Tagged: igra
Uncharted 2: Among Thieves (2009)
Nathan Drake is back…
But he hasn’t gotten any wiser. Granted, had he learned anything from events in his adventure with the treasure of Sir Francis Drake and realised once and for all that plans for a quick and easy treasure hunt almost never turn out the way they are supposed to, Uncharted 2: Among Thieves would certainly be a lot more boring. The Naughty Dog team took their task and demands from the gaming public seriously, and responded in the best way possible – by making an excellent game which improves upon the original formula and makes for an even better ‘movie’.
This time, Nathan is after the Cintamani stone, a mythical jewel which shows the way to the even more mythical kingdom of Shambhala. Unfortunately for him, modern-day counterpart to Indiana Jones’s Nazis, a maniacal war criminal named Zoran Lazarević, wants the same thing. I’m sure you can work out the rest of the story, just add some vandalism of historical monuments, unlawful entry, illegal taking of property, strange creatures and a love triangle. Strangely enough, this will get you a story which is much better than the sum of its parts.
Technically, Uncharted 2: Among Thieves is carefully polished to perfection. The graphics are stunning, the camera works flawlessly and makes the game very cinematic. Water is so 2007, snow and wavy flags are the new water.
There are some real changes in the game compared to the first instalment, and one of the niftiest new additions is a targeting reticule which appears when Nate fires from the hip, shoots from cover or runs and guns. There are also a few new powerful weapons and a worrying number of explosive gas tanks strewn around the environment. Nate’s notebook is still here, but now we get a peek into the whole thing, not just one single page that should help us solve a puzzle. It’s full of memorabilia, scribblings and funny drawings, and it gets updated as you play the game.
Mr Drake himself is even hotter and more (photo)realistic than before, and other character models are rendered in much more detail. As for the acting, it is superb, and all the cut-scenes are well directed, played and faithfully reproduced in-game. The method in which they recorded their motion capture is not the golden standard in video game production, but it should certainly become and its benefits are more than evident. Character interaction is much more natural and believable than in cases where voice actors just sit in the recording booth with a script and deliver lines according to the director’s instructions. This was often mentioned in the press kits, but with a good reason. The best quips and one-liners are often spontaneous and improvised. There are buckets-full of chemistry between the protagonists, but you can’t expect any less if you put together Claudia Black, who could have chemistry with a piece of driftwood, and the genius that is Nolan North, whose recent lead roles seem to be the recipe for a game’s success. North’s Drake seems natural while trading verbal blows with Harry Flynn or climbing Tibetan temples with Tenzin who doesn’t speak a word of English.
In my previous article on Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune, I said I’d love to see this character exploited in the demeaning manner in which Lara Croft usually gets exploited, but Among Thieves just gave me Drake in a winter jacket and occasionally wet and squishy jeans, which remain a major selling point since the first game. For the third instalment of the series, I will look forward to a game at least as good as this or better. If Shirtless Nate somehow worms his way into the story, I won’t mind.
To sum up, here’s a series of random screenshots of Nathan Drake for your perusal.
Vratio nam se Nathan Drake…
Opametio se nije. Naravno, da je izvukao kakvu pouku iz svega što je preživio u pustolovini oko blaga Sir Francisa Drakea i jednom za svagda naučio da svi planovi za siguran i lak dolazak do blaga neumitno završe katastrofom, Uncharted 2: Among Thieves bila bi iznimno dosadna igra. Ekipa Naughty Doga ozbiljno je shvatila svoj zadatak i zahtjeve koju će pred njih postaviti igrači prve igre i odgovorila na najbolji mogući način – izvrsnom igrom koja je uspjela unaprijediti izvornu formulu, napravivši još bolji ‘film’.
Nathan ovoga puta ide u potragu za draguljem Cintamani, koji ga treba dovesti do mitskog budističkog kraljevstva, Shambhale. Istu namjeru ima i ovovjeki pandan nacistima Indiane Jonesa, manijak i ratni zločinac Zoran Lazarević, a ostatak priče uglavnom možete rekonstruirati i sami na temelju tih nekoliko detalja. U slikovnicu još samo umetnite napucavanja sa zlikovcima, podosta vandaliziranja spomenika kulture, malo društveno opasnih radnji, povremeno protupravno pribavljanje koristi, nadnaravne stvorove, te ljubavni trokut, i dobit ćete priču koja je odlična unatoč svojim sastavnim dijelovima.
S tehničke strane, Uncharted 2 je pažljivo ispoliran i doveden do savršenstva. Grafika je prekrasna, kamera funkcionira besprijekorno i ima snažan filmski štih. Voda je out, snijeg i lepršave zastavice su in. Od konkretnih promjena u odnosu na jedinicu, korisna je novost ciljnik na ekranu koji se pojavljuje kada Nate puca iz zaklona ili u pokretu koji znatno olakšava pucanje, a tu su par novih komada vrlo razornog oružja i zabrinjavajuća količina eksplozivnih plinskih spremnika na ulicama. Nateova famozna bilježnica koja je u prvome dijelu služila tek par puta za rješavanje zagonetki sada ima znatno više stranica korisnih i beskorisnih črčkarija i memorabilija, a tijekom igre dobivate i nove stranice.
Nate je, ako je to ikako moguće, još zgodniji i (foto)realističniji nego u prvoj igri, a i modeli drugih likova znatno su detaljnije renderirani. Što se tiče glume, to doista ne može biti prigovora, igrane scene filmski su kvalitetno režirane i odglumljene, te vjerno preslikane u igru. Način na koji je motion capture izveden nije standardna praksa u razvoju video igara, ali u ovome slučaju predstavlja ogromnu prednost i čini interakcije glumaca puno prirodnijima i uvjerljivijima nego slučaju kada glumci koji sinkroniziraju likove sjede u kabini sa scenarijem i samo čitaju svoje rečenice uz upute redatelja. Developeri su stavili značajan naglasak na to u press materijalima, no posve opravdano. Najbolja zajebancija uvijek se postiže spontano. Kemije ima na vjedra, ali kada spojite Claudiu Black koja bi mogla imati kemiju s trulim komadom drveta i genijalnog Nolana Northa za kojeg je lakše prebrojati hit igre u kojima ne igra, drugo se ne može ni očekivati. Northov Drake djeluje prirodno i kada razmjenjuje doskočice s Harryjem Flynnom i kada se vere po tibetanskim hramovima s Tenzinom, koji ne govori ni riječ engleskoga.
U članku o Unchartedu: Drake’s Fortune izrazio sam želju vidjeti da i ovaj lik počnu eksploatirati na ponižavajući način na koji to čine Lari Croft, ali odgovor u Among Thieves došao je u obliku još deblje zimske jakne i povremenih vlažnih traperica koje su ionako bile prisutne u prvome dijelu. Za treći dio u serijalu, stoga, očekujem samo da bude dobar kao ovaj, ili bolji. Ako se Nate bez majice na neki način uklopi u radnju, neće mi smetati.
