Sunday, May 10, 2009
Back and Ready to Rumble
Hey guys and faithful readers sorry I had to shut down for the past few months but college and video games don't mix and my GPA definitely needed to go up. So here's the deal I'm working on getting some great new reviews of some games coming up and maybe I can even get some exclusive in depth looks at what all is going on in the gaming community. Right now I'm looking at getting copies of both Terminator Salvation of which you can check some gameplay footage of here (which I hope won't adhere to horrible movie title standards) and King of Fighters XII a series which I haven't ever played before. So hopefully you'll stay tuned and see what happens over the summer gaming season.
Monday, January 7, 2008
MX vs. ATV Review: 7.8/10
I can't tell you how long it's been since I played a motorcross or ATV game that I actually liked. I guess the last one I played was on the N64 way back in the day. Now MX vs. ATV has filled that void in my gaming experience.
The gameplay is everything that you would expect out of this type of game. The controls are simple and easy to pick up, but I do admit that it took me a while to learn how to back up when I got stuck. Unlike most games were loading is a pain, loading in this game is actually fun. While your race is loading you get to drive around in a big open arena with some jumps and obstacles. The races themselves are awesome- allowing use of several different vehicle types, such as trucks, ATVs, and dirt bikes. There are several different types of races going from just plain motorcross to racing from point to point cross country. The physics are usually good- but there are random occasions when they go a little buggy. In one instance I hit a tree and instead of throwing me backwards it sent me straight up the tree. The stunt system also could use a bit more work but no major complaints. I didn't really find any major flaws in this game other than there was a glitch that locked up my XBOX for a couple of minutes.
The graphics are on par with any other racer, but lack the more popular (and in this case- appropriate) conventions like damage modeling. I would like to see the trucks get dents and dings as you took them where they shouldn't go. The water and the dust effects are extremely sub par but they don't take away from the experience. When you get into a large outdoor environment the detail is very sparse leaving the map to look quite plain. I noticed this the most during the waypoint races, which have huge maps but lack small details (such as more small trees and shrubs). I'd like to also like to see some more detail added into the textures so that everything wouldn't look so mediocre.
Overall this is a very solid game but not all will like it as much as I did. I would say go out and rent this game- you may like it or you may not but this game definitely deserves a chance.
The gameplay is everything that you would expect out of this type of game. The controls are simple and easy to pick up, but I do admit that it took me a while to learn how to back up when I got stuck. Unlike most games were loading is a pain, loading in this game is actually fun. While your race is loading you get to drive around in a big open arena with some jumps and obstacles. The races themselves are awesome- allowing use of several different vehicle types, such as trucks, ATVs, and dirt bikes. There are several different types of races going from just plain motorcross to racing from point to point cross country. The physics are usually good- but there are random occasions when they go a little buggy. In one instance I hit a tree and instead of throwing me backwards it sent me straight up the tree. The stunt system also could use a bit more work but no major complaints. I didn't really find any major flaws in this game other than there was a glitch that locked up my XBOX for a couple of minutes.
The graphics are on par with any other racer, but lack the more popular (and in this case- appropriate) conventions like damage modeling. I would like to see the trucks get dents and dings as you took them where they shouldn't go. The water and the dust effects are extremely sub par but they don't take away from the experience. When you get into a large outdoor environment the detail is very sparse leaving the map to look quite plain. I noticed this the most during the waypoint races, which have huge maps but lack small details (such as more small trees and shrubs). I'd like to also like to see some more detail added into the textures so that everything wouldn't look so mediocre.
Overall this is a very solid game but not all will like it as much as I did. I would say go out and rent this game- you may like it or you may not but this game definitely deserves a chance.
Monday, November 26, 2007
Bionic Comando Press Release
SAN MATEO, Calif. — October 16, 2007 — Capcom® Entertainment, a leading worldwide developer and publisher of video games, today confirmed the return of one of its classic franchises with the announcement that Bionic Commando® is in development for the Xbox 360® video game and entertainment system from Microsoft, Sony Computer Entertainment’s PLAYSTATION®3 (PS3™) and Windows-based PC.
Taking its inspiration from its 8-bit namesake released on the Nintendo Entertainment System back in 1988, Bionic Commando features Nathan Spencer (voiced by former lead singer of Faith No More, Mike Patton), a shining example of the technological advances made by the Federal Bionic Armaments Development Division. After distinguishing himself in a fierce conflict against the Imperials, Spencer is betrayed and falsely imprisoned by the very people he unquestioningly served.
