Nintendo_Ownes7's GameSpot Friend's Reviews Nintendo_Ownes7's GameSpot Friend's Reviews Nintendo_Ownes7's GameSpot Friend's Reviews en-us Copyright (c)1995-2013 CBS Interactive. All rights reserved. http://www.gamespot.com 20 Wed, 22 May 2013 03:07:09 -0700 GameSpot Nintendo_Ownes7's GameSpot Friend's Reviews http://img.gamespot.com/gamespot/shared/promos/misc/gs_logo.gif http://www.gamespot.com 135 40 Fri, 17 May 2013 08:27:42 -0700 pigfish2 reviewed Tomb Raider for the PlayStation 3... http://www.gamespot.com/tomb-raider/user-reviews/811411/platform/ps3/ ...and gave it a 9.0!

It is easy to say that hitting the reboot button is the easy option with a franchise as it enables the developers to start from scratch once more. However in reality it is a difficult task to pull off. Make it too similar to previous iterations and people will wonder why you bothered but make it too different and existing fans will be up in arms. Thankfully with Tomb Raider, Crystal Dynamics has for the most part got the balance right, albeit opting for more that's different than the same.

Being a reboot, the game casts you as a young Lara Croft setting out on her first adventure. Lara and the entire crew of the ship The Endurance are shipwrecked on the island of Yamatai and as Lara you must uncover the islands mysteries, defeat a crazed cult and find a way to escape. All in all the plot and characters are pretty generic with some clichéd dialogue at times but it is the strength of characterisation put into Lara that stands out. She begins as a naive and frightened girl but over the course of the game develops into a strong and confident woman willing to do whatever it takes to survive. Her character development is handled well and is the stand out feature of the game. Most games allow you to advance in terms of abilities and weapons but it is rare for a developer to attempt such a degree of character development. Crystal Dynamics have pulled it off though. This is helped by capable voice performance by Camilla Luddington as Lara. Of course Lara also advances in terms of abilities which are earn using skill points and weapons which can be upgraded using salvage. Just like with the development of Lara's character these are satisfying. They also enable more tasks to be completed and improved combat capability but crucially without making the game too easy as you progress.

Gameplay can be split into three main types. Firstly there is combat. Whilst not groundbreaking the cover system is well implemented and useful in what are some pretty intense firefights at times. The enemy AI is competent too with foes hiding behind cover and making themselves difficult to take down. The combat is very much like that of the Uncharted series, which Crystal Dynamics have clearly taken a number of cues from for this reboot. This can be seen in the second type of gameplay, the exploration and platforming. Lara is just as acrobatic as Nathan Drake and makes use of whatever she can to climb and explore. Jumps and climbs are easy to perform and satisfying to pull off. In another cue taken from the Uncharted series, the scenery will often collapse as Lara climbs it, leading to a scramble to hang on and grab something else. This forms part of the game's edge of your seat tone. Set pieces abound and the game maintains a fast pace as Lara rushes to escape collapsing buildings, is swept down rushing rivers and much more. This lends the game a strong cinematic feel with Lara as the heroine of the piece. The fast pace works well due to the strength of its execution but at times it could do with slowing down. This pace is occasionally broken up the third gameplay type; puzzles. I was disappointed by the lack of puzzles in the early stages of the game and whilst they do increase in number as it progresses, I still would have welcomed more to slow the game's breakneck pace at times. The puzzles that do exist require some thought but none are likely to leave you stumped for long. Overall I feel the gameplay balance is about right though and the difficulty is appropriate too. An omission that fans of the franchise might find hard to take is the lack of tombs. There are seven, short optional tombs, hidden away to find but none that are compulsory for completion. This doesn't detract from the game's quality but existing fans could be left disappointed. It is worth noting though that despite its fast pace and lack of tombs the game is surprisingly lengthy, clocking in at over ten hours.

Graphically, Tomb Raider is not spectacular but it is a good effort. The dark colours and foreboding locales instantly set the island out as a place to be feared and lighting is effectively used to enhance the sense of unease. The music is well chosen and complements the graphical choices in making you truly believe that this is a scary place that Lara is desperate to escape from. In addition to the use of sights and sounds to create a dangerous atmosphere, the game includes a large number of collectibles that flesh out the islands backstory. These are genuinely compelling to discover and extend the games already generous run time. Relics reveal the islands physical history whilst documents are used to portray the experiences of individuals who have previously had the misfortune of ending up on Yamatai. I often find collectibles to be in a game simply for the sake of making it seem to have more value but the Documents and Relics as well as GPS caches (which reveal two secret documents if you find them all) actually complement and enhance the story of the game. Tomb Raider also features online multiplayer in an attempt to further enhance the experience. It is a woefully lacklustre though. Lag is commonplace and it is quite simply boring. As an additional feature that is entirely separate of the main game it can gratefully be ignored though and does not detract from what is a top draw adventure.

Multiplayer aside, Crystal Dynamics' reboot of the Tomb Raider franchise has done what it set out to. It successfully reinvents Lara Croft with a strong level of character development and a fast paced adventure full of memorable moments. Tom Raider has been brought up to date and whilst it may take many cues from the Uncharted series it stands out as a fantastic game in its own right and re-establishes Lara Croft at gaming's top table.

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"pigfish2 reviewed Tomb Raider for the PlayStation 3..." was posted by pigfish2 on Fri, 17 May 2013 08:27:42 -0700
]]> http://www.gamespot.com/tomb-raider/user-reviews/811411/platform/ps3/ Thu, 16 May 2013 20:23:03 -0700 naju890_963 reviewed Metal Slug 3 for the PlayStation 2... http://www.gamespot.com/metal-slug-3/user-reviews/811398/platform/ps2/ ...and gave it a 8.0.

Metal Slug, a series best known for it's frantic gameplay and challenging difficulty. SNK's third outing in the franchise, Metal Slug 3 is critically acclaimed and loved by many fans of the series and it's deemed to be the best game in the franchise. While I personally never played a Metal Slug game before this one, I can't deny that MS3 is incredible. Metal Slug 3 was originally released in the arcades on the NEO-GEO MVS hardware which was a dominant force in the days of the arcades. Along the years it has been ported to many different systems, including the Xbox, PC and PS2. The one I'll be reviewing is the PS2 version.

Metal Slug is a series that has always thrived on ridiculously frantic gameplay and Metal Slug 3 doesn't fail to deliver. It's as frantic as ever. It does have a few new additions since Metal Slug 2/X. While no new weapons were added, SNK brought in a couple of new vehicles. One of these vehicles is an ostrich with a machine gun mounted on it. That's why I love this game. It's just goofy, the whole series has a great sense of humour. Apart from a few changes, Metal Slug 3's gameplay is still classic Metal Slug. That's not a problem at all. Metal Slug is one of those games were it is easy to pickup but hard to master. It can really get overwhelming sometimes and death can become unavoidable. Metal Slug 3 has four playable characters, which all play and feel the same. Their's also some backstory, which I wasn't bothered to read because personally I come to Metal Slug for one thing, gameplay. But it might interest some die hard fans of the series.

Gameplay wise, MS3 is very similar to previous entries in the franchise. Almost identical actually, except for a few new mechanics. Levels can actually branch out and can be played differently each time. This adds a lot to replay value. Metal Slug is all about non stop action. I love how it keeps at it all the time and rarely let's down. Most of the time, the screen will be filled with gunfire, soldiers and gigantic bosses. Speaking of gigantic bosses, these are probably the craziest bosses you'll ever see in a 2D run and gunner. They take a lot of hits too and most of the time there are standard soldiers running with them. The bosses don't require much strategy but they are still challenging none the less. A few gimmicks are present in some levels. In a particular level if the player dies, he'll be transformed into a zombie were he is immune to gunfire but still can die if other zombies attack him. I feel like they are a worthy addition and can help break up the gameplay at times. Weapons remain unchanged but I don't feel like that's a problem because they are all fun to use. SNK compensated for that and brought in a couple new Metal Slugs.

Metal Slugs resemble tanks but way wackier. Most of them have machine guns mounted on them, but some might have some special secondary weapons. They'll offer extra protection too. There is one metal slug available for each level. Their isn't much to say about the controls, they work great for the most part but I have a small gripe with them. In one level in particular I found myself on a platform with enemy soldiers underneath me. But for some reason it doesn't allow me to shoot below me which was a real pain as I had to restart the level and take them out first before proceeding upwards. It's nothing to cry about but it did manage to bother me for a while. Graphically it looks very close to the MVS version, I personally see no difference and it's a well done port. Metal Slug features that iconic announcer, you know the one.

The soundtrack rocks too, perfectly fitting. The console versions feature two bonus modes that can be played after finishing the main game. They are fun to play for a while but I didn't find myself going back to them nearly as much as I did with the main game. I would definitely recommend this version for anyone who hasn't played Metal Slug 3 but for those who did play it, I'd see no reason to buy this version except for the bonus modes which aren't that special to begin with. Overall I found Metal Slug 3 to be fun as all hell, fans of 2D games must check this one out.

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"naju890_963 reviewed Metal Slug 3 for the PlayStation 2..." was posted by naju890_963 on Thu, 16 May 2013 20:23:03 -0700
]]> http://www.gamespot.com/metal-slug-3/user-reviews/811398/platform/ps2/ Sat, 11 May 2013 04:33:39 -0700 chocolate1325 reviewed Luigi's Mansion: Dark Moon for the 3DS... http://www.gamespot.com/luigis-mansion-dark-moon/user-reviews/811202/platform/3ds/ ...and gave it a 9.0!

The first Luigis Mansion was mainly critcised for being to short and being a bit lack in terms of replayability and it was also very easy. Well the sequel Luigis Mansion Dark Moon is a massive improvement.

Story

The game starts where Crystal Shards have been shattered across various mansions. Professor E Gadd notices this and calls back Luigi to help retrieve them.

Gameplay

Luigis Mansion doesn't have a variety of items just your standard Vacuum Cleaner Polergeister 5000 and Torch but things like your torch can be upgraded to have a bit more power to suck ghosts in. You also get something called a Dark Light which lets things that should really be there come back to the area. It is vital because of either doors or wardrobes and sometimes Boos hide in places as well.

There are 6 different themed mansions in the game and that is what the first one lacked. The missions are set out from the word go. You get informed of something wrong in an earlier mission and towards the end find the source of what is causing it such as a boss. The bosses are very well designed and some are really fun and puzzles in themselves but not to hard to figure out.

At the end of each mansion you are ranked on damage,speed,money and are ranked on how well you did but also it is worth replaying the missions not just to get a better rank but to look for jewels in that particular section. The ghosts can make it hard because earlier in the game they are simple to catch but later they might be shielded and the environment can make things tricky as well.

