Game Review: Hitman Absolution

  

Been awhile since my last review but now I am back with a review of a really great game; Hitman Absolution. I wanted to review the Hitman HD trilogy but I have had Absolution a lot longer so it just feels right to review this first.

Hitman Absolution stars Agent 47 who, after the events of Hitman Blood Money, has been assigned to find and assassinate his old handler with the I.C.A; Diana Burnwood, who has went rouge and plans to expose the agency. Upon completing the mission 47decides to go break off from the agency himself and keep a girl named Victoria safe, which was the dying wish of Diana. 47 is now a rouge agent with the I.C.A, the police and even an arms manufacturing company after him and all because of this mysterious girl Victoria.

The story in this game is a real strong suit for it since I feel there is a lot more depth in it than the previous entries, I think the better graphics have contributed to that but there is more to it. For example I think that there is a proper overarching story to the whole game now than just a series of hits to complete. It has a lot of surprises in it and seeing 47 has a rouge agent now and seeing him dealing with it through the cut scenes.

Has for the gameplay it has many features from the previous games that we know and love and many of them have been improved. For example controlling 47 has never felt easier; I don't know about anyone else but for the other games the controls felt a little bit awkward, as if the games did not make the move from PC to console very well. The movement in this game is a lot more fluid, especially when it comes to the shooting which I will go in to detail about now.

The shooting in the game is still similar to the other ones, where the camera angle is behind 47 and it goes to over the shoulder but there was no need to change this anyway. One great aspect that has been added is instinct mode a kind of sonar like vision which allows 47 to predict enemies movements to a certain degree, it however uses a gauge so you have to be careful how long you use it for, this gauge however change be refilled by taking out enemies and completing objectives. Another new mechanic that uses the gauge is a bullet time mode which lets 47 slow down time; while in this state he can mark targets and then quickly take them out and it was a hell of a fun! This slow down of time however uses a lot of the gauge so it cannot be spammed which I think is a good thing; stops players from relying on it too much.

Now one thing that has always been the main attraction of the Hitman games was it's massive level design and the ingenious ways you can use the environment to your advantage and that is still the case here. The levels in this have been broken down in to different areas, kind of like checkpoints, but each area is still expansive and detailed be it either Chinatown or the hotel. My favourite level is the strip club were, like most of the other levels, there are many ways to kill your target which encourages replay a definite plus for any game.

One thing however that is present in every level is the point system which may or may not be a good thing. On the one hand we can keep track of our scores constantly so we can know how well we are doing and this is a good thing if we are trying to get the high score. However it good be rather off putting sometimes when we see are scores reduced for a small mistake made at the last minute. Made me thing more than once of replying the level to get it right even though everything else was going good.

Another thing that might irk some old players, but like the score this is a matter of preference, is that in this game we cannot chose are weapons and prepare ourselves before hand. This is explained in the story because 47 is a rouge agent and now has to procure weapons on site but some may have wanted to chose their weapons first. This does not bother me but it may bother some other die hard fans of the old system. As for the weapons there is plenty of them from 47's trusted Silverballers to sniper rifles and machine guns and a lot of melee weapons from knife to household items. This once again adds to the many ways you can take out your targets.

With online being a big craze nowadays it would have been weird not for Hitman Absolution to include one and I have to say it is one of most favourite online mode I have played. What you have to do is replay levels you have played but now you can chose the targets and the method in how to take them out and these targets can be anyone; from the enemies you already encountered in the story to civilians you passed. After you have completed the mission you can post it online to see if anyone else can pull it off, it is a compelling and interesting mode for online and I spent hours trying to create the hardest level.

Two things however was a bit of a let down however and first is with the many disguises that 47 can use throughout the game. Even if you change in to a disguise to enter a restricted area the enemies can still spot you regardless if you do anything suspicious or not. For example if you dress like a police officer you can still be spotted by other police officers unless you constantly hold the R1 button to hide your face. This was not in the other games and it felt like unnecessary to add that in here. This makes it hard to enjoy infiltrating places in a disguise like before and holding the R1 constantly drains the gauge which is annoying.

One more thing which was disappointing was the bosses that they have in it; they are no different from ordinary foes. For example I was really looking forward to facing the Saints in the games; a group of leather clad, dominatrix nuns who I thought were really cool. However when their level game they just acted like the other patrols around them which was a shame. I don't know how else the could have done it, I just wanted them to be more unique.  

