Infamous: Second Son Review

                                                    My game rating: 9 . 2 out of 10 ...


                                   

WARNING: Review may contain spoilers.

Sucker Punches previous game titles: Infamous and Infamous 2 proved so successful from not only experience, to combat and the colourful characters amount surroundings. Within these previous game titles, you played as the fan favourite, Cole McGrath. In the first game, the story was heavily focused upon the discovery and development of your powers and the consequential decisions you have to make along your journey within the heavily populated and apocoliptical city. Infamous 2 differed greatly from it's predesessor: for the first time in the Infamous franchise, players had to opportunity to  traverse swamps, small forests, converse with much more colourful and constrasting characters, use new elemental abilities and a much more colourful and less concrete city to play in, New Orleans. The second game title heavily influenced the player to focus on their decision making and gaining power. Character types and voice acting, new enemy types and collapsable building were amoung the much needed new features and visual effects.

From there, Second Son brought together what made the previous games so enjoyable to play. Without further ado, let's get into the review for Infamous: Second Son!

Set in the tribal village, you play as Delsin Rowe, a care free young man with an eye for art and holds the attitude of a typical teenage boy. After obtaining the smoke power from an escaped convict, Delsin learns that he is one of the 'freaks' now and begins his long journey. His attitude may come from the difficult relationship he has with his brother, who is a police officer and firmly believes that conduits are the ills of the world and therefore deserve everything they get coming to them. Upon discovering his powers, Delsin shows his excitement towards his brother, telling him of the things he could achieve .... The ending to which only provokes his brothers dis-approval and anguish.

After the sibling disagreements, Delsin realises in order to save his tribe, he must leave home and venture into the heart of the DUP forces and to the area of Austustine's headquarters.

For the player, Second Son proves to be a welcome edition from Sucker Punch studios. Instead of the lore and characters being set in a typical superhero comic book or movie, Second Son has been given a much needed face life, an upgraded, fresh look - stepping foot into the modern world.

Much of the good points surrounding Second Son relate to character performance, game graphics, lip sinc via actor and their character, sound, light affects, weather affects, graffiti side missions, secondary character profiles, storyline, combat, enemy types, facial animations and lastly the choice system. My favourite mission sequence was identifying the murderer - full of surprises along with great attention to detail and displays a welcome change of creativity.

The only areas I feel should have occurred more often, were the choice options and more interaction with Fetch and other friends to Delsin. The option to either corrupt or aid an alley was an enjoyable feature, one that could have played more of a role.

If you guys have any questions, or noticed anything I missed, please get let me know and I shall try to answer. I hope you enjoyed the review.

Murdered Soul Suspect Review

My Game Rating… 6.5 / 10 
The concept was there, but missed out critical areas that made similar games, such as La Noire a masterpiece.

Murdered Soul Suspect marks a very similar resemblance to that of La Noire where facial animations and crucial detective evidence gathering was the main objective to be had. Set in a dark, gothic small settlement, you play as detective Ronan: a man whose past was clouded by years of law breaking who ends up being over powered and shot several times in the chest by a immensely strong male known as the "Bell Killer."

After failing to apprehend the Bell Killer, the transformation began from living to dying. Ronan is horrified upon seeing his own body being brutally attacked with the killer walking away, scott free. Eventually, you get acquainted with a ghost girl (named, Abigail Williams) whose been wandering the streets as a ghost for a very long time making Ronan believe she knows "the way things work around here."

The overall concept of the game was pretty well thought of, if not too short in game duration. I say this because you can't interact with weapons or use a gun whereas most games nowadays seems to copy the same old objective. So instead on relying on weaponry, you use your head and skills as a former detective to find out who murdered you. Refereeing to the conversation you have with Abigail William previously; she states that the talents you have had in life, become powers in death. Graphics were a stunning feature, especially the ghost drawings featured on walls scattered across the city and the transparency of the main character. Yet there was the occasional glitch on the Xbox 360 (I wanted to compare next generation graphics to an older console to which the next generation console won in this experiment.)

Combat was a fresh air but lacked that spark that could have made it a pleasure to play. As previously

  mentioned earlier in the review, the player cannot touch or pick up objects. Instead you can inspect and search for clues. Guns aren't a playable feature, so combat mainly consists of hiding in ghost memory spots, avoiding demon sight lines and eventually creeping up behind demons, destroying them in the process. By adding more creative ways of killing demons, I believe most uncertainties 

about MSS would be solved. The historical and mythological research that went into the game was a brilliant experience, the theories of the killer were quite philosophical yet haunting to read and take in. And Let's not forget the cinematics! Character facial expressions and body language really added to the haunting atmosphere practically when you solve a murder. One of the features I found very enjoyable was the chance to solve other ghosts deaths, sending them to heaven after success. To improve the game, I would like to have had more interaction with ghosts, solving more aspects of their troubled lives and generally comforting them. 

As a ghost, you can possess, peek, influence, read minds, walk through walls and teleport short distances etc. While I believe these abilities gave you the upper hand in detective situations, there wasn't much of a fun factor. I believe that making objects move or smash, adopting the characteristics of a poltergeist character would have added more pleasurable game experience and would have created a more in depth sense of power to the main character.

From the list of character's which featured, I particually enjoy Joy's character. A reluctant medium who commits petty crimes in search of her mother, both of which are targeted by the killer and have been hiding separately to avoid detection. As a medium, joy can hear and see other entities and is able to decode her mother's cryptic journal. Her transformation from solely wanting to work alone and answer back to Ronan becomes more of an intelligent thinker and team player. 

Should a sequal be in mind, as a player, I would like the game which allows us to get to know the character's individually as well as adding more puzzles to solve, more items to collect, a game which has a pro longed storyline, larger explorable areas, and more interesting and unconventional ways to complete objectives. 

If I have at any point missed areas during the review, this is because I do not wish to spoil what happens for those players who have yet to play the game. 

AVATAR: The Game Review

… My game rating: 7 / 10 ...

First of all, It's awesome to get into game reviews once again where occasional illnesses and university won't bother me for five months! So to get back in the swing of things; I would like to start things off by reviewing a game that's one of my favourites yet has great room for future improvements.

The game was released around the same time as the movie. This review is a means of which we can make find out if game's based off a movie are good or are they a way for companies to gain more profit via other forms of media. Here you play as Ryder: a signal specialist who works for the RDA corp on Pandora. As a soldier; you execute orders to the letter… mending gates, interacting with your fellow soldiers, defending base camps, intercepting a mole. Eventually, you learn that what you have done at the beginning of the game brought devastation onto the Na'vai people. As you progress, you will face the ultimate choice: will you join the Na'vai or remain with the NDA and kill the mole?

