Lord Moon: Resident Gaming Addict

New Digs, Same Reviews

2010-06-11T11:23:00.000-07:00

So those of you who read this blog may be wondering, "What happend? It's been 2 weeks and no review."

Well some new developments have happened. I am now writing my reviews for Northwest Cable News.

So you can head over to their site and check me out. Here's the link to the latest review:

Reviews of Blur, Split Second, and ModNation Racers

Lost Planet 2

2010-05-20T03:28:00.000-07:00

This week I've been invited to "KILL BIG" in Lost Planet 2. Bigger Akrids, Civil War, and Vital Suits, Oh My! Let's go harvest some T-ENG.

Story

Set 10 years after the events of the first game, E.D.N. III has undergone some changes. It's no longer a huge frozen planet. Sections of the planet have become lush jungles and huge deserts. One thing that remains constant though is the need for T-ENG, the substance that powers practically everything and helps keep players alive. Also some of the akrid have grown substantially larger. The planet is undergoing a civil war of sorts as different factions vie for control. As you play through the main campain you will switch between characters in these factions.

You start off as a member of the Snow Pirates invading a Jungle Pirates mining base. You'll also play as members of NEVEC, Waysiders, Vagabundo, and some ex-NEVEC commandos. The overall story is told through their eyes which makes the story a bit disjointed and hard to follow. At points you wonder what the heck is going on? Towards the end it finally comes together in a we-have-to-tie-it-all-together kind of way, but by then you've just given up on the story and are along for the ride, and what a ride. You'll battle other factions and akrid, some of which are so huge you have to be swallowed by it to defeat it from the inside by shooting up it's internal organs.

Controls

While not bad they weren't great. Some buttons had multiple uses which made a little confusion at times. The B button (Circle for PS3 owners) became sort of a catch-all button with running, melee, and data point/vital suit activation all being mapped to it. Overall the control was fine, it just took some getting used to it.

Gameplay

The gameplay is your basic third person shooter, shoot everything that moves. Lost Planet 2 though really weighs heavily towards 4 player co-op. So much so that by default if you want to play the campaign it will try to drop you into an game online, if you are not connected online it will try system link. If you want to play by yourself you have to go into the settings and set it to offline. Even then you still get 3 AI players that follow you around. They're not exactly the brightest AI, but they aren't the worst. They do sometimes fight smart enough not to get killed. You do have the option to play with a friend split screen also.

One problem with the co-op, no jump-in. If you have a friend that wants to join you they have to wait for you to finish your mission (missions are several chapters long). Also your friend has to have played as far into the game as you have, no joining missions they haven't played through yet.

Even so if you have 3 friends that have the game also, the co-op campaign is solid and works best when all slots are filled with humans.

The one thing this game did pretty well is the online multiplayer. Capcom took the civil war from the storyline and applied it to this. Each faction is battling for control of the planet. When you jump into the multiplayer you can choose which faction you are fighting for. As the factions win battles stats are kept to show who's the winning-est faction.

Graphics and Sound

The graphics are really beautiful. In some cases if enemies weren't trying to kill you or akrid trying to bite your head off you might even enjoy the view. The art style for the various factions really reminded me of the the artwork of Moebius, because while their outfits didn't look functional, the did look cool. The soundtrack was very good and so was the voice acting.

Overall

While my basic rule of "did I have fun" applies here, the game did have it's annoyances. The biggest is the game leaning hard on the co-op play. The game does not scale to whether you are playing by yourself or not. I have nothing against playing co-op, but it would be nice if the game scaled itself to the number of players. There was a boss battle I played by myself that I would get killed over and over. I finally got some serious luck to get past, but damn it was hard.

Borderlands and Crackdown are both game I feel show how a game can scale well. Replacing human players with AI does not cut it. I have yet to play a game where they do. Yet neither of those game try to fill out a party with useless AI players and they play and scale well, whatever the party size. I have to give a big thanks and shout to BBboy20, Da Slayer45, lazyboy71, wanderingsolder, and RaspyClock for helping me play though the campaign.

One other problem, and this might be more to other people than me is a possibly offensive ethnic stereotype. Remember the old western movies that had the Mexican bandits that were not quite the brightest, half-drunk on tequila and where played for comedic relief? Well they are the Vagabundo faction here. In fact you play a whole mission as them. Now I did enjoy the comedy this brought to the story, but I know someone somewhere is going to get a politically correct and seriously offended. I say this because it wasn't just a couple of them that were stereotypical, the whole group was. To the point of at one point I wondered how they all survived long enough to get this far.

I did though overall have fun. I mean really, how many games do you get to play where you have to be swallowed by a giant monster to defeat it? Lost Planet 2 gets a 4 out of 5.

Lost Planet 2 is rated T for Teen for Animated Blood, Language, Suggestive Themes, Violence

Also they have some really cool unlockable skins.

Alan Wake

2010-05-13T02:57:00.000-07:00

This week I go looking for things that go bump in the night with Alan Wake. The game was in development for what seemed like forever, almost becoming the next Duke Nukem Forever. Well I have it and I've played it, it is real. So grab a spot around the campfire, it's spooky story time.

Story

Alan Wake is a best selling author, but for the last few years he's had writers block. His wife, Alice, thinking a change of scenery may snap him out of it, suggests a vacation. So they leave the big city for a vacation in the Pacific Northwest town of Bright Falls, Washington. Once there Alan gets the keys to the rental cabin from a mysterious lady dressed in a black funeral dress.

Once at the cabin Alice reveals the real reason she chose Bright Falls was because a doctor there specializes in helping artists with creative blocks. Furious Alan storms out of the cabin. Moments later Alice screams and Alan races back to the cabin. Unable to find her he sees the back porch railing broken. Thinking she may have fallen into the lake he dives in...

...only to wake up behind the wheel of a crashed car. Making his way out of the wreck he spots the lights of a distant gas station. He starts making his way though the dark night-time forest to the gas station to call for help when something makes a noise.

I will not reveal any more. Suffice to say Alan finds himself in a nightmare that literally is of his own making. All the while making the hairs stand up on the back of your neck.

Controls

The controls were pretty tight and good for this third person game. The only questionable control was the dodge and run on the same button, but really that wasn't a problem. Trust me when I say if you want to dodge in this game you want to run right after. Targeting was kind of loose in that you can't precisely aim, but are generally in the right spot when shooting. Meaning where the flashlight is pointed is the direction you are going to shoot, still it's not terrible enough to hurt the game.

Gameplay

The game is basically a third person action game with a horror overtone. The general driving element is to find your wife. Along the way you either fight, or if out of ammo, run from possessed people or objects. Thing is you never know when or where they are coming from and they will sneak up on you.

Graphics and Sound

Graphics are really good. The only fault I can give them is that the facial animation is a bit out of sync when characters talk, so they are a bit like ventriloquist dummies. Still though it's really good. Developers Remedy Entertainment really wanted to get the feel of the Pacific Northwest and took thousands of photos of Diablo Dam in Washington, Crater Lake National Park in Oregon and many other places in Washington and Oregon. When the game is set during the day you really notice this touch.

The voice acting is really good too. Each person fits their character like a glove. The music also sets the mood too, like a combination of Twilight Zone and Twin Peaks. And while I have been asked not to reveal the songs in the soundtrack, I have to say whoever picked out these songs, thumbs up. They are great songs and fit the mood and theme of the game.

Overall

To be honest this wasn't a game I had any real interest in. Now that I've played it I really can't wait to see what Remedy Entertainment have up their sleeves next. I like a good suspenseful horror tale and this game did not disappoint. Chills up my spine, hair standing on end, pick a cliche and I felt it. One of the things you find throughout the game is pages of manuscript that Alan wrote, but does not remember writing. What is significant is that these pages are coming true as you play the game. So in some cases even though you have been told what's coming it's still a surprise or scare when it happens.

Some of the storytelling touches I really liked. Such as each chapter after the first starting like it was the next episode in a TV show. "Previously on Alan Wake," and they would give you a summary of events in the previous chapter.

I'm glad Microsoft let Remedy take their time to put this game together and not rushed them to get it out. It may have been delayed, but the game, the story, everything shows that they really worked hard at making a phenomenal experience. This game really raises the bar on almost all fronts, much like Heavy Rain. I think between the two games Remedy and Quantic Dream have both shown that there is a lot more that can be done with games.

So Alan Wake gets the 5 out of 5. If you really like a good solid game and Stephen King-esque horror then pick up Alan Wake. Simply put, one of the best games I've played.

Really the only thing I can really say bad about this game besides the facial animation is the product placement. Ford, Microsoft Sync, and Energizer batteries get some pretty obvious plugs. On the other hand I'm a bit surprised Energizer went with it. As quickly as the batteries die in game you'd think they were the worst batteries to get. Still if I have to have some product placement to get a game of this level of quality then bring it.

Alan Wake is rated T for Teen for Blood, Language, Use of Alcohol and Tobacco, Violence

Stitch Jam

2010-05-06T01:18:00.000-07:00

This week I'm reviewing something for the kids, Disney's Stitch Jam for the Nintendo DS. So how does a space alien experimental critter play music? Carefully.

Story

The storyline is Stitch is going to take his girlfriend, Angel, on a date. Trouble starts though when Dr. Hamsterviel kidnaps her. Seems Angel's singing voice has the power to turn good people into evil people.

So Stitch quests across the globe and galaxy to save her and stop Dr. Hamsterivel's plot to control the universe.

Controls

There are two control methods and both are very simple. One is using the stylus to tap or slide in the proper direction on the notes as Stitch passes them. The other is using the buttons and D-pad. Press the proper button or direction on the D-pad when Stitch passes the notes. Easy to learn, hard to master.

Gameplay

The gameplay is all about timing and rhythm. The music that plays in the game is almost like a "call and response." As Stitch moves across the screen the music will play. When he gets close to a note you do the proper move (tap, slide, etc.) and a complementary piece will play. The more correct notes you play the bigger your combo will be and better score. Do the wrong move, hit it too early or late and "error" sound plays and Stitch takes a hit. Too many hits and the game is over. Again pretty simple, but hard to master. As you play though the game you can unlock costumes for Stitch and costume parts for your avatar at D Gamer, Disney's online social community for Disney Gamers.

Graphics and Sound

The graphics are very colorful and cartoon which they should be for this game. The music is catchy and fun. Pretty much what you would expect from Disney.

Overall

You may have picked up some of my hints, the game is easy to learn, but hard to master. I'd like to think I have some rhythm, I sang in high school choir and I'm decent at Guitar Hero/Rock Band. This game though put me in my place. I tried playing through at first with the stylus. It really didn't work for me. Holding the stylus over the screen in anticipation of whatever the move may be kind of blocked my view of the action. I did much better with the button controls. Then it became much easier for me, but even then my timing wasn't always right.

Really though I could have mastered the buttons or the stylus it would not have mattered. The biggest drawback of the game was repetition. The gameplay was very repetitive. Each level you did the same thing, did the right move as Stitch got to it. I was bored by level 3 and the levels are short. Granted now I'm not the target age group, but given the attention level most kids have and I don't see them interested long either.

I asked a friend to play through the game also. She felt the same about it overall and was concerned that Dr. Hamsterivel is using words that might be over the heads of most children, when the rest of the cast spoke in fairly simple terms. To me that just makes Dr. Hamsterivel more "evil."

There is a co-op mode where 2 people can play through the missions together. There is also access to Disney's D Gamer via WiFi. This is basically a social chat room of sorts for Disney fans to communicate back and forth. As I mentioned before you can unlock things such as shirts, hats, etc for your D Gamer avatar.

Overall this game is really for Disney or Lilo and Stitch fans, maybe even kids that really like music games. It's cute and fun at first, but fades quickly. I give it a 3 out of 5.

Disney's Stitch Jam is Rated E for Everyone with Comic Mischief cited as the only content concern.

Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Conviction

2010-04-21T03:42:00.000-07:00

Sam Fisher is back, and he's pissed off. This week I jump into Splinter Cell: Conviction from Ubisoft. Been a long time since the last Splinter Cell, will the new one live up to the legacy?

Story

Sam has left Third Echelon, the covert-ops agency he had worked for and has become a rogue agent. He's gone to investigate a rumor that his daughter's death in the third installment, Chaos Theory, was no accident. The rumor brings him to Malta. While confronting the man responsible for his daughters death he is captured by Third Echelon. His former handler, Anna "Grim" Grimsdottir, informs him that a conspiracy involving him, his daughter, Third Echelon, and a threat to Washington D.C. involving stolen EMP weapons. She sets him free to act as an independent agent with her providing support. In a way she is forcing him back into his old job.
As the story moves along it wobbles a bit back and forth through time. All of these flesh out Sam more and give him some humanity. In one Sam helps his very young daughter overcome her fear of the dark. In another the basis of his relationship with Victor Coste is explained. The story twists and turns and keeps you guessing.
Certain plot points I'm avoiding so as not to spoil them.

Additionally there is a co-op mission. Set up as prologue to Sam's story, it tells how the EMP weapons come into the possession of the enemies. It follows two agents, Archer, an American agent of the Third Echelon, and Kestrel, a Russian agent of Voron, the Russian version of Third Echelon.

Controls

The controls were pretty easy to pick up for anyone familiar with third-person shooters and very tight. I didn't encounter any problems. The really nice addition to the control scheme is the "mark and execute" system. The "mark and execute" system allows you to quickly take out multiple foes. You simply mark each enemy within range (the number of marks depends on the weapon) and then hit "Y" and Sam takes them out quickly and effectively with a single cinematic shot to each one. While it would be tempting to use it for every encounter Ubisoft wisely balanced it with the fact you have to take down an enemy hand to hand first to make it active. Even so I found myself rarely using it until late in the game. Most of the time I tried to take out enemies quietly one at a time, hand to hand. This is a stealth action game after all.

Gameplay

In addition to the "mark and execute" system a couple other gameplay elements are added to the game. Instead of a shadow meter now the whole screen lets you know when Sam is hidden in the shadows. When Sam is completely hidden the game goes black and white, and when he's not it's in color. I really like this because it let you know while you kept your eyes on the action on screen. The other useful added gameplay element was the "last know location." If you were spotted, but then were able to hide again, your last know position would be displayed as sort of a shadowy outline of Sam. This could be used to your advantage as enemies would focus on that location and you could sneak past or take out the enemies. Otherwise the game was pretty much your standard stealth action game and very well executed.

The co-op mission features drop in/drop out over Xbox Live or same system split-screen. The multiplayer also features different types of missions; Hunter (clear the level of everyone), Infiltration (automatic failure if you are detected), Last Stand (protect an EMP weapon from waves of enemies), and Face Off (take on another player head to head).

Graphics and Sound

Voice acting was top notch all around. Michael Ironside as the voice of Sam Fisher always rocks. Music did not interfere with the gameplay and helped set the mood.
Graphically the game looked good. Cut scenes moved well and in some cases blended seamlessly with the game, giving an almost film quality.

