This is the next game that will get a review on this page.
After a moderately glitchy boss fight, which was still pretty awesome, Gears of War 2 did something completely unexpected but not impossible. It brought me to the point of tears. Not in awesomeness, not in frustration, but in utter sadness, story related.
The game continues to blow me away.
More to come in the review.
Sunday, November 30, 2008
Unrelated Post 1: Cats
Ok so I have two cats. One of them is a rascal, but I've been decently tolerant because A.) Its adorable and B.) he's allowed to be himself and goof off, I did at his age.
Today he tries to squeeze into a kitchen cupboard as usual, and he's been in this cupboard before, he knows he isnt supposed to, when I find out I toss him out, but otherwise he's pretty harmless in there, just exploring. Once he knocked a bottle of ibuprofen out of it, big deal. The way he gets in is from above the microwave, which also has my clean dishes left out to dry in a dish tray. Today, he kind of mis jumps up to the cupboard, is hanging and kicks the dish tray over, the TRAY goes onto the carpeted side, the DISHES fall on the tile side, one glass breaks spreading glass everywhere, and one ceramic plate breaks tossing pieces of ceramic shit everywhere. Im like oh fuck no, I grab the cat ( i currently have no squirt gun) and im like " bitch look what you did " and I make him look at it, and I dont let him go, I scold him for like 5 minutes straight, and finally toss him into the bedroom, along with the other cat, and clean the mess up.
I need a supersoaker for this dude too because, he doesnt really get affected by water that easily ( long hair, lots of hair, and he's just chill with it) so yeah im about to get a small supersoaker tomorrow.
I feel bad scolding dude cuz he's adorable... but then again he WAS being a bitch.
I'll post both cat pictures tomorrow.
Good night ghost readers.
Today he tries to squeeze into a kitchen cupboard as usual, and he's been in this cupboard before, he knows he isnt supposed to, when I find out I toss him out, but otherwise he's pretty harmless in there, just exploring. Once he knocked a bottle of ibuprofen out of it, big deal. The way he gets in is from above the microwave, which also has my clean dishes left out to dry in a dish tray. Today, he kind of mis jumps up to the cupboard, is hanging and kicks the dish tray over, the TRAY goes onto the carpeted side, the DISHES fall on the tile side, one glass breaks spreading glass everywhere, and one ceramic plate breaks tossing pieces of ceramic shit everywhere. Im like oh fuck no, I grab the cat ( i currently have no squirt gun) and im like " bitch look what you did " and I make him look at it, and I dont let him go, I scold him for like 5 minutes straight, and finally toss him into the bedroom, along with the other cat, and clean the mess up.
I need a supersoaker for this dude too because, he doesnt really get affected by water that easily ( long hair, lots of hair, and he's just chill with it) so yeah im about to get a small supersoaker tomorrow.
I feel bad scolding dude cuz he's adorable... but then again he WAS being a bitch.
I'll post both cat pictures tomorrow.
Good night ghost readers.
Thursday, November 27, 2008
Force Unleashed Review PS3
Initial reaction upon beating the game:
1.) This game could have been pretty amazing
2.) The gameplay screams a 7.0 game
3.) The graphics are actually very very good with great particle effects
Without further adieu I give you my review of one of the most anticipated, confused, berated and applauded games of this year.The following comments are based on the ps3 version of the game which is the version that I played and beat.
Force Unleashed could have been one of the most solid games this year. It is clear that the developers had the tools to make the game ridiculously awesome, and yet chose to ignore what made the game great, and what was just kept out of the stubbornness for the original design of the game. Lets first hit the hard points that a 3rd person action platformer should have to really make it a great game, and then we'll conclude with a note to Star Wars Fans.What should 3rd Person Action Platformers have to make them great games, this could be considered nitpicking by some ...
