GRID by Codemasters is the asphalt successor of DIRT. It even runs on the same graphical engine and has a "hip" 4 letter title too. I have no idea what the title means, but I do know that Grid is a very enjoyable racer which blends elements of sim and arcade racers and toes the line between the two pretty well.
Like sim racers such as Gran Turismo, Grid requires you to break and take turns at certain angles and speeds...it is not Burnout, petal to the metal, on the dime arcade racing, but at the same time it is not nearly as hard and difficult as your typical sim. There are steering assists and warning lights which help tell you when to break and slow down. One of the big plusses for me is that there is no car tuning and monkey wrenching.
The game has the same tiered racing setup and selection that Dirt did and has everything from race sim time trials to the more arcadey drift battles and demolition derbys. The game does a really good job of presenting a diverse bunch of races that play very different. Of course one of the best new features (over Dirt) is the Rewind feature. If you are in the lead and mess up that final turn, you no longer have to restart the race...just press back, rewind the replay and tap X to snapshot back in time to right before your mistake. This new mechanic makes races much more forgiving and less frustrating.
The game nails all the graphical and audio high points. It looks gorgeous and has nice voiceovers, music and sound effects. There's an extensive single player campaign and online matches to get your money's worth on longevity as well. At the same time, the gameplay is really what will make you love or hate this game. If you love Burnout and arcade racers, Grid may be a little too realistic for you. If you love Gran Turismo and Forza Motorsport, Grid is probably a bit too skimpy on the tuning, car count, and realism. Grid works for those people who enjoy a steeper difficulty and deeper racer but who can't meet the commitment and challenge of a race sim. Give Grid a try, you may be like me and fall into that in between category of racer as well.
Grand Theft Auto IV is now the biggest release in Interactive Entertainment, beating out Halo 3 by over 200 million in sales in the first week. It marks the first next-gen installment of the game and has been in development for well over 3 years. Was all of the extra time worth it? It is certainly paying off for Rockstar since GTA is not only a commercial success, but a critical success as well. It sits on MetaCritic as the highest rated game (99/100) for both Xbox 360 and Playstation 3. Is GTA IV my favorite game for Xbox 360 and PS3? Absolutely not, but that doesn't mean it doesn't deserve the praise.
Gameplay: 9.5/10 Pros: The core gameplay that made GTA III, Vice City, and San Andreas is still there. The Gunplay and targeting system finally works the way it should. Replaying missions is easier then ever (you receive a text message and can load up right after the mission intro) and paying for taxis makes traveling around the city much more convenient. The cell phone is a cool new gameplay and story device. The Story of the game is more mature in tone, but retains the signature humor of Rockstar. Oh and there's multiplayer. Cons: A lot of the missions in the first couple hours are very reminiscent of things done in the previous GTA games (watch over a deal and snipe from a rooftop, goto X and kill so and such, etc.). Multiplayer is a great first effort, but needs some work. The deathmatch type modes cannot compete with the Halos and Call of Dutys out there. A large opportunity was missed in Co-op..why not allow for the Bellic Cousins to progress through the campaign together?
Graphics: 10/10 Pros: GTA impresses in the details. Liberty City is one of the most cohesive and immersive video game environments, level, world that has ever been created. It even has it's own Internet! Transitions from indoors to outdoors are seamless (NO Load times). Rockstar's streaming technology has evolved leaps and bounds- the only significant load times are when you skip a taxi ride. Dynamic Lighting adds a lot to the game world, but the best has to be the Euphoria Engine (based off Oxford's NaturalMotion) which allows for amazing citizen interaction, ragdoll physics, dynamic animations, and truly makes Liberty City breathe. Cons: GTA IV still will not impress in screenshots or during cinematics/mission intros. Technically, GTA is a graphics marvel, but the characters that populate the bustling city still do not have the polygon counts of most other games out there.
Sound/Music: 10/10 Pros: Most impressive sound/music moment? Definitely when I was driving away from a hit and a News Broadcast mentioned my latest deed in my car radio. Why are the bridges throughout Liberty City closed? Well the radio tells you that's due to terrorist threats. The radio is as great as ever with even more channels. You could play GTA IV for 40+ hours and still not have heard every song, commercial, newsflash, and talkshow in the game. Add to this that the voice acting is better than ever and you have a pretty perfect aural experience.
Lasting Appeal: 9.5/10 Pros: Liberty City offers more to do than any GTA game before it. There's bowling, darts, pool, arcade games, internet dating, police computer hacking, car importing, street races, and more. That's all outside the multitude of story missions too and the hidden packages and one's quest for 100% completion. The Xbox version has downloadable content coming your way soon too. Bottom-Line is that if you love Liberty City, you'll have something to do there for a long time. Cons: For me, the longevity of a game is highly based on the quality and competitiveness of its multiplayer. GTA's multiplayer is fun, but hardly addicting. I have found myself playing a round or two and then coming back to the superior single player experience. I don't see people playing multiplayer a year from now on GTA or the MLG picking it up for its competitions.
