The Wolf Among Us - Episode 1: Faith - Review

Available: Xbox 360, PC, PS3

For anyone who doesn't know, The Wolf Among Us is Telltale Games' follow up to the critically acclaimed Walking Dead series.  I was late to the party on The Walking Dead and picked up all 5 episodes in one go, but to be honest I found them a little bit disappointing after all the hype they had been getting.  So much so that I haven't even felt the urge to finish the last two episodes yet - though I definitely will at some point.  Parts of it were amazing, but there were a few things that held it back from really grabbing me.  The main issue I had was the illusion that you had a real choice in how the story advanced - yes you got to make some tough choices at times, letting one character live over an another etc. but you still had to watch your character do some really dumb shit at points, forcing you into bad scenarios that you could see coming a mile off.

So, having been disappointed with TWD why was I so interested in The Wolf Among Us that I downloaded it as soon as I got home on Friday?  Well, for all the problems I had with The Walking Dead there was still a lot of it to enjoy so I was intrigued to see what they did to follow it up, the setting of the game really appealed to me and the £3-something price tag definitely played a part in it!

The Wolf Among Us is similar to TWD in that it takes an existing fictional universe and creates an original tale within it.  In this case it's set in the world of the Fables comic series.  Personally I had never heard of the comics, but don't let that put you off at all as this game is set as a prequel to them assuming absolutely no prior knowledge.  The basic gist of the story is that a load of characters from the Fairy Tales that we all know have had to flee from their homeland and have taken refuge in an area of Manhattan known as "Fabletown".  You'll see plenty of characters that you instantly recall, but the main one of interest and the one that you play in this tale is the "Big Bad Wolf", who now goes by the name of Bigby and is acting Sheriff of Fabletown. 

The non-human Fables have developed a form of magic known as "Glamour" that will conceal their identity and make them appear human, but it costs money and if you can't pay then you are sent to live on "The Farm", a place that you may (or may not) visit in future episodes but don't see here which is located in upstate New York.  So, having set the scene, let's get to how the game plays

The game opens with a bang, as you're immediately called into action as Sheriff answering a complaint about what seems to be a domestic fight.  From the outset you're able to mould Bigby into whatever character you want him to play out as - you can politely knock on the door, or you can huff and puff and kick the thing in.  Naturally I chose the latter.  From here I was thrust straight into a fight sequence, though this may be avoidable if you're a bit more professional in your approach.

I'm glad the game started out like this because it provides an immediate opportunity to show how much the gameplay in the action scenes has improved since The Walking Dead.  Controlling the fight just seems a lot more natural and smooth than before.  You control Bigby's actions using a mixture of the analogue sticks, face buttons and the triggers using a combination of good timing and mashing the buttons as fast as you can.  Another thing that I *really* liked here is that the button prompts are done in the same art style as the rest of the game, so you don't have some garish green button popping up breaking your immersion in the world.  It reminded me a lot of the kind of in-game-world prompts made popular by Splinter Cell Conviction.  The fights can be really brutal at times, with you targeting specific body parts and delivering crunching kicks to the kneecap or punches to the throat.  The sound effects play a great part in making these sequences so immersive.

While we're on the topic of sound effects I feel I should mention that the soundtrack of the game is fantastic as well - it really sets the scene for a grimy and gritty urban tale.  Add to the this the beautiful art work and style - gorgeous neon EVERYWHERE - and you have an atmosphere better than any game I've played in a long while.

Things in Fabletown seem just about bearable on the surface, but the sinister undertones are evident from the go and it doesn't take long for things to boil over.  Without wanting to spoil the story (since it's the main draw of the game), you're soon investigating a grisly murder with very little evidence to go on.

There are a lot of shady characters you're introduced to and it's hard to tell whether their attitude towards you belies truly bad intentions or if they're simply fed up with the perceived shitty approach you have to doing your job.  The Fables may be living their life in Fabletown, but it would be a stretch to say any of them are happy to be doing so.

One of the joys I had while talking to different characters was the fact that the majority are characters that you're familiar with - Snow White, Beauty & The Beast, Ichabod Crane, Tweedle Dum and Tweedle Dee - but they are far removed from the versions of the characters that you know.  Yes they're still fantastical characters, but they also have a more realistic edge to them and seeing them adjusting to New York life is fascinating.  The script is brilliant, darkly funny and well acted by all concerned.

