So, after a hefty wait, RAGE becomes the first new IP from id Software since Quake in 1996. Does it live up to the heritage that they’ve been reminding everyone of recently?

Raging conditions
In regards to story, Rage is bit like the Ying to Brink’s Yang; only instead of floods changing the landscape forever, an Asteroid has hit and devastated Earth, turning it into a desolate wasteland. Before the impact, humanity hand-selected gifted people from society and placed them under cryogenic sleep in underground bunkers called Arks, with the idea that they’d later emerge to rebuild the planet. You, the player, are one of those chosen few.

109 years after you were first put to sleep, you awake in a broken cryogenics unit; your colleagues are all dead and you remember nothing. After making your way out of the facility, dazed and confused, you are pounced on by hideous mutants. Just as they’re about to make you wish you’d stayed in bed, you are saved by a wasteland inhabitant called Dan Hagar. Luckily for you, it seems that people outside the safety of the Arks survived the Asteroid and have managed to form little settlements around the area. Dan is the leader of one such community.

After rescuing you and driving you to his town, Dan explains about the current lay of the land. He informs you how bandits rule much of the wasteland, while mutants haunt the old cities. He explains that a government called ‘The Authority’ is seeking all survivors from the Ark, although their intentions are unclear. Taking a shine to you, Dan entrusts you with several missions directly related to the safety of his people, as you set about adjusting to your new life in the wasteland.

The pre-rendered intro detailing the events leading up to your awakening is absolutely stunning, while the rest of the story is told in real-time as you play through. In an open-world game like this, it’s hard to convey a focused story in the way that id Software are used to, and it’ll seem that way early on too. Thankfully, the more you play, the better the story gets, improving slightly in storytelling as you go through. It feels like it’s purposely designed this way rather than an imbalance, allowing you to soak in and adjust to your new environment, just as your character is, before giving you the crux of what the game is really about.

While it’s never going to match a slimmer game of say, Half-Life, in terms of a smart, focused story, what it does is coherent and enjoyably so. There are some minor gripes, such as how eager your character is to do the will of perfect strangers (highlighted in hilarious fashion by Penny Arcade), or how similar the entire thing is in setting to a little-known game call Borderlands.

The important thing, however, is that it succeeds in setting a decent atmosphere and provides an engaging backdrop for all you’re about to do.

Like a darker Borderlands...

Road RAGE
Early on in the game, RAGE will have that initial sense of wonder and discovery as you try to piece together what has happened to the world since your character closed his eyes for that long sleep. However, it doesn’t take long before you fall into a very familiar gameplay pattern.

The game is an open world affair, to a degree, and provides you with three towns over its course that act as your hubs for missions. You get to a new town, explore and talk to the locals, and they’ll provide you with things you can do. Once you’ve done all the greatly important stuff there, you’ll be directed to the next town.

The earlier, smaller story missions may only be simple transportation missions or fetch quests with the odd bit of combat thrown in, but the bigger missions will see you packing off to large enemy locations to take out entire gangs. The bigger missions are also where you’ll find your more typical id-styled gun play and excellent level design, and this is how the game really comes into its own. Unfortunately, some of the optional missions will see you return to old locations, but the quality of the combat does go some way in making up for that. I did, however, find myself rolling my eyes after completing a main mission to suddenly find that a side-quest in the same location just happened to crop up.

The combat is unquestionably fantastic, though. There are some truly great moments against enemies that don’t just take cover and shoot, but will bob and weave to avoid your shots. Even the ranged enemies will charge at you when necessary, making the core combat extremely changeable and thus, more exciting. Foes will use the scenery to their advantage too, swinging off pipes, and running up walls to gain the height to come down on you harder with mêlée attacks.

They’ll also react realistically to being shot at; peg one in the leg as they’re charging at you and they’ll stumble forward, with realistic momentum carrying them over. How they’ll deal with this depends on the style of the gang or faction you’re up against. Some will just fall awkwardly, while others, their clan famed for being nimble, will use that momentum to just roll towards you so that they can still get their lethal strike in. Shoot someone in the gut and they’ll hold their stomach in, clearly in pain when they move. If you can down someone without quite finishing them off, they will drag themselves behind cover and still take pot shots until you get in that final blow. The animation for all of this is spectacular.

There are, of course, different types of enemies too. Each faction has their own style and tactics, so facing each one becomes a different proposition. The mutants are very different behaviourally to the gangs, and as such pretty much rush you in numbers at every opportunity. They can still utilise weaponry, albeit mêlée weapons like blades and scythes, which will sometimes just get thrown at you. There are bigger and badder flavours of mutants, such as the tentacle-armed Kraken or one that sports a grenade launcher and takes an age to down. These are a great challenge, especially when you realise how important it is to keep stocked up on ammo…

Yet another facet of design that brings shades of Borderlands...

The controls are as smooth as you like, with the now-standard FPS set-up mapped nicely to the pad. It almost feels like Bioshock at times, partly to the fluidity, but also down to the weapons and tricks that you can perform as a result of them. One thing that seemed odd to me was the length of time it takes for your character to get knackered after running. It seems as if you can’t go four steps without him panting like an asthmatic in an iron lung; I’m not sure why id were so stingy on this. It’s fine when you’re in the claustrophobic confines of the focused mission areas, but if you want to quickly jog around the towns and the world map, it slows you down a little.

Aside from your usual arsenal in shotguns (which you’ll be using a lot), assault rifles, SMGs, sniper rifles and the like (which all handle well), you can use different types of ammo to change things up and give yourself an advantage. For example, when you eventually take on The Authority or The Gearheads, you’ll find them best taken down with anti-armour ammo. There are quite a few alternative ammo types for each gun and you can buy them all from the vendors in towns; alternatively you’ll pick them up while looting.

The crossbow that Hagar gives you when you part company opens up a few new options in combat all by itself, with electric bolts (which react to water how you’d hope) allowing you to fry enemies, while the mind control dart allows you to possess your unwitting target to walk them into a crowded area and detonate them in a glorious lumpy mess of claret. Some of these weapons are battered and aging, while others are new and futuristic. It’s very nicely balanced.

Along the way you’ll find and be given recipes for these different ammo types, weapons and other tools, which can be made on the fly once you’ve looted the ingredients. You’ll be able to fashion Wingsticks (a bit like boomerangs, which deal decent damage), remote control cars strapped with C4, Sentry Bots, EMP grenades, or drill mechanisms that will break locks. Other seemingly useless bits of junk will help too, as you can acquire half an old binocular to use as a scope in conjunction with your pistol. It’s a decent system that’s a lot lighter in depth than in action RPGs, but refreshingly accessible. If you’ve got the pieces to make an item, it’s a button press away in your menu and won’t distract you from the action.

Looting comes in two forms. You can steal items from the many corpses you’ll ‘create’ (can’t loot muties, though, they disintegrate) or snatch them from the environment. A slight downside here is that you have to be pinpoint accurate to bring up the option to loot, and getting your reticule perfectly in-line can prove to be a little finicky on consoles, leaving you sidestepping a lot until you get it right; though, it does make up for it in other ways. If there is a shelf with several types of item on it, you don’t have to select each separately as you would in other games of this type. You just point at one thing and you’ll pick up everything that’s near it. It’s a nice little time saver that prevents you getting lost in endless looting, and means you can worry about sorting it all out when you get back to one of the towns.

