Vaivod's GameSpot Friend's Reviews Vaivod's GameSpot Friend's Reviews Vaivod's GameSpot Friend's Reviews en-us Copyright (c)1995-2013 CBS Interactive. All rights reserved. http://www.gamespot.com 20 Sun, 19 May 2013 18:37:47 -0700 GameSpot Vaivod's GameSpot Friend's Reviews http://img.gamespot.com/gamespot/shared/promos/misc/gs_logo.gif http://www.gamespot.com 135 40 Sun, 19 May 2013 15:35:46 -0700 Ravenhoe reviewed Batman: Arkham Asylum for the PC... http://www.gamespot.com/batman-arkham-asylum/user-reviews/811495/platform/pc/ ...and gave it a 9.0!

As every other geek on this planet, I am a big fan of the dark knight (even though I thought his last film was not that good despite the hype) and I am thrilled to say that this has been the purest Batman gaming experience I had the pleasure to taste so far. Yes, there are some shortcomings, but all fade away in the bright light of quality that Rocksteady delivered with Arkham Asylum.

The visuals, sounds, music and the great voice acting (especially Batman and the Joker) create a very broody, yet exciting atmosphere, a perfect fit for the dark undertone of the Batman comics, while maintaining the thrilling spirit of adventure that makes this franchise so energetic and popular.

The setting is a tad weird, a large island, which serves as an asylum, certainly makes it much easier to create the game in terms of level desing, yet I would have prefered some more realistic locations, in line with the comics / films / lore. On the other hand, the setting gave the designers the freedom to throw in all sorts of bosses (a who is who of batman villains, most of which are second class villains, I reckon they are saving Catwoman and The Penguin for some other time) and levels. The remote setting makes it possible to have a whole island taken over by plantlife without you getting the weird feeling that you are playing some weird Japanese RPG.

The combat is visceral and so is the level 'solving', even though I found the game quite easy to beat, unless you are trying to find each and every secret level and item that is, but I am not a completist and here to beat the single-player story and that's it, thank you very much.

When it comes to first person combat, be it medieval melee or martial arts, most games either lack the finesse and excitment of combat or have control schemes that make your fingers go all entangled on your ass (Severance, TMNT, Dark Messiah of M&M etc.). Batmam AA manages to make the combat easy to get into, yet you still feel that you are in charge of the action the whole time. The pacing is also very nice, with some parts relying on your stealth skills while other are just bedlam and brawling like there is no tomorrow.

The idea of leveling Batman up is neat but never really takes over the game like some RPG game would, but it is a nice addition to add some depth and tangible feeling of progress as you fight your way through hordes of people with make-up issues.

The story is nice, not a lot of twists and Joker wants to take over the world (O rly?). As usual, all the villains are never inclined to kill Batman when they have the chance but rather let him live, only to have him thwart they plans before curtain fall, ... what the heck, that is what it's like in the movies too eh ?

All in all, this game is loads of fun and I sincerely hope that the other games in the series (City and Origins) add a bit more spice to the levels and the story, but retain the tight and super-polished gameplay. SLICK !

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"Ravenhoe reviewed Batman: Arkham Asylum for the PC..." was posted by Ravenhoe on Sun, 19 May 2013 15:35:46 -0700
]]> http://www.gamespot.com/batman-arkham-asylum/user-reviews/811495/platform/pc/ Thu, 16 May 2013 17:24:48 -0700 The_Last_Ride reviewed Transformers: Fall of Cybertron for the Xbox 360... http://www.gamespot.com/transformers-fall-of-cybertron/user-reviews/811396/platform/xbox360/ ...and gave it a 8.5.

The game Fall of Cybertron takes place after the first game that tells the ending of the war between the Autobots and Decipticons. You take control of both sides and getting a deeper perspective from both sides.
There is a multiplayer in this game that has a progression system. There are also several classes to choose from enabling the player to explore more than one way to play.

The Bad:
There is a certain level that totally has a harder difficulty then the others. This is totally different then any of the other levels. The enemies are way harder, and more then the other levels. It also gives you little oppertunity to get more health and ammo. Making it hard even on normal and easy diffuculty. This is something the developer should have taken notice before launching it or fixing it after release.
The campaign is also a little on the short side. There is also little replaybility to the campaign other than trying to get achievments or trying to do it on harder difficulty. It is a shame it is so short, because the story is actually pretty good. Feeling they could have explored the game more with characters. The characters have little screen time other than the many known ones.

The Good:
Even though the story is short and not fully using the potential some of the stories could have had, it is by no chance bad. The story is really well paced and has enough actions and cutscenes to immerse the player in the experience.
The characters are colorful and well written. You never feel dull in the singleplayer experience. With funny and serious moments through the whole campaign makes it a really great game. Great characters and great story.
The gameplay itself is really solid. With a heavy gun and light gun and special abilities for each of the characaters. Examples are Stealth that gives you the ability to actually sneak up on enemies. The really great thing about this is that the level design actually makes you benefit when you use the ablities and it doesn't feel forced in any of them and go with them without any problem. This makes the gameplay even more diverse and giving players more variation. The player can also transform into a vehicle that makes the gameplay even greater, leaving the player to choose either form and playing as you see fit. Some stages in each level might be better to use in one or the other form. They never feel forced and gives the player the option to play how they want. The player also gets to upgrade weapons, perks, abilities, buying perks, etc. And gives a sense of depth to game.
The multiplayer is really good and gives the player the choice of making the robots to look how they want, giving them different weapons and in the end a lot of choice how they want to play it. There was no issue with lag when i played this.
The graphics has its own style and does stand out to the eye. It really is amazing at times. Especially when looking at cities and the horizon of large buildings. Just showing how great the world looks like.
The voice acting is really good. They really bring the characters to life and brining old actors back from the animated series is also a great plus for fans of the series. The guns sound also really authentic and makes you want to shoot a robot right in the face with great results.
Overall
With players given the choice between abilities, lots of weapons, transforming, great story and just a lot of choice for the player. The story might be linear, but they player gets to choose how they want to play. It never truly feels like you are just passing through and actually experiencing a greay game. If you can look past a few flaws, it is a really great game to have in your library

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]]> http://www.gamespot.com/transformers-fall-of-cybertron/user-reviews/811396/platform/xbox360/ Tue, 14 May 2013 01:03:35 -0700 ShaineTheNerd reviewed Arcadecraft for the Xbox 360... http://www.gamespot.com/arcadecraft/user-reviews/811284/platform/xbox360/ ...and gave it a 6.0.

Having missed that era of arcade goodness, I have always wanted to experience the joy of walking into an arcade room, watching as fellow nerds talk, brag and argue about their hi-scores on their favorite video game cabinet, and just relaxing to the sound of video games. An even greater dream of mine is to actually own an arcade room, so as you could imagine, I was pretty excited to try this game out.

At first, it was fun. You start out with only a little bit of cash, a couple of cabinets unlocked that are ready for purchase, some decor that you can buy to jazz up your establishment, and that's about it. As you play and your business gets more popular around the neighborhood, more and more kids come in to play, thus giving you money, which lets you buy more games and decorations.
You can change the amount of money each game costs to play, as well as set the difficulty on your game. Charge more, you supposedly get more money, but the game will be less popular. Altering difficulty is the same way -- make it harder for more money, but you get less customers on that game.

You learn this all in the beginning, but you're told you'll get more money, but it becomes less popular. What they should have told you is, "Charge more/make it harder and no one will play, and the low amount that do play will complain and cuss at your game, which lowers your whole room's rating and you get, altogether, less customers." I had to pretty much lower all my cabinets to a quarter, and it had to be on "Easy" difficulty to be played even remotely. "Medium" difficulty can be used on a few games, but you better leave it at 25 cents, or else you just won't make money.

