SPECIAL REVIEW : The Wolf Among Us - Ep. 1 "Faith"

 

 I AM VERY EXCITED TO BRING YOU THIS REVIEW. I have been looking forward to this game for a long time now, and me being an avid supporter of developer Telltale, I will pour my soul into this episodic game review. My friend Sri also played this game recently, so check his review too, if you like. "http://indiburger.blogspot.com/". 
   The Setting and Story

NOTE: This series is based on the Fables comic series by Bill Willingham, set 30 years before the first comic.

He'll tear your arm off, you know.

Welcome to Fabletown, a hidden part of New York City where "Fables" have been removed from fairy tale homelands and forced to scrape together an existence. You are Bigby Wolf, the Big Bad Wolf if you will, the acting Sheriff of Fabletown. As you have a violent past behind you, residents of Fabletown are slow to trust you, but you do your best to prove you've changed...or that you're still a loose cannon. When a fellow fable is brutally murdered, its up to you to piece together how it happened and who the culprit is. Over a five-episode series, you will be forced to make tough decisions, and shape how Bigby appears to the citizens of the town he protects. 
The Gameplay

The Wolf Among Us is largely a point-and-click game, peppered with a few amazing QTE's. These fights let you sometimes choose the literal direction a fight goes, such as whether you should beat them with your fist or throw them(and yourself) out a window. The narrative is built so that your important choices are recorded, and will be remembered in future episodes. The story will force you to make hard choices, such as to help a friend in need, or take down an important suspect. These decisions WILL change how the story unfolds, and may lead to some unfortunate ends to certain characters. Be warned, this game is violent.

What's Wrong

The game is bogged down by a sometimes slow framerate, and bad transitions between dialogues. HOWEVER, I rarely ran into these problems on my PC.

The Verdict

"Faith" sets the stage for an incredible thriller, and I, having purchased the season pass, will be here to experience it. Hopefully, if you like a good story, you will become the Big Bad Wolf...

Score : 9.5/10

Future Fun Times and Such...

Seem legit.

As my reviews has been going fantastically so far(sarcasm is fun), I felt that it was necessary to outline my future reviews for the next few posts. My next three reviews will focus on the later entries in the Dead Space series, the second and third entry. I was too scared to finish the first game and I don't plan on finishing it in the future. This series is excellent in its own way, as Isaac is a broken hero, who by the beginning of Dead Space 3 may as well be on the verge of suicide. The gameplay shines in its atmosphere and how fun it is to dismember your foes. One such experience is to stasis and enemy, shoot his bladed limb off, grab it with Kinesis, and impale him with it. It's these kinds of moments that will create stories of your desperate struggles to survive in the bloodied metros of the Sprawl, to the desolation of Tau Volantis. Secondly, I will reviewing certain entries in the MGS series, particularly some of the more recent entries, more on that in the future. I also plan to make do on how I said I would be putting up updates of gaming news alongside my reviews, because obviously the contents of this blog aren't riveting enough for our high-tech generation(sarcasm again). Lastly, I recently recieved an Xbox One(WHOOO don't hate), so you can expect reviews of some of the launch titles, such as Dead Rising 3 and Ryse. Both are very good games in their own right, so you can expect a detailed review as to why sooner or later. I have always followed the Dead Rising series, so you can expect a few reviews on that subject as well. I have plenty of material to sift through, and I know that readers will be emotionally affected by my dulcet works or writing. Sarcasm is so fun, isn't it.

REVIEW : Bioshock Infinite

 So...the original draft got deleted. Time to do this again.

The Setting and Story

You are Booker Dewitt, former Pinkerton agent turned detective. Due to an addiction to gambling, you have piled unto yourself a heavy debt. Having been confronted with the chance to pay off said debt by a mysterious person, you set out to the city of Columbia to fix the dilemma. "Bring us the girl and wipe away the debt". These words will haunt Booker's psyche throughout his journey, and the cruel truth behind these words will be a twist to experience. As you progress you will be confronted by many different factions, most of which want to kill you. The people at the head of these factions have all radically different personalities. The main antagonist, Zachary Comstock, has established himself as a prophet to his people and will spread the vision that you are the False Shepherd, a figure who will corrupt the city to its roots. The girl who you will need to end your debt is Elizabeth, a mysterious girl with the ability to open tears in reality. The city itself is a marvel to see as well, as this isn't a normal place. However, you, as well as Columbia itself, house some dark secrets.

