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2011-11-15T12:43:00.001-08:00

My Five Favorite Downloadable Games of 2010

2011-01-02T23:05:00.000-08:00

2010 was a weird year for me in terms of downloadable games. I did play a fair share of them but at the same time, there were many games that I missed out because there just wasn’t enough free time. I usually enjoy downloadable games because they are almost always made to be completed in a matter of hours with the best ones giving you a reason to play through a 2nd or 3rd time. One of my gaming goals for 2011 is to spend more time with these style of games because the digital age of gaming is not going away anytime soon.

With that, here are my five favorite downloadable-only games.

Did not spend enough time to consider:

Limbo (360)
Pac-Man Championship Edition DX (360 and PS3)
Scott Pilgrim vs The World (360 and PS3)
Shank (360 and PS3)

Just Missing Out:

Dark Void Zero (DSiWare)
Söldner-X: Final Prototype (PS3)

5. DeathSpank (360, PS3 and PC - Played on 360 and PC)

DeathSpank has a special place for me as I managed to see this game behind closed doors at PAX 2009, almost a year before its launch. It had my attention then, even without getting to directly control the game. When it finally did hit consoles, I was absorbed with its quirky atmosphere and easy to grasp combat. Yes, the way in which you healed yourself was an odd choice, it didn’t really detract from what the developers intended on doing, giving players an action-RPG that didn’t require too much from you. The only other knock on this game isn’t so much a knock on it but a knock on the fact that Hot Head Games quickly released a follow-up, Thongs of Virtue, a mere 3 months after the fact. Added that Thongs of Virtue didn’t improve upon anything left a sour taste in my mouth and hurt the original game’s originality.

4. Joe Danger (PS3)

Having never played the cult classic Trials HD, I felt it was necessary to pick up Joe Danger for that simple fact alone. While I know the two games aren’t that similar, it was still a good call on my part. Yet another quirky game that very few people got to experience but should most definitely do. It doesn’t really require a lot from the player but once you begin to want to master each race, collect all items and get higher score than your friends, you appreciate what the developers set out to do. What I really enjoyed was that levels and situations could be enjoyed in small portions. Play for a bit and then come back whenever you wanted; a must for all great downloadable games.

3. Super Meat Boy (360 and PC - Played on 360)

If it wasn’t for a really bad glitch on the 360 version that deleted a massive chunk of my progress, this game would have been my #1 without hesitation. I was in love with this game not only because it was super-challenging, but it had such a cute charm and quite simplistic in its approach. You would die a couple of dozen times but after each death, you got the feeling you knew what was required to complete the stage, so you tried again, and again, and again. It was a bit disheartening that the glitch, which occurred when downloading anything onto your 360, hurt my enjoyment, but when I feel like punishing myself, this will be the game I turn to.

2. Dead Rising: Case Zero (360)

Considering I really didn’t enjoy Dead Rising, I thought Capcom’s idea of releasing a quasi-prequel to the game’s sequel was a smart idea in order to gauge people’s interests. Yes, this was a $5 demo, but for gamers like me who weren’t too sure if Dead Rising 2 was worth their additional $60, it helped answer that question. It prepares you for the main game but offers an interesting story that leads into the main game. Fine, I haven’t played Dead Rising 2 yet and probably won’t until it receives a price drop, but I am still content that I managed to play through Case Zero a few times to unlock additional content for when I finally do.

1. echochrome ii (PS3)

My favorite downloadable game of 2010 was surprise even to me. I had no idea this game was even on Sony’s schedule for 2010 until they announced the launch date of Dec 21st at the beginning of the month. I got back from vacation and was managed to obtain the game a week before its release for review purposes. It’s an extremely simple game in concept but its execution and the variety was absolutely incredible. I was already a fan of the first game, was probably one of the few people to actually play echoshift on PSP and I had many late nights trying to complete various puzzles in ii. This is also my favorite Move-controller game because of the creative way it uses the peripheral as a flash-light. You point it at the screen and adjust the shadows you place on the screen. It sounds so simple and it is; but it is something that you need to see to fully appreciate. If own the Move-controller and have been waiting for another quality game, download this immediately.

My Favorite Games of 2010

2011-01-02T23:01:00.000-08:00

With my 2nd complete year as a member of the Gaming Press behind me, I realized that the way I play games has changed a lot since before Sept 2008 (when I started writing for Game Focus). I used to play only a few games, the ones people talked about or got great reviews, and usually focused on Sports, Strategy or RPGs. With writing about games, I opened the door to new genres, experienced titles I would have never played if it wasn’t for assignments and had a greater appreciation for those really good games. At the same time, because I covered games, often the ones I wanted to play or the ones people most talked about were missed because of other engagements. My favorite games of 2010 was a tough list since while every game on my top 10 I spent a good amount of time with, there were others that I just didn’t get the opportunity to experience and couldn’t consider them. While they might not be on the list, they are still games I expect to play, especially since I already shelled out the cash to get them.

Here are my favorite games of 2011

Games I couldn’t consider since I didn’t spend enough time with to qualify them:

Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood (360 and PS3 - Currently playing it on PS3)
Bayonetta (360 and PS3 - Currently playing it on 360)
Call of Duty: Black Ops (360 and PS3 - Currently playing it on PS3)
Fallout: New Vegas (360, PS3 and PC - Currently playing it on PC)
God of War III (PS3)

Just missing out:

2010: FIFA World Cup South Africa (360, PS3 and Wii - Played it on all three)
Alan Wake (360)
Battlefield: Bad Company 2 (360, PS3 and PC - Played it on PS3)
Dawn of War II: Chaos Rising (PC)
Halo: Reach (360)
Mod Nation Racers (PS3)
Super Street Fighter IV (360 and PS3 - Played it on PS3)
Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell: Conviction (360 and PC - Played it on 360)

10. Civilization V (PC)

I remember when I was younger watching older kids showing off the first two Civilization games and me being awe-struck with the game. What a simple concept involving taking a group of people and see what you could do it them. You could take it easy and coast through the ages, be aggressive or be defensive, there was no right or wrong way of playing because every choice you made was the correct one (in your eyes). I honestly was afraid of spending too much time with Civ V because I knew I could easily get lost and start in the early afternoon only to look up and realize it was already morning. It’s a real time sink but it never got bored; you’re thinking of things to do, contemplating your decisions and devising your next course of action. If you have never played a Civ game, this is the perfect place to start and once you start, it’s hard to stop.

9. Red Dead Redemption (360 and PS3 - Played it on PS3)

My enjoyment with Red Dead Redemption was a roller-coaster affair. There were times when I straight-up questioned why it was given so much praise: trying to aim while riding a horse was realistically difficult yet dead aim was such a thrilling aspect to ever gun fight. I felt the story’s pacing was off especially once you reach Mexico, the 2nd half of the game, and the three key parts that could have ended the game, but I will completely admit, I teared up for obvious reasons (won’t spoil it). Because I had that emotional attachment, it was reason enough to give it praise. I still prefer GTA IV in terms of the grand scheme of RockStar’s Open World style of games but my 28 hours playing as John Marsden was worth every it in the end.

8. Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit (360 and PS3 - Played it on PS3)

The Need for Speed franchise has been very up and down but one I’ve invested a lot of time, money and love with. Without a doubt, the most memorable games in the series have been the Hot Pursuit branded games (NFSIII and NFS:HP). Thanks to Criterion, this game is fast, frantic and extremely addictive. Even with only a small group of friends on PSN on my Autolog, I am always looking to find ways of improving my time. Also, how strange is it that for a game where you want to play as the man; being a Police Officer is so satisfying when you smash that punk racer’s car into a wall. While the Autolog is incredible, the lengthy career as both a racer and an officer is so deep and there is much to discover and experience. Don’t get me started on the cars, so many great choices that any car aficionado will find one that they will love to drive.

7. Enslaved: Odyssey to the West (360 and PS3 - Played it on 360)

Who says word of mouth doesn’t help. I can honestly admit that when Enslaved was released in September I had no knowledge of its existence or cared about it. But then a fellow member of GF gave it such high praise and others also followed suit, I began to pay more attention. Then I picked up the demo and was completely prepared to get it. Luckily the game dropped in price and I managed to snag a copy in time for the holidays. In what I thought would be a game I would play on and off ended up being two minor sessions followed by a massive six hour period where I completed the game and began to question what the game’s ending meant and would we see more. The gameplay might not be that original, but so very few games are. What held my attention was the wonderful set-designs, beautiful character designs (I absolutely love the way Trip looks) and captivating story. I seriously doubt we’ll see a follow-up to this, but if Ninja Theory get the opportunity to expand the game’s mythos, I will be first in line.

6. Kirby’s Epic Yarn (Wii)

Talk about being super cute. I remember sitting in the E3 Media room hovered over a computer when Nintendo revealed Kirby’s Epic Yarn and realizing then and there this would be a smash hit. The Kirby frachise has always taken risks and this is no different. Could a game that looks like your grandma’s hand-made quilt be really that good? Yes it can!. Fine, the game is really easy but the things that you can do and the unlockable surprises along the way more than make up for that fact. Even with a story that can be rushed through in about 5-7 hours, if you invest the time to get everything in each level and play all the bonus games, you can quickly see that number double, if not triple. Best part, those bonus games were where the real challenge began to show itself and presented some interesting thoughts in my head (Is this purposely difficult or am I not as smart as I think I am). It might be geared towards younger gamers and parents with kids, even someone like myself, in their mid-twenties, can jump in and leave with smile on their face...something games are supposed to do.

5. DJ Hero 2 (360 and PS3 - Played it on 360)

Living in an apartment had more or less ruined my enjoyment of music based games. I could no longer play Rock Band thanks in part to the constant noise complaints my downstairs neighbour made, and just playing Guitars or singing wasn’t enough to interest me and/or my guests. DJ Hero changed that. I didn’t get around to buying the first game, but I spent many lunch hours at a local Best Buy playing setlist after setlist, then finally decided to spend the cash and pick up the sequel. I can’t tell you how much I enjoyed mixing and mashing some of my favorite songs by some of the best DJs and Producers in the industry. I couldn’t stop playing this and had to play the game with headphones on because I wanted to hear the music as loud as I could. Not only was the soundtrack fantastic but the blending of set-lists worked so well that it helped fuel my addiction. I just went from one song to the next without realizing how much time I was spending.

4. FIFA Soccer 11 (360, PS3 and Wii - Played it on PS3 and Wii)

Well looky here, a soccer game on my favs list. What can I say, I am a footie junkie and I’m not afraid to admit it. I played a lot of soccer games this year but the one I would always turn to was FIFA 11. It might not be a giant leap from last year’s edition but the subtle changes were enough to keep my attention. Yes, the addition of playing as a Keeper in Be a Pro was not that successful, it showed that EA was willing to take a risk. They included the Russian League and the improved passing system, which felt even more realistic gave me more reason to play. After playing FIFA 10, I was really worried where the series would go but they met my expectations and more. Now I have to wonder what can they improve for FIFA 12 because the bar is just getting higher and higher.

3. Heavy Rain (PS3)

Heavy Rain was one of my most anticipated games of 2010. I remember seeing it for the first time at PAX ‘09 and while I refused to play it the fact that I saw two very different people play out the same part of the game with two completely different end results showed me that this game would be something else. Yes, there are some faults: the story loses traction near the end due to some plot discrepancies and the voice acting is spot at best, you can’t fault what the game’s main intention was, to bring up conversation. Talk to different people and they will have very different thoughts on their experience. If I decided to do one thing, someone else may have done a completely different thing. If you played it a certain way, may have missed a section some one else may have seen. I also had the same emotional attachment to Heavy Rain as I did with RDR, so it struck a cord that way. Then they added PlayStation Move Support which made the game even more enjoyable. In my gaming history there have only been two games I played through more than once from start to finish, Metal Gear Solid and Chrono Cross; I really want to play through Heavy Rain again but I don’t want to ruin my first play through because the end it ended was the way I made it end.

2. Mass Effect 2 (360 and PC - Played it on 360)

When the first game in the series was released, I passed it by without much hesitation; I was never a fan of BioWare and could care less of a sci-fi based RPG. It wasn’t long afterwards that I was eating my words and wanting more. I loved Dragon Age last year and Mass Effect was a hotly anticipated release. I got to experience a great story and one that I blended myself. The cast of characters was incredible, the missions were so much more fleshed out and the choices you had to make felt more meaningful. The last part of the game was extremely tense with decisions that had to be made and there were a few times when I was certain I was making the wrong choice. Mass Effect 2 fits in the same category as Heavy Rain, I want to play the game again but I didn’t want to experience the game differently since it was my story. This will change in 2011 when ME2 hits the PS3 but then I’ll get to experience life as a different Shepard. Thankfully, we won’t have to wait too long after that for the end of the trilogy.

1. Starcraft II: Wings of Liberty (PC)

“Lock it down” a famous quote by a high-school classmate and a direct reference to the Ghost units of the original Starcraft. It was a game I really enjoyed in High School and the sequel brought up fantastic memories and made new ones. Once again, Blizzard has succeeded in giving us an experience worth playing. New Units, choices that altered the game and an ending that made me anxious for the next game. Missions weren’t that difficult or overly long but it was the choices and the hunting for achievements and additional content that made so happy. I might not be a great player but that didn’t phase me since I still played how I wanted. Best part, even if you’re not familar with RTS, they made it so easy to pick up, that newcomers could jump in and not feel too intimidating. It may have been a long time coming but the wait was certainly worth it and the next two games in the Starcraft II trilogy can’t come soon enough

My Favorite Five Portable Games of 2010

2011-01-02T22:58:00.000-08:00

If it wasn’t for Portable games, I doubt I would be as invested in the industry as I currently am. With all my traveling on various forms of public transit, portable gaming has kept me occupied on each trip, regardless of length. In fact, the first ‘system’ I bought was the Game Boy Color and I enjoyed every moment with that Purple unit. Because of my love of Portable games and my greater involvement in the Gaming Press, I felt the need to give praise to those pocket games I enjoyed during the past Calendar year. My list doesn’t include any games made specifically for the iPod since I only recently began playing games on that system and don’t view them in the same light as DS or PSP titles. This will most certainly change next year but their bite-sized nature just can’t compare to content of other portable games (don’t get me wrong, I play a lot with my iPod Touch)

Without further ado, here are my five favorite portable games of 2010:

Just Missing Out:

Dragon Quest IX (DS)
Persona 3 Portable (PSP)
Ys Seven (PSP)

5. Mario vs Donkey Kong: Mini-Land Mayhem (DS)

The Puzzle Genre and Portable gaming go hand in hand and the Mario versus Donkey Kong series is the epitome of the two. Considering how the last game in the series went completely under the radar because of its DSiWare exclusivity, it was such a relief that Nintendo released a follow up a year later with twice as much content. The concept behind leading a group of mini-Marios through various puzzles is so simple but the way in which you can solve each level gives you reason to go back and play it again and again. Then once you’re done, the game opens up so much more content. Then if that wasn’t enough, you can download and create your own levels.

4. God of War: Ghost of Sparta (PSP)

The God of War series is to Sony what Mario is to Nintendo. Kratos is the face of Sony even if he’s not the model person you want leading the way. The franchise already spawned an incredible first outing on the PSP a few years ago and this one takes the baton and runs twice as hard. It might not deviate too much from Chains of Olympus; the story here, one that opens up so much more to the Kratos mythos is something that fans of the console games should play just for the sake of adding more knowledge. Even when he’s dishing out so much damage, we get to see a Human side to the character that makes you understand more why he acts the way that he does. The game isn’t long so it works perfectly in the Portable gaming landscape; you’re done in about 6 hours but every minute is well spent.

3. Professor Layton and the Unwound Future (DS)

I am not afraid to admit it, but Hershel Layton is my homeboy. When I went to Japan in December of 2008, not only did I spend a few hundred Yen (a couple of dollars) on various Layton trinkets (including a Layton Key-Chain that I attached to my DS), I nearly bought the recently released game (which so happens to have been this very game) even though I probably wouldn’t have been able to understand it or play it. The third game, yet again shows what I love so much about portable gaming: easy to pick up, addictive and fun to play. The puzzles are just as creative as they have been in previous games and the story sheds more light on the Professor’s background, including the love of his life. I have introduced Layton to so many other people and I have yet to hear a negative response back from them. If you need to exercise your brain, you can’t go wrong.

2. Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker (PSP)

The first Metal Gear Solid game on PSP might be viewed by some as a great game but I was not one of them. I found it difficult to grasp the controls, the missions weren’t that enjoyable and as a whole, felt like it wasn’t suitable for portable consumption. What’s even weirder, I enjoyed the Metal Gear Acid series, especially the 2nd game. But with Peace Walker, I did a complete 180. While the changes aren’t that drastic, the cool story, open nature and additional content made me wanting more. Even after putting over 10 hours into it, you will still find things to do and places to explore. The variable control options fixed a lot of the problems I had with the first and the way the story unfolds is done in just a way that you never really feel bored or uninterested. It might not be cut-scene heavy like the console MGSs, the comic book style still offers the same interactivity. On top of interesting story, the added Co-Op options also give you more opportunities to find rare unlockables and discovering additional content.

1. Valkyria Chronicles II (PSP)

When you invest so much time into a game and still manage to discover more, you know you have something special. The strategy genre hasn’t always been well received on consoles except when it comes to turn-based ones but this breaks that trend. Valkyria Chronicles II takes everything that made the first game on PS3 such an enjoyable experience, throws in high-school life and still delivers on what it is supposed to do. This is the perfect mash-up of Real-time and Turn-based strategy with missions that can be completed in a matter of minutes. It’s no walk in the park but the variety in your squad options, the beautiful visuals and great cast make it hard to put down. Even with the high-school setting, it never feels too childish and the way the characters interact with each other feels genuine. Best part, even if you have no previous background with the first game, you can jump into this and not miss a beat. I always thought that this would be a good game but I just never expected to enjoy it as much as I did and I whole-heartedly expect to play more until the third game reaches North America in late 2011.

Dead Rising 2: Case Zero Review

2010-09-02T08:52:00.000-07:00

Since being a regular contributor to Game Focus for the last two years, I haven't really bothered to post any full-reviews here since you can find my writing there. With my EIC having already reviewed this game, I wanted to post my thoughts on the game as well.

When the first Dead Rising was released a few years back, it was well received thanks in part to his simple concept and interesting ideas. Your goal was simple, survive the next 72 hours trapped inside a large shopping mall with hordes of zombies. You could play the game in a number of different ways, including trying to rescue everyone else trapped inside or simply fending for yourself. Another novel concept was the idea of letting you fail to improve. With that concept, even if you died and re-started the game, your progress held through and your character was stronger the next time you played. While that part of the game was nice, it was also viewed as frustrating since it more or less forced the gamer to play through a few times in order to complete the game successfully.

With the follow-up just around the corner, Capcom along with Vancouver developers Blue Castle Games have released a prequel entitled Dead Rising 2: Case Zero which follows motocross superstar Chuck Greene and his daughter Katey a few years before the events of of Dead Rising 2. This 400 point (5 USD) title might be viewed by some as nothing more than a paid-demo, but for the price, you're getting quite a bit of content and will ultimately determine if you pick up DR2.

