The first entry in the renowned puzzling-adventure series, Professor Layton and the Curious Village arrived on DS in 2008. It was the very definition of a surprise hit, the odd premise redeemed by fantastic gameplay and a relentlessly charming aesthetic. But who is this top-hatted maestro, and what makes his exploits so engrossing?

Layton is an archaeologist, legendary for his ability to tackle logic puzzles and brainteasers of every sort (an odd way to become legendary, but let’s not get pernickety about the premise). He is sought worldwide by those needing the aid of his talents, and one such request serves as the catalyst for the game. Lady Dahlia writes to him, explaining the bizarre inheritance issue surrounding her late husband’s will. He has stated that the person who solves the mystery of the Golden Apple will receive his fortune. These enigmatic words are the only clue, enough for our hero to set out for the village, St. Mystere, desperate to solve the peculiar riddle.

You navigate the world map via a point-and-click-esque interface. Layton is not controlled directly, rather you touch the screen to interact with people and objects in your particular area or to proceed to the next one. A map on the top screen of the DS shows your relative position in the world as a whole. All in all, it’s a stylus-flailing adventure from beginning to end, with the buttons unused throughout.

The puzzles, of course, are the stars of the show, and a hallmark of the series. The residents of the village are addicts like the professor himself, and will challenge him with a doozy at every opportunity. Suffice it to say, you couldn’t so much as ask to use the toilet here without having to answer some fiendish brainteaser or other first. When conducting a full-blown investigation, then, you can expect a relentless brain-barrage. There are over 130 puzzles in The Curious Village, each created under the watchful eye of Akira Tago, real-life puzzling wizard. (the title of his successful series of brain-bending books translates to Head Gymnastics, which is nigh-irrelevant but rather fantastic-sounding nonentheless.) These range from riddles, shape matching challenges, picture-based questions, some simple maths, and more. Much like the unhinged WarioWare games, just about every conceivable manner of using touch control is catered for here.

It’s a concept that’s been touched upon in gaming, but rarely to this extent. The true wonder of Professor Layton’s quests is how deftly the puzzles are interwoven with the story. It’s a little tenuous at times, I’ll concede, (“Luke! that door reminds me of a puzzle! That ladder reminds me of a puzzle!”) but to keep players transfixed with such an irregular driving force is a real feat. The presentation is a wonder too. Every character, from our hero and his apprentice Luke Triton to the inconsequencial extras, are brimming with life and oozing charm. This combines with the music, the delightfully quirky graphical style and the thrilling narrative to create an unparalleled experience indeed. There’s so little in gaming like it, and certainly nothing that matches it. The series is perhaps the biggest portable triumph in recent years, and deservedly so.

This SurvivalCast features a couple of trilogies that hit the market. Tom discusses Diablo 3 and the goodies of the Collector’s Edition. Craig dives into Max Payne 3 and talks about how Rockstar handled the franchise. This week’s news topics include Diablo 3 server issues, Diablo 3 completion time, Gamestop offering Steam wallet cards, Minecraft 360 sales numbers, No co-op for SD in Minecraft 360, Capcom on-disc DLC strategy, Guild Wars 2 launch date, Activision/Infinity Ward lawsuit, Resident Evil: Operation Raccoon City surprising sales numbers, Tomb Raider reboot delayed, Bioshock Infinite delayed, Devil’s Third loses its publisher, Saints Row franchise sales numbers and more! Thank you for listening and enjoy the show!

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I’m sure just about everyone on the planet’s surface is familiar with Plants vs Zombies. (Begone obscure forest tribes, this is no business of yours.) It’s a fantastically addictive little game, which has made its way onto several formats. Being the unfortunate addict that I am, I own the title a couple of times over, and it’s eaten more of my time than I care to admit. When it comes to achievements, I’m the type that will only strive for them all when it’s one of my favourite games. Plants vs Zombies certainly qualifies, but it’s one that I haven’t yet finished in this regard. The blame for this is solely levelled at Alive and Planting.

