Our opinions on video games, gadgets, science and technology. Not necessarily always correct, but definitely from the heart. Our cold, cold, silicon hearts.
With the arrival of several high-profile releases such as LA Noire and Brink (at least, you'd think Brink were high profile given the amount of advertising being pumped into it at the last minute, competition from the former much?) you'd think I'd have had my hands full reviewing these to be able to get my opinion out to you all asap. But no! I've been revisiting old games that have lain by the wayside for a while, the first and foremost of these being Borderlands.
Alright, so this was probably triggered by my last post, thinking about dear old Claptrap made me hungry for a bit of a senseless post-apocalyptic Mad Max-inspired shootfest. Yet for a game which (quite shamelessly) picks and chooses its influences and waves them in your face, Borderlands stands alone very well. For the uninitiated, it's a first person shooter with RPG elements - shooting stuff gets you experience, and as you gain experience you level up your personal skills and also your skills with each weapon, leading to bonuses to fire rate and accuracy, and also copious amounts of swearing when you're in the middle of a massive firefight with no SMG ammo and a level 1 shotgun.
My shoddy techniques aside, this is a beautifully action-packed game that is an absolute pleasure to go back to after a year or more of it sitting in its box. The graphical style is reminiscent of cel shading and gives the game a fairly unique cartoony look that caused some criticism amongst the Call of Duty crowd, and the story revolves around four mercenaries trying to gain access to the mysterious Vault which initially caused me to think it might be trying to rip off some elements from Fallout, but that could not be further from the truth. So since it's so cheap in the shops now, why not treat yourself! I'll see you in the arena!
Throughout the world of video games we often encounter our good old friend, the robot. Whether they are the protagonist, the enemy, or the hired help, the little blighters pop up everywhere, so in tribute to our metallic pals, here is a run down of my top five favourite robots.
5. Big Daddy (Bioshock): These docile behemoths aren't technically robots, but the genetically spliced cyborg chaps inside the huge diving suits are pretty cool. Mild mannered and gentle, they go about their business of protecting the Little Sisters while they go about their messy business of havesting the valuable goop known as ADAM from corpses. Nice. And your job? To either kill or set free the Little Sisters? Be prepared for some angry Big Daddies!
4. The Sackbots (Little Big Planet 2): If Big Daddies are the epitome of quietly lurking doom, then the Sackbots from LBP2 are their polar opposite. Cute, quirky and under Sackboy's vague command, they can be herded around like sheep or attracted with a lady known as Luscious Lucy. (Googling this turns up a selection of, ahem, businesswomen in the centre of London. Add additional search terms!) These robots are a LOT more friendly, but to be honest? A bit useless!
3. Wadsworth (Fallout 3): I often think to myself, how cool would it be to have a robot butler of my very own? That's just what Wadsworth is, a water-dispensing, wisecracking mobile hairdressing unit, and anyone who knows me well knows that I could really do with one. The Mr Handy units, however, were not well renowned for their precision with that circular saw blade, so I'll keep cutting my fringe myself, thank you!
2. Atlas and P-Body (Portal 2): These two robots are a perfect metaphor for my relationship with my darling other half. The one of us is tall and athletic, the other shorter, rounder and blue. My personal insecurities aside, Atlas and P-body's purpose in life is to live together, work together and test together for the rest of their lives. The harmony of their existance is further bolstered by the fact that they don't eat (no arguing about who's cooking tea), they don't sleep (no arguing about who's hogging the quilt) and Atlas has no bum to speak of, therefore by definition it cannot "look big in this". Perfect.
1. Claptrap (Borderlands): While Atlas and P-body both have the option to dance as part of the gestures menu, this fella likes to get down and funky entirely of his own accord. Generally in need of a bit of love and attention when you come across them, once they're up and repaired they'll strut their funky stuff for you quite happily! Go on, check him out in this video! Okay so maybe he's not the most USEFUL robot, maybe he doesn't have the best skills, besides giving you a few extra backpack slots but check out that rhythm! That personality! What a star!
