fizzlegloop's GameSpot Friend's Reviews fizzlegloop's GameSpot Friend's Reviews fizzlegloop'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 00:57:24 -0700 GameSpot fizzlegloop's GameSpot Friend's Reviews http://img.gamespot.com/gamespot/shared/promos/misc/gs_logo.gif http://www.gamespot.com 135 40 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/ Tue, 30 Apr 2013 15:26:37 -0700 kbaily reviewed Disney Epic Mickey 2: The Power of Two for the Wii U... http://www.gamespot.com/disney-epic-mickey-2-the-power-of-two/user-reviews/810869/platform/wii-u/ ...and gave it a 5.0.

Ok I'll be honest. I liked the first Epic Mickey. It was an ambitious idea and despite some issues with the clumsy camera and wonky combat, I found the story compelling enough to work through it.

I was really hoping when the sequel was announced that perhaps they'd be able to fix the issues with the first and make a better game. Sadly this is not the case. You know a game is bad when the multiplatform sequel sells LESS than the Wii exclusive first game. I really get the impression that Warren Spector wanted to improve the game but the heads at Disney wanted to rush out a sequel to make money off kids before they forgot or lost interest. So much of this game reeks of that.

Ok the story this time is Wasteland is rebuilding itself now that Mickey destroyed the phantom blot. Suddenly mysterious quakes start occurring and the Mad Doctor shows up and sings about how he's changed and wants to help. Oswald goes with him while Ortensia and Gus the Gremlin wire up a TV to bring Mickey back. The first game's story felt compelling because you wanted to see where Mickey and Oswald's dynamic was going to go but here, they're all friends on an adventure and it's dull. They even have full voice acting and yet I find myself wishing I could go back to the grunts and squeaks of the first.

Gameplay is a mess. First of all they still didn't fix the camera which was the biggest issue many had with the first game. Also Mickey still lacks any sort of lock on for his paint attacks so fighting baddies is a test of patience. To make things worse, this game decided that having 2 player co-op was the way to go and like Resident Evil 5, your AI partner is incompetent. Oswald carries a remote to use on various items as well as he can fly to carry you over gaps but getting him to do stuff tries your patience further. There's no online co-op so if you can get a friend to help you, do so. Otherwise you'll be waiting forever for Oswald's brain to work and he activates the thing you were standing beside for 5 minutes. Despite trying to bring in new elements like magical ink or not focusing quite as much on the good/evil thing, you'll mostly find yourself just trying to move on to the next thing and not even bothering finding all the collectables.

Also this is the first time ever where playing with the Wiimote(or Move) controller is BETTER than a traditional one. Why? Well when using the regular controller, you have to move the brush reticule with the right analog stick so if you have the Wiimote or Move, you're better off with that.

Also the game is glitchy as I'll get out. I'm talking Sonic '06 levels of glitchiness. Load times are long, slow down shows up when too many baddies are on screen and at one point I actually fell through the floor and got stuck. I can't believe how unfinished it feels. Not to mention a lot of areas from the first game have been reused.

This is just disappointing. There was so much potential for this as a series. It could've been a great game for parents and kids to play together exploring a fun Disney world but nope, the corporate heads saw a big pile of cash and said "screw it kids are dumb, just crank out a half assed sequel and we'll make easy money."

What a shame.

Get the full article at GameSpot

"kbaily reviewed Disney Epic Mickey 2: The Power of Two for the Wii U..." was posted by kbaily on Tue, 30 Apr 2013 15:26:37 -0700
]]> http://www.gamespot.com/disney-epic-mickey-2-the-power-of-two/user-reviews/810869/platform/wii-u/ Tue, 23 Apr 2013 01:11:04 -0700 kbaily reviewed Paper Mario: Sticker Star for the 3DS... http://www.gamespot.com/paper-mario-sticker-star/user-reviews/810571/platform/3ds/ ...and gave it a 7.5.

I'll be honest, like most of you, I wasn't thrilled with the choices of this Paper Mario installment. Super Paper Mario tried using the environments and such for a platformer which wasn't bad but not overly endearing and this one sort of returns to the turn based combat and yet doesn't.

As Paper Mario goes, this one has a pretty weak story especially when compared to Thousand Year Door and Super. It's the Mushroom Kingdom Sticker festival celebrating the arrival of the Sticker Comet when Bowser shows up and steals the power of a Royal Crown Sticker that makes him all shiny. He grabs Peach, leaving the festival in ruins. And that's it. Mario of course has to go to the rescue but yeah, no fun new characters to meet, except for a lovably simple Wiggler, no side story with Peach or Bowser and what they were doing while Mario was running around. You're only new friend is Kersti, a bossy silvery crown sticker who will go down in the annuals as one of the worst Mario characters ever. Fi was more useful than her. So yeah where Paper Mario was known for mixing up the tired "Bowser kidnaps Peach formula" this one almost reverts back to the first Paper Mario taking place in the good old Mushroom Kingdom with the usual grass, desert, forest, ice, etc. levels. Though it still tries to have that self-referenial sense of humor.

So this is how the combat works now. It is back to turn based but instead of having a menu of attacks, you collect stickers scattered throughout the levels and purchase in shops then select them in battle. So your book will be full of jump shoes and hammers. Also scattered throughout the land are "things" which are random items like fans, staplers, cats, that can be converted into stickers and these work as suped up attacks, though many times I found myself hoarding these things for boss fights. They also have special functions elsewhere in levels to open new paths or clear out roadblocks giving this more of a Zelda or Metroid feel of gameplay. The nice thing is, once an item is found, you can repurchase it at a store in town as opposed to hunting around for it again.

Kersti's one useful thing she does is "Paperizing" where she lifts you off the page and this is used to place stickers and scraps in places in order to progress.

So since battles no longer increase HP or attack power, why not bypass them, well as you find out later, battling gets you coins and in many cases stickers which you do need. At first having only a couple album pages limits you but towards the end you'll have more pages then coins to buy stickers to fill them. To fill more attack slots Kersti will let you spin for 3 coins to increase your attacks per turn and like with other Paper Marios, learning to time attacks and blocks is crucial to success.

