It's Summer which means its time to "play". Sony has reintroduced it's Summer sell called Play 2013.
The first game to kick off the sell is Stealth Incorporated. This is a remastered, repolished version of the game, Stealth Bastard.
It's a puzzle game that has you hiding in the shadows from cameras, robots, and turrets. The objective of the game is exclusively to make it out of the door. The original game Stealth Bastard was released in November 2012, a short 8 months later and a polished better looking, and better playing version of the same game comes out. I'm not sure if I like this idea as a trend, or loath this idea as a trend.
Either way, what's done is done. Along with a change in the look, they also chose to change the name. Honestly I like Stealth Incorporated better for whatever reason. Stealth Bastard just sounds intrusive.
So apparently you're a clone that is being put through all of these test. The shadows are your friend, as you navigate your way around these life or death puzzles.
Your goggles indicate how likely you are to be seen, Green means you're invisible, orange means your partially visible and may get spotted, finally red means you're going to get shot if anything sees you, out in the open like that.
After completing a level your clone can gains special abilities for that level. Things like camouflage or decoys, to help you complete the level in a faster amount of time, giving you a better score, and a better grade overall.
Stealth Inc. is also a cross play game. When you download it you get not only a PlayStation version of the game but you also get a PlayStation Vita version of the game that both sync with one another.
If you enjoy mind twisting puzzle games, this might be just for you. If you didn't play it when it originally came out.
I enjoyed the dark moody atmosphere and repeatedly dying, while navigating my way through each level which is why Stealth Inc. is getting a 8 out of 10
I herd somewhere once that writers who can't write for the big screen, write for video games.
After games like the Uncharted Series and now The Last Of Us, development team Naughty Dog clearly is a team that has always put story at the forefront of their games.
The last of us tells the story of Joel a survivor who is doing what he can to take the young woman Ellie to the fireflies.
The story is one of understanding after you find out why Joel wants to help Ellie, even though his hard exterior makes you think that he wants nothing to do with her.
Even though Ellie is not his daughter, the two have a great father daughter relationship by the end of the game, and by the end, you're really rooting for the two.
You also get a real sense that these two people are from different worlds, Joel comes from a time like ours where he knows about the past and Ellie has no understanding of what the world used to be like. Even though for the most part she's very upbeat, this sense of empathy you gain for her really makes you feel for the character.
Speaking of empathy this is one of those few games where you get really emotionally attached to the characters. Even the secondary characters all have their little quirks.
This is also one of the first games I think I've ever played that has a homosexual character who doesn't come off in any sort of stereotypical way. A badass, likable, character who simply has a taste for men. It sounds dumb but I really like that they didn't treat him in a negative fashion.
In this world you're not alone. There are also two types of enemies, humans, and the infected. There are basically three factions of people who you have to look out for in this game, the military, the hunters, and the fireflies later on.
Even though most all of the human characters are not on your side, there's a real understanding for why these people behave in the fashion they are, everyone is just trying to survive.
The world is plagued by the infected, zombielike creatures who try to eat you and make you become one of them.
There are infected who have there eyesight and will simply attack you, there are clickers who don't have their eyesight but follow sound to find you and are much harder to kill, then there are the overgrown who have strong shell bodies and throw projectiles in order to damage you.
The environments in this game are also large and beautiful, in a end of the world kind of way.
If you were trying to you could nitpick little things that you see around the environment and say that they're not aesthetically pleasing but there's so much going on that the larger picture really shines.
I was watching an interview on IGN with the creators of this game, and they came to a consensus that the way this game ends, had to happen that way. I was thinking about this statement as I beat the game and I realized that if I were in Joel's situation I wouldn't have done what he did, but I understand it.
This game is absurdly violent, it's definitely not for children, and even may not be for some adults, but it's a roller coaster ride that I believe most people should try, which is why I'm giving The Last Of Us a 10 out of 10.
If you haven't played Telltale's original walking dead five part mini series there's basically no reason for you to read any more of this review.
Not only because you wouldn't be able to play this game because it's DLC, but to appreciate the game's story telling you really have to go through the original, and really get that emotional push.
400 Days, follows the storyline of, technically six characters, but tells the backstory of five of them.
The personalities of the characters are very diverse, and really make you believe that you're dealing with real people, with real problems.
The backstory's span as early as the second day and go out as late as almost the 300th day after the walking dead outbreak.
Cleverly little parts of all five of the back stories seem to intertwine with one another, like when a flashlight goes missing, in a different part of the game you find out why, There are a few other settle little details like this, that I don't want to give away.
The different characters personalities also do a good job of making you want to play them in different ways. Whether it's a mother trying to do the right thing in front of her daughter, or a pot smoking hippy, or a ruthless murder, decisions you make feel natural depending on who you're playing as.
Telltale makes games where the player makes decisions that choose the way the store is driven. More than a few times in this game I was force to make a tough call and as soon as the call was made, instantly regretted it.
The five starting stories were all very interesting, some a little more than others. Most of them give themselves a decent place to expand, but one of them seem to stop abruptly.
One of the only real downsides to this game is that it short. While it's only five dollars, for that five dollars you only get about an hours worth of gameplay. The game sets itself up to have another episode. By the end of the game you find out that all the characters seem to be working together but as the player you don't know why they're all working together, they just are. I know that sounds like a spoiler but really it's not that big a deal, not a single one of the five stories is ever completed, which is why there's probably going to be a sequel to this game.
I can't wait for the next game which is why I'm giving The Walking Dead 400 Days a 9 out of 10.
Either way, what's done is done. Along with a change in the look, they also chose to change the name. Honestly I like Stealth Incorporated better for whatever reason. Stealth Bastard just sounds intrusive.