The more games you buy, the stronger of an electric-generator box you will need to buy. One lets you have 10 games, another 20, and the last grants 30. 30 game cabinets seems like a good amount, but that quickly adds up by year 3. You will have to eventually sell games. Since owning a cabinet for so long turns it into a "Classic" cabinet -- which grants more popularity to your arcade room for each one in possession -- this can be an annoying and dreadful task. Deciding which cabinet to get rid of can be very frustrating, and there is no way around it if you want to stay in business.

The way you organize and decorate your arcade room affects your overall popularity. Putting cabinets to a wall and beside one another helps, while scattering them around just wherever decreases your popularity. If you put a sequel besides it's predecessor, that causes both games to see a good popularity increase. As stated before, owning a console for so long gives it the title of "Classic". For every classic cabinet you own, you will see a bonus to you popularity. Changing your wallpaper and color scheme every now-and-again will net you a popularity increase, as well as stocking up on your seasonal decorations -- a jack-o-lantern and a Christmas tree.

The task of cleaning coins out of your machines, especially if you have 30 machines out, can be very tedious. You have to go to each one and hold in "Y" until you empty out all the coins. If you have 300-plus coins in the reserves, you will be sitting for about five seconds... per cabinet. You can hire an employee to do this task for you, but he is very sluggish, resulting in cabinets becoming full and rendered useless until emptied.

Little things here and there do require your attention, like say a customer gets rowdy with one of your machines; you have to quickly throw them out lest you have a broken machine. Maybe your vending machine ran out of pop; you'll have to refill that sucker so you don't lose precious seconds of money-accumulation. Sometimes an older cabinet will get jammed, sometimes chips burnout. It does add some variety to sitting around waiting for machines to be full.

The game features your avatar as the store manager, and even has your friends' avatars join in on some retro-fun -- and throwing them out is always entertaining. Though there are fun spots in the game, as mentioned before, it essentially becomes a giant snooze-fest while you wait for your machines to become full later in your career. Nothing new or fresh happens besides a FEW random events, and even they get dull after a while. It's a shame such a fun idea couldn't have been more... fun.

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"ShaineTheNerd reviewed Arcadecraft for the Xbox 360..." was posted by ShaineTheNerd on Tue, 14 May 2013 01:03:35 -0700
]]> http://www.gamespot.com/arcadecraft/user-reviews/811284/platform/xbox360/ Sun, 12 May 2013 14:12:36 -0700 The_Last_Ride reviewed Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 for the PlayStation 3... http://www.gamespot.com/call-of-duty-modern-warfare-2/user-reviews/811234/platform/ps3/ ...and gave it a 7.5.

Modern Warfare 2 continues the campaign and the pushes the franchise forward in the modern setting even further. The multiplayer returns as we are used to in the series.
Spec Ops is a nice change of pace making Co-Op avaliable over internet and locally. This mode contains of waves of enemies coming against you and trying to survive with a friend on your side. There are three difficulties for each map, and you are able to test your skills how much you can plan and use skills to get through the waves of enemies.
The multiplayer is also back with new perks, weapons, and levels. This time around there are 10 prestiges to do. If someone wants a real challenge and try to level up again 10 times with all the challenges and weapons, it's a nice change of pace.
The Bad:
The singleplayer is as forgetable as ever. The player takes control over several persons through the campaign and gets you a perspective of things. This had worked, if the story had some sort of depth. But all it really is, is a shallow attempt at an action movie. Some might also be shocked from the infamous airport level, but this game is also labeled as mature. The plot tries to take itself seriously, but when you eventually see plot twists coming from a mile away and all of the levels being very linear. When i mean linear, it's basicly either a stand off trying to survive enemies, escort missions, corridor shooting or simple running from A to B. There are no alternative ways to actually engage the enemy when the actual fire begins. Everything is control with smaller quick time events and very scripted events through the whole story. There are no alternate ways to play the levels. There are intel packs to be collected in each level, but there is barely any exploring. It does not give the player any creativity when it comes to the gameplay itself. The whole singleplayer is basicly just point and shoot with cinematics explosions with forgetable dialogue and characters.

The graphics on the console aren't as good as the pc counterpart, and it shows if you have seen the pc version. Some framerate issues can be seen on the console version.

The Good:
The gameplay is very solid, making tweaks to make it more solid. The gameplay mechanics really shine through in the multiplayer where you can choose your own weapons and perks to your liking and play the way you really want to. The multiplayer has enough depth and options to give the players of this game a good reason to play it.

The sound of the gun mechanics and the game itself are solid, and don't have any real flaws. The guns sound good enough to make the player believe the gun sounds coming out of the actual guns when shooting them.

Spec Ops gives the player also a reason to try out the Co-Op part of the game with several difficulties. Makes it possible to have a friend locally or over internet to play with you. These levels are well designed and could give players that want to explore this part of the game much fun to be had.

Even though most of the singleplayer is plain, the voice actors make it relevant to even take notice of these shallow characters. Making them believable and humane. If there is anything that is good about the singleplayer it would be the voice acting, even though the story and the way the character progress is really shallow.

Overall:
It's a good multiplayer game for those that want either a Co-Op experience or a massive online expeience, then this should be in your collection. But if you want to get this game for it's singleplayer, you should stay away from it. Because it has nothing of depth in there or even worth exploring.

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]]> http://www.gamespot.com/call-of-duty-modern-warfare-2/user-reviews/811234/platform/ps3/ Sun, 12 May 2013 01:53:05 -0700 Gamer_4_Fun reviewed Castlevania: Lords of Shadow for the PlayStation 3... http://www.gamespot.com/castlevania-lords-of-shadow/user-reviews/811223/platform/ps3/ ...and gave it a 9.0!

I wanted to get the game when it launched, unfortunately I got distracted and went off the radar until I got it for cheap recently. I must say, wow, why didn't we hear a lot about this game? From the reviews it made it sound like an average game, but is much better than the recognition it got. This game is a wet dream for someone who is a huge fan of Dark Gothic architecture flanked by sweeping vistas stretching all the way into heaven; haunting soundtrack along with everything else which resonates with Dark Fantasy.

Lord of Shadow is a reboot of the Castlevania franchise according to I never played previous Castlevania games, I know shame on me, so going into the game I had no idea what Castlevania is all about other than a gothic dark fantasy game. I heard many complain that Lords of Shadow is more like God of War than Castlevania, which might be true but then again I never played the classic games so I cannot draw comparison, nor does it matter as long as it is a good game. So, is it a good game? Lets find out.

You play as Gabriel Belmont, one of the young knights of the Brotherhood of Light. A group of knights sworn to protect the world from any supernatural threat that casts darkness to the land. Something strange happened, the darkness tipped over the scale of balance and opened the floodgates to abundance of creatures from the knightmares to enter the world and cause massacre everywhere. Among them, Gabriel's wife was a victim. Fueled by rage, righteousness and sorrow; Gabriel sets out on an impossible quest to bring back order to this world.

The game is developed by a Spanish studio called Mercury Games, leading the development was Dave Cox and the mastermind behind the Metal Gear Solid series, Hideo Kojima.

Before we dive into the review, let us talk about understand the differences between fantasy games. There are mainly of two types and are vastly different from each other.

