GEARS OF WAR 3

Gagan Gupta mirrorfeedback@indiatimes.com


The game series that propelled Xbox 360 way ahead of the competition in the early years is back with its final instalment.And with it comes one of the best and the most consistent trilogy in the history of action gaming.
The final part takes place eighteen months after the incidents of the previous game.The Imulsion infected lambent have become a new threat to mankind,along with the ever-present Locusts.The only person who has the cure for this new threat,and possibly the answer to the Locust invasion as well is Marcus Fenixs father,who is discovered to be still alive.Narration is the bigger focus here,sometimes even at the cost of not including the grand gaming moments that Gears 2 had.
Core gameplay mechanics stay unaltered.You still run cover-to-cover gunning down grumbs and lambent that come in your way (and this time,there are a hell lot coming your way).Not that you cant be heroic here,but the smartest thing to do would be to be near a cover area at all times.The good news for beginners is that the Easy mode here is actually very easy.It takes a lot to get you killed,the game helps you out with aim assist and lenient special gun reloads.



There are quite a few tweaks especially in the weapons area,but most of the gameplay was pretty much perfected in Gears of War 2,so the focus here was mainly on the narration and character development.If youve played the earlier games you will be
familiar with Marcus,Dom,Cole,
and Baird,but here you get to really know more about them as each of their personalities shine out.Its an emotional roller coaster that has moments that would get you teary eyed,but worry not.Its still as testosterone inducing as ever.
Visually,the standards are set pretty high here.Though Gears of War 2 really nailed the level design bit,with some of the most unique environments and set pieces ever,Gears 3 has a hell of a polished engine.The minute facial



twitches,every little environmental detail,and even the enemies look their best ever.It was obviously assumed that the game would look great,but the scope of the levels you deal with here just sets a new standard.That too without load times.
The soundtrack was brilliantly done here as well.The music would always pace itself according to the game scenario,but adding the heroic notes in the final battles really get me pumped up.Theres a piano rendition of Mad World in there that plays at one of the best moments in shooter history.Nuff said.While I still feel that Gears of War 2 was the best part of the trilogy,Gears of War 3 is a fitting conclusion that only enhances the significance of the previous games.Its like a Return of the Jedi to The Empire Strikes Back of gaming.Brilliant game,fitting conclusion,and a long-lasting multiplayer mode makes Gears of War 3 a must buy.If youve already played the previous games in the series then you dont need me to tell you that,do you

Gran Turismo 5

Gran Turismo 5 might be one of the many games exclusive to the PS3 but its by far the most awaited especially by hardcore simulation racing fans.With its roots from the PlayStation 1 days,the fifth true instalment (read: that doesnt have the word Prologue attached to it) has been almost five years in the making.And were pleased to report that it delivers in every way possible.

The Good :

• Accessible and rewarding for newcomers and veterans alike  
• Uncompromisingly realistic handling  
• Loads of great cars to drive and varied courses to drive them on  
• License tests are no longer mandatory  
• Premium cars are incredibly detailed. 

The Bad :

• Quality of visuals is wildly inconsistent  
• Outdated and impractical online lobby system  
• Too easy to win early races simply by entering in a powerful car.

From car handling to the engine sounds,everything has been faithfully replicated in such a way that youd be hard pressed at times to distinguish between the game and reality.Its just so well done.From the everymans Swift all the way up to exotic supercars like the Tesla Roadster theres a lot of cars to choose and drive.In fact theres around a thousand of them or so.Then again this is to be expected from Polyphony Digital,a studio of car freaks that masquerade as developers.The attention to detail is insane.So much so that the cockpit view (available in premium cars only,more on that in a bit) puts everything else to shame including Need For Speed: Shifts superlative attempt at it.

As mentioned in the earlier paragraph there are premium cars.These are 200 cherry picked vehicles that are gloriously detailed,sport a cockpit view and have advanced damage modelling.The other tier consists of 800 standard cars which dont have an interior view and have basic damage modelling.Its pretty weird that the cockpit view is restricted to just 20 per cent of the cars in the game given how well its done.

Aesthetics aside every car regardless of which category it belongs to handles as uniquely as it should.Each car comes with its own learning curve.If youre expecting a game where you can just jump into a Ferrari and tear across the circuit youd be in for a very shocking surprise.And if youre a long time fan of the series youd comfortably slip into GT5s gameplay like nothing has ever changed.
 