The conversational choices you have as Bigby are well designed to let you play the character however you want him to be.  In The Walking Dead it never felt natural to me to play Lee as an asshole, he seemed like a good guy and personally I always felt compelled to go down that route.  If you took the 'renegade' option it felt that Lee was behaving that way almost reluctantly.  With Bigby you have a character that is much more of a double edged sword - a man that wants to do his job and serve the Fables, prove that he's turned over a new leaf but who also takes an awful lot of shit from people and isn't afraid to push back when needed.  When you choose the darker option it feels like Bigby gets a real relief out of it with a pang of regret while accepting what he really is.  Whatever way you choose to play Bigby it would seem believable.

Episode 1 is relatively short, it took me about 3 and a half hours but that included playing one section twice due to the autosave points sometimes being a bit far apart.  It's a decent length for the price and left me desperate for more.  I'll definitely be downloading Episode 2 as soon as it's released because I just can't get enough of this world.  In the first episode the game has addressed almost all of the things that stopped me really loving The Walking Dead so here's hoping that trend continues.

I only have two niggles with the game, the first would be the aforementioned save system not giving you the option to save at any point and potentially leading you to replay an investigation section which can seem a little tedious when you've already completed it shortly before.  Secondly the frame rate can dip and cause the game to stutter at certain points, especially during cutscenes.  For a game that isn't that graphically intensive this is disappointing and can harm the otherwise near-perfect immersion that the game provides.

I wouldn't let either of these things put you off playing though.  The game is short and very reasonably priced so if you're sitting around on your own this weekend wondering what movie to watch, you should maybe give 3 hours to The Wolf Among Us and see if you enjoy it as much as I did.  There are four more episodes to go in this series, but if you don't enjoy this one you're under no obligation to play them.  Personally, I've already bought the Season Pass because The Wolf Among Us is the best game I've played in a long while.

XBLA Retrospective Part III - Peggle

It would have been easy to review Fez next, given that it's just seen a re-release on the PC - but since my past two entries have also been platformers I thought I'd change it up a bit. And now (in the words of Montgomery Python) for something completely different...

Your host for this evening is a unicorn.  Yes, along with his friends the crab, the rabbit, the alien, the pumpkin, the dragon and the owl.  You're still here?  Good!  Because once you get past the initial silliness there's actually an incredibly addictive, challenging and fun puzzle game here.  And a lot more silliness.

The basic premise of the gameplay is that you fire a ball from the top of the screen and try to hit as many of the 'pegs' as you can on the way down.  At the start of each level, 25 of the pegs are turned orange and you need to clear all of these to clear the level.  The selection of pegs that turn orange is randomised each time so every time you load up a level it will be slightly different.  The majority of the pegs remain blue but hitting these will still get you points towards your high score and in a lot of cases you'll need to knock some of these on the head to access the orange ones.

Each level has the pegs laid out differently so there is usually a particular approach you should take rather than just hit and hope.  Each character has their own special power that you can activate - one of them gives you pinball like flippers, one allows you to see a projected path that the ball will take on your shot so you can line up the perfect bounce to take out as many pegs as possible while another ability will automatically adjust your shot ever so slightly to get you the best outcome and can result in some truly high scoring shots!  These powers don't really change the game that much, but that's a good thing as it means all the levels are as fun as each other while still giving them a fresh twist.





You typically have 10 shots to play around with in order to clear the level but there's the extra gameplay mechanic of a moving pot at the bottom of the screen that adds an extra layer of complexity to your tactics - should your ball land in the pot it gets added to your total again, so if you can pull it off you will essentially get a free shot.  This can prove very valuable, especially if you're lining up a very tricky shot - time it right and even if you miss you'll get your ball back.

The graphics in Peggle are pretty simple, but they're sharp, bright and really engaging.  Even the background images are well thought out and add to the overall atmosphere of the game.  What really takes Peggle to the next level though is the sound - it gives this otherwise simple puzzle game a really epic feel.  From the effects of the ball bouncing about racking up points to the compelling soundtrack.  Finish a level and rather than a simple "Well done" message you have an over the top celebration complete with Ode To Joy blaring out of your speakers.  As you close in on your last orange peg the camera zooms in and the game is slowed down so even a near miss feels epic!

Peggle probably suffered a bit by being released too early to take full advantage of it's target audience.  If it had came out after the massive success of Angry Birds then I think it would have taken off massively as in my opinion it's a far superior puzzle game.  It's the type of game your parents, grandparents, girlfriend etc. would enjoy, but to be honest I'd be surprised if any gamer doesn't have a great time playing it.  If you've played it and you didn't enjoy it, there's a pretty good chance you have no soul.

