So, after a bloody long wait (seven months I may add), Doctor Who FINALLY came back onto our screens last Saturday night with 'Asylum Of The Daleks', the first of five episodes dedicated to seeing out the Ponds. I must admit, I had rather mixed reactions on first viewing, partly due to the explosion of sudden twists and turns that I don't think any of us saw coming. Heck in the first 20 minutes of the episode alone I was still scratching my head thinking 'Is that really the new companion?' and everything else going on was blurred out by it. I was even more baffled by the ending, which see's the Dalek's entire history of the Doctor wiped from their data-banks. I mean, did Steven Moffat really just do that? Having watched it a second time however, I looked past a few continuity errors and the OUT-OF-NOWHERE twists and saw the rather entertaining and fun episode beneath.
So the episode opens on the Dalek's home planet Skaro...wait, didn't that get blown to bits in 'Remembrance Of The Daleks' (an old Sylvester McCoy ep)? And didn't the new series reference this a few years ago? Then why is it still standing in this episode? Surely a devote Doctor Who geek like Moffat would have at least put a line in there about it's resurrection? Anyway after a stunning CGI shot it's quickly revealed to the Doctor that the Dalek's are now converting humans into their creepy zombie puppets and what he thought was a plea for help was actually one big massive trap for the Dalek's to capture the Doctor. Pretty neat new tactic by the Dalek's I must say, and that eye-stalk emerging from their forehead was just plain unsettling. Cue two similar scenes with both Amy and Rory being abducted (apparently they've all fallen out and got divorced between Xmas and whenever this episode is set) and a rather epic intro into the Dalek Parliament (social commentary anyone?) with all the Dalek's pleading with the Doctor to save them from something and it looked like the makings of a great episode. And, in one of the best T.V twists since, well the Doctor suddenly being killed off in the last series, we're introduced to the new companion played by Jenna-Louise-Coleman....four months and five episodes earlier than expected. To the casual viewer of course, she would have just been another character introduced for the episode. To the seasoned Doctor Who fan like myself who recognised who she was, I was completely floored. I mean, how the heck did they keep that a secret for so long? It's rather genius actually, come to think of it. By having her entire part filmed inside one cramped interior, with no scenes with the main cast (other than the voice-over they obviously added in afterwards) I wouldn't be surprised if the main cast FILMING the episode had no idea who would be the actress playing the part! In fact, seen as she's been filming her episodes for quite a while now, they probably just took her into the studio for the day to record the scenes. And come Christmas, when we'll still probably be reeling from the Pond's exit, we won't be piling all of our expectations on her first episode because she'd have already been introduced a while ago and we'll have at least got a bit accustomed to her character.
So what follows this earth-shattering twist? Well once they get transported (in rather spectacular fashion may I add) to the Asylum: a planet full of Dalek's that even the Dalek's thought were insane, we get a solid half hour of the leads wondering about, with malfunctioning Dalek's, zombie Dalek's (another great idea) and even a...erm...Dalek that think's he's a ballerina? Or was that just Amy hallucinating? All the while companion-to-be Oswin is leading the Doctor through a maze of twist and turns so he can finally reach her. And then, in the second twist that I didn't really see coming (and I'll explain why in a minute) it turn's out Oswin has been a Dalek all along! DUN-DUN-DUUUUUN!!!!!! Not a normal Dalek though, a human Dalek that has somehow created this fantasy world of living in a space-pod making soufflees all year-round. EGGS-TERMINATE! Gettit? Oh, and the Dalek's just so happen to have a gun that looks like a whisk! Oh, did I groan. Anyway the Doctor says his goodbye, runs down some corridors while everything explodes around him, beams back up onto the Dalek ship and straight into the TARDIS. Job done. Oh wait! The Dalek's have somehow fogotten who the Doctor is for some extremely contrived reason....hmmm...oh well at least it should be interesting to see how that pans out again. I get the feeling Steven Moffat is trying to undo everything about the RTD era, I mean with the cracks in time in Series Five he erased several of the large scale invasion events happening all over planet earth, in Series Six he faked his own death so he could 'fade back into the limelight' and lose his god status (which was getting rather over-used) and now in Series Seven he's erased pretty much the entire history the Doctor has had with the Dalek's! Which when you think about it doesn't make a lick of sense (i.e say, did those millions and millions of Daleks just explode by themselves in the last few appearances? Surely the Dalek's would notice a MASSIVE chunk of their history being erased all of a sudden? What about all of those defeats? ARRGHHH!!! MY WHOVIAN BRAIN IS IMPLODING!).