Moving on to the graphics and I have to say that they are stunning! The facial expressions of all the characters are the best they have ever been because for the previous games, like the controls, I found the graphics would have suited a PC more than a console. The same can be said for the levels which look so detailed, I don't think I have a single bad thing to say about the graphic here it suited the game perfectly.

Lastly the characters where all well acting and thought out in this games from David Bateson as the ever awesome 47 to Keith Carradine as the antagonist Blake Dexter, who can be a real ass in some of the cut scenes lol. There are off course many great side characters as well like Powers Boothe as Benjamin Travis the head of ICA, Traci Lords as Layla Stockton, Jon Gries had Sheriff Clive Skurky and many great more.

Overall Absolution is my favourite entry to the series let down only by the disguise and the bosses but despite that this is a most have for anyone's Hitman collection.

SCORE: 8/10 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Game Review: Kingdom Hearts HD 1.5 Remix

It has been a while but I am now back with a game review and I have decided to review a HD port of one of my favourite games; Kingdom Hearts. Kingdom Hearts is about a character named Sora who, along with his two friends Riku and Kairi, wishes to leave their small world and travel to many others. However beings called the Heartless destroy their world and separates the three friends so Sora, now armed with the keyblade that has the power to destroy the Heartless, tries to find them by travelling to many different worlds. He is accompanied by Disney characters Donald and Goofy who wish to find their King, King Mickey, who left on a mission to stop the Heartless. Now I guess I will start off by saying that the main attraction of this game is the whole host of Disney characters and worlds. It is really clever to see how they mixed the stories of the Disney characters with Sora’s mission to stop the Heartless. There are plenty of worlds has well for many Disney fans such as Aladdin, Tarzan and Hercules to name a few, each one of them with their own unique feel and experience. However what a really nice surprise when I first played this game on the PS2 was the inclusion of Final Fantasy characters such as Squall, Cloud, Yuffie and Aeries to name a few. What also makes this game epic was its great combat system; unlike Final Fantasy which uses a turn based method, Kingdom Hearts uses a hack and slash type gameplay which was so much fun. The areas where you fight the Heartless are big and there is such a wide variety of enemies with their own unique abilities that you are going to spend alot of time, and fun, trying to figure out their weakness. This is also true for the bosses, many of them are massive and they can be quite difficult for first timers but hey, who wants a game with easy bosses? Also another great addition to 1.5 which was not in the original PS2 version is the introduction to many secret enemies which drop valuable items and a new boss in Hollow Bastion which was hard to beat. They are also kept all of the great superbosses that are even more difficult than the final boss such as Sephiroth, the Ice Giant etc. Back to the combat it is still as fluid and easy to master as it was in the PS2 version. Your stat growth is similar to Final Fantasy games in that you level up and equip magic, weapons, armour and abilities. You get even more abilities in this game which is a definite plus. You even get to fight alongside Donald and Goofy as permanent party members and from time to time fight with guest characters from the Disney universe, my favourite one to fight with is Beast. Besides to combat this game also offers a wide range of side quests outside of the main story such as fighting in the coliseum, collecting all weapons and mixing all items in the moogle shop to name a few. One of the one I was not bothered about is the gummi ship missions to get to each world but it is only a small thing and I don’t hate it either (it gets better in KH2). As for the cast of characters, they are all just perfect Sora, Riku and Kairi are great original main characters that fit in well with the Disney ones and the the same can be said about the huge cast of Disney ones. They are all just fun to watch and I like each and every one of them! Also graphically this game is ver pretty to look at, it looks largely the same as the PS2 one except with a few touch ups and colour differences in the Heartless. Overall Kingdom Hearts was one of the best games ever to have been made for the PS2 so I am glad we finally got a HD port for the PS3. There is absolutely nothing wrong with this game at all in my opinion and I can’t wait for a HD port of Kingdom Hearts 2 which is even better than KH1, at the time I thought it maybe have been impossible to top KH1 but they did! SCORE: 10/10 I have not reviewed Chain of Memories that is included with the game and that is because I have not finished it yet. I know Kingdom Hearts HD 1.5 came out in September but I only got it not that long ago and I have only had time to complete 1.5. Maybe I will review Chain of Memories when I finish it.

More reviews coming soon!