I was very interested in seeing how id would handle the matter of health in RAGE, with their old-school roots playing on my mind. I was surprised to see them come up with something that combined older and newer elements, while throwing something entirely new in to the equation. When taking general damage, you are free to withdraw and hide behind cover and allow your health to regenerate; very much in the new school. At times this isn’t possible when you have numerous enemies rushing at you, so you’ll have to keep topping up your health with bandages to keep afloat; that’ll be the old school, then. Here comes the clever bit.

If you then take too much further damage and die, you’ll have to play a mini-game where you must use your inbuilt defibrillator. Here you use the analog sticks to match different directions, then you must hit both triggers at the right time to restart your heart. How accurate you are with both of these elements determines how much health you restart with. It also clears any enemies out as it gives off an electric charge as you get back up. If you die again before your defibrillator recharges, then it’s game over and you’ll have to go back to a checkpoint or a previous save.

I’ll be honest; when I first heard about this system I thought it would eat up way too much time and be a ball-ache, preventing you from getting back into the action quickly, but it really doesn’t have much of an impact at all. What it does is give you a fair old whack in getting to cover or clearing out the enemies, providing you with plenty of chances to get your shit together before it loses patience with you and takes the most drastic of action.

Thou shalt not pass!

So, moving between the locations then. This is where the much talked about driving mechanic comes in, and I must admit that vehicles control pretty tightly. Is it the best car handling in an FPS so far? Yeah, it probably is just about, even after you ignore the PR hyperbole surrounding it. Is it groundbreaking? Not at all; it’s just a bit tighter than in other games of this type.

In fact, the general driving between missions and locations is probably the weakest aspect of the game, as well as it handles doing it. There are bandit-controlled areas of the terrain with other vehicles and turrets that you’ll have to avoid or destroy to get around safely; however, fighting these guys gets a bit old, and annoyingly on some stretches they’ll always spawn in the same starting locations. There are rewards for killing them, though, thanks to an ongoing side-quest you’ll get early on.

There are a number of vehicles on offer for you to drive, all with different strengths and speeds. If you take too much damage you can always call a mechanic from one of the towns to come give you a tow (at a cost), which repairs your car automatically. You can also repair them by visiting the garages yourself at any point. You can even go as far as to tune the cars to meet your specific demands, such is the depth that id Software went to, but whether you’ll bother or not is a different matter.

All these cars are customisable with new skins, weapons, wheel spikes and power-ups that you can apply once you start taking part in races and earning racing slips (a separate currency) to spend with selected vendors.

It’s in the racing that the driving fares a lot better, reminding me of MotorStorm on a smaller scale, with added shields and ballsy weapons. There are many different types of race that you can take part in: straight races, weapons-engaged races and solo time trials for example, and they are all a lot of fun. The problem is that I didn’t find much myself very enthused to go back in and take part, except for when the story dictated that I needed to.

That aside, there’s plenty of other things to do in between proper missions, with card games, music games, holographic battles, and even a game where you must stab between your outstretched hand just like Bishop in Aliens. There are also some delivery missions that are quite fun, which struck me as a kind of post-apocalyptic Crazy Taxi.

While the races and these activities are nice asides, they are merely filler that you probably won’t spend a lot of time with; it’s the core game that’s the jewel in this crown.

The driving is tight, but ultimately the least exciting part of RAGE...

In need of its own id…
RAGE impresses in visual impact straight from the off, showing off its huge scope and impressive draw distance the second you step out of the Ark. That said, you’ll spend a lot of your playtime noting how much it looks like Borderlands after that; hell, just squint a little, and you could even fool yourself that you are playing Gearbox’s masterpiece. While the similarities in design are painfully obvious to all, it’s hard to deny that it looks absolutely gorgeous; though it’s not entirely without issue.

If you absolutely want to see RAGE at its best, then I whole-heartedly recommend following id’s advice and installing the game. Even when doing that, there are some graphical hiccups that crop up occasionally to put a blot on an otherwise attractive experience. Texture pop-in is a definite issue at times whether you install or not, especially just after load screens, and sometimes if you just turn too quickly, you’ll notice little blurry patches in your sights for a second or so. The counter to that is the argument that every inch of RAGE is unique; you’ll find no two separate locations looking alike here.

Despite RAGE looking somewhat familiar, there are elements of the design that are entirely its own. The enemies are brilliantly realised, with each gang and faction having their own look that is easily distinguishable from the next. There is an amazing amount of detail that’s gone into the NPCs and enemies, which is not often the case with shooters of this type. The weapons are also a high point, and considering that you’ll spend much of the game with them floating around in front of your face, you’ll never tire of looking at them. There’s a really cool contrast here too, from newer, futuristic weapons to beat-up old AK47’s held together with masking tape.

There is also lot of visual fan service to discover. You’ll notice subtle references from the very beginning, with a DOOM bobblehead sat on Hagar’s dashboard and characters wearing tees relating to classic id games throughout. Then there’s the more extreme examples, like entire hidden rooms designed to look just like classic Wolfenstein 3D or Doom. At times it’s very much a celebration of id software; that is until you notice references to Bethesda’s stable too.

While all of that is definitely cool and fun to find, especially for fans of id, it can’t help but compound the initial feeling that RAGE is a game that hasn’t really found a direction of its own during the development process.

These guys are relentless...

What’s with all the shouting?
Just like the visual fidelity, the audio is rich and high in quality. Once again, though, you’ll notice similarities to other games; the general backing to the calmer moments will evoke memories of (you guessed it…) Borderlands. What’s there suits the apocalyptic vibe very well, though. Once into the action you’ll be treated to the big, dramatic overtures, with orchestral stabs that help get the heart pumping in the midst of battle.

In battle, the game is loud and visceral. Guns sound brash and explosions are awesome, especially when they coincide with turning one of your enemies into liquid. Enemy chatter is a pleasure to hear, as they tell each other where you are, that they’re retreating for cover or when they’re downed. There’s a good variety in voices too, with each gang following its own theme.

The voice acting in general is a highpoint. While everyone already knows that John Goodman voices the first civilian you meet, the supporting cast, no matter how minor, really do all nail their parts. While not all of them are big Hollywood names, you’ll certainly recognise a few voices as you go through, including the voice of a certain General Roy Campbell, fresh from Kojima’s over-hyped conspiracy simulator.

Co-op is all the RAGE
RAGE does come with a decent multiplayer component; although, it’s not entirely what you’d expect for the competitive side of things. Oddly, all of the competitive modes focus solely on the driving and vehicle combat side of things (labelled Road Rage, for a reason, then), and while you have a couple of different flavours on offer, the combat is essential to victory in all of them.

Meteor Rally sees you traversing the maps, picking up meteor fragments and taking them back to designated zones. Chain Rally is more of a point-to-point affair, where you must be the first to pick up a randomly placed checkpoint, then be first to the following ones to chain the points together. If someone beats you to one, you must start from the lowest tier of scoring again. Triad Rally is similar to the above, but you must be the first to collect three Rally points to win. Lastly is Carnage, which is a free-for-all massacre. The one with most kills at the end of the game wins. No surprises there.

The maps on offer are all open and sprawling, with hazards and power-ups scattered around. The game offers depth with the usual levelling systems common in modern-day online games, allowing you to unlock new skins, cars, and weapons as you level up.