Average: 97.50% Tilt: +0.50%
Grand Theft Auto IV lives up to the hype and brings a lot more to the table than I expected. There's plenty of room for improvement in the multiplayer sector of the game, but the single player is definitely one of the most engrossing yet. After playing & beating GTA III, Vice City, and San Andreas, I was actually thinking I was done with GTA and had little interest in 4. Luckily the reviews got my attention and I gave it a shot. The single player game is as engrossing as ever and the multiplayer is a nice addition. GTA IV deserves the praise and surprisingly lived up to the hype. Give Niko Bellic a chance.
Verdict: 98% (this review is based on playing the 360 version)
Dark Sector is a blatant Gears of War clone that gets stale by the end. It shouldn't be a surprise since Dark Sector's development has taken it all over the place (original trailers showed the game taking place in outerspace).
Gameplay: 7.5/10 Pros: Plays just as good as Gears and introduces a pretty fun twist with the flying glaive blade. The beginning of the game is great since your are constantly gaining new abilities. Cons: The story makes absolutely no sense...nothing is ever fleshed out. Multiplayer is a forgetable tack on, and the game gets incredibly stale in the final levels as your abilities max out and you fight the same damn elemental creatures.
Graphics: 8.5/10 Pros: The graphics are incredibly slick looking. The resolution and crispness of the visuals is amazing. Great Particle, Lighting and Shadow effects. Definitely a technical achievement on Xbox 360. Cons: The enemies get very repetitive about midway through the game and all the environments look the same. The impressive real time lighting and shadowing gets dull when all the environments are the same drab industrial landscape.
Sound/Music: 8/10 Pros: The sparse atmospheric voiceovers and TV dialogue are incredible at setting the mood. Sound Effects are top-notch. Voice Acting is decent. Cons: Music is sparse, voiceovers have little impact due to the terrible story.
Lasting Appeal: 6/10 Pros: Single Player campaign is a decent length and includes increased difficulties. Multiplayer expands on the single player. Cons: It was a struggle to finish the game since it gets really stale at the end. They should have ended the game at chapter 7/8 instead of 10. Multiplayer cannot compete with games like Gears of War, Halo 3, Call of Duty, and Rockband. Pretty forgetable game all around.
Average: 75% Tilt: +1.00%
I'm impressed that all the changes Dark Sector went through during the development process didnt' completely ruin it. The game featured an entirely different sci-fi story a few years ago and much poorer graphics. The game is a blatant Gears clone, but it offers a pretty neat set of powers...it's a shame that this wasn't more fleshed out. The last part of the game would've been incredible if you were supped up to dominate the baddies. It's a good rental, but don't buy this one.
Devil May Cry 4 is a very solid entry into the Devil May Cry universe. It doesn't suck like DMC2 did, though it is significantly easier than DMC1 and DMC3. Dante's styles return and you can change styles at any time during gameplay...which is fantastic. Nero is an ok addition and plays drastically different than Dante, but he plays a little too much of a predominant role. It's not really 50/50 Dante/Nero which is what it should be at the minimum. Great Action games don't come around often and Devil May Cry certainly delivers in the genre.
Gameplay: 9/10 Pros: Same great DMC gameplay makes a triumphant return (even if its a lot easier). Dante is especially fun to play as with his 4 styles, multiple guns, and weapons. Changing styles at any time is a great addition. Nero's arm is a cool tool and he plays as basically a simplistic, melee heavy Dante. Cons: Too much Nero, not enough Dante. This would be more forgivable if Nero had more than 1 lousy gun and 1 sword (though the Red Queen is pretty badass)...regardless having only 2 weapons and the demon arm makes Nero's repetoire much more repetitive than Dante's.
Graphics: 10/10 Pros: While DMC4 is not the best DMC yet, it is the best looking. Not only is the animation and graphics top-notch, but the game offers the most varied locales of any DMC game yet. There is a gothic town, icy castle, dense jungle, and a massive scifi research facility type tower. Cons: Cutscenes do not secretly hide the mission number in them any more. This was a very fun little addition in DMC3.
Sound/Music: 9/10 Pros: The voicework is pretty solid and all the sound effects are superb. The music works well to get your adrenaline going. There are some great opera and orchestral pieces during cutscenes. Cons: The music is a little on the "hardcore" rock side of things and can be a little much. Some lines are overly corny/cheesy/poorly written.
Lasting Appeal: 9/10 Pros: Several difficulty levels and unlockables give you a constant stream of challenge and incentive to keep playing. The biggest incentive of course is to constantly upgrade your character's moves and abilities. There's always the Secret Missions to find and play as well. Cons: Only 20 missions (though they are much longer than previous DMC missions) and a story that focuses too much on the more boring of the action duo. Dante needs more missions plain and simple.
