SPAC Ops Mashup

It’s been six months since Dubai was wiped off the map by a cataclysmic sandstorm. Thousands of lives have been lost, including those of American soldiers sent to help evacuate the city. Today, the city lies buried under sand – the world’s most opulent ruin.

Now, a radio signal is broadcasting from Dubai. A Delta Force team is sent to infiltrate the city and find its source. Their mission is simple: Locate survivors and radio for evacuation. What they find is a city in the grip of a violent struggle for control. In order to fulfil their mission, they’ll have to find the man at the heart of this madness – the elusive Col. John Konrad.

Titan A.E. Fall Mashup

FAST-PACED FUTURE WARFARE

The advanced warfare of tomorrow gives you the freedom to fight your way as both elite assault Pilot and agile, heavily armored Titan. The Titan moves with speed and grace normally reserved for general infantry and handles like an extension of the Pilot himself, holding a weapon in a first-person view. Introducing the experience that combines fast-paced multiplayer action with heroic moments from traditional campaign mode.

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The 8th Wonder of the World

In 1933 New York, an overly ambitious movie producer coerces his cast and hired ship crew to travel to mysterious Skull Island, where they encounter Kong, a giant ape who is immediately smitten with leading lady.

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The D-Pad Review | The Last of Us | Naughty Dog Nailed It!

The story of how naughty dog got it right

Survival horrors have long been a genre crying out for something fresh, something different that still gives us the same sense of enjoyment and fear as when the style burst onto the screen with the likes of Resident Evil and Silent Hill. We’ve averted (somewhat) global catastrophes at the hands of super evil mega corporations, rummaged through mist covered streets while being hunted by the evil that lurks within and, more recently, battled horrifying demonic entities across blasted landscapes and broken space stations. That’s not to say that this reviewer hasn’t quivered in fear when dark shadows dart across the screen or god forbid something falls off of a wall, but we’ve done and experienced all this before.

The Last of Us brings a new dynamic whereby, instead of blasting your way through hordes of enemies with an abundant supply of weapons and ammunition at your disposal, you are instead placed into a situation where a length of string and chunk of brick are your only options (you get the idea). This may seem like a restrictive feature, but having your resources limited and scarce really makes you think about each encounter and, instead of charging in guns blazing, you have to carefully consider each of your decisions, which keeps the tension at a great level. Naughty Dog got it right with this game and you will struggle to find something else in the current market that captures the joy and fear on a level we first experienced in the original Silent Hills. Of course, this game is not purely fear inducing from start to finish, but it happens just enough to keep you on edge and at no point does this feel forced.

The Last of Us is set in a very bleak world and Naughty Dog is not afraid to show you exactly how bleak it is. There is gore in this game; how can you have a horde of infected creatures baying for your blood and not involve an element of gore? This game is not ‘Manhunt’ though, nor is it a hack and slash with limbs flying left and right, instead when forced into a combat situation it feels necessary rather than entertaining. You fight and kill because you need to survive in a hostile world, you are in a desperate predicament and when having to attack and kill a survivor or infected alike you are only doing so because there is no alternative. You may be forced to go to extreme lengths to survive but you feel for Joel and Ellie’s plight and although this will shock a few gamers, you will empathize and understand their motives and that’s what truly sets this apart from what we have seen before. Your only goal is survival.

The Last of Us has Naughty Dogs super-high production qualities that we first saw in the ‘Uncharted‘ series and by no means is it bad thing. The PS3’s resident explorer brought a world of vibrant, lush and beautifully rendered jungles and ruins and this game has been given the same treatment. A good portion of this takes place in an open and sprawling land filled with the remnants of society and nature has reclaimed large areas, which is a change from the confined alleyways and labs we normally see, although they are in there.

