Monday, August 3, 2009
First Take MAME Review - Armored Warriors
hey everyone here is the latest First Take MAME Review for your enjoyment, hope to have some new game reviews up soon just havn't had the urge to sit down and do a proper one recently...hopefully you guys enjoy me sounding like a dork...LOL....
Monday, June 22, 2009
Wednesday, June 17, 2009
Review of the Week....errr....Month...LOL
Mirrors Edge
I really wanted to like this one, but after spending some quality time with Mirrors Edge here is the conclusion I have come to....Mirrors Edge is a great concept and looks great however the controls leave much to be desired.
First off the concept is very cool, its set in a near future where corporations pretty much control everything, You play as Faith who is a Runner. Runners are a group of people who use the rooftops and city layout to get information around the city which the cops and corporations may not want getting out. It kind of plays like a modern Prince of Persia. Where you use acrobatics to hop from building to building and make your way around, if you have ever seen or heard of Free Running that's what the game is based on
The game has a really cool art style and look to it. I can best describe it as half cel shaded, half realistic. The city has a very blocky feel to it, and as you spend much of your time around the rooftops and skyline you get the feeling of the size of the city.
However once you start to play the game you realize that you cant always judge a book...or in this case a game by its cover. I'm not sure what the developers where thinking when then came up with the control scheme but it just doesn't ever feel fluid like it should. Basically you use the triggers on the left side for your up and down acro-moves, now i can understand using the triggers though I think it would be better on the face buttons, but at least if you are going to use them use the ones on the right which is more comfortable. Button placement is a minor annoyance but once you get into the game it only amplifies the problems.
The major issue it suffers from is a lack of direction. I'm not sure if they were trying to make it more realistic or what but you have no heads up display no way points and nothing to help guide you in your journey. The only help you are given is if you press B it will face your character in the general direction you are supposed to go, though often that is of no use as the actual way you need to go is in a totally different direction. The other thing the game does is highlight objects you can use in red, this does help in some cases to guide you but again other times there is nothing red to guide you so its hit and miss. The other major issue is in the timing of your moves often times you will push a button to say jump of a ledge and if you don't push it just right you will miss your jump and when jumping from the tops of buildings this can be a very bad thing.
Mirrors Edge is a really great concept and in this era of cookie cutter gaming is nice to see something original come out but sadly a bad control scheme and direction hurt this game immensely and there for i can only recommend this one as......
RENT IT!!!
I really wanted to like this one, but after spending some quality time with Mirrors Edge here is the conclusion I have come to....Mirrors Edge is a great concept and looks great however the controls leave much to be desired.
First off the concept is very cool, its set in a near future where corporations pretty much control everything, You play as Faith who is a Runner. Runners are a group of people who use the rooftops and city layout to get information around the city which the cops and corporations may not want getting out. It kind of plays like a modern Prince of Persia. Where you use acrobatics to hop from building to building and make your way around, if you have ever seen or heard of Free Running that's what the game is based on
The game has a really cool art style and look to it. I can best describe it as half cel shaded, half realistic. The city has a very blocky feel to it, and as you spend much of your time around the rooftops and skyline you get the feeling of the size of the city.
However once you start to play the game you realize that you cant always judge a book...or in this case a game by its cover. I'm not sure what the developers where thinking when then came up with the control scheme but it just doesn't ever feel fluid like it should. Basically you use the triggers on the left side for your up and down acro-moves, now i can understand using the triggers though I think it would be better on the face buttons, but at least if you are going to use them use the ones on the right which is more comfortable. Button placement is a minor annoyance but once you get into the game it only amplifies the problems.
The major issue it suffers from is a lack of direction. I'm not sure if they were trying to make it more realistic or what but you have no heads up display no way points and nothing to help guide you in your journey. The only help you are given is if you press B it will face your character in the general direction you are supposed to go, though often that is of no use as the actual way you need to go is in a totally different direction. The other thing the game does is highlight objects you can use in red, this does help in some cases to guide you but again other times there is nothing red to guide you so its hit and miss. The other major issue is in the timing of your moves often times you will push a button to say jump of a ledge and if you don't push it just right you will miss your jump and when jumping from the tops of buildings this can be a very bad thing.
Mirrors Edge is a really great concept and in this era of cookie cutter gaming is nice to see something original come out but sadly a bad control scheme and direction hurt this game immensely and there for i can only recommend this one as......
RENT IT!!!
Wednesday, May 27, 2009
Just a quick update....
