Weapons of Battlefield 3: RPK-74M

Welcome readers, if you exist outside my imagination, to a new series covering the various firearms that appear in various video games, mostly providing recommendations regarding the best ways of using them, particularly in the fast-paced world of modern multiplayer video games. Today we'll be covering the RPK-74M since I'm trying to get the Mastery Dog Tag for it in Battlefield 3. Hopefully, if I can scrounge up funds, I can buy a DVR and editing software to make some videos that complement the text.

Let's start with some background then move on to some basic statistics and numbers (yay, numbers!) before I give my recommended loadout. Before you go out and try my recommendation then come back screaming because it doesn't work, let me remind you I am in no way an expert or the best Battlefield player in the world. I'm an enthusiast and I recommend the loadout that works out the best for me, it might not suit your particular style of play but as an average player, I reckon it should fit most people just fine.

Background:
The RPK-74M was a product of modernisation in the Russian army during the 1970s, transitioning from the big and beefy 7.62x39mm to the relatively small 5.45x39mm, the same cartridge used in the AK-74M. This modernisation and tendency towards smaller cartridges was reflected at the same time in the rest of the world with China moving from the 7.62x39mm round towards the 5.8x42mm DBP87 round and the West moving from the 7.62x51mm NATO round towards the 5.56x45mm NATO round. In terms of design, the RPK-74M is basically an AK-74M with a longer and heavier barrel, a bipod, raised front sight as well as a special 45-round box magazine, although it can also accept the normal 30-round AK74 magazines, for better performance during sustained fire.

(source: Wikipedia)

Statistics:

• Ammo capacity = 45 rounds (+1 in the chamber when doing a mid-magazine reload)
• Damage = Maximum of 25 dropping in a linear pattern to a minimum of 18.4 from 50 metres onwards
• Fire rate = 700 RPM (rounds per minute)
• Bullet velocity = 600 m/s (metres/second)
• Reload times = 3.00 seconds with at least one round in the chamber, 4.00 seconds from empty

(source: Symthic)

Weapon Assessment:
I'm not particularly fond of the RPK as a light machine gun because it has a small magazine capacity in comparison to other weapons in the same class save the M27 IAR, meaning it has less suppressive capabilities than say the M249 or PKP Pecheneg. However, if you think of it as an assault rifle with a higher magazine capacity and utilise it in this manner, there is quite a lot to like about this gun. First of all, the recoil is relatively low, in comparison to other weapons in its class which makes this a prime candidate for accurate fire. While the comparatively small magazine might seem like a disadvantage, if you aim and use small bursts to increase your accuracy, then this becomes a potent mid-range weapon. Sustained fire isn't too bad but the problem is that you have to keep reloading unless you have extended magazines but even then, I wouldn't recommend using it like a proper LMG, you'll eat up all your ammo and waste valuable time reloading. Running and gunning with the RPK isn't a particularly good idea because the hip fire spread is all over the place and it's a little slow to bring to bear. What you want to do is move cover to cover and firing only when stationary rather than when in motion.

Recommended Attachments:

• Kobra Red Dot Sight
• Bipod
• Flash Suppressor

The Kobra RDS is probably your best choice for optics because the sight itself is relatively unintrusive and gives a much better sightline than iron sights. Compared to the other sights, this takes up the least room which means you get a clearer view of your peripherals. The bipod is excellent for when you need accurate sustained fire while remaining stationary and more useful than the foregrip which helps manage side-to-side recoil but is ultimately pointless since the side-to-side recoil is very manageable and gives you a penalty when aiming down sight. The flash suppressor provides a reduction in vertical recoil and helps mask your weapon's flash when firing, allowing you to stay visually hidden from your enemies, provided you have good cover.

Indie Video Game Highlight - Poltergeist: A Pixelated Horror

Hey ho readers. What's happening and what is good with you all. The year has flew like nobody's business but we are here to brighten up your mid year crisis and what better way to do that other than playing as a ghost who's job is to scare people. After all it is that time of year where superstition reigns supreme, and for those of you who are ignorant to international festivals, it is the Chinese Mid Autumn Festival (Hungry Ghost Month). The Hungry Ghost Month is basically when the walls of Hell and Earth are thinnest and when the deceased can phase into the living world to visit their 'haunting grounds' when they were alive. I apologize for the digression, so lets jump into the game.

                 Footage via the ever industrious Jesse Cox

You know how games usually put you in charge of the so-called good guy, well you aren't going to find that here in Poltergeist. In fact you play the the poltergeist, the evil abomination that gets off by putting people through horrifying experiences. That is the basically the whole premise of this puzzle game, your solemn goal is to chase any living thing ( be it dog or human ) out of the level. With a large array of powers at your disposal, you have to use each carefully and in a specific order to allow the poltergeist to scare the be- jabbers out of your victims. Last but not least, the game devs actually won the Square Enix Latin America Game Contest 2012 for the quirky idea which became the precursor to this game.

Let's here what the creators have to say about their own game as there is nothing better than hearing it from the horse's mouth :

Have you ever wondered what it feels to be a ghostly being?