InFamous (2009)
… or Prototype?
The summer of 2009 was a time of sandbox catastrophe games, and by some cosmic fluke, two such games were published within a month of each other, Prototype for XBox 360, PC and PlayStation 3, and InFamous, a PlayStation 3 exclusive. Regardless of the subheading, I intend to talk a bit about InFamous, which turned out to be slightly better than its prototypical competitor. Allow my to clarify my point.
In the latter, you play as the (In)Famous Cole McGrath, a courier assigned with a delivery of a package which blows up, blasting away half of the island (because all sandbox game inexplicably feature cities on islands, connected by bridges), and giving Cole special powers to manipulate electrical energy and an allergy to water.
Since great power usually comes both with great clichés and huge villains, major players are interested in Cole, while he does menial tasks, trying to find out the reason for the explosion, dealing with bad guys and innocent bystanders, all the while walking the line between good and evil. This good/evil thing would work much better, if the game wasn’t so inclined to pronounce your deeds evil, even though you were doing what you were told was the ‘good’ solution. It would also be much more interesting if the two courses of action weren’t such polar opposites, and if it the point wasn’t hammered in by a huge blue and red screen telling you the end results, all accompanied by Cole’s internal monologue basically saying the same thing (this was meant, I presume, for people who aren’t able to discern on their own that helping people get to some food is an act of good, and killing said people and taking all the food for yourself an act of evil).
That being said, the story itself is solid, although it’s only the first chapter of some future bigger story (like everything else recently), Cole’s powers are well thought-out and levelled, and the autosave system works just fine, not forcing you to repeat entire missions if you screw up along the way. The side-missions are reasonably varied and useful, because they significantly reduce the number of enemies in the cleared areas. Jumping and climbing the buildings is more reminiscent of Crackdown than Protoype, and same can be said for the shard-collecting. Surfing the power lines and electrified train tracks is a fun way to quickly moving about the town, and with all the upgrades, they become a way for Cole to recharge his ‘batteries’. Static thrusters are slightly less useful than flying through the air we saw in Prototype, but even without it you will be quite able to climb any building in the game, provided you take gravity and inertia into account at all times.
In the 30+ hours of gameplay, I’ve come across only a few bugs, at one point the game simply froze during saving, and once Cole simply fell through the pavement, flying into the void for a few seconds, until the game killed him off and reloaded the last save point.
So in face to face combat, with a similare premise, game mechanics, and similar anti-heroes, I would support InFamous. Since Protoype is equally good, and since other reviewers had their own unusual criteria for choosing the champion, I will say that InFamous is a better game because Cole McGrath is better looking, he doesn’t devour innocent passers by, he wears a leather jacket and has a goatee. This doesn’t mean you shouldn’t give the other game a chance, you probably won’t be disappointed.
ZloGlasan…
Ljeto 2009. bilo je u znaku igara katastrofe otvorenoga tipa i igrom slučaja, dvije su takve igre izišle unutar mjesec dana, Prototype na XBoxu 360, PC-u i PlayStationu 3, te InFamous isključivo na PlayStationu 3. Tema ovog članka je upravo InFamous, koji se pokazao nešto zanimljivijim od konkurencije. Pojasnit ću ovu tvrdnju u nekoliko točaka.
Na zlu glasu u ovoj je igri Cole McGrath, dostavljač koji jednoga dana dobije zadatak prenijeti paket koji putem eksplodira, raznese pola otoka (jer gradovi u sandbox igrama uvijek su na otocima povezanim mostovima), a Colea obdari posebnim moćima manipulacije električnom energijom i alergijom na vodu.
Kako uz veliku moć dolaze i veliki klišeji i veliki negativci, za Colea su odjednom zainteresirani različiti veliki igrači, dok se on bavi sitnim zadatcima, istraživanjem uzroka eksplozije, sređivanjem zločestih momaka/nevinih prolaznika i biranjem između puta dobra i zla. Ovo zadnje bi još nekako i funkcioniralo da igra povremeno iz posve nejasnih razloga ne odluči da ste bili zločesti, te bilo puno zanimljivije da dva smjera djelovanja nisu potpuno polarno-suprotna i da se igra svaki puta ne zaustavi kako bi vam Cole putem unutarnjeg monologa objasnio koja je radnja zla, a koja dobra (za one koji nisu sami sposobni razlučiti da je pomaganje ljudima da dođu do hrane dobar čin, a njihovo ubijanje i otimanje sve hrane zao čin).
Na stranu s tim sitnim nelogičnostima, priča je solidna, iako kao i sve ostale priče u zadnje vrijeme predstavlja tek prvo poglavlje u jednoj dužoj trakavici, Coleove moći su dobro zamišljene i odmjerene, a sustav automatskog snimanja kontrolnih točaka dobar, pa nećete morati ponavljati cijeli zadatak ukoliko zabrljate. Sporedni zadatci su umjereno raznoliki i korisni, jer vam znatno smanjuju broj negativaca u ‘oslobođenim’ područjima. Način kretanja i uspinjanja po zgradama više podsjećaju na Crackdown nego na Protoype, kao i skupljanje krhotina po gradu. Surfanje po električnim vodovima i tračnicama vrlo je originalan i zabavan način brzog kretanja gradom, a uz nadogradnje, to postaje i način da Cole napuni svoje baterije. Statički potisnici su manje korisni od polu-letenja u Prototypeu, ali i bez toga moguće se popeti na sve zgrade u igri, jer na ovaj način morate malo razmišljati o sitnicama iz stvarnoga svijeta poput sile teže i inercije.
Tijekom tridesetak sati igre naišao sam na nekoliko bugova, u jednome se trenutku igra jednostavno zamrzla kod učitavanja zadnje snimljene pozicije, a drugom prilikom Cole je trčeći ulicom jednostavno propao kroz mapu, par sekundi letio kroz ništavilo i u tom trenutku igra ga je odlučila ubiti i vratiti zadnji save.
Dakle, u borbi prsa o prsa, sa sličnom premisom, sličnom mehanikom igre, glavnim antijunacima, iz posve niskih razloga, ja navijam za InFamous. Kako je i Prototype na istoj razini kvalitete i igrivosti, drugi recenzenti imali su neke svoje kriterije za odabir prvaka, a ja ću onda InFamous proglasiti boljim jer Cole McGrath je zgodniji, ne proždire prolaznike, nosi kožnjak i ima bradicu. Naravno, to nije razlog da i onoj drugoj ne date priliku, nećete se razočarati.
Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune (2007)
Press START for hunk
Here’s another seemingly unnecessary review of a two-year old videogame, but as always, I have my reasons.
Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune was published in late 2007. The game was published by Sony Computer Entertainment for PlayStation 3, and developed by California-based studio Naughty Dog. The game is exclusive to PS3, and one of few games you simply have to have if you own the console, or a game you might just buy a console to play on.
The plot is heavily inspired by pulp adventure novels – the hero of the story, Nathan Drake, who may or may not be the descendant of Sir Francis Drake, is a two-bit tomb-robber who uncovers the coffin of his supposed ancestor, and therein finds notes and a map to the treasure of El Dorado. With the help of his friend Victor Sullivan and die-hard journalist Elena Fisher, Nathan sets out on the search for the legendary treasure.
This brief synopsis clearly shows what works Uncharted is proudly inspired by – the Indiana Jones flicks and pulp novels being the most obvious choices – but luckily, the authors picked all the right stuff from those sources, making the game play out like a summer blockbuster movie. The gameplay mechanic is an amalgamate of the best games across various genres, from ancient-ruin-acrobatics and puzzles not unlike those in Tomb Raider or Prince of Persia, to third person over-the-shoulder shooter sections and conveniently placed covers we keep seeing in every shooter game made post Gears of War.
So this covers what you do in the game, and how you do it, now it’s time to say what the whole thing looks like. And it looks – in a word – fantastic. Most of the game plays out in a wonderfully painted jungle full of greenery, streams and moss-covered ruins, with ancient forts, temples and monasteries with gorgeous vistas thrown in for good measure. Drake’s adventures include a vehicle chase and a couple of chances to take a water scooter for a spin.
Character and face animations are also extremely convincing, without a trace of botox, both in the cutscenes and the game proper. Unlike most of other shooter heroes, Nate’s face clearly shows his caution or fear when he is being shot at, and his reactions to impossible jumps on ledges are quite more realistic than Ms Croft’s cool and calm performance.
The developers from Naughty Dog succeeded in creating a character of a lovable petty thief who manages to walk the grey line between being a good guy and a bad guy. They did that using tricks I mentioned in the previous paragraph, but also by making him awfully cute, yet at the same time average-looking – especially compared to steroid junkies who seem to inhabit most of the recent popular games. Much to the dismay of this blog’s target audience, the alternative costumes for Nate include only a white tee with the Naughty Dog logo, a baseball shirt, the wetsuit from chapter one, and a few deformation options (if you want Serious Nate or fat Nate). I find it a bit odd that Nate doesn’t wear shorts to run around the jungle, but I’m sure there’s a rational explanation and really sound reasoning which makes jeans the right choice for such activities. 
One of the complaints I might make regarding this game is its strict linearity and sometimes lousily executed movement limits, but it would be unfair to hold this against a game from a genre which is predominantly linear. It appears that months of Fallout 3 have tainted me beyond repair, so I expect every game to give me at least three different ways of solving the same problem.
Another complaint could be the relative shortness of the campaign, but that is also in accordance with the genre. After all, the game has a few ways to make you re-play it once again (hidden treasures and bonuses) if Nathan Drake is not reason enough, and it’s quite certain that we will get a few more instalments of Nate’s adventures.
And while we’re on the subject of sequels, Uncharted 2: Among Thieves is released in Europe on 16 October. I’m certain that Nate’s trip to the Himalayas accompanied by a character voiced by Claudia Black will prove to be another successful formula. My only peeve is that this means Nate will be wearing even more clothes, but since future sequels are more than likely, we can always hope episode three will take place in a hot part of the world, where our hero would have to change into something skimpier. If Lara Croft can be exploited this way, I don’t see why Nathan Drake could not be. 
Pritisni START za komada
Evo još jedne naoko nepotrebne recenzije godinama stare igre, ali kao i uvijek, imam svoje razloge za to.
Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune objavljena je krajem 2007. godine. Igru je za Sony Computer Entertainment i njihovu igraću konzolu PlayStation 3 razvio američki studio Naughty Dog. Radi se o platformskoj ekskluzivi, i jednoj od rijetkih igara koju ćete naprosto morati kupiti ako imate PS3 ili zbog koje ćete kupiti PS3 ako je želite igrati.
Sama priča drži se nebrojenih predložaka petparačkih pustolovnih romana – junak Nathan Drake, koji je možda potomak Sir Francisa Drakea, pljačkaš grobnica, pronalazi lijes svog navodnog pretka i ondje njegove zabilješke i mapu do blaga El Dorada. Uz pomoć prijatelja Victora Sullivana i odvažne/uporne novinarke Elene Fisher, Nathan kreće u potragu za legendarnim blagom. I ovaj kratki opis priče jasno ukazuje na ostala srodna djela od kojih Uncharted ponosno posuđuje – filmovi o Indiani Jonesu nameću se očit predložak, kao i šund romani – ali na svu sreću, od svih tih izvora autori su izabrali prave stvari, tako da igra podsjeća na filmski ljetni blockbuster. Način igranja je također amalgam perjanica različitih žanrova, od ruševinskih akrobacija i zagonetki u maniri Lare Croft ili izvjesnog perzijskog princa, do pucačkih dijelova u trećem licu preko ramena s obaveznim zgodno lociranim zaklonima kakve smo viđali u svemu i svačemu nakon Gears of War.
Dakle, pokrili smo što se i kako radi u igri, treba reći nekoliko riječi i o tome kako to sve izgleda. A izgleda – fantastično. Veći dio igre odvija se u u detaljno oslikanoj džungli prepunoj zelenila, potočića i mahovinom obraslih ruševina, ali tu su i stare utvrde, hramovi i samostani s kojih puca doista prekrasan pogled. U igru su ubačeni i obavezna potjera džipom, te par prigoda za korištenje vodenog skutera (u jednom slučaju uzvodno uz brzace).
Animacije likova i njihovih lica su također iznimno uvjerljivi, bez traga botoxa, što u ‘cut-scenama’, što u samoj igri. Za razliku od standardnih junačina u pucačinama, na Nateovom licu lako se da očitati oprez ili strah u trenutcima kada ga netko napada ili puca u njega, a njegove reakcije na nemoguće skokove na liticama znatno su realističnije od hladnokrvnog skakutanja Lare Croft.
