Shall we get to it?

Annoyance of the year:
The continued obsession with Call of Duty.

Look, I’m sorry. I know I go on and on about this. But frankly, there is SO much in the game industry past Call of Duty. It’s pants. I didn’t even play one minute of MW3, I’m just no longer interested. Every game has brought the same boring gameplay; the same fruitless multiplayer. Its your call to keep indulging but, you know, why not try something a little more original, or fun?

Disappointments of the year
LA Noire

I gave it a good review, but it left me feeling slightly cold at the end. It did what it did very well, but the one trick soon became very stale, on reflection. Could have really been something great. Instead it was just something that was good, but lacking in that killer quality I’ve come to expect from Rockstar.

Batman Arkham City

I’m sorry, ok? I loved it, to a point. 7.5 isn’t a bad score… But to see critics way, way more established than myself fawning over it as if it was the best game ever created was disappointing after playing the game through to completion. It had better elements than the first game, but a weaker game in general, which sounds impossible. But please – be honest with yourselves – it isn’t a world-beating game after the first couple of hours. It’s good, but it’s not right.

Worst game(s) of the year
A bit of a hard category for me to judge as I’ve mostly played good games this year.

As a stream of consciousness, I didn’t like Battlefield 3 single player as it was hideously bad, WWE 12 felt soulless, Space Marine was dull as dishwater, LOTR War of the North was a really, really poor man’s Skyrim and lacking on so many levels. I actually found Dark Souls very disappointing too, given the hype. Pick one, really – I tend to know which games will suck and not bother with them, or give up – so its not fair to christen them as ‘bad’…

Wait. I’ve got it. The worst game I played this year was easily Mortal Kombat. Boring boring boring. As a fan, it’s time to pull the plug, I’m afraid.

That said, Kinect has had a poor year. Kinect titles in general need to improve their quality. The technology is still mind-blowing, but the quality is not. Which brings me to:

Surprises of the year
The Gunstringer

An utterly fun experience from start to finish. I expected disappointment, instead I got a masterfully designed and executed ‘Western’ shoot-em-up. It’s genius, hilarious, and just stupendously enjoyable, and anyone with a Kinect owns it to themselves to spend a few hours with this. I promise you’ll love it. It was the high point of Kinect’s year by miles.

Shadows of the Damned

It’s just hilarious. Completely insane, with the most indecipherable yet awesome plot of the year, but the gameplay is very impressive. Some of the humour is juvenile; sure, but get past that, and again, it’s just a triumph of style and substance combining so, so well.

Stacking

XBLA’s best game of the year? Debatable, but I absolutely loved every second of this quaint, charming puzzler. Just challenging enough to be tough but not impossible, just cute enough to not be overly saccharine, Double Fine got this absolutely spot on. 1200 points is about £10. It’s worth every single last penny.

Game(s) of the Year

Honourable mentions: Forza 4, which was excellent, Deus Ex: Human Revolution, which was flawed but very good, Gears 3, which truly was great, and Assassins Creed: Revelations, which I have a soft spot for, critics be damned. But two have stood head and shoulders above the pack in 2011.

Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim

I haven’t reviewed this yet, and I haven’t finished it yet, but I’m listing it here. Why?

Well, quite simply, despite the glitches and the bugs, it’s an absolute masterpiece. The world is stunning, there is so much to do, the quests are wonderful and the gameplay is pretty much perfect.

You want more reason to pick this up? Look up FUS DO RAH on YouTube. There you go. Get it, play it, love it. It’s exceptional, it’s entertaining, it’s entrancing. It’ll be reviewed in January… It’s my favourite game of the year; with one exception.

Portal 2

I don’t care if you all think I’m nuts for voting this as my game of 2011, but hear me out.

I have not had as much fun with any game that I’ve ever played. No game has entertained me, wowed me, or made me laugh this year. Wheatley is genius. GLaDOS is, again, genius. JK Simmons’ Cave Johnson may be the funniest character ever. You get a portal gun. You get HOURS exploring Aperture’s past and present. You get to use your brain. You get GLaDOS as a POTATO. You get some of the best co-op play you could ever hope for. You get to sabotage said co-op play with a well-placed and strategically timed portal sending your partner into oblivion.

It gave me more than any game this year, even the wonderful Skyrim. That it was outsold by Mortal Kombat is a disgrace but, you know what? I still love you, Portal 2. I’m glad you’re still alive.

