Game Review & Comparison

 

This review is for the Metal Gear Solid HD collection which includes 2 games from the PS2; Metal Gear Solid 2, 3 and the PSP release Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker.

The Metal Gear franchise focuses on three different soldiers. Solid Snake is known as a legend in the US Special Forces and has stopped plans to create a new Metal Gear time and time again. Raiden, the protagonist of MGS2 is a child soldier and Big Boss, is also known for his impressive feats within the Cold War. As you progress through the storyline of each game, you start to see how indepth the story goes. Metal Gear Solid has the motto of "procuring on-site" on a "solo-sneaking mission" meaning that stealth is normally the way to play the game but you can play the game how you see fit, unloading a shotgun into an enemy soldier if the time calls for it.

Straight away we can see the remastered graphics really do show with the HD collection in comparison to other re-released HD titles that I've played recently. Another thing is the amount of content you get with the game. You get both the Substance release of Metal Gear Solid 2 and the Substinence version of Metal Gear Solid 3 which both had additional content to the originals like "Snake Tales" and "Operation: Ape Escape".

From a graphic standpoint, the games look excellent which every texture and model looking real good considering two titles came from the PS2 and the other came from a PSP. The graphics are reminscent of the Silent Hill HD collection but if we do compare the games to other titles on the Xbox 360, you can definitely see and feel that the games have aged quite a bit over time. The PSP title, Peace Walker, is most affected by the upscaling as the models can seem a little off sometimes but it's still incredibly impressive when you compare the two games side by side.

The models and textures of the PSP release Peace Walker look crisper but you can still see how it doesn't compare to the other two titles.

Going onto control of the game, the Metal Gear Solid games seem to constantly evolve in terms of gameplay and control. Looking back on MGS1, 2 and 3, the camera angle was locked to an overhead view and the game seemed clunky at times. With the HD remakes, they have made it possible to move the camera to whereever you see fit allowing for free movement in an active environment. This is a major improvement to the PS2 titles as you can see where your enemies are positioned and move accordingly towards it.



The difference between the HD (left) and original (right) with the fog.

One of the problems that comes with making HD versions of older games is the age of the games. For instance, the Silent Hill collection, the game had a range of faults because the code the company in charge of making the remakes were given. This gave the game many problems that included severe frame rate drops in both games, lag upon receiving Trophies/Achievements, graphical glitches, and one of the most important aspects of Silent Hill, reduced transparencies of fog, glass, etc.

The fog within a survival horror is clichéd in a sense, but it is part of what made Silent Hill such a impactful title in the years of the PS2 and also one of the most renowned survival-horror games out there. Silent Hill 2 particularly being featured on many people's top ten games of all time. The fog does a good job of hiding the monsters in the original title and adds to the suspense. With the fog the way it is, Silent Hill loses some of it's charm but it's still a very good remake nonetheless.

This gruesome image happens to be a glitch and not part of Silent Hill's aesthetic, believe it or not.

In comparison, the Metal Gear Solid HD collection has no glitches from what I've seen within the game and I've also checked out various sources from GameFaqs and GameSpot to see if anyone else has encountered problems with the game as it's been remade.

 

Assignment 2: Criteria 2 & 4

Assignment 2 - C2 & C4

Group review of a review:

Casey White
Paris Roberts
Kyle Mallard
Dane Coleman


The reviewer of IGN that reviewed the game, Tomb Raider goes into a lot of detail about the games maturity levels and the release date of the games on all platforms and the release date for different countries.

The reviewer also granted the viewer a lot of insight onto the gameplay of the game and went into a lot of detail about the character development aspects, the reviewer also mentions that the game revolves around Lara Croft and her adaption to a dangerous environment. She later says that other characters that Lara encounters throughout the game have 2D personalities in comparison but says that this doesn't affect the game as Lara is thoroughly interesting.

One of the criticisms that the reviewer made about the game is that they make Lara seem weak and new to the gruesome world around her and her first kill of the game has this emotional depth to it but she mentions that this is jarring when five minutes later, Lara is picking up weapons and killing lots of NPC's.
"From scared survivor forced to take a life, to head shot happy killer."
This can show that gameplay and story can interrupt each other if not done correctly. A good example of when story and gameplay are synergised is the title Heavy Rain as it acts more as an interactive story than a game. Many other games that try to have a emotional attachment to the player have to make sure that it works around the gameplay. For instance, Tomb Raider could have had Lara avoid and using stealth to avoid enemies rather than blasting them with a shotgun to keep the atmosphere of the game.

The reviewer was very biased when it come down to the multiplayer, she didn't look for any pros in it, she only focused on the few cons simply because she thinks that Tomb Raider shouldn't be a multiplayer game. As a group we discussed that the multiplayer isn't a main element of the game and she used it as a major criticism throughout the review, she also lowered the game's rating because it which shouldn't be done because it's simply been put in the game for a small side project, not only for the player but for the developers of the game to see if players genuinely enjoy it. She does explain the objective of the multipayer however and mentions that the multiplayer may just die off in a couple of months after release.