You have always lived happily in your manor. A manor that you managed to obtain with a lot of hard work and many personal sacrifices. Naturally you don't want anyone else to take care of it, not even in death!

But now, after your demise, many tenants have taken over it, and this is intolerable to you. Luckily, your love for your manor has granted you powers that will help you get rid of those pesky individuals.

Watch them run and scream, scaring them using your intelligence, wit, and with the use of powers like possessions, spectres, altering objects and more.

Have fun and play with the occult... and become a Poltergeist!

Poltergeist is a puzzle game for PC/Mac/Linux in which you are a ghost named Henry B. Knight. In which you will scare the tennants currently living in your house, so you can have some peace at last in the afterlife.

As a game, it will feature:

• A total of 60+ levels. These levels will occur in different time periods of the history of the manor.
• A variety of powers for you to control in each level: Lifting objects, possessing objects, invoking spectres and more.
• Enemies, like priests and ghost hunters that will getting in your path of getting rid of everyone inside your manor. This will also include special "boss" characters in each time period.

Poltergeist, as a puzzle game, will be divided in levels. In each level you will have a limited number of powers for you to use. You must use these powers with intelligence and precision, so you can haunt all the tenants the are in the level.

But be careful, if you use all of your powers in a level, and not all of the tenants were haunted, you will lose. You must be careful to choose your power and where/when to use them!

Usually powers will work in a specific "room". The execution of a power in a room will not affect characters who are outside of that room. This is important, because there are some powers that can affect various rooms with just one use.

There will be also enemies. Priests, Ghost Hunters and other "Boss" characters are tougher than normal ones, and they can and will block certain powers. If you use a power near one of these special characters, they will block it and it won't scare anyone.

The objective of Poltergeist is not of "seriousness". It is a very light-hearted take on the ghost concept by becoming the ghost itself.

It is designed to be fun, to feel more mischievous than actually evil. Pretty much like "mustache twirling evil" type. More of a playful little child that smirks every time he/she makes a prank on his neighbor.

It is also not a game of mad skill and twitching. You will carefully execute everyone of your actions carefully to finish each level. Think of "Lemmings", but without the extra pressure that game has (n_n).

1. Alert: Call the nearest character to an area. Animals and special characters will always take heed before other characters.
2. Alter Object: Alters the selected object. Removes one scare point to everyone who is in the same room.
3. Launch Object: Launches the selected object to another room. Removes one scare point on start and end rooms.
4. Possess an Object: Possesses an object for a short time. Will cause two scare points.
5. Possess a Human (new for the current version fo the game): Will possess a human! The human will scare a lot and will also travel to a specified room, scaring everyone in its path! When the power vanishes, the ex-possessed character will run away in panic.
6. Invoke Spectre: Creates a spectre in an specific area. Removes two scare points.
7. Invoke an illusion (new for the current version fo the game): Creates an illusion that scares a character and forces her to move to the selected area.
8. Create a Portal: A portal. Very powerful, and we know you want it!

Normal characters: The normal characters just wander around the manor, waiting to be scared. They can talk and get distracted, but otherwise they are completely vulnerable to your powers!

Special characters (priest, ghost hunter): These characters are tough! They exist to make your haunting schemes more difficult, they are serious in their jobs and will block some of your powers whenever they can!

"Boss" characters (new for the current version fo the game): In every era of your manor's history, there will be one level with an special character. They are tougher than special characters and can also block powers. Beware, they can be tricky!

"Epoch" characters (new for the current version fo the game): Many more characters will exist in the house, according to the current historic era they ara living in!.

The game is currently at the funding stage so if this piques your interest, you are more then welcome to support them at http://www.indiegogo.com/projects/poltergeist-pixelated-horror-a-puzzle-videogame-for-pc-mac-linux. Time is running out soon so get those wallets out if you love to play a ghost-themed puzzle game.

Until then this has been Alex Plum with IGH, reminding you that University life drains more than just your energy. Till next time readers, remember to floss after every meal.

Battlefield 3 Field Notes: We Must Be Supersoldiers

Hello readers, welcome back to another installment of Field Notes! This time, we're headed back to the bright and ridiculously lens-flare prone Battlefield to examine what the player-character in multiplayer actually is. To help break up the monotony of text, there's a video in the middle somewhere, enjoy!

Have you ever considered that the troops in Battlefield 3, on both the US and Russian sides are basically supersoldiers? Let me give you a run down of why I think this might be the case. First, these guys absorb bullets like the various types of rounds are made out of rubber or some sort of material that hurts you but doesn't kill you. Second, when they do get shot, they have healing factors that can be accelerated by standing around an unopened box of medical supplies. Then there's the issue of explosives apparently doing very little damage to the player other than taking down their health if there's enough distance between the player and the explosion. If I remember correctly, explosions typically involve shrapnel which could hit a major artery and lead to heavy bleeding or at least ruin the use of limbs and a rather powerful shockwave that has the capacity to turn people deaf without proper ear protection (I suppose this is mitigated by the fact that most soldiers wear a form of hearing protection) and occasionally break some bones.


