Video Games From a Christian Perspective

Are Video Games Having a Negative Impact on American Culture?

2013-10-16T10:02:00.000-04:00

Are Video Games Having a Negative Impact on American Culture?

Video games are a multi-billion dollar industry, beating out movies and DVDs in revenue. With games like “Grand Theft Auto V” and “Battlefield 4” being so popular, a question can arise: What these games are actually feeding into the minds of the players to be so popular? A game merely having the name “Grand Theft Auto” does not imply that the game is full of positive references. The game let’s the player do nearly anything criminally possible that they want, with no real-life penalty. Some may view this as a stress reliever for troubled children, while others view it as warping the minds of kids to become delinquents.

In this picture from Grand Theft Auto V a drive-by shooting upon a group of adolescents is depicted.

Incidents such as the Newtown, Connecticut shooting, in which the shooter was declared to be an active Call of Duty player, may lead people to believe that video games are harmful to society. Is this statement true, though? Scientists have not come to a conclusion to whether these violent video games have a negative affect on kids or not. Some say it could take twenty to thirty years to resolve the question. It may be possible though, to analyze the known facts and form a logical solution.

One study was comprised of 70 young adults, who played either violent or non-violent video games for 25 minutes. After playing the games, each subject’s brain wave activity was analyzed as they were shown violent and non-violent pictures. The young adults who had played a violent game had a smaller brain response to violent pictures as opposed to those who had played a non-violent game. It is suggested that those who played a violent game were desensitized to violence, leading to more aggressive behavior. It is said that if the brain becomes too desensitized to any one thing, it can result in long-term changes.

On the other hand, a study was performed by Ferguson and Olson. This study consisted of 377 American children averaging thirteen years of age, from various ethnic groups, and having known attention deficit or depression disorders. After the children played violent video games they were analyzed, but according to Ferguson “We found no evidence that violent video games increase bullying or delinquent behavior among vulnerable youth with clinically elevated mental health symptoms. Statistically speaking it would actually be more unusual if a youth delinquent or shooter did not play violent video games, given that the majority of youth and young men play such games at least occasionally.”

Which of these tests can be considered true? Both tests consist of factual evidence, but neither one can be considered a reliable source on whether or not to let a child play violent video games. In the end, the parent should judge whether or not their child should play violent or otherwise questionable video games based on the particular child’s behavior and reactions to various circumstances.

Batman: Arkham City

2013-06-05T21:55:00.000-04:00

BATMAN

ARKHAM CITY

R E V I E W

Batman: Arkham City, the sequel to hit game Batman: Arkham Asylum, let’s you become Batman once again. Now with more characters, bosses, challenges, and nearly everything you wished was in Arkham Asylum is in Arkham City. Better graphics, a larger map, more skills, more challenge maps, and so much more!

G A M E P L A Y --- The gameplay in Arkham Asylum is, in my opinion, better than Arkham Asylum in almost every way. The graphics are comparably better. The faces and details look more real than the ones of Asylum. The AI (Artificial Intelligence) is about the same as Asylum. The sounds have been improved quite a bit. They’re more realistic and fresh sounding. The camera angle is the same; over the right shoulder, but zooming out when fighting. The controls are basically the same as Asylum, and nearly every other Action/Adventure game for that matter. The map is five times larger than that of Arkham Asylum, making Riddler challenges harder than ever. Arkham City was built on the Unreal Engine 3, the engine of popular games like Bioshock Infinite, Borderlands 1 and 2, the Gears of War series, and the Mass Effect series. The game has a large free-roaming feel to it, but all the while you are still basically staying on the main story. The DLC for the game (Skins pack, Robin Bundle, Nightwing Bundle, and Harley Quinn’s Revenge) are very well done. The Skins pack adds several extra Batman skins, for play in the main game, or the challenge maps. The Robin and Nightwing bundles add Robin and Nightwing as playable characters in the challenge maps, as well as having their own maps. Harley Quinn’s Revenge adds a whole new quest, set after the story of Arkham City!

O F F E N S I V E M A T E R I A L --- Unfortunately, this game has much offensive material for it’s T rating. The violence is pretty normal for an Action/Adventure game except Batman’s special takedown move breaks the thug’s arm or leg. The curse words in the game include: d***, h***, a**, b****rd, and b****. All of them are used fairly frequently by the thugs. If you only heard language from the cutscenes, my guess is there would be %70 percent less cursing heard. Unfortunately, there is no way to turn off the local surveillance, which is how you hear the thug’s chatter. You will probably hear 3 to 4 curse words in every half hour of gameplay. The suggestive material only consists of a few things. There are several neon signs throughout Arkham City that say “Live Nudes” and have a silhouette of a woman. While there is no way to see the “Live Nudes” it is pretty suggestive. Next, once or twice you can hear a few thugs having an inappropriate conversation, or making inappropriate remarks, but you can take these thugs out and stop the conversation whenever you like. Poison Ivy makes a return in her very scantily clad outfit in this game as well. (For more information on this outfit refer to my Arkham Asylum review here) Lastly, Catwoman’s outfits are very tight fitting and suggestive. Her combat moves are pretty suggestive as well. In one move she kisses the thug before taking him out. Other than some very mild suggestive themes scattered throughout, including liquor and tobacco references. On another note, there is one part of the game that refers to demonic spiritual references, but it’s not clear whether this is depicted as real, or a hallucination.

O V E R A L L --- Overall, I would give this game a C+ on the JMRS. The amount of offensive material really takes away from the great quality of the game. I would recommend this game to ages 16+. All-in-all, it’s really a great game. A worthy sequel to Asylum. The Game of the Year edition includes all expansions and the game, for the very low price of $20 at most retailers and $15 on Amazon. That’s a great value for all that is in this game, I highly recommend it.

Batman: Arkham City (PC, PS3, 360)

Wanna Buy it? GameStop Amazon

The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind

2013-04-10T12:02:00.002-04:00

The Elder Scrolls III

Morrowind

R E V I E W

The epic video game series The Elder Scrolls stepped into a new level with its third entry: Morrowind. Morrowind was the first Elder Scrolls game to be released on a platform other than PC; it was released on PC and Xbox. Both versions have their advantages and disadvantages. The PC version may lag, freeze up, or randomly close, but you may add mods, which is a HUGE advantage. The Xbox version doesn’t lag, may occasionally freeze, (but nearly all games do), and will not randomly close, BUT there is no way of adding mods, and if you want the expansion packs, you must buy the Game of the Year edition.

G A M E P L A Y --- The Elder Scrolls have been the defining game of the WRPG category since the first game in the series: Arena. With its gigantic maps, fantastic gameplay, basically everything you want in a game is in the Elder Scrolls. Let’s talk about Morrowind though. Now I know, it’s 2013 and we have Oblivion and Skyrim, but Morrowind really was the game-changer in the series. The gameplay is just amazing. The game lets you make decisions just like real life. If you want to steal something, you can. You might get caught, but it’s your choice. You can lie to someone, or tell the truth. You can help someone or not, join the guilds that you want, pretty much make every decision you want to. The First-Person view perspective, which The Elder Scrolls series is vastly known for, had a great interface; plain and simple. The HUD shows you the Weapon you have equipped, Magic equipped, Health bar, Stamina bar, EXP bar, and Enemy Health bar when fighting. When you fight, you can’t perform combos or anything insanely cool, but this is like real life. You wouldn’t perform a back flip, sword chop in real life now would you? You can get better weapons that have more damage points, special abilities, enchantments, and so on and so forth. There are probably over 50 different potions. That’s a lot of potions! I won’t ruin all of the surprise, but some more items there are in the game are: Armor, Books, Keys, Knives, Food, and useless items! The graphics aren’t anything too special, but they aren’t horrible either. The music is really well composed and designed. The characters don’t verbally speak very much…most of what they say is written text, like in most RPG’s. If you strictly follow the main story, you will probably be able to beat the game in about 20 hours. But the side-quests add literally Hundreds of hours of gameplay, and believe me, some of them you wont want to miss!

Morrowind has two expansion packs, Bloodmoon and Tribunal, which both add plenty of hours of play, new weapons, characters, enemies, and more. If you get the Game of the Year edition, these expansion packs are included. The Bloodmoon expansion pack adds the Bloodmoon islands to the game, which are 1/5 the size of the main Morrowind map. There are many different quests and a main story to this expansion, which will keep you busy for many, many hours. Bloodmoon introduces a few different enemies, like Bears, Berserkers, Wolves, and Werewolves. One of the best features of the Bloodmoon expansion pack is that you can actually become a Werewolf!

The Tribunal expansion adds the capital city of Mournhold, Soltha Sil. This expansion is PACKED with new quests. You can do all sorts of things in the Tribunal expansion, like be a bouncer, hunt orcs in a sewer, or even perform in a play!

