The clouds are piercing the morning air with their incandescent colors, as my lungs fill up with the sweet rubescent scent of the morning air over Columbia’s horizon. This is BioShock Infinite, a title which brings a fantastical world alive in the sky similar to Laputa: Castle In The Sky. BioShock Infinite shatters a new ground-breaking reality in terms of storyline atmosphere that is reminiscent of BioShock itself. Irrational Games has created another glorified masterpiece in terms of gameplay structure, environment, ambiance, sound and much more. BioShock Infinite itself skyrockets to sky-breaking depths and keeps transcending its own bounds with gameplay that blends the traditional elements of BioShock and brings it to infinite lengths in BioShock Infinite.

BioShock Infinite’s storyline is something we will not summarize here even if you will soon become the game’s protagonist Booker DeWitt. I do realize that as a review site we should mention the plot but this is not necessary and we really feel a summation of the plot would take away from this title that has worked hard on the wonder that is their universe. In general, however, the title is about a city in the sky which has taken on a sociopolitical climate with a false prophet, broken dreams, and of course more than meets the eye (or should we say sky). That is as much as we will say about the factual storyline detail. The actual plot twists and character development is parapsychollogically envigorating and the experience with the sky like motif between the freedom of the environment and the chains of the political nature that bind the inhabitants within. BioShock Infinite presents a stark contrasting tale that is capturing as much as it is telling.

BioShock Infinite’s gameplay focuses on an intuitive engine and Sky-Line system with classical BioShock power elements to create one heck of a fun time. Booker DeWitt gains powers and abilities through Vigors and Gears in Columbia. Booker can find 8 Vigors and multiple Gears as clothing items where he can interchange them during normal gameplay action. Finally, the machines from BioShock are gone and there is a on-the-fly changing system for powers and abilities. The Sky-Hook is one of the most noticeable weapons in BioShock Infinite which uses the rail-way system for the various point-to-point transport which was used in Columbia itself. Combat itself is straightforward and cohesive in terms of run and attack seamlessness. Everything from the gameplay pacing to the storyline integration in BioShock Infinite is a spectacular display of solid gameplay mechanics that deliver at every turn of Columbia.

BioShock Infinite invigorates gamers to a new atmosphere that is leagues above the humble water beginnings of the franchise. BioShock is one game amongst many which set a precedent for believable environments which lend space to incredible atmospheres along with other notable titles such as The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion and more. While BioShock 2 was utterly disappointing, BioShock Infinite is finally the successor the franchise has been waiting for to pull it to the clouds and let it bask in the sun. BioShock Infinite soars above the rest and takes place next to the rays of light that the team at Irrational Games shines upon the gameplay, storyline, and more importantly the atmosphere of the environment.

Injustice: Gods Among Us is a decent fighting title from WB Games and NetherRealm Studios, but largely fails to hold much value in terms of storyline pacing. In terms of fighting mechanics, Injustice: Gods Among Us presents some environmental elements which are unique, but largely a gameplay structure which lacks a lot of originality. Injustice: Gods Among Us feels more like a let down from the Gods, and while the superhero vs superhero structure is admirable, the old rehashed Mortal Kombat engine and plug-and-play game design is definitely not.

Injustice: Gods Among Us’ storyline focuses solely on a plot which involves mostly the most infamous villain of them all: the Joker, tricking Superman into killing Lois Lane (as ridiculous as it sounds, but the plot line is clever behind this). Superman ends up killing the Joker and sets up a New World Order. In order to maintain humanity, Superman basically goes power-hungry and many members around this combined universe serve to fight Superman’s Regime with Batman’s Rebellion. This is where the clash of the titans happens so to speak. The storyline delves into combat seamlessly similar to DC Universe vs Mortal Kombat and there is a nice immersive stylistic structural element to the gameplay and storyline.