The plot behind Case Zero is fairly straightforward, Chuck's daughter has been infected with the zombie disease and they have escaped Las Vegas in the hopes of finding safety and maybe even a cue. Along the way, they stop off in a small town and Chuck's truck is stolen from him along with their supply of Zombrex, the Zombie suppressive that prevents the disease from spreading and taking over. With that, Chuck now needs to find additional doses and a way out of the town before the infestation takes over Katey and the military reaches the town.

You have until to do both. The first part of the game requires you to find more Zombrex while the second part is finding parts to a bike in order to get out of the town before the Military arrives. As with the first Dead Rising, you can play Case Zero a number of different ways. You can simply waste the time and kill zombies, let your daughter die and go on with your life, yo u can try to get the parts necessary to build your bike amongst other things. The choice is yours.

Of course, they want you to save your daughter and get out alive and doing so will require you to search the town looking for the five necessary bike pieces that you need. Some are in plain sight while a few require working with others in the town to obtain. In the same manner, chances are, you won't be able to do everything your first time around and will have to play through a second time in order to achieve the game's better ending. Thankfully, the game's length is short enough that you can still accomplish this in one evening.

The combat and action in Case Zero is nearly identical to Dead Rising, you can use just about anything in the environment in order to defeat zombies. A nice addition for Dead Rising 2 will be the ability to combine weapons in order to create something new. Not every object has this ability, but there are plenty that can be and the game rewards you for your creations. Being able to preview this system is nice and most will look forward to what can be done in he main game.

It's hard to tell what changes or differences we can expect from this once we play Dead Rising 2. The fact that Chuck can't run does make moving in the town quite difficult. It may be a small area but there are a few objectives that require moving from one section to another and his inability to move at a faster pace hurts the pacing. It makes sense for him to move slowly while carrying a large object, but when he's nothing nothing, he should be able to rush through an area.

More or less, if you enjoyed Dead Rising, you will like what is offered here and will enjoy this set-up to the main game. On the other hand, if you didn't have fun playing Dead Rising, then the likelihood of this changing your opinion. If you've been on the fence, the small price tag for this will help make your decision. If you enjoy it, you'll be glad that your character stats get carried over into the main game. If you don't, at least you only paid a minimal fee to try it out and will save yourself 60 dollars.

Top 10 Console (and Downloadable) Games of 2009

2009-12-25T13:27:00.000-08:00

Just Missing Out:

Assassin's Creed II
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2
Dead Space Extraction
inFamous
Street Fighter IV
Tiger Woods PGA Tour 10 (Wii Version)

10. IL-2 Sturmovik: Birds of Prey

Sometimes there are games that come out of left field. For me, this WWII air combat title fits the bill. I never knew what to expect but after the first few training missions I was hooked. A great looking game coupled with excellent controls and tons of content, console fans who have been eager for something to take to the skies, this is the one to play.

9. Fat Princess

Typically I tend to stay away from online only games. It can be sometimes really difficult to get involved unless you are willing to invest the time and energy to get good at it. Thankfully, Fat Princess is the perfect title for those looking to just have a bit of mindless fun. This team based action title has something for everyone. Not good at fighting, then be a healer. Can't shoot an arrow to save your life, well your team needs someone to collect supplies. For those who enjoy Team Fortress, playing this is an absolute must.

8. Killzone 2

The game that had so much hype associated to it is typically destined to fail. Thankfully, Killzone 2 met its expectations and was worth every penny. Having played and only partially enjoying the original, this follow up gives FPS fans one incredible journey with great shooting, frantic action and a good mix of enjoyable and frustrating moments. Certainly looking forward to where this series goes to next.

7. Grand Theft Auto IV: Episodes from Liberty City

Having already owned the PS3 version of GTAIV, getting the opportunity to play any of the exclusive content for the 360 was not possible. That changed with RockStar releasing both The Lost and Damned and The Ballad of Gay Tony in one perfect package along with all the fantastic multiplayer options. If you are in the same boat as me or just want more GTA content, this is a purchase you need to make.

6. Borderlands

Never judge a book without actually reading through a few chapters. This was the case for me when playing Borderlands. What started off as a frustrated experience quickly changed into spending time trying to see what else I could do. There aren't many games that can keep me playing after a poor first impression, but Borderlands did that. It takes a bit of time to get into the groove but once you've hit it, you will have a hard time letting go.

5. Shadow Complex

Nostalgia is always a nice thing, so when you have a game that brings of memories of your youth it is certainly worth mentioning. This fantastic action game that reminds you of the days of playing on your SNES is something that was such a pleasure to play. From the opening moments to every discovery, regardless of size, will keep you wanting more. Again, more games like this need to made that can be enjoyed for about the same cost of going to the movies and last 3 times as long.

4. FIFA 10

Soccer is my sport so a quality game is something I have to have. It has been years since I have played a game in the series that made me absolutely enjoy every match I played. Thankfully, this not only made me feel so good during every match, win, lose or draw, but the amount of content available will keep any fan occupied for months. EA has been looking for ways to push the series forward and next year's version will need to really go farther to better this one.

3. Dragon Age Origins

Upon first inspection, Dragon Age Origins was merely a game that I had no real interest to. Having not played any BioWare title until this year, I could care less about their pedigree. That quickly changed after playing through Mass Effect early on this year and getting to sit and listen to the BioWare Doctors talk about Narrative quickly changed my mind. If you enjoy free flowing RPGs that give you the ability to do so many things, then this is the only game you need to play. Having played both the game on the PC and PS3, you should most definitely go the way of the Personal Computer but even if that isn't a viable option, RPG fans will enjoy every waking moment.

2. Batman: Arkham Asylum

The last really fun Super Hero title that I enjoyed playing was the first Spider-Man title for the PSOne (released by Activision). Since then, it has been really difficult to find one that kept me wanting to play through the entire story. Arkham Asylum changed that from the opening moments with its fantastic story that mirrors the comics, the excellent combat that expands as you progress and plethora of side objectives available. This is the way other Super Hero games need to be made and will be the gold standard for years to come.

1. Uncharted 2: Among Thieves

I will not lie, until recently my favorite PS3 game Uncharted: Drake's Fortune. My expectations for the follow-up were high and those demands I had were met and surpassed from the opening scene. Among Thieves shows just how far cinematic experiences have gone in the gaming world. This is an incredible story with great action sequences, stunning cast of characters and so much more. The transition from cut-scene to actual gameplay is so seamless you will often question if you're playing or watching. Yes, there are most certainly moments that will challenge you if you don't enjoy a challenge then you shouldn't be playing video games. Even if you have not experienced the first game in the series, you can easily pick this up and enjoy it. I loved every minute of my time with this and hope to find the time to go back and relive it again.

Top 5 Portable Games of 2009

2009-12-25T13:17:00.000-08:00

Just missing out:

LocoRoco 2
Mario vs Donkey Kong: Minis March Again
MotorStorm: Arctic Edge

5. Resistance Retribution

Many people said that translating a shooter onto a portable system could not be done, the guys at Sony Bend knew otherwise. With the success of their Syphon Filter series, they took the same formula and put into this quasi sequel to the popular Resistance: Fall of Man series. Along with strong shoot and great level designs, there was a lot of reasons to play through the game more than once and the multiplayer mode was also quite enjoyable.

4. Professor Layton and the Diabolical Box

When a game can not only entertain you but educate you at the same time, you have something truly special. The Professor Layton in North America is still miles behind the Japanese series but this follow-up is just as enjoyable as the first with an great and engaging story. More than 150 different puzzles that will challenge you but never to the point of frustration. Here's hoping the 3rd game in the series gets to us sooner rather than later.

3. Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars

Who said a violent game is not possible on a portable Nintendo Console? Chinatown Wars takes the series in an interesting direction with fantastic results. Combining a cool story, great missions and some interesting touch screen mechanics, this is the total package. Any GTA fan will love it and those who missed the days of the series origins are only punishing themselves by not playing this.

2. The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks

It doesn't take much to release a quality Legend of Zelda title, so having one on the DS is no surprise. While fans did have their reservations and felts some parts of Phantom Hourglass were disappointing, Spirit Tracks fixes almost all of those issues and gives us such a fantastic experience. The fact that both Link and Zelda must work together puts this up there as a must-place for any fan of the long running series.

1. Patapon 2

There are games that when you first look at them you will respond with 'WTF!', the orginial Patapon was most definitely that game. Combine rhythm with strategy and you have yourself one unique experience. This follow up took everything that made the first so special, doubled it and threw in a bit more flavor. What is so great is that even with all its content, more than 30 hours worth, this only will cost you 20 dollars. For those looking for a PSP game to play, if this isn't already in your collection it should be.

PiCTOBiTS Review (DSiWare)

2009-06-07T21:47:00.000-07:00

Probably the best aspect of any puzzle game is the pick-up and play nature each one possesses. It doesn't take too long to learn how to play but it does require a lot of investment before you can say that you have mastered one. PiCTOBiT manages to give you an exciting puzzle experience for DSi owners but one that will take a lot of time to master thanks to its strong difficulty.

The objective in PiCTOBiTS is to group colored blocks together. Each level begins with three rows full of multicolored blocks which must be moved to different parts of the screen then combined with matching blocks that drop from the top of the screen. If you match up groups of three more, the blocks disappear and are transferred onto the top screen.

All blocks that go to the top screen begin to form an image. Once you have the right amount of blocks to complete the image, you've completed the level. Each level contains four different colors and you need to obtain enough blocks of each specific color in order to complete the image. You can continue to match blocks of a color you already have enough of, but it will not help complete the puzzle.

The groups of blocks that fall down vary in shape. Sometimes they are large 4x4 blocks other times they are shaped completely different and almost always contain more than one color.

If you manage to combine the right colors of blocks before they reach the bottom it will make each level significantly easier. In a situation where no colors are available, a simple tap on the falling pieces will drop them down and make those blocks accessible to use later on.

PiCTOBiTs starts off fairly easy and most people should be able to complete the first few levels without too much difficulty. As you progress though, the challenge ramps up fairly quickly thanks to the game's increase in speed, frequency of blocks and other special blocks that can hinder your progression.

For those who love puzzle games, this challenge will be a delight. You certainly will get frustrated with the increasing challenge, but it never feels cheap or that the game is cheating you. PiCTOBiTS is about quick movements and reflexes and you will really work your brain trying to find the best way to complete the levels. If you play a level enough times, you will begin to notice the patterns of the blocks as to where they drop, but the colors always change.

Thankfully, moving pieces is not 1:1. You can store up to 8 blocks and then use them when needed. The stylus works well that you can also slide across a few blocks to store them and replace them just as quickly. In later stages, you will begin to use the POW feature. This can be your friend if the screen begins to fill up as it will reduce the last three rows and spread out all the blocks on the screen. It can be helpful, but it comes at a price. You need to collect coins, coins that you obtain as you earn chains and break blocks, but once you use a POW, the number of pieces you can store gets reduced.

There are thirty stages to play and the most challenging ones occur when you begin to buy and unlock the Dark one. The Dark Stages are even more difficult than the Normal ones and will require extra precision and quickness if you wish to complete them.

The game uses very simplistic graphics but it works really well for a DSiWare title. Each of the game's images that you unlock to complete a level come from the NES days of games. You'll see plenty of sprites from your childhood and it each one looks really swell.

The music in the game also takes homage to the NES days. The chiptune and MIDI sounding tunes work well for the game and there is also the option to buy the music in the game to listen whenever you please. Also included are a few remixes of classic NES tunes which will only not appeal to those without soul or who have never experienced the Golden Generation of Videogames.

PiCTOBiTS is certainly not an easy game, but at a mere 500 DSi Points it is by far the best DSiWare game available right now. Yes, the challenge of the puzzles will throw off inexperienced players but there is nothing quite like it available right now. Considering DSi owners got 1000 Points to use, this is the best bang for the buck and should be in your collection without question.

Flower Review (PSN)

2009-03-03T14:15:00.000-08:00

If you work a steady, full-time job, chances are that you have had a really bad day at work. Once you get home, you just want to relax and forget about all the problems you had. For some, you will pick up your favorite book or watch a TV program. For others, you might decide to go for a run or hit some weights to relive all that tension. I really doubt people would pick up a Videogame to help them forget about their troubles. Well it seems that answer to that is here and it's called Flower.

The premise behind this half-game, half-interactive experience is that fairly vague at first. In the game, you play as the Wind and it's your goal to help bloom various locations from drab environments into scenic and peaceful ones.

In each of Flower's 6 stages, you begin as the wind with a single flower petal. With the use of the X Button and the motions of the PS3's Sixaxis controller, you 'lead' that single petal towards flowers located around you to blossom the flowers and to collect more petals.

As flowers bloom, you open up the environments. At the beginning of each stage, the levels all look desolate but as the flowers blossom, the grass becomes greener and the sky becomes clearer. As you progress through the stages, you'll eventually blossom all of the flowers turning the stage into the kind of place you'll want to spend an afternoon just relaxing.

Flower is a very linear game. There is no dying so you never have to worry about doing anything wrong. Often, the objective is simply to bloom all the flowers in a specific spot in order to progress. Flowers that haven't been bloomed have a glow and you'll be easily able to pick them out even from far away. The controls make moving around each stage a breeze. When Sony released the Sixaxis back in 2006, this should have been a pack-in title that would have shown why you need this feature.

In terms of graphics, the game is fairly simple with it's look but stunning none-the-less. There are very few outside particles in each stage. For the most part, you'll be simply collection flower petals and traveling through grass, but both look stunning in High-Definition. Even the 'outside' environments look really good and add to the game's feel.

With incredible looking visuals, the sound helps to compliment the experience even more. The game contains a great instrumental score that will often have you leaving it playing to give your home a more relaxing feel. The music shifts with the speed of your flower petals and works on multiple levels, especially in the later stages of the game which have a very different feel from the beginning.

Flower is not a long game. The six stages can be completed in about 1-3 hours depending on how much time you spend on each. There are a lot of tiny secrets hidden throughout the game which does add to some replayabilty, but chances are that once you've completed the game, you'll only go back to get some trophies. Even with that, this is a game that does exactly what it intended on doing, offering a different, yet unique experience. Only hard-core gamers looking for something to kill will not find anything here to enjoy. If you've had a hard day at work, I strongly suggest turning on your PS3, playing any of the 6 stages (except maybe stage 5 = spoiler) and watch your troubles fly away with the wind...even if it's only for a few moments.

Dead Space Review (PS3, Xbox 360 and PC)

2009-02-01T21:58:00.000-08:00

There is always a lot of risks involved when introducing a new series to the world. The first reaction most people will have is ‘this game is a lot like…’ We are skeptical because most gamers want to play something they know will be good. When Dead Space was announced, most people claimed ‘this game is a lot like Resident Evil in Space’ and while that's a fair assessment, when you actually start playing, you notice that this is a very different game and a great one at that.

The plot behind Dead Space involves a crew that has been called to assist with some problems that have occurred on the ship USG Ishimura, touted as one of the biggest and most powerful ships in the fleet. When they arrive, the Ishimura fails to respond to the calls and it seems that something else has occurred. At first, you’re under the impression that the problem is the communications. Once you arrive on board, you realize that something else, much larger, is the problem.

You play as Isaac Clarke, who is an engineer capable of fixing what is initially believed to be the problem. As you begin the game, you and your crew members thing that the communication is what is causing the problem, but once you begin walking around the ship, you notice that people are no where to be found, feared dead. Now it’s up to you to get the ship online in order to escape and at the same time, try to figure out what exactly has gone wrong with the ship and its crew.

The game is played from a 3rd-person, over the shoulder view. You will also not have a HUD (Head’s Up Display), rather all of your stats are available on your person. Your weapon’s ammo shows up on the weapons when it is drawn; your health bar is located on your spine and your Stasis strength is shown on your shoulder blade. Lastly, in levels that require you to venture into space, you’re oxygen supply timer will also appear. It’s a great mechanic that works really well. Since the screen is not cluttered with data so it allows that game to really look good. Also, everything that occurs happens in game. When you bring up your items menu, a holograph appears which will allow you to continue moving and access key items. Also, whenever you crew members appear to communicate with, it too happens with the use of holographs. This is really nice as it never stops the flow of the game.

The enemies you will encounter are called Necromorphs, Some are fast, others are slow but all of them are extremely deadly. Your arsenal begins with a simple weapon, but as you progress and obtain credits you will unleash more powerful weapons. Since Isaac is an Engineer, all of his weapons are actually modified tools, such as Cutters and other Mining Tools. All of the weapons are upgradeable and necessary for you as you progress into more difficult stages.

For the most part, Necromorphs are relatively slow, so you should be able to attack them before they get to close, but that’s not to say they are easy to take down. The game puts the emphasis on dismemberment. Most Necromorphs can actually morph into different shapes, so in order to stop them you will have to strategically cut off limbs, to slow them down even more then cutting off their heads or targeting certain parts of the body to destroy them.

The attacking is where Dead Space gets the talk about being similar to the Resident Evil franchise, specifically RE4. In RE4, character perspective is similar to what you encounter in Dead Space, but here you’re character is able to move while aiming. This may seem to make the game easier, and as it may be the case in some situations, the fact that the game often puts you in small corridors and dark locations, the best way to approach any area is to constantly move.

The majority of the game is played on the USG Ishimura, but the environments are not that repetitive. There are plenty of situations where Isaac will have to work in areas with Zero Gravity and even outside of the Ship. In areas with Zero Gravity, every section with a flat surface can be used and you will have to move to them in order to advance. In those parts where you’ll have to be outside of the ship, or areas with no oxygen, you will have to move quickly as you only have a limited amount of air available to you. These portions are always frantic since not only will you have to battle enemies, but work against the clock.

In terms of graphics, Dead Space is absolutely stunning. Majority of the game is played in dark locations, so the atmosphere really makes things difficult for you. Often, you will have to walk around with your weapon drawn, since each one of them has a flashlight. You can walk around without it, but be prepared for attacks, which can be really fun and challenging. Some environments look the same, but in actuality there are subtle differences to each of them. As you trek through the game, you may want to walk off path just to check out what you might find. There is a lot of secrets available throughout the ship, which will appease those who actually go through each nook and cranny.

The game’s sound is top-notch. The voice work from the small cast and the sounds from the Necromorphs all stand out. There isn’t a single weak point throughout the game. The sound both the ambience and the score is also extremely fantastic. In those key moments where it seems like something bad is going to occur, the music is right there to reassure you. I really enjoyed those moments when your oxygen gets low since you can hear the panic breathing of Isaac. It doesn’t stop there. When Isaac is low in health, if you try to run, his breathing will also point sound weird giving you the hint that you should be hunting for health packs and using them. In survival horror games, sound is just as important as ‘shock value’ and Dead Space truly delivers.

Dead Space’s story plays out in 12 chapters, each of which will take about an hour or so to complete, so you’ve got a minimum of twelve hours of gameplay here. If you stick to the path, given to you by the objective assister, you will only get a portion of the story here. There are a lot of audio and text logs that you need to uncover to understand the storyline. Also, what some people might miss out is that Dead Space the videogame is actually only the final portion of a three tier story. Also released prior to the game hitting stores was a six part comic book story which chronicles events that lead to the discovery of the key plot to the game. On top of that, there is a full-length feature animated film which then connects the comic book mini-series to the game. If you want to understand the full lore behind the game, picking up either of the two will help understand the game just a bit more. Thankfully, you can easily pick up the digital versions of the comic book which were made available free on Xbox Live and PSN.