This particular achievement/trophy asks you to reach beyond forty waves of zombies in survival mode. As yet, I’ve scarcely reached half that amount. There are guides online of strategies and plants to use, even exact images of how your finished setup should look. Even so, I’m fairly stubbornly trying to struggle on to the magic 40 alone, in my own way. Thus the lack of success. (I said I played a lot, certainly not that I was good at it. That would be the dirtiest of dirty lies.) Both the 360 version and the Vita version will be wrung of all their precious awardy-liquids, I just can’t promise when.

It’s unfortunate, because Plants vs Zombies offers some quite imaginative achiephies (that will become the official term used when you aren’t speaking specifically about either). All too often in games, you’ll see a tedious list like:

- complete the tutorial
-complete chapter one
-complete chapter two

And so forth. My favourite game of all time, Gunstar Heroes, suffers a little from this. In a simple first playthough, I had acquired all but one. The final came about three minutes later. Particularly with the sort of title that cries out for achievements that actually need to be achieved, such as this, it’s a poor show indeed. Plants vs Zombies is one example of a game tasking you to do something unusual or difficult to earn them, which is always good to see.

The cruelty of Alive and Planting aside, of course.

Crash Team Racing arrived on the Playstation in 1999, the little orange dude’s first foray into the racing genre. It’s notable for being, in the aftermath of the myriad of Mario Kart clones, one of few real rivals. A kart racer of genuine quality, and perhaps the equal to Nintendo’s own efforts. Indeed, it improved on some areas that are sorely lacking in Mario’s own karting shenanigans.

Primarily, the story mode. Such games have always been very much a multiplayer pursuit, offerings for the lone gamer are generally rather meagre. There is the ubiquitous Grand Prix assortment to conquer and time trials to indulge in, and little besides. (Mario Kart DS took a positive step with the inclusion of missions, but this innovation did not return when the next installment was released.) As such, Crash Team Racing’s story is all the more welcome. (The plot itself is rather meaningless and absurd, seeing you tasked with defeating an alien plotting to convert the Earth into a gigantic racetrack, but it’s appreciated nonetheless.) You pass through a series of areas, completing tracks in order. Simply winning the race is but your first challenge. Next, you must collect the letters C,T and R hidden in nefarious areas around each track. Then there are the relic races, an evolved time trial with subtle tactical nuances. The racing surface is festooned with the familiar Crash Bandicoot crates, which award you with valuable seconds off your time when broken. A revolution? Absolutely not, but it’s refreshing to see something substantial being offered for those playing alone. Story mode hides a whole ream of collectables, and only the most dedicated will see it through to 104% completion. Which is, oddly, the true maximum value. As per convention with Crash games.
Marsupials care little for mathematical impossibilities. The cheeky little swines.

Another aspect of Crash Team Racing that elevates it from the crowd of pretenders is the way items function. Wumpa Fruit crates are also bountiful as you race, and these add to your tally in a similar way to Mario Kart coins. When you are holding ten of them, you’re juiced up (whatever that might entail), and instead collect the more powerful version of each weapon. As an example, the TNT crate is dropped on the track and will attach itself to the opponent that collides with it. They can then frantically hammer the hop button, if they’re fast enough, to dislodge it and escape an embarrassing and pain-filled explosive fate. When you have a full crop of fruit (those things are quite big, where are they keeping them in those cramped karts?) you will instead utilise the Nitro crate. This green death machine doesn’t fancy the whole timer rigmarole, and instantly detonates on contact. It’s a great mechanic, and nary an item feels out of place in the universe this odd menagerie inhabits. Most important of all is the Time Warp Ball. The familiar odd little way of negotiating from the hub to the levels in the platformers will be fired forward, tripping every racer in front of you. This, in my view, is more how the accursed Blue Shell should behave. (Or hit everyone else before majorly exploding on first place. Ignoring the others is often worthless for the user.) How gratifying to see a developer get that little detail right. Or, if we’re being pernickety, right-er.
(Although, if we are being pernickety, that isn’t a word.)

