of immersion that you feel is unbelievable. As you can tell from the images below there were some instances where I actually dead-set felt like I was there. As my first time trying the Oculus I had to play in about 10 minute increments as it's quite possible to feel nauseous from the virtual reality, especially when standing up you can almost get brief flashes of vertigo. Don't let this put you off though, it's all about immersing yourself in another world and finally I feel that virtual reality is around the corner. I honestly believe that this is the way of the future with gaming and can't wait to get my hands on my own when the final product is released. With support from Valve, Epic, Unity and a slue of other developers and modders the Oculus Rift has a great life ahead of it.

So what is the Oculus Rift exactly and how does it work? The OR is a headset that is linked to your PC and monitor, or television, whichever you prefer. The Dev Kit is an early prototype version of the VR system which will ultimately lead to the final consumer version in the years to come. Anyone can purchase a Dev Kit however the final polished version will be a considerable improvement so it may not neccisarily be financially fesable for you. I myself will wait until the final product to be released as it will be a great piece if technology to own in its final form. The headset itself has adjustable lens' and depth which focus the image displayed in your headset. For someone like myself who wears glasses I had to use it without which was still managable but a little blurry, I reccomend contacts. The image resolution itself isn't perfect, running at 1280x800 which is a little pixilated however the final product will be in full HD running at 1080p. The headset displays two images, one for each eye which in terms makes for the 'virtual' feel. If you move your head to look behind you, you can see the world behind you. The movement controls can be used via a keyboard or controller but the controller is much more immersive. For example you can run forward but look behind you or all around. This makes for a truly remarkable experience when you have objects flying you like leaves and butterflies and you move your head out of the way because it feels that real!

The history of virtual reality is a pretty bleak one with Nintendo releasing the infamous Virtual Boy which ultimately killed the VR idea for a lot of people, but now with Oculus Rift in full force I feel it's finally going to happen. I only played a handful of games ranging from a roller coaster simulator to being in a space suit floating high above the earth to two very scary horror demos. And let me tell you, as a horror fan this is the perfect way to instigate fear into the player! I have never screamed so loud in my life! I played a five minute demo of Black Island standing up and nearly had a heart attack. The sense of things chasing you and actually being 'around' you was utterly terrifying and as the movement controls and looking around as well as utilizing your torch all acted independently it really did make me feel like it was there in the woods being hunted. So is it worth buying one now? That's entirely up to you, as the final version probably won't be out for at least another year you may wish to purchase a Dev Kit now for the fun and experience. I do believe it costs about $400 Australian so for some people that's a little pricey but considering the technology I think that's very affordable. Currently you can play a variety of games on the OR including Half-Life 2 the full game for example. Other games are being further updated to support the OR's capability, for example Deus Ex Human Revolution.

Lastly there's Hydra, attachments produced by Razor in conjunction with the OR headset. These add-ons for example can be a chest guard or a one handed controller that has a joystick for movement as well a other immersive capabilities. The Hydra can be a gun or a torch for example and adds that extra piece of virtual reality to the experience. The Hydra chest guard for example can sense when you duck, so if you need to get behind cover you'll need to duck in real life for your player to do so. This allows you to blind fire, shoot around corners, the whole shebang! There's not too much else I can say as it's one of those things that you need to experience yourself but I'm going to be brutally honesty; this is the best things I've ever seen in my life, it is revolutionary! The Oculus Rift has shown me that this technology is within arms reach and can actually be done correctly. For those who want to check out more on the Oculus Rift you can go to the official website in the link below and while you're at it check out some youTube clips of Oculus players. The development team behind the Oculus Rift are doing some amazing work at the moment and have come so far, it's great to see something so interesting and iconic come from all this hard work. Please everyone check this out! 

http://www.oculusvr.com/

Oculus Rift Development Kit Case.

The Oculus from the back as how you would wear it.

Side view of Oculus with lens adjustment dial.

Myself playing Oculus, it felt as if I could reach out and touch things.

You can play sitting or standing, standing is much more immersive.

N3RD CREED ON INSTAGRAM & TWITTER

Hello gamers! Just a quick note, my Instagram and Twitter accounts for N3RD CREED are up and working so I hope you all endeavour to check them out. I will aim to keep the blog, Facebook page, Instagram and Twitter accounts all in sync so you don't miss out on anything important!