Overall

I have a slight bias here. I love stealth action games. The Splinter Cell and Metal Gear series' have both been the bar setting games that all other stealth action games seem to reach for. After realizing the slight stumble with Double Agent (and an almost disastrous change in style and possible story direction of the series for Conviction) Ubisoft has come back strong. The developers wanted to give Sam Fisher more action and less studying of patrol routes, give the game more of a James Bond/Jason Bourne action. Both of those characters could be stealthy and quickly take out multiple people. The "mark and execute" system and "last know position" went a long ways in moving the game to that style. In my opinion it falls more into the Jason Bourne style.
I also really liked the in-game projection of story telling elements. The mission goals and Sam's inner thoughts would be projected on walls in a way that didn't interfere that helped tell the story and move the action along without stopping everything.
Splinter Cell: Conviction brings a new life back to the series and really does it well. I'd say it's the best of the series. I really enjoyed playing through it. It gets a 5 out of 5.

Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Conviction is rated M for Mature for Blood, Drug Reference, Intense Violence, Sexual Themes, Strong Language.

Sony's MLB 10 The Show and 2KSports' Major League Baseball 2K10

2010-04-08T02:32:00.000-07:00

So we're back after some extended time off and were jumping into spring. The crack of the bat, the smell of garlic fries (well at Safeco Field at least). It's opening week of baseball and what better time to talk about baseball games. This week we look at 2 games. The PS3 exclusive MLB 10 The Show and the multi-system Major League Baseball 2K10 (MLB 2K10) from 2KSports.

PLAAAAYYY BALL!

Story

No real story to either game, it's a sports game after all, but they both do have a sort of story mode. Both games allow you to make your own player and bring them up through the ranks to fame fortune and maybe even the Hall of Fame. That's about it. You still have to make up your own story about him in your head as to what he does off the field.

MLB 10 The Show

MLB 2K10

Controls

While neither game has particularly hard controls, but they are a bit more complex than your average game. Pitching and hitting is where each differed the most.

MLB 10 The Show's pitching has you select the style of pitch, then a power bar comes up. Hit the "X" button and a meter goes up the bar, when it gets to the power you want hit the "X" button again and it starts to come down. Now you want to hit the "X" button again when the meter get to the "sweet spot," a mark in highlighted area of the bar. The closer you are to the mark the more perfect the pitch is. This doesn't even go into how to place the pitch.

MLB 2K10 on the other hand has you chose the pitch and then move the left thumbstick in a specific pattern to pitch the ball. As you start the pattern a black circle comes up with a small yellow circle growing inside of it. When both circles match size you want to finish the pattern. The closer you have the circles match size when you finish the pattern the more perfect your pitch is. Again this doesn't even go into pitch placement.

Overall in pitching I was better with MLB 2K10. In MLB 10 The Show I gave up 6 runs in the first inning, whereas in MLB 2K10 I held them to 0 runs, up to the 10th inning. That last statement also kind of reflects the batting.

In MLB 10 The Show it's basically push the "X" at the right time to hit the ball. You can improve your chances by guessing what the pitch is going to be and where in the "batting zone" it will be.

In MLB 2K10 you use the right thumbstick to swing the bat. Up for a connecting hit, down then up for a power hit, and left or right for left or right defensive hit. Again it's timing the swing for the right moment.

In this I was better at batting in MLB 10 The Show, I got quite a few base hits and even managed a home run. In MLB 2K10 not so much. Got a few base hits here and there, but mostly struck out.

Combine the pitching of MLB 2K10 and the batting of MLB 10 The Show and you have a perfect game for me.

MLB 10 The Show

MLB 2K10

Gameplay

It's baseball. To explain the gameplay would pretty much mean I'd have to drag out the rule book. Basics, hit ball, score runs, try to keep the other team from scoring. Any more explanation needed and I'm gonna have to take you to a game.

Graphics and Sound

Over all I'd say that both games have pretty good graphics. Most players sort of looked like their photos, though in MLB 10 The Show some players had creepy eyes. Speaking of photos MLB 2K10 did have a slight problem here, no up to date player photos. Ken Griffey Jr. has been back with the Mariners for almost 2 years, but they show him in his Cincinnati Reds uniform in his photo. Sloppy guys very sloppy. I understand the Marniers made a lot of trades in the off-season, but MLB 10 The Show was able to show all player pictures in proper uniforms, so no excuse.

Both games did have minor quirks. MLB 10 The Show players looked like they were walking about an inch off the ground at times. I know they wear spiked shoes, but those spikes do dig into the dirt. The pitcher's hand in MLB 2K10 would sometimes look like it was holding a ball, even though there was no ball.

Sound-wise both games sounded good, like I was watching the game on TV. MLB 2K10 even went the extra mile to fade to and up from black during side changes, like when they go to commercial on a real televised game.

MLB 10 The Show

MLB 2K10

Overall

Both games were fun and both games have their faults. Like I said, take the parts of both that worked for me and put them together and it will be a perfect game. The one biggest faults I think is a lack of a tutorial for either game. Sure there is practice in both, but neither walks you through how to play and practice, frankly, is boring. I wanna play the game. Causal gamers may want to think hard about getting these games as they are a little much and will you need to practice to be any good at winning against the computer, much less online. You may want to look into renting first, see if you can get into it. Both get 4 out of 5 because in the end I did have fun playing them and I do love baseball. Go Mariners!

*Note, when I first posted this review I mistakingly posted the wrong score of 4 out of 10. It is now been corrected to reflect my score method of out of 5*

Both games are rated E for Everyone.

MLB 10 The Show

MLB 2K10

God of War III

2010-03-18T08:04:00.000-07:00

After a week off we're back. Up for review this week is the epic final chapter of the God of War trilogy, God of War III. How epic is it? Pretty epic.

God of War III is rated M of Mature. There is lots of blood, guts and some nudity.

Story

The story picks up right where God of War II left off. Kratos, wanting vengeance, is leading the titans to war with the gods. Riding on the back of Gaia. His personal quest is to defeat and destroy Zeus for ruining everything in his life. That is simply it. Along the way he will encounter other gods and titans.

A simple story, but the telling of it in the game is well done in an epic scale.

Controls

God of War III's controls were easy to pick up and use. They are pretty much the same as the rest of the series. Reminders will pop up at certain points.

The one thing I hate is here though, fixed camera. Even so there were very few cheap deaths because of it. Everything is on the screen, nothing hidden off screen. No bad angles either. One initial death I blamed on the camera was actually more of problem of lighting. I had not properly adjusted the brightness at the beginning of the game, and they provide a handy meter to adjust it too.

The only control problem I really can complain about is the double-jump glide move. The controller didn't always recognize me holding the button at the end of the move, so I would end up falling to my death.

Gameplay

The gameplay is the same as it's been for the series. Third-person beat 'em up. Beat up the monsters, defeat the bosses, and throw in some quick time events. Not long ago I played through Dante's Inferno which had the same formula. The difference here is you don't get waves of similar beasts, broken up by the occasional puzzle. Here you get monsters that evolve and get tougher as you become more powerful. God of War III has a bit more of a challenge, more puzzles, and frankly a bigger scale. Epic scale. It never feels like you are slogging through the same thing over and over.

Graphics and Sound

Santa Monica Studios pulled out all the stops on this game. They really show with this game the PS3's potential.

The graphics are just phenomenal. There are no CGI cinematics per se. All cinematics were done with the game engine, with the games art assets and are either real-time or were pre-rendered. Which makes everything seamless. At no time did I notice any loading, there were no loading screens. This game was made for HD, it needs HD, it's a reason to get HD.

Sound is right on par with the graphics. Excellent voice acting from everyone. They even brought in some big names, Rip Torn, Malcom McDowell, even Kevin Sorbo, who played Hercules on TV. Naturally the have him voice Hercules. The soundtrack sounds like is was taken right from a movie with full orchestra.

Overall

From the opening credits you know this game was going to big and epic. They played almost like a James Bond opening. And then dropped you right into the action. Fighting creatures on the back of Gaia as she climbs Mount Olympus. Eventually you end up fighting all around and inside of her. Your first boss battle is during this also with Poseidon and his leviathans.

There is something going on almost all the time. If you aren't fighting, you are solving puzzles, sometimes both at the same time. With no load screens the only time you really got a break was when you paused the game. Problem is the story and action is so good you don't want to stop.

I may have used the word "epic" way to much in this review, but that is what best describes this game. It's epic.

Santa Monica Studios knocked this one out of the park. The showed all those God of War wannabes how it's done and done EPICALLY well. For the end of a trilogy, God of War II is very satisfying and a perfect ending.

God of War III gets a 5 out of 5.

God of War III is rated M for Mature for Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, Nudity, Strong Language, Strong Sexual Content.

Deca Sports 2 and Mario & Sonic at the Winter Olympic Games

2010-03-03T03:06:00.000-08:00

The Winter Olympics might be over, but you can still play the games. This week I'll be trying out Deca Sports 2 and Mario & Sonic at the Winter Olympics, both for the Nintendo Wii. Which one will take the gold?

Story

Neither game has a story. So we're done here....well if you want you make up your own story you can since both games allow for using your own characters. Mario and Sonic allows you to use your Mii, while Deca allows you to create your own team with their character builder.

Controls

While both games use different control schemes for each sport, Deca seemed to try to keep is controls closer to something you actually might be doing while doing the sport in real life. For example, since both games have speed skating I'll use that. In Mario & Sonic you use just the Wii-mote. Shaking it at the start of the race and then moving it side to side in time with a light flashing from your character's hands. In Deca you use the Wii-mote and the nunchuk. Moving both in time with meters on either side of your skater, mimicking their arm movements.

Both were easy to pick up, but I like Deca's closer to realism approach.

Gameplay

Both are basically mini-game collections. Mario & Sonic let you play each sport individually, all from opening to closing ceremonies, or within a party game setting. Deca also lets you play each sport individually, a League competition that includes all 10 sports, a Tournament where you knock out teams, or Challenge which is basically the party game setting also.

Both have Nintendo WiFi Connection, but Mario and Sonic only have it for leaderboards, no online play. On the other hand Deca has leaderboards too, but only 3 of it's games (tennis, hockey, and dodgeball) are playable online.

Both games had a reward system. In Deca you earn skill points. The skill points are a bit like a leveling system in that the more you have the harder your computer opponents will be. Mario & Sonic rewards you with Star Points which can be used to unlock music, outfits for your Miis, stickers for your equipment, and Winter Olympic history and trivia.

Graphics and Sound

Graphically overall both were fine, but Mario & Sonic looked better to me. It looked a bit crisper and cleaner. Deca looked a bit last gen art style-wise. While it's still a bit odd to hear Mario and Sonic sound coming from the same game it was all good. Deca's audio was good too.

Overall

Both games were very fun, and really you can't go wrong with either if you are looking for a good mini-game collection. Mario and Sonic is all about the winter games and includes 27 different games. Deca on the other hand has 10 games, but only 3 of them are winter games. I'd give both a 4 out of 5. Which you want really depends on what you're looking for. Mario & Sonic give you more games, but Deca has some games not found in any other collection. Both were simple to control and easy to pick up, but to me Deca was more realistic. Mario and Sonic has characters you know in love, Deca lets you create your own team.

Maybe you just get both.

Both games are rated E for Everyone. Mario & Sonic also noted Mild Cartoon Violence.

Dante's Inferno

2010-02-23T04:25:00.000-08:00

This week we are going to hell, and not in a handbasket. Dante's Inferno takes us to hell and back. Will hell be fun? Will we be able to do our literature report on the Divine Comedy? Well let's see.

Dante's Inferno is rated M for Mature, and for this game I can not stress that enough. This game pushes the mature factor in depicting hell.

Story

Dante's Inferno is loosely based on the first part of the Divine Comedy by Dante Alighieri. In the original version the poet Dante is in a dark wood chased by beasts and he is unable to find the right path. He finds the poet Virgil who helps him find his way, but the journey goes straight through the nine levels of hell.

This version is a bit different. In this one Dante is a knight from the Third Crusade, during which he faces and kills Death (that's how he gets the scythe). Weary from the war he returns home to find his father, Alighiero, and fiance, Beatrice, both killed. While morning over Beatrice's body her soul appears to Dante, only to be taken by Lucifer. This starts the quest for Dante to save Beatrice from hell. Along the way we learn as Dante passes through sections the sins he committed that have brought about this situation. You will also meet the ghost of Virgil, he will describe each level during your journey.

Controls

Well lets get the bad part out of the way. Controls for the most part are ok, but there are problems. Not only is Dante going into hell, but the player is going into gaming hell. Part of the problem is they went with a fixed camera, which understandably was done to help tell the story. Problem is it tends to ruin game play. I don't know how many times I died making blind jumps, bad angle jumps, or misjudged distance jumps, but it was a lot. Then there is enemies that are off screen, which wouldn't be bad if it was just them. When you're knee deep in a bunch of them on the other hand, well they can be down right deadly.

Not helping matters is the fact that the right thumbstick normally used for camera controls is now the "evade" stick. Now once you get used to the fact it's for evading it's fine. You move quickly in the direction you tilt the stick. The problem is getting used to it. I jumped to my death quite often trying to "spin the camera" so I can get a look at my surroundings.

Another problem with the controls is animation lag. You fire off a combo to beat on the enemy in front of you, which is great, until he decides to move. You then try to start a new move to counter what he's doing. Not always gonna happen. Some times it works, sometimes you're stuck watching Dante finish off his combo as a nasty demon moves round to the side to turn his face into goo.

The last problem is the controls sometimes don't realize you are doing something different. For example in one instance I'm climbing a crumbling tower. At one point I have to jump from one tower to another. First time worked fine. A little further up though I have to jump back. I make the jump, but now I want to continue climbing up, problem is the game seems to not realize I have the thumbstick pointed up. I'm moving side to side but not up and the tower falls taking me with it. The second try it seemed to figure everything out this time, but then again I paused after every jump, letting the thumbstick center itself before moving on.

Controls were not fun.

Gameplay

Dante's Inferno is a third person beat 'em up. If you've played God of War, then you'll be right at home here. Beat up bad guys, quick time event, rinse, repeat. While that might sound a bit repetitive, and really it is, it's not completely boring. They have a decent amount of bad guys, each with a different style of fighting them. The problem is after a while they don't really offer any new bad guys, just more of them. Wave after wave, just when you think you finished them, more pop up. The quick time event, if you aren't expecting them they will throw you off. Thankfully in most cases the ones while fighting a bad guy don't always kill you.

As you journey through hell take the time to see the sights. There are condemned souls to absolve or punish, depending on how you want to level up Dante. If you decide to punish it's quick and brutal. You get a set amount of souls and Unholy points. If you decide to absolve them you get a set amount of Holy points and it opens a mini-game where you "absolve each sin." With each successful sin absolved giving you bonus souls. The souls are used to buy various upgrades to Dante's combat repertoire. The Holy and Unholy skill trees have different abilities that can be unlock with X amount of souls that you get not only from condemned souls but from defeating bad guys, various pools, and occasionally from destroying parts of hell itself.