Also throughout each level a bone can be found to resurrect you if you run out of life and also there are little bonus rounds as well.

The game has a multiplayer mode called Scarescraper. One is called Hunter Mode where 4 Luigis work together to get a many ghosts as possible before time runs out. Rush Mode is where you try to reach an exit floor before time runs out and Polterpup mode where Luigis try to catch Polterpups. This adds replay value to the game and makes it feels unlike it's predesscor to have replay value.

Are there any faults with the game. Yes some sections particularly walking on balance beams can be a bit tricky and affect your overall performance in the game. The Polterpups can be a bit of a pain as well and also maybe another slight interference in the game is Professor E Gadd talking to you every 5 minutes at the beginning of the game. Yes if you die you don't get checkpoints but to be honest it's not like each mission is like 2 hours long they are basically up to about 30 to an hour long but that's not a big problem.. Also the Toad sections are annoying but there aren't to many of those missions which is okay.


Presentation

The best looking game on the system at this moment in time. The 3D effects are lovely and with Luigi being a bit of a coward and a bit scared always adds a few laughs to the game. The game has alot of great humor and Luigi really fits this game really well.

Lastability

The main quest about 10 hours possibly but you might play some missions again for a faster time and better rank. As well the multiplayer is fun to and you should get some joy out of it.

Overall Opinion

Luigis Mansion Dark Moon is one of the best games on the system so far with an excellent main quest and the multiplayer being a nice bonus feature. The game should keep you glued to your 3DS for a few weeks. With great humor and impressive graphics Luigi has finally showed he can possibly match his brother high standards. Hope this is the start of many games for the lanky green brother of Marios. A game you should not hesitate in getting for your 3DS. Go buy it now.


Overall Score 9 out 10

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"chocolate1325 reviewed Luigi's Mansion: Dark Moon for the 3DS..." was posted by chocolate1325 on Sat, 11 May 2013 04:33:39 -0700
]]> http://www.gamespot.com/luigis-mansion-dark-moon/user-reviews/811202/platform/3ds/ Sat, 04 May 2013 06:53:13 -0700 chocolate1325 reviewed Resistance: Fall of Man for the PlayStation 3... http://www.gamespot.com/resistance-fall-of-man/user-reviews/810992/platform/ps3/ ...and gave it a 8.5.

We know Insomniac for making Spyro the Dragon and the Ratchet and Clank series now they have decided to make Resistance that is you hoping to rid the world of the Chimera threat.

Story

You are Nathan Hale sent with your squad mates to help get rid of the Chimera andto find out what they are doing with their intentions are.

Gameplay

The game practically plays like your typical first person shooter with lots of shooting. Your weapons are mainly stuff you would find in certain other games but there are some interesting ones like an Auger that can shoot through walls. Also most of these guns have an alternate fire and can really tip the balance in your favor on the battlefield. As with the Ratchet and Clank games Insomniac has made some awesome firepower to take down the Chimera.


The game does have a mission structure so you don't get lost and mostly it is shooting but you shall at certain points in the game be allowed to drive vehicles to help you get around the area quicker and take down stronger enemies

The game itself lacks in variety it's mainly shooting and cover based gameplay but there are some cool scenes and such. You get certain dialogue and other collectibles along the way. The multiplayer is well as you'd expect a solid experience.


Presentation

For an early PS3 exclusive it looks amazing the attention to detail and even at this early stage in the PS3 era it was a technical marvel.

Lastability

About 10 to 12 hours to beat but there are harder difficulties to play and Skill Points to go for.

Overall Opinion

Resistance Fall of Man is a good title for the PS3 if you find it somewhere on the cheap why not give it a whirl.

Overall Score 8.6

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]]> http://www.gamespot.com/resistance-fall-of-man/user-reviews/810992/platform/ps3/ Fri, 03 May 2013 07:45:43 -0700 gba1989 reviewed Fruit Ninja for the Android... http://www.gamespot.com/fruit-ninja-for-android/user-reviews/810960/platform/android/ ...and gave it a 7.0.

No reviews? Oh well....*whistles*




Slice and dice fruits while trying to achieve the highest score. Plain simple.

Remember the MGR trailer where they showed Raiden slicing up a watermelon? Well, this is the sequel of MGR where Raiden decided to retire from killing people, cyborgs, and robots and take up culinary lessons instead. Cooking Mama would be proud.

Slice fruits with a swipe of a finger or even by just merely touching it. Critical hits earn you more score. Slicing a couple of fruits in one fell swoop will result in a combo and nets you even more score. There are even special fruits that'll help you earn more score but watch out for bombs. Hitting a bomb would result in game over.

Customize slicing effects and what slicing board you want to use. Unlock them by meeting certain requirements. Like for example, slicing 50 bananas.

That's all there is to it. It's not much but it's plain fun.

Every now and then.

Get the full article at GameSpot

"gba1989 reviewed Fruit Ninja for the Android..." was posted by gba1989 on Fri, 03 May 2013 07:45:43 -0700
]]> http://www.gamespot.com/fruit-ninja-for-android/user-reviews/810960/platform/android/ Fri, 03 May 2013 04:19:30 -0700 naju890_963 reviewed Sonic the Hedgehog for the Genesis... http://www.gamespot.com/sonic-the-hedgehog/user-reviews/810955/platform/genesis/ ...and gave it a 8.5.

The Sonic the Hedgehog series has been running since 1991 when the first game debuted on the Sega Genesis. This was Sega's idea of a mascot. A blue hedgehog, with spikes on its back and red shoes. Sega created a platformer with this character, made him run very fast in colorful levels with lots of enemies, power-ups and bosses. This was a winning formula. It was the game that got the Sega Genesis up on its feet. Nowadays Sonic is on par with Mario when it comes to popularity but in the last 10 years we have seen a decrease in quality when it came to Sonic games. None the less, Sonic is still loved by many and his old games will always be cherished by Sega fans everywhere.

Sonic The Hedgehog was the first 2D platformer to feature a character so fast. At the time, Genesis owners were amazed at the speed that Sonic ran. He still runs fast nowadays but it won't blow your mind like it did back in the 90s. This contributed to fast platforming and an incredible flow that made Mario and other platformers seem sluggish. The main antagonist is Doctor Ivo Robotnik who was snatching animals and transforming them into evil robots. It's up to Sonic to defeat Robotnik and save the day. Sonic 1 features 6 zones with 3 acts each. This means that it has 18 playable levels with a special stage that can only be accessed in the first two acts of every zone. While most of the levels are pretty solid, I found the pacing to be poor. Let's see. The game starts of with the infamous Green Hill Zone. It's a fast and short level just like it should be. The second level is called Marble Zone. This is a platform heavy zone, so it's naturally quite slow. I personally find it fun but Sonic is not about slow platforming. All of the levels after Green Hill except Starlight Zone don't capture the feel of speed the first zone manages to achieve. Even so the platforming in these levels still managed to keep my attention and are pretty challenging.

Every zone has a boss of its own. The boss is always Robotnik with a new machine wreaking havoc upon Sonic. Once you get the patterns down, the boss fights are laughably easy, they're still fun to go through though. The levels are packed with rings, enemies and power-ups. Rings are very important. Sonic doesn't have the usual health system found in most platformers. If Sonic doesn't have any rings and gets hit by an enemy he will die. But if Sonic has one or more rings on him and gets hit, Sonic will simply drop all his rings. It's a great system and it helps keep the action fast. There are other things that the rings can do. If Sonic collects a 100 rings in one act than he gets an extra life. Rings are also necessary if the player wants to access the special zone. If Sonic collect fifty rings, a giant ring will appear at the end of the level. When Sonic jumps through it he'll be teleported to the special stage. Sonic will need to traverse a maze with multi-colored blocks while collecting rings. Collecting another hundred rings here will grant the player an extra life and a continue. But the main reason why the special stages exist is the Chaos Emeralds. If Sonic collects all the emeralds in all the special stages, a different ending will play instead of the normal one. These special stages get annoying sometimes, although the background and the music are kinda trippy. Keep in mind that special zones are not available at the end of act 3 of every zone, as a boss is present.

A bevy of power-ups are available, they can usually be found in computer monitors. There is the Super ring, which rewards Sonic with 10 rings, the Speed shoes, which make Sonic run even faster, a shield which grants Sonic an extra layer of protection against enemies, Invincibility, speaks for itself and a 1-up, extra life basically. Also keep in mind that invincibility won't help if Sonic falls on spikes or a pit. Sonic has a few attacks up his sleeve. He can jump on enemies or use the spin attack in which Sonic rolls up into a ball and charges his enemy. Speaking of enemies, theirs a plethora of enemies which are all Robotnik's robots. Theirs a couple of annoying enemies here and their but I think they look cool and most of the time they're fun to stomp on. Sonic has very simple controls, D-pad for movement and the A button for jumping. Simplicity at it's finest. The 16-bit sonic games are all beautiful to look at, and this is no exception. The colors are simply amazing, everything just pops out of the screen. It's ironic that a game this old can still wow gamers with its colorful graphics while newer games like Battlefield 3 can bore me to death with its various shades of brown. Also the infamous soundtrack for Sonic, unbelievably catchy and just a joy to listen too, truly a gem.

What can I say more? The original Sonic the Hedgehog is something that everyone must play, most of you must have already played it. It's available on tons of platforms but if you want to be a purist and buy it on the original console then it's not a problem at all. The Sega Genesis or Megadrive, depending on where you live is very easy to find, the sonic games are quite easy to find aswell, they were best sellers on the console after all.

Get the full article at GameSpot

"naju890_963 reviewed Sonic the Hedgehog for the Genesis..." was posted by naju890_963 on Fri, 03 May 2013 04:19:30 -0700
]]> http://www.gamespot.com/sonic-the-hedgehog/user-reviews/810955/platform/genesis/ Sun, 28 Apr 2013 03:20:10 -0700 pigfish2 reviewed LEGO City Undercover for the Wii U... http://www.gamespot.com/lego-city-undercover/user-reviews/810781/platform/wii-u/ ...and gave it a 8.0.

