Game Review: Crysis 2 - J.D.

Game: Crysis 2

Developer: Crytek Frankfurt

Platforms: Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, Microsoft Windows

Released: 2011

Reviewer Platform: Microsoft Windows

Introduction

                Preceding its ground-breaking 2007 release, Crysis, German game developer, Crytek had yet to make a bad game. Crysis, and parallel story, Crysis: Warhead didn’t disappoint, rather, they set a new standard. Knowing this, and considering the cliffhanger upon which Crysis ended, it caused me no small amount of excitement when the first Crysis 2 trailer surfaced. Apparently premature, it was lost in a thicket of other potentially great titles which were more imminent, Crysis 2 was temporarily forgotten. When it resurfaced, bringing in the wake of its considerable resurgence more information about what it would eventually be like, I was left feeling…betrayed. It didn’t seem like it was going rescue those of us dangling on the edge of the proverbial precipice since the end of the first game. And while this didn’t turn out to be exactly the case, what it did instead was baffling and disappointing, in more ways than one. Let me say this before I continue, I enjoyed Crysis 2 despite its many attempts to accomplish the opposite effect, but I did not enjoy it as much as I felt I should when it was first announced. I’ll give you my best attempt here, but even after finishing the game, and having some of the heavy fog which surrounded the story lifted, I still don’t really understand what took place. I suppose it might take another play-through. On the other hand, that may only serve to create even more confusion as holes in the plot are discovered which remained hidden after the first, cursory glance.

Story (Spoilers)

                Ah, yes, the story. I think it can be summed up into four little words: they tried too hard. To say they jumped the shark would be an understatement. They jumped the shark, while simultaneously riding another shark which was being jumped by yet another shark which combusted mid-flight. I really wish I could lay the aquatic analogies aside now, but I can’t. As one of the characters said, “We are getting our asses kicked by Calamari.” Yeah, I couldn’t believe it either. I can suspend disbelief as well as the next guy, but this really was a bit too much. We are expected to believe that a race of super-intelligent undersea creatures, resembling squid, who inhabited earth long before the first appearance of humans left for some incomprehensible reason, and have now come back, wishing to reclaim their planet? I suppose this would be acceptable, had it had ANYTHING to do with the original storyline. In the first game, these creatures had been lying dormant for many millennia under a Pacific island (once again, with no explanation), and were disturbed by a team of scientists. I suppose they looked VAGUELY like the “Ceph” (short for cephalopod) of the second game, but, I think it worked better when any resemblance they had to undersea creatures, either living or dead was purely coincidental.

Anyway, as much as I really hate the phrase “One thing led to another”, but it really is applicable here. I’ll try not to spoil too much, but suffice it to say that Prophet from the first game makes a rather important appearance in the sequel, making it technically a continuation of the story. He’s also incredibly creepy. There was some sort of bio-technological possession going on there. Shudder. No, he isn’t the villain, though, I think the game would have been immensely more interesting had he been. I honestly think that this direction was an afterthought. There were just too many details which were glossed over, or shoved in a corner, with the apparent hope that we wouldn’t look too hard. Crysis 2 would have been a better game, had it not suffered from its name. Don’t get me wrong, Crysis needed a sequel; there were just too many loose ends, but this was not the sequel it needed. No indeed. I haven’t even mentioned Jacob Hargreave. I won’t, either, since played a considerable role in the only truly unexpected part of the game. Confusing at best, truly incomprehensible and stupid at worst, the story earns, and I do mean earns a lamentable 3 out of 10. This is certainly not helped by the gaggle of single-dimensional human stereotypes which comprised the entire cast. I didn’t want to do it, but you forced my hand, Crytek.