Bleach Review: 566 - 570, Rukia Kuchiki vs. As Nodt

This was probably is uploaded later than I thought it would but here is my review of the recent fight between Rukia and As Nodt. It starts off with Rukia going around the Seireitei (or the Vandenriech now that it is taken over) and stopping when she feels something touch her arm and then turns around to see As Nodt floating towards her. We get some cool, creepy expressions of As Nodt as asks where his captured Senbonzakura and her brother has gone to and I found that kind of funny. It is not long before the actions begins and As Nodt fires his Reshi thorns at Rukia, he also takes off his cape and we see his outfit is still the same as last time but with the added addition of fingerless gloves. However even though As Nodt says his fear ability cannot be stopped with ice Rukia remains ineffective by saying that her body is below freezing so she is currently ‘dead’ and fear cannot affect her (it is also the true power of her Sode No Shirayuki), she then proceeds to completely freeze As Nodt in midair. As Nodt survives this however and breaks out while removing his mouth mask to reveal a decaying mouth and then afterwards enters in his Vollstandig by activating the Vandenreich symbol on the back of his eye. His Vollstandig is called Tatarforas and while in it he gains thorn like looking wings and a halo; his suit also peels away to show a decaying looking chest where is ribcage is. This form heightens his strength and speed but also grants him the ability to paralyse his target with fear simply by looking at his victim. He then creates an entire dome of eyes which traps and seems to have the upper hand before Byakuya Kuchiki. Surprisingly Byakuya does not participate in the fight except to free Rukia from As Nodt dome of eyes and to show off Senbonzakura again. As Nodt then proceed to transform in to a massively grotesque looking form but before he can do anything Rukia actives her Bankai; Hakka no Togame. This creates a massive blast of ice which once again freezes As Nodt but this time he crumbles away, thus ending the fight. I liked this fight a lot more than Renji vs. Mask De Masculine and the main reason for that is that this fight did not seem as one sided as that one was. I was completely annoyed with how over powered Renji was but with Rukia vs. As Nodt I thought the fight could have went either way right up until Rukia activated her bankai. Also I really liked that it was Rukia to kill As Nodt and not Byakuya and that is because I don’t think Rukia has had a decent fight since Aaroniero Arrurueire, plus I think a lot of people where expecting it to be Byakuya to finish off As Nodt. Speaking about As Nodt I think it was great to see another Sternritter have a little back story, the only others who have were the Lloyd brothers. It seems that As Nodt was a very religious person on the brink of death while in a hospital and feared going to hell more than anything. However Yhwach suddenly appears before him and asks if he would like power and be saved, which it is a safe assumption that he accepted. Since this hospital looked very modern I am guessing that As Nodt is a survivor of the Auswahlen that Yhwach used to revive himself. However this is only a guess at this point. Another thing that stood out a lot was the amazing art work that went in to this fight; As Nodt of course looks completely menacing as always, whether this is the shape of his eyes at the beginning or his numerous transformations. I particularly like the part when Rukia froze him in midair and they are flying past one another, it was just really cool. Also I would like to point out that I think Rukia’s bankai looked awesome, her dress looked very regal and detailed. I have heard a lot of people saying that if Rukia had a bankai it would have been a scythe but this was a pleasant surprise in my opinion. If there is anything I did not like about this fight was that I don’t think it was as long as it could have been. I always thought Kubo put a lot of effect in to creating As Nodt and I thought he would have been one of the last Sternritter to be defeated. I am not saying that this was a disappointing fight, it is one of the best of the arc in my opinion, and I just think a few more chapters could have been dedicated to it. Overall this was one great fight were we got to see Rukia with some new powers and Byakuya is ready to fight now. As Nodt may have been one of my favourite Sternritters however at least now some of the focus can shift to those Sternritter we have not seen yet. SCORE: 9/10 Predictions At the end of this fight we get to see Isane and Yachiru stalked by Sternritter V – Vanishing Point, Guenael, and I am really interested in seeing how this goes. These are two characters that we have not seen fight yet and this may be a good opportunity for them to show off. However, whether or not it is in this fight or another, I do hope that the Soul Society takes on more casualties soon. The Sternritter are really pushing them but I really think they need to suffer some more losses to make this invasion and last arc more brutal.

Revolution Season Two Episodes 1 – 9, Thoughts So Far and why I like it this series so much

I am now back with some more reviews but I have decided to do something a bit different today and do an overview Revolution Season Two episodes 1 – 9 as a whole and how much I have liked it so far. I have decided to do this for two reasons; Revolution is one of my favourite TV series currently airing right now I can not get enough of it and secondly it is because here in the UK I think the series is back on Saturday and I wanted to do this quick review before then.

Also because I will be discussing the characters and events in season two so far there will be MAJOR SPOILERS, I will be going really in depth in them.

