REVIEW: Spice and Wolf (Anime)

I think it's fair to say that a lot of the anime series I end up watching are "shounen", meaning that they're usually a teenage cast of characters fighting in big robots/with big swords/ lots of action and emotions running high. However, I also really enjoy more family friendly affairs like the films of Studio Ghibli (who doesn't!?), and I even have a soft spot for a love story or two. This brings me nicely to my review of an anime series I've only *just* finished watching today, but which I felt was so good I had to come and write a review about it. Spice and Wolf is a series adapted not from manga, as it the norm, but from a series of "light novels" each clocking in at about 300 pages of text and artwork, and ostensibly deals with a blossoming romance... set in a medieval light-fantasy setting with a heavy emphasis on trading and economics!! Suffice to say, this is pretty different from almost everything else out there and such a unique series ran the risk of turning out badly; thankfully it didn't and Spice and Wolf is wonderful in every way.

The main protagonist of Spice and Wolf is a merchant peddler named "Craft" Lawrence, who travels across the fantasy country buying, selling and trading, trying to make a fortune for himself so that he can settle down in a town running his own shop. One day whilst visiting a pagan wheat-growing community he awakens in the night to find that a naked girl has stowed away on his cart; she has blood-red eyes, pointy animal ears, fangs and a large bushy tail. This turns out to be a pagan deity called Holo, the "Great Wise Wolf", who in older times was appeased by the local townspeople to make the harvest more plentiful but who has now been forgotten due to modern agriculture taking the place of superstition. Since she is no longer needed, and feels alone/outcast, Holo wishes to return to her ancestral home in the north. Lawrence agrees to take her, initially because her unique supernatural skills will help his business, but the two develop a close and romantic relationship during the show's two seasons travelling together. This forms the basic premise of Spice and Wolf, and while the show is light on physical action (especially the superior second season), there are lots of trials and tribulations that our two heroes must overcome, usually to save their relationship and fortunes.

These trials usually take the form of some sort of economic dilemma, as one of Lawrence's shady deals goes wrong, or the pair are double-crossed by various unions and trade associations, but sometimes they're put in genuine peril and have to fight their way out. The first series makes more use of Holo's wolf-deity powers, and there are more action sequences and set pieces, whilst the second series drops this largely to focus solely on the characters and their personal troubles. Oddly, for someone who usually likes action-packed anime (see Attack on Titan), my main enjoyment from this series came from just how well written the main characters are, and the expertly written dialogue between them; which if you are fluent in Japanese apparently has even greater resonance as Holo speaks a sort of ancient dialect. The love story between Lawrence and Holo is a believable slow-burn, and you get a real sense of their psychology; especially Holo, who after hundreds of years being lonely is desperate for connection and to be loved but afraid to commit to someone who she will outlive, have to watch die, and ultimately be alone again. It's compelling character drama.

Being such a focused character piece though, the animation is suitably subtle, and there is nothing too flashy or impressive of note except some gorgeous backgrounds and well realised locales. The characters themselves are wonderfully drawn and very emotive; it's also refreshing to have main characters who are older than usual, with Lawrence being in his mid-thirties and Holo being hundreds of years old - despite being very cute. The two series of Spice and Wolf were animated by different studios, and while they fit together flawlessly, the first series has a more muted colour palette than the second, which is more vibrant and lively. Special mention must also go to the music, as while there are a few repeated pieces, it is all very authentic sounding and really fits the medieval setting without resorting to 'Greensleeves' and the like. The opening songs, one for each series, are absolutely beautiful and very moody/evocative, whilst the closing songs are more upbeat and along with the animated vignettes remind me of Ghibli film credits.

In summary, whilst the heavy emphasis on economics and market trading for the "action" should make it a hard recommendation, the character drama between Lawrence and Holo is just too damn good to pass up! Whilst Spice and Wolf certainly won't appeal to everyone, its different enough that everyone should at least check it out. Personally, I absolutely *loved it*!!

REVIEW: Attack on Titan (Anime/Manga)

When something becomes popular, inevitably there are people who become "hipsters" about whether it's any good or not. The new hotness in anime is 'Shingeki no Kyojin' or to give it its international name, Attack on Titan, and there are plenty of people to tell you how over-hyped it is, etc, etc. They're basically idiots!! While I was visiting Japan earlier this year (2014 at the time of writing), you couldn't go into a convenience store without running into something Attack on Titan related, and it was this prevalence of "stuff" that made me interested in checking out the anime series when I got home; it was hopeless in Japan as nothing on TV is English subtitled. So, after binge-watching it over the internet on the 'Crunchyroll' streaming service it is almost ready for Blu-ray and DVD release here in the UK, and I thought I'd take this opportunity for a brief review of both the anime series and the manga original.

