Here's the thing, I want to love this game. I love this series. SoulCalibur has been my favorite fighting series since the first SoulCalibur game on the Dreamcast way back when. But, while I do enjoy this iteration, I feel like I was shorted a little bit. The game has a boat-load of new characters, there is a (kinda) new critical edge system, and a story that is actually kind of a story, but I still kind of feel like I was cheated. Here's why:
Graphically, this game isn't breaking any new ground. That said, it does look pretty good. The environments are very well rendered and the character models are great. The movements are fluid and hit detection is better this time around than it has been. The sound design is also great. Background music ranges from a handful of new songs to some older ones from games past. Character voices, while occasionally VERY annoying, are very well done. The actors did justice to their characters and reflect the various personalities well.
Gameplay is where SoulCalibur 5 is more or less unchanged. Button presses are responsive, combos are easy to pull off, and the fighting is very well balanced. The fights do seem to move quicker and character movement are smooth and look fairly realistic. The Critical Edge system is a more or less new mechanic to the game that offers good players a way to destroy their opponents while giving not so good players the chance to make a comeback by delivering a super hit. There is a story mode for you to play through and there is a decent story of kidnap, revenge, and double cross to play through, but the problem there is that it only took me about two hours to get through. After that is done there are online battles and an arcade mode to play through. There is also the quick battle system where you get to pick between four computer chosen opponents to fight against from the comfort of your own couch. Also included is the ability to create your own fighters or modify already created ones. This is pretty much like it has been for the last two games so I don't feel I need to spend too much time here. Finally, the last couple things you can do is create and customize your own "player card" basically a way for you to identify yourself online from the other players. The final thing is the ability to register up to three opponents to be your "rivals". These players are ones you can track and compare stats, and challenge to fights over the internet.
On a side note, I did buy the collectors edition of the game. It came with a 100 page hard cover art book, the game, a making of Blu-Ray, a DLC voucher for two armor sets for character creation, and a soundtrack CD. The game comes in a nice hard cover book type case and it is all very well put together. The art book is very nice and has some fantastic artwork in it.
So, basically, the game is pretty much the same. There isn't much for you to do after you beat the depressingly short story mode and you will find yourself bored looking for online matches to pass the time. Honestly, I do not feel like this game is worth the full price of sixty dollars. I'm disappointed with the developers for putting this game out and not giving us anything new. I'm awarding a 7/10 on this one. I say rent it, don't buy it. Thank you for reading, and as always, See You Online.
Tuesday, January 31, 2012
Saturday, January 28, 2012
The Old Republic update and other things
I have neglected to mention that the old republic received its first major title update. There is a new flash point called "Rise of the Rackghouls". I have not reached the required level to play it, so if I ever get around to it I'll let you guys know how it plays. Also included in this update are several bug fixes. I'm happy to report that I'm not noticing any major slowdowns which makes me happy.
Other gaming news - Gotham City Imposters beta is out and I think you guys should try it. Also, Soul Calibur V comes out Tuesday and so does Final Fantasy XIII-2. I am getting Soul Calibur, but am not sure how I feel about Final Fantasy. I wasn't a big fan of #13 so I'm thinking I might give this one a pass. If you play it let us know how it is. As always, See You Online.
Other gaming news - Gotham City Imposters beta is out and I think you guys should try it. Also, Soul Calibur V comes out Tuesday and so does Final Fantasy XIII-2. I am getting Soul Calibur, but am not sure how I feel about Final Fantasy. I wasn't a big fan of #13 so I'm thinking I might give this one a pass. If you play it let us know how it is. As always, See You Online.
Thursday, January 19, 2012
Due to a temporary drought in games, an old review. Mass Effect 2 (PS3)
Since Mass Effect 3 is nearing and the only game I'm getting in the next couple weeks is Soul Calibur 5, I figured I would take the time to post one of my older reviews that I have done for anyone who hasn't picked it up yet. Mass Effect 2. (MILD SPOILERS AHEAD, YOU'VE BEEN WARNED)
When I think of Mass Effect 2, the first thing that comes to mind is holy sh*t. Sorry for the swears, but this game deserves it. I dabbled in Mass Effect 1, and had fun, but felt it wasn't anything I needed to play. ME 2 comes along and I think, "Oh, why not. I'll give it a whirl." I have never been happier. Mass Effect 2 is huge, it's engrossing, and above all else, it is fun.
Graphically, Mass Effect 2 is spectacular. The PS3 version specifically looks fantastic. The environments are beautiful, the character models are amazing, and the amount of detail put into everything is beyond what I could have hoped for. I played as both male and female Shepard and both looked fantastic. The way the characters are modeled makes you feel like you are having conversations with living beings. Minus some occasional lip-syncing goof ups. I noticed next to no pop in or texture issues. There were some random strangely placed load places, but that's only a minor thing.