O F F E N S I V E M A T E R I A L --- There is a bit of offensive material in Morrowind. First off, there is a lot of violence. The game almost revolves around it. Magic is used very frequently and magical references like enchantments and potions are required to proceed in the game. You may avoid a lot of this magic though, by choosing a non magic fluent class, such as a barbarian. There are a few curse words used in Morrowind. D*** and h*** are used a few times, but more frequently heard in the Tribunal expansion. A** was used twice, and B****rd was used about three times. As mentioned before, you can steal, lie, and murder in the game. There is also a Thieves Guild, which requires all three of these to be done in some quests, and most all quests involve murder. There are a few references to liquor, and drugs in the game as well. The materials Skooma, and Moon Sugar are referred to as addictive and illegal drugs. One quest involves trying to cure one persons Skooma addiction, in another you find a man’s Skooma Pipe, which he smoked Skooma from. But most merchants will not trade with you if you have these materials in your inventory. You may ingest Skooma and Moon Sugar, It increases your speed and agility, but decreases your intelligence and willpower. You may take all the clothes off your player, but they have permanent undergarments, unless a mod is used. There is a building in Suran called “The House of Earthy Delights” which is a building where all women are in their underwear and 3 of them are dancing. When you talk to them they say something to the effect of “Looking for a good time?” but the only thing you can reply is “Goodbye”. Luckily, this building is totally avoidable and only holds one quest within it, which could have easily been placed in another tavern. In my opinion, the building was only made to please the perverts that play the game. Morrowind is also Very addictive, so be careful, and keep an eye on the clock while playing, because you can easily clock in a 5 hour session.

O V E R A L L --- Overall I give Morrowind a B+ on the JMRS because of its offensive material. Although not much for the size of the game, most is unnecessary. I recommend this game to ages 15+, because of the material in the game, and the very, very complex story and gameplay system. Morrowind is a great game that every RPG fan should play. You can find it rather cheep now too! I got my GOTY Edition for $15 for PC, all discs and case included, or you can also download it from GameStop for $20 For Xbox it will be about $25-30 but well worth it! The game holds well over 300 hours of gameplay! Your best bet for getting the game would be the Game of the Year edition, since if you buy the expansions separately, it will end up costing you more than the GOTY. Plus the GOTY edition includes better features, like the quest system.

The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind (PC, Xbox)

Wanna Buy It? Amazon Ebay Gamestop

Epic mods!

Minecraft

2013-03-08T15:58:00.002-05:00

MINECRAFT

R E V I E W

*note the term "PC" refers to the PC, MAC, WEB, and UNIX versions.

The popular, new game that came out of nowhere, Minecraft, has taken over the world! Well, the gaming world at least. Minecraft is a game like no other, and one of my favorites. There are a few games similar to Minecraft in a few ways, but none come close to be comparable.

G A M E P L A Y--- The sandbox game Minecraft is a game anyone can play. It is in first-person perspective by default, but you can switch to two different third-person perspective camera angles, but first person is the most used, because the game is designed for first-person use. There is no tutorial for the PC or Pocket Edition versions, although there is for Xbox 360. Although, you can watch tutorials on YouTube, or download a Tutorial Mod for the PC version. The controls are fairly simple and true to PC games. Use WASD for control pad, E is for inventory, Q is for drop item, Left Shift toggles sneak, Space Bar to jump, Left Mouse to mine/attack, Right Mouse to activate/place block, etc., use numbers 1-0 to switch between items in your “handy inventory” (a.k.a. hotkeys) or use the Mouse Wheel to scroll through your on-screen inventory. The graphics are very unique. They aren’t meant to be realistic looking, because there would be so many complaints on them. They look like block pixels. All inside a larger block, which is a unit available for mining. The game runs just like any other Xbox game, and abnormally well for Android and iOS. If you have it for PC though, you could experience considerable lag and graphics glitches among other things, if your PC has insufficient RAM, graphics display capability, free hard drive space, processor speed, or other system hardware insufficiencies. So make sure your PC at least meets the minimum system requirements before shelling out nearly $30 for the game. If your PC only meets the minimum requirements, you may need to adjust the video settings; mainly the render distance. Mess around with those until you can get it lag-free. The overall nature of the game is like having another life, in a world where you can do nearly anything you want. The game makes you use common sense as well. You wouldn’t use a sword to mine cobblestone, so if you try, it takes much longer to mine, as well as cause more usage damage to it, than if you used a pickaxe. Crafting materials can take a while to get used to. You can keep a reference web page, or download a crafting guide app on your smartphone for quick reference. Personally, I use the MinerGuide app for Android. Although it is a sandbox game, it can be beaten. I won’t reveal how you beat the game, but I will say it is very difficult. After beating the game though, you can keep on playing, so it has no end, like every good sandbox game.

O F F E N S I V E M A T E R I A L --- The game itself has no offensive material at all except for a little violence. This would be killing monsters; zombies, skeletons, etc. If you go online with the game though, some servers don’t have language filters on them. Anyone can say anything through the chat bar, so be careful.

S U M M A R Y --- Overall, this game gets an A++ on the JMRS. It’s just an awesome game overall. Very well done, and still updating! Anyone can play this game, even from age 4, but to fully know what to do, how to survive, and all that good stuff, I would recommend this game to ages 9+. The prices at the moment are as follows: PC – 26.95; Pocket Edition – 6.99; Xbox Edition – 19.99.

Minecraft (PC, MAC, WEB,UNIX, iOS, Android, XBLA)

Wanna Buy it? PC, MAC, WEB, UNIX - XBLA - Android - iOS

Star Wars Battlefront II

2013-01-10T10:35:00.000-05:00

STAR WARS

BATTLEFRONT ii

R E V I E W

*note: I suggest reading my Star Wars Battlefront Review first, since I reference it many times in this review.

Star Wars Battlefront II, the sequel to the hit Lucas Arts game, Star Wars Battlefront, adds so much to the experience! Battlefront was incredibly well made, an amazing concept, and just plain fun. Lucas Arts is actually able to top that, with the next game, Battlefront 2.

G A M E P L A Y --- All around, this game may top all Star Wars games. Like Battlefront, you get to choose from the 4 teams: Rebels, Empire, Clones, and CIS. New troops, and modifications to troops are added in Battlefront II. Probably one of the best additions in the game is the ability to play as a hero. In Battlefront, you could purchase a leader bonus to come help you in battle, but never actually got to play as them. In Battlefront II you can play as a wide variety of heroes, from Luke Skywalker, to Princess Leia, or from Boba Fett, to Darth Maul, depending on the location of the battle. Lots of maps were added, but some taken away…The story mode, called “Rise of the Empire” is a lot longer than I thought it would be, and a lot longer than typical FPS’s! The graphics are a bit of an improvement from the first, not very noticeable though. The controls are the same as the first. Standard FPS. Sound effects are epic, as usual. The game modes are also the same as Battlefront. Its run off of the same game engine, so it has lots of similarities. The core of this game is probably the multiplayer abilities. It has about 6 different multiplayer modes which are all superior. You can have endless fun with your friends playing Battlefront II! Here is a gameplay video of Star Wars Battlefront II. Its me and my buddies having fun playing Split Screen Battlefront II!

Check out the rest of my Star Wars Battlefront II videos here! Star Wars Battlefront II playlist

O F F E N S I V E M A T E R I A L --- The game is all violence, which you can expect. It’s not very realistic though (since it is Star Wars) so nothing too much to worry about… In the “Rise of the Empire” cutscenes the narrator, a Clone trooper in the 501^st legion, uses d*** and h*** a couple of times. It is also said that Princess Leia can use d*** and h*** also, although I have never come across it.

S U M M A R Y --- I give Battlefront II an A+ on the JMRS. I would recommend it to ages 9+. It’s very well done, and fun to play for the whole family! The vast amount of levels and game modes makes for unlimited amounts of fun! At its cheap price, who can resist?

Star Wars Battlefront II (PS2, PSP, PC, Xbox)

Wanna Buy It? Amazon GameStop

Crash Bash

2012-12-29T10:30:00.002-05:00

Crash Bash

R E V I E W

Have you had enough of the board game setup of Mario Party and just want a fun party game that’s similar to it? Well Crash Bash may be just what you’re looking for. Crash Bash is one awesome game, whether you’re playing by yourself or with up to 4 friends via PlayStation MultiTap. With 6 floors containing 6 mini-games each which have 5 modes each (excluding boss battles) you’re bound to have hours of fun with this game!

G A M E P L A Y --- Just because this is a PS1 game doesn’t mean its outdated or even old-school. Crash Bash has all the elements of a modern party game even though it was made in 2000. The graphics, as is the case in most all Crash Bandicoot games, are amazing for the year it was made. The controls for each mini-game are simple and anyone can use them. There are 10 characters altogether with the variety of most of the main characters from Crash Bandicoot 1. They all have different abilities like spin or kick and the weight of the players in taken into account too. Tiny can throw a box a lot further than Coco can; makes sense. The sounds of good quality and the music never becomes tiresome. This is a very well made game despite the lack of Naughty Dog being the developer. You can actually beat the game 110% IF you are good enough. The mini-games on floor 6 are extremely hard and even quite a challenge to unlock.

O F F E N S I V E M A T E R I A L --- The only thing I can say here is you can play as the evil side which has a different ending in story mode than if you play as the good side. This might offend some parents who don’t want their kids playing as the bad guys.

O V E R A L L --- Overall I give this game an A+ rating on the JMRS. recommended to kids ages 5+ so they can fully enjoy the game, but if your younger persons want to play too don’t deprive them of the experience! Don’t let the young age fool you though, any age can enjoy this game very much! You can get this game on Ebay, Amazon, any online retailer that sells games, or your local video game stores that still sells PS1 games. You should be able to get it for under $10 or even $5 which is very much worth it. So what are you waiting for? Go grab some friend and start playing!