There is high fantasy and then there is dark fantasy. The key to dark fantasy is all about subtle nudges towards beauty as well as something that is mysterious. The whole portrait comes out as something which is .... very unsettling. Your mind can't decide whether the thing you're looking at is beautiful or something you should be afraid of. The form of communication is also another pillar of dark fantasy. The dialogue between characters tend to be less, however the dialog between the player and the environment take the center stage. It is through the environment the players can deduce the story behind the place and the world around it. So it is very tricky to pull off dark fantasy. If you end up throwing in a lot of magic, myth, creatures and craft a world with the most epic architectures imaginable...even though those are some of the staples of dark fantasy, it looses all the subtle things I mentioned and comes comes out flat. What happens is it tries to say too many things at the same time, and not the right things at the right time, so in the process the whole narration suffers greatly and becomes a mess. The team at Mercury Studios under the guidance of Kojima, aced the feel and look of their dark fantasy world, 2nd only to From Software's Dark Souls, which I think is Castlevania: Lords of Shadow's greatest accomplishment.

Lords of Shadow plays to the ambience most of the time, like the screeching of batmans in a cave or being greeted to shivering howl of werewolves as you enter a dark forest. During these moments the music is nowhere to be found as the environmental sound takes front row and center and creates the mood and sort of warning for the dangers lurking ahead.Then suddenly, the music swirls in and sends shockwaves down the spine...Lords of Shadow sits at the very top among among all the video games and movies with incredible music that feeds into the very fabric of the atmosphere like a vampire.

At first glance the combat may appear a straight up hack and slash, like the one in God of War series, but...like the very nature of the game itself; first glances can be deceiving. As you will very soon realize that playing like God of War will drastically cut your adventure time and drag you under the dirt. God of war series values attack and urges players to overpower their opponents to victory. However, Gabriel is not a fallen god like Kratos, he has his limitations. That is why LOS believes a strong defence is the key to surviving an encounter and hence eventually, come out as the victor. With that notion, combat is tend to be more slower paced, lengthier and tactical affair where patience see you to the end instead of heroism. The game even has a focus system that encourages defence. Basically the less hits you take which means when you dodge, block or counter more, the meter fills up and can be used to absorb orbs from the enemies which you can spend on either healing yourself or making your attacks more devastating.

Lord of Shadow would have been much better experience if it had a good camera. The static camera sometimes swings wildly, or getting distracted to something else over our hero. I died a few times because I felt I got betrayed by the camera. There are some platforming sections in the game, and some require a degree of precision which is beyond the tuning of the controls in the game, and makes platforming unnecessarily frustrating. I also felt the game

Overall, it is a stunning experience for me playing the game. I honestly enjoyed playing the game more than any of the God of War games to date, that includes Ascension. Do yourself a favor, forget the reviews for a second and get this game.

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]]> http://www.gamespot.com/castlevania-lords-of-shadow/user-reviews/811223/platform/ps3/ Sat, 11 May 2013 04:28:33 -0700 Spinnerweb reviewed Angry Birds for the iPhone/iPod... http://www.gamespot.com/angry-birds/user-reviews/811201/platform/iphone/ ...and gave it a 2.0.

"Angry Birds is so cute!" "Angry Birds is so awesome!" "Little birdies, take wing..." How many times have you heard sentences like these in the past half-decade? I would guess around 950, 000 times.

But Angry Birds is the Justin Bieber of video games. It's undeservingly popular and is potentially dangerous. Some of the birds are cute, and that's about it. It's a game where skill is thrown into a lake of carnivorous piranhas and all you do is pull the birds back on the slingshot and kill annoying green pigs.

There's only one tune in the whole game (not counting the tune that plays when you beat a level, which is almost the same and lasts, oh, half a second), and it's very annoying. The birds make noises when they launch and when you tap the screen to use their special ability, like the yellow bird can speed up, but that's all there is to it.

The visuals are decent - compared to most iPhone games anyway - but the game isn't enjoyable. It's nothing but pure frustration. You pull the birds and launch them repeatedly just for the heck of it. You become the Rambo of video games. You don't even look if you're hitting the pigs, all you want is to beat the level just so that you can get the hell out of here.

I don't know why this game is so popular - yes, the birds are cute, but then babies are cute and yet except for Charlie in the 'Charlie Bit My Finger' video none of them became exactly famous. Maybe it's because some people don't know what games are. They think they're just crap like this where you just exercise your index finger and leave smudges across your iPhone screen.

One of the worst, no, THE worst because of its undeserved popularity, casual games of all time.

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"Spinnerweb reviewed Angry Birds for the iPhone/iPod..." was posted by Spinnerweb on Sat, 11 May 2013 04:28:33 -0700
]]> http://www.gamespot.com/angry-birds/user-reviews/811201/platform/iphone/ Sat, 11 May 2013 04:12:07 -0700 Spinnerweb reviewed Resident Evil: Deadly Silence for the DS... http://www.gamespot.com/resident-evil-deadly-silence/user-reviews/811200/platform/ds/ ...and gave it a 8.0.

Resident Evil: Deadly Silence is a port of the original Resident Evil on the PS1. What's truly impressive is that everything - the FMV cutscenes, the gameplay and the sound - all of it from the PS1 is intact. This is an amazing achievement for a DS game.

It's the same story, which means it's very good. The graphics are almost identical to the PS1 version except for some effects, and there isn't any slowdown which is a problem in quite a number of 3D games for the DS.

There's more - a new Rebirth mode, which can be called something like, 'Resident Evil Remixed.' Enemies are at different locations from the original version, and it's slightly harder. There are new puzzles, and it makes use of the DS's touchscreen and microphone.

The cutscenes are fully voiced, and the FMV cutscenes are all there and haven't been dumbed down. The game plays quite well with the DS's controls, and best of all, Resident Evil is finally portable.

Any horror game fan with a Nintendo DS would do well to play this.

Get the full article at GameSpot

"Spinnerweb reviewed Resident Evil: Deadly Silence for the DS..." was posted by Spinnerweb on Sat, 11 May 2013 04:12:07 -0700
]]> http://www.gamespot.com/resident-evil-deadly-silence/user-reviews/811200/platform/ds/ Sat, 11 May 2013 03:07:00 -0700 Spinnerweb reviewed Facebook for the BlackBerry... http://www.gamespot.com/facebook/user-reviews/811198/platform/blackberry/ ...and gave it a 1.0.

Facebook... Why is it so successful? Because it encourages people to waste time. It is a menace to society. People visit it, everyday, posting things like, 'Brushing my teeth', 'having my breakfast' ... I mean, who cares?

The only beings it makes sense for is the older generation. Like, can't-get-out-of-my-wheelchair old. They can talk to their friends and it'll be like old times again.

But oddly, young 'uns use Facebook the most.

And it's glitchy. Every page you go to, it says, "Oops, ironing out a few kinks." There are awful waste-your-time online games like YoVille, FarmVille, ZooVille, CityVille and a possible AssVille.

I urge everyone to stay away from this.

It does nothing but create a bunch of narcissistic self-obsessed attention seekers, and I wish for a crushingly violent punishment for the assclown who came up with the idea of Facebook.

Get the full article at GameSpot

"Spinnerweb reviewed Facebook for the BlackBerry..." was posted by Spinnerweb on Sat, 11 May 2013 03:07:00 -0700
]]> http://www.gamespot.com/facebook/user-reviews/811198/platform/blackberry/ Fri, 10 May 2013 22:42:33 -0700 Spinnerweb reviewed Tomb Raider: Underworld for the DS... http://www.gamespot.com/tomb-raider-underworld/user-reviews/811192/platform/ds/ ...and gave it a 6.0.

