Hitman 2: Silent Assassin

Game: Hitman 2: Silent Assassin
Developer: IO Interactive
Platform: PC
Release Year: 2002
Stephen's Rating: 7/10

Basic Plot

You play the role of Agent 47, a clone, who was created with the sole purpose of being the ideal killer. The game opens with Agent 47 having given up his previous life for one of peace with Father Vittorio in a remote church in Sicily.

Just as things seem to being going well Father Vittorio is kidnapped and a ransom note is left. 47 is forced to contact his old agency to track down Father Vittorio along with the bonus of earning money to pay off the $500,000 ransom.

47 completes various missions and eventually tracks Vittorio down. The Russian mafia kidnapped him to lure Agent 47 out of hiding. They have obtained a nuclear warhead and need to silence everyone who was involved or knows about it (including 47). After freeing Vittorio, 47 decides he is incapable of forgiveness and thus resumes his life has a hitman.

Gameplay

Hitman 2: Silence Assassin is a third person stealth and assassination game. The game is broken up into missions which are all at completely unique locations.

Each mission has an objective which is always to assassinate one or more people and then escape. The game encourages the use of stealth by awarding higher rankings for the less people you kill. The highest ranking "silent assassin" is usually only obtained by only killing the targets.

Within a mission the player needs to avoid detection. This requires finding disguises and avoiding people who might see through it. A common way to obtain a disguise is to kill or put someone to sleep and steal their clothes.

Putting people to sleep is required if you want to get the Silent Assassin ranking, but means 4-5 minutes after doing so they will wake up and alert everyone. This requires you to find new disguises often to keep safe.

Every person within a mission has a schedule they will keep. This allows you to study people and find opportune moments to slip past them, or take them out.

Missions usually have multiple possible strategies. For example; you may be provided the means to poison your target's food, but you could also slip in and kill him with a silenced pistol instead. There is a certain level of creativity involved which is left up to the player.

One of the best parts of the game was the weapons shed. In between missions you could roam around the monastary, and you had a shed with all the weapons you had collected in the game so far. To add a weapon to the shed you only had to finish a mission with that weapon in hand, and you could replay missions as many times as you wanted. Additionally you could unlock special weapons by meeting certain achievement criteria. These weapons could then be taken into missions when you re-played them.

Positives

Decent story, excellent gameplay. Well designed and fun levels which are replayable. I like how you can replay levels to try and get a better ranking or bring back a new weapon, and I loved the weapons shed.

Negatives

The start didn't really grab me, but I am glad I stuck in for the first couple of missions. I don't really like the ending... it seems a bit futile to do all of this when in reality he's just going to give up and go back to his life of violence anyway. Reminds me a little bit of how the story of Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines completely and utterly negated and shat on all the concept and story in Terminator 2: Judgement Day. How did "There is no fate" suddenly turn in to "Your fate is inevitable"?

Memorable Moments

There was one ballroom/hotel mission with lots of guests. I failed to stealth when I first played the mission so I ended up having a full on fire-fight with everyone in the entire hotel. 

Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War

Game: Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War
Developer: Relic Entertainment
Platform: PC
Release Year: 2004
Stephen's Rating: 7/10

Dawn of War is Relic Entertainment's real time strategy game based in the Warhammer 40,000 universe.

Basic Plot

The player takes on the role of the Imperial Space Marine faction on the planet Tartarus. The planet is besieged by a large Ork force. The story is long and convoluted but involves several characters and coming into contact with the Ork, Chaos, and Eldar factions. The planet Tartarus is found to house a Chaos artifact, the Maledictum, which is turning the inhabitants to Chaos. The story involves both the Imperial and Eldar forces joining together to defeat Sindri and destroy the Maledictum but unwittingly releasing the daemon Khorne (who is the antagonist in one of the expansions).

Other units never really stood a chance against space marines.

Gameplay

This is a real time strategy game but different from other games such as StarCraft or Age of Empires in a few aspects.

Firstly, armies are broken up into squads. Squads behave as a single unit but are made up of several individual units who act in unisen. When a squad is hurt its numbers dwindle but can be replenished. If no-one remains in a squad, the squad has been killed.

Secondly, income is based on holding waypoints rather than gathering resources. The income is limitless and constant and depends on which waypoints you hold on a map. This makes map control a very important part of the game and encourages skirmishes between players.

