TrackMania 2 Canyon

Getting into TrackMania 2 is a simple affair. Solo play consists of 65 tracks, the majority of which are unlocked by obtaining medals. You load up a track, start your engine, and then keep playing until you set a time you're happy with. It's great if you're interested only in score chasing, although it's far from a shallow game. Each track has been expertly designed with the leaderboards in mind. Nailing the perfect racing line to achieve the best time takes practice and experimentation as you figure out how to cut corners and start drifts earlier.

Learning the best routes around stages is never a chore. The majority of tracks last anywhere from 18 to 40 seconds; they're short A-to-B sprints that take you around hairpin bends and over dizzying jumps. Frequently you find yourself driving up walls or drifting vertically around a quarter pipe. These stages are short, but the desire to stay on a given track, chasing the best time you can, is encouraged at every point. Each track offers up a bronze, silver, and gold medal to obtain, as well as an official time to set. These times can be challenged every five minutes, with a timer in the bottom right corner counting down until your next attempt. Setting an official time awards you with skill points based on how well you performed overall and contributes to your online leaderboard ranking.

Racing around the tracks is fun and breezy, thanks in part to the superb handling and easy learning curve when it comes to drifting. There's only one car type, so the focus is on learning the tracks rather than worrying about which vehicle to use. This gives TrackMania 2 Canyon the feel of a puzzle game as much as a racer, and it's great that when a friend beats your time you know that he's driving the same car that you do. Keyboard controls are tight, with subtle manoeuvring and wide drifts being easy to pull off with the arrow keys. Using a gamepad is even better, because the full analogue controls lend themselves well to the game. You frequently make twitch adjustments to your racing line, and either control method is conducive to this.


It takes real skill to crash this well.
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Trying to set the best time can be frustrating, but usually in a "just one more go" way. A few of the tracks are just plain annoying, though, as some of the longer ones end with a jump or a turn that can easily blindside you. But the immediacy of restarting (hit a button and you're instantly back on the starting grid) makes even the most irritating tracks seem reasonable. Less fun are the lap races, which occur every fifth track. These five-lap affairs are decent enough, but if you're going for gold, then they can feel like a bit of a slog when you mess up towards the end of the fifth lap. The variety and length of the A-to-B tracks make them far more entertaining.

There are no physical opponents on the track. You can choose a ghost to race against from either the preset AI ghosts, your own favourite replay, or the replay of someone on your buddies list who has set a better official time than you. Usually there are three vehicles on the track: you, the ghost you chose to race against, and the ghost of your last attempt. Multiplayer is similar, in that while you can see other cars, they take the form of ghosts. The main mode is Time Attack, in which you and various opponents race on a series of tracks, with five minutes to set the best time you can. It serves as a fun competition as well as a learning tool, being able to see the racing line that a car ahead of you is taking without having to worry about overtaking it yourself. There are other modes, like Laps and Cup, which see you racing directly against opponents, but finding a server doing anything other than Time Attack is currently nigh on impossible. Luckily there's the option to create your own and invite friends. These multiplayer options are also available to play locally, either in turns or in split-screen

F1 2011

The visual improvements over last year's game are striking from your very first lap. The desaturated lighting has been replaced with a realistic colour palette which better conveys the famous Grand Prix atmosphere, from the fans in the grandstands to the scarlet Ferrari and gleaming chrome McLaren. More attention has been given to the cars, too. Each team now has its own steering wheel design, complete with bespoke animations for gear changes and other steering wheel functions. Circuit marshals can be seen waving flags, and the LED caution lights dotted around each circuit work realistically. Bodywork reflects far more of the environment than in F1 2010, and damage to tyres can now be seen in the texture of the rubber on each wheel. Such is the attention to detail in the car models that you can even see the front wing flexing and bending as the cars bounce over bumps, just as during slow-motion footage from a real race.

