This is one of my absolute favorite games. When Prince of Persia creator Jordan Mechner teamed up with Ubisoft after the failed Prince of Persia 3D game the result was a refreshing, well designed and brilliant platformer. This is undoubtedly the best game in the four part series because it hits every note correctly the first time round. Playing as the unnamed Prince, you assault the Maharajah's Kingdom and plunder a magical device known as the dagger of time. After unleashing its powers via an enigmatic hourglass in the city of Azad things quickly go from bad to worse. The entire city is transformed into horrible sand monsters and it's up to the Prince and the untrustworthy daugher of the Maharajah, Princess Farah to brave the terrors of the city. This is one of the best written and easy to understand narratives I've encountered in a video game. Not only is there alot of charm in the hilarious dialogue between the arrogant Prince and the beautiful Princess but more lies deep beneath the surface. The Prince, struggling to come to terms with what has happened is mentally fortified by Farah and together they seek a path of redemption. Quite a few twists and turns happen and trust is very much a lingering issue as they rely on each other to avoid countless traps. The gameplay is centered around the two working together. While the Prince runs along walls ini mpressive acrobatic displays, Farah crawls through cracks and activates switches. In short the platforming is smooth, relatively bug free and looks like practiced gymnastic routines. If you need to know where to go next a vision for the entire sequence is briefly displayed at save points. Most impressively however is the ability to cheat death if the Prince fails to cross correctly through a series of spikes. The dagger of time allows the Prince to rewind time and stay alive. This mechanic is not only a very cool way to avoid clicking retry, but it also allows you to reflect on your mistakes as time is slowly rewound to the point of safety. The dagger also plays a vital role in the game's combat. Farah and The Prince will face off against waves of sand demons. Using the dagger the Prince can slow time down, freeze enemies in their places and rapidly increase his attack speed. Together with the regular attacks like the ability to vault over enemies, parry, riposte and leap off walls, combat is fun and presents even more amazing animations. Combining aspects of combat, platforming and an occasional puzzle makes the transition between areas in the game very smooth and interesting. The design is so well thought out and diverse you'll swear there's something new around every corner. The art direction is one of Persian grace and colorful design. Each section of the city presents a unique style from the Ramparts to the Sultan's Zoo. Particularly pretty are the particle effects which offer some awesome sand obliterating action and lighting displays. The Prince also has a variety of weapons he acquires throughout play and each one looks better than last. I swear you'll want the last two swords for yourself. Finally, the soundtrack is arabic music with a little rock thrown in. The pieces mainly play during combat while ambient sounds keep you immersed in Azad during platforming. It's just really pleasant to listen to. Sometimes I just keep one enemy alive to hear a track one more time. Towards the end it builds with the story and the adrenaline rush you feel is sensational. The voice acting is also superb, Yuri Lowenthal provides the perfect tones for this snob who gradually develops into a very refined and structured character. Like I said before, the conversations between the two are all worth listening to. I can't get enough of this game and I think it's one of the very worthwhile Prince of Persia games which made it in before Ubisoft turned the series to garbage. Jordan delivered a game which has style and class. I think this is the kind of game anyone will like. Get it!
I first encountered Judge Dredd not in the popular comic book series, 2000 AD but in the film version where Stallone had trouble speaking his lines as always. Then I played this game when it came out with the demo version, didn't impress me enough to buy the game. Here it is on Gog so I decided to give it a go and it's fairly good for the price. The main story can be breezed through in about 3 hours and that's only if you're actually killing everything. Enemies in the game are mostly vampires and zombies that fight in melee so you might not get that thrill of normal shooters where you're in gunfights all the time. Combat is a little clunky on the whole, probably because of the slow shooting (the lawgiver gun was fun though) I also noticed that reloading was identical to Perfect Dark, my favourite N64 game. You also get to arrest people but if you shoot innocents then you law meter goes down and you instantly lose which can get frustrating. I really enjoyed the artwork overall, it looked great for its time and is still easy on the eyes today. The music was also great and I'll definately be downloading the soundtrack here. As for additional content you get an arcade mode which pits you against waves of enemies in 12 different challenges and just like in the story mode you can acquire rankings to unlock cheats and multiplayer skins. Getting the highest ranking, "Judge Dredd" isn't too difficult. As for multiplayer I didn't see any servers up but I could still play some quick bot matches which were fun. Not the greatest FPS around but definately worth checking out for the price. Dredd is the law!
Beneath a Steel Sky caught my eye because it was created by Revolution, the developers for the popular Broken Sword franchise. It was intriguing to me because as an Australian we rarely see video games actually set in our country. There are various references to Australian culture including aboriginals, fosters beer, animals, Hobart and the game's setting, Union City which is Sydney. I instantly connected Beneath a Steel Sky with the Sydney Harbour Bridge, one of the finest steel structures in existence and an obvious inspiration for the game. The cultural impact isn't profound enough to deter people from this game, it's merely a pleasant inclusion without any harsh stereotypes, I seriously laughed at the Foster's beer reference although now we drink VB and Four X. You are introduced to Robert Foster, an orphan who was adopted by the Aborigines after being involved in a copter crash at a young age. Now far older and full of wisdom and witty remarks, Foster is swept away by a team of storm-troopers back to the city where he was born. Souless steel towers littered with pipes are all that greet him, everything has changed for the worse. It's a fascinating setting. Society has been completely reformed with the poorest living near at the top level and the richest residing the bottom. A clear gap is defined early on and we learn everything is governed by a mysterious council and a computer known only as LINC. If you've ever read 1984 or Brave New World you'll understand Big Brother has clearly assumed total control. The dystopian world is enigmatic and fun to explore with excellent artwork for every scene. Don't cocern yourself with any "darker" shades though because the accompanying humor overrides that time and again. Some characters even move between areas to make it feel more alive. As an adventure game it's generally what you'd expect. Talking to people for information and clues on what to do next, using one item on another. One of the differences is that you can die and there are many ways to fail, including a rather unexpected and hilarious disintegration. Puzzles range from too simple to obscure and complex. Getting into the security building using a grappling hook took me a while to figure out since the game expands as you gain access to more levels. Overall it's a little short and can be finished in about four hours, I thought there was less dialogue from characters than other games however it is voice acted and well at that. Speaking of sound I'm concerned about bugs that could possibly be censorship. Sometimes lines of dialogue aren't uttered at all. Then we come to the music and I just didn't like it because it pierces your ears and is only a short loop. That's about the only gripe I have with the game though, otherwise it features a solid story which is appealing to any cyberpunk fanatic. Fun, free and thrilling!
MDK is one of the most refreshing, intense, action packed experiences in gaming I've had in years and it astounds me that this was made in the 90s. You play as Kurt, a janitor for a mad scientist Dr. Hawkins flying down to various countries on Earth which are under attack by Minecrawlers, extremely large vehicles filled with aliens. Every Minecrawler is very different and divided into sections called "Arenas" and that's exactly what they are. You clear out room after room of bad guys in a fast paced combat style which is reliant on how fast you can scroll your mouse. The items and sniper mode provide for entertaining kills with explosions and lasers flying everywhere. Speaking of flying, Kurt uses an obscure parachute to float to different areas in a platforming aspect which is fun and easy to master. I really enjoyed this game and the only problem I have with it is that it's short, only about four hours in duration. That said I'm going to be playing MDK 2 very soon.