The sound design is spot on. Characters sound like you think they would. The voice work is fantastic. The actors seemed to feel like they were truly part of the world they are helping to build. Both actors for Shepard did a great job voicing the character and the supporting cast does their jobs 110% of the way. Musically the game is pretty good too. The clubs on the different planets have some nice up-beat dance tunes, and the dramatic pieces set the mood perfectly as you playthrough your missions. I applaud the sound team.
Finally, the important part, gameplay. There were some tweaks from Mass Effect 1 and I assure you they are for the better. The ammo system has been overhauled and you have ammo now instead of heat. The clips for your guns are universal upon pickup, but each weapon is independently counted so if you run out of ammo for one weapon, you have plenty of ammo for your other guns. This game feels much more action based than the previous entry, but again, that isn't exactly a bad thing. The fighting feels much more tightened and commanding your squad while toggling your powers is very simple to do with the controller. Throwing your powers can be tricky at times, but are also very rewarding when they hit. The game lets you fight each battle the way you want to fight it and your squad selection is key to winning. You are still captain of a team of three people and can pick teammates to compliment your abilities. Conversely, you can pick a team that is identical to you and have essential clones running the battlefield. Each playthrough has potential to be completely different from the others.
The PS3 version of the game offers an interactive comic to playthrough to make six key decisions from the first game that impact the world in your second. Playing through the second game keeps track of almost everything that you do so you can carry over your changes into the third entry. Here's the thing though, if you aren't careful, (!!!!!SPOILER!!!!!) your entire team can be killed. Or nobody will die, or anything in between. (END SPOILERS) There are fewer, almost no driving sequences in this game and the elevator loading sequences from the first game are replaced by actual loading screens. As you play you gain levels and can spend points to get new abilities for both yourself and your teammates. Once you unlock the top tier powers, your team becomes a virtually indestructible trident of doom for your enemies.
A final note on gameplay, the conversation wheel that Bioware is so fond of makes a return in Mass Effect 2. The conversations with the NPCs range from boring and unimportant, to important, to hilarious, to sad, to sexy. You can occasionally gain quests, research upgrades, or money if you follow the right paths in your conversations. Relationships are back and stronger than ever and (SPOILER ALERT) nearly always end in a sexy rumpus between you and the other person (END SPOILERS)
Overall, Mass Effect 2 is easily one of the best I have ever played. I encourage everyone to pick this up and give it a try. Please, do yourselves a favor and get this. 10/10 Play it.
(End of review)
I wrote this one over a year ago, and it still stands true. This is hands down one of my favorite games EVER and I hope you all play it and love it. See You Online.
When I think of Mass Effect 2, the first thing that comes to mind is holy sh*t. Sorry for the swears, but this game deserves it. I dabbled in Mass Effect 1, and had fun, but felt it wasn't anything I needed to play. ME 2 comes along and I think, "Oh, why not. I'll give it a whirl." I have never been happier. Mass Effect 2 is huge, it's engrossing, and above all else, it is fun.
Graphically, Mass Effect 2 is spectacular. The PS3 version specifically looks fantastic. The environments are beautiful, the character models are amazing, and the amount of detail put into everything is beyond what I could have hoped for. I played as both male and female Shepard and both looked fantastic. The way the characters are modeled makes you feel like you are having conversations with living beings. Minus some occasional lip-syncing goof ups. I noticed next to no pop in or texture issues. There were some random strangely placed load places, but that's only a minor thing.
The sound design is spot on. Characters sound like you think they would. The voice work is fantastic. The actors seemed to feel like they were truly part of the world they are helping to build. Both actors for Shepard did a great job voicing the character and the supporting cast does their jobs 110% of the way. Musically the game is pretty good too. The clubs on the different planets have some nice up-beat dance tunes, and the dramatic pieces set the mood perfectly as you playthrough your missions. I applaud the sound team.
Finally, the important part, gameplay. There were some tweaks from Mass Effect 1 and I assure you they are for the better. The ammo system has been overhauled and you have ammo now instead of heat. The clips for your guns are universal upon pickup, but each weapon is independently counted so if you run out of ammo for one weapon, you have plenty of ammo for your other guns. This game feels much more action based than the previous entry, but again, that isn't exactly a bad thing. The fighting feels much more tightened and commanding your squad while toggling your powers is very simple to do with the controller. Throwing your powers can be tricky at times, but are also very rewarding when they hit. The game lets you fight each battle the way you want to fight it and your squad selection is key to winning. You are still captain of a team of three people and can pick teammates to compliment your abilities. Conversely, you can pick a team that is identical to you and have essential clones running the battlefield. Each playthrough has potential to be completely different from the others.
