The Fall into Competitive Multiplayer Games.

As a child – when that first mighty controller was laid into my tiny hands – I knew from the moment that Nintendo jumped to life, games would play a huge part in my life. At the ripe old age of 26, I feel that as I have grown up, so has the gaming industry. The games released these days – obviously with a few more pixels – have more choice and variety to them. However, I must confess with you, dear reader... I used to detest playing competitive multi-player games.
That may seem like an alien sentence to some, but I've never been too keen on them. Let me just explain what I mean by my definition of competitive multi-player. This would be a game where you are pitted against the other team to a bloody battle to the death. Or perhaps you were flinging cards at an opponent who's deck consists entirely of Murloc's! But each time you play, it's ranked. This means that whatever the outcome, you have shown your worth to the rest of the world. Everyone can see how good (or bad) you are at the game. If you're at the top, you have to defend your honour and keep reclaiming that crown.
This to me didn't seem right. Gaming should be a way to unwind, relax or become enveloped in a whole new world or experience. Now don't get me wrong. I have enjoyed a friendly one on one in Street Fighter or caused havoc in Los Santos online, but never in a competitive mode. To me, a single player game has more to offer. You become immersed with the character you're playing. There's a deeper connection you get, and when it ends you feel like you've walked with them, through the terrors and faced each challenge in your own way. So when a friend asked me – nay, begged me- to download League of Legends, I was a little dubious.

Until August 2014, I had no idea what this League of Legends was. Never even heard of it. Impossible?! I hear you cry out. Well take my word reader, I wouldn't have been able to tell the difference between a Rabaddon's deathcap or a B.O.T.R.K. But after much persistence from a friend, I snapped and downloaded the phenomenon that is. And it has thrown my gaming world into despair! As I scrolled my cursor over the application and was greeted by a cute, furry animal chasing a firefly, I must admit I was curious and wondered further into the unknown. After completing the tutorial, a few custom and AI games, I felt I was ready to enter Summoners Rift against actual people and dived head first into my first match.
To say I was terrible, is an understatement. For those that play L.o.L regularly prepare for a laugh (and maybe some rage). For those that do not I will explain as best as I can:
* Each team consists of 5 members.
* On Summoners Rift there is three lanes, a jungle and a river in the centre.
* The object of the game is to destroy the enemy teams nexus (or base) and to get there your team must destroy the turrets of a lane, then the base turrets and inhibitor, and only then can you proceed to take down the main base.
* There is always an influx of minions on each lane, which when killed give you a small amount of gold. Killing an enemy champion gives you more gold.
* The baron and dragon give buffs (or advantages in layman terms) to your team.
* Buying items for your character is important, and depending on what the enemy team buys, may be situational to that game.
* The top lane - usually would be a bruiser or a tank, who can take and deal damage.
* The mid lane - would be a mage, that does very high damage and would have C.C (or crowd control) with stuns and the like.
* The jungler – is used to ambush the lanes and support them. This role can be a variety of types, from a tank who can soak up all the damage, or an assassin who is designed to annihilate targets quickly.
* Bottom lane – where one would usually have a support (to either heal or secure kills) and a marksman (also known as the attack, damage, carry or ADC for short) – I chose Nautilus, who has a giant anchor he carries with him everywhere which he can use to grab enemies and slow them.

Now he sounds like a perfect support. Except I wasn't playing support... That's right, this slow, meandering colossus was the ADC of the team. The player, who is meant to speed around the map and cause a whole lot of damage, was I...with Nautilus. I had a death from running into a turret with no coverage from minions. I died attempting to solo the dragon. I charged head first into a one on one with a Zed (a high-burst damage champion) and died spectacularly. But not all was lost. I secured a glorious 5 kills. They may have been kill steals but regardless they were mine (sort of)! After my team secured the enemies nexus (thanks mostly to the mid and top lane) I saw what all wish to see after landing into Summoners Rift for the first time: Victory.