Average: 92.50% Tilt: + 0.50%
Playing DMC4 is a treat even if you have to wait awhile to get to Dante. Nero and the new easier difficulties allow more players to try and hopefully enjoy Devil May Cry. Nero is a good new addition to the series and is fun to play...he just dominates the game's story too much. It would have been better to have 2 more distinct and separate stories where you could select and play through each character's story (equal lengthed levels) in whichever order you preferred. Oh well, perhaps for DMC5.
Verdict: 93% this review is based on the playstation 3 version
Assassin's Creed is a gorgeous game (especially on PS3), but it lacks a lot of the fun found in the studio's previous Prince of Persia games. The game is great at first, but as you plod along things get repetitive.
Gameplay: 6/10 Pros: Game is easy to pick up and play, and the free running technology (hold buttons and character automatically scales walls, jumps, grabs etc) is impressive. Assassinations missions (9 total) all offer a great variety of locales and situations. Combat engine is a shining spot and a vast improvement over the Persia games. Cons: Not nearly enough variety in information gathering missions, Free-running takes away from the skill/fun of the great platforming found in Prince of Persia games, the story is convoluted and has no resolution (sequel setup), the gameplay gets pretty repetitive and dull.
Graphics: 9.5/10 Pros: Absurdly gorgeous game. The historical world is accurately depicted and flawlessly rendered. Animation is superb. Cons: The in-between sci-fi story driven segments don't look nearly as good and I could have used more variety in the 3 cities... but the graphics are stellar
Sound/Music: 9/10 Pros: Voice Acting is up to snuff, sound effects/music are AAA Cons: Game can be a bit too preachy...it'd be nice if you could skip in-game speeches/cutscenes
Lasting Appeal: 6/10 Pros: The game offers 3 cities to explore which gradually expand as you move through the game. Assassination missions offer a plethora of scenarios. Unlock new abilities as you progress. Cons: The game really starts to drag in the final hours. You've played all the missions several times already, the story is crazy out there sci-fi and you see the final showdown coming from a mile away. It takes effort to plow through the final battles to finish off a story with a blatant cliffhanger. It all just leaves a sour taste in your mouth.
Average: 76.25% Tilt: -0.25%
The game is definitely a disappointment for me. This game was extremely high profile, and I really enjoyed the Prince of Persia series. The problem with this "sandbox" game is that the sandbox isn't that much fun to play in. The lack of diversity and fun is unacceptable from a studio with so much experience, money, and weight behind them. If the story really grabs you it could warrant a purchase, otherwise you'll probably want to stick with a rental.
Verdict: 76%
this review was based on playing the PS3 version of the game
Mass Effect is a Bioware game, action fans be wary because not that much has changed since Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic and Jade Empire. Mass Effect is definitely an RPG, but it gives action fans something to grab a hold of with a pretty dynamic battle system. This game is not for everyone, but is more approachable and enjoyable than Bioware's previous efforts.
Gameplay: 8.5/10 Pros: Much more action focused than Star Wars KOTOR and less button mashing than Jade Empire's real time battles, Dialog system with full speech is awesome and immerses you, engrossing story. Cons: Enemy AI is suspect...usually just bum rush, Side Missions are repetitive and Ancillary planets are pretty much the same with different terrain skins, Not as Epic as advertised. No real Tutorial.
Graphics: 8/10 Pros: Graphics are gorgeous...just look at a still frame shot of this game in action... Cons: The problem is that still frame shots don't capture the multiple layers of texture loading visible to the player or the frame rate hiccups and drops.
Sound/Music: 10/10 Pros: Great Orchestral Score, Tons of Dialog all performed (male/female for main character) by great voice actors. Listening to the Dialog instead of reading subtitles draws you so much deeper into the story and experience.
Lasting Appeal: 8.5/10 Pros: Lengthy Core Adventure (~20 hrs) with tons of side missions. Story is definitely worth finishing. Character Backstory, Sex, character class, and Choices greatly affect gameplay and with Achievements warrant replaying the game 2nd, 3rd time. Cons: On repeated playthroughs, Side Missions will become more and more tedious. Battles can be hard/cheap.
Average: 87.50% Tilt: +0.50%
Mass Effect is greater than the sum of its part. It is a fantastic Story and literally plays like an interactive movie. It's a shame there are some technical glitches that are readily apparent...and while they do not tremendously affect gameplay...they could've been smoothed out if Bioware was given another month or two. Downloadable Content could greatly expand/improve the game and its side misions if a couple more robust planets/levels were released. If you don't mind a slower paced game or are a RPG fan, then you probably already have Mass Effect. If you're an Action or Multiplayer guy...Mass Effect may offer you enough incentive to buy it, just make sure you play a friend's copy or rent it first.
Simply put, Rock Band IS the Best Music Game Ever. Here's why: It's Fun!
