I have the digital copy on my older sister's 3DS and I'm getting a
preordered physical copy from Amazon. I absolutely love the series and I
think this is a huge step up from the originals.
The game's
story expands a multitude of chapters with many amazing characters from
different backgrounds. Each of the characters develops and can become
romantically involved with another character, granting them bonuses in
battle and later on, kids!
The 3D effect is just plain awesome.
At first I thought there was dust flying around or something but then I
realized it was actually the smoke from the game and every once in a
while, bats would fly out! I also love the first person view point in 3D
battle. Makes for a trippy experience when using flying units. Superbly
done.
Fire Emblem is notable for its strategic, tactical game
play. Over the past 12 games, the gameplay was the same and a little
stale. However in this new edition, they introduced many interesting and
unique additions including "Pair up" and the getting bonuses from
adjacent characters! Pairing up beefs up a unit in multiple areas and
allows for a chance of dual attacking or blocking (and negating all
damage!) of a hit. It also increases support levels and such.
Supports
are also returning in this game along with the marriage system.
Supports are essentially characters getting closer together the more
time they are with other characters. For example having the Main Lord
(Chrom) with another female (non relative hopefully) character pairing
up or being adjacent for many battles will increase their support
levels. As this level increases, eventually the characters will fall in
love and get married.
There is DLC in this game but don't get too
worked up about it. The game itself is completely finished so it isn't
an on-disc dlc but rather bonus content for those who want extra
challenge. DLC includes maps, characters, and monster attacks which also
includes weapons and such. However the characters can be gotten for
free (and there are more free characters than DLC characters) through
spotpass. Simply leaving your 3DS in sleep mode will allow you to
download the characters and maps. The characters are not related to the
main game but rather come from other Fire Emblem games including Marth,
Roy, Ike, the Smash Bros. favorites. During the first month or so, there
is a free DLC including a very special character. Be sure to pick up
the game so you can pick him up also!
There is a bundle 3DS with
this game but I wouldn't recommend it as it is not a 3DS XL. I greatly
prefer the XL over the regular 3DS but if you're not picky about the
size then go ahead and pick up the bundle instead. Aside from that, I
would rather recommend getting a 3DS XL blue (MK7 bundle if possible)
and then adding the decal if you really want it.
Sunday, July 30, 2000
Friday, July 28, 2000
Ninja Gaiden Sigma | 9.0
I bought this game because I had played the previous versions of Ninja Gaiden in other old platforms, and, surprisingly, this was much less expensive than I expected.
This is a much better game than so many I have seen. It is not easy, the enemies attack in group, adapt the offensive and get tougher with time. Your character dies all the time and you have to try again countless times, but once you finish off a chapter boss you feel a real sensation of accomplishment.
What I like the most about this Ninja Gaiden version is that you can't expect the enemies to behave the same, even when you are trying again and encountering the same group of foes in the same situation you had before. The AI is very good. Depending on how you face them, your first strike, your character's position, etc, they will change the strategy. Also, as other reviewers mentioned, most enemies have some attacks that can't be blocked (you must try to evade them), if you block for too long or at the wrong time, they will break it and if you use the same attacks many times without varying, the enemies will adapt, blocking or evading them.
The graphics and sounds are good, but not too impressive, but I prefer challenging AI with good/average graphics to weak AI with mesmerizing graphics any day.
If you want real tough action, try this title (there is a demo at the Playstation store), but if you get frustrated easily, don't bother. There are easier titles around.
One criticism I have is that the saved game loading (when your character dies and you want to continue) and chapter loading (once you complete the previous one) are slow (at least, for me), even after installing the game in the hard drive (though it does improve it). But, it is a minor issue that don't affect the rest.
Advice: master the combo techniques. There are several of them and some require a sequence of 6 buttons to work. Your path will be smoother and the chapter bosses fall faster.
In the end, a great title.
This is a much better game than so many I have seen. It is not easy, the enemies attack in group, adapt the offensive and get tougher with time. Your character dies all the time and you have to try again countless times, but once you finish off a chapter boss you feel a real sensation of accomplishment.
What I like the most about this Ninja Gaiden version is that you can't expect the enemies to behave the same, even when you are trying again and encountering the same group of foes in the same situation you had before. The AI is very good. Depending on how you face them, your first strike, your character's position, etc, they will change the strategy. Also, as other reviewers mentioned, most enemies have some attacks that can't be blocked (you must try to evade them), if you block for too long or at the wrong time, they will break it and if you use the same attacks many times without varying, the enemies will adapt, blocking or evading them.
The graphics and sounds are good, but not too impressive, but I prefer challenging AI with good/average graphics to weak AI with mesmerizing graphics any day.
If you want real tough action, try this title (there is a demo at the Playstation store), but if you get frustrated easily, don't bother. There are easier titles around.
One criticism I have is that the saved game loading (when your character dies and you want to continue) and chapter loading (once you complete the previous one) are slow (at least, for me), even after installing the game in the hard drive (though it does improve it). But, it is a minor issue that don't affect the rest.
Advice: master the combo techniques. There are several of them and some require a sequence of 6 buttons to work. Your path will be smoother and the chapter bosses fall faster.
In the end, a great title.
Thursday, July 27, 2000
Call of Duty 4 : Modern Warfare 2 | 10
Just like its most recent predecessors, Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare and Call of Duty: World at War, the campaign portion of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 is a really fun game with extremely intense battle sequences. The downfall is that it's very very short. So let me start by saying that if you're not set up to, or you just don't intend to, play the online co-op or multiplayer modes, you really want to think twice before paying full price for this game. Single players either need to rent this or wait for an inexpensive used copy to go on sale.
So you get three game options: Special Ops (online isn't necessary, but at least two players are required for some of the missions), Multiplayer (designed to be played online; this is no fun split-screen with a max of 4 players), and the single player Campaign that took me less than 6 hours to finish.
In single player Campaign mode, you're a first person shooter (soldier) on the frontlines, and this time the frontlines aren't limited to overseas territories. Primarily you're playing separate, interlacing missions all over the world as two different characters. The story takes place several years after CoD 4 ended. And just as in CoD 4 you're with a team of characters that are truly your band of Artificial Intelligence brothers. On easier settings the AI soldiers can do practically all of the work for you on some missions; the help you might get from your team is based on the difficulty setting you've chosen. So unless you want to just glide through the game, definitely don't pick the Recruit difficulty (the other difficulty options are Regular, Hardened and Vet).
I could take away a star from the overall score of this game for how short the single player mode is, but I won't....All of a sudden it's not so short when you go back and try to play on the Vet setting and spend the time looking for all of the Intel items.
You arrive in single player boot camp just like in all of the previous CoDs, and you get a brief tutorial on how to maneuver around, shoot your weapons & throw grenades. After boot camp you get to choose the difficulty setting, then you're immediately strewn into various battles. (Once you've completed the game on any setting you can go back to various chapters to clean up any items or trophies missed, and at the start of each chapter you can choose to attempt on the higher difficulties.)
You fight your way through some intense chapters....really intense. In fact, when you first start off, there's even a warning that you'll be in for some VERY disturbing sequences, and you have the option to tell the game to skip "offensive material". Ummm...no thanks. I think that this is the first game that I've played that offers the option to censor itself if you choose the option. The story is a bit choppy at times, but the battles are wild. The graphics are out of this world, and some of the "familiar territory" scenes will just blow you away with how much it really looks like your own back yard.
The weapons are plentiful and sophisticated. You're shooting whichever modern-day weapon you happen to have picked up along your objective route. Objectives that guide you along are updated regularly as you complete each task throughout each chapter. And some of those tasks are brutal. There are frequent checkpoints (I think I remember even reaching new checkpoints without firing a single shot) in the campaign, so no need to worry about respawning back before what seemed to take an eternity to complete. On the other hand....
....There is the Special Ops portion of the game. I think that there are 23 different missions for you here, and you can play each one by trying to earn 1, 2 or 3 stars in each mission. Some of these are darn hard, especially the final 3-star unlocks. You will be frustrated by playing some of these a few times before you beat the levels to earn your stars. And there are no checkpoints in these missions, so if you fail in the final moments of a mission, you start over from the beginning of that mission.
Special Ops is most fun with a partner. It's best online so that you get to play full screen, but if you have a guest over you can play split screen offline. For all you World at War players looking for Zombies, you're out of luck here. You get Special Ops instead. There was a silly rumor that MW2 would have an "Alien Invaders" mode that would rival the Zombie mode of WaW, but that indeed was just a silly rumor.
Online Multiplayer is where you'll get addicted. No AI brothers here...just your fellow gamers. You'd better have your FPS skills honed if you think that you'll score better than some of the MW2 online players. A very high percentage of the online players have been honing their skills online for years now with CoD4 and World at War.
The concept with Multiplayer is certainly not new. The more you play, the higher you rank allowing you to unlock more (fine tuned) weapons. The game sets you up in matches with people at your level and rank, but that ain't gonna help you if you're new (you will be fondly referred to as a noob by your swell fellow online players) and you're up against the CoD4 or WaW vets.
What makes MW2 Multiplayer more than just a new map pack for CoD4 is that the Multiplayer weapons and perk system are vastly improved. And so is connectivity (so it seems in the initial week of play after a few day one and two glitches). You get 10 times the amount of points for the kills and captures that you're used to getting only 5 or 10 points for in CoD4 and WaW. You also now get points for not just killing and capturing, but for taking out enemy air support, coming back from deathstreaks, killing your nemesis, breaking an enemy's streak and other stuff. Yeah, Multiplayer is good fun, habitual and bad for a marriage.
So all in all Call of Duty: Modern Warfare is major fun. The only drawbacks to this awesome game are that the campaign is really short and the multiplayer action is a bit familiar. But the MW2 Multiplayer improvements over its predecessors far out weigh the familiarity.
Modern Warfare 2 is a must for FPS fans. Add it to your cart, soldier!
So you get three game options: Special Ops (online isn't necessary, but at least two players are required for some of the missions), Multiplayer (designed to be played online; this is no fun split-screen with a max of 4 players), and the single player Campaign that took me less than 6 hours to finish.
In single player Campaign mode, you're a first person shooter (soldier) on the frontlines, and this time the frontlines aren't limited to overseas territories. Primarily you're playing separate, interlacing missions all over the world as two different characters. The story takes place several years after CoD 4 ended. And just as in CoD 4 you're with a team of characters that are truly your band of Artificial Intelligence brothers. On easier settings the AI soldiers can do practically all of the work for you on some missions; the help you might get from your team is based on the difficulty setting you've chosen. So unless you want to just glide through the game, definitely don't pick the Recruit difficulty (the other difficulty options are Regular, Hardened and Vet).
I could take away a star from the overall score of this game for how short the single player mode is, but I won't....All of a sudden it's not so short when you go back and try to play on the Vet setting and spend the time looking for all of the Intel items.
You arrive in single player boot camp just like in all of the previous CoDs, and you get a brief tutorial on how to maneuver around, shoot your weapons & throw grenades. After boot camp you get to choose the difficulty setting, then you're immediately strewn into various battles. (Once you've completed the game on any setting you can go back to various chapters to clean up any items or trophies missed, and at the start of each chapter you can choose to attempt on the higher difficulties.)
You fight your way through some intense chapters....really intense. In fact, when you first start off, there's even a warning that you'll be in for some VERY disturbing sequences, and you have the option to tell the game to skip "offensive material". Ummm...no thanks. I think that this is the first game that I've played that offers the option to censor itself if you choose the option. The story is a bit choppy at times, but the battles are wild. The graphics are out of this world, and some of the "familiar territory" scenes will just blow you away with how much it really looks like your own back yard.
The weapons are plentiful and sophisticated. You're shooting whichever modern-day weapon you happen to have picked up along your objective route. Objectives that guide you along are updated regularly as you complete each task throughout each chapter. And some of those tasks are brutal. There are frequent checkpoints (I think I remember even reaching new checkpoints without firing a single shot) in the campaign, so no need to worry about respawning back before what seemed to take an eternity to complete. On the other hand....
....There is the Special Ops portion of the game. I think that there are 23 different missions for you here, and you can play each one by trying to earn 1, 2 or 3 stars in each mission. Some of these are darn hard, especially the final 3-star unlocks. You will be frustrated by playing some of these a few times before you beat the levels to earn your stars. And there are no checkpoints in these missions, so if you fail in the final moments of a mission, you start over from the beginning of that mission.
Special Ops is most fun with a partner. It's best online so that you get to play full screen, but if you have a guest over you can play split screen offline. For all you World at War players looking for Zombies, you're out of luck here. You get Special Ops instead. There was a silly rumor that MW2 would have an "Alien Invaders" mode that would rival the Zombie mode of WaW, but that indeed was just a silly rumor.
Online Multiplayer is where you'll get addicted. No AI brothers here...just your fellow gamers. You'd better have your FPS skills honed if you think that you'll score better than some of the MW2 online players. A very high percentage of the online players have been honing their skills online for years now with CoD4 and World at War.
The concept with Multiplayer is certainly not new. The more you play, the higher you rank allowing you to unlock more (fine tuned) weapons. The game sets you up in matches with people at your level and rank, but that ain't gonna help you if you're new (you will be fondly referred to as a noob by your swell fellow online players) and you're up against the CoD4 or WaW vets.
What makes MW2 Multiplayer more than just a new map pack for CoD4 is that the Multiplayer weapons and perk system are vastly improved. And so is connectivity (so it seems in the initial week of play after a few day one and two glitches). You get 10 times the amount of points for the kills and captures that you're used to getting only 5 or 10 points for in CoD4 and WaW. You also now get points for not just killing and capturing, but for taking out enemy air support, coming back from deathstreaks, killing your nemesis, breaking an enemy's streak and other stuff. Yeah, Multiplayer is good fun, habitual and bad for a marriage.
So all in all Call of Duty: Modern Warfare is major fun. The only drawbacks to this awesome game are that the campaign is really short and the multiplayer action is a bit familiar. But the MW2 Multiplayer improvements over its predecessors far out weigh the familiarity.
Modern Warfare 2 is a must for FPS fans. Add it to your cart, soldier!
Tuesday, July 25, 2000
Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare | 9.0
COD4 is truly one of the best first person shooter games. You can play the story mode which takes you through an entire war, with a detailed and intriguing story, and has many different styles of play. Some stages will require straight gun fights, while others will require you to be stealth and snipe your enemies from afar.
The best thing about this game is the Multiplayer function. This is such a great feature as it extends the play value of the game. In most games, once you beat the story mode, there is hardly any reason to play again. however, in multiplayer mode, you will be playing with other gamers around the world online, for free, and get to eliminate each other. Multiplayer mode has many different modes to choose from such as "capture the flag", or "free for all" but the main objectives are all the same. eliminate your opponents!
If you need more detailed footage of the game, just youtube it and see how the game play is in action.
The best thing about this game is the Multiplayer function. This is such a great feature as it extends the play value of the game. In most games, once you beat the story mode, there is hardly any reason to play again. however, in multiplayer mode, you will be playing with other gamers around the world online, for free, and get to eliminate each other. Multiplayer mode has many different modes to choose from such as "capture the flag", or "free for all" but the main objectives are all the same. eliminate your opponents!
If you need more detailed footage of the game, just youtube it and see how the game play is in action.
Monday, July 24, 2000
God of War III | 9.0
Thanks for reading my first review here on Amazon. I normally don't review stuff like this online but I can't get this game out of my head. I've had my jaw hit the floor more times in the first couple hours than I've ever had in an entire game before. When people describe this game as epic, they are not just using some cliche word everyone on the internet throws around. The cover of God of War 3 should be in the dictionary next to the word.
First, I highly suggest anyone new to the series to go ahead and pick up the God of War Collection. It is some of the best the PS2 has to offer for only $30. It will bring you up to date on the story and help you get aquainted with the combat system so you can jump right into part 3 no problem. This brings me to my next point, difficulty. I'm hearing the term "button-masher" thrown around quite a lot in regards to this game and while this might be true for the easy and normal difficulties, it couldn't be further from the truth on Titan (hard) mode. Having beaten the two previous games recently, I started GoW3 on Titan difficutly. There is no way you can spam the same combos and expect to make it anywhere. For those familiar with the previous instances of God of War, or for you hack-n-slash pros out there, I highly suggest starting off on Titan mode. This will provide a much greater challenge and get you ready to play on Chaos mode after you've unlocked it.
For the most part, the gameplay remains unchanged from the previous titles. If it ain't broke don't fix it right? However, there are a few differences that greatly enhance the experiece. For starters, the QTEs now put the button prompts in relation to their location on the controller (triangle appears at the top of the screen, X on the bottom ect.). This allows the player to view whatever violent act Kratos is performing at the time without having the button prompt cover it all. Another great change is the ability to switch weapons on the fly, mid combo. This allows for a lot of creativiy to be used in how you dispatch each enemy. Lastly, one of my favorite additions to the combat system is the combat grapple. Kratos will fling both blades into an enemy and pull himself towards them. This greatly increases combo variety and makes it easier to string together lots and lots of hits.
When it comes to presentation in video games, God of War 3 takes the cake. You can tell a lot of work was put into making the game look amazing. I must have spent the first 10 minutes just staring at how detailed Kratos looks. The boss battles and level design redefine what scale is in games today. Some people might be put off by the fixed camera, but this allows the directors of the game to give you breathtaking views and truly show off all the hard work they put into making this one of the most visually pleasing experiences you will ever have. All the trailers and screens you could watch won't hold a candle to how this game looks live on a nice 1080p TV set.
In closing, God of War 3 is one of most amazing experiences you can find in gaming today. Other games might have a little more depth to their combat systems, but none of them put together the entire package of gameplay, graphics, sound, story, and overall fun. If you've been on the edge about picking up a PS3, let Kratos make that decision for you. Do yourself a favor and BUY this game!!!
First, I highly suggest anyone new to the series to go ahead and pick up the God of War Collection. It is some of the best the PS2 has to offer for only $30. It will bring you up to date on the story and help you get aquainted with the combat system so you can jump right into part 3 no problem. This brings me to my next point, difficulty. I'm hearing the term "button-masher" thrown around quite a lot in regards to this game and while this might be true for the easy and normal difficulties, it couldn't be further from the truth on Titan (hard) mode. Having beaten the two previous games recently, I started GoW3 on Titan difficutly. There is no way you can spam the same combos and expect to make it anywhere. For those familiar with the previous instances of God of War, or for you hack-n-slash pros out there, I highly suggest starting off on Titan mode. This will provide a much greater challenge and get you ready to play on Chaos mode after you've unlocked it.
