Jack Crain's Thoughts & Perspective

Reminder

2010-02-02T02:18:00.003-05:00

For any of those that have wandered on over and read any of the things that I written down, I just want to remind you all that I am a "free-lance" critic, a.k.a. broke gamer with a blog, and I do mainly games that have come out in the past ten years that I pick up again and try to remind people why we did/do play them and also why they should never be touched again or if you are lucky never to touch them to begin with.

I have also buckled and created a Twitter. I didn't want to but it started out as something to use for all of the instant response thing that XM radio had, G4TV's bottom scroll questions, and to see if I could make it onto CNN. Now, I have sunk to the level of a Tweeter. If you care to add me, I am Jack_Crain or @Jack_Crain. If you just want to rag on me, that is ok as well.

Soon to come are RE4, RE5, Oblivion, Two Worlds, and more.

Remember, I also have another blog and thinking of making a few more that might help out with some life dilemmas. Haven't come up with a name, so any advice would be welcome.

Movies to Games

2009-12-25T20:29:00.001-05:00

I have created a few reviews this past few months, though not many of them are that notable. I am not going to quit writing them; instead I am going to try something different. I am going to write a list of games that have direct movie counterparts that got it right, meaning that E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial will not be on this list.

1. Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers for PS2 – The game played differently from that of the game by splitting up the story into three sections allowing the player to advance the game at his/her own rate while still maintaining the original storyline. The game is RPG based with character improvements and experienced earned that allows the player to buy different moves and attacks. Like the movie, the game leaves a bit out that was in the book, though it keeps the main picture and message of the book intact. A solid play and buy.

2. Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King for PS2 – The game continued the story of the previous installments. The game play was slightly smoother and the controls even better. The whole theory of this game was similar to that of the second game. Also a solid buy. This game even allows the player to play as characters that weren’t in the second game.

3. The Harry Potter Series – Though this series is made for a more juvenile demographic they are all pretty well made and hold the feeling and emotional content that the movies try to portray. From the whimsical nature of the first game to the release of the seriousness of the most recent version, the games have held a higher benchmark than all of the Disney movies turned video game.

Halo 3: ODST

2009-12-10T20:40:00.004-05:00

With Halo 3: ODST, I came to the game with an open mind after playing the demo for Halo Wars. I am not a fan of RTSs (Real Time Strategies) so the game didn’t really appeal to me though when I found out that ODST was going to be a FPS (First Person Shooter) I was ready to get my battle rifle and get to work. This game does something that the others don’t, which is allow the player to experience life as someone that isn’t more than a regular human in the military dealing with the same war that Master Chief is fighting.

The game goes through the lives and tells the stories of a squad of ODSTs (Orbital Drop Shock Trooper) after their launch sends them to different sections of a city. Throughout the game, you find out the significance of Sergeant Major Avery Johnson. The information that he acquires at the end of the game explains why the covenant wants him in the third installation of the series.

Though the game doesn’t offer many new guns, it does bring back all of the classic ones. Also the game comes with the Halo 3 online multiplayer maps so that if you by ODST you don’t have to spend the money on the map packs. Along with the online maps of the preceding Halo game, there is also a much needed different version of the online experience with Firefight. This brings in the use of the waves of enemies similar to that of the game Gears of War 2. This being said, ODST does something that GoW 2 doesn’t, and that is alternate the different spawning and dropping of the enemies.

All in all, I would have to say that if you are a fan of the storyline of Halo, a fan of FPSs, or just a fan of challenges, then this is the game for you.

Bioshock

2009-12-03T17:53:00.002-05:00

With the new installment of the Bioshock universe on the way, I figured that I would go back to what made the original game worthy of having a sequel, unlike many that come out. Bioshock is a game that helped me create the statement, “Nope. I didn’t read the book, though I did play the game.” For all of those that don’t know, Bioshock was largely based on Atlas Shrugged and is even thanked at the end of the storyline. That being said, this game is one of the best games that came for any system.

This game took a simple gaming genre and tweaked it. While still maintaining the FPS aspect of the game, the game uses genetic alterations that allow the player to use the environment to affect the enemy. Throughout the game the player can use fire, ice, telekinesis, the ability to control bees, and many other plasmids that can be effective in a pinch when ammo is low. A few months after the game was released, XBL added a couple plasmids that could be downloaded for free to help players beat the game with less hassle, though even these didn’t guarantee simplicity of the game.

Seeing as how this is a shooter, Bioshock of course has weapons that are all upgradeable. Each of the guns in the game has three types of ammo that all have better effects the target being fired upon. There is ammo that can be used as a trap for future enemies, ammo that is better for shooting machines and robots, and antipersonnel ammo. Though the weapons and plasmids seem simple, the blend and use of both made the game a shining success.

Overall, this game was and is a hit and can help any gamer to see that not all games based on another form of media are doomed from the beginning. Here’s looking at you ET the Extraterrestrial for Atari 2600, GI Joe, and most Marvel Movie/games. Also, with a great game based off of a novel shows gamers, programmers, and even authors that there is more than one way to enjoy or even think about literature and videogames.