In the end, even with all the connections made between Dead Space and Resident Evil 4 and films like Solaris and Event Horizon, EA has done a great job in giving gamers a fantastic playing game. There is plenty of action, suspense and horror to satisfy just about any gamer out there. Some might be put off by the fact that you’re only getting a portion of the overall story, there is still enough that you can get an understanding of everything even without going that extra mile. If you’ve been looking for a game to keep you at the edge of your seat but were annoyed with questionable tank-like controls, Dead Space delivers.

Left 4 Dead Review (PC and Xbox 360)

2009-01-11T23:35:00.000-08:00

I know in my youth whenever I watched zombie horror movies I thought to myself 'I think I could handle myself if this happened to me.' It might only be a game, but Left 4 Dead is what you could essentially call a Zombie Apocalypse Simulator and one fantastic one at that.

Left 4 Dead is the newest venture from Valve Software which puts players in the role of a survivor trying to escape from hordes of Zombies. The game allows you to play as one of four characters. You have Francis, the tough biker dude, Bill, the elderly army vet, Louis, the regular guy and Zoey, the twenty-something girl. There is no real back story other than the fact that you four are the only survivors trying to find help and stay alive.

The game contains four scenarios, which are played out as 'movies'. Each of the four scenarios takes places in different areas including an airport and an abandoned train yard. The objective is simple, move from point to point and not die. There are five chapters to each movie and they end when you reach either the safe house, or in the case of the final chapter, the rescue vehicle. Along the way, you'll encounter wave upon wave of various infected people and to spice up the action, other 'special' zombies each with their own special abilities. Their abilities include one called the Smoker who upon killing him turns the air into smoke causing your characters to cough for a few moments. Another character, a witch, is harmless unless you disturb her. If you do, she'll charge at you, knocking you down and will continue to pounce until you manage to kill her. These enemies occur at various burst, but when they strike, they manage to do the most damage to your characters.

Left 4 Dead features a cool feature called AI Director. Each of the four scenarios is approximately 45-105 minutes long in length depending on how well you play. What the AI Director does is ensure that each time you play through a scenario, your experience is different. The first time you play through a chapter, you might remember some pipe-bombs located in a room, but the next time you play, they won't be there. You think you're approaching a section with a Hunter zombie, but when you get there, the area is empty. If computer thinks you're having an easy time, it will throw more zombies at you, and reversely, if you're dying too much, it will ease the difficulty for you. The AI Director ensures that each time you play through the game the experience is different. You never know what to expect and because of this, you'll always be at the edge of your seat.

If you decide to play Left 4 Dead on your own, thankfully your partners are very good at what they do and it's very rare that you will have to save them. In fact, you're more inclined to run ahead of them and have them save you then the other way around. But Left 4 Dead is really enjoyed playing with others. While you can play this game with friends, to get the true experience, you need to play this with strangers.

The four characters in this game are not friends, but four random people who just happen to have the same goal, find safety. If you play with friends, chances are you will play smart and efficiently, but that really limits what you can do. If you're playing with strangers, you don't know what to expect. Like in real life, you might have the smart person who will grab gas tanks and place them before a horde attacks to burn them, or you might have a scared person who runs off ahead of everyone then pleads for help when they're getting consumed by the infected. While you should be working together, it's never perfect and this randomness makes every experience something special.

For a game located in isolated and deserted locations, Valve did a great job in make the environments looking true to form. All four of the 'movies' are significantly different but each one has plenty of detail in them. You'll walk or run through apartments, warehouses, train tracks, backwoods, airport terminals, hospitals and other locations and each one doesn't just look like the other with a different coat of paint. The generic infected look good even though there seems to be only about 5-8 different models (two or three female and three or four male skins) and there are also only 5 special zombie characters. It's not a bad thing, but sometimes you do wish there was a bit more variety in that department. You will encounter some graphical glitches here and there as well. These only seem to occur when you stand really close to a character, as textures will disappear, but it doesn't hurt the game.

The sounds from the ambiance to the voice-work are actually fairly well done. The game sounds from top to bottom like a horror movie with great sounds occurring at key moments. When you're nearing a witch, you'll hear her moan and groan and at the same time an eerie score will accompany it until you either kill her or move far enough away. There is some limit to the dialog between the playable characters, but when playing with friends or with strangers, you won't be listening to the 'reloading' 'come here and let me heal you' that Francis and the gang will state, so it is a non-issue.

If you only play this game alone, you're only experiencing a fraction of what this game is intended to do. This game needs to be enjoyed with others and with various people. When you play online, there is also the ability to play as the special infected characters against four real people as the survivors. This mode is fun albeit short at times since infected characters do die relatively quickly. If you manage to use your character effectively, you can do a lot of damage and thanks to the AI Director, even this experience will be different each time you play.

When I first started reading about Left 4 Dead, I thought this was just a generic shooter in a zombie environment. I guess you can blame the lack of fun I had trying out Resident Evil Outbreak and its attempt at this type of game. Valve proved that it can pull this off and I cannot stress this enough, you need to play Left 4 Dead. If you have a decent PC, I would recommend the PC version over the Xbox only because of the great support and eventually free content that will be available down the road. The Xbox does have the leg up thanks in part to the fact that each Xbox owner has a head-set which is an important tool needed to play, so even if you settle for that version, you're getting your money's worth. If you were looking for a fun game that will still give you the creeps when you're playing it over and over again, I have to say that Left 4 Dead is the only game you'll need.

Mass Effect (Late) Review (Xbox 360)

2009-01-06T07:54:00.000-08:00

The best part about Role Playing Games is the fact that they are made for the gamer to experience the adventure at both their own pace and for the most part, branch the story to their specification. Because of this, RPGs can last a long time and you will still only experience a fraction of what the developers have to offer.

Mass Effect is a perfect example of a solid Role Playing Game; one with a great story that is possible to play a number of ways. The game has you controlling a Human solider in the future where Species from different Galaxies interact with each other. Your character can be created from the ground up, with the ability to adjust your sex, look and even your character's history, all of which affect the story and the interaction of other characters. This is actually quite a common feature with Western-styled Role Playing Games but the developers at Bioware have taken this to another level considering the amount of dialogue involved in this game. Where in some games, the main character would be a silent one, here it's quite the opposite. Your character, Sheppard, is very talkative and there is full voice dialogue in both a male and female voice.

As stated before, the future has various species from around the galaxy interacting with one another. The Human race are the new boys on the block and have yet to gain the full trust of the rest of the species, to the point that they are still not given the same treatment as the other, more superior species. The Humans are eager to gain this trust including earning a spot on the high council and earning a spot in the Spectres, a sort of Galaxy police that helps to protect everyone.

Sheppard begins the game as a support character on the Human ship the Normandy and one a mission discovers that a Spectre called Saren has gone rogue and seems to be plotting something very diabolical. Sheppard witnesses Saren and attempts to stop him but because of his status and strength is unable to do so.

The council see that Saren is a threat and because of Sheppard's efforts, they award him as the first ever Human Spectre with the sole purpose of determining what Saren is upto and to stop him. This begins the key story and your adventure through the Galaxy will see you traveling to various Solar Systems and planets trying to uncover Saren's plot and try to stop it.

In terms of Gameplay, Mass Effect is played out very much like a tactical 3rd person shooter. All action is played in Real time with you and two other team members. Depending on your character class your abilities both with weapons and biotics, essentially your magic powers, will vary. Upon leveling up, you have the ability to allocate points towards various skills. When you create Sheppard in the beginning of the game, you determine which abilities you will have throughout the game. Some traits will have you stronger with your Biotics but weaker with weapons, or reversely, you might be have great knowledge of all the weapons and armor but your Biotic abilities are extremely limited. Regardless of how you develop your character, as long as you learn your characters strengths, you can be very effective on the battlefield.

Your team always consists of you and two other party members. As you progress through the story, you will have the ability to choose from more than 5 different people to aid you along the way. Each of the other characters have specific abilities as well and finding the right balance for each mission is critical. During fights, your teammates do act on their own, with fairly good AI, but you will be able to influence them and direct them to varying degrees. With the simple tap of the up button, you can direct your squad to advance or if the heat is on, you can tell them to retreat. It's a great mechanic that works quite effectively. You won't be able to tell them to run around crazy, but they are smart enough not to stand around and let themselves get killed.

The game itself is fairly long but only long if you decide to go through the plethora of side-missions made available to you. Through your journey, you will encounter various different characters with many of them needing your help. Some might ask for some simple tasks as aiding them with some research or you might have the daunting task of traveling to various planets and collecting resources. How you interact with others will also developer your character either as a Paragon (hero) or a Renegade (anti-hero). If you fail to help people or kill the wrong people will only make you look bad in the eyes of the public, but if you are willing to help and go out of your way to help will make people think positive about you.

The game's dialogue, which is extensive varies greatly depending on how your character talks. In every major situation, you are given the opportunity to answer in one of three ways that can lean neutral, positively or negatively. Also, if you decide to develop your charm and intimidate skills can open up other dialog windows that may be important a key points in the game.

Mass Effect is not an easy game in the beginning and it will take you sometime before you get fully adjusted to switching weapons and using your Biotics effectively. Once you do get familiar with the combat system, the difficulty does get a lot easier, but this is a game that cries to you to save every chance you get. Enemies are strong and if your character is not developed a certain way can also add to the possibility of having to restart key points numerous times.

The only real down-side to the game has to be with the controls of the Mako, your ground vehicle. It can be fun to drive, but often the controls are a bit too sensitive causing you to drive it erratically. The camera can also pose a problem as you can get stuck if you drive yourself into a rocky area.

The game's sound is absolutely incredible. I have already stated how impressed I was with the amount of dialogue in the game. The voice-actors are all really well done and the lines are delivered quite effectively. Because you can attempt every area with any of your characters, each one had to deliver the full lines of the game, so you can imagine how many hours were spent recording dialogue. The score is also fantastic and adds to the game's fantastic setting. The sound effects will impress you thanks to the distinctive sounds of the different weapons, grunts and shouts of the enemies and allies and the noises from the environment.

Graphics do suffer a bit. It's far from a poor looking game, in fact, for the most part, it's a fantastic looking game but there are some noticeable polygon issues throughout the game. This game suffers a lot from loading and you will often see models 'load' their polygons as a cut-scene plays out. It almost gives off the impression that the graphics were rushed at times since it happens at such weird moments. There will be points where you will be amazed at what you see, but other times you'll wonder why it looks so bland only to see the detail slowly pop in. The game is also a victim of 'cookie cutter' syndrome where many of the smaller levels and planets look eerily similar to each other. Because of this, you can essentially learn what to expect once you reach a destination. This problem occurs with your side-quests but considering how much effort was placed on all the other aspects of the game, this omission stands out more than it probably should.

Depending on how much time you spend on sidequests, Mass Effect is about a 20 hour game. If you decide to play through the various rescue and research missions given to you, you could spend a very long time before you actually complete the main story line. Also, once you complete the game the first time, you can take your character and go through the story again, experiencing it from a different and/or more difficult point of view. It's great, especially for those who like to find every possible nook and cranny placed by the developers.

I absolutely loved playing Mass Effect. It is a great game that any RPG fan will enjoy. The game strikes the right balance of challenge and enjoyment that you might not realize just how much time you've been playing. The story is very deep and very engaging with plenty of twists and turns along the way. Your experience with the game could be very different from your friend's. On top of that, the 2nd or 3rd time you go through the story, you might notice things you didn't the first time. If you're looking for a game to get lost in, this is your best choice and should not be missed.

Prince of Persia Review (PS3 and Xbox 360)

2009-01-05T01:20:00.000-08:00

The re-imagining of the Prince of Persia franchise for the PS2 and Xbox were in the eyes of many as one of the best games available in the last five years. The game took the puzzles of the original series and offered a great addition with the inclusion of the Sands of Time, an in-game function which allowed you to rewind portions of the game to fix a mistake you had, such as dying or missing a key jump. For the HD Prince of Persia, the same idea is brought into the mix and in the end, determines how much you will actually enjoy playing this game.

For this branch of the PoP series, you play as a crook rather than prince. Very little of your back-story is given to you except for the fact that you just obtained some loot and have lost your donkey, who is carry your cash. As you walk through the desert looking for said donkey, you stumble upon a beautiful young girl who is being chased by some armed guards. Your character intrigued, quickly follows her. You find out the girl is a princess and by accident, her father has released the imprisoned God. By releasing the God Ahriman, it begins to devourer the land. In order to stop Ahriman's corruption, you along with the Princess, Elika, must travel to various locations and restore the fertile land.

Your progression through the game revolves around you and Elika traveling from location to location in search of key spots where Elika can restore the area. In order to get to each location, you will have to run, jump, climb and perform other various manoeuvres to get to certain spots on the map. Where in Sand in Time, the key feature was the ability to rewind time when a mistake was made; this time around Elika acts as your saving grace. Since she possesses magical powers, if you make a mistake, such as fall off a ledge or miss a jump, she can quickly grab you and bring you back so you can try again. This mechanic is a key feature in the game and will ultimately determine your enjoyment of the game. Those who might find games like this a bit demanding will enjoy the fact that her assistance will make things easier for you. You won't actually die, so if you make a mistake, it's simply try and try again. But those who want a challenge may end up finding this as a crutch and will be put off by the easiness it makes the game feel like.

Thankfully, this key feature of Prince of Persia is a great addition to the game and for the most part, Elika is a great character that it doesn't feel like a cheap-game-play mechanic. Elika is a key part to the game and in fact, she is the more important character of the two.

The game focuses solely on the puzzles of each locale. For the most part, once you get to a location, there is really one way to get to the main point, but the game doesn't force you into playing the game in sequential order. Upon restoring fertile land, special 'orbs' will appear that must be collected to help Elika's strength which are then used to unlock additional abilities and progression through the game.

The first few levels are basic, but as you unlock plates, each with special functions to them that acts as the key to completing the game. You can select whichever plate you want to unlock first and that will open up parts of the area for you to complete. Some levels require only one plate to complete, but later on in the game, you will encounter spots where two or more of the plates will be used to reach key spots. The four plates are each significantly different. One acts a teleportation plate which takes you automatically to another point. Another one turns your character into a speed demon, where you will literally run along a path to reach your destination. If you hit a wall or an obstacle, you'll have to start again.

The game's actual combat more or less only occurs during stage battles. With each of the fertile lands contains a boss that must be defeated numerous times, once per each of the four sub-sections and then once more to rid them of Ahriman's possession. The combat in game is a bit hit or miss. In the beginning, the combat is simple and taking care of your enemies is a breeze, but that quickly changes and boss battles end up becoming a long series of quick-time events. This is the weakest part of the game as the combat feels out of place from the great platforming you do throughout the rest of the game. Often, you will be spending a good chunk of your time deflecting attacks before you actually manage to strike your opponent. There also seems to be a problem with the sensitivity of the controls, where you will be certain that a button was pressed, but nothing occurs.

This touchiness with the controls also occurs during the platform puzzle portions of the game. Because you essentially use only one button for majority of your actions, depending on the camera angle and the position of your character, he might end up doing an incorrect action forcing you to restart a long series of moves. It's not too bad, but it happens enough that it will frustrate most people.

Because of Elika's saving ability, the game is easy, but not easy enough that you can breeze through this in one sitting. The game does take a long time and even with the saving and assistance she gives you, you will be playing this for a while. There is plenty to collect and admire that you could end up spending a lot longer than you'd think.

Prince of Persia contains some of the best looking graphics I have ever seen in a long time. The game uses the once popular cell-shading art style exceptionally well and everything from the characters to the environments are breathtaking. The animations of both Elika and the 'Prince' are very fluid with almost no noticeable hiccups. Yes, I did encounter some weird graphically glitches, including once in which my Prince ended up running on air which forced me to restart from my last save. Other than that minor malfunction, I often would stop playing only to admire the art design. Some might feel that cell-shading should have been stopped years ago, but Prince of Persia shows that it can still be done effectively.

The sound is nearly on par with the game's graphics. All the voice-work, be it Elika, the 'Prince' or even the enemy characters are very convincing. The game's score is also one of my favourites in recent years. The music during points in the game where you unlock the plates is something I will surely not forget for a very long time.

Outside of the rare control issues and the weird combat mechanics, this is an absolutely incredible game that will appeal to fans of the Prince of Persia series, especially those of the Sands of Time series, and fans of adventure games. I can't stress enough that this is one fantastic game that should be played by even those who might not be attracted to this type of game.

Mirror's Edge Review (PS3 and Xbox 360)

2008-11-23T20:40:00.000-08:00

It has happened to everyone; a game you love but at the same time, can't believe how frustrated you've gotten playing it. On the whole, it is still a great experience, but there are instances when the game just has too many moments that make you wonder if continuing is really worth it. Well, after playing Mirror's Edge, I have yet again felt that way.

The plot behind Mirror's Edge is simple. You play as Faith, a runner in a dystopian future where everything is monitored. She is part of group of 'messengers' who transport information from one side of the city to other using roof-tops and other non-orthodox ways of getting around. While your character is a parkour who relays messages, the game doesn't actually have you doing that.
When you begin playing, you control Faith after an unknown accident has put you out of commission for a while. The game starts you off with a tutorial to give you an idea of the controls. The game is played in First-person, but rather than this being a shooter, you're playing a first-person action game where your movements and actions are done with both your hands and feet.

Controlling Faith is done with the use of the shoulder buttons. The majority of the game has you running and jumping from roof-top to roof top. You will have to wall-run, leap over or slide under beams and figure out creative ways to get from one location to another. The controls when moving are relatively simple, with plenty of variety of moves available to you. The tutorial you go through in the beginning of the game gives you a good idea on how to use them, but it will take you a while before you really master her move-set.

As stated before, Faith is a Messenger, but in the game she never actually is doing any jobs other than the first level in the game. You are brought back into the fray on a simple mission but when police officers just randomly appear, you begin to ask questions. Shortly thereafter you encounter your sister, a cop, but discover that she has been framed for murder and then the real story begins.

Now you will need to help your sister by gathering information to prove her innocence. Mirror's Edge story goes for 9 chapters but there is little variety in them. They all start off the same. You begin a point A, must reach point B but along the way you'll have to run, jump, climb, jump, fight, run some more, avoid being shot and jump all before you get to the end of the level. While the jumping and running mechanics work well, the fighting is where the game suffers a lot. Most of the time, when you encounter a battle, the odds are really stacked against you. The scenarios are always the same, you arrive at a location and a handful of enemies with weapons will be trying to shoot you dead. In the beginning, the cops carry only pistols which are easy to disarm, but as you progress, their weapons become more powerful and it turn out to be increasingly difficult to disarm them.

Your options are simple, you can try to disarm your first enemy and then use his weapon to get by the area, or try to avoid conflict all together and either disarm or incapacitate your enemies. Disarming is difficult, so you'll want to try to defeat them with your melee abilities, but unfortunately they aren't always effective. Attacking becomes a button masher as you just begin to hit the attack button over and over again until the enemy falls over. You can attempt to do a jumping or crouching/sliding attack, but often you will miss the target, land with them facing you from behind and getting a good hit or two. They typically only need to hit you twice in succession before you keel over, so don't be surprised if you happen to die over and over again. The game wants you to avoid using weapons, but at times you'll feel that it is the only way to get by. There will be a few areas where you can run by without ever attacking, but those are few and far between.

