10 Games Best Played on the PC

2011 has been a particularly good year for PC gaming and it looks like that trend is going to continue till the time January 01 2012 rolls in. The year kicked in with big games such as The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings, Crysis 2, DC Universe Online, Shogun 2: Total War, Deus Ex: Human Revolution and Portal 2 launching exclusively on the PC or with a focus on the PC during development. By the time 2011 ends, we'll have other huge games such as Battlefield 3, Diablo III and The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim launching on this venerable platform.

The slew of new quality titles ensures that this is a great time to get-started with PC gaming. And if you're new to PC gaming and have instead been brought up on a steady diet of Uncharted, God of War, Gears of War and Halo, here are 10 games that epitomize all that the PC has to offer to you:

1. Fallout 3

Fallout 3 is the prime example of why open-world games are best played on the PC. With gorgeous locales and mind-numbing freedom, Fallout 3 is still one of the most unique looking games on the PC. Not only does the game offer tense action but also balances that with choices that actually matter within the context of the game.



If you're a fan of layered experiences in games and like spending hours and hours in a virtual environment, Fallout 3 is the game for you.
2. Deus Ex

Back when Y2K was causing panic, the PC was, by far, the game platform of choice and saw revolutionary games that shaped the way games of the future would be made. Deus Ex is one such game that relied on an intelligent story and open gameplay choices. In a time when FPS games were gathering momentum, Deus Ex instead focused on stealth, tactics and the ability to complete the game without killing anyone.



Add to that a well-plotted story with memorable characters and tons of dialogues and texts that fleshed out the world, Deus Ex provided one of the most immersive experiences that impresses even today.

3. Diablo II

Diablo II is probably responsible for many a broken mouse and RSI diagnoses. It is also single-handedly responsible for the popularity of an entire genre (Hack & Slash RPGs) and is looked up as "the" seminal game of the genre. In fact Diablo II is so idolized that even now when a new hack & slash game comes out, it's referred to as a "Diablo clone."



Although it's been more a decade since its launch, Diablo II still manages to remain an excellent game thanks to addictive gameplay backed by a strong story. Also, its available only on the PC (and the Mac).
4. Dragon Age: Origins

Dragon Age: Origins represents another type of RPG that's very popular on the PC- RPGs that offer more tactical gameplay where you control a team rather than just one character. Dragon Age was the spiritual successor to older games such as Icewind Dale and Baldur's Gate. DA:O was also bolstered by one of the strongest writing seen in games and a game world that was exhaustively detailed and fleshed out.



The PC version of the game allowed for more sophisticated gameplay and included an overhead tactical camera. Also, the game was supplemented with plenty of additional content all of which is now available in the Ultimate Edition copy.

5. Doom 3

2004 marked the year when PC gaming graphics became "next-gen" and Doom 3 was almost solely responsible for that shift. The iD Tech 4 engine that powered Doom 3 was able to produce stunning visuals. It also helped that the game itself was a lot of fun to play and the game world was an interesting place to explore.



Doom 3's mix of science fiction and horror also led to games such as F.E.A.R., S.T.A.L.K.E.R. and Prey finding an audience.

6. Half-Life 2

2004 is also remembered as the year that Half-Life 2 clashed with Doom 3. While the latter focused on graphics and gore, Half-Life 2 is remembered for its story, its large environments and its clever, clever weapons and the way used the physics engine. Half-Life 2 was also the first game launched on Valve's Steam digital distribution service that is now the most widely used service to buy PC games.



Half-Life 2's Source engine was also immensely modd-able and even now is responsible for new games designed solely by fans. I don't think you need any more reasons to pick up Half-Life 2, a game that still finds it way to #1 on most lists that deal with the best games.

7. Deus Ex: Human Revolution

The most recent game on the list, DXHR will be remembered as a classic in the years to come. While it may not offer the same amount of freedom and an epic plot as the original game, DXHR comes as a breath of fresh air in a time when most shooters eagerly abuse linearity. DXHR offers choice in terms of gameplay and characterization both and also boasts of cool art direction and good story.



If you have a suitably powerful PC, then Deus Ex: Human Revolution is one game that you shouldn't miss out on.
8. Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic

Although beloved by many, Star Wars had never had a game with a story that was as massive in scope as the movies. Bioware changed that with KOTOR, a game that married the gameplay of pure-RPGs such as Neverwinter Nights with the sci-fi mythology of Star Wars.