The tracks are a joy, perfectly incorporating the personality of the franchise and the characters themselves. It’s a lot of fun to play, and polished to the finest of sheens. The only real issue is with the cast. I’m sure this is simply a matter of taste, but I’d have to say these loons just don’t have the personality of Nintendo’s barmy army. Pura and Polar are pretty well identical miniscule bear cubs, just in different hues. Tiny Tiger, Dingodile and Pinstripe the rat aren’t bad at all as far as designs go, and they’re returning bosses from a hugely popular series. I just find them less endearing, less memorable.

Even so, the achievement and the quality of Crash Team Racing is a feat indeed. As we know, everyone down to the infernal Crazy Frog have starred in their own kart racer after Super Mario Kart‘s success. I’ve had the misfortune of experiencing some truly appalling efforts, and can’t think of another worthy alternative to the original series. Naughty Dog’s effort, in that sense, is truly one (or two) of a kind.

Surely gaming’s most recognised figure, Mario’s illustrious career has spanned several decades. In this impressive period some of the greatest games, the likes of Super Mario 64 and Super Mario Galaxy, have been produced. The dungaree-donning maestro with the questionable facial fuzz is now better-known worldwide than Mickey Mouse (allegedly, so said an old report I once heard of).

As such, I feel the need to to explain that there’s no offence meant here. I don’t want him to send armies of deadly ninja Goombas to hunt me down in the dead of night. It must be said, nonetheless, that he’s looked completely preposterous at times. This is due mostly to the cavernous wardrobe Nintendo has outfitted him with over his impressive span. Power ups in games are generally a small shiny thing, an instantly-consumed item that vanishes at your touch. It then takes one of a myriad of effects. In the Super Mario series, new abilities are endowed in the form of suits.

In the early days, this wasn’t a major cause of embarrassment for our hero. The fire flower, for example, transformed him into Fire Mario. This didn’t have the most dramatic effect, merely altering the colours of his trusty traditional garb. While this in itself isn’t quite the pinnacle of fashion, it suits the porky little dude just fine. Then there was the mushroom, all that did was make him taller. It emphasises that paunch of his a little more, perhaps. Aside from this there was no real harm done there either.

Over time, alas, more skills were added to his repertoire, and his suave facade slipped. And slipped. And slipped some more. Like a rollerskating spider on a greased surface. This process began slowly, with Super Mario Land 2: Six Golden Coins offering a collectable carrot (with eyes, naturally, as is the company’s odd wont) enabling you to fly with a pair of bunny ears. This cranium-centric shame soon spread to our man’s whole body. The Frog Suit is my favourite, but I still have to admit it’s totally ridiculous aesthetically. Fast-forward to Galaxy, and the grotesque abominations within. Cloud Mario is, for me, the campiest he’s ever looked. (Short of a Village People ensemble, I doubt he’ll ever best it either.) Rock Mario, meanwhile, is the worst possible thing a somewhat-flabby gent should be seen in. Great, I’m now completely spherical! As a saving grace, though, it also introduced Flying Mario. This fantastical power is completely belied by the simple Flower-esque colour change it causes. And so the circle of embarrassment to restoring dignity to embarrassment again is complete.

I eagerly await the next ghastly offering. As is the case with Sackboy, the possibilities are boundless.

This 1994 Game Boy release was an oddity indeed. Mario takes a backseat here, giving Wario his first starring role. Super Mario Land 2: Six Golden Coins marked his debut, and Nintendo were clearly fond of their new creation. The result of this bold decision was a completely innovative platform experience, as the yellow man’s adventures are a stark contrast to Mario’s in many ways.

The plot, for one, is markedly different. Wario’s greed and general unpleasantness leaves him completely impervious to the usual tired heroic motives. This title finds a vast golden statue of Princess Toadstool (as Peach was known at this juncture) stolen by the nefarious Brown Sugar Pirates. Our antihero hears that his alter-ego is searching for it, to return it to its rightful place. Wario, however, has a better idea. If he finds the statue first, he can sell it for a crazy amount and build himself a palace worthy of his greatness with the bountiful proceeds. In the previous title in the series, he serves as the main antagonist and final boss, having taken control of Mario’s castle while he was away. A mixture of vengeance and the desire for riches sends him off to Kitchen Island, where the pirates are based.

