Games Cheats and Reviews

On paper, EA’s Army of Two: The 40th Day for PSP is a neat idea; instead of aping the console version’s Gears of War gameplay, the developers made this outing a top-down shoot-em-up reminiscent of Commando. But overcomplicated mechanics and unpolished partner A.I. turn what could have been an enjoyable excursion into little more than a messy waste of time.

The 40th Day maps character movement to the Left thumbstick and weapon aiming to the face buttons: just press the button that corresponds to the direction you want to shoot and open fire. Your gunfire follows whichever enemy you single out, regardless of how much you or they move around, so there’s no need for pinpoint precision either. Those basics work well, and I wish EA had left it at that.

Game: Battle Tanks
Platform: PlayStation 3 / PlayStation Network
Developer: Gameloft
Price: $9.99
Pros: Another interesting game design comes exclusively to the PSN
Cons: The lack of variety makes the game wear out its welcome
Acquired via Developer

It is no secret that the PlayStation Network is home to some of the most outstanding downloadable offerings available on any platform. In hopes of banking on that legacy, Gameloft, who are more prolifically known as iPhone developers, looks to combine equal parts pinball and high tech artillery in the arcade shooter, Battle Tanks. After all, when you can meld mortar shells and physics puzzles, what’s not to like?

When you think of dual stick shooter mechanics, classics like the Geometry Wars or Super Stardust franchises predominantly come to mind. The common thread that these games share is a flare for the quick, twitch-like action. Though tanks would be one of the last objects imaginable when you think of mobility and quickness, the game manages to convince you that this could in fact exist; granted it would have to be on a parallel planet where engineers thought it was smarter to make a tank mobile, but vulnerable to even the mere thought of gunfire.

Herein lies the juxtaposition of the game: You man a super mobile killing machine capable of dealing large amounts of pain and destruction, but at the same time are so vulnerable that if you were to even sneeze inside of your tank, you may very well kill everyone onboard in a flash that would make the Hindenburg look like a firecracker. Plus, the exterior might as well have been made of eggshells, because they seem to have just about the same density.

Improbably asinine engineering aside, Battle Tanks is a game that brings together the world of physics puzzles and high explosives with relative ease. The goal of each stage is to clear out the enemy tanks. Sure, it sounds simple enough, but when all of the tanks on the grid have turned their fire on you, it is a completely different story altogether. Further complicating the action is the fact that most of the different weapons bounce off the walls, adding in an intriguing ricochet mechanic that takes some serious getting used to.

As the levels become more challenging, you can expect to have numerous missiles and assorted other projectiles bouncing off of the walls like the most deadly game of pong that you have ever seen. That said, this mechanic could be used in your favor, transforming things into an ever-evolving game of death billiards.

Fortunately, the battlefield will continually morph over the course of each match. Simple obstructions such as small buildings and trees can be destroyed, making way for a clearer shot at the opposition. However, there are two sides to every coin. On many occasions, clearing out these obstacles will also in turn make you more vulnerable. Adding further chaos to the action is the several different power-ups that you will come across during the course of the stages. These tend to give you such traits as invulnerability and tend to almost feel as if you are getting an unfair advantage.

However bad using a power-up may make you feel, it comes as no surprise that the limited number of lives that you have can lead to you exploiting these more and more frequently. Players will be equipped with a mere four lives and let loose on the single player campaign. Sure, you have the option to continue right where you left off if you do die, but once again, it feels like cheating in a classic coin-op game.

Don’t feel too bad, though. There are fifty levels in single player that are sure to catch your fancy. This doesn’t mean that you have to struggle by yourself though. Every single player stage can also be played through in two-player co-op, where teamwork and strategy are the true keys to victory. The real brilliance of the game shows through when you are completing the game in this manner.

For every place where the game thrives in co-op, it manages to take it to the next level in the four player, online competitive arenas. You and your four closest, or perhaps not-so-close, friends can showdown in a high-octane battle royale, the likes of which have never been seen on the PlayStation 3. Okay, maybe that might be a bit of an exaggeration, but needless to say, you will enjoy yourself while blowing your friends to kingdom come.

At it’s core, Battle Tanks feels like an experience that you could have been playing for a couple of decades in any number of arcades across the country. The visuals are competent for a PlayStation 3 game, but seem to lack the polish that you have grown to expect from other PSN classics like Super Stardust HD or Flower. There are really not a lot of new things that the game brings to the table that would have the “wow factor” necessary to hook the current generation of console gamers. If you are looking for a good way to pass an afternoon, give it a look, otherwise, nuke it while you have the chance.