The Gameplay

                The gameplay, or as I’ve taken to calling it, the Saving Grace, is just what the doctor ordered, almost as if he knew beforehand what malaise was afflicting the story. Fans of the original, put down the fireworks and vuvuzelas, it isn’t as good as Crysis, but “fun” would be an excellent way of describing it. Unfortunately, so would “Streamlined”. In the first game, there was an art to managing the different powers your suit possessed; now, all it takes to switch between suit modes is a simple push of a button. Far. Too. Simple. The result was a much, MUCH easier game, compensated for by an ever increasingly improbable number of enemies, nearly Serious Sam-esque in places. Still, the feeling of epic power is worth something, even if it means sacrificing difficulty. I played it on the most difficult setting available, right out of the box, and it offered little challenge, until the very end, at which point it got painfully hard. I died more times attempting impossible jumps and other nonsense than I did due to the sincere attempts of the game. Regardless, it IS still fun, as I’ve said before. A little more balance, fewer infuriatingly long cut-scenes, and sequences in which the player does not have full control of the character, and it could have easily received a perfect score, as it is, 8.5 out of 10 seems fair. Purely in terms of shooter dynamics, it is a very solid and enjoyable game. Also, even though I don’t really like multiplayer much, I did enjoy the multiplayer in this game. Oddly, it seems to lack the balance problems which plagued the single player campaign. An admitted n00b, I was still able to hold my own against much more experienced players.

The Setting

                It takes place in New York, so gone are the rich, lush jungle environments Crytek is so good at producing. The result is somehow…appropriately dreary. I’m not sure if this exact feeling was intentional or not, but I will give Crytek the benefit of the doubt on this one. Also, something simply must be said for the voice acting. It was PHENOMINAL. I didn’t recognize any of the voice actors, but they were extremely well cast, to play extremely flawed characters. They had to work with what they got, and they did an excellent job of it.  Unfortunately, the setting had its fair share of bad sides. Crysis was a sort of hybrid between a sandbox, and a traditional shooter. Crysis 2, on the other hand was rail shooter, with the illusion of being open world. Perhaps worse yet, destructibility is all but gone, a real blow to the game as a whole. You would be surprised how much enjoyment can be had from killing Korean soldiers with projectiles comprised entirely by exotic animal life. Crysis 2 had a dearth of not only Korean soldiers, but also things which could potentially have been thrown at them. All things considered, and by that I mean, “most things I could think of considered”, the setting earns a respectable 7.0 out of 10.  

Final Thoughts

                One of Crytek’s mottos is ”Maximum Game”. This seems to have been amended to “Maximum Profit”. Crysis 2 was a blatant attempt to cash in on a well-loved and profitable franchise with a sub-par product. To reiterate what I previously stated, had they gone back, changed a few important details, and named it something completely different, I would have more than likely enjoyed it much, much more than I did. Perhaps they get the hint, as this seems to be a rather popular sentiment. Ah well, one can hope. It has yet to be the case when the Objective score matches my overall subjective score, but I think it does in this case: 6.1 out of 10. Perhaps it is my tainted viewpoint, or my overall disappointment, but I don’t find it within me to rate it any higher. Perhaps you will disagree, but you’ll have to play the game to find out, and only you can decide whether it’s worth it.

-J.D.

Game Review: Dragon Age II - J.D.

Game: Dragon Age II

Developer: Bioware

Platforms: Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, Microsoft Windows, Mac OS X

Released: 2011

Reviewer Platform: Microsoft Windows

Introduction

First things first. I would like to extend a formal apology to anyone in my life who may depend on me for anything whatsoever. It’s just that when Bioware releases a new game, I am compelled to play it. Don’t tell them this, though, if they knew they had effectively direct access to my bank account, they would quickly ruin me. Melodrama aside, however, it is safe to say that I was, at the very least, excited about Dragon Age II before it came out. It is also likely an understatement of most prodigious proportions. This feeling of expectancy continued until the demo was released mere days before the release of the game. By this time, the game had been so preordered, that it probably violated some sort of time continuum law. The demo however, changed my feelings toward the game mostly for the worst. For some incognizable reason, Bioware decided to turn the opening sequence, and also, one of its worst sections, into the demo. So vast were the changes wrought upon the series since the first installment, I believe I suffered from a minor case of shell shock. While I could have cancelled my pre-order, I chose to give Bioware the benefit of the doubt. I should probably mention that I am a HUGE Bioware fan-boy, so overcoming this pang of trepidation was no great feat. Suffice it to say, threat inappreciable or not, I’m glad I did.