The biggest downside to the game is the trial and error that fills the game. There are markers located throughout the levels, signified by objects appearing in red, but it doesn't always mean the best way of getting by. Because of this, you will die a lot. A situation might require you to do a wall-run and leap to grab a ledge to your left or right, but the timing required to do so is so finite that you will often miss the jump and fall to your death. While the falling animation is incredible, it does get boring after you've seen it 30 times.

The game's graphics are pretty incredible with a lot of great looking environments. There is plenty of variety in the locations you encounter, but too much of the game is spent running around indoors, rather than spending it outdoors, doing actually roof jumping. I would have rather preferred more variety in the outdoor environments, but what hurts is that there are rarely bystanders in your way. It would have been cool in some levels, especially those that actually have you running in what should be busy areas of the city, if you had people in your way. It might have been too similar to Assassin's Creed, but it is something you could see them doing in the future.

The game's cut-scenes leave much to be desired. It is disappointing that even the few in-game moments the characters seem too stiff and do not give off any realism. The chapter cut-scenes are done in a weird animation style that again, throws off the experience. They aren't that well done and the characters end up looking really different than how they do in-game.

Outside of the game's story, there are time-trails for those who want to see just how quickly the can complete a section of the game. The times seem to be quite unrealistic to achieve, but that is because, there are actually faster ways to complete each level that are not given away by the game's red hints markers. If you spent time in this mode, you will probably play levels over and over again as you try to shave or a few seconds to perfect your time.

For the most part, if the game was more about exploration with the running and jumping and less of the fighting, it would have been an incredible experience. It's still a good game, but there could have been a bit more polish done. The way the game ends, is another disappointing aspect. The last battle is weak and the ending itself doesn't really offer any closure. The experience isn't long, but considering the amount of dying you will encounter, you should deduct about an hour or so from how long it actually took you to complete it. There is definitely more to come from this series, and hopefully for the next game, they go the more open-world sandbox route with more variety since this game really craves it.

I still suggest you give this game a try since there isn't anything quite like this around. As stated in the beginning, this is a frustrating game that will anger you at times. Because of the amount of dying that will happen, if you are short-tempered, you might want to stay way. The graphics and running mechanics save this game, but the dying and horrible fighting system restrict this from being an excellent experience.

Penny Arcade Adventures: On the Rain-Slick Precipice of Darkness Review (XBLA and PC)

2008-10-01T00:34:00.000-07:00

If you are an 'Internet Geek' you either fall into one of two categories: those who like Penny Arcade and those who don't. Yes, that's pretty general, but the long-running internet comic series has a very black and white status to it. If you enjoy their humour, you're a fan of the series and read the comics every week. If you find their views and the art to be pretty non-interesting, then you probably have no intentions on playing Penny Arcade Adventures.

As a fan of the series and attending PAX for the first time in September, I felt compelled to play their first game in the series: 'On The Rain Slick Precipice of Darkness'. In PAA: OTRSPD (which from now on I will just call Episode 1), you play as a user-created character whose house is destroyed by a giant robot. As the robot that destroyed your home is stalking through the area, you notice two guys chasing after it and you begin to follow them. Those two characters are Gabe and Tycho, the two main protagonists of the Penny Arcade Comic series. You join the two in the hopes of finding and stopping the robot. That is only the starting layer of the game and the series of episodic games.

The Penny Arcade Adventure is a planned series. Episode 1 was released earlier this year with Episode 2 planned to be released before Christmas. The game is your standard RPG adventure. You start the game with the ability to create a pretty decent looking character. The options are not endless, but there is still enough there to make a distinctive character to your liking.
You have your quests, looting, plenty of fighting and character levelling. There is not a lot of character customization in game which will disappoint RPG fans. Other than some necessary plot progression which requires upgrading, the weapons you have in the game stay the same. You can't upgrade armour, so you will need to use items to improve your characters stats. It is unfortunate that the customization is limited, but since this is the first game, there is potential for improvements with later Episodes.

During battles, the game uses a turn based fighting system. Each character has three options that fill up the longer you wait. The first option is the ability to use items in combat. These are your standard fare status affects which can be used on either you or your enemies. There are also healing items, explosives and even distraction items which can be used on certain enemies.
If you continue to wait, you fill up the next option which is your standard attack. Each of the three characters (you, Gabe and Tycho), have a weapon at your disposal that is distinctively different from the others. Certain enemies are weak or strong against each of your three weapons, so strategizing your attacks will be necessary.
If you wait to fill up the third bar, you have the ability for a special attack. These special attacks all require you to do a mini-game to increase your attack but do massive damage if done correctly. If all three have this bar filled up at the same time, you can do a team-up attack which can be devastating.
Lastly in combat, you will unlock three independent special attacks that can also be very helpful later on in the game.

The game's story takes about 5-7 hours to complete which is perfect for a game of this stature. There are only four areas in the game but thankfully only one of them isn't that large. The areas have plenty to explore and there are many quests that you will have to complete to finish the game. While this is an RPG, the quests are fairly linear. You will need to complete one quest to open up the next and once you've completed the game, there is no real reason to return to play again except for finding missing loot to unlock some bonus content.

The game's sound is strictly musical. Outside of the intro, the basic tutorial in the beginning and the closing lines, there is no dialog. The music is good and the sounds of the enemies are pretty nice and distinctive. All of the four areas have music that fits the area extremely well.

While there is no speech, the story progresses really well thanks in part to the Penny Arcade writing. Fans of the series will enjoy the humour and dialog and there are plenty of funny moments. There are plenty of possible responses, but due to the game's linear plot, there are no 'wrong' answers and you will eventually have to answer a specific way to progress in the game. The writing works well even for non-playable characters and you will be impressed by the interaction between the three heroes and everyone else in the city.

The art-style is exactly the same as the Penny Arcade comics. If you seen how the more recent comics look, you'll be right at home here. Animations are good but there aren't as many as you'd probably like. When interacting with people, scenes take place in a comic-book style screen with caption boxes. While in game, the characters movements are fairly generic. There is though plenty of variety in the enemies you encounter, with each one regardless of what they are having a distinctive look. The game only has a few cut-scenes but each one of them is really impressive. It's really nice to see Penny Arcade 'come to life' in the cut scenes.

Fans of the series will enjoy this game but that is not to say it is a game strictly for them. RPG fans looking for a quick arcade fix will also find plenty to enjoy. You might not understand some of the in-side jokes in the game (especially with the Fruit F**ker Robots) or Penny Arcade's humour, but you can look past those issues fairly quickly. Yes, the game is short, but for this type of game, the length works well. Any longer might have ruined the pacing of the game and would have gotten complaints from gamers. With the second episode just around the corner, now is a perfect time to pick up Episode 1 and experience the series. If you're not familiar with Penny Arcade, try the game out anyway. If you enjoy what you see in the beginning, then I am confident you will have fun with the game and you may end up becoming a fan of the series.

Too Human Review (Xbox 360)

2008-09-16T16:44:00.000-07:00

Do not buy Too Human. Let me get that out of the way as quickly as I can, because you deserve to know well in advance that this is not a good game. What on paper and in theory should be an incredible adventure ends up being a game that is so frustrating and complicated that any of the time you put into it will feel like a complete waste of time. The worst part is that you can see the potential right there in front of you; the developers of the game just did not focus on the right aspects and in the end everyone suffers.

In order to get any understanding of Too Human you have to have some knowledge of Norse Mythology. If you lack that you will have no idea on the history of the characters of the game and the future titles to this planned trilogy. While there is an introduction to the game prior to the option menu, it still does not give you enough background on the main character in the game, Baldur, your main foe Loki or anything in between (eg. Ragnarok). The game takes place in a futuristic world where these Norse gods use technology to their advantage as they act as the protectors of humans against the rise of the machines. While they try to protect humans there are problems within the Gods and this will eventually lead to the battle of Ragnarok. Outside of little bit of information here and there, you get nothing from the off-set and only bits and pieces are revealed in the first game.

Too Human is a 3D Action-RPG. Take the non-stop action of Diablo and Baldur's Gate and you get what Too Human is trying to achieve. You have your wave upon wave of enemies; your containers of items; plenty of customization with weapons and armour and five different character classes to choose from. Each character class is different enough that it does create some variety to the game, and is especially good for the multiplayer aspect of the game.

The problems of Too Human start right from the moment you being with its horrible control scheme. In 3D action games, your right-analog stick is always the camera control, but Too Human goes against that. Rather, they decided to map your melee attacks to it. While it's nice in principal, it has been successful with other games (PS2's Rise to Honor). To control the camera, you need to hold the Left Bumper button then use the right analog stick, but often the controller doesn't recognize this and you continue to swing your weapon instead. Also, the game relies too heavily on the cinematic camera perspective, in which the game wants you to admire the game's large areas. Again, nice in principal, but often can be really annoying and can cause your character to get stuck in some areas. The camera's problems continue by making it harder to target and manoeuvre during fight scenes. The game's auto-targeting system is never accurate and will often still track dead characters when you should be attacking the enemy right next to you.

There are four main quests in the game's story, each taking about 2-4 hours to play. To be honest, the actual length is short, but thanks to the issues that plague the game mentioned before and continuing on will force you to complete the game in about 10-15 hours depending on your character class.

The problem with the length is that every level is the same. While they look different, they have the same formula. You walk for a bit, fight a wave of enemies. Defeat them, walk a bit more to fight more enemies. This time you also will fight a sub-boss, which is followed up with more walking and treasure hunting. This pattern repeats itself over and over again until you finally reach the stage's boss battle which each will take you approximately 30-45 minutes to beat with two of them requiring you to chase your foe to different parts of the level.

What adds to the problem of the length is that dying is a certainty. You may be a God, you are still extremely weak against your basic enemies. With death comes a Valkyrie and you will see a lot of this in the game. When you die, a Valkyrie descends from the heavens to lift you up to Valhalla (which is according to Norse Mythology, Eden and where Odin gathers fallen soldiers for the battle of Ragnarok). But of course, you don't actually die, but are re-spawned only to fight some more. There are two cases when you re-spawn. One, you will be spawned far away and must run back to the action or two, you will be spawned in the worst possible spot only to get attacked as soon as you start.
While you do fight with a group, your group is there for show as the enemies know to attack and love to 'gang-bang' you. Since you have to fight so many enemies at once, you will continue to die.
Attacking the enemies can be done with your melee attack or with a ranged attack. Both are good but neither stands out as you are almost suggested to use both to fight. Use your melee to lift the enemy then finish them off in the sky with your ranged weapon. As a bonus, if you attack for a long period of time without, your bonus attack bar fills up and allows you to use either your Ruiner or Battle Cry attacks. These you unlock as you progress and level up your character. These are extremely effective, but hard to get when you really need them. If you die, you lose them and must rebuild that bonus bar. One of the problems I faced with the enemies is that once you hit them they are immune. So if the enemy touches the ground, the1-2 seconds it takes for them to get back up, they are invulnerable and any strikes you make on them are useless.

Since this is your 3D-crawler, you do have a lot of items that you pick up. Weapons, Health, Rune and other pick-ups should help you along the way, but rarely do they make a difference. Enemies level up with you, so as you get stronger as do they. I completed the game with a Level 27 Bio-Engineer, but apparently, you can reach well past the 40th character level, but it won't matter as your enemies will get that strong as well. You really don't feel that gaining weapons means anything since you are collecting so many different weapons and each one is better than the last. You can add Runes to certain weapons which make them stronger, but it doesn't really show. The only interesting part to the weapons is that their strength and value deteriorate over time. It's nice since it does remind you that you need to upgrade your weapons after a certain amount of time.

The game's graphics are good but not great. Baldur doesn't look anything special but most of the other characters do look fairly nice. The environments are nice in the beginning, but once you see the same area time and time again, it does start to get boring. The Valkyries are stunning and their scenes are nice, but again, once you've seen them 50 times, you're impression of them starts to wane. Aesir is really nice but you spend very little amount of time there. Enemies are ok, but suffer from the previous repetition problems.

The sound is also a mixed bag but definitely better than I give the rest of the game credit for. The score is fantastic and really helps the game, but there were often times where the music goes wonky. This occurs often during boss battles. Since they take so long, the music needs to repeat, but it wasn't looped properly so it sounds really out of place.
In one battle it is really distinctive and becomes really annoying that you may want to play the game without sound.
The voice work of the characters is top-notch, and probably the best aspect of the game. The only problem I encountered with the voice-work was in non cut-scenes where too many people are trying to talk at the same time. There will be times when Baldur is speaking only to be talked-over by various Humans who are trying to comment on the situation you are in. If anything of importance is mentioned there, you won't have the slightest idea what is going on.

Too Human could have been a really incredible game. Ignoring the whole 'this game was in development for ten years' aspect that is greatly misquoted, you can see that Silicon Knights wanted to do something different but just did not properly manage the game to its full potential. The developers tried too hard to try to make the game a cinematic experience as well as a unique one but failed to work out the quirks. Another problem the game suffers is that they wanted to make this a multiplayer game. Originally, Too Human was intended to be played by four players cooperatively, but that was then dropped to two. The difficulty shows that it was still built for four players. It is hard enough to get two people to play so getting four would have been next to impossible. If you want to go through this adventure on your own, you should be prepared for a challenge. The multiplayer does make the game easier, but games like this should be made first to work properly for one person, then tweaked for Co-Op play.

I cannot recommend this game to anyone regardless if you are a fan of the Dungeon-crawler RPG games that were once so successful on the PC. It really disappoints me to say that because I really wanted to enjoy this game. It had a lot of promise and it even starts off on the right path game-play wise. Once the difficulty kicks into full gear, the enjoyment factor drops and the frustration goes through the roof. The game ends on a cliff-hanger but we already knew well in advance that this is a planned series.

I do believe there will still be a sequel even with the problems of the first. I really feel that there is a true gem under all this dirt and with a little bit more work, Too Human 2 can be really incredible and make up for the mistakes of the first. Right now is what matters and Too Human is just not a game that will get people interested in the series or genre.

The Last Guy Review (PSN)

2008-09-14T23:55:00.001-07:00

You have to give Sony credit with their PlayStation Network games. From The PixelJunk Series to Echochrome and everything in between, we have had some very interesting titles available for us to play. The latest original title is The Last Guy, a game that looks absolutely simple but is extremely creative. While the game doesn't take too long to complete, it shows a lot of potential and possible future releases.

The premise of the game is fairly straight-forward. You play as The Last guy and the world is being over-run with monsters and zombies and you are responsible to help rescue the remaining citizens of various real-world locations. This is where The Last Guy becomes so unique. Each level is actually a real location in the world and the game uses Satellite Imagery to show off these locations. Some at first thought believed they were images taken from Google Maps. That is not the case, but they are still the real thing. Locations vary from Newcastle, Sydney, Los Angeles, Santa Fe and Tokyo among a few others. You're not trying to rescue people from the entire city, but rather small chunks. As a nice touch, when your character is in a certain location, the game tells you exactly where you are. If you're walking near a museum, you get to find out exactly which one it is.

In order to save people you need to walk by the building they are hiding in. Once you approach an area, those in need of rescuing will begin to flee and once you walk by them, they join your chain. In a similar situation like the classic game snake, the longer your group gets and the more challenging it becomes. There are various methods to get your characters to the Escape zone, from trying to keep the group closer together or running and/or using some of the power-ups located in the maps. When you attempt to run or gather groups, you use up your stamina bar. The larger your group, the more stamina you have, but since you will need more power to get the chain to rescue, you'll still end up depleting your stamina bars. Each level contains various enemies that are also trying to stop you from rescuing people. If an enemy attacks your chain, then the people who were broken from it run to the nearest building and you must help them evacuate again. If a monster touches you, then you die and must restart the level.

Each level has a different time limit and required number of people to rescue. The early levels are fairly simple, but as you progress further, you will need to develop a strategy to rescue everyone. Also, in a level where you are in Stockholm, you need to have a long enough chain to completely surround a building. Since people are trapped within the walls of the building, only by completely covering the building with other victims can you free those stuck within the walls. The strategy does help the game's longevity and the added bonus of VIPs also allows for multiple play through in order to unlock four bonus levels.

The graphics are not anything special to mention. You're playing as a small sprite which other than his red cape and blue suit doesn't look anything spectacular. The people you are rescuing also do not look like anything other than sprites. The enemies on the other hand are much better considering their size in comparison to everything else. There are over half a dozen different enemies and each one looks distinctively different from the rest. Their actions are also very different and that factors into your strategy.

The music in the game is also very unique. It's weird electronic style works for the game, but it might not appeal to the masses. The in-game sounds of monster and people is also really different. It would have been a nice touch if the victims/rescued sounded more authentic to the areas there were coming from, but that a minor complaint.

While the game is fun, it is really short and this will be a turn off for some. With just over 15 levels and each one taking anywhere from 5-15 minutes, you can potentially complete the game over the weekend. Yes, the later stages are a bit more difficult, but once you figure the best course of action and properly execute, you can complete the basic requirements with ease. Thankfully, the inclusion of VIPs and online rankings do give you a reason to replay levels, but again, it would have been nice to have more randomization with the placement of the rescued or the escape zone(s). The only randomization do get is the place of power-ups.
There is potential for additional levels, but that will only occur if the game is successful. Also, user-generated content would have been nice addition to the game. Had this been a PC title, you could have seen that happen.

The Last Guy is a fun game and one I truly enjoyed playing. At 10 dollars, it is a fun distraction, but once you complete the game, you may not see any reason to continue playing unless your friends are also playing. I was a bit disappointed that the game lacks Trophy Support as there is no real excuse for the omission. If you are looking for something different and like to try games that are very different than the rest, you cannot go wrong being The Last Guy.

Lost: Via Domus Review (Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3)

2008-09-04T23:40:00.000-07:00

It is usually extremely difficult for most movies or television programs to translate well onto a videogame. For one, it's almost a challenge to get the support of the full cast and crew of the movie/series to agree to spend the extra time in making the game. The other problem they face is that they are often rushed either to make a quick buck or ride the popularity wave of said franchise.

In my history of games, the last good TV show to translate into a solid videogame that I played was Buffy the Vampire Slayer for the Xbox back when the system was still new; that was more than 6 years ago. Lost: Via Domus, is not a bad game, it's definitely not a good game either.

The game, based on the popular ABC (CTV in Canada) series recently completed its abbreviated fourth season. Lost: Via Domus was released earlier in 2008 to help tide over fans of the series between seasons. While the game does not bridge the gap between seasons, it does take part at various points in seasons one and two of the show.

In Via Domus, rather than playing as one of the regular cast members, you play as Elliot Maslow, a person on the plane who is suffering from amnesia. The main plot of the game is trying to help Elliot remember his past and at the same time trying to get off the Island. Since you don't remember who you are, you need to piece things back together. Since Elliot is a photo-journalist (something he re-discovers very early in the game), he knows that information about his past is available both on his computer and his camera. So the game starts you off by finding those two items. Once you do, that opens a whole new plot point which you must also uncover.

There are two main gameplay mechanics in the game. The first is your simple adventure game, where you must lead Elliot through different areas, collecting and talking to people for clues and solving puzzles to progress further in the game. The other, uses his photo-journalism past to uncover his history. These flashback moments are interesting as the do have some connection to some of the other characters and plots from the show. There isn't anything that is really important but like the show, everything is connected.