Three years later, on the very day he is due to be executed for his supposed crimes, an experimental weapon detonates in Ascension City, unleashing an immensely powerful earthquake coupled with a radiation shockwave that leaves the city in ruins, wiping out its populace. Military intelligence suggests that a large terrorist search force has moved in and occupied Ascension City, but as yet their motives remain unclear. With the terrain in ruins and the terrorists in control of Ascension City’s air defenses the FSA has only one option open to them – the reactivation of Nathan Spencer.
Bionic Commando harnesses the power of the latest generation of hardware to fully exploit the swing mechanic that made the original title so unique. The ruins of Ascension City and its surroundings provide an engaging environment of towering buildings, suspended roadways and monorails, deep canyons and sheer rock faces that allow gamers to traverse each area via multiple routes using swinging, rappelling, climbing and wall walking techniques.
An expertly trained operative, Spencer is able to target and take out enemies while hanging upside down, climbing a building or even in mid-swing. At close quarters, the bionic arm packs a mean punch, while from a distance, objects such as boulders and cars can be grabbed and launched at enemies.
The development team behind Bionic Commando represents a unique and compelling collaboration of cultures and skills, consisting of an American Producer living in Japan, a Japanese Creative Advisor and highly-rated Swedish developer GRIN providing a European influence. This partnership provides a further example of Capcom’s strategy to work with the best developer talent, while maintaining the unique elements of creativity and game design for which Capcom is known for.
Taking its inspiration from its 8-bit namesake released on the Nintendo Entertainment System back in 1988, Bionic Commando features Nathan Spencer (voiced by former lead singer of Faith No More, Mike Patton), a shining example of the technological advances made by the Federal Bionic Armaments Development Division. After distinguishing himself in a fierce conflict against the Imperials, Spencer is betrayed and falsely imprisoned by the very people he unquestioningly served.
Three years later, on the very day he is due to be executed for his supposed crimes, an experimental weapon detonates in Ascension City, unleashing an immensely powerful earthquake coupled with a radiation shockwave that leaves the city in ruins, wiping out its populace. Military intelligence suggests that a large terrorist search force has moved in and occupied Ascension City, but as yet their motives remain unclear. With the terrain in ruins and the terrorists in control of Ascension City’s air defenses the FSA has only one option open to them – the reactivation of Nathan Spencer.
Bionic Commando harnesses the power of the latest generation of hardware to fully exploit the swing mechanic that made the original title so unique. The ruins of Ascension City and its surroundings provide an engaging environment of towering buildings, suspended roadways and monorails, deep canyons and sheer rock faces that allow gamers to traverse each area via multiple routes using swinging, rappelling, climbing and wall walking techniques.
An expertly trained operative, Spencer is able to target and take out enemies while hanging upside down, climbing a building or even in mid-swing. At close quarters, the bionic arm packs a mean punch, while from a distance, objects such as boulders and cars can be grabbed and launched at enemies.
The development team behind Bionic Commando represents a unique and compelling collaboration of cultures and skills, consisting of an American Producer living in Japan, a Japanese Creative Advisor and highly-rated Swedish developer GRIN providing a European influence. This partnership provides a further example of Capcom’s strategy to work with the best developer talent, while maintaining the unique elements of creativity and game design for which Capcom is known for.
Tuesday, November 13, 2007
Call Of Duty 4 Review 9.25
When this game came out I couldn't figure out what the hype is all about. I figured this would be just like all the other Call of Duty games only with modern weapons. After playing it all I can say is "WOW" this is nothing like any other Call of Duty game that I've ever played. The graphics are absolutely amazing with insanely detailed levels. The weapon selection puts you on more of a level playing field. The online is pretty good but I find myself waiting a long time to get a party together. Even the single player campaign is a lot of fun.
As I said the graphics look amazing. I was walking through a town and I just had to stop and take some time to look around. You can tell that they've taken their time to make this game the best looking Call of Duty game of all time. Their are quite a diversity of levels. There is this one level where you're tasked with infiltrating a tanker carrying a bomb, when you arrive at the tanker it's raining and you can see the gritty detail of the tanker and the rain. The water and the smoke are some of the best I've ever seen in any game. There's even an effect that is like heat rising off of a road which I thought was really nice. The only thing I had a problem with is the facial animations; they weren't as detailed as I would like but they served the purpose.
The weapon selection is out of this world. You feel like you're on more of a level playing field with the AI as far as weapon selection goes. Everyone has certain weapons and you can find yourself looking around at each character and seeing what weapons they have which is little and it's been done before but it's nice to see who could possibly shoot you with an RPG. All of the weapons feel good and powerful. My personal favorite assault rifle is the M4 Carbine with the laser sight it's a solid gun decent range and decent amount of accuracy. For the snipers out there there's a good selection of long range rifles. One thing that was a little annoying is that you only have as many grenades as you start off with which is a good thing and a bad thing depending if you like to use grenades or not.