But that is where the height of the ingenuity in Injustice: Gods Among Us reaches its peak. The gameplay is largely just the traditional button mashing, and added super-moves where each character has his/her super-move that knocks a large chunk out of the opponent. The Wager System can also be activated during a match, allowing the winner to take the opponent’s metered power level which is a fun little feature.  The environments have a 2D structure to them similar to Mortal Kombat, but with added level-structures. If Batman punches Superman, he can get knocked into another arena. Most arenas have fixed knocking points, and the environment interaction in terms of using the environments to beat an opponent is sadly limited and not a full-fledged action feature similar to the old-style Punisher game. The HUD is minimalistic, pursuant to most games of this generation, but besides some additional mission structure variety every three large-scale battles, the offering of Injustice: Gods Among Us is sparsely limited. NetherRealm Studios even included short-scale modes in between which lackadaisically blend various super-hero powers in little mini-game adventure ideals which lack ultimate substance.

Multiplayer of Injustice: Gods Among Us is similar to the single-player campaign in terms of classical arcade style. There is not a major depth to the multiplayer aside from the straightforward competitive multiplayer seen in every arcade game but the actual multiplayer relies on some newer game features to boast for it. Unfortunately, these are not enough.

Injustice: Gods Among Us does introduce new features into the fighting genre, but it is nothing to rave home about. The style of fighting still incorporates ‘classical’ button mashing, and the gameplay structure is a bit changed but remains the same light as every other fighting game on the market. Is Injustice: Gods Among Us worth $59.99 MSRP let alone $99.99 MSRP for the Collector’s Edition? The answer: a Kryptonian ‘Hell No.’

Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance takes a different spin on the Metal Gear franchise by making a decided move away from stealth that is welcoming. While nostalgic fans of the franchise may be looking for the stealth crouching shadow-kills from Metal Gear Solid 4: Sons of the Patriots, Raiden keeps a decidedly new persona of ruthless vengeance as the title implies. Action combat is fierce, and while the storyline is less than exciting, Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance brings a new light to the Metal Gear universe in the form of hack and slash adventure with very solid gameplay.

Raiden has been hired by Maverick Security, a corporation that is a private PMC security firm which assigns Raiden to protect an African prime minister. Unfortunately, the Desperado Enforcement make away with the prime minister starting Raiden’s plot-twisting blood lust. The storyline character development can use more work. Often times, the political nature of Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance seems to carry a lesser weight than Metal Gear Solid type politic intermingling. If a gamer looks past the storyline flaw in terms of a non-exciting title, he/she can very much enjoy this title for something that makes up for it in other ways.

PlatinumGames does manage to achieve its goal of a synergetic experience that combines action and non-stealth adventure in the half-man, half-machine cyborg ninja Raiden equipped with his katana blade. The combat focuses much on the varying gameplay where many cybernetic enemies hold electrolytes that can be used for a special blade mode, where each blade strike is slowed down and can be done with precision for a stunning display. The ZanDatsu engine allows Raiden to cut anything and treats the environment as a cutting field. This is a great addition that is not exactly useful for the gameplay as a whole, but is definitely a feat of technical achievement for Kojima Productions. Wielding the katana precisely at certain angles can be a tad bit frustrating, but the enemy-filled rage moments are more than worth the precise reward.

Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance does a lot to add something more visceral to the pacing of the Metal Gear series. While the actual franchise formula suffers a bit, the bulk of the gameplay’s energy is matched with Raiden’s personal inner transformation. Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance is a great but not perfect display of how a franchise can have more than one element to it, and it does so successfully with just a few minor foibles to take into account. It is time to fight in the name of justice, it is time to be Raiden.

Gears of War: Judgment is a decent prequel title to the original Gears of War franchise, and serves to go in-depth with Kilo Squad on Emergence Day. The gameplay structure is definitely more different than immersive combat qualities, but there still remains a Gears of War feel to this new style of shooter.

Damon Baird was a lieutenant in Kilo Squad, and before Emergence Day, he sees the Locust-ravaged damage in Halvo Bay. Augustus “The Cole Train” Cole, Sophia, and Paduk join the Kilo Squad in terms of recounting events for a court-room where the whole squad is accused of treason. Sophia is an Onyx guard recruit that is to the letter in terms of protocol, while Paduk is a former COG enemy that has been confined to fight Locust to make up for his ant-COG rebellion. The storyline narrative is decidedly interrupted and lackluster. While some fans of flashback galore may appreciate this, the general masses will find this to be a narrative transmutation of sorts in terms of the action pacing the gameplay sets for itself. So many characters are involved, but a new shell of Damon Baird recounts the stories and he is not as humorous as his private counterpart in Delta Squad. Things are more serious, and it is a different side to a character that has always been somewhat of a wild horse. The fragmented mission structure does not do much in the way of actual cohesive storytelling. Despite this, the narrative adds a colorful effect in terms of adding real-time shifting modifiers to the gameplay which is always nice. If one of the squad members mentions they were desperate for ammo, the ammo count becomes depleted to a point. While this does not bode well for realism, it does add something different but not necessarily always welcoming.