Ekipa iz Naughty Doga uspješno je od Nathana Drakea stvorila lik dopadljivog sitnog lopova koji se uspješno drži linije sivoga između crnog i bijelog zahvaljujući trikovima iz prethodnog paragrafa, ali i činjenici da je Nate iznimno zgodan, ali opet u neku ruku prosječan – posebno u usporedbi s nabildanim mrcinama koje zadnjih godina igraju naslovne uloge u najpopularnijim igrama. Na veliku žalost ciljne publike ovoga bloga, od alternativnih kostima za Natea igra nudi tek bijelu majicu s logotipom Naughty Doga, bejzbolsku košulju, ronilačko odijelo iz prvog poglavlja, te nekoliko mogućnosti deformacija (ako želite Serious Natea ili debelog Natea). Malo mi je čudno da mu za trčanje džunglom ne trebaju kratke hlačice, ali valjda postoji razumno objašnjenje i jako dobar razlog koji jeans hlače čini savršenim odabirom za takve aktivnosti. Jedna od stvari koju bih mogao prigovoriti ovoj igri je stroga linearnost i katkada nemaštovito izvedeno ograničenje kretanja, ali bilo bi nepravedno uzeti to za zlo žanru koji i jest pretežno linearan. Čini se da su mjeseci igranja Fallouta 3 u mome slučaju ostavili traga, pa sada od svake igre očekujem da mi dozvoli riješiti svaki problem na najmanje tri načina.
Isti tako, mogli bismo prigovoriti i relativnu kratkoću igre, ali i to je u skladu s očekivanjima za ovaj žanr. Na kraju krajeva, igra ima nekoliko načina da vas natjera da je prođete još koji put (potraga za skrivenim blagom, bonusi) ako vam Nathan Drake nije dovoljan razlog, a posve je izvjesno da je ovo serijal iz kojega ćemo dočekati još nekoliko nastavaka.
Vezano uz te nastavke, Uncharted 2: Among Thieves izlazi u Europi 16. listopada, a o samoj igri sam već pisao. Vjerujem kako će Nate na Himalajama u društvu nove pratilje (Claudia Black) biti još jedna uspješna formula. Jedino sam razočaran jer to znači da će on biti još deblje obučen, no kako ćemo sigurno dobiti i treći nastavak, možemo se uvijek nadati da će se raditi opet o kakvom vrućem dijelu zemaljske kugle, gdje će se naš junak morati presvući u nešto oskudnije. Ako se može Lara Croft na taj način eksploatirati, ne vidim zašto ne bi mogao i Nathan Drake.
Fable 2 (2008)
Tell me a Fable…
Fable 2 is a role-playing videogame created by Peter Molyneux, produced by UK-based Lionhead Studios for Microsoft’s gaming console Xbox 360.
A lot has been said about Fable 2. Granted, most of it was said by Molyneux himself, but there have been many reviews, annoyances, criticism and all sorts of stuff. I’ll add a few lines from my own perspective on this.
The original Fable was notable for a number of original ideas, including giving your Hero the option to woo and eventually marry non-player characters of both sexes, which was reason enough for a whole lot of people who didn’t usually play RPG’s to give it a shot.
All this was carried onto Fable 2, with a few new additions. New Albion has a lot more guys and gals your Hero/Heroine can court, bigamy is rewarded with a nice achievement, so are swinger parties, and if you want to give your Hero an STD, all you have to do is visit your nearest friendly neighbourhood whore, male or female. Unprotected marital sex, like in real world, results in pregnancy, so that will be an additional financial burden for your Hero.
The sexual orientation of NPC’s in Albion, as well as their features, jobs, names, likes or dislikes, etc. are set randomly, so each Albion (on different consoles or other gamertags) will be different. In the Albion I got, I had just a few gay and bisexual characters in Bowerstone (there were several at Bowerstone Cemetary, for some reason), same was true for Oakfield, while the lairs of perversion and debauchery better known as Bloodstone and Westcliff were much better off, and my Hero could easily get five or six guys to bed at the same time there. These two locations had meaner, rougher, more dangerous and, thus, more interesting guys whom you could marry and move to one of the finer towns. Bear in mind, however, that if you invest 5000 gold pieces in Westcliff, once you return from The Spire ten years later, you’ll find a boring little town not unlike Bowerstone, with stuck-up, fussy residents and only one (female) whore, so you can kiss your orgies goodbye. If you try to hit on straight blokes, nothing terrible will befall you – they will politely tell you that they prefer women. When that happens, you’ll be sure you’re playing a video game and that Albion doesn’t really exist.
One of the quests is also worth mentioning, the one where your Hero is commissioned by farmer Giles to find someone to take his son on a blind date. Giles keeps trying to hook up his son with a nice wife, so he could take over the farm, but his son has some other plans for the future. If you set him up with a man, the quest will be successfully solved, and your Hero gets a chance to buy the farm and find an exclusive weapon in the cellar.
To avoid going into too much detail and to keep clear from spoilers, I can just say that Fable 2 is an excellent RPG which can serve as a nice introduction to the genre to gamers who don’t usually play that stuff, while regular fans of the genre should get about thirty hours of quality entertainment.
Pričam ti priču…
Fable 2 igra je uloga koju je zamislio Peter Molyneux, a producirao britanski studio Lionhead za Microsoftovu igraću konzolu Xbox 360.
Mnogo toga je rečeno o Fableu 2. Doduše, većinu toga je rekao sam Molyneux, ali bilo je tu i recenzija, prigovora, kritika i koječega. Svemu tome ja ću dodati i nekoliko zapažanja iz svoje perspektive.
Originalni Fable je bio zapažen po nekoliko originalnih zamisli, između ostaloga vaš junak u igri mogao se boriti za naklonost neigračkih likova oba spola i mogao je ženiti koga je god htio, što je bio dovoljan razlog velikom broju ljudi nenaviklih na RPG da igri daju šansu.
Sve to je preneseno u drugi nastavak, uz neke dodatke. U novom Albionu puno je više tipova i cura kojima se vaš Junak/Junakinja može udvarati, bigamija se nagrađuje zgodnim achievementom, svingerske zabave također, a ako svojem Junaku želite priuštiti i spolno-prenosivu bolest, uvijek možete otići do najbliže kurve (kojeg god spola želite). Seks bez zaštite u braku u ovoj igri rezultira i djetetom, što je dodatni financijski izdatak.
Spolna orijentacija i ostale osobine, imena, zanimanja, što vole ili ne vole neigračkih likova u Albionu određuju se slučajnim odabirom, tako da će svaki Albion (na drugim konzolama ili u drugim profilima) imati drugačiju situaciju. U mom Bowerstoneu imao sam tek nekolicinu gej i biseksualnih tipova (nešto više ih je bilo na Bowerstoneskom groblju, iz nekog razloga, deprimiranih i razočaranih), ista situacija je bila i u Oakfieldu, dok je situacija u leglima razvrata i opačine Bloodstoneu i Westcliffu bila puno povoljnija i tamo je Junak bez ikakvih problema mogao istovremeno odvući pet-šest tipova u krevet. Na ta dva mjesta bilo je i opakijih, opasnijih, grubljih i samim time zanimljivijih tipova koje ste mogli oženiti i preseliti u neku od finih gradskih sredina. Imajte na umu da ako uložite 5000 zlatnika u Westcliff, nakon povratka sa Spirea dočekat će vas dosadan mali gradić nalik Bowerstoneu, s dosadnim umišljenim stanovnicima i jednom (ženskom) kurvom, tako da orgije možete zaboraviti. Što područje bolje financijski stoji, to ćete teže počiniti izvanbračni preljub s tamošnjim stanovnicima. Ako se odlučite upucavati hetero tipovima, neće vam se ništa strašno dogoditi, već će vam oni uljudno odgovoriti da više vole žene. Po tome znate da igrate video igru i da je Albion fiktivni svijet.