The PS3 version of the game offers an interactive comic to playthrough to make six key decisions from the first game that impact the world in your second. Playing through the second game keeps track of almost everything that you do so you can carry over your changes into the third entry. Here's the thing though, if you aren't careful, (!!!!!SPOILER!!!!!) your entire team can be killed. Or nobody will die, or anything in between. (END SPOILERS) There are fewer, almost no driving sequences in this game and the elevator loading sequences from the first game are replaced by actual loading screens. As you play you gain levels and can spend points to get new abilities for both yourself and your teammates. Once you unlock the top tier powers, your team becomes a virtually indestructible trident of doom for your enemies.
A final note on gameplay, the conversation wheel that Bioware is so fond of makes a return in Mass Effect 2. The conversations with the NPCs range from boring and unimportant, to important, to hilarious, to sad, to sexy. You can occasionally gain quests, research upgrades, or money if you follow the right paths in your conversations. Relationships are back and stronger than ever and (SPOILER ALERT) nearly always end in a sexy rumpus between you and the other person (END SPOILERS)
Overall, Mass Effect 2 is easily one of the best I have ever played. I encourage everyone to pick this up and give it a try. Please, do yourselves a favor and get this. 10/10 Play it.
(End of review)
I wrote this one over a year ago, and it still stands true. This is hands down one of my favorite games EVER and I hope you all play it and love it. See You Online.
Saturday, January 7, 2012
The Old Republic Final Thoughts (PC)
Well, I've put in my time. I have played the crap out of this game, and am comfortable enough with it to award a score. Here's the thing, everyone must take into account a number of factors that went into this review score.
This is my first MMO review
This is pretty much my first time with an MMO
I have put every bit of spare time that I can into it
The number of factors going into this are astronomical. Server population control, graphical issues, graphical awesomeness, sound design, controls, ease of use, load times, questing, this list is huge and I know I haven't gone into too much detail with anything really and I apologize so I am going to recap my thoughts now.
First things first, the opening cinematics are freaking sweet. I was excited from the moment I started up the game. They look amazing, they sound amazing, and they work well to draw the player into the game world. Setting the tone for a civil war that is both behind the scenes and out in the open. Gameplay the graphics aren't as great. The game looks like it was built on a fairly upgraded Knights of the Old Republic engine. Not to say that they are bad, they could have been better. Also, the only way I know how to describe the look of the menus and worlds and pretty much everything is Star Wars. It looks how you think it should look and that is a major positive. I did have some major slow down issues when the game launched, but since patches those have mostly gone away. Some of the slow downs did effect gameplay to near unplayability at times.
The next thing is the sound, which is also fantastic. Players are fully voiced, NPCs are fully voiced and the conversation wheel that Bioware is so fond of returns in full force. The story based mission conversations seem like they had a lot more work than some of the side quest ones which does bother me a little. Lightsabers and blasters sound like you would expect them to.
Character creation is a reasonably simple, yet deep tool to begin your playthrough. You start off with a gender, then a race, then a class. There are eight classes to pick from, four for each side. You then customize your chosen warrior to look how you want them to right down to the scars and aging on their faces, and head on into the world to kill everything or save everything.
Gameplay is pretty standard for an MMO game. You have your attacks hot keyed to different numbers and press them rapidly until your enemies are dead, rinse, and repeat. There is a market system where players can post items for anyone to buy which helps lower level players get some better equipment for affordable rates. The space combat leaves a little to be desired in my opinion. I have never been a fan of on-rails flight combat, but what is there works well, I just don't care for it. The Flashpoints and Warzones are fun distractions from the main game and help bring players together in groups for common goals. I am not as familiar with these as I'd like to be, mostly because I just went solo for a majority of the game. The questing system is simple to use and the quests are as diverse as can be with the game type, but there is a lot of kill X number of fill-in-the-blank and recieve Y number of rewards. Your companions are useful not only in combat but can be sent off on missions to collect items for you to craft weapons and armor. The different planets in the galaxy act as the different zones for the players and offer different experiences depending on where you end up.
There is just so much to do in this game that I am more than happy to say I will be playing it for the foreseeable future. The server population issues that were present before launch and the slowdowns have mostly subsided. I am happy to award Star Wars: The Old Republic a 9.5/10. This is an MMO you should not overlook and I hope to See You Online.
This is my first MMO review
This is pretty much my first time with an MMO
I have put every bit of spare time that I can into it
The number of factors going into this are astronomical. Server population control, graphical issues, graphical awesomeness, sound design, controls, ease of use, load times, questing, this list is huge and I know I haven't gone into too much detail with anything really and I apologize so I am going to recap my thoughts now.