N3RD CREED ON FACEBOOK NOW!

Attention N3RD CREED followers! I would once again like to thank everyone who has been reading my posts each week and would like to inform you all at I'll be starting a N3RD CREED titled Facebook page. I'll aim to have the same content but act as a door way between my blog, Twitter and Instagram account. As I am still relatively fresh to the blogging network I am trying different ways to help N3RD CREED flourish and I feel these extra avenues of social networking will definitely help. Once I get my Instagram and Twitter account up and running I will provide the links through the Facebook and blog. I am hoping to really make something of N3RD CREED and appreciate the time you guys take to stop and read my content!

SILENT HILL: DOWNPOUR

As you all may know, I have highly praised the Silent Hill series over the years and even though there were a few bumps along the way the game still manages to surprise me. The latest installment in the Silent Hill series; Downpour, is a great addition to the franchise. Since Silent Hill 2 came out, which was back in 2001 I haven't found that tension in the series that I yearn for but now I feel we're finally starting to get back into the rhythm. While Shattered Memories was a worthy edition to the series in 2009 and Silent Hill 3 in 2003 they still didn't quite reach that level Silent Hill 2 once offered. Now don't get me wrong, Downpour isn't the greatest game to praise my TV screen but it's certainly a well designed game and knows what it's trying to be; survival horror. Plus if there's one thing that freaks me out the most it's mannequins! The atmosphere, tension and confusion are back in full force with this game keeping you guessing at every turn. Exploration throughout the town is exceptionally fun and returns to that Silent Hill 2-esque style ambience that sends shivers down your spine. Traversing the fog stricken streets of Silent Hill this time round is especially terrifying and with the implementation of side quests the game further pushes you to explore derelict streets. Much like its predecessors there are unique place to explore each with a variety of tricks, traps and puzzles. I'll endeavour to shed the light a little more on the Silent Hill series this time round as my review of Silent Hill 2 back in April was a little short.

This time round the primary victim and protagonist for this chilling story is Murphy Pendelton, an inmate from a prison who becomes entangled in Silent Hill's twisted web after his prison transport bus over turns in a thunderstorm. After a rather freaky opening Murphy finds himself in dire need of escaping Silent Hill as quickly as possible, unfortunately this means traversing through the eerie town first. Throughout the game Murphy is relentlessly haunted by his past and one of the prison officer who survived the crash, Anne Cunningham. The story progressively unfolds revealing interesting details and twists surrounding Murphy's past and actions. This creates a great gameplay experience as you are constantly trying to push on and uncover both Murphy's and Silent Hill's secrets. Downpour received some very mixed reviews with a lot of people either loving or hating it, unfortunately the majority hated it, but don't let this sway you, I still consider it a worthy edition and as a horror enthusiast that's definitely saying something. Much like my beloved Silent Hill 2, Downpour still focuses on the town itself as the primary set point all the while dragging in unsuspecting victims to its horrific jaws. The cavalcade of characters who you encounter are all interesting, each with their own creepy past that fits perfectly into the story line. The transition between the real world and Silent Hill's 'Nightmare dimension' is smooth and well designed with the twisted realm leaving you truly on edge and afraid of what's to come.

The gameplay itself was something that a lot of reviewers were not fond of but in all honesty there's nothing wrong with it. If you've played a Silent Hill game you know the kind of gameplay to expect and personally I don't see what all the fuss was about. It's a survival horror game, what do you expect? In your inventory this time round you can carry only a handful if weapons and one melee weapon at a time, which is all you need. Weapon degradation occurs over time so you must be wary when entering combat with one of the stumbling entities. The implementation of this into a game like Silent Hill is great and I think it adds to the mood of the game, nothing is more frightening than having your 2x4 break mid combat forcing you to madly stumble for a new weapon while you're being chased. With the fluent gameplay and the stellar atmosphere which I previously covered I feel that this is a sorely overlooked game in the series and the survival horror genre. While it's not Silent Hill 2, I still praise it for giving the franchise a solid go and am proud to have it in my gaming library. I'm glad that there are games like this still being made because they're far and few and generally really great overall. I'm curious to see the path that the Silent Hill franchise takes over the coming years given the dividing opinions from gamers as of late. So for those who are looking for a great horror and psychological experience I strongly advise you to give this a crack.

