Hotline Miami is an indie game that looks like the original GTA, is as difficult as Super Meat Boy with 8-bit music and a trippy storyline casting you as a hitman who receive hits via your voicemail. The game starts out with you in your house, while you direct your player to [...]]]>

More bloody than Breaking Bad

Hotline Miami is an indie game that looks like the original GTA, is as difficult as Super Meat Boy with 8-bit music and a trippy storyline casting you as a hitman who receive hits via your voicemail. The game starts out with you in your house, while you direct your player to the phone to answer an ambiguous and innocuous voice message that requests that you go do some errand. What it really wants you to do is to go kill a person, and off you go in your DeLorean.

Dial-a-murder! Be discreet!

The game is is reminiscent of the difficulty of Super Meat Boy because it requires a lot of well planned, well timed acts. You can’t simply go in and expect to win by just shooting everyone. In fact, there are a number of methods to kill someone – you can use a melee attack, throw an object (both to attract attention and to knock someone to the ground), or shoot your gun. Each has different consequences – the most significant being shooting, which attracts the attention of everyone in the level. Melee attacks don’t make a ruckus and attract attention, but they are rather useless if you’re confronted with a bunch of weapon.

This is where strategy comes in. However, unless you go out of your way to read some guide, you’ll never know what the best way to proceed is until you’ve played through the level for a few times. And play the same level a few times you will… sometimes to the point of frustration.

The game runs moderately well, FPS varies depending on the number of characters in the level.

How you kill someone has a bearing on the number of points you get.

Oddly enough, this is a game which I would recommend playing on a netbook because it is slower. When I played the game on my regular PC, it was really fast paced. With a more powerful computer, it feels like you are forced to react faster and think on your toes more often. However, on a netbook, the lethargic processing power does play in your favour as the game slows down as more and more enemies enter the fray.

The game has some bugs with graphics as sometimes surfaces don’t show up, but otherwise, it is quite a install-and-play game. Hotline Miami is best played with a real mouse as you would be at a major disadvantage if you aren’t able to react as quickly as a mouse would allow you to.

Like

Violent, gory, fun.

Plays even better on a netbook.

Dislike

Frustrating when you have to retry time after time

Verdict

Great fun, plays even better on a netbook because of how weak the netbook is.

Gameplay: Good

Graphics smoothness: Excellent

Work needed to get game to play: None

Battlefield 1942 is a first-person shooter first released [...]]]>

Planes are in high demand, as proven by the number of campers in the airfield. They range from heavy bombers (B17), light bombers (Ilyushin, AichiVal, SBD-5), and fighters (Zero, Yak9, BF109).

As of writing, Battlefield 1942 is still available for free on Origin – you just have to download it via this link because it is more difficult to find it on the Origin program. Get it before 1 March 2013.

Bring the boom boom pow to your enemies.

Battlefield 1942 is a first-person shooter first released in 2002. When it came out, it represented  a breakthrough in this genre. You know a game is successful when you keep getting the same thing again and again for years – see the Battlefield series, The Sims and Call of Duty.

It added a variety of ways you can have a rampage over your enemies including blowing them up with a plane’s cannons, blow them up with explosives, or just run them over with your jeep. Have a battle on sea, land and air. Work in teams to coordinate artillery fire, or work alone and climb up a mountain to snipe your enemies.

Each class and each spawn point gives you different abilities and vehicles to choose rom

The game is primarily a multiplayer game, and single player merely means playing the game on the same maps but with really dumb bots. On this note, the game is still highly playable because there are still many servers and players online.

The game runs quite poorly, unfortunately, on a netbook with internal graphics. Playing the game at 640x480x16 with everything set at low, and a disadvantaging visiblity of 50 to 75 per cent, you get a framerate of about 5-20 depending on how many people there are and how many objects there are on a map.

On the other hand, if you have a separate graphics processor, such as an ION 2 like the netbook  that I have, you can play this game without much slowdowns. Running on the ION 2, you can play at Medium settings with a 100% visibility and get a framerate of 15-40, again the same slowdowns will apply, especially when there is a lot of action.

The game runs at a 4:3 resolution, so if you do not want to play with a stretched image, follow this link.

Overall, I’d get the game whether or not you have a discrete graphics processor. It is one of the most entertaining game to have on your computer when you are bored – in class with the university’s WiFi or when you are travelling and can’t bring your main computer.

Tanks: from heavy tanks like the TIger to tank destroyers such as the M10, and everything in between.