Soon after I began to play L.o.L regularly. After meeting some friendly (and some not so friendly) people online, they began to tell me what I should buy for each character and pointed me in the direction of certain sites which I could use to help my builds. For example: if an enemy buys all attack damage, you buy armour to counteract it. If they buy ability power/ magic damage, you get some magic resist. This may seem like common sense but when you're trying to secure kills and find you take to much damage; don't you think its time to swap that long sword for cloth amour?
By the time November came I had a full grasp of how the game worked, how to win and what not to do. The core concept may sound simplistic but this is more than just taking down turrets and steam-rolling head first. It's about out-playing your opponent, guessing their next move and being three steps ahead. Its about contesting for that next dragon which will give you a 6% advantage in team fight, which could mean life or death. For those that say gaming is just going through the motions and childish has obviously not played something like this. And this isn't the only game. There's DOTA, which is much like L.o.L (I'll be hanged for that statement). You also have Counter Strike, the FPS competitive game. I did try and play that after playing L.o.L but as it turns out, I was atrocious. I felt comfortable with the League and after the 4.20 patch, when the graphics were updated, it seemed right.

But by then it wasn't just about playing the game. I had become obsessed with it to a degree. I would watch pro-matches. I would cheer when a team gained vision control. I would scream uncontrollably when a team fight ensued and laugh when the player named “Balls” was “on that Mega-Gnar” (actual quote). Then, as the sun rose on an icy January 21st, my friends and I created our own ranked team. Since then, before each match we'd consider what our strengths and weaknesses are. Which champions to ban and when to contest for an objective. And so far, we've lost all 4 of our matches. Now, to be fair, the “Flamboyant Peanut Xpress” is a new team and we are still in the provisional matches, and two of the loses were just unlucky, but each time before a match, I'll get nervous. It's like the feeling one would get before an important interview or stepping onto the field as you play in a league for football or rugby. You want to do well. You want to win.

Anyone can log onto L.o.L and look at the stats of “FbPnut” and criticize how our performance was. And this is where – before I began playing ranked – I wasn't keen on the idea. But, this is the difference a competitive game has to a single player. You may not be as immersed, and the story may be harder to relate to. But there is more of a thrill to it. You can gain more from it because of the thought process of how to tactically win a match. I like the feeling of the nerves and attempting to solve the puzzle during the game of how to win. It's not just about playing the game any more. In a sense, it becomes part of your life. For those that play competitively – be it DOTA, CS:GO or L.o.L – I guarantee that as soon as you lost, you'd be lying in bed pondering how it could have gone better; that if you landed that hook on their Ahri, would you have won the match?



Thanks for reading.

O.E.Gamer.
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCcqodAYWMcdUuL77AHbvXow

Thoughts of E3...Top Five?

Well E3 has been and gone for another year but this year certainly has left many gamers clawing for some of those sexy, sexy games. Here's a quick list of my top five:

5. Mirror's Edge 2.

Although it's just been work in progress, I'm still super excited for this title. The first worked so well with the movement and, from the sounds of things, Dice are making multiple routes and upgrading Faith's movement. Hurry up and show me more!!

4. Assassin's Creed: Unity.

Four player Assassin's Creed co-op...need I say anymore?? 

3. Super Smash Bros.

More characters...extra Pokemon. And my favourite...Little Mac!! My purchase of a WiiU has not been in vain dear readers!  

2. Mortal Kombat X.

I have been a fan of MK ever since I played the first one on my game boy many moons ago. The new one...holy shit! The backgrounds: amazing. The characters: amazing. The fatalities: amazing! I know for a fact I'm not the only one hyped about this!!

1. The Division.

Of all the next gen games this takes the top prize. It's not a remake or remastered. It's something new and different. The new gameplay trailer looks smooth and gorgeous. When the player is hiding behind the bus stop you can see the indentations from the bullets (it's the little things). So far, this game looks like a masterpiece. And we still have to wait until December or next year! Plenty of time to smooth any issues which seem few and far between. This will be one of the only reasons for me buying either a XboxOne or PS4.

