REVIEW - Call of Duty: Black Ops (PC, PS3, Xbox 360, Wii)

I put down my control pad, and slowly take off my headphones.  Leaning back in my chair for the first time in what seems like hours, I take a long deep breath.  As I reach for the glass of water to quench the thirst of my dry mouth, I see that the hand I stretch out is quivering involuntarily.  I realize that I have just gone through one of the most intense gaming experiences to date, and that it will take me a while before I am ready to go again - but already I can't wait.  Welcome to Call of Duty: Black Ops.


Call of Duty: Hi-Octane


To say that Call of Duty: Black Ops (Activision) is an intense experience is like saying that the Empire State Building is "quite big" or that the Pyramids are "somewhat aged."  Black Ops is the sort of game that grabs hold of your lapels right at the start and doesn't let go.  It is not the type of game that you curl up with on the sofa with a cup of coffee for a couple of hours.  Instead this is an "edge of the seat with a can of cola" game that you play one mission of and then collapse in exhaustion at the sheer, mind thumping intensity of it all.

The guns are meaty, which is fortunate - you will use them a lot!

While this isn't as a surprise in and of itself - the Call of Duty franchise has always been about heart pounding battle action - some may have thought that with the addition of the words Black Ops, that this game was set to have a slightly more Splinter Cell type stealth approach to it.  Wrong!  With the exception of one or two parts of various missions where one must sneak up behind an enemy solider, this game is fast and furious, with explosions and large scale battles aplenty.  Instead the Black Ops part refers to the secretive side to the government's various missions, and the classified nature of the many aims of the secret government operatives that accompany the vast majority of soldiers.

Do You Remember?

It is 1968, and you play Alex Mason (voiced by Sam Worthington), a secret government operative who has been involved in secret missions all over the world, all with the aim of bringing down the Soviet Union and winning the Cold War.  Mason is being interrogated by unknown shadowy figures about a peculiar set of numbers that are haunting Mason, and  Mason is forced into recalling many of his past assignments, into which the player is brought in.  The plot is complex, and focuses on the search for  a deadly WMD by the name of Nova 6.  Ultimately the plot gets a little lost, and is little more than an excuse to transport the player to different environments in different periods throughout the Cold War.  Although the main plot is quite forgettable, some of the characters are very memorable, making the player care a great deal about the fate of Mason's companions.  When a key companion is brutally murdered in the second half of the game, I was surprised at just how saddened I was at his demise.  Call of Duty is no emotionless shooter - the player is made to care about his surroundings and companions, and for this Black Ops deserves credit.

When Victor Reznov speaks, you listen...or else!

The much loved Victor Reznov (voiced by the outstanding Gary Oldman) returns after his appearance in Call of Duty: World at War, and is as entertaining and moving as ever.  Although he is the stereotypical Russian warrior, he also provides some of the games more poignant moments, such as when he regales Alex with the story of his father who played piano music as an act of resistance against the Nazis.  The touching story contributes to the serious tone that Call of Duty has always dipped its titles in, and provides a quiet contrast to the continual stream of loud, noisy action that Black Ops throws your way.

Gameplay, as always for this series, is astounding.  While offering the standard first person shooter type of gameplay, Black Ops does it perfectly and in a way that is entirely immersive and never boring.  Although large scale battles is what Call of Duty is famous for, the best moments come when the game suddenly changes course in the middle of a level.  So while one moment you will be fighting through a typical gun battle, the next moment you will find yourself seamlessly jumping into a helicopter and taking the battle to the skies.  Another level in Vietnam has you abandoning the loud, all guns blazing battlefield for a quiet stealth run in the underground tunnels that the Vietcong have built.  It results in a game that is never repetitive and always interesting.  I don't want to spoil any of the big surprises that Black Ops throws the players way, but it is safe to say that this is not the same old stop-shoot-stop-shoot gameplay that has characterized so many shooters in recent years.