Još vrijedi spomenuti i zadatak u kojem vaš Junak treba pronaći nekoga tko je voljan izaći na slijepo sa sinom farmera Gilesa. Giles uporno pokušava naći svom sinu dobru ženu kako bi mu ostavio farmu, ali sin ima druge planove u životu. Ako ga spojite s muškarcem, zadatak je uspješno riješen, a vaš Junak dobiva priliku kupiti farmu i u podrumu naći ekskluzivan komad oružja.
Da ne ulazim u suvišne detalje i otkrivam pojedinosti, radi se o odličnom RPG-u koji će čak i ekipi nenaviknutoj na tu vrstu igara poslužiti kao uvod u taj žanr, a redovitim posjetiteljima toga žanra pružiti tridesetak sati odlične zabave.
Dead Rising: Chop Till You Drop
The Attack of Killer Zombie Poodles!
I meant to do a short review of Dead Rising for the Wii, but in order to write anything even remotely objective, I would be have to be able to forget that I played the Xbox 360 original. This, however, has proven to be an impossible mission, since I kept comparing the two versions while playing, continuously cursing this remake.
Basically, I’ll repeat what almost everyone who reviewed Chop Till You Drop said before me – it works if you haven’t played the original, a number of problems and issues from the original have been fixed, but a lot of things were cut that weren’t supposed to be. Here are just some of my pet peeves.
Firstly, the Resident Evil 4 Wii engine used in the remake and the number of buttons on the Wiimote have imposed certain limitations, and because of that, there is no ‘jump’ button. In those rare instances when Frank needs to make a jump for it, the “A” button is used. In the original version, you had the option of wandering around the mall, getting away from the zombies by jumping into the fountains and pools, you were able to smash and enter through the shop windows or find hidden weapons on the awnings over the shop entrances. You can forget about this in the Wii version – shop windows are unbreakable, you can’t jump into the fountains or the grass patches, and just to make things a bit worse, some new barriers were inexplicably added, forcing you to walk a set path. Instead of a sandbox game, we’re getting a very linear experience.
Secondly, shopping around the mall is an important element for a game set in, well, a mall. In the Xbox version, Frank had a lot of clothing, footwear and accessories at his disposal, and although it was not crucial for game-play, it was a nice time-waster when you got tired of bludgeoning the undead. Two novelty items were announced for the Wii version (Bionic Commando kit and a bikini), but none of the press releases mentioned that most of other clothing, footwear and accessories will be cut.
To make the game wiieasy, the developers gave us more lawnmowers and bikes which enable safer passage outside, but they took away the car which was useful in the underground tunnels. And the whole underground tunnel bit (which had an insane number of zombies in the original) was magically transformed into a mini-game with a bunch of zombies who just stand around, do nothing to attack you and just wait for you to kill them off. And you also have to pay Otis to play the mini-game.
The worst idea, however, was taking away Frank’s ability to take photos. Basically, you have a photojournalist who carries his camera everywhere with him, even in states of utter undress, but the camera remains unused. The pre-rendered cut-scenes are another thing – they were pre-rendered in the Xbox 360 engine so you can easily see what the game was supposed to look like before it was ‘adapted’ for the Wii.
In Dead Rising: Chop Till You Drop, there is less of everything, with the exception of zombie parrots, zombie poodles and explosive gas tanks, which are, for some reason, kept right in the middle of the mall. You need think carefully whether you consider that a sufficient trade-off.
Zombi-pudlice napadaju!
Namjera mi je bila napisati jednu kratku recenziju Dead Risinga za Wii, ali da bi ta recenzija bila iole objektivna, morao bih potpuno zaboraviti original za Xbox 360. To se pokazalo nemogućom misijom, jer sam cijelo vrijeme igranja Wii varijante uspoređivao i, iskreno, u sebi pljuvao ovu lošu, lošu preradu.
U principu, mogu vam reći ono što su rekli gotovo svi recenzenti igre – Dead Rising: Chop Till You Drop funkcionira ako niste naviknuti na bolje, iz nje su izbacili dosta stvari koje su se spočitavale originalu, ali nestalo je i puno stvari koje nije trebalo dirati. Navest ću, po meni, najveće nedostatke.
Prvo, Resident Evil 4 Wii engine i smanjen broj tipaka na kontroleru uvjetovali su izostanak tipke za skakanje. Kada nešto već morate preskočiti, to se radi “A” tipkom, ali tih situacija ima puno manje. U originalnoj verziji mogli ste lutati kamo god ste htjeli, bježati od zombija u fontane, razbijati i ulaziti kroz izloge ili pronalaziti skriveno oružje na tendama iznad ulaza u prodavaonice. To ovdje možete zaboraviti, jer osim što su izlozi neprobojni i ne možete hodati fontanama ili zelenilom, postavljene su još i neke umjetne arhitektonske barijere i prisiljeni ste hodati putem koji vam je igra zadala, što sandbox original pretvara u jedno linearno iskustvo.
Drugo, važan element originalne igre bio je element kupovine, pa je Frank imao na izbor puno odjeće, obuće i (po)modnih detalja, s kojima ste se mogli zezati kad god ste se htjeli odmoriti od umlaćivanja zombija. Za Wii verziju najavili su dva nova odjevna predmeta (između ostalog i bikini), ali nisu u tim najavama spomenuli kako su ostatak odjeće, obuće i detalja osiromašili na tek mizeran dio stare ponude.
Kako bi olakšali igru, ponudili su puno više kosilica i bicikala za siguran prolaz vanjskim dijelom, ali je nestala mogućnost vožnje automobila kroz podzemne tunele. Taj dio s podzemnim tunelima (koji je u originalu imao sulud broj zombija) postao je mini-igrica sa šačicom živih mrtvaca koji stoje na mjestu, ne napadaju i samo čekaju da ih pokosite ili dokrajčite oružjem koje ste odabrali. Ahda, usput morate i platiti Otisu za to zadovoljstvo.