Genre: Survival Horror
Platforms: PS3 & 360
Score: 9 / 10

1000 VIEWS!

Hello all! Just a quick note...having just reached 1000 views from my audience across the globe I'd like to thank everyone who's been reading my blogs over the past months. Now while I am aware in the scheme of things that's not a huge amount of views but it's enough to make me really appreciate the time everyone is taking to read my blog. If there is anything I could improve or touch on more please let me know, I'm open to constructive criticism and always looking to improve. I will definitely continue to review games and keep you all up to date with the important gaming news, again thank you everyone, you guys are awesome!

THE ELDER SCROLLS V: SKYRIM - PART 2

So already we've established Skyrim has cemented its place in history, but what gives it that 'edge' in video gaming that elevates it above the rest? Well for me and I think a lot of gamers will agree, it's the huge level of customisation and that fact that just about any person can pick up the game learn its mechanics quite easily. Something that plagued Oblivion and previous titles was level of difficulty and the gameplay mechanics, this in turn isolated a lot of the gaming market so that only the hardcore gamers and fans picked up a copy. With Skyrim, Bethesda have managed to find that happy medium that appeals to all levels of gamers and while some of the hardcore audience might not appreciate this I feel that in the long run this newer style will benefit the Elder Scrolls series. The user interface and method of gameplay all blend together to make a very smooth experience. I simply cannot wait to see what Bethesda decide to do with Elder Scrolls VI, with next generation consoles around the corner and the huge modding community within the PC realm it's certain that the next installment will have everything we love and so much more. So let's dig into the nitty gritty and what makes Skyrim really shine; the gameplay!

Swords, maces, battle axes, bows, magic the list goes on, there is so much content in Skyrim it's mind boggling. Throughout Skyrim you can obtain multiple weapons of varying design each with their own strengths, weaknesses and magic abilities (if they have them). As well as weapons you also have armour and shields, again each with their own styles and designs, naturally many gamers already know this but for those who aren't familiar with this kind of game then this is what you can hope to expect. The shear level of customisation is crazy with every play through being different if you choose to make it so. Over the course of my Skyrim obsessed life I've been an Argonian Battle-master (a lizard creature with heavy weapons capabilities), a Redguard Mage (a desert dweller with magic abilities)...and the list goes on and on. You have a variety of other races including Elves, Imperials, Khajiits, Nords and many more each with their own special abilities, techniques and weaknesses. Weapons can be infused with magical abilities such as electricity, fire and more interesting spells such as soul trapping; capturing souls allows you to then further improve your magical weapons. The great thing about skyrim is that you can tailor the challenge to suit you, you can go full force with magic or weapons, use stealth and arrows from afar and so much more, it's a great experience that rewards the player appropriately.

By now you can probably clearly make out that I love Skyrim and praise it for its replay value, user interface and level of depth, so there's not too much more I can really shed light on without spoiling the main story. Quickly jumping back to the land of Tamriel itself, something that makes the Elder Scrolls series stand out amongst is the amount of back story and lore that the world is steeped in. Every installment of the Elder Scrolls has taken part in a different county of Tamriel, this makes for great variety as the lands and towns people will differ every game allowing for new a rich content to learn. Cyrodiil resides in the centre of Tamriel as the capital of all the lands, home of the Imperial Legion. To the east lies Morrowind home to the Dunmer (Dark Elves) and the island Vvardenfell in which lies the great Red Mountain. South of this is the Black Marsh a huge mostly uncharted region home to the lizard like creatures, the Argonians. South lies Elsweyr, a mixture of badlands and sub-tropical lands home to the cat-like Khajiits. Down in the south-west is Valenwood, home to the Bosmer who inhabit this large forest / tropical swamp-like region, off its coast are the Summerset Isles. The Aldmer once inhabited this beautiful land and were the first decedents of Tamriel, but during Merethic Era long ago they have since disappeared. Lastly to the north-west lies Hammerfell, home to the Redguards and High Rock, well know for its Breton inhabitants. Both places are rather rugged with Hammerfell being home to the Alik'r Desert.