Unfortunately, on PlayStation 3 these visual improvements have come at a cost. Unlike the versions of F1 2011 on other platforms, the PS3 suffers from a frame rate which varies a lot from circuit to circuit. Circuits with less track side detail perform significantly better than others. Though the slowdown doesn’t affect the gameplay too much, the varying visual standard between each track is irritating. Also, objects in the distance sometimes appear to be slightly blurred and the aliasing of various models, including the cars, is nowhere near as crisp as in either the Xbox 360 or PC versions. Even the pit garage menu system appears blurry at some circuits.

The graphics may be a disappointment on PlayStation 3, but the audio now more accurately mimics the real deal. Engine notes are now much more aggressive, as are the gear-change sound effects and the sound of the car hitting the rev limiter. You can even listen to the noise of the tyres on the road to predict the wheels locking up under heavy braking. The enhanced sound gives experienced players much more feedback with which to understand their car's behavior. Additional improvements have been made to the race engineer character who feeds advice to you over the car radio. In F1 2010, the advice was often irrelevant to your race, but in 2011 you are fed information specific to the cars closest to you on the track and given much clearer advice about how to best look after your fragile F1 car.

The fragility of the car is the most important change to the game this year and does a fantastic job of capturing the care needed to drive a racing car. You must find a careful balance between pushing hard and prolonging the life of your tyres. In real F1, the more damage you do to your rubber, the more often you must pit; the same is true in F1 2011. You must also control your fuel use so that you can safely make it to the finish of each race. If you use the "fast" fuel setting for too long, you will drain the fuel tank more quickly, forcing you to drive slowly later in the race to improve your fuel economy and make it to the finish. A new feature on the heads-up display tells you exactly how much fuel you have left by comparing the number of laps left in the tank with the number left to race. All of this attention to detail will be loved by F1 fans but may frustrate those less familiar with the sport. The race engineer does give advice about when to push and when to drive conservatively, but much of his advice assumes you have a high level of F1 knowledge, using terminology which can be confusing if you're not familiar with the real sport. However, fans will appreciate how similar the radio chatter is to real life.


The Williams F1 team car taken out for a spin.
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Car handling in F1 2011 leans heavily towards simulation. You can choose from a variety of assists, such as traction control, braking help, and a dynamic racing line, but the series still doesn't have any tutorials to help novices feel comfortable with the incredible acceleration, braking, and cornering speed of an F1 car. However, the alterations to the vehicle physics make this one of the most authentic racing simulations around. The remodeled suspension system gives the car a more believable sense of weight so that you can now feel its mass moving during corners, allowing you to predict slides and correct them appropriately. Sudden spins caused by bumps and kerbs, a major problem in the last game, are a thing of the past. The different tyres are simulated impressively as well. Soft rubber creates great grip but wears out quickly and can be damaged easily, whereas harder rubber offers less grip but is much more durable. The new physics make driving with a standard gamepad a much larger challenge than before; a force feedback steering wheel creates a greater connection between you and the car. A wheel also makes the game much easier to master by allowing much more subtle steering inputs. These aren't always possible when driving F1 2011's twitchy cars with an analogue stick.

The twitchy handling is especially evident in wet weather, which is now far harder to cope with than in F1 2010. Should it begin to rain while you are using a car setup designed for dry conditions, the car will understeer horribly going into corners and oversteer aggressively on the exits, often even if you switch to the correct intermediate or extreme wet tire. If you have the correct wet car setup, you still need to be very careful, as a relatively minor mistake could cause a spin. Along with the tough handling in these situations, the visual effects for water spray are even more frightening in this year's game. Driving closely behind another car in heavy rain is akin to driving with your eyes shut. It demands extreme bravery and really captures the crazy conditions seen regularly in the real sport this season.