Gameplay: 10/10 Pros: 3 Unique Experiences in the Drums, Guitar/Bass, and Singing Band World Tour mode IS phenomenal and a true step in music game "campaign mode" The Guitar Hero gameplay that Harmonix pioneered works great and is slightly tweaked for the better and across the other instruments. Very approachable gameplay allows ANYONE to find an instrument and enjoy Cons: Difficulty of the Drums is extremely steep compared to the other instruments Band World Tour should allow you to complete the game (play all the challenges) on every difficulty rather than require you to play on Hard or above to unlock certain things...This results in you kicking some of your friends out of the band to beat certain challenges and thus taking away from the whole play with 3 of your friends aspect.
Graphics: 10/10 Pros: Fantastic Animation, Great lip-syncing, tons of venues, great effect filters and different choreography for each song make this the best looking Music game I've ever seen. The create a rocker mode is deep enough to offer tons of variety, but casual enough to create a character in a few minutes. The User Interface is also way better during gameplay, less intrusive and slicker looking. There are no complaints here in the graphics department.
Sound/Music: 9/10 Pros: Nearly all the songs are performed by the artist...and boy is that better than having covers. Tons of tracks span many decades and there's a much better mix of songs. There aren't the slew of "hard metal tracks that suck but are really hard to play" like there were in the final venues of Guitar Hero II. 45 Tracks with 13 Bonus Tracks shipped with the game and there are already a ton of downloadable tracks online that integrate perfectly into every mode. Cons: The 58 tracks don't compare to the 80ish that are in Guitar Hero III. However, each track does give you more since you can play it for 4 instruments. Some may complain about the downloadable content (why didn't they include it if it was ready on day 1?) but ultimately it's Great to be able to shell out $1.99 for specific songs you really like and the best part is that they seamless integrate into every facet of the game.
Lasting Appeal: 10/10 Pros: The Band World Tour mode can last forever! I've put in over 20 hours probably and still have little "NEW" indicators by a bunch of cities. Then there's still all the more traditional solo careers...only about halfway through medium guitar, 6 songs into Easy Drums, and 20 songs of easy Microphone...The gameplay is great and there's always something new to strive for in Rock Band. All the above work has only netted me 90 achievement points...yikes! Cons: Band World Tour is currently only Local Play...supposedly there will be a patch which will really cause this game to explode.
Average: 97.5% Tilt: +0.5%
The fact that I played till 1:30am the first day I got it and then took the following day off to play it some more is a real indication of how great this game is...then over the weekend I had several different sets of friends (some who don' t even like Video Games) come over and enjoy the game is a testament to how good Rock Band is. The "Band" Co-op gameplay is well worth the $170 price tag and blows the competition out of the water (sorry GH3).
Stuntman for the original PS2 was a favorite of mine, despite its many flaws. The difficulty built in a lot of challenge and longevity into the experience and I kept playing in order to unlock the next movie trailer. The sequel, Stuntman Ignition, is still challenging, but a lot more forgiving (no load times on restarts! THANK YOU!) and adds a very addictive Tony Hawk-esque Combo Scoring System.
Graphics: 9/10 Pros: Fantastic visuals, great animation and action sequences. Gorgeous replays. Cons: FMV for movie trailers (mixing with ingame graphics) aren't necessary anymore. They should have used the ingame engine to do the movie trailers to make it look less disjointed.
Gameplay: 8.5/10 Pros: The gameplay & scoring system is vastly improved. No load times for restarts, serious driving skills required, and a variety of movies, commercials, stunt shows, and cars to fool around with. Cons: Levels still require a lot of trial and error to figure out what's going on. No real way to beat a level on your first try. Instead of confusing sketches during the load screens, they should give you a map with all the stunts on it that you can look through prior to your stunt run.
Sound/Music: 8/10 Pros: The voicework for the directors/characters is all really well done. There are definitely a few good impersonations and charicatures of directors currently out there. Sound effects do the job well. Cons: Standard music and score detract from the epic orchestral scores we hear in the movies
Lasting Appeal: 6/10 Pros: There's online multiplayer with several different modes, stunt shows, commercials, and quite a few movies to shoot through. There's also the challenge of stringing (comboing) every single movie scene to get full stars on each stage and unlock everything for the build your own stunt arena...which offers quite a few thrills itself. Cons: NO ONE plays online...guess this game didn't sell very well or everyone is just caught up with Halo 3, Gears of War, etc. It is really annoying being forced to replay levels again to get higher stars to unlock the next movie...if you beat all the levels...you should unlock the next level. I didnt' have the patience to go back and replay the levels again to unlock the final movie, since I had to play some others over to unlock the movie I had just completed.