For the most part, the gameplay remains unchanged from the previous titles. If it ain't broke don't fix it right? However, there are a few differences that greatly enhance the experiece. For starters, the QTEs now put the button prompts in relation to their location on the controller (triangle appears at the top of the screen, X on the bottom ect.). This allows the player to view whatever violent act Kratos is performing at the time without having the button prompt cover it all. Another great change is the ability to switch weapons on the fly, mid combo. This allows for a lot of creativiy to be used in how you dispatch each enemy. Lastly, one of my favorite additions to the combat system is the combat grapple. Kratos will fling both blades into an enemy and pull himself towards them. This greatly increases combo variety and makes it easier to string together lots and lots of hits.
When it comes to presentation in video games, God of War 3 takes the cake. You can tell a lot of work was put into making the game look amazing. I must have spent the first 10 minutes just staring at how detailed Kratos looks. The boss battles and level design redefine what scale is in games today. Some people might be put off by the fixed camera, but this allows the directors of the game to give you breathtaking views and truly show off all the hard work they put into making this one of the most visually pleasing experiences you will ever have. All the trailers and screens you could watch won't hold a candle to how this game looks live on a nice 1080p TV set.
In closing, God of War 3 is one of most amazing experiences you can find in gaming today. Other games might have a little more depth to their combat systems, but none of them put together the entire package of gameplay, graphics, sound, story, and overall fun. If you've been on the edge about picking up a PS3, let Kratos make that decision for you. Do yourself a favor and BUY this game!!!
Final Fantasy XIII Ps3 review | 9.0
-As many preliminary reviewers have stated, this iteration of the Final Fantasy series is quite noticeably linear in nature in its first half. Compared to the previous FF installments, which allow you to explore a vast open world from the outset and take on various optional side-quests, FFXIII gives you neither for the first 18-20 hours of the game. Things open up after that point, but your options are still very limited compared to earlier FF games. There is also little opportunity to "level grind" (although the term doesn't explicitly apply here, more on that later) until you reach this point. You are given a proverbial "ceiling", a temporary limit to which your party members can be strengthened and developed, and for better or worse, you have to make the most of what's available to you to overcome the next challenging boss battle. Also, NPC interaction is highly limited, almost to the point of non-existence. Luckily, the story development balances all this out very nicely. It's like one big, long, winding corridor full of hurtles to jump, though the game manages to become more and more fun to play as you progress. And damned if it isn't the most visually appealing corridor I've ever seen.
-Which brings us to the graphics. Square Enix has historically made painstaking efforts to keep its Final Fantasy games on the very cutting edge of the graphics scene, and FFXIII is no exception. The characters--even token NPCs--are all meticulously rendered and animated, each doing justice to the art of the series' premiere character artist, Tetsuya Nomura. Their facial subtext is unprecedented in the series, making for very convincing performances. The way they move in battle is consistently a treat to watch, particularly in Lightning's case, as she vaults and flips about, slashing up baddies and tossing fireballs around the arena. Despite participating in chaotic battles with as many as 10 enemies on-screen, I've noticed absolutely no lag or slowdown in the framerate. The environments are positively SPECTACULAR in both their scope, lighting, and design. It's enough to make you cry, knowing that you're chained to a single path and unable to freely explore these awe-inspiring vistas, but don't worry, you'll get more freedom to roam in the latter half of the game. The prerendered cutscenes are even more beautiful, in my opinion surpassing the taut action and visual appeal of even the Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children Complete [Blu-ray] feature film. They occur fairly often, and they're an absolute joy to watch.
-About battles: the new battle system is a great departure from what FF vets might be used to. There are up to three party members fighting on your side, and you directly control the actions of the leader only. The other two members provide AI support based on their role in your party's currently active Paradigm (a battle plan that assigns specific roles to each party member, and can be changed on-the-fly at any time). Timing these Paradigm Shifts is the name of the game, otherwise you'll get pummeled in short order.
Gone are the days when you'd have to manage your party's HP and MP between battles; HP is automatically refilled for all party members (even KO'd ones) after every battle, and MP is non-existent.
Magic spells take the form of elemental techniques that are seamlessly integrated with physical attacks and other special techniques, in long hitstrings that cost only ATB Meter stocks. The focus is not only to survive and win battles, but to finish them quickly and decisively. It pays to have your strategy thought through before challenging the next group of enemies. Judiciously switching Paradigms in mid-battle is indespensible to victory, and necessary to receive a 5-star rank at the end of the battle, and ultimately more valuable spoils.
Summons take the form of Eidolons, who join you as AI-controlled battle buddies when called upon. You can also press Square to enter the Eidolon's "Gestalt Mode", wherein it transforms into some sort of vehicle that the summoning character rides on/in, unlocking new attack options and enabling you to execute the Eidolon's ultimate technique on command. Only the party's currently assigned Leader may summon an Eidolon.
"Limit Breaks" (as they are more popularly known) can be unlocked for each character once they've reached Chrystarium Level 4. They do not cost TP, and there are no special prerequisites for executing them; fire away to your heart's content. As with Eidolons, only the Party Leader can execute his/her Limit Break.
It takes some getting used to, but the game offers plenty of tutorials to explain how to make the most of the options available to you. Personally, I find this new battle system to be a lot of fun.
-Character levels as you know them are gone as well. Your party members' stats are boosted through the expenditure of Crystogen Points (CP) in the Chrystarium Development system (very similar to the Sphere Grid system of FFX). As you advance through the Chrystarium, you gain new techniques and spells, and increase the levels of each character's available Roles.
What does level up are your weapons and accessories. Spoils you earn in victory can be spent to allocate Experience Points to your equipped gear, raising their stat bonuses and special attributes, and even transforming them into other, more powerful items. I guess this is your incentive to shoot for that 5-star battle score.
-Camera movement feels a bit sluggish, but smooth. It gives the battles a cinematic feel, but when you're running around the map, it can be a pain. I like to sneak up on enemies so that I can get the initiative when the battle starts, but the slow-turning camera has robbed me of this opportunity more than a few times (though it's not a game-breaker).
-BOTTOM LINE: It's definitely worth checking out, but I recommend you rent this one first, even if you're a Final Fantasy veteran. FFXIII has its own unique style and flow; you either love it or you hate it. The story is deep, mysterious and compelling, and the characters each have very interesting, multi-dimensional personalities. If you can stick it out, you'll be handsomely rewarded with gameplay that just gets more and more exciting as you progress.
-Which brings us to the graphics. Square Enix has historically made painstaking efforts to keep its Final Fantasy games on the very cutting edge of the graphics scene, and FFXIII is no exception. The characters--even token NPCs--are all meticulously rendered and animated, each doing justice to the art of the series' premiere character artist, Tetsuya Nomura. Their facial subtext is unprecedented in the series, making for very convincing performances. The way they move in battle is consistently a treat to watch, particularly in Lightning's case, as she vaults and flips about, slashing up baddies and tossing fireballs around the arena. Despite participating in chaotic battles with as many as 10 enemies on-screen, I've noticed absolutely no lag or slowdown in the framerate. The environments are positively SPECTACULAR in both their scope, lighting, and design. It's enough to make you cry, knowing that you're chained to a single path and unable to freely explore these awe-inspiring vistas, but don't worry, you'll get more freedom to roam in the latter half of the game. The prerendered cutscenes are even more beautiful, in my opinion surpassing the taut action and visual appeal of even the Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children Complete [Blu-ray] feature film. They occur fairly often, and they're an absolute joy to watch.
-About battles: the new battle system is a great departure from what FF vets might be used to. There are up to three party members fighting on your side, and you directly control the actions of the leader only. The other two members provide AI support based on their role in your party's currently active Paradigm (a battle plan that assigns specific roles to each party member, and can be changed on-the-fly at any time). Timing these Paradigm Shifts is the name of the game, otherwise you'll get pummeled in short order.
Gone are the days when you'd have to manage your party's HP and MP between battles; HP is automatically refilled for all party members (even KO'd ones) after every battle, and MP is non-existent.
Magic spells take the form of elemental techniques that are seamlessly integrated with physical attacks and other special techniques, in long hitstrings that cost only ATB Meter stocks. The focus is not only to survive and win battles, but to finish them quickly and decisively. It pays to have your strategy thought through before challenging the next group of enemies. Judiciously switching Paradigms in mid-battle is indespensible to victory, and necessary to receive a 5-star rank at the end of the battle, and ultimately more valuable spoils.
Summons take the form of Eidolons, who join you as AI-controlled battle buddies when called upon. You can also press Square to enter the Eidolon's "Gestalt Mode", wherein it transforms into some sort of vehicle that the summoning character rides on/in, unlocking new attack options and enabling you to execute the Eidolon's ultimate technique on command. Only the party's currently assigned Leader may summon an Eidolon.
"Limit Breaks" (as they are more popularly known) can be unlocked for each character once they've reached Chrystarium Level 4. They do not cost TP, and there are no special prerequisites for executing them; fire away to your heart's content. As with Eidolons, only the Party Leader can execute his/her Limit Break.
It takes some getting used to, but the game offers plenty of tutorials to explain how to make the most of the options available to you. Personally, I find this new battle system to be a lot of fun.
-Character levels as you know them are gone as well. Your party members' stats are boosted through the expenditure of Crystogen Points (CP) in the Chrystarium Development system (very similar to the Sphere Grid system of FFX). As you advance through the Chrystarium, you gain new techniques and spells, and increase the levels of each character's available Roles.
What does level up are your weapons and accessories. Spoils you earn in victory can be spent to allocate Experience Points to your equipped gear, raising their stat bonuses and special attributes, and even transforming them into other, more powerful items. I guess this is your incentive to shoot for that 5-star battle score.
-Camera movement feels a bit sluggish, but smooth. It gives the battles a cinematic feel, but when you're running around the map, it can be a pain. I like to sneak up on enemies so that I can get the initiative when the battle starts, but the slow-turning camera has robbed me of this opportunity more than a few times (though it's not a game-breaker).
-BOTTOM LINE: It's definitely worth checking out, but I recommend you rent this one first, even if you're a Final Fantasy veteran. FFXIII has its own unique style and flow; you either love it or you hate it. The story is deep, mysterious and compelling, and the characters each have very interesting, multi-dimensional personalities. If you can stick it out, you'll be handsomely rewarded with gameplay that just gets more and more exciting as you progress.
Sunday, July 23, 2000
Battlefield: Bad Company 2 | 9.0
Quick backround on me - I'm an avid console FPS player. I achieved top 1% once and top 6% for 3 solid months on Killzone. I've gotten my kill rank as high as 91000 on MW2 (good enough for top 2%). I also played a fair amount of Resistance. I LOVE COD:MW2. I love the graphics, the speed, the twitch reflexes required to be good. I also do not play the single player games, so my review is aimed specifically at the online portion. I will say the 2 hours spent on the single player were very fun and the graphics phenominal (noticeably better than multiplayer). I also play with a clan that has carried over several games, that also weighs into my opinion. Finally, I played both the BETA and the DEMO, and about 48 hours online in, so I have a fair amount of experience with BFBC 2 .
Based on DICE & EA's own admission, they are aiming to be the best, better than COD specfically. Do they succeed? Yes and no. Here is my comparison/opinion:
Play is class based - Recon, Medic, Assault and Engineer. As you play as each character, their specific abilities are unlocked and enhanced. The leveling is slow. Unlike MW2 where getting hot could mean 2000xp and a quick couple of levels. Not so in Battlefield. You will need to play and play well as one class for an extended period to really get into the meat of the characters. You can customize your player, but not in the same fashion MW2. Edge: Draw
Modes include Rush, Capture the Flag, Squad Deathmatch and Gold Rush. The HUGE advantage BFBC 2 has over MW2 is that playing like a one man army is useless and you will probably lose. You CAN do it, but camping and playing as a lone wolf simply do not work in BFBC. Again, a stark contrast to MW2, the maps are enormous. And that is putting it lightly. Squading up is imperative if you want to move quickly across the map (and spawn with a squadmate). Edge: BFBC
Mechanics - The players move in a similiar fashion to COD:MW, i.e., like the player is on skates. This is in contrast to Killzone that moves more like Saving Private Ryan. The guns feel good, but do not have a weighty feel to them. The player can run for days and jump abnormally high. The bullets have drop at long range, wich is awesome. As opposed to a wobbly reticle, you have to aim based on distance to the target. You don't get much of a notice when you are getting hit or hit someone, and getting killed can be a bit jarring and abrubt. Players can regain health, but slowly, so as a sniper, you can get those one shot kills, especially if you snipe behind your tank. Speaking of vehicles. They are tide changer and vital part of winning the game you are playing. We're talking choppers, tanks, humvees and quadrunners. As far as the actual shooting goes, MW2 still just feels better, but that is going to be a strict opinion, as both work just fine. Edge: Draw
Matchmaking - It's easy to jump into a squad and more importantly, hook up with friends. You can customize the map you play and all of the modes. The game also plays on dedicated servers supported by EA. Again, big edge: BFBC.
Graphics / Sound - This is going to be very much debated. I like how COD and KZ looks. BUT - Battlefield has vehicles, 24 players, 10 maps that dwarf COD and KZ's maps and the big enchilada - fully destructable environments. Like the tanks your in, they change the game. If a sniper thinks he's going to camp, think again. The building he's in or tree he's behind will eventually fall. Near the end of some matches, the level of destruction is incredible. If you are a pure graphics fiend, youll probably think it's ugly, if you love the size, scope and destructability, you'll prefer BFBC. As far as sound - COD is like a Bruckheimer movie, BFBC is like Saving Private Ryan. More pops and thumps. Every gun in COD sounds like a cannon (which I love with my Turtlebeach P21 Headphones). Edge: Draw
Overall - I personally prefer the gameplay of COD:MW2 by a wide margin over BFBC 2. However, if you've spent any time with MW2, you know it's full of lone wolves, campers, cheaters and glitchers. The matchmaking is inferior, clan support is nill and playing with friends online is very difficult because of constant drops. Playing as a team is paramount to having a good time on BFBC, and there in lies the rub. I gave it 4 stars instead of 5 because I'm afraid the game will not have that pick up and play, jump right in replayability that COD:MW2 has. Ginormous maps played with strangers not playing together could end up being just as bad (or worse) than the faults of MW2. At the end of the day, I like the overall idea of BFBC2 BETTER than MW2, but narrowly. Time will tell where the support from players lies and the longevity of the game.
Based on DICE & EA's own admission, they are aiming to be the best, better than COD specfically. Do they succeed? Yes and no. Here is my comparison/opinion:
Play is class based - Recon, Medic, Assault and Engineer. As you play as each character, their specific abilities are unlocked and enhanced. The leveling is slow. Unlike MW2 where getting hot could mean 2000xp and a quick couple of levels. Not so in Battlefield. You will need to play and play well as one class for an extended period to really get into the meat of the characters. You can customize your player, but not in the same fashion MW2. Edge: Draw
Modes include Rush, Capture the Flag, Squad Deathmatch and Gold Rush. The HUGE advantage BFBC 2 has over MW2 is that playing like a one man army is useless and you will probably lose. You CAN do it, but camping and playing as a lone wolf simply do not work in BFBC. Again, a stark contrast to MW2, the maps are enormous. And that is putting it lightly. Squading up is imperative if you want to move quickly across the map (and spawn with a squadmate). Edge: BFBC
Mechanics - The players move in a similiar fashion to COD:MW, i.e., like the player is on skates. This is in contrast to Killzone that moves more like Saving Private Ryan. The guns feel good, but do not have a weighty feel to them. The player can run for days and jump abnormally high. The bullets have drop at long range, wich is awesome. As opposed to a wobbly reticle, you have to aim based on distance to the target. You don't get much of a notice when you are getting hit or hit someone, and getting killed can be a bit jarring and abrubt. Players can regain health, but slowly, so as a sniper, you can get those one shot kills, especially if you snipe behind your tank. Speaking of vehicles. They are tide changer and vital part of winning the game you are playing. We're talking choppers, tanks, humvees and quadrunners. As far as the actual shooting goes, MW2 still just feels better, but that is going to be a strict opinion, as both work just fine. Edge: Draw
Matchmaking - It's easy to jump into a squad and more importantly, hook up with friends. You can customize the map you play and all of the modes. The game also plays on dedicated servers supported by EA. Again, big edge: BFBC.
Graphics / Sound - This is going to be very much debated. I like how COD and KZ looks. BUT - Battlefield has vehicles, 24 players, 10 maps that dwarf COD and KZ's maps and the big enchilada - fully destructable environments. Like the tanks your in, they change the game. If a sniper thinks he's going to camp, think again. The building he's in or tree he's behind will eventually fall. Near the end of some matches, the level of destruction is incredible. If you are a pure graphics fiend, youll probably think it's ugly, if you love the size, scope and destructability, you'll prefer BFBC. As far as sound - COD is like a Bruckheimer movie, BFBC is like Saving Private Ryan. More pops and thumps. Every gun in COD sounds like a cannon (which I love with my Turtlebeach P21 Headphones). Edge: Draw
Overall - I personally prefer the gameplay of COD:MW2 by a wide margin over BFBC 2. However, if you've spent any time with MW2, you know it's full of lone wolves, campers, cheaters and glitchers. The matchmaking is inferior, clan support is nill and playing with friends online is very difficult because of constant drops. Playing as a team is paramount to having a good time on BFBC, and there in lies the rub. I gave it 4 stars instead of 5 because I'm afraid the game will not have that pick up and play, jump right in replayability that COD:MW2 has. Ginormous maps played with strangers not playing together could end up being just as bad (or worse) than the faults of MW2. At the end of the day, I like the overall idea of BFBC2 BETTER than MW2, but narrowly. Time will tell where the support from players lies and the longevity of the game.
Saturday, July 22, 2000
Heavy Rain review 8.5
Overview (no major spoilers): You play several different characters in hopes to track down a serial killer that targets children. There are many twists and exciting plot reveals as the game goes on. Most of this takes place in rainy or dismal settings, so get used to your characters being wet all the time.