War Never Looked So Good

Black Ops is made a more immersive experience by its presentation.  The graphics are simply stunning.  From the jungles of Vietnam to the towering industrial settings of Soviet Russia, Black Ops is very, very pretty.  Faces are rendered perfectly (using the same motion capture technology used in James Cameron's Avatar) and express the necessary emotion for players to be able to believe in them, colourful environments are legion and rarely fall back on the brown/gray color palate that haunts so many first person shooters, and even when the action is in full flow, the frame rate barely drops.

They aren't hunting rabbits.

This is a good thing, for full flow action is the pillar that holds the game together.  Everything moves quickly in Black Ops, which is made easier by its slick control system, well functioning AI, and an excellent use of the radar system that means you are able to keep up with the combat and know where it is you are supposed to be next.  It all gels superbly, and allows you to just about keep your head together while all around you are losing theirs (sometimes literally!)  It adds up to a frenzied experience that makes the player feels that they have been fighting the Cold War themselves.

That is not to say that Black Ops is not without its problems.  The main problem is the length.  Black Ops is a game that knows that many will buy it for its (impressive) multiplayer functions, and therefore may be accused of scrimping on length when it comes to the single player campaign.  This charge certainly has merit.  While there are a number of extra single player modes, such as a very fun zombie mode (where you can play as a wisecracking JFK or Richard Nixon), the campaign is quite brief, and when one is paying $60 for a game, the ability to complete the single player in a long weekend may put a lot of gamers off, at least until the title comes down in price.

Call of Duty vs Call of God

From a Catholic standpoint Black Ops is not perfect by any means.  One of Call of Duty's strengths from a Catholic perspective is that the series never tries to make war seem like a laugh or a consequence-free riot in the park.  Black Ops is no different.  The spirit of dulce et decorum est is not present in this game at all, with the developers preferring to emphasize the tragedy of war than its supposed glories.  The game rejects the false contrast of "saintly heroes" versus "evil bad guys", instead presenting the message that not only is neither side perfect, but also that men on both sides are victims of war.  Let me put it plainly - this was the first game I have played in a long time that made me feel bad for killing an enemy, and made me feel like a person had been killed, as opposed to just another cardboard cut-out of a solder.  Soldiers on the other side are not maniacal villains, but soldiers who have been caught up in the ongoing tragedy that is war, and the player is made to feel this.

"Excuse me!  Are you dead?"

Part of this message comes in the form of the game being a lot gritter and gorier than previous outings, and it is here where it runs into significant difficulty from a Catholic perspective.  Although gore is infrequent, it is very strong on those occasions that it is present.  One particular scene of a character's friend being gassed to death is particularly disturbing, both due to the graphic nature of his death, and also because it is likely that the player will have grown fond of the character by this point.  The game is filled with genuinely shocking moments, and consequently this means that Black Ops is certainly not for the faint hearted, with two graphic scenes of torture that push the boundaries of good taste.  Yet it cannot be said that the game glamorizes, approves or encourages such violence.  The graphic battlefield violence is done very much in the tone of Steven Spielberg's Saving Private Ryan, and the message of the futility of violence is the same.

Having said this, it is undeniable that Black Ops is a very fun game to play, and the sombre anti-war message is tainted somewhat by this.  This is a game that is (understandably) designed to be enormous amounts of fun with exaggerated explosions, high speed chases and adrenaline pumping action throughout the game.  It therefore rings slightly hollow when, after an exciting mission, the game turns round to you and tries to remind you how horrible it all is and tries to make you feel guilty for enjoying yourself.  Yet despite this contradiction, Black Ops still manages to convey a sense of the horrors of war so effectively that it provides a powerful reminder as to why war is the ultimate tragedy of humanity.  It is because of this positive that Black Ops just about manages to stop short of being exploitative.