First things first, the opening cinematics are freaking sweet. I was excited from the moment I started up the game. They look amazing, they sound amazing, and they work well to draw the player into the game world. Setting the tone for a civil war that is both behind the scenes and out in the open. Gameplay the graphics aren't as great. The game looks like it was built on a fairly upgraded Knights of the Old Republic engine. Not to say that they are bad, they could have been better. Also, the only way I know how to describe the look of the menus and worlds and pretty much everything is Star Wars. It looks how you think it should look and that is a major positive. I did have some major slow down issues when the game launched, but since patches those have mostly gone away. Some of the slow downs did effect gameplay to near unplayability at times.
The next thing is the sound, which is also fantastic. Players are fully voiced, NPCs are fully voiced and the conversation wheel that Bioware is so fond of returns in full force. The story based mission conversations seem like they had a lot more work than some of the side quest ones which does bother me a little. Lightsabers and blasters sound like you would expect them to.
Character creation is a reasonably simple, yet deep tool to begin your playthrough. You start off with a gender, then a race, then a class. There are eight classes to pick from, four for each side. You then customize your chosen warrior to look how you want them to right down to the scars and aging on their faces, and head on into the world to kill everything or save everything.
Gameplay is pretty standard for an MMO game. You have your attacks hot keyed to different numbers and press them rapidly until your enemies are dead, rinse, and repeat. There is a market system where players can post items for anyone to buy which helps lower level players get some better equipment for affordable rates. The space combat leaves a little to be desired in my opinion. I have never been a fan of on-rails flight combat, but what is there works well, I just don't care for it. The Flashpoints and Warzones are fun distractions from the main game and help bring players together in groups for common goals. I am not as familiar with these as I'd like to be, mostly because I just went solo for a majority of the game. The questing system is simple to use and the quests are as diverse as can be with the game type, but there is a lot of kill X number of fill-in-the-blank and recieve Y number of rewards. Your companions are useful not only in combat but can be sent off on missions to collect items for you to craft weapons and armor. The different planets in the galaxy act as the different zones for the players and offer different experiences depending on where you end up.
There is just so much to do in this game that I am more than happy to say I will be playing it for the foreseeable future. The server population issues that were present before launch and the slowdowns have mostly subsided. I am happy to award Star Wars: The Old Republic a 9.5/10. This is an MMO you should not overlook and I hope to See You Online.
Tuesday, January 3, 2012
Orcs Must Die! PC Review
So, once in a great while I will catch a sale on Steam and there is something that catches my eye. This was one of those times and I am happy to say that I am not disappointed with what I have on my hands. Orcs Must Die! Is a fun, violent, and funny romp through various scenarios where, as the title says, Orcs must die...A lot.
Graphically this game isn't trying to break any records. The art style is smooth and maybe a little dated, but the visuals work very well for the game and help to add to the charm. There haven't been any graphical issues that I can think of other than an older engine, which isn't a problem, just not a positive either. Environments look good with some detail put into the texture work.
The sound works very well for the game, with music and voices coming through very well. Fire sounds like fire, and the music sets the atmosphere very well and fits with the environments that the game is set in.
The gameplay is what I am most happy with. The game is a mixture of tower defense/strategy and action which adds a lot of fun to the mix. When you start a level you have choices for what defenses you want to build (there are no shortage of those) and then you unleash the horde and try to defend yourself. Your character is taken out of the "god" on looker and thrust right into the middle of the fight as you help your towers defend your castle. The controls are smooth and work very well with the game. Level design is varied and the enemies are created well, even though they are the standards for this type of game.
All in all, I have had a blast with this game and I would love to see everyone buy it. It is fairly cheap and you can get it on XBLA if you don't have a computer to run it. I award this one a 9/10. See You Online.
Graphically this game isn't trying to break any records. The art style is smooth and maybe a little dated, but the visuals work very well for the game and help to add to the charm. There haven't been any graphical issues that I can think of other than an older engine, which isn't a problem, just not a positive either. Environments look good with some detail put into the texture work.
The sound works very well for the game, with music and voices coming through very well. Fire sounds like fire, and the music sets the atmosphere very well and fits with the environments that the game is set in.
The gameplay is what I am most happy with. The game is a mixture of tower defense/strategy and action which adds a lot of fun to the mix. When you start a level you have choices for what defenses you want to build (there are no shortage of those) and then you unleash the horde and try to defend yourself. Your character is taken out of the "god" on looker and thrust right into the middle of the fight as you help your towers defend your castle. The controls are smooth and work very well with the game. Level design is varied and the enemies are created well, even though they are the standards for this type of game.
All in all, I have had a blast with this game and I would love to see everyone buy it. It is fairly cheap and you can get it on XBLA if you don't have a computer to run it. I award this one a 9/10. See You Online.
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