Comical's Reviews

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Anarchy Reigns Review [PS3]

Prior to the release of Anarchy Reigns, I didn’t buy into the hype or even look at those pesky YouTube videos that sometimes spoil plots for gamers. But once I popped the game in my console, it didn’t take me long to realize that the game would quickly overstay its welcome in my beloved PS3.

Anarchy Reigns is unique when it comes to advancing the storyline and its side quests. The game allows players to explore a world where they can enter story missions and side-quests at any time. The side-quests exist for earning precious experience points, while the story missions advance the game’s narrative. Missions range from simple timed fights or escort quests, to boss battles versus hulking monstrosities. While some missions feel monotonous due to repetitive gameplay, most of them avoid this catastrophe by only lasting a few minutes.

As I said previously, side-quests award you with experience points and in order to get those experience points you must defeat as many enemies as possible, escort NPCs, or eliminate enemies within a certain time frame. Story missions and repeatable side quests are unlocked with experience points, making Anarchy Reigns a grind-fest.

Developer Platinum Games is known for their gameplay experiences, and Anarchy Reigns is no different. If you’re into brawling an almost infinite amount of enemies with the occasional boss battle then you’re in for a real treat with this title. The gameplay is well developed and some of the most fluid I’ve seen from this genre. If you feel that the controls are overwhelming then there is a tutorial option in the main menu and it goes over the controls very well. Do I recommend using it? Yes, for the sheer fact that you’ll be used to the controls once the game starts and there is a trophy for completing the tutorial.

There are high and mid power attacks, grab attacks, standard attacks, fury attacks, and blocking. Gamers will also be able to pick up power ups and there are a variety of them: shields, health regeneration, and missile launches. There are a lot of moves to master, and practicing them is key for when the boss battles open up and call for a bit of strategy and finesse with the controls.

The plot of the game leaves a lot to be desired. If you’re used to Platinum Games, this is no different. At the beginning of the game, players will pick either the Black Side or the White Side. Protagonist Jack’s Black Side follows the bounty hunter as he meets allies and tries to capture Max, the villain, alive for a client. Meanwhile, Leo’s White Side shows him trying to arrest his former mentor who has mysteriously gone rogue. Both sides play relatively the same way though so the only thing you’d be missing if you only play one side is the extra plot.

As far as visuals, Anarchy Reigns is rather bland. Textures are muddy and the world is barren and uninspiring. Then again, the game is only $29.99 MSRP so maybe it’s not all that bad for the price.

Anarchy Reign’s saving grace is the game’s multiplayer mode, which lets up to sixteen people compete against one another using the game’s very eclectic cast of characters. Everyone has his or her own distinct moves, and it leads to some true anarchy in online battles. The action isn’t just limited to brawling–limited-use weapons, traps, and health are air-dropped in, black holes will launch players to different locations on the map, and random enemy spawns and runaway trucks can interrupt at any time. There are plenty of options in multiplayer: free-for-all, team deathmatch, capture the flag, four teams of two, a hilarious 16-player Battle Royale, and a three-man Survival mode where you take on waves of enemies capped by boss encounters. There’s even a fun, unusual “sports” mode called Death Ball that mixes the best elements of team deathmatch and capture the flag.

My first few tries with Anarchy’s multiplayer modes were terrible. I died, leapt back up, and died again – rinse and repeat. I recommend that you play through the tutorial and the single player campaign to get a good sense of the controls before delving into the multiplayer, otherwise you’ll be wishing you never gave it a second thought.

In short, if you’re looking for a game to play on a boring Saturday night then see if you can rent it for a night. In my honest opinion, you’ll still end up being bored unless you fill up your mug with an alcoholic beverage.

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Deadlight Review [Xbox Live Arcade]

As the summer quickly comes to an end so does the Summer of Arcade titles. Deadlight is one of the last ones for this year’s summer arcade hits so it has a good bit to make up for if it wants to leave a lasting memory. Deadlight is being vastly compared to arcade titles like Limbo and rightfully so since it’s pretty much an “adult version” of Limbo, but does it give the same impression though?

In Deadlight, you play as devoted father and loving husband, Randall Wayne. Set in the backdrop of a 1980’s “Sin City-esque” Seattle, Randall is searching for his wife and daughter in what he believes to be a “safe zone”. We all know there are no safe zones in zombie games or movies, but even as over-used as the zombie concept is, Deadlight does deliver in most unique aspects.