Then, there's the ridiculous weapon proficiency that each soldier seems to have. Arguably, a gun is a gun and there probably won't be too much of a problem wielding various firearms if you're trained in using one already but each gun tends to have different characteristics that would probably take some getting used to. For example, in the Assault class, you can use a conventional assault rifle like the Colt M16A3 or a bullpup like the FN F2000. While most weapons operate on roughly the same principles (i.e. point the gun, pull the trigger, lead spits out the barrel towards where you point), I suspect it would be difficult to operate one weapon from the other especially when you were trained for one design and not the other. Keeping with this example, reloading would be a confusing mess for a pretty long time since your muscle memory from using the M16 would influence you to load the magazine up front when the well is at the back on the F2000. Then, there's the issue of compensating for fire rate and recoil, which isn't too bad in terms of recoil for the M16 and F2000 but the fire rate would be a different story since the F2000 fires significantly faster that M16. Imagine the difference in recoil though between a 5.56x45mm rifle like the M16 and a 7.62x51mm battle rifle like the G3A3, I suspect it'd be a bit harder to handle the 7.62 when firing full-auto even though it has a significantly lower rate of fire.

Alright, maybe that last bit was a little too much of a gripe and realistically, you could use most guns if you know how to use one in general. However, the fact that you are apparently trained in using all sorts of vehicles is definitely ridiculous. Apparently, the player-character has received training in piloting helicopters (transport, attack and scout varieties regardless of the faction), piloting planes (fighters and ground-attack varieties, again regardless of faction), driving and manning the weapons system on tanks, driving and using the weapons systems on IFVs/APCs, driving land transport (fast reconnaissance vehicles and personnel carriers) and driving water transport (boats mostly). Man, the US Marine Corps and Russian Army are made up of some really talented, or ridiculously well-trained people, especially since their troops apparently have the capability to use all sorts of vehicles and weapons systems.

I realise that Battlefield 3 is nowhere near realistic but it's still pretty hilarious if you think about how insane all the mechanics in the game work if you apply some semblance of realism or logic to it.

Creative Writing: An Exercise in Repetitive Pattern

The Experiment

The rusty lever creaks creepily

The brash lightning flashes momentarily

The mad scientist laughs hysterically

The steel corpse awakens revitalized

The steel lightning creaks revitalized

The rusty scientist flashes creepily

The brash corpse laughs momentarily

The mad lever awakens hysterically

The mad scientist creaks hysterically

The steel corpse flashes revitalized

The rusty lever laughs creepily

The brash lightning awakens momentarily

The brash corpse creaks momentarily

The mad lever flashes hysterically

The steel lightning laughs revitalized

The rusty scientist awakens creepily

---------------------------------------------------------------------

I used a pattern to rotate each word of the sentence either up or down in the paragraph for each sentence to form the next paragraph, akin to a rotating wheel. The transformation of each set of words to the next has different effects on meaning and imagery and hence, it is a double connotation on 'The Experiment' - referring to Dr Frankenstein


                                  (replaced by 'lightning')
Static (The) Down (rusty) Up (lever) Static (creaks) Down (creepily)
                 (replaced by 'steel')                                                       (replaced by 'revilatized')

->Becomes-> The steel lightning creaks revitalized

The Last of Us Field Notes: Swift, Silent, Deadly

This game. This game is really something else. The single player is fantastic and deserves a proper review but I neither have the time nor talent to flesh out how brilliant this game is. Instead, let's have a little skulk around Factions, the rather interesting multiplayer component for The Last of Us. Before we start off, let me just say that there are a lot of issues surrounding Factions, the most annoying of which is the huge connection problem that every Naughty Dog has had since Uncharted 2. Factions is undeniably fun, when you can connect to it. I know not everyone gets the "Error downloading config file" or "Error syncing levels" problem but if you Google it, you'll see it's a fairly big problem and there's been not a peep from SCEA or ND about what's actually going wrong and how to fix it and that irks me to no end because I love Factions and I would play it more but I cannot because of some crappy connection issues that have plagued me since Uncharted 2.

Now that that's out of the way, let's talk Factions. This game mode is a fascinating and rather unique blend of stealth-based third person shooter gameplay combined with a challenge-based mission structure that affects off-screen survivors that you have to keep alive for "weeks" which is just through 7 games of Supply Raid or Survivor. The main objective of the game is to keep your little band of rag-tag Fireflies or Hunters alive for 12 weeks and, man oh man, is that a challenge. Keeping them healthy and well-fed isn't too hard. You just have to scavenge a lot during matches to get "supplies" or "parts"(converted into supplies at the end of the match). The supplies ensure that your clan is healthy and continues to grow while parts are used during a match as currency to upgrade your weapons or buy armour. As well as supplies and parts, you can also scavenge for crafting items just like in the single-player portion of the game.