In fact, the marriage worked so well that Bioware decided to make their own sci-fi RPG resulting in the excellent Mass Effect games. If you are a fan of Commander Shepherd's adventures, then Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic is one PC game that you must play.

9. Clive Barker's Undying

I never thought a game on the computer could really scare me like movies did but then I played Clive Barker's Undying. Undying was a game that relied on eerie environments and killer sound design to scare the pants of PC gamers. Although it was an FPS game, Undying had cool magic weapons and also let you duel-wield magic spells in one hand and a gun in the other.



While the graphics don't look so great now, if you play Undying even today with the lights out and headphones plugged in, it does enough to scare you.

10. Bioshock

I think everyone who has played Bioshock remembers the first time they reached its climax. I felt cheated at first and then after thinking about it for a while, recognized it for the excellent story-writing that it represented.



However, you don't need to wait for the climax to enjoy Bioshock.  Even hours before nearing the end of the game, Bioshock's beautifully designed environments and thought-provoking story will do enough to keep you going.

MARVEL VS CAPCOM 3 FATE OF TWO WORLDS

The first thing you notice about Marvel vs Capcom 3 is its graphic novel style. Everything from the menu text to the post-battle screens is rendered in Marvel Comics style, which is pretty cool. The levels and characters look very pretty and detailed, and stay true to the authentic designs in the source material. The game is fluid and never experiences any slowdowns, which is vital in a fighting game. Overall, MvC 3 does quite well in all technical aspects.

Controls follow the Tatsuneko vs Capcom scheme, with individual buttons for light, medium, heavy and special attacks. Assists and character switches can be activated by tapping or holding specific buttons. There’s even a Simple Mode that will let those unaccustomed to fighting games learn the ropes by activating combos with a single button. However, most of the powerful combos are locked here, so Simple Mode won’t give you the complete experience.

The combo system is very fluid. There’s more freedom, allowing you to chain as many hits as you can imagine. You can aslso call in assists or switch-outs in the middle of aerial combos, making things even more chaotic. Damage has been increased, giving MvC 3 an on-the-edge feel. When you know that one devastating combo could wipe out your entire health bar, you have to stay focused, and this is where MvC 3 succeeds. Augmenting that is the X-Factor. Each player starts off with the ability to use one X-Factor, which will give them boosts in all areas. The boosts increase the more peril you are in, so choosing the right moment to activate it is important.

MvC 3 treads the fine line between too accessible and too hardcore. It’s way more accessible than before, but it stops short of being too easy. There’s still enough depth to entice the most experienced gamers. Where MvC 3 really shines is in its character roster. While the number of characters has been reduced from MvC 2, there is plenty of variety on offer. While some fan favourites like Mega Man are excluded, all the characters that are there have something unique to offer. While characters like Dante might seem too powerful, for such characters, individual hit damage is reduced. You’ll be spending months trying to perfect their teams, simply because of the number of combinations that the roster brings. Character interactions are also pretty cool. They respond to each other with snarky quips and there’s some nice opponent-based chatter.

Mode wise, MvC 3 has quite a bit to offer. There is the simple Versus mode, which is offline multiplayer, and the Arcade mode, which is a series of battles until you get to the final boss. The MvC3 Training Mode is one of the best we’ve seen. Almost any situation that you can think of can be simulated, which is what training modes should do. The Mission Mode will lead you through character-specific missions. You’ll have to perform certain moves and combos to move to the next level, with scrolling commands teaching you about your character.

Usually, story modes are as important in fighting games as they are in porn, but the game’s story was talked up a lot before release, and so the failure to deliver is a real downer. The online modes consist of ranked and unranked matches and a Lobby mode. A major snafu on Capcom’s part is the absence of spectating in the Lobby mode. In a winner stays situation, you’d expect others to be able to watch games in progress. Instead, all you see is diminishing health bars.

If there is one word that can be used to describe Marvel vs Capcom 3, it’s insane. Insanely fun, insanely addictive, insane combos, insane damage, insane replayability. You could talk about the increased damage or accessibility, or the complete lack of a story mode, but when the game is as fun as this, it all goes out of the window.

