Video Game Review: NCAA Football ’13

Base controls remain consistent with previous releases, but this version does feature some nice tweaks in the passing game. The most welcome is total control passing, which allows you to lead your receivers to open spaces in coverage. Under that same banner is improved ball trajectory so passes can be elevated over the linebackers and dropped down to receivers on the other side. It’s much more realistic that you don’t have to wait for an absolutely clear throwing lane lest an opposing linebacker vaults straight up and picks off the pass. Receivers aren’t instantly anticipating throws this year, either, which is smartly represented by the icon over their heads not lighting up until they’re ready.

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Video Game Review: Spec Ops: The Line

While the game starts amid mostly sand dunes and vehicle husks, the campaign takes you through plenty of wrecked opulence as you traverse the city of Dubai. There is a lot of impressive lighting as the city’s former splendour clashes with the drab, all-consuming sand that has overtaken it. Character models and detail work isn’t great, and the way your squad wears physical damage toward the end looks unnatural, but none of the shortcomings ever pull you out of the experience. Online play, however, does have issues with slow loading textures.

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Video Game Review: Babel Rising

For the Playstation Move, the problem really comes with the camera control. Holding the trigger button allows for camera movement — left/right to rotate and up/down to zoom in. However, this clunky scheme winds up being floaty at best, making it difficult to just focus on where you want to go. It would have made more sense to integrate the Move’s Navigation controller for camera work.

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Video Game Review: Metal Gear Solid HD Collection (Vita)

As well as these games stand the test of time, there are moments when the gameplay feels outdated, such as the aforementioned inability to walk in a crouched position, which is a pretty annoying omission given the importance of covertness. Aiming and shooting will also take some getting used to for first-time players (or those that haven’t picked it up in a while) as holding down a button to aim and then releasing it to fire feels odd. They’re mostly minor, though they do serve as subtle reminders that marked progress has been made since these games first hit store shelves.

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