Plot-centric games are a rare gem nowadays; a needle in the haystack in the midst of action and FPS games that flood the markets these days. Such games are amazingly difficult to pull off, given the immense amount of dialogue combined with the essence of a strong story, which had to differentiate from B-grade plot clichés that we see in most games. But when they do succeed, they shine gloriously.

The Walking Dead: The Game is an amazing example of a game that redefined a genre and going against the grain by breaking away from the cookie cutter mould of action-packed zombie-based games such as Left 4 Dead, Dead Rising and Dead Island. This means that if you are looking to run around the country and kill thousands of zombies, you’re better off playing one of those titles I have just mentioned. Developed by Telltale Games who specializes in episodic adventure games, the Walking Games is in good hands of the team that created Tales of Monkey Island and Back to the Future: The Game. Drawing inspiration from Quantic Dream’s Heavy Rain, the developers mixed storytelling elements with quick-time events, delivering tension for certain climatic moments. When packaged together with your own emotions woven into it, The Walking Dead: The Game promises an unforgettable experience that will keep you riveted to plot till the end.

(You will be very disappointed if you are expecting something like this)

Inspired by the comic book itself, the game offers nice cell-shaded graphics that complements the look and feel of the comics, with cameos (I wouldn’t spoil it for you) from the main story appearing in the game. The voice acting is super, with emotion dripping in each sentence as a living breathing novel playing out by itself. The game is delivered in bite-sized amounts in the form of 5 episodes, starting in April 2012 and ending in November 2012. Each episode would take about 2 to 3 hours, which provides a short but intense experience aplomb with emotional tension, delivering what Telltale Games promises as the main selling point: that you as a player has the choice to choose your own story and your own adventure. In short, The Walking Dead: The Game is a game that concerns more on what you do than how you do it.

As the player plays through episodes one to five, the game would require responses from dialogue or actions that are timed (with only seconds to react) and critical, requiring the protagonist, Lee Everett, to make decisions that would alter the flow of the plot in a manner similar to RPGs like Mass Effect or Dragon Age: Origins. If you miss the timer, in some conversation trees Lee will end up being silent, which would have an impact on how others react to him. In other cases, it could result in Lee himself or another character being killed. Unlike Mass Effect or Dragon Age: Origins though, the moral choices aren’t so clear-cut in being “good and lawful” versus “bad and renegade”, which is true of life. In a post-apocalyptic world of The Walking Dead where hordes of undead walk the earth, the moral compass is thrown out of the window in the face of survival, making the player perform some really difficult decisions. Take, for example, a scene where Lee is only given 4 rations to a group of 10 hungry survivors with himself included. Would he give to the children out of compassion, or would he give to adults so that they can fight the zombies better? Other notable scenes include Lee having to decide if he should help a stranger by shooting at the zombies, but risking the horde flocking to him due to the noise, or leave her at lurch so that he can have more time to scavenge for supplies while the zombies are feasting on her. The game is peppered with all these hard choices, with seconds to decide, and it becomes a story of how humanity has crumbled and how bleak such a world can be.

When not making choices, the player can examine and interact with characters and items, and must make use of inventory items and the environment. That said, there aren’t many difficult puzzle elements in this game. Most of the puzzle involve menial activities like finding batteries for a radio or starting up a train, which acts more as a pacing to drive the central plot as well as to develop the world and the characters deeper.

Most of these choices and actions would not have mattered if not for a central character in the story: Clementine, a young 8-year-old girl left to fend for herself in an Atlanta suburb after her parents made a very bad call to take a holiday during apocalypse and her babysitter becomes a baby-eater. That is, until the protagonist, Lee Everett, comes along to become her guardian. During the game, Clementine was made to act as a moral mirror to reflect the decisions made by the player, as it shapes and moulds her to be a young woman in this harsh post-apocalyptic world. This is complicated by the fact that Lee Everett is a convicted murderer on his way to prison when the first episode begins, a difficult fact about himself that might work against him in a world where trust is a luxury to come by. And the duo sets off into the scary world in a mad quest to find Clementine’s parents despite having the nagging thought in your head that they are probably dead or worse.