The only drawback to this is that because of the nature of The Last of Us you notice the exploration-combat-cut scene style narrative that was also in Uncharted, but because Nathan Drakes adventure shot by at a high speeds you tend to forget that you weren’t actually in an open world while the illusion of it played out well; The Last of Us doesn’t always manage that. As with most games you will be in a situation where door B was the one you need to use and you’ll never quite understand why you couldn’t open door A, or you will be in an area where the cover is positioned nicely in order to push you towards the enemies and the end of combat. The combat within The Last of Us has pretty much been cut and pasted from ‘Uncharted’ as well, but the darker and more sinister theme fits the style well. Cinematic fights scenes always made for good viewing in ‘Uncharted’ and the brutal combat of The Last of Us is no different. There are plenty of tricky fight sequences that keep you on edge and the gunplay which is not too frequent as well as the constant lack of ammo makes every situation feel risky no matter what you decide to do.

Don’t be concerned about the slower pace though because the game play and cut scenes integrate together perfectly and you don’t notice load times too much and the areas connect seamlessly.

Ultimately it would be easy to stereotype this as a zombie survival, but although you can draw similarities, it is at its core an entirely different experience. The ‘Non-Human’ enemies you face are infected rather than undead and although they are a consistent antagonist throughout, you appreciate and sympathise with their condition; the ‘Runner’ infected, as an example, is fully aware of what they are doing but is helpless to control itself. The focus though is not on the enemies but instead on an engaging story set in a ruined world with the threat of attack playing behind the scenes; combat is not the focus.

The usual archetypes are present though – a virus has swept across humanity, killing a vast portion and turning others into blood crazed killers. From trailers released it also appears that the virus can spread through bites and life as we know has come crashing down. This has happened hundreds of times before, in small print, on consoles and on the big screen, but what sets this aside is that the writers/Naughty Dog make little to no attempt to explain the source or development of the virus, as these explanations can become quite preposterous at times (2008’s film ‘The Happening‘ I’m looking at you). What Naughty Dog and the writers have done is make a concerted effort to tell the story of the surviving humans and how life continues in the aftermath as they struggle day to day for survival. The best way to generate an image is to think of AMC’s ‘The Walking Dead‘ – the living characters are the focus and the human interaction is the most important aspect on display.

Continued character development is a key feature to telling a great story and the experiences in the game certainly compliment this. Beginning in the modern day world we are introduced to Joel and his life in the first panicked days of the outbreak. Flash forward then, to 20 years in the future and the remains of an all but devastated United States. For spoilers reasons I won’t go into too much detail as the story definitely needs to be played, but a world weary Joel takes on the mantle of guiding a young and naive Ellie across a blasted and infection riddled landscape which makes up the remainder of the game.

This may not seem earth shattering and we’ve been in a similar position with ‘Enslaved’ but the dynamic between Joel and Ellie, his tired and worn experience and her youthful naivety make for a great partnership. This is something that The Last of Us does well, the main characters (portrayed by Ashley Johnson – Ellie and Troy Baker – Joel) feel like people and the survivors they meet and interact with feel just as real. You genuinely feel for these characters; couple this with a well thought-out and executed story and you have a world of survivors and villains that are well-fleshed out and sometimes so disturbing that you will notice and remember when things happen to Joel, Ellie or any number of the supporting cast.

With the general abundance of zombie-survivals available across multiple platforms, you could be forgiven for saying Naughty Dog are merely jumping onto an already existing fan base and making ‘Uncharted: Undead’. However it is clear that those who created The Last of Us have drawn from the best sources when writing and creating this world and have included the best elements from computer games (Uncharted and Fallout) and television (Walking Dead) and although we find comfort in the familiarity of the style we get to experience something which is so much more.

The Last of Us is sure to become a hallmark of the PS3 and with is fantastic visuals, strong game-play, disturbing world and emotion provoking story you will never regret having played this and will remember it as the time when survival-horror made its comeback. Stay Alert, Stay Alive

Preview By; Simon Moore (Si)

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Call of Duty: Ghost Dog Mashup

In the not-too-distant future, a devastating attack has forever changed the global balance of power, with the United States no longer recognised as a superpower. Ten years after the attack, a band of elite soldiers known as the “Ghost Dogs” wage a covert war against an unseen enemy, with the outcome having far-reaching consequences for both themselves and the remains of America.

