JBs Gamer Blog

No More Posts.....

2011-10-26T10:48:00.000-04:00

I have decided to stop posting on my blog because I don't have the extra time anymore. I really wish I could continue but with the changes in my life recently I just can't. Maybe in the future I'll come back but for a long while I will not be updating this blog and with any posts.

Thank you to all who have come and read my blog over the past few years.

Diablo 3's Beta Goes Live

2011-09-21T23:45:00.000-04:00

Blizzard has opened up the Beta of Diablo III to the public, well the closed Beta. This means that Beta keys will go out to play the first act of the game. Of course lots of luck is needed to get one, but here is to hoping that I get one.

I am a huge fan of Blizzard and when one of their games goes to Beta it is basically 99% chance that 6 months later it will go on sale at retail. So even if I don't get a Beta invite, at least I know I can get the game pretty soon.

To get a Beta invite you just need at Battle.net account with a Blizzard game attached to it. Then download the specs software on your computer to upload your specs. Once this is done you just have to wait, and with a little luck you might get chosen.

Here is to one fan that is very happy about this news....

iPhone Gaming: Mega Mall Story Review

2011-09-01T10:16:00.000-04:00

Kairosoft is quickly becoming my all time favorite iPhone gaming company. They just make great, addicting games for your iPhone device. And Mega Mall Story is one of their latest. Released in the US at the beginning of August 2011, Mega Mall Story is you guessed it a simulation game about creating the biggest and greatest mall. As soon as I downloaded the lite version of the game. I quickly became addicted and had to buy the full version.

Mega Mall Story is a very simple, yet deep game. You start off by opening a new mall in a new area. Every month is like the opening and closing of your mall. At the beginning of the month the mall opens and customers start coming in. At the end of the month your mall closes and every one leaves. Each month also tells you how well you did in total sales. Through out the year there are special times like the Holidays or summer sales events. These can boost your customers and sales. As time goes by you get to unlock new stores and make your mall bigger, not only in height but also width. You can advertise to increase your popularity, and if you hit 100 you get a fever which makes customers go mad and buy everything. Fever also brings in a ton of customers which can increase your sales for the month by 500%. At the end of each year you are rated by the total sales of your mall and the highest selling store. Of course you want to shoot for the #1 spot but it does take a while. The concept is simple but quickly becomes addicting.

Not only can you build and add new stores to your mall, you can also invest in the community. This is a must because it adds customers and is a great way to get rid of the competition in the area. The more you invest the more likely people will shop at your mall. There is also combos in the game, discovering them is fun and making them can boost sales and loyal customers. Combos are putting different stores together that produce a specific combo. Also a lot of the stores have to be unlocked as well, not only by growing but by getting loyal customers. Like I said before the game is easy but there is some deepness to it. Towards the end it could get challenging, but Mega Mall Story never really gets that hard. You only have 15 years to build the best mall, but after the 15 years you can still play on. The game just doesn't record your score anymore.

I had a blast with this game, Mega Mall Story quickly got me addicted. I couldn't put it down and spent many hours draining my iPhone's battery. I suggest you download the lite version today, you may end up buying it within the same hour.

I give Mega Mall Story for the iPhone a 5 out of 5.

0 = Total Garbage (Don't waste your time)
1 = Crap (Maybe rent, maybe not)
2 = Ok (Rental only)
3 = Good (Buy it, rent if low on cash)
4 = Great (Buy this game)
5 = Amazing (Don't even think about it, just get it)

Another Kairosoft Game Coming Very Soon

2011-08-30T10:42:00.000-04:00

Kairosoft has a new gaming coming out on the Apple App Store on September 8th. Grand Prix Story is the new game, and if you can guess, it seems to be a simulation game about racing. Grand Prix Story has already been released on the Android Market for some time now. So this is some exciting news for us iPhone users.

As you can tell I am very excited about this, since I have become a huge fan of Kairosoft games. 2011 is truly a great year for fans of this Japanese company. I look forward to Grand Prix Story's release on September 8.

iPhone Gaming: Pocket Academy Review

2011-08-29T17:44:00.002-04:00

I talked about a little game released on the App Store for the iPhone a few weeks back called Pocket Academy. I decided to purchase the app after playing with the Lite version to dive deeper into the game. I have to say off the bat that Pocket Academy is a lot slower paced then Kairosoft's other games and it is very hard to get a lot of money. Though, money is not the main objective in this game. The main focus is your school and their students. This can be a little frustrating because you start to spend money to better the school only to find out, the only way to get cash is by getting more students. Students = Tuition and Tuition = Money. I made the mistake of just building and hiring and upgrading teachers right away. This only caused me to go into debt, and very fast. Thus the reason why this game moves at a slower pace. This slow pace can also be it's down fall. As I found my self bored waiting around with nothing to go while I wait for the game to continue along it's path.