Game: WET
Publisher / Developer: Bethesda / Artificial Mind and Movement
Genre: Action
Verdict: Average shooter that goes for style over substance
Pros: Awesomely stylish, the action feels excellent to begin with…
Cons: Unfortunately that feeling doesn’t last as the game becomes repetitive pretty quickly

It must be really hard trying to create a unique and innovative 3rd person shooter these days. With so many games out in the genre, from titles like Gears of War to Stranglehold and all points in-between, you have to think that virtually every innovative idea has already been used, so creating something that stands out from the crowd becomes very difficult indeed. Some developers don’t try to create something that dissimilar from the rest, instead choosing to try and perfect the formula and make an unmissable game. Others try something a little different, trying to grab your attention with some kind of hook or gimmick. Then there are games like WET, who try to stand out from the crowd by a strong visual and presentational style. Stand out it certainly does, but does it do enough to hold your attention after reeling you in? Read on to find out more.

WET places you into the acrobatic shoes of Rubi Malone, a heroine for hire who is more than happy getting her hands dirty while carrying out her work. And by dirty, I of course mean covered with blood. Whether it’s a hail of gunfire or the swish of a sword, Rubi is exceptionally comfortable when it comes to mowing down hordes of bad guys. Using a variety of guns, such as shotguns and sub-machine guns, as well as her trusty sword Rubi will leave countless enemies lying in bloodied heaps at her feet. The inclusion of the sword gives the game a nice twist compared to virtually every other 3rd person shooter, as it gives you the option to get up close and personal if you wish. Most killing will be done at a distance but there will always be times when you get close to an enemy, intentionally or otherwise, and a quick slice of your sword will restore your personal space bubble and ensure everyone else thinks twice about getting that close to you.

As well as dumping bad guys in your way as you progress through the levels, every now and then you’ll come to an arena section. These sections force you to kill swarm after swarm of enemy cannon fodder until you destroy the various spawn points in the area. There will be multipliers to collect which are vital not only for boosting your score, but the higher your multiplier the faster your health will regenerate. Performing quick stylish kills will ensure your multiplier stays high while keeping your health nicely topped up.

To make sure you don’t get overwhelmed by enemy numbers you have a few moves at your disposal which should help swing the odds back in your favor. Jumping and sliding, two fairly simple and innocuous moves become lethal weapons when used by Rubi. When either jumping or sliding, shooting your weapons automatically slows down time, allowing you to take better aim at your enemies. In addition, you can use your dual weapons (which Rubi always carries) to target more than one enemy at once. Rubi will lock on to one poor sap while you take aim at another. As you can string these moves together it’s entirely possible to jump headlong into a room, take out two or three bad guys before instantly transitioning into a full length knee slide which lets you take out two or three more. It’s cool and instantly gratifying and makes you feel like an awesome killing machine.

Rubi’s tricks don’t stop there either. Instead of climbing down a ladder like any normal person, Rubi will slide down them head first, allowing her to target and shoot anyone unfortunate enough to be standing near the base of the ladder. Rubi can also swing around poles and slide down zip lines, and as you progress through the game you’ll get the chance to upgrade her skills, possibly unlocking the option to shoot while swinging or sliding. The chance to upgrade comes at the end of each level and after every arena battle, and you’ll find some skills are locked until you progress further into the story, or until you find yourself some extra weapons. My personal favorite upgrade is the ability to perform an upwards sword slash while doing a knee slide. Shooting two guys in the face while sliding then finishing off a third with a sword wielding uppercut just feels cool.

One thing that WET really has going for it is style. Presented in a B-movie grindhouse style with a grainy film filter, you can see the film influences running right through the game, especially Tarantino-style films such as Kill Bill. Rubi herself reminds me of The Bride from the aforementioned Kill Bill, with her acrobatics, gun play and sword abilities. There is also a Matrix Reloaded style highway scene where Rubi leaps athletically from vehicle to vehicle while dodging gunfire and destroying enemies. Between chapters and missions you’ll be treated to cinema style advertisements, further driving home the movie connections. The game unashamedly wants to look like a film and that’s no bad thing in my eyes, as it creates a nice feel to the game as a result.

Another nod towards the medium of movies comes in the form of Rubi’s rage mode. These sections start with Rubi taking a large splash of blood to her face, causing her to go ape and get medieval on people’s asses. The screen turns to a very Sin City like state where everything goes red, white and black, and Rubi gets very pissed. Rubi’s multiplier builds very quickly here as you’re encouraged to kill everything as quickly as possible to keep it that way. These sections also feel very much like another nod in the direction of Kill Bill, as it’s quite reminiscent of the Crazy 88 fight sequence in the first film, only everything here goes red instead of black and white. It’s just a shame Gogo isn’t here with her scary metal ball on a chain, as that would be an awesome boss fight.