Like

The pioneer BF1942: still with all its lustre and nostalgia.

A great variety of weapons and vehicles

Dislike

Runs poorly on integrated graphics

If you’re used to the newer Battlefields, the features in this game might feel limited. I see it as simplicity.

Verdict

It’s free – until 1st March 2013 – you have nothing to lose, so get it. If you have an AMD C-series processor or a Nvidia graphics card in your netbook, you will have a good time. It is playable on integrated graphics, but you won’t get a good score due to a choppy framerate.

An excellent game, simple and varied.

Gameplay: GG

Graphics: Great… unless you have integrated graphics

Work needed to get game to play: Plays right out of the box.

The third installation in the Hitman series, Hitman: Contracts is one of the most difficult games to rate. On one hand, it plays exactly like a Hitman game, with all missions requiring you to kill someone, and perhaps retrieve stuff. On the other, it doesn’t seem to be better than the second Hitman [...]]]>

The third installation in the Hitman series, Hitman: Contracts is one of the most difficult games to rate. On one hand, it plays exactly like a Hitman game, with all missions requiring you to kill someone, and perhaps retrieve stuff. On the other, it doesn’t seem to be better than the second Hitman nor as polished as Hitman: Blood Money.

Contracts takes on missions from the first Hitman, some favourites that include missions in Hong Kong and Bulgaria. And unlike the first Hitman, the game has been significantly smoothed out so you don’t get the terrible bugginess. There is also a some original content in the game, such as the missions in Rotterdam.

Introduced in the second Hitman, the scoring system keeps you coming back for the Silent Assassin rating.

With the release of the Blood Money, however, Contracts feels like it offers little to fans of the Hitman series.

I have followed the Hitman series all the way from the first game, and what I noticed is that every game did deliver something special. The first introduced a whole new concept of playing the role of a Hitman, trying to do everything as stealthily as possible. The second was more interesting because of how it was widely varied. The fourth introduced slicker graphics, more realism and a wider variety of ways to kill someone.

Showering: never forget to lock your bathroom!

Contracts seems to be a remix of the first two games, without putting a finish veneer on it. It is still quite a lot of fun, especially if you liked the levels that the first Hitman offered, but didn’t want the bugs.

But that’s pretty much its only strength when compared to the rest of the Hitman series. There isn’t too strong a storyline here. It’s all a series of flashbacks.

Great for spending some time on it, but if you had the choice, go try the rest of the Hitman games first.

The game runs well on a netbook at the lowest settings, although you’d have to be prepared to play it in a non-widescreen format as the game doesn’t support that natively. It does face some slowdowns at times when there are a lot of characters in the game.

Like

Same old Hitman gameplay

Some great missions from the first game now remixed and bug-free

Dislike

Brings nothing special to the table as compared to the other Hitmans

Dated graphics

Verdict

Try Blood Money. Then Silent Assassin. Then Codename 47 before trying Contracts.

Gameplay: Fun… I guess.

Graphics: Dated.

Work needed to get game to play: Minimal.

Depending on how good your connection [...]]]>

Oh, killjoy!

Starting yesterday, OnLive decided to offer four games free for the whole Halloween weekend, and it has been quite a good trip so far, although it does vary – particularly because of the fact that gameplay quality is contingent on your connection’s reliability.

Depending on how good your connection is, gameplay can be very similar to playing the game locally (i.e. as if you bought the game and installed it), although I must say that there never was a moment where I felt that OnLive can replace the quality you get when you pay like a boss for a retail game. Unfortunately, the game’s quality does degrade if your connection is being hogged, unreliable or just slow from the get-go.

Imagine a YouTube 360p video - that's your graphics quality with this connection.

I tested the game on my good ol’ Asus, and the first thing I realized is that the Nvidia ION2 chip in the computer never kicked in. OnLive was running on the Intel GMA all the way through, and therefore battery life would be quite legit if you do intend to play games without plugging in.

U mad?

On a netbook, graphics quality is a lot better – as long as your screen is not 1366x768px. On a 1024×600 screen, games rendered at less-than-600p still look quite acceptable, although what must be noted is that the game does vary the quality depending on your connection, so sometimes you might get super-sharp quality, whereas when your connection starts going into herp derp mode, you might get blurry graphics – something quite annoying when you need to aim precisely in a first-person shooter.

Specifically towards FEAR 3, however, I found that there was quite a bad instance of cursor lag. The problem is especially exaggerated when you have a poor connection, whereas when the connection is good, the problem is largely ameliorated, although still noticeable.