It's easy to see that unlike other developers, Santa Cruz really did try (a little) to make this a good handheld version of a console game. But for whatever reason, whether out of laziness or because it was rushed to meet the release date, they didn't succeed. The end result is a game that is impressive in terms of visuals, but a mixture of too-easy gameplay and choppy sound results in a game that is disappointing and doesn't last very long.

One feat that I would commend the developers for is that the FMV cutscenes are all here, and all are intact, without any loss in quality. That is something that induces a 'wow', but let's get onto the actual game. The story is the same as the console version - in other words, it's very good, but after that it's downhill.

The graphics, like I said before, are amazing for a DS game. There is no slowdown like in other 3D games on the Nintendo DS, and the lighting is great. The character models aren't HD, of course, but they look very good on the DS.

The gameplay is on the easy side. Like, disappointingly easy. Sometimes you die because you don't expect it to be so easy and overshoot. Unbelievable. And there is no increase in difficulty as the game goes along.

The game plays like a 2D side scrolling platformer, but with 3D character models and environments. You use the touchscreen for the inventory. And man, the screen is dark! You'll only be able to see everything if you play on a DS Lite on the highest brightness setting. It's easy, even though Lara has all her moves from the console games like hanging from ledges, swinging around poles and using her grapple, because it's side scrolling. You can't fall off because you jumped a little too much to one side.

It should take an average of less than six hours to beat this game. So what good you can take from this game, can be taken from its screenshots - the graphics. Aside from that, unless it's your life's goal to collect every Tomb Raider game on every platform, or you don't have any other console to play this on except the DS, I would dissuade you from playing it.

Get the full article at GameSpot

"Spinnerweb reviewed Tomb Raider: Underworld for the DS..." was posted by Spinnerweb on Fri, 10 May 2013 22:42:33 -0700
]]> http://www.gamespot.com/tomb-raider-underworld/user-reviews/811192/platform/ds/ Fri, 10 May 2013 21:12:33 -0700 Spinnerweb reviewed Tomb Raider: Underworld for the PlayStation 2... http://www.gamespot.com/tomb-raider-underworld/user-reviews/811190/platform/ps2/ ...and gave it a 9.0!

Poor Lara. While I enjoyed every single Tomb Raider game in the original series, her popularity has been plummeting for a while now. People just can't be satisfied that easily. So what do the developers do? Do they just put in revealing costumes and a cover starring her midriff and hope it'll sell? Of course not. They do that, but they make a great game as well.

Underworld continues the story where Legend left off, and the story is very good. If this had to be the end of the series it's very satisfyingly so. My greatest fear, however, was that the game would be half-assed on the PS2 and the developers would give all the attention to the seventh generation version. But right from the start, Underworld restored my faith in developers. The FMV cutscenes are excellent, and amazingly the in-game graphics are comparable to the PS3 version - this isn't a joke. Whether it's because the PS3's version's graphics are bad or the PS2 one's are very good, depends on whether you see the glass as half empty or half full.

The gameplay is very similar to Legend, but it's more non-linear. You can do more stuff now - shift along small ledges just by moving the analog stick rather than taking a risky jump, and there's an obligatory bike in one level. There's also a 'realistic' factor that makes it more believable through animations and excellent graphics - when standing near a fire in the first level, Lara will raise her arms in that direction to protect herself from the heat. After climbing out of water, Lara's clothes will be drenched. Yes, the latter also happened in Legend and Anniversary, but I never stopped being amazed at how much the developers did on the PS2 in the matter of visuals. The music is good, and the voice acting is well done. There is some minor slowdown in the gameplay of the second level (the one with the giant squid in it) but it never amounted to excessive frustration.

Of course, it's still a PS2 game, so the developers had to make some sacrifices - namely, the double auto target mode from the PS3 version isn't here. Ah well. Who wants that, anyway?

Overall, the now-bankrupt developers did a really good job with it and it's a shame the series was rebooted, though it couldn't have gone on forever obviously and over a decade is a nice long run for a series... but Underworld is a very satisfying end to the original series whichever platform you play it on.

... Except the Nintendo DS, of course.



Get the full article at GameSpot

"Spinnerweb reviewed Tomb Raider: Underworld for the PlayStation 2..." was posted by Spinnerweb on Fri, 10 May 2013 21:12:33 -0700
]]> http://www.gamespot.com/tomb-raider-underworld/user-reviews/811190/platform/ps2/ Tue, 07 May 2013 08:26:26 -0700 The_Last_Ride reviewed Assassin's Creed III for the Xbox 360... http://www.gamespot.com/assassins-creed-iii/user-reviews/811091/platform/xbox360/ ...and gave it a 8.0.

In this sequel to the Assassin's Creed games, we visit early colonial America. It starts with Haytham Kenway and him making his way to the new America to search for where his relics may be of use. He is also searching for clues left behind by Minerva and Juno that both Assassin's and Templars are looking for. This part of the story is very linear and serves as an origin story. There is a little plot twist after you are done with his story. After a few hours in you take over Connor, Kenway's son and continue the story from there.
There is a new setting setting in this game never shown before with the forest and animals being a part of the game. Hunting and skinning animals are also part of the game. This game does not have any upgrades when it comes to the home where the character is settled.
The whole setting takes the whole american revolution and takes the fictional characters such as Haytham and Connor and puts them right in the middle of them. They also have real characters such as George Washington, Benjamin Franklin and other known persons from that era.
The gameplay and combat itself has been changed a little bit. The counter system has been worked on and needs more timing than before. This can make confronting larger more challenging

The bad:
Something that sticks out right away after the beginning is that guards recognize you immediately if you just have one on your notorious level. You get recognized faster when you are on rooftops, it does not give you any incentive to actually climb the houses in the cities of New York and Boston. The posters for you to get noticed less is even removed from your map entirely making it harder for you to lose your character getting noticed by guards.

The modern part of the story also has a bigger role in this, which isn't bad. But the sour note the game. With the game ending on the biggest cliffhanger in the entire Assassin's Creed series. The other ones in the series, might not have a a real ending except for Revelations ending Ezio's and Altairs story. They just leave one big question mark and break the entire series with such a an ending. It will be a big dissapointment for those that have played all of the games and might even anger some.

The new homestead isn't upgradable and doesn't really give you any incentive to go deeper. It gives you more story to some characters if you are invested in the game and want a little more story to it. Some are interesting, but they consist mostly of fetch quests and mostly consist you doing the same with helping them with something they can't do themselves. They can be really tedious to do if you can't get invested in the characters. The upgrades and shipments you do with the homestead are pretty much useless and doesn't really give any depth to the game. Looking at the result of this design decision it is not clear what was suppose to be the meaning of this whole system.

The counter system doesn't always respond the way you want it to, and get often hit even though the timing is good.

The good:
The graphics of this game are a really big upgrade to the previous games in the series, and it is really stunning to watch, wether it is the cutscenes or exploring the world. It is truly beautiful to look at.

The characters of this story are strong, some might be used to the idea of a character of the likes of Ezio and Altair. They have to keep in mind that this is a whole new character, with his own story and problems. The voice acting is great, and give depth to the characters and the story itself. Even though that i have mentioned that the "modern" ending for the game ends on a big cliffhanger, doesn't mean that this game doesn't have a good story. Connors and Haytham's story through this game is really good and worth experiencing.

The audio and sound effects are well made and the mood it sets when traveling in the forest is really important, could have felt really empty if this wasn't case.

The gameplay has also improved. The climbing has never been this fun, even though the game does not give you any real incentive to actually climb and explore the rooftops because of troops, doesn't mean the mechanics for it are bad. Far from it, it's never been this much fun to actually climb which is really sad when the notorious system undermines this mostly.
The combat is more realistic and requires the user to time the counters more, it can be really fun when have a few opponents and really dominate them, but when you have several enemies against you it can work against you.