Tamriel is colossal land with heaps happening and Skyrim is no exception. There is so much to be done that to fully complete Skyrim would take up a vast amount of your life. I hope to one day discover all its secrets but time does fly very quickly and for Skyrim you need a bit of time up your sleeves. Below is a link to the Elder Scrolls Wiki, a great source of information for those interested in the lore and culture of Tamriel. I hope you've all enjoyed this lengthy review and endeavour to dive head first into this life changing game!

http://elderscrolls.wikia.com/wiki/Skyrim

Genre: Action / Adventure Fantasy
Platforms: PC, PS3 & 360
Score: 9.6 / 10

THE ELDER SCROLLS V: SKYRIM - PART 1

Skyrim; a name that will be etched into the gaming world for generations to come. Anyone who's picked up a game in the Elder Scrolls series knows just how epic they can be and Skyrim is no exception, this game is a true masterpiece. Up until Skyrim I'd never played a game quite like it, with the exception of Fallout 3 and New Vegas I'd never seen a game so vast and full of adventure. Of course the Fallout series has guns and the very bleak holocaust theme to it, whereas the Elder Scrolls games are all medieval and now with Skyrim, full of dragons too. It's just one of those games that no matter which way you look at it or how you play it everyone has their own stories to tell. There is always going to be a special place in the gamer's hearts for Skyrim. I hadn't picked up an Elder Scrolls game until Skyrim and from what I've heard that's not necessarily a bad thing. Having played Oblivion now and taken a glance at Morrowind and the previous instalments it's plain to see that they were all brilliant games but did have their flaws, whereas Skyrim has taken these Flaws on board and try to fix everything humanly possible. Considering the vast amount of development and complexity in the games programming I think Bethesda have done a pretty swell job. 

Now with a game as big as Skyrim I simply can't cover all the fundamentals in one blog hence why I'm going to split this into a two-part review, that way I can delve a little more into the gameplay, lore and history behind this remarkable franchise. So before we can continue with Skyrim let's take a look at Bethesda and how they got to where they are today. Back in 1994 Bethesda released their first instalment of the Elder Scrolls series: Arena. The studio would then go onto release Daggerfall in 1996, Morrowind in 2002, Oblivion in 2006 and finally Skyrim in 2011. Prior to this Bethesda was making games for PC as far back as 1986 when the company was first founded. In 1999 Christopher Weaver and Robert Altman would found ZeniMax Media as the parent company to Bethesda, following this in 2009 they would then go onto purchase ID Software who's first release title under the new management would be Rage. And of course how can we forget back in 2004 when Bethesda bought the rights to franchise Fallout and went on to release Fallout 3; that was a truly epic game, I'll definitely review that down the track. It's amazing to see just how much the studio has grown over the past two decades and how they've revolutionised the gaming world with such titles.

So getting back to Skyrim...where do I start? I suppose the best place to start is: what is Skyrim. The game is set in the northern most county of the land of Tamriel, Skyrim, a harsh cold place home to the Nords, a friendly easy going race who work hard believe in their rights, their land and their lore. Being in the northern most part of Tamriel you can expect to encounter a wide array of environments from the rolling hills to jagged cliffs dotted with forests and most of all the brutal snow ridden terrain that claims many lives. Within Skyrim are nine major cities each with their own Jarl, an overseer of their dominion. 200 years after the events of the Oblivion crisis the High King has been killed and civil war looms over the land. On one side are the Stormcloaks who believe their land should belong to them and be an independent state while on the other side the Imperials feel that Skyrim should be apart of the Empire along with the other counties in Tamriel. To make things worse the Nordic god of Destruction, Alduin, a ruthless dragon king wants of Tamriel devoured by flames. There's a lot going on in this epic instalment of the series and both dragons and civil war aren't even the least of your worries. Dozens of adventures lay waiting for you across this beautiful land so expect to have majority of your life consumed by the glory this is Skyrim.

Probably the most important feature of this epic journey is that you are the 'Dragonborn', a being who can speak to, shout and absorb the souls of dragons. Being Dragonborn has its privileges, after defeating a dragon you can absorb its soul which you can then use to unlock various dragon 'Shouts'. These shouts are capable of many things ranging from summoning lightning storms to animals that will come to your aid. It's a great way to make an already rich game even richer with more interesting content. Much like previous Elder Scrolls games you can choose from ten different playable races each with their own unique skills, advantages and disadvantages. Having played through the main quest at four times now I can certainly tell you that every play through is different and just as fun as the last. While dialogue choices throughout the main story stay relatively similar the variety you can get from all the additional quests is remarkable. In the next part of the review I'll touch on the gameplay elements, the many species and races that inhabit Tamriel and the lands that makes up the world. I hope this review is informative for everyone and that you all endeavour to pick up of copy of Skyrim!