The controls in the game are alright, but nothing special. Majority of the game will have you collecting items and talking to people, but often, you only need to trigger one character speech or one specific item to progress.
You will spend most of your time walking or running by pressing the Right Trigger button. There are only a few times when there are 'action' moments, but even those are easy to do.

The game's story is fair, but nothing that rocks or changes the plot of the show. If you are a fan of the show, you won't miss anything. At the same time, if you're not a fan of the show, you might not understand some of what is going on or the people on the island as there is little to no history of events occurring during that point in the show (for example why the first time you talk to Sun, she speaks to you in Korean, but the next time, she's fluent in English).

An interesting aspect of the game is that it is split into 7 mini episodes. Each episode begins with a 'Previously on Lost…'; has the intro and even the 'Lost' closing for each episode. This is good if you play the game in short bursts and want it to feel like a show, but realistically, you can finish most episodes in about 30-40 minutes, so seeing these over and over again does become a strain.

The characters from the show are almost there just for show. While you'll talk to most of the cast, they seem little more than just there to fit disk space. You never really interact with them unless you need to trade for items or to get clues. I also had a problem with the interaction with characters as they will either give you horrible answers (which sometimes don't make sense) or don't progress the story further.

The characters are all represented in the game fairly well, but the voice-acting is extremely poor. Outside of a few of the characters and all of your favorites with the exception of Ben are voiced by someone other than the actor themselves. Locke sounds like an old farmer and Sawyer sounds like he's constipated. There are even times when while the characters are in the game, they serve no real purpose (Michael, Desmond and Sawyer in particular)
At the same time, while the characters do look like themselves, their animations are down-right awful. At one point, near the end of the game, when you interact with a character, she looks like a ghost, when she should be expressing herself much more dramatically. Elliot and the other 'made for the game' characters do look a bit better, but it just seems weird.

Voice acting might be poor, but at least the game does use the solid Lost score very well. The game sounds great when the tension is rising and helps keep you interested. It does save the game, but not greatly.

While the game is short and relatively easy, there are times when frustration will occur. The controls of your character are decent but do pose a problem sometimes, especially when you are trying to search for items. The game also does not offer a skip feature during cut-scenes, so if you fail a portion or happen to die, you'll have to go through some long cut-scene that you wish you could skip. Overall, you should be able to finish the game in about 5 hours; shorter or longer depending on if you want to find all the game's achievements and actually bother to ask every possible question available to you.

Outside of the interesting flashback moments and some little treats here and there, you really don't have any reason to play this game. As I stated before, they didn't add anything that would benefit the fan of the show, so there is no incentive to play. Also, once you beat the game, you have no reason to play again as there are no bonus features to unlock, which would have made the value of this title so much better and more appealing the fans.
If you haven't played this game but are a fan of the show, I recommend at least renting this. Considering the show won't return until January of 2009, this could help you remember some of the environments and moments from the show, but it doesn't substitute the solid show. If you aren't a fan, I strongly suggest you avoid this because it won't turn you into one.

Bionic Commando Rearmed Review (PSN and XBLA)

2008-08-26T23:28:00.000-07:00

There comes a time when you really need to think about the game you're playing; you invest your time and money reading, watching then eventually playing a game. Sometimes you luck out and your decision was the right one, other times you're not so lucky and feel that you could have used that time more effectively elsewhere.

One fundamental aspect about downloadable games that while great for the money cautious person still poses a problem: the true try before you buy option. Demos only give you a small flavour, but sometimes you need to play more than just a modified portion of the game. Demos are never 'true' to form and in order to get the proper experience you need to play the game for a good amount of time before you can say to your self 'I like' or 'I don't like' a certain game.

This is where I begin with Bionic Commando Rearmed, the 'new' game from Capcom developed by Grin Studios. Bionic Commando Rearmed is the remake of the original NES game from the 80s. With Bionic Commando having an upcoming 3D-HD version just around the corner, what better way to help market that game then by releasing the original to the millions of gamers who did not have the chance to experience the game then.

I had never played a Bionic Commando game, be it the Nintendo, Arcade or even the Game Boy versions. I was not a fan of the series and knew very little about it. That quickly changed once I read about the remake and I was smitten with the games cool graphics, sound and campy but fun storyline. Now after playing it, I still believe that the game is incredibly cool to look at and with a solid soundtrack, but the games controls are so difficult to use that it turns the game into a disappointment of sorts.

The story behind Bionic Commando is simple. You play a Commando Solider sent to rescue a fellow solider and take down the opposing army, it's your typical 80s Cold-War movie. You have to take out the enemy and fight bosses in your search for your friend and the evil General leading the opposition.

Unlike other platform games of the past, rather than using the jump mechanic to get from point A to point B, Bionic Commando has your character, Nathan 'Rad' Spencer, use his Bionic Arm's grapple to swing from ledges. While the mechanic and the method is fantastic, the game's controls are so inconsistent that often you will get frustrated at the game for that reason alone. Most of the game requires you to swing from ledges and move around the stages with your grapple, but if you don't time your swings properly and fail to point your character's arm in the right angle; you'll miss your next section. This can sometimes be a minor set-back depending on where you are, but in other cases it will result in death.

The original game from what I've read was incredibly difficult and that doesn't change here. I am not sure if the difficult stemmed from the game's original controls but that is the case here. You can get pretty far in the game on shear luck. The boss battles at the end of each stage can be really easy if you move fast and determine their weak-spot. What I found difficult was actually getting to the bosses, thanks to the twitchy controls.
The missions of the game are based on a map with each level given a number. You have your enemy levels and your ally levels. In your ally levels, this is where you get extra material necessary to further yourself in the game and to unlock extras. When on the map screen, if you encounter an enemy convoy, you will play a Top-down level where you need to lead Spencer to the end to take out the main convoy to proceed. These are nice distractions, but sometimes when you're trying to just get to the next level may anger you. They are easy enough that you should only take a few minutes to complete.

The game also includes a series of Challenge Rooms with high-scores being uploaded to the Bionic Commando web-site. While great, these challenges are incredibly difficult and you will get frustrated even more so at the game. It might not be such a bad idea to play the challenge rooms to get better at the game, but be prepared to scream and yell at your screen when your 'AI' dies/fails.

Bionic Commando Rearmed is a great looking game. For a downloadable title, it is a really nice site to look at. While it's 2D, the characters all have 3D sprites and the environments also look stunning. This game makes you wish/hope that more classic 2D games from back in the day get re-made to look this good. The sound is also really enjoyable with a stunning electronic based soundtrack. The music is remixed from the original and really cool. If you enjoy the soundtrack, you can purchase the album off of iTunes.

My recommendation of this game is based entirely on your preference of the genre. If you enjoy the classics or were a fan of the original game, then you'll no doubt enjoy this game. But if you have never played this game before I must suggest you not only play the demo but try to find a friend who has it and play the game in more depth. You can't judge this game fairly before spending enough time with it. If you can get past the twitchy controls, then you will have a great time with it, but if you can't then this game is not for you.

I still have every intention on continue playing this game. It's not unplayable and while the controls are bad in my opinion, it is not to the point where you would say the game is unplayable. As long as you keep practicing and realize the game is intentionally difficult, you should feel good about yourself once you finally manage to complete it. If you can't take the stress, then I strongly suggest you play something else.

Uncharted: Drake's Fortune (Late) Review (PS3)

2008-08-17T21:45:00.000-07:00

When Uncharted: Drake's Fortune was first revealed, I did not care too much for it. It looked like a male led 'Tomb Raider' type game. It didn't help that the first trailer that I saw made the game look some-what cheesy. With that, I had no intention on playing the game until I started to see and hear more of it. I tried the demo, liked what I saw and I decided to pick it up. Nathan Drake's adventure might a short one, but it was certainly a thrill ride from start to finish.

In Uncharted, you play as Nathan Drake, a treasure hunter of sorts who is hired by Elena Fisher to help her film a television documentary on Sir Francis Drake's tomb, which was rumoured to be somewhere in the waters. Upon finding the tomb, which Nathan already believed, discovers clues to the whereabouts of El Dorado, the fabled City of Gold and the true location of Sir Francis Drake's body. They along with Nate's friend Sullivan set off to find this and along the way many different things happen to them.

Uncharted plays a lot like both Prince of Persia and Tomb Raider. It is similar to Prince of Persia thanks to the large amounts of climbing and jumping you will have to do throughout the game; while the action and adventure is similar to that of Tomb Raider and even Gears of War. When you're not climbing walls, trees or buildings you will be solving puzzles and shoot wave upon wave of bad guys. The pacing is done right, but throughout the game you might be surprised at how difficult it is for you to get to a certain location, only to find that the enemy is already there waiting for you. It might seem weird, but taking its cue from Hollywood Movies, you just go with the flow.

The game is extremely cinematic. You'll encounter many cut-scenes throughout the game which help lead the story on. For the most part, while this is strictly fiction, there are only a few points late in the game that the realistic nature of the game loses its credibility. Again, this is trying to be an Indiana Jones type game (as were the Tomb Raider games), so the discovery late the game was expected.

The graphics in this game are absolutely incredible. Considering this game came out in late 2007, Naughty Dog Studios has made what I would say is still one of the best looking games to date. Metal Gear Solid might want to fight for that title, but the games graphics, water, character models and every possible environment both outdoor and indoor are extremely detailed and a sight to see. You will often just want to peer around with L2 just to look at and absorb the scenery.

The sound is also well done. All the voice actors work well and I didn't have a problem with any of them, including the stereotypical British Villain. It's sometimes often that a game that looks great will suffer from characters that sound like they don't belong, but that is not the case here. The outdoor environments sound great. Considering you are in the jungle, the sound of birds, animals and the rustling of trees and leaves help set the environment. The in-game music is also another positive aspect helping to add tension to hectic battles and incredible discoveries.

There is very little that hurts Uncharted. Outside of the length of the game, which should only take you about 8-12 hours to complete, there isn't much to complain about the game. Yes, there are some frustrating moments here and there, but that is expected with this type of game. You will encounter some points where Nathan fails to make an easy jump, either by under-jumping or going over; you will die from head-shots, but thankfully there are plenty of check-points that your frustration will only occur at a few key points. The last battle is a bit difficult but well done and the ending of the game is satisfying.

Thankfully, with the recent inclusion of trophies and unlockables already included in the game, there is some incentive to play through the game on multiple occasions. The bonus content is your standard fare of character art and in-game additions, so you may want to play the game a second or third time just for that content.

I loved Uncharted. For me the length was great with at no point feeling like the game was leading me on. If you were on the fence in the beginning, I strongly suggest you try it out and I am certain you will enjoy yourself. I was too, but once I started playing, I couldn't stop playing and you won't realize how quickly time flies. This is definitely the beginning of a great franchise with Nathan Drake; hopefully Sony will not over-do it, but I am eager to see what is next for him.

Braid Review (XBLA)

2008-08-11T23:48:00.000-07:00

I tried to think of various ways to begin my critique of the Xbox Live Arcade game Braid. I thought about describing how it is so rare and refreshing to have a game that feels so simple but is so very deep. I even thought about describing the nature in which the downloadable game genre has opened the door to developers to take risks and engage the gamer, but to pick one over the other was unfair.
To be honest, outside of the fact that this game got a lot of slack for being a more-expensive than most downloadable titles, very little information was known about this simple sounding game. In reality, there is so much more to Braid that actually not knowing too much about it ends up being the reason why it is such a fantastic title.

Braid is a platform game, but unlike the 2D platform games that so many of us grew up with, it takes things a little differently. You begin the game as Tim, a guy who 'made a mistake' and is now searching for a Princess. Yes, it sounds a lot like Super Mario, and it doesn't hide the homage, including ending every world with a dinosaur telling you in some form that 'the Princess is in another castle'. Unlike in Mario where your goal was to go from Point A to Point B to reach the main boss, Braid actually has you rushing through points trying to pick up pieces to a puzzle for each world that will help you solve the reason for the princess' sudden disappearance. By completing each puzzle, you unlock steps to the top of a house that opens up the final stage of the game.

Throughout each world, there are puzzle pieces lying around and you must collect them to progress to unlock the true ending of the game. Each world is different and you must use different tactics to gather these pieces. when you start the game, the puzzle pieces are easy to get to, but as you progress through Braid, the difficulty increases.
In the past, most platform games would penalize you with death if you made a mistake (fell in the pit) or touched an enemy, but in Braid, if you make a mistake, all you have to do is hit the X button and rewind the game to fix that mistake. You will use the X button a lot to complete the game. At points where you need to make use of an enemy for a jump boost, if you miss it, simply rewind and try again.

As mentioned already, the 5 main worlds in the game are all extremely different and unbelievably fun to play. In one world you will need to use your shadow to help you reach the puzzle pieces and another world plays like its own rewind feature. If you move right, all the characters and objects move one way; move left and they 'rewind' back to their original spot. This is another reason why the game is so incredible, since there is so much originality in the level designs that it doesn't feel like a silly gimmick.

The graphics use a very fair-tale color and look to it. Tim is dressed in with a tie and sports coat, and while he is not extremely detailed, he and the enemies in the game look good for this type of game. You won't show off the game's graphics, but it is won't hurt your eyes looking at it for a prolonged period of time.
This is a game that needs to be played with the sound on and should not be played at a low setting. The sound is something I really enjoyed as the score works on every level. Often you may be tempted to just let the music play for prolonged periods of times. The music also is affected when you use your rewind and it works well at all times.

You can theoretically run through Worlds 2 through 6 in less than an hour and collect some easy 50 achievement points, but you're not learning anything about Tim and the reason he's searching for this princess. In order to get the complete story and of course to see the ending you will need to collect all 60 puzzle pieces. That should take you about 3-5 hours, but be prepared for some frustrating moments that may cause you to want to pull out your hair. Understand that this is not frustration because of bad controls, as the controls are fairly tight and responsive, but because you'll be angry at yourself for not being able to figure out the simple manoeuvres to get some of the puzzle pieces. While it may seem like some are impossible, the answer is always right there and can be solved if you take your time and analyze your environments carefully.

This is an absolutely incredible game and has continued the trend of fantastic and original titles of 2008. Going into too much detail about the game's underlying plot or explaining the puzzles will give away too much. The less you know and the more you discover on your own, the better the game will feel to you.
Yes there are two 'faults' to the game but in reality only one is a true deterrent to the game. The cost of the game is a bit high, but once you've actually gone through it, you will feel that your money was well spent. At 15-17 dollars (depending on where you buy this game (I live in Canada and the cost of Live Points is still not 1:1 with the US) it is still cheaper than most portable titles, and you're getting a lot more content for the cost.
The only real problem is that once you've completed the game and have seen the game's epilogue, there is no real reason to play it a second time. The only reason would be to try to get the last achievement (where you need to collect all the puzzle pieces in less than an hour).

If you can only buy one XBLA game this year, than I can easily say that Braid should be your choice right now. It is hands down one of the most original and engrossing games around, a true pleasure to play. Developers should take note of this game and realize that it is still very much possible to take a simple game in nature and create something magnificent. I cannot wait to see what the Developer of Braid does next.

PixelJunk Monsters Review (PSN)

2008-08-07T23:56:00.000-07:00

Both Sony and Microsoft in the attempt to attract every possible gamer have done a great job in offering plenty of niche titles that you might not normally have played. For the most part, the biggest surprises have been those that were made available either on Microsoft's Xbox Live Arcade service or Sony's PlayStation Network. Since both systems launches, we have been honoured at playing some titles such as Geometry Wars, Rez N+, Echochrome and Super Stardust HD Extreme just to name a few. In Sony's PSN, the PixelJunk series has also been one of the main players in the PSN.

PixelJunk Monsters is the second release by Q Games. The first game was PixelJunk Racers and recently, they released PixelJunk Eden. All three are very extremely different but all three are incredibly addictive with their game play and frustration. In PixelJunk Monsters, you play a 'hero' of sorts who is responsible to protect a village/home from waves upon waves of enemy monsters. The game is a strategy game, but rather than building units, your goal is to build towers of a number of different set-ups to stop the on-coming groups of monsters.

The game follows the same structure of PC based strategy games; you are placed on a map, must research and create your towers and hope for the best. At the beginning of each level, you are given a small amount of money which you can build your initial towers. From there, for every enemy you kill, you either will get money and in some situations, you will receive gems which will allow you to research better structures. Certain towers work well against specific enemies; some are strictly for air units, some for ground and then you have a couple that attack both. At the same time, while you might have a strong ground tower, it will be useless against fast moving enemies, so you really need to determine the best towers to build and where to place them on the map.

Since each level is different, it really does take strategy to figure out the best course of action. For the most part, the wave patterns are the same from level to level, but the layouts will force you to carefully place your towers and upgrade them properly. Like with other strategy games, your towers upgrade either by taking out enemies or if your character stands where the tower is and does his war-dance (the character does dance).

The level designs do get progressively more difficult as you progress through the game as do the strength of the waves of enemies. The first few waves will be easy to take care of, but once you get to the harder levels and stages, you will often end up losing because the strength in numbers of the enemies is just too great for your units to handle.

This is where the frustration sets in. Since the levels are relatively small, the path between where some enemies start to where your village is might only take a few seconds to reach. If you haven't upgraded your units or do not have a proper dispersion of towers, you will not last long. One saving grace is that once a specific enemy unit stops attacking (near the end of each stage), you can sell the units you have for them to create more powerful towers to stop the stages last wave, which is always a slow but extremely powerful monster.
Frustration will cause plenty of trail and error. Since each of the latter stages can take at least 30 minutes to complete, you will be really angry if your village dies when you've reached the last few waves.

The graphics and sound are typical PlayStation Network fare. The animation and art for the levels and characters are nice, but will not impress the average gamer. It is a unique style that works well for this type of game. The towers each are distinctively different, same with the enemies, so there won't be times when you cannot distinguish what you are looking at. As for the sound, it is the low-point of the game. It is extremely repetitive and annoying to the point that you will want to play this game either on mute, or wished there was a Custom Soundtrack option.

It is clear that PixelJunk Monsters is not for everyone but it is a game that should be at least tried. Thankfully at only 10 dollars, you are getting plenty of value in a PSN game. With 21 stages lasting anywhere from 10-40 minutes, you can accumulate a lot of playtime. There is also an expansion pack available that increases the amount of playable stages. You might be frustrated at times, but I strongly believe that you if you give it time and play it strategically, you will be satisfied with your purchase.

Soulcalibur IV Review (PS3 and Xbox360)

2008-08-01T00:05:00.001-07:00

When it comes to fighting games, there seems to be three types of categories. The first is your over-the-top fighters like Street Fighter or Mortal Kombat which rely on special attacks with out-of-this world characters. The second category is the complete opposite with realistic actions and move-sets that use real fighting techiques, like Virtua Fighter. The third category is your fighting with weapons, and the game that best fits that group has been for many years the Soul series of games.

Soulcalibur for years has been among the best known and probably easiest to pick up fighting games around. You have your selection of characters, each with a weapon, and you duke it out. Your basic moves are the horizontal or vertical slash, kick or grab. Unlike other fighting games where you press back to block, here you press one of the face buttons. To do grabs or other special moves, you’ll have to combine face buttons, but for the most part, it’s very easy to learn, but will take time to master.