Issue seen on PS3Slim (others have seen same on original PS3, I dont have one to confirm):
Ok lets talk about the issue I have with the game so that we can get to the good stuff. The video is choppy. No two ways about it. I have the new PS3 Slim and the video jerks and stutters just enough to be annoying over time. You can tell its pushing the system pretty hard. Other times its smooth and beautiful. Most of the time the jerky video is not during anything fast or major, just when the character may be walking it looks like Monty Python sketch about silly walks. It doesn't tear, it merely is just a very slight lag when moving the character, 1 step is smooth 2nd step is slower, 3rd step is slower yet then back to smooth again maybe 2 steps and repeat the slow down. Its not overt and you might not notice it at all. Ok thats my major gripe, now onto the game.
Interface:
Fantastic and feels very immersive. At first the interface seems really clunky and weird until you get the button combinations down then it is very smooth and easy to figure out. Eventually you really dont have to think about it at all. This game is rewriting what interfaces are in video games and even though it is cutting edge it sometimes feels a bit like Dragon's Lair. If you find that you just cant keep up due to whatever reason you can change the difficulty setting by selecting how comfortable you are with the PS3 controller. They attempt to use the sixaxis controller like it was meant to be used but it feels a bit, eh, ok. Its not as intuitive as say, Flower [Online Game Code - Full Game].
Load times:
The load times do take a little longer than I would like, however they use it as a chance to show off the incredible facial modeling and motion capture. The characters look around and you can see the really fine attention to detail.
Adult themes:
One thing I like about this title is its frank dealing with adult themes. Its not overt sexuality, but there is nudity both male and female, and also psychological illness and struggle that most children would not be able to handle. I recommend this for people over the age of 18 and also with sound mental capacity. Reason being is, the story has some very dark imagery that is both disturbing and essential to the thriller. There are graphic depictions of drug use, and it is not pretty.
Fight sequences:
At times in the beginning you can practice fighting with doing other mundane things such as juggling and playing with one of the children in the game. It shows you through a very inventive way the skills you will need later on to fight. One thing that I like is that the producers offer this in a subtle way. Once you have this hit X now - Up - now Triangle, Now down sort of timing it becomes second nature. If you remember Dragon's Lair then you will find yourself right at home here.
Imagery:
The game is dark, its almost always raining, there are times though when you can escape through a virtual environment in the game to lush areas. It is always beautiful and quite breathtaking to see some of these vistas. After playing for several hours to see the sun was very refreshing and almost brought my spirits up. Then it was back to the case. The visuals are spot on. There are pieces of plastic caught in the barbed wire of the fences, cans roll around the street, there is dirt under and over a light switch on the wall. These are some of the great details to look for. So much attention to the small details help to make it more believable. In the beginning you are in a modern home with fantastic architecture and it looks just like a movie set. Textures, reflections, water all play very integral members of the cast. At times I forgot to move because I thought I was watching a movie, not playing one.
Vocals & Storytelling:
I am playing the US version and the voice acting is very good. I appreciate the vocals at times more than the graphics (which is saying alot). They are actual actors and not the textures guy doing a voice for the game. What you get is a compelling story told through many peoples viewpoints. Think Steven King or Dean Koontz with regard to many characters telling the whole story. This is not a hero quest layout and often I had trouble finding who to root for. That in itself makes it a very powerful story. I never felt that the story was out of hand or too deep to grasp. I really felt as I was integral in many ways to what was going on the screen.
Replayability:
There are so many different ways to go in this story that it could mean infinite replayability, although I doubt its that much. Even so it could be like 200+ different ways to play it meaning it is a very good value. Just do what you think the characters would do and live with the decisions, or go back and try again.
Synopsis breakdown:
Pros:
>> Motion capture is some of the best I have seen, only sometimes seems too stiff (like going up stairs)
>> Interface is easy to use once you get the basics down
>> You can change the difficulty based on how fast you think you can pull off the moves, so it doesn't penalize older players with slower reaction times.
>> A true adult game (mild sex), but with real life issues and themes.
>> Gritty and holds no punches
Cons:
<< PS3 Slim with plenty of HD space had jerky motion and felt a bit pushed
<< Harkens back to old school movie games with the controls based on timing and buttons (its ok not much of a con but thought I would mention it)
Overall this game will touch you in many ways. It is both wonderful to look at, yet you will find yourself wanting to look away when the bad stuff happens. You become very attached to each character and the smallest decisions you make may change the whole conclusion of the game. Matter of fact there is no guarantee that anyone will solve the case, so, be wise with your choices.
Issue seen on PS3Slim (others have seen same on original PS3, I dont have one to confirm):
Ok lets talk about the issue I have with the game so that we can get to the good stuff. The video is choppy. No two ways about it. I have the new PS3 Slim and the video jerks and stutters just enough to be annoying over time. You can tell its pushing the system pretty hard. Other times its smooth and beautiful. Most of the time the jerky video is not during anything fast or major, just when the character may be walking it looks like Monty Python sketch about silly walks. It doesn't tear, it merely is just a very slight lag when moving the character, 1 step is smooth 2nd step is slower, 3rd step is slower yet then back to smooth again maybe 2 steps and repeat the slow down. Its not overt and you might not notice it at all. Ok thats my major gripe, now onto the game.
Interface:
Fantastic and feels very immersive. At first the interface seems really clunky and weird until you get the button combinations down then it is very smooth and easy to figure out. Eventually you really dont have to think about it at all. This game is rewriting what interfaces are in video games and even though it is cutting edge it sometimes feels a bit like Dragon's Lair. If you find that you just cant keep up due to whatever reason you can change the difficulty setting by selecting how comfortable you are with the PS3 controller. They attempt to use the sixaxis controller like it was meant to be used but it feels a bit, eh, ok. Its not as intuitive as say, Flower [Online Game Code - Full Game].
Load times:
The load times do take a little longer than I would like, however they use it as a chance to show off the incredible facial modeling and motion capture. The characters look around and you can see the really fine attention to detail.
Adult themes:
One thing I like about this title is its frank dealing with adult themes. Its not overt sexuality, but there is nudity both male and female, and also psychological illness and struggle that most children would not be able to handle. I recommend this for people over the age of 18 and also with sound mental capacity. Reason being is, the story has some very dark imagery that is both disturbing and essential to the thriller. There are graphic depictions of drug use, and it is not pretty.
Fight sequences:
At times in the beginning you can practice fighting with doing other mundane things such as juggling and playing with one of the children in the game. It shows you through a very inventive way the skills you will need later on to fight. One thing that I like is that the producers offer this in a subtle way. Once you have this hit X now - Up - now Triangle, Now down sort of timing it becomes second nature. If you remember Dragon's Lair then you will find yourself right at home here.
Imagery:
The game is dark, its almost always raining, there are times though when you can escape through a virtual environment in the game to lush areas. It is always beautiful and quite breathtaking to see some of these vistas. After playing for several hours to see the sun was very refreshing and almost brought my spirits up. Then it was back to the case. The visuals are spot on. There are pieces of plastic caught in the barbed wire of the fences, cans roll around the street, there is dirt under and over a light switch on the wall. These are some of the great details to look for. So much attention to the small details help to make it more believable. In the beginning you are in a modern home with fantastic architecture and it looks just like a movie set. Textures, reflections, water all play very integral members of the cast. At times I forgot to move because I thought I was watching a movie, not playing one.
Vocals & Storytelling:
I am playing the US version and the voice acting is very good. I appreciate the vocals at times more than the graphics (which is saying alot). They are actual actors and not the textures guy doing a voice for the game. What you get is a compelling story told through many peoples viewpoints. Think Steven King or Dean Koontz with regard to many characters telling the whole story. This is not a hero quest layout and often I had trouble finding who to root for. That in itself makes it a very powerful story. I never felt that the story was out of hand or too deep to grasp. I really felt as I was integral in many ways to what was going on the screen.
Replayability:
There are so many different ways to go in this story that it could mean infinite replayability, although I doubt its that much. Even so it could be like 200+ different ways to play it meaning it is a very good value. Just do what you think the characters would do and live with the decisions, or go back and try again.
Synopsis breakdown:
Pros:
>> Motion capture is some of the best I have seen, only sometimes seems too stiff (like going up stairs)
>> Interface is easy to use once you get the basics down
>> You can change the difficulty based on how fast you think you can pull off the moves, so it doesn't penalize older players with slower reaction times.
>> A true adult game (mild sex), but with real life issues and themes.
>> Gritty and holds no punches
Cons:
<< PS3 Slim with plenty of HD space had jerky motion and felt a bit pushed
<< Harkens back to old school movie games with the controls based on timing and buttons (its ok not much of a con but thought I would mention it)
Overall this game will touch you in many ways. It is both wonderful to look at, yet you will find yourself wanting to look away when the bad stuff happens. You become very attached to each character and the smallest decisions you make may change the whole conclusion of the game. Matter of fact there is no guarantee that anyone will solve the case, so, be wise with your choices.
Friday, July 21, 2000
The Orange Box PS3 review 9.0
The most important of the entire package is simply Half-Life 2. This game came a few years back from the PC. Later it was ported to the original Xbox and now he is the next-gen consoles available. Includes two separate episodes that later came out as a kind of add-on to the story. Here I can also equal a footnote. If you are the original and possibly one of the single episodes then you have played the Half-Life section in The Orange Box have nothing to expect. The game has no further in-game adjustments when it comes to gameplay. Conversely, what is that Half-Life two also still a hell of a game that itself is in the top ten best First Person Shooters ever made should places. If you are not totally familiar with the phenomenon of Half-Life, still just the story of what the games are all about and turned.
In Half-Life 2 play with Gordon Freeman, he is a professor who did his daily thing until a medical toko in Half-Life 1 turned into a place you'd rather not come. Dive anywhere in the building and so on aliens. Gordon Freeman is changing therefore meaningless to an individual hero. In the first part so he knows the aliens cut at the world was saved. He arrived in a long sleep and was awakened in a strange way, and there begins the game, suddenly in a moving train to City 17.
The reason he was on the train to City 17 was put for his part in an activity. In City 17 is a dictatorship in progress which mankind can really do nothing. Many don't agree and it is up to Gordon to the people to give back what they have long wait for freedom.
Half-Life 2 with the two episodes is a very complete game. Not only the experience is fantastic, the playing is also on the special side. Why is this particular, is relatively easy to explain. Many First Person Shooters are indeed soon to play. A common complaint is that the single's always too short, thinking of Call of Duty 4. But with Half-Life 2 and the two episodes you're up 25 to 35 hour already. It is a bit depending on the difficulty. The total number of hours played is simply quite long, both a First Person Shooter like another game. Prices because of the long play is not the only, there are many more aspects that makes this game so well.
It is perhaps the most important story, it is continuous throughout the entire game in the daylight and made the story so good is because you keep playing the game. As a further additional impetus is that the games end with a cliff-hanger, so you like to start the next episodes. Not only the story is one reason the game to get, the more even the solid gameplay that after several years still stands as a house. So the game has a nice variety so you never bored playing the game is. From shoot-outs to puzzles and vehicle levels. This variation is really the right time every time, as I said boring you, you never in this game and that is surely a plus to mention, you keep playing the game.
What is still to come the strong physics engine the game uses. So you can pick almost any sized objects and use it somewhere above water or access to certain things so you can continue. This is not the only, you use many items for your own benefit and that works well at times to the detriment of the enemy. If you regularly get those annoying drums against which one is explosive stuff. These are often thrown your way through the enemy. You shoot these barrels and they explode. If this be done by the enemy, it is possible that the entire scaffold where they stand as collapsing, and enemies with al this all looks very true to life and fat. While you're in the minority that gives you a good feeling of satisfaction. In a blow off some enemies!
Only good at physics does not stop, so the famous gun-Gravity of the party. This contains not until halfway through the game, then the good gameplay just another extra boost as the experience goes. Playing with this weapon so brings with it many new opportunities that you have that weapon tip of the iceberg when you consider. The gameplay is really fantastic through the proper use of unique weapons and the excellent way the story told. What this whole special is that it still really fat to play, especially when you look at the date of Half-Life 2 actually came out. Good gameplay and a story, that's for sure. However, we also loosely to the other two episodes, and in particular by putting the good aspects, it is also equally important to the other two important aspects to look, the graphics and sound.
First two episodes, two episodes set the story in which it neatly by the previous left off. However I must mention that one episode is not really special. This is played very fast, I was there myself an hour or five doing but it can quickly. Also, despite the story, it offered not particularly innovative features making it a case of continue where the original was so good, better said: "More of the same". Episode 2 is much better and longer. So I noticed after playing the original and the first episode, the one on the one focused, action and the episode on the story. Nothing wrong with that, but episode two both know this combination for an optimal experience. This is also the last of what Half-Life in The Orange Box is playing, so you can see right as a strong and good temporary valve.
Overall the gameplay is very good shape and offers you a fantastic experience thanks to the tall tale. However, there is something disturbing to me. The graphics are clearly outdated and it is unfortunate that this is not what Valve has more polished. It looks nice in itself, Half-Life 2. Episode one is a lot better and the last episode, episode two is graphically the best of the three. You can clearly see that you're dealing with a graphical progress through the years.
Nevertheless, the game is to do good, it had only been improved. Now I really bother me, frame drops. There is much speculation about this and I can tell you that the game does not particularly know. On the PS3 it because I very rarely encountered. But once you have a frame drop or is it a good. This can be very distracting during the action and hopefully this is polished by a patch.
What is also very annoying, is the frequent occurrence of load times between levels but also when you die, you reload that quickly takes twenty seconds. This is so much to you, you'll resent the many prevention. The sound however is again very strong. during the game to get different characters, many say all their own thing is not really very special. What is just as well, is that these people all really sound different. You will not at all different characters are voiced by the same voice actor. Enough variation in the voice-acts here is what good comes out of the paint, they also have good levels. As the sound again gives the music an extra. Again good alternation between what the music sounds really relaxed and above all fits very well with the game. In terms of sound there is so little to say except that it was very well put together.
I can basically a relatively short conclusion about Half-Life 2 and episodes. Just go out! Yet I will explain everything as well. Graphics not quite up to date more especially for Half-Life 2, the original, money and the annoying but rare frame drops. The sounds is very good contrast as well as the gameplay still stands as a house. The story well put together makes it complete. To speak to you only for The Orange Box Half-Life 2 pick and I think that says more than enough. Yet as we look further, to what the package offers us even more, starting with Portal.
Portal
With the door down to business, Portal genius sticks together. Through the years I have played many puzzle games, from crap to very good and downright ingenious. Portal do this to beat despite playing far too short. Portal precisely what is so strong the ever increasing difficulty. The entire game to get increasingly difficult and complex puzzles are what you will do after considerable thought. Before going deeper into the puzzles themselves go, let us first look at what the intention of this game.
You wake up in a room of a huge complex with just white walls. You will be assisted by a voice through the speakers in the room well be heard. This voice is a computer which the sentences are not really smooth sound. Regularly placed the wrong emphasis and voice to make the courses which sounds weird to ridiculous. This seems a drawback, at least in the way described. But the atmosphere is so unique that this portal is perfectly fit. This is yet another reason to sound a general review of The Orange Box to set very high. This unique atmosphere is due to include the sound but also by the structure. The levels are mostly white hospital with occasional gray parts. It looks stylish but it is also proof of simplicity in the graphics. Nowhere is your mouth open graphic highlights. To briefly summarize, it looks from all but basic.
Portal is a game that you play as a first person shooter. Gradually you get a weapon in your hands pressed on what seems the gravity gun. This weapon is unique in its kind, a real weapon you can not call because the total is not detrimental but rather a useful extra. Also necessary for the puzzles. You can shoot two times. By shooting the wall, floor or wherever you create a hole where you can jump, shoot the second one provides output. So you can teleport through this gun. In the beginning you a simple piece of bridge but as you progress, as already indicated, the puzzles are so complex that you very well and should give consideration to the portals must fit properly. To have anything worse, towards the end you get the necessary turrets shoot at you if you mess not careful. These are only off by clever use of your surroundings.
Portal What really makes good design is very simple but very clever implementation. This is what you can put the puzzles are very logical so you never long and you stuck with a nice pace through the game going. Then what a pity is that Portal is a very short game. The experienced gamer will be two or one hours to go through and that is something that almost never occurs today. Worse still, you want after the play. Portal is Still a special experience and as my colleague Kahumadante recently expressed: "These basic principles of a very ingenious Portal experience, not something you quickly see other games back. Portal is a high intelligent game."
Portal is a unique and original game based on very simple data one game makes you a unique experience which gives you after the play more like. Graphic special but not a stylish game. The sound that perfectly fits the atmosphere of the game. Portal is a unique experience that will stay with you a long time despite the very short running time.
Team Fortress 2
Half-Life 2, Episode One, Episode Two, Portal. All games are really purely singleplayer. In order to complete The Orange Box Team Fortress 2 transmitter is included in the package to an online experience to add to the package. Team Fortress 2 is a blast online game like Portal excels in the stylish design. So this game has a cartoon look that fits in very well. A number of characters you can choose from that are all "over the top" characters so you immediately notice that this game is not the most serious shooter in the world of first person shooters.
Let us start at the beginning. Before you start popping, you first choose one of the characters. These are divided into classes. If you have a choice of nine classes. Each class has its own advantages and disadvantages. It is therefore important to a team being a good mix of characters to choose the goals to complete. What this game special is that the nine classes are divided into three general classes. There is a defensive group of characters, an offensive and supportive. Anyone who chooses a character will gradually into other characters in the same general class when adding the group, especially the defensive defending certain point, the other groups do the opposite and thus become a good balance between the characters created.
Team Fortress 2 is laughable, this is the graphics. So it seems like you've arrived in a cartoon, which in carrying on the older gamer appears to be. Every character looks unique and funny, while playing the animations look pretty good and smooth. The level design, the game has six maps, each is separate. So know the maps enough variety and they look beautiful, again by the cartoony graphics. Team Fortress 2 is perhaps the most beautiful graphics of the entire package. The sound is perhaps slightly stronger than the graphics. The characters all know their own observations that may sound ridiculous and perfectly in the overall atmosphere of the game fit.
What a pity is that the six maps all know their own game mode. Really great choice for a map to choose their own mode is not. Moreover, six maps is not exactly extensive. The possible course for the game later to support the game with downloadable maps and more opportunities to give through a patch or an update. The game is fun in its present form but I still have missed opportunities to set the other online shooters do have. Nevertheless, Team Fortress 2 a very fun and beautiful game that also in the sound good at scoring. The last game that we treat from The Orange Box. Now is the time for an overall conclusion.
