Monday 29 April 2013

JoyStiq: Far Cry 3 XBox 360 Review



A Nightmare Get Away



There's a reason why first-person shooters are the most popular gaming genre and the Far Cry series is one of them. The original title blew our minds to teeny-tiny pieces back in 2004 with its amazing visuals and fun gameplay. The Crysis series may be Crytek's flagship series now but Far Cry was its heart. The guys over at Ubisoft Montreal are doing great things with the license though and Far Cry 3 is clearly a result of a labour of love. Someone over at Ubisoft Montreal's studio must have said, 'Guys, let's take all the best bits of Far Cry and Far Cry 2 and make a new game.' This simple equation works and makes Far Cry 3 one of the best shooters currently on the market. The game is set in a gorgeous tropical environment that's as dangerous as it's visually appealing. Add elements of insanity and drug induced delusions and you're good to go.

You play as Jason Brody as he tries to escape the clutches of drug dealing pirates lead by a charming and insane guy called Vaas, the game's primary antagonist. After Jason escapes he must survive and try and save his friends who were captured along with him. He goes about this task with the aid of the Rakyat, a tribe native to the island he finds himself on. The Rakyat are adversely affected by Vaas and his cronies' drug dealing activities and adopt Jason in order to groom him into a fierce warrior. While I never got too invested in the previous games' stortlyline Far Cry 3 makes you care about the people you meet and makes you despise many of them too. Vaas is an unstable individual and this makes him the most interesting person in the game. He is a lunatic and embodies the game's theme of insanity in terrible and twisted ways. There are moments in Far Cry 3 that make little sense because you experience them through Jason's drug addled state. This is executed well and the sense of disconnect makes playing the game more interesting. The story is similar to Lara Croft's escapades in Tomb Raider in that both stories are about survival and going from a normal person to a warrior capable of dealing out death. Where Tomb Raider is intense and focused Far Cry 3 is massive and allows players a great deal of freedom.

The Far Cry series has the reputation of setting graphics benchmarks for games and Far Cry 3 doesn't drop the ball in this regard. The Dunia 2 Engine gives Crytek's CryENGINE 3 a run for its money in producing a lush tropical setting that's stunning to see. I think we've come to that point in gaming where great visuals are standard in any game. Far Cry 3's visuals are still exceptional though and the manner in which the tropical setting, characters, fauna and flora are presented is amazing. Far Cry 3 is a sandbox game and its beauty makes its open world fun to explore; experiencing the sounds, feel and general atmosphere of the tropical jungle. The animals are spectacular in how they look and behave and it's possible to interact with almost everything in the game's open world.

Vaas, the face of insanity.

Far Cry 3 is more than just a shooter, it has some RPG elements in that you can level up according to three skill tree options: the Spider, Heron and Shark. Your progress is depicted on your arm in the form of tattoos, which is pretty cool. You can approach combat situations stealthily like a spider would, attack from long range much like a heron or go in guns blazing and use aggressive tactics like a shark is more inclined to do. The combat is rather difficult to get used to, even on a lower difficulty setting and it’s frustrating. The game has a steep learning curve to players new to the genre. Once you get the hang of it combat is fun and you can use the environment to assist you in eliminating enemies. You can use elements like fire to flush enemies out of hiding or even set loose captured wild animals to take down bad guys for you. You pick up and buy guns and ammo as you progress and can upgrade your weapons. The in-game economy is your usual FPS fare. Most of the fun lies in the sheer amount of things you can do. The side quests are fun – whether you’re hunting animals for their pelts, taking down pirate encampments and turning them to safe zones or just transporting medicine. The game world is massive and you can spend 30+ hours just on the single player campaign.

Far Cry 3 offers great value for your money in terms of how much it has to offer. There are two multiplayer options: co-op and your usual free-for-all mode. Both modes are loads of fun to play but the co-op mode stands out. You can embark on a campaign with up to three of your buddies helping you out. It’s definitely a case of ‘the more the merrier’ as the campaign can be hellishly difficult.