I kept going back and forth on this game. For a while I stopped playing it altogether getting annoyed at Kersti waiting until half way through a boss fight to tell me that if I had "this" item I could beat it easily. Hunting around for additional exits and being forced to fight enemies with no purpose. But I went back and gave it another chance and found myself getting into it. It's not a horrible game especially if you judge it on its own merits instead of trying to compare it to the rest of the Mario RPGs. And I found myself addicted to filling up the sticker museum.

Much like NSMB2, it's perfectly servicable, plays well and can be fun if you let it and don't expect too much but I really hope the next Paper Mario installment steps it up a bit.

Get the full article at GameSpot

"kbaily reviewed Paper Mario: Sticker Star for the 3DS..." was posted by kbaily on Tue, 23 Apr 2013 01:11:04 -0700
]]> http://www.gamespot.com/paper-mario-sticker-star/user-reviews/810571/platform/3ds/ Tue, 23 Apr 2013 00:51:24 -0700 kbaily reviewed The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening DX for the Game Boy Color... http://www.gamespot.com/the-legend-of-zelda-links-awakening-dx/user-reviews/810570/platform/gbc/ ...and gave it a 8.5.

Despite being a Zelda fan, somehow I missed Link's Awakening the first time around. Probably because I was a stupid child who owned a Sega Game Gear instead of a Game Boy so it eluded me for years.

Thankfully the 3DS came along with the Eshop and this was one of my first purchases as this and the two Oracle games are the only Zeldas I haven't played (at least until the new 3DS title comes out).

Much like Majora's Mask, Link's Awakening is more a spirtual, personal journey for Link. Following the "Dead Link" timeline after the Oracle games (according to Nintendo's Zelda timeline), Link is sailing the high seas training for the return of Ganon when a storm leaves him shipwrecked on a strange island. A young girl named Marin finds him on the beach and Link awakens and learns that if he wants to leave this island he must find 8 magical instruments to awaken The Wind Fish, a creature who sleeps in a giant egg on top of the mountain. Ok then. There is no Zelda, no Triforce and no Ganon and unlike MM, no real threat of the world ending.

One of the more unique aspects of this title is the Mario character cameos. One of the first folks you meet is a pudgy mustachoied man named Tarin who's running around the woods looking for mushrooms and turns into a racoon. (Mario be trippin) But also a local resident has a pet Chain Chomp and various dungeon enemies resemble Mario baddies and even Wart, the one time villian of SMB2 makes a cameo as the frog king as well as Kirby and Dr. Wright from the SNES SimCity. Makes for what could almost be an amusing crossover.

Gameplay is pretty standard Zelda fare you've come to know using the template setup by it's predecessor "A Link to the Past." You have eight main dungeons as well as the added "Color Dungeon" for the DX version which allows you to enhance your attack or defense. You have an easier time getting around the island thanks to phone booths placed around where Urial will give you hints as to which way to go. Also you have a few worthwhile side missions like a long trading sequence that will get you a super powerful boomerang and collecting seashells to make your sword more powerful. While Kolohint Island seems small, there's a fair amount of stuff crammed in here but never feels like it drags on too long.

If I had any complaints is that some bosses feel a bit too easy. Many bosses I was able to beat within seconds of them appearing on stage. Of course getting the boomerang really makes the game easy especially the final boss. Also the last two dungeons are somewhat overly complicated in their design. They involve way too much backtracking and doing things in a certain order. I had to take a look at zeldadungeon.net to figure out how to finish them at one point.

But still I got a good sense of satisfaction once I did finish the game and experience the rather bittersweet ending. If you're looking for something to download to your 3DS, this shouldn't be missed.

Get the full article at GameSpot

]]> http://www.gamespot.com/the-legend-of-zelda-links-awakening-dx/user-reviews/810570/platform/gbc/ 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/ 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/ Sat, 30 Mar 2013 05:34:08 -0700 chocolate1325 reviewed BioShock Infinite for the PlayStation 3... http://www.gamespot.com/bioshock-infinite/user-reviews/809593/platform/ps3/ ...and gave it a 10.0!!!

Bioshock 1 was a 2007 game and was praised very highly by players and critics alike but Bioshock 2 came and whilst it was good just didn't have that same effect on us. Well Bioshock Infinite has arrived and boy is it more than worth it's wait.

Story

You are Booker Dewitt sent on a mission to rescue Elizabeth to wipe out all his debts he has owned but as soon as you have saved her the story only has just started.


Gameplay

Bioshock Infinite whilst it does play virtually the same to previous entries in the series it certainly throws in alot of cool new stuff to make it feel fresh. The Elizabeth character being just one will aid you and be able to send things through things known as Tears to help you against foes. She also can pick locks for extra goodies which are hidden behind them,throw you ammunition and even Salt for your Vigors which are similar to Plasmids from previous games. She is also very capable of looking out for herself and is a very good partner to have.

The Vigors just mentioned are basically Plasmids and they are alot of them. One fires like grenades like fire,another can send enemies flying to their dooms and one of them can even possess certain enemies. I won't spoil anymore abilities but you won't be disappointed. You also collect things called Infusion which upgrade either your Health,Shield or Vigor They work very well and to be used they require Salt to use on targets but some abilities won't work on every enemy there will always been one that isn't to effective. Put that with the likes of Shotguns/Machine Guns/RPGS and more weaponry and you have got alot of good stuff in here.

Unlike other Bioshocks this game has more focus on action where hordes of enemies will attack at points and it can get very intense especially when they come to Sky Rails. Speaking of them they are awesome to use and can let you do an executing kill on certain enemies if you land on them and they also provide a quick escape as well.

There is a point in the game where the pace feels to slowdown in the middle but apart from that the gameplay as a whole is just absoultley thrilling.