Cheers, 

O.E.G. 

@theoegamer. 

Oh Luigi!

Since I'm still loving my GameCube at the moment, I have thought of a new game to ramble on about.

Luigi's Mansion! Let me level with you here reader. I actually played this for the first time last week when I acquired said GameCube. I had only seen this briefly on adverts so everything I say about this is fresh and not from memory, unlike the former twelve posts. The game follows (if you hadn't realised) Luigi for a change instead of Mario. It turns out this lucky chap has won a mansion in the arse-end of nowhere! Scam you say? Probably. But an excited Luigi can't tell the difference and goes to rub it in his brother's small face, and asks him at the same time to come celebrate...Oh Luigi...that's low. Anyways, Luigi arrives at the mansion only to find its haunted by ghosts! And they've taken Mario! Enter the player to capture ghosts and solve the mystery of where the hell Mario actually is.

So the first thing I noticed and probably fell in love with is the music. Nintendo I don't know how you do it but keep pumping these tunes out! O.K. So Luigi's Mansion's main theme isn't exactly raising the roof but it manages to be quirky and creepy. This is done by just having Luigi - and only Luigi - whistle the tune when there's nothing going on or you are exploring the mansion.
Until you meet a spoooky ghost and the bass kicks in followed by the violins. This gives the sense that the player truly is alone in this gigantic house. Even the noise of the creaking floorboards, Luigi's footsteps and the occasional lightning strike manage to keep the game dark...for a Nintendo/ Mario game. Oh and another little cool thing is if you press A Luigi will call out for his brother. I think its cool!

 Who ya gunna call????

Next is the presentation. Let me tell you. It looks great. All the different coloured ghosts are neatly drawn. The backgrounds to each room are well filled. Obviously Luigi looks amazing. Seriously; Nintendo know how to make a game stand out. The best part of the presentation though seems to be the shadows. When you go into one of the rooms with the mini-bosses and see its shadow slowly floating on the wall, its creepy. BUT its the good kind of creepy where you can appreciate what the developers have done. The worst (not worst as in bad mind you!) is the baby though. With the combination of the quiet jingle of a creche, a calm wind blowing against the drapes AND a floating baby shadow...Yeah, freaked me out.

Trick Doors are uuuuuurvvvywhere!

 

Also for an old school game its has some good mechanics for gameplay. To my knowledge, this is one of the very few games (of 2002) that uses a vacuum/ hoover, where you can suck up sheets or balls. They integrate well into the game making the player use it at certain points to complete an objective. Or to use it to uncover a BOO! Now combine this awesome hoover sucking/blowing (phrasing) ability with a torch system...baby you got yourself a game! The player uses the torch to shine onto a ghost which will stun them, then uses the vacuum to suck the blighters up! Sounds simple yes. But trying running round a room sucking up ghosts when more appear...yeah. Like herding cats...with a hoover. When a room is cleared, the lights come on and give the player the sense of security, because lets be honest, when you were a kid and you couldn't sleep you either; a) had a night light or b) but the landing light on...just me?

Lastly there's a few things a missed which I think deserve some mention:
1. The trick doors are a clever way to make sure the player is using the map to navigate. Smart Nintendo.
2. The Way Luigi moves in the game is priceless. He walks on his tiptoes, he's constantly bricking it! And when you find a key/object his little spin is awesome (accompanied by some awesome music once again).
3. Using the Gameboy "Horror" as a Boo finder, coin counter, map and a plethora of others, is an extremely nice touch. 


Now I haven't played this all the way through but its definitely deserves a mention. This is one of the few games I've picked up and instantly enjoyed. From the music, to the gameplay and even the quirky comments made throughout. Nintendo surely know how to make an interesting yet addictive game. Its even fun to watch someone play this game as I find out when my buddy just sat and watched me play the first hour or so without moving. Or maybe he was watching me and planning to kill me??!!?