Should you lose control of your car, you will quickly become familiar with F1 2011's detailed damage system. With a big enough impact you can knock off your front wing or lose a wheel, but the game also helps you understand that F1 cars are sensitive even to minor incidents. If you lose your entire front wing, you will notice a massive loss of grip, but you can also lose smaller pieces of your car through minor contact. You lose less aerodynamic grip from these incidents, but they still have a subtle negative impact on handling. Puncturing a tire is a much less random occurrence this year as well. If you run off the racing line you will find that your tyres pick up small amounts of dirt and debris; do this too often and a tire might deflate.

Rotastic

Vikings are not the only individuals who crave a life spent gliding through the sky. A ragtag group comprising an elf, boar, and reanimated skeleton join the party, though the only difference between these cartoon characters is their appearance. No matter which you choose, your goal is the same: swing from suspended points in the sky collecting gems, destroying barriers, and performing other odd jobs. Each level takes place on a single screen, and you have to complete your objective against the clock to move on to the next level with as high of a score as possible. Based on how effective you were in completing your task, you're given bronze, silver, gold, or platinum helmets, and when you unlock enough, you open up harder levels. It's an elegant system that is hounded by problems; chief among them is inconsistent controls that make unlocking the later levels a grueling, arduous plight that usually ends in aggravation.

Rotastic uses just two buttons. By holding A, you grab on to hook points, and you continually swing around them in a circle until you let go. If you want to change direction, just tap a bumper button. Grapple points dot the sky at strategic places, and you have to swing from one to another and then back again to collect gems hovering around you. For the first few levels, things run smoothly, and the easy-to-grasp control scheme makes it possible to forget what your hands are doing as you leap impressively from one hook to another without a care in the world. Bonus points are given if you pull off a trick--such as forming a figure 8 or other specific shapes--and there's simple pleasure to be found in the balletic manner you move. Without obstacles to get in your way or intense objectives forcing you to move in specific ways, the tutorial portion exhibits the surreal freedom of flight.


Like martial artists, Vikings wear different colors based on their talents. Clearly, he's a neophyte.
However, everything comes crashing down once the difficulty ramps up. The controls perform admirably when neither time nor precision are working against you, but this only lasts for so long. Once you have to hit switches, avoid buzzsaw blades, and break blocks, it's apparent that you don't have the proper tools to progress. The trick to successfully moving from one place to another comes from mastering your trajectory. By figuring out where you're going to land based on your angle of movement and speed, you can fling from one point to the next without many problems. But this is much easier said than done. There's no margin of error in Rotastic, so if you aren't a master of geometry, prepare to be frustrated frequently. In instances where you just have to land on a flat plane, it can take two or three attempts before you release at the right point. And even after getting where you want, you're liable to bounce right past your objective or miss it by the slimmest of margins. In later levels, you have to get past buzzsaw blades moving in asynchronous patterns or rush through closing gates against a timer, and there's little fun in repeatedly trying these grueling challenges only to come up short.

Every difficult level has the same problems because the controls are not up to the task. Levels require ultraspecific movement, and it's incredibly difficult to consistently pull off these exacting requests. Because of this, you often complete a stage by the skin of your teeth, which means you earn a mere bronze helmet. Without getting a high enough score for silver or gold, you can't unlock the later levels, so you're left replaying earlier stages with the desperate hope that you luck into a better ranking. And success does feel like luck in Rotastic. To get a high score, you have to pull off a string of almost-perfect moves in quick succession, and admittedly, it is a rush when you nail everything just as you should. But it's a rare moment when everything comes together, and you can only marvel at the implausibility of your landings. Did you really bounce off of two adjacent walls to nab that purple gem? How did you find room to squeak past that spiked log to hit the switch? The answers always come up the same: dumb luck. You never feel like a superstar because replicating these feats of brilliance is nearly impossible.