There are also relics to be found (some are Holy or Unholy), 30 pieces of silver, and 3 Beatrice stones for her cross that you carry and use for absolving. Find all three stones and you can bypass the mini-game, but you don't get any bonus souls either.

One curious thing about level layout was the Malebolge. Each Bolgia was a challenge level. It just seemed an odd placement to group together challenge levels all on one circle of hell. You'd think they would have laid it out with each circle of hell having it's own challenge level tailored to it's theme.

Graphics and Sound

Visually the game is a treat. Each level is tailored to it's theme. Lust has various....um....personal body parts subtlety used in it's construction.......OK some aren't so subtle. My inner 13 year old did sound off at a couple points. Not to mention the bad...girls of this level. Gluttony used a lot of guts and mouths for it's layout. The final boss was big fat thing with mouths. Greed used a lot of gold.

Sound was very good. The music never overpowered, and just right. The most present sound was the constant suffering for the damned. Mostly is was screaming and wailing, but if you stopped and listened you could hear people talking. Sometimes the talking was more noticeable, and sometime kind of humorous. For example while climbing down a wall of souls I suddenly heard, "Ow, you clawed out my eye, why, why?"

The voice acting was very good too. I wonder if they were going for a certain style. While Dante, Beatrice, Virgil especially, and others spoke almost prose-like, Lucifer spoke in a very modern style. I kind of liked it, giving Lucifer an interesting character. Almost smart-alecky in some parts.

Overall

I think this game could use a sub-title, Dante's Inferno: Cheap Death Hell. I lost track of the number of times I died from cheap deaths. The game went from fun to frustrating quickly. I like that EA took a huge chance, basing a game on a poem written over 700 years ago. Controls and cheap deaths aside I see a good story that's been well acted and placed in some great set pieces, but then it all falls apart when a jump gets misjudged multiple times. And having the game tell me I could set the difficulty lower after I've died dozens of times in the same spot, while a nice reminder, it does not do my ego any good.

Some things they can fix with an update if the choose to, such as the various control lags. Other things like the camera, the player is going to have to get used to. That was a creative choice that they made. I personally don't like it, as it hinders game play and exploration. Which is something this game tries to encourage with it's hidden relics, condemned souls, pieces of silver, etc. Thing is after blind jumps, areas that you think you can get to, but finding invisible walls, and just plain not being able to look around, fixed camera becomes a deterrent to exploration.

I think the only reason I finished it was I got so far into it I was like, well I've come this far, might as well see it through to the end.

Considering the amount of money EA put behind the promoting of this game (Super Bowl commercial time is not cheap) I was really looking forward to a great game. Sadly the bad out weighs the good. Dante's Inferno gets a 3 out of 5 from me. I say rent it first. If you get into it, then by all means go buy it.

Dante's Inferno is rated M for Mature for Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, Nudity, Sexual Content.

BioShock 2

2010-02-17T02:21:00.000-08:00

This week we go back to the underwater "paradise," Rapture in BioShock 2, the sequel to the critically acclaimed BioShock. Does it do the original justice? Are they just milking the franchise? How does a Big Daddy got to the bathroom? Let's find out.

BioShock 2 is rated M for Mature, it's not for the kids.

Story

Set eight years after the events in the original BioShock, Rapture is a very different place. You are Delta, one of the first Big Daddies, charged with the protection of a Little Sister as she gathers ADAM. Ten years prior Sophia Lamb, the woman now in charge of Rapture, made you kill yourself because her daughter was the Little Sister that was paired with you.

Dr. Brigid Tenenbaum has revived you to help her. On the surface she had heard reports of little girls being kidnapped off the coast. Tenenbaum, the woman who created the process of turning little girls into Little Sisters, came back to Rapture knowing someone there was doing it and using her process to create new Little Sisters. Something she hoped would never happen. Upon your revival she tells you that your paired Little Sister, Eleanor is still alive and that you need to not only rescue her, but that if you don't get to Eleanor a fail-safe designed to keep Big Daddies from wandering away from their Little Sisters will kill you. She also wants you to rescue the other Little Sisters.

Sophia Lamb has other plans for her daughter and would rather see you dead, permanently. Unlike Andrew Ryan, who believed in the power of the individual in the first game, she has organized much of the population of Rapture into a cult like collective she refers to as The Family. It up to you to save Eleanor, the other Little Sisters. Along the way you find out what happened to Rapture and the bigger plans Lamb has that go beyond the city's walls.

Along with the main single player story, there is sort of a prequel story for the multiplayer portion of the game. It is set just prior to events of the original BioShock, with the multiplayer battles being played as sort of the internal war that brought Rapture down in the first game.

Controls

2K Smartly didn't mes with the controls to much. They did change the "inject EVE" and "use First Aid" from the X and B buttons to the D-pad. This reflects the new ability to use plasmids and weapons at the same time. It was quick to get used to and the game will remind you what button to press when you get low on health, EVE, or ammo. Otherwise they fairly the same as before and work well for a FPS game.

Gameplay

The gameplay is pretty much the same as the first. As noted above you can now use plasmids (various powers) and weapons together. Additionally as a Big Daddy you now have access to their weapons, the drill and rivet gun. Other new weapons are introduced also, a .50 machine gun, a spear gun, and a hacking tool launcher. The first two are pretty much reworked versions of the machine gun and crossbow from the first.
The hacking tool launcher is new and allows you to hack machines from a distance. This is a welcome change from trying to find a way to get as close as possible to the machine to hack it.

Semi-surprising is how not so tough a Big Daddy is, at least you in particular. Granted it is a game balance, but you seem to die a lot easier than the Big Daddies in both BioShock games. Good thing the VitaChambers still work and bring you back to life.

The moral question of what to do with Little Sisters is also back. In this one though they ad a little twist, since you don't have the one you are paired with you temporarily "adopt" Little Sisters from other Big Daddies. The trick is you have to defeat them first. After defeating a Big Daddy you have the choice of adopting or harvesting the Little Sister. If you adopt her then she will ride on your back as she guides you to bodies to harvest ADAM from, which she then gives to you. Once found, you have to protector from the Splicers, the people of Rapture that are addicted to ADAM. Not an easy task at all. Once she has harvested ADAM from two bodies you can then take her to a vent where you will be give the choice of saving her or harvesting her. If you save her she will give a certain amount of ADAM and possibly later other plasmid powers. If you harvest her either earlier or after gathering ADAM, she will give you more ADAM than if you save her, but there will be no chance of plasmid power ups later. Depending on how you deal with the Little Sisters will determine the final ending of the game. There is six possible endings, two each for good, neutral, and evil.

Either way once you have dealt with all the Little Sisters on a level you will have to deal with a Big Sister. Like you they are armored, have weapons, and can use plasmids. Unlike you however, then are very quick, agile, can jump higher, and climb walls. Defeating a Big Sister a lot harder than another Big Daddy or a group of Slicers. Thankfully they give you a little warning via her scream.

Why the big deal over ADAM? ADAM allows you to buy plasmids and gene tonics from Gatherer Garden machines. Plasmids being more powerful than weapons in most cases and gene tonics are helper powers that do things like give you more healing from a first aid pack or make the needle on the hacking mini-game move slower and many more benefits.

Graphics and Sound

Graphics are pretty much on par with the original.Very clean and very well done. There is a lot more water effects in this game to reflect the deterioration of Rapture and some part of the game have you outside the city in the ocean itself. Sound is excellent. The voice work is great and the soundtrack is great at setting the mood for environment. Early on the combination of lighting, music, and story really gave you the a scary creep factor. Something that after a while will drop a bit but when they need to amp it back up it's all used effectively.

Overall

Originally BioShock was supposed to be a one-off game, no sequel was planned. When it became a huge hit 2K decided to make one. Thankfully they also decided to keep the quality up too instead of just doing a quickie cash-in. The game is excellent, giving frights, making you think about moral choices and being downright fun. They kept what was good about the first and improved on then gameplay. The game really does make you think a bit, moral choices aside. Instead of Andrew Ryan's freedom of the individual and disdain for the oppression of government and religion (which they touch on in one level), they focus on collectivism. Sophia Lamb's outlook is the opposite in that she believes in working together for good of the group or "family."

And the feel of the game. Certain parts had me feeling goosebumps, cold chills, they created some very good atmosphere, along with some fast action. There were also a few "gotcha" moments too when what you think is just a dead body would suddenly jump up and attack.

Again 2K put together a very good game that stands up well with it's predecessor. A well written story, good voice acting, and great gameplay, I'm loving it. I give it a 5 out of 5.

How does a Big Daddy go to the bathroom? I still don't know, but some of the toilets in the game you can flush. :D

BioShock 2 is rated M for Mature for Blood, Intense Violence, Sexual Themes, Strong Language. Available for the Xbox 360, Playstation 3 and PC.

Mass Effect 2

2010-02-11T01:56:00.000-08:00

This week we're stepping back aboard the Normandy with Commander Sheppard in Mass Effect 2. This game has a lot to live up to considering how epic the first was. Is BioWare up to the task or do they just phone it in?

Quick note for complete honesty. Mass Effect 2 is a huge game as in there are a lot of things to do. The way I play my games is to get as much out of them as I can. With my weekly deadline I have not finished the game, but have played through a good chunk of it to get a good feel for it.

Also I played Sheppard as a man and as such will be referring to him as a man. You can play Sheppard as a female if you wish.

Lastly Mass Effect is a Mature title, not for the kids.

Story

OK I'm going to reveal a spoiler right off the bat, but then again most of you out there know it already.

Commander Sheppard dies, within the first 10 minutes of the game no less.

The story starts out shortly after the events of the first Mass Effect. Sheppard and his team are searching for any remaining Geth when they are attacked buy an unknown entity. The Normandy takes heavy damage and the crew has to abandon ship. Most everyone gets to the escape pods, except Joker. He is trying to fly the ship still believing he can "hold it together." Sheppard goes in to rescue him. As he gets Joker into a escape pod a blast from the attacker knocks Sheppard away from the escape pod as the door closes.

As the last of the Normandy breaks apart, Sheppard floats away in space. Debris slices through his suit and he dies in the vacuum of space.

Cerberus, an extremist pro-human organization, retrieves Sheppard's body and two years later manage to bring him back to life. The only problem is as he regains consciousness the space station he's on is under attack, by it's own mechs. With the aid of Miranda Lawson and Jacob Taylor they manage to get to a shuttle and fly to Cerberus headquarters where Sheppard meets the Illusive Man, who is in charge of Cerberus. He fills Sheppard in on why they brought him back to life.

A mysterious insect-like race called Collectors are attacking and abducting human colonies. Because they leave behind no evidence the Council have not been involved and that is why Cerberus is. The Illusive man wants Sheppard to assemble a team and take out the Collector threat.

That is all I will tell, I don't want to ruin any more of the story or surprises.

Controls

If you played the first Mass Effect they you will know the controls already. For the most part they are the same and work well. Nothing I noticed was different and were pretty easy to pick back up.

Gameplay

Mass Effect 2 is very much the same as Mass Effect. An action orientated, third-person, RPG. You'll be having shoot-outs with bad guys, searching areas for "treasure" and other items, taking missions, going on adventures, and leveling up your characters. Here is where BioWare really dug in. The pretty much took everything that everyone didn't like out and streamlined the game. Like the hacking mini-game system. Gone is the is the "don't blink or you loose" "Simon-like" game in is two different matching mini-games. One has you matching pairs of diodes on a circuit boards, the other looking of matching codes. Both have time limits and both still present a challenge, but are a bit easier than the first.

Another thing that was streamlined was health and healing. In the first you were having to find and use medi-gel to heal yourself and your teammates. Now they have a system where once you are out of combat (like behind cover) you heal on your own. You still have to find medi-gel, but now it's revive your teammates if they die.

The Mako vehicle was removed from the game thankfully. It was a bit of a pain in the butt to drive around as it really didn't handle well.

An interesting touch to reward people that buy the game brand new instead of used or renting is the "Cerberus Network." Via a one-time use code included with the game, players will be connected to the "Cerberus Network" through which EA and BioWare can provide DLC. At launch they already have provided various items of free DLC, such as a set of Cerberus armor and rifle, the crash site of the Normandy for players to explore and a recruitable character, a mercenary named Zaeed Massani. People that buy the game used or rent it will have to pay 1200 MSPoints ($15) to to get the "Cerberus Network."

They also have the game read your save game file from the first Mass Effect. If you completed the first you will get various in game bonuses, such as 150,000 credits and you start at level 5 instead of level 1. You also get the choice of keeping your appearance from the first game or not. Players that have not played the first game will get enough backstory to understand whats going on.

I'm very pleased with what they have done. It almost seems like there is more action too.

Graphics and Sound

Graphicly it is as good, if not better than the first. For example, in the first game they had 20 animations for Sheppard getting behind cover, in this one they have over 200. Too bad they didn't work on his dance moves, he still is a terrible dancer.

To give the game a more cinematic quality the static camera during conversations moves around getting different shots.

Sound-wise the music is great and helps clue the player in on what's happening. It's so good that they have even released the score on CD.

The voice talent is also top notch, bringing in 90 voice actors. Some big name actors took part too. Michael Dorn, Carrie-Anne Moss, Yvonne Strahovski, Tricia Helfer, Shohreh Aghdashloo, Adam Baldwin and Martin Sheen. Sheen voices the Illusive Man and I think they modeled the character a bit on him.

Overall

Mass Effect 2 is a huge game. I love that BioWare listened to the reviews and the fans of the first game. Taking out the junk that didn't work well and improving everything else. It shows how much they care about their games and fans. After how good Mass Effect 1 was they could have easily just phoned it in on 2. Especially since they were also developing Dragon Age: Origins at roughly the same time. Neither game suffered, both are quality. For me Mass Effect was a great game to explore in and Mass Effect 2 continues that. Tons of planets to explore. Lots of freedom on how you want to play the game. You can play it as a good person or a bad person (called Paragon and Renegade respectively in the game) and various conversation options will open up to you as a result, making the game kind of unique to each person playing it.

The great news is that BioWare has a good amount of downloadable content planned for further adventuring. So it may be a long time before anyone is really "done" with the game.

I can't wait to get back in it, and will find it hard to put down to work on the next game to review.

I give Mass Effect 2 a 5 out of 5 right now and reserve the right to change my score if somehow the game sucks by the end......but I kind of doubt that happening, this is BioWare we are talking about here.

Mass Effect is rated M for Mature by the ESRB for Blood, Drug Reference, Sexual Content, Strong Language, Violence

PixelJunk Shooter

2010-02-04T01:25:00.000-08:00

This week we take a look at the Playstation 3 exclusive PixelJunk Shooter. Q-Games has had a magic touch so far with their PixelJunk series by taking old school game concepts, bringing them into the HD era and making hits out of them. Does PixelJunk Shooter continue this magic?

