Game News and Reviews

Tomb Raider: Lara Croft Reborn Latest News

A re-designed Lara looking pretty pee'd off

Lara Croft is the latest gaming character of days gone by to make a block buster return to our consoles. Development team Crystal Dynamics are the brains behind the new Tomb Raider game. It wont be as linear as other Tomb Raider games. Previously we were given a route to follow and had to jump, climb and clamber over various obstacles to continue on our path. This time around we can go off the beaten track as any good explorer would. The developers want to try something new so it will be a change from the old style Tomb Raider franchise but hopefully a change for the better. This time you wont be led down a pre-set track full of annoying obstacles. You can roam around and explore the beautifully designed levels. The development team keep referring to this as "Dynamic Traversal". The paths you can roam are based around campfire hubs. You can revisit the hubs at any time, but you need to use the XP system in the game to gain abilities and skills to access some of these paths. Lara learns abilities, skills and finds tools as you go so you learn with her. To start with, she can barely look after herself and this can clearly be seen in the game but soon she becomes a killing machine to be wary of.

At one point in the latest gameplay preview Lara can be seen launching arrows into a deer from her newly acquired bow and arrow and this clearly shows us how low her skill level of shooting is to start with. Its pretty bad i'm certain id do better myself ! This part of the game play at its core is training both Lara and yourself throughout the course of the game. The world in this game is deadly convincing. There is a more mature feel to this game than previous Tomb Raiders and even Lara herself is designed to be more of a heroin than eye candy for teenage boys. The game is being hailed as a survival action game as opposed to a platformer as before. There is an air of Uncharted 3 with this game but the developers are quick to discourage this kind of talk stating that it's a different experience and not at all like Uncharted 3. Its a survival action game with elements of psychological survival more than the type of survival that would entail rationing your pee to drink later. The story try's to wear Lara down and she has to find the strength to cling to life. This game looks like one to watch for sure.

Set for release on PC, XBOX 360, PS3

The Geekness Monster!!

Hitman Absolution: Will it hit the spot?

Yes yes yes. Hitman Absolution draws nearer and nearer. For anyone who may not be used to the Hitman series of games, basically you play a hitman and have to kill your marks by any means. You can go in all guns blazing causing mayhem or go stealthy like a cat (a big bald cat with guns). The stealthier the kill, the better your marks and ranking at end of each level. The series is known for great gameplay, acting, graphics and story lines .The usual applies with the new game, dumping bodies, hiding for hours learning off patrol guards routes around levels. Patience is a must to obtain the highest ranking. The new tech in Hitman Absolution can handle thousands of people in a crowd on a single level. With a density like that finding your mark will be hard done, making the game more realistic yet again. The beauty of these Hitman games is all the different ways of completing your mission, giving each game huge replay value. Hitman Blood Money is a must have and you can pick it up so cheap now you would be a fool not to buy and clear it before Absolution comes out. I will do a full review of Hitman Blood Money soon. For now back to Hitman Absolution, the team behind the game IO promise great things from this game.

Over the last few years alot of games have changed from stealthy approached to run and gun. Games like Splintercell Conviction, Metal Gear and others have taken the run and gun approach, completely losing that strict stealth gameplay. The newest game to take on this action-orientated gameplay is IO's Hitman Absolution. In the previous Hitman games the star Agent 47 was very easily killed. You would make a small mistake in the level, piss some guy off who would raise an alarm and suddenly you would find yourself running for your life, ultimately ending with 47 dying in a pool of blood. Its starting to seem that Agent 47 is now a human wrecking ball in Hitman Absolution.

In the latest play through he elimated three baddies with an axe, cleared rooms in slow mo with automatic weapons and basically ran around like a mad man slaughtering those who stood in his way. The developers are reassuring us this is only one way of completing your mission but im still uneasy about how hard he was to kill. I really loved the level of realism in the other Hitman games from the franchise. The game showed beautiful graphics, great sound and was as good if not better than any action game on the market at the minute, but it just didn't seem like the Hitman games we would have grown up with.

Its clear what the developers have been trying to do. They want it to appeal to a broader audience. This style of run and gun will appeal to those who aren't great at stealth games. The guys at IO call this "Non-pro Play" where you basically bash your way through everyone to complete your mission. The best way to comlete the mission will still be to hide and sneak, killing henchmen and goons along the way. Make sure to hide the bodies and where possible leave no trace anyone was there at all. We have been promised the old Hitman style is very much in charge here.

There are new abilities in the game available to Agent 47 using his new Instinct Meter which can be seen on the bottom right of the HUD. One of these abilities is being able to see through walls and see exactly where enemies are or might walk to. This is very much like Batman's Detective Mode in Arkham City (check out our Arkham City post). Agent 47 also copies our buddy John Marston (Red Dead Redemption) in his slow mo shooting skills. John Marston uses his Dead Eye ability in the game to mark and shoot numerous enemies in slow motion. Agent 47 can also use his Instinct to do something very similar bursting into a room and cleaning the walls with the red jam taken from the heads of his five enemies in the room (umm jam..). This precision firearms work has been nick named "Point Shoot" by IO developers. While trying this why not tag an explosive item and watch the craziness that follows. After you tag your men and pull that trigger we see some very Max Payne esque cinematics. This lets you sit back and really enjoy your handiwork as their brains splatter and guts spill you start to convince yourself your utterly untouchable!