Average: 78.75% Tilt: -0.75%
Stuntman: Ignition lacks some of the charm the original had. I still remember the orginal as having some of the best graphics on PS2...Ignition doesn't leave the same impression as far as graphics go for PS3 or Xbox 360. The movies aren't as diversified either and there isn't the same sense of working your way up from a small indie film to the big budget blockbuster...they all sort of seem like blockbusters...which ups the action but reduces the charm. It's still a good sequel and a pretty engrossing experience though.
Verdict: 78% this review is bases on the xbox 360 version
The Simpson's Game is yet another game starring America's beloved dysfunctional family. It is a licensed game that features all the voice actors (there's over 8,000 original lines for the game or something ridiculously high) and some animated segments/shorts. Basically, it's a really long episode of the Simpsons, as an episode it's spectacular....as a game, it's short.
Gameplay: 6/10 Pros: Each family member has a different skill set, the levels offer a great variety and reference many classic episodes. Cons: Gameplay is a heavy copycat of 3rd person platformers and even includes a troublesome camera and resulting frustration.
Graphics: 8/10 Pros: Playing this game is like playing the TV show. The game captures Springfield and the look of the show better than any other Simpsons game before it. Cons: The cartoon / cel-shaded look definitely doesn't push the PS3 or Xbox360 or is all that impressive up to other next gen games.
Sound/Music: 9.5/10 Pros: The Voicework and effort of the actual cast in this game pays off. The story is great and the quips during gameplay to the actual script itself is fantastic and hysterical.
Lasting Appeal: 3/10 Pros: You'll absolutely want to play through the story and enjoy the script/writing and humor. If you really care about collecting things...there's PLENTY of that. Cons: I beat the main game in about 3 days and 8 hours (Great rental - terrible buy). Now that I've seen the story, the gameplay, collectibles, achievements, etc. will not bring me back to the game. I don't care about collecting Homer's bottle caps, Bart's posters, etc. (though the Video game cliche's are pretty funnY). I'm done and it was fun while it lasted...just not $60 of fun.
Average: 66.25% Tilt: -1.25%
As a game, the Simpson's Game isn't very good. It is an amazing Simpsons Episode with a phenomenal script, excellent voicework and decent gameplay to get you through it all. It's a great licensed game, but unfortunately if this game wasn't the Simpson's and didn't have the money and quality voice work and humor, it would probably drop an additional 10 pts or so. If your a fan of the Simpsons, you gotta rent it. If you're only a gamer, forget it.
Let's sum this review up: 5 Games in 1! Ok 3 are very similar. 3 UNIQUE Games in 1! Half Life 2 is a classic at this point and won tons of awards. Even if you've beaten it like I have, there's still new content with the new episodes and even incentive to experience the main quest again to unlock achievements. Portal is one of the most unique game experiences I've had recently and Team Fortress 2 is a very balanced and fun multiplayer experience.
Gameplay: 10/10 Pros: With 5 games there has to be one that you find yourself drawn to the most. For me, that's Portal and Team Fortress 2, but you may be a more story driven Half-Life 2 person. The controls are solid (and pretty similar) across all the games and the gameplay is extraordinary. In fact, my only complaint with the whole package is that there's plenty of Half-Life 2 action and not nearly enough Portal and Team Fortress. Portal is over way too fast and Team Fortress could use some more maps, but is wanting more really a fault?
Graphics: 9/10 Pros: Team Fortress 2 looks so sick! I love the cell-shaded/cartoon/looney tunes look. The animation is also absolutely top-notch. Team Fortress really steals the show in the graphics dept. Portal is truly an impressive technical feat and I still can't entirely fathom how it all works...incredible. The Half Life 2 series still has fantastic facial animations. Cons: Half Life 2 is showing its age somewhat but it is a 3 year old game.
Sound/Music: 8/10 Pros: Fantastic voicework throughout all the games with good sound effects and the classic Half Life mood music. Cons: There is not nearly enough music and much of the time it feels vacant. While this is probably on purpose, it accentuates sound effects which can be annoying and loud.
Lasting Appeal: 10/10 Pros: 99 Achievements, 5 different games, 9 classes in multiplayer to master and hours upon hours of gameplay. Cons: People may get bored with the Half-Life story/gameplay before finishing out everything. Only 6 maps in multiplayer.
Average: 92.50% Tilt: +0.50%
Ultimately, you can't really NOT recommend this game. It is after all only $60 for 5 games. So maybe all 5 games aren't full fledged $60 titles, but they are all pretty substantial and Half-Life 2 for Xbox was $50 only a few years ago. It's a phenomenal deal and as long as you don't hate games from the First Person Perspective, you'll find something to love in the Orange Box. The Orange Box is certainly one of the best game compilations ever.
Stranglehold is a John Woo game through and through. It definitely does not tread new ground in either story or gameplay, but does a pretty good job fusing familiar elements from all of its influences.