Naturally, if you choose the Na'vai you will come across some stunning environments, ride the dangerous creatures on Pandora while revolting against the RDA, killing it's leaders on the battlefield, ambushing few soldiers and being knee deep in Na,via culture. Meanwhile, if you choose the RDA… let's face it, it's the evil badass choice to make so gameplay will be extermination on larger scales, while taking on their leaders single hand-idly. This being an evil path to take, means you get several opportunities to redeem yourself and change sides. However; you cannot change your human form. This will make combat with your now enemy, RDA a tad more challenging.

Combat on both sides are very over balanced. Naturally the Na'vai are not soldiers, these are hunters who know the way of their lands like the back of their hands. The Na'vai are mostly up close and attack  and yet their bows match greatly out weighs the RDA ranged weaponry. While RDA, are mostly orientated on range, making them weak up close but they have armour whereas the other side has bone and ceremonial armour. Overall, combat is on the RDA's advantage especially if they attack in groups.

Let's take a look at the environments… Let's face it, the use of colour and light as well as texture and depth real adds to the general atmosphere of being in this very surreal and potentially hostile environment. The environments at night are jaw dropping to say the least and the ability to right banshees; is also a brilliant idea yet at  times fiddly to control. As a Na'vai, these lands are sacred whereas the RDA see them as gold mines to benefit themselves. Character animations are also a highlight: the way the tail moves, the bags attached to your waist while running, and general character behaviour when your character action remains motionless. The weapons are also a well done feature: each has it's own uniqueness, especially the AVATAR weaponry where curves are prominent and colour gives a more ceremonial appearance. The use of lighting has been very impressive, especially the lighting to which surrounds hometree and night time surroundings. Another enjoyable factor, was seeing sprits floating in the air as the player walks past, this make the environment appear more in-depth and pure.

There is a deep and a beautiful sense of culture as well as history which surrounds Pandora and it's people which is part of the reason why I am so absorbed and in love with it! And while the game offers a breath of fresh air in terms of atmospheric environments, moral choices, the chance to revive yourself and collect samples, colourful weaponry, the ability to ride banshees, dire horses and thanators and strong NPC character's... Unfortunately; this wasn't enough in my opinion to rank it higher out of ten.

As this is an eccentric and dangerous world, I would have liked to have seen more effort placed on creating alot more side missions that link with the main storyline. For example, as a Na'vai you will come across a few AVATAR NPC's who insult and threaten to kill you, claiming that you will never be one of the people and as you level up you will gain new armours, powers and skills, there is a very brief description and story of each item. I feel as though this process was meaningless: considering that you betrayed your human, race you should have to win the people's trust by proving you are their friend. I believe side quests would have been really useful here, it would have offered the player a greater reward and appreciation towards the Na'vai customs.

Another aspect I felt needed changing was certain parts of populated environments. There are huts and buildings which sit there and offer no sense of purpose or interaction with the surroundings, player and NPC's in mind. These parts you will
need to pay attention to noticing. However; I can present an example as to the huts I am referring to. In the first Na'vai settlement you are positioned in after you choose the Na'vai side, you will be surrounded by climbable structures that offer little to no reward for climbing them in the first place. In the corners of these settlements, is often where you will take note of the structures I speak of. There was even a cave full of water and crystals located nearby but was offered no intel or background information as to what's it's purposes was.

Player voices were quite tiresome at times. I would have hope voice overs and the scripts were softer in accent plus I wanted to player to properly interact with the natives instead of the occasional typical and unnecessary remarks.

To summarise, my game rating would have been much higher had there have been more interactive and rewarding environments, better voice acting, larger maps,  a larger and in-depth encyclopaedia, ceremonies after reaching levelling up instead of the items magically appearing out of no where, improved conversation scripts, a great deal of side missions that offer you the chance to get to know your new allies, train to hunt, ambush the RDA patrols, create arty objects for home-tree, create your own weapons, learn the basic of the language, interact with families, craft and build your own lands and houses that steadily come to life with Na'vai and plant life the more you prove yourself and become a member etc. There was a great deal of potential here, and I feel there have been large parts that have been missed out, much to our mis-benefit.

Having said that; this is a good time. And if the changes I have enlisted are applied to the next game title in the AVATAR franchise, I think we will have a great game. This would offer players a deeper and rewarding sense of a different world that has different rules and cultures and more importantly… how we learn and fit into these places to find our own identities and make and break fate.

THIEF Review

My game rating 8 out of 10 …

http://dominus.ttlg.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/t4w3.jpg

THIEF's  release has been long awaited for the past year or so. Looking from the trailers, we were promised a aesthetically pleasing, dark genre fun stealth packed game available to the current consoles and next generation. Fortunately to say, we were not disappointed.

Lets get the bad stuff out of the way! The biggest killer for me was the jagged colour glitches which occurred everywhere across the screen. As I have been working on this review, readers and friends from my blog and university have admitted that they suffered the same problem. These glitches got so bad that they had to stop playing immediately. Another issue was the audio overlapping other NPC's while in conversation with Garett.  During cutscenes, Garett's lines cut every know and again, leaving only his lip sinc to stare at.

 http://www.primagames.com/games/thief/guides/thief-eguide/introduction - Character Profiles

The brash but deadly Erin, a nice change in character where an equally strong character leads her self astray and a return of the anti hero becoming one. Costume design has really taken shape here. Erin here (pictured above) comes across between a biker chick, assassin and thief. Her use of jewellery and the rustic manner of which she wears her clothing is quite unique. 

While these issues may have been arduous at times, that's not to say that THIEF wasn't a success. For those who aren't familiar with previous games and such: you currently play as master thief Garett, whose a rather anti-social character, preferring his own company compared with everyone else. He is intelligent and cat like in stature, climbing and combat. In this game title, you have an apprentice named Erin who is rather similar in character to Garett but she is alot more careless ad over confident. After losing your protege during a failed heist, you have no recollection as to what happened you and Erin. After spending one year away from the city, you return to find it in the rather corrupt hands of the Baron who believes industrial progress is the number one priority above anything else. Upon your arrival thanks to some discreet allies, you find yourself in the middle of the city where sickness, anger and riots plague the streets while the rich live comfortably in their homes while the poor struggle and starve in poverty. This is where the gameplay begins … Will you be a stealthy cat or an aggressor? Your call.

file://localhost/Users/sophiestelfox/Desktop/Thief-4-Game-Wallpaper.jpg

Favourite levels? Well mine would be the Madam Xao Xao's brothel and the mental asylum. Between the two levels, you will see and experience warm and exotic environments to cold, tenuous, potentially heart wrenching ones. For artists and game developers to go from one style and feel of environment to another is greatly admirable and I believe it truly adds more worth and depth to any game. Sound track takes less of a priority but maintains the overall theme and feeling of each scene. There are elements of rustic, classical and mixed elements which if you consider refer to similar patterns to Tomb Raider: Reboot and Bioshock: Infinite.

