Monthly Archives: November 2011

Review, Video Games, Writing, XboxWorld

Mercury HG

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Mercury, also known as quicksilver, has fascinated humanity for centuries. It’s one of the few metals which occurs naturally in liquid form at “room temperature”, and the viscous silvery liquid has been used as a health tonic, barometer, thermometer and element for conducting electricity, as well as used in kids toys. Unfortunately the extreme toxicity of mercury has meant that it’s rarely seen outside science labs now, but thanks to the wonders of video games, we can still get to play with it.

Mercury HG takes the gameplay originally found on the PSP in Archer Maclean’s Mercury and on Wii as Mercury Meltdown and transposes it to the xbox. And it works very well. Presented in the form of the periodic table, Mercury HG sees you play with boards which you tilt with the left joystick of the controller to ooze the mercury from the start to the finish line.

The main objective is to finish each board within the time limit with 100% mercury remaining, collecting all the bonus items along the way.
At first, the game is very easy. The puzzles are simple, and the boards contain sides so the mercury can’t run off. However, the difficulty ramps up quickly, as the puzzle boards become more complex by removing the sides, placing gaps in the board, magnets which slow the mercury down, and having directional runners which can split your mercury and send it flying off the side. There are moving tiles, and on some of the later puzzles the board is all but visible, tiles fling into appear beneath the mercury as you move it about.

There are also colour switches, which change your blob into different colours. Some boards have squares which can activate other switches or tiles, whilst others have squares which are impassable if you’re the same colour, meaning that with the time limit, you need to carefully consider your path. Colours also have to be blended – like red and yellow to get orange. This requires you to split your mercury and control two blobs at once.

Each of these puzzle elements is introduced methodologically, ramping up in difficulty over each few boards, meaning there’s never a moment where you don’t know what to do. One thing I especially liked about Mercury HD was that although there was a par to match time and you need 100% of mercury to get a full score, unlocking new boards isn’t reliant on scores but on the number of pickups you gain each board. This means on the harder levels you can take your time and sacrifice your blob of mercury, but as long as you pick up every bonus you’ll keep unlocking more levels. The challenge comes from the dreaded leaderboards, which tempt you to try harder and get a better score after every turn you play.

The boards and background graphics pulse with the beat of the music, which is best described as “electronic”. You’ll find yourself almost moving in synch with the music as you play, an unconscious thing, but it adds a new dimensions to the play. You can even use your own music, which you’ll get an achievement for, which is an example of the kinds of achievements I enjoy the most because it encourages you to do something you wouldn’t normally do.

Conclusion
Mercury HG is probably the most fun I’ve had with a puzzle game in a while. Whilst it can be trying at times, it doesn’t treat you like an idiot and handhold you throughout the game, but introduces new elements thoughtfully every few levels, and it won’t punish your progression through the game you because you’re too cautious with your time or too careless at the edges.

Pros:
Fun, easy to learn but “hard to master” game play
Great graphics and clever use of music
Doesn’t punish players who like to take their time

Cons:
Some levels are very frustrating to complete
No Multiplayer

Score: 85

Review, Video Games, Writing, XboxWorld

FIFA 12

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Complaints levelled at EA and FIFA for just rehashing the same game have been fewer in recent years, and the game has gone from strength to strength, providing soccer lovers with a reason to upgrade from each previous year with not only the usual roster updates, but solid and worthwhile adjustments and advancements throughout the core game. This year it stumbles however, and whilst the advancements never feel like a misstep, it’s one of the times that yearly iterations must be called into question as more polishing could have made this the best FIFA yet.

It all starts with defence. Tactical Defending is what EA calls it, and it’s quite different to previous games. Rather than simply focussing on applying pressure on the ball barer, FIFA 2012’s defence system aims at being more realistic. The focus is now on jockeying, containing and positioning; forcing the player with the ball into positions where passing is impossible or will concede possession. Although there are tutorials showing you the new controls, it still takes a lot of getting used to, and I’m not entirely convinced it’s better.