O.E.G.
@theOEGamer


P.S.
Comments would be appreciated and I'll get back to you all...you might even get a kiss.

Oo There Goes Chicken Chaser!

So with the release of Fable Anniversary I thought it was only fitting to do a review/ blog/ ramble about how much I love this game. I'll mention the changes that I've noticed first then finish with some gameplay and story, considering not much has changed in those aspects.

Fable Anniversary is a reboot of the 2004 release of Fable: The Lost Chapters. Not much has been changed from the original in the way of gameplay but the graphics and sounds have all been upgraded. The story follows you, starting off as a young boy and slowly growing into a hero, either for better or for worse. The phase as a young boy gives you a feel for the game and what to expect (a tutorial if you will!) but the consequences of your actions do still appear later on in the game. 

From the get go one of the big stand outs of this game is the voice. It's clear, even back in 2004, that LionheadStudios spent time on perfecting the voices. And obviously they sound much clearer on Fable Anniversary. Even the villagers who mock or cheer for you as you walk past sound genuine. When you first hear the Guildmaster speak to you through the Guild Seal, the small reverb and echo makes it sound magical! He does still ramble though. I know my health is low, I'm aware of the blood loss! 

The music as well compliments each area as you'd expect. If it's a village or town the music is happy and joyous. A battle, the sound of a deep bass rumbles throughout. An eerie house, creepy violins. These little things helps make the game complete. 

Even the creatures sound larger than life. When I first heard the Balverine howl, it sent shivers down my spine! The squabbling of Hobbes in the caves is both humourous and terrifying! (N.B: I haaaaate Hobbes). But one of my favourite sounds is the torque of a bow being held. It just sounds right, and just as the shot is released, something is gunna die. 

The next big change is the graphics (obviously). All the character models are crisp. The armour, especially the bright and dark varieties, look magical! I mean look above at the small intricacies on the shoulder pauldrons! The green cloth even has patterns running through it! Another big change is the demons doors. They now look part of the wall and, dare I say it (DARE!) some sort of real. The environment as well has had a massive face lift! The shimmering water does look real, the ivy and moss actually seem like they've been there for years growing! Last thing I want to mention is the magic. My favourite is the force push. Remember that scene in Matrix where the helicopter crashed into the building? It reminds me of a sped up version of that when I use it! I could rattle on but as the old saying goes, a picture paints a thousand words. It is safe to say though, all the models, be it the water, a Balverine or a fireball, look fantastic! 

 "Bandit...Meet Death!"

 

 "Pants...Filled!"

 So lets get down to it. The gameplay. Like mentioned, not much has changed. And honestly...thank Christ! It didn't need changing. X is attack, and the player holds it for a strong attack. Y is your bow. B is magic. The player can cycle through his magic by holding RT and unleash some destruction! For each type of kill you'll get additional XP which you spend to upgrade your character and make him a muscle bound freak. Because, if I'm honest, I wouldn't want some skinny little pushover arriving at my village if it's getting overrun by Balverine's! Get your ass to the gym and come back once your benching 220 (although...everyone would be dead...). When your not out saving the world you can do other things like; buy a house, get married, massacre an encampment. The list goes on!

I want to mention the story and tell you all how amazing it is! And that some of the choices make you put down the controller and phone a friend (no 50:50 I'm afraid). Or that some of the set pieces will leave you gobsmacked! But alas, I'm not going to. It would ruin the surprise and the story and I hate doing that! All I'll say though, out of all the Fable's, this is by far the best one, in my opinion. I like the second (third...not so much) but I don't think it'll give me the same amount of joy that this one has given me!


Comment and follow me a twitter and give me some love, @TheOEGamer.
Cheers.

O.E.G.

Insert Funny Comment...............

Random Nostalgia.

If there's one thing I love, its monsters. Another thing I love is wars...If these two joined forces in a video game I'd probably lose my shit...What? It's been done? You're shitting me!?! 