Gameplay: 8/10 Pros: The gameplay is just plain fun. It's a mix of Max Payne Bullet Time gameplay with some pretty flashy new moves and situations. Face-Offs are nice gun duels that break up the monotony of running and diving. Story is serviceable if a little over the top and out there even for John Woo. Cons: Enemies are retarded. They pretty much run straight at you and spawn from closets/doors strewn throughout the level. Deaths can be frustrating because it's due from an enemy spawning in a door behind you with a shotgun, rather than a lack of skill on your part. Interaction with the Environment can be difficult/frustrating.
Graphics: 8/10 Pros: Nearly everything is destructible and when stuff starts exploding in slow motion, it's a thing of beauty. There's a fantastic array of levels and locales. Animations, bullet effects, etc. are good. Cons: Actual character models are somewhat blocky- this becomes more apparent during cutscenes where these characters try to exude emotion. Without all the bullet time effects this game would be standard issue in the graphics dept.
Sound/Music: 8/10 Pros: Voice Acting is top-notch and the visceral sound effects and music from Woo's movies make it into the game. Cons: It would be nice to have the option of having the more authentic Cantonese or Mandarin soundtrack since the game take place mostly in Asia, but because of the English...it sometimes feels like they are just in some US City Chinatown. It detracts from the authenticity of the story.
Lasting Appeal: 6/10 Pros: The single player experience is a nice ride while it lasts, Multiplayer and unlockables give you incentive to pop the disk back in for more. Cons: The Multiplayer is action packed, but requires little skill and is completely forgettable. The single player game can be beaten in a few days making this a great rental, but a questionable purchase.
Average: 75.00% Tilt: +/- 0.00%
For a licensed game, Stranglehold definitely delivers on its promise for John Woo style action. The super moves are flashy, and interacting with the environment (firing while riding roll carts/hanging from chandeliers/etc.) is great fun. If you've played Max Payne, you've got the basic controls/gameplay down, but Stranglehold gives you a lot of new wrinkles which keep you playing. It suffers in the replayability category, but is a fantastic rental. If you download the demo and love the gameplay than a purchase is probably the right decision for you, but otherwise save your bucks for something else.
Halo 3 has its flaws, but delivers on so much more than the average game. Let's answer the major questions up front. Does Halo 3 live up to the hype? Yes. Does Halo 3 wrap up the Story of Master Chief? Yes. Is multiplayer better than Halo 2? Yes. Is Halo 3 a totally revolutionary and unique experience? Nope. Halo 3 is still Halo, both in look and style. It's a natural evolution of what was built in Halo 1 and 2. It adds plenty of new wrinkles, but the fan faithful will be instantly more familiar and skilled than newbies. Halo 3 is undoubtedly one of the biggest games ever and rightfully so since it's probably the best game of the year and will continue to be played and enjoyed for years to come.
Gameplay: 10/10 Pros: The same great gameplay we had from the first two Halos continues with great new additions such as independent reload, equipment, 2 new grenades, video recordings, the forge, 4 player co-op, shield doors, and more. Controls are great once you transition from X to RB for reloading and the AI is as smart and dynamic as ever. The trilogy definitely wraps up with a bang (literally) and while the ride itself is superb, the ending leaves a somewhat bitter aftertaste. Cons: You rarely have enough grenades in both Campaign and Multiplayer. Shotty Snipes should not be in Team Slayer playlist. Campaign ending seems a little forced. Campaign is Gears of War Short.
Graphics: 10/10 Pros: One thing that cannot be emphasized enough about Halo is that the animation is absolutely phenomenal. Nothing beats being able to visually see that an enemy is mere shots away from death, or wielding a sword, plus there's the great addition of also being able to see an opponents holstered weapon on their back/side/etc. This all adds to the depth of Halo multi player and is also an example of the subtleties of Halo 3's graphics. The game has been polished with fine tooth comb. The HDR lighting is the best I've seen in a game, there's subtle motion blur when you whizz up an elevator, and the levels are gargantuan when compared to other great looking multi player games. Halo 3's graphics are a technical achievement. This becomes immediately apparent when you first watch a game film and zoom in/rotate/rewind a colossal explosion or snipe to the head. Breathtaking. Cons: Screenshots don't do the game justice, but in pure screenshot comparison, Halo 3 lacks that WOW factor.
Sound/Music: 10/10 Pros: Amazing Orchestral Soundtrack that is both familiar and perfectly captures the essence and theme of the game. Great Voice actors are all back and the AI voices during campaign are as funny as ever. "Tank beats Everything!" is one of my favorites. Proximity Voice is back and the sound effects are all spot on. However, Halo 3 again surpasses other games in its attention to detail. If you don't believe me, stand near the water behind the base on Valhalla and listen to the serene moving water for yourself. When I heard it, I was shocked they took the time to put such a thing in. Fantastic! Cons: Absolutely None
Lasting Appeal: 10/10 Pros: This one is probably the easiest to give a 10/10 in since the Forge gives near endless possibilities to multiplayer and the maps that shipped with the game. The theater also gives you the ability to share great moments in Halo 3 with others and analyze strategies and tactics or just scan a map to see where everything is located. Halo 2 multiplayer lives on still today 3 years later. Halo 3 will live on longer. Cons: Included Multiplayer maps are not enough! Those downloadable maps cannot come soon enough.