The core gameplay here evoked fond memories of the likes of Twisted Metal: Black and Hardware: Online Arena back on the PS2, but obviously more advanced and much less frustrating. That said, while it’s all good fun and the online is more than stable, I couldn’t help but wish that they had also catered for some traditional online shooting. RAGE would have really suited some deathmatches, or at least Mutant Bash TV in its own mode; an opportunity that is sadly missing. Luckily, there is a fantastic co-op mode here instead.

Elsewhere the game looks gorgeous. Well, except for this guy; he looks ugly, but he's meant to... shut up!

Wasteland Legends puts you and another (either online or split-screen) in the heart of some of the stories and tall tales that you hear about during the main campaign. You’ll take part in the Pilot episode of Mutant Bash TV, find out how Dan Hagar came to find his trusty sniper rifle, and many others in the nine available missions. Here, RAGE keeps the intensity from the firefights in the main game, but simplifies it in the process by putting it in self-contained levels that are brilliantly laid out.

You then have the benefits of having a partner, as they can revive you when you’re down, and provide cover while you make a break for a mission objective. At times you’ll feel the influence of Left 4 Dead as you trigger something and await the onslaught. Only here you’re dealing with intelligent enemies with their own weaknesses, not just ones that rush you. All the RPG elements are somewhat streamlined to help things move along quickly; you can’t loot, craft, or choose your loadout (though you can restock your ammo regularly and pick up other items, again in a similar way to Left 4 Dead). Instead it allows you to focus on the game’s real strengths, and it’s definitely a worthwhile ride.

RAGE-quit or Raging success?
With its setup, RAGE is a bit of a departure for id Software, yet it still manages to feel like a very safe release in today’s market and this is simply down to familiarity. Still, what’s here is unquestionably polished, beautiful and highly playable.

A lot was made of the driving mechanics before the game was released, and while it’s definitely a little step forward, its impact is fleeting. It’s the typical FPS sections that prevent RAGE from being ‘just another post-apocalyptic shooter’, putting it well above your average gun wank. The co-op ain’t half bad either.

Yes, it’s not the forward-thinking masterpiece that people were hoping for (and in some cases expecting), but irrespective of that, id know how to make an engaging shooter, and that’s just what they’ve done. No surprises, but definitely worth your time.

Naturally, the concept of rest and relaxation varies from person to person. Some choose to go to remote, countryside landscapes, others choose to go to theme parks and ride turbulent rollercoasters. Then there are those who love the all-inclusive beach resorts that offer free food, drink and sun. For the cast of Dead Island, this final option certainly seems to be the most enticing.

That is until their blissful nirvana is marred by cannibalised corpses and swimming pools discoloured with blood. Suddenly, they wish they were back home, stuffing envelopes and making daisy chains out of paperclips.

Dead Island is one of most talked about games of the year, and one that certainly seems to have people on the fence. Now that the wait is finally over, I tell you, once and for all, whether the whole experience is worth taking a vacation for…

Who do your voodoo, bitch?
Dead Island is impatient, and doesn’t even wait for you to get to the Title Screen before plunging you into another of its cut-scenes. The opening scene is viewed from a First Person Perspective, and puts you in the shoes of a very drunk, abusive individual who is heading toward the resort’s nightclub. There’s live music tonight, and people have come out in droves to dance the night away. However, this drunken douche seems content in spoiling the fun and starts attracting a lot of attention, (the wrong kind) from others in attendance. Their suspicions seem warranted, as the drunkard shoves past anyone who brushes past them, starting fights and even groping a woman’s breasts. This one is a real charmer.

However, when the lush sees another member of the crowd gnaw at the neck of the security guard attempting to eject them, blood splattering all over, the drunkard gets spooked and stumbles into the women’s bathroom to clean up. Inside is a worse sight. Lying on the floor in a pool of her own blood is a woman who appears to be dead. Thinking it’s just hallucinations, the drunkard storms back to their room, takes a few pills, downs them with more alcohol and enters an unconscious sleep.

Now, something struck me as very odd about that cut-scene before I even pressed the start button, something that instantly hinders Dead Island’s continuity. The character (who appears to be male, also not taking gender into account) you follow in this cut-scene is supposed to be the person you end up playing in the game, as during the Prologue, you wake up from the night after.

What’s odd about this, is that during the cut-scene you interact with each one of the playable characters in the game, making the person whose perspective you’re viewing the cut-scene from someone completely different. Even when people interact with you during the game, they draw attention to ‘that night’ and the condition you were in. It’s a baffling continuity oversight and doesn’t really set a great trend from the offset.

Dead Exciting!

Anyway, as you walk around the hotel, you start to realise the Island of Banoi has been overrun by a Zombie outbreak. Dead bodies and deserted luggage hamper your steps, as you realise all too soon that you may just have rented a room in Hotel California. Then, suddenly, just when you think you’re all alone, you find yourself ambushed by Zombies who clearly haven’t had their nutritious brain-filled breakfast, yet. Quickly, a voice calls out to you to run to a nearby safe-house. As you’re unarmed, that sounds like a tempting proposition, and without question, you slam the door shut behind you.

Inside are a group of survivors, led by the head Life Guard, Sinamoi. At first, they had intended to kill you, thinking you’d been infected, until they realised that your character is, somehow, immune. Thus, your presence ignites some hope in the survivors, and so, due to your unique position, Sinamoi asks you to undertake some tasks in order to help the Survivors take control of the island. From this point on, it’s fair to say the holiday is over and hell has truly begun!

Surfin’ Banoi
You have a choice of four different characters to play in Dead Island, two men and two women; each with their own unique speciality and each with their own talent tree. You have Logan, who is a throwing expert. Purna who’s pretty nifty with a firearm, Xian whose proficiency is Sharp Weapons and Sam B who is the fiercest when clubbing you upside the head with a blunt weapon. While I played the game with Logan, you’re probably better starting off with either Xian or Sam B. Melee weapons are the prime method of combat in Dead Island, and when levelled up, both Xian and Sam B will cut through Zombies like a hot knife through butter.

Each character has a different talent tree, clearly defined by three separate headings. You can either invest points in Fury, Combat or Survival. These work in very much the same way as you’ve seen them in World of Warcraft or Too Human. You level up, earn a skill point and can spend that skill point in any of the three aforementioned trees. Fury focuses on boosting the ferocity of your character’s attack. Combat improves your ability with weapons, increasing critical damage or power, and obviously Survival improves your durability and stamina. You will need to carefully consider how you want to spend your points (If you’re anything like me, you will spend a lot of time with this!) as the points cannot be reclaimed. This also greatly determines how you will fare against the onslaught of the undead. You can already see that strategy is key to your success in Dead Island, which does represent a relatively unique approach for a game in this genre.

Something else very different about Dead Island is how much the game humanizes the enemy. Normally, in games like Left 4 Dead you face special infected like Tanks, Boomers and Jockeys, or other types of souped up Zombies in other games, but Dead Island puts you up against pure, honest to goodness tourists. These are just normal people that have been turned, men in swim shorts, women in bikinis, grannies with large pearl necklaces; they’re all just people who came for a holiday, and acquired a taste for human flesh.

When there is no more room in Hell...

It’s not just the enemy, though. The survivors, and people you endeavour to help show how much the events have affected them in different ways. Some just want to get pissed, drink champagne and forget the world. Others use it as an opportunity to have sex with half-naked women, cheating on their wives. Some just ball up in a corner and cry, asking you to search a resort for a teddy bear they can snuggle up with. The Island of Banoi has become a fractured place, a luxury resort reduced to a minefield of corpses. Yet, despite the connotations, the game never seems to reach the emotional depths that initial trailer reached earlier this year.