The Soulcalibur games in the past have contained your basic arcade mode and a story based mode. Soulcalibur IV continues this, but the story mode this time around is extremely short, with only 5 stages. In previous versions you would have spent a lot of time in this mode, but this time, it takes the back seat to the other modes and can be completed in about 10 minutes. The two modes which you’ll spend the most time with are the Tower of Lost Souls and the Character Creator.

In Tower of Lost Souls, you take a number of characters (depending on the level) and travel either up or down a ‘Tower’ of enemies. The motr levels you go up, the extra in-game money you receive and bonus stuff you’ll unlock. This is a great and extremely challenging mode since as you progress further up or down (depending on the mode you select) the characters get much stronger and challenging. You will get frustrated, but it is a strong addition to the game. As you get further in the game, you will unlock points/money to use in the other solid mode, Character Creator.

Soulcalibur IV gives you the ability to essentially create a character from scratch. You’ll take a template and then you can adjust just about anything from armour, weapons and abilities which will affect your character that can be used in various modes, including online. There are already a plethora of interesting characters created by people that include famous fighters from other games and even a few super-heroes (check out YouTube for examples). At the same time, you can adjust characters already available and unlock characters that are not available from the start.

Just because there is a Character Creator option, does not mean that the selection of available characters is weak. In fact, it’s quite the opposite. All the characters, both returning and new, work really well. The only down-side to the characters is the bonus characters: Yoda, Vader and The Apprentice. Yoda just seems out of place, Vader is ok, but nothing rspecial while The Apprentice seems a bit too powerful for his own good. All three look great, but it’s better to stick to the regular cast when playing either against the computer or with your friends.

The graphics in the game are great but nothing absolutely incredible. The character models work well and so do the environments, as you would expect with a Namco title. A nice addition to the game is that character armour deteriorates as you fight. If your character attacks a certain part of the body (head, torso or legs) repeatedly, your opponent will lose that part of armour. This is a great little addition since you can essentially turn your opponent completely ‘nude’ and dish out massive damage.

The game’s sound is also great but I preferred to play the game with the Japanese voiceovers rather than the English ones. This is ok, except for the fact that if you play with either of the two bonus characters (Vader/Yoda and the Apprentice), they don’t speak in their normal language. The game’s famous Voice-over is still there and continues to narrate the game as you play. The in-game music is also still quite memorable and fits with the levels (meaning the Star Wars levels have famous Star Wars songs when playing in them).

Soulcalibur moves into the world of online fighting and thanks to the Character Creator, you can really have some interesting fights. Because of that fact, you might not actually fight against one of the main characters. The lag is hit-or-miss but for the most part, you’ll be able to play some decent matches, unless you have a ‘drop’ with the person you are playing against.

It is a bit of a disappointment that the Story mode was reduced, but thanks to the Tower of Lost Souls, Character Creator and Online play, there is enough use in this game that you will be spending a lot of time with it. You’ll want to play the other options because of what it will unlock with the Character Creators.

Thanks to the to the easy to learn controls, new players in the series will not take too long to get used to the controls and at the same time, veterans will have a lot options to master the game, giving it that great balance for all. I can easily recommend this Fantastic game and suggest if you have even the slightest interest in fighting games that you pick this up. With small selection of fighting games available right now, you will be playing this until the next Mortal Kombat or Street Fighter IV hits the streets and that won’t be for at least another few months.

Assassin's Creed Late Review (PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360)

2008-07-23T00:08:00.000-07:00

What if historians could use our DNA to uncover the secrets of the past? Well that’s the premise of one of 2007’s most talked about games, Assassin’s Creed. While the game was released a while ago, I only recently managed to play the game and wanted to experience what the hype was all about.

Technically you are Desmond Mason, a bartender who is apparently the descendant of a famous Assassin, Altair. it seems that, the events carried out by our ancestors are embedded in our DNA and are passed from generation to generation. An interesting concept, but definitely restrictive, since the moment of conception, that data is stuck, so anything they do afterwards cannot be transferred. Since Altair is essentially a relative of Desmond, he carries some vital information that certain people need. Desmond is ‘kidnapped’ and agrees to let a doctor (Dr. Vidic) and his assistant (Lucy) to take a ‘look’ at this information to try to uncover some secrets from the past.

While you are Desmond, you become Altair when you take control of him during these memory blocks. Your goal as Altair, is to complete tasks given to your by your Assassin’s Guild. You begin your memories with an unsuccessful mission where you are punished and you must regain your skills. You proceed to take-out important figures and solve the mystery of your environments. As you complete these Assassinations, you regain your skills (similar to every Metroid game).

The game takes place during the Crusades and all the missions begin with you traveling to one of three Middle Eastern City: Acre, Damascus or Jerusalem. Upon arrival in the city, you must travel to your Assassin Bureau to get your assignment. Once that is given, you’ll need to find certain people through the city to get more information. In some cases, you might need to pick-pocket a person. In others, you will need to over-hear a conversation. Once you have enough information, you return to the Bureau, are given permission to take out your target and you execute your man. It is an interesting method, but pretty mundane and you’re essentially doing the same routine over and over again. Of the various investigations you need to do, the easiest ones (Pick-Pocketing and Eavesdropping) are the ones you’ll do first and since you only need to do three to have permission to assassinate your target, it can make things a bit easy.

While the game ‘can’ be easy, it’s actually quite not, thanks in part to the horrible controls and auto targeting that hamper a large chunk of the game. If you encounter a problem in the game, it will be because of the extremely sensitive controls. Since you need to do a lot of climbing and jumping, the touchy controls can cause you to miss an easy jump, jump to the wrong ledge or have a problem trying to grab a ledge. The controls also pose a problem when attacking, in particular when you have a lot of characters on the screen. You will often encounter groups of 3, 5 or even more guards and it can be problematic trying to target them thanks to the far from perfect auto targeting. If and when you do ‘die’ (you technically do not die, but you need to restart the memory: it’s the past, so the events have already occurred) it will be because of the controls.

The controls do make the game a pain, but thankfully the game looks great in terms of the environments. All the cities look stunning and sometimes you might just want to admire the architecture. The character graphics are good, but at times seem extremely stiff, especially with Lucy and Dr. Vidic. The cut-scenes are done well and look good, but it’s a bit of a disappointment that the movements of NPCs are not fluid and realistic.

The sound department is nice and fits the time-frame of the game. While the voice-acting is not bad, it’s not that good either. You’ll get annoyed after hearing the beggar-woman or the random character repeat the same thing over and over again.

This is a Good game, but because of those pesky controls, be prepared for some challenges along the way, and may turn off most from this title. The premise of the story original and the sandbox options (climbing ledges to synchronize, saving pedestrians, etc…) does give the game a lot of longevity. It will take you a good 15-20 hours to complete the game and if you’re playing on the 360, you’ll want to spend the time to find the flags and completing all the tasks to unlock the achievements. I would also recommend playing this game on the 360 over the PS3 for that reason alone. It looks good on both platforms but the collecting and extra tasks are better suited for those looking to improve their GamerScore on the 360.

It’s almost a certainty that there will be a sequel some-time down the road, and if they can fix the extremely sensitive controls and stiff character animations, the series will be absolutely incredible. Until then, try this one out, have some fun, but keep your voice when you want Altair to climb a wall instead of using it to jump off it.

Grand Theft Auto IV Review (PS3 and Xbox 360 Review)

2008-07-10T16:30:00.000-07:00

Videogames are the new form of story-telling. When done correctly, they can engage the viewer into a world that is usually better than their own. Even with all the controversy surrounding the series, Grand Theft Auto has always done a great job in connecting the player with the characters, storylines and environments. The open play gives players essentially the controls to do things at their own pace. Yes, you will have to do some mandatory tasks to open up the entire ‘world’. Once you’ve done that, nothing holds you back from non-stop enjoyment.

Grand Theft Auto IV doesn’t build on the III canon and offer the gamer an entire country to play with, but rather takes us back to the city that started all the hype: Liberty City. The people behind the game decided to give us a city with so much to offer and so much detail that you will forget about the fact that San Andreas gave us an entire state to play with. The Burroughs that makes up Liberty City are all extremely well developed with plenty of places to see and things to do. Feel like getting something to eat, you’re not too far from a variety of eateries including hot dog vendors at various street corners. Want to play pool, darts or even bowling? You’ve got options. Heck, just want to sit back, relax and have a laugh, drop by the comedy club where Katt Williams is performing live. You might not be able to buy property, but you have so many other things at your disposal make up for that.

The GTA III canon of games all had great and engaging storylines. You had your basic story, based on getting back at those who ‘screwed’ you over and along the way, you meet up with people who you at first trusted but later had to ‘take care of’ later on, or those who you thought were ‘slime balls’ but were there when you needed them the most. GTA IV is no different. This time, instead of playing as an American, we get the opportunity to play as immigrant Niko Bellic, a former soldier who fought during the Bosnian Civil War during the mid-90s. Niko has had some problems back home in the Balkans and made the decision to come to America after reading the great stories he heard from his cousin, Roman. While we’re led to believe that his reasons to come to America were to ‘Live the American Dream’ we slowly realize that Niko is there for revenge.

Not wanting to go into too much detail, during Niko’s service in Bosnia, something went wrong and people he cared for died. He feels that the person who back-stabbed his unit is hiding in Liberty City and he wants to find them. The goal in the game is to find this person, but it won’t be easy for an Illegal immigrant with no money and a cousin who told grand stories of success, but actually owes more than he has. This is why Niko needs to be-friend various people and essentially become a goon-for-hire in order to get those with power to help him find the person he is looking for.

Niko is not your stereotypical main character. He’s not American and doesn’t connect to the average American. You need to understand the fact that he is different to understand his actions. If you accept him as a foreigner and his manners, or the fact that he tends to be very accepting of people, you will turn to love him for what he is. There are some great moments where we see just how difficult it can be for someone who doesn’t speak American English to understand the slang of the area.

While all the characters you interact with in the game are all extremely unique and well-done, the storyline does tend to drag on a bit. This may understandable since anyone would have to do a lot of hard work to get to that ultimate goal. The ‘main’ objective for Niko slowly becomes the sub-plot and his ultimate finale deals with an entirely different issue and character. This is common with the GTA III canon, but this could have been a great opportunity for RockStar to do things a bit differently and surprise us. While the levels are great, there are some that just don’t make sense as to why Niko would agree to do them. One particular mission, which is also probably the best mission ever made (an homage to the film Heat), really wasn’t necessary for Niko to take part of but was an pleasure to play. The game also puts us into situations where decisions must be made and those choices will affect the game later down the road. These are nice because it forces the gamer to make a tough decision. What is impressive is that other characters react differently depending on the choices you make.

With GTA IV entering the HD era, the graphics and sound in the game are absolutely incredible. Everything from the cars, buildings and people are all extremely well detailed. The pedestrians might not look super crisp, they still look good enough that you may at times just want to stand at a busy corner and admire the scenery. The graphics are great, but it’s the dynamic lighting that most people will talk about. The natural lighting changes as time goes by. Play at noon in game, and it’s extremely bright; play at 2 am, and it will be awfully difficult to do anything in any dark environments. This can be frustrating at times, especially with some levels where you need to see where you’re going, but it is extremely realistic. It actually ended up hurting my enjoyment of the finale as I finished it late in the evening (in game time).

The sound is also really good. While being of Serbian Decent and fluent in the language, I was disappointed with the accents of the actors who spoke in Serbo-Croatian, both their Slavic speeches and even the attempt at the English accents of a foreigner. It wasn’t bad enough that it dampened the story but sometimes I wish foreign actors were used instead of American based ones. Other than that, the characters deliver their lines well and you really feel like you’re watching a Gangster Movie. The sounds of the cars, the street noise and everything else that adds to the ambiance of the game are extremely top-notch and make all the environments extremely believable. The music in the game continues the great tradition of the previous series with dozens of great tunes and something for everyone; Jazz, Russian, Rock, Hip-Hop and Reggae just to mention a few. Also, the great talk-radio stations are there as well.

GTA IV is absolutely Stunning and I loved it. Yes, it is frustrating at times, but games are supposed to be challenging, it is why we play them. The main storyline should take the average gamer 30-40 hours to complete, but the amount of extra content available at your finger tips doubles the playtime. Because of what the game has to offer, no one can fault you at wanting to take some time away from the story to watch some TV (in game), clean up the streets (helping the police to rid the city of its other criminals), dating a potential future wife (or ex-wife) or playing the absolutely enjoyable multiplayer mode, there is something for everyone.

We might not have gotten double the size of San Andreas, but we did get a Grand Theft Auto game that does satisfy the fan of the series. There are problems in the lighting and some glitches will appear here and there, but it is never to the point that you give up. If you’re not a fan of the series, I really feel that this could change that since Niko and the supporting staff is really well-done with not a bad or out of place character in the bunch. The game does take some time before you hit the really juicy parts, but once you start to have fun, you won’t want to stop. Like GTA III before it, this will force other game companies to copy its success and will change the face of gaming in the future.

Super Smash Brothers Brawl Review (Wii)

2008-07-05T17:02:00.000-07:00

Has there ever been something that you wanted to like, but the more time you invested in it, the more you realized that you just did not enjoy it? Be it a book, a movie or even a person, chances are we’ve all had this occur to us. In terms of gaming, the first game I invested so much time into a flawed product was Sony’s The Getaway. On paper, the previews gave this game a lot of promise, but once I finally started playing it, I just could not enjoy it the way I was hoping to. I completed the game and invested the hours necessary to see it through, but it was a very difficult process with many frustrating moments.

Since then, I’ve been extremely cautious when investing my time and money on a specific title. Thanks to our freedom of choice, if there was anything I was hesitant about, I made sure to get enough information before I made my choice. Now in 2008, I have encountered the next game that I thought I would enjoy, but after spending a solid amount of time with, I realized that it’s just not for me.

As a Wii Owner, the selection of great, high-class titles is few and far between. In fact, it’s actually the lesser known titles that have ended up being the true gems to the system (at least in my opinion). Before Super Smash Brothers Brawl was released, I had never played a game in the series. I never owned a Nintendo64 and I didn’t bother to buy Melee when I twice owned a GameCube. With Brawl being my first experience, I thought that this would be a fresh change of pace since this is clearly labelled as a fighter unlike anything else.

Super Smash Brothers is fairly simplistic. Unlike regular fighting games, where your objective is to deplete your opponent’s health to zero, here you actually want to hit your opponent enough times so that they are thrown off screen and cannot return to the stage. It’s nice that you can take 200% or more damage and still be in a fight, but it isn’t a system without its flaws. Kicking your opponent off the screen is nothing new as Soul Calibur and the Virtua Fighter series both have that goal, but here, that is the only way to win.

The controls in the game, while easy to learn are not always responsive. To jump you have two options, either press up on the control pad (simple enough) or press ‘c’ on the nunchuk. While that sounds simple, it’s not always responsive. There were many times in the game where my character on relatively low hit percentage (less than 75%) would end up dying because I could not jump to reach the ledge. This wouldn’t be a problem, except for the facts that it happened often and the computer’s character, which had a higher hit percentage, would still be able to recover and keep on fighting. To be fair, it does vary from character to character, but the system doesn’t work right.

The controls in the game are as stated before, fairly simple and thankfully there are many options. You can play it with only the Wii Remote, the Wii Remote with the nunchuk, the classic controller, or if you have a GameCube controller, you can use that. It’s nice to have options, but I really from my experience, the best controller option is the GameCube. It’s really disappointing that in order to enjoy a Wii game, you need to use the controller of the last generation. If you don’t have access to that controller, then playing this game will not be that fun.

The game itself only essentially uses two buttons. Looking at the Wiimote and nunchuck control scheme, your ‘A’ Button is your primary attack while the ‘B’ button is for your secondary or special attack. Depending on the way you press those buttons and in which direction, your attacks will vary. For example, press ‘B’ and down with Samus and she will drop a bomb; press ‘B’ and up and she will do a lightening summersault (I believe that is what it’s called). It doesn’t take long to learn your character’s moves set, so the learning curve is next to none.

There are good things about the game. There are a lot of characters to choose from, once you’ve unlocked them all. If you’re a Nintendo fan of any stature, you will enjoy the selection and the possibilities of being able to duke it out with Samus, Link, Mario, Captain Falcon, or my new favourite Pitt (from Kid Icarus, a game I really do hope is announced at E3 2008). While there are a lot of characters, most of them, including Solid Snake and Sonic the Hedgehog, are locked and must be unlocked by playing the game over an extended period of time. This is expected and a common thing for most fighting games, so there is no complaint there, except that for both Snake and Sonic, being locked is the same if Soul Calibur IV decides to lock Darth Vader. If you’re new to this game or have friends over and they want to play with Snake, unless you’ve unlocked him, you’ll have to play for a while to get him as a character.

The graphics and sounds are top-notch and I cannot hate on them. The character models and the environments look great and the sound, for a game that has no voice-work, is also up there. If this was in High Definition, it would make any person salivate, but even in SD, this looks really nice.

Brawl does offer a lot in terms of unlockables and gameplay modes. You have your regular arcade mode, events, training but the meat of the game is The Subspace Emissary. It’s an interesting way to give you a single-player adventure in a fighting game, but it might not appeal to those who just want to fight. Also, in order to unlock characters in the game, you really do need to play this mode, so if you are not enjoying it, getting all the characters will be an extremely longer process.

Even with all that is good with the game (graphics and options), I just could not enjoy this game enough to recommend it. In my honest opinion, I think this a disappointing game unless you’ve played previous games in the past, own multiple game-cube controllers or have enough friends willing to help you unlock the characters. This is strictly a fan-service type of game that is catered to the teenagers who played the original back in 1999 or enjoy playing something extremely simple. I gave this game an honest chance, spending plenty of time with all its options and I just continued to get frustrated with not knowing what I was doing right or wrong and still ending up the same way: dying a few times before beating a Hand and seeing a small CG clip of the character I used.

If you’re a fan of the series, you’ll pick this up, enjoy it and continue with your normal life. If you’re new to it, like I was, your best bet is to first rent this and see if you’re willing to invest your time and energy, then go out and spend the 40-50 dollars on it.

I really wanted to like this game but sometimes it’s better to be honest with yourself rather than pretending you’re having a good time.

Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots Review (PS3)

2008-06-25T15:20:00.001-07:00

When I bought a PlayStation back in 1999, the first title I purchased was Metal Gear Solid. It was the only reason why I decided for a PlayStation instead of buying a Nintendo64. I remember sitting down that weekend and showing off to my younger sister and friends just how incredible the game was. Every moment was memorable: the opening, Mantis, the wolves in the caves, the torture chamber that the climax. Still to this day, I remember the first time I beat the game, followed by the three additional times I played through it to see every cut-scene and to find every single item.
Since then, I have played every single Metal Gear title released in North America, that includes the incredible Game Boy Color edition and the Acid series on the PSP. I haven’t had a problem with the series and when I finally completed Metal Gear Solid 4, I felt like I’ve really accomplished something and now I am sad to see it go. Thankfully, there is so much depth in MGS4, I still have chances to experience the game over and over again.