Conclusion


From a technical perspective, Black Ops does little wrong.  The story gets lost in its twists and turns in the middle, and the campaign is certainly on the short side, but with perfect presentation, pulse-pounding gameplay, some unforgettable set pieces, and grade A voice acting, first person shooters don't come better than Call of Duty: Black Ops. 

Despite its technical qualities, Black Ops is still a game that will be difficult for many Catholic gamers, and should not be picked up lightly.  Call of Duty: Black Ops is a war game and means business.  Its graphic and gory scenes of battlefield violence and torture, frequent crude language, and actions of highly questionable moral judgements from main characters, mean that this game is for a limited adult audience only. Yet the positive overarching message and the communication of the depth of the personal human tragedy that war brings, prevents Call of Duty: Black Ops from being morally offensive.


The Technical Rating for this Title is 9/10

The Catholic classification is L -- Limited Adult Audiences.  Contains problematic content that many adults would find troubling.

REVIEW - Fallout: New Vegas (PC, Xbox 360, PS3)

It is difficult to work out quite where I fell out of love with Fallout New Vegas, but after countless hours of gameplay, the initial love I once felt for her was well and truly over.  A cruel mistress, I had been pushed around by samey quests, bored by her two-dimensional characters, and disgusted by her penchant for showing me close ups of dog's heads exploding for too long.  It was time to end it.

And yet, it isn't that I don't like Fallout: New Vegas, in fact I hope that we can be friends and continue to see each other from time to time for a few hours over coffee.  But we will never reach those heights of the first few days where we spent entire days together exploring the Mojave Wastelands, looking for new adventures and admiring the view.  We will, however, always have the memories....

If you haven't played a Fallout game before, then you need to know that this is the latest game in a long line of titles, most of which are amazing.  Fallout 3 released in 2008 was praised by almost every mainstream game reviewing media as one of the best ttles of the year.  The basic premise of the series is that in 2077 there is a nuclear apocalypse that decimates the United States of America.  Those who survive do so by hiding in underground Vaults until the fallout settles down, at which point they reappear and start trying to rebuild humanity.

Not all robots are helpful.

New Vegas is set in 2281, when the reconstruction is well under way, although the devastation of the apocalypse is still very evident.  Mutant animals and bugs, high doses of radiation, zombies, destroyed towns and buildings etc, are all very much present in this latest installation of the series.  The premise of this installment is that you are a Mr Nobody courier assigned to deliver a package, but on the way you get caught, robbed, shot and left in a quickly fashioned grave by a ruthless 1920's style gang.  Luckily for you, a helpful robot named Victor comes to the rescue, digs you up, and carries you to the local doctor at Goodsprings.

At this point, you as the gamer will set up your characters face, name, attributes etc, and after a quick introduction hinting that you should probably go and track down the guy who shot you - a crook by the name of Benny (voiced by Matthew Perry) - you are sent on your way.  And that is it, you are shoved out into the small town in the middle of the Mojave desert, essentially left to do whatever you wish.

A Whole New World

It is this that Fallout: New Vegas does oh so well.  Stepping out of that door into the world of New Vegas is an incredible gaming moment.  The wind whistles around your head, you can see the effects of the radiation still present,and the post-apocalyptic world stretches out in front of you, just glistening with both opportunities and horrors.  The visuals in New Vegas aren't top notch, but they aren't far off.  Very quickly, the expansiveness and openness of the world will impress and excite the player.

Everyone's experience of the world is different, with each player making different choices and bumping into different encounters - this is the game's beauty.  As I wandered around, I realized that this wasn't a statue-esque world, but a world that is living, with each town having its own problems, interactions and soap opera dramas.  Although the main storyline gives a barebones structure to the game, it is lucky that the game doesn't rely on it, as it isn't a particularly immersive story.  Due to the openness of the game, there leaves little room for a deep plot with characters to care about.  Consequently, this means it is tough to care about what happens to any of the main characters, including yourself.

Will you help the town that helped you, or leave it to rot?