The gameplay in single-player and multiplayer are relatively the same in regards to the run-and-gun shooting. The single-player set pieces focus more on action through modifier challenges which wane from the storyline and boss battles which are decent but under deliver. Fortunately, the brutal and tense combat continues to thrive in both competitive and cooperative environments. Team Deathmatch is still a classical addition while Free for All and Domination are the new competitive game modes. Competitive gameplay is decent with Gears of War: Judgment and never feels tacky.  The cooperative side adds a Survival mode which places you to control 3 essential points against a swarm of 10 Locust enemies. While it is similar to the Horde mode from previous titles, Survival does not allow fort construction but only repairs. One of the four new class is the Engineer which can repair forts, deploy turrets, and more to increase combat visibility. Overrun mode is similar to Survival but Locusts are controlled by other human players.

Gears of War: Judgment gives players a different view into the Gears universe, but it feels like a shadow of its former titles. Admittedly a prequel, it does not necessarily dictate the title will be worse by nature. Gears of War: Judgment does some things right and a few things wrong on all fronts. Multiplayer is and the complete gameplay package feel decent but sadly not for the MSRP of $59.99. But if you are a hardcore Gears fan, then you will like this title a bit despite any disappointments.

Crysis 3 is a technical acheivement that reinvigorates life and sees a medley blend between the second and first titles. Crysis 3 takes the open-world adventure exploration of Crysis, and takes a blend of linear pathism from Crysis 2 to create something that is surprisingly in the midpoint of these two titles. While old-time fans of the series would have preferred a more open-world Crysis, Crysis 3 offers something unique in direction of storyline, pacing, and mission variety that somewhat make up for any lack of gameplay features. The multiplayer is still relatively boxed and generic, but the single-player campaign shines not only on consoles, but greater on high-end PC’s.

Crysis 3’s storyline direction takes Prophet and Michael ‘Psycho’ Sikes to a whole new dimension. The personality of Prophet starts assimilating to Alcatraz’s mind through the Nanosuit. As this struggle for morality happens, both of them go up against the CELL Corporation in a fight to end the Ceph invasion using their Nanosuits from CryNet Systems. This struggle is highlighted by great character development that undoubtedly was sacrificed in Crysis and Crysis 2. This contrast of storyline element is welcomed and most appreciated by first person shooter lovers who need more than a point and gun adventure.

The gameplay structure and design is relatively different and more of the same. The setting still takes place in dilapidated New York City with the addition of CELLs nanodomes. The gameplay promotes taking multiple routes to achieve a mission structure and there is definitely something admirable about promoting a sort of mini-open worldism unlike Crysis 2, which did disappoint heavily in terms of its linear progress despite beautiful graphical depth. Regardless of this new sense of infused gameplay, the rest of Crysis 3 feels more or less Crysis 2 in terms of the weapons upgrade system and more. It seems Crytek did not want to mess with the formula from the second game but rather opted to keep more of a feel from the second one with lifted boundaries.

On some level, Crysis 3 is better than Crysis 2, which is hardly saying much for fans of the original open-world exploration journey. It seems that in an effort to focus on a major metropolis city as New York City with epic set-pieces, Crytek had no choice but to border on the terms of linearity in regards to scope of exploration in a city. On some level, this is good and bad. Good for the new environment being more city-based militia closedness from the second title, and then also bad in regards to the limited exposure of the storyline to gameplay elements worth remembering. Multiplayer itself is just a barrage of sad modes and hardly offers much replay value in terms of the second one and rarely makes the players feel invigorated.

Crysis 3 does great in terms of a technical set-piece with solid gameplay mechanics, but the direction and feel of the game itself is relatively mediocre in comparison to the original Crysis. Regardless of its foibles, Crysis 3 offers the next iteration of the series and is a solid game with shooter mechanics that is sure to keep some entertained in the long run, but it is definitely not for everyone.