The Story (Spoilers)

This is not a sequel in the strict sense, as it takes place mostly concurrently with the original, and with a few notable exceptions is only loosely connected to the original. Fleeing the Blight, which was overtaking Ferelden at the time, the main character, Hawke, decides to take his family to Kirkwall. Kirkwall is located to the North in the Free Marches, not much is said of the city, other than having a brutal and bloody history. Hawke’s mother left the life of luxury as a noble of the city to marry Hawke’s father, an apostate, which is basically an unregistered or illegal mage who was from Ferelden. He died three years prior to the beginning of the story, leaving the care of the family in Hawke’s hands. This being the case, Hawke’s mother figures that they can get a welcome and a home safe away from the blight in her family’s house. On the way, one of Hawke’s siblings (depends on the player’s class) dies fighting an Ogre. Regardless, the family, joined by Aveline, who they met on the road, and who would also become one of Hawke’s truest companions over the next three years in which the rest of the story takes place, eventually make their long way to Kirkwall. Upon arriving, they realize that they are not the only ones with the same thought. The city is full to bursting with Ferelden refugees, and it is then that they find out that not only will they not be allowed to enter, but also the Amell, (Hawke’s mother’s maiden name) family is in ruins due to the financial mismanagement of her brother, Gamlen. Seriously, can’t uncles EVER do anything right? Thankfully, he has a plan to get the family into the city. Depending on your fancy, Hawke, and his remaining sibling either join a group of smugglers, or up with a band of mercenaries. End prologue.

The stage has been set. The rest of the game will be set within the confines of Kirkwall, and the surrounding areas. While not really a problem in itself, it does mean that it lacks the epic scale that its predecessor enjoyed. Not including the prologue, the game is separated into three “acts”, each building on the events of the one before. The first act starts light-hearted and innocuous, however, as Hawke’s fame begins to grow, so does the ever growing pile of problems you face. Each act, beginning approximately 3 years after the previous, ups the ante, as it were when it comes to what is at stake not only for the hero and his companions, but also for the whole city and all of its denizens. Unrest, political and cultural, tensions rising among the populace, these factors set the table for catastrophic events. These events take place in the form of worst case scenarios not once, but twice, and it falls to Hawke to save the city both times, earning him the title of “The Champion”. The master-stroke? The whole story is told after the fact from the perspective of the dwarf Varric, one of Hawke’s friends and companions throughout the story, who was being subjected to an inquisition of sorts. It would seem that the Chantry suspected that Hawke had some hand in creating all of the trouble Kirkwall saw over the course of the 9-10 years he had been there.

You might think that I have spoiled the whole story by now, but don’t worry. Also, stop being such a whiner, you chose to read this review. Anyway, I really haven’t spoiled anything. You will see the events coming long before they actually do. I don’t think this is predictability, necessarily, merely the inevitable coming to fruition. Plenty of things will also happen which you won’t be able to precognize. Of this I am sure. It’s the mark of great storytelling, and this game certainly possesses that. It’s this aspect of their games which keeps true fans of Bioware coming back. Dragon Age II was no disappointment. Origins was, and still is, one of my favorite game of all time. I played it four times, and I still feel like I’ve left something unfinished. As such, I was skeptical of any game’s ability to eclipse the quality of its story. I was proved wrong, however. Dragon Age II’s story is every bit a match for Origins, and in some cases, even surpassed it. It earns a near perfect 9.5 out of 10. Minor repetition, and a cast of some rather unlikeable characters are its only flaws. Even so, when compared to the video game industry in general, the characters are of surpassing quality. It is only when they are viewed through the biased eyes of someone who has played, and more importantly, immensely enjoyed, every game Bioware has put out in recent years, that the characters in Dragon Age II become…subpar. All else aside, I am a self-proclaimed connoisseur of great stories, and I can safely say that this one was one of the best I have ever read, played or seen.