So, instead, the great moments of the game are made by the small side quests that you will spend most of your time doing.  So, in the first town, I quickly learnt that the sleepy town of Goodsprings was continually being attacked by bandits and rogues.  The player is essentially given a choice.  You can do nothing, you can help the town defend themselves against the ruffians, or find the ruffians and join them in looting the town.  Depending on how you proceed determines your character's development, how the world reacts to you, and how the game develops.  In choosing the help the town, I fought off and killed the approaching gang of bandits, and was much loved by the town as a result as well as hated by the "Powder Gangers" of whom I had killed many of their friends.  The town would now offer me discounts and friendship, while the Powder Gangers would shoot on sight.  Factions play a big role in New Vegas, and as a result, actions have consequences in Fallout : New Vegas.

What Happens in Vegas...

From a Catholic point of view, Fallout: New Vegas is a morally neutral game in the sense that you can geuinely choose what sort of person you want to be.  If you want to be a villain who kills innocent people, then you can be, and if you want to be a saint, you can be that too.  The only caveat is that you must accept the consequences of your actions.  The game works not only off reputations, but also on a "Karma" rating, where good actions are rewarded with positive Karma, and bad actions result in negative Karma.  This will also affect the game's outcomes in a number of ways, depending on how you play.

The VATS system feels like fighting in treacle.

One of the interesting things I found about New Vegas was its view of humanity, which I found to be surprisingly Catholic.  In New Vegas, humanity as a whole is rebuilding itself, and is doing so in a largely positive way.  The everyday man and woman are tending to their farms, protecting their cities and trying to raise their families in difficult circumstances.  However, humanity is also corrupt, and it is this that has led to the rise of gangs, militias and potential dictators, as well as the morally corrupt city of New Vegas - an impressive sight when you encounter it.  The humanity present in the game is a broken one, a humanity that has lost its way, and has forgotten its purpose, and exploitation and war has taken over as a result.

Nowhere is this clearer than in one of the game's more problematic scenes for Catholics - the brothel in the city of New Vegas by the name of Gomorrah.  "Here we go" thought I, "another excuse for a crammed in controversial sex level."  However, I when I finally encountered the place, I was surprised by the form it took.  Yes, there is the annoying "sex" noise piped in over the loudspeakers, and the NPC character's dancing in bizarre costumes, and even the possibility of paying for "services provided" (although all you do is take a nap and wake up with your partner for the night staring back at you), but I would challenge any gamer to actually take pleasure in Gomorrah, simply because the game bashes it into the player's head just what a horrible, obscene place this is.  In contrast to so many games, Fallout: New Vegas does not glamorize prostitution at all, and emphasizes the evil side to the institution.  This is captured perfectly when you speak to the receptionist who tells you how much she hates working for the gang who runs it, but is glad to be on reception, "because at least they don't make me **** anyone anymore."  The message is clear - this is a place where women are exploited by the gang who runs the place and the exploitation is one step away from rape.  For this, Fallout: New Vegas deserves credit.


On violence however, Fallout: NV is not morally pure.  Although in a game like this, one should expect to be killing animals, mutants, zombies and gang members, the way in which this occurs often borders on the tastless.  Combat in New Vegas is clunky, and if one uses the VATS system (which allows you to home in on a body part), even the smallest scraps with geckos will turn into long, drawn out affairs.  However, where it becomes problematic is the slow motion "critical shot" animations.  At random intervals, the game will slow down even more and show you a slow-motion animation of your bullet hitting the enemy in question.  If this is the killer shot, you can be guaranteed to see limbs and body parts flying off in slow motion, with a great deal of blood often accompanying it.  While a great deal of this can be put down to "realism", the mix of slow-mo and the games love for making heads explode, limbs fly off and blood spurt at every opportunity is tacky and crass.  The game is stylish and quite arty at times with its 1950's post-apocalyptic theme, so for it to lower itself by essentially dragging the camera to within an inch of an exploding head and going "Cool, huh?" is a bit pathetic, and many Catholics will find it troublesome.

