After four hours with Rage, I wasn’t entirely sold on the concept. Its decimated landscapes, ramshackle villages and thriving mutant population had reminded me a little too much of other games in the genre. Instead of combating cliché with a unique art style à la Borderlands, id Software had seemingly poured its resources into a relentless quest for photorealism. While the visuals had been intermittently startling (particularly at medium to long range) the world had never broken free from the generic. Read the rest of this entry »

So many shooters over recent years have grabbed you by the hand and dragged you along for the ride. They strap you into their linear rollercoaster so tight that it hurts. From that point on, you spend every waking moment waiting for the end, begging for some breathing room and a chance to just soak it all in. That rollercoaster just keeps on rolling until you want nothing but to get off. Read the rest of this entry »

Okay students, settle down. Today we are going to be looking at video game marketing, namely the marketing that appears on box art. Our focus item is the cover of the recently released Ace Combat: Assault Horizon, the seventh entry in this particular series. Our aim in this case study is to test how true the statements on the rear of the cover actually are. We will also be determining if these claims, supposing they are true, are beneficial to the game or simply a superfluous add on used in an attempt to increase sales. Read the rest of this entry »

The new game from ACE Team, places you in the role of the unfortunate Sisyphus.  Condemned to perpetually roll a boulder uphill only to have it fall back down again, you eventually realise that escape is not so silly an idea. . . .and escape!  You know you must eventually challenge your gaoler, Chronos/Saturn, in order to secure your freedom, but first you must travel through the ages defeating significant figures from history. Game on! Read the rest of this entry »