Lego City Undercover marks the first entirely original game in Travellers Tales series of Lego games that began with Lego Star Wars back in 2005 and for the most part its better for this. Much of the charm of the Lego games is the way they poke fun at characters you know but free of the constraints of a familiar franchise the developers have kept the series' trademark humour intact with their own cast of likeable and funny characters. The story goes that as legendary cop Chase McCain you have returned to Lego City after two years away to help return the notorious criminal Rex Fury to prison. Undercover is still heavily indebted to films though with countless nods to and parodies of classic movies throughout. One of the best is a construction worker who is clearly a parody of Arnold Schwarzenegger. The game is light-hearted in tone as you expect from a Lego game and genuinely amusing throughout with full voice acting for all the major characters. Said characters are for the most part well characterised but sadly Rex Fury is criminally underused with little explanation of his motives. All in all it is very much what you expect from a Lego game on the exterior but delve deeper and there is some noticeable tinkering and additions.

Lego City is fully open world and you can make your way throughout the entire city with no loading screens. This sense of exploration fits well with Lego and is improved further by the ability to take control of any of the over 100 types of vehicles dotted throughout the city. Impressively each vehicle has its own unique handling, which is an extra level of sheen than you would expect. The 15-20 hour story involves both exploration and completing goals in the city and 15 special assignments set in self contained levels. This works well and introduces variety to proceedings. The chief gameplay mechanic is the ability for Chase to switch between a number of disguises ranging from burglar to fireman. Each disguise once unlocked provides its own unique abilities for solving different puzzles. This is a good way of keeping the Lego games character swapping intact whilst casting you as a single character. One free play mode is unlocked you can use any of the games 290 disguises that there are to collect. These disguises include all of the games major and minor characters and beyond and fit into categories based on the disguises Chase can use in the story. Gameplay involves a mix of fighting, platforming and puzzle solving and whilst for the most part these are all simplistic they are nevertheless fun. In terms of gameplay there is little change from what you expect from the tried and tested Lego formula. The game is rarely challenging, but that has never been the point with the Lego games, instead it offers relatively easy childlike enjoyment.

Graphically the game is not groundbreaking but holds up well with minor blemishes only noticeable when the camera moves in close. The voice work for the game is well recorded and the sound work in general is good. The music whilst decent quickly becomes irritating though as the game only has a few tracks that constantly repeat. One area where the game falls down is in technical details. The loading times when starting or finishing levels, and entering the police station are horribly long and clock in at a minimum 40 seconds each. This can be in part understood by the huge open world nature of the city but nevertheless it is an irritating waste of times. More worryingly the game at times suffers from freezing and other minor technical problems but these are rare. Lack of multiplayer in such a family orientated game is another drawback. The gamepad is well implemented if hardly original, with it serving as a communicator, scanner and map.

Undercover is a fun, if hardly exceptional game that offers plenty of hours of enjoyment. The story can be finished in 15-20 hours but with loads to collect and unlock beyond that and a huge city to explore there is plenty of value to be had. It is one of the best games in the Lego series that benefits from being unchained by the absence of a license and whilst it may not be a classic, it is a welcome addition to the Wii U's library.

Get the full article at GameSpot

"pigfish2 reviewed LEGO City Undercover for the Wii U..." was posted by pigfish2 on Sun, 28 Apr 2013 03:20:10 -0700
]]> http://www.gamespot.com/lego-city-undercover/user-reviews/810781/platform/wii-u/ Fri, 26 Apr 2013 20:46:48 -0700 clock0 reviewed Sonic Dash for the iPhone/iPod... http://www.gamespot.com/sonic-dash/user-reviews/810718/platform/iphone/ ...and gave it a 8.5.

This is one of the best apps I have ever played.This is a sonic version of temple run but even better then temple run you can chose to play as 4 characters Sonic,Tails,Amy and Knuckles.My favorite character in this game is knuckles but it doesn't matter which character you have because they all do the same moves but it is cool to add different characters to play as.This game is really awesome.What do you get when you put temple run and sonic in a blender? A pretty damn good smoothie.Temple Run + Sonic=A pretty damn awesome game.This is a free app and it is worth getting.If you liked all the temple runs then by all means get this really awesome game.I deleted subway surfer because I had this awesome game to replace it so goodbye subway surfer and hello sonic dash,but I didn't delete temple run because that game is too good to be deleted but this game I will NEVER delete it is just so damn awesome.

Get the full article at GameSpot

"clock0 reviewed Sonic Dash for the iPhone/iPod..." was posted by clock0 on Fri, 26 Apr 2013 20:46:48 -0700
]]> http://www.gamespot.com/sonic-dash/user-reviews/810718/platform/iphone/ Fri, 26 Apr 2013 17:40:52 -0700 gba1989 reviewed Lunar: Silver Star Harmony for the PSP... http://www.gamespot.com/lunar-silver-star-harmony/user-reviews/810710/platform/psp/ ...and gave it a 7.0.

If you played Lunar: Silver Star Story Complete before and plan to relive the experience with this updated game then you'd have a good time with this. Other than that, it's just an old RPG with improved visual presentation and some very minor changes in the gameplay.

The battle mechanics can be a good or bad thing depending on how well you take a liking with this game. Here how it goes, battles are turn-based where the fastest goes first....but with a slight twist. Instead of having a fixed position like Final Fantasy battles, here characters and monsters can move anywhere within the battlefield. Normal attacks will automatically move a combatant in killing range against its target. Players can also reposition characters generally to get out of harm's way. It adds a distinct touch to an otherwise plain game but sadly it's a wasted effort. First, ideally, scattering your characters is good against area attacks but practically, it's best to use your character's action on attacking and casting spells. Second, a character can only move at such short range while most enemies have very big strides. So you probably have to concentrate on attacking and casting spells instead of wasting a character's action in moving. Third, there's no indicator if whether your character's normal attack will reach its target. Sometimes, your character will run towards its target only to abruptly stop because it has already at its move limit.

As for the game's difficulty, it's pretty easy enough once you get the hang of things. The learning curve is pretty easy. While enemies are moderately strong, it is more of an endurance test rather than a strategical affair. Monsters can be seen on the field so you'd have the option to either confront it or ignore it. It can be a pain in the ass sometimes. You see, there's much little space to move around that you'd be force to combat monsters or dance your way out. Yes, dance baby dance. There's a small amount of backtracking and what small amount it has can be dragging at times. Better not play this if you want to rush things or in a bad mood or else your irritation/annoyance will turn into a serious case of apathy.

This is pretty much a straightforward game. There's no sidequest as far as I could remember. There's the missable items called bromides. They're basically illustrations of female characters you met throughout the game. There's also the Rememberizer which lets you view past scenes. You might also want to revisit places to unlock red chests once you get a special key. That's about it. As far as I could remember.

As for the story, Alex's dream is to be a Dragonmaster. It's basically a people's hero and a guardian of a Goddess. Later on, you'd get to encounter the villain called the Magic Emperor. There's a little bit of a plot and surprises there. It's Adventure Time.

So get it you truly love Lunar. Other than that, it's just a plain old RPG. Maybe with a distinc touch. Note to self: never forget the battle system. Love it or hate it....*grumble* *grumble*

Get the full article at GameSpot

"gba1989 reviewed Lunar: Silver Star Harmony for the PSP..." was posted by gba1989 on Fri, 26 Apr 2013 17:40:52 -0700
]]> http://www.gamespot.com/lunar-silver-star-harmony/user-reviews/810710/platform/psp/ Fri, 26 Apr 2013 14:44:00 -0700 naju890_963 reviewed Duke Nukem 3D: Atomic Edition for the PC... http://www.gamespot.com/duke-nukem-3d-atomic-edition/user-reviews/810705/platform/pc/ ...and gave it a 8.5.

It's time to go back to Duke's glory days. As you may know, Duke's latest game, Duke Nukem Forever was a flop. It was an outdated mess that made Duke look pathetic. DNF went through countless development cycles and it was basically a big old mess. But let's forget about that for now and go back to the time when Duke was still a force to be reckoned with in the gaming industry.

Duke Nukem 3D originally came out on MS-DOS back in 1996. This was back when games were harder to boot up than launching a rocket in space. But thankfully nowadays we have procedures that are much easier. There are numerous versions and ports of this game. The one I'll be reviewing is the Atomic edition. This contains another episode with eleven levels. You can try being a purist and buying the original DOS version but that would be a big pain in the ass. The easy way is to buy it off gog.com or get the Megaton edition from Steam. Let's dig in.

Duke Nukem 3D is an old-school FPS, were you control the always charming Duke Nukem. There are four episodes in total with eleven levels each, except for the first episode that only has seven levels. A multiplayer mode was also available but that is long gone. After the events of Duke Nukem 2, Duke finds himself back on earth. He finds out that an unknown force has taken over earth and it's up to Duke Nukem to save the day. It's a very simplistic storyline, although it doesn't really show itself throughout the game except at the occasional cutscene peppered throughout the episodes. But I believe that a simplistic, cliché storyline like this goes perfectly with Duke's outrageous character. Speaking about Duke, he's one hell of a character. Firing one liners at every opportunity he gets and blasting aliens without remorse, that's Duke alright. Duke is as two-dimensional as it gets. Nowadays characters in video games are more realistic and most of today's games have abandoned these macho one man army's with no soul, like we used to find in games like Doom or Wolfenstein 3D. I can't imagine what kind of controversy this game sparked up back in 1996. Why you ask. Well Duke 3D features strippers, (probably the first game to do it) and countless more nods to pornography.

Now that we have covered the setting and story, it's time talk about the gameplay. First of all, this game runs on the 2.5D build engine which is similar to the engine that Doom uses. Moving and shooting feels a lot like other 2.5D FPS's. It can be pretty weird to control Duke for players that never played a 2.5D game before. Unlike 3D shooters, the player is only allowed to look left or right. Eliminating enemies that are standing above or under the player can be done by shooting in the direction that the enemy is situated in. Unlike shooters of today, Duke 3D doesn't try to be realistic by giving the player only two weapons to use at a time, no it lets the player use the full arsenal once you unlocked them all obviously. Speaking about weapons, theirs a bevy of fun weapons to choose from like the chaingun, shrink-ray, microwave expander and others. It's so refreshing to play a shooter that doesn't have the usual military weapons like the M4, AK-47 and so on. Not to mention that all these weapons feel very different from each other. Theirs also an inventory system which is used to store items like Holodukes, health packs and steroids. To be honest the inventory is a bit of a pain to use and flip through items. I really like the levels in Duke 3D. I think that the level design is very clever at times. There are multiple routes to take to get to the objective and tons of secrets and easter eggs to find. The levels look awesome and the environments are very interesting to explore. These levels are filled with fun things to do like, tipping strippers, pissing in toilets and lots of other things to interact with.

