Tales from the Borderlands Episode One (Xbox One) - Review

Hopefully you all know me enough by now to know I am a massive fan of Telltale Games and all that they do. Well almost all that they do. Because it turns out that I am not a fan of their foray into the world of Pandora.

My favourite Telltale Game by far is The Wolf Among Us. Even now that they have married two of my great loves and made the Game of Thrones episodic, I just can't displace Wolf Among Us from that top spot it so rightly deserves. It is fantastic. Don't get me wrong I have loved the Walking Dead series and I am really enjoying the Game of Thrones one too, but Wolf is the one that I would recommend to anyone new to beauty of a Telltale episodic game.

There is no doubt that the artstyle of Telltale Games lends itself brilliantly to Borderlands. It seemed like a match made in heaven and one that I was eagerly anticipating. But it falls short in many ways. The thing that I, along with many others I expect, love the most about Borderlands is the anarchy. Borderlands is absolutely mental. There are no rules, you run around killing anything and everything and hoping to score some wicked loot. And that is where it's beauty lies - in the simplicity of it. The story is neither here nor there (for me anyway) and I play the game purely for the fun of it. The unparalleled joy of getting a new gun and unloading it into a midget psycho.

You play as this bad ass. And this hapless sap. 

The Telltale episodic misses out on this I feel. The story in it feels kinda lazy too, with you being able to adapt it via your character just telling the tale to the person who has captured you. There are some thrilling moments, but it all feels removed as you struggle to feel anything for the characters you are playing as. I can honestly say I didn't really care what happened to any of them, a real shame as I think it is empathy for a characters situation that drives the Telltale games.

There was a really cool little bit when I had completed the game and skipped the credits. In the same vain that they use in the game when you make a decision that can change the course of the narrative it came across the top that 'Telltale Games will remember that' which did make me giggle.

Overall this game just doesn't work for me. It feels pretty lazy and lacks the emotive writing of Telltale's other offerings. It may get better as more episodes release, but for now I'd say it's safe to skip it until it's in the sale. Grab it in the half price Telltale Collection if they run the offer again and you definitely won't feel robbed. The other games in the collection more than make up for this one.

5/10 TRY IT!

A code was provided for the purpose of this review.

Pinball FX 2 (Xbox One) - Review

So we all now about the addictive pinball game that graced the last gen. Now it has made the leap over to the Xbox One, bringing with it the opportunity to move any of your past purchased tables over too. There's also been the release of the new Walking Dead table to look forward to, so thanks to the great guys over at Zen Studios I've had the chance to do a write up of a few of the tables gracing the Xbox One version of Pinball FX 2. Read on for reviews on the following tables: Deadpool, Guardians of the Galaxy, the four Star Wars: Heroes Within tables and the new The Walking Dead table!

Deadpool

The Deadpool table seems a little busy...

I have to admit, whilst I love Marvel films I'm not really a comic lover so Deadpool is someone I don't know much about. I am sure that as my son grows bigger this will probably change but for now Deadpool isn't really on my radar.

This table is loud, brash and in your face, which (I am told) kinda fits the character well. Deadpool himself can be seen flitting around the table, muttering to himself A LOT and occasionally sending grenades at your ball. He gets in the way a fair bit too.

I am not the best pinball player ever...in fact I pretty much suck at it. But I'm a trier. My son, rather annoyingly, is pretty good at this (and insanely good at Angry Birds!) but I rather meanly put it down to dumb luck. So we both had a go at this table and Zach did do much better than me. Although the table does look really busy I found it quite hard to get a decent score, but this could be down to me being rubbish.

The general feel of this table is good though and it appealed to my son because of all the action. There does seem to aways be something happening on screen and the voice acting and soundtrack is really good too. Overall I'd say it's probably worth a punt for any comic book fans or pinball aficionados, but otherwise I'd overlook it for some of the better ones.

 Guardians of The Galaxy

The Guardians of the Galaxy table stood out for me!

This table really stood out for me. When I first got it, I hadn't seen the film yet (we went to see it this week and LOVED it!) so I did worry that I wouldn't 'get' it. But I needn't have worried as I really enjoyed this table.