Vrhunac loših odluka u izradi ove varijante bilo je oduzimanje mogućnosti fotografiranja. Frank je sada foto-reporter koji svoj fotić nosi oko vrata u svim bizarnim i obnaženim situacijama, ali fotografirati ne možete. Cutscene su priča za sebe, jer su preuzete s Xbox varijante igre, pa možete zorno vidjeti kako bi igra trebala izgledati i uspoređivati to s onime što Wii može ispljunuti.
Igra je, dakle, znatno osiromašena i jedino čega ima više su zombi-papagaji, zombi-pudlice i eksplozivni plinski spremnici koji se iz neobjašnjivih razloga drže usred trgovačkog centra. Jesu li to dovoljne zamjene, odlučite sami.
Bully: Scholarship Edition (2008)
Improve your health with boy-kissing
The next game in my series of boy-on-boy-love video games is originally from 2006, but it’s never to late to recommend something good. This is originally a PlayStation 2 game entitled “Bully” (renamed as ‘Canis Canem Edit’ in the UK), ported in March 2008 to Xbox 360 and Nintendo Wii as Bully: Scholarship Edition. A PC version has been announced for October 2008. Rockstar Games is known for Manhunt and Grand Theft Auto franchises, while Bully has some of Grand Theft Auto elements – it’s a sandbox game with a main story and a number of side-quests.
You play as Jimmy Hopkins, a problem kid from a dysfunctional family – after being expelled from a number of schools, his mother dumps him at Bullworth Academy, a private boarding school. Throughout six chapter of the main story, Jimmy is trying to deal with a psychopathic student, at the same time attending (or skipping) classes, doing various odd-jobs around the town and school in the form of mini-games, helps out people, has fun, gets involved in pranks and trying to find his place in the new surrounding.
The six chapters of the game span all four seasons, the in-game weather is dynamic, and so is the day/night cycle. An average weekday for Jimmy includes classes he has to attend between 9 a.m. and 11:30, and 1 p.m. to 3:30 p.m., according to a schedule – if he cuts classes, the prefects will (try to) catch him and send him to class.
During lunch-break and in the afternoons, Jimmy is free to go anywhere he wants at school or in the town, and do whatever he wants. The town itself is quite large and has everything – there’s a funfair, beaches, mountain roads, an insane asylum on the hill, a rich neighbourhood, a poor neighbourhoods, an industrial district, and each of the districts has shops where you can dress Jimmy up, get his hair done, and in each of the parts of the town Jimmy can fight for his own HQ where you can save the game.
You can move between the parts of the town on foot, on skateboard (Jimmy always has it with him) or by bike (which you take from one of your garages or steal borrow from passers by, GTA style). When it’s time to fight, Jimmy can use his fists (you’ll do a lot of waving around like an idiot on the Wii when Jimmy has to box), his slingshot, itching powder, bottle rockets, eggs and similar school prank paraphernalia. However, it is noteworthy that the game will not incite or force violent behaviour, Jimmy has to defend when some of the other kids attack him, but there is nothing that will force him to bully other kids. Actually, if you do bully kids younger than yourself, you’ll get caught, send to the headmaster’s office and probably end up doing some work as punishment. If you attack people in the streets or steal bikes, the police will chase you down.
Snogging is good for your health in the game, Jimmy can make out with his schoolmates and earn a health power-up. Rockstar Vancouver spiced things up by including boys into this, so Jimmy can smooch boys and get the same benefits. And if you hang around town log enough, you just might meet a gay couple, walking around town, holding hands! Shock! Disbelief! Yes, this video game shamelessly promotes homosexuality! It’s the faggotized GTA! Grand Theft Bike: Gay Town! Ban this filth immediately! If this was television, we’d be looking at a sensationalist reporter, dead serious, talking about the latest game coming from the States, which enables the simulation of homosexual acts with underage kids and glorifies bullying. But luckily, this is not television, just good ole hyperbole.
So what did Rockstar Games do about this? Well, the Xbox 360 version of has an achievement which gives you 20 gamepoints if your Jimmy gets 20 kisses from boys. Just to annoy the achievement-whores. And the world did not explode, nor have millions of gamers become gay or bullies. Most of the criticism of the game was unfounded anyway, published way before the game was even published, and the game itself was rated 13 or 15 worldwide.
When you get your copy of Bully, you’ll probably need instructions how to make a move on your schoolmates. Jimmy can kiss only certain, open-minded boys, who are a minority (isn’t that realistic, now…) – there’s one in every clique (bullies, nerds, jocks, preps, greasers), six in total if we count in a townie, he’s the last one you can fool around with. The main condition for kissing anyone is that Jimmy successfully went to Art class; by increasing the number of art classes Jimmy attends (to a total of six), your health power-up increases. When you get that sorted out, dress up Jimmy (so that the other kids don’t make fun of him), get some flowers ready, find the right boy in a clique that doesn’t beat you up, chat him up, give him the flowers and he’ll give you a kiss. You have to go through all this every time you want to kiss someone to improve your health, only the girls will kiss you without giving them flowers when you attend all the art classes. If you feel like being naughty, you can kiss several schoolmates one after the other – this will make them jealous and they’ll fight each other.
In short, I recommend Bully: Scholarship Edition wholeheartedly. It’s a well thought-out game, it works great, it is quite funny and you’ll probably enjoy the 20+ hours you spend with it.
Žvaljakanjem do zdravlja
Sljedeća igra u mojoj seriji recenzija muškoljubavnih video igara je iz 2006., ali nikada nije kasno za dobru preporuku. Radi se izvorno PlayStation2 igri ‘Bully’ (preimenovanoj kod prvog objavljivanja u Velikoj Britaniji u ‘Canis Canem Edit’), koja je u ožujku 2008. portirana na XBOX 360 i Nintendo Wii pod naslovom Bully: Scholarship Edition. PC varijanta najavljena je za kraj listopada 2008. Izdavač Rockstar Games otprije nam je poznat po franšizama Manhunt i Grand Theft Auto, a u Bullyja su prenijeli osnovu Grand Theft Auta – sandbox igru s okolinama po kojima se možete slobodno kretati, glavnu priču i velik broj izbornih zadataka.
Igra vas stavlja u ulogu Jimmyja Hopkinsa, problematičnog klinca iz disfunkcionalne obitelji kojega majka, nakon što su ga izbacili iz više škola, ostavlja u akademiji Bullworth, privatnoj školi internatskog tipa. Kroz šest poglavlja osnovne priče, Jimmy pokušava izići na kraj s jednim psihopatskim učenikom, a uz to pohađa (ili markira) nastavu, obavlja raznorazne posliće po školi i gradiću Bullworthu u obliku mini-igara, pomaže drugima, zabavlja se, radi spačke i traži svoje mjesto u novoj sredini.