Sooner or later you figure out how to balance your budget and play the game with out losing money. The addicting part of Pocket Academy is not trying to get cash, but trying to have the smartest child or children at your school. This to me is the best part of Kairosoft's game. As you get better teachers, enough facilities at your school with out breaking the bank, and students....You can then start gathering special points to spends on special classes to increase your students grades. With better grades comes higher tests scores, which will give you higher ranks and in turn attract more students to your school. Doing all this can be a challenge, and the slow pacing of the game can get boring at times. But this doesn't mean that Pocket Academy is a poor quality game. It just means that you have to be interested in this type of niche game to reap it's rewards.

I'd highly recommend downloading the Lite version before purchasing this one. Kairosoft always makes quality games that are addicting, but the slower pace on this one got to me and ended up getting a little to boring for me to continue.

I give Pocket Academy for the iPhone a 4 out of 5. The slow pace really got to me and I just couldn't get as addicted to it as other Kairosoft games.

0 = Total Garbage (Don't waste your time)
1 = Crap (Maybe rent, maybe not)
2 = Ok (Rental only)
3 = Good (Buy it, rent if low on cash)
4 = Great (Buy this game)
5 = Amazing (Don't even think about it, just get it)

Deus Ex: Human Revolution Released Today

2011-08-23T11:24:00.000-04:00

Today Deus Ex: Human Revolution has been released on the PC, Xbox360 and PS3. The reviews from the industry are showing that this game might be what we have been looking for during this summer drought. It has been a little more then three months since I got to play a brand new game, and Deus Ex: Human Revolution has gotten me excited. I pre-perchased the game on Steam last night but haven't gotten to play it yet(since there is a little thing called work in my way). From the reviews I have read and seen so far, Deus Ex is sure to be one hell of a fun game. Lets hope it lives up to that. I'll have a full review on the game once I have completed it. Till then, if you haven't bought the game yet, you should read some of the reviews on it at IGN.com, Gamespot.com, or your favorite game site. Deus Ex is getting ratings of 8.5 to 9.0s.

Deus Ex: Human Revolution - Amazon.com

ASUS G73 Laptop - Republic of Gamers

2011-08-20T23:07:00.006-04:00

The ASUS G73 Republic of Gamers Laptop, one bad ass gaming laptop. This is my baby and what I have been using for almost two years now. This bad boy replaced my desktop computer that I build from the ground up back in 2005. It is kind of my hobby to build computers. I just love the whole searching for the best parts and finally putting them together to make one bad ass machine. Back in 2005 I put together a desktop with, at the time, an AMD FX-55 CPU (worth about $999 back in 2005), 2GB of RAM, Nvidia 680 Ultra GPU, ASUS Deluxe mother board, and two DVD Burners. At the time this gaming PC cost me about $2500 and lasted me till 2010 when I needed an upgrade.

I didn't have $2000+ dollars in 2010 to build a new replacement to my gaming PC. So I searched high and low for the best gaming laptop for my buck. At the time the ASUS G73 just started to come out and I took a chance at a $1600 laptop. Boy was I happy, this thing has been awesome. The ASUS G73 so far has been able to handle anything I have thrown at it. Any game I have played on it in the last two years, I had the graphics settings turned way up and that didn't bother my ASUS G73 one bit. Of course it is not a AlienWare or other high end laptop, and does have one or two issues with it. For example, ASUS put a Creative sound card in it, but use Realtek drivers that cause issues with Windows 7. Because of this, a load high pitched scratching noise comes out of the speakers every now and again. But recently it hasn't been to bad and only last less then a second and rarely pops up now. The strange thing about this noise it only shows up in windows.....not once has it ever happened while playing games(which is a good thing).

The system stats of my ASUS G73:

i7 - 720QM CPU
8GB of RAM
ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5870 (VRAM 1GB)
17.3 HD LCD Screen (1080P)
DVD Multi Burner
500GB of HDD space
**Added a 120GB SSD on my own**
Windows 7 Home Premium
Back-lit Keyboard

I am still very impressed by the ASUS G73 gaming laptop, and I can't wait to play all the amazing games coming out this Fall on this machine. Though, since it is a laptop and a gaming laptop at that, the battery only lasts about an hour. But what do you expect with all that power under the hood. So if you do get one, expect it to be more of a desktop replacement then a true mobile laptop. I still prefer a desktop built my self, but I just don't have the money to make my next big gaming PC project. I am hoping the ASUS G73 will last another three years before I have to upgrade.

Here is what mine looks like on my desk....isn't she beautiful? :-D

If you would like a ASUS G73 Replublic of Gamers Laptop like mine, pick one up at Amazon.com today.

ASUS G73SW-XA1 Republic of Gamers 17.3-Inch Gaming Laptop (Black)

Borderlands 2 Trailer Released

2011-08-17T00:48:00.000-04:00

Borderlands 2 was announced this month but just recently Gearbox released the teaser trailer to Borderlands 2. I can't wait for this game....2012 can't come fast enough. Enjoy the awesome trailer below!

Mega Mall Story Released This Week On AppStore

2011-08-12T09:41:00.005-04:00

In my last post I said that Kairosoft will be releasing Mega Mall Story soon on the Iphone/Ipad/Ipod. It seems that after my post the game was released on the AppStore and just recently the Lite version was released. I am downloading the Lite version as we speak and if I like it I'll buy Mega Mall Story (which most likely I will).