Crysis 2

Crysis was a game well known for its visuals as well as its open-ended gameplay. As a marine strapped with a million-dollar Nanosuit on a fictitious island, players could analyze and approach an enemy encounter any way they wanted to, be it with deadly stealth or excessive force. With the move to a more concrete jungle, developer Crytek have sacrificed that beloved open-ended mechanic, but Crysis 2 still remains a gorgeous and enjoyable shooter that thankfully will not melt your PC this time round.

Crysis 2 takes place nearly three years after the events of Crysis, where New York has been hit by a deadly virus and an alien invasion. Most of the citizens are dead, and the few that survived are dying painful deaths. You are Alcatraz, a special ops dude sent in to survey the situation and provide backup to a certain scientist. Obviously, things don’t go quite as planned and you end up in a world of hurt. As fate closes one door, it opens up another for you and hands you the Nanosuit, leaving New York’s salvation in your hands. Like its predecessor, Crysis 2 is all about the Nanosuit. Thanks to its plethora of abilities, it allows players to adopt and run with their very own style of gameplay, opening the door for multiple play-throughs. Most of the suit’s abilities are back from the first game, so you can run fast, cloak yourself, jump real high and hit real hard. Where the first game tied it all down to the mouse, Crysis 2 allows players to map the suit’s abilities to the keyboard. This kind of a streamlined control scheme actually facilitates gameplay, so instead of clicking the middle mouse and then choosing cloak from a dial, I simply hit [E] and bam; invisible man in the house. This definitely adds a layer of swiftness to the game where players truly feel like predatory hunters.

 

Unfortunately, the new system is also a bit imbalanced. Shooting even a silenced pistol while cloaked rapidly drains your energy, and unless you get to cover quickly, you’ll soon be visible to all. This could be the game’s way of challenging me, but at the same time, Crysis 2’s enemy AI is so dense that I rarely felt threatened or challenged. In fact, there were times I felt bad killing them. Most enemies were so clueless as to what was going on that they just stood on the battlefield as I ran around with reckless abandon slaughtering their mates. Even after blowing up cars near some their guard posts, they never budged an inch. Then there were times during intense firefights when I saw certain enemies running away – into walls. Their stupidity also shines through in some of their voice communication that either makes no sense or is totally inappropriate for the situation. Also, if I stealth kill some dude a mile away, how is it that his compadre suddenly decides to ask him if he’s all right at that very same moment? Am I fighting psychics now?

Things do improve a bit when you start battling the Ceph, but besides their acrobatic, fast movements, they charge at you in a straight line, making it very easy to kill them. Besides the run-of-the-mill grunts, you’ll face some mini bosses who, once again, can be killed pretty easily thanks to their lack of brain cells. After around an hour into the game, you’ll be able to upgrade your suit using nano catalysts dropped by dead Ceph, making you an even more powerful force to reckon with. Now, if I was challenged by the game, this would validate my upgrades, but running around virtually invincible wasn’t a whole lot of fun.

There’s a huge hue and cry about the game’s visuals and about how Crytek have let PC gamers down by not putting in DirectX 11 support in the game, but the truth of the matter is that the game still looks phenomenal. It’s highly scalable as well. On my modest GTX 280, the game performed flawlessly at a 1920x1080 resolution on Very High settings. You could nitpick about how Crytek has used certain low res textures in the game, but unless you actually sit and zoom into stuff, it won’t be apparent during the frantic action.

 

New York looks phenomenal and the amount of detail that has gone into recreating the Big Apple is admirable. Watching this once thriving and lively city reduced to a crumbling reflection of its former self is chilling. Special mention goes out to the audio department; they’ve done a brilliant job with the sounds that accompany your every move, be it metallic clink of detaching a turret, firing off rounds from your machine gun, or the satisfying thump of a shotgun. The game’s score has been performed by Hans Zimmer and it grows on you through the course of the game. The Xbox 360 version obviously doesn’t look as good as its PC counterpart, but it plays just as well thanks to a solid control scheme. Crytek have managed to milk the Xbox 360 for what it’s worth and even if Crysis 2 may not be the best game to grace Microsoft’s console, it certainly is top contender for that honor.