It certainly changes the rhythm of the game, but, I found as I usually play as lesser ranked mid table teams, I get beaten far too often. The problem is computers don’t do errors very well, and this is all about forcing errors. It just feels though at times errors aren’t coming naturally, and you have slightly less control over the game than you should. It’s not so bad when you’re attacking; it never feels like it’s cheating, it just feels slightly off, and with more time they could have got this perfect. It can be turned off however, and reverted back to last year’s methods, but that kind of defeats the whole purpose of buying a new game.

Another new adjustment is the Player Impact Engine, which is the most noticeable change to the game, and also the one which seems to have the biggest need for more polish. Players are now complete physics representations, and when players collide with each other and the ball, this is taken into account. This allows for a far more realistic jostling and impacts and play, which when it works is an absolute joy to experience. Slight nudges to players can knock them off the ball, and dribbling becomes the art it should be.

This also affects tackling. Now tackling with the X button throws the player’s leg forward, and causes the player to halt their run in a much more realistic manner. It forces you to tackle less as otherwise you’ll lose momentum, and concede many frees. It becomes especially hairy in the box. Whereas previously it was simply stupid to slide in the box, now even tackling from behind can cause penalties to be called.
But like noticing a flaw in a diamond, when it goes wrong it’s really noticeable. I had my two forwards trip over each other at kick off, leaving the ball stranded on the kickoff spot as they flailed about. It pulls you out of the fiction of the game, like when noticing a jet trail in the background of a medieval fantasy film. It’s no game breaker though, but with a little more time and polish it could have been flawless and skyrocketed FIFA into the history books as most realistic soccer game ever.

The game features all the usual modes –Be A Pro, Tournaments, Manger, Player Manager all return, as expected. They’ve had the usual yearly tweaks to make them a little different from previous years, but honestly it hasn’t changed much. Be a Pro still works in the exact same manner, except now you have to work harder to keep your player’s performance high. The Manager Career mode transfer window feels more dramatic with countdown timers and AI teams constantly trying to poach your players, and morale seems to play a bigger part in this year’s series.

Ultimate Team is now included in the game from the get go, and I found this to be quite a fun little experience. Formally a downloadable and purchasable add on, Ultimate Mode gives you the ability to trade player cards with other people, buying player packs, and competing in the Ultimate Tourneys. Ultimately it’s a pay-to-win experience, especially if you want to be competitive online, but it’s nice to have it right on the disc rather than a separate download this year.

A new addition to the game’s modes is “EA Sports Football club”, featuring “Support Your Team” As you play FIFA, you earn XP, and this is used not only to unlock strips and balls and arenas, but also adds points to the team you designate as “yours”. Each week, the scores are tabulated and shown as a soccer season. It’s interesting that the “big teams” like Arsenal and Chelsea aren’t always at the top, but I have no idea if this is because supporters of those teams are just bad FIFA players, or if there is some huge organised movement for teams like Wycombe to get a little more free advertising.

There’s also the weekly challenge, where real-world events are recreated in FIFA so you can see if you can recreate them. Scenarios like Dortmund being 1 player and one goal down at half time, or Real Madrid winning 7 goals to 1. It’s a fun and often challenging distraction and one that acknowledges the wider enjoyment of the sport.

Online the game is as great as single player is, and free of lag for the most part. Again, I felt let down by the matchmaking, as I never felt able to seriously challenge any of the random players I was matched with. I admit I’m not the greatest player, but after a succession of being beaten by more than 5 goals, I’m left wondering is it just me, or is something else broken.

Lastly, these are little niggles which have no real impact overall, but demonstrate what I mean by needing more polish. Some menus are very slow to react to input. Sometimes the players don’t load in the Arena when loading a game. Overall loading across the entire title feel longer. Nothing which is really upsetting or detrimental to the experience, just that compared to previous iterations it seems a little worse.

Conclusion:
The additions this year make this a worthwhile pick up, but this year more than ever I wish the game wasn’t a yearly event. Although nothing new breaks the game, and with practice you’ll develop an appreciation and even fondness for the new changes, it’s the little flaws which indicate that perhaps EA didn’t get enough time to do everything they wanted. If the game was given more time for polish on the new features, this would easily be the best FIFA since 2010.