The plot of Attack on Titan concerns itself with a kind of post-apocalyptic scenario. It is some undetermined time in the future, and mankind has previously been driven to the brink of extinction by large humanoid creatures known as Titans, who wander the earth feasting on living human flesh. The last hope mankind has is by eking out a meager existence behind huge concentric walls, and the level of technology and social structure has been consequently thrown back to a feudal middle-ages equivalent. Titans themselves are nearly immortal, as they don't actually need to eat for sustenance (it's suggested that they're powered by the sun) and can regenerate nearly any amount of damage done to them as long as the nape of their neck is not cut out. Our protagonist for the story of Attack on Titan is Eren Jaeger, who during the opening attack upon his hometown behind the wall is forced to watch his mother ripped apart and devoured by Titans. He swears revenge on the creatures and joins the military with his childhood (and similarly orphaned) friends, who make up the other main characters, hence begins the onslaught.

The story arcs, and the way that they develop, are fantastic and easily some of the best and most compelling television you'll watch all year; there are two reasons for this. Firstly, the damn cliffhangers!! Attack on Titan drip-feeds its story to you, and while intense action make up the bulk of the time on-screen, the final few minutes of each episode usually give you just enough information to satisfy your desire to piece together the many mysteries (what are the Titans? where did they come from? etc.) and also usually end on a *massive* *MASSIVE* cliffhanger. Because of this, the show is almost un-put-down-able, and there really is no good opportune time to stop watching, you just have to tear yourself away! The second thing that makes the series so nail-biting to watch is the complete disregard it has for it's characters safety; and I mean all characters not just ancillary ones. Someone once commented in another review that if Joss Whedon and George RR Martin got together and watched Attack on Titan they would tell the shows producers to "slow the f**k down" with the amount of character deaths, which is saying something. But of course, this is brilliant as it gives situations a real sense of peril and danger that is missing from most television series, especially anime.

Hopefully the accompanying pictures illustrate this, but Attack on Titan looks incredible, especially for an anime series and not a feature film. Animation is fluid, looks absolutely gorgeous in high definition, and the character designs are great and help everyone stand out; which is important with such a large supporting cast. Action sequences in particular, the meat and bones of the show, are extremely exciting and well done... which makes it so much crueler when they end in a cliffhanger! AARGH! Special mention must go to the soundtrack too, especially the awesome as hell opening themes, which are *epic* and awesome; I've even seen silly chibi versions and spoof cartoons of Attack on Titan that use the same soundtrack and still seem epic as a result. In summary, basically everything about this anime series is amazing and exceptional, well deserving of all the hype and popularity that it has received, and I can only see it gaining more avid fans once it becomes officially available here.

MANGA: About the only real negative that can be said about Attack on Titan is the lack of closure. This is because it's only the first of two (or more) series based on the original manga, and really leaves a lot of plot threads up in the air; especially the central mystery of Eren's key hanging around his neck. While it is pretty much guaranteed there will be a second series based solely on how well it's done, at the time of writing there is no confirmed release date or even confirmation that they're even making the thing! This is probably because the series caught up with the manga pretty damn fast and there isn't enough material yet to fill another 26 episodes. So, in the meantime, if you want to uncover some of the buried strands of plot or you simply want to carry on the story the solution is to pick up and read the manga, or read it online via a manga reader like I did, and you *will* want to carry on at least a while.

Unfortunately, while I've enjoyed reading through a fair chunk of the remaining current manga to uncover a few more of the mysteries, I've not found it to be as awesome to read as something like Berserk. The main reason is that Attack on Titan is primarily an action-packed show of fights and intense violence, and this is not as kinetic or punchy in the original manga; especially compared to the excellent anime. In fact, I would go so far as to say that the anime of Attack on Titan is superior in almost every way and therefore feel free to completely skip most of the volumes and start from the middle of volume eight, which is where the anime ends. Also, while the art style is decent and often looks really good, it is not a patch on the television series; compare the above panel of the Colossal Titan with the one near the start of this article to see what I'm saying. I've read far enough into the manga to satisfy some of my curiosity about where the next series will go, uncover some *massive* mysteries and plotlines, and stoke my enthusiasm for watching the anime series again, this time forearmed with new knowledge about certain characters and events... but I think I'll stop reading for now. It'll be good to keep some things fresh for Attack on Titan Series 2 when it eventually rolls 'round sometime (hopefully) in 2015.

REVIEW: Berserk (Anime/Movies/Manga)

As a massive (understatement of the century!) fan of the Demon's Souls and Dark Souls video games, I've always been interested in Berserk. The games' creator, Hidetaka Miyazaki, has always stated that the manga and anime has been a huge influence on the aesthetic, tone and some of the monster, character and weapon designs of both Demon's and Dark Souls and has always suggested series fans check it out. It's taken me a long time, but over the past couple of months I've discovered Berserk in a big way and, completely divorced of the 'Souls connection, it's become one of my favourite pieces of Japanese animation in a long time. Not only that, but the unique conditions by which you have to experience the story of Berserk to actually get it all has lead me to pick up manga - something that very rarely happens with me as I'm not usually a fan of comic books or graphic novels. In this article I'm going to try and explain why Berserk has captivated me so much and hopefully make you want to check it out yourself; also this will hopefully be the first in a series of articles/reviews for anime since I rediscovered my love of it after visiting Japan this year.