The story in the game, for what it’s worth, is pretty average stuff. You start off being employed to go on a fairly routine mission, only to find yourself double-crossed before setting off on a path of righteous vengeance. To be honest, the story in games like this is never too much of a concern for me. As long as I can follow it and it’s not too convoluted then I’m happy. After all, the story is really in place just to explain why I’m travelling to these different locations and killing these various people. I’m not after a story of Shakespearean quality here, just something that doesn’t get in the way of all the violence and bloodshed, and WET delivers on that count. It’s probably not something you’ll remember a couple of months down the line, but it’s also not why you’d play the game, so we’re not really complaining here.

So, it’s all been good so far, so I’m sure you’re waiting for the bad news. Unfortunately, while the gun play is stylish and can feel very cool to start with, after a while you find yourself wanting more variety. While the gameplay is broken up now and then by sequences such as the motorway section mentioned earlier, the rest of the game follows the pattern of simply moving through the levels killing everything in your way. A few more sequences like the motorway would have gone a long way to making everything seem that little bit less samey.

Another problem lies with the moves of Rubi herself. Her ability to slow down time by diving through the air and sliding on the ground are so useful that you find yourself using them constantly. Unlike something like Max Payne where the amount of bullet time you have is limited and has to be recharged, there is nothing stopping Rubi from constantly going from diving to sliding to diving to sliding. If they’d implemented a system like Max Payne’s where it was limited, you’d have to pick your spots more which would mean making those perfect dive-slide combos even more satisfying. As it stands, the coolness you feel the first time you slaughter everyone with a slow-mo combination starts to fade away pretty quickly when it becomes the standard way of doing things.

The graphics are also nothing to write home about. There’s nothing particularly bad about them, but now that the consoles have been out for a while, and games like Gears of War 2 and Uncharted 2 are blowing us away with their graphical glory, it’s always a shame when a game comes out that doesn’t come anywhere near them. The presentation is excellent and the game is full of style, it’s just a shame the in-game graphics and animation couldn’t match them.

Sonically the game is fine. There are a couple of recognizable voices in Eliza Dushku and Malcolm McDowell, and they both perform their vocal duties with no problems. The game is obviously aimed at adult gamers, not just from the death and violence in the game, but from the language used as well. If you go five minutes without hearing the F-bomb being dropped then you’re probably going through the game too slowly. The soundtrack is also good without being outstanding, fitting in with the action nicely.

WET feels like something of a missed opportunity to me. The game does a lot right, from the grindhouse movie feel, to the Tarantino film references, to the over-the-top action. What the game does, it does very well. The problem comes about simply because the scope of the game is too narrow and doesn’t offer enough variety to stop the cool killing techniques from becoming old pretty quickly. That’s not to say that WET is a bad game, because it’s not, but if it’s something you fancy just make sure you’re aware of what you’re getting. If you like your games over-the-top, filled with stylish slow motion action, then WET may well fit the bill. Just be aware of its limitations before you part with your hard earned cash.

Console Monster writes: "The Xbox Live Marketplace rarely receives Xbox Live Arcade titles on Thursdays but today seems to be an exception with Cell Factor: Psychokinetic Wars releasing, alongside a surprise Overlord II demo, a free Guitar Hero: World Tour song and more. Here is the full Xbox Live Marketplace update for Thursday 4th June and Day 4 of E3 2009:

Full Game – CellFactor: Psychokinetic Wars

Price: 800 Microsoft Points (Free Trial available)

Size: 310 MB

CellFactor: Psychokinetic Wars is a fast-paced first person multiplayer shooter. Choose your side in the battle of technology vs. humanity. Manipulate your environment and kill your enemies with your choice of gunfire and/or telekinetic superpowers. Use your mind to rip objects from the environment and smash them in any direction or use your powers to create a bullet-proof energy shield. Flying, teleporting, and accelerated speed give you countless ways to kill or be killed. Take on the three single player challenge modes (one mode for each character) or battle live enemies throughout the world in one of four multiplayer modes! There are no refunds for this item. For more information, see www.xbox.com/live/accounts…"

Eu.Playstation.Blog writes: "Hello! I have the honour of posting the first PlayStation Store update on SCEE’s new PlayStation.Blog; I hope that you’ll join me each week to see what new content we have on the Store.

I know there is a lot of interest in what we bring to the Store for the SCEE region and it’s always good to get your feedback. It’s great to now be able to chat with you directly, let you know what we’re up to and, whenever possible, answer your questions.

So without further meandering, onto today’s store publish:

Downloadable Games

Cellfactor: Psychokinetic Wars (£7.99/€9.99)

CellFactor: Psychokinetic Wars is a fast-paced first-person multiplayer shooter where you choose your side in the battle of technology vs. humanity. Manipulate your environment and kill your enemies with your choice of gunfire and/or telekinetic superpowers.

PEGI 16+"