Boars don't fear death because they don't have souls.
The roughly 70 single-player levels should keep dedicated players busy for a few hours, and if you crave more swinging action once you've gone through the gauntlet, there's a four-player, offline-only multiplayer mode as well. There are two different ways to play. Deathmatch involves slamming into your friends or trying to cut their rope so they fall into a bottomless void. Collect is the same thing, except the winner is determined by how many gems you nab, though it's still more entertaining to send your friends plummeting. Multiplayer is more fun than the single-player counterparts because everyone is plagued by the same handicap: imprecise controls. Because of this, slinging yourself willy-nilly through the world is goofy fun, given that there's no real punishment for failure. Sure, you may fall into a pit or miss out on collecting coins, but who cares? You're just challenging friends in some good-natured competition. Still, there isn't a draw to hook you long term. After playing two or three matches, the shallowness of the experience is overwhelming, so even if you enjoy multiplayer, you'll be hard pressed to find someone to join you.

Rotastic ultimately feels like it could have been released on a mobile device for one-tenth of the price. It doesn't take advantage of any of the Xbox 360's technical wizardry, and the simple control scheme combined with the shallow gameplay would be ideal in five-minute bursts while waiting for your train to arrive. Sadly, Rotastic exists only on a console that's tethered to a television, and it's hard to justify shelling out 800 Microsoft points ($10) for this forgettable experience. With better level design and controls that allowed you to move with precision, Rotastic could have offered a quiet respite from the spectacle of most big-budget retail releases. But there are too many frustrations for it to slide into that role. Rotastic briefly soars through the air, but it quickly plummets back to the earth with a dull thud.

Alice: Madness Returns

When American McGee’s Alice hit PCs in 2001, fans of the original Lewis Carroll tale and aficionados of the macabre were delighted. While the technical aspects of the game were nothing outstanding, the then-outstanding visuals, interesting take on the character, and unsettling transformation from childhood familiarity placed American McGee’s Alice squarely into the hearts of many gamers.
So ten years later, we are presented with a highly anticipated sequel with Alice: Madness Returns. Alice is long past the mental insanity of the first game, but this sequel chronicles a breakdown for the character, even as she enters her thirtieth year (yep, do the math on the timeline and Alice is in her late twenties or early thirties). Does this contemporary platformer stand up as a classic or falter under some weighty goals?

I’ll address what McGee and his team of developers at Spicy Horse in Shanghai have done well: art direction. If the original Alice shone through creepy reinterpretations of the original stories, then Madness Returns builds on it two-fold. New characters, including the Walrus and the Carpenter, are brought forward and made insane, and returning favorites have seen a moody make-over. Alice herself looks fantastic, with the different dresses she wears fitting the theme of each of the five regions she visits (such as under the sea or steampunk), and she is by far the most visually interesting and developed character of the bunch.
However, when I refer to art direction, I don’t mean graphics. Any hardcore Alice fan should definitely pick up the art book releasing in time for the game. The attention to detail and the impressionist feel of these images are amazing. Unfortunately, what holds so much promise on paper doesn’t hold up in-game. Alice looks great, yes, but the worlds of Wonderland only maintain their structure from a distance. Textures take forever to load, popping in as levels sweep around, and when they do appear, they are nothing more than bland indistinct smears. Certain levels see a high attention to detail, like the beautiful undersea town Alice visits, but these are ignored by bland jumping sections that act as mere pathways to anything interesting.
Once in game, players will soon realize the creepy elements are only halfway in-place. That undersea level? Unsettling elements are only set for just a moment before they’re pushed aside for a generic water level. Yeah, it ends climatically, but not in a manner worth caring about. Later levels include a generic “Oriental” stage (ironic considering the Chinese development team) and a dollhouse. Mediocre. Some of the levels, like an MC Escher moon stage, could have been wonderful, but I guess that’s how things go.