PERFECT DARK

Having made a huge success with Goldeneye, Rareware soon began development on its spiritual successor, Perfect Dark. 3 years later in the year of 2000 Rareware would release another revolutionary game that would again go down in history. The game was built off a modified engine similar to Goldeneye but with considerably more power. This meant that Perfect Dark would include a multitude of options and gameplay styles that would make it the most advanced game in the N64 library. The only fault in Perfect Dark is its apparent inconsistent frame rates, unlike Goldeneye which was exceptionally smooth, but this would be due to the huge engine modifications. So rather than follow the sleek and suave adventures of 007 Rare turned to a new protagonist, Joanna Dark, a sexy spy who works for the fictional Carrington Institute. Joanna must uncover the truth about the opposing dateDyne Corporation through various missions of both stealth, reconnaissance and full force. The game is exceptionally well balanced and paces itself remarkably well with each mission being just the right amount of challenging.

Personally I like Perfect Dark more than Goldeneye but that's just my opinion; I think the multiplayer just does it for me, it's so customisable that every game is different and rewards great replay value. As a first person shooter it's probably one of best for its time, taking all the good things Rare already knew and only furthering the amount of fun one can have. Straight off the bat when playing Perfect Dark you'll immediately recognise the games resemblance to Goldeneye; the hit-detection, targeting and movement mechanics are all copied. Now remember Rare wasn't trying to be slack and not bring ground breaking new mechanics, they were only trying to add to it, this is one of those instances where the phrase 'why fix what's not broken' actually rings true. Taking to jump to a futuristic Sci-Fi shooter and running on the same platform as Goldeneye would seem like a winning combo; the gritty locales of a gloomy Chicago to the desolate snowfields of Alaska all lure you in and make for an epic game. My personal favourite level would still have to be the G5 Building in Chicago, those who have played will know what I'm talking about and damn is it fun!

While the story truly does shine bright I still go back to the multiplayer every now and then for a cheeky game of Hold The Briefcase, Death-match and Kill of The Hill. There is so much fun to be had! One thing that Perfect Dark received praise for was its enemy AI, now while by todays standards they may not seem very bright, back then it was rarity to see and game with clever functioning AI. The variety of multiplayer AI or 'Simulants' as they're referred to is huge. There are you standard AI (Meat-Sims), then there are one that only attack with fists when you have a gun out (Peace-Sims), then there's super hard trigger happy deadly ones (Dark-Sims), beware Dark-Sims will kill you heaps if you don't have a trigger finger as quick as Clint Eastwood. The list goes on and on and coupled with this and the variety of guns and maps it makes for a great amount of endless fun with both yourself and friends. There's not too much more I can say about Perfect Dark as it essentially Goldeneye in spirit but what I can say is you're going to have a lot of fun. If you play it nowadays on a N64 yes it is dated and the frame rate can chug sometimes so if this bugs you then get an emulator for your computer or download it on the Xbox Network, otherwise crack out the N64 and have a blast.

Probably the last thing I need to say about this is that the music is killer; it's almost one of the best soundtracks I've ever heard in a video game. Now I talk heaps about the Time Splitters soundtrack and praise it for it's awesomeness but remember a lot of the chief programmers and score writers for Time Splitters i.e. Graeme Norgate, once worked for Rare and developed the soundtrack for Goldeneye and Perfect Dark. I've said it once and I'll say it again, music and sound in video games is so very crucial and Rare nailed it on the head this time. I still have this soundtrack to this date on my iTunes library along with Time Splitters and several other game tracks. I'm not ashamed of it, I'm proud, Rare did a fantastic job and should be praised for it. If only the Perfect Dark franchise did a sequel (no I'm not counting the awful Xbox 360 release Perfect Dark Zero) then I would be so happy to see Joanna Dark slip into some sexy spy gear and take off on a new world-wide adventure! I hope you gamers out there crank up that N64 for an awesome week of gaming because you won't be disappointed. Until next time...peace out!