I did manage to play FEAR in multiplayer mode and it was quite good. Voice support is offered by OnLive, so if you do want to speak to your teammates, it is possible. Although same problems do exist – cursor lag, network lag, and low quality graphics at times.

Boss connection, but still minor issues.

Multiplayer FEAR 3... possible!

To be fair to OnLive, I went out to search for a bossier connection, and this is what I got. With such a connection, nothing could go wrong… or so I thought. Indeed, nothing went wrong for a loooooooooong time. The connection was so good that FEAR 3 suddenly became more playable, sharper than usual and better in gameplay quality. It was excellent for a while, until something went wrong with the connection… and then it was all over.

Nonetheless, I’d recommend OnLive to netbook users if, and only if, they don’t intend to buy a more powerful gaming PC. However, if you want to play games in a reliable and enjoyable fashion, you’ll have to invest in a quick connection that is best connected directly to your computer. Shared connections, weak signals, and a slow connection will all coalesce to make your gameplay worse. That said, nothing beats playing a retail game that can be installed and played.

This is part of a continuous report that will last until I finish my 3-Day pass on the games. I’ll continue trying the gameplay and report back on how it is with the other games.

The game feels like a mix of Jazz Jackrabbit, Deus Ex, Resident Evil and Terminator. You play as Iji, a [...]]]>

Retro? Very!

Do you like 2D-platform games with a cyberpunk, Jazz Jackrabbit style of gameplay and a story about aliens invading the earth and you’re the only cyborg left that can save the planet along with your brother?

The game feels like a mix of Jazz Jackrabbit, Deus Ex, Resident Evil and Terminator. You play as Iji, a brown-haired girl who starts with a shotgun and picks up more badass weaponry as you complete levels, and your only goal is to use them against the Tasen and Komata, both extraterrestrial species that have invaded earth and intend on killing each other, except you come into the picture as the ‘human anomaly’ and therefore both of these groups also want a piece of you.

The game is simple, you play with your arrow keys and a few buttons, with no need for a mouse at all. You shoot, dodge bullets, and hack locked storage boxes, bots and other things that will allow you access to ammunition, weaponry and weapon upgrades. You’ll collect experience points and upgrade your attributes which will allow you to carry more ammo, use more powerful weapons or have more health, etc.

Iji is sad. The truth hurts her.

Along the way, Iji will realise conspiracies that she will pick up reading logbooks written by both the Tasen and Komata. Inside both of them, they will record down tips and bits and pieces that will add to the storyline and overall appreciation of the apocalyptic world that Iji is stranded in.

Gameplay is very simple, but it is one of the most addictive freeware out there. Iji has what I call the Terraria syndrome – it might not look good, but it certainly is excellent once you’ve played it, and if you’re like me, can’t stop playing it because you wanna get to know the storyline and just love the platform-shooter gameplay. Each level, called Sectors, take about 12-minutes to play, and therefore it won’t ruin your life like Terraria will.

This game is probably better for people with some patience to read each logbook’s contents, as they can be quite lengthy for the “TL;DR” crowd who might lose out on bits of the story. Also, some other annoyances are the limited experience points system – you can only get 5-levels’ worth of upgrades each Sector, which becomes a disincentive to explore the level once you’ve hit the cap.

Kill a boss, get cool effects like a boss

Playing Iji on a netbook is no problem at all. While the game is configured for 4:3 screens, it doesn’t look one bit blurry or stretched. You just need to download the game off Daniel Remar’s website.

Like

Simple gameplay, but very addictive

Good storyline

Small size, runs excellent on a netbook

Dislike

Lots of reading!

Small annoyances such as limited levelling

Verdict

Iji is free, and it’s fun. If you like platform-shooters, and need something that will help you pass the time while you’re flying or taking the long bus home, Iji is a manageable, easy-to-play game that can last quite a while.

One of the biggest things to be developed out of Half Life has to be Portal. While some might argue that Counter-Strike is the most popular, Portal will definitely put up a good fight. Unlike Counter-Strike, Portal is not a first-person shooter. Instead, it is a first-person puzzle game, where you [...]]]>

One of the biggest things to be developed out of Half Life has to be Portal. While some might argue that Counter-Strike is the most popular, Portal will definitely put up a good fight. Unlike Counter-Strike, Portal is not a first-person shooter. Instead, it is a first-person puzzle game, where you are supposed to use blue and yellow portals to teleport your character to the exit. Along the way, you’ll need to use some unique Portal physics to accomplish your goal.