Another area the game struggles with is combat. Alice is given various weapons: the famous Vorpal Blade, the heavy-hitting Hobby Horse, a rabbit time bomb, a quick-shooting Pepper Grinder, and a bomb-throwing tea pot. These weapons each have different uses, and they can each be upgraded to deal more damage and look much cooler. The weapons themselves are fine, but combat falls apart.
Combat disappoints for two main reasons. One, Alice: Madness Returns reuses many of the same enemies over and over again, the worst offenders being piles of goo that can be incredibly difficult to kill. It’s even more frustrating when Alice is surrounded by five to ten of these insufferable enemy types, with each one trying to hack away at our girl. More than once I’ve died, only to respawn at a ledge farther off, where enemies can be killed with projectiles from a safe distance. Respawning itself is a weird experience, sending players god-knows-where—sometimes forward, and sometimes ten minutes back.
The second reason combat is terrible is the camera. A classic third-person platforming problem for nearly twenty years now, the camera does some strange things in this game. While it’s fine for most platforming sections, occasionally the camera will randomly swing around while Alice is in the middle of a jump, causing her to die. Occasionally during puzzle sections, the camera will lock for a moment and then rush back to Alice while the player is trying to guide her through a specific area. Usually she dies. It’s annoying. And when applied to combat, it’s even worse. Alice has a lock-on function, but she cannot rotate the camera while it’s enabled. The right stick only changes what character she is fighting. This is a terrible design, for many of the enemies can only be damaged while in a specific animation—meaning if the camera decided it wants to hover over the enemy’s shoulder facing Alice, the player has no idea what to do except unlock, run back and turn around to face the enemy, and lock back on. This is no easy game.

And don’t even get me started on the terrible mini-games that break up the action. Easy as pie shoot-em-ups and sliding image puzzles are not worth my time. Some epic boss battles would have been appreciated, but instead we’re stuck with only hints at some cool possible encounters.
All of this would be tolerable if the platforming were remotely special. It’s not. Imagine linear stages where Alice runs and jumps on square and round stone platforms with nothing on them, occasionally fighting enemies and occasionally picking up “memories” (which progress the story), bottles, and teeth (used for weapon upgrades). Sure, there is an interesting mechanic where Alice can shrink to uncover hidden areas and platforms, but these segments aren’t very fun. Alice is a slightly loose character, and it’s easy for her to fall off edges. Sometimes her dodge roll will even send her tumbling over. It’s all very dated. I’m not asking for Prince of Persia, but the game would be much better with some of Ubisoft’s polish.
That’s the big problem. Alice: Madness Returns isn’t very polished. While the game touches upon some great elements, it’s kneecapped by dated and boring platforming, frustrating combat, and a generally sloppy application of theme. McGee and his team are clearly a talented bunch of designers, but when the game they make isn’t fun to play, that’s a problem. I don’t doubt that Alice: Madness Returns will sell well because plenty of people liked the first, but I hoped that when McGee re-imagined Wonderland after all these years, he could at least make a decent game out of it.

Naval Warfare

Last year, Aqua: Naval Warfare launched on Xbox Live Arcade to below average critical reception. The game featured a highly intriguing steampunk story that took place at sea, and the gameplay premise—a twin-stick shooter set on water—was incredibly promising. Unfortunately, the game failed to deliver on practically every front. One year later, developer Games Distillery is re-releasing the game on Steam (this time simply titled Naval Warfare) and not surprisingly, it remains a big disappointment.
The world has been flooded, and various groups have been formed by the survivors. These groups are battling on the sea for total control of various territory, and this is where you come in. As part of one of these factions, it is up to you to take on enemies and engage in escort missions. Though the story is interesting on paper, the execution is rather lackluster. In between chapters you’re treated to stylish hand-drawn cutscenes. As cool as these look, it’s hard to really care about the story due to some weak characters and uninspired voice acting.