While that went some way to showing us how this game doesn’t take prisoners, and that anyone can be a victim as much as an enemy, I never felt as much of an emotional attachment to any of these characters over a thirty hour playthrough, compared to those two minutes I felt for that family and their small girl. However, as long as you’re not thinking in terms of the same dramatic impact that trailer delivered, this game still provides its own forms of drama and suspense.

In order to survive, your character is forced to reach the decrepit depths that surround them, and in this World, as I said before, melee weapons are your primary form of attack. They range everywhere from a wooden paddle, to a nailbat and a wrench. Once the weapon is hand, at the top right of the screen, you can see its condition. As you continue to use the weapon, so its condition deteriorates. In the beginning, you’ll find you go through weapons quite quickly, however later in the game, you can increase the player’s effectiveness with melee weapons through the talent tree. You’ll also need to be mindful of your stamina bar which deteriorates every time you swing your weapon. Once it is completely drained, you’ll have to wait a few moments before you can fight again. Again, this can be reconfigured via the talent tree.

You can carry several weapons at any time, or you can swap the one in your hand with something on the floor. Like Borderlands, the stats of the weapon you’re currently holding are compared to those of the one you’re considering picking up, showing you whether it’s stronger or weaker in various areas. Fighting Zombies usually turns out into a slugfest, and you’ll find yourself wailing around with your weapon, preferably aiming for the head, which produces the most damage. You’ll also want to look to cripple the body parts of the enemy, which not only give you additional experience points, but also makes the task of bringing them to the ground a lot easier.

When you start getting through the enemies with ease however, the game has a difficulty alteration system that adapts to your level and play style. The zombies will always be a bit stronger than you, that’s something you’ll just have to accept, and when they come at you en masse, unless you have backup, you’re liable to be crushed. There is an option for your character to kick zombies away which helps create some crowd control, however, like games such as Left 4 Dead, you will often find yourself getting overwhelmed.

Unfortunately, that does present a big frustration with the combat system. Even though it seemingly draws inspiration from Left 4 Dead’s horde-en-masse style of combat, I didn’t feel the same anxiousness and panic, but more of a tedium and frustration. The combat does become a bit of a slog, with the same attack formula making up the bare bones of the game. Fight one zombie, suddenly some just seem to appear from the sides, then, out of nowhere, one attacks from behind. You manage to get one down, turn around, there are more pouncing on you and you have to bat them away. Use a few kicks, hit them with your weapon, then keep kicking them while they’re down. Rinse and repeat.

What’s also quite surprising is that there’s no ability to block even though you’re using melee weapons. I feel this could have been an interesting dynamic that has been seen to work in other games (like Condemned) where you block a blow from the enemy, which is then deflected temporarily stunning them, then the player can move in for the kill. As I said before, the kick does serve as a kind of defensive mechanism enabling you to push some zombies away from you, but if you come up against the likes of a Thug, they’ll just brush it off and beat you into the ground. As a result, you’re kind of beholden to a ‘strike-move back-strike’ approach. Your character is also able to dodge, but the game doesn’t bother to tell you about it until the third chapter!

One great feature about Dead Island is the ability to craft weapons. There are benches in the world (which also enable you to repair and upgrade your existing weapons) and when you receive schematics (whether it is as a quest reward, or from just picking them up around the island) you will need to find the ingredients necessary to create them, storing them in your inventory as you go. These weapons can range from bombs, to guns, to random combinations of melee awesome. Naturally, there’s some weird and wonderful combinations, but there’s also a lot of them, so be prepared to keep on the look out.

The weaponry is varied, although they do break very quickly...

Banoi is a large, open world, which never feels constrictive. You always feel as if you can do whatever you please, and while some open world games teach you your boundaries early on, Dead Island never seems to be forthcoming with them. Sometimes though, the depths of the World can be overwhelming. Certainly, there’s a main story to follow in Dead Island, but the sheer number of side-quests are a story all on their own. Believe me, you won’t run out of them.

When interacting with an NPC and receiving a quest, your character receives a bloodied sheet of paper with a set of bulletpoints on it, the amount of XP you’ll earn and any rewards. Once accepted, the quest goes into the quest-log screen, which may be the most unorganised mess I’ve ever seen. Essentially, the quests are added in an order the computer feels comfortable with; not the player. There’s no way to categorise these according to Region or to difficulty, they’re just scattered in your quest log, and it’s up to you to either remember where you got them from, or just pick and choose, which is likely to send you all across the map like a headless chicken.

When you select a quest, a waypoint appears on your mini-map and you’re instantly told where you need to go. Well, that’s on some quests. On others, there is no guide, there isn’t even any hints in the quest book, you’re essentially left on your own trying to figure out where you need to go. Unfortunately, this lack of organisation does eventually become frustrating, especially when the quests just keep coming, and it makes you cry out for something more sophisticated that other games have been touting for years.

Fortunately, there are cars you can drive which get you around the map quicker. Unfortunately, the driving doesn’t handle particularly well. Steering with the left stick always seems to be a chore, and it takes forever for the car to react to your responses. Also not helped by the fact that the roads are littered with burned out cars and other debris which you’ll need to manoeuvre around. However, when the driving does work in your favour, it can be a real pleasure, and zooming over zombies while earning XP is actually quite satisfying. Sadly, getting to that point seem takes a lot longer than it should.

No tan, all pain!
Most horror games depict cloudy skies and darkened environments, but Dead Island is all set underneath the basking heat of the sun. Instead of bats flying in the night, or creaky old wooden shacks, you’ll see beautiful, moving waters and mountainsides in the distance. Palm trees waving in the wind. For horror enthusiasts, this will feel quite alien and unique, and that’s what makes Dead Island creepy. It doesn’t feel like any conventional horror, and that’s what carves Dead Island out from the other Zombiefests out there. The look of the game doesn’t feel stagnant, or regurgitated. It feels fresh, and, if anything, breathes life into a graveyard of lifeless releases that have stocked our shelves for the last few years.

Generally, the game does look very good, and while it dishes out the beautiful, it just as quickly produces the ugly, with ripped open carcasses and blood streams. Dead Island is a gory, violent game that really manages to blur the line between pleasure and punishment.

It’s not all art, however. Dead Island definitely suffers from many graphical glitches, the most obvious of which sees your character’s hand regularly go through the floor when trying to pick themselves up. It happens during most animations, and it becomes more than a little distracting. You’ll also notice that textures and landscapes only start to appear when you’re really close to them. It’s like you’re continuously catching the game by surprise by just walking forward, and suddenly it realises that it needs to put a series of trees in front of you. The engine always seems to be a bit behind the vast detail the game itself is trying to conceptualise. 

"Oooooh fu..."

Braaaiiiiinnnnssss
The score has been composed by Pawel Blaszczak, who has also worked on The Witcher and Call of Juarez series. Generally, the tracks are quite dark, moody and murky, setting the tone nicely. There’s the harsh opening number ‘Who Do Your Voodoo, bitch’, performed by in-game character, Sam B. Then there’s the orchestral tracks, which gave me a bit of a ‘Lost’ vibe.

The game also handles the calming sounds of the sea and the swaying palm trees effortlessly. In-between the screams and shouts of zombies, it’s nice to have that moment of tranquillity, reminding you of where you actually are, even if it doesn’t feel like it.