Anime (TV Series)
Like a lot of people in the West, my first introduction to Berserk was through the 1996 anime television series, which is a full 26 episodes and basically covers the "Golden Age Arc" of the story with a smattering of "The Black Swordsman" at the beginning. Speaking of beginnings, Berserk has a particularly bad one unfortunately, as while I was lead to believe that this was a classic and amazing series (it is!), the first impression that I got was of a dude-bro throwback to 80's anime like Fist of the North Star. Not that there's anything wrong with that, but it just wasn't what I was expecting from all the hype. It turns out that this first episode is a bit of an aberration, as it quickly changes gear and goes back to an earlier time period, which not only looks visually different but tonally is much more welcoming as an entry point for the series; lots of fans advise to skip the pilot and start on episode two.

From here on out we are quickly introduced to the main characters of the story, namely the central protagonist Guts with his gigantic sword, Casca a beautiful and exotic female warrior and Griffith, an effeminate but heroic leader. There are many other fantastic ancillary characters that make up 'The Band of the Hawk' but the main beats of the story concern these three central characters, their emotional past, and the epic journey that they embark on together. You see, they're all pulled together by Griffith's dream - that a man who started life in the gutter but who wants to inherit everything can do so as long as he believes in it wholeheartedly. 'The Band of the Hawk' is Griffith's own personal army that he intends to use to carve out a piece of the kingdom for himself, and when we initially meet him his plan is missing one important element, Guts, who is Griffith's equal in almost every way except for the drive and ambition - something that becomes a point of contention later on. The central themes of Berserk are unavoidable fate and living inside another person's dream. Early on, Guts is given a prophecy that "when [Griffith's] ambition crumbles it will be [Guts'] doom" and this dark premonition hangs over all the events that follow right up to it's crushing nihilistic conclusion.

To say that the ending of "The Golden Age" story arc is tragic and dark is to do it a great disservice; it makes something like Game of Thrones looks like uplifting family entertainment. Aside from the story, the Berserk anime series is also infamous for having a VERY unfinished ending - while it is very true to the manga, it also makes no attempt to wrap anything up in its 26 episodes, and in fact ends DURING one of the most pivotal scenes in the story!! I really can't stress enough how disappointing you will be with where it all ends, as they basically just got to episode 26 and stopped, with no second series to carry the story onward. Its testament to the strength of this anime series then, that despite this appalling ending, the series is still regarded as one of the best of all time. A product of it's time, the animation from 1996 is not the best, especially nowadays where it really looks quite rough, but the artwork characters designs and style of the anime is fantastic. The sound design also needs a mention as, aside from truly awful opening and closing themes, the music used in the series is haunting and atmospheric to the extreme. But really, it is the characters and story that drive Berserk into the top ten list for most people, there really isn't anything as complex and finely woven as this.

Manga
So, what happens after episode 26!? That is the first question any fan of the Berserk anime asks after watching the series for the first time as you simply need to know what happens. Of course, you can find out by picking up the manga, and that's exactly what I did - or more precisely I picked up volume 13 of the manga, which is where the series ends (in the middle). Lots of Berserk fans would probably frown at this and tell you to start at the very beginning, but I really had no interest in reading past the "Golden Age" and just wanted to know what happens in the end. I had no idea how hooked I would get. Now, its worth mentioning that after watching Attack on Titan I was in a similar frame of mind, and only read far enough into the manga to get some much needed answers, and then felt satisfied. However, I'm actually still reading through Berserk and I'm loving every minute of it!

In a similar vein to the television series, the next arc of the story (after "The Golden Age") gets off to a bit of a ropey start, and I really wasn't expecting some of the goofball comedy from characters like Puck after the blacker-than-black events that had just transpired. Once you're past this small interlude though, the story starts to pick up again, oozing the dark fantasy and ultra-violent vibe of the series once more. Not being too much of a comic book fan, I've been continually blown away by the art style of Berserk, I just think the way that the panels are presented is often very dynamic and also the artwork itself (as hopefully these couple of screens demonstrate) is excellent; very dark and visceral. The story is going from strength to strength and I have loads more still to go. It's hard reviewing what is still an ongoing thing for me, and maybe at some point I will return and offer a final verdict, but as for now I can say that Berserk is a rival to grand fantasy epics like A Song of Ice and Fire. I love it.

