REVIEW: Scarface: The World if Yours
Upon its initial release
Scarface: The World is Yours was written off as just another GTA imitator. It’s
success had more to do with the popularity of the film than the game its self,
which was a pity as the gameplay was actually quiet fun. Like the character,
the game has been given a new leash of life on the Wii, and thanks to the
unique interactivity offered by the Wii Remote and Nunchuck, this version of
Tony Montana’s odysseys is even better.
The story was written by
screenwriter David McKenna, who wrote Blow and Bully. (No, not the infamous
Rockstar game but rather the infamous Larry Clark film of the same name.) Tony
Montana survived the massacre at his mansion, and has spent the past several
months living in a shack dead to the world. From here he has been planning his
both his revenge and how he will rebuild his empire. To do this you have to take
on an assortment of small time hustlers and work his way up the food chain.
The most important question
regarding the game is,”how does it play on the Wii?” The answer is,
surprisingly well. The game kicks off with the obligatory tutorial and like
most Wii games the control system takes a bit of getting used to, but like
Resident Evil 4 on the console the Wii control system is far superior to any of
the games of other incarnations on the various consoles.
One of the most enjoyable
aspects of the game is also the most childish. The ability to taunt enemies is
not just a matter of tilting the nunchuk instead of frantically bashing buttons
as you try to avoid being shot. Utilising the chainsaw is also far more
satisfying.
Like many ports the flaws
are still present. If a fight ends up on the street then you may as well just
accept defeat and allow yourself to be killed, as you’re never going to out run
the cops. This small drawback is quiet possibly one of the most annoying game
features in the history of video gaming.
Scarface: The World is Yours is a fine port and one of the few that improves
upon the original. The improved graphics and tailored control system makes Scarface
a game which should best be experienced on the Wii. Those who disliked the game
on its initial release are advised to give it a second chance.
REVIEW: Harry Potter and tOtoP
Developer: EA | Publisher: EA | Format: PS2/Wii/PC
a series of disappointments which pandered to younger gamers and those
who traditionally were uninterested in video games. The latest addition
to the series, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, is a pleasant
surprise which as something for pretty much everyone on offer.
The story follows the plot of the book and film, Harry is starting his
fifth year at Hogwarts and life isn’t exactly looking rosy. The evil
Voldermort has regained power and is buy preparing his come back, the
vast majority of wizards believe Harry is a liar and puberty is hitting
him like a ton of bricks.
For a game based upon a book the ingame story is particularly difficult
to follow. The story jumps from scene to scene at what seems like will
and the dialogue is at times almost impossible to decipher. For fans of
the books this may not be a problem, but for the rest of us it’s a
rather diverting nuisance, which seriously distracts from gameplay.
The linear path which hindered the previous titles has been tweaked to
allow gamers a greater level freedom. Players can now explore locations
from the book and film, which is rather more enjoyable than some of the
missions on offer. I always assumed Harry was being primed to be a
great wizard, but from evidence on offer in the game he may be more
suited to the role of school caretaker. Many missions involve you
fixing vases and other parts of Hogwarts. The wand battles are
extremely fun and well implemented, unfortunately there are only a
handful through out the game.
Spell casting is tailored specifically to each consoles controller. The
effect of this is felt most on the Wii. The Wii remote works as the
wand, while the motion sensor control casts the spells. The other
consoles make use of the right analogue stick for spells, pushing it a
certain direction casts a certain spell.
While a step up from previous titles, the Order of the Phoenix is still
a long way from perfect. Most gamers would be advised to rent before
buying.
REVIEW:Pirates of the Caribbean: At Worlds End
Reviewer: Craig Gallagher It’s
hard to believe that the last Pirates of the Caribbean film didn’t
have a tie game on any of the major consoles. It seems that Disney
Interactive is making up for the missed opportunity with Pirates of the
Caribbean: At World’s End, which features plot from both Dead
Mans Chest and At Worlds End.
The game does a great job of emulating the look and humour of the
series, if fails somewhat miserably in capturing the frantic and fun
action scenes. The combat is simple and boring as it involves little
more than hitting the action button repeatedly.