1.) Story: Since its not like you'll be creating your own tale here, nor is there any real way to develop complex characters without dialogue options, this genre often uses in-game or cg cutscenes to flesh out the story between episodes of combat or puzzle action. Story can be important in a more shallow gaming experience to keep the user engaged, and we have a SPECIAL case here as the story takes place in a universe (Star Wars). The story is okay, and that would be fine if the game did not feature huge Star Wars characters like Vader, Mon Mothma, Leia, and Bail Organa, but in THIS case you have a story which solves a huge mystery between Star Wars Episodes 3 and 4. I will not ruin the surprise..... oh hell, fuck it, I will.
------------------SPOILERS BELOW STOP READING AND GO PAST THE SMALL TEXT BELOW-----------------------------
Vader and the Emperor started the Rebel Alliance with the help of the apprentice.
---------------END SPOILER WARNING---------------------------------
Yeah so I think that story is pretty unbelievable, but it keeps the action going, which is good. What would I have done ? I would have kept big players out of the story, and been able to flesh out way more of the story without worrying about the image im giving vader or princess leia, or Shaak Ti. There are a lot of worrying things about the story that will bother a true Star Wars fan. Okay so what if you're not a fan ? It keeps the action going, and has good excuses for sweet locales, and so on, cool, not a problem.
2.) Combat: This is the area that is the most important I believe to this genre. Games that get it right are often along the lines of Ninja Gaiden, Devil May Cry, and Prince of Persia. What do these games feature that is so good? A variety of moves, and more importantly REASON to use different moves against enemies. What do we have in Force Unleashed ? A moderate amount of combos, but only really a few that work well, I found a few bosses where you really had to switch up the combos, but nothing to the extent of DMC or NG. This is more close to Prince of Persia, however there is a GLARING difference between that game and this one in this fact: There really is no way of knowing how to handle the enemies in the game, its just kind of going with what you think will work, some things work better than others, but there aren't many "money plays", or thought in the strategy involved. There are a lot of cheap enemies, and no true way to take good care of them, except using a few good combos. Combos are the type that you cannot cancel in the middle, and often can get you into bad situations, sometimes blocking works awkwardly. Remember you also have one Weapon at your disposal, well actually you also have....
The Force: The force is kind of handled like it has been in any force based star wars game, so im speaking out to players of the Jedi Knight series pretty much. So as you go on you gain better and better force powers, and it is pretty cool, however, the best part of the experience is being able to manipulate the environment via DIGITAL MOLECULAR MATTER and HAVOK Physics Engine. So you can mayhaps take a beam and bend it into a tie fighter, or pick up a group of boxes and throw them at a group of stormtroopers. This works extremely well, and things move slower or faster based on their mass, and you are definitely able to pick up enemies. The enemies are employing a pretty basic version of the Euphoria engine. So essentially if you pick them up, they try to grab onto stuff to stay on the ground, or if you drop them, they protect their face. We have seen this behaviour in GTAIV where it worked pretty well. It looks pretty sweet and adds a fun factor to Force Unleashed, as enemies floating in the air, if given time, will try to stabilize themselves and get a shot off on you, which sends their moment of Inertia all screwball again, repeating the cycle. How many times will you get to use, or see this however? Maybe a few. The action is intense and does not allow for much experimentation. There is also one GIGANTIC flaw with the Force. Targeting items with the force is probably the most annoying thing since waiting for Duke Nukem Forever to finally come out. Its awful, GOD awful, and then flinging them ( I say flinging because you cannot throw them, you essentially fling them) at people can be even more problematic. As usual the cameria angle normally never helps the situation. What this essentially does is take the BEST aspect of this game, and take it to an awkward level to where you feel 90% comfortable with the force, but never comfortable enough not to curse at the screen and your character, in some of the more tougher situations.
3.) Variety\Upgrades: A bunch of costumes. One Weapon. A few Force powers NO FUCKING FORCE CHOKE, ARE YOU KIDDING ME LUCASARTS? IM SUPPOSED TO BE A BADASS SITH MOTHERFUCKER AND I CANT CHOKE A BITCH ? (Note this is why when I review the PSP version it will get a sweet ass score, cuz I can fucking choke a bitch). A moderate to moderately low combo count. A moderate amount of types of enemies, decent enough for the genre, and scale wise, quite varied as well. Level design is straight forward, but locals do vary. This is HUGELY important in a game as this, different weapons, styles, ideas, so you dont get bored doing the same thing all over the place. NG has tons of weapons and crazy special moves, DMC has tons of weapons and combos you can make up all on your own based on styles, PoP has strategy, the ability to pick up enemy weapons and use them, and needed acrobatic to dodge.