Anime (Movies)
There is however another way to experience the Berserk "Golden Age" story arc, besides watching the television series and reading the manga, (which you should still do) and that is to instead watch the new trilogy of films released over the last couple of years. The aim here was to completely reboot the story of Berserk in anime, starting with a trilogy of films to quickly cover already familiar material (to anyone who watched the original series) and then follow up with a new series to continue the story in line with the manga. Interestingly, the last film The Advent also offers a good replacement end for the anime television series all by itself - but my recommended way to absorb this story would be to watch the original series first, then watch all three films back-to-back afterwards, and I'll try and explain why.

Basically the first two films, Egg of the King and Battle for Doldrey, cover the same storyline as the original anime series but much more abridged from the original manga, with lots of ancillary characters missing, and superfluous scenes removed. Of course, this means that in terms of story and character development, it is the weakest incarnation of Berserk, which is why most people recommend the series first. But, the films give Berserk something that it's never really had before - a truly epic scale. Right from the get-go, Egg of the King is massive in scale, as thousands of armoured knights assault a castle with siege engines, leading into the scene with Guts fighting Bazuso (pictured above). This sense of grandeur is echoed across all three films, with perhaps its pinnacle being the Battle for Doldrey itself, and really gives the world and the military struggles that provide the background framework for the story a much needed boost in terms of production values and richness of vision. Action packed sequences that were always roughly handled in the television series are given new visceral life here, with some astounding high definition cell-shaded graphics, and lashings of gore!

For the first time in an anime form, Berserk is finally given a full and proper ending treatment, and an absolute adaptation of the infamous "eclipse" sequence from manga volumes 13 and 14; as promised it is hellish and uncomfortable to watch and utterly unforgettable. While some of the emotional punch is diluted from the original series, due to the characters not being fleshed out a much, the pure horror onscreen is handled masterfully and really hammers home the benefits of a full film budget and modern technology. Music in all three films is also very epic and grandiose, with huge sweeping orchestral scores permeating throughout and some odd uncomfortable pieces of music for the supernatural elements towards the end. While I don't consider the films to be as good as the television series (if you had to pick one then see that instead),  I do consider them to be a very worthwhile and almost-essential accompaniment that fleshes out many battle and action scenes. Just be warned, that the films do not pull any punches where nudity, sex and violence are concerned.

To conclude then, I think that Berserk is very unique in many ways, not only in terms of subject matter, characters and storyline, but also in how it is consumed as a piece of media. To get the full rich tapestry on offer, you effectively need to watch a television series, three films and then read an massive series of comic books! Is it worth it? At this point, I consider Berserk to be one of the very best stories I've ever experienced, especially the "Golden Age" arc, which is what most of this article is based upon. Highly recommended.

REVIEW: Dark Souls II (PS3)

I've been waiting a looong time for this game. In fact, I think I'd had the damn thing preordered on Amazon for well over a year before it finally landed in my desperate hands. And now, after finishing the sequel to one of my favourite games of all time, I have the same feeling all over again... a hollowness, an emptiness, that I know no other game will satisfy until they (hopefully) release the next edition of this dark fantasy RPG. The first game in this series, Demon's Souls, was a complete surprise for me when I picked it up along with my PS3 all those years back, I had grabbed it on a recommendation for it being one of the best exclusive titles on Sony's platform. I was blown away and instantly addicted to it's hard and dismal gothic-fantasy world, which was unlike anything I'd every played, save for the overtones of Shadow of the Colossus, my all-time favourite video game. When they announced a "spiritual successor" I was overjoyed and Dark Souls did not disappoint. While initially I was unsure about the changes from Demon's Souls (like the move to an "interconnected open world" and the whole rejiggering of many things) eventually I came to love this new game every bit as much as the first; more in some areas and less in others. Like everyone else, I eagerly awaited the announcement of 'Dragon's Souls' or something like that and when they instead announced a direct sequel I was both excited and nervous at the same time. Please From Software... don't f**k it up!!

Upon loading up Dark Souls 2 you are instantly taken back to that dark fantasy world from the first game, only this time hundreds or thousands of years into the future, where kingdoms of men have risen and fallen since the escapades of your first character; but the dismal cycle of death and rebirth continues unabated. You are yet again an undead ( or 'hollow') out of a quest to rid yourself, and perhaps mankind, of "the curse", only this time through it might not be as simple and straightforward as that. Initial comments from the game's new director about making the story "more accessible" seem to be unfounded, as if anything the actual lore is even more shrouded in mystery and interpretation this time. The actual direction to take and what to do in Dark Souls 2 is more easily signposted this time around though, as there are more characters to steer you in the right direction, and more freedom in which order you tackle areas. A lot of this freedom to travel and explore is facilitated by an almost-return to Demon's Souls's "hub structure", and you are given the ability to fast-travel from the very start; allowing you to return to the central point of 'Majula', the only place you can level your character up, reset stats, increase potency of healing items etc.