Along the way, you are given "missions" which are basically just a front for getting you to complete certain challenges within 3 matches (or "days" using the game's terminology) with the penalty being losing members of your clan by a certain percentage, usually 60% or 100% and with each level of the challenge you complete, you mitigate the damage done to your clan. Now, I have a serious problem with this mode because there are very few challenges and most of them involve either killing or executing enemies which is damned hard in the first place. But worse, these missions require killing or executing enemies with particular weapons and it's not possible to keep using your same favourite weapon because the challenge criteria goes up with each time you pick it regardless of success or failure. Furthermore, these missions never bring you a positive result, just a mitigation of a negative result. I understand that this is keeping in the survivalist aspect and overall theme of the game but it is utterly ridiculous that 100% of my clan can get wiped out because I fail to complete a challenge considering that the missions usually involve getting attacked or attacking a rival faction. Realistically, not everyone's going to die because if you were really a smart survivor which you would have to be in this post-apocalyptic world, you'd be smart enough to mitigate your losses by bringing only those necessary to complete the job and packing off back-up and less able survivors to a safer location. But, no, even if I'm attacking a Firefly camp, I'm attacking them full-on with all my forces in one mass attack even though they're probably entrenched and have defences at the ready.

Other than the really annoying mission structure that makes no sense whatsoever and basically threatens to kill all my clan and force me to start all over for not completing some silly challenges, this mode is otherwise extremely fun. The two game modes available in Factions are, as previously mentioned, Supply Raid and Survivor. Both are basically team deathmatch with the twist being you only have 4 players on each team and fairly large maps to skulk around to find and eliminate each other. Survivor is exactly the same except you don't respawn during the rounds so if you're killed, bad luck, sit it out until the next round. The objective is the same, eliminate the enemy team and win as many rounds as possible in that way. Both game modes are extremely fun but it is a little disappointing that the multiplayer aspect of the game only offers team deathmatch style modes and no objective based ones like collecting as many parts as possible or some sort of domination style match. Furthermore, it seems a little strange that there are no Infected whatsoever. I think they should have tried including a game mode where one team is survivors and one team is Infected but I'm not a game developer so I don't know if that would be possible or keeping in line with what the development team wanted to do with the game. Maybe add in NPC Infected that hound you as you try eliminating the other team? Adds some challenge to the whole thing and maybe give an opportunity for both teams to cooperate before wiping each other out.

In terms of actual gameplay, this game requires a lot of patience and the ability to stay stealthy for extended periods of time. Like the title suggests, for you to win, you must be swift, silent and deadly all at the same time. If you're too slow, the enemy will be breathing down your neck with armour, upgraded weapons and crafted items like Molotovs (the bane of my existence in this game) or nail bombs. So, you have to move fast enough to gather supplies and crafting items to ensure that the enemy doesn't have a sharp advantage over you. You must be silent because noise reveals your location on the radar and moving too fast will lead you to an inevitable death if the enemy is smart enough to use listen mode to echo-locate your position. Lastly, you must be deadly because there is no time to mince about and take your time stalking your enemy because they are stalking you all the same. Both parties are equally hunter and hunted. Teamwork is another key component of this unique game because you need to work together and stick together if you want to survive. At the same time, you must be ruthless, leaving teammates to die when they are bleeding out because the enemy is probably using them as bait, drawing you in to heal him then popping out and popping you both. Lone wolfing isn't out of the option but being separated and ambushed by an enemy that knows how to work together is the worst possible position you can find yourself in. But sticking too close to each other is a bad idea as well because a well placed Molotov can kill an entire team.

In short, this is one of the best games I've ever played and I recommend you to get it and jump on Factions (if you can).

Indie Video Game Highlight: Fran Bow

Point and click adventures were the shit back in the infantile days of gaming. When computer processing power was a limitation such gameplay became one of the only few ways that game of quality and play-ability could be manufactured. While it offers less liberal game-play I do enjoy a good puzzle game done in this manner ( Point and click's allow you to be more immersed in a story-telling experience ). Add that with a horror element, you got me throwing money at the screen. Ladies and gents, let me present to you Fran Bow.

Gameplay demo and commentary form the ever entertaining Jesse Cox

Below is the game description via the KillMonday team ( The Dev Team for the game)

"Fran Bow is a Horror Point and click game that tells the story of Fran, a young girl struggling with a mental disorder and an unfair destiny. It is a trip to the deepest and darkest side of human psychology, delivered through blood and tears.

After being witness of the gruesome (and mysterious) loss of her parents, found dismembered at their home Fran runs away into the woods, together with her only friend: Mr. Midnight, a black cat that Fran had previously received as a present from her parents. In the forest, Fran loses senses and when she recovers, she is at Oswald Asylum, an oppressive mental institution for children, with no trace of Mr. Midnight.
After having a dream about her beloved cat she decides to escape the institution to find him and go back to aunt Grace. Aunt Grace is her only living relative who she is very fond of.

Nothing comes easy for Fran. There is also a strange creature, Remor, who wants to prevent Fran Bow from going home at any cost. But she is determined to find her cat, return to aunt Grace and together find out who is responsible for her parents murders."

Watching the game, you would notice the very innovative feature of imaginary realms and reality. By taking some kind of pill, Fran Bow is able to see the hellish realms in the hospital. This adds a new dimension of puzzle solving  and horror to the game ( meaning there are two layers to see in every room ). The medication aspect of the game does create a higher level of difficulty and intrigue to the puzzles and does instill a sense of paranoia ( at least in me) that the twisted imagination realm might soon displace Fran's reality. There is not much to say about the gameplay cause come on, what else are you going to say about a point-and-click game other than you point and click around the screen for clues. I will say it is immensely addicting and fun though.