If I were judging the online mode on game play alone it would definitely get a 9.85. However I did run into quite a few issues it may just be my connection but sometimes it would take me two or three tries to connect to the lobby. Then once I got in the lobby it would take anywhere from two to ten minutes to find a game; which I found really annoying. Other than that online is amazing. I love the matches, the leveling, and the custom classes.
Campaign mode is pretty good. Everyone has been picking up this game up just for the multiplayer, but they're missing a really good single player experience. You play through two different characters "Soap" and "Johnson". The AI is pretty good, however they're a couple little things that are annoying like blind fire and it seems like they can fire through walls easier than you can.
So over all COD4 is everything we hoped it would be but even better than we expected. There are a few little things here and there but nothing that really kills the game.
As I said the graphics look amazing. I was walking through a town and I just had to stop and take some time to look around. You can tell that they've taken their time to make this game the best looking Call of Duty game of all time. Their are quite a diversity of levels. There is this one level where you're tasked with infiltrating a tanker carrying a bomb, when you arrive at the tanker it's raining and you can see the gritty detail of the tanker and the rain. The water and the smoke are some of the best I've ever seen in any game. There's even an effect that is like heat rising off of a road which I thought was really nice. The only thing I had a problem with is the facial animations; they weren't as detailed as I would like but they served the purpose.
The weapon selection is out of this world. You feel like you're on more of a level playing field with the AI as far as weapon selection goes. Everyone has certain weapons and you can find yourself looking around at each character and seeing what weapons they have which is little and it's been done before but it's nice to see who could possibly shoot you with an RPG. All of the weapons feel good and powerful. My personal favorite assault rifle is the M4 Carbine with the laser sight it's a solid gun decent range and decent amount of accuracy. For the snipers out there there's a good selection of long range rifles. One thing that was a little annoying is that you only have as many grenades as you start off with which is a good thing and a bad thing depending if you like to use grenades or not.
If I were judging the online mode on game play alone it would definitely get a 9.85. However I did run into quite a few issues it may just be my connection but sometimes it would take me two or three tries to connect to the lobby. Then once I got in the lobby it would take anywhere from two to ten minutes to find a game; which I found really annoying. Other than that online is amazing. I love the matches, the leveling, and the custom classes.
Campaign mode is pretty good. Everyone has been picking up this game up just for the multiplayer, but they're missing a really good single player experience. You play through two different characters "Soap" and "Johnson". The AI is pretty good, however they're a couple little things that are annoying like blind fire and it seems like they can fire through walls easier than you can.
So over all COD4 is everything we hoped it would be but even better than we expected. There are a few little things here and there but nothing that really kills the game.
Monday, November 12, 2007
Sorry... Right Back into it Final Fantasy Tactics: War of the Lions
Sorry it's been so long guys but lets get right back into it.
Final Fantasy Tactis: War of the Lions
When I saw this game in the store I vaguely remembered the first Final Fantasy Tactics game on the PSX. For the most part it plays pretty much the same. You control your group of warriors in battle on a grid with a turn based combat system.
This game stay pretty true to the series. Just like in every other Final Fantasy game you have several different classes you can play as such a the classic black mage, white mage, knight, archer and so on. In the game they're a few new classes such as the Dark Knight (Like Cecil from FF2 or was it FF5) and the Onion Knight (Pretty much an indestructable tank).
The class and skill system are one of my favorite things about this game. You can level up each class and purchase new abilities with JP earned in battle. This enables you to assign abilities to each character out of their current class. For example I could have a white mage that could cast black magick and white magick spells or wield a sword; all things which a white mage couldn't normal do.
This game is set in the same setting as FF XII on the PS2 and FF Tactics Advanced on the GBA. It's been rumored that Balthier from FF XII show up somewhere in the game although I haven't found him yet. You start out as a young knight that is charged with protecting a princess. As you move through the story nothing is as it appears to be and you learn of a plot to overthrow the kingdom so you set out to make things right and save the princess. The one thing I really don't like is the map system. Instead of going place to place walking through the wilderness you have a map with different nodes on it representing different places you can go to.
The graphics look pretty good but they're basicaly PSX graphics with a little more polish. The cut-scenes are amazing they're in the most original style I have ever seen since Okami. They look a lot like older Japanese hand drawings. Although the cut-scenes are very beautiful the voice acting is sub-par.
Over all this is a pretty solid game but due to some translation issues, the voice acting, and the map setup I'd have to give it an 8.5.