That doesnt mean that everything since GT4 and GT5: Prologue has remained the same though.Theres a host of game modes to choose from apart from the standard career and arcade modes.These include the much hyped kart and NASCAR events that give you a taste of racing beyond the simulated beauty that youre accustomed to.All of it is done brilliantly well,giving some much needed diversity and respite from the often gruelling career mode.Speaking of diversity theres a B-spec option which allows you to manage and guide a team of drivers to the podium as the team director.The following are the modes that can be unlocked within A-spec, each having their own different type of events:

• Amateur Series
• Professional Series
• Expert Series
• Extreme Series

Its a managerial simulation at best with sparse options and limited tutorials but its a welcome change if youre tired from all the actual racing. Oh and race you will.There are stunning tracks.Loads of them... 71 to be precise.From classics like Nrburgring to the TopGear test circuit theres enough of real-life scenery to drive through.And if that isnt enough,there are a variety of fictitious ones to choose from and theres a rudimentary track creator as well ensuring that youll never really run out of road.
 

Everything isnt exactly hunky dory though.For a game with so much content the menus could have been better designed and easier to access for newbies to the series.The user interface is clunky at best to the point where youd be greeted with loading screens within menus and every time you want to upgrade or purchase a car you have to mosey back to the main menu.With all the obsessive attention to detail making the sheer wealth of features available took a backseat.Throw in a mandatory and massive hard drive install and huge updates and youd perhaps be waiting more than youd be playing.
 

All said and done however this is the most comprehensive racing simulation this generation.It might not have the slick menus or optimisations of its contemporaries,but its got its heart in the right place.This alone is reason enough to warrant a purchase if youre a racing junkie or interested in the genre.

Sly Cooper,prince of thieves

One of the last must-haves of the year: Join the thievish raccoon Sly Cooper and his friends for a big score with Sly Trilogy,that updates this old two-dimensional game into a three-dimensional masterpiece

Gagan Gupta mirrorfeedback@indiatimes.com

Developer: Sucker Punch

Publisher: Sony

Platform: PS3

Price: Rs 1,899


The current trend in older games making a comeback is absolutely ingenious in my opinion.There's a lot of good content out there,which didn't get the right treatment during its time.Plus there are always a bunch of nostalgic gamers who'll willingly pay again for a game they had so many fond memories with.The thing is,I don't remember too many people having fond memories with Sly Cooper games.
That said,the Sly Collection does bring a lot to the table that makes it a much better buy this time round,than it ever was in its prime.

The first game out of the trilogy,Sly cooper and the Thievius Raccoonus,can be easily considered a learning curve for the developers.It plays very differently,has ridiculous enemy AI and is tough to the level of frustrating.The fact that you instantly die by just touching an enemy or anything that can be hazardous was never a trait I liked in any game.Plus having limited lives to use just adds to the problem.
Thankfully,the other two games are nothing like this.They work better on the "thief" aspect of your character and everything that goes along with it,like stealth,multi-character plotting,platforming and even action.The reason I'm talking about both games together is because they are very similar in gameplay and design.
All three games use cell shaded animation,which looks great when upscaled to high definition.The textures seem to not have taken the transition too well,but nothing really pops out as ugly.The 2D cutscenes use the 4:3 aspect ratio,giving you black bands on the side of your widescreen TV.But they look great,especially compared to some of the 3D cutscenes in the game that didn't make the transition well.
The score and voice acting works great.The characters are meant to be an exaggeration of themselves,which comes across pretty well.Some highpitched sound effects come across as slightly dull,but that was the limitation when the game was mastered.

If you have a 3D TV,then this game is perfectly capable of making good use of that as well.The art and animation style of the series is striking and unique.It helps the series stand out from other cartoon-based platformers and that's a good thing.

Along with the main games there are also 4 mini games added as bonus on the disc.Though the games don't really contribute to the series,they are fun shooters,especially if you have PlayStation Move at home.I recommend you try them out only in multiplayer,since they're all aiming/ shooting based games.
At its great price,the Sly Trilogy is an undeniably fun package.Each game in the series has a limitation by itself.But when bundled together and offered at less than full-price,it's a brilliant deal.There's a lot of content to explore here and the games will keep you busy for quite a while.Perfect for this year-end break.