Showing posts with label first-person shooters. Show all posts
Showing posts with label first-person shooters. Show all posts
Modern Warfare 2
Platform: XBox 360, PS3, PC
Just what's going on here anyway?
The title explains it pretty well. Through this game you can experience all the elements of modern warfare, and I do mean all. Guns, bigger guns, explosions, betrayal, terrorism, civilian casualties, the brutal deaths of your comrades, it's all here. This is simply one of the best games I've ever played, and unless you really dislike shooting games, it should become one of the best games you've ever played too.
Is it FUN?!
Oh yes. You're usually playing as one of a team assigned to a particular objective which will require you to fight your way through waves of enemies using various sorts of weapons, usually guns, but there's plenty of other fun to be had as well. Sometimes you'll have to call in airstrikes or man rocket launchers or ride snowmobiles. The game is pretty fast-paced and you're not likely to get bored.
Is it interesting?
The story, which takes you all over the world from favelas in Brazil to snow-covered bases in Russia to fast food restaurants in America, is compelling and gritty and neither kills nor saves anyone solely on the basis of them being an enemy, an important ally or even your own character. The game tries really hard to simulate actual modern warfare; I'm not and will never be a soldier and so I don't think I'm in a position to tell you whether or not it succeeded. I did find it a bit too melodramatic at times, but overall, a plausible hypothetical scenario that clearly has a good deal of thought behind it.
Will it make me want to throw my controller across the room... again?
Depends on what difficulty you want to play. The introductory mission is a "test" to see if you get to join an elite squad (which you get to join anyway as long as you finish the thing at all), but it's also a quick tutorial on the game mechanics. When you've finished the game will recommend a difficulty setting depending on how well you did, but you can choose a different setting if you like. At the lower difficulty settings the game gives you an amazing amount of leeway; your bullets will kill even if your shots are somewhat inaccurate and you can take a lot of damage before dying. You can also auto-aim to some extent which makes everything that much easier. At the higher levels, as you would expect, things are a bit more difficult. After every... oh, about two? guys you kill, there's a checkpoint, so you'll never have to redo too much if you die. If there's one thing we love here at AGF, it's gratuitous violence... and also cookies... and... okay, if there are THREE things we love here at AGF, they are gratuitous violence, cookies, and frequent checkpoints. MW2 provides two of the three, so you see why I recommend it so highly.
Will this game consume my life?
After I started playing the campaign (single-player mode), I really didn't stop until I'd finished. However, the campaign is not *that* long and can be finished in a day or two with some dedication. The part of any Call of Duty game that really eats your life is the multiplayer, because what's more fun than watching your best friend's virtual body fly up in the air after you've lobbed a grenade at him? Sneaking up behind him, unseen, and knifing him in the back, that's what.
Do I want to spend that much of my life with these people?
This game is not really about the characters, but I guess they serve their purpose well enough. You'll get to see some of your old favourites from Modern Warfare; Soap is all grown up and in charge now, and there's another guy whose name I won't reveal so as not to give away the plot.
Is it worth it?
YES. If you haven't already, you need to buy this game. It's the best first-person shooter out there and a brilliant addition to the already excellent Call of Duty series.
Metro 2033
Just what's going on here anyway?
It is the year 2033 (no kidding!) and you are one of the remaining citizens of Moscow, who now dwell in the Metro (you don't say!) after the apocalypse.
Is it FUN?!?!?!
The game world isn't particularly free - you're told where to go and what to do at each step, which I guess is good if you're into taking orders, but not so good if you want a chance to mess around. There are times where you get to play freely, more so in the later levels.
Quite often you have the option of running away or sneaking past rather than having to do any fighting. I'm more of a "blast the crap out of everything" kind of girl and this game is not really designed for that, but if you're into subtlety, you might enjoy it more.
Having to worry about lights and masks is rather irritating to those of us who just want ACTION!, but I suppose it adds a touch of realism and it's not exactly THAT difficult to manage.
Is it interesting?
I'm always up for a good post-apocalyptic story, and the Moscow Metro is certainly a new take on that. The stations you pass through during Artyom's quest are well-designed with little details like teddy bears and comic books, the frozen surface world they've created seems entirely plausible and chillingly creepy, and fighting Nazis and Communists is an interesting nod to history. The story starts slowly and you spend a lot of the first couple of levels just walking around, but later on the game picks up speed.
Generally, each level gives you a different task (kill stuff, get through this base, find stuff, talk to people, etc.) and they're all woven together into the story.
There are touches of the supernatural throughout this game (Anomaly being the most obvious example) and if you don't explore much then you'll miss the weird little subplot about the Dark Ones.
Will it make me want to throw my controller through my TV... again?
Probably. Checkpoints are very frequent, which is nice, and the levels are generally short, but you do tend to get swarmed during battles and reloading is frequent and rather slow. Plus, when you switch to a gun it doesn't load automatically, so you have to be sure to load before you even start fighting, so while surprise battles are not that common, they can be rather frustrating. You may well find yourself, as I did, screaming, "LOAD, Artyom, you wanker!" at your TV more than once as he takes his sweet little time while being mauled to death by a nosalise.
I also found the lack of a map to be troublesome, but that's just because I'm directionally challenged. You get a compass pointing to your objective and there usually aren't a lot of other directions in which you can go, so anyone who's not me will probably do just fine.
How much of my life will this game consume?
As far as I can see, the game only has a campaign (single-player) mode, so once you've finished that... you've finished. I think it took me around twenty hours, maybe, all told. Not very long.
Do I want to spend that much of my life with these people?
Artyom doesn't have much of a personality. In fact, I don't think he ever speaks except for the brief observations he makes at the beginning of each chapter. The random people you meet along the way are a bit more interesting, but basically... it's a simple, harsh world in which Artyom lives, and the people you meet fit right in.
Is it worth it?
If you're into post-apocalyptic worlds, play Fallout 3. If you're into killing stuff, play Modern Warfare 2. If you've finished both, Metro 2033 may be worthwhile. This game is like a fusion of both but isn't as good as either of them.