Overall this is a mixed bag, there is enough though to actually play this game, even though some might be dissapointed with this being the biggest and best in the series, it is far from being a bad game. It is worth a shot if you are an Assassin's Creed fan, but also keep in mind, this might not be the overall best game. I did not encounter many bugs in my Xbox version, but that doesn't mean this is free of bugs and glitches.

Get the full article at GameSpot

"The_Last_Ride reviewed Assassin's Creed III for the Xbox 360..." was posted by The_Last_Ride on Tue, 07 May 2013 08:26:26 -0700
]]> http://www.gamespot.com/assassins-creed-iii/user-reviews/811091/platform/xbox360/ Mon, 06 May 2013 23:36:32 -0700 Gamer_4_Fun reviewed Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon for the PC... http://www.gamespot.com/far-cry-3-blood-dragon/user-reviews/811079/platform/pc/ ...and gave it a 10.0!!!

I really wanna know what happened at the boardroom during the first meeting behind Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon, also what kind of substance the guys were on. All because the concept behind Blood Dragon is just ridiculous, crazy and not something any modern designer in his/her right mind would pitch in, but yet it did happen.

Ok, I am just gonna put it out, Blood Dragon is the most awesome thing happened to videogames since.... video games. I have no idea what ubisoft was thinking (if they were thinking at all), but was the most brilliant decision ever made and potentially, a start of another great new franchise for them.


With the core game being Far Cry 3, the game is extremely flexible allowing the player to reach his/her goals with vareity of tools, approaching from multitude of direction.

It is the most fun game I've played in recent memory. The core game being the superflexible Far Cry 3, with added speed,agility and awesome weapons and everything coated with neon and purple hues make the game standout while still as fun as ever to play by your own rules.


The game is dipped in neon, to further emphasize that this sci-fi world is the one you left in the 80's.

The nod to the 80's cheesy sci-fi moments and many references is what really makes Blood Dragon pure...gold. What makes the game further standout from other games is that Blood Dragon is bold enough to make those references, not subtle at all, but in your face. The game made me smile to all the way to falling on the floor while laughing like a maniac.

You're getting incredible value for 15$. All I can do is hope that the numbers turn out to be good and Ubisoft makes a separate franchise out of it.

To sum up Blood Dragon, this game is Ultra Mega Awesome!

Get the full article at GameSpot

"Gamer_4_Fun reviewed Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon for the PC..." was posted by Gamer_4_Fun on Mon, 06 May 2013 23:36:32 -0700
]]> http://www.gamespot.com/far-cry-3-blood-dragon/user-reviews/811079/platform/pc/ Sun, 05 May 2013 13:45:04 -0700 webofshadows5 reviewed Sonic Adventure 2 for the PlayStation 3... http://www.gamespot.com/sonic-adventure-2-hd/user-reviews/811033/platform/ps3/ ...and gave it a 8.0.

Story
The Story start in a confusing way but then get interesting on the road.
The Story is split in 2 side Hero and Dark in Hero you play as Sonic, Tails and Knuckle as you go around places to stop Eggman from taking over the world but as you go Sonic is being hunted by G.U.N Forces due to think he have stole a Chaos Emerald only to be Shadow the one ho doing this. In Dark Side Story Eggman has release the Ultimate Weapons from his grandfather only to be Shadow the Hedgehog once release both of them decide to steal the Chaos Emerald with the help of Rouge the Bat and stop Sonic from saving the world.

Voice Acting
Okay some characters voice are well done these are Sonic, Shadow, Eggman and Knuckle but the others Tails, Amy and Rouge start in a bad way but somehow in the end you see that they voice get better so you got a mixes voice acting here.

Sonic/Shadow Levels
They are the speed and it really fun getting the rings while running really fast and doing some spin dash at our enemies it really entertaining but there few levels

Tails/Eggman Levels
They are the shooting ones and like Sonic and Shadow levels these are fun as well, while they are slower they still make some fun levels because we get to blow things up and feel unstoppable

Knuckle/Rouge Levels
They are the Treasure Hunting levels and instead of being really fun like the others these are more like okay due to have a terrible camera in many moment and you mostly gonna be looking for the thing for hours

Music
The music is great and fit well in every levels some moment you will hear someone signing making it more fun this is something that Sonic Team never fail

Sound Effect
Sound just like the old times from collecting ring jumping on those jump pad and blowing thing up

Chao World
At first i didn't know anything of what the chao i have to do but now i do it seem to be like they let you take care and have your own Chao it seem like a great idea for Sonic Fan but i didn't find it really that into me

Final Verdict
Sonic Adventure 2 is a great game and worth your money for Sonic fans and does that want something new and fast yes there are some mixes thing but still this game is a really fun one especially the boss fight

Good
-Fun Gameplay
-Music
-Boss Fight
-2 Side Story

Mixes
-Story start confusing at first
-Voices Acting (For some characters)
-Chao World

Get the full article at GameSpot

"webofshadows5 reviewed Sonic Adventure 2 for the PlayStation 3..." was posted by webofshadows5 on Sun, 05 May 2013 13:45:04 -0700
]]> http://www.gamespot.com/sonic-adventure-2-hd/user-reviews/811033/platform/ps3/ Sun, 05 May 2013 08:10:02 -0700 Spinnerweb reviewed Way of the Samurai 2 for the PlayStation 2... http://www.gamespot.com/way-of-the-samurai-2/user-reviews/811025/platform/ps2/ ...and gave it a 6.0.

Samurai. The legends of Japan. People who would commit suicide instead of surrendering, if my history book told me the truth.

Way of the Samurai 2 is not about samurai. That may be surprising, but it seems the developers have never seen a history textbook. In this game, you create a character, and you're a bum with a sword in feudal Japan who is starving when a little girl gives him a rice ball to eat, at the start of the game. Guess that makes you a samurai? Anyway, the story is not so great, and given how short the game is you would have thought the developers would have put more work into the story. There are multiple endings, but all but two of the story paths have the same ending. And none of the endings are good.

You can make choices on what to say which sometimes affects the story, and you can do stuff to prolong your story, but mostly it makes no difference. None of the characters are likeable - a dumb girl who the townspeople call 'No-name' (but you can find her real name by teaching her to read and write), a woman who runs some kind of business, a few side characters and Hanzayaman Takamura who is the 'rebel leader' of the town of Amahara.

The gameplay - you walk around town but there's rarely ever anything to do except go in the shops for doing stuff like eating to restore health or drinking alcohol which increases your energy but loses you some health. And you never need the shops because it's too short. You can talk to people, but nothing they say is interesting. If you kill even one person (except thugs), all the shopkeepers kick you out of their shop when they see you. Honestly, what else is there to do in free-roaming except kill a few people? You can visit a dojo where they teach you how to fight, but you learn as much on the fly.

There are different types of swords like 'Ore' and 'Ninja' and the swords break if you use them too much without pausing between attacks. You can collect items like scrolls which power up your swords and food items which restore health. You can roam around, sleep in your house, etc. Just pass the time. There isn't much to do.

The graphics are not very good, and all battles have the same music - which is decent but gets repetitive. The voice acting is poor, but the sound effects are good. There aren't that many options in create-a-character mode, which means whatever you create, you won't like in the least.

Overall, the developers really could have put together a good game here, but they didn't even bother to do a little homework. Even after playing through all the story paths and watching all the endings, I wasn't all that satisfied. Way of the Samurai 2 is historically inaccurate, gameplay-wise and graphically average, and the voice acting will hurt the ears of anyone with functioning aural cavities. It's really disappointing what the developers came up with when they had such a good premise to go on. I wanted to like this game, but it's hard to. Overall, this is not the best samurai-based game.

