RAGE Review

RAGE (PC)
Developed By: id Software
Published By: Bethesda Softworks
Date of Release: October 4th, 2011
Price: $59.99

I have to be honest, this review almost didn't get written. It's not because RAGE is a bad game, it's far from it. No, this delay was brought to you by a myriad array of bugs that initially kept me from finishing the game. However now that it is patched I have managed to get it running again, and saw it through to the end. Now that I have finished, it's time to review this beast!

Texas based id Software is known far and wide as the company that brought the First Person Shooter (FPS) genre to life, from the nazi-stomping masterpiece Wolfenstein 3D, the demo-slaying action of Doom, and the freak-fragging awesomeness of Quake. id Software has always been on the forefront of FPS technology and gameplay innovation. And now their next big thing has emerged in the form of RAGE.




Rage is set in the post-apocalyptic future, where you awaken from suspended animation in a shelter called an ARK, with no memory of your past. You quickly find out that you're not alone in this strange new world as bandits attack you, however friendly aid soon arrives. The game's first missions serve as an in-depth tutorial on how to play, however FPS veterans will immediately feel at home. Other than some excellent vehicular segments, RAGE is a by the numbers FPS, hearkening back to classic corridor shooters like Doom.

What isn't by the numbers however is the amazing id Tech 5 game engine. Using a new feature known as Megatexturing, id Tech 5 allows for amazing diversity and detail for the graphics by using one massive texture map to cover the game world, a welcome change from the repeated texture tiles of the past. Craggy cliffs, rusted metal, and ruined cityscapes jump off the screen with incredibly breathtaking detail. The character and enemy modelling and animation are also quite excellent.




As said before, the gameplay in RAGE is largely standard FPS fare, however a few interesting tidbits keep things interesting. You can craft various useful items from junk you find lying around the game world, and you can buy upgrades from your arsenal from vendors. When you're tired of traveling on foot you can hop into one of the game's many customizable vehicles and drive to your destination, fending off enemies with your onboard weapons. If you want to upgrade your vehicle's firepower and armor, you're gonna have to head to town and win a few races to save up the cash.

Multiplayer in RAGE is quite different from previous id Software offerings in the fact that it lacks the game mode that id famously pioneered, Deathmatch. Instead, you have two modes, the first of which is Road Rage, a collection of excellent vehicle based races and destruction derbies that make good use of the game's vehicle mechanics. I for one recommend that you have an Xbox 360 game pad connected to your PC for this mode. The other is Wasteland Legends, a co-op journey through various missions with objectives that encourage teamwork.




All in all, RAGE is a satisfying experience with plenty of hidden secrets, sidequests, shout outs to classic id games, and general good fun. The multiplayer will definitely keep you coming back for more as well. FPS aficionados will be busy for a long time with this one. RAGE should not be missed!

Serious Sam: The Random Encounter Review

Serious Sam: The Random Encounter
Developed By: Vlambeer
Published By: Devolver Digital
Date of Release: October 24, 2011
Price: $4.99

In the year 19XX, jRPGs were beginning. The ironically named Final Fantasy hit the scene, and things were good. Random enemy encounters, turn based battles, epic storylines. Over the years the series grew and evolved, spanning nine sequels before things started to get crappy. Why am I discussing a Japanese role playing series in a review about Serious Sam? Simple, Serious Sam: The Random Encounter takes the best of Final Fantasy's turn based random battles and blends with an ample helping of bullet hell action to create a thick hearty smoothie of awesome gameplay.




Dutch indie developer Vlambeer, famous for their titles Super Crate Box and Radical Fishing have managed to retain the series' signature style of humor while distilling the experience down into eye-pleasing pixel art and rocking chiptunes. Sam and his buddies may look retro, but they still have all of their gun-toting machismo, and then some. They are gonna need it too, since they have hordes of Mental's minions to face off against.

The gameplay in SS:TRE is deceptively simple. One must navigate massive world maps nearly an entire screen wide, solving mind boggling puzzles such as getting that key, and when you least expect it, BAM! Random Enemy Encounter!




Battles are fought on a horizontally scrolling battlefield as Sam and co. run backwards and fire at their foes. Sam's classic arsenal is present and accounted for, from his twin revolvers to his minigun. Each turn allows you to set your party's weapons, aim them, and use items. When you choose the command to attack, you take control of the party's vertical movement, which allows you to avoid enemies and their projectiles. With some skillfull shooting, you can win the day. Various items are scattered across the map in chests, including the hilarious Kamikaze Bait, which sends a horde of 100 headless kamikazes rushing at your foes, allowing you to turn the tide of battle.