Also, further to the humanizing point I made earlier and how you’re fighting zombies that are just normal people, the game has this undeniable way of producing pangs of guilt in the pit of your stomach. When you’re wailing away at a half-naked, half-dead woman with a shovel, listening to her wails and pleas as her blood splatters all over the side of the Jacuzzi, you realise the implications of your actions, and what it is you’re being forced to do. Oddly, it almost makes you want to stop, even though you know you’re making yourself vulnerable the moment you do. When developers say that games make you question your actions, I feel Dead Island proves that point very well, crafting an especially unsettling tone for itself. 

I won’t leave you behind!
Dead Island offers a unique online, multi-player experience that probably has more similarities to Borderlands than anything else out there at the moment. Dead Island remains connected to the internet at all times, and, as you play through the story and reach certain locations, the game pops up to tell you that another player is in the area, and is at the same part of the story as you. Once that pop up appears, all you need to do is press left on the D-Pad and you will attempt to connect to their game. Once joined together, you can go through the quests together with up to two other people. You can also set up a private party and have only your friends join in. Unfortunately, there is no split-screen co-op in Dead Island, and even if there was, the first player would be the only one to receive rewards and experience, making the whole idea a bit pointless anyway.

Lacks the fun comedy of a Dead Rising, but the combat is fun!

Just like Borderlands, sticking together is key. It is strongly advised that you team up with someone if you’re looking to tackle the ‘Hard’ and ‘Very Hard’ missions. This will make your progress much smoother and a lot easier. You should always work through objectives together, fight side-by-side and always be mindful of each other’s abilities. You can also trade with your partner at anytime, trading ammo and giving them inventory items.  

Generally, the online seems stable with only a few connection issues here and there (which, I feel were mostly dependent on the individual’s connection). It’s a lot of fun to work with someone else while playing the game; so much so, I would say Dead Island is at its best when it is being played with other people.

They don’t need no stinking Walmart, right?
Dead Island is a convincing, yet flawed experience. There’s a lot to love about this game, as it has a forward-thinking quality which allows it to sidle up alongside the likes of Borderlands for online RPG/Action co-op. Yet, there are some ridiculous design faults that should not have been ignored, such as regular graphical hiccups, continuity errors, a better layout for the quest system, and perhaps going a bit easier on the seemingly endless supply of side-quests.

The biggest surprise of all is that Dead Island mostly lives up to the hype, and while it doesn’t resonate with the emotional impact that trailer power-punched us with back in January, Dead Island does give you cause to think, feel, panic and survive. This is a solid, well-rounded package that doesn’t quite live up to the sum of its parts, but does set us on a thrilling freight train ride headed toward an inspired future.

At this point I figured what the hell; maybe I should write this stuff down and see what the rest of the world thinks.

The first thing on the list is the guns. One thing both Andy and I noticed was that both of us tended to keep the same sets of guns for a long period of time. There may be millions of guns but that didn’t stop us from constantly using the same ones. The hardest part for both of us was swapping a gun that you had been using for the last fifty missions for one that was a little bit better. It was was like replacing your child with another child that looks the same but is slightly stronger and has the ability to fart fire. The new child has a few perks, but its not the same child that you’re used to and have come to love as your own.

One thing we agreed on was that it would have been a better idea to have had millions of gun parts which you could swap and change, like Tuko does in the Good the Bad and the Ugly. He sees a standard stock that he likes then changes the parts to suit him. This idea would mean that you could still have loads of guns, but you could also upgrade them as you saw fit. So you get yourself one of the standard stock weapons and decide that you want to pull off the barrel from one of the other weapons. The magazine is extended and maybe you decide that you want to add an elemental mod into the mix for a bit. Before you know it, you have created your own custom masterpiece that you have stuck together with super glue and cable ties and hair grease. This would mean that people would still run around and collect stuff but would also always be adding stuff to their guns. You could also have some sort of trading system where people could barter for the parts. Find something cool and powerful but not quite what you’re looking for? Borderlands style eBay isn’t far away. If you really think about it, not only would you have the five million plus standard guns, you would be extending that ten-fold by allowing players to swap the parts about or harvest the gun parts. You would get the best of both worlds; all the guns and the ability to upgrade them.

Another thing that could be added is some additional storage. Many times throughout the game, I have found weapons that I couldn’t use, or didn’t need at the time and wanted somewhere to store them without having to sell them every time I ran out of space. Having a place to put some of your surplus would have been great as you could store guns for when you need them without having to just get rid for the sake of it. Having your own personal weapons room would be cool. Imagine the decor something like a futuristic version of  Hit Girls room in Kick-Ass, with every wall nicely decorated with everything you would need to start an army. This could also double as a base of operations, maybe a big house with four rooms in it. You have one room and your co-op partners stuff would be loaded up in another room (in single player you would only be able to enter your own room). You could go around and look at what they have and then add stuff to your wish list. If your co-op partner agrees, then you can take the gun from their room to loan or you can bid on certain guns to keep. Also housed in the room could be trophies from all your boss kills. Now before you start giving me grief because you can purchase a storage bank in the Mad Moxxi DLC, it wasn’t quite what I hoped for. Having an extra 39 slots is good if it’s added to your character, but having to jump to the arena every time you want to empty your load isn’t the way to go. One simple additional option of “send to storage/home” would be good, saving the hassle of running around or back to your base unless you really have to.

While we’re still on the subject of storage, another thing that could be added is a way to get rid of all those guns you don’t want, really fast. For example a check box style system that locks the guns in your storage, then an option to sell all, with one press of a button. Rather than having to sort through the ones you don’t want then accidently losing a gun that you wanted to keep for later because you got a bit confused (we have all done it, there is no shame).

Bring back the team but allow me to customise them!

My next little idea is attached to the missions; let’s face it, every mission was pretty much the same. Now, I’m not complaining in the slightest, I loved the missions (seriously, I’m not going to lie) but I did feel that a bit of variety wouldn’t have gone a miss. Everything was “kill this enemy”, or “collect fifty of these”, and I don’t mean to be a kill joy, but would it have hurt to add a bit more depth to it?! Mixing it up with a few “capture the flag” and team orientated missions would have been worthy additions. It’s okay being on the offensive all the time but there’s nothing wrong with being on the defensive either with some “defend said area” missions too. Adding some racing missions would be great too, you could mix it up by expressly allowing the use of big guns to help with the competition (although some could be without too). You would still have your standard “shoot the shit out of anything that bleeds” missions too, just adding some things that allow you to have a break from that would be fantastic additions. You could also incorporate something similar to what Left 4 Dead has, where by each time you replay a mission it plays a slightly different way. If anything it would add to the replay value.

Something that a few people have mentioned is the lack of people in towns and places that you visit. I think the whole of Pandora is inhabited by claptraps and around ten people that you can associate with. Another thing that I noticed was once you had done all the missions you couldn’t really have a chat with them or hear any quick witted comments or piss takes. I think for the next game there should be a bit more life; people walking around, a few random people that don’t want to blow your head off, a couple of traders and campsites here and there. Sound good?

That gun is crying out for customisation

Having one car is all well and good, then adding three more with the DLC but not allowing you to use any of them anywhere else and restricting them to areas isn’t fun. I had this notion that you could upgrade your cars similar to the way I want to upgrade the guns. Destroy enemy vehicles and steal some of the unwanted parts, swap them about in scooters new and improved garage. It could be like a Mad Max version of Banjo Kazooie’s car maker. Select the parts you want and build a real monster. You could even have an aesthetics engine in there to help decorate and paint awesome designs to your cars. People could trade parts and schematics like you can on Forza.