Just a quick update to let everyone (all 3 of you) know that Im still around and still trying to get some stuff on the blog just havnt had much time to do the things I wanna do latley, but I have come up with a few new ideas for some features that I think might be enjoyable, in addition to the regular game reviews and the Random/First Take MAME reviews.
The first idea I came up with was inspired by an issue of PC Gamer magazine wich they compiled a list of 365 FREE games, 1up.com also did a similar article on their site so I think I am going to play a bunch of these and share my thoughts on "The Best (and maybe Worst) Games Money CAN'T Buy"
Another idea I came up with wich will be a little bit more involved but I think a lot of fun is some old school Play/Walk thru videos, In looking through some of the free games a lot of the ones that imediatley sounded interesting to me where the old school Point and Click adventure games like Kings Quest. I used to love those types of games, and through the wonders of emulation they can be brought to life once again and a trip down memory lane might be fun not sure what to call this one yet...anyone have any ideas?
So those are things to look forward to as well as the next game review wich will be Mirrors Edge, a game I was really looking forward to but my hopes have been quickly dashed my the frustrating nature of the controls but I will give the game a fair shot as soon as I muster up the courage to put it back in my 360 without fear of breaking my controller. Until then here is a special video to hold you over (especially for you James) brought to us by the great Spoony
The first idea I came up with was inspired by an issue of PC Gamer magazine wich they compiled a list of 365 FREE games, 1up.com also did a similar article on their site so I think I am going to play a bunch of these and share my thoughts on "The Best (and maybe Worst) Games Money CAN'T Buy"
Another idea I came up with wich will be a little bit more involved but I think a lot of fun is some old school Play/Walk thru videos, In looking through some of the free games a lot of the ones that imediatley sounded interesting to me where the old school Point and Click adventure games like Kings Quest. I used to love those types of games, and through the wonders of emulation they can be brought to life once again and a trip down memory lane might be fun not sure what to call this one yet...anyone have any ideas?
So those are things to look forward to as well as the next game review wich will be Mirrors Edge, a game I was really looking forward to but my hopes have been quickly dashed my the frustrating nature of the controls but I will give the game a fair shot as soon as I muster up the courage to put it back in my 360 without fear of breaking my controller. Until then here is a special video to hold you over (especially for you James) brought to us by the great Spoony
Wednesday, April 15, 2009
Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe
here we go with the latest review MK vs. DC...
I am a big fighting game fan and have always been a fan of the Mortal Kombat series, I was excited when I heard about this one coming out as VS games tend to be some of my favorites. However it quickly become overshadowed after a luke warm reception at launch but I finally got my hands on it so in the famous words of the Joker......Here....we ......go.....
MK vs DC features two main single player modes the standard arcade option (fight through a tier of fighters) and also a story mode. The story mode is a short but decent affair, it centers around the two worlds where these characters live being merged together. The developer did a decent job of incorparating the characters into the story and it all kind of feels like it makes sense, as much sense as it can anyway.
The Kombat itself is pretty standard Mortal Kombat. I still think they should have never moved this series into 3D, it just seems to lose some of its nuance, but MK is still pretty much a button masher at heart, if you like that style you will enjoy this one for the most part. The highly touted new features Free Fall Kombat, Klose Kombat and rage mode all feel rather weak. Free fall and Klose are very similar and consist of you hitting buttons or trying to guess what button your oppent will hit to reverse it...they both work but kind of feel tacked on. Rage mode (wich is what the story centers around) allows your character to enter sort of a zen like state to deal maximum damage, this one is the best out of the three as when used properly it can make the difference between winning and losing the fight.
My biggest dissapointment came in the finishers. one of the best parts of MK has always been the over the top Fatalities, but in this one they are so toned down its almost sad in fact the DC heroes dont even have fatalities the have Brutalities where they unleash a beating but you can plainly see the oppent still alive ( I think DC was the force behind this as the wanted to keep the Heroes sacred wich i kind of understand). The toned down nature really takes the cake with one of Liu Kangs Fatalities, where he meditates and all of the sudden a MK arcade machine falls on his oppent...its funny the first time but just kind of sad after that.
While its fun to see the DC characters duking it out with each other and the MK foes, this game is mediocre at best and there for from me it gets the recomendation of.................
RENT IT
Monday, March 23, 2009
Finally its Review Time Again.....