Fallout 3 plus Downloadable Content

2009-12-03T02:01:00.001-05:00

As a fan of both the original Fallout series and the RPG franchise that Bethesda has been making, I had the best of hopes and thoughts for Fallout 3. It’s rare that I am both impressed by a game and fully satisfied by the turnout, but Fallout 3 fell into this category. Quite possibly one of the best RPGs to be made, by a company not SquareEnix or Atlus (seeing as how these are two of the best RPG companies out on the main stage), Fallout brings to the table all the things that could be wanted in a post-apocalyptic RPG.

The only thing that I found to be a draw back to the game was the level up cap. That is correct, with such a vast world; there shouldn’t be a leveling cap. With the ability search the world for hours on end and kill things for the fun of it, a leveling cap seemed to be a way for the programmers and producers of the game to have a little laugh to themselves while the gamers realized this fact and found no real need to continue to kill random things in the world for “0 experience.”

Now that I got all of that out of the way, let me start on all of the many pluses that this game brings to the table. First of all, the main character like many other RPGs made in this day and age is totally customizable, and with the continuity of the game whatever race you choose for yourself, the game programs that in for the Father as well. I found that to be a rather smart idea.

Like with Oblivion, there are numerous caves, dungeons, and pathways that hold weapons, ammo, and other items that can come in handy one way or another. The number of locations on the main map is rather high and the Bethesda team again managed to change things up so that no two caves are exactly alike meaning that you will always feel like they took the time to hand pick up the creatures for all of the caves. The design team depicted a 3D world that could truly be thought of as an honest post-apocalyptic world.

Even the DLC for the game is amazing showing that DLC isn’t made for the sole reason to make money but to enhance the game. Three of the DLCs allow people to see what other major cities in the US might look like after the Great War, one places the gamer into the start of the whole war with China, and the final DLC bizarrely places Aliens into the world and allows the gamer to save it from extraterrestrials (expanding the number of weapons and providing a way to fix the Alien Blaster).

All in all this game is the polar opposite in quality of the third movie in the Godfather series. I would have to say that if you want a game with a story line, here you go. If you want a game that you don’t have to do things in any particular order, her you go. Do you want to get the option as to how your actions affect your level-up system, here you go. If you want a game that incorporates all of these aspects THEN HERE YOU GO DAMN IT.

Saint’s Row 2

2009-12-03T02:00:00.000-05:00

I played the first Saint’s Row and wasn’t ecstatic about it, but it was a fun game do to the fact that there were so many different things that could be done that weren’t available in the GTA franchise. Things such as character customization, side missions and jobs, and my favorite aspect of not flying, (I suck at it). The sequel however was less than amazing.

It did bring back the whimsy and “thug” aspect that made the first one different and fun to play. The aspect of customizing a character that can look Asian, African-American, or some other race with a British accent. This along with certain side missions came back. The sketchiness of the escort missions, the misogyny of the snatch missions, and the hilarity of the medical tax fraud missions came back and tweaked to fit the new world of the SR world. The cars were back and better as were the graphics and the rate of speed of the game itself. The truth of what happened at the end of game one was answered. With all of these things there were many things that fell flat about the game.

The biggest thing that was wrong was the overall glitches. I understand that glitch checking is something that costs a fair amount of money and time, but that is no excuse for me being able to brake check a police car and have the driver crash through and get stuck in my trunk. That was just the first of many glitches that the game presented me with. The next memorable fault of the game was the simplicity of the missions. The most difficult of the missions were the two in which I was forced to fly helicopters. Remember, I mentioned that I suck at this, meaning that if I were a natural born video game pilot these two missions would have fallen into the mediocre difficulty that the other bits of the game brought to the table. Main flaw number three of the game was the fact that it was to simple to beat the game without doing the vast majority of the side missions, although this game is open-ended allowing the player to continue to comlete them after finishing the main storyline.

The biggest problem is that the only way to find out about the truth of the first game is to complete this convoluted search for a building that has three secret audio tapes that earns you a phone contact and then you finish a mission that allows you to find out that the most typical thing that could have happened did happen.

I wouldn’t so much say that this game isn’t worth playing as much as it is an easy game to play to earn achievements. To quote Dave Chappell, “I wish that I had two more hands so I can give it four thumbs down.”

Allow Me to Introduce Myself

2009-12-03T01:48:00.001-05:00

I am here to share my opinions (obviously) about things that I find important. This just so happens to be video games. I am a rather experienced gamer, even though I am only in my early 20s. I have played and owned a numerous amount systems and games. I first started my love of the products with the NES (Nintendo Entertainment System). Since then I have owned an Atari 2600, SNES (Super Nintendo Entertainment System), Gameboy, Gameboy Color, Gameboy Advance, Sega Genisi, Sega Saturn, Nintendo GameCube, Sony Playstation 2, Xbox 360, Xbox 360 Elite.

I am in the works of getting my Associates in Computer Science with the hopes to one day work for a company to help make and produce the things that made me the person that I am today. I have a couple ideas right now for games that I would like to make, though they shall stay in my head for the time being.

My name is Jack Crain on XBL if you want to add me.

I plan to do the one thing that seems to be missing from most magazine’s reviews and rating systems. Blunt honesty. I don’t care about what the game’s producers did in the past and I won’t be influenced. Hell, I’ll destroy them and advertise them all at the same time. Loud mouthed (Strong keyed) is what I am bringing to the table. Keep in touch. I will answer any question that you may have and post.