Story

The story is in the far future your ship comes to a planet to check on the settlers there only to find an SOS. So you take one of your fighter ships down to find out what's happening and rescue the miners.

Along the way you find hidden scientists that help fill you in on what happened on the planet.

Controls

The controls are very simple. One button to shoot, one for the grappling hook, one thumbstick for movement, and one thumbstick for aiming. That's it. As simple as they are they work perfectly.

Gameplay

The basics are you have to rescue the miners and scientists and fight off various enemy's. In addition to that you have to manipulate the environment also to get at some of the miners and pick them up with the grappling hook. It could be as simple as shooting through a wall or as complex as making lava drop onto an ice barrier to melt it out of the way.

This is where PixelJunk shooter shines. Q-Games used real world physics for the water, lava, and a magnetic liquid. So it all moves like it should. Miners trapped in a rock cave under a lava pool? Find a water source and turn all the lava into shoot-able rock. The game blends Defender, puzzle games and a touch of exploration (each stage has hidden gems and a scientist) all together into a wonderful little game. The game has fifteen stages divided up between three episodes, each episode ending with a boss encounter. A score and completion time is kept for each stage, so you can compare yours to your friends and try to one-up them.

In addition to the lasers you shoot, certain areas had special "suits" you could put on your ship that would alter the main weapon to shoot water or lava, depending on the suit. Later level in addition to having the "hot and cold" theme also have a magnetic liquid that you can manipulate. It's almost like a game and science experiment at the same time.

The game also has two player multiplayer, so you can team up with a friend and save the miners together.

Graphics and Sound

The art style is simple, clean and hand drawn style. It looks great in HD, no pixelation at all. It's very cool and funky. And speaking of funky the soundtrack is well done too. Done by the group High Frequency Bandwidth, it is a very atmospheric electronica and fits well. The kind of soundtrack that complements with what's visually going on. I'd hope find it on CD somewhere.

Overall

This game was a lot of fun. I think the most fun was playing around with the elements in the game. Dropping water over lava that didn't need it or letting an area fill with flammable gas and then shooting lava into it. Seeing if there were different ways of getting though certain levels. The game has an old school charm but very cool new ideas mixed in. I had a lot of fun and I couldn't find any fault with it so it gets a 5 out of 5. As a bonus, when you unlock certain trophies in the game you also unlock pieces of the miners space suit for your Sony Home avatar. Once you unlock them in the game, then go to the PixelJunk space in Home and they appear in your inventory. It's available now on the Playstation Network.

PixelJunk Shooter is rated E10+ for Everyone 10 or older for Lyrics and Mild Fantasy Violence

Bayonetta

2010-01-27T02:33:00.000-08:00

This week's review is Bayonetta, the new sexy over-the-top action game from developer Platinum Games. Director Hideki Kamiya, the man who created Devil May Cry and Viewtiful Joe, described the game as "non-stop climax action," we shall see.

Needless to say this game is rated M for Mature.

Story

The back story is 500 years ago there were two factions, the Umbra Witches and the Lumen Sages, followers of darkness and light receptively. Both factions oversaw the passage of time in the world. At some point a great war broke out between the factions with the Umbra Witches being hunted down by Lumen Sages and regular humans alike.

Flash forward 500 years. The Umbra Witches and Lumen Sages have all but vanished off the face of the earth, with statues and ruins all that's left to mark their ever being here. Bayonetta wakes up in a coffin at the bottom of a lake with complete memory loss. The release of magical energy of her awakening kills the innocent diver that found the coffin.

Flash forward another 20 years. Bayonetta is tracking down leads to help restore her memory. These leads bring her to the city of Vigrid. and this is where your adventure begins.

Controls

There is actually two sets of controls for this game, depending on what difficulty you set it at. The levels are Very Easy, Easy, Normal, Hard, and "Non-Stop Climax." For the Very Easy and Easy levels you can use Very Easy Automatic mode where you can play the game with just one hand. The game will automatically place Bayonetta, all the play has to do is pres a button for the action. You can play those levels with normal controls if you wish to.

The normal controls are fixed, meaning you can't reassign the buttons if you want to. This was a bit of problem for me since the lock-on button was the right shoulder button, it felt awkward there for me. I would have like to reassign it to the left shoulder (which is assigned as the taunt button). Otherwise the controls were very good and tight. I tend to be a button masher, but even I was able to reel off combos and other various forms of damage pretty regularly.

The game also has quick time events where you have to hit the matching button as they flash on the screen. Some of these pop up at the most incontinent time, like say in the middle of a combo. That said, when I did get to pull them off they were very rewarding. Whether they were torture attacks (involving everything from guillotines to iron maidens) or climax moves (where Bayonetta summons a demon to finish off a enemy) they were always a big rewarding action.

Gameplay

Bayonetta is a straight up third person action brawler of sorts. Yeah you have guns, but you'll find yourself fighting it out more often, just for the fun. There are tons of combos you can pull off. One really cool thing they have in the game is that during the loading screens you can practice the combos. There is even a list of all the combos you can scroll through that shows you how many times you have pulled off that combo.

The levels are kind of linear and you can only explore so far before you run into a wall, visible or invisible. Even so there are rewards for exploring what there is. Hidden treasures, bonus levels are scattered about for players to find.

Gaphics and Sound

The graphics are truly gorgeous, sexy even, but then again I think that was on purpose. Kamiya did state that he wanted the game to be fashionable and sexy. He even admitted that Bayonetta was, in many ways, his ideal woman. Now I played the Xbox 360 version, it has been reported that the Playstation 3 version graphicly is not as good, that it looked a bit muddy. Platinum Games only developed the 360 version, they handed the code off to Sega for porting to the PS3.

Sound-wise the game is really spot on. The voice acting is great and the music is a very catchy pop-jazz of sorts. I'm half tempted to find the soundtrack.

Overall

Bayonetta is sexy violence, that's the first thing that popped into my head when I got into the first big fight. The way they set up her actions, it's almost like she's dancing. Kamiya wanted to create a sexy, but powerful female lead character and he succeeded. I think I've said "sexy" a lot in this review, but it fits. The game oozes it right along with the action. If John Woo and Quentin Tarantino ever teamed up and made a game this would be it.

The story is a little hard to follow, especially when they are telling it during fights early on, but eventually it comes around. Plus one of the hidden goodies you find is a series of journals that give the history of the Umbra Witches and Lumen Sages.

Bayonetta gets a 4.5 out of 5. The only things holding it back from a 5 is the slight control issue and the awkward quick time events. Really I had fun with this game and still am since you can go back through levels to improve your score or find the things you missed. I hope they make a sequel.

Bayonetta is rated M for Mature for Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, Partial Nudity, Strong Language, Suggestive Themes.

Energizer Power and Play Charging Systems

2010-01-21T03:41:00.000-08:00

This week we are going to do something different. We are going to take a look at some hardware. The Energizer Power and Play Charging systems by Performance Designed Products for the Xbox 360, the Playstation 3 and the Nintendo Wii. Will they keep going, and going, and going, and going..............

Let's start with the Xbox 360 and the Playstation 3 chargers. Both are very similar in design. Each stand will hold two controllers and charge them. The PS3 charge actually goes a step further and has two USB ports on the side so you can charge two more PS3 controllers if you have additional USB cords. A very nice touch. I did not try it, but in theory you could charge other USB items with the PS3 charger, which makes it sort of a multi-tasker.

Both the 360 and the PS3 charges hold their respective controllers firmly and were fairly easy to connect and take out. While charging they glow red around the where they mount, and then glow green when fully charged. Charging time was about the same as if you were charging them connected to their respective systems, just a few hours. And I have to say they actually look kind of cool in their mounts, kind of like a "gaming trophy" of sorts. Both are AC powered.

The Nintendo charger took a very different design, appropriately since the Wii-motes are a very different design. It reminded me of a knife block in my kitchen. It also hold four Wii-motes instead of just two. It also came with 4 rechargeable NiMH battery packs and 4 special battery covers with opening for the contacts to be able to charge the batteries. This is a very nice touch helping you save money on buying batteries over and over. When you slot the Wii-motes in this charger also glows red for charging, green for fully charged. A nice touch they added is slots down the sides for the wrist strap so you do not have to remove it. Unfortunately they is no way for you to be able to charge the Wii-motes with the padded protective sheath on, you still have to take that off. Charging time was pretty much the same as when I recharged regular rechargeable AA batteries, just a few hours. It's AC powered

Overall I was very happy with all three of these chargers. Keeping my extra controllers charged up and ready for when friends come over or when the controller I'm using dies and I don't want to be wired or wait while they recharge is cool. Like I said I like the design of the PS3 and 360 charges, but while functional, the Nintendo charger still looks like a knife block. Still If you are thinking about getting a charger for any of your systems I can easily and highly recommend any of these. They live up to the Energizer name they have been bestowed.

The Xbox 360 and Playstation 3 Energizer Power and Play Charging Systems sell for $29.99

The Nintendo Energizer Power and Play 4X Charging System sells for $39.99

They can be found most places. I found them at Amazon.com, Best Buy, Gamestop, Walmart and at Performance Designed Products' web site, www.pdp.com

The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks.

2010-01-13T04:57:00.000-08:00

This week we check out the latest installment of the classic Nintendo Zelda series, The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks.

Story

The quick back story is in ancient times a great battle between good and evil happened on the world. The evil (Malladus) was banished and imprisoned by the "chains" that cover the world that all converge on a tower that is essentially the "key" to keeping the evil banished. As time went on the battle became a legend and the "chains" became tracks for the steam trains.

Link is a train engineer in training. He is on his way to the castle where Princess Zelda will preside over his graduation to Royal Engineer. At the ceremony she slips a note to Link telling him she does not trust her Chancellor and to meet her secretly. At the secret meeting she tells Link that the Spirit Tracks are disappearing but the Chancellor won't let her leave the castle to investigate. She asks Link to help her. To do so she ask Link to disguise him self as a guard recruit, ie. dress in the classic Green Link outfit.

They are able to slip out of the castle and take Link's train to the Tower of Spirits. Before they get there though track they are on disappear and then they are attacked by the Chancellor and his second in command Byrne. Link is knocked out and Princess Zelda's spirit is forced out of her body. The Chancellor and Byrne take Zelda's body to be used a vessel for bringing back Malladus.

When Link comes to he is at the castle. He soon finds out the Princess Zelda is a spirit that only he can see and hear. Zelda believes that they must go to the Tower of Spirits to get her body back. Once they get there they meet Anjean who explains what is going on and what must be done to restore everything back to the way it was.

And I stop there, going on would really start spoiling the story. Let's just say it's another great Legend of Zelda story. Nintendo does not disappoint, especially with one of it's own AAA titles.

Control:

The controls are almost exclusively the stylus and the microphone. The stylus though is used the most. It's used to guide Link, used for combat, guide the train on the tracks, fire the train's cannon and more. Surprisingly it was pretty simple. The microphone comes in use for a fan like weapon where you aim it with the stylus and then blow into the microphone to blow what ever you aimed at away. At certain points you will use the microphone and stylus to play a pan flute.

Gameplay:

As with most Legend of Zelda games it's all about the adventure and puzzles. Sure you fight monsters, but all the bosses have a set pattern to defeating them, the puzzle is figuring out that pattern. Some puzzles will use Link's various weapons, others will use the Princess. Since she is a spirit she can possess Phantom Guardians and use them to assist Link. The Guardians are practically invulnerable so they are handy for blocking flame jets or walking through lava. The only problem, even though she's possessing a hulking suit of armor, she is still afraid of mice. This is where Link becomes "the hero." :D

There is also a multiplayer game, but at the time of writing I had been unable to find friends to play. It's basically a collect the gems type game where the winner is the one with the most gems at the end.

Graphics and Sound:

The graphics are really good on the DS. They art style is taken from the Wind Waker, so more of the cartoon style. The sound is great and classic sound effects and themes from the series abound.

Overall:

It's really hard to find faults with any Nintendo AAA title. They know these are their system sellers and that there is a loyal fan base. The story is fairy tale-like, not too heavy on the drama and enough humor to keep it all light. Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks will not disappoint any Zelda fans except those that didn't like the Wind Waker art style, even those fans will play it.

There is plenty to do in the game besides the main storyline, there are side quests like transporting cargo, or passengers, which becomes a bit of a mini-game in that they want you to drive the train a certain way. Sort of a lottery in that you mail postcards off and you can win items. You can even trade items with friends who have the game.

All that said I do have a couple minor faults with it. The pure stylus movement control did have a bug in that if I dragged it too near a doorway Link would automatically walk through it. It was very frustrating in one village where the narrow path went right past a doorway for a hut. The second is the playing of the pan flute. While I commend Nintendo with coming up with the unique idea, I was a bit winded after trying to play some of the note combination's.

So overall I really enjoyed the game though. It gets a 4.5 out of 5. If you like adventure games with some puzzle solving, this game is for you.

The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks is rated E 10+ for Everyone 10 or older for Mild Fantasy Violence.

Guitar Hero: Van Halen

2010-01-06T00:41:00.000-08:00

So this last fall saw the release of two music rhythm games dedicated strictly to one band each, The Beatles Rock Band & Guitar Hero Van Halen. Surprisingly you can almost tell by the way the names are placed how well each band was handled by their chosen game company. The Beatles Rock Band has gotten rave reviews. The game was done so well that bands that have never given thought to being in a video game (ie U2) are seriously considering the possibility. Harmonix did a top notch job on reflecting the early years and personality of The Beatles. Much better than their first semi-foray into a single band game in the AC/DC Track Pack.

But I'm not here to talk about The Beatles, AC/DC, or Harmonix. Nope we're here to talk Guitar Hero Van Halen. Activision's latest entry in to the over-saturation of Guitar Hero.

Those of you out there that bought Guitar Hero 5 during the games first month of release had a chance to get Guitar Hero Van Halen roughly 2 months before it's regular release (if you haven't redeemed that offer by now you're too late). The game itself came out on December 22, deep in the heart of the holiday season. Let's see if this is a game you want to search out in this post holiday season.

Story:

No story in the career mode of the game. This is something Neversoft has seemed to have moved away from over the course of their watch of the Guitar Hero series. While it was kind of neat to have in the game, it's really not needed, nobody is buying a music rhythm game for it's "deep story." The career mode does follow closely the format of Guitar Hero Metallica. You start playing a couple Van Halen songs then a collection of other bands, then back to Van Halen, rinse, repeat. Along the way you'll be unlocking venues, instruments, clothing, and Van Halen members (present-day and "classic 70's/80's era").

Here's where we come to one of the quirks of the game that I don't like. Van Halen stated that they want Guitar Hero Van Halen to reflect the band as they are today. Which means the band members you will be able to unlock are David Lee Roth, Eddie Van Halen, Alex Van Halen, and Wolfgang "Wolfie" Van Halen. No Michael Anthony, no Sammy Hagar, and for you hardcore dedicated Van Halen fans, no Gary Cherone.