Graphically it looks dated by today's standards, but it's totally playable. Even though graphically it looks dated it has this charm to it that makes everything all the better. As far as sound goes, everything sounds retro and awesome. To be honest some sounds from the alien enemies really creeped but I guess it's just me. I almost forgot to mention that the main theme is incredible. It's so awesome in fact that Megadeth actually made a cover for it. Duke Nukem 3D manages to still retain its charm after all these years and clearly stood the test of time. I doubt that you'll find an FPS as fun and creative as Duke 3D.

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"naju890_963 reviewed Duke Nukem 3D: Atomic Edition for the PC..." was posted by naju890_963 on Fri, 26 Apr 2013 14:44:00 -0700
]]> http://www.gamespot.com/duke-nukem-3d-atomic-edition/user-reviews/810705/platform/pc/ Thu, 25 Apr 2013 22:39:48 -0700 DarkLink77 reviewed BioShock Infinite for the PC... http://www.gamespot.com/bioshock-infinite/user-reviews/810680/platform/pc/ ...and gave it a 9.0!

"Bring us the girl, and wipe away the debt. That was the deal. I gambled, and now I owe money to men you don't want to be in debt to. I come here to pay it back."

That's the premise of Bioshock Infinite, summed up by protagonist Booker Dewitt. The deal he refers to is what sets the events of Bioshock Infinite in motion. The details, are by now, well known to you if you've spent any stretch of time following Infinite's protracted development. "The girl" is, of course, Elizabeth and the "here" is Columbia, a floating city founded upon religious principles, white supremacy, and the inherent greatness of America by a man named Zachary Hale Comstock, whom the people of Columbia hail as The Prophet.

It sounds like a deceptively simple request. Unfortunately for Booker, the people of Columbia believe that Elizabeth is the Lamb, Comstock's successor, who will cleanse the Sodom Below (a universal term applied by the people of Columbia to everywhere that is not Columbia, but mostly America itself) of evil. Further complicating matters, Comstock has forseen that a man from the Sodom Below, whom he calls the False Shepherd, will come to take Elizabeth away, and corrupt her in the process. To prevent this from happening, Elizabeth is locked in an ivory tower, and guarded by a mechanical monstrosity called the Songbird, until the time comes for her to fulfill her destiny.

It's a familiar set-up, isn't it? A hero, a girl, a protector, a man, and a city. There's always a man and a city. These are the constants of the Bioshock universe. Throw in some social commentary, and you have the formula for a Bioshock title. It's a formula Infinite revels in, and one the game's opening pays homage to, as Booker is rowed out to a lighthouse by a man and a woman the game does not initially deign to name. But there is one key difference between the two games, and one Infinite reveals to the player as soon as the game begins: something about all of this isn't right.

It's not a particularly subtle suggestion, the way Bioshock's opening moments cleverly hinted at the significance of "Would you kindly?" No, Infinite's is almost impossible to miss, and in hindsight, it's easy to see that the game's opening isn't designed for first-time players. It's designed for the player who is on his second, or third, or fourth play-through. If the kind of opening that tells you that there's something more behind the curtain, but gives you little context as to what that might mean.

And so, you forget about it. Your mind files it away as Booker ascends the lighthouse, and you see warnings plastered on the walls. "This is your last chance, DeWitt," they say. You forget as Booker rings the bells, and sits in a pod that rockets into the clouds, a scene that parallels the original game's reveal of Rapture.

"Hallelujah," a voice cries as Columbia comes into view for the first time, and you get that first, magnificent view of the city above the clouds. "Hallelujah."

The game continues at this pace for a while, allowing you to become acclimatized to the way things work in Columbia. It's a nice start, if a linear one, and it allows you to get used to the sights and sounds of the city before everything begins to spin out of control and the search for Elizabeth takes center stage.

And once things start spinning, they don't stop. Luckily, Booker is up to the challenge, and Infinite provides you with the standard Bioshock staples to combat any problems that might arise. Plasmids return as Vigors, and guns are plentiful and varied, though the game does limit you to two weapons at a time and a small amount of reserve ammo per weapon. These restrictions feel arbitrary, especially later in the game when enemies are both powerful and plentiful, and many combat arenas present situations when more options would have greatly benefited the game.

Infinite's combat is, however, superb. Guns feel powerful, shots have impact, and enemies react realistically to damage. And guns aren't the only solution to your problems. Ironically, outside of the two weapon limit, Infinite isn't afraid to give you options. The game supplies you with plenty of different Vigors of varying types, each with multiple effects. One allows you to possess machines, while another allows you to summon a murder of crows to distract enemies, and both Vigors and guns are upgradeable at the various Rapture-esque vending machines that are scattered around Columbia, provided you have the cash. Booker can also make use of the Sky-Hook, a rotating object worn over the hand which functions both as a melee weapon and allows access to Columbia's Sky-Lines, a rail system high in the sky that transports cargo and personnel around Columbia. Sky-Lines add an unprecedented amount of verticality, speed, and mobility to Infinite's combat, allowing you to rain death while zooming around at high (or low) speeds and to move seamlessly in across the battlefield at the press of a button. The Sky-Hook also opens any additional way to explore Columbia, and you'll have to keep that in mind if you want to acquire all of the game's many collectibles.

Like the original game, Bioshock Infinite features audio diaries recorded called voxophones that significantly expand on the game's plot, and essentially offer a finer understanding of both the story and the characters themselves. New to Infinite however, are infusions, which will allow you to upgrade your health, shield, or salts bar, as well as gear, which can be equipped in up to four slots and allows you to modify everything from weapon properties to the way your abilities function on Sky-Lines.

If all of this sounds like it's a lot to take, that's because it is. Infinite knows this, and the game continues the introduction's slow burn for some time, slowly introducing mechanic after mechanic and building Columbia as a world, until you finally meet the girl. Much has been said about the AI behind Elizabeth, but all the talk of Irrational's programming prowess can't do the character justice. Elizabeth is expertly written and phenomenally acted by Courtney Draper, and she will earn a place in your heart very quickly. Once you meet her, the thought of being parted from her company becomes painful. Elizabeth reacts realistically to events around her. If you're wandering around a crowded area, she might sit on a chair or talk to a nearby vendor. Other times, she'll examine pieces if the environment, pointing out interesting objects as she goes, and in some instances, she'll just lean against a safety railing, and take in the beauty of the city. Elizabeth the heart and soul of Bioshock Infinite, and you'll wonder how the game's admittedly masterful opening sequence ever managed without her.

However, Elizabeth isn't just a wonderful companion to explore Columbia with, and there is a lot to explore, despite the relative linearity of the game. She also provides new gameplay mechanics. Out of combat, she'll help you find money and items such as lock picks, which you can use to have her open doors and safes, should you have the required amount. But it's in combat that she really shines. Elizabeth has the ability to open "tears," which are essentially windows into other worlds. This ability allows Elizabeth to pull guns, health, mechanical companions, freight hooks for you to hang from with your Sky-Hook, and even cover into the world for you to use. In addition, she'll also supply Booker with salts, which are consumed when you use Vigors, as well as health and ammunition.

It would be easy for Elizabeth to completely steal the show in Infinite, given your reliance on her abilities as a player and how well the team at Irrational constructed the character. Fortunately, they've constructed another who is equally compelling in protagonist Booker DeWitt, voiced by the incredibly talented and increasingly prolific Troy Baker. The former-Pinkerton-turned-Private-Detective-trying-to-escape-his-past is an absolutely fascinating character, and easily one of the best protagonists to ever grace the medium. However, it's the way these characters play off of one another and the world and characters they encounter that elevates them to a whole other level, and watching their relationship evolve over the course of the game is one of Infinite's true joys.

Over the course of their journey together, Booker and Elizabeth begin to unravel the mysteries of Columbia and Elizabeth herself. Who is she, really? Why can she do the things she does? What exactly is she doing? What are the consequences? Bioshock Infinite asks these questions and more as it masterfully spins its yarn, all the while dealing with very real social issues such as racism, class divisions, the extent to which religion should be allowed to influence a government, and the idea of American exceptionalism itself. As the narrative unfolds, Booker and Elizabeth are drawn deeper and deeper into the conflict between Comstock and the Vox Populi, and soon, it becomes clear that events are far more complex than they appear. The amount of environmental storytelling present in Bioshock Infinite means that Columbia is just as much of a character as Booker, Elizabeth, or Comstock, and as the foundations of Columbia unravel around you, the world changes to reflect the growing intensity of the city's ongoing civil war. In the end, events build to an unpredictable and magnificent climax that will haunt your thoughts long after the credits finish rolling, and make you want to revisit the game again just to appreciate how well the game foreshadows and builds to its inevitable conclusion.

For all of these successes, however, Bioshock Infinite is not without its failures. Like the two weapon limit, the inclusion of gear feels arbitrary, and the system restricts you more than it should. Certain sections of the game feel drawn out to maximize gameplay, and a few plot points just feel out of place in the world Infinite creates, while others are only explained sufficiently through voxophones the player may not find. The much promoted Songbird is almost painfully underused, and a noticeable number of the game's major characters feel underdeveloped. For all of Irrational's efforts, and they are considerable, Comstock never escapes from the shadow of Andrew Ryan, and Columbia never comes together as a world the way that Rapture did so many years ago.

In the end, though, Infinite's successes are so great that its failures feel minute in comparison. In many ways, the game is a victim of Irrational's previous successes. It's not perfect by any stretch of the imagination, but something this ambitious rarely is. Infinite is, like its predecessor, a game that matters. It's a game that has something to say, about the medium, and about us. It's a game that will be remembered years from now, in the rare way that few games are. It's a game that you'll remember long after you play it, one that sinks its hooks in and never lets go. In many ways, Bioshock Infinite is a lot like Columbia, viewed for the first time in that pod, its magnificent shining towers coming over the horizon, a city we have never been to, yet know intimately. Brilliant, but flawed. Imperfect, but unforgettable.

Hallelujah. Hallelujah.

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"DarkLink77 reviewed BioShock Infinite for the PC..." was posted by DarkLink77 on Thu, 25 Apr 2013 22:39:48 -0700
]]> http://www.gamespot.com/bioshock-infinite/user-reviews/810680/platform/pc/ Thu, 25 Apr 2013 04:13:01 -0700 web966 reviewed BioShock Infinite for the Xbox 360... http://www.gamespot.com/bioshock-infinite/user-reviews/810650/platform/xbox360/ ...and gave it a 10.0!!!

Bioshock Infinite is one of the most amazing experiences I have ever had with a video game. Every aspect of this game is of such a high quality that it was all that I was able to do and think about since it was released. Video games this good do not come along often, it is a game that will talked and argued about for years. It is incredibly ambitious and while it does falter every once in a while the overall experience is mesmerizing.