Metal Gear Solid 4 is Kojima’s way of thanking everyone for 20 years of loyalty to the series. From start to finish the game is exactly what you’d expect with his previous games and once you’ve completed the seen the credits roll, you’ll feel like you’ve grown with the characters in the game. I have no intention to spoil anything in regards to the storyline. There is just so much that occurs in the game that knowing anything would be unfair to those willing to take the 15-18 hours to complete the game.

MGS4 is incredible. It is everything you could wish for in a 21st century title. Incredible graphics and jaw-dropping sounds with an effective score and immerse effects. Every character looks stunning from the PMCs, the Beauty and the Beast Bosses and everything in between. Also, everything is running with the in-game engine so there is no CG used in the game, which really shows off the strength of the PlayStation 3. The voice-acting is what you’d expect and doesn’t fail in any regard except for the fact that it would have been nice in certain levels to have Non-playable characters to sound like the region they are from (eg. Characters in S. America and the Middle-East with US accents).

The game follows the same mechanics of previous Solid games. The game relies heavily on stealth but thanks to the new scenario of PMCs (Private Military Corporations) and you’re interaction with Rebel fighters, you can at times enter areas and be spotted without repercussion. If the Rebels see you and if you aid them, then they will talk to you, and at times help you sneak past certain areas. Also, like previous titles, you can if you’d like, go at full force and shoot your way through. Thanks to the a new ‘point’ system, every time you take out an opposing force, either by lethal or non-lethal ways, when you collect their weapon(s), you get points. You can take these points and use them to ‘buy’ weapons, accessories, bullets and other stuff to help you through the game. While this does make the game a bit easier since you can essentially buy the most expensive and effect weapons early on, the game’s AI can counter this by swarming you with enemies that will still eventually get you.
Enemies are much more intelligent than in past versions. Make too much sound, they’ll hear you or if you fail to properly use your OctoCamo (camouflage that adapts to the environment), they’ll see you. Even with the classic Cardboard Box and Tin Drum, if you place it on awkward spots, they will question it and reveal your ‘poor’ hiding decisions. (In one situation on a street location, I tried to hide in a Tin Drum, the solider questioned allowed ‘Tin Drum?’ and he knew something wasn’t right).

The game also implemented a great psyche meter for Snake. If you run too much or are being attacked/shoot at, Snake’s psyche will drop making him less accurate. Also, if you use certain weapons for an extended period of time (like a machine gun), he’ll enter a Combat High. His attacks are greater, but once you stop, he hits a low and doesn’t attack very well. It’s very realistic and at times; they even poke fun of it in certain cut-scenes.
Continuing with the gameplay, it still follows the previous titles. There will be times when you’ll have to use your smarts to complete a task (boss battles). You will be required to strategize your attacks and at times, just like in the past, sometimes you’ll need to do something else, instead of a direct attack, to defeat your enemy.

The game isn’t without it’s flaws. While it’s a picture-perfect conclusion to the series, unless you’ve played the previous three titles you may be a bit confused at times. I strongly suggest that if you haven’t played the previous Solid games, you should go out and spend the 30 dollars to buy the MGS Essential Collection or download the Metal Gear Solid Database available free on the PSN. If you don’t have the background of the characters, you may wonder at times just what they are talking about. Kojima did offer flashbacks, but they are single shots and do not really divulge too much information of the previous games.
While not a complaint per-se, there are times in the game where you will get absolutely frustrated. These occur near the end of the game, but it is expected that the difficulty will ramp up near the end.
Some people have shown some dislike towards the ‘point’ system mentioned earlier. I did not since the game still allows you to play the game the way you want to. You are not forced to kill enemies so you can still enjoy the game as a stealth title. There will be times where you have no choice but to run and gun, but for the most part, you can go through most environments without taking a single life.
A problem with previous titles was the long-winded Codec conversations that forced you to listen to the characters talk to one another for a long period of time. While not removed, they occur much less and look a lot better than before. Also, between the game’s acts, there are some really impressive Mission Briefings that cut the game into three screens. During these cut-scenes, you have the option of controlling the MK-II (portable unit that aids you in the game). If you choose this as your focus, you can essential create your own video, deciding which angle to look at the characters. If the conversation is boring, just take the Mk-II and drive it around the area and you may find some bonus items.

If you haven’t figured it out, this game is absolutely Incredible. I loved it from start to finish and it’s a game I plan on playing again and again. While there are flaws, they are so minor that you can looks past them. 2008 has already been a great year for games on the PS3 with solid titles such as Burnout Paradise, Grand Theft Auto IV but it will be Metal Gear Solid that takes the cake (so far). This will sell systems and at this moment, there is no game that comes close to the experience you will get playing this. Enjoy every moment of this game.

Please note, there is an Online portion to the game. While I did participate in the Online Beta of the game, I have not had a chance to play it too much in depth. Once I’ve gone through the online mode enough, I will write a separate mode for it.

Spore Creature Creator Mini-Review (PC)

2008-06-23T22:30:00.000-07:00

Here we go again! Yet another 'demo' released for cost and yet again, the debate about 'should we be paying for a tech demo.' Yes, Spore Creature Creator is definitely just a snippet of the upcoming Spore title, but unlike the full edition, Spore Creature Creator is a game that can be enjoyed as a stand-alone and is geared solely for one demographic, the non-gamer, but that's not to say it can be enjoyed by everyone with any sense of creativity.

Spore is the upcoming game by Will Wright, the man who brought the world SimCity and the most popular PC game in the World The Sims. Spore, like his other games, is a 'God' Simulator. This time around you will get to establish a single-cell organism and see it 'evolve' into a full fledged creature. The game won't end there, but we will just have to wait until September to see how things turn out.

The Spore Creature Creator takes the 'second' phase of the game and gives gamers the ability to create a creature from scratch using a variety of 'items' (body parts). Thanks to the various different items available, you have the tools to create a plethora of different possible 'animals'. The possibilities are endless and you can spend hours, upon hours, creating a variety of different and unique life-forms. Unless you stick with the same core pieces, it is highly doubtful you will create the same thing twice.

There are two reasons that Spore Creature Creator was released. The first, and the key reason, was to have people get a head-start in creating creatures for the various planets that will inhabit the full version. In The Creature Creator, once you create something, you are suggested and encouraged to upload your work so that:

others can see it and
if impressive enough, will be featured in the final retail version.

This is a great way for those who put enough effort to get themselves into a feature game. Since the release of the Creature Creator, there have been more than 350,000 creatures uploaded and thanks to the options, the possibilities of creating just about anything is there (edit: There are now more than 1 million uploaded creatures; you can see them here). You name your creature, give it a description or history and tag it and others can search for it. If you do manage to have a popular creature, it will be in the retail version. You won't get paid for your work, but getting credited in the game is something really special. There are a lot of wacky creations already online including an Xbox 360 Controller and famous Video game characters.

The other reason for this release is for the fact that it gives people, who probably don't know anything about this game, a chance to get a better understanding of the title. Yes, a free demo could would have been better, but if you really look at what Spore has to offer, a demo would not be enough. Maxis and EA want to take all the Millions they've made from The Sims and translate it here, but unfortunately, this isn't exactly like creating people and controlling them. Here you're taking a single-cell and creating life, something that is much more complex and may not be such an easy sell. More than likely, you can take this game and it would be enough for most people to enjoy for an extended period of time.

This game is Perfect if have kids between the ages of 8-14 since you can put them in front of a Computer screen and let them play this for hours (please note: it's summer, and kids should be outside). For everyone else, this is a Great title that does exactly what it is intended to do, allow you to experience what will probably be the PC game of the year. The options for creating a creature then filming them (and uploading them onto Youtube, like my clip above) is worth the price of admission. I played the demo first and loved it so much, I felt the 10 dollars was worth getting to try the full creator options. The demo is of course free and offers 25% of the full Creator, so if you enjoy playing it, the retail version will give you 4 times more options. If you're not into God-Sims, then this probably will not change your mind, but again, try the free demo and your perspective may change.

I really cannot find anything wrong with this game. Yes, it does cost money, but 10 dollars is cheaper than a movie, and you'll spend more time with this. I've only managed to create 4 creatures that I really was proud of, not to mention the dozen or so I did just for fun, but I know the more I spend with this, the more I will be eager to start from a cell and see my creatures evolve into something special.

Space Invaders Extreme Review (DS)

2008-06-21T18:54:00.000-07:00

As a 'younger' or '16-bit Generation' gamer, I never originally played any of the old classic games in their original form. For me, the closest I ever got to playing Space Invaders was an electronic version that had used lights under a stencil of the aliens. It was fun, but extremely simplistic in nature.

To celebrate the 30 year anniversary of the game, Taito has released Space Invaders Extreme on the DS and PSP giving those who played the original a way to 'relive' their young days, and those of us who missed out the original to play a popular arcade game.

The objective of Space Invaders is simple, you control a Space-Fighter who is trying to prevent the on-coming onslaught of Alien Invaders. If they reach the bottom then you die. In Extreme, they take this concept but throw some variations. In the original, the enemies simply moved from left to right and slowly downwards with varying speeds. Some levels gave you shield to hide behind but as you progressed the enemies move much more quickly. In this edition, the enemies have varying speeds, paths and attacks giving you plenty of variety in gameplay. Also, with Extreme, now you can get power-ups and bonuses to help you along the way.
These vary from standard pick-ups (Shields, Bombs, etc...) or if you manage to hit a flashing enemy ship, you enter Extreme Mode.

In Extreme Mode, you are given a time-limit to complete an objective. If you fail, you don't get a bonus, but if you succeed, you enter Fever mode and your attacks last a long time with maximium damage.

This is all part of the game's main mode, called Arcade Mode. Where you go through 5 stages to finish the game. There are varying paths; the first being easy, then branching out until you have the possibility of 5 final stages. The next mode is Ranking, where you play the same stages again, but trying to get the best possible score/ranking. Stage Mode allows you to re-play any of the stages you've already completed.

The game also offers a pretty good multiplayer option with wireless play or online via Nintendo's Wi-Fi option. There is also the ability to upload your high-scores for others to see.

Overall the game is Fun and for twenty dollars, it's a great deal. The sound for the game is decent for a DS title, but nothing really spectacular. The explosions and shooting work well, but you won't be expecting anything to surprise you. The graphics though are a bit of a let-down on the DS version. If you happen to see a comparison between it and the PSP version, you'll notice that the colors of the enemies and the backgrounds are much more vibrant. It doesn't ruin the game, but it would have been nicer to get something more on the DS. Thankfully, the better Multiplayer options for the DS do make it the better choice between the two, and the fact that it is also 5 dollars cheaper than the PSP edition. Also, with the DS version, while played on two screens, you generally are only using the bottom screen. Not a big deal, but instead of using the top screen generally for your score, they could have done a lot more with it.

While trying to build on the 30th aniversary of the game, they also could have thrown in an emulated version of the original as a bonus. (edit: This might actually be included, but unlocked later on.)

Other than the minor gripe on the graphics, this is still a Good game to play. It's yet another reasonable priced game for the DS that will give you your money's worth. Regardless if you grew up or experienced the original version, there is a lot to offer here, and you'll want to play and challenge your friends to see who can get the highest score.

UEFA Euro 2008 Review (PS3)

2008-06-05T20:17:00.000-07:00

When it comes to EA Sports and their soccer (football) titles, I know them quite well. I have played every edition of the game that has been released in North America since FIFA 98: Road to the World Cup. I've seen the highs (FIFA 99 on PC and FIFA 06 on PS2) and the lows (The US version of FIFA 2000 all versions and FIFA 2004 (off the ball was a bad idea)). When I knew that the Euro 2008 version of the game was coming out, it was a no-brainer that I would pick it up and after two weeks, leading my country and helping another one win the Championship, I feel that I've accomplished my goal, but I wish I didn't spend as much as I did.

Unlike the FIFA editions of the series that contain both domestic clubs and countries from around the world, Euro 2008 focuses solely on the 50+ nations that make up Europe. Most of Europe is represented here, with a few omissions. Countries like The Netherlands and my home-country Serbia lack official kits and official players, since EA couldn't obtain their federation licences, but other than a small batch, most of the nations are represented really well. The players look like their counter-parts and their kits (jerseys) are correct. What is also nice is that all the nations have a large selection of players, so while the main 22-23 players might not be correct as they are in the real world, you can simply move players to make it correct. Also, for those of us who don't have authentic players for our countries, you can edit all the players to make them more accurate.

Considering the small selection of nations (if you consider 50 nations as small) there are plenty of options to play with in this game.

The major mode in the game is your Captain Your Country mode. Almost like an RPG, where you can either create your own player or take an established player and lead them from being just a regular squad member on your B side to leading your country in the finals and lifting that trophy in the end. This is a really well done mode since it takes both the Be A Pro option and the Qualifying and lets you try to create a perfect story. To really enjoy this, you need to create your own character.
In this mode, you’re competing against 3 other players to get that spot. What’s really nice is that if you have 3 friends with you, they can take part of it as well. The better you play, the better your rating which gives you more experience points. Then you can take your experience points and develop your player to a true superstar. The ultimate goal is to have you lifting that title at the end of the tournament and it will take some time to accomplish this. I absolutely loved this mode and hope they can continue this with FIFA 09 and the club scene (which has so many more options and can last multiple seasons).

You also have what EA is calling Battle of the Nations. When you start the game for the first time, the game asks you to pick a country to represent. Of course, you’re picking a European nation, so if you’re not from Europe or have no country to support, this already will throw you off. When you select a country to represent, you’re now playing for bragging rights. Regardless of if you’re playing offline or online, the game tracks your play. The better you play, the more points you get for your country. If your country leads at the end of the day, the game rewards you with treats. While you can represent any country, they want you to play as a lesser nation so you can get more points. For example, if you play as England or France, you’re not going to get as many points in comparison if you play as Cyprus or Iceland, since the quality of players are so much better with the former rather than the later. Since I chose Serbia, I will probably never see what you get for winning but it’s an interesting way of earning bragging rights for your country…except for the fact that this ends on June 30th. The game was only released in North America two weeks ago, and this mode only allows us to participate for only 45 days, so those in Europe already have the leg up on the rest. Also, after June 30th, there is absolutely no reason to play the game for any extra incentive. It’s a nice mode in theory, but they’ll need to work on it if they ever use this again.

I’ve gone at length about what the game has to offer, but now what do I think of it as a game. To be honest, it’s a Good game but not for the price you’ll have to pay for it. At 50 dollars, it’s overpriced considering you’ll only be playing it from now until the end of June or maybe July. FIFA 09 will be out in October, so while you might dabble in this here and there, once October comes, you’re going to forget about this one. Also, the Battle of the Nations mode also hurts since it becomes useless after the end of June. Had this been 29.99 or even 39.99 then I wouldn’t complain, but it’s 10-15 dollars over priced. Other than that, the graphics are great. The stadiums, both the real ones for the tournament, the stadiums for some of the nations and even the made up ones are done really well. I’ve already commented on the detail on the players and jerseys, so you’re getting a really nice looking game. On the field, the player animations are well done and quite fluid; the coaches/managers look good and the addition of the ability to control your goal scorer after scoring a goal is a nice touch and should be around for a while.
The sound is again top-notch. Clive and Andy do an excellent job as their regular duties in the EA series, so you’re getting the feel of an authentic experience.

The only problem I have with the game play comes from the adaptive AI. EA touted that teams are more realistic. Strong teams will play tough while weaker sides will compensate by playing more defensive. While this is nice, it does ruin the fun for some gamers who are looking for an easy victory. This doesn’t bother me except for the clear fact that while weaker nations will typically play defensive, they are rated poorly for a reason. If they wanted to make it more realistic, smaller nations like San Marino, Estonia or even Cyprus, should still be no problem for a nation like Germany, France or Italy since those smaller nations are more prone to making mistakes. Those smaller countries shouldn’t be as fast as the bigger nations, should not have high passing percentages or control of possession. They should be easy to take the ball from and more realistic. This essentially forces you to try to play against teams of equal class since that is the best way to have a great or equal match.
My problem with the AI doesn’t end there. I noticed that teams also play quite differently in Kick Off mode depending on the selection you pick. If you play a friendly, you will easily win your match, regards of the difficulty. But if you decide to play a qualifier, group stage or any of the knockout rounds, the computer AI explodes. I took my Serbia and destroyed Italy 5:0 in a friendly (which is highly unrealistic), but when I played against lowly FYR Macedonia in a group-stage match, our game went to penalties, something that should not have happened. Hopefully EA will improve this. I like the fact that teams won’t be cookie-cut, but they should still play realistically (strong sides should ultimately win, unless the player controlling them sucks).

So in the end, if you’re looking for a soccer (football) title to play before the release of FIFA 09, you can’t go wrong with UEFA Euro 2008. You might want to wait until after June 30th and buy it at a lower price, since right now the cost just doesn’t seem fair. Had they released this game back in April as they did in Europe, then the cost would have made more sense, but at the end of May, it just seems like they released it because they knew footie fans like me would be dumb enough to buy the game. While I have a problem with the price and a bit with the AI, it still has a lot of great options, excellent graphics and the feel of a true football match, you can’t complain there. While I can’t see my country win the Euro, at least I can have them win in HD and there isn’t anything wrong with that.

Gran Turismo 5 Prologue Review (PS3)

2008-05-26T21:41:00.000-07:00

When it comes to racing games, the big player on the block has been for some time Gran Turismo. It took racing games to a different level than games before it. Back in the early days, racing games were strictly arcade: very little realism, but packed with a lot of speed. Yes, you had your realistic car models, based on the super-power cars none of us could afford, but there wasn't a game that really made you feel you were driving the exact specifications of the car in question.

The Gran Turismo series changed that. They took a vast array of different cars, from your basic stock Honda Civics to your super-charged Dodge Vipers, and everything in between. Every car handled differently, requiring the driver to adjust to the cars specifications. You could upgrade parts, adjust your settings and make the car yours. Not to mention, the early editions required you to earn a license to race in the bigger events.

Gran Turismo 5: Prologue continues the long-running and super successful series with it's '2nd' game for the PS3. Early when the PS3 was released, you could download the GT: HD Concept game that allowed you to sample one course and 10 cars (that you unlocked over time). It was fun and it was free. Now we're giving yet another sample. This time, more cars and more courses, but not for free.

From the start, you have to realize that while Gran Turismo 5: Prologue is a preview of the game, it does offer you a lot for a small price (varying between 30-40 dollars). You have 6 course with variations to all, making it feel like 12 courses. Thankfully the courses are incredible both in racing ability and look. The London course is authentic to the city and the Suzuki course(s) are precise to their specifications and makes you feel like your racing the real course that famous F1 drivers race on.

There are over 60 cars to choose from. While not as significant as the 200+ cars the full-edition will have and what other games offer, there is still plenty of variety in the car choices that you won't feel like you're racing the same car with a different name. Added to that is that each car not only look beautiful on the outside, the designers at Polyphony have even gone so far as making inside the car authentic. With every car so detailed, it really makes you wonder how much more more could be done to other cars in the full release.

Unlike previous GT games, there is no License learning and no customization of cars. You don't need to train, so that makes jumping in a breeze, but the fact that you really can't customize your car does make things a bit boring online when you're all racing in exactly the same car.

