PS4 Launch Party - What's That In The Shadow? Oh, it's Contrast. Hi Contrast. (It's A Review)

Written By: Tyler Selig

                This is my first article for what I’m dubbing, “My PS4 Launch Party.” I intend to write a long review for Killzone: Shadow Fall and Knack. I plan on reviewing Resogun and Contrast, which will be shorter reviews. I may even throw in an article detailing what I think about the actual Playstation 4 itself, but I will not be giving it a rating. I'll probably tease you with the reviews of Resogun and Contrast first, just to tease you before I unload the big daddy reviews, because you're a dirty dirty girl, and you like that.

                So read on for my review of Contrast, a multi-platform game that I played on PS4.

Rating: 6/10

Verdict: Contrast is an entertaining game, but nothing that will set the world on fire. At its core, it’s a solid puzzle-platformer but while it has a cool idea, outside of a couple neat puzzles, it doesn’t use it all that excitingly. A 6 doesn’t mean “shit game,” it means “decent game, worth playing but not exceptional by any means.”

            Contrast reminds me a bit of Lost in Shadow, a superior game that was released on Wii a couple years back. The fact that both games have you using shadows to platform your way through is why I say this. The idea to me was fascinating back when Lost in Shadow was released, and you don’t see many games use that “gimmick,” so I was pretty excited to play Contrast.

                Unfortunately Contrast doesn’t hit the levels of Lost in Shadow, but it’s not a terrible game by any means. You play as Dawn, a mysterious woman who helps a little girl named Didi as she goes through family issues. It would actually be pretty heartbreaking if the writing allowed it to be, as you get to see your parents go through marital problems and you find some things out that would potentially damage a little girl for life. It tells its tale mostly seriously and in a noir-like fashion, which is appealing to me but verbally and visually, but the voice acting and the quality of writing sometimes lets it down… which is a shame because there’s an emotional story here to be told and it doesn’t reach those heights.

                With that said, the visuals aren’t exactly next-gen, but it’s also not a triple-A game. It’s not full-priced, and if you get Playstation Plus right now (which you should because they give you 30 days just for buying), the game is free. The visuals do a competent job of making the world feel alive.

                The biggest disappointment lies within the biggest aspect of gaming: the actual gameplay. It has a cool feature revolving around shadows but it doesn’t really give you engaging platforming or puzzles (outside of a couple which I found slightly challenging and interesting). I felt like there were some real innovative things that could be done here, and since the game only clocks in at about three hours, I felt like the developers should have went balls-to-the-wall and gave us some really intriguing puzzles. Unfortunately, most of it is pretty average and doesn’t live up to its potential.

                If you’re looking for a quick puzzle-platformer to spend your time with in between other games, you can’t go wrong with Contrast. It’s just that if you’re a gamer that’s interested in Contrast, you probably have a backlog of games to play anyway so while I’d give Contrast a minor recommendation, you also won’t be missing much by avoiding it.

               

               

My Top 50 Favourite Video Games of This Generation, 50 - 41

Written By: Tyler Selig

Unless you’ve been going out and having a life, which I don’t understand, you are aware Sony and Microsoft are releasing their new systems next month. Sony went with the tried, tested and true Playstation 4, while Microsoft opted to confuse the fuck out of people by calling theirs the Xbox One.

                So with the Wii U already out, and these systems on their way to world domination, I reckon now is a good time to give my favourite 50 games of this generation. I’m only going to include console games, so only PS3, 360 and Wii are represented here.

                And if this blog ever got readers, I’m sure some of you will be annoyed by my choices. I definitely follow popular opinion on some games, but I have included games on here that probably no one else would ever include on a Top 50. But that’s the fun… different opinions. I know the internet doesn’t take too kindly to that.

                There are some things that bother me about my list. For as many games as I have played, there are games I know would have made it here, that I just didn’t play. Sorry to those games. I will play you some day.

                I intend to put up an article each day, with ten games each day, so this is a big five day event. Woo hoo. Let’s do this.

50: Kane and Lynch: Dead Men (PS3, 360)

                Maybe Kane and Lynch is not a game most people would pick. I understand that. I don’t think it got great reviews, and even my friend said the controls felt weird. To me, the game plays like the old Conflict games (not Denied Ops, that game sucks), and those have always been “guilty pleasures” of mine, if I believed in feeling guilty about liking things. So I was used to the controls.

                While I don’t like the sequel, I thought the first one is an underrated shooter. It doesn’t bring anything new to the table but sometimes shooting is just fun, and the relationship between these two makes it interesting.

                I think more people should give Kane and Lynch a fair shake. I’m aware I probably like it more than most, but I stand by it. It almost didn’t make the list but I have to show it love.