Multiplayer in Crysis 2 is more Call of Duty than Battlefield primarily because of the absence of vehicles. Like Activision’s juggernaut, you play well and earn points that can be used to purchase and enhance upgrades like better cloaking, faster reloading, stronger armor, etc. Of course, the biggest challenge in multiplayer is balancing your suit to face real opponents. By default, your suit will have certain abilities like the ability to cloak or sprint faster and the more you use them, the cooler stuff you unlock. The game even has its variation of killstreaks, which, if you haven’t played any Call of Duty game in the recent past, means racking up an ‘x’ amount of kills without dying. Successfully doing so will allow you to call in for radar support (displaying nearby enemies on the map), a devastating laser strike, and lots more.

But like every multiplayer game in the recent past, the game’s multiplayer is not without its issues. For starters, on the PC, I had to enter my CD key multiple times when the game should have registered it the first time. Even though the game released here on the international release date, there was a dearth of low ping servers for us Indians. I understand this isn’t an issue with the game, but it does end up crippling your experience nevertheless. But perhaps one of my biggest frustrations stemmed from the fact that I suddenly lost nearly three levels out of nowhere, along with my unlocks that I had earned with them. I do hope this is rectified in a patch immediately. All issues aside, I still enjoyed the game’s multi-player, as there are few games that offer the kinetic and frantic action Crysis 2 brings to the table.

I was a bit apprehensive about the game at first because of all the negativity around how Crytek ‘sold out’ by developing games for the console, ditching their die-hard PC gamers in the process. Yes, Cytek may be guilty of that to a certain extent, but I don’t really see a big issue as long as the product delivers. Besides the dumb AI and a few multiplayer niggles, Crysis 2 is a visual powerhouse backed by lofty production values, solid gameplay and frantic action across both single and multiplayer. 

Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood

For a series that’s relatively young in video game years, Assassin’s Creed has grown in popularity faster than even Ubisoft could have hoped for. In an all too brutal industry, where most studios only get one shot at success, 2009’s Assassin’s Creed 2 was a rare chance at correcting the assorted foibles that kept the first game from being an instant classic. Having taken the time to spit-shine the core idea (an open world time shifting period action-adventure) they had with the initial release to near perfection over a two-year hiatus, it came as a surprise to everyone when Ubisoft announced a quick and dirty sequel due out only a year after the previous game. It was evident from the start that there wouldn’t be enough time to create a new character as deep as Altair or Ezio, or build a handful of cities that played host to intricately designed puzzles and a new set of real life personalities to guide you through your new adventure.

What Ubisoft did instead was reuse Ezio Auditore da Firenze, most of the supporting cast from the last game, and set the semi-sequel back in good old Italy (albeit in a new city - Rome). Yes, there’s just one city to tool around in, an absolute shocker to anyone who loved the variety that the first two games offered. The upside though, is a city that’s absolutely colossal in scale, and without loading screens and horse riding sessions across almost-empty countryside standing between you and your campaign progression. Unfortunately, Brotherhood’s Rome is also all but devoid of the varied character and scenery that the changing cities brought to the table. Consequently, you’ll find yourself switching to the full screen map more often than you used to because learning the city’s layout is much harder this time around.

You can also bring your horse inside city limits now, but what could have been a decent inclusion is rendered redundant with the removal of the gallop button. Hoofing it over rooftops makes a lot more sense than taking your horse for a Sunday stroll about town. The size of the city and the lack of load times also have a negative impact on game performance. There are framerate hiccups to suffer through, and instances of pop-up where soldiers appear out of nowhere and you suddenly have a fight on your hands at the most inopportune moment.

The excellent (as is now de rigueur for the series) story picks up right where the second game left off, and follows Ezio and Desmond on a quest to recover the Apple of Eden in the past as well as the present. After a memorable intro that sticks you right in the middle of a surprise assault on your villa in Monteriggioni, you’re bundled off to Rome, where you’re tasked with building a credible resistance against Borgia rule. Aside from Rodrigo Borgia, Brotherhood introduces us to Cesare and Lucrezia Borgia, two of the more interesting characters in the story and who share a rather interesting relationship. Cesare, in particular, is wonderfully acted and you’ll find yourself genuinely wanting to go after the guy, if only to see how soon he’d crack under the pressure.

Characters from the last game, such as Da Vinci and Machiavelli return, and there’s also a subplot that introduces a gaggle of unfortunate French troops into the mix. You also now have the ability to leave the Animus (the device Desmond uses to relive Ezio’s memories) at any time, although there isn’t much point to it aside from having random conversations with your crew and the odd collectible to find. Present-day Monteriggioni is beautiful, however, and it’s a shame that more wasn’t done to expand on the story in the present day. More of Abstergo would also have been welcome, and although things do pick up towards the end, the developers could have thrown in a lot more than the odd inconsequential email to make you want to exit the Animus more often. It’s also worth pointing out that with a mythos and story as deep as this, you really should play through the earlier games to get the most out of Brotherhood.