Dead Space 3 reintroduces Isaac Clarke, who happens to quite possibly be one of the unluckiest engineers in space history. Visceral Games’ Dead Space 3 brings the survival horror genre to a more action-thriller spin with the introduction of a second character who is welcomed, thereby breaking away from the palpable fear of isolation in the first two series. While Dead Space 3 retains quite a lot of thrills to be had, much of the storyline is bleakly blatant and the actual character development has diluted into something rather disappointing.

Dead Space 3 continues from the ending of Dead Space 2, which we will not disclose here for those players who have not finished 2 yet and are just reading this review as an add-on to their future purchase. Isaac Clarke carries on the fight against the Necromorphs on Tau Volantis, but this time Sgt. John Carver has joined the fight with Isaac after losing his family to a group known as the “Inner Circle,” destroying Markers places around colonies to stop the Necromorph infestation.

Dead Space 3 does not introduce much newer in terms of upgrades or the experience progression system to allow for a stronger Isaac. Instead, it includes a cooperative play mode in terms of the single-player campaign that allows someone to jump-in and out of cooperative mode. The game’s mission structure itself spans 19 chapters of action thriller rather than survival horror isolation mode, but the bulk of the formula remains the same minus many elements of storyline that give it a unique feel. Isaac Clarke is a half-ridden ghost of his former image and does not have much in the way of the plot and mission development structure. Carver’s storyline sidequests of the tragic fate of his family is included but only through cooperative play rather than single-player play through mode. Jump-in and jump-out cooperative mode is a bit shaky with the checkpoint system. Some elements of Carver’s story can be left out if there is no Carver during the cooperative campaign mode, which is an annoying issue that really only serves to be something Visceral Games did not bother to clearly and fluidly maintain.

The music and general atmosphere of Dead Space 3 has changed from tight-dim lit corridors to include for more open-ended areas in terms of climate. This does provide more thrills in a more open-ended environment, but also slightly takes away the thrill of a corridor that is dark and has a lot of ominous quality to it.

Dead Space 3 overall maintains a similar vibe to the other titles, retaining the formula and adding cooperative gameplay, but unfortunately it does little to truly amp up the survival-horror into something that is memorable due to a wavering storyline of the main protagonist Isaac Clarke. Regardless, the title does provide a lot of fun, thrills, and excitement even though it falls short. Dead Space 3 sees Isaac Clarke trying to give a final fight to a once great threat that scarred him forever. This threat is far from over.

WhatIfGaming Game Of The Year 2012 Awards

Another year and more titles passed us by along with the days of 2012. It was filled with sadness, happiness, and times to remember that have marked many more good days to come for many of us. For gamers worldwide, it was a year in which not many games were released, but a few notable titles were profoundly worthy of mention.

It is with pleasure that we provide the millions of anticipated readers what they have been waiting for since the dawn of 2012: the video game industry’s most exceptional and gratified WhatIfGaming 2012 Game Of The Year Awards ceremony, presenting its official Game Of The Year awards before anyone else with a collective decision from industry experts and WhatIfGaming editors worldwide through its defined rigorous selection process which focuses on industry and developer recognition. The moment you all have been waiting for is finally here. Unlike the previous year, we are not the first this year but we wanted to maintain the similar quality to last year in having the most comprehensive awards this year, as always. See the Worst Game Of The Year and laugh at its shortcoming or weep for it, ponder about the Best Idea, or play through a title again to experience Best Storyline that is unlike any other.

Happy Holidays and Happy New Year to our beloved millions of WhatIfGaming readers! See you all in 2013.

Halo 4 begins on Forward Unto The Dawn as Master Chief is called back to action. The title primarily plays on elemental themes of humanity and artificial intelligence losing its own individuality. The title blends a lot of alien warfare elements and great set-pieces of storyline to a whole new level and we rather not ruin the storyline in any way here like other websites have been. Instead we will mention that the storyline does have great character development plotlines that add to the experience and the sudden plot twists are immensely appreciated with refined nuances of dramatic dialogue.