Freedom is the main theme of Dark Souls 2's design choices as you now also have more slots for weapons, armour and useable items on your belt. You also have more options in terms of healing, either by using fixed 'Estus Flasks' from the previous game or by using consumable items similar to Demon's Souls. Indeed, you even have the freedom to play around with the "new game plus" option by burning 'bonfire aesthetics' and resetting all the baddies, bosses and items in an area in the same what you would do with a complete second play through of the game! Obviously, because it's a From Software game, a lot of these things are not fully explained by the game, leaving you to find out for yourself or online in guides, but the fact this is all here makes the game extremely enjoyable and customisable. I took advantage of all these things during my first play through, and re-specced my character half-way through into a "Dark Knight", hurling hexes at foes, using dark-infused weapons, and reaching top-tier in a covenant designed to explore The Abyss. Next time, I'm going to spec my character for dexterity and faith and make a halberd wielding temple knight (although disappointingly there are no divine weapons this time 'round), and it's this complete ownership over both your character and over how you play the game that makes it so enjoyable, addictive and endlessly replayable.

The world of Dark Souls 2 is very well designed, and there is a good variety of locales, enemies and bosses this time 'round. While there is some (intentional) reuse of things from the first Dark Souls early on, there is very little reuse of assetsfrom early to late game this time, unlike the latter half of the first game, which the creators admit was rushed. Here you get the sense they had a good plan for the development of the game and saw it right through to the end, with a particularly strong second half leading some some spectacular final areas. Bosses are all challenging and pose their own strategies and tactics to overcome, which is also helped this time with a more robust multiplayer system, meaning it's very easy to summon assistance if you get stuck (although due to the idiocy of some players I often overcame the most difficult bosses solo). Music is top-knotch, graphics are much improved in terms of frame rate and special effects, although I didn't find the art direction to be quite as good as either of the first two games, it's still leagues above most other fantasy RPGs! All-in-all a very worthy sequel and while I would like to talk all day about the many features that are exemplary and the many secrets and unlockable events that happen, I would much rather just say: go play this game.

Thus begins the long drawn-out wait for another in the 'Souls games, hopefully made more bearable with some DLC to tide me over (the game checks for DLC on start-up so I'm hoping it's a hint of things to come)...

REVIEW: Beyond Two Souls (PS3)

Firstly, a little disclaimer. If you have any interest in this game (and if you have a PS3 then you should), then be warned that even looking at the pictures in this review is going to be entering 'spoiler' territory. This is a game that is probably best approached knowing nothing about except that a.) it's an "interactive drama" and relies on contextual controls not conventional gameplay; and b.) it's bloody brilliant!! This is the second PS3 exclusive game from second party studio Quantic Dream and the director David Cage. The first, Heavy Rain, polarised critics with it's approach to video games as a medium, like films and books, through which to tell a story. People will often band about statements like "it's just a load of quick time events" and make the accusation that there is little gameplay, inferring that it's like watching a game-long (8 hour) cut-scene; incidentally these very same sentiments are often expressed towards Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots. I personally find this kind of attitude to be backwards and shortsighted to the extreme. Heavy Rain tried to do something different by presenting a complex interwoven story, usually outside the scope of video games, and used what I would refer to as "contextual controls" rather than having a rigid control scheme; definitely not quick time events, which by their nature are "press X now, oh too late you died!" In fact, a later re-release and patch allowed Heavy Rain to be played with the Move Controller, allowing a very real connection with the game through gesture and motion control.

Speaking personally, I was a massive fan of Heavy Rain and it has remained, for me, one of the defining games of the PS3 and a "must-buy" title. When it was announced that David Cage was following it up and releasing a new game in the same genre, I was stoked and Beyond Two Souls became one of my most anticipated games last year. Obviously, like it's predecessor, it released to mixed reviews. Also like it's predecessor, critics just didn't get it!! Beyond once again explores the idea of using video games as a medium for a complex narrative, this time focusing on the character of Jodie Holmes, a girl born with a paranormal connection to a spiritual entity called Aiden. This time, rather than jumping between the viewpoints of different characters (as was explored in Heavy Rain) Beyond's narrative structure is non-linear and different chapters hop and skip to different parts of a timeline; always logically filling in bits of backstory before diving into a relevant later chapter in Jodie's life. This keeps the game extremely compelling and each time a new chapter begins you'll want to know what new secrets it exposes or how it develops Jodie's character. Once again all this is realised with mostly context dependent controls, however this time the game has been confidently made so that intuition (rather than on screen button prompts) guides you. This doesn't always work flawlessly, and sometimes you'll have to walk about and experiment to further the scene, but it definitely adds to the immersion of the game by not having a heads up display or other intrusive elements. Often the only time you'll see a face button popping is when choosing dialogue options, which is why in screenshots there is nothing to suggest how the game actually plays.