The Orange Box is a very complete package you bid and five games for the price of one game. A better deal in game land we know as far as I know. Half-Life 2 is a game you should play, despite the occasional frame drops. Portal is in itself a unique experience but very short, Team Fortress 2 is playable however indefinitely but back to the lean side as we look at the number of maps. Nevertheless, any game worth playing and you must load times in Half-Life 2 and Portal occur mostly take for granted. All in all, this package is very complete and will be properly spent for everything from whole to play again, just get the orange box!
Graphics 8
Gameplay 9
Sound 9
Replay 8.5
Overall 9.0
In Half-Life 2 play with Gordon Freeman, he is a professor who did his daily thing until a medical toko in Half-Life 1 turned into a place you'd rather not come. Dive anywhere in the building and so on aliens. Gordon Freeman is changing therefore meaningless to an individual hero. In the first part so he knows the aliens cut at the world was saved. He arrived in a long sleep and was awakened in a strange way, and there begins the game, suddenly in a moving train to City 17.
The reason he was on the train to City 17 was put for his part in an activity. In City 17 is a dictatorship in progress which mankind can really do nothing. Many don't agree and it is up to Gordon to the people to give back what they have long wait for freedom.
Half-Life 2 with the two episodes is a very complete game. Not only the experience is fantastic, the playing is also on the special side. Why is this particular, is relatively easy to explain. Many First Person Shooters are indeed soon to play. A common complaint is that the single's always too short, thinking of Call of Duty 4. But with Half-Life 2 and the two episodes you're up 25 to 35 hour already. It is a bit depending on the difficulty. The total number of hours played is simply quite long, both a First Person Shooter like another game. Prices because of the long play is not the only, there are many more aspects that makes this game so well.
It is perhaps the most important story, it is continuous throughout the entire game in the daylight and made the story so good is because you keep playing the game. As a further additional impetus is that the games end with a cliff-hanger, so you like to start the next episodes. Not only the story is one reason the game to get, the more even the solid gameplay that after several years still stands as a house. So the game has a nice variety so you never bored playing the game is. From shoot-outs to puzzles and vehicle levels. This variation is really the right time every time, as I said boring you, you never in this game and that is surely a plus to mention, you keep playing the game.
What is still to come the strong physics engine the game uses. So you can pick almost any sized objects and use it somewhere above water or access to certain things so you can continue. This is not the only, you use many items for your own benefit and that works well at times to the detriment of the enemy. If you regularly get those annoying drums against which one is explosive stuff. These are often thrown your way through the enemy. You shoot these barrels and they explode. If this be done by the enemy, it is possible that the entire scaffold where they stand as collapsing, and enemies with al this all looks very true to life and fat. While you're in the minority that gives you a good feeling of satisfaction. In a blow off some enemies!
Only good at physics does not stop, so the famous gun-Gravity of the party. This contains not until halfway through the game, then the good gameplay just another extra boost as the experience goes. Playing with this weapon so brings with it many new opportunities that you have that weapon tip of the iceberg when you consider. The gameplay is really fantastic through the proper use of unique weapons and the excellent way the story told. What this whole special is that it still really fat to play, especially when you look at the date of Half-Life 2 actually came out. Good gameplay and a story, that's for sure. However, we also loosely to the other two episodes, and in particular by putting the good aspects, it is also equally important to the other two important aspects to look, the graphics and sound.
First two episodes, two episodes set the story in which it neatly by the previous left off. However I must mention that one episode is not really special. This is played very fast, I was there myself an hour or five doing but it can quickly. Also, despite the story, it offered not particularly innovative features making it a case of continue where the original was so good, better said: "More of the same". Episode 2 is much better and longer. So I noticed after playing the original and the first episode, the one on the one focused, action and the episode on the story. Nothing wrong with that, but episode two both know this combination for an optimal experience. This is also the last of what Half-Life in The Orange Box is playing, so you can see right as a strong and good temporary valve.
Overall the gameplay is very good shape and offers you a fantastic experience thanks to the tall tale. However, there is something disturbing to me. The graphics are clearly outdated and it is unfortunate that this is not what Valve has more polished. It looks nice in itself, Half-Life 2. Episode one is a lot better and the last episode, episode two is graphically the best of the three. You can clearly see that you're dealing with a graphical progress through the years.
Nevertheless, the game is to do good, it had only been improved. Now I really bother me, frame drops. There is much speculation about this and I can tell you that the game does not particularly know. On the PS3 it because I very rarely encountered. But once you have a frame drop or is it a good. This can be very distracting during the action and hopefully this is polished by a patch.
What is also very annoying, is the frequent occurrence of load times between levels but also when you die, you reload that quickly takes twenty seconds. This is so much to you, you'll resent the many prevention. The sound however is again very strong. during the game to get different characters, many say all their own thing is not really very special. What is just as well, is that these people all really sound different. You will not at all different characters are voiced by the same voice actor. Enough variation in the voice-acts here is what good comes out of the paint, they also have good levels. As the sound again gives the music an extra. Again good alternation between what the music sounds really relaxed and above all fits very well with the game. In terms of sound there is so little to say except that it was very well put together.
I can basically a relatively short conclusion about Half-Life 2 and episodes. Just go out! Yet I will explain everything as well. Graphics not quite up to date more especially for Half-Life 2, the original, money and the annoying but rare frame drops. The sounds is very good contrast as well as the gameplay still stands as a house. The story well put together makes it complete. To speak to you only for The Orange Box Half-Life 2 pick and I think that says more than enough. Yet as we look further, to what the package offers us even more, starting with Portal.
Portal
With the door down to business, Portal genius sticks together. Through the years I have played many puzzle games, from crap to very good and downright ingenious. Portal do this to beat despite playing far too short. Portal precisely what is so strong the ever increasing difficulty. The entire game to get increasingly difficult and complex puzzles are what you will do after considerable thought. Before going deeper into the puzzles themselves go, let us first look at what the intention of this game.
You wake up in a room of a huge complex with just white walls. You will be assisted by a voice through the speakers in the room well be heard. This voice is a computer which the sentences are not really smooth sound. Regularly placed the wrong emphasis and voice to make the courses which sounds weird to ridiculous. This seems a drawback, at least in the way described. But the atmosphere is so unique that this portal is perfectly fit. This is yet another reason to sound a general review of The Orange Box to set very high. This unique atmosphere is due to include the sound but also by the structure. The levels are mostly white hospital with occasional gray parts. It looks stylish but it is also proof of simplicity in the graphics. Nowhere is your mouth open graphic highlights. To briefly summarize, it looks from all but basic.
Portal is a game that you play as a first person shooter. Gradually you get a weapon in your hands pressed on what seems the gravity gun. This weapon is unique in its kind, a real weapon you can not call because the total is not detrimental but rather a useful extra. Also necessary for the puzzles. You can shoot two times. By shooting the wall, floor or wherever you create a hole where you can jump, shoot the second one provides output. So you can teleport through this gun. In the beginning you a simple piece of bridge but as you progress, as already indicated, the puzzles are so complex that you very well and should give consideration to the portals must fit properly. To have anything worse, towards the end you get the necessary turrets shoot at you if you mess not careful. These are only off by clever use of your surroundings.
Portal What really makes good design is very simple but very clever implementation. This is what you can put the puzzles are very logical so you never long and you stuck with a nice pace through the game going. Then what a pity is that Portal is a very short game. The experienced gamer will be two or one hours to go through and that is something that almost never occurs today. Worse still, you want after the play. Portal is Still a special experience and as my colleague Kahumadante recently expressed: "These basic principles of a very ingenious Portal experience, not something you quickly see other games back. Portal is a high intelligent game."
Portal is a unique and original game based on very simple data one game makes you a unique experience which gives you after the play more like. Graphic special but not a stylish game. The sound that perfectly fits the atmosphere of the game. Portal is a unique experience that will stay with you a long time despite the very short running time.
Team Fortress 2
Half-Life 2, Episode One, Episode Two, Portal. All games are really purely singleplayer. In order to complete The Orange Box Team Fortress 2 transmitter is included in the package to an online experience to add to the package. Team Fortress 2 is a blast online game like Portal excels in the stylish design. So this game has a cartoon look that fits in very well. A number of characters you can choose from that are all "over the top" characters so you immediately notice that this game is not the most serious shooter in the world of first person shooters.
Let us start at the beginning. Before you start popping, you first choose one of the characters. These are divided into classes. If you have a choice of nine classes. Each class has its own advantages and disadvantages. It is therefore important to a team being a good mix of characters to choose the goals to complete. What this game special is that the nine classes are divided into three general classes. There is a defensive group of characters, an offensive and supportive. Anyone who chooses a character will gradually into other characters in the same general class when adding the group, especially the defensive defending certain point, the other groups do the opposite and thus become a good balance between the characters created.
Team Fortress 2 is laughable, this is the graphics. So it seems like you've arrived in a cartoon, which in carrying on the older gamer appears to be. Every character looks unique and funny, while playing the animations look pretty good and smooth. The level design, the game has six maps, each is separate. So know the maps enough variety and they look beautiful, again by the cartoony graphics. Team Fortress 2 is perhaps the most beautiful graphics of the entire package. The sound is perhaps slightly stronger than the graphics. The characters all know their own observations that may sound ridiculous and perfectly in the overall atmosphere of the game fit.
What a pity is that the six maps all know their own game mode. Really great choice for a map to choose their own mode is not. Moreover, six maps is not exactly extensive. The possible course for the game later to support the game with downloadable maps and more opportunities to give through a patch or an update. The game is fun in its present form but I still have missed opportunities to set the other online shooters do have. Nevertheless, Team Fortress 2 a very fun and beautiful game that also in the sound good at scoring. The last game that we treat from The Orange Box. Now is the time for an overall conclusion.
The Orange Box is a very complete package you bid and five games for the price of one game. A better deal in game land we know as far as I know. Half-Life 2 is a game you should play, despite the occasional frame drops. Portal is in itself a unique experience but very short, Team Fortress 2 is playable however indefinitely but back to the lean side as we look at the number of maps. Nevertheless, any game worth playing and you must load times in Half-Life 2 and Portal occur mostly take for granted. All in all, this package is very complete and will be properly spent for everything from whole to play again, just get the orange box!
Graphics 8
Gameplay 9
Sound 9
Replay 8.5
Overall 9.0
The Orange Box PS3 review 9.0
The most important of the entire package is simply Half-Life 2. This game came a few years back from the PC. Later it was ported to the original Xbox and now he is the next-gen consoles available. Includes two separate episodes that later came out as a kind of add-on to the story. Here I can also equal a footnote. If you are the original and possibly one of the single episodes then you have played the Half-Life section in The Orange Box have nothing to expect. The game has no further in-game adjustments when it comes to gameplay. Conversely, what is that Half-Life two also still a hell of a game that itself is in the top ten best First Person Shooters ever made should places. If you are not totally familiar with the phenomenon of Half-Life, still just the story of what the games are all about and turned.
In Half-Life 2 play with Gordon Freeman, he is a professor who did his daily thing until a medical toko in Half-Life 1 turned into a place you'd rather not come. Dive anywhere in the building and so on aliens. Gordon Freeman is changing therefore meaningless to an individual hero. In the first part so he knows the aliens cut at the world was saved. He arrived in a long sleep and was awakened in a strange way, and there begins the game, suddenly in a moving train to City 17.
The reason he was on the train to City 17 was put for his part in an activity. In City 17 is a dictatorship in progress which mankind can really do nothing. Many don't agree and it is up to Gordon to the people to give back what they have long wait for freedom.
Half-Life 2 with the two episodes is a very complete game. Not only the experience is fantastic, the playing is also on the special side. Why is this particular, is relatively easy to explain. Many First Person Shooters are indeed soon to play. A common complaint is that the single's always too short, thinking of Call of Duty 4. But with Half-Life 2 and the two episodes you're up 25 to 35 hour already. It is a bit depending on the difficulty. The total number of hours played is simply quite long, both a First Person Shooter like another game. Prices because of the long play is not the only, there are many more aspects that makes this game so well.
It is perhaps the most important story, it is continuous throughout the entire game in the daylight and made the story so good is because you keep playing the game. As a further additional impetus is that the games end with a cliff-hanger, so you like to start the next episodes. Not only the story is one reason the game to get, the more even the solid gameplay that after several years still stands as a house. So the game has a nice variety so you never bored playing the game is. From shoot-outs to puzzles and vehicle levels. This variation is really the right time every time, as I said boring you, you never in this game and that is surely a plus to mention, you keep playing the game.
What is still to come the strong physics engine the game uses. So you can pick almost any sized objects and use it somewhere above water or access to certain things so you can continue. This is not the only, you use many items for your own benefit and that works well at times to the detriment of the enemy. If you regularly get those annoying drums against which one is explosive stuff. These are often thrown your way through the enemy. You shoot these barrels and they explode. If this be done by the enemy, it is possible that the entire scaffold where they stand as collapsing, and enemies with al this all looks very true to life and fat. While you're in the minority that gives you a good feeling of satisfaction. In a blow off some enemies!
Only good at physics does not stop, so the famous gun-Gravity of the party. This contains not until halfway through the game, then the good gameplay just another extra boost as the experience goes. Playing with this weapon so brings with it many new opportunities that you have that weapon tip of the iceberg when you consider. The gameplay is really fantastic through the proper use of unique weapons and the excellent way the story told. What this whole special is that it still really fat to play, especially when you look at the date of Half-Life 2 actually came out. Good gameplay and a story, that's for sure. However, we also loosely to the other two episodes, and in particular by putting the good aspects, it is also equally important to the other two important aspects to look, the graphics and sound.
First two episodes, two episodes set the story in which it neatly by the previous left off. However I must mention that one episode is not really special. This is played very fast, I was there myself an hour or five doing but it can quickly. Also, despite the story, it offered not particularly innovative features making it a case of continue where the original was so good, better said: "More of the same". Episode 2 is much better and longer. So I noticed after playing the original and the first episode, the one on the one focused, action and the episode on the story. Nothing wrong with that, but episode two both know this combination for an optimal experience. This is also the last of what Half-Life in The Orange Box is playing, so you can see right as a strong and good temporary valve.
Overall the gameplay is very good shape and offers you a fantastic experience thanks to the tall tale. However, there is something disturbing to me. The graphics are clearly outdated and it is unfortunate that this is not what Valve has more polished. It looks nice in itself, Half-Life 2. Episode one is a lot better and the last episode, episode two is graphically the best of the three. You can clearly see that you're dealing with a graphical progress through the years.
Nevertheless, the game is to do good, it had only been improved. Now I really bother me, frame drops. There is much speculation about this and I can tell you that the game does not particularly know. On the PS3 it because I very rarely encountered. But once you have a frame drop or is it a good. This can be very distracting during the action and hopefully this is polished by a patch.
What is also very annoying, is the frequent occurrence of load times between levels but also when you die, you reload that quickly takes twenty seconds. This is so much to you, you'll resent the many prevention. The sound however is again very strong. during the game to get different characters, many say all their own thing is not really very special. What is just as well, is that these people all really sound different. You will not at all different characters are voiced by the same voice actor. Enough variation in the voice-acts here is what good comes out of the paint, they also have good levels. As the sound again gives the music an extra. Again good alternation between what the music sounds really relaxed and above all fits very well with the game. In terms of sound there is so little to say except that it was very well put together.
I can basically a relatively short conclusion about Half-Life 2 and episodes. Just go out! Yet I will explain everything as well. Graphics not quite up to date more especially for Half-Life 2, the original, money and the annoying but rare frame drops. The sounds is very good contrast as well as the gameplay still stands as a house. The story well put together makes it complete. To speak to you only for The Orange Box Half-Life 2 pick and I think that says more than enough. Yet as we look further, to what the package offers us even more, starting with Portal.
Portal
With the door down to business, Portal genius sticks together. Through the years I have played many puzzle games, from crap to very good and downright ingenious. Portal do this to beat despite playing far too short. Portal precisely what is so strong the ever increasing difficulty. The entire game to get increasingly difficult and complex puzzles are what you will do after considerable thought. Before going deeper into the puzzles themselves go, let us first look at what the intention of this game.
You wake up in a room of a huge complex with just white walls. You will be assisted by a voice through the speakers in the room well be heard. This voice is a computer which the sentences are not really smooth sound. Regularly placed the wrong emphasis and voice to make the courses which sounds weird to ridiculous. This seems a drawback, at least in the way described. But the atmosphere is so unique that this portal is perfectly fit. This is yet another reason to sound a general review of The Orange Box to set very high. This unique atmosphere is due to include the sound but also by the structure. The levels are mostly white hospital with occasional gray parts. It looks stylish but it is also proof of simplicity in the graphics. Nowhere is your mouth open graphic highlights. To briefly summarize, it looks from all but basic.
Portal is a game that you play as a first person shooter. Gradually you get a weapon in your hands pressed on what seems the gravity gun. This weapon is unique in its kind, a real weapon you can not call because the total is not detrimental but rather a useful extra. Also necessary for the puzzles. You can shoot two times. By shooting the wall, floor or wherever you create a hole where you can jump, shoot the second one provides output. So you can teleport through this gun. In the beginning you a simple piece of bridge but as you progress, as already indicated, the puzzles are so complex that you very well and should give consideration to the portals must fit properly. To have anything worse, towards the end you get the necessary turrets shoot at you if you mess not careful. These are only off by clever use of your surroundings.
Portal What really makes good design is very simple but very clever implementation. This is what you can put the puzzles are very logical so you never long and you stuck with a nice pace through the game going. Then what a pity is that Portal is a very short game. The experienced gamer will be two or one hours to go through and that is something that almost never occurs today. Worse still, you want after the play. Portal is Still a special experience and as my colleague Kahumadante recently expressed: "These basic principles of a very ingenious Portal experience, not something you quickly see other games back. Portal is a high intelligent game."
Portal is a unique and original game based on very simple data one game makes you a unique experience which gives you after the play more like. Graphic special but not a stylish game. The sound that perfectly fits the atmosphere of the game. Portal is a unique experience that will stay with you a long time despite the very short running time.
Team Fortress 2
Half-Life 2, Episode One, Episode Two, Portal. All games are really purely singleplayer. In order to complete The Orange Box Team Fortress 2 transmitter is included in the package to an online experience to add to the package. Team Fortress 2 is a blast online game like Portal excels in the stylish design. So this game has a cartoon look that fits in very well. A number of characters you can choose from that are all "over the top" characters so you immediately notice that this game is not the most serious shooter in the world of first person shooters.