As another note; I bought Pocket Academy because I enjoyed the Lite version a lot. I'll have a little review on the game once I spend more time with it. Until then I'll enjoy checking out Mega Mall Story Lite.

New Iphone Games From Kairosoft.

2011-08-08T14:31:00.007-04:00

If you can't tell already I am a fan of Kairosoft games for the Iphone iOS. I have been waiting for Game Dev Story 2 to come out, but in the mean time Kairosoft released yet another game. This one is called Pocket Academy, released on June 29, 2011 on the app store. I downloaded the Lite version to check it out. I liked Hot Springs Story but it wasn't that big of a game for me like Game Dev Story was. I only just downloaded it, so I haven't had that much play time with it. So far it seems to be a more slower paced game then the rest before it. It is an interesting game, but I haven't spent enough time with it to say if I'll buy it or not. I'll let you know more once I had enough hands on time with the game....

On Kairosoft's English website they have Mega Mall Story as their next game coming out soon. All they have thus far on the game is one screen shot, no release date or info about the game yet. It could be their next addictive game....

No Review For L.A. Noire

2011-08-02T09:32:00.003-04:00

I have decided not to post a full review of L.A. Noire, for the basic reason being I have not yet finished it. For the last few months I just didn't have the time to play much of anything. A lot of things have changed in my life that has pushed back gaming by a lot. A few months ago I found out something that has changed my health for the next 2 years or so. The good thing, I am on the road for recovery and should be back to 95% by this fall.

Enough of the little depressing news, as far as when it comes to gaming news it looks like Dead Island (a game I have been some what excited about) was pushed to early September. It also seems Rage was pushed to early October. I have been really excited about Rage and hearing the push of the release date had me a little annoyed but at least it was only by a month and not months. Bioware keeps releasing Pre-order offers and system specs for The Old Republic MMO but still no release date. I am hoping they say something very soon, cause I can't wait to play. I want a good Sci-Fi MMO, I am getting tired of the fantasy MMOs. Speaking of MMOs, I have been playing Rift, which is pretty good but hasn't sucked me in enough. I only play when I can and it is more fun then WoW, but once The Old Republic comes out I am most likely going to leave Rift.

What I find the biggest news of late, was Blizzard announced a bunch of information about Diablo 3. The biggest of them stating D3 will need to be played online at all times and a real money auction house in game. I can understand how having no off-line mode will make some people unable to play, but it doesn't bother me. The inclusion of an in-game auction house where you can sell items for real money is interesting, I just hope it doesn't turn into a place for Blizzard to sell items that can only be bought. That would really suck!!! As big as this new is, I can't help but wonder if the bigger news is the unspoken one. With Blizzard releasing information about this can mean that they will be ready to speak about a Beta date soon. I have this feeling we will hear about it very soon and once that happens.....well then we will know Diablo 3 will be coming out soon after. Till then, I'll at least have some good games coming out this fall.

Layout Change

2011-06-27T10:09:00.004-04:00

I thought it was time that I changed the layout of my blog. I used the old one for over a year now and I thought my blog needed a little bit of a change. Also with the other layout I had issues with the comments. People have said to me that it was hard to post a comment, don't know why but I hope this fixed that issue.

Thank you for reading my blog, I hope this change is a welcomed one.

Disappointed.....

2011-06-24T18:28:00.003-04:00

I recently played the Duke Nukem Forever demo, and I can see why this game took 12 years to make. It is clear the developers had an identity crisis with Duke. If they just released it back in 1998, this game could have been awesome. But it is clear from the get go that the developers got scared of the competition and started reworking and adding every FPS break through over the years. Gearbox did what they could to get the game out the door, but I am glad they picked up the Duke IP as well. I was hoping Duke Nukem Forever was going to be a guilty pleasure of back in the day but it ends up being a total identity crisis mess not worth playing (at a $50 price tag).

I also played the Dungeon Siege 3 demo and I can safely say I am not buying that game. DS3 felt boring and the classes I played were not fun at all. It just didn't feel like a Dungeon Siege game, it felt too simple. I didn't even play all the way through the demo it was that boring.

I am disappointed that I don't have any good games to play this summer. I am only hoping Torchlight 2 comes out next month and Deus Ex is good when it hits stores this August. Keeping my fingers crossed.....

Wii 2 is the Wii U

2011-06-07T21:25:00.005-04:00

Nintendo announced their new console at E3 2011 today. As you can guess it is called the Wii-U. Not a fan of the name but I was not a fan of the name Wii either. I know it will grown on me in time.

So far the Wii-U is looking promising. I am a little sketchy with the size of the controller and the price tag for this new console has me worried, but none the less I think Nintendo is on to something. So far just the controller was shown at E3, nothing is known about the console it self or what it will cost. The release for this puppy is 2012, but no solid date yet. As you can see the controller has a touch screen and two analog sticks, buttons, and a D-Pad. You can play your game on the TV and the controller screen or switch it to just the controller. The features of the Wii-U controller alone is getting me excited. I only hope that Nintendo doesn't screw this up like they did the Wii.