49: Deathsmiles (360)

                Deathsmiles was a game I knew nothing about but I took a chance. I’m glad I did, because what I found was a wonderful side-scrolling shooting game that is colourful and intense. Maybe it’s because you don’t often see retail games tackle this kind of genre – as it’s mostly indies that do it these days – but it was a breath of fresh air for me. It’s well made, with a lot of style.

               

48: Lost in Shadow (Wii)

                Lost in Shadow takes a genre as old as games (platforming), and adds an interesting twist. You play as a shadow, so instead of jumping on solid objects, you jump on the shadows of said solid objects. It doesn’t seem like much but I felt that it changed up the genre enough to make this stand out, and it made me think a little more about where I was jumping.

                Though people criticize the Wii for not having good graphics, I think Lost in Shadow succeeds in something more important: visual design/art style. It’s a pretty game because they took care to create an interesting world.

                My only dig is the insane amount of backtracking later on. If it weren’t for that momentum killer, I would have put this game higher than I did. This is one of those special games that should be included in “most overlooked games” years from now.

47: Mario Kart Wii (Wii)

                While I don’t think Mario Kart Wii stands up to some of the older Mario Karts, and I’ve been a little bit tough on it, I’ve decided that my disappointment was due more to the outstanding quality of previous games, and not a dig on the game itself.

                I have criticisms, but an average Mario Kart is still a great game. The one thing I do love about the game is the steering wheel packaged right in. That’s a great touch.

                Mario Kart Wii does change things up a bit, so while it wasn’t the huge jump up that I wanted, it’s still wonderful.

46: Catherine (PS3, 360)

                Catherine is another breath of fresh air to me. A game that, at its core, is about a relationship… ends up being much more than that. The story is a little messed up, and it helps that you can affect how it plays out. I was into the story from the moment I started a new game, and I wanted to see what would happen next.

                But it’s not just a story-driven game. No, it does everything else really well too. It does a lot of things well, from the music to the graphics, but above all else, the game is just fun to play. It’s a puzzle game but the gist of it is that you just have to climb up blocks. It doesn’t sound like much but it can be pretty intense, especially at bosses, and it’s something different.

               

45: Alan Wake (360)

                Alan Wake is a great survival horror game. While it isn’t as good as Silent Hill (when it’s at its best), this is still great. The most important aspect of it is the story, but it does get the scares down as well.

                I also am a fan of some of the music choices it picks to end the episodes with, such as Haunted by Poe. I marked out pretty hard when I heard that song because I love it.

44: Fragile Dreams: Farewell Ruins of the Moon (Wii)

                What a sad, sad Wii game. I’m so glad I bought it though.

                It’s an RPG, and it’s another overlooked game, though I feel some of the better Wii games are overlooked because Nintendo didn’t market some of these very well.

                Like Lost in Shadow, sure, the graphics aren’t great, but the visual design is amazing. Fragile Dreams has such a rich, lonely world, that it’s easy to get lost in it and feel something as you play the main character, a person who has to travel this world, mostly alone. It’s a gripping tale.

                The one issue is that while I think weapons breaking is a good mechanic that should be left in the game, weapons break too much, to the point it becomes a chore to play at games. So this is the one thing that keeps it from getting a little higher.

                But I stand by Fragile Dreams as being one of the better RPGs of the last decade.

43: Mirror’s Edge (PS3, 360)

                I’m glad Mirror’s Edge is finally getting a sequel because it deserves it.

                You take a look at it and you think, “Oh, a first-person shooter with a weird colour palette,” but you’d only be partially right.

                I agree that it has a weird colour palette but it hits the dystopian feel so well because of it. It doesn’t look like other games. The colours also make it easy to spot where you can jump, which is important because this is what makes it different.

                Mirror’s Edge penalizes you for shooting, and urges you to run. Because of this, the game is fast-paced and thrilling. You can disarm guards, but you do it mostly just so they don’t shoot you so you can run away.

                You don’t get many games like this these days, and it should be embraced for that reason.

42: Ninja Gaiden Sigma 2 (PS3, 360)

                Admittedly I was never a massive Ninja Gaiden fan. I definitely enjoyed the crushing difficulty of the NES games, but I wouldn’t include them in my favourite games of all time.

                It took me awhile to play the modern versions of the series. They aren’t side-scrolling platformers anymore, they’re really hard action games.

                It does what these types of games need to do to be successful. The combat is difficult but deep, and each fight seems like a struggle. You can’t just button mash (not that there’s anything wrong with that gameplay choice), you have to try each time or you could die.

41: Limbo (360, PS3)

                Limbo creates a dark world full of intrigue. It’s not a long game, but it does what it sets out to do. It transports you to a mysterious, menacing place, and you have to platform your way out of the situation. The ending is a nice touch. 

Well people, that’s it. What do you think of these games? Let me know in the comments how stupid you think I am. Until next time, thanks for reading.

[Click here to see 40 - 31]