Although often drab, New Vegas has its spectacular moments.

Fallout: New Vegas is an adult game in the sense that it deals with very adult themes.  You will encounter people addicted to drugs, people who have lost sense of their lives, people who are driven to insanity by revenge and a multitude of other people who you would expect to encounter in a post-apocalyptic environment.  Yet for the most part, New Vegas does not glamorize these themes, instead choosing to create a believable world in which the player can choose his or her own path.

From a technical perspective, I couldn't help but feel a little let down by Fallout: New Vegas.  Yes, the game is pretty, and enormous, and has a great ability to produce incredibly atmospheric environments.  It was  a game that had me interested enough to spend so much time on it that I started to dream about it!  Unfortunately, if you spend a great deal of time with this game, you may find it begins to drag.  Quests become repetitive, and characters remain essentially two-dimensional.  About 30 hours in I found myself doing a long drawn out quest that involved collecting materials for a group I had recently allied with.  However, while trudging through the same desert I had spend most of my time in, I realized that I couldn't remember what it was I was collecting, why it mattered, and neither did I particularly care about the fate of the group I was working for.  This is highly problematic, and it was what ultimately killed my love for the game.  In seeking to provide a "do anything" mode of gameplay, Fallout: New Vegas contains a lot of quests and characters that you will find it a drudge to encounter, and this is a shame.

Conclusion

To conclude, Fallout: New Vegas is without doubt a good game, with an expansive world with lots to do, an immersive game environment, an excellent soundtrack and some pretty scenery.  However, it falls short of being a great game because of samey quests, hollow characters and clunky combat.  From a Catholic perspective, this is definitely an adults only game, due to the various adult themes that the player will encounter.  Although it does not glamorize prostitution, the practice does make a strong appearance in one particular area.  In addition, Catholics should be aware of frequent blood and gore during combat, violent battles that emphasise gruesome dismemberment, occasional drug references and some infrequent profanity and crude language.

The technical rating is 7/10
The Catholic rating is L- Limited Adult Audiences

REVIEW - Splinter Cell: Conviction (PC, Xbox 360, Mac OS)

If Jack Bauer played video games, Splinter Cell: Conviction (Ubisoft) would be his game of choice.  For Conviction borrows heavily from the TV series 24 in order to turn the traditional stealth series into a much more action-oriented affair.  


If you are unfamiliar with the Splinter Cell series of games, then you have missed out, for they are easily some of the greatest games made on the last two generations of consoles.  With exciting plots, fascinating stealth mechanics and nerve scraping tension, Splinter Cell proved itself a worth competitor to the ultimate of stealth games - Metal Gear Solid.  The basic premise is that you are Sam Fisher (voiced by Michael Ironside) - a gruff-voiced elite intelligence operative working for a shady NSA organization by the name of "Third Echelon."  The latest game finds a distraught Sam, who has lost his daughter Sarah in a car crash, as well as his best friend Irving Lambert, in the last game.  Sam is hidden away in Malta, but once information about who killed his daughter appears, he decides to go 'rogue' and find whoever it was who killed Sarah.  Sure enough, events expand and unravel, and Sam finds himself caught in an enormous geo-political conspiracy, that he must stop before disaster strikes etc etc etc.

The intuitive combat system makes moves like this second nature.

The story is notable by the way that is a lot more person-centric than previous games.  Previous games had an international situation, and Sam was (literally) helicoptered in to save the world.  Conviction on the other hand has Sam as the main thrust of the storyline, with international events gently circling around him, events that become bigger and more noticeable as the game develops.