Storytelling isn’t the only area where Naval Warfare falls short. Oftentimes, games with weak narratives can easily be forgiven as long as they provide a compelling adventure. But even in its gameplay, Naval Warfare is an utter failure. Rest assured, the ideas are most certainly interesting. A twin-stick shooter at sea could have been really awesome, but a number of gameplay hindrances keep this game from being as fun as possible.
The first thing that really sticks out about Naval Warfare is its lack of direction. As you play, you’re tasked with certain objectives, but the game never puts much emphasis on them. You end up waiting for an on-screen arrow prompt to guide you to whatever destination the game chooses. Naval Warfare should have been a much more linear experience, but due to the large stages, which often feel devoid of life, you’ll constantly stray off course and hit barriers. You then realize that all of the enemies you’re supposed to eliminate or the ships you’re supposed to protect are on the other side of the map, so you have to backtrack before you can complete a mission.
You can obtain upgrades or play in two additional ships, but doing so doesn’t yield anything in the way of impressive results. Instead, the mild customization options make you wish there was more to do. This aspect of the game could have delivered some deep options, but with a lack of content, it’s just another failed aspect of Naval Warfare.

Naval Warfare feels so misguided, and the campaign ultimately gets too boring to sit through. You can team up with a buddy and take on waves of enemies as a team, and it’s certainly more fun than messing with the single-player game on your own. You can even play Skirmish mode, which pits you against hordes of enemies and tests your twin-stick shooting mettle. As decent as these modes may be, they get repetitive and only hold your attention for so long. Naval Warfare was supposed to offer a great story mode, and the disappointment will stay with you the entire time you play, regardless of what mode you’re tackling.
At the very least, Naval Warfare manages to do one thing right, and it happens to be the least important aspect of any game: the graphics are pretty damn awesome. Water effects look great, ships and enemy fighters are richly detailed, and the whole ocean atmosphere looks spectacular. Explosions are a bit weak, but other than this minor gripe, everything in-game is remarkable. As previously mentioned, the hand-drawn cutscenes are great, and they really give the steampunk story a unique appearance.

Operation Flashpoint: Red River

Operation Flashpoint: Red River had me from the moment the intro video started playing. It gives a brief history lesson of the events that leads to your mission as a U.S. Marine in Tajikistan. This video is funny, witty, and informing. With this as an introduction, Codemasters takes the player to 2013 to participate in missions that feel real. That is the point of Red River: realism.

The game is classified as a tactical shooter. It has more realism than Call of Duty but less action-packed moments. That’s not to say the game isn’t exciting. It’s just different. Consider this game a hybrid of SOCOM and Call of Duty, using squad-based gameplay and thriving off strategy. 

Positioning is everything in Operation Flashpoint. You can direct your squad members to follow you or take cover behind a wall and lay down suppressing fire on a building, allowing you to move. These decisions can determine the success of your mission. 

Unlike CoD, you won’t be running around a map, spraying bullets and resting behind walls while you wait for your health status to return to normal. In this game, if you get shot then you will continue to bleed. You need to patch the wound immediately. The same goes for your teammates. You don’t want them bleeding out; otherwise you are down a man. 

One shot can be deadly in this game. Sometimes you’ll learn that the hard way, like when you attempt to sprint to a building 80 yards away just to get shot and have to reload from the last checkpoint. The realism of this game will frustrate some, but it will also fill a niche role for others looking for more strategy to their shooter.

None of this means that the squad mechanics won’t frustrate you. Sometimes you need to direct your AI friendlies to get into a truck or hide behind a wall instead of standing in the open getting shot. It feels like you’re trying to direct a group of 10 year-olds at times. This game is an entirely different experience when playing with AI, as opposed to playing with three others in a drop-in, drop-out four-player campaign. 

The game also features an RPG-type element to it. Each player fills one of four Marine roles: rifleman, grenadier, scout and automatic rifleman, each with their own weapons and abilities. Players also gain experience for whatever roles they are playing as. The experience is used to unlock new weapons, attachments, and perks for each class, and players also get to upgrade the core abilities of those roles by assigning points into areas that let you sprint longer, give you more accuracy with a certain weapon, or switch weapons more quickly. It’s a good feature that lets you feel like you are working toward something other than finishing the story.

