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.
Metal Gear Solid 4 is a tough game to review for a few reasons: 1. I am a huge MGS fan so my expectations are very high 2. MGS4 is split over 5 distinct and different acts 3. MGS4's action and gameplay peaks early at about act 3
Gameplay: 10/10 Pros: The gameplay of Metal Gear Solid has always been impeccable and this latest version updates the controls and amps up the action. Gameplay drastically changes with each act introducing something new (from Mech Arcade action to motorcycle getaways). The new "combat zone" sneaking missions are extremely fun, flexible, and multifaceted. Metal Gear Online is a great addition that adds a ton of replayability, longevity and value to the product. Cons: As a long time Metal Gear fan, I wish that there was one act that focused solely on sneaking into a military installation against human guards. I think this could've easily been achieved in Act 4 to give long time fans what they wanted. The final acts are also extremely short with a story I did not find as engaging as previous titles. Without MGO, Gameplay would certainly be docked some points.
Graphics: 10/10 Pros: The Graphics are hands down the best looking visuals of any video game out there and truly show off the Playstation 3's power. What is even more impressive is the excellent animation, high framerates, in-game cutscenes, and diversity of level visuals. A true Technical achievement likely to be unsurpassed for a few years.
Sound/Music: 10/10 Pros: The Music is stellar and the game includes a large selection of tracks that encompass the whole Metal Gear Series. The sound is also impeccable and features dolby digital surround sound that truly makes you feel like you are on the battlefield. The Voice Acting is also very strong...especially David Hayter and Quinton Flynn.
Cons: There is some lame scripting and bad voice acting / cutscenes that are just too dramatic or poorly executed.
Lasting Appeal: 10/10
Pros: Immediately after finishing the game, I wanted to play the campaign all over again. This speaks very highly of the incredibly enjoyable Acts 1-3 not to mention the ranks you earn and items you unlock. The campaign clocks in around 20 hours and you'll want to finish the story and see what lies next throughout the single player. There is also the fantastic addition of Metal Gear Online which is a much improved and graphically stunning update to the Metal Gear Multiplayer found in Metal Gear 3: Subsistence.
Cons: The story just didn't capture me as much as Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater. Furthermore, I felt the boss battles (and bosses themselves) were superior in MGS3 all around with a few of the other best battles being in MGS2 and MGS1. Maybe it is not fair to compare a fantastic game to all of its previous fantastic iterations, but in many ways MGS4 is the most unlike all the other games in the series and that is not always a good thing.
Average: 100%
Tilt: -1.00%
It may be unfair to expect the same from each Metal Gear game, but at the same time Metal Gear Solid 4 is just short of perfect. While each successive metal gear game improved on aspects of the previous title, Metal Gear Solid 4 is the first title to improve aspects of the game while making some missteps along the way. I would rank the story 3rd out of the 4 games in the series (Snake Eater, MGS1, MGS4, MGS2) and probably 3rd or 4th in Boss Battles. At the same time, Acts 1 and 2 offer some of the greatest innovations the series has seen and create some incredible moments...even if it feels a little un-Metal Gear. That's really the only flaw with Metal Gear Solid 4... it peaks too early...and as the game slows down in Act 4 it misses an opportunity to pay homage to fans of the sneaking, tranqing and trickery found in MGS1-3. Act 5 is pretty much a movie, which ends the whole thing on a sour note. All the negativity aside, Metal Gear Solid 4 is a gaming masterpiece. It is a graphical powerhouse and evolves the gameplay of Metal Gear immensely and opens it up more to the Western Market. While it has its shortcomings, It definitely makes you want to pop in the previous games into your playstation 3 and play them all over again...if only there was a graphically updated MGS1: Twin Snakes for Playstation...oh well, I'll just start with Metal Gear 2.