So you're probably thinking, based on my summary of the episode above, that I quite liked the episode? Well I did, it had great direction, acting (especially that scene with Amy and Rory), did some cool stuff with the insane Dalek's, fantastic atmosphere and stunning production values for T.V, but come on, IT WAS CHOCK FULL OF PLOT HOLES AND INCONSISTENCIES! Like this:
And this:
To put it simply, what Steven Moffat tells us about the Dalek's in this episode contradict's a TON of stuff we know about the Dalek's, with NO explanation given. Being a Doctor Who boffin, I practically winced at a few of the things in this episode. Like for example, Dalek's have had all of their emotions taken away from them except for hate, so why for the love of god do they suddenly have a concept of beauty? I didn't see the twist about Oswin being a Dalek coming because in 'Victory Of The Daleks' (the last episode dedicated to them) the new paradigm Dalek's destroyed the old bronze Dalek's because they weren't considered 'pure' Dalek. In other word, if your DNA was made from human cells then Dalek or not, you're bloody inferior mate! In this episode it showed the Dalek's turning Oswin into a Dalek, as in like converting her (very Cybermen-like) and it doesn't make a lick of sense because she's a HUMAN. I mean a human puppet is one thing, but an actual Dalek made out of 100% human is blasphemy when it comes to those picky tanks. The old Dalek's got exterminated for less! Speaking of which, HOW COME ALL THE OLD DALEK'S ARE SUDDENLY BACK?!!! And what happened to the redesigned versions? They're just in the background now, and it's all unexplained. Oh yes, and the last time we saw the Dalek's there was only four of them left, so how come in this episode there is (quite literally) MILLIONS of them! They're like cockroaches, they just keep coming back. WHERE ARE ALL THESE DALEK'S COMING FROM? In order for there to be a Dalek you first need a mutant, and mutants in the past have been made from A) the remains of the Kaled race, the original Dalek's B) Human cells, except this was supposed to be considered inferior, REMEMBER? It's even implied that they 'hate their own existence' because of it and C) Cells donated from Davros (who is supposedly dead but you know he'll come back). So with neither of these options viable, then how in the hell are these mutants being made? They don't just come out of thin air! Come on Moffat, all it takes is 'ONE F*CKING LINE OF DIALOGUE' to explain this!
So taking the Dalek's out of this, what else didn't I like? Well so far I think the new companion is WAY too much like River Song, in fact she even quotes the character at one point! Unless she's secretly River Song in disguise or something (which would be stupid) I don't see myself warming to this new girl. There's nothing wrong with her acting or anything, but her constant flirts and feisty attitude are more grating than chalk being screeched on a whiteboard! Please come up with something original for her, soon. I didn't really feel emotionally attached to her as character either, so when it was revealed that she has been a Dalek all along, I was shocked but not really feeling anything like I should have been. Shame, because with a few more scenes of character development and less of that constant flirty/feisty attitude that could have been a great moment.