4.) Charm\Badassness: Actually I'd say the apprentice is pretty much a badass, the way he holds is saber is badass, how he kills bitches is badass, his style is just something we havent seen in the star wars universe, and truly? its badass. Still I wish I could choke a bitch. The girl in the story, and the robot are also decently charming. The levels actually have a decent feel to them when you dont realize they are one straight path from large area to another.
5.) Lasting Appeal: Oh this is awful, only a few things to collect, I think my first play through ( Roughly 9 hours ) I collected over 80% of items, not even really trying, but then I guess im good ? ;). Two seperate choices at the very end, so two endings, one is real, one is totally fucking cannon. NOw it is fun to mess around with the force, but it really doesnt end up with anything. You play around with it for a bit, and end up flinging whatever you are levitating at something which wants to hurt you ... yeah thats it.
Breakdown:
Graphics: 9.0 -> Great lighting, the physics make everything look and move very realistically with a great mix of art and realism.Sometimes objects and clipping errors that do not adhere to the physics engine, take you out of the experience only occasionally.
Art Direction: 8.5 -> Apprentice, Enemies, and Bosses look perfectly Star Wars, so I dont want to give credit to art that has all ready been explored. The only really new art is in the Apprentice's outfits, and the worlds to which you will travel. Those are both top notch, and definitely add much needed art to the Star Wars Universe.
Story/Cutscenes: 7.5 -> Read above on Story: The story could have been better had it not had such a huge impact on how we view the Star Wars world. The Cutscenes can be great and awful, with really nowhere in between.
Gameplay: 8.0 -> Force is extremely fun and useful, targeting can be a problem. Combat is never really bad but can get repetitive with not much creativity involved really. Trust me, I tried to be creative and it just did not pay off. Okay and other games have handled lightsaber duels WAY better, so do not expect that from this.
Sound: 7.5 -> Music is sufficiently Star Wars, and hence actually is pretty damn good, Especially one specific homage in the game where "Duel of the Fates" is played, it just sounds sweet. Otherwise the sound feels sufficient, but nothing really too special, good enough.
Value\Length\Replay: 5.0 -> Beat it once, maybe play through parts again to show your friends how cool it is, especially the force engine, Digital Molecular Matter, and Euphoria, but that is about it. I believe strongly that the game could be beaten, collecting everything, in about 15 hours, thats if you WANT to go through the WHOLE game again. Still its a collectors item for a Star Wars fan, and is still the only game to use the technology of its time. Still I'd give it a 7, if I could just Choke a Bitch, lightning a bitch, then force push a bitch through some damn glass. The game just doesnt give me an accessible option to do this.
Overall Fucking Score and YES IGN IT IS A FUCKING AVERAGE:
7.58
1.) This game could have been pretty amazing
2.) The gameplay screams a 7.0 game
3.) The graphics are actually very very good with great particle effects
Without further adieu I give you my review of one of the most anticipated, confused, berated and applauded games of this year.The following comments are based on the ps3 version of the game which is the version that I played and beat.
Force Unleashed could have been one of the most solid games this year. It is clear that the developers had the tools to make the game ridiculously awesome, and yet chose to ignore what made the game great, and what was just kept out of the stubbornness for the original design of the game. Lets first hit the hard points that a 3rd person action platformer should have to really make it a great game, and then we'll conclude with a note to Star Wars Fans.What should 3rd Person Action Platformers have to make them great games, this could be considered nitpicking by some ...
1.) Story: Since its not like you'll be creating your own tale here, nor is there any real way to develop complex characters without dialogue options, this genre often uses in-game or cg cutscenes to flesh out the story between episodes of combat or puzzle action. Story can be important in a more shallow gaming experience to keep the user engaged, and we have a SPECIAL case here as the story takes place in a universe (Star Wars). The story is okay, and that would be fine if the game did not feature huge Star Wars characters like Vader, Mon Mothma, Leia, and Bail Organa, but in THIS case you have a story which solves a huge mystery between Star Wars Episodes 3 and 4. I will not ruin the surprise..... oh hell, fuck it, I will.