That said, even though the Walking Dead: the Game is marketed as a game with choices, it is not a “Create your own adventure” game with millions of possible outcomes and limitless plotlines. The endings are driven by the same central story and leads to the conclusion that many of our life’s choices have predetermined outcomes, or some would like to call it fate or destiny or God’s will, and therefore some things, regardless of how many reloads you do or if you step back in time, cannot be changed. You might be given a choice, but after playing it a few times, you would realise that your choice may not change anything except for how other people view you. I personally would have liked a lot more diversity in the endings and plot branches, seeing how Heavy Rain managed to make it more diverse and gives it a lot more replayability. On the other hand, the Walking Dead teaches a valuable lesson about the limits of human choice, that despite giving your best shot sometimes, you cannot change a situation, but the situation will change you. It is the journey of building the relationships, losing them, and all the emotions I have felt that makes the Walking Dead so close to the heart and so memorable. The experience is much more impactful as a game than the drama series or comic book can ever hope to achieve.

9/10. (Try it and feel it for yourself. This game is pretty cheap sometimes on Steam, so be sure to check it out to get deals sometimes)

 

The Devil May Cry series, after its four installment in Devil May Cry 4, was a big commercial success. However, the gameplay is still as punishing as ever, rewarding hardcore action players by throwing a million demons at the player and forcing him to survive with a little bit of health; all the while expecting him to do enough combos at the end of the level. This is the tried-and-tested formula for the Devil May Cry Series, but Capcom wanted to break into Western markets, as well as to cater towards the casual action gamer segment.

So in September 2010, at the Toyko Game Show (essentially a giant gaming convention), Capcom announced that they would be working with UK developer Ninja Theory to launch DmC: Devil May Cry, prompting outrage from die-hard fans that love the hardcare action that the series represent. Fans were screaming blue murder and threatening to boycott the new game. Ninja Theory receives death threats from fans and the reception was negative. Those poor blokes in the UK didn’t know what hit them, and they were responsible for pretty good titles such as Heavenly Sword and Enslaved: Odyssey to the West.

So like how Godzilla got “westernized” to the Hollywood market, DmC is essentially the Western remake of it. Unlike the export of Godzilla though, DmC is a success on its own terms, and I was so thankful to give it a chance to play it.

Rewinding a few years back on PS2 console, I remembered picking the very first Devil May Cry to play in the console, and remember struggling at the “OH-MY-GOD” difficulty of the game. The game demanded a quick response and a knack of chaining combos like planning the choreography of a salsa dance on the fly. I couldn’t invest the time to train myself to play it, and I ended up being one of those people who didn’t complete a Devil May Cry game when almost every gamer in school were talking about it.

This time round, with more skill and time in my hands, DmC’s gameplay is remarkably similar and yet different from the previous series. Dante still wields his sword and his dual guns in definitive style. There are a whole range of techniques to be unlocked at his disposal to slice, hack, chop or blast his devilish foes to non-existence. The controls are smart and intuitive and if the combos are too hard to be executed, Ninja Theory provides a training mode where a punchbag devil bounces against a white background for the player to practice chaining his combos. This is reminiscent of fighting games of practicing and chaining combos, which is great for a newbie to pick up and learn. Once, the combos have been mastered, the player is in for a treat to display flurries of sword strokes and gunshots to make killing demons an art-form, which is immensely satisfying to execute but also easy to understand.

(Look at those combooooossssssss)

To add to the arsenal of combos, Dante also has a demon form and angel form that is easily access using the L2/R2 buttons, which  both grant him instant access to a weapon from the realm other than Rebellion. The weapons offer a chance to switch up the pacing of the combo style: his demon weapons offer slow, powerful attacks whereas his angelic weapons provide fast, effective crowd control for larger groups of enemies. There’s no limit to switching between these forms, and players have the chance to splice the different weapon style into the gameplay, making it a deeply fluid combo chain with Dante dancing across the ballroom of a battlefield. The combos, when coupled with the ability of Dante to pull enemies to him or grapple to them at will, makes its much easier to extend a combo with out needing to reposition himself during the battle. The player then get rewards by the ranking on the top right hand corner, which would then affect the player’s overall mission ranking. Players would love to see their moves as well as points racking up as they earn themselves towards the sweet coveted spot of the SSS rank.