The music to it is great and just adds to the fun of this table. I found it easy to see what was happening too, much easier than the Deadpool table, but it didn't feel sparse either. The voice acting was good, although Quill could get pretty repetitive and doesn't have the presence of Chris Pratt, but I feel like I'm nitpicking there really.

All the characters have their own ball and each is seen right at the beginning of the game as the table starts with a multiball. The beginning of the table does feel a little bit mental, but this is not foreshadowing the rest of it, as for the rest of the table I felt it was pretty clear what you had to do to trigger special modes.

I feel that this table has plenty to keep anyone happy but is especially good for any GotG fans out there. And Groot fans. And who doesn't like Groot?!

Star Wars - Heroes Within

There are four tables included in this pack - Han Solo, A New Hope, Masters of the Force and Droids. My partner and son are both huge Star Wars fans so they dived right into it, without even a backwards glance at me! 

This table felt a little tedious.

The first one we put on was the Masters of the Force table, which is Sith vs Jedi and features Count Dooku, Darth Sidious and Darth Maul pitted against Yoda, Qui-Gon Jin and Obi-Wan Kenobi. The table is set out with the Sith on one side and the Jedi's on the other. 

Each side of the table is the same as the other but themed to either the Sith or the Jedi, so that at the top there is Yoda's hut on the Jedi side and Darth Sidious' throne room on the side of the Sith. Both of these open up into mini tables that really can add to your score.

I liked that the launcher was a lightsabre and I thought the music and the voice acting were generally good but I couldn't shake the feeling that there was something missing with this table that I couldn't quite put my finger on. I guess it felt a little empty, which in turn made it feel pretty tedious. It is just one part of the whole though, and I do feel like this table is possibly the weakest in this pack.

The biggest challenge of the pack.

A New Hope features Luke Skywalker, Obi-Wan, C-3PO and R2-D2. I really struggled to get anywhere on this table and found it really quite difficult to rack up any semblance of a decent score. My son however, did not struggle quite as much and did activate some pretty cool modes, he especially enjoyed the multi ball that activates the Death Star.

We all soon got a little tired of trying on this table too, it proved itself a little too difficult for our rookie pinball skills (or lack thereof!). But for all those people that seem to have an innate ability that allows them to excel at Pinball this table may offer a bit of a challenge that doesn't result in feeling completely inept.

C-3PO's comments really make this table.

This table features the brilliant duo that is R2-D2 and C-3PO. This table looks really cool and is set inside of a Sandcrawler with Jawas supervising the action. The Jawas can interfere in your game too, which - whilst it could be frustrating - did introduce a fun gameplay mechanic.

This table was my sons favourite, mostly because of the Jawas, but I found it enjoyable too. The setting of the table is perfect and C-3PO's comments are hilarious and get the character spot on. This and the Han Solo table are by far the stand out tables of this pack, and really do make the pack worth buying for everyone who loves Star Wars.

Who doesn't love Han Solo?!

This table was my favourite, not least because it revolves around my favourite character, Han Solo. This table features the song from the Mos Eisley Cantina which immediately brings a smile to your face. The voice acting was really good too, and fit Han Solo's character well.

I found that the modes were pretty difficult to activate, but it wasn't frustrating like some of them are. You can just coast through this table as it is easy to keep the ball afloat, but in doing that you are never going to get the high scores.

This table was by far the most enjoyable of the pack in my opinion. It's brilliant for any Star Wars fans and presents enough of a challenge to the seasoned Pinball players without alienating the ones that aren't as good.

The Walking Dead 

Honestly the best table I've played

On hearing that there would be a table for The Walking Dead I was pretty sceptical of how it would work. How could they take the amazing story that Telltale games wove and transfer that to a PINBALL table?!

Well I don't know how they did it but they did, and most importantly they did it REALLY WELL! The table manages to seamlessly join the brilliantly fun gameplay of Pinball FX 2 with the tear-jerking moments and horrible heart-rending decisions that players make in The Walking Dead.

There are some really good special modes to unlock on this table, but I won't go into how you get them. There was one mode that sees you sniping zombies which was really cool. Zombies invade the table and hitting them with your ball does feel really gratifying.

I felt like this table was set up way better too, in that the ball seems to fly nearer to the flippers more often than some of the others. I found this table to be a fair bit easier than many, but at the same time just so much more fun and engaging. This table is an easy 'must-buy' for literally anyone.