Presentation

The looks on this game is mindblowing a masterpiece of art in every sense of the world. Is it better than Rapture well that's up for debate but it is certainly amazing scenery just looking at the attention to detail on the city. The characters also deliver amazing performance. At the start of the game Booker and Elizabeth are a bit unsure about each other but as the game progresses an understanding between the characters develop and they grow very close to each other.

Lastability

About 15 to 20 hours possibly if you are looking to find every hidden collectible but you will play it again because it is just so amazing and because of the experience plus of there being higher difficultly levels.

Overall Opinion

Bioshock Infinite is one of those games after you have beat it will go back and say wow. It is an absorbing game with plenty to see and admire. Very likeable characters and a very fasicnating story that grips you to the very end. Bioshock Infinite is just downright one of the best games ever made and if you miss it you only have yourself to blame.

Overall Score 9.8

Get the full article at GameSpot

"chocolate1325 reviewed BioShock Infinite for the PlayStation 3..." was posted by chocolate1325 on Sat, 30 Mar 2013 05:34:08 -0700
]]> http://www.gamespot.com/bioshock-infinite/user-reviews/809593/platform/ps3/ Mon, 25 Mar 2013 17:23:41 -0700 chocolate1325 reviewed DmC: Devil May Cry for the PlayStation 3... http://www.gamespot.com/dmc-devil-may-cry/user-reviews/809347/platform/ps3/ ...and gave it a 7.5.

The Devil May Cry games are Hack N Slash and when it first came out it was praised because it's excellent gameplay this latest one is a reboot of the franchise that needed it but has it got enough to worth a purchase.

Story

The story is actually pretty had to follow there is this immortal known as Mundus that killed Dantes parents and he wants revenge.

Gameplay

Well it's your typical really DMC brought to this gen unlike the earlier ones the camera is nice and solid and doesn't become a pain to manage. The game does have plenty of platforming and stuff too.

It has keys which unlocks doors which if you complete a special task gives you a reward at the end. Your currency is by most taking out bad guys to upgrade your gear that you have which can give you some great use against stronger enemies.

The weapons are good like your standard sword and guns but you also get things like spears,a big hammer like thing and the ability to have a stronger punch and you get these throughout the game and some are vital against certain enemies. You also get a thing later in the game called Devils Trigger which stuns enemies and gives you the chance to deal more damage whilst your health meter slowly goes up.

If there is one thing lacking it's puzzles it just seems to be more go forward and take out some bad guys and the combat isn't perfect and sometimes you want to attack an enemy but it targets the wrong one. Another thing is while the bosses are large they don't really take that much to defeat they are fairly easy and you should beat them first time through.

Presentation

The games voice acting is a bit all over the place the new looking Dante is a bit more cocky and some who played recent entries won't like the change that much. The graphics are pretty neat when you go into various areas and the Limbo sort of world as it's known in this game.

Lastability

It's not along game you can beat it in about less than 10 hours and you can always go back and look for stuff you missed but really there isn't much incentive to go back.

Overall Opinion

Devil May Cry might be a reboot but it just feels like the series has stood still. The characters are pretty bland and the combat is virtually the same and whilst some people will like that it won't appeal to everyone.

Overall Opinion 7.4


Get the full article at GameSpot

"chocolate1325 reviewed DmC: Devil May Cry for the PlayStation 3..." was posted by chocolate1325 on Mon, 25 Mar 2013 17:23:41 -0700
]]> http://www.gamespot.com/dmc-devil-may-cry/user-reviews/809347/platform/ps3/ Sat, 23 Mar 2013 05:08:09 -0700 chocolate1325 reviewed Dead Space 3 for the PlayStation 3... http://www.gamespot.com/dead-space-3/user-reviews/809240/platform/ps3/ ...and gave it a 7.0.

When Dead Space came along the series had that bit of fear in the first game something that certain games were missing. Number 2 while it had it's moments missed those and number 3 just totally forgets about what the series is supposed to be.

Story

Well as Issac Clarke yet again there are Markers all across the galaxy that need taking down and you have to put an end to it.

Gameplay

Now this is the biggest fundament change the game has co -op where you can team up with someone via online. While it was a nice interesting feature it takes the thing that Dead Space is about. The fear effect it does run nice and smoothly through online but it wasn't needed really.

Another thing that was introduced was a checkpoint system and to be honest the save feature was a much better idea because one time I got to near the end of chapter 6 then it pushed me all the way back to chapter 5.

Also what the game has is alot of Necomorphs on screen at once but you don't have to worry because you get plenty of ammo laying around in crates and stuff and speaking of new stuff. You can modify your gun to turn it into a heavy piece of equipment which makes you vastly superior to you opponents by sending like Search Bots to look for resources around the area. Also add the beginning in one section you aren't even attacking Necomorphs just these men.

There are some good things to say though the game has got some interesting ideas like you can mix certain bits of materials to get things like Larger Medi KIts or Stasis. The action is just as it was in Dead Space 2 and it adds a few side mission when you play co - op so it gives you a reason to play it.

Presentation

The snow effects at the start of the game are excellent as are the character models as well. It's just sometimes in areas you can hardly see whats coming at you or firing sometimes.

Lastability

You will probably play it through once in single player and once in co - op but after that there really is nothing to go back for.


Overall Opinion

Dead Space 3 isn't a bad game it just feels like the producers tried to throw in co - op to add something new and the Weapon Modifactions while a nice idea can get a bit confusing and take ages to learn, It's not a bad game just not a great game.

Overall Score 7

Get the full article at GameSpot

"chocolate1325 reviewed Dead Space 3 for the PlayStation 3..." was posted by chocolate1325 on Sat, 23 Mar 2013 05:08:09 -0700
]]> http://www.gamespot.com/dead-space-3/user-reviews/809240/platform/ps3/ Wed, 20 Mar 2013 17:32:20 -0700 kbaily reviewed Skylanders Giants for the Wii... http://www.gamespot.com/skylanders-giants/user-reviews/809122/platform/wii/ ...and gave it a 8.0.

