Afrika Review

7.5 / 10 Banzai!s

The Game:

In Japan,Ā AfrikaĀ was released in the Summer of 2008 when theĀ PlayStation 3Ā was still shy of its second year anniversary. Its library of games was slowly growing, through many of which were just olderĀ Xbox 360Ā titles ported over.Ā AfrikaĀ was one of the few new games that was exclusive to theĀ PS3, andĀ SonyĀ took advantage of that fact – as console sales weren’t reaching their targets – by deciding to go all out on their advertising.Ā AfrikaĀ became known of its humorous commercials of a father and son falling asleep while playing the game (never said it was a good commercial!) while posters and standees crowded the electronic stores.

Did the marketing campaign work?

AfrikaĀ suffered negative to lukewarm reviews, with sales to match. Perhaps the game was too slow and serious for younger gamers, while the older generation wanted to shoot things with guns rather than a camera. After some hesitation,Ā SonyĀ at last decided to releaseĀ AfrikaĀ overseas, though players in North America and Europe would have to wait sixteen months to take their naturalistic photographs. Ironically, the game took so long that it had to be refitted with teh newly released Trophy Support which came out between the Japanese and overseas version.Afrika Review

AfrikaĀ can be described as a peaceful adventure. You play the role of a photographer flying out to the African continent (probably somewhere around Kenya or Tanzania, though the game doesn’t specify) in search of wildlife to help bring about your photographing fame. In third-person, you stroll about, crouch behind bushes and climb trees, in attempt to snap the best shots of the country’s various animals, from lions and zebras to elephants and flamingos. A jeep allows you faster travel; just don’t run over any animals, or you’ll get scolded by the NPC in the back seat.

At your camp, e-mails will periodically be sent by various magazine owners requesting certain shots of particular animals – such as a hippo yawning, a head-shot of a zebra, or flamingos taking off from the pond. The better your picture, the better your grade. Sell your photos back to the customer for cash, and you can buy upgrades for your camera, as well as other useful trinkets.

What I Liked:

Sometimes, between cutting up zombies and shooting ferocious aliens, it’s nice to play something peaceful. Even the music only pops up when you’ve taken a nice shot, leaving you with the sounds of bird chirps and zebra barks. The scenes are beautifully well done, and as someone who’s personally been on safari in Kenya, I can say are quite accurate while still finding that balance between realism and convenient gameplay. By that I mean, when I was in Kenya, we’d spend hours driving around in search of giraffes and elephants, but only a minute or two in the game.

For the most part, the animals look pretty good – especially from at a distance. Elephants spray themselves in a lake, while giraffes move with grace towards a tree to nibble at the leaves, their ears twitching against a buzzing fly. The rendering of water has improved in gaming since 2009, but still looks believable enough inĀ Afrika.

Afrika ReviewI suppose you could also argue that the game is rather educational. This all depends on the play, however, if one is interested in reading through the supplied text about specific animals and bird species. I started to in the beginning, but after awhile it gets boring and you just want to get out of the tent and take some pictures. Since most of that information is on Wikipedia now anyway, it may have been nice if these tidbits about the animals were integrated more into the game.

 

What I Didn’t Like:

One complaint I have aboutĀ AfrikaĀ is the movement of the animals. Earlier, I’d stated that for the most part, they look pretty good. And that’s true. But sometimes when they interact with one another, they stop becoming animals in Africa and start becoming NPCs in a game. For instance, a giraffe is standing there staring at you because you’ve approached too closely. A second giraffe is making its way towards a tree, but the first one is blocking the path. Rather than walking around, it starts “pushing” the giraffe sideways, like its on roller skates. This happened quite a few times, obviously under a glitch in the game, and it really takes you out of the naturalistic world when the animals start pushing each other sideways.

The other complaint is with the missions themselves. Generally, you can only do one or two at a time, and you won’t receive anymore e-mails until either you’ve completed them, or sometimes when you’ve randomly photographed a new species. Why is this a complains? Because sometimes those missions are hard to find. I remember having to take a photo of a specific bird riding on an elephant, and spent hours exploring every corner of Africa looking for that damn elephant with that damn bird. It would be nice to just pass on that one and try another mission, but I couldn’t. Finally I succumbed to checking a YouTube video, and realized I had to be in a specific spot at a specific time of day to see the elephant come lumbering through the water with the white bird on its head.