------------------SPOILERS BELOW STOP READING AND GO PAST THE SMALL TEXT BELOW-----------------------------
Vader and the Emperor started the Rebel Alliance with the help of the apprentice.
---------------END SPOILER WARNING---------------------------------
Yeah so I think that story is pretty unbelievable, but it keeps the action going, which is good. What would I have done ? I would have kept big players out of the story, and been able to flesh out way more of the story without worrying about the image im giving vader or princess leia, or Shaak Ti. There are a lot of worrying things about the story that will bother a true Star Wars fan. Okay so what if you're not a fan ? It keeps the action going, and has good excuses for sweet locales, and so on, cool, not a problem.
2.) Combat: This is the area that is the most important I believe to this genre. Games that get it right are often along the lines of Ninja Gaiden, Devil May Cry, and Prince of Persia. What do these games feature that is so good? A variety of moves, and more importantly REASON to use different moves against enemies. What do we have in Force Unleashed ? A moderate amount of combos, but only really a few that work well, I found a few bosses where you really had to switch up the combos, but nothing to the extent of DMC or NG. This is more close to Prince of Persia, however there is a GLARING difference between that game and this one in this fact: There really is no way of knowing how to handle the enemies in the game, its just kind of going with what you think will work, some things work better than others, but there aren't many "money plays", or thought in the strategy involved. There are a lot of cheap enemies, and no true way to take good care of them, except using a few good combos. Combos are the type that you cannot cancel in the middle, and often can get you into bad situations, sometimes blocking works awkwardly. Remember you also have one Weapon at your disposal, well actually you also have....
The Force: The force is kind of handled like it has been in any force based star wars game, so im speaking out to players of the Jedi Knight series pretty much. So as you go on you gain better and better force powers, and it is pretty cool, however, the best part of the experience is being able to manipulate the environment via DIGITAL MOLECULAR MATTER and HAVOK Physics Engine. So you can mayhaps take a beam and bend it into a tie fighter, or pick up a group of boxes and throw them at a group of stormtroopers. This works extremely well, and things move slower or faster based on their mass, and you are definitely able to pick up enemies. The enemies are employing a pretty basic version of the Euphoria engine. So essentially if you pick them up, they try to grab onto stuff to stay on the ground, or if you drop them, they protect their face. We have seen this behaviour in GTAIV where it worked pretty well. It looks pretty sweet and adds a fun factor to Force Unleashed, as enemies floating in the air, if given time, will try to stabilize themselves and get a shot off on you, which sends their moment of Inertia all screwball again, repeating the cycle. How many times will you get to use, or see this however? Maybe a few. The action is intense and does not allow for much experimentation. There is also one GIGANTIC flaw with the Force. Targeting items with the force is probably the most annoying thing since waiting for Duke Nukem Forever to finally come out. Its awful, GOD awful, and then flinging them ( I say flinging because you cannot throw them, you essentially fling them) at people can be even more problematic. As usual the cameria angle normally never helps the situation. What this essentially does is take the BEST aspect of this game, and take it to an awkward level to where you feel 90% comfortable with the force, but never comfortable enough not to curse at the screen and your character, in some of the more tougher situations.
3.) Variety\Upgrades: A bunch of costumes. One Weapon. A few Force powers NO FUCKING FORCE CHOKE, ARE YOU KIDDING ME LUCASARTS? IM SUPPOSED TO BE A BADASS SITH MOTHERFUCKER AND I CANT CHOKE A BITCH ? (Note this is why when I review the PSP version it will get a sweet ass score, cuz I can fucking choke a bitch). A moderate to moderately low combo count. A moderate amount of types of enemies, decent enough for the genre, and scale wise, quite varied as well. Level design is straight forward, but locals do vary. This is HUGELY important in a game as this, different weapons, styles, ideas, so you dont get bored doing the same thing all over the place. NG has tons of weapons and crazy special moves, DMC has tons of weapons and combos you can make up all on your own based on styles, PoP has strategy, the ability to pick up enemy weapons and use them, and needed acrobatic to dodge.