Crash Bash (PS1)

Wanna Buy It? Amazon

Star Wars: Battlefront

2012-12-19T12:14:00.001-05:00

STAR WARS BATTLEFRONT

R E V I E W

Star Wars Battlefront; what a classic! If you haven’t played this game you are really missing out! Who doesn’t love Star Wars right? And to play in the shoes of an infantry soldier in the war. But its not just Rebel soldiers, you can play as the Rebels, Empire, Clones, or CIS (droids). Pretty awesome right? Of course it is! Lets get into some review.

The Cover art of Star Wars Battlefront

G A M E P L A Y --- Being made my LucasArts its going to be good! The graphics are pretty nice for the year it was made. The sounds were spot-on according to the movie. The dialog was pretty cool too. The voice acting didn’t sound cheap at all. There could have been more maps, but hey, the rest of the game makes up for it! You can choose either first-person or third-person perspective, both of which are very nice. The gameplay itself is very smooth. When you die, the game doesn’t restart at your last checkpoint. You re-spawn at a command post of your choosing. Its like Call of Duty online matches, just Star Wars themed, and you don’t have to be online! There is a Story Mode, an Instant Action mode, and a Galactic Conquest mode. The story mode consists of a bunch of missions in an order, with a back-story before each one. It is a pretty decent story mode. Not too short or long either. Instant Action is just like it sounds. You pick a map and BAM! There you are. Pick your side and you’re ready to fight. Galactic Conquest is a pretty interesting mode. It consists of an interface as if you are over-viewing the galaxy. You pick either the Clone Wars (Clones vs. CIS) or Galactic Civil War (Classic Rebels vs. Empire). Depending on which you pick, a set list of planets will appear, with lines connecting all of them. The object is to capture all of the planets, by battling on them, or over them in a space battle. You navigate between planets with a ship. You get one movement per turn. You can also space battle at anytime when ships of opposite teams enter the same space. You can upgrade your troops also. Since you start out with basic troops, you can upgrade and get more variety. For example, one of the CIS’s upgraded troops is the Droideka. Upgrades for each battle are also purchasable. Make sure you purchase upgrades regularly and don’t run out; it can make the difference between victory and defeat.

O F F E N S I V E M A T E R I A L --- The game is based pretty much only around Violence so that may be an issue. Other than that there is no other offensive material that I saw. No language, no blood, no anything else! I love that about this game!

O V E R A L L --- Overall I give Battlefront an B+ on the JMRS and I recommend it to ages 8+. Everything is pretty awesome! When you first try this game you will be amazed by the quality especially for the PS2. An insanely awesome game you can get for cheap! Be sure to pick it up next time you’re near a GameStop!

Star Wars Battlefront (PC, MAC, Mobile, PS2, Xbox)

Wanna buy it? GameStop

Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance

2012-08-28T18:16:00.002-04:00

Kingdom Hearts

3D: Dream Drop Distance

R E V I E W

Kingdom Hearts! As many of you know this is my favorite video game series of all time. The latest entry, Dream Drop Distance (AKA 3D), is one of the most crucial games of the series! The story is MIND BLOWING; I won’t give any of it away of course. Unlike the other main Kingdom Hearts games, you are not accompanied by Donald and Goofy. This is nothing like your other adventures. This time you are taking part in the “Mark of Mastery Exam” in which Sora and Riku must awaken 6 sleeping worlds from their slumber and seal their keyholes. But it’s not that easy. In these sleeping worlds are Dream Eaters. There are two types of Dream Eaters. Spirits and Nightmares. As you would guess, the Nightmares are evil and try to defeat you and keep you from sealing the world’s keyhole. Spirits on the other hand are friendly, and help you out along the way. You can get different Spirits if you acquire the recipe and materials necessary to create it. You can also bond with and train your Spirits. There is also an ability link menu for your Spirits. The system for what you can do with your Spirits is large, but not confusing. During the game you play as Sora and Riku at separate intervals via the Drop Gauge system. But I won’t ruin all the surprises for you! Let’s get into some gameplay!

G A M E P L A Y --- The gameplay is top-notch for 3DS games at the moment. It supports the CirclePad Pro attachment for the 3DS, but I have not played with it so I can’t cover that in this review. If you have played Kingdom Hearts RE: Coded, you will be familiar with the gameplay mechanics of 3D. They are very similar. You use attack the same way, use commands the same way, everything except you rotate the camera with the L and R buttons, like in the original Kingdom Hearts. The touch screen is a more minor part of the game. You use it to look at your map, use Reality Shift, open link portals; stuff like that. Now, you might be thinking to yourself “Wait…what in the world is Reality Shift?” Patience is virtue my friend! Reality Shift is a new addition to Kingdom Hearts and will probably only exist in 3D because it wouldn’t be able to be incorporated in any other games, unless you went back and freed some more sleeping worlds. You activate Reality Shift by walking up to a Reality Shiftable item or enemy and sliding the stylus down the touch screen. This leads to a short segment using the touch screen in many different ways, depending on the world you are in. These can be very useful and using it is required in most boss fights. Ok, its time to talk Flow Motion. Now I know you’re all itching to know what Flow Motion is like. Is it as good as they say? Is it disappointing? Well I can tell you it IS as good as they say! By using Flow Motion you can get around the map easier, climb insanely high walls, and do major damage to enemies! There are many different types of Flow Motion attacks you can perform. There’s Blow Off, Kick Dive, Buzz Saw, and more! I’ll leave it to you to figure out how to perform them, and just how awesome they are though! The graphics, oh the graphics. The graphics far exceed expectations for the 3DS. First let me say, all the cutscenes, are actual cutscenes! No more reading dialog boxes as in the previous games. All of the dialog is spoken! The graphics I would say are as good as Kingdom Hearts 2. Especially with the 3D! The 3D graphics do add more to the graphics then you would expect! There is a lot of depth in the screen it seems, when the 3D is on. The sound is perfect. All of the effects, voice acting, everything is fantastic!

O F F E N S I V E M A T E R I A L --- If you’ve played the other games, or read my other reviews, you’ll know that there is little to no offensive material in any of the Kingdom Hearts games. I believe this is mainly because of Disney being co-developer and they don’t want Mickey going around screaming expletives. The only three things in the game that would be offensive is your allies are called Spirits which may offend some people as well as the use of Magic in the game, although it is not heavily emphasized or viewed as occult. The main thing would be though, when you are in the world “The Grid” which is the Tron: Legacy world you can watch a flashback which is basically a whole movie scene even with word-for-word dialog. But in one of these flashbacks in The Grid, Sam tells his father “Well that’s a h*** of a way to live.” When they are discussing leaving the grid. I think the only reason Disney let this in is because it was in the Tron: Legacy movie. You do not have to watch this flashback though, and if you have seen the movie, you don’t really have much need to watch the flashback anyway.

O V E R AL L --- Overall, of course I recommend this game as one of the best of all time! I give it an A++ on the JMRS. As are all Kingdom Hearts games, it is just plain amazing. This game is pretty unique among the other Kingdom Hearts games though in many senses. One being that you obtain glossary entries throughout the game, which tell the story of the other games in the series. That way, newcomers to the series won’t get lost…as easily as they would without having read those glossary entries. I would recommend this game to anyone 10+. The story is very complex, and if you’re child doesn’t like reading, I would recommend you get him or her the original Kingdom Hearts to play and work your way up from there. Since it has just come out at the time of my writing this review it is around $40. But this is well worth what you get in the game! Also it won’t get much cheaper. None of the other games have gone far below $20. So if you want it, are curious about the Kingdom Hearts series, or even have a 3DS, I highly recommend you pick up Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance!

Kingdom Hearts 3D (3DS)

Wanna buy it? - Gamestop - Amazon

Kingdom Hearts RE: Chain of Memories

2012-07-28T09:39:00.002-04:00

Kingdom Hearts

RE: Chain of Memories

R E V I E W

If you have read some of my other blog posts or follow me on twitter, you may know that I am a HUGE Kingdom Hearts fan. You might want to prepare for a longer post than usual. Chain of Memories was the second installment in the Kingdom Hearts franchise, but didn’t do as well as hoped because it was actually released on the Game Boy Advance instead of the PlayStation 2 like its predecessor. Well RE: Chain of Memories is really just a reboot of what Chain of Memories was. None of the core gameplay or storyline was changed. It was just remade for the PS2 with more voice actors, better graphics; all the good stuff KH1 had. Now, do not let the titles confuse you when you see Kingdom Hearts 2. This has confused many people into thinking that RE: Chain of memories is the third installment since it was released after Kingdom Hearts 2, yet they don’t take into account that it is just a reboot of the original Chain of Memories made for the Game Boy Advance which was released Before Kingdom Hearts 2. My theory on why these 3 games are named this way is because Chain of Memories picks up right where Kingdom Hearts left off. The opening cutscene is really just the ending cutscene of Kingdom Hearts 1, then the next part happens which draws you into Chain of Memories. So I think that Chain of Memories is basically a continuation to Kingdom Hearts 1 instead of a sequel, or else there would have been no reason to not call it Kingdom Hearts 2. This may seem a bit confusing, but trust me, it all makes sense when you really think about it.