 

Overall:

AfrikaĀ is definitely not a game for everyone. There’s no running and shooting, no duck and cover, no magical spells or acquiring XP. It is what it is: an exploration of a national park in Africa while taking pictures of animals.

But if you need a break from theĀ Resident EvilĀ andĀ Dead SpaceĀ violence like I did,Ā Afrika is a good choice. While finding certain missions can be a pain at times, there’s nothing particularly frustrating or never-racking about wandering around with a camera. And considering the game’s age, the graphics are still at par with mostĀ PlayStation 3Ā titles. And for other trophy hunters out there, this is an easy platinum and not too time consuming if you’re following a walkthrough.

Hakuna Matata!

 

written by Damon Finos

Afrika Trophy Guide

Afrika Trophy Guide. Difficulty: ** Ā A third-person adventure as you wander through a part of Africa taking shots of the wildlife. Only requires a bit of time, but is an easy Platinum if you’re following a walkthrough.

Game Name Difficulty Trophies Developer Country Bronze Silver Gold Online DLC
Afrika ** 45 Rhino Studios Japan 34 6 4 0 0

Afrika

You play as a journalist sent to Africa (probably near Kenya or Tanzania, though the game doesn't specify) to photograph animals in their habitat. Basically lacking a story, you receive e-mails of "jobs" which will pay you for taking pictures of specific animals, usually from a specific position (eg. a head shot of a zebra) or in an action pose (eg. flamingos taking off from the water). With the money you earn, you'll be able to purchase new cameras and upgrades.

The game requires much patience (waiting for that hippo to yawn can take awhile!) but can be a very relaxing game. It's a nice break between shooting robots and running from zombies.

For more information, check out our Afrika Review.

This is a low 2-star rating. By using the walkthroughs provided under our Links tab, this game is a piece of cake. The only reason we gave Afrika two stars instead of one, is due to the time required. There are no missable trophies, and if you happen to clear the story before taking all the necessary photographs, don't worry! You'll re-spawn back at the camp after the credits roll.

NOTE: The Japanese version, released in late 2008, does NOT have Trophy Support. The North American version, released a year later in October 2009, arrived AFTER Sony stipulated that all PlayStation 3 games must include Trophies.

Your photographing skills don't need to be very professional. Getting a C will still allow you to clear that mission, though with a smaller reward. In the end, you'll have more money than required to make the necessary purchases of equipment. So you needn't worry about that, either. Take pictures of everything that you even think is new - including birds. You won't lose points for sending the photos, but you'll be building your library if you snap an animal you hadn't taken before.

During a mission, take several pictures. When you return to your camp, upload each one to your head office, to see which received the highest grade - then send that one to claim the highest reward.

If you completed all the missions in your Inbox, but haven't received any new e-mails, simply take a nap. You'll get more the next day.

Here is an EXCELLENT Trophy Guide / Walkthrough which you can download from MegaUpload in pdf format. This is basically all you'll need to find every bird and animal and collect every trophy in the game. It was put together as a group effort by several gamers, and is very clear with detailed photographs:
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=J3PYM5MU

Although 99% of your trophy hunting can be done using the above pdf guide, here is another Trophy Guide just for variety:
http://www.ps3trophies.org/forum/afrika/30877-afrika-road-map-trophy-guide.html

The Tsetes Fly can be tricky to find. Here's a Youtube video by Zer0tobackdown showing its precise location, along with a few other hidden creatures:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_C-QBRTx9MQ

Finally, here's a basic Trophy List:
http://www.ps3trophies.com/trophies/AFRIKA

Resident Evil 5 Review

8.5 / 10 Banzai!s

 

The Game:

Known as Biohazard 5 here in Japan, Resident Evil 5 continues Capcom‘s action-horror series which began on the first PlayStation back in 1996, and has since spawned a franchise of comic books, action figures, novels, and even films. Resident Evil 5 had a world release in March of 2009, and has since been the biggest selling title in the series.

Chris Redfield, now working for the Bioterrorism Security Assessment Alliance, has been sent to Kijuju in Africa, where he partners up with Sheva Alomer to stop a bio-organic weapons deal on the black market. But upon arrival, they discover the locals have been transformed into Majini – which are more like messed-up monsters than zombies. To complicate things, Chris finds evidence that his sister, Jill Valentine, may still be alive – as well as his old nemesis, Albert Wesker.