The city of Cloumbia is the single most alive and well realized video game location ever created. From the second you enter the city you will be completely overwhelmed by all of the amazing attention to detail and fantastic art direction. This is one of the most awe inspiring games I have ever seen. My jaw was open in wide eyed wonder throughout the entire game. Every new area was just as stunning as the last and the environment is littered with audio diaries and other clues as the what is going on in this city. The fiction and mystery behind the city is fascinating and was the main driving force for me to having to play the game as much as I possibly could. The music and sound design is also stellar and really helps in creating the games atmosphere.

The story of Infinite is impressive for a multitude of reasons. It features some amazing voice acting and writing that really bring Booker and Elizabeth to life. The facial animations of Elizabeth really are amazing and help make her one of the most unforgettable characters in any game I have ever played. Booker and Elizabeth's relationship grows over the course of the game and by the end of it Ineeded to protect Elizabeth, not because the game was telling me I had to but because I honestly cared about her. Among all of the other amazing accomplishments of this game, Elizabeth is perhaps the most impressive. The relationship that grow between her and the player makes everything that happens in the game seem vital.

The plot of the game is not at all predictable and always surprising. The game is constantly giving you little hints and clues as to what is really going on but they never give it away. The ending took me completely by surprise. I had no idea what was coming, but now that I have seen it the rest of the game perfectly builds up to it. After finishing the game I thought about everything I saw that I didn't understand and it all makes sense. It makes me want to go back and play the whole thing again immediately so I can see all the subtle clues and make sense of them. It is a perfect ending that even makes the title of the game make sense. I wont say anything else about the story so I don't spoil it, but know that is probably the best story ever in a video game that touches on a bunch of interesting themes like racism, nationalism, religion and even video games themselves.

Bioshock Infinite is also just a really fun playing video game. The combat still feels very much like Bioshock but with some really great improvements. You still have plasmids, or vigors as they are called in this game, and you upgrade them throughout the game. There are eight Vigors in the game and they are all fun to use and offer different ways to play the game. There is also the skyline system which creates some of the most exciting fire fights I have ever had. Attacking enemies from the skyline is exhilarating and just looks cool as hell. There are a bunch of different types of enemies as well and they are all interesting in their own way even if none of them are as iconic as the big daddy.

Bioshock Infinite is a tremendous achievement. It feels like I have been waiting for a video game to reach these heights my whole life. Infinite perfectly combines an amazingly well playing traditional game experience that we all love with an incredible plot and characters with adult themes that really makes you think. Most games are either a really fun well playing adventure with an average story or they have an amazing story but have to sacrifice some of the gameplay to make it work. Infinite has it all. One of the greatest games of all time that every gamer needs to experience.

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"web966 reviewed BioShock Infinite for the Xbox 360..." was posted by web966 on Thu, 25 Apr 2013 04:13:01 -0700
]]> http://www.gamespot.com/bioshock-infinite/user-reviews/810650/platform/xbox360/ Sun, 21 Apr 2013 10:51:36 -0700 chocolate1325 reviewed God of War: Ascension for the PlayStation 3... http://www.gamespot.com/god-of-war-ascension/user-reviews/810510/platform/ps3/ ...and gave it a 6.0.

This is more of a spin off of how the story of Kratos came to be well you know the person that he is and is basically a prequel and possibly one of the earliest games in the timeline of the saga.

Story

It starts with Kratos being torched but he manages to escape and it sort of like goes back in time to either a few weeks or a couple of months as to how this came to be.

Gameplay

The game itself is your typical God of War beat up enemies take down bosses and a couple of puzzles here and there. Most of the enemies you can just mash the button and defeat them. The bosses while still big don't have that wow factor that certain others in earlier games had.

Some of the powers in the game are also very lacking in creativity it only really powers up your sword to do different abilities. The games puzzles aren't to tricky either to work out and aren't that frequent. It all just feels like they creators just wanted to focus on multiplayer and decided to try a single player that becomes extremely boring halfway through. Also the camera zooms out in some of the battles so you don't really know who you are facing.

Speaking of multiplayer while it was an interesting idea it doesn't really enhance the experience to the player. You can set traps and such but sometimes you can just button mash your way to victory and after a few attempts you will get bored of it. It's not gonna be one of those you come back to unlike other PS3 games that have online.

Presentation

To be honest it doesn't really look to similar to the previous God of War which was amazing to look at by the way. The kills of bosses in the game lack the amazement of previous ones and also Kratos new found personality is lacking.

Lastability

It is about maybe 6 to 8 hours long in terms of the campaign but apart from multiplayer there is no need to play it again.

Overall Opinion

Seems like a bit of a pointless attempt to bring something different to the God of War series. The game is nothing but a cash in on the franchise and feels lightweight compared to other in the series. God of War fans will probably like it but to be honest nothing you haven't seen before and it isn't really that memorable.

Overall Score 6.0

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]]> http://www.gamespot.com/god-of-war-ascension/user-reviews/810510/platform/ps3/ Sat, 20 Apr 2013 07:43:51 -0700 gba1989 reviewed Dissidia 012: Duodecim Final Fantasy for the PSP... http://www.gamespot.com/dissidia-012-duodecim-final-fantasy/user-reviews/810457/platform/psp/ ...and gave it a 8.0.

As we all know Final Fantasy, aside from its Tactics series, is a RPG game. And with Dissidia being a game that ties the older FF titles with the current ones in one storyline, you might expect a story worthy of an RPG or even the franchise itself but that is not the case. Still, the gameplay is something to looking at.

The game's saving grace is its battle mechanics IMO. It's more of a fast-paced rhythmic game than a button-smashing, hacking and slashing fest. Although, there's a rapid-button smashing sequence implemented here somewhere. Every character's move is explicitly timed that after executing an attack will leave you vulnerable to counter-attacks assuming that you missed hitting your opponent. With that being said, evading an attack and positioning yourself at your opponents flank will increase your chance of landing a counter. A perfectly timed block will stagger your opponent and leaves him vulnerable a little bit longer. Blocking and evading needlessly leaves you wide open to attacks as there's a slight delay of moving again. It's like dancing. Something like that. Reflex and a good rhythm makes for almost a sure way to win. It can be sometimes intense than what is written here.

Whereas most fighting games have a weak and heavy attacks, here you have Bravery and HP attacks. The game gets more interesting with this. Bravery Attacks won't technically hurt your opponents but will fill up your HP Attack count every time your attacks hit. HP attacks are the one which really chip your opponent's HP down to 0. Store up a 5000 HP attack and that would be the amount of HP damage you give if it lands. It's hard to store up and maintain a 9999 HP Attack since there are lots of factor that drains your stored HP Attack count. So there's a whole lot of choices to select from like either execute a one-hit KO attack or slowly defeat an opponent with fast and light HP attacks.

A leveling system adds a nice touch to the game. Level up a character to unlock new skills and attack moves. Skills and attack moves can be leveled-up as well by earning AP. It's pretty much like the FF and KH games. Some mastered skills and attack moves will unlock a newer one or a sub-skill.

Now to the characters. Selected characters from FF1 up to FF13 are here. Hair gels and fashion sense aside, each character has their own fighting style. Newcomers like Lightning and Tifa are a fresh addition to the fighting scene. So they're more than just eye-candy. It's a good fan service.

Visuals are decent. In-game graphics are okay although it's a little bit grainy. Pre-rendered cutscenes are superb although there's only a few of them. And the awesome fight scene of the first Dissidia is somewhat missing. That kinda sucks. As for the sounds, it's great. The soundtracks are remastered, especially the older ones. It's awe-inspiring and stirs the inner reluctant fanboy inside of me. It's good fan service. Dissidia's main theme FTW.

Now to the darkside. The blight of the game. The story is about the eternal conflict of Order vs. Chaos, Light vs. Dark, Good vs. Bad, The Universe vs. Your Mom. Lame joke aside, the story could've been passable enough if it was not for the shallow characters interaction. What little character progression the game has is still shallow. The portrayal of characters are shallow. Dialouges are shallow. Everything is shallow. I'm not an extreme, hardcore follower of the series but the idea of having a game that has all the FF series into it makes me think that this game would have a grand story since its base on a renowned RPG itself. But..*sigh*..nevermind, I'll give up on my rant.

Dissidia 012 Duodecim has a decent battle system and tons of unlockables and features that could probably waste a great deal amount of your time if you don't keep track. It's a great fan service but it could've been the ultimate one if it weren't for some things that keeps it from being so IMO.

Superb Idea. Just Poorly Told.

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"gba1989 reviewed Dissidia 012: Duodecim Final Fantasy for the PSP..." was posted by gba1989 on Sat, 20 Apr 2013 07:43:51 -0700
]]> http://www.gamespot.com/dissidia-012-duodecim-final-fantasy/user-reviews/810457/platform/psp/ Fri, 19 Apr 2013 23:58:59 -0700 LoG-Sacrament reviewed BioShock Infinite for the PlayStation 3... http://www.gamespot.com/bioshock-infinite/user-reviews/810445/platform/ps3/ ...and gave it a 8.0.

In Bioshock Infinite, the player is put behind the gaze of Booker DeWitt, a former mercenary from the Pinkertons. His directions are simple: "Bring us the girl and wipe away the debt." Despite being based around historical events, the world in Bioshock Infinite distances itself from our own with bold strokes tethered more to ideology than fact. Similarly, "the girl" is being held captive in Columbia, a city that wanted to secede from the United States so badly that it flew away. This is the setting of the game and it revolves around what can only be called hypocrisy.

When Booker first enters Columbia, it truly does feel like fiction. It's Americana come to life with barbershop quartets singing merrily, best-of-both-worlds combinations of country fairs in urban settings, and hotdogs. There are even little details that take such baseless optimism to new heights such as a shop run on the honor system, adding to the heavenly aura no less than the white puffy clouds that envelope the whole metropolis.

However, it's all just a veneer. The only effort Colombians take to hide the shame of their rigid class structure is denial. Kinetoscopes at arcades that warn against the "Irish Problem" and posters with smiling Anglo-Saxon faces advocating racial purity show that the city doesn't just accept disparity; it works toward it. On top of the racial and economic inequity, the city leader's self-declared status as a prophet makes Colombia a theocracy.

The hypocrisy created by putting a smiling face on tyranny leads to a simple truth: Bioshock Infinite is a shooter. If questioning a person in denial only leads to more denial, being an outright affront to their society leads to violence. It's perhaps a convenient jump to fit Infinite into familiar grounds for the series, but Booker finds himself in just such a situation. Still, one can hardly doubt the tension when an idyllic slice of Americana can turn to bloodshed in the span of one unfortunate glance.