Average: 100% Tilt: +/- 0.00%
Halo 3 is a phenomenal value. You'll pay $60 for a game you'll be playing for 3 years straight. This game includes fantastic multiplayer, and a rewarding and exhilarating campaign mode like all great games over the past couple years. But it adds in features such as the video/theater and forge which are completely fresh, deep and more importantly add to the replayability and fun of the game. Halo 3 is the game of this Holiday season...and it's only September.
I had no intention of buying Bioshock. Yeah the graphics looked great and it was getting some buzz, but it had no multiplayer and Halo 3 is coming out in a month or so. Then I played the (painfully short) demo and wanted more, and when the first stellar reviews started coming in, I was sold. Bioshock is a great single player experience, probably the best FPS single player experience I have ever had. Yes, it's that good.
Gameplay: 10/10 Pros: A perfect blend of RPG elements into a FPS. Extreme flexibility in the way the game is played...you can strategize and set traps, use plasmids (magic attacks), hack machines to do your dirty work, research every creature as a photographer, specialize in weapons, or just go guns blazing and focus on twitch gameplay. It is absolutely fantastic. Add in amazing enemy AI, a fantastic story, and stat building and you have an incredibly addictive and fun game.
Graphics: 10/10 Gears of What? Bioshock is a gorgeous game...simply play the demo and by the time the tail of the plane crashes into the tube spraying water everywhere (see video above) you should be convinced. It uses the same Unreal engine that every graphic gem seems to use on the 360, but has so many effects, subtleties and touches that it just outshines them all. The art style is truly one of a kind and the futuristic underwater city is both futuristic, yet horrifyingly familiar and historic as well since the game is brilliantly set in 1960.
Sound/Music: 10/10 The Voicework is top-notch and film quality. In fact the music, score, and voicework is so excellent that you cannot help but think Bioshock film. Like all other aspects of the game, the polish and detail is just exceptional...even the piano notes played when you cycle the start menu, capture the tone and immersion of this game.
Lasting Appeal: 9/10 Pros: The single player experience is a long and investing one. The world encourages you to explore and learn more about it. The gameplay is great and it encourages more play throughs just playing around in the world. The game is never frustrating...even when you die against a tough boss, you're instantly revived at a chamber nearby and your enemies are as hurt as they were when you left them...unless they heal at a health station...this aspect makes you lose yourself in the game and literally lose hours immersed in the city of Rapture. Cons: There is no multiplayer experience and while this is understandable due to the depth of the single player experience, one can't help but wish that multiplayer was included. I imagine the multiplayer would have been reminiscent of shadowrun...or how shadowrun should've been executed. This game is so good that any end to it is a con.
Average: 97.5% Tilt: +2.00%
When all is said and done, this game is a work of art. Every aspect is cohesive, immersive, intriguing, and ultimately satisfying. This game is like a fantastic book that you curl up with, get immersed in, and then go to bed with nightmares about. A definitive gaming moment in the era of next gen gaming.
Let me start off by saying this: Don't play this game if you love the transformers:
Play this game:
Transformers the game is a rushed game tie-in to the spectacular summer blockbuster. What makes it even more pathetic is that the Atari Transformers game released a few years prior on previous gen systems, played better, looked better, and was 10x more fun despite it being based on the new Armada tv shows versus the old classic material. Go try the old Transformers game out, it's a nice gem and a great value since you can probably get it on ebay for $10-20.
Let's keep this review short and stick to the points:
The ability to play as nearly every character from the movie is cool
Playing as decepticons is nice
Gameplay is repetitive and absolutely rushed: Each level is an open sandbox world a la GTA except all you can do in it is smash stuff, collect cubes, and play stupid side fetch games. The openness of the worlds is just not fleshed out, which leads to all the main missions (which take place in the sandbox levels) all the more boring and tedious.
Guns are pointless in this game- nearly every robot has a shield so you just end up running up and punching them
The driving physics are laughable, you can literally make a tight 90 degree turn on nitro by tapping the handbrake.
Collision detection/physics are just a mess- as a car you can get stuck floating on debris or behind junk as you blasting boost to plow through.
Cutscenes are unpolished- the actors from the film look nothing like their screen conterparts.
Smoke and fire particle effects could have been done on PSone.
It's really not fun to bash a game, but there hasn't been a rushed movie game tie-in this bad since Enter the Matrix. It's a shame too, because I loved the movie and the original TV show and enjoyed a game I played 3-4 years ago A LOT more. It was more impressive graphically and gameplay wise too which is ridiculous given that it was 3-4 YEARS AGO! Thank god, I only rented this game. Avoid this one at all costs.