It's difficult to explain the joy of Peggle with mere words so check out the video below and then find a way to play it yourself.  I played it on XBLA, but it's available on almost any format so really you have no excuse!  If you're looking for a time-killer that you can plan to play for 10 minutes but still be there two hours later then this is the one.

XBLA Retrospective Part II - 'Splosion Man/Ms. 'Splosion Man

I figured it was worth lumping these two games in together as they are both very much worth your time!  I played through both of them when they were first released and they are honestly some of the best downright fun I've had in this generation of games.  You'll not find any tearful cutscenes or Hans Zimmer scores here - what you will find is cheap comedy (Arnie impressions and blowing up fat guys) and really really good platforming.  And explosions.  Lots of explosions.

The basic premise is that you ('Splosion Man or Ms. 'Splosion Man) are the result of a science experiment gone wrong.  You are essentially a bundle of energy shaped like a person that will explode with very little encouragement.  You use this "talent" to make your way around the levels in two ways, firstly it acts as your ability to jump - secondly it will acts as your only weapon in the game.  When you explode it throws you into the air acting as a jump, while in the air you can explode again to give you a double or triple jump.  You only store enough energy to do a triple jump, but you regain your energy when you land on the ground and you can refill your energy by sliding down a wall or going through a flame so there are times in the game that you spend a good 20 seconds jumping around without touching the ground - where one wrong move can be fatal.

That's another thing about 'Splosion Man - it can be very hard at times, but never unfairly so.  You usually know what you need to do quickly enough, but it's all about accurate timing and reflexes.  There are lots of incredibly challenging but fun puzzles to figure out along the way and there are more than 50 levels in each game so they will last you a long time.





In addition to the single player mode both games feature a co op mode with a whole new set of levels.  This is devilishly fun but at times incredibly frustrating.  Now you don't have to just get your own timings right, you have to get your timings in sync with your partner.  Luckily by pulling the left trigger you can kick off a three second countdown so that you can plan to execute your plan simultaneously.  This is a real lifesaver but still requires a lot of communication so is better suited to "couch co-op" rather than online - or at least with someone that you know.

In terms of differences between the two games, there aren't an awful lot.  The playstyle is exactly the same, but the sequel (Ms. 'Splosion Man) just does things on a much larger scale.  The puzzles are more inventive, the levels are longer and the art style is a lot more interesting than the slightly samey levels from the original game.





The only criticism I have of the first game is the boss battles can be a bit underwhelming and don't really match the rest of the game.  The mini bosses that feature in the middle of a few levels are much better and involve you being chased by a giant robot through an obstacle course with the hope that you can reach the end before he catches you and set off a laser to destroy him.  Intense and - there's that word again - fun.  The bosses in Ms. 'Splosion Man are much improved.

Admittedly I haven't played a lot of 2D platformers this gen, but Splosion Man/Ms. Splosion Man are probably my favourites of the bunch - they're cheap and you can get them without leaving your house.  If you're looking for a platform game or something you can play with your friends that are a lot of fun then definitely look them up.  If you were a fan of Earthworm Jim or the Ren & Stimpy games from the 90s you will love them.  Ms. 'Splosion Man is the better game all round, but 'Splosion Man can be had for cheaper and is still brilliant so that is probably the better choice if you aren't sure.  If you like it though you will absolutely love the sequel so try them both out!


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XBLA Retrospective Part I - Braid

I figured I might as well start this retrospective with the game that first made me properly realise what XBLA was capable of.  When Braid was first released, many balked at the 1200ms points price that has since become the norm.  I guess they can be forgiven because prior to Braid there hadn't been many games released that were worth 1200 points, but to put things in perspective that's less than £10.  I'd probably put Braid in the top 5 games I've played this gen, so yes it's definitely worth spending £10 on.

The first thing that strikes you about this game is the absolutely outstanding soundtrack and art style.  Seriously, you could probably print off some screenshots of this game and sell them in a gallery.  The levels and backgrounds are bloody beautiful and highly detailed.  There are no original pieces of music in the game - the developer's thinking behind this was that someone had probably already made the perfect music for it and it would be easier for him to achieve his vision that way than to try to explain what he wanted to someone else to custom make it.  I assume he got what he wanted because the soundtrack matches the theme of the game perfectly. Check out an example here.

