Game Review: Battleblock Theater

Good evening boys and girls, ladies and gentlemen. Turn the lights down low and shut your faces as I wrap you in the cosy blanket of a story. A story as heart-warming and soft as a mother’s kiss, or is it?

From Behemoth studios, the team that brought you Castle Crashers and Alien Hominid comes a new Xbox Live Arcade title: Battleblock Theater. Anyone who has played either of the previous two games (and if you haven’t then, seriously, where have you been?!) will undoubtedly be very excited to learn of this new release. Whilst both previous games were very different to each other, they were also both very popular (Castle Crashers was, until recently, the most downloaded XBLA title of all time) and very well made so previous players will have had high expectations for this new title. Battleblock Theater is a puzzle-platformer which presents a familiar concept. Collect things, in this case gems, and they’ll unlock the exit. Collect more gems and complete the level in a better time and you’ll get a better grade for the level.

Your story in Battleblock Theater begins as you set sail with a group of friends on a ship (The S.S. friend-ship). Amongst these friends is Hatty Hattington, your best friend (and best friend to one and all) All is going well in the voyage until suddenly you are hit by a storm! Unfortunately this leads you and your fellow friends to be shipwrecked on an island, which is also a theater for some reason. Hatty is kidnapped by some evil cats who force him to run the theater in which you and your fellow friends/prisoners/performers are forced to participate. Your mission is to complete every scene and rescue the aforementioned handsome gentleman, Hatty Hattington.

The art style of Battleblock Theater will be instantly recognisable to those who have played Behemoth’s previous games. Cartoon effects and customisable characters with colourful yet simple backgrounds make Battleblock Theater’s visuals fitting for the type of game it is. There is an ongoing quest to free all of your friends from the captivity of the cats which you do so with gems, collected from each scene. Once freed, these prisoners become playable characters and collecting each character quickly becomes addictive. The soundtrack to the game is fun and bouncy and just really fits in very well with the atmosphere the game creates. The dialogue is also hilarious. The narrator constantly heckles you through every death with words of wisdom such as “Oh, that was the easy part” or “You died there?”  And on top of that the story itself is enough to keep you completing level after level, hoping to get to the next side-splitting cut-scene.

The gameplay itself is simple and challenging at the same time. The controls are easy to learn and the earlier levels ease you into the game quite fairly. As the game progresses the skill required to complete each level increases to the point where it becomes quite difficult in the final stages. Collecting each gem and ball of yarn (Yay! Yarn!) becomes more challenging by each level and the A++ grades that came easy with the earlier stages quickly become quite elusive. It is in the co-operative game-play that the game becomes most enjoyable, with teamwork essential to complete some levels and betrayal a constant temptation, Battleblock theater has all the ingredients to make an addictive co-op experience. The game is reminiscent of the Portal series, particularly in the co-op modes with the puzzler aspect which makes you work together and with the humour sprinkled throughout. The story mode doesn’t have any moments which are beyond completion, so long as you have the perseverance needed, and the game doesn’t glitch at any point. Obviously this is what you’d expect from a game but recently it seems that some developers have forgotten about this (I’m looking at you SEGA) so it’s worth a mention

It’s important to mention the online aspect of the game. The great thing here is that Battleblock Theater comes with a level editor, where users can create their own scenes and build them into a playlist for others to play online. This creates an endless supply of puzzles to complete, so if you think you’ve come to the end of the game finishing the story mode then think again! They’ve also included a rating system for these levels and playlists so when you do find one that might be a little glitchy (and with user created levels you’d expect nothing less) then you can warn other players by leaving a bad rating for the playlist. This also means that you’ll have a good idea of what a playlist is like before even giving it a go. There’s a wide selection of multiplayer modes including death-match, basketball, king of the hill and capture the flag (or pig in this case) and users can also create levels for these modes to be played by the community.

The Verdict

Battleblock Theater is a puzzle platformer that’s easy to learn and fun to master. Simple in its concept the game is surprisingly addictive, hilarious and endlessly entertaining. For 1200 Microsoft Points you won’t regret a single second of gameplay. Now stop reading this review and go download it and, in the immortal words of Hatty Hattington: “Hold on to your butts!”

Rating 9/10

BREAKING NEWS: Star Wars to be shot in the UK

Lucasfilm, well known for the Star Wars franchise and now owned by Disney, (after George Lucas made that final step in a dragged out process of selling his own soul to the devil) have announced that the seventh episode of Star Wars will be shot in the UK. Filming is due to start in 2014 and is expected to be released the following year in 2015. This news comes shortly after finding out that there will be five Star Wars films between 2015 and 2019.