Final Fantasy Tactis: War of the Lions
When I saw this game in the store I vaguely remembered the first Final Fantasy Tactics game on the PSX. For the most part it plays pretty much the same. You control your group of warriors in battle on a grid with a turn based combat system.
This game stay pretty true to the series. Just like in every other Final Fantasy game you have several different classes you can play as such a the classic black mage, white mage, knight, archer and so on. In the game they're a few new classes such as the Dark Knight (Like Cecil from FF2 or was it FF5) and the Onion Knight (Pretty much an indestructable tank).
The class and skill system are one of my favorite things about this game. You can level up each class and purchase new abilities with JP earned in battle. This enables you to assign abilities to each character out of their current class. For example I could have a white mage that could cast black magick and white magick spells or wield a sword; all things which a white mage couldn't normal do.
This game is set in the same setting as FF XII on the PS2 and FF Tactics Advanced on the GBA. It's been rumored that Balthier from FF XII show up somewhere in the game although I haven't found him yet. You start out as a young knight that is charged with protecting a princess. As you move through the story nothing is as it appears to be and you learn of a plot to overthrow the kingdom so you set out to make things right and save the princess. The one thing I really don't like is the map system. Instead of going place to place walking through the wilderness you have a map with different nodes on it representing different places you can go to.
The graphics look pretty good but they're basicaly PSX graphics with a little more polish. The cut-scenes are amazing they're in the most original style I have ever seen since Okami. They look a lot like older Japanese hand drawings. Although the cut-scenes are very beautiful the voice acting is sub-par.
Over all this is a pretty solid game but due to some translation issues, the voice acting, and the map setup I'd have to give it an 8.5.
Thursday, July 12, 2007
Review: Super Stardust HD
This may very well be the best arcade game on Playstation Network. I am absolutely hopelessly addicted to this game. It's sort of a mix between Asteroids and Geometry Wars but set on a sphere. You have three weapons through out the game: the gold melter, ice melter, and the rock busters. Each of the weapons works a little bit different on each of the different types of asteroids. Very fun and frantic game play it gets really insane when you have no bombs left and you've just used your boost will stuff closing in on you. I like the high-score system where you can see where you placed no mater if it was 5000 or 500000 not just the top fifty. My cousin and I stayed up till 1:00 at night trying to get in the top 50. Over all this game has solid graphics and great game-play both make for hours and hours of fun. I'd give it an 8.0 a definite buy.
Monday, June 18, 2007
Chris: Virtua Fighter 5 at a glance:
If you want to get a good fighting game that rocks for PS3 go out and get this game. I've been playing the Virtua Fighter series since I was in the seventh grade. I loved the game then and I still love it now. It's still just as fun as the days when I first started dumping quarters into the arcade version.
The graphics are absolutely gorgeous. The lighting and water effects are almost perfect, however the particle effects are medicore which is a shame but I guess it's alright they're not exactly what I'd call next-gen but they'll pass for now. Another peeve I had is that some of the characters look like they have plastic skin and I expected better than that. That and the particle effects are then only real complaints that I have with the graphics.
The controls and the camera angles work great on this. So at the end of the day it's still the same old virtua fighter we know and love just with updated graphics. I would like to have an arcade joystick for my PS3 but I can't afford one right now and neither can CJ (Were trying to get an Xbox 360 and Halo 3 Legendary Edition *W00T*); so anyone want to send us a joystick to try out? Ok maybe that's else to do with games ) send me an email at chrisprayingmantis@yahoo.com. I've only started playing this game yesterday and I will write a more in depth review after I've played it for a few more hours.
P.S. If you have anything that you want an honest journalistic opion for send it to me for review. Just Email me at the address above and we'll try to work something out.
The graphics are absolutely gorgeous. The lighting and water effects are almost perfect, however the particle effects are medicore which is a shame but I guess it's alright they're not exactly what I'd call next-gen but they'll pass for now. Another peeve I had is that some of the characters look like they have plastic skin and I expected better than that. That and the particle effects are then only real complaints that I have with the graphics.
The controls and the camera angles work great on this. So at the end of the day it's still the same old virtua fighter we know and love just with updated graphics. I would like to have an arcade joystick for my PS3 but I can't afford one right now and neither can CJ (Were trying to get an Xbox 360 and Halo 3 Legendary Edition *W00T*); so anyone want to send us a joystick to try out? Ok maybe that's else to do with games ) send me an email at chrisprayingmantis@yahoo.com. I've only started playing this game yesterday and I will write a more in depth review after I've played it for a few more hours.
P.S. If you have anything that you want an honest journalistic opion for send it to me for review. Just Email me at the address above and we'll try to work something out.
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