One thing I would have liked to see is some team VS team play for the multiplayer. Having four player co-op is one thing but mixing it up with a team orientated battle against three or four other teams could be awesome. Having the matches like your general free for all, team battle and capture the flag. You could then do vehicle versions of the same game modes on a larger arena. At the end of the battle, the winning team or the winner of the free for all could win some special weapons that they could use in game. You could also have some scavenge style modes too where you go looking for a set amount of weapon parts. Once a team has a set amount of parts a special weapon is launched killing off the rest of the opposition and crowning your team as the winner.

I want a futuristic version of this room.. OK?!

My final thought of an addition to the game is with the characters and the way you upgrade, this is possibly the longest thought that I have for the game, so I thought I would leave the best till last.

When you start the game you could choose your character or have a character builder, then you could choose what class you want them. Rather than have a series of perks that are specific to that character class, why not have it so you have mix and match perks? Before you think I have totally lost the plot, there is more. So say that you start off as Mordecai and rather than being restricted to his class, the first few missions help you decide the class that you want to be. You level up and you get a skill point and now you can pick what class you want to be. You go into the menu and you see that you have all the skill trees for all classes. Now you pick what class you want. So for example, you decide that you want to be a Soldier Class character (rather than the standard Hunter) because you get the turret and not a bloodwing. So you level up some more and you get to pick a few perks that are relevant to the soldier class. You then decide that you want a perk that the Siren has because you like using elemental based weaponry. Rather than starting again and changing the class to Siren, you could be able to purchase a perk for one of the other classes.

Why should you be restricted on the weaponry that you use? You shouldn’t. The main character perks like the upgrading of the special at the bottom of the skill tree would stay intact but you would be allowed to pick what additional perks you would want. This would mean that each character would be unique to the player and their play style and weapons choices. If you extend the level cap to 101 (purely because the level cap on most RPG’s is 99 and not out of a Fallout reference) the possibilities would be endless especially if you increase the amount of perks one could attain. You could keep the “reset the skill point” option in the fast travel, allowing people to try a bit of everything within the same play or allow them to reset when starting playthrough two so they can be someone else. Another addition could be to alter the look of your character a bit. Why not allow the players to purchase clothing like in Fable where you can mix and match up an outfit?

Well, it’s been a long ride and although I have plenty more ideas for directions I’d like to see Borderlands take, I don’t want to complicate matters, as I felt that these ideas were my best or outlandish ones. With all classics there is always room for further improvement, so long as you don’t change too much so that it spoils what made the original game great. I look forward to seeing what Gearbox has to offer when they show us more of what’s to come from the Borderlands franchise.

I hope you all add your thoughts in the comments.

Multiplayer gaming is what people look to more often than not these days, but for me, I like to take into consideration games that my partner (Kirsty) can play with me. The amount of co-op games is on the rise, some good and some bad, but the shift is obvious; co-op is the new single player!

So, what’s the attraction of co-op gaming? For me it’s because I can hold a conversation with Kirsty that doesn’t involve any over- explanation because she doesn’t have a clue what I’m on about. Co-op is also something that we can do together and work as a team which beats playing with yourself (no pun intended… well maybe a little). You can discuss tactics and have a laugh, and you can also explore the story together. The main problem when it comes to co-op gaming is finding a decent game to play, so I have decided to do you a list with my recommendations in no particular order.

Halo 3 and ODST

Let's take a drive.

That’s right folks you guessed it, Halo! So, it’s been out a while and you may have already played it, but have you played it with up to three of your mates? If not then that’s ok, there is time for you yet. Halo features up to four player co-op so if you want to start your co-op experience I would start here. Halo 3 may not be the longest game made but if you start on the normal difficulty then increase it once you have finished it once, you can get some real fun out of this game. It also has one of the most brilliant stories in any game, as well as one of the most iconic characters ever.

The same accusation of a brilliant story can be said for ODST which focuses more on stealth and picking your fights, rather than a gung-ho attitude. The story also differs from that of Halo 3 as it’s the first time in a Halo game that you don’t play ‘The Master Chief’. This produces two unique challenges to keep you and your chosen partner(s) occupied. If you do get ODST as well, be warned that you also get all of the maps packs (except for the newest one that was released the other week) for Halo 3 and the multiplayer component is on a separate disk.

Verdict: Both these games are great for beginners as they both have a varied spectrum of difficulty settings and really are two different experiences set in the same universe.

Borderlands

Sniper and a Siren sitting in a tree... S.h.o.o.t.i.n.g...

Borderlands approaches storytelling very differently in comparison to other games of its type. There is a beginning, middle and an end, which is all you really need to know. The story is pretty much told through the missions that you can undertake as and when you have unlocked them and in any order. This also features up to four player co-op too or just two player on the same console split-screen. This title literally has hundreds of hours of gameplay, if you fancy completing it as each of the four different characters. There is also a comedic feel to the game and many times you will be laughing at how over the top it is.

Verdict: Because Borderlands is a RPG, you upgrade your abilities as your character gains a level, adding extra depth and another reason to keep playing. With over a hundred missions, what better game to play with others?

Left 4 Dead (1&2)

I don't think we're alone...

What’s not to be said for zombie killing, is there anything that’s more fun?! What better way to spend your evening than to allowing up to three of your mates to partake in hunting the undead (or is it you that’s getting hunted… the lines are a bit blurry). With two games to own and play, there really is a good reason to own both, mainly due to how they provide two different experiences. This game speaks for itself, it doesn’t need a story (survive, that’s about it) and can have you jumping all over the living room in an effort to evade the blasted witch that keeps chasing you at every turn. The other good thing about this game is atmosphere with a capital A. Once you learn the tell tale sounds and have the volume up high and the lights out, you really do get drawn into a zombie apocalyptic where you create your own stories in gameplay. Absolute mayhem.

Essentially you are in a team of four throughout the levels, but if there is only three or less of you, the other members are replaced by the ever helpful AI. A good reason to own both is that you can use melee weapons in the second one; there is nothing more satisfying than killing a zombie with a frying pan (THUNG!).

Verdict: A co-op game that on harder levels really does require and reward team ethic.

Gears of War (1&2)

Marcus and Dom. You can cut the sexual tension with a chainsaw.

Gears is one of those games that just makes you want to play through all the way, even if it’s only the once. Both are fantastic games and although the second game added some nifty features, the original is still the better. Now, even though there are four main characters, Epic didn’t make it a four player affair so you will have to pick one of your mates to join you. Disappointing, but at least you can still play with a friend (seriously I’m not trying to be rude… it just keeps happening).

Verdict: With its cover and flanking system at the heart of it, and a story written with co-op in mind, this is a great game to play with another.

Army of Two (1 & 40th day)

I think I love you, man.

These are two of my favourite co-op games, and I think they should only ever be played in co-op due to the terrible partner AI that you have to contend with when you are on your own (seriously I don’t think it ever kills anything). Salem and Rios are awesome characters and they have a proper ‘bromance’ going on which keeps you entertained if nothing else. The game is pretty much designed to be played co-op and you can reward your partner or bash them over the head if needs be. You also have to do things as a team like hoist your partner up a wall to cover you from up high or hold a shield and have your partner shoot everything from behind you. Working together is essential and there is not many better games in which to do that.

Verdict: Like with Gears of War, this is a game with the co-op aspect at the very core of the experience.