The Instinct Meter isnt available 24/7. It is through stealthy gameplay that the player builds the Instinct Meter so make sure that body isn't discovered. Im sure the game is in good keeping with it's predecossor and will retain that excellent stealthy finish to it. Could I also point out while I have you that the Hitman movie is worth watching. I will do a full review on it soon so make sure to check back soon under the movie tab.


The game is set for release in Nov 2012 and is available on pre-order also for PC, Xbox 360 and PS3

Comment people!! I want to see your opinions here. Thanks for reading guys we are working hard and tonnes of reviews and news at the moment so watch this space this blog should be jammed packed with news and fun soon. Also subscribe to be in with a chance of winning our giveaway competitions at the end of each month!!

The Geekness Monster signing out!!

Max Payne 3 : Review by a gamer for gamers (Xbox 360)

Ok so its time. Max Payne is finally back. Its his first outing on a Next Gen console and he wants to make a big entrance. I was delighted to hear that Rockstar studios were developing the project as I'm a  massive fan of their work and yet again they have succeeded in producing a top class game. The game falls just short of being an absolute masterpiece. The artwork, the sound effects, the amazing graphics, the unreal bullet time gameplay and that Max Payne mature theme make this game a great purchase. The only thing I would find a small fault with is the story line as I found it a small bit far fetched. I know, I know all games are bit far fetched  such as time travel and futuristic robots etc but I just felt the story lines of the first two Max Payne games were more suited to his background. All that being said I cant stress enough what a great game this. Its truly amazing.

For all of you who are unfamiliar with the Max Payne games of the past ( not many of you i'm sure :) ) you play as a tragic ex cop Max Payne. His story is one of sadness and loss. He lost his wife and infant child at the hands of criminals in the first game. Max is addicted to pain killers, whiskey and trying to be the good guy saving women. Unfortunately for him the women he wants to save usually end up sailing up shish creek. He has ended up a total walking disaster of a man. For me I found alot of similarities in Max Payne 3 and the movie Man On Fire starring the one and only Denzel Washington. Man On Fire is a movie about a washed up army guy with a pill and drink problem that affects his ability to protect people. Denzels character gets a job as a bodyguard for a wealthy family in Mexico. The similarities to Max Payne 3 are uncanny. Max gets a job protecting a wealthy family in Brazil. Its a series of parties, meetings, drinking and helicopter rides for Max and the wealthy people he protects all the while Max sits quietly in the background with  a whiskey in his hand and bored look on his face. At the end of each day he goes home to his tiny crappy apartment and swollows more whiskey and more painkillers. Its an extremely unhappy existence. Things change for even more unpleasant circumstances when each person he was paid to protect ends up getting kidnapped, leading our main man Max into investigative work and ultimately on a path for revenge maybe even redemption. You will find yourself immersed in the beautifully rendered levels and great surroundings. Max hits the Favelas of Sao Paolo, office blocks, football stadiums and night clubs. A lot you Max Payne fans will love the flashbacks  to New Jersey really getting back to the original Remedy Max Payne days. I just wish this was more of this in the game that is only fault I could find. Some people say the game gets repetitive buts its simply too much fun to be repetitive. I cant explain the rush you will get leaping through a door in slow mo and emptying your clip into the skulls of four bad guys :). Splat. The bullet time is top class its what the game centers around. Even you know who John Woo would have to appreciate this. It is this mechanic of the game that makes it most fun. You can enter bullet time and everything will go in slow motion giving you time to leap through the air picking your enemies off and making slush of their heads in the process. Its very satisfying indeed.

The graphics are very detailed and every level looks as good as it would for a big block bluster movie and as always Max's narration throughout the game really is the icing on the cake. It  will have you really glued to the game and make you connect with Max as a character. His self hating, brutally honest, and dark rants throughout the game leave you wanting to fix this guys life.

You will find the campaign to be lenghty and tough. I played it for about 17 hours before clearing it. Then there is huge replay value as you want to re-live it all again and try it on a harder level setting. Arcade mode then offers you the chance to replay individual levels and try to get high scores on your favourite parts of the game. 

The online gaming offers you endless hours of fun. You can join a crew or clan with thousands of friends and play online all night. There are two main things I could fault about this game. I just wish more of the game was set in New Jersey like the previous two Max Payne games that Remedy created. I find the settings in this game to be amazing but just not really the Max Payne I knew years ago. Then secondly seeing as it was a Rockstar game I was really hoping for some level of open world or sand box but found it very linear. Im aware that the original Max Payne was linear but it would have been really cool If it was even like LA Noire (Rockstar) .My friends say im a hypocrite because on one level im complaining its not enough like Max Payne and on the other I wish they change the whole gameplay completely so maybe dont mind me. Just go out and pick up this game straight away and make up your mind because either way its a must have. Great buy, probably one of my best games, certainly wont be trading or selling it and im sure you will agree when you buy it.

My Overall Score: 9/10 (Really Great Game)

Love to hear your views and opinions so please feel free to comment people! 

The Geekness Monster