Rubix. Gaming Review Blog: October 2008

Metal Gear Solid 4 'Review'

Author: Martyn Posted under:

Game: Metal Gear Solid 4
Published by: Konami
Developed by: Kojima Productions
Formats: Playstation 3 Format Played: Playstation 3

A late review but I never had a PS3 on release or when this game came out so you can hardly blame be for the later review.
This is the game I bought a PS3 for and I couldn’t wait any longer so once I had saved up enough money I purchased a PS3 80GB with MGS4 but I had waited so long to play this game that I never put it straight into the machine, I actually waited until I finished another one of my games so that I could give MGS4 my full attention.
Following the story of all previous Metal Gear Solid and Metal Gear storylines 4 wrap-up everything neatly bringing in characters you will remember if you had played them all. And you would have needed to play them all to follow the story as this game was made for the films. Some people will argue that the length of the cut scenes is two long others will tell you how great they are and me? Well I love them!

They really make you understand the characters better and get you more focused into the story. They also keep you involved with the ability to hit the Left trigger to focus your view or tap X button to relive a memory. These are interesting but not necessary and certainly not something you would worry about on the second play though but then again you can also skip any cut scene too which is good for anyone who wants to just play the game play.

The games play is very smooth and everything you can pick up quickly. Your suit camo now automatically changes to the background just by lying on the floor or pushing up against a wall which is much handier then manually changing it like you did in 3 (which is one of the only things I didn’t like about 3).
The only real problem I had with 4 was the amount of weapons you could find or pick up. It was ridiculous and unnecessary as I only used half the items to play through the game and even then I could have done it without some of them. Also if you earn enough points you could buy so much weapons and ammo from Drebin a weapons launderer you will meet. This makes the game easier unlike the first three where if you ran out of ammo you had to o searching for it or it forces you to use a different gun.
Having said this that is the only Issue I had with the game and let’s face it there is a harder mode I can play which could solve the fact I found the game easy and make it more of a challenge. The only other disappointment I had was with the end boss but without giving spoilers away I really can’t tell you why.

The game play is amazing it really is especially travelling back through Shadow Moses really gives you a sense of nostalgia. The boss battles are fantastic although once you work them out they could be finished easily and quickly.
But it doesn’t matter how nice the graphics and how good the gameplay is….ok it does but MGS4 is all about the story line and this game really delivers one of the best storylines and ties up the saga brilliantly.
I really can’t wait to play it again.

9/10

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Little Big Planet BETA ‘The shape of things to come’

Author: Martyn Posted under:

When I got my hands on the code for LBP beta on the PS3 (thanks Versus) I was over the moon! The first thing that strikes me about this game was how cute it all was and everything was just genius down to whoever does the narration.

The game itself is so easy to pick up and for something so simple its great fun. When I joined in the online games I did get lots of slowdown, something I hope will be sorted in the final version but I did play a few levels with Kate and everything was just breathtaking and entertaining. I think the best bit was when Kate jumped on a Jet propelled car and it kicked off and I was never going to make is so I spotted that there was something attached to it so I grabbed this ball behind then got propelled along with her like I was water skiing :D we laughed for ages about that. Well that and slapping each other down!

I have yet to build anything but I did enjoy the levels that the others had built. Thank you LBP I look forward to your late release.

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Infinite Undiscovery 'Review'

Author: Martyn Posted under:

Game: Infinite Undiscovery

Published by: Square Enix
Developed by: tri-Ace

Formats: X360 Format Played: X360

Well hello there and first off I am sorry it has been so long since my last review.
Anyone who knows me would know that I am a huge Final Fantasy fan and therefore I put a lot of trust into Square-Enix games. I had not heard much about IU right up until the release date. I think I downloaded a teaser trailer a few months ago but it wasn’t until a few weeks before the release that I caught wind of it.
As this game was sold for £30 in most places online I snapped it up despite the average reviews the game was getting.
First things first you play as a young kid (which seems to be a RPG must these days) called Capell who has been caught a put in prison because he happens to look like the Liberator who you soon find out is a guy called Sigmund who is trying to free the moon which has been chained to the planet and is being slowly pulled into a collision.
Most of the prison level is training how to use what! But you are not alone, as you are sprung free by a young lady called Aya.
Those who like your xbox achievements should be aware some are hard to get and most are involved in certain parts of the game only and if you miss them you can’t go back to claim them. One of these happens to be in the prison level!

The combat is free flowing and the best part about this game. Later on once you build up your party you may have too many characters battling on screen which makes the game much easier. You can have up to 4 people in your party who will follow you around in the battle areas but once you get into towns and villages these characters will be spread out around the place. You can link with each of these characters and there is some benefit in doing so as some characters can open locked chests or some of the townspeople might not speak to you but will if you have a certain character linked with you. Also there are extra story clips if you link one character and go talk to another character.
Another reason for linking characters is that you can cook meals or make weapons and items by doing so. Most characters have their own abilities and so long as you have the right materials/ingredients then your character will attempt to make whatever you choose from the list. Certain foods will replenish HP/MP or give you extra powers. You can also enhance yourself or others in your party for limited periods of time e.g. 200% extra damage! These can come in handy for certain boss battles but I found the cooking and item making boring and a waste of time.

Other bad points about this game is the fact that the story takes a long while to get going, most people I spoke to never made it to the good bit because they got put off at the start. As RPG’s tend to be long games I believe that its important to start off on a high and grab the player in early on. Having said this, this is one of the shorter RPG’s I have played and you could finish in around 25-30 hours.

Like I said the combat is very entertaining in this game and the story gets much more interesting the further in you go.

I should also point out that your main character also has a flute which holds different powers when different tunes are played but to be honest you will not find half of them let alone need them.

Poor camera angles can sometimes make battles harder and anyone following the cut scenes will notice that the lip sync is extremely poor.
I actually enjoyed this game, I liked the characters although there were too many and some you can’t even have in YOUR party and don’t even have a big part to play in the story, making me think why????

The boss battles were fun and enjoyable. And I loved the fact that your characters could become evil and turn against you while out in the field……you will see ;)