Battling on RE: Chain of Memories

G A M E P L A Y --- Yes lets talk about this fantastic gameplay in RE: Chain of Memories. (which we will be calling RE:CoM through the rest of this review) The core gameplay is thought of much like the Super Mario Bros. 2 of the Kingdom Hearts franchise. It was a whole different world of gameplay, and the people didn’t exactly care for it. Since you are in Castle Oblivion and Castle Oblivion is run entirely by cards, your attacks, magic, and items are controlled by cards as well. (Which I must say was a brilliant idea of the developers) This offered a whole new style of gameplay than the original Kingdom Hearts. Most people did not like the battle system. It’s more like a JRPG than what Kingdom Hearts really is. When you touch an enemy you go into a battle sequence. Instead of the turn based gameplay that is of JRPG’s though, you are actually free to run around, roll, glide, do whatever in the battle area. The only thing is you can’t just attack with all your button mashing skill. It takes strategy to know what cards to use and when. There are many different cards and many different ways to use them. So, the graphics in RE:CoM is pretty much the second best on the PS2. (The best is Kingdom Hearts 2) There is a lot of detail and animation in it. Surely the graphics alone are a work of art, especially when you compare them to CoM for the Game Boy Advance. The controls are easier than Kingdom Hearts 1’s controls. You actually do get to rotate the camera with the left analog stick instead of the L2 and R2 buttons which made camera angles pretty limited. Most everything else is the same as KH1 though despite the different combat system. The musical score in RE:CoM, as is the case with all Kingdom Hearts games, is mind blowing. Yoko Shimomura is truly one of the best composers to ever walk the face of the earth and Utada Hikaru can certainly inflict much passion in her songs. And the sound effects couldn’t be more spot-on. One very awesome thing about RE:CoM though, is you get to play as Riku! After you beat Sora’s story you unlock Reverse/Rebirth mode in the game which allows you to play though Riku’s story instead of just Sora’s which makes for a very enjoyable time! Riku’s story took me just under 10 hours (9 hours 59 minutes) to complete which is a bit shorter than it took me for Sora’s which was 22 hours but it still can be just as enjoyable. You don’t have to worry about your card deck because that is automatically edited for you. Riku’s story is a bit different, but still just as fun as Sora’s. And with tens more hours to spend on both of their story’s completing the game 100% there is certainly a lot to keep you busy!

O F F E N S I V E M A T E R I A L --- Another thing that makes the Kingdom Hearts franchise the greatest if video games is there is little to no offensive material in any of the games! The worst it gets is in CoM for Game Boy Advance Axel says “Give me a h*** of a show!” This line is tamed down, though, in RE:CoM to “Try to make it enjoyable, Sora.” The only other things that may be mildly offensive is the use of magic and Jasmine from the Disney movie Aladdin and Ariel from The Little Mermaid both wear revealing clothing, but its nothing too bad.

O V E R A L L --- Overall I give this an A++ on the JMRS. It is a game anyone can have fun with, although older players will be able to understand the storyline better. The gameplay is at the top of the scale along with the rest of the Kingdom Hearts games. I recommend this game particularly to ages 8+ because of the complex storyline and only to people who have either played or read through the story of Kingdom Hearts 1. I can not stress enough about how good this game is! At the very modest price of $20 or less there is no excuse for you to miss out on this awesome experience. Go pick it up now!

Kingdom Hearts Re: Chain of Memories (PS2)

Super Mario All-Stars

2012-06-23T09:33:00.001-04:00

Super Mario All-Stars

R E V I E W

This is one Mario game that not everyone has heard of. Super Mario All-Stars is a collection of 4 Super Mario games, which are: Super Mario Bros.; Super Mario Bros. The Lost Levels; Super Mario Bros. 2; and Super Mario Bros. 3. Some of you may remember Super Mario All-Stars from the SNES days. Well yes this is the same All-Stars as then, but better! Super Mario All-Stars for the Wii has improved sound and graphics, contains The Lost Levels (which was previously only released in Japan)* and of course is compatible with Wii controls. If you get it new you get not only the game (which contains an awesome manual) you also get an Art book, soundtrack CD, and a fancy little cardboard box that contains both cases.

*(Meaning previously only released in

Japan

for console. The Lost Levels appeared as an unlockable in Super Mario Bros. Deluxe for the Game Boy Color as “Super Mario Bros: For Super Players”)

The improved graphics in Super Mario All-Stars for Wii

G A M E P L A Y --- The overall gameplay in All-Stars is amazing! There is only a very slight difference between the NES version and All-Stars, gameplay-wise. Mario does seem to linger in the air a tad longer in the Original Super Mario Bros. and in The Lost Levels but that is the only real difference. OK, let us move on to the real changes. Where this game excels is in the improved sound and graphics. They are both very well improved. There are now more detailed backgrounds in the levels and of course the pixels are improved from the 1985 standards. The music and sound effects sound fuller now, compared to the originals. Some things are changed to fit more modern designs, such as the Mushroom. When Mario grows to his full form he is a bit plump compared to the original Super Mario Bros. which many believe was Nintendo’s original idea, but due to the limited technology at the time, it was nearly impossible to make that detailed of graphics. Super Mario All-Stars actually supports 3 control schemes. You can either use the Wii remote sideways, the Gamecube controller, or the classic controller so you can feel comfortable while playing no matter what you are used to.

O F F E N S I V E M A T E R I A L --- OK, here’s one of the greatest things about Mario. I could just skip this section all-together and you wouldn’t be missing a thing! Mario is generated towards families so no offensive material whatsoever is found in Mario!

O V E R A L L --- Super Mario: All Stars gets an A+ on the JMRS! I would suggest you order this from Amazon.com or your favorite online shopping site as soon as possible. This time I don’t particularly suggest GameStop because most likely you will not get the Art book, Soundtrack disc, or Fancy cardboard box (which I know is everyone’s favorite part). I strongly suggest ordering it new from an online shopping site because it is a Limited Edition game. The sooner you get it, the less you will have to pay for it. The launch price was $30 and it has already escalated to $50 at most places. This is not quite as dramatic of a price increase as the Metroid Prime Trilogy but it is following in its footsteps. This game is fun for the whole family, introducing something brand new to the kids and bringing back many memories to the parents! Be sure to buy it before it’s too late!

Super Mario All-Stars (Wii)

Wanna Buy it? Amazon

Luigi's Mansion

2012-06-09T16:19:00.000-04:00

Luigi’s Mansion

R E V I E W

Luigi has won a mansion! Or has he? Nevertheless, Luigi follows the map that was sent to him in the mail. The map showed a gigantic, beautiful, welcoming mansion. Well, at least it was gigantic. Luigi finds himself in the middle of nowhere, in a dark, scary place. But he continues to find what is waiting for him inside the mansion. In the very first room he goes in he finds…a ghost! Luckily Professor E. Gadd was there wielding his Poltergust 3000. The Professor could only scare off the ghost though, because he didn’t have any form of light to startle the ghosts before sucking them up in his Poltergust 3000 which would make the job much easier. Fortunately, Luigi has brought along a flashlight! Now, Luigi sets off with his flashlight in one hand and the Poltergust 3000 on his back, to rid the mansion of ghosts forever! But, Luigi will find many twists and turns as he goes along his way. Luigi has always been seen as the “scaredy-cat” of the Mario series, and while he still may be, he gathered his courage to save this mansion! “What about Mario?” you may ask; play to find out!

Check out my Let's Play of Luigi's Mansion on YouTube right here! --- Playlist

G A M E P L A Y --- First off I must say, I absolutely LOVE Luigi’s Mansion! Just everything about it feels awesome! The graphics are quite good especially considering the year it was made. The sound is amazing! I love everything about it! The controls are easy to pick up on and feel very comfortable. The only complaint with it that I have is the C-stick is inverted, but after about an hour you get used to it. It is a very enjoyable game and the player gets many hours of enjoyment out of it. There are many different surprising moments in the game as well as moments that will make you say: “That’s awesome!!!!!” I like the difficulty…not too easy but not hard either. In the pause menu you can change from “standard” to “sidestep” for a bit more of a challenge. Also after you beat the game the Hidden Mansion is unlocked, which the same thing as the regular mansion, just harder. At times you really have to think about what to do next, which exercises the players mind. There are a bunch of secret items and just-for-fun secrets and Easter eggs. All the money that you pick up in the game is totaled together in the end and that will be your score, so you can play it again and again trying to beat your high score!

O F F E N S I V E M A T E R I A L --- This is a Mario game so it is very family friendly. The only thing I can put here is one of the ghosts you need to capture is a woman who is in the shower. Now, this shouldn’t be offensive to many people, because she is wearing a bathing suit, and she is a ghost. Another minor thing that may be a problem is younger kids may get a bit scared during gameplay, but only if they are easily frightened. Luigi’s Mansion wasn’t designed to be at all a horror game, just a fun game for everyone to play, just like all the other Mario games!

O V E R A L L --- Luigi's Mansion has a rating of A+ on the JMRS. I recommend this game to any Mario fan, and anyone who enjoys playing video games, for that matter. Luigi’s Mansion is a fun game, designed for all ages. For under $20 this game is worth all of it and more. If you haven’t yet played it, pick it up today!

Luigi's Mansion (GC)

Wanna buy it? Amazon GameStop

Batman: Arkham Asylum

2012-05-29T08:36:00.001-04:00

Batman Arkham Asylum

R E V I E W

Batman has always been one of the most looked up to super-heroes of all time. He has had many different TV shows, movies, and video games. Arkham Asylum is very different from the rest of anything else Batman. The introduction to Arkham Asylum reads: “Its going to be a long night… After a seemingly random attack by The Joker at the Mayor’s office, Batman is returning his greatest nemesis to Arkham Asylum, Gotham City’s institute for the criminally insane. But The Joker has a plan and escape is only the beginning. By the time the sun rises over Gotham, he will have turned Arkham Island into his twisted playground, and broken the Dark Knight himself. Can even Batman survive a night locked up with ALL of Gotham’s freaks and madmen?”

