Video Game Review - Star Trek (2013)

Although I enjoy the movies, and was a big fan of the Deep Space Nine television series, I don't really have much experience with Star Trek video games. I played Legacy on the 360 a few years ago, and found it to be rather dull, with sluggish, awkward space navigation. I also have faded memories of shooting geometric shapes vaguely resembling Klingon Birds of Prey in a Star Trek game on my parents' Vectrex. That was the game with the giant Space Sombrero, right? Regardless, I didn't bring much enthusiasm with me to this creatively-titled new Star Trek game.

Licensed games are always at their worst when they tie into a movie, as they're usually locked into a production schedule to match the film's release date. You'd be hard pressed to find such a game that couldn't greatly benefit from a few more months of work. But here's a game that could have used a trip back to the drawing board.

Video Game Review - Bioshock Infinite

The original Bioshock was an amazing game. It was incredibly immersive and had plot twists that left me speechless. The creepy atmosphere was so well-crafted that my horror-movie-loving girlfriend refused to be in the room while I played it because Rapture's residents freaked her out with their insane ramblings. The sequel focused more on the action rather than the story, which was a wise decision as trying to recapture the original game's uniqueness would have been folly. Bioshock is back, but with a new setting, and a chance to strike a new chord in gaming history.

The story seems rather straightforward; the protagonist, Booker, is sent on a mission to free Elizabeth from her fairy tale imprisonment in a tower, part of the not-so-perfect society that exists in the cloud-based city of Columbia. The phrase "Bring us the girl and wipe away the debt" is intertwined in the story as much as "Would you kindly" was part of the first Bioshock. When you finally meet up with Elizabeth, you begin a rocky relationship filled with compelling conversation and useful scavenging. Perhaps the most remarkable thing about escorting Elizabeth through the increasingly violent streets: she's a boon, rather than a burden, even during combat. Not only can she pick locks and open magical "tears" to provide useful objects, she'll also find money and ammo to help you out in your time of need. And best of all, she manages to stay out of harm's way while bullets are flying. When the game separates you from her, you will definitely miss her presence.

Video Game Review - Defiance

I don't have much experience with MMOs. The most time I've spent with one is the handful of hours I had with DC Universe Online back when it launched. That game pretty much met with the expectation I had for all MMOs... constantly respawning enemies, lots of characters running around apparently directionless, and just general chaos. I didn't have high hopes for Defiance, a game I knew very little about going in. But nothing else new was launched that day, so it won my attention by default.

The game ties directly into a new show on SyFy (it always pains me to type that stupid name) that it set to launch April 15. For those keeping track, that's two weeks after the game launched. Not being able to see the show while I was playing the game made me wonder how much of the plots are similar. Are all of these characters part of the show (aside from the player-controlled "Ark Hunters" of course)? There were a couple "episode" missions with characters I know are from the show: Nolan, a bland Han Solo wannabe, and Irisa, his freaky-eyed cohort. Wikipedia says Nolan is a lawman on the show, but he sure seemed like just some treasure hunter in the game; the three of us teamed up to recover some pricey crystal. There promises to be more free episodic content, presumably with these characters, which is something I look forward to.

Video Game Review - Forza Horizon

I'm not a big fan of simulation driving games. I look for more outlandishness in my car-based gaming: arcade-style driving, taking corners at crazy sideways angles, smashing opponents out of the way, and Frenchmen surrendering as I careen into them. The Forza series is none of that, and I've always shied from the franchise because of it. I did play Forza 4, because I'd always heard about the quality of the series, so I thought perhaps it was enough to get me into a game type that always eluded my interest. I was wrong. I found it dull, and an extreme chore to play race after race. I'm just not into cars, and driving faithful recreations of them is a bland proposition. I left the game unfinished, with no desire to ever return.

So, a year later, when Forza Horizon came out, I was wary. It was touted as a more arcade-style entry to the series, but I was still haunted by the previous game that nearly broke my spirits. But, I play damn near everything, so Horizon was given a shot. And I'll be damned, I like it a lot.