Genre: First Person Shooter
Platforms: N64, PC / Mac Emulator & Xbox 360 HD Remake
Score: 9.8 / 10

DARKSIDERS 1 & 2

Now here's an interesting series with an uncertain future ahead of it; the Darksiders franchise, which was previously owned by THQ with a  subsidiary development team, Vigil Games. After THQ's bankruptcy earlier this year, all of its game franchises were put to auction with Crytek being the primary bidder for Vigil Games. After some backwards and forwards discussion Crytek finally bought Vigil and established a new U.S. subsidiary named it Crytek USA, while a lot of the team stayed on board with the new owners a handful left to join Retro Studios. So getting back to Darksiders, the first installment saw a bit of press and established a sound fan base so naturally Vigil began development on a sequel. Darksiders 2 faced a lot of hype and when released didn't receive the warm welcome it was expecting. With a mediocre performance for sales figures Vigil were uncertain as to whether or not they would attempt to complete the quadrilogy and now with the THQ ownership put to rest the fate of the franchise hinges on Crytek and its future decisions. One particular discussion that has always surrounded Darksiders is that of the 'cloning' of the Legend of Zelda franchise. Yes it plays like Zelda and has dungeons with boss battles and treasure chests, yes it has an over-world map, but so does Skyrim and a lot of other games. I understand the comparison yes, but don't relate to a negative trait, Zelda is brilliant, so gameplay wise logically the game should be fun, it's more the story that gets to people I feel.

Now for those who don't know what Darksiders is about well prepare to be enlightened. Darksiders follows the post apocalyptic journey of the Four Horsemen who are drawn into a bloody conflict between angels and demons on both the destroyed Earth and other worldly dimensions. Darksiders 1 followed the footsteps of 'War' and his false accusations for bringing about the apocalypse on Earth, through this game War sought to uncover the truth about the Earth and prove to the Charred Council (an overseeing judgment committee of this dimension) that he was innocent. In Darksiders 2 you follow 'Death', the second Horseman who travels across many worlds in search of his fallen brother War. I don't want to give away too much more information regarding the series as it is a great one and I feel you should all give it a go. In Darksiders 2 the team implemented a lot more RPG characteristic in terms of customising your character, weapons and levelling up systems as well, but it's all for nought if it's not executed properly. Darksiders 2 I felt bought these additions to the table but didn't present them as well as it could, but I feel it makes up for it by having great stylish gameplay, amazing visually attractive worlds and a cool story. I like to consider Darksiders a darker more hack and slash version of Zelda, it's got all the things I love in action/adventure games but with a different plot and an immersive lore. It's unfortunate things went the way they did with THQ but I hope Crytek is seeking to redeem the franchise in a different way and complete the saga with the two remaining Horsemen.

Something that I've always liked in video games is maps; vast sprawling ones showing a huge world just begging to be explored. When playing games like Darksiders, Zelda and Skyrim they appeal exactly to that need that I desire in gaming. I feel every game should have maps, call me weird but there's something I just can't get over about maps. Much like Zelda and Skyrim you've got varying areas of both ruins, snowy mountains, volcanoes and dense forests and it all balances very well. The transition between multiple dimensions in both Darksiders 1 & 2 is flawless making what you initially thought a large game map even larger. Darksiders 2 for me was a stand out when travelling to multiple places in both heaven and hell; it was a take on the ideas I hadn't seen in video games for a long time and it truly stood out for me. While being a game from the hack and slash adventure genre the implementation of puzzles and limited dungeon progression does add to the atmosphere and doesn't slow down the pace at all. If anything it's great every now and then to take a breather from all the sword fighting and soak in the surroundings. Some of the worlds in Darksiders 1 & 2 are amazingly pretty even if they're post apocalyptic. The opening to Darksiders 2 for me was a standout also and the ascent into the Black Throne at the end of Darksiders 1 was truly epic! Nowadays Darksiders 1 & 2 are exceptionally cheap and I urge everyone to help the sales as I would really like to see Crytek tie up the franchise with both 3 & 4.