I’m hoping – hoping – a very good and original game appears next year because it’s all sequels above, pretty much. Come on, games industry. Wow me.

Happy new year, one and all. More Nutshelling next year!

Yes, it’s the same as always. Yes, it’s still the same premise, same story arc… But it’s more Assassin’s Creed. And, quite honestly, I’d take a yearly update of this over the increasingly tired Call of Duty any day.

So, without spoiling anything for my friend Adam, who is just starting the series, you are once again Ezio Auditore da Firenze. Nothing is still true. Everything is still permitted. You are still an assassin. And bloody good at it too.

Desmond is in a spot of bother though after the dramatic ending to AC: Brotherhood, trapped in the Animus and trying to piece his mind together. Firstly, this gives rise to a new gameplay mechanic, giving Desmond’s character a back story, but in a rather bland puzzle-solving way. You build blocks to move from A to B, and avoid lasers. That’s it.

However, the meat of the game remains the same – just moved to the very brown but suitably enjoyable Constantinople. A new city begets new enemies, but you’re still fighting the greater Templar threat, which brings new game mechanic # 2 – assassin’s dens. This time, you’ll be defending them. Again, I’m not sure this really works in practice – the last wave is too powerful, the rest too powerless. Avoidance of taking part in this is possible, but requires new game mechanic # 3: master assassins. I say new – it’s more evolved. That said, you get to work with seven specific assassins that you recruit, and train, who each have their own specific mission to undertake. It’s a nice touch.

Essentially, it’s more of the same. So if you liked all of the previous games, you’ll enjoy this. If you didn’t – there isn’t enough new to grab your attention here.

But if you don’t enjoy climbing up towers and throwing yourself off them into a haystack, then chances are you haven’t clicked this link in the first place. It’s great. And, for me, isn’t showing its age just yet.

#inanutshell – More of the same, but who really likes change anyway? 8/10.

Well, OK, let’s start at the beginning, first. Arkham Asylum was the best Batman game I’d ever played, for sure. The gameplay was slick, the world was perfectly pitched, the story engrossing, the graphics beautiful. In short, the Dark Knight was finally given a game worthy of his awesome. GOTY titles followed, game reviewers praised the almighty for Rocksteady delivering The Perfect Batman Experience.

Then, Arkham City announced to much celebration. The reviewers and the public then held their breath. Surely, this sequel, this continuation, the next leap in Batman’s history, would be either spectacular or awful – there was simply no question. Either GREAT SUCCESS or EPIC FAILURE followed.

Except…well, for me, there is a third option.

See, Arkham City is a good game. There is no question of that. Does it fall into the realms of greatness? Not quite.

First, the good. The world is stunning. Arkham sprawls for seemingly miles, yet has a game world traversable in minutes. The city feels alive – shakedowns occur by the inmates round every corner, they discuss what you’ve been doing during the game; small touches, but excellent for the immersion factor. There is also a ton of things to discover; again, small touches, but all of these make you feel like Batman. It has wonderful moments, too – seek out the theatre, for one such moment (and 5 achievement points).

The gameplay is good, too – to a point. When combat works, it’s fluid, pinpoint, and fun. Bones crack, enemies tumble and are dispatched with the greatest of ease. Like Batman should be. Moving around the world feels like you’re Batman too, gliding effortlessly from place to place. It’s as close as you’ll ever get to being Batman… We’ll come back to this in a moment, though.

And the story is a plus too. The inclusion of so many villains could spoil the broth, as it were, but it’s handled well, and the “did they REALLY JUST DO THAT” of an ending was staged perfectly. All good news. The Riddler is once again a big presence, felt across the city with glowing green question marks greeting you at every turn. Lots of other villains – no spoilers here – pop up to offer side missions, too, and all are done rather well, given the cast list.

However.

I just didn’t feel the same rush I did from the first game. Not enough was new, or inventive, or better. The combat was essentially the same, but with the difficulty ramped up. Look, I’m not the best gamer but I do have some skill, yet some parts of this game made me feel Final Fantasy-esque levels of rage. The detective, i.e., “swing from pillar to post parts”, sections are mind-numbingly frustrating and feel forced. Yes, it’s trying to teach you to be clever, and sneaky, and perhaps this is my fault, not the game’s, but I don’t think it is. I think it lacks too much polish to work as often as it is used, and I just hated these parts.

