Archive for June 2011

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Six months in the making, Back To The Future: The Game wraps up in its wondrously unsettling finale, OUTATIME.

Things were looking grim in the final few moments of episode four; Edna and Citizen Brown were plotting against Marty and even though young Emmett had committed himself to building a new invention for the Expo it was hard to say what was going to happen to the timelines, to Marty and to the Doc we all love from the movies. While it wasn't as easy to list out what was going to have to be fixed from the beginning this time around, things start falling apart quickly. Young Emmett goes missing, Citizen Brown goes off the deep end, and Edna, well, Edna's the same righteous verging on insane annoyance she has always been.

Surprisingly, taking place in the 1930's yet again wasn't such an issue this time despite being in familiar areas. The majority of this episode is spent in the Expo, which even gets its own special little theme song from Trixie Trotter. OUTATIME introduces one new character, who ends up being something of a letdown. Strangely, he doesn't even have a face, odd for someone (supposedly) as famous as he is. Jacques Douteux is an underwater explorer, who is perhaps appropriately dressed in a diving suit, that just so happens to help out with a situation later.

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Duke Nukem is back, as raunchy as ever.

After a long and storied development process, Duke Nukem Forever, the highly anticipated follow up to the 1996 FPS classic Duke Nukem 3D is now available. The end result is surprising, to say the least. Gearbox Software, having taken over development responsibilities of the game following 3D Realms' downsizing in 2009, made a bold decision - that is, to keep the game as true to 3D Realms' original vision as possible. The decision to keep Duke Nukem Forever true to its roots is simultaneously its greatest asset and greatest liability.

The game opens with a brief tribute to its predecessor, pitting our titular hero against a cycloid foe in a battle ripped right out of Duke Nukem 3D. Later revealed to be Duke playing a game based upon his likeness, the camera shifts to reveal two buxom blondes servicing him. In the first of many self-referential nods, one of them asks if the game is any good, to which, Duke cheerily responds: "Yeah, but after twelve f**king years it had better be." Retirement, it would seem, has been good to Duke, as he now resides in the penthouse level of his own casino.

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Cinematic adventure at its finest.

“A city on the verge of greatness, a new type of city” - L.A. Noire’s opening words and more importantly, a statement that will resonate on a second play through. From the onset, L.A. Noire deftly blends its narrative, dialogue and mechanics into a seamless interactive cinematic experience. Every word and action in this game contributes to a sensual yet sinister mood, set perfectly even from as early on as the opening sequence.

Rockstar and developer Team Bondi have come together to create something very special. From L.A. Noire’s beautifully realistic setting to it’s provocative tale, it raises the bar in many areas. Sure, the MotionScan technology is beyond impressive, adding to the depth of the story; for once being able to see emotion rather than just hear it - but this tech can only be as good as the real performances that it captures, and this is yet another area where Noire really excels in.

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