MotorStorm: Pacific Rift

When I first bought my Playstation 3 around a year and a half ago, it was bundled with MotorStorm, an offroad racing game somewhat reminiscent of the Burnout series. While the game lacked a lot- split screen play, level variety, and intelligent AI; it definitely made an impression with its spectacular explosions, realistic mud effects, and  a generally satisfying racing experience.

MotorStorm: Pacific Rift is everything the first game was not, and most reviews of the game reflect this. Evolution Games has improved the already impressive graphics, and wisely set the game in a more diverse environment. The racing is just as hectic (and arguably just as difficult), but each level feels very distinct, something that most racing games seem to have trouble with.

Granted, MotorStorm Pacific Rift is far from a racing simulator. Even so, I love watching a friend’s jaw drop at the over-the-top collisions: burning chunks of tire, bolts, springs, and driver all hurtling through the air. The additional gameplay modes, especially Eliminator, only add to the experience, and multiplayer competitiveness is always welcome.

I’ve been starved for a decent racing game for awhile, but MotorStorm Pacific Rift delivers in every way I could hope for. The AI still isn’t perfect, but nearly every other aspect of the game is. Other racers are going to have a tough time beating this one.

Dead Space

I’m really not into horror games at all, especially those involving gimmicky gameplay and  a contrived plots akin to Alien Versus Predator. You can imagine my excitement when I first booted up Dead Space, but the beauty of Gamefly is that I can affordably prove myself wrong sometimes.

The game definitely isn’t scary, and I am the type of person who scares easily in these sort of games (I am painfully reminded of late night sessions of Doom 3). While it isn’t scary, it is definitely creepy, especially with the game’s clever and masterful use of lighting and sound. Dead Space is an atmospheric marvel; the creaks and groans of a crippled space station matched with intermittent emergency lighting create a chilling setting for a video game. The protagonist Issac’s claustrophobic breathing and holographic heads up display only add to the experience.

While the game is a feast for the eyes and ears, it starts to lose steam after that. I wouldn’t say its a bad game, it is just an average game. The controls are stiff and clunky; The gameplay and plot are uninspired (yes, shockingly, dismemberment has been done before). Like many of EA’s games: worth a play, but not a buy.

Call of Duty: World at War

Call of Duty is a sore topic for me. As much as I love the series, I hate it for Activision’s stupidity. Developer Infinity Ward has an amazing track record: Call of Duty 1, 2 and 4 (Modern Warfare) were all genre defining games. With this said, I do not understand  why Activision has insisted on using inferior developers like Treyarch (Call of Duty 3, World at War). It seems that they would want to handle an A+ franchise like Call of Duty with extreme care by sticking with an A+ developer and a proven track record.

Thus, you will understand my severe disappointment at the announcement of Call of Duty World at War (the fifth in the series), as it was developed by Treyarch, makers of the abominal Call of Duty 3. Call of Duty World at War, in reality, isn’t as terrible as I assumed, but its only redeeming qualities: the controls, graphics engine and enemy AI, are carbon copies of Infinity Ward’s COD 4. Treyarch played this one extremely safe, but for some ridiculous reason thought that the world needed another WWII game, a major mistake in my opinion.

While the online gameplay was far too unstable for me to reliably experience, I did get to play through the entire campaign. The story ranks somewhere between Call of Duty 2 and Modern Warfare. Many of the missions run together in my mind, but there are a few truly memorable ones. Funny thing is, the missions that stand out most to me are the ones most similar to COD4’s missions. For instance, in “Black Cats”, an “on-rails” turret level, you control a gunner in a PBY Catalina, shooting up Japanese ships and zeroes. It is vaguely reminiscent of Modern Warfare’s AC-130 gunship level, but is even cooler.  There is even a version of the Chernobyl sniper level (in COD 4) in World at War that has an “Enemy at the Gates” spin on it. It is these select few levels in COD 5 that work really well and make the game worth playing at least once.

Overall, COD 5 is decent. I would’ve rather Treyarch never touch the series again, but at least they didn’t totally botch this one. My one consolation is the forthcoming Modern Warfare 2 and the series’ triumphant return to Infinty Ward.