Lark News - 1/1/13

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-----REVIEWS-----
SPEC OPS: The Line - Genre: Third Person Shooter, War Shooter - Developer: Yager
Premise: Six months after a failed evacuation of sandstorm ravaged Dubai, a radio broadcast calls for investigation by a squad of three Delta Operatives. Upon arrival they quickly discover the horrors that now live in Dubai.
Story: What starts out as a run of the mill recon mission, quickly escalates into a battle for survival. Twists and turns through the ruined city of Dubai weave into a dark and fascinating story of the horrors of war. All the characters presented are memorable through the defining events that occur over the course of the game. Difficult moral choices kept me questioning if I was really helping the situation going on. Even with a few plot holes, SpecOps shows that even generic war shooters can have a deep compelling story. 5/5
Gameplay: The gameplay intelligently mocks common war shooters in terms of ridiculousness and cliche. However, this plays to an annoying downfall, primarily with the cover mechanics. Often at times, I'd be in a situation where I wanted to back out of cover to escape a grenade, only to sprint right back into the same spot I left. Something intuitive though is the use of sand during gameplay. Sand is a key tool to survival, shoot out glass that sand is behind to take out enemies. Blow up a grenade on sand to blind soldiers or to create a makeshift smokescreen. Where the mechanics really shine is when it comes to making those difficult moral decisions. At one point my squad and I were surrounded by rioting civilians and my squaddie wanted an order to open fire. I was tasked with starting the order by shooting them myself. However instead I shot into the air and he did the same, scaring off the crowd. 3.5/5
Graphics: While not impressive or state of the art, the graphics get the job done. As the story progresses you and your squad slowly become more and more beat up. The transitions in between cutscenes and gameplay are flawless and well crafted. The sand physics are amazing, especially when shooting out a glass wall to send a wall of sand sweeping in to take out soldiers. Every bit of detail is used to showcase the horrors of war. 4/5
Entertainment: This game is not fun. Which isn't a bad thing. SpecOps successfully incorporates everything that makes a drama good into a video game. The difficulty curves up drastically early in the game and just keeps going higher. After all, you're fighting an entire army with just three guys. However the difficulty gets ridiculous at times. There are multiplayer modes, but they're simple tacked on add ins, thrown in as a sweet lollipop to convince 2K Games to publish the game. If anything the multiplayer ruins the experience as it throws all the themes and morals of the story out the window. 3.5/5
FINAL VERDICT: 16/20 (4/5) -+- REPLAY VALUE: Low -+- Buy/Rent: Rent
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+=====++=====+2012 Lark Awards+=====++=====+

Best Adventure: Minecraft
Best Shooter: Max Payne 3, runner up: Borderlands 2
Best Story: The Walking Dead, Runner up: Spec Ops: The Line
Best Replay: XCOM: Enemy Unknown, runner up: Minecraft
Best DLC: Artorias of the Abyss (Dark Souls), runner up: The Mechromancer (Borderlands 2)
Best XBLA Game: Alan Wake: American Nightmare, Runner up: Dust: An Elysian Tail
Best Co-op: Resident Evil 6, runner up: Borderlands 2
Best Competitive: =EDIT= Far Cry 3, Runner up: Borderlands 2 (with Jordan)
YEAR OF THE HD COLLECTIONS: Ratchet & Clank Trilogy, runner up: Metal Gear Solid Collection
Best RPG: The Witcher 2: Assassin of Kings
Best Graphics: Resident Evil 6
Best Sound: Dust: An Elysian Tail
Best Musical Score: "Truth Revealed" (Spec Ops: The Line), Runners up: "Ada's Theme" (Resident Evil 6) and "Airport Chase" (Max Payne 3)
Best Song in Game: "Tears" by Health (Max Payne 3), runners up: "Into Free-Dangan" by B-z (Dragon's Dogma) and "Short Change Hero" by The Heavy (Borderlands 2)
Best End Game Finale: Resident Evil 6 (Specifically Jake's campaign), runners up: Halo 4 and Spec Ops: The Line
Character of the Year: Handsome Jack (Borderlands 2), runners up: Vaas Montenegro (Far Cry 3), Mr. Scratch (Alan Wake: American Nightmare), and Martin Walker (Spec Ops: The Line)
Mascot of the Year: Sherry Birkin (Resident Evil 6), runner up: Marco Riggers (XCOM: Enemy Unknown)
Chris Redfield of the Year: Chris Redfield (Resident Evil 6), runner up: Axton (Borderlands 2)
Game of the Year: XCOM: Enemy Unknown, runner up: Resident Evil 6
Most Anticipated of 2013: Watch Dogs & Dead Space 3 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Minecraft: Pawsia Server News (Thats the current one, in the desert(not named after Pawl))

+ Current Population: 6
+ Gold Nugget Economy has been determined and will be posted in Town Hall once Town Hall is built.
+ A fence has been built around the Shurry to protect from mob attacks. (Fence not safe from Spiders or Endermen)
+ Pathways around town have been constructed.
+ The Beyond Groovy Grill & Pub started advertisement in the Pawsia region.
+ Nether Research Station Alpha One is up and running. Safe entry into the nether is now possible.
+ Construction of NRS Alpha Two begins Friday.
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~Lark Dawkins