Šest poglavlja igre protežu se kroz sva četiri godišnja doba, vremenske prilike su dinamičke, kao i smjena dana i noći. Prosječan Jimmyjev radni dan sastoji se od nastave koju je obvezan pohađati od 9:00 do 11:30 te od 13:00 to 15:30 po određenom rasporedu – ako nije na nastavi u to vrijeme, školski redari će ga (pokušati) uloviti i poslati na nastavu.
U pauzi između nastave i nakon završetka nastave, Jimmy je slobodan kretati se školom i gradićem i raditi što god ga volja. Gradić je zaista velik i sadržajan – ima lunapark, plaže, planinske staze i ludnicu na brdu, bogatašku, siromašnu i industrijsku četvrt, a u svakoj četvrti imate prodavaonice, možete pronaći različitu odjeću, promijeniti Jimmyjev izgled i u svakome dijelu grada Jimmy se može izboriti za sjedište u kojemu možete snimiti igru.
Između tih dijelova grada i škole krećete se skejtom (kojega Jimmy stalno ima uz sebe) ili biciklom (kojeg uzmete iz svojih ‘garaža’ ili jednostavno u GTA stilu ukradete posudite od prolaznika). Kad se treba tući, Jimmy na raspolaganju ima šake (na Nintendo Wiiju ćete se dobro razmahati kad god se Jimmy treba boksati s nekime), praćku, prašak za svrab, jaja i slične rekvizite za školske psine. Treba, međutim, napomenuti da vas igra ne potiče ili tjera na nasilje, Jimmy se mora braniti ako ga netko napadne, ali nitko ga ne prisiljava na maltretiranje druge djece. Štoviše, ako Jimmy maltretira mlađe od sebe, završit će na razgovoru kod ravnatelja i društveno-korisnome radu. Ako iz čista mira napada ljude po gradu ili krade bicikle, lovit će ga policija.
Po pitanju žvaljenja koje je korisno po zdravlje, Jimmy se može ljubakati s ostalim učenicima u školi i time zarađuje bonus zdravlja. Rockstar Vancouver je taj dio dodatno zapaprio skandalom tako što je u igru uključio mogućnost da Jimmy ljubi i dečke s istim povlasticama. Ako se dovoljno dugo budete motali po gradu, vjerojatno ćete sresti i jedan gej par koji se, zamislite skandala, slobodno šeta gradom, držeći se za ruke! Šok! Nevjerica! Da, ova igra besramno promiče homoseksualnost! Pederska varijanta GTA! Grand Theft Bike: Gay Town! Hitno zabranite ovu prljavštinu! Kad bi ovo bila televizija, sada bi nas Hrga, ozbiljna ko prase u cekeru, izvjestila o najnovijoj kompjuterskoj igrici iz Amerike koja omogućava simulaciju homoseksualnih činova s maloljetnicima i glorificira školsko nasilje. Ali na sreću, ovo nije televizija, već samo hiperbola.
I što je Rockstar Games napravio pitanju ove kontroverze? U Xbox 360 varijantu dodao je achievement koji vam donosi 20 bodova na profil ako vaš Jimmy dobije 20 poljubaca od tipova. Tek da lagano naživcira one koji igraju igre i moraju skupit’ sve! I svijet nije propao, niti se su se milijuni igrača iznenada popederili. Ili postali nasilnici. Većina kritika ionako je bila neosnovana, objavljena prije no što je igra uopće izašla, da bi po izlasku igra bila proglašena neprikladnom tek za djecu ispod 13 ili 15 godina.
Kad se budete dohvatili Bullyja, vjerojatno će vam dobro doći i upute kako zavoditi druge učenike. Jimmy može ljubiti samo određene slobodoumne dečke koji su u manjini – u svakoj kliki (nasilnici, šmokljani, sportaši, bogataši, greaseri) ima ih po jedan, ukupno šest ako ubrojimo i jednog gradskog dečka. Osnovni preduvjet za bilo kakvo ljubljenje jest to da je Jimmy uspješno odslušao najmanje jedan sat likovnog odgoja, povećanjem broja sati (do maksimalno 6) povećava se zdravstveni bonus. Kad ste to riješili, Jimmyja lijepo odijenite i nafrizirajte (tako da mu se ne rugaju ostali klinci), pripremite cvijeće, potražite pravog dečka iz klike s kojom ste dobri (odnosno koja vas ne mlati čim vas vidi), pročavrljajte s njim, dajte mu cvijeće i dobit ćete pusicu ili će vas zažvaliti, ovisno o broju sati likovnog. Istu proceduru morate proći svaki puta kada želite nekoga poljubiti iz zdravstvenih ili drugih razloga, jedino će vas cure ljubiti bez cvijeća kad skupite dovoljno sati likovnog odgoja. Možete malo biti i zločesti, kad uzastopce poljubite više učenika (ili učenica), postat će ljubomorni jedni na druge i potući se.
U zaključku, suvišno je napomenuti da vam Bully: Scholarship Edition preporučam, jer je to osnovna svrha ovog bloga. Radi se o dorađenom i nadasve igrivom uratku uz koji ćete vrlo lako ubiti dvadesetak sati u neobaveznoj zabavi punoj duha i humora.
Metal Gear Solid, Bad Company
Solid snakes and baked goods
This really made me laugh today, and it’s fitting for this blog. What to do when you borrow a video game from a friend, and he keeps on asking you when you intend to give it back – well, if your names are Ann and Foley, and you can draw well, you’ll make a picture book for your friend and publish it on your blog.
In this particular case, the game in question is Metal Gear Solid 4, and Solid Snake is baking a cake in this picture book adventure.
You can read it all here.
As an added bonus, more Solid Snake. The release of Battlefield: Bad Company, an FPS for Xbox 360 and PS3 was promoted through a series of trailers which play around with the comical elements of the single-player campaign. The trailers are parodies of promotional videos and gameplay elements of other games, including the artsy-fartsy “Mad World” trailer for Gears of War with music by Gary Jules, and the stealth elements of Rainbow Six: Vegas. In this trailer, the guys are trying to figure out why some wierdo is hiding in a metal barrel.
Krute zmije i slastice
Ovo me danas dobro nasmijalo, a i dovoljno je tematski. Što napraviti ako posudite igru od frenda, a on vas on stalno gnjavi da je vratite – normalno, ako se zovete Anne i Foley i imate umjetničkoga dara, frendu ćete napraviti slikovnicu o igrici i staviti je na svoj blog.
U konkretnom slučaju, igra u pitanju je Metal Gear Solid 4, a Solid Snake u ovoj slikovničkoj avanturi peče tortu.
Cijelu slikovnicu pročitajte ovdje.