Kind of a snub to Michael as one of the men just as responsible for Van Halen's sound as is Eddie's guitar mastery. I kind of understand the lack of Sammy Hagar considering the game has none of the "Van Hagar era" songs, but again he had a huge input of some of their success too.

Still that's neither here nor there. Their game they get to decide. Still they are missed.

Control:

If you've played Guitar Hero or Rock Band you know the controls, nothing new here. The game does take advantage of some Guitar Hero specific things such as the new guitar controllers touch sensitive neck slider and the Expert+ mode on drums, requiring a second drum pedal (or really fast feet). Overall though no surprises here.

Gameplay:

Again, if you've played Guitar Hero before, you know this game. Hit the matching color buttons/drums as the "notes" cross the "strikeline" on the "highway." Unless you're the singer then you have to sing the right pitch.

For those of you that have nightmares of the "Hot for Teacher" track from Guitar Hero World Tour, there is no need to worry about checking back into therapy. While Eddie does some amazing things on guitar not all Van Halen songs are punishing monsters. Guitar-wise the tracks are fairly well selected and paced so that they some what gradually work their way to "OMG my hand is gonna fall off." The classic solos of "Cathedral," "Spanish Fly," and "Eruption" are at the very end and are very challenging, especially if you try to play them properly with "hammer on's, pull off's," and on the touch slide.

The song selection for Van Halen as I said is all Roth era songs. I would have liked some Van Hagar songs, but that is not to be for now, maybe in a future version. As for the rest of the song selection it's a very hit or miss hodge podge of bands that influenced or were influenced by Van Halen.

Here lies another problem with the game. The name Van Halen evokes a party hearty feeling. The band you would listen to in your '77 Trans-Am with the T-Top as you cruised the strip. VanHalen's own admission is that they are the world's biggest bar band. So the choice of some very unparty-hearty pop-punk or thrash metal is kind of a wrench in the works. As much as I love Judas Priest, "Painkiller" really feels out of place as does Blink-182, The Clash, Foo Fighters and others. This kind of reflects the fact that a majority of the newer bands in the game were picked by Wolfie Van Halen. Not saying he has bad taste, just bad choices when you hear them played along side Van Halen. Those songs just don't bring the same mood as Van Halen's songs. Those songs may seem to fit for someone the same age as Wolfie, but a little research would point out that most gamers are in their mid-30's, Van Halen fans pushing into 40's/early 50's.

Still it's not as jarring as the eclectic mixture on Guitar Hero 5, it has more focus which helps hold it together.

While we are talking about Guitar Hero 5, Guitar Hero Van Halen does not have any of the features present in GH5. Such as drop in/drop out play or multiples of one instrument. This game was built on the same foundation as Guitar Hero World Tour and Metallica.

The full track list is at the end of the review.

Graphics and Sound:

All songs are pulled from the master recordings and sound good. Graphically, Neversoft has hit cruise control since they pretty much match the rest of the Guitar Hero series. Not necessarily a bad thing, if it ain't broke, don't fix it, but it would be kind of nice to see some different graphics in the logo/tattoo creator. The graphical representations of the band look really good. I'd almost be they look better than their real life counter parts at this point. Dave and Eddie strut and jump around the stage in the game as well as they did back in the day.

Overall:

While I did have some problems with the game, bottom line is I had fun playing through the game. As such I give it a 4.5 out of 5. Gonna show my age here, but the album "1984" came out while I was in high school. A lot of this game took me back to those days. A lot of my air guitar/air mic, came to a pseudo reality in the game. If you are a Van Halen Fan this is a must purchase. If you know a Van Halen Fan, this is an excellent gift. Guitar Hero/Rock Band fans will love this too, it brings a lot of fun.

While it may not sell as well as The Beatles Rock Band, nor share the same high production values and sharp focus, it should not be completely looked over either. Hopefully it doesn't get lost in shuffle in the post holidays. This title shows Neversoft have come a long way with the series and a little tweeking here and there they can be equal the series creators, Harmonix.

Guitar Hero Van Halen is rated T for Teen for Mild Lyrics and Mild Suggestive Themes.

PS: For all you hot shot expert guitarist, here is your goal. Nail 100% on the "Eruption" solo on expert after less than an hour of gameplay....and no this is not me. I'm a medium level guitar player.

Merry Christmas!

2009-12-25T01:21:00.000-08:00

No reviews this week. Next week I'll look at three games I think were the best of 2009, one of which will be my choice of Game of the Year.

Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, Happy Kwanzaa, and if I missed a holiday in there, may it be happy and good for you.

Christmas Shopping Quick Hits

2009-12-16T09:47:00.000-08:00

So this week I'll take a quick look at a bunch of games and give you a quick reaction on them. Full reviews will be coming forth, but we're getting closer to Christmas. Those Xmas shopping days are counting down. I'll break it down into some groups here. Kids, Family, Teen +, Mature, Music, and Flashback.

Kids, as in kids.

Littlest Pet Shop Friends

So Littlest Pet Shop Friends. Suffice to say, I'm not a little girl, this game was in no shape or form made for me. The game based on the popular toys has all the cuteness you can stand. The story is the Pets are putting on a party for a new pet that is arriving. This means searching the town for things for the party, getting all "dressed up" and mini-games.The gameplay is simple enough and easy to understand. The mini-games run the gauntlet of "skee-ball" to a version of the "magic 8 ball." (I asked the ball if I'd win the lottery this week, it said "Purr-obably not.") The only thing that really bothered me about the game was the animals "talking." They just made the same noises over and over. The dog, "ruff-ruffing," the bird "tweet-tweeting," the bear...um "inhale whezzing?" The bear did sound a little weird, but overall I think this would be a good game for any little girl. Even better if she's into Littlest Pet Shop already, because the game comes with codes you can use in their online game. The game can be played with two players, so mom or dad can play along too.

Nerf N-Strike Elite

OK I never had toys this cool as a kid. Nerf N-Strike Elite is pretty cool in a couple ways. One, it comes with a Nerf gun. Two, the Nerf shooting mechanism can be swapped out for the Wii remote so you can shoot Nerf darts in the game!!! The story is a group of kids are infiltrating....storming? Well they are going into a base filled with Nerf shooting robots that are bad. As light as the story is the game is very fun. It's an on rails shooter like the light gun games you've played at the arcades. The game has a bunch of things to unlock, such as in game real and fictional Nerf guns. The game also uses "Red Reveal Tech" which is the old red filter to reveal hidden clues trick. It works well and here it not only helps reveal clues, but weaknesses in the robots also. Pretty much an young boy is gonna want this game. You can buy a second Nerf gun if you want for two-player action, but it's not absolutely needed, you can just aim a plain Wii remote.

My Sims Agents

My Sims Agents is a bit like The Sims, but with adventure. You are an up and coming "spy," more like a detective that gets gadgets. You solve cases while your best friend (and narrator of the story) creates comic book based on your adventures. The game is well done and reminds me of the old point and click adventure games a bit. You have to look for clues, interview people to find out the truth and solve the case. This one can be for boys or girls as your agent can be either.

Family, everyone join in the fun.

Hasbro Family Game Night 2

Hasbro Family Game Night 2 raids Hasbro's closet of board games and adapts them to video games again. Each game gets a remix twist that makes the old classics feel new again. While the games are easy to play I highly recommend that you play through them individually first to learn how to play them before jumping in with the family and playing the big party game that mixes them all together. Especially for Bop-It! In fact I'd have to say Bop-It! was the one game my party did not like as a video game. Overall though, get out the 4 Wii remotes and have fun.

Buzz Quiz World

Buzz Quiz World was lot of fun. You are on a quiz show, complete with studio audience. Players are given a choice of categories and then a series of questions from that category. Each round plays a little differently, such as Point Builder, where everyone that answers correctly gets points or Boiling Point, first one to answer six questions correctly wins or Over the Edge, where every wrong answer pushes you closer and closer to getting dunked in green slime. Throw in a smart-alec host and you have Buzz. There are tons of questions, though I did manage to see one repeat. Highly recommended.

Forza Motorsport 3

Yes, a racing game for the family. Forza Motorsport 3 is for the family because they have made the controls so anyone can race a Ferrari at a 150 mph on the Le Mans track. This is THE racing game to get if you own a Xbox 360. If you need more reasons, read my full review.

Teen +, almost old enough.

Ratchet & Clank Future: A Crack in Time

Somehow I've managed to not have played through a Ratchet and Clank title and I'm not sure why. Humor reminiscent of The Simpsons, gameplay falling somewhere between platformer and shooter Ratchet & Clank Future is a good game. Thankfully they summarized some of the back story at the beginning of the game. The game is also one of those that you loose track of time easily with. Just one more level, just one more planet, just a little bit further. And I wonder why I'm so tired the next day.

Uncharted 2; Among Thieves

Lovable rouge, Nathan Drake is back. This time he's looking for the lost fleet of Marco Polo. Which means Nathan is in over his head again. In some ways that commercial Sony has been airing about Uncharted 2 is right. Uncharted 2 is so well written it does play out almost like an action movie. This game is on a lot of short lists for game of the year and for good reason, it's that good. If you haven't played either Uncharted games yet, think of them like this, they are the Indiana Jones of video games. (If there were never any Indiana Jones games ever made.) Developer, Naughty Dog also added an online multiplayer to this for up to 3 player co-op play and 5 on 5 battles.

Mature, there will be blood.

God of War Collection

Sony had a hit with God of War. God of War II cemented it's status as PS2 classics. Now with God of War III looming on the horizon Sony has decided to get everyone psyched up for it by rereleasing the first two. Not just rereleasing, but giving them a full upgrade for release on the PS3. Improved graphics, remastered for full HD. It looks beautiful. Kratos, a brutal warrior wants nothing more than to kill Ares the God of War. The game play is the same and the game is still epic in nature. A very clever interpretation of the Greek mythos. If that wasn't enough, there is a voucher for the God of War III E3 Demo, so you can get a taste of what is being called the final chapter on this great series.

Halo 3 ODST

Halo 3 ODST is not your dad's Halo. Sure there are some similarities, but to me it was different enough to blow some fresh air into the series. Master Chief is not in this title at all. This story follows a team of Orbital Drop Shock Troopers on a mission that goes wrong form the start. Separated, you follow "The Rookie" for most of the time, but you end up in the boots of all of them at some point. This was another one I really liked this year. You can read my full review here.

Dragon Age: Origins

When I said there will be blood, I could have been talking about the God of War Collection, but I wasn't. Because while God of War does have it share of blood, it disappears after that first burst. Not in Dragon Age. Your character will be splattered with it and it will take time to fade away. But there has to be more than just blood for a game to be good. Developers, BioWare always bring their A-Game. Creators of some of the greatest role-playing games such as Balder's Gate, Neverwinter Nights, Star Wars; Knights of the Old Republic, and Mass Effect. Their last four games while great RPGs, all have been away from the swords and sorcery fantasy worlds. With Dragon Age: Origins they return to the fantasy setting with a vengeance, and a bit of self-deprecating humor. After you defeat some giant rats in your first encounter, one of the non-player characters with you remarks that fighting the giant rats was, "like every bad tale I heard growing up." Which is a wink and nod to the fact that practically every fantasy based RPG has you killing giant rats as one your first monsters.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2

Really, do I need to say anything? It's only sold over a bazillion gillion copies. Developers, Inifinity Ward are having fur sinks and gold toilets installed at their offices. This will get voted as game of the year by numerous game news outlets and it's worth every bit of it's praise. This one I have also already given a full review and you can read about it here.

Music, time to 'rock the casaba'.

DJ Hero

Different, but the same DJ Hero is the newest in Activision's music Hero games. Instead of mimicking a guitar, bass, drums or trying to sing on key, players mimic DJ'ing. I myself was very surprised at how fun this really is. Recently I had a friend play it. She was lovin' it so much she would start dancing to the music and mess up in the game. I also fully reviewed this one earlier.

The Beatles Rock Band

There were a good number of music games released this year. The one I felt that stood above them all was The Beatles Rock Band....and I'm not a Beatles fan, I am more of a Rolling Stones fan. That said the visuals and the music of this game won me over, so much so I have considered going out and buying some Beatles albums. The thing is developers, Harmonix really didn't add much to the basic gameplay of Rock Band. They added three part harmony vocals and that was it really. Everything else about the gameplay is strictly Rock Band. Visually they took cues from all the styles the Beatles used over the years, especially the years they no longer toured. This could also fall into the the family category, as I could easily see baby boomers getting into this game.

Flashback, didn't these come out last year?

These last two games did indeed come out last year. But because they were such huge sellers they both got rereleased as Game of the Year Editions this year.

LittleBIGPlanet Game of the Year Edition

Sackboy. So cute, so fun, so beat to hell and back. If you own a Playstaion 3 and have not gotten this game I highly highly suggest you shut your computer off and go out now and buy it. The lovable, highly customizable Sackboy of LittleBIGPlanet lives in a pod that overlooks LittleBIGPlanet. A planet "made of dreams"......ok in really it is made of millions of levels made by people like you and me. LittleBIGPlanet is a platformer game at it's heart, but it's the fact that developers Media Module have given the players the tools to create their own levels that makes it more than that. Yes a majority of the levels that people have made will be platformers. But I have played though a level that a guy managed to make into a 2D space shooter. I've played through a level that was a giant pinball game. Heck I even played one that was just a giant calculator, really I'm not kidding. That is the amount of freedom and power you have in the creation of a levels. The Game of the Year Edition comes with some of the DLC that was available for purchase, such as the Metal Gear Solid levels, costumes, and art pack, as well as 18 levels buy top community level creators and interviews with those creators.....P.S. Please play my level Metal Gear Solid Temple, just do a search for it. ;)

Fallout 3 Game of the Year Edition

Fallout 3 was done by the same developers that have done the Elder Scrolls series of games. Fallout 3 is set in Washington D.C. after the cold war of the '50s turned hot, nuclear bomb hot. You are born in a fallout shelter. You father is a doctor and your mother dies giving birth to you. The fallout shelter or Vault as it's called, is your home until you become a young adult. All this time you are told that nobody can leave the vault because the radiation is so bad outside. Shortly after you reach young adulthood, your father breaks out of the vault. Thinking you had some thing to do with it, the overseer of the vault comes after you. You have no choice but to flee the vault yourself. And that's where the game really starts. From there you can do anything you want in this first person shooter. Try to find your father, wander the wasteland formally know as Washington D.C., do evil or good. It's all up to you. I know a friend of mine just decided to wander and discover the whole map. Myself I decided to chase down my father, something I'm still in progress of doing. There is so much to discover and do you can easily loose track of time playing this game. The Game of the Year Edition adds all five DLC packs that were released for the game.

Lips Number One Hits

2009-12-09T02:29:00.000-08:00

This week it's Lips Number One Hits. Microsoft's karaoke game with the cool wireless microphones. I think somewhere someone wants to punish me, with Top 40 music. Well let's get down to it.

Story:

No story to this game, it's a pure party game. Pick up the mic, find a song and sing. No need for a story.