Halo 4’s singleplayer is immense in terms of its open-world sandbox style level of exploration. The mission objectives and structure is still relatively linear but the process in how things can be accomplished is very vast. One can take a route of dealing with enemy Covenant head on or going around them by flying a Pelican or taking the traditional Warthog and running them over for kicks and guns blazing. Weapons have been reintroduced with fervor and the bulk of the gameplay experience remains classical with run and gun. Not much has changed in the formula but Halo 4 recreates a level of design that is revitalizing in its gameplay and one that brings back nostalgia of a title that has so many elements of games that came before it and refined on so much more.

Halo 4’s competitive multiplayer is the crowning achievement of the entire series, and not one of the titles has ever had a horrible or even a weak multiplayer. Halo 4 brings back not just online campaign cooperative mode but also War Games as a fiction of the world’s canon. The multiplayer storyline element takes place after the main campaign as SPARTAN-IV soldiers train on the training grounds and keeps the elements of storyline going. Unfortunately, fire-fight is gone along with some serious match-making for the campaign and this is a great loss because it is helps to smooth out gameplay issues and something 343 Industries needs to fix as it kind of is insulting to Halo. In any case, Spartan Ops is essentially a type of space TV series format which furthers the storyline each week and includes mission types that can be played cooperatively or singularly.  As players game, they gain XP and achievements (of course) that contribute to unlocking weapon slots, armor upgrades, and styles for their personal Spartan warrior through the in-depth upgrade system. Halo 4’s multiplayer keeps to the same formula, and while the lack of matchmaking is a disappointment in terms of campaign mode, the competitive multiplayer is a resounding success with newer custom maps and even inclusion of the Forge editor.

Halo 4 does a lot of things right. It has action, it has adventure, and it has a whole lot of alien carnage that will leave veterans pleased and new-comers (surprisingly) to the series left wanting to play all the former titles. While multiplayer is sorely lacking in terms of server connectivity and match-making system problems, it is still the same multiplayer that fans of the Halo series have known for quite some time. 343 Industries has delivered an unprecedented shooter among the Xbox’s already incredible shooter base and takes its role as one of the best shooters of the year.

For sequels to be accepted and loved they need to do two things. Firstly, they need to keep the features that made the original game so popular and most importantly they have to fix all the problems that were flagged previously. Far Cry 3 ticks both these boxes with aplomb and it is refreshing to see just how much effort has been put into this game to respond to the feedback from the consumer. Not only have main gameplay mechanics been completely overhauled but every new feature that has been added seems to have been implemented to near perfection so that nothing could be construed negatively.

The story kicks off with a brief montage of a group of friends on holiday on a tropical island having the time of their lives. This enjoyment soon takes a turn for the worst as it cuts back to the present time and we see a few of the friends being held prisoner by pirates. This opening sequence along with the whole opening mission, which acts as a tutorial, is one of the best seen in gaming for a long time and the potential is outstanding. Unfortunately, by the end the story becomes slightly stale and does not live up to what could have been. Sadly, this is one of very few flaws within this game and it is definitely a factor which could have been improved upon.

Fortunately, as in most open world games, the story is not the be all and end all and for Far Cry 3 that is definitely a saving grace. The gameplay is pretty much perfect in nearly all aspects.

The side missions, which include, overriding radio towers, overtaking enemy outposts and various hunting quests, are extremely enjoyable and a major improvement over Far Cry 2 with the ability to actually own the outpost once you have defeated any enemies. This is a relief after the endless waves of enemies that the previous game threw at you. The shooting and melee aspects are also very tight which is key as there is a lot of shooting to be done in this game.

There is also the added addition of crafting syringes and upgrades for wallets and rucksacks. This is done well as it gives a clear indication of what is needed for each upgrade without having to guess what item is needed like many other games do. Crafting syringes is a particularly handy feature which allows the player to heal, become fireproof, enhance vision plus many more and all are easy to craft which is very important as the player would ignore it is if it was too complicated.   Along with crafting there is a plentiful supply of wild animals roaming around the world which can be skinned, that is if they do not kill you first. These animals are almost more dangerous than any pirates encountered and it is necessary to always be on guard in case any of these beasts ambush you. This can also work in favour as these animals attack any pirates that may be in the wrong place as a tiger or leopard at that given moment and this provides an added thrill to the experience.