As for combat, it was enjoyable but not perfect. Dodging is a little fiddly and the only way to gain a real advantage in fighting a group of enemies is to invest in focus points. Despite this, the bow is an incredibly useful and powerful tool to use. And the variety of arrows made it all the better! Pickpocketing is an awkward and also a fun little thing to do that is further improved by focusing your points on this skills set. Another loveable factor is the abstract story… I like it because situations like this are not mean't to understand quickly. I tire of how most games spoon feed their gamers with a simple, unimaginative stories to which I find insulting. The gamers are not stupid, we crave for intelligent plots that give us inspiration and encourage us to ask questions.

http://www.therpf.com/attachments/f9/thief-4-costume-wip-first-post-theif-arrows.jpg-180593d1367812518

The side mission were very enjoyable. In some way it made feels as though I was getting to know someone through their house … plus their valuables of course! Exploring houses and solving their owners traps while listening to the cracks and spitting fires reflects the attention the developers displayed towards the project. Earlier I discussed the negatives of the game, I believe the game could be further improved if the player had more secret areas to explore, more interaction with the clock tower hideout, more collectables, and increased length of story or game hours. Also, I was troubled by how little the Queen of the Beggars had in the game. I believe there should have been some exploration and further interaction with this character alot more.

Overall, THIEF offers great voice acting, stunning graphical environments, a great array of character personalities, good combat and so on. I just wish that the game was longer so that the issues listed can be addressed and the character's throughly explored via side missions or extended main levels. Having said that however; after what I have seen and played so far, I can tell that this studio deeply cared about this project. That and fine artists have been a great source of help and visionary here. If only other studios could follow their example and standard of art produced.

http://titanbooks.com/the-art-of-thief-limited-edition-7594/

Before I conclude this review, I would like to recommend the art book for THIEF 4. There is a great amount of stunning conceptual images. If you are interested in modelling, they have pages in there too! If your a fine artist such as myself, then the book will be a valuable asset to any book reference collection. In the conceptual studies, you can see how the artists added animal characteristics i.e. how Garett looked cat like in combat and stature. You can buy this book from Ebay, amazon and Waterstones.

Thief 4 Trailer Review

Hello all! I hope your new year is going well. I thought it would be best to start of this years game reviews by looking at some trailers from Thief 4. Thief 4 will be released on new generation consoles, PS3, Xbox 360 and PC in Europe by 28th February. No collectors edition has been announced. However; I do hear that if you pre- order the game now, you will receive extra missions. Should I hear anything else, I will post the news on my Thief 4 game review later in the month.

                                                      My Trailer Rating - 9 . 9 out of 10 …

For me; this is one of the best trailers I have seen this year so far. Garrett's narration is very warm yet sharp through out the trailer. This is deeply complimented by the hair raising music and crisp sound effects. Music ranges from electric guitar to choir, drums and other orchestral elements. The atmosphere is further enhanced through the acting skills and narration of the rebel leader. The animation shown is … incredible. If we look closer to the man's features of his face, they interoperate the anger incredibly well. Indeed, there is much passion to his facial expression. Mist or fog plays a huge factor here swell. This is to emphasise to the upcoming player that the darkness is your alley and the sickness that roams the streets has gravelly spread. All of what I have seen so far has given me great expectations to the game's release. the studios have certainly paid close attention to making it's reboot a much needed make over that compliments new technologies, art styles and such. Further strengths grants players to interact with highly standard voice actors. The character that will feature appear to convey actual unique personalities e.g. Erin and Garett's contact. Should all of these factors come together successfully and compliment one another with ease, then I believe this might just kick start another series, following in the footsteps of Garret once again.
                                         

Animations I made from University (1st December 2013 - 23rd January 2014)

Hello all! Apologise once again! From the date mentioned above; I have completed two animation for my university assignments. The animation shown above is about a Celtic warrior who hands down an item of great importance to a descendant in the future; present day. I hope you guys enjoy the video! During this time I am working on the reviews for the upcoming titles: Thief 4, dying light and Elder Scrolls online. In the mean while; my reviewing efforts are being focused on RAGE from Bethesda. 

Let me know what you guys think of the animation. I understand if there are areas that are incomplete, this is due to the in depth-ness of the assignment given. But I'm determined to perfect my craft further. This is the first animation I have produced… using Flash software.

Bradford Animation and Game Art festival



http://www.nationalmediamuseum.org.uk/BradfordAnimationFestival/WhatsOn

I know you guys enjoyed my last year's post on the festival. But as this is a very busy second year at university, I have opted to just attend the game art festival which was approximately 2 days. As usual I went with my class at university. Despite the hype not being as intense as it was last year, there were some great talks and speakers. This post is about the highlights - which speakers/ topics I enjoyed the most etc. My favourite speakers were: Viktor Antonov and Dave Mckean. It was a very busy but an enjoyable two days. It was very welcoming to have these speakers from the gaming industry as they thrive in fine art media to create beautiful examples of concept imagery for game ideas. This gives me a strength sense of hope for the future generation of game artists. We should never forget our skills in drawing as they are the foundation to our inner selves and can be used to feed our imaginations.

Tales from Dunwall: An artist animation talk (1 Hour)

(Viktor Antonov from Zenimax studios)

"Think of the environments as characters. Dishonored's character is one of tragedy, harshness, a hell hole but lives alongside beauty. A broken character. Space is gameplay."

For me, I believe these words were wisely spoken. If we treat our environments as characters then we can build vast levels of mystery and design upon it, enabling us to create a script for the environment. It's all well and good having these great characters who hold supernatural abilities and tools with a complimentary storyline etc... but can the character truly feel themselves in an environment that doesn't reflect their attributes? Or strengthen the feeling of the story? These are questions that I believe all artists should consider in their work: people are the primary characters of-course but we should never neglect the other elements, especially ones such as this which relate to our practice. After-all, environments and objects are characters within their own right: each has a story to tell, each has a mystic and historic element that can add to the players experience through gameplay.

