With new expansions for Grand Theft Auto IV, Fable II and Fallout 3 , the GameSpot Reviews Blog has been awfully busy with downloadable content of late. Tomb Raider Underworld is the latest game to be given the DLC treatment, with 'Beneath the Ashes' adding a new level, a new enemy and six new outfits. The result is an expansion that offers some memorable set-pieces, but it's short at around two hours and does very little to fix the existing problems from Underworld.Beneath the Ashes takes place under Croft Manor, which is now a burnt wreckage after the events of Underworld. Lara is following a lead from her father's journal, who buried a sacred artifact deep under the country estate to stop it getting into the wrong hands. This isn't just some dusty old monument either--it holds the power to control the Thralls, an ancient supernatural army of warriors. Lara being Lara, she decides to investigate, and this mini-adventure takes her from the basement of her home right down to the ancient monuments underneath.
Beneath the Ashes does a good job of maintaining the same balance of adventuring, puzzle-solving and combat from Underworld. The action takes place completely underground, but the new level isn't short on huge expanses to cover. This is where the game is at its best--gradually figuring out your way through an environment, and then being rewarded with some spectacular views along the way. The expansion also has some great puzzles, including the best use of Lara's grapple rope yet. Where it all falls down is on the combat--frequent encounters with Thralls and giant spiders are unwelcome distractions from the business of tomb raiding. The combat is fiddly, the enemies are weak, while Lara's ability to fit a shotgun, rifle and uzis into her tiny backpack mean that it's all incredibly easy.
Lara Croft fans who also have a Princess Leia fetish have their prayers answered by this DLC, as it adds six new costumes including a gold bikini. Putting aside the impracticality of spelunking in a swimsuit for a moment, the bikinis are nicely designed, and show off the work that's been put into designing the character. They also demonstrate the great dirt effects that gradually build up on her body, while the confined spaces allow you to 'appreciate' the subtle breast physics. I had plenty of gripes with the core mechanics of Underworld, so I'm sad to report that they're still present in Beneath the Ashes. The camera is as unruly as ever, refusing to move around solid objects to offer a better view of the world, while it's even worse in confined spaces, of which there are many. You have to wrestle with the camera as it makes simple mistakes, moving underwater as you're doing something above, and there are even bugs, such as an underwater corridor where Lara never needs to come up for air.
Story and characters have never been Tomb Raider's strong point, but if you are into the lore of the series, you'll get something out of Beneath the Ashes. The level features Lara's Shadow character from Underworld, plus an interesting plot twist towards the end. You also get to read Lara's father's journal, which not only helps figure out the puzzles, but also fills in some of the Croft family history. And if you're not into any of the exposition but are lured by the possibility of achievements, then there are 125 points offer for completing the level and finding all the treasures.
Another problem with Beneath the Ashes is that it's a victim of bad timing, releasing just after The Lost & Damned has set a new benchmark for downloadable content. True, Tomb Raider's content is half the price of GTA's, but it also offers a lot less than half the value and entertainment. For what it is, Beneath the Ashes offers a good Tomb Raider level and some revealing outfits, but I'd certainly rather have seen new gameplay mechanics or environments. If you're a die-hard fan of Tomb Raider then you've probably already added this to your download queue, but everyone else is likely to feel a little short-changed.50 CENT: BLOOD ON THE SAND
It should come as no surprise to anyone that they made another 50 Cent game. Despite its chilly critical reception, 2005's 50 Cent: Bulletproof sold remarkably well. What is likely to surprise many people is that the new game, 50 Cent: Blood on the Sand, is actually quite good. The fast-paced gameplay, tight controls, and arcade-style scoring system form a solid base for the simplistic yet fun action. Layered on top of this foundation is a heaping helping of 50 Cent and G-Unit flavor; vulgar dialogue, ridiculous one-liners, and a whole lot of licensed music give Blood on the Sand the bravado it needs to stay entertaining when the action begins to wear thin. Neither the action nor the attitude are particularly inspired, but together they are enough to make this an enjoyable ride. The premise and story serve as little more than a backdrop here, but that's just fine. 50 Cent and G-Unit play a concert and get stiffed by the promoter. Hoping to avoid Fiddy's wrath, the promoter offers them a BeDazzled skull. Everyone's happy until the crew is ambushed and the skull is stolen. It is then that you commence shooting anything that moves. 50 and his chosen G-Unit companion (Tony Yayo, Lloyd Banks, or DJ Whoo Kid) traverse a war-torn urban Middle Eastern landscape, slaying countless goons while pursuing one criminal figure after another. Though there are a few vehicle segments to vary things up, most of the locales kind of blur together in a blend of gunfire and earth tones. Regardless, they are impressively detailed and do a solid job of setting the stage for the explosive action.
50 Cent: Blood on the Sand is a third-person shooter, so you'll be running and gunning with your overly muscled character in full view. The only differences
between characters are aesthetic; both 50 Cent and his G-Unit sidekick run at a good clip and can dive in any direction. They can also snap into cover with the press of a button, but this mechanic is a bit too sticky to be convenient. Fortunately, you'll rarely have to use it. Your character is very durable, and when things do get hairy, you can take advantage of the gangsta fire mode (read: bullet time) that makes it easy to lay out a squad of enemies in seconds.The action is smooth and the controls are responsive, but it begins to feel repetitive after a while. There are a few bells and whistles to spice things up, such as counterkills, which are brutal quick-time melee attacks in which your character pummels, perforates, or otherwise brutalizes an enemy. However, the big incentive to keep playing is the scoring system. Every enemy that you kill earns you points, and killing them in quick succession will get a multiplier going. Additionally, you earn bonuses for the manner in which you dispatch your foes; scoring a headshot or taunting your enemies after you kill them will further boost your score. Even if you're not the kind of gamer who normally strives for high scores, Blood on the Sand's scoring system has a way of sucking you in. Your multiplier and kill bonuses are displayed prominently onscreen, and this visual reinforcement spurs you onward, motivating you to kill your enemies harder, better, faster, stronger.
