Firstly, I've finally got my chance to buy and play LittleBigPlanet, which has proven to be a highly enjoyable experience both in single player mode and in the expanse of the online community; where the game truly shines. Many levels available of differing qualities with different ideas: some based on other games whilst others have their own unique ideas which continue to outstand. Anyone who has yet to pick up this LittleBigGame has no real reason not to, at minimum it'll provide a good few hours of fun simply doing the story mode, no friends or internet required.
If this is the case, why don't you have the internet in this day and age and what backwater place do you live in to not have any friends? Surely everyone has friends these days, be it a couple of people who you've known for your entire life or a large group of mates for those out there who have the ability to make friends with nearly everyone. If you really want the full experience from the game, get some buddies round and play through the game, laughing at each other's occational mistakes and failures and generally having a fun time all round. Nobody available? Get online, find a random bunch of people who're accepting and kind enough to not try and push your sackboy into spikes at any chance they get and let the fun reign across whichever levels you fancy playing on.
Ever wondered what would happen if you got the remnants of Clover Studios, the company responsible for the almost-ignored-but-incredible cel-shaded game Okami, added in a bunch of Devil May Cry, a dose of God of War, inserted a hot glasses-wearing female, added a ton of gore and allowed you to kill angels in many different ways ranging from guns attached to your feet to using your OWN FRICKING HAIR as a weapon?
Well this is it. Not only that, but the better combos you pull off, the more flesh your character reveals and the more insane your moves are until you're beating the shit out of some poor misunderstood creature with your locks whilst dancing around nearly naked. Kinky. This sounds like it could turn out to be something rather damn shiny. Bring on the release date.
Ah... BioShock, what an incredible game. Sure, it gets a little bogged down with the entire Lot 192 section but the overall storyline is good enough to cover up that little blemish. Those who've played it (and if not, why?) will know of what I tend to call the 'Would You Kindly?' event near the middle of the game and, if you are like me, would've been quite impacted by it. Excellent voice acting and graphics amongst other things made BioShock one of the best games of this generation, seems somewhat fitting following on from the similar impact left by its predecessor System Shock 2. But now, BioShock is getting a sequel too as anyone who is interested in games or has even been into a magazine store recently would've known since it's plastered everywhere for all to see.
Not only does it promise a sequel set after the fall of Rapture, but also a prequel in the form of a multiplayer mode. The single player game puts you in the boots (listen to the Missing Boots diary by Suchong right at the end of the first game, the way he says Big Daddy Boots amuses me.) of the first created Big Daddy, a prototype that comes not only with the iconic-but-rarely-actually-fought-against drill used by the Bouncer type, but also access to the Rosie's Rivet Gun and a lashing of plasmids, including a few new ones that've been announced. There's also hints to new enemies besides Daddies, the Big Sister and Splicers, which'll be interesting to see. Maybe the outdoor sections will get us attacked by plasmid infected crabs or sea cucumbers or something.
The multiplayer game seems solid from the information released so far and could well redefine FPS once again with the off-hand plasmid/weapon combination attacks available to every player. You get to play against other people in the shoes of a bunch of splicers testing out plasmids, including a very Call of Duty 4-esque experience and levelling system. Currently, a (seriously) small selection of game modes has been announced, consisting of Deathmatch and... well, Team Deathmatch. Apparently there is a Little Sister based 'mystery' mode that 2k haven't revealed. A TimeSplitters style BagTag game is a possibility and would add variety to the available game modes rather than 'kill shit and then blow shit up, Michael Bay style'. More importantly, 2k decided to bring in members of the Unreal Tournament team to help them work on the multiplayer mode, and considering my own personal love of the UT series, this is highly promising. Just have to wait until release and see if it's as good as the original, or maybe it'll prove even greater...?