Antonov's career in games started in 1996. Throughout his career, Antonov has worked as a concept artist, illustrator and creative director while recognising the importance of fine art techniques and first hand sketches of pre production. Some of his early studies for the game consisted of charcoal and rubber. These pre-production sketches had to reflect realistic, contemporary Victorian architecture though these sketches were in black and white and were drawn roughly. Antonov believes that rough sketches show more storytelling an feeling rather than a piece that's fully rendered. The style of work created is largely inspired from gothic themes .i.e. churches, buildings, textures etc. With any game, the first few weeks is mainly dedicated to drawing and gathering inspiration.



 Creating a new world

The inspiration for Dishonored derived from the works of Charles Dickens, Jack the Ripper and Sherlock Holmes. These were the main metaphors for the concept of Dishonored. It was crucial to capture oppression, death, rustic, feels of the 19th century. Remember the trams/ railways carriages in the game? These were originally 19th century horse carriages. Antonov discussed what type of pre production sketches are more valuable to game concepts. Concept art should be high in contrast, no essential detail, varieties, rough colour and few areas of the piece that show refining skills. Lighting plays a huge parts to any artist's work, no matter what technique or media. With oppressed types of atmospheres, you can introduce magic. Think about what defines a city. Consider viewpoints and perspective. 



Dave Mckean Masterclass - Pictureville -

"You can't hate the years forever…" 

Mckean is known for being a modern day version of the "renaissance" man. His love for art derives from his father, who was a frustrated artist who never drew professionally. From then onwards; Mckean drew constantly. At a time where Mckean was very sick, his mother would always buy him a comic book which brought him great comfort. Once he recovered; his love for graphic novel increased dramatically. Further relief was felt when Mckean expressed his interests of working with a wider variety of media while jokingly adding "if I used the same media everyday, I would go mad." During questions, a question was raised concerning advise for upcoming artists, the answer was suggested to the audience members that they should engage in travelling and talking to an array of people with different mind sets. Everything around him including sight, smell, sound and scandinavian music inspires his work. Another question was raised concerning the artists choice of materials to which he answered that he preferred working with odd papers of various textures but they had to be of good quality. 

"I can't think on the computer. I have to think on paper. Stories should be about real life, how their brains work, how we interoperate them. That's my idea of fantasy."

My thoughts exactly!

ARD501 The sustainable lie lecture at the Nickwhitehead (15th October 2013)

In the first quarter an hour of the lecture, we had alot of global warming shoved down our throats. And pretty soon; unsurprisingly us the designers/ artists were being blamed for 80% of the damage caused by global warming. While there are elements of this statement may be true, I feel quite annoyed that we are being blamed where this issue involves everyone therefore the responsibilty should be shared. I am not one of those eco warriors but nor do I wish the consequences of the inevitable to occur sooner than it should. your probably thinking why I want to prevent the inevitable? As humans, we are very selfish, prone to great levels of arrogance and lack of wisdom and lack of care for our own futures. Our idea of survival seems to be mainly focused on one thing: we are determined to colonise other planets for the sake of our own. Are artists really the cause for most of the damage?

Here are some random scribbles I wrote during the lecture.

• 80% of the damage is derived from the development stage in design.
• Last year, a new product was launched every three minutes. 
• The US budget last year for deign was $400 billion.
• 2% - 4% of carbon dioxide contributes toward emissions. (Depends on what figures you have.)
• 5% - 7% of global warming is caused by cement industries.
• Starbucks dispose 2.3 million cups within a year.
• The biggest contribution of carbon emissions is: Exxon Mobil. (146m tonnes of carbon dioxide.)
• 50% - 75% of humans lack the basic requirements of everyday life. 

Many designs/ products today are classes as inefficient use of energy, water and natural resources.

However; a few good ones manage to squeeze it's way through i.e.  a toaster that has side compartments to keep the toast warm and crisp. As designers, we must consider the materials and techniques. 

Paper bags VS Plastic bags. 

If plastic and paper bags are bad, then fabric bags make more sense.

The role of the designers

Designers have an incredibly important role, they hold a special position between the producer and the consumer i.e. you! This aparatently therefore makes the artists/ designers the first ones to blame. (Remember, 80% damage because of the design.) Future designs should consider:

• How things are solved.
• How materials are used.
• Construction process.
• How efficient will they be?
• Design a product theory action.
• Design with, not for.
• Design systems not stuff.
• Document, share and measure.
• Always cross examine.
• Better lives, less stuff.

The characteristics of the following materials.

• Paper - Can be recycled by requires some kind of bleach process to remove the ink i.e. dioxides. Every person in the UK uses the equivalent of 2 trees a year.
• Glass - Can recycle, but requires much energy to do so.
• Plastic - This is the most recyclable but must be sorted, which can be very costly. Currently, the UK sells half of their plastic bottles that are being recycled to China for £50.00 a tonne. 
• Metal - Can Recycle but some metals are non recyclable. Only half of our food and pet cans are currently being recycle. 

Take for example: the packaging for McDonalds food in the 1990s. Today we use a thin cardboard alternative, but shockingly, the plastic ones proved to be far more beneficial. They require 30% less energy to make, 46% less atmospheric emissions and 42% less water borne waste. Another example is Quorn. It's a mince substitute, reduced packaging, cheaper looking ... result? less sales. where is "less is more?" The consumer looks through their stomachs or how pretty it looks. They believe that because something looks a cheaper quality than it won't taste good, therefore they won't buy it. 

Thief 4 preview gameplay

 

Trailer Rating: 10 / 10

Hello everyone! And welcome to yet another preview of some the most potential games for PS consoles. I'm really looking forward to Thief's release (yet to be confirmed.) There has been no mention of collectors editions as of yet. However; I will let you guys knows if any news arises.

In the meantime, let's take a look at the video footage. The first minute of gameplay we hear Garrett weighing all the options for entering the Baron's compound. Audio and voice acting sound very distinct and clear, perfectly matching the character's personality and likeness. The next thing we see is "swoop dash" mechanic used by Garrett in previous titles. I believe this is a very useful tool and it mystifies as to how no others games have this sort of mechanic. This action is very human... when I say this I mean, there are many animators and game developers that are constantly trying to make character actions apply to what we would do in their situation in real life. This is difficult, yet if you succeed, your work will be remembered not only by your colleges but also the fans of the game. Also, I found the use/appearance of the character arms and hands interacting with its surroundings, pleasing to watch. Selecting your weapons and tools have been made a lot more easier to access via wheel.