To further quicken the pace, timed scenarios appear on the screen occasionally and
challenge you to accomplish certain objectives within a certain time period. Target enemies are outlined in red, so you'll always know who they are, and completing scenarios will earn you souped-up rounds for your pistol and extra grenades. Red danger arrows also appear to steer you toward the action by indicating where your enemies are about to come from. When there is a lull in the action, you can busy yourself with hunting down collectibles that will boost your score significantly (five posters and five targets in each mission). There are also loot crates that earn you cash to spend on new guns, counterkills, and taunts. Between your score, timed scenario announcements, your health meter, the gangsta fire bar, danger arrows, your cash total, and your kill multiplier, the heads-up display can get very crowded. It manages not to intrude on the action overmuch, but it can be distracting, especially in this day and age when the minimalist HUD reigns supreme.Nevertheless, this bustling HUD somehow fits well into the blustering swagger of 50 Cent: Blood on the Sand. The game is saturated with overblown gangster bravado, and it matches the over-the-top action perfectly. From the cutscenes in which 50 Cent vows to kill almost everyone he meets to the vulgar (and often amusing) banter between characters, it just doesn't quit. The only place vulgarity is omitted is in the unlockable music videos, which are incongruously censored. Fortunately, the music tracks are not. As you progress and unlock new songs, you can tweak your playlist in the pause menu. 50 Cent and G-Unit songs make a great backdrop for the action and really tie the whole package together.
Blood on the Sand is better enjoyed with a friend, and the well-implemented drop-in/drop-out Cooperative mode is a solid addition. It's easy to let people join
your game, and just as easy to keep them out or boot them should they become a nuisance. Whether you play solo or cooperative, you'll get a solid 10+ hours out of the campaign, in addition to any high-score runs that you attempt for the sake of making the online leaderboards. The run-and-gun gameplay isn't particularly inspired, but the scoring system adds enough to keep you engaged. The pervasive attitude is so excessive that it borders on parody, but when underlaid with a robust offering of authentic songs, it works surprisingly well. This isn't the best action game you'll play this year, but that doesn't mean you won't have a damn fun time playing it. STAR OCEAN: THE LAST HOPE
If you're a fan of Japanese role-playing games, then today's your lucky day as you should be able to find Star Ocean: The Last Hope, the fourth game in the spacefaring series by developers Tri-Ace, on store shelves everywhere. Though we try to have reviews ready on or before release, this time it simply wasn't possible and I've only recently been able to start on it.In case you're wondering if The Last Hope is for you, know that it continues many Star Ocean traditions like having a strong and fun real-time combat system and providing a richly detailed universe that is meticulously explained via an in-menu dictionary. Fans will further enjoy the fact that this is a prequel rather than a sequel (for reasons obvious to those who have completed Star Ocean: Till the End of Time), and as it takes place at the very beginning of space exploration for the planet Earth, the entire game is steeped in a sense of discovery.
As Edge Maverick, it's your job to assist the Space Reconnaissance Force in their
quest for a new home for mankind, as global nuclear war sort of made Earth not the most happening place to be. Because it takes place so early in the Space Date Calendar, you'll literally be going where no man has gone before as you explore the galaxy, so there's no need to worry about pesky rules like the Underdeveloped Planet Preservation pact since they don't exist yet! Throughout your journey, you'll be making history as you make those critical first impressions with the other sentient races out there too, so try not to mess things up.The Last Hope starts out with an in-depth tutorial of the new combat system, and covers basics like movement, attacks, skills, and more. From there, I was eased into
the story and explored a new planet called Aeos that is similar to Earth in most ways, save for the presence of gigantic and really mean insects that are immune to railgun fire, but not swords or arrows for some reason. After taking out the first big boss on what may or may not be valuable beachfront property someday, Edge and his childhood-friend-slash-possible-love-interest Reimi made the acquaintance of Faize Sheifa Beleth, an Eldarian (read: space elf) skilled in the arts of Symbology and the Rapier. After this, it was off to yet another planet where the group was joined by Lymle Lemuri Phi, a powerful little girl that keeps a hellhound as pet.Though it's way too early to say anything definitive about The Last Hope, the combat system--which just about has to be the strongest aspect of any JRPG because of the
amount time you spend in battle--is fun, engaging, and nuanced. The addition of the blindside system to dodge and counter attacks adds a strategic element that is further enhanced by the bonus board, which lets you tailor post-battle rewards however you wish. Technically, the game is solid, though there are a few things to complain about: the camera system has some problems anytime there's an object between your character and it, the framerate suffers (just a bit) when you're performing flashy attacks on several enemies simultaneously, and for some reason enemies are only really visible on the field if they're within 10 yards or so. These issues are for the most part pretty minor though.As mentioned previously, Star Ocean: The Last Hope is in stores as of today for the Xbox 360. If you're still unsure about it, be sure to watch Sophia's video preview below and check out our final word in the review that will be up soon.
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