You also quickly find that there is a ton of stuff to discover…but that most of it is exactly the same. Locking the side quests until you’ve picked up a certain number of Riddler trophies is the most irritating of all. These things are dull, and interminable. (My feelings on collectathons have not altered…) Seriously. Stretching it out to “50 hours” should not mean “go pick up these green things, most of which are really, really boring.” No, it’s a lack of inventiveness, and I feel it’s a detriment to what is an otherwise exceptional game world.

And the Catwoman sections… Jeez. Catwoman is useless. The same flow just isn’t possible with the character and her story arc seemed to be a little nonsensical at times. (Yes, I realise, this is Batman) As an incentive for buying the game new? Not really a huge one, in fairness.

With all that negativity behind me, let me add, again – this is a good game. A very good game at times. But greatness? No. Not for me. And with the benefit of hindsight, and a lot of thought, I think others may well agree with me. They may not. I simply think that this could – and should – have reached higher.

However, as a love letter to the Dark Knight, you likely won’t get even remotely close to this. You will float like Batman, fight like Batman, um, detect?…like Batman. You will BE Batman. It just turns out, that being Batman is kinda really, really annoying at times…

#inanutshell Some games have greatness thrust upon them. This, however, is merely Very Good. 7.5/10

Gears 2, however, was a stunning achievement. The story was excellent, the gameplay tons better. I loved it. Which way does the third instalment go, then?

Well, as most of you follow me on Twitter and will have seen my reactions throughout my playthrough, you already know where this is headed…

Gears 3 is exceptional. A quite staggering achievement in terms of gameplay, story, visuals… A truly wonderful experience.

Examples? Sure.

Never before has a game literally made me stop in my tracks and be emotionally affected before. I literally had to stop playing for a while after chapter 3 (no spoilers here). Also, if this is the end of this story, then it has a perfect ending here.

The game itself, when played through, has a flow to it that is, to me, unrivalled. The cover system is nigh-on perfect, the mechanics/physics are excellent; sure, you can’t jump, but really, it isn’t an issue at all. Combat soldiers wouldn’t need to jump anyway…

And – happy days! – the multiplayer is actually fun. FUN. Genuinely likeable, playable, entertainment. It still has it’s negatives but this far, far outweighs COD. In my personal (and therefore correct) opinion. If its playable and winnable by newbies like me, then it gets my vote.

Epic have hit onto a winning franchise here. And a winning formula. You cared about these characters. You wanted them to do well. You want them to succeed. That three games later, this is still the case, tells you all you need to know about the quality of the story and experience Epic have delivered. I could go on, but I can simply say the following in summary:

#inanutshell An absolute triumph. A stunning example of what the gaming industry is capable of. Not without it’s tiny foibles, but you’ll not care. It’s excellent – play it. 10/10.

This is not an advert for Twisted Pixel, honest, but an appreciation of their work thus far. It was with considerable interest then that I looked at their first ever full retail title, The Gunstringer.

You’ll note from the tags of this review that said game is a Kinect title. Now Kinect is a wonderful system, but lacks the real killer, top quality games thus far to make it a must-buy product. This is a flaw that Microsoft needs to address, but I feel finally that list does number at least one.

The Gunstringer, then, plays as one of the old style ‘light gun’ games with a twist. The titular character is actually the puppet – hence the name – of a reanimated cowboy hell bent on retribution after a betrayal by his gang. Easy enough, then – you hold the puppet with the left hand, and shoot with the right. Sounds simple – and it is. Scoring highly is the difficult part, where practice comes in, but the curve is never impossibly tough. It sounds a simple premise and that alone wouldn’t score this too highly… The substance is great but it’s the style and panache that the game is presented in that really gives you a top drawer gaming experience.

Your trek through each play is voiced by a very recognisably ‘Western’ voice, for example. He makes metaphors, none of which I will spoil, that could only fit in this genre. The in-jokes of cowboy titles, and stereotypes, are everywhere. Style-wise, it’s flawless. Sure, it’s also ridiculous, but that’s kind of the point. The reason Twisted Pixel are successful is that they really do know how to make games fun. This is by a mile the most fun Kinect experience I’ve had, and one of the most enjoyable games of 2011. A true delight, which most people will overlook in favour of Gears 3.

