God of War: Ascension

God of War: Ascension showcases the story of series protagonist Kratos as he fights all those who oppose him for breaking his blood oath to Ares. While the game is considered a great one by many, others thought that the QTE heavy combat and the over-the-top violence that catapulted the series to great heights at one point were now becoming stale and required a major rethinking going forward.

I had to read up a little bit on Dead to Rights before I played it as I was unsure what it even was. Flying under the radar is one thing but even though I knew about the original, I had no idea the remake even existed. It is indeed a remake of the original Dead to Rights, yet because the original was given such poor reviews; it was cleverly renamed Dead to Rights: Retribution. There hasn’t been much improvement on the games reviews as many people are still unsatisfied with the new title. Personally I don’t see what all the grief is about as I found it to be fun, simple, and over all decent looking. I don’t even have many issues except a small amount of repetitive objectives.

China Town, Dead to Rights style.

Dead to Rights is one of the more straight forward games I have played but it can be very challenging at times. The story is some what cookie cutter for cop drama games, but the vocal acting and screen play are good enough to keep it interesting. The twists and turns in the story are sadly very predicable. There are some good spots in the story, but most of the main events could have been written by a 10 year old. A lot of the objects are basically standard for action games. There are the, “hold off the never ending flow of enemy missions”, and the always annoying, “Protect this damsel in distress” missions.

There have been a lot of complaints that Dead to Rights: Retribution ripped off the bullet time idea from Max Payne. I think that if this was an attempt at stealing the idea it was done in the most watered fashion imaginable. Bullet time has no trade mark and I think that Max Payne did it the best, and with about the ability to jump around or dive and shoot in bullet time doesn’t seem like stealing the idea to me. The use of bullet time in Dead to Rights is very useful and a great feature for taking out multiple enemies.

“Tear him apart Shadow!”

There are different clans or groups of enemies for every stage as the story progresses. You start fighting the typical Asian influence street thugs and move your way up to the government take over group known as G.A.C. Each of these clans has the same classes which are like scouts, heavies, melee fighters, and tanks in the later stages. There is an issue with enemy models as all classes look the same. Which if they where all in uniform would be alright but some of them are not and this makes the integrity drop a little for me.

There is a large range of weapons to choose from and you are currently unlocking new guns. Ammo is nothing to be wasted, as you will not find it to always be available though they do make sure you have weapons for bosses. When you run out of ammo with a weapon instead of holding on to it for new set of magazines, you simply throw to the ground.  Fist fighting is nothing to be taken lightly as it is very commonly used and quite a great system for gaining new weapons by disarming enemies.

The hand to hand combat may be one of Dead to Rights greatest features. It is set up for fighting multiple enemies at once. The fist fighting is accompanied by user triggered kill scenes. Instead of just beating your enemy to a bloody pulp, and trust me there is plenty of gore and violence in here you can, when available, select a kill scene. These are decent and add a little something extra to the fighting.  When you have weapons and you trigger a kill scene they get even better. Some of them are quite grueling and the use of guns makes them totally awesome.

There is no online play for Dead to Rights, which isn’t a big let down because I don’t think the game has a smooth enough flow to be played online any way. There are a few cool unlocks but nothing that is terribly interesting. You can unlock all types of concept are and development videos. There are ways to challenge yourself out side of the story, like collecting badges scattered around the levels, and you are rated on how well you complete missions from bronze to gold medals.

There is a large amount of violence and profanity. I don’t have an issue with blood and guts and F bombs, but there is something that bugs me when it’s over used. The profanity in Dead to Rights is just that, over used. It can be tasteful at times for the use of capturing the severity of the situation. Sometimes when there is so much cursing, it loses its touch and id rather just not deal with hearing it. Aside from that, it’s got a lot of good writing and voice acting.

Punching faces off!

Aside from playing as Jack Slate, players also get to use Jacks K-9 Counterpart known as Shadow.  Shadow is used through out the games for menial tasks like fetching keys.  In fact the only reason you ever get to control Shadow is for the purposes of fetching and protecting Jack, when you actually do get to attack people manually with Shadow its very fun. You get to sneak around and tear people’s throats out.  There are certain areas that Shadow likes to go for near the crotch region, but I don’t like to relive those experiences.

There are some good moments in the game play but for the most part is fairly the same from start to finish. When you’re not finding new weapons and running around as Shadow the game play is the same basic concept of using cover and ammo efficiently.  There are some issues with getting cover, the engine isn’t always sure if you would like to sprint or hide behind something so you will get stuck behind cover on accident at least once.

As far as this game goes for buying, I might have to ask you to save your money. If you see it in a bargain big somewhere than it would be worth it. It’s definitely a rent and should be played if you are into cop drama games. This will not satisfy your urges while waiting for Max Payne 3 to come out. If your looking for a solid shooter games with a little something extra than Dead to Rights: Retribution is for you. Over all there isn’t a lot to be said about it, a mediocre shoot em’ up with some cheap thrills here and there.