There are "commanders" who play the role of hero units and can gain experience during a game. These are somewhat similar to heroes in Warcraft 3. There are some buildings the player needs to research and upgrade, as well as building units - but the emphasis is on battle and squads as well as map control.

There is a single player campaign which tells the story, as well as multiplayer (which I never played).

Positives

The Warhammer 40,000 universe is interesting and diverse, and this game is an accurate and well presented window into it. It was nice to see a different kind of real time strategy. It detailed and polished graphics for the time.

Negatives

The mechanics which work so well in the model/board based game don't translate as well into a video game. The mechanics of the more traditional games such as StarCraft end up being more fun. Particularly having "squads" which is frustrating if you're used to micro-managing your units individually.

Memorable Moments

In this original incarnation of the game it is worth noting that you play Space Marines, who are inherently more powerful than your enemies. This is pretty satisfying, and I missed it in the expansions.

Half-Life: Deathmatch

Game: Half-Life: Deathmatch
Developer: Valve Software
Platform: PC
Release Year: 1998
Stephen's Rating: 8/10

Basic Plot

There was no plot. This was a purely multiplayer deathmatch mod developed using the GoldSrc engine.

Gameplay

This was ultimately a first person player versus player deathmatch game.

Players spawned at one of several fixed (but randomly chosen) spawn points on a map. They started with a pistol and full health (no armour). The objective was to gain armour and weaponry and kill your opponents.

There was a large variety of weaponry to suit different styles of play. The weapons included:

• Crowbar: Everyone started with this weapon and I used it surprisingly often in close quarters combat.
• 9 MM Pistol: Starting weapon. Weak but can attack enemies at range.
• Magnum: High powered pistol which had a small "zoom". Could be used as a pseudo sniper rifle if needed. Very slow to reload.
• MP-5: A lsub-machine gun which could also fire grenades with the alternative fire key.
• Assault Shotgun: Close quarters shotgun.
• Fragmentation Grenade: Could be thrown and exploded on a timer.
• Satchel Charge: A small bomb you could place somewhere on a map and detonate remotely. Useful for ambushes.
• Trip Mines: Mines which shot out a blue light. If a player passed through the light it would explode. This was one of the funnest items in the game and caused all kinds of chaos.
• Rocket Launcher: A rocket launcher which had an optional ability to be able to control the path fo the rocket once it was launched (with a red laser sight).
• Crossbow: A sniper crossbow.
• Gauss Gun: We just called this the laser gun. Fire a laser beam which could be charged up with the alertnative fire key. This charge could then be used to assist your character in jumping - allowing you to get up to areas of a map that were normally inaccessible.
• Gluon Gun: Affectionately known to us as the Fire-hose. Fired a constant beam of energy in front of you which didn't lag at all if you turned around. My weapon of choice :)
• Hive Hand: An alien weapon which fired heat-seeking bugs.
• Snark: Critters which work like grenades who will seek out and attack enemies.

The gluon gun, which we called the "Fire-hose".

Players could replenish their health but also gain armour in the game by finding kits on the ground or using a recharge device. There was one other item which played a huge part of the game - the super jump. It took us years to work out how to use it, but essentially once you got it you could quickly press crouch, then jump - and your character would hurl forwards at a high speed. This was essential. With it you could avoid all kinds of nasty situations or pursue your enemies with unstoppable speed.

Some maps had other mechanics such as buttons which created environmental hazards for the other players, or automated machine turrets which fired upon all players. There was also conveyor belts, and trains, and underwater sections.

Positives

Well balanced game, fun but not overpowered weapons, suited different play styles, awesome that they opened the game up to the public to create maps. The only reason we stopped playing it was that the GoldSrc engine became very dated. Very replayable. It was excellent for both two player and many player games which is unusual. Modern games often put a lot of emphasis on many-player internet action.

It wasn't as realistic as Counter-Strike in terms of weapon aiming, movement, falling, etc, but that was what made it so fun. It wasn't trying to be realistic, just fun.

Negatives

None. For what it was, it was perfect. I've not found a deathmatch game quite the same or as balanced and fun.

Memorable Moments

This game was a very big part of my life for many years. I've spent countless hours playing head to head two player battles, but also games with four or more players.