The game is a very interesting and has a very refreshing concept. It is very fun though a bit short. It is mind-boggling, but at the same time, it is extremely satisfying when you complete complex puzzles that seemed impossible.

Portal ran extremely well on my Asus 1015PN which has a Atom N570 processor (1.66GHz dual-core), 2GB RAM and most importantly ION 2. Played at 1024×600, Portal’s frame rate was usually in the high 60s and ocassionally dipped to 20, but only in the worst of situations, which is very rare. That said, this test was done with the lowest graphics settings, which also points to the fact that there will be room should you want to bump the graphics up.

However, on an Intel GMA 3150, the story is radically different. Playing Portal was quite a struggle, and the best way you can get optimal quality and frame rates is to play it in Windowed mode at 640×480, with everything at low. If you have an even weaker computer, you might want to check out how to tweak Half-Life 2, as lots of tips there will help you get the frame rates up to scratch as Portal and HL2 shares the same engine.

Screenshot: Paul Blaudschun

Tested on both ION and Intel GMA 3150

San Andreas is a notable game in the Grand Theft Auto series because it is the first to feature a black protagonist and the first to have a few cities which you’ll have to travel to and fro via a variety of methods including airplanes [...]]]>

Tested on both ION and Intel GMA 3150

San Andreas is a notable game in the Grand Theft Auto series because it is the first to feature a black protagonist and the first to have a few cities which you’ll have to travel to and fro via a variety of methods including airplanes or cars. The game starts off slow, with you trying to blend in back to the hood you came from. Once the leading faction of gangs in San Andreas, after you, CJ, come back from the East coast, you find your gang reduced to a rut. And that’s where you come in… to try to fix things.

The game is very enjoyable, but if you recently played GTA IV, you might find that San Andreas lacks polish and realism. Shooting is also less refined as is other things like crash damage and definitely graphics. But the storyline of how you get back in the hood is quite an interesting one, and then there’s the vastness of the game both in terms of space and storyline. It will keep you on your computer for quite a while.

The sad thing is that the game does not work well on anything other than Fusion processors. On the Nvidia ION 2, the frame rates were great but with one major problem – it won’t load into the main menu on the ION processor, but it will do so if you used the GMA processor instead. However, the latter means frame rates of 10 or so, with signficant slow downs. Definitely not playable. The former, on the other hand, is extremely playable, even if you stretch it all the way up to its maximum res at 1440×900. How do I know? Well, I realised that if you plugged in an external monitor, you can successfully load San Andreas and play it. There’s just no logical explanation for this!

If you know of any fix, please do contact us.

Like

Great storyline

Lengthy game

One of the more unique GTAs

Dislike

Has compatibility issues with ION, isn’t playable on GMAs

Verdict

It’s fun, but you’ll need to get past the compatibility issues with an ION or just do the right thing and get an AMD-powered netbook.

Gameplay:  Great! Not as good as GTA IV, but still up there.

Graphics: A bit dated, but extremely smooth on the ION (1400×900, 25 fps)

Work needed to get game to play: No known fix for ION 2 netbooks other than plugging in an external monitor.

Can’t believe it? Well, it’s real. This is a screenshot taken from my Asus Eee PC 1015PN. Unfortunately the truth is that BF:BC2 plays terribly. At 10fps, and a lack of processing power causing my ping to hit 400-600ms, the truth is that you’re [...]]]>

ya srs!

NB: Tested on an ION 2 netbook.

Can’t believe it? Well, it’s real. This is a screenshot taken from my Asus Eee PC 1015PN. Unfortunately the truth is that BF:BC2 plays terribly. At 10fps, and a lack of processing power causing my ping to hit 400-600ms, the truth is that you’re better off staying away from Bad Company.

This is proof. And that on the bottom right is my FPS.

Although people who have the 16-core ION 2 present in larger netbooks generally have a better experience, but on the 1015PN, unless you seriously overclock your netbook, you’re not likely to reach anywhere near playable frame rates.

Also, the fact that BF:BC2 requires a 1024×768 screen minimum doesn’t help things. Perhaps if you could find some hack that allowed you to run at 640×480, then maybe it’ll be playable. So far, I haven’t found any, but if you do, please contact me!

It seems that you can actually download the game off Origin, which is EA Games’ Steam-alike service. You just need a CD key, and then you’ll be able to download the 8GB worth of Bad Company.