Gameplay:

If you have ever gone to a bar and gotten talked into getting up in front of everyone and sang a karaoke song then you know how to play this game. The only difference this one keeps score. OK it's a little more than that, but that is the basics. You do have to try to sing in key, but you can sin in an octave range that works for you. So no worries about hitting those ultra high notes. Because the microphones have motion sensors you also have to mimic the movements of your Avatar on-screen and shake it for noise makers. Well actually you can shake the mic anytime for noise makers (ie tamborine, hand claps, etc.), but they give on-screen cues for when you have to shake it.

Multiplayer has some different modes to it. There is the "Battle," "The Lovers," and "Bomb." These are pretty simple. "Battle" has you battling on stage. "The Lovers" has you trying to get a boy and a girl together for a kiss. "Bomb" has you trying to keep your bomb from blowing up by singing better than the other player. There is also a duet mode.

Also you can plug in a MP3 player or USB drive with MP3s on it and you can sing along with those songs if the included songs are not enough, which they probably aren't. If you own the original Lips game you can sing those songs too by swapping discs. I don't so I don't know how smooth that is, I've read it's kind of cumbersome.

Controls:

Pretty simple. Use the controller to navigate the menus, use the microphone to sing and mimic the onscreen action (Avatar movement or noise maker). Simple enough anyone of any age can get into it.

Graphics and Sound:

Sound is great as it should be for a music game. Graphics are bright and colorful in the menus. Each song comes with it's corresponding music video, if one was ever made for it. If the song never had a music video there will either be some visual thrown in or a slide show.

Overall:

If you like singing this game is fun. I think of myself as a singer, of sorts, so this was fun. Although I did learn sadly that I can't rap to save my life. Lips shines more as a party game though, and that's what it was made for. The multiplayer is as easy as shaking the second mic to turn it on and you are playing with friends.

The one drawback that I see is the number of songs, only 40 songs. In this day when Guitar Hero and Rock Band are packing over 80 songs in the game, Lips seem lacking. It does come with a voucher for your choice of one of three 5-song packs that cover 3 genres (Hip-Hop, Rock, or Pop) which stretches it out to 45. There are songs that you can buy off Xbox Live that will expand the library out to a total of 211 songs. The music is kind of scattered across the genres, but in karaoke that's part of the fun, getting up and embarrassing yourself by singing Vanilla Ice's "Ice Ice Baby."

As a party game this gets a 4.5 out of 5, single player gets 3.5 our of 5.

Lips Number One Hits is rated T for Teen for Lyrics, Mild Cartoon Violence, Sexual Themes, and Use of Tobacco.

Songs included on Lips Number One Hits;

"Viva la Vida" - Coldplay
"Don't Matter" - Akon
"The Tide is High (Get the Feeling)" - Atomic Kitten
"Loser" - Beck
"Don't Phunk With My Heart" - Black Eyed Peas
"Heart of Glass" - Blondie
"Big Girls Don't Cry" - Fergie
"Broken Strings" - James Morrison feat. Nelly Furtado
"She Drives Me Crazy" - Fine Young Cannibals
"Around The Way Girl" - LL Cool J
"How You Remind Me" - Nickelback
"Love Generation" - Bob Sinclar
"Don't Worry Be Happy" - Bobby McFerrin
"Bubbly" - Colbie Caillat
"(I Just) Died In Your Arms" - Cutting Crew
"Disturbia" - Rihanna
"U Can't Touch This" - MC Hammer
"More Than Words" - Extreme
"Apologize" - OneRepublic feat. Timbaland
"Karma Chameleon" - Culture Club
"I Heard It Through the Grapevine" - Marvin Gaye
"Oh, Pretty Woman" - Roy Orbison
"Ready, Set, Go!" - Tokio Hotel
"The Look" - Roxette
"Millennium" - Robbie Williams
"California Love" - 2Pac feat. Dr. Dre and Roger Troutman
"Barbie Girl" - Aqua
"Just Dance" - Lady Gaga feat. Colby O'Donis
"Everybody Wants to Rule the World" - Tears for Fears
"The Fear" - Lily Allen
"Hey Baby" - DJ Ötzi
"I Don't Feel Like Dancin'" - Scissor Sisters
"Heartless" - Kanye West
"Touch My Body" - Mariah Carey
"Hey There Delilah" - The Plain White T's
"Always On My Mind" - Pet Shop Boys
"I'm Yours" - Jason Mraz
"I Get Around" - The Beach Boys
"Lovefool" - The Cardigans
"Push the Button" - Sugababes

The 3 song packs to choose from;

Lips House Party Tour

"Going Back To Cali" - LL Cool J
"My Prerogative" - Bobby Brown
"Nasty" Janet Jackson
"Straight Up" - Paula Abdul
"This Is How We Do It" - Montell Jordan

Lips Hearts and Heartbreaker Tour

"1973" - James Blunt
"Bad Day" - Daniel Powter
"Eternity" - Robbie Williams
"If You're Not the One" - Daniel Bedingfield
"You Were Meant For Me" Jewel

Lips Turn It Up To 11 Tour

"From Yesterday" - 30 Seconds to Mars
"Lost!" - Coldplay
"Photograph" - Nickelback
"The Reason" - Hoobastank
"Welcometo the Black..." My Chemical Romance

Band Hero vs LEGO Rock Band

2009-12-02T03:43:00.000-08:00

Well it's a battle of the kid friendly versions of Guitar Hero (Band Hero) and Rock Band (LEGO Rock Band). Both are aimed at younger kids with a more Top 40, family friendly hits vibe. Which is better? Are they any good? Will I survive the saccharine sweet songs? Will I get to rock out?

Story:

Well they both have a little bit of story to their career modes and both follow a similar tale. Band Hero's tale starts when a new band gets their big break when the latest pop star cancels their mall tour. From there as you play shows you gain stars unlocking bigger and bigger venues. LEGO Rock Band's tale starts as a band is sitting at home get inspired by watching LEGO Queen perform "We Will Rock You" on TV. From there you get a van and start playing shows. As you gain stars and LEGO "Studs" (LEGO's equivalent of money) you unlock vehicles that take you to bigger and bigger venues. By the end of both games you will have become big stars.

Gameplay:

The tried and true gameplay of Guitar Hero & Rock Band continues on in both titles. Press or hit matching colored buttons or drums to the notes on screen, or in the case of vocals, sing with the same pitch as that on screen. Both games bring an easier mode to the game for the younger players. LEGO Rock Band also includes an "auto bass kick" for those that have problems using the kick pedal on the drums.

Band Hero includes all the new mode it brought into Guitar Hero 5, drop-in/drop-out, any combination of four players (ie you could have four drummers or two drummers, two singers etc.).

LEGO Rock Band brings in a no fail mechanic in that if you play poorly you will lose LEGO studs, but later in the song you will get a chance to win them back by completing a "recovery phase."

Controls:

As with all Guitar Hero/Rock Band games these you need to have the guitar, drum, and microphone controllers to perform. More than likely at this point you have them. If not they aren't hard to find.

Graphics and Sound:

Sound is great on both, as it should be when you have a music based game. Both have their good and bad moments in their setlists, depending on your taste in music.

Graphically things are very different. Band Hero is pretty much that same as Guitar Hero 5 but more brightly colored. Lots of pink and neon and pastels. Almost like it was gear more towards tween/teen girls. Even all the characters from the Guitar Hero series have been given a pop makeover (punk rocker Johnny Napalm trades in his spiked mohawk for a full head of hair). The art style overall is still generally the same as Guitar Hero 5. In addition to the usual Guitar Hero characters, stars Taylor Swift, Adam Levine (of Maroon 5) and the band No Doubt are unlockable characters.

LEGO Rock Band on the other hand is completely different than it's predecessors. The art style follows Traveler's Tales (who co-developed the game with Harmonix) other LEGO games and brings along LEGO versions of Queen, Blur, Spinal Tap, David Bowie, and Iggy Pop.

I'll place full setlists for each game at the end of the blog post.

Overall:

Both games hit the mark for being family friendly. Both games songs have been selected to be suitable for younger players, though some have had lyrics removed to be more friendly. That said some song edits are....curious. For example Don McLean's "American Pie" in Band Hero has had the word whiskey removed from the song yet leaving rye which is also a type of hard alcohol.

Band Hero to me feels like Guitar Hero 5 "reskined." This is not necessarily a bad thing since Guitar Hero 5 is one of the better versions of the series. So the only thing new here is the music. So if you were turned off by Guitar Hero 5's hard rock or felt it was a bit too adult for your kids, then Band Hero's Top 40 focus may be for you. Additionally Band Hero will import songs from Guitar Hero World Tour and Guitar Hero 5 as well as certain DLC songs as long as they meet the family friendly criteria.

LEGO Rock Band feels like a new game on the other hand. While the basics are the same, the LEGO style makes it feel new. Additionally the LEGO graphics make it feel more kid friendly than Band Hero. LEGO Rock Band songs can also be exported to Rock Band 1 or 2 (for a fee) and it is compatible with DLC songs that again meet the family friendly criteria. One curious thing is that LEGO Rock Band does not have an online multiplayer mode.

In the end both games are fun, but I have to go with LEGO Rock Band for being more fun. I mean really how can you not like LEGOs? Band Hero gets a 4 out of 5, LEGO Rock Band gets a 5 out of 5.

LEGO Rock Band is rated E 10+ for Everyone 10 and up for Comic Mischief, Mild Cartoon Violence and Mild Lyrics. Band Hero is rated E 10+ for Everyone 10 and up for Lyrics and Mild Suggestive Themes.

Band Hero's Setlist;

3 Doors Down - "When I'm Gone"
The Airborne Toxic Event - "Gasoline"
The All American Rejects - "Dirty Little Secret"
Alphabeat - "Fascination"
Aly and AJ - "Like Whoa"
Angels & Airwaves - "The Adventure"
Ben Harper and the Innocent Criminals - "Steal My Kisses"
Big Country - "In a Big Country"
The Bravery - "Believe"
Carl Douglas - "Kung Fu Fighting"
Cheap Trick - "I Want You To Want Me (live)"
Cold War Kids - "Hang Me Up To Dry"
Corinne Bailey Rae - "Put Your Records On"
Counting Crows - "Angels of the Silences"
Culture Club - "Do You Really Want To Hurt Me"
Dashboard Confessional - "Hands Down"
David Bowie - "Let's Dance"
Devo - "Whip It"
Don McLean - "American Pie"
Duffy - "Warwick Avenue"
Duran Duran - "Rio"
Evanescence - "Bring Me To Life"
Everclear - "Santa Monica (Watch The World Die)"
Fall Out Boy - "Sugar, We're Goin' Down"
Filter - "Take A Picture"
Finger Eleven - "Paralyzer"
The Go-Go's - "Our Lips Are Sealed"
Hilary Duff - "So Yesterday"
Hinder - "Lips Of An Angel"
Jackson 5 - "ABC"
Janet Jackson - "Black Cat"
Jesse McCartney - "Beautiful Soul"
Joan Jett - "Bad Reputation"
Joss Stone - "You Had Me"
Katrina and The Waves - "Walking On Sunshine"
The Kooks - "Naive"
KT Tunstall - "Black Horse and the Cherry Tree"
The Last Goodnight - "Pictures Of You"
Lily Allen - "Take What You Take"
Maroon 5 - "She Will Be Loved"
Marvin Gaye - "I Heard It Through The Grapevine"
Mighty Mighty Bosstones - "The Impression That I Get"
Nelly Furtado - "Turn Off The Light"
N.E.R.D. - "Rockstar"
No Doubt - "Just A Girl"
No Doubt - "Don't Speak"
OK Go - "A Million Ways"
Papa Roach - "Lifeline"
Parachute - "Back Again"
Pat Benatar - "Love Is A Battlefield"
Poison - "Every Rose Has Its Thorn"
Robbie Williams and Kylie Minogue - "Kids"
The Rolling Stones - "Honky Tonk Women"
Roy Orbison - "Oh Pretty Woman"
Santigold - "L.E.S. Artistes"
Snow Patrol - "Take Back the City"
Spice Girls - "Wannabe"
Styx - "Mr. Roboto"
Taylor Swift - "Love Story"
Taylor Swift - "Picture To Burn"
Taylor Swift - "You Belong With Me"
Tonic - "If You Could Only See"
The Turtles - "Happy Together"
Village People - "YMCA"
Yellowcard - "Ocean Avenue"

LEGO Rock Band's Setlist;

All American Rejects, "Swing, Swing"
The Kooks, "Naïve"
The Automatic, "Monster"
KoRn, "Word Up!"
Blink-182, "Aliens Exist"
KT Tunstall, "Suddenly I See"
Blur, "Song 2"
Lostprophets, "Rooftops"
Bon Jovi, "You Give Love a Bad Name"
P!NK, "So What"
Boys like Girls, "Thunder"
The Police,"Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic"
Bryan Adams, "Summer of 69"
The Primitives, "Crash"
Carl Douglas, "Kung Fu Fighting"
Queen, "We Are The Champions"
The Coral, "Dreaming of You"
Queen, "We Will Rock You"
Counting Crows, "Accidentally in Love"
Rascal Flatts, "Life is a Highway"
David Bowie, "Let's Dance"
Ray Parker Jr., "Ghostbusters"
Elton John, "Crocodile Rock"
Razorlight, "Stumble and Fall"
Europe, "The Final Countdown"
Spin Doctors, "Two Princes"
Everlife, "Real Wild Child"
Spinal Tap, "Short & Sweet"
Foo Fighters, "Breakout"
Steve Harly, "Make Me Smile"
Good Charlotte, "Girls & Boys"
Sum 41, "In Too Deep"
The Hives, "Tick Tick Boom!"
Supergrass, "Grace"
Iggy Pop, "The Passenger"
Tom Petty, "Free Fallin"
Incubus, "Dig"
T-Rex, "Ride a White Swan"
Jackson 5, "I Want You Back"
Vampire Weekend, "A-Punk"
Jimi Hendrix, "Fire"
We the Kings, "Check Yes Juliet"
Kaiser Chiefs, "Ruby"
The Zutons, "Valerie"
Katrina & The Waves, "Walking on Sunshine"

DJ Hero

2009-11-22T00:41:00.000-08:00

This week were getting into the groove. It's time to get down and get funky. Activision has release it's latest in it's "Hero" games, DJ Hero. Allowing you get up on the ones and twos (well ones) and spin some wax. So let's get scratchin'. YEAAAAAAAA BOY!

Story:

Activision must have decided that stories were no longer needed. Because continuing the trend from the latest Guitar Hero games there is no story. Which really for these rhythm games really isn't needed. They are played for the fun and connection to the music.

Gameplay:

If you are familiar with the Guitar Hero or Rock Band games, then you have a good idea of what the gameplay will be like.