Genre: Action / Adventure, Hack & Slash
Platforms: PC, PS3 & 360
Score: 8.9 / 10

XBOX ONE TO IMPLEMENT SONY'S BLU-RAY FEATURES

Hey all! Just a quick piece of informative news that's crossed my screen in the past 24 hours; Xbox One fans are going to love this. Microsoft and Sony have announced that the Xbox One will now feature the Blu-Ray capability. So for all those Xbox 360 players who have a Blu-Ray system on the side, you can  now join the two into the one piece of hardware. This does come as a surprise but it is a logical step for Microsoft as it levels the playing field that little bit more for them in the catch up to Sony. Microsoft won't lose out a great deal in terms of money as the implementation of Blu-Ray software into the Xbox One is a relatively low budget ordeal, hence Sony won't be making a tonne of money but still enough to help further the company. It just go to show that for all that hard work Sony did releasing the Blu-Ray system so many years ago that it's finally starting to pay off for them. Blu-Ray is a remarkable piece of hardware and as we're seeing the steady decline of DVD's (until those crazy laser DVD's that hold terabyte's be released, seriously look it up!) it's the only logical step forward for video game companies and producers.

MEDAL OF HONOR: WARFIGHTER

The FPS war shooter has been under a great deal of pressure as of late and as you probably know Call of Duty and Battlefield are the two mighty juggernauts that are leading the pack. Then there's games like Medal of Honor, which have been published by a lot of developers since its initial release in 1999. Now while EA owns both Battlefield and MOH they are still predominantly putting their money towards the Battlefield franchise, and I would too, it's been around for less time so logically it's a fresher and newer take on the genre. It is also a funny thing to note that Studio Dice own the rights to both Battlefield and MOH currently. However EA are still determined to keep the franchise alive and so comes MOH Warfighter, an almost duplicate clone to COD and Battlefield. But we all have to remember, MOH came first, Battlefield was first released in 2002 and COD didn't see the light of day until 2003, so when you think about it they're all clones of MOH...the plot thickens! Now if we're going to be completely honest a lot of these war shooter games are little samey and repetative, that's not to say they're boring but if you've played one you've played most of them. Unfortunatly MOH is a dying breed and I feel it will soon become extinct, as games like Spec Ops have come along and truly defined the genre with exceptionally in depth gameplay and narrative. But hey, the game is fun, fast paced and a worth a good look so let's delve into this remarkable franchise and see just how far they've come.

The first MOH game I ever played was Frontline back in 2002 on the Playstation 2, it was based during the Second World War and was the first and best war shooter I think I'd ever played up until I laid my hands on Spec Ops: The Line. One thing I only realized recently was that Steven Speilberg was the story creator for some of the early MOH games and this makes a lot of sense. The atmosphere was there, the story was good and overall the experience was very real. Now jump ahead to 2012 with Warfighter and now we're faced with a MOH game in the current day. Naturally it was inevitable that MOH would have to stop replaying various scenes from WWII and jump to the present day, both COD and Battlefield did it with ease so why not try too. Now Frontline and Rising Sun were both very memorable games for me, Frontline more so. The first time I stormed Normandy was truly an epic experience. These days a lot of things in war shooters seems a little under whelming, it's hard to make gameplay and set points really stand out in a genre that's a little stale. MOH Warfighter is a fun game if you give it a chance, it is what it is, an FPS where you battle enemies through a plethora of locales and eventually uncovering a big plot usually involving nuclear weapons, world domination or both. Graphics and gameplay are realistic and smooth while providing a little variety in the levels. It's a sound game with little faults and it's only negative being that it's part of a genre that's difficult to compete in.

Warfighter's whole pacing and atmosphere is very well designed at times with intense gunfights, sniper battles and stealth elements. The opening prologue for me was great as it set the tone perfectly for what I was about to play. When I pick a game like this, this is exactly what I want and it delivered. FPS's have had it hard as of late because many people feel it's hard to develop story and characters off a game where you spend 90% shooting things, and that's true to an extent but again take a look at Spec Ops; it's definitely doable. So cut the FPS genre some slack a little ok!? Again much like COD, the game switches perspective from various protagonists which helps to add variety. The only thing that's really going to kill the MOH series is sales as there are little at this point. I feel as EA's secondary franchise it's only inevitable that they'll funnel the money in Battlefield and put MOH out to pasture, that is unless they can come up with something new fresh. To be completely honest, i'd be perfectly happy to play an HD remake of Frontline or Rising Sun as it would be a brake from the modern monotonous shooter. Warfighter is worth a chance, I wanted to take a break from all the action-adventure and sit down to a epic FPS shooter and that's what I got. Give MOH a chance just one more time as it is a lot of fun, which in the end is all I out of some games, fun!