Kao bonus, još malo Solid Snakea. Objavljivanje igre Battlefield: Bad Company, FPS-a za XBOX 360 i PS3 popraćeno je serijom foršpana koji naglašavaju komične elemente single-player kampanje. Traileri parodiraju promotivne spotove i elemente drugih igara, uključujući onaj artsy-fartsy “Mad World” spot za Gears of War s glazbom Garyja Julesa, te stealth elemente Rainbow Six: Vegas. U ovome, ekipa pokušava skužiti zašto se nekakav čudak krije u metalnom buretu.
Splinter Cell: Double Agent
A hard man is good to find…
You’ll probably wonder why I insist on recommending action video games which are several years old. Well, the geek in me my geekiness is to blame, coupled with the fact that I’ve moved on from my “movie” phase into a gaming phase. Also, the reason also lies in the fact that Xbox 360 games are graphically impressive (well, most of them), but since my console RRoD-ed on me after seven games, you’ll be reading about those for a while.
Double Agent is my first Splinter Cell game I had the patience to finish, even though real Splinter Cell will surely try to convince me that this is a major flaw and that I should have first finished Pandora Tomorrow, but the fact is I chose this one because it was the prettiest one 🙂
The game was published on all platforms, but the basic storyline is the only thing in common to all of them – gameplay and missions set for Sam Fisher in the X360/PS3/PC, and Xbox/PS2/Wii versions are completely different. Formerly-next-gen-now-current-gen version for XBOX360/PS3/PC introduced major changes compared to previous games from the franchise in regards to the gameplay mechanics – the HUD is gone, there is just a green/yellow/red indicator on Sam’s back telling you if you’re fucked and just how much. Apart from that, the environments in the missions are huge, there is a lot to explore, walk around and browse, starting from the HQ of the terrorist organization Fisher infiltrates, with several floors, detailed environments and NPC’s, moving on to a snow-covered tanker in the Sea of Okhotsk, down to a luxurious cruise ship The Cozumel. On the other hand, the XBOX variety is standard, follows the same story, but concentrates on different events. Even though this is one of the most advanced games for Microsoft’s last generation console, the environments seem quite small compared to those on the 360. Of course, graphics are not everything, the story and the gameplay are equally important, and those are similar in both version of the game.
When I first started playing, Sam Fisher was not really interesting to me, but a few hours into the game, I started to like the character. And why wouldn’t I – agile, cool, silent, brooding and handsome, daddy-type-of-guy with a dark past. I’m sure I wouldn’t throw him out of my bed for eating crackers and leaving a mess.
In any case, you can read proper reviews on the linked pages, and all I can offer with that is a recommendation to give this videogame a shot because you just might get a new virtual, CGI hunk in your life.
I will conclude this blatant gay fanboyism with a glance into the future – there, we can look forward to the fifth installment in the franchise, entitled Conviction, which promises a renegade, rough, unshaven Fisher with emo hair. Six years of shaving his head and wearing the same identical gear is quite enough, and the authors have decided that it’s time for a change. Let’s just hope they stick to their original ideas. Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell: Conviction will be out on the PC and XBOX 360 when it’s out, apparently, because there have already been two major delays (initial release date was November 2007). According to the latest rumours, it seems we will have to wait until 2009. Let’s just hope it’s worth it.
A hard man is good to find…
Sigurno ćete se zapitati zašto inzistiram na preporukama nekoliko godina starih akcijskih igara. E, pa za to je kriv geek u meni kriva moja gikovština i činjenica da sam trenutno iz filmske prešao u igraću fazu. Također, to je djelomično i zato što su igre za Xbox 360 grafički impresivne (barem dobar dio njih), ali kako mi je konzola krepala vrlo brzo, još ćete neko vrijeme čitati o igrama koje sam uspio odigrati.
Double Agent je prva igra iz Splinter Cell serijala koju sam prošao do kraja, iako će me pravi Splinter Cell fanovi jamačno uvjeravati kako je to strašan propust i kako sam prvo trebao proći barem Pandoru Tomorrow, ali činjenica je da sam se ovoga nastavka dohvatio jer je vizualno najatraktivniji.
Igra je izašla na svim mogućim platformama, no osnovna priča igre jedino je što te verzije dijele – način igre i misije kroz koje Sam Fisher prolazi u X360/PS3/PC, odnosno Xbox/PS2/Wii varijanti posve su različite. Prije-next-gen-sada-current-gen varijanta za XBOX360/PS3/PC donijela je velike promjene u odnosu na prethodne igre iz franšize vezano uz mehaniku igre, nema više HUD-a u donjem uglu ekrana, imate samo indikator zeleno/žuto/crveno na Samovim leđima koji vam kazuje jeste li najebali i koliko. Osim toga, okolina u misijama je ogromna, ima mnogo toga za istražiti, pregledati i prehodati, od sjedišta terorističke organizacije koju Fisher inflitrira s njezinih nekoliko katova, detaljno uređenih prostora i NPC-ova, preko tankera prekrivenog snijegom u Okhotskom moru do raskošno i skupo uređenog broda za krstarenje Cozumel. Standardna procedura u igri bila mi je pronjuškati prvo cijeli okoliš, a tek onda napraviti što trebam. S druge strane, varijanta za stari XBOX drži se klasike, slijedi istu priču, ali se usredotočuje na druge događaje. Iako je to jedna od grafički najnaprednijih igara za staru Microsoftovu konzolu (i jedna od posljednih objavljenih), okoline u usporedbi s 360 verzijom djeluju znatno skučenije i jednostavnije. Naravno, nije u grafici sve, važni su i priča i igrivost, a to dvoje je podjednako u obje generacije igre.
U samome startu, kada sam se dohvatio igre Sam Fisher mi nije bio previše drag, ali nakon nekoliko sati uz igru naviknuo sam se na njega i zavolio ga. A zašto i ne bih – spretan, kul, šutljiv, mrk i zgodan, tatica-tip s mračnom prošlošću. Vjerojatno ga ne bih istjerao iz kreveta jer mrvi krekere.
Bilo kako bilo, prave i ozbiljne recenzije na igru sam vam linkao, a povrh toga nudim vam samo preporuku dobre igre i još jednog virtualnog, računalno generiranog komada.
Ovo obožavanje lika i djela Sama Fishera zaključit ću pogledom u budućnost – tamo nas čeka sljedeći, peti nastavak serijala naslovljen Conviction, koji nam po najavama donosi odmetnutoga, čupavijeg, neobrijanijeg Fishera u civilu s emo-frizurom. Šest godina iste obrijane glave i identične opreme je sasvim dovoljno i autori su dobro zaključili da je vrijeme za promjenu. Nadam se samo da će ostati dosljedni inicijalnim idejama. Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell: Conviction izaći će za PC i XBOX360 kad izađe, po svemu sudeći, jer je igra već dvaput odgođena (trebala je biti objavljena još u studenom 2007). Prema najnovijim glasinama, izgleda da ćemo je morati čekati do 2009. Valjda će se čekanje isplatiti.
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