Video Game Review - Gears Of War Judgment

Gears of War: Judgment is an odd beast of a game. In many ways, it feels like a rejected piece of DLC from a previous entry; too many changes to satisfy the expectations of the hardcore Gears crowd. And yet what holds back this game from greater heights is its reluctance to go far enough to leave any significant impact on the franchise.

Judgment is the story of Kilo squad: veteran Gears Baird and Cole, along with newcomers Paduk and Sofia. This story is a prequel to the rest of the series, supposedly set shortly after "Emergence Day" although you wouldn't know that just by playing. While the city isn't quite as war-torn as series regulars are used to, there's nothing really to indicate how long they've been actually fighting the Locust. Everyone seems unfazed by these monstrous creatures, and just as well-suited for battle as any of the other games. That's one of the biggest missteps of the conception of this game... its insignificant timeline makes this whole effort meaningless. Why couldn't we play an unprepared squad that encounters the very first wave of these fierce beasts? Or even give us a storyline that ends with the events that led Marcus to wind up in the jail cell that we met him in back in the original Gears?

Video Game Review - The Unfinished Swan

Whenever I find myself amazed by a video game's graphics, it's usually due to some fancypants trick with shiny particles, crazy lens flare, or near-realistic cutscenes. And yet, The Unfinished Swan manages to be constantly awe-inspiring with the simplest of graphics.

The first time I started the game, I thought it had frozen up on me. I was given this blank white screen with a tiny, nearly-unnoticeable circle in the middle. I moved both control sticks around, yet the screen stayed the same. I pressed all the face buttons, but nothing seemed to do anything. Except I could hear faint grunts from a child.

Video Game Review - Tony Hawk Pro Skater HD

It's good to see Tony Hawk games back on the right track. Now they just need to travel a bit further down the line.

I got into the series back on the original Xbox with Tony Hawk Pro Skater 4. The next several years, I would make it a tradition to pick up the new game as it released in October, usually lining up perfectly with Toys 'R Us's annual buy two get one free sale. They didn't grow substantially between each release, but I enjoyed getting back to that familiar playstyle with new maps. That's all I really needed.

American Wasteland and Proving Ground were rough patches, but I had no idea the series would bail so completely with the ill-conceived board peripheral games. I championed for Activision to embrace the HD collection route that's brought back so many last-gen titles. I envisioned one collection being the first three Pro Skater titles (all featuring the two minute objective-based levels), then a second collection containing #4 and the two Underground games. At last, all Tony Hawk games would be available on the 360, and the world would be in balance.

Well, it didn't work out quite that way, but it's still great to finally have some real Tony Hawk action again. Granted, it shouldn't be trumpeted as the second coming, but it helps fill a void.

Like I said, I really got into the series with number four, which left behind the small, timed arenas in favor of spacious, well-crafted, over-the-top stages. I played some of Pro Skater 3, but disliked the time restraint. So it was ironic that the saving grace of the ugly, juttery American Wasteland was the return of the classic mode. It gave me a new appreciation of those bite-sized levels. So now with Tony Hawk Pro Skater HD, a mash-up of the first 2 Tony Hawk games, I feel right at home. I just never would say I was good at it.

There are seven levels, only one available at the start, and completing a set number of goals on a level will unlock the next stage. It's not a cumulative unlocking, however, so completing more tasks on earlier stages won't speed up the level-unlocking process. But the more goals you complete, the more money you'll earn to upgrade your character with higher stats, more special tricks and alternate boards. But these unlocks only apply to the single skater. You'll have to play through the whole game time and again if you want to max out everyone, including your PANXE (Xbox avatar). That's what we call artificially inflating the game content, an age-old gaming tradition. I would have preferred more stages, as this selection feels too light, and I fear its set up just to be bombarded with DLC.