Codes were provided for the purpose of this review.

The Dannie Kitten Gaming Awards!

So I've been thinking long and hard about this. It's been another good year for us gamers and I wanted to acknowledge the best with the Dannie Kitten Gaming Awards!

By the end of 2011 I had had a pretty good year...I had a difficult pregnancy which meant plenty of bed rest and time with my Xbox just as Skyrim hit the shelves. Then my life as I knew it ended. I wanted to spend all my time as Thalia, my Redguard adventurer.

This year couldn't possibly have topped that....or so I thought. But it turns out this year had some goodies in store for us. So here it is, The Dannie Kitten Gaming Awards 2012:

Game of the Year: The Walking Dead

This was by far the easiest decision I've made. This game is perfect! The first episode was amazing when I first played it, but TRUST ME it gets so much better. I know a few people who didn't buy the game based on the first episode and all I can say is PERSEVERE. I enjoyed it anyway, but when my save miraculously disappeared most of the way through Ep.4 I had to go back and replay and yes I did think it felt pretty slow and drawn out. But by then I knew the awesomeness that was coming next so it was easy to go through it again. The game is game-as-storyteller at it's very best and should be way up there on everyones lists of favourite games. To cut a long story short...GO BUY THIS GAME NOW!

XBLIG of the Year: Smooth Operators

Now I know I have already given out my award for Game of the Year but I feel this game deserved a special mention. So I created an award for the Indie games and this is the winner! God this game is good! I have long since been a fan of sim games such as these and when one came to the XBLIG market I had to have it. And it really didn't disappoint. Giving this game this award was such an easy choice to make. It is easy pick-up-and-play fun, but trust me it isn't so hard to put it down! I have sunk many many hours into this game and I still find it fun. Pick it up guys!




Character of the Year: Kenny (The Walking Dead)

This is probably the toughest decision I have made in this post. We have been treated to so many convincing characters this year. But Kenny had to win it. Kenny has been one of my favourite characters from a game EVER let alone this year. This guy is amazing. A family man from Florida who just wants to protect his family from the Zombie infested world. He goes through a lot, and comes out the other side pretty broken. The emotion that went into animating this character and voicing him is truly experienced as you play alongside him. I love Kenny. That guy deserves a medal.



Biggest Surprise of the Year: Shark Attack Deathmatch

Let's be honest here, when an Indie game attempts to do something different, it almost always falls flat on its backside. This game really doesn't. I don't know why I was expecting this game to be bad, I just was and it was actually REALLY GREAT. The single-player Survivor mode is fun enough, but this game has fully-fledged online multiplayer mode which always seems to have plenty of people ready to play. For 80MSP this game is a real steal and again, should feature on everyones game list.




Multiplayer of the Year: Mass Effect 3

This game carried with it A LOT of controversy when it was released way back in March. I'm gonna hold my hands up and say this...I don't know what all the fuss was about. I think the game was great. For me Mass Effect was about the journey, I wasn't too fussed by the 'three choice ending' because I actually thought it tied up all the stories pretty well.

So now I've got that out of they way, let's get on with explaining why this game wins this award. For me it's simple....it's bloody good. But for those of you wanting a little more explanation than that (can't say I blame you!) here goes. This is the first time Multiplayer has been included in a Mass Effect title. So it could have been shocking. It isn't though, and in the first few weeks of owning this game I sunk as much time into multiplayer as I did the campaign. I think it ties in nicely with the campaign too, increasing your 'readiness' for the grand finale. And it works well. There isn't really anything I found annoying with Mass Effect multiplayer, which is pretty rare. And they gave us TONNES of new content for free so it didn't get old. You can play as so many different races and classes that you can make the experience different every time. There are varying difficulty levels, and trust me they get hard! But it's all part of the fun with this game, it doesn't get as annoying as other online shooters and added bonus for me and my fella...the game has two discs, and BOTH of them include the multiplayer, so we can play together without forking out so much! Yay!

