If Quentin Tarantino were a game designer, Kratos would be his Samuel L Jackson, except with blades of chaos chained to his arms; so much more effective than a purple lightsaber anyway. In God of War, you play god-killer Kratos as he slices and dices his way through the entire Greek pantheon. The game unravels a rich tapestry of Greek mythology for you to spill blood on. Butt heads with every monster imagined therein, from a hydra to winged harpies. It’s very satisfying to meet all this rich culture with a bloodied weapon. The combat is not very deep, though. Combos are simple to execute, and are unlocked by collecting red orbs to power up your weapons. Joining the blades of chaos are a bunch of spells and one obligatory oversized sword. God of War, however, balances good combat with a great production value and some challenging puzzles. It also uses mini-games to great effect: successfully hit a combination of keys shown on-screen, and you will shove your weapon down a Minotaur’s throat, or tear off a Medusa’s head. It’s all very touching. How can you say no?
Shadow Of The Colossus
Battle and fell mighty colossi in this epic action-adventure to save the love of your life. Journey on horseback through a vast empty world in which you have no enemies to destroy, no dungeons to pillage, nothing much to do but fight the game’s sixteen colossi. You race across silence and a barren landscape until you encounter these wonderfully-designed beasts. You then need to kill what is most alive in this strange, dead world. Each colossus is a behemoth-huge and threatening, with unique weaknesses and attack patterns.
The game explains little of motive or backstory, and you can’t help feel a little depraved for the killing. Shadow of the Colossus is truly a unique experience.
Unlike real life, Fable reflects your characters deeds visually-a bad avatar will grow horns, a good one will be beatific to behold. It’s an interesting reflection on how our culture associates appearance with morality. The game is also laced with typical British humour; interacting with the world’s inhabitants is also a joy. Women will fall in love with you, you will age and scar as time passes, you can tattoo your body and face, change your hairstyle, wear ridiculous or cool armour, walk around in your undies, go Conan with muscles if you use swords much, or bald if you cast too many spells… our most memorable experience was when one evening, our avatar got stinking drunk in the local tavern and then proceeded to get others just as drunk-while watching women throw up all over the place was nice, better was when the kids mimicked your drunken swagger and formed giggly beelines behind you. Oh yeah, the game also has a good story, a great combat and spell system, interesting quests and a unique style of presentation. Another must-have!
The PC
Consoles have certainly carved off a healthy chunk from our PC habit. With the release of the Xbox, every game went multiplatform overnight, sometimes to the detriment of our beloved computer. While console gaming has its uses, some genres are still best experienced on the Pee Cee:
Civilization IV
One more turn. Just one more turn. One more. Just another. Right through the night and on to dawn. It’s the evil black magic of a Sid Meier game-Civilization IV (Civ IV) retains the addictive quality that is the hallmark of this series. If you on unfamiliar territory here, Civ IV is a turn-based strategy title that puts you in charge of the major civilizations of the world, with a view to dominate and emerge victorious. Victory is possible through a range of tactics-from war, to cultural hegemony, to scientific domination; even religion is factored into this particular outing. Role-play a variety of leaders, from Gandhiji to Genghis Khan, alone or with friends-over the Internet, or on a LAN, or even via e-mail. The game can be a bit overwhelming at its onset but once you get familiar with its key concepts, prepare to feed yourself intravenously as you stay glued to your monitor for hours at end. As a bonus incentive to buy this insta-classic-it’s voiced by Leonard Nimoy of Mr. Spock fame. Civ long and prosper!
F.E.A.R.
A game from Monolith is seldom wrong and F.E.A.R. just reaffirms the development studio’s knack for creating games of the highest caliber. It is just as rare for a first-person shooter to communicate the visceral horror that must ebb through a gun fight. This game talks the talk. You can feel the weight of each bullet as it leaves the muzzle of your gun, you can taste the fear as wood and brick inches away, turn up clouds of dust and dirt to enemy fire; bodies slump and tear, glass shards the air, one moment there is the rat-tat-tat and the thoom-thoom of guns blazing and the next instant it’s all over. Silence, bodies, dust, you live. The name of the game also points to a supernatural plot that adds a psychological weight to the F.E.A.R. motif. Let’s just say bullets and bombs won’t be the only thing you would be afraid of while playing this game.
Mega Man Powered Up
Enjoy a well-balanced side-scrolling mayhem in this update of the first Mega Man game. Beautiful graphics, fast-paced action, cool enemies, plenty of weapons and that Capcom touch.
Street Fighter Alpha 3 MAX
Street Fighter to go! Faithfully ported to the handheld, you have to own this seminal 2D fighting game which is packed with 40 fighters, and comes with ad-hoc multiplayer. Tournaments on the go!
Burnout Legends
You can never play enough Burnout-fast, frantic racing, and fast, fitting crashing, two of our favourite things. This version packs in elements from the first three console outings to offer crunchy, juicy delight in each yummy bite. Mmm, now we are hungry. For Burnout Legends!