Conviction is not particularly long (even inexperienced gamers will struggle to make this last over 10 hours), but it plays like a movie, and will keep you on the edge of your seat right until the very end.  Missions are diverse (from pure stealth missions in DC, to out and out shooting in Iraq) and are so much fun that you won't care about the brevity, mainly because the plot is so thrilling that you will be dying to get to the end to find out all the answers, and to resolve the various plot threads.  This is an extremely replayable game, and so the length is forgivable due to the fact that the missions are well scripted, and constantly exciting.  There are no tedious long walks, enormous battles or pages of dialogue to trawl through - the game remains snappy, and as a result is extremely addictive.


Open Flash and Clear!


As for the gameplay itself, I would challenge anyone not to have fun with Splinter Cell: Conviction.  This may surprise some readers who have found previous Splinter Cell games difficult, unwieldy and often very tedious.  Although the games have always been vastly popular, many found the heavy emphasis on stealth to be fiddly and unforgiving.  Conviction changes this by making the game a lot more action based, as well as a lot more user-friendly than previous entries into the series.

Something awesome is about to happen...

While in previous Splinter Cell games, the emphasis was on killing as few enemies as possible (with many levels designed in a way that they could be completed without killing a single one), Conviction moves away from this.  While it still emphasizes stealth as a way to complete levels, Sam Fisher now uses stealth to stalk his prey, as opposed to using it to avoid them.  Sam Fisher is a hunter who uses cover, gadgets, light and distractions to circle around his prey before striking (if you are good) with breathtaking efficiency.


This move from stealth to stalking has been made easier for the player by two massively important game mechanics.  The first is "mark and execute".  What this entails is that when one kills a guard or gang member via hand to hand combat, the player is given a set of between two to six "marks" that the player can then use to mark other enemies.  Once the enemies in question are marked, a flick of a button will lead Sam to "execute" the enemies marked in a slick bullet-time set piece.  This means the fiddly shooting that haunted previous games is limited, making Sam a much more ruthless killer.


It works surprisingly well.  Although it does take some control away from the player, it still feels intuitive, and in addition to the technological gadgets Sam has, and the multiple options of doing things, it adds up to some incredible moments.  It means that if you can silently enter a room with enough marks stored up, you can quickly drop everyone in the room without them even knowing that you are there.  It works well, is hideously satisfying, and is bound to leave you with a grin on your face.


This, accompanied by a well done stealth mechanic that allows you to use the shadows to easily sneak up behind enemies, and a whole range of gadgets that include sticky cameras that both play tunes (to draw a guard near to them) and then explode, there are countless ways to do many of the levels, and this adds up to a lot of fun.  There are many times when the player will be outnumbered by enormous amounts of terrorists with mean machine guns, whilst poor Sam is stood in a corner with his small pistol.  Consequently it is immensely rewarding to get through the stage, and this is where Conviction is at its best.

"A little closer please...."

Atmosphere is another thing that Conviction gets spot on.  The graphics are stunning and are some of the best I have seen on any system.  There was one moment when I was crawling through a DC office block, and I glanced out of the window to see the Capitol Building in all its glory in the distance, shimmering beautifully through the rain stained glass.  It was a moment where I just had to stop and admire the view - which was unfortunate as I failed to spot the guard creeping up behind me, who subsequently pumped my body full of lead!  However, the graphics are used to produce some excellent atmospheric touches as well, such as letting the player know that they are hidden, by fading the screen into black and white.  It sounds simple, but works so very well that it makes Conviction  a real treat to sneak about in and allows you to creep up behind enemies knowing full well that they can't see you.


"Tell Me What You Know!"


From a Catholic perspective, Splinter Cell: Conviction is tricky.  It starts out as a fairly problematic game not only due to the incessant foul language that comes from the mouths of terrorists and guards (which quickly becomes tiresome and irritating), but also due to Sam's motivation being one of bloodthirsty vengeance, which the player is supposed to go along with.  However, as the game develops, this thread of vengeance subsides into the background, while the "save the nation" plot moves to the forefront of the game.  Yet the streak of vengeance remains, and scenes of various "interrogation techniques" on key enemy characters may trouble some gamers.  Although these involve nothing particularly gory, players may be put off by the (admittedly tedious) moments when a player must press a certain button to advance the interrogation by smashing the victim's head into a television or urinal or whatever.