4.) Charm\Badassness: Actually I'd say the apprentice is pretty much a badass, the way he holds is saber is badass, how he kills bitches is badass, his style is just something we havent seen in the star wars universe, and truly? its badass. Still I wish I could choke a bitch. The girl in the story, and the robot are also decently charming. The levels actually have a decent feel to them when you dont realize they are one straight path from large area to another.
5.) Lasting Appeal: Oh this is awful, only a few things to collect, I think my first play through ( Roughly 9 hours ) I collected over 80% of items, not even really trying, but then I guess im good ? ;). Two seperate choices at the very end, so two endings, one is real, one is totally fucking cannon. NOw it is fun to mess around with the force, but it really doesnt end up with anything. You play around with it for a bit, and end up flinging whatever you are levitating at something which wants to hurt you ... yeah thats it.
Breakdown:
Graphics: 9.0 -> Great lighting, the physics make everything look and move very realistically with a great mix of art and realism.Sometimes objects and clipping errors that do not adhere to the physics engine, take you out of the experience only occasionally.
Art Direction: 8.5 -> Apprentice, Enemies, and Bosses look perfectly Star Wars, so I dont want to give credit to art that has all ready been explored. The only really new art is in the Apprentice's outfits, and the worlds to which you will travel. Those are both top notch, and definitely add much needed art to the Star Wars Universe.
Story/Cutscenes: 7.5 -> Read above on Story: The story could have been better had it not had such a huge impact on how we view the Star Wars world. The Cutscenes can be great and awful, with really nowhere in between.
Gameplay: 8.0 -> Force is extremely fun and useful, targeting can be a problem. Combat is never really bad but can get repetitive with not much creativity involved really. Trust me, I tried to be creative and it just did not pay off. Okay and other games have handled lightsaber duels WAY better, so do not expect that from this.
Sound: 7.5 -> Music is sufficiently Star Wars, and hence actually is pretty damn good, Especially one specific homage in the game where "Duel of the Fates" is played, it just sounds sweet. Otherwise the sound feels sufficient, but nothing really too special, good enough.
Value\Length\Replay: 5.0 -> Beat it once, maybe play through parts again to show your friends how cool it is, especially the force engine, Digital Molecular Matter, and Euphoria, but that is about it. I believe strongly that the game could be beaten, collecting everything, in about 15 hours, thats if you WANT to go through the WHOLE game again. Still its a collectors item for a Star Wars fan, and is still the only game to use the technology of its time. Still I'd give it a 7, if I could just Choke a Bitch, lightning a bitch, then force push a bitch through some damn glass. The game just doesnt give me an accessible option to do this.
Overall Fucking Score and YES IGN IT IS A FUCKING AVERAGE:
7.58
Thursday, November 20, 2008
Mirrors Edge Review 360
Initial Feelings upon Beating the Title:
1.) The game was short as I beat it in two SCHOOL nights,
2.) The cutscenes remind me of E-Surance commercials, which is sad :(
3.) The game was short as fuck
Are there parts of the game which are sweet ? Yes. Does it seem like a puzzle game ? Kind of. Is it truly adventurous ? eh, like 50%. Is there combat ? Yes but its difficult so that you have to avoid it, but unfortunately when you cant avoid it, it becomes the bane of your existance. Should it open the door for things ? Definitely, in this game you run, jump, climb, and that is about it. Yet I never really got bored... Running felt so good, just running, the sounds of feet and breathing, turning your body, jumping, landing, perspective focus, these sort of things have to be perfect in a game which has nothing else pretty much, but they do not make a game unfortunately.
My breakdown is this:
Graphics: 8.0 -> Great lighting, great textures, guns look awful, enemies look decent, there is some pop-in, but runs flawlessly.
Art Direction: 9.5 -> Wow, never have I looked at an environment with about 4 colors and actually liked it. the .5% is for people that thing hugely red shit just looks unpleasing to the eye, you, my friend, are not a runner.