No I am not avid fans (all 3 of you) or random reader who enjoys monsters beating the hell out of each other through cities. Have I got a surprise for you! So after watching Pacific Rim a while back my love for monsters and giant robots was re-ignited, then like a light switch, my brain reminded me of a classic.

War of the Monsters! 

Look at that box art! I think that was actually the sole reason of my purchase as a kid. I'd heard nothing about it but the box art was so mesmerising to me I bought this instantly. A gorilla fighting a robot...what's not to like?! The initial cut scene is more or less shot like an old school sci-fi film, where aliens have invaded so them good ol' science like folk have made something which can make bugs and animals grow and use them to fight their battles! What ensues is ultimate carnage like that of a giant electric eyeball (legit) fighting a preying mantis in, what essentially is, Vegas!

So the fundamentals of this game is that its a beat em up. There's a single player where you play as each of the characters fighting all the others and when you complete it, you unlock a new character! After the single player we have multiplayer! Obviously the screen splits into two, or four if you had the adapter..and friends (I didn't) when the game starts. However when the characters get close to one another, the screen merges seamlessly into one. Now I'm sure this has been done this before in a game previous to this, but this was the first time I'd seen it and it blew...my...mind!

The graphics for a game which in now about 10 years old isn't that bad. The character models are well done and thought out and all different in their own way, just like us! You have eight characters to choose from, plus two unlockables. There is a few homages towards some classic sci-fi monsters, like Godzilla and King Kong but the developers manage to make them their own. Even the character select screen is well thought out. When you click on each character it appears as a movie poster. Then the loading screen IS a movie poster, accompanied by a witty pun. Where would a movie poster be without a pun? Am I right?!?

"Fus-Ro-DAAAAAAAAAAAH!"

Another reason why I love this game, is the soundtrack. It's badass! It manages to portray the epic battle that is unfolding in front of you're very eyes! It uses the classic sounds from the movies but with a twist of electric guitar and other accoutrements. I'm actually listening to the soundtrack as I write this! The link below is just one of the songs which helps make the game awesome! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jopmhcK_TOY

Like most fighters, we have a jump button, a grab button, attack and a shoot. The player can combine certain ones to make a special move. You can also hold the attack button to charge attacks, which you can use to create combos (x, x hold x to slam for example...disclaimer: that isn't a combo...it's the jump button). You can also pick up objects and hurl them and a 110 ft insect until there's nothing left but guts and glory. But unlike most beat-em-ups, the player can move freely in the levels, to say, oh i don't know, climb a building, pick up a radio antenna and impale your foe! This used to be one of my favourite things to do. It also pissed off my brother and one friend when playing cause I used this tactic a fair bit. Another one of my favourite things in this game is the destructible environment. What would a monster game be like if you couldn't throw someone through a building? That's right, a shit one! There is nothing more satisfying than picking up a giant gorilla and launching it into buildings until they crumble.

So to sum this game up.

Monsters + Destructible buildings/ environments + impaling fools + kick-ass soundtrack = One sweet mother fucking game which everyone needs to play! I had so much fun as a kid and even 10 years later when I revisited (and re-bought) it, I still managed to have so much fun and not from nostalgic glasses. It's a good and well thought out game, one that needs to be done again!

O.E.G.

Steam! Stop Taking My Money

Indie Games.

It's the future (refer to previous post)! If there's one thing I hate to love but love to hate its Steam. If there's a sale on, be it Christmas or Easter, Steam usually gets the majority of my money. So after massing a collection of 100+ games, and not paying my mortgage, I decided to actually play some of the things I'd bought. I will be coming back to my collection of Steam games but I'm only going to cover one today.

No Time To Explain! Or it's abbreviated self N.T.T.E, is an indie game which was released on Steam January 2013. It was actually a flash game on newgrounds but managed to get a kickstarter, even $2000 from Minecraft creator Markus Persson (Thanks Wiki!). Now whilst I'm sure that many have played this game, every time I mentioned this to one of my friends they stared at me dumbfounded! So I decided to explain to them why they need to play this gem. First off, I checked some of the reviews which only gave it 5/10 and I don't know why!