The boss fights are spectacular too. Each enemy is a colossal badass, requiring you to make use of the environment while ducking their massive attacks. It offers a nice switch from plummeting multiple enemies to focusing on one big enemy, with each boss as challenging and as satisfying as the next one.

I might have made DmC sound too easy, but it’s not. It has a stunning five difficulty levels, the first of which comes divided into three sub-difficulties for beginning players to select. Even the first unlockable difficulty level, Son of Sparda, enhances the challenge tenfold, hurling waves of more powerful legions at players within the first few minutes of the campaign. Battles may be fair and well designed, but they will not be easy.

Story-wise, DmC differs from the original version as Dante is no longer a half-demon, half-human child but rather a half-angel, half-demon spawn. This gives a more refreshing take in the series, as well as a more relatable hero that is reluctant to save the world at first, but eventually finds himself swayed due to personal reasons. Dante and his brother, Vergil, appears together with the classic sibling rivalry at the side. They are Nephilim – an ancient fusion of the two powers that makes them so powerful with a lot of hidden potential that they are able to slay Mundus, the demon king. We see how the two nephilim brother work together to stop Mundus, who controls the world through contemporary means: debt, surveillance, and soft drinks. As Dante help Vergil in dealing with Mundus, he discovers more about himself and his past, while gaining more and more of his powers. The storyline gives itself room to have some satire against the modern addiction of media and on obesity pandemic. Underneath the layer of human faced that Mundus has created, there is a darker demonic world of Limbo which influences the human world in many ways, such as natural disasters or acts of terrorism, as painted by demons about Dante, which is known to the human world as a world-class criminal and a dangerous terrorist. Limbo is absolutely beautiful though, and the visuals are breath-taking with gripping environmental setpieces that is involved in the tory and gameplay as well.

Unfortunately for a story such as this, it cuts itself surprisingly short. The game only took less that 8 hours for me, and while playing one could have appreciated a little more backstory and depth to the story framework that was already very well-built.

In conclusion, I would urge people to keep an open mind and try out this game without referencing it to previous Devil series. DmC is a great game that can stand on its own, and if you can allow that, you might find yourself hooked to the game.

Verdict: 8/10

If you had played Heavy Rain before, you probably would have high expectations for Beyond Two Souls, a game produced by the very same studio Quantic Dream. After being released in February 2010, Heavy Rain was well received and has sold over two million copies worldwide. This time round, however, we ask…..

Does Beyond Two Souls go beyond our expectations?

I played the game twice and referenced the experience against the one I felt when playing Heavy Rain three years back, and I have to say that the feeling was….disappointing.

 David Cage, the creative director and CEO of Quantic Dream listed storytelling, emotion and innovation for the studio’s goals. But just as too many cooks spoil the broth, there is too much ambition in the storytelling this time round. Playing Beyond Two Souls packs too many genres into the plot, from family drama, to espionage thriller, to horror, to action, to sci-fiction, to political conspiracy, to high school drama and everything in between. It leaves me feeling puzzled and confused in the plot line, which is made worse by the non-linear narrative (it is told in chapters in an non-chronological order). Told in the same way like the movie 500 Days of Summer, the story unfortunately tries to get you to cry before you even invested your soul (pun intended) into the game itself, leaving you muddied and confused. In contrast, Heavy Rain is very focused in developing its psychological crime thriller plot, which develops each character a lot deeper and has a greater hook to get the player drawn to the plot.

 

(Heavy Rain fans can imagine the tension from the father)

Another qualm that struck me was the lack of moral ambiguity and consequence behind various actions, conversation choices and decisions the player face in various points of the story, which felt to me as a wasted opportunity. For example, telling the truth or a lie in a conversation does not create a butterfly effect on the story’s plot, neither does having revenge on mean bullies have any impact in the main character’s future. Unlike Heavy Rain, Beyond suffers from a lack of critical plot deviations arising from significant moments. The story just continues bull-dozing its way through in its own fashion, giving the experimental player (especially one who is curious enough to replay) a feeling that he just got cheated.