The big man himself controls very differently to the familiar stylings of Mario. He’s bigger, slower and stronger. Seemingly incapable of a simple hold-B-to-dash, it’s a really rather sluggish experience in comparison. Instead, Wario is equipped with a charging body-slam attack with which to defeat opponents and move his bulk a little faster. In addition, stunned enemies can be casually picked up and thrown about with abandon. Hitting a wall or obstacle mid-launch will defeat them. With a fair amount of the foes you face consisting of seemingly innocuous little waddling dudes, this method is both cruel and highly entertaining in equal measure. Just the kind of thing a mean guy like our protagonist would revel in.

All this, and there’s nary a Fire Flower or Mushroom to be seen. Instead, Wario Land brings a few new power-ups to the table. You can equip the Bull Pot to become Bull Wario, who can unleash an extra-strength body slam and a ground pound while jumping. Most pertinently, however, he bears a strong resemblance to a Viking in this form. (Through the blurry haze of these ancient graphics, I was originally convinced it was one of their trademark helmets instead.) Jet Wario endows you with the ability to glide and jump higher, whilst Dragon Wario can expel torrents of fire to repel aggressors.

It’s clear to see the level of freedom Nintendo had in the creation of Super Mario Land 3. The newest addition to their mental menagerie was a blank canvas at this point. With regards to his abilities and powers, then, a certain what if? approach was possible (Bull Wario’s ability to adhere to ceilings, by his head, is one bizarre highlight). As such, the game is glutted with creativity, with some truly stellar level design. It’s regarded as a classic not only for being Wario’s first game, but a standout platformer in its own right. The highly successful series that spawned in its wake is testament to that.

The SurvivalCast crew are back to discuss all the latest from the gaming industry. Tom cranks out over 15 hours of Guild Wars 2 and tries out Hybrid. Craig rants about his thoughts on Kinect and Move. This week’s news topics include NBA Baller Beats for Kinect, Joy Ride Turbo, Skyrim DLC, Bayonetta sequel canned, Max Payne 3 Rockstar Season Pass, Geohot, Black Ops 2, God of War multiplayer, No Wii U pricing at E3, Wii U will have day-and-date digital downloads and much more! Thank you for listening and enjoy the show!

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In an effort to be good Samaritans and give back to the community, we at Gaming Survival have a regular giveaway every Wednesday, dubbed the “Hump Day Giveaway.” Not only is it catchy, but it’s completely immature. The contest run from the Wednesday as posted until Monday 12:01PM EST.

This week, we’re giving away one of the best Kinect games out there – The Gunstringer. Leave it to the folks at Twisted Pixel to turn the limited abilities of the Kinect into something genuinely unique and fun. Also note, this doesn’t come with the code for Fruit Ninja Kinect, but I’m sure you’ll be able to dry those tears somehow.

Just use the widget below to enter a chance to win. Each entry method increases your chances, so make sure you hit them all. Good luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

One of my favourite RPGs, Golden Sun, starts with our hero Isaac asleep. His mother dashes in with an alarming revelation. A boulder is threatening to destroy their small village, and the magic or psynergy of the Elders is not enough to stop it. The boy is told to leave and seek shelter, and from here an epic quest begins. Helped along, of course, by two villains who saw nothing uncool about viciously attacking a group of children in a rainstorm. The cads. This setup (sans beating up innocent youths in a rainstorm) is one beloved by developers.