After several minutes, we discover that the game's atmosphere it dark, misty yet scenic at the same time. The views of the moon behind the manor and clouds was indeed an impressive sight to see. As the character moved, I was pleased to see these small wet patches of water on the cobbled walkways. This may sound strange to you folks, but these are the small touches that contribute to the whole atmosphere and feel to the upcoming game. Lip-sinc is excellent as well as the NPC animations and body language. And like Dishonoured, there are many ways to reach your objectives. There is the light everything on fire and create havoc option, and there's the sneak, knockout and shoot people in the head silently option. So good variety there! As a thief, you will have some very handy tools to accompany with you on missions. Take for example: your mechanical eye. By using this, you will be able to see oil spills, see the movements of enemy movements via foot sounds, see wallets, pickpocketing opportunities, climbable areas and other tools. To balance gameplay, the developers have also provided empty bottles to create distractions, potions to refill your focus meter. The missions seemed to vary quite abit. I adore the look of Garrett's bow, and arrows. They look impressively jagged to add a more rouge feel rather than the super polished weapons you see in other games.

The stealth system is a lot more clear and clever. When you are in complete darkness, the edges of your screen will turn and twist and if you approach more lighted area, this effect will fade dramatically. So even if you are standing in front of guard in the dark, he will not see you as the darkness cloaks your appearance.  The rope arrows are back1 Giving you access to secret and un-climbable areas.

Judging from what I have seen so far, I cannot wait to get hold of this game. Once more gameplay has been released, I shall review them in the future. It is my greatest hope that we get to see more footage and a collectors edition of some sort. If they did decide to create a collectors edition. what would you like to see?

Please feel free to answer in the comments box below! Many thanks!

ARD407 Ideas and Concepts - ARD409 Creative media Production ( Storyboard for a Game Trailer Evaluation)

Work on this assignment began from 1st May - 16th August 2013. Upon receiving the brief, my first task was selecting the preffered type of games, these were: Trenchdog (First World War) , Mario Spacehog, Freedom Force, Warbosses, Penalty, LadyKills, LEGO Lunacy, and Eyepet Lizard. The Ladykiller category did interest me however I was more taken away with the Warbosses theme. First thoughts were Warhammer4000 so I thought it would be interesting to link the two in some way. The requirements for the category included butch characters and over sized weapons. This explains my link between Warbosses and Warhammer4000. After selecting the category, I decided to conduct some concept sketches. Earlier in the year from a past assignment, I developed a story/game concept that was related to the Warhammer/ fantasy/sci-fi themes. After gaining permission to develop this concept, this enabled me to add much more detail than with the previous attempt and make the appropriate changes.

(Sadly, there have been technical issues while uploading the images for this post. I shall attempt again at a later date.)

Part of my assignment involved market research. I looked at trailers and posters to strengthen my concept further. I am all too aware how crucial marketing is to the gaming industry as this is were you attract potential customers and players. Thus trailers must be appealing to the customer. I looked at Skyrim, Dead Island and Thief 4 trailers and posters. These reviews are located within my sketchbook and are on my blog. For me, I really enjoyed the market research as this enabled me to get a better understanding of my industry and it's promotional material. For the storyboard, I was  aiming to show my growing knowledge in film language and experimenting more with colour and mixed media. Storyboards are vital as they are a means of communicating your ideas to your client or your team. Therefore, it is of great importance that they understand what your attempting to convey. All in all I created three drafts for my storyboard but I realised that the sequence doesn't have to be complicated so I opted for a more abstract and simple look. From looking at trailers, I acknowledged that the viewer doesn't really see much due to voice overs, black screens and flashing imagery. In my opinion, I believe my storyboard has vastly improved from previous assignments, there is a lot more contrast, composition and colour which adds reality to the storyboard.

The other part of this assignment required a poster illustrating out game concept. As I had Glandula fever earlier in the year, my tutors kindly asked for a poster created using traditional media rather than digital. The following media was used: coffee, tipex, black ink pens, biro, watercolour paints, acrylic paints, masking tape and graphite. Techniques: stencils, flicking, stribbing, For me, mixed media and composition took first priority. I have really enjoyed using unconventional forms of media to create a piece that interests my tutors. For another assignment, character sheets were required, these could be any character I wished, any time period etc. So I thought it would be beneficial to include these within the game trailer assignment.

This last paragraph will discuss my concept designs of the characters, weapons, mark making sheets and colour choices. I conducted a colour mark making sheet based on acrylic paint samples. A script has also been provided. From selecting various colours, this is what I use to create my traditional game poster. These mark making sheets consisted of tipex, coffee, graphite, charcoal, hairspray, fine liners, permanent marker pens, black biros, black ink pens, water, acrylic, stamping, stencils, oil pastels etc. Again I must apologise for the lack of photos, I will try and rectify this problem. Instead, I shall give a brief description as to what the character look like, personality etc. On the concept sheets feature the following:

Wisdom - Lead Female
Age: 21
Description: Green eyes, navy blue tattoos on the right side of her face, mid back length red hair (white when in combat,) long dark purple armour, straps of black fabric on her arms, shoulders, a black collar that comes just under her ear, plated white gold armour for the ankles, legs, knees and upper legs. Plated dragon horned footware, long black undershirt and a dark soft leather belt with stamped solid silver clasps and decorated metal plating. Wears the accessory that holds the key to unlocking their memories on a thick solid silver chain.
Personality: Strong minded, wise, athletic, trustworthy, tomboy, kind hearted.
Skills: Has power over all elements, can decode the DNA of anything weather dead or alive and use it to her advantage, archery and tree climbing.
Main Weapon: A curved elemental bow that alters it's shape and colour as the character progresses through-out the game.

Mercy - Lead Male
Age: 22
Description: Wears an identical necklace with a thick gold chain, short black hair with long fringe, dark brown leather trousers, waistcoat with white laced collar, white gold plated knees, leg and ankle guard, ivory hood, black undershirt, leather foot bandaged foot-wraps with scraps of fabric laced across his right arm along side intricate tattoos, a navy blue sash with blue trimmings all through-out his armour and bandaged wrist-guards.
Personality: Humorous, kind hearted, ferocious, physically strong and first aider.
Skills: Dual wields curved gem-stoned one and a half swords. Enchanter, survivalist, tracking, hand to hand combat, acrobatic.