The other control scheme used is a fixed, almost third-person-shooter, setup that allows Beyond to contain some more traditional gameplay sections. These lengthy sequences, mostly regarding Jodie's time working for the CIA, feel very much like a Metal Gear Solid game, as you are tasked with sneaking about and completing objectives. I found these parts of the game to be immense fun, and I can see why people might wish the entire experience had been like this. But that would be to miss the point, as while these sections give the player the most traditional "video-gamey" experience, they don't usually have as much emotional gravitas as some of the slower purely-storyline driven sections of the game. The chapters where you play as a little girl in particular pulled on my heartstrings the most; but that might just be because she is so adorable, and goes through such a crappy childhood, poor thing! Speaking of the storyline, the game also has a multiple endings, twenty-six of them in fact, which means there is potentially a lot of reply value. Like Heavy Rain before it, there is a lot of reason to play again through sections of Beyond to see how your actions affect the scene, and to earn different trophies as a reward.

Lastly, it's worth mentioning the technical achievements of this game, which regardless of your own opinion regarding the storyline, player agency or whether this is all a "game" in a narrow inflexible definition, no-one can deny that this game is stunning to see in motion. The graphics engine in Beyond produces some of the most realistic life-like visuals I've ever scene, with lots of hidden level-of-detail jumps bringing out some insane depth to close-ups of characters faces, allowing you to truly read emotions and thoughts in character's eyes and expressions. It helps that the motion captured performances from everyone involved is Hollywood caliber stuff, especially from Ellen Page in the starring role as Jodie; even the bit-parts and cameos are all very well done from the different actors. While playing I was frequently picking my jaw from off the floor. The soundtrack, while not as memorable as the previous game, is still excellently well done and I believe nominated for some awards. To sum up this review, Beyond is a fantastic video game (and perfect follow-up to Heavy Rain) that does some interesting and new things with the medium, perhaps not appealing to snuffly-nosed boring old purists, but great if you are open to try something that requires you to think and feel rather than twitch and shoot.

SPECIAL: Top 10 Board Games 2013

I know I know, it's February!! It's taken me a while to write up a top ten list for 2013, something that I've been meaning to do for a while. The main reason it's taken so long is two-fold: firstly, availability in the UK of some of these games has been abysmal and I had to wait a looong time after the US release for them to arrive with me. Secondly, it's taken me a while to play through all of them, and there are a few that I've only played once (yet still included them in this list because I'm a hack!) due to time constraints. Nevertheless, here it is, the best games that were released last year and that I've played/own - this means that there are some omissions such as Steam Park or Kemet that could sneak there way into this list if I ever play them, and some games like Nations that I don't own, but have played and found them disappointing/lacking in some way.
----------------------------------------------

10: Mascarade
This is a highly social bluffing and deduction game by one of my favourite designers (Bruno Fiadutti). It's divided opinion somewhat, and your enjoyment will depend on how much you like chaos in your board games, but it's a lot of fun. It' also one of those rare games able to host a lot of players, I believe up to thirteen! A great alternative to Shadow Hunters.

09: OGRE Designers Edition
A bit of an odd entry (apologies) as the game of Ogre itself was released in the 1970's! 2013 saw the release of the 'Designers Edition', possibly the largest board game you will ever own, yet it's a 45min light tactical wargame and is extremely simple to play. While it's "2013" credentials may be in dispute, there's no doubt it is a great, fun and light, game and well worth picking up.

08: Rampage
Another game by another of my favourite designers (Antoine Bauza) and another lighthearted chaotic affair. Rampage is a dexterity game with a lot of character and tactics underneath. Imagine King of Tokyo but instead of imagining giant monsters smashing up city, you actually do get to tear one up on a big colourful board. Bits fly all over the place and it's silly hilarious fun.

07: Forbidden Desert
The follow-up to Forbidden Island, which was kinda like Pandemic-lite, this new game is it's own beast. A cooperative game that is really easy to set-up and teach, which meant it got a lot of play time over 2013 (it was an earlier release). Very challenging, but beatable, this is a great co-op, with excellent production values, highly recommended!

06: 1775 Rebellion
A historical wargame by Academy Games, this is not usually the sort of thing I would be interested in. But, a really streamlined combat system and "area-control-esque" strategic play peaked my interest. I was not disappointed, this is a fantastic light wargame and one that carries it's historical theme really well. Fantastic production values too.

05: Caverna
Another game that was an odd choice for me; the spiritual follow-up to Acricola (a game that I dislike for various reasons) fixes all the problems with the previous game and delivers an exceptionally polished euro - probably the best released this year. You really have a lot of options for how to play and win, and there is oodles of replayability in this beast of a game!