My favourite map was Crossfire. The map was small and fast paced, and contained a button which would set off a nuclear strike. Anyone caught outside the "bunker" area died after a count-down. This meant you couldn't camp, because the other player could draw you out of hiding with the nuke.

This was the infamous "Perch" on the map Bounce.

Another favourite map was Bounce. This was a large map with wide open spaces and various tunnelled areas. The focal point of the action was a very high up ledge accessible by ladders which we affectionatley named the "Perch". Although there were no good weapons that spawned up there, you had visibility of every entry and exit into the main cavern. Our two player games often revolved around one player taking a crossbow up onto the perch, and the other player trying to "dethrone" them and take the perch for themselves.

The previous maps shipped with the game and were developed by Valve, but there were two really nice maps developed by the community we got into as well. One was called 2play and was perfect for two players as it was small and open enough to be in direct contact often, yet large enough to be able to sneak around and gather weapons if you had to. The other was called Farmland and was a very fast paced map with fields to hide in. Interestingly there was no armour in Farmland, only health kits.

There was a mod for this mod called "Rocket Crowbar" which changed the effect of all the weapons. Added a bit of spice to the game if you wanted to mix it up.

Big Red Racing

Game: Big Red Racing
Developer: Big Red Software
Platform: PC
Release Year: 1996
Stephen's Rating: 5/10

Big Red Racing is an unusual 3D racing game released in 1996.

Basic Plot

None.

Gameplay

Big Red Racing is a third person "comic" 3D racing game.

The game was broken up into the various courses which could be raced on. Each course had a choice of two different vehicles to race with. Courses weren't always "tracks" - there were rivers for boat racing, helicopter racing, many different kinds of terrain and vehicles.

Players could customise their driver (look, colour) as well as the colour and decal on their vehicle before a race.

A big part of the game was the audio. The menu, interface, and the game all contained "humorous" sound effects and commentary.

Positives

The game engine itself was pretty advanced for the time. My brother and I would play the game and purposely not complete the race, instead we'd just explore the maps and do jumps. One thing we often did was slide down hillsides which would create a "surfing" effect.

Negatives

The sound effects and commentary was truly painful. It wasn't even that they were bad quality, it was just really out of place and quite weird. I didn't get it, the game and the sound effects didn't work together. I can still hear that horrible stock American laughter sound from the menu in my head to this very day.

Likewise some of the fonts and style used in the interface were also pretty bad. It was as if the game engine and the interface and sound design were designed by two different teams with different agendas.

Memorable Moments

I only ever played the shareware version of the game which had two tracks.

Commander Keen in Keen Dreams

Game: Commander Keen in Keen Dreams
Developer: id Software
Platform: PC
Release Year: 1991
Stephen's Rating: 5/10

Basic Plot

Billy refuses to eat his vegetables one night. When he goes to sleep he finds himself in a strange vegetable kingdom. He must defeat the evil Boobus Tuber who has captured many other sleeping children in their dreams.

Gameplay

Unlike the original series, Keen does not have the use of his ray gun or pogo stick. Instead he uses seeds to turn enemies into flowers. Other than that the engine and gameplay are similar to the previous games in the series; a 2D platform scroller.

Left for Dead

Game: Left for Dead
Developer: Valve
Platform: PC & Xbox 360
Release Year: 2008
Stephen's Rating: 7/10

Basic Plot

"Green Flu" has broken out in Pennsylvania turning the population into zombies. You play one of four characters who are immune to the disease and have to fight their way to safety.

Gameplay

Left for Dead is a team based first person shooter. The game is broken up into campaigns, and each campaign is broken up into zones which have a safehouse at the beginning and end.

Players work together to move through different zones, avoiding or killing zombies as they go. The game is unique in that it adapts to your play style. If you are a team who rushes ahead and tries to make it to the safehouse without dealing with the enemy, the game will throw obstacles in your path in the form of special zombies and zombie hordes. If you are a team who is too careful and loiters in a particular spot for any amount of time, a zombie horde will come and destroy you. The game forces you to keep moving and work together.

Players start with a pistol and can obtain more powerful weapons in the game. Ammunition is also limited, and there are new weapons and ammunition scattered throughout each level. Players are bound to get hurt, and there are health kits (which can be used on yourself or on a teammate) as well as pain pills which temporarily give you a boost to health. The more injuries you sustain, the slower your player will be able to move.

Boomer.