Lego Star Wars/Indiana Jones/Batman

Don't get any ideas Luke, she's your sister.

They’re silly, stupid, OTT and spoofs the respective franchises perfectly, whilst keeping to the original stories.  They’re also bloody hilarious while never uttering a single word. You get to play a vast selection of colourful characters, each with different abilities that require you them to work in sync to get through the levels. These games need no write up and if you’re now looking at this article and saying the words ‘it’s a kid’s game’ you really don’t know what you’re missing. Trust me when I say, playing the Lego games are some of the best times that I have had with another human being (not including the obvious).

Verdict: Great to play with a friend, but if you want these games for online play then look away, as for most of the Lego titles the co-op is local only. Also keep an eye out for Lego Harry Potter which is coming soon.

Resident Evil 5

Chris: 'My bicep is bigger than your head Sheva...'

Yet another helping of resident evil, only minus the zombies and the horror. Although this game isn’t like any of its predecessors, the split-screen/online co-op is thoroughly enjoyable once you get used to the controls. This game works far better in co-op, and even though there aren’t many things to do as a team, you really have to communicate while taking on enemies and bosses. The only atmosphere in the game is the overwhelming sense of urgency, making you work heavily as a team and that is why this is on the list, but if you want zombie carnage look elsewhere.

Verdict: Subtle use of co-op, but as enjoyable as any of the games on the list.

So, that’s my list of great co-op games and I know that you’re thinking I have missed a few. There are a few that maybe could have been considered, such as Modern Warfare 2, Rockband and the like; however that’s just the way it goes. Just for you guys (who are fussy) I will name a few more games for you to have a go on when you have finished the above ones.

Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter (1&2): Reasonable co-op experiences, however the second is easily the better with its own separate co-op levels. Best played in a four (or more) man team, whilst drinking.
Rainbow Six Vegas (1&2): Both games co-op components follow the story missions, but the enemy AI is frustrating at times.
Kane and Lynch: Dead Men: Fun till the novelty wears off and has little or no replay value. Also tries to be like the movie HEAT, minus the class.
Crackdown: Brilliant game but no split-screen, you need two Xbox’s and two copies.
The Simpsons game: Tries to be like the Lego series. Only mildly amusing, but worth trying though.
Command and Conquer: Red Alert 3: Only worth it for fans of the series but it’s good fun. Once again, no split-screen, although would have proven to be difficult to implement.
Conflict: Denied Ops: This is the ‘avoid at all costs’ title that you only try in extreme times of desperation. It is however on the better end of the spectrum of some of the bad co-op games.

“Slowly does it” I thought, while I got the hang of the feel of the cool white and pink pad in my hand once more. I was never that great at shooters… hang on, who am I kidding?! I was awesome! This however, was going to take some getting used to. It’s amazing how out of practice you get, but in some respects it is not much different from riding a bike, in that you may forget to begin with but it doesn’t take long to get back into.

I made my return with Halo: ODST. The irony lying in the fact that Halo 3 was where my journey began in 2007. Having completed that in a few days (and with only a few hours put into it because let’s face facts, it’s a pretty short game and not really worth the £34.99 I paid for it), to get online once more I had a bash on Halo 3 Multiplayer. Sadly my copy of COD: WAW (possibly my all time favourite game for online play) went some time ago. I do mourn for it though. Funnily enough, during my stint on Halo 3 MP, I commented that I was bored of shooting the hell out of the boys sat in their parent’s basements with only a cuddly toy for company due to their inability to interact with anyone face to face in human form. Funny why? Because ten minutes after coming out of the game I received a message and friend request  through Live, from such an idiot as fore-mentioned, asking if I wanted a shag. Hmmm, clearly not much has changed when it comes to the outlook on female gamers.

I quickly grew bored of ODST, despite a commitment to complete the legendary mode. I download a puzzle game from Live with some Microsoft Points I had remaining, I was the most disappointed I have ever been. Expecting at least a small challenge, I discovered I had thrown my money down the drain with a cheap version of Bejeweled with a terrible storyline. This was no good! I had even lost the ability to spot a game worth playing. Roll on the release of something I could get my teeth stuck into.

Loving this game.

Due to being out of the gaming scene so long, I had to rely on Simon to make a decent suggestion for a game. Granted both Simon and Andy have kept me filled in on the happenings of TIMJ and gaming news, but generally it went in one ear and out the other. Sorry to disappoint, but my earlier enthusiasm for gaming disappeared, thanks to tiredness and stress. I had always intended to remain a part of TIMJ, but juggling life with it became near impossible. Now I know many people work full-time and still game and even write like our staff do, but when I’m out for twelve hours a day and have being a full time mum and dutiful housewife to fit in, I had to jump the TIMJ ship for a bit. As it happens, I write this while keeping an eye on five children (Si, Andy, my nephews and Jack), watching CBeebies and having a lazy Sunday afternoon. Now how’s that for multitasking?!

So along came Borderlands and Oh My God! COD: WAW what? That was quickly forgotten as this game took over. It’s extremely addictive and I like the Fable style quests mixed in with some decent combat and out of this world weapons. Of course, I play the girl (it would be rude not to) and I feel the Siren is perfectly suited to me as she kills a gang of bandits and modestly exclaims “God I’m good at this” followed by an evil laugh. Now this was what I was missing. Granted I thought it was too easy at first, but now I’m up to level twenty-eight and it’s beginning to get interesting. I tried playing it on co-op with my inexperienced twelve year old nephew the other night I re-spawned around four times in five minutes due to trying to rescue his butt. This was definitely a part where I needed a good gamer by my side. We got through one mission in an hour and it was an easy one for crying out loud! I’m looking forward to continuing through it, and the fact that it seems to have hours of play makes it all the more worthwhile, especially after spending £60 on two copies for the both of us.

I have had a stint (all be it very brief) on Forza 3, I only really played to A) show my stepson he could be beaten by a girl after being given a 20% head start and B) because my son really likes pretending he is driving. For the record, I don’t “do” racing games (although this strictly excludes Micro Machines because this is a superb game and deserves a comeback). It’s not because I am rubbish at racing games (unlike sporting games which I don’t “do” because I’m genuinely appalling), but I find driving, in effect a cartoon car, mind numbingly boring. The novelty of the challenge of winning without crashing soon wears off. Give me a shooter or an RPG any day and I’m happy.

So, while I’m occupied with my bad ass girl on Borderlands, I step further towards a time that I can pick up Left 4 Dead 2. This is my most anticipated game of 2009, and I only hope it isn’t a let down because I really have all my hopes pinned on this one. Despite all the hype a while back and everything kicking off with fans point blank refusing to pay for a new game while the first is still awaiting content, I am willing to put my trust in Valve to create an equally as good if not better, follow up. I’ve also recently got a hold of Modern Warfare 2, but I’m yet to sink any real time into it. I never even saw the first game, but I became terrifyingly hooked on WAW. Although I probably will get into it around the Christmas break so I can have lots of time with pure, unadulterated gaming pleasure… not to mention drunken online matches!

Looking forward to sinking some time into MW2

I may also put Ghostbusters on my Christmas list, although I think that may be a rental as Christmas with three kids doesn’t come cheap, and generally major games such as L4D2 and MW2 involve purchasing two copies for our two consoles; there is no more split screening in my household. I wouldn’t mind seeing if I can get my mitts on Lego Indiana Jones 2 for a bit of light hearted gaming too.