The Gameplay

I have one word to describe the gameplay: polish. The level of polish this game sports has seen only rare exposure; it, like Bioware’s other famous sequel, Mass Effect 2 (review possibly forthcoming) just felt done. As if, they had had the final word, and there was nothing else to be said. This came at a price, if that is what you want to call it; the gameplay was drastically different from the original. Almost every negative comment I have heard has gone something like this: “it’s just not the same”. Unfortunately, it would seem, many fans had a hard time getting past this initial shock, to see the game behind it. A shame, really. Yes, it was different, but it was still fun. People who expected Dragon Age II to be a carbon copy of Origins were deluding themselves. That is simply not the way that Bioware operates. Despite this, however, I liked the gameplay, and specifically, the combat in Origins better. It set a far more realistic pace, which afforded the player a greater degree of control over the battle. Oh, and gore. Dragon Age II is gory, to the extreme, ridiculously so, in fact. There is no rational reason why someone should explode when they are hit with a sword, not unless the person wielding the sword happened to be Thor, or perhaps He-man. But yeah, like I said, no rational reason. In terms of weaponry, we have the standard RPG increasing order of magnitude system, same as in Origins, with a few improvements. Most notably, blade-staff, which are basically magic staffs, with, you guessed it, blades on the other end. This is the standard weapon for mages, and as a result mages are no longer defenseless in close combat. Bow-wielding rogues do something similar, using physical attacks until they can distance themselves from their opponents, and resume shooting. This is a vast improvement over the original. It also makes for some pretty awesome combat animations. I like to view the changes in the combat systems as a give and take situation, which is unfortunate, especially since it didn’t have to be. Is it really too much to ask for a developer to do everything right?

On the contrary, the UI was phenomenal. No more developing eye-strain while trying to discern the difference between two similar-looking items, no more spending several days polling experts in the field for consensus on how to get the bulky menu-system to do what you want it to. Unfortunately, it too suffers from problems of its own; minor problems for me, but apparently deal-breakers for others. With simplicity also seemed to come a lack of customizability, which is a traditional and rather integral part of the RPG experience. To put it succinctly, Dragon Age II is a great game, but not a great RPG, and as long as you know and accept that, I think you’ll have a good time playing it. All things considered, the gameplay gets a solid 7.0 out of 10.

The Setting

Here is the one area of the game that is difficult for me to review. I liked Dragon Age II, I really did, but why did the fine folks over at Bioware insist on using the same exact half-dozen maps over and over again? Does it really cost that much to hire some map makers, turn them loose, and give the game some desperately needed variety? This is not an exaggeration. After a few hours, I had actually memorized the layout of nearly every map in the entire game, and for a game of this scope, that is truly a travesty. I could have, perhaps, overlooked this too, were these few maps not largely prosaic. Maybe they thought the upgraded graphics, which, granted were, a massive improvement, would cover up this crime, but judging from people’s reactions, I think it’s safe to say that it didn’t work. Saved, in part, by the rich history and back-stories infused into nearly everything you can see and/or interact with, and by the fact that the graphics were actually good this time around, the setting receives a decent 5 out of 10.

Final Thoughts

Overall, Dragon Age II was an excellent game, if not Bioware’s best effort. It manages to largely avoid most clichés from which other games in its genre suffer. It should be mentioned that I played it when it when the ink was just drying on the…disk. There have probably been numerous patches to address some of the game’s problems since I played it. Also, any improvement in graphics this made over its predecessor would be largely trivial. Origins was not a pretty game, however, the graphics in DA II actually hold up to scrutiny when compared to contemporary titles. Once again, I’ll give you the objective score, based on the analysis above, a solid, if disappointing 7.2 out of 10, as well as my subjective score of 8.9 out of 10. As I’ve said, I enjoyed it immensely, probably more than it deserved. I also look forward to the spades of extra downloadable content that Bioware has promised. As of writing, the price is still a rather absurd $60, so it’s probably worth waiting for some downloadable content and a few price drops before picking title up to play for yourself.

-J.D.

Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides

Pirates: On Stranger Tides.