So as always I will start off with a quick summary of the story; it has been six months after the events of season one finale and Randall had successfully launched nuclear missiles at the Monroe Republic and The Georgia Federation, destroying their capital cities and removing the two new superpowers. Miles, Rachael and Aaron have taken shelter in the small town of Willoughby, Texas with Rachael’s father Gene Porter (Stephen Collins), the town doctor. Charlie meanwhile has decided to leave the group and wander the Plains Nations while Neville and his son Jason are trying to find any news of his wife in numerous refugee camps. While everyone copes with the consequences of the events six months ago a large group calling themselves The Patriots have arrived in several places across America and claim to be remnants of the United States government that have come to restore order and take back the country.

One of the reasons why I like this new plot so much is because it borrows from a famous conspiracy theory that a secret organization will one day destroy the world and then rebuild it the way they want and that is exactly who The Patriots are. Randall admitted working for them before killing himself so we know they dropped the bombs whether or not they knew what the nanites would do and intentionally shut off the power is something that is yet to be revealed. Even though however I really miss the Monroe Republic these Patriots are shady enough that I want to know more about them. Speaking of the nanites we delve deeper in to their working then in the previous season because now they seem to have developed think beyond their programming. As a child representation says to Aaron in the ninth episode ‘He woke them up’ I for one am very interested to see what this new A.I. can do and what it is fully capable of.

Now on to the characters and I will start off with the recurring ones starting off with Miles and Monroe. Like in the first season I have no complaints about Miles he is a badass character and a great leader for the series and I hope he will continue to be so. As for Monroe, though he was a great antagonist in the first season, this season he sides with the good guys and tries to redeem himself to them. I really like this with Monroe because he is now a guy who has completely lost everything now and has become a sympathetic character and it is great to see him and Miles working together now instead of trying to kill each other.

As for Rachael in my last review you will recall that I did not like her that much and that is still the case here. Her back story and her involvement with the Blackout could make great character I admit that, I just really wished they get rid of the smug look she always wears, her always right attitude and her detached personality. For example she finds out her father is cooperating with the Patriots and she acts like it that is even more wrong then him killing or raping someone and she then goes to kill him with a mixer of poison chemicals (Miles stopped her though). I mean for Gods sake Rachael you did not even ask him why he is working for then or how much he is loyal to them. Gene even asks her ‘Haven’t you ever done something bad for the right reasons’ and that is a good point. Rachel worked on the nanites which, when released, kind of caused the deaths of millions then she turned the power back on for Randall to fire the missiles, indirectly causing the deaths of thousands and it was all because she thought she was doing the right thing and did not care what anyone else thought. Sorry for ranting on so much about her but unlike Andrea on the Walking Dead she had the potential to be a good character if they just dialled her down a bit.

Now for my favourite character which is Aaron, some have disliked his character arc in this season because he seems to have control of the nanites and can make them heal wounds and burn people alive, I for one like this development. I want to know more about the nanites and what they can do and I like that they have given the power to Aaron because his character struggles with his usefulness in this new world while this new power might mean that he has more worth than he realises. However those who dislike this arc might rejoice now because the powers seem to leave him in episode nine either forever or temporary. I want it to be only temporary because as I just said I am very like and am very interested in this development of Aaron and the nanites.

Next I want to go in to three characters who I feel have not had much development in this season as they should have had; Charlie, Neville and Jason. Charlie’s character in the first season was great because he had to rescue her brother and then avenge him and we get to see her develop from a sheltered girl of her tiny village to a rebel fighter. In this season however she does not contribute much to the story at all and feels out of place with the fight against the Patriots, the only notable thing she has done so far is bring Monroe to Miles that is it. It is shame and I hope that this changes when the series returns. As for Neville and Jason I think their role in infiltrating the Patriots is great because we get to see more Patriot activity outside of Texas and Neville is one hell of a good manipulator. However I don’t think this part of the season has been given much screen time or progress; a lot of things have happened in Texas, lots of events and happenings but I don’t feel that much has happened when the episode changes to Neville and Jason.

Now I want to discuss two new characters that have been great additions to the series; Gene Porter and Dr. Calvin Horn (Zeljiko Ivanek). Gene is a great character and it is interesting to see him struggling with is involvement with the Patriots and helping out his family. He dislikes what the Patriots are doing but he owes them a lot, as I mentioned above he has seen and done terrible things for them but it has all been for good reasons. I want to know whose side he will decide to take in the end.