The language that is used by the characters can rub some people the wrong way. They don’t curse like sailors; they curse like Marines. Every line of dialogue takes me to new heights of profanity that I didn’t know existed. Curse words are used to describe everything, and each sentence is laden with them. However, it is authentic. My cousin, who was in the Marines, told me so. 

The game isn’t without its faults. The HUD is cluttered and hard to understand, the waypoints aren’t always clear on where to go, there’s a lot of cut scenes and long buffering times, and it can get really annoying having to patch anytime you or a teammate get shot. Also, while the game looks fine, it isn’t kicked up to the Call of Duty level.

Operation Flashpoint: Red River isn’t your typical shooter. You’re not going to be a gunslinger, running into a compound to take out a horde of enemies like a one-man wolf pack. It’s a slower, more tactical, squad-based shooter that relies on teamwork, strategy, and finesse. With a good upgrade system for each role and a smart co-op experience, this game offers a realistic and authentic experience of what a United States Marine might experience in combat. Semper Fi!

Fable III DLC Quest

Not long after the game itself made the transition to the PC, Fable III’s DLC Quest Packs were released. The full game is not the strongest in the series, but it’s biggest flaw is the glaring lack of quests. Will these Quest Packs give the game some much needed extra life, or are they a waste of money?
Understone Quest Pack (400MSP)
The first and cheapest pack is also, not surprisingly, the shortest. The premise is simple: a factory owner in Bowerstone Industrial is hearing voices in his factory, and he enlists you, the King (or Queen), to investigate. The search immediately leads underground to a hidden city called Understone.
Understone is governed by one very paranoid man, however, so getting in will be tough. Gaining entrance is more tedious than challenging. Endless groups of Hobbes attack, providing lengthy and repetitive combat scenarios. You’ll be funneled through various small arenas, forced to defeat all the Hobbes to progress.

For a game with an incredibly limited combat system, this is probably the worst approach to quests there is. While it’s good to have more quests to undertake as ruler of Albion, this particular questline has virtually no redeeming qualities beyond the usual Fable polish and humor.
The quest will take little more than half an hour to complete, though it has a few extras. The Wheel of Misfortune in Reaver’s Mansion makes a return but is as boring as it was before. Plus, the Mercenary Camp now has a shooting gallery, which also offers little in the way of excitement.
Traitor’s Keep Quest Pack (560MSP)
This second Quest Pack is significantly longer than the first but is just as dull. It begins with an assassination on your life, which leads you to Ravenscar, a Prison Island where Logan banished his most threatening political adversaries. There’s been a major escape, and rumors tell of a revolutionary inmate who will stop at nothing to overthrow the crown. This questline teams you up with Commander Milton and sends you on a journey to several exciting new areas to hunt down the threat to your domain.
In terms of scope, Traitor’s Keep is much more impressive. One new area in particular, Clockwork Island, has some nice visuals. Unfortunately, the gameplay here is identical to the previous quest pack: frequent, repetitive encounters with various creatures. Commander Milton opines at one point, “I’m not sure how many more of these encounters I can take.” After a couple, I agreed with him. Too bad there are dozens here.

The quest has a neat story and a good twist. The effectiveness of your revolution is put into question—interesting, but there’s little depth to it. Ultimately, anything good here is suffocated by the overwhelming inanity of it all. The level design demonstrates virtually no creativity: as Milton himself puts it, “I’m noticing a pattern: we walk in, and things try to kill us.”
Despite one of the criticisms of Fable III (the rinse-and-repeat bosses), the bosses here are again identikit fights. The designs are good, particularly for the boss who distinctly resembles Iron Man, but there’s no gameplay innovation or creativity at all. A few side quests have been added, but these are little more than fetch or seek-and-destroy quests to use up a little more time.
The two questlines both show promise, but neither maximizes on its potential. Fable III wasn’t great, but it deserves far better than this. Unless you think you’ll enjoy several hours of extremely repetitive combat, these are two DLCs to avoid.