The game starts with the character dancing in his front room when all of a sudden there's a bright flash and your wall breaks down with some one saying,"I am you from the future, there's no time to explain! follow me to...Oh Christ!" aaaand in comes a giant crab and takes him away. I shit you not that's exactly how it starts! Fucking awesome right?! But anyways your future self drops this laser gun which you pick up and here comes the core mechanics of the game! N.T.T.E is much like Super Meat Boy or Mario in that you go from A to B to complete the level, but the creators have put so much thought into the game. The character can only move and jump but the gun is where it's at! The gun is controlled using the mouse and essentially helps you fly across the levels. It's difficult at first but once you get the hang of it, you'll be shooting yourself through the levels...literally.
The levels are well thought out and obviously increase with difficulty as the game goes on. You die. A lot, but the creators made it so when you die you respawn at your last grounded location (you more or less fly across the map). After getting used to the laser gun, they add in other elements to test the player. One of the parallel dimensions put in a cake which makes you get fat and limits the height you can jump/ fly. But it allows you to smash through to areas you otherwise wouldn't be able to reach. Another, and possibly my favourite, is the art dimension. It's more or less a blank, white canvas but when you fire your gun it shades the platforms for a period of time before disappearing. It's well done and helps to add a new and exciting element halfway through an already smart game. It even has Fur Elise playing in the background this dimension...as you do.
Even the story and the dialog is fun and quick witted. It is genuinely humourous and made me chortle and laugh (not lol cause we all know when someone puts lol, we all know it's just bullshit). There wasn't a moment during one of the cut scenes where I didn't make some sort of laughing noise. There's even hats to collect, which sounds tedious and boring, but once you're dressed as a fat horse, flying the air, it's easy to forgive. The put bosses at the end of most of the universes test the player and what they've learnt so far, in that area. This ranges from a giant crab to a weird shark/octopus which drops mines (sharktopus?). Once again you'll die, but the game is quite forgiving.

...Seems legit. 

Don't get me wrong N.T.T.E is a fun game but I did almost throw my laptop into space during certain levels. This is one of those games where it will just more or less send you into a rage, much like Super Meat Boy. But, after completing the level you feel a sense of actual achievement because of the time and effort you've put in to it. So luckily my laptop is in full working condition...for now. In total one play through will last about 4...ish hours, you can do speed runs on some of the universes but I personally found I got distracted collecting hats and dressing myself up with monocles and the like.
It's definitely worth how much it costs, even the soundtrack is well done and helps dictate the pace of the game.
So to sum up, No Time To Explain, an excellent little game, with its laugh out loud (it counts) humour, masterful soundtrack and well designed levels and concepts. It's definitely worth a buy and a mention to others.

O.E.G.

The Beginning. (Warning: I shall cuss!)

The Optimistic English Gamer - The Beginning.

With a wide variety of games to choose from, be it a RPG or a first person shooter, its easy to criticise the work. These graphics! This gameplay! This fucking level!!!! What I notice is that people find it hard to appreciate a game. I mean, ok, I am aware that some games are just awful. An example I hear you cry. Very well, Bubsy 3D, is horrific. I'm not going to go into it, but just search some gameplay footage and watch. You'll be amazed at how bad a game can be made. Anyways, digressing away from my point, I want to mention games which I think are underrated but deserve some attention for the work that has clearly been put it. Most of them you may have heard of but probably refused to play, or even started playing and thought,"Well fuck this! This ain't nothing on Bubsy!" But stick with me and I'll try and change your mind. Alright lets get started.

