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And so to the big one, my thoughts on one of the most anticipated games of 2011, I’ve taken my time to put in the hours to truly experience as much of the game as I can before I sum things up. Firstly, for those who aren’t aware Skyrim is an action/adventure role playing game, it’s the fifth in the “Elder Scrolls” series, but you don’t necessarily have to have played previous games to enjoy this one, as the main story is stand alone. You explore a large world map, complete quests, and use skills to level up, each level grants you a perk, which you can spend on the skills/attributes you use the most, to enhance them.

The elements I love the most about Skyrim, one could argue, are not unique to the game, the sheer size and expanse of the world, the variety of environments from snow capped mountains, to dense forests with beautiful waterfalls, medieval themed towns to modest farm settlements. The environmental variety is topped only by the amount of things to do in the game.  Of course you have the main quest/story line to follow, and not uncommon these days is some side quests and additional objectives to do along the way.  What stands this game apart is there are so, so, many of these side objectives, and they vary greatly, some are random one journey jobs, others are “prove your worth” style quest lines to join specific guilds or factions.  These quest lines contain some of the most interesting tasks in the game.

The elements I’m not so happy about however, include the loading times, sure there are a variety of loading screens, and it’s a big world, so requires loadage, but a lot of time is spent waiting for the next dungeon to appear, and that can sometimes take you out of the world a little.  Second is the bugs and glitches, now I have been lucky so far, and have not had to deal with the PS3 save game problems of freezing, but have had my fair share of people stuck in walls and myself getting stuck on rocks. I must say, this is much more of a problem in the 2 Fallout games on PS3 though, so, to some extent, I think this is overhyped in Skyrim by people looking for reasons to dislike it.  A small niggle for me personally is that the close up weapon combat is quite clumsy, whether wielding a small light sword, or large axe, swinging it at someone feels slow and cumbersome, and hits them in odd places.

Overall this game is hard to fault, and I feel the faults it does have are blown out of proportion by people who don’t want to like the game. In terms of development it’s a huge acheivement, and one to be proud of. Don’t get me wrong though, if you don’t enjoy large open world, slightly medieval themed RPGs then this game isn’t for you.  But for me, I’m level 18, 30 hours in, and find myself looking forward to the time I next get to visit the vast expanse that is the Skyrim world. You can play as so many different races, honing incredibly varied skillsets, from magic, to stealth, to flat out warrior types. If you don’t yet own this, and are looking for a game to be absorbed in, that rewards you for your efforts, and something that shines as an example of current gen gaming, then look no further than Skyrim.

General Scoring

Wildcards

Total Score: 93%

Although I am of an age to, I do not remember this game in the arcades I used to haunt in my younger years, although plenty of my friends do. For those not familiar, this is a side scrolling beat em up game from the early 90s, and has had a direct port onto XBLA and PSN. No graphical upscaling to HD, no changes to levels, just the game which ate up your money back then, for you to play at home.

This is £7.99 in the UK, which as someone who doesn’t have a nostalgic link to the game, I think is a little steep, however, there are plenty of unlocks as you play through, many modes of difficulty, and something which this game does not lack in, is the fun factor. And ultimately that is what I am looking for, specifically in a PSN title.  The ability to play 4 player co-op earns this game a few extra points.

The graphics are bright and colourful, the sound is tinny and retro in a totally endearing way, and the levels are surprisingly varied, starting off quite normal in Springfield and progressing to the more surreal, in a dreamland escapade.  The one element of these games I don’t enjoy so much is the boss batttles, but these had me chuckling out loud when played through in co-op mode. (And these games are best played with your favourite people by your side). My only gripes are the lack of full screen mode and the fact this would have looked pretty sweet in HD.

Although Streets of Rage 2 will remain my side scrolling beat em up classic of choice, I still say this is worth a look if you enjoy this genre of gameplay, or are a fan of the yellow family franchise in general.  *Tip* Stand Bart and Lisa side by side to perform a special move. (I have my boyfriend, who does remember this as an arcade game, to thank for that one!)

General Scoring

Wildcards

Total Score: 77%

This has been requested by many of you on Twitter, but I wanted to have some time to play through the majority of the story and different skill sets before reaching my verdict, so after hours and hours of play, and some time spent as a “Legendary” (paying) member, here’s my thoughts so far.

Firstly, DC Universe online has recently become a free to download and free to play game on the PSN store. (It’s for PC too, but here I am reviewing the PS3 version).  It’s an MMORPG of sorts, having you create a superhero or villain from scratch (or modelled on your favourite from a selection) choosing things such as your mentor, skill-set, weapon and of course outfit/style and  name.

After fighting you way out of the tutorial level, you are free to run, fly or glide around the cities of Metropolis and Gotham, battle against other players in PvP mode, complete quests, level up and unlock more items and powers and missions.

So what’s good about DCUO? Well I must say the graphics are far better than I had imagined, characters look very different, move quickly and have countless numbers of moves and all look good, lighting is well done and the huge cities are rendered nicely, it’s not amazing to look at, but its pretty impressive.  DCUO’s biggest strength is perhaps in it’s variety, the nearly unlimited character creation options, and the many quests and objectives open to do is great, I think there’s something here for everyone, even those who aren’t comic book hero fans. In addition it’s important to acknowledge that this game is currently free to play, there isn’t much on the EU store that one can download gratis, so this is a very good thing indeed.

What’s not so good about DCOU? First and foremost before you rush to find it on the store, is the download size, this is a huge game and you will be downloading in excess of 16gb worth of game file for your playing pleasure, be warned, on the fastest of internet connections this will take many hours.  And for all the trophy hunters out there, you only unlock trophies as a Legendary member paying £10 a month (see paragraph below). However, I can personally confirm that as of this moment in time, if you upgrade at any point, any trophies you have achieved are rewarded retrospectively, which is nice.

Lets talk money for a moment too, meaning membership, because although DCUO is free to play, you can also pay to play, buying a DLC gives you premium access which means more character and inventory slots and less queuing to play. (A warning to UK free players, the queue to play from 5pm onwards can be up in the 5000, meaning a hour or so wait before you gain access to the universe, this isn’t always the case, but can happen) For £10 a month you can gain Legendary access which means even more character and inventory slots, no queuing and access to all DLC content for as long as you remain a legendary member. Legendary also grants you the ability to create leagues so that you can join with friends to complete objectives. So the richer amongst us may have the better gaming experience.

Finally in the “I don’t like this part much” section is the difficulty spikes and issue of balance in the game, due to the vast number of character options, this is a challenge in any MMORPG, but I feel the need to note this here. Having been a Legendary player for a month, I can confirm that choosing Green Lantern as your character skill-set makes the first 10 levels and associated missions pretty easy, as opposed to other skills and weapon options.  (If you play the game and are initially unimpressed. I strongly recommend you hold out till level 10 when more play options, quests and better perks unlock.) With regards to other character types, hitting level 15 was challenging but achievable, but I can honestly say, the quests given from levels 15-20 are on occasion, what feels like, nigh on impossible to complete solo.  There is a strange part of me that enjoys this sort of challenge though, as players are rewarded for learning the game mechanics and trying out different skill combinations.

So the verdict is I would say that DCUO is worth the large download, and was pleasantly surprised by how much fun I have in the Universe. Here’s some scores for you all.

General Scoring

Wildcards

Total Score: 84%  I warn you, if this game sounds like the type of thing you may enjoy, it becomes incredibly addictive quite quickly! Those looking to join a league tweet me (@kezla)