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)
I'm not really sure if flOw is a video game, but it certainly is an experience. As a game, flOw lacks gameplay, complexity, and challenge, but it's slogan is "...life could be simple." That slogan really embodies what flOw is. flOw is an incredibly fresh and relaxing voyage into the depths of a simple oceanic world. The gameplay is simple, but the presentation, graphics and sound work incredibly well. As a game, the only real incentive to keep playing is to evolve your creature and unlock new creatures, but flOw is enjoyable beyond that. Just as a good album is great to pop in and relax to, flOw is a great thing to start up just to veg out on the couch and experience the "lights and sounds" if you will. For less than the price of a movie ticket ($8.99), you can experience flOw and this unique gaming experience really should not be missed. Congrats to thatgamecompany.
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.
Ratchet & Clank: Future Tools of Destruction is the most recent iteration of the very successful franchise which has spawned sequel after sequel. It is a very good game that shows off the advances of moving from the PS2 to PS3. Insomniac Games is definitely one of the best developers Sony has , but R & C: FToD is just too much of the same. I couldn't help thinking that I had played this game before...3 times before.
Gameplay: 8.5/10 Pros: The game offers solid platforming, some new gadgets, nice uses of the SIXAXIS and the same great gameplay features in previous iterations. Cons: Not enough innovation or enhancements since the last game. Clank's new Zoni gameplay is not up to snuff (granted Clank's missions have always been weaker)
Graphics: 9/10 Pros: Ratchet and Clank certainly look better than they've ever looked before and the worlds they visit are much more vibrant and busy. Excellently animated too.
Sound/Music: 10/10 Pros: I have always loved R&C's music and FToD is no different. Excellent and catchy music with wonderful zany weapon and gadget effects. There is also AAA voicework with genuinely funny dialogue.
Lasting Appeal: 7/10 Pros: The story is as good as ever and the great cutscenes urge you to play more to experience more of the great characters and dialogue. The gameplay is solid and the gadgets and experience system keeps things fresh and never too difficult. Cons: Gameplay is getting a little stale and R&C could really use a reinvention a la Mario Galaxy or even a Jak II type change. No Multiplayer and a lack of minigames and side missions compared to other Ratchet and Clank's.
Average: 86.25% Tilt: -1.25%
You don't get credit in my book for reiterating the same product over and over again and Ratchet and Clank: Future Tools of Destruction certainly feels like this series is reaching that point. Please don't turn the Ratchet series into Tony Hawk. On the one hand, any one who enjoyed the previous Ratchets will certainly be familiar and enjoy this adventure, but on the other hand adding new levels/story to the same old game isn't enough these days. It's a great first entry for PS3, but I'm really hoping that the Downloadable Ratchet 2 takes more risks.
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
MotorStorm for Playstation 3 remains a gorgeous looking game and really boils down to this: It's an intense racing title with gorgeous graphics, a great variety of vehicles, and a bunch of levels and tracks that all look very similar. I understand that Motor Storm takes place in an undisclosed desert and is an undersground event...but do all the levels have to be sandy gold, gritty orange, and muddy maroon? Don't get me wrong...the different textures and tracks and how different vehicles all handle them is very fun. It's just a shame that all the tracks look so similar. There's actually not many tracks at all which further hampers what could be a fantastic game. It's a great start and a great showcase title for the PS3. It could be a franchise to contend with the next time around. Imagine Motorstorm 2 with grassy levels (with varying muddy batches, high grass, etc.), snow covered and icy terrain levels, new vehicles (snow mobiles, hovercrafts, monster trucks), and a wider selection and variety of tracks. That would be a game to contend with! As it stands now. MotorStorm is a damn good game and a wise choice by Sony to package it with the 80GB PS3.
Graphics:9/10 - Fantastic but lacking level variety Gameplay: 9/10 - Vehicle diversity, and terrain strategy make this game visceral fun. Enemy AI is a little bit "let you catch up" or "catch up with you" Sound/Music: 8/10 - Music fits the tone, explosions and other vehicle engines all add to the atmosphere...sometimes it's all alittle much Lasting Appeal: 7/10 - The lack of tracks and track variety really hurts the game, but different vehicles and terrain adds to it. After awhile though, everything just is all too sandy and the incentive to unlock the harder mode of the same level you've played already just isn't there. Average: 82.50% Tilt: -3.50%
Uncharted is one of the finest games I have played for PS3 thus far. One of my only complaints is that it is too short.