Altogether it took me just over an hour to see the adventure through to the end, and I honestly did die quite a lot. However game over only means that you start over at the beginning of the map, and you retain your items. An endless mode is available after you finish the main quest, and it offers hours of enjoyable replayability.

Seriously Short. Seriously Sweet. Seriously worth your money.

Beat Hazard Ultra PS3 Review

Beat Hazard Ultra (PS3)
Developed and Published By: Cold Beam Games
Date of Release: 0ctober 19, 2011
Price: $9.99

Your music wants to kill you!

Welcome to the wild world of Beat Hazard Ultra! Do not attempt to adjust your TV, the trippy graphics are not the result of a malfunction OR an LSD trip. Beat Hazard is a twin-stick shooter that uses your music library to procedurally generate wave after wave of enemy fighters, deadly asteroids, and devious bosses.




The gameplay has you piloting your ship's movement with the left stick, and firing your guns with the right. Through collecting powerups dropped by downed enemies you can increase the music volume, boost your ship's power, and add to your score multiplier. You have an option to choose between the tracks included with the game, or MP3s on your PS3's hard drive. In my experience however, even though I have my music separated into neat folders the songs still showed up as a haphazard jumble, no matter which setting I chose.




Supposedly the game bases enemy waves and bullet patterns on the beat and tempo of the music, but whether I was listening to classical music or heavy metal the experience stayed the same. Still I was able to have a decent time playing beat hazard, and it is certainly more interesting than the PS3's built in visualizer. In my opinion however, they should have stuck with the $5 price point from when it was released on the Xbox 360, but shooter junkies may find something worthwhile in this package.

Bejeweled 3 (XBLA) Review

Bejeweled 3 (XBLA)
Developed By: Popcap Games
Published By: Popcap games
Date of Release: October 19, 2011
Price: 1200msp


As you all know, I am a pretty hardcore gamer, and I tend to play the most action packed shooters, rpgs, and the like. So naturally my reviews tend to go in that direction. However today I am bringing a different genre to the table, the casual game. Ladies and Gentlemen, for your consideration: Bejeweled 3.

In the year 2001 Popcap Games took the puzzle gaming world by storm with it's match-3 game, the original Bejeweled. It proved to be wildly popular, even among those who had never played videogames, and it spawned the casual genre, paving the way for sequels and spinoffs galore. And now 10 years later we have Bejeweled 3.




If you have played the earlier entries in the series, then you will feel right at home in Bejeweled 3's Classic Mode, which is simply an untimed gem matching marathon. Matching 3 gems clears them from the board, while new ones drop from above. Matching four gives you a flame gem, when when matched with 3 or more ordinary gems of the same color will detonate the closest gems of any color, and set off any nearby flame gems in a chain reaction. If you match gems in a T or L shape on the board, then you get a star gem, when matches it will detonate the entire lines of gems at it's four poles. Match five gems of the same color and you get a hypercube, which allows you to select an adjacent gem, detonating all gems of the same color on the board. The final special gem in Classic is the supernova gem, which needs 6 gems to be matched by dropping, it will detonate 3x3 rows of gems. The only way to lose in Classic is to run out of swappable gem combinations.

Zen Mode is a new addition to the series, it allows you to play endlessly as in Classic, however the music is much more soothing lending to a relaxing atmosphere. Lightning Mode gives you 60 seconds to match as many gems as you can, and making chains adds to your time limit. Quest Mode gives you various puzzles to solve based on the other modes. There are four secret modes that you must unlock by meeting requirements in the first four, and they are Butterflies, Diamond Mine, Ice Storm and Poker. Butterflies has you matching same colored gems with butterflies to collect them before they are eaten by spiders, Diamond Mine has you digging for buried treasure, Ice Storm has you fending off walls of encroaching ice, and Poker sees you making hands with matched gems. The variety of all these game modes ensures that there is something here for everyone.




The graphics in Bejeweled 3 are crisp and colorful, but they take a backseat to the majestic soundtrack. Composed by Peter Habja and Alexander Brandon of Skaven 252, Each mode has it's own and amazingly distinct theme. Anyone interested can go to their bandcamp site here, and have a listen for themselves.