This news was actually leaked days ago and put into the public domain by Jedi News. They said that it was very likely that Pinwheel Studios would play a key part in the next episode of the Star Wars story. Of cause Pinwheel is a British film studio. This is obviously very exciting, for both the British film industry and British Star Wars fans, as the original trilogy was in fact filmed in Britain... well apart from all those scenes with the desert. So you could say that Star Wars is coming home, apart from it’s not because it’s set long ago in a galaxy far away... at best it’s American. 

UK Chancellor George Osborne has taken credit for encouraging the multi-billion company Disney to shoot the movie in the UK by making the film eligible for tax breaks. He claims that this shows “clear evidence” that corporations with billions of dollars/pounds will always want to avoid paying their fair share. Osborne also claimed that his favourite character is Han Solo... you know, that money grabbing thief who only helps out those around him when he feels he absolutely has to.

Warwick Davis has also commented on this brilliant news for the British film industry and Star Wars fans everywhere. Davis has said that he would really like to return to the saga and wishes to play the role of a Sith Lord. He also revealed that Ewoks are in fact blind! That’s right; he claims that there was such little breathing space within an Ewok suit that the actors couldn’t see because the suits eyes would steam up. Apparently this would leave loads of Ewoks laid all over the floor of previous Star Wars sets.  

Jar Jar Binks could also be coming home to the UK! That’s right; the iconic character from this average saga of films could be making a return in the seventh episode of Star Wars. There is no evidence for this whatsoever, but there is also no evidence against it either! If Jar Jar is or isn’t in the next episode I think that Star Wars fans everywhere can be united in one thing, and that is in a new hope that this film will be as good as episode one. Also, I’m sure that Obama can’t wait to see what they do with the Jedi Mind Meld.

-Ayden

The Quantum Thief (2010 Gollancz)

"As always, before the warmind and I shoot each other, I try to make small talk."

As opening lines go The Quantum Thief, by Hannu Rajaniem, takes the Salvador Dali award for surrealism. And don't expect it to end there: The obscure and often baffling science-fiction world of The Quantum Thief never lets up. Not that this is necessarily a bad thing - having read books on relativity, quantum mechanics and string theory this novel still gave my brain a good workout!

The Quantum Thief is a multi-strand narrative that mainly follows the exploits of Jean le Flambeur, a post-human Thief with a near legendary reputation. After his escape from the Dilemma Prison le Flambeur is enlisted by an Oortian warrior, named Mieli, to carry out a very strange heist.
Le Flambeur's thread is written in first person while the other main characters are all written in the third person. This can be slightly disorienting if it is the first time you've read a narrative in this style, but it wont take you long to get along with it.

Jean le Flambeur is obviously meant to be the star (along with The Detective) and is an interesting character, but - for me - it was the moody and sometimes cruel Mieli the Oortian who stole the show. This adds to the book as having strong supporting characters as well as a charismatic protagonist makes for good reading.

The Quantum Thief is Rajaniem's debut novel and cannot be faulted for its scope, style or literary skill. As full of hard science-fiction concepts as this novel is, it often seems to flirt with fantasy. Rajaniem definitely seems to be of the opinion that "any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic" (Arthur C. Clarke's third law) which I don't necessarily agree with: Surely any post Scientific Method society would be able to work out the difference - if you showed Werner Heisenberg a smart-phone I doubt he would have called it witchcraft! I never felt The Quantum Thief was beyond the remit of science-fiction (to be fair Hannu Rajaniem has a Ph. D. in Mathematical Physics and you can tell this from his writing!)

The Verdict

The Quantum Thief is a fast-paced and well written novel full of interesting characters, weird and wonderful concepts and an interesting plot with a few decent twists. I would recommend it to anyone who has enjoyed the works of Ian M Banks or similar far-future science-fiction novels. Imaginative, intriguing and an interesting world to delve into.

LHSRAting for The Quantum Thief 8/10

-Mike

Film Review: Argo

Argo is a drama based on the true events of a secret CIA mission to extract six Americans from Iran in 1980. Iran at this time is going through a revolution and has put a new Islamic government in place. They want to charge the old leader for crimes against the people but he has been granted exile in the US. The people of Iran are deeply angry with this and eventually they end up storming the US embassy, whilst taking all the people they can find as hostages. Little do they know that six Americans have escaped, but the clock is ticking and it’s only a matter of time before the Iranians realise.

The film starts with a brief history of Iran and tells the story of how the region became what it was in 1979-80 in less than two minutes. In this time they dedicate a whole sentence stating that the US and Britain actually helped to overthrow a democratic government and then replaced it with an evil dictator. After skimming over the history of Iran and how the west has screwed over its people on more than one occasion, the film cuts to Iranians appearing to be irrationally angry towards the west.