They had a good idea with motion controls but they opened up a door from hell by catering to the casual gamer. It was the biggest mistake they could have ever made for us Nintendo fans. In retrospect it did get them a lot of money to come up with this new idea. I am only hoping it doesn't go down the same path as the Wii. If it wasn't for the shovelware and the crap that filled the Wii library, the Wii could have been a great idea if developers took it that direction. But the casual gamer made publishers lazy and they hit gold on the Wii by producing junk month after month and the casuals ate it up. Nintendo tried to show the way, but they too fell into the gold mine of the casuals. Here is to hoping Nintendo has gotten it right this time around. Looking forward to the future with Nintendo......

Portal 2 Review

2011-05-27T14:16:00.016-04:00

I have to be honest, I was a bit disappointed when Valve announced Portal 2 last year. I was really hoping for Episode 3 or Half-Life 3. The thought of, "come on guys where the hell is Episode 3 instead of Portal 2", came to mind when I heard Portal 2 was coming out. I almost came to the conclusion that I was going to skip this one when it releases because I was a bit mad nothing is being said about the Half-Life products. As the release date came near, I started to get excited about Portal 2. Valve knows how to make their fans happy, even if we are a little mad about Episode 3. They got me, Portal 2 is an awesome distraction to not getting Episode 3 or Half-Life 3.

Where do I begin? Portal 2 is a fine example of high quality craftsmanship in video games. I can't praise this game enough, I was extremely pleased from beginning to end. Portal 2 starts off where Portal 1 ended. You play as Chell, a test subject that survived and stopped the psycho AI named GLaDOS. After beating her, something drags you back into Aperture Science facilities and you are put into stasis. This is were Portal 2 begins and you meat a new character when you wake up from stasis. Wheatley is this new character's name and is voiced by Stephen Merchant. Wheatley is a personality core that will guide you through the first part of the game. Right from the get go you will be solving puzzles using a portal gun that allows you to open up two door ways or portals that you can go through. These door ways that you create will be used to solve all the puzzles in the game that are presented to you. It is not required to play Portal 1, but it is recommended. This is because the first half of the game will be played through test chambers that were used in Portal 1, but this time they look run down with plant growth and lack of maintenance. This is present through out the beginning of the game, and is most likely do to the fact that GLaDOS was shutdown and is unable to maintain the chambers. But things go back to normal once Wheatley and you turn GLaDOS back on, by mistake of course, and she takes over from here on out. I don't want to spoil any of the storyline from here, but it gets a lot better as you progress through the game and never stops to amuse you. Valve did an excellent job with the writing of the story in Portal 2 and you have to play it to understand the value it adds to the game.

Game play in Portal 2 is just like Portal. You use a gun that produces portals that you can pass through to solve puzzles, which I explained above. Valve did add new toys to play with through out the game to help solve the almost never ending puzzles. These new toys or objects are: Lasers, Gravity Beams, Light Beams (that allow you to walk on like a bridge of sorts), Jump Pedestals, and Gel. There are three types of Gel; Blue Gel which allows you to jump high if you jump on it, Red Gel which allows you to speed up as you run across it, and White Gel which allows you to force a surfice to produce portals once covered. These new objects allow for more variety in the puzzles you face and more challenging puzzles to solve. But even if the challenge rating went up a little, Valve still did a great job on making sure all the puzzles still had a solution that wasn't extremely hard. With my play through in the singleplayer I came across a few puzzles that I had to scratch my head at, but with time I was able to figure it out with ease. The new additions and characters to Portal 2 really makes the gameplay enjoyable and fun.

To add more icing to the cake, Valve added a Co-Op multiplayer to Portal 2. The Co-Op offers a separate story line from the singleplayer and is about the same in length as well. Unfortunately I have yet to play it...none of my friends have the game and a human player is required for the Co-Op missions. So I can't say much about it other then I have heard the Co-Op is worth it on it's own.

Portal 2 has to be one of the best games I have played thus far in 2011. It has easily blown away anything that has come out thus far. With a longer singleplayer then the first, added Co-Op missions, and top notch writing, Portal 2 is my first pick for Game of the Year in 2011.

I give Portal 2 a 5 out of 5, just go buy it and play it already. :-D

0 = Total Garbage (Don't waste your time)
1 = Crap (Maybe rent, maybe not)
2 = Ok (Rental only)
3 = Good (Buy it, rent if low on cash)
4 = Great (Buy this game)
5 = Amazing (Don't even think about it, just get it)

Another Call of Duty: Enough Already

2011-05-26T10:36:00.006-04:00

Anyone who is anyone could have predicted that Activision will be putting out yet another Call of Duty this year. I am really getting tired of this franchise. The yearly releases is forcing the franchise to produce no innovation. I loved the first two but after them Call of Duty hasn't changed at all. Activision is quickly becoming a publisher I don't want to buy from because of their lust for cash and copy & pasting Call of Duty every year. They already killed Tony Hawk games I use to love to play, they destroyed Ravensoft (who use to be a bad ass developer), and they ran Guitar Hero into the ground (not that I ever cared to play GH).