• Epic single-player campaign picks up immediately following the thrilling events from Spots big adventure.
• The definitive multiplayer experience returns, with a host of new perks and enhancements.
• New cooperative SpecOps mode, the perfect combination of Modern Warfare’s single player intensity and the addictive replayability of its multiplayer.
• Special Ops Mode allows two players, either alone or with a friend, to engage in unique mission play and features split-screen functionality.
• Ghost Dog contains new and updated weapons, new weapons attachments, and a variant of the multiplayer weapons customisation system from MW3, now available in the single player campaign.

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Ways to die: The boob flash

Black Orchid is a fighter from Rare‘s fighter Killer Instinct. Orchid is a secret agent sent by an unknown group to investigate the mysterious disappearances that surround the tournament. Her true identity and abilities are shrouded in secrecy.

Orchid has two No Mercy moves, the first is our pick for todays ways to die. Orchid gives her opponent a heart attack by unzipping her uniform and flashing her boobs at them. For most opponents they get startled by the sight however, if the opponent is another Orchid she will just stomp the ground in spite.

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Pac-Man V. Food Mashup

Join Adam Richman in his greatest challenged to date, Pac-Man v. Food. Take control of Adam as he explores a big food offering in over 300 unique levels before facing off against an epic final eating challenge.

Making full use of Xbox Kinect Pac-Man v. Food is an entertaining blend of mashing, slicing, chopping and stirring as players create more than 300 real-world recipes from 15 different nations. New realistic graphics and real-time cooking effects lend authenticity to player creations and help budding chefs determine when food is overcooked.

•  You are the ultimate cooking utensil, giving you total control of the cooking action as you chop, grate, slice, stir, roll and much more! Strike a pose in many different ways depending on the task to get the real sensation of cooking in a kitchen!
• All-new Challenge Mode lets you and a friend go head-to-head in the ultimate multiplayer cook off to determine who can cook the fastest with the fewest mistakes.
• Realistic graphics with real-time effects make you feel like you’re actually cooking. Adjust your timing and make decisions about your next course of action based on what you see on screen.
• Keep your kitchen fancy and fresh by earning items that bring your kitchen to life such as seasonings, small utensils, etc.
• Earn bronze, silver and gold medals for Adam based on the quality of your cooking.
• Practice mode allows you to fine tune your cooking skills without being judged. Recipes progress from simple to complex, from small to large dishes, so do your best!

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Cannon Fodder: Retro

Cannon Fodder: Retro game of the day

Cannon Fodder was an action-strategy shoot’em up developed by Sensible Software for the Amiga in 1993. Virgin ported the game to home computer systems DOS, the Atari ST and the consoles Jaguar, Mega Drive, SNES and 3DO.

The player controls a small squad of up to four soldiers armed with machine guns which kill enemy infantry with a single round. The player’s troops are similarly fragile, and while they possess superior fire-power at the game’s outset, the enemy infantry becomes more powerful as the game progresses. The troops are directed through numerous missions, battling enemy infantry, vehicles and installations.

Cannon Fodder has a darkly humorous tone which commentators variously praised and condemned. Its creators intended it to convey an anti-war message and the games opening theme song shows this.

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Crazy Taxi Mashup

Police inspector Emilien and his taxi-driver pal Daniel are back, this time on the tail of a group of Japanese yakuza in this video game based on the hit movie Taxi 2. The main objective of the game is to pick up customers and take them to their chosen destination as quickly as possible.

Along the way, money can be earned by performing stunts such as near misses with other vehicles. Ratings are then awarded depending on how long the player took to complete the journey. If the customer’s timer runs out before the player reaches the destination the customer jumps from the taxi.

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Breaking Bad: The Video Game Mashup

Take control of Walter White in Traveller’s Tales Breaking Bad: The Video Game, based on the hit TV series. Walter is an underachieving high school chemistry teacher who discovers he has lung cancer.

Walter joins forces with an old student in this GTA open world style game aiming to gain financial security, for his family, by entering into the dangerous world of drugs and crime. Set in the vast New Mexico desert and with over 100 missions this is a must play for any Breaking Bad fan.

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