There are several special zombies of whom you will encounter on a regular basis. These include the Boomer who is a very large fat zombie who will try and vomit on a player. If he succeeds, a zombie horde will rush to attack that player. There are also hunters, who will prowl anywhere (even on rooftops) and pounce on a player and begin slashing at them. Smokers are another. They will fire a grappling hook like tongue long distances to drag a player to their death. Witches are horrible female zombies who cry. If you approach them they'll chase you and flay you with their sharp fingers. The Tank is the best example of a "boss" monster. He takes significant punishment before going down and even has his own theme song.

The four playable characters have their own backstories. They will interact in cut scenes and throughout the level. The layer of depth added to them gives the game an extra dimension.

Positives

Adaptive gameplay, no game is every the same. Challenging. Intense - action packed. Good characters.

Negatives

I can't seem to find anyone online to play with anymore. It was largely superceded by Left for Dead 2 which came out only months after the original.

Memorable Moments

None.

Oddworld: Abe's Oddysee

Game: Oddworld: Abe's Oddysee
Developer: Oddworld Inhabitants
Platform: Sony PlayStation & PC
Release Year: 1997
Rowan's Rating: 8/10

This time we have a guest reviewer, Rowan Bettjeman, who has played this game recently and who I thought would have a more educated analysis of the game. Thanks Rowan for writing this up!

Basic Plot

On the alien planet of OddWorld, a humble if not endearingly stupid race of humanoids called Mudokon's have been enslaved by the evil Glokkon's. They are forced to work in the Rupture Farms meat packing factory, mindlessly scrubbing floors and pulling levers. You play the character of Abe who appears to be just another slave in the factory (Has slightly bluer skin tone than the others). However one day Abe stumbles upon the Glukkon management talking about how all the animals that they butcher for the works (Paramites and Scrabs) are running out and that they need to come up with a new way to keep profit margins up. They need something new to cut up, package and sell...You guessed it, the Mudokon's are next on the menu. With this discovery, Abe realizes that he must escape and save all the other Mudokons.

Gameplay

Originally for the PlayStation 1 console, this is a classic platform game. You have no weapons and must solve numerous puzzles and use quick reflexes to get past various areas. As you journey through the extensive world, you encounter many enemy such as Sligs, Slogs, Paramites, Scrabs and the evil Glukkon. As well as a zillion other ways to die (falling rocks, cliff edges, electricity, poison, spinning blades, etc). Each enemy is unique and has various strengths and weaknesses that need to be utilized to defeat them. Most of the time, success is obtained simply by finding a way to get past them unnoticed.

Along the journey there is the non compulsory option to save all your Mudokon brethren. This is done by speaking with them and using simple voice commands, beckoning them to follow you to nearby groups of circling birds. Abe can chant to turn the birds into a portal which sends the Mudokon slaves back home. Although it is optional to save the Mudokon slaves, it does alter the ending depending on how many you save. The Mudokon are also INCREDIBLY simple and stupid. So a big part of the challenge is guiding them past the dangers to the portal.

The game is broken up into three main chapters: Escaping Rupture Farms, The trials of the ancient Mudokons in the forest, and going back to Rupture Farms to shut it down. The art work of the different parts of the world make for a beautiful refreshing game play experience. Even though they firmly stick to the 2D platform style, there is a nice use of layers to the platform style. So you can be right up close and then walk through a door and be way in the distance on a background platform.

Positives

A very well rounded game. Well thought out challenges that go just to the brink of requiring a walk through. This keeps it challenging but not impossible. Great artwork. Really nice sound effects and music. The best platform game of its generation.

Negatives

Frustrating save points. There are some really challenging points that require getting a whole lot of individual obstacles achieved over a long period. If you fail at any point you start back as much as 5-10 minutes earlier. This can get mind bendingly frustrating at points, when you fail a challenge 20 times. Also the load menu is very confusing and it's very hard to locate where abouts you were up to last time you played. These days games automatically check in at the latest point in the game. However in the second game 'Abes Exodus' they added a quick save feature, which allows you to save at any exact moment. This made for a much better playing experience.

It's quite difficult to save enough Mudokons to get the 'Happy ending'. It doesn't pre-warn you exactly how many you need to save. As a 'lawful good' player type, I found this very heartbreaking when I genuinely tried to save as many Mudokons as I could, but still got the unhappy ending.