Let us start at the beginning. Before you start popping, you first choose one of the characters. These are divided into classes. If you have a choice of nine classes. Each class has its own advantages and disadvantages. It is therefore important to a team being a good mix of characters to choose the goals to complete. What this game special is that the nine classes are divided into three general classes. There is a defensive group of characters, an offensive and supportive. Anyone who chooses a character will gradually into other characters in the same general class when adding the group, especially the defensive defending certain point, the other groups do the opposite and thus become a good balance between the characters created.
Team Fortress 2 is laughable, this is the graphics. So it seems like you've arrived in a cartoon, which in carrying on the older gamer appears to be. Every character looks unique and funny, while playing the animations look pretty good and smooth. The level design, the game has six maps, each is separate. So know the maps enough variety and they look beautiful, again by the cartoony graphics. Team Fortress 2 is perhaps the most beautiful graphics of the entire package. The sound is perhaps slightly stronger than the graphics. The characters all know their own observations that may sound ridiculous and perfectly in the overall atmosphere of the game fit.
What a pity is that the six maps all know their own game mode. Really great choice for a map to choose their own mode is not. Moreover, six maps is not exactly extensive. The possible course for the game later to support the game with downloadable maps and more opportunities to give through a patch or an update. The game is fun in its present form but I still have missed opportunities to set the other online shooters do have. Nevertheless, Team Fortress 2 a very fun and beautiful game that also in the sound good at scoring. The last game that we treat from The Orange Box. Now is the time for an overall conclusion.
The Orange Box is a very complete package you bid and five games for the price of one game. A better deal in game land we know as far as I know. Half-Life 2 is a game you should play, despite the occasional frame drops. Portal is in itself a unique experience but very short, Team Fortress 2 is playable however indefinitely but back to the lean side as we look at the number of maps. Nevertheless, any game worth playing and you must load times in Half-Life 2 and Portal occur mostly take for granted. All in all, this package is very complete and will be properly spent for everything from whole to play again, just get the orange box!
Graphics 8
Gameplay 9
Sound 9
Replay 8.5
Overall 9.0
In Half-Life 2 play with Gordon Freeman, he is a professor who did his daily thing until a medical toko in Half-Life 1 turned into a place you'd rather not come. Dive anywhere in the building and so on aliens. Gordon Freeman is changing therefore meaningless to an individual hero. In the first part so he knows the aliens cut at the world was saved. He arrived in a long sleep and was awakened in a strange way, and there begins the game, suddenly in a moving train to City 17.
The reason he was on the train to City 17 was put for his part in an activity. In City 17 is a dictatorship in progress which mankind can really do nothing. Many don't agree and it is up to Gordon to the people to give back what they have long wait for freedom.
Half-Life 2 with the two episodes is a very complete game. Not only the experience is fantastic, the playing is also on the special side. Why is this particular, is relatively easy to explain. Many First Person Shooters are indeed soon to play. A common complaint is that the single's always too short, thinking of Call of Duty 4. But with Half-Life 2 and the two episodes you're up 25 to 35 hour already. It is a bit depending on the difficulty. The total number of hours played is simply quite long, both a First Person Shooter like another game. Prices because of the long play is not the only, there are many more aspects that makes this game so well.
It is perhaps the most important story, it is continuous throughout the entire game in the daylight and made the story so good is because you keep playing the game. As a further additional impetus is that the games end with a cliff-hanger, so you like to start the next episodes. Not only the story is one reason the game to get, the more even the solid gameplay that after several years still stands as a house. So the game has a nice variety so you never bored playing the game is. From shoot-outs to puzzles and vehicle levels. This variation is really the right time every time, as I said boring you, you never in this game and that is surely a plus to mention, you keep playing the game.
What is still to come the strong physics engine the game uses. So you can pick almost any sized objects and use it somewhere above water or access to certain things so you can continue. This is not the only, you use many items for your own benefit and that works well at times to the detriment of the enemy. If you regularly get those annoying drums against which one is explosive stuff. These are often thrown your way through the enemy. You shoot these barrels and they explode. If this be done by the enemy, it is possible that the entire scaffold where they stand as collapsing, and enemies with al this all looks very true to life and fat. While you're in the minority that gives you a good feeling of satisfaction. In a blow off some enemies!
Only good at physics does not stop, so the famous gun-Gravity of the party. This contains not until halfway through the game, then the good gameplay just another extra boost as the experience goes. Playing with this weapon so brings with it many new opportunities that you have that weapon tip of the iceberg when you consider. The gameplay is really fantastic through the proper use of unique weapons and the excellent way the story told. What this whole special is that it still really fat to play, especially when you look at the date of Half-Life 2 actually came out. Good gameplay and a story, that's for sure. However, we also loosely to the other two episodes, and in particular by putting the good aspects, it is also equally important to the other two important aspects to look, the graphics and sound.
First two episodes, two episodes set the story in which it neatly by the previous left off. However I must mention that one episode is not really special. This is played very fast, I was there myself an hour or five doing but it can quickly. Also, despite the story, it offered not particularly innovative features making it a case of continue where the original was so good, better said: "More of the same". Episode 2 is much better and longer. So I noticed after playing the original and the first episode, the one on the one focused, action and the episode on the story. Nothing wrong with that, but episode two both know this combination for an optimal experience. This is also the last of what Half-Life in The Orange Box is playing, so you can see right as a strong and good temporary valve.
Overall the gameplay is very good shape and offers you a fantastic experience thanks to the tall tale. However, there is something disturbing to me. The graphics are clearly outdated and it is unfortunate that this is not what Valve has more polished. It looks nice in itself, Half-Life 2. Episode one is a lot better and the last episode, episode two is graphically the best of the three. You can clearly see that you're dealing with a graphical progress through the years.
Nevertheless, the game is to do good, it had only been improved. Now I really bother me, frame drops. There is much speculation about this and I can tell you that the game does not particularly know. On the PS3 it because I very rarely encountered. But once you have a frame drop or is it a good. This can be very distracting during the action and hopefully this is polished by a patch.
What is also very annoying, is the frequent occurrence of load times between levels but also when you die, you reload that quickly takes twenty seconds. This is so much to you, you'll resent the many prevention. The sound however is again very strong. during the game to get different characters, many say all their own thing is not really very special. What is just as well, is that these people all really sound different. You will not at all different characters are voiced by the same voice actor. Enough variation in the voice-acts here is what good comes out of the paint, they also have good levels. As the sound again gives the music an extra. Again good alternation between what the music sounds really relaxed and above all fits very well with the game. In terms of sound there is so little to say except that it was very well put together.
I can basically a relatively short conclusion about Half-Life 2 and episodes. Just go out! Yet I will explain everything as well. Graphics not quite up to date more especially for Half-Life 2, the original, money and the annoying but rare frame drops. The sounds is very good contrast as well as the gameplay still stands as a house. The story well put together makes it complete. To speak to you only for The Orange Box Half-Life 2 pick and I think that says more than enough. Yet as we look further, to what the package offers us even more, starting with Portal.
Portal
With the door down to business, Portal genius sticks together. Through the years I have played many puzzle games, from crap to very good and downright ingenious. Portal do this to beat despite playing far too short. Portal precisely what is so strong the ever increasing difficulty. The entire game to get increasingly difficult and complex puzzles are what you will do after considerable thought. Before going deeper into the puzzles themselves go, let us first look at what the intention of this game.
You wake up in a room of a huge complex with just white walls. You will be assisted by a voice through the speakers in the room well be heard. This voice is a computer which the sentences are not really smooth sound. Regularly placed the wrong emphasis and voice to make the courses which sounds weird to ridiculous. This seems a drawback, at least in the way described. But the atmosphere is so unique that this portal is perfectly fit. This is yet another reason to sound a general review of The Orange Box to set very high. This unique atmosphere is due to include the sound but also by the structure. The levels are mostly white hospital with occasional gray parts. It looks stylish but it is also proof of simplicity in the graphics. Nowhere is your mouth open graphic highlights. To briefly summarize, it looks from all but basic.
Portal is a game that you play as a first person shooter. Gradually you get a weapon in your hands pressed on what seems the gravity gun. This weapon is unique in its kind, a real weapon you can not call because the total is not detrimental but rather a useful extra. Also necessary for the puzzles. You can shoot two times. By shooting the wall, floor or wherever you create a hole where you can jump, shoot the second one provides output. So you can teleport through this gun. In the beginning you a simple piece of bridge but as you progress, as already indicated, the puzzles are so complex that you very well and should give consideration to the portals must fit properly. To have anything worse, towards the end you get the necessary turrets shoot at you if you mess not careful. These are only off by clever use of your surroundings.
Portal What really makes good design is very simple but very clever implementation. This is what you can put the puzzles are very logical so you never long and you stuck with a nice pace through the game going. Then what a pity is that Portal is a very short game. The experienced gamer will be two or one hours to go through and that is something that almost never occurs today. Worse still, you want after the play. Portal is Still a special experience and as my colleague Kahumadante recently expressed: "These basic principles of a very ingenious Portal experience, not something you quickly see other games back. Portal is a high intelligent game."
Portal is a unique and original game based on very simple data one game makes you a unique experience which gives you after the play more like. Graphic special but not a stylish game. The sound that perfectly fits the atmosphere of the game. Portal is a unique experience that will stay with you a long time despite the very short running time.
Team Fortress 2
Half-Life 2, Episode One, Episode Two, Portal. All games are really purely singleplayer. In order to complete The Orange Box Team Fortress 2 transmitter is included in the package to an online experience to add to the package. Team Fortress 2 is a blast online game like Portal excels in the stylish design. So this game has a cartoon look that fits in very well. A number of characters you can choose from that are all "over the top" characters so you immediately notice that this game is not the most serious shooter in the world of first person shooters.
Let us start at the beginning. Before you start popping, you first choose one of the characters. These are divided into classes. If you have a choice of nine classes. Each class has its own advantages and disadvantages. It is therefore important to a team being a good mix of characters to choose the goals to complete. What this game special is that the nine classes are divided into three general classes. There is a defensive group of characters, an offensive and supportive. Anyone who chooses a character will gradually into other characters in the same general class when adding the group, especially the defensive defending certain point, the other groups do the opposite and thus become a good balance between the characters created.
Team Fortress 2 is laughable, this is the graphics. So it seems like you've arrived in a cartoon, which in carrying on the older gamer appears to be. Every character looks unique and funny, while playing the animations look pretty good and smooth. The level design, the game has six maps, each is separate. So know the maps enough variety and they look beautiful, again by the cartoony graphics. Team Fortress 2 is perhaps the most beautiful graphics of the entire package. The sound is perhaps slightly stronger than the graphics. The characters all know their own observations that may sound ridiculous and perfectly in the overall atmosphere of the game fit.
What a pity is that the six maps all know their own game mode. Really great choice for a map to choose their own mode is not. Moreover, six maps is not exactly extensive. The possible course for the game later to support the game with downloadable maps and more opportunities to give through a patch or an update. The game is fun in its present form but I still have missed opportunities to set the other online shooters do have. Nevertheless, Team Fortress 2 a very fun and beautiful game that also in the sound good at scoring. The last game that we treat from The Orange Box. Now is the time for an overall conclusion.
The Orange Box is a very complete package you bid and five games for the price of one game. A better deal in game land we know as far as I know. Half-Life 2 is a game you should play, despite the occasional frame drops. Portal is in itself a unique experience but very short, Team Fortress 2 is playable however indefinitely but back to the lean side as we look at the number of maps. Nevertheless, any game worth playing and you must load times in Half-Life 2 and Portal occur mostly take for granted. All in all, this package is very complete and will be properly spent for everything from whole to play again, just get the orange box!
Graphics 8
Gameplay 9
Sound 9
Replay 8.5
Overall 9.0
Grand Theft Auto 4 | 9.0
Let it be said that I've never liked GTA. But I decided to get GTA4 after reading several articles about the change in direction they were taking and my god, has it paid off. This game is PHENOMENAL.
The Good:
Graphics-
Even though this game is running at 640p and is upscaled on PS3, this is a BEAUTIFUL game. It has some of the best and most natural looking water and light effects I've ever seen that appear photorealistic at times. I often stop and just stare at the waves or park and watch the sun hitting the road as it sets.
Story-
The voice acting is top notch and the cast has some truly memorable characters. This is one of the few games where I actually have an emotional response when things happen to the main characters...which is no small feat. Sometimes you have to make choices whether someone lives or dies and I found myself really struggling with the decision I thought was appropriate to my character. The pacing is great too. Just as you are getting satisfied with a particular location, you get access to a new islands and contacts so things always feel fresh.
Gameplay-
Thankfully, they eliminated all the things that made past GTAs tedious. No more going to the gym to lift weights, no more being forced to drive twenty minutes across town to do a mission. Finally, you can take a cab and opt to skip the driving when you are in a rush. They've also added a much needed cover system where tapping R1 will let you take cover behind virtually any object. This leads to some truly epic shootouts that will literally have you diving for cover.
They also made your cell phone the menu for the game and you rarely have to leave the game world immersion. Just call up your friends for missions or hanging out and watch Niko talk to them while he walks around the city. You can even buy ringtones, themes, and even get a camera phone and organizer.
There are also 200 music tracks on a dozen radio stations with great music and talk shows on all of them. You can waste hours watching TV at your house, going on dates to see shows or play pool and darts, or you can fool around on dozens of webpages at the internet cafe. Basically, there is a ton of depth here that will give the game dozens of hours of extra traction.
Multiplayer-
Just whip out your cell phone in the single player and hop right in to over 14 online game modes. Imagine running around New York with 15 friends and playing paintball in the streets. To just be able to hop into the whole of Liberty City and do ANYTHING is so fun and chaotic words can't describe it. Just last night, I joined Free Mode, where there are no rules. I proceeded to blow up 3 cop cars and run over a flock of pedestrians before getting plowed over by another player who had stolen a commuter bus and was on a rampage in Times Square. That was just the first 10 minutes. And I was having a blast that even my wife couldn't turn away from.
The Bad:
Other than minor framerate and A.I. glitches, my biggest complaint is that the game does some unnecessary forced loading. When you die on a mission instead of just asking you if you want to retry it, you die, it loads a respawn at the hospital and THEN you are asked to retry the mission, which leads to another load screen.
Every time you launch the game, you are forced to sit through a 2 minute intro movie. I suspect this is to distract you while the game loads in the background more than it is to set a mood, but it would still have been nice to be able to skip it sometimes.
Other than that, the clothing selection feature remains terrible. You have no way to quickly cycle through your wardrobe without having to spend 2-5 seconds loading each new outfit. If you're like me, you bought every outfit as soon as you could only to learn that you had to cycle through every single one anytime you wanted to change clothes. And other than buying clothes, money has absolutely no value in this game. For some reason, they didn't include a casino or the option to buy property, so you amass all this wealth and have virtually nothing to spend it on at the end of the game's main story.
The Verdict:
That said, the sheer freedom and realism of this game signal a landmark in gaming and anyone who likes video games should buy this game. It is the most fun I've ever had with a video game and provides 100+ hours of entertainment for sixty bucks. Despite a few flaws, the amount of content, fun, and depth of this game make it virtually flawless and worth your money.
The Good:
Graphics-
Even though this game is running at 640p and is upscaled on PS3, this is a BEAUTIFUL game. It has some of the best and most natural looking water and light effects I've ever seen that appear photorealistic at times. I often stop and just stare at the waves or park and watch the sun hitting the road as it sets.
Story-
The voice acting is top notch and the cast has some truly memorable characters. This is one of the few games where I actually have an emotional response when things happen to the main characters...which is no small feat. Sometimes you have to make choices whether someone lives or dies and I found myself really struggling with the decision I thought was appropriate to my character. The pacing is great too. Just as you are getting satisfied with a particular location, you get access to a new islands and contacts so things always feel fresh.
Gameplay-
Thankfully, they eliminated all the things that made past GTAs tedious. No more going to the gym to lift weights, no more being forced to drive twenty minutes across town to do a mission. Finally, you can take a cab and opt to skip the driving when you are in a rush. They've also added a much needed cover system where tapping R1 will let you take cover behind virtually any object. This leads to some truly epic shootouts that will literally have you diving for cover.
They also made your cell phone the menu for the game and you rarely have to leave the game world immersion. Just call up your friends for missions or hanging out and watch Niko talk to them while he walks around the city. You can even buy ringtones, themes, and even get a camera phone and organizer.
There are also 200 music tracks on a dozen radio stations with great music and talk shows on all of them. You can waste hours watching TV at your house, going on dates to see shows or play pool and darts, or you can fool around on dozens of webpages at the internet cafe. Basically, there is a ton of depth here that will give the game dozens of hours of extra traction.
Multiplayer-
Just whip out your cell phone in the single player and hop right in to over 14 online game modes. Imagine running around New York with 15 friends and playing paintball in the streets. To just be able to hop into the whole of Liberty City and do ANYTHING is so fun and chaotic words can't describe it. Just last night, I joined Free Mode, where there are no rules. I proceeded to blow up 3 cop cars and run over a flock of pedestrians before getting plowed over by another player who had stolen a commuter bus and was on a rampage in Times Square. That was just the first 10 minutes. And I was having a blast that even my wife couldn't turn away from.
The Bad:
Other than minor framerate and A.I. glitches, my biggest complaint is that the game does some unnecessary forced loading. When you die on a mission instead of just asking you if you want to retry it, you die, it loads a respawn at the hospital and THEN you are asked to retry the mission, which leads to another load screen.
Every time you launch the game, you are forced to sit through a 2 minute intro movie. I suspect this is to distract you while the game loads in the background more than it is to set a mood, but it would still have been nice to be able to skip it sometimes.
Other than that, the clothing selection feature remains terrible. You have no way to quickly cycle through your wardrobe without having to spend 2-5 seconds loading each new outfit. If you're like me, you bought every outfit as soon as you could only to learn that you had to cycle through every single one anytime you wanted to change clothes. And other than buying clothes, money has absolutely no value in this game. For some reason, they didn't include a casino or the option to buy property, so you amass all this wealth and have virtually nothing to spend it on at the end of the game's main story.
The Verdict:
That said, the sheer freedom and realism of this game signal a landmark in gaming and anyone who likes video games should buy this game. It is the most fun I've ever had with a video game and provides 100+ hours of entertainment for sixty bucks. Despite a few flaws, the amount of content, fun, and depth of this game make it virtually flawless and worth your money.