Overall, I have really enjoyed this assignment. This has enabled me to experiment further in my discipline and developed my skills in film language, composition, colour, contrast, formal elements etc. I hope to receive a similar brief in the future where I am able to use fine art techniques and media.

Assassin's Creed II Review

 

"Magnificent!" my game rating- 9.9 / 10 ...

Ubisoft's release sequal of Assassin's Creed brought the gaming world to it's knees in 2009. The art department of AC knew that they must recreate environments that players would feel as though they were actually there. This also applied to it's NPC'S animations and combat. Despite the game being released for over 4 years, it still fascinates players and communities worldwide to this day. This review is designed to evaluate the game once more. Is the game truly great? Have the fans demands been met? Is the standard of a high quality? And what is it about this game that captures the positive response from fans and critics alike? In an earlier post, I asked you guys your opinions as to which Assassin's Creed game you liked the most and why. Your responses will be included in the review. So here we go!

 

 You are Ezio Auditore, a young Italian noble who lives with his sister (Claudia), Mother (Maria), oldest brother, younger brother and father (Giovanni) in Florence. In the first hour of gameplay, you and your friends are in the middle of a fist fight with the Pazzi and their friends. During the conflict, Ezio sustains a lip injury and heads to the doctor with his older brother. Once healed, he races to the church roof against his brother exclaiming "it's a good life we lead brother." Moments later, Ezio climbs up to the window of a young noble lady named Christina Vespucci and spends the night the her. Upon returning home, your family give you errands. After completing these ping pong missions, you discover that Giovanni and the rest of Ezio's brothers have been arrested. Thankfully the maid, mother and sister are safe within the Palazzo's office. After several events and escaping the city, you meet your uncle Mario who gives you a nice looking villa and extra training. The villa he gives you is part of the upgrading system for the town, shops you renovate will also grant you 5-15% discount as well as increasing your revenue. Within the villa, you also have a spacious gallery where the paintings you buy appear here, a nice looking armory, office, and a sanctuary where you are given the opportunity to recover the assassin seals to retrieve the armour of Altair.

 

So far, there is a lot to take in. Your understanding of the Assassin and Templar organisations are more complicated than first realised. The Templars firmly believe in order and stability whereas the Assassin's believe in man's freewill and wisdom. Indeed there are huge similarities between them. Some of you may ask: If they are so similar then why don't they work together? Well, you soon learn that this was tried and failed as each organisation have different way of approaching situations. Are the Assassin's really the good guys? These men and women are trained to kill their target whatever the means needed, no matter who they are. However; as Rebbeca Crane pointed out: "Sometimes all it takes is one death to improve the lives of others" Does this mean therefore that the Assassin's have a strong moral compass? That they only target men and women of evil minds? It would seem so.

If any of you ask which side I would want to be with, it would be the assassin's. I believe in freewill, not matter what religion or sex you are etc. Their history is rich, full of detail as well as mystery. Did an actual war exist between these two groups? Sadly, this isn't clear. However; we know the rise and fall of the Templars and their deeds during conflicts in cities such as Acre etc.



What I liked about the game

Their choice of theme and time for the game to take place. I believe the Renaissance was a hugely important period for man at this time. This was known as the "rebirth" of learning, from history to classics, inventing, mathematics, science, English, art and astrology studies. The amount of research is evident towards every aspect of the game, weather that may be environments, to attitudes, clothing, shops and even real life characters such as Leonardo Da Vinci. To me, the amount and the attention to detail is staggering. The storyline, is very good. Of-course it would have been nice to rescue or spend some more time with your other siblings. However; I think that if the father and brothers didn't die, then there would be no storyline or no where near as affective. There are some nice looking textures, not just in the fabric of the cities but also in the clothing and waters surrounding these magnificent fortresses. Combat has dramatically improve since the first game, the animations also compliment this area. Other likeable areas are, the atmosphere, the history, the violence of combat, the upgrading system, the behaviour of guards and other NPC's, the variety of maps and environments, the Assassin tombs, shops, paintings, weapons, armour, overall size of maps, the ability to free run and explore at your pace when you choose,  side missions, over hanging gardens, voice acting, sound effects etc.



And the negatives?

Don't worry, these are very minor negatives. Take for instance the set camera modes while your completing a climbing challenge against the clock, sometimes, these can make me feel disorientated. I was disappointed to realise that there was no official art-book, except those that come with the collectors edition. Surly, for such a release they would have considered an official art-book?  The other issue evolves around distant buildings and overall feel. Sometimes buildings look very blurred and usually when I walk through Forli, close ups are quite blurred yet I understand that this is to create the overall feel and perspective for the game. My last concern relates to how to collect your money instead of venturing all the way to Claudia. Could we have a headquarters in every district as a means of communicating through letter to Claudia, enabling us to collect income and provide her with instructions.

Your Feedback!

Gabe Zune

 

If you haven't guessed, mine is AC2. I felt it did exactlty what good sequels are supposed to do, improve all aspect such as visuals, gameplay, and further the story. It had the most improvements and additions since its predecessors and can be described as the renaissance of the series (see what I did there? xD. Literally everything was improved! The fighting, the atmosphere, the climbing, the visuals, and even the character had more personality than the previous piece of cardboard. All other games have just provided small improvements such as ACR's great music and AC3's good graphics. But in the end, everyone will remember the start of Ezio's journey xD

Carl Johnson

 

I recently started playing the whole series out in the living room, as my dad watches. Suffice to say, he finds the story fascinating.

Thank you to all the people that got involved! I shall be continuing the Assassin's Creed Reviewing process so if guys have any questions or suggestions, please let me know! :)

The Last of Us Ellie Edition Review

10 / 10

"Naughty dog have created another master piece!"

Let's start with the edition first!

Since the release of the Uncharted Series, there was much debate as to what Naughty Dog had in store for their next series of games. The studio firmly expressed the need for more adult games. When we say adult games, we don't mean typical sex and and violence as such but more to the point of placing the player in more human and mature situations, that may require empathy or otherwise. Early concepts of the game, indicated that this would most certainly fit the bill for zombie/horror genre. But what will make this one different? How can the developers create a new concept for a popular theme for a game? The answer evolves around upgrading every stereotypical view of a zombie game, from enemies, story to environments and concepts etc. I admit, it has taken me awhile to start this review because I want to make sure that what I write is honest and in-depth. Not only this but I wanted to give you guys a chance to play and understand the game rather than me giving away spoilers, therefore ruining your experience.