Link is perhaps the protagonist most affected by this epidemic of narcolepsy. In A Link to the Past, Zelda actually manages to invade his dreams to inform him of the unscrupulous goings-on at the castle, courtesy of Aganhim. His father/the dude in his house, through the same inexplicable telepathic connection, chose this precise moment to wander off somewhere. ‘Don’t leave the house,’ he intoned, as though it was even remotely likely that he wouldn’t. The stage was thus set for another lengthy adventure. Ocarina of Time, meanwhile, finds Link mid-nightmare (of sorts). To make matters worse, he is awoken by none other than ubiquitous winged ass-pain Navi. The fairy has been ordered by a giant talking tree to fetch the lad and send him off to save the world. Any other child would suspect that they’re still in the grip of some bizarre dream, and recommence snoring. But not so here.

So, what explains the love for this wake up, something terrible is happening! story-opening concept? It could well stem from the dreamlike quality of video games. Generally, they provide scenarios, characters and abilities that are completely and thoroughly impossible in the tedious world of reality. When you ponder this kind of weirdness, the parallels are easily drawn and numerous. The kind of situations these guys are often in are the sort that could logically only end with and then they woke up, after all. It’s the ultimate deus ex machina, and it would really put a dampener on the whole experience. With all the loot and general valuables the average RPG star comes away with at the end of a game, it’d be a shame to find it was just a dream. They could make a fortune at a local pawn shop with that stuff.

Click here to view the video on YouTube.

Traditionally when the mainstream media picks a game to focus on over video game violence, they usually choose the likes of Grand Theft Auto or Call of Duty. The most popular titles are put on the chopping block, whether they deserve the harsh criticism or not. For the most part, the criticism is not warranted. When I think of a game to focus on in this scenario, a game like Prototype 2 comes to the forefront. With its brutal violence, constant use of abrasive language, and largely hidden sexual nature, Prototype 2 is not a game for everyone. Whether you feel these characteristics are necessary for artistic expression will unfortunately be a huge judge of whether you enjoy your experience with this game.

From the get-go, Prototype 2 makes it clear that this is an adult game. The opening cut scene establishes a harsh reality in New York Zero, the game’s devastating take on The Big Apple. With infection spreading and a father on a tour duty, helpless to protect his family, the game sets a scene that it never really follows through on. Once our serviceman and main character James Heller discovers his family has been murdered by the “Mercer Virus” and unexpectedly infected by Alex Mercer himself, Heller storms into a world of destruction, killing anything and everything that stand in the way of finishing off the game’s villain. It is through this tour of destruction that the game takes a disturbing turn.

Instead of following through on this emotional opening and offering a compelling story of revenge, Prototype 2 instead becomes a cesspool of vulgarity and failed jokes. Sure, there is a ton of revenge, but it is all linked together by awful bits of story. Heller’s foul mouth is never silenced and the chauvinistic military tough-guys that litter the game spout colourful comments that will make even the most hardened veteran cringe. This relentless storm stands out more than it should for a game of this caliber.  Hearing an NPC soldier say something along the lines of “Hey, those infected women are pretty hot if you put a bag over their heads” made my stomach turn. Why would a game with so much potential stoop so low dialog-wise? Its at this point that it becomes clear the game is more interested in creating a distorted sense of “grit” than telling a worthwhile story.

To be fair, the cut scenes are rather well done and do add quite a bit to the game. Certain characters and their adventures along side Heller — such as Father Guerra — also show a glimmer of story telling ability from the developers. It’s unfortunate though that this is all overshadowed by a pile of immature responses and awful one-liners. Overall, the less-than stellar story of the game can be chalked-up to James Heller being a misguided character. Going from caring military father to deranged, vulgarity-spewing maniac was just a bad decision. The game could have been much grittier if Heller’s actions held more weight from him being an average father forced to avenge his family using newly developed, super-human powers. Instead, they simply pushed the character over the edge and created an average, unstable video game “tough guy”.

Fortunately, Prototype 2 is able to pick itself back up with its outstanding gameplay. There is no denying that Radical Entertainment knows how to make an open world game that is both expansive and enjoyable. Jumping, sprinting, and gliding across NYZ as James Heller is always a great experience. Exploration is complimented with a limited amount of collectibles that give the player something extra to do without bogging the gameplay down with hundreds of rudimentary pickups. At times all the jumping is stopped by a slight glitch or two, but none were game-breaking in my experience. A few jumps here or there will usually get you out of any glitchy situation.