On face value Braid is a 2D platformer where you play as a young man called "Tim" and try to save his princess.  The truth is, both the gameplay and the story have a lot more depth than it would first appear and the further you go the more intriguing they both become.  There are a lot of obvious (and nice) nods to Mario and while it's clearly inspired by the platformer cliche that Mario has created, the game actually has very little in common with it.

Quite early on you're introduced to the idea that Tim can control time - at the start this is pretty simple stuff, hold down a button and time goes backwards, erasing any mistakes you may have made.  The clever thing about this is that this gameplay mechanic ties into the themes presented in the story - Tim obviously has a lot of regrets relating to the "princess" that he wishes he could undo.  Another nice touch is that your traversal of time also affects the soundtrack so you'll hear the music and sound effects scratching back and forth as if Tim was really a red-headed DJ rocking the glowsticks in Ibiza.

As the game continues on your ability to control time becomes more advanced depending on which of the 6 worlds you're playing through.  As these abilities come in to play the game becomes more like a puzzle game than a simple platformer and this is where the game comes into it's own.  One world sees you controlling time with your movement - walk forwards and the world around you advances, walk backwards and time goes backwards - while another gives you the regular ability to reverse time, but doing so creates a shadow of yourself that will repeat the actions you have just reversed.  This effectively means you can be in two places at once and leads to some truly mind bending puzzles.  One really nifty (though small) use of this can be seen here, though if you don't want to spoil the hair pulling fun and incredible relief at actually figuring it out I wouldn't bother looking.

One of my favourite things about Braid is the way the story is presented - it's not thrown in your face the way that 90% of games are.  It takes time and a bit of thinking on your part for it to fully unravel and this mystery is what really drives you onwards in your journey.  The worlds and the puzzles themselves serve as metaphors for the story, which has a number of levels to it for you to figure out.

When you reach the end of Tim's journey and your own journey you will be left with a game that really sticks with you.

If you need all that in a checklist format, here you go:
+ Great graphics
+ Great sounds
+ Great story
+ Great gameplay
- Once you've played it you can't rewind time and enjoy it for the very first time again.

At least I can't enjoy it for the first time - some of you probably still can.


If my review wasn't your cup of tea I apologise, but I can guarantee you will enjoy Soulja Boy's take on it (yes, that Soulja Boy).




And be sure to check out the trailer below!

A Fond Farewell to XBLA

As the Xbox 360 enters the last year of its life I think it's fair to say that it (along with the PS3) will go down as a fantastic console.  This generation there have been far more multi platform games released than ever before with very few 3rd party exclusives being released on either console.  Sure, you had the Halos, the Gears of Wars, the Uncharteds, the Infamouseses's and a few driving games but the majority of the big hitters that will define this generation landed on Sony's big black box and Microsoft's smaller white (and then black) box at around the same time.

In years past choosing a console boiled down to what games you wanted to play and while that's still a factor this gen it became more about the other things - which controller you preferred, free online or not, what console your friends had, whether you wanted a Blu Ray player or not.  For me though, one thing that has set the Xbox 360 above the PS3 is the Xbox Live Arcade (or XBLA, pronounced "ksbla").  What started off as a place for Geometry Wars and a load of crap, eventually blossomed into the place where Microsoft would nail down some of the best titles not available on a PS3.  Wise move? Probably not, but it works for me.

OK, so technically it's still "games" but just go with it.

Some of the best memories I'll have of this generation have come from XBLA.  I've played a lot of excellent retail games, but I've also played a lot that I've chugged through for 8-12 hours enjoying the gameplay and then pretty much forgotten the entire bland story.  I enjoyed them, but they didn't really stick with me afterwards and I had no real desire to go back and play them again.  On the other hand I've played through a number of 4-6 hour XBLA titles that really stuck with me and I've replayed numerous times - not to get some useless collectables, not to unlock some achievement points - just, you know, for fun.

I'm not dismissing games like Assassins Creed 2, Bioshock, Mass Effect, Fallout 3, Halo Reach, Dead Space, Red Dead, Mirror's Edge - those games gave me great memories and created such a great atmosphere that they'll stick with me for a long time.  But there are some XBLA games that matched or bettered the experience I had with those games, something I never expected when I first tried the Marble Blast Ultra demo and then got stuck with it in my Games Played list.

The sad thing is that I know plenty of Xbox owners that have never downloaded a single arcade game. You never see ads on TV for them or hear people talking about them or see them in a shop.  So they go largely unnoticed, which is a real shame.