But what did I dislike the most in this episode? Amy & Rory's divorce sub-plot. It was, to put it simply, the most ham-fisted plot development I have EVER SEEN since, well the last Xmas episode. The last time we saw Amy and Rory, they were both living quite happily together and seemed to be getting along fine. This episode? They've fallen out to the point where they're signing the divorce papers! WAIT, WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED BETWEEN NOW AND THEN?! It's barely touched upon before they both get thrown into the Asylum, and there's so much stuff going on that there's not enough time in the episode to allow for this plot development to have breathing space. This should be a HUGE thing, but it's introduced and wrapped up in the course of five minutes...all within the same episode! And Amy's excuse for dumping Rory was pathetic, I mean sure couples have been broken up because of this issue but I don't buy for ONE SECOND that it would happen to this couple, especially after all they've been through and experienced! And they get completely overshadowed by the appearance of Oswin, which is odd considering these last five episodes are supposed to be dedicated to sending-off these character's and giving them one last-hurrah. To put it simply, it was a waste of space and they shouldn't have done this. Shame, because I was really looking forward to seeing how this thread would have been handled, what a downer.
Hmmm....so how will the new companion get out of this one? Maybe she's just an ancestor or relative of the new companion? Perhaps this entire stint was done to get us used to seeing this actress's face in Doctor Who? Or perhaps her death (as a Dalek!) will factor in heavily come Christmas? Who know's, but I suppose there's something to look forward too. Just please, please don't be another River Song! But in the meantime we've got four episodes of what should be classic Doctor Who, role on 'Dinosaurs On A Spaceship'!
Despite it's numerous flaws, 'Asylum of the Daleks' was a fun episode...for the most part: 7/10. Let's just hope the next episode will be a bit better.
The first piece of DLC single player content (apart from the extended cut, which doesn't really count) for Mass Effect 3 has arrived and it's for the most part a fun addition to the main game and well worth your time. The DLC starts rather quickly as Commander Shepard is called to a science lab on the Citadel in order to investigate rumours of a 'Reaper killer' named Leviathan. What follows is three hours of part exploration, action and a few quiet emotional moments that builds towards a finale that to be frank: 'Changes the history of the Galaxy as we know it'.
Now that all the multiplayer packs and ending touch-ups are finished, it felt like a breath of fresh air to finally play Leviathan. Almost like revisiting an old friend, Mass Effect 3 has constantly been put in my Xbox since it's release back in March (mainly because of the spiffing multiplayer events). Simply put, it's a great blend of action, drama and good 'ol Sci-Fi all bound up into one tasty morsel and Leviathan is exactly like that. I mean it's a more bite-sized approach (barely clocking in at three hours) for sure, but an enjoyable one at that. The Story of this DLC, like every other part of Mass Effect, is well done. The new characters introduced are perfectly relatable, and it all moves along at a fairly brisk pace with plenty of extra-dialogue from your squad-mates and a continuous flow of exciting moments. Shepard's confrontation with Leviathan at the end ties up a lot of loose ends and it feels like it's almost hinting at what a Mass Effect 4 would be like. Ultimately though, despite the galaxy-wide ramifications you'd think it'd have, the story has absolutely no effect on the ending or the main storyline, which is disappointing: 7,5/10.
As for the gameplay in Leviathan, it's mostly the same as in the original game but with a few new elements added (like one computer drone escort mission taken directly from multiplayer) that doesn't really do much. The combat is perfectly fine, but after hours of mowing down the same enemies in multiplayer all day long it gets tedious pretty fast. The exploration elements and bare bones puzzles added to the lab sections of the game were short but sweet, and I would like to see more of detective Shepard in future DLC please: 6/10.
The main reason for you to get this DLC though (other that the story of course) is the three stunning environments that this game lets you play in. The first level is set on a creepy mining colony, and the level design does wonders for the atmosphere. The second takes place on a makeshift colony on the side of a cliff as it crumbles around you, and it's quite the fantastic action set-piece that gets your pulse going in more ways than one. The third and final level takes you aboard a dilapidated cargo ship in the middle of the ocean as the waves crash and thrash you about, and you top it all off, you finish the DLC by going underwater in a giant Atlas mech! The production values alone are worth the ten euros or six pounds that I paid for this thing. I mean it looks and plays perfectly: 10/10
So overall if you're a Mass Effect fan and you can't wait for the inevitable fourth game, this is a great little piece of downloadable content for you to pick up.
