Update - 16/02/2014 - Changes

From bringing back my blog I realised (thanks to university) I don't have as much time as I would like to dedicate to this blog. I'm struggling to cope with covering film, television, books and games. I love all these forms of entertainment, however gaming is my number one passion. So from now on, unless I can find writers for other areas, this blog will only cover gaming and items such as art books or anything else related to gaming.

So sorry to those of you who aren't interested in gaming. However, I hope you stick around for some in-depth game reviews, news and just general opinions on issues in the industry.

Thanks again, and continue to spread the word.
- Jonathan

Killzone Shadowfall Review

The Helghast look amazing, shame they can't shoot

PlayStation 4 launched with a decent line-up, many new IPs, but also a couple older ones. Killzone Shadowfall is a great game at showing just what the PlayStation 4 is capable of, however is it just that? A shiny new game with brilliant graphics but nothing else? That's what I'm here to discuss in this review.

My experience was very odd with this game. I planned to review it the week of launch. However I couldn't bring myself to finish the game, stopping after the second mission, thinking to myself I've seen this gameplay too much in other games, just another shooter. I decided to pick it up again after a couple months and try again. This time successfully finishing the game, I'm glad I did finish the game, it turned out to be an enjoyable experience. Not one that was ground-breaking, but still fun.

I won't lie, this game won't be remembered in a couple years as more games come out for the console. As Shadow Marshal Lucas Kellan, you’re tasked with keeping the peace between the Vektan natives and the Helghast refugees.  It's actually interesting, we get more of a view of the Helghast people and their views on the situation. It's interesting to see the almost justified reasons to hate the Vektan.

Level design is varied, with missions varying from open forests to large space ships. However, it feels like the first half of the game had more attention than the second half, as the game began to feel like a grind as I made my way through. Enemy AI is awful, I breezed through the game on hard as the AI reacted like a snail to my bullets. By the end, the enemy are pretty much all the same, with the odd robotic enemy thrown in.

The OWL, which is a little robotic buddy which can do a variation of things, attack, defence, zipline and stun. All of these are used with the PlayStation 4 touchpad, which is a great use of the new featured on the new controller.

Onto the multiplayer. Multiplayer is a mixed bag, the gameplay can be rather bland at time. Not being better than some of the existing multiplayer shooters out there. It feels tacked on, with very little innovation. It's a shame, multiplayer can be a saving factor for many shooters. With very little unlocks, my choices feel very light for how I can customise my loadouts.


Final veridict - 5.5 - Altogether, the game's not great, but I would say PlayStation 4 players should give it a try. Certainly Killzone Shadowfall is a great example of the potential of the PlayStation 4's power. However I feel like the game was rushed out for the console's release, which is certainly evident of the second half of the game.  With tacked on multiplayer which doesn't do anything new for the genre.

Outlast Review

Run. Just run.

So Outlast was released a couple days ago for the PlayStation 4 (Free to PS+ users). This was my first experience of the game, never really hearing or looking at anything about it.

 Survival horror has been a strange genre for games. Huge franchises such as, Dead Space and Resident Evil have gone down a more action based path. For the worse as some would see it. With games such as Evil Within and Alien: Isolation, the genre is making a comeback it seems.

Visually, this game's amazing, taking full advantage of the new console. he game's the first game from new developer Red Barrels. Who are co-founded by me rather big named developers.

To start, the game takes place in an asylum, an asylum which supposedly was closed, but secretly reopened. Playing as a journalist with an anonymous tip-off, it's your job to report on this.

Visually this game's great, taking full advantage of the pretty new PlayStation 4. The game is mostly in darkness, using a nice mechanic of a camera for night vision viewing. You can't fight, instead you hide and run. I played with a group of friends watching. A woman who was present, commented on the game being like watching a horror film, this coming from a woman who had little experience of video games like this. So already we can see the game is doing a great job of creating atmosphere and danger for us as the player. The tension and fear is incredible, as I found myself whimpering under a bed for a great portion of the game, as messed up maniacs searched the room for me.

However the game can be very repetitive at times, with chases going on obvious routes. Level design is rather linear, featuring a bit of backtracking from time to time. The game's short, finishing it in around 3 - 5 hours, depending on how much of a coward you are. The game lacks in areas, this is certainly true.

However, the game more than anything, does what it set out to do, scare the pants off you, and damn does it do it well. The scares are expertly crafted, occurring when you least expect it. Alongside brilliant sound design, this really is a horror game not to be missed.

Final Verdict: 7.5/10 - Despite Outlast's problems, the game's fantastic, I've not had this many scares from a game in a while, it's a refreshing experience from the more common genres of gaming.