Yesterday

  

Pendulo Studios, the developers behind the Runaway series, are looking to Yesterday as a way to do something different and less comedic in the adventure gaming space. Yesterday’s darker tones become apparent very quickly right from the intriguing start and stay constant to the end game. Investigating satanic cults and tracking down a serial killer don’t add much levity, but that’s exactly the departure the Spanish developer intentionally takes with Yesterday. Yesterday cycles the gameplay through each of the three primary characters as you progress, but most of the focus falls on amnesiac cult expert John Yesterday. Through him you’ll have playable currentday and flashback sessions. Yesterday takes some liberties with game design. For example, rather than slowly traipse across a room, you are instantly teleported there. Goodbye wasted animation. In-game pacing sometimes feels uneven, and design does suffer from hot spot searches. Fortunately, the in-game hint system mitigates getting stuck, and by the time the story wraps up, the narrative becomes clearer. Yesterday also features multiple endings, which is a nice touch. Overall, a solid win for adventure fans.

Ghost Recon Future Soldier

After a five-year hiatus, Ghost Recon is finally back on the console. The single-player campaign focuses on a U.S.-focused threat that’s escalating to a global level. As we’ve come to expect in modern military shooters, you’ll fight through a variety of exotic locales. Starting in Zambia, you’ll work your way through Nigeria, Pakistan, Norway, and Russia.

Future Soldier features a wide variety of mission types, support for co-op campaign play, and some very entertaining high-tech gadgets, including optic camo suits, synchronized kills shots, UAV drones, and Warhound, to name a few. If that’s not enough, fiddle around with up to thousands of gun combinations to design nuanced in-game weapons. We liked our squad AI and having the ability to tag enemies before

MAX PAYNE 3

The notable aspect of gameplay in 2001’s Max Payne was the introduction and use of Bullet Time as Max battled through junkies and the mob. Its sequel arrived in 2003 with improved combat mechanics, technology, and narrative. It too ended in tragedy that led to Max’s continued downward spiral, resulting in the man we rejoin nine game years later in Rockstar Studios-developed Max Payne 3.
       This Max is older, heavier, and so very tired. The tragedies he’s experienced have turned this former police hero into a man addicted to alcohol and painkillers. And his relocation from New Jersey to São Paulo to work as a bodyguard for a wealthy Brazilian family was forced rather than chosen. Max plans to make the best of his easy living, but circumstances disagree. Before long, our hero is in one bad situation after another. Now, we have even tighter control of Max and a proper cover system, which you’ll need to rely on to survive. Max is not a bullet sponge, though, so to avoidreloads you’re going to have to remember that enemies are aggressive and will flank you in cover. Thankfully, developers have provided options for your aiming reticle to simplify enemy takedowns.
        Visuals, animations, and audio are top-notch. For example, Max Payne 3 no longer uses the noir comic
style of the previous games. Rather, highly stylized in-game engine cutscenes mask load times and
transition seamlessly into gameplay while telling the story. Max tells his own story, and this time around
the dialogue is of substantially higher caliber than in preceding games. The new multiplayer modes are
a first for the franchise (our favorite was the clan-style Gang Wars mode) and permit use of Bullet Time.
The game’s focus, adrenaline, story, quality, style, and action come together as something special in

Max Payne 3: The Masterpiece Of Blood and Bullets. 

Find Out More At

rockstargames.com/maxpayne3

                                        

DIABLO III

Another Old Favorite Returns —by Chris Trumble

DIABLO III

Most game publishers love recycling their best-selling IP, but very few have perfected this process the way Blizzard Entertainment has. Of course, Blizzard has had the advantage of massive streams of recurring revenue from World of Warcraft for many years now, and as a result hasn’t had to churn out yearly or even biennial sequels the way many companies do. The venerable developer has been working on the third installment of one of the biggest PC game franchises ever made for more than a decade now, and the time
was well spent. Diablo III breaks little new ground, either in terms of its story or gameplay. But it does take the time-tested isometric-dungeoncrawl- bolted-to-a-random-loot-generator concept to new heights, thanks to a level of polish evident in every aspect of this game that’s simply staggering. Blizzard knows its strengths and willingly plays to them in everything from the game’s UI and menus to the predictably gorgeous CG cutscenes and excellent sound design. The story finds Tristram, the unfortunate town where the events of the first Diablo game unfolded, plunged back into darkness when what appears to be a falling star shoots deep into the earth inside the cathedral, waking the nearby dead in the process. Your character shows up to investigate this phenomenon and quickly becomes entangled with the town’s plight as you take up quests to assist its inhabitants. As you discover the true nature of the falling star, greater mysteries are revealed, leading up to (non-spoiler alert!) an eventual confrontation with the titular lord of darkness.