Gunplay is tight overall, with active combatants that prevent firefights from being the Whac-A-Mole games seen too often nowadays. Perhaps these soldiers are also swept up in baseless optimism as they run headlong at Booker or perhaps they're just delusional. Colors on the opposing soldiers' uniforms change over the course of the game, but one is just as bad as the other. Beyond the grunts, more significant enemies make up the backbone of the opposition. Counterintuitively, firemen launch mortars of flame at Booker. Robotic George Washingtons spout jingoism from their voice boxes and bullets from their gatling guns.

Booker also has access to vigors, which work similarly to plasmids from the original Bioshock. They work perhaps too similarly. While plasmids were central to the game world in Bioshock, vigors feel like they were left in Infinite for the sake of having combat options. The player just has to accept that people can chug potions and gain powers in Colombia. Still, vigors do fulfill their purpose and add another wrinkle to firefights. Among other handy abilities, they can halt the charges from soldiers or beat them to the punch by closing gaps quickly.

Things change for the better early on when Booker finds the girl he was sent for, Elizabeth, caged away in a towering statue that evokes Lady Liberty. Among the characters that Booker really gets to know, none of them are likable. They're all extremists of some cause or other, accepting only their delusions as reality. Elizabeth is the exception. Holed up in her cage for her entire life, she is eager to experience new things. Fittingly, she has the ability to open up rifts to other places. It's initially hazy whether they're windows to distant lands, alternate realities, or entirely new worlds. This power allows her to bring in objects or allies in tight spots. Why does she only ever encounter useful things?

It's one of a few stretches and broad points Bioshock Infinite makes. But for all the deplorable people that can be found in Columbia, the game makes the case for forgiveness. Hate the sin not the sinner, perhaps. It's hard not to give the game the same in return. Infinite is entertaining and it has some good ideas too.

Get the full article at GameSpot

"LoG-Sacrament reviewed BioShock Infinite for the PlayStation 3..." was posted by LoG-Sacrament on Fri, 19 Apr 2013 23:58:59 -0700
]]> http://www.gamespot.com/bioshock-infinite/user-reviews/810445/platform/ps3/ Mon, 15 Apr 2013 23:39:45 -0700 chocolate1325 reviewed Sly Cooper: Thieves in Time for the PlayStation 3... http://www.gamespot.com/sly-cooper-thieves-in-time/user-reviews/810294/platform/ps3/ ...and gave it a 7.5.

The last Sly game came out in 2004 on the PS2 and many fans will not remember him because of fellow PS2 platforming kings Jak and Ratchet, Sly was virtually the one that nobody really took much notice of. Well should you take notice of this Sly game.

Story

The story is Sly and co are retired from their jobs until one day they realize pages of the Thieveus Raccoonus are disappearing and that Sly will need the help of his ancestors to overcome the problem.

Gameplay

The game basically has you playing mainly as Sly,Bentley and Murray. Slys gameplay revolves around stealth,combat and wearing disguises. Bentley is like the man with the plan he hacks into computers get valuable information and plotting the teams next move. Murray is basically the heavyweight of the bunch he will lay the smackdown on enemies and even at one point dress up in a certain section. You will also get to play as Slys ancestors once you free them from their imprisonment and also you shall play as Slys love interest Carmelita Fox. They all have different play styles as well to add to the story.

Other than that there are moves that can be purchased by pickpocketing and getting treasures of enemies or returning things to the Safehouse in a timelimit. Also the Clue Bottles which were taken out in Sly 3 are back and can be a bit of a challenge to find and also you can find Sly masks which unlock stuff in the extras menu.

Now are there any faults with the game well yes whilst it might be Slys game you seem to not spend much time playing as him. Bentleys sections are pretty dull espcially the Six Axis sections and Murrays sections aren't much better and also the game still feels to be playing it safe rather than bringing anything new to the table. Also it isn't really that challenging either especially the last boss which is a joke. While the ancestors do have some interesting moves they don't really feel to different to Sly in a way and nothing that Sly couldn't do.


Presentation

The original cast return for Sly 4 and they do a good job again with some funny remarks from Sly at certain times. The game looks very nice and colorful just like the HD collection did but better and it has some nice music for certain areas of the game.

Lastability

About 10 to 12 hours maybe there are Clue Bottles to find and abilties to unlock but not much else. The masks you find in the game don't really add much either.

Overall Opinion

After waiting so long it seems as though Sanzaru played it a little bit to safe with the series and maybe it could have been better. The game really doesn't seem to do anything different than what either 2 or 3 did and fans who have waited for a sequel to number 3 might be disappointed. It's not a bad game it just feels like the game just plays it to safe and doesn't really try to do anything different.

Overall Score 7.5

Get the full article at GameSpot

]]> http://www.gamespot.com/sly-cooper-thieves-in-time/user-reviews/810294/platform/ps3/ Sun, 14 Apr 2013 00:04:46 -0700 naju890_963 reviewed Killzone for the PlayStation 2... http://www.gamespot.com/killzone/user-reviews/810217/platform/ps2/ ...and gave it a 6.0.

Killzone is your typical Sci-fi FPS series, nowadays the 2nd and 3rd game in the franchise are very popular on the PS3. But let's take a look at the first game in the franchise, Killzone. Killzone is set during a Helghast invasion on earth. Helghast are basically the main baddies of the franchise. They wear their signature helmet which makes their eyes glow red. Basically Helghast are invading earth and the ISA, earth's defense force must save the day. I can't say much about the plot as it's pretty generic and uninspired.

Killzone takes itself very seriously and that's one of the things that I personally dislike about it. The setting and story are too boring to be taken seriously and therefore isn't fun to experience. Comparing KZ1 to shooters of this era is a bit unfair so I'll be going a little bit soft on it, so to speak. KZ is pretty standard when it comes to content. It packs a single player campaign that lasts around 10-12 hours which is pretty average for shooters these days. It also features a Multiplayer mode which is quite barebones when compared to today's robust multiplayer shooters.

Now let's talk about the campaign. First you'll be greeted by a character select screen. For now you'll be only able to choose one character but the others will be unlocked throughout the campaign. The only thing that differentiates these characters from each other are the weapons that they use. There are also a lot of cutscenes scattered throughout the campaign missions backed up by some solid voice acting. But as I said before, Killzone takes it self too seriously and personally I found these cutscenes to be quite boring. The controls are very problematic, they feel heavy and trying to aim can be annoying. This could be intentional. Lots of "realistic" military shooters like to incorporate these type of controls which feel a bit more realistic. While these type of controls work on games like battlefield, sadly they feel like crap on Killzone. Now let's talk about another important factor in an FPS game, the levels. KZ tries it's best to be a gritty realistic shooter and it definitely shows. While I would normally be against visuals like these, I have to honestly say that these type of visuals fit KZ perfectly. As I said before as a game that wants to be taken seriously, gritty visuals are a no brainier. But sadly everything looks drab and boring, level's aren't any fun to explore as everything looks the same.

Oddly enough, even with all these problems, I can't deny that KZ can be very fun at times. I don't know if it's the way that the Helghast collapse when shot or how the weapons feel but there is something very satisfying. Speaking about the weapons, they are standard fare and fun to use most of the time. Both factions (ISA and Helghast) have their own set of weapons. Most of the time I found myself sticking to one assault rifle because most of them feel similar. Level design isn't bad for the most part but in some levels I found myself lost because I couldn't tell which way I should be going. It could be better but the basic design gets the job done. The AI could use some tuning for both friendly and enemy. They both suffer from the typical AI problems, like getting stuck or being dumb in general. From time to time my squad AI would actually do some work.

This one thing annoyed me throughout the course of my playthrough, the frame rate. It's plan awful. It's choppy as hell and frame drops are very common. Now I'm not saying that Killzone is unplayable, no. It normally holds up but in moments when a lot of things are going on the frame rate just drops very low. I understand that the PS2 isn't the most advanced system of all time but they still could have done better. Also I already talked about the artistic style and how drab it looks but I haven't touched on the technical side of things. I guess it looks quite good for a PS2 game, character models look decent, same for the gun models.

What about the multiplayer. Well unfortunately the official servers were closed down long ago so Online play is cut off. Their's still offline multiplayer though. You can either play on your own with bots or with a friend. It's very barebones and it's what you expect out of a 2004 FPS. If you enjoyed the core gameplay in the singleplayer than you will most likely enjoy the multiplayer aswell. All in all Killzone is a decent at best shooter, I won't recommend this for anyone who's looking for your average FPS, there are much better offerings on the market today. But for those who are fans of the series, I'd give it a shot.

Get the full article at GameSpot

"naju890_963 reviewed Killzone for the PlayStation 2..." was posted by naju890_963 on Sun, 14 Apr 2013 00:04:46 -0700
]]> http://www.gamespot.com/killzone/user-reviews/810217/platform/ps2/ Fri, 12 Apr 2013 08:53:01 -0700 gba1989 reviewed Gods Eater Burst for the PSP... http://www.gamespot.com/gods-eater-burst/user-reviews/810147/platform/psp/ ...and gave it a 8.5.

Gods Eater Burst is pretty much like Monster Hunter. You hunt, scavenge, and craft so that you can hunt, scavenge, and craft some more and get stronger of course. To summarize my review, if you like hack n' slash and/or rpgs that offers a challenging difficulty not to mention an enjoyable crafting system then this one might hold your interest.

Now that the summary is out of the way, here's my detailed impressions(review) of the game:

----------Gameplay----------
BATTLE MECHANICS. Press square button repeatedly to perform a combo and triangle to perform a secondary attack. It might seem a no-brainer hack n' slash but it's not(at least not entirely). Each Aragami(monsters) have specific weakness to certain elements, weapon types, and weakpoints. Some monsters are easy to take down but some, especially the bosses, recquires a bit more than just bashing buttons. So expect a lot of dashing, running, and more importantly blocking around. And some monsters changes weakpoints depending on what parts you break.

WEAPON SYSTEM. Your character wields a multi-purpose weapon much like a swiss knife. God Eater Burst takes the dilemma of whether taking a sword or a gun in a hunt out of the equation. In here you have a sword, a gun, and a shield all rolled(or installed) into one. So during missions, you can switch weapons in just a press of a button. And each sword, gun, and shield have three different types which gives you the option to choose pertaining your fighting style.

CRAFTING SYSTEM. Not only you craft weapons but you can also craft bullets, enhancers(kits), and fashionable outfits. There's no leveling-up system so you have to rely on gears you've crafted to enhance your stats. Crafted weapons and kits will let you activate skill/s if equipped. Outfits don't provide any stat boost and skills. It's purely for aesthetic reasons.