So we're going to start with this beauty. Kane and Lynch: Dead Men. This was released waaay back in 2007, the same year as Halo 3 and Chibi-Robo! Park Patrol! Kane and Lynch got some pretty mixed reviews, ranging from a 3/10 to an 8/10. Now just to clarify I'll only be covering the single player and co-operative (I kinda suck at multiplayer games). I actually played this when it first came out round at a mates house, but the controls felt so awkward to me and the graphics are just so so, I only played the first level. But that was a mistake on my part. I was naive and young! Then a few years later someone recommended it to me when I was on an achievement whore binge (who wasn't, am I right?!) So I put on my big boy pants and set to it. From the get go I was slightly frustrated at the graphics and controls, again, but I buckled on down and went head first.

I now fucking, love....LOVE this game. OK yes, the controls suck, but my God! This has one of my favourite story lines in any game! Nay, Maybe in any film! Not exactly a unique story but it is told uniquely. You play as Kane, who's in prison for being a badass (well...manslaughter) and meets a fine gentleman by the name of Lynch, who is bat shit crazy. He does, however, inform our protagonist of a breakout.
After completing your breakout with Lynch you're taken to a construction site where you meet "The 7"! Cue dramatic music! They say you've stolen some money and have to get it back for them otherwise they kill your wife and daughter.
So you end up going to do a bank job and this is where I fell in love with the game. It all seems to be going well but Lynch ends up going mental and starts murdering all the hostages. Now at this time I was playing it through with my brother and he was playing as Lynch. He started freaking out saying the building was overrun with the police and started shooting EVERYONE! When I came upstairs from the vault, all I saw was all floor decorated with the bodies of the hostages, so naturally I thought my brother was just goofing with me. The ball starts rolling and you end up having a shootout through the streets, much like the film Heat (if no-one has seen this, please watch it). The game channels you along but in such a way it feels as if the way you're going is your only option. The rapport that Kane and Lynch have is very fragile through this entire scenario. The developers obviously put a lot of time and effort into this and you can tell from the dialog. At one point you cut through a pedestrian area, and once again my brother starts just fucking up everyone!
"What the fuck are you doing?!!", I screamed at him.
"Can you not see all the coppers?!". When I look over to his side of the screen, Lynch is seeing everyone as a policeman and so my brother starts taking names. Once again, I love this solely for the reason that it gives the player an insight into why Lynch is absolutely nuts, and it manages to bring over that craziness from the single player into to the Co-op seamlessly. From this moment on, I forgot all the negative points about the game. I was so enthralled to see how the rest of the game would pan out from here.

 "For the last time! Cut your fucking hair!"

Now without trying to spoil the rest, the story takes an incredible turn, and honestly I didn't expect it. This could be why I love it so much. It sucks you, the player, into the story, actually making you want to know whats going to happen and that's what a game should do. Entice the player into their world and I'm glad it did. Kane and Lynch are an odd pair but nevertheless you grow to love 'em. You end up in a wide variety of places, from Tokyo to Havana...and construction sites! Yeah!
The night club mission is awesome. Making you shoot your way out with civilians in the midst of it all, adding to chaos that already surrounds the characters. You start the mission by wandering through the club towards the managers office and its very well done. The player really get a feel for the environment and the change in atmospherics, from booty bouncing to guns blazing, seems to happen in an instance.
Even the ending (once again I'm trying my hardest to refrain from spoiling anything) has two different ways to be played out. Each one gives the story a different view (surprisingly) and after completing one of them I actually resented myself for the choice. The game in total is roughly about 6 hours long but its just right to convey the story across without being to long drawn. And just like the game I'm going to sum this up before it becomes the babbling of a mad man...more so than it is.

So there you have it. Kane and Lynch: Dead Men, a truly awesome game. There's even a number two (Dog Days) where you play and Lynch and get to do a mission naked...if that's your thing. But aside from that fact the story in that is once again a masterpiece, it works as an experience that you will have a plethora of emotions for. So I implore you, random reader! To play both games. You'll laugh, you'll cry, and much like a book, you'll be incredibly happy but upset that the game had to finish.


Thanks for reading.

More to come in the future . OEG.