The Gameplay

You...might want to start running.

Whoops.

Infinite follows a similar gameplay structure to the earlier entries in the Bioshock series, with you having the ability to dual wield a gun in one hand and a Vigor in the other. Vigors are the new Plasmids in this game, and they add a interesting time to the shootouts that will often occur. As a melee weapon, you have a SkyHook, an AWESOME LOOKING weapon that doubles as a traversal device, letting you latch onto skylines to zip around the battlefield. To top it off, Elizabeth's ability can be used to your advantage, having her materialize supplies or support, strategically. She will also toss you health, salts(energy), and ammo when you really need it. All these can make for some great experiments. For example, you can throw an enemy in the air with Bucking Bronco, pull him to you with Undertow, and introduce his face to your shotgun. Or just blow them up.

What's Wrong With The Game

I have few grievances with this game other than that some weapons appear too infrequently to actually let you experiment with what you like more. Also the nav marker can sometimes make you navigation even more convoluted, in larger areas at least.

The Verdict

Despite being delayed THREE TIMES, the power of Infinite shines through. The story will keep you riveted, through its strong character development and powerful plot twists. The fun combat, combined with such a story, makes for a great, fun package to enjoy.

Score : 10/10

REVIEW : Dishonored

When a respected developer announces a new project, it's hard not to feel worried that new ideas may sully their reputation. When Dishonored was announced, the idea of being a supernatural assassin looking for revenge was a thrill in itself. When the game itself came out, it was well received for its beautiful world and freedom of choice, storywise and in gameplay itself.
The Setting and Story
You are Corvo Attano, the Royal Protector to the beloved Empress Jessamine Kaldwin. As the game begins, you are returning from your mission to the other isles regarding a rat plague that has broken loose in the city of Dunwall. Dunwall itself is a city that relies on whale oil to power its industrial districts and business ventures. You are greeted by Emily Kaldwin, heir to the throne, upon returning home, and everything seems to be fine. Soon after giving the Empress the news of the plague status, however, she is attacked by a mysterious group of assassins. Despite your best efforts to protect her, you are immobilized and forced to watch as the person you were sworn to protect is murdered in front of you. As the assassins escape, you are accused of the crime and sentenced to death. Later in the story, you are confronted by the Outsider, a being who is "part-demon, part-angel, and entirely ambiguous." After gifting you with his supernatural mark, you are left with the Resistance group to exact your revenge, no matter how much blood is shed along the way.
The Gameplay

Nonlethal

Lethal

Dishonored features a throwback to classic stealth games such as the Thief series, whose mechanics is borrows heavily from. Corvo is renowned for his legendary combat skills, and that, augmented by your new powers, will make you a killing machine; or a ghost, depending on your play-style. Your powers cover a wide range of uses, from teleporting to Dark Vision to stopping time itself. These can be upgraded with Runes scattered around the world, but there are NEVER enough fully upgrade yourself. This, along with power-ups to your human weapons, plus the stat buffing whale bone charms, 3e4rand you have a very solid system to work off of. Missions are large, open hub worlds, and there are many ways to approach how you terminate the target. Do you outright kill the target, or do you make it look like an accident? If you are careful, you can have them 'disappear' never to be heard from again. Depending on how you end the mission, the result will affect how much Chaos is in the city. You will have two very distinct endings (three if you stay neutral) to experience. Across the lengthy campaign, you have a good world to have fun exploring.
What's Wrong With The Game 
There actually isn't much wrong with the game itself, save for a few enemy perception bugs, or some unloaded textures. Nonetheless, the art style of the game is like an oil painting in motion, art itself.
The Verdict
Dishonored is a love letter to stealth fans like me, and is easily worth two or three playthroughs. Despite very minimal glitches, there is so much to enjoy here that there is practically no problem to find here. With Game of the Year edition coming out soon with all the DLC included, you have a deal that is unmissable for the assassin within us. BUY THIS GAME.
Score : 9/10