There never seems to be an IGH where I do not croon about the art sense of the game. Let's face it, visuals to some degree, make or break a game. I'm happy to say that the world in Fran Bow is both murky and depressing. The hand-drawn characters and settings really drive the point in that you are playing a bizarre and twisted game. If i were to compare this game visually and story-wise, I would say that Fran Bow greatly reminds me  of Alice: Madness Returns ( One of my favorite games visually, sonic-ally and story-wise ). In both games, both characters are committed into mental asylums and both characters have to to deal with monstrosities and aberrations not off this world.

The game is still in an unfinished state but it looks really polished from what I can observe. Fran Bow is ambitiously trying to reach multiple platforms ( Linux, Mac, Android, IOS and Windows). If you like what you see why not give them a hand at funding here and vote for their game on the GreenLight. For more information, screenshots and bios on the creator please click here.

This is Alex Plum delivering you the latest installment of your Indie Game Highlight. Have a great day everyone and do not forget to look both ways before crossing the road we call life.

Dragon Age Once More

I'll be forward. I didn't like Dragon Age II.

While I'm sure there are people out there who thoroughly enjoyed their experience with it, before you raise your pitchforks and torches, let me explain. Dragon Age II isn't a bad game. However, after my infatuation with Dragon Age: Origins -- its predecessor -- jumping into Dragon Age II felt like a letdown.

Dragon Age: Origins on the PC was one of my favorite games of 2009. It was tactical and diverse. It was a love letter to the old-school PC RPGs I grew up on. The continent of Thedas was vast, and while the game was only set in the kingdom of Ferelden, the game let us travel to amazing and varied landscapes. The character and dialogue was written and acted out incredibly well, with companions commenting on relationships, past-quests and current circumstances.

Some changes came with Dragon Age II. Following the development process (albeit from the media) and reading post-development blogs (see Matt Rhodes' great blog post, if you have the time), I understand that all choices were made with genuine passion. While Dragon Age II hoped to show us the evolution of the city of Kirkwall and its surroundings, the environment became repetitive and I thought these spaces were generally bland and flat. I enjoyed the new action-oriented approach, but it became a letdown when its originally more strategic elements were sacrificed because of it. Playing on the PC didn't feel as engaging. I felt disjointed from my companions, having to make less choices in their development as characters. It was a shame too, as I was eagerly anticipating it from the day it was announced on GameInformer.com. Dragon Age II isn't a bad game, I was just slightly letdown.

After Dragon Age II, I waited for a sequel. A sequel that would challenge its flaws and improve upon what made it fun. Jumping back into Thedas would be easy and I'd gladly go back in for another round.

That all changed in E3 2013 when Dragon Age: Inquisition was officially announced.

While the footage was running in-engine without gameplay, it looked amazing. Bioware talked about listening to the community, and the exciting new prospects resulting from it. I became instantly attached. I wanted to know more. I mean did you see that monster of a Qunari? Who the [redacted] is he? Heh, I even bought GameInformer's latest issue on the day they announced they'd be covering Dragon Age: Inquisition.

It was then that I realised: I wanted to get back into Dragon Age. Relearn the lore. Make my mark. Quell the Blight once more. Set the foundation for when I inevitably come back for round 3.

I searched stores for Dragon Age: Origin's Ultimate Edition only to be told that it was no longer being produced. Fortunately EA's Origin service had it ready for me to download.

It's like déjà vu all over again.



Bernard Sam is an author at The Ops Centre. He has finished the first season of Bravest Warriors on YouTube and wants more.

Bioshock Infinite (PS3) Review

"Bring us the girl and wipe away the debt."

Bioshock Infinite (2013) is the third instalment of the critically-acclaimed Bioshock first-person shooter series, developed by Irrational Games and published by 2K Games, a subsidiary of Take-Two Interactive. While not directly related to Bioshock or Bioshock 2, Bioshock Infinite does borrow a lot of gameplay and thematic elements from the previous two games. Before I start the review proper, I should point out that the game has been out for a while and as a result, I'm not going to shy away from spoilers, so be warned for those who haven't actually played the game. Realistically, this is less of a review and more of a one-sided discussion on the game since it's been out for a while and has been the topic of some heated discussion, particularly surrounding the plot. Nevertheless, there will be coverage on the major aspects usually covered in reviews albeit with a little more emphasis on plot rather than gameplay or aesthetics.