My opinions on the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise is shared with a large quantity of people. I liked the first one, didn’t care for the second, and hated the third. The reason for this is mostly because the story in the last two revolved around the most obnoxious characters in the films. They still did well though, in part due to Orlando Bloom’s following at the time, Depp’s portrayal of Sparrow, and the over-the-top action sequences. While I did see the latter two in theaters, (almost exclusively because of the action scenes) I was fed up with it by the millionth hour of the third movie. (Seriously, why was that movie so long?) When I heard that they would be making another movie without the franchise poisoning romance, I was excited. I saw this as an opportunity to return to form. I had always said that the Pirates movies should be akin to the Indiana Jones movies. Each should have been their own tale, with Jack Sparrow filling the main role, and only a few minor characters appearing to help or thwart Sparrow. This movie promised me exactly what I wanted and I walked into the theater ready to be entertained.

Spoiler Warning: Scroll to bottom of post if you want my spoiler free final thoughts (This particular review is mostly spoiler free, but no promises.)

The core plot of Stranger Tides is a textbook quest to find obscure magical location/item X. If this was all it consisted of, I think it would have been a better movie than it ended up being. When you’re trying to reboot a franchise that is view by critics with a negative eye, it’s good to focus on a simple plot and just do it well. Tides looked like it was going to do exactly this, until we boarded Blackbeard’s ship. The movie was plagued with the same virtually meaningless side plots as the second and third movies. Whether or not Angelica is Teach’s daughter, whether Jack and Angelica were going to get together and the odd side-story with the priest and the were-mermaid are examples of plotlines that, while connected to the main plot, are mostly pointless. It would have been better to focus the time spent on these stories elsewhere, preferably the main plot of finding the fountain. Even if the writer wanted a less obvious form of conflict in the story, he should have picked one of these and stuck with it. While the plot was convoluted at times, I found certain clichés that they could have gone with done in a more refreshing way: Instead of wanting eternal life, the Spanish just were zealots; instead of getting the girl at the end, Jack does what he thinks is best for her; the fact that Barbossa and Jack are more than willing to help each other. I honestly expected them to go the way of the cliché in these areas, and to my pleasant surprise, they didn’t.

Overall, the plot was convoluted and unoriginal, but not totally cliché: 5/10

One of the main areas that was improved from the last two Pirates movies is the area of characters. No performance bogs down the movie, and this fact alone makes Tides exceptional in comparison to the other three. However, very few performances are anything special, and I got the feeling that some of these actors weren’t giving their all. Depp and McShane are fantastic, but the list of notable characters end there.

No dreadful performances, but nothing special either: 7/10

The action scenes in the Pirates have always been my favorite parts. While I called foul about fighting in the rigging of a ship while it is being swallowed by a whirlpool, I enjoyed the ridiculous fight scene on the watermill. Tides toned down the ridiculousness a bit, but not so much as to make the movie a bore. The swordplay and action sequences are what give these movies their charm. The plot is less than admirable, the characters are quirky but little else and the setting is an acid that creates its own plot holes. The action (and the music, more about that later), however, is the focus of the films. This movie, like its predecessors, is all about the action, but the choreography seems a little sloppier than before.

Action is still good, but lacks the polish of the earlier films. 7/10

I could write a dissertation on why the Pirates franchise’s unique mythology should be toned down and ret-conned until it is impossible to see much similarity between the original and the end result. I’ve always found it to be simultaneously too shallow and convoluted to be truly engaging. While Tides fairs better than the last two, it still suffers. The music, however, more than makes up for the issues that the other environmental elements miss. Zimmer’s music is amazing, giving the viewer desperately needed queues about the mood of the scenes in question.

While the setting still needs an overhaul, the music is still fantastic: 8/10

Overall, the movie is a lot of fun, but nothing more. As long as you aren’t there for a spectacular story or amazing acting, you’ll have a good time. These movies are in the spirit of the old musketeer movies: Silly and predictable, but still a lot of fun.

Overall Score: 6.75/10

-GyonFalc