This game was reviewed on the PlayStation 3.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 is a fine example of this quandary. Not only had we paid a premium for Infinity Ward’s epic shooter compared with the cost of most games but we were then teased with a new map pack. Well, I say new – in fact, it contained only a few new maps, merely recycling two from the original Modern Warfare! It also proved to be some of the most expensive DLC released so far. The cheek of it.

It seems, however, that millions of us gamers were perfectly content to part with our hard-earned cash no matter what the price or content. To capitalise on its success, the word on the street is that Activision now plans to release a second batch of DLC later this year…

Suffice to say, games developers are a canny lot. They nurture their audience and get us hooked, teasing us with additional maps, costumes or missions. And we lap it up.

There have been plenty of stories on this very site in the past month announcing the release of fresh downloadable content for recent or upcoming releases.

Lucky Just Cause 2 players are now able take a ride in a “pimped-out ice cream van – the Chevalier Ice Breaker” while Left 4 Dead 2 has also seen its first DLC package emerge, the Passing adding more of the same to the zombie slaughter simulator.

Namco’s Dead to Rights Retribution is to get two new gameplay modes, while upcoming thriller Alan Wake will soon also be blessed with some additional content. Even more exciting perhaps is the promise of some co-op DLC for Rockstar’s rootin’ tootin’ cowboy sandbox game Red Dead Redemption.

DLC is a powerful vehicle for games firms. Not only does it add to their bottom line and boost profits, but it can also significantly prolong the lifespan of a title.

However, there are some more discerning gamers out there who still aren’t adding the glut of content – free or otherwise – to their download queues.

A survey of some 800 people earlier this year by consultancy Frank N. Magid Associates found that a mere 15% of gamers actually opt for DLC. However, perhaps more revealing, it said that 41% were aware that DLC existed but had never bought any, while 43% had never even heard of it! (Not sure what happened to the remaining 1%!)

For all the work and effort that goes into a game’s production, few can object to a game’s initial outlay too much – particularly seeing that it buys us a shiny little disc, accompanied by a plastic box, cover and a manual.

But do gamers really want to pay yet more money for DLC as well – especially when they get nothing physical to show for it? Not only that, but when you’re done you can’t even lend it to your friends, trade it in or sell it on.

We’re clearly in the midst of a big push by developers and the likes of Microsoft and Sony to encourage the uptake of DLC. Larger hard drives are forever being released and movies, complete games and demos are now available. Microsoft has even relented after much criticism and campaigning, and released an update to allow USB drives to be used as a storage medium (all be it with a 16GB limitation). Add to this the US giant’s refusal to go down the Blu-ray route like Sony, and downloads look likely to gain prevalence in the future.

At least the quality of DLC seems to be improving now. Where the majority of content would have once left us disappointed with overhyped and ridiculously small new levels, pointless extra characters, colourful costumes or ultimately useless weaponry (remember the horse armour in Oblivion, anyone?), the add-ons for the likes of Grand Theft Auto IV and Fallout 3 are far better value for money. Activision, take note.

Whatever your view, it looks like DLC is here to stay…

Dead to Rights: Retribution is a ground-up reinvention of the multi-million unit selling crime action series. Thrusting players into a mature neo-noir crime drama as vice cop Jack Slate and his canine companion Shadow, the game introduces an innovative new hybrid combat system that seamlessly blends third-person shooting with hand-to-hand brawling and AI partner. For the first time in the series, players will also be able to play as ferocious canine Shadow with his own unique gameplay style and feel. Deadly on their own, Jack and Shadow are even more formidable as they team up to defeat the threats they uncover in Grant City.

“We’ve completely rebooted the Dead to Rights franchise to deliver a satisfying, visceral and action-packed gameplay experience for existing fans and new gamers,” said Olivier Comte, VP Marketing, sales and publishing, NAMCO BANDAI Partners SA.S.. “We’re boosting the action up another notch with an accessibly priced DLC pack filled with all new missions and game-enhancing bonus content.”

The “GAC Pack” will include two new completely different modes of gameplay as well as exciting bonus options to enrich the player’s experience with the core retail game. “Assault on the 87th Precinct” is a new mission that reveals a flip side to the story, allowing players to experience the action from the GAC (Grant City Anti-Crime) enemy’s side of the battle. Players step into the boots of the GAC Sniper, Brawler and Tank characters as they converge upon the GCPD (Grant City Police Department) stronghold under orders to contain all police officers so they can secure a tactical advantage. In “Riot Control Mode,” Jack and Shadow fend off increasingly difficult waves of GAC forces to earn points and achievements based on speed and style, with high score bragging rights on international leaderboards. In addition, the previously exclusive “Jack Pack” and “Shadow Pack” are also included in the “GAC Pack” allowing players to access armor for Jack, stealth camouflage for Shadow, an “action mode” with explosive rounds gunplay, and a “noir mode” with a black, white and red graphic filter.