04: The Duke
The best abstract game released in 2013, The Duke was a genuine surprise for me - it's also probably the best abstract game I own! Like a super-modernised version of Chess, it primarily involves capturing your opponent's Duke. Clever tiles that instruct you how the pieces move and interact are complimented by two different move sets for each piece.

03: Freedom Underground Railroad
Nothing to do with train games, this was the best cooperative game of 2013, and a truly challenging experience (this game is hard). Another historical game by Academy Games, this is a perfect blend of theme and game mechanisms, creating a very thematic experience. Able to play solo as well as with others, this game scales well and suits all numbers of players.

02: Firefly
This year seemed a bit short on "ameritrash" and I had initially passed over on Firefly. But, after playing it at my local club I knew I had to have it! A fantastic game, especially if you enjoyed the TV show it is based on (recommended viewing for everyone) it's loads of fun either on your own or with a couple of other people. Component quality is also astounding!

01: Hanabi
Another game by Antoine Bauza, the very best game of 2013 was a simple cooperative card game. It won the 'spiel des jahres' and for good reason, Hanabi is a truly excellent game, and a lesson in elegant game design. Simple to teach, quick to play, but oh so difficult to make those crucial decisions. I've played it with all number of players and it's always a lot of fun!!
----------------------------------------------
So, there you have it. 2014 has some excellent board game releases on the horizon (The Witcher from Fantasy Flight - yes please!!) but it will have to pull out some masterpieces if it is to beat 2013, which was an excellent year for board and card games.

(P.S. an honorable mention must go to Cheaty Mages, which only just missed this list.)

SPECIAL: The Legend of Zelda #2 (Article/Review)

This is a follow-up article to my Legend of Zelda special that I wrote earlier in the year, which specifically looked at Twilight Princess, Skyward Sword, Spirit Tracks and Ocarina of Time 3D. I suggest you read that before returning here, as I'm going to jump right into a couple of other games that I've played since writing that article, and once again tackle them in the order that I played them. I debated whether or not to hold off writing this, as there's a new Zelda game out just before the end of this year; A Link Between Worlds is out during the tail end of November and I've got it pre-ordered to play ASAP. However, while I still have them (relatively) fresh in my mind I thought I'd do another special.

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

After the superb Ocarina of Time 3D, I gave the Zelda games a bit of a rest while I played through some other things (which I've reviewed a few of), but eventually returned to play Phantom Hourglass; another DS game like Spirit Tracks, which is actually a prequel to that game and also a direct sequel to Wind Waker. One of the reasons that I had put off playing this title was because of playing them out of order meant Spirit Tracks (allegedly) fixed loads of "problems" with Phantom Hourglass and I didn't want that affecting my judgement of the game - however, I really should have ignored internet hearsay because Phantom Hourglass is a fantastic game and I enjoyed it even more than it's successor is almost every way. This entry, being a direct sequel to Wind Waker, takes place on the great sea - a vast overworld of water with lots of tiny islands popping out all over the place - and is split into four large regions that you explore, and find the usual assortment of temples and dungeons.

To get about in the great sea you hook up with one of the best Zelda characters outside the main cast, Captain Linebeck and his tramp-steamer, which you steer chugging through the vast oceans, shooting baddies and jumping over obstacles. It really is a *LOT* of fun piloting that ship, and while I *loved* the train in Spirit Tracks (I had no problem with trains in a Zelda game unlike most people) the boat is a much better method of transportation in my opinion, mostly because you're not constrained by the rails and can pretty much explore where you want. Once you get the hook arm and cannons sorted it really feels open to exploration in a way that its successor simply wasn't. While we're on the subject of gameplay, it's worth mentioning that this is another overhead-view 3D Zelda, which is again controlled completely with the stylus. I thought that after playing Ocarina of Time with it's full 3D environment and complex controls that jumping back into a stylus-only DS game would feel awkward and basic - not so! The control scheme in Phantom Hourglass is a work of genius, and really shows that with expert game design you don't need a zillion buttons assigned to everything in order to make a great game. The only time this falls a little flat is during some of the tougher boss battles where you need to be switching items and using them rather quickly, but it just about holds up and the rest of the game outside these encounters is perfect.

The story of Phantom Hourglass concerns itself with the hunt for the legendary ghost ship, as Tetra (Zelda) and her loyal pirates, which Link seems to have joined, are hunting for it with the intention of finding and plundering its legendary booty. Of course, this all goes wrong and Tetra ends up trapped aboard the spectral vessel, leaving Link in charge of chasing her down and rescuing her. In order to find the ghost ship, Link calls on the help of the Ocean King, the lord of all waters, however his temple is occupied by an ancient and powerful evil that has sealed away his power - so it's down to the 'Hero of Winds' to once again go chasing through temples, finding different holy items in order to restore the Ocean King to his former glory. This also introduces one of the most divisive aspects of Phantom Hourglass - the temple of the Ocean King himself - a timed temple that you have to revisit in-between each of the other dungeons in the game. Personally, I thought it was great! I love the push-your-luck aspect of the temple, as you see if you can get just a little further and get to a "warp spot" in good time, so that you can skip huge parts of the dungeon on your next visit. Also, the unkillable phantoms that lurk the darkened halls are great for keeping you on your toes and add to the puzzle-based nature of the Ocean King's domain. In fact, Phantom Hourglass has a lot of well-designed temples and it seems like a lot of are and effort has gone into the structure of the game.