Combat in the game is another stand-out. Fast and fluid is the name of this game. Mowing down enemies with Heller’s various abilities and power ups is undeniably fun. You would have to be a bitter stuck-up to not get at least the slightest bit of entertainment from viciously obliterating the troops, scientists, and pedestrians that populate NYZ. This violence is where the game shines and should have been the developer’s focus for creating a grimy scenario, instead of the heavy doses of intense language and questionable quotes. After slicing, dicing, smashing, and consuming thousands of NPCs, I have only one complaint: things can get very hectic. For the most part, these hectic scenarios are what make the game. However, there is nothing more frustrating in the game than trying to focus your attack on one enemy and having your target change without warning due to a crowding of enemies. If another Prototype game is in the works, Radical will have to either limit the amount of enemies, or, in my opinion, the much better solution of improving the aim focus system.

At the core of Prototype 2 is the game’s missions. Although there is an entire city — with three zones — to explore, the game is nothing without its missions. Unfortunately the majority of these missions are not so hot. Most missions offer something compelling through promotion of a new ability or something totally unique, which is awesome. What’s not so awesome is that the game relies far too heavily on its consumption system. With every NPC, the player has the option of having Heller consume them and take their memories, abilities, weapons, and appearance. This is a great way to create a few mission situations. However, the game uses it for just about every mission scenario. At some point in nearly every mission Heller is tasked with finding a particular NPC type, consuming one, and entering some form of building or laboratory. What’s interesting at first quickly becomes tiresome through overuse. The game has a lot of interesting ideas floating through the missions, but the constant use of consumption severely overshadows what’s great with what’s bad.

Graphically, the game is superb. The city of NYZ really comes alive as Heller trashes it. The amount of enemies on the screen and heavy action with no frame rate slowdown is amazing. There are a few graphical hitches here and there, specifically with Heller falling through environments. But for the most part the game stays strong in the graphical department. It won’t blow you away with its visuals, but the game does a fine job of creating a believable city then destroying it, all with a steady frame rate.

Another strong point for the game is its use of audio. Although Heller’s language will make you cringe most of the time, his voice acting is quite well done, as with all the NPCs in the game. While exploring there are times background music will pop-in, but none of it is ever distracting. It’s nice when it comes in and often leaves you wondering why it doesn’t come in more often. Solid audio all around.

Once all of the missions have been completed, the game does offer some replay value. It will take a while to fully upgrade Heller and his abilities. Various events and sidemissions spread across the game will also help keep players entertained. Those looking for additional replay value will find plenty more in the game’s RADNET service, which comes free with new purchases of the game. Although there are a healthy serving of sidemissions and additional content, I feel that it is lacking a bit for an open world game. But to be fair, the game is already a little cluttered as-is. Those looking to spend just as long after the credits role collecting various items and maxing out Heller may be a little disappointed. But for the average player, Prototype 2 offers the right amount of replay value.

It is unfortunate that a game like Prototype 2 is overshadowed by a misguided main character, lackluster story, and repetitious missions. With fantastic, action-packed gameplay, outstanding visuals, and solid audio, the game could have been amazing. Instead, the game will likely wallow in mediocrity, all capitalized by its preventable downfalls. Radical has many lessons to learn from this game. Those looking for a great open-world title may want to look elsewhere. Those a little more daring should definitely give this title a chance. It definitely is far from great, but there are some solid concepts for the developers to build on and enough entertaining content to keep most gamers going through the game’s six hour story and possibly even beyond.

Pros:

• Fantastic, action-packed gameplay
• Interesting mission concepts and objectives
• Outstanding visuals
• Solid audio

Cons:

• Misguided main character who opens the door to abrasive violence and vulgarity
• Lacklustre story
• Repetitious mission scenarios

Score: 7/10