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With a new console generation pending and news, rumours, videos and speculation flying everywhere it is natural that occasionally there will be some misinformation creeping through. And then there is this...
Yep, don't forget to get your Xbox Live membership sorted out when you pick up your new PS4 at GameStop... yeah... good job guys.
Don't get me wrong, I realise that errors slip through in ads from time to time but this is one that truly stands out, especially since GameStop has been around in one form or another since 1984.
So to the wonderful advertisement writers and proof readers for GameStop I hereby award you with this weeks Clever Geek of the Week award!
Ah the Steam Summer Sale (check out here for a better description than I could ever come up with) what a hotbed you are for helping me to checkout games I have held off buying. Thanks to a flash sale I picked up Mark Of The Ninja (MOTJ) at a ridiculously low price.
MOTJ sees you play as a Ninja (obviously) who has been chosen to receive a mysterious tattoo that increases his sneaking and silent killing abilities with the only downside being he is expected to commit ritual suicide before the ink drives him completely crazy. The timing is good as his clan is attacked by a mysterious band of mercenaries and it's up to you to track them down and protect the clan.
MOTJ is a stealth platformer that gives you multiple approaches to each level. You can try to sneak through without being noticed, break lights to distract guards or kill those you come across in a myriad of sneaky violent ways. Sneaking is very important part of the game since if you do get spotted you only have a brief chance to escape as you are seriously outgunned.
The tension in this game is incredible. Each new section is a puzzle as you plan your approach. There are level specific bonus options to add extra challenge to taking out the bad guys or you can try for the big bonus points that come from reaching your target without being seen or killing anyone.
Adding to the tension is a line of sight mechanic where to see exactly what is going on you need to peek over edges or glance through doors. Use of light and shadow is week balanced and adds a lot of options when planning your progress.
The story is told via anime style cut scenes that are engaging while being short enough that they don't get on your nerves and you are accompanied by a mysterious companion who drops hints and mission objectives without interrupting the flow of the game.
All up MOTJ is a very enjoyable and compelling with a fresh approach to stealth and platforming. The game itself is quite short but it gives you plenty of reasons to revisit it. I am on my second play through attempting the full stealth/no killing approach which makes it a very different experience. It's available on PC our Xbox 360 and is definitely worth your time and money.
Well it has come to this. After Saints Row 4 and State of Decay were both refused classification under Australia's (not so) adult R18+ classification both Deep Silver Games and Undead Labs stated they were considering modifying their games for resubmission. Looks like Undead Labs got there first.
To recap, State of Decay was refused classification due to "explicit drug use" which gave players advantages in gameplay, ie rewards for taking drugs. The drugs in questions were medications and amphetamines scavenged to help the character survive in another... zombie... apocalypse. Seriously, how many of these can we possibly have?
So how did they get around this? By making all the "stimulants" into "supplements". That's right, if you have multiple lacerations and a suspected broken ankle after a narrow escape from a hoard of zombies, well a couple of vitamin B tablets and a little echinacea will see you right.
Fallout 3 suffered a similar fate back in 2008 when it was possible for your character to take morphine to treat injuries and improve health which was such a obvious attempt by Bethseda to get us all hooked on morphine (according to the classification board). Of course in that game if you took too much you could become addicted at which point the benefits flew out the window. So how did this evil game end up on our shelves you ask. By renaming it to Med-X. Yay for fictional narcotics!
Well I hope any adult Aussie Xbox owners are looking forward to playing this highly accurate re-interpretation since the Australian Classificiation Board obviously still feels that gamers who are 18 or older cannot deal with in game items named after ** gasp ** real drugs!
Or alternatively, well, you know you can play the UK version on an Australian Xbox, right?