While there aren’t any gameplay changes of note, aside from chaining kills during combat. Something you’ll immediately notice is just how packed the game’s map is. In addition to your usual memories, you’ll have Borgia towers to conquer, viewpoints to synchronise, treasure and collectibles to hunt, lairs guarded by the disciples of Romulus to raid, stealth missions from Da Vinci that end with you getting a hands-on with one of his over-the-top war machines, Subject 16 puzzles to decipher, shops to renovate, and monuments to purchase. Every renovated shop or acquired monument adds to an income that accrues at banks, which you can then collect and spend on more renovations or on better weapons and artwork for your assassin’s guild. There are also empty buildings that can be repurposed into factional headquarters with their own side-quests inside. With both a sizeable main campaign and a van-load of assorted tasks to keep you busy, a lack of content isn’t a complaint you’ll be voicing. The campaign missions can also now be replayed and there is some replay value in aiming for 100% synchronization in each of them.

The assassin’s guild also serves as home to the assassins you recruit during the campaign. Saving citizens from the wrath of Borgia guards lets you train them as assassins and pack them off on missions around Europe that vary in difficulty. Successful missions allow these assassins to level up and you can also use them during your game time, and at the press of a button, assassinate any marked target. Their use is also tied to a recharging meter, so you’re prevented from spamming them on every guard or target in the game. While they aren’t necessarily game changing, their presence does allude Ezio’s rise in stature and influence within the assassins.

Adding to the replayability is a set of multiplayer modes that surprisingly recreate the campaign’s tension and improvisation in an online arena. You’re basically given a target to kill, and you’ll need to make the hit while skillfully avoiding other players, one of whose task is to take you out. Aiding you are several active and passive abilities that let you blend into crowds or cloak yourself as another character model from the game world. There are also team-based modes to try out and a leveling system in place. It’s all very strategic and contemplative, and a nice change from the usual online frag-fests that you get with other games.

This is also one of those rare series where the developers place as much emphasis on the overarching story and depth of the universe as much as on gameplay. The biggest takeaway from Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood, as from the earlier games, is the encyclopedic lengths gone to by Ubisoft’s writers to educate (a dirty word in the big bad world of video games) the player about Renaissance era locations, events and personalities as Ezio goes about assassinating unfortunate Templars. This depth, along with a map stuffed to the seams with collectibles and side quests, and a story with some of the most nuanced acting and direction in the medium, are what ultimately save it from the dreaded ‘cash-in’ tag.

While we used the Xbox 360 version of the game for our playthrough, we also had the opportunity to test out the PS3 version, and it's safe to say that regardless of your platform of preference, you're assured of an enjoyable gameplay experience. There were some instances like uneven framerates, screen tearing and texture pop-in, but again, this is common across both platforms. The only advantage the PS3 version has is the free, exclusive Copernicus Conspiracy downloadable content, which is a set of additional single-player missions.

This may not be Assassin’s Creed 3, but that shouldn’t deter you from picking this iteration of the series up. If you’ve played Assassin’s Creed 2 and absolutely must know what happens after the cliffhanger ending, you could do a lot worse than picking up Assassin's Creed Brotherhood. 

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 1

Full Review

Alright, so it is known that adapting a book into a movie can make for enough difference for fanatics to complain that it is not faithful to the original. When it is Harry Potter that you are porting from a book to a game experience, there have always been complaints from fans, and the latest does not seem to be much of an exception. This game review of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1 is based off time spent with the Xbox 360 version.

While "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows" was a single book, publishers of the movie and game adaptation have decided to split it into two parts. The first part of the movie releases tomorrow, the game was released on November 16 (Tuesday). The game is targeted at the PC, and also game consoles (Microsoft Xbox 360, Sony PlayStation 3 and Nintendo Wii/DS). The latest game in the Harry Potter franchise of video games, it has been developed by EA Bright Light Studios and is constructed in the vein of a third-person shooter.