Skylanders like Angry Birds, Wii Sports, Facebook games, loves to be hated on by gamers because it's popular with kids and of course it was made by the evil overlords of Activision as a way to get kids to spend their hard earned allowance money on pieces of plastic...say the same gamers who have shelves of gaming action figures doing nothing but collecting dust and ensuring they never get laid, along with a closet of old Guitar Hero/Rock Band instruments. *ahem*

So the first Skylanders came out as sort of a "reimagining" of Spyro who at that point was shell of his PS1 self and was basically slapped into Activision's new toy collecting game for BRAND NAME RECOGNITION! Though Skylanders has almost nothing to do with Spyro and probably why his name was dropped from this one's title. Despite most gamers expecting Skylanders:Spyro's Adventure to fail miserably, it instead made tons of tons of money. So a sequel seemed inevitable.

I came into possession of Skylanders Giants through a friend who won it in a raffle but already has the PS3 so this one was handed off to me. First and foremost you do not need to buy all the figures to beat the story mode. You can beat it with the starter set and if you have the first game, the "Portal Master" set is cheaper containing just the game and Tree Rex. If you want to find all the items in story mode you only need one of each element which is means you'd need 5 figures in addition to the 3 that come with the starter pack. Also all Series 1 figures work with Giants. So in short there's no need to buy every single figure if all you plan to do is play through the story mode.

Anyway the story goes that Kaos aka the love child of Darth Maul and Mini Me as voiced by Invader Zim, was banished to Earth and turned into a toy however, he breaks free and manages to return to Skylands via the in store game display. CURSE YOU ACTIVISION!! Once back, he sets out to find the lost city of Arkus, an ancient place that is said to hold the item that can control an army of giant killer robots. So basically taking ideas from "Hellboy 2: The Golden Army." The NPCs from the first game return Flynn (voiced by Patrick Warburton) and Cali gather the Skylanders along with the newly found Giants and set out to stop Kaos once more. Honestly the story while not the deepest actually has some charm and humor to it and you meet some likeable characters along the way though Flynn will start to get annoying near the end but then again that might be part of his character.

Gameplay is pretty straightforward. There's no jumping, just fighting and exploration. Thankfully the game has hard setting so if you're over the age of 8 playing this, might as well crank it up to hard. Certain types of characters can get to special places. You can just barrel though the stage or take the time to find all the hidden goodies. I do think the devs could've stepped up a bit more. I know it's a kids' game but they don't need to make it so blantantly obivious of what has to be done. I will say on hard setting the game actually does get fairly tough around the 4th level though some enemies feel a bit cheap. The addition of the giants mostly just leads to certain place that require one of the big guys to move something large or smash a wall but their larger size tends to make them slow so it's a trade off.

Aside from the story mode the game has a fair amount of content. The hub is Flynn's ship where you can participate in Battle Arenas and Heroic challenges and like Pokemon work on upgrading each Skylander. There's also multiplayer where two figures can be placed on the portal at once but sadly no online gameplay which is a shame because there's potential for a big online community and with other kids toys like Webkins, I think there was a missed opportunity.

If you can get past the whole "game that exists to sell you toys" aspect, it's not a horrible game. Not the deepest game but honestly its nice to see a developer besides Nintendo actually put some effort forth in making a decent game geared at kids.

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"kbaily reviewed Skylanders Giants for the Wii..." was posted by kbaily on Wed, 20 Mar 2013 17:32:20 -0700
]]> http://www.gamespot.com/skylanders-giants/user-reviews/809122/platform/wii/ Sat, 16 Mar 2013 18:35:35 -0700 chocolate1325 reviewed Klonoa 2: Lunatea's Veil for the PlayStation 2... http://www.gamespot.com/klonoa-2-lunateas-veil/user-reviews/808917/platform/ps2/ ...and gave it a 9.0!

Klonoa 2 is one game that many gamers seem to have passed by whilst the original was ported to the Wii it sequel is head and shoulders above it.

Story

At the start a mysterious is asking for Klonoas help in which he is taken to another world where he befriends a girl called Lolo. Lolo tells him that the four bells in their world need ringing and a fifth one in there world appears to stop such evil from happening.


Gameplay

Klonoas game revolves mainly going from point A to point B it's basically a 2D platformer with 3D backgrounds. You attack enemy by using a Wind Bullet a punch and use them to get extra height and sometimes past certain areas in the game. It's pretty simple but some tasks later in the game do have you using your head a bit with some very clever sections.

You get extra lifes by looking out for Gems and such and also there are various little objects that do other stuff like send you flying sky high to reach the top of a level or use Electricity to get past a certain blocked areas as well as get things like keys and such. Also you get to ride on a board which sends you down icy and watery slides.

If there is anything really wrong with the game it's that it's to short. It can easily be beaten in 6 hours and the bosses basically repeat the same attack pattern when you encounter them but the levels are ice and long and creative.


Overall Opinion

Overall Klonoa 2 is one of those games that anybody can play. It's fun creative and also a joy to play. It doesn't have a steep learning curve. The 2D platforming is a nice change from the 3D platforming and the worlds look nice and colorful. If you love platformers give this a go.

Overall Score 9.0

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]]> http://www.gamespot.com/klonoa-2-lunateas-veil/user-reviews/808917/platform/ps2/ Wed, 13 Mar 2013 18:10:48 -0700 chocolate1325 reviewed Tomb Raider for the PlayStation 3... http://www.gamespot.com/tomb-raider/user-reviews/808775/platform/ps3/ ...and gave it a 9.0!

Back before Nathan Drake came along looking for treasures Lara Croft was one of the Playstations biggest icons but recent entries have looked a bit dated but this Tomb Raider is about to change that.

Story

The story starts Lara and her friends along the Endurance when all of a sudden the ship get's hit by a lightening storm and the crew are seperated and stranded on an island call Yamatai. Lara has to find her crew and get off the island but it won't be easy, As Lara finds other survivors on the island they seem to have found one of the crew to be able to awaken the Sun Queen. Your job is to stop that from happening.