The story itself though, as already mentioned, is set around a CIA mission that aims to get a group of Americans out of an obviously dangerous place and it is actually told really well. Ben Affleck plays the lead role as CIA agent Tony Mendez and he is also the director of the film. He manages to give a connection with the characters and the audience, even if you don’t really want one. Affleck plays his acting part really well too, but to be honest there isn’t much to his character so he doesn’t have to try too hard. He makes a much better director, telling the story really well and dragging you to the edge of your seat by the end - no matter how you feel about this period of history.

The other characters are also played well, but considering the film is meant to be about them there isn’t much in the way of character development. Affleck still keeps you feeling for them though, by showing that they are very vulnerable and extremely dependent on those around them. There were other characters though that didn’t need that much development because the actor was good enough to play the role perfectly. I’m thinking of John Goodman here, who plays the role of Hollywood makeup artist.

This brings me to another small issue that I had with this film. Argo makes out that Hollywood was the real Hero in this story. Now I don’t mind that so much and it could well be true, I’ve been far too lazy to find out in all honesty. But what I don’t like about it is that as a result of this Hollywood have dramatically overrated this film. Don’t get me wrong it’s a good film; it’s just not as good as the vain people of Hollywood believe.

The Verdict
Argo is a good film and it tells the story of a Hollywood/CIA rescue operation set in the mists of the 1980 Iranian revolution, although fails to put much emphasis on how Iran got to that place to start with. Affleck does a good job in the lead role and a better one at directing. The support actors are really good and no matter what you think to the situation in Iran, you’ll be hoping that the US civilians get out alive. 

LHSRAting for Argo 7.3/10

-Ayden

Bioshock Infinite Review

“Bring us the girl and wipe away the debt”. With those word players take on the role of Booker Dewitt who travels to the sky city of Columbia in search of mystery girl Elizabeth. Along the way he must discover the mystery behind this supposed utopia and topple the self styled prophet who runs the city.

As the sequel to the very successful Bioshock, expectations were very high and this game seems to know that and it gleefully plays with those expectations. Like Rapture before it, the world of Columbia is just as much a character as Booker or Elizabeth. From its shining statues and idyllic beach, to its murky underbelly and racial tension, the world of Bioshock Infinite feels like one of the greatest achievements in a game that is full of great achievements.

The mechanics of the game will feel very familiar to anyone who has played the first game. You will spend the game looting the surrounding environment to find food money and other items. You will also spend much of your time shooting waves of enemies.

However, for all of the similarities with its predecessor, players of the original Bioshock maybe expecting some scares. The fist Bioshock was in places genuinely creepy and this isn't the case in this game. Instead the game feels much more like an adventure experience than a horror one. Players arrived to the world of Rapture too late to see the true downfall of this supposed utopia but in Infinite you are the cause of the disruption and get to experience the downfall first hand.

Every corner of this world is packed full of characters. From a Barbershop Quartet who sing Beach Boys songs, to the almost deity like worship of the founding fathers, this feels like a fully realised world that players will love to explore. Columbia is a city on the brink of a Civil War and it doesn't take long for Booker to be embroiled in battle. Here too Bioshock Infinite excels, Booker has access to an arsenal of weapons although he can only access two of these weapons at a time and they are all fun to use. They are complimented by the vigour system which replaces the plasmids from the previous game.

These Vigors include direct replacements for old favourites such as the ability to shoot fire or lightning from your fingertips, to more unusual abilities. These include Bucking Bronco which shoots your foes into the air allowing you to shoot them not unlike the 2011 game Bulletstorm. These can all be upgraded to become more effective resulting in a more souped up versions of the powers. Lighting for example extends its reach arcing from foe to foe instead of focusing on just one making Booker far more versatile. This combines with the almost RPG like nature of the collectable clothing which confer various abilities such as hits causing your enemies to catch fire or your shields recharge faster.

These potions found around Columbia allow Booker to add variety to the combat from throwing electricity at opponents that arcs between groups of foes to having a murder of crows attack them. This gives the player far more options than the average shooter and combined with Elizabeth, it creates a unique experience.

Then we come to Elizabeth, the whole aim of Booker's mission, and she is a major part of the game. It's safe to say that if her character did not work the game would have fallen apart as players were trailed by something they considered an annoyance. This doesn't happen as Elizabeth feels like an essential part of the game and adds an interesting element to the combat. She has the power to open tears into parallel universes, she can bring things from those universes into Columbia. These items range from weapon drops, to cover, to medipacs. All of these are bought forth with a simple button press changing every encounter.

