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.

Shingeki no Kyojin (Attack on Titan) Episode 21 Review (Spoilers)

So I have never reviewed an anime on here before, but I could not pass up this opportunity! Every week I've been excited to see what was next in this series, however episode 21 did this and more. This episode got my blood pumping more than any other episode and just goes to show what animation can do to make a sequence extremely exciting.

The moment everyone waited for happened, Eren battled another titan. We get huge build up with some brilliant dialogue which have a very deep meaning in terms of the story. Each scene just worked so well, the combination of music and the voiceover for Eren did a fantastic job of showing real emotion through his voice.

 

 



 The fight sequences looked beautiful, Shingeki no Kyojin has done a fantastic job at creating an anime which looks visually stunning. It must of taken ages to draw this frame by frame. Now I must get into spoilers, it's impossible to talk about this episode without doing so, it's just too complex to not talk about some of the plot points. At the start of the confrontation the special ops team look like they are kicking some serious ass. In a second this all turned around with the Female Titan gaining the upper hand yet again, killing everybody.

Eren looks on in a mixture of anger and sadness. The impact of this scene was that they built up this idea of trust within the squad, but now they are all dead.  Eren transforms into his titan form to confront the Female Titan and for a while it looks like it's working, however Eren is new to this whole titan transformation thing,  it looks like Eren is about to win. Eren throws punch after punch at the Female Titan and even knocks her to the ground several times. She manages to evade Eren long enough for him to become tired, and in a moment of weakness it is all over for Eren.

Eren is successfully captured and Mikasa and Levi go off in pursuit to get Eren back. I can't tell you how excited I am to see what's next, this series really is something special.

10/10 Perfect - I've always loved an emotional and engaging story, this episode did it better than I've seen in a LONG time. With a brilliant mixture of action, there's nothing at fault with this episode. I suggest if you haven't already, jump on this show and start watching, it's something not to be missed. (Episode below)

R.I.P Ryan Davis

We received the sad news that video game journalist and podcaster, Ryan Davis passed away at the age of 34. Ryan was the co-founder of Giant Bomb and it's such a sad loss to the gaming industry. I for one only discovered him in the last couple of months through his podcast, I'm saddened to hear this news as he seemed such a genuine, nice guy.

Ryan Davis will be missed and I'm sure we will remember him as the guy who always looked forward to the next adventure. The guy who made every day just a little better.

Ryan Davis 1979 - 2013

The Walking Dead: 400 Days Review

The Walking Dead: 400 Days did what it said it would do, deliver five new stories, five heart-breaking stories. It reinforces that video games have a larger impact than a film due to making them critical decisions ourselves and facing the consequences. The episode introduces a cast of characters, who more than likely will be our primary characters for season 2 of Telltale's The Walking Dead. If you played the original five episodes, you owe it to youself to experience more of Telltale's award winning story.

The Walking Dead: 400 Days acts as a bridge to season 2 and also makes nods towards season 1. The title suggests the story, five characters, five stories, in the span of 400 days in the same area of Georgia around a truck station.

What I love about Telltale is their ability to get you attached to a character in such a small space of time in every story. We can see what these characters have been through and their relationships, despite their motives we can see that they are all human. They all have their reasons for what they do.

What I loved the most was the brilliant writing that this episode had. Every story has very small links with each other which can be spotted by a keen eye. What amazes me with Telltale Games is the fact that they can cram five brilliant short stories into around 1 hour and 30 minutes of gameplay. I was worried that the tie-ins would seem a tad unbelievable, they are in fact completely natural and also rather small.

Each episode also has a different pace, for example, Wyatt had a very panicked story whereas Shel had a much more calm yet more dialogue engaging story. Each episode has different gameplay mechanics which give a very nice change every story, it's not just repetitive gameplay, I never knew what to expect next.

Technical issues have always been a fault for Telltale's Walking Dead, I noticed a couple of technical issues, however they were nowhere near as bad as season 1. It's nice to see attempts were made to prevent this.

The Walking Dead: 400 Days is beyond incredible, it serves as an outstanding taster of what to expect from season 2. The characters feel like they have a great story to tell and I can't wait to get back into the world of Telltale Games for season 2.
9.5 - This episode is nothing but exciting news for what to expect later. It's something not to be missed by Walking Dead fans. If you have no experienced season 1 yet, I demand you go out and buy season 1 and this episode, trust me, you'll thank me.

The Walking Dead: All Out War Story Arc

It's been announced that starting October we will get an issue every 2 weeks to cover the new story arc that will appear in October. Expect regular reviews of issues leading up to this and I will also be covering this entire story arc, giving a review for each issue then an overall review for the arc once it's done.

This is the End Review!

This is the End could very well have been one of the biggest disappointments this year in terms of films. Instead what the audience got is one of the biggest surprises in film history, the audience are in for a treat, one that you would be mad to miss.

The premise for the film is Seth Rogen and his buddy Jay Baruchel meet up and end up going to a party at James Franco's house. Rogen, Baruchel, James Franco,Jonah Hill, Danny Mcbride, Craig Robinson and a handful of other celebrities such as Emma Watson play themselves. It turns out all these guys are brilliant as simply portraying themselves on screen and create a real special feel to the group of actors and have brilliant chemistry on screen. In a world filled with terrible comedies such as Scary Movie it's nice to see that gems still exist.

The group are the last survivors in an apocalyptic world and the film simply follows them and their hilarious adventure. It's basic, but perfect. Each character has a place that fits perfectly for them and not a single joke went flat for the entire film, even having some rather surprising and hilarious moments. Danny McBride for me was the best character in the film and stands as a rather bizarre but brilliant character. It works perfectly as a hilarious conflict point in the film.

If I had to pick out a very minor flaws with the film (which they are rather minor for the overall product). The humour is not smart humour by any means, which is still brilliant and hilarious however all the dick related jokes may not be for some viewers.

However if you are a fan of straight up comedy, this film is for you. Overall the package is brilliant and in my opinion this is probably Rogen's and Goldberg's finest film yet. With some VERY minor flaws which in no means should take away from the whole film. This film will go down as a comedy classic and I really can't wait to watch it again.

9/10 - Brilliant

Coming This Saturday!

A little sneak peak to the DLC episode to Telltale's The Walking Dead game, since I'm an Xbox user I can't get it out until Saturday since the episode itself is not out until Friday.

This will be one of my big reviews of the month along with Pacific Rim and possibly a couple of uncertain reviews. Stay tuned and share this blog with your friends and followers to help get the word out!