In an on-going spirit of saving you money you can pick up Far Cry 3 for as little as R550.00 if you browse through most of the local e-tailors. This is a great thing for our struggling wallets.

Far Cry 3 is a great game but got relegated to the background with all the big releases we’ve been seeing lately. It’s one of the most solid games on the market today though and its large scope means it will keep you busy for a good while. It does get buggy but that’s easily overlooked.

A Nightmare Get Away

This game is well worth any serious gamers’ time and is very satisfying to play.

Thursday 18 April 2013

The Gig Life: The Shining Girls Book Launch 17/04/2013



It's always wonderful attending an event at Love Books. The store is beautiful and any book lover instantly feels at home there. The owner, Kate Rogan, and her staff are friendly and just downright delightful people.

This time around Love Books was launching Lauren Beukes' new novel, The Shining Girls. The novel's about a time-traveling serial killer compelled to murder a number of girls throughout different periods of time. These are the shining girls who are each gifted in a some manner. One girl survives the killer's attack and hunts him throughout time. The hunter becomes the hunted.



You had me at Lauren Beukes and time-traveling serial killer. The concept sounds like something Dean Koontz would write and I'm looking forward to reading the book.

This also proved one of the rare occasions that I could don my fanboy hat. I'm a huge fan of all things literature but my heart and soul belong to the green valleys of fantasy and bright lights of sci-fi. I am a fan of Lauren Beukes' work and I especially love that she writes stories in different but interlinked media. She's responsible for novels like Zoo City (for which she won the Arthur C. Clarke Award) that are weird and yet accessible to people who aren't necessarily fans of sci-fi, she writes for TV in wonderful shows like URBO: The Adventures of Pax Africa (I love this show) and gets to play around with Rapunzel in Bill Willingham's Fables comic world in the Fairest spinoff arc.


This is very cool for me in terms of the ability to write stories in different genres. I'm intrigued by the idea of telling stories across platforms. When I asked Lauren (I think I can address her on a first name basis now) to comment on the process of writing in all those different spaces she replied that it all boils down to storytelling. You're a writer trying to tell a story and picking up the mechanics of each medium comes second to that. I am always in awe of comic book writers as that storytelling format seems alien and mathematically complex to write for and Lauren did say that on many occasions she has to cut many lines of text she really wanted to include because you are limited by how much text you can include in a comic book.

Lauren was interviewed by the owner of Books Live, Ben Williams, about the new book and I like that she addressed how confusing genre is in literature and how people coin new phrases for genres to place stories in. The Shining Girls is sci-fi, it's a thriller and many other things beside. Lauren playfully called Zoo City muti noir when it came out. It's difficult to assign genre tags to literature because most writers are well read and everything around them inspires the stories they write and they dabble in all of literature. I read a comic book like Grant Morrison's Final Crisis and I see Milton's Paradise Lost right in there with Darkseid's war in heaven and subsequent, but victorious, fall.

I got to speak with (and fist bump) Lauren for a short while and despite her hectic schedule (it's crazy, you guys) meeting so many fans, signing books and taking pictures she is interested in what you have to say and is a delightful conversationalist. I don't like meeting people I idolise for the most part because they are rarely what I expect but it was a great meeting Lauren Beukes, she is awesome. She is a shining girl.

Thank you to Love Books for a great evening. Whenever you're in Melville stop by say hello, buy a book and some Joostenberg wine.

Tuesday 16 April 2013

Brace yourselves, winter is here!



Finally! Game of Thrones Season 3 is here and we're all losing our minds. I am in any case.

Sex, political intrigue, swordplay, boobs, dragons, direwolves, white walkers, the Others and all that good stuff. Who can have enough of that?

I'm especially looking forward to Daenerys Targaryen and Arya Stark's adventures. Arya always meets the coolest people! Syrio Forel and Jaqen H'ghar were amazing.

This is the rare occasion that I'm glad to not have read a series of books before the on-screen adaptation. HBO always delivers the goods it would seem and this gladdens our fantasy loving hearts.