Shadowrun is the first dual platform Xbox/Vista game. Poor PC gamers have to purchase the game, a Windows Live account (the PC version of Xbox Live), and probably a gamepad. Luckily for 360 owners, you probably have everything but the game...but you may not even want that.
Gameplay: 7/10 Pros: Magic/Tech elements work well and being able to resurrect fallen teammates is a great addition. Using the 3 mapped abilities is easily done and it all rounds out to be a very different FPS experience with lots of depth and strategies to be worked out. Cons: Only 3 ability slots sucks because changing abilities leaves you completely vulnerable and is awkward in the middle of a match. Why not use the d-pad to hold 4 more abilities? The game is multiplayer only which is a real shame since the abilities could've made some interesting levels and missions.
Graphics: 7/10 Pros: Magic effects look pretty cool and all the abilities are animated really well. Different character classes, weapons are easily identified. Levels look good. Visuals are decent. Cons: No climbing animation! Characters just float up ladders! There is a total lack of variety/customization with the races...every RNA human looks the same, every Lineage dwarf looks the same, etc. with only 2 factions this seems ridiculous.
Sound/Music: 8/10 Pros: The training has good voicework, sound effects are very diverse (from magical zaps to machine guns spewing lead) and the music fits the mood of the gameplay and level. Cons: Music is forgettable and the overall audio experience is on par with other titles.
Lasting Appeal: 5/10 Pros: There are a lot of nuances, weapons, abilities, and characters classes to experiment with and learn how to use. The combinations of abilities, weapons, and classes really affect how you play this unique first person shooter. Online multiplayer with up to 16 people on xbox and Vista is a first. Cons: Only 9 maps, a handful of modes, multiplayer only, 8 or so abilities, techs, and weapons and 4 races is not worth $60. The gameplay online is tough to get into and there's a steep learning curve.
Average: 67.50% Tilt: - 3.50%
A $60 pricetag for this game is pretty infuriating. You only get 9 maps and judging from the Xbox Marketplace 4-6 maps go for about $10...so let's say $20 for 9. $10 buys you a casual Xbox Live Arcade title so since this one has better graphics and all that, lets say $20. That leaves us with a $40 game, now subtract $5-10 for not taking the time to animate climbing or making more modes and you are left with a $30-$35 game. At that price, Shadowrun would be a fair deal and would make the experience enjoyable. At $60, this game is an entire rip-off...and while the game is not bad...it's price forces you to compare it with all the other $60 titles out there which feel like much more complete packages in comparison.
Battlestations midway is a mix of a strategy and action game. The strategy game aspect of the game works and plays very well, while the action can be very dependent on which vehicle you decide to pilot. This game isn’t for anybody, but is definitely a title that stands out and plays different from most of the stuff out there on the Xbox 360.
Gameplay: 7/10 Pros: PT boat, submarines are very exciting to control, ships are slow and are pretty fun to pilot as well. The strategy aspects of the game are very complex and make the game deep and challenging. Cons: The tutorial takes about an hour to complete and when it was done I definitely forgot some stuff. Planes are difficult to control and the overall controls can be clunky.
Graphics: 6/10 Pros: Battles can really pick up and look exciting, the vehicles are good looking, take realistic damage and are well animated. Cons: This is by far the weakest area of Battlestations. The game just doesn’t look like a 360 title, but instead a nice looking PC-game. Generic and repetitive background graphics abound.
Sound/Music: 7.5/10 Pros: The sound effects are very solid and top-notch and the military cadences and themes work well with the game. Cons: The voice work of the main character in the game is awful and laughable. I actually grew to hate the main character because he was such a philosophical pansy. It really detracted from the story.
Lasting Appeal: 9/10 Pros: There are a multitude of different scenarios and challenges both in the single player game and online. 1 on 1 online matches with a plethora of units can be a grueling chess match, while 4 on 4 matches are more action oriented. If you can live with the graphics and make it through the tutorial, there is a lot here to keep you entertained. Cons: This type of game definitely isn’t for everybody and feels a little overprices at $60…more like a $40-$50 title.
Average: 73.75% Tilt: +0.25%
If you aren’t an Action/FPS only gamer, there’s something to be found in Battlestations: Midway. It is not a AAA title, but offers a pretty unique and deep experience for Xbox 360 gamers willing to give it a chance. If only the majority of vehicles controlled as well as the speedy PT boats, this game could’ve really knocked one out of the park.
Virtua Tennis 3 is just shy of being a great title. It is very approachable and a lot of fun, but there are some misses that really get under you skin and detract from the experience…most aren’t even gamep
GRID by Codemasters is the asphalt successor of DIRT. It even runs on the same graphical engine and has a "hip" 4 letter title too. I have no idea what the title means, but I do know that Grid is a very enjoyable racer which blends elements of sim and arcade racers and toes the line between the two pretty well.