The game features both split-screen and online co-op, as well as an online Survival mode and plenty of DLC to keep you busy. Despite racial allegations which began during its E3 press release, Resident Evil 5 has enjoyed boy critical and commercial success, leaving fans wanting more.

 

What I Liked:

Before I begin, I’d like to mention this was my FIRST experience to play a Resident Evil game. I’ve never played any of the previous titles, and am only familiar with the Resident Evil world from what I could gather from the films (which don’t help). So keep in mind, this review is based solely on this one title.

Resident Evil 5 ReviewThe first thing I liked about the game was the setting. Gotta admit, Africa’s continent a continent that’s been overlooked in the video game industry – most either take place in America, Japan, or other planets and halos. The only other game I can think of that took place in Africa is, well, Afrika. It’s a setting with its own personality, brought to life with some fantastic graphics, from small villages to train yards to marches. The constant changes in scenery alone prevent the game from ever feeling dull.

The soundtrack is simple, but adds to the creepiness of the game, with its droning don-don-don-don-don-don-don… whenever you’re about to runinto some nasty Majinis, much like the buh-dah…buh-dah… in Spielberg’s Jaws. I’m not recommending you run out and buy the soundtrack to Resident Evil 5; just saying that it really adds suspense to the game’s atmosphere.

And there’s nothing more fun than playing a co-op game with a buddy! (In my case, with our Korean correspondent Mr. Lee). Much like the Gears of War series on the Xbox 360, Chris and Sheva work together in fighting off bizarre split-in-half dogs, masked chainsaw-wielding Majinis, and weird things that look like golems made of tar. You can also swap weapons and healing kits during gameplay, save each other’s butts, and occasionally split-up to complete individual objectives.

 

What I Didn’t Like:

I have a few nitpicks. The first is concerning Sheva as an NPC. When she’s controlled by a friend, it’s great. When she’s under the game’s control, Sheva turns into a complete and total retard! She’ll use up all your health kits, waste bullets with one gun while she’s got another with infinite ammo in her holster, and get lost in hallways in which you’ll have to wait for her to catch up. Did Capcom purposefully make her this stupid to force you into playing with a friend? Is Capcom that worried about our social lives? Quite possibly, as I can’t see any other explanation for her stupidity. The enemies don’t act that way, only your partner.

The other nitpick concerns some of the boss battles. Not all of them, but the ones where they’re more like a puzzle – such as the run-ins with Wesker. How the hell am I supposed to know to turn the lights off, then launch a missle at him, then shoot the missle, and then inject him with a syringe? I can’t – not unless I look it up online. Personally, I consider this to be old-fashioned Japanese game development. Those days of looking up tips in Nintendo Power or asking your friends during recess about defeating Link’s shadow are over. I’m not saying leave out all the easter eggs and secrets from the games. But when I must check out a walkthrough online just to pass a level, there’s something wrong. I dunno, maybe I’m just dumb. But even Mr. Lee was stumped at times – and he’s played all the previous Resident Evil games.

Resident Evil 5 ReviewOne last thing – and maybe it’s not fair of me to say – but I had problems following the story; mainly because I HADN’T played the previous games. Character background aside, I didn’t fully understand the plot’s set-up, what the different factions were – and so of course didn’t get the “twist” near the end. Perhaps it can’t be helped – this is a series, after all. But the previous games were on Playstation 1 and 2. My only options are to visit flea markets and buy the older games to get caught-up in the story, or read about them on Wikipedia. It would be nice if they stuck some explanations in the game (like in the Tekken series). I don’t necessarily see this as a flaw in the game, but something which may cause problems for Capcom later down the road. As newer generations of gamers start buying future consoles, they might not be so interested in starting with a game high up in the series – particularly one with a continuing story.

Bottom line is, if you haven’t played the previous games, don’t expect to understand everything that’s going on.

 

Overall:

Despite the nitpicking, I thought Resident Evil 5 was a great game. Lots of fun, with changes in the setting and challenges to constantly keep you interested. Fantastic graphics, with an eerie atmosphere and some nice voice acting. I can’t compare it to other titles in the story, but I can say that it fueled my interest enough to go back and play those previous games. And that’s saying something.

Now, to hit the flea markets!

Don-don-don-don-don-don-don…

 

written by Damon Finos