The Walking Dead Episode 3 is, in my humble opinion, now the finest example of video-game storytelling. Telltale Games has now over three episodes crafted a beautiful experience that so far is not afraid to pull punches and continues to deliver a series of shocking moments in the rather short run-time of episode three. If 'A New Day' introduced the cast of characters and offered a few glimpses at what life in the zombie apocalypse was like, and 'Starved For Help' offered a few grisly moments and some genuine edge-of-your-seat scenes, then 'Long Road Ahead' barely starts before piling a series of awful situations on the player.
I started episode one as a Lee Everett who was (for the most part) a nice and caring man. Clementine, the young girl in my possession really provided a moral compass for me as a player and I tried my best to keep her from harms way. In episode two I found myself conflicted a number of times over what to do in certain no-win scenario's and it really tested who I felt I was portraying. Ultimately though, I stood my ground (bar a few shaky moments) and continued to put Clementine first while also trying to be as nice to the supporting characters as possible, even if they were a bit on edge most of the time. Episode three however, completely and utterly broke me, to the point where I was willing to kill another character at a certain moment in the story. While there is no one scene that was more tense or gut-wrenching than the stuff that we got at the end of episode two, it's the sheer amount of slaughter and tragedy that hits you one after the other that really puts the nail in the coffin for you emotionally. I was at points nearly in tears during some (almost horrifyingly real) scenes and the harsh reality of life in the zombie apocalypse is amplified by the interactivity of the game. Now it doesn't feel like I'm playing a character, it feels like I'm playing myself, with Lee serving as my avatar. I project onto him my emotions and as a result, the choices I made almost made me hate myself because I knew that in that situation I would have done the same thing. It's some tense stuff, let me tell you! While the game definitely feels more linear this time around, the dialogue choices do change the opinion of people in the now shrunken group which is a nice bit of flavour. The fact that whatever you do cannot change the fate of certain characters makes it feel even more brutal in my opinion. Normally this would be a complaint, but the sheer strength of the narrative being told here makes up for it. The fantastic characterisation, extremely tense moments, shocking reveals and brutality of this episode (even with little to no gore on display) makes this episode worthy of a 10/10 in the story department. Fanf@ckingtastic!
The gameplay in episode three is a bit more prominent than last time around but don't be fooled, this is still a very gameplay-lite experience. The quick-time events are still tense but let's face it, it's all button mashing. The fetch quests are extremely simple (but it does take you a while to find everything you need to proceed in the story) and the dialogue wheels remain the same. The only new addition this time is the shooting mechanic where you fire awkwardly from Lee's sniper-rifle, and it's a damn good thing that it get's dropped quickly because the controlling of your sight feels wonky and quite frankly it's a bit sh*t. This is the Walking Dead, not Call Of Duty. But at least there is variety (of a sort) in what you do this time, episode two could barely be called a game: 5/10.
As far as presentation goes, 'Long Road Ahead' still has that same vibrant comic-booky feel as the other two, and the facial animations on the characters are still great. As I said before, it feels like you're playing an awesome interactive graphic novel. Unfortunately episode three is the buggiest episode yet, with many glitches occurring throughout both of my playthroughs of the game. It's unacceptable and breaks the immersion of the game unfortunately. As for fixing them, quitting to the main menu and reloading your save SHOULD eliminate all of your problems, but it's still an inconvenience for the player. Despite the somewhat disappointing glitches, the sound in the game more than makes up for it, with all of the voice actors bringing their A-game to the table in terms of performances. Members of your group break down, argue, cuss, and chat realistically, and it's their performance that makes the game what it is. The score is perfectly implemented, and doesn't get in the way to much for you to notice it. It doesn't matter how buggy the game is, the great voice actors enthral you past these annoyances: 8/10.
The Walking Dead isn't a perfect GAME, but sure damn well is a masterpiece as far as interactive storytelling goes. This is seriously starting to become my game of the year, and I think everyone who owns an iphone/ipad/PC/Xbox/PS3 should play this awesome series. At five euros or 400 MS points you're getting more than your money's worth, and if you don't mind me saying, it's f*cking jaw-dropping: 10/10.