Opening Comments
As a series, the Harry Potter video games have seen plenty of ups and downs, but Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1 may be the lowest point yet. Unsightly glitches, tedious gameplay, and a carelessly abridged narrative are just a few of the problems that make this game little more than a weak cash-in on the forthcoming film.

In theory, making a Harry Potter game shouldn't be difficult. With the magical world and gripping story already crafted by J. K. Rowling's novels and the adapted films, all that's really left for a video game developer to do is essentially fill in the blanks. Whether that means recreating the Hogwarts experience piece-by-piece or taking a creative leap like LEGO Harry Potter, I can't imagine that it's anywhere near as hard as scripting an original property from scratch. Unfortunately, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows is a new low for cash-in titles timed at upcoming holiday blockbuster schedules. From start to finish, the results are absolutely dreadful.

While I'd like to say that enjoying Deathly Hallows depends on the kind of Harry Potter fan you are, that's simply not the case. Even if you only partake in the film releases and genuinely don't know how the story ends, the first half of Deathly Hallows' engrossing narrative feels haphazardly edited within the actual game. Several cut-scenes are heavily rushed, smashing plot points together without giving them space to flow or develop. Major turns in the story are either glossed over with hurried dialogue, or in some cases, completely ignored. It's more than the game missing important minor characters from the source material -- at the very least, Deathly Hallows would've benefited from some smartly altered exposition. Here, there's only the barest skeleton of a story.


While the environments are mostly faithful to the set design of the movies, several areas are often recycled with various levels and side-quests that have nothing to do with the story.


Gameplay and Combat
Even worse is the gameplay, which I can only describe as a tedious, glitch-ridden mess. Rather than the usual Harry Potter method of puzzles and mini-games, Deathly Hallows is focused on combat, as several levels are structured around battling legions of Death Eaters and corrupt wizards. Although the action-oriented focus initially looks like a breath of fresh air for the series, it's hampered by noticeable glitches and lazy design. Non-player characters will frequently walk though solid objects (and not as a result of Apparition), various invisible walls will block what look like open paths, and sometimes the enemy A.I. will blatantly fail to see you unless you cross a certain trigger point on the map.

Moreover, the combat is extremely repetitive, despite the wide amount of spells that the game unlocks as Harry levels up through the cookie-cutter missions. Every encounter boils down to spamming the Stunning Spell while ducking behind cover -- and even that becomes a chore early on in the game. When Deathly Hallows gets really glitchy, A.I. partners Ron and Hermione will attack enemies they can't even see on the map, blasting "Expulso" spells at the side of a building. Stealth missions with the Invisibility Cloak aren't much better, as the lack of a proper camera makes it nigh impossible to move around dangerous areas without being spotted. Poor controls make it difficult to dodge foes, and the inability to anticipate erratic random movements of unseen bystanders is counter-intuitive.


As made evident by Deathly Hallows' visuals, the game could’ve used a lot more polish. Bland, static environments are riddled with invisible walls and poorly designed layouts that will cause various mid-combat hiccups in NPC behavior.


The 'Kinect' Experience
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 also comes with a handful of single-player and two-player Kinect missions, each of which are little more than on-rails shooting galleries pasted over environments from the main campaign. Each mission restricts you to two offensive spells and the Shield Charm, although the Kinect will often misread your hand gestures, no matter how wide and deliberate they are. Eventually, you'll give up trying to cast anything but the Stunning Spell and Disarming Charm, and the repetitive motions of spamming the same attacks will destroy the muscles in your arms. Personally, I consider myself a gamer in very decent shape and my forearm went numb after just the third Kinect level. It's simply not fun -- mimicking repetitive spell motions legitimately hurts, and joining up with a second player doesn't do very much to relieve the amount of spell casting needed to survive each level, let alone achieve a high score.


Support for the 'Kinect Sensor' on the Xbox 360 console did sound like a good thing. That was until the way it was implemented with repetitive actions took away all the fun.

The game is already available for purchase at stores in India, such as NextWorld.in. Note that the PC version is priced a lot lower, at Rs. 999 as against Rs. 2,499 for the game console version. To view the Xbox 360 variant's front box-art for the "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1" game, click here. To view more screenshots and images captured from gameplay, scroll through the gallery visible at the top of this review (to the right of the Summary).

Bottom Line

Obvious, noticeable glitches are evident throughout the game. Shallow side-quests are used to artificially lengthen the sparse, edited narrative. Gameplay really could've benefited from a heads-up display. Recycled soundtrack is incredibly overbearing in certain levels. Playing Kinect missions can physically hurt due to necessary repetitive motions.