Story/Cutscenes: 5.0 -> One word: E-Surance, and some more words: Terrible Characters and rediculous plot twists.
Gameplay: 7.0 -> Assassin's Creed like repitition,with way more limited freedom. The gameplay thats in it, is tight and focused, but can be challenging as it is quite unforgiving, but again it only focuses on like the 5 moves she has, so pick one, and move on.
Sound: 8.0 -> Music is great. Sounds of Faith are great. The Sound of you hitting the ground after a missed jump is sweet, and believe me, it needs to be. Guns sound great hitting the walls around you or even firing them. Dialogue is pretty awful in general. Again for a limited experience its done well.
Value\Length\Replay: 3.0 -> Beat it once, maybe play through parts again to show your friends how cool it is, although if you fuck up, it will be significantly less cool. The game is not tight enough to warrant trying to beat your time in time trial, and I believe I had all the unlockables before even trying that. Online play is just beating other peoples times, with no real interaction. Again I stress this: this game has very small flaws that do not play out in single player but will fuck your time up unless you are pretty much perfect.
Overall Fucking Score, and YES IGN IT IS A FUCKING AVERAGE:
6.75
NOTICE to IGN.com : my fucking score reflects the sum of its parts, and hence it is a damn average. and YES I was surprised at how low the average was, but replay value is a killer, the game is fucking 60$ like everything else, unless you're fucking Billy G, and just quit working Microsoft cuz you're too damn rich to care, then replay matters.
1.) The game was short as I beat it in two SCHOOL nights,
2.) The cutscenes remind me of E-Surance commercials, which is sad :(
3.) The game was short as fuck
Are there parts of the game which are sweet ? Yes. Does it seem like a puzzle game ? Kind of. Is it truly adventurous ? eh, like 50%. Is there combat ? Yes but its difficult so that you have to avoid it, but unfortunately when you cant avoid it, it becomes the bane of your existance. Should it open the door for things ? Definitely, in this game you run, jump, climb, and that is about it. Yet I never really got bored... Running felt so good, just running, the sounds of feet and breathing, turning your body, jumping, landing, perspective focus, these sort of things have to be perfect in a game which has nothing else pretty much, but they do not make a game unfortunately.
My breakdown is this:
Graphics: 8.0 -> Great lighting, great textures, guns look awful, enemies look decent, there is some pop-in, but runs flawlessly.
Art Direction: 9.5 -> Wow, never have I looked at an environment with about 4 colors and actually liked it. the .5% is for people that thing hugely red shit just looks unpleasing to the eye, you, my friend, are not a runner.
Story/Cutscenes: 5.0 -> One word: E-Surance, and some more words: Terrible Characters and rediculous plot twists.
Gameplay: 7.0 -> Assassin's Creed like repitition,with way more limited freedom. The gameplay thats in it, is tight and focused, but can be challenging as it is quite unforgiving, but again it only focuses on like the 5 moves she has, so pick one, and move on.
Sound: 8.0 -> Music is great. Sounds of Faith are great. The Sound of you hitting the ground after a missed jump is sweet, and believe me, it needs to be. Guns sound great hitting the walls around you or even firing them. Dialogue is pretty awful in general. Again for a limited experience its done well.
Value\Length\Replay: 3.0 -> Beat it once, maybe play through parts again to show your friends how cool it is, although if you fuck up, it will be significantly less cool. The game is not tight enough to warrant trying to beat your time in time trial, and I believe I had all the unlockables before even trying that. Online play is just beating other peoples times, with no real interaction. Again I stress this: this game has very small flaws that do not play out in single player but will fuck your time up unless you are pretty much perfect.
Overall Fucking Score, and YES IGN IT IS A FUCKING AVERAGE:
6.75
NOTICE to IGN.com : my fucking score reflects the sum of its parts, and hence it is a damn average. and YES I was surprised at how low the average was, but replay value is a killer, the game is fucking 60$ like everything else, unless you're fucking Billy G, and just quit working Microsoft cuz you're too damn rich to care, then replay matters.
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