All in all, it looks like my gaming calendar is full in the run up to Christmas, and January wont be much different. With Army of Two: 40^th Day coming out and after the laughs Simon and I had on the first game, this is a must purchase. Hopefully I can fit in some more editorials and/or reviews and make a decent comeback to TIMJ, because I sure have missed it. If I do have to take a step back again, I’ll make sure I’m not away for quite as long; I hate feeling left out!

Speak soon mi amigos! x

The video depicted a woman talking to you (the player). At certain points as the camera panned around, you had flashes of some human enemies dubbed ’the locals’, then of some of the animal enemies referred to as ’the wildlife’. One of the flashes tells you you’re going to need guns, lots of guns, showing you a room full of weapons. Finally the camera panned further so that you can see her face; this woman was heavily scarred down one half of her face. She then tells you she knows why you’re there and that you’re looking for the vault (cue a reverse plot of Fallout 3), she finally adds that you won’t find it because it doesn’t exist.

The game has seen a massive transformation in style since that teaser was released, now re-branded as an ‘RPS’ (Role playing shooter), the consistent selling point for me at the time was the huge number of guns the game was boasting, which more often than not something that is restricted in games. Borderlands is finally here with claims that it features ‘87 bazillion guns’. Maybe that’s a slight over-exaggeration but one would find it hard not to be intrigued with a game that has more than 17.6 million of the things.

Welcome to Pandora; it’s fun and full of violence
Borderlands is set on a planet called Pandora, a desolate wasteland where the law doesn’t exist and you pretty much live and die by the gun. Bandits, mercenaries and pretty much every lowlife known to mankind roam the landscape all looking for treasure and more importantly, the vault, which is said to contain a vast treasure and riches. Once you pick your character (of which there is four to choose from) and after a brief chat with a mysterious lady that only appears only to you, you embark on your quest to find the vault, undertaking many missions along the way to gain the trust of the locals.

In terms of plot, the story isn’t over complicated. You have just enough to get you started and the rest you find out through doing the missions. The rest is pure action, possibly going back to gaming roots, where stories were nothing but an objective.

I have found me a gun, now for my next trick… someone will explode!
There is essentially two ways to play the game. The first would be on your own (for all the socially inept people out there) or alternatively you can play co-op with up to four of your mates. The four characters to choose from all will eventually gain different special moves and abilities. After a brief tutorial you can set off to explore the world of Pandora.

The game is at first glance is primarily an FPS however it’s far deeper than that. In terms of the FPS mechanics it’s a pretty solid shooter. However when looking down the iron sights of the different weaponry, the way you aim is dependent on the gun you’re using. Some guns for example don’t have any scopes, so aiming down the basic iron sites can be quite difficult as you only have the reticule when in a relaxed aim. The guns individual stats can also have an affect on your aim and effectiveness, and regularly swapping and upgrading your weaponry plays a major part in the game. On the HUD you have a compass which acts as your guide to the general direction of your current mission. Not having a mini-map can take some getting used to if you haven’t played the likes of fallout, but overall this adds to the exploration side of the game. You also have your health bar indicting how many health points you have and once you acquire a shield it will also display that too. There are also some help guides that pop up on the screen from time to time, but these can be disabled in the menu.

Pandora itself is one of the biggest things in the game. The maps are quite large so there is lots to see. The different areas are sectioned off and using the travel system you can move from one area to another. This involves a brief loading period and only happens when moving to the different areas. It’s not as free roaming as the likes of Oblivion or Fallout, but that isn’t a bad thing. The main maps are massive and there are two main areas to explore, each with other areas that you can investigate.

Shake that ass! I love the way you wiggle... Ah-hem

Just like games such as the afore mentioned Fallout, the game is very much mission orientated. The more missions you undertake, the more additional missions open up. Once you have accepted each quest you can chop and change as you wish, giving flexibility. For example if you are doing a mission in a particular area and you know that there is more missions in that area to do, you can go into your menu and change the active mission. This is handy as it means that you can complete most of the missions in an area without constant and unnecessary backtracking. In addition you can do half of a mission and go back to it later on without having to take on the whole list of objectives again. Rewards generally come in the form of experience points and money, although on some missions you can gain new guns or equipment on top of that.

Some of the missions require that you to beat a boss; these generally are a lot more difficult that the regular enemies you will have battled up to that point. To help you level up suitably before biting more than you can chew, each mission has its own rating dependent on your skill level. It tells you how hard the selected mission is, so that you can chose the easier missions first or if you really must, do one of the harder missions for more of a challenge. As in typical RPG format, the more you level up though, the easier the missions will be. Some of the additional missions are character specific, this adds more depth to the gameplay and a reason to play through more than once.

When you die (and it will happen) you will re-spawn at one of the ‘New You’ points, which costs you money and gets more expensive each time you die. Also at the ‘New You’ point you can change your characters name and colours, or later on in the game, unlock the transport system that allows you to travel over long distances quicker.

The levelling system is split into three parts, adding depth to the development of your chosen character. Whenever you kill an enemy you gain experience; when you hit the bracket you level up. The number of experience points also depends on the level of your enemies; weaker enemies giving less than the more powerful enemies. You also gain experience from completing missions, and these bonuses can be quite large. The second part to the levelling system are skill points. Once you hit level five you earn a special ability, which this opens up the skill trees. Every subsequent level after that you will gain a skill point that you can spend on whichever skill you wish. Finally there is the weapon proficiency. Depending on what weapon you use the most, once you have killed so many enemies you gain a proficiency rank.

The higher the level you are works in two parts; it gives you a longer health bar and also means you can use the stronger weapons that are scattered about. Each character has a different special ability and skill tree, because each one is better with different weapons. This doesn’t mean that you are restricted to those types of weapons; just that you will get bigger bonuses on them. When attacking an enemy you have the chance for a critical shot, these do more damage so that you can kill the enemies more quickly. The game is very fast paced and it’s pretty easy to level up with the hordes of enemies that attack you often. On one play-through I was just attacked by the normal types of enemies, though when I was playing co-op and did the same mission, some of the enemies attacking me were elemental based. This also means that no two play-through’s will ever be the same.

Because of the program that Gearbox wrote that randomly generates weaponry, offering millions of possibilities, the weapons in the game vary drastically in design, power, accuracy and fire rate. Two people may never get the same weapons in their individual play-through’s. Some of the guns also have additional bonuses or elemental effects. These effects are corrosive, incendiary, explosive and electrical and do different types of damage. For example electrical elemental guns are good to get around shields and have a chance of stunning an enemy, incendiary weapons are more likely to burn an enemy or set him on fire, corrosive can melt an enemy and explosive says it all. There are several types of weapons; repeater handguns, revolvers, shotguns, SMG, assault rifles, sniper rifles, alien weapons and grenades.

They each use their own type of ammo and can be found after you kill enemies or purchased from a vending machine. Most of the guns can be found after you have killed an enemy or in one of the weapons crates that are all scattered around the world. There are some that can be purchased from a weapons vending machine but for the most part, the ones you find can be far more powerful. Health packs and shields can be purchased from a dedicated medical vender. Every weapon can be very different in either power or appearance. For example you can get a sniper rifle that has the loading system of a revolver, but the cocking mechanism of a shotgun. It’s quite surprising what the game comes up with and sometimes you can find some really ridiculously powerful guns. Also depending on what ‘make’ the gun is, can affect the quality of the gun too. The same rules apply for the shields and they each have different bonuses and defensive properties.