BULLET CRAFTING. Had to separate this from the main section 'cause it's something worth looking for. Gods Eater Burst doesn't impose you of constantly switching from melee to range combat, vice versa. But having to use a ranged weapon can be very helpful. Bullet crafting is complicated at first sight but once you learn the ropes it's a very helpful arsenal at your disposal and its fun creating your own bullet. You'd never run out of bullets but you're oracle points will drain and the only way to regain it is by using a specific item and everytime a melee attack lands. Switching from melee to regain OP makes it seems that ranged weapons are of limited use especially if your the gun-toting type. But then again you can bring different kind of bullets with different elements and even healing bullets so it makes up for its versatility.

SOLO/MULTI PLAY. No online but that's okay. There's adhoc and if you have like-minded friends to play with then it's fun. Playing solo isn't lonelier than multi to play with as you can bring 1-3 AI controlled characters with you. The AI is competent enough to help you during solo play. It's not smart as to derive you of your kill but it's not stupid either. If you get tired of bringing generic chars with you, you can bring your AI-controlled friend's char with you obtained through data exchange. And monsters seems a lot tougher to take down during multiplay.

----------Story----------
Mysterious entity called Aragami have ravaged Earth and almost wiped-out humans of their existence. Your a new-type Gods Eater assigned to the Far East. It's Adventure Time.

----------Lowdown----------
DUNGEON CRAWLING. It's crawling in the dunge...errrr....running around rehash environments. You'll do quest under a time limit and objectives is purely to eliminate target/s. There are only limited maps you can crawl upon so expect to see the same environment over and over again.

GRAPHICS. It's good. The only thing that bothers me is the Avatar Card. I like to look decent on my ID picture not pixelated.

CONTROL SCHEMATICS. It's just a minor issue. Analog is for movement and the d-pad is for camera control. Unless, you know how to use your thumb and index finger simultaneously then you'd be having trouble adjusting the view/aim while moving. There's the issue of the lock-on button as well. The L button is used to lock on to targets as well as browsing through items and camera reset. When you press L while browsing through items you'll cancel the target lock-on. Another problem with the lock-on system is that it only keep tracks of the target and auto-target is not that tight. There's a difference between the camera tracking your targets and actually hitting your target automatically with just a press of a button. It's there but it's not that responsive.

Get the full article at GameSpot

"gba1989 reviewed Gods Eater Burst for the PSP..." was posted by gba1989 on Fri, 12 Apr 2013 08:53:01 -0700
]]> http://www.gamespot.com/gods-eater-burst/user-reviews/810147/platform/psp/ Wed, 10 Apr 2013 23:59:18 -0700 sonictrainer reviewed Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Gates to Infinity for the 3DS... http://www.gamespot.com/pokemon-mystery-dungeon-gates-to-infinity/user-reviews/810093/platform/3ds/ ...and gave it a 7.5.

The Pokémon Mystery Dungeon series is normally one of my favorite Spinoff titles for the Pokemon Franchise. With the recent jump from the DS to the 3DS, the Mystery Dungeon formula has gotten some changes. However, can too many changes improve the gameplay or make things worse?
--------------
The Story
--------------
If you've played any of the previous PMD games, the story is pretty much the same as Red/Blue Rescue Team and Explorers of Time/Darkness/Sky. The player is a human who somehow became a Pokémon. However, instead of getting complete amnesia like the past game, you are specifically asked by some unknown source to save the world. After getting a Partner Pokémon, you travel through Mystery Dungeons, mysterious places that contain treasure, Pokémon in danger, and answers to saving this Pokémon World from some sort of crisis.

When players first start up the game, I should note that they don't have to do a Personality Quiz to decide who their Starter Pokémon will be. In the past, this was one of my few complaints for this series and I'm glad that they finally fixed this. However, the downside to this is that you only have 5 choices of Pokémon to choose from: Pikachu, Axew, or the Unova Starters. Compared to past PMD games, where you could choose from any Gen's starters to a couple fan favorites, this is kind of a letdown.
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Mystery Dungeons
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After watching some cutscenes, you will enter your first Mystery Dungeon. While the dungeons are now in 3D, they still play in the same as before. Normally, players travel along the floors of each dungeon while trying to get to the Stairs and get to the next floor. You can move the Team Leader Pokémon while the other members follow behind it. You still can't control your teammates directly but you can choose which moves they use and what they do through "Team Tactics". If an enemy Pokémon appears, you and your teammates move first before they do. If you can defeat an enemy Pokemon in battle, you gain experience, any items the enemy Pokemon were holding, and sometimes enemy Pokemon may ask to join your team. However, if your Leader Pokemon or Partner Pokemon's HP goes to zero in the dungeon, you will "White Out" and be sent back to base (unless you have some Reviver Seeds). In past PMD games, this also means losing half your money and items but this has been altered in "Gates to Infinity" to only affect your money until later dungeons. You could also get a friend to come help you out, which will allow you to continue from where you got defeated. Unfortunately, instead of sending out an SOS using a Wi-Fi Connection, and having your friend go into the same dungeon and climb up to the point where you got defeated, in Gates to Infinity, you have to use StreetPass and hope that the other player put "Reviver Seeds" in their Mailbox for you to use.
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Post Town
---------------
"Post Town" is this game's Shopping District and one part of the Hub, where you can get items and talk to the NPC Pokemon who live in the town for news and tips. There is a "Deposit Box" that replaces the formally known "Kanganstan Storage" and banks from past games, where players can store their items and money. There's still a Kecleon that owns a shop but now works alone. He can sell you health items, Orbs, and sometimes TMs. Rampardos can open any "Treasure Chests" you find, which are sometimes dropped by enemies in the dungeons. There are different kinds of treasure chests that have different kinds of items. In Gates to Infinity, there are 3 New Shop Businesses in this game:
-At "Cinccino's Gift Shop" you can create "Gifts", which are items that can make it easier to recruit enemy Pokemon into your team. However, you need specific items to make certain Gifts.
-At "Glorious Gold", you can trade any "Gold Bars" you find in dungeons or get from Treasure Chests for money or rare items.
-The last shop is randomized and is normally an area you can create in the "Pokemon Paradise."
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Pokemon Paradise
--------------------------
The "Pokemon Paradise" is the main area of the game's hub. The best way to describe the "Pokemon Paradise" is that it is a combination of the "Friend Areas" from Red/Blue Rescue Team and the "Join Avenue" from Black 2/White 2. After a certain point in the game, you can do missions that reward you with "Materials" and increase your "Paradise Rank". After collecting certain "Materials" and saving money, you can transform the wasteland surrounding your Team Base into areas for your team members to live and have Gurdurr create special places within these areas. Later on, you can even customize and upgrade areas with different Materials. Here's what you can have in your Paradise:
-Specialty Shops: You can create shops that provide different items for you to buy, sell, or trade. Some even provide special services and minigames
-Fields: Want more Berries and Seeds? You can create fields where you can grow and plant them, giving you more items and saving you money
-Dojos: Want to improve the power of your moves? You can now create your own Dojos to train specific Pokemon-type moves
-There is also mention of a dungeon possibly being in the "Pokemon Paradise" but I haven't discovered this yet.

Outside of the "Pokemon Paradise" are default areas:
-The Mission Board can be found in the "Pokemon Paradise". In "Gates to Infinity", you can now hold on to up to 16 Missions at a time instead of just 8 like in past games. When you're ready to go on a Mission, talk to Azumarill at the "Request Counter" to open the "Request Gate". However, once the "Request Gate" is open, you can't go into the Friend Area parts of "Pokemon Paradise" or go to "Post Town" unless you talk to Azumarill again.
-At "Quagsire's Assembly", you can change your Team Members. Like the past games, you can only have 4 Pokemon on your Team at a time. Quagsire also has his own shop similar to Kecleon's.
-At "Scraggy's Savvy Moves", you can have your Pokemon forget and remember old moves like the Move Relearner in the main games.
------------------------------------------
New Mechanics and Changes
------------------------------------------
Now that's I've covered the basics, let's go over some of the major changes in the game.

"Move Growth": After your team becomes official and gets their Team Badges, you'll be able to do activate "Move Growth". As your Pokemon Team uses Physical and Special Attacks, each individual move will grow in Level. For example, if Pikachu and any of its teammates use Thunderbolt multiple times, eventually Thunderbolt will level up and become Thunderbolt Level 2, increasing its Power, Accuracy, and PP usage. Regardless of who knows the move, all Pokemon's moves are at the same level. For example, since Pikachu's Thunderbolt is now Thunderbolt Level 2, Emolga and Blitzle's Thunderbolt are now Thunderbolt Level 2. Also, "Move Growth" does not go down, so you can delete "moves" and not have to worry about moves going back to Level 1.

"Team Attack": After your team becomes official and gets their Team Badges, you'll be able to do a Team Attack, which is a powerful technique that your entire team can use to attack all enemy Pokemon in a room regardless of position. Even if it doesn't defeat enemy Pokemon, it can cause status effects to suspend them, giving you time to plan your next move. As powerful as it is, it does takes time to charge up depending on the amount of Pokemon you have on your team in a dungeon.

"Team Skills:" The IQ system has been changed into "Team Skills". In the past, Pokemon could eat a Gummi, specific to their Type, to increase their IQ and unlock special skills that could help in different ways. In "Gates to Infinity", you can now unlock "Team Skills" which are skills that can help your entire team and not just 1 individual Pokemon. "Team Skills" can be found in treasure chests.

"V-Wave:" The "V-Wave" is a special upgrade that changes everyday and affects a specific type of Pokemon for that day.

"Companion Mode:" Need a break from the game's Story? In "Companion Mode" you can play as your teammates instead of just your Starter and Partner Pokemon. This is also a Multiplayer segment, although at the time of writing this I have not experienced multiplayer first hand yet.

Experience: Each time you go into a dungeon with a Pokemon that hasn't been on missions in a while, ALL of the experience points that have been collected by your Starter and Partner will go into the Pokemon after taking 1 step.

Evolving: As soon as your teammates are ready, they can evolve after reaching certain conditions. Of course, you still have to beat the game to evolve your Starter and Partner Pokemon. In some dungeons if an enemy Pokemon defeats your teammates and gain experience, they can evolve as well so watch out!