Over the next 12 months I'm going to run a retrospective of some of my favourite XBLA titles that I've played in the last few years (not just exclusives), so feel free to read them and hopefully I'll point you in the direction of an amazing game you barely even knew existed.

Trials RAGE-olution

Anyone who recognises the part of the game shown in the image below will feel my pain - and there was pain, believe me! But after quite a few hours of trying I have earned my second Demon On Wheels achievement for besting all of the Extreme Tracks (like a boss).

Gold medals next?! Not likely! I'm going to retire from Trials Evolution and remember the good times it gave me for the first 8-10 hours or so rather than the last hour that made me feel like putting a controller through my TV.

Games I Want - Part II: Trials Evolution (XBLA)

This is a bit of an unplanned blog post today, but I felt I had to whenever I realised that Trials Evolution is released tomorrow on Xbox Live Arcade!

Trials HD is one of my favourite titles this generation.  At its core this is a platforming game with a time trial element - except you're on a motorbike.  And you're traversing through a strange obstacle course in some madman's warehouse.  There's no story, no reason behind what you're doing.  You're just trying to get from the start to the finish as fast as possible.  The controls themselves are very simple - accelerate, brake, lean forward, lean back - but it's all about using these moves in combination and with near perfect timing.  The early levels in Trials HD were pretty simple, involving a few ramps and jumps to allow you to just have fun working your way through them.  As you get on to the harder courses the game gets tough - like hair pulling, controller throwing tough!  I'm proud to say I was able to complete all the Trials of the first game - though some of them took a lot of attempts.

So what does Trials Evolution bring to the table to up the ante?  To be honest if it was just more of the same I'd still be hyped about the game and would buy it in a flash, but surely it's not just called "Evolution" for a laugh?

As you can see from the above screenshot the action moves outside of the weird warehouse seen in Trials HD and into larger landscapes and some frankly stunning backgrounds.  If you look a little closer at the screenshot though you'll see something that has me really excited.  Yep, there are four bikes in that shot, all racing at the same time.  One of the most addicting things about Trials HD was the online leaderboards - completing a track, seeing how you stack up against your friends, and then doing your damnedest to beat them!  The feature was brilliantly integrated to the game as it gave you notifications during the level of how you were doing in relation to your friends and I'd imagine it will still be integral in Evolution, however the ability to actually race your friends in real time will be manic and a hell of a load of fun.

They also seem to have improved the level editor a whole lot making anything possible if the trailer is to be believed.  To be honest I don't have the patience to make the most of a feature like this, but for a lot of people this will be the main draw of the game.  If you're a LittleBigPlanet fan then this will interest you greatly.  And hey, even if you don't plan on making any levels yourself at least you can try out other people's creations!  

As this is just a preview I'm not sure of what else has been added/improved but I know I'll be spending hours finding out - check out the jaw dropping trailer below and let me know what you think.  Hopefully I'll see you on those leaderboards!

Phil

P.S. If you ever played Elastomania you will love this game.  If you never played Elastomania then go and download it right now!

Games I Want - Part I: Fez Preview

I have to say, my favourite "innovation" of this generation is downloadable games like those available on XBLA. They've brought back the kind of so called 'simple' games of years gone by that wouldn't have a shot in hell of being a success if you stuck them in a shop for £40, that's if shops would even stock them.

Fez is latest game to be released on XBLA, and it's got me very interested. At first glance it could be any old 2D platformer from the 8 bit era as the graphics are very simple, but the art style is fantastic and of course they've been HD'd up and as a result the game looks beautiful.

As was the case with a lot of NES era games the simple visuals seem to mask what is a much more complex game. The 'twist' in Fez is a literal one, as you can manipulate the 2D plane to give a new perspective on the environment allowing you to discover unseen items or find a new path to continue through the level. This gameplay mechanic has the potential to turn into a puzzle game nearly as much as a platformer.

Fez was released yesterday for 800 MS points so somewhere around the £6 mark, cheaper than I expected given that most high profile Arcade games come out for 1200 points. I've downloaded the free trial but haven't given it a go yet, if anyone has then feel free to post your thoughts below. I'll be sure to buy the full version once I get some points loaded onto my account and will have a full review once I complete it. That could be a while given my stack at the minute! Reviews for the game have been mostly glowing so I'm looking forward to getting stuck into it.

Why not download the free trial and let me know what you think? It's free and you might discover a gem. Thanks again for reading.

Phil