The first half of the game is based o the events in Dead Man’s Chest,
specifically Captain Jacks attempts at recovering the chest in which
Davy Jones’s heart resides. The second half as you can no doubt guess
follows At Worlds End, and Jacks attempts at defeating Lord Beckett.
The story is somewhat difficult to follow due to the disjointed cut
scenes which make look pretty but make very little sense at the best of
times. Like most licensed games the story expands on events in the
film. You get to swordfight from Tortuga to Singapore which sounds fun
but is in reality rather dull and ponderous. This is due to the combat
system which is just one button. You run up to your enemy and press the
same button over and over till they expire. Every now and again you
come across a big baddie who can only be defeated with a special move.
To achieve this you must kill a bunch of normal foes till your special
move bar fills up, allowing you to vanquish said bigger baddie. There
are other weapons on hand bar your trusty cutlass. You can use your
fists, feet, guns, grenades and knives. But the combat system remains
the same for all
Most of your time is spent in the guise of Jack Sparrow, though you
also get to play as Will, Elizabeth and couple more characters. There
are times when you get to play as three characters at once, switching
from one to another at the press of the D pad. These parts generally
suck. As the characters you don’t control rarely bother to defend
themselves. These portions of the game are the only which may prove
troublesome. The rest of the game is extremely easy and seems aimed at
children and non gamers.
The rest of the gameplay involves running, climbing and jumping around
the place searching for people and items. None of this is the least bit
interesting to be honest a fact made more apparent by the copious
amount of back tracking required. You have to return to some areas
three or four times in order to progress.
Graphically the game looks rather mundane on the PS3. The frame rame is
choppy, which really drags down the experience. The animation is good
and the characters resemble their big screen counterparts but nice
animation can’t save what is an exceedingly average game.
At the end of the day, At Worlds End is a by the books film based game.
It has all the locations, characters and plot of the films but none of
the fun. While not as terrible as some the overall experience is one of
diminished expectations. Worth a rainy day rent but little more.
REVIEW: Spider-Man 3
Spider-Man 3 is undoubtedly the most anticipated property of 2007,
not only the cinematic incarnation but also the spin off game. It also
marks the series first appearance on next-gen consoles. The 360 version
of Spider-Man is exactly as you would expect. It’s just like the
previous games only bigger and more detailed, but just as fun.
The storyline closely follows the film, but adds a number of elements
the run alongside. Instead of facing just the villains from the film,
you find yourself up against The Scorpion, The Lizard, Mad Bomber and
Kraven, as well as an assortment of petty crooks and crooked cops. The
missions featuring these characters run in conjunction with the plot of
the film.
For a licensed game, the mission structure is unusually non-liner.
Missions go in a set order, which you must beat to unlock others, but
you can complete unlocked missions in any order you so wish. The
variety of missions on offer is vast. You can go from all out boss
fights to chasing down muggers., and sometimes both at one time.
The most noticeable change to gameplay is the use of real time cut
scenes. They require you to press buttons at specific times to
progress. This feels quiet similar to the button sequences in God of
War.
The combat system is basically identical to that in Spiderman 2. You
perform special moves by holding down the right trigger and pressing
one of the face buttons. Individual attacks are accomplished by
pressing the face buttons on their own. The only real addition to the
combat system is the Black Suit, which you gain about half way through
the game. This drastically increases your strength as well as changing
Spidey’s general attitude.
The camera in the game has been a massive problem since the first. In
the subsequent games its only gotten worse. In this game it is
extremely buggy in tight quarters, leading to frustrating situations
where you it rarely focuses on the action. Climbing walls can be a
massively difficult venture due to this at times.
Spider-Man 3 is a fun title, and one of the most enjoyable licenses
yet. Even though the camera is poor the rest of the game more than
compensates for this. In closing it’s a very enjoyable game which fans
and casual gamers will enjoy.
Gears of War cracks to film
Games are big business and in recant years there has been a number
of film adaptations of popular titles. It really was only a matter of
time before someone snapped up the film rights to Epic Game’s Gears
of War.