Thursday, July 20, 2000
Mario and Luigi - Dream Team - 8.5
NSMB2's unveiling was met with a lot of praise and criticism by fans of
the 3DS. After superb sales on the Wii (New Super Mario Bros. Wii),
NSMB2 follows in its predecessor's footsteps but maybe a bit closer than
some will want to admit. Of all the discussing I see some bickering
fans partaking in, the word "rehash" seems as synonymous with this game
in discussion as it is with a franchise the likes of Call of Duty or
Madden. So the ultimate question probably should be "Is this really bad
or not"?
Gameplay, more money more problems?:
NSMB2 brings back just about all the gameplay elements of its Wii (and of course DS) predecessor in terms of gameplay style, mechanics and so on. As you can tell by the marketing campaign and the game case itself, NSMB2 takes pride in encouraging greedy players this time around. In addition to your usual princess rescuing routine a sub-goal of the game is to collect 1,000,000 gold coins throughout the course of your overall time playing the game. With a task as arduous as this you'll probably wonder if it's possible without sinking your life into the game. The answer is in a sense yes. There are a plethora of means to gain coins which range from the overpowered gold fire flower (which can destroy many enemies, blocks, and even rocks while giving you coins for everything destroyed by the spicy golden meatballs of death you fling), or turning enemies (such as koopas) into gold and kicking them away in which case they leave trails of coins for you. There are several more ways to earn quick coins but half the fun is in finding all the different ways the game will toss coins your way. Thar be gold in those hills!
Sadly the 1,000,000 coin goal falls relatively flat when you actually achieve your goal. You would think with such a hefty feat you'd be getting some amusing reward in return but the actuality of the situation will more than likely disappoint you. While I won't spoil the surprise I imagine there will be MANY facepalms when it comes time for the 1,000,000 coin revelation (there have already been for those who've spoiled themselves). Suffice it is to say that if you could deal with the disappointment that was Super Mario 64's completion reward then I suppose you could handle this well (hint, it's worse than that reward). I think the game may have been a bit better off without this "hook" but ultimately if you have fun playing for coins then the goal has arguably served its means.
Co-op, bros before toads:
I'm going to be honest, I'd always rather play a Mario game solo, NSMBW was no exception. Unless you liked trolling your friends or bumbling around the stages, more (than 2) players tended to feel like a chore in performance from my experience. That said NSMB2 jumps down from 4 players to just 2: Mario and Luigi. This works out well enough since on a smaller screen 4 player co-op would likely be very uncomfortable. When you play a co-op game (which mind you you can't do this over the internet) the host takes the role of Mario and the guest becomes Luigi. Mario (the player) will select one of their own files and both players continue from the Mario player's file. Luigi's player will not get any progress in their file but they will be able to bolster their coin count while in a co-op game.
The whole game is up for grabs in co-op so you can play beginning to end. The same mechanics in place for NSMBW are at play here, players can bubble themselves out of some situations in which case their partner can tag them back into safety. This can be used to cooperatively aid lesser skilled players through more tricky segments of the game, provided that the remaining player is never harmed. Should there ever be only one of the two players actively onscreen (non-bubbled) and they lose a life then both players lose and will need to restart the stage or at that stage's checkpoint. Another cooperative tactic one can use is sharing stored power ups. Each player can hold one reserve power up item should a situation go bad for them. Said items are called in and dropped above the owner's head but either partner can pick the item up provided they touch it first. On a co-op level, NSMB2 can still be a bit chaotic but it feels proper (and fun) at the 2 player count.
Graphics & 3D, itsa me! Familiarity!:
NSMB2 essentially matches NSMBW's graphics, but on a handheld. The game even retains NSMBW's solid frame rate consistently, even with 3D on. Character models are fluid and well done for the most part and the game looks as good as its predecessor. One can also argue that most of the game's assets literally feel directly lifted from NSMBW though. The character models obviously would be but the map designs/themes, stage designs, and so on literally make the game sometimes feel like it should be called NSMBW portable or an expansion to NSMBW. Much of what you'll see in the game will look familiar if you come from the previous NSMB title.
Meanwhile the 3D effect for NSMB2 is relatively minor. The 3D will amount to giving the game a bit more of a pop effect on the foreground layer and occasionally adds a touch to near foreground walls but otherwise 3D is not a big deal for this title (and it probably shouldn't be). However any time you are using the 3D settings in a stage the background will become blurred, detracting from details on background objects.
Sound, Bah! Bah bah...:
The same way the game graphically feels lifted from NSMBW the same can be said of NSMB2's music, though in this case it is immediately obvious. The game's soundtrack is literally NSMBW's but with more bah. If you had a problem with bahs previously, you'd best get over them for NSMB2 because this is a game that is all about the bah, and it's even heard in castle themes now. Despite the obvious lifting, cheery music is what makes any Mario game Mario and of course, musical enjoyment is subjective (I've actually had quite a laugh over the hostility some fans have for the added bahs though).
Overall, the million coin question:
Is New Super Mario Bros. 2 a rehash? As much as some defenders will relent to admit, it kind of is. The game's new gimmick never really changes much about how the game is played, the stages (and bosses) will look eerily familiar, and the music is immediately familiar. NSMB2 does have some of the criteria to be called a rehash. It may not do it on the caliber of other big named series but the point is, it does seemingly commit the crime regardless. The question is how do you feel about having more of something pretty similar (or the same)? I played NSMBW through for my nieces and while the best memories of my Mario days have been far behind me the game was still pretty enjoyable. I'm willing to pass the same judgment down to NSMB2 in that while it doesn't feel particularly mind blowing in any way, it is fun enough to be worth a spin. If you've for whatever reason never played a side scrolling Mario game though, this is a fun title to play. While the NSMB series never fully matches up to its roots, it's a fun homage to those titles that's even further accessible to newer/younger gamers.
Pros:
- Co-op is fun and functional.
- If you really liked NSMBW or even side scrolling Mario games in general, you may like this.
- NSMB2 matches NSMBW's graphics, sound, and controls.
- The golden flower may be mighty but it's not the difficulty killer the helicopter mushroom from NSMBW was.
- NSMB2 is an accessible title to just about anyone given its difficulty.
Cons:
- Not only does it match NSMBW's graphics, it literally feels like it reuses a lot of its assets.
- The music is barely changed, in fact it feels like they only added more "bah"s.
- The 1,000,000 coin gimmick does little to enhance the play, and its reward is truly underwhelming.
- This isn't exactly a game for challenge seekers like the original Marios, the game is way more forgiving than its source of inspiration (SMB3, SMW).
Gameplay, more money more problems?:
NSMB2 brings back just about all the gameplay elements of its Wii (and of course DS) predecessor in terms of gameplay style, mechanics and so on. As you can tell by the marketing campaign and the game case itself, NSMB2 takes pride in encouraging greedy players this time around. In addition to your usual princess rescuing routine a sub-goal of the game is to collect 1,000,000 gold coins throughout the course of your overall time playing the game. With a task as arduous as this you'll probably wonder if it's possible without sinking your life into the game. The answer is in a sense yes. There are a plethora of means to gain coins which range from the overpowered gold fire flower (which can destroy many enemies, blocks, and even rocks while giving you coins for everything destroyed by the spicy golden meatballs of death you fling), or turning enemies (such as koopas) into gold and kicking them away in which case they leave trails of coins for you. There are several more ways to earn quick coins but half the fun is in finding all the different ways the game will toss coins your way. Thar be gold in those hills!
Sadly the 1,000,000 coin goal falls relatively flat when you actually achieve your goal. You would think with such a hefty feat you'd be getting some amusing reward in return but the actuality of the situation will more than likely disappoint you. While I won't spoil the surprise I imagine there will be MANY facepalms when it comes time for the 1,000,000 coin revelation (there have already been for those who've spoiled themselves). Suffice it is to say that if you could deal with the disappointment that was Super Mario 64's completion reward then I suppose you could handle this well (hint, it's worse than that reward). I think the game may have been a bit better off without this "hook" but ultimately if you have fun playing for coins then the goal has arguably served its means.
Co-op, bros before toads:
I'm going to be honest, I'd always rather play a Mario game solo, NSMBW was no exception. Unless you liked trolling your friends or bumbling around the stages, more (than 2) players tended to feel like a chore in performance from my experience. That said NSMB2 jumps down from 4 players to just 2: Mario and Luigi. This works out well enough since on a smaller screen 4 player co-op would likely be very uncomfortable. When you play a co-op game (which mind you you can't do this over the internet) the host takes the role of Mario and the guest becomes Luigi. Mario (the player) will select one of their own files and both players continue from the Mario player's file. Luigi's player will not get any progress in their file but they will be able to bolster their coin count while in a co-op game.
The whole game is up for grabs in co-op so you can play beginning to end. The same mechanics in place for NSMBW are at play here, players can bubble themselves out of some situations in which case their partner can tag them back into safety. This can be used to cooperatively aid lesser skilled players through more tricky segments of the game, provided that the remaining player is never harmed. Should there ever be only one of the two players actively onscreen (non-bubbled) and they lose a life then both players lose and will need to restart the stage or at that stage's checkpoint. Another cooperative tactic one can use is sharing stored power ups. Each player can hold one reserve power up item should a situation go bad for them. Said items are called in and dropped above the owner's head but either partner can pick the item up provided they touch it first. On a co-op level, NSMB2 can still be a bit chaotic but it feels proper (and fun) at the 2 player count.
Graphics & 3D, itsa me! Familiarity!:
NSMB2 essentially matches NSMBW's graphics, but on a handheld. The game even retains NSMBW's solid frame rate consistently, even with 3D on. Character models are fluid and well done for the most part and the game looks as good as its predecessor. One can also argue that most of the game's assets literally feel directly lifted from NSMBW though. The character models obviously would be but the map designs/themes, stage designs, and so on literally make the game sometimes feel like it should be called NSMBW portable or an expansion to NSMBW. Much of what you'll see in the game will look familiar if you come from the previous NSMB title.
Meanwhile the 3D effect for NSMB2 is relatively minor. The 3D will amount to giving the game a bit more of a pop effect on the foreground layer and occasionally adds a touch to near foreground walls but otherwise 3D is not a big deal for this title (and it probably shouldn't be). However any time you are using the 3D settings in a stage the background will become blurred, detracting from details on background objects.
Sound, Bah! Bah bah...:
The same way the game graphically feels lifted from NSMBW the same can be said of NSMB2's music, though in this case it is immediately obvious. The game's soundtrack is literally NSMBW's but with more bah. If you had a problem with bahs previously, you'd best get over them for NSMB2 because this is a game that is all about the bah, and it's even heard in castle themes now. Despite the obvious lifting, cheery music is what makes any Mario game Mario and of course, musical enjoyment is subjective (I've actually had quite a laugh over the hostility some fans have for the added bahs though).
Overall, the million coin question:
Is New Super Mario Bros. 2 a rehash? As much as some defenders will relent to admit, it kind of is. The game's new gimmick never really changes much about how the game is played, the stages (and bosses) will look eerily familiar, and the music is immediately familiar. NSMB2 does have some of the criteria to be called a rehash. It may not do it on the caliber of other big named series but the point is, it does seemingly commit the crime regardless. The question is how do you feel about having more of something pretty similar (or the same)? I played NSMBW through for my nieces and while the best memories of my Mario days have been far behind me the game was still pretty enjoyable. I'm willing to pass the same judgment down to NSMB2 in that while it doesn't feel particularly mind blowing in any way, it is fun enough to be worth a spin. If you've for whatever reason never played a side scrolling Mario game though, this is a fun title to play. While the NSMB series never fully matches up to its roots, it's a fun homage to those titles that's even further accessible to newer/younger gamers.
Pros:
- Co-op is fun and functional.
- If you really liked NSMBW or even side scrolling Mario games in general, you may like this.
- NSMB2 matches NSMBW's graphics, sound, and controls.
- The golden flower may be mighty but it's not the difficulty killer the helicopter mushroom from NSMBW was.
- NSMB2 is an accessible title to just about anyone given its difficulty.
Cons:
- Not only does it match NSMBW's graphics, it literally feels like it reuses a lot of its assets.
- The music is barely changed, in fact it feels like they only added more "bah"s.
- The 1,000,000 coin gimmick does little to enhance the play, and its reward is truly underwhelming.
- This isn't exactly a game for challenge seekers like the original Marios, the game is way more forgiving than its source of inspiration (SMB3, SMW).
New Super Mario Bros. 2 3DS review 8.0
NSMB2's unveiling was met with a lot of praise and criticism by fans of
the 3DS. After superb sales on the Wii (New Super Mario Bros. Wii),
NSMB2 follows in its predecessor's footsteps but maybe a bit closer than
some will want to admit. Of all the discussing I see some bickering
fans partaking in, the word "rehash" seems as synonymous with this game
in discussion as it is with a franchise the likes of Call of Duty or
Madden. So the ultimate question probably should be "Is this really bad
or not"?
Gameplay, more money more problems?:
NSMB2 brings back just about all the gameplay elements of its Wii (and of course DS) predecessor in terms of gameplay style, mechanics and so on. As you can tell by the marketing campaign and the game case itself, NSMB2 takes pride in encouraging greedy players this time around. In addition to your usual princess rescuing routine a sub-goal of the game is to collect 1,000,000 gold coins throughout the course of your overall time playing the game. With a task as arduous as this you'll probably wonder if it's possible without sinking your life into the game. The answer is in a sense yes. There are a plethora of means to gain coins which range from the overpowered gold fire flower (which can destroy many enemies, blocks, and even rocks while giving you coins for everything destroyed by the spicy golden meatballs of death you fling), or turning enemies (such as koopas) into gold and kicking them away in which case they leave trails of coins for you. There are several more ways to earn quick coins but half the fun is in finding all the different ways the game will toss coins your way. Thar be gold in those hills!
Sadly the 1,000,000 coin goal falls relatively flat when you actually achieve your goal. You would think with such a hefty feat you'd be getting some amusing reward in return but the actuality of the situation will more than likely disappoint you. While I won't spoil the surprise I imagine there will be MANY facepalms when it comes time for the 1,000,000 coin revelation (there have already been for those who've spoiled themselves). Suffice it is to say that if you could deal with the disappointment that was Super Mario 64's completion reward then I suppose you could handle this well (hint, it's worse than that reward). I think the game may have been a bit better off without this "hook" but ultimately if you have fun playing for coins then the goal has arguably served its means.
Co-op, bros before toads:
I'm going to be honest, I'd always rather play a Mario game solo, NSMBW was no exception. Unless you liked trolling your friends or bumbling around the stages, more (than 2) players tended to feel like a chore in performance from my experience. That said NSMB2 jumps down from 4 players to just 2: Mario and Luigi. This works out well enough since on a smaller screen 4 player co-op would likely be very uncomfortable. When you play a co-op game (which mind you you can't do this over the internet) the host takes the role of Mario and the guest becomes Luigi. Mario (the player) will select one of their own files and both players continue from the Mario player's file. Luigi's player will not get any progress in their file but they will be able to bolster their coin count while in a co-op game.
The whole game is up for grabs in co-op so you can play beginning to end. The same mechanics in place for NSMBW are at play here, players can bubble themselves out of some situations in which case their partner can tag them back into safety. This can be used to cooperatively aid lesser skilled players through more tricky segments of the game, provided that the remaining player is never harmed. Should there ever be only one of the two players actively onscreen (non-bubbled) and they lose a life then both players lose and will need to restart the stage or at that stage's checkpoint. Another cooperative tactic one can use is sharing stored power ups. Each player can hold one reserve power up item should a situation go bad for them. Said items are called in and dropped above the owner's head but either partner can pick the item up provided they touch it first. On a co-op level, NSMB2 can still be a bit chaotic but it feels proper (and fun) at the 2 player count.
Graphics & 3D, itsa me! Familiarity!:
NSMB2 essentially matches NSMBW's graphics, but on a handheld. The game even retains NSMBW's solid frame rate consistently, even with 3D on. Character models are fluid and well done for the most part and the game looks as good as its predecessor. One can also argue that most of the game's assets literally feel directly lifted from NSMBW though. The character models obviously would be but the map designs/themes, stage designs, and so on literally make the game sometimes feel like it should be called NSMBW portable or an expansion to NSMBW. Much of what you'll see in the game will look familiar if you come from the previous NSMB title.
Meanwhile the 3D effect for NSMB2 is relatively minor. The 3D will amount to giving the game a bit more of a pop effect on the foreground layer and occasionally adds a touch to near foreground walls but otherwise 3D is not a big deal for this title (and it probably shouldn't be). However any time you are using the 3D settings in a stage the background will become blurred, detracting from details on background objects.
Sound, Bah! Bah bah...:
The same way the game graphically feels lifted from NSMBW the same can be said of NSMB2's music, though in this case it is immediately obvious. The game's soundtrack is literally NSMBW's but with more bah. If you had a problem with bahs previously, you'd best get over them for NSMB2 because this is a game that is all about the bah, and it's even heard in castle themes now. Despite the obvious lifting, cheery music is what makes any Mario game Mario and of course, musical enjoyment is subjective (I've actually had quite a laugh over the hostility some fans have for the added bahs though).
Overall, the million coin question:
Is New Super Mario Bros. 2 a rehash? As much as some defenders will relent to admit, it kind of is. The game's new gimmick never really changes much about how the game is played, the stages (and bosses) will look eerily familiar, and the music is immediately familiar. NSMB2 does have some of the criteria to be called a rehash. It may not do it on the caliber of other big named series but the point is, it does seemingly commit the crime regardless. The question is how do you feel about having more of something pretty similar (or the same)? I played NSMBW through for my nieces and while the best memories of my Mario days have been far behind me the game was still pretty enjoyable. I'm willing to pass the same judgment down to NSMB2 in that while it doesn't feel particularly mind blowing in any way, it is fun enough to be worth a spin. If you've for whatever reason never played a side scrolling Mario game though, this is a fun title to play. While the NSMB series never fully matches up to its roots, it's a fun homage to those titles that's even further accessible to newer/younger gamers.
Pros:
- Co-op is fun and functional.
- If you really liked NSMBW or even side scrolling Mario games in general, you may like this.
- NSMB2 matches NSMBW's graphics, sound, and controls.
- The golden flower may be mighty but it's not the difficulty killer the helicopter mushroom from NSMBW was.
- NSMB2 is an accessible title to just about anyone given its difficulty.