Gameplay: 9.5/10 Pros: Gameplay is very fun and combines a lot of styles nicely: platforming (Mario 64, Jak&Daxter, etc), pop-n-stop gunplay (Gears of War), and puzzle solving (tons of games). The story of this game is also very compelling with quite a few twists. Cons: Game is short, only single player, and the gunplay is not nearly as refined as many shooter fans will require.
Graphics: 10/10 Pros: One of the finest looking games out there for PS3 period. Beautiful graphics and fantastic animations. Water even soaks into Drake's clothes! Cons: Some animations look odd to me (climbing sideways?). Locales in the game lack variety (primarily because there is only 1 large island) though they do their best to mix up the looks.
Sound/Music: 9.5/10 Pros: Fantastic Indiana Jones inspired score and music. Fantastic voice acting and constant bad guy chatter. The Sound effects ain't too shabby either. Legitamate laughs and great one-liners. Cons: Some bad guy lines are recycled too much.
Lasting Appeal: 8.5/10 Pros: You will definitely want to complete this adventure to wrap up the story and Drake's quest. You will probably want to play through again to enjoy the gameplay and play on a harder difficulty and you may even want to play over and over again to unlock everything and work on the built in achievement system for this game. Cons: The campaign is relatively short and there doesn't appear to be any major unlockables that alter the game too much on subsequent playthroughs. How many times can you really play through a single-player game? Even one as fine as this.
Average: 93.75% Tilt: +0.25%
Ultimately, there are certain parts of Drake's Fortune that are rough around the edges (vehicle sections, gunplay, some animations, etc.) but all of these minor complaints and critiques melt away when you are playing Uncharted. It's another great Naughty Dog Franchise. Plus if you like Indiana Jones, there is no game out there that has ever captured that feeling better than Uncharted: Drakes Fortune.
Heavenly Sword is a hack and slash action game similar to God of War, but more heavily focused on the action aspect. It has beautiful graphics and is an amazing start to a franchise despite its missteps, the biggest of which is the brevity of the game's story and single player campaign.
Gameplay: 8/10 Pros: 3 different stances with some great combos and transitions, engaging story, exciting and chaotic action gameplay. Cons: The ranged stance is almost entirely useless, only 2 attack buttons, not enough puzzles, and an extensive overuse of "aftertouch" (tilt controlled) aiming /firing missions.
Graphics: 9.5/10 Pros: Absolutely gorgeous with a fantastic art direction and amazing character design and animation. Cut-scenes are gorgeous. Impressive number of characters on the screen. A truly technical feat that exemplifies the PS3's power. Cons: Repetitive enemies, and some questionable character design choices (Roach?)
Sound/Music: 8.5/10 Pros: Great voice acting, epic score, and excellent weapon twings& twangs. AAA music/sound fx. Cons: Not a fan of the retarded girl sidekick Kai, though in the end her story makes it better to swallow. Flying Fox is the most annoyingly voiced character in recent memory...he's terrible. Roach is also a little cliched...though voicework is good.
Lasting Appeal: 6/10 Pros: Extremely entertaining from beginning to end with a very engrossing story which comes to a satisfying conclusion. Cons: Practically no replay value...repetitive gameplay and earning new artwork and combos is not enough for me.
Average: 80.00% Tilt: +/-: -5.00%
Heavenly Sword was a very enjoyable and engaging rental. I beat the game in less than 2 days and had fun doing it, but I didn't even come close to playing it nonstop. The game can really be flown through. It's a shame that there wasn't more depth in the combat or harder puzzles (and possible backtracking) a la God of War to lengthen this game out. I like the variety of missions, even if some are not as crisp as the main combat ones. The monotony of the gameplay is decently broken up to get you through the game and story, but a game that is over so quickly is definitely not worth $60.
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
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.
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.