After the excellent first episode I couldn't have been more hyped for the second instalment in Telltale's episodic series 'The Walking Dead', and after playing through episode 2 'Starved For Help' (in one sitting, which is about four hours) I am convinced that we've got a real gem of a series in out hands. Not only does the second episode match my lofty expectations, it surpasses it. In fact, I dare say that that was the most riveting four hours of my life.
Whereas episode one was very much a 'pilot' episode (and a great one at that) episode two doesn't have to introduce the main players or set-up the terrifying post-apocalypse, so instead it plunges you right into the action from the get-go. Set three months after episode one, it starts with Lee completing another satisfying zombie kill (don't expect to see many of them this episode) and a brief introduction to new character Mark before all hell lets loose once again. You're confronted with a very grisly predicament (of the limb-shearing kind) and once again your decisions could quite literally mean life or death for quite a few characters, or in this case, death followed by more death. Yes that's right, whatever you decide to do you're going to lose anyway, which is one of the main themes of this episode. Yes you can side with this person or that person, decide to save this guy over that gal but ultimately you're just delaying the inevitable, and Telltale makes it clear that there is no 'wrong' or 'right' choice, simply your opinion of things. This episode tests your morality in very harsh ways, in one segment you only have four 'food items' for a group of ten people, and you're the one that has to hand out the rations. At the time I thought I did the right thing but started to doubt my choice an hour down the line. I loved that feeling, like you had done something wrong but made the best out of a bad situation. And then you have to deal with the emotional baggage, which is hard. Several elements scattered throughout the first three hours also made me doubt the people I was with. I felt paranoid, a sense of dread was starting to accumulate in my stomach. So I spent the whole episode waiting for that dam to burst, for that balloon to pop, for that one moment where the supposed safe haven that the characters find themselves in (I won't divulge further than that because of SPOILERS) suddenly collapses under a pile of horror and despair. I was not disappointed, and I loved every second of dread and suspense that the episode threw at me. Just be warned, this episode is not for the faint of heart (for those who have played the episode, you'll get this sentence immediately!). The fact that a video-game could produce such a range of emotions in me is astounding, and I applaud Telltale for their work at crafting such an intricate and well thought out story. The cast of main survivors Lee, Kenny, Larry, Lilly, Carley/Doug, Clementine, Katja and Duck continue to be interesting and superbly voiced (with the exception of Duck who is a bit of an annoying brat), the actress who voices Clementine in particular should be given an award for most realistic child in a video-game ever, if it wasn't for her performance then a lot of the emotional impact in the episode would be missing. Lee Everett continues to be the well-wounded everyday man, who's likeable even when you choose some of the *COUGH* *COUGH* less moral decisions. So yes, I'm happy to say that the Walking Dead's main strength, it's story, is still on fine form here: 10/10.
Gameplay in episode two has been drastically reduced this time around. That's if you consider 'walking forward for a few seconds' gameplay, because it really isn't. With only one (extremely simple) puzzle halfway through Ep 2, there is literally nothing here except for a few quick time events and the choose your dialogue wheel. It's simple granted, to the point where I wouldn't even call it a game of such, more like an interactive graphic novel or choose your fate T.V show. I'm not complaining per-say, I'm just saying that there's a very good reason why it isn't called The Walking Dead: The Video Game: 3/10 (don't come here if you're looking for zombie slaying action).
The presentation and sound isn't that amazing this time around. The Xbox 360 version in particular is prone to bugs a hiccups that makes the experience feel really unpolished and rough as nails. I find this odd because episode one didn't have any of these issues. One scene in particular was ruined by a few audio glitches and the game froze for a few seconds which made me reaaaly anxious. The sound and voice acting remains top-notch nonetheless, and the game still retains it's comic-booky style that is pleasing to the eyes: 4/10
Overall as an experience this series remains outstanding, I can't praise this game enough. And with it being available on PC, 360, PS3 AND Mac there is really no excuse for you NOT to go out and get it: 10/10. Just make sure you fix the glitches Telltale, or next-time I won't be so forgiving...