In terms of modes, you have your arcade mode, where you can race any of the courses (alone or with a friend locally) It's fun and a good way to test your cars and the courses before taking on the main mode.
The major mode is your Events mode. Here you must start in C Class and work your way up. Finish a Class and you unlock the next, until you reach S Class. The requirements for the races vary. For some, you simply have to win the race with a car from that class. Other races, might require you to race with a specific car or to win the race starting in last place. While the C and B class races should be a breeze to complete, winning your racing in A then S will take skill. You really have to race smart and you will more than likely be racing the same course a few times before you manage to reach the goal (finishing in the top 3). Also, like previous GT games, even cars have events that you go to through the dealership. Nothing different than previous editions, and is a great way of making more money to get the faster cars.

Online is finally available for the Gran Turismo series. Racers were supposed to have this in GT4, but it was dropped late in production. While it's there, it isn't anything spectacular. You have your choice of races (course) and that's pretty much it. If you have friends to race against, it might be enjoyable, but chances are you probably won't spend all day online. The only real saving grace for online is that the money you get from your online races can be used to buy cars offline, important since you can only race with cars you own both online and off.

Prologue does have some other bonus features. You can save your race replays and considering the absolutely stunning graphics of the cars and the courses, you might want to save a race just to show it off to your friends. Often, you might even just leave a replay running once you've finished a race just to admire your work and the work of the developers. The other add-on is GT:TV. It's exactly that, Gran Turismo 'television' programs that you can watch on your PS3. This is a great thing for racing fans as the videos show off the cars in the real world and their connection to the game (or how the game effected the cars). There are more than 6 videos currently available and more are promised in the future.

Yes, GT5: Prologue is technically a preview build that we, the gamers, are paying 40 dollars for, so be aware that a full title will be out, but not until early 2009. The developers and Sony have promised more content in the future, including at least one more course and a few cars and the addition of car damage, they are trying to give us more for our dollar. The only disapointment I had with the game is the difficulty of the later races. It can be extremely frustrating to have to start a race in 16th place and have to finish in the top 3 when your challenges are all reall powerful cars. This won't be something enjoyed by iregular racing players.

If you like or love racing games, than Prologue is an Incredible game that you need to play and have in your collection. There is enough here that will challenge you and the bonus content is incredible eye candy for car lovers.
If you like racing games, but might not be a fan of the series, than is is a Good game to rent first. Try it out, and see if you'd be actually willing to spend the money on a tech-demo. If you're going to be playing it alone, than this is probably the best course of action since the Online will not melt your heart.
If you're not into racing games, I doubt that this game will convert you. There is a bit of a learning curve and you really need to know your stuff otherwise you will only get frustrated. Also, at it's price-point, even at a saving (or even if you can find it at a discounted price), you will still probably feel like you've over-paid.

Fans of the Gran Turismo series have probably already picked this up and enjoying it. You might feel a bit upset that it's not a full game, but there is still enough to bide you over until then the full release.
Thankfully, Prologue is so good, we already know that when the regular edition comes out, racing fans are going to be extremely thrilled and won't be leaving their homes for a long time. But as I stated, if you're not a fan, you should still try it out, but think before spend the money. Either rent it or borrow from a friend and see what you think. I honestly believe you'll enjoy yourself, but we all need to think about saving before we spurlge, since we need to save up for our own Nissan GT-R that will be parked in front of our homes in the near future.

God of War: Chains of Olympus (PSP) Review

2008-05-20T23:45:00.000-07:00

There are two definite series that will be remembered on the PlayStation 2, the first is Grand Theft Auto 3 Saga and the other is the 2 God of War games. Both Series did a lot to the system, as both were incredible game(s) that worked on many levels. The God of War was a great showing that Sony had a lot of potential in their first party games. In my opinion, excluding Ico, Shadow of the Colossus and two Gran Turismo games, none of the SCEA (and it's European and Japanese) divisions brought us games that we really enjoy and that helped sell the system.

When word came out that a God of War game would be coming out for the PSP, I felt this would be the game that would finally solidify the unit as a strong portable gaming console rather than a great multimedia unit. While it might not be as memorable as it's console brothers, Chains of Olympus is a fun game that everyone with a PSP should own.

Chains of Olympus takes place before the events of the console games and sheds some like onto Kratos, the star of the series. It begins about 10 years before the events from the first game as we control Kratos as he helps the Spartans fight against the Persians in Attica. As he defeats his opposition the sun disapears from the sky and Kratos must go to the temple of Helios to try to bring back the sun. This takes Kratos through various temples and the underworld as he fights his way and hopefully finding a way to stop the nightmares he has had (as we discover in God of War).

The gameplay of Chains of Olympus is very similar to the PS2 versions, but adapted to the PSP unit. The action buttons are done really well and the missing right analog stick that was used for strafing is changed to pressing both the L and R buttons and using the Analog numb. The weapons are extremely similar and anyone who has played the other games will be right at home.

The graphics and sound in the game are also top-notch. The PSP is very capable of playing games with stunning details and that is really the case with this one. There are very little problems with anti-aliasing and the game continues the cinematic experience with some very top-notch clips throughout the game, both CGI and in-game rendering. The game also loads very well with very little wait between stages. The sound is also extremely well done, taking a cue from the console version. At times, you will really think you're playing this game on your PS2 or PS3, and that is exactly what this system needs.

If there is a problem with the game is that even with the tutorials in the beginning of the game, those who haven't played the previous games might have to take some time to get adjusted to the controls, but it once you get the hang of it, you'll have no problems with it afterwards. The biggest problem that most will find is the game's length, which can be looked as both a blessing or a curse. For most experienced gamers, you should be able to beat the game in about 4-6 hours, which is decent for a portable title, but short for those who were expecting a lot more with a game of this prestige. While the game's length works well with the story, you probably will wish there was a bit more. There are some challenges to play after you've completed the game, but I am certain more people would have rather had more to the main-story instead of mini-games.

God of War: Chains of Olympus is a Great PlayStation Portable game that you must own if you play your PSP. This year has been an excellent year for the system with four standout titles already released this year: Patapon, Final Fantasy VII: Crisis Core and echochrome along with God of War. If you've been looking for a reason to get the system, this is that reason. Also, Sony will be releasing (in early June) a Red PSP unit with Chains of Olympus and Superbad so if you have not already picked it up, you really have no excuse now. The game's length might be a bit of a throw-off for some, but if you're looking for some enjoyment and something worth every penny spent, then you will not be disapointed with God of War: Chains of Olympus.

echrochrome (PS3) and echochrome (PSP Import) Review

2008-05-15T13:55:00.000-07:00

Back in early 2007 when Sony first showed off echochrome I knew at that moment they had something really special in their possession. I had this game as my most anticipated game of 2007 (even ahead of Halo 3, Rock Band, The Orange Box and Call of Duty 4). The graphics didn't show anything, especially considering the game only has two colors, which are technically shades (Black and White) and the videos of the game didn't go into too much detail about the game. It seemed really simplistic and yet offered the player a challenge. Now in 2008, we have what is probably the best PlayStation Network game and right-now the front-runner for best Downloadable game on the market.

echochrome is a game based on perspectives. In the game you control a mannequin and you lead it around a course to check-points, which are what I call Shadows. While your objective is to get to the shadows, you're also racing against the clock to get these shadows. The game doesn't show you the clock, but if you click the select button twice, it will appear. There are five rules in the game: Perspective Traveling, Perspective Landing, Perspective Existence, Perspective Absence and Perspective Jump. You use these five rules to lead your character in these puzzles.

Before continuing, I have both the North American PS3 version which you download via the PlayStation Network and the Imported Japanese PlayStation Portable version which I purchased not too long ago. I decided to review both games at the same time since I've spent a lot of time with each of them and there are differences between the two.

The PlayStation 3 Review

echochrome of the PS3 was released simultaneously with the PSP version on May 1st. Both are downloadable titles and only 9.99 each. The game contains 3 modes. In Freeform, you are given random levels to complete. You can control the difficulty of the levels during the loading screen by simply changing the settings from Easy (1) to Hardest (5). The easiest puzzles should only take you about 1-2 minutes to complete, but the harder ones will probably take you the full amount of time. If there is a level you don't like, fret not, you have the ability to skip a level and play something else.
The second mode is called Atelier. Here you are given the ability to choose whichever level you want to play. In both the PS3 and PSP version you have 56 possible levels, each unique to both systems. The game keeps track of how long it takes you to complete a level and gives you the opportunity to play with friends to see who can get the better time. Also, here you can do a whole group of levels (separated by letters, A,B,C,etc...) and see how long it will take you to complete each difficulty of levels.
The final mode is called Canvas. Here in canvas mode, you have the ability to create your own levels. If you really want to challenge yourself and people you know, this is a great place to spend some time. Sony has done a really incredible job with this by allowing people to submit their levels and if they like what you've create, they will distribute them to other gamers around the world. The Japanese already had this game for more than a month before it was released here so you can already start downloading and playing their levels. Unfortunately, you can only play them in Freeform mode and you can't save them (just yet). Also, they are week-long exclusives, so, you won't get to play with a fan favorite for very long. The PSP version doesn't have downloading, but you can trade with your friends via ad-hoc.

The games graphics although simplistic are very well done. The use of 3-D blocks do their and really look good both on a small screen or on a bigger-widescreen television. The sound is also really great for the tone of the game. It reminds me of the soothing music heard in museums so it might not appeal to all. Probably the option of playing this game with custom soundtracks might have been nice, but does not deter the experience. The controls work well but you will only really use your analog stick (either one), the X button to rush your character (run), Triangle to think (technically pauses the game, without actually stopping the timer). The only other button which you should use is the Square button, which actually helps you out with Perspective Travelling and Existence. Hit the square button and it will 'connect' blocks flush so you can move your character from one spot to another.

The games does have it's minor flaws. For one, while there is more than one way to solve any puzzle, there are sometimes where only one way will get the job done. The other problem with that is there are ways to 'cheat'. You can do something by mistake and get where you need to go, and at the same time, when you think you're doing the right thing, you can't get your character to do what you need it to do. It's can be frustrating at times, but again, it doesn't ruin your experience.

The Imported PlayStation Portable Review

The Japanese version of the game is significantly different than the North American release. For starters, unlike the NA version which only contains 56 levels per system (each unique) the Japanese version has 96 levels (12 Letter groups with 8 stages each). The names of the modes are also different. Freeform is called Infinite, Atelier is called Box while Canvas is still the same. The other huge difference is the inclusion of 2 additional side-modes in both Infinite and Box modes.

In the North American release you can only play Solo mode. Here you control your white character and move it around the level to the shadow check-points. But in the Japanese edition, you have two additional play types. The After Solo, you have Pairs. In Pairs, you have both two White Characters and two Black Characters walking around the levels. What you need to do is to have the two white characters join and the two black characters join to create two new Grey characters. Once you've done that, you need to combine the two Grey characters to complete the level. It really adds a new spin on the levels as you now have to lead more characters on the screen. The easier levels again can be completed in a matter of moments, but as you get into the harder levels, you will have to use various strategies to get them together.
The other additional mode is called Others. In Others, you control one white character and it must reach the shadow-check-points. But this time you have black characters that act as enemies on the course. If you touch them, it's like dying and you must restart at your last check-point. Now you're trying to complete the level and fight off this opposition in order to reach the goal(s). This mode is extremely challenging as you will try to 'lead' the black characters as far away from your main character to complete the puzzles.

When playing Infinite mode, you might have to play these levels. You can't really decide which mode to play here, but thankfully with the skip feature, you can simply move to another level if you do not like what you are playing. In Box mode, you have the option of selecting which mode you want, but if you decide to play the timed Group (letter) stages, you will have a random selection here.

I have not played the North American PlayStation Portable mode so I do not know if this mode is exclusive to the PSP or not. It does seem clear that the North American PS3 version does lack this feature, but it's not to say that Sony might offer this addition sometime down the road, but at a small additional cost to the gamers.

echochrome is a Fantastic game that should be played by all. While playing this game on the PS3, I managed to get my sister hooked on it and even my friends who were watching her play couldn't stop staring at the screen. While the easy levels are a breeze to play, the larger and harder levels will absolutely challenge you, almost to the point of frustration. The game does require quick acting and careful thinking, so those who are looking for a game to waste time, may be put off. At only 9.99 (plus taxes), this is an extremely affordable game. If you purchase both the PSP and PS3, you're spending less than 20 dollars and getting a lot of value at it, and a very fair price for the genre in question. Also, because of the ability to download and share levels in the PS3 version, it gives it even more value. It is a bit of a disappointment that the North American version does lack the extra modes of the Japanese version, you just have to look at the cost and realize that you're still paying for a lot of value. I strongly suggest if you own a PS3 to pick up this title thanks to the downloading option. It's a small download, but a game that you will want to play again and again and to show off to your friends.

CrossworDS (Nintendo DS) Review

2008-05-13T11:24:00.000-07:00

Everyone at one point or another has spent time playing the Crosswords that are available in our local newspaper. The Sunday New York Times is world-famous for its Crossword Puzzle and in fact released a game not to long ago on the DS that allowed people to play those famous crosswords where ever they wanted without having to carry around the large paper.

Nintendo quickly followed suit and recently released CrossworDS (or Crossword DS) through their Touch Generations series of games. Like Brain Age and Picross DS before, CrossworDS is a budget title that is geared towards the typical non-gamer. While that may be the case, it's not a game that won't appeal to those who enjoy a little distraction here or there.

CrossworDS offers three modes, the first one is Crossword Puzzles. You have unlocked from the start Easy and Medium crosswords (with the third one being unlocked following the completion of the other two). Within each difficulty mode you have 200+ crossword puzzles to solve per difficulty. Each page has a variety of sizes in the puzzles that are offered. Your first row are simple 4x4 puzzles that can be completed in a matter of moments (1-3 minutes) but then you have 11x11 (and larger) puzzles that take you quite some time. The difficulty of the puzzles also vary as the smaller ones are significantly easier than the larger ones. The game does offer you the chance to use hints (at a cost), but for the most part, the early puzzles will rarely require you to use them. If you play smart, you can eventually solve the word by just answering the questions around it. The game also has a scoring system, but you will almost always finish with an 'A' rating as long as you do not use any hints. It doesn't penalize you for writing the wrong letter, so the fact that there is a rating system seems pointless.
The puzzles are nice, but there is a lot of repetition and you will have the same answer for multiple puzzles, even with them masking that by changing the question being asked. In order to unlock the special puzzles, you have to play through all the other ones on each page, so someone looking to be challenged will have to endure some of the more mundane ones geared for youngsters. The special puzzles that you get with the completion of each page are subject specific and the best puzzles in the game.
There are also some problems with the DS' writing recognition. I had problems my 'G' and 'I' which were not being recognized by the unit. When I would write 'G' it would give me an 'O' while with my 'I's, I would get either an 'L' or 'J'. It's a bit of a pain, but that could be a problem for only left-handed people.

The second mode that is offered is Word-search. Again, very straight forward. You have your smaller, easier ones that have 14 words to find on a pretty small area. These puzzles should only take you a few minutes to complete. The large, harder ones require you to find twice as many words and on a much larger field. Larger puzzles will take you much more time to complete and while are also fun, there is a lot of necessary scrolling to find the required words. The rules here are the same as any other word search you've played, with you finding the required words which can be spelt horizontally, vertically, diagonally and backwards. I enjoyed the word-search since there were plenty of variety in the subjects of the puzzles (sports, cities, countries, clothing, Greek mythology).

The last mode are Anagrams. Depending on the size you pick, you are given some letters (4,5 or 6) and you must create words using only those letters. I didn't enjoy this mode too much considering that when I was doing this game, I was spelling words that I am pretty certain were not real words. Of the three modes, chances are you'll spend very little time playing this one. It's a interesting distraction, but there are games available online for free (eg. Text Twist), so this does feel like a late addition to this title.

In the end, I think this is a Decent game and Good considering what it has to offer. The reason I find it decent was the fact that playing the so many smaller puzzles just to get a chance of playing the better and more challenging ones was a bit of a disappointment. It's good since it does give you a lot of variety for only 20 dollars. There is plenty to unlock, but unless you are willing to spend the time to finish all the other puzzles to get to them, you might not want to spend the time answering the same words over and over again.

For most people, it's probably just better to play the Crossword in your local newspaper, but if you need something to play here and there, then you're getting your money's worth with CrossworDS.

Welcome to the world of Tasty Games

2008-05-12T09:33:00.000-07:00

This is Tasty Games, the place where I (Marko Djordjevic) will discuss all things games. While I have in the past and present written on other game-sites (IGN and Gamespot), I felt like creating a single blog page where I can write things a bit off-the-cuff. I still have every intention on writing posts on those sites, I will use this blog to focus on my game reviews and developing my writing skills.

For my game reviews, I am going to use a different rating score than most sites. For the most part, gamers have become accustomed to reviews getting either a number or letter score. I feel that a number doesn't properly reflect a game's rating. Anyone can write a number, 18, but what does that actually mean? In schooling, a number is fine since you have an exactly marking table that works. If you're correct, you get 1, if you're wrong you get 0. Add that up and you get a fair score. Since games aren't that black and white (right or wrong), I wanted to be descriptive in order to give others a better understanding of how I feel about a particular game.

My review 'score' will not use a number or a letter grade but rather a word (or words) to describe what I think. Here are a few examples of the types of words that will conclude my reviews.

Perfection - This is a game that is perfect in every sense of the word. It does not necessarily mean that the game has no flaw, but as a gamer, from start to finish you will enjoy every aspect the game has to offer.

Great - Games that are great are those that you also enjoy from start to finish but you really wished that there was something more to the game to make it perfect. Most games are great, but we all know that there is an aspect within the game that either could have been more fleshed out or removed. If a game is great, you know you're getting your dollars worth.

Good - A good game is one that you enjoy but is frustrating at times. It's not a gem that you will talk to your friends about, but it's one that you will probably return to after completing it the first time. Sports titles are usually good games, and fit into this category.

Decent - There are games that are sometimes stuck in the middle. They are not exactly a bad game, but there are enough problems, that you may not actually want to finish it once you've started. We've all played games like this. It has promise, but the moment we've started playing, we realize the mistakes of the game are clearly visible and ruining your gaming experience. Decent games are playable, but should be played with a cautious view.

Bad/Awful- If a game is bad, you know it from the start. It might be playable, but it's not enjoyable. An awful game is one that the moment you start, you feel your stomach turn inside. You can put your finger on exactly what is wrong and you wish it would stop. An awful game is one that you will not be playing much longer after you start. Bad you might play to completion only because you want to see more of the damage, but you know that every minute you spend with the game, you could have spent it doing something so much more productive.

While these are some of the words that will describe my feeling on a game, the list is not exclusive. Thankfully we have a large vocabulary at our disposal and are much more helpful at understanding how a person feels about a game. When a friend asks you what you think of a game you're playing, you never answer 'It's an 8 out of 10', but 'It's a really fun game that has so many options and the graphics are incredible'. I want my reviews to follow the latter. I want to be your friend and tell you exactly how I thought of a particular game. 'This is a good game that is a bit repetitive but at only 20 dollars you're still getting your money's worth.'

My reviews will not be exclusive to one particular console. I own all three major consoles and both portable systems, so I will try my best to mix up the reviews and write about all the units. I hope to have my first review up on the site in the next couple of days. At this moment, there are quite a few games I am playing, but it seems that CrossworDS will be my first review considering I have been playing it the most over the past few days. I already have in general a good feel for the game and I think just a bit more playing will allow me to write a fair review to the game.

That is all...for now.