Next is a Patriot doctor and advisor Calvin Horn who has come to Texas to investigate the strange behaviour in the nanites recently and is quick to notice that Aaron is the cause. I like it when he showed up because it proves that the Patriots are more aware of the nanites and what they have been doing than we might have thought and that they obviously want to control them. Why and how is still unknown but it is possible that, like the Monroe Republic before them, they want to be the ones who control all the power.

Back to Horn though the thing I really like about him is that he is not just some Patriot lackey who is just following orders, the reason he wants Aaron and his powers so bad is because he has a tumour in his brain. In the end he did not care much for Patriots plans and only wanted the nanites healing powers to live. He had a great back story and his acting is so well done that it is a shame that he is only in it for a couple of episodes (four I think), but he goes down hard by first causing the death of Aaron’s new girlfriend and indirectly causing Aaron to lose his powers.

Overall episodes one to nine of this season have been great so far, introducing interesting new characters and a great new replacement group for the Monroe Republic. I am not going to give these episodes a score out of ten; I will wait until I see the rest of the season.

Now I would just like to address the rather disturbing news that I have heard in these past few months that Revolution has had a break and that is that NBC is unsure about renewing it for a third season. That would be the most stupid decision that could possibly make and I will give you the reasons why;

It has a strong fan base: I am following Revolution on Twitter and on Facebook and I am confident in saying that this show has a MASSIVE fan base (including myself). I read the comments people put up on those social sites and it seems to me that they will have a thing or two to say if it is cancelled after season 2.

It is something really different: Besides being a great sci fi and adventure/action series it is really something unique. I mean if they get rid of this what are they going to replace it with; a family or friends comedy set in a big American city? There are only about a hundred of those airing already!!

There is still room for more: Luckily Revolution get over twice as much episodes in one season then most shows have; it has over twenty while most have between ten and twelve (Game of Thrones and Falling Skies for example). However I am unsure if they can resolve everything with just this season, I really think they need at least two more seasons that would be perfect. Even if they only have just a third season and it is really good than I think I can be happy with that (it will end with over sixty episodes).

Thos are just are few arguments about why it should have a third season even though I am sure there are lots more. Now I just want to say why I like this show so much and why it is one of my favourites.

One of the first things I liked about it while I was watching season one was that despite it being a post apocalyptic show, humanity has not been completely screwed. Let’s take the Walking Dead for example; great show and comic book however it annoys me sometimes with how easily man has fallen to the apocalypse. Sure they fight zombies in that so it is not a very fair comparison but at least in Revolution we get to see a world were people has managed to rebuild.

Second is a continuation of the first and that is how interesting this new world is and what a great job they did at bringing it to life. It is fifteen years after the Blackout and there are numerous republics to replace the old America; Monroe, Georgia and the Plains Nation for example. So during season one when they were travelling all across the country to get Danny back and restore the power I just loved seeing how the world has changed and it was one of the biggest highlights of the series. Also of course we now have the awakened nanites so it is going to be interesting to see what more they can do.

Another is the awesome fight scenes that they have had in both seasons. It is always a mix of sword fighting and shootouts and both have always been on the edge of your seat brutal.

Lastly are the characters they have created for the season and I think they have done a good job of making every one of them unique. Take Miles for example; the leader type who is one of the good guys but has probably killed more people than any bomb! But despite that you can always say he just tries to do the right thing in his own violent way and that he is a character with a lot of inner conflicts. Then there are the rest of the superb cast like Charlie, Aaron and Neville to name but a few.

However it is not even the main characters but even the minor characters that have influenced this show a lot. Maggie in season one for example had a really sad death scene which started to cause a change in Charlie that I think as shaped her in to the person she is in season two. Then there is Charlie’s dad Ben who dies in the first episode of season one but who is still so important to the story that he appears in a lot of major flashbacks later. Even I will say that Ben Matheson is one of my favourite characters and I wished Rachael was killed off in stead of him and that is mostly because Rachael only cares about herself, cheated on him numerous times and is the most unlike able character in the show. However since I can not change what they have done I hope something comes up in season two that involves work he had done and we see him in more flashbacks.

There you have it, my review for season two so far, why it should continue and why I like it so much. I may have ranted on for ages but this is one of my favourite shows and I just like it so much. I can not wait for it to continue here in the UK, I have no idea what happens after episode nine of season two even though it is past that in the US (I have not even read about it).

My new profile picture that I will change soon (also more reviews soon)

Resident Evil 6 Monster Fanart