Cons:
- Not only does it match NSMBW's graphics, it literally feels like it reuses a lot of its assets.
- The music is barely changed, in fact it feels like they only added more "bah"s.
- The 1,000,000 coin gimmick does little to enhance the play, and its reward is truly underwhelming.
- This isn't exactly a game for challenge seekers like the original Marios, the game is way more forgiving than its source of inspiration (SMB3, SMW).
Gameplay, more money more problems?:
NSMB2 brings back just about all the gameplay elements of its Wii (and of course DS) predecessor in terms of gameplay style, mechanics and so on. As you can tell by the marketing campaign and the game case itself, NSMB2 takes pride in encouraging greedy players this time around. In addition to your usual princess rescuing routine a sub-goal of the game is to collect 1,000,000 gold coins throughout the course of your overall time playing the game. With a task as arduous as this you'll probably wonder if it's possible without sinking your life into the game. The answer is in a sense yes. There are a plethora of means to gain coins which range from the overpowered gold fire flower (which can destroy many enemies, blocks, and even rocks while giving you coins for everything destroyed by the spicy golden meatballs of death you fling), or turning enemies (such as koopas) into gold and kicking them away in which case they leave trails of coins for you. There are several more ways to earn quick coins but half the fun is in finding all the different ways the game will toss coins your way. Thar be gold in those hills!
Sadly the 1,000,000 coin goal falls relatively flat when you actually achieve your goal. You would think with such a hefty feat you'd be getting some amusing reward in return but the actuality of the situation will more than likely disappoint you. While I won't spoil the surprise I imagine there will be MANY facepalms when it comes time for the 1,000,000 coin revelation (there have already been for those who've spoiled themselves). Suffice it is to say that if you could deal with the disappointment that was Super Mario 64's completion reward then I suppose you could handle this well (hint, it's worse than that reward). I think the game may have been a bit better off without this "hook" but ultimately if you have fun playing for coins then the goal has arguably served its means.
Co-op, bros before toads:
I'm going to be honest, I'd always rather play a Mario game solo, NSMBW was no exception. Unless you liked trolling your friends or bumbling around the stages, more (than 2) players tended to feel like a chore in performance from my experience. That said NSMB2 jumps down from 4 players to just 2: Mario and Luigi. This works out well enough since on a smaller screen 4 player co-op would likely be very uncomfortable. When you play a co-op game (which mind you you can't do this over the internet) the host takes the role of Mario and the guest becomes Luigi. Mario (the player) will select one of their own files and both players continue from the Mario player's file. Luigi's player will not get any progress in their file but they will be able to bolster their coin count while in a co-op game.
The whole game is up for grabs in co-op so you can play beginning to end. The same mechanics in place for NSMBW are at play here, players can bubble themselves out of some situations in which case their partner can tag them back into safety. This can be used to cooperatively aid lesser skilled players through more tricky segments of the game, provided that the remaining player is never harmed. Should there ever be only one of the two players actively onscreen (non-bubbled) and they lose a life then both players lose and will need to restart the stage or at that stage's checkpoint. Another cooperative tactic one can use is sharing stored power ups. Each player can hold one reserve power up item should a situation go bad for them. Said items are called in and dropped above the owner's head but either partner can pick the item up provided they touch it first. On a co-op level, NSMB2 can still be a bit chaotic but it feels proper (and fun) at the 2 player count.
Graphics & 3D, itsa me! Familiarity!:
NSMB2 essentially matches NSMBW's graphics, but on a handheld. The game even retains NSMBW's solid frame rate consistently, even with 3D on. Character models are fluid and well done for the most part and the game looks as good as its predecessor. One can also argue that most of the game's assets literally feel directly lifted from NSMBW though. The character models obviously would be but the map designs/themes, stage designs, and so on literally make the game sometimes feel like it should be called NSMBW portable or an expansion to NSMBW. Much of what you'll see in the game will look familiar if you come from the previous NSMB title.
Meanwhile the 3D effect for NSMB2 is relatively minor. The 3D will amount to giving the game a bit more of a pop effect on the foreground layer and occasionally adds a touch to near foreground walls but otherwise 3D is not a big deal for this title (and it probably shouldn't be). However any time you are using the 3D settings in a stage the background will become blurred, detracting from details on background objects.
Sound, Bah! Bah bah...:
The same way the game graphically feels lifted from NSMBW the same can be said of NSMB2's music, though in this case it is immediately obvious. The game's soundtrack is literally NSMBW's but with more bah. If you had a problem with bahs previously, you'd best get over them for NSMB2 because this is a game that is all about the bah, and it's even heard in castle themes now. Despite the obvious lifting, cheery music is what makes any Mario game Mario and of course, musical enjoyment is subjective (I've actually had quite a laugh over the hostility some fans have for the added bahs though).
Overall, the million coin question:
Is New Super Mario Bros. 2 a rehash? As much as some defenders will relent to admit, it kind of is. The game's new gimmick never really changes much about how the game is played, the stages (and bosses) will look eerily familiar, and the music is immediately familiar. NSMB2 does have some of the criteria to be called a rehash. It may not do it on the caliber of other big named series but the point is, it does seemingly commit the crime regardless. The question is how do you feel about having more of something pretty similar (or the same)? I played NSMBW through for my nieces and while the best memories of my Mario days have been far behind me the game was still pretty enjoyable. I'm willing to pass the same judgment down to NSMB2 in that while it doesn't feel particularly mind blowing in any way, it is fun enough to be worth a spin. If you've for whatever reason never played a side scrolling Mario game though, this is a fun title to play. While the NSMB series never fully matches up to its roots, it's a fun homage to those titles that's even further accessible to newer/younger gamers.
Pros:
- Co-op is fun and functional.
- If you really liked NSMBW or even side scrolling Mario games in general, you may like this.
- NSMB2 matches NSMBW's graphics, sound, and controls.
- The golden flower may be mighty but it's not the difficulty killer the helicopter mushroom from NSMBW was.
- NSMB2 is an accessible title to just about anyone given its difficulty.
Cons:
- Not only does it match NSMBW's graphics, it literally feels like it reuses a lot of its assets.
- The music is barely changed, in fact it feels like they only added more "bah"s.
- The 1,000,000 coin gimmick does little to enhance the play, and its reward is truly underwhelming.
- This isn't exactly a game for challenge seekers like the original Marios, the game is way more forgiving than its source of inspiration (SMB3, SMW).
The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Review 9.0
Oblivion is EXACTLY how I imagined an RPG should be like back in the 80's, while playing Ultimas on Commodore 64s and Atari STs.
Oblivion has weather. While there is no wind other than a constant, gentle breeze, you do get rain/thunderstorms, fog, snow (no blizzards though, because there's not much wind). You don't slip and fall on ice but the sound of your steps is different whether you walk on the road, on grass, on snow or on ice.
The world of Cyrodill is not exactly continent-size, maybe some 20-30 miles in any direction from downtown Imperial City but... what a world this is. Cities, settlements, camps, estates, roadside inns, ruins, caves, dungeons, mines, shrines. The landscape is made up of plains, hard-to-climb mountains, rivers, swamps, waterfalls, seas. You can travel on foot or you can ride a horse. You can fight your way into fame and fortune while doing good or you can sneak into other people's houses or pickpocket the unsuspecting. The guards will chase you and throw you in jail if you do illegal things but, if they like you enough, maybe they will look the other way sometimes. Powerful gods or humble people will ask you do 'little things' for them and, if you can make them happy, they will reward you according to their abilities. You can raise to the top of your profession, as a fighter, as a mage, as a thief or as an assassin or you can assemble your own little gang of dreamy crusaders so that you can fight evil and recover the relics of a legendary knight. Or you can do them all and become all, in sequence or make progress in all paths more or less simultaneously while moonlighting as a gladiator as well and, if still bored, how about helping a lady take care of the rats in her basement (that's NOT what you think) or some drunk guy at the inn get rid of the Trolls that took over his daddy's country estate? Oh and, I forgot, there's a world to save or... wait... there's TWO worlds, thanks to the Shivering Isles extension.
This game is so huge, I can't see how you could really 'finish' it. After more than 2 months of almost daily playing, I am maybe 75-80% into the main quest, half a way through the Knights of the Nine, only started the Shivering Isles adventures. I did become the realm's Chief Mage (and the titles earns me no respect from the scholar mages) and the grand master at the Fighters league, got myself 350,000 gold coins in my pocket, 2 comfortable houses and 2 nice offices, completed close to 100 quests, slaughtered 2000 creatures and hundreds of humans, murdered 4 or 5 and all but one by mistake (friendly fire), didn't even come close to the Thieves guild and, foolishly, made it impossible for me to ever join the Dark Brotherhood (these are the assassins). Also, I've never been a vampire and didn't yet start my career as a professional gladiator. I did massacre the peaceful dwellers of a small village but I did that under the influence of some drugs that made them look to me like bloody Orcs - that was the price to pay for infiltrating and destroying the source of that scourge. Oh, and while briefly in the land of Dementia - or was it Mania? - I did, willingly, push buttons that caused a few careless adventurers to go insane and I watched as they were becoming so. I humiliated a lovely princess - or was it a duchess? - and I killed so many fearsome monsters, I lost count myself but the game does keep a count so it's easy to know. In fact, the game keeps track of so many things... I could easily find out how many jokes I told, how many potions I made, how many horses I've stolen (one), how many hours I slept or how many books I read.
Well...? What do you think?
On the 'not so good' side, the game does slow down when you are fighting 4-5 monsters at the same time or when there are other things that keep the PS3 busy while you are fighting the baddies - like a fire burning. Loading/saving times are a bit too long but, while this is happening, you do get to read some randomly selected good advice on the screen.
The other thing that saddens me is that I don't believe the good people at Bethesda are working on the next chapter yet. I do hope that, as soon as they are done with Fallout-3, they are going to get busy with another adventure in Cyrodill or thereabouts.
My other problem is that I am now fighting with my kids over time on the PS3. We have a bunch of other games but, since Oblivion came into our house, I would say that 95%+ of our PS3 time was on Oblivion.
Oblivion has weather. While there is no wind other than a constant, gentle breeze, you do get rain/thunderstorms, fog, snow (no blizzards though, because there's not much wind). You don't slip and fall on ice but the sound of your steps is different whether you walk on the road, on grass, on snow or on ice.
The world of Cyrodill is not exactly continent-size, maybe some 20-30 miles in any direction from downtown Imperial City but... what a world this is. Cities, settlements, camps, estates, roadside inns, ruins, caves, dungeons, mines, shrines. The landscape is made up of plains, hard-to-climb mountains, rivers, swamps, waterfalls, seas. You can travel on foot or you can ride a horse. You can fight your way into fame and fortune while doing good or you can sneak into other people's houses or pickpocket the unsuspecting. The guards will chase you and throw you in jail if you do illegal things but, if they like you enough, maybe they will look the other way sometimes. Powerful gods or humble people will ask you do 'little things' for them and, if you can make them happy, they will reward you according to their abilities. You can raise to the top of your profession, as a fighter, as a mage, as a thief or as an assassin or you can assemble your own little gang of dreamy crusaders so that you can fight evil and recover the relics of a legendary knight. Or you can do them all and become all, in sequence or make progress in all paths more or less simultaneously while moonlighting as a gladiator as well and, if still bored, how about helping a lady take care of the rats in her basement (that's NOT what you think) or some drunk guy at the inn get rid of the Trolls that took over his daddy's country estate? Oh and, I forgot, there's a world to save or... wait... there's TWO worlds, thanks to the Shivering Isles extension.
This game is so huge, I can't see how you could really 'finish' it. After more than 2 months of almost daily playing, I am maybe 75-80% into the main quest, half a way through the Knights of the Nine, only started the Shivering Isles adventures. I did become the realm's Chief Mage (and the titles earns me no respect from the scholar mages) and the grand master at the Fighters league, got myself 350,000 gold coins in my pocket, 2 comfortable houses and 2 nice offices, completed close to 100 quests, slaughtered 2000 creatures and hundreds of humans, murdered 4 or 5 and all but one by mistake (friendly fire), didn't even come close to the Thieves guild and, foolishly, made it impossible for me to ever join the Dark Brotherhood (these are the assassins). Also, I've never been a vampire and didn't yet start my career as a professional gladiator. I did massacre the peaceful dwellers of a small village but I did that under the influence of some drugs that made them look to me like bloody Orcs - that was the price to pay for infiltrating and destroying the source of that scourge. Oh, and while briefly in the land of Dementia - or was it Mania? - I did, willingly, push buttons that caused a few careless adventurers to go insane and I watched as they were becoming so. I humiliated a lovely princess - or was it a duchess? - and I killed so many fearsome monsters, I lost count myself but the game does keep a count so it's easy to know. In fact, the game keeps track of so many things... I could easily find out how many jokes I told, how many potions I made, how many horses I've stolen (one), how many hours I slept or how many books I read.
Well...? What do you think?
On the 'not so good' side, the game does slow down when you are fighting 4-5 monsters at the same time or when there are other things that keep the PS3 busy while you are fighting the baddies - like a fire burning. Loading/saving times are a bit too long but, while this is happening, you do get to read some randomly selected good advice on the screen.
The other thing that saddens me is that I don't believe the good people at Bethesda are working on the next chapter yet. I do hope that, as soon as they are done with Fallout-3, they are going to get busy with another adventure in Cyrodill or thereabouts.
My other problem is that I am now fighting with my kids over time on the PS3. We have a bunch of other games but, since Oblivion came into our house, I would say that 95%+ of our PS3 time was on Oblivion.
Suikoden III | 9.5
The Suikoden RPG series has always been about people who get caught up in events far beyond their control, and how they rise up to that challenge. Hallmarks of the Suikoden games are the necessity of gathering 108 allies (based on an old Chinese legend) and building a castle headquarters where your main base (and source of mini-games) will be.
Suikoden 3 is different from past games since it gives you the option of choosing from one of 3 initial heroes to play as. These include a female knight, a tribal youth and a mercenary, each of whom represents a different side of a dangerous, escalating war.
To actually finish the game, you WILL have to play all the 3 chapters of each character; this is no problem however since each character's story is compelling and always intriguing. The great thing about this system, or Trinity Sight, is that you see the story from various viewpoints, so the depth and secrets that are revealed are really rewarding as you play through the game.
And that is what Suikoden 3 is all about. Do not look for flashy CG and cinematics, since there are none (except for a magnificent anime movie 'trailer' of the game at the start screen), but that really shouldn't matter. It's the game's story and the characters you will grow attached to that will captivate you.
Graphics are mixed; the art style is wonderful Japanese anime fantasy style, though the 3D in-game models are slightly cartoony in proportion but not too cutesy- the best part is that they express emotion better than any other game out there; this makes for entertaining cut scenes. The environments are detailed and wonderful.
As for gameplay, this is still a turn-based combat system, with the requisite 'army' and one-on-one duels present. Overall though, the gameplay is easy, control is excellent and loading times are only a few seconds in length. No detraction from the fun.
Finally, as for replay, there are hidden characters to play as, multiple endings, 108 allies to recruit, a castle with tons of fun stuff to do and the option to load save games from past Suikodens to unlock more secrets.
In terms of story, replay, depth and compelling characters, Suikoden 3 is unquestionably the best RPG out there now. Fans of Suikoden MUST get this game, but I heartily recommend it to everyone who loves RPGs or at least a deep, involving story.
What are you waiting for? Get this game NOW!
Suikoden 3 is different from past games since it gives you the option of choosing from one of 3 initial heroes to play as. These include a female knight, a tribal youth and a mercenary, each of whom represents a different side of a dangerous, escalating war.
To actually finish the game, you WILL have to play all the 3 chapters of each character; this is no problem however since each character's story is compelling and always intriguing. The great thing about this system, or Trinity Sight, is that you see the story from various viewpoints, so the depth and secrets that are revealed are really rewarding as you play through the game.
And that is what Suikoden 3 is all about. Do not look for flashy CG and cinematics, since there are none (except for a magnificent anime movie 'trailer' of the game at the start screen), but that really shouldn't matter. It's the game's story and the characters you will grow attached to that will captivate you.
Graphics are mixed; the art style is wonderful Japanese anime fantasy style, though the 3D in-game models are slightly cartoony in proportion but not too cutesy- the best part is that they express emotion better than any other game out there; this makes for entertaining cut scenes. The environments are detailed and wonderful.
As for gameplay, this is still a turn-based combat system, with the requisite 'army' and one-on-one duels present. Overall though, the gameplay is easy, control is excellent and loading times are only a few seconds in length. No detraction from the fun.
Finally, as for replay, there are hidden characters to play as, multiple endings, 108 allies to recruit, a castle with tons of fun stuff to do and the option to load save games from past Suikodens to unlock more secrets.
In terms of story, replay, depth and compelling characters, Suikoden 3 is unquestionably the best RPG out there now. Fans of Suikoden MUST get this game, but I heartily recommend it to everyone who loves RPGs or at least a deep, involving story.
What are you waiting for? Get this game NOW!
Wednesday, July 19, 2000
FIFA 12 PS3 review | 8.0
This is a fantastic game but I have to give it 4 stars because I think
the way EA marketed this game, i.e. as if they completely revolutionized
the FIFA franchise , is a tad misleading. Maybe it's just me but I
found the whole 'impact system' that this release is centered around to
be very over rated and , when I did experience it during games, to be
pretty glitchy (more on that later).
Positives:
1) Let's start with my favorite part about this game - I feel that FIFA 12 really introduces a whole new level of realism into the franchise in that it really does seem to be a game that will require players to think differently in each match as the improved ball physics makes every shot move different ,even if hit from the same spot using the same power. One of my biggest peeves in FIFA 11 was playing against the hardcore FIFA players who mastered the game to the point where they knew where to shoot from, how much power to use - strategies which almost always resulted in a goal. I think 12 has gone some way to addressing the scenario of players being able to beat the game engine which will be a relief for casual players such as myself. Bear in mind , I think i felt similarly about FIFA 11 too so if i find myself once again getting scored on from the same spots, I'l edit this portion of the review.
2) Improved player AI - Absolutely fantastic. After playing about 10 games against the computer, I could really feel the difference. In fact, the only reason playing against the computer didn't seem as fun as playing online was because i knew I was playing against the computer. The scores were always vastly different i.e. 6-0 in 1 game , 1-2 in another and the AI's decision making ability ,even at the semi-pro level I am currently playing at is extremely smart. Case in point - I rushed my keeper on the AI player and the player actually chipped the ball above the keeper. Maybe it's just me but I never saw the computer do that in FIFA 11 even at the 'legendary' difficulty level.