So let's get started with the Ellie edition!

9.9 / 10 Edition Rating...

When you take first looks at the edition, you may think it's a tad small in terms of what I paid for
it. But don't be disappointed... It's a great illusion, but as the image shows (above) it has all been carefully packaged and designed through-out. Upon removing the packaging, you will feel a rough canvas type of fabric, after more examination; the stitching is of a good quality which keeps up the theme of this being a "Survival pack." Depending on which of the two editions you pre-ordered, your favourite character appears on the front of the canvas cover. Judging by how this has been printed I would say that the studio have used either Silk Screen techniques or digital printing. Looking through the pockets, you will find: a screen print effect poster, The Last of us mini comic book, art-book, Ellie dual shock wireless controller skin, the blue ray game disc, little planet avatar of Ellie, sights and sounds pack, game soundtrack, two PSN avatars and the survival pack containing: customisable multiplayer items, in game currency, bonus XP, melee attack booster and bonus Joel and Ellie character skins.

 

The paper for the poster is smooth to the touch and seems sturdy. However; I would like to see more of Ellie's face rather than taking away her facial features. Also, it would have been great for the developers to hand sign the poster, yet I understand that time requires them to be elsewhere. The mini comic book is small, but the colour and paper are a smooth, great quality. After reading it, I am beginning to understand why Ellie is so independent and not very trusting towards Joel and other people. On-top of the comic book, you will find a Naughty Dog sticker which has been beautifully designed and protected. The dual shock controller sticker has some very nice tones and features, beautifully illustrating Ellie's face. It would have been nice if the controller cover was in colour but I understand if this would increase cost in production. Last but not least comes the art-book. The cover is stunning, hardback with 72 glossy pages. To achieve the glossy pages, the printers would apply china clay to the mixture which gives the impressive appearance and touch of a high standard artbook. Inside, you will find images illustrating enemies, Ellie's bow, character designs and environmental paintings. In my opinion, this edition is worth your investment! Let's move on to the game ...

The enemies have had a make over, showing a more natural yet devastating form of decay/ evolvement. To me, this adds beauty to a shocking image. 

The first few scenes feature you playing as Joel's daughter, Sarah. A canny teenager with a good heart and abit of attitude. On what seemed to be a normal evening for father and daughter, she wakes up only to realise that she heard something strange outside, with Joel was no where to be seen. After several events including an attempt to escape town, they are both stopped by a lone soldier. Realising the immediate danger, Joel attempts to dodge the soldiers fire while placing himself in harms way to protect his daughter. Moments pass, and we soon realise that she was shot. The voice acting and interaction between the two characters was very touching yet heart-breaking. Therefore I believe this is one of the best examples of emotion for a long while. As the years passed... we see a more tortured and angry Joel. Experienced gamers will notice that Joel still keeps his watch that Sarah gave him the night before she died.

Soon you meet a strong, defensive and highly independent girl named Ellie who is seeking the Fireflies (a rebel faction who are trying to find the cure to the outbreak.) Earlier, gameplay with Ellie and Joel show the mistrust and suspicion between the two individuals. When Joel discovers that Ellie is infected, his mistrust of her increases dramatically and almost loses his temper. There were a few occasions where Ellie attempts to console Joel and his past, only to have Joel aggressively reject her. While losing his temper, he makes it very clear to Ellie that she will never be a daughter to him and that she is nothing more than a package. Towards the end of the game, we see the pair form a father and daughter bond, with Joel intending on them returning "home" together and becoming very protected over her safety. The pair have come along way, especially Ellie. Take for example the scene where she was being "assaulted" by David. The anger and desperation she showed while confronting him, show courage and empathy. Personally, I admire Ellie's character, showing so much strength while realising that she is only 15 years old and took many adult responsibilities such as caring for Joel while he was critically injured etc.
.

My favourite areas of the game are as follows: the giraffe scene where Ellie strokes a giraffe's neck under the guidance of Joel situated in a area of paradise, relations between characters, the rich, vastly detailed and varied environments, the interaction and voice acting, playing and hunting as Ellie was a special edition to gameplay and story, storyline, the variety of enemies, the crafting system and inventory system where you can see all around you and know where enemies are. In-fact, I have no complaints.... every area was astounding and speechless to observe.

Bioshock Infinate Review

"I couldn't stop playing!" - 9.8 / 10 -

 

You are Booker Dewitt and the year is 1912. Given an opportunity for redemption for all of the debts he accumulated, "Bring us the girl and wipe away the debt." Upon your travels, you will face storms, lighthouses, rich gardens, beaches, USA inspired buildings, factories, churches, floating cities, illusions... and more. Once you set foot into the floating city of Columbia; you will be ankle deep in a flooded church, surrounded by stain glass windows and an awful lot of candles. Upon passing this section of the game, you walk through vast areas of stunning, vibrant gardens with humming birds flying around you. At the end, you will find a door. Once you walk through, you eyes will be stunned to see the city of Columbia at it's best, families having picnics, hot dog carts and confetti, statues and banners everywhere to greet you. So my friends, that was the very beginning of the game and yet it was packed with much effort, CGI and character.

 

~ In game environments ~

The girl you are sent to retrieve, is a young 20 year old name Elizabeth who resides in Monument Island in the shape of an angel. Guarding this young woman, is "Songbird" a mechanical bird who serves as both warden and friend to Elizabeth. As a child, Elizabeth saw Songbird as a close friend and adored his company but as she grew up, she realised that Songbird was her jailer, refusing her need and curiosity for freedom. Little did she know, that she was being observed and tested on. Having never been outside or interacted with other people, Elizabeth is a free spirit with a some-what child like mind. But don't think of her as a typical pest you must guard closely. She can take care of herself in combat, she can throw you aid in battle, skyline alongside you, can decode various texts and messages, unpick locks and can open tears to use again your enemies.



So, what did I like about the game?

Well, I of-course enjoyed the combat including using vigours, guns or melee. Overall gameplay was a pleasure to experience. Elizabeth's usefulness adds a more interesting touch as there are many occasions where, playing any other game, your being ganged up on and desperately need aid or ammo. Thankfully there is such a person in this game, and it's a very welcomed edition to add. As we look closer, I adored the animations and "human" behaviour to Elizabeth. I believe they capture her character and emotion extremely well and I am very impressed with just this small thing within the game. When Elizabeth was happy, I believed her not just through her eyes but, mouth and eyebrow sincs also. I liked the "tribal" like music, adding a great sense of tension yet excitement through-out. A great concept of 1912 meets fantasy fair-ground theme. Other likeable areas include the "decisions" where you pick a necklace for Elizabeth etc, story, character, environments, music and audio etc. However; I wish we could have seen more of song bird as I believe he could have played a more longer role and I think the whole, you can only equip two weapons at a time thing abit strange, yet I understand that this is to make combat more balanced and not make the character over powered. One last thing, I wish we faced enemies that used more vigours during combat as this would make it more challenging and rewarding to the player.