When Activision made the announcement of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 I saw forums exploded with people say they are not going to buy it and support Battlefield 3. Of course you got your fans of the franchise praising MW3 and hating BF3. I always find it interesting reading about these love/hate wars that happen on the Internet. Normally I wouldn't speak up about it and just let those who love it get sucked into Activision's black hole of death. But I have to say something now. This is because Call of Duty is causing other publishers to make their games Call of Dutyized. And what I mean by that is the fact that they are changing their games to suit the sheep that buy the yearly releases of the crap that has become Call of Duty. Publishers have Call of Dutyized some of my favorite franchises because they are trying to get a piece of the pie. Adding multiplayer to Bioshock 2 and Dead Space 2 was a huge mistake. No one played them, or even cared about the multiplayer part 2 weeks after release. To me it was a waste of resources that could have been focused on the singleplayer. Luckily for Dead Space 2, the singleplayer was still good but you can tell that adding multiplayer to the game put resources elsewhere. Another game that got Call of Dutyized was Dragon Age 2. I liked the combat, but the RPG felt like garbage and watered down. You can tell it was made for another audience, the Call of Duty crowd.

This type of thing happened before in the MMO genre. Everyone is trying to be a clone of World of Warcraft and because of that that it destroyed my all time favorite MMO, Star Wars Galaxies. Unless the beast that is Call of Duty is brought down I have fear it will spread into my beloved franchises. Call of Duty needs to die and I am really hoping this is the year it will be brought down. I really don't want to look forward to a game only to find out it was revamped by the publisher because they wanted to change it for the Call of Duty crowd.

I know for sure I will not be purchasing Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3. I already took a chance on Black Ops last year and I have seen that the franchise hasn't changed at all. Here's to hoping that the franchise begins it's down fall this year and is dead by 2012. Die Call of Duty, just die already....

Summer is coming....Game releases lessen

2011-05-25T12:53:00.003-04:00

Everyone knows the biggest time of the year for video games is the holidays. So what does that mean for the upcoming summer? I my self have noticed that the game releases have lessened since summer is coming up. The only games I really care about that are coming out during the summer are only a few, but they seem promising to me. Duke Nukem Forever is one, Dungeon Siege III is another, but I am getting very excited for the release of Deus Ex 3 (looks promising). Other then those three, there really is not much more releasing this summer.

Till then I have been enjoying L.A. Noire on the Xbox360. Rockstar has done a good job with this game and it is very addictive. I only played about 2 hours of it so far, and it is a little slow on the pacing, but it is a game worth not passing up. When I am done, I plan to have a full review of the game posted up on my blog. I also want to dedicate a full review for Portal 2. Another fine game worth checking out if this summer seems boring to you. I also picked up Darkspore, it is fun but haven't been that impressed by it yet.

The Fall is filled with amazing games this time around, but I am looking forward to the summer. It provides me time to catch up on games I haven't finished or played yet. Bring on the HEAT.....

Game Mini Review

2011-04-18T16:26:00.008-04:00

Like I said, I was going to post mini reviews of games I played recently in the last month or so. The three games I play and beat in the last month or more are: Bulletstorm, Crysis 2, and Hot Springs Story.

First up is Bulletstorm that came out back in February 2011. I enjoyed this game and it's unique style of scoring you on how you kill enemies in the game. Whether it is sticking them on a wall or shooting them in the nutz, you get points on many different ways of ending your foes life. These points then can be used to buy more ammo and upgrade the 10 or so weapons in the game. My favorite being the pistol that shot little rockets. Shooting a foe in the ass with this rocket was funny to watch. Bulletstorm was unique to me and I enjoyed the singleplayer very much. But it wasn't perfect....sometimes it was just easier to kill your foes the same way then try the many different options. This kind of made the game a bit repetitive. Along with the lacking multiplayer and the ending setting up for a sequel, Bulletstorm didn't blow me away. But it is worth a shot. I applaud the developers for trying something new instead of making another CoD clone. I give Bulletstorm a 3 out of 5 for really trying something new but not quite hitting the mark.

Hot Springs Story: This game is from the makers of Game Dev Story, one of my favorite games on the Iphone thus far. This time instead of making a game company, you are tasked with making the greatest Hot Springs Inn in Japan. This game can get addictive like GDS was, but it also has more depth. Compared to GDS, Hot Springs Story has more to do while you build the best Inn through out Japan. While your guests are enjoying them selves, you can go off and build onto your Inn or add more decorations that will make your guests happy. You can add restaurants and spas or even an arcade room. What ever it is your guests want, you will get the chance to build and make them happy. Because making them happy means they will vote for you in a publication that ranks the best Inns through out Japan. It is a neat way to keep you striving for the best Inn in the country. For me I didn't get as addicted to Hot Springs Story as I did Game Dev Story, but that doesn't mean this game stinks any less. I just prefer the game development simulation over Hot Springs. It is worth a shot trying this game out whether you liked Game Dev Story or not(Lite version is free on Itunes). I give Hot Springs Story a 4.5 out of 5 because it is still a fine game on the Iphone even though it wasn't my cup of tea like Game Dev Story was.