To put it bluntly, I’m not a developer, and if I’m able to easily point out loads of programming errors and A.I. glitches, it's obvious that Deathly Hallows needed more time in production and a heavy amount of polish. Being able to see so many obvious errors in what's supposed to be a finished product is particularly disturbing, as this isn't even EA Bright Light's first time with the series. If you're looking for a decent adapted Harry Potter experience, try any of the movies, LEGO Harry Potter: Years 1-4, or the Order of the Phoenix game. It doesn't matter if you're a hard-core or casual fan: there's no magic to be seen here.

Red Faction: Armageddon (PC)

What's It About

FPS games are not exactly known for their story and Red River sticks to that stereotype. While games like Call of Duty: Black Ops and Battlefield: Bad Company 2 at least have an over-arching plot-line, Red River's story is an extremely basic one that plainly describes a U.S. invasion of Tajikistan and the subsequent (SPOILER ALERT) Chinese counter-attack on the American forces.


Good tactics will ensure that your team always has your back.

Irrespective of the throwaway story, Red River still has some memorable characters whose personalities become discernible during the game thanks to the often hilarious radio comm chatter. While there is plenty of 18+ banter that goes on, no one manages to create a bigger impression than Staff Sgt. Knox, your immediate superior who comes across as a combination of Halo's Avery Johnson and Entourage's Ari Gold. If you aren't a fan of crass humor, then you might get very annoyed but I enjoyed the banter as it added to the otherwise uni-dimensional characters.

How It Plays

If you go into Red River thinking you can play it like your regular Call of Duty game, you will not stay alive in-game for very long. Instead, you will have to rely on teamwork and tactics using your teammates to scout ahead and suppress/cover you while you move ahead. The way you command your AI teammates is quite intuitive and is reminiscent of SWAT 4's command method. However, your team members AI is quite patchy and while sometimes they will be able to secure a building without needing your assistance, at times they are unable to hit an enemy that's a few feet away. Also, I noticed path-finding issues with teammates getting stuck in corners and in vegetation. The most annoying aspect of your allies' AI is the way they keep getting in to your line of fire and subsequently get shot.


Remove the dozen guns staring back at you & this could be a picture postcard moment.

Enemy AI is marginally better but they also seem to suffer from the Far Cry syndrome i.e. they're able to hit you from a mile away even if you're showing very little from behind cover. Also, the enemies only seem to be programmed to do two things- rush towards you with their guns blazing or stand still behind cover. Still, the game is quite challenging even in 'Regular' difficulty and will need you to change your tactics every so often.

How it Looks & Sounds

While Red River looks good, it's one of those games that give you pleasant vistas to look at all muffled by a brown filter that seems to be the signature look for games nowadays. Also, after a while you do tend to get bored of looking at the same mountains, clouds, rivers irrespective of how good they look.

The game's sound design is much better and it features a pretty good reproduction of gunfire, reloading sounds and voices being carried over radio waves brimming with static.

I played the game on a PC with a 3 GHz Intel Core2Duo E7500 processor, 2GB of RAM and a 1GB AMD Radeon HD5770. I played the game at 1280x1024 resolution with all settings on high and 2xAA and I had absolutely no issues. The load times were also acceptable.

Multiplayer

I must confess that I'm not a very big fan of multi-player gaming but it's almost impossible nowadays to come across an FPS in which multiplayer isn't a big component. Red River features a co-op multiplayer component in which you and three of your friends can form a fire-team and play across stand alone maps or the entire campaign. You will need to create a Games for Windows Live account to get access to the multiplayer games.


The game engine is capable of producing some good looking visuals.

The game has a very good matchmaking service and within moments of asking the game to automatically put me into a game, it had done so. You can also pick from servers setup by players and at the time of writing at least, there were more than enough servers to choose from.

Re-playability

The game should last you about eight hours in the first go and that duration will probably reduce as you get better at it. Red River has good re-playability as it lets you play through campaigns in different roles such as a Scout, Rifleman or Grenadier and you also gain experience points which you can use to unlock mods or improve skills (such as sprint, proficiency with rifles etc.).
Also, it's fun to try out different tactics during missions and I found myself replaying missions and using my team in different ways.