Genre: FSP
Platforms: PC, PS3 & 360
Score: 8.6 / 10

GOLDENEYE 64

So I'm currently watching Goldeneye while writing this and my god it makes me want to play Goldeneye 64 again so badly! Anyone who grew up with a Nintendo 64 had Goldeneye or at least had a friend who owned a copy, it was 'The' game everyone had and everyone loved. Studio Rare outdid themselves when they took the leap into the 3D world of the 64 bit era. One thing I have to give extra credit for also was that it was a movie based game of all things too and generally movie based games are fairly below average. So I can pretty much guarantee that anyone who still owns Goldeneye is going to want to play it after this review. Yes it's an oldie, but it's a classic oldie that will go down in history as one of the greats of its time. Now let's think back to 1997, the N64 hadn't been out for long and the E3 convention that year had given Goldeneye the thumbs down thinking it would be a mediocre movie game that would never compare to the like of Doom or Quake. Well on August 25th that year everyones mind would soon change as the game would revolutionise the first person shooter genre and go down in history to be the 3rd best selling N64 of all time (Mario 64 and Mario Kart were 1 and 2 obviously). Being someone who hadn't seen the movie I had no idea what to expect, all I knew was that James Bond was this cool, stylish and suave secret agent who fought baddies; what more could you ask for as a 7 year old boy, he was my hero!

Taking the leap into the new era for Rare would have been a treacherous one to say the least but considering it was their first attempt at a three dimensional first person shooter I'd say they nailed it perfectly. Rareware claimed such great recognition from the international market after releasing Goldeneye that they soon began work on other fantastic projects such as Banjo-Kazooie, Donkey Kong 64 and my personal all-time favourite, Perfect Dark. Interestingly enough a few people from Rare left and founded Free Radical, the development would then go onto their own project which we all know as Time Splitters, however since then Free radical has been bought by Crytek and is now a subsidiary. And as we all know unfortunately Rare has since been bought by Microsoft who now seem intent on keeping Rare locked away in a cage somewhere far, far away. But anyway getting back to the game, they truly did revolutionise the first person shooter. The story mode was balanced and reasonably accurate and what they did make up was a great addition to the story, my favourite still has to be Siberia. This is one of those instances where the developers actually stood back and said 'ok, we have a fantastic movie with rich content and lore, let's not change too much, but add in some great stuff too' and it worked. The multiplayer still to this day rivals any Call of Duty or Battlefield game hands down and many people will agree with me.

Let me just reel off a few memorable words and experiences from Goldeneye for you...the Facility level and killing the guy who was in the toilets at the start of the game, Oddjob and Jaws in multiplayer, slaps only, the list go on and on. Everyone has their own memorable experiences from this game, for me it was that exceptionally satisfying moment when I completed all the levels on 00 Agent, including the two secret levels. This was one of those times when I just sat back and went 'Damn I'm good!'. The level of difficulty in Goldeneye was high but very rewarding; each level built and paced itself well, with the exception of Facility and Control, god I hated Control and protecting Natalia! the train level was always a stand out; frantically trying to burn through the grate in the floor with your laser watch while the timer counted down was some of the most intense seconds of my life. No matter which way you look at this game it's a masterpiece and I'm so proud of what Rare did and how far they went to make a great experience for us gamers. It's unfortunate that there aren't more games like this these days and I get the feeling there never will be. You would have some pretty big shoes to fill if you wanted to take on this bad boy and besides I think this one should just be left alone. Goldeneye is a classic that will always have a place in every gamers heart and I hope I've inspired everyone to go and play it now. Enjoy your weekend all and have a great time gaming it up!

Genre: First Person Shooter

Platforms: Nintendo 64

Score: 9.8 / 10

CHECK OUT MORE HORROR GAMES WITH 'MARKIPLIER'

Hello everyone! So for those horror lovers out there that somehow aren't sick to death of my horror reviews, there's a great horror game reviewer/player on youTube called MarkiplierGAME. These playthroughs are all incredibly funny and scary and is a great source of entertainment. Mark does the playthrough of heaps of games and also reviews, he doesn't just do horror games though, there are other segments such as 'Drunk Minecraft' which can prove to be amazingly funny at times too. But for those who've read any of my horror reviews and are looking for visuals and more gameplay to get an idea then check out this great youTube channel. You should also subscribe and help build his fan base because its's a great one. Check it out...

www.youtube.com/user/markiplierGAME