Pros:
New additions to tackling, player movement and so on make the game much more realistic
Ultimate Team included right on the disc
EAS Football Club is a great new addition

Cons:
The Player Impact Engine can cause things to look and feel wrong.
Overall the game needs polish
Online Matchmaking needs improvement

85/100

Review, Video Games, Writing, XboxWorld

Pro Evolution Soccer 2012

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With PES 2012 it appears that Konami have given up trying to fight EA and FIFA in the fight for dominance of the soccer simulation market. In every way, PES is the lesser game now. This is not to imply that PES is a bad game – It’s still a fairly decent soccer game. But that’s the problem. PES has always been a decent soccer game. Although the changes introduced in PES 2011 lifted it out of the “next gen” doldrums, this year there is no evolution, nothing that makes it remarkably different from the last year.

The greatest addition is what Konami are calling “Active AI” which boasts that players no longer flock to the ball, but rather make runs, create space, and draw markers. And it works well for the most part, especially for the AI teams, as they always seem to have a player run onto the ball and defeats your backline, especially if you’re playing a team ranked above yours.

Because of this, the game feels faster. It feels far more like the PES of old. Some people might say arcade-y. Compared to last year and FIFA, that’s certainly the case, but this shouldn’t be seen as a negative. It needs to stand out against FIFA, and if this is the way it should differentiate itself, then it’s a good difference.

And this difference shines in Multiplayer. I had issues with getting online games occurring in that I kept getting told my NAT was moderate although I’ve opened up all the appropriate ports and so forth so I never had an online game, and again I hope to put that down to review code. However, offline with four people around the screen is incredibly fun. The pace of the game lends itself brilliantly to quick matches where skill often plays second fiddle to luck.

Another difference is Master League. It’s always been more in depth than FIFA, but this year also throws something more into the works. You create a manager, and there are little rendered vignettes with players and coaches discussing issues with themselves, the team, and so on. For example, if you don’t play a good player, they’ll request a meeting with you, and you have to placate them with one of three responses. It’s very cute and very Japanese. Although never as bad as something like “All Your Base Belong To Us”, it’s apparent some of the dialogue needs to go to a real translator.

All the usual modes are here – the aforementioned Masters League, the Legend Mode, various world leagues and create your own. And of course, there are a few teams such as Barcelona and Manchester, with the unlicensed teams that you can edit and import from other users. I think we’re past the point of complaining about them getting licensed teams, aren’t we?

However, there are quite a few things wrong with it still. The problem of players just stopping when the play switches direction, a bugbear of PES for a while, is still very much present. It’s not so bad for AI controlled players, but when the player you’re controlling does it, it’s annoying as hell. And speaking of controlling players, that’s not the worst of it. There are other times when the player you’re in control of will simply do the wrong thing. It’s almost as if the game forgets that you’re in control, and reverts to the inbuilt AI.

I’ve had this occur too many times for it to be a fluke, but when the AI defender player gets between the goal and the goal keeper with the ball; it has a tendency to boot the ball straight into the back of the net for a home goal. I’ve seen my defenders do it and I’ve seen the computer’s team defenders do it. It’s kind of funny, and I’m hoping it’s a bug in my review code. That and the PS3 banners around the stadiums are hopefully addressed in the full game.

The physics of the ball has also stepped backwards. The ball feels far floatier, and spins off at weird angles at times. Curved shots seem to curve in more extreme arcs. The rubber banding to player’s feet it far more pronounced this year, with the ball bounding back to the players feet colluding with animation to give a weird disconnect at times.

And the worst thing is, as always, the commentary. Repetitive, dull, and often not following the play. At least this year the menus are slick and the music is enjoyable… apart from the looped Champion Leagues theme when playing the Champion League Mode. Yes, we get it – you’ve got the rights to it, you don’t have to loop the theme endlessly over the menu!

Conclusion:
PES 2012 offers no remarkable new features, no amazing new teams, no real advancement to the soccer game genre. This is a problem if you’re looking for something else, or something better than last year’s version, but it’s still as fun as PES always has been.

Pros:
Faster paced game, with improved AI.
Fun with friends
Cute Master League developments

Cons:
No real improvements to last year
Ball physics are a little weird
AI sometimes a little slow to relinquish control to the player
Commentary (as usual)

75/100