Get the full article at GameSpot

"Spinnerweb reviewed Way of the Samurai 2 for the PlayStation 2..." was posted by Spinnerweb on Sun, 05 May 2013 08:10:02 -0700
]]> http://www.gamespot.com/way-of-the-samurai-2/user-reviews/811025/platform/ps2/ Mon, 29 Apr 2013 19:44:29 -0700 Opnotikis reviewed BioShock Infinite for the Xbox 360... http://www.gamespot.com/bioshock-infinite/user-reviews/810846/platform/xbox360/ ...and gave it a 9.0!

Bioshock Infinite is an ambitious story, an innovative story, a strange twisted tale.

Like the previous entries the story the story is such a big part of the Bioshock games that you have to pay close attention or you'll miss a key part and may become confused. In the beginning of the game read all the signs/banners/torn pages it will help setup the mood. Once in the floating city of Colombia, listen to the people and the voxaphones. The voxaphones give you a deeper look into the city, just like the audio logs in Rapture. Also listen to the music that is sung in the game. It will really surprise you which songs are played and how well they work where they are. My personal favorite song is Fortunate Son by CCR. I believe most of the songs show up more then once in the game so if you miss it the first time it may be somewhere else for you. The story would suffer if the game play was not viable.

Now the game play is the same as Bioshock 2. You get to dual wield a gun and vigor, but this time you only get to have 2 guns with you, but you get to have 2 vigors to switch between instead of only one out. The big difference is the sky rail. Boy is that fun, chaotic, and if your scared to heights (Like I am) and little terrifying. But once you get the mechanics down, you should have a blast using it to get around and fight enemies.

Graphics this time are bright, warm and almost a little more terrifying then Rapture. In Rapture you saw the destruction and decay of the city all around you. Here in Columbia you don't see that. What you get thou is a first hand experience of a city crumble around you as it falls apart. It starts off slowly and you don't see much of the city change around you, but then all of a sudden buildings are on fire and destroyed. The city looks amazing as it changes, which makes you feel like you're effecting the city more this time.

The voice acting is well done and really helps the story and game move forward. Nice to have a protagonist say what he is thinking, then just move around the world. And Elizabeth is one of the most useful escort characters I have ever seen. She doesn't just run to a safe spot and hide, she helps you when and if she can, in and out of battle. She'll give you ammo, coins, salts, and health, as well as figure out codes, and pick locks. The conversations between her and Booker feel weighted and meaningful.

The mood in this game starts off in an erie of mystery, with a light house and a quickly written note. Then for a quick moment there is the wonderful feeling of amazement as your get your first look at Columbia. Then just as quickly you start to get a creepy feeling. It could be from anything you're seeing or walking through. That creepy feeling will stay with you the whole game. It may not be front and center but it's still there. You will be in awe of the situations, the sights and sounds of the city, and curious of what is right around the corner or down in the next room. The mood may be ever changing, but that is a good thing. To be in one mood for too long and you start to get comfortable, or unnerved (If this was a horror game). An ever changing mood keeps you off balance and engaged in the world the whole time.

Bioshock Infinite is an ambitious game that does not over reach its self. I always felt like I could understand what was going on in the story line. Even thou I am not a person into Quantum Science. The ending still made sense to me and I was able to get the whole purpose of the tears and the other worlds. In a simple way thought of the film The One with Jet Li. If you know the film then you get the connection. For those of you who have not, the connection is all about the multiple yous and worlds. The key is the brother/sister Lutece and who they are to each other.

So is this game worth playing? I believe so, but I am bias in that I enjoy the series. Is this game for everyone? No, and I will not say that it is. If you're not into FPS games or Dystopia stories that you can skip this game. I enjoyed it and will enjoy it over the years. I hope that more games could have stories that were just as interesting, compelling, and thought provoking.

Get the full article at GameSpot

"Opnotikis reviewed BioShock Infinite for the Xbox 360..." was posted by Opnotikis on Mon, 29 Apr 2013 19:44:29 -0700
]]> http://www.gamespot.com/bioshock-infinite/user-reviews/810846/platform/xbox360/ Sun, 28 Apr 2013 14:00:57 -0700 webofshadows5 reviewed The Walking Dead: A Telltale Games Series for the PlayStation 3... http://www.gamespot.com/the-walking-dead-a-telltale-games-series/user-reviews/810807/platform/ps3/ ...and gave it a 10.0!!!

(Note i gonna review the entire 5 Episode due to have the Season Pass)

Story: Episode 1 to 5
Throughout the game you will only play as Lee a simple guy that was heading to prison due to something he has done but quickly the dead rise and this make Lee have a second chance to live by protecting a little girl named Clementine they will then meet will great and more lovable characters just has Kenny, Katjaa, Doug, Carley and many more. You will go from a Drugstore to a Motel then to a Farm, Ride a Train and head to Savannah were Clem say that his parents are there and you must find them, you will encounter Bandits, Psychopath and Walkers in the entire game. In the end the Story is just extremely pure great you will laugh, get angry and cry.

Choices
You will come to moment were you must chose from Doing Something, Saving Someone, Tell the Trust or Lie, Join Side when your group start fighting each other. This will make the story change throughout the game and it just make thing look awesome

Graphic
It seem it look just like they wanted to make it look like the comics and they manage to make great use from the color there are places nice and colorful and there will be also places greedy and dark

Soundtrack
All soundtrack are made as if was country style and it fit perfectly but there also moment were there sound like a Walking Dead soundtrack should be

Sound Effect/Walkers Vocal Effect
While Bashing a Walker brains or shooting at Walkers or even just touching something is just make thing look alive and real like if they wanted us to be there make us feeling we are doing these kind of things

Bad
While there are some minor issue just as moment were the game just froze, Character don't appear while talking or enter a room and you cant touch nothing but these are minor and they never happen (2 time happen to me)

Final Verdict
The Walking Dead is just perfect and warning you will cry, this game already won many GOTY and for me as well you can now buy it retail or in digital store like me with the Season Pass so there you have it and if looking for something to have fun while Season 4 of TWD comes out well get this

Good
-Story
-Characters
-Choices
-Sound Effect/Walkers Vocal Effect
-Fun Puzzle that make you think good
-Ending

Bad
-Minor Issue bugs

Get the full article at GameSpot

]]> http://www.gamespot.com/the-walking-dead-a-telltale-games-series/user-reviews/810807/platform/ps3/ Fri, 26 Apr 2013 03:21:13 -0700 The_Last_Ride reviewed Assassin's Creed: Revelations for the PlayStation 3... http://www.gamespot.com/assassins-creed-revelations/user-reviews/810689/platform/ps3/ ...and gave it a 8.5.

In this game we catch up with Ezio where he travels to the east and explore new area of the world. We see a very mature Ezio compared to the others, and we notice he is more patient and he has become older. In this new game he starts with basicly new sleight and leaves everyone from Assassin's Creed 2 and Brotherhood. New characters and targets are the focus to refuse the templars to take over this beautiful new city and kingdom. The mechanics are what you are used to in earlier games of the earlier games. It has more upgrades as found in the two earlier games and you are still able to conquer areas and buy shops to upgrade the gear and get more money. This game also introduces bombs which you can use as decoys, distractions and as weapons.