Bosses: When you reach the end of some dungeons, you may have to fight a Boss Battle. Like in Explorers of Time/Darkness/Sky, you will have to fight 2 or more enemy Pokemon in a majority of the story dungeon boss battles. The only difference is now you can use Orbs in Outlaw and Boss Battles, which can make things a little easier.
-------------------------------
Magnagate Dungeons
-------------------------------
Don't want to play in Story Mode or Companion Mode? Try out the Magnagate Dungeons which are completely random, down to the Pokemon you get to use to explore the dungeon. To open a Magnagate, find a well lit, circular object in real life and hold up your 3DS in front of it. If it works out, you will enter the dungeon with a random Pokemon Team.

Other Information about Magnagates:
-Magnagate Dungeons normally are the best to get free TMs.
-Magnagate Dungeons vary in length and difficulty
-enemy Pokemon are randomized. I'm not even sure if you can recruit them
-the objective of the Magnagate Dungeons is to go through all of the floors and defeat the Boss Pokemon waiting at the end
-after clearing a Magnagate, all items and money go into the Deposit Box and the Pokemon you used can be used again when you revisit Magnagates you've cleared or attempted
-------
DLC
-------
You can download more dungeons for this game to get certain Pokemon (like the Unova Starters and Pikachu), some cool items, and some extra challenges.
-----------------
Complaints
-----------------
While I welcomed some of the changes to the Mystery Dungeon formula with open arms, some of the design decisions are questionable and ruin the experience for me.

One them is the "Gridless Floors", which are areas of a Mystery Dungeon where your Leader Pokémon and Teammates can walk in any direction, like in "Post Town", "Pokemon Paradise", or Rest Stops. However, if your Leader Pokémon or Teammates touch an enemy Pokémon, the field will turn into the regular Grid Layout. Once the battle is over, the Grid disappears again. While this may seem cool, there some problems. First off, "Gridless Floors" are extremely easy to get through. Sure you have to watch out for enemy Pokémon but only 2 to 4 enemies appear and the areas are so wide, you can easily bypass them. Not to mention sometimes enemy Pokemon are asleep and are stationary. Another problem is that "Gridless Floors" make the dungeons shorter. Each area takes up at least 1 floor of a dungeon, or in some cages, split dungeons up into mini sections. One dungeon, if you take out the "Gridless Floors" only has 3 Floors. Finally, even though the "Gridless Floors" have puzzles, they're ridiculously easy. From pressing a switch to knocking down logs to form bridges, you shouldn't have trouble during any "Gridless Floors". When revisiting old dungeons during missions, "Gridless Floors" can ruin the flow of the game.

Remember how I said you can hold up to 16 missions instead 8 now? Well, you only choose to go on 1 mission at a time, even if multiple missions take place at the same dungeon. This is a major setback because choosing how many missions you can do on 1 trip was part of the challenge of the past games.

Speaking of missions, their only purpose is to supply you with "Materials" and money. I'm not sure if you can get new recruits anymore by clearing missions, which is another letdown.

A big thing that's a lot of people have discussed about this game is the Pokemon Selection. IIRC, there are 151 Pokemon, out of the currently known 649 (not counting anything from the upcoming X and Y games), in this game. Most of them come from Unova, with the rest being small portions of non legendary Pokemon from Kanto, Johto, Hoenn, and Sinnoh. Normally, the Pokemon Spinoff games only have 200 known Pokemon or more but Pokemon Mystery Dungeon was the exception because it had every Pokemon plus easter eggs of upcoming new Pokemon.

Another problem is that the "Post Game's Story" is shorter than the past games. Red/Blue Rescue Team had multiple story related things you could do after beating the game while Explorers of Time/Darkness/Sky had an entire 2nd arc set up for the post game. "Gates to Infinity" does something new but it's extremely short compared to the last games.
-----------------
Conclusion
-----------------
Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Gates to Infinity is still a fun and addictive game but I feel like they overdid changes to the formula and should have added more Pokemon.

My final score for this game is a C+ or 7.5 out of 10.

If you've never played a Pokemon Spinoff before, I would recommend this game.

If you've only played Red/Blue Rescue Team, I would recommend getting Explorers of Time/Darkness/Sky or rent a copy of this game.

If you're like me and have played all of the previous installments, I would also recommend renting this game.

There is a demo of the game at retailers and the Nintendo E Shop. The E Shop demo allows you to play through the story past the first 2 dungeons, access to Magnagate Dungeons, and allows you to use your Demo Data to continue where you left off if you actually buy the game.

Get the full article at GameSpot

]]> http://www.gamespot.com/pokemon-mystery-dungeon-gates-to-infinity/user-reviews/810093/platform/3ds/ Wed, 10 Apr 2013 23:11:23 -0700 DarkLink77 reviewed Journey for the PlayStation 3... http://www.gamespot.com/journey/user-reviews/810090/platform/ps3/ ...and gave it a 9.5!

I remember the first time I saw my co-op partner. I was in a large, circular ravine, trying to rebuild a shattered bridge by collecting pieces of cloth that would span the gaps.

I had just collected one of the pieces of cloth, and turned to see what affect that would have on the status of my bridge. It was coming along nicely; the cloth I'd collected had just repaired the second piece of the bridge, creating a flowing red path to the next section. Then, something caught my eye: another adventurer, clad in a red shawl like mine, flying high on his scarf. Until that point I'd been alone, guiding my red-robed wanderer through the sands, exploring the remnants of a civilization forgotten long before my character shook the dust of his (or her, it's impossible to tell) robe, and began hiking towards the mountain in the distance. But here was another person, who was drawn to the strange mountain in the distance the same way I was. He must have seen me at relatively the same time, because I saw him alter his trajectory in mid-air, and angle himself towards me. We met somewhere in the middle of the sands.


There was so much I wanted to ask my newfound friend. Had he played Journey before, or was it his first time? What did he think of the game? What was his name? But I couldn't ask him any of those questions, because the co-op and communication in Journey is restricted. I didn't ask him to join my game, and he certainly didn't ask to join mine. There's no way to invite your friends, and neither he nor I could see one another's PSN IDs. In the same way, there's no way to talk to your partner, at least in the traditional sense. The only means of communication the game offers you is a small chirp, activated by pressing the circle button. Holding the button down "charges" the chirp, until your character practically jumps for joy, shouting at the top of their lungs, and the sand around you ripples in response. In addition, the chirp also serves to power up your partner's jump, which is the only other mechanic in the game besides your character's ability to walk.

At first, this may seem like an arbitrary restriction on the part of thatgamecompany, but it fits with the rest of rest of Journey's design. It's a simple and elegant game that polishes the few mechanics it has to perfection, and then invites you to use the mechanics it does have to explore the world it lays before you. Despite the limitations in communication forced upon us, my partner and I got along swimmingly as we stuck our noses into every corner of the game that we could, finding bits of cloth to jump from, little murals revealing bits of the game's backstory, and most importantly, the collectible glyphs that extend your character's scarf, and give you more air time whenever you jump. We even figured out how to communicate on a basic level.

If it seems like I'm spending a lot of time on Journey's co-operative mode, it's because of how essential it is to the game. Journey did something I never thought a video game could do: it made me care about my co-op partner, and not because my success was linked to his. There is no failure state in Journey. You can't die. The game will never get too hard, and it will never stop you from progressing. The only way to "lose" is to stop playing. Instead, the biggest tragedy is losing part of your scarf, and in turn, part of your ability to jump. Losing a piece your scarf is emotionally crushing. After all, it's a visual representation of how far you've come over the course of the game. However, it's far worse to watch it happen to your co-op partner and realize how powerless you are to help them. You can't defend yourself in Journey. You simply try to get through the things the game throws at you while maintaining as much of what you've gained as possible.

As disheartening as losing your scarf is, however, losing contact with your co-op partner is worse. It might mean losing them forever, or having them replaced with another player. In the latter case, you'd never even know it happened. Yet, the idea of losing my co-op partner was incredibly stressful. Every time he disappeared from my view, I would stop what I was doing and try to find him. Strangely enough, he did the same thing. There was no gameplay incentive for us to do this. I could have finished the game by myself. He could have, too. But that wasn't enough for either of us. I wanted to finish the game with the same partner I'd had since the beginning. We'd taken this trip together. We'd watched each other succeed and fail. We'd shared triumphs and defeats. We'd each led the other to hidden secrets within the game. This story belonged to both of us, and seeing it through alone would have defeated the purpose.

Yes, Journey does have a story, and make no mistake, it goes far beyond the game's initial suggestion that you climb that mountain in the distance. It's played out through mostly silent, beautifully directed cutscenes at the end of certain gameplay segments. It's hard to describe what it's about without spoiling anything, so I'll simply say that the beginning is the end is the beginning, and leave it at that. And, of course, every story beat, and every part of the game, for that matter, are supplemented by Austin Wintory's masterful score.

It might be easy to say that Journey succeeds because it is more than the sum of its parts, but it wouldn't be accurate. Journey is the sum of its parts. It can be nothing else. It's a rare kind of game: the kind where every element is crafted to further one singular purpose. It's the kind of game that wants to offer you an experience, one best enjoyed with a stranger. And you will remember those experiences.

One particular moment stands out for me. My partner and I were moving through some ruins. It looked to be a structure of some sort that had fallen over onto its side. The sun was low in the sky, casting a bright orange glow over the world. We came to the end of the structure, and gazed out the opening on the right side. The world sloped down gracefully below us, into a ravine, the sand a sparkling orange under the light of the sun. We'd surfed the sands briefly before, but nothing like this. I gave a quick chirp, which had become code for "Ready?" In response, my partner leaped off. I followed after him, my character moving effortlessly down the shinning mountain of sand, my eyes searching for my companion. I looked and looked, but I couldn't find him. Just as I was about to give up hope, something caught my eye. A robed figure, like mine, further down the mountain. I sped up. He must have been looking for me as well, because he slowed down. We caught up with one another on the edge of the next platform, another twisting river of sand spread out below us. This time, he gave the first chirp, an apology and a question all in one. I gave a quick chirp, then leapt and sped off into the sands, wondering if he'd be able to catch up. Then suddenly, he was past me, and slowed himself. I caught up, and we raced down the sands, through the arches and the ruins, over the remains of a city the world had forgotten. Together.

Journey is adept at creating moments like that. It's a game that provides equal parts tragedy and victory, joy and sorrow. For all its mastery, however, the genius of Journey is that you will not remember it for the moments it builds for you. You will remember it for the moments you and your co-op partner build for yourselves. You will remember how those moments made you feel long after the credits roll, and that is Journey's triumph.

Get the full article at GameSpot

"DarkLink77 reviewed Journey for the PlayStation 3..." was posted by DarkLink77 on Wed, 10 Apr 2013 23:11:23 -0700
]]> http://www.gamespot.com/journey/user-reviews/810090/platform/ps3/