My advice? Well, play Gears 3, obviously, (I’m not stupid!) but take a few hours to enjoy this too. Yes, the plot is nonsense. Yes, your arms will ache from the act of shooting bad guys. But you know what? You’ll laugh heaps, you’ll smile knowingly at the references, and you’ll seriously have a blast. AND it can be played two-player too.

Give it a try. You won’t regret it.

#inanutshell Twisted Pixel: ‘Follow THAT, losers.’ 8/10

(Yes the same score as Fruit Ninja. I know. But that’s fun IN MODERATION. This is just fun.)

So then, Source Code. Skeptical, I think it would be fair to say, was my view on this before I sat to watch it. Hype, blockbuster, blah blah…

Well, I really needn’t have worried. It’s very Inception-esque in its plot, and that makes for a very happy Scotty. It is nothing really all that like Inception, actually, but the plot twists, the story is very tightly driven and doesn’t take unnecessary deviations – this is a film that knows what story it wants to tell.

Jake Gyllenhaal plays our protagonist, Cpt. Colter Stephens, who is tasked with a very special mission – to solve the mystery of who caused a terrorist attack, to prevent a further attack later that day. To do this, he is entered into the memory of the last 8 minutes of one of the victims, to question the passengers, and investigate his surroundings. In a typically teasing reviewer manner, things soon become clear they aren’t what they seem. No spoilers here!

The story is an interesting concept. And largely, this is where Source Code excels – in a story that it is genuinely gripping from pretty much the first minute. It screams action from the trailer, but in reality, that idea misses the mark by a distance. Ably assisted by a great cast, Source Code draws you in and keeps you there.

It doesn’t do a lot wrong, then. I’d highly recommend anyone who enjoys actually seeing a quirky, original story, to rent this as soon as possible. If you’re solely after things blowing up, then avoid. As I fall into the first category…

#inanutshell I am happy to say; this was a genuine surprise. 8/10!

Essentially, then, this is the definitive version of the mobile game of the same name. It’s as simple as it’s name suggests: fruit flies across the screen, and your objective is to chop it in half, much like Austin Powers would judo-CHOP! a bad guy. But how does it play? The iPhone version is flawless, tracking perfectly and without fail.

But this is Kinect, and with the best will in the world, Microsoft’s wondrous technology still is not pitch perfect, but it’s near enough. Fruits fly from all sides, exploding satisfactorily as you swing your arms like crazy. It really is as simple as that – but you just wish the tracking *was* perfect. Because if it was, you wouldn’t mind the aching arms, the frustrating *justmissedit* wouldn’t grate quite so much.

It does work very well, if not perfectly, though. It’s great fun, and at £7, and the replayability, and the laughs you’ll give anyone watching – for sheer enjoyment, it’s worth an investment of your time. And, dare I say it, the best use of Kinect to date? Go to it, friends.

#inanutshell Silly but enjoyable fun, with that ‘ok, just one more go!’ factor that sells games like this. Excellent value. Buy! 8/10

Plus it was suggested that I should write it, so you know. That too.

The coming of a new Foo Fighters album is always a big day for me. The band have been on my daily soundtrack for around 8 years now. I’ve seen them in concert no less than 6 times, and every time has been incredibly memorable. The acoustic show, Hyde Park…all awesome.

However, and it PAINS me to say this, in truth, whilst the previous two albums have been good, and still better than most of the tat that passes for music these days, as Foo Fighters albums go, they’ve been ever so slightly under par. Go on, admit it. They have. They had strong points but also a bit of filler…

So after a longer break than usual Dave and the boys are back, along with former guitarist Pat Smear, with this seventh album. And finally, the album quality at least is back on form. From opener ‘Bridge Burning’, this album is brasher, rockier – more like the Foo Fighters that brought out The Colour and the Shape in 1997.

In fact this is their best album for ten years. Without a doubt. There’s no acoustic ballads here. Not much diversity in truth but then, this is how a Foos album should sound – with the odd radio-friendly exception. Gotta pay the bills somehow, I imagine!

Anyway, there is a lot to like here. White Limo is a heavy-metal marvel. Arlandria, a rock-laden tribute to Mr Grohl’s childhood home, is similarly strong. I love ‘Dear Rosemary’, with a very intriguing but spot-on harmony, and a catchy guitar riff behind it.