Crysis 2 came out last month (March 2011) and I beat it rather fast. It takes place three years after the first game, and you play as a new hero called Alcatraz. One of the issues I had with this game is some of the plot holes it had in the story. Not once did they reference the first game, and nothing is said about what happened to Nomad (the hero from the first game or Psycho from the expansion). The aliens look different as well and there is no reason on why they are different in the sequel. When playing I was confused for the beginning of the game because I was hoping for answers. The one character who makes an appearance is Prophet and plays a major role in the game. Other then that I feel Crysis 2 was more of a stand alone game then a sequel. The gameplay is similar from the first but they adjust a few things. Like Jumping high or anything that deals with strength is automatic now instead of choosing from an option like the first. Speed doesn't drain as fast and is now set to a button instead of an option wheel. Cloak is also set as a button and armor is now a choice to turn on or off unlike the first which was on by default. These are some of the differences and I like it a lot better then before. It makes it easier to figure out what you need in a situation instead of trying to fumble with an option wheel. They did add options to upgrade your suit, but I never saw the benefits and half the time I forgot to even buy them. To me they felt useless and was just another ploy to feel like they upgraded the game. Another thing that annoyed me with Crysis 2 was the graphics. You look up at the builds and it looks awesome, almost like you are in New York City, but then you look down and the ground looks like crap. Kind of half-assed if you ask me. The water looks like crap too, something I thought was amazing in Crysis and the sequel looks worse. Don't get me wrong, Crysis 2 does look pretty, but it also looks like it was built for a console and not the PC. As much as I liked the game, I was not impressed with the sequel and thus I have to give it a 3 out of 5. Should have converted PC to console, not console to PC. Shame on you Crytek.

0 = Total Garbage (Don't waste your time)
1 = Crap (Maybe rent, maybe not)
2 = Ok (Rental only)
3 = Good (Buy it, rent if low on cash)
4 = Great (Buy this game)
5 = Amazing (Don't even think about it, just get it)

Haven't Posted In A While....

2011-04-15T12:21:00.003-04:00

It has been almost a month since my last post. I kind of got burnt out trying to come up with things to post about. I got stuck in this review every game I play mode, and that really did me in. For now on I plan to do a group of mini reviews about the games I played and beat during a month. I am not a game news site, so I shouldn't have gotten so worked up about reviewing the games that just came out. This is not a job, it is for fun and I lost track of that.

As a mini update on the games I have been playing. For a while now I got on this kick to play Borderlands on the PC. A friend of mine and my self have been playing this almost every weekend. When I am not playing with him I have found my self re-addicted to Borderlands. I don't know what it is about this game but I can't stop playing it. Though, this coming Tuesday I will put it aside for Portal 2 that is coming out April 19. I loved the first one, and the sequel is looking very good. I am also very interested in the co-op mode. I just need to find someone to play with me.

I haven't touched my Xbox360 in more then a month now, besides watching netflix or movies from Zune on it. Now that my cousin has given up on Xbox360, I have been playing StarCraft 2 with him since he replaced his Xbox for a PC. The PC makes it a bit harder to find games we can play, but really I can't complain all that much. Skype helps with the communication and joining games are pretty easy for the PC these days. I do plan on firing up my Xbox360 soon, Mortal Kombat is coming out and I want it.

On DC Universe Online, well that ended quickly for me. Good idea, but it felt like it wasn't finished. My cousin decided to stop playing and that was the final nail in the coffin for me. Kind of disappointed that I can't find a good MMORPG to get into like Star Wars Galaxies and World of Warcraft (I still kind of play WOW but not that much). I am looking into a game that just came out called Rift. It looks interesting but I am still debating. What I worry the most is, will Rift be another WOW clone like so many before. When will someone take a chance and come up with something unique like Star Wars Galaxies was? Here's to BioWare, hoping The Old Republic can break the WOW Clone Mold.

My Gaming Update

2011-03-18T11:22:00.005-04:00

After I beat BulletStorm I have been on a PC Gaming crave. I bought Borderlands for the PC and FallOut: New Vegas. I got New Vegas for the Xbox360 when it first came it but I never played since then. I just don't like these types of games on consoles. I got sucked into the exclusive xbox thing (like achievements and DLC) that I missed out on getting the game on the PC. Playing Borderlands on the PC has brought life back to the game for me. Even though I beat it like a million times I never got through the DLC on Xbox360. So I decided to buy the Game of the Year version on PC and it has been a blast thus far.

It looks like the next few months I'll be playing a lot of games on my PC. The only game I plan on getting for the Xbox360 is Mortal Kombat. I think I am done with my Xbox360 for a long while. I am a PC gamer at heart, I don't know why I let the console world sucker me into getting games I should have gotten on the PC on a console instead.

My cousin got me into playing DC Universe Online. I just got into the game, but I plan on posting a blog entry about it very soon. I'll also have an update on my WOW character. It feels like 2011 is the year of PC gaming for me. Kind of glad a few of my friends decided to get new computers because I don't see them on Xbox that much anymore.

Well that is my gaming update, been playing loads of Borderlands and FallOut: New Vegas on the PC along with WOW and DC Online. I'll have a full review of BulletStorm very soon I just want to get a little more time with Multiplayer.