3) Defending - Ok I admit it - I was one of those whose defense strategy in 11 was to simply rush onto the opposition with the X button pressed. I tried the same strategy in 'amateur' difficulty in FIFA 12 and almost lost the game. In short, defending in Fifa 12 is much more about anticipation and interception than it is about tough tackling - just as is the case in the real sport.
4) Dribbling: Just like the improved bal physics make it difficult for the very good players to master scoring positions , shooting power etc. , the improved dribbling makes it very difficult for amateur players to just come in and steal the ball by just running into the player with the x button pressed when a player is pulling of a skill.
5) Commentary - Having 2 separate commentary teams certainly goes a long way towards not hearing the same thing again and again.
6) Graphics - Player faces have been enhanced to give a more real life look as compared to the glossy look players had in Fifa 11.
7) Other: As with recent FIFA releases, you really have to keep playing Fifa 12 to really see all the new subtle tweaks in the game that really add up to making a big difference and hence i will continue to update this section as and when i notice something really cool. Here are some I have noticed
a) Injuries: I actually had a player get injured mid run and just go down, possibly because I had maxed out his stamina and was still exerting him
b) Game customization: You actually have the ability to increase/ reduce several attributes of both you as well as the computer (on a scale of 100) such as shot speed, acceleration, pass speed, injury frequency, injury severity, goalkeeper ability etc. - kinda helps if you want to make the game even more easier/challenging in addition to the difficulty setting you selected.
How much of a difference does that make? I set my team's sprint speed and acceleration to 100 and that of the computer to 0; in the previous game where all attributes were equal, I won 2-1 but with the edited settings, i won 35-0 , both at the exact same difficulty level.
Neutral:
Revamped Start Menu - Is cool but not a big deal for me. it's just one of those things that gives you that 'oh yes this is a new game' feeling for the first couple of times but after that, you just feel indifferent towards it. Personally , I don't think it improves or decreases the user experience but yes it does look a bit better.
Negatives:
1) Player impact engine: The primary reason that I consider this to be a negative is that i hardly ever see it come into effect in the game and when there is impact between players, the results are either over exaggerated or glitchy. 2 examples - The first was when I launched a sliding tackle straight through a player in the penalty box and it just made the player slightly imbalanced when he really should have gone down - no complaints from me as I avoided conceding a penalty but it will make it frustrating if i'm on the receiving end of one. The second was just plain ridiculous - I literally just walked into a defender but my player went somersaulting a few meters as if the defender had grabbed his leg and flung him full force. If it were Busquets or Alves who went flying, then i would commend the extreme realism in the game in that it really took player personality to a whole new level but it wasn't a player known for being a notorious diver.
Perhaps I may change my mind about the impact engine but , as it stands, I am disappointed in this feature as this was marketed as some sort of revolutionary change in the game but I could hardly ever experience it and when I did , the results were disappointing. I assume EA will release a patch to address these glitches after which I will edit my review but personally, the inability of this feature to meet my expectations is the primary reason why I took off 1 star.
2) Sluggishness - At least a couple of times, the navigation took at least 2 seconds to respond after i pressed a button on the remote. Eg - I pressed 'down' to navigate from 'Team management' to 'tactics' but it took a little while for the selection arrow to move down. Not a deal breaker but it will be very frustrating if it continues.
3) Player attributes don't change when you change the player's position - Not sure why EA did away with this one as i found this to be extremely helpful. Yeah everyone knows that you can't player Vidic as a striker but ,especially in the case of players whose preferred positions you may not be familiar with, it's just a bummer that their attributes don't change if you switch a specialist defender into a striker role and vice versa.
Verdict:
If it weren't for the glitches and the fact that i found the impact engine to be grossly over rated, Fifa 12 would be a 5 star game. The game has a more solid , realistic feel about it and the tweaks benefit both advanced players as well as the casual players such as myself. Advanced players will find it much more difficult to master positions from which they will almost always be able to score, but ,in return , they will find it a lot easier to hold on the ball because of how much EA has tweaked the defending and the dribbling in the game. The less advanced players will benefit from not being frustrated to always see players score from those certain spots but will be forced to try to get better at the game because 'brain dead' defending is no longer an option.
Is the game worth 60 bucks? I don't think so but , as is always the case, the fact that most online players will ditch Fifa 11 and the latest rosters will end up leaving you with little choice (assuming you mainly buy the game to play online). I bought the game when Amazon was offering a 20$ credit and am trading in my copy of Fifa 11 for 15 bucks so, for 25 bucks, this game is a steal.
I haven't tested the Career feature yet and have never played 'be a pro' so i can't comment on that but this is indeed a very solid football game and , money aside, will certainly provide a very satisfying experience. It's the best Fifa to date and I look forward to playing it for the next 12 months.
Positives:
1) Let's start with my favorite part about this game - I feel that FIFA 12 really introduces a whole new level of realism into the franchise in that it really does seem to be a game that will require players to think differently in each match as the improved ball physics makes every shot move different ,even if hit from the same spot using the same power. One of my biggest peeves in FIFA 11 was playing against the hardcore FIFA players who mastered the game to the point where they knew where to shoot from, how much power to use - strategies which almost always resulted in a goal. I think 12 has gone some way to addressing the scenario of players being able to beat the game engine which will be a relief for casual players such as myself. Bear in mind , I think i felt similarly about FIFA 11 too so if i find myself once again getting scored on from the same spots, I'l edit this portion of the review.
2) Improved player AI - Absolutely fantastic. After playing about 10 games against the computer, I could really feel the difference. In fact, the only reason playing against the computer didn't seem as fun as playing online was because i knew I was playing against the computer. The scores were always vastly different i.e. 6-0 in 1 game , 1-2 in another and the AI's decision making ability ,even at the semi-pro level I am currently playing at is extremely smart. Case in point - I rushed my keeper on the AI player and the player actually chipped the ball above the keeper. Maybe it's just me but I never saw the computer do that in FIFA 11 even at the 'legendary' difficulty level.
3) Defending - Ok I admit it - I was one of those whose defense strategy in 11 was to simply rush onto the opposition with the X button pressed. I tried the same strategy in 'amateur' difficulty in FIFA 12 and almost lost the game. In short, defending in Fifa 12 is much more about anticipation and interception than it is about tough tackling - just as is the case in the real sport.
4) Dribbling: Just like the improved bal physics make it difficult for the very good players to master scoring positions , shooting power etc. , the improved dribbling makes it very difficult for amateur players to just come in and steal the ball by just running into the player with the x button pressed when a player is pulling of a skill.
5) Commentary - Having 2 separate commentary teams certainly goes a long way towards not hearing the same thing again and again.
6) Graphics - Player faces have been enhanced to give a more real life look as compared to the glossy look players had in Fifa 11.
7) Other: As with recent FIFA releases, you really have to keep playing Fifa 12 to really see all the new subtle tweaks in the game that really add up to making a big difference and hence i will continue to update this section as and when i notice something really cool. Here are some I have noticed
a) Injuries: I actually had a player get injured mid run and just go down, possibly because I had maxed out his stamina and was still exerting him
b) Game customization: You actually have the ability to increase/ reduce several attributes of both you as well as the computer (on a scale of 100) such as shot speed, acceleration, pass speed, injury frequency, injury severity, goalkeeper ability etc. - kinda helps if you want to make the game even more easier/challenging in addition to the difficulty setting you selected.
How much of a difference does that make? I set my team's sprint speed and acceleration to 100 and that of the computer to 0; in the previous game where all attributes were equal, I won 2-1 but with the edited settings, i won 35-0 , both at the exact same difficulty level.
Neutral:
Revamped Start Menu - Is cool but not a big deal for me. it's just one of those things that gives you that 'oh yes this is a new game' feeling for the first couple of times but after that, you just feel indifferent towards it. Personally , I don't think it improves or decreases the user experience but yes it does look a bit better.
Negatives:
1) Player impact engine: The primary reason that I consider this to be a negative is that i hardly ever see it come into effect in the game and when there is impact between players, the results are either over exaggerated or glitchy. 2 examples - The first was when I launched a sliding tackle straight through a player in the penalty box and it just made the player slightly imbalanced when he really should have gone down - no complaints from me as I avoided conceding a penalty but it will make it frustrating if i'm on the receiving end of one. The second was just plain ridiculous - I literally just walked into a defender but my player went somersaulting a few meters as if the defender had grabbed his leg and flung him full force. If it were Busquets or Alves who went flying, then i would commend the extreme realism in the game in that it really took player personality to a whole new level but it wasn't a player known for being a notorious diver.
Perhaps I may change my mind about the impact engine but , as it stands, I am disappointed in this feature as this was marketed as some sort of revolutionary change in the game but I could hardly ever experience it and when I did , the results were disappointing. I assume EA will release a patch to address these glitches after which I will edit my review but personally, the inability of this feature to meet my expectations is the primary reason why I took off 1 star.
2) Sluggishness - At least a couple of times, the navigation took at least 2 seconds to respond after i pressed a button on the remote. Eg - I pressed 'down' to navigate from 'Team management' to 'tactics' but it took a little while for the selection arrow to move down. Not a deal breaker but it will be very frustrating if it continues.
3) Player attributes don't change when you change the player's position - Not sure why EA did away with this one as i found this to be extremely helpful. Yeah everyone knows that you can't player Vidic as a striker but ,especially in the case of players whose preferred positions you may not be familiar with, it's just a bummer that their attributes don't change if you switch a specialist defender into a striker role and vice versa.
Verdict:
If it weren't for the glitches and the fact that i found the impact engine to be grossly over rated, Fifa 12 would be a 5 star game. The game has a more solid , realistic feel about it and the tweaks benefit both advanced players as well as the casual players such as myself. Advanced players will find it much more difficult to master positions from which they will almost always be able to score, but ,in return , they will find it a lot easier to hold on the ball because of how much EA has tweaked the defending and the dribbling in the game. The less advanced players will benefit from not being frustrated to always see players score from those certain spots but will be forced to try to get better at the game because 'brain dead' defending is no longer an option.
Is the game worth 60 bucks? I don't think so but , as is always the case, the fact that most online players will ditch Fifa 11 and the latest rosters will end up leaving you with little choice (assuming you mainly buy the game to play online). I bought the game when Amazon was offering a 20$ credit and am trading in my copy of Fifa 11 for 15 bucks so, for 25 bucks, this game is a steal.
I haven't tested the Career feature yet and have never played 'be a pro' so i can't comment on that but this is indeed a very solid football game and , money aside, will certainly provide a very satisfying experience. It's the best Fifa to date and I look forward to playing it for the next 12 months.
Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit 9.0
I was so pumped to hear that Burnout developer Criterion was behind the new Hot Pursuit. What could be better than that? It's like double chocolate chip cookies and half & half cream together. Fans of the series, such as myself, have waited almost a decade for a return to the roots. Unfortunately, I was disappointed to see so many aspects that made other Hot Pursuits great completely removed from the finished product.
First of all, there is no manual transmission. That's right. You get to go through the whole game enjoying lazy automatic transmission. Last I remember, driving are much more engaging, exciting, and nerve-racking when you can control shifting.
The soundtrack, while having some quality tunes, really is not put together well. There is no flow i.e. jam to adrenaline-pumping electronica followed up immediately by slow-paced hip hop. Doesn't exactly transition well and really kills the vibes you get going. You can't pick and choose what tracks you listen to either. You can choose to add your own playlist of custom songs which is an alternative, but they don't fade-in/out and just continuously play as long as the disc is running.
OK, so I can attempt to make due with no manual transmission and an unbalanced soundtrack, at least I can still rocket these cars off some jumps while I'm racing in traditional Hot Pursuit fashion, right? Not this time! Well, I'm over 60% through the Career and I haven't experienced any air time yet, I'm assuming the worst...
All is not lost though, at least I can say I have exclusive cars thanks to ordering the Limited Edition. One of my biggest selling points to purchase on launch was because I could receive the Ford Shelby GT500, "EXCLUSIVE" to my version with the code included with the Limited Edition, one of the sickest in muscle car history. Turns out, you can simply unlock it, as I did before punching in my code, along with different variations, playing through the story mode... Seriously?!
...what ELSE could I also possibly complain about?! Bombs away... NO REPLAYS!!! Whaa...?
Did I say there was no steering wheel support?
While I'm on a roll, other things that annoyed me but didn't necessarily take away from the experience: most time trials are tedious, restrictive (bump into anything, automatic +2 seconds added), and there's a bit too many of them in the game. Mandatory cutscenes and forced in-game advertisements are not classy, EA/Criterion/whoever's idea it was to do that. Oh yeah, Need For Speed: Facebook. As if the common American doesn't spend enough time on normal Facebook, you can enjoy Need For Speed: Facebook by uploading in-game shots to your wall, commenting on them, and also comment on your friends' walls and their pictures instead of actually playing the game. Also, restarting a race results in you having to watch a good portion of the original intro cutscene instead of just restarting at the beginning of the actual race.
I do digress though, this game has some definite highlights. Graphics are stellar. Incredible, really. Handling is a good balance between arcade feel and realism. It seemed only appropriate that Criterion would add a constant nitrous system à la Burnout. The selection of vehicles is top-notch and pretty diverse, at least they kept that positive aspect of the series. The online is actually pretty entertaining and surprisingly smooth without tons of lag. Pre-match wait times seem longer than most online games though. The photo mode is fun and a good distraction, you can capture your special moments but it's really is just there for novelty and an addition to Need For Speed: Facebook. I'm glad to see they included some offensive/defensive choices to use against the law, such as the epic "Turbo", the "Jammer", or your own spike strips to use against the piggies.
Don't get me wrong. This is a fun game... for about a week or less. Actually, it's an amazing game... if you've never played any other Hot Pursuit titles before. In reality, I don't see myself replaying this lackluster title again, let alone finishing it 100% knowing I am missing out on all the standard features. The flat-out boring and "safe" track designs alone make me not want to continue. It's a simple, featureless game that is probably loved by simple gamers. As EA unsurprisingly has been doing largely these days, they are again "feeding the masses" with this one.
I feel I need to be critical and analytical towards a product that has such a strong history. If I'm not, who will? A series of legendary caliber should have simply delivered a better experience. Forwards, not backwards, guys. Let's try to aim for that. I'm sorry EA, but I am going back in time almost a decade ago to enjoy your true racing masterpiece; Need for Speed Hot Pursuit 2 for PS2, where I can enjoy manual transmission, an excellently balanced soundtrack in which you can choose what songs you listen to, air time and jumps, more creative, detailed, and quantity of tracks, and customizable replays- who's with me?!
First of all, there is no manual transmission. That's right. You get to go through the whole game enjoying lazy automatic transmission. Last I remember, driving are much more engaging, exciting, and nerve-racking when you can control shifting.
The soundtrack, while having some quality tunes, really is not put together well. There is no flow i.e. jam to adrenaline-pumping electronica followed up immediately by slow-paced hip hop. Doesn't exactly transition well and really kills the vibes you get going. You can't pick and choose what tracks you listen to either. You can choose to add your own playlist of custom songs which is an alternative, but they don't fade-in/out and just continuously play as long as the disc is running.
OK, so I can attempt to make due with no manual transmission and an unbalanced soundtrack, at least I can still rocket these cars off some jumps while I'm racing in traditional Hot Pursuit fashion, right? Not this time! Well, I'm over 60% through the Career and I haven't experienced any air time yet, I'm assuming the worst...
All is not lost though, at least I can say I have exclusive cars thanks to ordering the Limited Edition. One of my biggest selling points to purchase on launch was because I could receive the Ford Shelby GT500, "EXCLUSIVE" to my version with the code included with the Limited Edition, one of the sickest in muscle car history. Turns out, you can simply unlock it, as I did before punching in my code, along with different variations, playing through the story mode... Seriously?!
...what ELSE could I also possibly complain about?! Bombs away... NO REPLAYS!!! Whaa...?
Did I say there was no steering wheel support?
While I'm on a roll, other things that annoyed me but didn't necessarily take away from the experience: most time trials are tedious, restrictive (bump into anything, automatic +2 seconds added), and there's a bit too many of them in the game. Mandatory cutscenes and forced in-game advertisements are not classy, EA/Criterion/whoever's idea it was to do that. Oh yeah, Need For Speed: Facebook. As if the common American doesn't spend enough time on normal Facebook, you can enjoy Need For Speed: Facebook by uploading in-game shots to your wall, commenting on them, and also comment on your friends' walls and their pictures instead of actually playing the game. Also, restarting a race results in you having to watch a good portion of the original intro cutscene instead of just restarting at the beginning of the actual race.
I do digress though, this game has some definite highlights. Graphics are stellar. Incredible, really. Handling is a good balance between arcade feel and realism. It seemed only appropriate that Criterion would add a constant nitrous system à la Burnout. The selection of vehicles is top-notch and pretty diverse, at least they kept that positive aspect of the series. The online is actually pretty entertaining and surprisingly smooth without tons of lag. Pre-match wait times seem longer than most online games though. The photo mode is fun and a good distraction, you can capture your special moments but it's really is just there for novelty and an addition to Need For Speed: Facebook. I'm glad to see they included some offensive/defensive choices to use against the law, such as the epic "Turbo", the "Jammer", or your own spike strips to use against the piggies.
Don't get me wrong. This is a fun game... for about a week or less. Actually, it's an amazing game... if you've never played any other Hot Pursuit titles before. In reality, I don't see myself replaying this lackluster title again, let alone finishing it 100% knowing I am missing out on all the standard features. The flat-out boring and "safe" track designs alone make me not want to continue. It's a simple, featureless game that is probably loved by simple gamers. As EA unsurprisingly has been doing largely these days, they are again "feeding the masses" with this one.
I feel I need to be critical and analytical towards a product that has such a strong history. If I'm not, who will? A series of legendary caliber should have simply delivered a better experience. Forwards, not backwards, guys. Let's try to aim for that. I'm sorry EA, but I am going back in time almost a decade ago to enjoy your true racing masterpiece; Need for Speed Hot Pursuit 2 for PS2, where I can enjoy manual transmission, an excellently balanced soundtrack in which you can choose what songs you listen to, air time and jumps, more creative, detailed, and quantity of tracks, and customizable replays- who's with me?!
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