Bejeweled 3 has a massive variety of gameplay to offer those who play it, as well as a stack of achievements and badges to earn, which adds even more to the already astronomical replay value. Anyone who is into puzzle games, or just wants something quick to play between rounds of their favorite hardcore shooter should take a look.

Gundemonium Collection Review

Gundemonium Collection (Steam)
Developed By: Platine Dispositif
Localized and Published By: Rockin Android
Date of Release: September 27, 2011
Price: $9.99

And now for your consideration, the "Bullet Hell" genre. Sometimes known here in the west as Shoot-Em-Ups, in Japan they are known as Danmaku (literally "curtain of bullets"). Nowhere else will you find a comparably edge-of-your seat, white-knuckle amount of tension from playing a game. From vertical scrollers like Triggerheart Exelica, Touhou and Ikaruga, to sidescrollers like Soldner X and Gradius, the Bullet Hell is all about dodging intricate patterns of flying lead with great finesse, all the while dishing out your own lethal barrage. And now a new contender has arrived to fight for the right to wear the coveted bullet hell crown: Gundemonium Collection.



The Gundemonium Collection is comprised of 3 individual titles, which are the horizontally scrolling Gundemonium Recollection and GundeadliGne, and the vertically scrolling Hitogata Happa. Previously released to great acclaim among shooter fans on the PS3, the Gundemonium Collection has exploded onto Steam with a wonderful assortment of new goodies. Among the new features are numerous tuneups to the game mechanics, Steam achievements, online co-op for GundeadliGne, and arranged soundtracks for Gundemonium and GundeadliGne by DM Ashura, and Hitogata Happa by Woofle.




The first game in the collection is Gundemonium Recollection, and it tells the story of Rozenkreuz Foundation agent Eryth Millfall as she fights the evil Demonium army led by her former comrade, the artificial Chrome Matrix Elixirel. Elixirel has been seduced by the very being she was meant to protect the world from, Gundemonium. The sequel GundeadliGne continues Eryth's story as she teams up with the reborn Elixirel and the new Matrix Masters. Together they face off against the forces of the rogue Matrix Master Lotus, who has turned against humanity out of spite.




As similar as the two games may seem though, they are actually two entirely different beasts. Both have you controlling your character on a horizontally scrolling field dodging waves of enemy bullets, which will only cause you harm if they come into contact with your character's Fatal Point, which on each character is represented by a scarf, bell or gem on their chest.

Both games have you juggling various special abilities to help you blow away your foes as you dodge between their shots. For example, getting close to enemy bullets without being hit builds up Friction, which restores your mana. You also have a limited number of bombs at your disposal, which when activated turns all enemy bullets onscreen into collectable gems, with the proper timing you can use this to avoid being killed by enemy attacks. Both of the games have hidden true forms for the final bosses, but only the truly adept will ever meet the astringent requirements to face off against them.



The third game in the series is Hitogata Happa, and it is a completely different experience from it's companions. It is a vertical scrolling shooter where you control an army of flying dolls to fight off enemy mecha, and face off against massive bosses. At any time you can charge up a kamikaze explosion attack, and sacrifice one of your dolls as a contact bomb to inflict greater damage. It can really turn the tide of battle, but use it sparingly as you are limited to the amount of dolls that you can afford. Dolls are paid for with the gems you collect from defeating enemies, so get out there and cause as much carnage as you can!




The anime style art direction on all three titles is nothing short of amazing, with gorgeous hand-drawn sprites and backgrounds. The characters are vibrant and well animated, and the stunning array of bullet patterns will leave you mesmerized. As for the music, the original soundtrack does it's job, albeit with a midi-era quality. Switch to the arranged soundtracks however, and you are in for a treat. Every track in each game has been lovingly arranged and retooled masterfully. The two Gundemoniums soundtracks are provided by DM Ashura, and Hitogata Happa is arranged by Woofle. I would imagine that if there is enough demand that Rockin Android will have to consider releasing an OST album, the music is just THAT good.



Gundemonium Collection is an amazingly well polished experience that is enjoyable by hardcore bullet hell fans and newcomers alike, though fair warning: it will not be a cakewalk. Bullet Hell games have long been known for the level of skill needed to navigate them, but with a bit of patience and practice anyone can master them. The games have a good amount of variety in their game mechanics, which each title able to stand on it's own. Demos of each game in the collection are now up on Steam, so shooter fans have no excuse not to give it a try. Gundemonium Collection is a worthy addition to anyone's library.