It is a bit difficult to go back to this time before all the expansive tricks from later in the series. I can actually handle not having the combo-extending Revert, which is planned as DLC (talk about game changing... if it's usable in these old stages, high scores will no longer be a challenge). And, sure, it'd be nice if I could control the camera, so I could actually see a collectible that's slightly out of my eyeline before attempting a manic jump. But what I really miss is the wall-plant, so I'll stop splattering violently against walls. Oh, and the ability to level out your skater when they take a crazy arc off a halfpipe. Fancy flatland tricks are missed, as is the ability to switch lip & grinds tricks (without an ollie in between). Also, you can only equip 5 special tricks... what's up with that??

But for older players, those that played the game in its earliest days, this will fit you like a comfy old pair of jeans. Perhaps it won't feel exactly like you remember, but the nostalgic memories will come rushing back. It's like playing Super Mario Bros after a decade away... it's easy to remember where all the gaps and goals are. But that familiarity is puzzling to me. As I mentioned, I never played the first two Tony Hawk games. So why do all of these levels seem so very familiar? I know a couple of them have definitely been around in HD form before, in American Wasteland. Have the others been recycled too?

Another disadvantage I had going into the game, having not played the original games, I had never before encountered the "Big Drop" indicator. If you aren't holding down the A button when you land, you will crash (though if you can land in a grind, you'll be fine). It's not very intuitive, as it will often pop up a split-second before impact.  This must be something they did away with pretty early in the series, as later games featured many areas that would launch you to ludicrous heights, from which you could land with your spine totally unfazed.

Tony Hawk games never were graphical powerhouses, especially with the character models, but the graphics here are fine. They never distract from the game. There are the same odd random glitches that I've come to expect from this series... weird collision problems, random sideways physics (especially at bowl-shaped ramps), and sometimes my character will just decide to fall down. A few times I've even had my A button stop working during gameplay on the Hanger level. It's not my controller because it still works to navigate the pause menu, it just decides it won't let me jump anymore until I start a new round. It's quite inconvenient, I must say.

The lack of local multiplayer is a shocking absence. I might have never picked up the series if I hadn't played some Graffiti Tag at my friend's house. Now, someone else might be missing out on the franchise because they can't play a game without the competitive pressure of Xbox Live. As it is, I found the online multiplayer to be very unstable. I only got into two games, across more than a dozen attempts. Even then, everything moved sluggishly. And the second game never actually ended... when the time ran out, everyone just got locked in place.

Other modes include a pellet-hunting mode called Hawkman (I didn't like it when I tried it in Tony Hawk's Proving Ground, and I still don't like it here), a survival mode that requires you continue doing tricks or your head will explode, or just an untimed practice mode. Also, if you complete every goal on every level, you will be given even more challenging "Projectives". Beat all of those for a sizable gamerscore achievement.

Like the recent Goldeneye remake (another Activision joint), it's obvious this game was not designed to ignite interest from new players, but rather to rekindle the flame of old fans. There is no tutorial mode to help newcomers. There is a map in the pause menu to help find all the goals, but it's not dynamic so even completed goals are still left marked to add confusion. You'll also have to dig deep in the menu system to find a trick list... there are goals that require a specific trick, but it won't list how to perform it. There's no create-a-character, or create-a-skatepark, or even create-a-custom-music-tracklist (Much to-do has been made about the pared down tracklist. None of it really appeals to me, so I just run my own music off my hard drive).

All and all, it's fun, and worth your time... IF you're a hardcore Tony Hawk fan. They should have named it Pro Skater Lite, as there's not a lot of real game here. It's missing so much, especially to draw in a new crowd.

  

2.5 out of 4 Stars.

Recommended for: The Tony Hawk Elite. Those guys putting up the million-plus runs on these two-minute course are exactly who this game is for.

Franchise Fixes: I'm still holding out hope for a complete THPS 4 thru Underground 2 HD Collection (not remake). If they want to "fix" this game, however, perhaps a few free DLC levels would be in order.

Achievements/In-Game Rewards: The vast majority of this achievement list is for the gifted players. I only got the token few for unlocking each level in career mode. Aside from unlocking bonus characters, and cheats (which will disable achievements), there's not much rewarding going on. A sick score will have to be its own reward.