From the majestic sky city to the fantastic characters Infinite is an astounding game to look at with crisp images, vibrant colour, and impressive lighting effects. This adds a level of depth to the world that is missing from many games.

But the true star of the show however is the story which lifts Bioshock Infinite far above other first person shooters. This game encourages exploration by drip feeding the plot to the play by finding recordings; these reveal important details that expand the story in interesting ways.

Of course like all games Infinite does have its problems. While the enemy characters mostly do a good job of providing an adequate challenge they can sometimes do stupid things such as not retreat to cover whilst generally relying on sheer numbers to overcome Booker. Vigors give the player many options to tackle the enemies but very few uses these miraculous powers themselves.

But these small imperfections are only made all the more noticeable due to the excellence of the overall experience. This can be counted as one of the best experiences of the console generation.

In conclusion anybody with any interest in this game should play it immediately and anyone not interested should be.

LHSRATING 9/10 (PC)

Injustice Gods Among Us Review

Just who would win a fight between the Man of Steel and The Dark Night? Fresh off the success of the Mortal Kombat reboot Netherrealm studios now try to tackle the world of DC comics do they succeed? read on to find out.

The fighting system of this game is bo

th simple enough for players who don't play many fighting games to have a good time but also deep enough for fighting game players to not feel that this game is too simple. The game features three attack buttons plus a button that uses a characters unique ability. These abilities include such things as a strength boost for Superman or an added glide on Batman's jumps. The final piece of the pie comes in the shape of an interaction button that allows fighters to use aspects of the arena to batter their foes. Strength based characters such as Wonder Women will pick up elements of the environment and smash them other other player but other characters whom do not posses super strength will bounce off these objects enabling them to run circles around the larger fighters.

Like Mortal Kombat before it Injustice features a lot of content in comparison to other fighters. First and foremost there is complete story mode, in this story Superman has turned into a dictator who along with a group of heroes rules with an iron fist. During this mode players are taken through the plot and through seamless cut scenes that drop you into a range of fights. It's an engaging plot that fans of the characters should enjoy featuring a ton of fan service.

The Roster of fighters is deep from the well known like Batman and the Joker to the less will know such as Killer Frost and Solomon Grundy. This allows for many different fighting styles to be represented, fancy being a grappler? then Bane is for you, prefer to stand back and throw projectiles you will love playing as Deathstroke.

The games also has a great suite of online features, every fight both on line and off grants experience that is used to buy alternate costumes concepts art and other goodies. Online enables you to place bets on who will wing the match in particular modes such as King Of The Hill where the winner of the fight stays on and the loser goes to the back of a queue of players or Survivor where a player must defeat as many people as possible on a single health bar.

S.T.A.R. Labs is a series of challenges designed to offer a taste of different characters from simple combo trials to more elaborate mini games such as guiding Catwoman's cat Isis through a museum dodging security patrols and laser trip wires as she goes. This is a welcome break from the actual fighting but many of the challenges can be frustrating making progress in this mode difficult to attain.

There are also modes that feature a more traditional approach simply putting a ladder of fighter in front of you and allowing you to fight through them. Modifiers can also be added to these such as tackling each fight with a new fighter or beginning with less health.

The problems with Injustice begin to show when you compare the game to its predecessor. While the story mode is substantial not all of the characters are playable in it. This makes the story far less epic than it could be and if more twists and turns were added to the plot it would have been much better value for money.

Another problem is that the story is set up in an, admittedly excellent graphic novel that was released in the run up to the games release. The problem with this is that many of nuances of the story are only hinted at during the game, this is a real shame as it really is a great story.

There are also a couple of modes that were present in Mortal Kombat such as the one armed bandit that created an entirely random fight every time. To have a game that drops features is a real disappointment.

The fighting Mechanics are mostly excellent but the super moves (pulled of by pulling the back triggers once your super meter is full) are suitably epic, but they lose their effectiveness when you have seen them several times. Also another system that lets you bet your super meter on a quick time event to regain health seems to just make fights drag on rather than turn the tide of battle.

The graphics too are uneven. While most of the characters are well represented there are a few that look a little off (Wonder Women in particular looks very strange in comparison the the other female fighters). Additonal character skins are a great incentive but many of the best ones must be unlocked by either buying the collectors edition or, worse still buying and beating the iphone game.

Overall injustice is a solid fighting game that can be easily recommended to fans of the DC Universe but will have a lesser appeal to anyone else. The game is still worthy of being played but it is sadly a little less than the home run many had hoped.

The LHSRAting for Injustice Gods Among us is 7/10