Gameplay

Tomb Raider games of the past have revolved heavily on puzzles and whilst there are some in the game they aren't to difficult to figure out. You shall be doing alot of climbing and also alot of shooting. How is the shooting well much better than in previous games and while there is a cover system sometimes it doesn't always keep you alive. You can also use certain obstacles like gas tanks to take down a certain amount of enemies. Also you get a cool new ability known as Survival Instincts which help you locate things such as animals,enemies and key items as well.

As you defeat enemies you will gain experience which will give you chance to learn new abilities and they can be very handy from being able to use a melee weapon or being able to get more Salvage to spend on upgrading your guns. For example for bullets,more damage and even what it can do in terms of shooting, What is also good is you don't get these weapons from the get go you get them as you progress they story and other valuable items like rope to be able to create ziplines,pull enemies of ledges or make certain ledges fall.

LIke say Uncharted it does have some set pieces and they don't dissapoint one bit. Also Tomb Raider gives you optional Tombs to play. The map will tell you if you are near one of them you don't have to do them but it's worth it for the reward. There are also plenty of stuff to collect like GP Caches,Relics and Documents and even some optional challenges which unlock when you start it.

Tomb Raider though does have some flaws though such as well the multiplayer is extremely lackluster and it is so predictable as well. None of the modes feel exciting and to be honest the game really didn't need it.Another is sometimes certain Quick Time Events can surprise you sometimes but it's not to frequent.


Presentation

The game as a whole looks fantastic the island though is the big winner it's massive with lots of cool scenery. Lara Crofts character is excellently because you feel for her character in this game and the emotions and determination as well because this is before she became the Lara Croft whom we all know in the older games. So you really seem to want Lara succeed. Whilst Lara Croft does a very good job the rest of the cast feel a bit one dimension and lack any real personality and emotion.

Lastability

About 12 to 15 hours of the main campaign you might want to check the multiplayer out but it won't keep you hooked but their is replay value in the single player like trying to do all the challenges and get all the collectibles and there's always that incentive to play it on a harder difficultly setting.


Overall Opinion

Tomb Raider is an amazing reboot of a franchise that desperately needed to change. With an excellent single player,lots of collectibles and some fast paced action plus being a very young Lara Croft what more do you need. Whilst it has it's flaws it certainly is a game that revives the franchise and gives it a bright future.

Overall Score 9.0


Get the full article at GameSpot

"chocolate1325 reviewed Tomb Raider for the PlayStation 3..." was posted by chocolate1325 on Wed, 13 Mar 2013 18:10:48 -0700
]]> http://www.gamespot.com/tomb-raider/user-reviews/808775/platform/ps3/ Tue, 12 Mar 2013 12:20:02 -0700 chocolate1325 reviewed Driver: San Francisco for the PlayStation 3... http://www.gamespot.com/driver-san-francisco/user-reviews/808708/platform/ps3/ ...and gave it a 8.0.

Driver 1 and 2 were great games but when Driver 3 came out it was awful hoping to challenge the likes of GTA the game had massive problems and is best forgotten. Now Driver San Francisco is hoping to get the series back on track.


Story

Well it is a bit weird really Tanner has been put in a coma after an incident involved going after criminal Jericho. He soon realises when he wakes up he has abilities to switch vehicles on the fly. He is on the hunt for Jericho a criminal who is hoping to use some kind of chemical to destroy San Francisco.

Gameplay


The game as you can guess is a driving game you are given a map on where to go and what to do but to advance the story you will have to complete a certain number of tasks before doing so. This could be from taking someone down in a squad car or a race or some task. Some of the tasks are refreshing and are fun to play sometimes.

As well as those sections you get optional tasks to like do a certain number of tasks in a time limit or drive a certain speed for a number of seconds. It is worth doing these side things because they give you Will Power which lets you buy cars and even Garages and abilities for your car like ramming ability and a bigger boost for your vehicle.

Also in the game you get even abilities to get you across the area quick with the zooming in and zooming out ability throughout the game.

There are also like film like symbols scattered throughout the area which unlock special challenges and one of them is very familiar to those who played the first game.

What are some of the flaws with the game. Well some missions can be a right pain to do and while it's cool at first the novelty of switching vehicles becomes a bit old and makes you wonder if you really need to buy any of the cars in the garages.

Presentation

It looks great San Francisco is a massive area to travel through with loads of bridges and stuff and the cars are pretty cool too. The audio itself isn't to bad either.

Lastability

About 8 to 10 hours of gameplay but after that there really ain't much to go back for and it probably might not be something you will play again in a hurry.

Overall Opinion

Driver San Francisco is a return to form but not gonna frighten the likes of GTA anytime soon. It's a solid game in it's own right but it lacks a lot of things and while still good isn't as good as either the first 2 games on the Playstation. It's worth a playthrough but after you beat it there's really no incentive to go back.

Overall Score 8.0

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]]> http://www.gamespot.com/driver-san-francisco/user-reviews/808708/platform/ps3/ Sat, 09 Mar 2013 16:21:09 -0800 chocolate1325 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/808585/platform/ps3/ ...and gave it a 9.5!

The Walking Dead is based off a TV Show and Comics but the game is much different


Story

The game starts out where you take the role of Lee who is on his way to prison but an incident happens where the car crashes and he is on his own. He stumbles upon these creatures that he calls Walkers and hears a little girl called Clementine looking for a mum and dad. Lees job is to protect Clementine at all costs.

Gameplay

The game starts out with just you and Clementine but you shall come across other members in your fight for survival. You sometimes have to make decisions that could affect the outcome of the game.

The game is mainly a point and click game but it does rely sometimes in terms of reflexes as well. Also at the end of each episode a preview of the next one gives you a hint on what to do. There is one thing you should know you can't save everyone in your group.

At the end of each episode the game tells you how you fared with other people across the globe with those massive decisions. If there's one thing that can be annoying it is sometimes things can be pretty hard to spot.