If not the basics are you will be hitting the buttons in time with onscreen "notes" as they pass the "hitzone." The difference here is that you have a crossfader and turntable for scratching. Some notes that come down will have arrows in them. If they are arrow that go both ways then you have to scratch the turntable back and forth while holding down that button(s) when they pass the "hitzone." If the arrow goes in only one direction then you move the turntable in that direction while holding down that button(s). If the track that note is coming down slides to the left or right then you move the crossfader to the direction the track is going.

Starpower from Guitar Hero gets renamed "Euphoria," but it's still the same thing. Glowing notes will come down every so often, play them all without missing and you gain Euphoria. You can use Euphoria to temporarily increase your multiplier. Another way to increase your multiplier it to do "rewinds." After you play enough notes perfectly the rewind indicator will light up. At that point when ever you want you can spin the record backwards (at least one complete rotation) and you can replay the same section you just played with a double multiplier. (Note, don't do this while you have Euphoria active, it will instantly shut that off.)

And that's the basics, there is more, but that's starting to get into the more advanced things. The game provides tutorials for everything you can do. As an added bonus, unlike Guitar Hero, you can't fail a song. That said though you don't get points or stars either for playing poorly or not at all. Stars are important as getting stars allows you to unlock things such as other DJs, turntables, headphones, clothes, venues, but most important other setlists and songs.

Controls:

DJ Hero can only be played with the turntable controller. It won't even let you get past the welcome screen with a regular controller. You can play co-op and the guitar only setlist with a guitar controller, but you need the turntable controller.

I'll be honest, when I first saw pictures of it I thought it was a bit two simple and sparse. I mean the guitar controller had 5 colored buttons, the strum bar, whammy bar, etc. There is actually more than enough here to keep you busy, if not a little flummoxed. The controller is pretty solidly built, a bit more heft than the guitar controller. One nice thing is they thought of all the left handed people out there. It can come apart to swap the crossfade section to the opposite side for them. The turntable moves very smooth, and it's easy to get a some fast spin action on it. Just be careful when performing a rewind that it doesn't get a way from you.

Graphics and Sound:

The graphical style is more cartoon urban than it's cartoon rock brethren, which is to be expected. Fun and colorful, the environments are very much like the clubs they should be set in. Sound is great as is expected when it's a music game. Musicly it's a bit all over the map, but it all fits together well. I found myself head boppin' as I played some of the songs. Kind of hope they put out a soundtrack CD.

The full set list is at the end of this blog post.

Overall:

Unlike it's Guitar Hero and Rock Band predecessors, DJ Hero is poised for a more niche market. Guitar Hero and Rock Band can both encompass a wide variety of music styles, rock, country, pop, metal, funk, techno, even hip hop and more. Plus more people can wrap their head around the basics of playing a guitar, drumming or just plain singing, than playing a turntable. DJ Hero is kind of limited in it's variety, hiphop, techno, mash-ups, etc. That's not to say there is a limit, but I don't see this being as popular Guitar Hero and Rock Band. It's also an investment in a controller that at the moment is only good for one game (currently the regular version retails around $120.00). It's kind of like when Guitar Hero first came out, limited with a lot of potential, but a bit of a investment of time and money.

That said I encourage people to try it out if you get a chance or buy it if you can. It was fun to play, especially if you enjoy song mash-ups. Developer FreeStyleGames did a great job on putting it together. Granted I didn't get much higher than medium playing through, but then again I wasn't that great at Guitar Hero or Rock Band at first either. Time and practice and I'm pretty sure I can look like Grandmaster Flash or DJ ZTrip (both are unlockable characters too). The no failing a song and the co-op with a guitar or two player with a second turntable controller can make for just as much fun as Guitar Hero or Rock Band.

I give it a 4.5. Lots of fun, but limited for now. Thinking about it though I could easily see this become part of Guitar Hero if Activision wanted to get some more out of it. Lots of nu-metal/rap-metal bands have a DJ.

DJ Hero is rated T for Teen for Lyrics, Mild Suggestive Themes.

The DJ Hero Setlist;

2Pac - "All Eyez On Me" vs. The Aranbee Pop Orchestra - "Bittersweet Symphony (Instrumental)"
50 Cent - "Disco Inferno" vs. David Bowie - "Let's Dance"
50 Cent - "Disco Inferno" vs. InDeep - "Last Night A DJ Saved My Life"
Afrika Bambaataa - "Zulu Nation Throwdown" vs. Freedom Express - "Get Down"
Beastie Boys - "Here's A Little Somethin' For Ya" vs. DJ Shadow - "The Number Song (2009 Version)" (Produced and mixed by DJ Shadow)
Beastie Boys - "Intergalactic" vs. Blondie - "Rapture"
Beastie Boys - "Lee Majors Come Again" vs. Daft Punk - "Da Funk" (Produced and mixed by Cut Chemist)
Beck - "Where It's At" vs. DJ Shadow - "Six Days (Remix ft. Mos Def)"
Bell Biv DeVoe - "Poison" Beat Juggle
Bell Biv DeVoe - "Poison" vs. Beastie Boys - "Intergalactic" (Produced and mixed by DJ AM)
Bell Biv DeVoe - "Poison" vs. Cameo - "Word Up!"
Benny Benassi - "Satisfaction" vs. TiÃƒÂ«sto - "Elements Of Life"
Billy Squier - "The Big Beat" vs. N.E.R.D. - "Lapdance" (DJ-Guitar mix)
Black Eyed Peas - "Boom Boom Pow" vs. Benny Benassi - "Satisfaction"
Bobby "Blue" Bland - "Ain't No Love In The Heart Of The City" vs. 2Pac - "How Do You Want It"
Bobby "Blue" Bland - "Ain't No Love In The Heart Of The City" vs. Connie Price & The Keystones - "Fuzz And Them"
Boogie Down Productions - "Jack Of Spades" vs. David Bowie - "Let's Dance" (Produced and mixed by DJ Shadow)
Chuck Brown & The Soul Searchers - "Bustin' Loose" vs. The Zombies - "Time Of The Season" (Produced and mixed by DJ Shadow)
Chuck Brown & The Soul Searchers - "Bustin' Loose" vs. Young MC - "Bust A Move"
Common - "Universal Mind Control (U.M.C.)" vs. Masta Ace - "Jeep A** Gutter (Aaron LaCrate & Debonair Samir RMX)" (Produced and mixed by The Scratch Perverts)
Cypress Hill - "Insane In The Brain" vs. Classics IV - "Spooky"
Cypress Hill - "Insane In The Brain" vs. David Axelrod - "The Edge"
Daft Punk - "Around The World" vs. Young MC - "Bust A Move"
Daft Punk - "Da Funk" vs. N.A.S.A. - "Strange Enough ft. Karen O, ODB & Fatlip"
Daft Punk - "Megamix 1"
Daft Punk - "Megamix 2"
Daft Punk - "Robot Rock" vs. Hashim - "Al Naafyish (The Soul)" (Produced and mixed by The Scratch Perverts)
Daft Punk - "Robot Rock" vs. Queen - "We Will Rock You"
Daft Punk - "Short Circuit" vs. Boogie Down Productions - "Jack Of Spades"
Daft Punk - "Technologic" vs. Gary Numan - "Cars"
Daft Punk - "Television Rules the Nation" vs. No Doubt - "Hella Good"
David Axelrod - "The Edge" vs. Eric B. & Rakim - "Eric B. Is President"
Dizzee Rascal - "Fix Up, Look Sharp" vs. DJ Shadow - "Organ Donor (Extended Overhaul)"
Dizzee Rascal - "Fix Up, Look Sharp" vs. Justice - "Genesis"
DJ Shadow - "Six Days (Remix ft. Mos Def)" vs. D-Code - "Annie's Horn"
Eminem - "My Name Is" vs. Beck - "Loser"
Fedde Le Grand - "Put Your Hands Up For Detroit" vs. Sandy Rivera and David Penn - "I Can't Stop (David Penn Remix)"
Foo Fighters - "Monkey Wrench" vs. Beastie Boys - "Sabotage" (DJ-Guitar mix)
Foreigner - "Juke Box Hero" vs. DJ Z-Trip ft. Murs - "DJ Hero" (Produced and mixed by DJ Z-Trip)
Foreigner - "Juke Box Hero" vs. DJ Z-Trip ft. Murs - "DJ Hero" (DJ-Guitar mix, produced and mixed by DJ Z-Trip)
Gang Starr - "Just To Get A Rep" vs. Mobb Deep - "Shook Ones, Pt 2" (Produced and mixed by J. Period)
Gorillaz - "Feel Good Inc." vs. Blondie - "Atomic"
Grandmaster Flash's - "Boom" vs. "Tap" (Produced and mixed by Grandmaster Flash)
Grandmaster Flash, DJ Kool, DJ Demo - "Here Comes My DJ" vs. Gary Numan - "Cars" (Produced and mixed by Grandmaster Flash)
Gwen Stefani - "Hollaback Girl" vs. Gorillaz - "Feel Good Inc."
Gwen Stefani - "Hollaback Girl" vs. InDeep "Last Night A DJ Saved My Life" (Produced and mixed by DJ AM)
Gwen Stefani - "Hollaback Girl" vs. Rick James - "Give It To Me"
Herbie Hancock - "Rockit" Beat Juggle
Herbie Hancock - "Rockit" vs. N.E.R.D. - "Lapdance" (Produced and mixed by Grandmaster Flash)
InDeep - "Last Night A DJ Saved My Life" vs. Cameo - "Word Up!"
Jackson 5 - "I Want You Back" vs. Gang Starr - "Just To Get A Rep" (Produced and mixed by DJ Yoda)
Jackson 5 - "I Want You Back" vs. Third Eye Blind - "Semi-Charmed Life" (DJ-Guitar mix)
Jackson 5 - "I Want You Back" vs. Third Eye Blind - "Semi-Charmed Life"
JAY-Z feat. Pharrell - "Change Clothes" vs. 2Pac - "All Eyez on Me"
JAY-Z - "Izzo (H.O.V.A.)" vs. Eminem - "My Name Is"
JAY-Z - "Izzo (H.O.V.A.)" vs. Jackson 5 - "I Want You Back"
JAY-Z - "Excuse Me Miss" vs. Rick James - "Give It To Me"
Jean Knight - "Mr. Big Stuff" vs. Masta Ace - "Born To Roll"
Jurassic 5 - "Jayou" vs. Billy Squier - "The Big Beat"
Jurassic 5 - "Jayou" vs. Herbie Hancock - "Rockit"
Kid Cudi - "Day 'N' Nite" vs. Black Eyed Peas - "Boom Boom Pow"
Kool Moe Dee - "How Ya Like Me Now" vs. Reel 2 Real featuring The Mad Stuntman - "I Like To Move It"
Little Richard - "Tutti Frutti" vs. Shlomo - "Beats" (Produced and mixed by DJ Yoda)
M.I.A. - "Paper Planes" vs. Eric B. & Rakim - "Eric B. Is President" (Produced and mixed by The Scratch Perverts)
M.I.A. - "Paper Planes" vs. Wale - "Lookin' At Me"
Marvin Gaye - "I Heard It Through The Grapevine" vs. David Bowie - "Let's Dance"
Marvin Gaye - "I Heard It Through The Grapevine" vs. Gorillaz - "Feel Good Inc."
Motorhead - "Ace Of Spades" vs. Noisia - "Groundhog" (DJ-Guitar mix)
N.A.S.A. - "Strange Enough ft. Karen O, ODB & Fatlip" vs. Isaac Hayes - "Theme From Shaft"
Noisia - "Groundhog" Beat Juggle (Produced and mixed by The Scratch Perverts)
Paul van Dyk - "Nothing But You" vs. Sandy Rivera and David Penn - "I Can't Stop (David Penn Remix)"
Public Enemy - "Shut 'Em Down" vs. Beck - "Where It's At"
Public Enemy ft. Zakk Wylde - "Bring The Noise 20XX" vs. Justice - "Genesis" (Produced and mixed by DJ Z-Trip)
Public Enemy featuring Zakk Wylde - "Bring The Noise 20XX" (DJ-Guitar mix)
Q-Tip - "Good Thang" vs. Billy Squier - "The Big Beat" (Produced and mixed by J. Period)
Queen - "Another One Bites The Dust" vs. Beastie Boys - "Brass Monkey" (Produced and mixed by DJ Z-Trip)
Queen - "Another One Bites The Dust" vs. Daft Punk - "Da Funk"
Rihanna - "Disturbia" vs. Kid Sister - "Control"
Rihanna - "Disturbia" vs. The Killers - "Somebody Told Me" (DJ-Guitar mix)
Rihanna - "Disturbia" vs. The Trammps - "Disco Inferno"
Shlomo - "Beats" vs. Billy Squier - "The Big Beat"
Street Sweeper Social Club - "Fight! Smash! Win!" vs. Beastie Boys - "Intergalactic" (DJ-Guitar mix)
Tears For Fears - "Shout" vs. DJ Shadow - "Six Days (Remix ft. Mos Def)"
Tears For Fears - "Shout" vs. Eric B. & Rakim - "Eric B. Is President" (Produced and mixed by DJ Jazzy Jeff)
Tears For Fears - "Shout" vs. Eric Prydz - "Pjanoo"
The Aranbee Pop Orchestra - "Bittersweet Symphony (Instrumental)" vs. LL Cool J - "Rock The Bells" (Produced and mixed by DJ Jazzy Jeff)
The Scratch Perverts Beats and Pieces (Produced and mixed by The Scratch Perverts)
The Killers - "Somebody Told Me" vs. Eric Prydz - "Pjanoo"
Vanilla Ice - "Ice Ice Baby" vs. MC Hammer - "U Can't Touch This"
Vanilla Ice - "Ice Ice Baby" vs. Paula Abdul - "Straight Up"
Wale - "Lookin' At Me" vs. Black Eyed Peas ft. Tippa Irie - "Hey Mama"
Weezer - "Beverly Hills" vs. Evidence, The Alchemist, Aceyalone, Rakaa & 88 Keys - "Fresh Rhymes And Videotape" (DJ-Guitar mix)
Wild Cherry - "Play That Funky Music" vs. Gang Starr - "Just To Get A Rep" (DJ-Guitar mix)

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2

2009-11-18T02:14:00.000-08:00

I'm about to make a shocking confession. I have never played through a Call of Duty game at all. In fact, prior to this game I owned only one, Call of Duty 2, but have yet to get around to playing it. Too many games, never enough time. Well that all changed recently when I got COD: Modern Warfare 2. Does the game live up to it's hype? Can Infinity Ward improve on what they started?

NOTE: This is a mature rated title. How mature? When you start the game it tells you there are scenes that graphic and disturbing and asks if you wish to play on with the game as is or skip the disturbing part. If you click to continue as is it asks you a second time, "Are you sure?" If you select to continue it will never ask you again, but if you have second thoughts you can change the setting in options. Also if you selected to not play through the disturbing parts at the start, when you reach the a chapter in question it will ask if you wish play it or skip it. Again it will ask "Are you sure?" if you click to play it. This game is rated M for Mature for a reason.