Breathtaking. In my mind, that is the only word that can properly sum up my first impression of the game as I stepped through the doors into Columbia proper after a bizarre opening sequence involving a rowboat, a lighthouse, a rocket, a near drowning disguised as a baptism and some really quirky (even ironic) worshipping of Thomas Jefferson, George Washington and Ben Franklin as religious figures by the suspiciously whitewashed and almost overzealous pilgrims. By the time you get to the raffle where everything goes wrong for poor old Booker DeWitt, you realise that there's something not quite right about Columbia, especially if you go around collecting Voxophones and viewing Kinetoscopes (for background knowledge and trophies, of course). Hiding beneath the beautiful visage of a floating paradise is something deeply wrong with the city, a fact confirmed when the prize you get for winning a raffle is to have the first throw of a baseball-stoning (how quintessentially American) of an interracial couple. 
The plot from there expands into a multi-tiered and multi-layered work of art that encompasses a bloody civil war between two equally ruthless belligerents, a simple yet elegant examination of multiple universes and a character-driven experience that follows the growth of both Elizabeth and Booker, all wrapped up in themes of American exceptionalism taken to its most extreme conclusion, racism, religious extremism, blind idealism and a meta-commentary on choice and freedom in video games. This game, I cannot stress enough, is brilliant in its take on storytelling and taking on the most controversial of issues that pervades both modern and past society. What starts off as a seemingly quirky journey to start a long escort mission instead becomes an immersive and entertaining experience that really makes the player think about the issues presented by the game.  At first, on the surface of it, the game revolves around an ex-Pinkerton hired to rescue a mysterious girl trapped in a huge monument to Columbia and to bring her to New York in order to pay his debts accrued by gambling. As the plot progresses though, the plot thickens with the addition of an ongoing and bloody civil war between the Founders (the racist defenders of Columbia's whiteness) and the Vox Populi (a group that has noble values of achieving equality at first but quickly degenerates into anarchism and committing violence for violence's sake). The plot is made more complex by the inclusion of time travel, the manipulation of the space-time continuum and travel between alternate universes. Along the way, we see Elizabeth's rapid growth following her freedom from captivity as she engages with the world around her, moving from a (literally) wide-eyed idealist to a more practical realist that understands the world is not particularly nice or kind, having spent time with Booker but still keeping that sense of innocence and general upbeat attitude that helps to temper Booker's deep cynicism and loathing of the world. 
The storytelling medium used by the game ditches the traditional cutscene expositions but instead uses dialogue and the occasional taking away of the ability to move from Booker to advance the plot (sort of like a cutscene, but you're in character) while voxophones and kinetoscopes provide the bulk of background on Columbia's past and present. This is the kind of storytelling that I think should be in all games. A subtle form of exposition and narrative that allows the player to explore further if they wish to learn more about the game's universe goes a long way in making Infinite one of the best games ever made. The emotional core of the story is also not as heavy-handed as most other story-driven games, with players allowed to develop their own feelings and emotions regarding the whole situation as well as the characters rather than being manipulated from the start to feel a certain way as the developers' dictate it. Emotional manipulation is not necessarily a bad thing but I quite dislike heavy-handed techniques designed to evoke a specific response because I feel it's a little dishonest and quite frankly, I don't like it when people try to pull my strings. Luckily, Bioshock: Infinite isn't too heavy with emotional manipulation except maybe in one or two instances where it's really needed to hammer home a point, such as in the ending where Booker gives little Anna DeWitt away. 
Most of the reality-bending space-time continuum manipulation makes sense, except for one niggling detail that kept bugging me. When travelling through the various tears to get the Vox Populi their weapons, how did Elizabeth and Booker know they were headed into the correct tear? I suppose that could be explained away by trial and error, whereby they just headed into whatever tear was available but if that were the case, it seems awfully convenient for the tears to lead specifically where they wanted it to. Then again, Elizabeth does argue that it is a form of wish fulfillment on her end but like I said earlier, it's a little too deus ex machina for my liking. 
In terms of gameplay, Infinite has its fair share of exciting moments and ridiculously awesome features (like the ability to combine vigors that might possess an enemy then use him as a mobile bomb) but overall, the gameplay does get a little repetitive by the end. Go here, kill a bunch of people, activate a lever or button, kill another bunch of people, explore for weapons, salts and ammo (something I found myself doing quite a lot in 1999 mode) and kill more people! The shooting mechanics are exactly the same as the shooting mechanics in any other first person shooter just punctuated by the addition of vigors which are arguably just a unique take on the secondary weapons/grenades/equipment prevalent in other shooters. While the skylines are a much-touted and extremely fun feature, they don't feature as much as they were advertised and combat on the skylines are much easier than you might think since holding down the aim button has the reticle locking on to the nearest enemy. This is a nifty anti-frustration feature but it feels like a break from immersion especially when you have aim assist off, like I usually do when playing shooters.
Outside of the violence committed by Booker, the game allows you to explore a bit of Columbia as you go along, an especially useful tactic if you're playing the oft-cursed 1999 Mode where every little thing you find goes a long way to helping you survive. As mentioned previously, exploration grants you voxophones and kinetoscopes that help to expand on the story and really fleshes out the universe inhabited by our protagonists. Going back to the topic of 1999 Mode, I'm unsure as to why people have been complaining that it is frustratingly hard. It's a fairly mediocre difficulty and the checkpoints are plentiful, so, any death you suffer or money you lost can be regained by simply using checkpoints rather than letting yourself be "saved". If you explore and pick up every damned thing that shines, then you'll be in good stead. Actually, that's what I love about this game and The Last of Us, my obsession with collecting things and looking everywhere to get them is really rewarded when in other games it just seems like I have a compulsion for hoarding.
Aesthetically speaking, this game is beyond beautiful and the graphics are just superb. However, there are some issues with texture lag whereby the texture takes way too long to load and everything looks really washed out and blurry. I suspect this has to do with a lack of sizeable install which means most of the game is run off the Blu-Ray rather than from an installed file. Other than that though, everything looks fantastic and has this really cool arty yet cartoony yet serious look to it. 
Conclusion: Bioshock Infinite is a rare breed indeed, a game where both style and substance are equally triumphant. Columbia is beautiful to behold even as it descends into darkness and destruction while the plot is as elegantly simple as it is wonderfully complex. Tied to the plot is the wonderful characterisation and character development undergone by the two leads who are by far the two of the most interesting and three-dimensional characters I've ever come across in a video game. The gameplay isn't too much of a deviation from standard shooters but the inclusion of vigors, gear and a selection of interesting enemies makes it one of the more unique shooters in an over-saturated genre. A strong contender for game of the year and definitely one that will go into the history books.

