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Upcoming Releases; February
Posted by Mason
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Sunday, January 30, 2011
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The games of the upcoming February! (That Matter)
Sniper: Ghost Warrior
Two Worlds II
Test Drive Unlimited 2
Hyperdimension Neptune
Marvel vs Capcom 3: Fate of Two Worlds
de Blob 2
Bulletstorm
Obviously the most important games to me in that list are Bulletstorm and Marvel vs Capcom 3. I've been waiting for both of those games for quite some time and I can't wait to play them!
Upcoming Releases; October
Posted by Mason
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Friday, October 8, 2010
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Alan Wake: The Writer (The New Expansion Pack)
EverQuest: House of Thule (If you are a PC Gamer)
Lucha Libre AAA
Metal of Honor
Fallout: New Vegas
Fable 3
Shawn White Skateboarding
Vanquish
NBA 2K11
Castlevania: Lord of Shadow
Def Jam Rapstar
Enslaved: Odyssey of the West
NBA Jam
Left 4 Dead 2: The Sacrifice
Scribblenauts 2
Lost Planet 2
Rock Band 3
The Sims 3
Star Wars: The Force Unleashed 2
Quite a hefty list for this month, probably the biggest heavy hitters will be Fallout, Fable, Star Wars, Rock Band, and Metal of Honor. Personally, I beleive that Fallout will take the top spot in this month, mostly because the game has quite a large fan base starting from the game's roots, and the fans of Fallout 3. I am one of those fans and I already have Fallout preordered and ready to go.
Halo Reach: Review
Halo, without
a doubt, one of the most revolutionary and popular game series in existence. In
fact its newest installment, Halo: Reach, is one of the most successful in the
series to date. Why has the Halo series been so popular? Because it has that
key component that will make any game successful; originality. Halo is known
for being original, just look at how they revolutionized the things we expect
to be on games, like theater, or customizable games, and they have kept that
spirit of originality in every new title, which is why they keep selling so
well.
Now on to
Reach; I dove into this game with admittedly high expectations, and was in no
way disappointed, one of the most noticeable changes is the improvement on
graphics, which surpass Halo: ODST and Halo
3 by far. And along with the ridiculously large maps, it is the kind of game
where you just want to stop the action and look at the scenery. But you can't
judge a game purely on the graphics, that's why Bungie has gone all out, from the first
cut-scene you will notice that Bungie's presentation skills have greatly
increased, from cruisers blowing up, to making deep connections to Noble Team.
The
Campaign is of a perfect length running a little over 6 hours, but that is not
including exploring time. The maps are enormous to say the least, and Bungie took advantage of this size and has
hidden Easter eggs all about the maps, so be sure to check every last nook and
cranny for door switches where they shouldn't be. The game also boasts cameos
from characters that fans of the game will recognize, but also throws in a few for
the fans of the book series.
That
being said, I feel like there was a lot of emphasis on the "BIG NEW ENGINE
THAT CAN ROCK UP TO 50 AI AT A TIME!" and though the engine definitely
helps for the maps and graphics I honestly didn't see many times where it was
being used to its full capabilities, putting 50 AI on the screen at once
happens rarely in the campaign, and the cut scenes are prone to some pretty bad
lag at times, but this should not be a deterrent.
Somewhere
that you can see the masses of AI attack you is in the new and improved firefight
mode, which is everything that the fans wanted and more! The ability to have a
custom game inside firefight with as many tweaks as you like has so many
possibilities that should keep players coming back for more and more. Speaking
of customizing things, Forge has been reworked from the ground up, overhauled, and
then put on steroids. The Forge mode, much like the firefight mode, is
everything the fans have wanted and more. The ability to make objects merge, and
go into the terrain adds millions of possibilities. I have not gotten to use Forge
to its full potential yet, but I can say that Forge combined with Forge World
is a great platform for creating custom maps or levels. It has many different
environments with almost limitless possibilities for what you can build, and is
a great reason to come back and play even more.