The Bad:
The bad thing that sticks out, is that this game is more of the same and doesn't really have any big new update avaliable for it. There is no graphics update for it, it looks a little better than the others, but doesn't have any real new update. It also lacks in variety when it comes to new missions, they will seem familiar to old players

The Good:
The gameplay has been refined and his better than ever with. New animations and better combat gives it the best combat system to date in the series. The upgrades for the weapon is just as good as the previous game, and doesn't ruin it, but introdouces some new weapons in it instead of just copy and pasting.

The underground puzzles are actually more fun and very well done this time around. They have a total new feel and it's not the same slow paced platform puzzles as the last ones in the series. These are more fun in the sense that you just run through them as fast as possible trying to reach your targets in some of them. The bombs also make for a nice new addition to make the gameplay more dynamic and trying to do something new.

The story starts with a bang, but goes slowly after the first sequence and slowly builds up. This game may lack supporting characters that Assassin's Creed 2 and Brotherhood, but having Altair and fewer stronger characters in this game is refreshing. This game is probably the most heartwarming and heartbreaking at the same time in the series. It's a really well told story of both Ezio and the flashbacks of Altair. It's a worthy ending to both Ezio and Altair, and it truly shows us how great of characters those two are.

The setting doesn't have the same flair as the two earlier games in the series, but it's beautiful to look at. It has also challenges for the player to explore as much as the earlier games.

Get the full article at GameSpot

]]> http://www.gamespot.com/assassins-creed-revelations/user-reviews/810689/platform/ps3/ Fri, 26 Apr 2013 01:12:44 -0700 Arbalon reviewed Defiance for the PlayStation 3... http://www.gamespot.com/defiance/user-reviews/810687/platform/ps3/ ...and gave it a 4.5.

I'm going to make this quick and as sweet as I can.

Defiance had me excited, I mean really, I was looking forward to it.

Up to 10,000 players on the same server! Me: WHAT!?

Shadow War Epic Combat! Me: WHHHAAAAAT!?! D:

Character customization! Weapon Customization! Vehicle Customization! Customize it all! Me: HOOOOLLLY CRAAA - WELL! That seemed pretty awesome.

Unfortunately, I did not get the beautiful vacation to another galaxy that I'd been promised. I played the game for hours, and I was bored twenty minutes in, not because of the game's make-up, but because of the weakness of combat, and the unattractiveness of the world itself.

I was playing the tutorial, and I was instantly SLAMMED..... MOLESTED by the slow frame rate, okay?

I went to take my epic noob walk down the street, and my character looked as if he was both constipated and recently infused with helium. The animation was poorly put together.

I kept the faith though, I continued to play, and I continued to trudge through the vicious world of Defiance. I acquired my MAGIC quad... you know the quad I can call Red Dead Redemption style... just one little hoot and WOAH there's my quad... yay.

So I ride around in my quad, and when I get off of it I dismiss it to the netherworld from whence it came... it disappears into the quad purgatory, and I take a nice long awkward jog into some enemy territory. I take out my sniper, and I shoot an enemy 3 times in the head with it, and the enemy continues to pursue me. Now THAT is realism.

I flee like the nooblet I truly am, and I call out to my quad.. PLEASE.. shouldest thou cometh and savest me from the hands of thy enemies? rescue your master!

It has been several hours now, and I have already grown so bored of the missions, I decide to just explore. Keep in mind my frame rate is still identical to that of a slideshow.

I come across some higher beings.. immortals... other players I mean, they were a much higher level than myself, so they seemed quite angelic. They came to save me from the love children of both orcs and locusts from Gears, and I thanked them.

In that moment I realized.. Hey, maybe this game isn't that bad after all. :D

An hour later, I started rocking this game, just taking it by force. I got my sniper modded to my liking, and I even helped out a few folks. I then proceeded to turn off Mass Effect 3. It had been a long day, I had made a trip to gamestop to return Defiance, and plenty more beforehand.

You could say... I didn't like Defiance, but in the end, I would actually end it with the fact that Defiance didn't like me, my life, my system, or itself.

I did not like Defiance, I found the quality to be quite low, and for that reason I do not need to say anymore.

Thanks for reading!

-ARBALON

Get the full article at GameSpot

"Arbalon reviewed Defiance for the PlayStation 3..." was posted by Arbalon on Fri, 26 Apr 2013 01:12:44 -0700
]]> http://www.gamespot.com/defiance/user-reviews/810687/platform/ps3/ Fri, 26 Apr 2013 00:46:00 -0700 Arbalon reviewed BioShock Infinite for the PlayStation 3... http://www.gamespot.com/bioshock-infinite/user-reviews/810686/platform/ps3/ ...and gave it a 8.5.

I've experienced the BioShock series, and I'm fortunate.

I remember when the first BioShock was supposedly "the creepiest, most innovating experience" there was in the gaming world. Well at least to those around me, that is what it was.

I fell for it immediately... I was impressed with the representation, pleased with the lack of ammunition and supplies, and awestruck by the truly unique atmosphere the game carried.

It seemed to me like the beautiful love child of the film "Metropolis" and the original Fallout. It was as if those two amazing experiences were melded together, and plunged deep into the depths of the sea.

So yes, of course I was EXCITED to see BioShock: Infinite. I was promised to - for the first time - have a companion in my struggles, and I was shown that I'd be sent off into the sky - to explore the unique city of Columbia.

I did not expect quite what I was given, to be quite honest. I was used to the average BioShock gameplay (the same gameplay that both BioShock and BioShock 2 had)... even though the story lines of BioShock and its sequel are very different from one another, they both shared a nearly identical way of playing.

BioShock: Infinite does not stray completely from the previous two games when it comes to how it plays, but it does have quite a few differences. It is smoother, much more responsive, and faster-paced. The visuals are no longer meant to be gloomy and murky like the previous two installments - BioShock: Infinite's atmosphere is ironic in the sense that you are surrounded by beauty, yet you are in mortal danger 24/7.

It might not be the FPS fix most action-junkies are searching for these days, but in its own special way, it requires thought and patience to play. (No Matter The Difficulty)

BioShock: Infinite's greatest quality is its magnificent story line that will have you glued to the screen from start to finish. Its visuals are astounding also, but not to the degree of some games. Although the textures and lighting are fantastic, you'll find that there is only one single model for all male citizens, and another model for female citizens. Since you will be seeing quite a few citizens in Columbia during your stay, you'll start to wonder whether or not this is a city or cloning facility.

When getting close to certain objects their textures will distort, although this is not something that happens too often, it is noticeable. Another minor imperfection is the modelling of certain "props" (Such as baskets full of apples, piles of clothing, closets, wardrobes, etc.). You'll notice quickly that the pile of clothes is just a mountain shaped picture of clothing, and that the inside of the wardrobe is a flat surface with a picture of clothing inside of it. These kind of things wouldn't usually take away from the whole experience, but since they are in abundance throughout the game, they can momentarily be a distraction.

I haven't added a "Good" and "Bad" section to this review, because there really aren't specific Good and Bad things in the game. Just because some models and textures are overly simplified, and some of the animation is cheap in appearance, does not make those aspects of the game bad necessarily.

I do not believe in judging a game's quality by it's difficulty, but I will say, if you pay BioShock: Infinite on anything above "Normal" it WILL take away from the experience to some extent. The story line will be so often interrupted by your constant need for health, and your large death count... that you may at times think about taking LONG breaks from the game. It can get very frustrating, mostly because of the fact that the slightest miscalculation in what powers you wield/power up/apply can make the game nearly impossible AT SOME POINTS, not all, but some of them.