Indie Video Game Highlight: Trash TV

When Mario games first hit the video game market in the last few decades, everyone went batshit crazy about 2D platforming. In hindsight it is not hard to see why, with tight controls, challenging game-play and catchy chiptunes, it makes total sense for the formula to be replicated time and time again. Just look at the plethora of 2D slide-scrolling video games that have impinge our world : Megaman, Contra, Castlevania, and the more recent Super Meat Boy . Right now there is a new kid in town vying for the crown of top dog and its name is Trash TV.

Funnily enough the game started out as a clone of another 2D side-scroller the indie hit Super Crate Box. While it was no the creator's intention to make a exact copy of the game or even release it, the game was conceived when Lawrie was attending university. He tried simply to mess around with the gameplay aspects of Super Crate Box by adding to it and remixing its components to see whether another game emerged that he could call his own creation. What came out of this curious experiment, was a quasi-original game that is somewhat intriguing story-wise and gameplay-wise.

You play as a television set which you view from a 2D perspective. The game seems to mislead the player with the wielding of a gun ( instead of shooting enemies you mainly shoot explosives ) as you soon discover that the game is puzzle game ( kinda like a mix of Portal ad Super Meat Boy ). Don't be fooled though, it isn't a slow game of checkers; it’s a fast paced game as your fingers have to be as rapid as as your reflexes. Admittedly, the game fluctuates its pace with the introduction of some puzzles that require some degree of deep thought. With the combination of speed and wit, expect a whole lot of deaths and rage quitting ( perfect for those rage gamers out there).

The game is also sleek and stylish, with the design and art getting a huge thumbs up from me. The game is dark and moody, just the way I like my games to be ( It seems to have become a recurring thing with me). There is just something about the manic-depressive vibe that just jives with me. The art also serves to enhance the illusion and mystery of the game's narrative. It serves to leave a sense of intrigue and wonder as you question why a lone TV set is venturing through this prosaic world.

So what s the story about? Well, even I am not clear on that front. In fact, lets just get the creator ( Lawrie Russel ) to adumbrate the story details of his brainchild. 

“I want to say it’s top secret, but really I can’t say because I know it’ll change several times over before it’s finished. It’s all based around the mono myth, though. The hero starts an ordinary life, thrown into another world, has a bunch of challenges to over come (all the puzzles), finds an artifact that can be used to save himself/the world, one last big trial and then transcendence back to the start. Most computer games have Act 1 as a skippable cut scene at the beginning of the game. Act 2 comprises all the game bits. Act 3 doesn't really happen because no one can even remember the beginning or it’s left open for a sequel. The real challenge is trying to get Act 1 and 3 to not be a short cut scene.” (via indiestatik)

Gotta love the philosophy that features in games sometimes. It makes you question your existence and then leaves you with that ephemeral warm fuzzy feeling in your chest that you know will be gone by the morning.

Well that has been your latest installment of IGH. Once again, a huge thank you to Mr Jesse Cox (OMFGCata) for allowing us permission to utilize his brilliant video material. Please show him as well as us loads of love. Until then, here's Alex Plum reminding you to have a nice day and to use your P's and Q's. Trust me, it makes the world a merrier place.

Book Review: 'The White Tiger' by Aravind Adiga

'The White Tiger' is Adiga's debut novel set in a modern but polarised India, written in first person as Balram Halwai, who is aptly described at the back of the book as 'servant, philosopher, entrepreneur, murderer'. The book has reached critical acclaim since its debut in 2008 and won the very significant Man Booker prize in the same year. It is the fourth debut novel ever to win the prize.

This review will by no means be a critical literary review. I hold no qualifications to criticise anything but my own subjective interpretation of this body of work. But perhaps that is what ultimately qualifies me to review it. I am its intended audience. And so it will be done with utmost bias. Objectivity is never a selling point for any art form, and it certainly shall not be present at all in the next few hundred words.

What first intrigued me about this book was not its contents, but its achievements. Winning the international (well, Commonwealth) Man Booker prize is no easy task and I admit, that is how it first caught my eye off the bookshelves. The author is the second youngest person at 33 to be awarded the prize and what more, for his debut novel. With that alone in mind I turned its pages eagerly, trying to isolate a single brilliant characteristic that must have brought it to global attention (as I do with most prize winning novels). I was both thrilled and disappointed by the last chapter.