The
multi-player in Reach has also been run through the PIMP machine and works much better. Now when you kill people
and you do really well, it is reflected in your points, which you can use to
buy various armor additions or firefight voices, and makes you feel like you
actually accomplishing something rather than staying at one
rank forever and feeling like you suck.
Overall,
Reach is a swan song to the series, and you can tell that Bungie put every
ounce of care they had for Halo into it. I recommend this game to everyone who
enjoys a high quality first person shooter, because this is the best that is
here to date. For all these reasons I give Halo: Reach a 5 out of 5.
Lara Croft and The Guardian of Light; Review
The action is top down, much like the classic Baulder's Gate, and throughout the game you can unlock various upgrades and guns. There are some weapons that are interesting such as the flamethrower but most of the rest are the usual, good, but nothing amazing. There are challenges and points that are throughout each level, either to jump to platforms, beat the game in a certain time limit, or get a certain amount of points. These challenges give the game great replayability. These also earn you upgrades and the better weapons of the game if you complete them.
Overall, Lara Croft The Guardian of Light is an excellent game with good co-op, a not so exciting story, and great challenge and replayability. And all of this is an Xbox Arcade title. For all of this, I give Lara Croft and the Guardian 0f Light a 4 out of 5.
Kane & Lynch: Dog Days; Review
Posted by Mason
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Thursday, August 19, 2010
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Kane and Lynch: Dog Days,
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One of the stylistic choices that Kane & Lynch uses is the use of a camera perspective. You view the entire game from a EXTREMELY shaky camera that become quite annoying that also follows around your characters with no explanation. I have to give the producers props for trying something that I haven't seen before, but they missed their mark. There is no story to who or why this guy is following you, it might as well be anyone. It wouldn't matter though, because the rest of the story is very generic. Guy kills girl by accident, guy get Yakusa angry, Yakusa attack guy. It's that simple. Luckily, there isn't much of that story, since the game is only a few hours long. The rest of the shooting and gameplay is extremely unimpressive, and is not much to talk about.
The overall best point of Kane & Lynch is the multiplayer. You play in a group that is pulling off a heist. In this group you can either wait for your whole team to get to the getaway car on time with the money, or you can escape with the money on your own, while also avoiding the undercover cop who is trying to stop it all. The game modes are fun as long as you are not playing with a 12 year old who just shoots everyone. If it is with friends then all goes well.
Kane & Lynch is an extremely unimpressive game that takes an intereing mechanic but overshoots it. The multiplayer keeps this game somewhat afloat and creates some fun games online. That is why I am giving Kane & Lynch a 3 out of 5.
August: Upcoming Releases
*= Looking Forward To It
Superstars V8 Racing (Another Average Racer)
*Castlevania: Harmony Of Despair (Great For People Who Loved The Classic)
Madden 2011 (Another Madden...)Scott Pilgrim vs. The World (An Arcade-Like Game That Looks Like Fun)
*Kane & Lynch 2: Dog Days (Oddly Similar to Army of Two, but the Demo Was Fun)
*Mafia 2 (A Mob Game That Looks Like It Has Promise)
TNT Racers (Don't Care)
Disney Sing It: Family Hits (If You Care About This Game Leave My Site Now)
*Shank (A Nice And Bloody Xbox Live Arcade Game)
Hydrophobia (Great Water Physics In This Xbox Live Game)
Laura Croft and The Guardian of Light (A Very Interesting Looking Xbox Live Game)
*Dead Rising 2: Case Zero (A Preview To Dead Rising 2)
Limbo: Review
In terms of story, there is none. You seem to be trying to find your sister but that is it. But, I feel like a story isn't even needed. It would only hold back the artistic style of the game. Also, while there is no soundtrack or background music, it adds perfectly to the eerie atmosphere. There are also great sound effects, such as the splash of water or the spinning of gears that add to the bleakness of the game and can also be used so solve some of the puzzles.