Dragon Age II Is Out

2011-03-09T12:00:00.003-05:00

I was a big fan of the first Dragon Age (Dragon Age: Origins). I really got into it until I got to the dwarf section of the game. That part was so boring I couldn't continue no matter how much I tried. I ended up never finishing the game cause of it.

Now Dragon Age II is out and I have been fighting a battle within me. That battle is the decision to get the game or not. I ended up playing the demo on Steam and found out that in Dragon Age II you can't choose your race. You are stuck playing a human and you have no choice in the matter. This was not a deal breaker for me but it made the sequel look less epic. I got an understanding of how DA2 was going to play, so after the demo I decided to wait until the reviews came. I read that DA2 is not the best that Bioware has done, in fact they say the game seemed rushed. Which I couldn't argue, it was only a year since the first one. Then I read a bunch of reader reviews talking about how they dumbed down the game to be more linear and fast spaced. I was really hoping for an epic sequel here but with only a year of development time I could see how the sequel came in under par.

I did like the demo and the gameplay, but I am going to wait on this one. I don't plan on picking up Dragon Age II until maybe the summer. There are to many other games I'd like to play through and purchase instead of dropping $60 on a below par sequel to an awesome PC RPG. Looks like I'll be skipping this one....sorry Bioware, better luck next time.

Hot Springs Story Released On iTunes

2011-02-28T13:06:00.007-05:00

It seems Kairosoft, the Japanese company behind the Game Dev Story that I did a review about last month, released another game on the US iTunes store over the weekend. This time the game is about managing your own Japanese Hot Spring Inn. I became and instant fan with Game Dev Story so I have no doubt this game will be just as addicting.

I just downloaded it so I don't have any comments yet, but I will post an update once I get a good amount of hours into the game on my iPhone. Lets hope that if Hot Springs Story does very well we will see either a sequel to Game Dev Story or The Game Dealer released on the US iTunes store this year.

Hot Springs Story - available on iTunes for $3.99

Dead Space 2 Review

2011-02-21T11:19:00.014-05:00

Over the weekend I finally beat Dead Space 2 for Xbox360. It was a thrilling journey that kept me on my toes till the last 2 hours of the game. The entire journey was worth it though. Dead Space 2 had a good story and kept a lot of the original formulas that made Dead Space an awesome game. Visceral Games did a great job and definitely redeemed them selves from the disaster that was Dante's Inferno.

Dead Space 2 takes place three years after the events of Dead Space and once again you take on the role of former CEC engineer Isaac Clarke. If you haven't played Dead Space or need a refresher with the story from the first. Dead Space 2 provides a quick reminder about how things started from the first game. The one major change in the sequel is the fact that now Isaac Clarke has a voice and personality in Dead Space 2. This is one thing I really liked, because I don't know how much longer they could have continued the franchise with a non-speaking protagonist. The story is focused heavily on Isaac, as in this adventure it is more personal then anything else. You get to see how the first events really screwed him up, and now those events are literately killing him. Visceral Games does a good job showing Isaac's struggle in Dead Space 2.

Dead Space 2 starts off with Isaac waking up on the Sprawl which is a densely populated metropolis on Titan, one of the moon's of Saturn. It is currently three years after the hell that happened on the USG Ishimura where Isaac survived the first game. But he can't remember a damn thing that has happened during those three years. If you think about it, the last thing he does remember is surviving the Ishimura then waking up on the nightmare that has started on Sprawl. This guy never gets a break, I can see why he is going crazy. So right from the time Isaac wakes up the action begins and doesn't let up till the end. The one issue I had with the story is they never tell you why they rebuilt the marker and what happened during those three years Isaac lost. Very little is said about that it through out the game. Why are they repeating history? The marker is the reason for the hell that broke loose on the USG Ishimura, why rebuild it? This is the one thing they never answer in Dead Space 2. I guess they are leaving those questions for later sequels. So, you find out yet another marker has been made and yet again it is creating the Necromorphs that is causing havoc across Titan. Isaac then is tasked to destroy the marker and this is your mission till the very end. A lot more does go on with the story but I rather not spoil it for those who haven't played it yet.

Dead Space 2 plays a lot like Dead Space. There really is not much of a difference in game play except they give you more weapons and different suits along with thrusters in Zero-G. Dead Space 2 was built to be more action based then the original. Visceral Games took out a lot of the puzzle solving in Dead Space 2 and replaced them with quicker to solve puzzles to keep the action moving. This is what EA meant when they were going to make the sequel more action based. Luckily, this really doesn't hurt the game all that much and keeps a lot of the scare factor in the game play, but they do use a lot of the same events that scared me in the first game. Dead Space 2 is scary, but not as much as the first one.

When it comes to graphics, Visceral Games improved them in the sequel. Everything looks a lot more life like and the detail of gore and blood is done very well. The environments have been improved as well. Dead Space 2 does have a lot more open space areas then the first and the game spreads out on 2 discs. So I am very pleased with how the game looks in the sequel. Thank you Visceral Games for not just making a sequel where there are no improvements in the graphical department.