G A M E P L A Y --- Wow, there is so much to say about Arkham Asylum’s gameplay. Being partially made by Square Enix, it HAS to be awesome! Arkham Asylum was the most critically acclaimed super hero gave EVER as of 2011! The graphics of Arkham Asylum are just amazing. The graphics of human faces are some of the best ever! Everything in the game looks almost just like real life. The design of the game is very dark, but awesome all the same. The sounds are very well designed, placed, and collaborated. The controls are easy to pick up, and fun to use. There are so many different tools to use and things you can do! You can use the Batarang, the grapple, the Exploding jelly and many more. This game is of good length also. Not short at all, but not so long that you need to play no other game but that for months to beat it. It is also very addictive! There is no real “stopping place” since there are particular save points. The game auto-saves every time you enter a new area or room, so you have to tell yourself when to quit. There is an excellent variety of enemies also. You really have to think when you play Arkham Asylum. Its not one of those games where what to do is obvious. You actually feel like you are Batman while you are playing it. One thing that is a very cool feature is the Riddler challenges. The Riddler has set up an excessive amount of challenges all over Arkham Island. These are very fun to find, but can be very tricky as well. There is a challenge mode you can play as well. There are many different challenges split up into 3 different categories: Combat, Predator, and Infinity (ones that go on and on until you loose.) If you get the Game of the Year edition you also get 4 new challenges and 3D play capability, even if you don’t have a 3D TV!

O F F E N S I V E M A T E R I A L --- Sadly, there is much offensive material in this game. Let’s start with language. The box says “Mild Language” which is correct for what is in the game, but just barley. I didn’t count the curse words used, but this is the list of them in the order of how frequent they are used: d***, h***, b****, a**. H*** is used by Joker in one of the four rounds of the Combat challenges. The thugs you fight use h*** and d*** a lot also (especially in the Predator challenges). Some very mild language that you may or may not be offended by that is used are freak*** and cra*. You can, however, miss a good deal of this language by turning the character speech volume down if you wish. I did not hear anything sexual in the game, but Harley Quinn’s outfit is very revealing, and Poison Ivy doesn’t have much of an outfit at all. Poison Ivy is the second to the last boss in the game and wears what is basically a one-piece swimsuit with a thong. Alcohol is only referred to near the beginning of the game. One of the guards that you have to find you have to trace through particles of whisky, after you scan his whiskey flask lying on the ground. Tobacco reference is basically the same Commissioner Gordon is almost always carrying a cigar and at one point you need to trace someone by scanning his pipe on the ground and using particles of tobacco to find him. As you can imagine, The Joker uses a lot of crude humor. Pretty much the only blood in the game is when you are in the hospital you can see blood in IV bags. The violence can be pretty graphic at times. When you use Batman’s automatic takedown ability he either breaks the enemy’s arm, leg, or neck pretty graphically. Also some of the finishing moves Batman uses on bosses can be graphic. *SPOILER ALERT* When Dr. Young gets killed she is blown up and afterwards you can still see her body on the ground, which may be disturbing to some. *END SPOILER* At one point Oracle mentions that Joker has sent pictures of dead babies as a threat to Dr. Young, which could be disturbing, but you never see anything of the sort.

O V E R A L L --- Overall, The JMRS gives Arkham Asylum a B+. I would recommend this game to anyone 15+. There is a good deal of offensive material that could be inappropriate for people of a younger age. Also since the game can be pretty hard at points younger players might not be able to beat it. It is a great game though, lots of fun for anyone who plays it. Also, in the Game of the Year edition for PS3 you can play as The Joker in challenge mode, which many people would enjoy. Finding all the different Riddler challenges is rewarding. If you don’t look any of them up on the internet you get even more of a sense of accomplishment (since The Riddler accuses you of doing so)! Pick it up at your local GameStop for under $20, an excellent price for a game this good!

Batman: Arkham Asylum (360, PS3, PC, MAC)

Wanna buy it? Amazon GOTY GameStop

NEW: Super Mario Bros. Wii

2012-05-15T20:26:00.001-04:00

NEW:Super Mario Bros. Wii

R E V I E W

When you think of video games, the first character that comes to your mind is most likely, Mario! Mario has been around since 1985, and is still going strong! Doesn’t this guy ever get tired of saving the Mushroom Kingdom? We all have fond memories of hours spent playing Mario, whether your 30 and remember his little 8-bit figure on the NES or you’re 7 and the only recollection you have is Mario in his 3D figure on the Wii, Mario has a Special place in all of our hearts. NEW: Super Mario Bros. Wii is modeled after Super Mario Bros. 3, made for the NES. All new moves and graphics, make this game very unique compared to the other Super Mario games.

Screenshot of NEW Super Mario Bros. Wii 4-player gameplay.

G A M E P L A Y --- The gameplay in this game is very high-quality. Being a side-scroller Nintendo has a lot they can do! The gameplay is based on that of Super Mario Bros. 3 which was one of the best Mario games of all time! The graphics are very well designed. There are a lot of different types of scenery. All of the characters are well designed as well! The controls, when you hold the Wii remote sideways, are almost exactly like the NES controller, which will make many “old-timers” happy. In NEW: Super Mario Bros. Wii there is a lot of new power-ups! The Propeller mushroom, The Ice flower, and the Penguin suit are a few new ones! The sounds are very well structured. There are also several new moves, such as the wall-jump, and ground pound. One thing I have to say is I found the difficulty to be very easy; which is good or younger players, but older players may be disappointed. On the up-side however, the game is compatible to have 4 players! This can be very fun, and can really challenge the players’ cooperation. If you don’t have good teamwork, you could end up loosing the level.

O F F E N S I V E M A T E R I A L --- Well there’s not much you can say here for any Mario game! The only thing I would be able to say is two or three of the bosses use a very mild form of magic, but that shouldn’t be a problem.

O V E R A L L --- Overall, on the JMRS I give it an A. This is a very fun game; great for the whole family to play and have fun at any age! The 4-player compatibility provides for a fun experience for family and friends alike! I have spent many hours playing this game with friends and family of ages all the way down to 4. I recommend this game to every person who owns a Wii console!

NEW Super Mario Bros. Wii

Marvel: Ultimate Alliance

2012-05-12T09:25:00.002-04:00

MARVEL:

Ultimate Alliance

R E V I E W

S.H.E.I.L.D. Is forming an ultimate team of super-human beings to save, not just the world, but the universe, from Dr. Doom. Leading you is the head of S.H.E.I.L.D., Nick Fury. With the likes of Spider-Man, Thor, and Wolverine on your side, you are definitely prepared for anything. As you venture through different worlds that Dr. Doom has taken over with your customized team, you will go through many trials that make you stronger before the final battle with Dr. Doom.

G A M E P L A Y --- The gameplay in this RPG very well put together. The graphics could possibly be a bit better, but it is an (almost) top-down/3^rd person RPG. Probably the main complaint would be how the camera is controlled. You use the nunchuck, by tilting it, to control the camera. While this seems like a good thought, it can be pretty frustrating at times. The sound could also use some improving, but there are a lot of positive points about the game. Now that we have the negative points aside, let’s look at the good side of the game. It is very fun to play, but challenging at times as well, so you never get bored. The character variety is a huge point! There are over 20 characters to play as! Another thing is the Multiplayer. You can have 4 people playing co-op at the same time on the same screen. Playing multiplayer can be very fun, especially if your stuck and need help from some friends! The motion controls are in good use from my view, but some say they are “over-used”. Lastly, the length is pretty spot-on. It could take you anywhere from 10-30 hours to beat the main story, plus there are a lot of separate things to do as well!

O F F E N S I V E M A T E R I A L --- First off in the opening scene Nick Fury says “What the h*** is going on here?!” and in the ending cutscene he says “You did a h*** of a job, team.” That is the only cursing in the game though, so that’s pretty good for a game of this quality, and very mild. It can easily be overlooked or muted by using your TV remote. Some of the female characters outfits can be a bit skimpy. Particularly Storm and Electra. The good thing though, is you can either not play as these characters (very easy to do) or just change the outfit (also very easy to do)! Violence is throughout the game, but it is not too bad, and there is no blood. Magic is just barely used by the enemy shamans that you have to fight, and Thor has his magical hammer.

O V E R A L L --- Overall, I stick with the ESRB on this one. I recommend this game to anyone 13+, because of the cursing, and difficulty of the game. On the JMRS I give it an A- It is an extremely fun game if you like RPG’s or action games! It is cheap too! Only $5 for Xbox 360, $15 for Wii, and $20 for PS3 at GameStop. It is also available for almost every game console! So whatever you have, you can probably get it. So what are you waiting for? Go pick it up!