The reviwerer expresses her opinion of the main gameplay well, she uses a lot of enthusiasim when talking about key points such as, the fighting system, the difficulty and the controls of the game. She states that all aspects of the gameplay are up to date, very smooth and are easy to grasp to jump right in and play the game. She then moves on the say how much she has enjoyed playing the game and why. The reasons why she enjoyed playing the game is because of the graphics used really set the scene for the game, the character Lara Croft's emotions in the game and the way she matures intrests you as a player. She says that not only the story and the charcaters are interesting and that the game its self is fun to play because of its action packed features and she also thinks that the developers have finally nailed the combat system in a Tomb Raider, but crutially there isn't too much of it like in most games of today. She then goes on to explain that the exploration it's self in this game is throughly entertaning because although the character moves naturally and confidantly but it still feels excitingly dangerous. The reviewer states the puzzles used in the game are hidden but when found, they're not too easy nor too difficult, they still give you a feeling of acomplishment.

The reviewer comments on how immersive the world is, saying the detail of the island makes you feel like an explorer. Using these sorts of comparisons allows the player to understand what they are getting into when purchasing the game. She also explains that the world is intelligently design and not as linear as other titles on the market "going far beyond the average action-adventure title".

As a reviewer, I feel she touched on each point very well and gave suitable examples of each point showing gameplay and cutscenes throughout, however, I do feel she was too critical of the multiplayer aspect of the game as it seemed she was being stubborn and unjest.

The Reviewer: 9/10

U6:C4: Be able to develop responses to media products

In pairs discuss and analyse the six images below, using the keywords:

Signifier, signify, connotation, denotation.

You can use the internet if you need help. Think about font, style and mise en scene:

The Red Rose's denotation would be that it's a sweet, strong smelling flower that has a vibrant red colour and looks pretty. The connotations however can connote different associations depending on the individual. For example, giving a rose to a person can show affection to a partner, lover or even a friend. The rose is normally seen as a romantic object but the meanings of the flower can change depending on the person that sees it as well as changing in culture and location. Another meaning for the rose is the Labour party as they have adorned the rose as their political logo but this may not occur in the minds of people that don't live in the UK. The quantity can also have a special meaning. A single red rose shows love, a dozen shows gratitude, twenty-five shows congratulations and fifty show unconditional love. Two red roses tied together symbolises an engagement. Even the thorns of a rose can connote that something beautiful can have a edge or a side to them that is unpleasant, just like thorns.

The Rainbow Flag, also known as the LGBT flag is a symbol of gay pride. The denotation shows that it's a flag using the colours red to violet. The flag signifies diversity with the use of colours. The Rainbow flag has been used elsewhere however still containing the message of diversity and inclusiveness. It also connotes the feelings of hope and yearning. The flag is also known as the peace flag in Italy and the cooperative symbolising the international co-operative movement. A rainbow itself has it's own connotations of a better future as a rainbow comes after a rainy day.

The "peace" sign, otherwise known as the "V" sign is a hand gesture in which two fingers are outstretched in the shape of a V. The connotations of the V sign:
In England, it is a way to insult someone when it is shown to someone with the palm facing away from the person. This stems from a historical insult of when the English and French were at war, Frenchmen used to cut off the index and middle finger of English longbow men to stop them firing their arrows. In response to this, the English longbow men who still had their fingers, used to display them to the French (known as The Longbowman Salute.) to show they still have their fingers to draw their bows, this has slowly worked its way into a generic insult for most English-related countries such as New Zealand, the UK and Australia but is also not certain as there was no evidence for that the French used to cut off the fingers of the English captives.

Another connotation of the "V" sign is peace (with the palm outward) but this can also mean victory which became popular when many historical figures like Winston Churchill and Richard Nixon started using the symbol though in some countries, the "peace sign" can be seen as satanic like a broken cross. The "V" sign has a lot of different connotations in the word.

Lego Indiana Jones:

The connotations of Lego Indiana Jones are the adventure and exploration. One of the things that signifies this is the map in the background of the game case. The sepia tone used in the background could also suggest archaeology and exploration of travel to old settlements for long lost relics of the past. His attire and clothing is very typical of old style clothing, as Indiana Jones was set during the second world war, his clothes represent the time but also look adventurous in appearance as well. The style of the character is also childish in appearance as well suggesting that this game could be aimed at a younger audience that other games of the genre.

Bioshock:

Bioshock's denotation is that it's two hands reaching for one another as the background is set in an ocean with a clock. If you look for more and the connations within the image, you could maybe represent the clock with a world lost in time. The arms reaching for one another pose more questions as well as one is much larger than the other. Could the larger hand be trying to drag the smaller hand into this ocean. The worn look of the gloves and the clock are another hint at the world lost in time theory or could also suggest a post-apocolyptic world surrounded by ocean just like the movie "Waterworld".