As you can hopefully see from the screenshots, this is also a really good looking game for the DS; it's the same graphics engine and assets that they used to create its successor and so a lot of it looks very similar (in fact I had a hard time finding screens for this article as lots that came up in Google's image search were from Spirit Tracks). The game also makes really good use of the functions and features of the Nintendo DS, such as using the touchscreen to make notes on maps/sea-charts, blowing or having to talk into the microphone, and sometimes having to "stamp" information from the top screen to the bottom by closing the lid. It's all very clever and really makes the experience feel right at home on the platform. I had a lot of fun with Phantom Hourglass and really enjoyed playing through it, even more than Spirit Tracks, which I also liked a *lot*.

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

At this point I had played both it's sequels but never actually played the original Wind Waker game; although I had toyed with the idea of buying the GameCube version to play on my Wii several times, only put off by the astronomical cost on eBay and Amazon. When they announced Wind Waker HD on the Wii U I immediately pre-ordered it (along with the limited Zelda edition console) and was very much looking forward to playing what some people consider to be the best, or at least one of the best, Legend of Zelda games ever released. Extremely divisive at the time of it's release, Wind Waker completely changed the art style of Zelda games into a 'cell-shaded' format meant to imitate anime/cartoons, which was continued on it's DS sequels but dropped on the home consoles in favour of a more realistic (and fan-pleasing) look for Twilight Princess.

Remastered in glorious 1080p 60fps high definition for the Wii U, Wind Waker HD looks absolutely gorgeous, and really shows that the 'cell-shaded' art style was a timeless one, and a great decision from Nintendo at the time. Textures are sharp and the lighting engine has been improved over the original to create hot sunny days, atmospheric storms, and dank gloomy dungeons - the whole thing really does look like it was designed from the start for the Wii U and is one of the best HD remasters I've played. In a similar vein to Ocarina of Time 3D it really demonstrates that Nintendo knows that it's doing when it comes to rereleasing these Zelda games and still making them feel contemporary and fresh. The control scheme also feels like it has been designed from the ground up for the Wii U Gamepad, as switching effortlessly between different gadgets with the touch screen, and being able to flick between maps/sea-charts on the fly is great and also helps to modernise the game more.

Wind Waker not only provided a departure from the standard graphical style at the time of it's release but it also experimented with a brand new structure and setting compared to the Zelda games that had come before it. Set several hundred years after the events of Ocarina of Time the story concerns itself with a great flood, sent by the gods to seal away Ganon's resurrection, which has covered the land of Hyrule and created the Great Sea. The effect this has upon the gameplay is that there is no longer a 'Hyrule field' overworld to traverse by foot or horse, instead there is a vast ocean populated by lots of small (and occasionally large) islands, containing temples, dungeons, side-quests, etc. There is a *LOT* to do in Wind Waker HD and the game often has you sailing back and forth all over the place. Unlike some entries in the series that have you constantly revisiting temples/towns, Wind Waker's concentration on traversal of the Great Sea is a welcome change of pace. However, that didn't stop people from complaining at the time, and so Nintendo have put in more shortcuts this time through - not only can you 'teleport' to certain locations using the Ballad of Gales (played on the eponymous 'Wind Waker' instrument that is key to much of the game) but through a purchase in the auction house you can acquire the 'swift sail', which makes your boat sail twice as fast.

I'd waited a long time to play Wind Waker HD and it did not disappoint. The story is very compelling and I *loved* how it tied together some of the events in Ocarina of Time - specifically, giving Ganon a bit more of a motivation/backstory for this nefarious deeds - there was a moment about midway through the game that really gobsmacked me (which I won't spoil here). The overworld with it's sailing and discovering new islands/secrets was fantastic fun, and despite being largely empty ocean, it really feels like the world in Wind Waker HD is a living breathing place. This also concludes my time spent with 'toon Link and the cell-shaded Zelda games that I've enjoyed both on the Wii U and Nintendo DS, and I'll be sad to see them go. While I understand the desire for an epic looking fully realised Legend of Zelda game, I find the escapism of this art style charming and utterly timeless. Next up in the series is another return to an earlier design - a sequel to A Link to the Past - and it will be interesting to see if a pseudo-2D game can live up to modern gaming standards and rival the magic I felt while playing through Wind Waker HD.