Plus, the multiplayer is plenty fun provided you team up with the right set of players and should keep making you come back.

Bottom Line

Operation Flashpoint: Red River is currently available in India for Rs. 999. If you are looking for your quick next fix post COD: Black Ops, then Red River might not be the best game for you. However, if you're a fan of the Rainbow Six and ARMA games and want your FPS to be more realistic and tactical then you will enjoy Red River.

Just keep it away from the kiddies both because of the violence and the liberal use of different words to describe various parts of the human anatomy.

F.E.A.R. 3 (PC)

Full Review

Horror games have come a long way and the original F.E.A.R. game (which I will be referring to as simply FEAR from now on) was one of the prime examples of excellent claustrophobic design coupled with actual scares. However, since then a series that was synonymous with atmosphere and scares has now become another run-of-the-mill first person shooter with more emphasis on gunplay and explosions than actual fear. Sadly, although FEAR 3 emerges as a pretty good shooter, it does nothing in the scares department.

What's it About

The original FEAR was clearly a standard corridor shooter influenced heavily by Japanese horror. It had what looked like a straightforward story at first, which got more and more convoluted as it went on. In spite of getting Hollywood horror merchant John Carpenter to help with the story, FEAR 3's story is a mess. There is an underlying story of how Alma, the psychically endowed primary antagonist is now pregnant and how her contractions are ripping apart the "fabric of reality" but most of it sounds like pretentious claptrap. While a game like Silent Hill 2 managed to tell a complicated horror story well mainly due to deliberate pacing; FEAR 3's plot gets completely lost amidst the huge explosions and loud gunfire.

At the end of the single-player campaign's 8+ hours length, I felt like I had just finished playing a particularly gory version of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare. Now, that might be a plus point for some, but for me it spoilt what could have instead been a tense horror game.

How it Plays

FEAR 3 may not offer any modicum of scary gameplay but its gameplay is nonetheless frantic and bloody. Like in the original FEAR, you can slow down time but this time around it's even more of an inherent component of tactical gameplay. The A.I. is also superbly scripted and the enemy soldiers I faced in FEAR 3 are one of the toughest I've faced in a game not because they've massive amounts of HP but due to the wide variety of tactics they use.

While you can play as "Point Man," a regular gun-toting protagonist, you can also play as his twin brother Paxton Fettel, (SPOILER ALERT) a character you killed back in the original FEAR. In FEAR 3, Fettel returns as a paranormal being that can possess enemies and use telekinesis to move things around. The single-player campaign unlocks Fettel every time you complete a level as Point Man letting you try a completely different method of gameplay. This immediately ensures that unless the game turned you off during your first run, you will want to play the game at least once more.

The game is still very scripted and linear though, meaning a particular door will open only after you've killed "x" number of enemies or reached a certain point. While this works in some instances, it certainly doesn't when the game is attempting to scare you. Almost always I heard screeching music kick in that marked the beginning of some scripted sequence that was supposed to scare me only to find myself staring everywhere else apart from the place where the game expected me to be staring.



How it Looks & Sounds

Speaking of graphics, FEAR 3 looks sharp although owing to its horror setting, things look predictably dark or bathed in red. The best thing is that even on a mid-range gaming machine the game ran very well at 1920x1080 with most settings on high. The one problem that I had with the graphics is that the characters' faces in the game look cartoon-ish while the rest of the graphics have a real-world look about them.

The sound design is probably the best thing about FEAR 3. The guns sound ultra-realistic and loud with real heft. The creepy, unsettling music also tries its best to scare you. Paxton Fettel's voice acting is also suitably maniacal.



Multiplayer

Multiplayer is one of the most important components in FEAR 3. The entire concept of two different playable protagonists is based around co-op gameplay so that you can play as the Point Man while your friend can play as Fettel during the story campaign. The pure multiplayer suite is also very well fleshed out with four different modes that allow for different kinds of gameplay.

Bottom Line

While FEAR 3 checks all the right boxes as a present day AAA FPS title, I felt it lacked the same spark that made the original FEAR so unique. If you are just looking for your shooter fix, then the game will satisfy you. However, if you are looking for a game to suck you in with atmosphere and scares in the same vein as Silent Hill 2 or Amnesia: The Dark Descent, then FEAR 3 ends up lacking.

FEAR 3 has been launched in India by Express Interactive for Rs. 999.