Overall, Limbo is an Xbox Live Arcade game that is what I believe a gaming masterpiece. Pieces such as phenomenal puzzles, amazingly bleak atmosphere, and stunning visuals make this one of the best Xbox games I have seen in a long time. I give Limbo a 5 out of 5.
Fallout New Vegas: Early Look
Posted by Scott
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Monday, July 19, 2010
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Early Look,
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I loved Fallout 3, and I was ecstatic when I heard about Fallout New Vegas. To be honest, after seeing the teaser trailer, E3 trailer, and various gameplay trailers I can safely say that I am looking forward to this game more than any other games coming out this fall. What made Fallout 3 great was the hard work that went into the perfect balance between both FPS and RPG elements, and since I am primarily a FPS gamer, I have to say Fallout 3 had to be the game I logged the most hours into overall in all of my games.
New features to Fallout New Vegas include a companion wheel, which allows you to take total command over what your AI buddies do, instead of having them be a senseless killing machine. Another new feature that I think is going to be really cool, is an addition of ammunition subtypes, so now you can be specific with what ammo you use for different things, for instance, if you are going up against something like your friendly neighborhood rad-roach, you can use the AP rounds or anti personnel rounds, or if you are going up against an armored mutant, swap to your AP or armor piercing ammunition. The company working on New Vegas has also said that they have modified the game engine to support the changes they have made to the game. More AI at once? Who knows? Another thing I loved about Fallout 3 was the diversity of weapons, from the mini-nuke launcher to the Chinese pistol and everything in between, and it looks like New Vegas is bringing even more to the table. From what I can see in the trailer new weapons include, C4, a 50 caliber sniper rifle, what seems to be a modified laser rifle, an automatic grenade launcher turret thing, a thumper, a M16 or M4, what seems to be a lever action shotgun, and the Colt model 1911. Another new addition is iron sights, which add to the FPS aspect.
Since Las Vegas is far from the bombed areas, the Vegas Strip is relatively untouched. But what lies outside the cities is much more interesting, long desert expanses, a return of the arid wastes, and training camps for soldiers. There are also new enemies that come with the new environment. From what I can tell, we have some more interesting mutations of bulls or rams or "bams", along with new robot buddies to play with. But be weary, these guys don't look like the pushovers of Fallout 3's security robots, these new robots are what seem to be peace enforcing bots that are armed with stacks of missiles ready to annihilate anyone trying to crash the party. There are also two fighting sides that come into play. There is Caesar’s Legion, which appear to be bandits and pillagers, along with the New California Republic, which seem to be a more organized group of soldiers. Befriending either side can give you different benefits and missions.
By what I can tell so far, Fallout New Vegas looks like the best installment so far. Get ready to kill Super Powered Mutants in Fall of this year.
DeathSpank: Review
Posted by Mason
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Saturday, July 17, 2010
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DeathSpank combines RPG elements, such as loot collecting and leveling up, with hack and slash elements. These go together in a very fun way and allow deep weapon customization. The armor is not difficult to upgrade due to an option that you can choose that automatically equips the best weapons. Unless you enjoy selecting and equipping armor that could already be equipped with a press of a button, be my guest.
The fighting in DeathSpank is not very challenging. Press a button to attack, and as you kill enemies a meter fills up which you can use on a weapon's special attack. If you combine certain weapons and hold a rune, you can get varying effects. The characters and story are very interesting and funny, with many jokes often used. The protagonist DeathSpank is very funny throughout the game, but his over the top ego can begin to get annoying.
One of the best aspects of the game is the multitude of sidequests. I spent almost half and more of the game doing side-quests. These begin as fun, but the same missions seem to be repeated over and over again. Almost all of them are simple fetch quests. Go here, grab this, bring it back, and get your reward. It can get repetitive but can very much make the game longer if you choose to the play them.
Another aspect of the game is the co-op. The second player plays as a wizard who can cast a few spells. You cannot change his armor or customize him in any way though, which makes the second player have less fun.