Trade bible Variety today reports that New Line Cinema, most famous
for the Lord of the Rings films has acquired the rights. Wyck Godfrey
the force behind Aliens Vs. Predator and I-Robot will produce from a
script from Stuart Beattie, who is also adapting Spy Hunter for the
silver screen.
The game has already received a umber of accolades, including
several game of the year awards, as well as shifting close to four
million copies worldwide.
There are currently a number of high profile films based on gaming
titles in development, including Metal Gear Solid, Prince of Persia and
Uwe Boll’s Far Cry. A number of others have simply disappeared from
production schedules, the most prolific being Halo.
New Line are eying Summer 2009 as a release date, and rumours abound that Epic Games will release a sequel to tie into the film.
Belfast firm make web game for film
CanDo Interactive have developed a promotional Shockwave game for
the recently release film Running Scared — it can be played by going
to the ‘game’ section at runningscaredthemovie.com. CanDo has previously worked on a game for the film Triple X 2 and helped with an SUV safety promotion run by the US Attorney General’s office.
REVIEW: Fahrenheit
Developer: quanticdream | Publisher: Atari (Infograms) | For: PS2 (Xbox, PC)
Reviewer: Cian Ginty Fahrenheit (AKA ‘Indigo Prophecy’) strangely
starts with a ritual-like murder. Strangely, the murderer, Lucas Kane
is one of four playable characters; the others are Kane’s two NYPD
hunters and his brother.
The game does it’s best to translate the characters’ physical
and mental strains to the player vie visuals and sometimes strenuous
controller tasks — from flashbacks and lapses, to rapped controlled
button bashing.
The sanity of Kane and the others is critical, unless watched over
it can end the game. And the game goes quickly from taking the time to
having no time. There’s only a short time to choice dialogue and
actions. Rushing or thinking it out, one character’s actions can
affect the story and the game for the others.
It’s a griping epic for the mature gamer, with more then a hint of
film influence, and possibly a hint of some film-like arrogances, it
brings a whole new meaning to the words ‘action adventure’; just
don’t let the hype takeover before playing.
Doom film in production, director changed
After the critically slated film adaptations, that were ‘Aliens vs. Predator‘, and ‘Resident Evil: Apocalypse‘ few are optimistic of any film ever capturing the quality of the gaming experience.
There is however one video game adaptation that could possibly turn
the tides. Doom the movie. [Ed - because the game is so simple?]
Since the previous Doom film article
on GamesToaster, things have changed. Irish director Enda McCallion has
left the production, citing personal reasons, with Andrzej Bartkowiak,
who has previously directed ‘Cradle 2 the Grave’ and ‘Exit
Wounds’ amongst others replacing him.
Production has begun with a cinema release pencilled in for August 5 2005.
The film has already acquired the acting talents of Dwayne Johnson
(the Rock), Karl Urban (Eomer from Lord of the Rings) and Rosamund Pike
(Die Another Day).
Screenwriter Dave Callahan has promised that the film will retain
the “hyper-kinetic, kamikaze style” of the game. The story and set
design are to be based on third instalment of Doom, which early this
year reseved a mixed response from gamers.
Craig Gallagher
Releated News
Doom film stays with Irish director, as studio changes
General | 16/06/2004
Ireland as a filming location is now being rumoured:
Even after the film rights change to Universal Studios, Irish man,
Enda McCallion, is to still direct the Doom film as his first feature
length film. It’s to be produced by Lorenzo Di Bonaventura and John
Wells.
McCallion shot his first film aged 16, and went on to study film at
the Royal College of Art in London. He has worked on advertisements for
Guinness owners Diago, and the band Nine Inch Nails.
Early last week the film studio Warner Brothers lost the rights to
the Doom film, at the time the games developer ‘id’ were denying a
deal with Universal Studios, although the film trade publications the
Hollywood Reporter, and Variety were saying other wise.
Variety has also reported the film is an adaptation of the upcoming
PC and Xbox game Doom 3. The script is apparently written by Dave
Callaham.
Set on a Mars space station, the sci-fi horror first person shooter
(FPS) game is currently without a firm release date, although some have
it pencilled in for a July 14 release.
Source: GamesIndustry.biz, Hollywood Reporter, RTE online