Other than that guys, I believe this is one most anticipated games out this year! It has been a pleasure to play the game, definatly worth your investment and time. And I hope we see more Bioshock games in the future.

You can buy Elizabeth's necklace!

Coming soon - Assassin's Creed Series Reviews -

Game Trailer Reiews

As part of my Assignment for university, part of my research must include market research. As a games artist in training, I believe that research is crucial for game production. By doing this, our understanding into how games work and how we should match that with an artistic approach is heightened dramatically. The aim of a trailer is to entice the audience through either sound, CGI or colour. This post is to compare and evaluate which trailer I believe was the "Perfect Trailer." As you may know, I already reviewed one of the most anticipated games coming out on the PS4, Thief 4. Therefore; I wanted to study more trailers including: Skyrim: Teaser Trailer and Dead Island; Riptide.

Even though it's been over two years since the release of Skyrim. It would appear that this game came out of the blue.... aiming to stun the world. Thankfully, it has. Let's look at this trailer in-depth starting with the audio. Posters so far, illustrate the imperial logo of mostly grey and silver tones surrounded by a black background. The aim of the poster is to be simple and simplicity can just as build up the same excitement as a design that's more complicated.



Elder Scrolls: Skyrim Teaser Trailer

Trailer Rating: 9.5 / 10

Firstly, the narrator's voice shows aggression yet a warmth atmosphere to the tone. It makes you believe that if you were there face to face with the narrator while he was telling you the story, such atmosphere would make you want to believe it was real. This atmosphere was further enhanced when certain carvings on the wall came to life, breathing fire at the lone fighter. This made me think just how stories can be powerful tools and how they can influence our lives no matter it's significance. The colour scheme works very well, creating a cold atmosphere with only touch of hope/warmth. This further adds a more human/ intense touch to the trailer. CGI is also impressive, further enhancing the feeling previously mentioned. Therefore this is a trailer is designed to warm your heart, to build the feeling of excitement. To me, the trailer aims to please mostly every sense except touch and sight. It's a nice change from other trailers that seem to focus on more the CGI perspective, to please the eyes.

Dead Island: Riptide

Trailer Rating: 9.2 / 10

After the first games success, there was a call for a sequal. This meant that the developers would have to think bigger when it comes to combat, environments and enemies. The colour palette for the logo of Dead Island: Riptide has changed for the better. Instead of the black and red, we see sunset animations that adds more depth and texture to the logo. Of-course the font is a lot more darker than the background animation thus capturing the heaven-hell balance of the game.

The first thing you will notice is the lack of voice overs/ narrators. Instead there is a sad yet placid music played by a piano.  So I could immediately tell that this trailer was designed to capture the feeling of desperation but also contentment. Personally, I thought the introduction dragged somewhat but I understand that this was to capture the couples love for one another in a time of imminent danger. The use of film language was very good, with interesting close ups of the lighter/ couple and long shots of the zombies and the town in the background. To me; this trailer takes a more human approach in terms of last minute decisions. The couple knew what would happen if they didn't act. But neither did they panic. Instead they thought rationally and comforted each other in the process. Such trailers and situations like this don't always need voice overs, as it would ruin the calm/ loving atmosphere in a chaotic environment. The balance of heaven and hell exists here and I believe the couple did find some form of heaven... in each other. And so ended their suffering... not to mention the many heads and bodies of zombies.

All in all; the trailer was brilliant. Good film language, storytelling, pace and audio through-out. The changes I would apply would be: More detailed animations for the couple and alter the introduction slightly. Once again; its nice to see a trailer that doesn't just talk endlessly about guns, explosions etc.

Assignment Mod Number: ARD407 - ARD409 Ideas and Concepts (Storyboard for Game Trailer)

Thief 4 Trailer Review ... "This looks promising!" - Trailer Rating 10/10 -

After some time playing from one game to another in the thief series, it seemed as though this beloved character and game was fading away, presumably to be forgotten and re-invented in the next generation of gamers. Thankfully, the developers recognised that Thief offered much not only to other games within the stealth genre but also in the gaming industry as a whole. I know stealth isn't the most fun and popular aspect of a game, yet it offers such a realistic atmosphere that is often enhanced with real life simulations and careful yet quick decision making. Despite the lack of actual gameplay footage, there was several things about the trailer that caught my attention:

1. The use of CGI ( where the main character jumps out of the window, with shattered glass all around him) for example.
2. Voice acting ( An intellectual individual with a rust and warm sense of presence)
3. The overall pace (Music contributed to this, good use of film language, perfectly paced through-out.)
4. Audio/music (Great use of classical and modern day mix, each element complimenting each other.)
5. Animations (The movement of Garrett's clothing e.t.c)
6. The Ending (The Garrett's hand grabbing the game title)

I know some of you would have preferred actual gameplay footage. HOWEVER! I must point out the purpose of trailers with this nature. A trailer is to give the players a hint into the  world, situations, combat and interaction in which they will be placed in. Hints may include, audio, CGI, footage and colour. The whole atmosphere and architecture (from what we have seen so far) looks beautiful, intricate (even if it was mostly in the dark) also; Garrett's new look, retractable bow, robes are very detailed as-well. The animations in which the clothing moves, certainly means that the developers have taken their time, identified the game's needs and added these extra touches to inspire and motivate us further.



Here is where I will be honest: I have never played any of the Thief series. I believe this to be a good thing in some way as I can be introduced to Garrett, understand his characteristics, identifying his strengths and weaknesses and then apply them to any situation. Yes playing the past titles would have helped with this. However; with each different game, comes a new set of rules, goals and methods (Nothing never truly remains the same.) Personally, I believe the trailer was excellent. All areas of creativity and audio were perfect, creating a nice tone to reboot the series. To me, this is a great example for any games artist/designer to be heading for in terms of standards and work. Therefore, I will be purchasing the game and I can't wait for gameplay footage. I will keep you all updated if I hear anymore information about this promising title.