Ladies. Gentle Sirs. Winter is here. Grab a glass of wine to warm your belly and enjoy.

Review: Bioshock Inifinite “a masterpiece”

Review: Bioshock Inifinite “a masterpiece”

Okay, so it turns out I'm a bit of a whore. I also hang out at XBox 360 Gamer SA and wrote a BioShock Infinite review for them. Head over and say hello :).

Saturday 13 April 2013

Audio Slave: Fall Out Boy Radio-active Again



I have strange music tastes that make no sense to anyone and I say every new song I like is my favourite song and I want to run off and marry Natasha Bedingfield every once in a while. But the one thing you must know about me (if you only decide to know one thing concerning my existence) is that Fall Out Boy is my favourite band in the multiverse.

I have been waiting in the shadows for them to make a come-back after 2007's brilliant offering, Infinity on High and if we really must talk about it, 2008's Folie à Deux (I love The (Shipped) Gold Standard though).

The single, My Songs Know What You Did in the Dark (Light Em Up) heralds the release of their latest album, Save Rock and Roll, which you can get your grubby paws on right now, depending on where in the world you live.

I'm so excited I could die! Actually, no... Let's leave the dying part alone.


“when we were kids the only thing that got us through most days was music. its why we started fall out boy in the first place. this isn’t a reunion because we never broke up. we needed to plug back in and make some music that matters to us.
the future of fall out boy starts now.
save rock and roll…”

Underwhelming GI Joe

Underwhelming GI Joe

I review G.I. Joe: Retaliation for you guys over at Bizcommunity.com (where I hang out when I'm not here) so that you can make an 'informed' decision when you go to the movies.

Trust me. I'm a movie buff.


Thursday 11 April 2013

Last Call: Votes for The Big Blog Exchange




Hi all,

Remember how I asked you to vote for goodbuddies inc. at The Big Blog Exchange? Well, I'd like to take the time to thank all of you furry friends who did vote, you guys are real world heroes and I love you. Yes, you and you and you too.

Voting closes on Monday, 15 April 2013 and if you've not voted yet please do. It's very simple, I promise. Just click on this here link and it will take you to my profile. All you have to do is click on the vote tab and enter your email address. To complete the process check your email for a confirmation link, click on it and that's that. Done.


Why do this? Well, it's a great opportunity for me to travel abroad and learn cool things from cool people who live in places I've never been and maybe you've never been. Life is about sharing stories and experiences, after all. Blogging allows me to share with you and you to share with me. Someone said that we are each angels with only one wing and can only fly embracing each other. I don't remember who this person is but they sure are wise.

I ask for your vote so that we may all widen our circle of sharing life. That's all.

Thank you in advance.

Wednesday 10 April 2013

Krazy Komfy Kupboard Person of the Week: Pippa Tshabalala

Hi everyone and welcome to my Krazy Komfy Kupboard,

Grab a virtual chair and let's see which wonderfully wibbly human person has managed to intrigue me this week.




Once in a while you come across someone who's walking on a similar path to yours and they're a few steps ahead and they inspire you to keep on walking in that direction because there's light there. I came across Pippa Tshabalala in NAG magazine, a South African gaming publication I've been reading since high school.

Pippa writes a monthly column in NAG that I like and I decided to Google her and it turns out that she's exactly the sort of person that I like and try to to emulate. She's a gamer, freelance writer, On-Air Producer for MTV Networks, former presenter of gaming TV show, The Verge and she is a former part-time lecturer at Wits and Greenside Design Center. Pippa is also an ink fiend who sports some cool tattoos and she's one of Adidas Originals' brand ambassadors for this year. Most of all she just seems like a cool human being.


I've been reading her work and I love the way she writes, her intelligence and how passionate she is as a gamer. Those are things that inspire me and make me work harder as a writer, gamer and lover of all things story.

It's always nice to find cool people who've done something that people might deem as childish and turned it into a career because that means what you want to do is also possible. So big up to Pippa for being a shining light for all of us on the murky path to share our gaming passion and make a career out of it.

Follow this awesome human person on Twitter.