Marvel: Ultimate Alliance (PS2, PS3, PSP, Xbox, Xbox 360, Wii, GBA, PC)

Wanna buy it? Amazon GameStop

Carry The Cross

2012-05-07T16:23:00.001-04:00

C A R R Y t h e C R O S S

Hey everyone! Little bit of a different post today, but still just as awesome. My youth pastor is currently going through a series about dropping your baggage and carrying the cross. It's too heavy to carry all the things you're trying to hold on to, and carry the cross at the same time. You need to put down all your extra, ungodly baggage, and pick up the cross. Me and a few friends decided to make a video about this. There is a little humor, but all are real examples of stuff that we may be carrying, that we shouldn't be, and eventually are going to fall because we are too weighed down by it. Check out the video below. Think about it. Maybe you are carrying baggage you shouldn't be carrying while you are trying to carry the cross. Save yourself from falling. Drop the burden.

Conviction

2012-05-04T22:56:00.002-04:00

C O N V I C T I O N

Ok, today we will be discussing conviction while playing games. Now most people aren’t going to be convicted by playing Mario, but games like Dead Space or Gears of War might propose a problem.

Have you ever felt, while playing a game, a strange feeling while you were playing it? Like a “Is this really appropriate?” or “Is this something a Christian should play?” type of feeling. If you have, I hope you have thought thoroughly through it, and come to your conclusion, instead of just brushing it off your shoulder. I highly recommend you read the comments on this forum topic http://forums.guide2games.org/topic/2452-do-you-ever-feel-convicted-while-playing/page__pid__72143__st__0&#entry72143 . Very interesting opinions! You can also share your opinions with us by hopping on board and joining the forums!

Now I will hash out my thoughts. If you are playing a game, say Call of Duty: Black Ops, and you are hearing all of this profane language, but you feel something inside telling you to stop and think about what you are feeding your body. But you dismiss that thought automatically thinking you will come to say anything like this, so you keep playing. Then when you play online, and you hear a lot of people using even more profane language and still continue playing. Then after a while of playing and having some guy kill you every 5 seconds and you find yourself thinking or even using this kind of language that you thought you would never use. You have fallen and given in to Satan who is trying to pull you away from Christ. If you had listened to this conviction when you first started playing, this never would’ve happened. But since it was such a good game you kept on playing and fell into temptation. Now, the issue might not be language with everyone. It might be violence or sexual content. Either way, it is the same basic thing that happens.

You might be asking, now: “How do I prevent this from happening?” Well first off, you might want to look at the ESRB descriptors before you buy a game. A game probably some of us might struggle with whether it be lust, profane language, or violence, is Mass Effect 3. Now, this isn’t the worst game out there, but being as its fairly new, and there is no offensive content on the cover (as was the situation with the example I was thinking about using, Catherine) I will use this as an example. If you are wondering if you should play a game, look at the back of the game case near the bottom in a little box with the ESRB rating as shown in the picture with a big red arrow. (picture above) Notice all of the descriptors in the next, enlarged image of the rating. (picture below) If the descriptors for your game pass your offensive content test, move on to the next step. Go ahead and play it and see how you feel. If you, or a friend, or family member notice a change in your behavior since you got the game, it’s a definite return! Go right to the store and return the game as soon as possible. Another test is if you get a feeling while you are playing, like the “Should a Christian be playing this?” feeling I mentioned above, you should consult God about it and not play it for a few days. Your feeling of conviction might not be about the content though. You might even feel conviction about playing Mario if you are spending many too many hours playing it, when you could be doing something useful. Games that most people spend too much time on though are RPG’s like The Elder Scrolls (series) or MMORPG’s like World of Warcraft. If you are shirking your responsibilities because you are spending too much time playing a game, take a break from it until you can get control of yourself and how much time you spend playing.

If you follow these steps, you will probably never go wrong! Keep in mind that God may or may not want you to play a certain game. If your friend plays a game and feels no conviction and you do, don’t feel that you need to play it too just because they do, or that your conviction isn’t real. If you feel something, yes, it is real and you should pay attention to it! Some games simply aren’t for some people.

That’s all for now! If you have any questions, leave them in the comment box below. Think about what I wrote while you are playing, but as always – have fun!

Legend Of Zelda: Twilight Princess Review

2012-04-30T21:18:00.000-04:00

The Legend of Zelda:

Twilight Princess

R E V I E W

The Legend of Zelda is one of the greatest game series’ of all time. Everyone has at least heard of The Legend of Zelda. Link, Zelda, the city of Hyrule, they’re all familiar in some way! Whether it’s from the 80’s or the 2000’s we’ve all at least seen gameplay of a Zelda game. The Legend of Zelda games have always been long, yet fun. The first Zelda game was the first to accompany a save feature on the NES, but since it was powered by batteries, after about 2 years the batteries died and you couldn’t access your save files! Well we don’t have to worry about that happening anymore, but times in the game can be just as frustrating.

Link In Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess

G A M E P L A Y --- The gameplay, as in all Zelda games, is spectacular! This game though was a breath of fresh air for many Zelda fans. Fans were disappointed when Wind Waker was released, because of the “childish” art style. Well that problem was resolved in Twilight Princess! The graphics all look so real. Very accomplished for the Wii console. Instead of looking like he is about 7, Link looks like he is 16, which very well suits him. The sounds were very well designed and appointed. The music wasn’t boring either. One thing I have to say is when you transform into wolf form and Midna is on your back her yawning and whatnot is very annoying, but it doesn’t take away from the gameplay experience at all. The controls were very easy to use. The Z targeting system accompanies the nunchuck very well. The Motion controls are used in good form as well. There are a lot of different items to collect, and places to go. Wolf form is an awesome feature as well. It is fun to walk around as a wolf and there are numerous things you can do exclusively as a wolf. Lots of different tools, dungeons, and puzzles makes for many hours of fun!

O F F E N S I V E M A T E R I A L --- There are only a few things that would be found offensive in this game. First off, it is a pretty dark game, which warrants its T rating. The only blood in the game isn’t really even blood; it comes from plants, such as the Deku Baba’s. When you go in the Cave of Ordeals, in Lanayru Desert, there is a fairy there who is topless, but her hair covers anything that would be inappropriate.

O V E R A L L --- Overall, I would recommend this game to anyone 12+ because of its dark themes and its being pretty hard at some points. On the JMRS I give TP an A+. This game will keep anyone busy for a very long time. The average time to complete it is between 40 and 60 hours! If that seems long to you, don’t worry, you can play this game anytime and come back to it; if you can stand to put it down!

Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess (Wii, GC)

Epic Mickey Review

2012-04-24T16:09:00.001-04:00

Epic Mickey

R E V I E W

Disney’s Epic Mickey! An unexpected, yet excellent title! Epic Mickey, a Wii exclusive is a fun, challenging adventure! You, as Mickey, set off through the mirror to the unknown world of Wasteland. There is a giant monster called the Shadow Blot who is trying to destroy Wasteland. Armed with paint in your right hand and thinner in your left, you must save the land and restore it to its original state!

G A M E P L A Y --- First on the list: Graphics! I must say first, I love the art style in Epic Mickey! It’s a very intriguing art style; kind of like watercolors. The controls are the easiest to use and pick up on. Very basic for an adventure game. There is even a paintbrush attachment to replace the nunchuck controller! The difficulty seems to be right on par with whichever setting you select. Sound is fantastic as well! There is a lot of different effects and music! Ok now for the last one: general gameplay. This is probably the games strongest point. Almost everything in the game you can use thinner on and erase, or use paint on and create! The game has a good length as well! Not at all short. There are many quests and alternate endings, making for good replay value.

O F F E N S I V E M A T E R I A L --- One thing great about this game, I didn’t see a bit of offensive material! I mean, its Disney, no one expects any! Great family friendly game. Too little of kids may be scared by the enemies, but other than that there is no problem!

O V E R A L L --- Overall, this is a great game for anyone. Not just the kids. It will make for a great time for the whole family if you have this game! On the JMRS I give Epic Mickey an A. I recommend ages of 8+ because of some of the games challenging features.

Epic Mickey (Wii)

Crash Bandicoot Original Trilogy

2012-03-16T19:05:00.000-04:00

Crash Bandicoot 1,2,AND3

R E V I E W

The Crash Bandicoot Main Menu from the original Crash Bandicoot for Playstation One.

Ah yes. The Crash Bandicoot original trilogy. The “Star Wars” of the gaming industry. Ok maybe they’re not that big, but they’re a pretty iconic trilogy for gaming everywhere, despite being Playstation platformers. If you’re not completely sure what the whole Crash story is, you don’t have to start with game number one. That’s one of the many things great about the Crash series. You can really start off anywhere. Kind of like The Legend of Zelda. Every game has pretty much the same overall ordeal. Villain wants to take over the world (or universe). You, as the hero, save the world. Happy ending, with of course a twist nobody ever suspects in the middle.

Crash Bandicoot: The original, 1994, industry changing game. Its “cartoony” appearance doesn’t mean it’s a kids game. Its fun for all ages! The graphics are absolutely stunning for 1994 when it was released. Probably the best on the Playstation at that time. Not many games had voice acting like Crash did either. Since it was made in 1994, before analog sticks on the PS, the controls are a bit clunky, but what else can you expect? The sound effects could also be a little better. Overall, a must own for any gamer!

Crash Banditoot 2: Cortex Strikes Back: “He’s baaaaaaack” is the slogan for the sequel to Crash Bandicoot: Crash Bandicoot 2. Sometimes in game series’ the first is always the best. Well not in this case. Crash Bandicoot 2 in my opinion is far better than the first. Being designed with analog sticks in mind, the controls are fun and easy to use. The graphics are about twice as good as the first. And with no particular story line continuance, players don’t even have to play the original Crash if they don’t want to. Gameplay is very enjoyable, and there are secret levels and hints for the players enjoyment to figure out! This game must be in your PlayStation library!