Story:

Basically, you could say it's World War III unfolding. The game picks up 5 years after the events of COD: MW. You start out as U.S. Army Ranger Private Joseph Allen in Afghanistan where you help retake a city. General Sheppard, impressed by you, recruits you into his special ops. And that's as much story as I'm gonna give you. I don't want to spoil anything for anyone. Suffice to say the story is well told through cut scenes and in-game acting. You will play several characters in this game, since the story unfolds very movie like. Moving from one part of the world to another. I like the story enough that I have gone out and purchased "Call of Duty: Modern Warfare" so I can learn the whole story.

I will say the story is short. I finished it off around 10-11 hours, but I died a lot too (Rambo tactics don't always work). I'm hearing a good player can do it around 5-7 hours. This does not take away from the game though. A game like this doesn't need an epic 30 hour story. To me it felt to be just the right length.

Besides, a majority of the game will be played in multiplayer battles online. More on that later.

Gameplay:

COD: MW2 is planted firmly in one of my favorite genres, the first-person shooter. It's very well done. While I sort of miss the days of the "pack-mule" hero that could carry 20 weapons and 1000's of rounds, they are long past and the rule of the day is realism. Well realism to a point. I mean where else are you gonna get shot up multiple times and just "walk it off" by hiding behind some cover for a few moments.

Still everything else does play well and realistic.You have a limit of two weapons, a rifle and a pistol, plus some hand grenades and flash/bang grenades. Infinity Ward keeps things things simple and supplies you with everything you need to finish each chapter. They start you in each chapter with a set up that you can use through the whole chapter. But they also litter the battlefields with various weapons, so you can pick and choose as you go along. If one weapon doesn't seem to work well for you, pick up a different one. Eventually you'll find a set to your liking.

Online multiplayer is kind of limiting at first. You have to work your way up to unlock various loadouts, gametypes, and other perks such as custom loads, various looks for your character, titles, ranks, etc. All this come from just spending time in multiplayer. As you play you earn experience points depending on how well you do in the battles. The better you do the more points you get. Be prepared to die a lot, it all just takes time and practice.

Controls:

Controls on the console were very smooth and very easy to pick up. Your first couple missions are basically tutorials. Anything new thrown in along the way is taught quickly. Over all you can kind of think of the whole storyline as a tutorial for the online multiplayer. Left stick for movement, right stick for camera. Left trigger aim, right for firing your weapon in hand. Left and right bumpers were for flash/bang and frag grenades respectively. A jump, B crouch, Y switch weapons, and X reload/use. Similar layout for the PS3.

Graphics and Sound:

Graphics were smooth, at no time online of off, did I have any slowdown. They were crisp and clean. The only complaint is looking at some of the M1A1 tanks they are missing details, but then again I spent 8 years on tanks in the Army, they probably got a day on them and a stack of Army approved pictures.

Sound was top notch also. At no point did any sound effect sound odd. Voice acting talent was very A-class.

Overall:

To me this game lives up to the hype around it and then some. I enjoyed the game and will be playing through first Call of Duty: Modern Warfare to compare the progress Infinity Ward made. I could not find any fault. The game gets a 5 out of 5. If you like good war movies or good FPS games then this is one for you. Considering it sold a bazillion copies on it's launch, you should have not problem finding people to play online. We might even cross paths.....just give me a few moments before you shoot me.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 is rated M for Mature for Blood, Drug Reference, Intense Violence, Language

FIFA Soccer 10

2009-11-11T01:31:00.000-08:00

This week with the Seattle Sounders making a good run into the MLS Cup, I thought we'd take a look at FIFA Soccer 10. Granted I don't know soccer well, but then again I don't know many sports well. The basics, put the ball in the goal, I know. So let's hit the pitch.

Story:

No story, but you can create a pro. In create a pro you simply create a player and try to take him up through the ranks to become a world wide superstar. You do this by winning, unlocking accomplishments and achieving goals set for you in each match by your team manager. Creating your pro can be pretty in depth. Hair style, eyes, nose, ears, chin, height, and weight are some of the things you can adjust.

Almost every country that has a Football/Soccer league is represented and you have your choice which you wish to play in and which team you want to play on. I, of course, chose Seattle Sounders.

Gameplay:

The game play of FIFA 10 depends on what mode you are playing. If you are playing Pro Season then the game centers on the pro you created and is played in a unique view to the position that pro plays. If you play in a regular game then the view is that of the game from the side. Regardless the controls are the same. If you are unfamiliar with soccer, EA has included tutorials for each aspect of offense and defense. They came in very handy for me to learn some of the game. I ended up playing the Pro Season a lot because I liked the view better.

Controls:

While the controls are fairly simple, the tutorials are there for a reason, there is a lot more to soccer than just kicking the ball around. I would highly advise watching each tutorial and then practicing the moves a bit before jumping into the game proper. Even the beginner levels can be a bit of challenge if you don't know what you are doing.

Gameplay:

After the title screen the game drops you right into it. You start out on a 1 on 1 practice field, just you and the goalie. Pressing start takes you to the main menu. Once in an actual game, the gameplay itself was pretty fluid. The game was pretty good about telling me when I was starting to get offsides, and in general were I should be or should be going in relation to the action and my players position. This was done by arrows at the players feet or a flag above the players head. As the game went along I started getting a feel for things. I still have some problems dribbling the ball, but passing I'm getting pretty good at. Scoring in games I still have yet to do, but one on one I up to about 50% of the time. While some asspects are still a bit fuzzy to me, I'm slowly getting it.

The tutorials while helpful are just videos. I would have like something more like "this is how you do it" and then the game has you try to do it. As it stands now I have to watch the tutorial, remember how something was done as I back out through the menus to the practice field to try it.

Graphics and Sound:

Graphically it looks pretty good. I'd say right up there with Madden. Players look pretty realistic and move pretty realistically too. Sound was very good too. Sounds of the ball being kicked, other players on the field and the crowds cheering are all there. The commentary even sounded fairly timely during play.

Overall:

Like I said earlier some aspects of the game are still fuzzy to me, but I was having fun. I actually want to finish the season I started and really work on scoring goals. For my first football/soccer game I'm going to have to give it a 3.5 out 5. I'm intrigued enough to want to keep playing, but the learning the game is not easy. Demos are available if you want to save some money to see if you like it, or rent it if you want try some of the deeper aspects or have played an older version of FIFA. True football/soccer fans I think might really like this though.

FIFA Soccer 10 is rated E for everyone.

Torchlight

2009-11-04T02:26:00.000-08:00

Well this week we jump back to the PC and boot up a new dungeon crawler called Torchlight, by Runic Games. Runic has some grand plans for Torchlight and this is it's first step. Grab your sword and let's go cut up monsters.

Story;

Runic has built a good story for Torchlight. From their web site;

The adventure is set in the mining settlement of Torchlight, a boomtown founded on the discovery of rich veins of Ember – a rare and mysterious ore with the power to enchant or corrupt all that it contacts. This corruptive power may have dire consequences however, and players set out into the nearby mountains and depths below to discover the full extent of Ember’s influence on the civilizations that have come before.

As players will learn as they they adventure forth, Ember is the root of many things in the world of Torchlight. You learn more about Torchlight and the mines as you complete quests.

You start out as one of three classes. You can choose from Destroyer, Alchemist, or Vanquisher. Each have their own reasons for being in Torchlight. The Destroyer is a fighter class. He is drawn to Torchlight after "hearing of the evils that have befallen it." Great with melee weapons, he will hack and slash his way through the mines. The Alchemist is a mage class. Because Ember plays heavily into his power he is in Torchlight for his own ends. Spell casting is his forte. Lastly is the Vanquisher, a ranger/archer class. She (yes she) is there "to investigate the mysterious slayings and missing town folks." Bows and traps are her specialties. Each character can be improved over the course of the game. As you level up, you will be able to assign points to your stats. Learn new skills in your skill tree, and learn new spells that you find or purchase. While each character is the basically the same at start for everyone, as you play you will tailor the character more and more to your own tastes. Making the character more unique.

Gameplay;

As per usual with an action RPG game I always take the fighter. They are always pretty straight to the point, plus there is something about hacking and slashing your way through this type of game that is always satisfying. The gameplay is very Diablo-esque, which a lot of people seem to be saying. That is not a bad thing either. Diablo is a great game to be compared to, especially when compared favorably. But there are other things to the game, parts of it seem inspired by World of Warcraft and some seem to be from Baldur's Gate; Dark Alliance.

After choosing your starting class you choose your pet, a cat or a dog. While they can help in a fight they are there for more than just that. The have their own inventory pack. So when you get over loaded with loot you can store stuff on them. Fill their pack up too? Well you can send them back to town to sell everything they are carrying. I loved that option. I've always hated either stopping to go back to town to and sell all the stuff you picked up or trashing the least valuable items so I could explore more. Now just load up the pet and send them on their way. Usually they are gone for about a minute. No more interruption in the game.

Speaking of no interruption, that has a nasty drawback. You'll be playing the game and look up and suddenly realize hours have gone by. I'll be honest to make my deadline for this review I did not get to play as much as I really wanted, because I was having too much fun to keep track of time.

Another nice element is that each level is randomly build as the game goes along. So this also keeps each persons play through unique

Control;

Mouse and keyboard controls, pretty intuitive for anyone familiar with most PC RPG games. Runic wanted to keep it fairly simple and it is. For the most part I did pretty much everything with the mouse.

Graphics and Sound;

Sound are very good. The voice acting was also pretty good, no groan inducing lines or overacted parts that I heard. Graphically the art style reminded me a bit of cartoons or manga, which I found to be a nice change of pace from what most action RPGs look like.

Overall;

I really liked Torchlight. Like I said it was a time sucker and I really just scratched the surface. I never got around to the level editor to create my own levels, which could be shared. I never got around to the fishing mini-game and so much more. Sadly though the game does not have any online co-op, but really it's not missed. Runic has some grand plans for Torchlight. Which includes plans for a MMO based on the world of Torchlight. If made as well as this, I'd say they would give World of Warcraft a good run for it's money.

For all the fun I had I give it a 4 out 5, only because it was such a time sucker. There is lots of fun to be had, hours of fun if you are not careful. This is an awesome game from Runic and I look forward to see what they do next.

Right now the only way to get the game is through digital distribution. So you can got to your favorite digital download game site (Steam, Direct2Drive, Wildtangent, Perfect World, Encore, GamersGate, or Gameware.at) or go to Runic Games' web site and buy it from them directly. And really for $20, you can't go wrong with this game, it's worth every dime. If you are more thrifty, they do have a demo version so you can try it out first, but I really think you'll end up buying it.

Forza Motorsport 3

2009-10-27T23:32:00.000-07:00

Microsoft and Turn 10 Studios brings their latest car racing sim, Forza Motorsport 3 to the Xbox 360. A game that many have been looking forward to, but also a game some are worried about. Turn 10 has stated that the biggest problem with racing sims are that they are usually complicated and appeal to a niche group. Their goal for Forza Motorsport 3 was to make a game that the core fans as well as the casual gamer could both enjoy. Is it worth the wait, does it satisfy both core and casual gamers? Let's kick the tires and take it for spin around the track.

Story:

No story per se, there is a career mode. Career mode is broken down to multi-month seasons. In those seasons Forza will give you three selections for racing series, one for your current car, one for more track variety, and one for a different car class. Additionally every two weeks game time you race one race in a championship series. I actually like the season mode, it gives some good choices. But don't feel you have to stick to it. This is one of the elements for the causual gamer, though as a core gamer I like this touch in that it make career mode seem more like an actual career. While you can follow the season mode if you want, you can go your own way if you don't like the choices given. Just go into event select and all the events you have unlocked are available for you to choose from right there.

Control:

This is where Turn 10 put in a good amount of thought and effort. Control can be as easy as gas an steering or as difficult as gas, clutch, brake, gear shifting and steering. And that's before we get into damage, wear & tear, AI levels, and other driving assists. Those people that had a specific control scheme in Forza 2 can setup the same control scheme in Forza 3. I myself normally have all assists except anti-lock brakes off, automatic transmission, and braking lines only on. The choices all can be either be tailored to your style or simply select easy, medium, or hard and Forza 3 will make the choices for you.

I tried the "one-button" style for one race. As someone that drives closer to realistic in the game it took a little getting used to. The auto-brake was a little unexpected at first, but worked pretty flawlessly.

In the end whatever your choice for control, Forza has added an item that makes the game, well, easier for everyone. The unlimited rewind button. Usable only in the single player game the rewind button is usable at any time in the race to fix a "mistake." Took a turn wrong and ended up off the track, rewind. Crashed into another car or wall, rewind. Another car crashed into you, rewind. It's very helpful and as you get better at the game you'll find yourself using it less and less.

Gameplay:

For those that have played Forza 2 in the past you will notice some slight change to the cars in the way they drive. This is the improvements Turn 10 made to the the handling, making it more realistic. I was used to it within a few races. The game AI is as aggressive/non-aggressive as Forza 2 and it also can be adjusted. In fact almost anything can be adjusted if it too hard or too easy.

Speaking of adjusting the more advanced players will find all of their favorite upgrading and tuning is still there. Again here Turn 10 has made it easy for casual players with suggested upgrades. With Forza 2 I kind of guessed and built my cars well hit or miss. I have pretty much completely used the suggested upgrades. I did do one car on my own. Interestingly after upgrading the car I tried to use the suggested upgrades option for it in the same class, it wouldn't let me.

The tuning brings me to another element they have added, the Storefront. The Storefront expands the Auction House for Tuners and Artists. Tuners can now sell their tuning setups and Artists can sell their paint jobs or vinyl groups for in game money. Looking for a little more performance, check the storefront. Looking for a wild paintjob, check the storefront.

Graphics and Sound:

Graphic you'd be hard pressed to find better. Boasting at least 10 times the polygons if not more, Forza 3 is just drop dead beautiful. Easily blowing away Forza 2. Audio each car was sampled so each one sounds like it should. I am a little so-so on the music chosen for menus, it's very different from what Forza 2 had.

Overall:

Forza Motorsport has since it's introduction been compared to the granddaddy of racing sims, Polyphony Digital's Gran Turismo. Truth be told I am a Gran Turismo fan. Turn 10 has really come a long way from it's first Forza on the original Xbox. While I thought Forza 2 was somewhat comparable to Gran Turismo, now Forza 3 is pretty much on par, and in some ways surpassed Gran Turismo. If Turn 10 keeps the quality up like this I suspect the racing sim fans will be the biggest winners no matter what system they choose. Turn 10 has pushed Gran Turismo developer, Polyphony Digital, to include damage, and Polyphony Digital has pushed Turn 10 to create a quality, beautiful game. Clocking in with over 400 fully customizable cars from 50 manufacturers and over 100 race tracks from around the world, Forza Motorsport gets a perfect 5 out of 5 from me. It's a must buy if you like any kind of racing game. It was totally worth the wait.

Forza Motorsport 3 is rated E for Everyone