I can’t tell you too much about the story of Deadlight for fear of ruining it but I’m sure as you play through it that you’ll see the story takes bits and pieces from other zombies games and movies. Zombies, referred to as “Shadows” in Deadlight, are crawling everywhere. What was first thought to be rabies slowly turned into the inevitable “kill by dismembering the brain from the body” type zombie so Randall told his family to head into the safe zone of Seattle and he’ll catch up with them later. As Randall traverses through levels, he will meet some people and Tequila Works does a great job showing how personality and common thought deteriorate when the world is devoured by catastrophe.

Once the game starts, gamers are dropped right into the action of maneuvering Randall through breakable doors and jumping onto ledges to get away from the Shadows. Deadlight is a 2D side-scroller so don’t worry about getting lost at all. Randall doesn’t have many moves at his disposal besides wall jumping, climbing, busting through obstacles, and rolling around to avoid danger. There is a little bit of combat but players are going to use the environment and the moves I just listed rather than relying mostly on the limited arsenal of guns. To make sure that players don’t use guns, ammo will be scarce.

Combat, for me, was the most aggravating part of the game. It seems like if the Shadows touch you then you lose damage so it’s in your best interest to just avoid them, be it attempting to jump over them, push them down, or outrun them. When I came into contact with the Shadows, it felt like some were more resilient than others. I could do a couple blows to one and they’d go down without a second thought and others I had to hack at several times before they went down so I could deliver the final blow. When you do get your hands on a firearm, it seems to attract unwanted attention from more Shadows rather than getting you out of a rather difficult and sticky situation. Come Act 3, gamers should be well versed in using weapons and navigating through the endless amount of Shadows that Deadlight gets significantly harder and more of a “I wish I could throw this downloadable game into a Christmas tree and set it on fire” type game. The Shadows come at you in astounding numbers and as I mentioned before, even a touch from them seems to deplete Randall’s health. If Randall gets swarmed by them then he immediately goes down and you have to pick up from a check point.

What makes the combat worse is that at the beginning of every Act, Randall’s weapons are taken from him. Act 2 isn’t all that bad without weapons since Tequila Works seemed to have forgotten about the Shadows in the first half of Act 2 and Randall is just learning how to traverse through the environment and learning about The Rat and his son.

Deadlight’s weakest point is also its strongest point. By Act 3, Randall should have no problem facing the hordes of Shadows and the difficult terrain that is post-apocalyptic Seattle. When excessive hordes are coming after you then gamers must be quick thinking, enjoy getting frustrated, and be able to precisely get to places to jump so you don’t get mauled by the Shadows. It’s definitely a breath of fresh air when most games seem so easy nowadays, but you have games like Limbo, Spelunky, and now, Deadlight to make gamers think and pay attention to what they’re doing. Unfortunately during Act 2 and Act 3, things get so hard that sometimes players have to first fail at something to understand what’s going on and a lot of puzzles rely heavily on trial and error.

Another drawback in the game is the clumsy narration. A lot of the lines are ruined by the voice actors and which makes the lines seem out of place. Randall’s voice acting was terrible for the most part. The best one was The Rat. Tequila Works knocked that one on the head. As I said before, the story takes bits and pieces from other zombie works and incorporates them into this story. There is some 28 Days Later, The Walking Dead, and a tad bit Alan Wake.

Even with the combat and narrative wrong doings, Deadlight shines when delivering the game from a graphic standpoint. The “Sin City-esque” backdrop does wonders when seeing characters in the foreground and even in the background. The background holds broken vehicles and a destroyed cityscape, sewers that stretch on in their darkness, and offices and houses. Littering the background many times are Shadows that will actually proceed to come to the forefront and chase down Randall, so things happening in the background should not be ignored. The Shadows themselves are just that; they appear as darkened humans with glowing red eyes.

Deadlight will last gamers about four to five hours after dying and going through all the trial and error parts. So for $15, this isn’t too bad. During the summer, gamers have a “gaming drought” so if you’re bored and need something that is challenging to play then consider Deadlight. Even if you die a lot, which you will, the check points are very lenient so you won’t get too far behind. If you’re a masochist and you like games to look moody, but beautiful at the same time then Deadlight is for you.

Score: 6.5

The Good: Graphics

The Bad: Combat, ammo scarcity, too many trial and error points

The Ugly: Narration, taking my weapons away, voice acting