 

(Should I tell the truth? Nah, it doesn’t matter in the end)

(Just eat whatever you like…)

Beyond’s saving grace and trump card, has to be the main character Jodie Holmes, the powerful yet tragic protaganist in the story. The character is rendered based on; and voice-acted by actress Ellen Page (who acted in “Juno” and “Hard Candy” in Hollywood movies). The remarkable likeness, coupled with excellent facial detail and raw emotions, allows you to connect with the character on a personal level. You would feel her struggles, her insecurities and her frustrations in life as you play out her life story; from a little girl, to a rebellious teenager, to a mature woman. In certain chapters where the plot connects on a human level, such as being part of a homeless group in a bitter winter, Ellen Page always seizes the opportunity to make Jodie a likeable, genuine yet misunderstood character. You see, Jodie Holmes is a girl with a unique gift. Since young, she is linked to a separate spectral entity called Aiden, which constantly watches over her and does her bidding sometimes. Think of having Casper the friendly ghost on steroids, but being friendly and loyal only to you, and you get a rough sense what that power entails. However, the power comes at a cost to her as well, as people around her gets freaked out by the poltergeist activity happening around her and distanced themselves away from her, making her isolated and feared.

 (Capturing the markers on the face)

Other characters get overshadowed by Jodie, mostly due to the confusing plot, and partly due to lack of screen time. Nonetheless, character Nathan Dawkins, rendered based on; and voice-acted by actor Willem Dafoe (who acted as Norman Osborne/Green Goblin in Spiderman) also gave notable performances as a guardian to Jodie after her foster parents left her in his paranormal research lab. His role as Jodie’s guardian gets torn with his motivations as a paranormal researcher, and sometimes it leaves the tantalizing feeling of questioning his motives in certain plot points (which would get unveiled towards the end of the plot).

 

(You probably remember him more as Norman Osbourne below)

Gameplay-wise, Quantic Dream has steamlined the contextual interactions with the in-game world with an intuitive swipe using the right analog stick, as opposed by the more challenging quick time events and button combinations in Heavy Rain. The challenge by Heavy Rain gives a greater sense of urgency in certain scenes, whereas in Beyond, one can slowly take your time to do certain tasks or respond to a conversation. The buttons to be pressed are lesser, and there are lesser play on the quaking and spiraling of visual choices during moments of distress. In moments of combat, the action is again a simple swipe using the right analog stick, and even if you suck at it, the outcome will be the same regardless. Jodie wouldn’t die and end the game early for you; instead she will get knocked about or at worst, Aiden will just heal her. This gives an easier time for beginner gamers, but leaves a slightly unsatisfactory feeling of being far too passive for a hardcore player.

 

Beyond brings to the table the interesting prospect of controlling Aiden, the spirit linked to Jodie, but it sadly feels that the potential is left squandered in that area. There are very few moments where the player is left to solve a puzzle using Aiden on his/her own, as Jodie would always give a command “Help me Aiden”, “Go for it Aiden” and so forth. Controlling Aiden opens up a lot more possibilities than Jodie wouldn’t have, as it could blast objects/people, possess people, interfere with electronic gadgets, choke people and so forth. Instead of letting the player utilize Aiden freely in creative ways to get around a situation, the game sadly hand-holds for you by colour-coding enemies or objects to only allow a specific action to be performed on them. Switching to Aiden is also tightly controlled, since Aiden is a “stubborn spirit”. The overly-simplistic gameplay and the obvious hand-holding bury the potential where the game could have truly shined in time-limited puzzle-like scenarios or puzzle-solving co-op modes. The game makes it clear that it is obviously not a Deus-Ex scenario it is working at. Nonetheless, there are certain scenes where I had a fair bit of fun playing as Aiden, especially against groups of enemies that get spooked out when items (read: dangerous objects) are flung at them.

 

(I’m going to strangle this guy as Aiden…)

In conclusion, being an avid hardcore (I would describe myself as hardcore) gamer, Beyond Two Souls seems to me like a super draggy movie that masquerades itself as a video game with minimal player inputs to fool you into it. The gameplay and combat is bland and non-engaging, masked by a confusing plotline that manages to collect itself together towards the end. The superb acting, along with certain tear-jerking “Awwww” moments, are probably the few reasons why I would ever buy this game (I borrowed it). It is not a bad game, but it leaves you not feeling too wowed by it either.