Presentation

This is where the game really shines because alot of these characters have alot of emotion and it can make you feel for them in certain episodes. As the game goes on it makes you think who should I trust and not trust and it also helps that certain characters like Clementine gradually get stronger as the game progresses and become alot more useful. The graphics are breathtaking and it looks like alot of detail went into every area of the game.


Lastability

Say roughly 2 hours for each episode and your looking at about a 10 hour package in total and that's pretty sweet for how much you had to download for it.

Overall Opinion

The Walking Dead has alot of character and a brilliant story that will keep you sucked in till the bitter end. Well Worth playing all the episodes.

Overall Score 9.6


Get the full article at GameSpot

]]> http://www.gamespot.com/the-walking-dead-a-telltale-games-series/user-reviews/808585/platform/ps3/ Sat, 09 Mar 2013 16:00:17 -0800 chocolate1325 reviewed Sleeping Dogs for the PlayStation 3... http://www.gamespot.com/sleeping-dogs/user-reviews/808584/platform/ps3/ ...and gave it a 9.0!

Story

The story is Wei Shen has been hired as an undercover cop and also part of a gang to take down rival gangs in the streets.

Gameplay

The game plays superbly the combat feels fresh and doesn't feel like a button masher because there will be times when you need to be able to dodge and if you collect certain objects through the game you can learn new abilities. Some missions are high speed chases,some are races which become available across the the world once your done and some areas are protected by rival gangs which you have to sort of report back to via your monitor in your house to arrest them.

The game has a good cover system and some very clever use when using guns because you can sort of do a leap over an obstacle to slow down the enemies fire giving you a chance to strike with a few shots. The main enjoyment is throwing enemies into stuff like shafts,dustbins or into a fishing tank or even fish. themselves.

As well as doing main missions there are side missions that affect your face meter and that helps from either getting cars,cloths and stuff. Also keep on the look out for glowing shrines that upgrade your health after a certain number has been collected and lock boxes which have money or items in them.

Are there any flaws well yes sometimes trying to face a horde of enemies to get a sensor camera can be a pain and also it is a bit easy to damage peoples vehicles make the game a bit easy.

Presentation

The music feels like it belongs in the game and it can relate to how the character looks and what area of the world he is from and the graphics look superb too especially when you get those cool finishes in the game.

Lastability

About 20 hours for the main campaign but for extras maybe about another 5 hours.

Overall Opinion

Sleeping Dogs is a brilliant sandbox game that has good combat and a very good inspiration for where the area in the game is. Plus alot of things to see do and find make a game worth having.

Overall Score 9.1

Get the full article at GameSpot

"chocolate1325 reviewed Sleeping Dogs for the PlayStation 3..." was posted by chocolate1325 on Sat, 09 Mar 2013 16:00:17 -0800
]]> http://www.gamespot.com/sleeping-dogs/user-reviews/808584/platform/ps3/ Sun, 17 Feb 2013 09:50:08 -0800 kbaily reviewed LittleBigPlanet Karting for the PlayStation 3... http://www.gamespot.com/littlebigplanet-karting/user-reviews/807627/platform/ps3/ ...and gave it a 6.5.

Man what a disappointment. How did this end up being so medicore? You take the developers of the fun Modnation Racers and let them work with the fun, imaginative world of Little Big Planet and you should have a great kart racer right? RIGHT?

Sadly LBP Karting while not awful is just...boring. It's hard to say what went wrong but let's see.

Well part of it is, this game was already made but called Modnation Racers but while it still has the fun creation tool, a lot of the things that made Modnation stick out like upgradeable items and building up a shield are gone.

There's a story in this. This time the greedy grabby horde invaded Craftworld and Sackboy must take to his car and set off to stop them. You go through a storymode playing through races and battle challenges trying to get 3rd or higher to move on. The real problem comes is that instead of just focusing on racing type challenges, it throws in weird mini games, first and person racing challenges. There is the desire to go back to level to collect all the goodies for the creation tools of course.

The creation part is the thing that will decide if LBP Karting is for you. But once again if you already have Modnation Racers why bother? But there is a nice level editor and the charm of the world of LBP is still in tact. Though I don't see why costumes and items from the 2 LBP games couldn't have been carried over to this in some way.

Levels themselves honestly feel really bland. They literally took stages from past LBP games and rearranged them in 3D kart tracks. It tries to have it's own personality like using the grappling hook to swing over pits and using the creatornator to gain items but honestly it was hard to get any sort of adranaline rush from the races.

Now I'll admit that it didn't help that the same time I got this I also got Sonic and All Stars Racing Transformed and when you put LBP Karting up against that one, it really seems dull and uninspired.

Sony fans, I'm sorry. If you want a good kart racer to play, you have better options. If you want a creation tool, Modnation does it better and if you want a good answer to MK, Sonic's got better ones.

Better luck next time Sackboy.

Get the full article at GameSpot

"kbaily reviewed LittleBigPlanet Karting for the PlayStation 3..." was posted by kbaily on Sun, 17 Feb 2013 09:50:08 -0800
]]> http://www.gamespot.com/littlebigplanet-karting/user-reviews/807627/platform/ps3/ Sun, 17 Feb 2013 09:35:02 -0800 kbaily reviewed Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed for the PlayStation 3... http://www.gamespot.com/sonic-and-all-stars-racing-transformed/user-reviews/807626/platform/ps3/ ...and gave it a 9.0!

For years Sonic tried and failed to make a mascot racer to rival Mario. Fans would like to forget Sonic Drift and Sonic R and Riders while interesting wasn't exactly a pick up and play party type of game. Finally Sega made Sonic and Sega All Stars Racing where finally Sega made a competent kart racer to rival Mario and was surprisingly fun.

All too often with Sega I worry when they have a success because all too often they're the case of the guy who wins the lottery, immediately buys a big house and soon after the house falls apart because they don't know how to maintain it and end up worse off than they started. Luckily with Sonic and All Stars Racing Transformed, Sega avoided this pitfall and instead is more like the guy who wins the lottery, stays in his house and improves it.