Co-op Game of the Year: Minecraft

I doubt there are many of you that haven't at least played Minecraft or one of it's many, cheaper clones. I hadn't played Minecraft until it was released on XBLA this year and my boyfriend begged me to buy it. So I did, and so did our friends and we spent agggggeeess building a world together. This game gets co-op game of the year because it never really gets old. If you read my blog you know I'm always on the look out for co-op games to enjoy with my friends and family, but many of them get old fairly quickly. This one doesn't. Maybe it's because it doesn't really have a main objective so you can set your own depending on what you feel like. I don't know what made this such a favourite for me and my friends but it is and it is a game we keep going back to. It is pretty dear at 1600MSP but it is a game that you will never actually complete...so that seems like pretty good value :p

Most Fun this Year: Rock Band Blitz

This game is another I have reviewed this year and loved. Living with a guitarist means we have every music game ever in our house. It also means that, unfortunately he wasn't ready to even give this game a chance, due to the lack of a plastic guitar (sad I know) I made him try it and he actually likes it. But I LOVE IT. For me it has taken everything that is most fun about a music game and made it even better. Listening to music...yes fun. Playing a game whilst listening to music...yep fun. Doing it without going through the rigmarole of digging out paraphernalia...EVEN BETTER! The tracklist for this game is amazing, and even better all of my DLC moved into there to make for a pretty full roster. The power-ups make this game a must have for me, and it is a game I keep going back to if I want some quick, easy fun. Pick it up guys!


Graphics of the Year: Far Cry 3

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder so I don't expect everyone to agree with me. I gave this award on the basis of what game, upon entering the game world, made me say 'wow' and this has to be it. This game is beautiful! The characters are well envisioned and the Island is simply gorgeous. Climbing to the top of a Radio Tower and looking out everything looks amazing. There doesn't seem to be any rendering, like in Skyrim, everything is there in all it's beauty. It is an astonishing world that has so much to offer to us gamers, it's amazing graphics are just the icing on the cake.





Shooter of the Year: Sniper Elite V2

I wasn't originally going to create awards for specific genres of games, but I thought I would make an exception with this one. Almost everyone has got at least a little disheartened by all the carbon-copy shooters coming out year after year. This game offers something a little different. Yes it's still a shooter, and you don't have to play solely as a sniper, you can still run and gun. BUT if you persevere and stick to being a sniper, you are rewarded with some amazing slowed-down close-ups of your victim. The camera follows the bullet THROUGH the body, wherever you hit and goes into X-Ray vision, showing you the shattering bones in all their glory. SO MUCH FUN. My dad even managed a shot straight through the enemies testicles...now that was fun to watch!


Most Frustrating Game of the Year: Spelunky

Now I know frustrating is a negative thing. SO why am I giving an award out to a frustrating game? This game is one of the most frustrating games I have ever played, but it is also one of the best. It features four player coop (yay!) and is easily one of the most annoying games I've ever played. But it has us all hooked. The fun is in the challenge in this game, if it was too easy it would not have sold half as many. This game is just as hard as it needs to be to create a challenging environment in which the right tactics can thrive. A brilliant, yet frustrating game.





And now, simply because I don't feel like I have enough of my favourites of this year on this list I am going to give you a list. This list will contain my top ten picks of the year, after all of the above. It's a kinda 'Best of the Rest' if you will. So here it is:

1. XCOM
A truly great turn-based tactical shooter. I'm not one for turn-based games but this one is brilliant!
2. Dishonored
Reminds me a lot of the old Tenchu game on PS1. Play how you want, sneaky or full scale attack. Amazing game with great graphics.
3. Spec Ops: The Line
A great cover-based third person shooter that actually makes you feel bad for the decisions you make.
4. Deadlight
This 2D platformer features beautiful 3D environments and is SO much fun to play.
5. Game of Thrones

As a massive fan of the show and the book, this had to feature on the list!
6. Real Steel
I have never watched the film and don't even have much interest in Robots or fighting games, but this game had me hooked.
7. Hitman Absolution
Whats not to love about this return to the amazing Hitman games?!
8. Rocksmith
It's strange that I like this so-called 'game' so much, but it does provide some fun whilst teaching you to play your favourite songs on the real guitar.
9. Family Guy: Back to the Multiverse
I know it got slammed pretty much everywhere, but I had a lot of fun gunning down my friends on this game. Take it as a bit of fun (and get it cheap) and this game can provide a lot of laughs.
10. I Am Alive
A game that was originally meant for retail release and instead released on XBLA. The characters are well written and the graphics are beautiful. A great post-apocalyptic game.