There is also a perk system which allows various skills to be unlocked as more missions are completed. The skills include various ways to take down enemies, the ability to collect more plants and skins when hunting, improved stability for guns, more health… the list is almost endless and there is very rarely a moment when looking through the options there will not be one that takes your fancy.

If any criticism could be given it would be the slight lapses of A.I. that is present in some situations but, for the most part, even this holds up particularly well.

Far Cry 3 also has a full co-operative campaign which has a group of players running from area to area fighting off pirates or given certain tasks to complete, while this is fun in itself,  it is disappointing in that it does not really allow the full freedom that the single player gives. Far Cry 3 also includes a full multiplayer mode where players can battle against each other with an extremely competent upgrade system which all adds to the whole package. As with Far Cry 2, the game comes packaged with an excellent map editor which allows near enough anything to be made and can provide hours of extra entertainment.

Far Cry 3 is a truly excellent game that is a must-have for anyone who is a fan of open world shooters. There is so much to do besides the main story that it will keep players going for a good length of time. Even the fact the story is weak at times does not dampen the experience too much as the rest of the game is so strong in nearly every aspect. While the multiplayer is weak in comparison, the single-player adventure does help in add to the fun of the game than detract from it. Far Cry 3 is definitely a contender for Game of the Year and it would be definitely worthy of that title.

Assassin’s Creed III heralds the American Revolution into a whole new paradigm of great action adventure of historical importance and moreover decoration. Assassin’s Creed III brings a new engine with the same level of excitement from the established franchise formula of parkour, gut-slashing camera angles, a solid economic system, and lastly open-world exploration that is invigoratingly fresh and just as refined as ever. Assassin’s Creed III delivers a level of realism and a type of fantasy world in the Revolutionary War that history buffs and people in general can appreciate in terms of authentic combination of history with unparalleled action.

Musket smoke is in the air in 1775 and turmoil where the independence of the 13 colonies against the British is at an all-time high. You play Connor, a Native American assassin who fights to protect his land and people caught between a colonization effort of the Americans and the British at the cost of his own people. Assassin’s Creed III utilizes a dynamic storyline element of not just historical realism, but also this in-between style of being a Native American caught in between the struggle of losing land – creating a style of storyline that is complex and simplistically stylish. Throughout Assassin’s Creed III, it is your job to fight for your people and restore some order to the chaos amidst the American Revolutionary War.

Assassin’s Creed III’s exploration open-world adventure is bigger than the map of Brotherhood and Revelations. The exploration of the Americas during this time is a beautiful one from seasonal hillsides to temperate forests and historical landmarks. Assassin’s Creed III introduces newer combat type moves and noticeably dual-wielding of weapons as a new feature, but something more streamlined includes the feature of naval warfare. Not only are there set-pieces set to naval warfare, there are many more surprises included in the parkour adventure of a new type of environment different from the Italian environments of the previous titles. In addition, players can enter an entire battlefield which is way more of a grounded environment than anything previous titles had to offer in terms of real-world displays from notable battles such as the Battle of Bunker Hill and more. Assassin’s Creed III is definitely historically one of the most reprising titles that offers players authentic historical elements with true excitement of a continuing storyline that is cohesive and present.

Assassin’s Creed III multiplayer is based on Abstergo’s entertainment gaming console design rather than previous Abstergo Agent training simulations of the past titles. It seems that players can now finally do cooperative gameplay modes such as Wolfpack which allows players to kill a specified number of NPC targets in a 25-round match. It is definitely exciting to see newer elements of the multiplayer and ones which take the formula that made the last multiplayer designs so successful and add to it in a meaningful way that includes the Americas, more abilities per character types, and also the traditional game modes found in the previous titles. While we would have liked to see more depth in terms of the multiplayer element, Assassin’s Creed III delivers in terms of the multiplayer excitement element that makes the game very solid in terms of its foundational offering.

Assassin’s Creed III is undoubtedly a game which takes a new engine, and an established formula and just takes it a step further with an excellent storyline that is undeniably more exciting than former storylines. It is based in historical relevance whereas past titles were based relatively loosely on events of Italian conquest. Assassin’s Creed III also adds newer gameplay changes that are welcome additions to the franchise and only adds to further action adventure. Join the Revolutionary War soon and fight for your freedom.