My particular album stand-out is the final track however, ‘Walk’. Anthemic would be an understatement. Maybe it was just the feelings in my head when I first heard it, but to me, it talks about learning to basically live again after reaching rock bottom – it’s a very, very powerful message, and it caps off a quite wonderful album in style.

I would particularly recommend the above songs but in truth, there is very little to dislike here. An exceptional return to form. Good work, guys. And welcome back – it’s been far, far too long!! Listen, enjoy, scream along when you need to. It’s what they want…

#inanutshell A stunning return to form. It’s only £8 on iTunes. What are you waiting for? 9/10

(thanks of course to @frozenglitter for the idea!)

So then came the announcement of this sequel, and the inevitable Valve-Time that followed. Questions that cropped up, were: How can you make it stretch it to a full retail title? Is more of the same too much? Will there be cake? (Easily. no! And that’d be telling.)

As you’ll have seen from yesterday’s co-op write-up, I am absolutely convinced Portal 2 is the best game you will play this year. Maybe this decade. Maybe ever. I’m not just saying this for effect, either. It is just a stunning example of how a game should be done. It beats the original in every conceivable way. The puzzles are better, more difficult and more of that ‘I’m an idiot – no wait, THAT’s how you do it!’ factor. The gameplay is simply flawless. Never too tough, but tough enough to tax you. The humour is just so spot on – this is funnier than most comedy shows could ever dream of.

You play the protagonist from the first game, the mute but tenacious Chell, who ‘murdered’ GLaDOS and won her cake! Except not. GLaDos was of course, Still Alive. (YouTube this too. Please) So your portal testing must continue. One trigger fires one portal, the other fires it’s opposite number. When you walk through one you appear instantly through the other portal. Sounds simple, right? Wrong. And this WILL hurt your brain… but in the best way.

Credit to Ellen McLain who is exceptional again as GLaDOS, the crazy rogue AI from the first game. Credit too to JK Simmons, who plays Cave Johnson, the owner of Aperture Labs in two chapters of the game. (Check out the Aperture labs promos on YouTube, for an example!) And huge credit to Stephen Merchant who plays Wheatley, a rogue Personality Core. Merchant practically attempts to steal the show entirely with a quirky, rapid-fire and just genius performance. I don’t normally care about voice acting in games but without any of them, this wouldn’t be the game it is.

More ideas than most developers achieve in a lifetime. More personality than most other media could get near. More fun, and hilariously funny then the very best comedies. A great adventure, a great puzzle game, a great ‘shooter’ in a sense… All of these and more.

The famous American film reviewer Roger Ebert once said video games could never be art. He should play this. I’m utterly convinced he would change his mind. And if not, he’d have a damn good time playing it anyway. You simply must play this if you have any interest or love for this medium. Simply put – it is exceptional. Outstanding.

#inanutshell What? You need more? Beg, borrow, steal, whatever. But play this immediately. 10/10, and I’d give it more if I could.

I place this context here because what I am about to announce here is earth-shattering. Ground-breaking. Well, for me, anyway…but playing Portal 2′s multiplayer is the most fun I have ever, ever had with a video game. Without even a moment’s hesitation, I could reel off 10 hilarious and entertaining moments I experienced during my all-too-brief time with this.

(And a hat tip here goes to my assistant in Portal-ing, Mr Brandon Dawson…thanks, buddy!)

So, anyone familiar with Portal will know all about the single player, but the co-operative mode places you and your associate in Science in the bodies of robots Atlas (Blue) and P-body (Orange), and gives BOTH of you a Dual Portal Device. Ably assisted by GLaDOS, or rather, ridiculed constantly, you go through the 5 ‘courses’ and various test chambers which, due to having four portals, not two, are fiendishly difficult by comparison to the single player campaign. The old adage of two heads being better than one has never proven truer than this.

Sure, there are plenty of cute, novelty things such as rock paper scissors you can play and gestures you can make which you’d expect from Valve anyway. But the gameplay is oh, so, good that none of it is necessary. You’ll laugh, almost constantly, as you send your partner hurtling to his death for the umpteenth time. You’ll feel like a genius when the solution to the puzzle you’ve been stuck on suddenly hits you like a train. All of this – but simply put you will have an absolute blast.

Unequivocally, without even a shadow of a doubt – this is the game of 2011. Probably the game of the last ten years. And I haven’t even started on the single player yet… Which we’ll discuss another day…

#inanutshell Stay tuned. More to come on this spectacular, spellbinding, stunning game…