Sega clearly listened to the positive feedback from the first game and set out to improve. First and foremost the roster got a major overhaul. Sonic and friends are still there along with a few returning friends but others have been swapped out for new Sega representatives. Nights, Gillius Thunderhead, Vyse and Meme replaced characters like Ryo, Chu Chus, Big, and fans will be torn on this. While it's nice seeing some characters join in, some of the ones that got dropped were disappointing. Also for some reason Wreck-it-Ralph and Danica Patrick are here. Why? Seriously Sega you have all those great characters, why waste two spots on NASCAR and Disney? Also PC owners get a few exclusive characters from Team Fortress and Metal Sonic and Alex Kidd were special free DLC characters. So you'll have some good and bad when it comes to characters used in this game.

The biggest enhancement to the standard kart racing formula is the ability for your car to transform into a boat and plane mid race. You'll be driving along and when you go through a blue transform gate the car will change into a boat or plane. For the most part this is pretty fluid though the switch to flight can be a bit jarring but it puts MK7 and Diddy Kong Racing to shame of how well it's implemented.

The other improvement is a much more diverse collection of tracks. The first game had 3 tracks with the same theme. 3 beach, 3 Casino, 3 Haunted Mansion and so on. This time around we see a lot more variety. Recurring favorites return as well but now we get to see an HD Starlight Carnival, a trippy Nights dreamworld, a Shinobi Japanese garden, and a great Skies of Arcadia full of awesome airship battles. And on top of that the tracks themselves change in some cases. Such in Rouge's Landing, first you're driving through a village, next thing you know you're flying through the middle of a Sky Pirate air battle. It keeps the action fresh and exciting.

As kart racing gameplay itself goes, the action is fast paced and exciting and unlike Mario Kart there does seem to be greater focus on skill. You do have items but many can be dodged. Like a character can sent a swarm of bees out in front but it's possible to weave through them as well as the glove pickup allows you to catch items and throw them at opponents. There's a lot of focus on boost and drifting as well but sadly no drafting was implemented again which I would've really liked. Also the all Star moves return however they don't have as much flair as they did the first time around. You're car just turns into plane mode and auto pilots though for a bit and you can attack though it likes to pick bad times to end itself like right next to a sharp turn into a bottomless pit.

Solo players have the option of the World Tour, a sort of career mode where you gain stars to unlock mods for your karts, new tracks and characters. Sadly I preferred the Sega Miles point system in the previous game where you just racked up points to unlock what you wanted. Now you have to grind a lot of races over and over again on a hard rank to get all those stars if you want all your Sega friends to be playable and later World Tour challenges get brutally hard.

The game is abound with various modes both on and offline. You still have Grand Prix, Time Trials, and most importantly a lot of more battle modes now. Online for the most part works well and is fairly lag free. Another neat feature is all tracks have little gold coins scattered about. Collecting these gives you chances at a slot machine to play while waiting for the next Vs. race to load up. This often yeilds starting a race with a special powerup.

If I had one complaint is the game doesn't allow for what I call "Mario Kart" controls. I prefer using the X button to accelerate rather than the right trigger and it would've been nice to have this option.

But honestly even if you're not a big Sega fan, this is easily the first Kart racer to be able to hold a candle to Mario since, maybe Crash Team Racing. Pick it up. It's a blast.

Get the full article at GameSpot

]]> http://www.gamespot.com/sonic-and-all-stars-racing-transformed/user-reviews/807626/platform/ps3/ Fri, 15 Feb 2013 16:46:25 -0800 kbaily reviewed PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale for the PlayStation 3... http://www.gamespot.com/playstation-all-stars-battle-royale/user-reviews/807553/platform/ps3/ ...and gave it a 7.5.

Of all the games that came out in 2012 none fascinated me more than Playstation All Stars Battle Royale. It wasn't nesscarily my most anticipated game or my favorite game but it was one I just wanted to experience. Some blew it off as a lame Smash Bros. knockoff with less popular, less iconic characters, Sony fans defended it thrilled to have a game of their own. Critic review ranged from "fun" to "boring."

So after a price drop, I finally picked up thanks to Sony putting that lovely online code you need so you can't buy it used.

Now first off I LOVE Smash Bros. as a series. I am not into the arcade like fighters of Street Fighter and Mortal Kombat but Smash. Bros. gave us something unique in swapping out a health bar for a damage meter and making the object to knock your opponent out of the ring and you combine that with having Nintendo's iconic characters (and then some) coming together to kick the crap out of each other. It was fun, addictive and easy to pick up and play.

Honestly, I was surprised that as big as SSB is that it didn't have a million knockoffs like Mario Kart did. Sure we had TMNT Smash Up and a few anime ones but honestly I was more surprised companies like Sega didn't jump on this (seriously why does Sega All Stars Brawl NOT exist? Does Sega not want to make tons of money?) So to see Sony attempt to make their own answer to Smash Bros. did not surprise me. I wanted to see how it came out. I'm not opposed to something being a "clone" of something as long as it brings something new to the table.

Well you get a roster of 20 characters, with 2 new ones available for download. The nice thing is they're all available from the start so you don't have to spend hours solo unlocking anyone but at the same time it gives you less incentive to play solo as the only things you unlock are alternate costumes and animations. The roster is decent and Sony, while not as colorful or diverse as Nintendo, has a good amount of variety. Where else can a cartoon racoon and a rag doll go up against a killer clown and a fat princess? But also you have more generic white guys meaning when action gets crowded, it gets hard to see your character as more characters in this one have the same body type and aren't as colorful. Still it's better than what an Xbox mascot fighter roster would be. (Master Chief and...uh...um...) But at the same time I agree with the fans, third party or not the absence of Playstation 1 icons like Spyro, Crash, Cloud and Lara Croft is disapponting. Hell Metal Gear fans got stuck with Raiden on this one. And it's a shame fans got stuck with the "new" Dante instead of the one they wanted. If you're going to do a game like this, give the fans what they want.