BioShock: Infinite's combat system is interesting enough for a while, but towards the end of the game, you'll just want it to be over so you can see the "Unforgettable Ending" everyone has been talking about. Not necessarily because the combat grows old and boring, but because you've been killing horde after horde of baddies for HOURS... quite possibly DAYS depending on the type of player you are. I remember when I was playing Infinite and the previous two BioShock games, I always considered combat to be an "inconvenience"... a "hindrance" from making progress. The combat in the BioShock games - to me - has always been something that was placed there to irritate and bother you, not because the combat itself is bothersome, but because of its frequency, and its unsatisfying results. (Which usually were you running out of ammo, and using most - if not all - of your supplies).

In BioShock, I just want to progress the story, I wanna know what happens next. I could honestly care less about how interesting you make the combat (since it has been fairly unsatisfying thus far).

PARENTAL SECTION

BioShock: Infinite is rated M for Mature: Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, Language, Mild Sexual Themes, Use of Alcohol and Tobacco.

BLOOD AND GORE

Columbia is a vibrant and colorful city, but beneath it's beautiful surface it is tainted with the spilled blood of many.

BioShock has always been a fairly bloody series, not in a sick "over the top" kind of way, but in a realistic mature manner.

When enemies are shot, blood will proceed to spray out of them, not over-abundantly, but when you get some enemies together and catch them all in a quick unload of your clip, their bodies, the environment, and even your screen can get quite red.

Many locations have blood smeared and stained along their walls on floors, and you can count on sighting quite a few corpses.

Gore is frequent, not in the form of dismemberment but disappearance of the enemies' heads. A well placed head-shot with an assortment of weapons can result in their head popping like a balloon, and blood spewing out what remains of their neck like some morbid fountain. The most brutal depictions of gore take place when using your "skyhook"/melee attacks. You'll lob enemies heads off, break their necks, saw apart their faces, etc. Most - if not all - gore is focused in with the enemies head. Other forms of dismemberment are mostly non-existent.

INTENSE VIOLENCE

You can read those last few paragraphs and understand that violence is both constant and endless in BioShock: Infinite. In fact, you will never stop fighting until the end of the entire game. Sure, you may have a couple rare moments where you interact with people, but the majority of the game consists of killing the next horde of bad guys.

It should be mentioned that the violence is quite stylized, and is not completely realistic. The violence you might see in games such as GTA IV, Call of Duty, and Assassin's Creed differs greatly from the violence in BioShock: Infinite. I do not want to venture to say it is animated or cartoon-like, but to a certain degree it is over-exaggerated and in many ways unrealistic.

LANGUAGE

Few uses of the word sh*t.. frequent uses of words such as bastard, damn, hell, crap, ass, etc.

MILD SEXUAL THEMES

Some conversations that can be heard are sexual in nature, but not explicit in any form. Perhaps you'll see a male citizen standing close up to a female citizen against a wall, she's giggling, and he's playing around with her, but they're not kissing, or touching.

Towards the beginning of the game, you're required to try a sample of the "vigor" named "possession". The woman who hands you the bottle sends you into a hallucination of sorts, where you hear her giggling, and moaning sexually, even though there is no act scene, or performed.

When you are attempting to get inside a museum that has been taken over by bad guys, the statue out front has been converted from a clothed/decent woman, to a "painted nude" woman, with "WHORE" written beneath her. When I say painted nude, I mean they spray painted her chest with two large white circles, and red dots to resemble breasts. No genitals or anything of that sort.

Upon entering a "red room" you can see pictures that have been hung up of a young woman. They are surveillance photos that depict her undressing, no nudity is shown, only her bareback, and even that is undefinable due to the glaring light of the picture, which all in all makes her look a glow. You still understand the concept, and it is meant to convey to you that the woman is under CONSTANT surveillance.

Besides that there is not much, if I missed anything, it was likely just some minor suggestive references to sexual activity.

USE OF ALCOHOL AND TOBACCO

Throughout the game you may see citizens drinking and/or smoking, there are also bars/saloons, and you can pick up and use bottles of whiskey, wine, etc. and also smoke cigarettes, these acts are never scene, and the items provide you with health or power. When picking up too much alcohol, your screen will begin to blur, turn, and worsen. (Implying drunkenness).

BioShock: Infinite is an amazing game, with an amazing story.

OVERALL

It is a mature subject matter, and includes racism, sexism, etc. and is obviously not intended for children, but it is a great experience, and a brilliant plot.

Thanks for reading my review, fellow fusers!

-ARBALON


Get the full article at GameSpot

"Arbalon reviewed BioShock Infinite for the PlayStation 3..." was posted by Arbalon on Fri, 26 Apr 2013 00:46:00 -0700
]]> http://www.gamespot.com/bioshock-infinite/user-reviews/810686/platform/ps3/ Thu, 25 Apr 2013 14:33:04 -0700 Spinnerweb reviewed Street Cleaning Simulator for the PC... http://www.gamespot.com/street-cleaning-simulator/user-reviews/810660/platform/pc/ ...and gave it a 10.0!!!

I first played Street Cleaning Simulator about a year ago, and I have been playing it over and over ever since like a man possessed. So anyway, when I first played it it was with my best friend. We popped it in and started playing. I rarely get touchy while playing video games, but this game was so moving in every aspect that I started crying about five minutes into the game and by the time the credits rolled, I was basically bawling my eyes out. My friend didn't even look at me after it was over and he has never played a video game with me since. I have no idea why.

The game's script was written by many well-known geniuses the likes of Roald Dahl, Joanne Rowling, Jamie Rix, Aristotle, Mark Twain and Arnold Schwarzenegg-whatsisname, Stephen King, Sylvester Stallone and a small chipmunk. In fact, there are very few famous people who have not worked on this game one way or another.

So, anyway, you play as a street cleaner who has made it his life's mission to clean the streets of vermin. While little toddlers pore over comic books and movies and licensed garbage video games of men wearing their underwear on the outside and wearing a cape as if they're going to the opera, this real-life superhero puts his truck on the road and cleans, cleans, cleans. He never rests because he knows that if he does, the streets will get dirty. And if they get dirty, he drives his car to the edge of a cliff and stays there.

Our street cleaning superhero apparently doesn't have a stereo in his truck, so there is no music. Smart choice because otherwise every time he gets off a bunch of bad guys in masks would smash the windows, steal his stereo and leave a note sneering at his taste in music. And since he's busy fighting the real evil: smidgens of dust, he would not be able to stop them. Oh well, he fares much better than other superheroes. They never fight crime in neighbourhoods that need it. I'd like to see Batman fight crime in my neighbourhood.

"Robin?"

"Yes Batman?"

"Didn't we park the car right here, man?"

Along the way, our hero encounters other cars whose drivers are either busy defying gravity or driving their vehicles full pelt into your truck in a desperate effort to ram it off the road. Obviously these are the same people who say, "Littering is a very bad habit," and at the same time drop a banana peel in the middle of the road, ready for the next unfortunate wretch to cross the road. But our hero here... he stops it. He risks it all. The game lasts a good long time itself, but you will play it over and over and over again because it's so damn addictive. And in the end, there is only one gripe with this game - the inclusion of Stephenie Meyer in the credits. I can't forgive that. They should have had her work uncredited. Big Rigs, I've got two words for you: ha and ha. Turns out, a street cleaner surpasses a big rig in every way. So there you have it. It's not the reigning champ of video games (which is Valkyria Chronicles II. Sorry, I can't help myself even in troll reviews), but it's definitely one of the top contenders.

Get the full article at GameSpot

"Spinnerweb reviewed Street Cleaning Simulator for the PC..." was posted by Spinnerweb on Thu, 25 Apr 2013 14:33:04 -0700
]]> http://www.gamespot.com/street-cleaning-simulator/user-reviews/810660/platform/pc/