Crash Bandicoot 3: WARPED: The second sequel to Crash Bandicoot is better than the first, and better than the second! The best graphics so far in the Crash series. A variety of levels including racing, underwater, and even space. For the first time ever players get to play as Coco Bandicoot on select levels. A list of 5 power ups make Crash more powerful and more fun to play as than ever before. More challenging levels and speed runs make for a longer and more enhanced gameplay experience. Being one of the best games on PlayStation One everyone needs to own a copy!

O V E R A L L --- Overall, this trilogy is a must, must, must have for any Playstation owner! The JRMS ratings are as follows: Crash Bandicoot - A; Cortex Strikes Back - A+; WARPED - A+. Don’t miss out on this great experience. Resident Evil, Metal Gear Solid, and the Final Fantasy’s are among the best PS1 games, but don’t overlook the Crash Bandicoot series while you search for the good PS1 games! The graphics are superior for the times they were released. If you have a PS1, PS2, or backwards compatible PS3 don’t miss out on this great gameplay experience!

Crash Bandicoot (PS1 [downloadable on PSN for PS3 and PSP])

Crash Bandicoot 2: Cortex Strikes Back (PS1 [downloadable on PSN for PS3 and PSP])

Crash Bandicoot 3: WARPED (PS1 [downloadable on PSN for PS3 and PSP])

Spider-Man Review

2012-03-03T10:50:00.000-05:00

S p i d e r – M a n

R E V I E W

When you see this you might be saying “Oh no, not another movie game”. Well you might want to give this one a second look before jumping to a conclusion. This is one of THE best movie games that I have ever played.

Cover art from Spider-Man for PS2

G A M E P L A Y--- The gameplay is probably what makes this game. You’ve watched the movie, you know the story, so what’s so special about the game? The gameplay makes for a whole new experience of Spider-Man. We’ll start off with the graphics. Now, it’s not the best graphics, but hey, when you take into consideration what year it was made they’re pretty average. The sound could be a little bit better, but its good nonetheless. The controls are pretty comfortable for the PS2 controller. You’re basic action/adventure game controls for the most part (Square to punch, X to jump, circle to kick, triangle to shoot web). The fact that you can sit down and enjoy being Spider-Man through the first Spider-Man movie is satisfying in itself. It even has fun, un-lockable mini-games!

O F F E N S I V E M A T E R I A L--- Ok this is the best part of the game. The movie is rated PG-13, so what would you think the game would be rated? (that’s where you say “T for Teen!”) Wrong! This game is rated E for Everyone! This is probably one of the only instances where they make the game less offensive than the movie! I have beaten this game many times and the only (mildly) offensive thing I’ve seen is violence! Just like the ESRB descriptors states.’

O V E R A L L--- I give this game a B on the JMRS. If you're looking for a fun, level-based game to play, this is a pretty good one. Great storyline, gameplay, practically no offensive content; could it get better? Well, yes it could use some better graphics, and possibly sound, I’m not going to lie, but overall it’s a great game. Pick it up for some fun!

Spider-Man (PS2, Xbox, PC, GC, GBA)

"Game Time"

2012-01-25T19:56:00.000-05:00

"Game Time" is the title of a very good discussion about gaming going on, on Guide2Games right now. Its about the hours that we spend gaming, and whether or not we should spend 8 hour-at-a-time sessions, being Christians. Is there a better way we could be spending our time? Be sure to check it out. Become a member of Guide2Games! We would love to have you on board :)

Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days (DS)

2012-01-15T15:53:00.000-05:00

Kingdom Hearts: 358/2 Days

R E V I E W

Xemnas, Xigbar, Xaldin, Vexen, Lexaeus, Zexion, Saix, Axel, Demyx, Luxord, Marluxia, Larxene, and Roxas. Organization XIII. As Organization XIII you are nobodies. They say you have no heart. But is that really true? You are seeking to find your heart; but are you seeking for something you already have, but don’t realize it? Are you really a nobody?

Kingdom hearts 358/2 days is an exiting action RPG, as are the rest of the games in the Kingdom Hearts series. Being developed by Square Enix, you know you are in for a long, but fun adventure. 358/2 days takes place during the time of Chain of Memories (a.k.a. RE: Chain of Memories for ps2). You play as Roxas, Sora’s nobody. Since you are part of Organization XIII you must carry out the orders of Xemnas, your leader.

G A M E P L A Y--- First off I want to warn everyone, if you have not played Kingdom Hearts, Kingdom Hearts Chain of Memories, or Kingdom Hearts RE: Chain of Memories you almost definitely will not understand the story to this game. The gameplay is quite enjoyable. It is mission based, so you stay at a main HUB type area for pretty much the whole game. When you go on missions you talk to Saix and he sends you to various worlds from the Disney universe, ranging from Agrabah, from Aladdin, to Wonderland, from Alice in Wonderland. To customize your character abilities you use panels. Unlike the previous Kingdom Hearts games, you have a limited number of potions, ethers, elixirs, and spells you can carry on missions, rather than carrying all that you obtain. This makes missions a slight bit harder. I think the gameplay fits the role that you are playing, as a member of the Organization. The control scheme is as close as it can be to the PS2 scheme. The touch screen serves for the rotation of the camera, and easy panel customization and mission select. Graphics are as good as they can be on the DS in my opinion! They are outstanding for the DS. Sound fits the same description as the graphics; amazing!

O F F E N C I V E M A T E R I A L--- I had to think hard about what to put in this space, which is defiantly not a bad thing! The only thing there would be controversy over is that there is a lot of reference to the darkness, and you are working for the ‘bad guys’. Also, Jasmine from Aladdin is in the game wearing her usual outfit, which some may be offended by. I absolutely LOVE it that this game has little to no offensive material at all!

S U M M A R R Y--- Overall, 358/2 Days gets an A++ on the JMRS from me! I would follow the ESRB rating on this one for age though. Anyone 10+, and has played the two Kingdom Hearts games mentioned above, should be able to enjoy this game without a problem! It is an amazing and fun experience that no one should miss out on!

Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days (DS)

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Champions of Norrath

2012-01-05T17:20:00.000-05:00

CHAMPIONS of NORRATH

R E V I E W

“Champions of Norrath, thank you for answering my call in what may be our darkest hour. The unthinkable has happened. Orcs and goblins, once mortal enemies, have now become allies and have attacked our beloved home in Faydwer. Even as we speak, they move through Faydark forest unopposed. They have pillaged our home, Kelethin, and put our loved ones to the sword. Their tracks leave scars upon the land that may never be healed. Yet, my friends, I fear that this is only the beginning. If Faydark falls, then so falls Faydwer and then these beasts will have all of Norrath by the throat. This is not a battle we are fighting, it is a war, and it is one we must win. Many brave fighters have fallen and many more are dying in the forests below. To win this war, I need more than soldiers with a will to fight. I need heroes! Men and women of strength, and bravery, who can turn aside this tide of hate that threaten our kingdom and all of Norrath. Who amongst you will take up the sword, the staff, the hammer, and drive this scourge from our land? If there be any who would lay down their life for the glory of Faydwer, for the defense of Norrath, then speak now!” – Leithkorias

Champions of Norrath cover art

This is the intro to Champions of Norrath: Realms of Everquest. After Leithkorias makes this speech you may choose from 5 different species: Barbarian Warrior, Wood Elf Ranger, High Elf Cleric, Erudite Wizard, or Dark Elf Shadownight, either male or female, with their own special abilities to fit your needs. After that you can customize your characters looks, with variations of skin, hair and so forth. After this you appoint 20 extra points to the attribute(s) of your choosing from: Strength (how much damage each blow from you character deals during melee. Also increases how much your character can carry), Intelligence (increases the amount of mana your character can hold and how fast your characters mana regenerates [if you choose a Barbarian mana regeneration is negated]), Dexterity (makes your character more accurate in all attacks, and increases the amount of damage done by ranged weapons), and Stamina (increases the amount of health you character has and how fast your character regenerates health). After distributing your points, you finally get to name your character. Then, your quest begins!

G A M E P L A Y--- This game is absolutely phenomenal! The graphics are more advanced than expected from a 2005 game. From character detail, to backgrounds, they are near-perfect. The only problem I saw was, from the 3 camera angles to choose from, neither show off the graphics as much as they could have. The character graphics when they’re talking is in the top 10 best that I have ever seen! When the character stops talking at the end of a sentence, their mouth doesn’t keep moving, and when they are talking, it actually looks like they are speaking the words! The voice acting is also fantastic! When they talk it does not sound like the actors are just reading a script for a few extra bucks, as it sadly seems in numerous games, it sounds like they are really passionate about what they are doing! The slashing/whacking/casting sounds are vibrant. It is sad to say that the music may be a downfall for some. It is all orchestra, which fits the game with its set time, however in some long stages, where the same song plays until you make it to another stage, it becomes repetitive and tiring. Luckily, there is only about one stage where this occurs. The enemies are basically the same everywhere in the matter of mages, rangers, and warriors. They are diverse in appearance though, ranging from normal goblins and orcs, to skeletons and vampires. There are hundreds of weapons and armor to pick up and/or buy and sell. The weapons can be 2- handed, for extra power, or one handed, so you can also carry a shield or another weapon if you have the dual wield skill. For armor you can equip a helmet, chest plate, gloves, leggings, and boots. You also can equip jewelry. At one time you may wear: a necklace, a pair of earrings, and 2 rings. The controls are pretty normal for a game of this style. Power ups are also tremendously diverse between characters.

