SAW

In cinema today it seems you can make just as much money by shocking your audience rather than just entertaining them, the Saw series being one of the more successful. It was only a matter of time before a game came out to follow the series. I am going to talk about plots of the films in this review so if you don’t want to know Jigsaws journey, I suggest you read on carefully.
You play Detective Tapp (the guy who got his throat sliced open in the first film) trying to oust Jigsaw with his partner who unfortunately had his head blown off a row of shotguns. However, your in game character looks nothing like Danny Glover (the actor who plays Tapp) but I suppose it would have been a tall ask to expect the expensive license to be acquired for one character. The plot of the game is not based directly off of a film, though it does reference them – the first one rather heavily – but considering the plot is the best thing about this game I would expect most players to know what’s going on. I would not recommend this game to anyone that isn’t a fan of the films because if you don’t like them or know about them, then you’re going to think this game is terrible. The game plays like a survival horror, go to door X and pick up the key Z completing a puzzle on the way, which to be honest is pretty tedious even for the seasoned Saw fan. There are only a handful of variants which are soon repeated and none of these are very hard. The actual fighting is pathetic; the two button combat system is unresponsive and tired. If you get the first punch in then you can just spam uppercuts regardless of what weapon is being used against you. There are a variety of weapons including bats, mop handles, syringes and bricks but you never need panic – just rely on the uppercut of death!
Still, the game is not all bad, the story is the most important thing and most will want to play through to the end just to delve deeper into understanding Jigsaw. However, there are very confusing messages about the traps and the plot. Any one who knows about the films will know that Jigsaw is an anti-hero, trying to achieve respectable things but with insane methods. Most of his ‘victims’ are people that ‘do not appreciate the life they are gifted with’ or simply are not fulfilling their potential. In Tapps case it is fine as he is being tested because of his obsessive desire to capture Jigsaw. The 40 or so people you end up fighting (and killing – there is no choice) are meant to kill you to find a key in your gut and therefore escape. Jigsaw doesn’t really aim to slaughter a person, that’s his get out of jail card. The victims have the option to free themselves but they fail. In this game though it seems that people cannot help themselves and rely on someone or something else – it is not in the spirit of Saw at all. The traps are also unoriginal, many are recycled from the films or very slightly modified and given that many people watch the films in a sycophantic pleasure, seeing something you have seen viscerally clearer before is a disappointment.
This game could have been given so much more importance and so much more originality. The game fails on several key aspects. There is no fear and disgust from traps, the gore is minimal compared to the films and you never feel the panic beyond the first minute of the game. The fighting and tension in between puzzles is not dramatic, it does not cause your heart to race you just think ‘I’d better not wonder into a shotgun trap or I’m gonna’ have to do those bloody puzzles again’. I would say that any Saw and gaming fan should check it out; worst case scenario is that you spend 4 hours getting an easy 1000G. A disappointment but worth the journey, worth a rental – it’ll only take you a day or two.

5.4/10

Achievements:
This is one of those games where you actually question what the hell is going on as strange things happen like you kill someone and up pops ‘3 for 45G’. Nice for gamerscore but curious as to achievement design. An easy 1000G, complete the game on normal and then kill at least one person with each weapon – done.

Modern Warfare 2

The most highly anticipated game ever? Maybe. Though if records are anything to go buy Modern Warfare 2 is already one of the most successful games in the entire history of pixelated entertainment. Modern Warfare 2 follows on directly from the events of its predecessor and pursues the paths of Ramirez; a US Ranger, and ‘Roach’ of Special Task Force 141 (much akin the previous Call of Duty games with two stories occuring simultaneously).

The single player campaign is EPIC. There are many moments in the game which I will not spoil where you cannot help but smile and enjoy – so much so when you die, you can only celebrate because you get to do it again. The plot itself is quite mad but it can be accepted in the realm it is presented – it’s just brilliant. Seasoned players will want to know that Veteran has had a real overhaul, it’s much easier. Gone are the infinitely spawning enemies and horrifically random checkpoints replaced with a limited number of enemies and more structure – it’s more realistic in ‘some’ senses as people to not keep coming, you can kill them all just by camping. The campaign is still rewarding but you do not feel you deserve a medal for completing it this time round (it’s probably best for your controller that the game has calmed down, and your rage!). The game isn’t easy, but if you completed CoD 4 and WaW, you will have no trouble at all.

Call of Duty 4 had nothing wrong with the multiplayer apart from host connections and host end games. Both have been fixed and perks a plenty have been added. New additions such as kill and death streak choices. You also have a customisable insignia which can be unlocked from killing certain enemies to getting kill streaks and triple kills. There is always something else to unlock. Prestige still exists and you do not lose your call signs and symbols though your guns and perks are reset as usual. MW2 plays much like previous CoD multiplayers and it is still just as good.

New this time around is the Special Ops mode which contains specific missions with objectives such as, don’t be seen or kill 100 enemies. The requirements raise with difficulty and you will need a partner to help you complete the later missions if you want to get all the games achievements. Every mission in Special Ops is has co-op potential and some require two players, local and online. Infinity Ward have stated there is room for downloadable missions in Special Ops which means guaranteed DLC in the future.

I don’t feel there is a great deal I can say in this review that isn’t already know. This game should be owned by every 360 owner whether they play online or not, it just means you get way more for you money if you get involved with the multiplayer. There will always be issues with lag and some guns/perks will make your blood boil but when it is all said and done you will still be playing this game in two years time because it is just so damn good. The campaign is solid, special ops is a great addition and the multiplayer is one of the most extensive modes seen in online gaming. The only let down of this game is its hype, which is a bizarre thing to say but I hope some people understand me. Because you expected it to be so good, it’s less shocking when it turns out to be amazing. Modern Warfare 2 is good – but you didn’t need this review to find that out.

9.2/10

Achievements:

Infinity Ward keep to their ‘offline achievement list’ – just! You can get the majority of achievements from playing the campaign with veteran specific achievements. There are a few that come from doing things like ‘kill two enemies with one bullet’ and alike. The other half comes from getting at 69 stars on Special Ops, which is no mean feat. Get a partner who can play on veteran and commit to each other because you are going to get sick trying some of these alone. This doesn’t need to be done online, you have split-screen as an option which gets around the offline list point. Anyone who is used to getting all achievements on CoD games should expect to pick them all up here too.