'The White Tiger' has a clear, definite story to tell. This gives it an edge in its structure; the author knows exactly when and where to reveal bits of information that takes you up and down a roller-coaster ride of narrative. From Balram's precious and impoverished childhood to his days as a lower servant and his ascension to a higher servant, every phase of his life is built specifically to outline different messages and crescendoes to the climax of his journey in Delhi. For the most part, there is only character development for one person, the most important person, Balram himself, who from the first page is noticeably different from the majority of the book. We see him narrate with detail his own metamorphosis through the social and political changes in India, with great insight into the 'darkness' - the poor, marginalised lower caste devoid of rights. Yet, he breathes so much life into these people that you do not feel sorry for them. They live in their own world, on the same planet but in different realities. The story is all about the transcension from one world to the next and does so with satire, contrast and wit. Having been to India myself and to some of the locations in the book, I imagined these scenes with clarity and understood the truth behind its settings. But I could have never emphatised with it on my own and that is exactly what the novel puts you through.

The novel's quality lies in its use of realism to convey its message. It is real not in a microscopic sense but in a big picture this is how the world works for this person and that person. I imagine the piece would lose some of its value if it were read by anyone living in a similar situation in India, particularly the lower castes (if they could read) as its 'shock value' would be rendered redundant, though its message is strong. I will not say that all lives in India are different or the same, but the character documents the one less travelled and compares it almost excessively with its polar opposite, making as though there are only two sides to a war, trying to create diversity through differentiation. The book is on the verge of complexity, but it never strays away from the simple -simple truths, simple facts, simple people. This is probably what prevents it from a sense of timelessness, it is notable but it needs more weight.

One of the things that irritated me at first was its language and its form (Balram is writing letters to the Chinese Prime Minister). I understand that every story needs a platform to launch but this was somewhat unreal and detrimental to when he delves into the realness of his life. I had gotten past the fact that a seemingly uneducated man was writing a structured english letter to a foreign Prime Minister, where in canon, he must have only started really learning to write english in his late 20's. But Fiction is Fiction and if you don't notice, it will not bother you. The author is no Vladimir Nobokov but his writing style is consistent and easily decypherable. Simplicity becomes a metaphor in itself in context of the character and works well.

My main disappointments are in the lack of character development outside the narrator, the slightly condescending, simplistic tone and lack of creativity with the language. Its merits are in its well thought-out narrative structure, underlying political and social values and its honesty in presenting issues.

Overall, I can see why the novel has won the prize. It is well above droves of fiction but still missing a rounded quality that would help make it more memorable. I will not give it a number but it ranks above 'The Perks of being a Wallflower' but below 'Life of Pie'.

Obscure Video Game Highlight: Incredible Crisis

When it comes to crazy games, there would be little doubt that Japan is at the forefront of the said field. With games like I'm Sorry and Seaman, you would be forgiven for thinking that the Japanese have a weird sense of humor or a skewed culture. Love it or hate it, these games have garnered a cult following and makes for a good laugh ( or perhaps invoke thoughts of killing yourself from all of the absurdities ). The following is a game I played with my friends when I was but a wee child, introducing the one and only Incredible Crisis.



 



Exclusively for the Playstation system, you play as Taneo and the various members that make up his family as we uncover what having a really bad day in Japan is all about. Taneo is a salary man working in modern day Japan waiting to get home for his mother's birthday when shit hits the fan. He is chased by boulders, thrown out of vehicles, falls off skyscrapers and has to prevent an army attack on a mothership. His family members aren't spared from the misfortune as in the other half of the story line you get to play as Etsuko (Taneo's wife), Ririka ( Tanoe and Etsuko's daughter) and Tsuyoshi (Taneo and Etsuko's son). Each of their story arc fits in seamlessly in the overall plot as it chronicles each family member's journey to find their way home for Haruko's (the grandmother) birthday.

The game is made up entirely of 24 mini games that function to progress the story ( although it is sad to see that some of them are reused ). Classified under the party genre, it is a great game for entertaining hoards of friends while leaving them crippled with laughter. The gameplay is very simple, comprising of simplistic quick hit mini games and button mashing sections, utilizing the directional pad and action buttons. Some of the mini gams are more puzzle oriented, focussing on completing a task within a certain time limit rather than action oriented gameplay such as  Etsuko's task to replace an item's exact weight with a combination of her own items. A big plus is that all mini games can be selected and played individually after the story mode of the game is completed.

Story wise, it will be crazy and it will be incredible (as the title suggests). I really love how the story features normal characters experiencing an extraordinary twist of fate. I do love it when game developers approach a game with a tongue in cheek manner, letting us gamers have game that is light hearted and humorous, a stark contrast to all the serious games which dominate the mainstream market. Incredible Crisis was remarkably innovative for its time, showing that a fully fledged game can be made comprising of mini games when done right. It is a shame that a sequel wasn't made for the PS2.

Incredible Crisis was developed by Polygon Magic. The design and script was done by Kenichi Nishi and the game's art director was Naozumi Yamaguchi. For more information and spoilers on the game, please click here.