O F F E N C I V E M A T E R I A L--- I am extremely delighted to announce there is no language in the game whatsoever, with the exception of the b****rd sword. This is never spoken in the game since it is the name of a weapon, and using this weapon is easily avoidable. If you are sensitive to magical references this game is almost definitely not for you, since magic is vastly used. Although if you choose the Barbarian Warrior you do not need to use any magic, but you will face shamans and such characters as that that almost only use magic. The rating of Blood and Gore may automatically be a shut-down for some people who are squeamish. However, in options there is a setting, which is defaultly off, where there is very minor blood and no gore. If you turn it on, when you kill goblins and enemies of that nature, blood splats out, and there’s a puddle of blood under them when they die. The only gore in the game is when you kill people and animals in lightly colored floored areas, such as when you’re on sand. The gore isn’t very detailed and almost always looks like a red rock. Later in the game you meet a mermaid, Kerriel, who is laying on a rock. She is not wearing anything on her upper body, but her hair covers her private areas. There is also a woman (not a mermaid) with the same upper body explanation, and is wearing what looks like underwear and a shawl on her lower body. Except for the women you play as, nearly all of them (which isn’t very many) are scantily dressed. Fortunately nothing is shown, with one exception to when you are in Vanarhost castle. Sylea (Vanarhost’s wife) is basically wearing only enough to cover herself, and is wearing a thong, but that isn’t too much of a problem since there isn’t much camera or graphical emphasis on it, so you can easily look over it. One enemy is a demon-like creature, which may offend some. One of the characters makes a slight reference to wine, but this shouldn’t offend most people, since it is not used in a consuming manner. Also the last boss, Innoruuk, is basically the devil. He is called the prince of hate. (Minor spoiler) Which when you defeat him in the end, is it a good-wins-over-evil kind of thing. (end minor spoiler) My main issue with the game (which may or may not be yours) is when you are in act 4 the first person you see in Khathuun, Gol Nazyn, is sort of a deceiver. After you find all of the ‘curiosity’ that he asks you to find for him (Spoiler Alert) he gives you a Shard of Hate in return, which brings misfortune on the beholder; but you do need this to win the game. (End Spoiler) Also when you find all of the ‘curiosity’ that he asks you to find, he proclaims “Praise Innoruuk!” which, in this world, would make him a Satan worshiper. The last thing I found is in the end, the cutscene before you start fighting Innoruuk, he tries to fill your head with deceitful lies that you are really his disciple, just like Satan tries to do with us. Just as it should be in our lives, your character does not give in and the battle begins. If you loose, you see one ending. If you win, you see a different one. (Be sure to save right before you fight him!)

S U M M A R R Y--- Overall, I give CoN an A- on the JMRS. I would recommend this game to ages 15+. At this age most Christians are strong in their beliefs, and will not be affected by the content of this game. If you watch the Harry Potter movies and see nothing wrong with them, then you probably won’t see anything wrong with this game. There are also many positive points such as the “good-over-evil” subject and so on. The game is also very long. Around 30 hours or so i would say. So if you’re looking for a good RPG that you can play offline by yourself, with friends only locally, or online with complete strangers then I recommend this game. It is one of the best I have seen in RPG gaming!

Champions of Norrath (PS2)

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Kingdom Hearts (PS2)

2011-12-27T12:42:00.000-05:00

Kingdom Hearts

R E V I E W

I’ve been having these weird thoughts lately. Like, is any of this for real, or not?

So much to do so little time. Take your time don’t be afraid. The door is still shut…now step forward. Can you do it?

(You step forward. Three pedestals come up…one with a shield, one with a staff…one with a sword…)

The power sleeps within you. You give it form…choose well…

Shield

The power of the guardian

Kindness to aid friends

A shield to repel all

Is this the power you seek?

Sword

The power of the warrior

Invincible courage

A sword of terrible destruction

Is this the power you seek?

Staff

The power of the mystic

Inner strength

A staff of wonder and ruin

Is this the power you seek?

The closer you get to the light…the greater your shadow becomes…but don’t be afraid…you hold the mightiest weapon of them all….so don’t forget….you are the one who will open the door…

Kingdom Hearts is among the best video game series’ ever! Of course being made by Square Enix (SquareSoft at the time) you can’t expect much less! $20 (at most retailers) may seem like a lot of money to pay for a game made in 2002, but this game is worth every penny and more! It takes about 30 hours of gameplay just to complete the game! Not to mention the extra 30 or so hours of extras and unlockables!

G A M E P L A Y--- The graphics, sound and music, controls, just everything in this game is amazing! I don’t even know where to start, but I’ll start with the graphics. I can not believe this game was made in 2002! The graphics look like they are from 2005 at least! From simple ground textures, to even water, it all looks fantastic! The sound and music are phenomenal. The sound effects are wonderful, and the music fits each location and instance perfectly. It is properly calibrated for every section of the game. Utada Hikaru’s songs are ideal in where they are placed in the game. The controls may be a bit strange to the average action player at first, but are easily hewn into the players mind. Probably the strangest part of the controls is the camera angling. You use the L2 and R2 buttons to rotate the camera. Setting the camera rotation on buttons in place of the most commonly used right analog stick, casts out the ability to look from a partial bottom up or partial top down perspective. Luckily the game utilizes this skill automatically, but in not using the right analog stick, it, in a way, takes away from the player’s freedom. There are many abilities, spells, and keyblades to choose from, although if you compare them to those of Kingdom Hearts II, they seem limited. Most of the characters in the game are given a sort of childish appearance, despite the fact of most of them being around 14 years old.

O F F E N C I V E M A T E R I A L--- Since Kingdom Hearts was partially developed by Disney, there is very little offensive content. Magic is used throughout the game, but you, as Sora, don’t necessarily have to use it. There is a world you go to, Atlantis, which is the world from The Little Mermaid. Ariel is wearing the same outfit that she wears in the movie, and as Sora in merman form, you are shirtless, which may offend some. Jasmine from Aladdin is also wearing her customary outfit, which may be a little but meager. Also Yuffie from Final Fantasy is also wearing her normal outfit, short jean shorts and a T shirt, which both look about 5 sizes too small. But she is in a childish form, so it shouldn’t be a problem.

S U M M A R R Y--- Kingdom Hearts gets an A++ on the JRMS! Overall, I would suggest this game to someone 10+. Anyone younger than that in my opinion wouldn’t be able to fully enjoy this game. It does have an addicting story, so if you aren’t prepared to spend 30 hours or more per game in the series, well you’ll have to prepare yourself because this game series is too good to pass up!

Kingdom Hearts (PS2)

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Medal of Honor Heroes 2

2011-11-26T12:25:00.000-05:00

MEDAL OF HONOR HEROES 2

R E V I E W

Medal of Honor Heroes 2 is simply one of the best shooters for the Wii and probably THE best from the Christian standpoint.

You are in World War II. There are many objectives to complete, but you can complete them; can’t you? You must prove that you are the ultimate soldier. You are a jack of all trades. There is no need to master only heavy machine guns, or sniper rifles, because you must master them all. The war is relying on you. Without you we are defeated. Take the stand against the Germans! Ensure American victory!

G A M E P L A Y --- Lets start off with graphics. For to be made in 2007 and on the Wii, its pretty much as good as you can get! The faces on people are nice, and so are the hand and gun graphics. Scenery looks good up close, but could be a little better further away. Textures are good. There really isn’t much to say about graphics except for see for yourself! On to sound. There isn’t really any music in the game except for the main menu, but really do you need any in a FPS? The sound effects are so smooth. The guns shooting and just everything seems so natural! The controls are easy to use, but you kind of get tired of holding the Wii remote and nun chuck in “gun formation” after a while. This is when it would be handy to pick up a Wii Zapper attachment, on which you slip in the Wii remote and nun chuck and it always stays in gun formation, since this game supports the Wii Zapper control scheme. The guns are mostly the Thompson and MP40 machine guns, aside from the Pistol. But there are special weapons for select most levels which include the Panzershrek Bazooka, and the 12 gauge Shotgun! Also, there is a campaign mode, which you walk around freely, and do things at your own leisure, where in the arcade mode, you only shoot, and the moving is done for you.

O F F E N S I V E M A T E R I A L --- Very surprisingly since this game is made by EA and its in the Medal of Honor series there is NO language! I think that deserves a round of applause! Offensive material in this game is only violence! There isn’t even any blood! Violence I personally don’t see as much of a problem, the combat is pretty realistic, but when the Germans die, its really pre-animated death. It isn’t that realistic. That probably is the only part of the game that isn’t realistic.

S U M M A R Y --- Overall on the JMRS I give it an A. Its just great. It's one of the best for Wii. I recommend this game to anyone and everyone! It is a tiny bit pricey but it is worth it! Pick it up soon if you have a Wii!

Medal of Honor Heroes 2 (Wii, PSP)

Note* You may notice I did not mention the PSP version. This is because I do not have a PSP, nor have played the PSP version of this game. I do not know how good it is on PSP therefore I have said nothing about it.

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