Dead Space 2 does have one thing that I thought was annoying, Multiplayer. Why does EA think that Multiplayer is going to sell more is beyond me. People bought the first game for the Singleplayer not Multiplayer. So I think this was a waste of time to tack on Multiplayer when that time could have gone into the Singleplayer. I will just never understand why publishers force developers to slap on Multiplayer. I doubt anyone is still playing Multiplayer in Dead Space 2. I never cared about the Multiplayer that I didn't even put in the key for the online pass that EA forces you to do if you want to play Dead Space 2 online. If you get this game used, don't even bother buying an online pass. This game shines in the Singleplayer and that is all that needs to be played here. Ohh and there is no Co-Op either, another reason not to play Dead Space 2 online.

Dead Space 2 was a hell of a way to start off 2011. I was very pleased and happy to play through this game. Visceral Games did a great job with bringing a sequel to a surprise hit in 2008. I can't wait to continue Isaac's journey in the coming sequels. I just hope they don't waste time on Multiplayer, unless it is Co-Op which would really be the next step for this franchise.

All around I give Dead Space 2 a 4.5 out of 5 because there are some issues with the story that could have been addressed if they didn't have to waste time on a tacked on Multiplayer.

0 = Total Garbage (Don't waste your time)
1 = Crap (Maybe rent, maybe not)
2 = Ok (Rental only)
3 = Good (Buy it, rent if low on cash)
4 = Great (Buy this game)
5 = Amazing (Don't even think about it, just get it)

Buy Dead Space 2 For Xbox360
Buy Dead Space 2 For PC
Buy Dead Space 2 For PS3

WoW, I Am Back!!!

2011-02-14T11:41:00.012-05:00

I know I have said it many times before that I would never return to World of Warcraft, but here I am once again signing my life away to Blizzard. Well I didn't just start today, I got back into WoW a little over a month and a half ago. Reason being, the new expansion that came out December 7th 2010.

Anyone who has ever asked me why I quit or if I will ever come back to WoW would get the same answer from me. "NO! Because I found WoW to be boring and I am done forever." This would be my standard answer about the game in the past. This was true until I started to read about all the changes in World of Warcraft. The latest changes have been major, and all this is due to the expansion that released recently called Cataclysm. I don't know much about the back story for this expansion other then a huge dragon called Deathwing is causing all kinds of havoc for Azeroth. Because of Deathwing everything has completely changed in WoW. This expansion was Blizzard's excuse to do a major over-haul of the game. Which, as far as I am concerned, WoW really needed.

Since the beginning, when World of Warcraft launched, the world of Azeroth felt boring to me. Nothing was going on, it felt stale and uneventful. There was no life to the world, it felt like a grind to get through the quests. There was no substance to the quests, most of them where just go kill this and gather me that. That has changed as of Cataclysm. The landscape has changed and so has the quests. Blizzard has made WoW interesting again. The quests have meaning, goals, and an outcome that is worth reaching for. You can see what you have done in the after life of your quests. The world of Azeroth finally has life to it, and it looks and feels like a real world.

This is the major reason why I came back. Finally the quests feel worthily of completing and I feel like I am reaching a goal (not just leveling my character). I guess all along this is what I was truly after in WoW. Story and seeing what my work has done to the world of Azeroth. There have been plenty of other major changes that Blizzard has done to the game. They re-did the talent trees so that you have to choose which tree you want to specialize in and stick to it before you can put points in another tree. But the main reason for my return is because of the major overhaul to the quests and the landscape. Blizzard has done a great job making WoW feel fresh, new, and story driven.

I still have not reached beyond level 60 yet, but I think this time I may finally reach level 85 with at least one of my characters. I want to experience everything I have missed in the expansions and take a new character from begining to end with all the changes to the landscape and quests. I haven't gotten bored yet, and I am gaining a bit of a craving to return to World of Warcraft just to see what will happen next.

New Game On The Horizon

2011-02-03T09:39:00.004-05:00

The other day I downloaded the demo for BulletStorm on Xbox360. Now, I haven't followed this game at all, I knew nothing about it. The only thing I knew was that it was produced by Epic Games (the guys behind Gears of War and Unreal Tournament). The demo is very short but it is very fun and I felt the need to play it again and again. It was really cool and I enjoyed the game play.

The demo for BulletStorm was only one map and you can beat it in almost 3 minutes if you rush through the level. My average time was about 5 to 7 minutes. But the best part was the different ways you can kill the enemies. You can kick them up in the air and shoot them while they are slowed down. You can blow them up or pull the environment on top of enemies. The list goes on....the point of this is to kill with skill as they call it and collect points for the best kills. It was different and interesting and I fell in love with the game. The demo got me to want to buy it when it releases Feb 22, 2011.

It has been a very very long time since a demo has convinced me to buy a game. 9 times out of 10 I pretty much know what games I am going to buy before they are out, and I only check out demos to make sure I really want to get the game I am looking forward to. Well the BulletStorm demo got me hooked and I can't wait to pick up this game at the end of the month. If you haven't checked out the demo, you really should. Download the demo on the PlayStation network or Xbox Live. Who knows you may be convinced like I was.....

www.bulletstorm.com