Now onto gameplay. Enter South Park Ski Instructor: "If you go into this trying to play like Smash Bros. you're going to have a bad time." I must emphasize you CAN'T play this like SSB. It may look like SSB from screenshots, but plays completely differently. First of all, you can't fall or get thrown out of the stage. Stages are walled in and this forgos health meters as well. What you do is the more hits that connect earns you AP. You build up this power to 3 different levels and only when said level is reach can you do a super attack to KO opponents. This is how you win matches. On one hand, it's a unique strategy making you think if you want to build up to level 3 which almost always guarantees a hit or spam the lvl 1 attack. This though can be frustrating for some. You can spend an entire match punching, kicking, grabbing, hacking away with items but if none of your Supers KO anyone, you'll still lose and I will say this, there are some serious balance issues. Kratos is easily the Meta-Knight of this game. His hits always connect and he builds up AP at a staggering rate. So this is a system you're going to love or hate. But one thing is certain it DOES NOT play like Smash Bros.

The stages are rather nicely done meshing two gameworlds together. For example you start out in Metropolis from Ratchet and Clank but midway through GoW's Hydra shows up to wreak havoc and wrestle with Captain Qwark or my favorite, starting out in the Underworld dodging Hades attacks, when the Patapon show up and start singing and attacking Hades. You'll have that Patapon song stuck in your head for days. It's clever though the stage hazards aren't much of a threat since all they do is knock down AP

While obviously it outshines SSBB in the online department; No friend codes, mostly lag free, and short waiting times, the single player features are soley lacking. You can play through each character's story mode which is made up of some still's of the character's short story that lead them to the fighting realm. There is voice acting but whatever story is given is weak and forgettable. Ratchet's looking for bolts. Jak's looking for Ico. Toro's is rather funny as he's the only one aware he's in a video game. But the story still just bookend the arcade mode with the most amusing thing being when the two characters who have a "rivalry" meet up and talk smack for a second. These range from clever "Sackboy vs. Big Daddy" to WTF "Evil Cole and Fat Princess." The final boss was a clever idea. Polygon Man the early PS1 graphics demo is this game's "Master Hand" sadly he doesn't really do much. He shows up to talk and challenge you then sits in the background sending purple clones of other fighters while yapping in the background. Then he'll try to smash you with his chin, you punch his cheeks a few times. Repeat this and he's done. I did expect this to be a lot more interesting than it was.

But outside of each arcade story mode, there's some practice challenges to hone your skills and that's it. No massive Subspace story mode, no event matches, and as I said before the unlockables are rather "meh."

Maybe I'm being a little too hard on PSAll Stars. I still had fun with it and like SSB it's still fun to break out with friends but to me if Sony was wanting to make their own answer to Smash Bros. They should've have really gone out. Of course SSB64 was small with limited content when it came out so we can keep our fingers crossed that future installments will expand more.

Get the full article at GameSpot

]]> http://www.gamespot.com/playstation-all-stars-battle-royale/user-reviews/807553/platform/ps3/ Sun, 03 Feb 2013 15:37:51 -0800 kbaily reviewed Super Mario 3D Land for the 3DS... http://www.gamespot.com/super-mario-3d-land/user-reviews/807061/platform/3ds/ ...and gave it a 8.5.

So let's look at something. 3D Mario games and 2D Mario games play very differently. I'm not saying 3D Mario is bad. I'm saying it's different. In a 3D Mario it's very exploratory and puzzle based where 2D Mario is all about bouncing to the finish and this may explain why 2D Marios sell better. Look at the figures. More people bought NSMBWii than Mario Galaxy and it sucks but what can you do when the masses prove time and time again that they just want the same thing over and over again?

Super Mario 3D Land tries to implement 2D gameplay aspects into a 3D game and does it fairly well. Storywise we learn that Tanooki leaves blossom once every 20 years (lol) and Tanooki leaves have been spread across the land and this time not only can Mario and Luigi use them but also Bowser and his minions start using them as well. You have goombas as well as Bowser sporting tails as well.

As level design goes, it's still creative though familiar. While the level no longer rely on collecting stars, there's still a lot of puzzle solving and rooms to explore to find the Star coins and the levels do have a degree of challenge to them especially when you get the S levels once you beat the main game.

The Tanooki suit returns but Mario can't fly with it. It just allows him to hover and float slowly which helps given the game in order to be more like old 2D games removed stuff like grabbing ledges or an extra mid air move which is fine early on but those later, tougher levels I found myself needlessly dying because I couldn't grab a ledge or misjudged my jump. The 3D somewhat helps but seriously there's a reason most 3D platforming stars have either a double jump or a hover decsent. Also the first Tanooki suit doesn't turn Mario into a statue. A later version you find that's gray does allow for this though which is nice. The other new item is the boomerang bro costume which is neat for long range attacks and grabbing coins and such.

As with previous titles, if you die too many times you get the option to use a White Tanooki suit which grants invincibility as well as the magic P Wing which auto warps you to the goal. While some scoff at this. There were times when I got fed up and just used it. Plus you're more likely to die from falling which the white suit doesn't protect you from.

Once you beat the main game, a series of Special Worlds are unlocked and these are much more challenging. You get the option to play as Luigi who jumps higher but is also more slippery to control. This is where the statue Tanooki suit resides and the White suit and the P Wings don't exist here and I will say these levels were nearly frustrating at times. Many times I died because I couldn't grab a ledge or misjudged a jump or Luigi slid off the edge but if you think Mario games are too easy, give these a whirl.

Also it uses street pass where other players can give you Star Coins and powerups in Toad houses.

Overall the game is great. Not the most revolutionary game but more "new" than the "New" series. It uses the 3D fairly well and looks great and still an enjoyable title and easily one of the reasons to get a 3DS.

Get the full article at GameSpot

"kbaily reviewed Super Mario 3D Land for the 3DS..." was posted by kbaily on Sun, 03 Feb 2013 15:37:51 -0800
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