Interrogation scenes are troublesome, and not particularly enjoyable either.

In addition, it goes without saying that even if a gamer chooses the more stealth-based option of getting through levels and avoiding fights whenever possible, one will still end up with a fairly significant body count in Conviction.  Although these are all terrorists and gang members determined on attacking America, Conviction's difficulty from a Catholic perspective is that it makes killing such people so much fun.  I found that if I executed a raid perfectly, taking out all five guards without being spotted, it would give me a fairly big sense of satisfaction and I would be sat in front of the screen with a wolfish grin on my face.  However, the pat on the back comes from completing the mission properly as opposed to the actual enjoyment of the death of another person.  At no point do kills linger on, and with the exception of a couple of brutal moves during the interrogation scenes, the game is relatively gore-free.


On the plus side, Conviction delivers a very moving plot that many Catholics will find intriguing and touching. Sam's relationship with his daughter is the key theme of the game rather than the motive of vengeance, and is constantly at the forefront of the story.  Sam Fisher is not some mindless killer with a blood lust - he is motivated by his love for his daughter as well as his love for his country.  All the characters are well-rounded, and the gamer with find themselves rooting for Sam all the way.  Without giving any spoilers away, the well developed story results in some very moving moments that I am sure will cause many gamers to have a lump in their throat.  It is a refreshing move away from the emotionless machismo seen in so many action games these days (I'm looking at you Gears of War!)


While it is possible to criticize Splinter Cell: Conviction from moving away from its roots and for having a short single player campaign, the game is still a ridiculous amount of fun.  Sneaking around and hunting down the various terrorists trying to attack the country is made so intuitive and so satisfying that it never gets old or samey.  There are always different ways of completing levels, and consequently there is a lot of replayability here.  Add to this a pumping techno-rock soundtrack, incredible graphics, a tense atmosphere, and a nail-biting plot, Splinter Cell: Conviction is one of the best games I have played in 2010.  The high frequency of bad language, intense interrogation scenes, significant body count, and unclear messages about revenge make this a game for adults only.  Yet Conviction's positive messages about clear boundaries between good and evil, its touching pro-family message that emphasizes self sacrifice, and the game's efforts to make the gore content as minimal as possible makes this a game that a great number of Catholics can delve into, and play over and over again!


The Technical rating for this game is  9/10

The Catholic rating for this game is    A-III - adults.

REVIEW - LittleBigPlanet (PS3 exclusive)

LittleBigPlanet (yes all one word) - or LBP as it has become known by the gaming community - is a game that is impossible to hate, and extraordinarily easy to love.  It really is the gaming equivalent of a puppy: if you hate it it then something is the matter with you, and people should avoid you at all costs.

In a gaming world that so often surrounds gamers in blood, violence, car crashes, sex and obscene language, it is difficult to express the surprise that comes with starting up LittleBigPlanet (Media Molecule) and being brought into a cutesy world of innocent sackdolls scampering around a world that could have been created on a children's TV show.

Sackboy - prepare to dress him up and make him look
as silly as you can!

This is a game that draws you in with its simplicity and cuteness from the very beginning.  The game begins with an introduction and tutorial by British TV personality Stephen Fry, who welcomes you to the world of LittleBigPlanet and introduces you to "Sackboy" (or Sackgirl if the player eventually chooses) who waves at you, and then proceeds to skip and jump throughout the gaming environment.  Sackperson is a fully customizable character who the player can dress up however they wish.  One of the fun side quests throughout the game is picking up extra items and costumes with which to dress one's character in different ways.  There are also collectible stickers with which to decorate one's spaceship or "pod".  It is nothing particularly groundbreaking, but they are all ways with which to enjoy the game.