Overall, DeathSpank is a very fun game, with great gameplay mechanics and plentiful missions. While missions are somewhat repetitive and co-op is not amazing, it is great for a Xbox Arcade game. I give DeathSpank 4 Artifacts out of 5.Crackdown 2: Review
Posted by Mason
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Wednesday, July 7, 2010
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A lot has changed since your last visit to Pacific City. The Agency has been accused of corruption, Freaks have control over the night, and a new group named Cell has risen and threatens the city during the day. Well Agent, there is a lot for you to do.
From the very beginning of Crackdown 2, you are thrown into Pacific City. You become instantly surrounded by Cell scum, thousands of Freaks, and Orbs. Yes, the Orbs have returned. With 500 agility orbs and 200 hidden orbs to collect, you will be very busy. Some new factors are the glide suit, which can be unlocked when you upgrade your agillity, which can be very fun and useful to use. Also is the addition of helicopters, which I feel do not add a large amount of depth to the gameplay. Other than those things, there is NOTHING new to Crackdown. This is almost a complete copy of the first game, and can be somewhat annoying. I feel like they could have done much more than just the same thing. I beleive this was a missed oppourtunity. While I may have griped about the controls before, they feel very solid. Perhaps it takes a little getting used to.
Multiplayer is average. The weapons are somewhat unballanced and whoever has the most powerful weapon wins, which is never a great thing. Co-op is the strongest point of the game. It is fun to get on a car with 3 turrets and drive through freaks tearing them apart. It is very fun to play with friends if you have them. If you have no friends who own this game, you might not have as much fun.
Overall, Crackdown is a very fun game, but almost nothing has changed from the first one. Multiplayer is average while 4player co-op is outstanding. I rate this game 4 Agents out of 5.Black Ops: Early Look
As we all know, Treyarch's newest installment to the Call of Duty series, Call of Duty Black Ops, is due to come to stores in November, and many people like what they see so far. Personally, I can see a few things in the game that might be a bit redundant and otherwise unoriginal. Although I can see many promising aspects from the latest trailers.
One of the main things that troubles me is the graphics. Don't they look familiar? There seems to be a trend in graphics in many FPS games, and are beginning to look the same. Black Ops, Modern Warfare 2, Battlefield Bad Company 2 and Medal of Honor all have very similar graphic design. I realize that the obvious argument against this is that the graphics of these games all look more or less real and that you can't make realistic graphics look any different. While that is partially true, it seems like the concentration on realism is taking away from the artistic creativity that has made many games succeed, such as Halo or Bioshock.
Obviously, it is exciting to see Treyarch build off what has made the previous Modern Warfare installments great, and is moving away from WWII to more modern battles. But, Treyarch has added a twist, instead of staying in just one realm of time, throughout the game you switch between different points in time; from the Cold War, Vietnam, and possibly many others that Treyarch has not yet released to the public. Singularity: Review
The year is 2010. You have been sent on a top secret mission to a Russian controlled island named Katorga-12 that previously had an explosion while studying the element E99 during the Cold War. The story of Singularity is not amazing, and feels unoriginal. The graphics are below average and are not impressive in any way. There are a few glitches, such as dead bodies that go through objects, that started to bother me. The monsters and enemies are the game are somewhat generic, but you do have the ability to blow chunks out of enemies, which can be fun. Gunplay is completely average and nothing to drool over. The time traveling element is one it's strongest points. Using your "Time Manipulation Device" you can restore cover or age enemies to dust. This slightly spices up the gameplay. The time traveling element also plays into the story, where you switch between Soviet and modern time. Seeing a once destroyed building then be able to explore it can be interesting. Multiplayer is not very amazing either. You are split up, monsters vs. humans. There are only 3 maps so don't expect to play long. In conclusion, Singularity is a below average game with a good concept but failed in almost all other departments. I give Singularity 2 timebending TMDs out of 5. - Mason