Star Wars: The Force Unleashed
I was quite looking forward to playing this one, as anyone who knows me knows I'm a rather large Star Wars fan (I do have a dog named Vader after all). The Force unleashed follows the story of Starkiller who becomes Darth Vader's secret apprentice. I wont spoil to much of the story but it does a nice job of bridging the gap between episodes III and IV. Basically the game progresses as Vader sends you on various assassination missions to prepare you for your ultimate goal.
The game has an amazing physics engine and it does a wonderful job of bringing the Force powers gone wild to life, I can honestly say that there has never been a Star Wars game where the player has had such use of the Force as in Unleashed. You are given free reign in how your character's skill progresses so say if like me you love to unleash force lighting on everyone and everything you can upgrade that skill or if you prefer to use your lightsaber you can upgrade those skills it really allows you to play the game how you want.
The Game play is incredibly fun but it does run into the problem of becoming repetitive at times especially with the larger enemies such as AT-STs, you find yourself doing the wash rinse repeat routing a few to many times for my tastes. The boss battles also feel a little bit weak, there is usually a trick to them and once you figure it out its a bit of a letdown. The later boss's do a better job of making you defend and then attack once you have an opening rather than resorting to tricks.
Overall The Force Unleashed was a fun game and worth playing through but once you beat it once there is little reason to pick it up again other than achievements if you are playing on 360...so this one gets a
RENT IT
Rather than screenshots here's a quick video of the game in action
I was quite looking forward to playing this one, as anyone who knows me knows I'm a rather large Star Wars fan (I do have a dog named Vader after all). The Force unleashed follows the story of Starkiller who becomes Darth Vader's secret apprentice. I wont spoil to much of the story but it does a nice job of bridging the gap between episodes III and IV. Basically the game progresses as Vader sends you on various assassination missions to prepare you for your ultimate goal.
The game has an amazing physics engine and it does a wonderful job of bringing the Force powers gone wild to life, I can honestly say that there has never been a Star Wars game where the player has had such use of the Force as in Unleashed. You are given free reign in how your character's skill progresses so say if like me you love to unleash force lighting on everyone and everything you can upgrade that skill or if you prefer to use your lightsaber you can upgrade those skills it really allows you to play the game how you want.
The Game play is incredibly fun but it does run into the problem of becoming repetitive at times especially with the larger enemies such as AT-STs, you find yourself doing the wash rinse repeat routing a few to many times for my tastes. The boss battles also feel a little bit weak, there is usually a trick to them and once you figure it out its a bit of a letdown. The later boss's do a better job of making you defend and then attack once you have an opening rather than resorting to tricks.
Overall The Force Unleashed was a fun game and worth playing through but once you beat it once there is little reason to pick it up again other than achievements if you are playing on 360...so this one gets a
RENT IT
Rather than screenshots here's a quick video of the game in action
Monday, March 16, 2009
Bracket Madness
Well its NCAA tourny time once again and as usual I require myself to fill out a bracket though I pretty much went on instict with this one, as I havnt follwed college bball as much this year as I usually do if you are curious here is my bracket
click to make it bigger
I feel pretty well with my picks, I picked a couple of upsets that I hope pay off (Utah over Wake, Utah St beating Marquette and Missouri) I think Louisville despite being the overall number 1 will lose I have Michigan St beating them in the Elite 8. I have Pitt and UConn making the finall 4 as #1's and Syracuse rounding at the Final Four. I like Cuse to beat Pitt and UConn over MSU setting up a rematch of the epic 6 overtime game that UConn and Syracuse played in the Big East Tourny. My bracket got destroyed last year so well see how I do this time.....Ill keep ya posted...
I created a group on Yahoo's Pick em if you would like to join and compete for fun click the link
http://tournament.fantasysports.yahoo.com/t1/register/joinprivategroup_assign_team?GID=149014
click to make it biggerI feel pretty well with my picks, I picked a couple of upsets that I hope pay off (Utah over Wake, Utah St beating Marquette and Missouri) I think Louisville despite being the overall number 1 will lose I have Michigan St beating them in the Elite 8. I have Pitt and UConn making the finall 4 as #1's and Syracuse rounding at the Final Four. I like Cuse to beat Pitt and UConn over MSU setting up a rematch of the epic 6 overtime game that UConn and Syracuse played in the Big East Tourny. My bracket got destroyed last year so well see how I do this time.....Ill keep ya posted...
I created a group on Yahoo's Pick em if you would like to join and compete for fun click the link
http://tournament.fantasysports.yahoo.com/t1/register/joinprivategroup_assign_team?GID=149014
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