The bulk of the game is a platformer about as old school as they come.  However, its unique feature is an accompanying physics engine that is used for a wide variety of purposes, from building blocks which Sackboy can then climb to reach higher platforms, to using carts and vehicles such as bobsleighs and cars with which to zoom around the various levels.  What is so much fun about the many gimmicks (the jet pack a personal favorite of mine) is that they aren't then re-used to death, as can happen in so many modern releases.  Once the player has enjoyed the novelty of a physics based puzzle, the game removes it and introduces another one, meaning that the game avoids repetitive slog, and stays very fresh all the way through to the end.

Mini races like this break up the platforming action nicely.

The environments are also extremely varied that take the player literally all over the planet, from Japan to the Wild West.  LBP can best be described as a 2.5D platformer, with 3 levels of depth which the player will switch through either manually or automatically.  This can be difficult and frustrating at times, as I found myself hurling myself through the air to land on a platform, only to find that I was on a different depth "plane" and was therefore hurling my snazzily dressed Sackboy to his death yet again.

Make no mistake, while this game is certainly child friendly, it is by no means a childish game.  It does not employ a traditional "lives" system, and instead for every checkpoint you pass through, you receive a handful of new attempts at the next segment.  Fail to reach the next checkpoint without dying five times and the game throws you back to the beginning of the level.  Considering that levels are extremely long, and can take somewhere in the region of twenty minutes to complete, this can be a devastating blow, especially if it is your third attempt at a level with one part that you just can't get through!

While the game is not incredibly hard, it is much more difficult that its cuteness communicates.  With the slightly sludgy controls, complicated set pieces, and LBP's innovative design that throws lots of different and new challenges at the player, this can be a tricky game, and is therefore not "Baby's First Game" as it might appear from the graphics.  Children easily frustrated or who find computer game's tricky may need an adult nearby to help them through the tougher parts of this game.  Some adults may even need a fellow adult nearby to stop them throwing their pad through the television in some of the later levels.

The level design is constantly innovative from start to finish

Apart from that however, this game is about as non-offensive as they come.  Even describing it as "non-offensive" does not do LittleBigPlanet justice, as it suggests a bland neutrality to the game.  Instead, LittleBigPlanet is a bright, positive, uplifiting game that is a positive environment for both children and adults to enjoy themselves in, and is a delight to play.  Even the levels with slightly more adult themes - such as when you have to break a friend out of a local jail using explosives - are handled in a childish, cartooney way that will not offend parents or upset children.  Additionally, the ending to the game is simply one of the most beautiful endings to ever grace a video game, with themes of forgiveness, friendship, sharing and an upbeat view of humanity all present in an ending that will bring a tear to the eye of all but the most heartless of gamers.

Also worth noting is the level design tool that comes with LBP.  The game allows you to collect various tools and parts as you move through the single-player story mode, in order to arm yourself with a wide range of items and objects with which to make your own levels.  You can then throw share these levels with the well-moderated online community.  Although this is only something that will appeal to a very limited number of gamers, it is an applaudable way of adding longevity to what is already a substantial game.  

A buddy can turn on their controller and jump in at any point.

Although it is tempting for people to see LittleBigPlanet as a run of the mill platformer, it is far from it.  With beautiful music, stunning innovative graphics and original gameplay all packed into an extremely playable (and loveable) game, LittleBigPlanet is a revolutionary landmark title, and stands out as one of the best titles for the PS3.  Anyone who owns a PS3 and is remotely interested in the platform genre should have this game in their collection.  From a Catholic perspective, this is one of the few game that is not only inoffensive, but also has an actively positive message of community, friendship and kindness - all without being preachy or cheesy.

This game contains mild cartoon violence, rare instances of mild rude humor and some haunted house scenes that some very sensitive children may find distressing.

The Technical rating for this title is 10/10

The Catholic rating is A-I --general patronage.